Part 28 (1/2)
he asked, turning to Billy.
”No, sir. We saw him in the pirates' hands. They were dragging him along.”
”Then, perhaps they intend holding him as a hostage,” observed Mr Norman. ”The junks do not appear to have much in them; and so, for fear lest the pirates should get on board again, we will set them on fire, and pull back to where you lost Rogers.”
Mr Norman at once gave the order, which the seamen executed with the delight of school-boys igniting huge bonfires, and then the three boats pulled back in the direction of the still burning junk. On reaching it Mr Norman landed his men, forming them in more regular order than Tom had done, four of the marines advancing in skirmis.h.i.+ng order to feel the way.
No enemy, however, appeared; but being an experienced officer, he knew that they might be lurking at no great distance ahead, or concealed behind the brushwood either on the right hand or the left, so that they might attack him at any moment on the flank or get behind him and out off his retreat. Having advanced therefore a short distance, he ordered a halt, and getting close under a hill from the top of which he hoped to obtain a survey of the country, he climbed up it, accompanied by Desmond.
”There's the fort, sir,” exclaimed the latter, ”and I see a number of men going into it. If they have not cut off Rogers's head, they will be taking him in with them, and he'll run a great risk of being killed when the _Gnat_ opens fire on the fort.”
Mr Norman thought Desmond was right in his conjectures.
”Could not we make a dash at the rear of the fort? we might get in before the pirates know we were coming,” said Desmond.
”With a stronger party I would try what we could do; but as the pirates must have been watching us, they would be prepared for an attack, and I very much doubt if we should succeed.”
Desmond, though eager to try and rescue Tom, of whose death he was as yet far from being convinced, acknowledged to himself that his lieutenant was right. They remained a few minutes longer, taking a more perfect survey of the fortress and the surrounding country.
”If I mistake not, could we land on the right side of it, we might make our way, concealed by the ma.s.s of brushwood to the rear of the fort, and get close up to it before we are discovered, while the pirates, if they expect us to make the attempt, will be looking out for us over that open ground more to the left; but we must get back and communicate with Captain Rogers,” observed the lieutenant.
Mr Norman, directly he came down from the hill, ordered his men to retreat. As soon as they were on board, the boats pulled away for the _Gnat_ as fast as the crews could lay their backs to the oars, all knowing the importance of placing the wounded under the surgeon's care as soon as possible. Two poor fellows required no doctoring, but their bodies were carried, nevertheless, for the purpose of giving them, as Jack called it, ”decent burial?”--in reality that they might be sewn up neatly in their hammocks, with a shot at their feet, to carry them down to the oozy bed of the ocean beyond the ken of the sharks.
The _Gnat_ had just got off, and with the musquito fleet in tow was steaming up towards the pirates' stronghold. As Mr Norman's three boats pa.s.sed within long range of the fort, several shots were fired at them without doing any damage, nor did the pirates make chase, which they might have done with a good chance of capturing their enemies.
At last the boats got alongside the _Gnat_. Captain Rogers received the account Mr Norman gave him with much concern.
”But is it certain that he is killed? Did any one see him fall?” he inquired.
”No, sir,” answered Mr Norman. ”We are confident that he was made prisoner; but the belief is that the pirates, in revenge for the destruction of their junks, would have cut off his head unless they were induced to hold him as a hostage.”
”I trust that the latter is the case, and that we may manage to get him out of their hands,” observed Captain Rogers. ”But in my anxiety to save him I must not neglect my duty. We must attack these fellows without delay. Unfortunately they have had some time for preparations, and will give us more trouble than would have been the case had not this craft got on sh.o.r.e. I purpose, while the boats attack the junks, to land the marines and storm the fort.”
Captain Adair having come on board, Captain Rogers directed him to accompany the marines with a small body of blue-jackets.
”I believe, sir, that we may be able to get to the rear of the fort from a landing-place I discovered as I came along,” said Mr Norman. ”While the _Gnat_ and the boats are a.s.saulting the fort, we may hope to approach undiscovered, and by coming suddenly on the pirates, should your brother be still alive, we may be able to rescue him before they have time to revenge themselves by killing him.”
”I trust that you are right, Mr Norman, and that the poor fellow has escaped, although from the pirates not having sent off a flag of truce to treat for terms, I greatly fear that they have not kept him as an hostage.”
While the _Gnat_ sailed on Captain Rogers made the necessary arrangements for the attack. She, with two of the largest boats, were to bombard the fort, the rest of the flotilla were to board the junks, with the exception of the boats under Mr Norman, who was to land with their crews and some marines and attack the fort in the rear. Very little time longer elapsed before the _Gnat_, the leading vessel, got within range of the junks, which immediately began to blaze away with their guns and gingalls, she and her smaller consorts returning the fire with interest. Two large junks lay directly in the way; one, after the first round was fired, began to settle down so rapidly that many of the crew must have sunk with her, while the rest were seen swimming like a shoal of tadpoles towards the sh.o.r.e. The other, a fine-looking vessel, stood out longer.
”Fire at te deck, at te deck!” cried Po-ho; ”she my s.h.i.+p; no sink her!”
A volley of musketry made the pirate crew quit the vessel and follow their companions on sh.o.r.e, while the _Round Moon_ remained floating tranquilly, although Captain Murray fully expected to see her burst out into flames and blow up as the others had done. Po-ho entreated that he might go on board to prevent any such catastrophe; and he was allowed the dingy and a couple of men that he might take possession of his vessel. He might have been safer on board the _Gnat_, for several shot from the fort struck the junk as the man-of-war glided in between her and the sh.o.r.e. So close did the _Gnat_ get that the guns of the fort, which were trained at too high an elevation, sent their shot over her; while the sh.e.l.ls, round shot, and rockets, which she poured into the fort, were apparently producing havoc among its defenders. First one gun was silenced, then another, but the remainder continued blazing away, either at the gun-boat or at the other boats.
The report that Tom Rogers had been taken prisoner soon spread among the boats of the _Empress_, and from them to the boats of the other s.h.i.+ps, no one exactly knowing how it had happened. There was a search on board each junk captured, in the hopes of discovering him, as junk after junk was taken. Several, however, which were farther from those first attacked, slipped their cables and tried to run on sh.o.r.e; some were overtaken before they had time to do so; others were set on fire by the pirates and blew up, and the remainder succeeded in effecting their purpose.
A good many of the prisoners, however, were taken, who either could not swim or had not time to make their escape. The British casualties were very small, as only two or three of the junks showed fight. One of the largest fired away until the boats were close up to her; she then cut her cable and made for the sh.o.r.e, still blazing away with her heavy guns, gingalls, and match-locks. Twice the crew were about to desert their guns and attempt to leap overboard, but were restrained by a fine-looking fellow in a Malay dress, who with his sword kept the men to their duty, cutting down two or three who showed signs of disobedience.
Jerry Bird was in one of the boats of the _Empress_, and catching sight of the pirate captain, he exclaimed, ”Why, as I'm alive, that's no other than our friend Jonathan Jull! Hallo, Mr Jull, knock under; it's no use holding out!”