'See this!' cried Abraham extending his arms, which trembled with the hurry and agitation of his mind; 'if them fellows forward are not to be burnt—and oh, my Gord! listen to them a-singing out!—we must provision a quarter-boat and get away, and, afore casting off, one of us must pull them stretchers off that the men may get out. Who's to be that last man? I will!'
'No, ye can't swim, Abey! That must be moy job,' shouted Jacob.
'I can lay hold of a buoy, an' jump overboard.'
'It'll be moy job, I tell ye!' passionately cried Jacob.
'Oh, hark to those poor creatures!' exclaimed Helga.
'Quick!' cried I. 'Abraham has told us what to do. There would be no need for this horrible haste but for those imprisoned men! Hear them! Hear them!'
It was a wild and dreadful chorus of lamentation, mingled with such wailings as might rise in the stillness following a scene of battle. The noise was scarcely human. It seemed to proceed from famished or wounded jackals and hyenas. But to liberate them—every man armed as he was with a sheath-knife deadly as a creese in those dingy fists—every man infuriate—it was not to be dreamt of!
As swiftly as we could ply our legs and arms, we victualled the starboard quarter-boat. Provisions were to our hands; we threw them in plentifully—remains of cooked meat, biscuit, cheese, and the like; we took from each boat the breaker that belonged to her, filled them both with water, and stowed them. The sail belonging to the boat lay snugged in a yellow waterproof cover along the mast; there were oars in her—all other furniture, indeed, that properly belonged to her—rowlocks, rudder, yoke; and the boatmen, old hands at such work as this, nimbly but carefully saw that the plug was in its place.
All the time that we worked there was rising out of the forecastle hatch the dreadful noise of lamentation, of cries, of entreaties. It was a sound to goad us into red-hot haste, and we laboured as though we were eight instead of four.
'Now, Mr. Tregarthen,' cried Abraham, 'if we ain't to be pursued by them savages on our liberating of 'em, we must cut them there falls.' And he pointed to the tackles which suspended the other boat at the port davits.