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diff --git a/23384.txt b/23384.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..35a525b --- /dev/null +++ b/23384.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11473 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader, by R.M. Ballantyne + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader + +Author: R.M. Ballantyne + +Illustrator: R.M. Ballantyne + +Release Date: November 6, 2007 [EBook #23384] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GASCOYNE, THE SANDAL-WOOD TRADER *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader, by R.M. Ballantyne. + +________________________________________________________________________ +An exciting story set in the Pacific. Is Gascoyne a pirate, or isn't +he? Quite a gripping tale, and well worth reading. + +________________________________________________________________________ +GASCOYNE, THE SANDAL-WOOD TRADER, BY R.M. BALLANTYNE. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +THE SCHOONER. + +The Great Pacific is the scene of our story. On a beautiful morning, +many years ago, a little schooner might have been seen floating, light +and graceful as a sea-mew, on the breast of the slumbering ocean. She +was one of those low black-hulled vessels, with raking, taper masts, +trimly cut sails, and elegant form, which we are accustomed to associate +with the idea of a yacht or a pirate. + +She might have been the former, as far as appearance went, for the sails +and decks were white as snow, and every portion of brass and copper +above her water-line shone in the hot sun with dazzling brilliancy. But +pleasure-seekers were not wont, in those days, to take such distant +flights, or to venture into such dangerous seas--dangerous alike from +the savage character of the islanders, and the numerous coral-reefs that +lie hidden a few feet below the surface of the waves. + +Still less probable did it seem that the vessel in question could belong +to the lawless class of craft to which we have referred; for, although +she had what may be styled a wicked aspect, and was evidently adapted +for swift sailing, neither large guns nor small arms of any kind were +visible. + +Whatever her nature or her object, she was reduced, at the time we +introduce her to the reader, to a state of inaction by the dead calm +which prevailed. The sea resembled a sheet of clear glass. Not a cloud +broke the softness of the sky, in which the sun glowed hotter and hotter +as it rose towards the zenith. The sails of the schooner hung idly from +the yards; her reflected image was distorted, but scarcely broken, by +the long gentle swell; her crew, with the exception of the watch, were +asleep either on deck or down below, and so deep was the universal +silence, that, as the vessel rose and fell with a slow, quiet motion, +the pattering of the reef points on her sails forcibly attracted the +listener's attention, as does the ticking of a clock in the deep silence +of night. A few sea-birds rested on the water, as if in the enjoyment +of the profound peace that reigned around; and, far away on the horizon +might be seen the tops of the palm-trees that grew on one of those coral +islands which lie scattered in thousands, like beautiful gems, on the +surface of that bright blue sea. + +Among the men who lay sleeping in various easy off-hand attitudes on the +schooner's deck was one who merits special attention--not only because +of the grotesque appearance of his person, but also because he is one of +the principal actors in our tale. + +He was a large powerful man, of that rugged build and hairy aspect that +might have suggested the idea that he would be difficult to kill. He +was a fair man, with red hair and a deeply sun-burned face, on which +jovial good-humour sat almost perpetually enthroned. At the moment when +we introduce him to the reader, however, that expression happened to be +modified in consequence of his having laid him down to sleep in a +sprawling manner on his back--the place as well as the position being, +apparently, one of studied discomfort. His legs lay over the heel of +the bowsprit; his big body reposed on a confused heap of blocks and +cordage, and his neck rested on the stock of an anchor, so that his head +hung down over it, presenting the face to view, with the large mouth +wide open, in an upside down position. The man was evidently on the +verge of choking, but, being a strong man, and a rugged man, and a +healthy man, he did not care. He seemed to prefer choking to the +trouble of rousing himself and improving his position. + +How long he would have lain in this state of felicity it is impossible +to say, for his slumbers were rudely interrupted by a slight lurch of +the schooner, which caused the blocks and cordage attached to the sheet +of the jib to sweep slowly, but with rasping asperity, across his face. +Any ordinary man would have been seriously damaged--at least in +appearance--by such an accident; but this particular sea-dog was tough +in the skin--he was only awakened by it--nothing more. He yawned, +raised himself lazily, and gazed round with that vacant stare of +unreasonable surprise which is common to man on passing from a state of +somnolence to that of wakefulness. + +Gradually the expression of habitual good-humour settled on his visage, +as he looked from one to another of his sleeping comrades, and at last, +with a bland smile, he broke forth into the following soliloquy:-- + +"Wot a goose, wot a grampus you've bin, John Bumpus: firstly, for goin' +to sea; secondly, for remainin' at sea; thirdly, for not forsakin' the +sea; fourthly, for bein' worried about it at all, now that you've made +up your mind to retire from the sea, and, fifthly--" + +Here John Bumpus paused as if to meditate on the full depth and meaning +of these polite remarks, or to invent some new and powerful expression +wherewith to deliver his fifth head. His mental efforts seemed to fail, +however, for instead of concluding the sentence, he hummed the following +lines, which, we may suppose, were expressive of his feelings as well as +his intentions:-- + + "So goodbye to the mighty ocean, + And adoo to the rollin' sea, + For it's nobody has no notion + Wot a grief it has bin' to me." + +"Ease off the sheets and square the topsail yards," was at that moment +said, or rather murmured, by a bass voice so deep and rich, that, +although scarcely raised above a whisper, it was distinctly heard over +the whole deck. + +John Bumpus raised his bulky form with a degree of lithe activity that +proved him to be not less agile than athletic, and, with several others, +sprang to obey the order. A few seconds later, the sails were swelled +out by a light breeze, and the schooner moved through the water at a +rate which seemed scarcely possible under the influence of so gentle a +puff of air. Presently the breeze increased, the vessel cut through the +blue water like a knife, leaving a long track of foam in her wake as she +headed for the coral-island before referred to. The outer reef, or +barrier of coral which guarded the island, was soon reached. The narrow +opening in this natural bulwark was passed. The schooner stood across +the belt of perfectly still water that lay between the reef and the +shore, and entered a small bay, where the calm water reflected the strip +of white sand, green palms, and tropical plants that skirted its margin, +as well as the purple hills of the interior. + +Here she swept round in a sudden, but graceful curve, until all her +canvas fluttered in the breeze, and then dropt anchor in about six +fathoms water. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +BUMPUS IS FIERY AND PHILOSOPHICAL--MURDEROUS DESIGNS FRUSTRATED. + +The captain of the schooner, whose deep voice had so suddenly terminated +the meditations of John Bumpus, was one of those men who seem to have +been formed for the special purpose of leading and commanding their +fellows. + +He was not only unusually tall and powerful--physical qualities which, +in themselves, are by no means sufficient to command respect--but, as we +have said, he possessed a deep full-toned bass voice in which there +seemed to lie a species of fascination, for its softest tones riveted +attention, and when it thundered forth commands in the fiercest storms +it inspired confidence and a feeling of security in all who heard it. +The countenance of the captain, however, was that which induced men to +accord to him a position of superiority in whatever sphere of action he +chanced to move. It was not so much a handsome as a manly and +singularly grave face, in every line of which was written inflexible +determination. His hair was short, black, and curly. A small moustache +darkened his upper lip, but the rest of his face was closely shaven, so +that his large chin and iron jaw were fully displayed. His eyes were of +that indescribable blue colour which can exhibit the intensest passion, +or the most melting tenderness. + +He wore a sombre but somewhat picturesque costume--a dark-coloured +flannel shirt and trousers, which latter were gathered in close round +his lower limbs by a species of drab gaiter that appeared somewhat +incongruous with the profession of the man. The only bit of bright +colour about him was a scarlet belt round his waist, from the side of +which depended a long knife in a brown leather sheath. A pair of light +shoes and a small round cap, resembling what is styled in these days a +pork-pie, completed his costume. He was about forty years of age. + +Such was the commander, or captain, or skipper, of this +suspicious-looking schooner--a man pre-eminently fitted for the +accomplishment of much good or the perpetration of great evil. + +As soon as the anchor touched the ground, the captain ordered a small +boat to be lowered, and, leaping into it with two men, one of whom was +our friend John Bumpus, rowed towards the shore. + +"Have you brought your kit with you, John?" inquired the captain, as the +little boat shot over the smooth waters of the bay. + +"Wot's of it, sir," replied our rugged seaman, holding up a small bundle +tied in a red cotton handkerchief. "I s'pose our cruise ashore won't be +a long one." + +"It will be long for you, my man, at least as far as the schooner is +concerned, for I do not mean to take you aboard again." + +"Not take me aboard agin!" exclaimed the sailor, with a look of surprise +which quickly degenerated into an angry frown, and thereafter gradually +relaxed into a broad grin as he continued--"why, capting, wot _do_ you +mean to do with me then, for I'm a heavy piece of goods, d'ye see, and +can't be easily moved about without a small touch o' my own consent, you +know." + +Jo Bumpus, as he was fond of styling himself, said this with a +serio-comic air of sarcasm, for he was an exception to the general rule +of his fellows. He had little respect for, and no fear of, his +commander. Indeed, to say truth, (for truth must be told, even though +the character of our rugged friend should suffer,) Jo entertained a most +profound belief in the immense advantage of muscular strength and vigour +in general, and of his own prowess in particular. Although not quite so +gigantic a man as his captain, he was nearly so, and, being a bold +self-reliant fellow, he felt persuaded in his own mind that he could +thrash him, if need were. In fact, Jo was convinced that there was no +living creature under the sun, human or otherwise, that walked upon two +legs, that he could not pommel to death with more or less ease by means +of his fists alone. And in this conviction he was not far wrong. Yet +it must not be supposed that Jo Bumpus was a boastful man or a bully. +Far from it. He was so thoroughly persuaded of his invincibility, that +he felt there was no occasion to prove it. He therefore followed the +natural bent of his inclinations, which led him at all times to exhibit +a mild, amiable, and gentle aspect--except, of course, when he was +roused. As occasion for being roused was not wanting in the South Seas +in those days, Jo's amiability was frequently put to the test. He +sojourned, while there, in a condition of alternate calm and storm; but +riotous joviality ran, like a rich vein, through all his chequered life, +and lit up its most sombre phases like gleams of light on an April day. + +"You entered my service with your own consent," replied the captain to +Jo's last remark, "and you may leave it, with the same consent, whenever +you choose; but you will please to remember that I did not engage you to +serve on board the schooner. Back there you do not go either with or +without your consent, my fine fellow, and if you are bent on going to +sea on your own account--you've got a pair of good arms and legs--you +can swim! Besides," continued the captain, dropping the tone of sarcasm +in which this was said, and assuming a more careless and good-natured +air, "you were singing something not long since, if I mistake not, about +`farewell to the rolling sea,' which leads me to think you will not +object to a short cruise on shore for a change, especially on such a +beautiful island as this is." + +"I'm your man, capting," cried the impulsive seaman, at the same time +giving his oar a pull that well-nigh spun the boat round. "And, to say +wots the plain truth, d'ye see, I'm not sorry to ha done with your +schooner, for, although she is as tight a little craft as any man could +wish for to go to sea in, I can't say much for the crew,--saving your +presence, Dick"--(he added, glancing over his shoulder at the +surly-looking man who pulled the bow oar.) "Of all the rascally set I +ever clapped eyes on, they seems to me the worst. If I didn't know you +for a sandal-wood trader, I do believe I'd take ye for a pirate." + +"Don't speak ill of your messmates behind their backs, Jo," said the +captain with a slight frown. "No good and true man ever does that." + +"No more I do," replied John Bumpus; while a deep red colour suffused +his bronzed countenance. "No more I do; leastwise if they wos here I'd +say it to their faces, for they're a set of as ill-tongued villains as I +ever had the misfortune to--" + +"Silence!" exclaimed the captain, suddenly, in a voice of thunder. + +Few men would have ventured to disobey the command given by such a man, +but John Bumpus was one of those few. He did indeed remain silent for +two seconds, but it was the silence of astonishment. + +"Capting," said he, seriously, "I don't mean no offence, but I'd have +you to know that I engaged to work for you, not to hold my tongue at +your bidding, d'ye see. There aint the man living as'll make Jo Bumpus +shut up w'en he's got a mind to--" + +The captain put an abrupt end to the remarks of his refractory seaman by +starting up suddenly in fierce anger and seizing the tiller, apparently +with the intent to fell him. He checked himself, however, as suddenly, +and, breaking into a loud laugh, cried--"Come, Jo, you must admit that +there is at least one living man who has made you `shut up' before you +had finished what you'd got to say." + +John Bumpus, who had thrown up his left arm to ward off the anticipated +blow, and dropped his oar in order to clench his right fist, quietly +resumed his oar, and shook his head gravely for nearly a minute, after +which he made the following observation:-- + +"Capting, I've seed, in my experience o' life, that there are some +constitootions as don't agree with jokin'; an' yours is one on 'em. +Now, if you'd take the advice of a plain man, you'd never try it on. +You're a grave man by natur', and you're so bad at a joke that a feller +can't quite tell w'en you're a-doin' of it. See, now, I do declare I +wos as near drivin' you right over the stern o' your own boat as could +be, only by good luck I seed the twinkle in your eye in time." + +"Pull away, my lad," said the captain, in the softest tones of his deep +voice, at the same time looking his reprover straight in the face. + +There was something in the tone in which that simple command was given, +and in the look by which it was accompanied; that effectually quelled +John Bumpus in spite of himself. Violence had no effect on John, +because in most cases he was able to meet it with superior violence, and +in all cases he was willing to try. But to be put down in this mild way +was perplexing. The words were familiar, the look straightforward and +common enough. He could not understand it at all, and, being naturally +of a philosophical turn of mind, he spent the next three minutes in a +futile endeavour to analyse his own feelings. Before he had come to any +satisfactory conclusion on the subject, the boat's keel grated on the +white sand of the shore. + +Now, while all that we have been describing in the last and present +chapters was going on, a very different series of events was taking +place on the coral-island, for there, under the pleasant shade of the +cocoa-nut palms, a tall, fair, and handsome youth was walking lightly +down the green slopes towards the shore in anticipation of the arrival +of the schooner, and a naked dark-skinned savage was dogging his steps, +winding like a hideous snake among the bushes, and apparently seeking an +opportunity to launch the short spear he carried in his hand at his +unsuspecting victim. + +As the youth and the savage descended the mountain-side together, the +former frequently paused when an opening in the rich foliage peculiar to +these beautiful isles enabled him to obtain a clear view of the +magnificent bay and its fringing coral reef, on which the swell of the +great Pacific--so calm and undulating out beyond--fell in tremendous +breakers, with a long, low, solemn roar like distant thunder. As yet no +object broke the surface of the mirror-like bay within the reef. + +Each time the youth paused the savage stopped also, and more than once +he poised his deadly spear, while his glaring eyeballs shone amid the +green foliage like those of a tiger. Yet upon each occasion he +exhibited signs of hesitation, and finally lowered the weapon, and +crouched into the underwood. + +To any one ignorant of the actors in this scene, the indecision, of the +savage would have appeared unaccountable; for there could be no doubt of +his desire to slay the fair youth--still less doubt of his ability to +dart his formidable spear with precision. Nevertheless, there was good +reason for his hesitating, for young Henry Stuart was well known, alike +by settlers and savages, as possessing the swiftest foot, the strongest +arm, and the boldest heart in the island, and Keona was not celebrated +for the possession of these qualities in any degree above the average of +his fellows, although he did undoubtedly exceed them in revenge, hatred, +and the like. On one occasion young Stuart had, while defending his +mother's house against an attack of the savages, felled Keona with a +well-directed blow of his fist. It was, doubtless, out of revenge for +this that the latter now dogged the former through the lonely recesses +of the mountain-pass by which he had crossed the island from the little +settlement in which was his home, and gained the sequestered bay in +which he expected to find the schooner. Up to this point, however, the +savage had not summoned courage to make the attack, although, with the +exception of a hunting-knife, his enemy was altogether unarmed, for he +knew that in the event of missing his mark the young man's speed of foot +would enable him to outstrip him, while his strength of frame would +quickly terminate a single combat. + +As the youth gained the more open land near the beach, the possibility +of making a successful cast of the spear became more and more doubtful. +Finally the savage shrunk into the bushes and abandoned the pursuit. + +"Not here yet, Master Gascoyne," muttered Henry as he sat down on a rock +to rest; for although the six miles of country he had crossed was a +trifle, as regarded distance, to a lad of nineteen, the rugged +mountain-path by which he had come would have tried the muscles of a Red +Indian, and the nerve of a goat. "You were wont to keep to time better +in days gone by. Truly it seems to me a strange thing that I should +thus be made a sort of walking post between my mother's house and this +bay, all for the benefit of a man who seems to me no better than he +should be, and whom I don't like, and yet whom I _do_ like in some +unaccountable fashion that I don't understand." + +Whatever the youth's thoughts were after giving vent to the foregoing +soliloquy, he kept them to himself. They did not at first appear to be +of an agreeable nature, for he frowned once or twice, and struck his +thigh with his clenched hand, but gradually a pleasant expression lit up +his manly face as he gazed out upon the sleeping sea, and watched the +gorgeous clouds that soon began to rise and cluster round the sun. + +After an hour or so spent in wandering on the beach picking up shells, +and gazing wistfully out to sea, Henry Stuart appeared to grow tired of +waiting, for he laid himself down on the shore, turned his back on the +ocean, pillowed his head on a tuft of grass, and deliberately went to +sleep. + +Now was the time for the savage to wreak his vengeance on his enemy, +but, fortunately, that villain, despite his subtlety and cunning, had +not conceived the possibility of the youth indulging in such an +unnatural recreation as a nap in the forenoon. He had, therefore, +retired to his native jungle, and during the hour in which Henry was +buried in repose, and in which he might have accomplished his end +without danger or uncertainty, he was seated in a dark cave moodily +resolving in his mind future plans of villany, and indulging the hope +that on the youth's returning homewards he would be more successful in +finding a favourable opportunity to take his life. + +During this same hour it was that our low-hulled little schooner hove in +sight on the horizon, ran swiftly down before the breeze, cast anchor in +the bay, and sent her boat ashore, as we have seen, with the captain, +the surly man called Dick, and our friend John Bumpus. + +It happened that, just as the boat ran under the shelter of a rocky +point and touched the strand, Keona left his cave for the purpose of +observing what young Stuart was about. He knew that he could not have +retraced his homeward way without passing within sight of his place of +concealment. + +A glance of surprise crossed his dark visage as he crept to the edge of +the underwood and saw the schooner at anchor in the bay. This was +succeeded by a fiendish grin of exultation as his eye fell on the +slumbering form of the youth. He instantly took advantage of the +opportunity; and so deeply was he engrossed with his murderous +intention, that he did not observe the captain of the schooner as he +turned a projecting rock, and suddenly appeared upon the scene. The +captain, however, saw the savage, and instantly drew back, signing, at +the same time, to his two men to keep under cover. + +A second glance shewed him the sleeping form of Henry, and, almost +before he had time to suspect that foul play was going on, he saw the +savage glide from the bushes to the side of the sleeper, raise his +spear, and poise it for one moment, as if to make sure of sending it +straight to the youth's heart. + +There was not a moment to lose. The captain carried a short carbine in +his hand, with which he took aim at the savage--going down on one knee +to make a surer shot, for the carbine of those days was not to be +depended on at a distance much beyond a hundred yards; and as the actors +in this scene were separated by even more than that distance, there was +a considerable chance of missing the savage and hitting the young man. + +This, however, was not a moment to calculate chances. The captain +pulled the trigger, and the crash of the shot was followed by a howl +from the savage, as his uplifted arm dropt to his side, and the spear +fell across the face of the sleeper. Henry instantly awoke, and sprang +up with the agility of a panther. Before he could observe what had +occurred, Keona leapt into the bushes and disappeared. Henry at once +bounded after him; and the captain, giving vent to a lusty cheer, rushed +across the beach, and sprang into the forest, closely followed by surly +Dick and John Bumpus, whose united cheers of excitement and shouts of +defiance awoke the echoes of the place with clamorous discords. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +A ROUGH WALK ENLIVENED BY RAMBLING TALK--BUMPUS IS "AGREEABLE." + +It is said, in the proverbial philosophy of nautical men, that "a stern +chase is a long one." The present instance was an exception to the +general rule. Keona was wounded. Young Stuart was fleet as the +antelope, and strong as a young lion. In these circumstances it is not +surprising that, after a run of less than a quarter of a mile, he +succeeded in laying his hands on the neck of the savage and hurling him +to the ground, where he lay panting and helpless, looking up in the face +of his conqueror with an expression of hopeless despair--for savages and +wicked men generally are wont to judge of others by themselves, and to +expect to receive such treatment from their enemies as they themselves +would in similar circumstances accord. + +The fear of instant death was before his eyes, and the teeth of Keona +chattered in his head, while his face grew more hideous than ever, by +reason of its becoming livid. + +His fears were groundless. Henry Stuart was not a savage. He was +humane by nature; and, in addition to this, he had been trained under +the influence of that Book which teaches us that the most philosophical, +because the most effective, method of procedure in this world, is to +"overcome evil with good." + +"So, you scoundrel," said Henry, placing his knee on Keona's chest, and +compressing his throat with his left hand, while, with his right, he +drew forth a long glittering knife, and raised it in the air--"So you +are not satisfied with what I gave you the last time we met, but you +must needs take the trouble to cross my path a second time, and get a +taste of cold steel, must you?" + +Although Keona could speak no English, he understood it sufficiently to +appreciate the drift of the youth's words, even though he had failed to +comprehend the meaning of the angry frown and the glittering knife. +But, however much he might have wished to reply to the question, Henry +took care to render the attempt impossible, by compressing his windpipe +until he became blue in the face, and then black. At the same time, he +let the sharp point of his knife touch the skin just over the region of +the heart. Having thus convinced his vanquished foe that death was at +the door, he suddenly relaxed his iron gripe; arose, sheathed his knife, +and bade the savage get up. + +The miserable creature did so, with some difficulty, just as the captain +and his men arrived on the scene. + +"Well met, Henry," cried the former, extending his hand to the youth, +"had I been a moment later, my lads I fear that your life's blood would +have been on the sea shore." + +"Then it was you who fired the shot, Captain Gascoyne? This is the +second time I have to thank you for saving my life," said the young man, +returning the grasp of the captain's hand. + +"Truly, it is but a small matter to have to thank me for. Doubtless, if +my stout man, John Bumpus, had carried the carbine, he would have done +you as good service. And methinks, Henry, that you would have preferred +to owe your life to either of my men, rather than to me, if I may judge +by your looks." + +"You should not judge by looks, captain," replied the youth +quickly--"especially the looks of a man who has just had a hand to hand +tussle with a savage. But, to tell the plain truth, Captain Gascoyne, I +would indeed rather have had to thank your worthy man, John Bumpus, than +yourself for coming to my aid, for although I owe you no grudge, and do +not count you an enemy, I had rather see your back than your face--and +you know the reason why." + +"You give me credit, boy, for more knowledge than I possess," replied +Gascoyne, while an angry frown gathered for a moment on his brow; but +passed away almost as quickly as it came; "I know not the cause of your +unreasonable dislike to one who has never done you an injury." + +"Never done me an injury!" cried Henry, starting and turning with a look +of passion on his companion; then, checking himself by a strong effort, +he added in a milder tone--"But a truce to such talk, and I ask your +forgiveness for my sharp words just after your rendering me such good +service in the hour of need. You and I differ in our notions on one or +two points--that is all; there is no need for quarrelling. See, here is +a note from my mother, who sent me to the bay to meet you." + +During this colloquy, Dick and Bumpus had mounted guard over the wounded +savage, just out of ear-shot of their captain. Neither of the sailors +ventured to hold their prisoner, because they deemed it an unmanly +advantage to take of one who was so completely (as they imagined) in +their power. They kept a watchful eye on him, however; and while they +affected an easy indifference of attitude, held themselves in readiness +to pounce upon him if he should attempt to escape. But nothing seemed +farther from the mind of Keona than such an attempt. He appeared to be +thoroughly exhausted by his recent struggle and loss of blood, and his +body was bent as if he were about to sink down to the ground. There +was, however, a peculiar glance in his dark eyes that induced John +Bumpus to be more on his guard than appearances seemed to warrant. + +While Gascoyne was reading the letter to which we have referred, Keona +suddenly placed his left leg behind surly Dick, and, with his unwounded +fist, hit that morose individual such a tremendous back-handed blow on +the nose, that he instantly measured his length on the ground. John +Bumpus made a sudden plunge at the savage on seeing this, but the latter +ducked his head, passed like an eel under the very arms of the sailor, +and went off into the forest like a deer. + +"Hold!" shouted Captain Gascoyne, as John turned in a state of mingled +amazement and anger to pursue. "Hold on, Bumpus, let the miserable +rascal go." + +John stopped, looked over his shoulder, hesitated, and finally came back +with a rolling air of nautical indifference, and his hands thrust into +his breeches pockets. + +"You know best, capting," said he, "but I think it a pity to let sich a +dirty varmint go clear off, to dodge about in the bushes, and mayhap +treat us to a pisoned arrow, or a spear-thrust on the sly. +Howsomedever, it aint no consarn wotever to Jo Bumpus. How's your beak, +Dick, my boy?" + +"None the better for your askin'," replied the surly mariner, who was +tenderly stroking the injured member of his face with the fingers of +both hands. + +"Come, Dick, it is none the worse of being inquired after," said Henry, +laughing. "But 'tis as well to let the fellow go. He knows best how to +cure his wound, by the application of a few simples, and by thus making +off, has relieved us of the trouble and responsibility of trying our +hands at civilised doctoring. Besides, John Bumpus, (if that's your +name,--though I do think your father might have found you a better,) +your long legs would never have brought you within a mile of the +savage." + +"Young man," retorted Jo, gravely, "I'd have you to know that the family +of the Bumpuses is an old and a honourable one. They comed over with +the Conkerer to Ireland, where they picked up a deal o' their good +manners, after which they settled at last on their own estates in +Yorkshire. Though they _have_ comed down in the world, and the last of +the Bumpuses--that's me--is takin' a pleasure trip round the world +before the mast, I won't stand by and hear my name made game of, d'ye +see; and I'd have ye to know, farther, my buck, that the Bumpuses has a +pecooliar gift for fightin', and although you _are_ a strappin' young +feller, you'd better not cause me for to prove that you're conkerable." + +Having delivered himself of this oration, the last of the Bumpuses +frowned portentously on the youth who had dared to risk his anger, and +turning with a bland smile to surly Dick, asked him "if his beak was any +better _now_." + +"There seems to be bad news in the letter, I think," observed Henry, as +Captain Gascoyne perused the epistle with evident signs of displeasure. + +"Bad enough in these times of war, boy," replied the other, folding the +note and placing it in a pouch inside the breast of his flannel shirt. +"It seems that that pestiferous British frigate the _Talisman_, lies at +anchor in the bay, on the other side of the island." + +"Nothing in that to cause uneasiness to an honest trader," said Henry, +leading the way up the steep path by which he had descended from the +mountain region of the interior. + +"That speech only shews your ignorance of the usages of ships of war. +Know you not that the nature of the trade in which I am engaged requires +me to be strong-handed, and that the opinion of a commander in the +British navy as to how many hands are sufficient for the navigation of a +trading schooner does not accord with mine?--a difference of opinion +which may possibly result in his relieving me of a few of my best men +when I can ill afford to spare them. And, by the way," said Gascoyne, +pausing as they gained the brow of an eminence that commanded a view of +the rich woodland on one side and the sea on the other, "I had better +take precautions against such a mischance. Here, Dick," (taking the man +aside and whispering to him,) "go back to the schooner, my lad, and tell +the mate to send ten of the best hands ashore with provisions and arms. +Let them squat where they choose on land, only let them see to it that +they keep well out of sight and hearing until I want them. And now, +Master Henry, lead the way; John Bumpus and I will follow at your heel +like a couple of faithful dogs." + +The scene through which young Henry Stuart now led his seafaring +companions was of that rich, varied, and beautiful character which is +strikingly characteristic of those islands of the Pacific which owe +their origin to volcanic agency. Unlike the low coral islets, this +island presented every variety of the boldest mountain scenery, and yet, +like them, it displayed all the gorgeous beauty of a rich tropical +vegetation. In some places the ground had been cracked and riven into +great fissures and uncouth caverns of the wildest description, by +volcanoes apparently long since extinct. In others the landscape +presented the soft beauty of undulating grove-like scenery, in which, +amid a profusion of bright green herbage, there rose conspicuous the +tall stems and waving plumes of the cocoa-nut palm; the superb and +umbrageous ko-a, with its laurel-green leaves and sweet blossoms; the +_kukui_ or candle-nut tree, the fragrant sandal-wood, and a variety of +other trees and shrubs for which there are no English names. + +Hundreds of green paroquets with blue heads and red breasts, +turtle-doves, wood-pigeons, and other birds, enlivened the groves with +sound, if not with melody, and the various lakelets and pools were alive +with wild ducks and water-hens. + +The route by which the party travelled, led them first across a country +of varied and beautiful aspect; then it conducted them into wild +mountain fastnesses, among which they clambered, at times with +considerable difficulty. Ere long they passed into a dreary region +where the ancient fires that upheaved the island from the deep seemed to +have scorched the land into a condition of perpetual desolation. +Blackened and bare lava rocks, steep volcanic ridges and gorges, +irregular truncated coves, deep-mouthed caves and fissures, overhanging +arches, natural bridges, great tunnels and ravines, surrounded them on +every side, and so concealed the softer features of the country that it +was scarcely possible to believe in the reality of the verdant region +out of which they had just passed. In another hour this chaotic scenery +was left behind; the highest ridge of the mountains was crossed, and the +travellers began to descend the green slopes on the other side of the +island. These slopes terminated in a beach of white sand, while beyond +lay the calm waters of the enclosed lagoon, the coral reef with its +breakers, and the mighty sea. + +"'Tis a pretty spot?" said Henry, interrogatively, as the party halted +on the edge of a precipice, whence they obtained an uninterrupted view +of the whole of that side of the island. + +"Ay, pretty enough," replied Gascoyne in a somewhat sad tone of voice; +"I had hoped to have led a quiet life here once,--but that was not to +be. How say you, Bumpus; could you make up your mind to cast anchor +here for a year or so?" + +"Wot's that you say, capting?" inquired honest John, who was evidently +lost in admiration of the magnificent scene that lay spread out before +him. + +"I ask if you have no objection to come to an anchor here for a time," +repeated the captain. + +"Objection! I'll tell ye wot it is, capting, I never seed sich a place +afore in all my born days. Why it's a slice out o' paradise. I do +believe if Adam and Eve wos here they'd think they'd got back again into +Eden. It's more beautifuller than the blue ocean, by a long chalk, an' +if you wants a feller that's handy at a'most anything after a fashion--a +jack of all trades and master of none (except seamanship, which aint o' +no use here)--Jo Bumpus is your man!" + +"I'm glad to hear you say that, Jo," said Henry, laughing, "for we are +greatly in need of white men of your stamp in these times, when the +savages are so fierce against each other that they are like to eat us up +altogether, merely by way of keeping their hands in practice." + +"_White_ men of my stamp!" remarked Bumpus, surveying complacently his +deeply-bronzed hands, which were only a shade darker than his visage; +"well, I would like to know what ye call black if I'm a white man." + +"Blood, and not skin, is what stamps the colour of the man, Jo. If it +were agreeable to Captain Gascoyne to let you off your engagement to +him, I think I could make it worth your while to engage with me, and +would find you plenty of work of all kinds, including a little of that +same fighting for which the Bumpuses are said to be so famous." + +"Gentlemen," said Jo, gravely, "I'm agreeable to become a good and +chattel for this occasion only, as the playbills say, and hold myself up +to the highest bidder." + +"Nay, you are sold to me, Bumpus," said Gascoyne, "and must do as I bid +you." + +"Wery good, then bid away as fast as you like." + +"Come, captain, don't be hard," said Henry, "what will you take for +him?" + +"I cannot afford to sell him at any price?" replied the other, "for I +have brought him here expressly as a gift to a certain Mary Stuart, +queen of women, if not of Scotland--a widow who dwells in Sandy Cove." + +"What, my mother?" interrupted Henry, while a shade of displeasure +crossed his countenance at what he deemed the insolent familiarity with +which Gascoyne mentioned her name. + +"The same. On my last visit I promised to get her a man-servant who +could do her some service in keeping off the savages when they take a +fancy to trouble the settlement; and if Bumpus is willing to try his +luck on shore, I promise him he'll find her a good mistress, and her +house pleasant quarters." + +"So," exclaimed the stout seaman, stopping short in his rolling walk, +and gazing earnestly into his captain's face, "I'm to be sold to a +woman?" + +"With your own consent entirely, Master Bumpus," said Gascoyne with a +smile. + +"Come, Jo," cried Henry, gaily, "I see you like the prospect, and feel +assured that you and I shall be good friends. Give us your flipper, my +boy!" + +John Bumpus allowed the youth to seize and shake a "flipper," which +would have done credit to a walrus, both in regard to shape and size. +After a short pause he said, "Whether you and me shall be good friends, +young man, depends entirely on the respect which you shew to the family +of the Bumpuses--said family havin' comed over to Ireland with the +Conkerer in the year, ah! I misremember the year, but that don't +matter; bein' a subject of no consarn wotiver, 'xcept to schoolboys +who'll get their licks if they can't tell, and sarve 'em right too. But +if you're willin' I'm agreeable, and there's an end o' the whole +affair." + +So saying, John Bumpus suffered a bland smile to light up his ruddy +countenance, and resumed his march in the "wake," as he expressed it, of +his companions. + +Half an hour later they arrived at Sandy Cove, a small native settlement +and mission station, and were soon seated at the hospitable board of +Widow Stuart. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +THE MISSIONARY--SUSPICIONS, SURPRISES, AND SURMISES. + +Sandy Cove was a small settlement inhabited partly by native converts to +Christianity, and partly by a few European traders, who, having found +that the place was in the usual track of South Sea whalers, and +frequently visited by that class of vessels as well as by other ships, +had established several stores or trading houses, and had taken up their +permanent abode there. + +The island was one of those the natives of which were early induced to +agree to the introduction of the gospel. At the time of which we write, +it was in that transition state which renders the work of the missionary +one of anxiety, toil, and extreme danger, as well as one of love. + +But the Reverend Frederick Mason was a man eminently fitted to fill the +post which he had selected as his sphere of labour. Bold and manly in +the extreme, he was more like a soldier in outward aspect than a +missionary. Yet the gentleness of the lamb dwelt in his breast and +beamed in his eye; and to a naturally indomitable and enthusiastic +disposition was added burning zeal in the cause of his beloved Master. + +Six years previous to the opening of our tale, he had come to Sandy Cove +with his wife and child, the latter a girl of six years of age at that +time. In one year death bereaved the missionary of his wife, and, about +the same time, war broke out in the island between the chiefs who clung +to the idolatrous rites and bloody practices peculiar to the inhabitants +of the South Sea islands, and those chiefs who were inclined to favour +Christianity. This war continued to rage more or less violently for +several years, frequently slumbering, sometimes breaking out with sudden +violence, like the fitful eruptions of the still unextinct volcanoes in +those distant regions. + +During all this period of bloodshed and alarms, the missionary stuck to +his post. The obstinacy of hatred was being gradually overcome by the +superior pertinacity of zeal in a good cause, and the invariable +practice--so incomprehensible to the savage mind--of returning good for +evil; the result was, that the Sabbath bell still sent its tinkling +sound over the verdant slopes above Sandy Cove, and the hymn of praise +still arose, morning and evening, from the little church, which, +composed partly of wood, partly of coral rock, had been erected under +the eye, and, to a large extent, by the hands of the missionary. + +But false friends within the camp were more dangerous and troublesome to +Mr Mason than avowed enemies without. Some of the European traders, +especially, who settled on the island a few years after the missionary +had made it habitable, were the worst foes he had to contend with. + +In the same vessel that brought the missionary to the island, there came +a widow, Mrs Stuart, with her son Henry, then a stout lad of thirteen. +The widow was not, however, a member of the missionary's household. She +came there to settle with her son, who soon built her a rudely +constructed but sufficiently habitable hut, which, in after years, was +enclosed, and greatly improved; so that it at last assumed the +dimensions of a rambling picturesque cottage, whitewashed, brilliant, +and neat in its setting of bright green. + +The widow, although not an official assistant to the missionary, was +nevertheless a most efficient one. She taught in his schools, being +familiar with the native tongue; and, when the settlement grew in +numbers, both of white and black, she became known as the good angel of +the place--the one who was ever ready with sympathy for the sorrowful, +and comfort for the dying. She was fair and fragile, and had been +exceedingly beautiful; but care had stamped his mark deeply in her brow. +Neither care nor time, however, could mar the noble outline of her fine +features, or equal the love that beamed in her gentle eyes. + +The widow was a great mystery to the gossips of Sandy Cove; for there +are gossips even in the most distant isles of the sea! Some men (we +refer, of course, to white men) thought that she must have been the wife +of an admiral at least, and had fallen into distressed circumstances, +and gone to these islands to hide her poverty. Others said she was a +female Jesuit in disguise, sent there to counteract the preaching of the +gospel by the missionary. A few even ventured to hint their opinion +that she was an outlaw, "or something of that sort" and shrewdly +suspected that Mr Mason knew more about her than he was pleased to +tell. But no one, either by word or look, had ever ventured to express +an opinion of any kind to herself, or in the hearing of her son; the +latter, indeed, displayed such uncommon breadth of shoulders, and such +unusual development of muscle, that it was seldom necessary for him-- +even in those savage regions and wild times--to display anything else, +in order to make men respectful. + +While our three friends were doing justice to the bacon and breadfruit +set before them by Widow Stuart, the widow herself was endeavouring to +repress some strong feeling, which caused her breast to heave more than +once, and induced her to turn to some trifling piece of household duty +to conceal her emotion. These symptoms were not lost upon her son, +whose suspicions and anger had been aroused by the familiarity of +Gascoyne. Making some excuse for leaving the room, towards the +conclusion of the meal, he followed his mother to an outhouse, whither +she had gone to fetch some fresh milk. + +"Mother," said Henry, respectfully, yet with an unwonted touch of +sternness in his voice; "there is some mystery connected with this man +Gascoyne that I feel convinced, you can clear up--" + +"Dear Henry," interrupted the widow, and her cheek grew pale as she +spoke, "do not, I beseech you, press me on this subject. I cannot clear +it up." + +"Say you _will_ not, mother," answered Henry, in a tone of +disappointment. + +"I would if I dared," continued the widow. "The time may come when I--" + +"But why not now," urged the youth, hastily. "I am old enough, surely, +to be trusted. During the four visits this man has paid to us, I have +observed a degree of familiarity on his part which no man has a right to +exhibit towards you; and which, did I not see that you permit it, no man +would _dare_ to shew. Why do you allow him to call you `Mary?' No one +else in the settlement does so." + +"He is a very old friend," replied the widow, sadly. "I have known him +from childhood. We were playmates long ago." + +"Humph! that's some sort of reason, no doubt; but you don't appear to +like him, and his presence always seems to give you pain. Why do you +suffer yourself to be annoyed by him? Only say the word, mother, and +I'll kick him out of the house, neck and crop--" + +"Hush, boy; you are too violent." + +"Too violent! Why, it would make a coward violent, to see his mother +tormented as you are by this fellow, and not be allowed to put a stop to +it. I suspect--" + +"Henry," said the widow, again interrupting her exasperated son, "do you +think your mother would do what is wrong?" + +"Mother," exclaimed the youth, seizing her hand, and kissing her brow +almost violently, "I would as soon think that the angels above would do +wrong; but I firmly believe that you are suffering wrong to be done _to +you_; and--just listen to the fellow, I do believe he's howling for more +bacon at this moment!" + +There could be no doubt whatever about the fact; for just then the deep +tones of Gascoyne's voice rang through the cottage, as he reiterated the +name of the widow, who hastened away, followed by her son. Henry +scarcely took the trouble to conceal the frown that darkened his brow as +he re-entered the apartment where his companions were seated. + +"Why, Mary, your bacon surpasses anything I have tasted for the last six +months; let's have another rasher, like a good woman. That mountain air +sharpens the appetite amazingly; especially of men who are more +accustomed to mount the rigging of a ship than the hills on shore. What +say you, John Bumpus?" + +John Bumpus could not at that moment say anything, in consequence of his +mouth being so full of the bacon referred to, that there was no room for +a single word to pass his lips. In the height of his good-humour, +however, he did his best by signs to express his entire approval of the +widow's provender, and even _attempted_ to speak. In so doing, he +choked himself, and continued in convulsions for the next five minutes, +to the immense delight of the captain, who vowed he had never before +seen such a blue face in the whole course of his life. + +While this scene was enacting, and ere Jo Bumpus had effectually wiped +away the tears from his eyes, and cleared the bacon out of his windpipe, +the door opened, and the commander of H.M.S. _Talisman_ entered. + +Edmund Montague was a young man to hold such a responsible position in +the navy; but he was a bold, vigorous little Englishman--a sort of +gentlemanly and well-educated John Bull terrier; of frank address, +agreeable manners, and an utterly reckless temperament, which was +qualified and curbed, however, by good sense, and hard-earned +experience. + +"Good day to you, Mrs Stuart; I trust you will forgive my abrupt +intrusion, but urgent business must be my excuse. I have called to have +a little further conversation with your son, respecting that rascally +pirate who has given me so much trouble. If he will have the goodness +to take a short walk with me, I shall be much indebted." + +"By all means," said Henry, rising and putting on his cap. + +"Perhaps," said Gascoyne, as they were about to leave the room, "if the +commander of the _Talisman_ would condescend to take a little +information from a stranger, he might learn something to the purpose +regarding the pirate Durward; for he it is, I presume, of whom you are +in search." + +"I shall be happy to gain information from any source," replied +Montague, eyeing the captain narrowly. "Are you a resident in this +island?" + +"No, I am not; my home is on the sea, and has been since I was a lad." + +"Ah! you have fallen in with this pirate then on your native ocean, I +fancy, and have disagreeable cause to remember him, perchance," said +Montague, smiling. "Has he given you much trouble?" + +"Ay, that he has," replied Gascoyne, with a sudden scowl of ferocity. +"No one in these seas has received so much annoyance from him as I have. +Any one who could rid them of his presence would do good service to the +cause of humanity. But," he added, while a grim smile overspread his +handsome face, "it is said that few vessels can cope with his schooner +in speed, and I can answer for it that he is a bold man, fond of +fighting, with plenty of reckless cut-throats to back him, and more +likely to give chase to a sloop-of-war than to shew her his heels. I +trust you are well manned and armed, Captain Montague, for this Durward +is a desperate fellow, I assure you." + +The young commander's countenance flushed as he replied, "Your anxiety +on my account, sir, is quite uncalled for. Had I nothing but my own +longboat wherewith to attack this pirate, it would be my duty to do so. +I had scarcely expected to find unmanly fears exhibited in one so +stalwart in appearance as you are. Perhaps it may relieve you to know +that I am both well manned and armed. It is not usual for a British +man-of-war to cruise in distant seas in a less suitable condition to +protect her flag. And yet, methinks, one who has spent so many years of +his life on salt water might know the difference between a frigate and a +sloop-of-war." + +"Be not so hasty, young man," answered Gascoyne, gravely; "you are not +on your own quarter-deck just now. There ought to be civility between +strangers. I may, indeed, be very ignorant of the cut and rig of +British war vessels, seeing that I am but a plain trader in seas where +ships of war are not often wont to unfurl their flags, but there can be +no harm, and there was meant no offence, in warning you to be on your +guard." + +A tinge of sarcasm still lingered in Captain Montague's tone as he +replied, "Well, I thank you for the caution. But to come to the point, +what know you of this pirate--this Durward, as he calls himself; though +I have no doubt he has sailed under so many aliases that he may have +forgotten his real name." + +"I know him to be a villain," replied Gascoyne. + +"That much I know as well as you," said Montague. + +"And yet it is said he takes fits of remorse at times, and would fain +change his way of life if he could," continued Gascoyne. + +"That I might guess," returned the other; "most wicked men have their +seasons of remorse. Can you tell me nothing of him more definite than +this, friend?" + +"I can tell you that he is the very bane of my existence," said +Gascoyne, the angry expression again flitting for a moment across his +countenance. "He not only pursues and haunts me like my own shadow, but +he gets me into scrapes by passing his schooner for mine when he is +caught." + +The young officer glanced in surprise at the speaker as he uttered these +words. + +"Indeed," said he, "that is a strange confusion of ideas. So then, the +two schooners bear so strong a resemblance as to be easily mistaken for +each other?" + +"They are twins. They were built at the same time, from the same +moulds, and were intended for the sandal-wood trade between these +islands and Calcutta, Manilla, and Australia. One of them, the +_Avenger_, was seized on her first voyage, by this Durward, then mate of +the schooner, and has ever since scoured the South Seas as a pirate; the +other, named the _Foam_, which I have the misfortune to command, still +continues the traffic for which she was originally built." + +"Ha!" exclaimed Montague, turning suddenly round with an inquiring gaze +at the stalwart figure of the sandal-wood trader; "it is most fortunate +that I have met with you, Mr Gascoyne. I doubt not that you can +conduct me to this vessel of yours, so that I may know the pirate when I +fall in with him. If the two vessels resemble each other so closely, a +sight of the _Foam_ will be of great service to me in my search after +the _Avenger_." + +"You are most welcome to a sight of my craft," replied Gascoyne. "The +only difference between the two is, that the figurehead of the pirate is +a griffin's head, painted scarlet, that of my schooner is a female, +painted white. There is also a red streak round the sides of the +pirate; the hull of the _Foam_ is entirely black." + +"Will you come on board my vessel, and accompany me in one of my boats +to yours?" inquired Montague. + +"That is impossible," replied Gascoyne; "I came here on urgent business +which will not brook delay; but my schooner lies on the other side of +the island; if you pull round, my mate will receive you. You will find +him a most intelligent and hospitable man. He will conduct you over the +vessel, and give you all the information you may desire. Meanwhile," +added the captain of the _Foam_, rising and putting on his cap, "I must +bid you adieu." + +"Nay, but you have not yet told me when or where you last saw or heard +of this remarkable pirate, who is so clever at representing other +people, perhaps I should rather say misrepresenting them," said +Montague, with a meaning smile. + +"I saw him no longer ago than this morning," replied Gascoyne gravely. +"He is now in these waters, with what intent I know not, unless from his +unnatural delight in persecuting me, or, perhaps, because fate has led +him into the very jaws of the lion." + +"Humph! he will find that I bite before I roar, if he does get between +my teeth," said the young officer. + +"Surely you are mistaken, Gascoyne," interposed Henry Stuart, who, along +with John Bumpus, had hitherto been silent listeners to the foregoing +conversation. "Several of our people have been out fishing among the +islands, and have neither seen nor heard of this redoubted pirate." + +"That is possible enough, boy, but I have seen him, nevertheless, and I +shall be much surprised if you do not see and hear more of him than you +desire before many days are out. That villain does not sail the seas +for pastime, you may depend on it." + +As Gascoyne said this, the outer door of the house was burst violently +open, and the loud voice of a boy was heard in the porch or short +passage that intervened between it and the principal apartment of the +cottage, shouting wildly--"Ho! hallo! hurrah! I say, Widow Stuart! +Henry! here's a business--sich fun! only think, the pirate's turned up +at last, and murdered half the niggers in--" + +There was an abrupt stoppage both of the voice and the muscular action +of this juvenile tornado as he threw open the door with a crash, and, +instead of the widow or her son, met the gaze of so many strangers. The +boy stood for a few seconds on the threshold, with his curly brown hair +dishevelled, and his dark eyes staring in surprise, first at one, then +at another of the party, until at length they alighted on John Bumpus. +The mouth, which up to that moment had formed a round O of astonishment, +relaxed into a broad grin, and, with sudden energy, exclaimed-- + +"_What_ a grampus!" + +Having uttered this complimentary remark, the urchin was about to +retreat, when Henry made a sudden dart at him, and caught him by the +collar. + +"Where got you the news, Will Corrie?" said Henry, giving the boy a +squeeze with his strong hand. + +"Oh, please, be merciful, Henry, and I'll tell you all about it. But, +pray, don't give me over to that grampus," cried the lad, pretending to +whimper. "I got the news from a feller, that said he'd got it from a +feller, that saw a feller, who said he'd heard a feller tell another +feller, that he saw a _black_ feller in the bush, somewhere or other +'tween this and the other end o' the island, with a shot hole in his +right arm, running like a cogolampus, with ten pirates in full chase. +Ah! oh! have mercy, Henry; really my constitution will break down if +you--" + +"Silence, you chatter-box, and give me a reasonable account of what you +have heard or seen, if you can." + +The volatile urchin, who might have been about thirteen years of age, +became preternaturally grave all of a sudden, and, looking up earnestly +in his questioner's face, said, "Really, Henry, you are becoming +unreasonable in your old age, to ask me to give you a reasonable account +of a thing, and at the same time to be silent!" + +"I'll tell you what, Corrie, I'll throttle you if you don't speak," said +Henry. + +"Ah! you _couldn't_," pleaded Corrie in a tone of deep pathos. + +"P'raps," observed John Bumpus, "p'raps if you hand over the young +gen'l'm'n to the `grampus,' _he'll_ make him speak." + +On hearing this, the boy set up a howl of affected despair, and suffered +Henry to lead him unresistingly to within a few feet of Bumpus, but, +just as he was within an inch of the huge fist of that nautical monster, +he suddenly wrenched his collar out of his captor's grasp, darted to the +door, turned round on the threshold, hit the side of his own nose a +sounding slap with the forefinger of his right hand, uttered an +inexpressively savage yell, vanished from the scene, and,-- + + "Like the baseless fabric of a vision, + Left not a wreck behind." + +Except the wreck of the milk-saucer of the household cat, which +sagacious creature had wisely taken to flight at the first symptom of +war. + +The boy was instantly followed by Henry, but so light was his foot, that +the fastest runner in the settlement had to penetrate the woods +immediately behind his mother's house for a quarter of a mile before he +succeeded in again laying hold of the refractory lad's collar. + +"What do you mean, Corrie, by such conduct?" said his captor, shaking +him vigorously. "I have half a mind to give you a wallopping." + +"Never do anything by halves, Henry," said the boy mildly. "_I_ never +do. It's a bad habit; always go the whole length or none. Now that we +are alone, I'll give you a reasonable account of what I know, if you'll +remove your hand from my collar. You forget that I'm growing, and that, +when I am big enough, the day of reckoning between us will surely come!" + +"But why would you not give me the information I want in the house. The +people you saw there are as much interested in it as I am." + +"Oh! are they?" returned Corrie with a glance of peculiar meaning; +"perhaps they are _more_ interested than you are." + +"How so?" + +"Why, how do I know, and how do you know, that these fellows are not +pirates in disguise?" + +"Because," said Henry, "one of them is an old friend--that is, an +acquaintance--at least a sort of intimate, who has been many and many a +time at our house before, and my mother knows him well. I can't say I +like him--that is to say, I don't exactly like some of his ways--though +I don't dislike the man himself." + +"A most unsatisfactory style of reply, Henry, for a man--ah, beg pardon, +a boy--of your straightforward character. Which o' the three are you +speaking of--the grampus?" + +"No, the other big handsome-looking fellow." + +"And you're sure you've known him long?" continued the boy, while an +expression of perplexity flitted over his face. + +"Quite sure; why?" + +"Because _I_ have seen you often enough, and your house and your mother, +not to mention your cat and your pigs, and hens; but I've never seen +_him_ before to-day." + +"That's because he usually comes at night, and seldom stays more than an +hour or two." + +"A most uncomfortable style of acquaintance," said Corrie, trying to +look wise, which was an utterly futile effort, seeing that his +countenance was fat and round, and rosy, and very much the reverse of +philosophical. "But how do you know that the grampus is not the +pirate?" + +"Because he is one of Gascoyne's men." + +"Oh! his name is Gascoyne, is it?--a most piratical name it is. +However, since he is your friend, Henry, it's all right; what's tother's +name?" + +"Bumpus--John Bumpus." + +On hearing this, the boy clapped both hands to his sides, expanded his +eyes and mouth, shewed his teeth, and finally gave vent to roars of +uncontrollable laughter, swaying his body about the while as if in +agony. + +"Oh, clear!" he cried, after a time, "John Bumpus, ha! ha! ha! what a +name!--John Bumpus, ha! ha! the grampus--why, it's magnificent, ha! ha!" +and again the boy gave free vent to his merriment, while his companion +looked on with a quiet grin of amusement. + +Presently, Corrie became grave, and said, "But what of the third, the +little chap, all over gold lace? P'r'aps he's the pirate. He looked +bold enough a'most for anything." + +"Why, you goose, that's the commander of his Britannic Majesty's frigate +_Talisman_." + +"Indeed? I hope his Britannic Majesty has many more like him." + +"Plenty more like him. But come, boy; what have you heard of this +pirate, and what do you mean about a wounded nigger?" + +"I just mean this," answered the lad, suddenly becoming serious, "that +when I was out on the mountain this morning, I thought I would cross the +ridge, and when I did so, the first thing I saw was a schooner lying in +the bay at the foot of the hill, where you and I have so often gone +chasing pigs together; well, being curious to know what sort of a craft +she was, I went down the hill, intendin' to go aboard; but before I'd +got half way through the cocoanut grove, I heard a horrible yell of a +savage; so, thinks I, here comes them blackguard pagans again, to attack +the settlement; and before I could hide out of the way, a naked savage +almost ran into my arms. He was sea-green in the face with fright, and +blood was running over his right arm. + +"The moment he saw me, instead of splitting me up with his knife and +eating me alive, as these fellers are so fond of doin', he gave a start, +and another great cry, and doubled on his track like a hare. His cry +was answered by a shout from half a dozen sailors, who burst out of the +thicket at that moment, and I saw they were in pursuit of him. Down I +went at once behind a thick bush, and the whole lot o' the blind bats +passed right on in full cry, within half an inch of my nose. And I +never saw sich a set o' piratical-looking villains since I was born. I +felt quite sure that yon schooner is the pirate that has been doing so +much mischief hereabouts, so I came back as fast as my legs could carry +me, to tell you what I had seen. There, you have got all that I know of +the matter now." + +"You are wrong, boy--the schooner you saw is not the pirate, it is the +_Foam_. Strange, very strange!" muttered Henry. + +"What's strange," inquired the lad. + +"Not the appearance of the wounded nigger," answered the other; "I can +explain all about him, but the sailors--that puzzles me." + +Henry then related the morning's adventure to his young companion. + +"But," continued he, after detailing all that the reader already knows, +"I cannot comprehend how the pirates you speak of could have landed +without their vessel being in sight; and that nothing is to be seen from +the mountain tops except the _Talisman_ on the one side of the island +and the _Foam_ on the other, I can vouch for. Boats might lie concealed +among the rocks on the shore, no doubt. But no boats would venture to +put ashore with hostile intentions, unless the ship to which they +belonged were within sight. As for the crew of the _Foam_, they are +ordinary seamen, and not likely to amuse themselves chasing wounded +savages, even if they were allowed to go ashore, which I think is not +likely, for Gascoyne knows well enough, that that side of the island is +inhabited by the pagans, who would as soon kill and eat a man as they +would a pig." + +"Sooner,--the monsters," exclaimed the boy indignantly, for he had, on +more than one occasion, been an eye-witness, of the horrible practice of +cannibalism which prevails, even at the present day, among some of the +South Sea islanders. + +"There is mystery here," said Henry, starting up, "and the sooner we +alarm the people of the settlement, the better. Come, Corrie, we shall +return to the house and let the British officer hear what you have told +me." + +When the lad had finished relating his adventure to the party, in Widow +Stuart's cottage, Gascoyne said quietly, "I would advise you, Captain +Montague, to return to your ship and make your preparations for +capturing this pirate, for that he is even now almost within range of +your guns, I have not the slightest doubt. As to the men appearing +piratical-looking fellows to this boy, I don't wonder at that; most men +are wild enough when their blood is up. Some of my own men are as +savage to look at as one would desire. But I gave strict orders this +morning, that only a few were to go ashore, and these were to keep well +out of sight of the settlement of the savages. Doubtless, they are all +aboard by this time. If you decide upon anything like a hunt among the +mountains, I can lend you a few hands." + +"Thank you, I may perhaps require some of your hands," said Montague, +with a dash of sarcasm in his tone; "meanwhile, since you will not +favour me with your company on board, I shall bid you good afternoon." + +He bowed stiffly, and, leaving the cottage, hastened on board his ship, +where the shrill notes of the boatswain's whistle, and the deep hoarse +tones of that officer's gruff voice, quickly announced to the people on +shore that orders had been promptly given, and were in course of being +as promptly obeyed. + +During the hour that followed these events, the captain of the _Foam_ +was closeted with Widow Stuart and her son, and the youthful Corrie was +engaged in laying the foundations of a never-to-die friendship with John +Bumpus, or, as that eccentric youngster preferred to style him, Jo +Grampus. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +THE PASTOR'S HOUSEHOLD--PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. + +When the conference in the widow's cottage closed, Henry Stuart and +Gascoyne hastened into the woods together, and followed a narrow +footpath which led towards the interior of the island. Arriving at a +spot where this path branched into two, Henry took the one that ran +round the outskirts of the settlement towards the residence of Mr +Mason, while his companion pursued the other which struck into the +recesses of the mountains. + +"Come in," cried the missionary, as Henry knocked at the door of his +study. "Ah, Henry, I'm glad to see you. You were in my thoughts this +moment. I have come to a difficulty in my drawings of the spire of our +new church, and I want your fertile imagination to devise some plan +whereby we may overcome it. But of that I shall speak presently. I see +from your looks that more important matters have brought you hither. +Nothing wrong at the cottage, I trust?" + +"No, nothing--that is to say, not exactly wrong, but things, I fear, are +not altogether right in the settlement. I have had an unfortunate +rencontre this morning with one of the savages, which is likely to lead +to mischief, for blood was drawn, and I know the fellow to be +revengeful. In addition to this, it is suspected that Durward, the +pirate, is hovering among the islands, and meditates a descent on us. +How much truth there may be in the report I cannot pretend to guess; but +Gascoyne, the captain of the _Foam_, has been over at our cottage, and +says he has seen the pirate, and that there is no saying what he may +venture to attempt, for he is a bold fellow, and, as you know, cannot +have a good-will to missionary settlements." + +"I'm not so sure of that," said the pastor, in answer to the last +remark. "It is well known that wherever a Christian settlement is +founded in these islands, that place becomes a safe port for vessels of +all sorts--pirates as well as others, if they sail under false colours +and pretend to be honest traders;--while in all the other islands, it is +equally well known, the only safety one can count on, in landing, is +superior force. But I am grieved to hear of your affray with the +native. I hope that life will not be sacrificed." + +"No fear of that; the rascal got only a flesh wound." + +Here the young man related his adventure of the morning, and finished by +asking what the pastor advised should be done in the way of precaution. + +"It seems to me," said Mr Mason, gravely, "that our chief difficulty +will be to save ourselves from our friends--" + +"Would friends harm us, father?" asked a sweet soft voice at the +pastor's elbow. Next moment Alice Mason was seated on her father's +knee, gazing up in his face with an expression of undisguised amazement. + +Alice was a fair, delicate, gentle child. Twelve summers and winters +had passed over her little head without a cloud to obscure the sunshine +of her life save one--but that one was a terribly dark one, and its +shadow lingered over her for many years. When Alice lost her mother, +she lost the joy and delight of her existence; and although six years +had passed since that awful day, and a fond Christian father had done +his best to impress on her young mind that the beloved one was not lost +for ever, but would one day be found sitting at the feet of Jesus in a +bright and beautiful world, the poor child could not recover her former +elasticity of spirits. Doubtless, her isolated position and the want of +suitable companions, had something to do with the prolonged sadness of +her little heart. + +It is almost unnecessary to say that her love for her father was +boundless. This was natural, but it did not seem by any means so +natural that the delicate child should give the next place in her heart +to a wild little boy, a black girl, and a ragged little dog! Yet so it +was, and it would have been difficult for the closest observer to tell +which of these three Alice liked best. + +No one could so frequently draw forth the merry laugh that in former +days had rung so sweetly over the hill-sides of the verdant isle, as our +young friend Will Corrie. Nothing could delight the heart of the child +so much as to witness the mad gambols, not to mention the mischievous +deeds, of that ragged little piece of an old door-mat, which, in virtue +of its being possessed of animal life, was named Toozle. And when Alice +wished to talk quietly,--to pour out her heart, and sometimes her +tears,--the bosom she sought on which to lay her head, next to her +father's, was that of her youthful nursery-maid, a good, kind, and +gentle, but an awfully stupid native girl named Kekupoopi. + +This name was, of course, reduced in its fair proportions by little +Alice, who, however, retained the latter part thereof in preference to +the former, and styled her maid Poopy. Young Master Corrie, on the +other hand, called her Kickup or Puppy, indifferently, according to the +humour he chanced to be in when he met her, or to the word that rose +most readily to his lips. + +Mr Mason replied to the question put by Alice, at the beginning of this +somewhat lengthy digression, "No, my lamb, friends would not willingly +do us harm; but there are those who call themselves friends who do not +deserve the name, who pretend to be such, but who are in reality secret +enemies. But go, dearest, to your room; I am busy just now talking with +Henry--he, at least, is a trusty friend. When I have done you shall +come back to me." + +Alice kissed her father, and, getting off his knee, went at once in +search of her friend Poopy. + +That dark-skinned and curly black-headed domestic was in the kitchen, +seated on the bottom of an overturned iron pot, inside the dingy niche +in which the domestic fire was wont to burn when anything of a culinary +nature was going on. At the time when her mistress entered, nothing of +the kind was in progress, and the fire had subsided to extinction. + +The girl, who might have been any age between twelve and sixteen--nearer +the latter, perhaps, than the former--was gazing with expressionless +eyes straight before her, and thinking, evidently, of nothing. She was +clothed in a white tunic, from which her black legs, arms, neck, and +head protruded--forming a startling contrast therewith. + +"Oh! Poopy, what a bad girl you are!" cried Alice, laughing, as she +observed where her maid was seated. + +Poopy's visage at once beamed with a look of good humour, a wide gash +suddenly appeared somewhere near her chin, displaying a double row of +brilliant teeth surrounded by red gums; at the same time the whites of +her eyes disappeared, because, being very plump, it was a physical +impossibility that she should laugh and keep them uncovered. + +"Hee! hee!" exclaimed Poopy. + +We are really sorry to give the reader a false impression, as we feel +that we have done, of our friend Kekupoopi, but a regard for truth +compels us to shew the worst of her character first. She was not +demonstrative; and the few words and signs by which she endeavoured to +communicate the state of her feelings to the outward world were not +easily interpreted except by those who knew her well. There is no doubt +whatever that Poopy was--we scarcely like to use the expression, but we +know of no other more appropriate--a donkey! We hasten to guard +ourselves from misconstruction here. That word, if used in an +ill-natured and passionate manner, is a bad one, and by no means to be +countenanced; but, as surgeons may cut off legs at times, without +thereby sanctioning the indiscriminate practice of amputation in a +miscellaneous sort of way as a pastime, to this otherwise objectionable +word may, we think, be used to bring out a certain trait of character in +full force. Holding this opinion, and begging the reader to observe +that we make the statement gravely and in an entirely philosophical way, +we repeat that Poopy was--figuratively speaking--a donkey! + +Yet she was an amiable, affectionate: good girl for all that, with an +amount of love in her heart for her young mistress which words cannot +convey, and which it is no wonder, therefore, that Poopy herself could +not adequately express either by word or look. + +"It's all very well for you to sit there and say `Hee! hee!'" cried +Alice, advancing to the fire-place; "but you must have made a dreadful +mark on your clean white frock. Get up and turn round." + +"Hee! hee!" exclaimed the girl, as she obeyed the mandate. + +The "Oh! oh!! oh!!!" that burst from Alice, on observing the pattern of +the pot neatly printed off on Poopy's garment, was so emphatic, that the +girl became impressed with the fact that she had done something wrong, +and twisted her head and neck in a most alarming manner in a series of +vain attempts to behold the extent of the damage. + +"_What_ a figure!" exclaimed Alice, on recovering from the first shock. + +"It vill vash," said Poopy, in a deprecatory tone. + +"I hope it will," replied Alice, shaking her head doubtfully, for her +experience in the laundry had not yet been so extensive as to enable her +to pronounce at once on the eradicability of such a frightfully deep +impression. While she was still shaking her head in dubiety on this +point, and while Poopy was still making futile attempts to obtain a view +of the spot, the door of the kitchen opened, and Master Corrie swaggered +in with his hands thrust into the outer pockets of his jacket, his shirt +collar thrown very much open, and his round straw hat placed very much +on the back of his head; for, having seen some of the crew of the +_Talisman_, he had been smitten with a strong desire to imitate a +man-of-war's-man in aspect and gait. + +At his heels came that scampering mass of ragged door-mat Toozle, who, +feeling that a sensation of some kind or other was being got up for his +amusement, joined heartily in the shout of delight that burst from the +youthful Corrie when he beheld the extraordinary figure in the +fireplace. + +"Well, I say, Kickup," cried the youth, picking up his hat, which had +fallen off in the convulsion, and drying his tears, "you're a sweet +lookin' creetur, you are! Is this a new frock you've got to go to +church with? Come, I rather like that pattern, but there's not quite +enough of 'em. Suppose I lend a hand and print a few more all over you. +There's plenty of pots and pans here to do it; and if Alice will bring +down her white frock I'll give it a touch up too." + +"How can you talk such nonsense, Corrie!" said Alice, laughing. "Down, +Toozle; silence, sir. Go, my dear Poopy, and put on another frock, and +make haste, for I've something to say to you." + +Thus admonished, the girl ran to a small apartment that opened off the +kitchen, and speedily reappeared in another tunic. Meanwhile, Corrie +had seated himself on the floor, with Toozle between his knees and Alice +on a stool at his side. Poopy, in a fit of absence of mind, was about +to resume her seat on the iron pot, when a simultaneous shriek, bark, +and roar, recalled her scattered faculties, produced a "hee! hee!" +varied with a faint "ho!" and induced her to sit down on the floor +beside her mistress. + +"Now, tell me, Poopy," said Alice, "did you ever hear of friends who +were not really friends, but enemies?" + +The girl stared with a vacant countenance at the bright intelligent face +of the child, and shook her head slowly. + +"Why don't you ask _me_?" inquired Corrie. "_You_ might as well ask +Toozle as that potato Kickup. Eh? Puppy, don't you confess that you +are no better than a vegetable? Come, now, be honest." + +"Hee! hee!" replied Poopy. + +"Humph! I thought so. But that's an odd question of yours, Alice. +What do you mean by it?" + +"I mean that my papa thinks there are friends in the settlement who are +enemies." + +"Does he, though? Now, that's mysterious," said the boy, becoming +suddenly grave. "That requires to be looked to. Come, Alice, tell me +all the particulars. Don't omit anything--our lives may depend on it." + +The deeply serious manner in which Corrie said this, so impressed and +solemnised the child, that she related, word for word, the brief +conversation she had had with her father, and all that she had heard of +the previous converse between him and Henry. + +When she had concluded, Master Corrie threw a still more grave and +profoundly philosophical expression into his chubby face, and asked, in +a hollow tone of voice, "Your father didn't say anything against the +Grampus, did he?" + +"The what?" inquired Alice. + +"The Grampus--the man, at least, whom _I_ call the Grampus, and who +calls hisself Jo Bumpus." + +"I did not hear such names mentioned, but Henry spoke of a wounded +nigger." + +"Ay, they're all a set of false rascals together," said Corrie. + +"Niggers ob dis here settlement is good mans, ebery von," said Poopy, +promptly. + +"Hallo! Kickup, wot's wrong? I never heard ye say so much at one time +since I came to this place." + +"Niggers is good peepils," reiterated the girl. + +"So they are, Puppy, and you're the best of 'em; but I was speakin' of +the fellers on the other side of the island, d'ye see?" + +"Hee! hee!" ejaculated the girl. + +"Well, but what makes you so anxious?" said Alice, looking earnestly +into the boy's face. + +Corrie laid his hand on her head and stroked her fair hair as he +replied-- + +"This is a serious matter, Alice; I must go at once and see your father +about it." + +He rose with an air of importance, as if about to leave the kitchen. + +"Oh! but please don't go till you have told me what it is; I'm so +frightened," said Alice; "do stay and tell me about it before you go to +papa." + +"Well, I don't mind if I do," said the boy, sitting down again. "You +must know, then, that it's reported there are pirates on the island." + +"Oh!" exclaimed Alice. + +"D'ye know what pirates are, Puppy?" + +"Hee! hee!" answered the girl. + +"I do believe she don't know nothin'," said the boy, looking at her with +an air of compassion "wot a sad thing it is to belong to a lower species +of human natur! Well, I s'pose it can't be helped. A pirate, Kickup, +is a sea-robber. D'ye understand?" + +"Ho! ho!" + +"Ay, I thought so. Well, Alice, I am told that there's been a lot o' +them landed on the island and took to chasin' and killin' the niggers, +and Henry was all but killed by one o' the niggers this very morning, +an' was saved by a big feller that's a mystery to me, and by the +Grampus, who is the best feller I ever met--a regular trump he is; and +there's all sorts o' doubts, and fears, and rumours, and things of that +sort, with a captain of the British navy, that you and I have read so +much about, trying to find this pirate out, and suspectin' everybody he +meets is him. I only hope he won't take it into his stupid head to +mistake _me_ for him--not so unlikely a thing after all." And the +youthful Corrie shook his head with much gravity, as he surveyed his +rotund little legs complacently. + +"What are you laughing at?" he added, suddenly, on observing that a +bright smile had overspread Alice's face. + +"At the idea of you being taken for a pirate," said the child. + +"Hee! hee! ho! ho!" remarked Poopy. + +"Silence, you lump of black putty!" thundered the aspiring youth. + +"Come, don't be cross to my maid," said Alice, quickly. + +Corrie laughed, and was about to continue his discourse on the events +and rumours of the day, when Mr Mason's voice was heard the other end +of the house. + +"Ho! Corrie." + +"That's me," cried the boy, promptly springing up and rushing out of the +room. + +"Here, my boy, I thought I heard your voice. I want you to go a message +for me. Run down, like a good lad, to Ole Thorwald and tell him to come +up here as soon as he conveniently can. There are matters to consult +about which will not brook delay." + +"Ay, ay, sir," answered Corrie, sailor fashion, as he touched his +forelock and bounded from the room. + +"Off on pressing business," cried the sanguine youth, as he dashed +through the kitchen, frightening Alice, and throwing Toozle into +convulsions of delight--"horribly important business that `won't brook +delay;' but what _brook_ means is more than I can guess." + +Before the sentence was finished, Corrie was far down the hill, leaping +over every obstacle like a deer. On passing through a small field he +observed a native bending down, as if picking weeds, with his back +towards him. Going softly up behind, he hit the semi-naked savage a +sounding slap, and exclaimed, as he passed on, "Hallo! Jackolu, +important business, my boy--hurrah!" + +The native to whom this rough salutation was given, was a tall stalwart +young fellow who had for some years been one of the best behaved and +most active members of Frederick Mason's dark-skinned congregation. He +stood erect for some time, with a broad grin on his swarthy face, and a +twinkle in his eye, as he gazed after the young hopeful, muttering to +himself, "Ho! yes--bery wicked boy dat, bery; but hims capital chap for +all dat." + +A few minutes later, Master Corrie burst in upon the sturdy middle-aged +merchant, named Ole Thorwald, a Norwegian who had resided much in +England, and spoke the English language well, and who prided himself on +being entitled to claim descent from the old Norwegian sea-kings. This +man was uncle and protector to Corrie. + +"Ho! uncle Ole; here's a business. Sich a to do--wounds, blood, and +murder! or at least an attempt at it;--the whole settlement in arms, and +the parson sends for you to take command!" + +"What means the boy?" exclaimed Ole Thorwald, who, in virtue of his +having once been a private in a regiment of militia, had been appointed +to the chief command of the military department of the settlement. This +consisted of about thirty white men, armed with fourteen fowling-pieces, +twenty daggers, fifteen swords, and eight cavalry pistols; and about two +hundred native Christians, who, when the assaults of their unconverted +brethren were made, armed themselves--as they were wont to do in days +gone by--with formidable clubs, stone hatchets, and spears. "What means +the boy!" exclaimed Ole, laying down a book which he had been reading, +and thrusting his spectacles up on his broad bald forehead. + +"Exactly what the boy says," replied Master Corrie. + +"Then add something more to it, pray." + +Thorwald said this in a mild tone, but he suddenly seized the handle of +an old pewter mug which the lad knew, from experience, would certainly +reach his head before he could gain the door if he did not behave; so he +became polite, and condescended to explain his errand more fully. + +"So, so," observed the descendant of the sea-kings, as he rose and +slowly buckled on a huge old cavalry sabre, "there is double mischief +brewing this time. Well, we shall see--we shall see. Go, Corrie, my +boy, and rouse up Terrence and Hugh and--" + +"The whole army, in short," cried the boy, hastily--"you're so awfully +slow, uncle, you should have been born in the last century, I think." + +Farther remark was cut short by the sudden discharge of the pewter mug, +which, however, fell harmlessly on the panel of the closing door as the +impertinent Corrie sped forth to call the settlement to arms. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +SUSPICIONS ALLAYED AND RE-AWAKENED. + +Gascoyne, followed by his man Jo Bumpus, sped over the rugged mountains +and descended the slopes on the opposite side of the island soon after +nightfall, and long before Captain Montague, in his large and +well-manned boat, could pull half way round in the direction of the +sequestered bay where the _Foam_ lay quietly at anchor. + +There was not a breath of wind to ruffle the surface of the glassy sea, +as the captain of the sandal-wood trader reached the shore and uttered a +low cry like the hoot of an owl. The cry was instantly replied to, and +in a few minutes a boat crept noiselessly towards the shore, seeming, in +the uncertain light, more like a shadow than a reality. It was rowed by +a single man. When within a few yards of the shore, the oars ceased to +move, and the deep stillness of the night was scarcely broken by the low +voice of surly Dick demanding--"Who goes there?" + +"All right, pull in," replied Gascoyne, whose deep bass voice sounded +sepulchral in the almost unearthly stillness. It was one of those dark +oppressively quiet nights which make one feel a powerful sensation of +loneliness, and a peculiar disinclination, by word or act, to disturb +the prevailing quiescence of nature--such a night as suggests the idea +of a coming storm to those who are at sea, or of impending evil to those +on land. + +"Is the mate aboard?" inquired Gascoyne. + +"He is, sir." + +"Are any of the hands on shore?" + +"More than half of 'em, sir." + +Nothing more was said; and in a few minutes Gascoyne was slowly pacing +the quarter-deck of his little vessel in earnest consultation with his +first mate. There seemed to be some difference of opinion between the +captain and his officer, for their words, which at first were low, at +length became audible. + +"I tell you, Manton, it won't do," said Gascoyne, sternly. + +"I can only suggest what I believe to be for the good of the ship," +replied the other, coldly. "Even if you succeed in your attempt, you +will be certain to lose some of our hands; for although the best of them +are on shore, the commander of the _Talisman_ will think those that +remain too numerous for a sandal-wood trader, and you are aware that we +are sufficiently short-handed in such dangerous seas." + +The latter part of this speech was uttered in a slightly sarcastic tone. + +"What would you have me do, then?" demanded Gascoyne, whose usual +decision of character seemed to have deserted him under the influence of +conflicting feelings, which, the first mate could plainly perceive, +agitated the breast of his commander, but which he could by no means +account for. Certainly he had no sympathy with them, for Manton's was a +hard, stern nature--not given to the melting mood. + +"Do?" exclaimed the mate vehemently, "I would mount the red, and get out +the sweeps. An hour's pull will place the schooner on the other side of +the reef. A shot from Long Tom will sink the best boat in the service +of his Britannic Majesty, and we could be off and away with the land +breeze before morning." + +"What! sink a man-of-war's boat!" exclaimed Gascoyne; "why, that would +make them set us down as pirates at once, and we should have to run the +gauntlet of half the British navy before this time next year." + +Manton received this remark with a loud laugh, which harshly disturbed +the silence of the night. + +"That is true," said he, "yet I scarcely expected to see Captain +Gascoyne shew the white feather." + +"Possibly not," retorted the other, grimly; "yet methinks that he who +counsels flight shews more of the white feather than he who would shove +his head into the very jaws of the lion. It won't do, Manton; I have my +own reasons for remaining here. The white lady must in the meantime +smile on the British commander. Besides, it would be difficult, if not +impossible, to do all this and get our fellows on board again before +morning. The land-breeze will serve to fill the sails of the _Talisman_ +just as well as those of the _Foam_; and they're sure to trip their +anchor to-night, for, you'll scarcely believe it, this mad little fellow +Montague actually suspects me to be the pirate Durward!" + +Again the harsh laugh of Manton disturbed the peaceful calm, and this +time he was joined by Gascoyne, who seemed at length to have overcome +the objections of his mate, for their tones again sank into inaudible +whispers. + +Shortly after this conversation the moon broke out from behind a bank of +clouds, and shone brightly down on land and sea, throwing into bold +relief the precipices, pinnacles, and gorges of the one, and covering +the other with rippling streaks of silver. About the same time the oars +of the man-of-war's boat were heard, and in less than half an hour +Captain Montague ascended the side of the _Foam_, where, to his great +surprise, he was politely received by Gascoyne. + +"Captain Gascoyne has reason to be proud of his pedestrian powers," said +the young commander; "he must have had urgent reason for making such +good use of his legs since we last met." + +"To do the honours of his own ship, when he expects a visit from a +British officer, is surely sufficient reason to induce a poor skipper to +take an extra walk of a fine evening," replied Gascoyne, blandly. +"Besides, I know that men-of-war are apt to take a fancy to the crews of +merchantmen sometimes, and I thought my presence might be necessary here +to-night." + +"How?" exclaimed Montague, quickly. "Do you fancy that your single arm, +stout though it be, could avail to prevent this evil that you dread if I +think proper to act according to established usage in time of war." + +"Nay, that were extreme vanity indeed," returned the other, "but I would +fain hope that the explanations which I can give of the danger of our +peculiar trade, and the necessity we have for a strong crew, will induce +Captain Montague to forego his undoubted privilege and right on this +occasion." + +"I'm not sure of that," replied Montague, "it will depend much on your +explanations being satisfactory. How many men have you?" + +"Twenty-two." + +"So many! that is much more than enough to work so small a vessel." + +"But not more than enough to defend my vessel from a swarm of bloody +savages." + +"Perhaps not," returned Montague, on whom the urbanity and candour of +the captain of the _Foam_ were beginning to have a softening influence. +"You have no objection to let me see your papers, and examine your ship, +I suppose." + +"None in the world," replied Gascoyne, smiling, "and if I had, it would +make little difference, I should imagine, to one who is so well able to +insist on having his will obeyed."--(He glanced at the boat full of +armed men as he spoke.)--"Pray, come below with me." + +In the examination that ensued Captain Montague was exceedingly strict, +although the strength of his first suspicions had been somewhat abated +by the truthful tone and aspect of Gascoyne, and the apparent +reasonableness of all he said; but he failed to detect anything in the +papers, or in the general arrangements of the _Foam_, that could warrant +his treating her otherwise than as an honest trader. + +"So," said he, on returning to the deck; "this is the counterpart of the +noted pirate, is it? You must pardon my having suspected you, sir, of +being this same Durward, sailing under false colours. Come, let me see +the points of difference between you, else if we happen to meet on the +high seas I may chance to make an unfortunate hole in your timbers." + +"The sides of my schooner are altogether black, as you see," returned +Gascoyne. "I have already explained that a narrow streak of red +distinguishes the pirate, and this fair lady" (leading Montague to the +bow) "guides the _Foam_ over the waves with smiling countenance, while a +scarlet griffin is the more appropriate figurehead of Durward's vessel." + +As he spoke, the low boom of a far distant gun was heard. Montague +started, and glanced inquiringly in the face of his companion, whose +looks expressed a slight degree of surprise. + +"What was that, think you?" said Montague, after a momentary pause. + +"The commander of the _Talisman_ ought, I think, to be the best judge of +the sound of his own guns." + +"True," returned the young officer, somewhat disconcerted; "but you +forget that I am not familiar with the eruptions of those volcanic +mountains of yours; and, at so great a distance from my ship, with such +hills of rock and lava between us, I may well be excused feeling a +little doubt as to the bark of my own bull-dogs. But that signal +betokens something unusual. I must shorten my visit to you, I fear." + +"Pray do not mention it," said Gascoyne, with a peculiar smile; "under +the circumstances I am bound to excuse you." + +"But," continued Montague, with emphasis, "I should be sorry indeed to +part without some little memorial of my visit. Be so good as to order +your men to come aft." + +"By all means," said Gascoyne, giving the requisite order promptly, for, +having sent all his best men on shore, he did not much mind the loss one +or two of those that remained. + +When they were mustered, the British commander inspected them carefully, +and then he singled out surly Dick, and ordered him into the boat. A +slight frown rested for a moment on Gascoyne's countenance, as he +observed the look of ill-concealed triumph with which the man obeyed the +order. The expression of surly Dick, however, was instantly exchanged +for one of dismay as his captain strode up to him, and looked in his +face for one moment with a piercing glance, at the same time thrusting +his left hand into the breast of his red shirt. + +"Goodbye," he said, suddenly, in a cheerful tone, extending his right +hand and grasping that of the sailor. "Goodbye, lad; if you serve the +king as well as you have served me, he'll have reason to be proud of +you." + +Gascoyne turned on his heel, and the man slunk into the boat with an +aspect very unlike that of a bold British seaman. + +"Here is another man I want," said Montague, laying his hand on the +shoulder of John Bumpus. + +"I trust, sir, that you will not take that man," said Gascoyne +earnestly. "I cannot afford to lose him; I would rather you should take +any three of the others." + +"Your liberality leads me to think that you could without much +difficulty supply the place of the men I take--but three are too many. +I shall be satisfied with this one. Go into the boat, my lad." + +Poor John Bumpus, whose heart had been captivated by the beauties of the +island, obeyed the order with a rueful countenance; and Gascoyne bit his +lip and turned aside to conceal his anger. In two minutes more the boat +rowed away from the schooner's side. + +Not a word was spoken by any one in the boat until a mile had separated +it from the schooner. They had just turned a point which shut the +vessel out of view, when surly Dick suddenly recovered his +self-possession and his tongue, and, starting up in an excited manner, +exclaimed to Montague-- + +"The schooner you have just left, sir, is a pirate. I tell the truth, +though I should swing for it." + +The crew of the boat ceased rowing, and glanced at each other in +surprise on hearing this. + +"Ha! say you so," exclaimed Montague, quickly. + +"It's a fact, sir; ask my comrade there, and he'll tell you the same +thing." + +"He'll do nothin' o' the sort," sharply returned honest Bumpus, who, +having been only a short time previously engaged by Gascoyne, could +perceive neither pleasure nor justice in the idea of being hanged for a +pirate, and who attributed Dick's speech to an ill-natured desire to get +his late commander into trouble. + +"Which of you am I to believe?" said Montague, hastily. + +"W'ich ever you please," observed Bumpus, with an air of indifference. + +"It's no business o' mine," said Dick, sulkily; "if you choose to let +the blackguard escape, that's your own look out." + +"Silence, you scoundrel," cried Montague, who was as much nettled by a +feeling of uncertainty how to act as by the impertinence of the man. + +Before he could decide as to the course he ought to pursue, the report +of one of the guns of his own vessel boomed loud and distinct in the +distance. It was almost immediately followed by another. + +"Ha! that settles the question; give way, my lads, give way." + +In another moment the boat was cleaving her way swiftly through the dark +water in the direction of the _Talisman_. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +MASTER CORRIE CAUGHT NAPPING--SNAKES IN THE GRASS. + +The Sabbath morning which succeeded the events we have just narrated +dawned on the settlement of Sandy Cove in unclouded splendour, and the +deep repose of nature was still unbroken by the angry passions and the +violent strife of man, although from the active preparations of the +previous night it might have been expected that those who dwelt on the +island would not have an opportunity of enjoying the rest of that day. + +Everything in and about the settlement was eminently suggestive of +peace. The cattle lay sleepily in the shade of the trees; the sea was +still calm like glass. Men had ceased from their daily toil; and the +only sounds that broke the quiet of the morning were the chattering of +the parrots and other birds in the cocoanut groves; and the cries of +seafowl, as they circled in the air, or dropt on the surface of the sea +in quest of fish. + +The British frigate lay at anchor in the same place which she had +hitherto occupied, and the _Foam_ still floated in the sequestered bay +on the other side of the island. In neither vessel was there the +slightest symptom of preparation; and to one who knew not the true state +of matters, the idea of war being about to break forth was the last that +would have occurred. + +But this deceitful quiet was only the calm that precedes the storm. On +every hand men were busily engaged in making preparation to break that +Sabbath day in the most frightful manner, or were calmly, but +resolutely, awaiting attack. On board the ship-of-war, indeed, there +was little doing, for, her business being to fight, she was always in a +state of readiness for action. Her signal guns, fired the previous +night, had recalled Montague to tell him of the threatened attack by the +savages. A few brief orders were given, and they were prepared for +whatever might occur. In the village, too, the arrangements to repel +attack having been made, white men and native converts alike rested with +their arms placed in convenient proximity to their hands. + +In a wild and densely-wooded part of the island, far removed from those +portions which we have yet had occasion to describe, a band of +fiendish-looking men were making arrangements for one of those +unprovoked assaults which savages are so prone to make on those who +settle near them. + +They were all of them in a state of almost complete nudity, but the +complicated tattooing on their dark skins gave them the appearance of +being more clothed than they really were. Their arms consisted chiefly +of enormous clubs of hardwood, spears, and bows; and, in order to +facilitate their escape should they chance to be grasped in a +hand-to-hand conflict, they had covered their bodies with oil, which +glistened in the sunshine as they moved about their village. + +Conspicuous among these truly savage warriors was the form of Keona, +with his right arm bound up in a sort of sling. Pain and disappointed +revenge had rendered this man's face more than usually diabolical as he +went about among his fellows, inciting them to revenge the insult and +injury done to them through his person by the whites. There was some +reluctance, however, on the part of a few of the chiefs to renew a war +that had been terminated, or rather, been slumbering, only for a few +months. + +Keona's influence, too, was not great among his kindred, and had it not +been that one or two influential chiefs sided with him, his own efforts +to relight the still smoking torch of war would have been unavailing. + +As it was, the natives soon worked themselves up into a sufficiently +excited state to engage in any desperate expedition. It was while all +this was doing in the native camp, that Keona, having gone to the +nearest mountain top to observe what was going on in the settlement, had +fallen in with and been chased by some of those men belonging to the +_Foam_, who had been sent on shore to escape being pressed into the +service of the king of England. + +The solitary exception to this general state of preparation for war was +the household of Frederick Mason. Having taken such precautionary steps +the night before as he deemed expedient, and having consulted with Ole +Thorwald, the general commanding, who had posted scouts in all the +mountain passes, and had seen the war-canoes drawn up in a row on the +strand, the pastor retired to his study and spent the greater part of +the night in preparing to preach the gospel of peace on the morrow, and +in committing the care of his flock and his household to Him who is the +"God of battles" as well as the "Prince of peace." + +It is not to be supposed that Mr Mason contemplated the probable +renewal of hostilities without great anxiety. For himself, we need +scarcely say, he had no fears, but his heart sank when he thought of his +gentle Alice falling into the hands of savages. As the night passed +away without any alarms, his anxiety began to subside, and when Sunday +morning dawned, he lay down on a couch to snatch a few hours' repose +before the labours of the day began. + +The first object that greeted the pastor's eyes on awaking in the +morning was a black visage, and a pair of glittering eyes gazing at him +through the half open door with an expression of the utmost +astonishment. + +He leaped up with lightning, speed and darted towards the intruder, but +checked himself suddenly and smiled, as poor Poopy uttered a scream, +and, falling on her knees, implored for mercy. + +"My poor girl, I fear I have frightened you by my violence," said he, +sitting down on his couch and yawning sleepily; "but I was dreaming, +Poopy; and when I saw your black face peeping at me, I took you at first +for one of the wild fellows on the other side of the mountains. You +have come to sweep and arrange my study, I suppose." + +"Why, mass'r, you no hab go to bed yet," said Poopy, still feeling and +expressing surprise at her master's unwonted irregularity. "Is you +ill?" + +"Not at all, my good girl, only a little tired. It is not a time for me +to take much rest when the savages are said to be about to attack us." + +"When is they coming?" inquired the girl, meekly. The pastor smiled as +he replied,--"That is best known to themselves, Poopy. Do you think it +likely that murderers or thieves would send to let us know when they +were coming?" + +"Hee! hee!" laughed Poopy, with an immense display of teeth and gums. + +"Is Alice awake?" inquired Mr Mason. + +"No, her be sound 'sleep wid her two eye shut tight up, dis fashion, and +her mout' wide open--so." + +The representations of Alice's condition, as given by her maid, although +hideously unlike the beautiful object they were meant to call up to the +father's mind, were sufficiently expressive and comprehensible. + +"Go wake her, my girl, and let us have breakfast as soon as you can. +Has Will Corrie been here this morning?" + +"Hims bin here all night," replied the girl, with a broad grin--(and the +breadth of Poopy's _broad_ grin was almost appalling!) + +"What mean you? has he slept in this house all night?" + +"Yes--eh! no," said Poopy. + +"Yes, no," exclaimed Mr Mason. "Come, Poopy, don't be stupid, explain +yourself." + +"Hee! hee! hee! yes, ho! ho!" laughed Poopy, as if the idea of +explaining herself was about the richest joke she had listened to since +she was born. "Hee! hee! me no can 'splain, but you com here and see." + +So saying, she conducted her wondering master to the front door of the +cottage, where, across the threshold, directly under the porch, lay the +form of the redoubted Corrie, fast asleep, and armed to the teeth! + +In order to explain the cause of this remarkable apparition, we think it +justifiable to state to the reader, in confidence, that young Master +Corrie was deeply in love with the fair Alice. With all his reckless +drollery of disposition, the boy was intensely romantic and +enthusiastic; and, feeling that the unsettled condition of the times +endangered the welfare of his lady-love, he resolved, like a true +knight, to arm himself and guard the threshold of her door with his own +body. + +In the deep silence of the night he buckled on a sabre, the blade of +which, by reason of its having been broken, was barely eight inches +long, and the hilt whereof was battered and rusty. He also stuck a huge +brass-mounted cavalry pistol in his belt, in the virtue of which he had +great faith, having only two days before shot with it a green-headed +parrot at a distance of two yards. The distance was not great, to be +sure, but it was enough for his purpose--intending, as he did, to meet +his foe, when the moment of action should come, in close conflict, and +thrust the muzzle of his weapon down the said foe's throat before +condescending to draw the trigger. + +Thus prepared for the worst, he sallied out on tiptoe, intending to +mount guard at the missionary's door, and return to his own proper couch +before the break of day. + +But alas for poor Corrie's powers of endurance! no sooner had he +extended his chubby form on the door-mat, earnestly wishing, but not +expecting, that Alice would come out and find him there, than he fell +fast asleep, while engaged in the hopeless task of counting the starry +host--a duty which he had imposed on himself in the hope that he might +thereby be kept awake. Once asleep he slept on, as a matter of course, +with his broad little chest heaving gently; his round little visage +beaming upwards like a terrestrial moon; his left arm under his head in +lieu of a pillow, (by consequence of which _it_ was fast asleep also,) +and his right hand grasping the hilt of the broken sabre. + +As for Corrie's prostrate body affording protection to Alice--the entire +savage population might have stepped across it, one by one, and might +have stepped back again, bearing away into slavery the fair maiden, with +her father and all the household furniture to boot, without in the least +disturbing the deep slumbers of the youthful knight. At least we may +safely come to this conclusion from the fact that Mr Mason shook him, +first gently and then violently, for full five minutes before he could +get him to speak; and even then he only gave utterance, in very sleepy +tones, and half-formed words, to the remark-- + +"Oh! don' borer me. It aint b'kfust-t'm' yet?" + +"Ho! Corrie, Corrie," shouted Mr Mason, giving the victim a shake that +threatened to dislocate his neck, "get up, my boy--rouse up!" + +"Hallo! hy! murder! Come on you vill--eh! Mr Mason--I beg pardon, +sir," stammered Corrie, as he at length became aware of his condition, +and blushed deeply; "I--I really, Mr Mason, I merely came to watch +while you were all asleep, as there are savages about, you know--and ha! +ha! ha!--oh! dear me!" (Corrie exploded at this point, unable to +contain himself at the sight of the missionary's gaze of astonishment,) +"Wot a sight for a Sunday mornin' too!" + +The hilarity of the boy was catching, for at this point a vociferous +"hee! hee!" burst from the sable Poopy; the clear laugh of Alice, too, +came ringing through the passage, and Mr Mason himself finally joined +in the chorus. + +"Come, sir knight," exclaimed the latter, on recovering his gravity, +"this is no guise for a respectable man to be seen in on Sunday morning; +come in and lay down your arms. You have done very well as a soldier +for this occasion; let us see if you can do your duty equally well as a +church-officer. Have you the keys." + +"No, they are at home." + +"Then run and get them, my boy, and leave your pistol behind you. I +dare say the savages won't attack during the daytime." + +Corrie did as he was desired, and the pastor went, after breakfast, to +spend a short time with Alice on a neighbouring eminence, from which +could be obtained a fine view of the settlement, with its little church +and the calm bay on which floated the frigate, sheltered by the +encircling coral reef from the swell of the ocean. + +Here it was Mr Mason's wont to saunter with Alice every Sunday morning, +to read a chapter of the Bible together, and converse about that happy +land where one so dear to both of them now dwelt with their Saviour. +Here, also, the child's maid was sometimes privileged to join them. On +this particular morning, however, they were not the only spectators of +the beautiful view from that hill, for, closely hidden in the bushes-- +not fifty yards from the spot where they sat--lay a band of armed +savages who had escaped the vigilance of the scouts, and had come by an +unguarded pass to the settlement. + +They might easily have slain or secured the missionary and his household +without alarming the people in the village, but their plan of attack +forbade such a premature proceeding. The trio therefore finished their +chapter and their morning prayer undisturbed, little dreaming of the +number of glittering eyes that watched their proceedings. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +A SURPRISE--A BATTLE AND A FIRE. + +The sound of the Sabbath bell fell sweetly on the pastor's ear as he +descended to his dwelling to make a few final preparations for the +duties of the day, and from every hut in Sandy Cove trooped forth the +native Christians--young and old--to assemble in the house of God. + +With great labour and much pains had this church been built, and pastor +and people alike were not a little proud of their handiwork. The former +had drawn the plans and given the measurements, leaving it to Henry +Stuart to see them properly carried out in detail, while the latter did +the work. They cut and squared the timbers, gathered the coral, burnt +it for lime and plastered the building. The women and children carried +the lime from the beach in baskets, and the men dragged the heavy logs +from the mountains--in some cases for several miles--the timber in the +immediate neighbourhood not being sufficiently large for their purpose. + +The poor natives worked with heart and soul--for love, and the desire to +please and to be pleased, had been awakened within them. Besides this, +the work had for them all the zest of novelty. They wrought at it with +somewhat of the feelings of children at play,--pausing frequently in the +midst of their toil to gaze in wonder and admiration at the growing +edifice, which would have done no little credit to a professional +architect and to more skilled workmen. + +The white men of the place also lent a willing hand; for although some +of them were bad men, yet they were constrained to respect the +consistent character and blameless life of the missionary, who not +unfrequently experienced the fulfilment of that word: + +"When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at +peace with him." Besides this, all of them, however unwilling they +might be to accept Christianity for themselves, were fully alive to the +advantages they derived from its introduction among the natives. + +With so many willing hands at work, the little church was soon finished; +and, at the time when the events we are describing occurred, there was +nothing to be done to it except some trifling arrangements connected +with the steeple, and the glazing of the windows. This latter piece of +work was, in such a climate, of little importance. + +Long before the bell had ceased to toll, the church was full of natives, +whose dark, eager faces were turned towards the door, in expectation of +the appearance of their pastor. The building was so full, that many of +the people were content to cluster round the door, or the outside of the +unglazed windows. On this particular Sunday, there were strangers +there, who roused the curiosity and attracted the attention of the +congregation. Before Mr Mason arrived, there was a slight bustle at +the door as Captain Montague, with several of his officers and men, +entered, and were shewn to the missionary's seat by Master Corrie, who, +with his round visage elongated as much as possible, and his round eyes +expressing a look of inhuman solemnity, in consequence of his attempt to +affect a virtue which he did not possess, performed the duties of +door-keeper. Montague had come on shore to ascertain from Mr Mason +what likelihood there was of an early attack by the natives. + +"Where's Alice," whispered the boy to Poopy, as the girl entered the +church, and seated herself beside a little midshipman, who looked at her +with a mingled expression of disgust and contempt, and edged away. + +"Got a little headache, hee! hee!" + +"Don't laugh in church, you monster," said Corrie, with a frown. + +"I'se not larfin," retorted Poopy, with an injured look. + +Just then the boy caught sight of a gigantic figure entering the church, +and darted away to usher the stranger into the pastor's seat; but +Gascoyne (for it was he) took no notice of him. He passed steadily up +the centre of the church, and sat down beside the Widow Stuart, whose +face expressed anxiety and surprise the moment she observed who was +seated there. The countenance of Henry, who sat on the other side of +his mother, flushed, and he turned with an angry glance towards the +captain of the _Foam_; but the look was thrown away, for Gascoyne had +placed his arms on the back of the seat in front of him, and rested his +head on them; in which position he continued to remain without motion +while the service was going on. + +Mr Mason began with a short earnest prayer in English; then he read out +a hymn in the native tongue, which was sung in good tune, and with great +energy, by the whole congregation. This was followed by a chapter in +the New Testament, and another prayer; but all the service, with the +exception of the first prayer, was conducted in the native language. +The text was then read out:--"Though thy sins be as scarlet, they shall +be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as +wool." + +Frederick Mason possessed the power of chaining the attention of an +audience, and a deep breathless silence prevailed, as he laboured, with +intense fervour, to convince his hearers of the love of God, and the +willingness and ability of Jesus Christ to save even the chief of +sinners. During one part of the service, a deep low groan startled the +congregation; but no one could tell who had uttered it. As it was not +repeated, it was soon forgotten by most of the people. + +While the pastor was thus engaged, a pistol-shot was heard, and +immediately after, a loud fierce yell burst from the forest, causing the +ears of those who heard it to tingle, and their hearts for a moment to +quail. In less than ten minutes, the church was empty, and the males of +the congregation were engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand conflict with +the savages; who, having availed themselves of the one unguarded pass, +had quietly eluded the vigilance of the scouts, and assembled in force +on the outskirts of the settlement. + +Fortunately for the worshippers that morning, the anxiety of Master +Corrie for the welfare of his fair Alice induced him to slip out of the +church just after the sermon began. Hastening to the pastor's house, he +found the child sound asleep on a sofa, and a savage standing over her +with a spear in his hand. The boy had approached so stealthily, that +the savage did not hear him. Remembering that he had left his pistol on +the kitchen table, he darted round to the back door of the house, and +secured it just as Alice awoke with a scream of surprise and terror, on +beholding who was near her. + +Next moment Corrie was at her side, and before the savage could seize +the child, he levelled the pistol at his head and fired. The aim was +sufficiently true to cause the ball to graze the man's forehead, while +the smoke and fire partially blinded him. + +It was this shot that first alarmed the natives in church, and it was +the yell uttered by the wounded man, as he fell stunned on the floor, +that called forth the answering yell from the savage host, and +precipitated the attack. + +It was sufficiently premature to give the people of the settlement time +to seize their arms; which, as has been said, they had placed so as to +be available at a moment's notice. + +The fight that ensued was a desperate, and almost indiscriminate melee. +The attacking party had been so sure of taking the people by surprise, +that they formed no plan of attack; but simply arranged that, at a given +signal from their chief, a united rush should be made upon the church, +and a general massacre ensue. As we have seen, Corrie's pistol drew +forth the signal sooner than had been intended. In the rush that +immediately ensued, a party dashed through the house, the boy was +overturned, and a savage gave him a passing blow with a club that would +have scattered his brains on the floor had it taken full effect; but it +was hastily delivered; it glanced off his head, and spent its force on +the shoulder of the chief, who was thus unfortunate enough to be wounded +by friends as well as foes. + +On the first alarm, Gascoyne sprang up, and darted through the door. He +was closely followed by Henry. Stuart, and the captain of the +_Talisman_, with his handful of officers and men, who were all armed, as +a matter of course. + +"Sit where you are," cried Henry to his trembling mother, as he sprang +after Gascoyne; "the church is the safest place you'll find." + +The widow fell on her knees and prayed to God, while the fight raged +without. + +Among the first to leave the church was the pastor. The thought of his +child having been left in the house unprotected, filled him with an +agony of fear. He sought no weapon of war, but darted unarmed straight +into the midst of the savage host that stood between him and the object +of his affection. His rush was so impetuous, that he fairly overturned +several of his opponents by dashing against them. The numbers that +surrounded him, however, soon arrested his progress; but he had pressed +so close in amongst them, that they were actually too closely packed, +for a few seconds, to be able to use their heavy clubs and long spears +with effect. + +It was well for the poor missionary, at that moment, that he had learned +the art of boxing when a boy! The knowledge so acquired had never +induced him to engage in dishonourable and vulgar strife; but it had +taught him how and where to deliver a straightforward blow with effect; +and he now struck out with tremendous energy, knocking down an adversary +at every blow,--for the thought of Alice lent additional strength to his +powerful arm. Success in such warfare, however, was not to be expected. +Still, Mr Mason's activity and vigour averted his own destruction for +a few minutes; and these minutes were precious, for they afforded time +for Captain Montague and his officers to cut their way to the spot where +he fought, just as a murderous club was about to descend on his head +from behind. Montague's sword unstrung the arm that upheld it, and the +next instant the pastor was surrounded by friends. + +Among their number was John Bumpus, who was one of the crew of +Montague's boat, and who now rushed upon the savages with a howl +peculiarly his own, felling one with a blow of his fist, and another +with a slash of his cutlass. + +"You must retire," said Montague, hastily, to Frederick Mason, who stood +panting and inactive for a few moments in order to recover breath. "You +are unarmed, sir; besides, your profession forbids you taking part in +such work as this. There are men of war enough here to keep these +fellows in play." + +Montague spoke somewhat sharply, for he erroneously fancied that the +missionary's love of fighting had led him into the fray. + +"My profession does not forbid me to save my child," exclaimed the +pastor, wildly. + +He turned in the direction of his cottage, which was full in view; and, +at that moment, smoke burst from the roof and windows. With a cry of +despair, Mr Mason once more launched himself on the host of savages; +but these were now so numerous that, instead of making head against +them, the little knot of sailors who opposed them at that particular +place found it was as much as they could do to keep them at bay. + +The issue of the conflict was still doubtful, when a large accession to +their numbers gave the savages additional power and courage. They made +a sudden onset, and bore back the small band of white men. In the rush +the pastor was overthrown and rendered for a time insensible. + +While this was going on in one part of the field, in another, stout Ole +Thorwald, with several of the white settlers and the greater part of the +native force, was guarding the principal approach to the church against +immensely superior numbers. And nobly did the descendant of the Norse +sea-kings maintain the credit of his warlike ancestors that day. With a +sword that might have matched that of Goliath of Gath, he swept the way +before him wherever he went, and more than once by a furious onset +turned the tide of war in favour of his party when it seemed about to +overwhelm them. + +In a more distant part of the field, on the banks of a small stream, +which was spanned by a bridge about fifty paces farther down, Gascoyne +and Henry Stuart contended, almost alone; with about thirty savages. +These two had rushed so impetuously forward at the first onset as to +have been separated from their friends, and, with four Christian +natives, had been surrounded. Henry was armed with a heavy claymore, +the edge of which betokened that it had once seen much service in the +wars of the youth's Scottish ancestors. Gascoyne, not anticipating this +attack, had returned to the settlement armed only with his knife. He +had seized the first weapon that came to hand, which chanced to be an +enormous iron shovel, and with this terrific implement the giant carried +all before him. + +It was quite unintentionally that he and Henry had come together. But +the nature and power of the two men being somewhat similar, they had +singled out the same point of danger, and had made their attack with the +same overwhelming vehemence. The muscles of both seemed to be made of +iron, for, as increasing numbers pressed upon them, they appeared to +deliver their terrible blows with increasing rapidity and vigour, and +the savages, despite their numbers, began to quail before them. + +Just then Keona--who, although wounded, hovered about doing as much +mischief as he could with his left hand, (which, by the way, seemed to +be almost as efficient as his right,)--caught sight of this group of +combatants on the banks of the stream. He, with a party, had succeeded +in forcing the bridge, and now, uttering a shout of wild delight at the +sight of his two greatest enemies within his power--as he thought--he +rushed towards them and darted his spear with unerring aim and terrible +violence. The man's anger defeated his purpose, for the shout attracted +the attention of Gascoyne, who saw the spear coming straight towards +Henry's breast. He interposed the shovel instantly, and the spear fell +harmless to the ground. At the same time, with a back-handed sweep he +brained a gigantic savage who at the moment was engaging Henry's +undivided attention. Bounding forward with a burst of anger, Gascoyne +sought to close with Keona. He succeeded but too well, however, for he +could not check himself sufficiently to deliver an effective blow, but +went crashing against his enemy, and the two fell to the ground +together. + +In an instant a rush was made on the fallen man; but Henry leaped +forward, and sweeping down two opponents with one cut of his claymore, +afforded his companion time to leap up. + +"Come, we are quits," said Henry, with a grim smile, as the two darted +again on the foe. + +At that moment Ole Thorwald, having scattered the party he first +engaged, came tearing down towards the bridge, whirling the great sword +round his head, and shouting "victory" in the voice of a Stentor. + +"Hah! here is more work," he cried, as his eye fell on Gascoyne's +figure. "Thorwald to the rescue! hurrah!" + +In another moment the savages were flying pellmell across the bridge +with Gascoyne and Henry close on their heels, and the stout merchant +panting after them, with his victorious band, as fast as his less agile +limbs could carry him. + +It was at this moment that Gascoyne and Henry noticed the attack made on +the small party of sailors, and observed the fall of Mr Mason. + +"Thorwald to the rescue!" shouted Gascoyne, in a voice that rolled deep +and loud over the whole field like the roar of a lion. + +"Ay, ay, my noisy stranger; it's easy for your tough limbs to carry you +up the hill," gasped Ole, "but the weight of ten or fifteen years will +change your step. Hurrah!" + +The cry of the bold Norseman, coupled with that of Gascoyne, had the +double effect of checking the onset of the enemy, and of collecting +their own scattered forces around them. The battle was now drawing to a +point. Men who were skirmishing in various places left off and hastened +to the spot on which the closing scene was now evidently to be enacted; +and for a few minutes the contending parties paused, as if by mutual +consent, to breathe and scan each other before making the final attack. + +It must not be supposed that, during the light which we have described, +the crew of the _Talisman_ were idle. At the first sign of disturbance +on shore, the boats were lowered, and a well-armed force rowed for the +landing-place as swiftly as the strong and willing arms of the men could +pull. But the distance between the vessel and the shore was +considerable, and the events we have recounted were quickly enacted, so +that before the boats had proceeded half the distance the fight was +nearly over, and the settlement seemed about to be overwhelmed. + +These facts were not lost upon the first lieutenant of the _Talisman_, +Mr Mulroy, who, with telescope in hand, watched the progress of the +fight with great anxiety. He saw that it was impossible for the boats +to reach the shore in time to render efficient aid. He also observed +that a fresh band of savages were hastening to reinforce their comrades, +and that the united band would be so overpoweringly strong as to render +the chances of a successful resistance on the part of the settlers very +doubtful indeed almost hopeless. + +In these circumstances he adopted a course which was as bold as it was +dangerous. Observing that the savages mustered for the final onset in a +dense mass on an eminence which just raised their heads a little above +those of the party they were about to attack, he at once loaded three of +the largest guns with round shot and pointed them at the mass of human +beings with the utmost possible care. There was the greatest danger of +hitting friends instead of foes, but Mr Mulroy thought it his duty to +incur the responsibility of running the risk. + +Montague, to whom the command of the united band of settlers had been +given by general consent, had thrown them rapidly into some sort of +order, and was about to give the word to charge, when the savage host +suddenly began to pour down the hill with frantic yells. + +Mulroy did not hear the shouts, but he perceived the movement. +Suddenly, as if a thunderstorm had burst over the island, the echoes of +the hills were startled by the roar of heavy artillery, and, one after +another, the three guns hurled their deadly contents into the centre of +the rushing mass, through which three broad lanes were cut in quick +succession. + +The horrible noise and the dreadful slaughter in their ranks, seemed to +render the affrighted creatures incapable of action, for they came to a +dead halt. + +"_Well_ done, Mulroy," shouted Montague, "forward, boys--charge!" + +A true British cheer burst from the tars and white settlers, which +served farther to strike terror into the hearts of the enemy. In +another moment they rushed up the hill, led on by Montague, Gascoyne, +Henry, and Thorwald. But the savages did not await the shock. Seized +with a complete panic, they turned and fled in utter confusion. + +Just as this occurred, Mr Mason began to recover consciousness. +Recollecting suddenly what had occurred, he started up and followed his +friends, who were now in hot pursuit of the foe in the direction of his +own cottage. Quickly though they ran, the anxious father overtook and +passed them, but he soon perceived that his dwelling was wrapt in +flames, from end to end. + +Darting through the smoke and fire to his daughter's room he shouted her +name, but no voice replied. He sprang to the bed--it was empty. With a +cry of despair, and blinded by smoke, he dashed about the room, grasping +wildly at objects in the hope that he might find his child. As he did +so he stumbled over a prostrate form, which he instantly seized, raised +in his arms, and bore out of the blazing house, round which a number of +the people were now assembled. + +The form he had thus plucked from destruction was that of the poor boy, +who would willingly have given his life to rescue Alice, and who still +lay in the state of insensibility into which he had been thrown by the +blow from the savage's heavy club. + +The missionary dropped his burden, turned wildly round, and was about to +plunge once again into the heart of the blazing ruin, when he was seized +in the strong arms of Henry Stuart, who, with the assistance of Ole +Thorwald, forcibly prevented him from doing that which would have +resulted in almost certain death. + +The pastor's head sunk on his breast; the excitement of action and hope +no longer sustained him; with a deep groan he fell to the earth +insensible. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +BAFFLED AND PERPLEXED--PLANS FOR A RESCUE. + +While the men assembled round the prostrate form of Mr Mason were +attempting to rescue him from his state of stupor, poor Corrie began to +shew symptoms of returning vitality. A can of water, poured over him by +Henry, did much to restore him. But no sooner was he enabled to +understand what was going on, and to recall what had happened, than he +sprang up with a wild cry of despair, and rushed towards the blazing +house. Again Henry's quick arm arrested a friend in his mad career. + +"Oh! she's there! Alice is _there_!" shrieked the boy, as he struggled +passionately to free himself. + +"You can do nothing, Corrie," said Henry, trying to soothe him. + +"Coward!" gasped the boy in a paroxysm of rage, as he clenched his fist +and struck his captor on the chest with all his force. + +"Hold him," said Henry, turning to John Bumpus, who at that moment came +up. + +Bumpus nodded intelligently, and seized the boy, who uttered a groan of +anguish as he ceased a struggle which he felt was hopeless in such an +iron gripe. + +"Now, friends--all of you," shouted Henry, the moment he was relieved of +his charge, "little Alice is in that house--we must pull it down! who +will lend a hand?" + +He did not pause for an answer, but seizing an axe, rushed through the +smoke and began to cut down the door-posts. The whole party there +assembled, numbering about fifty, rushed forward, as one man, to aid in +the effort. The attempt was a wild one. Had Henry considered for a +moment, he would have seen that, in the event of their succeeding in +pulling down the blazing pile, they should in all probability smother +the child in the ruins. + +"The shell is in the out-house," said Corrie, eagerly, to the giant who +held him. + +"Wot shell?" inquired Bumpus. + +"The shell that they blow like a horn to call the people to work with." + +"Ah! you're sane again," said the sailor, releasing him; "go, find it, +lad, and blow till yer cheeks crack." + +Corrie was gone long before Jo had concluded even that short remark. In +another second the harsh but loud sound of the shell rang over the +hill-side. The settlers, black and white, immediately ceased their +pursuit of the savages, and from every side they came trooping in by +dozens. Without waiting to inquire the cause of what was being done, +each man, as he arrived, fell to work on the blazing edifice, and, urged +on by Henry's voice and example, toiled and moiled in the midst of fire +and smoke, until the pastor's house was literally pulled to pieces. + +Fortunately for little Alice, she had been carried out of that house +long before by Keona, who, being subtle as well as revengeful, knew well +how to strike at the tenderest part of the white man's heart. + +While her friends were thus frantically endeavouring to deliver her from +the burning house in which they supposed her to be, Alice was being +hurried through the woods by a steep mountain path in the direction of +the native village. Happily for the feelings of her father, the fact +was made known, soon after the house had been pulled down, by the +arrival of a small party of native settlers bearing one of the child's +shoes. They had found it, they said, sticking in the mud, about a mile +off, and had tracked the little footsteps a long way into the mountains +by the side of the prints made by the naked feet of a savage. At length +they had lost the tracks amid the hard lava rocks and had given up the +chase. + +"We must follow them up instantly," said Mr Mason, who had by this time +recovered; "no time is to be lost." + +"Ay, time is precious, who will go?" cried Henry, who, begrimed with +fire and smoke, and panting vehemently from recent exertion, had just at +that moment come towards the group. + +"Take me! Oh! take me, Henry!" cried Corrie, in a beseeching tone, as +he sprang promptly to his friend's side. + +At any other time, Henry would have smiled at the enthusiastic offer of +such a small arm to fight the savages; but fierce anger was in his +breast at that moment;--he turned from the poor boy and looked round +with a frown, as he observed that, although the natives crowded round +him at once, neither Gascoyne, nor Thorwald, nor Captain Montague shewed +any symptom of an intention to accompany him. + +"Nay, be not angry, lad," said Gascoyne, observing the frown; "your +blood is young and hot, as it should be; but it behoves us to have a +council of war before we set out on this expedition, which, believe me, +will be no trifling one, if I know anything of savage ways and doings." + +"Mr Gascoyne is right," said Montague, turning to the missionary, who +stood regarding the party with anxious looks, quite unable to offer +advice on such an occasion, and clasping the little shoe firmly in both +hands; "it seems to me that those who know the customs of savage warfare +should give their advice first. You may depend on all the aid that it +is in my power to give." + +"Ole Thorwald is our leader when we are compelled to fight in +self-defence," said Mr Mason; "would God that it were less frequently +we were obliged to demand his services. He knows what is best to be +done." + +"I know what is best to do," said Thorwald, "when I have to lead men +into action, or to shew them how to fight. But, to say truth, I don't +plume myself on possessing more than an average share of the qualities +of the terrier dog. When niggers are to be hunted out of holes in the +mountains like rabbits, I will do what in me lies to aid in the work; +but I would rather be led than lead if you can find a better man." + +Thorwald said this with a rueful countenance, for he had hoped to have +settled this war in a pitched battle; and there were few things the +worthy man seemed to enjoy more than a stand-up fight on level ground. +A fair field and no favour was his delight, but climbing the hills was +his mortal aversion. He was somewhat too corpulent and short of wind +for that. + +"Come, Gascoyne," said Henry, "you know more about the savages than +anybody here, and if I remember rightly, you have told me that you are +acquainted with most of the mountain passes." + +"With all of them, lad," interposed Gascoyne; "I know every pass and +cavern on the island." + +"What, then, would you advise?" asked Montague. + +"If a British officer can put himself under a simple trading skipper," +said Gascoyne, "I may perhaps shew what ought to be done in this +emergency." + +"I can co-operate with any one who proves himself worthy of confidence," +retorted Montague, sharply. + +"Well, then," continued the other, "it is in vain to think of doing any +good by a disorderly chase into mountains like these. I would advise +that our forces be divided into three. One band under Mr Thorwald +should go round by the Goat's Pass, to which I will guide him, and cut +off the retreat of the savages there. Another party under my friend +Henry Stuart should give chase in the direction in which little Alice +seems to have been taken, and a third party, consisting of his Majesty's +vessel the _Talisman_, and crew, should proceed round to the north side +of the island and bombard the native village." + +"The Goat's Pass," growled Thorwald, "sounds unpleasantly rugged and +steep in the ears of a man of my weight and years, Mister Gascoyne. But +if there's no easier style of work to be done, I fancy I must be content +with what falls to my lot?" + +"And, truly," added Montague, "methinks you might have assigned me a +more useful, as well as more congenial occupation than the bombardment +of a mud village full of women and children--for I doubt not that every +able-bodied man has left it, to go on this expedition." + +"You will not find the Goat's Pass so bad as you think, good Thorwald," +returned Gascoyne, "for I propose that the _Talisman_ or her boats +should convey you and your men to the foot of it, after which your +course will be indeed rugged, but it will be short;--merely to scale the +face of a precipice that would frighten a goat to think of and then a +plain descent into the valley where, I doubt not, these villains will be +found in force; and where, certainly, they will not look for the +appearance of a stout generalissimo of half savage troops. As for the +bombarding of a mud village, Mr Montague, I should have expected a +well-trained British officer ready to do his duty whether that duty were +agreeable or otherwise." + +"My _duty_, certainly," interrupted the young captain, hotly, "but I +have yet to learn that _your_ orders constitute _my_ duty." + +The bland smile with which Gascoyne listened to this tended rather to +irritate than to soothe Montague's feelings; but he curbed the passion +which stirred his breast, while the other went on-- + +"No doubt the bombarding of a defenceless village is not pleasant work, +but the result will be important, for it will cause the whole army of +savages to rush to the protection of their women and children; thereby +disconcerting their plans--supposing them to have any--and enabling us +to attack them while assembled in force. It is the nature of savages to +scatter, and so to puzzle trained forces,--and no doubt those of his +Majesty are well trained. But `one touch of nature makes the whole +world kin,' says a great authority; and it is wonderful how useful a +knowledge of the various touches of nature is in the art of war. It may +not have occurred to Mr Montague that savages have a tendency to love +and protect their wives and children as well as civilised men, and +that--" + +"Pray, cease your irrelevant remarks; they are ill-timed," said +Montague, impatiently. "Let us hear the remainder of your suggestions. +I shall judge of their value and act accordingly. You have not yet told +us what part you yourself intend to play in this game." + +"I mean to accompany Captain Montague, if he will permit me." + +"How! go with me in the _Talisman_," said Montague, surprised at the +man's coolness, and puzzled by his impudence. + +"Even so," said Gascoyne. + +"Well, I have no objection, of course; but it seems to me that you would +be more useful at the head of a party of your own men." + +"Perhaps I might," replied Gascoyne; "but the coral reefs are dangerous +on the north side of the island, and it is important that one well +acquainted with them should guide your vessel. Besides, I have a trusty +mate, and if you will permit me to send my old shipmate, John Bumpus, +across the hills, he will convey all needful instructions to the +_Foam_." + +This was said in so quiet and straightforward a tone that Montague's +wrath vanished. He felt ashamed of having shewn so much petulance at a +time when affairs of so great importance ought to have been calmly +discussed, so he at once agreed to allow Bumpus to go. Meanwhile Henry +Stuart, who had been fretting with impatience at this conversation, +suddenly exclaimed-- + +"It seems to me, sirs, that you are wasting precious time just now. I, +at least, am quite satisfied with the duty assigned to me, so I'm off-- +ho! who will join me?" + +"I'm your man," cried Corrie, starting up and flourishing the broken +sabre above his head. At the same moment about a hundred natives ranged +themselves round the youth, thus indicating that they, too, were his +men. + +"Well, lad, away you go," said Gascoyne, smiling, "but Master Corrie +must remain with me." + +"I'll do nothing of the sort," said Corrie, stoutly. + +"Oh! yes, you will, my boy. I want you to guide my man Bumpus over the +mountains. You know the passes, and he don't. It's all for the good of +the cause, you know,--the saving of little Alice." + +Corrie wavered. The idea of being appointed, as it were, to a separate +command, and of going with his new friend, was a strong temptation, and +the assurance that he would in some way or other be advancing the +business in hand settled the matter. He consented to become obedient. + +In about half an hour all Gascoyne's plans were in course of being +carried out. Ole Thorwald and his party proceeded on board the +_Talisman_, which weighed anchor, and sailed, with a light breeze, +towards the north end of the island--guided through the dangerous reefs +by Gascoyne. Henry and his followers were toiling nimbly up the hills +in the direction indicated by the little footprints of Alice; and John +Bumpus, proceeding into the mountains in another direction, pushed, +under the guidance of Corrie, towards the bay where the _Foam_ still lay +quietly at anchor. + +It was evening when these different parties set out on their various +expeditions. The sun was descending to the horizon in a blaze of lurid +light. The slight breeze, which wafted his Britannic Majesty's ship +slowly along the verdant shore, was scarcely strong enough to ruffle the +surface of the sea. Huge banks of dark clouds were gathering in the +sky, and a hot unnatural closeness seemed to pervade the atmosphere, as +if a storm were about to burst upon the scene. Everything, above and +below, seemed to presage war--alike elemental and human--and the various +leaders of the several expeditions felt that the approaching night would +tax their powers and resources to the uttermost. + +It was, then, natural that in such circumstances the bereaved father +should be distracted with anxiety as to which party he should join, and +it was also natural that one whose life had been so long devoted to the +special service of his God should, before deciding on the point, ask, on +his knees, his heavenly Father's guidance. + +He finally resolved to accompany the party under command of Henry +Stuart. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +THE PURSUIT--POOPY, LED ON BY LOVE AND HATE, RUSHES TO THE RESCUE. + +The shades of night had begun to descend upon the island when Master +Corrie reached the summit of the mountain ridge that divided the bay in +which the _Foam_ was anchored from the settlement of Sandy Cove. + +Close on his heels followed the indomitable Jo Bumpus, who panted +vehemently and perspired profusely from his unwonted exertions. + +"Wot an object you are," exclaimed Corrie, gazing at the hot giant with +a look of mingled surprise and glee--for the boy's spirit was of that +nature which cannot repress a dash of fun even in the midst of anxiety +and sorrow. We would not have it understood that the boy ever +deliberately mingled the two things--joy and sorrow--at one and the same +time, but he was so irresistibly alive to the ludicrous, that a touch of +it was sufficient at any time to cause him to forget, for a brief apace, +his anxieties, whatever these might be. + +Jo Bumpus smiled benignantly, and said that he "was glad to hear it." +For Jo had conceived for the boy that species of fondness which large +dogs are frequently known to entertain for small ones--permitting them +to take outrageous liberties with their persons which they would resent +furiously were they attempted by other dogs. + +Presently the warm visage of Bumpus elongated, and his eyes opened +uncommonly wide as he stared at a particular spot in the ground; +insomuch that Corrie burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. + +"O Grampus, you'll kill me if you go on like that," said he; "I can't +stand it. Indeed I can't. Sich a face! D'ye know what it's like?" + +Jo expressed no desire to become enlightened on this point, but +continued to gaze so earnestly that Corrie started up and +exclaimed--"What is it, Jo?" + +"A fut!" replied Jo. + +"A footprint, I declare!" shouted the boy, springing forward and +examining the print, which was pretty clearly defined in a little patch +of soft sand that lay on the bare rock. "Why, Jo, it's Poopy's. I'd +know it anywhere by the bigness of the little toe. How _can_ she have +come up here?" + +"I say, lad, hist!" said Bumpus, in a hoarse whisper, "here's another +fut that don't belong to--what's her name--Puppy, did ye say?" + +"Why, it's Alice's," whispered the boy, his face becoming instantly +grave, while an unwonted expression of anxiety crossed it, "and here's +that of a savage beside it. He must have changed his intention, or, +perhaps, he came this way to throw the people who were chasing them off +the scent." + +Corrie was right. Finding that he was hotly pursued, Keona had taken +advantage of the first rocky ground he reached to diverge abruptly from +the route he had hitherto followed in his flight; and, the farther to +confuse his pursuers, he had taken the almost exhausted child up in his +arms and carried her a considerable distance, so that if his enemies +should fall again on his track the absence of the little footprints +might induce them to fancy they were following up a wrong scent. + +In this he was so far successful, for the native settlers, as we have +seen, soon gave up the chase, and returned with one of the child's +shoes, which had fallen off unobserved by the savage. + +But there was one of the pursuers who was far ahead of the others, and +who was urged to continue the chase by the strongest of all motives-- +love. Poor Kekupoopi had no sooner heard of the abduction of her young +mistress, than she had set off at the top of her speed to a well-known +height in the mountains, whence, from a great distance, she could +observe all that went on below. On the wings of affection she had +flown, rather than walked, to this point of observation, and, to her +delight, saw not only the pursuers but the fugitives in the valley +below. She kept her glowing eyes fixed on them, hastening from rock to +rock and ridge to ridge, as intervening obstacles hid them from view, +until she saw the stratagem, just referred to, practised by Keona. +Then, feeling that she had no power of voice to let the pursuers know +what had occurred, and seeing that they would certainly turn back on +being baffled, she resolved to keep up the chase herself--trusting to +accident to afford her an opportunity of rendering aid to Alice; or, +rather, trusting to God to help her in her great difficulty, for the +poor child had been well trained in the missionary's house, and love had +been the teacher. + +Taking a short cut down into the valley,--for she was well acquainted +with all the wild and rugged paths of the mountains in the immediate +neighbourhood of the settlement,--she was so fortunate as to reach a +narrow pass, through which Keona and Alice must needs go. Arriving +there a short time before they did, she was able to take a few minutes +rest before resuming the chase. + +Little did the wily savage think that a pair of eyes as dark and bright, +though not so fierce as his own, were gazing at him from behind the +bushes as he sped up that narrow gorge. + +Poor Alice was running and stumbling by his side; for the monster held +her by the hand and dragged her along, although she was scarcely able to +stand. The heart of the black girl well-nigh burst with anger when she +observed that both her shoes and stockings had been torn off in the +hasty flight, and that her tender feet were cut and bleeding. + +Just as they reached the spot near which Poopy was concealed, the child, +sank with a low wail to the ground, unable to advance another step. +Keona seized her in his arms, and, uttering a growl of anger as he threw +her rudely over his shoulder, bore her swiftly away. + +But, quick though his step was, it could not outrun that of the poor +little dark maiden who followed him like his shadow, carefully keeping +out of view, however, while her mind was was busy with plans for the +deliverance of her young mistress. The more she thought, the more she +felt how utterly hopeless would be any attempt that she could make, +either by force or stratagem, to pluck her from the grasp of one so +strong and subtle as Keona. At length she resolved to give up thinking +of plans altogether and take to prayer instead. + +On reaching the highest ridge of the mountains, Keona suddenly stopped, +placed Alice on a flat rock and went to the top of a peak not more than +fifty yards off. Here he lay down and gazed long and earnestly over the +country through which they had just passed, evidently for the purpose of +discovering, if possible, the position and motions of his enemies. + +Poopy, whose wits were sharpened by love, at once took advantage of her +opportunity. She crept on all fours towards the rock on which Alice +lay, in such a manner that it came between her person and the savage. + +"Missy Alice! Oh! missy Alice! quick, look up, it's me--Poopy," said +the girl, raising her head cautiously above the edge of the rock. + +Alice started up on one elbow, and was about to utter a scream of +delight and surprise, when her sable friend laid her black paw suddenly +on the child's pretty mouth and effectually shut it up. + +"Hush! Alice; no cry. Savage hear and come back--kill Poopy bery much +quick. Listen. Me all alone. You bery clibber. Dry up eyes, no cry +any more. Look happy. God will save you. Poopy nebber leave you as +long as got her body in her soul." + +Just at this point, Keona rose from his recumbent position, and the +girl, who had not suffered her eyes to move from him for a single +instant, at once sunk behind the rock and crept so silently away that +Alice could scarcely persuade herself that she had not been dreaming. + +The savage returned, took the child's hand, led her over the brow of the +mountain, and began to descend by a steep rugged path to the valleys +lying on the other side of the island. But before going a hundred yards +down the dark gorge--which was rendered all the darker by the approach +of night--he turned abruptly aside; entered the mouth of a cavern and +disappeared. + +Poopy was horrified at this unexpected and sudden change in the state of +things. For a long time she lay closely hid among the rocks within +twenty yards of the cave's mouth, expecting every moment to see the +fugitives issue from its dark recesses. But they did not reappear. All +at once it occurred to the girl that there might possibly be an exit +from the cavern at the other end of it, and that, while she was idly +waiting there, her little mistress and her savage captor might be +hastening down the mountain far beyond her reach. + +Rendered desperate by this idea, she quitted her place of concealment, +and ran recklessly into the cavern. But the place was dark as Erebus, +and the ground was so rugged that she tripped and fell before she had +advanced into it more than fifty yards. + +Bruised by the fall, and overawed by the gloom of her situation, the +poor girl lay still for some time where she had fallen, with bated +breath, and listening intently; but no sound struck her ear save the +beating of her own heart, which appeared to her unnaturally loud. Under +an impulse of terror, she rose and ran back into the open air. + +Here it occurred to her that she might perhaps find the other outlet to +the cave--supposing that one really existed--by going round the hill and +carefully examining the ground on the other side. This, however, was a +matter requiring considerable time, and it was not until a full hour had +expired that she returned to the mouth of the cave, and sat down to rest +and consider what should be done next. + +To enter the dark recesses of the place without a light she knew would +be impossible as well as useless, and she had no means of procuring a +light. Besides, even if she had, what good could come of her +exploration? The next impulse was to hasten back to the settlement at +full speed and guide a party to the place; but, was it likely that the +savage would remain long in the cave? This question suggested her +former idea of the possible existence of another outlet; and as she +thought upon Alice being now utterly beyond her reach, she covered her +face with her hands and burst into tears. After a short time she began +to pray. Then, as the minutes flew past, and her hopes sank lower and +lower, she commenced--like many a child of Adam who thinks himself +considerably wiser than a black girl--to murmur at her hard lot. This +she did in an audible voice, having become forgetful of, as well as +indifferent to, the chance of discovery. + +"Oh! w'at for was me born?" she inquired, somewhat viciously, and, not +being able apparently to answer this question, she proceeded to comment +in a wildly sarcastic tone on the impropriety of her having been brought +into existence at all. + +"Me should be dead. W'at's de use o' life w'en ums nothin' to live for? +Alice gone! Darling Alice! Oh! dear. Me wish I wasn't never had been +born; yes me do. Don't care for meself! Wouldn't give nuffin for +meself! Only fit to tend missy Alice! Not fit for nuffin else, and now +Alice gone--whar' to, nobody nose an' nobody care, 'xcept Poopy, who's +not worth a brass button!" + +Having given utterance to this last expression, which she had acquired +from her friend Corrie, the poor girl began to howl in order to relieve +her insupportable feelings. + +It was at this point in our story that Master Corrie, and his companion +the Grampus, having traced the before-mentioned footprints for a +considerable distance, became cognisant of sundry unearthly sounds, on +hearing which, never having heard anything like them before, these +wanderers stood still in attitudes of breathless attention and gazed at +each other with looks of indescribable amazement, not altogether unmixed +with a dash of consternation. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +A GHOST--A TERRIBLE COMBAT ENDING IN A DREADFUL PLUNGE. + +"Corrie," said Jo Bumpus, solemnly, with a troubled expression on his +grave face: "I've heer'd a-many a cry in this life, both ashore and +afloat; but, since I was half as long as a marline-spike, I've never +heer'd the likes o' that there screech nowhere." + +At any other time the boy would have expressed a doubt as to the +possibility of the Grampus having, at any period of his existence, been +so short as "half the length of a marline-spike;" but, being very +imaginative by nature, and having been encouraged to believe in ghosts +by education, he was too frightened to be funny. With a face that might +very well have passed for that of a ghost, and a very pale ghost too, he +said, in a tremulous voice-- + +"Oh! dear Bumpus, what _shall_ we do?" + +"Dun know," replied Jo, very sternly; for the stout mariner also +believed in ghosts, as a matter of course, (although he would not admit +it), and, being a man of iron mould and powerful will, there was at that +moment going on within his capacious breast, a terrific struggle between +natural courage and supernatural cowardice. + +"Let's go back," whispered Corrie. "I know another pass over the hills. +It's a longer one, to be sure; but we can run, you know, to make for--" + +He was struck dumb and motionless at this point by the recurrence of the +dreadful howling, louder than ever, as poor Poopy's despair deepened. + +"Don't speak to me, boy," said Bumpus, still more sternly, while a cold +sweat stood in large beads on his pale forehead. "Here's wot I calls +somethin' new, an' it becomes a man, specially a British seaman, d'ye +see, to inquire into new things in a reasonable sort of way." + +Jo caught his breath, and clutched the rock beside him powerfully, as he +continued-- + +"It ain't a ghost, in course; it _can't_ be that. Cause why? there's no +sich a thing as a ghost--" + +"Ain't there?" whispered Corrie, hopefully. + +The hideous yell that Poopy here set up, seemed to give the lie direct +to the sceptical seaman; but he went on deliberately, though with a +glazed eye, and a death-like pallor on his face-- + +"No; there ain't no ghosts--never wos, an' never will be. All ghosts is +sciencrific dolusions, nothing more; and it's only the hignorant an' +supercilious as b'lieves in 'em. _I_ don't; an', wots more," added Jo, +with tremendous decision, "I _won't_!" + +At this point, the "sciencrific dolusion" recurred to her former idea of +alarming the settlement; and with this view began to retrace her steps, +howling as she went. + +Of course, as Jo and his small companion had been guided by her +footsteps, it followed that Poopy, in retracing them, gradually drew +near to the terrified pair. The short twilight of those regions had +already deepened into the shades of night; so that the poor girl's form +was not at first visible, as she advanced from among the dark shadows of +the overhanging cliffs and the large masses of spattered rock that lay +strewn about that wild mountain pass. + +Now, although John Bumpus succeeded, by an almost supernatural effort, +in calming the tumultuous agitation of his spirit, while the wild cries +of the girl were at some distance, he found himself utterly bereft of +speech when the dreadful sounds unmistakably approached him. Corrie, +too, became livid, and both were rooted to the spot in unutterable +horror; but when the ghost at length actually came into view, and, +(owing to Poopy's body being dark, and her garments white), presented +the appearance of a dimly luminous creature, without head, arms, or +legs, the last spark of endurance of man and boy went out. The one gave +a roar, the other a shriek, of horror, and both turned and fled like the +wind over a stretch of country, which, in happier circumstances, they +would have crossed with caution. + +Poopy helped to accelerate their flight by giving vent to a cry of fear, +and thereafter to a yell of delight, as, from her point of view, she +recognised the well-known outline of Corrie's figure clearly defined +against the sky. She ran after them in frantic haste; but she might as +well have chased a couple of wild cats. Either terror is gifted with +better wings than hope, or males are better runners than females. +Perhaps both propositions are true; but certain it is that Poopy soon +began to perceive that the succour which had appeared so suddenly, was +about to vanish almost as quickly. + +In this new dilemma, the girl once more availed herself of her slight +knowledge of the place, and made a detour, which enabled her to shoot +ahead of the fugitives and intercept them in one of the narrowest parts +of the mountain-gorge. Here, instead of using her natural voice, she +conceived that the likeliest way of making her terrified friends +understand who she was, would be to shout with all the strength of her +lungs. Accordingly, she planted herself suddenly in the centre of their +path, just as the two came tearing blindly round a corner of rock, and +set up a series of yells, the nature of which utterly beggars +description. + +The result was, that with one short wild cry of renewed horror, Bumpus +and Corrie turned sharp round and fled in the opposite direction. + +There is no doubt whatever that they would have succeeded in ultimately +escaping from this pertinacious ghost, and poor Poopy would have had to +make the best of her way to Sandy Cove alone, but for the fortunate +circumstance that Corrie fell; and, being only a couple of paces in +advance of his companion, Bumpus fell over him. + +The ghost took advantage of this to run forward, crying out, "Corrie! +Corrie! Corrie!--it's me! _me_! ME!" with all her might. + +"Eh! I do believe it knows my name," cried the boy, scrambling to his +feet, and preparing to renew his flight; but Bumpus laid his heavy hand +on his collar, and held him fast. + +"Wot did it speak?" + +"Yes; listen! Oh dear! come, fly!" + +Instead of flying, the seaman heaved a deep sigh; and, sitting down on a +rock, took out a reddish brown cotton handkerchief wherewith he wiped +his forehead. + +"My boy," said he, still panting; "it ain't a ghost. No ghost wos ever +known to _speak_. They looks, an' they runs, an' they yells, an' they +vanishes, but they never speaks; d'ye see? I told ye it was a +sciencrific dolusion; though, I'm bound for to confess, I never heer'd +o' von o' them critters speakin', no more than the ghosts. +Howsomedever, that's wot it is." + +Corrie, who still hesitated, and held himself in readiness to bolt at a +moment's notice, suddenly cried-- + +"Why, I _do_ believe it's--No: it can't be--yes--I say, it's _Poopy_!" + +"Wot's Poopy?" inquired the seaman, in some anxiety. + +"What, don't you know Poopy, Alice's black maid, who keeps her company, +and looks after her; besides `doin' her, and `undoin' her, (as she calls +it), night and morning, and putting her to bed? Hooray! Poopy, my +lovely black darling; where _have_ you come from? You've frightened +Bumpus here nearly out of his wits. I do believe he'd have bin dead by +this time, but for me!" + +So saying, Corrie, in the revulsion of his suddenly relieved feelings, +actually threw his arms round Poopy, and hugged her. + +"O Corrie," exclaimed the girl, submitting to the embrace with as much +indifference as if she had been a lamp-post, "w'at troble you hab give +me! Why you run so? sure, you know me voice." + +"Know it, my sweet lump of charcoal; I'd know it among a thousand, if +ye'd only use it in its own pretty natural tones; but, if you _will_ go +and screech like a bottle-imp, you know," said Corrie, remonstratively, +"how can you expect a stupid feller like me to recognise it?" + +"There ain't no sich things as bottle-imps, no more nor ghosts," +observed Bumpus; "but hold your noise, you chatter-box, and let's hear +wot the gal's got to say. Mayhap she knows summat about Alice?" + +At this, Poopy manufactured an expression on her sable countenance, +which was meant to be intensely knowing and suggestive. + +"Don't I? Yes, me do," said she. + +"Out with it then at once, you pot of shoe-blacking," cried the +impatient Corrie. + +The girl immediately related all that she knew regarding the fugitives, +stammering very much from sheer anxiety to get it all out as fast as she +could, and delaying her communication very much in consequence,--besides +rendering her meaning rather obscure--sometimes unintelligible. Indeed, +the worthy seaman could scarcely understand a word she said. He sat +staring at the whites of her eyes, which, with her teeth, were the only +visible parts of her countenance at that moment, and swayed his body to +and fro, as if endeavouring by a mechanical effort to arrive at a +philosophical conception of something exceedingly abstruse. But at the +end of each period he turned to Corrie for a translation. + +At length, both man and boy became aware of the state of things, and +Corrie started up, crying-- + +"Let's go into the cave at once." + +"Hold on, boy," cried Bumpus, "not quite so fast, (as the monkey said to +the barrel-organ w'en it took to playin' Scotch reels), we must have a +council of war, d'ye see? That black monster Keona may have gone right +through the cave and comed out at t' other end of it, in w'ich case it's +all up with our chance o' findin' 'em to-night. But if they've gone in +to spend the night there, why we've nothin' to do but watch at the mouth +of it till mornin' an' nab 'em as they comes out." + +"Yes; but how are we to know whether they're in the cave or not?" said +Corrie, impatiently. + +"Ah! that's the puzzler," replied Bumpus, in a meditative way; "but, of +course, we must look out for puzzlers ahead sometimes w'en we gets into +a land storm, d'ye see; just as we looks out ahead for breakers in a +storm at sea. Suppose now that I creeps into the cave and listens for +'em. They'd never hear me, 'cause I'd make no noise." + +"You might as well try to sail into it in a big ship without making +noise, you Grampus." + +To this the Grampus observed, that if the cave had only three fathoms of +water in the bottom of it he would have no objection whatever to try. + +"But," added he, "suppose _you_ go in." + +Corrie shook his head, and looked anxiously miserable. + +"Well then," said Bumpus, "suppose we light two torches. I'll take one +in one hand, and this here cutlash in the other; and you'll take t'other +torch in one hand and your pistol in the other, and clap that bit of a +broken sword 'tween yer teeth, and we'll give a horrid screech, and rush +in pell-mell--all of a heap like. You could fire yer pistol straight +before you on chance, (it's wonderful wot a chance shot will do +sometimes), an' if it don't do nothin', fling it right into the +blackguard's face--a brass-mounted tool like that ketchin' him right on +the end of his beak would lay him flat over, like a ship in a white +squall." + +"And suppose," said Corrie, in a tone of withering sarcasm, "suppose all +this happened to Alice, instead of the dirty nigger?" + +"Ah! to be sure. That's a puzzler--puzzler number two." + +Here Poopy, who had listened with great impatience to the foregoing +conversation, broke in energetically. + +"An' s'pose," said she, "dat Keona and missy Alice comes out ob cave +w'en you two be talkerin' sich a lot of stuff?" + +It may as well be remarked, in passing, that Poopy had acquired a +considerable amount of her knowledge of English from Master Corrie. Her +remark, although not politely made, was sufficiently striking to cause +Bumpus to start up, and exclaim-- + +"That's true, gal; come shew us the way to this here cave." + +There was a fourth individual present at this council of war who +apparently felt a deep interest in its results, although he took no part +in its proceedings. This was no other than Keona himself, who lay +extended at full length among the rocks, not two yards from the spot +where Bumpus sat, listening intently and grinning from ear to ear with +fiendish malice. + +The series of shrieks, howls, and yells, to which reference has been +made, had naturally attracted the attention of that wily savage when he +was in the cave. Following the sounds with quick noiseless step, he +soon found himself within a few paces of the deliberating trio. The +savage did not make much of the conversation, but he gathered sufficient +to assure himself that his hiding-place had been discovered, and that +plans were being laid for his capture. + +It would have been an easy matter for him to have leaped suddenly on the +unsuspecting Bumpus, and driven a knife to his heart, after which, poor +Corrie and the girl could have been easily dealt with; but fortunately, +(at least for his enemies, if not for himself), indecision in the moment +of action was one of Keona's besetting sins. He suspected that other +enemies might be near at hand, and that the noise of the scuffle might +draw them to the spot. He observed, moreover, that the boy had a +pistol, which, besides being a weapon that acts quickly and surely, even +in weak hands, would give a loud report and a bright flash that might be +heard and seen at a great distance. + +Taking these things into consideration, he thrust back the knife which +he had half unsheathed, and, retreating with the slow gliding motion of +a serpent, got beyond the chance of being detected, just as Bumpus rose +to follow Poopy to the cave. + +The savage entered its yawning mouth in a few seconds and glided +noiselessly into its dark recesses like an evil spirit. Soon after, the +trio reached the same spot and stood for some time silently gazing upon +the thick darkness within. + +A feeling of awe crept over them as they stood thus, and a shudder +passed through Corrie's frame as he thought of the innumerable ghosts +that might--probably did--inhabit that dismal place. But the thought of +Alice served partly to drive away his fears and to steel his heart. He +felt that the presence of such a sweet and innocent child _must_, +somehow or other, subdue and baffle the power of evil spirits, and it +was with some show of firmness that he said-- + +"Come, Bumpus, let's go in; we are better without a torch, it would only +show that we were coming; and as they don't expect us, the savage may +perhaps kindle a light which will guide us." + +Bumpus, who was not sustained by any thoughts of the supposed power or +influence of the little girl, and whose superstitious fears were again +doing furious battle with his natural courage, heaved a deep sigh, +ground his teeth together, and clenched his fists. + +Even in that dreadful hour the seaman's faith in his physical +invincibility, and in the terrible power of his fists, did not +altogether fail. Although he wore a cutlass, and had used it that day +with tremendous effect, he did not now draw it. He preferred to engage +supernatural enemies with the weapons that nature had given him, and +entered the cave on tiptoe with slow cautious steps; his fists tightly +clenched and ready for instant action, yet thrust into the pockets of +his coatee in a deceptively peaceful way, as if he meant to take the +ghosts by surprise. + +Corrie followed him, also on tiptoe, with the broken sabre in his right +hand, and the cocked pistol in his left, his forefinger being on the +trigger, and the muzzle pointing straight at the small of the seaman's +back--if one may be permitted to talk of such an enormous back having +any "small" about it! + +Poopy entered last, also on tiptoe, trembling violently, holding on with +both hands to the waistband of Corrie's trousers, and only restrained +from instant flight by her anxieties and her strong love for little +Alice. + +Thus, step by step, with bated breath and loudly beating hearts, pausing +often to listen, and gasping in a subdued way at times, the three +friends advanced from the gloom without into the thick darkness within, +until their gliding forms were swallowed up. + +Now it so happened that the shouts and yells, to which we have more than +once made reference in this chapter, attracted a band of savages who had +been put to flight by Henry Stuart's party. These rascals, not knowing +what was the cause of so much noise up on the heights, and, being much +too well acquainted with the human voice in all its modifications to +fancy that ghosts had anything to do with it, cautiously ascended +towards the cavern, just a few minutes after the disappearance of John +Bumpus and his companions. + +Here they sat down to hold a palaver. While this was going on, Keona +carried Alice in his unwounded arm to the other end of the cave, and, +making his exit through a small opening at its inner extremity, bore his +trembling captive to a rocky eminence, shaped somewhat like a +sugar-loaf, on the summit of which he placed her. So steep were the +sides of this cone of lava, that it seemed to Alice that she was +surrounded by precipices over which she must certainly tumble if she +dared to move. + +Here Keona left her, having first, however, said, in a low stern voice-- + +"If you moves, you dies!" + +The poor child was too much terrified to move, even had she dared, for +she, too, had heard the unaccountable cries of Poopy, although, owing to +distance and the wild nature of these cries, she had failed to recognise +the voice. When, therefore, her jailer left her with this threat, she +coiled herself up in the smallest possible space, and began to sob +quietly. + +Meanwhile, Keona re-entered the cavern with a diabolical grin on his +sable countenance, which, although it savoured more of evil than of any +other quality, had in it, nevertheless, a strong dash of ferocious +jovialty, as if he were aware that he had got his enemies into a trap, +and could amuse himself by playing with them as a cat does with a mouse. + +Soon the savage began to step cautiously, partly because of the rugged +nature of the ground, and the thick darkness that surrounded him, and +partly in order to avoid alarming the three adventurers who were +advancing towards him from the other extremity of the cavern. In a few +minutes he halted, for the footsteps and the whispering voices of his +pursuers became distinctly audible to him, although all three did their +best to make as little noise as possible. + +"Wot a 'orrid place it is!" exclaimed Bumpus, in a hoarse angry whisper, +as he struck his shins violently, for at least the tenth time, against a +ledge of rock-- + +"I do b'lieve, boy, that there's nobody here, and that we'd as well +'bout ship and steer back the way we've comed; tho' it _is_ a 'orrible +coast for rocks and shoals." + +To this, Corrie, not being in a talkative humour, made no reply. + +"D'ye hear me, boy?" said Jo, aloud, for he was somewhat shaken again by +the dead silence that followed the close of his remark. + +"All right, I'm here," said Corrie, meekly. + +"Then why don't ye speak," said Jo, tartly. + +"I'd advise _you_ not to speak so loud," retorted the boy. + +"Is the dark 'un there?" inquired Bumpus. + +"What d'ye say?" + +"The dark 'un; the lump o' charcoal, you know." + +"Oh! she's all safe," replied Corrie, "I only hope she won't haul the +clothes right off my body; she grips at my waistband like a--" + +Here he was cut short by Keona, who gave utterance to a low dismal wail +that caused the blood and marrow of all three to freeze up, and their +hearts for a moment to leap into their throats and all but choke them. + +"Poopy's gone," gasped Corrie, after a few seconds had elapsed. + +There was no doubt of the fact, for, besides the relief experienced by +the boy, from the relaxing of her grip on his waistband the moment the +wail was heard, the sound of the girl's footsteps as she flew back +towards the entrance of the cave was distinctly heard. + +Keona waited a minute or two to ascertain the exact position of his +enemies, then he repeated the wail and swelled it gradually out into a +fiendish yell that awoke all the echoes of the place. At the same time, +guessing his aim as well as he could, he threw a spear and discharged a +shower of stones at the spot where he supposed they stood. + +There is no understanding the strange workings of the human mind! The +very thing that most people would have expected to strike terror to the +heart of Bumpus, was that which infused courage into his soul. The +frightful tones of the savage's voice in such a place did indeed almost +prostrate the superstitious spirit of the seaman, but when he heard the +spear whiz past within an inch of his ear, and received a large stone +full on his chest, and several small ones on other parts of his person, +that instant his strength returned to him, like that of Samson, when the +Philistines attempted to fall upon him. His curiously philosophical +mind at once leaped to the conclusion that, although ghosts could yell, +and look, and vanish, they could not throw spears or fling stones, and +that, therefore, the man they were in search of was actually close +beside them. + +Acting on this belief, with immense subtlety Bumpus uttered a cry of +feigned terror, and fled, followed by the panting Corrie, who uttered a +scream of real terror at what he supposed must be the veritable ghost of +the place. + +But before he had run fifty yards, John Bumpus suddenly came to a dead +halt; seized Corrie by the collar, dragged him down behind a rock, and +laid his large hand upon his mouth, as being the shortest and easiest +way of securing silence, without the trouble of explanation. + +As he had anticipated, the soft tread of the savage was heard almost +immediately after, as he passed on in fall pursuit. He brushed close +past the spot where Bumpus crouched, and received from that able-bodied +seaman such a blow on the shoulder of his wounded arm, as, had it been +delivered in daylight, would have certainly smashed his shoulder blade. +As it was, it caused him to stagger and sent him howling with pain to +the mouth of the cavern, whither he was followed by the triumphant Jo, +who now made sure of catching him. + +But "there is many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip." When Keona +issued from the cave, he was received with a shout by the band of +savages, who instantly recognised him as their friend by his voice. +Poor Poopy was already in their hands, having been seized and gagged +when she emerged before she had time to utter a cry. And now they stood +in a semicircle ready to receive all who might come forth into their +arms, or on their spear-points, as the case might be. + +Bumpus came out like an insane thunderbolt, and Corrie like a streak of +lightning. Instantaneously the flash of the pistol, accompanied by its +report and a deep growl from Bumpus, increased the resemblance to these +meteorological phenomena, and three savages lay stunned upon the ground. + +"This way, Corrie!" cried the excited seaman, leaping to a perpendicular +rock, against which he placed his back, and raised his fists in a +pugilistic attitude. "Keep one or two in play with your broken +toothpick, an' I'll floor 'em one after another as they comes up. Now, +then, ye black baboons, come on--all at once if ye like--an' Jo +Bumpus'll shew ye wot he's made of!" + +Not perceiving very clearly, in the dim light caused by a few stars that +flickered among the black and gathering clouds, the immense size and +power of the man with whom they had to deal, the savages were not slow +to accept this free and generous invitation to "come on." They rushed +forward in a body, intending, no doubt, to take the man and boy +prisoners; for if they had wished to slay them, nothing would have been +easier than to have thrown one or two of their spears at their +defenceless breasts. + +Bumpus experienced a vague feeling that he had now a fair opportunity of +testing and proving his invincibility; yet the desperate nature of the +case did not induce him to draw his sword. He preferred his fists, as +being superior and much more handy weapons. He received the first two +savages who came within reach on the knuckles of his right and left +hands, rendering them utterly insensible, and driving them against the +two men immediately behind, with such tremendous violence, that they +also were put _hors de combat_. + +This was just what Bumpus had intended and hoped for. The sudden fall +of so many gave him time to launch out his great fists a second time. +They fell with the weight of sledge-hammers on the faces of two more of +his opponents, flattening their noses, and otherwise disfiguring their +features, besides stretching them on the ground. At the same time, +Corrie flung his empty pistol in the face of a man who attempted to +assault his companion on the right flank unawares, and laid him prone on +the earth. Another savage, who made the same effort on the left, +received a gash on the thigh from the broken sabre that sent him howling +from the scene of conflict. + +Thus were eight savages disposed of in about as many seconds. + +But there is a limit to the powers and the prowess of man. The savages, +on seeing the fall of so many of their companions, rushed in on Bumpus +before he could recover himself for another blow. That is to say, the +savages behind pushed forward those in front whether they would or no, +and falling _en masse_ on the unfortunate pair, well-nigh buried them +alive in black human flesh. + +Bumpus's last cry before being smothered was, "Down with the black +varmints!" and Corrie's last shout was, "Hooray!" + +Thus fell--despite the undignified manner of their fall--a couple of as +great heroes as were ever heard of in the annals of war; not excepting +even those of Homer himself! + +Now, good reader, this may be all very well for us to describe, and for +you to read, but it was a terrible thing for Poopy to witness. Being +bound hand and foot she was compelled to look on; and, to say truth, she +did look on with uncommon interest. When her friends fell, however, she +expressed her regrets and fears in a subdued shriek, for which she +received a sounding slap on the cheek from a young savage who had chosen +for himself the comparatively dangerous post of watching her, while his +less courageous friends were fighting. + +Strange to say, Poopy did not shed more tears, (as one might have +expected), on receiving such treatment. She had been used to that sort +of thing, poor child. Before coming to the service of her little +mistress, she had been brought up--(it would be more strictly correct to +say that she had been kicked, and cuffed, and pinched, and battered +up)--by a stepmother, whose chief delight was to pull out handfuls of +her woolly hair, beat her nose flat, (which was adding insult to injury, +for it was too flat by nature), and otherwise to maltreat her. When, +therefore, Poopy received the slap referred to, she immediately dried +her eyes and looked humble. But she did not by any means _feel_ humble. +No; a regard for truth compels us to state, that on this particular +occasion, Poopy acted the part of a hypocrite. If her hands had been +loose, and she had possessed a knife just then--we are afraid to think +of the dreadful use to which she would have put it! + +The natives spent a considerable time in securely binding their three +captives, after which they bore them into the cavern. + +Here they kindled a torch and held a long palaver as to what was to be +done with the prisoners. Some counselled instant death, others advised +that they should be kept as hostages. The debate was so long and +fierce, that the day had begun to break before it was concluded. It was +at length arranged that they should be conveyed alive to their village, +there to be disposed of according to the instructions of their chiefs. + +Feeling that they had already delayed too long, they placed the +prisoners on their shoulders and bore them swiftly away. + +Poor Corrie and his sable friend were easily carried, coiled up like +sacks, each on the shoulders of a stalwart savage; but Bumpus, who had +required eight men to bind him, still remained unconvinced of his +vincibility. He struggled so violently on the shoulders of the four men +who bore him, that Keona, in a fit of passion, tinged no doubt with +revenge, hit him such a blow on the head with the handle of an axe as +caused his brains to sing, and a host of stars to dance before his eyes. + +These stars were, however, purely imaginary, for at that time the dawn +had extinguished the lesser lights. Ere long, the bright beams of the +rising sun suffused the eastern sky with a golden glow. On passing the +place where Alice had been left, a couple of the party were sent by +Keona to fetch her. They took the unnecessary precaution of binding the +poor child, and speedily rejoined their comrades with her in their arms. + +The amazement of her friends on seeing Alice was only equalled by her +surprise on beholding them. But they were not permitted to communicate +with each other. Presently the whole party emerged from the wild +mountain gorges, through which they had been passing for some time, and +proceeded in single file along a narrow path that skirted the precipices +of the coast. The cliffs here were nearly a hundred feet high. They +descended sheer down into deep water; in some places even overhung the +sea. + +Here John Bumpus, having recovered from the stunning effects of the blow +dealt him by Keona, renewed his struggles, and rendered the passage of +the place not only difficult, but dangerous to himself as well as to his +enemies. Just as they reached a somewhat open space on the top of the +cliffs, Jo succeeded, by almost superhuman exertion, in bursting his +bonds. Keona, foaming with rage, gave an angry order to his followers, +who rushed upon Bumpus in a body as he was endeavouring to clear himself +of the cords. Although John struck out manfully, the savages were too +quick for him. They raised him suddenly aloft in their arms and hurled +him headlong over the cliff! + +The horror of his friends on witnessing this may easily be imagined, but +every other feeling was swallowed up in terror when the savages, +apparently rendered bloodthirsty by what they had done, ran towards +Alice, and, raising her from the ground, hastened to the edge of the +cliff, evidently with the intention of throwing her over also. + +Before they accomplished their fiendish purpose, however, a sound like +thunder burst upon their ears and arrested their steps. This was +immediately followed by another crash, and then came a series of single +reports in rapid succession which were multiplied by the echoes of the +heights until the whole region seemed to tremble with the reverberation. + +At first the natives seemed awe-stricken. Then, on becoming aware that +the sounds which originated all this tumult came from the direction of +their own village, they dropped Alice on the ground, fled precipitately +down the rugged path that led from the heights to the valley and +disappeared, leaving the three captives, bound and helpless, on the +cliffs. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +DANGEROUS NAVIGATION AND DOUBTFUL PILOTAGE--MONTAGUE IS HOT, GASCOYNE +SARCASTIC. + +We turn now to the _Talisman_, which, it will be remembered, we left +making her way slowly through the reefs towards the northern end of the +island, under the pilotage of Gascoyne. + +The storm, which had threatened to burst over the island at an earlier +period of that evening, passed off far to the south. The light breeze +which had tempted Captain Montague to weigh anchor soon died away, and +before night a profound calm brooded over the deep. + +When the breeze fell, Gascoyne went forward, and, seating himself on a +forecastle carronade, appeared to fall into a deep reverie. Montague +paced the quarter-deck impatiently, glancing from time to time down the +skylight at the barometer which hung in the cabin, and at the vane which +drooped motionless from the mast-head. He acted with the air of a man +who was deeply dissatisfied with the existing state of things, and who +felt inclined to take the laws of nature into his own hands. +Fortunately for nature and himself, he was unable to do this. + +Ole Thorwald exhibited a striking contrast to the active, impatient +commander of the vessel. That portly individual, having just finished a +cigar which the first lieutenant had presented to him on his arrival on +board, threw the fag end of it into the sea, and proceeded leisurely to +fill a large-headed German pipe, which was the constant companion of his +waking hours, and the bowl of which seldom enjoyed a cool moment. + +Ole having filled the pipe, lighted it; then, leaning over the taffrail, +he gazed placidly into the dark waters, which were so perfectly calm +that every star in the vault above could be compared with its reflection +in the abyss below. + +Ole Thorwald, excepting when engaged in actual battle, was phlegmatic, +and constitutionally lazy and happy. When enjoying his German pipe he +felt inexpressibly serene, and did not care to be disturbed. He +therefore paid no attention to the angry manner of Montague, who brushed +past him repeatedly in his hasty perambulations, but continued to gaze +downwards and smoke calmly in a state of placid felicity. + +"You appear to take things coolly, Mister Thorwald," said Montague, half +in jest, yet with a touch of asperity in his manner. + +"I always do" (puff) "when the weather's not warm." (Puff puff.) + +"Humph!" ejaculated Montague, "but the weather _is_ warm just now; at +least it seems so to me--so warm that I should not be surprised if a +thunder squall were to burst upon us ere long." + +"Not a pleasant place to be caught in a squall," returned the other, +gazing through the voluminous clouds of smoke which he emitted at +several coral reefs, whose ragged edges just rose to the level of the +calm sea without breaking its mirror-like surface; "I've seen one or two +fine vessels caught that way, just hereabouts, and go right down in the +middle of the breakers." + +Montague smiled, and the commander-in-chief of the Sandy Cove army fired +innumerable broadsides from his mouth with redoubled energy. + +"That is not a cheering piece of information," said he, "especially when +one has reason to believe that a false man stands at the helm." + +Montague uttered the latter part of his speech in a subdued earnest +voice, and the matter-of-fact Ole turned his eyes slowly towards the man +at the wheel; but observing that he who presided there was a short, fat, +commonplace, and uncommonly jolly-looking seaman, he merely uttered a +grunt and looked at Montague inquiringly. + +"Nay, I mean not the man who actually holds the spokes of the wheel, but +he who guides the ship." + +Thorwald glanced at Gascoyne, whose figure was dimly visible in the fore +part of the ship, and then looking at Montague in surprise shook his +head gravely, as if to say-- + +"I'm still in the dark--go on." + +"Can Mr Thorwald put out his pipe for a few minutes and accompany me to +the cabin? I would have a little converse on this matter in private." + +Ole hesitated. + +"Well, then," said the other, smiling, "you may take the pipe with you, +although it is against rules to smoke in my cabin--but I'll make an +exception in your case." + +Ole smiled, bowed, and, thanking the captain for his courtesy, descended +to the cabin along with him and sat down on a sofa in the darkest corner +of it. Here he smoked vehemently, while his companion, assuming a +rather mysterious air, said in an under tone-- + +"You have heard, of course, that the pirate Durward has been seen, or +heard of, in those seas?" + +Ole nodded. + +"Has it ever struck you that this Gascoyne, as he calls himself, knows +more about the pirate than he chooses to tell?" + +"Never," replied Ole. Indeed nothing ever did _strike_ the stout +commander-in-chief of the forces. All new ideas came to him by slow +degrees, and did not readily find admission to his perceptive faculties. +But when they did gain an entrance into his thick head, nothing was +ever known to drive them out again. As he did not seem inclined to +comment on the hint thrown out by his companion, Montague continued, in +a still more impressive tone-- + +"What would you say if this Gascoyne himself turned out to be the +pirate?" + +The idea being a simple one, and the proper course to follow being +rather obvious, Ole replied with unwonted promptitude--"Put him in +irons, of course, and hang him as soon as possible." + +Montague laughed. "Truly that would be a vigorous way of proceeding; +but as I have no proof of the truth of my suspicions, and as the man is +my guest at present, as well as my pilot, it behoves me to act more +cautiously." + +"Not at all; by no means; you're quite wrong, captain; (which is the +natural result of being young--all young people go more or less;) it is +clearly your duty to catch a pirate anyhow you can, as fast as you can, +and kill him without delay." + +Here the sanguinary Thorwald paused to draw and puff into vitality the +pipe which was beginning to die down, and Montague asked-- + +"But how d'you know he is the pirate?" + +"Because you said so," replied his friend. + +"Nay, I said that I _suspected_ him to be Durward--nothing more." + +"And what more would you have?" cried Ole, whose calm spirit was ruffled +with unusual violence at the thought of the hated Durward being actually +within his reach. "For my part I conceive that you are justified in +taking him up on suspicion, trying him in a formal way (just to save +appearances) on suspicion, and hanging him at once on suspicion. Quite +time enough to inquire into the matter after the villain is comfortably +sewed up in a hammock with a thirty-pound shot at his heels, and sent to +the bottom of the sea for the sharks and crabs to devour. Suspicion is +nine points of the law in these regions, Captain Montague, and we never +allow the tenth point to interfere with the course of justice one way or +another. Hang him, or shoot him if you prefer it, at once; _that_ is +what I recommend." + +Just as Thorwald concluded this amiable piece of advice, the deep strong +tones of Gascoyne's voice were heard addressing the first lieutenant. + +"You had better hoist your royals and skyscrapers, Mr Mulroy; we shall +have a light air off the land presently, and it will require all your +canvas to carry the ship round the north point, so as to bring her guns +to bear on the village of the savages." + +"The distance seems to me very short," replied the lieutenant, "and the +_Talisman_ sails faster than you may suppose with a light wind." + +"I doubt not the sailing qualities of your good ship, though I could +name a small schooner that would beat them in light wind or storm; but +you forget that we have to land our stout ally Mr Thorwald with his men +at the Goat's Pass, and that will compel us to lose time, too much of +which has been lost already." + +Without reply, the lieutenant turned on his heel and gave the necessary +orders to hoist the additional sails, while the captain hastened on +deck, leaving Thorwald to finish his pipe in peace, and ruminate on the +suspicions which had been raised in his mind. + +In less than half an hour the light wind which Gascoyne had predicted +came off the land, first in a series of what sailors term "cats' paws," +and then in a steady breeze which lasted several hours, and caused the +vessel to slip rapidly through the still water. As he looked anxiously +over the bow, Captain Montague felt that he had placed himself +completely in the power of the suspected skipper of the _Foam_, for +coral reefs surrounded him on all sides, and many of them passed so +close to the ship's side that he expected every moment to feel the shock +that would wreck his vessel and his hopes at the same time. He blamed +himself for trusting a man whom he supposed he had such good reason to +doubt, but consoled himself by thrusting his hand into his bosom and +grasping the handle of a pistol, with which, in the event of the ship +striking, he had made up his mind to blow out Gascoyne's brains. + +About an hour later the _Talisman_ was hove-to off the Goat's Pass, and +Ole Thorwald was landed with his party at the base of a cliff which rose +sheer up from the sea like a wall. + +"Are we to go up there?" inquired Ole in a rueful tone of voice, as he +surveyed a narrow chasm to which Gascoyne guided him. + +"That is the way. It's not so bad as it looks. When you get to the +top, follow the little path that leads along the cliffs northward, and +you will reach the brow of a hill from which the native village will be +visible. Descend and attack it at once, if you find men to fight with-- +if not, take possession quietly. Mind you don't take the wrong turn; it +leads to places where a wild-cat would not venture even in daylight. If +you attend to what I have said, you can't go wrong. Good night. Shove +off." + +The oars splashed in the sea at the word, and Gascoyne retained to the +ship, leaving Ole to lead his men up the Pass as he best might. + +It seemed as if the pilot had resolved to make sure of the destruction +of the ship that night; for, not content with running her within a foot +or two of innumerable reefs, he at last steered in so close to the shore +that the beetling cliffs actually seemed to overhang the deck. When the +sun rose, the breeze died away; but sufficient wind continued to fill +the upper sails and to urge the vessel gently onward for some time after +the surface of the sea was calm. + +Montague endeavoured to conceal and repress his anxiety as long as +possible, but when at length a line of breakers without any apparent +opening presented themselves right ahead, he went up to Gascoyne and +said in a stern under tone-- + +"Are you aware that you forfeit your life if my vessel strikes?" + +"I know it," replied Gascoyne, coolly throwing away the stump of his +cigar and lighting a fresh one, "but I have no desire either to destroy +your vessel or to lose my life; although, to say truth, I should have no +objection, in other circumstances, to attempt the one and to risk the +other." + +"Say you so?" said Montague, with a sharp glance at the countenance of +the other, where, however, he could perceive nothing but placid good +humour "that speech sounds marvellously warlike, methinks, in the mouth +of a sandal-wood trader." + +"Think you, then," said Gascoyne, with a smile of contempt, "that it is +only your fire-eating men of war who experience bold impulses and heroic +desires?" + +"Nay, but traders are not wont to aspire to the honour of fighting the +ships that are commissioned to protect them." + +"Truly, if I had sought protection from the warships of the king of +England, I must have sailed long and far to find it," returned Gascoyne. +"It is no child's play to navigate these seas, where bloodthirsty +savages swarm in their canoes like locusts. Moreover I sail, as I have +told you before, in the China Seas where pirates are more common than +honest traders. What would you say if I were to take it into my head to +protect myself?" + +"That you were well able to do so," answered Montague, with a smile; +"but when I examined the _Foam_ I found no arms save a few cutlasses and +rusty muskets that did not seem to have been in recent use." + +"A few bold men can defend themselves with any kind of weapons. My men +are stout fellows not used to flinch at the sound of a round shot +passing over their heads." + +The conversation was interrupted here by the ship rounding a point and +suddenly opening up a view of a fine bay, at the head of which, +embosomed in trees and dense underwood, stood the native village of +which they were in search. + +Just in front of this village lay a small but high and thickly wooded +island, which, as it were, filled up the head of the bay, sheltering it +completely from the ocean, and making the part of the sea which washed +the shores in front of the houses resemble a deep and broad canal. This +stripe of water was wide and deep enough to permit of a vessel of the +largest size passing through it; but to any one approaching the place +for the first time there seemed to be no passage for any sort of craft +larger than a native canoe. The island itself was high enough to +conceal the _Talisman_ completely from the natives until she was within +half gunshot of the shore. + +Gascoyne still stood on the fore part of the ship as she neared this +spot, which was so beset with reefs and rocks that her escape seemed +miraculous. + +"I think we are near enough for the work that we have to do," suggested +Montague in some anxiety. + +"Just about it, Mr Montague," said Gascoyne, as he turned towards the +stern and shouted-- + +"Port your helm." + +"Port it is," answered the man at the wheel. + +"Steady." + +"Back the topsails, Mr Mulroy." + +The sails were backed at once, and the ship became motionless with her +broadside to the village. + +"What are we to do now, Mr Gascoyne," inquired Montague, smiling in +spite of himself at the strange position in which he found himself. + +"Fire away at the village as hard as you can," replied Gascoyne, +returning the smile. + +"What! do you really advise me to bombard a defenceless place in which, +as far as I can see, there are none but women and children?" + +"Even so!" returned the other, carelessly, "at the same time I would +advise you to give it them with blank cartridge." + +"And to what purpose such waste of powder?" inquired Montague. + +"The furthering of the plans which I have been appointed to carry out," +answered Gascoyne somewhat stiffly, as he turned on his heel and walked +away. + +The young captain reddened and bit his lip, as he gave the order to load +the guns with blank cartridge, and made preparation to fire this +harmless broadside on the village. The word to "fire" had barely +crossed his lips when the rocks around seemed to tremble with the crash +of a shot that came apparently from the other side of the island, for +its smoke was visible, although the vessel that discharged it was +concealed behind the point. The _Talisman's_ broadside followed so +quickly, that the two discharges were blended in one. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +DOINGS ON BOARD THE "FOAM." + +The nature of this part of our story requires that we should turn back, +repeatedly, in order to trace the movements of the different parties +which co-operated with each other. + +While the warlike demonstrations we have described were being made by +the British cruiser, the crew of the _Foam_ were not idle. + +In consequence of the capture of Bumpus by the savages, Gascoyne's +message was, of course, not delivered to Manton, and the first mate of +the sandalwood trader would have known nothing about the fight that +raged on the other side of the island on the Sunday, but for the three +shots, fired by the first lieutenant of the _Talisman_, which decided +the fate of the day. + +Being curious to know the cause of the firing, Manton climbed the +mountains until he gained the dividing ridge--which, however, he did not +succeed in doing till late in the afternoon, the way being rugged as +well as long. Here he almost walked into the midst of a flying party of +the beaten savages; but dropping suddenly behind a rock, he escaped +their notice. The haste with which they ran, and the wounds visible on +the persons of many of them, were sufficient to acquaint the mate of the +_Foam_ with the fact that a fight had taken place in which the savages +had been beaten; and his knowledge of the state of affairs on the island +enabled him to jump at once to the correct conclusion that the Christian +village had been attacked. + +A satanic smile played on the countenance of the mate as he watched the +savages until they were out of sight; then, quitting his place of +concealment, he hurried back to the schooner, which he reached some time +after nightfall. + +Immediately on gaining the deck he gave orders to haul the chain of the +anchor short, to shake out the sails, and to make other preparations to +avail himself without delay of the light breeze off the land which his +knowledge of the weather and the locality taught him to look for before +morning. + +While his orders were being executed, a boat came alongside with that +part of the crew which had been sent ashore by Gascoyne to escape the +eye of the British commander. It was in charge of the second mate--a +short, but thick-set and extremely powerful man, of the name of +Scraggs--who walked up to his superior the moment he came on board, and, +in a tone somewhat disrespectful, asked what was going to be done. + +"Don't you see," growled Manton; "we're getting ready to sail." + +"Of course I see that," retorted Scraggs, between whom and his superior +officer there existed a feeling of jealousy as well as of mutual +antipathy, for reasons which will be seen hereafter; "but I should like +to know where we are going, and why we are going anywhere without the +captain. I suppose I am entitled to ask that much." + +"It's your business to obey orders," said Manton, angrily. + +"Not if they are in opposition to the captain's orders," replied +Scraggs, firmly, but in a more respectful tone; for in proportion as he +became more mutinous, he felt that he could afford to become more +deferential. "The captain's last orders to you were to remain where you +are; I heard him give them, and I do not feel it my duty to disobey him +at _your_ bidding. You'll find, too, that the crew are of my way of +thinking." + +Manton's face flushed crimson, and, for a moment, he felt inclined to +seize a handspike and fell the refractory second mate therewith; but the +looks of a few of the men who were standing by and had overheard the +conversation, convinced him that a violent course of procedure would do +him injury. Swallowing his passion, therefore, as he best could, he +said-- + +"Come, Mr Scraggs, I did not expect that _you_ would set a mutinous +example to the men; and if it were not that you do so out of respect for +the supposed orders of the captain, I would put you in irons at once." + +Scraggs smiled sarcastically at this threat, but made no reply, and the +mate continued-- + +"The captain did indeed order me to remain where we are, but I have +since discovered that the black dogs have attacked the Christian +settlement, as it is called, and you know as well as I do, that Gascoyne +would not let slip the chance to pitch into the undefended village of +the niggers, and pay them off for the mischief they have done to us more +than once. At any rate, I mean to go round and blow down their log huts +with Long Tom; so you can go ashore if you don't like the work." + +Manton knew well, when he made this allusion to mischief formerly done +to the crew of the _Foam_, that he touched a rankling sore in the breast +of Scraggs, who in a skirmish with the natives some time before had lost +an eye; and the idea of revenging himself on the defenceless women and +children of his enemies was so congenial to the mind of the second mate, +that his objections to act willingly under Manton's orders were at once +removed. + +"Ha!" said he, commencing to pace to and fro on the quarter-deck with +his superior officer, while the men made the necessary preparations for +the intended assault, "that alters the case, Mr Manton. I don't think, +however, that Gascoyne would have taken advantage of the chance to give +the brutes what they deserve, for I must say he does seem to be +unaccountably chicken-hearted; perhaps it's as well that he's out of the +way. Do you happen to know where he is or what he's doing?" + +"Not I. No doubt he is playing some sly game with this British cruiser, +and I dare say he may be lending a hand to the settlers, for he's got +some strange interests to look after there, you know," (here both men +laughed,) "and I shouldn't wonder if he was beforehand with us in +pitching into the niggers. He is always ready enough to fight in +self-defence, though we can never get him screwed up to the assaulting +point." + +"Ay, we saw something of the fighting from the hill tops, but as it is +no business of ours, I brought the men down in case they might be wanted +aboard." + +"Quite right, Scraggs. You're a judicious fellow to send on a dangerous +expedition. I'm not sure, however, that Gascoyne would thank you for +leaving him to fight the savages alone." Manton chuckled as he said +this, and Scraggs grinned maliciously as he replied-- + +"Well, it can't exactly be said that I've _left_ him, seeing that I have +not been with him since we parted aboard of this schooner, and as to his +fightin' the niggers alone,--hasn't he got ever so many hundred +_Christian_ niggers to help him to lick the others?" + +"True," said Manton, while a smile of contempt curled his lip. "But +here comes the breeze, and the sun won't be long behind it. All the +better for the work we've got to do. Mind your helm there. Here, lads, +take a pull at the topsail halyards; and some of you get the nightcap +off Long Tom. I say, Mr Scraggs, should we shew them the _red_, by way +of comforting their hearts?" + +Scraggs shook his head dubiously. "You forget the cruiser. She has +eyes aboard, and may chance to set them on that same red, in which case +it's likely she would shew us her teeth." + +"And what then?" demanded Manton, "are _you_ also growing +chicken-hearted. Besides," he added in a milder tone, "the cruiser is +quietly at anchor on the other side of the island, and there's not a +captain in the British navy who could take a pinnace, much less a ship, +through the reefs at the north end of the island without a pilot." + +"Well," returned Scraggs, carelessly, "do as you please. It's all one +to me." + +While the two officers were conversing, the active crew of the _Foam_ +were busily engaged in carrying out the orders of Manton, and the +graceful schooner glided swiftly along the coast before the same breeze +which urged the _Talisman_ to the north end of the island. The former, +having few reefs to avoid, approached her destination much more rapidly +than the latter, and there is no doubt that she would have arrived first +on the scene of action had not the height and form of the cliffs +prevented the wind from filling her sails on two or three occasions. + +Meanwhile, in obedience to Manton's orders, a great and very peculiar +change was effected in the outward aspect of the _Foam_. To one +unacquainted with the character of the schooner, the proceedings of her +crew must have seemed unaccountable as well as surprising. The +carpenter and his assistants were slung over the sides of the vessel, +upon which they plied their screwdrivers for a considerable time with +great energy, but, apparently, with very little result. In the course +of a quarter of an hour, however, a long narrow plank was loosened, +which, when stripped off, discovered a narrow line of bright scarlet +running quite round the vessel, a little more than a foot above the +water-line. This having been accomplished, they next proceeded to the +figurehead, and, unscrewing the white lady who smiled there, fixed in +her place a hideous griffin's head, which, like the ribbon, was also +bright scarlet. While these changes were being effected, others of the +crew removed the boat that lay on the deck, bottom up, between the +masts, and uncovered a long brass pivot-gun of the largest calibre, +which shone in the saffron light of morning like a mass of burnished +gold. This gun was kept scrupulously clean and neat in all its +arrangements; the rammers, sponges, screws, and other apparatus +belonging to it, were neatly arranged beside it, and four or five of its +enormous iron shot were piled under its muzzle. The traversing gear +connected with it was well greased, and, in short, everything about the +gun gave proof of the care that was bestowed on it. + +But these were not the only alterations made in the mysterious schooner. +Round both masts were piled a number of muskets, boarding-pikes, +cutlasses, and pistols, all of which were perfectly clean and bright, +and the men--fierce enough and warlike in their aspect at all times--had +now rendered themselves doubly so, by putting on broad belts with +pistols therein, and tucking up their sleeves to the shoulders, thereby +displaying their brawny arms as if they had dirty work before them. +This strange metamorphosis was finally completed when Manton, with his +own hands, ran up to the peak of the mainsail a bright scarlet flag with +the single word "AVENGER" on it in large black letters. + +During one of those lulls in the breeze to which we have referred, and +while the smooth ocean glowed in the mellow light that ushered in the +day, the attention of those on board the _Avenger_ (as we shall call the +double-faced schooner when under red colours) was attracted to one of +the more distant cliffs, on the summit of which human beings appeared to +be moving. + +"Hand me that glass," said Manton to one of the men beside him. "I +shouldn't wonder if the niggers were up to some mischief there. Ah! +just so," he exclaimed, adjusting the telescope a little more correctly, +and again applying it to his eye. "They seem to be scuffling on the top +of yonder precipice. Now there's one fellow down; but it's so far off +that I can't make out clearly what they're about. I say, Mr Scraggs, +get the other glass and take a squint at them--you are farther sighted +than I am." + +"You're right; they are killin' one another up yonder," observed +Scraggs, surveying the group on the cliffs with calm indifference. + +"Here comes the breeze," exclaimed Manton, with a look of satisfaction. +"Now, look alive, lads; we shall be close on the nigger village in five +minutes--it's just round the point of this small island close ahead. +Come, Mr Scraggs, we've other business on hand just now than squinting +at the scrimmages of these fellows." + +"Hold on," cried Scraggs with a grin; "I do believe they're going to +pitch a feller over that cliff. What a crack he'll come down into the +water with, to be sure. It's to be hoped the poor man is dead, for his +own sake, before he takes that flight. Hallo!" added Scraggs with an +energetic shout and a look of surprise, "I say, that's one of _our_ men; +I know him by his striped flannel shirt. If he would only give up +kicking for a second I'd make out his--humph! it's all up with him now, +poor fellow, whoever he is." + +As he said the last words, the figure of a man was seen to shoot out +from the cliff, and, descending with ever increasing rapidity, to strike +the water with terrific violence, sending up a jet of white foam as it +disappeared. + +"Stand by to lower the gig," shouted Manton. + +"Ay, ay, sir," was the hearty response of the men, as some of them +sprang to obey. + +"Lower away!" + +The boat struck the water, and its crew were on the thwarts in a moment. +At the same time the point of the island was passed, and the native +village opened up to view. + +"Load Long Tom--double shot!" roared Manton, whose ire was raised not so +much at the idea of a fellow-creature having been so barbarously +murdered, as at the notion of one of the crew of his schooner having +been so treated by contemptible niggers. "Away, lads, and pick up that +man." + +"It's of no use," remonstrated Scraggs; "he's done for by this time." + +"I know it," said Manton, with a fierce oath, "bring him in, dead or +alive; if the sharks leave an inch of him, bring it to me. I'll make +the black villains eat it raw." + +This ferocious threat was interlarded with and followed by a series of +terrible oaths which we think it inadvisable to repeat. + +"Starboard!" he shouted to the man at the helm, as soon as the boat shot +away on its mission of mercy. + +"Starboard it is." + +"Steady!" + +While he gave these orders, Manton sighted the brass gun carefully, and, +just as the schooner's head came up to the wind, he applied the match. + +Instantly a cloud of smoke obscured the centre of the little vessel as +if her powder magazine had blown up, and a deafening roar went ringing +and reverberating from cliff to cliff as two of the great iron shot were +sent groaning through the air and pitched right into the heart of the +village. + +It was this tremendous shot from Long Tom, followed almost +instantaneously by the entire broadside of the _Talisman_, that saved +the life of Alice, possibly the lives of her young companions also,-- +that struck terror to the hearts of the savages, causing them to +converge towards their defenceless homes from all directions, and that +apprised Ole Thorwald and Henry Stuart that the assault on the village +had commenced in earnest. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +GREATER MYSTERIES THAN EVER--A BOLD MOVE AND A CLEVER ESCAPE. + +We return now to the _Talisman_. + +The instant the broadside of the cruiser burst with such violence, and +in such close proximity, on Manton's ears, he felt that he had run into +the very jaws of the lion; and that escape was almost impossible. The +bold heart of the pirate quailed at the thought of his impending fate, +but the fear caused by conscious guilt was momentary; his constitutional +courage returned so violently as to render him reckless. + +It was too late to put about and avoid being seen, for, before the shot +was fired, the schooner had already almost run into the narrow channel +between the island and the shore. A few seconds later, she sailed +gracefully into view of the amazed Montague, who at once recognised the +pirate vessel from Gascoyne's faithful description of her, and hurriedly +gave orders to load with ball and grape, while a boat was lowered in +order to slew the ship round more rapidly, so as to bring her broadside +to bear on the schooner. + +To say that Gascoyne beheld all this unmoved would be to give a false +impression of the man. He knew the ring of his great gun too well to +require the schooner to come in sight in order to convince him that his +vessel was near at hand. When, therefore, she appeared, and Montague +turned to him with a hasty glance of suspicion and pointed to her, he +had completely banished every trace of feeling from his countenance, and +sat on the taffrail puffing his cigar with an air of calm satisfaction. +Nodding to Montague's glance of inquiry, he said-- + +"Ay, that's the pirate. I told you he was a bold fellow, but I did not +think he was quite so bold as to attempt _this_!" + +To do Gascoyne justice, he told the plain truth here; for, having sent a +peremptory order to his mate by John Bumpus, not to move from his +anchorage on any account whatever, he was not a little surprised as well +as enraged at what he supposed was Manton's mutinous conduct. But, as +we have said, his feelings were confined to his breast--they found no +index in his grave face. + +Montague suspected, nevertheless, that his pilot was assuming a +composure which he did not feel; for, from the manner of the meeting of +the two vessels, he was persuaded that it was as little expected on the +part of the pirates as of himself. It was with a feeling of curiosity, +therefore, as to what reply he should receive, that he put the +question-- + +"What would Mr Gascoyne advise me to do _now_?" + +"Blow the villains out of the water," was the quick answer; "I would +have done so before now, had I been you." + +"Perhaps you might, but not _much_ sooner," retorted the other, pointing +to the guns which were ready loaded, while the men stood at their +stations matches in hand only waiting for the broadside to be brought to +bear on the little vessel, when an iron shower would be sent against her +which must, at such short range, have infallibly sent her to the bottom. + +The mate of the pirate schooner was quite alive to his danger, and had +taken the only means in his power to prevent it. Close to where his +vessel lay, a large rock rose between the shore of the large island and +the islet in the bay which has been described as separating the two +vessels from each other. Owing to the formation of the coast at this +place, a powerful stream ran between the rock and this islet at low +tide. It happened to be flowing out at that time like a mill-race. +Manton saw that the schooner was being sucked into this stream. In +other circumstances, he would have endeavoured to avoid the danger; for +the channel was barely wide enough to allow even a small craft to pass +between the rocks; but now he resolved to risk it. + +He knew that any attempt to put the schooner about, would only hasten +the efforts of the cruiser to bring her broadside to bear on him. He +also knew that, in the course of a few seconds, he would be carried +through the stream into the shelter of the rocky point. He therefore +ordered the men to lie down on the deck; while, in a careless manner, he +slewed the big brass gun round, so as to point it at the man-of-war. + +Gascoyne at once understood the intended manoeuvre of his mate; and, in +spite of himself, a gleam of triumph shot from his eyes. Montague +himself suspected that his prize was not altogether so sure as he had +deemed it; and he urged the men in the boat to put forth their utmost +efforts. The _Talisman_ was almost slewed into position, when the +pirate schooner was observed to move rapidly through the water, stern +foremost, in the direction of the point. At first Montague could +scarcely credit his eyes; but when he saw the end of the main-boom pass +behind the point, he became painfully alive to the fact that the whole +vessel would certainly follow in the course of a few seconds. Although +the most of his guns were still not sufficiently well pointed, he gave +the order to fire them in succession. The entire broadside burst in +this manner from the side of the _Talisman_, with a prolonged and mighty +crash or roar, and tore up the waters of the narrow channel. + +Most of the iron storm passed close by the head of the pirate. However, +only one ball took effect; it touched the end of the bowsprit, and sent +the jib-boom into the air in splinters. Manton applied the match to the +brass gun almost at the same moment, and the heavy ringing roar of her +explosion seemed like a prolonged echo of the broadside. The gun was +well aimed; but the schooner had already passed so far behind the point, +that the ball struck a projecting part of the cliff; dashed it into +atoms, and, glancing upwards, passed through the cap of the _Talisman's_ +mizzen-mast, and brought the lower yard, with all its gear, rattling +down on the quarter-deck. When the smoke cleared away, the _Avenger_ +had vanished from the scene. + +To put the ship about, and follow the pirate schooner, was the first +impulse of Montague; but, on second thoughts, he felt that the risk of +getting on the rocks in the narrow channel was too great to be lightly +run. He therefore gave orders to warp the ship about, and steer round +the islet, on the other side of which he fully expected to find the +pirate. But time was lost in attempting to do this, in consequence of +the wreck of the mizzen-mast having fouled the rudder. When the +_Talisman_ at last got under way, and rounded the outside point of the +islet, no vessel of any kind was to be seen. + +Amazed beyond measure, and deeply chagrined, the unfortunate captain of +the man-of-war turned to Gascoyne, who still sat quietly on the taffrail +smoking his cigar-- + +"Does this pirate schooner sport wings as well as sails?" said he; "for +unless she does, and has flown over the mountains, I cannot see how she +could disappear in so short a space of time." + +"I told you the pirate was a bold man; and now he has proved himself a +clever fellow. Whether he sports wings or no is best known to himself. +Perhaps he can dive. If so, we have only to watch until he comes to the +surface, and shoot him leisurely." + +"Well, he is off; there is no doubt of that," returned Montague. "And +now, Mr Gascoyne, since it is vain for me to chase a vessel possessed +of such mysterious qualities, you will not object, I daresay, to guide +my ship to the bay where your own little schooner lies. I have a fancy +to anchor there." + +"By all means," said Gascoyne, coolly. "It will afford me much pleasure +to do as you wish, and to have you alongside of my little craft." + +Montague was surprised at the perfect coolness with which the other +received this proposal. He was persuaded that there must be some +mysterious connexion between the pirate schooner and the sandal-wood +trader, although his ideas on this point were somewhat undefined and +confused; and he had expected that Gascoyne would have shewn some +symptoms of perplexity, on being thus ordered to conduct the _Talisman_ +to a spot where he suspected no schooner would be found; or, if found, +would appear under such a changed aspect, as to warrant his seizing it +on suspicion. As Gascoyne, however, shewed perfect willingness to obey +the order, he turned away and left his strange pilot to conduct the ship +through the reefs, having previously given him to understand that the +touching of a rock, and the termination of his (Gascoyne's) life, would +certainly be simultaneous events. + +Meanwhile the _Avenger_, alias the _Foam_, had steered direct for the +shore, into which she apparently ran and disappeared like a +phantom-ship. The coast of this part of the island, where the events we +are narrating occurred, was peculiarly formed. There were several +narrow inlets in the high cliffs which were exceedingly deep, but barely +wide enough to admit of the passage of a large boat, or a small vessel. +Many of these inlets or creeks, which in some respects resembled the +narrow fjords of Norway, though on a miniature scale, were so thickly +fringed with trees, and the luxuriant undergrowth peculiar to southern +climes, that their existence could not be detected from the sea. +Indeed, even after the entrance to any one of them was discovered, no +one would have imagined it to extend so far inland. + +Two of those deep narrow inlets, opening from opposite sides of the cape +which lay close to the islet above referred to, had approached so close +to each other at their upper extremities? that they had at last met, in +consequence of the sea undermining and throwing down the cliff that +separated them. Thus the cape was in reality an island; and the two +united inlets formed a narrow strait, through which the _Avenger_ passed +to her former anchorage, by means of four pair of powerful sweeps or +oars. This secret passage was well known to the pirates; and it was +with a lurking feeling that it might some day prove of use to him, that +Gascoyne invariably anchored near to it when he visited the island as a +sandal-wood trader. + +During the transit, the carpenters of the schooner were not idle. The +red streak and flag, and griffin's head, were removed; the big gun was +covered with the long boat, and the vessel which entered the one end of +the channel as the warlike _Avenger_, issued from the other side as the +peaceful _Foam_; and, rowing to her former anchorage, dropt anchor. The +shattered jib-boom had been replaced by a spare one, and part of the +crew were stowed away under the cargo, in an empty space of the hold +reserved for this special purpose, and for concealing arms. A few of +them were also landed, not far from the cliff over which poor Bumpus had +been thrown, with orders to remain concealed, and be ready to embark at +a moment's notice. + +Soon after the schooner anchored, the boat which had been sent off in +search of the body of our unfortunate seaman returned, having failed to +discover the object for which it was sent out. + +The breeze had by this time died away almost entirely, so that three +hours elapsed before the _Talisman_ rounded the point, stood into the +bay, and dropt anchor at a distance of about two miles from the +suspected schooner. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +REMARKABLE DOINGS OF POOPY--EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF RESUSCITATION. + +It is time now to return to our unfortunate friends, Corrie, Alice, and +Poopy, who have been left long enough exposed on the summit of the +cliffs, from which they had expected to be tossed by the savages, when +the guns of the _Talisman_ so opportunely saved them. + +The reader will observe, that these incidents, which have taken so long +to narrate, were enacted in a very brief space of time. Only a few +hours elapsed between the firing of the broadside already referred to, +and the anchoring of the _Talisman_ in the bay, where the _Foam_ had +cast anchor some time before her; yet in this short space of time many +things occurred on the island which are worthy of particular notice. + +As we have already remarked, Corrie and his two companions in misfortune +had been bound; and, in this condition, were left by the savages to +their fate. Their respective positions were by no means enviable. Poor +Alice lay near the edge of the cliff, with her wrists and ankles so +securely tied that no effort of which she was capable could set her +free. Poopy lay about ten yards farther up the cliff, flat on her sable +back, with her hands tied behind her, and her ankles also secured; so +that she could by no means attain to a sitting position, although she +made violent and extraordinary efforts to do so. We say extraordinary, +because Poopy, being ingenious, hit upon many devices of an unheard of +nature to accomplish her object. Among others, she attempted to turn +heels over head, hoping thus to get upon her knees; and there is no +doubt whatever that she would have succeeded in this, had not the +formation of the ground been exceedingly unfavourable for such a +manoeuvre. + +Corrie had shewn such an amount of desperate vindictiveness, in the way +of kicking, hitting, biting, scratching, and pinching, when the savages +were securing him, that they gave him five or six extra coils of the +rope of cocoa-nut fibre with which they bound him. Consequently he +could not move any of his limbs, and he now lay on his side between +Alice and Poopy, gazing with much earnestness and no little astonishment +at the peculiar contortions of the latter. + +"You'll never manage it, Poopy," he remarked in a sad tone of voice, on +beholding the poor girl balanced on the small of her back, preparatory +to making a spring that might have reminded one of the leaps of a trout +when thrown from its native element upon the bank of a river. "And +you'll break your neck if you go on like that," he added, on observing +that, having failed in these attempts, she recurred to the +heels-over-head process--but all in vain. + +"Oh, me!" sighed Poopy, as she fell back in a fit of exhaustion. "It's +be all hup wid us." + +"Don't say that, you goose," whispered Corrie, "you'll frighten Alice, +you will." + +"Will me?" whispered Poopy, in a tone of self-reproach; then in a loud +voice, "Oh, no! it not all hup yet, Miss Alice. See, me go at it agin." + +And "go at it" she did in a way that actually alarmed her companions. +At any other time Corrie would have exploded with laughter, but the poor +boy was thoroughly overwhelmed by the suddenness and the extent of his +misfortune. The image of Bumpus, disappearing headlong over that +terrible cliff, had filled his heart with a feeling of horror which +nothing could allay, and grave thoughts at the desperate case of poor +little Alice (for he neither thought of nor cared for Poopy or himself) +sank like a weight of lead upon his spirit. + +"Don't try it any more, dear Poopy," said Alice, entreatingly, "you'll +only hurt yourself and tear your frock. I feel _sure_ that some one +will be sent to deliver us. Don't _you_, Corrie?" + +The tone in which this question was put shewed that the poor child did +not feel quite so certain of the arrival of succour as her words +implied. Corrie perceived this at once, and, with the heroism of a true +lover, he crushed back the feelings of anxiety and alarm which were +creeping over his own stout little heart in spite of his brave words, +and gave utterance to encouraging expressions and even to slightly +jovial sentiments, which tended very much to comfort Alice, and Poopy +too. + +"Sure?" he exclaimed, rolling on his other side to obtain a view of the +child, (for, owing to his position and his fettered condition he had to +turn on his right side when he wished to look at Poopy, and on his left +when he addressed himself to Alice.) "Sure? why, of course I'm sure. +D'ye think your father would leave you lying out in the cold all night?" + +"No, that I am certain he would not," cried Alice, enthusiastically; +"but, then, he does not know we are here, and will never think of +looking for us in such an unlikely place." + +"Humph! that only shews your ignorance," said Corrie. + +"Well, I dare say I _am_ very ignorant," replied Alice, meekly. + +"No, no! I don't mean _that_," cried Corrie, with a feeling of +self-reproach. "I don't mean to say that you're ignorant in a general +way, you know, but only about what men are likely to do, d'ye see, when +they're hard put to it, you understand. _Our_ feelings are so different +from yours, you know, and--and--" + +Here Corrie broke down, and in order to change the subject abruptly he +rolled round towards Poopy, and cried with considerable asperity-- + +"What on earth d'ye mean, Kickup, by wriggling about your black body in +that fashion? If you don't stop it you'll fetch way down the hill, and +go slap over the precipice, carrying Alice and me along with you. Give +it up now, d'ye hear?" + +"No, me won't," cried Poopy, with great passion, while tears sprang from +her large eyes, and coursed over her sable cheeks. "Me _will_ bu'st dem +ropes." + +"More likely to do that to yourself if you go on like that," returned +Corrie. "But, I say, Alice, cheer up," (here he rolled round on his +other side,) "I've been pondering a plan all this time to set us free, +and now I'm going to try it. The only bother about it is that these +rascally savages have dropt me beside a pool of half soft mud that I +can't help sticking my head into if I try to move." + +"Oh! then, don't move, dear Corrie," said Alice, in an imploring tone of +voice; "we can lie here quite comfortably till papa comes." + +"Ah! yes," said Corrie, "that reminds me that I was saying we men feel +and act so different from you women. Now it strikes me that your father +will go to all the most _unlikely_ parts of the island first; knowin' +very well that niggers don't hide in _likely_ places. But as it may be +a long time before he finds us"--(he sighed deeply here, not feeling +much confidence in the success of the missionary's search)--"I shall +tell you my plan, and then try to carry it out." (Here he sighed again, +more deeply than before, not feeling by any means confident of the +success of his own efforts.) + +"And what is your plan?" inquired Alice, eagerly, for the child had +unbounded belief in Corrie's ability to do almost anything he chose to +attempt, and Corrie knew this, and was proud as a peacock in +consequence. + +"I'll get up on my knees," said he, "and then, once on them, I can +easily rise to my feet and hop to you, and free you." + +On this explanation of his elaborate and difficult plan, Alice made no +observation for some time, because even to _her_ faculties, (which were +obtuse enough on mechanical matters,) it was abundantly evident that, +the boy's hands being tied firmly behind his back, he could neither cut +the ropes that bound her, nor untie them. + +"What d'ye think, Alice?" + +"I fear it won't do, your hands are tied, Corrie." + +"Oh! that's nothing. The only difficulty is how to get on my knees." + +"Surely that cannot be _very_ difficult, when you talk of getting on +your feet." + +"Ha! that shews you're a--I mean, d'ye see, that the difficulty lies +here, my elbows are lashed so fast to my side that I can't use them to +prop me up, but if Poopy will roll down the hill to my side, and shove +her pretty shoulder under my back when I raise it, perhaps I may succeed +in getting up. What say you, Kickup?" + +"Hee! hee!" laughed the girl, "dat's fuss rate. Look out!" + +Poopy, although sluggish by nature, was rather abrupt and violent in her +impulses at times. Without further warning than the above brief +exclamation, she rolled herself towards Corrie with such good-will that +she went quite over him, and would certainly have passed onward to where +Alice lay--perhaps over the cliff altogether--had not the boy caught her +sleeve with his teeth, and held her fast. + +The plan was eminently successful. By a series of jerks on the part of +Corrie, and proppings on the part of Poopy, the former was enabled to +attain to a kneeling position, not, however, without a few failures, in +one of which he fell forward on his face, and left a deep impression of +his fat little nose in the mud. + +Having risen to his feet, Corrie at once hopped towards Alice, after the +fashion of those country wights who indulge in sack races, and, going +down on his knees beside her, began diligently to gnaw the rope that +bound her with his teeth. This was by no means an easy or a quick +process. He gnawed and bit at it long before the tough rope gave way. +At length Alice was freed, and she immediately set to work to undo the +fastenings of the other two, but her delicate fingers were not well +suited to such rough work, and a considerable time elapsed before the +three were finally at large. + +The instant they were so, Corrie said, "Now we must go down to the foot +of the cliff and look for poor Bumpus. Oh! dear me, I doubt he is +killed." + +The look of horror which all three cast over the stupendous precipice +shewed that they had little hope of ever again seeing their rugged +friend alive. But, without wasting time in idle remarks, they at once +hastened to the foot of the cliff by the shortest route they could find. +Here, after a short time, they discovered the object of their +solicitude lying, apparently dead, on his back among the rocks. + +When Bumpus struck the water, after being tossed over the cliff, his +head was fortunately downward, and his skull, being the thickest and +hardest bone in his body, had withstood the terrible shock to which it +had been subjected without damage, though the brain within was, for a +time, incapacitated from doing duty. When John rose again to the +surface, after a descent into unfathomable water, he floated there in a +state of insensibility. Fortunately the wind and tide combined to wash +him to the shore, where a higher swell than usual launched him among the +coral rocks, and left him there, with only his feet in the water. + +"Oh! here he is, hurrah!" shouted Corrie, on catching sight of the +prostrate form of the seaman. But the boy's manner changed the instant +he observed the colour of the man's face, from which all the blood had +been driven, leaving it like a piece of brown leather. + +"He's dead," said Alice, wringing her hands in despair. + +"P'rhaps not," suggested Poopy, with a look of deep wisdom, as she gazed +on the upturned face. + +"Anyhow, we must haul him out of the water," said Corrie, whose chest +heaved with the effort he made to repress his tears. + +Catching up one of Bumpus's huge hands, the boy ordered Alice to grasp +the other. Poopy, without waiting for orders, seized hold of the hair +of his head, and all three began to haul with might and main. But they +might as well have tried to pull a line-of-battle ship up on the shore. +The man's bulky form was immovable. Seeing this, they changed their +plan, and, all three grasping his legs, slewed him partially round, and +thus drew his feet out of the water. + +"Now, we must warm him," said Corrie, eagerly, for, the first shock of +the discovery of the supposed dead body of his friend being over, the +sanguine boy began to entertain hopes of resuscitating him. "I've heard +that the best thing for drowned people is to warm them; so, Alice, do +you take one hand and arm, Poopy will take the other, and I will take +his feet, and we'll all rub away till we bring him too--for we must, we +_shall_ bring him round." + +Corrie said this with a fierce look and a hysterical sob. Without more +words he drew out his clasp-knife, and, ripping up the cuffs of the +man's coat, laid bare his muscular arm. Meanwhile Alice untied his +neckcloth, and Poopy tore open his Guernsey frock and exposed his broad +brown chest. + +"We must warm that at once," said Corrie, beginning to take off his +jacket, which he meant to spread over the seaman's breast. + +"Stay, my petticoat is warmer," cried Alice, hastily divesting herself +of a flannel garment of bright scarlet, the brilliant beauty of which +had long been the admiration of the entire population of Sandy Cove. +The child spread it over the seaman's chest, and tucked it carefully +down at his sides, between his body and the wet garments. Then the +three sat down beside him, and, each seizing a limb, began to rub and +chafe with a degree of energy that nothing could resist! At any rate it +put life into John Bumpus, for that hardy mariner gradually began to +exhibit signs of returning vitality. + +"There he comes," cried Corrie, eagerly. + +"Eh!" exclaimed Poopy, in alarm. + +"Who? where?" inquired Alice, who thought that the boy referred to some +one who had unexpectedly appeared on the scene. + +"I saw him wink with his left eye--look!" All three suspended their +labour of love, and, stretching forward their heads, gazed with +breathless anxiety at the clay-coloured face of Jo. + +"I must have been mistaken," said Corrie, shaking his head. + +"Go at him agin," cried Poopy, recommencing her work on the right arm +with so much energy that it seemed marvellous how she escaped skinning +that limb from fingers to shoulder. + +Poor Alice did her best, but her soft little hands had not much effect +on the huge mass of brown flesh they manipulated. + +"There he comes again!" shouted Corrie. Once more there was an abrupt +pause in the process, and the three heads were bent eagerly forward +watching for symptoms of returning life. Corrie was right. The +seaman's left eye quivered for a moment, causing the hearts of the three +children to beat high with hope. Presently the other eye also quivered; +then the broad chest rose almost imperceptibly, and a faint sigh came +feebly and broken from the cold blue lips. + +To say that the three children were delighted at this would be to give +but a feeble idea of the state of their feelings. Corrie had, even in +the short time yet afforded him of knowing Bumpus, entertained for him +feelings of the deepest admiration and love. Alice and Poopy, out of +sheer sympathy, had fallen in love with him too, at first sight, so that +his horrible death, (as they had supposed,) coupled with his unexpected +restoration and revival through their unaided exertions, drew them still +closer to him, and created within them a sort of feeling that he must, +in common reason and justice, regard himself as their special property +in all future time. When, therefore, they saw him wink and heard him +sigh, the gush of emotion that filled their respective bosoms was quite +overpowering. Corrie gasped in his effort not to break down; Alice wept +with silent joy as she continued to chafe the man's limbs; and Poopy +went off into a violent fit of hysterical laughter, in which her "hee, +hees!" resounded with terrible shrillness among the surrounding cliffs. + +"Now, then, let's to work again with a will," said Corrie; "what d'ye +say to try punching him?" + +This question he put gravely, and with the uncertain air of a man who +feels that he is treading on new and possibly dangerous ground. + +"What is punching?" inquired Alice. + +"Why, _that_," replied the boy, giving a practical and by no means +gentle illustration on his own fat thigh. + +"Wouldn't it hurt him?" said Alice, dubiously. + +"Hurt him! hurt the Grampus!" cried Corrie, with a look of surprise, +"you might as well talk of hurting a hippopotamus. Come, I'll try." + +Accordingly, Corrie tried. He began to bake the seaman, as it were, +with his fists. As the process went on he warmed to the work, and did +it so energetically, in his mingled anxiety and hope, that it assumed +the character of hitting rather than punching--to the dismay of Alice, +who thought it impossible that any human being could stand such dreadful +treatment. + +Whether it was to this process, or to the action of nature, or to the +combined efforts of nature and his friends, that Bumpus owed his +recovery, we cannot pretend to say; but certain it is that, on Corrie +making a severer dab than usual into the pit of the seaman's stomach, he +gave a gasp and a sneeze, the latter of which almost overturned Poopy, +who chanced to be gazing wildly into his countenance at the moment. At +the same time he involuntarily threw up his right arm, and fetched +Corrie such a tremendous backhander on the chest that our young hero was +laid flat on his back--half stunned by the violence of his fall, yet +shouting with delight that his rugged friend still lived to strike +another blow. + +Having achieved this easy though unintentional victory, Bumpus sighed +again, shook his legs in the air, and sat up, gazing before him with a +bewildered air, and gasping from time to time in a quiet way. + +"Wot's to do?" were the first words with which the restored seaman +greeted his friends. + +"Hurrah!" screamed Corrie, his visage blazing with delight, as he danced +in front of him. + +"Werry good," said Bumpus, whose intellects were not yet thoroughly +restored, "try it again." + +"Oh! how cold your cheeks are," said Alice, placing her hands on them, +and chafing them gently; then, perceiving that she did not communicate +much warmth in that way, she placed her own fair soft cheek against that +of the sailor. Suddenly throwing both arms round his neck, she hugged +him, and burst into tears. + +Bumpus was somewhat taken aback by this unexpected explosion, but, being +an affectionate man as well as a rugged one, he had no objection +whatever to the peculiar treatment. He allowed the child to sob on his +neck as long as she chose, while Corrie stood by with his hands in his +pockets, sailor-fashion, and looked on admiringly. As for Poopy, she +sat down on a rock a short way off, and began to smile and talk to +herself in a manner so utterly idiotical that an ignorant observer would +certainly have judged her to be insane. + +They were thus agreeably employed when an event occurred which changed +the current of their thoughts, and led to consequences of a somewhat +serious nature. This event, however, was in itself insignificant. It +was nothing more than the sudden appearance of a wild-pig among the +bushes close at hand. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +A WILD CHASE--HOPE, DISAPPOINTMENT, AND DESPAIR--THE SANDAL-WOOD TRADER +OUTWITS THE MAN-OF-WAR. + +When the wild-pig, referred to in the last chapter, was first observed, +it was standing on the margin of a thicket, from which it had just +issued, gazing, with the profoundly philosophical aspect peculiar to +that animal, at our four friends, and seeming to entertain doubts as to +the propriety of beating an immediate retreat. + +Before it had made up its mind on this point, Corrie's eye alighted on +it. + +"Hist!" exclaimed he, with a gesture of caution to his companions. +"Look there! we've had nothing to eat for an awful time; nothing since +breakfast on Sunday morning. I feel as if my interior had been +amputated. Oh! what a jolly roast that fellow would make if we could +only kill him." + +"Wot's in the pistol?" inquired Bumpus, pointing to the weapon which +Corrie had stuck ostentatiously into his belt. + +"Nothin'," answered the boy. "I fired the last charge I had into the +face of a savage." + +"Fling it at him," suggested Bumpus, getting cautiously up. "Here, hand +it to me. I've seed a heavy horse-pistol like that do great execution +when well aimed by a stout arm." + +The pig seemed to have an intuitive perception that danger was +approaching, for it turned abruptly round just as the missile left the +seaman's hand, and received the butt with full force close to the root +of its tail. + +A pig's tendency to shriek on the receipt of the slightest injury is +well known. It is therefore not to be wondered at, that this pig went +off into the bushes under cover of a series of yells so terrific that +they might have been heard for miles round. + +"I'll after him," cried Bumpus, catching up a large stone, and leaping +forward a few paces almost as actively as if nothing had happened to +him. + +"Hurrah!" shouted Corrie, "I'll go too." + +"Hold on," cried Bumpus, stopping suddenly. + +"Why?" inquired the boy. + +"'Cause you must stop an' take care of the gals. It won't do to leave +'em alone again, you know, Corrie." + +This remark was accompanied with an exceedingly huge wink full of deep +meaning, which Corrie found it convenient not to notice, as he observed, +gravely-- + +"Ah! true. One of us _must_ remain with 'em, poor helpless things--so-- +so _you_ had better go after the squeaker." + +"All right," said Bumpus, with a broad grin--"Hallo! why, here's a spear +that must ha' bin dropt by one o' them savages. That's a piece o' good +luck anyhow, as the man said when he fund the fi' pun' note. Now, then, +keep an eye on them gals, lad, and I'll be back as soon as ever I can; +though I does feel rather stiffish. My old timbers ain't used to such +deep divin', d'ye see." + +Bumpus entered the thicket as he spoke, and Corrie returned to console +the girls, with the feeling and the air of a man whose bosom is filled +with a stern resolve to die, if need be, in the discharge of an +important duty. + +Now, the yell of this particular pig reached other ears besides those of +the party whose doings we have attempted to describe. It rang in those +of the pirates, who had been sent ashore to hide, like the scream of a +steam-whistle, in consequence of their being close at hand, and it +sounded like a faint cry in those of Henry Stuart and the missionary, +who, with their party, were a long way off, slowly tracing the footsteps +of the lost Alice, to which they had been guided by the keen scent of +that animated scrap of door-mat, Toozle. The effect on both parties was +powerful, but not similar. The pirates, supposing that a band of +savages were near them, lay close and did not venture forth until a +prolonged silence and strong curiosity tempted them to creep, with slow +movements and extreme caution, towards the place whence the sounds had +proceeded. + +Mr Mason and Henry, on the other hand, stopped and listened with +intense earnestness, expecting, yet fearing, a recurrence of the cry, +and then sprang forward with their party, under the belief that they had +heard the voice of Alice calling for help. + +Meanwhile, Bumpus toiled up the slopes of the mountain, keeping the pig +well in view, for that animal having been somewhat injured by the blow +from the pistol, could not travel at its ordinary speed. Indeed, Jo +would have speedily overtaken it, but for the shaky condition of his own +body after such a long fast and such a series of violent shocks, as well +mental as physical. + +Having gained the summit of a hill, the pig, much exhausted, sat down on +its hams, and gazed pensively at the ground. Bumpus took advantage of +the fact, and also sat down on a stone to rest. + +"Wot a brute it is," said he to himself, "I'll circumvent it yet, +though." + +Presently, he rose and made as if he had abandoned the chase, and were +about to return the way he had come; but, when he had effectually +concealed himself from the view of the pig, he made a wide detour, and, +coming out suddenly at a spot higher up the mountain, charged down upon +the unsuspecting animal with a yell that would have done credit to +itself. + +The pig echoed the yell, and rushed down the hill towards the cliffs, +closely followed by the hardy seaman, who, in the ardour of the chase, +forgot or ignored his aches and pains, and ran like a greyhound, his +hair streaming in the wind, his eyes blazing with excitement, and the +spear ready poised for a fatal dart. Altogether, he was so wild and +strong in appearance, and so furious in his onset, that it was +impossible to believe he had been half dead little more than an hour +before, but then, as we have before remarked, Bumpus was hard to kill! + +For nearly half an hour did the hungry seaman keep up the chase--neither +gaining nor losing distance, while the affrighted pig, having its +attention fixed entirely on its pursuer, scrambled and plunged forward +over every imaginable variety of ground, receiving one or two severe +falls in consequence. Bumpus, being warned by its fate, escaped them. +At last the two dashed into a gorge and out at the other end, scrambled +through a thicket, plunged down a hill, and doubled a high rock, on the +other side of which they were met in the teeth by Henry Stuart at the +head of his band. + +The pig attempted to double. Failing to do so, it lost its footing and +fell flat on its side. Jo Bumpus threw his spear with violent energy +deep into the earth about two feet beyond it, tripped on a stump and +fell headlong on the top of the pig, squeezing the life out of its body +with the weight of his ponderous frame, and receiving its dying yell +into his very bosom. + +"Hilloa! my stalwart chip of old Neptune," cried Henry, laughing, +"you've bagged him this time effectually. Hast seen any of the niggers, +or did you mistake this poor pig for one?" + +"Ay, truly, I have seen them, and given a few of 'em marks that will +keep 'em in remembrance of me. As for this pig," said Jo, throwing the +carcase over his shoulder, "I want a bit of summat to eat--that's the +fact; an' the poor children will be--" + +"Children," cried Mr Mason, eagerly, "what do you mean, my man; have +you seen any?" + +"In course I has, or I wouldn't speak of 'em," returned Jo, who did not +at first recognise the missionary, and no wonder, for Mr Mason's +clothes were torn and soiled, and his face was bruised, bloodstained, +and haggard. + +"Tell me, friend, I entreat you," said the pastor earnestly, laying his +hand on Jo's arm, "have you seen my child?" + +"Wot! are you the father o' the little gal? Why, I've seed her only +half an hour since. But hold on, lads, come arter me an I'll steer you +to where she is at this moment." + +"Thanks be to God," said Mr Mason, with a deep sigh of relief. "Lead +on, my man, and, pray, go quickly." + +Bumpus at once led the way to the foot of the cliffs, and went over the +ground at a pace that satisfied even the impatience of the bereaved +father. + +While this was occurring on the mountain slopes, the pirates at the foot +of the cliffs had discovered the three children, and, finding that no +one else was near, had seized them and carried them off to a cave near +to which their boat lay on the rocks. They hoped to have obtained some +information from them as to what was going on at the other side of the +island, but, while engaged in a fruitless attempt to screw something out +of Corrie, who was peculiarly refractory, they were interrupted, first +by the yells of Bumpus and his pig, and afterwards by the sudden +appearance of Henry and his party on the edge of a cliff a short way +above the spot where they were assembled. On seeing these, the pirates +started to their feet and drew their cutlasses, while Henry uttered a +shout and ran down the rocks like a deer. + +"Shall we have a stand-up fight with 'em, Bill?" said one of the +pirates. + +"Not if I can help it--there's four to one," replied the other. + +"To the boat," cried several of the men, leading the way, "and let's +take the brats with us." + +As Henry's party came pouring down the hill, the more combatively +disposed of the pirates saw at a glance that it would be in vain to +attempt a stand, they therefore discharged a scattering volley from +their pistols, (happily without effect,) and, springing into their boat, +pushed off from the shore, taking the children along with them. + +Mr Mason was the first to gain the beach. He had hit upon a shorter +path by which to descend, and rushing forward, plunged into the sea. +Poor little Alice, who at once recognised her father, stretched out her +arms towards him, and would certainly have leaped into the sea had she +not been forcibly detained by one of the pirates, whose special duty it +was to hold her with one hand, while he restrained the violent +demonstrations of Corrie with the other. + +The father was too late, however. Already the boat was several yards +from the shore, and the frantic efforts he made in the madness of his +despair to overtake it, only served to exhaust him. When Henry Stuart +reached the beach, it was with difficulty he prevented those members of +his band who carried muskets from firing on the boat. None of them +thought for a moment, of course, of making the mad attempt to swim +towards her. Indeed, Mr Mason himself would have hesitated to do so +had he been capable of cool thought at the time; but the sudden rush of +hope when he heard of his child being near, combined with the agony of +disappointment on seeing her torn, as it were, out of his very grasp, +was too much for him. His reasoning powers were completely overturned; +he continued to buffet the waves with wild energy, and to strain every +fibre of his being in the effort to propel himself through the water, +long after the boat was hopelessly beyond reach. + +Henry understood his feelings well, and knew that the poor missionary +would not cease his efforts until exhaustion should compel him to do so, +in which case his being drowned would be a certainty, for there was +neither boat nor canoe at hand in which to push off to his rescue. + +In these circumstances the youth took the only course that seemed left +to him. He threw off his clothes and prepared to swim after his friend, +in order to render the assistance of his stout arm when it should be +needed. + +"Here, Jakolu!" he cried to one of the natives who stood near him. + +"Yes, mass'r," answered the sturdy young fellow, who has been introduced +at an earlier part of this story as being one of the missionary's best +behaved and most active church members. + +"I mean to swim after him, so I leave the charge of the party to Mr +Bumpus there. You will act under his orders. Keep the men, together, +and guard against surprise. We don't know how many more of these +blackguards may be lurking among the rocks." + +To this speech Jakolu replied by shaking his head slowly and gravely, as +if he doubted the propriety of his young commander's intentions. + +"You no can swim queek nuff to save him," said he. + +"That remains to be seen," retorted Henry, sharply, for the youth was +one of the best swimmers on the island--at least the best among the +whites, and better than many of the natives, although some of the latter +could beat him. "At any rate," he continued, "you would not have me +stand idly by while my friend is drowning, would you?" + +"Him's not drownin' yet," answered the matter-of-fact native. "Me 'vise +you to let Jakolu go. Him's can sweem berer dan you. See, here am bit +plank, too,--me take dat." + +"Ha! that's well thought of," cried Henry, who was now ready to plunge, +"fetch it me, quick--and mind, Jakolu, keep your eye on me; when I hold +up both hands you'll know that I'm dead beat, and that you must come off +and help us both." + +So saying, he seized the small piece of drift-wood which the native +brought to him, and, plunging into the sea, struck out vigorously in the +direction in which the pastor was still perseveringly, though slowly, +swimming. + +While Henry was stripping, his eye had quickly and intelligently taken +in the facts that were presented to him on the bay. He had seen, on +descending the hill, that the man-of-war had entered the bay and +anchored there, a fact which surprised him greatly, and that the _Foam_ +still lay where he had seen her cast anchor on the morning of her +arrival. This surprised him even more--for, if the latter was really a +pirate schooner, (as had been hinted more than once that day by various +members of the settlement,) why did she remain so fearlessly and +peacefully within range of the guns of so dangerous and powerful an +enemy? He also observed that one of the large boats of the _Talisman_ +was in the water alongside and full of armed men, as if about to put off +on some warlike expedition, while his pocket telescope enabled him to +perceive that Gascoyne, (who must needs be the pirate captain, if the +suspicions of his friends were correct,) was smoking quietly on the +quarterdeck, apparently holding amicable converse with the British +commander. The youth knew not what to think, for it was preposterous to +suppose that a pirate captain could by any possibility be the intimate +friend of his own mother. + +These and many other conflicting thoughts kept rushing through his mind +as he hastened forward, but the conclusions to which they led him--if, +indeed, they led him to any--were altogether upset by the unaccountable +and extremely piratical conduct of the seamen who carried off Alice and +her companions, and whom he knew to be part of the crew of the _Foam_, +both from their costume, and from the direction in which they rowed +their little boat. + +The young man's perplexities were, however, neutralised for the time by +his anxiety for his friend the pastor, and by the necessity of instant +and vigorous effort for his rescue. He had just time, before plunging +into the sea, to note with satisfaction that the man-of-war's boat had +pushed off; and that if Alice really was in the hands of pirates, there +was the certainty of her being speedily rescued. + +In this latter supposition, however, Henry was mistaken. + +The events on shore which we have just described, had been witnessed, of +course, by the crews of both vessels, with, as may be easily +conjectured, very different feelings. + +In the _Foam_, the few men who were lounging about the deck looked +uneasily from the war vessel to the countenance of Manton, in whose +hands they felt that their fate now lay. The object of their regard +paced the deck slowly, with his hands in his pockets and a pipe in his +mouth, in the most listless manner, in order to deceive the numerous +eyes which he knew full well scanned his movements with deep curiosity. +The frowning brow and the tightly compressed lips alone indicated the +storm of anger which was in reality raging in the pirate's breast at +what he deemed the obstinacy of his captain in running into such danger, +and the folly of his men in having shewn fight on shore when there was +no occasion for doing so. But Manton was too much alive to his own +danger and interests to allow passion at such a critical moment to +interfere with his judgment. He paced the deck slowly, as we have said, +undecided as to what course he ought to pursue, but ready to act with +the utmost energy and promptitude when the time for action should +arrive. + +On board the _Talisman_, on the other hand, the young commander began to +feel certain of his prize; and when he witnessed the scuffle on shore, +the flight of the boat's crew with the three young people and the +subsequent events, he could not conceal a smile of triumph as he turned +to Gascoyne and said-- + +"Your men are strangely violent in their proceedings, sir, for the crew +of a peaceable trader. If it were not that they are pulling straight +for your schooner, where, no doubt, they will be received with open +arms, I would have fancied they had been part of the crew of that +wonderful pirate, who seems to be able to change _colour_ almost as +quickly as he changes _position_." + +The allusion had no effect whatever on the imperturbable Gascoyne, on +whose countenance good humour seemed to have been immovably enthroned, +for the worse his case became the more amiable and satisfied was his +aspect. + +"Surely Captain Montague does not hold me responsible for the doings of +my men in my absence," said he, calmly. "I have already said that they +are a wild set--not easily restrained even when I am present; and fond +of getting into scrapes when they can. You see, we have not a choice of +men in these out-of-the-way parts of the world." + +"Apparently not," returned Montague, "but I hope to have the pleasure of +seeing you order your men to be punished for their misdeeds; for, if +not, I shall be under the necessity of punishing them for you. Is the +boat ready, Mr Mulroy?" + +"It is, sir." + +"Then, Mr Gascoyne, if you will do me the favour to step into this +boat, I will have much pleasure in accompanying you on board your +schooner." + +"By all means," replied Gascoyne, with a bland smile, as he rose and +threw away the end of another cigar, after having lighted therewith the +sixth or seventh in which he had indulged that day. "Your boat is well +manned and your men are well armed, Captain Montague; do you go on some +cutting-out expedition, or are you so much alarmed at the terrible +aspect of the broadside of my small craft that--" + +Gascoyne here smiled with ineffable urbanity, and bowed slightly by way +of finishing his sentence. Montague was saved the annoyance of having +to reply, by a sudden exclamation from his lieutenant, who was observing +the schooner's boat though his telescope. + +"There seems to be some one swimming after that boat," said he. "A +man--evidently a European, for he is light-coloured. He must have been +some time in the water, for he is already a long way from shore, and +seems much exhausted." + +"Why, the man is drowning, I believe," cried Montague, quickly, as he +looked through the glass. + +At that moment Frederick Mason's strength had given way; he made one or +two manful efforts to struggle after the retreating boat, and then, +tossing his arms in the air, uttered a loud cry of agony. + +"Ho! shove off and save him," shouted Montague, the moment he heard it. +"Look alive, lads, give way! and when you have picked up the man, pull +straight for yonder schooner." + +The oars at once fell into the water with a splash, and the boat, large +and heavy though it was, shot from the ship's side like an arrow. + +"Lower the gig," cried the captain. "And now, Mr Gascoyne, since you +seem disposed to go in a lighter boat, I will accommodate you. Pray +follow me." + +In a few seconds they were seated in the little gig which seemed to fly +over the sea under the vigorous strokes of her crew of eight stout men. +So swift were her motions, that she reached the side of the schooner +only a few minutes later than the _Foam's_ boat, and a considerable time +before his own large boat had picked up Mr Mason, who was found in an +almost insensible condition, supported by Henry Stuart. + +When the gig came within a short distance of the _Foam_, Gascoyne +directed Montague's attention to the proceedings of the large boat, and +at the same instant made a private signal with his right hand to Manton, +who, still unmoved and inactive, stood at the schooner's bow awaiting +and evidently expecting it. + +"Ha!" said he aloud, "I thought as much. Now lads, shew the red--make +ready to slip--off with Long Tom's nightcap--let out the skulkers--take +these children down below, and a dozen of you stand by to receive the +captain and his _friends_." + +These somewhat peculiar orders, hurriedly given, were hastily obeyed, +and in a few seconds more the gig of the _Talisman_ ranged up alongside +of the _Foam_. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +THE ESCAPE. + +The instant that Captain Montague stepped over the side of the schooner, +a handkerchief was pressed tightly over his mouth and nose. At the same +time, he was seized by four strong men and rendered utterly powerless. +The thing was done so promptly and silently, that the men who remained +in the gig heard no unusual sound. + +"I'm sorry to treat a guest so roughly, Captain Montague," said +Gascoyne, in a low tone, as the unfortunate officer was carried aft, +"but the safety of my vessel requires it. They will carry you to my +state-room, where you will find my steward exceedingly attentive and +obliging, but, _let me warn you_, he is peculiarly ready with the butt +end of his pistol at times, especially when men are inclined to make +unnecessary noise." He turned on his heel as he said this and went +forward, looking over the side in passing and telling the crew of the +gig to remain where they were till their captain should call them. + +This order the men felt constrained to obey, although they were +surprised that the captain himself had not given it on quitting the +boat; their suspicions were farther awakened by the active operations +going on upon deck. The sounds apprised them of these for the bulwarks +hid everything from view. At length, when they heard the cable slipping +through the hawse-hole, they could stand it no longer, but sprang up the +side in a body. Of course they were met by men well prepared. As they +were armed only with cutlasses, the pirates quickly overcame them and +threw them into the sea. + +All further attempt at concealment was now abandoned. The man-of-war's +boat, when it came up, was received with a shot from Long Tom, which +grazed its side, carried away four of the starboard oars, and just +missed dashing it to pieces by a mere hair's-breadth. At the same time +the sails of the schooner were shaken out and filled by the light +breeze, which, for nearly an hour, had been blowing off shore. + +As the coming up of the gig and the large boat had occurred on that side +of the schooner that was farthest from the _Talisman_, those on board of +the latter vessel could not make out clearly what had occurred. That +the schooner was a pirate was now clearly evident, for the red griffin +and stripe were suddenly displayed as well as the blood-red flag; but +the first lieutenant did not dare to fire on her while the boats were so +near. He slipped the cable, however, and made instant sail on the ship, +and when he saw the large boat and the gig drop astern of the schooner-- +the former in a disabled condition--he commenced firing as fast as he +could load; not doubting that his captain was in his own boat. + +At such short range the shot flew around the pirate schooner like hail, +but she appeared to bear a charmed existence, for, although they +whistled between her spars and struck the sea all around her, very few +indeed did her serious damage. The shots from Long Tom, on the other +hand, were well aimed, and told with terrible effect on the hull and +rigging of the frigate. Gascoyne himself pointed the gun, and his +bright eye flashed, and a grim smile played on his lips as the shots +whistled round his head. + +The pirate captain seemed to be possessed by a spirit of fierce and +reckless jovialty that day. His usual calm self-possessed demeanour +quite forsook him. He issued his orders in a voice of thunder and with +an air of what, for want of a better expression, we may term ferocious +heartiness. He generally executed these orders himself, hurling the men +violently out of his way as if he were indignant at their tardiness, +although they sprang to obey as actively as usual--indeed more so, for +they were overawed and somewhat alarmed by this unwonted conduct on the +part of their captain. + +The fact was, that Gascoyne had for a long time past desired to give up +his course of life and amend his ways, but he discovered, as all wicked +men discover sooner or later, that while it is easy to plunge into evil +courses it is by no means easy--on the contrary it is extremely +difficult--to give them up. He had formed his resolution and had laid +his plans; but all his plans had miscarried. Being a man of high temper +he had been driven almost to desperation, and sought relief to his +feelings in physical exertion. + +Of all the men in the _Avenger_, however, no one was so much alarmed by +the captain's conduct as the first mate, between whom and Gascoyne there +had been a bitter feeling for some time past; and Manton knew (at least +he believed) that it would be certain death to him if he should chance +to thwart his superior in the mood in which he then was. + +"That was a good shot, Manton," said Gascoyne, with a wild laugh, as the +fore-topsail yard of the _Talisman_ came rattling down on the deck, +having been cut away by a shot from Long Tom. + +"It was, but _that_ was a better one," said Manton, pointing to the boom +of the schooner's mainsail, which was cut in two by a round shot, just +as the captain spoke. + +"Good, very good," observed the latter with an approving nod; "but that +alters the game; down with the helm! steady!" + +"Get the wreck of that boom cleared away, Manton, we won't want the +mainsail long. Here comes a squall. Look sharp. Close reef topsails." + +The boom was swaying to and fro so violently, that three of the men who +sprang to obey the order were hurled by it into the lee scuppers. +Gascoyne darted towards the broken spar and held it fast, while Manton +quickly severed the ropes that fastened it to the sail and to the deck, +then the former hurled it over the side with as much ease as if it had +been an oar. + +"Let her away now." + +"Why, that will run us right into the Long Shoal!" exclaimed Manton, +anxiously, as the squall which had been approaching struck the schooner +and laid her almost on her beam ends. + +"I know it," replied Gascoyne, curtly, as he thrust aside the man at the +wheel and took the spokes in his own hands. + +"It's all we can do to find our way through that place in fine weather," +remonstrated the mate. + +"I know it," said Gascoyne, sternly. + +Scraggs, who chanced to be standing by, seemed to be immensely delighted +with the alarmed expression on Manton's face. The worthy second mate +hated the first mate so cordially, and attached so little value to his +own life, that he would willingly have run the schooner on the rocks +altogether, just to have the pleasure of laughing contemptuously at the +wreck of Manton's hopes. + +"It's worth while trying it," suggested Scraggs, with a malicious grin. + +"I mean to try it," said Gascoyne, calmly. + +"But there's not a spot in the shoal except the Eel's Gate that we've a +ghost of a chance of getting through," cried Manton, becoming excited as +the schooner dashed towards the breakers like a furious charger rushing +on destruction. + +"I know it." + +"And there's barely water on _that_ to float us over," he added, +striding forward, and laying a hand on the wheel. + +"Half-a-foot too little," said Gascoyne, with forced calmness. + +Scraggs grinned. + +"You shan't run us aground if I can prevent it," cried Manton, fiercely, +seizing the wheel with both hands and attempting to move it, in which +attempt he utterly failed, and Scraggs grinned broader than ever. + +"Remove your hands," said Gascoyne, in a low calm voice, which surprised +the men who were standing near and witnessed these proceedings. + +"I won't. Ho! lads, do you wish to be sent to the bottom by a--" + +The remainder of this speech was cut short by the sudden descent of +Gascoyne's knuckles on the forehead of the mate, who dropped on the deck +as if he had been felled with a sledge hammer. Scraggs laughed outright +with satisfaction. + +"Remove him," said Gascoyne. + +"Overboard?" inquired Scraggs, with a bland smile. + +"Below," said the captain; and Scraggs was fain to content himself with +carrying the insensible form of his superior officer to his berth, +taking pains, however, to bump his head carefully against every spar and +corner and otherwise convenient projection on the way down. + +In a few minutes more the schooner was rushing through the milk-white +foam that covered the dangerous coral reef named the Long Shoals, and +the _Talisman_ lay-to, not daring to venture into such a place, but +pouring shot and shell into her bold little adversary with terrible +effect, as her tattered sails and flying cordage shewed. The fire was +steadily replied to by Long Tom, whose heavy shots, came crashing +repeatedly through the hull of the man-of-war. + +The large boat, meanwhile, had been picked up by the _Talisman_, after +having rescued Mr Mason and Henry, both of whom were placed in the gig. +This light boat was now struggling to make the ship, but owing to the +strength of the squall, her diminished crew were unable to effect this; +they therefore ran ashore to await the issue of the fight and the storm. + +For some time the _Avenger_ stood on her wild course unharmed, passing +close to huge rocks on either side of her, over which the sea burst in +clouds of foam. Gascoyne still stood at the wheel, guiding the vessel +with consummate skill and daring, while the men looked on in awe and in +breathless expectation, quite regardless of the shot which flew around +them and altogether absorbed by the superior danger by which they were +menaced. + +The surface of the sea was so universally white, that there was no line +of dark water to guide the pirate captain on his bold and desperate +course. He was obliged to trust almost entirely to his intimate +knowledge of the coast, and to the occasional patches in the surrounding +waste where the comparative flatness of the boiling flood indicated less +shallow water. As the danger increased, the smile left Gascoyne's lips, +but the flashing of his bright eyes and his deepened colour shewed that +the spirit boiled within, almost as wildly as the ocean raged around +him. + +The centre of the shoal was gained, and a feeling of hope and exultation +began to rise in the breasts of the crew when a terrific shock caused +the little schooner to quiver from stem to stern, while an involuntary +cry burst from the men, many of whom were thrown violently on the deck. +At the same time a shot from the _Talisman_ came in through the stern +bulwarks, struck the wheel and carried it away with part of the tackle +attached to the tiller. + +"Another leap like that, lass, and you're over," cried Gascoyne, with a +light smile, as he sprang to the iron tiller, and, seizing it with his +strong hands, steered the schooner as if she had been a boat. + +"Get new tackle rove, Scraggs," said he, cheerfully, "I'll keep her +straight for Eel's Gate with _this_. That was the first bar of the +gate--there are only two altogether, and the second won't be so bad." + +As the captain spoke, the schooner seemed to recover from the shock and +again rushed forward on her foaming course; but before the men had time +to breathe, she struck again--this time less violently, as had been +predicted--and the next wave, lifting her over the shoal, launched her +into deep water. + +"There, that will do," said Gascoyne, resigning the helm to Scraggs. +"You can keep her as she goes; there's plenty of water now and no fear +of that big bully following us. Meanwhile, I will go below and see to +the welfare of our passengers." + +Gascoyne was wrong in supposing that the _Talisman_ would not follow. +She could not, indeed, follow in the same course, but the moment that +Mulroy observed that the pirate had passed the shoals in safety, he +stood inshore, and, without waiting to pick up the gig, traversed the +channel by which they had entered the bay. Then, trusting to the lead +and to his knowledge of the general appearance of shallows, he steered +carefully along until he cleared the reefs and finally stood out to sea. + +In less than half-an-hour afterwards, the party on shore beheld the two +vessels disappear among the black storm-clouds that gathered over the +distant horizon. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +THE GOAT'S PASS--AN ATTACK, A BLOODLESS VICTORY, AND A SERMON. + +When Ole Thorwald was landed at the foot of that wild gorge in the +cliffs, which has been designated the Goat's Pass, he felt himself to be +an aggrieved man, and growled accordingly. + +"It's too bad o' that fire-eating fellow to fix on _me_ for this +particular service," said he to one of the settlers named Hugh Barnes, a +cooper, who acted as one of his captains; "and at night too, just as if +a man of my years were a cross between a cat, (which everybody knows can +see in the dark,) and a kangaroo, which is said to be a powerful leaper, +though whether in the dark or the light I don't pretend to know--not +being informed on the point. Have a care, Hugh. It seems to me you're +going to step into a quarry hole, or over a precipice. How my old flesh +quakes, to be sure! If it was only a fair flat field and open day, with +any odds you like against me, it would be nothing; but this abominable +Goat's--Hah! I knew it. Help! hold on there! murder!" + +Ole's sudden alarm was caused by his stumbling in the dark over the root +of a shrub which grew on the edge of, and partly concealed, a precipice, +over which he was precipitated, and at the foot of which his mangled and +lifeless form would soon have reposed, had not his warlike forefathers, +being impressed with the advantage of wearing strong sword-belts, +furnished the sword which Ole wore with such a belt as was not only on +all occasions sufficient to support the sword itself, but which, on this +particular occasion, was strong enough to support its owner when he was +suspended from, and entangled with, the shrubs of the cliff. + +A ray of light chanced to break into the dark chasm at the time, and +revealed all its dangers to the pendulous Thorwald so powerfully that he +positively howled with horror. + +The howl brought Hugh and several of his followers to his side, and they +with much difficulty, for he was a heavy man, succeeded in dragging him +from his dangerous position and placing him on his feet, in which +position he remained for some time speechless and blowing. + +"Now, I'll tell ye what it is, boys," said he at length, "if ever you +catch me going on an expedition of this sort again, flay me alive-- +that's all--don't spare me. Pull off the cuticle as if it were a glove, +and if I roar don't mind--that's what I say." + +Having said this, the veteran warrior smiled a ghastly smile, as if the +idea of being so excruciatingly treated were rather pleasant than +otherwise. + +"You're not hurt, I hope," inquired Hugh. + +"Hurt! yes, I _am_ hurt--hurt in my feelings--not in my body, thanks to +my good sword and belt; but my feelings are injured. That villain, that +rascal, that pirate--as I verily believe him to be--selected me +specially for this service, I am persuaded, just because he knew me to +be unfit for it. Bah! but I'll pay him off for it. Come, boys, +forward--perhaps, in the circumstances, it would be more appropriate to +say, upward! We must go through with it now for our retreat is cut off. +Lead the way, Hugh, your eyes are younger and sharper than mine, and if +you chance to fall over a cliff, pray give a yell, like a good fellow, +so that I may escape your sad fate." + +In the course of half an hour's rough scramble, the party gained the +crest of the Goat's Pass and descended in rear of the native village. +The country over which they had to travel, however, was so broken and so +beset with rugged masses of rock as to retard their progress +considerably, besides causing them to lose their way more than once. It +was thus daybreak before they reached the heights that overlooked the +village, and the shot from the _Avenger_ with the broad side from the +frigate was delivered just as they began to descend the hill. + +Ole, therefore, pushed on with enthusiasm to attack the village in rear, +but he had not advanced half a mile when the peculiar, and to him +inexplicable, movements of the two vessels which have been already +described, took place, leaving the honest commander of the land forces +in a state of great perplexity as to what was meant by his naval allies, +and in much doubt as to what he ought to do. + +"It seems to me," said he to his chiefs in a hastily summoned council of +war, "that we are all at sixes and sevens. I don't understand what +manoeuvres these naval men are up to and I doubt if they know +themselves. This being the case, and the fleet, (if I may so name it,) +having run away, it behoves us, my friends, to shew these sailors how we +soldiers do our duty. I would advise, therefore, that we should attack +at once. But as we are not a strong party, and as we know not how +strong the savages may be, I think it my duty before leading you on, to +ask your opinions on the point." + +The officers whose opinions were thus asked were Hugh Barnes, already +mentioned; Terence Rigg the blacksmith of the settlement, and John +Thomson the carpenter. These, being strong of body, powerful of will, +and intelligent withal, had been appointed to the command of companies, +and when on duty were styled "captain" by their commanding officer, who +was, when on duty, styled "general" by them. + +Ole Thorwald, be it remarked in passing, was a soldier at heart. Having +gone through a moderate amount of military education, and possessing +considerable talent in the matter of drill, he took special pride in +training the natives and the white men of the settlement to act in +concert and according to fixed principles. The consequence was that, +although his men were poorly armed, he had them under perfect command, +and could cause them to act unitedly at any moment. + +The captains having been requested to give their opinions, Captain Rigg, +being senior, observed that his vote was for "goin' at 'em at wance, +neck or nothing," to which warlike sentiment he gave peculiar emphasis +by adding, "an' no mistake," in a very decided tone of voice. + +"That's wot I says, too, General," said Captain Thomson, the carpenter. + +Captain Barnes being of the same opinion, General Thorwald said-- + +"Well then, gentlemen, we shall attack without delay;" and proceeded to +make the necessary arrangements. + +When the _Talisman_ fired her broadside of blank cartridge at the native +village, there was not a solitary warrior in it--only aged men, women +and children. These, filled with unutterable consternation on hearing +the thunderous discharge, sent up one yell of terror and forthwith took +to their heels and made for the hills _en masse_, never once looking +behind them, and, therefore, remaining in ignorance of the ulterior +proceedings of the ships. + +It was some time before they came in sight of Ole Thorwald and his men. + +The moment they did so Ole gave the word to charge, and, whirling his +sword round his head, set the example. The men followed with a yell. +The poor savages turned at once and fled--such of them at least as were +not already exhausted by their run up hill--and the rest, consisting +chiefly of old men and children, fell on their knees and faces and +howled for mercy. + +As soon as the charging host became aware of the character of the enemy, +they came came to a sudden halt. + +"Sure it's owld men and women we're about to kill!" cried Captain Rigg, +lowering his formidable forehammer, with which, in default of a better +weapon, he had armed himself, "but hooray! Gineral, there may be lots +o' the warrior reptiles in among the huts, and them poor craturs have +been sent out to decaive us." + +"That's true. Forward my lads!" shouted Ole--and again the army +charged--nor did they stop short until they had taken possession of the +village, when they found that all the fighting men were gone. + +This being happily accomplished without blood shed, Ole Thorwald, like a +wise general, took the necessary steps to insure and complete his +conquest. He seized all the women and children and shut them up in a +huge temple built of palm-trees and roofed with broad leaves. This +edifice was devoted to the horrible practice of cutting up human bodies +that were intended to be eaten. + +Ole had often heard of the cannibalism that is practised by most of the +South Sea islanders, though some tribes are worse than others, but he +had never before this day come directly in contact with it. Here, +however, there could be no doubt whatever of the fact. Portions of +human bodies were strewn about this hideous temple--some parts in a raw +and bloody condition, as if they had just been cut from a lately slain +victim; others in a baked state as if ready to form part of some +terrible banquet. + +Sick at heart, Ole Thorwald turned from this sight with loathing. +Concluding that the natives who practised such things could not be very +much distressed by being shut up for a time in a temple dedicated to the +gratification of their own disgusting tastes, he barricaded the entrance +securely, placed a guard over it, and hurried away to see that two other +buildings, in which the remainder of the women and children had been +imprisoned, were similarly secured and guarded. Meanwhile the stalwart +knight of the forehammer, to whom the duty had been assigned, placed +sentries at the various entrances to the village, and disposed his men +in such a way as to prevent the possibility of being taken by surprise. + +These various arrangements were not made a moment too soon. The +savages, as we have said in a former chapter, rushed towards their +village from all quarters, on hearing the thunder of the great guns. +They were now arriving in scores, and came rushing over the brow of the +neighbouring hill, and down the slope that rose immediately in rear of +their rude homes. + +On finding that the place was occupied by their enemies they set up a +yell of despair, and retired to a neighbouring height, where Ole could +see, by their wild gesticulations, that they were hotly debating what +should be done. It soon became evident that an attack would be made, +for, as their comrades came pouring in, the party from the settlement +was soon greatly outnumbered. + +Seeing this, and knowing that the party under command of Henry Stuart +would naturally hasten to his aid as soon as possible, Ole sought to +cause delay by sending out a flag of truce. + +The natives had been so long acquainted with the customs of the +Europeans that they understood the meaning of this, and the chief of the +tribe, at once throwing down his club, advanced fearlessly to meet the +Christian native sent out with the flag. + +The message was to the effect that if they, the enemy, should dare to +make an attack, all the women and children then in the hands of the +settlers should have their heads chopped off on the spot! + +This was a startling announcement, and one so directly in opposition to +the known principles of the Christians, that the heathen chief was +staggered and turned pale. He returned to his comrades with the +horrifying message, which seemed to them all utterly unaccountable. It +was quite natural for themselves to do such a deed, because they held +that all sorts of cruelties were just in war. But their constant +experience had been that, when a native became a follower of the +Christian missionary, from that moment he became merciful, especially +towards the weak and helpless. Counting upon this, they were stunned as +well as astonished at Thorwald's message; for they believed implicitly +that he meant to do what he threatened. They did not know that Ole, +although a worthy man, was not so earnest a believer in all Mr Mason's +principles, but that he could practise on their credulity in time of +need. Like the missionary, he would rather have died than have +sacrificed the life of a woman or child; but, unlike him, he had no +objection to deceive in order to gain time. + +As it turned out, his threat was unnecessary, for Henry and his men were +close at hand; and before the natives could make up their minds what to +do, the whole band came pouring over the hill, with Jo Bumpus far ahead +of the rest, leaping and howling like a maniac with excitement. + +This decided the natives. They were now outnumbered and surrounded. +The principal chief, therefore, advanced towards Bumpus with a piece of +native cloth tied to the end of his war-club, which he brandished +furiously by way of making it plain that his object was not war, but +peace! + +Naturally enough, the seaman misinterpreted the signal, and there is no +doubt that he would have planted his knuckles on the bridge of the nose +of that swarthy cannibal had not Henry Stuart made use of his +extraordinary powers of speed. He darted forward, overtook Jo, and, +grasping him round the neck with both arms, shouted-- + +"It's a flag of truce, man!" + +"You don't say so? well, who'd ha' thought it. It don't look like one, +so it don't." + +With this remark, Jo subsided into a peaceable man. Pulling a quid out +of his pocket, he thrust it into his cheek, and, crossing his arms on +his breast, listened patiently--though not profitably, seeing that he +did not understand a word--to the dialogue that followed. + +It will be remembered that poor Mr Mason, after being saved by Henry, +was taken into the gig of the _Talisman_ and put ashore. After the two +vessels had disappeared, as has been already described, Henry at once +led his party towards the native village, knowing that Ole Thorwald +would require support, all the more that the ship had failed to fulfil +her part in the combined movement. + +As the almost heartbroken father had no power to render farther aid to +his lost child, he suffered himself to be led, in a half-bewildered +state, along with the attacking party under his young friend. He was +now brought forward to parley with the native chief. + +The missionary's manner and aspect at once changed. In the hope of +advancing the cause of his Master, he forgot, or at least restrained, +his own grief for a time. + +"What would the chief say to the Christians?" he began, on being +confronted with the savage and some of his warriors who crowded round +him. + +"That he wishes to have done with war," replied the man. + +"That is a good wish, but why did the chief begin war?" + +"Keona began it!" said the savage, angrily. "We thought our wars with +the Christians were going to stop. But Keona is bad. He put the war +spirit into my people." + +Mr Mason knew this to be true. + +"Then," said he, "Keona deserves punishment." + +"Let him die," answered the chief, and an exclamation of assent broke +from the other natives. Keona himself, happening to be there, became +pale and looked anxious, but remained where he stood nevertheless, with +his arms crossed on his dark breast. A bandage of native cloth was tied +round his wounded arm. Without saying a word, he undid this, tore it +off; and allowed the blood to ooze from the re-opened wound. + +It was a silent appeal to the feelings and the sense of justice of his +comrades, and created a visible impression in his favour. + +"That wound was received by one who would have been a murderer!" said +Mr Mason, observing the effect of this action. + +"He struck me!" cried Keona, fiercely. + +"He struck you in defending his own home against a cowardly attack," +answered the missionary. + +At this point Ole Thorwald saw fit to interfere. Seeing that the +natives were beginning to argue the case, and knowing that no good could +come from such a course, he quietly observed:-- + +"There will be neither wife nor child in this place if I do but hold up +my hand." + +The missionary and his party did not, of course, understand this +allusion, but they understood the result, for the savages at once +dropped their tones, and the chief sued earnestly for peace. + +"Chiefs and warriors," said Mr Mason, raising his hand impressively, "I +am a man of peace, and I serve the Prince of peace. To stop this war is +what I desire most earnestly, and I desire above all things that you and +I might henceforth live in friendship, serving the same God and Saviour, +whose name is Jesus Christ. But your ways are not like our ways. If I +leave you now, I fear you will soon find another occasion to renew the +war, as you have often done before. I have you in my power now. If you +were to fight with us we could easily beat you, because we are stronger +in numbers and well armed. Yes, I have you in my power, and, with the +blessing of my God, I will keep you in my power _for ever_!" + +There was a visible fall in the countenances of the savages, who +regarded this strange announcement as their death-warrant. Some of them +even grasped their clubs and looked fiercely at their enemies, but a +glance from Ole Thorwald quieted these restive spirits. + +"Now, chiefs and warriors, I have two intentions in regard to you," +continued Mr Mason. "The one is that you shall take your clubs, +spears, and other weapons, and lay them in a pile on this mound, after +which I will make you march unarmed before us half way to our +settlement. From that point you shall return to your homes. Thus you +shall be deprived of the power of treacherously breaking that peace +which you know in your hearts you would break if you could. + +"My second intention is that the whole of your tribe--men, women, and +children--shall now assemble at the foot of this mound and hear what I +have got to say to you. The first part of this plan I shall carry out +by force, if need be.--But for the second part--_I must have your own +consent_. I may not force you to listen if you are not willing to +hear." + +At the mention of the women and children being required to assemble +along with them, the natives pricked up their ears, and, as a matter of +course, they willingly agreed to listen to all that the missionary had +to say to them. + +This being settled, and the natives knowing, from former experience, +that the Christians never broke faith with them, they advanced to the +mound pointed out and threw down their arms. A strong guard was placed +over these; the troops of the settlement were disposed in such a manner +as to prevent the possibility of their being recovered, and then the +women and children were set free. + +It was a noisy and remarkable meeting that which took place between the +men and women of the tribe on this occasion; but soon surprise and +expectation began to take the place of all other feelings as the strange +intentions of the missionary were spoken of, and in a very short time +Mr Mason had a large and most attentive congregation. + +Never before had the missionary secured such an opportunity! His +eccentric method of obtaining a hearing had succeeded beyond his +expectations. With a heart overflowing with gratitude to God he stood +up and began to preach the Gospel. + +Mr Mason was not only eccentric, but able and wise. He made the most +of his opportunity. He gave them a _very_ long sermon that day; but he +knew that the savages were not used to sermons, and that they would not +think it long! His text was a double one--"The soul that sinneth it +shall die," and "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be +saved." + +He preached that day as a man might who speaks to his hearers for the +first and last time, and, in telling of the goodness, the mercy, and the +love of God, the bitter grief of his own heart was sensibly abated. + +After his discourse was over and prayer had been offered up, the savage +warriors were silently formed into a band and marched off in front of +the Christians to the spot where Mr Mason had promised to set them +free. They shewed no disinclination to go. They believed in the good +faith of their captors. The missionary had, indeed, got them into his +power that day. Some of them he had secured _for ever_! + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +SORROW AND SYMPATHY--THE WIDOW BECOMES A PLEADER, AND HER SON ENGAGES IN +A SINGLE COMBAT. + +There are times in the life of every one when the heart seems unable to +bear the load of sorrow and suffering that is laid upon it;--times when +the anguish of the soul is such that the fair world around seems +enshrouded with gloom, when the bright sun itself appears to shine in +mockery, and when the smitten heart refuses to be comforted. + +Such a time was it with poor Frederick Mason when, after his return to +Sandy Cove, he stood alone, amid the blackened ruins of his former home, +gazing at the spot which he knew, from the charred remnants as well as +its position, was the site of the room which had once been occupied by +his lost child. + +It was night when he stood there. The silence was profound, for the +people of the settlement sympathised so deeply with their beloved +pastor's grief that even the ordinary hum of life appeared to be hushed, +except now and then when a low wail would break out and float away on +the night wind. These sounds of woe were full of meaning. They told +that there were other mourners there that night--that the recent battle +had not been fought without producing some of the usual bitter fruits of +war. Beloved, but dead and mangled forms, lay in more than one hut in +Sandy Cove. + +Motionless--hopeless--the missionary stood amid the charred beams and +ashes, until the words "Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will +deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me," descended on his soul like +sunshine upon ice. A suppressed cry burst from his lips, and, falling +on his knees, he poured forth his soul in prayer. + +While he was yet on his knees, a cry of anguish arose from one of the +huts at the foot of the hill. It died away in a low, heart-broken wail. +Mr Mason knew its meaning well. That cry had a special significance +to him. It spoke reproachfully. It said, "There is comfort for _you_, +for where life is there is hope; but here there is _death_." + +Again the word of God came to his memory, "Weep with them that weep." +Starting up hastily, the missionary sprang over the black beams, and +hurried down the hill, entered the village, and spent the greater part +of the remainder of that night in comforting the bereaved and the +wounded. + +The cause of the pastor's grief was not removed thereby, but the sorrow +itself was lightened by sympathy, and when he returned at a late hour to +his temporary home, hope had begun to arise within his breast. + +The widow's cottage afforded him shelter. When he entered it Harry and +his mother were seated near a small table on which supper was spread for +their expected guest. + +"Tom Armstrong will recover," said the missionary, seating himself +opposite the widow and speaking in a hurried excited tone. "His wound +is a bad one given by a war-club, but I think it is not dangerous. I +wish I could say as much for poor Simon. If he had been attended to +sooner he might have lived, but so much blood has been already lost that +there is now no hope. Alas! for his little boy. He will be an orphan +soon. Poor Harry's wife is distracted with grief. Her young husband's +body is so disfigured with cuts and bruises that it is dreadful to look +upon, yet she will not leave the room in which it lies, nor cease to +embrace and cling to the mangled corpse. Poor, poor Lucy! she will have +to be comforted. At present she must be left with God. No human +sympathy can avail just now, but she must be comforted when she will +permit any one to speak to her. You will go to her to-morrow, Mrs +Stuart, won't you?" + +As this was Mr Mason's first meeting with the widow since the Sunday +morning when the village was attacked, his words and manner shewed that +he dreaded any allusion to his own loss. The widow saw and understood +this, but she had consolation for him as well as for others, and would +not allow him to have his way. + +"But what of Alice?" she said, earnestly. "You do not mention her. +Henry has told me all. Have you nothing to say about yourself--about +Alice?" + +"Oh! what can I say?" cried the pastor, clasping his hands, while a deep +sob almost choked him. + +"Can you not say that she is in the hands of God--of a loving _Father_?" +said Mrs Stuart, tenderly. + +"Yes, yes, I can say that--I--have said that, but--but--" + +"I know what you would say," interrupted the widow, "you would tell me +that she is in the hands of pirates, ruthless villains who fear neither +God nor man, and that, unless a miracle is wrought in her behalf, +nothing can save her--" + +"Oh! spare me, Mary; why do you harrow my broken heart with such a +picture?" cried Mr Mason, rising and pacing the room with quick +unsteady steps, while with both hands on his head he seemed to attempt +to crush down the thoughts that burned up his brain. + +"I speak thus," said the widow, with an earnestness of tone and manner +that almost startled her hearers, "because I wish to comfort you. +Alice, you tell me, is on board the _Foam_--" + +"On board the _pirate schooner_!" cried Henry almost fiercely, for the +youth, although as much distressed as Mr Mason, was not so resigned as +he, and his spirit chafed at the thought of having been deceived so +terribly by the pirate. + +"She is on board the _Foam_," repeated the widow in a tone so stern that +her hearers looked at her in surprise. "And is therefore in the hands +of Gascoyne, who will not injure a hair of her head. I tell you, Mr +Mason, that she is _perfectly safe_ in the hands of Gascoyne." + +"Of the pirate Durward!" said Henry, in a deep angry voice. + +"What ground have you for saying so?" asked the widow, quickly. "You +only know him as Gascoyne the sandal-wood trader, the captain of the +_Foam_. He has been suspected, it is true, but suspicion is not proof. +His schooner has been fired into by a war vessel, he has returned the +fire--any passionate man might be tempted to do that. His men have +carried off some of our dear ones. That was _their_ doing--not his. He +knew nothing of it." + +"Mother, mother," cried Henry, entreatingly, "don't stand up in that way +for a pirate; I can't bear to hear it. Did he not himself describe the +pirate schooner's appearance in this room, and when he was attacked by +the _Talisman_ did he not shew out in his true colours, thereby proving +that he is Durward the pirate?" + +The widow's face grew pale and her voice trembled as she replied, like +one who sought to convince herself rather than her hearer, "That is not +_positive_ proof, Henry. Gascoyne may have had some good reason for +deceiving you all in this way. His description of the pirate may have +been a false one. We cannot tell. You know he was anxious to prevent +Captain Montague from impressing his men." + +"And would proclaiming himself a pirate be a good way of accomplishing +that end, mother?" + +"Mary," said Mr Mason solemnly, as he seated himself at the table and +looked earnestly in the widow's face. "Your knowledge of this man and +your manner of speaking about him surprises me. I have long thought +that you were not acting wisely in permitting Gascoyne to be so +intimate; for, whatever he may in reality be, he is a suspicious +character, to say the best of him; and although _I_ know that you think +you are right in encouraging his visits, other people do not know that; +they may judge you harshly. I do not wish to pry into secrets--but you +have sought to comfort me by bidding me have perfect confidence in this +man. I _must_ ask what knowledge you have of him. How far are you +aware of his character and employment? How do you know that he is so +trustworthy?" + +An expression of deep grief rested on the widow's countenance as she +replied in a sad voice--"I _know_ that you may trust Gascoyne with your +child. He is my oldest friend. I have known him since we were +children. He saved my father's life long, long ago, and helped to +support my mother in her last years. Would you have me to forget all +this because men say that he is a pirate?" + +"Why, mother," cried Henry, "if you know so much about him you _must_ +know that, whatever he was in time past, he is the pirate Durward now." + +"I do _not_ know that he is the pirate Durward!" said the widow in a +voice and with a look so decided that Henry was silenced and sorely +perplexed--yet much relieved, for he knew that his mother would rather +die than tell a deliberate falsehood. + +The missionary was also comforted, for although his judgment told him +that the grounds of hope thus held out to him were very insufficient, he +was impressed by the thoroughly confident tone of the widow and felt +relieved in spite of himself. + +Soon after this conversation was concluded the household retired to +rest. + +Next morning Henry was awakened out of a deep sleep by the sound of +subdued voices in the room underneath his own. At first he paid no +attention to these, supposing that, as it was broad daylight, some of +their native servants were moving about. + +But presently the sound of his mother's voice induced him to listen more +attentively. Then a voice replied, so low that he could with difficulty +hear it at all. Its strength increased, however, and at last it broke +forth in deep bass tones. + +Henry sprang up and threw on his clothes. As he was thus engaged the +front door of the house opened; and the speakers went out. A few +seconds sufficed for the youth to finish dressing; then, seizing a +pistol, he hurried out of the house. Looking quickly round he just +caught sight of the skirts of a woman's dress as they disappeared +through the doorway of a hut which had been formerly inhabited by a poor +native who had subsisted on the widow's bounty until he died. The door +was shut immediately after. + +Going swiftly but cautiously round by a back way, Henry approached the +hut. Strange and conflicting feelings filled his breast. A blush of +deep shame and self-abhorrence mantled on his cheek when it flashed +across him that he was about to play the spy on his own mother. But +there was no mistaking Gascoyne's voice. + +How the supposed pirate had got there, and wherefore he was there, were +matters that he did not think of or care about at that moment. There he +was, so the young man resolved to secure him and hand him over to +justices. + +Henry was too honourable to listen secretly to a conversation, whatever +it might be, that was not intended for his ears. He resolved merely to +peep in at one of the many chinks in the log hut for one moment to +satisfy himself that Gascoyne really was there, and to observe his +position. But as the latter now thought himself beyond the hearing of +any one, he spoke in unguarded tones, and Henry heard a few words in +spite of himself. + +Looking through a chink in the wall at the end of the hut, he beheld the +stalwart form of the sandalwood trader standing on the hearth of the +hut, which was almost unfurnished--a stool, a bench, an old chest, a +table, and a chair, being all that it contained. His mother was seated +at the table with her hands clasped before her, looking up at her +companion. + +"Oh! why run so great a risk as this?" said she, earnestly. + +"I was born to run risks, I believe," replied Gascoyne, in a sad low +voice. "It matters not. My being on the island is the result of +Manton's villainy--my being here is for poor Henry's sake and your own, +as well as for the sake of Alice the missionary's child. You have been +upright, Mary, and kind, and true as steel ever since I knew you. But +for that I should have been lost long ago--" + +Henry heard no more. These words did indeed whet his curiosity to the +utmost, but the shame of acting the part of an "eavesdropper" was so +great that, by a strong effort of will, he drew back and pondered for a +moment what he ought to do. The unexpected tone and tenor of Gascoyne's +remark had softened him slightly; but, recalling the undoubted proofs +that he had had of his really being a pirate, he soon steeled his heart +against him. He argued that the mere fact of the man giving his mother +credit for a character which everybody knew she possessed, was not +sufficient to clear him of the suspicions which he had raised against +himself. Besides, it was impertinence in any man to tell his mother his +opinion of her to her face. And to call him "poor Henry," forsooth! +This was not to be endured! + +Having thus wrought himself up to a sufficient degree of indignation, +the young man went straight to the door, making considerable noise in +order to prepare those within for his advent. He had expected to find +it locked. In this he was mistaken. It yielded to a push. + +Throwing it wide open, Henry strode into the middle of the apartment, +and, pointing the pistol at Gascoyne's breast, exclaimed--"Pirate +Durward, I arrest you in the king's name!" At the first sound of her +son's approach, Mrs Stuart bent forward over the table with a groan, +buried her face in her hands. + +Gascoyne received Henry's speech at first with a frown and then with a +smile. + +"You have taken a strange time and way to jest, Henry," said he, +crossing his arms on his broad chest and gazing fixedly in the youth's +face. + +"You will not throe me off my guard thus," said Henry, sternly. "You +are my prisoner. I know you to be a pirate. At any rate you will have +to prove yourself to be an honest man before you quit this hut a free +man. Mother, leave this place that I may lock the door upon him." + +The widow did not move, but Gascoyne made a step towards her son. + +"Another step and I will fire. Your blood shall be on your own head, +Gascoyne." + +As Gascoyne still advanced, Henry pointed the pistol straight at his +breast and pulled the trigger, but no report followed--the priming, +indeed, flashed in the pan but that was all! + +With a cry of rage and defiance, Henry leaped upon Gascoyne like a young +lion. He struck at him with the pistol, but the latter caught the +weapon in his powerful hand, wrenched it from the youth's grasp and +flung it to the other end of the apartment. + +"You shall not escape me," cried Henry; aiming a tremendous blow with +his fist at Gascoyne's face. It was parried, and the next moment the +two closed in a deadly struggle. + +It was a terrible sight for the widow to witness, these two Herculean +men exerting their great strength to the utmost in a hand-to-hand +conflict in that small hut like two tigers in a cage. + +Henry, although nearly six feet in height, and proportionally broad and +powerful, was much inferior to his gigantic antagonist; but to the +superior size and physical force of the latter he opposed the lithe +activity and the fervid energy of youth, so that to an unpractised eye +it might have seemed doubtful at first which of the two men had the best +chance. + +Straining his powers to the utmost, Henry attempted to lift his opponent +off the ground and throw him. In this he was nearly successful. +Gascoyne staggered, but recovered himself instantly. They did not move +much from the centre of the room, nor was there much noise created +during the conflict. It seemed too close--too full of concentrated +energy--of heavy, prolonged straining--for much violent motion. The +great veins in Gascoyne's forehead stood out like knotted cords; yet +there was no scowl or frown on his face. Henry's brows, on the +contrary, were gathered into a dark frown. His teeth were set, and his +countenance flushed to deep red by exertion and passion. + +Strange to say, the widow made no effort to separate the combatants; +neither did she attempt to move from her seat or give any alarm. She +sat with her hands on the table clasped tightly together, gazing +eagerly, anxiously, like a fascinated creature, at the wild struggle +that was going on before her. + +Again and again Henry attempted, with all the fire of youth, to throw +his adversary by one tremendous effort, but failed. Then he tried to +fling him off, so as to have the power of using his fists or making an +overwhelming rush. But Gascoyne held him in his strong arms like a +vice. Several times he freed his right arm and attempted to plant a +blow, but Gascoyne caught the blow in his hand, or seized the wrist and +prevented its being delivered. In short, do what he would, Henry Stuart +could neither free himself from the embrace of his enemy nor conquer +him. Still he struggled on, for as this fact became more apparent the +youth's blood became hotter from mingled shame and anger. + +Both men soon began to shew symptoms of fatigue. It was not in the +nature of things that two such frames, animated by such spirits, could +prolong so exhausting a struggle. It was not doubtful now which of the +two would come off victorious. During the whole course of the fight +Gascoyne had acted entirely on, the defensive. A small knife or +stiletto hung at his left side, but he never attempted to use it, and he +never once tried to throw his adversary. In fact it now became evident, +even to the widow's perceptions, that the captain was actually playing +with her son. + +All along, his countenance, though flushed and eager, exhibited no sign +of passion. He seemed to act like a good-humoured man who had been +foolishly assaulted by a headstrong boy, and who meant to keep him in +play until he should tire him out. + +Just then the tinkling of a bell and other sounds of the people of the +establishment beginning to move about were heard outside. Henry noticed +this. + +"Hah!" he exclaimed, in a gasping voice, "I can at least hold you until +help comes." + +Gascoyne heard the sounds also. He said nothing, but he brought the +strife to a swift termination. For the first time he bent his back like +a man who exerts himself in earnest and lifted Henry completely off the +ground. Throwing him on his back, he pressed him down with both arms so +as to break from his grasp. No human muscles could resist the force +applied. Slowly but surely the iron sinews of Henry's arms straightened +out, and the two were soon at arm's length. + +But even Gascoyne's strength could not unclasp the grip of the youth's +hands, until he placed his knee upon his chest; then, indeed, they were +torn away. + +Of course, all this was not done without some violence, but it was still +plain to the widow that Gascoyne was careful not to hurt his antagonist +more than he could help. + +"Now, Henry, my lad," said he, holding the youth down by the two arms, +"I have given you a good deal of trouble this morning, and I mean to +give you a little more. It does not just suit me at present to be tried +for a pirate, so I mean to give you a race. You are reputed one of the +best runners in the settlement. Well, I'll give you a chance after me. +If you overtake me, boy, I'll give myself up to you without a struggle. +But I suspect you'll find me rather hard to catch!" + +As he uttered the last words he permitted Henry to rise. Ere the youth +had quite gained his footing, he gave him a violent push and sent him +staggering back against the wall. When Henry recovered his balance, +Gascoyne was standing in the open doorway. + +"Now, lad, are you ready?" said he, a sort of wild smile lighting up his +face. + +Henry was so taken aback by this conduct, as well as by the rough +handling which he had just received, that he could not collect his +thoughts for a few seconds; but when Gascoyne nodded gravely to his +mother and walked quietly away, saying, "Goodbye, Mary," the exasperated +youth darted through the doorway like an arrow. + +If Henry Stuart's rush may be compared to the flight of an arrow from a +bow, not less appropriately may Gascoyne's bound be likened to the leap +of the bolt from a cross-bow. The two men sprang over the low fences +that surrounded the cottage, leapt the rivulet that brawled down its +steep course behind it, and coursed up the hill like mountain hares. + +The last that widow Stuart saw of them, as she gazed eagerly from the +doorway of the hut, was, when Gascoyne's figure was clearly defined +against the sky as he leaped over a great chasm in the lava high up the +mountain side. Henry followed almost instantly, and then both were +hidden from view in the chaos of rocks and gorges that rose above the +upper line of vegetation. + +It was a long and a severe chase that Henry had undertaken, and ably did +his fleet foot sustain the credit which he had already gained. But +Gascoyne's foot was fleeter. Over every species of ground did the +sandal-wood trader lead the youth that day. It seemed, in fact, as if a +spirit of mischief had taken possession of Gascoyne, for his usually +grave face was lighted up with a mingled expression of glee and +ferocity. It changed, too, and wore a sad expression, at times, even +when the man seemed to be running for his life. + +At last, after running until he had caused Henry to shew symptoms of +fatigue, Gascoyne turned suddenly round, and, shouting "Good-bye, Henry, +my lad!" went straight up the mountain and disappeared over the dividing +ridge on the summit. + +Henry did not give in. The insult implied in the words renewed his +strength. He tightened his belt as he ran, and rushed up the mountain +almost as fast as Gascoyne had done, but when he leaped upon the ridge +the fugitive had vanished! + +That he had secreted himself in one of the many gorges or caves with +which the place abounded was quite clear, but it was equally clear that +no one could track him out in such a place unless he were possessed of a +dog's nose. The youth did indeed attempt it, but, being convinced that +he was only searching for what could not by any possibility be found, he +soon gave it up and returned, disconsolate and crest-fallen, to the +cottage. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +MYSTERIOUS CONSULTATIONS AND PLANS--GASCOYNE ASTONISHES HIS FRIENDS, AND +MAKES AN UNEXPECTED CONFESSION. + +"A pretty morning's work I have made of it, mother," said Henry, as he +flung himself into a chair in the cottage parlour, on his return from +the weary and fruitless chase which has just been recorded. + +The widow was pale and haggard, but she could not help smiling as she +observed the look of extreme disappointment which rested on the +countenance of her son. + +"True, Henry," she replied, busying herself in preparing breakfast, "you +have not been very successful, but you made a noble effort." + +"Pshaw! a noble effort, indeed! Why, the man has foiled me in the two +things in which I prided myself most--wrestling and running. I never +saw such a greyhound in my life." + +"He is a giant, my boy; few men could hope to overcome him." + +"True, as regards wrestling, mother; I am not much ashamed of having +been beaten by him at that; but running--that's the sore point. Such a +weight he is, and yet he took the north gully like a wild cat, and you +know, mother, there are only two of us in Sandy Cove who can go over +that gully. Ay, and he went a full yard farther than ever I did. I +measured the leap as I came down. Really it is too bad to have been +beaten so completely by a man who must be nearly double my age. But, +after all, the worst of the whole affair is, that a pirate has escaped +me after I actually had him in my arms! the villain!" + +"You do not _know_ that he is a villain," said the widow in a subdued +tone. + +"You are right, mother," said Henry, looking up from the plate of bacon, +to which he had been devoting himself with much assiduity, and gazing +earnestly into his mother's face; "you are right, and, do you know, I +feel inclined to give the fellow the benefit of the doubt, for to tell +you the truth I have a sort of liking for him. If it had not been for +the way in which he has treated you, and the suspicious character that +he bears, I do believe I should have made a friend of him." + +A look of evident pleasure crossed the widow's face while her son spoke, +but as that son's eyes were once more riveted on the bacon, which his +morning exercise rendered peculiarly attractive, he did not observe it. + +Just then the door opened, and Mr Mason entered. His face wore a +dreadfully anxious expression. + +"Ha! I'm glad to see you, Henry," said he; "of course you have not +caught your man. I have been waiting anxiously for you to consult about +our future proceedings. It is quite evident that the pirate schooner +cannot be far off. Gascoyne must either have swam ashore, or been +landed in a boat. In either case the schooner must have been within the +reef at the time, and there has been little wind since the squall blew +itself out yesterday." + +"Quite enough, how ever, to blow such a light craft pretty far out to +sea in a few hours," said Henry, shaking his head. + +"No matter," replied Mr Mason, with a sigh, "_something_ must be done +at any rate, I have borrowed the carpenter's small cutter, which is +being now put in order for a voyage. Provisions and water for a few +days are already on board, and I have come to ask you to take command of +her, as you know something of navigation. I will go, of course, but +will not take any management of the little craft, as I know nothing +about the working of vessels." + +"And where do you mean to go?" asked Henry. + +"That remains to be seen. I have some ideas running in my head, of +course, but before letting you know them I wish to hear what you would +advise." + +"I would advise, in the first place, that you should provide one or two +thorough sailors to manage the craft. By the way, that reminds me of +Bumpus. What of him? Where is he? In the midst of all this bustle I +have not had time for much thought, and it has only just occurred to me +that if this schooner is really a pirate, and if Gascoyne turns out to +be Durward, it follows that Bumpus is a pirate too, and ought to be +dealt with accordingly." + +"I have thought of that," said Mr Mason, with a perplexed look, "and +intended to speak to you on the subject, but events have crowded so fast +upon each other of late that it has been driven out of my mind. No +doubt, if the _Foam_ and the _Avenger_ are one and the same vessel, as +seems too evident to leave much room for doubt, then Bumpus is a pirate, +for he does not deny that he was one of the crew. But he acts strangely +for a pirate. He seems as much at his ease amongst us as if he were the +most innocent of men. Moreover, his looks seem to stamp him a +thoroughly honest fellow. But, alas! one cannot depend on looks." + +"But where is the man?" asked Henry. + +"He is asleep in the small closet off the kitchen," said Mrs Stuart, +"where he has been lying ever since you returned from the heathen +village. Poor fellow, he sleeps heavily, and looks as if he had been +hurt during all this fighting." + +"Hurt! say you?" exclaimed Henry, laughing; "it is a miracle that he is +now alive after the flight he took over the north cliff into the sea." + +"Flight! over the north cliff!" echoed Mrs Stuart in surprise. + +"Ay, and a fearful plunge he had." Here Henry detailed poor Jo's +misadventure. "And now," said he, when he had finished, "I must lock +his door and keep him in. The settlers have forgotten him in all this +turmoil; but depend upon it if they see him they will string him up for +a pirate to the first handy branch of a tree without giving him the +benefit of a trial; and that would not be desirable." + +"Yet you would have shot Gascoyne on mere suspicion without a thought of +trial or justice," said Mrs Stuart. + +"True, mother, but that was when I was seizing him, and in hot blood," +said Henry, in a subdued voice. "I was hasty there, no doubt. Lucky +for us both that the pistol missed fire." + +The widow looked as if she were about to reply, but checked herself. + +"Yes," said Mr Mason, recurring to the former subject, "as we shall be +away a few days, we must lock Bumpus up to keep him out of harm's way. +Meanwhile--" + +The missionary was interrupted here by the sudden opening of the door. +An exclamation of surprise burst from the whole party as they sprang up, +for Gascoyne strode into the room, locked the door, and taking out the +key handed it to Henry, who stood staring at him in speechless +amazement. + +"You are surprised to see me appear thus suddenly," said he, "but the +fact is that I came here this morning to fulfil a duty; and although +Master Henry there has hindered me somewhat in carrying out my good +intentions, I do not intend to allow him to frustrate me altogether." + +"I do not mean to make a second attempt, Gascoyne, after what has +occurred this morning," said Henry, seating himself doggedly on his +chair. "But it would be as well that you should observe that Mr Mason +is a stout man, and, as we have seen, can act vigorously when occasion +offers. Remember that we are two to one now." + +"There will be no occasion for vigorous action, at least as regards me, +if you will agree to forget your suspicions for a few minutes, and +listen to what I have got to say. Meanwhile, in order to shew you how +thoroughly in earnest I am, and how regardless of my personal safety, I +render myself defenceless--thus." + +Gascoyne pulled a brace of small pistols from their place of concealment +beneath the breast of his shirt, and, drawing the knife that hung at his +girdle, hurled them all through the open window into the garden. He +then took a chair, planted it in the middle of the room, and sat down. +The sadness of his deep voice did not change during the remainder of +that interview. The bold look which usually characterised this peculiar +man had given place to a grave expression of humility, which was +occasionally varied by a troubled look. + +"Before stating what I have come for," said Gascoyne, "I mean to make a +confession. You have been right in your suspicions--_I am Durward the +pirate_! Nay, do not shrink from me in that way, Mary. I have kept +this secret from you long, because I feared to lose the old friendship +that has existed between us since we were children. I have deceived you +in _this thing only_. I have taken advantage of your ignorance to make +you suppose that I was merely a smuggler, and that, in consequence of +being an outlaw, it was necessary for me to conceal my name and my +movements. You have kept my secret, Mary, and have tried to win me back +to honest ways, but you little knew the strength of the net I had +wrapped around me. You did not know that I was a pirate!" + +Gascoyne paused, and bent his head as if in thought. The widow sat with +clasped hands, gazing at him with a look of despair on her pale face. +But she did not move or speak. The three listeners sat in perfect +silence until the pirate chose to continue his confession. + +"Yes, I have been a pirate," said he, "but I have not been the villain +that men have painted me." He looked steadily in the widow's face as he +said these words deliberately. + +"Do not try to palliate your conduct, Gascoyne," said Mr Mason, +earnestly. "The blackness of your sin is too great to be deepened or +lightened by what men may have said of you. You are a pirate. Every +_pirate is a murderer_." + +"I am not a murderer," said Gascoyne, slowly, in reply, but still fixing +his gaze on the widow's face, as if he addressed himself solely to her. + +"You may not have committed murder with your own hand," said Mr Mason, +"but the man who leads on others to commit the crime is a murderer in +the eye of God's law as well as in that of man." + +"I never led on men to commit murder," said Gascoyne, in the same tone +and with the same steadfast gaze. "This hand is free from the stain of +human blood. Do you believe me, Mary?" + +The widow did not answer. She sat like one bereft of all power of +speech or motion. + +"I will explain," resumed the pirate captain, drawing a long breath, and +directing his looks to Henry now. + +"For reasons which it is not necessary that you should know, I resolved +some years ago to become a pirate. I had been deceived--shamefully +deceived and wronged--by wealthy and powerful men. I had appealed to +the law of my country, and the law refused to right me. No, not the +law, but those who sat on the judgment-seat to pervert the law. It +matters not now; I was driven mad at the time, for the wrong done was +not done so much to me as to those whom I loved. I vowed that I should +be avenged. + +"I soon found men as mad as myself who only wanted a leader to guide +them in order to run full swing to destruction. I seized the _Foam_, of +which schooner I was mate, called her the _Avenger_, and became a +pirate. No blood was shed when I seized the schooner. Before an +opportunity occurred of trying my hand at this new profession, my anger +had cooled. I _repented_ of what I had done, but I was surrounded by +men who were more bent on mischief than I was. I could not now draw +back, but I modified my plan. I determined to become merely a _robber_ +and use the proceeds of my trade to indemnify those to whom injustice +had been done. I thought at the time that there was some justice in +this. I called myself in jest, a tax-gatherer of the sea. I ordered +the men aft one day and explained to them my views. I said that I +abhorred the name and the deeds of pirates, that I would only consent to +command them if they agreed never to shed human blood except in fair and +open fight. + +"They liked the idea. There were men among them who had never heartily +agreed to the seizing of the schooner, and who would have left her if I +would have allowed them; these were much relieved to hear my proposal. +It was fixed that we should _rob_, but not _murder_. Miserable fool +that I was! I thought it was possible to go just so far and no farther +into sin. I did not know at that time the strength of the fearful +current into which I had plunged. + +"But we stuck to our principles. We never did commit murder. And as +our appearance was always sufficient to cause the colours of any ship we +ever came across to be hauled down at once, there has been no occasion +for shedding blood, even in fair and open fight. Do you believe me, +Mary?" said Gascoyne, pausing at this point. + +The widow was still silent, but a slight inclination of her head +satisfied the pirate, who was about to resume, when Mr Mason +said--"Gascoyne, do you call warfare in the cause of robbery by the name +of `fair and open fight?'" + +"No, I do not. Yet there have been great generals and admirals in this +world who have committed wholesale murder in this same cause, and whose +names stand high in the roll of fame!" + +A look of scorn rested on the pirate's face as he said this, but it +passed away quickly. + +"You tell me that there were some of the men in the schooner whom you +kept aboard against their will?" said Mr Mason. "Did it never occur to +you, Gascoyne, that you may have been the murderer of the _souls_ of +these men?" + +The pirate made no reply for some time, and the troubled anxious look +that had more than once crossed his face returned. + +"Yes," said he at length, "I have thought of that. But it is done now +and cannot be undone. I can do no more now than give myself up to +justice. You see, I have thrown away my arms and stand here +defenceless. But I did not come here to plead for mercy. I come to +make to you all the reparation I can for the wrong I have done you. +When that last act is completed, you may do with me what you please. I +deserve to die, and I care not to live." + +"O Gascoyne, speak not thus," exclaimed the widow, earnestly. "However +much and deeply you have sinned against man, if you have not taken life +you do not deserve to die. Besides, there is a way of pardon open to +the very chief of sinners." + +"I know what you mean, Mary, I know what you mean; but--well, well, this +is neither the time nor place to talk of such things. Your little girl, +Mr Mason, is in the hands of the pirates." + +"I know that," said the missionary, wincing as if he had received a deep +wound, "but she is not in _your_ power now." + +"More's the pity; she would have been safer with me than with my first +mate, who is the greatest villain afloat on the high seas. He does not +like our milk-and-water style of robbing. He is an out-and-out pirate +in heart, and has long desired to cut my throat. I have to thank him +for being here to-night. Some of the crew who are like himself seized +me while I was asleep, bound and gagged me, put me into a boat and rowed +me ashore;--for we had easily escaped the _Talisman_ in the squall, and +doubling or our course came back here. The mate was anxious to clear +off old scores by cutting my throat at once and pitching me into the +sea. Luckily some of the men, not so bloodthirsty as he, objected to +this, so I was landed and cast loose." + +"But what of Alice?" cried Mr Mason, anxiously. "How can we save her?" + +"By taking my advice," answered Gascoyne. "You have a small cutter at +anchor off the creek at the foot of the hill. Put a few trusty men +aboard of her, and I will guide you to the island where the _Avenger_ +has been wont to fly when hard pressed." + +"But how do you know that Manton will go there?" inquired Henry, +eagerly. + +"Because he is short of powder, and all our stores are concealed there, +besides much of our ill-gotten wealth." + +"And how can you expect us to put ourselves so completely in your +power?" said Mr Mason. + +"Because you _must_ do so if you would save your child. She is safe +now, I know, and will be until the _Avenger_ leaves the island where our +stores are concealed. If we do not save her before that happens, _she +is lost to you for ever_!" + +"That no man can say. She is in the hands of God," cried Mr Mason, +fervently. + +"True, true," said Gascoyne, musing. "But God does not work by +miracles. We must be up and doing at once. I promise you that I shall +be faithful, and that, after the work is done, I will give myself up to +justice." + +"May we trust him, mother?" said Henry. + +"You may trust him, my son," replied the widow, in a tone of decision +that satisfied Henry, while it called forth a look of gratitude from the +pirate. + +The party now proceeded to arrange the details of their plan for the +rescue of Alice and her companions. These were speedily settled, and +Henry rose to go and put them in train. He turned the key of the door +and was on the point of lifting the latch, when this was done for him by +some one on the outside. He had just time to step back when the door +flew open, and he stood face to face with Hugh Barnes the cooper. + +"Have you heard the news, Henry?--hallo!" + +This abrupt exclamation was caused by the sight of Gascoyne, who rose +quietly the moment he heard the door open, and, turning his back towards +it, walked slowly into a small apartment that opened off the widow's +parlour, and shut the door. + +"I say, Henry, who's that big fellow?" said the cooper, casting a +suspicious glance towards the little room into which he had disappeared. + +"He is a _friend_ of mine," replied Mrs Stuart, rising hastily, and +welcoming her visitor. + +"Humph! it's well he's a _friend_," said the man as he took a chair, "I +shouldn't like to have him for an enemy." + +"But what is the news you were so anxious to tell us?" inquired Henry. + +"That Gascoyne, the pirate captain, has been seen on the island by some +of the women, and there's a regular hunt organising. Will you go with +us?" + +"I have more important work to do, Hugh," replied Henry, "besides, I +want you to go with me on a hunt which I'll tell you about if you'll +come with me to the creek." + +"By all means, come along." + +Henry and the cooper at once left the cottage. The latter was let into +the secret, and prevailed on to form one of the crew of the _Wasp_, as +the little cutter was named. In the course of the afternoon everything +was in readiness. Gascoyne waited till the dusk of the evening, and +then embarked along with Ole Thorwald; that stout individual having +insisted on being one of the party, despite the remonstrances of Mr +Mason, who did not like to leave the settlement, even for a brief +period, so completely deprived of all its leading men. But Ole +entertained a suspicion that Gascoyne intended to give them the slip; +and having privately made up his mind to prevent this he was not to be +denied. + +The men who formed the crew--twelve in number--were selected from among +those natives and settlers who were known never to have seen the pirate +captain. They were chosen with a view to their fighting qualities, for +Gascoyne and Henry were sufficient for the management of the little +craft. There were no large guns on board, but all the men were well +armed with cutlasses, muskets, and pistols. + +Thus equipped, the _Wasp_ stood out to sea with a light breeze, just as +the moon rose on the coral reef and cast a shower of sparkling silver +across the bay. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +A TERRIBLE DOOM FOR AN INNOCENT MAN. + +"So, you're to be hanged for a pirate, Jo Bumpus, ye are--that's +pleasant to think of anyhow." + +Such was the remark which our stout seaman addressed to himself when he +awoke on the second morning after the departure of the _Wasp_. If the +thought was really as pleasant as he asserted it to be, his visage must +have been a bad index to the state of his mind; for at that particular +moment Jo looked uncommonly miserable. + +The wonted good-humoured expression of his countenance had given place +to a gaze of stereotyped surprise and solemnity. Indeed Bumpus seemed +to have parted with much of his reason and all of his philosophy, for he +could say nothing else during at least half-an-hour after awaking except +the phrase--"So, you're going to be hanged for a pirate." His comments +on the phrase were, however, a little varied, though always brief--such +as--"Wot a sell! Who'd ha' thought it! It's a dream, it is, an +'orrible dream! _I_ don't believe it--who does? Wot'll your poor +mother say?"--and the like. + +Bumpus had, unfortunately, good ground for making this statement. + +After the cutter sailed it was discovered that Bumpus was concealed in +Mrs Stuart's cottage. This discovery had been the result of the +seaman's own recklessness and indiscretion; for when he ascertained that +he was to be kept a prisoner in the cottage until the return of the +_Wasp_, he at once made up his mind to submit with a good grace to what +could not be avoided. In order to prove that he was by no means cast +down, as well as to lighten the tedium of his confinement, Jo +entertained himself by singing snatches of sea songs--such as, "My tight +little craft,"--"A life on the stormy sea,"--"Oh! for a draught of the +howling blast," etcetera, all of which he delivered in a bass voice so +powerful that it caused the rafters of the widow's cottage to ring +again. + +These melodious not to say thunderous sounds, also caused the ears of a +small native youth to tingle with curiosity. This urchin crept on his +brown little knees under the window of Bumpus's apartment, got on his +brown and dirty little tiptoes, placed his brown little hands on the +sill, hauled his brown and half-naked little body up by sheer force of +muscle, and peeped into the room with his large and staring brown eyes, +the whites of which were displayed to their full extent. + +Jo was in the middle of an enthusiastic "oh!" when the urchin's head +appeared. Instead of expressing his passionate desire for a "draught of +the howling blast," he prolonged the "oh!" into a hideous yell, and +thrust his blazing face close to the window so suddenly that the boy let +go his hold, fell backwards, and rolled head over heels into a ditch, +out of which he scrambled with violent haste, and ran with the utmost +possible precipitancy to his native home on the sea-shore. + +Here he related what he had seen to his father. The father went and +looked in upon Jo's solitude. He happened to have seen Bumpus during +the great fight and knew him to be one of the pirates. The village rose +_en masse_. Some of the worst characters in it stirred up the rest, +went to the widow's cottage, and demanded that the person of the pirate +should be delivered up. + +The widow objected. The settlers insisted. The widow protested. The +settlers threatened force. Upon this the widow reasoned with them; +besought them to remember that the missionary would be back in a day or +two, and that it would be well to have his advice before they did +anything, and finally agreed to give up her charge on receiving a +promise that he should have a fair trial. + +Bumpus was accordingly bound with ropes, led in triumph through the +village, and placed in a strong wooden building which was used as the +jail of the place. + +The trial that followed was a mere mockery. The leading spirits of it +were those who had been styled by Mr Mason, "enemies within the camp." +They elected themselves to the offices of prosecutor and judge as well +as taking the trouble to act the part of jurymen and witnesses. + +Poor John Bumpus's doom was sealed before the trial began. They had +prejudged the case, and only went through the form to ease their own +consciences and to fulfil their promise to the widow. + +It was in vain that Bumpus asserted, with a bold, honest countenance, +that he was not a pirate; that he never had been, and never would be a +pirate; that he did not believe the _Foam_ was a pirate--though he was +free to confess its crew "_wos_ bad enough for anything a'most;" that he +had been hired in South America (where he had been shipwrecked) by +Captain Gascoyne, the sandal-wood trader; that he had made the voyage +straight from that coast to this island without meeting a single sail; +and that he had never seen a shot fired or a cutlass drawn aboard the +schooner. + +To all this there was but one coarsely-expressed answer--"It is a lie!" +Jo had no proof to give of the truth of what he said, so he was +condemned to be hanged by the neck till he should be dead; and as his +judges were afraid that the return of the _Wasp_ might interfere with +their proceedings, it was arranged that he should be executed on the +following day at noon! + +It must not be imagined that, in a Christian village such as we have +described, there was no one who felt that this trial was too hastily +gone into, and too violently conducted. But those who were inclined to +take a merciful view of the case, and who pled for delay, were chiefly +natives, while the violent party was composed of most of the +ill-disposed European settlers. + +The natives had been so much accustomed to put confidence in the wisdom +of the white men since their conversion to Christianity, that they felt +unable to cope with them on this occasion, so that Bumpus, after being +condemned, was led away to his prison, and left alone to his own +reflections. + +It chanced that there was one friend left, unintentionally, in the cell +with the condemned man. This was none other than our friend Toozle, the +mass of ragged door-mat on which Alice doted so fondly. This little dog +had, during the course of the events which have taken so long to +recount, done nothing worthy of being recorded. He had, indeed, been +much in every one's way, when no one had had time or inclination to take +notice of him. He had, being an affectionate dog, and desirous of much +sympathy, courted attention frequently, and had received many kicks and +severe rebuffs for his pains, and he had also, being a tender-hearted +dog, howled dreadfully when he lost his young mistress; but he had not +in any way promoted the interests of humanity or advanced the ends of +justice. Hence our long silence in regard to him. + +Recollecting that he had witnessed evidences of a friendly relation +subsisting between Alice and Bumpus, Toozle straightway sought to pour +the overflowing love and sorrow of his large little heart into the bosom +of that supposed pirate. His advances were well received, and from that +hour he followed the seaman like his shadow. He shared his prison with +him, trotted behind him when he walked up and down his room in the +widow's cottage; lay down at his feet when he rested; looked up +inquiringly in his face when he paused to meditate; whined and wagged +his stump of a tail when he was taken notice of, and lay down to sleep +in deep humility when he was neglected. + +Thus it came to pass that Toozle attended the trial of Bumpus, entered +his cell along with him, slept with him during the night, accompanied +him to the gallows in the morning, and sat under him, when they were +adjusting the noose, looking up with feelings of unutterable dismay, as +was clearly indicated by the lugubrious and woe-begone cast of his +ragged countenance,--but we are anticipating. + +It was on the morning of his execution that Bumpus sat on the edge of +his hard pallet, gazed at his manacled wrists, and gave vent to the +sentiments set down at the beginning of this chapter. + +Toozle sat at his feet looking up in his face sympathetically. + +"No, I _don't_ believe it's possible," said Bumpus, for at least the +hundredth time that morning. "It's a joke, that's wot it is. Ain't it, +Toozle, my boy?" + +Toozle whined, wagged his tail, and said, a's plainly as if he had +spoken, "Yes, of course it is--an uncommonly bad joke, no doubt; but a +joke, undoubtedly; so keep up your heart, my man." + +"Ah! you're a funny dog," continued Bumpus, "but you don't know wot it +is to be hanged, my boy. Hanged! why it's agin all laws o' justice, +moral an' otherwise, it is. But I'm dreamin', yes, it's dreamin' I am-- +but I don't think I ever did dream that I thought I was dreamin' an' yet +wasn't quite sure. Really it's perplexin', to say the least on it. +Ain't it, Toozle?" + +Toozle wagged his tail. + +"Ah, here comes my imaginary jailer to let me out o' this here +abominably real-lookin' imaginary lockup. Hang Jo Bumpus! why it's--" + +Before Jo could find words sufficiently strong to express his opinion of +such a murderous intention, the door opened and a surly-looking man--a +European settler--entered with his breakfast. This meal consisted of a +baked breadfruit and a can of water. + +"Ha! you've come to let me out, have you?" cried Jo, in a tone of forced +pleasantry, which was anything but cheerful. + +"Have I, though!" said the man, setting down the food on a small deal +table that stood at the head of the bedstead; "don't think it, my man; +your time's up in another two hours--hallo! where got ye the dog?" + +"It came in with me last night--to keep me company, I fancy, which is +more than the human dogs o' this murderin' place had the civility to +do." + +"If it had know'd you was a murderin' pirate," retorted the jailer, "it +would ha' thought twice before it would ha' chose _you_ for a comrade." + +"Come, now," said Bumpus, in a remonstrative tone, "you don't really +b'lieve I'm a pirate, do you?" + +"In coorse I do." + +"Well, now, that's xtraor'nary. Does everybody else think that too?" + +"Everybody." + +"An' am I _really_ goin' to be hanged?" + +"Till you're dead as mutton." + +"That's entertainin', ain't it, Toozle?" cried poor Bumpus with a laugh +of desperation, for he found it utterly impossible to persuade himself +to believe in the reality of his awful position. + +As he said nothing more, the jailer went away, and Bumpus, after heaving +two or three very deep sighs, attempted to partake of his meagre +breakfast. The effort was a vain one. The bite stuck in his throat, so +he washed it down with a gulp of water, and, for the first time in his +life, made up his mind to go without his breakfast. + +A little before twelve o'clock the door again opened, and the surly +jailer entered bearing a halter, and accompanied by six stout men. The +irons were now removed from Bumpus's wrists, and his arms pinioned +behind his back. Being almost stupified with amazement at his position, +he submitted without a struggle. + +"I say, friends," he at last exclaimed, "would any amount of oaths took +before a maginstrate convince ye that I'm not a pirate, but a true-blue +seaman?" + +"If you were to swear from this time till doomsday it would make no +difference. You admit that you were one of the _Foam's_ crew. We now +know that the _Foam_ and the _Avenger_ are the same schooner. Birds of +a feather flock together. A pirate would swear anything to save his +life. Come, time's up." + +Bumpus bent his head for a minute. The truth forced itself upon him now +in all its dread reality. But no unmanly terrors filled his breast at +that moment. The fear of man or of violent death was a sensation which +the seaman never knew. The feeling of the huge injustice that was about +to be done filled him with generous indignation; the blood rushed to his +temples, and, with a bound like a tiger, he leaped out of the jailer's +grasp, hurling him to the ground in the act. + +With the strength almost of a Samson he wrestled with his cords for a +few seconds; but they were new and strong. He failed to burst them. In +another moment he was overpowered by the six men who guarded him. True +to his principles, he did his utmost to escape. Strong in the faith +that while there is life there is hope, he did not cease to struggle, +like a chained giant, until he was placed under the limb of the fatal +tree which had been selected, and round which an immense crowd of +natives and white settlers had gathered. + +During the previous night the widow Stuart had striven to save the man +whom she knew to be honest, for Gascoyne had explained to her all about +his being engaged in his service. But those to whom she appealed, even +on her knees, were immovable. They considered the proof of the man's +guilt quite conclusive, and regarded the widow's intercession as the +mere weakness of a tender-hearted woman. + +On the following morning, and again beside the fatal tree itself, the +widow pled for the man's life with all her powers of eloquence, but in +vain. When all hope appeared to have passed away, she could not stand +to witness so horrible a murder. She fled to her cottage, and, throwing +herself on her bed, burst into an agony of tears and prayer. + +But there were some among the European settlers there who, now that +things had come to a point, felt ill at ease, and would fain have washed +their hands of the whole affair. Others there were who judged the man +from his countenance and his acts, not from circumstances. These +remonstrated even to the last, and advised delay. But the half dozen +who were set upon the man's death--not to gratify a thirst for blood, +but to execute due justice on a pirate whom they abhorred--were +influential and violent, men. They silenced all opposition at last, and +John Bumpus finally had the noose put round, his neck. + +"O Susan, Susan," cried the poor man in an agony of intense feeling, +"it's little ye thought your Jo would come to such an end as this when +ye last sot eyes on him--an' sweet blue eyes they wos, too!" + +There was something ludicrous as well as pathetic in this cry. It did +more for him than the most eloquent pleading could have done. Man, in a +crowd, is an unstable being. At any moment he will veer right round and +run in an opposite direction. The idea that the condemned man had a +Susan who would mourn over his untimely end, touched a cord in the +hearts of many among the crowd. The reference to her sweet blue eyes at +such a moment raised a smile, and an extremely dismal but opportune howl +from poor Toozle raised a laugh. + +Bumpus started and looked sternly on the crowd. + +"You may think me a pirate," said he, "but I know enough of the feelin's +of honest men to expect no mercy from those wot can laugh at a +fellow-creetur in such an hour. You had better get the murder over as +soon as ye can. I am ready--Stay! one moment more. I had a'most forgot +it. There's a letter here that I want one o' you to take charge of. +It's the last I ever got from my Susan, an' if I had taken her advice to +let alone havin' to do with all sandalwood traders, I'd never ha' bin in +such a fix as I am this day. I want it sent back to her with my +blessin' and a lock o' my hair. Is there an honest man among ye who'll +take in hand to do this for me?" + +As he spoke, a young man, in a costume somewhat resembling that of a +sailor, pushed through the crowd, leaped upon the deal table on which Jo +stood, and removed the noose from his neck. + +An exclamation of anger burst from those who surrounded the table, but a +sound something like applause broke from the crowd, and restrained any +attempt at violence. The young man at the same time held up his hand +and asked leave to address them. + +"Ay! ay! let's hear what he has got to say. That's it; speak up, Dan!" + +The youth, whose dark olive complexion proclaimed him to be a +half-caste, and whose language shewed that he had received at least the +rudiments of education, stretched out his hand and said-- + +"Friends, I do not stand here to interfere with justice. Those who seek +to give a pirate his just reward do well. But there has been doubt in +the minds of some that this man may not be a pirate. His own word is of +no value; but if I can bring forward anything to shew that perhaps his +word is true, then we have no right to hang him till we have given him a +longer trial." + +"Hear! hear!" from the white men in the crowd, and "Ho! ho!" from the +natives. + +Meanwhile the young man, or Dan, as some one called him, turned to +Bumpus and asked for the letter to which he had referred. Being +informed that it was in the inside pocket of his jacket, the youth put +his hand in and drew it forth. + +"May I read it? Your life may depend on what I find here." + +"Sartinly, by all manner of means," replied Jo, not a little surprised +at the turn affairs were taking. + +Dan opened and perused the epistle for a few minutes, during which +intense silence was maintained in the crowd, as if they expected to +_hear_ the thoughts of the young man as they passed through his brain. + +"Ha! I thought so," exclaimed Dan, looking up and again addressing the +crowd. "At the trial yesterday you heard this man say that he was +engaged at San Francisco by Gascoyne on the 12th of April last, and that +he believed the schooner to be a sandalwood trader when he shipped." + +"Yes, yes, ho!" from the crowd. + +"If this statement of his be true, then he was not a pirate when he +shipped, and he has not had much time to become one between that time +and this. The letter which I hold in my hand proves the truth of this +statement. It is dated San Francisco, 11th _April_, and is written in a +female hand. Listen, I will read it, and you shall judge for +yourselves." + +The young man then read the following letter, which, being a peculiar as +well as an interesting specimen of a love-letter, we give _verbatim et +literatim_:-- + + "Peelers farm near Sanfransko Aprile 11. + + "For John bumpuss, aboord the Skooner fome + + "my darlin Jo, + + "ever sins you towld me yisterday that youd bin an gaged yerself into + the fome, my mind has bin Onaisy. Ye no, darlint, from the our ye + cald me yer own Susan--in clare county More betoken--iv bin onaisy + about ye yer so bowld an Rekles, but this is wurst ov all. Iv no + noshun o them sandlewood skooners. The Haf ov thems pirits an The + other hafs no beter. Whats wus is that my owld master was drownded in + wan, or out o wan, but shure its All the Saim. Down he wint an that + wos the Endd. + + "now Deer jo don't go to say in that skooner i beseech ye, jo. Ye + towld me that ye liked the looks o the cappen an haited the looks o + the Krew. Now deer, take warnin, think ov me. Think ov the words in + the coppie book weev writ so often together at owld makmahons skool, + eevil emunishakens Krupt yer maners, i misrember it, but ye no wot id + be sayin' to ye. + + "o jo Don't go, but cum an see me as soon as iver ye can + + "yours til deth. + + "SUSAN. + + "P.S. the piggs is quite livly but ther not so hansum heer as in the + owld country. Don't forgit to rite to your susan." + +No one can conceive the indignation that swelled the broad chest of +honest John Bumpus when he listened to the laughter with which some +parts of this letter were received. + +"Now," said Dan, "could any man want better proof than this that John +Bumpus _is not_ a pirate?" + +This question was answered by a perfect yell from the crowd. + +"Set him free; cut his cords!" cried a voice. + +"Stop, friends," cried a big coarse-looking man, leaping on the table +and jostling Dan out of the way. "Not quite so fast. I don't pretend +to be a learned feller, and I can't make a speech with a buttery tongue +like Dan here. But wot I've got to say is--Justice for ever!" + +"Hurrah!" from some of the wild spirits of the crowd. "Go on, Burke," +from others. + +"Yes, wot I say is--Justice for ever! Fair play an' no favour: _That's_ +wot I say!" + +Another cheer greeted the bold assertion of these noble sentiments. + +"Now, here it is," continued Burke, becoming much excited, "wot's to +hinder that there letter bein' a forgery?--ay, that's the word, a +forgery? (Hear! hear!) got up a-purpose to bamboozle us chaps that +ain't lawyers. D'ye see?" + +Burke glanced at Dan and smote his thigh triumphantly as he said this. + +"It does not _look_ like a forgery," said Dan, holding up the letter and +pointing to the writing. "I leave it to yourselves to say if it +_sounds_ like a forgery--" + +"I don't care a farthin' dip for yer _looks_ and _sounds_," cried Burke, +interrupting the other. "No man is goin' for to tell me that anybody +can trust to _looks_ and _sounds_. Why, I've know'd the greatest +villain that ever chewed the end of a smuggled cigar _look_ as innocent +as the babe unborn. An' is there a man here wot'll tell me he hasn't +often an' over again mistook the crack of a big gun for a clap o' +thunder?" + +This was received with much approval by the crowd, which had evidently +more than half-forgotten the terrible purpose for which it had assembled +there, and was now much interested in what bid fair to be a keen +dispute. When the noise abated, Dan raised his voice and said--"If +Burke had not interrupted me, I was going to have said that another +thing which proves the letter to be no forgery is, that the post-mark of +San Francisco is on the back of it, with the date all right." + +This statement delighted the crowd immensely, and caused Burke to look +disconcerted for a few seconds; he rallied, however, and returned to the +charge. + +"Post-marks! wot do I care for post-marks? Can't a man forge a +post-mark as easy as any other mark?" + +"Ah! that's true," from a voice in the crowd. + +"No, not so easily as _any_ other mark," retorted Dan, "for it's made +with a kind of ink that's not sold in shops. Everything goes to prove +that the letter is no forgery. But, Mr Burke, will you answer me +this--if it _was_ a forgery, got up for the purpose of saving this man's +life, _at what time was it forged_? for Bumpus could not know that he +would ever need such a letter until yesterday afternoon, and between +that time and this there was but little time to forge a letter from San +Francisco, post-mark and all, and make it soiled and worn at the edges +like an old letter. (`Hear!' and sensation.) More than that," cried +Dan, waxing eager and earnest, "if it was a forgery, got up for this +purpose, _why was it not produced at the trial_? (`Hear! hear!' and +cheers!) And, last of all, why, if this forgery was so important to +him, did John Bumpus forget all about it until he stood on this table; +ay, _until the rope was round his neck_?" + +A perfect storm of cheers and applause followed this last sentence, in +the midst of which there were cries of "You're floored, Burke! Hurrah +for Bumpus! Cut the ropes!" + +But although John's life was now safe, his indignation at Susan's letter +having been laughed at was not altogether allayed. + +"I'll tell ye wot it is," said he, the instant there was a lull in the +uproar of voices. "If you think that I'll stand here and see my Susan's +letter insulted before my eyes, you're very far out o' your reckoning. +Just cut them ropes an put any two o' ye'r biggest men, black or white, +before _me_, an' if I don't shew them a lot o' new stars as hasn't been +seed in no sky wotiver since Adam was a little boy, my name's--" + +Up to this point Jo was heard, but the conclusion of his defiance was +drowned in roars of laughter. + +"Cut the ropes," shouted the crowd. + +Dan drew a clasp-knife from his pocket, and with one stroke set Bumpus +free. + +"Shoulder high," yelled a voice; "hurrah!" + +A wild rush was made at the table. Jo's executioners were overturned +and trampled under foot, and the table, with himself and his young +advocate sprawling on it, was raised on the shoulders of the crowd and +borne off in triumph. + +Half-an-hour later, Bumpus was set down at the widow's door. Mrs +Stuart received him with a scream of surprise and joy, for she had given +him up as a lost man. + +"Now, then, Mrs Stuart," said Jo, throwing himself on a chair and +wiping the perspiration from his forehead, "don't make such a fuss about +me, like a good creetur. But do get me a bit o' bacon, and let's be +thankful that I'm here to eat it. Cut it fat, Mrs Stuart; cut it fat; +for it's wonderful wot a appetite I've got after such a mornin's work as +I've gone through. Well, well, after all that yer friends have said of +ye, Jo Bumpus, I do believe that yer _not_ born to be hanged?" + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +THE RENDEZVOUS--AN EPISODE--PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCES--AND OTHER MATTERS. + +About five or six days' sail from the scene of our tale there lies one +of those small rocks or islets with which the breast of the Pacific is +in many places thickly studded. + +It is a lonely coral isle, far removed from any of its fellows, and +presenting none of those grand features which characterise the island on +which the settlement of Sandy Cove was situated. In no part does it +rise more than thirty feet above the level of the sea; in most places it +is little more than a few feet above it. The coral reefs around it are +numerous; and as many of them rise to within a few feet of the surface, +the navigation in its neighbourhood is dangerous in the extreme. + +At the time of which we write, the vegetation of the isle was not very +luxuriant. Only a few clusters of cocoa-nut palms grew here and there +over its otherwise barren surface. In this respect it did not resemble +most of the other islands of the Pacific. Owing partly to its being out +of the usual course of ships, and partly to the dangerous reefs already +referred to, the spot was never approached by vessels, or, if a ship +happened to be driven towards it, she got out of its way as speedily as +possible. + +This was the rendezvous of the pirates, and was named by them the Isle +of Palms. + +Here, in caverns hollowed out of the coral rock, Gascoyne had been wont +to secrete such goods and stores as were necessary for the maintenance +of his piratical course of life, and to this lone spot did Manton convey +his prisoners after getting rid of his former commander. Towards this +spot, also, did Gascoyne turn the prow of the cutter _Wasp_ in pursuit +of his mutinous first mate. + +Manton, for reasons best known to himself, (certainly not from goodness +of heart,) was kind to his captives to the extent of simply letting them +alone. He declined to hold any intercourse whatever with Captain +Montague, and forbade him to speak with the men upon pain of being +confined to his berth. The young people were allowed to do as they +pleased, so long as they kept out of the way. + +On reaching the Isle of Palms the pirates at once proceeded to take in +those stores of which they stood in need. The harbour into which the +schooner ran was a narrow bay, on the shores of which the palm trees +grew sufficiently high to prevent her masts from being seen from the +other side of the island. Here the captives were landed, but as Manton +did not wish them to witness his proceedings, he sent them across the +islet under the escort of a party who conveyed them to the shores of a +small bay. On the rocks in this bay lay the wreck of what once had been +a noble ship. It was now completely dismantled. Her hull was stove in +by the rocks. Her masts and yards were gone, with the exception of +their stumps and the lower part of the main-mast, to which the main-yard +still hung with a ragged portion of the mainsail attached to it. + +A feeling of depression filled the breast of Montague and his companions +as they came in sight of this wreck, and the former attempted to obtain +some information in regard to her from his conductors, but they sternly +bade him ask no questions. Some time afterwards he heard the story of +this vessel's fate. We shall record it here. + +Not many months prior to the date of our tale, the _Avenger_ happened to +have occasion to run down to the Isle of Palms. Gascoyne was absent at +the time. He had been landed at Sandy Cove, and had ordered Manton to +go to the rendezvous for supplies. On nearing the isle a storm arose. +The wind was fair, however, and the schooner ran for her destination +under close reefed sails. Just before reaching it they fell in with a +large full-rigged ship, which, on sighting the schooner, ran up her flag +half-mast high as a signal of distress. She had sprung a leak and was +sinking. + +Had the weather been calmer the pirates would have at once boarded the +vessel and carried her as a prize into the harbour, but the sea ran so +high that this was impossible. Manton therefore ran down as close to +the side of the merchantman, (for such she seemed to be,) as enabled him +to hail her through the speaking trumpet. When sufficiently near he +demanded her name and destination. + +"The _Brilliant_, from Liverpool, bound for the Sandwich Islands. And +you?" + +"The _Foam_--from the Feejees--for Calcutta. What's wrong with you?" + +"Sprung a leak; is there anchorage in the bay?" sang out the captain of +the merchantman. + +"No, it's too shoal for a big ship. Bear away round to the other side +of the island. You'll find good holding ground there--I will shew you +the way." + +The pirate accordingly conducted the unsuspecting stranger away from the +only safe harbour in the island, and led him through a complete +labyrinth of reefs and rocks to the bay on the other side, in which he +knew full well there was scarcely enough of water to float his own +little schooner. + +With perfect confidence in his guide, the unfortunate captain of the +merchantman followed until both vessels were in the comparatively still +and sheltered water of the bay. Here Manton suddenly put down the helm, +brought his vessel up to the wind and allowed the stranger to pass him. + +"Hold on about sixty fathoms farther and then let go your anchor," he +shouted, as the ship went steadily on to her doom. + +"Ay, ay, and thank 'ee," cried the captain, who had already taken in +nearly all sail and was quite prepared to anchor. + +But Manton knew that before twenty fathoms more should be passed over by +the ship she would run straight on a coral reef, which rose to within +about five feet of the surface of the sea. In an exposed place this +reef would have formed a line of breakers, but in its sheltered position +the water gave no indication of its existence. The gale, though not +blowing direct into the bay, entered it in a sufficiently straight line +to carry the ship onward with great speed, notwithstanding the reduction +made in her canvas. + +"Stand by to let go the anchor," cried her captain. + +That was his last order. Scarcely had the words passed his lips when +the ship struck with a shock that caused her to quiver like a leaf from +stem to stern. All the top-masts with their yards and rigging went over +the side, and, in one instant the fine vessel was a total wreck! + +The rest of the story is soon told. The pirates shewed their true +colours, ran alongside and took possession without opposition, for the +crew of the merchantman were so overwhelmed by the suddenness and +appalling nature of the calamity that had befallen them that they had no +heart to resist. + +Of course it was out of the question that the crew of the _Brilliant_ +could be allowed to remain on the island. Some of the pirates suggested +that they should be put on a raft, towed to leeward of the island, and, +when out of sight of it, be cast adrift to float about until they should +be picked up or get blown on one of the numerous islands that lay to the +southward of the rendezvous. Manton and Scraggs advocated this plan, +but the better-disposed among the men protested against such needless +cruelty, and suggested that it would be better to put them into the +long-boat of the ship, bandage their eyes, then tow them out of sight of +land and cast them loose to steer where they pleased. + +This plan was adopted and carried into execution. Then the pirates +returned, and at their leisure unloaded and secured the cargo of their +prize. It was richer than they had anticipated, being a miscellaneous +cargo of valuable commodities for the trading stores of some of the +South Sea merchants and settlers. + +The joy felt by the pirates on making this discovery, was all the +benefit that was ever derived from these ill-gotten gains by any one of +those who had a hand in that dastardly deed. Long before they had an +opportunity of removing the goods thus acquired, the career of the +_Avenger_ had terminated. But we must not anticipate our story. + +On a green knoll near the margin of this bay, and in full view of the +wreck, a rude tent or hut was constructed by the pirates out of part of +an old sail which had been washed ashore from the wreck, and some broken +spars. A small cask of biscuit and two or three blankets were placed in +it, and here the captives were left to do as they pleased until such +time as Manton chose to send for them. The only piece of advice that +was given to them by their surly jailer was, that they should not on any +pretence whatever cross the island to the bay in which the schooner lay +at anchor. + +"If ye do," said the man who was the last of the party to quit them, +"ye'll wish ye hadn't--that's all. Take my advice and keep yer +kooriosity in yer breeches' pockets." + +With this caution they were left to their own devices and meditations. + +It was a lovely calm evening at sunset when our four unfortunate friends +were thus left alone in these strange circumstances. The effect of +their forlorn condition was very different on each. Poopy flung herself +down on the ground, inside the tent, and began to sob; Alice sat down +beside her, and wept silently; whilst Montague, forgetting his own +sorrows in his pity for the poor young creatures who had been thus +strangely linked to him in affliction, sat down opposite to Alice, and +sought to comfort her. + +Will Corrie, feeling that he could do nothing to cheer his companions in +the circumstances, and being unable to sit still, rose, and going out at +the end of the tent, both sides of which were open, stood leaning on a +pole, and contemplated the scene before him. + +In a small creek, or indentation of the shore, close to the knoll on +which the tent stood, two of the pirates were working at a boat which +lay there. Corrie could not at first understand what they were about, +but he was soon enlightened, for, after hauling the boat as far out of +the water as they could, they left her there, and followed their +comrades to the other side of the island, carrying the oars along with +them. + +The spirit that dwelt in Corrie's breast was a very peculiar one. Up to +this point in his misfortunes the poor boy had been subdued--overwhelmed +by the suddenness and the terrible nature of the calamity that had +befallen him--or rather, that had befallen Alice, for, to do him +justice, he only thought of her. Indeed, he carried this feeling so far +that he had honestly confessed to himself, in a mental soliloquy, the +night on which he had been captured, that he did not care one straw for +himself, or Poopy, or Captain Montague--that his whole and sole distress +of mind and body was owing to the grief into which Alice had been +plunged. He had made an attempt to comfort her one night on the voyage +to the Isle of Palms, when she and Poopy and he were left alone +together; but he failed. After one or two efforts he ended by bursting +into tears, and then, choking himself violently with his own hands, said +that he was ashamed of himself, that he wasn't crying for himself but +for her, (Alice,) and that he hoped she wouldn't think the worse of him +for being so like a baby. Here he turned to Poopy, and in a most +unreasonable manner began to scold her for being at the bottom of the +whole mischief, in the middle of which he broke off, said that he +believed himself to be mad, and vowed he would blow out his own brains +first, and those of all the pirates afterwards. Whereupon he choked, +sobbed again, and rushed out of the cabin as if he really meant to +execute his last awful threat. + +But poor Corrie only rushed away to hide from Alice the irrepressible +emotions that nearly burst his heart. Yes, Corrie was thoroughly +subdued by grief. But the spring was not broken, it was only crushed +flat by the weight of sorrow that lay like a millstone on his youthful +bosom. + +The first thing that set his active brain a-going once more--thereby +overturning the weight of sorrow and causing the spring of his peculiar +spirit to rebound--was the sight of the two pirates hauling up the boat +and carrying off the oars. + +"Ha! that's your game is it?" muttered the boy between his teeth, and +grasping the pole with both hands as if he wished to squeeze his fingers +into the wood. "You don't want to give us a chance of escaping, don't +you, eh! is that it? You think that because we're a small party, and +the half of us females, that we're cowed, and won't think of trying any +other way of escaping, do you? Oh yes, that's what you think; you know +it, you do, _but you're mistaken_," (he became terribly sarcastic and +bitter at this point;) "you'll find that you have got _men_ to deal +with, that you've not only caught a tartar, but _two_ tartars--one o' +them being ten times tartarer than the other. Oh, if--" + +"What's all that you're saying, Corrie?" said Montague, stepping out of +the tent at that moment. + +"O captain," said the boy, vehemently, "I wish I were a giant!" + +"Why so, lad?" + +"Because then I would wade out to that wreck, clap my shoulder to her +bow, shove her into deep water, carry you, and Alice, and Poopy aboard, +haul out the main-mast by the roots, make an oar of it, and scull out to +sea, havin' previously fired off the biggest gun aboard of her, to let +the pirates know what I was doing." + +Corrie's spirit was in a tumultuous and very rebellious state. He was +half inclined to indulge in hysterical weeping, and more than half +disposed to give way to a burst of savage glee. He spoke with the +mantling blood blazing in his fat cheeks, and his two eyes glittering +like those of a basilisk. Montague could not repress a smile and a look +of admiration as he said to our little hero-- + +"Why, Corrie, if you were a giant it would be much easier to go to the +other side of the island, wring off the heads of all the pirates, and, +carrying me on your shoulders, and Alice and Poopy in your coat-pockets, +get safely aboard of the _Foam_, and ho! for Sandy Cove." + +"So it would," said Corrie, gravely. "I did not think of that, and it +would be a far pleasanter way than the other." + +"Ah! Corrie, I fear that you are a very bloodthirsty fellow." + +"Of course I am when I've pirates to deal with. I would kill them every +man, without a thought." + +"No you wouldn't, my boy. You couldn't do it in cold blood, even +although they are bad men." + +"I don't know that," said Corrie, dubiously. "I would do it without +more feeling than I would have in killing a cat." + +"Did you ever kill a cat?" asked Montague. + +"Never," answered Corrie. + +"Then how can you tell what your feelings would be if you were to +attempt to do it. I remember once, when I was a boy, going out to hunt +cats." + +"O Captain Montague, surely _you_ never hunted cats," exclaimed Alice, +who came out of the tent with a very pale face, and uncommonly red eyes. + +"Yes, indeed, I did _once_--but I never did it again. I caught one, a +kitten, and set off with a number of boys to kill it; but as we went +along it began to play with my neck-tie and to _purr_! Our hearts were +softened, so we let it go. Ah! Corrie, my boy, never go hunting cats," +said Montague, earnestly. + +"Did I say I was going to?" replied Corrie, indignantly. + +Montague laughed, and so did Alice, at the fierce look the boy put on. + +"Corrie," said the former, "I'm sure that you would not kill a pirate in +cold blood, any more than you would kill a kitten--would you?" + +"I'm not sure o' that," said Corrie, half laughing, but still looking +fierce. "In the first place, my blood is never cold when I've to do +with pirates; and, in the second place, pirates are not innocent +creatures covered with soft hair--and they don't purr!" + +This last remark set Alice into a fit of laughter, and drew a faint +"Hee! hee!" from Poopy, who had been listening to the conversation +behind the canvas of the tent. + +Montague took advantage of this improved state of things. "Now, Alice," +said he, cheerfully, "do you and Poopy set about spreading our +blanket-tablecloth and getting supper laid out. It is but a poor one,-- +hard biscuit and water,--but there is plenty of it, and, after all, that +is the main thing. Meanwhile Corrie and I will saunter along shore and +talk over our plans. Cheer up, my little girl, we will manage to give +these pirates the slip somehow or other, you may depend upon it." + +"Corrie," said Montague, when they were alone. "I have spoken +cheeringly to Alice, because she is a little girl and needs comfort, but +you and I know that our case is a desperate one, and it will require all +our united wisdom and cleverness to effect our escape from these +rascally pirates." + +The commander of the _Talisman_ paused, and smiled in spite of himself +at the idea of being placed in circumstances that constrained him to +hold a consultation, in matters that might involve life and death, with +a mere boy! But there was no help for it; besides, to say truth, the +extraordinary energy and courage that had been displayed by the lad, +combined with a considerable amount of innate sharpness in his +character, tended to create a feeling that the consultation might not be +altogether without advantage. At all events, it was better to talk over +their desperate position even with a boy, than to confine his anxieties +to his own breast. + +But although Montague had seen enough of his young companion to convince +him that he was an intelligent fellow, he was not prepared for the +fertility of resource, the extremity of daring, and the ingenuity of +device, that were exhibited by him in the course of that consultation. + +To creep over in the dead of night, knife in hand, and attack the +pirates while asleep, was one of the least startling of his daring +propositions; and to swim out to the wreck, set her on fire, and get +quietly on board the _Avenger_ while all the amazed pirates should have +rushed over to see what could have caused such a blaze, cut the cable +and sail away, was among the least ingenious of his devices. + +These two talked long and earnestly while the shades of evening were +descending on the Isle of Palms--and in the earnestness of their talk, +and the pressing urgency of their case, the man almost forgot that his +companion was a boy, and the boy never for a moment doubted that he +himself, in everything but years, was a man. + +It was getting dark when they returned to the tent, where they found +that Alice and Poopy had arranged their supper with the most scrupulous +care and nicety. These too, with the happy buoyancy of extreme youth, +had temporarily forgotten their position, and, when their male +companions entered, were deeply engaged in a private game of a "tea +party," in which hard biscuit figured as bun, and water was made to do +duty for tea. In this latter part of the game, by the way, the children +did but carry out in jest a practice which is not altogether unknown in +happier circumstances and in civilised society. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +PLANS PARTIALLY CARRIED OUT--THE CUTTER'S FATE--AND A SERIOUS +MISFORTUNE. + +The cutter was a fast sailer, and although the pirate schooner had left +Sandy Cove nearly two days before her, the _Wasp_, having had a fair +wind, followed close on her heels. The _Avenger_ cast anchor in the +harbour of the Isle of Palms on the morning of her fifth day out; the +_Wasp_ sighted the island on the evening of the same day. + +It was not Gascoyne's purpose to run down at once and have a hand to +hand fight with his own men. He felt that his party was too weak for +such an attempt, and resolved to accomplish by stratagem what he could +not hope to compass by force. He therefore hove-to the instant the tops +of the palm-trees appeared on the horizon, and waited till night should +set in and favour his designs. + +"What do you intend to do?" inquired Henry Stuart, who stood on the deck +watching the sun as it sank into the ocean behind a mass of golden +clouds, in which, however, there were some symptoms of stormy weather. + +"I mean to wait till it is dark," said Gascoyne, "and then run down and +take possession of the schooner." + +Henry looked at the pirate captain in surprise, and not without +distrust. Ole Thorwald, who was smoking his big German pipe with great +energy, looked at him with undisguised uneasiness. + +"You speak as if you had no doubt whatever of succeeding in this +enterprise, Mr Gascoyne," said the latter. + +"I _have_ no doubt," replied Gascoyne. + +"I do believe you're right," returned Thorwald, smoking furiously as he +became more agitated. "I make no question but your villains will +receive you with open arms. What guarantee have we, Mister Gascoyne, or +Mister Durward, that we shall not be seized and made to walk the plank, +or perform some similarly fantastic feat--in which, mayhap, our feet +will have less to do with the performance than our necks--when you get +into power?" + +"You have no guarantee whatever," returned Gascoyne, "except the word of +a pirate!" + +"You say truth," cried Ole, springing up and pacing the deck with +unwonted energy, while a troubled and somewhat fierce expression settled +on his usually good-humoured countenance. "You say truth, and I think +we have been ill-advised when we took this step--for my part, I regard +myself as little better than a maniac for putting myself obstinately, +not to say deliberately, into the very jaws of a lion, perhaps I should +say a tiger. But mark my words, Gascoyne, _alias_ Durward," (here he +stopped suddenly before the pirate, who was leaning in a careless +attitude against the mast, and looked him full in the face,) "if you +play us false, as I have no hesitation in saying I believe that you +fully intend to do, your life will not be worth a pewter shilling." + +"I am yet in your power, Mr Thorwald," said Gascoyne; "if your friends +agree to it, I cannot prevent your putting about and returning to Sandy +Cove. But in that case the missionary's child _will be lost_!" + +"I do not believe that my child's safety is so entirely dependent on +you," said Mr Mason, who had listened in silence to the foregoing +dialogue; "she is in the hands of that God on whom you have turned your +back, and with whom all things are possible. But I feel disposed to +trust you, Gascoyne, and I feel thus, because of what was said of you by +Mrs Stuart, in whose good sense I place implicit confidence. I would +advise Mr Thorwald to wait patiently until he sees more cause than he +does at present for distrust." + +Gascoyne had turned round and, during the greater part of this speech, +had gazed intently towards the horizon. + +"We shall have rough weather to-night," said he; "but our work will be +done before it comes, I hope. Up with the helm now, Henry, and slack +off the sheets; it is dark enough to allow us to creep in without being +observed. Manton will of course be in the only harbour in the island; +we must therefore go round to the other side and take the risk of +running on the reefs." + +"Risk!" exclaimed Henry; "I thought you knew all the passages about the +island?" + +"So I do, lad--all the passages; but I don't profess to know every rock +and reef in the bottom of the sea. Our only chance is to make the +island on the south side, where there are no passages at all except one +that leads into a bay; but if we run into that, our masts will be seen +against the southern sky, even from the harbour where the schooner lies. +If we are seen, they will be prepared for us, in which case we shall +have a desperate fight with little chance of success and the certainty +of much bloodshed. We must therefore run straight for another part of +the shore, not far from the bay I have referred to, and take our chance +of striking. I _think_ there is enough of water to float this little +cutter over the reefs, but I am not sure." + +"Think! sure!" echoed Thorwald, in a tone of exasperated surprise; "and +if we _do_ strike, Mr Gascoyne, do you mean us to go beg for mercy at +the hands of your men, or to swim back to Sandy Cove?" + +"If we strike I shall take the boat, land with the men, and leave the +cutter to her fate. The _Avenger_ will suffice to take us back to Sandy +Cove." + +Ole was rendered speechless by the coolness of this remark, so he +relieved himself by tightening his belt and spouting forth volcanoes of +smoke. + +Meanwhile, the cutter had run to within a short distance of the island. +The night was rendered doubly dark by the rapid spreading of those heavy +clouds which indicated the approach of a squall, if not a storm. + +"This is well," said Gascoyne in a low tone to Henry Stuart, who stood +near him; "the worse the storm is to-night the better for the success of +our enterprise. Henry, lad, I'm sorry you think so badly of me." + +Henry was taken aback by this unexpected remark, which was made in a low +sad tone. + +"Can I think too badly of one who confesses himself to be a _pirate_?" +said Henry. + +"The confession is at least in my favour. I had no occasion to confess, +nor to give myself up to you." + +"Give yourself up! It remains to be seen whether you mean to do that or +not." + +"Do you not believe me, Henry? Do you not believe the account that I +gave of myself to you and your mother?" + +"How can I?" said the young man, hesitatingly. + +"Your mother believed me." + +"Well, Gascoyne, to tell you the plain truth, I _do_ feel more than half +inclined to believe you; and I'm sorry for you--I am, from my soul. You +might have led a different life--you might even do so yet." + +"You forget," said Gascoyne, smiling sadly, "I have given myself up, and +you are bound to prevent my escaping." + +Henry was perplexed by this reply. In the enthusiasm of his awakened +pity he had for a moment forgotten the pirate in the penitent. Before +he could reply, however, the cutter struck violently on a rock, and an +exclamation of alarm and surprise burst from the crew, most of whom were +assembled on deck. + +"Silence!" cried Gascoyne in a deep sonorous tone, that was wonderfully +different from that in which he had just been speaking to Henry; "get +out the boat. Arm yourselves and jump in. There is no time to lose." + +"The cutter is hard and fast," said Henry; "if this squall does not come +on, or if it turns out to be a light one, we may get her off." + +"Perhaps we may, but I have little hope of that," returned Gascoyne. +"Now, lads, are you all in the boat? Come, Henry, get in at once." + +"I will remain here," said Henry. + +"For what end?" said Gascoyne, in surprise. + +"The cutter belongs to a friend; I do not chose to forsake her in this +off-hand manner." + +"But nothing can save her, Henry." + +"Perhaps not. Nevertheless, I will do what I can. She moves a little. +If she is lifted over this reef while we are on shore, she will be +carried out to sea and lost, and that must not be allowed. Leave me +here till you land the men, and then send the boat back with two of +them. We will put some of the cutter's ballast into it and try to tow +her off. It won't take half-an-hour, and that will not interfere with +your plans, I should think, for the whole night lies before us." + +Seeing that he was determined, Gascoyne agreed, and left the cutter, +promising to send off the boat directly. But it took half-an-hour to +row from the _Wasp_ to the shore, and before the half of that time had +elapsed, the storm which had been impending burst over the island. + +It was much more violent than had been expected. The cutter was lifted +over the reef by the first wave, and struck heavily as she slid into +deep water. Then she rushed out to sea before the gale. Henry seized +the helm and kept the little vessel right before the wind. He knew +nothing of the sea around, and the intense darkness of the night +prevented his seeing more than a dozen yards beyond the bow. + +It was perhaps as well that he was kept in ignorance of what awaited +him, for he was thus spared at least the anticipation of what appeared +certain destruction. He fancied that the rock over which he had been +carried was the outer reef of the island. In this he was mistaken. The +whole sea around and beyond him was beset with reefs, which at that +moment were covered with foam. Had daylight revealed the scene, he +would have been appalled. As it was, he stood stoutly and hopefully to +the helm while the cutter rushed wildly on her doom. + +Suddenly she struck with terrific violence, and Henry was hurled to the +deck. Leaping up, he sprang again to the helm and attempted to put +about, but the shock had been so great that the whole framework of the +little craft was dislocated. The fastenings of the rudder had been torn +out, and she was unmanageable. The next wave lifted her over the reef +and the gale swept her away. + +Even then the hopes of the young man did not quite fail him. He +believed that the last reef had now been passed, and that he would be +driven out to the open sea, clear at least of immediate danger. It was +a vain hope. In another moment the vessel struck for the third time, +and the mast went over the side. Again and again she rose and fell with +all her weight on the rocks. The last blow burst out her sides, and she +fell to pieces, a total wreck, leaving Henry struggling with the waves. + +He seized the first piece of wood that came in his way, and clung to it. +For many hours he was driven about and tossed by the winds and waves +until he began to feel utterly exhausted, but he clung to the spar with +the tenacity of a drowning man. In those seas the water is not so cold +as in our northern climes, so that men can remain in it for a great +length of time without much injury. There are many instances of the +South Sea Islanders having been wrecked in their canoes, and having +spent not only hours but days in the water, clinging to broken pieces of +wood, and swimming for many miles, pushing these before them. + +When, therefore, the morning broke, and the bright sun, shone out, and +the gale had subsided, Henry found himself still clinging to the spar, +and although much weakened, still able to make some exertion to save +himself. + +On looking round he found that numerous pieces of the wreck floated near +him, and that the portion to which he clung was the broken lower-mast. +A large mass of the deck, with part of the gunwale attached to it, lay +close beside, him, held to the mast by one of the shrouds. He at once +swam to this, and found it sufficiently large to sustain his weight, +though not large enough to enable him to get quite out of the water. +While here, half-in and half-out of the water, his first act was to fall +on his knees and thank God for sparing his life, and to pray for help in +that hour of need. + +Feeling that it would be impossible to exist much longer unless he could +get quite out of the water so as to allow the sun to warm his chilled +frame, he used what strength remained in him to drag towards him several +spars that lay within his reach. These he found to be some of the rough +timbers that had lain on the deck of the cutter to serve as spare masts +and yards. They were, therefore, destitute of cordage, so that it was +not possible to form a secure raft. Nevertheless, by piling them +together on the top of the broken portion of the deck, he succeeded in +constructing a platform which raised him completely out of the water. + +The heat of the sun speedily dried his garments, and as the day wore on +the sea went down sufficiently to render the keeping of his raft +together a matter of less difficulty than it was at first. In trying to +make some better arrangement of the spars on which he rested, he +discovered the corner of a sail sticking between two of them. This he +hauled out of the water, and found it to be a portion of the gaff. It +was a fortunate discovery; because, in the event of long exposure, it +would prove to be a most useful covering. Wringing it out, he spread it +over the logs to dry. + +The doing of all this occupied the shipwrecked youth so long, that it +was nearly mid-day before he could sit down on his raft and think calmly +over his position. Hunger now began to remind him that he was destitute +of food; but Henry had been accustomed, while roaming among the +mountains of his island home, to go fasting for long periods of time. +The want of breakfast, therefore, did not inconvenience him much; but +before he had remained inactive more than ten minutes, the want of sleep +began to tell upon him. Gradually he felt completely overpowered by it. +He laid his head on one of the spars at last, and resigned himself to +an influence he could no longer resist. + +It was evening before he awoke from that slumber. The sun had just +disappeared below the horizon, and the red clouds that remained behind +were beginning to deepen, as night prepared to throw her dark mantle +over the sea. A gull wheeled over the youth's head and uttered a wild +cry as he awoke, causing him to start up with a feeling of bewildered +uncertainty as to where he was. + +The true nature of his position was quickly forced upon him. A dead +calm now prevailed. Henry gazed eagerly, wistfully round the horizon. +It was an unbroken line; not a speck that resembled a sail was to be +seen. Remembering for the first time that his low raft would be quite +invisible at a very short distance, he set about erecting a flag. This +was easily done. Part of his red shirt was torn off and fastened to a +light spar, the end of which he stuck between the logs. Having set up +his signal of distress he sat down beside it, and, drawing part of the +sail over his shoulders, leaned on the broken part of the bulwark, and +pondered his forlorn condition. + +It was a long, sad reverie into which poor Henry Stuart fell that +evening. Hope did not, indeed, forsake his breast--for hope is strong +in youth; but he was too well acquainted with the details of a sailor's +life and risks to be able to shut his eyes to the real dangers of his +position. He knew full well that if he should be cast on any of the +inhabited islands of the South Seas (unless it might be one of the very +few that had at that time accepted the Gospel) he would certainly be +killed by the savages, whose practice it is to slay and eat all +unfortunates who chance to be wrecked and cast upon their shores. But +no islands were in sight, and it was possible that he might be left to +float on the boundless ocean until the slow and terrible process of +starvation did its work, and wore away the life which he felt to be so +fresh and strong within him. + +When he thought of this he shuddered, and reverted, almost with a +feeling of pleasure, to the idea that another storm might spring up ere +long, and by dashing his frail raft to pieces, bring his life to a +speedy termination. His hopes were not very clear even to his own mind. +He did indeed hope, because he could not help it; but what it was that +he hoped for would have puzzled him to state. A passing ship finding +him in a part of the Pacific where ships were not wont to pass was, +perhaps, among the least animating of all his hopes. + +But the thoughts that coursed through the youth's brain that night were +not centred alone upon the means or the prospects of deliverance. He +thought of his mother,--her gentleness, her goodness, her unaccountable +partiality for Gascoyne; but more than all, he thought of her love for +himself. He thought, too, of his former life--his joys, his sorrows, +and his sins. As he remembered these last, his soul was startled, and +he thought of his God and his Saviour as he had never thought before. +Despite his efforts to restrain them, tears, but not unmanly tears, +_would_ flow down his cheeks as he sat that evening on his raft; +meditated on the past, the present, and the future, and realised the +terrible solemnity of his position--without water or food--almost +without hope--alone on the deep. [See Frontispiece.] + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +AN UNEXPECTED MEETING--DOINGS ON THE ISLE OF PALMS--GASCOYNE'S DESPAIR. + +It was not without some difficulty that the boat reached the shore after +the squall burst upon them. On landing, the party observed, dark though +it was, that their leader's countenance wore an expression of the +deepest anxiety; yet there were lines upon it that indicated the raging +of conflicting passions which he found it difficult to restrain. + +"I fear me," said Ole Thorwald in a troubled voice, "that our young +friend Henry Stuart is in danger." + +"Lost!" said Gascoyne, in a voice so low and grating that it startled +his hearers. + +"Say not so," said Mr Mason, earnestly. "He is a brave and a clever +youth, and knows how to manage the cutter until we can row back and +fetch him ashore." + +"Row back!" exclaimed Gascoyne, almost fiercely. + +"Think you that I would stand here idle if our boat could live in such a +sea as now rolls on the rocks? The _Wasp_ must have been washed over +the reef by this time. She may pass the next without being dashed to +pieces, but she is too rickety to stand the third. No, there is no +hope!" + +While he spoke the missionary's eyes were closed, and his lips moved as +if in silent prayer. Seizing Gascoyne nervously by the arm, he +said--"You cannot tell that there is no hope. That is known only to One +who has encouraged us to `hope against hope.' Henry is a stout youth +and a good swimmer. He may succeed in clinging to some portion of the +wreck." + +"True, true," cried Gascoyne, eagerly grasping at this hope, slight +though it was. "Come, we waste time. There is but one chance. The +schooner must be secured without delay. Lads, you will follow Mr +Thorwald. Do whatever he bids you. And now," he added, leading the +merchant aside, "the time for action has come. I will conduct you to a +certain point on the island where you will remain concealed among the +bushes until I return to you." + +"And suppose you never return to us, Mister Gascoyne?" said Ole, who +regarded every act of the pirate captain with suspicion. + +"Then you will remain there till you are tired," answered Gascoyne, with +some asperity, "and after that, do what you please." + +"Well, well, I am in your power," retorted the obdurate Norseman; "make +what arrangements you please, I will carry them out until--" + +Here Ole thought fit to break off, and Gascoyne, without taking notice +of the remark, went on in a few hurried sentences to explain as much of +his plan as he thought necessary for the guidance of his suspicious +ally. + +This done, he led the whole party to the highest part of the island, and +made them lie in ambush there while he went forward alone to +reconnoitre. The night was admirably suited to their purpose. It was +so dark that it was extremely difficult to perceive objects more than a +few yards off, and the wind howled so furiously among the palms that +there was no danger of being overheard in the event of their speaking +too loud or stumbling over fallen trees. + +Gascoyne, who knew every rock and tree on the Isle of Palms, went +rapidly down the gentle slope that intervened between him and the +harbour in which the _Foam_ lay at anchor. Dark though it was, he could +see the taper masts and yards of his vessel traced dimly against the +sky. + +The pirate's movements now became more cautious. He stepped slowly, and +paused frequently to listen. At last he went down on his hands and +knees and crept forward for a considerable distance in that position, +until he reached a ledge of rocks that overhung the shore of the bay. +Here he observed an object like a round lump of rock, lying a few yards +before him, on a spot where he was well aware no such rock had +previously existed. It moved after a moment or two. Gascoyne knew that +there were no wild animals of any kind on the island, and, therefore, at +once jumped to the conclusion that this must needs be a human being of +some sort. Drawing his knife he put it between his teeth, and creeping +noiselessly towards the object in question laid his strong hand on the +neck of the horrified Will Corrie. + +That adventurous and desperate little hero having lain sleepless and +miserable at the feet of Alice until the squall blew the tent over their +heads, got up and assisted Montague to erect it anew in a more sheltered +position, after which, saying that he meant to take a midnight ramble on +the shore to cool his fevered brow, he made straight for the sea, +stepped knee-deep into the raging surf, and bared his breast to the +furious blast. + +This cooled him so effectually that he took to running along shore in +order to warm himself. Then it occurred to him that the night was +particularly favourable for a sly peep at the pirates. Without a +moment's hesitation he walked and stumbled towards the high part of the +island, at which he arrived just half-an-hour before Gascoyne reached +it. He had seen nothing, however, and was on the point of advancing +still further in his explorations, when he was discovered as we have +seen. + +Gascoyne instantly turned the boy over on his back, and nipped a +tremendous yell in the bud by grasping his wind-pipe. + +"Why, Corrie!" exclaimed Gascoyne in surprise, at the same time +loosening his grip, though still holding the boy down. + +"Ah! you villain, you rascally pirate. _I_ know you, I--" + +The pipe was gently squeezed at this point, and the sentence abruptly +cut short. + +"Come, boy, you must not speak so loud. Enemies are near. If you don't +behave I'll have to throttle you. I have come from Sandy Cove with a +party to save you and your friends." + +Corrie did not believe a word of this. He knew, or at least he +supposed, that Gascoyne had left the schooner, not having seen him since +they sailed from Sandy Cove; but he knew nothing of the manner in which +he had been put ashore. + +"It won't do, Gascoyne," gasped poor Corrie, on being permitted again to +use his wind-pipe. "You may kill me, but you'll never cow me. I don't +believe you, you cowardly monster." + +"I'll have to convince you then," said Gascoyne, suddenly catching the +boy in his arms, and bearing him swiftly away from the spot. + +Corrie struggled like a hero, as he was. He tried to shout, but +Gascoyne's right hand again squeezed the wind-pipe; he attempted to +bite, but the same hand easily kept the refractory head in order; he +endeavoured to kick and hit, but Gascoyne's left hand encircled him in +such a comprehensive embrace and pressed him so powerfully to his +piratical bosom that he could only wriggle. This he did without +ceasing, until Gascoyne suddenly planted him on his feet, panting and +dishevelled, before the astonished faces of Frederick Mason and Ole +Thorwald. + +It is not necessary to describe in detail the surprise of all then and +there assembled, the hurried conversation, and the cry of joy with which +the missionary received the information that Alice was safe and within +five minutes' walk of the spot on which he stood. Suffice it to say, +that Corrie was now convinced of the good faith of Gascoyne, whom he at +once led, along with Mr Mason, to the tent where Alice and her friends +slept--leaving Thorwald and his men where they were, to await further +orders. + +The cry of wild delight with which Alice sprang into her father's arms +might have been destructive of all Gascoyne's plans had not the wind +carried it away from the side of the island where the pirate schooner +lay. There was now no time to be lost. After the first embrace, and a +few hurried words of blessing and thanksgiving, the missionary was +summoned to a consultation. + +"I will join you in this enterprise, Mr Gascoyne," said Montague. "I +believe what you say to be true, besides, the urgency of our present +danger leaves me no room for choice. I am in your power. I believe +that in your present penitent condition you are willing to enable us to +escape from your former associates; but I tell you frankly that, if ever +I have an opportunity to do so, I will consider it my duty to deliver +you over to justice." + +"Time is too precious to trifle thus," said Gascoyne, hurriedly. "I +have already said that I will deliver myself up--not however to _you_, +but to Mr Mason--after I have rescued the party, so that I am not +likely to claim any consideration from you on account of the obligation +which you seem to think my present act will lay you under. But you must +not accompany me just now." + +"Why not?" + +"Because your presence may be required here. You and Mr Mason will +remain where you are to guard the girls, until I return. All that I +have to ask is, that you be in readiness to follow me at a moment's +notice when the time comes." + +"Of course what you arrange _must_ be agreed to," said Montague. + +"Come, Corrie, I will require your assistance. Follow me," said the +pirate captain, as he turned and strode rapidly away. + +Corrie was now thoroughly convinced of the good intentions of Gascoyne, +so he followed him without hesitation. Indeed, now that he had an +opportunity of seeing a little more of his gigantic companion, he began +to feel a strange kind of pity and liking for him, but he shuddered and +felt repelled when he thought of the human blood in which his hands must +have been imbrued, for as yet he had not heard of the defence of himself +which Gascoyne had made in the widow's cottage. But he had not much +time to think, for in a few minutes they came upon Ole Thorwald and his +party. + +"Follow me quietly," said Gascoyne. "Keep in single file and close +together, for if we are separated here we shall not easily get together +again." + +Leading them over the same ground that he had formerly traversed, +Gascoyne conducted his party to the shores of the bay where the _Foam_ +lay at anchor. Here he made them keep close in the bushes, with +directions to be ready to act the instant he should call on them to do +so. + +"But it would comfort me mightily, Mister Gascoyne," said Thorwald in a +somewhat troubled voice, "if you would give me some instructions or +advice as to what I am to do in the event of your plans miscarrying. I +care nought for a fair fight in open field, but I do confess to a +dislike of being brought to the condition of _not knowing what to do_." + +"It won't matter much what you do, Mr Thorwald," said Gascoyne, +gravely. "If my plans miscarry, you will be killed every soul of you. +You'll not have the ghost of a chance of escaping." + +Ole opened his eyes uncommonly wide at this. "Well," said he at length, +with a sigh of resignation, "it's some comfort to know that one can only +be killed once." + +Gascoyne now proceeded leisurely to strip off his shirt, thereby +displaying a chest, back, and arms in which the muscles were developed +to an extent that might have made Hercules himself envious. Kicking off +his boots, he reduced his clothing to a pair of loose knee-breeches. + +"'Tis a strange time to indulge in a cold bath!" murmured Thorwald, +whose state of surprise was beginning to render him desperately +ironical. + +Gascoyne took no notice of this remark, but calling Corrie to his side, +said-- + +"Can you swim, boy?" + +"Yes, like a duck." + +"Can you distinguish the stern of the schooner?" + +"I can." + +"Listen, then. When you see a white sheet waved over the taffrail, +throw off your jacket and shirt and swim out to the schooner. D'ye +understand?" + +"Perfectly," replied the boy, whose decision of manner and action grew +with the occasion. + +"And now, Mr Thorwald," said Gascoyne, "I shall swim off to the +schooner. If, as I expect, the men are on shore in a place that I wot +of and with which you have nothing to do, well and good, I will send a +boat for you with muffled oars--but, mark you, let there be no noise in +embarking or in getting aboard the schooner. If, on the other hand, the +men are aboard, I will bring a boat to you myself, in which case silence +will not be so necessary, and your fighting powers shall be put to the +proof." + +Without waiting for a reply, the pirate captain walked down the sloping +beach and waded slowly into the dark sea. His motions were so noiseless +and stealthy that those who watched him with eager eyes could only +discern a figure moving gradually away from them and melting into the +thick gloom. + +Fierce though the storm was outside, the sheltered waters of the bay +were almost calm, so that Gascoyne had no difficulty in swimming off to +the _Foam_ without making any noise. As he drew near, a footstep on the +deck apprised him that there was at least a watch left. A few seconds +later a man leaned over the low bulwarks of the vessel on the side on +which the swimmer approached. + +"Hist! what sort o' brute's that?" he exclaimed, seizing a handspike +that chanced to be near him and hurling it at the head of the brute. + +The handspike fell within a yard of Gascoyne, who, keeping up his +supposed character, made a wild splash with his arms and dived like a +genuine monster of the deep. Swimming under water as vigorously as he +could, he endeavoured to gain the other side of the vessel before he +came up; but, finding that this was impossible, he turned on his back +and allowed himself to rise gently until nothing but his face appeared +above the surface. By this means he was enabled to draw a full breath, +and then, causing himself to sink, he swam under water to the other side +of the schooner and rose under her quarter. + +Here he paused a minute to breathe, then glided with noiseless strokes +to the main chains, which he seized hold of, and, under their shelter, +listened intently for at least five minutes. + +Not a sound was to be heard on board save the footstep of the solitary +watchman who slowly paced the deck, and now and then beguiled the tedium +of his vigil by humming a snatch of a sea song. + +Gascoyne now felt assured that the crew were ashore enjoying themselves, +(as they were wont to do,) in one of the artificial caverns where their +goods were concealed. He knew, from his own former experience, that +they felt quite secure when once at anchor in the harbour of the Isle of +Palms; it was therefore probable that all of them had gone ashore except +this man who had been left to take care of the vessel. + +Gascoyne now drew himself slowly up into the chains, and remained there +for a few seconds in a stooping position, keeping his head below the +level of the bulwarks while he squeezed the water out of his lower +garments. This done, he waited until the man on deck came close to +where he stood, when he sprang on him with the agility of a tiger, threw +him down, and placed his hand on his mouth. + +"It will be your wisest course to be still, my man," said Gascoyne, +sternly. "You know who I am, and you know what I can do when occasion +requires. If you shout when I remove my hand from your mouth you die." + +The man seemed to be quite aware of the hopelessness of his case, for he +quietly submitted to have his mouth bound with a handkerchief and his +hands and feet tied with cords. A few seconds sufficed to accomplish +this, after which Gascoyne took him up in his arms as if he had been a +child, carried him below, and laid him on one of the cabin lockers. +Then, dragging a sheet off one of the beds, he sprang up on deck and +waved it over the stern. + +"That's the signal for me," said Corrie, who had watched for it +eagerly--"now, uncle Ole, mind you obey orders--you're rather inclined +to be mutinous, and that won't pay to-night. If you don't look out, +Gascoyne will pitch into you, old boy." + +Master Corrie indulged in these impertinent remarks while he was +stripping off his jacket and shirt. The exasperated Thorwald attempted +to seize him by the neck and shake him, but Corrie flung his jacket in +his face, and sprang down the beach like a squirrel. He had wisdom +enough, however, to say and do all this in the quietest possible manner, +and when he entered the sea he did so with as much caution as Gascoyne +himself had done, insomuch that he seemed to melt away like a +mischievous sprite. + +In a few minutes he was alongside of the _Foam_; caught a rope that was +thrown to him, and quickly stood on the deck. + +"Well done, Corrie. Clamber over the stern, and slide down by that rope +into the little boat that floats there. Take one of the oars, which you +will find muffled, and scull to the shore and bring off Thorwald and his +men. And, hark 'ee, boy, bring off my shirt and boots. Now, look +alive; your friend Henry Stuart's life may depend on it." + +"Henry's life!" exclaimed Corrie in amazement. + +"Come, no questions. His life may depend on your promptitude." + +Corrie wanted no stronger motive for speed. In a state of surprise +mingled with anxious forebodings, he leaped over the stern and was gone +in a moment. + +The distance between the shore and the schooner being very short, the +boat was quickly alongside, and the party, under stout Ole Thorwald, +took possession of their prize. Meanwhile Gascoyne had set the jib and +fore-topsail, which latter had been left hanging loose from the yard, so +that by hauling out the sheets slowly and with great care, the thing was +done without noise. The cable was then cut, the boat manned, and the +_Foam_ glided out of the bay like a phantom ship. + +The moment she got beyond the shelter of the palms her sails filled, and +in a few minutes she was rushing through the water at the rate of ten or +eleven knots an hour. + +Gascoyne stood at the helm and guided her through the intricacies of the +dangerous coast with consummate skill, until he reached the bay where +the wrecked ship lay. Here he lay to, and sent the boat ashore for the +party that had been left at the tent. They were waiting anxiously for +his return; great therefore was their astonishment when he sent a +message inviting them to go on board the _Foam_. + +The instant they embarked Gascoyne put about, and, ordering the mainsail +to be hoisted and one of the reefs to be shaken out of the topsail, ran +round to windward of the island, with the foam flying in great masses on +either side of the schooner, which lay over so much before the gale that +it was scarcely possible to stand on the deck. + +The manner in which the pirate captain now acted was calculated to fill +the hearts of those whose lives seemed to hang in his hands with alarm +if not dismay. His spirit seemed to be stirred within him. There was +indeed no anger either in his looks or tones, but there was a stern +fixedness of purpose in his manner and aspect which aroused, yet +repelled, the curiosity of those around him. Even Ole Thorwald and +Montague agreed that it was best to let him alone, for although they +might overcome his great physical force by the united strength of +numbers, the result would certainly be disastrous, as he was the only +one who knew the locality. + +On reaching the windward side of the island he threw the schooner up +into the wind, and ordered the large boat to be hoisted out and put in +the water, Gascoyne issued his commands in a quick loud voice, and Ole +shook his head as if he felt that this overbearing manner proved what he +had expected, namely, that when the pirate got aboard his own vessel he +would come out in his true colours. + +Whatever men felt or thought, there was no hesitation in rendering +prompt obedience to that voice. The large boat was hoisted off the +brass pivot gun amidships and lowered into the water. Then Gascoyne +gave the helm to one of the men, with directions to hold it exactly as +it then lay, and, hurrying down below, speedily returned, to the +astonishment of every one, with a man in his arms. + +"Now, Connway," said Gascoyne, as he cut the cords that bound the man +and removed the handkerchief from his mouth, "I'm a man of few words, +and to-night have less time than usual to speak. I set you free. Get +into that boat--one oar will suffice to guide it--the wind will drive it +to the island. I send it as a parting gift to Manton and my former +associates. It is large enough to hold them all. Tell them that I +repent of my sins, and the sooner they do the same the better. I cannot +now undo the evil I have done them. I can only furnish the means of +escape, so that they may have time and opportunity to mend their ways, +and, hark 'ee, the sooner they leave this plane the better. It will no +longer be a safe retreat. Farewell!" + +While he was speaking he led the man by the arm to the side of the +schooner, and constrained him to get into the boat. As he uttered the +last word he cut the rope that held it, and let it drop astern. + +Gascoyne immediately resumed his place at the helm, and once more the +schooner was running through the water, almost gunwale under, towards +the place where the _Wasp_ had been wrecked. + +Without uttering a word of explanation, and apparently forgetful of +every one near him, the pirate continued during the remainder of that +night to steer the _Foam_ out and in among the roaring breakers, as if +he were trying how near he could venture to the jaws of destruction +without actually plunging into them. As the night wore on the sky +cleared up, and the scene of foaming desolation that was presented by +the breakers in the midst of which they flew, was almost enough to appal +the stoutest heart. + +The crew looked on in moody silence. They knew that their lives were +imperilled, but they felt that they had no resource. No one dared to +address the silent, stern man who stood like an iron statue at the helm +the whole of that night. Towards morning, he steered out from among the +dangerous coral reefs and ran south, straight before the wind. + +Then Corrie summoned up courage, and, going aft to Gascoyne, looked up +in his face and said-- + +"You're searching for Henry, I think?" + +"Yes, boy. I am," answered the pirate, and a gleam of kindliness +crossed his face for a moment, but it was quickly chased away by a look +of deep anxiety, and Corrie retired. + +Now that the danger of the night was over, all the people on board +became anxious to save Henry or ascertain his fate; but although they +searched the ocean far and wide, they saw not a vestige of him or of the +_Wasp_. During this period Gascoyne acted like a bewildered man. He +never quitted the helm, night nor day. He only ate a biscuit now and +then when it was brought to him, and he did not answer when he was +spoken to. + +Every one felt sympathy with the man who seemed to mourn so deeply for +the lost youth. + +At last Montague went up to him and said in a gentle voice-- + +"I fear that Henry is gone." + +Gascoyne started as if a sword had pierced him. For one moment he +looked fiercely in the young captain's face; then an expression of the +deepest sadness overspread his countenance as he said-- + +"Do you think there is no hope?" + +"None," said Montague. "I grieve to give pain to one who seems to have +been an intimate friend of the lad." + +"He was the son of my oldest and best friend. What would you advise, +Mr Montague?" + +"I think--that is to say, don't _you_ think--that it would be as well to +put about now?" + +Gascoyne's head dropped on his chest, and for some moments he stood +speechless, while his strong hands played nervously with the tiller that +they had held so long and so firmly. At last he looked up and said, in +a low voice--"I resign the schooner into your hands, Mr Montague." + +Then he went slowly below, and shut himself up in his cabin. + +Montague at once put down the helm, and, pointing the schooner's prow +northward, steered for the harbour of Sandy Cove. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. + +SURLY DICK--THE RESCUE. + +We must turn aside here for a short time to follow the fortunes of the +_Talisman_. + +When that vessel went in chase of the _Foam_, after her daring passage +across the reefs, she managed to keep her in view until the island was +out of sight astern. Then the increasing darkness caused by the squall +hid the two vessels from each other, and before the storm passed away +the superior sailing qualities of the _Foam_ carried her far beyond the +reach of the cruiser. + +But Mr Mulroy was not a man to be easily baffled. He resolved to +continue the chase, and, supposing that his commander must have got +safely to the shore, he made up his mind to proceed southward for a +short time, thinking it probable that the pirate would run for the +shelter of those remote islands which he knew were seldom visited by +merchant ships. The importance of keeping the chase in view as long as +possible, and following it up without delay, he felt it would be +accepted as a sufficient excuse by Montague for not putting back to take +him on board. + +The squalls which happened to prevail at that time drove the _Talisman_ +farther south than her first lieutenant had intended to go, and she +failed to fall in with the pirate schooner. Mulroy cruised far and wide +for fully a week; then he gave up the chase as hopeless. Two days after +the breaking of the storm that wrecked the _Wasp_, the _Talisman's_ prow +was turned northward towards Sandy Cove. + +It was the close of a calm beautiful evening when this was done. A +gentle breeze fanned the topsails, although it failed to ruffle the sea. + +"I don't like to be baffled in this way," said Mulroy to the second +lieutenant, as they paced the quarterdeck together. + +"It is very unfortunate," returned the other. "Would it not be as well +to examine the man called Surly Dick before leaving these waters? You +know he let out that there is some island hereabouts at which the +pirates are wont to rendezvous. Perhaps by threats, if not by +persuasion, he may be induced to tell us where it lies." + +"True. I had forgotten that fellow altogether. Let him be sent for." + +In a few minutes Surly Dick stepped on the quarter-deck and touched his +cap. He did not appear to have grown less surly since his introduction +on board the frigate. Discipline had evidently a souring effect on his +temper. + +"Your late comrades have escaped me," said the first lieutenant, "but +you may depend upon it I will catch the villains in the long run." + +"It'll be a pretty long run before you do," remarked the man, sulkily. + +Mulroy looked sternly at him. "You forget," said he, "that you are a +prisoner. Let me advise you to be at least _civil_ in your manner and +tone. Whether the run shall be a long or a short one remains to be +seen. One thing is pretty certain, namely, that your own run of life +will be a _very_ short one. You know the usual doom of a pirate when he +is caught." + +Surly Dick moved uneasily. "I was made a pirate against my will," said +he, in a still more sulky tone and disrespectful manner. + +"You will find it difficult to prove that," returned Mulroy. "Meanwhile +I shall put you in irons and treat you as you deserve until I can place +you in the hands of the civil authorities." + +Surly Dick stood first on one leg and then on the other; moved his +fingers about nervously, and glanced in the lieutenant's face furtively. +It was evident that he was ill at ease. + +"I never committed murder, sir," said he in an improved tone. "It +wasn't allowed on board of the _Avenger_, sir. It's a hard case that a +fellow should be made a pirate by force, and then be scragged for it, +though he's done none o' the bloody work." + +"This may be true," rejoined the lieutenant, "but as I have said, you +will find it difficult to convince your judges of it. But you will +receive a fair trial. There is one thing, however, that will stand in +your favour, and that is a full and free confession. If you make this, +and give me all the information you can in order to bring your late +comrades to justice, your judges will perhaps be disposed to view your +case leniently." + +"Wot more _can_ I confess, sir," said Dick, beginning to look a little +more interested. "I've already confessed that I wos made a pirate +against my will, and that I've never done no murder--though I _have_ +plundered a little, just like the rest. As for helpin' to bring my +comrades to justice, I only wish as I know'd how, and I'd do it right +off, I would." + +Surly Dick's expression of countenance when he said this, was a +sufficient guarantee that he was in earnest. + +"There is an island somewhere hereabouts," said the lieutenant, "where +the pirates are in the habit of hiding sometimes, is there not?" + +Surly Dick looked at his questioner slyly as he replied--"There is, +sir." + +"Do you not think it very likely that they may have run there now--that +they may be there at this moment?" + +"It's _oncommom_ likely," replied Dick with a grin. "Can you direct me +how to steer, in order to reach that island?" + +Surly Dick's aspect changed. He became morose again, and looked +silently at his feet for a few moments, as if he were debating something +in his own mind. He was in truth perplexed; for, while he was extremely +anxious to bring his hated comrades to justice, he was by no means so +anxious to let the lieutenant into the secret of the treasures contained +in the caverns of the Isle of Palms, all of which he knew would be at +once swept hopelessly beyond his grasp if they should be discovered. He +also reflected that if he could only manage to get his late companions +comfortably hanged, and himself set free for having turned King's +evidence against them, he could return to the island and abstract the +wealth it contained by degrees. The brilliant prospect thus opened up +to him was somewhat marred, however, by the consideration that some of +the pirates might make a confession and let this secret be known, in +which case his golden dreams would vanish. The difficulty of making up +his mind was so great that he continued for some time to twist his +fingers and move his feet uneasily in silence. + +Mulroy observed the pirate's indecision, and although he knew not its +cause to the full extent, he was sufficiently acquainted with human +nature to know that now was the moment to overcome the man, if he was to +be overcome at all. + +"Well, well," he said, carelessly, "I'm sorry to see you throw away your +only chance. As for the information you refuse to give, I can do +without it. Perhaps I may find some of your late comrades when we make +the island, who will stand witness against _you_. That will do, my man, +you may go. Mr Geoffrey," (turning to a midshipman,) "will you +accompany that pirate forward and see that he is put in irons." + +"But you don't know where the island is," said Surly Dick, anxiously, as +the lieutenant was turning away. + +Mulroy turned back--"No," said he, "but you ought to know that when a +seaman is aware of the existence of an island, and knows that he is near +it, a short time will suffice to enable him to find it." + +Again he was about to turn away when Dick cried out--"Stay, sir, will +you stand by me if I shew you the way?" + +"I will not deceive you," said Mulroy, bluntly. "If you shew me how to +steer for this island, and assist me in every way that you can to catch +these villains, I will report what you have done, and the judges at your +trial will give what weight they please to the facts; but if you suppose +that I will plead for such a rascal as you are, you very much mistake +me." + +A look of deep hatred settled on the pirate's countenance as he said +briefly--"Well, I'll shew you how to steer." + +Accordingly Surly Dick, after being shewn a chart, and being made aware +of the exact position of the ship, ordered the course to be altered to +"north-half-east." As this was almost dead in the eye of the light +breeze that was blowing, the _Talisman_ had to proceed on her course by +the slow process of tacking. + +While she was in the act of putting about on one of these tacks, the +look-out reported "a boat on the lee bow." + +"Boat on the lee bow!" was passed from mouth to mouth, and the order was +immediately given to let the frigate fall off. In another minute, +instead of ploughing her way slowly and doggedly to windward, the +_Talisman_ ran swiftly before the breeze towards a dark object which at +a distance resembled a boat with a mast and a small flag flying from it. + +"It is a raft, I think," observed the second lieutenant, as he adjusted +the telescope more perfectly. + +"You are right, and I think there is someone on it," said Mulroy. "I +see something like a man lying on it, but whether he is dead or alive I +cannot say. There is a flag, undoubtedly--but no one waves a +handkerchief or a rag of any kind. Surely, if a _living_ being occupied +the raft he would have seen the ship by this time. Stay, he moves! No; +it must have been imagination. I fear that he is dead, poor fellow. +Stand by to lower a boat." + +The lieutenant spoke in a sad voice, for he felt convinced that he had +come too late to the aid of some unfortunate who had died in perhaps the +most miserable manner in which man can perish. + +Henry Stuart did indeed lie on the raft a dead man to all appearance. +Towards the evening of his third day, he had suffered very severely from +the pangs of hunger. Long and earnestly had he gazed round the horizon, +but no sail appeared. He felt that his end was approaching, and in a +fit of despair and increasing weakness, he fell on his face in a state +of half consciousness. Then he began to pray, and, gradually, he fell +into a troubled slumber. + +It was while he was in this condition, that the _Talisman_ hove in +sight. Henry had frequently fallen into this species of sleep during +the last few hours, but he never continued in it long, for the pains of +thirst as well as hunger now racked his frame. Nevertheless, he was not +much reduced in strength or vigour. A long slow process of dying would +have still lain before the poor youth, had it been his lot to perish on +that raft. + +A delightful dream came over him as he lay. A rich banquet was spread +before him. With wolfish desire he grasped the food, and ate as he +never ate before. Oh! it was a rare feast that! Each morsel was +delicious; each draught was nectar. But he could not devour enough. +There was a strange feeling in him that he could by no means eat to +satisfaction. + +While he was thus feasting in dreams the _Talisman_ drew near. Her +bulwarks were crowded with faces gazing earnestly at the bit of red rag +that fluttered in the breeze and the pile of loose spars on the man's +form lay extended and motionless. + +Suddenly Henry awoke with a start, to find that his rich banquet was a +terrible delusion! that he was starving to death--and that a large ship +was hove-to within a few yards of him! + +Starting up on his knees, he uttered a wild shriek. Then, as the truth +entered his soul, he raised his hand and gave a faint cheer. + +The revulsion of feeling in the crew of the _Talisman_ was +overpowering--a long, loud, tremendous cheer burst from every heart! + +"Lower away!" was shouted to the men who stood at the fall-tackles of +the boat! + +As the familiar sounds broke on Henry's ear, he leaped to his feet, and +waving his hand above his head, again attempted to cheer; but his voice +failed him. Staggering backwards, he fell fainting into the sea. + +Almost at the same instant, a man leaped from the bulwark of the +frigate, and swam vigorously towards the raft. It was Richard Price, +the boatswain of the frigate. He reached Henry before the boat did, +and, grasping his inanimate form, supported him until it came up and +rescued them both. A few minutes later Henry Stuart was restored to +consciousness, and the surgeon of the frigate was ministering to him +such restoratives as his condition seemed to require. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. + +THE CAPTURE AND THE FIRE. + +Eight days after the rescue of Henry Stuart from a horrible death, as +related in the last chapter, the _Talisman_ found herself, late in the +afternoon, within about forty hours' sail of Sandy Cove. + +Mulroy had visited the Isle of Palms, and found that the pirates had +flown. The mate of the _Avenger_ and his companions had taken advantage +of the opportunity of escape afforded them by Gascoyne, and had hastily +quitted their rendezvous with as much of the most valuable portion of +their booty as the boat could carry. As this is their last appearance +in these pages, it may be as well to say that they were never again +heard of. Whether they perished in a storm, or gained some distant +land, and followed their former leader's advice--to repent of their +sins,--or again took to piracy, and continued the practice of their +terrible trade under a more bloody minded captain, we cannot tell. They +disappeared as many a band of wicked men has disappeared before, and +never turned up again. With these remarks we dismiss them from our +tale. + +Surly Dick now began to entertain sanguine hopes that he would be +pardoned, and that he would yet live to enjoy the undivided booty which +he alone knew lay concealed in the Isle of Palms--for, now that he had +heard Henry's account of the landing of Gascoyne on the island, he never +doubted that the pirates would fly in haste from a spot that was no +longer unknown to others, and that they would be too much afraid of +being captured to venture to return to it. + +It was, then, with a feeling of no small concern that the pirate heard +the look-out shout on the afternoon referred to, "Sail ho!" + +"Where away?" + +"On the lee beam." + +The course of the frigate was at once changed, and she ran down towards +the strange sail. + +"A schooner, sir," observed the second lieutenant to Mr Mulroy. + +"It looks marvellously like the _Foam_, alias the _Avenger_," observed +the latter. "Beat to quarters. If this rascally pirate has indeed been +thrown in our way again, we will give him a warm reception. Why, the +villain has actually altered his course, and is standing towards us." + +"Don't you think it is just possible," suggested Henry Stuart, "that +Gascoyne may have captured the vessel from his mate, and now comes to +meet us as a friend?" + +"I don't know that," said Mulroy, in an excited tone, for he could not +easily forget the rough usage his vessel had received at the hands of +the bold pirate. "I don't know that. No doubt Gascoyne's mate was +against him; but the greater part of the crew were evidently in his +favour, else why the secret manner in which he was deprived of his +command? No, no. Depend upon it the villain has got hold of his +schooner and will keep it. By a fortunate chance we have again met; I +will see to it that we do not part without a close acquaintance. Yet +why he should throw himself into my very arms in this way, puzzles me. +Ha! I see his big gun amidships. It is uncovered. No doubt he counts +on his superior sailing powers, and means to give us a shot and shew us +his heels. Well, we shall see." + +"There goes his flag," observed the second lieutenant. + +"What! eh! It's the _Union Jack_!" exclaimed Mulroy. + +"I doubt not that your own captain commands the schooner," said Henry, +who had of course, long before this time, made the first lieutenant of +the _Talisman_ acquainted with Montague's capture by the pirate, along +with Alice and her companions. "You naturally mistrust Gascoyne, but I +have reason to believe that, on this occasion at least, he is a true +man." + +Mulroy returned no answer, for the two vessels were now almost near +enough to enable those on board to distinguish faces with the telescope. +A very few minutes sufficed to remove all doubts; and, a quarter of an +hour later, Montague stood on his own quarterdeck, receiving the +congratulations of his officers, while Henry Stuart was seized upon and +surrounded by his friends Corrie, Alice, Poopy, the missionary, and Ole +Thorwald. + +In the midst of a volley of excited conversation Henry suddenly +exclaimed, "But what of Gascoyne? Where is the pirate captain?" + +"Why, we've forgotten him," exclaimed Thorwald, whose pipe was doing +duty like a factory chimney. "I shouldn't wonder if he took advantage +of us just now to give us the slip!" + +"No fear of that," said Mr Mason. "Poor fellow, he has felt your loss +terribly, Henry, for we all believed that you were lost; but I am bound +to confess that none of us have shewn a depth of sorrow equal to that of +Gascoyne. It seems unaccountable to me. He has not shewn his face on +deck since the day he gave up all hope of rescuing you, and has eaten +nothing but a biscuit now and then, which he would suffer no one but +Corrie to take to him." + +"Poor Gascoyne, I will go and relieve his mind," said Henry, turning to +quit the quarterdeck. + +Now, the noise created by the meeting of the two vessels had aroused +Gascoyne from the lethargic state of mind and body to which he had given +way. Coming on deck, he was amazed to find himself close to the +_Talisman_. A boat lay alongside the _Foam_, into which he jumped, and, +sculling towards the frigate, he stepped over the bulwarks just as Henry +turned to go in search of him. + +The pirate captain's face wore a haggard, careworn, humbled look, that +was very different from its usual bold, lion-like expression. No one +can tell what a storm had passed through the strong man's breast while +he lay alone on the floor of his cabin. The deep, deep sorrow--the +remorse for sin--the bitterness of soul when he reflected that his +present misery was chargeable only to himself. A few nights had given +him the aspect of a much older man. + +For a few seconds he stood glancing round the quarterdeck of the +_Talisman_ with a look of mingled curiosity and sadness. But when his +eye fell on the form of Henry he turned deadly pale, and trembled like +an aspen leaf. + +"Well, Gascoyne, my--my--_friend_," said the youth with some hesitation +as he advanced. + +The shout that Gascoyne uttered on hearing the young man's voice was +almost superhuman. It was something like a mingled cheer and cry of +agony. In another moment he sprang forward, and seizing Henry in his +arms, pressed him to his breast with a grasp that rendered the youth +utterly powerless. + +Almost instantly he released him from his embrace, and seizing his hand, +said, in a wild, gay, almost fierce manner-- + +"Come, Henry, lad, I have somewhat to say to you. Come with me." + +He forced rather than led the amazed youth into the boat, sculled to the +schooner, hurried him into the cabin, and shut and locked the door. + +We need scarcely say that all this was a matter of the deepest curiosity +and interest to those who witnessed it; but they were destined to remain +with their curiosity unsatisfied for some time after that. + +When Henry Stuart issued from the cabin of the _Avenger_ after that +mysterious interview, his countenance wore a surprised and troubled +expression. Gascoyne's, on the contrary, was grave and calm, yet +cheerful. He was more like his former self. + +The young man was, of course, eagerly questioned as to what had been +said to him, and why the pirate had shewn such fondness for him; but the +only reply that could be got from him was, "I must not tell. It is a +private matter. You shall know time enough." + +With this answer they were fain to be content--even Corrie failed to +extract anything more definite from his friend. + +A prize crew was put on board the _Foam_, and the two vessels proceeded +towards the harbour of Sandy Cove in company. + +Henry and his friends went in the _Foam_, but Gascoyne was detained a +prisoner on board the _Talisman_. Montague felt that it was his duty to +put him in irons, but he could not prevail on himself to heap +unnecessary indignity on the head of one who had rendered him such good +service, so he left him at large, intending to put him in irons only +when duty compelled him to do so. + +During the night a stiff breeze amounting almost to a gale of fair wind +sprang up, and the two vessels flew towards their destination, but the +_Foam_ left her bulky companion far behind. + +That night a dark and savage mind was engaged on board the _Talisman_ in +working out a black and desperate plot. Surly Dick saw, in the capture +of Gascoyne and the _Foam_, the end of all his cherished hopes, and in a +fit of despair and rage he resolved to be avenged. + +This man, when he first came on board the frigate, had not been known as +a pirate, and afterwards, as we have seen, he had been treated with +leniency on account of his offer to turn informant against his former +associates. In the stirring events that followed he had been +overlooked, and, on the night of which we are writing he found himself +free to retire to his hammock with the rest of the watch. + +In the night, when the wind was howling mournfully through the rigging, +and the greater part of the crew were buried in repose, this man rose +stealthily from his hammock, and with noiseless tread found his way to a +dark corner of the ship where the eyes of the sentries were not likely +to observe him. Here he had made preparations for his diabolical +purpose. Drawing a flint and steel from his pocket, he proceeded to +strike a light. This was procured in a few seconds, and as the match +flared up in his face it revealed the workings of a countenance in which +all the strongest and worst passions of human nature had stamped deep +and terrible lines. + +The pirate had taken the utmost care, by arranging an old sail over the +spot, to prevent the reflection of the light being seen. It revealed a +large mass of oakum and tar. Into the heart of this he thrust the +match, and instantly glided away, as he had come, stealthily and without +noise. + +For a few seconds the fire smouldered, for the sail that covered it kept +it down, as well as hid it from view. But such combustible material +could not be smothered long. The smell of burning soon reached one of +the marines stationed on the lower-deck, who instantly gave the alarm; +but almost before the words had passed his lips the flames burst forth. + +"Fire! fire! fire!" + +What a scene ensued! There was confusion at first, for no sound at sea +rings so terribly in the ear as the shout of "Fire!" + +But speedily the stern discipline on board a man-of-war prevailed. Men +were stationed in rows; the usual appliances for the extinction of fire +were brought into play; buckets of water were passed down below as fast +as they could be drawn. No miscellaneous shouting took place; but the +orders that were necessary, and the noise of action, together with the +excitement and the dense smoke that rolled up the hatchway, produced a +scene of the wildest and most stirring description. + +In the midst of this the pirate captain, as might have been expected, +performed a prominent part. His great physical strength enabled him to +act with a degree of vigour that rendered his aid most valuable. He +wrought with the energy of a huge mechanical power, and with a quick +promptitude of perception and a ready change of action which is denied +to mere, mechanism. He tore down the bulk-heads that rendered it +difficult to get at the place where the fire was; he hurled bucket after +bucket of water on the glowing mass, and rushed, amid clouds of hot +steam and suffocating smoke, with piles of wet blankets to smother it +out. + +Montague and he wrought together. The young captain issued his orders +as calmly as if there were no danger, yet with a promptitude and vigour +that inspired his men with confidence. Gascoyne's voice was never +heard. He obeyed orders and acted as circumstances required, but he did +not presume, as men are too apt to do on such occasions, to give orders +and advice when there was a legitimate commander. Only once or twice +were the deep tones of his bass voice heard, when he called for more +water, or warned the more daring among the men when danger from falling +timber threatened them. + +But all this availed not to check the flames. The men were quickly +driven upon deck, and it soon became evident that the vessel must +perish. The fire burst through the hatchways, and in a short time began +to leap up the rigging. + +It now became necessary to make arrangements for the saving of the crew. + +"Nothing more can be done, Mr Mulroy," said Montague, in a calm voice +that accorded ill with the state of his mind. "Get the boats ready, and +order the men to assemble on the quarter-deck." + +"If we were only nearer the island," said Gascoyne in a low tone, as if +he were talking to himself, "we might run her on the reef, and the +breakers would soon put out the fire." + +"That would be little consolation to me," said Montague, with a bitter +smile. "Lower the boats, Mr Mulroy. The _Foam_ has observed our +condition, I see; let them row to it. I will go in the gig." + +The first lieutenant hastened to obey the order, and the men embarked in +the boats, lighted by the flames, which were now roaring high up the +masts. + +Meanwhile, the man who had been the cause of all this was rushing about +the deck, a furious maniac. He had wrought at the fire almost as +fiercely as Gascoyne himself, and now that all hope was past, he +continued, despite the orders of Montague to the contrary, to draw water +and rush with bucket after bucket into the midst of the roaring flames. +At last he disappeared, no one knew where, and no one cared, for in such +a scene he was soon forgotten. + +The last man left the ship when the heat on the poop became so great +that it was scarcely possible to stand there. Still Montague and +Gascoyne stood side by side near the taffrail, and the gig with her crew +floated just below them. The last boatful of men pulled away from the +burning vessel, and then Montague turned with a deep sigh and said-- + +"Now, Mr Gascoyne, get into the boat. I must be the last man to quit +the ship." + +Without a word Gascoyne swung himself over the stern, and, sliding down +by a rope, dropped into the boat. Montague followed, and they rowed +away. + +Just at that moment Surly Dick sprang on the bulwarks, and holding on by +the mizzen-shrouds took off his hat and cheered. + +"Ha! ha!" he shrieked, with a fiendish laugh, "I've escaped you, have I? +escaped you--hurrah!" and with another wild shriek he leaped on the hot +deck, and, seizing a bucket, resumed his self-imposed duty of deluging +the fire with water. + +"Pull, pull, lads! we can't leave the miserable man to perish," cried +Montague, starting up, while the men rowed after the frigate with their +utmost might. But in vain. Already she was far from them, and ever +increased the distance as she ran before the gale. + +As long as the ship lasted the poor maniac was seen diligently pursuing +his work--stopping now and then to spring on the bulwarks and give +another cheer. + +At last the blazing vessel left boats and schooner far behind, and the +flames rose in great flakes and tongues above her top-masts, while the +smoke rolled in dense black volumes away to leeward. + +While the awe-stricken crew watched her there came a sudden flash of +bright white flame, as if a volcano had leaped out of the ocean. The +powder-magazine had caught. It was followed by a roaring crash that +seemed to rend the very heavens. A thick darkness settled over the +scene--and the vessel that a few hours before had been a noble frigate, +was scattered on the ocean a mass of blackened ruins. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. + +The Pacific is not always calm, but neither is it always stormy. We +think it necessary to make this latter observation, because the +succession of short-lived gales and squalls which have been prominently +and unavoidably brought forward in our tale might lead the reader to +deem the name of this ocean inappropriate. + +Although the sea was not quite so still now, owing to the swell caused +by the recent gale, it was quite as glassy as it was then. The sun, +too, was as hot and the sky as brilliant, but the aspect of the _Foam_ +was much changed. The deep quiet was gone. Crowded on every part of +the deck, and even down in her hold, were the crew of the man-of-war, +lolling about listlessly and sadly, or conversing with grave looks about +the catastrophe which had deprived them so suddenly of their floating +home. + +Gascoyne and Henry leaned over the stern in order to avoid being +overheard by those around them, and conversed in low tones. + +"But why not attempt to escape?" said the latter, in reply to some +observation made by his companion. + +"Because I am pledged to give myself up to justice." + +"No; not to justice," replied the youth, quickly. "You said you would +give yourself up to me and Mr Mason. I for one won't act the part of +a--a--" + +"Thief-catcher," suggested Gascoyne. + +"Well, put it so if you will; and I am certain that the missionary will +not have anything to do with your capture. He will say that the +officers of justice are bound to attend to such matters. It would be +perfectly right in you to try to escape." + +"Ah! Henry, your feelings have warped your judgment," said Gascoyne, +shaking his head. "It is strange how men will prevaricate and deceive +themselves when they want to reason themselves into a wrong course or +out of a right one. But what you or Mr Mason think or will do has +nothing to do with my course of action." + +"But the law holds, if I mistake not, that a man is not bound to +criminate himself," said Henry. + +"I know not and care not what the law of man holds," replied the other, +sadly. "I have forfeited my life to my country, and I am willing to lay +it down." + +"Nay, not your life," said Henry; "you have done no murder." + +"Well, then, at least my liberty is forfeited. I shall leave it to +those who judge me whether my life shall be taken or no. I sometimes +wish that I could get away to some distant part of the world, and there, +by living the life of an honest man, try to undo, if possible, a little +of what I have done. But, woe's me, wishes and regrets come too late. +No, I must be content to reap what I have sown." + +"They will be certain to hang you," said the youth, bitterly. + +"I think it likely they will," replied his companion. + +"And would you call that justice?" asked Henry, sharply. "Whatever +punishment you may deserve, you do not deserve to die. You know well +enough that your own word will go for nothing, and no one else can bear +witness in your favour. You will be regarded simply as a notorious +pirate. Even if some of the people whose lives you have spared while +taking their goods should turn up, their testimony could not prove that +you had not murdered others; so your fate is certain if you go to trial. +Have you any right, then, to compass your own death by thus giving +yourself up?" + +"Ah! boy, your logic is not sound." + +"But answer my question," said the youth, testily, "Henry, plead with me +no longer," said Gascoyne, in a deep, stern tone. "My mind is made up. +I have spent many years in dishonesty and self-deception. It is perhaps +possible that by a life devoted to doing good, I might in the long run +benefit men more than I have damaged them. This is just possible, I +say, though I doubt it; but I have _promised_ to give myself up whenever +this cruise is at an end, and I won't break the last promise I am likely +to give in this world; so do not attempt to turn me, boy." + +Henry made no reply, but his knitted brows and compressed lips shewed +that a struggle was going on within him. Suddenly he stood erect, and +said firmly-- + +"Be it so, Gascoyne. I will hold you to your promise. You shall _not_ +escape me!" + +With this somewhat singular reply, Henry left his surprised companion +and mingled with the crowd of men who stood on the quarter-deck. + +A light breeze had now sprung up, and the _Foam_ was gliding rapidly +towards the island. Gascoyne's deep voice was still heard at intervals +issuing a word of command; for, as he knew the reefs better than any one +else on board, Montague had intrusted him with the pilotage of the +vessel into harbour. + +When they had passed the barrier-reef, and were sailing over the calm +waters of the enclosed lagoon in the direction of Sandy Cove, the young +officer went up to the pirate captain with a perplexed air and a degree +of hesitation that was very foreign to his character. + +Gascoyne flushed deeply when he observed him. "I know what you would +say to me," he said, quickly. "You have a duty to perform. I am +ready." + +"Gascoyne," said Montague, with deep earnestness of tone and manner, "I +would willingly spare you this, but, as you say, I have a duty to +perform. I would, with all my heart, that it had fallen to other hands. +Believe me, I appreciate what you have done within the last few days, +and I believe what you have said in regard to yourself and your career. +All this, you may depend upon it, will operate powerfully with your +judges. But you know I cannot permit you to quit this vessel a _free +man_." + +"I know it," said Gascoyne, calmly. + +"And--and--" (here Montague stammered and came to an abrupt pause.) + +"Say on, Captain Montague. I appreciate your generosity in feeling for +me thus; but I am prepared to meet whatever awaits me." + +"It is necessary," resumed Montague, "that you should be manacled before +I take you on shore." + +Gascoyne started. He had not thought of this. He had not fully +realised the fact that he was to be deprived of his liberty so soon. In +the merited indignity which was now to be put upon him, he recognised +the opening act of the tragedy which was to terminate with his life. + +"Be it so," he said, lowering his head and sitting down on a carronade, +in order to avoid the gaze of those who surrounded him. + +While this was being done, the youthful Corrie was in the fore-part of +the schooner whispering eagerly to Alice and Poopy. + +"O Alice, I've seen him!" exclaimed the lad. + +"Seen who?" inquired Alice, raising her pretty little eyebrows just the +smallest morsel. + +"Why, the boatswain of the _Talisman_, Dick Price, you know, who jumped +overboard to save Henry when he fell off the raft. Come, I'll point him +out." + +So saying, Corrie edged his way through the crowd until he could see the +windlass. Here, seated on a mass of chain cable, sat a remarkably +rugged specimen of the British boatswain. He was extremely short, +excessively broad, uncommonly jovial, and remarkably hairy. He wore his +round hat so far on the back of his head that it was a marvel how it +managed to hang there, and smoked a pipe so black that the most powerful +imagination could hardly conceive of its ever having been white, and so +short that it seemed all head and no stem. + +"That's him!" said Corrie, eagerly. + +"Oh! is it?" replied Alice, with much interest. + +"Hee! hee!" observed Poopy. + +"Stand by to let go the anchor," shouted Montague. + +Instantly bustle and noise prevailed everywhere. The crew of the lost +frigate had started up on hearing the order, but having no stations to +run to, they expended the energy that had been awakened in shuffling +about and opening an animated conversation in under tones. + +Soon the schooner swept round the point that had hitherto shut out the +view of Sandy Cove, and a few minutes later the rattling of the chain +announced that the voyage of the _Foam_ had terminated. + +Immediately after, a boat was lowered, and Gascoyne was conveyed by a +party of marines to the shore, and lodged in the prison which had been +but recently occupied by our friend John Bumpus. + +Mrs Stuart had purposely kept out of the way when she heard of the +arrival of the _Foam_. She knew Gascoyne so well that she felt sure he +would succeed in recapturing his schooner. But she also knew that in +doing this he would necessarily release Montague from his captivity, in +which case it was certain that the pirate captain, having promised to +give himself up, would be led on shore a prisoner. She could not bear +to witness this; but no sooner did she hear of his being lodged in jail +than she prepared to visit him. + +As she was about to issue from her cottage, Henry met her and clasped +her in his arms. The meeting would have doubtless been a warmer one had +the mother known what a narrow escape her son had so recently had. But +Mrs Stuart was accustomed to part from Henry for weeks at a time, and +regarded this return in much the same light as former homecomings, +except in so far as he had news of their lost friends to give her. She +welcomed him therefore with a kiss and a glad smile, and then hurried +him into the house to inquire about the result of the voyage. + +"I have already heard of your success in finding Alice and our friends. +Come, tell me more." + +"Have you heard how nearly I was lost, mother?" + +"Lost!" exclaimed the widow in surprise; "no, I have heard nothing of +that." + +Henry rapidly narrated his escape from the wreck of the _Wasp_, and +then, looking earnestly in his mother's anxious face he said, slowly-- + +"But you do not ask for Gascoyne, mother. Do you know that he is now in +the jail?" + +The widow looked perplexed. "I know it," said she. "I was just going +to see him when you came in." + +"Ah! mother," said Henry, reproachfully, "why did you not tell me sooner +about Gascoyne? I--" + +He was interrupted here by Corrie and Alice rushing into the room, the +latter of whom threw herself into the widow's arms and burst into tears, +while Master Corrie indulged in some eccentric bounds and cheers by way +of relieving his feelings. For some time Henry allowed them to talk +eagerly to each other; then he told Corrie and Alice that he had +something of importance to say to his mother, and led her into an +adjoining room. + +Corrie had overheard the words spoken by Henry just as he entered, and +great was his curiosity to know what was the mystery connected with the +pirate captain. This curiosity was intensified when he heard a +half-suppressed shriek in the room where mother and son were closeted. +For one moment he was tempted to place his ear to the key-hole! But a +blush covered his fat cheeks at the very thought of acting such a +disgraceful part. Like a wise fellow he did not give the tempter a +second opportunity, but, seizing the hand of his companion, said-- + +"Come along, Alice, we'll go seek for Bumpus." + +Half-an-hour afterwards the widow stood at the jail door. The jailer +was an intimate friend, and considerately retired during the interview. + +"O Gascoyne, has it come to this?" She sat down beside the pirate, and +grasped one of his manacled hands in both of hers. + +"Even so, Mary, my hour has come. I do not complain of my doom. I have +brought it on myself." + +"But why not try to escape?" said Mrs Stuart, earnestly. "There are +some here who could aid you." + +Here the widow attempted to reason with Gascoyne, as her son had done +before, but with similar want of success. Gascoyne remained immovable. +He did indeed betray deep emotion while the woman reasoned with him, in +tones of intense earnestness; but he would not change his mind. He said +that if Montague, as the representative of the law, would set him free +in consideration of what he had recently done, he would accept of +liberty; but nothing would induce him to attempt to escape. + +Leaving him in this mood, Mrs Stuart hurried to the cottage where +Montague had taken up his abode. + +The young captain received her kindly. Having learned from Corrie all +about the friendship that existed between the widow and Gascoyne, he +listened with the utmost consideration to her. + +"It is impossible," said he, shaking his head; "I _cannot_ set him +free." + +"Do his late services weigh nothing with you?" pleaded the widow. + +"My dear madam," replied Montague, sorrowfully, "you forget that I am +not his judge. I have no right to weigh the circumstances of his case. +He is a convicted and self-acknowledged pirate. My only duty is to +convey him to England and hand him over to the officers of justice. I +sympathise with you, indeed I do, for you seem to take his case to heart +very much, but I cannot help you. I _must_ do my duty. The _Foam_ will +be ready for sea in a few days, in it I shall convey Gascoyne to +England." + +"O Mr Montague, I do take his case to heart, as you say, and no one on +this earth has more cause to do so. Will it interest you more in +Gascoyne, and induce you to use your influence in his favour, if I tell +you that--that--_he is my husband_?" + +"Your husband!" cried Montague, springing up and pacing the apartment +with rapid strides. + +"Ay," said Mrs Stuart, mournfully, covering her face with her hands; "I +had hoped that this secret would die with me and him, but in the hope +that it may help, ever so little, to save his life, I have revealed it +to you." + +"Believe me, the secret shall be safe in my keeping," said Montague, +tenderly, as he sat down again and drew his chair near to that of Mrs +Stuart. "But, alas! I do not see how it is possible for me to help +your husband. I will use my utmost influence to mitigate his sentence, +but I cannot, I _dare_ not set him free." + +The poor woman sat pale and motionless while the captain said this. She +began to perceive that all hope was gone, and felt despair settling down +on her heart. + +"What will be his doom," said she, in a husky voice, "if his life is +spared?" + +"I do not know. At least I am not certain. My knowledge of criminal +law is very slight, but I should suppose it would be transportation +for--" + +Montague hesitated, and could not find it in his heart to add the word +"life." + +Without uttering a word Mrs Stuart rose, and, staggering from the room, +hastened with a quick unsteady step towards her own cottage. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. + +A PECULIAR CONFIDANT--MORE DIFFICULTIES, AND VARIOUS PLANS TO OVERCOME +THEM. + +When Alice Mason was a little child, there was a certain tree near her +father's house to which, in her hours of sorrow, she was wont to run and +tell it all the grief of her overflowing heart. She firmly believed +that this tree heard and understood and sympathised with all that she +said. There was a hole in the stem into which she was wont to pour her +complaints, and when she had thus unburthened her heart to her silent +confidant she felt comforted, as one feels when a human friend has +shared one's sorrows. + +When the child became older, and her sorrows were heavier and, perhaps, +more real, her well-nurtured mind began to rise to a higher source for +comfort. Habit and inclination led her indeed to the same tree, but +when she kneeled upon its roots and leaned against its stem, she poured +out her heart into the bosom of Him who is ever present, and who can be +touched with a feeling of our infirmities. + +Almost immediately after landing on the island Alice sought the +umbrageous shelter of her old friend and favourite, and on her knees +thanked God for restoring her to her father and her home. + +To the same place the missionary directed his steps, for he knew it +well, and doubtless expected to find his daughter there. + +"Alice, dear, I have good news to tell you," said the missionary, +sitting down beside her. + +"I know what it is!" cried Alice, eagerly. + +"What do you think it is, my pet?" + +"Gascoyne is to be forgiven! am I right?" + +Mr Mason shook his head sadly--"No, that is not what I have to tell +you. Poor fellow, I would that I had some good news to give you about +him; but I fear there is no hope for him--I mean as regards his being +pardoned by man." + +Alice sighed, and her face expressed the deepest tenderness and +sympathy. + +"Why do you take so great an interest in this man, dear?" said her +father. + +"Because Mary Stuart loves him, and I love Mary Stuart. And Corrie +seemed to like him, too, since he has come to know him better. Besides, +has he not saved my life, and Captain Montague's, and Corrie's? Corrie +tells me that he is very sorry for the wicked things he has done, and he +thinks that if his life is spared he will become a good man. Has he +been very wicked, papa?" + +"Yes, very wicked. He has robbed many people of their goods, and has +burnt and sunk their vessels." + +Alice looked horrified. + +"But," continued her father, "I am convinced of the truth of his +statement--that he has never shed human blood. Nevertheless, he has +been very wicked, and the fact that he has such a powerful will, such +commanding and agreeable manners, only makes his guilt the greater, for +there is less excuse for his having devoted such powers and qualities to +the service of Satan. I fear that his judges will not take into account +his recent good deeds and his penitence. They will not pardon him." + +"Father," said Alice, earnestly, "God pardons the chief of sinners--why +will not man do so?" + +The missionary was somewhat perplexed as to how he should reply to such +a difficult question. + +"My child," said he, "the law of God and the law of man must be obeyed, +or the punishment must be inflicted on the disobedient--both laws are +alike in this respect. In the case of God's law, Jesus Christ our Lord +obeyed it, bore the punishment for us, and set our souls free. But in +the case of man's law, who is to bear Gascoyne's punishment and set +_him_ free?" + +As poor Alice could not answer this, she cast down her tearful eyes, +sighed again, and looked more miserable than ever. + +"But come, my pet," resumed Mr Mason, "you must guess again. It is +really good news--try." + +"I can't," said Alice, looking up in her father's face with animation +and shaking her head; "I never could guess anything rightly." + +"What would you think the best thing that could happen?" said her +father. + +The child looked intently at the ground for a few seconds and pursed her +rosy little mouth, while the smallest possible frown--the result of +intellectual exertion--knitted her fair brow. + +"The best thing that could happen," said she, slowly, "would be that all +the whole world should become good." + +"Well done, Alice!" exclaimed her father, laughing; "you have certainly +taken the widest possible view of the subject. But you have soared a +little too high; yet you have not altogether missed the mark. What +would you say if the chiefs of the heathen village were to cast their +idols into the fire, and ask me to come over and teach them how to +become Christians?" + +"Oh! have they _really_ done this?" cried Alice in eager surprise. + +"Indeed they have. I have just seen and had a talk with some of their +chief men, and have promised to go over to their village to-morrow. I +came up here just to tell you this, and to say that your friend the +widow will take care of you while I am away." + +"And shall we have no more wars--no more of these terrible deeds of +blood?" inquired the child, while a shudder passed through her frame at +the recollection of what she had heard and seen during her short life on +that island. + +"I trust not, my lamb. I believe that God has heard our prayers, and +that the Prince of Peace will henceforth rule in this place. But I must +go and prepare for this work. Come, will you go with me?" + +"Leave me here for a little, papa; I wish to think it over all alone." + +Kissing her forehead, the missionary left her. When he was out of sight +the little girl sat down, and, nestling between two great roots of her +favourite tree, laid her head against the stem and shut her eyes. + +But poor Alice was not left long to her solitary meditations. There was +a peculiarly attractive power about her which drew other creatures +around her wherever she might chance to be. + +The first individual who broke in upon her was that animated piece of +ragged door-mat, Toozle. This imbecile little dog was not possessed of +much delicacy of feeling, having been absent on a private excursion of +his own into the mountain when the schooner arrived, he only became +aware of the return of his lost, loved, and deeply-regretted mistress, +when he came back from his trip. The first thing that told him of her +presence was his own nose, the black point of which protruded with +difficulty a quarter of an inch beyond the mass of matting which totally +extinguished his eyes, and, indeed, every other portion of his head. + +Coming down the hill immediately behind Sandy Cove at a breakneck +scramble, Toozle happened to cross the path by which his mistress had +ascended to her tree. The instant he did so, he came to a halt so +sudden that one might have fancied he had been shot. In another moment +he was rushing up the hill in wild excitement, giving an occasional yelp +of mingled surprise and joy as he went along. The footsteps led him a +little beyond the tree and then turned down towards it, so that he had +the benefit of the descent in making the final onset. + +The moment he came in sight of Alice he began to bark and yelp in such +an eager way that the sounds produced might be described as an +intermittent scream. He charged at once with characteristic want of +consideration, and, plunging headlong into Alice's bosom, sought to +cover her face with kisses--i.e., with _licks_, that being the +well-known canine method of doing the thing. + +"O Toozle, how glad, glad, glad, I am to see you, my own darling +Toozle!" cried Alice, actually shedding tears. + +Toozle screamed with delight. It was almost too much for him. Again +and again he attempted to lick her face, a familiarity which Alice +gently declined to permit, so he was obliged to content himself with her +hand. + +It has often struck us as surprising, that little dogs--usually so +intelligent and apt to learn in other matters--should be so dull of +apprehension in this. Toozle had the experience of a lifetime to +convince him that Alice objected to have her face licked, and would on +no account permit it, although she was extremely liberal in regard to +her hands; but Toozle ignored the authority of experience. He was at +this time a dog of mature years, but his determination to kiss Alice was +as strong as it had been when, in the tender years of infancy, he had +entertained the mistaken belief that she was his own mother. + +He watched every unguarded moment to thrust forward his black, not to +say impertinent, little snout; and, although often reproved, he still +remained unconvinced, resolutely returned to the charge, and was not a +bit ashamed of himself. + +On the present occasion Toozle behaved like a canine lunatic, and Alice +was beginning to think of exercising a little tender violence in order +to restrain his superabundant glee, when another individual appeared on +the scene, and for a time, at least, relieved her. + +The second comer was our dark friend, Kekupoopi. She by some mischance +had got separated from her young mistress, and immediately went in +search of her. She found her at once of course, for, as water finds its +level, so love finds its object without much loss of time. + +"O Toozle; hee! hee! am dat you?" exclaimed Poopy, who was as much +delighted in her way to see the dog as Alice had been. + +Toozle was, in _his_ way, as much delighted to see Poopy as he had been +to see Alice--no, we are wrong, not quite so much as that, but still +extremely glad to see her, and evinced his joy by extravagant sounds and +actions. He also evinced his scorn for the opinion that some foolish +persons hold, namely, that black people are not as good as white, by +rushing into Poopy's arms and attempting to lick her black face as he +had tried to do to Alice. As the dark-skinned girl had no objection, +(for tastes differ, you see,) and received the caresses with a quiet +"Hee! hee!" Toozle was extremely gratified. + +Now it happened that Jo Bumpus, oppressed with a feeling of concern for +his former captain, and with a feeling of doubt as to the stirring +events in which he was an actor being waking realities, had wandered up +the mountain-side in order to indulge in profound philosophical +reflections. + +Happening to hear the noise caused by the joyful meeting which we have +just described, he turned aside to see what all the "row" could be +about, and thus came unexpectedly on Alice and her friends. + +About the same time it chanced, (for things sometimes do happen by +chance in a very remarkable way,) it chanced that Will Corrie, being +also much depressed about Gascoyne, resolved to take into his confidence +Dick Price the boatswain, with whom during their short voyage together +he had become intimate. + +He found that worthy seated on a cask at the end of the rude pile of +coral rocks that formed the quay of Sandy Cove, surrounded by some of +his shipmates, all of whom, as well as himself, were smoking their pipes +and discussing things in general. + +Corrie went forward and pulled Dick by the sleeve. + +"Hallo! boy, what d'ye want with me?" said the boatswain. + +"I want to speak to you." + +"Well, lad, fire away." + +"Yes, but I want you to come with me," said the boy, with an anxious and +rather mysterious look. + +"Very good!--heave ahead," said the boatswain, getting up, and following +Corrie with a peculiarly nautical roll. + +After he had been led through the settlement and a considerable way up +the mountain in silence, the boatswain suddenly stopped, and +said--"Hallo! hold on; my timbers won't stand much more o' this sort o' +thing. I was built for navigatin' the seas,--I was not for cruisin' on +the land. We're far enough out of ear-shot, I s'pose, in this here bit +of a plantation. Come, what have ye got to say to me? You ain't +a-goin' to tell me the Freemasons' word, are ye? For, if so, don't +trouble yourself, I wouldn't listen to it on no account w'atever. It's +too mysterious that is for me." + +"Dick Price," said Corrie, looking up in the face of the seaman, with a +serious expression that was not often seen on his round countenance, +"you're a man." + +The boatswain looked down at the youthful visage in some surprise. + +"Well, I s'pose I am," said he, stroking his beard complacently. + +"And you know what it is to be misunderstood, misjudged, don't you?" + +"Well, now I come to think on it, I believe I _have_ had that +misfortune--specially w'en I've ordered the powder-monkies to make less +noise, for them younkers never do seem to understand me. As for +misjudgin', I've often an' over again heard 'em say I was the crossest +feller they ever did meet with, but they _never_ was more out in their +reckoning." + +Corrie did not smile; he did not betray the smallest symptom of power +either to appreciate or to indulge in jocularity at that moment. But +feeling that it was useless to appeal to the former experience of the +boatswain, he changed his plan of attack. + +"Dick Price," said he, "it's a hard case for an innocent man to be +hanged." + +"So it is, boy,--oncommon hard. I once know'd a poor feller as was +hanged for murderin' his old grandmother. It was afterwards found out +that he'd never done the deed; but he was the most incorrigible thief +and poacher in the whole place, so it warn't such a mistake after all." + +"Dick Price," said Corrie, gravely, at the same time laying his hand +impressively on his companion's arm, "I'm a _tremendous_ joker--_awful_ +fond o' fun and skylarkin'." + +"'Pon my word, lad, if you hadn't said so yourself, I'd scarce have +believed it. You don't look like it just now, by no manner o' means." + +"But I am though," continued Corrie; "and I tell you that in order to +shew you that I am very, _very_ much in earnest at this moment; and that +you _must_ give your mind to what I've got to say." + +The boatswain was impressed by the fervour of the boy. He looked at him +in surprise for a few seconds, then nodded his head, and said, "Fire +away!" + +"You know that Gascoyne is in prison!" said Corrie. + +"In course I does. That's one rascally pirate less on the seas, +anyhow." + +"He's not so bad as you think, Dick." + +"Whew!" whistled the boatswain. "You're a friend of his, are ye?" + +"No; not a friend, but neither am I an enemy. You know he saved my +life, and the lives of two of my friends, and of your own captain, too." + +"Well, there's no denying that; but he must have been the means of +takin' away more lives than what he has saved." + +"No, he hasn't," cried Corrie, eagerly. "That's it, that's just the +point; he has saved more than he ever took away, and he's sorry for what +he has done; yet they're going to hang him. Now, I say, that's sinful-- +it's not just. It shan't be done if I can prevent it; and you must help +me to get him out of this scrape--you must indeed, Dick Price." + +The boatswain was quite taken aback. He opened his eyes wide with +surprise, and putting his head to one side, gazed earnestly and long at +the boy as if he had been a rare old painting. + +Before he could reply, the furious barking of a dog attracted Corrie's +attention. He knew it to be the voice of Toozle. Being well acquainted +with the locality of Alice's tree, he at once concluded that she was +there, and knowing that she would certainly side with him, and that the +side she took _must_ necessarily be the winning side, he resolved to +bring Dick Price within the fascination of her influence. + +"Come, follow me," said he; "we'll talk it over with a friend of mine." + +The seaman followed the boy obediently, and in a few minutes stood +beside Alice. + +Corrie had expected to find her there, but he had not counted on meeting +with Poopy and Jo Bumpus. + +"Hallo! Grampus, is that you?" + +"Wot! Corrie, my boy, is it yourself? Give us your flipper, small +though it be. I didn't think I'd niver see ye agin, lad." + +"No more did I, Grampus; it was very nearly all up with us." + +"Ah! my boy," said Bumpus, becoming suddenly very grave, "you've no +notion how near it was all up with _me_. Why, you won't believe it--I +was all but scragged." + +"Dear me! what is scragged?" inquired Alice. + +"You don't mean for to say you don't know?" exclaimed Bumpus. + +"No, indeed, I don't." + +"Why, it means bein' hanged. I was so near hanged, just a day or two +back, that I've had an 'orrible pain in my neck ever since at the bare +thought of it! But who's your friend?" said Bumpus, turning to the +boatswain. + +"Oh! I forgot him--he's the boatswain of the _Talisman_. Dick Price, +this is my friend, John Bumpus." + +"Glad to know you, Dick Price." + +"Same to you, and luck, John Bumpus." + +The two sea-dogs joined their enormous palms, and shook hands cordially. + +After these two had indulged in a little desultory conversation, Will +Corrie, who, meanwhile, consulted with Alice in an undertone, brought +them back to the point that was uppermost in his mind. + +"Now," said he, "it comes to this,--we must not let Gascoyne be hanged." + +"Why, Corrie," cried Bumpus, in surprise, "that's the very thing I was +a-thinkin' of w'en I comed up here and found Miss Alice under the tree." + +"I am glad to hear that, Jo; it's what has been on my own mind all the +morning. But Dick Price here is not convinced that he deserves to +escape. Now; you tell him all _you_ know about Gascoyne, and I'll tell +him all _I_ know, and if he don't believe _us_, Alice and Poopy will +tell him all _they_ know, and if that won't do, you and I will take him +up by the legs and pitch him into the sea!" + +"That bein' how the case stands--fire away," said Dick Price with a +grin, sitting down on the grass and busily filling his pipe. + +Dick was not so hard to be convinced as Corrie had feared. The glowing +eulogiums of Bumpus, and the earnest pleadings of Alice, won him over +very soon. He finally agreed to become one of the conspirators. + +"But how is the thing to be done?" asked Corrie in some perplexity. + +"Ah! that's the pint," observed Dick, looking profoundly wise. + +"Nothin' easier," said Bumpus, whose pipe was by this time keeping pace +with that of his new friend. "The case is as clear as mud. Here's how +it is. Gascoyne is in limbo; well, we are out of limbo. Good. Then, +all we've got for to do is to break into limbo and shove Gascoyne out of +limbo, and help him to escape. It's all square, you see, lads." + +"Not so square as you seem to think," said Henry Stuart, who at that +moment stepped from behind the stem of the tree, which had prevented the +party from observing his approach. + +"Why not?" said Bumpus, making room for the young man to sit beside +Alice, on the grass. + +"Because," said Henry, "Gascoyne won't agree to escape." + +"Not agree for to escape!" + +"No. If the prison door were opened at this moment, he would not walk +out." + +Bumpus became very grave, and shook his head. "Are ye sartin sure o' +this?" said he. + +"Quite sure," replied Henry, who now detailed part of his recent +conversation with the pirate captain. + +"Then it's all up with him!" said Bumpus; "and the pirate will meet his +doom, as I once hear'd a feller say in a play--though I little thought +to see it acted in reality." + +"So he will," added Dick Price. + +Corrie's countenance fell, and Alice grew pale. Even Poopy and Toozle +looked a little depressed. + +"No, it is _not_ all up with him," cried Henry Stuart, energetically. +"I have a plan in my head which I think will succeed, but I must have +assistance. It won't do, however, to discuss this before our young +friends. I must beg of Alice and Poopy to leave us. I do not mean to +say I could not trust you, Alice, but the plan must be made known only +to those who have to act in this matter. Rest assured, dear child, that +I shall do my best to make it successful." + +Alice sprang up at once. "My father told me to follow him some time +ago," said she. "I have been too long of doing so already. I _do_ hope +that you will succeed." + +So saying, and with a cheerful "Good-bye!" the little girl ran down the +mountain-side, closely followed by Toozle and Poopy. + +As soon as she was gone, Henry turned to his companions and unfolded to +them his plan--the details and carrying out of which, however, we must +reserve for another chapter. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. + +BUMPUS IS PERPLEXED--MYSTERIOUS COMMUNINGS AND A CURIOUS LEAVE-TAKING. + +"It's a puzzler," said Jo Bumpus to himself--for Jo was much in the +habit of conversing with himself; and a very good habit it is, one that +is often attended with much profit to the individual, when the +conversation is held upon right topics and in a proper spirit--"it's a +puzzler, it is; that's a fact." + +Having relieved his mind of this observation, the seaman proceeded to +cut down some tobacco, and looked remarkably grave and solemn as if "it" +were not only a puzzler but an alarmingly serious puzzler. + +"Yes, it's the biggest puzzler as ever I comed across," said he, filling +his pipe--for John, when not roused, got on both mentally and physically +by slow stages. + +"Niver know'd its equal," he continued, beginning to smoke, which +operation, as the pipe did not "draw" well at first, prevented him from +saying anything more. + +It was early morning when Bumpus said all this, and the mariner was +enjoying his morning pipe in a reclining attitude on the grass beneath +Alice Mason's favourite tree, from which commanding position he gazed +approvingly on the magnificent prospect of land and sea which lay before +him, bathed in the light of the rising sun. + +"It _is_ wery koorious," continued John, taking his pipe out of his +mouth and addressing himself to _it_ with much gravity--"_wery_ +koorious. Things _always_ seems wot they isn't, and turns out to be wot +they didn't appear as if they wasn't; werry odd indeed, it is! Only to +think that this here sandal-wood trader should turn out for to be +Henry's father and the widow's mother--no, I mean the widow's husband,-- +an' a pirate, an' a deliverer o' little boys and gals out o' pirates' +hands--his own hands, so to speak--not to mention captings in the Royal +Navy, an' not sich a bad feller after all, as won't have his liberty on +no account wotiver, even if it was gived to him for nothin', and yet wot +can't git it if he wanted it iver so much; and to think that Jo Bumpus +should come for to lend hisself to--Hallo! Jo, back yer tops'ls! +Didn't Henry tell ye that ye wasn't to convarse upon that there last +matter even with yerself, for fear o' bein' overheard and sp'ilin' the +whole affair? Come, I'll refresh myself." + +The refreshment in which Jo proposed to indulge was of a peculiar kind +which never failed him--it was the perusal of Susan's love-letter. + +He now sat up, drew forth the precious and much soiled epistle, unfolded +and spread it out carefully on his knees, placed his pipe very much on +one side of his mouth, in order that the smoke might not interfere with +his vision, and began to read. + +"`_Peeler's Farm_,' ah! Susan darlin', it's Jo Bumpus as would give all +he has in the world, includin' his Sunday clo'se, to be anchored +alongside o' ye at that same farm! `_Sanfransko_.' I misdoubt the +spellin' o' that word, Susan dear; it seems to me raither short, as if +ye'd docked off its tail. Howsomever--`_For John bumpuss_'--O Susan, +Susan! if ye'd only remember the big B, and there ain't two esses. I'm +sure it's not for want o' tellin' ye, but ye was never great in the way +ov memry or spellin'. Pr'aps it's as well. Ye'd ha' bin too perfect, +an' that's not desirable, by no means--`_my darlin' Jo_'--ay, _them's_ +the words. It's that as sets my 'art a b'ilin'-over like." + +Here Jo raised his eyes from the letter and revelled silently in the +thought for at least two minutes, during which his pipe did double duty +in half its usual time. Then he recurred to his theme, but some parts +he read in silence, and without audible comment. + +"Ay," said he, "`_sandle-wood skooners, the Haf ov thems pirits_'--so +they is, Susan. It's yer powers o' prophecy as amazes me--`_an' The +other hafs no beter_'--a deal wus, Susan, if ye only know'd it. Ah! my +sweet gal, if ye knew wot a grief that word `_beter_' wos to me before I +diskivered wot it wos, ye'd try to improve yer hand o' write, an' make +fewer blots!" + +At this point Jo was arrested by the sound of footsteps behind him. He +folded up his letter precipitately, thrust it into his left +breast-pocket, and jumped up with a guilty air about him. + +"Why, Bumpus, we have startled you out of a morning nap, I fear," said +Henry Stuart, who, accompanied by his mother, came up at that moment. +"We are on our way to say good-bye to Mr Mason. As we passed this +knoll I caught sight of you and came up to ask about the boat." + +"It's all right," said Bumpus, who quickly recovered his composure-- +indeed he had never lost much of it. "I've bin down to Saunder's store +and got the ropes for your--" + +"Hush! man, there is no need of telling me what they are for," said +Henry, with a mysterious look at his mother. + +"Why not tell me all, Henry?" said Mrs Stuart; "surely you can trust +me?" + +"Trust you, mother?" replied the youth with a smile, "I should think so; +but there are reasons for my not telling you everything just now. +Surely you can trust _me_? I have told you as much as I think advisable +in the meantime. Ere long I will tell you all." + +The widow sighed and was fain to rest content. She sat down beside the +tree while her companions talked together apart in low tones. + +"Now Jo, my man," continued Henry, "_one_ of our friends must be got out +of the way." + +"Wery good; I'm the man as'll do it." + +"Of course I don't mean that he's to be killed!" + +"In coorse not. Who is he?" + +"Ole Thorwald." + +"Wot! the descendant o' the Sea Kings, as he calls himself?" + +"The same," said Henry, laughing at the look of surprise with which +Bumpus received this information. + +"What has _he_ bin an' done?" + +"He has done nothing as yet," said Henry; "but he will, certainly thwart +our schemes if he hears of them. He has an inveterate ill-will to my +poor father;" (Henry lowered his voice as he proceeded,) "and I know has +suspicions that we are concocting some plan to enable him to escape, and +watches us accordingly. I find him constantly hanging about the jail. +Alas! if he knew how thoroughly determined Gascoyne is to refuse +deliverance unless it comes from the proper source, he would keep his +mind more at ease." + +"Don't you think if you wos to tell him that Gascoyne _is_ yer father he +would side with us?" suggested Bumpus. + +"Perhaps he would. I _think_ he would; but I dare not risk it. The +easier method will be to outwit him." + +"Not an easy thing for to do, I'm afraid, for he's a cute old feller. +How's it to be done?" asked Bumpus. + +"By telling him the truth," said Henry; "and _you_ must tell it to him." + +"Well, that _is_ a koorious way," said Bumpus with a broad grin. + +"But not the whole truth," continued Henry. "You must just tell him as +much as it is good for him to know, and nothing more; and as the thing +must be done at once, I'll tell you what you have got to say." + +Here the young man explained to the attentive Bumpus the course that he +was to follow, and having got him thoroughly to understand his part, he +sent him away to execute it. + +Meanwhile he and his mother went in search of Mr Mason, who at the time +was holding a consultation with the chiefs of the native village, near +the site of his burnt cottage. The consultation had just been concluded +when they reached the spot, and the missionary was conversing with the +native carpenter who superintended the erection of his new home. + +After the morning greeting, and a few words of general conversation, +Mrs Stuart said-- + +"We have come to have a talk with you in private; will you walk to +Alice's tree with us?" + +"Certainly, my friend; I hope no new evils are about to befall us," said +the missionary, who was startled by the serious countenances of the +mother and son, for he was ignorant of the close relation in which they +stood to Gascoyne, as, indeed, was every one else in the settlement, +excepting Montague and his boatswain, and Corrie, all of whom were +enjoined to maintain the strictest secrecy on the point. + +"No, I thank God, all is well," replied Mrs Stuart; "but we have come +to say that we are going away." + +"Going away!" echoed the missionary in surprise. "When?--where to?-- +why? You amaze me, Mary." + +"Henry will explain." + +"The fact is, Mr Mason," said Henry, "circumstances require my absence +from Sandy Cove on a longer trip than usual, and I mean to take my +mother with me. Indeed, to be plain with you, I do not think it likely +that we shall return for a long time--perhaps not at all, and it is +absolutely necessary that we should go secretly. But we could not go +without saying good-bye to you." + +"We owe much to you, dear Mr Mason," cried the widow, grasping the +missionary's hand and kissing it. "We can never, never forget you; and +will always pray for God's best blessings to descend on you and yours." + +"This is overwhelming news!" exclaimed Mr Mason, who had stood hitherto +gazing from the one to the other in mute astonishment. "But tell me, +Mary," (here he spoke in earnest tones,) "is not Gascoyne at the bottom +of this?" + +"Mr Mason," said Henry, "we never did, and never will deceive you. +There is a good reason for neither asking nor answering questions on +this subject _just now_. I am sure you know us too well to believe that +we think of doing what is wrong, and you can trust us--at least my +mother--that we will not do what is foolish." + +"I have perfect confidence in your hearts, my dear friends," replied Mr +Mason; "but you will forgive me if I express some doubt as to your +ability to judge between right and wrong when your feelings are deeply +moved, as they evidently are from some cause or other, just now. Can +you not put confidence in me? I can keep a secret, and may perhaps give +good counsel." + +"No, no," said Henry, emphatically; "it will not do to involve you in +our affairs. It would not be right in us _just now_ to confide even in +you. I cannot explain why--you must accept the simple assurance in the +meantime. Wherever we go, we can communicate by letter, and I promise, +ere long, to reveal all." + +"Well, I will not press you farther, but I will commend you in prayer to +God. I do not like to part thus hurriedly, however. Can we not meet +again before you go?" + +"We shall be in the cottage at four this afternoon, and will be very +glad if you will come to us for a short time," said the widow. + +"That is settled, then; I will go and explain to the natives that I +cannot accompany them to the village till to-morrow. When do you +leave?" + +"To-night." + +"So soon! Surely it is not. But I forbear to say more on a subject +which is forbidden. God bless you, my friends; we shall meet at four. +Good-bye!" + +The missionary turned from them with a sad countenance, and went in +search of the native chiefs; while Henry and his mother separated from +each other, the former taking the path that led to the little quay of +Sandy Cove, the latter that which conducted to her own cottage. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY. + +MORE LEAVE-TAKING--DEEP DESIGNS--BUMPUS IN A NEW CAPACITY. + +On the particular day of which we are writing, Alice Mason felt an +unusual depression of spirits. She had been told by her father of the +intended departure of the widow and her son, and had been warned not to +mention it to any one. In consequence of this, the poor child was +debarred her usual consolation of pouring her grief into the black bosom +of Poopy. It naturally followed, therefore, that she sought her next +favourite--the tree. + +Here, to her surprise and comfort, she found Corrie seated on one of its +roots, with his head resting on the stem, and his hands clasped before +him. His general appearance was that of a human being in the depths of +woe. On observing Alice, he started up, and assuming a cheerful look, +ran to meet her. + +"Oh! I'm so glad to find you here, Corrie," cried Alice, hastening +forward, "I'm in such distress! Do you know that--Oh!--I forgot; papa +said I was to tell nobody about it!" + +"Don't let that trouble you, Alice," said Corrie, as they sat down +together under the tree. "I know what you were about to say--Henry and +his mother are going away." + +"How do you know that? I thought it was a great secret!" + +"So it is, a _tremendous_ secret," rejoined Corrie, with a look that was +intended to be very mysterious; "and I know it, because I've been let +into the secret for reasons which I cannot tell even to you. But there +is another secret which you don't know yet, and which will surprise you +perhaps. _I_ am going away, too!" + +"You," exclaimed the little girl, her eyes dilating to their full size. + +"Ay, me!" + +"You're jesting, Corrie." + +"Am I? I wish I was; but it's a fact." + +"But where are you going to?" said Alice, her eyes filling with tears. + +"I don't know." + +"Corrie!" + +"I tell you, I don't know; and if I did know, I couldn't tell. Listen, +Alice, I will tell you as much as I am permitted to let out." + +The boy became extremely solemn at this point, took the little girl's +hand, and gazed into her face as he spoke. + +"You must know," he began, "that Henry and his mother and I go away +to-night--" + +"To-night?" cried Alice, quickly. + +"To-night," repeated the boy. "Bumpus and Jakolu go with us. I have +said that I don't know where we are going to, but I am pretty safe in +assuring you that we are going somewhere. Why we are going, I am +forbidden to tell--divulge, I think Henry called it, but what that means +I don't know. I can only guess it's another word for tell, and yet it +can't be that either, for you can speak of _telling_ lies, but you can't +speak of _divulging_ them. However, that don't matter. But I'm not +forbidden to tell you why _I_ am going away. In the first place, then, +I'm going to seek my fortune! Where I'm to find it remains to be seen. +The only thing I know is, that I mean to find it somewhere or other, and +then," (here Corrie became very impressive,) "come back and live beside +you and your father, not to speak of Poopy and Toozle." + +Alice smiled sadly at this. Corrie looked graver than ever, and went +on-- + +"Meanwhile, during my absence, I will write letters to you, and you'll +write ditto to me. I am going away because I ought to go and be doing +something for myself. You know quite well that I would rather stop +beside you than go anywhere in this wide world, Alice; but that would be +stupid. I'm getting to be a man now, and mustn't go on shewin' the +weaknesses of a boy. In the second, or third, place--I forget which, +but no matter--I am going with Henry because I could not go with a +better man; and in the fourth--if it's not the fifth--place, I'm going +because Uncle Ole Thorwald has long wished me to go to sea, and, to tell +you the truth, I would have gone long ago had it not been for you, +Alice. There's only one thing that bothers me." Here Corrie looked at +his fair companion with a perplexed air. + +"What is that?" asked Alice, sympathetically. + +"It is that I must go without saying good-bye to Uncle Ole. I'm _very_ +sorry about it. It will look so ungrateful to him; but it _can't_ be +helped." + +"Why not?" inquired Alice. "If he has often said he wished you to go to +sea, would he not be delighted to hear that you are going?" + +"Yes; but he must not know that I am going to-night, and with Henry +Stuart." + +"Why not?" + +"Ah! that's the point. Mystery! Alice--mystery! What a world of +mystery this is!" observed the precocious Corrie, shaking his head with +profound solemnity. "I've been involved, (I think that's the word,) +rolled up, drowned, and buried in mystery for more than three weeks, and +I'm beginning to fear that I'll never again git into the unmysteriously +happy state in which I lived before this abominable man-of-war came to +the island. No Alice, I dare not say anything more on that point even +to you _just now_. But _won't_ I give it you all in my first letter? +and _won't_ you open your eyes just until they look like two blue +saucers?" + +Further conversation between the friends was interrupted at this point +by the inrushing of Toozle, followed up by Poopy, and, a short time +after, by Mr Mason, who took Alice away with him, and left poor Corrie +disconsolate. + +While this was going on, John Bumpus was fulfilling his mission to Ole +Thorwald. + +He found that obstinate individual in his own parlour, deep in the +investigation of the state of his books of business, which had been +allowed to fall into arrear during his absence. + +"Come in, Bumpus. So I hear you were half-hanged when we were away." + +Ole wheeled round on his stool and hooked his thumbs into the arm-holes +of his vest as he said this, leaned his back against his desk, and +regarded the seaman with a facetious look. + +"Half-hanged, indeed," said Bumpus, indignantly. "I was more than +half--three-quarters at least. Why, the worst of it's over w'en the +rope's round your neck." + +"That is a matter which you can't speak to, John Bumpus, seeing that +you've never gone beyond the putting of the rope round your neck." + +"Well, I'm content with wot I does happen to know about it," remarked +Jo, making a wry face; "an' I hope that I'll never git the chance of +knowin' more. But I comed here on business, Mr Thorwald," (here John +became mysterious and put his finger to his lips.) "I've comed here, Mr +Thorwald, to--_split_." + +As Ole did not quite understand the meaning of this word, and did not +believe that the seaman actually meant to rend himself from head to +foot, he said--"Why, Bumpus, what d'ye mean?" + +"I mean as how that I've comed to split on my comrades--w'ich means, I'm +goin' to tell upon 'em." + +"Oh!" exclaimed Ole, eyeing the man with a look of distrust. + +"Yes," pursued Bumpus, "I'm willin' to tell ye all about it, and prevent +his escape, if you'll only promise, on yer word as a gin'lmun, that ye +won't tell nobody else, but six niggers, who are more than enough to +sarve your turn." + +"Prevent whose escape?" said Thorwald with an excited look. + +"Gascoyne's." + +Ole jumped off his stool and hit his left palm a sounding blow with his +right fist. + +"I knew it!" he exclaimed, staring into the face of the seaman. "I was +sure of it! I said it! But how d'ye know, my man?" + +"Ah! I'll not say another word if ye don't promise to let me go free, +and only take six niggers with ye." + +"Well, Bumpus, I do promise, on the word of a true Norseman, which is +much better than that of a gentleman, that no harm shall come to you if +you tell me all you know of this matter. But I will promise nothing +more; because if you won't tell me, you have told me enough to enable me +to take such measures as will prevent Gascoyne from escaping." + +"No, ye can't prevent it," said Bumpus, with an air of indifference. +"If ye don't choose to come to my way o' thinkin', ye can take yer own +coorse. But, let me tell you, there's more people on the island that +will take Gascoyne's part than ye think of. There's the whole crew of +the _Talisman_, whose cap'n he saved, and a lot besides; an' if ye do +come to a fight about it, ye'll have a pretty tough scrimmage. Ther'll +be blood spilt, Mr Thorwald, an' it was partly to prevent that as I +comed here for. But you know best. You better take yer own way, an +I'll take mine." + +The cool impudence, of manner with which John Bumpus said this had its +effect on Ole, who, although fond enough of fighting against enemies, +had no sort of desire to fight against friends, especially for the sake +of a pirate. + +"Come, Bumpus," said he, "you and I understand each other. Let us talk +the thing over calmly. I've quite as much objection to see unnecessary +bloodshed as you have. We have had enough of that lately. Tell me what +you know, and I promise to do what you recommend as far as I can in +reason." + +"Do you promise to let no one else know wot I tell ye?" + +"I do." + +"An' d'ye promise to take no more than six niggers to prewent this +escape?" + +"Will six be enough?" + +"Plenty; but, if that bothers ye, say twelve; I'm not partic'lar--say +twelve. That's more than enough, for they'll only have four to fight +with." + +"Well, I promise that too." + +"Good. Now I'll tell ye all about it," said Bumpus. "You see, although +I'm splittin', I don't want to get my friends into trouble, and so I got +you to promise; an' I trust to yer word, Mr Thorwald--you bein' a +gen'lmun. This is how it is. Young Henry Stuart thinks that although +Gascoyne is a pirate, or, rather, _was_ a pirate, he don't deserve to be +hanged. 'Cause why? Firstly, he never committed no murder; secondly, +he saved the lives o' some of your people--Alice Mason among the rest; +and, thirdly, he's an old friend o' the family as has done 'em good +sarvice long ago. So Henry's made up his mind that, as Gascoyne's sure +to be hanged if he's tried, it's his duty to prewent that there from +happenin' of. Now, ye see, Gascoyne is quite willin' to escape--" + +"Hah! the villain!" exclaimed Ole; "I was sure of that. I knew well +enough that all his smooth-tongued humility was hypocrisy. I'm sorry +for Henry, and don't wish to thwart him; but it's clearly my duty to +prevent this escape if I can." + +"So I think, sir," said Bumpus; "so I think. That's just w'at I said to +myself w'en I made up my mind for to split. Gascoyne bein' willin' +then, Henry has bribed the jailer, and he intends to open the jail door +for him at twelve o'clock this night, and he'll know w'at to do with his +legs w'en he's got 'em free." + +"But how am I to prevent his escape if I do not set a strong guard over +the prison?" exclaimed Ole, in an excited manner. "If he once gets into +the mountains I might as well try to catch a hare." + +"All fair and softly, Mr Thorwald. Don't take on so. It ain't two +o'clock yet; we've lots o' time. Henry has arranged to get a boat ready +for him. At twelve o'clock to-night the doors will be opened and he'll +start for the boat. It will lie concealed among the rocks off the Long +Point. There's no mistakin' the spot, just west of the village; an' if +you place your niggers there you'll have as good a chance as need be to +nab 'em. Indeed, there's _two_ boats to be in waitin' for the pirate +captain and his friends--set 'em up!" + +"And where is the second boat to be hidden?" asked Ole. + +"I'm not sure of the exact spot, but it can't be very far off from the +tother, cer'nly not a hundred miles," said Bumpus with a grin. "Now, +wot I want is, that if ye get hold of the pirate ye'll be content, an' +not go an' peach on Henry an' his comrades. They'll be so ashamed o' +themselves at bein' nabbed in the wery act that they'll give it up as a +bad job. Besides, ye can then go an' give him in charge of Capting +Montague. But if ye try to _prewent_ the escape bein' attempted, Henry +will take the bloody way of it--for I tell _you_ his birse is up, an' no +mistake." + +"How many men are to be with Gascoyne?" asked Thorwald, who, had he not +been naturally a stupid man, must have easily seen through this clumsy +attempt to blind him. + +"Just four," answered Bumpus; "an' I'm to be one of 'em." + +"Well, Bumpus, I'll take your advice. I shall be at the Long Point +before twelve, with a dozen niggers, and I'll count on you lending us a +hand." + +"No, ye mustn't count on that, Mr Thorwald. Surely it's enough if I +run away and leave the others to fight." + +"Very well, do as you please," said Thorwald, with a look of contempt. + +"Good day, Mr Thorwald. You'll be sure to be there?" + +"Trust me." + +"An' you'll not say a word about it to nobody?" + +"Not a syllable." + +"That's all square. You'll see the boat w'en ye git there, and as long +as ye see that boat yer all right. Good day, sir." + +John Bumpus left Thorwald's house chuckling, and wended his way to the +widow's cottage, whistling the "Groves of Blarney." + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. + +THE AMBUSH--THE ESCAPE--RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE--AND CONCLUSION. + +An hour before the appointed time Ole Thorwald, under cover of a dark +night, stole out of his own dwelling with slow and wary step, and +crossed the little plot of ground that lay in front of it with the sly +and mysterious air of a burglar, rather than that of an honest man. + +Outside his gate he was met in the same cautious manner by a +dark-skinned human being, the character of whose garments was something +between those of a sailor and a West India planter. This was Sambo, +Thorwald's major-domo, clerk, overseer, and right-hand man. Sambo was +not his proper name, but his master, regarding him as being the +embodiment of all the excellent qualities that could by any possibility +exist in the person of a South Sea islander, had bestowed upon him the +generic name of the dark race, in addition to that wherewith Mr Mason +had gifted him on the day of his baptism. + +Sambo and his master exchanged a few words in low whispers, and then +gliding down the path that led from the stout merchant's house to the +south side of the village, they entered the woods that lined the shore, +like two men bent on a purpose which might or might not be of the +blackest possible kind. + +"I don't half like this sort of work, Sambo," observed Thorwald, +speaking and treading with less caution as they left the settlement +behind them. + +"Ambushments, and surprises, and night forages, especially when they +include Goats' Passes, don't suit me at all. I have a strong antipathy +to everything in the way of warfare, save a fair field and no favour +under the satisfactory light of the sun." + +"Ho!" said Sambo quietly, as much as to say--I hear and appreciate, but +having no observation to make in reply, I wait for more from your +honoured lips. + +"Now, you see," pursued Thorwald, "if I were to follow my own tastes-- +which it seems to me I am destined not to be allowed to do any more in +the affairs of this world, if I may judge by the events of the past +month--if I were to follow my own tastes, I say I would go boldly to the +prison where this pestiferous pirate captain lies, put double irons on +him, and place a strong guard round the building. In this case I would +be ready to defend it against any odds, and would have the satisfaction +of standing up for the rights of the settlement like a man, and of +hurling defiance at the entire British navy (at least such portion of it +as happens to be on the island at this time) if they were to attempt a +rescue--as this Bumpus hints they are likely to do. Yet it seems to me +strange and unaccountable that they should thus interest themselves in a +vile pirate. I verily believe that I have been deceived, but it is too +late now to alter my plans or to hesitate. Truly, it seemeth to me that +I might style myself an ass without impropriety." + +"Ho!" remarked Sambo, and the grin with which the remark was accompanied +seemed to imply that he not only appreciated his master's sentiment, but +agreed with it entirely. + +"You've got eleven men, I trust, Sambo?" + +"Yes, mass'r." + +"All good and true, I hope? men who can be trusted both in regard to +their fighting qualities, and their ability to hold their tongues?" + +"Dumb as owls, ebery von," returned Sambo. + +"Good! You see, my man, I _must_ not permit that fellow to escape; at +the same time I do not wish to blazon abroad that it is my friend Henry +Stuart who is helping him. Neither do I wish to run the risk of killing +my friends in a scrimmage, if they are so foolish as to resist me; +therefore I am particular about the men you have told off for this duty. +Where did you say they are to meet us?" + +"Close by de point, mass'r." + +A few minutes' walk brought them to the point where the men were +awaiting them. As far as Ole could judge, by the dim light of a few +stars that struggled through the cloudy sky, they were eleven as stout +fellows as any warrior could desire to have at his back in a hand to +hand conflict. They were all natives, clothed much in the same manner +as Sambo, and armed with heavy clubs, for, as we have seen, Thorwald was +resolved that this should be a bloodless victory. + +"Whereabout is the boat?" whispered Ole to his henchman, as he groped +his way down the rocky slopes towards the shore. + +"'Bout two hondr'd yards more farder in front," said Sambo. + +"Then I'll place the men here," said Ole, turning to the natives who +were following close at his heels. "Now, boys, remain under cover of +this rock till I lead you on to the attack; and mind what I say to +you--_no killing_! Some of party are my friends, d'ye understand? I +don't want to do them a damage, but I do want to prevent their letting +off as great a villain, I believe, as ever sailed the ocean under a +black flag--only his was a red one; because of his extreme +bloody-mindedness, no doubt, which led, him to adopt the colour of +blood. We will attack them in the rear, which means, of course, by +surprise, though I must confess that style of warfare goes much against +the grain with me. There are just four men, I am told, besides the +pirate. Our first onset will secure the fall of at least two of the +party by my own cudgel--and mark me, lads, I don't say this in the +spirit of boasting. He would indeed be but a poor warrior who could not +fell two men when he took them unawares and in the dark. No, I feel +half ashamed o' the work, but I suppose it is my duty. So you see there +will be just two men and the pirate left for us to deal with. Four of +you ought to be able to overcome the two men without drawing blood, +except, it may be, a little surface-fluid. The remaining nine of us +will fall on the pirate captain in a body. You will easily know him by +his great size, and I have no manner of doubt but that he will make +himself further known by the weight of his blows. If I happen to fall, +don't look after me till you have overcome and bound the pirate. The +ropes are all ready, and my man Sambo will carry them." + +Having delivered this address to his followers, who by their "Ho's" and +grins indicated their perfect readiness to do as they were bid, Ole +Thorwald left them in ambush, and groped his way down to the beach, +accompanied by Sambo. + +"Did you bring the chain and padlock, Sambo?" + +"Yis, mass'r. But you no tink it am berer to take boat away--pull him +out ob sight?" + +"No, Sambo, I have thought on that subject already, and have come to the +conclusion that it is better to let the boat remain. You see they have +placed it in such a way that as long as daylight lasted it could be seen +from the settlement, and even now it is visible at some distance, as you +see. If we were to remove it they would at once observe that it was +gone, and thus be put on their guard. No, no, Sambo. I may not be fond +of ambushments, but I flatter myself that I have some talent for such +matters." + +The master and servant had reached the beach by this time, where they +found the boat in the exact position that had been indicated by John +Bumpus. It lay behind a low piece of coral rock, fastened to an iron +ring by means of a rope, while the oars lay in readiness on the thwarts. + +Sambo now produced a heavy iron chain with which the boat was speedily +fastened to the ring. It was secured with a large padlock, the key of +which Ole placed in his pocket. + +This being satisfactorily accomplished, they returned to the place of +ambush. + +"Now, Mister Gascoyne," observed Thorwald with a grim smile, as he sat +down beside his men and pulled out his watch, "I will await your +pleasure. It is just half-past eleven; if you are a punctual man, as Jo +Bumpus led me to believe, I will try your metal in half-an-hour, and +have you back in your cage before one o'clock! What say you to that, +Sambo?" + +The faithful native opened his huge mouth wide and shut his eyes, +thereby indicating that he laughed, but he said nothing, bad, good, or +indifferent, to his master's facetious observation. The other natives +also grinned in a quiet but particularly knowing manner, after which the +whole party relapsed into profound silence and kept their midnight watch +with exemplary patience and eager expectation. + +At this same hour the pirate captain was seated in his cell on the edge +of the low bedstead, with his elbows resting on his knees and his face +buried in his hands. + +The cell was profoundly dark--so dark that the figure of the prisoner +could scarcely be distinguished. + +Gascoyne did not move for many minutes, but once or twice a deep sigh +escaped him, shewing that although his body was at rest, his thoughts +were busy. At last he moved and clasped his hands together violently as +if under a strong impulse. In doing so, the clank of his chains echoed +harshly through the cell. This seemed to change the current of his +thoughts, for he again covered his face with both hands and began to +mutter to himself. + +"Ay," said he, "it has come at last. How often I have dreamed of this +when I was free and roaming over the wide ocean. I would say that I +have been a fool did I not feel that I have more cause to bow my head +and confess that I am a sinner. Ah! what a thing pride is. How little +do men know what it has cost me to humble myself before them as I have +done; yet I feel no shame in confessing it here, when I am all alone. +Alone! am I alone?" + +For a long time Gascoyne sat in deep silence as if he were following out +the train of thought which had been suggested by the last words. +Presently his ideas again found vent in muttered speech. + +"In my pride I have said that there is no God. I don't think I ever +believed that; but I tried to believe it, for I knew that my deeds were +evil. Surely my own words will condemn me, for I have said that I think +myself a fool, and does not the Bible say that `the fool hath said in +his heart there is no God?' Ay, I remember it well. The words were +printed in my brain when I learnt the Psalms of David at my mother's +knee, long, long ago. My mother! what bitter years have passed since +that day! How little did ye dream, mother, that your child would come +to _this_. God help me!" + +The pirate relapsed into silence, and a low groan escaped him. But his +thoughts seemed too powerful to be restrained within his breast, for +they soon broke forth again in words. + +"Your two texts have come true, pastor Mason. You did not mean them for +me, but _they were sent_ to me. `There is no rest, saith my God, to the +wicked.' No rest! I have not known rest since I was a boy. `Be sure +your sin shall find you out.' I laughed at these words once; they laugh +at _me_ now. I have found them out to be true--and found it out too +late. Too late! _Is_ it too late? If these words be true, are not all +the words of God equally true? `The blood of Jesus Christ his Son +cleanseth us from _all_ sin.' That was what you said, pastor Mason, on +that Sunday morning when the savages were stealing down on us. It gave +me comfort then, but, ah me! it seems to give me no comfort now. Oh! +that I had resisted the tempter when he _first_ came to me! Strange! I +often heard this said long, long ago; but I laughed at it--not in scorn, +no, it was in easy indifference. I did not believe it had anything to +do with me. And now, I suppose, if I were to stand in the public +streets and cry that I had been mistaken, with all the fervour of a +bursting heart, men would laugh at me in an easy way--as I did then. + +"I don't fear death. I have often faced it, and I don't remember ever +feeling afraid of death. Yet I shrink from death _now_. Why is this? +What a mystery my thoughts and feelings are to me. I know not what to +think. But it will soon be over, for I feel certain that I shall be +doomed to die. God help me!" + +Gascoyne again became silent. When he had remained thus a few minutes +his attention was roused by the sound of footsteps and of whispering +voices close under his window. Presently the key was put in the lock, +the heavy bolt shot back, and the door creaked on its hinges as it +opened slowly. + +Gascoyne knew by the sound that several men entered the cell, but as +they carried no light he could not tell how many there were. He was of +course surprised at a visit at such an unusual hour, as well as at the +stealthy manner in which his visitors entered; but having made up his +mind to submit quietly to whatever was in store for him, and knowing +that he could not hope for much tenderness at the hands of the +inhabitants of Sandy Cove, he was not greatly disturbed. Still, he +would not have been human had not his pulse quickened under the +influence of a strong desire to spring up and defend himself. + +The door of the cell was shut and locked as quietly as it had been +opened; then followed the sound of footsteps crossing the floor. + +"Is that you, jailer?" demanded Gascoyne. + +"Ye'll know that time enough," answered a gruff voice that was not +unfamiliar to the prisoner's ear. + +The others who had entered along with this man did not move from the +door--at least, if they did so, there was no sound of footsteps. The +man who had spoken went to the window and spread a thick cloth over it. +Gascoyne could see this, because there was sufficient light outside to +make the arms of the man dimly visible as he raised them up to +accomplish his object. The cell was thus rendered, if possible, more +impenetrably dark than before. + +"Now, pirate," said the man, turning round, and suddenly flashing a dark +lantern full on the stern face of the prisoner, "you and I will have a +little convarse together--by yer leave or without yer leave. In case +there might be pryin' eyes about, I've closed the porthole, d'ye see." + +Gascoyne listened to this familiar style of address in surprise, but did +not suffer his features to betray any emotion whatever. The lantern +which the seaman (for such he evidently was) carried in his hand threw a +strong light wherever its front was turned, but left every other part of +the cell in partial darkness. The reflected light was, however, quite +sufficient to enable the prisoner to see that his visitor was a short, +thick-set man, of great physical strength, and that three men of unusual +size and strength stood against the wall, in the deep shadow of a +recess, with their straw hats pulled very much over their eyes. + +"Now, Mister Gascoyne," began the seaman, sitting down on the edge of +the small table beside the low pallet, and raising the lantern a little, +while he gazed earnestly into the prisoner's face, "I've reason to +believe--" + +"Ha! you are the boatswain of the _Talisman_," exclaimed Gascoyne, as +the light reflected from his own countenance irradiated that of Dick +Price, whom, of course, he had seen frequently while they were on board +the frigate together. + +"No, mister pirate," said Dick; "I am _not_ the bo's'n of the +_Talisman_, else I shouldn't be here this night. I _wos_ the bo's'n of +that unfortunate frigate, but I is so no longer." + +Dick said this in a melancholy tone, and thereafter meditated for a few +moments in silence. + +"No," he resumed with a heavy sigh, "the _Talisman's_ blow'd up, an' her +bo's'n's out on the spree--so to speak,--though it ain't a cheerful +spree by no means. But to come back to the pint, (w'ich wos wot the +clergyman said w'en he'd got so far away from the pint that he never +_did_ get back to it,) as I wos sayin', or was agoin' to say w'en you +prewented me, I've reason to b'lieve you're agoin' to try for to make +yer escape." + +"You are mistaken, my man," said Gascoyne, with a sad smile; "nothing is +farther from my thoughts." + +"I don't know how far it's from yer thoughts," said Dick, sternly, "but +it's pretty close to your intentions, so I'm told." + +"Indeed you are mistaken," replied Gascoyne. "If Captain Montague has +sent you here to mount guard he has only deprived you of a night's rest +needlessly. If I had intended to make my escape I would not have given +myself up." + +"I don't know that--I'm not so sure o' that," rejoined the boatswain +stoutly. "You're said to be a obstinate feller, and there's no sayin' +what a obstinate feller won't do or will do. But I didn't come here for +to argify the question with _you_, Mister Gascoyne. Wot I com'd here +for wos to do my duty, so, now, I'm agoing to do it." + +Gascoyne, who was amused in spite of himself by the manner of the man, +merely smiled and awaited in silence the pleasure of his eccentric +visitor. + +Dick now set down the lantern, went to the door and returned with a coil +of stout rope. + +"You see," observed the boatswain, as he busied himself in uncoiling and +making a running noose on the rope, "I'm ordered to prewent you from +carryin' out your intentions--wotiver these may be--by puttin' a coil or +two o' this here rope round you. Now, wot I've got to ask of you is-- +Will ye submit peaceable like to have it done?" + +"Surely this is heaping unnecessary indignity upon me?" exclaimed +Gascoyne, flushing crimson with anger. + +"It _may_ be unnecessary, but it's got to be done," returned Dick, with +cool decision, as he placed the end of a knot between his powerful +teeth, and drew it tight. "Besides, Mister Gascoyne, a pirate must +expect indignities to be heaped upon him. However, I'll heap as few as +possible on ye in the discharge of my duty." + +Gascoyne had started to his feet, but he sat down abashed on being thus +reminded of his deserts. + +"True," said he; "true. I will submit." + +He added in his mind, "I deserve this;" but nothing more escaped his +lips, while he stood up and permitted the boatswain to pass the cord +round his arms, and lash them firmly to his sides. + +Having bound him in a peculiarly tight and nautical manner, Dick once +more went to his accomplices at the door, and returned with a hammer and +chisel, and a large stone. The latter he placed on the table, and, +directing Gascoyne to raise his arms--which were not secured below the +elbows--and place his manacles on the stone, he cut them asunder with a +few powerful blows, and removed them. + +"The darbies ain't o' no use, you see, as we ye got you all safe with +the ropes. Now, Mister Gascoyne, I'm agoin' to heap one more indignity +on ye. I'm sorry to do it, d'ye see; but I'm bound for to obey orders. +You'll be so good as to sit down on the bed, for I ain't quite so long +as you--though I won't say that I'm not about as broad--and let me tie +this napkin over yer mouth." + +"Why?" exclaimed Gascoyne, again starting and looking fiercely at the +boatswain; "this, at least, must be unnecessary. I have said that I am +willing to submit quietly to whatever the law condemns me. You don't +take me for a woman or a child, that will be apt to cry out when hurt?" + +"Certainly not; but as I'm goin' to take ye away out o' this here limbo, +it is needful that I should prewent you from lettin' people know that +yer goin' on your travels; for I've heerd say there's some o' yer +friends as is plottin' to help you to escape." + +"Have I not said already that I do not wish to escape, and therefore +will not take advantage of any opportunity afforded me by my friends?-- +Friends! I have no friends! Even those whom I thought were my friends +have not been near my prison all this day." + +Gascoyne said this bitterly, and in great anger. + +"Hush!" exclaimed Dick; "not quite so loud, mister pirate. You see +there _is_ some reason in my puttin' this on your mouth. It'll be as +well to let me do it quietly, else I'll have to get a little help." + +He pointed to the three stout men who stood motionless and silent in the +dark recess. + +"Oh, it was cowardly of you to bind my arms before you told me this," +said Gascoyne, with flashing eyes. "If my hands were free now--" + +He checked himself by a powerful effort, and crushed back the boastful +defiance which rose to his lips. + +"Now, I'll tell ye wot it is, Mister Gascoyne," said Dick Price, "I do +believe yer not such a bad feller as they say ye are, an' I'm disposed +to be marciful to ye. If ye'll give me your word of honour that you'll +not holler out, and that you'll go with us peaceably, and do wot yer +bid, I'll not trouble you with the napkin, nor bind ye up more than I've +done already. But," (here Dick spoke in tones that could not be +misunderstood,) "if ye won't give me that promise, I'll gag ye and bind +ye neck and heels, and we'll carry ye out o' this shoulder high. Now, +wot say ye to that?" + +Gascoyne had calmed his feelings while the boatswain was speaking. He +even smiled when he replied--"How can you ask me to give my word of +honour? What honour has a pirate to boast of, think you?" + +"Not much, pr'aps," said Dick; "howsomdever, I'll be content with wot's +left of it; and if there ain't none, why, then, give us yer word. It'll +do as well." + +"After all, it matters little what is done with me," said Gascoyne, in a +resigned voice. "I am a fool to resist thus. You need not fear that I +will offer any further resistance, my man. Do your duty, whitever that +may be." + +"That won't do," said Dick, stoutly; "ye must promise not to holler +out." + +"I promise," said Gascoyne, sternly. "Pray cease this trifling, and if +it is not inconsistent with your duty, let me know where I am to be +taken to." + +"That's just wot I'm not allowed for to tell. But you'll find it out in +the coorse of time. Now, all that you've got to do is to walk by my +side, and do wot I tell ye." + +The prisoner made no answer. He was evidently weary of the +conversation, and his thoughts were already wandering on other subjects. + +The door was now unlocked by one of the three men who stood near it. As +its hinges creaked, Dick shut the lantern, and threw the cell at once +into total darkness. Taking hold of Gascoyne's wrist gently, as if to +guide, not to force him away, he conducted him along the short passage +that led to the outer door of the prison. This was opened, and the +whole party stood in the open air. + +Gascoyne looked with feelings of curiosity at the men who surrounded +him, but the night was so intensely dark that their features were +invisible. He could just discern the outlines of their figures, which +were enveloped in large cloaks. He was on the point of speaking to +them, when he remembered his promise to make no noise, so he restrained +himself, and followed his guard in silence. + +Dick and another man walked at his side--the rest followed in rear. +Leading him round the out-skirts of the village, towards its northern +extremity, Gascoyne's conductors soon brought him to the beach, at a +retired spot, where was a small bay. Here they were met by one whose +stature proved him to be a boy. He glided up to Dick, who said in a low +whisper-- + +"Is all ready?" + +"All right," replied the boy. + +"The ooman aboard?" + +"Ay." + +"Now, Mr Gascoyne," said Dick, pointing to a large boat floating beside +the rocks on which they stood, "you'll be so good as to step into that +'ere boat, and sit down beside the individual you see a-sittin' there in +the stern-sheets." + +"Have you authority for what you do?" asked Gascoyne, hesitating. + +"I have power to enforce wot I command," said Dick, quietly. "Remember +yer promise, mister pirate, else--" + +Dick finished his sentence by pointing to the three men who stood near-- +still maintaining a silence worthy of Eastern mutes; and Gascoyne, +feeling that he was completely in their power, stepped quickly into the +boat, and sat down beside the "individual" referred to by Dick, who was +so completely enveloped in the folds of a large cloak as to defy +recognition. But the pirate captain was too much occupied with his own +conflicting thoughts and feelings to bestow more than a passing glance +on the person who sat at his side. Indeed it was not surprising that +Gascoyne was greatly perplexed by all that was going on at that time; +for he could not satisfactorily account to himself for the mystery and +secrecy which his guards chose to maintain. If they were legitimate +agents of the law, why these muffled oars with which they swept the boat +across the lagoon, through the gap in the coral reef and out to sea? +And if they were _not_ agents of the law, who were they, and where were +they conveying him? + +The boat was a large one, half-decked, and fitted to stand a heavy sea +and rough weather. It would have moved sluggishly through the water had +not the four men who pulled the oars been possessed of more than average +strength. As soon as they passed the barrier reef, the sails were +hoisted, and Dick took the helm. The breeze was blowing fresh off the +land, and the water rushed past the boat as she cut swiftly out to sea, +leaving a track of white foam behind her. For a few minutes the mass of +the island was dimly seen rising like a huge shade on the dark sky, but +soon it melted away and nothing remained for the straining eyes to rest +upon save the boat with its silent crew and the curling foam on the +black sea. + +"We've got him safe now, lads," said Dick Price, speaking, for the first +time that night, in unguarded tones, "you'd better do the deed. The +sooner it's done the better." + +While he was speaking one of the three men opened a large clasp knife +and advanced towards Gascoyne. + +"Father," said Henry, cutting the rope that bound him, "you are free at +last!" + +Gascoyne started, but before he had time to utter the exclamation of +surprise that sprang to his lips, his hand was seized by the muffled +figure that sat at his side. + +"Oh! Gascoyne, forgive us--forgive _me_!" said Mary Stuart in a +trembling voice. "I did, indeed, know something of what they meant to +do, but I knew nothing of the cruel violence that these bonds--" + +"Violence!" cried Dick Price, "I put it to yourself, Mister Gascoyne, if +I didn't treat ye as if ye wos a lamb?" + +"Wot a blissin' it is for a man to git his mouth open agin, and let his +breath go free," cried Jo Bumpus, with a deep sigh. "Come, Corrie, give +us a cheer--hip! hip! hip!--" + +The cheer that followed was stirring and wonderfully harmonious, for it +was given in a deep bass, and a shrill treble, with an intermediate +baritone "Ho!" from Jakolu. + +"I know it, Mary, I know it;" said Gascoyne, and there was a slight +tremor in his deep voice as he drew his wife towards him, and laid her +head upon his breast. "You have never done me an evil turn--you have +done me nothing but good--since you were a little child. Heaven bless +you, Mary!" + +"Now, father," said Henry, "I suppose you have no objection to make your +escape?" + +"No need to raise that question, lad," said Gascoyne, with a perplexed +smile. "I am not quite clear as to what my duty is now that I am free +to go back and again give myself up." + +"Go back!--free!" exclaimed John Bumpus in a tone of withering sarcasm. +"So, Mister Gascoyne, ye've got sich an oncommon cargo o' conceit in ye +yet, that you actually think ye could go back without so much as `By +your leave!'" + +While Jo was speaking he bared to the shoulder an arm that was the +reverse of infantine, and, holding it up, said slowly-- + +"I've often had a sort o' desire, d'ye see, to try whether this bit of a +limb or the one that's round Mrs Stuart's waist is the strongest. Now +if _you_ have any desire to settle this question, just try to shove this +boat's head up into the wind--that's all!" + +This was said so emphatically by the pugnacious Bumpus that his +companions laughed, and Corrie cheered in admiration. + +"You see," observed Henry, "you need not give yourself any concern as to +this point, you have no option in the matter." + +"No, not a bit o' poption in it wotiver--though wot that means I ain't +rightly sure," said Dick Price. + +"Perhaps I ought to exercise my parental authority over you, Henry," +said Gascoyne, "and _command_ you to steer back to Sandy Cove." + +"But we wouldn't let him, mister pirate," said Dick Price, who, now that +his difficult duties were over, was preparing to solace himself with a +pipe; an example that was immediately followed by Bumpus, who backed his +friend by adding-- + +"No more we would." + +"Nay, then, if Henry joins me," said Gascoyne, "I think that we two will +not have a bad chance against you three." + +"Come, that's good! so _I_ count for nothing," exclaimed Corrie. + +"Ha! stick up, lad," observed Bumpus. "The niggers wot you pitched into +at the mouth o' yon cave didn't think that--eh! didn't they not?" + +"Well, well, if Corrie sides with you I feel that my wisest course is to +submit. And now, Henry," said Gascoyne, resuming his wonted gravity of +tone and demeanour, "sit down here and let me know where we are going to +and what you mean to do. It is natural that I should feel curious on +these points even although I _have_ perfect confidence in you all." + +Henry obeyed, and their voices sank into low tones as they mingled in +earnest converse about their future plans. + +Thus did Gascoyne, with his family and friends, leave Sandy Cove in the +dead of that dark night, and sail away over the wide waste of the great +Pacific Ocean. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Reader, our tale is nearly told. Like a picture, it contains but a +small portion of the career of those who have so long engaged your +attention, and, I would fain hope, your sympathy. The life of man may +be comprehensively epitomised almost to a point, or expanded out _ad +infinitum_. He was born, he died, is its lowest term. Its highest is +not definable. + +Innumerable tomes, of encyclopaedic dimensions, could not contain, much +less exhaust, an account of all that was said and done (and all that +might be said about what was said and done) by our _ci-devant_ +sandal-wood trader and his friends. Yet there are main points, amid the +little details of their career, which it would be unpardonable to pass +over in silence. To these we shall briefly refer before letting the +curtain fall. + +There is a distant isle of the sea, a beautiful spot, an oceanic gem, +which has been reclaimed by the Word of God, from those regions that +have been justly styled "the dark places of the earth." We will not +mention its name; we will not even indicate its whereabout, lest we +should furnish a clue to the unromantic myrmidons of the law, whose +inflexible justice is only equalled by their pertinacity in tracking the +criminal--to his lair! + +On this beautiful isle, at the time of our tale, the churches and houses +of Christian men had begun to rise. The natives had begun to cultivate +the arts of civilisation, and to appreciate, in some degree, the +inestimable blessings of Christianity. The plough had torn up the +virgin soil, and the anchors of merchant-ships had begun to kiss the +strand. The crimes peculiar to civilised men had not yet been +developed. The place had all the romance and freshness of a flourishing +infant colony. + +Early one fine morning, a half-decked boat rowed into the harbour of +this isle, and ran alongside the little quay, where the few natives who +chanced to be lounging there were filled with admiration at the sight of +five stalwart men who leaped upon the rocks, an active lad who held the +boat steady, and a handsome middle-aged woman, who was assisted to land +with much care by the tallest of her five companions. + +There were a few small bales of merchandise in the boat. These being +quickly tossed ashore, one of the natives was asked to shew the way to +the nearest store, where they might be placed in safe keeping. + +This done; the largest man of the party, who was clad in the rough +garments of a merchant captain, offered his arm to the female, who was +evidently his wife, and went off in search of the chief magistrate of +the settlement, leaving his companions to look after the boat and smoke +their pipes. + +The handsome stranger introduced himself to the magistrate as Mr +Stuart; stated that he intended to settle on the island as a general +merchant, having brought a few bales of merchandise with him; that he +had been bred an engineer and a shipwright, and meant also to work at +his old trade, and concluded by asking for advice and general +information in regard to the state of trade on the island. + +After having obtained all the information on these subjects that the +magistrate could give, insomuch that that functionary deemed him a +perfect marvel of catechetical wisdom and agreeable address,--the +stalwart stranger proceeded to inquire minutely into the state of +religion and education among the natives and settlers, and finally left +the charmed magistrate rejoicing in the belief that he was a most +intelligent philanthropist, and would be an inestimable acquisition to +the settlement. + +A small trading store was soon built. The stranger was not a rich man. +He began in a humble way, and sought to eke out his subsistence by doing +the ordinary work of a wright. In this latter occupation he was ably +assisted by his stout son, Henry; for the duties of the store were +attended to chiefly by the lad Corrie, superintended by Mr Stuart. + +The mysterious strangers were a source of much gossip and great +speculation, of course, to the good people of Green Isle, (as we shall +style this gem of the Pacific, in order to thwart the myrmidons of the +law!) They found them so reserved and uncommunicative, however, on the +subject of their personal affairs, that the most curious gossip in the +settlement at last gave up speculating in despair. + +In other respects, the new family were noted for kindliness and +urbanity. Mrs Stuart, especially, became an intimate friend of the +missionary who dwelt there, and one of his hardest-working parishioners. +Mr Stuart also became his friend; but the stern gravity of +countenance, and reserved, though perfectly well-bred and even kindly +manner of the stranger forbade close intimacy. He was a most regular +attender at church, not only on Sundays but at the weekly +prayer-meetings and occasional festivals, and the missionary noticed +that his Bible looked as if it were a well-thumbed one. + +At first the two seamen, whom people soon found out, were named +respectively Jo and Dick, wrought in the wright's workshop, and at all +kinds of miscellaneous jobs; besides making frequent and sometimes long +voyages in their boat to the neighbouring islands. As time flew by +things seemed to prosper with the merchant. The keel of a little +schooner was laid. Father, and son, and seamen (as well as the native +servant, who was called Jako) toiled at this vessel incessantly until +she was finished--then, Henry was placed in command of her, Jo and Dick +were appointed first and second mates, two or three natives completed +the crew, and she went to sea under the somewhat peculiar name of the +_Avenger_. + +This seemed to be the first decided advance in the fortunes of the new +family. Business increased in a wonderful way. The _Avenger_ returned +again and again to the Green Isle laden with rich and varied commodities +for the successful merchant. In course of time the old store was taken +down, and a new one built; the _Avenger_ was sold, and a large brig +purchased, the rather pretty name of which--"_Evening Star_"--was +erased, and the mysterious word _Avenger_ put in its place. Everything, +in short, betokened that Mr Stuart was on the high road to fortune. + +But there were some mysteries connected with the merchant which sorely +puzzled the wisest heads in the place, and which would have puzzled +still wiser heads had they been there. Although it soon became quite +evident to the meanest capacity that Mr Stuart was the richest man on +the island; yet he and his family continued to occupy the poor, shabby, +little, ill-furnished cottage which they had erected with their own +hands when they first landed, and although they sold the finest silks +and brocades to the wives and daughters of the other wealthy settlers, +they themselves wore only the plainest and most sombre fabrics that +consisted with respectability. + +People would have called them a family of misers, but for their goodness +of character in other respects, and for the undeniable fact that they +were by far the most liberal contributors to the church and to the +poor--not only in their own island, but in all the other islands around +them. + +Another thing that puzzled the mercantile men of the place extremely was +the manner in which Mr Stuart kept his books of business. They soon +began to take note that he kept two ledgers and two distinct sets of +books--the one set small, the other set very bulky. Some of the more +audacious among his customers ventured to peep over his shoulder, and +discovered that the small set contained nothing but entries of boats +made, and repairs to shipping executed, and work connected exclusively +with the shipwright department of his business--while the large books +contained entries of those silks, and sugars, and teas, and spices, +etcetera, which turned so much gold into his coffers. + +It thus became evident to these men of business that the merchant kept +the two departments quite separate, in order to ascertain the distinct +profits on each. They were the more amazed at this when they considered +that the shipwright work must necessarily be a mere driblet, altogether +unworthy the attention of one so wealthy. But that which amazed them +most of all was, that such a man, in such circumstances, could waste his +time in doing with his own hands the work of an ordinary mechanic--thus +(as they concluded) entailing on himself the necessity of devoting much +of the night to his more lucrative concern. + +These long-headed men of business little knew the man. They did not +know that he was _great_ in the highest sense of the term, and that, +among other elements of his greatness, he possessed the power of seizing +the little things--the little opportunities--of life, and turning them +to the best account; that he not only knew what should be done, and how +to do it, but was gifted with that inflexible determination of purpose +to carry out a design, without which knowledge and talent can never +accomplish great things. The merchant did not, as they supposed, work +late at night. He measured his time, and measured his work. In this he +was like many other men in this struggling world; but he _stuck_ to his +time and to his work, in which respect he resembled the great few whose +names stand prominent on the page of history. + +In consequence of this, Mr Stuart wrought with success at both +departments of his business, and while in the one he coined thousands, +in the other he earned more than the average wages of a working man. + +The _Avenger_ was erratic and uncertain in her voyages. She evidently +sailed to the principal islands of the South Seas, and did business with +them all. From one of these voyages, Henry, her captain, returned with +a wife--a dark-haired, dark-eyed, ladylike girl--for whom he built a +small cottage beside his father's, and left her there while he was away +at sea. + +It was observed by the clerks in Mr Stuart's counting-room, that their +chief accountant, Mr Corrie, was a great letter writer--that when one +letter was finished, he invariably began another, and kept it by him, +adding sheet after sheet to it until the _Avenger_ returned and carried +it off. Once Mr Corrie was called hurriedly away while in the act of +addressing one of these epistles. He left it lying on his desk, and a +small, contemptible, little apprentice allowed his curiosity so far to +get the better of him, that he looked at the address, and informed his +companions that Mr Corrie's correspondent was a certain Miss Alice +Mason! + +Of course, Mr Corrie received voluminous replies from this mysterious +Alice; and, if one might judge from his expression on reading these +epistles, (as that contemptible little apprentice _did_ judge,) the +course of _his_ love ran smoother than usual; thus, by its +exceptionality, proving the truth of the rule. + +Years passed away. The merchant's head became grey, but his gigantic +frame was as straight and his step as firm as ever. His wife, strange +to say, looked younger as she grew older! It seemed as if she were +recovering from some terrible illness that had made her prematurely old, +and were now renewing her youth. The business prospered to such an +extent that, by becoming altogether too wonderful, it ceased to be a +matter of wonder altogether to the merchants of the Green Isle. They +regarded it as semi-miraculous--the most unprecedented case of "luck" +that had ever been heard of in the annals of mercantile history. + +But the rich merchant still dwelt in the humble, almost mean, cottage, +and still wrought as an engineer and shipwright with his own hands. + +In the little cottage beside his own there were soon seen (and _heard_) +three stout children, two boys and a girl, the former being named +respectively Gascoyne and Henry, the latter, Mary. It is needless to +say that these were immense favourites with the eccentric merchant. + +During all this time there was a firm in Liverpool which received +periodical remittances of money from an unknown source. The cashier of +that firm, a fat little man, with a face like a dumpling and a nose like +a cherry, lived, as it were, in a state of perpetual amazement in regard +to these remittances. They came regularly, from apparently nowhere, +were acknowledged to nobody, and amounted, in the course of time, to +many thousands. This firm had, some years previously, lost a fine +vessel. She was named the _Brilliant_; had sailed for the South Sea +islands with a rich cargo, and was never more heard of. The fat cashier +knew the loss sustained by this vessel to a penny. He had prepared and +calculated all the papers and sent duplicates on board, and as he had a +stake in the venture he never forgot the amount of the loss sustained. + +One day the firm received a remittance from the Unknown, with a note to +the following effect at the foot of it:--"This is the last remittance on +account of the _Brilliant_. The value of the cargo, including compound +interest, and the estimated value of the vessel, have now been repaid to +the owners." + +The fat cashier was thunderstruck! He rushed to his ledger, examined +the account, calculated the interest, summed up the whole, and found it +correct. He went home to bed and fell sound asleep in amazement; awoke +in amazement; went back to the office in amazement; worked on day after +day in amazement; lived, and eventually died, in a state of unrelieved +amazement in regard to this incomprehensible transaction! + +About the same time that this occurred Mr Stuart entered his poor +cottage, and finding his wife there, said-- + +"Mary, I have sent off the last remittance to-day. I have made amends +for that evil deed. It has cost me a long and hard struggle to realise +the thousands of pounds that were requisite; for some of the goods had +got damaged by damp in the cavern of the Isle of Palms, but the profits +of my engineering and shipwright business have increased of late, and I +have managed to square it all off with interest. And now, Mary, I can +do no more. If I knew of any others who have suffered at my hands I +would restore what I took tenfold--but I know of none. It therefore +remains that I should work this business for the good of mankind. Of +all the thousands that have passed through my hands I have not used one +penny. You know that I have always kept the business that has grown out +of the labour of my own hands distinct from that which has been reared +on the stolen goods. I have lived and supported you by it, and now, +through God's blessing, it has increased to such an extent that I think +we may afford to build a somewhat more commodious house and furnish it a +little better." + +"As for the mercantile business--it _must_ go on. It has prospered and +still prospers. Many mouths are dependent on it for daily bread. I +will continue to manage it, but every penny of profit shall go in +charity as long as I live. After that, Henry may do with it as he +pleases. He has contributed largely to make it what it is, and deserves +to reap where he has sown so diligently. Do you think I am right in all +this, Mary?" + +We need scarcely remark that Mary did think it all right, for she and +Gascoyne had no differences of opinion _now_. + +Soon after this, Corrie went off on a long voyage in the _Avenger_. The +vessel touched at San Francisco, and, while there, some remarkable +scenes took place between Jo Bumpus and a good-looking woman whom he +called Susan. This female ultimately went on board the _Avenger_, and +sailed in her for Green Isle. + +On the way thither they touched at one of the first of the South Sea +islands that they came in sight of, where scenes of the most +unprecedented description took place between Corrie and a bluff old +gentleman named Ole Thorwald, and a sweet, blue-eyed, fair-haired, +maiden named Alice Mason! + +Strange to say this fair girl agreed to become a passenger in the +_Avenger_; and, still more strange to say, her father and Ole Thorwald +agreed to accompany her, also an ancient piece of animated door-matting +called Toozle and a black woman named Poopy, whose single observation in +regard to every event in sublunary history was, "Hee! hee!" + +On reaching Green Isle, Corrie and Alice were married, and on the same +day Bumpus and Susan were also united. There was great rejoicing on the +occasion; Ole Thorwald and Dick Price distinguished themselves by +dancing an impromptu and maniacal _pas de deux_ at the double wedding! + +Of Captain Montague's future career we know nothing. He may have been +killed in the wars of his country, or he may have become an admiral in +the British navy, for all we know to the contrary. One thing only we +are certain of, and that is, that he sailed for England in the pirate +schooner, and seemed by no means to regret the escape of the pirate +captain! + +Years rolled away. The head of Gascoyne became silvery white, but Time +seemed impotent to subdue the vigour of his stalwart frame, or destroy +the music of his deep bass voice. He was the idol of numerous +grandchildren as well as of a large circle of juveniles, who, without +regard to whether they had or had not a right to do so, styled him +"Grandfather." + +Little did these youngsters think, as they clambered over his huge +frame, and listened with breathless attention to his wild stories of the +sea, that "grandfather" had once been the celebrated and much-dreaded +Durward, the pirate! + +Nothing would induce Gascoyne to take a prominent part in the public +affairs of his chosen home; but he did attempt to teach a class of the +very smallest boys and girls in the missionary's Sunday school, and he +came, in time, to take special delight in this work. + +He was never so happy as when telling to these little ones the story of +redeeming love. In the choice of subjects for his class, he was +somewhat peculiar as well as in his manner of treating them. He was +particularly emphatic and earnest, used to fill his little hearers with +awe, when he spoke of the danger of sin and the importance of resisting +its beginnings. But his two favourite themes of all--and those which +dwelt most frequently on his lips--were, "God is Love," and, "Love is +the fulfilling of the law." + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader, by +R.M. 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