Books: Among Malay Pirates
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G. A. Henty >> Among Malay Pirates
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"I cannot come with you, I suppose, Fothergill?" Percy Adcock said,
as the midshipman was about to descend into his boat again.
"Yes, come along, Percy. It doesn't matter what you do now. The
captain will be so pleased when he hears that we have captured and
burnt five junks, that you will get off with a very light wigging,
I imagine."
"That's just what I was thinking, Jack. Has it not been fun?"
"You wouldn't have thought it fun if you had got one of those
matchlock balls in your body. There are a good many of our poor
fellows just at the present moment who do not see anything funny
in the affair at all. Here we are; clamber up."
The crew soon set to work under Fothergill's orders. The sails
were cut off the masts and thrown down into the hold; bamboos, of
which there were an abundance down there, were heaped over them,
a barrel of oil was poured over the mass, and the fire then applied.
"That will do, lads. Now take to your boats and let's make a bonfire
of the other junk."
In ten minutes both vessels were a sheet of flame, and the boat was
lying a short distance from them waiting for further operations.
The inhabitants of the village, furious at the failure of the plan
which had been laid for the destruction of the "white devils," kept
up a constant fusillade, which, however, did no harm, for the gig
was completely sheltered by the burning junks close to her from
their missiles.
"There go the others!" Percy exclaimed after a minute or two, as
three columns of smoke arose simultaneously from the other junks,
and the sailors were seen dropping into their boats alongside.
The killed and wounded were placed in the other gig with four
sailors in charge. They were directed to keep under shelter of the
junks until rejoined by the pinnace and Fothergill's gig, after
these had done their work on shore.
When all was ready the first lieutenant raised his hand as a signal,
and the two boats dashed between the burning junks and rowed for
the shore. Such of the natives as had their weapons charged fired
a hasty volley, and then, as the sailors leapt from their boats,
took to their heels.
"Mr. Fothergill, take your party into the village and set fire to
the houses; shoot down every man you see. This place is a nest of
pirates. I will capture that battery and then join you."
Fothergill and his sailors at once entered the village. The men had
already fled; the women were turned out of the houses, and these
were immediately set on fire. The tars regarded the whole affair
as a glorious joke, and raced from house to house, making a hasty
search in each for concealed valuables before setting it on fire.
In a short time the whole village was in a blaze.
"There is a house there, standing in that little grove a hundred
yards away," Percy said.
"It looks like a temple," Fothergill replied. "However, we will
have a look at it." And calling two sailors to accompany him, he
started at a run towards it, Percy keeping by his side.
"It is a temple," Fothergill said when they approached it. "Still,
we will have a look at it, but we won't burn it; it will be as well
to respect the religion, even of a set of piratical scoundrels like
these."
At the head of his men he rushed in at the entrance. There was
a blaze of fire as half a dozen muskets were discharged in their
faces. One of the sailors dropped dead, and before the others had
time to realize what had happened they were beaten to the ground
by a storm of blows from swords and other weapons.
A heavy blow crashed down on Percy's head, and he fell insensible
even before he realized what had occurred.
When he recovered, his first sensation was that of a vague wonder
as to what had happened to him. He seemed to be in darkness and
unable to move hand or foot. He was compressed in some way that he
could not at first understand, and was being bumped and jolted in
an extraordinary manner. It was some little time before he could
understand the situation. He first remembered the fight with the
junks, then he recalled the landing and burning the village; then,
as his brain cleared, came the recollection of his start with
Fothergill for the temple among the trees, his arrival there, and
a loud report and flash of fire.
"I must have been knocked down and stunned," he said to himself,
"and I suppose I am a prisoner now to these brutes, and one of them
must be carrying me on his back."
Yes, he could understand it all now. His hands and his feet were
tied, ropes were passed round his body in every direction, and he
was fastened back to back upon the shoulders of a Chinaman. Percy
remembered the tales he had heard of the imprisonment and torture
of those who fell into the hands of the Chinese, and he bitterly
regretted that he had not been killed instead of stunned in the
surprise of the temple.
"It would have been just the same feeling," he said to himself,
"and there would have been an end of it. Now there is no saying
what is going to happen. I wonder whether Jack was killed, and the
sailors."
Presently there was a jabber of voices; the motion ceased. Percy
could feel that the cords were being unwound, and he was dropped
on to his feet; then the cloth was removed from his head, and he
could look around.
A dozen Chinese, armed with matchlocks and bristling with swords
and daggers, stood around, and among them, bound like himself and
gagged by a piece of bamboo forced lengthways across his mouth and
kept there with a string going round the back of the head, stood
Fothergill. He was bleeding from several cuts in the head. Percy's
heart gave a bound of joy at finding that he was not alone; then
he tried to feel sorry that Jack had not escaped, but failed to
do so, although he told himself that his comrade's presence would
not in any way alleviate the fate which was certain to befall
him. Still the thought of companionship, even in wretchedness, and
perhaps a vague hope that Jack, with his energy and spirit, might
contrive some way for their escape, cheered him up.
As Percy, too, was gagged, no word could be exchanged by the
midshipmen, but they nodded to each other. They were now put side
by side and made to walk in the center of their captors. On the
way they passed through several villages, whose inhabitants poured
out to gaze at the captives, but the men in charge of them were
evidently not disposed to delay, as they passed through without a
stop. At last they halted before two cottages standing by themselves,
thrust the prisoners into a small room, removed their gags, and
left them entirely to themselves.
"Well, Percy, my boy, so they caught you too? I am awfully sorry.
It was my fault for going with only two men into that temple, but
as the village had been deserted and scarcely a man was found there,
it never entered my mind that there might be a party in the temple."
"Of course not, Jack; it was a surprise altogether. I don't know
anything about it, for I was knocked down, I suppose, just as we
went in, and the first thing I knew about it was that I was being
carried on the back of one of those fellows. I thought it was awful
at first, but I don't seem to mind so much now you are with me."
"It is a comfort to have someone to speak to," Jack said, "yet
I wish you were not here, Percy; I can't do you any good, and I
shall never cease blaming myself for having brought you into this
scrape. I don't know much more about the affair than you do. The
guns were fired so close to us that my face was scorched with one
of them, and almost at the same instant I got a lick across my
cheek with a sword. I had just time to hit at one of them, and then
almost at the same moment I got two or three other blows, and down
I went; they threw themselves on the top of me and tied and gagged
me in no time. Then I was tied to a long bamboo, and two fellows
put the ends on their shoulders and went off with me through the
fields. Of course I was face downwards, and did not know you were
with us till they stopped and loosed me from the bamboo and set me
on my feet."
"But what are they going to do with us, do you think, Jack?"
"I should say they are going to take us to Canton and claim a
reward for our capture, and there I suppose they will cut off our
heads or saw us in two, or put us to some other unpleasant kind
of death. I expect they are discussing it now; do you hear what a
jabber they are kicking up?"
Voices were indeed heard raised in angry altercation in the next
room. After a time the din subsided and the conversation appeared
to take a more amiable turn.
"I suppose they have settled it as far as they are concerned," Jack
said; "anyhow, you may be quite sure they mean to make something
out of us. If they hadn't they would have finished us at once, for
they must have been furious at the destruction of their junks and
village. As to the idea that mercy has anything to do with it, we
may as well put it out of our minds. The Chinaman, at the best of
times, has no feeling of pity in his nature, and after their defeat
it is certain they would have killed us at once had they not hoped
to do better by us. If they had been Indians I should have said
they had carried us off to enjoy the satisfaction of torturing us,
but I don't suppose it is that with them."
"Do you think there is any chance of our getting away?" Percy asked,
after a pause.
"I should say not the least in the world, Percy. My hands are
fastened so tight now that the ropes seem cutting into my wrists,
and after they had set me on my feet and cut the cords of my legs
I could scarcely stand at first, my feet were so numbed by the
pressure. However, we must keep up our pluck. Possibly they may
keep us at Canton for a bit, and if they do the squadron may arrive
and fight its way past the forts and take the city before they have
quite made up their minds as to what kind of death will be most
appropriate to the occasion. I wonder what they are doing now? They
seem to be chopping sticks."
"I wish they would give us some water," Percy said. "I am frightfully
thirsty."
"And so am I, Percy; there is one comfort, they won't let us die
of thirst, they could get no satisfaction out of our deaths now."
Two hours later some of the Chinese re-entered the room and led
the captives outside, and the lads then saw what was the meaning of
the noise they had heard. A cage had been manufactured of strong
bamboos. It was about four and a half feet long, four feet wide, and
less than three feet high; above it was fastened two long bamboos.
Two or three of the bars of the cage had been left open.
"My goodness! they never intend to put us in there," Percy exclaimed.
"That they do," Jack said. "They are going to carry us the rest of
the way."
The cords which bound the prisoners' hands were now cut, and they
were motioned to crawl into the cage. This they did; the bars were
then put in their places and securely lashed. Four men went to the
ends of the poles and lifted the cage upon their shoulders; two
others took their places beside it, and one man, apparently the
leader of the party, walked on ahead; the rest remained behind.
"I never quite realized what a fowl felt in a coop before," Jack
said, "but if its sensations are at all like mine they must be
decidedly unpleasant. It isn't high enough to sit upright in, it
is nothing like long enough to lie down, and as to getting out one
might as well think of flying. Do you know, Percy, I don't think
they mean taking us to Canton at all. I did not think of it before,
but from the direction of the sun I feel sure that we cannot have
been going that way. What they are up to I can't imagine."
In an hour they came to a large village. Here the cage was set down
and the villagers closed round. They were, however, kept a short
distance from the cage by the men in charge of it. Then a wooden
platter was placed on the ground, and persons throwing a few copper
coins into this were allowed to come near the cage.
"They are making a show of us!" Fothergill exclaimed. "That's what
they are up to, you see if it isn't; they are going to travel up
country to show the 'white devils' whom their valor has captured."
This was, indeed, the purpose of the pirates. At that time Europeans
seldom ventured beyond the limits assigned to them in the two or
three towns where they were permitted to trade, and few, indeed, of
the country people had ever obtained a sight of the white barbarians
of whose doings they had so frequently heard. Consequently a small
crowd soon gathered round the cage, eyeing the captives with the
same interest they would have felt as to unknown and dangerous
beasts; they laughed and joked, passed remarks upon them, and even
poked them with sticks. Fothergill, furious at this treatment,
caught one of the sticks, and wrenching it from the hands of the
Chinaman tried to strike at him through the bars, a proceeding
which excited shouts of laughter from the bystanders.
"I think, Jack," Percy said, "it will be best to try and keep our
tempers and not to seem to mind what they do to us, then if they find
they can't get any fun out of us they will soon leave us alone."
"Of course, that's the best plan," Fothergill agreed, "but it's not
so easy to follow. That fellow very nearly poked out my eye with
his stick, and no one's going to stand that if he can help it."
It was some hours before the curiosity of the village was satisfied.
When all had paid who were likely to do so, the guards broke up
their circle, and leaving two of their number at the cage to see
that no actual harm was caused to their prisoners, the rest went
off to a refreshment house. The place of the elders was now taken
by the boys and children of the village, who crowded round the
cage, prodded the prisoners with sticks, and, putting their hands
through the bars, pulled their ears and hair. This amusement,
however, was brought to an abrupt conclusion by Fothergill suddenly
seizing the wrist of a big boy and pulling his arm through the cage
until his face was against the bars; then he proceeded to punch
him until the guard, coming to his rescue, poked Fothergill with
his stick until he released his hold.
The punishment of their comrade excited neither anger nor resentment
among the other boys, who yelled with delight at his discomfiture,
but it made them more careful in approaching the cage, and though
they continued to poke the prisoners with sticks they did not venture
again to thrust a hand through the bars. At sunset the guards again
came round, lifted the cage and carried it into a shed. A platter
of dirty rice and a jug of water were put into the cage; two of
the men lighted their long pipes and sat down on guard beside it,
and, the doors being closed, the captives were left in peace.
"If this sort of thing is to go on, as I suppose it is," Fothergill
said, "the sooner they cut off our heads the better."
"It is very bad, Jack. I am sore all over with those probes from
their sharp sticks."
"I don't care for the pain, Percy, so much as the humiliation of
the thing. To be stared at and poked at as if we were wild beasts
by these curs, when with half a dozen of our men we could send a
hundred of them scampering, I feel as if I could choke with rage."
"You had better try and eat some of this rice, Jack. It is beastly,
but I dare say we shall get no more until tomorrow night, and we
must keep up our strength if we can. At any rate, the water is not
bad, that's a comfort."
"No thanks to them," Jack growled. "If there had been any bad water
in the neighborhood they would have given it to us."
For two weeks the sufferings of the prisoners continued. Their
captors avoided towns where the authorities would probably at once
have taken the prisoners out of their hands. No one would have
recognized the two captives as the midshipmen of the Perseus; their
clothes were in rags--torn to pieces by the thrusts of the sharp
pointed bamboos, to which they had daily been subjected--the
bad food, the cramped position, and the misery which they suffered
had worn both lads to skeletons; their hair was matted with filth,
their faces begrimed with dirt. Percy was so weak that he felt
he could not stand. Fothergill, being three years older, was less
exhausted, but he knew that he, too, could not support his sufferings
for many days longer. Their bodies were covered with sores, and try
as they would they were able to catch only a few minutes' sleep at
a time so much did the bamboo bars hurt their wasted limbs.
They seldom exchanged a word during the daytime, suffering in
silence the persecutions to which they were exposed, but at night
they talked over their homes and friends in England, and their
comrades on board ship, seldom saying a word as to their present
position. They were now in a hilly country, but had not the least
idea of the direction in which it lay from Canton or its distance
from the coast.
One evening Jack said to his companion, "I think it's nearly all
over now, Percy. The last two days we have made longer journeys, and
have not stopped at any of the smaller villages we passed through.
I fancy our guards must see that we can't last much longer, and
are taking us down to some town to hand us over to the authorities
and get their reward for us."
"I hope it is so, Jack; the sooner the better. Not that it makes
much difference now to me, for I do not think I can stand many more
days of it."
"I am afraid I am tougher than you, Percy, and shall take longer
to kill, so I hope with all my heart that I may be right, and that
they may be going to give us up to the authorities."
The next evening they stopped at a large place, and were subjected
to the usual persecution; this, however, was now less prolonged
than during the early days of their captivity, for they had now
no longer strength or spirits to resent their treatment, and as no
fun was to be obtained from passive victims, even the village boys
soon ceased to find any amusement in tormenting them.
When most of their visitors had left them, an elderly Chinaman
approached the side of the cage. He spoke to their guard and looked
at them attentively for some minutes, then he said in pigeon English,
"You officer men?"
"Yes!" Jack exclaimed, starting at the sound of the English words,
the first they had heard spoken since their captivity. "Yes, we
are officers of the Perseus."
"Me speeke English velly well," the Chinaman said; "me pilot man
many years on Canton River. How you get here?"
"We were attacking some piratical junks, and landed to destroy the
village where the people were firing on us. We entered a place full
of pirates, and were knocked down and taken prisoners and carried
away up the country; that is six weeks ago, and you see what we
are now."
"Pirate men velly bad," the Chinaman said; "plunder many junk on
river and kill crew. Me muchee hate them."
"Can you do anything for us?" Jack asked. "You will be well rewarded
if you could manage to get us free."
The man shook his head.
"Me no see what can do, me stranger here; come to stay with wifey;
people no do what me ask them. English ships attack Canton, much
fight and take town, people all hate English. Bad country dis.
People in one village fight against another. Velly bad men here."
"How far is Canton away?" Jack asked. "Could you not send down to
tell the English we are here?"
"Fourteen days' journey off," the man said; "no see how can do
anything."
"Well," Jack said, "when you get back again to Canton let our people
know what has been the end of us; we shall not last much longer."
"All light," the man said; "will see what me can do. Muchee think
tonight!"
And after saying a few words to the guards, who had been regarding
this conversation with an air of surprise, the Chinaman retired.
The guards had for some time abandoned the precaution of sitting up
at night by the cage, convinced that their captives had no longer
strength to attempt to break through its fastenings or to drag
themselves many yards away if they could do so. They therefore left
it standing in the open, and, wrapping themselves in their thickly
wadded coats, for the nights were cold, lay down by the side of
the cage.
The coolness of the nights had, indeed, assisted to keep the two
prisoners alive. During the day the sun was excessively hot, and
the crowd of visitors round the cage impeded the circulation of
the air and added to their sufferings. It was true that the cold
at night frequently prevented them from sleeping, but it acted as
a tonic and braced them up.
"What did he mean about the villages attacking each other?" Percy
asked.
"I have heard," Jack replied, "that in some parts of China things
are very much the same as they used to be in the highlands of
Scotland. There is no law or order. The different villages are like
clans, and wage war on each other. Sometimes the government sends
a number of troops, who put the thing down for a time, chop off
a good many heads, and then march away, and the whole work begins
again as soon as their backs are turned."
That night the uneasy slumber of the lads was disturbed by a sudden
firing; shouts and yells were heard, and the firing redoubled. "The
village is attacked," Jack said. "I noticed that, like some other
places we have come into lately, there is a strong earthen wall
round it, with gates. Well, there is one comfort--it does not
make much difference to us which side wins."
The guards at the first alarm leaped to their feet, caught up their
matchlocks, and ran to aid in the defense of the wall. Two minutes
later a man ran up to the cage.
"All lightee," he said; "just what me hopee."
With his knife he cut the tough withes that held the bamboos in
their places, and pulled out three of the bars.
"Come along," he said; "no time to lose."
Jack scrambled out, but in trying to stand upright gave a sharp
exclamation of pain. Percy crawled out more slowly; he tried to
stand up, but could not. The Chinaman caught him up and threw him
on his shoulder.
"Come along quickee," he said to Jack; "if takee village, kill
evely one." He set off at a run. Jack followed as fast as he could,
groaning at every step from the pain the movement caused to his
bruised body.
They went to the side of the village opposite to that at which the
attack was going on. They met no one on the way, the inhabitants
having all rushed to the other side to repel the attack. They stopped
at a small gate in the wall, the Chinaman drew back the bolts and
opened it, and they passed out into the country. For an hour they
kept on. By the end of that time Jack could scarcely drag his limbs
along. The Chinaman halted at length in a clump of trees surrounded
by a thick undergrowth.
"Allee safee here," he said, "no searchee so far; here food," and
he produced from a wallet a cold chicken and some boiled rice, and
unslung from his shoulder a gourd filled with cold tea.
"Me go back now, see what happen. Tomollow nightee come again--
bringee more food." And without another word went off at a rapid
pace.
Jack moistened his lips with the tea, and then turned to his
companion. Percy had not spoken a word since he had been released
from the cage, and had been insensible during the greater part of
his journey. Jack poured some cold tea between his lips.
"Cheer up, Percy, old boy, we are free now, and with luck and that
good fellow's help we will work our way down to Canton yet."
"I shall never get down there; you may," Percy said feebly.
"Oh, nonsense, you will pick up strength like a steam engine now.
Here, let me prop you against this tree. That's better. Now drink
a drop of this tea; it's like nectar after that filthy water we
have been drinking. Now you will feel better. Now you must try and
eat a little of this chicken and rice. Oh, nonsense, you have got
to do it. I am not going to let you give way when our trouble is
just over. Think of your people at home, Percy, and make an effort
for their sakes. Good Heavens! now I think of it, it must be
Christmas morning. We were caught on the 2d and we have been just
twenty-two days on show. I am sure that it must be past twelve
o'clock, and it is Christmas Day. It is a good omen, Percy. This
food isn't like roast beef and plum pudding, but it's not to be
despised. I can tell you. Come, fire away, that's a good fellow."
Percy made an effort and ate a few mouthfuls of rice and chicken,
then he took another draught of tea, and lay down, and was almost
immediately asleep.
Jack ate his food slowly and contentedly till he finished half
the supply, then he, too, lay down, and after a short but hearty
thanksgiving for his escape from a slow and lingering death, he too,
fell off to sleep. The sun was rising when he woke, being aroused
by a slight movement on the part of Percy; he opened his eyes and
sat up.
"Well, Percy, how do you feel this morning?" he asked cheerily.
"I feel too weak to move," Percy replied languidly.
"Oh, you will be all right when you have sat up and eaten breakfast,"
Jack said. "Here you are; here is a wing for you, and this rice is
as white as snow, and the tea is first rate. I thought last night
after I lay down that I heard a murmur of water, so after we have
had breakfast I will look about and see if I can find it. We should
feel like new men after a wash. You look awful, and I am sure I am
just as bad."
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