The Third Officer: A Present-day Pirate Story Page 6

  CHAPTER V

  Captured

  "Very good, sir!"

  Fired by the dogged bravery of the skipper, Alwyn stood erect andprepared to semaphore a reply of defiance, but before he could do soCaptain Blair called to him.

  "After all's said and done, Burgoyne," said the Old Man feebly,"we've put up a good fight. No one can deny that. And there are womenaboard, though p'raps 'twould be best----"

  His voice sank and he muttered a few inaudible sentences.

  "I'm slipping my cable," he continued, his voice gaining strength,"so it doesn't much matter to me. There are the others toconsider--what's left of them. Quarter, they promised?"

  "Aye, aye, sir!"

  "Then we'll chuck up the sponge. Tell the villains we'll surrender.If they don't keep their word (now make sure you understand) tellAngus to stand by, and if there's any shooting he's to open theKingston valves."

  "Aye, aye, sir," agreed the Third Officer. He realized that if thepirates failed to keep faith in the matter of quarter, then the_Donibristle_--the prize they so greatly desired--would be sunk bythe simple expedient of opening the underwater valves.

  "We surrender," semaphored Burgoyne.

  It was a hateful task, but upon reflection he agreed with hisskipper's amended decision. The _Donibristle_ had not thrown up thesponge without a gallant resistance dearly paid for in human lives.It remained to be seen whether the terms of surrender would behonoured by the horde of polyglot pirates.

  Gripping the bridge-rail Burgoyne shouted out the order: "All handson deck."

  The summons was obeyed promptly, but how few responded to it! Therewas Branscombe, with his arm in a sling and an ugly gash on hischeek; little Perkins, the Fifth Officer, who had never before smeltpowder; Holmes, the purser, and Adams, the steward, both looking likebutchers after tending the wounded; Heatherington, the juniorwireless operator; and fifteen of the deck-hands, several of whombore visible signs of the gruelling they had undergone. In additionwere Withers and Nuttall and seventeen firemen of the "watch-below",the rest under Angus remaining at their posts in the engine- andboiler-rooms. Of the rest of the officers and crew eleven had beenkilled outright or mortally wounded, including the First and SecondOfficers, and close on twenty hit.

  The officers and men who had fallen in on the boat-deck, unaware ofthe trend of events, were watching the pirate with puzzled looks.

  Burgoyne went to the skipper to obtain further instructions beforeobtaining assistance in order to take him below. Captain Blair wasunconscious. Wounded in half a dozen places, he had carried on untilthe ship was no longer his to command. As senior surviving deckofficer, Alwyn was now responsible for the act of surrender.

  "We've given in," he announced to the assembled men. "There was nohelp for it. The cruiser has promised us quarter. Lower the ensign."

  As the torn, tattered, and smoke-begrimed Red Ensign was lowered anduntoggled, wild yells burst from the throats of the ruffian crew.They did not know how to cheer; they could not if they did. It couldonly be compared with a concerted roar of a hundred wild beasts.

  The shouts ceased, not abruptly, but in a long-drawn-out howl. Thecaptain of the pirate cruiser was shouting himself hoarse in anendeavour to obtain silence. When comparative quiet had been gained,he stepped to the end of the bridge and raised a megaphone.

  "Ship _Donibristle_!" he shouted. "Obtain way off ze ship an stan' byto receive boats."

  "Aye, aye!" replied Burgoyne.

  Hitherto the _Donibristle_ had been forging ahead at her presentmaximum speed, which by this time was a bare five knots; while thepirate cruiser had slowed down to the same speed, causing her to yawhorribly.

  For the first time Burgoyne noticed that the engine-room telegraphwas no longer workable. The voice-tube, however, was intact.

  "Mr. Angus," he began.

  "Aye, it's Angus," replied that worthy's rolling voice "Is't CaptainBlair speakin'?"

  "No, Burgoyne," replied the temporarily promoted Third. "Theskipper's hit. We're down and out. Stop both engines, and----"

  "Weel?" asked the Chief Engineer with more alacrity than he usuallydisplayed.

  "Stand by the Kingston valves. The villains have promised to spareour lives, but you never know. So if you hear one blast on thewhistle, open the valves and take your chance. Do you understand?"

  "Deed aye," replied Angus.

  Presently the throb of the twin propellers ceased. The _Donibristle_carried way for nearly a mile before she stopped. Her head fell offas she rolled gently in the trough of the long crestless waves. Thecruiser also stopped, and a couple of boats were swung out, manned,and lowered.

  Burgoyne had very little time to complete his preparations, but hemade the best of those precious moments. Captain Blair was carriedbelow, with the purser and the steward to attend him. The rest of theengine-room staff, with the exception of Angus, were mustered ondeck. Calling one of the hands, a reliable and intelligent Cockney,Alwyn stationed him on the bridge, telling him to keep out of sightas much as possible.

  "If those fellows start shooting us down," he said, "they won't wastemuch time about it. Now keep a sharp look-out. At the first sign tugthat whistle lanyard for all you're worth, then shift for yourself ifyou can, and the best of luck."

  Burgoyne's next step was to send Branscombe to bring the passengerson deck. He watched intently as they ascended the companion-ladder,Tarrant and the Fourth Officer assisting Colonel Vivian, and Milesfurtively following. But to his keen disappointment and alarm therewas no sign of Hilda Vivian. Mental pictures of the ruffianly hordefinding the girl below filled him with apprehension.

  "Where's Miss Vivian?" asked Alwyn anxiously. A suspicion of a smileshowed itself on the Fourth Officer's features.

  "It's all right, old man," he explained. "There she is; three fromthe end of the rear rank of firemen."

  Burgoyne gasped.

  "Thought I told her to shove on Mostyn's kit," he exclaimed. "Don'tyou see, she'll have to--to keep with the engine-room crowd."

  "Jolly sight safer," declared Branscombe. "She'd attract attentionwith the few of us who are left. Her father agreed with me. 'Sides,all hands know, and they're white men, every man jack of 'em."

  "P'raps you're right," conceded Burgoyne, and as he gave another lookhe felt convinced that the amended plan was the thing. Unless anunfortunate fluke occurred or, what was most unlikely, someone "gaveher away" the pirates would never recognize the slender fireman withclosely-cropped hair and begrimed features, and rigged out in anill-fitting greasy suit of blue dungarees, as a girl of gentle birth.There was certainly nothing in her demeanour to betray her. She wasstanding in a line with the men, outwardly as stolid as the rest.

  Drawing a small plated revolver from his hip-pocket--it was asix-chambered .22 weapon of neat workmanship--Burgoyne thrust itinside his sock, jamming the muzzle between the inside of his bootand his ankle. For the first time he felt grateful to the steward forhaving spilt ink over both pairs of deck-shoes, otherwise he wouldnot have been wearing boots, and another hiding-place for the handylittle weapon would not have promised to be so convenient.

  The leading boat from the pirate cruiser ran alongside, and abouttwenty men, armed to the teeth, swarmed up the _Donibristle's_ side,followed (not led) by a swarthy, black-bearded individual wearing acocked hat, a blue tunic, with a lavish display of gold lace, a blackand crimson scarf round his waist, and a pair of duck trousers withwhite canvas gaiters. From his belt hung a cavalry officer's sword,while in his kid-gloved right hand he grasped an automatic pistol.

  The boarding-party consisted of men of half a dozen nationalities,and at least three totally distinct types of colour. There wereChinese, blue-smocked and wearing straw hats and black wooden shoes,negroes, bare to the waist, Creoles and half-breeds from variousSouth American states, a couple of South Sea Island Kanakas, and agigantic Malay armed with a kriss and a magazine rifle. Bunchedtogether they eyed the motionless crew of the _Donibristle_ sofiercely that Burgoyne momentarily expe
cted to find them slashing,hewing, and shooting down their helpless, unarmed captives.

  The pirate officer stepped forward in the most approved melodramaticmanner.

  "Me Pablo Henriques, _tiente po_--dat premier lieutenant--ob cruiser_Malfilio_," he announced. "Señor Ramon Porfirio him capitano. Now Itake command ob de--de----"

  He paused, unable to pronounce the name.

  "--ob dis ship," he continued. "If you no give trouble den all vell.If you do, den dis."

  He drew one finger across his throat with a guttural cluck andpointed significantly over the side. The stolid-faced prisonershardly moved a muscle. With no immediate danger in prospect, providedthe pirate kept his word, they were content to let events shapethemselves, confident that in the long run the lawful keepers of thepeace on the High Seas would adjust matters in the form of a runningnoose round the neck of each of the pirate crew.

  "Now tell me," continued Henriques, addressing Burgoyne. "You nocapitan; where am he?"

  "Wounded," replied Alwyn briefly.

  "Bueno. He make to ram us," rejoined the half-caste lieutenant."Capitano Ramon Porfirio him angry, so we shoot. Say, is dis all dercrew?"

  "No," replied Burgoyne steadily. "There are several wounded below.Also the Chief Engineer is in the engine-room."

  Henriques darted a glance of suspicion at the British officer.

  "Wa for?" he demanded sharply.

  Burgoyne returned his look calmly.

  "He has to watch the steam-gauges," he replied. "It might be awkwardfor us if an explosion occurred."

  It was an answer that served a two-fold purpose. Not only hadBurgoyne given the pirate lieutenant a satisfactory reason for theChief Engineer's presence in the engine-room, but he had, perhapsunknowingly, shown a certain amount of anxiety for the safety of theship. Consequently any suspicion on the part of Pablo Henriques thatthe crew of the _Donibristle_ had arranged to destroy the vessel, theboarding-party, and themselves was totally dispelled.

  "Ver' good!" he exclaimed, satisfied with the explanation. "Now,wher' are de documentos--de papairs?"

  Burgoyne shook his head and pointed to the wreckage of thechart-house. "Your fire was so accurate that the ship's papers arelost," he replied.

  As a matter of fact Captain Blair had weighted them with a lead-lineand sinker, and had dropped them overboard almost directly the_Malfilio_ had hoisted the ID signal. They were several miles asternand fathoms deep in the Pacific.

  A string of questions followed. What was the nature of the cargo? Theamount of coal in the bunkers? Any infectious disease? How manypassengers?

  All these questions Burgoyne answered promptly He was anxious not tocause trouble and give the pirates an excuse for brutality andperhaps massacre.

  "Four," he replied in answer to the last question. "One, a lady, liesdead below. She died during the firing."

  Pablo Henriques shrugged his shoulders. That information interestedhim hardly at all.

  "You vill tell your men," he ordered, "to give up all arms an knifes.If we find any after late, den' we kill 'em."

  The young officer gave the word, and the crew deposited their knivesupon the deck. Firearms they did not possess, but of the officers,Withers and Branscombe each gave up an automatic and a few rounds ofammunition. Burgoyne took the risk and retained his revolver.

  "Now I make search every man," declared Henriques, smilingsardonically. "I jus' make certain."

  Fortunately a signal was being made by the _Malfilio_, and Henriques'attention was diverted. By the time the message was completed andacknowledged, the pirate lieutenant had either forgotten hisintention of having the prisoners searched, or else something of morepressing nature required attention.

  Accompanied by three or four of the pirates Henriques went below. Hewas away for about five minutes, during which time the Malayostentatiously whetted the already keen edges of his kriss. Notingthe act, Burgoyne registered a vow that, should the pirates commencea massacre, he would take care that the yellow ruffian would be therecipient of the first of the six bullets in his revolver.

  Presently the grotesquely attired Henriques returned with muchsabre-rattling.

  "De firemans here vill go below an' keep up de steam," he ordered."Ebbery one of de firemans. De odders dey vill go prisoners on boardde _Malfilio_."