Afloat and Ashore (37 page)

"This is very extraordinary! Perhaps some accident has befallen the
doors. Did you call out, sir?"

"I thumped like an admiral, but got no answer. When on the point of
trying the virtue of a few kicks, I overheard a low laugh on deck, and
that let me into the secret of the state of the nation at once. I
suppose you will all admit, gentlemen, when sailors laugh at their
officers, as well as batten them down, that they must be somewhat near
a state of mutiny."

"It does look so, indeed, sir. We had better arm the moment we are
dressed, Captain Marble."

"I have done that already, and you will each find loaded pistols in my
state-room."

In two minutes from that moment, all four of us were in a state for
action, each man armed with a brace of ship's pistols, well-loaded and
freshly primed. Marble was for making a rush at the cabin-doors, at
once; but I suggested the improbability of the steward or Neb's being
engaged in any plot against the officers, and thought it might be well
to ascertain what had become of the two blacks, before we commenced
operations. Talcott proceeded instantly to the steerage, where the
steward slept, and returned in a moment to report that he had found
him sound asleep in his berth.

Reinforced by this man, Captain Marble determined to make his first
demonstration by way of the forecastle, where, by acting with caution,
a surprise on the mutineers might be effected. It will be remembered
that a door communicated with the forecastle, the fastenings of which
were on the side of "'twixt decks." Most of the cargo being in the
lower hold, there was no difficulty in making our way to this door,
where we stopped and listened, in order to learn the state of things
on the other side of the bulkhead. Marble had whispered to me, as we
groped our way along in the sort of twilight which pervaded the place,
the hatches being on and secured, that "them bloody Philadelphians"
must be at the bottom of the mischief, as our old crew were a set of
as "peaceable, well-disposed chaps as ever eat duff (dough) out of a
kid."

The result of the listening was to produce a general surprise. Out of
all question, snoring, and that on no small scale of the gamut of
Morpheus, was unequivocally heard. Marble instantly opened the door,
and we entered the forecastle, pistols in hand. Every berth had its
tenant, and all hands were asleep! Fatigue, and the habit of waiting
for calls, had evidently kept each of the seamen in his berth, until
that instant. Contrary to usage in so warm a climate, the scuttle was
on, and a trial soon told us it was fast.

"To generalize on this idee, Miles," exclaimed the captain, "I should
say we are again battened down by savages!"

"It does indeed look so, sir; and yet I saw no sign of the island's
being inhabited. It may be well, Captain Marble, to muster the crew,
that we may learn who's who."

"Quite right—do you turn 'em up, and send 'em all aft into the cabin,
where we have more daylight."

I set about awaking the people, which was not difficult, and in a few
minutes everybody was sent aft. Following the crew, it was soon found
that only one man was missing, and he was the very individual whom we
had left on deck, when we had all gone below on securing the
ship. Every soul belonging to the vessel was present in the cabin, or
steerage, but this solitary man—Philadelphians and all!

"It can never be that Harris has dared to trifle with us," said
Talcott; "and yet it does look surprisingly like it."

"Quite sure, Miles, that Marble Land is an uninhabited island?" said
the captain, interrogatively.

"I can only say, sir, that it is as much like all the other
uninhabited coral islands we have passed, as one pea is like another;
and that there were no signs of a living being visible last night. It
is true, we saw but little of the island, though to all appearances
there was not much to see."

"Unluckily, all the men's arms are on deck, in the arm-chest, or
strapped to the boom or masts. There is no use, however, in
dillydallying against one man; so I will make a rumpus that will soon
bring the chap to his bearings."

Hereupon Marble made what he called a rumpus in good earnest. I
thought, for a minute, he would kick the cabin-doors down.

"'Andzomelee-'andzomelee," said some one on deck. "Vat for you make
so much kick?"

"Who the devil are you?" demanded Marble, kicking harder than ever."
Open the cabin-doors, or I'll kick them down, and yourself overboard."

"Monsieur—sair," rejoined another voice, "
tenez
—you air
prisonnier
.
Comprenez-vous
—prisonair, eh?"

"These are Frenchmen, Captain Marble," I exclaimed, "and we are in the
hands of the enemy."

This was astounding intelligence; so much so, that all had difficulty
in believing it. A further parley, however, destroyed our hopes,
little by little, until we entered into an arrangement with those on
deck, to the following effect: I was to be permitted to go out, in
order to ascertain the real facts of our situation; while Marble and
the remainder of the crew were to remain below, passive, until the
result should be reported. Under this arrangement, one of the
cabin-doors was opened, and I sallied forth.

Astonishment almost deprived me of the power of vision, when I looked
around me. Quite fifty armed white men, sailors and natives of France,
by their air and language, crowded round me, as curious to see me, as
I could possibly be to see them. In their midst was Harris, who
approached me with an embarrassed and sorrowful air—

"I know I deserve death, Mr. Wallingford," this man commenced; "but I
fell asleep after so much work, and everything looking so safe and
out-of-harm's-way like; and when I woke up, I found these people on
hoard, and in possession of the ship."

"In the name of wonder, whence come they, Harris? is there a French
ship at the island?"

"By all I can learn and see, sir, they are the crew of a wrecked
letter-of-marque—an Indiaman of some sort or other; and finding a
good occasion to get off the island, and make a rich prize, they have
helped themselves to the poor Crisis—God bless her! say I, though she
is now under the French flag, I suppose."

I looked up at the gaff, and, sure enough, there was flying the
tri-color!

"The morning air blows fresh on him:"
"The waves dance gladly in his sight;"
"The sea-birds call, and wheel, and skim—"
"O, blessed morning light!"
"He doth not hear their joyous call; he sees
No beauty in the wave, nor feels the breeze."
DANA.

Truth is, truly, often stranger than fiction. The history of the
circumstances that brought us into the hands of our enemies will fully
show this. La Pauline was a ship of six hundred tons, that carried
letters-of-marque from the French government. She sailed from France a
few weeks after we had left London, bound on a voyage somewhat similar
to our own, though neither sea-otter skins, sandal-wood, nor pearls,
formed any part of her contemplated bargains. Her first destination
was the French islands off Madagascar, where she left part of her
cargo, and took in a few valuables in return. Thence she proceeded to
the Philippine Islands, passing in the track of English and American
traders, capturing two of the former, and sinking them after taking
out such portions of cargo as suited her own views. From Manilla, la
Pauline shaped her course for the coast of South America, intending to
leave certain articles brought from France, others purchased at
Bourbon, the Isle of France, and the Philippines, and divers bales and
boxes found in the holds of her prizes, in that quarter of the world,
in exchange for the precious metals. In effecting all this, Monsieur
Le Compte, her commander, relied, firstly, on the uncommon sailing of
his ship; secondly, on his own uncommon boldness and dexterity, and
thirdly on the well-known disposition of the South Americans to
smuggle. Doubloons and dollars taking up but little room, he reserved
most of the interior of his vessel, after his traffic on the "Main,"
for such property as might be found in the six or eight prizes he
calculated, with certainty, on making, after getting to the eastward
of the Horn. All these well-grounded anticipations had been signally
realized down to a period of just three months to a day, prior to our
own arrival at this unhappy island.

On the night of the day just mentioned, la Pauline, without the
smallest notice of the vicinity of any danger, running in an easy
bowline, and without much sea, had brought up on another part of the
very reef from which we had made so narrow an escape. The rocks being
coral, there was little hope for her; and, in fact, they appeared
through her bottom within two hours after she struck. The sugars taken
in at the Isle of France, as a ground tier of ballast, were soon
rendered of doubtful value, as a matter of course, but the weather
remaining pleasant, Captain Le Compte succeeded, by means of his
boats, in getting everything else of value on the island, and
forthwith set about breaking up the wreck, in order to construct a
craft that might carry himself and his people to some civilized
land. Having plenty of tools, and something like sixty men, great
progress had been made in the work, a schooner of about ninety tons
being then so far completed, as to be nearly ready to be put in the
water. Such was the state of things, when, one fine night, we arrived
in the manner already related. The French kept constant look-outs, and
it seems we were seen, a distant speck on the ocean, just as the sun
set, while the low trees of the island eluded our vigilance. By the
aid of a good night-glass, our movements were watched, and a boat was
about to be sent out to warn us of our danger, when we passed within
the reef. Captain Le Compte knew the chances were twenty to one that
we were an enemy, and he chose to lie concealed to watch the result.
As soon as we had anchored within the basin, and silence prevailed in
the ship, he manned his own gig, and pulled with muffled oars up under
our bows, to reconnoitre. Finding everything quiet, he ventured into
the fore-chains, and thence on deck, accompanied by three of his
men. He found Harris, snoring with his back supported against a
gun-carriage, and immediately secured him. Then, it only remained to
close the forescuttle and the cabin-doors, and to fasten them, to have
us all prisoners below. The boat was sent for more men, and hours
before any of us in the berths were awake, the ship had effectually
changed masters. Harris told our story, and the captors knew our whole
history, from the day of sailing down to the present time.

Much of this I learned in subsequent conversations with the French,
but enough of it was related to me then, to let me understand the
outlines of the truth. My eyes also let me into many secrets. I found
the island, by day-light, substantially as I had supposed it to be. It
was not so large, however, as it had seemed to me by the aid of the
moon, though its general character was the same. The basin in which
the ship lay might have covered a hundred and fifty acres in extent,
the belt of land which encircled it, varying in breadth from a quarter
of a mile to three miles. Most of the island was an open grove, lying
at an elevation of from ten to thirty feet above the ocean; and we
ascertained there were several springs of the sweetest water on
it. Nature, by one of its secret processes, had covered the earth with
a beautiful short grass; and the French, with their usual attention to
the table, and their commendable activity, had already several
materials for salads, &c., in full growth. String-beans might be had
for asking, and
petits pois
were literally a drug. I saw the
tents of the French, extending in a line beneath the shades of the
trees; and there was la Petite Pauline (the schooner) on her ways,
actually undergoing the process of receiving her first coat of
paint. As for la Pauline, herself, I could just discover her lower
mast-heads, inclining at an angle of forty-five degrees from the
perpendicular, through a vista in the trees.

There was a good-humoured common sense in all the proceedings of
Mons. Le Compte, that showed he was a philosopher in the best sense of
the word. He took things without repining himself, and wished to make
others as happy as circumstances would allow. At his suggestion, I
invited Marble on deck; and, after making my own commander acquainted
with the state of the facts, we both listened to the propositions of
our captor. Mons. Le Compte, all his officers, and not a few of his
men, had been prisoners, some time or other, in England, and there was
no difficulty in carrying on the negotiations in our mother tongue.

"
Votre bâtiment
—your
sheep
, shall become French—
bien
entendu
"—commenced our captor—"vid her
cargaison—rig,
and
tout
cela. Bien; c'est convenu.
I shall not exact
rigueur
in
mes
conditions.
If you shall have
possible
to take your
sheep
from
nous autres Français
—
d'accord.
Every man for himself
et sa
nation.
Zere is the
pavillion Français
—and zere it shall fly, so
long as we shall not help—
mais—parole d'honneur
, ze prize come
cheep, and shall be sell very dear—
entendez vous? Bien.
Now, sair,
I shall put you and all your peepl' on ze island, vere you shall take
our place, while we take your place. Ze arm shall be in our hand,
while ze sheep stay, but we leave you
fusils, poudre et tout cela
,
behind."

This was nearly verbatim, the programme of capitulation, as laid down
by Captain Le Compte. As for Marble, it was not in his nature to
acquiesce in such an arrangement, without much cavilling and
contention. But
cui bono?
We were in Mons. le Compte's hands;
and, though disposed to deal very handsomely by us, it was easy enough
to see he was determined to make his own conditions. I succeeded, at
last, in making Marble understand that resistance was useless; and he
submitted, though with some such grace as a man, who has not been
mesmerized, submits to an amputation—those who
have,
are said
rather to delight in the amusement.