Annie o' the Banks o' Dee Part 17

Reginald kissed her and set her down on the deck.

But the advent of the grand dog altered matters considerably. He came on deck with a dash and a spring, laughing, apparently, all down both sides.

"You can't catch me," he would say, or appear to say, to Matty.

"I tan tatch 'oo, twick!" she would cry, and off went the dog forward at the gallop, Matty, screaming with laughter, taking up the running, though far in the rear.

Smaller dogs on board s.h.i.+p are content to carry and toss and play with a wooden marlin-spike. Oscar despised so puny an object. He would not have felt it in his huge mouth. But he helped himself to a capstan bar, and that is of great length and very heavy. Nevertheless, he would not drop it, and there was honest pride in his beaming eye as he swung off with it. He had to hold his head high to balance it. But round and round the decks he flew, and if a sailor happened to cross his hawse the bar went whack! across his s.h.i.+ns or knees, and he was left rubbing and lamenting.

Matty tried to take all sorts of cross-cuts between the masts or boats that lay upside down on the deck, but all in vain. But Oscar would tire at last, and let the child catch him.

"Now I'se tatched 'oo fairly!" she would cry, seizing him by the s.h.a.ggy mane.

Oscar was very serious now, and licked the child's cheek and ear in the most affectionate manner, well knowing she was but a baby.

"Woa, horsie, woa!" It was all she could do to scramble up and on to Oscar's broad back. Stride-legs she rode, but sometimes, by way of practical joke, after she had mounted the dog would suddenly sit down, and away slid Matty, falling on her back, laughing and sprawling, all legs and arms, white teeth, and merry, twinkling eyes of blue.

"Mind," she would tell Oscar, after getting up from deck and preparing to remount, "if 'oo sits down adain, 'oo shall be whipped and put into the black hole till the bow-mannie (an evil spirit) tomes and takes 'oo away!"

Oscar would now ride solemnly aft, 'bout s.h.i.+p and forward as far as the fo'c's'le, and so round and round the deck a dozen times at least.

When dog and child were tired of playing together, the dog went in search of breakfast down below, to the cook's galley. There was always the stockpot, and as every man-jack loved the faithful fellow he didn't come badly off.

But even Norman the Finn was a favourite of Matty's, and he loved the child. She would run to him of a morning, when his tall form appeared emerging from the fore-hatch. He used to set her on the capstan, from which she could easily mount astride on his shoulders, grasping his hair to steady herself.

How she laughed and crowed, to be sure, as he went capering round the deck, sometimes pretending to rear and jib, like a very wicked horse indeed, sometimes actually bucking, which only made Matty laugh the more.

Ring, ding, ding!--the breakfast bell; and the child was landed on the capstan once more and taken down--now by her devoted sweetheart, Reginald Grahame.

The s.h.i.+p was well found. Certainly they had not much fresh meat, but tinned was excellent, and when a sea-bank was anywhere near, as known from the colour of the water, d.i.c.kson called away a boat and all hands, and had fish for two days at least. Fowls and piggies were kept forward. Well, on the whole she was a very happy s.h.i.+p, till trouble came at last.

It was Mr Hall's wish to go round the stormy and usually ice-bound Horn. The cold he felt certain would brace up both himself and his wife. But he wished to see something of the romantic scenery of Magellan's Straits first, and the wild and savage grandeur of Tierra del Fuego, or the Land of Fire. They did so, bearing far to the south for this purpose.

The weather was sunny and pleasant, the sky blue by day and star-studded by night, while high above shone that wondrous constellation called the Southern Cross. Indeed, all the stars seemed different from what they were used to in their own far northern land.

Now, there dwells in this fierce land a race of the most implacable savages on earth. Little is known of them except that they are cannibals, and that their hands are against everyone. But they live almost entirely in boats, and never hesitate to attack a sailing s.h.i.+p if in distress.

Hall and d.i.c.kson were standing well abaft on the quarter-deck smoking huge cigars, Mr Hall doing the "yarning," d.i.c.kson doing the laughing, when suddenly a harsh grating sound caused both to start and listen.

Next minute the vessel had stopped. There she lay, not a great way off the sh.o.r.e, in a calm and placid sea, with not as much wind as would lift a feather, "As idle as a painted s.h.i.+p, upon a painted ocean."

In a few minutes' time the Scotch engineer, looking rather pale, came hurrying aft.

"Well, Mr McDonald, what is the extent of the damage? Shaft broken?"

"Oh, no, sir, and I think that myself and men can put it all to rights in four days, if not sooner, and she'll be just as strong as ever."

"Thank you, Mr McDonald; so set to work as soon as possible, for mind you, we are lying here becalmed off an ugly coast. The yacht would make very nice pickings for these Land of Fire savages."

"Yes, I know, sir; and so would we."

And the worthy engineer departed, with a grim smile on his face. He came back in a few minutes to beg for the loan of a hand or two.

"Choose your men, my good fellow, and take as many as you please."

Both Hall and d.i.c.kson watched the sh.o.r.e with some degree of anxiety. It was evident that the yacht was being swept perilously near to it. The tide had begun to flow, too, and this made matters worse. Nor could anyone tell what shoal water might lie ahead of them.

There was only one thing to be done, and d.i.c.kson did it. He called away every boat, and by means of hawsers to each the _Wolverine_ was finally moved further away by nearly a mile.

The sailors were now recalled, and the boats hoisted. The men were thoroughly exhausted, so the doctor begged the captain to splice the main-brace, and soon the stewardess was seen marching forward with "Black Jack." Black Jack wasn't a man, nor a boy either, but simply a huge can with a spout to it, that held half a gallon of rum at the very least.

The men began to sing after this, for your true sailor never neglects an opportunity of being merry when he can. Some of them could sing charmingly, and they were accompanied by the carpenter on his violin.

That grand old song, "The Bay of Biscay," as given by a ba.s.s-voiced sailor, was delightful to listen to. As the notes rose and fell one seemed to hear the shrieking of the wind in the rigging, the wild turmoil of the das.h.i.+ng waters, and the deep rolling of the thunder that shook the doomed s.h.i.+p from stem to stern.

"Hullo?" cried Hall, looking sh.o.r.ewards. "See yonder--a little black fleet of canoes, their crews like devils incarnate!"

"Ha!" said d.i.c.kson. "Come they in peace or come they in war, we shall be ready. Lay aft here, lads. Get your rifles. Load with ball cartridge, and get our two little guns ready and loaded with grape."

The savages were indeed coming on as swift as the wind, with wild shouts and cries, meant perhaps only to hurry the paddle-men, but startling enough in all conscience.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

AGAINST FEARFUL ODDS.

Hardly a heart on board that did not throb with anxiety, if not with fear, as that fiendish-looking cannibal fleet drew swiftly nigh. Armed with bows and arrows and spears were they, and d.i.c.kson could see also the glitter of ugly creases in the bottom of each canoe. Not tall men were any of them; all nearly naked, however, broad-shouldered, fierce, and grim.

The yacht was now stern on to the sh.o.r.e, but at a safe distance.

Nevertheless, by the soundings they could tell that the water just here was not so deep as that further in; so both anchors were let go, the chains rattling like platoon-firing as these safeguards sank to the bottom.

There was no fear about Matty. To the astonishment of all she had clambered up into the dinghy that hung from davits abaft the binnacle.

"Hillo!" she was shouting, as she waved a wee red flag. "Hillo! 'oo bootiful neglos! Tome twick, Matty wants to buy some-fink!"

These dark boats and their savage crews were soon swarming round the _Wolverine_, but they had come to barter skins for tobacco, rum, and bread, not to fight, it seemed.

Peaceful enough they appeared in all conscience. Yet d.i.c.kson would not permit them to board. But both he and Hall made splendid deals. A dozen boxes of matches bought half-a-dozen splendid and well-cured otter skins, worth much fine gold; tobacco bought beautiful large guanaca skins; bread fetched foxes' skins and those of the tuen-tuen, a charming little rodent; skins, also well-cured, of owls, hawks, rock-rabbits, and those of many a beautiful sea-bird.

The barter, or nicker, as the Yankee called it, pleased both sides, and the savages left rejoicing, all the more so in that, although the skipper would give them no rum to carry away with them, he spliced a kind of savage main-brace, and everyone swallowed a gla.s.s of that rosy fluid as a baby swallows its mother's milk.

"The moon will be s.h.i.+ning to-night, Hall," said the captain, "and we'll have a visit from these fire-fiends of another description. Glad we have got her anch.o.r.ed, anyhow."

Soon after sunset the moon sailed majestically through the little fleecy clouds lying low on the horizon. She soon lost her rosy hue, and then one could have seen to pick up pins and needles on the quarter-deck.

She made an immense silver triangular track from s.h.i.+p to sh.o.r.e. Matty was then on deck with Oscar, both merry as ever. But Reginald now took her in his arms and carried her below for bed. Both d.i.c.kson and Hall went below to console and hearten the ladies.

"Those fire savages will pay us a visit," said Hall, "but you are not to be afraid. We will wipe them off the face of the creation world. Won't we, skipper?"

"That will we!" nodded d.i.c.kson.

But neither Mrs Hall nor Ilda could be persuaded to retire. If a battle was to be fought they would sit with fear and trembling till all was over.