_1st Lord_.--"Throca movonsas, cargo, cargo, cargo."
_All_.--"Cargo, cargo, villianda par corbo, cargo."
_Par_.--"O! ransome, ransome:--Do not hide mine eyes"
_1st Sold_.--"Boskos Thromuldo boskos."
_Par_.--"I know you are the Muskos' regiment,
And I shall lose my life for want of language.--"
_All's Well That Ends Well._
The Crisis was tacked, as soon as the body of Smudge was cut down, and
she moved slowly, her crew maintaining a melancholy silence, out of
the little haven. I never witnessed stronger evidence of sadness in
the evolutions of a vessel; the slow and stately departure resembling
that of mourners leaving the grave on which they had just heard the
fall of the clod. Marble told me afterwards, he had been disposed to
anchor, and remain until the body of poor Captain Williams should
rise, as it probably would within the next forty-eight hours; but the
dread of a necessity of sacrificing more of the natives, induced him
to quit the fatal spot, without paying the last duties to our worthy
old commander. I always regretted we did not remain, for I think no
Indian would have come near us, had we continued in the harbour a
month.
It was high-noon when the ship once more issued into the broad bosom
of the Pacific. The wind was at south-east, and as we drew off from
the land, it came fresh and steady. About two, having an offing of ten
or twelve miles, orders were issued to set all the larboard
studding-sails, and we stood to the southward and westward under a
press of canvass. Every one saw in this change, a determination to
quit the coast; nor did we regret the measure, for our trade had been
quite successful, down to the moment of the seizure, but could hardly
be prosperous after what had passed. I had not been consulted in the
affair at all, but the second-mate having the watch, I was now
summoned to the cabin, and let into the secret of our future
movements. I found Marble seated at the cabin table, with Captain
Williams's writing-desk open before him, and sundry papers under
examination.
"Take a seat, Mr. Wallingford," said the new master, with a dignity
and manner suited to the occasion. "I have just been overhauling the
old man's instructions from the owners, and find I have done right in
leaving these hang-gallows rascals to themselves, and shaping our
course to the next point of destination. As it is, the ship has done
surprisingly well. There are $67,370 good Spaniards down in the run,
and that for goods which I see are invoiced at just $26,240; and when
you consider that no duties, port-charges, or commissions are to be
deducted, but that the dollars under our feet are all our own, without
any drawbacks, I call the operation a good one. Then that blundering
through the Straits, though it must never be talked of in any other
light than a bold push for a quick passage, did us a wonderful deal of
good, shoving us ahead near a month in time. It has put us so much
ahead of our calculations, indeed, that I would cruise for Frenchmen
for five or six weeks, were there the least probability that one of
the chaps was to the westward of the Horn. Such not being the fact,
however, and there still being a very long road before us, I have
thought it best to push for the next point of destination. Read that
page of the owner's idees, Mr. Wallingford, and you will get their
advice for just such a situation as that in which we find ourselves."
The passage pointed out by Captain Marble was somewhat parenthetical,
and was simply intended to aid Captain Williams, in the event of his
not being able to accomplish the other objects of his voyage. It had a
place in the instructions, indeed, solely on account of a suggestion
of Marble's himself, the project being one of those favourite schemes
of the mate, that men sometimes maintain through thick or thin, until
they get to be ruling thoughts. On Captain Williams it had not weighed
a feather; his intention having been to proceed to the Sandwich
Islands for sandalwood, which was the course then usually pursued by
North-West traders, after quitting the coast. The parenthetical
project, however, was to touch at the last island, procure a few
divers, and proceed in quest of certain islands where it was supposed
the pearl fishery would succeed. Our ship was altogether too large,
and every way too expensive, to be risked in such an adventure, and so
I told the ex-mate without any scruple. But this fishery was a "fixed
idea," a quick road to wealth, in the new captain's mind, and finding
it in the instructions, though simply as a contingent course, he was
inclined to regard it as the great object of the voyage. Such it was
in his eyes, and such it ought to be, as he imagined, in those of the
owners.
Marble had excellent qualities in his way, but he was not fit to
command a ship. No man could stow her better, fit her better, sail her
better, take better care of her in heavy weather, or navigate her
better; and yet he wanted the judgment necessary to manage the
property that must be committed to his care, and he had no more ideas
of commercial thrift, than if he had never been employed in any of the
concerns of commerce. This was, in truth, the reason he had never
risen any higher in his profession, the mercantile instinct--one of
the liveliest and most acute to be found in natural history--forewarning
his different owners that he was already in the berth nature and art
had best qualified him to fill. It is wonderful how acute even dull
men get to be, on the subject of money!
I own my judgment, such as it was at nineteen, was opposed to the
opinion of the captain. I could see that the contingency contemplated
by the instructions had not arisen, and that we should be acting more
in conformity with the wishes of the owners, by proceeding to the
Sandwich Islands in quest of sandal-wood, and thence to China, after a
cargo of teas. Marble was not to be convinced, however, though I think
my arguments shook him a little. What might have been the result, it
is difficult to say, had not chance befriended the views of each of
us, respectively. It is proper to add, that Marble availed himself of
this opportunity to promote Talcott, who was brought into the cabin as
third-mate. I rejoiced greatly in this addition to our little circle
on the quarter-deck, Talcott being a man of education, much nearer my
own age than the two others, and united to me by unusual ties since
our common adventure in the prize. I was not only rejoiced to be able
to associate with him, but to hear him called _Mr_. Talcott.
We had a long, but mild, passage to the Sandwich Islands. This group
occupied a very different place, in the opinions of the world, in the
year 1800, from that it fills to-day. Still it had made some small
advances in civilization since the time of Cook. I am told there are
churches, taverns, billiard-tables, and stone dwellings in these
islands now, which are fast turning to the Christian religion, and
obtaining the medley of convenience, security, vice, roguery, law and
comfort, that is known as civilization. It was far different then, our
reception being by men who were but a small degree removed from
savages. Among those who first came on board us, however, was the
master of an American brig, belonging to Boston, whose vessel had got
on a reef, and bilged. He intended to remain by the wreck, but wished
to dispose of a considerable amount of sandal-wood that was still in
his vessel, and for the safety of which he was under great concern, as
the first gale of wind might scatter it to the winds of the ocean. If
he could obtain a fresh stock of goods to trade on, he proposed
remaining on the islands until another vessel belonging to the same
owners, which was expected in a few months, should arrive, on board
which vessel he intended to embark with everything he could save from
the wreck, and such wood as he could purchase in the interim. Captain
Marble rubbed his hands with delight, when he returned from a visit to
the wreck, his arrangements all completed.
"Luck is with us, Master Miles," he said, "and we'll be off for them
pearl fisheries next week. I have bought all the sandal-wood in the
wreck, paying in trumpery, and at prices only about double Indian
trade, and we will heave up, and carry the ship round to the wreck,
and begin to take in this afternoon. There is capital holding-ground
inside the reef, and the ship can be safely carried within a hundred
fathoms of her cargo!"
All turned out as Marble had hoped and predicted, and the Crisis was
back at her anchorage in front of the village, which is now the city
of Honolulu, within the week named. We got our supply of hogs, and
having procured four of the best divers going, we sailed in quest of
Captain Marble's Eldorado of pearls. I was less opposed to the scheme
than I had been, for we were now so much in advance of our time, that
we could afford to pass a few weeks among the islands, previously to
sailing for China. Our course was to the south-west, crossing the line
in about 170° west longitude. There was a clear sea, for more than a
fortnight, while we were near the equator, the ship making but little
progress. Glad enough was I to hear the order given to turn more to
the northward again; for the heat was oppressive, and this was
inclining towards our route to China. We had been out from Owyhee, as
it was then usual to call the island where Cook was killed--Hawaii, as
it is called to-day--we had been out from this island, about a month,
when Marble came up to me one fine, moon-light evening, in my watch,
rubbing his hands, as was his custom when in good humour, and broke
out as follows:--
"I'll tell you what, Miles," he said, "you and I have been salted down
by Providence for something more than common! Just look back at all
our adventures in the last three years, and see what they come
to. Firstly, there was shipwreck over here on the coast of
Madagascar," jerking his thumb over a shoulder in a manner that was
intended to indicate about two hundred degrees of longitude, that
being somewhat near our present distance from the place he mentioned,
in an air line; "then followed the boat business under the Isle of
Bourbon, and the affair with the privateer off Guadaloupe. Well, as if
that wern't enough, we ship together again in this vessel, and a time
we had of it with the French letter-of-marque. After that, a devil of
a passage we made of it through the Straits of Magellan. Then came the
melancholy loss of Captain Williams, and all that business; after
which we got the sandal-wood out of the wreck, which I consider the
luckiest transaction of all."
"I hope you don't set down the loss of Captain Williams among our
luck, sir!"
"Not I, but the stuff is all logged together, you know; and, in
overhauling for one idee, in such a mess, a fellow is apt to get hold
of another. As I was saying, we have been amazingly lucky, and I
expect nothing else but we shall discover an island yet!"
"Can that be of any great service to us? There are so many owners
ready to start up and claim such discoveries, that I question if it
would do us any great benefit."
"Let them start up--who cares for them; we'll have the christening,
and that's half the battle. Marble Land, Wallingford Bay, Talcott
Hills, and Cape Crisis, would look well on a chart--ha! Miles?"
"I have no objection to see it, sir."
"Land ho!" cried the look-out on the forecastle.
"There it is now, by George!" cried Marble, springing forward--"I
overhauled the chart half an hour since, and there ought to be nothing
within six hundred miles of us."
There it was, sure enough, and much nearer to us than was at all
desirable. So near, indeed, that the wash of the breakers on the reef
that so generally lies off from the low coral islands of the Pacific,
was distinctly audible from the ship. The moon gave a strong light, it
is true, and the night was soft and balmy; but the air, which was very
light, blew directly towards this reef, and then there were always
currents to apprehend. We sounded, but got no bottom.
"Ay, this is one of your coral reefs, where a man goes on the rocks
from off soundings, at a single jump," muttered Marble, ordering the
ship brought by the wind on the best tack to haul off shore. "No
notice, and a wreck. As for anchoring in such a place, a fellow might
as well run a line out to Japan; and, could an anchor find the bottom,
the cable would have some such berth as a man who slept in a hammock
filled with open razors."
All this was true enough; and we watched the effect of our change of
course with the greatest anxiety. All hands were called, and the men
were stationed, in readiness to work the ship. But, a few minutes
satisfied us, the hope of clawing off, in so light an air, was to the
last degree vain. The vessel set in fast towards the reef, the
breakers on which now became apparent, even by the light of the moon;
the certain sign they were fearfully near.
This was one of those moments in which Marble could show himself to be
a true man. He was perfectly calm and self-possessed; and stood on the
taffrail, giving his orders, with a distinctness and precision I had
never seen surpassed. I was kept in the chains, myself, to watch the
casts of the lead. No bottom, however, was the never-failing report;
nor was any bottom expected; it being known that these reefs were
quite perpendicular on their seaward side. The captain called out to
me, from time to time, to be active and vigilant, as our set inshore
was uncontrollable, and the boats, if in the water, as the launch
could not be for twenty minutes, would be altogether useless. I
proposed to lower the yawl, and to pull to leeward, to try the
soundings, in order to ascertain if it were not possible to find
bottom at some point short of the reef, on which we should hopelessly
be set, unless checked by some such means, in the course of the next
fifteen or twenty minutes.
"Do it at once, sir," cried Marble. "The thought is a good one, and
does you credit, Mr. Wallingford."
I left the ship in less than five minutes, and pulled off, under the
ship's lee-bow, knowing that tacking or waring would be out of the
question, under the circumstances. I stood up in the stern-sheets, and
made constant casts with the hand-lead, with a short line, however, as
the boat went foaming through the water. The reef was now plainly in
sight, and I could see, as well as hear, the long, formidable
ground-swells of the Pacific, while fetching up against these solid
barriers, they rolled over, broke, and went beyond the rocks in angry
froth. At this perilous instant, when I would not have given the
poorest acre of Clawbonny to have been the owner of the Crisis, I saw
a spot to leeward that was comparatively still, or in which the water
did not break. It was not fifty fathoms from me when first discovered;
and towards it I steered, animating the men to redoubled exertions. We
were in this narrow belt of smooth water, as it might be in an
instant, and the current sucked the boat through it so fast, as to
allow time to make but a single cast of the lead. I got bottom; but it
was in six fathoms!
The boat was turned, and headed out again, as if life and death
depended on the result. The ship was fortunately within sound of the
voice, steering still by the wind, though setting three feet towards
the reef, for one made in the desired direction; and I hailed.
"What now, Mr. Wallingford?" demanded Marble, as calmly as if anchored
near a wharf at home.
"Do you see the boat, sir?"
"Quite plainly;--God knows you are near enough to be seen."
"Has the ship steerage-way on her, Captain Marble?"
"Just that, and nothing more to boast of."
"Then ask no questions; but try to follow the boat. It is the only
hope; and it may succeed."
I got no answer; but I heard the deep, authoritative voice of Marble,
ordering the "helm up," and the men "to man the weather-braces." I
could scarcely breathe, while I stood looking at the ship's bows, as
they fell off, and noted her slow progress ahead. Her speed increased
sensibly, however, and I kept the boat far enough to windward to give
the vessel room fairly to enter the pass. At the proper moment, we
moved towards the inlet, the Crisis keeping more and more away, in
order to follow. I was soon in the pass itself, the water breaking
within ten fathoms on each side of me, sending portions of its foam,
to the very blades of our oars; but the lead still gave me six
fathoms. At the next cast, I got ten; and then the shin was at the
point where I had just before found six. Two breakers were roaring
behind me, and I pulled round, and waited for the ship, steering to
the southward, sounding as I went. I could see that the ship hauled
up, and that I was already behind the reef. Straining my voice, I now
called out--
"Anchor, sir--bear a hand and anchor, as soon as possible."
Not a word came back; but up went the courses, followed by the
top-gallant-sails, after which down went the jib. I heard the fore
and main-top-sail-halyards overhauling themselves, spite of the roar
of the breakers, and then the ship luffed into the wind. Glad enough
was I to hear the heavy plunge of one of the bowers, as it fell from
the cathead into the water. Even then I remained stationary, to note
the result. The ship took her scope of cable freely, after which I
observed that she was brought up. The next moment I was on board her.
"A close shave, Mr. Wallingford," said Marble, giving me a squeeze of
the hand, that said more for his feelings than any words such a being
could utter; "and many thanks for your piloting. Is not that land I
see, away here to leeward--more to the westward, boy?"
"It is, sir, beyond a doubt. It must be one of the coral islands; and
this is the reef that usually lies to seaward from them. There is the
appearance of trees ashore!"
"It's a discovery, youngster, and will make us all great names!
Remember, this passage I call 'Miles's Inlet;' and to the reef, I give
the name of 'Yawl Reef.'"
I could not smile at this touch of Marble's vanity, for concern left
me no thoughts but for the ship. The weather was now mild and the bay
smooth; the night was fine, and it might be of the last importance to
us to know something more of our situation. The cable might chafe off,
probably _would_, so near a coral reef; and I offered to pull in
towards the land, sounding as I went, and otherwise gaining the
knowledge that might be necessary to our security. After a little
reflection, the captain consented, ordering me to take provisions and
water in the boat, as the duty might detain me until morning.
I found the bay between the reef and the island about a league in
_breadth_, and across its entire _width_, the soundings did
not vary much from ten fathoms. The outer barrier of rock, on which
the sea broke, appeared to be an advanced wall, that the indefatigable
little insects had erected, as it might be, in defence of their
island, which had probably been raised from the depths of the ocean, a
century or two ago, by some of their own ancestors. The gigantic works
completed by these little aquatic animals, are well known to
navigators, and give us some tolerably accurate notions of the manner
in which the face of the globe has been made to undergo some of its
alterations. I found the land easy of access, low, wooded, and without
any sign of habitation. The night was so fine that I ventured inland,
and after walking more than a mile, most of the distance in a grove of
cocoa and bananas, I came to the basin of water that is usually found
in the islands of this particular formation. The inlet from the sea
was at no great distance, and I sent one of the men back to the yawl,
with orders for the boat to proceed thither. I next sounded the inlet
and the bay, and found everywhere a sandy bottom, and about ten
fathoms of water. As I expected, the shoalest spot was the inlet; but
in this, which I sounded thoroughly, there was nowhere less than
five. It was now midnight; and I should have remained on the island
until morning, to make further surveys by daylight, had we not seen
the ship, under her canvass, and so much nearer to us than we had
supposed possible, as to satisfy me she was drifting in fast towards
the land. Of course I did not hesitate, but pulled on board.
It was as I suspected. The rocks so near the reef had chafed off the
cable; the ship struck adrift, and Marble was under his canvass
waiting my return, in order to ascertain where he might anchor anew. I
told him of the lagoon in the centre of the island, and gave him every
assurance of there being water enough to carry in any craft that
floats. My reputation was up, in consequence of the manner the ship
had been taken through the first inlet, and I was ordered to conn her
into this new haven.
The task was not difficult. The lightness of the wind, and uncertainty
about the currents proving the only source of embarrassment, I
succeeded in finding the passage, after a short trial; and sending the
boat ahead, under Talcott, as an additional precaution, soon had the
Crisis floating in the very centre of this natural dock. Sail was
shortened as we came in, and the ship made a flying moor; after which
we lay as securely, at if actually in some basin wrought by art. It is
my opinion, the vessel would have ridden out the hardest gale, or
anything short of a hurricane, at single anchor, in that place. The
sense of security was now so strong upon us, that we rolled up our
canvass, set an anchor watch of only one man, and turned in.
I never laid my head down, on board ship, with greater satisfaction,
than I did that night. Let the truth be frankly stated. I was
perfectly satisfied with myself. It was owing to my decision and
vigilance that the ship was saved, when outside the reef, out of all
question; and I think she would have been lost after she struck
adrift, had I not discovered her present berth. There she was,
however, with land virtually all round her, a good bottom, plenty of
water, and well moored. As I have said already, she could not be
better secured in an artificial dock. In the midst of the Pacific,
away from all custom-house officers, in a recently discovered and
uninhabited island, there was nothing to fear. Men sleep soundly in
such circumstances, and I should have been in a deep slumber in a
minute after I was in my berth, had not Marble's conversation kept me
awake, quite unwillingly on my part, for five minutes. His state-room
door was open, and, through it, the following discourse was held.
"I think, on the whole," commenced the captain, "it will be better to
_generalize_ a little more,"--this was a favourite expression of
the ex-mate's, and one he often used without exactly knowing its
application himself.--"Yes, to generalize a little more; it shall be
Marble Land, Wallingford Bay, Yawl, Reef, _Talcott_ Inlet,
Miles's Anchorage--and a d----d bad anchorage it was, Miles; but,
never mind, we must take the good with the bad, in this wicked world."
"Very true, sir; but as for taking that anchorage, you must excuse me,
as I shall never take it again."
"Perhaps not. Well, this is what I call comfort--ha! Talcott?--Is
Talcott asleep, Miles?"
"He and the second-mate are hard at it, sir--full and by, and going
ten knots," I muttered, wishing my tormentor in Japan, at the moment.
"Ay; they are rackers at a sleep! I say, Miles, such a discovery as
this will make a man's fortune! The world generalizes in discoveries,
altogether, making no great matter of distinction between your
Columbuses, Cooks, or Marbles. An island is an island and he who
first discovers it, has the credit. Poor Captain Williams! He would
have sailed this ship for a whole generation, and never found anything
in the way of novelty."
"Except the Straits--" I muttered very indistinctly, breathing deep
and hard.
"Ay, that _was_ an affair! Hadn't you and I been aboard, the ship
never would have done that. We are the very offspring of luck! There
was the affair of the wreck off Madagascar--there are bloody currents
in the Pacific, too, I find, Miles."
"Yes, sir--hard-a-weather--"
"The fellow's dreaming. One word, boy, before you cut loose from all
reason and reflection. Don't you think it would be a capital idea to
poke in a little patriotism among the names; patriotism goes so far in
our part of the world. Congress Rocks would be a good title for the
highest part of the reef, and Washington Sands would do for the
landing you told me of. Washington should have a finger in the pie."
"Crust isn't down, sir."
"The fellow's off, and I may as well follow, though it is not easy to
sleep on the honour of a discovery like this. Good night, Miles!"
"Ay, ay! sir."
Such was the account Marble afterwards gave me of the termination of
the dialogue. Sleep, sleep, sleep! Never did men enjoy their rest more
than we did for the next five hours, the ship being as silent as a
church on a week-day, during the whole time. For myself, I can safely
say I heard nothing, or knew nothing, until I was awakened by a
violent shake of the shoulder. Supposing myself to have been aroused
for an ordinary watch at sea, I was erect in an instant, and found the
sun's rays streaming into my face, through the cabin-windows. This
prevented me, for a moment, from seeing that I had been disturbed by
Captain Marble himself. The latter waited until he perceived I could
understand him, and then he said, in a grave, meaning manner--
"Miles, there is a mutiny in the ship! Do you understand me,
Mr. Wallingford?--a bloody mutiny!"
"A mutiny, Captain Marble! You confound me, sir--I had thought our
people perfectly satisfied."
"Umph! One never knows whether the copper will come up head or tail. I
thought, when I turned in last night, it was to take the surest nap I
ever tasted afloat; and here I awake and find a mutiny!"
I was on my feet and dressing in an instant, as a matter of course,
having first gone to the berths of the two other mates, and given each
a call.
"But how do you know this, Captain Marble?" I resumed, as soon as
there was a chance. "I hear no disturbance, and the ship is just where
we left her," glancing through the cabin-windows; "I think you must be
mistaken, sir."
"Not I. I turned out, ten minutes since, and was about to go on deck
to get a look at your basin, and breathe the fresh air, when I found
the companion-doors fastened, precisely Smudge-fashion. I suppose you
will allow that no regular ship's company would dare to fasten the
officers below, unless they intended to seize the craft."
"This is very extraordinary! Perhaps some accident has befallen the
doors. Did you call out, sir?"
"I thumped like an admiral, but got no answer. When on the point of
trying the virtue of a few kicks, I overheard a low laugh on deck, and
that let me into the secret of the state of the nation at once. I
suppose you will all admit, gentlemen, when sailors laugh at their
officers, as well as batten them down, that they must be somewhat near
a state of mutiny."
"It does look so, indeed, sir. We had better arm the moment we are
dressed, Captain Marble."
"I have done that already, and you will each find loaded pistols in my
state-room."
In two minutes from that moment, all four of us were in a state for
action, each man armed with a brace of ship's pistols, well-loaded and
freshly primed. Marble was for making a rush at the cabin-doors, at
once; but I suggested the improbability of the steward or Neb's being
engaged in any plot against the officers, and thought it might be well
to ascertain what had become of the two blacks, before we commenced
operations. Talcott proceeded instantly to the steerage, where the
steward slept, and returned in a moment to report that he had found
him sound asleep in his berth.
Reinforced by this man, Captain Marble determined to make his first
demonstration by way of the forecastle, where, by acting with caution,
a surprise on the mutineers might be effected. It will be remembered
that a door communicated with the forecastle, the fastenings of which
were on the side of "'twixt decks." Most of the cargo being in the
lower hold, there was no difficulty in making our way to this door,
where we stopped and listened, in order to learn the state of things
on the other side of the bulkhead. Marble had whispered to me, as we
groped our way along in the sort of twilight which pervaded the place,
the hatches being on and secured, that "them bloody Philadelphians"
must be at the bottom of the mischief, as our old crew were a set of
as "peaceable, well-disposed chaps as ever eat duff (dough) out of a
kid."
The result of the listening was to produce a general surprise. Out of
all question, snoring, and that on no small scale of the gamut of
Morpheus, was unequivocally heard. Marble instantly opened the door,
and we entered the forecastle, pistols in hand. Every berth had its
tenant, and all hands were asleep! Fatigue, and the habit of waiting
for calls, had evidently kept each of the seamen in his berth, until
that instant. Contrary to usage in so warm a climate, the scuttle was
on, and a trial soon told us it was fast.
"To generalize on this idee, Miles," exclaimed the captain, "I should
say we are again battened down by savages!"
"It does indeed look so, sir; and yet I saw no sign of the island's
being inhabited. It may be well, Captain Marble, to muster the crew,
that we may learn who's who."
"Quite right--do you turn 'em up, and send 'em all aft into the cabin,
where we have more daylight."
I set about awaking the people, which was not difficult, and in a few
minutes everybody was sent aft. Following the crew, it was soon found
that only one man was missing, and he was the very individual whom we
had left on deck, when we had all gone below on securing the
ship. Every soul belonging to the vessel was present in the cabin, or
steerage, but this solitary man--Philadelphians and all!
"It can never be that Harris has dared to trifle with us," said
Talcott; "and yet it does look surprisingly like it."
"Quite sure, Miles, that Marble Land is an uninhabited island?" said
the captain, interrogatively.
"I can only say, sir, that it is as much like all the other
uninhabited coral islands we have passed, as one pea is like another;
and that there were no signs of a living being visible last night. It
is true, we saw but little of the island, though to all appearances
there was not much to see."
"Unluckily, all the men's arms are on deck, in the arm-chest, or
strapped to the boom or masts. There is no use, however, in
dillydallying against one man; so I will make a rumpus that will soon
bring the chap to his bearings."
Hereupon Marble made what he called a rumpus in good earnest. I
thought, for a minute, he would kick the cabin-doors down.
"'Andzomelee-'andzomelee," said some one on deck. "Vat for you make
so much kick?"
"Who the devil are you?" demanded Marble, kicking harder than ever."
Open the cabin-doors, or I'll kick them down, and yourself overboard."
"Monsieur--sair," rejoined another voice, "_tenez_--you air
_prisonnier_. _Comprenez-vous_--prisonair, eh?"
"These are Frenchmen, Captain Marble," I exclaimed, "and we are in the
hands of the enemy."
This was astounding intelligence; so much so, that all had difficulty
in believing it. A further parley, however, destroyed our hopes,
little by little, until we entered into an arrangement with those on
deck, to the following effect: I was to be permitted to go out, in
order to ascertain the real facts of our situation; while Marble and
the remainder of the crew were to remain below, passive, until the
result should be reported. Under this arrangement, one of the
cabin-doors was opened, and I sallied forth.
Astonishment almost deprived me of the power of vision, when I looked
around me. Quite fifty armed white men, sailors and natives of France,
by their air and language, crowded round me, as curious to see me, as
I could possibly be to see them. In their midst was Harris, who
approached me with an embarrassed and sorrowful air--
"I know I deserve death, Mr. Wallingford," this man commenced; "but I
fell asleep after so much work, and everything looking so safe and
out-of-harm's-way like; and when I woke up, I found these people on
hoard, and in possession of the ship."
"In the name of wonder, whence come they, Harris? is there a French
ship at the island?"
"By all I can learn and see, sir, they are the crew of a wrecked
letter-of-marque--an Indiaman of some sort or other; and finding a
good occasion to get off the island, and make a rich prize, they have
helped themselves to the poor Crisis--God bless her! say I, though she
is now under the French flag, I suppose."
I looked up at the gaff, and, sure enough, there was flying the
_tri-color!_