The party on shore had kept up a fire all day at the forest. The yells of defiance13 which at times rose showed that the Malays were in great force all round its edge. Towards evening all on shore returned to the ship. As soon as it became absolutely dark, the anchor chain was unshackled, and a buoy14 being attached to the end, it was noiselessly lowered into the water. Then the screw began to revolve15, and the vessel16 gradually backed down the river. All lights had been extinguished, and no sound from the forest showed that the movement had been observed. A mile lower down the ship was turned, the screw began to revolve more rapidly, and at half speed she ran down to the junction17 of the two branches of the river, and steamed up the other arm until within half a mile or so of the village at the mouth of the creek18. Then a light anchor was let go, the boats were lowered, and the landing party took their places in them; the oars19 were all muffled20, and keeping close to the right bank of the river, they rowed up until past the village, and then crossing, entered the mouth of the creek, and rowed up it until they reached the spot where the landing had been effected on the previous night.
Half a dozen men provided with well greased saws first landed under Dick Balderson's command, and cleared a passage six feet wide to the path; then the landing began in earnest. The guns were first put on shore, and carried bodily to the path; the rest of the marines and the bluejackets then landed, each carrying, in addition to his arms and ammunition, a gun cartridge9, or a box of rifle ammunition, and a couple of empty sacks. As fast as they landed they proceeded up the path. Dick Balderson led the way, and the men were directed to step as closely as they could to each other. As they arrived near the pool, each deposited his burden, and then went back to assist to drag up the guns and carriages.
Scarcely a sound was heard during the operation. Their feet fell noiselessly on the soft earth of the track, and no one a few yards away would have guessed that a hundred and fifty men were engaged in laborious21 toil22. There was far more noise than there had been the night before on board the prahus, an incessant23 jabber24 being maintained, and voices rang high in excitement as the men discussed the destruction of the town and the orders that had been received for a portion of them to land on the following morning and take part in the annihilation of the whites if they entered into the forest. As soon as the two heavy guns were placed upon their carriages, just behind the screen of bushes, the greater portion of the men were sent back as far as the point where they had landed, there to fill the sacks with earth from the bank of the river, a number of shovels25 having been brought for the purpose.
Several large bundles of bamboos, cut into lengths six feet long, and sharpened at both ends, had been among the articles taken up to the battery, and while most of the men were engaged filling and carrying the sacks of earth, some were employed in constructing chevaux de frise, ten paces on each side of the spot where the battery was being constructed. The bamboos were set diagonally a foot and a half into the soft earth, and bound together by being lashed26 to strong poles running along them. These fences extended from the edge of the bushes by the water to the trees. The forest behind was so thick and entangled27 with creepers that there was little fear of an attack being made from that quarter.
Accustomed to work in the darkness, the sailors had no difficulty in carrying out the operation, and before morning broke the battery was complete. It was six feet high on the side facing the water, with two embrasures for the guns, four feet high on the sides covered by the chevaux de frise. The front face was twenty-five feet in length, the sides forty. Morning was breaking as the work was finished, and bread and cold meat were served out, with a full ration1 of grog. By the time these were consumed it was broad daylight; for there is little twilight28 so near the equator.
“Now for it, Dick,” Harry29 Parkhurst said, as the lieutenant gave the signal for all to rise and take their places. Filing out of the battery, the marines lined the bank on one side, and the sailors, other than those who were to work the guns, on the other. Some of the sailors climbed over the front wall and with their jackknives cut away the boughs30 in front of the guns. There was silence on board the prahus, where the Malays had dropped off to sleep a couple of hours before daylight. Mr. Ferguson himself superintended the laying of the guns, seeing that each was most carefully trained upon the waterline of a prahu. As the distance was some seventy or eighty yards, he had little doubt that the two vessels31 aimed at would be sunk at once. When he was thoroughly32 satisfied, he drew back and gave the order to fire.
The two reports sounded as if one, and were mingled33 with the explosion of shells as they struck the prahus exactly on the waterline. There was a momentary34 silence, and then a wild hubbub35 of yells of surprise and fury, while a loud cheer broke from the British, as they saw the success of the shots. Almost instantly the two craft struck began to settle down, and in a minute disappeared, the water being covered with the heads of the crew, who were swimming to the other prahus. The guns of these had evidently been kept loaded, for before the two eighteen pounders were again ready, a fire was opened by the four craft, one or two balls striking the sandbags, while the rest went crashing into the forest behind. Every shot from the British guns struck the prahus, but none effected such damage as the first two fired.
“Yes, but I fancy they have no thought of giving it up at present; they are going to make a dash at us. They can still work their guns and spare any amount of men to attack us.”
“Grape now,” the lieutenant ordered, while, at the same moment, the marines and seamen38, who had hitherto been silent, opened fire from under the bushes, beneath which they were enabled to obtain a view of what was going on.
Two of the boats were sunk by the discharge of the grape; but the others, without checking their course, pushed on.
“Quick, lads, give them another round before it is too late.”
The guns were loaded with incredible quickness, and two more of the boats were shattered, their swarthy occupants striking out for the shore, making for the most part towards the battery, as did the boats. Twenty of the sailors and as many marines were at once called in from the bank to aid in the defense39 of the battery, and a desperate conflict was presently raging here and along the bank, the Malays, swarming40 up, striving to force their way up through the embrasures, or to climb the sandbags; but as fast as they did so, they were cut down or bayoneted by its defenders41. Those trying to land at other points were impeded42 by the bushes, and numbers were killed; but they pressed on so furiously that at last Mr. Ferguson, who had been moving backwards43 and forwards along the line, thought it best to call the men in, and in a minute or two the whole party were collected in the little fort, and ranged along the sides.
With furious yells the Malays came on, and although swept by volleys of musketry reached the bamboos, which they strove in vain to pluck up or climb. In the meantime the eighteen pounders had never ceased their fire, the sailors working them steadily44, regardless of the fight that was going on on either flank. Here the little brass guns did good service; each time they were fired the recoil45 sent them tumbling from the top of the sandbags, only, however, to be seized, sponged, and loaded, by the four sailors in charge of each, and then lifted to their place again, crammed with bullets to the muzzle46, in readiness to check the next charge of the Malays. Suddenly their yells redoubled, and were answered by similar shouts from the forest.
“The rajah's troops have come up,” the first lieutenant said to the marine officer; “our position is getting serious. Do you think that we could make our way back to the boats without great loss? We have sunk two of their craft, have badly damaged the others, and inflicted47 very heavy loss on them.”
There was a fresh outburst of shouts, this time on the path by which they had come. Evidently a number of the newly arrived Malays had struck into it by some other track from the town.
“That settles it,” the lieutenant said shortly; “we must fight it out here. It is lucky we have a fair stock of ammunition, and can keep it up for some hours yet. You see, the sailors have not had to use their pistols yet, and they will astonish those fellows if they do manage to scale the sandbags.”
For another half hour the fighting continued. Again and again the Malays fell back, but only to return to the attack with fresh fury, and the defenders had been obliged to betake themselves more than once to their pistols. The two heavy guns were now removed from their position to the sides, for the attack by boats had ceased entirely49, and the destruction of the prahus was of less importance than the defense of the little fort from the attacks on its flanks. The operation began just as the Malays made one of their retreats, and by the time they returned, the guns were placed in their new position, their muzzles50 peeping out from among the sandbags, while the embrasures on the water face had been closed by bags taken from the upper line. The effect of the fire at such close quarters was to drive the Malays flying into the forest. Shortly afterwards the sound of chopping was heard.
“The beggars are trying to cut a path through the jungle to our rear, Dick,” Harry Parkhurst said.
“Obstinate brutes51! But I don't think much of that, Harry: they will get on well enough until they arrive within twenty or thirty yards of us, when we can pepper them so hotly that they will soon get sick of it.”
At this moment there was the report of a heavy gun, and a shell crashed through the forest fifty yards in the rear of the fort. Loud yells of rage and alarm rose from the Malays, while a hearty52 cheer broke from the defenders of the fort. Closely following, came the sound of another gun, and then a rain of grape, some of which whistled over the fort.
“Keep yourselves well down behind the sandbags, men,” Lieutenant Ferguson shouted; “the captain knows that we have shelter, and will sweep the Malays out of the forest round us. That shot must have done great execution among the Malays on the path between us and the boats.”
The guns of the ship kept up a heavy fire, searching the wood for some distance round with shell, and pouring volleys of grape into the trees near the battery. Presently the fire ceased.
“I fancy they have all bolted, Dick,” his comrade said; “after the first five minutes we have not heard a sound. I wonder what the prahus are doing?”
A minute later the lieutenant said, “Mr. Morrison, take a dozen men and make your way along the path until you get to the boats. I hope they have escaped. If they are within hail go on board, and report to the captain that we have sunk two of the prahus, and that for the present the Malays who have been attacking us have made off. Say that large numbers of them have gone on board the four prahus, and that I am about to open fire upon them again.”
As soon as the mate had left, parties of men were set to work to shift the guns to their old positions, and fire was again opened upon the piratical prahus, who replied, as before, with their little guns. A very few minutes later a shell flew overhead, and fell in the water near where the craft were anchored. Another and another followed quickly. Intense excitement was manifest on board the prahus, and almost immediately their cables were cut, oars got out, and at a great rate they started down the creek.
“The place has got too hot for them altogether, Harry; they think it better to run the gauntlet of the ship's guns than to be sunk at their moorings.”
Scarcely had the prahus issued from the pool, than the guns of the ship were heard.
“I am afraid that some of them will get away, Harry. The beggars row so fast that there won't be time to give them more than one broadside as they pass. If the ship is aground, which is likely enough, for the captain pushed up farther than we thought possible, they will be pretty safe when they have once got past her.”
Presently the guns were heard to fire in rapid succession. Loud yells and cries followed; then came shouts of triumph and defiance; then all was still, save that a few cannon53 shot were discharged at regular intervals54.
“They have got one of the guns round to fire over the stern, Dick. There, it has stopped now; evidently the prahus have got round the next corner. It is a pity that any of them should have escaped, and they would not have done so if the Serpent had remained at the mouth of the creek; but I suppose the captain became anxious at the continuation of the heavy firing here, and so came up to our help. It is lucky he did so, for, though we might have beaten them off, they were in such tremendous force that I fancy it would have gone hard with us in the long run. I was beginning to think so myself, Harry.”
Dr. Horsley had been busy enough from the time that the fighting began in earnest. Ten men had been killed by balls that had passed through the embrasures, or by kris or lance wounds, and twenty-eight others had been more or less severely55 wounded. A quarter of an hour after the firing ceased, Captain Forrest himself, with the mate, rowed into the pool in one of the cutters, and landed at the end of the path close to the battery.
“I congratulate you on your success, Mr. Ferguson,” he said, shaking hands with the first lieutenant; “it has been a very hot affair, and by Mr. Morrison's report it was just as well that I decided to change my plan and come up to your aid, though it has resulted in two of the prahus getting away.”
“Then you sank two of them, sir?”
“No, indeed, we only sank one; the third went down just after we saw her come out from the pool. Certainly we had not hit her, so that the honor of accounting56 for three out of six of the craft falls to you and your party. Well, Doctor, what is your report? I am afraid it is a bad one.”
“Serious, indeed,” he went on, after he had received the figures. “Still it is much less than might have been expected from attacking such a host of pirates. I am glad to hear that none of the officers are dangerously wounded.”
“Parkhurst had his forearm laid open with a cut from a kris, and Balderson had one of their spears through his ear. Dr. Horsley said if it had been half an inch more to the left, it would probably have killed him. Lieutenant Somers of the marines is more badly hurt, a spear having gone through the thigh57. It cut an artery58. Luckily the doctor was close to him at the moment, and clapped on a tourniquet59, and then cut down to the artery and tied it. As he says, 'A delay of two minutes, and it would have been all up with the young fellow.' Are the boats safe, sir?”
“Yes, the boat keepers pushed off a little way when the firing began in the forest, and when they heard the shouts of a large party of the enemy coming along the path, they went out almost into the middle of the creek; and it was well they did, for many of the Malays came down through the path you cut, and would have riddled60 them with their spears had they been within reach. The boat keepers acted very wisely; all of them got into the gig and towed the other boats astern, so that if the Malays came along, either in their prahus or in their boats, they could have cut them adrift and made a race of it down to the ship.
“Well, I think that there is nothing more to be done here. The men may as well have a tot of grog served out, and then the sailors can march down to the landing place and bring up the boats and take the guns and what ammunition you have left, on board. Mr. Morrison will go back with me to the ship; he has one of his arms broken by a ball from the prahus.”
“I did not know that he was wounded, sir; he did not report it. I should not have sent him if I had known it.”
“It is just as well as it is, Ferguson; it will give me an opportunity of specially61 recommending him for promotion62 in my report. The assistant surgeon temporarily bandaged his arm when he reached the ship.”
“Is she afloat, sir?”
“No; I want you back as soon as possible. We shall have to get out the anchors and heave on them. We put on a full head of steam and drove her two or three hundred yards through the mud before she finally brought up. I wanted to get as near to you as possible, in order to clear the woods round you.”
By two o'clock the whole ship's company were on board again, and set to work to get her off; but it was not until after some hours' exertion63 that the Serpent was again afloat. She was at once turned round, steamed down to the mouth of the creek, and cast anchor opposite the village.
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1
ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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actively
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| adv.积极地，勤奋地 | |
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marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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surgical
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| adj.外科的，外科医生的，手术上的 | |
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lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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cartridges
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| 子弹( cartridge的名词复数 )； （打印机的）墨盒； 录音带盒； （唱机的）唱头 | |
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cartridge
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| n.弹壳，弹药筒；(装磁带等的)盒子 | |
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musket
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| n.滑膛枪 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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14
buoy
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| n.浮标；救生圈；v.支持，鼓励 | |
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revolve
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| vi.(使)旋转；循环出现 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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junction
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| n.连接，接合；交叉点，接合处，枢纽站 | |
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creek
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| n.小溪，小河，小湾 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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muffled
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| adj.（声音）被隔的；听不太清的；（衣服）裹严的；蒙住的v.压抑，捂住( muffle的过去式和过去分词 )；用厚厚的衣帽包着（自己） | |
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21
laborious
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| adj.吃力的，努力的，不流畅 | |
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toil
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| vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事 | |
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incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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jabber
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| v.快而不清楚地说；n.吱吱喳喳 | |
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shovels
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| n.铲子( shovel的名词复数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份v.铲子( shovel的第三人称单数 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份 | |
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26
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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entangled
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| adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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harry
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| vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼 | |
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boughs
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| 大树枝( bough的名词复数 ) | |
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vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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mingled
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| 混合，混入( mingle的过去式和过去分词 )； 混进，与…交往[联系] | |
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momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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hubbub
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| n.嘈杂；骚乱 | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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crammed
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| adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式) | |
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38
seamen
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| n.海员 | |
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defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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swarming
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| 密集( swarm的现在分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去 | |
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defenders
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| n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者 | |
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impeded
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| 阻碍，妨碍，阻止( impede的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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43
backwards
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| adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地 | |
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44
steadily
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| adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地 | |
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45
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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46
muzzle
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| n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默 | |
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47
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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48
risky
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| adj.有风险的，冒险的 | |
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49
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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50
muzzles
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| 枪口( muzzle的名词复数 )； （防止动物咬人的）口套； （四足动物的）鼻口部； （狗）等凸出的鼻子和口 | |
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51
brutes
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| 兽( brute的名词复数 )； 畜生； 残酷无情的人； 兽性 | |
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52
hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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53
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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54
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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55
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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56
accounting
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| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
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57
thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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58
artery
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| n.干线，要道；动脉 | |
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59
tourniquet
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| n.止血器，绞压器，驱血带 | |
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60
riddled
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| adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式) | |
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61
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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62
promotion
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| n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传 | |
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63
exertion
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| n.尽力，努力 | |
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