One can not relate every thing at once. While in the cabin, we cameacross a "barge" of biscuit, and finding its contents of a qualitymuch superior to our own, we had filled our pockets and occasionallyregaled ourselves in the intervals of rummaging. Now this sea cake-basket we had brought on deck. And for the first time since biddingadieu to the Arcturion having fully quenched our thirst, our appetitereturned with a rush; and having nothing better to do till daydawned, we planted the bread-barge in the middle of the quarter-deck;and crossing our legs before it, laid close seige thereto, like theGrand Turk and his Vizier Mustapha sitting down before Vienna.
Our castle, the Bread-Barge was of the common sort; an oblong oakenbox, much battered and bruised, and like the Elgin Marbles, all overinscriptions and carving:--foul anchors, skewered hearts, almanacs,Burton-blocks, love verses, links of cable, Kings of Clubs; anddivers mystic diagrams in chalk, drawn by old Finnish mariners; incasting horoscopes and prophecies. Your old tars are all Daniels.There was a round hole in one side, through which, in getting at thebread, invited guests thrust their hands.
And mighty was the thrusting of hands that night; also, manyand earnest the glances of Mustapha at every sudden creaking of thespars or rigging. Like Belshazzar, my royal Viking ate with greatfear and trembling; ever and anon pausing to watch the wild shadowsflitting along the bulwarks.
CHAPTER XXIMan Ho!
Slowly, fitfully, broke the morning in the East, showing the desolatebrig forging heavily through the water, which sluggishly thumpedunder her bows. While leaping from sea to sea, our faithful Chamois,like a faithful dog, still gamboled alongside, confined to the main-chains by its painter. At times, it would long lag behind; then,pushed by a wave like lightning dash forward; till bridled by itsleash, it again fell in rear.
As the gray light came on, anxiously we scrutinized the features ofthe craft, as one by one they became more plainly revealed. Everything seemed stranger now, than when partially visible in the dingynight. The stanchions, or posts of the bulwarks, were of roughstakes, still incased in the bark. The unpainted sides were of adark-colored, heathenish looking wood. The tiller was a wry-necked,elbowed bough, thrusting itself through the deck, as if the treeitself was fast rooted in the hold. The binnacle, containing thecompass, was defended at the sides by yellow matting. The rigging--shrouds, halyards and all--was of "Kaiar," or cocoa-nut fibres; andhere and there the sails were patched with plaited rushes.
But this was not all. Whoso will pry, must needs light upon mattersfor suspicion. Glancing over the side, in the wake of every scupper-hole, we beheld a faded, crimson stain, which Jarl averred to beblood. Though now he betrayed not the slightest trepidation; for whathe saw pertained not to ghosts; and all his fears hitherto had beenof the super-natural.
Indeed, plucking up a heart, with the dawn of the day my Vikinglooked bold as a lion; and soon, with the instinct of an old seamancast his eyes up aloft.
Directly, he touched my arm,--"Look: what stirs in the main-top?"
Sure enough, something alive was there.
Fingering our arms, we watched it; till as the day came on, acrouching stranger was beheld.
Presenting my piece, I hailed him to descend or be shot. There wassilence for a space, when the black barrel of a musket was thrustforth, leveled at my head. Instantly, Jarl's harpoon was presented ata dart;--two to one;--and my hail was repeated. But no reply.
"Who are you?"
"Samoa," at length said a clear, firm voice.
"Come down from the rigging. We are friends."
Another pause; when, rising to his feet, the stranger slowlydescended, holding on by one hand to the rigging, for but one did hehave; his musket partly slung from his back, and partly griped underthe stump of his mutilated arm.
He alighted about six paces from where we stood; and balancing hisweapon, eyed us bravely as the Cid.
He was a tall, dark Islander, a very devil to behold, theatricallyarrayed in kilt and turban; the kilt of a gay calico print, theturban of a red China silk. His neck was jingling with strings ofbeads.
"Who else is on board?" I asked; while Jarl, thus far covering thestranger with his weapon, now dropped it to the deck.
"Look there:--Annatoo!" was his reply in broken English, pointingaloft to the fore-top. And lo! a woman, also an Islander; and barringher skirts, dressed very much like Samoa, was beheld descending.
"Any more?"
"No more."
"Who are _you_ then; and what craft is this?"
"Ah, ah--you are no ghost;--but are you my friend?" he cried,advancing nearer as he spoke; while the woman having gained the deck,also approached, eagerly glancing.
We said we were friends; that we meant no harm; but desired to knowwhat craft this was; and what disaster had befallen her; for thatsomething untoward had occurred, we were certain.
Whereto, Samoa made answer, that it was true that something dreadfulhad happened; and that he would gladly tell us all, and tell us thetruth. And about it he went.
Now, this story of his was related in the mixed phraseology of aPolynesian sailor. With a few random reflections, in substance, itwill be found in the six following chapters.
CHAPTER XXIIWhat Befel The Brigantine At The Pearl Shell Islands
The vessel was the Parki, of Lahina, a village and harbor on thecoast of Mowee, one of the Hawaian isles, where she had beenmiserably cobbled together with planks of native wood, and fragmentsof a wreck, there drifted ashore.
Her appellative had been bestowed in honor of a high chief, thetallest and goodliest looking gentleman in all the Sandwich Islands.With a mixed European and native crew, about thirty in number (butonly four whites in all, captain included), the Parki, some fourmonths previous, had sailed from her port on a voyage southward, inquest of pearls, and pearl oyster shells, sea-slugs, and othermatters of that sort.
Samoa, a native of the Navigator Islands, had long followed the sea,and was well versed in the business of oyster diving and itssubmarine mysteries. The native Lahineese on board were immediatelysubordinate to him; the captain having bargained with Samoa for theirservices as divers.
The woman, Annatoo, was a native of a far-off, anonymous island tothe westward: whence, when quite young, she had been carried by thecommander of a ship, touching there on a passage from Macao toValparaiso. At Valparaiso her protector put her ashore; mostprobably, as I afterward had reason to think, for a nuisance.
By chance it came to pass that when Annatoo's first virgin bloom haddeparted, leaving nothing but a lusty frame and a lustier soul,Samoa, the Navigator, had fallen desperately in love with her. Andthinking the lady to his mind, being brave like himself, anddoubtless well adapted to the vicissitudes of matrimony at sea, hemeditated suicide--I would have said, wedlock--and the twain becameone. And some time after, in capacity of wife, Annatoo the dame,accompanied in the brigantine, Samoa her lord. Now, as Antony flew tothe refuse embraces of Caesar, so Samoa solaced himself in the armsof this discarded fair one. And the sequel was the same. For notharder the life Cleopatra led my fine frank friend, poor Mark, thanQueen Annatoo did lead this captive of her bow and her spear. But allin good time.
They left their port; and crossing the Tropic and the Line, fell inwith a cluster of islands, where the shells they sought were found inround numbers. And here--not at all strange to tell besides thenatives, they encountered a couple of Cholos, or half-breedSpaniards, from the Main; one half Spanish, the other half quarteredbetween the wild Indian and the devil; a race, that from Baldivia toPanama are notorious for their unscrupulous villainy.
Now, the half-breeds having long since deserted a ship at theseislands, had risen to high authority among the natives. This hearing,the Parki's captain was much gratified; he, poor ignorant, neverbefore having fallen in with any of their treacherous race. And, nodoubt, he imagined that their influence over the Islanders would tendto his advantage. At all events, he made presents to the Cholos; who,in turn, provided him with additional divers from among the natives.Very kin
dly, also, they pointed out the best places for seeking theoysters. In a word, they were exceedingly friendly; often coming offto the brigantine, and sociably dining with the captain in the cabin;placing the salt between them and him.
All things went on very pleasantly until, one morning, the half-breeds prevailed upon the captain to go with them, in his whale-boat,to a shoal on the thither side of the island, some distance from thespot where lay the brigantine. They so managed it, moreover, that nonebut the Lahineese under Samoa, in whom the captain much confided, wereleft in custody of the Parki; the three white men going along to row;for there happened to be little or no wind for a sail.
Now, the fated brig lay anchored within a deep, smooth, circularlagoon, margined on all sides but one by the most beautiful groves.On that side, was the outlet to the sea; perhaps a cable's length ormore from where the brigantine had been moored. An hour or two afterthe party were gone, and when the boat was completely out of sight,the natives in shoals were perceived coming off from the shore; somein canoes, and some swimming. The former brought bread fruit andbananas, ostentatiously piled up in their proas; the latter draggedafter them long strings of cocoanuts; for all of which, on nearingthe vessel, they clamorously demanded knives and hatchets in barter.
From their actions, suspecting some treachery, Samoa stood in thegangway, and warned them off; saying that no barter could take placeuntil the captain's return. But presently one of the savagesstealthily climbed up from the water, and nimbly springing from thebob-stays to the bow-sprit, darted a javelin full at the foremast,where it vibrated. The signal of blood! With terrible outcries, therest, pulling forth their weapons, hitherto concealed in the canoes,or under the floating cocoanuts, leaped into the low chains of thebrigantine; sprang over the bulwarks; and, with clubs and spears,attacked the aghast crew with the utmost ferocity.
After one faint rally, the Lahineese scrambled for the rigging; butto a man were overtaken and slain.
At the first alarm, Annatoo, however, had escaped to the fore-top-gallant-yard, higher than which she could not climb, and whither thesavages durst not venture. For though after their nuts thesePolynesians will climb palm trees like squirrels; yet, at the firstblush, they decline a ship's mast like Kennebec farmers.
Upon the first token of an onslaught, Samoa, having rushed toward thecabin scuttle for arms, was there fallen upon by two young savages.But after a desperate momentary fray, in which his arm was mangled,he made shift to spring below, instantly securing overhead the slideof the scuttle. In the cabin, while yet the uproar of butcheryprevailed, he quietly bound up his arm; then laying on the transomthe captain's three loaded muskets, undauntedly awaited an assault.
The object of the natives, it seems, was to wreck the brigantine uponthe sharp coral beach of the lagoon. And with this intent, one oftheir number had plunged into the water, and cut the cable, which wasof hemp. But the tide ebbing, cast the Parki's head seaward--towardthe outlet; and the savages, perceiving this, clumsily boarded thefore-tack, and hauled aft the sheet; thus setting, after a fashion,the fore-sail, previously loosed to dry.
Meanwhile, a gray-headed old chief stood calmly at the tiller,endeavoring to steer the vessel shoreward. But not managing the helmaright, the brigantine, now gliding apace through the water, onlymade more way toward the outlet. Seeing which, the ringleaders, sixor eight in number, ran to help the old graybeard at the helm. But itwas a black hour for them. Of a sudden, while they were handling thetiller, three muskets were rapidly discharged upon them from thecabin skylight. Two of the savages dropped dead. The old steersman,clutching wildly at the helm, fell over it, mortally wounded; and ina wild panic at seeing their leaders thus unaccountably slain, therest of the natives leaped overboard and made for the shore.
Hearing the slashing, Samoa flew on deck; and beholding the foresailset, and the brigantine heading right out to sea, he cried out toAnnatoo, still aloft, to descend to the topsail-yard, and loose thecanvas there. His command was obeyed. Annatoo deserved a gold medalfor what she did that day. Hastening down the rigging, after loosingthe topsail, she strained away at the sheets; in which operation shewas assisted by Samoa, who snatched an instant from the helm.
The foresail and fore-topsail were now tolerably well set; and as thecraft drew seaward, the breeze freshened. And well that it did; for,recovered from their alarm, the savages were now in hot pursuit; somein canoes, and some swimming as before. But soon the main-topsail wasgiven to the breeze, which still freshening, came from over thequarter. And with this brave show of canvas, the Parki made gallantlyfor the outlet; and loud shouted Samoa as she shot by the reef, andparted the long swells without. Against these, the savages could notswim. And at that turn of the tide, paddling a canoe therein wasalmost equally difficult. But the fugitives were not yet safe. Infull chase now came in sight the whale-boat manned by the Cholos, andfour or five Islanders. Whereat, making no doubt, that all the whiteswho left the vessel that morning had been massacred through thetreachery of the half-breeds; and that the capture of the brigantinehad been premeditated; Samoa now saw no other resource than to pointhis craft dead away from the land.
Now on came the devils buckling to their oars. Meantime Annatoo wasstill busy aloft, loosing the smaller sails--t'gallants and royals,which she managed partially to set.
The strong breeze from astern now filling the ill-set sails, theybellied, and rocked in the air, like balloons, while, from the novelstrain upon it, every spar quivered and sprung. And thus, like afrightened gull fleeing from sea-hawks, the little Parki swoopedalong, and bravely breasted the brine.
His shattered arm in a hempen sling, Samoa stood at the helm, themuskets reloaded, and planted full before him on the binnacle. For atime, so badly did the brigantine steer, by reason of her ill-adjusted sails, made still more unmanageable by the strengthof the breeze,--that it was doubtful, after all, notwithstanding herstart, whether the fugitives would not yet fall a prey to theirhunters. The craft wildly yawed, and the boat drew nearer and nearer.Maddened by the sight, and perhaps thinking more of revenge for thepast, than of security for the future, Samoa, yielding the helm toAnnatoo, rested his muskets on the bulwarks, and taking long, sureaim, discharged them, one by one at the advancing foe.
The three reports were answered by loud jeers from the savages, whobrandished their spears, and made gestures of derision; while withmight and main the Cholos tugged at their oars.
The boat still gaining on the brigantine, the muskets were againreloaded. And as the next shot sped, there was a pause; when, likelightning, the headmost Cholo bounded upwards from his seat, and oarin hand, fell into the sea. A fierce yell; and one of the nativesspringing into the water, caught the sinking body by its long hair;and the dead and the living were dragged into the boat. Taking heartfrom this fatal shot, Samoa fired yet again; but not with the likesure result; merely grazing the remaining half-breed, who, crouchingbehind his comrades, besought them to turn the boat round, and makefor the shore. Alarmed at the fate of his brother, and seeminglydistrustful of the impartiality of Samoa's fire, the pusillanimousvillain refused to expose a limb above the gunwale.
Fain now would the pursuers have made good their escape; but anaccident forbade. In the careening of the boat, when the strickenCholo sprung overboard, two of their oars had slid into the water;and together with that death-griped by the half-breed, were nowfloating off; occasionally lost to view, as they sunk in the troughof the sea. Two of the Islanders swam to recover them; but frightenedby the whirring of a shot over their heads, as they unavoidablystruck out towards the Parki, they turned quickly about; justin time to see one of their comrades smite his body with his hand, ashe received a bullet from Samoa.
Enough: darting past the ill-fated boat, they swam rapidly for land,followed by the rest; who plunged overboard, leaving in the boat thesurviving Cholo--who it seems could not swim--the wounded savage, andthe dead man.
"Load away now, and take thy revenge, my fine fellow," said Samoa tohimself. But not yet. Seeing all at
his mercy, and having none, hequickly laid his fore-topsail to the mast; "hove to" the brigantine;and opened fire anew upon the boat; every swell of the sea heaving itnearer and nearer. Vain all efforts to escape. The wounded manpaddled wildly with his hands the dead one rolled from side to side;and the Cholo, seizing the solitary oar, in his frenziedheedlessness, spun the boat round and round; while all the while shotfollowed shot, Samoa firing as fast as Annatoo could load. At lengthboth Cholo and savage fell dead upon their comrades, canting the boatover sideways, till well nigh awash; in which manner she drifted off.
CHAPTER XXIIISailing From The Island They Pillage The Cabin
There was a small carronade on the forecastle, unshipped from itscarriage, and lashed down to ringbolts on the deck. This Samoa nowloaded; and with an ax knocking off the round knob upon the breech,rammed it home in the tube. When, running the cannon out at one ofthe ports, and studying well his aim, he let fly, sunk the boat, andburied his dead.
It was now late in the afternoon; and for the present bent uponavoiding land, and gaining the shoreless sea, never mind where, Samoaagain forced round his craft before the wind, leaving the islandastern. The decks were still cumbered with the bodies of theLahineese, which heel to point and crosswise, had, log-like, beenpiled up on the main-hatch. These, one by one, were committed to thesea; after which, the decks were washed down.