Beadle's Half Dime Library Vol. IX, No. 230: The Yankee Rajah; or, The Fate of the Black Shereef — page 4: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

The Tokio was very swift and rapidly neared the proas, and they could see the decks black with men—Malays, Papuans and Sooloos, wild for blood, and dees a heir weapons in the air. “ Are you ready, Mr. Bason?’ cried Harry. | ‘Tf you are, give them a shot.” Eason sighted the gun with his own hand, rose with a smile upon his face and applied the match. Scarcely had he done so, when, with a ery of rage, he sprung forward and looked at the guns. Se “Spiked, by —!” | : The imprecation might be forgiven an old sailor at that moment. The gun had been cun- ningly spiked by forcing a ‘‘rat tail” file into the touch-hole, and breaking if off. A rapid glance showed that,every gun on board had been served inthesame way. “By Heaven!” cried Harry, “‘we have a | traitor here. Cttlasses and pistols, lads, and if we must die, let us die like Yankee, sailors, with our teeth set’? -; pha Se Pe _ Run down the proa,” shouted Ned Stacey. ‘‘Kvery man to the bow,” The men grasped the weapons passed to them, and the great ship, flying before the fresh sail- ing breeze, and gathering way as she came, appeared to be steering for the open water be- tween the two proas bearing down upon the bows, the pirates shouting like demons as they came, Suddenly, without the slightest warn- | ing, the course of the ship changed and she met the swift proa, bows on, There was a shock and the pirates swarmed inte the chains only to be hewed down by the sailors, and the proa sunk like a stone, just as the second fastened on her chains and her crew prepared to board. _ Then ensued one of those fierce battles of | which we have no conception. The Malay | tights because he loves it; death has no terrors for him, as according to his creed it only opens the way into paradise, which his priests tell him awaits the valiant warrior. With wild, resounding cheers, they clambered up the sides of the Tokio, but they were met by men as valiant and determined as they; for, say what you will, only the enduring Anglo- Saxon knows how to fight with stubborn valor, not knowing when he is beaten, | : In the front of his men, wielding his cutilass | gallantly, and cutting down every yellow Malay or brown Sooloo who showed his face above the | rail, fought Harry Castleton, doing the work of | three men, By his side, with a revolver in | each hand, stood Mr, Darrell, and three times his ‘unerring hand had laid low a man whose weapon was turned against Harry Castleton, when the brave young captain was engaged with another enemy in his front. “Give it to them, boys!” cried the young cap- tain, ‘* Remember that you fight for your lives; the Black Shereef spares none.” The men answered by resounding cheers, and their blows fell fast and furious. The Malays, not accustomed to such stubborn resistance, be- gan to falter, and the men of the Tokio east off the grappling irons which clung to the chains. ‘"Now where is that Will Wescott?” cried Ned Stacey. ‘ He’sa skuller, that chap.” As he spoke the third mate appeared, leaped upon the rail, and hurled himself headlong upon the deck of the proa, shouting some words in an unknown tongue. He had scarcely reached the deck when the proa drifted astern, and then, too late, Harry Castleton saw that the wretch bore in his arms the senseless form of ““You false-hearted hound,” cried Harry raising his revolver, ‘‘ you came here to betray With a mocking laugh Wescott raised the form of the senseless girl and held it before him as a shield, “Why don't you fire” he shouted in a jeer- ing tone. ‘‘ You seem to hesitate, mvy dear captain. Yes, I pp bed the guns of the Tokio, and I have won the prize which alone is worth more to us than tlie ae I am Tom Reid, lieutenant of the Black Shereef. Ha! ha! ha! ‘You were nicely fooled.” ' He turned to the crew of the proa and shouted an order. As he did so the sails went up, the head of the proa fell off, and she began to run on a course parallel with that of the Tokio, while the long gun amidships was brought 60 bear upon the great ship. =| i ‘‘ Give me arias Ned,” said Harry. “They | must not fire that pun yet.” Zell Ned ran up with a rifle in his hand, just as a tall Malay sprung forward to fire the gun. Harry pulled the trigger and the villain sprung | into the air and fell dead. | “Give me a Winchester,” said Harry. ‘I will make them passa bitter time before they ! | Never, | was about fifty feet in leng | Ned pee The Yankee Rajah. | fire that gun. Give the men muskets, Ned, and send them into the tops, We sail three fathoms to their two and will soon be out of their clutches.” A terrible fusilade was opened upon the proa, , in all their fighting, had they been ex- posed to the aim of American repeating rifles, and they Stepped, man by man, on the deck of the proa, under the deadly shower. Reid saw that he was losing men to no purpose and | knowing well that Harry would not dare to fol- /low him there. A glance at the other proas re- vealed the fact that they were closing in fast, and ashot which splashed in the waves close | under the stern of the Tokio admonished the young captain that it would be utter madness ‘(tod help her,” he groaned, “I can do no other means to rescue Ellen.” | Right astern, as the ship flew on over the ris- ing sea, thundered a fast-sailing proa, more than the equal of the Tokio in speed. The second shot from her long gun came whistling over the rail, killed a man on the to’gallant fore- castle, and grazed the foremast in its course. At the same time a shout from Mr, Eason an- | nounced that be had managed to clear one of | the guns, and it was trained upon the proa as- fern. The first shot, well aimed, swept her decks from stem to stern, knocked the wheel into eae ne and the craft began to yaw and Gil steer wildly, while the Tokio gained hand over hand. The second shot struck the foremast, and it came crashing down, leaving the proa wallowing, a helpless wreck, upon the heaving sea. ‘Well done, Eason; well done, old boy,” eried Harry, running aft. ‘Don’t waste anj more shots upon him, but attend to these fel- lows on the starboard quarter. What's that, Ned?’ | ‘By George. the beys have got the spike out of another gun.” e ‘*Good forthem. Head up a little and meet these fellows half-way. Let us once get them | astern and we can laugh at them.” The proas came booming on, their crews wild with rage, and were closing in fast upon the Tokio, their guns making sad havoc with her rigging as they came. Eason answered as well as he could, and sueceeded in crippling the leading proa, but the larger of the two was now so close that another battle seemed inevitable, when there came darting out of the sea, close under the bows of the ship, a strange cigar- shaped object, which darted with inconceivable rapidity at the proa, and disappeared in the waters, There was wild confusion on board the pirate, and all their efforts seemed bent | upon escaping, if they could. The proa fell off suddenly and headed seaward, when she was | seen to heave up out of the water until her keel was visible, and revealed a gaping rent, into which the water rushed with a gurgling sound. A moment more, and she was fone. ‘A torpedo, by heavens,” cried Harry. “What can it mean?” . As he spoke the strange craft again appeared for amoment upon the surface and plunged into the waves close to the crippled proa, A moment later aad her crew were seen to hurl themselves desperatie. y into the sea, the same dull explosion followed, and the proa was gone. ‘“ Hurrah!” cried Ned Stacey, drawing a long breath. “That fellow came justin time and . dou’t think they will trouble us any more.” Just then the strange torpedo sprung into View again and came racing by under the stern ofthe Tokio. They had time to see that she y fee th, shaped like a gi- gantic cigar, and they could hear the clicking of machinery as she sped by, and there came fluttering on board an arrow, which lodged in the mainmast. The boat disappeared, ‘* There's a letter on the arrow, captain,” said ‘** Give it to me,” cried Harry. He tore open the paper and read: “Ellen Darrel is the prey of the Black Shereef, but he will not harm her now. Head to the south and before you have sailed a dozen leagues you shall hear from— A FRienp,”’ ** Our only hope is in him,” said Harry, sadly. We must take his‘advice.” | And with sad hearts they headed the Tokio on her course, leaving Ellen Darrel in the hands | of the pirate chief, SAUL BELTON ON DECE, TE Tokio sailed onto the south, Harry Castleton could scarcely have said We must save the ship and trust to. ; |American man-of-war at Batavia, and some | tomy island and lay her up thar. why he did this, for it was far from his inten- tion to desert his. betrothed, But he wanted time to think, and consult with Mr. Darrel as to the best course to pursue, The officers of the ship gathered in a sad group on the quarter deck, while the men busied themselves in clear- ing away the wreck, taking care of the bodies _of their fallen comrades, and attending to the | wants of the wounded. The young man, although almost broken- hearted, tried to console the bereaved father. “These Malays always hold their prisoners for ransom,” he said, “‘and—” _ “Why do you say that, Harry, when you know well that the man who captured her was no Malay?” _ But he is a renegade American in the ser- vice of the Black Shereef. I bave heard it said that he has many such sailing under his flag.” ‘“T have little hope in that,” was the sad re- ‘My only hope is that we may find an means may be adopted to rob these villains of their prey.” : “Sail bo!” cried the look-out. Harry sprung on the rail and leveled his slass on the sail indicated by the man on the foretop. He made her out a handsomeschooner, running down to speak them, She rose rapidly and as she showed more plainly they saw that it was an American built schooner, with the clean run and tapering spars only seen in Yan- kee shipping, and that the American flag was flying at the gaff. Harry still 2 ry still kept his glass upon her, and suddenly fixed it upon the figure of a mun who stood on the raul also with a glass in bishand. Fora moment he was undecided, but as the schooner came booming on he re- cognized that remarkable Yankee who had aided them in Shanghae, Half an hour later he was close to the Tokio, and lowering a boat he came aboard with the coolest air imaginable,and shook hands with the Americans as if they had been old friends, and nothing particular had happened. ; te “Morning, capt’in,” he said. ‘“ Been a scrimmage, i judge. Maybe you don't remem- ber I told you to take the longest way home, Capt'in Castleton,” — 4 i “TE we only had,” groared Harry, | “Sertin, sartin: most any one will holler after he gets hurt. Found the Biack Shereef "bont whar I judged you would, and had a lively Line - Now Lreckon you know how it is your- self." : “Were you in that strange craft that sunk ‘What craft?” Bohr A * Nonsense; you know all about it. Was it not'you who sent me word that you would aid “Nary. Jest look at this dockyment.” He thrust his hand into his pocket and drew ont a paper, upon which was written: “To the Yankee Rajah: ‘The ship Tokio has been attacked by the Black Shereef, off Borneo, and a young girl named Darrel made prisoner. Aid them as you would aid me, “THE Mysrery.” “That's the ticket. Now I know where that comes from and the writer thereof is jest p'izen on Malays. He eats’em for breakfast; on the half-sheill ; stewed, fried and steamed. In fact, Malay is his chief diet.” “And who are you? You gaye your name as Saul Belton. But that does not explain your presence here.” me on Mebbe you've heern tell of the Yankee Ra- “Lhave," said Harry. ‘‘He owns a little is- landin the Spice group.” “That's me: I'm the chap that ismonarch of that there island, and there ain't many sov'rins that bas as complete control of their dominions, I’spose you want to get the gal” “We will have her or die,” “That's hearty. I'm with you until the uni- versal heavens turn green. That ar’ leetle gal suited me, and I ain’t a-going to leave her in the hands of that etarnal skunk. But we can't do anything with the Tokio; she’s too ‘tarnal big fur our work.” ‘* But we may need her.” ‘‘Nary time. Sarcumvention is the word and we'll beat the cusses yet. How many of your men will it take to sail her to Batavia?” “Can wespare any of them?’ ‘‘T dunno as we kin, Say; I'll take the ship That's the proper racket,” 3 ‘* Would it not be better to go to Batavia and get a man-of-war?” Tun this thing “See here; do you want to “TE 8 <SeGoim os ee OHMIC DOG)