"For my part, I hadn't a doubt but the ship had been watched from shore all along; and there was no saying at present who might be keeping an eye upon her, even if this affair of the French brig weren't to catch us in some deep trick or other. If it were really she, and lying where we caught a glimpse of her the day before, 'twould take three or four hours, at night, even to pull there and back again; but as for her being an ordinary pirate, I had a strong notion she was no such thing, and the stranger I thought the whole matter throughout.
"As I peered over the bulwarks into the thick of the tall jungle, the showers of fireflies came here and there flickering out from under the big leaves, lighting up the green of them for a moment, and dancing across a black mouth in the bank nearest us, like emerald sparks. By this time, too, the starlight was growing large out over the dusk, till the whole height of the sky had heaved itself above our upper spars, clear as crystal, and sprinkled full of soft silver points, that gathered and got brighter as you looked. One could see the whole breadth of the river floating slowly between, with lazy brown swirls of current twisting and curling round the point, and the eddies rising in the middle, to where the water glistened among the dark wet mangrove stems, or some oily swell near the edge went lipping in with the gleam of a star lengthened upon it. Hot and close though the night still was, while the rank smell of the mud came at times into our nostrils from one side, and of growing leaves from the other, yet it was pleasant enough after being shut up for ever so many hours in a dark hole below.
"Neither did I think there was any fear of trouble from the natives while this lasted; but the haze that seemed to be oozing out over the mass of woods, with now and then a cool breath of air from up-river, showed what a fog we might expect as soon as the land-wind began to blow strong from inland. Sometimes I fancied I heard cries in the distance among the woods, over the croaking of the frogs which seemed to get up as one listened; then again I could make out the hollow booming of the African tree-drum, with a chorus of horns and savage-like shouts, apparently filling up every break in the hum that rose off the ground—far enough away, however, to satisfy me the blacks were only making merry before turning in.
"As for Tom Westwood, he had plainly gone with the boats, clerical though he was, which didn't go to set my mind greatly at rest, knowing him to be one of your slap-dash fellows when roused; and, either way, it couldn't do much good to a man hailing for a parson to be particularly active on boat-service. But you may easily conceive what a pitch one's anxiety for the upshot rose to, at every whisper and hush of the woods, and every glimmer of the water far astern, where the upper reach could just be seen brimming pale out of the shadow, against a thick fringe of misty cane-clumps, topped with tall palms and cocoas—their stems wavering in the thin haze, and their dark crowns seemingly floating off above it like heads coming away from the bodies, as the heavy blue land-fog began to gather like smoke away behind.
"The flow of tide having of course set the Indiaman's stern up-stream, the ladies on the poop could be seen clustered across the taffrail, with the careful married gentleman in the middle of them, more dignified than ordinary, as they one and all strained their eyes into the dusk before them; when one of the men came down the poop-stairs behind me, and, on turning, I saw to my surprise that it was Jacobs, he being still more astonished to see me on deck. I soon found, to my great relief too, that, what with the anchor-watch and some lads, there were still seven or eight of the crew aboard, whom I advised him to get on deck and make them keep a bright look-out—more especially as he was one of the boatswain's mates, and had charge of the watch at the moment; for, to tell the truth, seriously speaking, I had more real fear, all along, of some attack from the negroes and Don José, than of the French craft they would fancy a pirate, whatever might be her reason for stowing away Rollock and his companions—although I told Jacobs I had no doubt now but it was actually she. 'Ay, ay, sir,' said Jacobs in a low voice, giving his trousers an uneasy hitch up, 'not a doubt on it, Mr Collins. Black Harry and his mates clapped eyes on her this forenoon, when they went up for water—so they said, anyway!' 'What, Bob?' said I, starting—'was it that scoundrel? Did they not see her then?' 'Well, sir,' replied Jacobs, 'as I gather, 'twas rather one of her boats they fell ath'art of. You'll mind Harry was in the cutter that time you boarded the brig at sea, Mr Collins, a week or two 'gone—so, you see, he knowed one or two o' the crew at once; and in course, sir, comin' across one another hereaway, they'd make shift to have a talk, but none on 'em ever guessed about our passengers bein' aboard of her, till——' 'Did the fellow himself think they were pirates, then?' asked I, more anxiously than before—a shivering dread of I didn't know what beginning to creep on me, as I turned suddenly round to eye the river glooming away up from the starlight, through into the blue heaps of hazy forest.
'Why, sir,' answered Jacobs hastily, 'he's a desperate sort, is that 'ere Foster, if it was only what I've heard him say, swinging sound asleep in 's hammock. I wouldn't tell as much otherways; but I tell ye what it is, sir, my mind misgived me o' this here overnight boat-business! It's my sober notion, Leftenant Collins,' gravely added he, seeing I still looked anxiously to him—'it's my notion, if that craft's aught of a pirate, Harry Foster and more nor half of his watch 'ud think no more o' joining her, on a chance, than one on 'em did o' taking you that clip with a handspike this morning, sir! As for this here brig, Master Ned, your honour,' continued he, 'what did she do, but, to my fancy, she's keeped a eye on us ever since we first fell foul of her?'
"'Jacobs! Jacobs!' I broke out directly, 'get every hand up on the foc'sle at once, with everything like arms you can find—for God's sake look sharp, and then bear a hand here to have the carronades fore and aft run in, and stuffed full of some old iron or other, as we can't have grape!' Hurried as it was, I saw the whole thing—a regular deep-laid plot it seemed, too—and the first time I had seen light as to what the strange brig could be after. Here had she dodged us, no doubt, for weeks; got hold of our friends by accident, which would give her a clue how to find us anywhere during the rest of our voyage, as we were too strong-handed for her then. 'Twas very likely they thought we should suspect something, and follow wherever they could manage to lure the Indiaman—or else possibly they had run into the river the very same day we did, and perhaps seen us out of the haze which hid the land from us that morning; and now, if they had studied it for years, they couldn't have contrived a cleverer trap than this that Finch and the passengers had run their heads into, with more than a dozen mutinous dogs, at least, in their company. A prize like an East-Indiaman was worth taking some trouble about, of course; while such villains as Foster and his messmates, I knew, would fancy a Bengal nabob carried untold treasures with him, and it was plain to me they had something like an understanding with the stranger's crew. 'Ay, ay, sir,' said Jacobs, in answer to me; 'hows'ever, the first mate left word with Mr Macleod he'd send up a rocket and a blue-light in case o' a good success, or else come back with the boats.' 'Heaven help them, Jacobs!' said I, taking a hasty turn or two, 'for we can't. But there is something more horrid in the matter than I fancied—only all we can do is to look to ourselves and the ship! Harkye, though, Bob,' added I, following him; 'bring up the beef-kid, will ye? I feel terribly sharp-set, notwithstanding.'
"I came back and looked from the quarter-deck down the skylight, where the second mate still sat with his elbows on the table, apparently listening to the missionary; when the good man suddenly took off his spectacles and peered under Macleod's broad fists, as an undeniable snore broke out between them; then he glanced toward the captain, who seemed dozing in his cot, raised his mild eyes for a moment through the opening up to the blue starry sky swimming out above, put on his spectacles again, and taking up the Bible, he leant back in his chair to read, as if there were neither pirates, savages, nor aught a man need dread, in the world.
"'Strange!' I thought. 'Yet, after all isn't there a soul below there, ere a few hours, will go higher aloft than the smallest star that twinkles over the main-truck yonder? And who knows how many of us may——' However, I saw Jacobs hurrying aft again, and the rest coming up out of the fore-peak; so hard to work we set for the best part of an hour, which it took us to get the guns on deck made serviceable, and to find powder enough. Not a cutlass or pistol was left on board, so we had only two or three axes and pikes, with a rusty musket or two, and handspikes, certainly, to spare.
"As soon as we had taken breath, 'Now, Jacobs, my man,' said I, 'send out the boys to loose the jibs and fore-topsail—let's hoist the yard, too, with the sail clued up—all ready for slipping her cable at five minutes' warning! It can't do any harm—and I've no more doubt,' said I, 'than if I saw it, we shall have that schooner coming down with the ebb upon us!' 'Tide'll turn in little better nor an hour, sir,' said Jacobs, when we had got this quietly done. 'And by that time the breeze will be blowing with it,' said I, 'bringing down the fog too, however—but keep a bright look-out aloft for the signal, Jacobs! If you see it, or the boats, good and well. But I tell you what it is, Jacobs,' added I, firmly, 'should it be the schooner instead, that instant we must cut and run for it! I shall carry the ship out to sea, if I can, as I brought her in—where we may have a better chance with her in the morning, or get clear off, perhaps!'