CHAPTER VII
RECAPTURING A RUNAWAY
I DID not long remain as second mate, for the very next voyage the chief mate was lost overboard one morning from the top of the poop-house. The watch were about to set the spanker, and Mr. Brown, who had the watch, was standing very imprudently to leeward of the boom, when the last turns of the gasket were thrown off and the gaff flying over struck him in the head with great violence and knocked him over the quarter-rail.
The ship was at once hove to, and a boat was lowered, but nothing was seen of him, and the supposition was that he was stunned by the blow and sunk at once, to rise no more.
So I was promoted to his place; and although full young to assume the responsibilities attendant upon the position, I managed to satisfy the captain so well that when we arrived in port I was confirmed in the place. About a year later I was sent for to go as chief mate in the Laodicea, another ship belonging to the same firm. In this vessel I made a voyage to the East Indies.
Early in 1848, while in New York, I received a letter from the owners requesting me to come on to Boston and take command of the Mystic, a fine new ship of nearly one thousand tons, lately launched at East Boston and fitting out for a voyage to Valparaiso.
So my cousin, the owner, had fulfilled his promise, and before I was twenty-one years of age I was to have command of a fine half-clipper ship. I wasted no time, but went on to Boston as speedily as possible, where I found my ship at Commercial Wharf and work already commenced on her lading.
I at once assumed the command; and as the owners were very anxious to get the ship to sea in the shortest time possible, I pushed things to the extent of my ability and secured as officers a Mr. King, whom I had known for several years as an experienced and thoroughly trustworthy man, as chief mate, and a Mr. Robinson, whom I did not know personally, but who brought me such excellent recommendations that I engaged him on the strength of them, as second mate. That I did not more closely examine into the character of this man was a very unfortunate oversight, as it afterward proved.
In due time our cargo was all in, and in addition, seventy thousand dollars in Spanish dollars, packed in kegs, came on board, which was to be used on owner’s account for the purchase of a cargo of copper at Coquimbo. These kegs were stowed away under the immediate direction of Mr. Robinson, who was in charge of the work, well down in the after run.
As one of the frequent South American revolutions was then in progress in Chili, my orders from the owners were that if I could not get a cargo of copper I should go over to China and report to Russell & Sturgis, who would invest my silver in a cargo of tea for Boston.
On the 5th of December we were ready for sea; and after clearing at the Custom House and receiving my last orders from my owners, I went on board and proceeded to sea.
Our run down to Cape Horn was prosperous and very uneventful, and we had remarkably fine weather. After passing through the Straits of Le Mar, however, we fell into a heavy gale from the westward, and for several days laid to under close sail. By the third day of the gale the sea was running heavily. That day just before noon the clouds lifted, and Mr. King sent a boy into the cabin to tell me that he thought there would be an opportunity to get a meridian altitude.
As we had not been able to get an observation for several days, I hurried on deck with my sextant. Just as I had braced myself against the port rail, the man at the wheel carelessly let the ship yaw, and a great wave that must have weighed tons came aboard, smashing the starboard quarter boat to flinders, dashing in the cabin skylight, and sweeping the decks in a terrible manner.
By great good fortune I had taken a turn of a rope about my waist to steady me for getting a sight; and by clinging on with both hands I managed to retain my position, but Mr. King, who was quite near me, was washed away and thrown with fearful violence across the deck and into the lee scuppers.
Fortunately no one was washed overboard, but on investigation we found that poor Mr. King was seriously injured. Two of his ribs were broken, and it was evident that he had also received some severe internal injuries, the extent of which I could not then determine.
He was carefully taken below to his stateroom, and I did all I could to relieve his sufferings, which were very great. That night the wind veered and moderated, and we made sail and were soon in the waters of the Pacific, standing to the westward with favoring winds and smooth seas.
On the 2d of March, at 9 A. M., we made the Point of Angels, and, bearing up for the entrance to the Bay of Valparaiso, stood in and anchored close to the lower batteries. I at once went on shore and reported to the Aduaña, and then made arrangements to have Mr. King sent to the hospital.
Going on board again, I told him what I had done and assured him that it would be necessary to have such careful medical and surgical attention as he could receive only in a hospital.
“I am perfectly aware of that, Captain Kelson,” said he. “I know that I can’t stay here on board, and I doubt if I shall ever be much more use as an officer of a ship; but there is one thing I must do before I leave the ship, and that is to warn you against putting too much trust in Mr. Robinson!”
“Why, Mr. King! what is the matter with him? He is a good sailor, and he appears to carry on the duty very well!”
“Oh yes, sir, he is a good sailor-man; no one can deny that; but I don’t trust him. He has too much palaver with the men. I am sure there is something wrong about him. What it is, unfortunately, I don’t know; I wish I did. But you are a younger man than I am, captain, and more confiding in your nature. Now I beg of you not to put too much confidence in Mr. Robinson!”
I thought it quite possible that this was merely prejudice on the part of my mate, increased by his anxiety at leaving the ship, so to ease his mind I said: “Oh, well, Mr. King, I will keep my eye on him, and I shall hope that you will soon be able to return to duty again. Now keep yourself perfectly quiet and get well as quickly as possible.”
After sending my mate on shore, I made Mr. Robinson, who seemed to be doing very well, chief mate temporarily, and put one of my best men in charge of the second mate’s watch. Engaging lighters, I then commenced discharging my cargo, which, as the goods I had happened to be in demand, sold rapidly and to excellent advantage. But when it came to arranging for my cargo of copper, I found that it would be necessary for me to make a visit to the capital, Santiago, to confer with the authorities in regard to a permit for export.
Accordingly I made arrangements with my consignees in Valparaiso to keep an oversight on my ship; and after leaving very strict orders with Mr. Robinson in regard to the care of the vessel, I started on horseback for Santiago.
With the positive genius for delay that characterizes Spanish American officials, I was detained at the capital for several weeks, badgered about from one department to another; but at last I succeeded in obtaining the desired permit, and returned to Valparaiso.
As I dismounted from my horse in the courtyard of my hotel, I met my good friend Don José Altimara. “Ah!” said he, “I am glad that you have returned. All your goods are sold and well sold. Have you obtained your permit to export copper?”
I told him of my various trials and final success.
“That is well. But tell me, why have you sent your ship away so suddenly? I fear you will have trouble with the authorities, as you had no clearance papers.”
“What do you mean? The Mystic sailed!”
“I mean,” said Don José, “that the Mystic left this port a week ago at night, and with no notice given at the Aduaña.”
I did not stop for another word, but hurried to the mole to convince myself that my friend was mistaken, as I was sure he must be. Eagerly I scanned the bay, searching for my ship, but she was not there! She was gone; of that there was no manner of doubt. But where could she have gone? and why should Mr. Robinson have taken such a strange course?
Beyond the slight suspicion created by the vague impressions of Mr. King, I had found no reason for doubting the probity of this officer. But I was soon to be enlightened; for as I stood gazing out over the bay, a rough-looking fellow dressed like a sailor, with a half-healed scar running transversely across his face, that looked like the mark of a recent knife wound, touched me on the shoulder to rouse me from my reverie, and said, “Is this Captain Kelson?”
“Yes, my man,” I replied; “what do you want of me?”
“Well, sir,” said he, with a half sneer, “I think it’s more than likely you will want something of me!”
“What should I want of you, then?”
“Don’t you want to find your ship?”
“Why, what do you know about her?”
“Well, captain, I know all about her, and I am ready to tell you the whole story; and what is more, I’ll help you to find her.”
“I will pay you well for it, my lad, if you can indeed do so,” I replied eagerly.
“Well, I don’t object to that, but I shall do it, not so much for love of you or your money, as to get even with Jack Robinson for the dirty trick he played me!”
“Jack Robinson! Do you know Mr. Robinson?”
“Aye do I! We were shipmates together in the old Palmetto, of Boston, three years ago. He didn’t have a handle to his name then. We were both in the forecastle. You never heard of the Palmetto getting into port, did you, captain?”
“No; it was supposed that she was lost off Cape Horn, with all hands; she was never heard from.”
“No; and she never will be. When I have helped you to find the Mystic and have got square with Jack Robinson, perhaps I may tell you what became of the Palmetto.”
“Well, never mind about her; what can you tell me about my own ship?”
“I’ll tell you, sir, if you will give me time. Three weeks ago Jack met me here ashore. I had been beach-combing for six months and I was dead broke. Jack was flush and paid for the aguardiente like a man. One day he said, ‘Look here, Charlie, I’ve got a devilish sight better lay here than we had with the old Palmetto, and an easier job; do you want to go in with me?’ Naturally I was ready for anything that promised well; and when Jack took me on board ship, showed me those kegs down in the after run, and told me they were all full of silver dollars, I was red hot to get hold of them and ready for anything!”
“You are frank, at any rate.”
The fellow laughed and continued: “Jack told me his plan. It was simple enough. He wanted me to pick up half a dozen reckless fellows like myself, who could be depended upon, and who would join us for a fair price. Then, on the first dark night, we would slip the cable, put to sea, and carry the Mystic to an island we both know of, that has water and cocoanuts but no inhabitants,—well, if you must know, the same place where we laid the old Palmetto’s bones,—and then get rid of the rest of the crew, according to a clever plan he had, and divide the spoil between us two!”
“And how comes it, then, that you are here and the ship gone?”
“That is the deviltry that I am coming to. A week ago yesterday we had everything ready. I had sent aboard half a dozen fellows who were ready for anything that would put a handful of doubloons in their pockets. Jack told the old crew that you had ordered these men shipped to help in loading copper at Coquimbo, and they were pleased at the prospect of more help in the work. Jack and I were ashore for the last time, waiting for night to come, so that we could cut the cable and run. We had both taken our share of grog, but Jack had taken a deal less than I. That I had noticed, and it ought to have made me suspicious. At eleven o’clock we started from the pulqueria for the beach; but as I turned the first corner, Jack dropped a bit behind, and at the same moment I felt his knife running in between my ribs, and as I turned he gave me this slash over the head, and I fell in the street with a shout of ‘Murder!’
“The patrol came along and Jack scuttled off! Well, sir, I was carried to the hospital, where I have been ever since, and I had a narrow squeak for it; but I pulled through at last, and now I am ready to pilot you to Amatavi Island, as soon as you can get something to go in, to hunt up your ship!”
The fellow’s story carried conviction in the telling; it was verified by the police, so far as they were concerned, and by old Francisco, in whose pulqueria all the nefarious business had been planned.
My good friend Altimara, to whom I went with the strange tale, was now of the greatest assistance in various ways. He found, at my suggestion, a fast-sailing schooner with a good armament, that had lately returned to Valparaiso from a smuggling voyage up the coast. She could be chartered just as she was, manned and all ready for sea, excepting her stores.
I made the round of my customers; and after stating my desperate case, they at once settled their various bills for the goods they had purchased, paying me in silver, in all nearly sixty thousand dollars. I then laid in a sufficient supply of stores for a voyage of four months; and obtaining the necessary papers for my vessel from the government officials, who were all very sympathetic, I took Charlie on board as pilot, and sailed from Valparaiso with a fair wind, on the 6th of May, in search of my runaway ship.
I found my schooner all that I could have wished: she was very fast and easily handled; and the crew, which was largely made up of runaway men-of-war’s men, were familiar with the use of the great guns and well drilled in small arms.
I explained to them the object of our voyage and what I hoped and expected to accomplish, and assured them that if we succeeded in overhauling and capturing the Mystic, they should receive one hundred dollars each as prize money, in addition to their wages. But I told them at the same time that very possibly we might have a sharp fight, for I knew Mr. Robinson was a desperate man and had everything at stake.
The men cheered at the end of my speech, and promised to go wherever I led them, and I saw that they meant what they said.
From the description Charlie gave of the island where he said Robinson had intended taking the Mystic, I found that it laid in latitude 2° 21′ S., longitude 146° 04′ E., and that it was doubtless one of the Admiralty Islands, which were little known to navigators at that time.
We made an excellent run, and at noon on June 30 I found by a good observation that we were probably about forty miles to the southward of the island we were seeking; and as we were then making about seven knots an hour, I felt sure we should sight the land before night. The excitement of the chase and the preparation for a possible fight had thus far kept me up, but now that I was so soon to know the result of this attempt I was making to recover the property of my owners, and should either reinstate myself in their good opinion or return to Boston a ruined man, I acknowledge for the first time my courage almost failed me.
What if, after all, I should be on the wrong track! This fellow might have deceived me, or, in his turn, might have been deceived by that craftier villain, my former mate! However, I should soon know the worst—or the best!
By three o’clock we raised the land bearing N. 31° W., a cluster of low, flat, woody islands. By four o’clock a large, high island bore N. 18° W., its outline forming a hollow like a saddle. It appeared to be surrounded with smaller islands on the south and west sides. At the same time an extensive reef was observed stretching to the southward.
I decided to haul to windward of the south-eastern islet then in sight, and, by Charlie’s advice, to pass between it and the next island to the northwest, which he recognized, and where the channel was to all appearances, perfectly clear and about four or five miles wide.
At 6 P. M. I anchored in six fathoms of water about two miles from the land, as I did not dare to run in the midst of these reefs at night. As soon as the men had eaten their supper, I ordered three boats cleared away and armed, and with muffled oars we all started from the schooner, my boat, with Charlie as pilot, ahead.
The moon did not rise until late, but there was sufficient light for us to make our way, and, after four hours’ steady work at the oars, we gained the entrance to a little land-locked bay at the head of the channel between the two easternmost islands.
Here we laid on our oars until about three o’clock in the morning, and then pulled in shore. As we opened up the entrance to the bay I almost set up a shout of joy; for there, swinging quietly at her anchor, a cable’s length from shore, was my old ship!
I gathered my three boats together and asked my men if they would stand by me in an attempt to board the ship. They assured me of their readiness, and seemed to look upon the whole affair as a good joke.
I warned them not to fire a shot until we were fairly on board, and then to trust mainly to their cutlasses; for I felt sure we could surprise the ship at this early hour when the crew would be in their deepest sleep, and I knew if we once succeeded in getting on board, we could carry her.
I divided the boats, giving them orders to pull one for the bow, one for the starboard quarter, while I would board on the port side amidships, thus taking them in flank if there should be any resistance. We then pulled quietly into the little bay, and as the tide was running flood, quickly approached the ship. As I had anticipated, there was no lookout kept, as they evidently fancied themselves entirely safe from an attack by sea and the island was uninhabited.
We all kept in range until quite near, then made a dash alongside, and most of us had actually gained the deck before any alarm was given. Then it was too late for any organized resistance. I shot the first man who came up the fore hatch. Charlie cut down another as he appeared from the cabin companionway, and we then clapped the hatch bar on the fore scuttle, and, after closing the companionway, we had the whole party fast as rats in a trap.
In the first moments of exultation that followed our victory I thought our work was practically accomplished, but I soon learned that although I had scotched the snake I had not yet killed him. For as I came aft from seeing the forward hatch barred down, I was saluted by a well-aimed musket shot that passed through my hat and grazed my scalp, while at the same time another shot from the same quarter struck poor Charlie full in the chest, bringing him to the deck with a mortal wound.
“Jack Robinson has made a sure thing of it with me this time, captain. I saw him as he fired from the skylight,” whispered the poor fellow, as I kneeled down by his side. “But I have got even with him, Cap., and I brought you here as I promised you I would!”
But the bullets were flying too thick to spend much time with a dying man, so I drew him forward out of range of the skylight, from which they were keeping up a fusillade. As the magazine was in the after-cabin the pirates, for such of course they were, had the command of an unlimited supply of ammunition and plenty of arms, and were in a very difficult position to dislodge.
To add to our annoyance they opened fire on our boats from the ship’s stern windows. Indeed, it seemed to be a veritable case of capturing a Tartar, and for a time I was rather nonplussed as to the manner in which I should reap the fruit of my incomplete victory.
The first thing to do was evidently to protect ourselves from this galling fire from the cabin skylight. So I stationed two men in the mizzen rigging with orders to fire down the skylight at any one they could see, and I then sent two other men aloft; and after cutting the spanker adrift we let the peak and throat halyards go by the run, and the heavy sail tumbled down on the skylight, very effectually shutting the occupants of the cabin out from a sight of the deck.
By this time the men who were barred down in the forecastle were pleading to be released, shouting out that they surrendered. So we opened one side of the hatch and allowed them to come out, one at a time, slipping handcuffs on each man as he appeared.
By the time this had been accomplished the sun had risen, and we felt the need of some breakfast after our all-night work. The cook was one of those who came up from the forecastle; and when he found that his old captain was once again in command of the ship, he was loud in his expressions of delight. Mr. Robinson, as he said, had led him and the members of the old crew a dog’s life since he had run away with the ship, and moreover they had a well-grounded belief that he purposed dealing foully with them now that he had got the ship safe in this unknown bay.
The cook bustled about and soon had a savory breakfast ready for us of fresh fish, of which they had caught an abundance in the bay, with hot coffee and ship bread, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
I went with a pot of coffee to poor Charlie, thinking he might perhaps take some; but he was already dead, and I covered him up with a boat sail and left him at rest.
After breakfast I sent the cook below as a messenger to Mr. Robinson, offering terms for his surrender. The fellow was intrenched in such a way as to be able to cause us great annoyance, so I agreed to give him the ship’s cutter, with her sails and oars, and provisions for himself and the Valparaiso men. I also offered to land him and these men on the island unharmed. He was to take no arms with him, but I agreed to leave a couple of muskets and some ammunition on the reef at the entrance of the harbor, where he could get them after our departure.
At first he was disinclined to accept these terms and blustered a great deal, threatening to blow up the ship, with all of us on board, unless I made a more liberal offer; but I was firm and gave him to understand that I did not fear his threats and that all the old crew had already surrendered at discretion. This last news settled the matter, and he consented to my terms.
I then addressed my old crew and gave them their choice, either to remain in the ship or to go on shore with the mate. They at once, to a man, decided to stay by the ship, assuring me that they would be only too glad to be rid of Mr. Robinson and his Valparaiso beach-combers, who had tyrannized over them completely.
That afternoon, after giving poor Charlie a sailor’s burial, I got the schooner into the bay and alongside the Mystic, and transferred the specie from her hold to my ship’s run, where it was placed by the side of the other treasure, which had not yet been tampered with.
I then settled the charges for the schooner, paid the men I had hired their prize money, and, after thanking them for their brave support, we parted company, the schooner standing to the southward for the coast of Chili, while I laid my course in the Mystic N. N. W. for Hongkong.