_ CHAPTER THIRTY NINE.
It was a horrible sight, one which made me cling to the bulwarks absolutely paralysed, for the man who had climbed on deck was one mass of blue and yellow flames, which flickered and danced from foot to shoulder, and in those brief moments I realised that he must have fallen and overset the spirit-keg when Jarette fired, saturated his garments, and no doubt the fallen lantern had set all instantaneously in a blaze.
It was impossible to stir. My legs trembled, and every shriek uttered by the poor wretch, as he ran wildly here and there, thrilled me through and through. One moment it seemed as if he were coming headlong toward me, and I felt that discovery was inevitable; but before he reached the open hold, he dashed across the deck to the starboard bulwark, turned and ran forward again shrieking more loudly than ever, while the rapid motion through the air made the flames burn more furiously, and I could distinctly hear them flatter and roar.
His messmates, headed by Jarette, were not idle; they shouted to him to stop; they chased him, and some tried to cut him off here and there; but as if the idea of being stopped maddened him, the poor wretch shifted, dodged, and avoided them in the most wonderful manner, shrieking more wildly than ever, as a man who had been below suddenly confronted him with a tarpaulin to fling round him and smother the flames.
At last, with the sharp tongues of fire rising above his head, he made one maddened rush forward, and the whole of the party in pursuit; while his cries, and the sight of the man dashing on like a living torch through the darkness of that awful night, made me long to close my eyes and stop my ears. But I could not--it was impossible. I could only cling helplessly to that bulwark, praying for the power to help, but unable to stir.
It takes long to describe all this, but it was only a matter of a minute or two, before, with the flames rushing up to a point above his head and streaming behind him, he rushed for the bows.
I grasped in an instant what he intended to do, and felt that at last I could act. For, seeing that he meant to leap overboard, I made a start to run back to the cabin and shout to those in the boat to pick him up, when he caught his foot in a rope, and fell upon the deck with a heavy thud; and before he could rise, the man with the oilskin overcoat flung it over him, rolled him over and over in it, and extinguished the flames.
In the midst of the loud talking which followed, I heard Jarette's voice above all the rest.
"It was his own fault," he cried. "Here, carry him below. I shall not take the blame."
"But you shot at and hit him," growled a man angrily.
"As I will at you, you dog," roared Jarette, "if you disobey my orders. Quick!--get him below."
I saw Jarette bend down to the moaning man, for two of the crew held lanterns over him; and then, as they were all crowding down the hatchway, I hurried into the cabin, closed the door after me, and going to the window, I leaned out, and called in a whisper to Mr Brymer, but there was no answer.
I called again and again, raising my voice till, had any one been on deck, there must have been an alarm raised; but still there was no reply from the boat, and feeling at last that my companions must have rowed along by the ship to try and find out what was the matter, I was about to go back and run along till I could hail them and implore the doctor to come on board to try and save the poor wretch's life, when, all at once, there was the faint splash of an oar, and Mr Brymer exclaimed--
"Ah, at last! I was afraid you were being hunted. What were they doing? What was the meaning of those cries, and the torches they were rushing about the deck with?"
I explained in few words, and, saying I would fetch a rope, implored Mr Frewen to come up and help the poor creature.
"Come? Of course I will, Dale," he said; "but it seems curious work to do--help the men who have sent us adrift on the ocean in an open boat."
"Yes," I cried excitedly; "but wait while I get a rope."
"Yes; quick, my lad," said Mr Brymer. "It is our only opportunity."
I made no attempt now at concealment, but ran through the saloon, and out on the deck, to secure the first coil of rope I could find.
I got hold of one directly, not neatly coiled, but tumbled down anyhow; and then, looking forward to see if any one was on deck, I was conscious of a dull bluish glow, which I attributed to the lights by the forecastle-hatch, from which I could hear a low muttering of voices dominated by Jarette's sharp angry snapping.
Then grasping the fact that there appeared to be no one on deck, I ran back into the dark saloon, tapped smartly on the door of Miss Denning's cabin, cried, "Help coming!" and darted through the door, closing it after me.
"Got a rope?" came from below; and my answer was to lower it down as quickly as I could before passing it twice round the legs of the fixed table.
Then came a sharp whisper--
"All fast?"
"Yes; all right," I said; and the next moment Bob Hampton was climbing in.
"Sent me to help you, my lad. Hooroar! the ship's our own again."
In another minute Barney was up alongside, and he was followed by Mr Frewen and Mr Brymer. These all seized guns.
"They're not loaded," I said sadly.
"Never mind, my lad; appearances go a long way," said Mr Brymer. "The scoundrels will not know. Now then, pick up something for a weapon, Dale, if it's only the cabin poker."
"Are you going to fight?" I said in a low tone. "I thought you were going to help that poor wretch."
"I can attend him as well when he is our prisoner, Dale, as if we were Jarette's."
"Of course," I said excitedly. "But hadn't you better have Dumlow too?"
"Can't climb up, my lad," said Bob Hampton, in a husky whisper; "and Mr Preddle's too fat."
"Ready?" said Mr Brymer.
"Ay, ay," came from the men, and "Yes" from Mr Frewen.
"Then come on."
The mate threw open the door to lead the way, and then hesitated for a moment or two, for the saloon was flooded by a pale bluish light.
"I hoped we should have darkness on our side," he said, "but--"
"Look, look!" I cried wildly; "the ship's on fire."
We all ran to the companion together, three on one side of the saloon-table, two on the other; while I could hardly believe my eyes as I saw flooding up from beyond the main-mast great soft waves of bluish fire.
"It is the casks of spirits in the hold," cried Mr Brymer, excitedly. "They've done for it at last. But come on quickly: we can pass that without getting much harm; and as soon as we have secured the scoundrels, we must try the pump and hose."
We tried to go along the starboard side, but the flames came out in such strong pulsations there, that we were obliged to cross to the port side, where there seemed to be about ten feet clear.
"Now then," cried Mr Brymer; "they're all below, and have not taken the alarm. A quick rush, and we have them."
He was half-way along the clear pathway formed along the deck between the flames floating up from the hold and the port bulwark, and his figure stood up strangely unreal against the bluish light, when there was a heavy report below in the hold, and a rush of flame which extended from side to side of the ship. But after the report there was no roar or crackling sound of burning, for the blue and orange flames came pulsing up in great waves silent and strange, the quiet mastery they had attained being appalling.
The explosion--that of a spirit-cask, one of the many in the hold-- brought up the men from the forecastle, wild with excitement; but we only saw them for, a moment, and then they were screened from us by the fire, which was singularly clear from smoke, and rose steadily upward and away from the main-mast, whose sails hung down motionless in the calm.
We all stood motionless, unable to grasp the extent of this new calamity, and listened to the yelling and shouting of the frightened men, who now broke loose entirely from the slight control Jarette had held principally by means of his revolver. For death in a more horrible form threatened them than that from the pistol which had held them in subjugation, and with one consent they all began to shout the word "Boats!"
Just then there was the report of a pistol, and Jarette's voice rose loud and clear.
"Silence--idiots--fools!" he shouted. "It is your own doing, and now you want to run away and leave a good ship and all its valuable cargo-- ours, do you hear?--all ours--to burn. Bah!"
"The boats, quick!--the boats!" shouted one of the men.
"Throw that fool overboard, some of you," cried Jarette, contemptuously; "he has not the spirit of a _mouche_. Bah! what is it? A cask or two of spirit in the hold. Come along, brave lads. The pumps and buckets; we will soon make grog of the spirits, and it will cease to burn."
"No, no! The boats!" cried two or three. "We are all lost!"
"Yes, if you do not obey," cried Jarette, speaking slowly through his teeth, and with a very marked French accent, as he did when greatly excited. "I go not to lose our great prize, for which I have fought and won. Every man now a bucket, and you four to the pump and hose."
"Draw back a little," whispered Mr Brymer; "they have not seen us."
"Shall we get buckets, sir?" said Bob Hampton in a gruff whisper.
"No; it is useless. There are nearly fifty of those casks of strong spirits there below, and no efforts of ours could stop that fire."
"But you will not let it burn without an effort?" whispered Mr Frewen.
"I shall let it burn, sir, without an effort," said Mr Brymer, drawing back, and leading Mr Frewen toward the companion, I being so close that I could hear every word, which was only intended for the doctor's ears. "I'll tell you why," he said. "As those casks burst, the spirit will run through the cargo in all directions, the flame will glide along the surface, and as the spirit heats, the hold will be full of inflammable gas, which will keep on exploding."
"Yes," said Mr Frewen, angrily; "but an abundance of water--"
"Would not stop the flashing of that spirit here and there, doctor, till, sooner or later, it reaches the blasting-powder. That must be reached, and then the ship will be rent open."
"Great heaven!" cried Mr Frewen.
"And the fire will be extinguished then. My good sir, with a well-trained crew, working calmly, we might perhaps reach the powder and cast it overboard; but, situated as we are now, any efforts of ours would be worse than folly."
"Then--the boat!"
"Yes, but don't hurry or grow excited; the vessel may burn a day or two before the final calamity comes. We have plenty of time to do our duty."
"Yes, I understand," said Mr Frewen, and he hurried towards the saloon.
"Aren't we going to try and put out the fire, Mr Brymer, sir?" said Bob Hampton.
"No, my lad; we'll leave that to Jarette and his gang. Come and help."
By this time we had reached the cabin-door, from beneath which the faint light shone, and Mr Frewen exclaimed--
"Are you there, Miss Denning?"
"Yes, yes," she cried eagerly. "Pray, pray help us."
"Yes. One minute; is the door locked on the inside?"
"Yes," came from within, in company with a sharp snapping sound which was repeated, while the doctor felt outside, and convinced himself that it was secured there too, and that we had no means of unfastening it.
"Stand back from the door, right to the other side of the cabin," said Mr Frewen, and, drawing back some distance, he ran at the panel, raised his foot, struck it just above the handle, and it was driven right off, and he saw Miss Denning standing there, pale and large-eyed, holding a little taper in her hand, while in the bed-place lay her brother, gazing at us wildly, but for his countenance to change and become restful and calm as he saw that he was in the presence of friends.
"I told you they would not desert us, Lena," he said faintly; and then his head sank back as if he were too weak to raise it from the pillow.
Mr Frewen stepped close up to the bed-place as I joined Mr Denning and laid my hand in his, for his eyes had seemed to invite me to come to him. Then, as if I had not been there, he whispered quickly to the invalid--
"Denning, you don't like me, but we are in a perilous strait. Believe me, I will do everything man can for you and your sister now. Will you trust me?"
"Yes."
Mr Frewen turned to Miss Denning, and said firmly--
"Dress quickly, as if for a long journey." She looked at him wonderingly. "Yes," he said, and his voice sounded almost harsh. "In five minutes or less you must both be down in the boat. Hat, cloak, waterproof, and any necessary that you think may be useful. Nothing more. You understand?"
She bowed, and began hurriedly to collect the few things she required, while, without waiting to be told, I dragged pillow and blankets from the cot, and ran out with them to the stern-window, beneath which I could plainly see the boat now.
"Mr Preddle--Dumlow," I cried, "stow these aft;" and I threw down the articles I had brought, and went to fetch others from the cabin, passing Bob Hampton and Barney, who were collecting everything they could find in the way of provisions, tins, bottles, bags, from the captain's stores, and throwing them down.
By the time I was back, Miss Denning was ready, and she was about to help her brother, but he hung back.
"No, no," he said. "Take her first, Frewen."
She would have resisted, but I said quickly--"The ship is on fire; we must not lose a moment. Pray come."
She put her hand in mine, and I led her through the saloon, now full of a lurid light, and into the captain's cabin, where the rope still hung down.
"Be ready to help, Mr Preddle," I said, as I hauled it up, and handed the end to Bob Hampton, who came in loaded.
"Make a loop, Bob, and help lower Miss Denning down."
"That I will, my dear lad," he said, shooting his load on one of the lockers. "Don't you be skeart, but just you trust to me. That's your sort," he cried, as he passed the rope round her, and knotted it. "Now then, you'll just take a tight grip of the rope there with both hands, and trust to me, just as if I was going to give you a swing."
"I'll trust you, Hampton," she said, with a quiet smile.
"That's right, miss; you'll be like a baby in my arms. Now, Barney, boy, lay hold of the rope. Nay, you needn't, she's light as a feather. Give way to me, my dear, just as if I was your father, and I'll lower you right enough."
I could not help thinking how pretty and gentle and brave she looked as she left herself in Bob's hands, while he knelt on the locker, lifted her up, passed her out of the cabin-window, held for a moment or two by the knot, and then gently lowered her down.
"Done lovely," said Bob. "Better let Neb Dumlow cast off the rope, Mr Preddle, sir. You can hand the lady into the starn arter-wards. That's your sort, sir," as he hauled up. "Why, some gals would ha' kicked and squealed and made no end o' fuss. Want this for Mr Denning, shan't us?"
"Yes," I said, and at that moment, supporting the poor fellow below the arms, Mr Frewen and the mate helped Mr Denning into the cabin, panting heavily even from that little exertion.
"I'll be--as quick--as I can," he sighed. "There is no hurry," said Mr Brymer, quietly; "we have a wall of fire between us and our enemies."
"Go on heaving down that there prog, Barney," whispered Bob from behind his hand. "I don't hold with running short out in a hopen boat."
Barney grunted, and while Bob passed the rope round Mr Denning so that he could sit in the bight, and then made a hitch round his breast so as to secure him in case his weak hold with his hands gave way, the sailor kept various articles of food in tins flying down to Neb Dumlow, who caught them deftly and stowed them rapidly forward in the bottom of the boat.
The next minute Mr Denning was tenderly lifted by Bob Hampton and Mr Frewen, and his legs were passed out from the window, the rope was tightened, then he swung to and fro, and a minute later Dumlow had left the catching and stowing to cast off the rope which was now left hanging, so as to afford us a ready means of retreat in case it should be necessary.
With the help of Mr Preddle and the sailor, Mr Denning was soon lying back in the stern, and now the mate leaned out to give a few directions to Dumlow.
"Have you got that painter fast to the ring-bolt so that you can cast off directly?"
"Ay, ay, sir. Hear the pumps going?"
"Yes; go on stowing the stores sent down as well as you can. Mr Preddle will help you."
"There, doctor," he said the next minute, "now we can cast off at a moment's notice if there's danger."
"From the explosion?"
"It would not hurt us," said Mr Brymer, coolly, for now that Miss Denning and her brother were safe, he did not seem to mind. "When the powder goes off it will be amidships, and strike up. We shall only hear the noise, and perhaps have a few bits of burning wood come down near. What I fear is Jarette and his party when they take to the boats. But I think we can out-sail them."
"Then what are we going to do now?"
"Collect everything that I think may be of use, so work away, Dale, my lad, and help me. Hampton, Blane, get another breaker of water. Take the one on the poop-deck, and lower it down over the stern."
Bob Hampton grunted, and after seeing to a few more things being lowered into the boat, we three went quietly toward where the fire was hissing furiously, and a great cloud of steam rose now from the hold. But the blaze was as great as ever, and as we looked, and I wondered that the main-mast and its sails had not caught fire, we heard the clanking of the pumps cease, and Jarette's voice rise above the noise and confusion.
"Boats," he said laconically. "But no hurry, my lads. Water and stores in first. We're all right for hours yet."
It was curious to be there, behind the main-mast, listening to all that was going on forward, and yet seeing nothing for the fiery curtain at which we gazed, and which cast a lurid reflection on either side, and brightened the sea till it looked like gold. And it appeared the more strange that the men had not the slightest idea of our being on board, as we could tell by the orders shouted from time to time.
"There," said Mr Brymer at last, in answer to Mr Frewen's uneasy looks, "the lads have got that breaker of fresh water down by now, so we'll just take the captain's little compass and chronometer, and a few more things from the store, and be off. Ah, here they are."
For just then the two men came down coolly enough from the poop-deck, reported the water on board, and then eagerly set to work, carrying more stores, blankets, and all else we could by any possibility want, till the mate cried hold, enough.
"We've got all we can stow, I'm sure," he said.
"Then pray let us get away before it is too late," whispered Mr Frewen.
"Afraid, doctor?"
"Yes--for those poor shivering people below, sir--and, well, yes, I am alarmed too, knowing that at any time the deck may be rent up beneath our feet and the vessel sink."
"Yes; it is unpleasant to think about, and there is the danger of those scoundrels lowering one of the boats and coming round here for stores that they have none of there. Ah, there goes one of them down."
For plainly enough came the chirruping of the falls as the boat was lowered from the davits.
"Now then, down with you, Frewen. You next, my lads; I don't think I can remember anything else. You after the men, Dale, and I come last, as I'm captain for the time."
We all obeyed with alacrity, and I breathed more freely as I sat down in the boat. Then Mr Brymer slid down, and threw the rope back through the cabin-window.
The next minute the painter was withdrawn from the ring-bolt, and Bob Hampton sent the boat away with a tremendous thrust; oars were got out, and we rowed out into the darkness to lie-to about three hundred yards from the ship, just as a dark object came along from forward, and we saw that, as the mate had expected, the boat which had been lowered had come round to the stern-windows for the men to mount, if they could, in search of stores.
"None too soon. Dale," said the mate, coolly, and a deep breath of relief escaped my lips as I replied in his words--
"No, sir; none too soon." _