Part 10 (1/2)
It was only a small bay across which we were pa.s.sing. Not a quarter of an hour afterwards another point appeared. As we had succeeded in weathering the first, the mate evidently expected to pa.s.s this in the same way.
Mr Hallton, convinced that we could not do so, shouted out, ”Down with the helm--shorten sail--let go the anchor--let fly everything.”
”Who dares give orders on board this s.h.i.+p?” cried the mate.
The crew, however, were convinced that the first order was the wisest.
The tacks, sheets, and halyards were let go, the stoppers of the cable cut, the helm put down to bring her up to the wind. She pitched into the seas, but the anchor held. The crew now flew aloft to try and gather in the canvas, fluttering wildly in the gale.
”In three minutes more we should have been knocking to pieces on the rocks,” observed Mr Hallton. ”It is a question whether the anchor will hold now; if it doesn't, we sha'n't be much better off.”
Scarcely had he spoken when a loud report was heard. ”The cable has parted!” shouted several voices.
”Let go the last hope.”
The anchor so called was let go, and although it brought the s.h.i.+p up in a couple of minutes, it also parted, and the helpless s.h.i.+p now drifted rapidly towards the breakers, which could be seen curling up along the sh.o.r.es of the bay into which we had driven.
”Come aft,” said Charley to Harry and me. ”The moment the s.h.i.+p strikes the masts will go, and we shall chance to be crushed as they fall.”
”The time has come to set Captain Trunnion at liberty,” I said.
Charley and I hurried below and burst open the door of the cabin. The unhappy man was still sleeping, with his dog Growler at his feet. Surly as the animal was to others, he was faithful to his master, and he seemed to understand that we had come with no evil intentions, for though he uttered a low bark, he did not attempt to fly at us. By the light of the lamp we saw that the captain had no arms near him. To cut the ropes which bound his limbs was the work of a moment.
”Captain Trunnion,” I exclaimed, ”we have come to warn you that the s.h.i.+p will be in the midst of the breakers in the course of a minute or two.
If you wish to save your life you must come upon deck.”
Not, however, until Harry and Charley had shaken him well did he wake up. He gazed around him with a bewildered look.
”What is that you say?” he asked.
In a few sentences I told him.
”Then it is time to look out to save our lives,” he said springing up, apparently quite himself. He looked as cool and composed as he had ever been. We were about to return on deck, when there came a fearful crash overhead, followed by several others. The s.h.i.+p had struck and the masts had all gone together by the board. Shrieks and cries arose, but many of the voices were speedily silenced, as the sea, breaking over the s.h.i.+p, washed several men from the deck into the seething cauldron into which she had been driven. The captain, followed by Growler, sprang up the companion ladder, and we saw no more of them. The cries of the helpless slaves below, uniting in one fearful chorus, overwhelmed the voices of the white crew.
”We must set these poor wretches at liberty. It would be a fearful subject of thought if we were to leave them to perish,” observed Charley. ”There is a hatch, I know, which leads from the main cabin to the slave-deck, although it is kept closed.”
”Ay, ay, sir! But we can't do it without the instruments,” said Tubbs.
Hunting about, he discovered some irons used for the purpose, with which we each supplied ourselves. With this means we soon opened the hatch.
There was great risk in the merciful task we were about to perform, but Charley, setting the example, we quickly knocked off the manacles of Aboh and the slaves nearest to us, and, with the a.s.sistance of the former, made them understand that they were to perform the same operation to their fellow-captives. Some obeyed, but others rushed immediately on deck. However, we persevered, and, faster than I could have believed it possible, we contrived to set all the slaves free.
Many of the poor wretches enjoyed their liberty but for a few seconds, for they were quickly washed off the deck, or were drowned in a vain attempt to reach the sh.o.r.e by swimming. All the time the sea was striking with terrific force against the sides of the s.h.i.+p. The loud cras.h.i.+ng sound overhead showed us that her bowsprit and bulwarks and everything on deck was being rapidly carried away.
While we were thus engaged daylight appeared, and when we reached the deck we saw that the wind had greatly gone down. Although there were rocks on either side of us, there was a clear piece of sand, on which, could a raft be formed, those who could not swim might land. The blacks were mostly cl.u.s.tered aft, the part least exposed to the fury of the seas. Several persons were in the water, some swimming, others floating apparently lifeless. The greater portion of the crew had disappeared; many had been crushed by the falling masts, others washed overboard, and a few on pieces of wreck were trying to reach the beach One thing was certain, there was no time to be lost, as the s.h.i.+p could not long hold together, lashed as she was by the fury of the seas which rolled in from the ocean. The surviving blacks recognised us when we appeared as the persons who had set them at liberty and we made them understand that if they would remain quiet, we would endeavour to provide the means for enabling them to reach the sh.o.r.e. I thought that among the people clinging to pieces of wreck I saw Captain Trunnion, but I was not certain. The mate had disappeared, and had, I concluded, been washed overboard, and, as far as we could learn, Mr Hallton had shared the same fate. We had reason to be thankful that we had been below, or we also might have lost our lives. We immediately set about forming the raft from some spars which still remained lashed to ring bolts on the deck and from fragments of the bulwarks. Every instant the wind was going down, rendering our task less difficult. The tide too was falling, and as it did so rocks rose out of the water, which further protected us from the fury of the breakers. When the blacks saw what we were about, some of the more intelligent among them offered to a.s.sist us. At length a raft capable of holding a dozen people at one time was constructed. We also obtained a rope of sufficient length to reach the sh.o.r.e, so that we might haul it backwards and forwards. This we made the blacks understand that we intended to do, and that we could only take off a certain number at a time. The head men, who had all along held an authority over the rest of their fellow-slaves, now came forward to maintain discipline. By this means only the number which the raft could carry were allowed to descend at a time. As soon as we had a cargo we commenced our pa.s.sage to the sh.o.r.e, and happily landed all those we had taken on board, who at once squatted down on the beach waiting for their companions. We immediately put back and took in another cargo, and thus we continued going backwards and forwards until we had placed the whole of the slaves on sh.o.r.e.
”We must look out for ourselves now,” observed Charley. ”I saw some firearms in the cabin; we must secure them, as well as some ammunition, clothes, and provisions. It will not do to trust those black fellows when they at once find themselves at liberty.”
Of course we all agreed to Charley's proposal, and climbing up the side, made our way into the cabin. We each got a fowling-piece or musket, a brace of pistols, and a good supply of ammunition. We also found some dollars, which we stowed away in our pockets.
”The money may not be of much use while we are among the savages, but it will come in very handy when we get into a more civilised region,” said Charley. ”Hurrah! here are some things which will be of immediate use,”