With Clive in India; Or, The Beginnings of an Empire

by G. A. Henty

When the fight was over, the craft in which were the captives ran alongside the flagship of the pirate leader, and the captain reported to him the capture he had made. Fortunately, Tulagi Angria was in a high state of delight, at the victory he had just won; and, instead of ordering them to be instantly executed, he told the captain to take them on to Suwarndrug, and to imprison them there until his arrival. He himself, with the rest of his fleet, and the captured Dutch sloop, sailed into Gheriah; and the craft, in which Charlie and his companions were imprisoned, continued her course to the island stronghold of the pirates.

Suwarndrug was built on a rocky island. It lay within gunshot of the shore. Here, when Kanhagi Angria had first revolted from the authority of the Mahratta kingdom, the ruler of the Deccan had caused three strong forts to be built, in order to reduce the island fort. The pirates, however, had taken the initiative, and had captured these forts; as well as the whole line of seacoast, a hundred and twenty miles in length; and the country behind, twenty or thirty miles broad, extending to the foot of the mountains.

On their arrival at Suwarndrug, the prisoners were handed over to the governor, and were imprisoned in one of the casemates of the fort. The next day, they were taken out and ordered to work; and, for weeks, they laboured at the fortifications, with which the pirates were strengthening their already naturally strong position. The labour was very severe, but it was a consolation to the captives that they were kept together.

By Charlie's advice they exerted themselves to the utmost, and thus succeeded in pleasing their masters, and in escaping with but a small share of the blows, which were liberally distributed among other prisoners, native and European, employed upon the work. Charlie, indeed, was appointed as a sort of overseer; having under him not only his own party, but thirty others, of whom twenty were natives, and ten English sailors, who had been captured in a merchantman. Although closely watched, he was able to cheer these men, by giving them a hope that a chance of escape from their captivity might shortly arrive. All expressed their readiness to run any risk to regain their liberty.

From what he heard the pirates say, Charlie learned that they were expecting an attack from an expedition which was preparing at Bombay. The English sailors were confined in a casemate, adjoining that occupied by Charlie and his companions. The guard kept over them was but nominal, as it was considered impossible that they could escape from the island, off which lay a large fleet of the pirate vessels.

One morning upon starting to work they perceived, by the stir in the fortress, that something unusual was taking place; and presently, on reaching the rampart, they saw in the distance a small squadron approaching. They could make out that it consisted of a ship of forty-four guns, one of sixteen, and two bomb vessels, together with a fleet of native craft.

The pirate fleet were all getting up sail.

"It's a bold thing, Tim, to attack this fortress with only two ships, when the pirates have lately beaten a Dutch squadron mounting double the number of guns."

"Ah, yer honor, but then there is the Union Jack floating at the masthead. Do you think the creeturs don't know the differ?"

"But the Dutchmen are good sailors, and fought well, Tim. I think the difference is that in the last case they attacked the Dutch, while in the present we are attacking them. It makes all the difference in the world, with Indians. Let them attack you, and they'll fight bravely enough. Go right at them, and they're done for.