With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire by G. A. Henty (lightest ebook reader TXT) 📗

from the Jupitre and Restoration, down to large rowing galleys. Although many were sunk, and more greatly damaged by the fire of the Dutch, they swarmed round the great ships with wonderful tenacity; and, while the larger vessels fought their guns against those of the men-of-war, the smaller ones kept close to them, avoiding as much as possible their formidable broadsides, but keeping up a perpetual musketry fire at their bulwarks and tops, throwing stink pots, and shooting burning arrows through the ports; and getting alongside under the muzzles of the guns, and trying to climb up into the ports.

The four newly arrived craft joined in the fray.

"This is mighty unpleasant, yer honor," Tim said, as a shot from one of the Dutch men-of-war struck the craft they were in, crashing a hole through her bulwarks, and laying five or six of her crew upon the deck, killed or wounded by the splinters. "Here we are, in the middle of a fight in which we've no consarn whatever, and which is carried on without asking our will or pleasure; and we are as likely to be killed by a Christian shot, as these hathen niggers.

"Hear them yell, yer honor. A faction fight's nothing to it. Look, yer honor, look! There's smoke curling up from a hatchway of the big ship. If they haven't set her afire!"

It was as Tim said. A cloud of black smoke was rising from the Dutch fifty-gun frigate. A wild yell of triumph broke from the Mahrattas. The fire of their guns upon her redoubled, while that from the man-of-war died away, as the crew were called off to assist in extinguishing the flames. Now the smaller boats pressed still more closely round her, and a rain of missiles was poured through the open ports. Several times the Mahrattas climbed on board, but each time were driven out again. The smoke rose thicker and thicker, and tongues of flame could be seen shooting up.

"She is doomed," Charlie exclaimed. "Even if unmolested, the crew could not extinguish the fire, now. It has got too much hold.

"Ah! The other frigate is on fire now."

Fresh yells of triumph rose from the Mahrattas. On board the sloop every sail was hoisted, in spite of the continued fire of muskets and arrows, which killed many of the sailors employed. The Jupitre, however, ran alongside her and grappled with her, and a furious combat could be seen proceeding on the decks. Meanwhile, the flames mounted higher and higher on board the two frigates. The crew now could be seen leaping overboard from the ports, choosing any death rather than that by fire.

It was but a choice. Many were drowned, the rest cut or shot down by the Mahrattas. Down came the Dutch flag, fluttering from the masthead of the sloop, and the wild Mahratta yell proclaimed that the victory was everywhere complete.

The frigates were now a sheet of flames, and the Mahratta craft drew away from them; until, with two tremendous explosions, their magazines blew up and they sank beneath the waters.

"I should scarcely have believed it possible," Charlie said, "that three fine ships of war, mounting a hundred and four guns, could be destroyed by a fleet of pirates, however numerous. Well, Tim, there is no doubt that these natives can fight, when well led. It is just as well, you see, that we did not attempt to offer any resistance, in that clumsy craft we were on board."

"You're right there, yer honor. They would have aten us up in five minutes. It makes my heart bleed, to think of the sailors of those two fine ships. I don't believe that a soul has escaped; but in the small one, some may have been taken prisoners."

When the fight was over, the craft in which were the captives ran alongside the flagship of the pirate leader, and the captain reported to him the capture he had made. Fortunately, Tulagi Angria was in a high state of delight, at the victory he had just won; and, instead of ordering them to be instantly executed, he told the captain to take them on to Suwarndrug, and to imprison them there until his arrival. He himself, with the rest of his fleet, and the captured Dutch sloop, sailed into Gheriah; and the craft, in which Charlie and his companions were imprisoned, continued her course to the island stronghold of the pirates.

Suwarndrug was built on a rocky island. It lay within gunshot of the shore. Here, when Kanhagi Angria had first revolted from the authority of the Mahratta kingdom, the ruler of the Deccan had caused three strong forts to be built, in order to reduce the island fort. The pirates, however, had taken the initiative, and had captured these forts; as well as the whole line of seacoast, a hundred and twenty miles in length; and the country behind, twenty or thirty miles broad, extending to the foot of the mountains.

On their arrival at Suwarndrug, the prisoners were handed over to the governor, and were imprisoned in one of the casemates of the fort. The next day, they were taken out and ordered to work; and, for weeks, they laboured at the fortifications, with which the pirates were strengthening their already naturally strong position. The labour was very severe, but it was a consolation to the captives that they were kept together.

By Charlie's advice they exerted themselves to the utmost, and thus succeeded in pleasing their masters, and in escaping with but a small share of the blows, which were liberally distributed among other prisoners, native and European, employed upon the work. Charlie, indeed, was appointed as a sort of overseer; having under him not only his own party, but thirty others, of whom twenty were natives, and ten English sailors, who had been captured in a merchantman. Although closely watched, he was able to cheer these men, by giving them a hope that a chance of escape from their captivity might shortly arrive. All expressed their readiness to run any risk to regain their liberty.

From what he heard the pirates say, Charlie learned that they were expecting an attack from an expedition which was preparing at Bombay. The English sailors were confined in a casemate, adjoining that occupied by Charlie and his companions. The guard kept over them was but nominal, as it was considered impossible that they could escape from the island, off which lay a large fleet of the pirate vessels.

One morning upon starting to work they perceived, by the stir in the fortress, that something unusual was taking place; and presently, on reaching the rampart, they saw in the distance a small squadron approaching. They could make out that it consisted of a ship of forty-four guns, one of sixteen, and two bomb vessels, together with a fleet of native craft.

The pirate fleet were all getting up sail.

"It's a bold thing, Tim, to attack this fortress with only two ships, when the pirates have lately beaten a Dutch squadron mounting double the number of guns."

"Ah, yer honor, but then there is the Union Jack floating at the masthead. Do you think the creeturs don't know the differ?"

"But the Dutchmen are good sailors, and fought well, Tim. I think the difference is that in the last case they attacked the Dutch, while in the present we are attacking them. It makes all the difference in the world, with Indians. Let them attack you, and they'll fight bravely enough. Go right at them, and they're done for.

"Look, the pirate fleet are already sailing away."

"And do you think the English will take the fort, yer honor?"

"I don't know, Tim. The place is tremendously strong, and built on a rock. There are guns which bear right down on the ships, if they venture in close, while theirs will do but little damage to these solidly built walls. Suwarndrug ought to resist a fleet ten times as strong as that before us."

"Shure then, yer honor, and will we have to remain here all our lives, do ye think?"

"No, Tim, I hope not. Besides, I think that we ought to be able to render some assistance to them."

"And how will we do it, yer honor? You have but to spake the word, and Tim Kelly is ready to go through fire and water; and so is Hossein. Ye may be shure of that."

Seeing that the pirates were now mustering round their guns, and that the ships were ranging up for action, Charlie thought it prudent to retire. Hitherto no attention had been paid to them, but 'twas probable enough that, when the pirates' blood became heated by the fight, they would vent their fury upon their captives. He therefore advised not only the native officers, but the sailors, to retire to their casemates; which, as the guns placed in them did not command the position taken up by the ships, were at presented untenanted by any of the garrison.

Presently the noise of guns proclaimed that the engagement had begun. The boom of the cannon of the ships was answered by an incessant fire from the far more numerous artillery of the fortress, while now and then a heavy explosion, close at hand, told of the bursting of the bombs from the mortar vessels, in the fortress.

Charlie had been thinking of the best measures to be taken, to aid his friends, ever since the squadron came in sight; and, after sitting quietly for half an hour, he called his officers around him.

"I am convinced," he said, "that if unaided from within, the ships will have no chance whatever of taking this fortress; but I think that we may help them. The upper fort, which contains the magazine, commands the whole of the interior. But its guns do not bear upon the ships where they are anchored. Probably the place, at present, is almost deserted. As no one pays any attention to us, I propose, with Tim Kelly and the ten English sailors, to seize it. We can close the gate, and discharge the guns upon the defenders of the sea face. We could not, of course, defend it for five minutes if they attacked us; but we would threaten to blow up the magazine, if they did so.

"I propose that, tomorrow morning, you four and Hossein shall strip to your loincloths, and just before it becomes light go along the walls, and stop up, with pieces of wood, the touch holes of as many of the cannon as you can. It would not do to use nails, even if we had them. No one will notice, in the dark, that you are not Mahrattas; and if you scatter about, you may each manage to close up four or five guns, at least. It is, I know, a desperate service, and if discovered you will be instantly killed. But if it succeeds the pirates, scared by discovering, just as our ships open fire, that a number of their guns are disabled; while we take them in the rear, from the fort behind, may not improbably surrender at once. At any rate, it's worth trying; and I, for one, would rather run the risk of being killed, than be condemned to pass my life the slave of these pirates, who may at any moment cut our throats, in case of any reverse happening to them."

The four native officers at once stated their willingness to join in the plan. Hossein did not consider any reply necessary. With him, it was a matter of course to do whatever Charlie suggested.

The latter then went into the next casemate, and unfolded his plan to the sailors, who heartily agreed to make an effort for their liberty.

The fire continued all day unabated; and at nightfall, when a man, as usual, brought the captives food, he exultingly told them that no damage whatever had been effected by the guns of the fleet.

In the evening, the party cut a number of pieces of wood; these, measuring by the cannon in the casemate, they made of just sufficient size and length to push down, with a slight effort, through the touch hole. When pushed down to their full length, they touched the interior of the cannon below, and were just level with the top of the touch hole. Thus, it would be next to impossible to extricate them in a hurry. They might, indeed, be broken and forced in by a solid punch, of the same size as the touch hole; but this would take time, and would not be likely to occur, on the moment, to the pirates.

The skewers, for this is what they resembled, were very strong and tough; being made of slips of bamboo. The prisoners had all knives, which they used for cutting their food. With these the work was accomplished.

Towards morning the five natives, with the skewers hidden away in their loincloths, and their turbans twisted in Mahratta fashion, stole out from the casemate. Charlie had ordered that, in case they should see that the