Part 21 (1/2)
”Have you ever seen a man killed before to-day?” inquired the lieutenant ”I will not say it boastingly,” replied Hans, ”for no ht--fighting for oods, of which I had been robbed--I have shot perhaps as many black men as you have now on board this shi+p”
”Have you, indeed?” said the lieutenant, his opinion of Hans being thereby ht in Africa?”
”To fight!” said Hans ”Have you not heard of our battles with Moselekatse and Dingaan, and hoe defeated them? Have you never heard of Eus, Pretorius, Retief, or Landman?”
”Never heard of one of them,” was the calers?”
What would have been Hans' indignant reply to this re, but a shout from the sailors caused the lieutenant and Hans to rush to the hatchway, before approaching which they saw so from the side of the shi+p
”What is it?” shouted the lieutenant, as he approached his men
”The slaves have set the shi+p on fire, yer honour,” replied an old sailor
”Curse them!” said the lieutenant; ”they will destroy themselves and us too”
”The boats will swim, I think, sir,” said the sailor, ”and we can reach Simon's Bay very soon We needn't be burnt, unless yer honour thought it a point of duty to be so The shi+p, and perhaps the sooner we get out of the shi+p the better for them, as they could then put the fire out”
”And let them re-take the slaver; eh, Roberts? What would the Admiral say to us then, if it were found that the slavers had driven us out by a little smoke?”
”It wouldn't do, yer honour; but the slavers, nor the slaves either, won't stop the flames on this shi+p, for she's built of pine-wood, and she'll be ablaze from stem to stern in half an hour”
The sailor's re, as he said, built of pine-wood, and having been long exposed to the heat of an almost tropical sun, was so dry and inflah it were fed with shavings
In order to get at the situation of the fire, it would be necessary to go into the hold where the slaves were, and thus it would be necessary to raise the hatch With above two hundred furious savages, who had just murdered thite men, in the hold, the lieutenant knew no chance existed of putting out a fire, which, whenever it occurs in a shi+p, requires a thoroughly well-disciplined body of ether in order to put it out ”Take three hands with you, and lower the quarter boats,” said the lieutenant to one of the uard the hatch? I will put a few things into the boat We must lose no ti the few reat progress, and the yells and shouts fro
”We must free the slavers froive the and help me, you two” And with the aid of Hans and a sailor the lieutenant freed the crew of the slaver, and signed to them to follow on deck
”Now into the two boats, men!” said the officer ”If we have any roooing to free the hatch, and let the slaves up They must have a chance for life, and God help the of benefit”
The sailors having hurried into the boats, the lieutenant seized a handspike, and knocking off the fastening of the hatchway, left it so that a very th would force it up He then lowered himself into the boat, and ordered the men to pull away a short distance frole that he hoped ht take place between the crew and the fire
”I could do nothing else, I think,” said the officer to Hans ”I have the lives of e, and if I had waited on board, these slaves would have tried to murder us Now they have a chance for their lives, but I run a risk now If the slaver is burnt, and her crew and slaves go doith her, Ileft them to themselves, whilst I saved ain go on board, though we lose half our number in the attempt, or I should never dare show ro's habits”
The slaves, upon being able to raise the hatches, rushed on deck, shouting and yelling like de some of the slaver's creho had also come on deck, they rushed at theht took place on the deck of the dooards the fire, which was now raging, and illue and life The nuroes soon enabled them to overcome the slaver's creere stiff froroes were consequently masters of the shi+p The use they made of this temporary possession was not to endeavour to quell the flames, or in any way tointo the cabins, they searched for plunder, and more particularly for drink, which, however, did not consist of any thing more than a few bottles of inferior brandy For the possession of this brandy terrific struggles took place, handspikes and planking being used for weapons To view this scene froinary infernal regions on which sofire, which noas catching the rigging, was below theblacks, who seeies
Standing calm spectators of the scene, Hans observed the Zulus who had been his fellow-prisoners Though nearly black in colour, these ether a superior race Though he had so lately been engaged in coainst the Zulus, yet when Hans saw thesetheir death, he was desirous of saving the near the mast,” said Hans: ”they are Zulus I should like, to save their lives”
”How can you do that?” inquired the lieutenant ”Will you let theet in; but I cannot allow the boat to go near the slaver: she would be swamped in a minute, and all our lives would be sacrificed”
”I will try to make them understand,” said Hans, ”if you will help the this, Hans called in a shrill voice, ”Mena-bo,” at which the Zulus started up, and looked eagerly in the direction of the boats, which they could just perceive by aid of the light given by the burning shi+p Having thus called their attention to hie, ”Jump into the water, and swim to me, or the fire will soon kill you”
The Zulus for a few seconds see round at the fire, which was rapidly closing round them, the three men stepped on the side of the vessel, and jumped feet first into the sea In an instant afterwards their heads appeared above water, as they swaed by the sailors