The Coral Island - Robert Michael Ballantyne (little readers txt) 📗

and in a few seconds found myself in the open air. On

rising, I was careful to come up gently and to breathe softly,

while I kept close in beside the rocks; but, as I observed no one

near me, I crept slowly out, and ascended the cliff a step at a

time, till I obtained a full view of the shore. No pirates were to

be seen, - even their boat was gone; but as it was possible they

might have hidden themselves, I did not venture too boldly forward.

Then it occurred to me to look out to sea, when, to my surprise, I

saw the pirate schooner sailing away almost hull-down on the

horizon! On seeing this I uttered a shout of joy. Then my first

impulse was to dive back to tell my companions the good news; but I

checked myself, and ran to the top of the cliff, in order to make

sure that the vessel I saw was indeed the pirate schooner. I

looked long and anxiously at her, and, giving vent to a deep sigh

of relief, said aloud, “Yes, there she goes; the villains have been

baulked of their prey this time at least.”

 

“Not so sure of that!” said a deep voice at my side; while, at the

same moment, a heavy hand grasped my shoulder, and held it as if in

a vice.

 

CHAPTER XXII.

 

I fall into the hands of pirates - How they treated me, and what I

said to them - The result of the whole ending in a melancholy

separation and in a most unexpected gift.

 

MY heart seemed to leap into my throat at the words; and, turning

round, I beheld a man of immense stature, and fierce aspect

regarding me with a smile of contempt. He was a white man, - that

is to say, he was a man of European blood, though his face, from

long exposure to the weather, was deeply bronzed. His dress was

that of a common seaman, except that he had on a Greek skull-cap,

and wore a broad shawl of the richest silk round his waist. In

this shawl were placed two pair of pistols and a heavy cutlass. He

wore a beard and moustache, which, like the locks on his head, were

short, curly, and sprinkled with gray hairs.

 

“So, youngster,” he said, with a Sardonic smile, while I felt his

grasp tighten on my shoulder, “the villains have been baulked of

their prey, have they? We shall see, we shall see. Now, you

whelp, look yonder. As he spoke, the pirate uttered a shrill

whistle. In a second or two it was answered, and the pirate-boat

rowed round the point at the Water Garden, and came rapidly towards

us. “Now, go, make a fire on that point; and hark’ee, youngster,

if you try to run away, I’ll send a quick and sure messenger after

you,” and he pointed significantly at his pistols.

 

I obeyed in silence, and as I happened to have the burning-glass in

my pocket, a fire was speedily kindled, and a thick smoke ascended

into the air. It had scarcely appeared for two minutes when the

boom of a gun rolled over the sea, and, looking up, I saw that the

schooner was making for the island again. It now flashed across me

that this was a ruse on the part of the pirates, and that they had

sent their vessel away, knowing that it would lead us to suppose

that they had left altogether. But there was no use of regret now.

I was completely in their power, so I stood helplessly beside the

pirate watching the crew of the boat as they landed on the beach.

For an instant I contemplated rushing over the cliff into the sea,

but this I saw I could not now accomplish, as some of the men were

already between me and the water.

 

There was a good deal of jesting at the success of their scheme, as

the crew ascended the rocks and addressed the man who had captured

me by the title of captain. They were a ferocious set of men, with

shaggy beards and scowling brows. All of them were armed with

cutlasses and pistols, and their costumes were, with trifling

variations, similar to that of the captain. As I looked from one

to the other, and observed the low, scowling brows, that never

unbent, even when the men laughed, and the mean, rascally

expression that sat on each face, I felt that my life hung by a

hair.

 

“But where are the other cubs?” cried one of the men, with an oath

that made me shudder. “I’ll swear to it there were three, at

least, if not more.”

 

“You hear what he says, whelp; where are the other dogs?” said the

captain.

 

“If you mean my companions,” said I, in a low voice, “I won’t tell

you.”

 

A loud laugh burst from the crew at this answer.

 

The pirate captain looked at me in surprise. Then drawing a pistol

from his belt, he cocked it and said, “Now, youngster, listen to

me. I’ve no time to waste here. If you don’t tell me all you

know, I’ll blow your brains out! Where are your comrades?”

 

For an instant I hesitated, not knowing what to do in this

extremity. Suddenly a thought occurred to me.

 

“Villain,” said I, shaking my clenched fist in his face, “to blow

my brains out would make short work of me, and be soon over. Death

by drowning is as sure, and the agony prolonged, yet, I tell you to

your face, if you were to toss me over yonder cliff into the sea, I

would not tell you where my companions are, and I dare you to try

me!”

 

The pirate captain grew white with rage as I spoke. “Say you so?”

cried he, uttering a fierce oath. “Here, lads, take him by the

legs and heave him in, - quick!”

 

The men, who were utterly silenced with surprise at my audacity,

advanced, and seized me, and, as they carried me towards the cliff,

I congratulated myself not a little on the success of my scheme,

for I knew that once in the water I should be safe, and could

rejoin Jack and Peterkin in the cave. But my hopes were suddenly

blasted by the captain crying out, “Hold on, lads, hold on. We’ll

give him a taste of the thumb-screws before throwing him to the

sharks. Away with him into the boat. Look alive! the breeze is

freshening.”

 

The men instantly raised me shoulder high, and, hurrying down the

rocks, tossed me into the bottom of the boat, where I lay for some

time stunned with the violence of my fall.

 

On recovering sufficiently to raise myself on my elbow, I perceived

that we were already outside the coral reef, and close alongside

the schooner, which was of small size and clipper built. I had

only time to observe this much, when I received a severe kick on

the side from one of the men, who ordered me, in a rough voice, to

jump aboard. Rising hastily I clambered up the side. In a few

minutes the boat was hoisted on deck, the vessel’s head put close

to the wind, and the Coral Island dropped slowly astern as we beat

up against a head sea.

 

Immediately after coming aboard, the crew were too busily engaged

in working the ship and getting in the boat to attend to me, so I

remained leaning against the bulwarks close to the gangway,

watching their operations. I was surprised to find that there were

no guns or carronades of any kind in the vessel, which had more of

the appearance of a fast-sailing trader than a pirate. But I was

struck with the neatness of everything. The brass work of the

binnacle and about the tiller, as well as the copper belaying-pins,

were as brightly polished as if they had just come from the

foundry. The decks were pure white, and smooth. The masts were

clean-scraped and varnished, except at the cross-trees and truck,

which were painted black. The standing and running rigging was in

the most perfect order, and the sails white as snow. In short,

everything, from the single narrow red stripe on her low black hull

to the trucks on her tapering masts, evinced an amount of care and

strict discipline that would have done credit to a ship of the

Royal Navy. There was nothing lumbering or unseemly about the

vessel, excepting, perhaps, a boat, which lay on the deck with its

keel up between the fore and main masts. It seemed

disproportionately large for the schooner; but, when I saw that the

crew amounted to between thirty and forty men, I concluded that

this boat was held in reserve, in case of any accident compelling

the crew to desert the vessel.

 

As I have before said, the costumes of the men were similar to that

of the captain. But in head gear they differed not only from him

but from each other, some wearing the ordinary straw hat of the

merchant service, while others wore cloth caps and red worsted

night-caps. I observed that all their arms were sent below; the

captain only retaining his cutlass and a single pistol in the folds

of his shawl. Although the captain was the tallest and most

powerful man in the ship, he did not strikingly excel many of his

men in this respect, and the only difference that an ordinary

observer would have noticed was, a certain degree of open candour,

straightforward daring, in the bold, ferocious expression of his

face, which rendered him less repulsive than his low-browed

associates, but did not by any means induce the belief that he was

a hero. This look was, however, the indication of that spirit

which gave him the pre-eminence among the crew of desperadoes who

called him captain. He was a lion-like villain; totally devoid of

personal fear, and utterly reckless of consequences, and,

therefore, a terror to his men, who individually hated him, but

unitedly felt it to be their advantage to have him at their head.

 

But my thoughts soon reverted to the dear companions whom I had

left on shore, and as I turned towards the Coral Island, which was

now far away to leeward, I sighed deeply, and the tears rolled

slowly down my cheeks as I thought that I might never see them

more.

 

“So you’re blubbering, are you, you obstinate whelp?” said the deep

voice of the captain, as he came up and gave me a box on the ear

that nearly felled me to the deck. “I don’t allow any such

weakness aboard o’ this ship. So clap a stopper on your eyes or

I’ll give you something to cry for.”

 

I flushed with indignation at this rough and cruel treatment, but

felt that giving way to anger would only make matters worse, so I

made no reply, but took out my handkerchief and dried my eyes.

 

“I thought you were made of better stuff,” continued the captain,

angrily; “I’d rather have a mad bull-dog aboard than a water-eyed

puppy. But I’ll cure you, lad, or introduce you to the sharks

before long. Now go below, and stay there till I call you.”

 

As I walked forward to obey, my eye fell on a small keg standing by

the side of the main-mast, on which the word GUNPOWDER was written

in pencil. It immediately flashed across me that, as we were

beating up against the wind, anything floating in the sea would be

driven on the reef encircling the Coral Island. I also recollected

- for thought is more rapid than the lightning - that my