Merrily, merrily goes the bark
Before the gale she bounds;
As flies the dolphin from the shark,
Or the deer before the hounds.
One day, shortly after the death and demolition of the unfortunate ox, Rashleigh and some others were dispatched to cut a quantity of mangrove timber in a swamp, this wood being required to be sent to Sydney, where it was to be used for the manufacture of stone-cutter’s mallets, as it was both light and tough. In selecting the proper pieces for this purpose, the men were dispersed in all directions, nearly up to their necks in mud and water; and our adventurer, having strayed at last as far as the bank of the river, was much surprised to see a boat which apparently lay dry upon a sand-bank, having canted a little on one side, no person being observable either in or near it.
As the place where the boat lay was secluded from observation by a projecting point of land covered with mangroves, Rashleigh thought he might gratify his curiosity with impunity by looking into the little vessel. Accordingly he waded to the side of it and found to his great surprise that a man was lying fast asleep in its bottom. The boat here appeared, too, of much greater size when he looked into it than when seen from the shore; and it contained two half-decks, as they are called, under each of which two or three persons could sleep comfortably. There seemed to be a quantity of provisions and other things on board, and Ralph could also perceive the butt ends of some muskets peeping out from under a sail, which was appended to the mast that lay fore and aft along the thwarts.
Quick as lightning a hope of liberty darted into his brain. The breeze was blowing freshly down the river to seaward, and he hastily returned in quest of some companions. Unperceived by any overseer, he soon collected several of the men, and Ralph having briefly explained his hopes and his views, they were easily induced to risk one bold attempt for life and freedom, the bare thought of which animated their pallid features with unwonted fires and appeared to nerve their debilitated frames to dare any danger.
On returning under Rashleigh’s guidance to the boat, they found its unlucky occupant still fast asleep. They quickly pushed the bark off the bank she lay on into the deep water that flowed swiftly beside her and drew up the anchor that held her there. They were now drifting rapidly down towards the harbour’s mouth; but on their quickly setting up the mast, the sail swelled, and oh! what joy filled their breasts as they stood over to the southern shore and placed an island between themselves and their late dreaded scene of confinement.
When they were thus sheltered from immediate view, they awoke the slumbering boat-keeper, whose consternation was dreadful at observing in his boat upwards of half a dozen gaunt, animated skeletons, perfectly naked, smeared with filth and mud, and their faces overgrown with hair from their heads and beards. One of the fugitives held a musket to his head, ordering him to strip in silence. This he was fain to comply with, and his clothes being put on by one of their number, who had been selected from his knowledge of the management of a boat for this purpose, the rest lay down all together in the bottom of the bark, lest their nakedness might attract observation, and consequently, pursuit from the garrison.
When the helmsman judged he was at a sufficient distance from Limeburners’ Bay, he recrossed the harbour before the boat approached too near the settlement, and the bells being now ringing there for the men’s dinner-hour, the fugitives rejoiced in the idea that nearly all the people at the town of Newcastle would be under cover of their several dwellings when they passed on the river before it, and consequently that there would not be so many eyes to observe their motions.
The breeze continued to favour them. In a very short space they were opposite the wharf of the coal mines, and in reply to the anxious questions poured thick and fast upon him by his comrades below, who could not see anything, the helmsman continued to report progress every now and then, assuring them that all was right. They were soon abreast of Nobby’s island, a bluff rock which projects out of nearly the centre of the mouth of Hunter’s river.
“Blow, good breeze! Another mile, and all is safe,” was uttered in tones of triumph by the steersman when “Boat ahoy!” was thundered in their ears from the rocky islet.
Forgetful of prudential considerations in the anxiety of the moment, two of the naked runaways partially raised themselves from their place of concealment.
“Haul down your sail directly or I’ll fire into your boat!” roared the person on shore, who proved to be one of the military officers that had gone on the rock to shoot sea-fowl; and finding the fugitives paid no attention to his repeated cries, he shouted once more and louder than ever, “Halloo! Shore ahoy! Help!! Mutiny!!!” at the same time levelling his piece and firing. But the shot spattered harmlessly far astern of the boat, in the water, the little bark meanwhile still increasing the distance between the parties.
All concealment being now useless, the runaways stood up in the boat and Rashleigh could observe the whole settlement was in commotion, aroused probably by the firing, for the report of the officer’s piece had been repeated by one of the sentries posted at the signal station, and the verandah of Government house being full in his sight, he could even observe the dreaded person of their haughty commandant, who rushed out, and mounting a horse, galloped down to the sea-beach, where by his gestures he seemed to be urging some men, who were busily launching a boat, to increased exertion.
One party of soldiers quickly came flying, rather than running, down the hill to their commander, and another body of military, who had, in the hurry of the first alarm, apparently posted towards the gaol, now made their appearance upon the high ground at the back of Nobby’s island. The alarm bells were rung, and two pieces of cannon that were placed upon a green in front of the Government house, being hastily loaded, were fired, one of the balls from which whizzed just over their little mast, and then, plunging into the sea, appeared to skip from wave to wave until it buried itself deep in a bank on the northern shore, raising a cloud of sand in its career.
Until now Rashleigh had not observed a little boat containing only two persons that had put off from the rocky islet directly after the fugitives had passed. These were the officer who had first given the alarm, and his servant, who, although they had apparently but one fire-arm between them, were yet bold enough to persevere in a chase against such overwhelming odds, both of numbers and weapons, for the runaways, on searching the bark they had seized, discovered a good store of powder, ball and six muskets on board. The little boat, being so much smaller and lighter than that in which Rashleigh was, now gained rapidly upon them, and our adventurer hailed the officer, begging him as he valued his life to keep off, at the same time intimating the number of their weapons, which were also presented at the young ensign; but the latter perhaps thought he had gone too far to retract with honour, and the only reply he deigned to give was by discharging his gun, on which the steersman’s left arm dropped motionless to his side; and the report of six muskets from the convicts’ boat sounded the requiem of the gallant young soldier, who, as Rashleigh could see, fell bleeding overboard. His attendant was now too much occupied in endeavouring to recover his master to pursue the chase, even if he had been disposed to do so, and the fugitives had leisure to observe their other pursuers.
Foremost of these was a whale-boat, apparently impelled by sixteen oars, helped on by an enormous sail, which seemed to make her actually fly through the water. As the rowers bent to the stroke, she appeared, at least in the estimation of our terrified adventurer, positively to bound off the face of the deep. In the bow of this boat, bare-headed and apparently stimulating the boatmen by threats, oaths and promises to increase their already almost superhuman efforts, stood the commandant, with a musket in his hand, which he now and then presented at the escaping convicts as if measuring the distance between them with his eyes. Then, withdrawing it, he would shake his fist in the direction of the fugitives, turning at last again to the boatmen, his urgent imprecations to whom began now faintly to be borne on the wings of the breeze past the ears of those whom he so fain would overtake.
Behind this first boat were three others nearly abreast, all of them containing soldiers, as well as the first, and all impelled by both oars and sails, except the last, which was soon recognised by its peculiar rig to be the pilot-boat, known to be much swifter on the water than any other belonging to Newcastle, and which gallantly supported its fame on the present occasion by rapidly overhauling the foremost of the pursuers.
About five miles ahead, towards the north, in which direction the steersman held his course, was a point that terminates the bay into which the river Hunter erupts itself. From this promontory a number of rocks stretch out nearly a mile into the sea. These crags can only be seen at low water, or when the fury of tempestuous waves lashes the billows over them into rude and boisterous breakers. At other times they lie concealed. The freshness of the present breeze curled the waters into white and sparkling foam over and around this reef. The helmsman of the fugitive boat, who despite the wound that had broken his arm, and even now dropped blood on the deck at his feet, still maintained. his post, and now appeared, maugre the danger which was apparent even to the inexperienced eye of our adventurer, to steer full towards these breakers, instead — as Rashleigh thought would be the better course — of holding out into the open sea. Ralph ventured to hint as much to Roberts the helmsman, who only replied with great calmness that “he knew what he was about, and was doing all for the best”.
Meanwhile Rashleigh could observe that the pilot-boat had now overtaken the one which, hitherto foremost, had conveyed the commandant. The former lay to alongside the other for an instant; and when she resumed her way, the fugitives could see that dreaded officer on her forepart.
The breeze continued to freshen the more they got from under the lee of the land; and the boiling surf upon the sunken rocks was but a very short distance ahead, when Roberts roared out, “Lay down, every man!” setting the example himself by falling flat on the half-deck, still, however, retaining his hold of the tiller and keeping his eye fixed on a hill at some distance straight ahead.
A volley of musketry pealed from the pilot-boat, some of the bullets tearing through the sail of the fugitive craft; and instantly afterwards the voice of the commandant, known, alas, too well to all the runaways, was now heard thundering in imperious tones, “Strike your sail, you infernal scoundrels, and surrender; or we’ll run you dow............