A dull report, muffled by the intervening land, was borne to our ears; the signal agreed upon in case of any suspicious movements at Hanayapa; and the sound lent new strength to the arms of the five oarsmen, while the cowering king shook in his skin with fear.
"Give way, hard, men!" cried Captain Upton; "the ship will be underway before we get there! Keep quiet, you murdering scoundrel!" he added, to the ugly representative of fallen majesty, who had here manifested a disposition to throw himself overboard. "If there is any blood spilled in this matter, I'll take care that a part of it shall be royal," he added, pushing the muzzle of the pistol fairly into his ear.
"Hurrah! here she comes!" I cried with enthusiasm, as the flying jibboom of our noble ship projected beyond the headland now at no great distance from us, and the graceful hull drew slowly out into view; then moving more swiftly as she met the full power of the fresh trade wind, a few minutes gave her a safe offing to back the maintopsail for us to come alongside. She was under her three topsails, spanker and jib; but hands were already aloft to loose the lighter sails, and the courses were hanging in the buntlines.
"Keep this arch-devil secure!" said the captain, as we pushed his royal person rather disrespectfully up the side. "As long as he is in our hands, we hold the best card in the pack. Didn't have any harm done, did you, Mr. Grafton?"
"No, sir; we gave 'em the slip too quick," answered the mate. "Look up in the head of the bay there!"
We looked; sure enough, there lay a large fleet of canoes all filled with armed men, resting, like baffled hounds; while on our weather quarter, at a safe distance, the small canoe of the king held way with us, uncertain whether to venture any nearer.
"Brace full and down tacks!" said the old man, as soon as the boat was hoisted up. "Sheet home the to'gallantsails, and make sail as fast as you can! We'll make a good stretch off shore, Mr. Grafton, so as to fetch to windward of Hana—what's-his-name, there, Admiral Bailey's place, I mean."
Two hours off shore under a press of canvas, and we went in stays, "looking" well up for the eastern point of the entrance to Hanaca-oa. The six-pounder was loaded with ball, and roused into the waist, the gangway-board unshipped, and a block and whip rigged at the fore-yardarm.
"What the devil is that for?" asked the cooper, of the second mate, who was superintending these operations.
"To make fools ask questions," returned the second mate, dryly. "There'll be another yarn for you, cooper, when we get through the scrape."