In the cabin were seated nearly a dozen young women and girls, dressed up in somewhat more elegant costumes than those on deck.
“Who are these?” asked Tom.
The captain signified that they were his wives.
“What! all of them, you old wretch?” cried Tom.
The captain smiled in return, and pressed his hand on his heart, either to signify that he was speaking the truth or that they reigned there supreme.
“We will now have a peep into the hold.”
Tom, telling Alick to look out on deck, descended with two hands below. As little light reached that region, it appeared at first to be entirely empty. The odour was not very pleasant. Tom was on the point of returning on deck when he heard a groan, and hurrying to the fore part, by the dim light which came down, he distinguished a human form lying on the deck. Blood was streaming from the poor fellow’s head. Tom and his men lifted him up, and discovering no one else, they carried him under the main hatchway. He quickly revived in the fresher air, and gazed with astonishment at the lieutenant and his men.
“Who are you, my poor fellow?” asked Tom, not expecting an answer.
“Me Pango; served board English man-war.”
“Pango!” exclaimed Tom, remembering the black who had been rescued at Zanzibar by the Opal, and who, after serving on board of her for some time, was lost sight of. “I recollect all about you, and if you wish it you shall come on board again, but I want first to know who all those people are.”