On the starboard flank was an enormous hole.
“The only wonder,” said the captain; “is that the vessel did not sink immediately.”
“Oh, the poor crew!” exclaimed Mrs Weldon.
“Most probably,” replied the captain, “they used the boats.”
“Is it not possible,” asked Mrs Weldon, “that anybody may still survive on board?”
“Hardly likely, madam.”
Dick Sand suddenly exclaimed,
“Hark! I hear a dog!”
Every one listened attentively. The dog was barking indeed. Was some unfortunate dog imprisoned beneath the hatchways? It was impossible at present to determine the precise truth.
Mrs Weldon pleaded,
“If it is only a dog, captain, let us save it.”
“Oh, yes, yes, mamma, we must save the dog!” cried little Jack; “I will go and get a bit of sugar for it.”
“A bit of sugar, my child, will not be much for a starved dog.”
“Then it will have my soup,” said the boy.
The vessels were now scarcely three hundred feet apart; the barking was more and more distinct, and presently a great dog barked more desperately than ever.
“Howick,” said Captain Hull, calling to the boatswain, “lower the small boat.”
The boat was lowered, and the captain and Dick, with a couple of sailors, went on board. The dog was yelping. All at once the animal become to bark with violence and furious with rage.
“What ails the brute?” exclaimed Captain Hull.
The boat was on the farther side of the wrecked ship, and the captain did not see that Negoro the cook came on to the schooner’s deck. The dog was against him. Negoro approached, and nobody saw him. Without a word or look of surprise, Negoro gazed a moment at the dog, knitted his brow, and retired.
As the boat rounded the stern of the drifting hull, the men observed that the one word “Waldeck” was painted on the aft-board, but that there was no intimation of the port to which the ship belonged. To Captain Hull’s experienced eye, however, certain details of construction gave a confirmation that it was an American ship.
The large hole near the bows indicated the place of the disastrous shock, but this aperture was five or six feet above the water.
Meantime the dog got to the centre. Here it continued to bark.
“Look at that dog!” said Dick; “I begin to think there must be somebody on board.”
“If so,” answered the captain, “he died of hunger.”
“No,” said Dick; “that dog is barking, so somebody there is alive.”
The captain and Dick called and whistled repeatedly to the dog, which jumped into the sea, and began to swim slowly towards the boat. Then the animal was lifted in.
“The poor wretch is dying of thirst!” said Dick.
Captain Hull and Dick clambered the “Waldeck”. The dog was accompanying them.
“There is nothing here; nobody here,” said the captain.
They ascended the ladder, but the dog, barking irrepressibly, began to drag them towards the stern.
They followed the dog to the poop, and there Captain Hull saw five bodies, motionless and apparently lifeless, stretched upon the floor.
Dick hastily examined them all, and emphatically declared, that they could breathe. The five unconscious men, who were all negroes, were brought safely to the boat. The dog followed, apparently satisfied.
The boat made its way back again to the “Pilgrim”. The unfortunate men were raised to the deck.
“Poor things![10]” said Mrs. Weldon, as she looked compassionately on the motionless bodies.
“But they are not dead,” cried Dick eagerly; “they are not dead; we will save them!”
“What’s the matter with them?” asked Cousin Benedict, with utter bewilderment.
“We’ll hear all about them soon,” said the captain, smiling; “but first we will give them a few drops of rum.”
Cousin Benedict smiled in return.
“Negoro!” shouted the captain.
At the sound of the name, the dog growled fiercely, and showed its teeth. The cook did not answer.
“Negoro!” again the captain shouted, and the dog became yet more angry.
Negoro slowly left his kitchen. He showed his face upon the deck. The animal made a rush at him, and wanted to seize him by the throat. The man knocked the animal back with a poker which he had in his hand.
“Do you know this dog?” asked the captain.
“Know him? No!”
“Strange!” muttered Dick to himself; “there is some mystery here.”
Chapter IV
The Survivors of the “Waldeck”
The slave-trade[11] is still extensively carried on in all parts of equatorial Africa. Year after year vessels loaded with slaves leave the coasts of Angola and Mozambique to transport their freight to many countries.
Captain Hull knew that very well. He thought that the negroes were the part of a slave-cargo which was on its way to some colony of the Pacific. And he wanted to announce that they regained their freedom on board the “Pilgrim.”
Mrs. Weldon, assisted by Nan and Dick Sand, was doing everything in her power to restore consciousness to the poor sufferers. Fresh water and some food soon helped them. The eldest of them was a man of about sixty years of age. When he regained his powers of speech, he was able to reply in good English to all the questions. In answer to Captain Hull’s inquiry whether they were not slaves, the old negro proudly stated that he and his companions were all free American Citizens from the state of Pennsylvania.
This old man communicated all the information that Captain Hull required to hear, and he related all the details of his adventures.
He said that his name was Tom. When was only six years of age he was brought from his home in Africa to the United States; but he recovered his freedom. His companions, who were all much younger than himself, were all free-born. One of them was his own son; his name was Bat (an abbreviation of Bartholomew); and there were three others, named Austin, Acteon, and Hercules.
Three years ago the five men were engaged by an Englishman who had large property in South Australia. Upon the completion of their engagement they determined to return to America. On the 5th of January, they embarked at Melbourne on board the “Waldeck.” Everything went on well for seventeen days, until, on the night of the 22nd, which was very dark, they were run into by[12] a great steamer. The scene was terrible; both masts were gone, and the brig completely heeled over on its side. Captain and crew disappeared. They were left alone upon a half-capsized and disabled hull, twelve hundred miles from the nearest land.
The boats were crushed in the collision, so that they had to await the appearance of a passing vessel.
For the next ten days the negroes were eating the food that they found in the stern cabin; but they were quite unable to obtain a drop of anything to drink. Tortured with thirst, the poor men suffered agonies. On the previous night they entirely lost consciousness.
All the outlines of Tom’s narrative were fully confirmed by the other negroes.
One other survivor of the wreck was the dog who had an unaccountable dislike to Negoro.
Dingo, as the dog was named, belonged to the fine breed of mastiffs. The animal