CHAPTER TWENTY SIX.
After the _Ione_ had left Cephalonia, she commenced her intricatepassage among the innumerable isles and islets of the GrecianArchipelago, towards Lissa, in the neighbourhood of which his new friendTeodoro Vassilato, the captain of the _Ypsilante_, had appointed arendezvous with Captain Fleetwood.
On first starting, they were favoured with a fair breeze; but no soonerdid they get among the labyrinthine mazes of the islands, than a foulwind set in, and delayed them in a manner which sorely tried Fleetwood'simpatient spirit. Any one who has cruised among those islands will knowthe difficulty of the navigation, and the necessity for constantwatchfulness. Besides the thousand islands and islets, there are, inevery direction, rocks of all sizes, some just below the water, othersrising above it to various heights; and although there are no regulartides, there are powerful and very variable currents, and many a shiphas been cast away in consequence of them--the master, by hiscalculations, fancying himself often well free of the danger, on whichhe has been in reality running headlong.
The _Ione_ had stood to the southward, and had tacked again to thenorthward, with the island of Milo blue and distant on her weather beam,when, just as the sun, in his full radiance of glory, was rising overthe land, the look-out ahead hailed that there were breakers on thestarboard bow.
"How far do you make them?" asked Linton, who was the officer of thewatch, as he went forward to examine them himself with his telescope."By Jove! there is a mass of black rocks there; and I believe there issomebody waving to us on them," he exclaimed. "Here, Raby, take myglass, and see what you can make out."
"I can make it out clearly, sir," replied the midshipman. "There are anumber of people on them, and they have a sheet or blanket, or somethingof that sort, made fast to a boathook or small spar, and they are wavingit to attract our attention."
"They have been cast away, then, depend on it, and we must go and seewhat we can do for them," said Linton. "Run down and tell the captain;and, as you come back, rouse out the master, and ask him how close wemay go to the rocks."
The captain and master, as well as all the officers, were soon on deck,and the brig was looking well up towards the rocks, within a few cables'length of which, to leeward, the pilot said they might venture.
There was a good deal of sea running, for it had been blowing very hardthe previous day; but the wind had gone down considerably, and CaptainFleetwood expressed his opinion that there would not be much difficultyin getting the people off the rocks, provided they could find anapproach to them on the lee side; but on getting nearer, the rockappeared to be of so small an extent, that the waves curled round it,and made it almost as dangerous to near it on one side as on the other.
"I think that I can make out a part of the wreck jammed in between tworocks, just flush with the water," observed Saltwell, who had beenexamining the place with his glass. "An awkward place to get on."
"Faith, indeed, it is," said the master. "If we hadn't come up, andanother gale of wind had come on, every one of those poor fellows wouldhave been washed away."
"It is an ill wind that blows nobody good," remarked the purser, who wasa bit of a moralist in a small way. "Now we have been complaining of afoul wind--and if we had had a fair one, we should have run past thoserocks without ever seeing the people on them."
"No higher," exclaimed the gruff voice of the quarter-master, who wasconning the ship. "Mind your helm, or you'll have her all aback."
"The wind is heading us," muttered the man at the wheel; "she's fallenoff two points."
"Hands about ship," cried Captain Fleetwood. "We'll show the poorfellows we do not intend to give them the go-by. Helm's a-lee! Tacksand sheets! Main-topsail haul. Of all, haul."
And round came the brig, with her head to the eastward, or towards theisland of Milo. She was at this time about two miles to the southwardof the rock, and that the people on it might not suppose that she wasabout to pass them, Captain Fleetwood ordered a gun to be fired, toattract their attention, and to show them that they were seen. Thisappeared to have a great effect; for the officers observed them throughtheir telescopes waving their signal-staffs round and round, as if toexhibit their delight.
"They seem as if they were all drunk on the rock there," said Linton."I never saw people make such strange antics."
"I fear it is more probable that they are mad," observed the captain."I have known many instances in which men have been thus afflicted, whohaving nothing to satisfy their hunger or thirst, have been tempted todrink salt water."
"It proves that they must have been a long time there. We must not keepon long on this tack, master, I suspect."
The _Ione_ was soon about again on the starboard tack, and away sheflew, every instant nearing the rock. It soon became evident thatCaptain Fleetwood was right in his suspicions; for, as they drew closer,they could see that some of the unfortunate wretches had thrown off alltheir clothing, and were dancing, and leaping, and gesticulatingfuriously--now joining hands, and whirling round and round, as fast asthe inequalities of the ground would allow them, then they would rushinto the water, and then roll down and turn over and over, shrieking atthe top of their voices. Some, again, were sitting crouching bythemselves, moving and gibbering, and pointing with idiot glance attheir companions, and then at the vessel. Two or three figures wereseen stretched out by the side of the rock, apparently dead or dying.In the centre and highest part of the rock, a tent was erected, andbefore it were several persons in a far calmer condition. Some werewaving to the brig, others were on their knees, as if returning thanksto Heaven for their approaching deliverance, and two were stretched outon rude couches formed of sails, in front of the tent, too weak to standup. At last the _Ione_ got under the lee of the rock, and hove to.
"We must take great care how we allow those poor fellows to get into theboats," said Captain Fleetwood. "I need not tell you how much I valueevery moment; at the same time, in pity for those poor wretches, we mustendeavour to rescue them--I propose, therefore, to anchor the cutter attwo cables' length from the rock, and to veer in the dinghy till shedrops alongside them; we must then allow only two at a time to get intoher, and then again haul her off. How many are there--do you count, MrLinton."
"About forty, sir, including those who appear dead or dying," returnedthe second lieutenant.
"Twenty trips will take about two hours, as the cutter must return onceto the ship with her first cargo. It will be time well spent, at allevents," said Fleetwood, calculating in his mind the delay which wouldbe thus occasioned in discovering where Ada had been conveyed, andattempting her rescue. "Mr Saltwell, I will entrust the command of theexpedition to you," continued the captain. "Mr Viall," to the surgeon,"we, I fear, shall want your services on board; but, Mr Farral," to theassistant-surgeon, "you will proceed in the cutter, and render what aidyou consider immediately necessary. Take, at all events, a couple ofbreakers of water, and a bottle or two of brandy. You will find somestimulant necessary to revive the most exhausted--I should advise you,Mr Viall, to have some soft food, such as arrow-root, or something ofthat nature, boiled for them by the time they come off. They haveprobably been suffering from hunger as well as thirst, and anything of acoarse nature may prove injurious."
The cutter was hoisted out, and every preparation quickly made. Numbersof volunteers presented themselves, but Linton's was the only offerwhich was accepted, as he undertook to go on to the rock in the firsttrip the dinghy made, and to render what aid he could to those whoappeared to be on the brink of dissolution, when even a few minutesmight make the difference, whether they died or recovered. Mr Saltwellgave the order to shove off, and away the cutter pulled up towards therock, with the dinghy in tow, on her work of humanity.
The captain and those who remained on board watched the progress of theboats, as well as the movements on the rock, with intense interest. Itis scarcely possible to describe the excitement on the rock, caused bythe departure of the boat. If the actions had befo
re been extravagant,they were now doubly so; they shrieked, they danced, they embraced eachother with the most frantic gestures; and, indeed, appeared entirely tohave lost all control over themselves.
The cutter dropped her anchor at the distance it was consideredadvisable from the rock; but her so doing seemed to make the unhappymaniacs fancy that she was not coming to their assistance, and their joywas at once turned into rage and defiance. One of them leaped into thewater and endeavoured to swim towards the boat. Linton, who had takenthe precaution before leaving the ship to arm himself, as had Raby, whowas his companion, instantly leaped into the dinghy, with the two mendestined to pull her; and they urged her on as fast as they could tosuccour the unhappy wretch, slacking away at the same time a rope madefast to the cutter. They had got near enough to see his eye-ballsstarting from his head, as he struck out towards them, his hairstreaming back, his mouth wide open, and every muscle of his faceworking with the exertion of which he himself was scarcely conscious,when, as he was almost within their grasp, he uttered a loud shriek, andthrowing up his arms, sank at once before them. A few red marks rosewhere he had been, but they were quickly dispersed by the waves.
"The poor fellow must have broken a blood-vessel, sir," said Raby.
"No, indeed," replied Linton, "every artery must have been opened tocause those dark spots. A ground shark has got hold of him, depend onit. Heaven grant we do not get capsized, or our chance of escape willbe small. But, hark! what language are those fellows speaking? It isFrench, is it not?"
"French, sure enough, sir," replied Jack Raby. "I thought so, before weleft the cutter."
"_Sacre betes Anglais_! How dare you venture here? This is our island,far better than your miserable Malta. We have taken possession of it,and will hold it against all the world. Begone with you, or we willsink you, and your ship to the bottom; off, off."
As they were uttering these words, they continued making the mostviolent gestures of defiance and contempt, but this did not preventLinton from approaching the rock. It was larger than it had appeared tobe at a distance; and at the spot to which he was making there was alittle indentation where the water was comparatively smooth. I havesaid that there was a group of men in front of a tent, at the higherpart of the rock, and these they now observed, were armed, and hadthrown up a sort of fortification, with planks and chests, and spars,and other things cast on shore from the wreck, aided by the naturalinequality of that part of the rock.
"Good Heavens!" thought Linton. "And on so small a spot of ground,could not these men rest at peace with each other?"
Just as the dinghy was within two boat-hooks' length of the rock, avoice from among the group, hailed in English,--"Take care, sir, orthose fellows will murder you all. They have been threatening to do it.But if we could but get up a few drops of water here, we should soon beable to quiet them."
"I have the water for you, and I will try what I can do to pacify them,"shouted Linton, at the top of his voice. "_A present, mes amis_" hesaid in French; "we have come here as friends to aid you; we do not wantto take your island, to which you are welcome; and to convince you thatwe do not come as enemies, any two of you can go off to the large boatthere, where they may have as much food and water as they require."
Two of them rather more sane than the rest, on hearing this, shoutedout,--"Food and water, that is what we want--you are friends, we see--wewill go."
"No, no--if any go, all shall go!" exclaimed the rest, rushing down tothe water; but, so blind was the eagerness of the mass that these wereprecipitated headlong into the sea, and would have become food for theground sharks had not Linton and his companions hauled them into thedinghy. He was now afraid that he should be obliged to return at somerisk with the boat thus heavily laden, but before doing so he determinedto make one more attempt to join the people on the top. His first care,before letting the boat again drop in, was to pour a few drops ofbrandy-and-water down the throats of the two Frenchmen they had rescued.This so revived them, and with their immersion in the water, sorestored their senses, that they rose up in the boat and shouted out totheir companions:--"These men are friends--receive them as brethrenamong you, and we will be answerable for their honesty."
"Now, messieurs, is your time," said one. "Hasten, if you desire to geton shore, or their mood will change."
"Pull in," cried Linton, and in another moment he and Raby, who carrieda breaker of water on his shoulder, sprang on shore while the boat washauled back to the cutter.
There they stood for an instant confronting the most ferocious lookingbeings it is possible to conceive in human shape. Their beards werelong, and their hair wet and tangled, and hanging down over theirshoulders, their eye-balls were starting from their heads, and theirlimbs were emaciated in the extreme, lacerated, and clotted with bloodand dirt--scarcely any of them having a rag of clothing to cover them.
"Now, my friends, allow us to proceed to a place where we may sit downand discuss our plans for the future," said Linton, hoping thus to keepthem quiet till he could get nearer the summit of the rock.
"_Waistcoat bien, c'est bien_," they answered. "Monsieur is a man ofsense," said one, with a maniac leer at his companion. "We will allowhim to make merry at our next feast, eh, comrades?"
And they laughed, and shouted at the wit of the poor wretch.
"We will proceed, then," said Linton, who found them pressing on him."Push on, Raby, and try and gain the top before these madmen break outagain. Let us advance, messieurs."
"What, and join our enemies in the castle up there?" sneered the maniac,who had proposed them joining their feast, of the nature of which theycould have little doubt. "No, no. We see that you are no friends ofthe French, so over you go to feed the fishes."
As he uttered these words, he made a rush at Linton, who with difficultyleaped out of his way, when the miserable wretch, unable to stophimself, ran on till he fell over into the water, where his companionsderided his dying struggles. This attracted the attention of some; butthe others made a rush at Linton, who had just time to draw his cutlass,and to keep them off from himself and Raby, who, hampered with thewater-cask, could do little to defend himself.
So rapidly had the events I have mentioned taken place, that there wasnot time even for the dinghy's return to bring them assistance. HadLinton chosen to kill his assailants, he might easily have preserved hisown safety; but unwilling to hurt them, unconscious as they were of whatthey were about, he was very nearly falling a victim to his ownhumanity. As he and Jack Raby sprang up the rock they got round them,and on a sudden they found themselves attacked from behind. On turninghis head for a moment, a powerful wretch seized his sword by the blade,and though it was cutting his hands through and through he would not letit go. At the same instant others threw their arms round his neck, andwere dragging him to the ground, where in all probability they wouldinstantly have destroyed him, when two persons sprang down from the topof the rock with heavy spars in their hands, and striking right and lefton the heads of the maniacs, compelled them to let go their hold, andallow Linton and Raby to spring to their feet.
"Now, sir, now is your time!" exclaimed one of their deliverers. "Up tothe fortress before they rally. They have had such a lesson that theywill not think of coming there again."
Neither of the officers required a second call, and in an instant theywere in front of the tent.
"You have brought us water, sir. Thank Heaven, the breaker has not beeninjured!" exclaimed the man, who had aided them so effectually, takingit from Raby's shoulder, who poured out some into a cup which he hadbrought for the purpose. As he did so Raby examined his countenance,which, though haggard and emaciated, he recognised as belonging to anold friend.
"What, Bowse!" he cried. "Is it you?--I am, indeed, glad to find thatyou have escaped from the pirates, though we find you in a sorrycondition enough."
"Ah, Mr Raby, I knew the _Ione_ at once, and glad I am to see you,"answered Bowse, filling the cup with water. He was a
bout to carry it tohis own mouth, but by a powerful effort he restrained himself,muttering, "There are others want it more than I do."
And he handed it to Linton, pointing to one of the sufferers on theground. Linton took the cup, and pouring a few drops of brandy into it,gave it to the person indicated.
"What!" he exclaimed, as he did so. "Do I, indeed, see ColonelGauntlett? Tell me, sir, is Miss Garden here? I need not say how muchit will relieve the mind of Captain Fleetwood to know that she is safe."
The colonel groaned as he gave back the cup, saying--
"Indeed, I know nothing of my poor niece."
In a few minutes a cup of water had been given to each of the personsround the tent, the reviving effect of which was wonderful on even themost exhausted. Meantime the unhappy wretches on the lower part of therock were shrieking and gesticulating as before, but instead of lookingat the boats they now turned their eyes towards those who were quenchingtheir raging thirst with the supply of water brought by Linton and Raby.At this juncture the dinghy returned, and the men in her succeeded by a_coup de main_ in getting two men off, when by a less forcible mannerthey would probably have failed. The moment they reached the rock theyleaped on it, holding the boat by the painter, and before the Frenchmenwere aware they had seized two of them who had jackets to catch hold of,and had hauled them into the boat. A second time the manoeuvre hadequal success, and thus six were got off without much trouble. Lintonnow bethought him of trying to soothe some of them by giving them water,and at last he succeeded in attracting one of them up the rock byholding up a cup of water. The man took it and quaffed it eagerly.
"_C'est mieux que le sang_," he exclaimed in a hollow voice, followed bya fierce laugh. "_More, more, more_."
The lieutenant considered that he might give him a little more, andothers seeing that their comrade was obtaining that for which they hadbeen longing, came up and held out their hands for the cup, their mannerand the unmeaning look of their eyes showing that they were moreinfluenced by the instinct of animals than the sense of men.
By degrees the whole of them came up and obtained a cup of water, andLinton had the satisfaction of seeing that they had become much calmerand more manageable. He, in consequence, thought he might venture downto examine the condition of the still more unfortunate beings who sat bythemselves, altogether unconscious of their condition, as well as ofthose he had seen stretched out at their length near the edge of therock. Bowse, however, recommended him not to attempt to do so till agreater number of the maniacs had been got off. "If Mr Raby and I, andMitchell, there," (meaning the colonel's servant, who was the second manwho had come to their rescue), "were to accompany you, and it would notbe safe for you to go alone, those poor wretches might attack ourfortress and murder all in it; and to say the truth, I am afraid you cando very little good to any of them."
Bowse's arguments prevailed, and Linton and Raby set to work to get thepeople into the dinghy. He found the best way was to give them a littlewater at a time, and then to promise them more directly they shouldreach the cutter. In this way several more were got off, the seamenseizing them neck and heels the moment they got near the dinghy, andtumbling them in. At last Linton, leaving Bowse in charge of what hecalled the fortress, proceeded with Raby and Mitchell, carrying theremainder of the water to aid those who either could not or would notmove. The first man they came to lay moaning and pointing to his mouth.No sooner did his parched lips feel the cooling liquid than he satupright, seizing the cup in both his hands, and drained off thecontents. Scarcely had he finished the draught than, uttering a deepsigh, he fell back, and, stretching out his arms, expired. On the nextthe water had a more happy effect: the eye, which at first was glazedand fixed, slowly acquired a look of consciousness, the muscles of theface relaxed, and a smile, expressive of gratitude, seemed to flitacross the countenance of the sufferer. The next, who was sitting byhimself, almost naked, with his feet close to the sea, received the cupwith a vacant stare, and dashed the precious liquid on the ground, whilethe cup itself would have rolled into the sea, had not Raby fortunatelysaved it. They, however, again tried him with more, and no sooner didthe water actually touch his lips than he seemed as eager to obtain itas he was before indifferent to it. When the dinghy returned, these twowere lifted into her, and conveyed on board the cutter. The cutter had,by this time, a full cargo on board, which she transferred to the_Ione_, and then returned, anchoring closer in with the rock thanbefore. While Linton and his companions were attending, as I havedescribed, to the most helpless of the French seamen, they were followedclosely by the remainder, who watched their proceedings with idiotwonder.
The threatening gestures of the gang, who were behind, made him glad tofind a way by which he could retreat to the summit of the rock, where hefound assembled, besides the persons I have already mentioned, thesecond mate and three British seamen of the _Zodiac_, as also thecaptain of a French brig-of-war, which it appeared had been wreckedthere, four of his officers and five of his men, who were the only oneswho had retained their strength and their senses; and many of them wereso weak that they had not sufficient strength to walk down to the boats.Linton accordingly sent for further assistance, and two more hands cameoff from the cutter, both for the purpose of carrying down thesufferers, and of defending them in the mean time from any attack themaniacs might make on them. Colonel Gauntlett, although at first unableto walk, quickly recovered, and insisted on having no other assistancethan such as Mitchell could afford in getting to the boat. The Frenchcaptain had suffered the most, both from bodily fatigue and mentalexcitement.
All this party having been embarked, Linton advised that the cuttershould return to the ship, and begged that four more hands should besent him, with a good supply of rope-yarns. While the boats wereabsent, he tried to calm and conciliate the unhappy beings on the rock;but, although they no longer attempted to injure him, it was evidentthat they abstained from doing so more from fear than good will.
They were in all, remaining alive, twelve persons; and, when the dinghyreturned, he found his party to amount to eight men, with whom heconsidered he should easily be able to master the others. Theunfortunate Frenchmen had not sense to perceive what he was about, andhe had captured and bound three before they attempted to escape fromhim. Then commenced the most extraordinary chase round and round therock. In a short time three more were bound, and these Linton sent offbefore he made any further attempt to take the rest. There were stillsix at large, fierce, powerful men, who evaded every means he coulddevise to get hold of them without using actual force. He was stillunwilling to pull away, and leave them to their fate; at length heordered his men to make a simultaneous rush at them, and to endeavour totrip them up, or to knock them over with the flats of their cutlasses.Pour of them were secured, though they had their knives in their hands,and made a desperate resistance; the others, they were two, who appearedto be the maddest of the party, darted from them, and, before they couldbe stopped, leaped off, on the weather side, when they were quicklyswallowed up among the breakers. Linton and his companions shuddered asthey left the fatal spot.
The _Ione_, with her new passengers on board, kept on her course, andthe wind still continuing foul, Captain Fleetwood steered for Athens,off which place, the French commander said he was certain to find a shipof his own country to receive him and his crew.
A French frigate was fallen in with, as was expected, and the Frenchcaptain and his surviving officers and crew were transferred to her.They were all full of the deepest expressions of gratitude for theservice which had been rendered them, and all united in complimentingBowse for his behaviour during the trying time of the shipwreck, whichhad been the chief means of preserving their lives.
I will not describe Fleetwood's feelings on seeing Colonel Gauntlett,and on hearing that Ada had, to a certainty, been carried off by Zappa.He had been prepared for the account; for he believed, from the first,that it was for that purpose he had attacked the _Zodiac_.
; Such, however, was a conjecture a lover would naturally form, as heconsidered her the most valuable thing on board; but, perhaps, the moreworldly reader may consider that the rich cargo had greater attractions,as well as the prospect of a large sum for her ransom. He was not awarethat, at that very time, Zappa had sent to Aaron Bannech, the old Jew ofMalta, to negotiate with her friends for that very purpose. Thecolonel, of course, remained on board to assist in the search for hisniece, while Bowse begged that he might be allowed to remain also forthe same object, and his men entered on board the _Ione_, which was somehands short.
A few words must explain the appearance of Captain Bowse and his crewand passengers on the rock. When Zappa had left the _Zodiac_ he hadbored holes in her, for the purpose of sending her to the bottom; she,however, did not sink as soon as expected; and Bowse, with some of hispeople who were unhurt, were able to put a boat to rights, and to launchher. The boat carried them all, and they were making for the nearestcoast when they were picked up by a French man-of-war. The French shipwas soon after wrecked on a barren rock, on which they existed withoutfood for many days, and where many of the Frenchmen went mad. Here theyremained till the _Ione_ took them off.
Fleetwood had been very unhappy at having been compelled to go so muchout of his way to get rid of the Frenchmen; but he was well rewarded forthe delay, by falling in, when just off the mouth of the Gulf of Egina,with the very brig he had chased before touching at Cephalonia, the_Ypsilante_. Captain Teodoro Vassilato came on board, and expressed hisdelight at meeting him again, insisting on being allowed to accompanyhim on his search.
"I was once taken prisoner by the rascals myself, and narrowly escapedwith my life, and I may have some little expectation of satisfaction inpunishing them," he observed. "Indeed, without my assistance, I do notthink you have much chance of success."
This last argument prevailed, and Fleetwood, warmly pressing his newfriend's hand, assured him of his gratitude for his promised assistance.The two brigs, therefore, sailed in company to search for the pirate'sisland.