第76章

As we reached the verge of the wood, we discovered the savages surrounding the large war-canoe, which they were apparently on the point of launching.Suddenly the multitude put their united strength to the canoe; but scarcely had the huge machine begun to move, when a yell, the most appalling that ever fell upon my ear, rose high above the shouting of the savages.It had not died away when another and another smote upon my throbbing ear; and then Isaw that these inhuman monsters were actually launching their canoe over the living bodies of their victims.But there was no pity in the breasts of these men.Forward they went in ruthless indifference, shouting as they went, while high above their voices rang the dying shrieks of those wretched creatures, as, one after another, the ponderous canoe passed over them, burst the eyeballs from their sockets, and sent the life's blood gushing from their mouths.Oh, reader, this is no fiction.I would not, for the sake of thrilling you with horror, invent so terrible a scene.It was witnessed.It is true; true as that accursed sin which has rendered the human heart capable of such diabolical enormities!

When it was over I turned round and fell upon the grass with a deep groan; but Bill seized me by the arm, and lifting me up as if I had been a child, cried, -"Come along, lad; let's away!" - and so, staggering and stumbling over the tangled underwood, we fled from the fatal spot.

During the remainder of that day I felt as if I were in a horrible dream.I scarce knew what was said to me, and was more than once blamed by the men for idling my time.At last the hour to return aboard came.We marched down to the beach, and I felt relief for the first time when my feet rested on the schooner's deck.

In the course of the evening I overheard part of a conversation between the captain and the first mate, which startled me not a little.They were down in the cabin, and conversed in an under-tone, but the sky-light being off, I overheard every word that was said.

"I don't half like it," said the mate."It seems to me that we'll only have hard fightin' and no pay.""No pay!" repeated the captain, in a voice of suppressed anger.

"Do you call a good cargo all for nothing no pay?""Very true," returned the mate; "but we've got the cargo aboard.

Why not cut your cable and take French leave o' them? What's the use o' tryin' to lick the blackguards when it'll do us no manner o'

good?"

"Mate," said the captain, in a low voice, "you talk like a fresh-water sailor.I can only attribute this shyness to some strange delusion; for surely" (his voice assumed a slightly sneering tone as he said this) "surely I am not to suppose that YOU have become soft-hearted! Besides, you are wrong in regard to the cargo being aboard; there's a good quarter of it lying in the woods, and that blackguard chief knows it and won't let me take it off.He defied us to do our worst, yesterday.""Defied us! did he?' cried the mate, with a bitter laugh."Poor contemptible thing!""And yet he seems not so contemptible but that you are afraid to attack him.""Who said I was afraid?" growled the mate, sulkily."I'm as ready as any man in the ship.But, captain, what is it that you intend to do?""I intend to muffle the sweeps and row the schooner up to the head of the creek there, from which point we can command the pile of sandal-wood with our gun.Then I shall land with all the men except two, who shall take care of the schooner and be ready with the boat to take us off.We can creep through the woods to the head of the village, where these cannibals are always dancing round their suppers of human flesh, and if the carbines of the men are loaded with a heavy charge of buck-shot, we can drop forty or fifty at the first volley.After that the thing will be easy enough.

The savages will take to the mountains in a body, and we shall take what we require, up anchor, and away."To this plan the mate at length agreed.As he left the cabin Iheard the captain say, -

"Give the men an extra glass of grog, and don't forget the buck-shot."

The reader may conceive the horror with which I heard this murderous conversation.I immediately repeated it to Bill, who seemed much perplexed about it.At length he said, -"I'll tell you what I'll do, Ralph: I'll swim ashore after dark and fix a musket to a tree not far from the place where we'll have to land, and I'll tie a long string to the trigger, so that when our fellows cross it they'll let it off, and so alarm the village in time to prevent an attack, but not in time to prevent us gettin'

back to the boat; so, master captain," added Bill with a smile that for the first time seemed to me to be mingled with good-natured cheerfulness, "you'll be baulked at least for once in your life by Bloody Bill."After it grew dark, Bill put this resolve in practice.He slipped over the side with a musket in his left hand, while with his right he swam ashore and entered the woods.He soon returned, having accomplished his purpose, and got on board without being seen, - Ibeing the only one on deck.

When the hour of midnight approached the men were mustered on deck, the cable was cut and the muffled sweeps got out.These sweeps were immensely large oars, each requiring a couple of men to work it.In a few minutes we entered the mouth of the creek, which was indeed the mouth of a small river, and took about half an hour to ascend it, although the spot where we intended to land was not more than six hundred yards from the mouth, because there was a slight current against us, and the mangroves which narrowed the creek, impeded the rowers in some places.Having reached the spot, which was so darkened by overhanging trees that we could see with difficulty, a small kedge anchor attached to a thin line was let softly down over the stern.

"Now, lads," whispered the captain, as he walked along the line of men, who were all armed to the teeth, "don't be in a hurry, aim low, and don't waste your first shots."He then pointed to the boat, into which the men crowded in silence.