Leaves from a middy's log

by Arthur Lee Knight

We quickly transferred ourselves to the cutter, and cast the negroes’ boat adrift. Mother Bunch had now recovered her equanimity, and she and her pickaninny were amusingly criticised by the cutter’s crew, who seemed to be in a chaffing and hilarious mood.

The pirates in the second boat were now in full retreat, having found that they had caught a Tartar with a vengeance. I believe they picked up some of their comrades who were struggling in the water, but I fancy that the rocket had killed a good many outright.

Of course I had to give Charlie a narrative of our adventures, and Ned did the same for his mates of the cutter, one of whom was Jim Beddoes.

My chum told me that the burning island had brought the Rattler into those waters, so the volcano had actually done us another good turn—an endless category it really seemed to be. While watching the eruption from aloft, one of the signalmen had espied the brig apparently in pursuit of a large boat, and had reported the circumstance to the captain. This had eventually led to the dispatch of an armed boat’s crew, and to our rescue just in the nick of time.

It seemed that Mr. Thompson and a picked force, after capturing the mutineers of the Flying-fish and recovering the greater part of that unfortunate vessel’s cargo, had been left ashore in Cuba to search for us, while the Rattler took a short cruise to see if she could obtain any intelligence of our fate from the coasting craft and other vessels. There had been dire dismay among our shipmates as day after day passed without any news of our whereabouts, and many came to the conclusion that we had been murdered and our bodies buried away out of sight. Jim Beddoes had acted as guide to the naval brigade, and conducted them to the spot where the struggle had taken place between ourselves and the pirates; but so cunningly was the entrance to the cave concealed that they had failed to discover it.

All this Charlie told me afterwards.

In much less than an hour we were safely on board the old Rattler, for she steamed down to meet us. After congratulations had passed, and we had gone below to get some food and a change of raiment, Captain Graves went in chase of the brig, which he very quickly overhauled and took possession of, the pirates being completely cowed, and, of course, aware that we could blow them out of the water if we chose to do so.

The volcano being still in eruption, it was decided not to land for some days; and meanwhile we took our prize to Havana, and handed her over to the Spanish authorities, who were delighted to be able to lay their hands on such a gang of desperadoes. While at the Spanish capital, we ascertained that it was perfectly true that some of the pirate chief’s followers had fallen into the hands of the government. It was therefore true enough, I daresay, that the chief had kidnapped us in the hope that he might be able to effect an exchange without compromising his own safety or betraying the whereabouts of the island.

Messages were at once sent to Mr. Thompson, telling him of our safety, and a few days later we picked him and his men up at Santiago de Cuba. Then, in the company of a Spanish cruiser, we sailed for the pirates’ island, the latitude and longitude of which had been noted.

How lovely it looked on the morning of our arrival! The eruptions had entirely ceased, but a great upheaval had taken place, altering the configuration of the land very much. A cone had arisen in the centre of the island, and though not of any great altitude, its shape was very perfect. My messmate Fitzgerald was enchanted with its appearance, and made sketches of it.