CHAPTER VIII.[ToC]
Despair—I write the Date of my Captivity—Benevolence of the Pirates—A Happy Meal—A Steamer in Sight—Flight of the Pirates—Gratitude—Hurrah! Hurrah! I am Saved!
We had hoped that the day would, as usual, bring us some little liberty and fresh air; but the pirates were too busy to heed us. Absorbed in the pursuit of gain, they were all day occupied in negotiating the sale of their plunder, and for that purpose received on board those traders whose special line it is to buy up stolen goods. Bathed in perspiration, racked with acute cramps, and half stifled by the long-confined air, I suffered horribly. My skin, too, was covered with a painful eruption, and I had become so weak that, although my companion strove to amuse and cheer me, I was no longer able to reply. By and bye, we heard the pirates counting their gold, and then the splashing oars that bore the purchasers away. This done, our jailers at length remembered our captivity, and opened the trap. It was time they did so; for we had lain there upwards of four-and-twenty hours! The delight which it was once more to breathe that fresh night-air, I shall remember to my dying day.
The next day was the 17th, and a glorious morning dawned. To our surprise, the pirates came at sunrise, and quite removed the trap. They seemed almost pleasant, and, when the hour of breakfast came, brought us not only an abundance of food, but even some wine. This liquor, which is extracted from rice, is as transparent as water, and by no means unpalatable. The flavour of it, indeed, is not unlike that of new Bordeaux.
The junk was now coasting beside an uninhabited shore, and the pirates, assured that we could not here be observed, left our cell uncovered throughout the day. They even suffered Than-Sing to remain for some time on deck, and behaved towards us with an amazing degree of good-humour. The weather was so fine that I almost envied my companion, and longed to follow him in his walk. Not daring, however, to get out without permission, I ventured to stand up in my place, and look round at the land and the sea. Oh, how delicious seemed that sight! After having lived for seven long days in a dark and filthy den, I now beheld the broad bright ocean, the golden sunlight, the blue sky, and the verdant shore! Here and there, in the midst of trees and pastures, lay tiny white villages, dotting the coast-line far away, like white flowers in the grass. The sight of this landscape intoxicated me. I fancied myself once more in sight of my own dear France, and wept as I have seldom wept before or since.
At this moment the pirate-chief passed by. I pointed to the land, and Than-Sing, who had been watching my emotion, hastened to explain that I was praying for life and liberty. Motioning to me to be calm, the chief then replied that he had long since despatched Captain Rooney in a junk to Macao; that Captain Rooney was empowered to treat there for our ransoms; and that he had expected yesterday to meet the junk on its return. Should five more days elapse, however, without further tidings, it was his intention, he said, to transfer us on board another vessel. This vague reply troubled us more than ever. Transferred to another junk, what might not be our fate? After all, the interpretation of the thing was plain enough. They were not disposed, somehow, to put us to death; but should they find it impossible to extort a ransom for our liberty, they would get rid of us to those who might not be so scrupulous. Even supposing that we had come across a steamer by the way, what had we to hope? Would not our captors sooner throw us overboard, than be taken in the fact of piracy and kidnapping on the high seas?
The captain now gave me leave to walk awhile on deck, and I gratefully availed myself of the permission. So happy was I in the enjoyment of light and liberty, that I forgot all my former tortures, and learnt to look upon these lawless men with feelings that were almost friendly. They were very busy this morning, bustling to and fro, chatting familiarly together, and dividing the spoil of the previous evening. I confess with shame that I scarcely remembered by what means they had wrung that spoil from their miserable victims, and could think only of my present freedom. It was not often that the pirates took any notice of me; but, strange to say, whenever they did look at me, it was with an expression of good-nature of which I should scarcely have supposed them capable.
"They like you," said Than-Sing, who had been talking with them. "They like you, because your face and eyes are gentle; and they say that they no longer wish any evil to happen to you."
It seemed incredible that these men should forego their native ferocity in my favour; but perhaps my patience and my weakness touched their hearts. On the other hand, I owed much, doubtless, to their cupidity. When I recall the length of my imprisonment, the character of my jailers, and all the circumstances of my capture, I can scarcely credit, even now, the evidences of my own memory.