THE CRUISE OF THE FLYING FISH

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 251, 21 October 1907, Page 6

THE CRUISE OF THE FLYING FISH

BY OWEN HALL.

CHAPTER V. HOW I TURNED PIRATE. Half a dozen of the sailors had hurried to obey Cap'en Bill's order, and in a minute or two zealous volunteers had pinioned the skipper and his companion with strands of rope-yarn passed round their arms at the elbow and fastened behind them. Cap'en Bill had left the skipper in the hands of three of his late crew, and now stood looking at him with the same good-natured half smile which had scarcely left his face since he entered the cabin. The skipper had ceased to struggle, though the big drops on his brow showed that he hadn't given in without exerting himself to the utmost before he surrendered. "Come, now," Cap'en Bill remarked cheerfully,. "I ain't a-sayin' but what this looks a heap more ship-shape and comfortable—not mc. Where's the use o' gentlemen a-flyin' into a rage, an' goiu' for one another sudden, when things can be settled quiet an' polite: them's my sentiments ever, and don't you forget it neither, Skipper." The skipper glared fiercely at him, but made no other reply to his advances. "If s like this 'ere now," he continued after waiting a few seconds." As I were a-sayin' when I were interrupted, I've took charge o' this 'ere craft; there ain't no use a-denying o' that now, is there? Well then, come to that, theer ain't no great harm done, neither. This 'ere craft she's chartered for to get labour—which is to say, for to catch niggurs—which is all right an' proper in course. I ain't got no call to object to niggurs—not mc; nor I don't, neither; but what I says is as this 'ere craft's wanted, bad for another job, as can't be put off nohow, wheeras niggUTs can wait —they ain't noways partickler to a -week or two, they ain't. In consekens o' which, an' for fear o' misunderstandings, I've been forced to take charge o' this 'ere craft temporary, meanin' no offence, if so be as none is took." As Cap'en Bill went on speaking I could see that the skipper had been gradually getting over his first excitement, and was watching his face, as if Trying' to understand what lay behind the easy-going, good-nature of his manner. At last when Cap'en Bill stopped, and appeared to be waiting for some reply, he said sharply:— "Look here, my man, I want no truck with such as you. If you begin to see you're on the wrong tack, that's your lookout, and I reckon you'll find you're about right, too. You're something of a seaman, so I take it you'll have heard of piracy on the high seas. That's near about your latitude, I reckon, and you'll find it's not far off a straight course for gallows point, either."

Cap'en Bill laughed. "There, now, skipper, come to look at things fair an' reasonable, wheer's the good o' talk like that? Here ye are, in a manner o' speakin' hove-to under short canvass, an' makin' middlin' bad weather on it, too; an' here I am, a-sailin', so to say, in smooth water, with a free sheet; but I ain't a-sayin' as I wants to see ye make worse weather on it than what can't be helped—not mc. If so be as you're ready to take a line an' be towed into port ship-shape, I ain't the man to give ye the dirty go-by." The skipper looked Cap'en Bill full in the face: "Ah, my fine fellow," he said, "you think you've got the weathergauge of me—you, and that dirty scoundrel Sam Morgan—and you're welcome to all you'll make out of it. You've boarded my ship, and raised a mutiny among the crew; well, then, so far, so good; but if you think you'll get John Simpson to come to terms with a lot of rascally pirates, you'll find yourselves mistaken, 1 can tell you. You've took charge of the ship, so I reckon you had better discharge the captain." My eyes glanced, half unconsciously, at the faces that crowded the cabin as the skipper spoke, and I thought that on every face except Cap'en Bill's there were signs of the feeling produced by his bold defiance of the man in whose power he found himself. There was little in Sam Morgan's face, indeed, but hatred, and the wish for revenge, and I noticed the muscles of his right hand working, as if they longed to grip the handle of the knife that showed under his jacket. The men's faces looked angry, too, but there was something of uneasiness as well, and the eyes of each of them turned, as if by instinct, to the cool, unmoved face, with which Cap'en Bill listened to what he had to say.

"Well, now," he said, glancing lightly over the faces that were staring at him. "In course I ain't a-sayin' what a gentleman like the skipper here might think proper an' ship-shape for to do; no more I ain't a-sayin' as it's polite, not in a general way, for to disrate a skipper, and him on his reg'lar trip after niggurs, too; but this 'ere case ain't ornary—not by no means, it ain't —an' if so be as we can't hit it off friendly, I'm afeard it'll be made oncomfortable for the skipper an' gentleman here, as is aboard for to see .that niggurs ain't treated bad enough aboard for to show the marks when ashore." "Alt-ight,my man,"said the skipper boldly. "You can murder us if you choose. We can't resist, and murder mostly goes with mutiny, so far as I've heard; but murder or not, you don't catch John Simpson at any pirate tricks, no, nor yet making bargains w ; ith them that are."

"Well, now, Skipper, I'm afeard theer ain't no help for it. If so be as you won't act reasonable, or talk polite, the same as a gentleman should, things'll have to be made oncomfortable, though theer a grain o' sense in taikin' o' murder, neither. Sam Morgan; you see 'em stowed atween decks, and set one o' the hands to keep an eye on 'em. Put 'em down the fore hatch, Sam. and mind," he added emphatically, "they ain't knocked about, neither."

No attempt at resistance was made by either prisoner as the two men were led away by some of the sailors who had taken part in their capture. Cap'en Bill looked after them till they disappeared up the stair leading to the deck, and then, muttering to himself, " I ain't a-sayin' but what it's best after all," he turned to mc cheerfully.

"Now, then, youngster, I ain't a-sayin' but what ye came to rayther awkward, neither," he said, laying his great hand kindly enough on my shoulder; "nor yet I ain't a-blamin' of ye for that, neither. Howsnmever, things is as they was, an" 'taint a grain o' .use a-grizzlin.' Now I reckon gjrab'H be what you'll be wantin' most, seem* •» low it's pig* a* to ttnres

days since you an' mc hod our last feed at the Diggers' Rest, and you ain't been on ship's rations like the rest on us since then. You sail in my wake, youngster, an' I'll fix ye up in no time—and don't you forget it, neither." 1 looked at Cap'en Bill doubtfully, for hadn't the skipper just aaid he was a pirate? And, besides that, hadn't he carried mc off from home, and mother would think I was dead, and she would have nobody to help her except Jacky. At the thought I felt my eyes fill with tears, though I would have given anything to conceal them. He must have seen them in spite of mc, though, for I felt his great hand close on my shoulder gently as he added: " Lookee here, youngster, never you go for to spring a leak over this 'ere job. You trust to Cap'en Bill, an' ye won't have no cause for to grumble. I'll look after ye, ay, an' I'll bring ye back safe, too, or my name ain't Cap'en Bill, as is middlin' well known hereabouts, if I ain't mistook." I looked up into his face as he spoke, and there was something irresistible in the look'of power, mixed with good-natur-ed recklessness, that shone in his eyes, and agreed so well with the look of his great shoulders and vast chest. He was-. - one bit like any pirate I had ever read about, and it seemed to mc that here at last was the chance I had dreamt about so often of seeing and taking part in the adventures I had read of. My face must have shown what I was thinking, I suppose, for Cap'en Bill clapped mc on the shoulder with a laugh: " Theer now," he said, " that's a heap more ship-shape, that is. You come alonoo' mc. I'll rate you as cabin boy aboard, till such time as we can get ye a better job, and that won't be long neither, youngster, if I ain't mistook." I followed him into the little passage through which I had found my way to the saloon, and he motioned mc with his hand to go into the pantry that opened from it. " I reckon you'll find grub enough there for to keep you goin', youngster," he said, with another laugh. " Them's your quarters now, an' you may look on yerself as shipped reglar for cabin-boy aboard the schooner Flyin'-fish." CHAPTER VI. HOW WE MAROONED THE SKIPPER. Cap'en Bill was right. Though I hadn't known it in my excitement, what I needed most was something to eat. All the appetite of my three days of unconsciousness seemed to come back to mc at once when I found myself in the pantry, and saw food once more. Before I had finished the meal, which seemed to mc the best I had ever eaten, I think I had grown reconciled to the position in which 1 found myself. Now and then a qualm would come over mc; indeed, when what the skipper had said came back —but after all it didn't trouble mc very much. Cap'en Bill wasn't a bit like a pirate. He was big and strong, to be sure, but he was good-natured instead of fierce, and he disliked hurting people instead of delighting to kill them, as all the pirates in my books did. As for his taking charge ol the schooner, that had been done so quietly that it almost seemed as if the skipper had forced it on him, and I didn't see how that could possibly be called piracy.

I had wanted to go to sea ever since I could remember. When vessels used to come to our creek while the diggers were at the flat, I had spent every minute I could talking to the sailors, and if it hadn't been for mother I should have gone to sea long before. Now it had been brought about without my doing, and I couldn't help feeling just a little glad, since it wasn't my fault. Now I should see the wonderful things I had dreamt of, and do all the wonderful things I had heard about from the sailors.

The sea itself was a delight to mc. To sit wedged in a corner close to the bows, between the big water cask and the low bulwark, where the breeze out of the jib came down in little cool gusts, and the j shadow of the sail moved and flickered on the white deck,. and to watch each change of sea and sky, was a pleasure such as I had, never known before. The fact that I had no idea where we were going, or what we were going to do, gave all the more scope to my imagination, and there was hardly an adventure possible to man which didn't swim before mc in fancy in the dim sea haze through which we made our way. Nobody took much notice of mc as I went about the simple work that was given mc to do. Now and then Sam Morgan growled at mc, but not if Cap'en Bill was within hearing, and the sailors, though they said little, accepted mc in a friendly way as a pet of the new commander. The weather was fine, though a succession of light easterly breezes kept U9 sailing close to the wind, and made it clear that our destination lay to the eastward. The sailors lay about the deck and whistled for wind, but I couldn't feel sure that any of them, except the mate, knew exactly where Cap'en Bill was steering for, though they all seemed perfectly satisfied to do as he bade them, and go where he directed.

What troubled mc most was the sight of the skipper and his companion between decks. It was my duty to take down their meals, and although I hadn't altogether forgiven the skipper for the rough way he had received my well-meant warning, T always felt just a little guilty when I saw* him pacing the part of the lower deck that was clear, with one of his own crew sitting at the foot of the ladder watching him. It did seem hard that he should have lost command of his own vessel, and still worse that he should be shut up in that place instead of giving orders on his own deck. And, besides that, I could never see him without wondering what Cap'en Bill would do with him in tbe end. I was soon to see.

It was the fourth day since I became cabin boy on board the Flying Fish. It was a splendid evening, and I .had got my work done, and was seated in my favourite place, watching the fairyland of sky and sea into which the schooner was gliding with the quick, sliding movement I had noticed so often, which always reminded mc of one of our snakes in the forest at horne —it was so smooth and easy, and yet so rapid. The wind was stronger than it had been, though not strong enough yet to raise a sea, and the schooner leaned over with every sail drawing and the water gushing and gurgling as it slid past.

A heavy footstep came along the deck, and stopped close to -he spot where I sat crouched together in my corner. I knew it must be Cap'en Bill, and. I peered round the great ■water-cask to see what Se was doing. He -was looking eajrefolly ahead 4_tro_g_ bis glass—4_e ok I te-

membered so well at Bungaree Point. I had often seen him walk the deck and pause at the Bow to look out ahead, but I had never seen him use "the glass before 6ince I came on board, and I wondereu what he could be looking at —could it be land? After a minute I heard him shut the telescope. Then he turned and spoke to somebody behind him. " 'Taint in sight, Sam; leastways not yet," he said. "But we'll be up with it by daybreak if the breeze holds. Keep a sharp look-out that ye don't pass it in the mornin' watch, Sam, and see the l_ings are ready stowed in the boat.'" "Ay, ay, cap'en," the mate's voice replied. " 'An a thunderin' sight too good for the old swab at that too." "1 ain't a-sayin' but what I'll risk that, Sam. Mind ye have the boat ready and the things on board. H so be ye sight it when I'm under hatche-3, give mc a call sharp." Cap'en Bill's heavy tread went aft again, and I looked ahead with a keener interest than before. It must be land he expected to see before morning. But what was he going to do when he reached it? I slept very little that night. Every ■time I dropped off it was to fall into a sort of a nightmare dream, in which Cap'en Bill and the skipper and the crew were mixed up in a struggle, out of which nobody but Cap'en Bill himself seemed to come unhurt. At last I woke completely, and as I felt as if I couldn't go to sleep again I got up and crept quietly on deck. I had scarcely done this when I heard a quick step come from, the bow and go down into the cabin, and in a second or two I heard the mate's harsh voice call out the magic words, "Land, Cap'en! Land on the lee bow!" I ran forward to see for myself. There, under the grey shadow of the tropic night, just lightening towards dawn in the eastern sky, I got my first glimpse of a Pacific island. "At first it, seemed only a single round hill rising from the sea, but I watched it eagerly as it grew clearer under the brightening sky, and then I saw that there was a beach and some lower land round the foot of the little hill. One by one every man of the crew had joined mc, and questions passed from one to another, but none of the crew seemed ever to have heard of such an island before —at last one of them raised a laugh by naming it "Cap'en Bill Island." At that moment the captain himself joined the group. He threw j, single glance ahead, and then, with the remark, "Yes, lads, that's the spot," he turned away. "Lower away the boat, Sam," he added in a louder tone, "and send a couple o' the hands below to rouse out the skipper an' that Government chap [and fetch them on deck!" It could hardly have been five minutes before both of Cap'en Bill's orders had , been carried out, and the skipper and his I companion were on deck. The light was increasing every moment, and the shore of the little island, with its feathery fringe of palm trees, below which the white coral beach looked a pale grey colour in the faint light, could be distinctly traced from the deck. The skipper cast one quick glance round him as he came on deck, and seemed to understand it all. Then he turned to the crew, who stood watching him. "Look here, my men," he exclaimed, "not a man amongst you but signed articles to sail under mc, and not one of you has anything against mc. Will you let yourselves be made pirates of like this?" Cap'en Bill stepped forward: "Theer, skipper," he interrupted, in a ringing tone, "stow that talk, will ye? This crew's mine now, an' I ain't a-goin' to hey them called names, neither. You're goin' ashore for a holiday, if I ain't mistook, seem' as how ye don't like the company abor.rd, an' I hope theer ain't no harm done neither." Some of the men gave a half cheer, and the skipper turned fiercely on CapV>n Bill. F " "As for you and that sneaking scoundrel, Sam Morgan," he exclaimed, "1 wasn't wasting words on you. You're no better than a common pirate, and he's worse. It's the crew I'm talking To, for I don't believe they know what they're doing. I'm telling them now that if' they'll go back to their dr.vy like men, all they've been led into will be overlooked and " Till that moment Cap'en Bill had listened, but now he made a single step forward: "Stow it!" he growled, in a tone lik« the growl of distant thunder. "Nobody preaches mutiny where I command an' don't you forget it, skipper!" A::- the last word left his lips he grasped the skipper by one arm and a leg, and, picking him up, as another man might a cat or dog, he took another step towards the bulwark and tossed him into the water. "Hena, lads," he shouted to the men in the boat alongside, "put him an' his mate here ashore. I ain't sayin' but what they'll be glad for to see us when we come along to pick them up." (To be continued daily). •