Under the Waves by Robert Michael Ballantyne (mobile ebook reader txt) 📕

/> "Impossible, sir,--im--it is very kind of you--very, Mr Berrington-- but, impossible," said Mr Hazlit, struggling between kindly feeling and hurt dignity.

"Nay, but," pleaded Edgar, "I only offer you a loan. Besides, I want to benefit myself," he added, with a smile. "The fact is, I have made a little money in a diving venture, which I and some others undertook to these seas, and I receive no interest for it just now. If you would accept of a few hundreds--what you require for present necessities--you may have them at three or five per cent. I would ask more, but that, you know, would be usurious!"

Still the fallen merchant remained immovable. He acknowledged Edgar's pleasantry about interest with a smile, but would by no means accept of a single penny from him in any form.

Edgar had set his heart upon two things that morning, and had prayed, not for success, but, for guidance in regard to them.

In the first he had failed--apparently. Not much depressed, and nothing daunted, he tried the second.

"Captain," he said, pacing up and down by the side of that black-bearded, black-eyed, and powerful pirate-killer, "what say you to run back to the spot where you sank the pirates, and attempt to fish up some of the treasure with our diving apparatus?"

"I've thought of that two or three times," replied the captain, shaking his head; "but they went down in deep waters,--forty fathoms, at least,--which is far beyond your powers."

"True," returned Edgar, "but the prow of the pirate-chief was, you know, run down in only nineteen fathoms, and _that_ is not beyond us."

"Is it not?"

"No, we have already been deeper than twenty fathoms with the dress I have on board."

"There is only one objection," said the captain, pausing in his walk; "I have learned from the prisoners that before we came up with them, Pungarin had had all the money and chief treasure transferred from his own prow to another, which was a faster boat, intending to change into it himself, but that after our appearing he deferred doing so until the fight should be over. If this be true, then the treasure went down in deep water, and the chiefs prow has nothing in it worth diving for."

"But we are not sure that this story is true; and at all events it is probable that at least _some_ of the treasure may have been left in Pungarin's boat," urged Edgar.

"Well, I'll make the trial; but first I must dispose of my prisoners."

So saying, the captain resumed his walk and Edgar went below to look after his engine, having, in passing, given Rooney Machowl instructions to overhaul the diving gear and get it into good working order.

This Rooney did with much consequential display, for he dearly loved to bring about that condition of things which is styled "astonishing the natives." As the Malays on board, seamen and captives, were easily astonished by the novelties of the western hemisphere, he had no difficulty in attracting and chaining their attention to the minutest details of his apparatus. He more than astonished them!

With the able assistance of Baldwin and Maxwell and Ram-stam, he drew out, uncoiled, rubbed, examined inch by inch, and re-coiled the life-line and the air-tube; unscrewed the various pieces--glasses, nuts, and valves--of the helmet, carefully examined them, oiled them, and re-fastened them, much to the interest and curiosity of "the natives." The helmet itself he polished up till it shone like a great globe of silver, to the intense admiration of "the natives." The pump he took to pieces elaborately, much to the anxiety of "the natives," who evidently thought he had wantonly destroyed it, but who soon saw it gradually put together again, much to their satisfaction, and brought into good working order. Rooney even went the length of horrifying one or two of "the natives" by letting one of the heavy shoulder-weights fall on their naked toes. This had the effect of making them jump and howl, while it threw the others into ecstasies of delight, which they expressed by throwing back their heads, shutting their eyes, opening their mouths, and chuckling heartily.

Aileen and Miss Pritty, in the meantime, lay on the sofas in the cabin, and at last obtained much-needed refreshment to their weary spirits by falling into deep, dreamless, and untroubled slumber.

Thus the gun-boat with its varied freight sped on until it reached Sarawak, where the pirates were sent ashore under a strong guard.

With these our tale has now nothing more to do; but as this cutting short of their career is not fiction, it may interest the reader to know that they were afterwards tried by a jury composed half of native chiefs and half of Europeans, who unanimously found them guilty. They were condemned to be shot, and the sentence was carried out immediately, in the jungle, two miles outside of the town. They were buried where they fell, and thus ended one of the sharpest lessons that had ever been taught to a band of miscreants, who had long filled with terror the inhabitants of Borneo and the neighbouring archipelago.

Some idea may be formed of the service done on this occasion--as estimated by those who were well able to judge--when we say that the captain of the gun-boat afterwards received, in recognition of his prowess, a handsome sword and letter of thanks from the Rajah, Sir James Brooke; a certificate, with a pocket chronometer, from the Netherlands-Indian Government; a commander's commission from the Sarawak Government; and letters of grateful thanks from the Resident Governor of the west coast of Borneo, the Council of Singapore for the Netherlands Government, and others--all expressive of his gallant conduct in utterly routing so large a body of pirates, liberating two hundred and fifty slaves--chiefly of the Dutch settlements--and clearing the Borneon coast of a curse that had infested it for many years. [See Note 1.]

Having disposed of the pirates, the gun-boat proceeded immediately to sea, and in a short time reached the scene of her recent victory. It had previously been proposed to Mr Hazlit that he might remain in Sarawak, if he chose, during the short period of the gun-boat's intended absence, but the unfortunate man--owing to financial reasons!--decided to remain in the vessel.

It happened to be a calm, lovely morning, not unlike that on which the action had been fought, when they reached the scene of their intended operations, and began to drag for the sunken prow.

The difficulty of finding it was much greater than had been anticipated, for the land, although visible, was much too far off to be of any service as a guide. At last, however, it was discovered; the diving apparatus was got out; the anchor cast, and Maxwell, being esteemed the most enduring among the divers, prepared to go down.

"It feels quite like old times, sir, don't it?" said Joe Baldwin to Edgar Berrington, as he assisted to dress the diver, and manipulated the various parts of the costume with a fondness that one might feel towards a favourite dog from which one had been for some time parted.

"It does indeed, Joe," replied Edgar, smiling; "I almost envy Maxwell the pleasure of a dip--especially in such a clear cool sea in this hot weather."

"How is he to breathe?" asked Miss Pritty, who with Aileen and her father, as well as the captain and crew of the gun-boat, watched the process of robing with as much interest as if they had never before seen it performed.

"Sure, Miss," observed Rooney Machowl, with great simplicity of aspect, "he does it by drawin' in an' puffin' out the air through his mouth an' nose."

"Very true," observed Miss Pritty, with a good-natured smile, for even she could see that the Irishman was poking fun at her; "but how is air conveyed to him?"

"It is sent down by means of an air-pump," said Edgar, who took on himself the duty of explaining.

"Dear me!" returned Miss Pritty, elevating her eyebrows in surprise; "I always thought that pumps were used only for pumping up water."

"Och! No, Miss," said Rooney, "they're largely used for pumping up beer in London."

"Now, David, are you all right?" asked Joe.

"All right," said Maxwell, as he rose and shook himself to settle the weights comfortably on his back and breast.

"Come along then, me boy," said Rooney.

Maxwell went to the side of the vessel, where a rope-ladder had been prepared, and his two attendants assisted him to get over.

"All right?" asked Joe again, after giving the order to pump, which Ram-stam commenced with the steady coolness and regularity of a veteran.

"All right," replied Maxwell, who immediately afterwards slowly disappeared.

After an hour's absence he signalled that he was coming up. In a few minutes his helmet was seen far down in the depths. Then it emerged from the surface.

"I want a crowbar," he said on the glass being removed.

"If you'd had on a helmet with a speakin'-tube," observed Rooney, "you might have said that without comin' up."

"True, lad," growled Maxwell, "but not havin' on a helmet with a speakin'-toobe, here I am, so please look alive."

"Any sign of treasure?" asked Edgar.

"Not as yet, sir."

The crowbar having been brought, the diver again went down.

For some time all went on quietly, for it was expected that, deep though the water was, Maxwell's power of enduring pressure would enable him to remain below for at least two hours, if not longer. After looking for some time inquiringly at the spot where he had disappeared, most of the Malays resumed their various duties about the vessel, though a few remained a little to regard Ram-stam with much interest, as being one who, in a measure, held the life of a fellow-being in his hands.

Suddenly a loud hissing noise was heard over the side. It sounded to those on deck as if the great sea-serpent had put his head out of the sea close alongside and sent a violent hiss into the air.

Joe Baldwin was attending to the air-tube, while Rooney held the life-line. He looked quickly down.

"The air-pipe's burst!" he shouted, and both he and his comrade, without a moment's delay, began to haul up the diver as fast as they possibly could.

That the reader may properly appreciate what had happened, it is necessary to remind him that at nineteen fathoms Maxwell's body was subjected to a pressure--from _water_, outside his dress--of about 50 pounds to the square inch, and that to prevent such a tremendous pressure from crushing in and collapsing all the cavities of his body, an _equal_ pressure of air had to be _forced_ into his dress, so that the pressure of water outside the dress was met and counteracted by the pressure of air inside. This highly condensed air of course tended to crush the diver, as did the water, but with this important difference, that the air entered his lungs, wind-pipe, ears, nose, etcetera, and thus prevented these organs from collapsing, and confined the absolute pressure to their walls of flesh so to speak, and to the solid muscular parts of his frame. Maxwell, being a very muscular man and tough, was, as we have said, able to stand the pressure on these parts better than many men. When, therefore, the air-tube burst--which it happened to do at a weak point