he was once—he was first-mate aboard
a ship on the India station, which was a
prime station at the time, for we was at war
with the Dutch, and spices and pepper is
the best of prize-money, besides sugars and
rum. The whole of that 'ere sea, I've heard
say, is spotted over with islands, as if the
ocean had the small-pox, and the islands
was the pits—and very fine islands they be
to look at, for the trees are wonderful large,
and the fruits delicious, and the flowers—
for them that like such things—the brightest
and beautifullest in the world. All this I've
only hearn, for I never served beyond the
Cape, but I've heard of them so often I seem
to have been born and bred among them cedars
and camellias and seringas. The Dutch ain't a
stupid set of people when left to their own ways,
and would never have quarreled with England
if it had not been for that 'ere Napoleon
Bonaparte which set 'em on like a Highland terrier
on a mastiff dog. Howsomever as they showed
their teeth it was necessary for us to knock
'em down their throats, and according we
did it all the time of the war. Now, one day,
says the captain to young Nero, 'You go,'
he says, 'in the tender, with twelve men of
your choice, and bring us word what the
mynheers is a doing on in the island two hundred
knots to our eastward, and let me know,
d'ye hear; for it's reported that they've sent a
large army from Java, and I daresay the big
breeches,' says he, 'are arter some mischief.'
So young Nero touched his hat, named his men,
and thought himself the king of Great Britain,
France, and Ireland, and all the world beside,
when he seen his flag for the first time, and
bore away for his destination with all the
canvas he could spread. The captain was a
very strict man, and had given orders to run
no manner of risk, but to be very careful
both of vessel and men. So they came late
one evening within sight of the island; and
high over all the rich trees that crowned all
the coast, they saw far inland the Dutch
standard a flapping on the flag-post, and even
in the still air heard the military band
a-playing on the parade ground of the castle, as if
it was a playing a welcome to young Nero and
his crew. This was remarkable civil in the
Dutch, and Nero beckoned Will Hatch and
says, 'They don't seem to be much on the
look out,' says he, 'or surely they would have
seen our sails as we rounded the high point.
Now you see, Will,' says he, 'if they're so off
their guard, and seem so fond of their fine
tunes, it would only be respectful in us to go
a little nearer, and pay them the compliment
of a call. So tell nine of the lads to take two or
three pistols apiece and a cutlass—run us into
one of them deep creeks, where the brushwood
is higher than our mast—tuck in a precious
good supper, and be ready to follow me
ashore.' Away through the thick jungle went
the ten men, all their ears open, and their
forefingers on the trigger; and after
struggling through the shrubs, which smelt like
ladies' scent-bottles, all of a sudden they
come to a clear space, and found themselves
within fifty yards of the castle walls. It was
now nearly dark—a heavy sort of a night, as if
the air was too thick with heat and perfume
to be seen through—in them parts it's never
so pitch black as here. At the other side
of the fortress either another band was a playing
fine Italian music, or it was the same
they had heard before, only moved away,
perhaps, on their road to the barracks. Well, this
was all the information as could be picked
up, and Nero didn't think the captain would
be satisfied if he only took him back a list of
the tunes they played; so he says, 'Come
nearer,' he says, 'and make no noise till we get
under the guns, for just at this present they
could point them to where we stand, and
blow us into conwulsions.' On tiptoe they
hurried for'ard, and when they got close to the
wall, they found the drawbridge down and
gate open, and just at this time the music
ceased, and it seemed as if the whole family
had gone to bed and left the big doors of the
citadel open to air the town. 'Now's the
time, boys,' says young Nero; 'follow me at
the run, shoot the first sentinel you find,
shout with all your might, fire off your spare
pistols, split into parties of twos and threes,
but always keep in hearing, and see what
our luck will be!' The boys could scarcely
keep from laughing, it was such a capital
contrived lark; but still they managed not
to laugh too loud, and did as they were
told. There was firing and shouting in a few
minutes all over the place. The sentinels
thought five thousand English at least had
fallen upon them as the advanced guard of a
tremendous expedition, and made off—those
that wern't shot—and told the general what
they thought. He was a very famous
commander, and would do nothing contrairy to
the rules of war; so he determined to lead his
men into the open country and wait for
reinforcements to enable him to retake the place.
And away they went by the inland gates,
which Nero instantly ordered to be closed,
and set all hands to work. They spiked the
guns—there were sixteen of 'em—and
threw them into the moat; they burned the
barracks; broke all the arms they found;
filled their pockets and hankerchers with
anything that took their fancy, and before
daylight evacuated the castle in the greatest
order, locking the gate behind them, and
rasping through the main hinge of the
drawbridge by way of preventing pursuit. In as
great silence as they had made their
approach, they pursued their way through the
forest to the creek,—got quietly on board and
warped out into deep water. You may guess
what fun they had when morning dawned, to
see the castle still a smoking, and no flag
hoisted on the wall. The Dutch general
followed the most scientific plans he could hear
of in books, and made his approaches in such a
skilful way that it was three days afore