Part 48 (2/2)
”You think that, sir?”
”Yes, my lad--and repented of it when too late, and found himself, after growing disgusted with it, unable to draw back on account of this man, who has committed him deeply.”
”Yes, I see, sir,” cried Roberts eagerly. ”That would account for the American's overbearing insolence to this Mr Allen and to you, sir. But surely he cannot be right about the island here being under the American Government?”
”Certainly not, I think, Mr Roberts,” said the lieutenant decisively; ”but I do think this, that he might have kept up the a.s.sertion that he was correct and made complaints to the Americans and called our visit here a trespa.s.s. This would have caused an enormous amount of trouble to the captain, and so much official correspondence that we should have bitterly repented coming here in search of a newly-run cargo of slaves.”
”Do you think we shall find one here, sir?” asked Roberts.
”I feel pretty certain, my lad, as certain as that we should not have dared to prosecute our search in face of the scoundrel's defiance and bravado. But now the tide has completely set in our favour.”
”In our favour, sir?” said Roberts wonderingly.
”Why, of course, my lad. If our visit here had been aggression, all the rascal had to do was to call upon us, after his declaration, to withdraw; and that was what he meant to do, although the fellow's natural insolence induced him to do so in that bullying way.”
”And instead of keeping to what he had a right to do, sir,” cried the middy eagerly, ”he let his blackguardly followers attack us as they did.”
”That's right, Mr Roberts,” said the lieutenant; ”though I must give him the credit of saying that I am sure he never intended that attack.
He has evidently such a loose rough lot of followers that they became out of control, and the result is that they have completely given their leader away and played into my hands.”
”Of course, sir. Nothing could excuse that attack.”
”Nothing, my lad. I am master here now, and I feel sure that we shall find more than I dared to expect. I believe now that this is a regular Western depot for slaves, and a find that will make up to Captain Kingsberry for all previous disappointments.”
”Glorious, sir!” cried Roberts. ”But of course this Huggins can't be the man we saw in the lugger off the African river.”
”Of course not, my lad; but he quite deceived me for the time. He is almost exactly the same in appearance, in voice, manner and speech, and the only way in which I can account for it is that both men are engaged in the same hideously brutal trade, and that has in time made them similar in habit.”
”There seems something in that, sir,” said Roberts thoughtfully.
”Seems, Roberts? Is,” said the lieutenant, smiling; ”and you must add to it another point of resemblance: they are both Americans of the same degenerate type--little, thin, dark-haired, and speaking in the same tone of voice and in the same sneering contemptuous fas.h.i.+on. But of course if we had them both together we should see a strong difference.
What are you looking at? See anything?”
”I fancied I could make out something moving across that opening yonder, sir,” said the lad, leaning a little out of the window.
”I trust not,” said the lieutenant, shading his eyes with his hand. ”I was in hopes that we had given the fellows such a lesson that they would keep away for the present, at all events, for I want no fighting, no wounding the enemy, no injuries more than we have received upon our side. I want just to hold our own, Roberts, till our friend Mr Murray or Mr Munday brings us help.”
”Yes, sir, but there is some movement going on there just among the tall-growing coa.r.s.e reeds.”
”Sugar-cane stems, Mr Roberts,” said the lieutenant firmly. ”Yes, you are right; there is movement there, and the scoundrels have not taken their lesson to heart. Well, I do not see what more we can do to prepare for them. They cannot get up to us without ladders or poles, and from our sheltered position we ought to set firing at defiance, while they allow us plenty of opportunities for giving them another lesson.--What is it, my lad?”
The speaker turned to the big sailor who had just trotted up to the door.
”Beg pardon, sir, but Lang reports enemy creeping through the sugar-cane a bit for'ard here to the left, and Duncombe says he can see 'bout a dozen on 'em out at the back looking as if they meant a rush.”
”Hah! That is fresh,” said the lieutenant. ”Mr Roberts here made out those amongst the canes. I'll come and look. You, Mr Roberts have the goodness to keep your eye on them and hold your fire until they show a determination to come on. Then you must fire; but fire low. We must cripple and not kill.”
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