“Not they,” answered Captain Willock with a laugh. “I guess now they choose it because it hides them pretty securely, and they can sweep out and pounce down on any unfortunate craft which they may catch unprepared for them in the neighbourhood. But here’s our skipper; Fi Tan you call him, don’t you? Well, he’s a mild, decent, quiet old gentleman; don’t look as if his trade was cutting throats. You’d better tell him about the ladies, or he will be finding it out himself.”
Jack and Alick agreed to this, and calling Jos, begged him to open the subject to the pirate captain, which he did with no little circumlocution; and very considerable departure from the real facts of the case, notwithstanding Jack’s charge to him to adhere to them. The Malay had two reasons for this. In the first place, he had got so completely into the way of telling falsehoods, that he could scarcely speak the truth had he tried; and in the second place, he knew that, speak the truth or not, he should not be believed. Old Fi Tan having heard Jos to an end, and watched the dumb-show of the midshipmen and Americans, desired to have the cabin-door opened. The old lady, who had thrown herself into a bed, started up, and was going to shriek out, when Captain Willock’s voice reassured her. Her daughter, who had been watching while she slept, stood trembling by her side, but tried to look as composed as she could. Captain Willock and the midshipmen soon made them understand what had occurred, and begging them to be no longer alarmed, promised that they would do their best, either to effect their escape, or to obtain their ransom.
“Oh! but our friends are all in Australia; we have no one at Canton to care for us,” cried the young lady, wringing her hands.
“Never fear, miss,” said Jack. “I beg your pardon, but I don’t know your name; but I don’t doubt the merchants there will come down with all that is required; and if not, the midshipmen on the station would be delighted to pay your ransom, and take it out of the pirates afterwards, when we catch them.”
The young lady, who did not exactly understand who midshipmen were, or what taking it out of the pirates meant, nevertheless thought Jack a very polite young gentleman, and thanking him warmly, told him that her name was Cecile Dubois, and that her mother was Madame Dubois, but that she only spoke French, and as she was now too old to learn English, she hoped he would learn French to talk to her. Jack, with a flourish of his turban, which head-covering he and Murray wore instead of their caps, which they had lost, assured her that he should have unbounded pleasure in so doing, if she would undertake to teach him. “But, Miss Cecile,” added Jack, “now I know your name, it is pleasant to call you by it; before we begin, wouldn’t you like a little food? You and your mamma must be peckish, I suspect, and she doesn’t look as if she was accustomed to starve.” This want being made known to Jos, he in a short time procured an inexplicable sort of mess not altogether unattractive, to which, at all events, the old lady seemed perfectly ready to do justice, though the younger one, with a taste which Jack admired, only ate some of the rice, and the less oleaginous morsels.
Altogether the midshipmen were pretty well satisfied with the turn affairs had taken; but poor Captain Willock had to mourn over the loss of his ship and cargo, as also, probably, most of his crew. Some he had seen taken prisoners, and dragged off on board the junks. Whether their throats had been cut, or whether they were to be found among the pirate fleet, he could not tell; others he had too great reason to fear had been blown up. “They were cowards some of them to be sure, or they would have stuck by us, and we should have beaten off the pirates; but still I cannot bear to think of them all being cruelly murdered,” observed the captain to his mate.
“I guess you’re not far wrong, captain,” answered Joe Hudson. “If it hadn’t been for these British officers, we should have been where they are, pleasant or unpleasant.”
“We only did for you what I am sure you would have done for us,” answered Murray. “We liked to see the brave way you met the pirates, and we are very glad to have assisted any Americans, whom we look upon as cousins, the next thing to our own countrymen.”
“Thank you, sir, thank you,” said Captain Willock warmly, taking Alick’s hand. “If the Britishers and Yankees were always together, we might flog all the world, I guess, who might try to oppose us.” Thus harmony prevailed among the captives.
For the next two days the fleet lay at anchor, those junks which had suffered by the explosion of the brig being engaged in repairing damages.