Part 34 (1/2)

Some of the slaves were fettered; most of them, having been tamed, were free. Some were strong, others were weak, not a few were dying, but all were made to work and toil day and night, with just sufficient rest to enable them to resume labour each morning. It was a woeful sight! A sight which for centuries had been before the eyes of European statesmen, but European statesmen had preferred that European peoples should go on cutting each other's throats, and increasing their national debts, rather than use their power and wealth to set their captive brethren free; and it was not until the nineteenth century that England, the great redresser of wrongs, put forth her strong hand to crush the Pirate City.

While these busy preparations were going on, a terrible gale arose, which did a good deal of damage to the harbour and s.h.i.+pping of Algiers, and, among other peculiar side-influences, inscribed the name of the French consul in the Dey's black book. Indeed, nearly all the consuls had their place in that book now, for Omar had been chafed by the cloud of little worries that surrounded him, not having been long enough on the throne to regard such with statesman-like equanimity.

The gale referred to had the effect of driving several Moorish vessels close under the walls of the town, just in front of the mosque Djama Djedid. During its progress a French privateer, (in other words, a licensed pirate!) which chanced to be in port at the time, unintentionally fouled a Moorish vessel, and sank it.

Next day a divan was held, at which Omar demanded payment of the French consul. Not feeling himself bound to pay for the misdeeds of a privateer, the consul refused, whereupon the privateer was seized, and all her crew sent in chains to work at the fortifications.

It chanced, about the same time, that news came of an English frigate having seized an Algerine vessel, and carried her off to Gibraltar.

This sent Colonel Langley still deeper into Omar's black book, so that he felt himself and family to be in great danger of being also put in chains and sent to the Marina, if not worse. He therefore hastened the secret packing of his valuables, intending to avail himself of the first opportunity that should offer of leaving the city.

Such an opportunity soon occurred, at least so thought the consul, in the arrival of the ”Prometheus,” a British war-vessel of 18 guns, but Colonel Langley found, as many have discovered before him, that ”there is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip,” for the Dey suddenly took a high position, and absolutely refused to allow the British consul to depart.

Captain Dashwood, the commander of the ”Prometheus,” on his first interview with the Dey, saw that there was no chance whatever of getting off the consul by fair means, for Omar treated him with studied hauteur and insolence.

”I know perfectly well,” said he, at the conclusion of the conference, ”that your fleet, which report tells me has already left England, is destined for Algiers. Is it not so?”

”I have no official information, your highness,” replied Captain Dashwood. ”If you have received such news, you know as much as I do, and probably from the same source--the public prints.”

”From whence I have it is a matter of no moment,” returned the Dey, as he abruptly closed the conference.

Immediately after, Captain Dashwood informed the consul of his intention of sending a boat ash.o.r.e next morning, with the ostensible motive of making final proposals to the Dey, but really for the purpose of carrying out his plans, which he related in detail.

Accordingly, next morning, the captain proceeded to the palace, and kept the Dey in complimentary converse as long as was possible with a man of such brusque and impatient temperament.

While thus engaged, several of the men and mids.h.i.+pmen of the ”Prometheus” proceeded to the consul's house. They did so in separate detachments, and some of them returned once or twice to the boat, as if for some small things that had been forgotten, thus confusing the guards as to the numbers of those who had landed.

When Captain Dashwood again returned to his boat there were two more mids.h.i.+pmen in it than the number that had left his s.h.i.+p--one being the consul's wife, the other his daughter Agnes! Master Jim, however, had been left behind, owing to the arrangements not having been sufficient to meet his requirements. Poor Mrs Langley had left him with agonised self-reproach, on being a.s.sured that he should be fetched off on the morrow. Colonel Langley was of course obliged to remain with him.

When the morrow came another boat was sent ash.o.r.e with baskets for provisions. One of these baskets was taken to the consul's house. It was in charge of the surgeon of the s.h.i.+p, as Master Jim required the services of a professional gentleman on the occasion.

All went well at first. The boat was manned by several men and mids.h.i.+pmen, who went innocently to market to purchase provisions. The surgeon, a remarkably cool and self-possessed individual, went to the consul's house, with a Jack-tar--equally cool and self-possessed-- carrying the basket.

”Now then, let's see how smartly we can do it,” said the surgeon, on entering Colonel Langley's nursery. ”Is your child tractable?”

”Very much the reverse,” replied the Colonel, with a smile.

”Umph! can't be helped.--Set down the basket, my man, and come and hold him.”

Now the Zaharian Zubby, not having been let into the secret of the mysterious proceedings that followed, became a source of unexpected danger and annoyance to the surgeon and his friends. She watched the former with some interest, while he mixed a small powder in the family medicine-gla.s.s, and when he advanced with it to Master Jim, her large eyes dilated so that the amount of white formed an absolutely appalling contrast with her ebony visage. But when she saw Master Jim decline the draught with his wonted decision of character, thereby rendering it necessary for the nautical man to put powerful restraint on his struggling limbs, and to hold his nose while the surgeon forced open his mouth and poured the contents of the family gla.s.s down his throat, and when, in addition to all this, she beheld Colonel Langley standing calmly by with an air of comparative indifference while this hideous cruelty was being practised on his son and heir, her warm heart could stand no more. Uttering a series of wild shrieks, she ran at the nautical man, scored his face down with her ten fingers, seized the choking Jim in her arms, and thrust her fore-finger down his little throat with the humane view of enabling him to part with the nauseous draught which he had been compelled to swallow.

Master Jim had convulsed himself twice, and had actually got rid of a little of the draught, before the surgeon could recover him from the irate negress.

”I hope he hasn't lost much of it,” remarked the surgeon, looking anxiously at the howling boy as he held him fast. ”I brought only one dose of the drug, but we shall see in a few minutes.--Do stop the noise of that screeching imp of blackness,” he added, turning a look of anger on Zubby, whose grief was, like her mirth, obstreperous.

”I wish as some 'un had pared her nails afore I comed here,” growled the nautical man.

”Hush, Zubby,” said Colonel Langley, taking the girl kindly by the arm; ”we are doing Jim no harm; you'll bring the janissaries in to see who is being murdered if you go on so--hus.h.!.+”

But Zubby would not hush; the Colonel therefore called his black cook and handed her over to him--who, being a fellow-countryman, and knowing what a Zaharian frame could endure, carried her into an adjoining room and quietly choked her.

”He's going--all right,” said the surgeon, with a look and nod of satisfaction, as the child, lying in the nautical man's arms, dropt suddenly into a profound slumber.