The Capture of the 'Estrella.' A tale of the Slave trade

Front matter

Uniform with this Work. The Iron Pirate. A Plain Tale of Strange Happenings on the Sea. By Max Pemberton. The Capture of the " Estrella." A Tale of the Slave Trade. By Commander Claud Harding, R.N. The Doings of Raffles Haw. By A. Conan Doyle. The Shadow of a Song. By Cecil Harlev. The Awkward Squads, and ether Stories. By Shan F. Bullock. CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited, London; Paris &= Melbourne. 38-8,93. "ESTRELLA" ■ "ESTRELLA" % Cale of tfjr Slabc STvatie BY COMMANDER CLAUD HARDING R.N. Author of " The Bo's'un of the ' Psyche " Old Shipmates" " Derelict ' etc. CASSELL and COMPANY Limited London Paris &» Melbourne 1893 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CONTENTS.

Chapter I

H.M.S. "ANDROMACHE." "As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean." H.M.S. Andromache was lying at anchor in a small creek branching off from the main stream of the river Congo, some thirty miles from its month. She was a beautiful corvette, whose carefullystayed masts, well-squared yards, taut rigging, and general smart appearance denoted the well-conditioned man-of-war. The Andromache was engaged on the West Coast of Africa in the suppression of the slave trade, and had been lying at her present anchorage, where she was completely land-locked, for nearly three weeks, during which time little had occurred on board to break the monotony which usually prevails on that un popular station. There was not a hut nor a human habitation of any kind in sight, and although the mangrove bushes in the immediate vicinity grew to a considerable height above the water, yet was thoro no terra firma to B stand upon, as their roots were embedded in the mud several feet below the surface.

The water alongside, as it slowly eddied by, was like a sea of oil, for the ship was removed some distance from the main stream, and there was scarcely any current in the creek. The sun poured down in its relentless fury, making the heat almost insupportable. The awnings, which were spread from stem to stern, made very little sensible reduction in the tempera ture, as was testified by the melting pitch which oozed from the seams of the upper deck planking. The Andromache was commanded by Captain Blakeley, who was walking up and down the bridge with a thoughtful, anxious expression on his good looking face. He was a young man for the command he held, who had attained his present rank by merit alone, and possessed a reputation in the service for ability and smartness second to none. Up to the present time in her commission, the Andromache had been very lucky, having captured eight slavers, principally owing to the exertions of her captain, who was desirous of adding another important prize to the list.

A fine schooner, called the Estrella, sailing under Spanish colours, was at anchor about twenty miles higher up the river. Her papers were apparently correct, but she was commanded by a cosmopolitan, called Bower, a well known man of reckless, even desperate, character, who, though presumably engaged in lawful trading, would not hesitate to ship a cargo of slaves if he saw the smallest probability of his getting clear away with them Captain Blakeley had received reliable information that slaves were being collected in the neighbourhood of Udenda, off which place the Estrella was lying, and he felt certain they were intended to form the cariro of the schooner. He had, therefore, brought the Andromache up the Congo, and anchored her in one of the many creeks which branch off from that noble river, whence he could despatch a boat to watch the schooner, and bring him instant news of any movement on her part.

The cutter had returned on board on the previous evening in charge of the gunner, who reported that the Estrella was undergoing a thorough refit, that her topmasts were on deck, and that the crew were enssaged in turning in afresh her lower rio,<nr_o>'. The cutter had returned to the ship prematurely, in consequence of the gunner himself, as well as several of the crew, being incapacitated by fever, and rendered unfit for duty. The fever, unfortunately, was not confined to tho cutter's crew, as it had also attacked the ship's company of the Andromache, seventy-five of whom, out of a complement of two hundred, were now on the sick list, and the rate was gaining daily. The number of officers disabled was greater in proportion than that of the men, and Captain Blakeley was at a loss for someone to send away in the cutter in the place of the gunner.

It had been arranged the night before that the first lieutenant should go, as his constitution was con sidered proof against any disease, but in the morning the second lieutenant was reported sick, and as the Andromache only carried two officers of that rank, B " Estrella." 4 it would not do to leave the ship without any lieutenant to carry on the duty. It was this rapid increase in the number of sick which was exercising the mind of the captain as he walked up and down the bridge. He had just received the morning report from the surgeon, which was far from reassuring. Was he justified in remaining any longer up the river when his ship's company were succumbing to the malarious influence of the climate ? he asked him self. He knew that a few weeks' cruise at sea would soon put them on their legs again.

Still, it was his duty to take the Estrella if she proved a slaver, and he was not to be deterred from doing his duty by a reasonable amount of risk. He was fond of his profession and his ship. He paused in his walk, and took a survey of the upper deck. The snowy planks, the well-polished guns and woodwork, the neatlycoiled ropes, the perfect order which prevailed everywhere, struck a chord of gra tified pride in his heart, and gave him encouragement. " Quartermaster, ask the first, lieutenant to speak to me," he called out, and a minute afterwards a broad, thick-set, sunburnt man joined Captain Blake ley on the bridge, and saluting, asked : " Did you send for me, sir ? " "Yes, Mr. Burrowes. I suppose you have heard that Mr. Johnson is on the sick list." " Yes, sir." " Well, I cannot let you go away in the cutter and be left without any lieutenant at all."

" There is nobody else to send, sir, and it's a pity to slacken our efforts now, after watching the Estrella for so long. If the slaves are being collected at Udenda, she is bound to ship them and sail at once. She dare not delay," answered the first lieutenant determinedly. He was a married man, with very little money besides his pay, and he was looking forward to his share of the prize-money with a considerable amount of satisfaction. " I have no indention of giving up the Estrella yet, though if this sickness continue to increase, I shall move the ship back to Point Padrone ; and I still intend to send the cutter away to watch her, though I cannot spare you to go in her. Let Mr. Hardy go." " Mr. Hardy, sir ' I should as soon think of sending the black gunroom cook in chan_re." " I know you have rather a poor opinion of Mr. Hardj^, which I do not altogether share.

He is wild and mischievous, which arises from his exuberant spirits. Give him some exciting object as a safety valve, and I'll engage he will not fail you. He has plenty of intelligence, and, what is of importance in this case, the constitution of an alligator." " The last time he went away boat cruising he returned with the cutter leaking in every plank, and she had to be hoisted in, and was three weeks under repair. He said they had run into a sleeping black fish, or some such cock-and-bull yarn, but I am certain he had tried to land, against orders, and got the boat smashed up in the surf." " Well, there is no chance of his getting the boat smashed in the surf up the Congo. Will you have Mr. Hardy sent to me, please ? I will give him his instructions myself," said the captain, desirous of putting an end to the conversation, and intending the first lieutenant to see that his decision was irre vocable.

" Quartermaster ! Tell Mr. Hardy the captain wants him," called out Mr. Burrowes, as, with a scowl on his face, he left the bridge. A soured, disappointed man was Mr. Burrowes, first lieutenant of the Andromache. He was senior to Captain Blakeley in the service, and was thoroughly efficient in all the duties of a seaman. He was, how ever, cursed with a bad temper, which he was unable to control, and this had got him into mischief. He had been appointed to a ship commanded by a nervous, irritable, aggravating fool, who never gave Burrowes a moment's peace. Stung to madness by this incessant persecution, he, one day, answered his captain back, and followed it up by giving him a piece of his mind. For this he was tried by court-martial, and severely reprimanded, which cost him his promotion. Knowing his history, Captain Blakeley made allow ances for him, and often permitted to pass unnoticed a freedom of speech and manner that many others would have resented as insolence.

Mr. Robert Hardy, acting sub-lieutenant, was Mr. Burrowes' bite noir in the ship, and the latter never lost an opportunity of abusing and finding fault with him, which sometimes was not deserved ; and as Hardy found that he was blamed for all he did, whether right or wrong, he had ceased to care for the first lieutenant's censure. One would suppose that a man who had himself suffered from persecution would, on that account, be tolerant with others ; but alas ! such is seldom the case. A man who has had to put up with bullying is generally inclined to pass it on to some inferior ; and the men in authority who are the most disagreeable, selfish, and inconsiderate are, as a rule, those who were well bullied as juniors. Robert Hardy, the central figure of this history, was far from faultless, but the good points of his character overbalanced the bad.

He could not com plain of having been bullied in his childhood, for he was the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, who idolised him. His father had been in the navy, and lost his life in a gallant attempt to rescue the crew of an emigrant ship which ran ashore during a tremendous gale, and became a total wreck. At the time he had been married very little over a year, and Robert Hardy was a small infant in arms. The young widow was broken-hearted at her loss, and concentrated all the love of her nature on the small, laughing baby, kicking in his nurse's arms, unconscious of his loss. From his earliest days Robert Hardy had shown a predilection for the sea, and living as they did on the sea coast, he had plenty of opportunity for in dulging his taste in things maritime, and spent all his leisure time amongst the fishermen and old sea-dogs, who seem as common to the sea-shore as the shingle or the seaweed.

By the time he was twelve years old he could pull a good oar, and manage a sailing-boat as well as many men of twice his age. At the same time his studies had not been neglected. His mother had sent him to good schools, and he being quick and intelligent had taken an interest in his work, and was quite as far advanced as most boys of his age. Having passed his examination into the navy without difficulty, he served the usual time on board the Britannia, and then was appointed to a ship in the Channel Fleet, in which he spent two years, when he was appointed to the Andromache. That vessel, when first commissioned, carried two sub-lieutenants, five midshipmen, a master's assistant, and a clerk in the gunroom mess ; but at the end of two years, one sub-lieutenant had been promoted, the other invalided, the clerk had become an assistant-paymaster, and of the five original midshipmen Hardy was the only one remaining, though two others, junior to him, had since been appointed.

He had lately passed his examination in seamanship for the rank of lieutenant, and held a commission as acting sub-lieutenant ; though for more than two years he had performed a lieutenant's regular duty, keeping watch night and day under all conditions of wind and weather. It is no exaggeration to say that there were not half-a-dozen officers in Her Majesty's Navy who had had equal advantages with Hardy as a midshipman in learning the practical part of their professional duties, nor was there one who more perfectly understood a seaman's craft in all its branches. He had not had the advantage of daily school under a naval instructor, when he could have substituted the study of seamanship for the intricate delight of the Binomial Theorem ; but he was a fairly good navigator, and had on one occasion taken charge of the navigation of the Andromache when the master was sick, as the master's assistant was a fool.

Hardy was engaged in neatly seizing a becket on a harpoon when the quartermaster appeared at the door of the midshipmen's berth. The two other occupants of the mess were lying down, and, without being actually sick, were feeling utterly limp, listless, and good-for-nothing, which sensations are so often the precursory symptoms of African fever There was not much the matter with Hardy, judging by his appearance. He was attired in a white shirt and trousers, his jacket having been discarded on account of the heat ; his sleeves were rolled up to the elbow, displaying a pair of strong, muscular arms ; his sunburnt face and short, crisp, dark hair were relieved by a pair of deep blue eyes, which met another's gaze honestly and fearlessly. " Here, Bob, the skipper wants you," called out Waite, the master's assistant, who was next the door.

" What does he want ? " asked Bob, laying down his harpoon, and turning down his shirt-sleeves. " Well, sir, I don't know, but No. 1 have been talking to him on the bridge, and he seemed to me to be making some report," answered the quartermaster, with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. " Confound that man, he is always making mischief," returned Bob, as, putting on his jacket, he left the berth, and went on deck.

Chapter II. The Start

" Do you want me, sir ? " asked Hardy, touching his cap, as he approached the captain on the bridge. " Yes, Mr. Hardy. I have decided upon sending you in charge of the cutter to watch the Estrella, and I wish to point out to you that this is a very important service, upon Avhich a great deal depends. " The first lieutenant thinks you are not to be trusted when away from the ship, and I fear he has good grounds for holding such an opinion ; but I am willing to believe that your former escapades were owing more to your youth and high spirits than from any desire to disobey orders. You are now a com missioned officer, and misconduct which might be tolerated in a midshipman would be very repre hensible in a sub-lieutenant. Besides, / trust you, and I shall be very much surprised if you fail in doing justice to the confidence I have in you.

" The Estrella is lying off Udenda, here," continued the captain, walking up to the chart table, and placing his finger on a certain spot on the chart of the river Congo. " I believe slaves are being collected in the neighbourhood which, I feel certain, are intended for her cargo. At present, she is undergoing a regular refit. The gunner reports that her topmasts are on deck, all her sails are unbent, and the crew are employed in setting up her rigging ; but this may be only a blind. You must keep your eyes about you, and find out what is the exact state of affairs. I will give you a letter to Mr. Engel at Boutray, on whom you will call, and obtain from him all the information you can, which is certain to be trustworthy. You had better let the men have a couple of hours' rest there in the middle of the day, as you may have to employ them during the night.

You will then proceed to Bolamba, and you must endeavour to arrive there before dusk, so as to enable you to get a look at the schooner before darkness sets in. " The Estrella is lying in the adjoining creek, and though some distance round by water, you will be within half a mile of her in a direct line, and by making your way through the bush across this' point of land, you can watch her movements, and will yet have a good start of her should she attempt to sail " Do not beach the boat at Bolamba, but anchor in the stream, and have everything in readiness to return to the ship at a moment's notice. " You can station a look-out man on shore to watch the Estrella throughout the night, having him relieved every two or three hours ; and you must yourself make an occasional personal inspection.

" Do not allow the men to land except on duty ; and on no account are they to be permitted to stroll away from the vicinity of the boat, unless especially ordered. " How soon will you be ready to start ? " asked the captain, in conclusion. " In half an hour, sir — quarter of an hour — ten " Estrella." 12 minutes," ejaculated Hardy, beside himself with joy and excitement at the prospect. " Yery well ; have the cutter alongside in half an hour — you will then be able to reach Boutray before the men's dinner-time — and come to me for your final orders." The cutter was already armed and provisioned ; Mr. Burrowes had specially selected his crew, and knowing how short-handed they were on board the ship, he had unselfishly picked out the most trouble some men to take away with him. Hardy rushed down below, and calling out to the sentry to pass the word for Bummer, he went into the berth, and took down a tin case from between the beams.

" What did the skipper want you for ? " asked Waite. " I am to go away in the cutter to watch the Estrella," answered Hardy. " Bummer, sir," announced a voice in the doorway, where stood at attention Hardy's marine servant, waiting for orders. He was a man of medium height, about thirty three years of age, though he looked older, for his face was seamed and furrowed with deep lines, which gave him a hard, determined expression. He was broad shouldered and deep-chested, without an ounce of superfluous flesh on his body, and he held himself as erect and stiff as his own ramrod. " Here, Bummer, lay hold of this," said Hardy, hand ing him the tin case, "I am going away boat cruising. Stow what gear I shall want as quickly as you can, for I shall be leaving the ship in a few minutes." " For how long, sir ?

" asked Bummer. " I don't know ; put in enough for a week," answered Hardy carelessly, and of that part of his outfit he took no further heed. Bummer was one of those rare men who attend strictly to their business, and are always reliable. 1 1 e carried out any order he received precisely and to the letter, and nothing but death would have deterred him. He went to Hardy's chest, and took therefrom an old watch bill, which he used as a memorandum book. On some spare pages at the end of the book were sundry notes, made in Bummer's handwriting, relating to orders he had received from time to time. On one of them a list was written, with the heading: " things wanted by Mister Ardy for a weakes bote cruisin." He took out of the chest each article on the list, and laid them all on the lid of an adjoining chest ; he then mustered them a second time, and finally stowed them in the tin case, which, when packed, he took on deck, and saw it passed into the cutter.

This being done, he remained in the gangway, waiting to give Hardy the key. Within the half-hour the cutter was alongside and ready to proceed. The crew, four of whom were kroomen, were in the boat seated on the thwarts, with oars tossed ; they had divested themselves of their jumpers, and, with exposed throats and brawny arms, seemed a stalwart lot of men. Hardy was receiving his last instructions from the captain. Several of his messmates were waiting in the gangway to wish him God-speed. The first lieutenant was walking up and down the quarter deck, and as Hardy came up from below, he said to him, " Don't trust your boat's crew as " Estrella!' 14 far as you can heave them ; you have got some of the biggest blackguards in the ship." There was a chorus of " Good-bye, Bob ; mind you capture the Estrella," from his messmates collected in the gangway, and as he ran clown the side, and gave the order to shove off, there arose a faint cheer from some men collected on the forecastle.

On first leaving the ship, the men gave way with a will ; it was a flat calm, and the boat travelled at such a rapid rate that in a short time they turned the point and lost sight of the Andromache. When out of the creek, they picked up a light breeze. They then laid in the oars, stepped the mast, and made sail. The men lighted their pipes, and conversation became general. A certain amount of licence was permitted when boat-cruising — the men could smoke when they liked, their conversation was unchecked, and there was an absence of that fixed routine which made life on board ship so monotonous ; it was, consequently, a popular service. Most of Hardy's present crew had never been boat-cruising before, and the novelty was to them still more delightful ; and as they reclined on the thwarts, in the shade of the foresail, smoking their pipes and cracking their jokes, they thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

They arrived at Boutray shortly before noon, and ran alongside a small pier, where Hardy disembarked to call on Herr Engel, giving the coxswain orders that the men should get their dinner, and be prepared to start again in two hours' time. Herr Engel was a German merchant who had been trading in the river Congo for many years, and being blessed with an iron constitution and great energy, he had amassed sufficient wealth to have allowed him to return to his native land and live in comfort for the remainder of his days. He had, however, become accustomed to his African life, and, having built himself a luxurious house, he indulged his hospitable tastes in entertaining, in lavish style, all the agreeable Europeans ho met, most of them being British naval officers, who were able to render him many services in return ; and by degrees a bond of friendship had sprung up between Engel and the officers of the English men-of-war which was of advantage to them both.

They took his letters, and occasionally gave a passage to his friends and agents to any port to which they might be going, and he was glad to offer a bed and a place at his table to anyone who could get away from his ship. But what was of far greater importance, Herr Engel was sometimes able to impart information which led to the capture of a valuable slaver. Hardy had already met Engel on board the Andromache, and directly he arrived at the house the German advanced and welcomed him warmly. "I was just sitting down to breakfast. Come and join me ; you must be hungry," he said in excellent Enirlish. It was the gunroom dinner -hour, and Hardy was able to do ample justice to a much more luxurious repast than ho was ever likely to get in his own mess. Engel was also blessed with a very healthy appetite, and the conversation was at first rather dis jointed, being confined to inquiries, by the latter, of the welfare of the different officers he knew on board the Andromache.

" Estrella." When breakfast was over Hardy told his host the object of his mission. " I knew that thief Bower intended shipping a cargo of slaves, and, by Jove ! I was right. He has bought five hundred of them, and he must get them on board soon — so look out." Hardy gave a sketch of the orders he had received from Captain Blakeley. " That's all right. You will be quite close to the Estrella at Bolamba, and you will hear him shipping the slaves if the night be as black as your boot ; and, by Jove ! you will smell them, too, I tell you, though you cannot see them. Bower has bought the slaves and paid for them, I know, for that rascal -Benasco paid me some money he owed me in greenbacks, which he must have got from Bower." They sat in the verandah, and smoked and con versed until it was time for Hardy to start, when he took his leave of Mr. Engel, with many thanks for his hospitality.

In the meantime the crew of the cutter had also been enjoying themselves, and seemed in very hilari ous spirits when Hardy rejoined them. There was still a slight breeze, and when Hardy gave the order to get the mast up he noticed that the men set about it in a very clumsy way. There was some excuse for this, as they were not the regular boat's crew, but men selected from different parts of the ship, who were not accustomed to work together. The sail was eventually hoisted, and the men settled down in the bottom of the boat, and some of them went to sleep. They proceeded under sail for a considerable distance, until the wind dropped, and Hardy gave the order to lower the sail and get the mast down ; intending to finish the remainder of the distance, about six miles, under oars alone. This was by no means a popular change to the drowsy crew, and gave rise to a good deal of growling and muttering, one man, named Nodder, being especi ally quarrelsome.

He selected as an object upon whom to vent his ill-humour a krooboy, called Lord Tom, a giant in size and strength. He abused Lord Tom for everything that went wrong, and called him every opprobrious epithet he could think of. Fortu nately, Lord Tom, like many men of abnormal physical strength, was possessed of a very good temper, and Nodder 's remarks only amused him, for he could have picked him up and thrown him overboard with as little effort as he tossed his oar. Hardy had at last to interfere, and he ordered Nodder to be silent ; but it could no longer escape his notice that the white portion of his crew had had more than their proper allowance of grog at dinner-time. He could not understand this, for he had carefully measured out the rum before leaving the boat, and locked up the rum-breaker ; however, blue-jackets have been known to get drunk on a perfectly desert island, and Hardy consoled himself with the thought that an hour's pulling would soon sober them.

In a short time they settled down to their oars, and gave way steadily. They had been pulling for about an hour, and were nearing their destination, when Nodder exclaimed : " I say, Mr. 'Ardy, we can't go on pulling all night. Ain't it about time to anchor ? " c " Estrella." 18 At this there was a slight laugh. " You will go on pulling until I tell you to stop," answered Hardy. " Well, I must have a bit of a spell, for I'm tired," said Nodder, and suiting the action to the word, he tossed his oar and laid it down amidships. Hardy hesitated for an instant. He knew he had a rough crew to deal with, and that his only means of enforcing discipline was by his own personal domina tion. If he allowed such a flagrant act of insubordin ation to pass unnoticed, he might just as well resign the command to Nodder.

Wrenching the tiller, a strong piece of ash, abotit two feet long, out of the coxswain's hand, he jumped on the thwart and stood over Nodder. " Get out your oar." " I can't, sir ; I'm tired." Down came the tiller with a crash on Nodder's arm, who had put it up just in time to save his head. " Get out your oar." " Don't 'it me, Mr. 'Ardy." Down came the tiller again, this time on Nodder's shoulder. " Get out your oar." " All right, Mr. 'Ardy ; I'll get out my oar. Don't you be a 'itting of me ; " and with greater haste than he laid it in, Nodder got out his oar, keeping one eye all the time on that terrible tiller. " If anybody else wants a taste of this, he knows how to get it," said Hardy, facing the boat's crew, and balancing the tiller in his hand, which he then handed back to the coxswain.