the ship remained at hong-kong for a few weeks, during which time mr. thompson, the acting boatswain, had plenty of opportunity to go on shore; but with his promotion all that beautiful simplicity of impudence, for which he was, when a seaman, distinguished, vanished, and although he knew full well the mackays expected him to call upon them, it was not until he received the following invite that he summoned enough courage to face his good friends.
"chy-loon villa.
"dear mr. thompson,
"we have expected you would call upon us ever since your ship has been in harbour. as we know you would prefer not meeting strangers, we beg you will dine with us alone on friday at 8 o'clock.
"ever your sincere friend,
"walter mackay."
to which jerry replied,
"h. m. s. stinger.
"my dear friends,
"i am very much obliged to you, and will be there punctual.
"your obedient friend,
"j. thompson.
"p. s. i hope none of the officers will drop in."
having dispatched the foregoing, the acting boatswain sought the advice of a friendly midshipman as to costume and deportment, and upon the appointed evening proceeded to make the call, about which he felt very nervous. when he arrived at the place he was met by mr. mackay, who was waiting in the verandah to welcome him. jerry seated himself in a rocking-chair, but looked so uncomfortable, that his friend inquired if he were unwell. upon which thompson got up, and beckoning his host into a small reception-room, gravely asked him if he thought he would do.
"my dear fellow, what do you mean?"
"well, am i all square? rigging all right?"
mr. mackay could scarcely preserve the gravity of his countenance, but after a short pause he replied,
"why, you look, very nice indeed, thompson. what makes you ask me such a question?"
"why," said the acting boatswain in a whisper, and getting more mysterious than ever, "he said i warn't all square, and i don't want to pay miss moore such a ill compliment as to come to dine with you and not be all right, you know."
"oh, you're splendid. why, you look as handsome as a post-captain."
thus assured, jerry became more easy in his manner, but he was terribly put out[pg 169] when, upon mrs. mackay making her appearance, he found her accompanied by a dark-eyed girl, who was just as affable towards him as his hostess; and when the dinner-gong sounded he actually started, thinking he would have to escort the young lady into the dining-room; but to his relief mrs. mackay held out her arm, which the sailor took, and thus reversing the order of things, walked solemnly from the apartment.
the dinner passed off without any mishap, as thompson had seen enough life to keep him all right at table, while his natural gallantry and devotion to the fair sex caused him to show all proper attention to the dark-eyed young lady seated by his side. when the ladies had withdrawn, his kind host lit a cigar, having in vain tried to induce his guest to do the same, and after a little chat asked him what he thought of the young lady.
"she's a real fine lady, but i'm afraid of her."
"nonsense, thompson. why?"
"well, she's got a sort of a half-laughing sort of way, as much as to say she thinks i'm a poor sort of a imitation of a reg'ler warrant-officer, and she sees through it."
"chut, chut; let us join the ladies."
jerry entered the drawing-room upon tip-toe, as the dark-eyed one was playing the piano, and having taken his seat on the chair furthest from the instrument, fixed his eyes upon her, and watched the motion of her fingers in a curiously anxious manner. when she had finished she turned to him and exclaimed, "can you sing, mr. thompson?"
"me, miss?"
"surely you can. don't you know one song?"
"no, miss. not what you'd call songs."
"not a sea-song?"
"well, i know 'the gal i left behind me,' and 'hearts of oak,' and 'tom bowline,' and—"
"oh, do sing 'tom bowline,' mr. thompson."
after much persuasion jerry got over his bashfulness; then, in a full mellow voice, sang that fine old sea-song, and ere the last verse was completed he heard the ladies sobbing as if their hearts would break. when he had finished, the younger lady wiped her eyes, and looked at him with the greatest admiration. he was no longer the bashful-awkward sailor, but a man of genuine tenderness of heart, and she began fully to understand how it was that her friends thought so highly of him. as he sang his voice seemed filled with pity for some lost shipmate, and it would have been an unsympathetic ear upon which such a song fell without calling forth some pitying response; and the young lady, though not intending to do so, looked at the acting boatswain in such a manner, that a much less susceptible person would have easily understood her meaning.
jerry began to feel uncomfortable. i wish she wouldn't stare at me so, he thought. i'll ask her to sing.
"please, miss, as it's my call, may i be so bold as to ask you to sing?"
"what song would you like, mr. thompson? i am almost ashamed to sing after you."
"anything, miss; they are all pretty."
not without a touch of mischief in her voice, the dark-eyed one sang "love not." now, had she wished to captivate the sailor she could not have chosen a more inappropriate song. when she commenced thompson was all attention, but at the words
"love flings a halo round the fair one's head,"
[pg 170]
the poor fellow got up, and walked into the verandah, where he sobbed like a child. a-tae, the truest love in the world, the heart which once so fondly beat for him, now stilled in death—the beautiful lips which, when parted with a smile for him, seemed like an angel's; the stars which shone down upon him then, were shining upon her silent grave, and he should never see her again. all this flashed across his mind, and, sailor as he was, he wept. however, after a few moments he recovered, and crept quietly into the room, his friends pretending not to have noticed his absence. mrs. mackay sang several songs, and played some animated airs upon the piano, which, with a little brandy pawnee, somewhat enlivened the sailor. about eleven o'clock the dark-eyed one went home, and his hostess wishing to have a little conversation with him, begged he would not hurry his departure, as they did not generally retire until a late hour.
the young lady gone, thompson threw off his bashfulness, and was once more the merry fellow of old, but he cautiously avoided expressing any opinion about the dark-eyed visitor.
"do you know who she is, mr. thompson?"
"no, miss."
"she is our new governess of the native girls' school; and, i think, would make you an excellent wife."
"me, miss? me marry? no, no. i'll keep single. i ain't a marrying man."
"but she was very much interested with your song, and i noticed you were with hers. take care, mr. thompson; take care."
"bless your heart, miss, you don't know human nature as i do. why, if every young woman that i have sung that song to, and who has cried over it, had been sentimentyle over me, i should have been prosecuted for breach of promise years ago. it's only for a moment—they feels sorry for poor tom bowline. he's gone aloft, they thinks, and his widder is a-crying about him—probable his half-pay note stopped, and no pension, and her little children going into the werkus. but it's soon all over, and then they are ready for another song of a similar sentimentyle specee, at which they cries, just as they would smile at a comic song, bless their little hearts all on 'em, miss."
"thompson, you only talk like that to deceive me as to the real state of your feelings. you don't mean what you say."
"indeed, miss, but i does. i've a lonely widowed mother at home, and i intend devoting the remainder of a rather precarious existence to her. i am going to die a bachelor, and i think it's just as well for any one in my situation."
mrs. mackay laughed, and when she bade him good-bye, said, "we hear the stinger is going home as soon as canton is taken. you will let us know when your happy event takes place, will you not, and send us a description of the bride?"
jerry shook his head and replied in a mournful sort of way, "miss, if ever you hears of such a melancholy episode, you may rest assured that i am somebody's victim, not a convict by my own free will."
a few days after the foregoing occurrence, the stinger was despatched to the canton river, where captain woodward was directed to take possession of a small fortified island called yin-sin, situated about ten miles below the barriers; and, to hold himself in readiness to receive, pay for, and take care of all live stock which could be collected by a party of contractors, who had volunteered to obtain any quantity of cattle the government required, provided the authorities would assist them, and place a war-ship off yin-sin fort, to which they could retreat when pursued by the imperial row boats. as the contractors could not speak a word of english, hoo-kee, the old pilot, was sent on board to act as interpreter.
[pg 171]
having cleared out and whitewashed the fort, the ship's company were employed in building sheds upon a level piece of ground near the lower end of the island, and in a few days they put up accommodations for over five hundred head of cattle, besides a house for the chinese contractors; then having thrown up an embankment round the island, which they further protected by palisades driven near the water's edge, woodward directed lieutenant russell to take command of the fort, assisted by the acting boatswain, a gunner's mate, and a garrison of thirty-five seamen.
in a few nights the contractors began to receive bullocks from all parts of the river, and the supply seemed unlimited; but after several lots had been despatched to hong-kong, the number brought decreased, and at length only one or two would be forthcoming, and these were very ordinary beasts indeed. upon the pilot being questioned, he informed them that "comprador no can catchee peecee boolaky, him all lib topside river," or, in other words, the supply was exhausted about yin-sin fort, and they would have to go further up the river. woodward did not like to leave the cattle to the sole guard of the garrison, so he concluded to wait for a few days, when he could obtain a gun-boat to assist the contractors, preferring that course to risking the safety of his men.
it was well that he did so, for one night as he was quietly anchored ahead of the island, the man upon the look-out on the port side of the forecastle suddenly announced that a big craft was dropping down upon them, and before they could get up anchor two immense junks filled with brushwood, pitch, oil, and other combustibles, were cleverly floated across the stinger's bows, and in an instant the fore part of the ship was enveloped in flame. woodward knowing the probability of such an attack, had an anchor fastened to the jib-boom in such a manner that in case a fire-ship got across his bows, it might be dropped on board the burning craft, then slipping his own bower to the chain of which this suspended anchor was attached, he would be able to drop quite clear of the fire-ship, which being left anchored to his late moorings, would burn itself out, while he was hove off at a short distance.
this was all very nice in theory, but the fire-junks were floated down so silently, that no one saw them until they were almost fast to the bows. when the officer of the watch ordered the suspended anchor to be cut adrift, it was found to be foul and would not start, and woodward getting on deck, saw at a glance that the ship would be lost if no one could manage to cut the obstruction to their only means of safety. however, he did not show what he felt, but gave his orders in a cool and deliberate manner.
"pay out the cable, and stand by to slip the anchor."
"aye, aye, sir," replied the boatswain's mate of the watch.
the fire-junks hung for a few moments upon his bows, but being slack water, did not drop upon her; and the stinger having steam up, "went astern" slowly, leaving the chinese engines of destruction moored by the lines by which they had been towed down upon the man-of-war. as the ship receded from their fiery contact the flames ran along her bowsprit and caught the bulwarks, but a well-directed stream of water from her pumps soon extinguished that, and the further burning of the bowsprit and projecting spars was prevented.
the chinese who were managing the attack seeing the stinger move from her anchorage slacked their tow-lines, and woodward saw the junks were coming down upon him again.
"who'll volunteer to cut away that spare anchor when the junks are again under the bows?"
[pg 172]
"i will, sir," cried tom clare, who, dressed in a blanket frock and trousers, looked more like an esquimaux than a sailor. "the fire won't hurt this rig."
"up you get, then; the fire won't touch you if you're smart, as the wind has fallen, and is drawing aft. the tricing line has fouled just abaft the foretopmast stay. don't cut until i give the order."
luckily the stays were made of corrugated iron wire, and clare knew if he could feel those he was safe, even though the smoke blinded him. he was determined to save the ship; and, axe in hand, mounted the head grating, and running out upon the bowsprit, calmly waited for the fire-junks to drop down near enough for the anchor to plump aboard them. as he stood there, with the red gleam of the burning junks showing every line in his face, he looked the handsome tom clare of former days; and knowing how perilous his position was, many of the crew wished almost any other man of their number there instead of him.
"they're coming, clare. stand by, and let them get close enough. i'll give you orders when to cut."
"aye, aye, sir," quietly replied tom.
down dropped the burning craft towards the ship, every now and then sending a volume of smoke into the sky, as some store of combustible exploded on board them, flaming like furnace tops, with their entire length an unbroken mass of roaring, singing fire. tom felt the glare upon his face, and found a difficulty in breathing. nearer and nearer they approached, until the flying jib-boom was again on fire, and he began to experience the sensation of burning whiskers and singed eyebrows and face. but as no order came, he waited.
"cut away!"
steadying himself upon the bowsprit, which was now enveloped in flame, the gallant fellow gave one smart cut. the obstruction was severed, and the anchor dropped crashing on board the starboard fire-junk. in an instant the chain cable was slipped on board, and the stinger tore astern at full speed. when they got clear of the burning masses woodward enquired for clare, but no one had noticed him come in, and the commander feared he had fallen a victim to his bravery.
"clare! where's clare?"
"clare! clare!" bawled half-a-dozen voices, but no response came. it was a moment of great anxiety, for the chinese, finding their junks anchored, were endeavouring to drop down another burning craft; and although the captain would willingly have risked his own life in an endeavour to pick up clare, he felt the safety of the ship was of more consequence, and was compelled to move down the river until he was below the fort and quite secure from further attempts with fire-junks.
the crew soon managed to extinguish the fire forward, and within ten minutes of clare's gallant act a number of men were standing upon the spot where he performed it. loud and hearty were their commendations, and all regretted his sad fate.
"he's drowned. can't ye see? when he cut the lashing of that anchor the bowsprit was burning under him, and the tar on the stays was alight. the smoke choked him, and he fell overboard."
"poor tom! and he a gettin' on so nicely. well, it are hard."
when the fire-junks began to burn down, a number of guns laid in rows in their holds, went off, and sent their shot scattering across the paddy fields. seeing this, lieutenant russell opened fire with the guns of yin-sin fort, and after several rounds, sunk one of the ships and blew up another. the third, now no longer obstructed, floated with the tide up the river, and exploding, set fire to some chinese row-boats which were hovering near.
[pg 173]
lieutenant russell, knowing the chinese might take advantage of the confusion, and endeavour to carry off the live stock, had ordered his men to rouse the contractors, and direct them to get the bullocks inside the walls, while he watched the progress of the attack, and kept off a fleet of row-boats, which were evidently bent on following up the fire-ships. the cattle being securely got in, the compradors were rigged in sailor's attire, and all hands got ready to resist any attack which might be made upon their position, the lieutenant knowing it would be useless to depend upon assistance from the ship.
just as the latter got clear of the fire-junks, and while the attention of the garrison was drawn to their shipmates' peril, a party of "braves" succeeded in making a landing upon a small jetty or pier, which had been run out from the lower end of the island, and in a short time the cattle sheds and compradors' huts were wrapped in flames. finding the live stock out of their reach, they advanced boldly towards the fort, and threw over the ramparts lighted balls composed of flax steeped in resin.
wonderful to relate, instead of intimidating the imprisoned fanquis, the braves found their flaming missiles come flying back upon them; and to add to their discomforture, a party, headed by the acting boatswain, sallied forth from a small gate, the existence of which was unknown to them, whereupon they threw down their arms, and made for the water, but were caught in the gap between the outside slope of the embankment and the palisades. the sailors showed no quarter, and made short work of the braves, who crouched down and allowed themselves to be killed in a calmly oriental manner.
having cleared the island of their enemies, the party were about to return, when one of them declared he heard some one in the water, and proceeded to fire his pistol in the direction from which the sound proceeded, when, to their astonishment, they heard a voice faintly cry, "stop."
"it's one of our fellers," observed a boy.
"nonsense! how can that be?"
"hold hard! it's me, c—lare."
thompson was shading his eyes, and looking towards the water, when he heard this; but in a moment after forced his way through the palisades, and waded towards clare, crying.
"just another stroke, tom, old man, and you're safe; there's bottom all along here."
hearing jerry's voice, clare dropped his feet, and found he could touch the mud, upon which he waded towards his friend, who advanced to meet him with outstretched hands.
"tom, old chap, however did you come here?"
clare grasped the acting boatswain by the arm, then fell heavily forward, as if fainting.
"you fellers, come here! he's gone off like a dead un!"
the mystified sailors waded into the water, and bore the inanimate form towards the bank, when, a light being produced, it was found that clare was in a sort of fit.
at that moment the cutter arrived from the ship, and tom was placed in it, and conveyed on board. captain woodward hastened to the gangway, and himself received the suffering sailor, who was in a very precarious state; and as it was considered desirable to keep him quiet, he was placed in the acting boatswain's cabin, and immediately taken charge of by the kind doctor.
when the latter had attended to clare, he went aft to the captain's cabin, and[pg 174] reported the coxswain to be suffering from great prostration, resulting from excitement and sudden immersion in the water, adding, "it may be weeks before he is fit to go to duty again."
the next morning thompson went on board and saw his friend, who looked as if he would not be long with them; but in a few days a marked improvement took place, and clare was able to get up.
when tom was well enough to walk up to the quarter-deck, captain woodward mustered his crew, and publicly thanked him for his gallant conduct. "i have written to the admiral, and given him a full account of your noble deed, and i hope in a few days to tell you what he thinks of your bravery."
upon hearing these kind words tom shuddered. he knew that he deserved them, but the assembly of men reminded him so strongly of the occasion upon which he was flogged, that instead of expressing satisfaction, he felt depressed; his only pleasure was in thinking how it would please his wife when she heard of it; and, to his great joy, shortly after the men were dismissed, a mail arrived from england bringing him several letters from her, one of which was, singularly enough, dated the 16th of august, and ended with the words, "we are all in good health, thank goodness," upon reading which tom informed his friend that now he had such evidence he would not believe that she was dead, and from that day never spoke of the illusion to any one.
one day, when he found his patient in a suitable state, the doctor questioned him as to his feelings when he was standing upon the bowsprit, with the fire blazing up under him, to which he replied, "well, doctor, when i heered the captain say he wanted a volunteer, i somehow got hold of an axe and ran out, never thinking or caring for the fire. i felt like i used to afore i were flogged,—bold, plucky like. it seemed an age afore i heard his voice a ordering me to cut, and the smoke came up so thick and stifling that i could scarcely breathe. all at once the flame caught my whiskers and singed my dress! but, thank god, the wind drew aft, and beyond the smoke i didn't feel no hurt, but i thought the captain never would call out. suddenly i hears his voice, loud and clear as a bell, crying, 'cut away!' so i ups axe, and away went the anchor, which i knew by the end of the line being gone. just as i turned to go inboard the screw began to revolve, and as the ship left the junks the smoke drew aft again, and i got half choked and fell overboard. lucky it were slack water and i a good swimmer; so kicking off my heavy flannel trousers and pulling off my frock, i struck out for the island, where i were picked up by mr. jerry thompson."
finding the supply of live stock becoming beautifully less every day, woodward wrote to the admiral and obtained a gun-boat, guarded by which the compradors collected a great quantity of bullocks, in fact, rather overstocked the island, and as they charged a good price for the cattle, they waxed rich and insolent. hoo-kee was constantly with them; and according to his account, there never were such honest compradors in that line before. however, one morning a little affair occurred which not only damaged the pilot's veracity but convicted that diplomatic individual of collusion with them to cheat the fanqui authorities. as the ship's company were scrubbing decks, the signal-man observed to the officer of the watch, that there were a lot of chinese fellows on the banks waving a white flag, which intelligence was at once communicated to the commander, who sent hoo-kee to ascertain what they wanted, when, upon nearing the bank, the pilot thus addressed them:—
"you precious half-starved, mean-looking miserables, what are you kow-towing there for?"
"we want to see the fanqui chief," chorussed the villagers.
"do you? well, he don't want to see you."
[pg 175]
"but we will see him, we will see him, you man of the two faces! you no chinese, no fanqui, eater-of-women's-hearts."
"who stole our bullocks?" screamed the women among the crowd.
"you shut up, or it will be worse for you, my pretty hens," retorted the ungallant pilot.
"who stole our ducks?" yelled the children.
"come," said the officer in charge of the boat, "what do they want? what's all the jabber about?"
"him say him wantchee mi go way."
"shove off! oars!"
"stop, smallee peecee," cried a villager in very decent pigeon english. "him com catchee mi duck, me wantchee speekee claptlain man."
"jump in, then, you fellows who want to go aboard," cried the officer: and in a few seconds the gentleman who spoke english and four venerable elders of the village were seated in the boat, and on their way towards the dreaded fanqui ship, "with their hearts in their mouths," and fear or astonishment exhibited in every line of their faces; none of them being sure if the head foreign western devil would treat them kindly, or have them cooked for the delectation of his red and blue devils, who were reported to be fond of baked celestials.
hoo-kee subsided into a sulky state, and did not condescend to cajole or abuse the elders, and it was very evident to the officer that an exposure of some kind or another was in store for that valiant individual. upon arrival on board, the pigeon-englishman walked aft, and with the venerable elders performed a solemn kow-tow, and when they had sufficiently consolidated their ideas by knocking their heads upon the quarter-deck, the leader craved permission to speak, which being granted he went ahead as follows:—
"big peecee claptlain, all peecee man cum catchee boolakki no payee mi one tam cash."
"do you mean to say that the compradors have not paid you for the bullocks you have sent off to us?"
"mi no sendee off. him cum catchee teefee. him long tim no hab catchee, now alla gonne. him all same teefee peecee gallee"
"hoo-kee, come here!"
the pilot advanced with fear and trembling, declaring that the speaker was "a nomba one first-class liar," and "would sell his own long-tim faader for one peecee dolla," but when he had finished the sentence he found a marine at each elbow, with their drawn bayonets pointed at his breast; seeing which he held his tongue, and prepared himself for the worst.
"send for the contractors, and bring their money bags with them."
as the chinese supplicants for justice felt rather nervous, they again kow-tow'd, by way of fortifying themselves for what was to follow, imagining that the fanqui captain would at least behead the contractors, and torture the pilot; further supposing he would seize the cash belonging to the scoundrels, and appropriate it to his own uses, that being the way many of their own rulers would dispense justice under such circumstances. all they wanted, or at least expected to get was revenge—blood for bullocks was their idea.
upon the contractors making their appearance, they were compelled to disgorge their dollars, whereupon the captain sent for the acting boatswain and told him to rig a block upon which to behead the party, and in a short time the butcher's log was [pg 176]conveyed aft, and placed in position, thompson sprinkling sawdust round the place, and sharpening the cleaver in a most artistic and dramatic manner.
after a patient investigation, the commander, finding it necessary to make a severe example of the head comprador, directed him to be placed in the gangway, and having given him "time to say his prayers," which the fellow refused with scorn, the marines levelled their rifles and shot him, his body falling overboard and sinking immediately. then the rest of his band were placed behind a screen, and one by one brought out, and told to place their heads upon the block, and it was strange to see with what composure they shut their eyes and awaited the fatal cut. at a signal from the captain the cleaver descended and cut off their—queues; then, they were led to a port, and bundled overboard, to sink or swim as best able.
when all were disposed of, the captain turned to the pilot and ordered him to confess or share the fate of the others, upon which hoo-kee fell upon his knees and made a clean breast of it. not only had the compradors, under threat of bringing the fanquis down upon the villagers, obtained cattle and other live stock, but actually the scoundrels, sheltered by the ship's guns, had seized and carried away a large number of girls, whom they had sold to hong-kong dealers.
the english-speaking villager and his friends were asked of how much they had been plundered, when, finding they had a chance of being repaid, one of the old gentlemen put on a pair of horn spectacles, and taking out a square of paper and a wet pencil, ran off a bill which would have done credit to the ingenuity of a french hotel-keeper.
"two thousand dollars for women, and one thousand dollars for cattle stolen," observed the spectacled one in chinese, tendering the bill to the commander.
"how much does he say pilot? mind you speak the truth."
"him speekee to tousance peecee dolla catchee gallee, one tousance catchee boolakki."
"paymaster, give them three thousand dollars, and take their receipt."
"fo—!" cried the most venerable of the elders when the money was handed over, and found to be correct. "what a pack of fools they are, and how weak we were not to ask more;" then, having humbly kow-tow'd, they took up their money-bags and hurried over the side, fearing if they lingered that the fanquis might change their minds and "squeeze them," as their own officials would have done under like circumstances.
hoo-kee was sent to hong-kong, and kicked out of h.m. service, after which he hired a bum-boat, and swindled the sailors belonging to the fleet.
a few days after the execution of the head comprador and dismissal of his band, a gun-boat arrived from hong-kong, bearing orders for the ship to proceed to canton.
visions of loot, crape shawls, old china, wooden gods, bars of silver, curios, and chests of tea, flitted through the minds of the stingers, who imagined how rich they would be when they got at the treasures in yeh's palace, while that astute tartar prepared to repel their assaults; and when the plundering of his ya-mun was hinted at by a nervous mandarin, first drove the craven from his presence, and then, knowingly winking his pig-like eyes, exclaimed, "plunder my palace, indeed! take my city? never!"
