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diff --git a/27906.txt b/27906.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..04dd7fe --- /dev/null +++ b/27906.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9185 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Voyage of the Aurora, by Harry Collingwood + +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: The Voyage of the Aurora + +Author: Harry Collingwood + +Release Date: January 27, 2009 [EBook #27906] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VOYAGE OF THE AURORA *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +The Voyage of the Aurora, by Harry Collingwood. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +INTRODUCES LUCY WALFORD. + +Those who have ever had occasion to reside for any length of time in +Gosport are sure to be more or less acquainted with the little village +of Alverstoke; because it lies near at hand, and the road leading +thereto forms one of the most pleasant walks in the neighbourhood. + +But it may be that there are those, into whose hands this book will +fall, who have never so much as heard the name of the place. For their +benefit, then, it may be worth while to state that Alverstoke is +pleasantly situated at a distance of about one mile from the +above-mentioned town of Gosport, and within half a mile of the waters of +the Solent. + +It is a very unimportant little place at the present day: it was even +more so in the year 17--, the year in which this veracious history +opens. It was unimportant, that is to say, in a _general_ sense; the +public knew very little about it, and cared still less; but in a +_particular_ sense, and to the officers of His Majesty's Customs, it was +a very important place indeed, inasmuch as the inhabitants, animated by +a spirit of enterprise and a love of adventure not to be satisfied by +such very ordinary and humdrum pursuits as those of fishing and +market-gardening, had, almost to a man--to say nothing of the women and +children--added thereto the illegal but lucrative and exciting +occupation of smuggling; to the great loss and damage of the king's +revenues. + +The village consisted, at that time, of a single short, narrow street +with a bend in the middle of it. Nearly one half of the north side of +this street was occupied by the churchyard and church; the remaining +portion, as well as the opposite side of the way, being composed of +small low, two-story cottages with thatched roofs (and most of them +having little projecting dormer-windows), a couple of public-houses, and +a small grocery establishment. + +This constituted the village proper; but a little aloof from it--being +in it but not of it, as it were--there were in all perhaps half a dozen +residences of a somewhat more pretentious kind. There was the rectory, +for instance, on the opposite side of the road, eastward of the church, +built in the very centre of its extensive garden, and snugly surrounded +on all sides by high stone walls. Then there was Stoke House, near the +rectory, standing well back from the road, embowered in trees, and with +a carriage-drive running straight up through its beautiful rose-garden +to the front door. Nearer the beach, and on the opposite side of the +valley, was "Verbena Cottage," the abode of Lieutenant Bobus, in command +of the coast-guard; and still nearer the beach, some ten or a dozen +yards back from the road, enclosed within a neat paling, sheltered by +lofty trees, with a lovely flower-garden in front and an extensive fruit +and kitchen-garden in the rear, stood "Sea View," a small but well-built +house, in which resided the relict and daughter of the late "Cap'n" +Walford. + +The late "Cap'n" Walford had been a wonderfully popular man in his day; +and his memory was greatly esteemed and revered by the villagers. +Manifesting, at an early age, a love of enterprise and excitement quite +extraordinary even in an Alverstoke man, he had seized the first +opportunity which offered to become the owner of a very fine +fast-sailing lugger, in which, during his thirty years of devotion to +maritime pursuits, he, by a rare combination of prudence and audacity, +gradually acquired the reputation of being a most successful smuggler-- +and the snug little fortune of some ten thousand pounds. The latter and +more desirable portion of his acquirements he carefully invested, as it +dribbled in bit by bit, in house-property in the neighbourhood; so that, +when this estimable man's career was cut short at the comparatively +early age of sixty years, by an unlucky cannon-shot fired from a revenue +cutter, his disconsolate relict found herself the possessor of a +comfortable income amounting to some five hundred pounds per annum, +together with "Sea View" and--last, but by no means least--a daughter, +fourteen years of age. This melancholy event occurred four years before +the date at which this history opens; Lucy Walford was therefore about +eighteen years old when the first of that train of events happened which +it is herein proposed to record. + +Mrs Walford was wont to assert, just about this time, that Lucy was the +very living picture of what she herself used to be when a girl. If this +was indeed true, it was at once an evidence of that remarkable good +taste which the late "cap'n" was said to have possessed, and of the +extraordinary changes effected by the hand of Time, for no one could +ever have suspected such a resemblance without Mrs Walford's assurance. +The old lady was a sad and subdued personage, thin and angular of +figure and face, with prominent cheek-bones, eye-brows, and chin, dark +eyes, deeply sunk in their sockets, a broad forehead, ploughed with +innumerable wrinkles, a long sharp aquiline nose, a large thin-lipped +mouth, and a querulous temper. + +Lucy, on the other hand, was of medium height, slight, graceful figure, +abounding in delicate curves, with small hands and feet, an exquisite +complexion, a face, the sweet piquant loveliness of which set all the +youth of Alverstoke--and Gosport too, for that matter--by the ears, a +wealth of long silky golden hair, which persisted in twisting itself +into a most distracting conglomeration of wavy curls, and a temper which +nothing--not even her mother's querulousness--could ruffle. + +That Lucy should be fairly beset by suitors was only natural. There was +not a single bold young smuggler of marriageable age in all the country +round about who did not cherish in a greater or lesser degree the fond +hope of one day making her his own, albeit most of them were--it is only +just to say--dimly cognisant of the fact that she was much too good for +the best of them. It was probably in consequence of this feeling that +only one or two--the boldest of the bold of this dashing fraternity-- +had, so far, mustered up the courage to approach the young lady with a +distinct proposal of marriage; and these, it is hardly necessary to say, +had been firmly, but as pleasantly as possible, sent to the right-about. +This class of lovers gave Lucy no trouble whatever; bold as they might +be in the pursuit of their lawless avocation, they were diffident to the +verge of absurdity in the presence of beauty, if associated with dignity +and refinement; they were painfully conscious of their uncouth bearing +and manners; and Lucy had little difficulty in keeping them at a proper +distance. + +But if these admirers gave her no trouble, there were others--notably +two--who did; quite enough, in fact, to fully compensate for the ease +with which she was able to manage all the rest. One of these was a +certain Lieutenant Walford, a cousin of Lucy's; the other being Captain +George Leicester, of the merchant schooner _Industry_. + +Edward Walford was the only son of a half-brother of the late Captain +Walford. He was an orphan, twenty-three years of age, and held a +commission in his Majesty's--foot, then quartered in Gosport. He was +fairly well educated, tall, passably good-looking, of engaging manners, +but--those who knew him best said--treacherous, unscrupulous, and a +gamester. + +George Leicester, on the other hand, whilst perhaps quite as handsome as +his rival, was simply a frank, honest, sturdy seaman, carrying his heart +upon his sleeve; thoroughly master of his profession, but diffident and +doubtful of himself in all other matters. + +The trouble with these two was, that Walford could not be made to see +that his presence was distasteful to Lucy; whilst Leicester was +provokingly blind to the fact that the fair girl loved him with all her +pure, simple little heart. She had not given her love to him unsought, +it must be understood--far from it; George Leicester had been one of the +earliest, as he was one of her most constant and devoted, admirers; he +was unremitting in his attentions to her whenever he was in port; but +the simple fellow was so doubtful as to his prospects of success that he +had never given Lucy the chance, which she would so gladly have +welcomed, to say "Yes" to the momentous question which was ever hovering +upon his lips, but had never yet been able to get beyond them. + +It was on a certain brilliant June afternoon that Lucy, as was her +frequent custom, took a book in her hand and strolled down to the beach, +where, making a little nest for herself in the shingle, she sat down to +read or think, as the whim might take her. + +The ardent rays of the sun, streaming down out of a cloudless sky, +gleamed and flashed and sparkled upon the waters of the Solent, which, +ruffled by a gentle westerly breeze, shone like a sheet of liquid gold. +On the further side of the strait, the Isle of Wight upreared its green +and wooded slopes in fair perspective; its northern shore, from +Nettlestone Point to Egypt, bounding the view. On Lucy's right lay the +entrance to Southampton Water, with the further shore, about Stone Point +and the mouth of the Beaulieu River, indistinctly seen through the +quivering golden haze; whilst on the left, across the water, Southsea +Castle stood boldly forward upon its low projecting point, a watchful +sentinel over the magnificent anchorage of Spithead. Inland from the +castle lay the little straggling town of Southsea; and beyond it again, +still higher up the estuary, appeared the spires and roofs of +Portsmouth, its harbour crowded with a perfect forest of masts. Some +half a dozen men-o'-war lay at anchor at Spithead; and the waters of the +Solent were dotted with the sails of craft of all sizes, from the +stately frigate to the humble but enterprising bumboat. + +As Lucy sat there on the beach, basking in the sun, and far too idle to +read, her listless gaze became fastened upon a trim, smart-looking +little schooner which, under all the canvas she could possibly spread, +was creeping slowly up from the westward before the light summer breeze. +The glance of indifference with which the fair girl at first regarded +the little craft, gradually changed to one of the greatest interest. +Lucy, it must be remembered, was a sailor's daughter; nearly all her +neighbours were interested almost solely in seafaring matters; the daily +conversation of those by whom she was surrounded abounded in nautical +technicalities; she had even made a trip upon one occasion in her +father's lugger (the only occasion, by the bye, on which the hold of the +said lugger was absolutely guiltless of contraband freight); and lastly, +were not the walls of her home adorned with portraits of craft of +various rigs passing Flushing or the Needles? All of which +circumstances had combined to give Lucy a very fair knowledge of +nautical matters and "a sailor's eye." She had not only learned the +distinguishing characteristics of different rigs, but had also acquired +the subtle power of recognising the individuality of different craft of +the same rig whenever there happened to be anything to excite her +interest in such craft. So now she first recognised the fact that the +approaching vessel was a schooner, and, a little later on, when the +schooner had drawn somewhat nearer, she became conscious that the +schooner was well known to her. Drawing a small telescope from her +pocket, she focussed it and pointed it at the vessel. Yes; there could +be no doubt about it, it was the _Industry_; every little detail of +canvas and rigging proclaimed the schooner's identity; and then, as +though in order that there should be no possible room for doubt, and as +though George Leicester had seen and recognised the charming girlish +figure standing there on the beach (as possibly he had through his +powerful marine glass), a white fluttering object gleamed out over the +rail and, soaring aloft, streamed from the main-truck, a burgee with the +name _Industry_ worked upon it in red letters. At the sight of this +Lucy rapidly closed her little telescope and returned it to her pocket +with a bright flush and a conscious, happy little laugh. + +"Dear George," she murmured; "how glad I am that he is back all safe; +and how fervently I hope that he did not see me watching the schooner. +I wonder whether he will walk over this evening." + +She then, uncomfortably conscious of the possibility that "dear George" +might at that very moment have her accurately focussed in the field of +his glass, sauntered along the beach with as much of an air of total +abstraction as she could conveniently assume on the spur of the moment, +and finally, after watching the schooner pass safely into Portsmouth +Harbour and there come to an anchor, returned home. + +She found her mother suffering from a more than ordinarily severe attack +of "the miserables," as that lady was wont to term her low spirits. It +was one of Mrs Walford's peculiarities to be depressed in spirits in +exact proportion to the brightness and exhilarating character of the +weather--but Lucy was completely proof against it all just now; the +sight she had so lately looked upon had sent a soft, dainty flush into +her cheeks, a light into her eyes, and a song to her lips, which her +mother's "miserables" were wholly powerless to drive away, and she went +about the house filling it with the melody of her low, sweet voice. + +Tea was over; Mrs Walford was made comfortable in her wide arm-chair, +with a huge volume of sermons in her lap; and Lucy was trying to settle +down with composure to the execution of some trifle in the way of +needle-work, when the sharp click of the gate-latch was heard; there was +a crunching of feet upon the gravel walk, the front door was +unceremoniously opened, and Lieutenant Edward Walford walked in. + +"How _do_, aunt? Lucy, fair coz, I hope I see you in a state of perfect +salubrity?" was his nonchalant greeting. + +Mrs Walford replied that "she was as well as could be expected,"--she +did not say under what adverse circumstances--and Lucy requested him not +to make himself ridiculous. It was too bad, she decided; here she had +been looking forward to a delightful visit from George Leicester, +probably a whole evening spent in his society, and now this pestilent +cousin of hers must needs take it into his perverse head to walk over +from Gosport--to be found later on by "dear George" making fierce love +to her, the unfortunate Lucy;--which would be quite sufficient, she felt +sure, to choke the said George off for at least another voyage. But +that should never be, she was quite resolved; she could not prevent her +cousin coming to the house, since her mother not only tolerated, but +rather encouraged his visits; but she could, and she _would_, prevent +his making love to her. + +With this determination she sat down, and, resorting to the best means +she could think of for keeping her cousin at arm's length, produced her +writing-materials and proceeded to discharge a few of her epistolary +debts. + +Being thus unmistakably shown that his presence was unwelcome to the +younger lady, he turned his attention to the elder one, talking to her +about the war--the then all-important and most interesting topic of the +moment--and giving her such scraps of news as had come to hand during +the day, but it was perfectly evident from the uneasy glances he shot at +his cousin and the nervous way in which he tugged at his long auburn +moustache, that his occupation was not to his liking. At last, +abandoning all further effort to accomplish the almost impossible task +of amusing the old lady, he stepped to Lucy's side, and said in a low +whisper-- + +"Will you come into the garden with me for a few minutes, Lucy? I have +something of the utmost importance to say to you, something which will +brook no delay, for my regiment is ordered off to the West Indies, and I +may not have another opportunity to see you." + +Lucy knew as well as possible what the "something" was which her cousin +so anxiously desired to say to her; she was convinced that it was +nothing less than a proposal of marriage; and her first impulse was to +excuse herself. But that, she decided, would hardly be kind on the eve +of his departure for foreign service; moreover, it might leave him in +possession of a feeling that there was some hope for him, or possibly, +after the many love-speeches he had made her, he might feel himself in +some sort bound not to marry any one else until he had had a distinct +refusal from her, and that must certainly be avoided; so she decided +that she would grant him the desired interview, give him his dismissal +as speedily and withal as kindly as possible, and get him out of the +house without delay--it was still early in the evening, and who knew but +that she might succeed in getting rid of her unwelcome suitor before the +welcome one put in an appearance? + +So, laying aside her pen, she motioned him to follow her into the large +garden at the back of the house, where they would be perfectly secure +from observation, and herself led the way. + +She conducted her cousin to a little summer-house at the lower end of +the garden, and, motioning him to a seat said-- + +"Now, Cousin Edward, what is this important communication which you have +to make? Be as brief as possible, if you please, for I really cannot +spare you much time." + +"I will," he said. Then, pausing for a moment, and making an +unsuccessful attempt to gain possession of her hand, he remarked-- + +"I think you must have already guessed what it is that I have to say to +you, Lucy. You cannot be ignorant of the feeling with which I regard +you; you must have discovered long ago that I love you, Lucy, deeply, +passionately, tenderly, as a man loves only once in his lifetime. We +have not known each other _very_ long, it is true," he continued after a +slight pause, during which he had vainly looked into her downcast face +for some sign of encouragement, "but the time has been long enough for +me to learn that all my hopes of future happiness depend on you; and I +think it has also been long enough to enable you to judge whether you +can entrust your happiness to me or not. I know I am by no means what I +ought to be,"--here he made another pause, hoping for some word or sign +of disclaimer, which, however, never came--"but I hope you will not +judge me too harshly. I am an orphan, remember. Robbed at an early age +of a mother's tender care and gentle training, I have been left pretty +much to the mercy of strangers, who allowed me to grow up to manhood +without an effort to check the development of those evil propensities +which we all alike inherit from our first parents; and then, too, I have +had the misfortune to be thrown--against my will, I honestly assure +you--into evil companionship. But, in spite of all these disadvantages, +I flatter myself that I am by no means a bad sort of fellow; and if you +will only take me in hand, Lucy, I feel sure you could make a reformed +character of me. And then, too, consider the society into which I could +introduce you. Wearing his Majesty's uniform, as I do, I could--" + +"Pray say no more, Edward, I beg," interrupted Lucy. "I am grieved to +be obliged to disappoint you--though I do not think the disappointment +will be very great--but what you ask is quite impossible. In the first +place I must frankly say that I do not love you; and in the second I +must with equal frankness say that, though I might love ever so much, I +would _never_ marry a man who needed that I should `take him in hand' to +make a reformed character of him. You are my cousin, and, as such, I +shall always regard you with friendly interest; but I shall never be +able to entertain for you any warmer feeling." + +Walford, pale to the lips with surprise and chagrin, looked +incredulously in the face of the fair girl by whose side he was seated. +He was completely staggered. The idea of his being indifferent to his +cousin had never for a single instant occurred to him. He had won for +himself the reputation of being quite a "lady-killer;" and now this +little country-bred girl had the impertinence to tell him coolly that +she did not love him; nay, more--to hint pretty strongly that she +regarded him with feelings not very far removed from contempt, because, +forsooth, he had lived a somewhat fast life. Why, many of the girls he +had met had positively _admired_ him for his rakishness--he did not +pause to consider what manner of girls these were, though, by the bye. +It was monstrous, it was positively insulting. Then, in addition to the +severe wound to his _amour-propre_, there was the disappointment of his +hopes of pecuniary aggrandisement; Lucy's fortune, modest though it was, +would have been of the utmost service to him. It was true, he knew, +that she would not have a penny of her own until her mother died, but +that, he was firmly convinced, would not be a very long-postponed event; +the "old fool"--as he called Mrs Walford in his heart--would doubtless +be in her grave long enough before he returned from foreign service-- +and, at all events, he was willing to risk that. But then Lucy had said +she would not have him. Surely she could not mean it; she was only +saying it to try him, or--stay--was it possible that she loved that +sailor-fellow Leicester? He would find out. + +"Are you _quite sure_, Lucy, that you will never be able to love me?" he +asked, infusing a very successful affectation of passionate entreaty +into the tones of his voice. "Perhaps I have spoken too quickly; I have +taken you by surprise, I have allowed my impatience to outrun my +judgment; perhaps if I had waited a little longer--" + +"It would have been just the same; I could never have loved you," +interrupted Lucy. "And now let us return to the house; this interview +has lasted quite long enough. I am sincerely sorry if you are +disappointed, Edward, but I could never give you any other answer, so +please say no more about it." + +"One word more," exclaimed Walford. "Tell me--I have a right to know-- +do you love any one else?" + +"I really do not see that you _have_ a right to know anything about my +private affairs," answered Lucy with some hauteur, "but in order that +you may fully understand the hopelessness of your own case, I will +confess that--that there _is_--some one else." + +"Ah!" ejaculated Walford between his set teeth, "I suspected as much. +And I can form a pretty shrewd guess as to who it is, too. It is that +sneaking rascal Leicester, is it not?" + +"How dare you, sir, speak to me of my friends in that manner!" exclaimed +Lucy, rising to her feet and stamping upon the ground in the excess of +her indignation. "Go, sir, and never come near me again; I will never +speak another word to you!" + +"You won't, eh?" was the sneering retort. "All right. I _will_ go; and +I'll not come near you again. But I'll make you bitterly repent of your +treatment of me yet, or my name is not Edward Walford." + +And rising to his feet, he walked rapidly up the garden, through the +house, and straight out at the front door, without so much as pausing to +bid his aunt good-bye. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +CAPTAIN LEICESTER HEARS BAD NEWS. + +In the meantime, the _Industry_ having come to an anchor in Portsmouth +Harbour, Captain Leicester, waiting only to see the sails properly +furled, jumped into the boat and hurried away to his owner's residence. + +Here he was detained for more than an hour, the individual he was +desirous of seeing happening to be absent, "but expected back +immediately," according to the statement of the solitary clerk who +occupied the little front room which did duty as an office. + +The owner of the _Industry_ having at length turned up, her captain was +instructed to haul alongside the wharf forthwith, in readiness to begin +discharging her cargo the first thing next morning. So George +Leicester, greatly to his disappointment, had to return on board once +more; and it was not until the clocks were striking seven that, the +schooner having been duly hauled alongside the wharf and securely moored +thereto, her commander felt himself at liberty to leave her and set out +upon a pilgrimage to Alverstoke. But for the delay thus occasioned, the +events herein recorded would probably never have occurred, those of them +at least which chiefly concern Captain Leicester. + +Let us take a good look at our hero as he stands for a moment in the +golden evening light on the planks of the wooden structure which, +supported by ricketty, worm-eaten piles, does duty as a wharf. Like a +thorough seaman as he is, he is taking a last glance at the schooner +before he leaves her, to see that everything is thoroughly "ship-shape +and Bristol-fashion" on board her. She is a small and somewhat +insignificant craft; but as George has sailed in her for the last four +years of his life--two years as mate and two more as master--he has +become attached to her, looking at her faults with a lenient eye, and +striving to conceal them as much as possible from others. As he stands, +with his hands lightly crossed behind him, his legs a trifle apart, and +his eye wandering critically over the _Industry's_ hull and rigging, we +see him to be a man of about five feet eight inches in height, with a +well-knit figure, regular features, dark hair and eyes, the former +surmounted by a jaunty crimson worsted cap with a silk tassel on its +drooping end, and tied into a queue behind with a bow of very broad +black silk ribbon, short black whiskers on each side of his face, with a +clean-shaven upper lip and chin. He is clad in a wide-skirted coat of +fine blue cloth, trimmed with large gilt buttons, and worn open to show +the kerseymere waistcoat beneath, the long flaps of which are confined +by a broad belt. He wears a white silk kerchief round his throat, lace +ruffles at his wrists (in honour of his projected visit to his +lady-love), and his nether man is encased in knee-breeches, white +stockings, and shoes with large silver buckles. There is a frank, +pleasant look in the keen dark eyes, and an expression of firmness about +the closed lips which makes most people feel, when they look at him, +that they would much rather have him for a friend than for an enemy. +Altogether, as far as _physique_ is concerned, he certainly has the +advantage of Lieutenant Walford. As to the comparative moral qualities +of the two men, the reader will have abundant opportunity to judge for +him--or her--self. + +Unfortunately, however, for his own and Lucy Walford's peace of mind, +George Leicester is not only unaware of this superiority on his own +part, but he strongly suspects it to be all on the other side. He has +made Walford's acquaintance, having met him, perhaps, some half a dozen +times in all, at "Sea View," and, despite his simplicity, he has had no +difficulty in recognising in the lieutenant a would-be rival. And this +is just where his own modesty and self-depreciation have played him a +scurvy trick. He has noted Walford's easy, nonchalant bearing, and his +two or three flashy accomplishments; he has noticed, too, that the +lieutenant is not altogether devoid of good looks, and has jumped--all +too hastily, as we are aware--at the conclusion that, where a woman is +concerned, a plain, straightforward, honest sailor can have no chance +against a dashing soldier like the lieutenant. At the same time, he has +by no means given up the chase, nor ever will, so he tells himself, as +long as Lucy is free. Over and over again has he been upon the point of +speaking out and learning his fate, and over and over again has he +hesitated and closed his lips, deeming the occasion unpropitious, or +fearing to learn that which will make the remainder of his life a blank +to him. + +But now he has resolved to delay no longer. He has been screwing up his +courage to the sticking-place during the whole of the passage from +Waterford to Gosport, and when he stepped from the rail of the +_Industry_ on to the wharf, he was on his way to Alverstoke to learn his +fate. + +Satisfied at last that everything was right on board the schooner, +Leicester turned away and directed his steps up High Street, and thence +out on to the Stoke Road. Alverstoke church-clock struck eight just as +he came in sight of it; and the next moment he saw, far ahead of him, a +man dart round the corner and come swinging along the road towards him +at a tremendous pace. Distant as the man was, Captain Leicester had no +difficulty in recognising in him his dreaded rival, Lieutenant Walford. +He guessed at once that the lieutenant had been visiting at "Sea View;" +but what struck him as strange was that Walford's appearance and bearing +was that of a man in a towering passion. Almost immediately afterwards, +however, he decided that he must have been mistaken in supposing this, +for as Walford looked up and recognised him he stopped dead in the road +for a moment, and then hurried towards the skipper with outstretched +hand and a beaming face. + +"My _dear_ Leicester, how are you?" Walford exclaimed with effusion, as +he grasped the seaman's hand and wrung it heartily. "How glad I am to +see you. When did you arrive?" + +"This afternoon only," was the answer. "Have you been to `Sea View' +lately? There is nothing wrong there, I hope?" + +"Wrong, my dear fellow! No. Why do you ask?" + +"Well, when you rounded the corner just now you were walking at such a +terrific pace, and looked so much as though you were greatly upset about +something, that I feared there had been an accident at `Sea View,' and +that--" + +"That I was hurrying off for the nearest doctor, eh? Well, you may set +your mind at rest, my dear boy; nothing _is_ the matter. I have just +left Mrs Walford's, and both she and Lucy are in excellent health, I am +glad to say. It is deuced kind of you, though, to take such a warm +interest in them, and I thank you for it with all my heart. You are a +prime favourite there, I can tell you, my lad; I have been frightfully +jealous of you for a long time, but now I shall never be so any more. +Lucy--darling girl that she is--has had pity upon me at last, and has +condescended to set all my fears at rest; so you may congratulate me if +you like." + +"Upon her having--accepted you as--as--her future husband?" gasped +Leicester, white to the very lips. + +"Exactly; I _knew_ you would be glad to hear it, being an old friend of +hers," was the reply. "But mum's the word for the present. Our +regiment is ordered away to the West Indies at once, so Lucy wishes the +engagement to be kept secret until I can return home to claim her. +Well, I must be off; you are going to `Sea View,' I suppose? Don't +mention our conversation there, please; I should not like Lucy to know +that I have already been prating of the engagement; if she feels +inclined to tell you of it herself, of course that is another thing." + +"All right, I'll not say a word about it, you may rest assured," +answered Leicester, as he suffered his hand to be clasped in farewell; +"in fact, I don't suppose I shall have an opportunity to mention it to +them; I am not going to call there to-night, and I may not have time to +call there at all, as I shall be very busy during the next few days. +I--I am--thinking of giving up the _Industry_ and going--somewhere-- +abroad, myself." + +"Are you?" ejaculated Walford with great heartiness. "Well done; I am +glad to hear you say so. A fellow with your pluck and sinews was never +intended to potter about in a trumpery little coaster. Well, good-bye." + +The two men separated; Walford to chuckle and exult over the complete +success of his suddenly planned ruse, and Leicester, with all hope and +brightness gone out of his face, to saunter despondently along the road +and back to Gosport, by way of Haslar Common, avoiding "Sea View" +altogether. + +So Lucy was lost to him! Well, after all, it was no more than he had +dreaded all along; he had been a fool, and worse than a fool, to suppose +that he, a plain, unpolished seaman, could possibly have a chance of +success when pitted against a fellow like Walford--curse him! No--no, +not that, he did not mean that; why should he curse the man to whom Lucy +had given her young, fresh love? Still it was very hard to bear--very +hard; he hoped the fellow would treat her well; if not, let him look to +himself. But why should not Walford treat her well? Who could do +otherwise? Who was there in the whole wide world who could find it in +his heart to be anything but kind and loving and tender to her? And +yet--Psha! Who was he--George Leicester--that he should judge another +man? True, he had heard some very queer stories about this same +Lieutenant Walford, but doubtless they were all fabrications; Lucy was +not the girl to love a man of whom such things could possibly be true. +And as to his (Leicester's) own feelings of distrust and dislike, why +they were after all only the natural outcome of his jealousy, and were +certainly not to be relied upon as indicating faultiness of character in +his successful rival. Still, argue as he would, he had his doubts, and +he could not dispel them, and--well, it was a hard blow, coming so +suddenly, too; it was difficult to bear it patiently even _now_, and he +had a shrewd suspicion that it would be still more difficult to bear +by-and-by, when he fully realised the extent of his loss. + +But it was no use fretting over it; the question was, "What was now to +be done?" He could not possibly live on the old humdrum life any +longer. He must have excitement and activity, plenty of both, to keep +his mind occupied, and to prevent his fretting over his disappointment. +"Yes, that was a happy inspiration which had led him to tell Walford he +intended giving up the _Industry_; that must be his first act. And +after that? Well, after that he would look about him, and if he could +pick up a tidy little vessel cheap; he would invest his savings in the +purchase of her, sail in his own employ, and try to stifle all vain +regrets by plunging into a more adventurous mode of existence." + +So ran George Leicester's thoughts as he made his way back to the +_Industry_. + +Meanwhile, Lucy, having given one lover his _conge_ waited with loving +impatience but in vain, for the appearance of the other. + +On the following day, the master of the _Industry_ waited upon his +owner, a Mr Winter, and requested his discharge. Mr Winter was both +surprised and chagrined at the news that he was to lose so well-tried +and faithful a servant as George; but, finding our hero inflexible in +his resolution, he could, of course, do nothing but accede to his +request, which he did at last with a very good grace. + +"And now," said Mr Winter, when the accounts had all been gone through +and squared up, "since you are quite determined to go your own wilful +way, I suppose I must do what I can to help you. You will go to London, +of course, to look out for this ship that you propose to purchase; and I +will give you a letter to a Mr Roberts, a ship-broker and a friend of +mine, who has an office in Great Saint Helen's. He is pretty sure to +have or to know of something which will suit you; he is a thoroughly +straightforward, honourable man, will do his best to suit you, and will +charge you nothing; the seller is the man who will have to pay him his +commission." + +George duly thanked Mr Winter for his kindness, received the letter, +and on the following morning crossed over to Portsmouth, and booked +himself to London on the "Highflyer" coach. + +The next day found our hero at an early hour in Leadenhall Street, +seeking for the whereabouts of Great Saint Helen's. A clerk, going in +that direction on his way to business, pointed out the place, and, +turning into the narrow court, George soon found the office of which he +was in search. + +Mr Roberts was busy perusing a large pile of papers when his visitor +was shown in, and he begged to be excused for a moment whilst he +completed his task. This was soon done, whereupon Mr Roberts rang two +distinct strokes upon a small hand-bell, and a clerk entered in +response. + +"Here, Wilson," said the ship-broker, handing over the pile of papers, +"take these. You will find from the notes I have jotted down upon this +sheet of paper what to do with them. Now, sir," turning to George, +"what can I have the pleasure of doing for you?" + +George briefly explained his business, and handed over Mr Winter's +letter of introduction, which Mr Roberts rapidly glanced through. Then +the little bell was struck once, and another and much more +substantial-looking clerk made his appearance. + +"Bring me List A, if you please," said Mr Roberts. + +"List A," a large leather-bound volume, was brought in and laid upon the +table before the ship-broker, who at once opened it, and began to run +his fingers slowly down an index. Then he rapidly turned up an entry in +the book itself, and read out-- + +"`_Challenger_--brig; 450 tons; softwood built, iron-fastened, sheathed +with zinc; nine years old; well found in sails, ground-tackle, and all +necessary stores, ready for sea. Price 1800 pounds.' How will that do? +She is really a very decent vessel of her kind, and exceedingly cheap +at the price." + +"We might take a look at her," remarked George, "but her description +does not sound very inviting." + +Another reference to the index, another turning up of an entry, and-- + +"Well, what do you think of this? `_Lucy_--brigantine; 520 tons; +oak-built, coppered, and copper-fastened throughout; has only been to +sea twice; excellent sea-boat, very fast and weatherly; fully found in +every respect, and quite ready for sea. Price 2500 pounds.'" + +"That sounds very much better," answered Leicester, who, to tell the +truth, was almost as much taken with the name as anything else; "but I +don't particularly admire the rig." + +"Umph!" ejaculated Mr Roberts, pursing up his lips and referring to the +index once more. "Um, um, _Maid of the Mist_--_Lizzie_--_Highland +Lass_--_Enterprise_--ah! yes; perhaps this will do. `_Enterprise_-- +brig; seven years old, oak-built, iron-fastened, 350 tons register, will +carry 600 tons dead-weight; well found. Price 2200 pounds. Requires a +few trifling repairs amounting to possibly 500 pounds.' How does that +strike you?" + +"Not very favourably," was the reply. + +"Well, let's try again," remarked the ship-broker. "I _know_ I can suit +you." + +Another reference to the index, then a sudden sharp closing of the book, +with the muttered ejaculation, "The very thing! What a donkey I am not +to have thought of her before." + +Then a single stroke on the bell, followed by the reappearance of the +substantial-looking clerk. + +"Bring me in the inventory of the _Aurora_, if you please; that paper +that was left here by Mr Sutton yesterday." + +The document was brought in, and Mr Roberts at once handed it over to +his client with the remark-- + +"There, my dear sir, just run your eye over that; if the _Aurora_ won't +suit you, _nothing_ will. She is a capital little ship; I know her +well. Her owner, poor fellow--who is captain of her also--had the +misfortune to lose his wife last voyage--washed overboard somehow in a +gale of wind--and it has so upset him that he has resolved to cut the +sea altogether and everything connected with it. He is even willing to +sell at a great sacrifice, so as to get rid of the ship as soon as +possible. Great bargain, captain; most extraordinary bargain; never get +another such a chance." + +"That looks much more promising," said George, returning the paper. +"Where is she, and when can I see her?" + +"London Docks--see her in an hour--I'll take you down on board at once," +was the reply. + +And merely stopping to change his coat, and give some instructions to +his clerks, Mr Roberts invited George to follow him; and, getting into +the street, they hailed the first hackney-coach which passed, and in a +few minutes were jolting along on their way to the London Docks. + +Dismissing the coach at the dock gates, Mr Roberts inquired of the +gate-keeper where the _Aurora_ was to be found. + +"Inside ship, fourth berth, north side," answered the man, pointing out +the direction they were to take. + +They soon found the vessel, and George, standing on the edge of the dock +wall, saw before him a pretty little barque of some four hundred and odd +tons, copper-bottomed, with a flush deck fore and aft, a fine set of +spars, and such a shapely hull as set his eyes glistening. He walked +away from her and knelt down so as to take a good look at her "run;" +then went ahead of her to see what her bows were like; and finally, very +much prepossessed in her favour already, went on board, accompanied by +Mr Roberts. + +Here they were received by the ship-keeper, who at once led the way into +the cabin. This proved to be an exceedingly snug and comfortable +apartment, not very large, yet roomy enough, and very tastefully fitted +up. Abaft this they found the captain's cabin, a room some twelve feet +long, and the entire width of the ship, well lighted--there being both a +skylight and stern-ports--and fitted up in a style which gave +unmistakable evidence of the refined taste of the former captain's poor +drowned wife. From the cabin they proceeded to the forecastle, and from +thence into the hold, George all the time peering about everywhere for +signs of weakness or bad workmanship, without finding any. Having at +length satisfied himself as to the soundness of the hull, he went aloft +and gave to the spars and rigging a careful examination. Here, too, +everything was perfectly satisfactory; and when he at length stepped +down out of the rigging on to the deck, he nodded approvingly to Mr +Roberts and said-- + +"All right; I'll take her." + +"Glad to hear you say so, captain," was the cheery reply; "she is a +capital little craft, and I'm sure you'll like her. Now--as it is +nearly two o'clock--what say you, will you come and take dinner with +me?" + +Leicester acquiescing, they made the best of their way to the +eating-house which Mr Roberts patronised, and, while discussing the +meal, made arrangements for the completion of the purchase. + +The meal ended, George wended his way back toward the dock, and, turning +into Nightingale Lane, established himself in tolerably comfortable +quarters in a boarding-house kept by a widow, whose husband had been +what she called a "sea-captain." + +On the following day Captain Leicester paid over the full amount of the +purchase-money, receiving in return the ship's register properly +endorsed; and that same evening he found himself the undisputed owner of +the _Aurora_. + +His next task was to secure a freight. This he had no difficulty in +doing--in fact he had his choice of some half a dozen--and by noon he +had accepted a charter for the conveyance of a general cargo to +Kingston, Jamaica; to commence loading at once. Having completed the +business, he hurried away to the shipping-office, and was fortunate +enough to secure the services of a very promising-looking mate, who +undertook to establish himself on board forthwith, so as to be on the +spot in readiness to receive the cargo as it came down to the ship. + +George now found himself comparatively at leisure, and he had at one +time serious thoughts of running down to Gosport, were it only for a +day, just to see Lucy once more, and bid her good-bye. Well would it +have been for both of them had he done so. But on reconsidering the +matter, he arrived at the conclusion that no good could possibly come of +any such proceeding, whilst the sight of Lucy would only too certainly +increase the pangs of regret he already so keenly felt at his failure to +win her; so he eventually decided to remain where he was, and occupy +himself in watching the stowage of the cargo. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +A CAPTURE AND A RECAPTURE. + +A fortnight from the day on which Captain Leicester signed the +charter-party saw the last package passed into the _Aurora's_ hold, and +on the following day she sailed for Plymouth, there to join a fleet of +merchant-ships which were to cross the Atlantic under convoy. + +Thanks principally to the exertions of his chief mate, Mr Bowen, George +was fortunate enough to pick up a very good crew, comprising a second +mate--who acted also as boatswain--a carpenter, a steward, a black cook, +two able-seamen, four ordinary ditto, and two well-grown lads, who had +already been a voyage or two in a coaster. This constituted a +complement of fourteen men, all told; just sufficient to handle the +barque comfortably. + +They sailed from the Thames with the wind at about west, and had a +capital run as far as the South Foreland, the _Aurora_ showing herself +to be such a smart vessel under her canvas that her commander was +delighted with her. + +At this point, however, the wind, which still held from the westward, +was dead against them, and it became a question whether they should +anchor in the Downs to await a favourable change, or continue on and +endeavour to beat a passage as far as Plymouth. Prudence dictated the +adoption of the former course; it being well known that the Channel was +just then swarming with French privateers--powerful luggers for the most +part--the captains of which had an unpleasant habit of slipping out of +harbour as the evening came on, and stretching across toward the English +coast, on the lookout for our merchantmen, very often picking up a +valuable prize and getting back into port the next morning. The +weather, too, happened just then to be highly favourable for the +operations of these gentry, the sky being overcast with frequent +showers, and no moon. + +On the other hand, however, time was of the utmost importance; George +had only five days left him in which to reach Plymouth, if he was to +avail himself of the protection of convoy; so, after discussing the +question with Mr Bowen, and carefully weighing it in his own mind, he +finally decided to keep the ship moving, and to trust to fortune and a +good lookout. + +The _Aurora_ accordingly proceeded, stretching over as far as +mid-channel, when she went about; and on drawing in with the land again +Leicester had the satisfaction of seeing that she would handsomely +weather Beachy Head, which she did, tacking close in under the land +about breakfast-time on the day following her departure from London. At +2 p.m., being at the time rather nearer to the French than to the +English coast, George tacked again, in order to close the English shore +toward nightfall. + +At 9 p.m., being abreast of Littlehampton, and about eight miles off the +shore, the _Aurora_ went about once more, and stood over towards France, +close-hauled on the starboard tack. + +The weather had cleared somewhat, the sun breaking through the clouds as +the afternoon wore on, and flooding the whole western sky with splendour +as he sank to rest. One by one, as the golden glory of the west faded +into sober grey, the stars shone out, peeping shyly down upon the world +from the softly dappled sky, and there was every prospect of its being a +fine night in the Channel. George accordingly gave instructions for the +ship to continue on the same tack until midnight, when she was to be +hove about once more. Then, cautioning the second mate--who was in +charge of the deck--to maintain a strict lookout and to call him in the +event of a change of weather or the appearance of a suspicious-looking +sail in their neighbourhood, he went below to snatch an hour or two of +sleep, having had none so far from the moment of the vessel's sailing. + +Flinging off his clothes, he threw himself into his swinging cot, and +instantly sank into a sound and dreamless slumber; to be awakened again +with a start, and almost instantly, as it seemed to him, by the flapping +of the ship's canvas in the wind. + +Starting up into a sitting posture, he heard the voice of the chief mate +on deck giving the necessary orders for tacking ship. + +"Hillo!" he thought, "what is the meaning of this? Nothing wrong, I +hope. No, that cannot be, or they would surely have called me. Perhaps +it is a change of wind; I hope it is. Well, being awake, I may as well +slip on deck and satisfy myself as to the meaning of it." + +He accordingly sprang out of his cot, and began to dress himself; the +sounds on deck having meanwhile ceased, save for the monotonous tread +overhead of the officer of the watch, and the occasional clank of the +wheel-chains. The ship was heeling over to starboard, showing that she +was on the port tack, and the rushing sound of the water along her sides +seemed to indicate that she was moving pretty rapidly through it. + +As he opened his state-room door to pass into the main cabin, a heavy +step was heard descending the companion-ladder, and the next moment the +second mate appeared at its foot, in the act of turning into his own +state-room. + +"Well, Mr Cross," said the skipper, "what is the news from the deck? +You have tacked ship, it seems; is there a change of wind?" + +"No, sir," answered Cross; "the wind still holds steady at about west, +though it seems a little inclined to back half a point or so to the +south'ard, and it's clouded over again and gone very dark. We tacked at +midnight, sir, according to your orders." + +"Midnight!" ejaculated George; "you surely do not mean to say it is +midnight already, Cross?" + +"About a quarter after it, sir," answered the second mate with a smile. +"You've slept sound, sir, I expect; and time has travelled fast with +you." + +"I must have slept sound indeed," answered the skipper; "to me it seemed +that I had hardly fallen asleep when I was awakened by the flapping of +the canvas. Well, I'll not keep you from your bunk; I shall go on deck +and take a look round before I turn in again. Good-night." + +"Good-night, sir," was the reply; and the second mate opened the door of +his berth and passed in, whilst George sprang lightly up the +companion-ladder and stepped out on deck. + +It was indeed, as the second mate had said, very dark; so much so that +the skipper, having just left the cabin, where a lamp was dimly burning, +was unable to see anything for a moment or two. Then, as his eyes grew +accustomed to the darkness, he caught first a glimpse of the man at the +wheel, his form faintly illuminated by the binnacle light, then the +figure of the mate, just turning near the taffrail to walk forward, and +finally the dark, shadowy pile of canvas towering away aloft until it +melted into the general obscurity. + +"It has gone very dark again, Mr Bowen," remarked the skipper, as the +mate, becoming aware of George's presence on deck, joined him. + +"It _is_ dark, sir," answered the mate, "almost too dark to be poking +about here in the Channel without lights." + +"It is rather risky, I admit," returned George; "still, I do not think +it is so dangerous as showing our lights; that would simply be hanging +out an invitation to those prowling French privateers to pounce down on +us. How is her head?"--to the man at the wheel, George and the mate +having by this time strolled aft together. + +"No'th, half west, sir," was the reply. + +"Come, that is not so bad," remarked George. "We shall fetch Plymouth +yet in good time to join the convoy if all be--" + +"A sail broad on the weather bow!" broke in the lookout forward, with +startling abruptness. + +Both George and the mate instantly directed their gaze in the direction +indicated by the lookout; and presently a shapeless something like a +blacker patch against the black background of the darkness loomed into +view, about one point before the beam, showing by this rapid change in +the respective positions of the two ships how near was the stranger. + +"Why!" exclaimed Leicester, "he is coming right down for us; he will be +into us. Port, port hard; up with your helm smartly, my lad," to the +man at the wheel. "Ship ahoy! Port your helm; can you not see us?" + +"Ay, ay; oh, yesh," was the response from the other vessel; and as it +came floating down upon the wind the stranger took a broad sheer to +port, showing herself to be a large lugger, and shot very neatly +alongside the _Aurora_, the grappling-irons being cleverly hove into the +barque's fore and main-rigging, as the two vessels touched. + +At the same moment some five-and-twenty Frenchmen, armed with cutlass +and pistol, scrambled alertly in over the _Aurora's_ bulwarks, the +leader singling out George, notwithstanding the darkness, and +exclaiming, as he promptly presented a pistol at his head-- + +"Vat cheep dis is, eh?" + +"The _Aurora_, of London," was the answer, "Tres bien! My cheep, the +_Belle Marie_, est un corsaire Francais, un--vat you call--privateere, +et vous etes mes prisonniers. It is ze fortune of war, messieurs; my +turn to-night--yours to-morrow, perhaps--ha, ha! Now, my dear sares, as +there not moosh time is, permettez moi," and he flung open the +companion-doors, motioning significantly to George and the mate to go +below. + +Poor George glanced swiftly round the deck, only to see that it was in +complete possession of the Frenchmen, one of whom was already at the +wheel. So, turning to Mr Bowen, and murmuring, "There is no help for +it, I suppose," he signed to the mate to lead the way, and then +followed, dejectedly, the doors being smartly slammed-to after them, and +the next moment they heard the sound of some heavy body being dragged up +to and banged against the companion entrance, thus precluding the +possibility of their stealing on deck again, and effecting a counter +surprise. + +The whole thing had been done so rapidly that it was not until he found +the ship being once more hove about, with her head pointing toward the +French coast, that Captain Leicester fully realised his situation. In +less than ten minutes his ship had been taken from him, and himself +confined in his own cabin, a prisoner. Had he not been on deck at the +time of the occurrence, he would certainly have considered it an +avoidable misfortune, to be accounted for only by the most gross +carelessness; but as it was, he was fully able to understand that it was +entirely due to the extreme darkness of the night, and the circumstance +of the lugger and the barque stumbling over each other, as it were. But +that made matters no better for him; he had lost his ship--his all--and +now there loomed before him the immediate prospect of a dreary +confinement--for many years perhaps--in a French prison. The thought +goaded him almost to madness, and he sprang impatiently to his feet, and +began to pace moodily to and fro over the narrow limits of the cabin +floor. + +Meanwhile the second mate--who had started out of his berth at the first +shock of contact between the two vessels, and had made a rush for the +deck, only to be confronted and driven back by a Frenchman with a drawn +cutlass--was seated on the lockers alongside Mr Bowen, listening to +that individual's gloomy recital of the details of the capture. + +The low murmur of the two men's voices annoyed George in his then +irritable frame of mind, and, to avoid it, he retired into his own +state-room. The night being close and sultry, all the stern-ports were +open, and as he entered the cabin the sound of a hail from to leeward +came floating in through the ports. It was answered from the deck, and, +kneeling upon the sofa-locker and thrusting his body well out of the +port, the skipper became aware that the lugger was parting company, and +that the hail he had heard was the voice of the French captain shouting +his parting instructions to the officer he had left in charge of the +prize. Looking away to leeward, in the direction from which the sounds +had come, he was just able to distinguish the dark outline of the +lugger, as she bore up and pursued her _way once more to_ the eastward. +After this a considerable amount of excited jabbering took place on +deck, the word "Cherbourg" being so often repeated that George had no +doubt it was to that port that the barque was to be taken; but in about +half an hour all this died away, and perfect silence reigned on board +once more. + +From the moment that the lugger parted company a confused idea as to the +possibility of retaking the barque had been gradually attaining definite +shape in George's mind. It was rather a desperate attempt to make, it +is true, with himself and the two mates shut up there in the cabin aft, +while the crew were doubtless confined in the forecastle, and with no +possibility of effecting a junction with them. Still, if Bowen and +Cross were willing to run the risk of assisting him, it might be worth +while to try it. + +Thinking thus, he drew his head inside the stern-port, and made his way +back into the main cabin, where he found the two mates, with their arms +crossed upon their chests, and their heads bowed upon their breasts, +asleep. + +Giving them a gentle shake apiece, to arouse them, he sat down beside +them and asked them bluntly if they felt disposed to run a little risk +in an attempt to retake the barque, and so avoid a French prison. + +"You may reckon on me for one, sir, if you've hit upon anything likely +in the shape of a plan," heartily answered the chief mate; "and Cross +here, I know, won't hold back either, unless I'm greatly mistaken in +him." + +"Never fear," said Cross; "if you give the word, sir, and the ship is to +be retook, we'll have her. But how do you propose to do it?--it'll have +to be a surprise, I s'pose?" + +"Listen," said George. "What I propose is this. The stern-ports are +all open; and I believe that, by assisting each other, we may manage to +creep out through them on to the main-brace boom-iron, and thence make +our way along the ship's side, _outside_ the bulwarks, forward, when, by +watching our opportunity, we may possibly manage to overpower the guard +on the forecastle, throw off the hatch, and release our own lads, and +then we must just make a fight for it. We may perhaps--we three--manage +to take along with us a cutlass and a brace of pistols each; but the men +must do the best they can with hand-spikes, belaying-pins, and, in +short, anything they can lay their hands upon." + +"A very promising plan indeed, sir," answered the chief mate. "The next +question is, when are we to set about it?" + +"The sooner the better," answered George; "so go at once, please, for +your pistols; load them carefully; take a cutlass each from the rack; +and then we will proceed to business." + +In a very _few_ minutes the trio were ready. Going softly into George's +state-room, they paused for a minute or two to listen for any sounds +which might furnish them with a clue to the condition of affairs on +deck; but nothing was to be heard, save the occasional clank of the +wheel-chains, and the low humming of a song by the helmsman. + +"It is all curiously quiet on deck," whispered George to his two +companions; "I can't quite make it out; it undoubtedly means one of two +things, however--either they are keeping a very strict and careful +watch, or none at all; we shall soon see which. Now, Cross, stand by to +give me a hoist, if I seem to require it; I will go first, and as soon +as I am fairly out of the way, Mr Bowen can follow." + +Kicking off his boots and stockings, the skipper thereupon, without +further ado, mounted the lockers, and passing his body cautiously out of +the weathermost stern-port, held on by the edge of the port with one +hand, whilst he reached out and felt for the brace-iron with the other. +This he soon found, and grasping it firmly with his right hand, began to +work himself cautiously towards it. The task he had set himself proved, +however, to be much more difficult than he had expected; the rake of the +ship's stern so greatly interfering with his freedom of motion that at +first he feared he would be obliged to abandon the attempt altogether, +as he foresaw that, the moment he released his hold upon the edge of the +port, he must infallibly swing off backwards, and, unless he could +manage to retain his grasp of the iron, drop overboard. So he slipped +in through the port again, to explain this difficulty to the mates, and +to caution them to be careful when it came to their turn, and then +resumed his attempt. + +Once more securing a firm grasp upon the brace-iron, he watched the roll +of the ship, and, seizing the first favourable opportunity, boldly swung +himself off into the air, where he hung suspended by one arm, with his +feet almost touching the water. In another moment he had both hands +upon the iron, and, giving himself a vigorous upward swing, he was soon +able to throw his feet over the tautly-strained main-brace. To scramble +up and place himself astride the brace-block was now an easy task, and, +settling himself firmly there, he prepared to assist the chief mate, +when he should make his appearance. + +He had not long to wait. Hardly was he comfortably established in his +comparatively safe position, when a hand appeared from behind the +quarter-piece in search of the iron. George promptly seized and guided +it to the object of its search, then firmly grasped the wrist with one +hand, keeping the other ready to render further assistance. + +"Look out, sir, I'm coming," he heard the chief mate mutter, and then, +with a tremendous swing, Mr Bowen's body came into view. Quick as +thought George leaned over and caught the disengaged hand, placed it too +upon the iron, and then, rising to his feet and exerting his strength to +the utmost, he proceeded to drag his chief mate up alongside himself. + +"Now," he whispered, as soon as he had got him there, "I shall begin to +work my way forward at once, so as to be out of your way; but you had +better stay and lend Cross a hand. I shall wait for you both in the +fore-chains." + +So saying, he stepped off the brace-iron, planting his feet firmly on +the broad beading which ran along the top edge of the sheer-strake, and +leaning his body against the bulwarks, whilst he grasped the outer edge +of the rail to steady himself, he speedily and easily reached the +mizzen-chains. + +Here, availing himself of the partial shelter and cover afforded by the +lanyards and dead-eyes of the rigging, he cautiously raised his head +above the level of the bulwarks, to survey the state of the deck +inboard. The first object which met his view was the figure of the +helmsman, rendered visible by the light of the binnacle-lamps as they +beamed dimly out upon him and feebly lighted up his figure. He was +leaning negligently against the wheel, with one arm thrown carelessly +over it, and his eyes were vacantly fixed upon the cloudy heavens above +him, with his thoughts evidently far away. Not another soul was +visible, either forward or aft; but George thought he could make out the +indistinct outline of something resembling a human figure seated on the +bench to windward of the cabin companion. He continued so long his +earnest gaze upon this object that he was quite startled to find his +first and second mates beside him; and he came at last to the conclusion +that, if it were indeed a human figure at all, it must be that of the +prize-master--sound asleep. + +Turning his glances from this object forward, he saw that the +galley-door to windward was shut, whilst on the lee-side it was open, +the reflection of a light inside shining pretty strongly upon the lee +bulwarks and showing the shadows of men evidently in the act of eating +and drinking. + +"Do you see that?" whispered George to his two companions. "Nothing +could possibly be more favourable to our plans. We will work our way +forward as far as the main-rigging, when, I think, we may venture to +slip over the bulwarks, and in on deck. Then we must creep very +cautiously forward, find out the whereabouts of the watchman, or +lookout, or whatever he is, and overpower him, if possible, without +raising an alarm. That done, we will set free our own lads, and I have +no fear whatever as to the result." + +The three adventurers then moved noiselessly forward until they came to +the main-rigging, when they slipped in on deck, and, crouching low in +the deep shadow of the weather bulwarks, crept along until they were +within a dozen feet of the fore-scuttle. Here they paused, and began to +peer anxiously about for the man they expected to find on watch on the +forecastle. + +"There he is, just forward of the cat-head," whispered the second mate; +and hastily snatching a heavy iron belaying-pin from the rail, he stole, +crouching and noiseless as a cat, upon his unconscious enemy. Six +seconds later a dull heavy blow was heard, followed by a faint groan, +the dark object near the cat-head vanished, and Cross, returning to the +skipper's side, whispered-- + +"_He's_ all right; knocked the senses clean out of him, and then laid +him quietly out on deck. I reckon he won't come to hisself again for +the next half-hour. Now, what's the next move, cap'n?" + +"The next thing," answered George, "is to open the fore-scuttle, and +quietly get our own lads on deck. I am surprised that they have not +attempted to steal up of their own accord before this." + +On going to the forecastle hatch, however, they soon discovered the +reason why the men were content to remain so quietly below, a large +mooring hawser having been coiled down on the top of the hatch, thus +effectually preventing the imprisoned men from raising it. + +"We shall never be able to move this without giving the alarm," said +George. "We must contrive somehow to shut those fellows up in the +galley, and keep them there." + +"That is easily done," whispered the chief mate. "`Cookey' has a lot of +firewood stowed away in the eyes of the long-boat; we must get hold of a +piece, cut half a dozen wedges from it, and one of us must then slide-to +the door on the lee-side, and wedge it tight with three of the wedges, +whilst another of us at the same time wedges up the door to windward." + +He then glided away to the long-boat, and soon returned with a small +piece of wood in his hand. + +"Here we are," he whispered; "now we'll soon have them boxed up so tight +that they won't get out until we open the doors for 'em." + +Whilst speaking he had produced his knife from his pocket, and, +notwithstanding the intense darkness, soon hacked out the half-dozen +wedges, which, though very roughly shaped, were still good enough for +the purpose. + +"Now, sir," said he in a low tone to George, "you take these three, let +Cross go with you and slide-to the lee-door with a slam, and then you +slip in the wedges and jam them tight home, while I will do the same to +wind'ard, as soon as I hear Cross close the lee-door." + +George took the wedges, and, accompanied by Cross crept noiselessly up +to the galley-door to leeward, Mr Bowen meanwhile making his way to the +corresponding door on the weather side. There was a loud slam, a moment +of silence, then a tremendous outcry, accompanied by the sound of heavy +battering from inside the galley, and the three adventurers met again at +the forecastle hatch. + +"Now, then," cried George, "we haven't a moment to lose, so let us +capsize the hawser bodily. Are you ready? Then, one--two--three, +Heave!" + +By exerting their whole strength to the utmost the heavy hawser was +rolled off the hatch, and the hatch itself raised, just as two figures +came rushing forward from the quarterdeck with loud and angry outcries. + +"Tumble up, my lads!" shouted George down the scuttle; "tumble up +smartly, and help us to retake the ship." + +"Ay, ay, sir," was the eager answer from below, and then the skipper, +drawing his cutlass and pistol, turned to meet the prize-master and the +helmsman, who had both hurried forward to learn the meaning of the +disturbance in the galley. + +"Surrender, or you are a dead man!" exclaimed George, thrusting the +muzzle of his pistol into the face of the as yet only half-awake +prize-master. + +"Oui, oui, m'sieu; oh, yais, I surrendaire," exclaimed the poor fellow, +as he felt the firm pressure of the cold pistol-barrel against his +forehead; and hastily unbuckling his cutlass, he thrust it into George's +hand. + +The chief mate, in the meantime, had incontinently felled the other man +to the deck with a single blow from his fist, and had then left Cross to +secure him with a rope's end. The barque's crew had meanwhile made +their way on deck, and were now clustered about their officers, anxious +to know what they were to do, whilst the _Aurora_, left to herself, had +shot up into the wind's eye, and was now lying stationary, with all her +square canvas aback, and the rest of her sails fluttering loudly in the +wind. + +"One hand to the wheel, and jam it hard up," commanded George; "the rest +of you to your stations. Mr Bowen and Mr Cross, you will mount guard +over the galley-doors, if you please, until we have got the ship round. +Raise tacks and sheets, round with the main-yard, and flatten in +forward. Well, there, with the main-braces. Now swing your fore-yard, +board the fore and main-tacks, and haul over the head-sheets. Right +your helm, my lad; give her a spoke or two, if _you find_ she wants it, +as she gathers way, and then keep her `full and by.' Now, lads, never +mind about coiling up just now; you can do that after we have attended +to the prisoners; come forward and open the weather galley-door, and as +the Frenchmen pass out, seize them and lash their hands and heels +together." + +These orders were promptly executed, the discomfited Frenchmen being +permitted to pass out of the galley only one at a time. Cross's burly +form, drawn cutlass and conspicuously displayed pistol, supported by the +appearance of the barque's crew in his immediate background, proving an +effectual deterrent to any attempt on the part of the privateersmen to +make a rush for freedom, and in something like a couple of hours from +the time of her capture, the _Aurora_, was once more in the undisputed +possession of her rightful owner. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +THE DEPARTURE OF THE CONVOY. + +About daybreak the wind veered round and blew a fine, fresh, steady +breeze from the northward, enabling the barque to lay her course with +flowing sheets; and sunset found her safely anchored in Plymouth Sound, +one of a fleet of nearly two hundred merchantmen, which had assembled +there for the purpose of being convoyed across the Atlantic. + +The convoy was to sail on the following day but one; the men-o'-war +which constituted their escort were already in the Sound, along with +several other ships of the royal navy; and as the cable smoked out +through the _Aurora's_ hawse-pipe that evening, when she dropped her +anchor, George fondly hoped his troubles were at an end. + +But he was mistaken. + +As soon as the canvas was furled, Captain Leicester manned a boat, and, +proceeding on board the admiral's ship reported the circumstance of the +capture and recapture of his vessel, requesting at the same time to be +relieved as soon as possible of the custody of his prisoners. This was +speedily arranged. By the admiral's orders an armed boat's crew was at +once despatched to the _Aurora_, the prisoners were released from their +bonds, passed into the man-o'-war's boat, and in little more than an +hour from their arrival in the Sound safely lodged on board a +prison-hulk. + +So far, so good. But George had yet to learn that there was one +inconvenient result generally attendant upon a request to a man-o'-war +for assistance. The boat, after conveying the Frenchmen to the +prison-hulk, duly returned to the admiral's ship; but, instead of the +crew at once passing out of her, they were ordered to remain where they +were, the lieutenant in charge alone going on deck and holding a short +conference with the captain, after which he re-entered the boat, and she +proceeded once more alongside the _Aurora_. + +George saw her coming, and wondered what could possibly be her errand. +He was not left long in doubt. + +"I am very sorry to trouble you," remarked the lieutenant, as he +encountered George at the gangway, whither the latter had repaired to +meet him, "but I must ask you to kindly muster your men." + +George knew only too well then what this visit boded, but he was quite +helpless; so, putting the best face he could upon the matter, he +answered as cheerfully as he could, and directed that all hands should +be summoned on deck. + +"I hope, however," he remarked to the officer, "that you will not +deprive me of any of my crew. I have shipped only just sufficient men +to handle her, and I assure you that even with the fine weather we have +had in our trip down Channel I have found that we have not a hand too +many for the efficient management of the ship." + +"Ah, yes," answered the lieutenant with a laugh; "all you +merchant-skippers tell the same story; but we shall see--we shall see. +They must be exceptionally good men, however, or you would never have +succeeded in recovering possession of your ship. Ah! here they are, and +a fine smart crew they look, too. Upon my word I must congratulate you, +Mr--a--um--a, upon your good luck in securing so many fine fellows; +why, they look capable of taking care of a ship twice your size. I +really _must_ relieve you of one or two of them; it would be nothing +short of treason to his most gracious Majesty to allow you to keep them +all, when the navy is in such urgent want of men." + +The crew were by this time assembled on deck, and a very disconcerted +and disgusted-looking set of men they were; they had submitted to weeks +of voluntary imprisonment in crimps' houses for the sole purpose of +escaping impressment into the navy, and now, when their voyage had +actually begun, here was a man-o'-war's boat alongside, to force them +into the service they regarded with so great an abhorrence. No wonder +that they looked and felt disgusted. + +The men were drawn up in line along the deck, in single file, and the +lieutenant sauntered leisurely along the line, critically examining each +man as he came to him, but without, as George had anticipated, ordering +any of them into the boat alongside. At length he reached the last +individual in the line, one of the lads, and Leicester was beginning to +breathe freely once more, hoping that he was, after all, not to be +robbed of any of his crew, when the officer returned to the head of the +line, and, touching the second mate lightly on the chest with his +finger, said-- + +"You were evidently born to become a man-o'-war's man, my fine fellow; +get your traps together and pass them and yourself into the boat +alongside as soon as you have received your wages." + +"Excuse me," said George, "I really must ask you not to take that man; +he is my second mate." + +"Your second mate!" exclaimed the officer with well-feigned +astonishment. "You surely do not mean to say you carry a second mate on +board such a cock-boat as this?" + +"Certainly I do," retorted George somewhat tartly; "why not, pray?" + +"Simply, my good man, because such an individual is wholly unnecessary. +You can take charge of one watch, yourself, you know, and your mate will +of course command the other, so that you can have no possible use for a +second mate. Why, a smart, active young fellow like you ought to be +ashamed of such an act of laziness as the carrying of a second mate. +Pay the man his wages, if you please, and let him pass into the boat." + +"I owe him no wages," answered George; "on the contrary, he--and every +other man of the crew, for that matter--has drawn a month's advance, and +owes me three weeks' service yet before we shall be square. Who is to +reimburse me for that loss?" + +"I am sorry to say I am quite unable to answer that question," was the +reply; "but, giving it--mind you, strictly as my private opinion--I am +afraid you will have to suffer the loss. For my part I have never been +able to understand why you masters of merchantmen _will_ persist in so +risky a policy as the payment of a month's wages in advance, when you +can never tell what may occur to prevent the men from working out their +time. But this is not business; I must bear a hand and finish my work, +or I shall get severely rapped over the knuckles." + +Then, turning once more to the men, he ordered the carpenter to get his +things ready, and go into the boat. + +"No," said George, by this time thoroughly exasperated, "_that_ I will +_not_ permit. This man is the ship's carpenter, and I forbid you, sir, +to impress him at your peril." + +"You _forbid_, eh?" said the lieutenant, turning angrily upon George. +"Take care what you are saying, my fine fellow, or I may perhaps find +ways and means of impressing _you_ before you sail." + +Then, suddenly realising that he had allowed his temper to outrun his +discretion, he added in a conciliatory tone-- + +"Well, since you say that this man is the carpenter, I will spare him; +but you should have explained that fact to me at first; and as to +impressing _you_, why, I daresay you know the old joke about impressing +a ship-master, and will understand I was only jesting; you are a capital +fellow, and have behaved very well over this business, so I will let you +off as easily as I can. But of course I must do my duty and take +another man or two from you; if I did not, some of the other ships would +be sending on board you and leaving you really short-handed." + +With that he picked out with unerring eye the two able-seamen, and then, +turning to George with a great show of generous forbearance, announced +that he would leave him all the rest, though he could hardly reconcile +it to his conscience to _go away_ with only three men out of so strong +and smart a crew as that belonging to the _Aurora_. + +Cross was by this time with his chest on deck; the other two impressed +men soon followed, and the disconsolate trio passed down the ship's side +in moody silence, unmoved alike by the commiserating looks of their late +shipmates or the jocular and more than half-ironical congratulations of +the man-o'-war's men in the boat upon their entry into so promising a +service as that of the British navy. + +On the departure of the boat, George held a short consultation with Mr +Bowen, the result of which was a very wise determination to "grin and +bear it," rather than risk fresh annoyance by an effort--which he very +strongly suspected would be utterly useless--to obtain redress and the +restitution of his men. This determination come to, the carpenter was +summoned aft, and installed into the duties and the berth of the +unfortunate Cross; George thus finding his crew reduced to three men, +the officers included, and one lad in each watch, the cook and steward +of course being "idlers," and their services in the working of the ship +only to be demanded on occasions of exceptional urgency. + +On the day but one following that of the impressment of the _Aurora's_ +men, a gun was fired at sunrise by the commodore, blue-peter was hoisted +at the fore-royal-mastheads, and the fore-topsails were loosed on board +the ships of the convoying squadron, and the still morning air +immediately began to resound with the songs of seamen and the clanking +of windlass-pawls, as the fleet of merchantmen constituting the convoy +began to get under weigh. There was a considerable amount of emulation +displayed among the merchant-skippers--those of them, at least, whose +ships or crews had any pretensions to smartness, and in half an hour a +good many of the craft were under weigh and standing out to sea with a +light air of wind from the eastward. The old _Tremendous_, 74, led the +van, closely followed by the _Torpid_, 50; while the frigates +_Andromeda_ and _Vixen_, each of 32 guns, assisted by the _Dasher_, +_Grampus_, _Throstle_, and _Mallard_, 10-gun-brigs, cruised round and +round the laggards, making signals, firing guns, and generally creating +a great deal of fuss, noise, and excitement. The leading portion of the +fleet was hove-to, hull-down, at sea, before the last craft in the +convoy had succeeded in getting her anchor and making a start; but by +noon the whole of the fleet was fairly in the Channel, when the +_Tremendous_ made the signal to fill, and away they all went, bowling +along to the southward and westward, the dull sailers under every rag +they could spread to the wind--now settled into a fine steady +royal-breeze from east-south-east, while the smarter craft were +compelled to show only such a spread of canvas as would enable the +dullards to keep pace with them. The _Tremendous_ and _Torpid_, under +double-reefed topsails, led the way about two miles apart; the frigates +were posted, one to windward and one to leeward of the merchant-fleet, +and the brigs brought up the rear, it being their duty to whip-in the +stragglers, urge on the slow-coaches, and keep a sharp lookout for +prowling privateers. + +The English coast was still faintly visible, like a light grey cloud, on +the horizon astern, when a strange sail was sighted on the port beam, +steering west, a course which brought her gradually nearer to the +convoy. She was brig-rigged, and she continued to approach until she +had reached a point some six miles from the fleet; when she suddenly +hauled her wind, and, without showing any colours, stood away to the +southward and eastward, close-hauled, under a heavy press of canvas. +There had been a considerable amount of signalling going on between the +various men-o'-war from the moment of her first appearance, and now +there was still more; but it soon ceased; the last string of flags +displayed by the _Tremendous_ was acknowledged by the _Andromeda_, the +weathermost frigate, and the excitement appeared to be at an end. + +"I'm afraid that means trouble for some of us, unless the men-o'-war +keep a good sharp lookout," observed Mr Bowen to George, jerking his +thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the rapidly receding brig, +as the two men walked the deck together, criticising the appearance and +sailing powers of the various craft in company. + +"Ah, indeed?" remarked George. "I see you have come to the same +conclusion as myself with regard to the stranger, which is that she is a +French privateer." + +"Just that, sir, and nothing else," was the reply. "She is French all +over; no need for her to show her colours; her rig speaks her +nationality plain enough for a blind man to read it. She's been on the +watch for this fleet for the last week or more, you may depend on it, +and now she has gone back to report the news to her consorts that the +West India convoy has sailed. Mark my words, sir; we shall all have to +keep a good sharp lookout, or a few of us will be snapped up yet, in +spite of the men-o'-war, before we sight the next land." + +"Well," said George, "we must take care that the _Aurora_ is not one of +the few, that is all. Luckily, we are not exactly the dullest sailer in +the fleet; and we must manage to keep well in the body of it. It is the +outsiders that will run the greatest risk." + +For the next three or four days an unusual amount of vigilance was +observable on board the men-o'-war, especially the frigates and +gun-brigs, all of which kept well in the offing during the day, +evidently on the lookout for prowling picaroons, and closing in again +upon the convoy at night; but nothing was seen to keep alive suspicion; +no ships of any description were encountered, save a couple of English +frigates, each of which replied to the private signal and exchanged +numbers with the _Tremendous_; and on the evening of the tenth day out +the lofty, precipitous cliffs of the Azores were sighted and passed. + +Another week sped away without the occurrence of any incident worthy of +record; the wind continued fair and steady; and the convoy, though its +rate of travelling was rather slow, made very good progress. + +On the afternoon of the eighteenth day out from Plymouth, the fleet +being at the time in latitude 32 degrees North, longitude 44 degrees 30 +minutes West, or about half-way to Jamaica, the wind fell light; the +sky, which had hitherto been clear, became overcast, heavy masses of +dark, thunderous cloud slowly gathering in the south-western quarter and +gradually spreading athwart the sky until the whole of the visible +heavens were obscured. The barometer dropped slightly, indicating, in +conjunction with the aspect of the sky, a probable change of wind and a +consequent interruption to their hitherto highly satisfactory progress. + +As evening fell, flashes of sheet-lightning were occasionally to be seen +along the southern horizon; and Captain Leicester, anticipating a +thunder-storm and a probable heavy downfall of rain, made preparations +for the refilling of his water-casks. + +But, though the atmosphere appeared to be heavily charged with +electricity, the thunder held off, and when night closed down upon the +convoy, the moon being then in her third quarter and rising late, it +became as dark as a wolf's mouth. + +Lights were of course displayed on board each ship; and the convoy +having become somewhat scattered in consequence of the failure of the +breeze, the effect was very singular and striking. + +This being George's first voyage across the Atlantic, he was naturally a +little anxious; and on the night in question he resolved to remain on +deck until the weather should have assumed some more decided aspect. +There was fortunately still a gentle breeze from about east-south-east +fanning the convoy along at a speed of some two knots in the hour, just +giving the ships steerage-way; and they were consequently able to keep +out of each other's way, and thus avoid collision, always a great +element of danger when a large number of craft happen to be sailing in +company. + +About two bells in the middle watch, George being seated at the time +near the companion, smoking a meditative pipe, and thinking somewhat +ruefully about Lucy Walford, the carpenter, who was in charge of the +deck, approached him and said-- + +"Unless I am greatly mistaken, sir, here's a large craft without any +lights creeping up on our larboard quarter." + +"Indeed," said George, rousing himself and stepping aft to the taffrail +with the carpenter; "whereabouts is she?" + +The carpenter looked intently astern for a moment, then stretched out +his arm, saying-- + +"There, sir--ah! now you can see her, she is just about to shut out the +first of those four lights that you can see all close together. There! +now she has shut it out." + +"I see her!" said George. "Whatever does the fellow mean by being +without lights on such a pitch-dark night as this; it would serve him +right to report him to the commodore in the morning. He has a smart +vessel under his feet, though; see how she is overhauling us. Why, it +must surely be one of the gun-brigs, judging from her spread of canvas +and her lofty spars. But what can she be doing here, in the very middle +of the fleet, and without lights, too?" + +The stranger was by this time little more than a couple of cables' +lengths from the _Aurora_, drawing up to her fast, and apparently +intending to pass her very closely. George glanced anxiously at his +stern light, thinking it might possibly have gone out, but no, it was +burning brightly and must be distinctly visible to those on board the +other craft. + +Gradually the dark, mysterious fabric drew closer and still closer up on +the port quarter of the _Aurora_, not the faintest glimmer of light +being visible from stem to stern, and not a sound of any kind to be +heard on board her. + +George began to feel a trifle nervous as he watched the silent, stealthy +approach of the stranger; and fetching his speaking-trumpet from the +beckets in the companion-way, where it always hung in company with the +telescope, he stepped aft to the taffrail and hailed-- + +"Ship ahoy!" + +"Hillo!" was the response, in a tone of voice pitched so low that, +though it was distinctly audible to those on board the _Aurora_, it +would not penetrate the sluggish atmosphere to any great distance. + +"What ship is that?" inquired George. + +"His Britannic Majesty's brig--" (name unintelligible). "What ship is +that?" + +"The _Aurora_, of London. Why are you out of your station, and without +lights, sir? Is there anything wrong?" + +"Yes," was the reply, "but don't hail any more; there are enemies at +hand. I will sheer alongside you presently, and tell you what to do." + +"Enemies at hand, eh!" muttered George. "What can it mean, I wonder? +And if there _are_ enemies, by which, I suppose, they mean Frenchmen, in +our neighbourhood, those man-o'-war fellows must have eyes like owls to +be able to see them in the dark. Just step down into the cabin, if you +please, Mr Ritson, and give the mate a call; I don't half like this." + +In little more than a minute Mr Bowen was on deck and listening to +George's statement of what had already passed, and of his uneasiness. +George had just finished speaking, when there was a sound as of a +falling handspike, or something of the kind, on board the stranger, +followed by a loud ejaculation of-- + +"_Sacr-r-r-r-re nom de_--" + +The remainder of the exclamation was promptly suppressed, but it was +enough; George's suspicions were now fully aroused, and he whispered to +the two men standing by him-- + +"She is French, beyond a doubt; they intended to surprise us, and very +nearly they did it, too. But we will not be caught quite so easily this +time. Ritson, go forward, rouse the men, and tell them to creep aft +under the shelter of the bulwarks; let not one of them show so much as a +hair of his head above the rail; and tell them to look lively. And you, +Mr Bowen, be good enough to go below and bring up a cutlass apiece for +all hands." + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +"CHOPPEE FOR CHANGEE--A BLACK DOG FOR A BLUE MONKEY." + +By the time that the _Aurora's_ crew were on deck, crouching behind the +bulwarks aft on the port side, armed, and instructed by George as to +what he required of them, the strange sail was within a dozen fathoms of +the _Aurora's_ port quarter. + +She could now be seen with tolerable distinctness, the outline of the +hull and of the lofty canvas showing black as ebony against the dark +background of sea and sky; and any doubts which Captain Leicester might +have still entertained concerning her, were completely set at rest as he +glanced at the cut of her canvas. It was French all over. + +Foot by foot the brig--for such she was--crept up to the _Aurora_, until +her bows were in a line with the barque's stern and not more than twenty +feet distant. George stood by the main-rigging, watching her, cutlass +in hand, calm and determined, his plans already formed for action in the +event of his suspicions proving correct. + +In the ordinary course of things the two craft were now quite near +enough to each other for any communication, however confidential in its +nature, to be made without the possibility of its being overheard; but, +though George could see that a figure stood on the brig's rail by the +main-rigging, not a word was uttered. + +Keeping his gaze steadfastly fixed upon the brig, Captain Leicester saw +that her helm had suddenly been ported, for she was sheering strongly in +toward his own vessel. + +"Brig ahoy!" he hailed. "What is it you have to say to me? Do not come +too close, sir, or you will be into us." + +"Never fear," answered in perfect English the dark figure on board the +brig, "we will not carry away so much as a rope-yarn belonging to you. +But I must be on board you before I can venture to give you your +instructions." + +"Oh! very well," said George. "If you intend boarding us, you had +better do so by way of our fore-rigging, or you may get a nasty fall; we +are very much littered up here abaft with spars and so on." + +"Ah, thank you very much; I will take your advice," was the reply. + +George saw the man motion with his arm, and the brig's course was +altered sufficiently to put her alongside with her gangway even with the +_Aurora's_ fore-mast. Another second or two, and the ships gently +jarred together, the brig's quarter dropping alongside the barque at the +same moment. + +"_Enfans, allons-nous-en_!" exclaimed the voice of the stranger forward, +followed by the sound of a leap on to the barque's deck, and a scramble +among the spars which littered it there. + +"Now is your time, lads; jump for your lives!" exclaimed George in a +low, excited tone; and, setting his men the example, he forthwith sprang +from his own ship's bulwarks to those of the brig; and dashing at the +helmsman, cut him down with his cutlass before the fellow could recover +sufficiently from his astonishment to utter a cry. Then, without a +moment's pause, he seized the wheel and exerting all his strength, sent +it with a single twirl spinning hard over to starboard, where he lashed +it. + +The shock of collision, slight as it was, caused the two vessels to +recoil from each other, and they were barely alongside when they +separated again; George's manipulation of the brig's wheel, and a +similar manipulation of the _Aurora's_ helm at the last moment before +the touching of the two vessels, greatly expediting the separation. By +the time, therefore, that George had looked about him, and satisfied +himself that the whole of his crew were safely with him on the brig's +deck, the two vessels were a dozen feet apart and increasing their +distance every second; their bows diverging from each other at almost a +right angle. + +The Frenchmen, on boarding the _Aurora_, divided into two parties, one +of which rushed forward to secure the crew, while the other made a +similar rush aft, for the purpose of overpowering the officers and +helmsman. In their astonishment and perplexity at finding the decks +deserted, they paused for a moment irresolutely, then hurriedly searched +the cabin and forecastle, only to find that the ship was utterly +deserted. Then, for the first time, a glimmering of the truth presented +itself to the mind of the French leader, and his suspicions were +instantly confirmed; for Captain Leicester, having at that moment +rallied his crew, led them forward, and, finding that, as he had +expected, the Frenchmen had boarded the _Aurora_ with all their +available strength, leaving only some five-and-twenty men on board the +brig to handle her, he, after a short, sharp tussle, drove these men +below and secured complete possession of the brig. + +The party on board the _Aurora_ distinctly heard the sounds of the +conflict, and waited in breathless expectancy for its termination. They +had not long to wait; in little over a couple of minutes Captain +Leicester's voice was heard giving the order to shift the helm--the brig +having in the meantime gone round until she was head to wind with her +canvas flat aback--and to trim over the head-sheets. Then a chorus of +curses, both loud and deep, from the deck of the _Aurora_, proclaimed +the chagrin of the Frenchmen on board her at the--to them--extraordinary +and unforeseen result of the adventure. + +But their captain was a man of indomitable pluck, energy, and readiness +of resource, and by no means given to a tame and immediate acceptance of +defeat. He realised the situation in a moment, and, determining to make +the best of a bad bargain, promptly ordered sail to be crowded upon the +_Aurora_, in the hope of effecting his escape. The night being dark, +however, and his men new to the ship, the work went on but slowly; and +by the time that the topgallantsails were sheeted home, his own brig was +once more alongside, with two red lights hoisted to her gaff-end (the +alarm-signal), her ports open, guns run out, and the men standing by +them ready to open fire. + +As she drew up abreast the _Aurora_, George hailed-- + +"Barque ahoy! Let fly your sheets and halliards at once, and surrender, +or I will fire into you!" + +"All right," was the reply from the French captain; "you have won the +game, monsieur, so I will not attempt to rob you of the credit of +victory. You managed the affair exceedingly well, _mon ami_, and have +taught me a lesson I shall remember for the rest of my life. You may +come on board and take possession as soon as you like." + +He then gave the necessary orders in French to his crew; the halliards +and sheets were let fly on board the _Aurora_, George reducing sail at +the same time in the brig, and the two vessels, losing way, began +gradually to drop into the rear portion of the convoy. + +Captain Leicester did not, however, accept the French captain's +invitation to go on board and take possession once more of his own ship; +that proceeding would have been just a trifle too risky. He had the +game in his own hands, and intended to keep it there; so he quietly +waited until one of the men-o'-war should come alongside, as he knew +would soon be the case, in response to his signal. + +In a short time another brig was seen approaching under a perfect cloud +of sail, an unmistakably English gun-brig this time, however. Sweeping +up on the port quarter of George's prize, an officer sprang into the +main-rigging, and hailed-- + +"Brig ahoy! What brig is that?" + +"The _Jeune Virginie_, French privateer," answered George. "She +managed, somehow, to slip in among the fleet unobserved in the darkness, +and threw a heavy boarding-party in on the deck of my vessel--the +_Aurora_ I suspected her designs just in time, however, and as her crew +boarded me, I boarded her, and succeeded in taking possession; the two +ships separating immediately and thus preventing the return of the +French to their own craft." + +"Ah, I see," remarked the officer. "You effected an exchange of +ships--`choppee for changee--a black dog for a blue monkey,' eh? And +now you want us to get your own ship back for you?" + +"Not exactly," answered George with a laugh; "I have already forced her +to surrender; that is the craft--the barque immediately under my lee. +But I shall feel obliged if you will take charge of the prisoners, and +lend me sufficient men to navigate my prize into port." + +"Um; well, I really do not quite know about that. I will man your prize +for you to-night; but you must see the commodore about the matter in the +morning; if he will authorise me to lend you a prize-crew, of course I +shall be very happy. By the way, where did the Frenchman come from?" + +"When I saw the craft first, she was about a couple of cables' lengths +directly astern of us," answered Leicester. + +"She was, eh!" remarked the officer. "Well, there will be a pretty row +to-morrow about her being allowed to slip in undetected. I will send a +boat on board your own ship at once, to remove the prisoners; and, that +done, I will tell off a crew to man your prize for you." + +This was accordingly done, and an hour after the arrival of the +_Throstle_ upon the scene, George and his crew were once more +comfortably established on board their own ship. + +On the following morning the affair was officially reported to the +commodore, who put himself into a tremendous passion about it, declaring +that such an occurrence reflected indelible disgrace upon the whole +British navy, and that he would bring to court-martial every one of the +officers belonging to the convoying ships;--which, however, seeing that +at bottom he was a fine, good-hearted old fellow, he never did. And +after abusing everybody else, he sent for George, complimented him upon +his gallantry publicly on the quarterdeck of the _Tremendous_, offered +to obtain a commission for him (an offer which our hero was foolish +enough to decline), and gave his hearty consent to the proposed +borrowing of a prize-crew. + +But the affair did not by any means end here; for on the following +night, which was almost as dark as the preceding one, three ships +belonging to the merchant-fleet under convoy gave an unusual and +altogether extraordinary amount of trouble to the captains of the +gun-brigs by their persistent straggling; and, suspicion being at length +aroused, they were all found to be in the hands of French prize-crews, +having been surprised and captured by the _Jeune Virginie_ immediately +prior to her unsuccessful attempt upon the _Aurora_. Had they been only +a little less anxious to effect their escape, they might, as the event +proved, have accomplished it without the slightest difficulty. + +About 2 p.m. on the day following the recapture of these three vessels, +the weather being at the time stark calm, with an overcast sky, the +signal to "shorten sail and prepare for bad weather," was exhibited on +board the commodore's ship--the old _Tremendous_. It was very difficult +to make out the signal, the flags hanging from the masthead in such +close, motionless folds that it was almost impossible to identify them; +so, after a long and anxious scrutiny of them through his telescope, +George, thinking he must surely have misinterpreted the message, dived +below to take a look at his barometer. A single glance at it was +sufficient to show him that he was not mistaken, the mercury having +fallen a full inch in little more than two hours. + +When he returned to the deck again, which he did immediately, the +various ships were lying with their heads all round the compass, the +merchantmen showing no signs that they understood the signal; but on +board the men-o'-war the crews were seen to be very busy reefing +topsails; the topgallant and royal-masts and yards being already sent +down on deck. + +Captain Leicester lost no time in following their example, as far as he +was able. To send down on deck any of his top-hamper, with his limited +crew, was of course quite out of the question, but he called all hands, +and, hurrying them aloft, set them to work, first to furl all the light +upper canvas, and then to close-reef both topsails. This done, he +ordered them to furl the main and fore courses, which were already +clewed up. + +Part of the crew were already on the main-yard, and the remainder, +having completed the reefing of the fore-topsail, had descended from +aloft forward and were on their way up the main-rigging to assist in the +stowing of the main-sail, when a heavy black, threatening-looking +cloud-bank, which lay stretched along the western horizon, was seen to +suddenly burst open, revealing a broad copper-tinted rent, which widened +with alarming rapidity. + +George's quick eye detected the change in an instant, and knowing what +it meant, and that there was no time to lose, hailed the crew with a +loud shout of-- + +"Now then, my lads, look alive aloft there, and toss up that main-sail +smartly. If you are quick about it, you may yet get the gaskets round +it before the gale strikes us; if you are not, we shall lose the sail, +and very probably some of you, too." + +The men answered with a cheery "Ay, ay, sir," and set to work with a +will, Leicester and the chief mate springing aft to the wheel at the +same moment. + +In the meantime the broad yellow rent in the clouds to the westward had +spread very considerably, the vapour overhead had gathered way, and was +scudding rapidly across the sky in an easterly direction, and already, +upon the western horizon, a long, rapidly advancing line of white +foaming water gave unmistakable indications of the close proximity of +the hurricane. The old _Tremendous_ now did what she could to hurry up +the laggards, by firing rapid signal-guns; and the crews of the several +ships, waking up at last, were seen swarming aloft, when it was too +late, to shorten sail. + +The _Aurora_ was lying with her head pointed to the southward, with her +starboard broadside presented square to the wind, when the gale first +struck her. Her skipper, anxious to save his canvas, if possible, kept +his men aloft as long as he dared, urging and encouraging them with his +voice to exert themselves to their utmost; but when he saw the old +_Tremendous_ bow under the first stroke of the blast as though she meant +to "turn the turtle" altogether, he thought it was high time to look to +the safety of his crew. + +"Make fast, and come down at once, lads," he shouted; "down with you, +for your lives; the canvas must take care of itself now." + +Startled by the anxious sharpness of the hail, the men hurriedly knotted +the gaskets, just as they were, and scuttled in off the yard like so +many frightened squirrels. + +They were all in the main-rigging when the hurricane burst upon the +ship. With a terrific, unearthly streaming roar it rushed upon her, and +the barque, as if conscious of her utter inability to withstand its +tremendous strength, instantly went over on her beam-ends, with her +lower yard-arms dipping into the water. The men in the lee-rigging were +almost completely sheltered by the hull of the ship, and they had +therefore but little difficulty in holding on. But they were obliged to +remain where they were, the lower portion of the shrouds being buried +some eight feet deep in water, thus precluding the possibility of the +men descending to the deck; whilst to go aloft again and endeavour to +descend to windward, was as much as their lives were worth. They had a +practical illustration of this in the fact that two of the men in the +weather shrouds were actually torn from their hold, and dashed with such +violence against the main-top that one man had his arm, and the other, +three of his ribs broken. + +Captain Leicester, on seeing the near approach of the hurricane, had, +after hailing his men to come down from aloft, lashed the wheel +hard-a-starboard, and then, accompanied by Mr Bowen, he hurried away to +the foot of the main-mast, where they cast off the starboard fore-braces +and hauled in upon the larboard until they had braced the topsail as +sharp up as it was possible for two men to get it. The result of this +manoeuvre was that, when the gale struck the _Aurora_, her main-topsail, +which was a-shiver, was blown clean out of the bolt-ropes in an instant, +as also was the foresail and the partially-stowed main-sail; whilst the +fore-topsail was strongly filled at once, and being luckily a new sail, +and standing the strain upon it bravely, it quickly began to drag the +ship through the water. As soon as she gathered way, her bows began to +pay off, and presently she recovered her upright position with a jerk +which snapped both her topgallant-masts close off by the caps. + +The wheel was now righted, and away the _Aurora_ went, scudding dead +before it, under her close-reefed fore-topsail only. The crew now made +the best of their way down on deck, the head-yards were squared, and an +effort was made to clear away the wreck, two of the men volunteering +for, and succeeding in, the dangerous task of going aloft to cut away +the fore and main-topgallant rigging. + +George now had time to look about him a little, and observe the state of +affairs prevailing outside his own ship. On all sides were to be seen +ships--men-o'-war as well as merchantmen--scudding, like his own, before +the irresistible fury of the gale. Nearly every ship had suffered +damage of some sort, either to sails, spars, or rigging; and out of them +all, very few had come better out of the first buffet than the _Aurora_. +Here was to be seen a craft with topgallant-masts and jib-boom gone, +and her canvas hanging from her yards in long tattered streamers; there +another with nothing standing above her lower mastheads; here a barque +with her main-yard carried away; there a stately ship with her +mizzenmast and all attached still towing astern, and the _crew_ busy +cutting away at the rigging which held the shattered spar; here another +fine ship, totally dismasted; and there, now far astern, more than one +dark object lying low in the water, and but imperfectly seen through the +flying spindrift, which George Leicester knew only too well were the +hulls of ships which had capsized, and whose crews would be left to +perish miserably, since no human power could possibly save them in an +hour like that. + +It soon became evident to the crew of the _Aurora_, that though they had +so far escaped with comparatively slight damage, they could certainly +not regard their ship as by any means free from peril so long as they +remained in the company of the rest of the fleet. So many ships +scudding together almost helplessly before the fury of the gale could +not but prove a very great source of danger to each other, now that it +was no longer possible to regulate their rate of sailing; and George +soon found himself confronted with a new anxiety, that of being in +danger of a collision. The sea was rising with extraordinary rapidity, +and the various craft soon began to steer wildly, sheering so rankly, +first to one side and then to the other, that many of them threatened to +broach-to altogether. + +The _Aurora_ was a very smart little vessel under her canvas, as she now +proved by keeping pace with two large ships, one of which lay on her +port-bow, and the other on her starboard beam. So even was the rate of +sailing of the three that neither of them, anxious as each was to +accomplish the feat, could draw away from the others; and the strength +of the gale was such that it was equally impossible for them either to +make or to reduce sail. There they remained, therefore, maintaining +exactly the same relative position to each other, now sheering +uncontrollably inwards, so that each man held his breath and braced +himself for the shock which seemed inevitable, and which, under such +circumstances, must result in the total destruction of both ships; and, +anon, surging as wildly off in opposite directions. + +To add still further to Captain Leicester's embarrassments, the trio of +ships were rapidly overhauling a fourth, which was wallowing along dead +ahead of the _Aurora_. She was a large craft, apparently of about eight +hundred tons measurement; her three topmasts were carried away close off +by the caps; the wreckage was all lying inboard, cumbering up her decks; +her courses and staysails were blown to ribbons; and she was steering so +badly that it was difficult to say _where_ she was going, except that +her general direction was to leeward. George saw that, should he +overtake this vessel before getting clear of the two which already +hampered him so seriously, a catastrophe was inevitable, and he speedily +made up his mind that the _Aurora's_ speed _must_ be sufficiently +reduced to allow of her dropping astern and into the wake of one or the +other of his present consorts. The only means by which, under the +circumstances, this could be accomplished was by sacrificing the +fore-topsail; and he accordingly called for a volunteer to assist him in +the task. Mr Bowen and the carpenter both proffered their services, +and, selecting the latter, and requesting the chief mate to take charge +of the deck and superintend the conning of the ship, George went +forward, followed by the carpenter, and led the way aloft. Now that +they were scudding before it, the strength of the wind was no longer +felt to its full extent; it was still powerful enough, however, to make +the journey aloft full of peril, and the two adventurers were compelled +to make frequent pauses on their way, in order to avoid being blown out +of the rigging. At length, however, they reached the yard, and, +producing their knives, began to work their way outwards from the mast, +one toward each yard-arm, cutting the seizings as they came to them. +Their task was soon accomplished; for when half the seizings were cut, +the wind saved them all further trouble by carrying away the remainder; +the sail gave one terrific flap--which sprung the fore-yard--and then, +tearing out of its bolt-ropes, went soaring away ahead of them, like a +flake of cloud. + +Thus relieved, the _Aurora's_ speed sensibly diminished and by the time +that George was once more down on deck, they were able, by watching +their opportunity, to sheer in under the stern of the ship which had +before lain upon their port-bow, and thus place the _Aurora_ +comparatively out of harm's way. + +They were only just in time. The ship ahead was overtaken, and, in +sheering into her new position, the _Aurora_ was compelled to shave +close past the stranger's stern. Glancing up at her as they shot past, +with a feeling of deep gratitude at their escape, George saw a little +crowd of passengers huddled together upon her poop, like frightened +sheep. They were all looking at the _Aurora_, evidently fully aware of +the danger from which they had so narrowly escaped; and among them +George suddenly recognised a face which he had more than half hoped he +would never see again--the face of his successful rival, as he believed +him to be, Lieutenant Walford. + +George waved his hand in recognition, the salutation was half +reluctantly returned, and then the two craft separated; but not before +George had had time to read the name painted on her stern--the _Princess +Royal_, of London. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +THE MUTINY ON BOARD THE "PRINCESS ROYAL." + +It now becomes necessary that we should for a short time forsake the +_Aurora_, and follow the fortunes of the _Princess Royal_. + +At the moment of our making the acquaintance of this vessel a very +unsatisfactory state of affairs happened to prevail on board her. She +was, as we have already seen, a large ship, as ships went at that time, +being of 870 tons register, and capable of carrying close upon 1200 tons +dead-weight. She had saloon accommodation for forty passengers, and +carried an armament of twelve 9-pounders upon her main-deck, the +intention of her owners being that she should fight her own way, if +necessary, to and fro across the ocean, and so be independent of convoy. + +But on her present voyage this plan had to be abandoned, the activity of +the press-gangs, and the consequent scarcity of seamen being such that +she cleared out of the port of London with only thirty men in her +forecastle; a crew wholly inadequate to successfully defend a ship of +her size in the extremely likely event of her encountering an adversary. +She was therefore compelled, like many others, to avail herself of the +protection of convoy. + +Upon her arrival at Plymouth, she, like the _Aurora_, received a visit +from a man-o'-war's boat, which carried off four of her best men, +reducing her number of seamen to twenty-six. It will thus be seen that, +when she finally sailed out of English waters, she was very +short-handed. + +Now, as Jack is to this day, so he ever has been--an inveterate +grumbler; he _will_ find _something_ to growl about. It is not to be +wondered at, therefore, that, with such good cause, there should be +constant dissatisfaction in the _Princess Royal's_ forecastle. + +But though Jack _is_, and always has been, such a grumbler, and though +probably nothing on earth will ever cure him of this habit--for habit +only it is--yet, even where there is good and sufficient cause for +discontent, a little judicious management, forbearance, and sympathy +will prevent the mischief from going any further. + +Unfortunately, however, for the _Princess Royal_ and all connected with +her, the measures adopted by those in authority on board her for the +suppression of this quickly-discovered spirit of discontent were the +extreme opposite of judicious. The master--as is sometimes the case +with masters of very fine ships--was haughty and overbearing, possessed +of a highly-exaggerated opinion of his own importance, turning a deaf +ear to all the complaints of his crew, and treating them with an +impatience and superciliousness of manner which made him heartily +detested. The chief mate, an arrant sycophant, taking his cue from his +superior officer imitated him to the utmost extent of his ability, with +a like result; while the second mate was a blustering bully, whose great +pride and boast it was that he could always make one man do the work of +two. Hence, from the very commencement of the voyage, the quarterdeck +and the forecastle, instead of pulling together and making an united +effort to overcome the difficulties of their position, rapidly grew to +regard each other with mutual feelings of enmity and distrust. + +Matters had consequently, as might be expected, been steadily growing +from bad to worse, from the first moment of sailing; and on the day +before the gale a very unpleasant incident had occurred on board. + +It arose in this way. On the second mate's watch being called, one of +the men remained in his hammock, sending word by one of his shipmates to +the officer of the watch that he was ill and unfit for duty. The second +mate, instead of reporting the circumstance to the master, and having it +inquired into, as was the proper course, jumped at once to the +conclusion that the man was merely feigning sickness, in order to avoid +the performance of his proper share of work; and, taking the matter into +his own hands, he proceeded to the forecastle, armed with a "colt," and, +dragging the unhappy seaman out of his hammock, drove him on deck, +abusing him roundly the while in no measured terms, and setting him to +work to grease the main-mast, from the truck downward. + +The poor fellow, who was really ill, procured a pot of grease and +started up the rigging, but, finding himself wholly unequal to the task +of going aloft, descended again, and proceeding aft to the poop went up +to the captain, who happened to be standing conversing with some of the +passengers, and requested to be released from duty, repeating his plea +of illness. The second mate had, however, in the meantime mentioned the +matter to the captain, putting his own construction upon it; the request +was therefore harshly and hastily refused, the refusal being accompanied +by the assertion that the pleader was a mean, skulking, mutinous rascal, +not worth his salt. + +Lieutenant Walford happened to be one of the passengers standing near at +the moment, and, as the dissatisfied seaman turned away, Walford turned +to the captain and said-- + +"We in the army have a very short and simple method of dealing with +fellows like that--we flog them; and, I assure you, it proves a +never-failing cure." + +The sick man heard this remark, so did the man at the wheel, and from +that moment Walford was a marked man. + +The captain turned round sharply. + +"Do you?" said he. "Then by Jove I'll see if it will prove equally +efficacious here. Mr Thomson, have that man seized up to a grating, +and give him two dozen; I'll be bound he'll be well enough to go aloft +after that; if he isn't, he shall have another couple of dozen." + +Thomson, the second mate, at once sprang upon the man, and, seizing him +by the collar, ordered the boatswain to call all hands. + +This was done. The men were drawn up in the waist of the ship on the +lee-side, the sick seaman was seized up at the lee gangway, and in the +presence of all on board (except the ladies, who retired to the saloon +in indignation and disgust) the unhappy man received his two dozen. + +But here a further widening of the breach between the officers and the +crew of the ship took place. The individual appointed to administer the +flogging was the boatswain's mate, a great brawny Cornishman, named +Talbot. This individual, when all was ready, bared his muscular right +arm to the shoulder, and, grasping the cat firmly, measured his distance +accurately with his eye; then stood waiting the command to begin. The +captain, the mates, Walford, and one or two more of the on-lookers +smiled their satisfaction as they witnessed these elaborate preparations +for the infliction of a severe flogging; and the captain, willing to +prolong the man's suffering as much as possible, allowed a long pause to +ensue before giving the word. + +At length he nodded to Talbot, who at once took a step back, and, giving +the tails of the cat a mighty flourish in the air, brought them down +upon the man's naked shoulders so gently that an audible laugh broke +spontaneously from the entire crew at the ludicrous sight. The captain +turned livid with fury. + +"You!" he gasped; "what do you mean by that, you lubber? Lay it on, +sir; lay it on hot and heavy, or by Jove I'll have _you_ seized up, and +will give you five dozen myself." + +"Ay, ay, sir," was the imperturbable reply; and the second stroke was +administered with even more threatening preliminaries than the first, +but with, if possible, even less effect. + +"Put that fellow in irons at once!" shouted the captain, "and let him +have no food except bread and water until further orders. You hear, +steward? If he has anything more, I will make you responsible for it. +I will teach him--and everybody else--that when I give an order, I will +have it obeyed. Now, Rogers," to the boatswain, "take the cat, and give +that skulking rascal at the grating the two dozen he so richly +deserves." + +The boatswain stepped forward, and, without removing his jacket or +making any other preparation, sullenly took the cat in his hand. The +chief mate meanwhile went off for a pair of handcuffs, and, returning, +slipped them on the wrists of the rebellious boatswain's mate. + +The second mate, who was still looking on, noticing the behaviour of the +boatswain, and the ill-concealed triumph of the crew at Talbot's +conduct, now turned to the captain and said-- + +"Let _me_ play bo'sun's mate for once sir; I'll be bound I'll give the +sneaking lubber his proper 'lowance; he'll never get it from any of his +shipmates, I can see." + +"Very well, do so," said the captain; "let him have it hot and strong; +it will show those mutinous scoundrels that we have it in our power to +punish them yet." + +The second mate waited for no more, but, whipping off his coat and +rolling up his shirt-sleeves, snatched the cat out of Rogers' hand, and +began at once to administer the punishment. + +His first stroke drew blood and forced a shriek of anguish from the +quivering lips of his victim, a sound which extorted a laugh of fiendish +glee from the captain. A second, third, fourth, and fifth lash followed +in slow, deliberate succession, stripping off shreds of skin, and +lacerating the back of the sufferer until it presented a sickening +sight. At the sixth stroke the shrieks ceased, and the man's head +dropped upon his breast. + +At this sight the second mate seemed somewhat startled, and looked up +inquiringly at the captain. + +"Go on," said the latter, with an encouraging nod of the head; "go on +and finish the dose; he's only shamming. Put a little more strength +into your blows, man; I'll be bound you can fetch another howl or two +out of him yet, if you feel inclined." + +Thus incited, the second mate actually proceeded with and completed his +fiendish task, at the end of which the perspiration poured in a stream +down his face, so great had been his exertions. + +But not another cry could he wring from his victim, in spite of all his +efforts--the poor fellow was insensible, and in that condition was cast +off from the grating, and taken below to his hammock. There was no +doctor on board, so the unfortunate seaman was left to the clumsy though +well-meant ministrations of his shipmates, who did the best they could +for him, the captain refusing to supply salve, lint, or in fact anything +else with which to dress his wounds. + +At dinner that evening the captain was urged by some of the passengers +to represent to the commodore of the convoying squadron the +insubordinate condition of the crew, and to request his assistance. +This, however, he positively refused to do, roundly asserting his +ability to command his own ship; but, as a matter of fact, the only +reason for his reluctance to take this step arose out of the conviction +that an inquiry would certainly follow as to the causes of the +insubordination, from which inquiry, as he was very well aware, he and +his officers could hope for nothing but a complete revelation of their +own culpability. + +At the moment that this course was being urged upon the captain in the +saloon, the incident of the flogging, and, indeed, the whole question of +their treatment by their officers, was being discussed on the forecastle +by the men; and, singular to relate, although Talbot was believed by his +officers to be at that instant in irons below, if either of them had +walked forward just then, they would have found him snugly seated on +deck, free, on the fore-side of the windlass, taking an active part in +the discussion. By the time that eight bells had struck, they had fully +made up their minds as to their course of action, and the assembly +quietly dispersed. + +The next day was that on which the gale burst upon the fleet. + +On the signal being made by the _Tremendous_ to "Shorten sail and +prepare for bad weather," the _Princess Royal_ was one of the first to +manifest signs of obedience. She was at the time under every stitch of +canvas she could spread, not because she was a sluggish sailer, for she +was the reverse of that, but because, there being a flat calm, it +mattered not how much or how little canvas was set, it could make no +possible difference in the movements or position of the vessel; and the +captain, seeing here a fine opportunity to impose upon his crew--"by way +of punishment," as he put it to himself and his officers--a great deal +of unnecessary work, ordered all sail, even to the studding-sails, to be +set, for the purpose, as he averred, of giving them an airing. + +The first thing to be done in the way of shortening sail, therefore, was +to take in the studding-sails, which the crew, not being then aware of +the danger which threatened the ship, proceeded to do in a very +leisurely and deliberate fashion. Their next task was to haul down the +smaller staysails, then to clew up and furl royals and topgallantsails. +They were all aloft, in the act of stowing these sails, when the +hurricane burst upon them. They fortunately saw its approach in time to +save themselves, and, leaving the canvas drooping loose from the yards, +hurriedly descended to the deck by way of the backstays, and were +scarcely there when, with the first furious rush of the wind, the three +topmasts went, one after the other in quick succession, the wreckage +falling on deck and lumbering it fore and aft. + +The crew regarded the mishap with stolid satisfaction. The delay which +it would occasion in the prosecution of the voyage was nothing to them; +the ship was stripped of everything above her lower mastheads, leaving +so much the less canvas for her crew to handle, and that was all they +cared about at the moment. A little later on in the day they saw that +if the gale lasted--of which there was every prospect--the loss of her +spars would result in her separation from the remainder of the fleet, +and as they remarked upon this to each other, the men smiled grimly, and +exchanged certain short pithy remarks which, had they been heard by the +occupants of the saloon, would have produced a feeling of grave +uneasiness. + +The crew were, of course, at once set to work to clear away the wreck, +and this they forthwith proceeded to do, for their own sakes, however, +rather than out of respect to the captain's orders, the heavy spars +dashing about the deck with the roll of the ship in a manner which made +it positively dangerous to be there at all. + +By nightfall the rest of the fleet had passed out of sight to the +eastward, scattered like chaff before the angry breath of the hurricane, +and the _Princess Royal_ was left to fight out her battle alone. By +dint of almost superhuman exertions, the shattered spars had been +secured, the main-sail cut away from the yard, and such other +dispositions made as would allow of her being kept dead before the wind, +and out of the trough of the sea during the coming night; and when the +captain took his seat at the head of the saloon-table at dinner that +evening, he was full of boastful exultation over the prompt obedience of +his crew, frequently congratulating his passengers upon their being on +board a ship in charge of such capable officers as himself and his +mates. Of course he did not actually say this in so many words, but the +burden of his remarks amounted to it, and nothing less. + +The second mate had the middle watch on that eventful night, and just +after he had struck four bells, and the wheel had been relieved, he was +inexpressibly scandalised by hearing above the howling of the gale loud +sounds of singing and jocularity on the forecastle. + +Such sounds were of so very unusual a character on board the _Princess +Royal_ that, coupled with the circumstance of their being uttered in the +middle watch of all times in the world, he was at first so astonished as +to be quite unable to believe his own ears. Very soon, however, they +were repeated, one of the men actually breaking into a rollicking song, +the burden of which was an invocation to "Let us all be jolly, boys," +under every conceivable combination of circumstances. + +"Jolly! The scoundrels! How dare they so much as think of such a thing +at a time when they were living under the ban of their officers' severe +displeasure? And the ship a perfect wreck aloft, too!" It was simply +monstrous; the second mate's righteous anger blazed up into full fury at +once, and, advancing to the break of the poop, he roared out in +stentorian tones-- + +"Silence, there, for'ard! What do you mean, you unmannerly swabs, by +disturbing the ship fore and aft with your infernal howling at this time +of night?" + +Either the "unmannerly swabs" had not heard him, or they were so utterly +lost to all sense of the respect due to their officer as to pay no +attention to his polite adjuration, for the song was continued, with +some attempt at a chorus. + +The second mate was not in the habit of speaking twice to those under +him, and he did not attempt to do so now. Drawing his knotted "colt" +out of his pocket, he descended the poop-ladder, and hurried forward as +fast as the heavy rolling of the ship would permit, determined to teach +the "howling thieves" a lesson they would not readily forget. + +Meanwhile, though he was blissfully ignorant of the fact, sharp eyes had +been watching his motions for some time; and his foot was scarcely on +the top step of the poop-ladder when Jim Martin, the owner of a pair of +the aforesaid sharp eyes, exclaimed-- + +"Hurrah, my bullies! Keep it up; here he comes. The shark has bolted +the bait without so much as smelling at it." + +The group of men clustered on the forecastle made a slight restless +movement, as men sometimes will when they are conscious of the approach +of a great crisis in their lives, and the voice of the singer quavered +the merest trifle. Another moment, and the second mate was among them, +his eyes flashing with anger and his colt uplifted to strike. + +"What the deuce?" + +Before he could utter another word, his legs were cut from under him by +the sweeping blow of a handspike, and he fell with a crash to the deck, +the back of his head striking so violently on the planking as to +momentarily stun him. In an instant a belaying-pin was thrust between +his teeth and secured there with a lashing of spun-yarn; and then, +before he had sufficiently recovered to realise his position, he was +turned over on his face, his arms drawn behind him, and his wrists and +ankles firmly lashed together. + +"Very neatly managed," remarked Talbot approvingly, as his gaze rested +on the prostrate figure on the deck. "Now, mates, what's the next move? +Come, Ned," to the boatswain, "you're to be our new skipper, you know; +give us your orders, cap'n, and we'll be `yours obejently.'" + +"Well, then, if you're all agreed upon that, shipmates, my first order +is for one of you--you Tom--to go aft into the saloon and knock at the +`old man's' door [Note 1], and ask him to come on deck at once, as Mr +Thomson have met with a haccident. Two more of you'll wait for him +outside the door, and when he steps out 'pon deck sarve him the same as +you've sarved our respected friend here. Then do the same with Mr +Nicholls (the chief mate)." + +These orders were so skilfully executed, that in a quarter of an hour +the mutineers had the captain and his two _aides_ prisoners--bound and +helpless in their hands, without the slightest alarm having been given +to the other occupants of the saloon. The larboard watch was then +called; and from their first eager questions when aroused it became +evident that the seizure of the ship was a carefully planned affair, of +which all in the forecastle were fully cognisant. + +The seamen having paraded on deck, and been, with the aid of a lantern, +carefully inspected by the boatswain to ascertain that there were no +recreant spirits among them now that the crisis had arrived, each man-- +excepting a half-dozen left in charge of the deck--was provided with a +short length of well-stretched ratline, carrying which, they proceeded +in a body to the saloon, and, entering the state-rooms, surprised in +their sleep and secured without difficulty the whole of the male +passengers, pinioned them firmly, and then, after depriving them of such +weapons as they happened to possess, locked them up in their own cabins. +The ladies were only disturbed so far as was necessary to make them +acquainted with the fact that the ship had changed hands, and that, if +they had only the good sense to acquiesce in the arrangement, they would +be perfectly unmolested. The cook and stewards were also called, and, +having been left in ignorance of the proposed mutiny lest they should +inadvertently let the secret slip, addressed in somewhat similar terms; +whereupon they at once declared their readiness to throw in their lot +with the mutineers, and were forthwith sworn in. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note 1. The master of a merchant-ship is frequently spoken of by his +crew as "the old man," whether his years happen to be few or many. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +LIEUTENANT WALFORD FINDS HIMSELF IN AN EXCEEDINGLY UNPLEASANT POSITION. + +On the morning following the seizure of the _Princess Royal_ by her +misguided crew, the day broke tardily, revealing to the mutineers a +wild, threatening sky, a high and increasing sea, the curling +foam-crests of which raced after the ship menacingly, and an unbroken +horizon all round. Not a solitary sail of any description was visible; +they were alone, at the mercy of the towering mountain-surges, and of +the gale which howled deafeningly past them. The sight which on that +morning presented itself from the poop of the crippled ship was one to +make the stoutest heart quail, to impress the onlooker with an +overpowering sense of his own insignificance compared with Him who holds +the ocean in the hollow of His hand, and of the blasphemous arrogance of +those who would presume to take upon themselves one of the functions of +the Almighty, and, in the blindness of their anger, attempt to mete out +to their fellow-men that justice which it is His alone to repay. + +Yet no such idea presented itself to the mutineers; or, if it did, each +man was careful to conceal it from all the rest. They had been +systematically down-trodden and ill-treated from the commencement of the +voyage; their lives had been made a burden to them; and now--having at +last been provoked into the throwing off of their yoke of insupportable +bondage--they thirsted for revenge upon the authors of their miseries. + +As might be expected, the whole internal economy of the ship was upset +from the moment that she fell into the hands of the mutineers. Their +first act, on the morning in question, was to transfer the male +passengers from the cabin to the forecastle, and to remove their own +belongings aft into the state-rooms thus rendered vacant. The ladies, +of whom, fortunately, there were only half a dozen on board, were +permitted for the present to retain possession of their state-rooms, +being given to understand, however, that it was only upon the express +condition that they were to make no attempt whatever to meddle with the +arrangements of the mutineers, nor to communicate in any way with the +male passengers confined in the forecastle. + +These arrangements completed, Rogers ordered the steward to prepare and +serve to the mutineers in the saloon the best breakfast that the +resources of the ship would allow; the passengers in the forecastle to +be served with such a meal as ordinarily fell to the lot of the seamen; +while the deposed captain and the two mates were to be left entirely +without food of any kind. These orders were carried out to the letter; +the unfortunate ladies being compelled to take their seats as usual at +the breakfast table, and share the meal of the mutineers. + +This being over, the table was cleared; spirits and tobacco were called +for, and Rogers, from his seat at the head of the saloon-table, gave +orders that the captain and the two mates should be brought aft, and put +upon their trial before a court of the whole crew. + +"There's one more as I votes we try at the same time, and that's the +sodger-officer as got poor Dicky Rudd his flogging," observed one of the +men. + +"Very well," assented Rogers, "bring him along, too, mates; I intended +to take him by hisself, but it don't matter; bring the whole four of +'em." + +In a few minutes Captain Arnold, Nicholls the chief mate, and Thomson +the second mate, with Lieutenant Walford, were ushered into the saloon, +handcuffed, and guarded by eight armed mutineers. + +"The prisoners is before the court," announced Talbot, in a loud voice, +anxious to make the proceedings partake as much of the character of a +ceremonial as possible. + +The four men were then ordered to range themselves in line at the foot +of the table, an order which, after a little hesitation, they sullenly +obeyed. + +Meanwhile, the mutineers, having been served with tobacco and brandy, +had lighted their pipes and provided themselves, each man, with a stiff +rummer of grog. A cursory observer would possibly have thought the +scene grotesque; but the four men ranged at the foot of the table +speedily detected in the countenances of their self-constituted judges, +an expression of stern determination which caused their hearts to sink +and their cheeks to blanch with sudden fear. + +A low-toned consultation now ensued between Rogers and those nearest +him, in which Talbot was summoned to take part. At its conclusion the +latter withdrew a little apart, and Rogers, turning to the captain, +said-- + +"Robert Arnold, yours is the first case. Who is the prosecutor?" + +"I am," answered Talbot, "on behalf of the whole crew." + +"Very good," acquiesced Rogers. "Benjamin Talbot, state y'ur case." + +Upon this, Talbot stepped up to the cabin-table and said-- + +"On behalf of the whole crew of this here ship--the _Princess Royal_--I +charges Robert Arnold, late skipper of the same, with havin' treated all +hands before the mast in a most onjustifiable manner. As you're fully +aweer, shipmates, we was short-handed when we left London; and at +Plymouth the men-o'-war robbed us of four of our best hands, makin' us +more short-handed still. Very well. Now what's the dooty of a skipper +to his crew under such sarcumstances as this here? Why, I say his dooty +is to make things as easy as possible for 'em. Instead o' which this +here Robert Arnold, the prisoner as we're tryin', he goes and expects us +to do as much work, and to do it as smartly, as if the ship was fully +manned. And because we couldn't do it--as it stands to reason we +couldn't--he goes and makes _extra_ work for us by way of punishment; he +robs us of our a'ternoon watch below; he stops our grog; he tyrannises +over us in every imaginable way; he treats us like dogs and not like +men, abusin' and bullyin' us, and goin' out of his way to hurt our +feelin's; he refuses to listen to our just complaints; he encourages the +first and second mates to sarve out to us the same sort of treatment as +he gives us hisself, instead of takin' our part and treatin' us with +justice; and he does all this not once in a way only, but from the very +commencement of the v'yage. And, lastly, he orders a sick man to be +flogged; laughs at the poor chap's sufferin's; and refuses to sarve out +the necessaries to dress his wounds a'terwards. That, shipmates, is the +charge I brings against Robert Arnold." + +"You hears the charge agin the prisoner, shipmates all?" observed +Rogers, glancing round the table. "Ben Talbot brings this here charge +in the name of all hands; so, if there's any of yer as disagrees with +what he've said, just stand up like men and say so." + +A profound silence followed, no man making the slightest sign or token +of dissent. "Very well," resumed Rogers; "nobody don't seem to have +anything to say agin the charge. Now, you that _agrees_ with Talbot, +and thinks as he've stated the case fairly, hold up y'ur hands." + +Every hand was at once and unhesitatingly raised at arm's length. + +"Unanermous," pronounced Rogers. "Now, Robert Arnold, you've heard +what's been charged agin yer, and you've seen that all hands of us +agrees that the charge is just. What have yer got to say in y'ur +defence?" + +"Nothing," answered the captain; "except that I utterly disclaim your +right to sit in judgment upon me or to criticise my actions in any +manner whatsoever. Your conduct is in the last degree illegal and +unjustifiable. You are a pack of mutinous scoundrels; and I warn you +that a terrible punishment will surely overtake you if you persist in +your defiance of my authority. If, however, you will return to your +duty and deliver up to us, your duly appointed officers, the ringleaders +in this disgraceful mutiny, I will undertake to overlook this most +serious offence, so far as the rest of you are concerned." + +"You hear what the prisoner says, shipmates," observed Rogers calmly. +"Do you consider as he've made good his defence? Is it your opinion as +he've justified hisself? Them as thinks he have, hold up their hands. +Them as thinks he haven't, stand up." + +The self-constituted judges with one accord rose to their feet. + +"That'll do; you may sit down agin," remarked Rogers. "The prisoner is +found _guilty_. The next question to be settled is the matter of +punishment. Now, there's a many ways of punishing a man, some on 'em +more severe than others. The most severest as I knows is _death_; death +by hangin' from the yard-arm. Them as thinks the prisoner Arnold +deservin' of this punishment, hold up their hands." + +Two or three hands were hesitatingly raised, and, after a slight pause, +lowered again. + +"Do I understand as _everybody_ thinks hangin' too severe?" inquired +Rogers, glancing slowly round the table. "I do,"--as no hands were +shown. "Well then, let's try something else. Perhaps, shipmates, some +of yer's got a hidee as you'd like to put afore the court? If so, let's +hear what it is." + +"I thinks as it would be no more nor he desarves if we was to treat him +for the rest of the v'yage as he've treated us from the beginnin' of it. +He'd know then what it's like, and if he lives long enough to get the +command of another ship, maybe he'll then know better how to treat his +crew," observed one of the men. + +"Not at all a bad idee," commented Rogers. "You've heard what Phil +says; what d'ye think on't?" + +"I thinks it's a capical notion," remarked one. + +"I'm agreeable," intimated another. + +"Ay; let's see how he likes that sort of thing hisself," remarked a +third. + +And so on; all hands intimating their concurrence in the suggestion. + +"Wery good," remarked Rogers, when all had spoken. Then, turning to the +captain, he said-- + +"Robert Arnold, the sentence of this here court is that you'm to be +turned for'ard and conwerted into a `hordinary seaman,' to do a +hordinary seaman's dooties, and to receive just exactly the same +treatment as you've sarved out to the hands since this here ship sailed +from Hold England, namely, more kicks than ha'pence. And the Lord have +mercy on yer miserable carcase!" + +He paused for a moment on concluding this--in his opinion--impressive +address, and then ordered that Arnold should be removed to the +forecastle, and the chief mate brought forward. + +This was done, and as Nicholls, the chief mate, stepped forward in +answer to his name, his ashy pale face, his trepidation of manner, and +his imperfect articulation all showed him to be labouring under a very +agony of fear. + +The charge against him was also preferred by Talbot in pretty much the +same language as was used by that individual in his charge against the +captain; the accusation in the present case, however, being to the +effect that Nicholls, occupying as he did the influential post of chief +mate, had, instead of using his influence with the captain to make +matters as agreeable as possible for the men, countenanced, aided, +abetted, and encouraged his superior in the adoption of a harsh and +tyrannical course of conduct. Upon this charge he was found guilty; and +his sentence was similar to that of the captain's, with the addition +that he was to receive at the gangway twenty-five lashes, well laid on. + +Thomson, the second mate, was now called forward; and the yell of +fiendish delight which greeted him as the bully staggered up to the +cabin-table, fairly caused his teeth to chatter with affright. + +The charge against him was made by Talbot, who plunged eagerly into his +task with a manifest gusto which had been well suppressed in the +previous cases. The indictment was very similar to that preferred +against Nicholls; but, in addition to all that the latter had been +charged with, Talbot rapidly enumerated a long list of wanton cruelties +and petty tyrannies which had sprung spontaneously and unprompted as it +were from the second mate's own evil nature. At the conclusion of +Talbot's address the men, without waiting for Rogers to formally charge +them, sprang eagerly to their feet and clamorously declared the prisoner +guilty. + +The question of punishment was then referred to by Rogers; and the +moment that he ceased to speak, the shout of "Death! Death! Hanging +from the yard-arm," rang through the cabin. "And let him have five +dozen at the gangway before he's strung up, just by way of payin' off +Dicky Rudd's debt with interest," added a voice. The suggestion was +carried by acclamation; and the miserable man was informed that the +sentence against him would be carried into effect at the conclusion of +the trial of the fourth prisoner, Lieutenant Walford, who was now +commanded to stand forward. + +Walford stepped up to the cabin-table with an assumption of firmness +which was completely belied by the ghastly pallor of his countenance and +the convulsive twitching of his white lips. Grasping the table with +both hands, he said in a voice which he in vain attempted to render +steady-- + +"Before you proceed any further in this matter I wish to remind you that +I am merely a _passenger_ on board this ship, and that I have nothing +whatever to do with any quarrel which may exist between you and your +officers. I have heard the charges which you have preferred against +them, and I am wholly at a loss to understand in what way you associate +me with them; you can scarcely suppose, I imagine, that the passengers +would regard themselves as called upon to interfere in the management or +discipline of the ship; for my own part, I have always considered you +quite able to manage your own affairs, and quite capable of putting a +stop to any injustice to which you might be subjected; you never +appealed to me for help, and you therefore ought not to be surprised if +I have held aloof." + +He paused here for a moment and glanced anxiously round the table to +note the effect of his address, and seeing, by the stern expression on +the faces of the men seated at the table, that he had wholly failed to +make a favourable impression, he hastily proceeded to add-- + +"Furthermore, let me remind you that I am an officer and a gentleman, +the wearer of his Most Gracious Majesty's uniform, and in virtue of that +fact I may claim--I _do_ claim--to be in some sort his Majesty's +representative, on board this ship. Any violence or indignity offered +to me, therefore, is tantamount to offering the same to the king +himself; and, as you are all fully aware, to offer indignity or violence +to the king's person is high treason, a crime punishable with death. I +hope, therefore, that you will pause and consider well the consequences +of any hasty action which your present temporary assumption of power +might betray you into, and that, before it is too late, and before you +have too deeply inculpated yourselves, you will see the advisability of +restoring to me my freedom." + +If he expected this appeal to be of any benefit to him he was sorely +disappointed, for the gloomy, repellent expression on the faces of his +judges, was only deepened by his ill-advised address. + +A moment or two of complete silence followed the utterance of his +closing words; and then Rogers, looking him straight in the face, said-- + +"Well, pris'ner, have yer quite finished?" + +"Surely I have said sufficient to demonstrate to you the impolicy, as +well as the injustice, of making me suffer for the faults of others?" +exclaimed Walford. + +"Glad you think so," replied Rogers, with a sardonic grin. "Howsoever," +he continued, "you may keep y'ur mind easy about one thing; we ain't +goin' to make yer `suffer for the faults of others,' as you calls it; +you'll only be made to suffer for faults of y'ur own; and bad enough +you'll find that, I reckon. Now, Ben, what's the charge agin this one?" + +"I charges him," answered Talbot, "with havin' wilfully spoke the words +what got poor Dicky Rudd two dozen lashes at the gangway, when the poor +feller was 'most too sick to stand upright. If he hadn't spoke as +likely as not the skipper had never ha' thought of it, and, so far as +that goes, I believes that all hands of us is agreed that he wouldn't. +Therefore I charges this here pris'ner with bein' the man what acshully +got poor Dicky his floggin'." + +"You hears, pris'ner, what the crew has against yer; what have yer got +to say to it?" interrogated Rogers. + +Walford had evidently either forgotten all about his ill-advised +suggestion, or had believed the crew to be ignorant of it: he seemed to +have thought that the utmost extent of the mutineers' complaint against +him would be that he had not interfered in their behalf. When therefore +he heard the charge against him, and realised the fact that he was +wholly in their power, and utterly at their mercy, his courage--which at +the best of times was only of a very flimsy and unreliable character-- +utterly gave way; he involuntarily turned his eyes for a moment upon the +miserable second mate; recalled the fact that the wretched man had been +doomed to a speedy and degrading death by the same individuals who were +now sitting in judgment upon him; and a shameful panic took possession +of him. An uncontrollable shivering fit seized his frame, he was +obliged to clench his teeth together, to prevent them from chattering +audibly; he glanced wildly round him as if seeking for some means of +escape; and, after two or three ineffectual efforts to speak, he managed +to gasp out brokenly through his clenched teeth and quivering lips-- + +"I--I--I give you--my--my sacred word of honour, gen-gentlemen, that I +was o-only in--jest. I nev-never believed for a--a moment that +Cap-t-tain Arnold would t-take my remark seriously, or I as-sure you I +would n-n-ever have uttered it. And besides, I re-real-ly believed that +your--friend R-R-udd was--was only sh-h--er--ah--I beg your pardon +gentlemen, I sc-scarcely know what I am saying, but--oh, gentlemen I +don't be hard upon me--have mercy upon me, for God's sake! Spare my +life, and you may do with me what you will." + +He ceased, from sheer physical inability to utter another word, and, +sinking upon his knees, stretched forth his quaking hands in a mute +appeal for mercy. + +This disgraceful exhibition of cowardice was _almost_ successful in +winning for Walford an ignominious release. The mutineers were so +unutterably disgusted that, for a moment, their impulse was to kick him +out of the cabin like a craven hound and henceforward ignore his +existence. But this impulse lasted only for a moment; they recalled to +mind the insolent arrogance with which this same cowering creature had +treated them when he deemed himself secure from retaliation; and they +determined that, while his miserable life was not worth the taking, he +should still receive so salutary a lesson as should effectually deter +him from any repetition of the offence for the remainder of his life. + +"Well, shipmates," exclaimed Rogers, breaking the painful silence which +had followed Walford's shameful appeal, "what d'ye think? Is the +pris'ner guilty or not guilty?" + +"_Guilty_!" was the unanimous declaration of the assembly. + +"Guilty? In course he is. And what's the punishment to be? Death?" + +"Oh, no! Not death--not death, gentlemen. For the love of God, spare +my life; I am not fit to die; I am not indeed. You see how young a man +I am; why, I have never yet thought about dying. Mercy! mercy!" +shrieked the miserable wretch as he grovelled on his knees before them, +and sought to clasp the knees of the man nearest him--an attempt which +was repulsed with an oath, a look of unutterable loathing, a kick, and a +brutal blow on the mouth. + +"Come, lads, speak up," urged Rogers, wholly unmoved by the +interruption, "say what the punishment's to be, and let's have done with +it. I'm sick of this here, I am." + +"Well," said Talbot, stepping forward, "I wotes that the prisoner be +first made to go and axe poor Dicky's pardon. If he can't get it, why, +let's string him up at the yard-arm to balance t'other one. But if +Dicky likes to forgi'e him, well, we'll spare his life and redooce his +punishment to two dozen at the gangway--same as he got for Rudd--and +make him do Rudd's dooty 'til the poor chap's better; arter which the +prisoner can be set to do all the dirty work o' the ship. How's that, +shipmates?" + +"Ay, ay, Ben; that'll do, bo', that'll do fust-rate. And he may thank +his lucky stars at bein' let off so precious easy," was Rogers' reply; +in which the remainder of the men laughingly acquiesced. + +"Then you'd better step this way at once, young feller," remarked Talbot +to the miserable Walford, "and see what you can do with poor Dicky. If +he won't forgive yer, mind, it's all up with yer." + +So saying he opened the door of the state-room in which Rudd was lying, +thrust his victim into the apartment, and closed the door upon him. + +The state-room into which Walford was thus unceremoniously ushered was +divided from the saloon by a bulkhead with a door in it, the upper panel +of which was fitted with sloping slats like those of the Venetian +window-blinds of the present day; it was perfectly easy, therefore, for +an occupant of the state-room to hear all that passed in the saloon, and +_vice versa_. As a matter of fact, Rudd, who was lying in his berth, +broad awake, _had_ heard every word uttered during the course of the +trial, and shrewdly suspecting that his shipmates were more anxious to +thoroughly frighten than to actually hurt their fourth prisoner, and +having, moreover, a trifling personal grudge against the man who had +secured for him his flogging, he determined to have a little amusement +at Walford's expense before according to him the pardon which he knew +his shipmates expected of him. When, therefore, Walford staggered up to +the side of the berth, and began eagerly and incoherently to stammer +forth the most abject apologies and the wildest prayers for forgiveness, +Rudd simply growled forth an oath and impatiently flung himself over in +the berth with his back to the petitioner. This had the intended effect +of causing Walford's apologies and prayers to be reiterated with +increased eagerness and incoherence, to the hearty amusement of the men +in the saloon. + +At length Talbot opened the state-room door, and, thrusting in his head, +said roughly-- + +"Here, come out of that, mister; you've worried poor Dicky quite long +enough. If he won't forgive yer, why, he _won't_, and that settles it. +You've had a fair chance to see what you could do with him, and you've +failed; we decided to give yer a quarter of a hour, and the time's up; +so out you comes; d'ye hear?" + +The next moment Walford was seized by the collar, and was being dragged +roughly enough out of the state-room, when Rudd, pretending to relent, +called out-- + +"There, take him away, Ben; but don't be too hard on him; I forgives him +just this once, and I hopes he won't never do it again." + +Walford, upon hearing these words, which seemed to him a reprieve from +the very jaws of death, broke away from Talbot's grasp, and, rushing +back to the side of the berth, seized Rudd's hand, kissed it wildly, and +burst into an uncontrollable passion of tears, in the midst of which he +was hustled unceremoniously out on deck. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +A DOUBLE TRAGEDY. + +A moment or two in the open air sufficed to settle in some measure +Walford's disordered faculties and to restore to him his reason, of +which he had been pretty nearly bereft by the terror of the preceding +half-hour. + +He found himself in the midst of the--by this time--more than +half-intoxicated seamen, none of whom appeared to be paying much +attention to him, for they were all talking loudly together, discussing +and arranging the details of the punishment of those whom they chose to +regard as the two chief offenders. + +The men were all greatly excited by the potations in which they had +freely indulged during the mockery of a trial in the saloon, and their +differences of opinion on some points were so strong that at one moment +the proceedings seemed more than likely to be diversified by a pitched +battle. Rogers, however, whose head seemed capable of resisting the +effects of almost any amount of liquor, interposed between the +belligerents, and by a determined exercise of his newly-acquired +authority, and by most frightful threats of the chastisement which he +personally would inflict on the first man who ventured to disobey him, +succeeded at length in restoring some semblance of order. This +achieved, he ordered a grating to be rigged in the larboard gangway, and +that, when this was done, the chief mate should be seized thereto. + +His orders were speedily carried out; and when the man Nicholls, +stripped to the waist, was firmly lashed to the grating in readiness to +receive his punishment, Rogers ordered that the second mate should be +brought to him. + +The miserable Thomson was thereupon led before him, and a more wretched +spectacle than this man presented it would be difficult to find. His +old blustering, bullying, overbearing manner had completely deserted +him; the fear of death was upon him; and he shivered like a man in an +ague-fit. + +"You Thomson," said Rogers, addressing him in a calm matter-of-fact tone +of voice, as if what he was about to say had reference only to some +trifling everyday affair, "you was present at the trial of that man +Nicholls as stands seized up to yonder grating, and you knows the +punishment as it was decided for to give him. It was five and twenty +lashes, well laid on; you hears that, _well laid on_. Wery good. Now, +this here same man Nicholls, it seems to me, is in a sort o' way to +blame for getting _you_ into your trouble. If he'd been a proper sort +of man, understandin' that he owed a dooty to the _crew_ as well as to +the owners of the ship, instead of encouraging you in your goin's-on +agin us, he'd have took you o' one side, and he'd ha' said to you, `Look +here, Thomson, my good feller, you mustn't be too hard upon them poor +sailor-men for'ard; you knows as they don't muster a full-handed crew, +and so it don't stand to reason as they can do so much as if they _was_ +full-handed; they're a decent enough willin' lot of men, and we mustn't +axe too much from 'em. Just keep that in mind, and make things as easy +as you can for 'em.' If he'd been a proper sort of man, I say, he'd +have said some'at of that sort to you, now wouldn't he? And you'd have +listened to him, and then you wouldn't have been in this here precious +scrape as you're in now, would you?" + +"You're right, Rogers; I should not," eagerly exclaimed Thomson, his +eyes lighting up with a gleam of fresh hope, as he thought he detected +in the boatswain's speech some signs of relenting. "If Mr Nicholls had +only put the matter to me as you have just now put it, I should never +have given a single man of you the slightest reason for complaint +against me. But he never did anything of the kind; on the contrary, +both he and Captain Arnold encouraged me to believe you an idle, +worthless lot of scamps, and to treat you as such. And that is the +plain, simple truth, I swear it." + +"Wery good," commented Rogers. "Then, you see, Thomson, you and us +thinks alike, namely, that Nicholls in a kind of a sort of a way led you +into this here miserable scrape. That bein' the case, we thinks it'll +be only fair if _you_ gives him the twenty-five lashes--_well laid on_-- +that the court have condemned him to receive." + +Thomson looked eagerly into the face of the boatswain, hoping that in +this proposal he saw a commutation of his death-sentence. Rogers +returned the gaze with a look of grim satisfaction, which the second +mate mistook for a half-drunken leer of benevolence; and, anxious above +all things to propitiate this man, who undoubtedly held the power of +life and death in his hands, he excitedly exclaimed-- + +"I'll do it! Give me the cat, and you shall have _no_ cause to complain +of the way in which I will execute your sentence." + +"All right; that's a bargain," agreed Rogers. Then, turning to the rest +of the mutineers, he ordered them to fetch all hands on deck to witness +punishment, "All hands exceptin' the ladies, I mean; they'd be shocked +at the sight, pretty dears, and we must take care as they don't see nor +hear nothin' as'd shock 'em, sweet, delicate creeturs," he added with a +contemptuous laugh, which was echoed by his comrades as they staggered +forward to drag the male passengers on deck. + +In a few minutes these were all mustered, Walford contriving, seemingly +without attracting attention, to mingle with them and take up an +unobtrusive position, from which he intended, if possible, to quietly +effect a retreat at the first convenient opportunity. + +When all was at length ready, the scene which presented itself was a +sufficiently curious one. + +The chief object of the picture was, of course, the figure of the +unhappy chief mate, who, naked to the waist, stood firmly lashed to the +grating, with arms and legs wide spread in the orthodox attitude of a +man about to be flogged. Opposite him, and some four or five feet +distant, stood Thomson, his coat and vest laid aside, his shirt-sleeves +rolled above his elbows, and the cat in his hand, with the knotted tails +prone upon the deck. Around these two figures, in a compact ring, stood +the gentlemen passengers and the captain of the ship, a group of +unwilling spectators of the outrage about to be inflicted; whilst +outside them again, and completely hemming them in beyond all +possibility of escape, crowded the half-drunken mutineers, armed to the +teeth, and bandying brutal and obscene jests back and forth. Then there +was the huge bulk of the disabled ship, surging madly forward like a +hunted creature dizzy and reeling with terror, her spacious decks +knee-deep in the water which was incessantly pouring in over her +bulwarks as she rolled gunwale-under; and for a background the +mountainous seas careering swiftly past, with their lofty crests +towering high and menacingly all round the ship, and the leaden-hued, +stormy sky. + +The deep and painful silence which prevailed was broken by Rogers' harsh +voice remarking-- + +"Now, Thomson, you knows your dooty, which is to give the pris'ner on +the gratin' five and twenty lashes, _well laid on_. So go ahead, my +man, and let's see if you can't make him yell a bit louder than you did +poor Dicky Rudd." + +Thomson glanced at the speaker and nodded. The hope which he +entertained of an eventual escape from death had thrown him into a state +of terrible excitement, bordering almost upon madness; his ghastly +pallor had vanished, and was now superseded by a deep purplish tinge, +resulting from the violent rush of blood to the head; the veins upon his +forehead stood out like cords, his eyes glowed like those of a wild +animal, and his jaws were flecked with foam streaked with blood, which +trickled from a wound in his lower lip, where in his terrible excitement +he had unconsciously bitten it through. + +This frenzied creature nodded his comprehension of Rogers' command, and, +gathering himself up like an animal about to make a spring, he drew the +tails of the cat slowly through his closed left hand, measured his +distance carefully, and, making a quick bound forward, brought the nine +knotted lashes down upon the mate's naked shoulders with a demoniac +strength which seemed to literally bury them in the quivering flesh. +The mate responded to this with a sharp yell, which was greeted by the +mutineers with mocking laughter, Rogers remarking to Thomson that, "That +was pretty well; but, you know, you can do a deal better'n that." The +second stroke--but why go further with the description of the sickening +scene? Let it suffice to say that when the inanimate body of the mate +was cast loose from the grating, it bore the appearance of having been +mangled by the teeth and claws of some savage beast rather than by a +human being. + +"So far, so good," observed Rogers. "That ends act the first. Now, +Thomson, it's your turn, you know. Strip, my boy, without makin' any +bones about it; and let's see if you can take y'ur punishment any +better'n your superior hossifer." + +The man spoke in a rallying tone of such geniality that Thomson grew +more sanguine than ever as to the remission of the more serious part of +his sentence, and, with a ghastly grin in response to Rogers' +patronising smile, he began to slowly strip. He even, after drawing his +shirt over his head, summoned the courage to walk up to the grating, +and, leaning his body upon it, to spontaneously stretch out his arms and +legs to the proper position. + +When the wretched man was securely "spread-eagled" on the grating, +Talbot and another man were ordered to step forward and administer the +flogging, which they did, relieving each other at the completion of +every dozen lashes, until the entire fifty had been inflicted. The +punishment was terribly severe; but the intense excitement under which +the second mate laboured enabled him to retain his consciousness +throughout, and even to stand without assistance on being cast loose. A +stiff "reviver" of grog was administered to him by Rogers' order, and he +was then told to dress himself. + +The critical moment was now at hand when the miserable Thomson's state +of torturing suspense was to cease, when he would know for certain +whether these men were actually relentless, or whether, having already +wreaked an ample vengeance upon him, they would be content to ignore the +remainder of his sentence; which, after all, he was more than +half-inclined to believe was nothing but a cruel hoax, arranged +beforehand for the purpose of giving him a good fright. + +Hopeful as he was, however, upon this score, he could not help feeling +terribly anxious; and it was with the utmost difficulty that he +controlled his quaking nerves sufficiently to replace his clothing +without assistance. During the time that he was thus engaged, the +circle which hemmed him in was maintained unbroken; the mutineers +watching his motions with strong interest, and indulging freely in +jocular comments and jeering encouragement as he winced and shrank at +the chafe of his clothing on his lacerated back and shoulders. + +At length he stood once more before them, fully clothed, his eyes +glowing like carbuncles, his visage blanched, and his whole frame +quivering with pain and the tensity of excitement and suspense. + +"Wery good, Thomson; wery good indeed," remarked Rogers approvingly; +"you've showed a great deal more pluck than any of us have ever give you +credit for--so far. If you only behaves as well for the next ten +minutes, we shall feel quite a respec' for y'ur mem'ry. Now, shipmates, +and pris'ners all, for'ard we goes, to carry out the second part of the +sentence." + +At the word, two of the mutineers stepped forward, and, placing +themselves one on each side of the second mate, linked their arms in his +and led him forward, halting him just beneath the fore-yard; the +remainder of the crowd following in a body and forming in a circle round +him as before. Then, at Rogers' command, one of the mutineers separated +himself from the main body, and in the course of a minute or two was +seen leisurely ascending the fore-rigging with a tail-block in one hand +and the end of a coil of light line in the other. + +Thomson glanced upward at this man, and like a lightning-stroke the +conviction flashed upon him that his doom _was_ indeed sealed--that the +death-sentence passed upon him was no grim and ghastly piece of +jocularity, no hoax practised upon him to test his courage, but that it +was spoken in cruel and bitter earnest. For a second or two his heart +stood still, his head swam, his sight failed him, and a feeling of +horrible nausea oppressed him. He realised at last that he was about to +die; that, standing there on that reeling deck as he did in the full +strength and prime of lusty manhood, with all his energies mental and +physical at their best, the sands of his life had so nearly run out that +the few last grains were even now falling in the hour-glass of his fate. +Then, in a single instant, the whole of his past life rose up before +him, with every thought, word, and deed clearly and sharply reproduced. +And, as it did so, the present world and all its concerns, its petty +aspirations, ambitions, hopes, and strivings, dwindled away into the +most contemptible insignificance; his mental vision cleared; he saw how +full had been his life of great and noble possibilities--as are the +lives of all of us, would we but allow ourselves to see that it is so-- +and he saw, too, how completely he had missed his mark; how very far his +own evil passions had led him astray from the narrow and seldom-trodden +path which, faithfully followed, leads to that highest possible +attainment of humanity--True Goodness. + +Ah! how bitterly he repented him then of all his lost, or rather his +cast-away, opportunities. From his earliest youth he had chosen to +follow evil rather than good; he had turned persistently away from the +right; and now there was neither time nor opportunity left him for +reparation. The utter blankness and uselessness of his life stood +revealed to him as one long, unbroken, unanswerable accusation; and, in +his mad despair, he suddenly dashed aside the two men who held him in +their custody, sprang with a single bound to the rail, and, placing his +hands upon the top of the topgallant-bulwark, vaulted clear over it +before a single hand could be outstretched to restrain him, and with a +yell which evermore rang in the ears of those who heard it, threw up his +hands and vanished for ever into the dark and terrible depths of his +ocean-grave. + +The little crowd of spectators stood for a few moments silent and almost +stupefied at this sudden and tragic disappearance of the second mate +from their midst. The occurrence was so totally unexpected that it in a +measure sobered the mutineers, who regarded each other with some such +expression as that of a group of school-boys terrified at the sudden +occurrence of some disaster, the result of their own mischievous acts, +and each anxious to shift the blame and responsibility from his own +shoulders to those of the others. + +The first to recover his self-possession was Rogers, who exclaimed with +an obviously forced laugh-- + +"Well, curse me if that ain't a good un! What, in the name of all +that's foolish, made the man do that? He might ha' _knowed_ as we was +only goin' to frighten him a bit. You'll bear me out, shipmates, that +we was all agreed to go no further than the frightenin' of him a bit, +and meant to let him off arter we'd made fast the rope, and let him +stand with it round his neck a minute or two. Now, ain't them there the +facts o' the case?" + +"Ay, ay, Ned; you're right, bo'; that's just exactly how't was," was the +reply. + +"Nevertheless," answered Captain Arnold sternly, "you are as much +murderers, every one of you, as if you had hanged the man--as you seemed +about to do--or had taken him up and flung him over the side with your +own hands. You _drove_ him to his death; his blood is upon your hands; +and you will individually be called upon to answer for your accursed +deed, if not in this world, certainly in the next." + +The men cowered like whipped hounds before the captain's denunciation, +which they knew in their inmost souls to be just; for an instant they +stood appalled before the awful conviction that they were indeed +_murderers_, none the less guilty because their crime was unintentional; +and, but for the swift intervention of Rogers, they would there and +then, in their horror and remorse, have yielded up possession of the +ship, and returned to their duty. But the boatswain, taking in at a +glance the critical state of affairs, and fully realising his own +perilous position as the ring-leader in the mutiny, rallied his men by +exclaiming-- + +"There now, belay all that, you Arnold; we wants none of _your_ +preachin', and, what's more, we won't have it. And, shipmates, don't +you take no notice of what he says; we never _meant_ to take the second +mate's life; we'd ha' stopped him from drownin' hisself if we could; and +so it's just all gammon to talk about our bein' his--his--murderers. +Now march the pris'ners down into the fo'c's'le again; clap the bilboes +on 'em; shut down the scuttle upon 'em; and then come aft into the +cabin, all hands, and we'll `freshen the nip.'" + +This proposal to "freshen the nip"--or take another glass or two of +grog--was eagerly welcomed by the mutineers, who felt that they _must_ +have something to dispel those qualms of conscience which so greatly +disturbed them; and in another quarter of an hour they were all--with +the exception of two men at the wheel and one on the poop, who was +supposed to be acting as lookout--once more assembled round the +saloon-table, busily endeavouring to drown their sense of guilt in a +flood of liquor. + +The ladies--who had long before effected a retreat to their own +state-rooms, where they had locked themselves in--were for some time +allowed to remain unmolested; but when the libations in which the +mutineers liberally indulged had at last achieved their desired effect, +and the spirits of the men began to rise, one of the most reckless of +them proposed that the ladies should be invited to grace the revel with +their presence. The proposal was received with acclamation, and the +unhappy women were forthwith ordered into the saloon. The poor +terrified creatures at first made no response, hoping that if no notice +were taken of them the intoxicated mutineers would forget all about +them, and leave them in peace. But this hope was of short duration, for +the mutineers, drinking deep and rapidly, soon grew excited, and, +finding their repeated demands of no avail, staggered to their feet, +and, breaking open the state-room doors, dragged forth their victims, +compelling them to seat themselves at the same table and partake with +them of the liquor with which it was bountifully supplied. The scene +which followed is simply too shameful for detailed description. The +men, inflamed by drink and rendered reckless by a feeling which none of +them could entirely shake off--that they had already offended past all +forgiveness--speedily grew more and more outrageous in their behaviour, +until the orgie became one of such unbridled licence that one of the +ladies--the young and lovely wife of one of the passengers imprisoned in +the forecastle--in her desperation drew a pistol from the belt of the +man nearest her, and, quickly cocking it, placed the muzzle to her +breast, pulled the trigger, and sank upon the saloon floor a corpse, +shot through the heart. + +This second fatality, more sudden if possible than the first, brought +the unholy revel to an abrupt conclusion; the mutineers, thoroughly +horrified at the occurrence, notwithstanding their drunken condition, +staggering to their feet with one accord, and making the best of their +way out on deck, where they sought to sober themselves by plunging their +heads into buckets of water. + +Having to some extent succeeded in this endeavour, they next bethought +themselves of the desirability of putting the ship to rights. It was +still blowing very heavily, and the sea was higher than ever-- +dangerously so indeed, as the ship had more than once narrowly escaped +being pooped--but the sky looked a trifle less wild than before, and the +glass was rising. Rogers therefore determined, as a first step, to get +up a new foresail, bend, and set it. The sail-room was accordingly +opened, and then, in pursuance of their resolution to do as little work +as possible themselves, the prisoners in the forecastle were brought up +on deck, and ordered, first to rouse out the sail, and then to go aloft +and bend it. This the unfortunate passengers, aided and directed by the +captain, at length accomplished, though it was at the imminent risk of +their lives, the violent motion of the ship momentarily threatening to +send them--unaccustomed as they were to such work--whirling off the yard +into the sea. The sail being bent, it was loosed and set, close-reefed; +after which the disabled ship not only steered more easily, but also +became more steady; all further danger, too, of being pooped was at an +end. + +The spare spars were next cast adrift, and preparations made for getting +new topmasts on end as soon as the weather should moderate sufficiently; +and thus passed that eventful day. + +Walford was soon found to be so exceedingly timid when aloft, that he +was not only of no use there, he was absolutely a clog and hindrance to +the efforts of the others; he was accordingly relegated to the +ignominious post of cook's mate, in which an abundance of the dirtiest +work was carefully provided for him. + +On the second day after his assumption of his new duties, this +unfortunate individual, while engaged in the task of getting up coals +from the fore-peak, was unlucky enough to capsize the lamp which he was +using, and so set the ship on fire. Instead of giving the alarm +instantly, as he ought to have done, he rushed on deck with the +intention of getting some buckets of water, and endeavouring to +extinguish the fire unaided. No sooner, however, did he make his +appearance than he was hustled peremptorily off by the cook upon another +errand; and when he returned, a quarter of an hour later, the forecastle +was all ablaze, and the smoke just beginning to curl up through the +scuttle. + +Then indeed he shouted "Fire!" with all his might, and at the terrible +cry all hands rushed forward, to find the alarm only too true. + +In the first mad hurry and confusion, no one seemed to think of +inquiring how the fire had originated; and Walford was beginning to +congratulate himself that, whatever happened, his complicity would not +be suspected, when Talbot, happening to run up against him, stopped +abruptly, and exclaimed-- + +"Ha! you lubber, I saw _you_ creeping up and down the forecastle ladder +just now, as gingerly as a cat walking upon hot bricks--you ought to +know something about this job--and by Jove you do, too; I can see it by +the blink of your eyes--so out with it, you long-shore lantern-jawed son +of a baked monkey." + +To this elegant adjuration Walford began to stammer out an exculpatory +explanation, which, however, was abruptly nipped in the bud by the +boatswain's mate exclaiming-- + +"There, belay all that and coil up the slack of your jawing-tackle; +there's no time to talk now; tail on there and try to make yourself +useful. But look out, my lad if this fire gets the upper hand of us; +curse me, if we don't leave you to roast in it." + +A vigorous attack upon the fire was speedily organised, Rogers and +Talbot each taking command of a separate party, which they were careful +so to arrange that there should be no possibility of their prisoners +concerting together in a successful attempt to retake the ship. So far, +however, as the passengers were concerned, they appeared to be far too +anxious to subdue the flames to have time for any other thought or +consideration. + +All through the ensuing night this curiously-constituted party laboured +in their efforts to get the upper hand of the fire; but it had been +allowed to obtain too firm a hold upon the ship before the alarm was +given; much of the cargo was of a highly combustible nature, and though, +by the zeal and energy with which all hands worked, they succeeded to +some extent in retarding the progress of the flames, when day at length +broke, it became apparent to all that the ship was doomed. + +When at last they were compelled, from sheer exhaustion, to desist for a +time from their long-continued and fatiguing efforts, the fact--which +had hitherto escaped their notice--became apparent that, happily, the +gale had blown itself out; the wind had already dropped considerably, +and the sea, though it was still very high, no longer broke in its +former dangerous and menacing fashion. + +Upon seeing this, Rogers at once came to the determination not to waste +any further labour in the useless endeavour to save the ship, but to +devote all his energies to the getting of the boats safely into the +water. The mutineers were by this time perfectly sober once more, and +having shaken off with their intoxication the recklessness which it had +engendered, they felt keenly anxious to escape the responsibility of any +further waste of human life. + +But, as usual in such cases, their own escape, not only from the danger +of being burnt with the ship, but also from the punishment due to their +misdeeds, was of paramount importance with them. Before commencing, +therefore, upon the difficult task of launching the boats, Rogers +informed his unfortunate prisoners that he was willing to give them a +couple of boats, with all necessary provisions and water, if they would +individually take a solemn oath never to reveal any of the circumstances +connected with the mutiny, nor to say or do anything which would place +the mutineers within the power of the law. If they would do this, they +might have the boats; if not, he informed them that they would be left +on board the burning ship, and that the mutineers would take such +measures as would effectually preclude any possibility of escape. Under +the circumstances the prisoners had no alternative but to comply, which +they did, and the launching of the boats was then vigorously proceeded +with. + +This task, after an immense amount of difficulty, and two or three +exceedingly narrow escapes from the accident of having the boats stove +or swamped, was at length satisfactorily accomplished; after which no +time was lost in provisioning and manning them. + +As soon as the boats were ready to receive them, the ladies were +summoned from the saloon to take their places therein. The poor +creatures could hardly be persuaded, in their terror and distraction, to +leave even such inefficient protection as the saloon afforded them, so +great was their horror and repugnance at the idea of being brought once +more, even though it might be for ever so short a time, into the +presence and propinquity of the mutineers. And when at length they +emerged from the saloon, and, standing upon the wet and slippery deck, +glanced first aloft at the splintered spars, the tattered remains of the +sails, and the ends and bights of rope streaming in the wind, then at +the great tongues of flame and clouds of smoke which enwrapped the +forepart of the ship, and, lastly, over the side at the boats tossing +like egg-shells upon the mountainous seas which swept hissing past, +their courage entirely failed them; and it was not until Rogers, growing +impatient at the delay, strode up to them and gave them the choice of +going instantly and without further ado over the side and into the +boats, or of being left behind altogether, that they could be persuaded +to essay the dangerous adventure. + +At length, however, by the exercise of great care and circumspection on +the part of all concerned, the trans-shipment of the ladies was safely +effected, and then the gentlemen were ordered to go. The husband of the +unhappy lady who had been so cruelly driven to suicide had been for some +time eagerly looking about for his wife, and, not seeing her, he at last +made inquiry of the other ladies as to her whereabouts. His grief, when +the dreadful news of her death was gradually broken to him with all that +gentleness of which a woman's tender, loving heart alone is capable, was +something pitiful to witness; he rushed into the saloon, and entering +the state-room in which the poor lady's inanimate body had been +reverently deposited by her companions in misfortune, flung himself upon +his knees by the side of the berth, and uttered alternately the wildest +prayers that heaven would pardon her act of desperation, and the +bitterest curses upon the heads of those who had driven her to it. It +was with the utmost difficulty that he was at last persuaded by Captain +Arnold to bid an eternal farewell to the beloved remains, and to join +the rest of the party in the boats allotted to them. + +On hearing the order given for the gentlemen to pass down into the +boats, Walford mingled with the group and pressed quietly forward to the +gangway, having a vivid remembrance of Talbot's terrible threat, and not +caring to remind him of it by a too obtrusive exhibition of his anxiety +to escape. But in consequence of the still heavy run of the sea, +several of the mutineers--both Rogers and Talbot being among them--were +assisting at the transfer; and when Walford's turn came to pass down +over the side, he was summarily ordered back by the boatswain's mate, +who gruffly exclaimed, as his eye fell upon the quaking lieutenant-- + +"Here, you! stand back, will yer? Your turn ain't come yet." + +Walford at once fell back, in a state of most painful trepidation, but +still hopeful that he would be allowed to go with the rest. When all +the passengers but himself, however, had passed down the side, the order +was given for them to cast off, which they at once did, ignorant or +forgetful of the fact that one of their number still remained behind. +Walford was about to rush to the gangway, and hail the fast receding +boat, when the ever-watchful Talbot caught him by the collar, and flung +him from him with an "Ah! would yer," and a kick which sent the +unfortunate officer sprawling upon the deck. + +It was now the turn of the mutineers to take to the boats, and it was +not long before they stood in the gangway, each with the bag containing +his few belongings in his hand, waiting to be passed in turn down over +the side. Rogers rapidly ran his eye over them, satisfied himself that +everybody was present, and then began to call out their names in the +order in which they were to leave the ship. When one boat had received +its complement and shoved off, Walford once more pressed forward, half +wild with anxiety now, and begged in piteous terms that he might not be +left on board, as now seemed to be the actual determination of the +mutineers. Upon this Talbot lost all patience with him, and, seizing +him once more by the collar, thrust him before him into the saloon, +exclaiming as he did so-- + +"Now look here, you meddlesome young jackanapes, there's been enough +blood spilt on board this ship already--chiefly in consekence of your +havin' shoved in your oar where it weren't wanted, and advisin' the +skipper to flog a sick man--and I don't want to have to shed any more, +you understand? Wery well, then; you stay in here until that there +clock have marked off a good half-hour; arter that you may come out and +do the best you can for yourself; there's plenty o' spars knockin' about +the decks here, which you can lash together, and make a tip-top raft out +of 'em, upon which you can go for a cruise on your own account; but if +you shows your ugly head outside this here cabin before the half-hour's +out, damn me if I won't lash your neck and heels together, and heave you +into the middle of the fire there for'ard. Comprenny?" + +So saying, he coolly shifted the key from the inside to the outside of +the saloon-door, slammed the latter, turned the key, and then the +wretched Walford heard the heavy tramp of his footsteps upon the deck +rapidly growing fainter and more faint as he walked away. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +DRIVEN TO MADNESS. + +As the key turned in the lock, Walford sank down in a state of +semi-stupefaction upon one of the saloon sofas, listening like one in a +dream to the distant sound of the men's voices and the occasional tramp +of feet, as the mutineers passed, one by one, down the ship's side into +the boats. A few minutes more and these sounds ceased. He lifted up +his head, listening eagerly; but he could hear nothing, save the dismal +creaking of the bulkheads, the moaning of the wind, the monotonous +_swish, swish_ of the water washing across the deck outside with the +roll of the ship, and the dull hum and crackling of the flames as they +slowly ate their destructive way further and further into the heart of +the doomed craft. + +"Were they actually gone?" he asked himself. "Was it possible that he +was left alone, absolutely _alone_ on that burning wreck, thousands of +miles from the nearest land, drifting he knew not whither at the mercy +of wind and wave, with no hope of rescue and with the certainty that in +a day or two at most the fabric which bore him would be so completely +enveloped in the flames kindled by his own clumsiness that it would no +longer be tenable, and the only alternative open to him would be that of +perishing in the fire or flinging himself into the sea, there to battle +despairingly for an extra hour or two of life?" He could not believe +it, he _would_ not believe it possible that men could be found so +inhuman as to leave a fellow-mortal in so desperate a strait; they were +only trying him, as they had tried that poor fellow Thomson; and if he +would but have patience to wait until the stipulated half-hour had +passed, he would find them still there, waiting to receive him into the +boat. He laughed aloud, as he thought what a fool he had been to allow +himself to be terrified even for a moment, but the laugh was so utterly +the reverse of mirthful, so harsh and ghastly, that he stopped abruptly, +startled by the hideous strangeness of the sounds. Then he rose and +crept on tip-toe towards the saloon-door, and, on reaching it, crouched +down and applied first his eye and then his ear to the key-hole. The +key had been removed from the lock and the shield had fallen down over +the opening outside, so that he was unable to see anything; neither +could he detect any sounds indicative of the presence of others on +board. Once or twice indeed he _thought_ he caught the sound of +whispered voices just outside the door, but he could not be sure about +the matter; and in an agony of uncertainty he crept back to the sofa to +watch the lagging minute-hand of the clock, and wait for the expiration +of the half-hour. + +Oh! what a weary time was that for the lonely watcher, as he sat there +with his hands tightly locked together, his frame quivering with anxiety +and apprehension, and his eyes fixed upon that inexorable minute-hand, +which would not hasten its movement, though his life might be dependent +on it. What if the men should grow weary of waiting? A thousand +horrible fancies crowded in upon him, until in his distraction he +groaned aloud. The suspense became unendurable; and in his anguish he +started up to burst open the saloon-door and learn the worst at once, +but (remembering Talbot's threat, and more than half-believing him to be +capable of carrying it into execution) turned back again and fell to +pacing rapidly to and fro the whole length of the saloon instead. + +At last! at last! the half-hour of penance was over, and he was free +once more. He dashed at the locked saloon-door, and, frantically +hammering upon it with his clenched firsts until his knuckles streamed +with blood, shouted eagerly-- + +"Talbot! Talbot! the half-hour is up; so open the door, please, and let +me out, there's a good fellow." + +Then he applied his ear to the key-hole, listening eagerly for the first +sound of approaching footsteps. + +Five seconds--ten seconds--twenty--thirty--a minute; why did they not +come? Was it possible that they had not heard him? He applied his +mouth to the joint between the door and its jamb, and again shouted, +"Talbot! _Talbot_! _Talbot_!" until his voice cracked with the strain +he put upon it. Still no answer, no sound save the wail of the wind, +the wash of the water, and the creaking of the ship's timbers. "Good +God! were they really gone? _Was_ he, after all, actually left there to +die alone?" He seized the handle of the door and tugged at it, +fiercely, desperately, with the strength of a madman; but the stout lock +stood firm, defying his utmost efforts. Then he suddenly remembered +that the captain's cabin was situated on the other side of the ship, +with one door opening into the saloon and the other out on deck. With a +single bound and a wild cry he crossed the saloon, and laying his hand +upon the handle of the door of the captain's cabin, turned it; the door +swang open. Another bound and he was at the outer door; was it locked? +No; a twist of the handle, and he stepped out on deck, with the water +surging and splashing over his feet. But what cared he then for such a +trifle; he was not even conscious of it. Swiftly his gaze swept round +the decks: they were empty. In an instant he was at the gangway and +peering over the side. No boats there; nothing but the empty tackles of +the quarter-boats alternately swinging in the air and trailing in the +water with the roll of the ship. "_Where_ were the boats? Ha! towing +astern, of course, it would simply mean destruction to them if they +attempted to remain alongside in so heavy a sea." In frantic haste he +scrambled up the poop-ladder and rushed aft. + +_The boats were gone_! + +"Then it was an absolute fact that he was left there alone and +powerless, doomed to watch with a horrible fascination the steady +relentless approach of the Grim Enemy in his most terrible form, and to +suffer the while in imaginative anticipation all the agonies of a +thousand fiery deaths. Oh, God! it was too much. Mercy! mercy!" And +with a demoniac yell he stood clutching and tugging at his hair with +both hands, his teeth clenched, his eyes fixed and almost bursting from +their sockets, foam bubbling from his lips--_a raving madman_! + +This terrible state of distraction endured for nearly an hour, and then +a species of numbness seized upon his faculties, his anxiety vanished, +and he found his thoughts straying away and fixing themselves upon the +veriest trivialities, conjuring up again before his mental vision acts +and words which had never recurred to him since the day on which they +had been done or said, mischievous practical jokes played off upon some +unlucky school-fellow, mess-room jests and tattle, and a thousand other +absurdities, at which he laughed aloud. Then disconnected words and +phrases rushed helter-skelter through his seething brain, having no +meaning, yet causing him the keenest annoyance, because he believed he +had heard them before, and was anxious to connect them with the +circumstances of their utterance. There was one in particular which +especially tormented him. "Go for a cruise on your own account; go for +a cruise on your own account," his brain reiterated with merciless +pertinacity. What did it mean? Where had he heard those words before, +and who had uttered them? He felt absolutely certain that at some time +or other he had heard that phrase spoken, and that it had some intimate +connection with himself, that it somehow concerned him vitally. "There +was something else, too, said at the same time--something about--about-- +what was it? Something about--ah! yes--spars and a raft--`spars--raft-- +go for a cruise on your own account.' What could it mean?" Finally a +gleam of reason returned to his clouded mind, and he realised dimly that +it was of the utmost importance that he should construct a raft and "go +for a cruise on his own account." + +Having at last grasped this idea, he rose from the seat upon which he +had flung himself, and upon which he seemed to himself to have been +sitting as long as ever he could remember, and proceeded to carry it +out. Sauntering leisurely off the poop, he descended to the waist of +the ship, repeating eagerly over and over again the words "spars--raft," +lest he should forget them. There were several spare spars of various +sizes, ranging from topmasts down to studding-sail booms, lashed to the +deck on each side of the main-hatchway, and these he deliberately set to +work to cast adrift. With considerable difficulty he at length +succeeded in accomplishing this task, the result being that the spars +were set rolling athwart the deck with the roll of the ship. Nothing +daunted by this, however, he dashed recklessly in among them, and +escaping, heaven knows how, from the incessant danger of fractured +limbs, managed to drag out, one after the other, and launch overboard +several of the lighter spars. Having commenced the work, he now toiled +persistently on, allowing himself neither pause nor rest until he had +disposed of every spar which his unaided strength would allow him to +move. Then, panting, breathless, and reeking with perspiration, he +walked to the side and peered over. The spars were nowhere to be seen; +in his madness it had never occurred to him to secure them with ropes, +and they had consequently drifted astern, and were of course tossing, +some of them miles away, in the wake of the ship. + +Somehow the loss of the spars caused him no distress; indeed, as a +matter of fact, he had again forgotten all about the raft, and had +continued to labour on, merely because it had not occurred to him to +stop. Now that he had stopped, however, he began to be conscious not +only of fatigue, but also of hunger, for he had tasted no food for +nearly twenty-four hours, and had been working hard all through the +night; so he made his way by instinct into the saloon and thence to the +steward's pantry, where he found an abundance of food, which he attacked +ravenously. He then, after satisfying his hunger, bent his steps in the +direction of his own state-room, and, entering, flung himself upon the +bed, and soon sank into an uneasy and restless sleep. + +Meanwhile the wind had been steadily dropping, the sea going down at the +same time, and when, just before sunset, the glorious orb burst through +and dispersed the curtain of storm-tattered clouds which had for so long +a time overspread the sky, his golden rays fell upon the _Princess +Royal_, now no longer rolling gunwale-under, but swinging with a slow +stately motion over the long swell, and still drifting lazily to the +eastward; her bows heading now this way, now that; her fore-mast burned +through and towing over the side; and the flames in complete possession +of her as far aft as the main-mast. + +Walford's sleep, if such it could be called, lasted all through the +night and until just before the dawn. Then the overpowering heat and +smoke, the loud crackling roar of the flames, and the fierce ruddy light +streaming into the saloon and through the open state-room door aroused +him. Sitting up in his berth, he looked around him in a bewildered way, +passing his hand impatiently over his brow repeatedly, as if striving to +recall distinctly the remembrance of something vaguely haunting his +memory, but ever eluding his mental grasp. Glancing vacantly around +him, the red glare of the flames fascinated his gaze, and he turned to +watch the leaping, flickering flashes of light as they came and went +with the sway and roll of the ship. + +"Red," he began to mutter, "red as blood. Blood? Who said that I had +been the cause of bloodshed? Who dares to say that it is my hand which +has splashed those walls--that floor--with such hideous stains? Ha! see +how they leap and dance, rise and fall; the place is full of them. +Horrible! horrible! Are they there to taunt me, to reproach me, to +accuse me? I say I did _not_ do it; I am not to blame. How could I +know that--that--what was it? Let me think. `His blood is upon your +hands.' Whose hands? Not mine, I swear; I could not do it; I have not +the nerve, the courage for it. `His blood is upon your hands.' Who +said that? It was not said to _me_. But stay--_was_ I to blame--_was_ +it my fault? Ugh! what a terrible thing it was to see him standing +there with the rope round his neck, to know that they were going to take +away his life for a fault which perhaps he would never have committed +but for _me_, and to feel that I had not the courage to intercede in his +behalf; to stand there quaking with fear whilst _he_ was driven to his +death. No, no; _I_ did not drive him to it; it was they; and I had no +control over them--but--but--ah! I never tried to save him. Yes, yes, +I am coming. Is that you, Thomson? Are you calling _me_?" + +He sprang out of his berth, and, making his way through the captain's +cabin, passed out on deck. The first faint rays of the approaching dawn +were lighting up the eastern horizon; but he saw them not; they were +effectually hidden from his sight by the dazzling brightness of the +flames and the dense clouds of smoke which went rolling heavily to +leeward before the now scanty wind. The fire had made steady progress +during the night, the hull forward being burned down nearly to the +waters' edge; while aft, the flames had extended to the after hatchway, +and the main-mast, burnt through at its heel, had gone by the board and +fallen forward into the fiercest of the fire, where it was rapidly +consuming. Luckily for the wretched Walford, the ship was once more +dead before the wind, and the flames were fanned forward; had her head +been in the opposite direction, his retreat would have been effectually +cut off. As it was, the heat was so intense that he instinctively +avoided it by springing up the poop-ladder and making his way as far aft +as possible. + +Arrived at the extreme end of the poop, he stood gazing intently down +into the black water, and presently he began muttering again. + +"Yes," he said, pointing down into the hollow of the swell as it came +creeping up after the ship, "that is the spot where he went down; I saw +him; I was standing near the bulwarks, and when he sprang my eyes +followed him; I heard his dying cry; and I saw his last agonised upward +look of despair as he went down with a plunge into the hollow between +the waves, and the waters closed over his head for ever. For ever? +Yes, surely--and yet--what is that white gleaming object there now, +glaring up at me from beneath the water? It is--it _is_ the face of the +dead man. Ha! see he is beckoning to me. Then it _was_ his voice I +heard calling to me. Listen--what was that? Did you call, Thomson? He +will not answer; he is tired of calling; but the white ghastly face is +still there, and--see--there too is the beckoning hand. It is my +summons, and I must obey." + +At that moment the weird plaintive scream of a sea-bird came floating +down out of the grey shadows of the dawn, and Walford, starting +violently, stood for a moment in an attitude of rapt attention. The cry +was repeated; he glared wildly round him for an instant, and then, +screaming hoarsely "I come--I come!" sprang over the guard-rails and +into the sea. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +A STRANGE RENCONTRE. + +We left the _Aurora_, as the reader will remember, at the moment when, +by the merest hair's breadth, she was enabled to avoid what must have +been a terribly disastrous collision with the ill-fated _Princess Royal_ +on the day when the hurricane burst with such destructive effect upon +the outward-bound fleet. + +Deprived of her fore-topsail, the little barque was soon left astern by +her two unwelcome neighbours, and--the fleet rapidly dispersing, now +that it was no longer possible to regulate the speed of the several +craft which composed it--by nightfall her crew found themselves, +comparatively speaking, alone, there being only some twenty sail in +sight from the deck. + +That night was a most anxious one for Captain Leicester, the gale being +heavier and the sea considerably higher than he had ever before +witnessed; the _Aurora_, however, proved to be a capital little +sea-boat, riding over the great liquid hills light and dry as a gull; +and when at length the morning broke, revealing only two sail in sight, +George felt so easy in his mind that he did not hesitate to go below and +seek in his comfortable berth an hour or two of that rest which he so +greatly needed. + +The first stroke of the hurricane had been, as is generally the case, +the worst; for about half an hour it had blown with frightful and +disastrous fury, as has already been described, after which it lulled +somewhat, and then had again steadily increased. Accordingly, when +Captain Leicester went on deck at noon, he found the gale still +gathering strength, the sea higher than ever, and the sky looking more +threatening than he remembered to have ever before seen it. + +The ship was scudding under bare poles, and behaving capitally, too; but +George saw that if the sea rose much higher there would be great danger +of being "pooped;" so he--like the people on board the unfortunate +_Princess Royal_--roused out a new foresail and, with very great +difficulty, got it bent and set, reefed. This sail dragged the little +barque along at a tremendous pace; and from that time there was no +further danger of her being "pooped" or overrun by the sea. + +On the third day the gale broke; and by sundown the weather had so far +moderated as to permit of the _Aurora_ being brought to the wind and +hove-to, a manoeuvre which George was most anxious to accomplish, since +the ship had, for over seventy-two hours, been running to the eastward, +or directly away from her port, at the rate of some ten knots an hour, +giving her over seven hundred miles of extra distance to make up. The +_Aurora_ remained hove-to during the whole of that night; but at eight +bells next morning she made sail under single-reefed topsails and +courses; stretching away to the northward and westward on the port tack. +She continued on this tack all day; and went about at the end of the +second dog-watch, George's object being to work his way back to the +spot, as nearly as possible, where the fleet had separated, and there +wait two or three days if need be, in the hope of falling in with the +bulk of them again. + +Captain Leicester had of course taken full advantage of the return of +fine weather to repair damages; the crew had been busy during the whole +day getting two new topgallant-masts aloft and rigging them, bending new +sails in place of those split or blown away, and so on; the _Aurora_ was +consequently, when night fell, all ataunto once more; and a stranger +looking at her, would, except for the _new_ look of some of the spars +and canvas, never have suspected that she had had her wings clipped. + +At nightfall she was standing to the southward and westward on the port +tack, under every stitch of canvas that would draw; the wind was failing +fast; the sea had long since ceased to break; there was now only an +occasional white fleecy comb to be seen on the crests of the waves; and +the ship was gliding gently along, with a slow, steady, rhythmical +rising-and-falling motion over the long heavy swell, at the rate of some +five knots in the hour. The skipper was in excellent spirits at having +escaped so well and so cheaply from the fury of the hurricane; and he +remained on deck until midnight, chatting with Mr Bowen, the chief +mate. + +The relief-watch had just been called, and George was waiting to +accompany the mate below when his attention was suddenly attracted by a +curious appearance in the sky to windward. It was still cloudy; and, +low down on the horizon and about two points on the weather bow, he +noticed that the clouds were lighter and brighter in tint than anywhere +else. + +"Look, Bowen," he exclaimed, "do you see that peculiar-looking cloud +away there on the horizon, just over our cat-head? What is the meaning +of it?" + +The mate looked in the direction indicated; and his more mature +experience at once suggested an explanation. + +"Looks to me," he said, "as if there was something afire over there. +Here, you Tom," to a lad belonging to the relief-watch, who had just +come on deck, "slip up as far as the fore-topmast cross-trees, and see +if you can see anything out of the common away there on the weather +bow." + +"Ay, ay, sir," answered the lad; and in another moment he was dancing +nimbly up the fore-rigging; his form just dimly discernible in the dark +shadow of the sails. + +Presently he hailed from the cross-trees, "I can't _see_ nothing, sir; +but the sky away over there looks uncommon bright, and it seems to +_flicker_ now and then, as if there was a big fire burning under it." + +"That'll do; you can come down again," answered the chief mate. Then, +turning to George, he said-- + +"Depend upon it, sir, there's a ship afire away over there. Well, we're +steering a course as'll take us pretty close to her, if so be as there +_is_ one; and I suppose, sir, you'll feel like giving of her a overhaul, +won't you?" + +"Most certainly," answered George earnestly. "We will at least +ascertain whether there are any human beings on board her. Mr +Ritson,"--to the carpenter, who since Cross's impressment had acted in +the capacity of second mate--"steer your present course, please, as long +as the wind will allow you; crack on all you can; and, as soon as the +burning ship--or whatever it is--is fairly in sight, give me a call." + +He then descended to his cabin, and in another five minutes had fallen +into a state of blissful oblivion. + +At eight bells (or four o'clock a.m.) Ritson knocked at George's +state-room door, after calling the chief mate, and said-- + +"We can see the flames and smoke from the deck, sir, though the ship +herself is still hull-down. I've been up in the fore-top, howsoever, +with the glass, and make her out to be a large ship--close upon a +thousand tons, I should say--but I can't see any people on board of her, +nor I can't make out no sign of boats. She's all ablaze from for'ard +right aft as far as the main-mast, which toppled over and fell for'ard +while I was lookin' at her. I fancy the people must ha' left her, sir." + +"All right, Ritson," answered George, "I'll be on deck in a minute or +two." + +Within the stipulated time Captain Leicester made his appearance on +deck, and proceeded at once to the fore-top, where, with the aid of his +glass, he made a careful inspection of the burning ship. + +"Well, Mr Bowen," he said, when he had completed his examination, and +was once more down on deck, "it is as Ritson says: there is no sign of +any human being on board her; I have looked long and carefully at her, +and am quite sure I should have seen the people moving about, had there +been any. We will stand on as we are going, however, and cross her +stern; we shall then perhaps get a chance to make out her name. +Somehow, she has a familiar look with her, as though I had seen her +before; I wonder if she was in the fleet?" + +"Like enough, sir," answered Bowen; "we're right in the track of 'em; +and maybe this is one of the slow-coaches as we run away from." + +"Possibly," answered George abstractedly; and then the two fell to +pacing slowly fore and aft, from the main-mast to the taffrail, in that +persevering way which is so characteristic of seamen. + +The _Aurora_ was now sliding gently along at a speed of about four +knots, with every sail set that would draw; and gradually she crept up +closer and closer to the burning ship, which, meanwhile, was slowly +drifting to leeward. + +The watch on deck were clustered together in a body, forward, watching +the unusual sight; the ship being now about a point on the lee bow and +about half a mile distant. Suddenly there was a loud shout from them, +followed by the cry-- + +"There's somebody still aboard the burning ship sir!" + +George and the mate, who at the moment were walking towards the +taffrail, with their backs towards the burning ship, turned quickly at +the cry, and the former, hastily seizing the telescope which lay ready +to hand on the skylight, swiftly brought it to bear. There, sure +enough, standing right aft on the raised poop, could be distinctly seen +a solitary figure, apparently that of a man. He seemed to be gazing +intently into the water astern, pointing and gesticulating, and was +evidently wholly unaware of the approach of the _Aurora_. + +"Yes," said George, "truly enough there _is_ a man on board; and he does +not seem to have seen us yet; perhaps the glare of the flames has +dazzled his eyes. Just step down into the cabin, Mr Bowen, if you +please, and bring up a couple of muskets; we will fire them, one after +the other, and the reports will call his attention to the fact of our +presence." + +The mate turned away to do George's bidding, and he had hardly +disappeared down the companion-ladder when the skipper, who had the +telescope once more at his eye, saw the figure start--look behind him, +as though he had heard some alarming sound--and then spring, in apparent +terror, into the sea. + +"He's jumped overboard, sir!" reported the men forward, who were now +eagerly watching the actions of the stranger. + +"Ay, ay," answered Leicester, "I see he has. One of you call the watch +below; the rest of you lay aft here and clear away the starboard gig, +cast off her lashings, and get her ready for rousing off the gallows and +into the water." + +The gig which had been hanging at the davits ever since the _Aurora_ +cleared out of the docks at London, had been destroyed when the ship was +thrown on her beam-ends in the hurricane; and the men had been so busy +on apparently more important duties that they had had no opportunity of +getting another boat ready for service; hence there was now a +considerable amount of delay in the launching of the boat which George +intended to despatch in search of the swimmer. + +Mr Bowen soon returned to the deck with the muskets, and handing one to +George and retaining the other himself, they fired them one after the +other in rapid succession, hoping by this means to attract the +unfortunate man's attention and show him that help was near. + +George then sprang into the mizzen-rigging and looked anxiously out over +the glittering surface of the sea, in the effort to catch a glimpse of +the man, should he happen to be still above water. It was not, however, +until the _Aurora_ was fairly crossing the wake of the burning ship-- +which by this time had drifted a considerable distance to leeward--that +he was successful. Then, indeed, he did for an instant detect a small +dark object on the crest of a sea, standing out in bold relief against +the bright ruddy reflection of the flames in the water beyond it. +Almost at the instant that he caught sight of it, he lost it again as it +disappeared in the hollow of the swell, then once more it rose into +view, clearly and unmistakably the head of a man. + +"All right, I see him," he exclaimed. "Now then, Mr Bowen, is the boat +ready? I am going to that poor fellow's assistance, so back the +main-topsail, if you please, and send the boat after us as quickly as +you can." + +As the last words left George's mouth his hands rose above his head, his +body curved itself over towards the water, and in an instant he shot +downward out of the rigging swiftly as a sea-bird making its swoop, and +entered the water without a splash. + +On coming to the surface, Captain Leicester struck vigorously out at +once in the direction of the burning ship, knowing that the man he +sought was exactly in line with her, but that he would probably not see +him until he was close upon him. He swam steadily on, not hurrying +himself, but husbanding his strength as much as possible, and in about +ten minutes he caught sight of the object of which he was in search. +But the manner in which that object presented itself to his view was so +startling that George's first impulse was to turn round and swim back +towards the _Aurora_ with all speed, an impulse which, however, was only +felt to be instantly overcome. The man was suddenly revealed, within +some six feet or so of George's grasp, as the latter rose upon the crest +of a sea; but, instead of swimming as George expected he would be, the +unfortunate creature was lying on his back, his ghastly white face +upturned to the sky, and his eyes fixed and staring, with that terrible +indescribable expression in them which tells at once and unmistakably +the dreadful tale of _madness_. + +Very naturally, our hero felt a little doubtful as to the expediency of +placing himself within the grasp of a madman; he therefore, before +closing with him, exclaimed in a loud, cheery voice-- + +"Hillo, there! are you tired? If so, just say the word, and I'll drop +alongside and lend you a hand." + +For all the visible effect this speech had on the stranger he might as +well have been stone-deaf, for he vouchsafed not the slightest notice. + +George shouted again, with a like result, and then--still feeling very +doubtful as to the best mode of proceeding--he struck out, and swam +quietly round the ghastly floating figure. A stroke or two sufficed to +place him in such a position as enabled him at last to get a clear and +distinct view of the stranger's features, fully illumined by the glare +of the flames, and instant recognition followed. + +"Walford!" he exclaimed. Then, without another moment's hesitation, he +dashed up and, throwing himself upon his back, seized his rival by the +hair and drew him into such a position as permitted of his taking +Walford's head upon his shoulder and supporting it high enough above the +surface to prevent the sea washing over it and so suffocating him. + +Walford offered no resistance, and gave not the faintest sign of being +aware of George's presence; and there the two lay, quietly floating on +the bosom of the long heaving swell, until the boat came to their +assistance and conveyed them both on board the _Aurora_. + +On reaching the ship, George had his rival promptly stripped, rubbed +vigorously down, and comfortably bestowed in his own berth, well and +warmly wrapped up in blankets, with Tom Price--one of the forecastle +hands, and a very smart, intelligent young fellow--to watch over him. +After which, the skipper gave a little attention to his own comfort, and +finally went on deck once more, it being by that time too late to think +of turning in again. + +By the time that George regained the deck, the _Aurora_ had crept to a +distance of about four miles from the _Princess Royal_. The unfortunate +craft was by that time blazing fiercely fore and aft, the fire having at +last reached her store-room, in which there was a considerable quantity +of highly inflammable material; and half an hour afterwards her +powder-magazine (almost every ship of any size in those days was +provided with a magazine) exploded; and the charred fragments of +half-consumed timber, which were widely scattered over the now sleepily +heaving surface of the sea, alone remained as relics of the once noble +and stately ship, the destruction of which had been the last link in a +chain of disastrous occurrences resulting primarily from the +overbearing, tyrannical, and imprudent behaviour of her officers. + +With the appearance of the sun above the horizon the clouds gradually +disappeared, the wind dropped, the surface of the ocean became like +heaving oil; and the _Aurora_, losing steerage-way, rolled almost +gunwale-to, with her canvas flapping loudly and monotonously against her +masts. + +About two bells (or nine o'clock) one of the hands, upon being sent +aloft to "grease down," reported a sail in the southern quarter, and on +the usual inquiry being put to him, as to what he made her out to be, he +replied that she was a small topsail-schooner. + +"A small topsail-schooner!" muttered George. "I wonder what she can be; +I cannot remember having seen any such craft in the fleet. Ritson,"--to +the carpenter who had charge of the deck,--"do you remember having seen +a topsail-schooner among the fleet?" + +"No, sir; can't say as I do," answered Ritson. "Don't believe there +_was_ any such craft, sir; the smallest, as I remembers was that purty +little brig painted all white down to her water-line; perhaps you +recollects her, sir?" + +"Yes," said Leicester, "I recollect the craft perfectly well; and, as +far as my memory serves me, she _was_, as you say, the smallest craft in +company." + +The conversation here dropped for a time, George resuming the somewhat +dejected saunter fore and aft from the main-mast to the taffrail, and +the half-unconscious whistling for a wind, in which he had before been +indulging. His pursuit of this monotonous and uninteresting occupation +was interrupted by the steward, who requested him to step down into the +cabin, "to take a look at the man as was picked up this morning; as he +seems to be took a bit worse, sir." + +George at once went below, and found Walford sitting up in the berth, +muttering to himself disconnectedly and occasionally addressing with +great earnestness the watchful Tom, whose horror-stricken face plainly +revealed that his patient's random observations had been of a somewhat +startling character. On entering the state-room, Leicester at once +addressed Walford, asking him whether he felt better; and the +unfortunate man glanced for a moment in George's face with an air of +semi-recognition; but this immediately passed away, and the incoherent +mutterings went on again as before. + +"That's just how he've been goin' on for the last half-'our," explained +Tom; "talkin' about `murder' and `hangin',' and being left to burn in +the ship; it's enough to give one the 'orrors to listen to him." + +George sat down by the side of the cot and listened patiently for nearly +an hour to Walford's rambling talk; and, although he was unable to make +out from it a clearly-connected story, he heard enough to give him a +shrewd idea of the truth, and to convince him that a terrible tragedy of +some kind had occurred on board the ill-fated _Princess Royal_. The +patient at length grew calm once more, and, lying back upon his pillow, +seemed inclined to sleep, upon which George quietly rose and went on +deck again to see how matters were proceeding there. + +As he meditatively made his way up the companion-ladder, he could not +help thinking of the singularity of this last meeting between him and +his rival, and comparing it with the one which had occurred on that +lovely June evening, on the road to Stoke. As the two men stood there +on the white dusty road, with the rays of the declining sun darting down +upon them through the foliage of the overhanging trees, and as Walford +told the story of his just concluded engagement to Lucy, how little, +thought George, could either of them suspect that, when they next came +into such close contact, it would be literally on the bosom of the broad +Atlantic, up-borne by nothing save its restless waters. Poor Leicester +was greatly disturbed by this singular and unconscious claim upon his +hospitality which had so recently arisen. He was as generous-hearted a +man as the sun ever shone upon, ever ready to give liberally and +ungrudgingly to any one who seemed to be in need; but somehow he wished +that in the present instance it had fallen to the lot of some one else +than himself to play the part of rescuer and benefactor, or that the +rescued individual had been any one rather than Walford. The fact was +that he wanted to forget, if possible, the keen and bitter pain of his +disappointment: and now the presence of his unhappy guest had brought it +all back to him and would keep it in poignant remembrance as long as +they two should remain together. Then, he bethought himself how selfish +a feeling he had been allowing himself to indulge; how utterly he had +forgotten that the matter was one with which Lucy's happiness must be +inseparably connected; and that fate--or Providence, rather, as he +reverently corrected himself--had in a very great measure confided that +happiness to his keeping, by delivering into his care the man upon whom +she had bestowed the priceless treasure of her heart's best love. And +as he thought this, he solemnly vowed that he would honestly strive to +prove worthy of the trust; that he would be to Lucy's lover a brother-- +ay, _more_ than a brother; that he would nurse and tend him, restore to +him his reason if God willed it, and, in any case, watch over and +protect him--at the cost of his own life even, if need were--until he +could restore him to the arms of the woman who was impatiently awaiting +at home his safe return. + +"His well-being has been confided to me as a sacred trust," he murmured +in conclusion, "and, please God, I will prove myself worthy of it." + +With this resolution he dismissed the subject temporarily from his +thoughts, and turned his attention once more to the affairs of the ship. + +Glancing aloft, and then all round the horizon, he observed that it had +fallen a flat calm, and that moreover there was no immediate prospect of +a breeze. The sky was a clear deep blue in the zenith, merging by +imperceptible gradations into a delicate warm grey at the horizon. The +water was absolutely without a ripple, there was not so much as the +faintest suggestion of a "cat's-paw" on all its glassy surface; and save +for the long sluggish sweep and heave of the swell which, as it +undulated past the ship, caught and reflected the varying tints of the +sky, it would have been difficult to detect the presence of water at all +at a distance of more than a few yards from the ship. The _Aurora_ was +still rolling sluggishly on the sleepy swell; her dazzling white canvas +flapping and the slings and trusses of the yards creaking with the roll; +the men, rendered languid by the heat, were making such show as they +were able of being busy on various odd jobs about the decks or aloft; +and the man at the wheel had lashed it and was leaning upon it more than +half-asleep. Ritson, apparently for want of something better to do, was +seated on the main-topmast cross-trees, with the ship's telescope in his +hand, scrutinising the motions of the distant schooner, whose tiny +"royal" was now visible from the deck, gleaming white as snow on the +extreme verge of the horizon. + +Noting all these things at a glance, George turned to saunter aft, +thinking that on such a perfectly calm day, and with such still water, +he might, by leaning well out over the taffrail, get a glimpse of the +ship's bottom and see whether it had fouled at all, or whether the +copper showed any signs of wrinkling. Arrived at the taffrail, he +leaned well out over it, and peered down into the water. The first +thing which attracted his notice was the deep, pure, beautiful +ultramarine tint of the water, as he gazed far down into its +unfathomable depths; the next was, the presence of a long greyish-brown +object under the ship's counter, which had escaped his notice at first +in consequence of its being in the deepest shadow of the hull. A moment +sufficed to satisfy him that it was a huge shark; and as the creature +caught sight of him, and with a barely perceptible movement of its fins, +backed out a foot or two from under the ship, as if in preparation to +make a dart at him in case he should fall into the water, George +shuddered at the thought of what might have been his or Walford's fate, +had the monster been in the neighbourhood of the ship a few hours +earlier. + +Sliding his body gently inboard again, Leicester turned to the dozing +helmsman, and exclaimed-- + +"Here, you Ned; rouse up, man. There's a big shark under the counter, +so get out the shark-hook, ask the cook for a piece of good fat pork, +and muster the watch aft in readiness to haul him inboard, in case we +can coax him into swallowing the bait." + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +A SUSPICIOUS SAIL. + +The man hurried away joyously to do George's bidding, hailing his +comrades aloft to "knock off work and come shark-fishing, all you +sea-dogs aloft there," as soon as he had placed a sufficiently +respectful distance between himself and his skipper. There is no sport +or pastime in which sailors will engage more eagerly than in the attempt +to capture a shark; they regard the creature as their worst and most +relentless enemy, and never willingly let slip an opportunity to catch +and destroy one, frequently venting their hatred upon the unfortunate +fish, when caught, in the utmost refinement of cruelty. Accordingly, no +sooner was Ned's hail heard than, dropping incontinently whatever work +they happened to be engaged on, the whole watch, Ritson included, +hurried down on deck and aft to the taffrail, to take a share in the +sport Ritson, by virtue of his superior rank, assumed the lead at once, +and as a matter of course. Taking the hook with its swivel and chain +attached, and a piece of fat pork, some three or four pounds in weight, +from the now lively and wide-awake Ned, he called out for "a bit of +stoutish line," busying himself meanwhile in burying the hook cunningly +in the bait, in order that the shark might not see it--for it is a +well-established fact that these monsters, unless very hungry, are acute +enough to refuse a bait if the hook is not well hidden. The line, in +the shape of the gaff-topsail halliard-fall, hastily unrove for the +occasion, was soon forthcoming, and the hook, being at last baited to +the second mate's satisfaction, bent on to the chain. + +"Now stand clear," commanded Ritson, as he prepared to pitch the bait +overboard, "stand clear all of yer; and when I gives the word to `haul +in,' walk away for'ard with the line and bring his head out of water." + +A long steady pendulum-like swing or two of the bait followed, and then +away it went out over the stern and into the water with a splash. +Leicester who was leaning over the taffrail and watching the proceedings +with the greatest interest, saw the great fish turn like a flash and +rush to the spot where the bait had fallen, turning himself over on his +side as he did so. + +"Hurrah! He bites; he's got it," shouted one of the men eagerly. But +he spoke rather too soon; Jack Shark was not to be caught quite so +easily. Instead of opening his great jaws and swallowing the bait, hook +and all, at a gulp, as was expected, he stopped dead in his rush, and +began to poke the bait about suspiciously with the point of his +shovel-shaped nose; and finally, with a contemptuous whisk of his tail, +left it, and resumed his former position under the ship's quarter. + +Great was the disappointment of the younger hands at this failure. + +"He ain't hungry," explained one. + +"Ain't he?" contemptuously retorted another. "Just you drop overboard +and try him, bo'; why he'd take you--sou'wester, water-boots, and all-- +down that main-hatchway of his'n without winking, and then come back and +axe for more. No, no; 'taint that, mates; he's _waiting_ for somebody, +most likely for the poor chap as the skipper picked up this mornin'!" + +"Come, stow all that rubbish!" exclaimed the second mate; "how do you +expect we're going to catch the brute if you all stand there palavering +like so many fish-wives? It's enough to frighten him away altogether. +Clap a stopper on your jaw-tackles now, all of you; and give me a chance +to play him a bit." + +The speaker thereupon, by sundry dexterous movements of the wrist, +imparted a gentle wriggling motion to the line, which in its turn +conveyed a corresponding motion to the bait, the latter being slowly +drawn through the water at the same time. This was too much for the +shark's equanimity; and he made another dash at the bait, still refusing +to swallow it however. The second mate then tried the virtue of a few +quick jerks upon the bait, as though drawing it away from the creature, +which had the effect of causing him to turn once more on his side, and +make a snap at it, actually taking it into his mouth. Still he would +neither swallow it nor close his jaws upon it, but unresistingly +suffered it to be jerked out of his mouth again. + +"We'll have him yet, boys," Ritson exclaimed. "Pay out the line to its +bare end." + +This was done, the shark keeping close to the bait, turning it over and +over with his nose, but persistently refusing to take it. + +"Now walk away steadily for'ard with your line, and stand by for a +surge," was the next command. + +Away went the men, dragging the line after them, and towing the bait +through the water. The shark followed it closely up; and at last, just +as the pork was being dragged out of the water altogether, he made a +determined jump at it, swallowing it and the hook together; and the next +moment the men were brought-up "all standing" by the tremendous strain +on the line as the hook buried its barbed point in the creature's body, +while the water was lashed into foam and splashed clear in over the +barque's taffrail in the fish's frantic efforts to free itself. + +"Hurrah!" exclaimed Ritson. "_Now_ you have him, lads. Hold on every +inch of line, or he'll break away from you yet. Bear a hand here, one +of you. Take the spanker-sheet and throw a running-bowline round the +line, so's we can get it down over his fins. That's your sort, Ned; +don't let him get it into his jaws. Cleverly done; haul taut. _Now_ we +have him safe. Lead the sheet for'ard, let all hands tail on to it, and +we'll run him up out of the water and in on deck." + +The bowline in the end of the sheet having been successfully passed over +the fish's shoulders and under his fins, the rope was laid along the +deck, and the watch, leaving one by one the line to which the hook was +attached, got hold of the sheet, and then with a joyous shout of "Stamp +and go, boys; walk away with him," they dragged the monster, still +struggling furiously, up out of the water and in on deck over the +taffrail. + +For a moment the huge fish lay perfectly still, then he began to plunge +about and lash right and left with his tail in a manner which caused the +whole ship to resound with the terrific blows; rousing the watch below, +and causing them to "tumble up" _en masse_ to ascertain the nature of +the disturbance. + +"'Ware tail," exclaimed the second mate warningly. "If any of you chaps +catches a smack with it across your shins it'll snap 'em like +pipe-stems. Where's the cook's axe?" + +The question was promptly answered by the appearance of cookie himself, +his sable visage beaming and his eyeballs rolling with delight as he +danced nimbly about the deck, dodging the strokes of that terrible tail, +with his gleaming axe upraised in readiness to deal a blow at the first +opportunity. At length there was a momentary pause in the tremendous +struggles, a pause of which Snowball (all black cooks who go to sea seem +to be dubbed "Snowball") promptly availed himself. A quick flash of his +axe-blade in the sun, a dull crunching thud, and the back-bone was +severed at the junction of the tail with the body; a lightning-like +stroke of his long keen knife followed, and the severed tail was flung +quivering aside as a long thin jet of blood spouted out from the body, +broadly staining the snow-white deck-planks. + +But the shark had plenty of fight left in him still, as one of the men +speedily discovered when, on thrusting a handspike into the great jaws, +the strong, stout wooden bar was promptly bitten in two. + +"Here, lay hold, two or three of you, and capsize him," ordered Ritson; +"we must make an end of the beast, or some of yer'll get hurted yet, I +can see. Now then," as three of the men seized the shark by his +enormous fins, "one, two, three, and over with him!" + +With a cry of "Yo, heave he!" and a hearty drag the great fish was +turned over on his back; and then Snowball, stepping forward once more, +placed himself astride the creature and, with a quick, powerful stroke +of his knife, slit open its belly, and so put an end to its sufferings. +But so tenacious of life was it that even after the removal of the vital +organs the heart was seen to be still expanding and contracting, which +it continued to do for fully five minutes after being taken out of the +fish. The head was next cut off and the back-bone removed for +preservation as "curios," after which the mutilated carcass was thrown +overboard and the decks washed down. + +Ritson did not wait for the completion of this operation, but, leaving +its superintendence to Mr Bowen (who, like the rest of the watch below, +had come on deck to see what was the cause of the unusual tumult), +retired once more with the telescope to his former post in the +main-topmast cross-trees, and resumed his scrutiny of the strange +schooner. + +George noticed this, and vaguely wondering what had so greatly excited +his second mate's curiosity, glanced in the direction to which the +telescope was pointing, to find to his surprise that the upper half of +the stranger's topsail was visible from the deck. + +"Why, Ritson," he hailed, "the schooner must have a little air of wind, +surely; she is nearing us perceptibly." + +Ritson, entirely contrary to nautical etiquette, made no reply to the +skipper's hail, but remained with his eye immovably glued to the tube +for a full minute longer, when he gently closed the instrument and +descended slowly to the deck. + +Arrived there, he walked up to Captain Leicester, and first glancing +cautiously round to make sure that no one was within ear-shot, murmured +in a low voice-- + +"She's heading as straight for us as she can steer, sir, _with six +sweeps out_--_three of a side_. That means, sir, that her skipper wants +so badly to get alongside of us, that he's noways particular about the +trouble he takes to bring him here." + +George gave a low involuntary whistle of astonishment. + +"That is queer news indeed," he remarked after a contemplative pause. +"And you think then, Ritson, that the craft is a--" + +"A rover, sir; neither more nor less," answered the second mate. "She +ain't French, I'm certain; she ain't got the look of it; besides, the +Johnnies wouldn't ventur so far as this in a craft of that size--why she +ain't more than about a hundred and twenty tons at the very outside. +No; she's a rover, that's what _she_ is; a craft with a low beamy hull +painted all black, tremendous long spars, and canvas with just no end of +a h'ist to it." + +"Give me the glass," said George; "I'll go as far as the cross-trees and +take a look at her myself." + +The second mate handed over the telescope, and the skipper, proceeding +aloft, soon saw quite enough to satisfy him that Ritson's conjectures as +to the character and intentions of the schooner were only too likely to +prove correct. + +Descending once more to the deck, he held a hurried consultation with +his two officers, the result of which was a determination to fight to +the last gasp, if the crew were only willing to stand by them. It would +be necessary to ascertain their feeling upon the subject before anything +could be done; so, it being then within a quarter of an hour of noon, +George and the chief mate went below for their quadrants, took the sun's +meridian altitude, and, on the bell being struck to denote the hour of +noon and the termination of the morning watch, Captain Leicester gave +the word for all hands to muster aft. + +"My lads," said George, when the men were all standing before him in +obedience to his summons, "I have called you here in order that I may +communicate to you a very disagreeable piece of intelligence. Briefly, +it is this. The strange schooner yonder is a very suspicious-looking +craft; Mr Ritson and I, who have both carefully examined her through +the glass, are quite of the same opinion about her, namely, that she is +_a pirate_. She has all the look of one; and her conduct tends greatly +to confirm us in our suspicions, for she has rigged out half a dozen +sweeps and is sweeping as straight down for us as she can come. Now, +lads, I want to know what you propose to do in the event of our +suspicions proving correct. Will you allow her to come alongside and +throw her bloodthirsty crew in on our deck to cut our throats as if we +were so many sheep! Or will you fight for your lives, and take your +chance of being able to beat her off?" + +There was a few minutes of anxious consultation among the men; and then +Ned stepped forward as spokesman of the party, and asked-- + +"What would you advise us to do, sir? What do you think of doin' +yourself, sir, if we may make so bold as to axe?" + +"Mr Bowen, Mr Ritson, and I have resolved to fight as long as we can +raise a hand in self-defence," answered George; "and my advice to you is +to do the same. Alone, we three men cannot hope to do much; but with +your aid I certainly should not despair of beating off yonder schooner, +even though she be full of men. And if the worst comes to the worst and +we find that we _must_ die, it will be far better to do so with swords +in our hands, than to be slaughtered in cold blood." + +"Yes, yes; that's true; none o' that for me, thank'ee," and sundry other +exclamations of concurrence followed the conclusion of the skipper's +speech; then came another very brief consultation; and finally Ned once +more stepped forward and said-- + +"We've agreed, sir, as you're in the rights of it about the fightin'; +and we're quite ready to stand by yer--all hands of us--and do our +best." + +"Very well," said George. "Then we will lose no time in making ready +for our defence. Mr Bowen, we will have up that brass long +nine-pounder which is down below; I provided it for just such an +emergency as this." + +"Ay, ay, sir," answered the mate, in a cheery tone of voice which spoke +volumes as to his confidence in their ability to beat off the pirate, if +such the schooner should prove to be. Then, turning to the men, he +continued-- + +"Now then, some of you, whip the tarpaulin off this after hatchway, and +lift off the hatches. Mr Ritson, will you be good enough to rouse out +a couple of fourfold tackles and get them made fast aloft? We shall +require a chain strop also. That's right, lads; off with those hatches; +we'll soon have the old barkie in fighting trim." + +Inspired by the mate's cheery manner, the men worked with hearty +good-will; and in less than an hour they had the long nine-pounder on +deck, mounted on its carriage, its tackles hooked on, the gun loaded, +cutlasses and pistols distributed, boarding-pikes cast loose, and +everything ready for a stubborn resistance. + +These preliminaries arranged, George and the chief mate made their way +aloft as far as the main-top to watch the approach of the suspected +schooner, which had by this time crept up to within about nine miles of +the _Aurora_. She was still heading straight for the barque; and the +telescope enabled them to see that her six sweeps were being vigorously +plied; their long steady swing and the perfect time which was maintained +in the working of them conclusively showing that they were being handled +by a strong gang of men. + +"Why, she must be full of men, or those long, heavy sweeps could never +be kept going for so great a length of time," remarked George to the +mate. "We shall have to devote all our attention to those sweeps in the +first instance, I can see. If we are only fortunate enough to knock +away two or three of them, it will at least _delay_ their approach; and +if a breeze would only spring up, smart as that schooner looks, I should +not despair of being able to show her a clean pair of heels." + +"Ay," answered Bowen, "and we're going to have a breeze by-and-by; just +the way we wants it, too. I can make out the upper edge of a cloud-bank +rising now above the horizon to the east'ard there; and if we can only +keep yonder cut-throat crew at arm's length until we get the wind, and +if it'll only come down upon us pretty fresh when it _does_ come, I +think, as you say, sir, we may give them handsomely the slip." + +With the view of getting a still clearer idea as to the possible advent +of the desired breeze, Mr Bowen forthwith undertook a journey as far as +the main-royal yard, upon which he comfortably established himself, with +one arm round the royal-pole, whilst he carefully studied the aspect of +the weather, and as carefully scrutinised the horizon to see whether +there were any other craft in their immediate neighbourhood. No other +sail excepting the schooner, however, was in sight in any direction; and +having at length formed a tolerably clear opinion with regard to the +weather, he descended again to the main-top, and remarked to George-- + +"That schooner must be coming up at the rate of about three knots, by +the look of her." + +"Yes; about that," answered George. + +"And she's about eight miles off now, I should say," continued Bowen. + +"Yes; about eight miles," returned George, with his eye still peering +through the telescope. + +"Then," remarked the mate, "it will take her a matter of some two hours +and forty minutes, or thereabouts, to get alongside. And by that time, +unless I am greatly mistaken, the first of the breeze will have reached +us. I hope we shall get it _before_ then; because in light winds I +don't doubt but what that craft could sail round and round us; but only +let it come strong enough to oblige us to stow our royals, and I'll bet +my old hat that we can walk away from her. I'm afraid we sha'n't scrape +clear without finding out the weight of the shot she can pitch at us; +but if our lads are only steady when the powder-burning begins, I +sha'n't feel noways very greatly concerned." + +With which summing up of the case Mr Bowen dropped into a sitting +posture alongside his commander, and, letting his legs dangle down over +the outer edge of the top, filled his pipe, and proceeded to regale +himself with what he chose to term "two whiffs and a half." + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +A MARINE DUEL--AND ITS RESULT. + +The two occupants of the main-top maintained their position therein, +keeping a watchful eye upon the movements of the schooner, until that +craft had approached to within about three miles of the _Aurora_, when +they descended to the deck; Captain Leicester remarking to the mate, as +the latter swung himself down off the rail-- + +"I think, Mr Bowen, we may as well run up our ensign; perhaps the +schooner will return the compliment and oblige us with a sight of the +colour of her bunting." + +"Ay, ay, sir," answered the mate; and he walked aft, got out the ensign, +bent it on to the halliards, and ran it up to the mizzen peak, where it +hung in drooping folds, swaying listlessly with the sleepy roll of the +ship. + +For some time there was no response on the part of the schooner, which +held steadily on her way straight for the barque, her six long sweeps +plying as vigorously as ever, and churning up the glassy water into a +long line of miniature whirlpools, which gradually diminished until they +finally subsided on each side of her gleaming wake. + +"The breeze, the breeze; here it comes at last, thank God!" ejaculated +Bowen, who had been for some time anxiously regarding the rising bank of +greyish cloud to the eastward. As he spoke, a faint, barely perceptible +breath of cool air fanned the faces of the anxious watchers on the deck +of the _Aurora_, and was gone again; a "cat's-paw" or two momentarily +ruffled the surface of the water here and there, only to leave it as +glassy as before; then came another puff, which lasted just long enough +to trail out the ensign for an instant and to rustle the royals; and +then away on the extreme verge of the eastern horizon, the gleaming +water assumed a light blue tint, which gradually spread, creeping slowly +down towards the two vessels, the blue on the horizon insensibly +darkening all the while, and conveying the thrice welcome intelligence +that the breeze was slowly but steadily freshening. + +"Yes," said George, "here it comes, sure enough; and in a few hours we +shall have plenty of it, by the look of the sky. Stand by the braces, +lads; let go, and haul the yards round, and be lively about it; we +cannot spare the time to be taken aback just now; that's right, men; +well there with the fore-braces; well with the main; brail in the mizzen +and stow it; haul down the mizzen-topmast staysail. Now she feels the +breeze. Hard up with your helm, my man, and let her wear short round. +Let go your lee main-braces and round in to windward--gently now; not +too quick; that's well; catch a turn with your after-braces and then +square the fore-yard; well with the fore-braces; belay all and coil up. +Ah! I expected that." + +The latter exclamation was evoked by the boom of a gun from the +schooner; and, turning his eyes in her direction, George saw the white +smoke floating lazily away from her to leeward, and then a white jet of +water started up as the shot came flying towards the barque, then +another--another--and another, and finally a scurrying splash as the +iron messenger swept along the surface of the water and sank, falling +short by about a hundred yards. At the same moment the heavy sweeps +were laid in; the schooner's sails were trimmed as if by magic to the +coy breeze; her head paid off; and as she swept gracefully round upon a +course which would enable her to intercept the _Aurora_, a tiny ball +went soaring aloft to her main-topmast-head and, breaking abroad as it +reached the truck, a square _black_ flag fluttered threateningly out, a +fit emblem of the character of those who sailed beneath it. + +"Not quite close enough, Mr Rover," remarked Bowen, cheerfully, as the +shot sank into the placid depths of the ocean, now gently ruffled by the +increasing breeze. "Shall we return the compliment, sir?" + +"Not just yet," answered George; "she is still a long way off; and we +cannot afford to waste a single ounce of powder or shot. But it is time +that we should have everything ready to carry on the fight in earnest, +so I must ask _you_, Mr Bowen--as the most reliable man I have on +board--to go below and see to the passing up of the powder; it will +never do to run the risk of having an explosion in the powder-magazine." + +"Very well, sir; I'd have greatly preferred to have been on deck, to +take my fair share in the fighting; but I'm ready to do my duty wherever +you may choose to order me," said the chief mate, as he walked away aft +with a rather rueful face, on his way below to the magazine. + +The schooner, finding that she was not yet within range, remained silent +for the next five minutes; and then George, who was keenly watching her, +saw another flash, another puff of white fleecy smoke, and once more the +ball came bounding over the water, straight for the barque. + +"It will reach us this time," thought the skipper; and he was right, the +shot striking the water about forty feet from the side of the _Aurora_ +and then bounding harmlessly over her, except for a hole which it +punched in the main try-sail in its passage. + +"Now, lads," said George, "it's our turn. Mr Ritson, run out the gun, +if you please, and show us what you can do in the way of shooting." + +"Ay, ay, sir," answered Ritson gleefully, "the water's smooth, the +ship's steady, and altogether it's a capital day for this kind of work. +Man the tackles, there; run out; muzzle to the right, a trifle; not too +much; so, well there; elevate the muzzle a _leetle_ more; there, that'll +do; I'll try that. Now then, Snowball, let's have that `loggerhead.' +Ned, just freshen that priming a bit. Now stand clear, lads, and you, +Tom, touch her off when I give the word." + +Then, stooping down, he glanced along the sights for an instant or two, +and finally gave the word "Fire!" + +At the word Tom promptly applied the loggerhead; there was a ringing +report; and as the smoke cleared off the shot was seen to strike the +water close alongside the schooner, and the next instant a white scar in +her bulwarks attested Ritson's skill as a marksman and showed that the +shot had taken effect. A hearty cheer from the _Aurora's_ crew +manifested their elation at this lucky hit; and George, who was watching +the schooner through his telescope, quietly remarked-- + +"Thank you, Ritson; that was capitally aimed; you must have done some +execution among the crew of that craft, too, for there is a great deal +of confusion among them on deck, I see. Ah! there they fire again." + +Once more the shot came flying straight for the barque; and once more it +whistled harmlessly over her, just touching the main-mast as it passed, +but inflicting no injury on the spar. + +"Capital practice on both sides," remarked the skipper coolly; "six +inches further to the right, gentlemen, and you would have plumped that +shot right into our main-mast. Now try again, Ritson, and aim for his +spars; the sooner we can cripple him the better will be out chances of +getting clear of him without loss to ourselves." + +Again the _Aurora's_ long nine rang out its sharp report; but for some +reason, probably from over-eagerness on the part of the second mate, the +shot flew wide, passing some twenty yards astern of the schooner. + +"Bad luck to it!" exclaimed the discomfited Ritson impatiently. "Run in +the gun, lads; and be smart with it; that's your sort; sponge it well +out; that'll do; now in with the cartridge; three strokes with the +rammer; now home with the shot; run out the gun again; bear a hand with +the priming-iron, you Ned; muzzle to the left--a little more yet; well +with that. Now Tom, stand by--Fire!" + +Both vessels fired at precisely the same moment; the schooner's shot +passing in through the _Aurora's_ bulwarks close to the gun, and making +the splinters fly in all directions, one of the latter grazing Captain +Leicester's cheek, and drawing blood; but, very fortunately, beyond this +no further damage was done. + +On the other hand, the _Aurora's_ shot, much better aimed this time, cut +the weather whisker-stay on board the schooner, and compelled her to at +once keep dead away before the wind in order to prevent the loss of her +jib-boom. + +"Well shot!" exclaimed George enthusiastically. "Fore and main-braces, +lads; port your helm, my man,"--to the helmsman--"and let her come up +`full and by;' round in upon the port-braces, fore and aft; board the +fore and main-tacks; aft with the sheets, cheerily, my lads; if we are +smart we may get out of gun-shot before they can repair that damage. +Well there of all. Now to your gun again, lads, and let's treat them to +another dose of the same sort." + +The men sprang about the decks like wild-cats, and, in their elation and +excitement, did the work of at least three men each; the yards were +braced up almost as soon as the ship could luff to the wind; the tacks +were seized and boarded with irresistible strength and energy, the +sheets flattened in; and in considerably less than five minutes the +_Aurora_ was rushing along on a bowline with her lee covering-board +nearly awash, and a clear, glassy surge spouting up on each side of her +cutwater, and foaming away from her sharp bows with a hissing roar which +was sweetest music just then to the ears of her delighted crew. + +"_Now_ the old barkie travels," exclaimed the exultant Ritson. "Unhook +the gun-tackles, you sea-dogs, and rush the gun aft; we'll try a shot +out through the stern-ports this time." + +At this moment the boom of another gun from the schooner was heard; and +next moment the shot came flying through the _Aurora's_ rigging, cutting +the main-brace pennant, and passing through the head of the foresail. +The lee main-yard-arm at once flew forward, throwing the main-sail +aback, and of course seriously interfering with the barque's flight. + +"Up with your helm and keep her away until the main-sail fills again," +commanded George; "haul inboard the brace, and one hand get a +marlinespike and jump aloft to make the splice. Be smart, lads; there's +no great harm done." + +Ritson was, in the meantime, busy aft with the gun; and presently he +fired again, pitching the shot fairly on the schooner's forecastle, +where some of her crew were busy with the cut stay. + +On board the _Aurora_ the main-brace was very soon spliced; after which +Captain Leicester had the mizzen, gaff-topsail, and, in short, every +stitch of canvas that would draw, set to the freshening breeze; then, +inquiry having elicited the fact that tea--or supper, as the men termed +it--was ready, he ordered the crew to knock off and take the meal whilst +they had the opportunity. + +George and the two mates had their meal served on deck, the top of the +skylight doing duty for a table; and they were about half-way through +with it when the pirate schooner was seen to once more haul her wind in +pursuit. This, however, gave them no immediate apprehension, as she was +far out of gun-shot; the breeze was still steadily freshening, and the +_Aurora_ was plunging along at a racing pace over the short sea which +had already been raised, with the wind humming merrily through her +rigging, and a great foaming surge hissing and buzzing under her lee bow +and streaming out in a long trail of bubbling froth behind her. + +"We're going to have a fresh breeze to-night, I think, sir," remarked +the chief mate, as he helped himself to another slab of salt junk, "and, +if it'll only come fresh enough to oblige us to stow our royals, I think +that, on an easy bowline--our best point of sailing--we shall be able to +fairly run away from that chap." + +"Yes," said George, "I believe we shall. And if we can only get weather +which will give us the advantage over her in the matter of speed, I +shall feel very much inclined to turn the tables on her, and give her a +good wholesome lesson. It struck me that our gun threw its shot +considerably further than hers did." + +"I'm _sure_ it did," emphatically corroborated Ritson; "and it'd be +doin' a real service to give the piccarooning rascals a thorough good +drubbing." + +It appeared, however, as though the fortuitous combination of +circumstances hinted at by Captain Leicester was not to be; for before +long it became evident that the schooner, notwithstanding the freshening +breeze and the increasing sea, was slowly but steadily gaining on the +barque. But "a stern chase is a long chase," and the schooner, while +repairing damages, had not only been left astern, but had also been +compelled to run a considerable distance to leeward. So that, when the +sun set, and the short brilliant tropical twilight faded out of the sky, +she was still some six miles distant, broad on the _Aurora's_ lee +quarter. + +With the setting of the sun there came a still further freshening of the +breeze, laying the barque down upon her side until her lee +covering-board was buried, and the water, spouting up through the +scuppers, was washing the deck on the lee-side almost up to the coamings +of the main-hatchway. The wind was making weird, wild music as it swept +through the tautly-strained rigging; and the topgallant and royal-masts +were whipping and bending like fishing-rods with every pitch and 'scend +of the ship, while the straining canvas, towering away aloft toward the +dusky heavens, stood as firm and steady as though moulded in iron. The +watch below were in their hammocks, enjoying the repose which they had +earned by a day of unusual exertion; and the watch on deck were also, by +George's express command, snatching such a weazel-like sleep as could be +obtained consistently with the holding of themselves ready for a prompt +call in case of emergency. + +The night wore slowly on; the young moon, which had been hanging like a +silver crescent low in the western sky, sank beneath the horizon; and +the spangled heavens became almost wholly obscured by the broadening +masses of dusky vapour which swept rapidly athwart them. There was +light enough, however, to render the schooner easily distinguishable +with the aid of the night-glass; and George, after attentively watching +her for more than half an hour, came to the conclusion that the _Aurora_ +was at length holding her own. + +"We will clew up and furl the royals, if you please Mr Ritson," said he +to the officer of the watch; "I am getting uneasy about those sticks; +and it would be most unfortunate to lose them just now. I believe we +shall do just as well without the royals as with them in this fresh +breeze. How is she steering? Pretty easily?" to the man at the wheel. + +"No, sir," was the reply; "she's `gripin'' awful; it takes a half-turn +of the wheel to keep her out of the wind." + +"Then we'll take in the gaff-topsail and mizzen-topmast staysail as +well," said George. "All that weather-helm must make at least half a +knot difference in her sailing." + +Sail was accordingly shortened, the result proving the justice of +Captain Leicester's surmise, for there was no perceptible diminution in +the speed of the barque; on the contrary, in another half-hour both the +skipper and his second mate were convinced that the _Aurora_ was +gradually creeping away from her pursuer. + +The spread of canvas was then further reduced by the hauling down of the +main-topgallant-staysail, and the furling of the fore-topgallant-sail; +and finally the flying-jib and main-topgallant-sail were stowed, after +which the two craft appeared to maintain, as nearly as possible, an +equal speed all through the remainder of the night. + +The next morning dawned with a coppery-red tint in the eastern sky, and +a streaky look in the clouds, which was a presage of a windy day. The +schooner was about six miles distant, bearing three points on the +barque's lee quarter. Her royal, topgallant-sail, and flying-jib were +stowed; but by the way in which she was lying over to the breeze, and +the dense showers of spray which were incessantly flying in over her +weather bow, it was evident that she was still carrying all the canvas +she could stagger under. + +"Now," said George to the first mate, when the latter came on deck to +take charge at eight bells, "I think we have that fellow in our power, +and can do pretty nearly what we like with him. In this breeze and with +this sea we can outsail him; and with all that water pouring in upon his +forecastle it will be difficult for him to work his long-gun to +advantage, which I believe, unlike ourselves, he has fixed there on a +pivot; so I propose to let him creep up within gun-shot astern of us, +and fight him there, where all the advantage will be on our side." + +Accordingly, as soon as the crew had taken their breakfast, Captain +Leicester ordered the jib and fore-topmast staysail-sheets to be hauled +over to windward in order that the barque's speed might be reduced +without shortening sail and so exciting any suspicion in the minds of +the pirates of a desire on the part of the _Aurora_ to renew the action. + +This manoeuvre had the desired effect; and shortly before noon the +schooner once more opened fire, the shot flying past the _Aurora_, and +at some distance to leeward of her. This was doubtless in consequence +of the violent motion of the schooner, which, being a much smaller +vessel than the barque, was much more lively in the sea-way. This gave +the _Aurora_ another advantage over the schooner, as was at once +apparent when Ritson recommenced his gun-practice; his first shot +passing through the schooner's topsail in close proximity to the mast. + +The firing soon became pretty animated on both sides, the _Aurora_ +having, however, a decided advantage over her antagonist both in +rapidity and precision of fire. Thus, while at the end of half an hour +only one of the schooner's shot had touched the barque, and that without +doing any material damage, her own sails and rigging were pretty well +cut up, several shot-holes being visible in her canvas, whilst a number +of ends and bights of ropes were seen streaming to leeward in the wind. + +At length a lucky shot from the _Aurora_ struck the schooner's fore-mast +just below the eyes of the rigging, wounding the spar so badly that it +almost immediately afterwards went, carrying away the main-topmast with +it, and in an instant the whole of the pirate's top-hamper was towing to +leeward, causing tremendous confusion on board, and placing the craft +almost completely at the mercy of her antagonist. + +A hearty cheer burst from the lips of the _Aurora's_ crew at the sight +of this disaster on board their adversary, a disaster of which George +was determined to take the fullest advantage. + +"Now, lads," he exclaimed, "she is at our mercy, and we will inflict on +her a lesson she is not likely to speedily forget. Clew up the courses, +then let go the topsail-halliards, and double-reef the fore and +main-topsails, and, as you come down, stow the courses." + +The men sprang aloft with alacrity to execute these duties; and, on +their return to the deck, sail was further shortened, until the barque +was under double-reefed topsails and fore-topmast staysail only; when +she wore round and stood directly for the disabled pirate schooner, the +long-gun being run forward and pointed out of the foremost port on the +lee-side, and the firing resumed. + +In a very short time she was close to the schooner, round and round +which George proceeded deliberately to sail, maintaining a steady fire +upon her meanwhile. + +The pirate schooner, however, though disabled, was by no means rendered +harmless, as Captain Leicester soon discovered to his cost; for, as he +was sailing past her to windward, at a distance of about fifty yards, to +his very great surprise, her crew suddenly threw open three ports in her +weather bulwarks, and the next moment three six-pounder shots came +whistling through the _Aurora's_ rigging, cutting a rope or two, but +happily missing the spars and all gear connected with the canvas which +was set. At the same moment Ritson fired his nine-pounder, and struck +the schooner (which was listing over to leeward with the weight of her +wreckage) exactly between wind and water. + +Now that the two vessels were so close together, it became apparent that +Captain Leicester had been perfectly correct in his estimate as to the +strength of the schooner's crew; for whilst a strong gang could be seen +hard at work clearing away the wreckage of the spars, a sufficient +number of men were still available to work the broadside guns to +windward, which they did with great animation as long as it was possible +for one of them to be pointed at the _Aurora_. + +This was not for long, however, for the barque, holding on her way, wore +round as soon as she was out of musket-shot, and, passing across the +schooner's stern, swept up again to leeward, Ritson all the while +keeping up an animated fire from the long-nine, and evidently doing +tremendous execution among the thickly-clustering men on the schooner's +deck, who, whilst the barque was to leeward, were unable, in consequence +of the wreckage, to return more than a very ineffectual fire. + +At length, after an hour of this work, the black flag, which had fallen +with the main-topmast, was exhibited above the bulwarks of the schooner +for a moment, lashed to a boat's oar, and was then dropped again, in +token of surrender. + +"That means that they've struck, sir, you may depend on't," exclaimed +Ritson, walking aft as if for further instructions. + +"Yes, I have no doubt it does," replied Captain Leicester; "but if they +expect that the fact of their striking will be of any benefit to them, +they are woefully mistaken. We are altogether too short-handed to +attempt to take possession of her as a prize; and as to leaving her +alone, in order that she may repair damages and have the opportunity of +renewing her depredations, it is not to be thought of. She is not +entitled to any of the privileges of an ordinary enemy, nor shall I +extend any such to her. She is simply _a pirate_, one of those pests of +the high seas which it is the duty of any honest man to destroy, if he +have the opportunity. And that," he concluded grimly, "is what I intend +to do. Keep up your fire, sir, and aim so as to strike her between wind +and water if possible. I'll sink her before I've done with her." + +Ritson accordingly returned forward, and, communicating the captain's +determination to the crew, they resumed work at the gun, with the stern +set faces of men who recognised that they had a very terrible and +disagreeable duty to perform, from the responsibility of which they +dared not shrink. + +As soon as the schooner's crew discovered that their surrender had not +been accepted, they reopened fire as well as they could from their own +guns, and a man was seen to jump into the main-rigging and run aloft +with something rolled up under his arm, which proved in another minute +to be the black flag. Ascending as high as the lower masthead, he +coolly climbed up on the cross-trees, and, standing there, deftly and +rapidly lashed it to the masthead, after which he deliberately descended +the rigging again, defiantly shaking his fist at the _Aurora_ as he did +so. + +About ten minutes after the occurrence of this incident there followed +another of an infinitely more thrilling and startling character. The +_Aurora_ had worn round, and was once more passing the schooner; and +Ritson was in the act of glancing along the sights of the gun, +preparatory to giving the order to fire, when, without the slightest +warning or premonition of the dreadful tragedy about to take place, a +dazzling flash of light was seen on board the schooner, her spars, her +deck, and all that was upon it went soaring in fragments high into the +air, her sides were rent open, and in a tremendous cloud of smoke, and +with a deafening report, the devoted craft disappeared. + +The barque's whole frame jarred, her canvas flapped violently, and she +careened perceptibly under the terrific concussion; a dead silence +seemed suddenly to have fallen upon the scene of strife, and then came +the _splash, splash_ of the falling fragments into the water around, +accompanied by the heavy thud of others descending upon the barque's +deck; the water seethed and leaped madly for a few seconds on the spot +where the schooner had a minute before been floating, then subsided once +more into the long, steady, regular run and heave of the sea, and all +was over. + +Whether the explosion was the result of accident, or the deliberate act +of her desperate and reckless commander, it was of course impossible to +ascertain; very probably it was the latter; but, whatever the cause of +it, the pirate schooner was no more; a few rent and blackened timbers, +with here and there the mangled remains of what had a few minutes before +been a human being, floating on the surface of the heaving waters, was +all that remained of her and her crew. George Leicester's grim deed of +retribution was complete. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +SURPRISED. + +"A Terrible ending to a sin-stained career," murmured the skipper of the +_Aurora_ with white set lips, when the first shock of surprise and +consternation had passed away sufficiently to allow him to speak. "Up +with your helm, my man," he continued to the seaman at the wheel; "up +with your helm, and keep her away upon a west and by south course; we'll +get away from this accursed spot as soon as possible. Man the braces, +fore and aft, if you please, Mr Ritson, square the yards, secure the +long-gun, and then let all hands make sail." + +Then, going to the companion, he passed the word below for Mr Bowen to +close the magazine and come on deck. + +Five minutes later the chief mate emerged from the companion, and, +walking up to George, observed-- + +"Well, sir, you've managed to make a pretty effectual end of the +buccaneer, I see." + +"Yes," answered George gravely. "The schooner struck; but we are much +too short-handed to take and retain possession of such a craft as that, +so, as I did not feel justified in leaving them at liberty to resume +their nefarious business, I continued to fire into the schooner, +intending to sink her; and I am of opinion that her captain, recognising +the fact that escape was hopeless, blew her up with his own hand, hoping +to involve us in the destruction also. It was a terrible thing, Mr +Bowen, to cause the loss of so many lives, but I am convinced that I +only did my duty. And now, as there seems to be no immediate prospect +of our falling in with the fleet again, I propose to take full advantage +of this fine fair wind, and proceed upon my voyage; so please pack on +the ship everything that will draw; then let the men clear up the decks, +and knock off work; they have had two very fatiguing days, and have +fought well; let them get all the rest they possibly can between this +and to-morrow morning." + +When the sun set that evening, the _Aurora_ was flying to the southward +and westward (as if instinct with life and thrilling with horror at her +terrible achievement) before the freshening gale at the rate of fully +twelve knots per hour, with studding-sails set on both sides, alow and +aloft; while her crew, assembled on the forecastle, discussed in low +tones the incidents of the fight, and her skipper, with hands clasped +behind him, bent head, and furrowed brow, held solemn self-communion +upon the same subject. + +George Leicester now found himself at liberty to attend to his guest, +and he spent almost the whole of his leisure time by the side of +Walford's cot. For the first week after the arrival of the latter on +board the _Aurora_ very little change or improvement could be detected +in him; his mental faculties seemed to be almost paralysed; and he would +lie in his cot for hours at a time, with wide-opened eyes, staring into +vacancy, the blank, expressionless look upon his face betraying the +utter inactivity of his mind. Then there would occur a short period, +during which it seemed that memory was struggling to re-assert itself; +he would glance vacantly round the cosy sleeping-cabin in which he found +himself, a look of mild surprise would overspread his features, and he +would pass his hand over his brow with the action of one who is trying +to remember something; then would recur another vacant period. + +During all this time he never expressed a wish or uttered a single +coherent word; only occasionally, when the memory was struggling to +regain its seat, he would mutter a few incoherent words, that of +"murder" being sometimes repeated, in low tones of suppressed horror, +half-a-dozen times together. His appetite appeared to be good, since he +ate and drank freely whatever was offered him; but if the food was +withheld, as it sometimes was, by way of experiment, at Captain +Leicester's order, he never asked for it, or evinced any surprise or +uneasiness at its non-appearance. + +About the tenth day, however, after the one on which he had been picked +up, George thought he detected signs of improvement. The periods of +thinking were more frequent and more prolonged, and once during that +day, when the skipper entered the cabin, Walford noticed the opening of +the door, and, turning his eyes in that direction, regarded George for +some moments with a steadfast inquiring look; but the recognition, if +such there was, was momentary only, the hand was pressed meditatively to +the forehead the next instant, and then the blank look returned. + +The next day witnessed a recurrence of the same symptoms, added to which +there seemed to be a vague sort of semi-recognition of George's voice; +for, whenever the latter spoke, Walford would look up with an anxious +questioning glance, as though he had an idea that he had heard the voice +before. + +Finally, on that same evening, when George and Mr Bowen were in the +saloon together, chatting over the tea-table, the after-cabin door being +open, so as to insure a current of air through the apartment, Walford, +who had been asleep, suddenly started up in his cot with the +exclamation-- + +"Surely that is Leicester's voice?" + +George heard the ejaculation, and, springing to his feet, stepped +eagerly into the sleeping-cabin, saying-- + +"Of course it is, my dear fellow. How do you feel now? Better?" + +"Better?" repeated Walford. "I haven't been ill, have I? Where am I? +How did I come here? And where did _you_ come from?" + +"What a string of questions!" said George with a laugh. "But don't +worry yourself by trying to guess the answers to any of them just now, +you have been ill; but, thank God, you are getting better again. When +you are well enough to listen, I will tell you all I know; until then +you must be satisfied with the assurance that you are as safe as a man +can be in a tight little ship, with fine weather and plenty of +sea-room." + +"Safe!" ejaculated Walford. "Ah! but _am_ I safe? I have a horrible +feeling of dread upon me--a sensation of some frightful danger hovering +over me--a feeling that unless I can do something, I know not what, a +hideous disaster will happen." + +He shuddered violently as these words left his lips; then, turning +suddenly to George, he grasped him convulsively by the arm, and +exclaimed in agitated tones-- + +"Oh, Leicester! tell me what is it that threatens? What have I to guard +against? If you know what it is--" + +"There," said George soothingly, "do not worry about it any more. I did +not intend to say a word about it for some time to come; but, since I +find that you remember something about it, I will tell you this much. +You _have_ been in very great danger indeed, but all that is long past; +you are now on board my ship, more than a thousand miles away from the +danger which threatened you, and as safe as a man can be in mid-ocean." + +"Thanks, thanks! I believe you," muttered Walford with a sigh of +ineffable relief, as he sank back upon his pillow. "So I am in your +ship, eh? That's strange; I can't imagine--but, there, I shall not +worry myself any more about the matter; you'll look after me, I know; +you're a thorough good fellow, Leicester, and I'm almost sorry now that +I--that I--um! what _was_ it, now? Well, I dare say I shall remember it +further on. I say, old fellow, what time is it? Nearly dinner-time, I +should think, for I feel most confoundedly hungry." + +"It _is_ nearly dinner-time," answered George, delighted to find so +great an improvement in the man he had vowed to protect and restore. +"If you can hold out for another half-hour, I think I may promise you a +decent meal by that time. Will that do?" + +"Yes, oh, yes, I dare say I can manage to survive until then," murmured +Walford. + +Whereupon the skipper hurried away and took counsel with the steward; +the result of which was that in little more than the stipulated +half-hour Walford was served with the best meal which the _Aurora's_ +resources could furnish. + +From that time he grew steadily better, and in another day or two he was +able to leave his cot and to indulge in a bath, a clean shave, and an +hour or so on deck, half-sitting, half-reclining in a hammock which the +skipper had ordered to be slung for him from the spanker-boom. He +suffered from extreme bodily weakness, doubtless the result of his +frenzied exertions on board the ill-fated _Princess Royal_; but that +was, of course, an evil which rest and nourishing food would speedily +remedy. But he did not recover the use of his reasoning faculties for +some time after the period now referred to, and then the recovery was +only partial. + +As for Captain Leicester, he was in high spirits; the breeze lasted +fresh for four full days after his encounter with the pirate schooner, +so fresh indeed that once or twice he was obliged to furl his royals, in +order to save the sticks; and the barque, no longer compelled to +moderate her pace to that of the slowest sailer in a large fleet, +maintained a steady speed of twelve knots during the whole of that time, +thus fully making up, in the skipper's opinion, for the time and ground +lost during the gale, and encouraging him to look forward hopefully to +the accomplishment of a quick passage. + +But such a state of things was too good to last. On the fifth day the +wind fell light, and on the sixth it failed them altogether, leaving the +_Aurora_ helpless in the "doldrums," she being at that time about a +thousand miles from Cape Haytien, and six hundred from the island of +Saint Thomas. This was particularly vexatious, because Captain +Leicester considered that, had the breeze continued fresh and favourable +for only twenty-four hours longer, it would in all probability have run +him fairly into the North-East trades, and he would then have been able +to calculate the duration of the remainder of the voyage with almost +mathematical exactness, and, what was still more to the purpose, would +have been sure of a breeze, and that a fair one, for the remainder of +the way. + +However, there was no help for it, they had to take the wind and weather +as it came, and the crew had a busy time of it "box-hauling" the yards, +now this way, now that; trimming the sails to every passing breath of +the capricious air, and, after all their trouble, accomplishing only +some half-a-dozen miles during the whole day. + +On the next day it was the same, excepting that the proceedings were +varied by a tremendously heavy thunder-storm, followed by, instead of +the wind which Captain Leicester so earnestly hoped for, a perfect +deluge of rain, which lasted for rather more than an hour. It was a +regular tropical downpour; the water descended, not in separate detached +drops, but in _sheets_, which splashed down on the decks as if from a +cataract. Advantage was taken of this copious downfall of pure fresh +water to refill all the water-casks; after which the scuppers were +plugged, wash-deck tubs filled, and all hands, stripping to the skin, +indulged in the unwonted luxury of a thorough ablution in the warm soft +water, finishing up by rousing out all their "wash clothes," and +treating them to the same beneficial process. + +The storm cleared away as rapidly as it had worked up, leaving the sky +absolutely cloudless, and the water thrashed down by the rain until it +was smooth as a polished mirror. The heat was intense, and the men, +notwithstanding their refreshing bath, went about their work languidly, +perspiring at every pore. It was a positive relief to them to see the +sun at last go down behind the gleaming horizon, and a greater relief +still when, an hour later, a faint breeze from the eastward came +creeping over the water, and, barely filling the _Aurora's_ light upper +sails, gave her just sufficient way through the water to allow of her +head being kept in the right direction. + +At eight o'clock that evening Mr Bowen retired to his cabin, it being +then his watch below, and at nine the skipper followed his example. The +ship was then stealing along through the water at a speed of about two +knots, the royals, topgallantsails, and more lofty staysails just +"asleep," the topsails alternately filling out and flapping again to the +masts with the barely perceptible swing of the ship over the low, long, +sleepy heave of the swell, and the courses drooping heavily and +uselessly from the yards. The sky was "as clear as a bell," to use a +favourite metaphor of Ritson's, not a trace of cloud being visible in +any part of the vast sapphire vault which stretched overhead, spangled +here and there with a few stars of the first magnitude, and with the +moon, nearly at the full, hanging in the midst like a disc of burnished +silver, her pure soft light flooding the sea with its dazzling radiance, +and causing the sails to stand out like sheets of ivory against the deep +dark blue of the sky. There seemed to be no immediate prospect of any +change in the weather, but George was thankful that the ship was really +at last moving once more--though ever so slowly--in the right direction; +and, fervently hoping that the breeze would last long enough to run him +into the "trades," he went below with an easy mind, after giving Ritson +the usual stereotyped order to call him should any untoward event occur. + +After the overpowering heat of the day the comparative coolness of the +night was unspeakably refreshing, and with all the doors, the skylight, +and the stern-windows open, and a thorough circulation of fresh air +through the cabins, their several occupants were soon wrapped in a sound +and dreamless slumber. + +It was even more pleasant on deck than it was below, for the hull of the +ship had, during the long scorching day, absorbed a considerable amount +of heat, which it gave off again during the night, causing the cabins +and forecastle to be unpleasantly warm even after all possible means had +been adopted for their thorough ventilation, whilst on deck the full +benefit of the breeze, what there was of it, was to be obtained. + +Such, at all events, was Mr Ritson's opinion, as he sauntered +listlessly fore and aft, between the taffrail and the main-mast, +glancing now aloft at the all but idle canvas, then into the binnacle, +then over the side at the tiny bubbles creeping lazily past the ship's +side, and finally forward, to where the man on the lookout could be seen +seated upon the rail, facing ahead, with his arms folded and his back +leaning against the great wooden stock of one of the anchors, his form +showing black as that of an ebony statue against the brilliant silvery +sheen of the moonlight on the water. The remainder of the crew were +dimly visible seated on the deck in the black shadow of the bulwarks, a +tiny red spark or two indicating that some of them were solacing the +idle hours with a whiff or two of the fragrant weed. Officers who were +strict disciplinarians would have forbidden smoking in the watch on +deck, and would have insisted on the whole watch keeping constantly on +the move, as a safeguard against dozing; but Ritson was not a strict +disciplinarian; he liked to spare the men all unnecessary labour of +every kind, and, as there was no sail-trimming to be done, he just +allowed them to rest their weary bodies as much as they could. + +He would have liked greatly to rest his own weary body, too, for indeed +he felt it to be almost a torture to be pacing ceaselessly to and fro +there on the deck, hour after hour. + +He pulled out his watch, the hands indicated that it was ten minutes to +ten; it would be full two hours more before he would be relieved. There +was a most inviting-looking chair standing on deck near the skylight, +which Captain Leicester had been using during the day, and poor Ritson +thought how pleasant it would be to rest his tired limbs in it for a few +minutes. Then he took a stroll round the decks, just to wile away the +time, and to make sure that the watch--and especially the lookout--was +not "caulking." The shadowy figures scrambled somewhat hurriedly to +their feet on his approach, giving rise to just the faintest suspicion +that perhaps after all they _might_ have been "shutting their eyes to +keep them warm;" but the lookout man seemed unconscious of his presence, +and was humming, scarcely above his breath, the air of a homely song as +Ritson passed him, his gaze resting on a brig ahead, which had been in +sight all day, and which, from the fact that she was steering in the +same direction as the _Aurora_, was thought to belong, like themselves, +to the dispersed fleet. When Ritson again reached the quarterdeck, it +was ten o'clock, so he struck "four bells" sharply; the wheel and +lookout were relieved, and then everybody settled down once more, to +pass away the remaining two hours of the watch. + +As has been already hinted, Ritson was not so strict a disciplinarian as +to forbid smoking by the watch on deck, so long, of course, as the +smoking was not allowed to interfere with the duty of the ship. Nay, +more; he sometimes allowed himself the luxury of a pipe under similar +circumstances, and he thought he might safely do so on the present +occasion. So, seating himself in the skipper's chair, he drew out his +pipe, tobacco, and knife, and prepared to enjoy his whiff. + +Oh! how comfortable a chair that was! How great a relief to sit in it, +even for the minute or two during which he was cutting up his tobacco +and filling his pipe! This work, though performed with great +deliberation, was at length accomplished; his steel and tinder-box +furnished him with a light; and he began to smoke. + +Somehow he forgot to get up out of the chair again when his pipe was +lighted, but, leaning back restfully in it instead, watched the little +rings and wreaths of smoke which issued from it and went floating lazily +away until they vanished in the soft cool air of the night. Then, by +association of ideas, Ritson's thoughts strayed away to the little +flaxen, curly-haired urchin at home, his one-year-old son, who used to +be so delighted to watch the wreathing smoke issue from his father's +pipe, that he would crow and jump and kick upon his mother's knee, until +the good woman had hard work to hold him. He fancied he could see the +young rascal still, his fat, dimpled cheeks wreathed with smiles of +delight, his blue eyes sparkling, and his fat chubby arms and legs +flourishing in the air as he made frantic grasps at the little blue +smoke-rings floating toward him. Yes; and he could hear Anna's, his +wife's voice, half-jestingly, half in earnest, scolding the happy father +for keeping the child awake. And, letting his thoughts have free play +on _so_ pleasant a theme, he could recall the same voice crooning a +soothing lullaby to the little fellow as, later on, he nestled into his +mother's breast, tired out with his romp, and softly sank to sleep. +Very soothing was that lullaby--very soothing indeed--yes--it was-- +very--a--very--soothing--little--song--and--and-- + +And Ritson's head sank upon his breast, as he, too, yielded to the +seductive influence of sleep. + +A _few_ feet away stood or rather lolled the helmsman, his body drooping +over the wheel, on the upper rim of which he had crossed his arms for +the sake of the welcome support. On taking charge of the wheel he had +been given the course, and, glancing into the binnacle, he found that +the barque was heading in the required direction; upon which, like a +good helmsman, he at once selected a star to steer by, a star which was +just a finger's breadth clear of the main-royal yard-arm. By the time +that he had been at the wheel a quarter of an hour he discovered that +the ship was steering herself, and he accordingly relaxed his vigilance, +allowing his thoughts to travel away whithersoever they would. +Gradually his weary eyelids closed, and a short period--perhaps a minute +or so--of forgetfulness followed, from which he would suddenly start +guiltily and glance first aloft at the star, and then at the motionless +figure of Ritson. This glance of inquiry showing that the star still +occupied its proper position, and that the second mate had not observed +his dereliction of duty, the eyelids again closed, and a longer period +of forgetfulness would ensue, which of course ended, as it was sure to +do, in the man falling soundly asleep as he stood. + +As for the man on the lookout, he was notorious for his somnolent +powers. He made no pretence of an effort to keep awake. There was no +reason, he argued, why he should. It was a fine night, as light as day; +there was nothing in sight but the brig ahead, and, although the +_Aurora_ was clearly gaining on her, there was no likelihood of her +running over her in _his_ watch; therefore to keep a lookout just then +was quite a useless formality. Besides, there was the officer of the +watch, who would keep all the lookout required on such a brilliantly +fine night. And, arguing thus, he settled himself comfortably into the +position vacated by his predecessor, and, folding his arms across his +breast, tranquilly composed himself to sleep. + +The remainder of the watch had settled down to sleep, as a matter of +course; _they_ had not the lookout; and they were within call of the +officer of the watch, should their services be required; that, they +considered, was all that was just then expected of them; and they closed +their eyes, and yielded to their feelings of drowsiness without a shadow +of compunction. + +Thus, by half-past ten o'clock that night, the entire ship's company of +the _Aurora_, fore and aft, were fast asleep. + +Whilst all hands were thus wrapped in peaceful oblivion a small object +gradually merged into view immediately ahead of the _Aurora_. Had the +lookout man been broad awake--instead of fast asleep, as he was--he +would certainly not have noticed this object until it was within a mile +of the ship--unless his gaze had happened to have been attracted by an +occasional momentary flashing gleam of silvery light--because its colour +so artfully matched the delicate steely blue grey of the gently-rippled +sea that it was absolutely invisible beyond that distance. Even at the +distance of _half_ a mile a cursory careless glance ahead might have +easily missed it. But when a quarter of a mile only intervened between +it and the barque the look out man, had he been wide-awake and with all +his wits about him, would suddenly have become conscious that a large +boat, painted grey, and full of men, was pulling swiftly and noiselessly +toward the ship. On she swept, silently as a dream; not a word was +uttered on board her; there was no warning roll and rattle of the oars +in the rowlocks to apprise the sleeping crew of the approach of danger; +there was not even the plashing sound of the oar-blades dipping into the +water, they rose and fell silently as the misty oars of a phantom boat; +and when at length she swept up alongside the _Aurora_, a _sign_ was all +that was needed to convey the orders of the officer in charge to his +crew: his right hand was gently raised, the oars were noiselessly lifted +from the rowlocks and laid in without a sound upon the padded thwarts, +the boat sheered alongside, without absolutely touching, the painter was +made fast to the _Aurora's_ fore-chains, and sixteen armed figures +climbed noiselessly as ghosts over the bulwarks, leaving two in charge +of the boat. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +SOLD INTO SLAVERY. + +When George Leicester retired to his cabin that night, it was with the +full intention to at once retire to his cot. Instead, however, of doing +this, he flung himself down on the sofa, to indulge in a few minutes of +entirely undisturbed thought, and there sleep overtook him. + +From this he was abruptly startled into complete wakefulness by a sudden +cry, immediately followed by a confused sound of struggling on deck, and +of a dull crunching blow, a cry of "Oh, God! have mercy upon my dear--" +another blow, a heavy fall on the planking overhead, a deep groan, and +then a splash in the water alongside. + +Conscious at once that something terrible had happened, he sprang to his +feet, buckled on his cutlass, and, snatching up a pistol in one hand and +a lamp in the other, hurriedly stepped out of the cabin to investigate. +He was just in time to encounter at the foot of the companion-ladder a +motley crowd of swarthy-skinned strangers, who, with bared daggers and +sword-blades, were making their way down to the cabin. That they were +enemies was so instantly apparent that George unhesitatingly levelled +his pistol at the foremost man and fired. The bullet struck the man in +the shoulder, shattering the bone, and he staggered to one side,--only +to make way for others, however, who, pressing upon George, disarmed and +overpowered him before he had opportunity to do further harm. Mr +Bowen, who had dashed out of his cabin just behind George, was similarly +disarmed and overpowered; and then the crowd pressed on into the cabin, +where they found and secured Walford and the lad Tom. + +Having made a thorough search of the various state-rooms, the +strangers--who were evidently Spaniards--hurried their prisoners on +deck. Here a single glance sufficed to show Captain Leicester that his +ship had been taken from him by a clever surprise, aided--or rather +rendered possible--by terrible carelessness on the part of those left in +charge of the deck. The crew, as he found on rapidly counting heads, +were all present--with one exception--securely bound hand and foot, and +huddled together under the bulwarks. The exception--the missing man-- +was Ritson; and the overturned and broken chair, the blood-spattered +deck in its immediate vicinity, and the heavy splash into the water +alongside, which George had heard, rendered the whole story as plain and +clear as the moon which rode so serenely in the heavens above. Poor +Ritson! he had paid with his life the penalty of his disastrous lapse of +duty. And the drowsy helmsman--who had obviously awakened in time to +spring to the assistance of his superior--was lying near the skylight, +white and ghastly in the moonlight, with his skull cloven, and a great +black pool of blood slowly spreading on the planking beneath his head. +The brig ahead, now hove-to and evidently awaiting the approach of the +_Aurora_, told George from whence his enemies had sprung; and--now that +it was all too late--he bitterly reproached himself for his lack of +caution with regard to her. + +The individuals who had thus cleverly gained possession of the barque +were as ruffianly a set of scoundrels as could well be met with on the +high seas. Their leader, a brawny, thick-set Spaniard, with a skin +tanned to the hue of well-seasoned mahogany, his ragged black locks +bound round with a filthy red silk handkerchief, and surmounted by a +broad-brimmed straw hat, his body clad in a red and yellow striped +worsted shirt, confined at the waist by a cutlass-belt, into which a +long-barrelled pistol was thrust, and his legs encased in sea-boots +reaching nearly to the thigh, was a particularly truculent-looking +ruffian; and a powerful negro, somewhat similarly clad, who seemed to be +his chief _aide_, was little if anything better. + +That they were pirates there could be no possible doubt, and poor George +Leicester expected nothing less than that he and his ship's company +would all have their throats cut, and then be unceremoniously pitched +overboard, to keep poor Ritson company. It soon appeared, however, that +his career was not to be thus summarily brought to an end, for after a +few words between the leader and the negro, George and his crew were, +after their bonds had been looked to and made more secure, distributed +about the deck, and chained to the ring-bolts in the bulwarks and +elsewhere. + +The _Aurora_, under the influence of a slightly freshening breeze, soon +joined company with the brig, from which a boat then put off, bringing +on board the barque a tall handsome man, whose features were, however, +spoiled by the expression of cunning and cruelty legibly imprinted on +them. He said a few words to the Spaniard in charge, glanced round the +deck at the helpless prisoners, made a jesting remark or two, at which +of course everybody dutifully laughed, gave George--who unfortunately +happened to be nearest him--a playful kick in the mouth with his heavy +boot, and then sauntered leisurely down into the cabin, where, from the +repeated loud bursts of laughter, and the singing which soon arose, a +carouse seemed to have been promptly entered upon. + +The sky to the eastward was brightening with the approach of dawn, when +the revellers at last staggered once more on deck. Here the handsome +man--who seemed to be the chief of the pirate crew--paused for a moment, +apparently to reiterate and emphasise certain commands already laid upon +his subordinate, after which he went down the side into his boat, and +some five minutes afterwards the two craft filled away once more upon +their former course. + +It would be impossible to convey to the reader, without going into the +most shocking and disgusting details, any clear idea of the sufferings +and indignities to which the unfortunate captain and crew of the +_Aurora_ were subjected during the next three weeks. Suffice it to say +that during the whole of that time they were _never_ released from the +ring-bolts to which they were chained; that they lay there on the hard +planking day and night, alternately scorched by the fierce rays of the +noonday sun, and chilled by the heavy dews of night; that they were +sparingly and irregularly fed--and then only upon the coarsest and most +loathsome of food--and still more sparingly and irregularly supplied +with water; that they were the recipients of incessant abuse and +brutality from the wretches who were in possession of the ship; and some +slight conception can be formed of their dreadful state of body and mind +during that interminable three weeks. + +At the end of that time the land was made, and late at night both ships +glided into an anchorage, where they brought-up, the canvas was furled +in a slovenly fashion which drove poor Bowen--in spite of all that he +had suffered--half-distracted, the boats were lowered, and preparations +were at once made for the transport of the prisoners to the shore. + +This operation, under the direction of the truculent-looking and +ruffianly Spaniard already mentioned as the head of the gang in +possession of the _Aurora_, was speedily effected. The prisoners, +handcuffed with their hands behind them, were sent down into one of the +boats lowered for their reception, and there secured to a length of +heavy chain, so that where one went, the rest were compelled to go also; +and, thus yoked together, they were transferred to the shore. A glance +at the star-lit sky, in which the pole-star hung, only some twenty to +twenty-five degrees above the horizon, told poor Leicester that they +were landing upon a shore open to the northward, and that, from the +position of Polaris in the sky, they were somewhere within about +twenty-five degrees of the equator; but, beyond that, he was just then +unable to learn anything further concerning their whereabouts. + +As the boat's keel grated upon the beach, the prisoners were ordered by +sufficiently significant gestures--none of them understanding a single +word of Spanish--to climb over the side and make their way up the beach. + +The Spaniard in charge pointed significantly with a long whip which he +carried to a break in the dense growth of trees which clustered close to +the water's edge and then, with an ominous flourish of the lash, gave +the word for the miserable band to move forward. A toilsome march of +some four or five miles along a track of heavy sand then commenced; a +march which, fatiguing enough in itself, after the long period of close +confinement to which they had been subjected, was rendered trebly so by +the constraint of the heavy chain to which they were secured. +Staggering, reeling, and stumbling forward, conscious of nothing beyond +their dreadful state of misery and suffering, it took them over three +hours to perform that horrible journey, urged on though they were by the +incessant application of the cruel whip; and then they found themselves +outside an enclosure formed of heavy slabs of planking some nine feet in +height. A narrow door gave admittance to the place, and, this being +unlocked, the prisoners were driven in, and after the door had been +again securely fastened, they were released from the chain, and, still +with their hands secured behind them, allowed to stretch their exhausted +bodies upon the ground, and take such repose as was possible under the +circumstances. + +The first definite idea to take possession of George Leicester's mind, +after he had fully realised the calamity of his capture, was escape. +Whilst chained immovable to a ring-bolt on his own vessel's deck, this +was clearly a simple impossibility; and as he now glanced round the +enclosure in which he found himself, he recognised the fact that it was +still equally so. It was true that the place was open to the sky, and +that the scaling of the barricade would be, to a strong, active, _free_ +man, simply a pleasant gymnastic exercise; but he was _not_ free; his +hands were shackled behind him; a sentinel, armed with cutlass and gun, +was promptly placed on guard over the wretched group of captives; and +last, but not least, the three weeks of confinement, exposure, and +privation to which he had been subjected had left their mark upon him; +he could no longer call himself a strong and active man. Besides this, +there was Walford. George's vow to watch over and protect this man, +and, if possible, to restore him to Lucy's arms, was ever present to +him, and he recognised from the very first that, if ever he should be so +fortunate as to escape, Walford must certainly accompany him. When +Leicester contemplated the additional difficulties which this necessity +forced upon him, his courage _almost_--though not quite--failed him; for +since the capture of the _Aurora_ Walford had, under the influence of +the sufferings to which he, in common with the rest, had been subjected, +relapsed into a state of almost complete imbecility; so that, so far as +assisting in the matter of his own escape was concerned, he was helpless +as an infant There was, however, one point in Leicester's favour; and it +was this. Walford still _knew_ him, and appeared to recognise, in spite +of the mists which obscured his intellect, the fact that George was +keenly interested in him; and he was always passively obedient to any +injunction which the latter laid upon him. + +The unfortunate crew of the _Aurora_ were kept confined in this +enclosure four days, during which their condition was somewhat +ameliorated by the administration of a better quality and a more liberal +quantity of food than before, and also by the permission--or rather, the +command--to exercise their cramped and stiffened limbs by a +daily-increasing amount of exercise. + +The cause for this altered treatment soon became apparent. On the +morning of the fifth day--by which time their haggard, half-starved, and +feeble appearance had to some slight extent passed away, and they were +once more able to keep upon their feet for an hour or so without +dropping exhausted to the ground--the Spaniard who had charge of them +made his appearance in the enclosure, still arrayed in the filthy +habiliments which he wore on board the _Aurora_, and armed as usual with +whip, cutlass, and pistol; and, flourishing the former threateningly in +the air, roughly bade them rise to their feet. This command being +obeyed, a chain was produced--somewhat lighter than the one before +used--the prisoners were secured to it, and then the negro who acted as +the Spaniard's _aide_ or chief mate, unlocked the door, and the whole +party marched out. + +The route on this occasion, as on the last, was along a narrow +bridle-path of heavy sand, which led through a dense growth of tropical +trees and plants. Following this path for about a mile, the party +emerged upon a road crossing the path at right angles, into which they +turned, when, at a distance of about two miles, a straggling town of +low, white, flat-roofed houses became visible, with blue water beyond, +just beginning to be ruffled by the sea-breeze. + +A toilsome march, of about an hour's duration, along the glaring white +road, during which they were scorched by the fierce rays of the sun, and +nearly blinded by the whirling clouds of fine dust, and they entered the +town. Passing along a number of narrow sandy streets--deserted, save +for the presence of a few negroes and miserable-looking Spaniards, +ragged and dirty, bearing barrels of water strapped upon their +shoulders, and a goat-herd or two driving his flock of milch goats from +door to door--they emerged at last into a large open square, in the +centre of which stood a tall, ugly stone fountain, from which more +negroes and Spaniards were filling their barrels. From the wide basin +of this fountain George and his companions in misery were allowed to +slake their thirst, and then they were conducted to a large open shed +which stood on one side of the square, and, under the welcome shade of +its wide shingled roof, ordered to sit down. + +They had not been here long when another gang of unfortunates--negroes +this time--were driven into the square and under the shed; then another, +and another; making in all some four hundred human beings huddled +together there, like cattle in a pound. + +Then, for the first time, the full horror of their position burst upon +George and his wretched companions; they were in a slave-market, and +were about to be sold as slaves. + +The conviction that this was actually to be their fate fell upon them +like a thunder-bolt; it was almost too much for even George's courage to +bear up against; and as for poor Bowen, for a moment it seemed that he +would go out of his senses altogether; he prayed; he cursed himself and +everybody else; he swore solemnly that he would kill the man who dared +to buy him, and finally, in a paroxysm of mad fury, started to his feet, +dragging at the chain and exerting such an extraordinary amount of +strength--in spite of all his recent sufferings--in his efforts to break +away, that for a moment it seemed almost possible that he would succeed. +A cruel lash across the face from the Spaniard's whip--a lash which +tore away the skin and left a livid bloody weal on both cheeks--only +maddened him the more; seeing which, the negro who, with the Spaniard, +was in charge of the party, sprang upon him, and, gripping him by the +throat, hurled him to the ground with such brutal force that the poor +fellow lay there, for a time stunned. + +At about nine o'clock the square gradually began to fill, a large number +of Spanish gentlemen arriving upon the scene; some on horseback, and +others in gigs drawn by a pair of horses driven tandem-fashion. They +all smoked incessantly, and nearly all of them, on reaching the square, +proceeded at once to the shed, and, walking up and down its entire +length, examined with the utmost minuteness every individual beneath its +roof, frequently stopping to make some inquiry of those who had the poor +wretches in charge. + +At ten o'clock a small shrivelled-up specimen of a Spaniard, dressed +entirely in white, made his appearance in the square, followed by four +negroes bearing a couple of chairs and a lightly-constructed rostrum, +and accompanied by a sallow cadaverous-looking individual, with a large +book under his arm, a pen behind his ear, and a silver-mounted ink-horn +at his button-hole. + +Selecting a suitable spot for the purpose, the negroes placed the +rostrum on the ground, with one chair in and the other in front of it; +the shrivelled-up Spaniard mounted into position, his clerk seated +himself in front, a negro perambulated the square, ringing a large +hand-bell, and the sale began. + +The blacks were offered first, and of these a large proportion had +evidently been landed very recently from a slaver. For the most part +they were a tall, fine-looking set of men and women; that is to say, +they _had_ been; but disease and privation had done almost their worst +upon them; and as they took their places upon the block, one by one, +their forms showed gaunt and spare as so many skeletons. In spite, +however, of their poor condition, competition ran high; the bidding was +brisk, and they were rapidly "knocked down," one after the other, until +the whole of the cargo was cleared. + +Then came a gang of negroes--slaves already--belonging to the estate of +a tobacco planter, recently deceased, whose heir was disposing of +everything prior to a trip to Europe. + +Most of these poor wretches had been born on the estate; others had been +on it long enough to form family connections upon it; and now husbands +and wives, parents and children, were in many cases about to be +ruthlessly torn from each other for ever. It was pitiful--it was +heart-breaking--to those unaccustomed to such a scene to witness the +expression of utter despair on the faces of these poor creatures. Then, +as the sale proceeded, this expression would sometimes give way to one +of feverish hope as the purchaser of a husband or parent would become a +bidder for the wife or child. In one or two rare cases the hope was +realised; and as husband and wife, or parent and child, found themselves +once more reunited--once more the property of the same man--their joy +was enough to wring tears from the heart of a stone. But in most cases +the families were utterly broken up, no two members becoming the +property of the same purchaser; and then their dreadful misery, their +heart-broken anguish, was simply indescribable, and must be left to the +imagination of the reader. + +At length it came to the turn of the _Aurora's_ crew, and Mr Bowen was +selected as the first man to be "put up." On being released from the +chain, instead of at once stepping up on the block, as he was signed to +do, he turned to George, whose arms were still bound behind him, and, +extending his hand, touched the latter lightly on the head by way of +farewell, exclaiming-- + +"Well, cap'n, the moment of parting's come at last, and a sorrowful +enough parting it is! Battle, storm, fire, or shipwreck I _was_ +prepared for; but when we sailed out of London, I never dreamed that I +was on the highway to _slavery_. Well, God's will be done! Here we +are, and I s'pose we must make the best of it while it lasts, which +won't be a minute longer than either of us can help, if I know anything +of you or myself. If I get clear first, I vow never to steer to the +east'ard until you've joined company; and if _you_ should happen to be +off first, I hope--" + +An impatient exclamation from the Spaniard in charge of the party, with +a savage lash of the whip, and a gesture of command to mount the block +at once, here cut short the rest of poor Bowen's farewell speech. + +The mate fairly reeled under the force of the blow, but he steadied +himself in an instant, and turned upon his assailant with eyes literally +blazing with fury; the veins on his forehead stood out like cords, the +muscles of his arms and legs swelled, as he gathered himself together, +and his body quivered like that of a tiger crouching to the leap. In +another instant he would have had the presumptuous Spaniard in a +death-grip, but a cry from Leicester stopped him just in time. + +"Steady, Bowen!" exclaimed George eagerly; "steady, dear old friend; +resistance is _worse_ than useless just now. It is their turn to-day; +but ours will come, it _shall_ come, some day; and then we will repay +them with interest for all our present sufferings." + +"Right you are, cap'n," was Bowen's reply, as he stepped quietly up on +the block; "but," turning to the Spaniard, "if ever you and I meet on +blue water--well, you shall rue this day, that's all." + +This incident, being of a somewhat exciting and novel character, seemed +to afford great gratification to the crowd of buyers gathered round the +spot, who eagerly remarked to each other upon the courage and +indomitable spirit of the British seaman, and dwelt upon the pleasure it +would afford them to quell that courage and humble that proud spirit to +the dust. The result of it all was a keen competition for the +possession of the man, and Bowen was at length "knocked down" to a tall +man with thin aquiline features, the expression of which was pretty +evenly made up of pride, resolution, and relentless cruelty. + +Walford was next put up, but the miserable condition of the unfortunate +man, and his vacant look of imbecility, excited nothing but laughter and +ridicule, and no one would make a bid for him. + +Seeing that it would be impossible to sell this "lot" alone, the +Spaniard with the whip ordered George to be released and placed upon the +block also, stepping forward at the same time and whispering eagerly in +the ear of the auctioneer. + +The latter thereupon explained to the crowd that while the first of the +two men offered was undoubtedly valueless of himself and alone, he could +be made very useful if purchased along with the second, who had been +found to have great influence over him, and could, in fact, persuade him +to do anything which might be required; and so on, and so on. + +A little brisk bidding then ensued for the two on the part of the more +speculative among the buyers, who were willing to risk a little possible +loss on the chance of obtaining two slaves for a trifle more than the +price of one; and finally they were purchased by a man who had all the +appearance of being an overseer on some extensive estate. The lad Tom, +who was next put up, was also bought by the same purchaser; and in a few +minutes the three white men--now slaves--found themselves chained to a +gang of negroes--men and women--who had also fallen into the hands of +the same owner. + +Half an hour afterwards the gang was put in motion, and, with the +overseer (for such he eventually proved to be) at their head, and three +other men, mounted--one riding on each side and one in the rear--as a +guard, took their way through the town (which George at last ascertained +was Havana), out into the country, and inland toward the hills, along a +fairly good road, well shaded for the most part with a dense growth of +tropical verdure. + +A wearisome tramp along this road for a distance of some ten miles +brought them late in the afternoon to the plantation which was to be +their future home, or prison; and George, Walford, and the lad Tom, with +an old negro who possessed a slight smattering of English, were +installed into a small, but fairly comfortable, wooden hut, thatched +with sugar-cane-leaves. Here the clothing which they had been wearing +when purchased was taken from them, and they were supplied instead with +short drawers and jumpers of blue dungaree; a plentiful meal of ground +maize with a little salt was served out to them, and they were left for +the remainder of the day to recover themselves and prepare for the +labours which awaited them on the morrow. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +A DASH FOR FREEDOM. + +To find one's self sold into slavery must be a thoroughly unpleasant +experience; yet when George Leicester that night found himself actually +a slave, the tenant of a slave-cabin, and with slaves only for his +future companions and associates, he felt by no means discouraged. +There was no oppressive feeling of despair weighing down his heart and +crushing his spirit into utter hopelessness; on the contrary, he had the +feeling as if a great load of care and anxiety had been lifted from off +his heart; he now knew the worst of what was to befall him; he fully +recognised that the life before him was to be one of unrequited hardship +at least, and, it might be, also of suffering and bitter tyranny; but he +braced himself to meet it all, whatever it might be, with unflinching +fortitude, sustained by the steadfast, inextinguishable hope of eventual +escape. + +This hope indeed of eventual escape rose high within his breast, now +that he had actually arrived upon the spot from which it must be made. +The estate of which he was now one of the chattels was that of a tobacco +and sugar planter. Of its extent he could at present form no opinion; +but he saw that it was of considerable size, the whole of the cultivated +ground within sight being the property of his owner. It was situated +upon a tolerably level plain, with a road running through it, from the +main road along which they had recently travelled, up to the planter's +house, a wide straggling stone structure, with a thatched roof and a +verandah all round, occupying the summit of a slight eminence nearly in +the middle of the estate. Behind the house, at a distance of some +twenty yards, stood another building, which George rightly guessed to be +the stables; the slave-huts, of which there were thirty-four, were +built, at a distance of about a quarter of a mile from the house, on a +gentle slope, at the foot of which stood the boiling-house and +sugar-mill, the store-houses, the tobacco factory, etcetera; and just +beyond them, again, ran a tiny sparkling stream, from which was obtained +the power for driving the crushing machinery. + +The slave-cabins were wholly unenclosed, and George had not failed to +notice on his arrival upon the estate that, though it was certainly +fenced in, the fencing consisted of nothing more than a common rough +post-and-rail fence, evidently intended merely to keep out cattle, and +in his innocence he began to think that escape from such a place would +prove a very easy matter, after all. "What, indeed," he asked himself, +"was to prevent his rising from his bed upon the very first favourable +night which should arrive, and quietly walking off the estate?" What, +indeed? + +But escape was far too precious a thing to be risked by being undertaken +in ignorance of whatever perils might attend the attempt, so he resolved +that for the present he would not attempt to frame any plans whatever; +he felt pretty certain that, as a new acquisition, he would be closely +watched for some time to come by those who might have the more immediate +charge of him, and his first task, he told himself, must be to disarm +any suspicion which might exist in their minds as to an intention on his +part to escape. The time necessary to the accomplishment of this might +also be profitably employed in acquiring a knowledge of Spanish, without +which he fully realised that his attempt must inevitably fail; and he +believed that, by the time he had thus paved the way for the great +attempt, his ingenuity would have proved sufficient to gain without +suspicion from his fellow-slaves a tolerably accurate idea of the perils +and difficulties with which he would have to contend. + +He took the lad Tom into his confidence at once, intending, of course, +that the poor boy should, if he were willing to incur the risk, go with +him and Walford, and share with them at least the _chance_ of freedom; +and so, from the very first day of their thraldom, there were two keen, +intelligent brains incessantly at work, diligently clearing the way to +recovered liberty. To Walford George said nothing whatever of his +purpose; the unfortunate wretch could not possibly aid them, and there +was the possibility that he _might_ unwittingly betray them. + +At six o'clock next morning the great bell at the engine-house rang, +this being the signal for the slaves to turn out and get breakfast. +Half an hour was allowed for this, and at half-past six they were formed +into gangs, and marched off to the fields in charge of the overseers. + +George and Walford were handed a hoe apiece, and attached to one of the +gangs detailed for work in the tobacco-fields. The lad Tom was attached +to another gang, and he spent his first day of slave-labour among the +sugar-cane. + +The tobacco was fast ripening, and was just then at one of its many +critical stages, the plants requiring individually almost as much care +and attention as a new-born child. Each plant required that the earth +should be hoed up round its stalk with almost mathematical accuracy to a +certain height and no more; and every leaf had to be tenderly and +scrupulously examined twice or thrice daily, to guard against the +ruinous attack of the tobacco-grubs. It was exhausting, back-breaking +labour, particularly for those unaccustomed to it, and the drivers' +whips were freely used to stimulate the sluggards or those who exhibited +any signs of a _tendency_ to shirk the work; but George soon saw--and +congratulated himself upon the circumstance--that the rule was evidently +a mild one on this particular plantation, the whip being rarely used +without provocation. It is scarcely necessary to say that Leicester was +quite resolved to save himself from the indignity of the lash, if hard +work would do it; and he was fortunate enough to return to his hut on +that first day without the whip having once been raised against him. + +Thus passed day after day, and week after week; the only variation being +that, when the tobacco was in proper condition, the fields had to be +gone through with the utmost care, and those leaves which were +sufficiently ripe were then picked, and laid in little heaps in the sun +to "sweat" and cure, this process being repeated daily until the entire +crop was gathered in. Then followed the "cleaning" of the fields and +their preparation for another crop, and so on, upon all of which it is +unnecessary to dwell. + +George and Tom devoted the whole of their brief leisure after the work +of the day was over to the cultivation of a knowledge of Spanish, being +fortunate enough, in their pursuit of this acquirement, to make the +acquaintance of a young and very intelligent negro, who had been for +many years valet to his master, but, being unlucky enough to incur that +gentleman's displeasure, had been sent in disgrace into the field-gang. +With him as a tutor their progress was rapid, and in little over six +months they were able to converse in Spanish with tolerable fluency. + +When at length George found that he was fairly master of the language, +he began cautiously to touch on the subject of escape, a topic upon +which Pedro, his tutor, was luckily always ready to enlarge. This +gentleman, regarding himself as an injured individual, was always +threatening--among his fellow-slaves, of course--to run away; and George +was once on the point of declaring to the fellow his own intention of +doing the same thing, but luckily his discretion stepped in and +prevented his committing so great an imprudence, the reflection +occurring to him just in time, that a man who _talked_ so much about the +matter was, after all, very unlikely to _act_ to any purpose. + +One night, however, Pedro entered George's cabin, looking very gloomy +and sulky; and, flinging himself down on a stool, he announced that he +had called to say farewell, as he was fully determined not to submit any +longer to such base treatment. + +"Why, what has happened now, Pedro?" exclaimed George, when he heard +this announcement. + +"I will tell you, friend George," answered Pedro. "You may possibly +have observed that miserable piece of insolence called Juan, who has +been promoted to the post from which I was so unjustly expelled? Well, +this wretched ape must needs send--_send_, mind you, not come down and +himself ask, but _send_--for a man to move some furniture up at the +house there. I have no doubt he specially named _me_, as I was ordered +to go; and I--I refused; I declined to be subjected to such an +indignity, and for this I was at once flogged. I have been humiliated, +disgraced, dishonoured, and I am resolved not to bear it any longer; I +shall fly to-night." + +"Well," said George, "I hope you will get off clear; I see no reason why +you should not." + +"You do not?" exclaimed Pedro. "Ah! my good friend, that is because you +are new to this wretched country. Are you not aware, then, that the +master keeps quite a pack of bloodhounds for the purpose of hunting +runaway slaves, and that these bloodhounds are turned loose every night +to scour the estate? They have been trained to watch over us and +prevent our escape. If I should happen to encounter one to-night, I +shall be compelled to abandon the attempt; for he will follow me about, +and, should I attempt to pass the fencing, spring upon and hold me until +his baying brings the overseers to the spot. Have you never encountered +any of these fiends of dogs?" + +"Never," answered George, his heart sinking at the startling news. +"This is the first I have heard of them. Then is it quite impossible to +walk about the estate at night without being pounced upon by a +bloodhound?" + +"Oh, dear no," was the reply. "They are so trained that they will not +molest you so long as you keep within the boundaries of the estate; but +they will watch and follow you until you return to your cabin. And, of +course, as there is only a dozen of the dogs in all, you _may_ perchance +get away without encountering one of them. But if you do, your +prospects of escape are still small, for you would be missed in the +morning, the dogs would at once be put upon your track, and a regular +slave-hunt would then begin. A slave-hunt is rare sport, I promise +you--for everybody but the slave." + +"Then it seems," remarked George, "that, even in the event of your +getting clear of the estate, you have very little hope of escape, after +all?" + +"None," was the reply, "none whatever--unless you happen to possess a +certain secret, the secret of _hiding the scent_, so that the dogs +cannot follow your trail. Then, indeed, you _may_ hope to escape, but +not otherwise. _I_ am fortunate enough to possess this secret, and as +we have been good friends--you and I--I do not mind letting you into +it--provided that if you make one in the hunt to-morrow--they take +slaves to help sometimes--you will aid my escape in any way you can." + +"Agreed!" exclaimed George joyously. "In any case I would do that. +Still, the secret is a valuable one, and I should like to be made +acquainted with it." + +"You shall, _amigo_," said Pedro. And, placing his hand inside the +bosom of his shirt, he produced a handful of leaves. + +"Do you see these?" he asked. + +George intimated that he did. + +"Take particular notice of them, so that you may recognise them again +with certainty whenever you see them," urged Pedro. "Note their shape, +their exact colour; note their peculiar odour; and, above all, note +their taste; for there are other plants, quite worthless for the +purpose, closely resembling this one; but the _taste_ will at once tell +you when you have found the right one." + +George eagerly took a quantity of the leaves in his hand, and carefully +examined them, noting that, though they varied in size, they were all of +exactly the same shape and hue; then he held them to his nostrils and +inhaled their odour until he thought he had become fully acquainted with +it. And finally he put one in his mouth, and masticated it. The juice +had a very peculiar flavour indeed, so peculiar that he felt sure he +should never forget it. + +"And how do you use these leaves?" asked George. + +"If," answered Pedro, "you have an opportunity to gather them only a few +hours before you wish to use them, so that they are perfectly fresh, all +that you have to do is to bruise and crush them, so that their juice +shall be free to escape, and then rub them well all over your feet. +This imparts the odour of the plant to the skin, and so `hides the +scent' that the dogs are quite unable to follow it. But if the leaves +have been gathered so long that they have become dry, you must put them +in water to soak until they become soft once more; then first wash your +feet in the water, and afterwards rub them thoroughly with the leaves. +Only, in the latter case, you will require a much larger quantity of +leaves." + +"Thanks, Pedro, I shall remember that," answered George. "One more +question, and I have done. Where is this plant to be found?" + +"Ah! now you have given me a puzzle," exclaimed the black. "The plant +is very scarce, and is growing daily more so, for the reason that the +slave-owners carefully root it up and destroy it wherever they find it. +They are fully acquainted with its peculiar properties, they know that +it has freed many a persecuted slave from the bondage of a cruel and +tyrannical master, and that, if allowed to flourish, it would free many +more; so it is carefully sought out, and ruthlessly dug up when found. +Notwithstanding which, a plant is to be found here and there by +diligently searching after it. It grows generally in wet or marshy +ground, and in such spots you will have to seek for it, if ever you need +it. Now, I must go; it is close upon the time for the head overseer to +go his rounds, and I want him to see me in my own cabin. As soon as he +is once more fairly out of the way I shall be off. Good-night--and +good-bye." + +"Good-bye," answered George, grasping the negro's proffered hand; +"good-bye, and thank you for your valuable secret. I heartily wish you +good luck; and if they get up a hunt, and take me to help, I'll do what +I can to throw them off the scent. Which way do you go?" + +"You had better know nothing about that," answered Pedro cautiously. +"All I ask is, that if you catch sight of me, or observe any sign of my +having passed, you will simply keep quiet about it. And now, once more, +good-bye." + +Ten minutes later the head overseer, going his rounds, on looking into +Pedro's cabin, found that individual apparently fast asleep on the +floor, with his back against the wall, and such an utterly fagged, +worn-out look pervading his entire personality that the man was almost +betrayed into a momentary feeling of pity for "the poor boy." + +His surprise was therefore proportionally great when, on the following +morning, it became apparent that Pedro had succeeded, in spite of the +dogs, in making good his escape from the estate. + +A slave-hunt was at once organised, and about nine o'clock, as George +was hard at work in the fields, he saw the hunters--some half a dozen in +number, mounted, and accompanied each by a bloodhound--pass down the +main road through the estate and out on to the open ground beyond. Here +the party divided, half going in one direction, and half in the other, +to encircle the estate, and endeavour to pick up the trail. They were +absent the whole day, but when they returned at about midnight, the +unfortunate Pedro was with them, handcuffed, and secured by a rope round +his neck to the saddle of one of the horsemen. It afterwards transpired +that he had been perfectly successful, not only in evading the dogs +during his actual escape from the estate, but also in "hiding the scent" +from them; and his capture was due to the unfortunate circumstance of +his having been met by a friend of his master's who, an hour afterwards, +encountered the party in pursuit of him, and so put them upon his track. +Next morning the unhappy wretch was "made an example of," by being +flogged so severely in the presence of all the other slaves belonging to +the plantation that at first it seemed doubtful whether he would ever +recover from the effects of it; and, though he did eventually, it was +nearly three months before he was again fit for work. + +This incident of Pedro's escape and its unfortunate failure was +naturally the chief topic of conversation among the slaves for a long +time afterwards, and George heard so much of the many difficulties +attending such attempts, that he often felt upon the very brink of +despair. The obstacles were so great as to be almost insurmountable +when those who made the attempt were strong, healthy, thoroughly inured +to fatigue, and had all their faculties about them; but when it came to +not only making good one's own escape, but also that of a feeble and +weakly companion of unsettled reason, the task seemed so utterly +hopeless, so thoroughly impracticable, that it appeared almost worse +than madness to dream of undertaking it. + +Yet, in spite of all this, and notwithstanding the terrible example +which had been made of the unhappy Pedro, George clung tenaciously to +the idea, and never let slip an opportunity to do anything which in ever +so slight a degree might contribute to his success when the time should +come for the effort to be made. As time passed on, and his knowledge of +the Spanish language became perfected, his uniform industry and good +conduct procured him many little indulgences; such as a few hours of +release from field-labour now and then, in order that he might instead +be despatched, duly provided with a "pass," on some errand or message, +either to a neighbouring plantation or to Havana itself. These little +journeys not only afforded him an opportunity--of which he made the +most--of studying the physical geography of the island, but also of +hunting for the precious plant by means of which he hoped to +successfully hide his trail; and in this latter quest he was so far +fortunate that he found at different times as many as eight of them, +five of which he successfully transplanted to a favourable spot on the +estate itself in such an out-of-the-way locality that he fervently hoped +they would escape discovery. + +The next task which he set himself--and Tom--was that of propitiating +and making friends with the dogs which nightly guarded the estate; but +in this they were wholly unsuccessful; the creatures had been too well +trained, and they absolutely refused all overtures from men who wore the +detested garb of slavery. The circumstance, however, that they were of +white instead of negro blood was a point in our adventurers' favour, and +George accidentally made the discovery that, probably in consequence of +this circumstance, when he was able by any means to conceal the uniform +he usually wore, the hounds, though still suspicious, were puzzled and +undecided how to behave towards him. + +In the meantime, whilst steadily cultivating the favour of the overseers +by his unvarying industry and good conduct, he as sedulously cultivated +the good-will and friendship of his fellow-slaves; and by the exercise +of great tact and circumspection he gradually won from them, without +exciting their slightest suspicion, such a mass of valuable information +as quite decided him, when the time should come, to make his way inland +and to the southward, rather than to the northward, the latter route, +though that which would soonest enable him to reach the coast, being +chiefly, in consequence of that circumstance, by far the most perilous +one. + +The next matter requiring attention, was the acquisition of arms of some +description, with which the party could defend themselves in the event +of their being pursued and overtaken. These, by a lucky chance, he was +at length enabled to procure, in the shape of three cane-knives, weapons +closely resembling a cutlass as regards the length and curve of the +blade, but provided merely with a wooden handle, instead of the metal +guard usually fitted to the latter weapon. The same lucky chance which +enabled him to secure these cane-knives--namely, the finding of a gold +five-dollar piece on the road during one of his excursions into Havana-- +also supplied him with the means of purchasing three coarse canvas +jackets, such as were commonly worn by the Cuban coasting seamen at that +time, and with these he hoped to sufficiently disguise himself and his +companions to avoid any inconvenient questioning on the road, when the +time for the great attempt should arrive. + +The auspicious moment arrived, as such moments frequently do, quite +unexpectedly, and it came about in the following manner. + +When George and his comrades had been in slavery a trifle over a year, a +message reached the estate to the effect that a ship had that day +arrived from Europe, in the cargo of which there were certain household +articles that had been ordered expressly for the use of the planter's +wife, and that, as they happened to be stowed on the top, and the ship +had already begun to discharge, it was desirable that they should be +sent for at once, in order that they might escape damage. This message +reached the estate quite late in the evening, in fact it was within half +an hour of the time for knocking off work for the night; but so +impatient was the lady to see her new possessions, that she insisted +upon their being sent for at once, and George, as the most trustworthy +slave on the plantation, was ordered to take the mule-waggon and a +couple of companions, and proceed into town forthwith to fetch them, so +that they might be at the house and all ready for unloading by the first +thing next morning. He was instructed that, as it would probably be +very late, or rather, early next morning, before he returned, he was to +drive the waggon down to the engine-house, and place it under the shed +there for the remainder of the night, instead of driving up to the +house, so that he might not disturb the occupants by the noise of his +arrival. + +Leicester at once saw that this errand would afford him probably the +best opportunity he would ever have for the attempted escape; he +therefore mentioned to the overseer that he thought Tom and Walford +would be the most handy men he could take with him as helpers, and at +once went off in an unconcerned manner, but with a well-assumed air of +imperfectly concealed dissatisfaction at the prospect of his night +journey, to harness up the mules. On his way to the stables he sought +out Walford and the lad Tom, bidding them both be ready to go with him, +and imparting to the latter his determination to take advantage of this +opportunity to attempt their joint escape. + +This done, he hurried away to the spot where he had concealed his +treasured plants, and arrived there, only to find that they were gone. +Whether they had been discovered and destroyed by the overseers, or had +been found and appropriated by some fellow-slave acquainted with their +valuable properties, it was impossible to tell; the one indisputable +fact was that the plants had vanished. + +This was a most unfortunate circumstance, but George would not allow it +to dishearten him; the fugitives would have several hours' start before +the pursuit would commence, and then there was always the possibility +that other specimens of the plant might be found. + +Thinking thus, he slowly wended his way to the stable, where he +harnessed up the mules, threw into the waggon a quantity of grass and +cane-leaves, together with a canvas cover and rope, supposed to be +required for packing and protecting the articles, and then drove to the +hut, where Tom and Walford awaited him. The former, a very shrewd and +intelligent young fellow, had immediately, upon being apprised by George +of his intention, hurried off to prepare "supper," recognising the great +importance of a good substantial meal before starting, especially in +view of the uncertainty as to when they would be able to secure another; +and when George reached the hut, this meal was just ready. + +The trio partook of this, their last meal in slavery, as they hoped, +with great deliberation, George being most anxious not to start until +darkness should so far have settled down upon the scene as to allow of +his smuggling the cane-knives and canvas jackets in under the grass in +the waggon without detection. + +This was at length successfully managed, and, first taking a careful +look all round the hut, to see that they were leaving nothing behind +them which might possibly prove useful, they clambered into the cart, +and drove slowly off. + +Night had by this time fairly set in; the stars were just beginning to +peep out from the deepening blue of the cloudless vault above them, and +the moon, in her first quarter, and hanging almost in the zenith, was +already flooding the scene with her soft silvery radiance. It promised +to be a magnificent night for their enterprise, though excessively close +and hot; and as they turned into the main road leading into Havana, and +left the estate fairly behind them, George and the lad Tom felt their +spirits rising and their pulses bounding with joyous anticipation of a +speedy return to freedom. + +Whilst harnessing the mules, Leicester had rapidly turned over in his +mind the _pros_ and _cons_ of the situation, and had come to the +conclusion that it would be necessary in the first instance to proceed +some three or four miles on the road toward Havana. This necessity +arose from the circumstance that the planter's house stood upon a slight +eminence commanding a perfect view of the road for that distance, and as +Leicester could not possibly be sure that some one might not be idly +watching, from the verandah, the progress of the waggon as long as it +remained in view, he deemed it only common prudence to keep to the road +until he had passed completely out of the range of any such chance +watchers. This done, he intended to turn sharp off and make the best of +his way southward, utilising the waggon and mules for as great a +distance as possible, and then abandoning them and pressing forward on +foot. The distance which they would have to travel was not very great, +the island being, according to such information as had been available to +him, only some twelve and a half Spanish leagues, or about thirty +English miles wide at that part. Thus, if they were fortunate in their +choice of a route, so as to be able to use the waggon for the whole +distance, they might succeed in reaching the southern shore of the +island before their escape was so much as suspected. + +George explained all this to Tom as the mules trotted cheerily along the +road, and by the time that the plan of escape had been fully elucidated, +they had reached a point where they might with perfect safety branch off +and make their way to the southward. This they did at once, branching +square off to the westward in the first instance, until they were about +a mile distant from the road, and completely hidden by the bush from the +observation of any one upon it, and then turning in a southerly +direction. A dense belt of forest then lay before them, at a distance +of some six miles, with a lofty hill-top rising behind it, and toward +this latter object George now headed the mules as straight as the +scattered clumps of bush would permit. + +The soil was very light and sandy, but it was covered with a thick +growth of grass, which prevented the mules' feet or the waggon-wheels +from sinking, so that the travelling was nearly, if not quite as rapid +as it had been along the road. A sharp lookout was maintained for signs +indicative of their approach to the neighbourhood of plantations, and +two or three bridle-paths, evidently leading to such, were crossed; but +at length they reached the welcome skirts of the forest without having +had the least cause to suppose that they had been observed. + +In the meantime, however, a heavy bank of thundercloud had been observed +rapidly gathering on the southern horizon, and the runaways had scarcely +plunged a mile into the forest before the heavens were obscured, and it +at once became so pitch-dark that it was utterly impossible for them to +proceed. The mules were consequently pulled up, and the three +adventurers made what few preparations were possible for their +protection from the coming storm. + +Soon the low threatening rumble of the thunder was heard, and then, as +it rapidly increased in volume of sound, bright flashes of light were +seen blazing out beyond the interweaving branches of the trees. The +storm, as in all tropical countries, quickly gathered force and +intensity, and very soon it was raging in all its fury above and around +them. The loud reverberating roll of the thunder was incessant, the +lightning flashed with ever-increasing rapidity, and at last the entire +atmosphere seemed to be in one continued tremulous glare of unearthly +light. + +The mules started and quivered, as the lightning-flashes grew more rapid +and intense; and finally they became so terrified that George had as +much as he could do to restrain them from bolting, and so dashing +themselves, the waggon, and its occupants to pieces against the trees. + +The storm was at its fiercest when suddenly the party found themselves +enveloped in a blinding blaze of greenish-blue light; simultaneously +there came a terrific rattling crash, as though the universe had burst +asunder; the occupants of the waggon--blinded, and deafened by the +dazzling brilliancy of the flash and the tremendous report which +accompanied it--felt themselves hurled violently to the earth, and then +followed oblivion. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +THE PURSUIT. + +When George Leicester at last awoke from his stupor, and had +sufficiently recovered his scattered senses to remember where he was, +the strength and fury of the storm had passed, the lightning-flashes +being much less vivid, and coming at considerably longer intervals. But +the rain was descending in a perfect deluge, and, notwithstanding the +shelter of the thick overhanging foliage, the ground was already so +completely flooded that George at first thought he was lying in the bed +of some shallow watercourse. He staggered to his feet, chill and +dripping wet, and, taking advantage of the intermittent light afforded +by the lightning, looked around him to ascertain, if possible, what had +actually happened; and he then saw that an immense tree close by had +been shivered from top to bottom by the lightning, and, falling across +their path, had killed both mules, and completely wrecked the waggon. + +His own escape and that of his companions, if indeed they _had_ escaped, +had been simply miraculous, a huge branch having struck the waggon only +about one foot behind the seat upon which they had been sitting. The +ground was littered with splinters, and encumbered with the spreading +branches of the fallen tree, and among these he proceeded to search for +Tom and Walford. + +A low moaning sound some short distance on his right told him that in +that direction he would probably find one of the missing, and, groping +his way cautiously to the spot, he found the unfortunate Walford lying +on his back, with the water surging round him like a mill-race, and a +large branch of the fallen tree lying across his breast and pinning him +down. By exerting his whole strength, George managed to bear up the +branch sufficiently for Walford to work his way from underneath it, and +then he helped the poor wretch to his feet, inquiring at the same time +if he had received any serious hurt. Unfortunately one of the apathetic +fits which occasionally seized Walford had come upon him, and George was +quite unable to gain anything like an intelligible answer from him; but +he was scarcely able to stand, and his continued moaning and the +constant pressure of his hands upon his breast showed that he was +evidently suffering great pain. + +Seating the unfortunate man at the foot of a tree, where he would be +beyond the reach of the water, and making him as comfortable as was +possible, George then went in search of the lad Tom, whom he found +standing bewildered over the wreck of the waggon, with a thin stream of +blood slowly trickling down his face from a scalp-wound, probably +inflicted by a blow from one of the branches of the tree as it fell. + +"Ha! Tom, is that you?" exclaimed George joyously. "I was just coming +to look for you. How have you fared in the general smash?" + +"Is that you, cap'n?" answered Tom. "Well, I'm very glad to find you've +turned up all right. It _has_ been a smash, and no mistake; a total +wreck, and no insurance, I'll be bound. Well, it's unfort'nate; but it +can't be helped; it might ha' been much worse. I got a whack on the +skull that knocked the senses out of me for a while, but I don't feel +very much the worse for it a'ter all. Where's poor Mr Walford, sir? +What's become of him?" + +"He is close by," answered George; "but a big branch fell across his +chest, and I am afraid he is very much hurt." + +"Let's have a look at him," said Tom. And the two men groped and +stumbled their way without more ado to the place where Walford was still +seated, with his back resting against the giant bole of the tree. + +A few trials were sufficient to establish the fact that the poor fellow +was practically helpless, for the time at least; and it then became a +question of what it would be best to do under the circumstances. The +first idea was that George and Tom should each take an arm of the +injured man over their shoulders, and so assist him along; but he moved +with such great difficulty that it was soon apparent some other plan +would have to be adopted. + +"I have it!" exclaimed George, as a bright idea struck him; and hurrying +away to the waggon, he secured the canvas and rope which had been thrown +into it, together with the cane-knives, canvas jackets, and other +trifling belongings, and hurried back to the tree. + +"Now, Tom," he said, "look about you, my lad, and see if you can find a +nice light handy branch, tolerably straight, and about ten feet long, +and bring it here as quickly as you can." + +"Ay, ay, sir," answered Tom, starting off on his errand at once. + +Whilst he was gone, George spread out the canvas upon the ground, and, +with the aid of a pocket-knife, which he had seen lying about in the +stable that evening, and had taken the liberty of appropriating, +proceeded to roughly shape a hammock out of the material, leaving enough +canvas at each end to form, with the rope, an eye, through which to pass +the branch from which he intended it to be slung. + +He had hardly finished his preparations when Tom reappeared with the +waggon-pole, which he had found fortunately unbroken. + +"Will this do, sir?" asked Tom. + +"The very thing," was George's delighted reply. "Now, Walford," he +continued, "lie down on that canvas, old fellow, and we'll soon have you +slung comfortably in your hammock between us, where you will travel +without much pain to your poor chest. That's it; now, Tom, pass the end +of the pole through this eye; capital! now through the other; that's +your sort! Now I'll take the fore end of the pole and you the after +end; lift handsomely; have you got your end on your shoulder? Then off +we go. We have not such a very great distance to travel--only some +twenty miles or so--but we must get over the ground as quickly as +possible; for when once nine o'clock to-morrow morning has passed, we +may make certain that they'll be after us; so we must reach the coast by +that time, or soon after it, if we wish to get clear off." + +And in this manner, with Walford slung in his impromptu hammock between +them, George and Tom set off upon the wearisome journey which lay before +them, and which, they fondly hoped, was to end in the absolute recovery +of their liberty. + +_Tramp, tramp; splash, splash_; on they trudged,--stumbling over the +roots of trees, tripping over the long, tough, straggling creepers which +crossed their path, sometimes brought-up "all standing" and +half-strangled by the cord-like _llianas_ which hung festooned from tree +to tree, their naked feet and legs torn by thorns and stabbed by the +spines of the wild cactus--in thick impenetrable darkness for a couple +of hours, and then the clouds suddenly vanished away on the wings of the +land-breeze, the stars reappeared, the soft silvery rays of the moon +streamed down once more through the gaps in the foliage, and the weary +fugitives flung themselves down upon the sodden ground for a short +breathing-space. + +George was of opinion that, from the time they had been tramping through +the forest, they ought to have very nearly reached its southern skirts; +but as far as the eye could penetrate, in the uncertain moonlight, +through the sylvan vistas, there was no sign of break or opening of any +kind; nothing but an apparently endless succession of trees and dense +undergrowth. Seeing this, Leicester began to feel uneasy. He knew that +they had been travelling through the timber in anything but a straight +line--indeed, to do so would have been simply a physical impossibility-- +and he began to fear that, in spite of all his efforts to avoid such a +misfortune, they had been journeying along the arc of a circle, instead +of progressing steadily in a southerly direction. + +The wanderers were beginning to feel thoroughly fatigued, what with +their day's work in the fields, their exposure during the storm, and +their painful tramp afterwards; but George felt that, fatigued or not, +they must push on; liberty _must_ be secured first; when that was won, +they could afford time to rest, but not until then. + +The first thing to be done, however, was to get a definite idea of +whereabouts they were; it was obviously useless to continue plodding on, +they knew not whither; besides, it was frightfully fatiguing and painful +work, this marching through the forest, and George felt that it would be +a positive advantage even to deviate somewhat from their direct course, +if by so doing they could earlier gain the open ground once more. So, +looking around him, he picked out the most lofty tree he could find, +and, leaving Tom to keep watch by Walford's side, nimbly scrambled up +its trunk, and was soon among its topmost branches. + +A single glance around sufficed to show him that his suspicions were +correct; they were only about half a mile from the _northern_ edge of +the timber; and, consequently, rather worse off than if they had never +left the wrecked waggon at all. And, worse still, George found that, +after all their travelling, they were little more than three miles from +the estate, the whole of which was distinctly visible from his lofty +stand-point. This was rather discouraging, but there was no help for +it; he now knew exactly where they were, and how much greater than even +he had imagined was the necessity for immediate action; so he turned his +glances in a southerly direction, and sought to discover the most direct +road out of their unpleasant predicament. Here he met with an ample +reward for his trouble in climbing the tree, for he saw that, if they +pursued their way due south--as they could now do, directing their +course by the moon--they would have to travel through at least seven +miles of forest; whilst by heading in a south-westerly direction, +keeping the moon a little on their left hand, they would only have to +traverse some two miles of forest, after which there seemed to be +tolerably open ground as far as the eye could reach. About three miles +East-South-East of him he detected the gleaming white walls of a number +of buildings, which he judged to be a portion of the town of Santiago; +beyond it rose a curiously-shaped, double-coned mountain; away on his +right lay the table-land of Mariel; and--joyous sight--through a break +in the rising ground to the southward he caught a glimpse of the sea, +with, far away on the utmost verge of the horizon, an appearance of +land, which he conjectured must be the Isle of Pines. Noting all these +matters carefully, and making a rough mental sketch of "the lay of the +land," George rapidly descended to where he had left Tom and Walford, +and rapidly detailed to the former the result of his observations. + +"We must be off at once," he explained, "for we have no time to spare; +we have lost nearly three good hours blundering about here blindly in +this wood; it must be now nearly or quite midnight; and, if so, it +leaves us only ten hours at most to reach the sea, if we are to do so +without being overtaken." + +Accordingly, weary and stiff as they were, they again shouldered the +pole from which Walford in his hammock was slung, and once more set out +upon their journey, which, now that they were favoured by the light of +the moon, they hoped would be of a somewhat more prosperous character +than it had hitherto been. + +Another painful and toilsome tramp of a couple of hours and they +emerged, to their unbounded joy, from the southern side of the forest on +to comparatively open ground. Trees and dense straggling clumps of bush +were still abundant enough--far too much so, in fact--but there were +wide patches of grass-land between, over which their progress was +tolerably rapid. Once clear of the thick timber, George again shaped +his course due south, intending to pass through the break in the rising +ground which he had seen from his lofty lookout; but somehow they missed +it, and this involved a great deal of toilsome climbing. At length they +plunged once more into a belt of timber which stretched, seemingly for +miles, across their path; and here exhausted nature gave out; Tom +declared his utter inability to walk another yard, George felt scarcely +better than his companion, and so, notwithstanding the terrible loss of +precious time which it involved, they selected the first suitable spot +they could find, and flinging themselves upon the ground, one on each +side of Walford, gave themselves up to the sweetest sleep which had ever +sealed their eyelids. + +George was the first of the trio to awaken, and when he did so, he +found, to his dismay, that the sun was already several hours high in the +heavens. He immediately aroused the lad Tom, and, greatly refreshed by +their sleep, the pair once more shouldered poor helpless Walford and his +hammock, and resumed their flight. They were as hungry as healthy men +usually are after great exertion and a fast of several hours' duration, +but they had not a particle of food with them, so they were compelled to +subsist for the present upon hope, the hope that ere long they would +meet with something more substantial. They felt no particular anxiety +upon this score, as George knew that wild fruits of several kinds were +tolerably plentiful on the island, and about half an hour after they had +started they were fortunate enough to fall in with a wild plantain, the +fruit of which was just in the right condition for eating. No time was +lost in securing a goodly bunch of this very nutritious fruit, upon +which they feasted, as they went along, until their appetites were +completely satisfied. + +After trudging manfully along for about a couple of hours, they found +themselves upon the crest of a range of low hills, from which they +caught, through a break in the scrub, a glimpse of the sea, sparkling +invitingly under the noonday sun. They also caught a glimpse of +something, by no means so pleasant--namely, a town of considerable +dimensions immediately before them and only about two miles distant. + +To avoid this they were compelled to make a wide detour, and much +valuable time was lost in this way and in reconnoitring; for they knew +there would be several plantations in immediate proximity to so +important a place, and through these they would have, as it were, to run +the gauntlet. And, notwithstanding all their caution, they failed to +effect their passage entirely unobserved through this dangerous +district; it unfortunately happening that, just as they emerged from the +bush, and were about to cross a high-road, which they had been watching +for nearly half an hour, a vehicle appeared in sight, suddenly wheeling +into the road close to them from a bush-path which they had failed to +observe. This vehicle was occupied by two persons, a white man and a +negro driver; and as it was utterly impossible to avoid the observation +of these two persons, George told Tom, in a few low hasty words, to +continue moving, to carefully conceal all appearance of chagrin, and to +leave him to answer any questions which might be put to them. As the +vehicle approached the fugitives, its owner signed to his driver to pull +up, but he immediately changed his mind and passed on, contenting +himself with a careful and prolonged scrutiny of the travellers. This +disagreeable incident caused George and his companion to push on with +renewed vigour, and it was with sincerely thankful hearts that they at +last plunged into a shallow ravine, which promised to lead them directly +down to the sea, then not more, in Leicester's opinion, than some four +or five miles distant. + +The sun was by this time sinking low in the heavens and the travellers, +unutterably weary as they were, pressed eagerly forward, hoping to reach +the coast before nightfall, and to discover a craft of some kind which +they could appropriate, and in which, later on, when the night was well +advanced, and they could hope to do so unobserved, they might venture to +put to sea. This was the only effectual method of escape which George +could devise--to put to sea upon the chance of being picked up by some +passing vessel. He knew that, when once the fact of their escape became +established, the news would travel faster than they possibly could; the +whole country for many miles round, would be apprised of their number +and appearance, and recapture would be certain. To get afloat, +therefore, as speedily as possible was their first object; after that +they must trust to chance--or Providence, rather--for their ultimate +rescue. + +As they advanced along the ravine, it grew deeper, whilst its sides +became steeper and more rugged, until at last the place assumed quite +the appearance of a mountain-gorge or defile, with rocky, precipitous +sides, to which a few scattered shrubs clung here and there. At length, +in the deep silence of the breathless evening, the thrice welcome sound +of the sea breaking upon the shore came faintly to their ears. It was +the merest, faintest murmur, it is true, but their experienced ears told +them in a moment what it was; they were within the sound of the sea, and +in a few short hours at most, please God, they would be safe from +pursuit. + +A bend in the defile was before them, about a quarter of a mile distant, +and toward this they eagerly pressed believing that when they had passed +it they would find themselves face to face with the sea. In their +eagerness they broke into a run, notwithstanding their terrible state of +fatigue, and soon rounded the bend--to find themselves in a +_cul-de-sac_, with a perpendicular wall of cliff in front of them nearly +two hundred feet high. With a groan of bitter anguish and +disappointment they deposited Walford in his hammock on the ground, and +turned to ask each other what should be done in the face of this new +difficulty. As they did so, the deep bay of a dog smote upon their ears +from the higher end of the ravine. The sound was instantly repeated +again and again, in a slightly different key, proving that the cries +were uttered not by one, but by several animals. + +"The dogs! _The dogs_!" exclaimed Tom. "They are after us, by Jove; +and here we are, caught like rats in a trap." + +George glanced eagerly about him, up and down the ravine. To go back +was simply to throw themselves into the arms of their pursuers, for that +they _were_ pursued he did not for an instant doubt; to hide, even if a +hiding-place could be found, was impossible, with those keen-scented +brutes upon their tracks; and to remain where they were was to await +inevitable capture. Could they go _forward_? That meant scaling that +terrible wall of rock. As George glanced despairingly up the lofty +perpendicular cliff, he thought that an active man, unencumbered, +_might_ possibly accomplish the feat; at all events, were he so +circumstanced, he would try it. And what he could do, he knew the lad +Tom could do also; but there was Walford, unable to walk, much less to +scale that awful precipice. As he stood thus, the baying of the dogs +again came floating down the ravine; and how much nearer and clearer +were now the sounds! The brutes must be coming down after them at a +run, as of course they easily could upon a red-hot scent. The sounds +decided George to make one more desperate effort for freedom. + +"Look here, Tom," said he; "after coming thus far, we must not be taken +for want of a little extra effort. If we _are_, you may be sure we +shall never be allowed to make a second attempt. Now our only chance is +to scale that cliff; we _must_ do it, and we _can_ do it, if we only go +resolutely to work. It will be difficult, fatiguing, and awfully +dangerous, for we must take poor Walford with us; but _liberty_ awaits +us at the top; the sea is not half a mile off, I know, by the sound of +it; and we can reach it before those fellows can ride round to intercept +us; so let us set to with a will, my lad, and we shall scrape clear yet, +you take my word for it. Now out with your cane-knife, and cut away at +the grass; we must well pad poor Walford all round with it, so that he +may not be hurt by bumping against those rocks; then we'll lash him hard +and fast in the canvas, lash ourselves one to each end of him, and away +aloft we go." + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +ON THE FACE OF THE PRECIPICE. + +The cane-knives were speedily at work; the grass was long and abundant, +and as the two men were working for liberty--nay, probably for life +itself--they were not long in cutting a sufficient quantity for their +purpose. Walford was then lifted carefully out upon the ground, the +grass was thickly and evenly distributed over the inner side of the +hammock, and then the invalid was again deposited within it, and +securely lashed up, his head only being left free. This done, two +lanyards were securely attached to the extempore hammock, one at its +head, and the other at its foot. + +"Well done; that's capital!" exclaimed George, as the last turn was +taken, making all secure. "Now slip the bight over your--ah! here come +the dogs, by all that's unfortunate. We must defend ourselves with the +cane-knives. I'll tackle the first one, you take the next, and--mind-- +we have no time to waste; luckily there are only three of the brutes as +yet; we must kill them, and be up out of reach before the others or +their masters arrive. Keep steady, Tom, my lad, and strike so that one +blow shall be sufficient. Now then--come on, you devils!" + +As George finished speaking, the dogs--three superb specimens of the +Cuban bloodhound--dashed up to within about ten feet of the fugitives, +and there stopped, not attacking them, as they had expected, but merely +baying loudly. + +"This will not do," exclaimed George; "if we turn our backs upon them +for a single instant, they will seize us; and we cannot afford the time +to stand looking at them. I will take the dark one, you attack the +light fellow, and mind what you are about, for they are as strong and +active as tigers. _Now_!" + +At the word both men sprang forward with uplifted cane-knives, and made +a slash at the dogs. The creatures tried to dodge the blows, and one of +them--the one attacked by Tom--succeeded. George, however, was more +fortunate; he made a feint, and as the dog sprang aside, he followed him +up, recovering his weapon smartly at the same time, and bringing it down +in another second on the creature's head with such strength and effect +that the skull was cloven open, and the poor brute, with a yell of +agony, rolled over dead. Tom, meanwhile, was battling ineffectually +with the dog he had attacked, and George turned just in time to see the +hound spring savagely at the lad's throat, and hurl him to the ground. +With a single bound Leicester reached Tom's side, and raising the +cane-knife above his head, and grasping the handle with both hands, he +brought it down with all his strength across the dog's neck, taking care +to avoid the thick leather collar which protected it. The blow clove +through skin and bone, dividing the spine and nearly severing the head +from the body; but even then it was difficult to free poor Tom from the +iron jaws which had seized him. With a vigorous wrench, however, this +was effected, and George then dragged the lad to his feet. + +"Are you hurt?" panted Leicester. + +"No," gasped Tom. "The beast only seized me by the collar of my jacket, +and--" + +"Then come on at once," interrupted George; "the third dog has turned +tail, like a craven, luckily for us. Now slip the bight of the lanyard +over your neck, and follow me. Leave the cane-knives; they will only +encumber us, and perhaps throw us down the face of the precipice. Now, +look out, I'm going to start." + +As George spoke, he approached the face of the precipice, and, taking +advantage of whatever projections he could find, began the task of +scaling it, Tom following behind, and Walford slung in his make-shift +hammock between the two. + +They worked desperately, these two men, knowing how much depended upon +the next few minutes, and an onlooker would have been astounded at the +progress they made, encumbered as they were with the weight and bulk of +their helpless companion. + +In one minute from the time of starting they had gained a height of +forty feet, and then the sudden trampling of horses' hoofs, and the loud +shouts of their pursuers told them that the latter had rounded the bend, +and that they were seen. + +In a few seconds the sounds ceased at the foot of the cliff, and in +another instant the voice of the head overseer was heard shouting to +them-- + +"Hola there! Giorgio--you miscreant--come down, or I will fire!" + +"Keep steady, Tom," gasped George. "Let them fire; the chances are ten +to one that they will miss us. Do you feel nervous, lad?" + +"Not I," answered Tom; "never felt steadier in my life, cap'n. This +rope _is_ cutting into my shoulders awful bad, though." + +"So it is into mine," returned George; "but we must grin and bear it +now, until we get to the top. And--whatever you do--look up, boy; if +you look down, you'll grow dizzy, and, likely enough, slip; then down we +must all inevitably go." + +"Are you coming down, you rascals?" shouted the overseer. + +"It don't look much like it, I reckon, senhor," chuckled Tom to himself, +hoisting himself over the edge of a good broad ledge of rock as he +spoke, a ledge some ten feet in width. + +"Now!" exclaimed Leicester, as he helped the lad up, "we'll rest here a +minute or two, and recover our breath. They may blaze away at us as +long as they like now; we're as safe from their bullets as if they were +a dozen miles away." + +The overseer and his companions, however, seemed to think differently, +for the fugitives had scarcely settled themselves comfortably, when a +regular fusillade was opened upon them; but, as George and Tom were +completely sheltered by the projecting ledge, none of the shot came near +them. + +They were now about half-way up the cliff, and from this position an +excellent view presented itself for some distance up the ravine which +they had just left; but both George and Tom, now that they were sitting +quietly down, and had leisure to think about it, felt the sense of empty +space immediately before them, and of the sheer precipice which they +knew lay beyond that narrow ledge, to be exceedingly trying to the +nerves. + +Presently the clatter of horses' hoofs came ringing upward to them from +the bottom of the ravine, and, peering cautiously over the edge of the +rock, George saw that the party of man-hunters, accompanied by four +bloodhounds, had started off at a gallop on their way back to the +entrance of the _cul-de-sac_. He at once guessed that their intention +was to ride round over the hills, and endeavour to pick up the trail +again at the top of the cliff. + +The act of looking downward from so great an elevation, and the sight of +the sheer precipice, on the very edge of which he was hanging, with +absolutely nothing to prevent him from falling over and going whirling +headlong down to the bottom, produced in George a sudden attack of +vertigo. The whole landscape appeared to rock to and fro; the ledge +upon which he was standing seemed to sway suddenly forward over the +abyss and threaten to launch him into space; he felt himself wavering +upon the very brink, and an almost uncontrollable impulse seized him to +spring off and take that terrible downward flight. Another glance +downward, and the impulse became irresistible. He drew back a step, +braced himself for the terrible leap, flung his arms above his head, +and, uttering a piercing cry, was in the very act of launching himself +forward over the edge, when Tom, happening to glance at him, and to +detect his suicidal determination just in time, sprang up, and, with a +cry of amazement and horror, dragged him forcibly back against the wall +of rock behind. + +"Why, cap'n!" exclaimed the lad, as soon as he had sufficiently +recovered from his astonishment to speak,--"why, cap'n, whatever's the +matter with yer? What was you goin' to do?" + +For the moment poor George was too unnerved to speak. The instant that +he was dragged back from the ledge, the horrible fascination lost its +hold upon him; he suddenly realised in its fullest extent the frightful +peril from which he had been so providentially snatched, and, covering +his face with his hands, as the revulsion of feeling came upon him, he +shook and quivered like an aspen-leaf. A minute or two more and this +dreadful feeling also passed away, his calmness and self-possession +returned to him, and, placing himself upon his knees, there on that +narrow ledge of rock he humbly returned his hearty thanks to God for his +preservation, and prayed for help and deliverance for himself and his +companions in their present sore need. Then, turning to Tom, he said-- + +"Thank you, Tom; you have saved my life as surely as ever man's life has +been saved by a fellow-creature in this world. I was in the very act of +springing off the rock when you dragged me back, and, but for you, my +body would at this moment be lying mangled and lifeless a hundred feet +below. I do not know how it was, but when I looked down over the edge, +I turned giddy and sick all in a moment, and then I felt that I _must_ +fling myself down the precipice. Let this be a warning to us both, my +lad; for it shows that, steady as are our heads aloft at sea, they are +not to be too much depended upon when climbing precipices on shore. +But, come! it is high time that we should be moving again; those fellows +are half-way to the head of the valley by this time, and if we are not +smart, they will have us yet. Do you feel sufficiently rested to tackle +the other half of this cliff?" + +"Ay, ay, cap'n, I'm ready," answered Tom; "but, for the Lord's sake, +sir, and for all our sakes, don't you go for to look down and get +tempted to jump off again. Perhaps I mightn't be able to stop you next +time, you know." + +"All right, Tom, never fear," answered George; "I'll take care not to +run such an awful risk again, you may be sure. Now are you ready? Then +take your end of this poor fellow, and let us be moving." + +But, now that they were ready to resume their ascent, another terrible +difficulty presented itself. On looking upward for a projection by +which to raise himself, Leicester for the first time became aware that +the ledge on which they stood marked a change of strata. Below them it +was all hard rock; above the ledge he could see nothing but a vertical +unbroken face, some twenty feet in height, of soft crumbling sandstone, +so soft indeed that it scarcely merited the name of stone at all, but +might be more fitly described as solidly compressed red sandy soil, of +such slight tenacity that it was possible to scrape it away with the +naked finger. To climb this smooth crumbling face, even with the aid of +a ladder, George at once saw would have been utterly impossible; for, +though it has been spoken of as vertical, it was not strictly so; it +inclined slightly forward, so as actually to overhang them, and a ladder +would therefore not have stood against the face; how, then, could they +hope, encumbered as they were, to surmount it? The task was an obvious +impossibility, and George saw that it would be necessary to seek for a +practicable place elsewhere. + +Accordingly Walford was once more laid upon the rock, with Tom to watch +him and guard against any possible mishap, whilst George went off upon +an exploring expedition. + +He first tried to the left, passing along the ledge very cautiously, +with his face turned to the wall, so that he might not again be exposed +to the terrible temptation from which he had so recently escaped. At +first he had great hopes of success, the ledge beginning to slope upward +as he passed along it to the eastward; but when he had traversed some +fifty yards or so, it suddenly narrowed away to nothing under a +projecting angle of the superimposed sandstone, and in endeavouring to +get a glimpse round this angle, the soft material crumbled in George's +grasp, he lost his hold, staggered, reeled, struggled ineffectually to +recover his balance, and fell. For a single instant he gave himself up +as lost, and suffered in anticipation all the agonies of a frightful +death; but he had not fallen more than six feet, when his outstretched +hand encountered a long, stout, flexible twig, or rather a young tree, +shooting out from an interstice in the rocks. He grasped it with the +iron grip of a drowning man, grasped it with both hands, and, though it +bent double with his weight, it held out bravely, and enabled him to +regain his footing on the face of the precipice. In another moment he +had scrambled once more on to the ledge, where he lay panting, +breathless, with torn and bleeding hands, but safe. + +The appalling peril from which he had thus a second time so narrowly +escaped, inflicted a terrible shock on George's nerves, and it was some +time before he could find courage to once more raise his head and look +about him. The reflection, however, that two men, one of them utterly +helpless, were in the same perilous situation as himself--having indeed +been brought directly into it by him--helped him to once more recover +the command of his nerves, and, somewhat ashamed of their unexpected +weakness, he scrambled to his feet and set out to explore in the +opposite direction. + +By the time that he had once more reached the point where Tom sat +patiently awaiting him, the dusk was closing down upon the landscape +with all the rapidity peculiar to the tropics, and, shrouded as they +were in the deep shadow of the precipice, it was already difficult for +them to see each other clearly. This meant still another danger added +to those which already confronted them, and George felt that, unless a +way of escape could quickly be found, they would be compelled to remain +where they were all night, a prospect which involved so many horrible +contingencies that he dared not allow his mind to dwell upon it, but, +turning his attention strictly to the matter in hand, hurried away on +his quest to the westward. + +In this direction he was more successful, the ledge, at a distance of +some thirty yards, running into a steep earthy slope, some ten or a +dozen yards in height, above which the precipice again rose sheer to the +top. And, as far as he could see in the quick-gathering darkness, this +precipice again presented a rocky face, up the inequalities of which it +might be possible for them to climb. + +But a single glance was enough to assure George that the most perilous +portion of their journey still lay before them. In the first place, the +slope was frightfully steep, rising at an angle of fully fifty degrees +from the horizontal; and, in the next place, it was covered with a long +thick growth of grass, rendering its face almost as slippery as ice. +And its lower edge terminated abruptly in a vertical overhanging face, +similar to that which towered above the place where he had left Tom and +Walford, so that, should either of them slip in traversing this +dangerous part of their journey, they must all, lashed together as they +were, inevitably slide and roll helplessly down and over the edge into +the depths below. + +As George contemplated the fearful dangers attending their further +progress, the idea occurred to him that perhaps, after all, now that +their pursuers had gone, and the ground was left clear below, it would +be better to retrace their steps and endeavour to find another and more +practicable way out of the ravine. + +But a few seconds' consideration of this plan convinced Leicester of its +utter impracticability. They had, by superhuman exertions, succeeded in +climbing _up_ the precipice; but he knew that they could never get +Walford safely _down_ again. There was nothing for it, then, but to go +on, and _upward_, even though they should find their pursuers awaiting +them at the top, a contingency which so much lost time rendered only too +probable. + +Before going back, however, and attempting the passage up that awful +slope, encumbered with Walford's helpless body, George thought it would +be prudent to essay the passage alone, so that he might learn, from +actual experience, the full extent of the danger, and thus be the better +able to guard against disaster. + +Accordingly down he went upon hands and knees, and forthwith began the +ascent. His first attempt proved to him that he had in no wise +magnified the perils of the journey, for his knees slipped helplessly +from under him the moment that they touched the grass, and it was only +by clinging desperately with his hands to the long tough herbage that he +escaped being shot down to the bottom and over the edge. + +Returning once more to the friendly ledge, which, after the dangers he +had so recently passed through, seemed to afford a position of absolute +safety, George began to cast about in his mind for some means of +overcoming this new difficulty, and at last he hit upon the idea of +making a narrow pathway up the slope by pulling up the grass by the +roots. This, however, he soon found would be a work of considerable +time; but he also discovered that it would be possible, without any +great difficulty, to remove small patches of just sufficient size to +give a precarious, but comparatively secure, foothold, and this he at +once proceeded to do. + +Half an hour of arduous labour in this direction enabled him to safely +reach the top of the slope, where, to his great gratification, he +discovered another platform of rock, about six feet wide. Passing along +this, he came suddenly upon an irregular fissure in the rocky face of +the precipice. This fissure was about four feet wide at the bottom, the +walls sloping inwards, like a roof, until they met at a height of seven +or eight feet from the ground. George at once unhesitatingly entered +the opening, and found that it widened somewhat as it receded from the +face of the rock, until at a distance of some five and twenty feet +inwards it abruptly terminated in a small, cave-like aperture, some six +feet in height, and perhaps twelve in diameter, being, as nearly as he +could ascertain, by the sense of touch only, roughly of a circular form. + +George was inexpressibly thankful that he had been guided to this place +of refuge, for here, he resolved, the party should pass the night, as +they easily could, with the most perfect safety. It was by this time +far too dark to attempt the awful risk of a passage up the precipice, +and he felt sure that, even could they succeed in safely reaching the +top, their pursuers would be found there, awaiting them. But this +cavernous fissure afforded them the very shelter they required; its +existence was, in all probability, absolutely a secret; and, even were +it not so, it was inaccessible to all but those who chose to risk their +necks in an effort to reach it; and, lastly, they could seek in it the +rest they so absolutely needed, without the haunting fear of rolling +over the precipice in their sleep. + +Thinking thus, Leicester rapidly, but cautiously, made his way back to +Tom, whom he found in a state of the greatest mental perturbation, owing +to his prolonged absence. + +Hastily describing to the lad the fortunate discovery which he had made, +George made what few preparations were required for the short but +dangerous journey before them, and then the two resumed their load, and +with cautious steps wended their way along the ledge to the treacherous +slope, it was by this time as dark as it would be throughout the night; +but this circumstance rather lessened than increased their peril, for it +prevented their realising as fully as in broad daylight the giddy height +of the narrow path along which they were travelling; whilst the +brilliant light from the stars overhead was sufficient to enable them to +pick their steps, and find the bare patches in the grass, in which it +was so imperatively necessary for them to plant their footsteps. At +last, after nearly a quarter of an hour's arduous labour, and several +narrow escapes from a disastrous accident, the welcome shelter of the +cave-like fissure was reached, and, feeling their way cautiously into +it, they laid Walford down, released him from his uncomfortable bonds, +and hungry, thirsty, and utterly fagged out as they were with the +arduous labours of the day, threw themselves down beside him, and, with +a half-unconscious thanksgiving for their preservation trembling upon +their lips, fell at once into a profound slumber. + +Their sleep lasted until late on in the following day, the sun being +already low in the heavens when George was awakened by Walford with a +querulous demand for food and drink. He at once rose, and, proceeding +to the mouth of the fissure, effected a cautious reconnaissance, the +result of which was the establishment of the satisfactory circumstance +that no one was visible in the ravine below. The next point to be +ascertained was, whether his pursuers--any or all of them--were still +maintaining a watch for them on the cliff above. George had not the +slightest doubt but that, when he saw them riding up the valley on the +previous evening, they had resolved to ride round and intercept the +fugitives, or pick up their trail at the cliff-top, if possible; the +question to be settled was, whether, having failed in both these +objects, they would establish a watch upon that part of the cliff at +which the fugitives might be expected to make their appearance; or +whether, believing that pursuit had been baffled, and an escape +effected, they would return discomfited to the estate. Leicester was of +opinion that, failing to detect any sign of the fugitives, and the dogs +being unable to pick up the scent, a suspicion might occur to the minds +of the pursuers that their prey was still lurking in some precarious +resting-place on the face of the precipice, and, in that case, no doubt +a strict watch would be maintained for some hours; but as to how long it +would be before the patience of the watchers became exhausted, or before +the conviction should thrust itself upon them that the fugitives had +escaped, he could of course form no opinion. But, having thus far +evaded capture, he thought it would be only prudent to make sure that +the coast was clear before proceeding further in the prosecution of +their flight. + +Having come to this conclusion, he returned to the inner recesses of the +cave, acquainted Tom with his intention to make a trip of exploration as +far, if necessary, as the top of the cliff, and forthwith set out upon +his mission. + +George's first act, on issuing from the fissure, was to cast a look +aloft, in order that he might judge of the nature of the task still +before them. The sight was anything but encouraging, the task of +climbing that vertical face--perfectly smooth, to all intents and +purposes, the projections and inequalities being so slight as to be +barely distinguishable beyond a height of twenty or five-and-twenty +feet--seeming to him, even after his recent experience of +cliff-climbing, a sheer impossibility. To climb it, even unencumbered +as he then was, was a task not to be lightly entered upon, and he +determined that, before attempting it, he would seek further, and +endeavour to discover a somewhat less difficult path to the summit. + +With this object in view, he continued his way along the rocky platform +upon which he was then standing, until he rounded a sharp angle, where +it abruptly came to an end, and gave place to a rough, jagged, and +broken face, very similar to that which they had ascended on the +previous evening. Casting his eye over and up this uneven face, in an +effort to pick out the most suitable path, his gaze was arrested by the +sight of a bush growing out of the face of the rock. The bush was only +some ten feet distant, and he was therefore close enough to it, not only +to see that it was evidently a species of wild raspberry, but also to +discern the very welcome circumstance that it was literally bending +beneath its weight of ripe fruit. He was not long in making his way to +the spot where it stood, and then, removing his jacket, and knotting the +sleeves round his neck, he, with a seaman's readiness of invention, +converted it into a sort of bag, which he rapidly filled to its utmost +capacity with the cool, ripe, refreshing juicy fruit. With this he +hurried back to the inmates of the cave, and, laying it before them, +bade them eat freely, returning himself to the bush, since it lay +exactly in the way he intended to take, to satisfy the cravings of his +own appetite. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +THE FUGITIVES MAKE GOOD THEIR ESCAPE. + +Having partaken of as much of the fruit as he deemed prudent, George at +once betook himself to the task of climbing the precipice, and was +agreeably surprised at the rapidity and ease with which he accomplished +the ascent. Now that he was unencumbered with Walford's weight, and was +free from the horrible dread which had before haunted him--that a false +step on Tom's part might precipitate all hands to the bottom--his +confidence in his own powers enabled him to coolly approach and +successfully surmount obstacles which, under less favourable conditions, +he would have dreaded to face, and in a few minutes he was within a foot +or two of the top. + +Here he deemed it prudent to pause for a moment and survey the path by +which he had ascended, so that, in the event of danger, he might be able +to effect a rapid retreat. The glance downward which he permitted +himself to take, though only momentary, brought on again, though happily +only in a mitigated degree, the same feeling of vertigo and nausea from +which he had before suffered; and he was obliged to close his eyes for a +short time, clinging convulsively to the rock meanwhile, to avoid +falling headlong to the bottom. + +Having at length once more recovered his steadiness, he rose cautiously +higher and higher, until his head was level with the top edge of the +precipice, and then he ventured to raise his head rapidly, cast a flying +glance round, and dip it again. But the latter precaution was needless; +the ground still sloped upward, so that he could see for a distance of +some forty yards only, but all the visible space was perfectly clear; +there was no human eye to detect his presence there. Once more raising +his head, and this time taking a more leisurely and deliberate glance +round, to make assurance doubly sure, he proceeded to make his way up +over the edge on to the comparatively level ground at the top. This was +a task demanding the utmost caution, for a depth of some eighteen inches +of light soil crowned the rock, thickly covered with long rank grass, +which, owing to the lightness of the soil, afforded but a very +precarious and uncertain hold. The soil itself, too, crumbled away +immediately beneath his touch, so that at the very top of the precipice +he was unable to find anything to which he could safely hold. For a +short time it almost seemed as if these apparently trifling obstacles +were about to baffle him altogether, and it was not until he had +actually laid bare the rock immediately in front of him, as far as his +arm could reach, that he accomplished his object, and stood safely on +the top of the cliff. + +He now threw himself flat on the ground in the long grass, thus +effectually concealing himself from the view of any chance passer-by, +and crawled to the crest of the hill, where he again peered cautiously +about him. The ground, from the spot whereon he knelt, declined pretty +steeply to the sea, only a quarter of a mile distant; slightly to his +right there lay a valley, with a tiny river flowing through it into the +sea; and on either bank of this stream there stood two or three crazy +wattle-huts, scarcely worthy the name of human habitations, with a net +or two spread behind them on poles in the sun to dry. Three or four +fishing-canoes and a boat--a ship's boat, which looked as though it had +been picked up derelict--were moored in the stream; but human beings, +there were none visible. In line with the river, commencing at a +distance of about two miles from the shore, and extending right out to +the horizon, there lay a group of islets, some forty or more in number; +and far away beyond them, lying like a thin grey cloud of haze on the +water, he could see the Isle of Pines. + +"So far, so good," thought George. The spot was evidently a lonely one, +inhabited by a few fishermen only; there was no sign of any watch being +maintained on the chance of the runaways putting in an appearance, so +the chase had doubtless by this time been abandoned as hopeless; there +was a capital boat--which, in his urgent necessity, he felt he need not +scruple to appropriate--lying in the stream below, and everything +promised favourably for a successful escape from the island. + +But though the scene below looked so quiet and deserted, and though the +boat lay there so temptingly within sight, Leicester felt that the +evening would be the most suitable time for making their final effort; +they were in no immediate hurry now, and it was scarcely worth while to +risk detection by putting off in broad daylight. Besides, the +sea-breeze was blowing half a gale, and in their exhausted condition +they would scarcely be able to drive the boat ahead against it; whilst, +by waiting until sundown, they would have it calm to start with, and the +breeze, when it came, would be off the land and in their favour. + +Thus arguing the matter with himself, he rose to his feet, and sauntered +leisurely back to the cliff-edge on his return journey. + +He was surprised and greatly disconcerted now to discover how easy it +was to miss the spot at which he had made his ascent. The strong +breeze, sweeping over the grass, had obliterated every trace of his +recent passage through it, but he confidently walked in what he believed +to be the right direction--only to find himself mistaken. The bare +patch of rock which he had cleared to facilitate his passage over the +edge was of course, when once found, an unmistakable landmark; but he +was quite five minutes walking to and fro on the cliff-edge before he +hit upon it, and quite long enough to have insured his capture had he +been surprised and closely pursued. + +Having at last found it, however, he forthwith began his descent; and +here again he was disagreeably reminded of the much greater difficulty +which is experienced in the _descent_ than in the _ascent_ of a cliff. +His difficulties began with his first attempt to lower himself over the +cliff-edge; and, notwithstanding his utmost care, he several times found +himself in positions of the most appalling peril. He, however, got down +safely to the cavern at last, and, after detailing to Tom the result of +his observations, threw himself down on the rocky floor, to recover in +sleep, if possible, the strength and nerve necessary for their final +ascent. + +When George awoke, the sun was within about an hour of setting. There +was, therefore, time for him to go out and secure for his companions and +himself another meal of the wild raspberries, which he accordingly did. + +The fugitives had all their preparations complete in good time, and, +when everything was quite ready, Leicester went out and stood at the +entrance to the fissure, watching the shadows creep gradually higher and +higher up the eastern side of the ravine as the sun declined toward the +horizon. At length the last golden gleam vanished, the entire landscape +assumed a hue of rich purple-grey, rapidly deepening in tone as the +darkness of the tropical night settled swiftly down; and the supreme +moment had arrived. + +Returning at once to the interior of the cave, George briefly announced +that it was time to start; Walford, already securely lashed in his +hammock, was at once hoisted up between George and Tom as before, and, +issuing from the mouth of the fissure, the fugitives forthwith began the +last and most perilous part of the ascent. + +They had scarcely risen a couple of yards when rapid hoof-beats were +heard in the valley below, and, pausing for a moment to glance down, +George saw a mounted figure galloping rapidly up the valley. He +recognised it at once as one of their former pursuers, and saw in a +moment how completely these pertinacious man-hunters had outwitted him. +It immediately became clear to him that, failing to pick up the trail at +the top of the precipice, these fellows had jumped to the conclusion +that, improbable as it might seem, their prey must still be lurking +hidden somewhere on the face of the precipice, and, doubtless during the +previous night, the individual just seen had returned, and, secreting +himself among the bushes below, had maintained an untiring watch on the +face of the cliff. There could be no doubt that he had seen George's +ascent of the cliff that morning, and, observing him to be alone, had +rightly concluded that the journey up the cliff had been made for the +purpose of a reconnaissance, and had therefore remained _perdu_, +satisfied that before long his patience would be rewarded, as it had +been, by witnessing the attempted flight of the whole party. + +These reflections flashed like lightning through George's brain, and +helped him to an instant decision. + +"We _must_ go on _now_!" he exclaimed to Tom. "They have discovered our +hiding-place, and if we were to return to it, they would simply blockade +the top and bottom of the precipice, knowing that, sooner or later, we +must inevitably fall into their hands; and, in addition to that, they +would spread the information of our position all over the country, and +perhaps offer a reward for our capture, in which case we should have +perhaps a hundred watching for us instead of half-a-dozen. We have a +chance yet; for it will take them fully twenty minutes to ride round, by +which time, if we are fortunate, we can reach the boat. Now, Tom, my +lad, do your utmost; in twenty minutes we shall either have won our +freedom or relapsed into slavery for ever." + +Not another word was now said by either of them until that awful climb +was over and they had, after countless hair-breadth escapes, safely +reached the top of the cliff. When at last they once more stood on +comparatively level ground, they felt as though their limbs had no +strength to carry them another yard upon their way, so exhausting had +been the superhuman efforts which they had put forth. But there was no +pause--no rest for them yet; onward they must still press at their +topmost speed, or all that they had hitherto endured would be in vain. +The short journey from the top of the precipice to the summit of the +rising ground was a cruel one; the slope, gentle though it was, telling +upon them terribly as they staggered forward over the long slippery +grass, panting, breathless, staggering and stumbling at every step, and +dreading every moment to hear the triumphant shout announcing the +arrival of their pursuers upon the scene. + +But, so far, save that of their own laboured breathing, not a sound of +any kind broke in upon the deep stillness of the evening hour; and, when +at last they surmounted the crest of the hill, the scene below was one +of peaceful solitude. + +"Now one more--one _supreme_ effort, Tom, and in five minutes we shall +be free," gasped George. "Muster all your courage and resolution, and +let us make a run for it. Can you do it?" + +"Ay, ay, sir, I'll try," was the scarcely articulate reply, and without +more ado they set off down the slope at a run. + +A run? Well, yes, it was a run, if it was anything at all; but such a +run! Their limbs felt like lead, and Walford's weight seemed to them +enough to drag them down to the very centre of the earth. Every +individual blade of grass seemed to be invested with the toughness of a +hempen cable, and to trail directly across their path for the express +purpose of retarding their progress and tripping them up. Their breath +was gone; their mouths were open and gasping; their hearts were beating +like sledge-hammers against their ribs, and pumping the blood in a great +red-hot tide up into their heads; their brains reeled; their sight began +to fail them; and what little of the scene was still perceptible to +their disordered vision was apparently whirling in a mad dance up and +down, round and round them, until they could not tell whether they were +going right or wrong. + +Yet on they still staggered and stumbled, first one, then the other, +falling prone to the earth, but up again in an instant, and on once +more. + +At last they were at the base of the hill; another half-a-dozen yards, +and they would be beside the stream; another twenty, and they would be +in the boat. Hark! what sound is that? The dull thud of horses' hoofs +upon the turf! With what headlong speed the riders are pressing +forward! And--ha! there is the exultant shout which tells that the prey +is in sight. + +"Thank God, there are no dogs with them," thinks George. "Are there +not?" Then what means that deep, sonorous baying sound which breaks +with such startling distinctness on his frenzied ear? "On! on! for the +love of God, press on!" gasps George; and with something almost like +renewed effort the fugitives once more spring forward. + +Hark! now you can hear the deep panting of those hell-hounds as they +lunge forward at a gallop, silent now that their prey is in sight, their +flaming eyes fixed upon the flying men in front of them, and their jaws +champing in horrible anticipation. + +One more bound, and the boat is reached. Poor Walford is tumbled +unceremoniously into her; George and Tom follow, the latter wrenching +from the foetid mud the stake to which the rotting painter is attached, +whilst the former, with a last desperate effort, sends the crazy craft +into the middle of the stream. As he rolls in over the gunwale a heavy +splash is heard, and some cumbrous body scurries from the slimy bank +into the water, whilst at the same moment the foremost hound, a +magnificent creature, as big and as lithe as a panther, springs boldly +after the receding boat. He _almost_ reaches her, not quite, his front +paws catch upon the gunwale, but the rest of his body falls short and +drops into the water. A thrust from one of the oars sends him clear of +the boat, and, with a baffled howl, he turns and swims for the shore. +He is within three feet of the bank when a something, which looks like a +log of charred timber, rises to the surface behind him, two gleaming +eyes glare at him, and, with a horrid snap, a pair of serrated jaws +close upon his hind quarters, and he is dragged back and under, to +furnish a meal to the terrible _cayman_. + +But the fugitives have no time for more than the merest superficial +glance at this canine tragedy, for their human pursuers are now close at +hand. The thowl-pins, luckily, are already in their places, left there +by the fishermen, who have been too lazy to remove and stow them snugly +away; the oars are therefore hastily caught up and tossed into their +places, the boat is spun round like a top until her head points seaward, +and, with vigorous strokes, the two men send her foaming out along the +narrow river-channel toward the sea. + +The pursuers rein up upon the bank, and with one accord draw their +pistols, and open a fusillade upon the flying boat. Fortunately it is a +harmless one; one bullet lodges in the stern transom, a second chips a +shaving off the loom of George's oar, a third passes harmlessly through +the planking of the boat's bow and skims a few yards along the surface +of the water beyond, and the remainder fly wide. + +But, after _so long_ and persevering a hunt, these men are not disposed +to sit still tamely and witness the escape of those whom they have sworn +to take back with them, dead or alive, to the plantation; so, after a +few minutes of hurried consultation, three of them dismount, and, +hauling one of the canoes to the bank, enter her and start in chase. + +The way in which they handle the paddles and send the light craft +surging down the river in the wake of the boat proves that they are no +novices in the boatman's art, but neither are the two of whom they are +in chase. George and Tom have already nearly forgotten their terrible +fatigue; they are fast recovering their wind; their legs--the members in +which they suffered most severely--are now comparatively at rest, an +entirely new set of muscles is brought into action, and, as they are +perfect masters of the art of handling an oar, they are getting a +surprising rate of speed out of the old boat without very much effort. +In a couple of minutes they are clear of the river's mouth, through the +rollers which are breaking on the miniature bar, and heading fairly out +to sea. + +But human endurance has its limits, and after they had been tugging away +for half an hour at the clumsy, ill-made oars, their exertions began to +tell upon them. Their strength began to flag, and the canoe, which they +had hitherto contrived to keep at a distance, began slowly to gain on +them, though how much they could not well tell, as it was by this time +quite dark, and they could only distinguish her as a small, dark, +shapeless blot on the surface of the water, with a tiny luminous ripple +under her bow. They were just beginning to discuss their probabilities +of success, should it come to a hand-to-hand fight with those three +armed and unfatigued men, when a faint puff of warm air fanned their +faces. + +"Thank God!" exclaimed George fervently, "thank God! there is the first +puff of the land-breeze." + +With that he began to fumble with one hand at the lashings of the sail +which lay stretched fore and aft along the thwart beside him, working +his oar with the other hand meanwhile, and after a little difficulty the +knot which secured them was cast loose, and the turns partially thrown +off. + +"Now, Tom, you must finish the job," exclaimed George; "you can reach +and throw off the rest of the turns where you sit; the sail is a lug by +the feel of it--at all events, here is a yard of some sort lying +alongside the mast--and when you have cast off the lashings and are +ready to step the mast, say the word, and lay in your oar; then I'll +scull the boat, whilst you step the mast and hoist the sail. Hurrah! +here comes the breeze, hot and strong; get the canvas on her, and at +last we shall be able to enjoy a rest. If those fellows are wise now, +they'll 'bout ship at once, and make for the shore, five minutes hence +it will be blowing fresh, and, if they don't look out, they'll be blown +off the land altogether. Are you ready? Then in oars, step the mast, +and sway away upon the halliards." + +So said, so done; Tom tossed in his oar, seized the mast, and stepped +it. The halliards were already bent to the yard--laziness again, the +fishermen evidently having been too indolent to cast them adrift, +knowing that they would only have to bend them on again when next they +wanted to use the sail--and in another minute Tom had the sail +mastheaded, the tack lashed down, and the sheet aft in George's hand; +whilst the latter, sinking down in the sternsheets with a sigh of +ineffable relief, and too tired yet to ship the rudder, steered the boat +with the oar which he had used for sculling, whilst Tom was busied in +the operation of making sail. + +The canoe, meanwhile, had crept up to within her own length of the +chase, and oaths and exclamations of mutual encouragement were freely +mingled with peremptory orders to the fugitives to surrender, and +threats of the punishment awaiting them when caught; but no sooner was +the sail set than the boat drew rapidly away, and in ten minutes more +the canoe, with its occupants still paddling furiously out to sea, was +invisible. George confidently expected to be saluted with a parting +shower of bullets, but he was agreeably disappointed, owing possibly to +the circumstance that in the hurry of pursuit the crew of the canoe had +omitted to bring their ammunition with them. + +For the first four hours of their flight the voyagers were sailing +continuously among the group of low islets which George had seen from +the top of the hill; but about midnight, as nearly as they could guess, +the last rock was passed, and they found themselves in open water. + +And now the want of a chart made itself disagreeably manifest. George +was quite seaman enough to be able to steer a tolerably straight course, +using the stars as a guide by night and the sun by day; but +unfortunately, having nothing but his memory to go by, he had only a +very vague notion of the proper course to steer, and of the distance +which they would have to travel. His plans, moreover, were by no means +fixed. One of his ideas was, to stand boldly out to sea in a +south-easterly direction, in the hope of hitting Jamaica, where they +would at once find themselves among friends able and willing to help +them. But against this plan there were several grave objections, the +chief of which was his uncertainty as to the exact position of the +island and the consequent probability that, from its small size, they +would miss it altogether. Then, again, they were absolutely without +food or water. It is true, there were a few scraps of putrid fish in +the boat, and Tom had found a fishing-line under the bottom-boards +forward, so that, having a line and the wherewithal to bait it, they +might possibly succeed in catching a _few_ fish. But then it would +obviously not do to rely on such a mere chance as that. Another idea +was to get into the open water southward of the Isle of Pines, and look +out for either an English frigate--one of which would be pretty certain +to be cruising in that direction--or an eastward-bound merchantman from +Honduras. + +This plan seemed to George the most feasible under the circumstances, +and in favour of it he finally decided. + +The first matter to which they devoted themselves, on finding that they +had no longer anything to fear from the canoe, was Walford's comfort. +The poor fellow made no complaint--indeed he had scarcely opened his +mouth to utter a word since the moment when he received his injury,--but +it had for the last two days been growing increasingly apparent to +George that his unfortunate rival was rapidly sinking into a very +critical condition. Under the combined effects of the injury, exposure, +and want, he was wasting visibly away; his strength was so completely +gone that he was quite unable to move without assistance; and George had +once or twice asked himself the question, whether he was justified in +involving this poor weak demented creature in the sufferings which there +was only too much reason to believe still awaited them. Would it not +have been truer kindness, he asked himself, to have left Walford in some +sheltered spot where there would be a certainty of his being speedily +found and taken care of? But reflection satisfied him that it would +not. To have left him in the hands of the Spaniards would have been to +leave him in slavery for the remainder of his life; and, judging by +himself, Leicester felt that death itself would be preferable to such a +fate. Then, again, there was the possibility--a slender one, it is +true, but still a possibility--of their speedy rescue; in which case, +with the care and nursing which he would be sure to receive, there was +no reason why Walford should not recover both his health and his +intellect. + +So, comforting himself with the reflection that he was doing the best he +could for the unfortunate man, George arranged a comfortable berth for +him in the sternsheets of the boat, and deposited him thereon, still +lashed up in his canvas hammock, the grass packing of which formed a +comparatively soft and comfortable support to his emaciated frame. + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +DEATH CLAIMS A VICTIM. + +The breeze continued fresh until about midnight, after which it lessened +a trifle, and came off from the larboard quarter. Daybreak found the +boat off the north-eastern extremity of the Isle of Pines, and about +five miles distant from that curious chain of islets called by the +Spaniards the Islas de Mangles, which curves out like a breakwater +across the northern face of the island. Their hunger, which had to some +extent been appeased by their last plentiful meal of wild raspberries, +and which had been altogether forgotten in the excitement of their +subsequent flight now returned to them in full force, and, the breeze +failing them, George determined to put the line overboard and try for a +few fish. + +He was successful beyond his most sanguine expectations, half-a-dozen +fine but grotesque-looking fish speedily rewarding his efforts. The +idea of devouring them raw was rather repulsive, but as there was no +possible means of cooking them, they had either to do that or go without +breakfast; so, selecting the most tempting-looking, they cut it up, and, +after making a wry face over the first mouthful or two, managed to +satisfactorily dispose of it. That is to say, George and Tom did; but +poor Walford, on being offered a share, shook his head, murmured that he +was not hungry, and closed his eyes again in patient suffering. The +balance of the catch was carefully cleaned and strung up on the yard, in +the hope that it would dry in the sun. + +Their great want now was _water_. Their hunger being satisfied, thirst +began to assert itself, and George would have landed upon the Isle of +Pines and endeavoured to find fresh water, but for the fact that he +caught sight of several people on the shore, who appeared to be watching +the boat with pertinacious curiosity. In this strait he tried the plan +of dipping his shirt into the sea, and putting it on again dripping wet; +and, to his great delight, he found that this proceeding had a very +sensible effect in mitigating thirst. Upon this, Tom tried the same +plan, with equally beneficial results, and then they well soused poor +Walford with sea-water, hoping that it would, to some extent, revive and +refresh him. + +By mid-day the Isle of Pines was broad on their starboard quarter, the +last _Cay_ on the "Jardines" shoal had been passed, and they were fairly +at sea and in deep water. They might now reasonably look out for a +frigate at any moment; but, as it would not do to depend upon this +source of rescue alone, George continued to stand boldly to the +southward and eastward, hoping that by so doing he would not only +improve his prospects of falling in with a British frigate, but that he +would also--failing the frigate--meet with a friendly merchantman. + +By sunset they were fairly out of sight of land, but, so far, nothing in +the shape of a sail had greeted their longing eyes. Once or twice a +white speck on the horizon had temporarily raised their hopes, but it +had vanished the next moment, being probably nothing more than the +sunlight flashing upon a sea-bird's wing. + +George was hourly growing more and more anxious for a speedy rescue, not +so much on his own account as for Walford's sake, the condition of the +latter being such as to give rise to the liveliest apprehension. He had +eaten nothing since the previous day, pleading want of appetite, and as +the sun went down he watched its gradual disappearance beneath the +purple waves with wistful eagerness, murmuring, "The last time, the last +time!" Then as the solemn darkness swept down over the sea, and the +stars came out one by one in the great blue vault above, the little +consciousness of his surroundings which he hitherto retained left him, +and he fell to murmuring snatches of songs, mingled with babblings of +his childhood's days. The word "mother" was frequently upon his lips, +and once he burst into a passion of hysterical tears, murmuring, +child-like, that "he was very sorry; and that, if she would forgive him, +he would be a good boy for the future, and would never do it again." + +This state of things gravely alarmed George, who began to fear that the +last great solemn change was at hand. It was therefore with a feeling +of intense relief that he heard a hail of "Sail, ho!" from Tom, whose +sharp eyes had at last caught sight of a genuine and unmistakable sail +broad on the boat's lee bow. + +There was nothing, however, to be done but to carefully watch the helm +of the boat; she was already under canvas and steering the best course +possible for intercepting the stranger; the only thing, therefore, was +to steer _straight_, otherwise the chances were that the ship would be +missed, after all. The strange sail was steering about east-south-east, +being close-hauled on the larboard tack, and, from her position, George +thought it just possible that he might intercept her, or, at all events, +near her sufficiently to permit of her crew hearing his hail as they +passed. + +As the night deepened, the breeze freshened, and by the time that the +strange sail had been in sight half an hour it was blowing so fresh that +it was as much as they could do to keep the lee gunwale above water. +Yet they dared not shorten sail, for the breeze which was threatening at +every moment to capsize them was also hurrying the stranger more rapidly +along, and consequently lessening their chances of intercepting her. +Thick clouds, too, began to gather in the sky, threatening more wind, +and, by obscuring the light of the moon, rendering it just so much the +more unlikely that the crew of the approaching vessel would see them. + +At last a heavy squall burst about a mile to windward of them, and +George was reluctantly compelled to order Tom forward to shorten sail. +Unfortunately the halliards had somehow got jammed aloft in the sheave, +and the sail would not come down. Tom tugged and tugged at it +desperately, but all to no purpose; there it stuck, with the squall +rushing down upon them like a race-horse. + +"Cast off the tack, Tom, and let the sail fly!" shouted George, and the +lad had scarcely time to obey the order when the squall burst furiously +upon them. The sail streamed out in the wind like a great banner from +the top of the mast, lashing furiously, and shaking the boat to her +keel. The crazy craft careened gunwale-to, notwithstanding that George +had put his helm promptly up, and in another moment she would +undoubtedly have gone over with them; but just as the water was +beginning to pour in over the gunwale, _crack_! went the mast and the +thwart with it over the side. The boat was nearly half full of water, +and in their anxiety to free her, and get her before the wind, the mast +and sail parted company from the boat, and they never saw them again. + +The squall lasted about five minutes, and then passed off, leaving only +a gentle breeze behind it. As soon as this was the case, they had a +look round for the strange sail, and made her out--a topsail-schooner-- +about a mile and a half distant. George saw that there was still a +chance for them, so they out oars and pulled vigorously. All was going +well, when, to their intense surprise, the craft, after approaching to +within little more than a quarter of a mile of them, suddenly put up her +helm, and, wearing round, stood away upon a south-westerly course. With +one accord George and Tom started to their feet and shouted lustily and +repeatedly, "Ship ahoy! _Ship ahoy_! Ship ahoy!" until their throats +were so strained that their voices failed them, and they became unable +to utter another sound. It was all to no purpose; their cries attracted +not the slightest notice; the schooner ran rapidly away from them and at +last George in despair laid in his oar, flung himself down in the +sternsheets, and covered his eyes with his hands, to shut out the +tantalising sight. + +Half an hour afterwards the reason for this extraordinary conduct on the +part of the schooner became apparent, the upper canvas of a large ship +under a heavy press of sail appearing in the south-east quarter. That +this ship was a man-o'-war was evident at a glance, from the cut of her +sails; and the course which she was steering, together with her large +spread of canvas, showed that she was in pursuit of the schooner. + +The first impulse of those in the boat was to out oars and pull toward +her, but five minutes' work sufficed to show them that their chance was +almost hopeless; the frigate would pass them at a distance of about six +miles, and with every eye on board her intently fixed upon the chase, +what prospect was there, in that uncertain light, of so small an object +as the boat being seen at so great a distance? Nevertheless, they +toiled on with dogged perseverance, and did not abandon their efforts +until the frigate had passed them, and her topsails had sunk below the +horizon. Then indeed they laid in their oars, and directed their whole +attention to Walford, whose condition became more alarming every moment. + +Not that he made any complaint. The poor fellow indeed seemed to be +quite unconscious of his pain and weakness; but his ghastly pallor, his +laboured breathing, and the convulsive shudders which agitated his frame +from time to time were to George a tolerably clear indication that +dissolution was near at hand. + +He was still quite light-headed, his mind wandering in feverish haste +from scene to scene of his boyhood, as was evident from the rapid +disjointed sentences which poured uninterruptedly from his lips. George +was able to gather pretty clearly from them that, even as a lad, Walford +had been wilful, headstrong, and obstinate, prone to go his own way +without much consideration for the wishes of others, and there were +occasional wild words and broken exclamations which seemed to indicate +that, even whilst little more than a mere child, he had allowed himself +to be betrayed into actual crime. And as he lay there, gasping his life +away, the follies of boyhood and the graver offences of more recent days +seemed to be in some way jumbled up hopelessly in his disordered mind +with a confused idea of the urgent necessity for speedy repentance of +both. There could be no doubt that, notwithstanding the disordered +state of the unhappy man's intellect, conscience was busily at work with +him; that he was already beginning to dimly see the error of his ways +and the hollowness--the utter unprofitableness--of his past life, and +possibly also the critical nature of his position. But the mind was too +completely shattered to avail itself of these promptings, and the +remorse and regret which had tardily come to him found expression only +in the simple pleadings for pardon which a child offers to its grieved +parent. This distressing state of things lasted at intervals all +through the night and well into the following day, when the dying man, +utterly exhausted, sank into a fitful, troubled sleep. + +The pangs of hunger and--still worse--of thirst again making themselves +felt, George once more put the fishing-line over the side, and, after +waiting patiently for nearly an hour, had the satisfaction of feeling a +smart tug at it. He gave a sharp jerk, to strike the hook firmly into +his fish, and at once began to haul smartly in, but he had only gathered +in a foot or so of the line when there came a terrific pull at it, which +sent the cord flying through his fingers in spite of all his efforts to +hold it. He promptly called Tom to his assistance, but even with this +aid he was unable to hold the fish; and, as a last resource, he threw a +couple of turns round one of the thowl-pins. The result was disastrous; +the line snapped short off at the pin, and when they came to investigate +further, they found that they had lost the whole of it, except a bare +fathom, which still remained in the boat. + +This was a misfortune indeed, as it deprived them of their only means of +obtaining that sustenance which was now becoming so urgent a necessity +to them. But sailors are not easily disheartened, and they forthwith +set to work to manufacture a new line out of the rope which they still +had in the boat; Tom carefully unlaying the strands and jointing the +yarns, whilst George tried his best to manufacture a hook out of a nail +drawn from the gunwale of the boat. This task occupied them for the +remainder of the day, and when it was completed the hook and line +together constituted such a very make-shift, hopeless-looking affair +that George, in spite of his hunger, could not repress an incredulous +smile at the idea of any fish with his wits about him being beguiled by +it. They tried it, however, but it was an utter failure; they could not +secure even the barren encouragement of a nibble; and at last the +attempt was given up in despair. + +Shortly before sunset Walford once more opened his eyes, and began to +stare blankly about him. For a minute or two there was a look in his +eyes which encouraged George to hope that reason was returning to her +abandoned throne, but the look quickly passed away, and the incoherent +mutterings recommenced. The sun went down, night's mantle of darkness +once more descended upon the sea, and then the full moon in all her +queenly beauty rolled slowly into view above the horizon, flooding the +scene with her silvery light, and investing it with a magical beauty +which was not without its influence even on those poor famine-stricken +creatures, who were watching with such sympathetic solicitude beside +their dying companion. + +Suddenly Walford's mutterings ceased, an expression of joyous surprise +lighted up his ghastly wasted features, he seized George's hand with a +firm clasp in one of his, and, raising the other, exclaimed-- + +"Hark! what was that?" + +"I heard nothing, Ned," answered George tremulously; he knew +instinctively now that the last dread moment was close at hand,--"I +heard nothing; what was it?" + +"My mother," answered Walford,--"my mother calling to me as she used to +call me, when I was a little innocent child, when she--ha! there it is +again. It is her own dear, well-remembered voice. She is calling me to +go to her; I must not stay out at play any longer; I did so last night, +you know, and it grieved her. She said I was a naughty, disobedient +boy, and I made her cry. But she forgave me and kissed me after I had +said my prayers, and--and--`Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be +Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is done in +heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; _and forgive us our +trespasses_.'" + +As the first words of this simple, beautiful prayer issued from +Walford's dying lips, George and Tom threw themselves upon their knees +in the bottom of the boat, their hands clasped, their heads bent, and +their hearts earnestly uplifted to Him who was thus mercifully taking +the poor sufferer to Himself. The first sentence was spoken with +child-like simplicity, but, after that, every word was uttered with +increasing fervour and an evident conception of its momentous import, +until the clause was reached, "and forgive us our trespasses," which was +breathed forth with a solemn intensity that thrilled the very souls of +the listeners. Then the voice suddenly ceased, and as George looked up +with startled eyes he saw Walford's lips tremble, a radiant smile parted +them for an instant, and he sank heavily back on the boat's thwart-- +dead. + +George gazed long and earnestly in the face of the dead man, his +thoughts travelling rapidly back to that eventful evening when they two +met--the one going humbly and doubtingly to declare his love, the other +hurrying triumphantly away from a successful wooing; and Leicester +grieved, as he pictured the sorrow of that loving woman's heart, when +the news should be taken to her of the sad event just past. He thought, +too, of the strange meeting in mid-ocean, of the helpless state in which +Walford had remained since then, of his own vow, and all that it had +cost him, and as he reverently gathered the folds of canvas about the +lifeless form he felt comforted with the reflection that, though he had +failed, he had honestly done his best to keep that vow. + +He did what he could to dispose the corpse decently and to prepare it +for its last long sleep beneath the waves; it was not much that he was +able to do, but he did what he could, "for Lucy's sake," as he kept on +muttering to himself; and when all was ready he turned to Tom. The poor +lad, utterly worn-out, had sunk down in the bottom of the boat, and, +with one arm supporting his head on the thwart, was fast asleep. + +"Well, better so," thought George to himself; "he is enjoying at least a +temporary respite from his miseries; I will not disturb him;" and, +murmuring a short but earnest prayer, he raised the body in his arms, +lifted it over the side of the boat, and allowed it to pass gently away +from his grasp into the peaceful depths below. "God have mercy on his +soul," he murmured, and with clasped hands stood and watched the +shrouded form passing slowly out of sight for ever. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +MR BOWEN UNEXPECTEDLY REAPPEARS. + +About an hour afterwards a fine breeze sprang up from the north-east, +and, putting the boat before it, George seated himself in the stern, +tiller in hand, and steered as near a southerly course as the boat, +without canvas, would go. + +Very gloomy and despondent were his thoughts as he sat there, idly +watching the crisp-curling waves racing past. One of the trio had +passed away, and, without food or water, without mast or sail, with +their strength rapidly ebbing away, the situation of the remaining two +was hourly growing more critical. Had they not had the misfortune to +lose both mast and sail, George would have endeavoured to return to the +Isle of Pines; but to do so with the oars alone, now that they had +scarcely strength to use them, was impossible. There was no +alternative, therefore, but to wait patiently, and hope that they might +be picked up before it should be too late. + +The boat drifted on hour after hour, the sun rose, the wave-crests +sparkled and glanced under his cheering rays, and still the horizon +remained sail-less. At last Tom, after stirring uneasily, awoke from +his stupor, glanced with eager, haggard eyes around him, and uttered a +groan of despair. + +"Then it is _not_ true, after all," he gasped; and George noticed with +consternation the difficulty with which the poor fellow +articulated,--"it is _not_ true; it was only a dream." + +"What was a dream, Tom?" asked George, and he started at the hollow +sepulchral tones of his own voice. + +"I dreamt that a noble ship had hove in sight and was bearing down upon +us under stunsails. She was painted white from her truck down to her +water-line; her canvas was white as snow; she was flying a great white +flag from her main-royal-masthead, and the people on board her were all +dressed in white. It was a grand sight to see her sweeping down toward +us, with the cool clear water flashing up under her sharp bows, and +there was--ah! see, it was no dream, after all; hurrah! she comes--_she +comes_!" + +And the poor fellow pointed away to where the rays of the sun fell upon +the water in a broad white dazzling glare. + +"Merciful Heaven!" muttered George, "this is horrible; the lad is out of +his senses, gone mad with hunger and thirst. Sit down, Tom," said he +coaxingly, "sit down, there's a good fellow; I can see no ship. What +you see is only the glare of the sun on the water. But if we are only +patient, please God, a ship _will_ come and pick us up before long. But +we must be cool and steady, and keep a sharp lookout, so that when she +heaves in sight we may be ready to signal to her." + +Tom passed his hand wearily over his forehead, shaded his eyes with his +hand, again peered long and anxiously over the gleaming sea, and shook +his head despondingly. The bright vision had vanished, and he sank +moodily down in the bottom of the boat, his arms resting upon the +thwart, and his head bowed upon them. + +Oh! that terrible time of _waiting_; with the sun beating mercilessly +down upon their uncovered heads and scorching up their brains; with the +hellish tortures of hunger and thirst, already unendurable, momentarily +increasing in intensity; with a horrible feeling of deadly weakness fast +paralysing their energies and dragging like leaden weights upon their +aching limbs, what wonder that each moment lagged until it seemed an +hour, each minute a day, and that the hours stretched themselves out +into eternities of overwhelming anguish! At last George feebly felt, +with a curious mingling of despair and relief, that his own senses were +leaving him. Soon the boat was--to his disordered vision--no longer +drifting helplessly upon a lonely sea; she was tranquilly gliding under +silken sails up the winding reaches of a gently flowing stream, the +crystal waters of which flowed over golden sands and between banks of +richest flowery verdure, with overshadowing trees whose boughs drooped +beneath their load of blushing fruit; whilst, in the distance, palaces +of whitest marble gleamed amid the many-tinted foliage, and all the air +was musical with the songs of birds. He no longer felt the agonies of +hunger or the fiery torment of thirst; he plucked the ripe fruit as the +boat swept gently past, and his pangs were assuaged; he no longer +suffered from the scorching rays of the sun, for a silken awning floated +over his head, and the cool breeze crept refreshingly beneath it and +gently fanned his aching brow; and he no longer suffered from weariness, +for his body reclined upon cushions of the softest down, and he felt +himself gradually sinking into a luxurious slumber under the soothing +influence of the most entrancing melodies. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +"Ou ay; he'll do weel eneuch, he's comin' roun' brawly; it's joost a +plain common case o' starvation an' exposure; there's naething +complicatit about it at a'; pairfect rest and a guid nourishing diet 'll +set him on his pins again in less than a week." + +Such were the words which fell upon George Leicester's ear as he once +more became feebly conscious of the fact of his own existence. The +words came to him mingled with other sounds, to wit--the creaking of +bulkheads, the rattling of cabin doors hooked back to allow the free +passage of fresh air, the grinding of a rudder and the clank of +rudder-chains, the sonorous hum of the wind through a ship's rigging, +the flapping of a sail, the distant subdued murmur of men's voices, and +the soft plashing of water. He at the same time became conscious of a +gentle swaying and pitching motion, such as is felt on board a ship +close-hauled, with a moderate breeze and a correspondingly moderate sea. + +For a minute or two George felt languidly puzzled as to his whereabouts, +but he was by no means anxious for enlightenment upon the subject; he +was in a state of blissful comfort, and he was quite content to remain +in passive enjoyment of the same, to feel the gentle current of air +softly fanning his brow, to yield himself to the easy, luxurious swing +of the cot in which he was lying, and to listen dreamily to the soothing +sough of the wind and the plash and gurgle of the water along the ship's +side. + +It was whilst he remained in this semi-conscious state of beatitude that +another voice broke in, in cheery response to the words of the first +speaker, with-- + +"That's capital news, doctor; I heartily congratulate you on the +successful result of your efforts. And the other one is also likely to +do well, you say?" + +"Ou ay; he'll do weel eneuch, too; though--mind ye--the puir laddie has +had a narrow escape. But they're a' richt the noo; I ken richt weel +what tae do wi' baith noo that I hae succeedit in bringin' back some +signs o' life in them. And noo, captain, if ye'll excuse me, I'll--eh, +weel! hoo's a' wi' ye the noo, my mon?" + +This exclamation was elicited by the circumstance that George had at +last mustered sufficient resolution to open his eyes and look curiously +about him. + +And this is what he saw. He saw that he was the occupant of a +snow-white canvas cot, which hung suspended from the beams of a ship's +roomy after-cabin, the situation of the apartment being manifested by +the presence of stern-ports fitted with glazed sashes, all of which were +open. There were also two side-ports, one on each side of the cabin, +out of which grinned a couple of eighteen-pound carronades, the +carriages of which, as well as the whole of the gun inside the port, +were painted white. The walls of the cabin, the deck-beams, and the +underside of the deck were also painted white with gilt mouldings; a few +pictures--one of which was the portrait of a lady--were securely +fastened to the walls; the floor was covered with fine matting, and a +large writing-table with three or four solid, substantial-looking chairs +completed the furnishing of the apartment. + +But the chief objects of attraction to George were two figures, which +stood beside his cot. One of these was a tall, lanky individual, clad +entirely in white, with red hair, prominent cheek-bones, and a pair of +piercing grey eyes surmounted by shaggy eye-brows. The other was a +shorter, stouter man, light-haired and blue-eyed, a genuine Saxon all +over, his fair complexion tanned to a rich ruddy-brown hue, and with a +hearty, kindly, genial expression of countenance which won George's +heart in an instant. This individual was also in white, his clothing +being reduced to a shirt and a pair of white duck trousers supported at +the waist by a belt. George had no difficulty in deciding that he was +on board one of his Majesty's frigates, and that the persons who stood +beside him were her captain and the medico. + +"Hoo's a' wi' ye the noo, my mon?" repeated the doctor, placing his +fingers upon George's pulse. + +"I--I--scarcely know," stammered George drowsily. "I feel all right and +very comfortable. Is anything the matter? And--and _where am I_?" + +"Ye feel a' richt, do ye?" returned the doctor, ignoring George's +question. "Ye're no' hungry--nor thirsty, eh?" + +"Not particularly," answered George. "And yet I think I could take some +breakfast, if it would not be troubling--" + +"Brackfast! Hear til him; brackfast! why, mon,"--drawing out a huge, +turnip-like silver watch--"it's nearly sax o'clock p.m. Will a bite o' +dinner no' serve ye as weel? Hech, hech," and the queer, grumpy-looking +visage of the really genial-hearted doctor beamed into a smile, as his +lips uttered the strange sounds which with him passed for laughter. + +Doctor Pearson's laughter was infectious, perhaps because of its +singularity. George smiled in response, and Captain Singleton smiled +too; then, turning to the doctor, the latter said-- + +"My dinner will be served in a few minutes, doctor. If you think it +would not injure your patient, I will send him in something from my +table." + +"Weel," responded the doctor with the caution characteristic of his +countrymen, "I'll no' commit mysel' by any positeeve statement just; +I'll wait and see, since ye've been so vera kind as to ask me to dine +wi' ye. But I think I may venture to say that a wee drappie o' soup +will no' hurt the chiel. And noo, wi' your leave, captain, I'll just +tak' the sma' leeberty o' turnin' ye oot o' your ain cabin, as there's +been an ample suffeecency o' conversation for the present." + +The captain laughed good-naturedly, and turned, with a friendly nod to +George, to leave the cabin. Doctor Pearson also turned to go, but +paused for an instant to once more feel George's pulse, and then, with +an amiable grunt of satisfaction, he also walked out, saying as he +went-- + +"Never fash your brains, my mon, by wonderin' whaur ye are. Ye're in +guid han's, ye may tak' my word for it, and in guid time, when ye're +strong eneuch to talk, you'll be told everything. Noo lie still, and +keep your 'ees open for a few minutes, and I'll see that ye hae a decent +bit of dinner sent in til ye." + +The worthy doctor was as good as his word; a substantial basin of +nourishing soup, with a small quantity of fresh, white, wholesome +cabin-biscuit broken into it--"soft tack" was a comparatively unknown +luxury at sea in those days--and a glass of port wine being brought in +to George by the captain's steward about ten minutes later; and, having +demolished these, the patient once more dropped off to sleep, and passed +a comfortable night. + +Three days more of Doctor Pearson's skilful treatment sufficed to put +both George and Tom upon their pins once more, and then, and not until +then, Captain Singleton asked of the former an account of the +circumstances which had resulted in placing them in the desperate +situation in which they had been found. + +"Well," said the captain at the conclusion of George's story, "I +heartily sympathise with you, Mr Leicester, in all that you have +suffered, and I as heartily congratulate you on your plucky escape. It +was rather a clever trick, the way in which those rascals took your ship +from you, I _must_ say that. It is a wrinkle which, possibly, I may +some day play off in turn upon their own countrymen. By your +description of them, I should say that the fellows were undoubtedly +pirates; the sea swarms with them all round about here--indeed, we are +now cruising for the purpose of putting a stop to their depredations, +and were returning from an unsuccessful chase after a very +suspicious-looking schooner when we picked you up. There is one craft +in particular--a barque of undoubtedly English build--which we are most +anxious to lay our hands upon; her crew are a peculiarly bloodthirsty +set of ruffians, and have perpetrated an unusually large number of +atrocities. By-the-bye, did you not say that your vessel was +barque-rigged and a fast sailer? I should not be at all surprised to +find that she is the identical craft we are so anxious to get hold of. +Would you mind giving me a particular description of the _Aurora_?" + +George, of course, readily acceded to this request, detailing with +seaman-like fidelity every peculiarity of hull and rigging. When he had +finished, Captain Singleton said-- + +"Thank you. The set of the spars and rigging, and the cut of the +canvas, does not coincide with the description with which I have been +furnished; but your description of the _hull_ tallies with mine in every +particular, and I have not a doubt that it is the same vessel. And now, +to turn to other matters, what do you propose to do with yourself when +we land you at Kingston?" + +"Well," said George, "I scarcely know; but I suppose I shall endeavour +to get a berth on board a homeward-bound ship, or work my passage home. +There is nothing else that I can do, for I am absolutely penniless." + +"Well," said Captain Singleton, "if a sufficient sum to defray the +expenses of your passage home would be of any service to you, I dare say +I could manage to raise such an amount, and you shall be heartily +welcome to it." + +"Thank you, very much," returned George; "but I could not possibly +accept your exceedingly kind offer, even as a loan, for I could not be +certain of ever being in a position to repay it. No, I shall have to +get a berth of some kind." + +Four days after the above conversation the cruise of the _Hebe_ +terminated, and on the day following George and Tom found themselves +cast adrift, as it were, in the sandy streets of Kingston. + +They were not absolutely penniless, however; for, in addition to a good +serviceable suit of clothes apiece out of the slop-chest, Captain +Singleton had insisted upon George's accepting a ten-pound note, to meet +their more immediate needs, and, being in a friendly port now, the two +seamen had very little doubt of getting employment of some kind or other +before long. + +Their idea was first to make the round of the various shipping agents' +offices, and endeavour to obtain a berth on a homeward-bound ship. If +that failed, then George thought they might possibly, aided by Captain +Singleton's influence, obtain work in the dockyard at Port Royal; and, +if the worst came to the worst, they could always depend with absolute +certainty upon being received on board a man-o'-war. + +In pursuance of the first-mentioned plan, they were wending their way +along the street, when, as they passed the entrance to a large general +store, they were violently jostled by a man who was making his exit from +the place with considerable precipitation. + +"Beg pardon, shipmates, no damage done, I hope. I ought to have kept a +better lookout when crowding sail to the extent--why--why--no, it +_can't_ be; and yet--hang me if it _ain't_, after all. Well, this _is_ +a pleasant surprise, and no mistake. Cap'n, how are ye? And you, Tom, +how did them damned slave-drivers treat you?" + +It was Mr Bowen, the late chief mate of the _Aurora_. He was dressed +in the somewhat rough garb of the mate of a coasting schooner, but was +looking well and hearty nevertheless, and certainly had nothing of the +appearance of a man who had recently been suffering the horrors of +slavery. + +George and Tom both shook hands heartily with their old friend, and then +Mr Bowen--who seemed to be pretty well acquainted with the town--led +the way into a quiet, respectable tavern near the water-side. + +Having called for some sangaree in honour of the unexpected and very +agreeable meeting, George, at his friend's request, proceeded to recount +all that had happened since the eventful morning when they were +separated (for life, as each then feared) in the square at Havana. When +he had finished the story, he added-- + +"And now, Bowen, my dear old friend, let us know how _you_ fared among +the Dons." + +"Badly enough, cap'n, badly enough," was the reply. "But you shall hear +the whole story, such as 'tis. Maybe you happen to remember the chap as +bought me--a tall, thin feller, with a nose like the beak of an eagle, +and a wicked look in his glittering black eyes. Well, as soon as this +here Don Christoval--that was his name--as soon as he'd bought all the +slaves he wanted, we was all chained together, and started on a march to +the south'ard. We travelled the whole width of that cursed island, +taking two days over the trip, and was then shipped across in a little +flat-bottomed sailin'-boat to the Isle de Pinos, where this here +Christoval had a big 'baccy plantation. It took us a whole day, after +we'd landed on the Isle of Pines, to reach the place, and on the +following morning we were set to work. + +"As it happened, I was the only white slave on the plantation, and, +whether 'twas on this account, or whether 'twas because I was an +Englishman, I can't tell, but I soon found out that all hands, from Don +Christoval downwards, had a special spite against me, and seemed +determined to make the place as hot as they could for me. I was put to +all the heaviest and dirtiest work about the place, and if there was a +job that had to be done after knockin'-off time, I was the man that had +to do it. + +"There was nothing but Spanish spoke about the place, so I very soon got +acquainted with the lingo, whether I liked it or not; and almost the +first thing I understood was that Mr Don Christoval had boasted that, +fierce as I was, he'd tame me so that in six months I wouldn't dare to +say my soul was my own. + +"Well, you may be sure that my temper hadn't grown much more amiable +from being made a slave of, and this palaver about _taming_ just made me +worse than ever. I vowed by all that was holy I _wouldn't_ be tamed, +let 'em do what they would, and a pretty miserable time of it this +stupid vow and my own obstinacy brought me. They used to amuse +themselves by seein' what they could do to rouse me; the overseers, as +they were riding by, would pull up and begin to abuse and scoff at me, +flicking at me with their whips all the time, and I dare say you know +pretty well how clever those same overseers are with their whips-- +they'll hit a fly twenty feet off. And when they'd see my eyes begin to +sparkle, they'd just let out with the infernal whip, fetching me a +regular `stinger' across the shoulders, and gallop off, laughing. I can +tell you, they made a regular devil of me before all was done. + +"Well, one morning there was a regular rumpus on the estate. Don +Christoval had sold some cattle the day before, and had been paid for +'em. The money was stowed carefully away by him when he turned in that +night, and next morning 'twas gone--somebody'd crept into the house +during the night, and had stole it. Well, as there was nobody about the +estate but the regular hands, it was clear enough that some of these +must have got hold of the cash, and the lying scoundrels had the +impudence to say that I was the thief. They came down, two of the +overseers did, and searched my hut fore and aft, from deck to keelson; +but, of course, they didn't find it, for the simple reason that I hadn't +took it. Hows'ever, they would insist that I knew where 'twas, and at +last they dragged me up to the house, and told the Don that I'd took it, +but that they couldn't find it because I'd hid it away somewhere. + +"The Don happened to be just starting off for a ride, and was mounted on +a splendid black horse. He sat there in the saddle and listened to all +that the overseers had to say, and when they'd finished, he spurred his +horse at me, and swearing that he'd get the secret out of me, if he had +to cut my heart out to find it, raised his heavy riding-whip, and made a +slash at me. + +"Well, cap'n, and Tom, old shipmate, you needn't be told that I had +already been made pretty savage by all this business, and when this +hawk-nosed Don Christoval struck out at me, why, it just roused all the +devil there was in me. I put up my hand--so--as if to ward off the +stroke, and as the whip came down, I caught it in my hand, wrenched it +out of the Don's grasp, and, as quick as lightning, returned the blow +with all my strength, lashing him fair across the face and cutting his +cheek open. He reeled backwards in his saddle, and I, first letting out +right and left at the two overseers, who stood one on each side of me, +and bowling them over like a couple of ninepins, sprang upon him, seized +him by the collar, and dragged him out of his saddle, and, leaping upon +the frightened horse's back, gave the poor brute a lash across the +flank, which sent him flying down the road, through the 'baccy plants, +and out upon the open country like a shot out of a shovel. + +"Well, I don't know that I'd ever been on horseback in my life before, +but somehow I managed to stick to the saddle, it didn't seem at all +difficult, and on I went, straight ahead, as fast as the horse could +gallop, for an hour or more, and then we fetched up somewhere on the +shore. There was a schooner in the offing with the British flag flying +at her gaff-end, and, as luck would have it, I'd just managed to hit the +spot where a boat's crew belonging to her were ashore, filling up their +fresh water. I told the middy in charge who and what I was, and he +shoved off at once with me, took me aboard, and told the lieutenant in +command all about me; and, after knocking about with 'em for a +fortnight, I landed here, just six months ago. And that ends my yarn." + +"And what have you been doing since then?" asked George, after +congratulating Bowen on his escape. + +"Well, cap'n," was the reply, "I never once forgot the promise I made to +you the day we were separated in Havana. I felt certain that you'd +manage to get away somehow some day; and I felt just as certain that, +sooner or later, you'd turn up here in Kingston. So, as soon as I was +landed here, I made inquiries, and, not being able to learn that +anything had been heard of you, I just looked about me a bit, and got a +berth on board a little coaster, so's to be on the spot whenever you +might happen to turn up. I'd told our story pretty freely here in +Kingston, so that, even if I'd happened to have been at sea at the time, +there's plenty of people that would have taken you in tow, and provided +you with the needful until I came in again. Now that you've put in an +appearance, of course I shall throw up my berth, and we'll all sink or +swim together." + +"Thanks, Bowen, thanks; that's just like your disinterestedness," +answered George; "but what are we to do? The only thing I can see for +it is to get berths, if possible, on board some homeward-bounder." + +"Homeward-bounder?" exclaimed Bowen with contemptuous emphasis, "why-- +but there, I suppose you don't know anything about it, or you wouldn't +talk like that." + +"About what?" asked George, completely mystified. + +"Why, about our prize that we took that dark night on the passage out-- +the privateer brig--the _Jeune Virginie_. She's lying down there at +Port Royal, safe and sound, with a British crew on board her; and all +you've got to do, cap'n, is to make your claim, and establish your +identity, and the ship or her value will be handed over to you." + +"Is it possible?" exclaimed George. "Then we are lucky indeed. But you +must explain the whole affair to me." + +"That's easy enough," answered Bowen. "The very first time I entered +Port Royal harbour I saw the craft lying there, and knew her again at +once. Thinks I to myself, `Now, Dick Bowen, my lad, your first duty is +to recover possession of that prize on behalf of the skipper.' So off I +goes to the admiral, stated my case, and made my claim. + +"`That's all very well, my fine fellow,' says he, `and I don't doubt but +what you're telling the truth; but, you see,' says he, `you can't +_prove_ it. Now I _must_ have something beyond your bare word before I +give up possession of the brig. When you can bring me something in the +shape of proof that what you say is true, come to me again, and I'll see +what can be done in the matter.' + +"Of course that was all right and straight-for'ard enough, so I went +away, and troubled no more about it. The craft is safe enough; they've +been using her as a cruiser, and taking care of her, and I don't doubt +but what she's in just as good order as she was on the night when we +took her. And now, all we've got to do is to go to the admiral again, +and make our claim. There's _three_ of us this time, so that there'll +be no difficulty at all in getting her delivered over to us." + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +THE "AURORA" TURNS UP AGAIN. + +That same day George waited upon the admiral and formally laid claim to +the _Jeune Virginie_. He was very well received, his statement +patiently listened to, and--to make a long story short--in about three +weeks afterwards the claim was actually allowed, and the vessel handed +over to her rightful owners. + +George was agreeably surprised, for--notwithstanding Bowen's implicit +confidence--he fully anticipated that there would be some trouble over +the matter. Legal possession once obtained, Leicester had no difficulty +in raising money by means of a bottomry bond, and with this he +provisioned the brig for six months, intending to take out letters of +marque, and endeavour to make good his losses--a resolution in which he +was cordially seconded by Bowen. + +But, though all this gave him plenty of occupation, he had not forgotten +his old crew, and he found--or rather took--time, not only to prepare a +complete list of the names and a full description of all those who were +still--so far as he knew--in a state of slavery, but also to put it into +the hands of the proper authorities, with such an urgent representation +of their probable sufferings, that the matter was at once taken up; and +he had the satisfaction of knowing, before he sailed, that negotiations +were already in progress for their discovery and deliverance. + +Considerable difficulty was experienced in obtaining a crew for the +brig, good men being scarce; but at last this was overcome, and on a +bright September morning the anchor was hove up, and the _Virginie_ +started upon her cruise. The shoals outside the harbour were cleared in +due time, the brig working like a top, and sailing like a witch, to the +unbounded delight of all hands; and then George hauled sharp up on the +port tack, his intention being to cruise for a few days in the Windward +and Caycos Passages before shaping a course for home. + +For the first five days of their cruise they were singularly unlucky, +seeing nothing but a man-o'-war schooner, which, on speaking, they found +had been equally as unfortunate as themselves. + +On the morning of the sixth day, however, being then in the +neighbourhood of the Hogsties, the lookout aloft reported at daybreak a +couple of sail dead to windward, hove-to close together. On the usual +inquiries being made, the lookout further reported that one of the +strangers was a barque; the rig of the other, which happened to be lying +end-on, he could not clearly make out, but, from her size, he judged her +to be a ship. Mr Bowen, whose watch it was, at once went below and +informed George of this circumstance, and then, leaving him to don the +most indispensable portions of his attire, returned to the deck, and +proceeded thence aloft to have a look at the strangers for himself. + +By the time that he had seen all that it was then possible to see, and +had descended again to the deck, George was awaiting him there. + +"Well, Bowen, what do you make of them?" was Leicester's first inquiry. + +"Well, there's two of 'em there, sure enough, close together--a good +deal too close together to be up to any good, to my thinking," was the +reply. + +"What do you think they are, then?" asked George. + +"One of 'em is a privateer--or a pirate; and t'other is her prize, in my +opinion," answered Bowen. + +"Then we'll make their further acquaintance," said George. "Perhaps if +we trim the canvas a bit slovenly, and act as though we had not seen +these craft, we may coax down towards us the privateer, or whatever she +is." + +"That'll be the best plan, no doubt," acquiesced the chief mate; and he +proceeded forthwith on a tour round the decks, easing up a brace here, +and a halliard there, with a touch also at the sheets and bowlines, by +way of insuring an agreeable and harmonious result. When he had +finished, the brig looked like a collier, and her speed had decreased +from eight to a little over five knots. + +"There," said Bowen to George, with an admiring glance aloft at his own +handiwork, "I think that'll do pretty well; we look helpless enough now +for anything. Masthead, ahoy!"--to the lookout aloft--"what about the +strangers now?" + +"They've dropped alongside one another, sir," was the reply. + +"Very well; keep your eye upon them, and let us know when you see any +change in their movements." + +The stereotyped "Ay, ay," by way of reply, was duly given, and then +George and Bowen, side by side, and with hands folded behind them, began +to trudge fore and aft, from the main-mast to the taffrail, patiently +awaiting the course of events. + +About a quarter of an hour elapsed, and then the lookout hailed again-- + +"On deck, there! The barque has cast off, and is standing down towards +us. They're busy getting the stunsails upon her now, sir." + +"All right; stay where you are, and let's hear, if you see anything +worth reporting," replied Bowen. + +A few minutes later another report was made to the effect that the other +sail--a full-rigged ship--had filled, and was standing to the northward +under all plain sail. That was the last news from either of the +vessels, and, the barque shortly afterwards becoming visible from the +deck, orders were given to clear the brig for action, and the lookout +was ordered down on deck. + +There was a capital working breeze, and not much sea; it was, +consequently, not very long before the barque had raised her hull above +the horizon. As soon as she was fairly in view, George brought his +telescope to bear upon her, and ten minutes' careful scrutiny sufficed +to satisfy him that, though her spars were heavier, and she now showed a +wider spread of canvas than of old, she was undoubtedly, as he had +suspected, his own old ship, the _Aurora_. He further noted that she +was not very deep in the water, being in fact just in her very best +sailing-trim; and, remembering her former capabilities, he was not long +in making up his mind that, if her present crew happened to become +suspicious of the character of the _Virginie_, and shunned an +engagement, it would be a very difficult matter to bring the _Aurora_ to +action. + +But if those in possession of the barque entertained any misgivings, +they certainly gave no visible indication of them: on the contrary, they +came sweeping down upon the _Virginie_ under a perfect cloud of canvas, +and in a manner so obviously threatening, that, in order to maintain the +illusion to the last, George thought it advisable to exhibit some slight +signs of uneasiness, and he accordingly ordered the royals to be loosed +and set, and edged away a point or two off his course, at the same time, +however, checking his weather braces to such an extent that the brig's +speed was not very greatly improved by the manoeuvre. In the meantime +the decks had been cleared, the guns loaded, and the crew fully armed +with cutlass, pike, and pistol. The port-lids however, were kept +carefully closed, so that the presence of the guns on board might not be +revealed until an action should have become inevitable. + +Mr Bowen had, in the midst of all his work, been watching the approach +of the _Aurora_ with grim satisfaction, gradually developing into a +condition of supreme exhilaration. He rubbed his hands gleefully, +laughed softly to himself, and exhibited, in short, all the outward +characteristics of a thoroughly gratified man. Then he would draw a +pistol from his belt, and carefully inspect the priming, pass his thumb +meditatively along the edge of his cutlass, or casually test with his +finger the sharpness of a pike-head, and at these times the expression +of his countenance boded no good to the approaching enemy. + +The _Virginie's_ crew were kept carefully out of sight, except some +three or four hands, who were ostentatiously posted on the forecastle, +with orders to assume an appearance of deep interest in the approach of +the barque; but Bowen had carefully placed each man exactly where he +wanted him, and as the _Aurora_ came sweeping down upon the brig, +invisible hands on board the latter gradually tautened up halliard, +brace, tack, sheet, and bowline, until by the time that the two ships +were within a mile of each other, every trace of slovenliness on board +the _Virginie_ had vanished, every sail was standing as flat as a board, +and the brig was once more in a condition to be worked to the best +advantage. This done, the men were ordered to their guns, and all was +ready for the commencement of the struggle. + +When within a distance of about three-quarters of a mile from the brig, +the studding-sails of the _Aurora_ were seen to suddenly collapse, and +in a few seconds they had entirely disappeared, being taken in, all at +once, man-o'-war fashion. This showed George, not only that his old +craft was heavily manned, but also that she was in the command of a man +who knew how to handle her. But the sight did not greatly disturb him; +he had had time to discover that his own crew was a good one; he had +studied the brig, and mastered her little peculiarities; and he awaited +with perfect calmness the conflict which was now inevitable. + +As the _Aurora's_ studding-sails fluttered out of sight, she sheered +broadly to port; a flash, accompanied by a puff of white smoke, issued +from her side, and in another instant a nine-pound shot skipped along +the water and across the _Virginie's_ bow. + +George decided to take no notice of this hint, and the brig held +steadily on her course. Another shot followed, with a like result; and +the pirates then decided apparently to waste no more powder and shot +upon so contumacious a craft, but to make short work of the affair by +simply running alongside and taking possession. The _Aurora_ was +accordingly steered in such a way as would admit of her making a wide +sweep and shooting up alongside on the brig's weather quarter. She was +handled magnificently, there was no doubt of that; and presently, with a +graceful sweep, she came surging up alongside, with the water spouting +up in a clear transparent sheet under her sharp bows, her yards swinging +simultaneously to meet her change of course, her white canvas gleaming +in the brilliant sunlight, six long nine-pounders grinning through her +bulwarks, and her deck crowded with men, as fair, yet as evil, a sight +of its kind as the eye of man ever rested upon. At the same moment a +blood-red flag streamed out over the taffrail and soared away aloft, +until it fluttered out from the gaff-end--a fit emblem of rapine and +murder. + +"Red this time, by way of a change," remarked Bowen to George, in +allusion to their encounter with the pirate schooner, which fought under +a _black_ flag. "Well, a change is good sometimes," he added +philosophically. "Shall we give her a taste of our quality now, cap'n; +she's just shooting into the right position to get the full benefit of +the dose of `round' and `grape' I've prepared for her?" + +"Yes, give it her," answered George, drawing his cutlass with one hand, +and a pistol with the other. + +"Throw open your ports, lads!" commanded Bowen; and at the word the +port-lids flew apart, six twelve-pounders were run out on each side, +and, as the barque was in the very act of sheering alongside, the +_Virginie's_ starboard broadside was poured into her with murderous +effect, as was evidenced by the frightful outburst of yells, groans, and +imprecations which at once arose on board her. The broadside was +returned, but without inflicting much damage, the pirates evidently +having been taken completely by surprise by the sudden and unexpected +unmasking of the brig's guns. + +The next moment the two vessels collided with a crash. + +"Now look alive with your grappling-irons, and _heave_! Boarders, +follow me!" cried George, dashing to the rail, and making a spring +thence in upon the _Aurora's_ deck, Mr Bowen at the same time leading +his detachment on board by way of the fore-rigging. + +The Englishmen were met by a very formidable party, which had evidently +been told off to board the brig, and in an instant a fierce and +sanguinary _melee_ arose on the _Aurora's_ deck. The Spaniards--for +such they proved to be--though taken by surprise, and greatly +disconcerted by the unexpectedly warm reception which they had met with +from the brig, fought with the fury and desperation of demons, and for +perhaps five minutes the crew of the _Virginie_ had all their work cut +out to maintain their position on the deck of the barque. The pirates, +with that sanguinary symbol floating over their heads, and believing +that they had been entrapped into attacking a man-o'-war, felt that the +halter was already about their necks, and that there was literally no +alternative but victory or death for them; and they pressed forward with +such recklessness and ferocity that the deck speedily assumed the aspect +of a human shambles, and the planking grew so slippery with blood that +it became difficult to retain one's footing upon it. There was one +Spaniard in particular who appeared to possess the gift of ubiquity; he +seemed to be in all parts of the ship at the same time, notwithstanding +the crowded state of the confined space wherein the fight was raging, +and in him George speedily recognised the truculent-looking individual +who had led the pirates on the eventful night of the _Aurora's_ capture, +and who had so brutally ill-used poor Bowen on the morning of the sale +in the square at Havana. There could be no possible doubt as to his +identity. There was the same ferocious cast of countenance, the same +mahogany-brown skin, even the same filthy red handkerchief--now more +filthy than ever--bound about his ragged locks, apparently the same +broad-brimmed straw hat, in short, every mark of identification; nothing +was wanting. This individual dashed from point to point, apparently by +a mere effort of his will, encouraging here, chiding there, and helping +everywhere. The mere fact of his presence, the mere sound of his voice, +appeared to endue the pirates with renewed life and courage, and George +speedily saw that there would be little hope of victory until this man +could be placed _hors de combat_. He therefore pressed in toward him, +plying his cutlass vigorously with one hand, and laying manfully about +him with the butt of his empty pistol with the other, and calling upon +the fellow by every despicable epithet he could think of to turn and +meet him. He had very nearly reached him--there were only some +half-a-dozen people between the two--when another voice, that of Bowen, +was heard, and the next instant the chief mate, his eyes literally +blazing with fury, appeared, forcing his way into the thickest of the +throng. With the strength of a madman he seized and dashed aside all +who ventured to bar his path, and in a single moment, so it seemed to +George, forced himself within reach of his especial enemy. + +"At last--at last--you bloodthirsty scoundrel--you white-livered +coward--you who were not ashamed to strike a chained man--at last we +meet again, as I told you we should!--and the time has come for me to +pay off part of the debt I owe you--no, you don't,"--skilfully guarding +a savage down-stroke from the Spaniard's cutlass, "and take that," he +added, launching out a terrific blow with his left fist, catching the +Spaniard fairly between the eyes, and felling him to the deck senseless, +as neatly as a butcher fells an ox. In another moment George was at +Bowen's side, and, placing themselves back to back, these two managed to +successfully defend themselves until the crew of the _Virginie_, +inspired by their leader's example, had pressed in to their assistance, +when the pirates, becoming scattered, were driven irresistibly to +opposite ends of the ship, and some were actually driven overboard. +Then recognising that they were defeated, and suddenly losing heart, +they threw down their weapons, and cried for quarter. But the worst +passions of the _Virginia's_ crew were by this time fully aroused; they +thought of nothing but the fact that their enemies _were pirates_, men +steeped to the lips in crime of the vilest description, and guilty of +unnumbered deeds of blood-curdling atrocity, and many of the Spaniards +were ruthlessly slaughtered before George and Bowen could induce them to +stay their hands. Then, when order and authority were once more +restored, heads were counted, and it was found that, out of a crew of +over eighty, twenty-three pirates only--their leader included--remained +alive, and these were promptly clapped in irons and bundled +unceremoniously below. Strange to say, notwithstanding the desperate +character of the fighting, the _Virginie's_ crew had suffered but +slightly in comparison--nine killed and thirteen wounded being the total +of the casualties. A short breathing-space was allowed the men to +recover themselves after their extraordinary exertions, and then all +hands set to work to clear the decks of the sickening evidences of the +contest; the crew were next divided equally between the two ships, and, +with Mr Bowen in command of the _Aurora_, both craft then made sail to +windward in company. + +The third craft--the full-rigged ship--meanwhile was still in sight from +aloft, dodging about under easy canvas, and evidently waiting for the +_Aurora_ to rejoin. There could be little doubt, therefore, that she +was in the possession of a prize-crew of the pirates, and George +earnestly hoped he might be able to reach her in time to save the lives +of some at least of those to whom she rightfully belonged. + +A couple of hours later they were alongside--the _Virginie_ on the +weather and the _Aurora_ on the lee quarter--with ports open, guns run +out, and the English ensign flying at the peak, the red flag having been +allowed to remain aloft on board the _Aurora_ until ranging alongside +the strange ship, when it was hauled down, and the English flag run up +on board the barque and the brig simultaneously. + +The pirates in possession were completely paralysed by the turn events +had taken; they had evidently been under the impression that the +_Aurora_, and not the _Virginie_ had proved victorious; and now that +they found themselves under the guns of both ships their mistake was +past rectification. + +Accordingly, at George's order, they backed the main-yard and hove-to +the ship, upon which a strong party, armed to the teeth, proceeded on +board and took possession. + +The ship proved to be the _Vulcan_, of and from Liverpool, bound to +Kingston with a valuable general cargo and several passengers. She was +a noble ship, being of nearly a thousand tons register, and a regular +clipper. + +On boarding her, George found the state of affairs pretty much what it +had been on board the _Aurora_ after her capture by these same pirates, +her crew and the male passengers being discovered scattered about the +deck, lashed helplessly neck and heels together, or chained to +ring-bolts in the deck and bulwarks, whilst the pirates had taken +possession of the cabin and had held a regular saturnalia there, in the +progress of which the unfortunate lady passengers had been subjected to +the vilest outrages, and one poor little child had been cruelly murdered +before its distracted mother's face. The captain and the chief mate of +the ship were both found in the cabin in a dying condition, they having +been mutilated in a most cruel and horrible manner in an ineffectual +effort to wring from them the secret of the hiding-place of a large +amount of specie which the pirates had somehow ascertained was on board. +A tall and burly negro, the identical one who had acted as lieutenant +to the Spaniard in charge of the _Aurora_ on the occasion of her first +capture, was at the head of the gang, and had been the instigator and +chief perpetrator in the many outrages which had followed the capture of +the _Vulcan_. + +No time was lost in freeing the passengers and crew from their +exceedingly unpleasant situation; and this done, the pirates, ten in +number, heavily ironed, were transferred to the _Virginie_ and stowed +carefully away below. The _Vulcan_ then proceeded on her voyage, in +charge of her second mate, by whom George forwarded a letter to the +admiral at Jamaica, informing him of the capture of the now notorious +_Aurora_. + +George now felt that, with two ships and so many desperate men to look +after, he had his hands full, and he therefore decided to make the best +of his way to England forthwith. He accordingly hailed Bowen, +requesting him to give the _Aurora's_ stores an overhaul, and to +ascertain whether her provisions and water were sufficient in quantity +to justify them in making a push across the Atlantic. In about an hour +an answer was returned to the effect that not only was there an +abundance of everything, but that the ship herself was more than half +full of a varied and very rich cargo, the spoils, doubtless, from many a +missing vessel. Upon the receipt of this intelligence, orders were at +once given for both ships to fill and make the best of their way to the +northward in company, and by nightfall they were clear of the Caycos +Passage and standing to the northward on a taut bowline under a heavy +press of canvas. + +The _Virginie_ and _Aurora_ made an excellent passage across the +Atlantic. They stood to the northward until the Trades were cleared, +when they fell in with fresh westerly winds, which carried them all the +way across; and, as the weather was fine, they had no difficulty in +keeping each other in sight during the whole passage, the two craft +regulating their spread of canvas so that neither should outsail the +other. + +The passage was consequently an uneventful one, nothing worthy of note +occurring until they were in the chops of the Channel. Then, indeed, an +adventure befell them, which proved George to have been wise in his +determination that the two vessels should make the voyage in company. + +It was the last week in October. They had just struck soundings, when +the two craft ran into a dense, raw fog, which compelled all hands to +seek warmth and comfort in their thickest jackets, and necessitated, as +a matter of prudence, the immediate shortening of sail. + +The fog lasted a couple of hours, and when it cleared up the _Aurora_ +was discovered about two miles astern of the brig, and a large ship was +at the same moment made out directly ahead. The stranger was hove-to +under single-reefed topsails, with her head to the northward, her +topsail-yards being just visible from the deck. The fact of her being +hove-to in such a position seemed to point to the conclusion that she +was a man-o'-war, and this supposition was confirmed when George took a +look at her through his glass from the fore-topgallant-yard. She was a +frigate, and French apparently, from the cut of her canvas; but of +course it was quite possible that she might be in English hands, the +English often taking French prizes into their own navy, and sending them +to sea again with little or no alteration. Still, George thought it +best to be on the safe side, and he accordingly at once ordered the +_Virginie_ to clear for action, the _Aurora_ being signalled to do the +same, his intention being to attack the frigate, if an enemy, since, as +far as he could make out, she carried only twenty-four guns. + +In the meantime, however, the brig and the barque had been discovered by +the frigate, which at once made sail, and manoeuvred in such a manner as +to intercept them. + +Bowen, on the other hand, guessing at once what was in the wind, crowded +sail upon the _Aurora_, and soon recovered his position alongside the +_Virginie_, approaching the latter vessel within hailing distance, in +order the better to concert plans for the possible coming engagement. +These were soon arranged, but not before it had become pretty evident, +from the comparatively clumsy handling of the stranger, that she was +indeed French. Their doubts, such as they were, were set at rest when +the frigate had approached within a mile of them, by her hoisting a +tricolour at her gaff-end, and soon afterwards she sent a shot across +their fore-foot as a polite intimation that they would oblige her by +heaving-to. + +They, however, did nothing of the kind; a piece of discourtesy which +_so_ preyed upon the French captain's mind that, without more ado, he +bore down upon them, and opened fire from his starboard broadside. + +The three ships at that moment formed the three angles of a nearly +equilateral triangle, the sides of which measured each about a quarter +of a mile; the _Virginie_ and the _Aurora_ occupying, as it were, the +two ends of the base, and the Frenchman being at the apex. This allowed +both English ships to attack their enemy on the same side--the +starboard--and compelled the Frenchman to fight them both with only half +his battery. He soon saw how great a disadvantage he laboured under by +this arrangement, and did all he could to get between them. But it was +all to no purpose; George and Bowen were fully as wide-awake as he was, +and they successfully defeated every effort of his in this direction, +principally, it must be confessed, by some lucky shooting on their part, +whereby the Frenchman's spars and rigging were so cut up that the craft +soon became practically unmanageable. At length, after a brisk fight of +about twenty minutes, the Frenchman's fore and main-topmasts both went +simultaneously over the side, the frigate luffed into the wind, and +obstinately remained there, and she was at George's mercy. The +_Virginie_ at once made sail and took up a position across the enemy's +bows, the _Aurora_ placed herself across his stern, and from these two +advantageous positions a raking fire was opened, which, in less than +five minutes, caused the Frenchman to haul down his flag and surrender. + +The prize--which proved to be the twenty-four-gun frigate _Cigne_--was +at once taken possession of by boats from both the _Virginie_ and the +_Aurora_, her crew secured, and her damages repaired; and about midnight +the three vessels made sail in company, arriving without further +adventure at Spithead on the day but one following. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +"ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL." + +The anchors were no sooner on the bottom than George found himself a +busy man. There were certain authorities to be communicated with as to +the disposal of the French prisoners, other authorities to be consulted +as to the disposal of the pirates, and still others, again, to be seen +and arranged with as to the disposal of the prizes. Then there were the +owners of the _Vulcan_ to be dealt with in the matter of the salvage of +that vessel, so that, altogether, he was kept going to and fro from +morning until night. + +Then there was Lucy to be called upon. But knowing--or thinking he +knew--that the sad news he had to communicate would go far toward +breaking the heart of the poor girl, he eagerly availed himself of every +excuse which offered, to defer his visit; and so it happened that whilst +Lucy--who had heard, with astonishment and joy unspeakable, the news of +his strange reappearance and good fortune--waited impatiently for the +longed-for visit, George was postponing it day after day, until nearly a +fortnight had passed. + +And in truth he was so worried and harassed with unexpected difficulties +that, even if he could have found the time, he lacked the heart for such +a call. To his intense surprise, he learned that, though he had arrived +at Spithead with three ships, neither of them belonged to him. To begin +with, the _Virginie_, having been captured whilst her captors were under +the protection of a convoying squadron, was claimed as being actually +the prize of that squadron, though not one of the ships belonging to it +had fired a shot or struck a blow to aid in the capture. Then, as to +the _Aurora_, having not only bought and paid, but _also fought_, for +her, George was strongly of opinion that _she_ at least was his. But, +here again, it appeared that he was mistaken. She had been taken from +him by pirates, and had been out of his possession more than twenty-four +hours: she was therefore, _de facto_, a pirate, and the lawful prize of +the _Virginie_, or rather, of the _Virginie's_ owners, namely, the +convoying fleet aforesaid. And the same reasoning applied with equal +effect to the _Cigne_. The naval authorities certainly were good enough +to admit that George and his crew were, in virtue of their having been +the actual captors of these vessels, entitled to a certain moderate +share of the prize-money accruing therefrom, but further than that they +would not go. + +But if George found himself a busy man, he also found himself--outside +the circle ruled by official jealousy--famous. The story, not only of +his gallant achievements, but also of his misfortunes, leaked out, as +such stories will; and he soon found himself a much-sought-after man, +quite a lion, in fact. To such an extent, indeed, was this the case, +that even the curiosity of royalty itself was aroused, and in the very +midst of all his perplexities Leicester received a summons to present +himself at court. This summons George of course dutifully and promptly +obeyed, and whilst there not only told the whole story of his +adventures, but also laid before his most gracious Majesty the +grievances from which he considered himself to be suffering. He was +well rewarded for his pains; for, when the king came to be fully +informed of the details of the case, he took the matter in hand himself, +with the result that a speedy and, on the whole, fairly satisfactory +settlement was arrived at. He was also offered a commission in the +navy, his Majesty sagely remarking that so good a man ought to be +serving his country in some better way than by commanding a mere +merchant-ship, and this time George was sensible enough to accept the +offer. At his suggestion a commission was also offered to and accepted +by Bowen. + +All this business being at length satisfactorily concluded, George had +no further excuse for shunning Sea View, and accordingly, on the first +opportunity, he set out with considerable perturbation of spirit for +Alverstoke. + +It was about seven o'clock in the evening, and quite dark when George +reached the house, and, passing through the gate, strode up the +well-remembered pathway, and administered a sounding _rat-tat_ at the +door. A smart, fresh-looking maid-servant answered the summons, and, on +his inquiry for Miss Walford, showed him into the familiar parlour, and +asked for his name. + +"Captain Leicester," answered George. + +"Yes, sir, certainly, sir," said the girl, eyeing George with such +undisguised curiosity and admiration as showed that she had undoubtedly +heard some portion at least of his story. "Missus 'll be down in a +minute, sir. Please to take a seat, sir." + +George settled himself comfortably in a chair near the fire, and, +looking round at the well-remembered pictures and "curios" which still +adorned the room, fell into a reverie in which his mind travelled +backward and took him again in imagination through all that had happened +to him since he last sat in that room. From this he was brought back +abruptly to the present by the opening of the door and the entrance of +Lucy. + +Ah! how George's heart leapt within his bosom as he looked at her. She +was just the same charming girl as when he had seen her last, and yet +there was a subtle difference. She was a trifle more womanly, her form +was more fully developed, and if she was a shade paler, it only made her +loveliness more distractingly bewitching than ever. + +"Lucky Ned!" thought George. "To have been the chosen lover of such a +woman as this--ay, though only for a few short hours, how willingly +would I change places with you!" + +"So you have come at last, captain," said Lucy, offering her delicate +little hand. "I was beginning to think that, with all the honours which +have been showered upon you, you had quite forgotten your former +friends." + +"No, Lucy, I have not," answered George; "I have not forgotten one of +them--least of all have I forgotten you. Forgotten! Why, I have never +ceased to remember you; I do not believe a single waking hour has passed +over my head since we last met, that I have not thought of you." + +Lucy laughed blithely; she saw by the earnestness of his manner that he +was speaking the literal truth; he had _not_ forgotten her, and all +would yet be well. + +"Fie, fie, captain," said she, "it is easily to be seen that you have +been to court; you have learned so thoroughly the art of flattery." + +"Ha!" exclaimed George, "have you heard of my visit to his Majesty, +then?" + +"Yes, indeed," answered Lucy, "I have heard not only that, but, I +believe, your whole story. Is it possible you are ignorant of the fact +that your name is in everybody's mouth, and that your story is public +property?" + +"So you have heard _all_ about me?" remarked George. "Then I hope to +Heaven that you have also already heard the sad news which I came over +to break to you this evening. I see you are in black." + +"Yes," said Lucy, growing very grave at once, "I am in mourning for poor +mother; she died nearly a year ago. But what is the sad news of which +you have to speak to me?" + +"You have _not_ heard, then?" said George. "Well, it is about your +cousin Edward. I regret to say that I bring you bad news of him." + +"Are you referring to his death?" asked Lucy with just the faintest +suspicion of a tremor in her voice. "Because, if so, I have already +heard of it, and of all your noble, self-sacrificing behaviour on his +behalf. And as a relative, as indeed his _only_ surviving relative, let +me here and now thank you, George, in all earnestness and sincerity, for +your devotion to my unfortunate cousin." + +"By Jove, she bears it well; she can't have cared so _very_ much for +him, after all," thought George. + +"No thanks are necessary, I assure you," was the reply. "I only did for +him what I would have done with equal readiness for a stranger. But I +had vowed that I would be a protector to him, and that I would--if God +willed it--restore him to your arms; and I am grieved that I failed to +keep my vow. Believe me, it was through no fault of mine that I failed, +Lucy; I did the best I could, but God willed it otherwise." + +"Yes--yes," answered Lucy in a dazed sort of way; "yes, God willed it +otherwise. But--whatever do you mean, George, by talking about +restoring him to my arms? Any one would think, to hear you speak, that +I was married to him." + +"Well," said George, "betrothal _is_ a sort of marriage, is it not?" + +"Betrothal!" exclaimed Lucy, looking more bewildered than ever. "Pray +explain yourself, Captain Leicester; I assure you I have not the +_slightest_ idea of what you mean." + +It was now George's turn to look mystified. + +"No idea of what I mean?" he stammered. "Why--why--you were engaged to +your cousin, Edward Walford, _were you_ not?" + +A new light suddenly flashed into Lucy's mind. All along she had been +convinced that there was some reason for George's failure to visit her +on the occasion of his previous arrival in port, and now the matter was +assuredly on the eve of explanation. So she looked up into George's +face, and said quietly-- + +"No, George, I never was engaged to my cousin. He proposed to me, but I +refused him, explicitly and in most unmistakable terms." + +"You did?" panted George, his heart throbbing tumultuously. "When was +that?" + +"On the evening of the day when you last arrived in Portsmouth harbour +in the _Industry_." + +Then, all in a moment, a suspicion of the truth dawned upon George. + +"And it was on that same evening that I met him out there, close to the +church, and he confided to me, as a great secret, the circumstance that +you had just accepted him." + +"You were so near as that, and yet you never called? For shame, +George!" exclaimed Lucy. + +"Well, you see--I--that is--in fact I could not. The--the plain truth +is that I--I was on my way to you at the time, to try my own fortune +with you, and when I was told that you had accepted your cousin, I-- +well, I felt that I couldn't meet you just then," stammered George with +desperate energy. + +"Poor George!" murmured Lucy. "How well my cousin understood your +unsuspicious character! He _knew_ it would never occur to you to doubt +his word, and he told you that tale to keep you away from--from--" + +"From what? from whom?" asked George. "Oh Lucy! is it possible that, if +I had carried out my original resolution that night, you would have +accepted me?" + +"Yes, George, I would indeed," was the murmured reply. "I have loved +you, and you only, for a long time. But not longer than you have loved +me," she added roguishly, as George took her in his arms and-- + +But, avast there! whither are we running? It is high time that we +should 'bout ship and haul off on the opposite tack, if we would not be +regarded as impertinent intruders. Love-making is a most delightful +pastime, particularly when it comes in at the end of a long period of +suffering, hardship, and misunderstanding; but it loses all its piquant +charm if it has to be performed in the presence of strangers, no matter +how sympathetic. So we will leave it to the lively imagination of the +intelligent reader to picture for him, or herself, according to his, or +her, particular fancy, the way in which the remainder of the evening was +spent, merely mentioning that the lovers found time to come to a +thoroughly and mutually satisfactory understanding, and that, when +George left Sea View that evening, he was--to make use of a somewhat +hackneyed expression--"the happiest of men." + +My story is now ended, or nearly so, the intelligent reader aforesaid +having doubtless already anticipated the little that remains to be told. + +The pirates were tried, found guilty, and executed, as a matter of +course; the evidence of the crew of the _Virginie_ alone being +sufficient to insure their conviction. Captain Bowen went, at +considerable personal inconvenience, to witness the execution, being +desirous, as he said, of assuring himself with his own eyes that the +wretches were so effectually dealt with as to render any further trouble +from them an absolute impossibility. + +George Leicester did not accompany his friend, being, in fact, more +agreeably engaged at the time in spending with Mrs Leicester--_nee_; +Walford--a brief honeymoon in London, prior to taking command of the +frigate _Cigne_, which had been purchased into the navy, and was then +undergoing the process of refitting at Portsmouth. + +In this ship, and in others, George afterwards fought many gallant +actions, greatly distinguishing himself, and eventually retiring from +the service, at an advanced age, with a wooden leg, a baronetcy, and the +title of rear-admiral. His wife Lucy, with most commendable liberality, +presented him with no fewer than seven sons, all of whom grew up to be +fine stalwart fellows, and, entering the navy one after the other, +followed worthily in the footsteps of their gallant father. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Voyage of the Aurora, by Harry Collingwood + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE VOYAGE OF THE AURORA *** + +***** This file should be named 27906.txt or 27906.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/7/9/0/27906/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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