CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
STRONG MEASURES LEAD TO UNEXPECTED DISCOVERIES.
"I'm terribly worried and perplexed," said Lieutenant Lindsay oneafternoon to Midshipman Midgley, as they were creeping along the coastin the neighbourhood of Cape Dalgado.
"Why so?" inquired the middy.
"Because I can learn nothing whatever about the movements of Marizano,"replied the Lieutenant. "I have not spoken to you about this manhitherto, because--because--that is to say--the fact is, it wasn't worthwhile, seeing that you know no more about him than I do, perhaps not somuch. But I can't help thinking that we might have learned somethingabout him by this time, only our interpreter is such an unmitigated ass,he seems to understand nothing--to pick up nothing."
"Indeed!" exclaimed the midshipman; "I'm surprised to hear you say so,because I heard Suliman whispering last night with that half-castefellow whom we captured along with the other niggers, and I am confidentthat he mentioned the name of Marizano several times."
"Did he? Well now, the rascal invariably looks quite blank when Imention Marizano's name, and shakes his head, as if he had never heardof it before."
"Couldn't you intimidate him into disgorging a little of his knowledge?"suggested Midgley, with an arch look.
"I have thought of that," replied Lindsay, with a frown. "Come, it'snot a bad idea; I'll try! Hallo! Suliman, come aft, I want you."
Lieutenant Lindsay was one of those men who are apt to surprise peopleby the precipitancy of their actions. He was not, indeed, hasty; butwhen his mind was made up he was not slow in proceeding to action. Itwas so on the present occasion, to the consternation of Suliman, who hadhitherto conceived him to be rather a soft easy-going man.
"Suliman," he said, in a low but remarkably firm tone of voice, "youknow more about Marizano than you choose to tell me. Now," hecontinued, gazing into the Arab's cold grey eyes, while he pulled arevolver from his coat-pocket and cocked it, "I intend to make you tellme all you know about him, or to blow your brains out."
He moved the pistol gently as he spoke, and placed his forefinger on thetrigger.
"I not know," began Suliman, who evidently did not believe him to bequite in earnest; but before the words had well left his lips the drumof his left ear was almost split by the report of the pistol, and a partof his turban was blown away.
"You don't know? very well," said Lindsay, recocking the pistol, andplacing the cold muzzle of it against the Arab's yellow nose.
This was too much for Suliman. He grew pale, and suddenly fell on hisknees.
"Oh! stop! no--no! not fire! me tell you 'bout 'im."
"Good, get up and do so," said the Lieutenant, uncocking the revolver,and returning it to his pocket; "and be sure that you tell me all, elseyour life won't be worth the value of the damaged turban on your head."
With a good deal of trepidation the alarmed interpreter thereupon gaveLindsay all the information he possessed in regard to the slaver, whichamounted to this, that he had gone to Kilwa, where he had collected aband of slaves sufficient to fill a large dhow, with which he intended,in two days more, to sail, in company with a fleet of slavers, for thenorth.
"Does he intend to touch at Zanzibar?" inquired Lindsay.
"Me tink no," replied the interpreter; "got many pritty garls--gostraight for Persia."
On hearing this the Lieutenant put the cutter about, and sailed out tosea in search of the `Firefly,' which he knew could not at that time beat any great distance from the shore.
He found her sooner than he had expected; and, to his immenseastonishment as well as joy, one of the first persons he beheld onstepping over the side of his ship was Azinte.
"You have captured Marizano, sir, I see," he said to Captain Romer.
"Not the scoundrel himself, but one of his dhows," replied the Captain."He had started for the northern ports with two heavily-laden vessels.We discovered him five days ago, and, fortunately, just beyond theprotected water, so that he was a fair and lawful prize. The first ofhis dhows, being farthest out from shore, we captured, but the other,commanded by himself, succeeded in running ashore, and he escaped; withnearly all his slaves--only a few of the women and children beingdrowned in the surf. And now, as our cargo of poor wretches is prettylarge, I shall run for the Seychelles. After landing them I shallreturn as fast as possible, to intercept a few more of these pirates."
"To the Seychelles!" muttered the Lieutenant to himself as he wentbelow, with an expression on his countenance something between surpriseand despair.
Poor Lindsay! His mind was so taken up with, and confused by, theconstant and obtrusive presence of the Senhorina Maraquita that theparticular turn which affairs had taken had not occurred to him,although that turn was quite natural, and by no means improbable.Marizano, with Azinte on board of one of his piratical dhows, wasproceeding to the north. Captain Romer, with his war-steamer, was onthe look-out for piratical dhows. What more natural than that theCaptain should fall in with the pirate? But Lieutenant Lindsay's mindhad been so filled with Maraquita that it seemed to be, for the time,incapable of holding more than one other idea--that idea was thefulfilment of Maraquita's commands to obtain information as to her lostAzinte. To this he had of late devoted all his powers, happy in thethought that it fell in with and formed part of his duty, to his Queenand country, as well as to the "Queen of his soul." To rescue Azintefrom Marizano seemed to the bold Lieutenant an easy enough matter; butto rescue her from his own Captain, and send her back into slavery!"Ass! that I am," he exclaimed, "not to have thought of this before. Ofcourse she can _never_ be returned to Maraquita, and small comfort itwill be to the Senhorina to be told that her favourite is free in theSeychelles Islands, and utterly beyond her reach, unless she chooses togo there and stay with her."
Overwhelmed with disgust at his own stupidity, and at the utterimpossibility of doing anything to mend matters, the unfortunateLieutenant sat down to think, and the result of his thinking was that heresolved at all events to look well after Azinte, and see that sheshould be cared for on her arrival at the Seychelles.
Among the poor creatures who had been rescued from Marizano's dhow werenearly a hundred children, in such a deplorable condition that smallhopes were entertained of their reaching the island alive. Their younglives, however, proved to be tenacious. Experienced though their hardyrescuers were in rough and tumble work, they had no conception whatthese poor creatures had already gone through, and, therefore, formed amistaken estimate of their powers of endurance. Eighty-three of themreached the Seychelles alive. They were placed under the care of awarm-hearted missionary, who spared no pains for their restoration tohealth; but despite his utmost efforts, forty of these eventually died--their little frames had been whipped, and starved, and tried to such anextent, that recovery was impossible.
To the care of this missionary Lieutenant Lindsay committed Azinte,telling him as much of her sad story as he was acquainted with. Themissionary willingly took charge of her, and placed her as a nurse inthe temporary hospital which he had instituted for the little ones abovereferred to. Here Azinte proved herself to be a most tender,affectionate, and intelligent nurse to the poor children, for whom sheappeared to entertain particular regard, and here, on the departure ofthe `Firefly' shortly afterwards, Lindsay left her in a state ofcomfort, usefulness, and comparative felicity.