CHAPTER VI.
"Things are coming to a crisis, Harry," Dick Balderson said, in a toneof delight, as they left the captain's cabin. "We now know what we allalong suspected--the rajah is a rascal, and we have not only found outwhere his prahus are hidden, but have them corked up in a bottle."
"Nothing could be better, Dick, and I expect we shall have some prettyhot work. Of course the Serpent cannot get up that creek, though she canplace herself at the entrance and prevent their getting away; but therestill remains the work of capturing or driving them down the creek, andthat is likely to be a very tough job."
The next morning the second lieutenant, the mate, and Harry Parkhurstwere sent for to the captain's cabin. The first lieutenant was there.They were each asked their opinion as to whether the prahus could forcetheir way through the creek by which they had ascended.
"It is a most important point," the captain said: "and indeed,everything might depend upon it."
"I am sure, sir," Mr. Hopkins said, "that they could not go straightdown it. They might cut their way through, but it would be a work ofconsiderable time, for with their masts they would have to clear awaythe branches to a considerable height. Down near the water the branchesby which we pushed ourselves along were those of the undergrowth, withmany rattans and other creepers varying from the thickness of one'sthumb to that of one's wrist, and these would take a great deal ofchopping before one of their war boats could be pushed through, buthigher up they would probably have much thicker branches to contendwith. It may be that they can lower their masts; but even if they coulddo so, I should think that it would take them over an hour's work, evenwith the number of hands they carry, to get a passage through that bitof thick undergrowth, fifty or sixty yards up the mouth of the creek.There are two or three other places where some chopping would have to bedone, but that would be comparatively easy work."
The mate and Harry both agreed with the lieutenant.
"Practically, then," the captain said, "the Malays have but one mode ofescape, while we have two of attack. At any rate, if we send up a boatbeforehand, and fasten two or three iron chains from side to side amongthe branches, that passage would be securely sealed.
"Thank you, gentlemen; that is all I have to ask at present. It is avery difficult nut we have to crack, Mr. Ferguson," he went on, whenhe and the first lieutenant were alone. "To attack six strongly armedprahus with the boats of this ship would be a serious enterprise indeed,and its success would be very doubtful, while the loss would certainlybe very heavy, especially as, if any of the boats were sunk, the crewswould have but little chance in a place swarming with alligators. Idon't think I should be justified in risking such an enterprise."
"There is no doubt, sir, the loss would be very heavy indeed; by allaccounts, these Malays fight like demons on the decks of their ownboats, and, for aught we know, they may, after nightfall, trice uprattans to prevent boarders getting on board. I have heard that it istheir custom when they expect an attack, and that these are far moreformidable obstacles than our boarding nets. Of course I should be quiteready to lead an attack should you decide upon making one, but I cannotconceal from myself that it would be a well nigh desperate undertaking."
"I am glad that you are of that opinion," the captain said. "Thereseems to me but one course, and that a difficult one--namely, to carrya couple of heavy guns through the forest to the edge of the pool. Itwould be a serious undertaking, and we should have to send a strongforce to defend them, but if we could succeed in planting them inposition, we should soon drive the Malays out of the pool."
"That would be a capital plan, Captain, if it could be managed. Isuppose before we attempt it, you will take possession of this place,and capture the rajah?"
"That of course. I don't suppose we shall capture him. I have no doubtthat we are closely watched night and day, and that the instant theboats are lowered, and the men get on board, the rajah would preparefor flight, though he might possibly make some resistance. However, thatwould be but trifling; our guns would cover the landing, and knock theplace about his ears; but to penetrate the jungle would be vastly moredifficult an affair. If, as is probable, he has succeeded in inducingsome of his neighbors to join him, they may have already sent strongcontingents, and the forest may be full of them. In that case it wouldbe quite beyond our power to rout them out, and I certainly shouldnot be justified in attempting it. The destruction of his town andthe burning of his palace would be a serious blow to him, but thedestruction of his piratical fleet would be a very much heavier one. Ifwe can achieve that, we shall have done good service.
"The first thing to do is to find out whether there is a path eitherfrom this river, or the other branch, to the pool. If so, at dark,after destroying the town, we will recall all the men on shore, buoy theanchor and drop it noiselessly, and drift down the river till we are farenough away to use the engines, then steam down to the junction of thetwo streams, and up again to the entrance to the creek on that side.Then we will at once land a very strong party, land also two twenty-fourpounders, and drag them to the pool. We might hope to do so without anyopposition, for the Malays would no doubt be gathered at the edge of theforest near the town to repel any attack we might make from there,and before morning we might have the guns in position. I should take ahundred empty sacks. These you would fill with earth when you get nearthe pool, and form a battery with them behind the screen of bushes;then, when you are ready, you will cut down the bushes and open fire."
"I don't see why that should not succeed, sir. Of course the mostdifficult part of the operation is dragging the guns. These native pathsare only broad enough for men in single file."
"Yes, that is the difficulty. We could not employ axes to cut down thetrees, and to saw them down would be an interminable work. I think, Mr.Ferguson, we should have to carry them."
"I doubt if we could carry a twenty-four pounder, sir; but we mightcarry an eighteen. They have bamboos of almost any length here, and ifwe were to lash an eighteen pounder between two of them, I should saythat ten men each side ought to able to carry them, while as many moremight take the gun carriage."
"We will get some bamboos today, Mr. Ferguson, and try the experiment ofhow many men will be required to carry a gun; but now I think of it,I fancy that it will be still easier to lay the guns down on a sledgeshaped piece of timber--these paths are smooth enough where the nativestread, and the men could haul the guns along with ropes."
"That would be better and easier, sir. The difficulty with the carriageswill be greatest, but they might be taken to pieces as far as possibleand slung on bamboos."
"I think that we shall be able to manage all that," the captain saidcheerfully. "The first thing is to find the path. There is almost sureto be one from the village the Malay spoke of as close to the mouthof the creek, and the pool, and if we send the boats up as soon as wearrive at the creek, to row with muffled oars until they get near thepool, and then land and find the path, it would diminish very much thedistance they would have to go and the work to be done."
"It would be a great thing to find that out beforehand, sir. If youlike, I will drop down the river this afternoon in the gig; that willattract no attention, for it will be thought that we are merely goingfishing or shooting. As soon as it is dark we will muffle the oars,and row up the other branch, find the mouth of the creek and row up it,first find how far it is to the pool, then drop down a quarter of a mileand land, strike into the jungle, and look for the path. I should, ofcourse, choose a point where the creek bends that way, for as the pathno doubt goes straight from the village to the pool, it would be nearerthe creek at a bend than it would be at any other point. If it is asharp bend it might go quite close to it."
"That would be a very good plan, Mr. Ferguson, and as you have proposedit, you shall take command of the boat; otherwise I should have senteither the third lieutenant or Morrison. I need not say that it will benecessary to use the greatest caution, and to avoid all risks as muchas possible, though I fancy that my
gig would run away from any of theordinary native craft; but, of course, the great point is to avoid beingnoticed, for were one of our boats seen up the other river near thecreek, the alarm would be given, and the prahus might at once shifttheir position, and make up the river, where we should have littlechance of finding them again."
"I quite understand that, sir, and will be as careful as possible. Iwill take one of the midshipmen with me, either Mr. Parkhurst or Mr.Balderson; if the worst came to the worst and one of the men were hit,he could man his oar, or, if I were myself badly wounded, could take thecommand. I think it is Balderson's turn for boat duty."
"Either of them will do," the captain said; "they are both strong,active lads, and as steady as you can expect lads to be."
Accordingly, at four in the afternoon the captain's gig was lowered. Asthe rule was that all men on boat duty should go armed no surprise hadbeen excited when the order was given for the men to take their musketsand cutlasses, though, when an extra supply of ammunition and a brace ofpistols were served out to each, they thought that something unusual wasin the wind, and there was a grin on the men's faces when a hamper ofprovisions was placed in the bow of the boat. Dick was in a state ofhigh but suppressed delight when informed by the first lieutenant thathe was to accompany him on a boat expedition, and that he had bettertake his cloak with him, as they might be out all night.
"You can take your pistols with you, Mr. Balderson; it is not likelythat they will be wanted, but it is as well to carry them."
Dick borrowed a cutlass from the armorer and ground it down to a razoredge, for his dirk was an altogether useless weapon if it came tofighting. He was the more convinced that something more than usual wasintended when he saw the assistant surgeon place a parcel in the sternsheets.
"Bandages, I expect," he said. "Where do you think we can be going,Harry?"
"Perhaps you are going up the creek again, Dick. Who's going incommand?"
"I have not heard. Morrison says he has not been told off, so I supposeit is Hopkins; in fact, if you are going up the creek, it is sure tobe him, as one of us who went up there before would certainly bein command. It is rum they're taking the captain's gig. He is veryparticular about it, and it is very seldom indeed that even the firstluff uses it."
"I suppose they think it possible that you may be chased, and thereis no doubt she is far away the fastest boat on board. She is not adockyard boat, but, as you know, is one the captain had specially builtfor himself, and for racing if we were at any station where there wereother warships."
When four o'clock came, and the first lieutenant, with his cloak overhis arm, came out and took his place in the boat, there was a generallook of surprise among the sailors leaning on the rail to see her putoff, for it was a very unusual thing for the first officer to take thecommand when only a single boat's crew were going out on any expedition.
"Row easy, men," Mr. Ferguson said, as he sat down on one side of thecoxswain, while Dick took his place on the other. "Drop quietly down theriver. There is my fishing rod by your side, Mr. Balderson; you may aswell begin to put it together at once, so that the natives on shore maysee that we are going on a fishing expedition."
They rowed some ten miles down at a leisurely pace, and then theboat's grapnel was dropped at a bend of the stream, where the water wasunusually deep, and several baskets of fish had been taken at varioustimes. A spare rod was brought out from under the seat, and Mr. Fergusonand Dick began to fish, one on each side of the boat, while the men layon their oars, and a look of satisfaction came over their faces as thelieutenant told them that they could smoke. Hitherto, Dick had been inignorance as to the object of the expedition. He had been much surprisedwhen the order had been given for the boat to row down the river, and itwas therefore evident that it was not the intention of the first officerto again explore the creek.
Several fish were caught, but as soon as it became dark the lieutenantsaid, "You can throw them overboard again, Mr. Balderson; we don't wantany extra weight in the boat, and these fish must weigh thirty pounds atleast. Now what do you suppose we are going to do?"
"I have no idea, sir. I thought that we might be going up the creek thatLieutenant Hopkins explored the other day, to have another look at theprahus; but as we came down the river instead of going up, of course itis not that."
"No; we are going to explore the creek, but from the other end."
"That will be first rate, sir, but I am afraid that we shan't find waterenough for the Serpent."
"No, I fear that there is little chance of that; still we may obtaininformation that will be valuable."
The night was a dark one, and an hour after sunset the grapnel was gotup, and the boat continued its way down the river, the oars being nowmuffled, and the strictest silence ordered.
"Keep your eyes open, Mr. Balderson," the lieutenant said. "I think thatit must be another three miles to the point where the river forks. Theother branch comes in on the right, so we will keep on the left bank.I don't think there is much fear of our missing the junction of thestream, but if we do, we will row on to a mile below the point where wethink it is, then cross and keep up on the other side. In that way wecannot miss it."
For the next half hour no word was spoken in the boat. Dick kept hiseyes fixed on the opposite bank. Suddenly he touched the lieutenant.
"There, sir, that must be it. The line of the trees has suddenlystopped, and I think I can make out a lower line behind it."
"Yes, no doubt that is the junction. We will go two hundred yardsfarther down before we cross; it is unlikely in the extreme that anyoneis watching us, still I don't want to run the slightest risk."
In another five minutes they crossed the river, whose increased widthshowed them that they had assuredly passed the junction of the stream.Then they turned and followed the right hand bank.
"Stretch out a bit now, lads; you have fifteen miles' straight rowingbefore you, and the sooner you get to the other end, the better. We mayhave a long night's work before us, and I want to be able to get to theplace where we fished before morning."
The men bent to their oars, and the boat sped swiftly along. The currentwas very slight, and after two hours' rowing, the lieutenant judged thatthey must be but a short distance from the village Hassan's messengerspoke of. Accordingly, he told the coxswain to steer across to the otherbank, and warned the men that the slightest splash of their oars mightattract attention, and that they were to row easier for the present.In a quarter of an hour the wall of forest ceased, and a hundred yardsfarther they saw houses. Two or three dim lights were visible, andthe sound of voices could be heard. The boat's head was now turned outsomewhat farther into the stream, so as to be out of sight of anyonewho might by chance come down late to draw water. After rowing a hundredyards they could dimly make out the outline of a white house. Therewas a break just in the center, and the outline of a tree could be seenabove the roof. Dick leant forward and again touched the lieutenant.
"That must be the house, sir," he whispered.
Mr. Ferguson nodded without speaking; and after the boat had goneanother hundred yards, the line of forest could again be seen, andthe boat was rowed into the bank, and two minutes later shot through anarrow channel and entered a creek some forty yards wide.
"Now you can give way again, lads."
An hour's paddling in a sampan would mean about three miles, and aftertwenty minutes' sharp rowing, the men were ordered to row easy again,and the lieutenant and Dick kept an anxious lookout ahead. The creek washere little more than fifty yards across, and, accustomed as their eyeswere to darkness, they presently saw that it widened out suddenly. Theword was passed down for the men to paddle easily, and in two minutesthe pool opened before them. They could not make out the prahus, lyingas they did against the shadow of the trees on the farther side, butthey could see a number of lights, apparently from swinging lanterns,and hear a loud murmur of voices.
"Easy all," the lieutenant ordered now; "back her very quietly; now pullbow."
Noiselessly the boat was brought round, and its head directed to theright hand bank. They had passed a sharp bend nearly half a mile back,and the lieutenant said, "Look out for a landing place at the deepestpoint of the curve, Harris."
"Aye, aye, sir!" the coxswain said, standing up. A minute later hebrought the boat alongside, at a point which was free from bushes, andwhere the bank was but two feet above the water's edge.