Part 53 (1/2)

”Well, never mind that now,” cried Murray angrily. ”What about you two?

Your orders were to stay by the boat where we landed.”

”Yes, sir,” said the first boat-keeper, ”but they wouldn't let us, sir.”

”They!” cried Murray. ”Whom do you mean by they?”

”Oh, I dunno, sir, who they was, only that it was a big party o' rough uns with guns and rifles as come up all to wunst as we sat hanging on by the grapnel and line, out in the middle o' the river, and one on 'em hails us and tells us to pull ash.o.r.e.”

”Well,” said Murray, ”and did you?”

”You go on, messmate,” said the man. ”You can spin the yarn better nor I can.”

”Yes, go on,” cried Murray; and the second boat-keeper took up the narrative.

”Well, sir, we just didn't.”

”Just did not what?” asked Murray.

”Pull ash.o.r.e, sir. They warn't our people, and him as hailed us warn't our officer. 'Sides, we didn't like the looks of 'em.”

”Well done, my lads,” said the middy; ”that was right. But what did you do then?”

”I hystes up the grapnel, sir, and Harry Lang there gets an oar over the side.”

”Well?”

”Well, sir, then a Yankee sort of a chap as seemed to be the head on 'em leans hisself up again' a bush and rests his gun upon a bough of one of the trees on the bank, and he says to me, he says, as he looks along the barrel, 'Now, you sir,' he says, 'just you run that boat's nose into this here bank, and tidy quick too, 'fore I draws this here trigger.'

”'All right, sir,' I says, and I shoves another oar over the side; and as soon as he sees me do that, quite easy like, he lowers down his gun-- rifle, I think it was--and turns his head to say something to the chaps who was with him.

”'Easy, messmate,' I says then; 'get her head straight first,' making believe as Harry warn't doing right. The 'Merican chap was just turning round then, but I sees my chance, and I whispers to Harry, 'Up stream, lad, for all you're worth.' 'Right you are,' he says, and my word! sir, we did take hold of the water and put our backs into it, 'gainst stream as it was; and as I pulled I was all the time wis.h.i.+ng as hard as I could that you'd got hold of the rudder lines so as to steer, sir, and leave us nothing to do but pull while you kept the boat's head right in the middle of the river. 'Here, hi, there! What are you doing? Pull ash.o.r.e, or--' He steps to the same tree again and rests his gun on the bough and takes aim, while I thinks to myself what a pity it was that we hadn't turned the boat's head down stream.”

”You said arterwards, messmate, as that would ha' been like leaving the first luff and the lads in the lurch,” said the other boat-keeper.

”So I did, messmate; and so it would,” said the narrator.

”But he didn't fire at you?” cried Murray eagerly.

”Didn't fire at us, sir?” said the man. ”But he just did, while we pulled with all our might.”

”And missed you?”

”He missed me, sir, but he hit the boat. Sent his bullet slap through the bow planks just between wind and water, and the brown juice come trickling in quite fast, but we couldn't stop to plug it.”

”Hah!” e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Murray, who was breathing hard with excitement. ”Oh, do go on a little faster!”

”That we did, sir--pulled faster, for some of the enemy come shouting after us along the side of the stream. You see, they couldn't come on the far side, 'cause it was all trees, while luckily for us they couldn't get along much where they were, for it was all boggy, and I see three of them sink in up to their knees and stick fast cussing and swearing. But they warn't the only ones, for him as we took to be their boss, he let go at 'em orful, sir, and yelped at 'em to follow us up, knowing all the time that they couldn't do nowt o' the sort, and him not trying a bit, because he warn't going to fill his boots.”

”But they kept on firing at you?” cried Murray.

”Fast as ever they could, sir. They kep' on loading and firing, and Harry and me kep' on pulling like hooray. You see, the shooting spurred us on a bit, for they kep' on hitting the boat when they didn't send the bullets spattering into the trees over our heads, and cut the little twigs and leaves and make them fall upon us.”