Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 25 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

e) Beadle,s Half-Dime Library. The chest was soon atter conveyed aboard the yacht, when Ben and Sinclair went to superintend the work of building the fort. Before night of the next day a good breast- work was raised, and five twelve-pound guns were then mounted. Two were placed so as to command the sea, and one on each of the three other sides. A guard of six of the crew was detailed to occupy the fort during the night. . On the next morning, a low, black schooner was seen approaching. Mora seeing it, turned pale. At the craft, which was about a league distant, Ben Bolt was squinting through his glass. ‘*T can’t make her out,” said he, ‘* but I’m inclined to think she’s a peaceful trader of some kind.” ** No! no!” cried Mora, “she is not!” Sinclair took the glass. As the vessel drew nearer, he saw the glitter of something, for a moment, by her starboard bulwarks, aft; then he passed the glass to Bolt, saying decidedly: ‘She is no trader!” ‘* How know you that?’ ‘‘T saw the gleam of one of her guns!” ‘¢ Then she must be a pirate!” ‘A Malay?’ ‘¢She may be, as some of these fellows have stich vessels, do you see, on purpose to deceive the merchantmen whom they want to over- haul, When within half a mile of the shore, the schooner, a fore and aft vessel, could be dis- tinctly seen. There was in her appearance nothing suspi- cious, unless it was the lowness of her hull and the jaunty rake of her fore and mainmast. Otherwise, she looked like a trader, having casks lashed, here and there, to her bulwarks, on both sides, and a tackle rigged over her main hatch, by which a man was hoisting some- thing, probably a barrel, from the hold. To the surprise of the yacht’s crew, this per- son seemed to be an Englishman. ‘¢You see you were mistaken about the gun,” said Bolt to Sinclair, ‘‘ there is none aboard.” ‘‘There certainly is none in sight.” The schooner had drawn a little nearer, and Sinclair, his suspicions now nearly dissipated, seized his trumpet to be ready to speak her. All at once a strange expression crossed his face. ‘“‘ What is it? What d’ye see?” queried Ben. ‘¢ Look along that heap of canvas, and you can see for yourself!” The canvas alluded to was a heap, which looked as if it had just been brought up and thrown carelessly where it now lay on the weather side of the deck. Under this heap Ben now beheld, only par- tially concealed, a number of black heads, and now and then caught sight of a hand or a foot, At one point he was sure he saw a cutlass, glit- tering in the sunlight. “Ay, ay, she shows the cut of her jib, now, sure enough,” said Ben. As he spoke, the white man advanced to the bow. ‘*Yacht ahoy!” he shouted. “ Ahoy!” returned Sinclair. ‘‘Ts there a good watering-place on this island?” ‘“T have no doubt of it!” “Well, then, I will go in and water here. My craft is from Calcutta; she belongs to Liver- pool, and we are bound home.” “You had better keep off a little, my man, or you'll be afoul of us,” said Sinclair. The person addressed either did not, or pre- tended he did not hear him. The schooner, meanwhile, was bearing straight for the yacht, on a course which, if continued, would cause her to strike the small- er craft amidship. “ Keep off, or [’ll sink you!” shouted Sinclair, in a voice so loud that it could not fail to reach the men aboard the schooner. The words had scarcely passed his lips, when the heaps of canvass on both sides of the deck, were suddenly thrust aside by about sixty dusky Malays, all armed with knives, pistols and cutlasses. As the men sprung up from under the cloth, four guns, ten-pounders, were revealed, two on each side, in places which the canvas had pre- viously concealed. The vessel was quickly luffed up, presenting her starboard guns toward the little yacht! CHAPTER V. THE COMBAT. ‘“‘ Lrvety, there!” shouted Sinclair, waving his arm toward the fort, in which he had placed six men to be ready to point and dis- charge the seaward guns, at a moment’s notice. The pieces were loaded, and sticks, with the ends dipped in tar, were placed near them to serve as matches. Now, therefore, the young captain had a chance to try the ‘temper’ of the young crew under his command. Already the schooner’s gunners were advanc- ing toward their pieces, which, unless the boys in the fort should bestir themselves, would be discharged first, The safety of the yacht depended on the con- duct of the young guard ashore. The first of | the two parties that fired, it seemed, must _ prove the victors. Meanwhile Bolt was squinting along the nine- pounder aft, while Sinclair attended to the smaller one nearly amidships. These guns might be made to do some execu- tion, of course, but not a quarter as much as the large ones of the fort. From the latter place, just as the Malay gunners were about applying their matches, came a stream of lurid fire, followed by a re- port that made the yacht tremble from stem to stern. The crashing woodwork, and a clanging sound, and a wild shriek were heard! The smoke clearing, Ben and Sinclair looked to see the effect of the two shots. Off went the old sailor’s hat, which he waved triumphantly about his head. ‘A better shot was never made,” he said to Sinclair. ‘* We have dismounted their star- board guns, which they were about to ‘pop’ at us, do you see, besides doing other damage, Now our own must ‘talk.’ ” So saying, he snatched the lighted match that one of the crew had brought, and applied it to the nine-pounder. The piece thundered, and away went the schooner’s foretopsail yard by the run. Sin- clair followed up this damage by carrying away the pirate’s jib-boom, with one of the six- pounders. The schooner’s starboard guns having been dismounted, her crew were now endeavoring to bring their craft round, so that they could use the larboard pieces, ** Blast me, if I don’t spoil that fun for ’em!” said old Ben. The nine-pounder having been reloaded, he pointed it carefully and fired, his shot striking the schooner’s main-mast, and carrying it over- board with a crash, just as the vessel’s head was being brought round. There was now much confusion aboard the craft. Soon, however, her two boats, loaded with their dusky crews, were seen to drop alongside, showing a design on the part of the pirates, to attempt the capture of the yacht by boarding. “Stand by to repel boarders!” shouted the yorng captain. His crew of twenty-four boys were soon ready to fight against more than twice their number. Sinclair looked around him with much satisfaction at their determined faces. Ola Ben, however, smiled grimly, rolling his | quid from side to side, in a doubtful manner. | To tell the truth, he felt convinced that, at the first onslaught of the pirates, these untrained boys would be quickly mowed down by their older enemies, The two boats were now rapidly approach- ing the yacht, in the direction of her bows, thus keeping out of range of her guns, When they were still about a hundred feet distant, Bolt sprung from the deck of the yacht, upon the planks leading to land, and was seen making off! The boys all watched this apparent flight with undisguised astonishment. ““ Ben,” called Sinclair, “‘ what do you mean! I never thought to see you run from an enemy !” But the old tar kept straight on, until he reached the fort, which he quickly entered, placing himself at one of the guns. This piece he carefully sighted. Then there was a report like thunder, as the weapon was dis- charged, the heavy shot striking the foremost boat, shattering it and killing several of its crew. The rest, as the boat sunk, were seen swim- ming toward the schooner. ‘‘Now, then, for the other boat!” shouted Ben, as he sprung to the second gun. This he aimed carefully, and fired, his shot striking the remaining boat and cutting off the bow. There was a cheer from the yacht, as the Malays were seen swimming for their vessel. This they soon reached, when, boarding the craft, they cut adrift the wrecked mast, and headed away from the island with only their mainmast standing. As there was no more ammunition in the fort, Bolt hurried aboard the yacht, to make® use of the small guns. These were pointed at the schooner, and several shots were fired, damaging the hull of the pirate craft, ere her crew, by tacking, suc- ceeded in getting out of range. A few minutes later, the vessel passed round a high promontory, which hid her from the of the yacht’s crew. “T believe,” said Bolt, “that many of those ' rascals were from the proa, which we disabled a few days ago. The Malays, probably, have a rendezvous on other islands. There is a large gang of them, I’ll be bound, and they have many different vessels.” ‘* As that schooner was, however, their larg- est one, we needn’t feel discouraged,” remarked Sinclair. The rest of the day was spent in lugging large quantities of ammunition from the cavern to the fort. Just at dark, Sinclair, who had been assist- ing his crew, sat down near the entrance of the cave to rest, soon intending to follow his young shipmates, whom he had ordered to dis- continue work for the day. Suddenly, chanc- ing to glance up, he fancied he saw the outlines of several dark forms moving over a headland, in the distance. Fond of perilous adventure, he resolved to steal near the spot and play the spy. Cau- tiously hurrying along, keeping himself screened by shrubbery, he finally gained a spot behind a rock, whence, through openings in the rugged mass, he could see the lately dis- abled schooner, lying within a hundred yards of the land, her yards lowered, her topsails clewed up. Alongshore he beheld a small boat like a gig, which he had previously noticed hanging over the vessel’s stern; and not far off, he could dis- tinguish the sound of low voices. Getting down on his hands and knees, the youth, by keeping in the shadows of low rocks, soon arrived within a few feet of a group of Malays, who stood about two yards from the boat. 5 One of them held a lantern, so shaded tha the light, while it did not show above the headland, fell upon the forms and faces of the group, revealing also, on the ground, a large chest, which they had evidently lugged from no very distant point. Soon another person—the Englishman who had spoken the yacht—came in sight, out of the darkness beyond the party. “You have the treasure all safe?” bh in- quired, “Yes, cap ” answered one of the men. “We find ‘him’ all safe, where crew of GOMIGEGDOCKS