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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a23d011 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #64081 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64081) diff --git a/old/64081-8.txt b/old/64081-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b75d031..0000000 --- a/old/64081-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7692 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Morley Ashton, Volume 2 (of 3), by James Grant - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Morley Ashton, Volume 2 (of 3) - A Story of the Sea - -Author: James Grant - -Release Date: December 20, 2020 [EBook #64081] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MORLEY ASHTON, VOLUME 2 (OF 3) *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines - - - - - - - - - - MORLEY ASHTON: - - A Story of the Sea. - - - - BY - - JAMES GRANT, - - AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "FAIRER THAN A FAIRY," ETC. - - - - In Three Volumes. - - VOL. II. - - - - LONDON: - TINSLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE STREET, W.C. - 1876. - [All rights reserved.] - - - - - - CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, - CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS. - - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - MARIQUITA ESCUDERO - - CHAPTER II. - THE CREW OF THE "HERMIONE" DISCONTENTED - - CHAPTER III. - ROSE AND DR. HERIOT - - CHAPTER IV. - MAN OVERBOARD - - CHAPTER V. - THE LIVID FACE - - CHAPTER VI. - WHAT THE DOCTOR OVERHEARD IN THE FORECASTLE BUNKS - - CHAPTER VII. - MEASURES FOR DEFENCE CONCERTED - - CHAPTER VIII. - THE SAIL TO WINDWARD - - CHAPTER IX. - THE STORM - - CHAPTER X. - THE FOUR CASTAWAYS - - CHAPTER XI. - CAPTAIN HAWKSHAW MAKES A DISCOVERY TO LEEWARD - - CHAPTER XII. - DR. HERIOT'S PATIENTS - - CHAPTER XIII. - CAPTAIN HAWKSHAW's TROUBLES INCREASE - - CHAPTER XIV. - HAWKSHAW TURNS NURSE - - CHAPTER XV. - A BITER BITTEN - - CHAPTER XVI. - DREAD - - CHAPTER XVII. - UNMASKED - - CHAPTER XVIII. - THE EXPULSION - - CHAPTER XIX. - THE MEETING - - CHAPTER XX. - THE CORPSE-LICHT - - CHAPTER XXI. - OUT OF SCYLLA AND INTO CHARYBDIS - - CHAPTER XXII. - FOUR BELLS IN THE DOG-WATCH - - CHAPTER XXIII. - THE CRISIS AT LAST - - CHAPTER XXIV. - HOW THE SHIP BROACHED TO - - CHAPTER XXV. - THE CABIN ATTACKED - - - - - -MORLEY ASHTON. - - - -CHAPTER I. - -MARIQUITA ESCUDERO. - -After the breathless calm of the past day, the heat of the cabin was -intense. The lamp was trimmed and lit by the steward, but the -skylight was still kept open. - -"Awfully hot, Morley, is it not?" said Tom Bartelot, as he threw off -his jacket. - -"Yes; and the heat makes one so thirsty, too!" - -"I can't give you iced champagne, as in the gardens at Rio; but the -steward has bitter beer, beaujolais, and potash water, with grog for -you, Morrison, which I know you prefer; and you, too, Noah, my old -Triton. And now let us to work, and overhaul the old man's papers." - -Morrison, who had been scanning over the manuscript, helped himself -to a glass of grog mechanically, without taking his eyes from the -writing. Noah Gawthrop, who had been specially invited below, in -virtue of the part he had borne in the past day's episode, received a -jorum of stiff grog from the steward, and seated himself near the -bulkhead, uncomfortably, on the extreme edge of a sea-chest, in -preference to the well-cushioned locker, which he evidently -considered too fine for his tarry trousers. - -Morley and Bartelot were each furnished with a glass of beaujolais -and potash water. The stars were visible through the open skylight, -paling away into the blue ether overhead, when Morrison began to -read, translating the recluse's Spanish into tolerable English, as he -made himself master of the subject; the sole interruptions, as he -proceeded, being an occasional interjection from Noah, such as "Dash -my buttons!" "Smite my timbers!" varied by "Darn my eyes! the -ragamuffin! the regular-built old Bluebeard!" followed by a hard slap -of his hand upon his own thigh; though much of what he heard proved a -sore puzzle to him, especially the religious invocations, the -outbursts of remorse, and bitter self-reproaches, which we omit in -the rehearsal of his story. - -The manuscript proceeded thus: - -"I pray the reader hereof, if he be a good Catholic, to say a novena, -or nine days' prayer, for the repose of my sinful soul; and I beg of -the first Christian man who shall give my remains interment to place -a cross at the end of my grave. - -"Let whoever beholds these poor remains profit by the sad spectacle -they exhibit, even as the recluse, Brother Pedro, has sought to -profit by the prayers, penance, and mortification of twenty years -spent in this solitude, while striving to atone for the errors of -forty spent in the world as Don Pedro Zuares Miguel de Barradas. - -"I was a man of fortune in New Spain; my forefathers were of the -purest blood--the boasted blue blood of those who dwelt by the Ebro, -without taint of Goth, of Moor, or Jew--and my more immediate -predecessors, men who came with Hernan Cortez, of Medellin, and -Francis Pizarro, of Troquillo, to conquer the new world which -Columbus had given to Castile and Leon. - -"My direct ancestor, Don Miguel de Barradas, came from San Pedro de -Arlanza, in the district of Burgos. A near kinsman of Hernan Cortez, -he was one of the first who settled on the table-land of Anahuac, -founding one of those powerful families which flourish there, and who -also possess all the sea-coast, from La Vera Cruz to San Luis de -Potosi. - -"In power and right of action, we were free and unfettered, as the -Spanish nobility at home. No agrarian law could there force us to -sell our vast estates, if we neglected to cultivate them; and our -farmers we could harass, oppress, cajole, or expel at our pleasure. - -"Proud of my descent from one of those who conquered Tlascala and -Tenochtitlan in 1521, no man was more vain of his old Castilian -pedigree than I; yet there came a time when I joined the patriots, -and fought for the separation of Peru from the mother country, and, -with my own blood, sought to cement the foundation of the free United -States of South America. - -"Prior to my entering upon that career of usefulness, my objects in -life were very different. - -"I was possessed of vast wealth; I had been well educated and highly -accomplished by my parents, at whose desire I had travelled over all -Europe, and had visited its capitals, to the improvement of my taste, -though but little to the advantage of my morals. - -"I was possessed of a person that was considered handsome. I deemed -myself a model and mirror of honour, and had a spirit ever high and -haughty, but at times crafty and ferocious. My character was full of -inconsistencies; thus, wherever I went, I became involved in quarrels -on frivolous pretexts and points of honour--quarrels, which -invariably ended in duels, and in these I was generally the victor, -whether with sword or with pistol, for I was skilful in the use of -both. - -"Within this shadow was a darker shade! - -"No man's wife or daughter--even were he my best and dearest -friend--could be safe from my artful, insidious, and too often -successful advances; for to see any woman, possessed of even moderate -attractions, was to love her at once. - -"Success in each instance gave new courage and address, and led to -success in others; thus my whole time was spent in weaving plans and -intrigues, and the chief aim of my existence was to feel myself the -conqueror. Thus to flame succeeded flame, so rapid were my fancies, -so insatiable my desires, that I rejoiced in the idea of making three -or four assignations with as many different beauties in one day. - -"Opposition in some, the tears, the reproaches, and the despair of -others, added but piquancy to this pursuit of the innocent and -unwary, while my hand with the small sword was so skilful and steady, -my aim with the pistol so deadly and true, that relations and rivals -sought to punish me in vain, though thrice I escaped miraculously -their attempts at deliberate assassination. - -"Of all whom I deceived none do I mourn more in this time of -repentance and bitterness, than Mariquita Escudero, whose image and -memory fill me yet--even at the distance of many years--with -inexpressible sorrow. - -"She was the only daughter of Miguel Escudero, a worthy old farmer of -mine, near Orizaba--that mighty volcano, whose summit is 1,300 feet -higher than the Peak of Teneriffe, and which serves as a landmark to -all mariners bound for La Vera Cruz. - -"Though tainted, as we deemed it, with the Mexican blood of her -mother, who was an octoroon of a native tribe, Mariquita inherited -from her father good old Castilian blood, and was a girl far -exceeding all whom I had met or known in loveliness and goodness, in -virtue and in purity. - -"She had heard of my evil reputation, and warned by common rumour--it -may be by her parents, or inspired by native modesty--she always drew -her mantilla close, and shunned or avoided me, when I visited Orizaba. - -"Piqued by her coldness and inflamed by her beauty, which was of a -very remarkable kind, I relinquished, or forgot for the time, every -other amour, to engage in this new one, proceeding to work warily, -and with all the subtlety of the fiend I was then. - -"Though I frequently visited the _granja_ (farm) of old Miguel -Escudero, I ceased to notice, save by a casual bow, the presence of -Mariquita; but strove assiduously to gain the friendship of her -brother, Juan, a handsome and high-spirited young man, whom, as he -was a deadly shot and good swordsman, I thought it would be as well -to remove from the vicinity of my operations. - -"I might easily have had him taken off, by distributing a few dollars -among the bandidos of the Barranca Secca; but, though wicked enough, -I was not sufficiently a villain for that, and so preferred to -procure for him a commission as an _alferez_ (ensign) in the guards -of the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, an honour which, being so -unusual, when conferred on the son of a humble _grangero_, or farmer, -filled the soul of Miguel with gratitude, and Juan with pride and joy. - -"Not content with this, I appointed Escudero overseer of all my -estates, with an income of about five hundred pistoles per annum; so -my cold little beauty, the Senora Mariquita, had now a horse and -mounted groom when she went abroad, instead of a mule, as before, and -a barefooted negro runner. - -"These presents--this unwonted patronage--passed well enough as -rewards to an ancient and faithful adherent of our house, for old -Miguel Escudero had been an especial confidant of my father, and was -descended from one of the twenty men-at-arms whom my ancestor, Don -Miguel, had brought from San Pedro de Arlanza in Old Castile. He -regarded me with a friendship, a love, that was almost paternal, and -now pressed me to visit him at the handsome residence which my favour -and bounty had conferred upon him; so I went to spend three months -under the same roof with Mariquita, on the slopes of the vast Pic -d'Orizaba, to hunt the wild cattle, the elks, the buffaloes, and -cabri, and the grisly black bears, in the ever green forests and -lovely savannahs that spread away from thence towards the Rio de -Carraderas; and, nightly, it was my joy to lay the spoils of the -chase at the feet of Mariquita, in compliment to her as the mistress -of her father's house, for such she was--luckily, for the furtherance -of my project, her watchful mother having been recently removed by -death. - -"I now saw more of her than I could ever have done by periodical -visits, and my passion grew greater by our intimacy, for the girl was -a wondrously lovely brunette, though her skin was exceedingly fair. -The form of her hands and feet, the contour of her head, and the soft -luxuriant masses of her ripply black hair, were all perfect; and her -eyes, large, dark, clear, and liquid, were beautiful, and ever -varying in expression. - -"I was too artful, too well trained in the ways of vice, to seem more -than simply pleased with the society of Mariquita. I was -scrupulously attentive to her at table and elsewhere. If she -mounted, my hand and knee were at her service; but when dismounting, -she always preferred the attendance of her father, or her old negro -groom, as if determined that no hand of mine should ever touch her -slender waist. - -"We occasionally accompanied each other on the guitar. Songs of love -were long, long avoided, but they came at last. I remember the first -we ventured on--'Love's First Kiss,' an old song of Burgos, beginning: - - "'A aquel caballero madre.' - -And then came a time, too, when I saw that Mariquita ceased to avoid -me--a time when her cheek flushed palpably, and when her lovely eyes -dilated and sparkled at my approach with emotions of pleasure there -were no concealing. - -"In me she beheld her father's patron and benefactor, her brother's -friend; so gratitude soon led the way to love. - -"I beheld the growth of this secret influence with exultation, yet -never spoke of love. Inspired by my master, the devil, I was too -wary yet to mar my game until she loved me irretrievably and deeply. -My efforts, my passion, were about to be rewarded at last! - -"For good or for evil, to what is a man most indebted for success in -life? To genius, birth, education, or perseverance? To none of -these, but simply to success itself. - -"Alas! she was too young, too tender, and too artless--too full of -keen Spanish and generous Indian impulses, to withstand me; and after -a time I saw that she burned with a passion equal to my own, which I -still pretended to suppress within me, and to veil under an outward -aspect of indifference and respect. - -"'The first symptom of true love in a young man is timidity; in a -girl it is boldness,' says a writer. 'This will surprise, and yet -nothing is more simple: the two sexes have a tendency to approach, -and each assumes the qualities of the other.' - -"This strange analysis of the human heart was fully realised in the -case of Mariquita. - -"One day we were riding at the foot of the vast Cordillera, through -those odoriferous groves, the leaves of which are used for perfuming -the chocolate. We had contrived to miss our black groom, who had -dismounted in a part of the wood, to examine a shoe of his horse; so, -as the atmosphere of noon was intensely hot and breathless, we sought -a shady and sequestered spot, where, under the cool, humid, and -umbrageous forest leaves, the smilax or sarsaparilla roots, the -liquidambar, the choacun root, and the balsam of tolu were growing in -luxuriance, and where the wild cotton tree, and the broad-leaved -tobacco plant, the yellow gourd, and the purple grape, all formed a -jungle together. - -"Languid and panting with the heat of the day, the length of our -ride, and, inspired by the pleasure she now felt in my society, -Mariquita never looked so lovely; and now, when praying that she -would alight, strange to say, I spoke timidly and with a -wildly-beating heart; but, to my surprise, she consented, and held -out her hand with a delightful smile. - -"As I lifted her from the saddle, she threw back her long low veil, -and the heavy masses of her perfumed hair fell upon my cheek. - -"She leant heavily forward in my arms, and, instead of placing her on -the ground, I pressed her tenderly to my breast, with my lips -trembling on her forehead. Then I murmured in her ear: - -"'Mariquita, _mi querida_--Marguerita, my idol--I love you--love you -dearly! Will you pardon me; will you permit it?' - -"She did not reply, but her head sank upon my shoulder, for the -crisis had come! Her lovely face was close to mine, and I felt her -breath upon my cheek. The colour had left hers, for those emotions -which cause some women to blush make others grow pale; but her -half-closed eyes sparkled with passion and joy under their long black -lashes, and her rosy lips were parted by a divine smile. - -"I felt that I had triumphed; that Mariquita, the once proud, cold, -and reserved Mariquita, loved me, for that emotion which had made me -at first seem timid now made her actually bold, and her sweet lips -sought mine, it may be but too readily, in the first glow of her -girlish ardour. - -"She gave me one long and passionate kiss, and then, without -assistance, she sprang from my arms to her saddle, saying, with -mingled smiles and tears: - -"'We have both been foolish--very foolish, Senor Don Pedro, but let -us begone.' - -"'Mariquita, consider the heat--your fatigue!' I urged. - -"'We are some miles from the _granja_, and have first the road to -find,' she replied hurriedly. - -"With her horse's reins and her whip, she had resumed something of -her former self, but the memory of my kisses yet burned upon her brow -and lips. I endeavoured, in vain, to lead the conversation back to -the sudden impulse which the simple act of dismounting had given to -both our hearts. - -"I begged of her to moderate the pace of her horse, as there was -plenty of time for us to reach home; but she would not listen to me, -and seemed to blush with anger now at the memory of what had passed -between us; yet little cared I for that, felt assured that we had -passed the Rubicon, that this beautiful girl loved me, and that the -time I had spent with old Miguel Escudero, in rambling among his -plantations, where the negroes hoed the sugar, planted tobacco, and -gathered the cotton tufts, had not been spent in vain. - -"Mariquita did not avoid me, so for several days after this I never -missed an opportunity, especially when old Senor Escudero was not -present, of pressing my suit, and giving her assurances of my -unalterable love! Unalterable! Oh, _mal hay as tu_, Pedro de -Barradas, into how many charming ears had those same words been -poured, and in the same tender accents, too! - -"But Mariquita, who had become more mistress of herself, always heard -me with composure, and with a bearing unlike that she had exhibited -in the wood; but I could see that the simplest remark, or most casual -tone of my voice, made her heart vibrate with pleasure, and her -colour deepen. - -"One evening we were standing together at an open window, which was -shaded by a vine-covered verandah, and faced the usually flaming -summit of the volcano of Orizaba. It was wonderfully still on that -occasion; a column of thin smoke only ascended from it to the very -zenith. The evening was lovely, and the sun's farewell rays were -gilding the mighty summit of the cone; all was calm and quiet, save -in our hearts, which beat tumultuously. I drew closer to Mariquita, -and as she stood before me, I passed my arms round her, kissed the -back of her delicate neck tenderly, and whispered: - -"'How long shall I speak to you of love, Mariquita?' - -"'As long as you please, Senor Don Pedro,' she replied, with a tender -smile, as she half turned round her head. - -"'Call me Pedro, my beloved one, without the ceremonious don--and -senor, too, oh, fie!' - -"'_Bueno--Pedro mi querida._' - -"'Sweeter still!' I exclaimed, in a low voice. - -"'Well?' - -"'Well, dearest Mariquita; how long shall we speak of love?' - -"'As long as you please.' - -"'Ah! feel how my heart beats. I ask how long in vain?' - -"'Long enough, senor,' said she, with a pretty pout. - -"'_Senor!_' - -"'Yes, senor, unless--unless----' - -She paused. - -"'What?' - -"'You speak of marriage, too,' she replied, suddenly unclasping my -hands, which were tenderly folded round her slender waist. - -"'Do you love me?' - -"'Do I love you?' she repeated, reproachfully, turning her full, -clear, and glorious eyes to mine, while throwing back her veil and -the masses of her silky hair together; 'you know that _I do love -you_, Pedro, fondly, deeply, passionately, for you have won that -which never belonged, and never shall belong, to another--my heart.' - -"'Beloved Mariquita!' I exclaimed, and pressed her to my breast in a -long and mutual embrace, 'and you will be mine--mine?' - -"'At the foot of the altar, Pedro--at the foot of the altar alone,' -she whispered, with a heart that swelled with love, and with dark -eyes steeped in languor. - -"But vain are human resolves, even when made by a heart so pure and -guileless as that of Mariquita, when struggling with a passion so -deep and consuming; for with these very words on her lips she was -yielding; we were alone and undisturbed, and ere the sun's last rays -had faded from the cone of Orizaba, Mariquita had lost her honour! - -* * * * * - -"The hapless Mariquita! She loved me more than ever now. She clung -to me with all the strength of love, of sacrifice, and of despair. - -"For days after this, on her knees, she besought me to marry her. I -would raise her, kiss and console her, and flatter, too--how weary -now the task!--flatter and pacify her, making countless promises and -professions, for I still loved her in my own selfish fashion; but I -shrunk from the idea of marriage with the daughter of one of my own -grangeros--one whose ancestors had been hewers of wood and drawers of -water to mine--a girl, moreover, who had the taint of native blood in -her veins! - -"I, Pedro de Barradas, Knight of Santiago de Compostella, and Lord of -Anahuac, whom the proud daughters of the first men, and of the -noblest houses in New Spain, had failed to lure within the meshes of -matrimony, was not likely to mate with the daughter of Miguel -Escudero, however much I might love her, and however much she might -please my somewhat fastidious eye. - -"I heard her many tender and pathetic entreaties--and once, too, her -wild threats of self-destruction, poniard in hand--that I would save -her from impending shame; but I was pitiless as the ocelot--the -tiger-cat that lurked in the woods of Orizaba--all the more pitiless -that I knew she fondly--yes, madly--loved me. - -"Weary of the endless task of seeking to console one who would not -and could not be consoled, I quitted Orizaba for some months, as we -were planning the revolt against the mother country, a movement which -was to secure to me the captaincy of the great castle of San Juan, de -Ulloa, the citadel of La Vera Cruz, which mounts nearly 200 pieces of -cannon, and is the key of the whole province. - -"During my absence and in the fulness of time, Mariquita had a son, -born in secrecy, amid tears, shame, and sorrow. She baptised it by -the name of Pedro, and sent him to a lonely puebla in the mountains -that overlook the Barranca Secca, to be nursed by one of my people. -This birth, all unknown alike to Miguel Escudero, whom I had -despatched on a political mission towards the shores of the Pacific, -and to his son, Juan, who was now a lieutenant of infantry at the -castle of San Juan de Ulloa. - -"My passion for Mariquita still existed; her love for me was greater -than ever now, and she lived but for me, and in the hope that in -pity, if not for love, I would espouse her still, and these hopes I -was always wicked enough to fan; 'so man wrongs, and time avenges.' - -"Completely in my power, surrounded by my toils, the victim of my -wiles, still loving me dearly and desperately, and still hoping for -the ultimate fulfilment of my thousand protestations, the poor girl -continued to meet me from time to time in a deserted sugar-mill on -the mountains of Orizaba, a secret intercourse that ended fatally for -her and for all, for another son, whom we named Zuares, was born, and -at the same time the whole affair came to the knowledge of Miguel -Escudero, who, though but a humble grangero, had all the pride of -birth, and more than the ideas of spotless honour, honesty, and -female purity, possessed by any grandee of old Castile. - -"The poor old man's horror was beyond all description. - -"To find that his daughter's honour had been lost, his hospitality so -infamously violated, his home disgraced, his prospects ruined, and by -me--ME, whom he had so loved and so respected, as his friend and -benefactor, was a mortal stab too deep to survive, and within an hour -after the revelation came upon him in all its stunning details, poor -Miguel Escudero had ceased to exist. - -"He did not die by his own hand, he was too good and too religious a -man for such a terrible act; but sinking on the floor of his chamber, -he never moved again. He died of autopsy--paralysis of the heart! - -"I was not present at this scene of horror, being, fortunately for -myself, in command of the great castle of San Juan de Ulloa. - -"On the day of Corpus Christi, after having attended mass, I was -walking on that portion of the ramparts which faces the flats of -Gallega, accompanied by some of the officers of my staff, when the -young lieutenant, Juan Escudero, approached to inform me, in a voice -broken with grief, of his father's sudden death, and to request leave -of absence to attend his obsequies. - -"My heart was struck with remorse, and grew sick with shame. I -placed my purse in his hand; I gave him my best horse, and bade him -begone to Orizaba with good speed; but I trembled like a craven in my -soul for the hour of his return. - -"A few days passed, and the young lieutenant came back. - -"I was walking alone on the same ramparts when I saw him steadily -approaching me. He was clad in his uniform, and his silver -epaulettes glittered in the sun. He had a band of crape on his right -arm, and another on the hilt of his sword--a soldier's simple -mourning for a lost parent, and, alas! a lost honour. - -"He came straight up to me; his handsome face, so like the face of -Mariquita, was deadly pale; but the glare of wild hate shone in his -eyes, and his nether lip quivered spasmodically. - -"'Senor Don Pedro de Barradas,' said he, saluting me, ceremoniously, -'I have the honour to confess the many services you have rendered my -family in the days when you were true to yourself and to us. For all -these I beg to thank you. But I have also to confess the many deep -wrongs you have done us, and I here brand you, before God and man, as -a villain and a coward, whom I have vowed to kill like a dog, here on -the ramparts of San Juan de Ulloa!' - -"My heart sank, and my hand trembled. - -"'Senor Teniente--Senor Escudero,' I began, in a rash and vague -attempt to explain or to extenuate; but the brother of Mariquita was -mad with ungovernable fury, and he rushed upon me, sword in hand. - -"I knew that he would kill me without mercy, and that there was -nothing left for me but to defend my life to the utmost, and to do -this all my skill was requisite. - -"I was the best swordsman in La Vera Cruz; but he was twenty years my -junior, young, active, and filled with just rage and indignation. - -"Compelled to stand on my own defence, my sole object was to ward off -his cuts, to parry his thrusts, and to keep him at bay till the -castle guard came to separate us. I sought to disarm, and if driven -to sore extremity to wound him only; but while he was making a -desperate lunge at me, my sword entered his heart. I felt its hot -blood spout upon the blade, and pour through the hilt upon my hand, -as I flung my weapon down in grief and dismay. - -"Juan threw up his hands, and uttered a wild cry. It was -'Mariquita,' as he fell dead on his face, at my feet. - -"Long, long did a horror of these events oppress me. I buried him in -the church of the Augustine Friars, and had one hundred masses sung -for the repose of his soul--oh, who will say one for me!--I would -have made some effort to requite the living victim of my wickedness; -but now retribution came upon me. - -"Mariquita was still living at her father's old _granja_, on the -borders of the Barranca Secca, in shame and seclusion, nursing her -children, Pedro and Zuares, who now bore the dishonoured name of -Barradas, and each of whom had, strange to say, a little red cross, -like that of Santiago, on his left shoulder, where their mother's -hand engraved it, lest the children should be lost. - -"About a month after Juan's death, I was betrayed by some of his -friends into the hands of the troops of his Majesty Ferdinand VII., -and was placed by them on board a vessel for conveyance to Spain, -where an ignominious death as a traitor awaited me. - -"When passing near this isle, a heavy gale came on, and I fell -overboard. In such a sea, to save me was impossible; but a sailor -heard my shriek of despair, and cast over to me a hencoop. - -"God, in his goodness, enabled me to reach it, and after drifting on -the dark ocean for more than an hour, I was cast ashore, and here -have I remained ever since, leading a life of piety and austerity, of -penance and of prayer, in the humble and earnest hope that this -imitation of the holy men of old may atone for the errors I committed -in the world as Don Pedro Zuares Miguel de Barradas. - - "Rueguen a Dios por el." - - -Such was the substance of this strange confession, which we have -written out in a more readable and coherent form than Morrison found -it, and which throws a light on the parentage and origin of the two -dark seamen on board the _Hermione_; and as for the fate of the -hapless Mariquita, the reader has already learned it from Captain -Hawkshaw's unpleasant reminiscence of the Barranca Secca. - -The evening of the next day saw the _Princess_ steering for the -north-western extremity of the island of Tristan d'Acunha. At nine -o' clock, Bartelot ordered a light to be hoisted at the end of the -foretopmast studdingsail boom, and a gun to be fired, as a signal for -a shore boat, which promptly came off from this remarkable place. - -As he wanted fresh water, the captain continued to stand off and on -till dawn next day, when Morley, who had spent the morning watch in -successful fishing, had the gratification of seeing the sun rise on -the isle of Don Tristan d'Acunha. - -Situated far amid the lonely waves of the Southern Atlantic, at the -distance of 1,500 miles from any continent, this lofty island has a -peak of 5,000 feet in height above the level of its beach. At dawn -it seemed like a cone of flame, shaded off by purple tints, and -towering amid a rose-coloured sea, whose depth is so vast that it far -exceeds even the height of Tristan's loftiest peak. - -Two islands are near it: one is named the Inaccessible; the other, -the island of the Nightingale; but they are mere masses of wild -storm-beaten rock, against which the ocean rolls its masses of foam, -and above which, in the amber-tinted sky, a cloud of sea-hens, -petrels, and albatrosses wheel and flutter. - -In the little town which held a British garrison when our imperial -captive pined in St. Helena, there is a mixed population of English -and Portuguese mulattoes, though the isle is described in a recent -gazetteer as being as desolate as when the Cavalier Tristan d'Acunha -traversed the southern sea with his high-pooped caravel, and gave the -place his name, in the first years of the sixteenth century. - -Morley, Gawthrop, and three of the crew went ashore in the jolly-boat -to procure some fresh water and vegetables. Morrison followed in the -quarter-boat; both returned in about an hour, and after what they had -brought off was put on board, they were sent ahead with a warp to tow -the ship off the land, towards which a dangerous current had been -drifting her. - -A fine breeze soon after sprang up; the _Princess_ bore away upon her -course, and ere midnight came down upon the sea, she had bade a last -farewell to the lofty isle of Tristan d'Acunha. - -When next we see her on the ocean, we shall have something to narrate -very different from the hitherto peaceful and prosperous voyages of -Bartelot and his shipmates. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -THE CREW OF THE "HERMIONE" DISCONTENTED. - -For days Captain Hawkshaw was haunted by the recollection of that -strange episode, the sinking corpse; whose features--seen through the -fevered medium of his own imagination and his guilty -conscience--seemed to assume the likeness of Morley Ashton, as they -went slowly down through the green, translucent sea, after Dr. Leslie -Heriot had attached the cannon-shot to its heels. - -He accounted for the exclamation of horror that escaped him, by -saying to those in the boat that he felt a sudden qualm of sickness, -of disgust, or a giddiness; and his first resource when on board was -to Joe, the captain's steward, for his brandy bottle. - -When he began to reason with himself, however, in a calmer moment, he -perceived the impossibility of the remains being those of Morley -Ashton, as no influence of current, tide, or wind could have drifted -them from the coast of Britain so far through the ocean as the South -Atlantic. - -The idea was absurd--impossible! - -Moreover, the drowned man had not been dead more than a week to all -appearance; and then his hands had grasped a life-buoy, evincing that -he must have fallen overboard from some ship, or been the victim of a -wreck. - -When the impression of that affair began to wear away, his fears of -the two Barradas, and a recollection of the manner in which Pedro, -Bill Badger, the bulky Yankee, and others of the crew had insulted -him, resumed their sway; but after a time he began to take courage. - -"What have I to fear from the Barradas? Nothing!" he would whisper -to himself, as if to gather comfort from the echo of his own -thoughts. "Suppose they denounce me to my friends--to Ethel--I have -simply to deny, and that is all. The story of the -padre--d----nation!--no, I mean of the Barranca Secca--I have already -told, and Master Zuares does not shine in that affair. Even to Ethel -it is nothing new, for I have related it more than once, to increase -her horror of the Barradas when the crisis comes." - -A _crisis_ was coming, which the captain did not quite foresee! - -"Even to Ethel it is nothing new--I can deny, deny, and defy them -all. 'Tis only my word against theirs." - -This was all very well; but ere the voyage ended there occurred -several events, which alike put the captain's courage and resolution -to flight. - -As the _Hermione_ approached the Cape of Good Hope, she encountered -alternate storms and calms, with weather so unusually cold for the -season, that Hawkshaw had a fair excuse for permitting his whiskers -and moustache to resume their wonted aspect of luxuriance, as he had -ceased to hope for concealment on board. - -Though pretty well inured now, by their very protracted voyage, to -the discomforts of ship-life, Ethel and Rose Basset remained a good -deal in the cabin, especially the former, to avoid Hawkshaw's -attention, which were thus repressed by the presence of the captain, -when it was not his watch, of Mr. Quail, or her father, who preferred -to lie reading or lounging on the cabin locker, to facing on deck the -spoon-drift that flew over the lee quarter when the ship was going -free. - -She found Adrian Manfredi, the young Italian mate, a pleasant -companion, for Rose rather absorbed the society of Dr. Heriot. He -was gentlemanly and well bred; he had seen much of the world, and her -preference for him was so decided, that Hawkshaw felt at times a pang -of jealous rage in his heart, which was in no way soothed when, in -the mate's hours of leisure, they took to reading together in -Italian, "I Promessi Sposi," the beautiful novel of Alessandro -Manzoni, from the neat little three-volume edition, printed at Lugano. - -This emotion became all the more bitter after Ethel gave Manfredi a -handsome gold locket, to hold the hair of his little brother, "the -brave boy, Attilio," whose story he told in a previous chapter. - -The young man was no doubt charmed by the beauty and society of a -sweet English girl like Ethel Basset; thus his voice became mellow -and soft whenever he addressed her, and his eyes sparkled with -admiration and pleasure whenever he saw her, but beyond this, no sign -of a deeper emotion escaped him. Perhaps he felt the folly or -futility of encouraging it. - -On the other hand, Ethel's preference for him was greatly induced by -some real or imaginary resemblance which she saw, or thought she saw, -in his features to those of Morley Ashton; though Rose and her father -failed to perceive it, and Hawkshaw, who always trembled in his soul -at the young man's name, treated the idea with angry ridicule. - -The sullenness and other growing peculiarities in the bearing of the -crew had been increasing, so that some would scarcely obey those -orders necessary for the working of the ship. Captain Phillips, -though full of anxiety for the probable issue, resolved to forbear -until a ship of war hove in sight, or until he could dismiss some and -put others in prison, if this state of matters still continued, when -the _Hermione_ hauled up for Table Bay. - -One day Adrian Manfredi had charge of the deck. - -The ship was running nearly fair before a fine topgallant breeze; -there was not much of a sea on, but the sky was lowering, and a great -gray bank of cloud was resting on the ocean to the northward, for -they were encountering regular Cape weather now. - -Manfredi was conversing with Ethel from time to time, and she was -still busy with the last volume of "I Promessi Sposi," when one of -the crew, named Samuel Sharkey, a coarse, square stump of a fellow, -having great misshapen hands, a large and very ugly visage, came -deliberately aft, with a short black pipe in his mouth, and stood -near her, puffing with great coolness, and eyeing her with a very -admiring leer. - -Ethel glanced at him uneasily, and removed to a seat nearer the -taffrail, for there was cool insolence in the man's sinister eyes and -bearing which alarmed her very much. - -On this, Sharkey, the seaman, gave a peculiar whistle, to which Bill -Badger, the tall, ungainly Yankee, who was at the wheel, responded; -and these signals now attracted the attention of Manfredi, who had -been looking aloft, and securing some of the halyards to the -belaying-pins. - -"Hollo, you sir!" said he, "what do you want aft, eh?" - -"None o' your grand airs, Mister Manfreddy," was the sulky response, -"'cos they won't do in this part o' blue water, so I tells you at -once." - -"Take that pipe out of your mouth; remember that you are on the -quarter-deck, and there is a lady here." - -"That is just what brought me aft. Are you chaps and the cabin -passengers a goin' to keep the gals--the old judge's darters--all to -yourselves? I don't mean to offend you, marm; oh, not at all, by no -manner o' means," he continued, making a mock bow to Ethel; "but, -shiver my topsails, if, mayhap, we won't be better acquainted afore -we sights Maddygascar and the gut of the Mosambique Channel--ha, ha!" - -And as he concluded he continued to leer at Ethel. - -"You are drunk, fellow," said Manfredi, who was resolved to keep his -temper, if possible, for the man's words contained in them a -reference to ultimate views sufficiently daring to excite alarm. - -"I am no more a feller than you are, mayhap not so much," replied -Sharkey, taking his huge square hands out of his trousers pockets and -proceeding to clench them very ominously; "and as for being two or -three cloths in the wind, 'taint the six-water grog as we gets aboard -o' this 'ere beastly craft as will make me so." - -"Go forward, I command you, or by Heaven I'll throw you overboard," -said Manfredi, in a hoarse voice. - -"If you want to swim, there may be two as can play at that," -responded the ugly seaman; "but I knows summut easier in seamanship, -and I would advise you to l'arn it." - -"What is it?" - -"To run ten knots an hour right in the wind's eye, with everything -set that will draw, aloft and alow, skyscrapers, moonrakers, and all." - -"My dear Miss Basset, I beg of you to excuse this scene, and permit -me to lead you below," said Manfredi, with an agitated manner, to -Ethel, who had listened to all this with great dismay. - -"My dear, don't do nothin' o' the sort; just stay here and see how -I'll rib-roast him," said Sharkey. - -"Go forward, you gallows lubber!" thundered Manfredi, growing pale -with a passion which he strove to repress, lest he should terrify -Ethel, between whom and this seaman he interposed. - -Sharkey, instead of complying, put his right hand behind him, and -suddenly drew forth a sheath-knife--one of those ugly weapons which -few seamen are now without. Armed with this, he was about to make a -rush at Manfredi, when the latter, quick as thought, and as if he had -anticipated some such catastrophe, snatched up a heavy iron -marlinespike and hurled it full at Sharkey's head, with such force -and unerring aim that he was knocked down, senseless and bleeding, -with a severe wound on the head. - -"Carry the scoundrel forward, and drench him well with salt water, to -bring him to," said Manfredi, while panting with excitement, to the -Barradas and some of the crew who had run aft. He took the knife -from Sharkey's relaxed hand, and threw it into the sea, adding, "I -will serve every man who disobeys me now in the same fashion, and tow -him overboard for twenty knots at the end of a line, if the captain -will allow me." - -"Mayhap as you won't," growled Sharkey, recovering a little, as he -was lifted up by his sulky and muttering messmates; "and if you don't -repent this work _afore to-morrow morning_, you infernal Hytalian, my -name ain't Sam Sharkey!" - -That some general outbreak among the crew was on the _tapis_, and -might have taken place but for his own resolute conduct, Manfredi had -not a doubt. - -With his face covered with blood, the mutineer was carried forward, -and Dr. Heriot (whom Ethel's scream when she beheld the scuffle had -brought on deck) with others, hastened to the forecastle to examine -the wound and have it dressed. - -The marlinespike, an iron instrument that tapers like a pin, and is -used for separating the strands of rope when splicing or marling, had -inflicted a severe wound on the forehead of Sharkey, and the blood -was flowing freely from it. - -He growled and swore, using fearful oaths and threats, while Heriot, -bathed, dressed, and bandaged the gash. Captain Phillips threatened -to have him put in irons till the ship reached Cape Town; but as the -wound was severe, he permitted him to remain in his berth in the -forecastle bunks, where his shipmates remained to console him, and -hear his reiterated threats of revenge. - -Manfredi apologised to Ethel for the alarm he had unwittingly caused -her, but added that no other course was left him but to strike the -ruffian down, to preserve his own life and authority. - -Quiet Mr. Quail made a due entry of the event among his columns of -"remarks" in the ship's log, while Mr. Basset waxed warm at the -affair, and expounded learnedly and as became a new-fledged judge, on -the law relating to merchant seamen, quoting Shee's edition of "Lord -Tenterden," and so forth with great fluency. - -So generous and forgiving was Manfredi, that, at lunch time, he sent -boy Joe, the captain's steward, forward with a tot of brandy to the -patient in the forecastle, and the amiable Mr. Sharkey drank it to -the last drop, with a fearful invocation of curses on the donor's -head, and thereupon dashed the wooden tot in Joe's face. - -Before the first dog-watch the event was apparently forgotten; but it -increased the desire of Captain Phillips to reach Cape Town and get -rid of some of his crew. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -ROSE AND DR. HERIOT. - -Supper was over in the cabin, and the little community there would -soon be separating for the night, or "turning in," as it is -technically named. - -"How brightly the stars are shining," said Rose, as she peeped up -through the skylight. - -"Should you like to go on deck for a moment?" asked Dr. Heriot, in a -low voice, as he hastened to her side. - -"Yes--for a moment only." - -"Take care of chill," said Mr. Basset, warningly. - -"Take care rather of yourself, Miss Rose, and, of all things, take -care of the doctor," said Captain Phillips, laughing. "Manfredi has -charge of the deck; see how she is trimmed aloft. Report to me when -you come down, and then I'll turn in." - -Rose coloured on hearing the captain's bantering tone, as she threw a -shawl over her head and shoulders, took the doctor's ready arm, and -hastened up the companion-stair. - -Ethel smiled sadly at her joyous and girlish sister, for she had seen -how the intimacy between the young doctor and Rose had been ripening; -and she wondered, or speculated on, how they would separate when the -tedious voyage was over. Then she thought of Morley Ashton, and the -fatal blight that had fallen so awfully and mysteriously upon her own -first love. - -"Miss Basset," said Hawkshaw, rising, "would you wish-- - -"To go on deck? Oh, no, thank you," said she hurriedly, anticipating -and replying to his offer without looking up from "I Promessi Sposi." - -Hawkshaw seated himself again, and bit his lip, while that malignant -gleam which filled his eyes at times shot from them covertly and -unseen. - -He made one other effort to engage her in conversation, by saying, in -a low voice, as he stooped over her: - -"Your sad smiles, Ethel, go straight to my heart, with an effect, -believe me, that is cruel--killing!" - -"Why! it seems that 'I can smile, and murder while I smile,' as -Shakespeare says. Is it so?" - -"Bantering--bantering still--even here, when on the verge of -destruction, perhaps!" muttered Hawkshaw, as he drew back with -another fierce but covert gleam in his stealthy eyes, and Ethel never -lifted hers again from her book, until a noise on deck aroused her. - -Rose clung closely and affectionately to the doctor's arm, as they -traversed the quarter-deck towards the taffrail, and turned to look -at the ship, at the sky overhead, through which the wild black scud -was driving, and on the mysterious world of water and of darkness, -through which she was careering under a press of canvas. - -Encouraged by Rose's ready accession to his request, the young man -held her right hand in his, and pressed it tenderly to his heart. - -There was none near them save the man at the wheel; for it was about -the middle of the first watch, or nearer eleven o'clock. - -Rose had a presentiment that a crisis was approaching in her -relations with the young doctor. The somewhat annoying banter of -Captain Phillips, the affectionate warnings of Ethel, and the praises -of him so loudly sung by her old nurse, had all, in a manner, -prepared her for it, as much as the steady and delicate attention he -paid herself. - -Nightly, when Rose retired to rest in that little cabin, which seemed -so small, so very small, the first night they occupied it, Nance -Folgate was wont to chant her praises of the handsome doctor. - -"Lor' a mussy me!--for a Scotchman--he is such a sweet dispositioned -youth, Miss Rose. Oh, yes! now, ain't he, miss? He gives me no end -o' cordials and stuffs when I'm in low spirits, which are often the -case, 'specially when it blows 'ard, and the ship tumbles about. -There is such a modesty in all his words and ways--now, ain't there? -If I was a fine young gal like you, instead o' bein' a poor old -toothless thing, I would love him, that I would, when I saw how much -he loved me--he is such a nice young man, is the doctor. But why -don't you answer, miss?" - -If Rose did not reply to such rhapsodies as these, it was not because -she disagreed with them; but her young heart was wild with pleasure, -and she often affected to be asleep that she might conceal her -flushing cheek on her pillow. But if the young doctor had won over -the old nurse, it was just as he had won over the quiet and -unaffected Mr. Quail, or anyone else, as he was a good obliging -fellow, and fond of doing kind offices for all. So Rose, yielding to -an irresistible impulse, assented to a tête-à-tête on deck, on the -night in question. - -After a silence of some minutes-- - -"How strange it is," said Rose, in her soft, sweet voice, "that amid -the wind which moans through the rigging, I seem to hear the sound of -bells." - -"Bells?" - -"Or is it from the bottom of the sea?" - -"Don't say so, Rose," replied Heriot. - -This sounded strange in both their ears, as he had. never simply -called her "Rose" before; yet the implied familiarity was not without -its novelty and charm. - -"Why may I not say so?" she asked. - -"It is an old superstition of our Scottish sailors that the bells of -wrecks and sunken ships are rung by mysterious hands at the bottom of -the sea, to announce storms and disasters." - -"Ah, but you Scots are so superstitious; you live in a land of omens -and ghosts, predictions and dreams, even in these fast railway times." - -"Yet I would that we were in Scotland now," said Heriot, with a sigh, -as he thought of the doubts and clouds that veiled the future. - -"We?" repeated Rose, inquiringly, while peeping from her hood and -shawl, so that the light of the binnacle lamp fell full on her sweet -young face, and very beautiful the dark-eyed girl looked. - -"Yes, we," reiterated Heriot, whose heart was rushing to his head as -he held, unresisted, her plump little hands in his. "I wish to speak -with you, Rose, to--to--I have so long desired--do you--do you care -for me Rose, dear Rose?" - -"Care for you!" she repeated, faintly. - -"Can you love me, dear, dear Rose, as I love you?" - -"Yes," said Rose, in a whisper, as her head dropped on Heriot's -shoulder, and his lips were pressed on her throbbing brow, for now -the great secret was told, and all her pulses beat with a new, -happiness. - -A few moments of joyous silence followed. Then crossing the deck to -leeward, they were more in obscurity; and fortunately for them, -Manfredi at that moment went forward, so Heriot pressed Rose to his -breast, and said in a low, earnest, and agitated voice: - -"But Rose--my beloved Rose; to what end do I love you?--to what -purpose?--how taught you love to me? We are to land you at the Isle -of France, and then sail on through the Indian Seas--to leave -you--leave you there, for I have no home--no settled abode." - -("Papa's daughters are unlucky in their lovers," thought Rose.) She -replied, however, while tears of apprehension filled her eyes: - -"Why cannot you leave the ship? Sailing with it to and fro must be -very tiresome." - -"Leave it?" - -"Yes, and live with us in the Isle of France." - -"Live with you, Rose?" said Heriot, with sad perplexity. - -"Settle, I mean--at least, while papa is there." - -"I cannot, even if I had the means. I am bound to the owners and to -Captain Phillips, for this voyage at least, unless the _Hermione_ -procures another medical officer." - -"At Singapore?" - -Heriot smiled sadly at Rose's simplicity. - -"Ah, yes--that will be delightful! and if poor dear Morley Ashton, -who is dead, were here with us now, how happy Ethel and we should all -have been!" exclaimed Rose, while nursing herself into a mood of the -most prosperous cheerfulness, as her happy young spirit soared into a -bright world all her own, and Heriot caressingly slipped a ring on -her "engagement" finger, whispering in her ear: - -"It was my mother's, Rose--wear it, at all events, for her sake and -mine." - -Another kiss and the bond was sealed. Then Rose, in a tumult of joy -that could only find vent in tears, hurried below, with her head -inclined on Ethel's bosom, told her of all that had passed between -Leslie Heriot and herself--a pretty little narrative, interspersed -with hesitations, smiles, and blushes, till they were startled by the -wild hubbub that reigned on deck, where a terrible catastrophe had -occurred. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -MAN OVERBOARD. - -A sudden squall, and a sea which heavily swept over the poop with a -shower of blinding spray, that hissed away amidships, had first -driven Rose and Heriot below, and just as they retired hand in hand, -they heard the voice of Manfredi, shouting through the wild blast: - -"Below there! all hands ahoy! come, tumble up to take in sail!" - -Then the men were heard grumbling and swearing as they hurried -half-dressed out of the forecastle bunks, to assist the watch; next -followed the orders "to let go," "haul down," "clew up," amid the -cracking and flapping of the canvas, as the topsails were lowered -almost to the caps; the royals and topgallant sails taken off her; -flying gib and studding sails all in in a twinkling, though for a -time the wind howled fearfully, and the ship careered before its -fierce breath almost on her beam-ends. Little more than steering -canvas was left upon her, for wild and black was the Atlantic squall -that had come suddenly over her, accompanied by torrents of rain, -that rattled on deck, like a tempest of rouncival peas, while ever -and anon the red lightning flashed vividly at the horizon, but still -the brave ship flew on. - -"By the sky to-day I knew we should have a gale to-night," said -Captain Phillips cheerfully, as he donned his storm-jacket of shiny -oilskin, and came on deck. - - "'A mackerel sky and grey mares' tails - Make lofty ships carry lowly sails.' - -A glorious sailor is Manfredi! How smartly he had all the cloth off -her. But we'll need our best umbrellas to-night." - -Suddenly, from the forecastle, through the many wild sounds of the -squall, there came the appalling cry: - -"A man overboard! hard down! hard down!" - -Other shouts followed. - -"Ahoy! heave over the life buoy! mainsail to the wind! clear away a -boat!" - -Captain Phillips grasped his trumpet; Mr. Quail--who had just turned -into his berth with his clothes on, "all standing"--Dr. Heriot, and -Hawkshaw sprang on deck at this new alarm. - -"Hard down with the helm!" cried Phillips; "to the braces, men! let -go, and haul! Back with the mainyard! Ready the starboard quarter -boat, and cut away the life-buoy!" - -The mainsail was speedily laid to the mast, though there was great -danger lest, in such a gale, it might be carried away entirely, and, -in the excitement of the moment, even the most sullen of that -ill-assorted crew worked cheerily and well. - -Alternately the huge ship rose and sank on the mighty rolling waves; -and now the spray flew from stem to stern over her in white and -blinding sheets, plashing over her courses, and hissing under the -arched leaches of the bellying sails. - -Upheaved she rose on the foaming surge one moment, to sink down into -the yawning trough of the sea the next, loose spars, buckets, -handspikes, and everything else adrift, going to leeward, and -overboard. - -A faint but despairing cry came from the waves; another followed, as -the drowning man, struggling hard for existence, rose on the white, -foamy crest of a wave, and then sank for ever into the black and -gaping bosom of the midnight sea. - -Then, after some minutes of the most painful and lingering suspense, -the captain, the doctor, and others, came to the conclusion that all -was over, and that the poor victim must have perished, for it was -found impossible to lower a boat with safety, or with the least hope -of success, in such a sea or squall. - -"Fill the mainyard, Mr. Foster," said the captain to the second mate. -And he sighed bitterly as he spoke, for John Phillips was a kind and -good-hearted man. "God receive the poor fellow! We could do nothing -more. Let the ship lie her course; muster the hands aft, please, and -see who is missing." - -The yard heads were filled; the vessel's bow fell off from the wind, -and there was less strain upon her now, and less spray broke over -her, as she tore through the sea at liberty. - -Aft the mizzenmast the drenched seamen mustered. - -"Boy Joe! steward! bring a lantern," said the captain. - -And now, by its weird light, were to be seen the two dark and sullen -Barradas; Bill Badger, the bulky and insolent Yankee; the square, -squat, and ugly Sharkey, with his head bandaged up; the Messieurs -Brewser, Batter, Cribbit, and others of that remarkable crew. - -"Are all present, Mr. Quail?" asked the captain, as the mate passed -the lantern along the dripping line. - -"All except _one_, sir," replied Mr. Quail, whose face wore a very -ashy hue and alarmed expression. - -"Who is it?" - -"Mr. Manfredi, sir; he is nowhere on deck." - -"'Twas his watch, was it not?" said Phillips, starting. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Good Heavens, can it be?" exclaimed the captain, in an agitated -voice, as the threat of Sharkey occurred to him. "If there has been -foul play to-night, I say woe to the perpetrator of it!" - -Some one now uttered a snorting laugh in the dark. - -"Let us search below," said the doctor, taking the steward's lantern, -and proceeding to examine in person. - -He did so, and soon returned to report that no trace of Adrian -Manfredi could be found, so the crew were dismissed. - -"Who was the person that called out 'Man overboard?'--who saw him -last?" demanded the captain, as they descended to the cabin. - -"I did, sir," said Joe the steward, as he closed the door. "I was -stowing the jib in its netting with Pedro Barradas," he continued, in -a low voice, as if afraid to be overheard. "Mr. Manfredi was -standing on the topgallant forecastle, holding on by a rope and -directing us. Our heads were stooped over our work, when all of a -sudden we heard a cry. On looking one way, I saw him falling into -the sea; on looking another, I saw a man in his shirt-sleeves, armed -with a capstan bar, slipping down into the forecastle bunks." - -"A man?" repeated the listeners. - -"Did he strike him overboard?" asked the captain. - -"We supposed so," replied Joe, in a whisper, and glancing furtively -at the skylight. - -"We." - -"That is, Pedro Barradas and I. He laughed--" - -"The mutinous villain!" - -"And tried to stop me from shouting to put the helm down." - -"Did you see the man's face?" - -"No, sir." - -"Who do you think he was--speak!" said Captain Phillips, perceiving -that Joe, a fat, good-natured fellow, with flabby cheeks, and large -boiled-looking gray eyes, hesitated through fear, "speak!" - -"I am frightened, in this ship, almost to say who I thought he was." - -"In this ship--right! Was it Sharkey, eh?" - -The steward's teeth chattered. He again glanced fearfully at the -skylight, and gave a nod in the affirmative, and the captain struck -his right heel on the floor. - -"There has been murder committed on board to-night; yes, a most foul -murder!" he continued, turning by a mere coincidence to Hawkshaw, -who, on hearing the terrible word, grew deadly pale, and trembled -violently from head to foot. "Would to Heaven that I had only -half-a-dozen good hard-a-weather English seamen to keep this coloured -lot in order. Even Lascars of the lowest caste were better than what -we have!" - -The consternation in the cabin was very great, and the conversation -continued below, and the storm above, till Mr. Quail, with many -unpleasant forebodings, went on deck to relieve the watch at four -o'clock A.M., when the wind began to abate and the sea to go down. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE LIVID FACE. - -The event of the night shed a gloom, a horror, over all in the cabin -next day; nor was the alarm in the breasts of Captain Phillips and -his mates in the least soothed, when it was remarked that the cook's -grindstone was kept at work all the forenoon, and a most ominous -sharpening of sheath and clasp-knives went on, while sundry jokes -were uttered audibly about "Mister Manfreddy having gone on a visit -to Mr. David Jones and Old Mother Carey, without his umbrella, too;" -"and the rain a fallin' like Niagary," as Badger, the Yankee, added, -with a diabolical grin. - -The morning sky was gray and cloudy; a heavy sea was still on, and -not a sail was in sight, so Captain Phillips swept the horizon with -his telescope in vain. - -At breakfast Ethel and her sister were informed that Mr. Manfredi had -fallen overboard in the night, and been drowned. No hint of foul -play was given them, at their father's special request; but they wept -and mourned for the poor young fellow, of whom they now recalled to -memory so many pleasing traits and anecdotes; among others, the sad -story of his little brother, Attilio, who had been so savagely shot -by the Austrians at Pistoja. - -His seat at table, his place in the cabin were empty; his face and -form were no longer seen, and his step and voice were no longer heard. - -The suddenness of the catastrophe seemed most difficult of -realisation; and the words of Dana, in a passage of one of his works, -which Dr. Heriot pointed out to Rose, came painfully and truthfully -home to all their hearts. - -"Death is at all times solemn, but never so much so as at sea. A man -dies on shore; his body remains with his friends, and the mourners go -about the streets; but, when a man falls overboard at sea and is -lost, there is a suddenness in the event which gives it an air of -awful mystery. Then at sea you miss a man so much. A dozen men are -shut up together in a little bark upon the wide wide sea, and for -months and months see no forms and hear no voices but their own; but -one is suddenly taken from among them, and they miss him at every -turn. There are no new forms or faces to fill up the gap. There is -always an empty berth in the forecastle, and one more wanting when -the small night-watch is mustered. There is one less to take the -wheel, one less to lay out with you upon the yard. You miss his form -and the sound of his voice--for habit had made them almost necessary -to you, and each of your senses feels the loss." - -"So we shall never see him again--never!" said Ethel, with her eyes -full of tears; "so kind, good, and gentle." - -"And so handsome, too!" added Rose. - -"A better seaman never trod a deck," sighed Mr. Quail. - -"Damnation!" was the singular addendum of Captain Phillips, through -his clenched teeth, when thinking of the secret he had not revealed, -and the crime which, as yet, he dared not attempt to punish. - -So Ethel put past "I Promessi Sposi," which had Manfredi's name -written on the fly-leaf of the first volume, as the relic of a friend -with whom she had spent many happy hours, whom she never more could -see, and on whose vast tomb, the boundless ocean, she almost -shuddered to look--for was not Morley Ashton sleeping there too? - -So the gloomy day passed slowly on, and night came on. - -Retired to their little cabin, Ethel and Rose were disrobing for -rest--Nance Folgate had long since gone to sleep--and now, -relinquishing the sad subject of Manfredi, Rose, with a blush on her -charming face, was detailing to Ethel, for the second time, her -interview with Leslie Heriot, whose ring--containing a large Scottish -pearl, set with diamonds--glittered on the engaged finger of her left -hand. - -"And you are sure that you love him, Rose?" said Ethel, as she took -her sister's face caressingly and affectionately between her soft -hands. - -"Dearly, devotedly," was the energetic reply. "How could I do -otherwise, when he is such a kind, darling fellow--and so handsome -too?" - -"Have you weighed well the probabilities of the future?" - -"What do you mean, Ethel dear?" - -"What papa may think." - -"Oh, Leslie will speak to papa to-morrow, or on the next day, at the -latest." - -Ethel smiled sadly at her sister's confidence. - -"Our voyage will soon be over, dear Rose," said she, shaking her head -seriously. "Once round the Cape of Good Hope, we shall be speedily -at the Isle of France, and then your dream of joy will have an end--a -rough awaking; not so sad or rough as mine, but a gloomy reality, and -a doubtful future, nevertheless." - -Poor Rose's usually merry eyes now filled with large tears, and she -permitted the braids of her fine dark hair, which her slender fingers -were wreathing up for the night, to roll down in unheeded masses over -her bare bosom and back, which shone white as the new-fallen -snowdrift, in the light of the cabin lamp that swung above her. - -"And Jack Page--poor Jack Page!" said Ethel, smiling, to arouse -Rose's spirit; "is he quite forgotten--eh?" - -"Oh bother Jack Page!" replied Rose, crimsoning, and with the -faintest tinge of irritation in her tone, as she proceeded vigorously -to knot up the masses of black hair. "He was a pleasant enough -fellow to flirt with, or play croquet with at Laurel Lodge (dear old -Laurel Lodge! ah, heavens! Ethel, shall we ever see it again?) He -was a good fellow for fishing or sailing on the mere----" - -"And to botanise with, and to gather wild flowers on Cherrywood -Hill," added Ethel, a little maliciously. - -"Yes; but he gave himself such insufferable airs after he became a -rifle volunteer; and as for loving him, I should almost as soon think -of loving your adorer, the gallant Captain Hawkshaw. By-the-by, how -taciturn he has become of late." - -"Perhaps he finds his task a hopeless one," said Ethel, with a -haughty smile. - -"He seems quite changed somehow," said Rose, slipping into bed, "does -he not, Ethel dear? Why don't you speak to me?" added Rose, with -sudden alarm, and springing from her berth, on perceiving her sister -standing pale and motionless, her lips parted, her dark eyes dilated -with terror, and their gaze fixed on the little circular window of -their cabin, which was simply a pane of thick glass, about nine -inches in diameter, framed in an iron ring, and secured by a powerful -bolt. - -Rose gazed in the same direction, and beheld, to her intense dismay, -the whole aperture filled by a human face--a man's apparently--pale, -livid, green, and distorted, as viewed through the coarse crystal, -with large keen eyes, that glared in upon them. - -Whoever the person was that dared thus to violate their privacy, he -occupied a position of extreme peril, for the little window in -question was below the plank sheer of the ship, and considerably -abaft the mizzen chains, so that the eavesdropper must have been -swinging alongside, almost with his heels in the foam that boiled -under the ship's counter. - -Could the sea give up its dead? - -Was it a spectre--Manfredi, or Morley Ashton? - -Such were Rose's first ideas, as she clung in terror to her rigid but -more resolute sister, who sprang forward and vainly attempted with -her delicate hands to wrench round the bolt, and open the little -window; but at that moment a fierce and sardonic smile seemed to -spread over that livid and distorted visage, which instantly -vanished, and then nothing was seen through the aperture but the vast -sea that rolled in the starlight far away. - -"Papa--Nurse Folgate!" screamed Rose; but the old woman slept like -one of the seven sleepers. - -"Hush!" said Ethel, "'twas only some insolent seaman; but we must -prevent a recurrence of this," she added, as she rapidly hung a -species of curtain over the window. "Good heavens, Rose! to think -how often this may have happened before, and we in total ignorance of -it; but the captain shall be told in the morning." - -"Oh, Ethel!" exclaimed Rose, "how terrified I am." - -"Why?" - -"At first I thought it was his ghost." - -"Whose?" - -"Poor Mr. Manfredi's." - -"Nonsense, child!" - -"A ghost on board of a ship, how dreadful that would be! Almost as -bad as a fire, for there would be no escaping from it." - -Inspired by natural emotions of doubt, Ethel opened the door and -peeped out into the great cabin. All was still and quiet there, at -least nothing was heard but the jarring of the rudder in its case, -and of the brass swings of the lamp and tell-tale compass, with the -heavy creaking of the ship's timbers, the backwash under the counter, -and one other sound, to which she had become pretty familiar about -this time--to wit, the profound snoring of Mr. Quail, as he lay at -full length on the cabin locker, with his peacoat spread over him, -and his sou'-wester at hand, ready to relieve the deck when the -middle-watch was called. - -She secured the door, perhaps more carefully than usual. She knelt -down by Rose's side to say her prayers, after which they retired -together, but lay long awake, conversing of that future, the events -of which, happily, they could so little foresee, until they dropped -asleep, Rose with her charming face half pillowed on Ethel's snowy -shoulder. - -All remained still in the ship; but while the two sisters slept with -arms entwined, each "hushed like the callow cygnet in its nest," -anxious hearts were watching over them elsewhere; and they formed the -subject of a somewhat unusual, but animated, discussion among the -seamen--a discussion of which, as yet, they were happily ignorant. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -WHAT THE DOCTOR OVERHEARD IN THE FORECASTLE BUNKS. - -The love he bore Rose, the love that she permitted him to bear, and -which she so fully reciprocated, together with the regard and esteem -he had for the grave, gentle Ethel, and good, easy Mr. Basset, -increased the anxiety with which the young Scotch surgeon beheld the -growing discontent of the crew. - -On deck, he more than once had heard them conferring in most -unpleasant terms about the disappearance of the third mate, and, in -reply to some remark of Sharkey's, Zuares Barradas said, with a -cunning twinkle in his eyes: - -"_Bueno! paso a paso va lejos._" - -"Wot the devil does that mean, shipmate? Avast with your Spanish. -Carn't you speak the queen's English?" - -"Well, it means that 'step by step goes far'. Manfredi is gone; a -little spell and we shall have it all our own way," replied the -Spanish American, as he hitched up his trousers and slunk forward. - -"These rascals are decidedly up to something--or whence all this -skulking about, this whispering in gangs, and knife-sharpening," said -Heriot to the captain. - -"The grindstone has never been idle all day," observed Mr. Quail, who -was looking, as the captain remarked, "rather white about the gills, -in consequence." - -After a long conference in the cabin, Dr. Heriot offered, there being -no moon about the middle of the first night-watch, to creep forward -to the forecastle bunk, where, in defiance of orders, the crew now -kept a light burning after sundown, and endeavour to overhear their -conversation. The duty of acting eavesdropper was not a pleasant, -but, in this instance, a most necessary one. - -The first night Heriot attempted this, he failed to get forward -unseen; but on the second, as the atmosphere, though very cloudy, was -fine, and the ship under easy sail was going large, that is, with the -wind abaft the beam, which careened her slightly to port, Heriot, -armed with a sharp bowie-knife, concealed in his breast, so as to be -ready for any emergency (for if discovered by the watch he might be -sent overboard after poor Manfredi) crept forward on the leeside, -keeping his head close under the bulwarks, and in the shadow. - -The men of the watch were all grouped to windward, smoking with their -backs against the long-boat, and the steersman could see little else -than the lights that glared in the binnacles, and the ship's canvas, -that towered aloft between him and the sky. - -Through the two yolks of dense, thick glass that admitted light to -the forecastle bunks, in which the seamen had their chests and -berths, he could see nothing, save that they had, as usual with them, -in defiance of the captain's order, a lamp or lantern, the light of -which glared as from two bull's-eyes upon the forehatchway, the foot -of the foremast, the gallows-bitts abaft it, the scuttle-butt, and so -forth. - -These two lines of light had the effect of rendering the rest of the -deck dark, thus favouring the purpose of Heriot, who reached unseen -the forecastle, and crept along it, until he found himself close to -the coaming of the scuttle, or small square hatchway, which gave -access thereto, and from whence there ascended into the pure saline -atmosphere of the midnight sea a combination of odours that were -neither of Araby nor of Ind; for more than a dozen of dirty, tarry, -unwashed, and uncombed specimens of those seamen usually denominated -"coloured," the most ruffianly of their class, such, as may be seen -lounging and loafing about the quays and grog-shops of Liverpool and -Birkenhead, were all seated closely round a chest, which was lashed -by ringbolts to the deck, and formed the table, whereon they had -recently supped on scalding-hot "scouse" from a greasy wooden kid; -and the fumes of this savoury mess yet mingled with the tar with -which their clothes were saturated, and the coarse tobacco in which -they were all indulging freely, by means of pipes, quids, and -cigarettes. - -A ship's lantern, in which a candle sputtered, shed a wavering light -through the perforated tin upon the black hair, massive frontal -bones, and square jaw of Pedro Barradas, and on his coarse, -leather-like ears, in which a pair of silver rings were glittering; -on the dark olive face of his brother, Zuares, a villain of a more -pleasing type, only because he was younger and handsomer; on the -cruel, sardonic visage, the keen eyes, hooked nose, and enormous -chin, and tangled elf-locks of Bill Badger, the long-legged and -ungainly Yankee; on the huge head and giant hands of the odious -Sharkey, who sat with his cheeks wedged between his hands, his elbows -planted on the chest, and his eyes that, from under the bloody -bandage encircling his temples, glared at each speaker alternately; -and on all the rest of the ill-selected crew--fell the lantern's dim -uncertain ray, bringing some forward into light, and leaving others -almost in shadow. - -Though quite sober, for as yet they had no means for procuring -alcohol, they generally all spoke at once, and were engaged in an -angry dispute, which, however, they were still cautious enough to -conduct with suppressed voices. - -Pedro Barradas grasped in his left hand an old dice-box, which was -served round with spunyarn, and two suspicious-looking dice were -rattled in it from time to time. - -At the moment that Heriot peeped in, it would seem as if our Spanish -acquaintance suddenly lost his temper. His black eyes filled with -fire, his swarthy cheek grew livid and pale, he showed all his sharp -white teeth like a dog about to bite, and striking his drawn knife -into the lid of the chest, round which they were all grouped, and -with a force of action that made them all shrink back, he uttered a -tremendous oath, and said, in a low, hoarse voice: - -"It is agreed, then, that we take the ship, and make all the people -aft walk the plank. Am I to understand this?" - -"Yes, yes," from all hands was the reply; "and all must walk the -plank to leeward." - -"Except the women," suggested the Canadian seaman, named Bolter. - -"In course we shall keep them!" said Badger, laying a long and dirty -finger on one side of his hawk nose, and closing an eye wickedly; -"and take very partik'lar care o' the darlings, too." - -"We take the ship," resumed Pedro Barradas, speaking good English, -and with an air of authority; "and then we shall run her on her own -account." - -"How?" asked one. - -"In the slaving or piccarooning line, or anything else that comes to -hand." - -"But where to?" asked the Canadian, who seemed a man of doubts. - -"Anywheres, darn your nutmeg of a head!" growled the Yankee; -"anywheres, arter we has had a jolly spree ashore." - -"On what shore, mate?" - -"On the coast ov Africy, in course; but not afore, mate--not afore, I -calc'late." - -"Come, now, I likes this," observed Sharkey, putting in his voice; -"if water and wittles runs short, we may overhaul an Ingeeman, -homeward-bound, or an Australian liner----" - -"With sojers aboard, mayhap," said Bolter; "so what will you dew -then?" - -"Hail or signal for a boat, to be sure, and sink it to leeward with a -cold shot through its ribs. Shout that it has been swamped under the -counter, and to send another, and another, and so knock 'em all on -the head. Then run her aboard, take all out of her--the women, too, -if any--then scuttle or burn her." - -"A game you won't play long athout being overhauled by some cussed -man-o'-war," said the Canadian. "I tell you, mates, the good old -piratical times have been put out o' fashion long since. Even the -slaving business is knocked up by them blazing smoke-jacks and -gun-boats of the African squadron. The sea ain't wot it was, mates, -when old Kidd sailed the _Vulture_ down the Channel with a skull and -marrow-bones flying at his foremasthead." - -"Hooray! I'll ship with you, Barradas," cried another. "Grog for -the drinking, a grab at these gals, and the pick o' the good things -in the passengers' trunks and cabin-lockers." - -"And till that time comes," added Sharkey, "we'll work Tom Cox's -traverse with old Phillips--that we shall. Precious little work -he'll get out of me." - -"But I don't like usin' the knife or plank if they could be done -athout, mates," said the Canadian ponderingly. - -"The Reverend Mr. Ben Bolter, a Methody parson, 'll offer up a -blessin' over the empty mess-kids," sneered the Yankee. - -"_Par todos santos_," growled Pedro Barradas, giving the Canadian a -glance of profound scorn, while Zuares uttered a shrill and ferocious -laugh. - -"I say, cooky," said Sharkey, in a way which he supposed to be very -jocular, "as Ben Bolter don't like the stickin' business, couldn't -you put summut tasty into the mess-kid o' the cabbin passingers, and -pison the whole bilin' o' them? I have known o' such things being -done afore now, mates, and many other things, too, that never -appeared in the ship's log. Have you any Calabar beans aboard?" - -"Yaas," replied the cook, with a regular negro grin, for he was a -black Virginian, named Quaco; "dere's a bagful in de hold. Why?" - -"I have known of a handful, put in a copper of peasoup, doing for a -whole ship's crew afore now." - -"When?" - -"In the Gulf of Florida once, and again among the Coral Islands, in -the Pacific. Aye, aye, mates, I have seen some rum sprees in my -time." - -"And you are likely to see more," added the Yankee, "ere this cussed -old craft gets her anchors over the bows, and her ground-tackle rove. -Ha, ha! But as for the pison, you darned fool, wot of old Basset's -gals? We wants 'em partik'lar, you know. So avast with your Calabar -beans. I guess, mate, you're up a tree, rayther." - -Sharkey was abashed into silence. - -"And that Scotch doctor," said a gaunt, unhealthy-looking seaman, -named Cribbit, who had not yet spoken, and who so frequently required -Heriot's medical aid that he had imbibed half the contents of his -medicine-chest, "must he, too, walk the plank?" - -"In course he must," drawled Bill Badger, stuffing an enormous quid -in the inmost recesses of his capacious mouth. - -"No, no, _demonio_, no!" said the elder Barradas; "we must keep him -alive so long as we want him. We can't physic ourselves, -_companeros_, especially if fever comes aboard, which it is likely to -do if we hug the land." - -"But in physicking us he might poison the whole blessed gang," -suggested the Canadian. - -"No fear of that. We'll have him chained to the mainmast, and if a -man dies in his hands, then _el senor doctor de medicena_ shall be -tipped overboard after the others." - -"Thank you, my Spanish _patrone_," thought Heriot, who had listened -to all this with blood that alternately boiled and curdled; "a -pleasant little medical practice you are likely to find me here!" - -"Mayhap that fellow, Hawkshaw, would join us?" suggested the Canadian -again. - -"He, the white-livered Perro!" exclaimed Pedro, "I long to have my -Albacete knife between his ribs. I'll teach him to play off -quarter-deck airs with me, the God-abandoned Piccaro! Well, is it -agreed that, instead of letting old Phillips haul up for Table Bay, -we keep the ship off the land whether he will or will not take her -before we are abreast of La Tierra de Natal; hug the coast of Africa -after; have a run through the Mozambique Channel, and then stand -right across the Indian Sea for whatever we may overhaul?" - -A unanimous clapping of very hard and very dirty hands responded -heartily to this programme. - -"Now, Pedro, the _dados_ (dice)," said Zuares, impatiently. - -"Yes, mates, the dice!" added the Yankee, setting his chin, which was -like a shoemaker's knife, upon his knees, and clasping his hands over -his ankles, so that he squatted on his hams like a huge baboon. -"Hooray! the old _Herminey_ has been trimmed by the starn since she -saw Dungeness Light; but we'll trim her by the head arter we doubles -the Cape--eh, mates? So now to draw lots for them two pretty -creeturs, as I calculate is just agoin' to bed about this blessed -time. Think o' that, mates! I'm a thorough-bred Yankee--half bull, -half shark, with an uncommon cross of the snake; so I'm blowed if I -can wait almost till we leave Table Bay astarn and bear up towards -Natal. But rattle away, Pedro, my boy!--Captain Pedro that is to be, -I reckon." - -The blood of the young Scotchman grew cold as he listened, longing -for a brace of loaded revolvers, that he might shoot down the whole -band; but the talkative Yankee began his nasal drawling again. - -"How I'd like to have one of 'em under a big palm-tree in some snug -diggin' on the Africy coast, or in a wigwam on the Mozambique, -thatched with leaves, no topsails to reef o' nights, and nothin' to -do all day, but keep on admiring her, and swigging the grog old -Phillips has aboard, or blowing a whiff of 'baccy--eh, mates? -Jeerusalem! that's summut like life, I calculate!" - -"_Morte de Dios!_" swore Pedro Barradas, with a very dark look; "haul -in your slack, and be hanged to you! There are other things than the -two girls worth casting lots for!" - -"Is there really, now?" drawled Badger. I was looking into the -senoras' cabin the other night, and saw them going to bed. I saw -lovely necks and shoulders, and all that; but I saw more, I can tell -you, _companeros_." - -"Smite my timbers!" "Shiver my tawpsails!" "Darn my eyes!" "Oh, -Jeerusalem!" And "What did you see?" asked several all at once. - -"A splendid jewel-case," replied the Spaniard, while an avaricious -gleam sparkled in his dark eyes; "a box with diamond rings for the -ears and fingers; carbuncles, turquoises, and topazes, in bracelets -and necklets, all glittering on the trays of blue and crimson velvet. -So he who loses the girls should have a chance----" - -"Of grabbing the jewels," interrupted Badger; "in course he -should--in course!" - -"Jewels or not," said Zuares Barradas, laughing, while he rolled up a -fresh cigarito, "I'll teach one senora, at least, that it is no -longer here _mira y no totas_, as they say in Minorca." - -"Which means, in your cussed lingo?" asked Bolter. - -"_Look_ at me, but _touch_ me not!" replied the young Spaniard, with -a grin. - -"I'm rayther pertik'lar," observed Mr. Badger, "and I might do -neither one nor t'other, if I wor in Minorky." - -"Ay, mate; but if you saw the Minorca girls in their robazillas of -white lace or silk, pinned under their pretty dimpled chins, and -falling over their shoulders, to be lifted at times by the wind, only -as if to show the low bodice and rounded bosom beneath--_hombre_." - -"Here is a sentimental young villain, with an eye for the -picturesque!" thought Heriot. - -"Now, then, the dados," said Pedro, rattling the dice-box. "I throw -myself first." - -"_Maladetto_, Pedro!" interrupted Zuares. "Content yourself with rum -and plunder; you are too old and crank for either of these girls to -be pleased with you." - -"_Vaya usted al Satanos!_" responded his affectionate elder brother. -"The girls, at all events, are not too young for me to be pleased -with them. I am not more than forty, you son of a burnt castano." - -"Take the old nurse, Pedro--you'll have her a free gift, gratis, all -for nothin', and Badger's blessing into the bargain. If one o' these -gals falls to me," continued the talkative Yankee, "I reckon I must -get shaved by the doctor, and be fixed anew; have my 'air swabbed -down with some o' the cook's slush, and a hextra pull up o' my shirt -collar--eh, mates?" - -Amid the ferocious laughter which these and similar remarks drew -forth, and while the dice-box rattled on the sea-chest lid Dr. Heriot -withdrew, and crept aft, just as he had done forward, by keeping -close under the lee bulwarks. - -Reaching the companion-way unseen, he slipped downstairs, with a -burning brain and aching heart--a heart sick and sore with -apprehension for others rather than for himself; and now, with his -ear tingling with countless coarse oaths, obscenities, and foul -jokes, which, of course, have been omitted in our relation of the -remarkable discussion he had overheard, he sought at once the cabin -of Captain Phillips, to communicate the dreadful game that was on the -_tapis_ in the forecastle of the ill-fated _Hermione_. - -CHAPTER VII. - -MEASURES FOR DEFENCE CONCERTED. - -Though Ethel and Rose had retired to rest, the hour was not late, and -Captain Phillips, Mr. Basset, and Hawkshaw were still lingering over -a glass of wine in the cabin, when Dr. Heriot entered it. - -The pallor of his face, and the excited expression of his eyes, made -them start with exclamations of surprise and inquiry; and their alarm -increased when he filled up a glass with port and drained it, the -crystal rattling against his teeth while he did so. - -"Hallo, doctor, what the deuce is the matter?" asked bluff Captain -Phillips, changing colour, or rather losing it partially. "You have -been forward--eh?" - -"Yes, sir; and have there heard more than enough to confirm our worst -fears." - -Phillips arose, and closed the cabin door. He then summoned from his -berth Mr. Quail (as Mr. Foster, the second mate, had charge of the -deck), and they, together with Mr. Basset and Hawkshaw, heard with -undisguised consternation the result of the doctor's eavesdropping. - -As for Hawkshaw, he had long endured the horrible conviction of -guilt, with the still more gnawing sense or dread of perpetual -suspicion in others. He loved Ethel, yet, as we have said elsewhere, -at times he almost hated her for her coldness to him; but now his -soul was full of terror--terror for her and for himself, as he knew -he would meet with little mercy from the Barradas and their friends. -Retribution for the crime he had committed at Acton Chine was about -to come at last, and he had fallen into a trap of his own devising! - -Neither Captain Phillips nor Mr. Quail were much astonished, though -grieved and alarmed, by Dr. Heriot's tidings; but poor Mr. Basset's -first thought was for his daughters--his young, delicate, and -tenderly-nurtured girls; and already, in his excited imagination, he -beheld them, after his own butchery, in the rude grasp of those -lawless wretches, and subjected to the grossest indignities, far from -help or human aid, upon the lonely sea, and in a floating -hell--indignities the mere idea of which wrung the poor man's heart -with agony. - -To-morrow, to-night, even now, they might be advancing towards the -cabin, intent on assassination and robbery! - -The dread was maddening to the unhappy parent, who made a step -towards his daughters' sleeping place, as if in anticipation, by -thought and deed, to save them from the coming peril. He had no -voice or coherence of thought for a time, and listened like one in a -dream to the discussion or consultation now held by the officers of -the ship. - -After relinquishing his practice as a barrister in London, Scriven -Basset had spent many years of ease and affluence at Laurel Lodge, -and all unused to alarms or excitements, he felt himself totally -destitute of the stamina or courage requisite for facing so sudden -and perilous an emergency. Personal danger he might have confronted, -for he had all the spirit of a gentleman; but at the thought of his -daughters--the graceful and ladylike Ethel, the sweet and playful -Rose--his soul seemed to die within him. - -Cramply Hawkshaw's visage was paler than usual. He remembered the -threats used towards himself, when Pedro Barradas so summarily -appropriated his gold watch, and while trembling for Ethel, he began -to think of means for quitting the ship, for the safety of his own -person, of which--being all the property he possessed--he was rather -disposed to be economical. - -"The accursed--the bloody-minded villains!" exclaimed Captain -Phillips, after a pause, while pacing to and fro. "This comes of -having a coloured crew; and this is why they have been so sullen and -insolent of late." - -"And so lazy at work, too," groaned Mr. Quail. - -"Lazy! they have done little else but take three turns a day round -the long-boat, and then a pull at the scuttle-butt." - -"For weeks there has been no work done," resumed Mr. Quail; "all our -spunyarn and chafing-gear are worn out, and you might as well expect -them to polish the chain-cable, or brighten up the best bower, as -prepare for an emergency, or get the fellows even to wash or mend -their own clothes." - -"If a man-of-war hove in sight, I'd put an end to their sogering!" -said Captain Phillips, still pacing about. "I'd make them toe the -mark, and work the old iron out of them. I'd have them all seized -up, and made spread-eagles of at the gangway, the coloured vermin." - -"A worse lot were never shipped, unless on board a Spanish pirate," -said Mr. Quail, with another groan, as he thought of plump, jolly -Mrs. Quail, and their five little Quails, at that moment, doubtless -all a-bed in their pretty little rose-covered cottage near the -Windmill-hill at Gravesend. - -"Is there not one on whom we could depend?" asked Mr. Basset, in -faltering accents. - -"Not one, sir," replied Captain Phillips; "not one, except Boy Joe, -the steward, and he is not worth much." - -"We are in a desperate situation, certainly," said Heriot. "But I am -most concerned for you and--and your daughters, Mr. Basset." - -Tears started to the lawyer's eyes, and he wrung the young doctor's -readily-proffered hand. - -"And I, too, Mr. Basset, feel for you and your two dear girls--though -perhaps this business may be all talk and sogering; yet I confess it -don't look like it," said the captain. "Thank Heaven I am a -bachelor, and have no one depending upon me but the son of my poor -brother Bill, that was drowned in the Straits of Sunda, and my life -is insured on his account, so that is all right; but these young -ladies----" - -Phillips paused, for Mr. Basset, who was reclining on the cabin -locker, covered his face with his hands, and groaned aloud. - -"We have no time to lose in preparing to meet these rascals," said -Dr. Heriot, with growing confidence. "We must see what arms we can -muster, and endeavour to use them too. D--n it, Captain Phillips, we -must show fight in some fashion, and not all walk the plank without -making some of them walk it also. I have a pair of good rifled -pistols." - -"And I have two six-barrelled revolvers and a fowling-piece," added -the captain. - -"Sixteen shots," said Hawkshaw, brightening a little. "We can -barricade the cabin, and defend it with these against them." - -"We are seven, including myself," said Phillips. - -"Seven?" said Mr. Basset, looking up. - -"Yes, sir; there are the two mates, the doctor, yourself, and I, -Captain Hawkshaw, and Joe the steward." - -"But they are eighteen in number, and armed too." - -"Only with sheath-knives, so far as we know; but then there are -hatchets, cleavers, handspikes, and capstan-bars, with anything else -that will form a weapon." - -"Oh that we were nearer the coast of Africa, that we might all get -into a boat, and quietly leave the ship on a dark night!" said Mr. -Basset, wringing his hands, while Dr. Heriot unlocked a case of -pistols--the parting gift of his class-fellows on his leaving the old -College of King James VI.--and proceeded at once to load and cap -them, after which he put all the ammunition in his pockets. - -"Fear for your girls bewilders you, sir," said Captain Phillips, in a -low voice, to Mr. Basset. "That, perhaps, is natural; but to be -landed on the coast of Africa might not mend matters much with you -and them, if you fell in with some houseless Dutch bushmen or wild -Cape Caffres; and as for me, I shall never quit my ship while a plank -of her holds together." - -"Captain Phillips," said young Heriot, with his teeth clenched, and -his eyes flashing, as he thought of sweet Rose Basset, whose last -kiss seemed yet to linger on his lip, "if they keep quiet until -morning, I have a mind to call forward Pedro Barradas in front of the -crew, tell him what I have overheard, and then, as an example, shoot -him dead before the rest!" - -The captain vehemently opposed this idea as rash, and added: - -"You are very risky for a Scotsman; you would only perish under the -knives and handspikes of the rest, and thus bring destruction the -sooner on us all." - -"Oh, if a man-o'-war would but come in sight!" groaned Mr. Basset. - -"They are seldom so far off the Cape; and we are a good way to the -southward of it already." - -"Could we not sound the crew? All may not be so bad as the -Barradas," said Hawkshaw. - -"They are all alike, confound 'em!" rejoined Captain Phillips, as he -brought from his cabin the two revolvers and the fowling-piece, all -of which he proceeded quietly, but quickly, to load and cap. - -The arms and ammunition were distributed among them, and Hawkshaw -really handled the "six-shooter" like a man who was used to it, and, -doubtless, when in Mexico, his life and his food had frequently -depended on the goodness of his aim. - -"If we only take care and fire steadily, we may dispose of them all -in case of an attack," said Dr. Heriot, who, with the captain, was -the most resolute of the little band. "Our chief aim must be to -prevent a surprise." - -After a council of war, it was arranged that the ladies should be -warned against leaving the cabin or venturing much on deck, and that -they should be kept in ignorance of the why and wherefore. - -That the seven men in the cabin should stand staunchly by each other, -and never undress when lying in their berths, so as to be ready for -instant service. - -That one at a time should hold a strict watch on the companion-way -and cabin door, and that all should keep their arms loaded and their -ammunition constantly about them. - -That as little canvas as possible should be kept no the ship, so that -aloft she might be ready for any sudden emergency, squall, or -catastrophe. - -A large trunk, full of Mr. Basset's law-books (which next morning was -to have been shot into the hold as lumber), was placed near the outer -cabin door, and lashed by one of its handles to a brass ring-bolt, -and so arranged that, sluing round the other end, it effectually -barricaded the sliding-door that opened to the steerage and -companion-ladder. - -To defend this avenue in case of an attack, and so sell their lives -as dearly as possible, or, it might be, to shoot all their assailants -down in succession, were the simple but stern resolutions come to. - -These preliminaries adjusted, the captain, armed with his revolver, -took the first two hours' spell. The rest retired to their various -berths, and lay down with their clothes on, and their weapons beside -them. - -The two hours passed away in silence. - -The captain went on deck, and sent the second mate, Foster, below, in -a not very enviable frame of mind, after hearing what was on the -_tapis_, for, like Mr. Quail-- - - "He, poor fellow! had a wife and children-- - Two things for dying people quite bewildering." - - -So, with a beating and anxious heart, he lay down on a locker, with a -sharp hatchet under him--the only weapon that came to hand. - -The ship was still going large, with the breeze abaft the beam, and -the fore and main studding-sails set. Joe, the steward, was at the -wheel; the light in the forecastle bunks was extinguished now, and -the watch on deck were all grouped, in silence apparently, to leeward -of the long-boat. - -All seemed still for that night, or rather the remainder of the -morning, when the captain warned the miserable Mr. Basset to take the -next "spell," or watch, as sentinel at the cabin door. - -Pale and sleepless, with bloodshot eyes, the poor man received the -loaded revolver, with all the timidity and awkwardness of one who had -never handled such a weapon before, and dreading lest it might -explode of its own accord, like a loaded fire-wheel, and thus shoot -himself and everybody else; but anon the thought of his daughters -nerved his heart and steadied his hand. - -Slowly, as if Time stood still, the minutes passed; and when, as -usual, the ship's bell clanged at each half-hour on deck, it sounded -in his ears and in his soul like the knell of doom! - -So the poor father continued to watch in breathless anxiety; now -pacing the carpeted cabin in miserable restlessness, then seating -himself upon the stern locker, with the revolver on his knee, and his -hands over his face, breathing an unuttered prayer for his darling -daughters; now listening, keenly as a hunted hare, at the door of -their little cabin, to hear their soft, low breathing. Anon, seeking -the companion-way, as if the confined air of the ship stifled him, -and looking up at the mizzen-rigging towering into the starry sky, -where the mizzen-topsail, topgallantsail, and the driver, with the -boom and gaff, spread between him and heaven like a broad gray cloud -of canvas. - -Then the thought of his dead wife, and their once dear happy home in -England far away. - -By a freak of memory, past hours of happiness, of joviality and -frivolity--hours spent amid the flowery and leafy seclusion of Laurel -Lodge, came crowding on him, with faces of friends, their voices, -smiles, and little episodes; the green sunny lawn, the stately chase -of Acton-Rennel, the Norman cross on Cherrytree Hill, and the great -yew that shaded his wife's grave in that quiet old English -churchyard, where he might never lie: all these came before him now, -and he marvelled in his aching breast if the horrors that overhung -him now were not a nightmare, and all a dreadful dream! - -Ethel and Rose, so pure, so fair, so lovely, and so highly bred, to -be in such peril; at the mercy of such men as those who formed the -crew of the _Hermione_, and far from all human succour on the wide, -wide, open sea. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -THE SAIL TO WINDWARD. - -Under the interlaced crosses of Great Britain--our brave old -union-jack--a very different crew manned that good little ship the -_Princess_, of London, which we last left when dropping the giant -cone of Tristan d'Acunha astern, and bearing on her voyage towards -Tasmania. - -Under Tom Bartelot's command, all went well and prosperously, and his -ship had fine weather and spanking topsail breezes, after leaving the -romantic Isle of Tristan. - -Anxious to be useful and to kill time, Morley Ashton had applied -himself to seamanship, and, in seeking to master all the mysteries -thereof, became the peculiar pupil of old Noah Gawthrop, who -confidently undertook "to make a man and a sailor of him, before they -saw Wan Demon's Land." - -He could soon dip his hands in a bucket of tar without wincing; slush -the mast, from the royal-masthead down, without becoming squeamish; -he could box the compass, take his trick at the helm, and achieve -many clever things, from holding the log-reel upwards to sending down -a royal-yard without mistake or blunder, which Noah told him "was one -of the prime feats of seamanship, which even the queen on the throne -couldn't do." - -The first time he accomplished this, was when a squall was coming on. -Ben Plank had the fore-royal, Noah the main-royal, and Morley the -mizzen. - -His spar was certainly the lightest, with a smaller sail, but he had -it struck and sent down before the others, greatly to the delight of -old Noah, who, with all his ugliness, which was undeniable, was a -genuine salt of the old school--a regular British tar, with his -slouching shoulders and light gait, swinging arms, and half-closed -hands, that were always ready to "tally on" to anything; a comical -twinkle in his eye, and who believed in whistling for wind as truly -as the Turkish skipper who pours oil upon the sea, in the hope that -it may float to Mecca, for the same useful purpose. - -Noah bore on his breast, engraved in gunpowder, a little romance of -his younger days--a sailor and a girl standing on the sea-shore. In -the background (or offing, to speak more correctly) lay a ship, with -her topsails loose, hove-apeak to her anchor, while the smoke from a -gun--the signal for sea--curled over her quarter. Under the male -figure were the initials "N.G.," and under the girl's were--what we -won't say, for in them, lay the pet secret of old Noah's honest -heart. The ship, however, he often pointed to with pride, saying it -was a "lovely pictur' of her Majesty's ship the _Haurora_, of fifty -guns, as was--an ugly smoke-jack now, with a screw-propeller in her -starn." - -The weather was cool, almost cold, at times, and frequently icebergs -were in sight, with their white glistening pinnacles standing sharply -defined against the sky, and shaded off with pale green or purple -tints, that blended with the deep blue of the sea. - -Tom Bartelot's cheerful temperament, his songs and his bonhomie, and -Morrison's queer legends of Scotland and the sea, together with grave -and earnest advice, and confidence in a Providence who ordered all -things for the best, had a good effect upon Morley Ashton's spirits, -which might have sunk, circumstanced as he was, amid the monotony of -a sea voyage, with foreshadowed fears of evil tidings on reaching the -Isle of France, after making a tour so circuitous as Tasmania. - -Ignorant of the unlooked-for detention of the _Hermione_ at the -Canaries, and of the series of foul winds she had encountered, Morley -never doubted that now the Bassets must have reached their -destination, and been installed in their new home; that Mr. Basset -must have entered on his official duties, and if they were -accompanied by one so enterprising as Cramply Hawkshaw, it was -difficult to foretell how Cupid and Fortune--blind deities -both--might reward his perseverance, and thus cast a fatal blight -upon the hopes of our hero who, like a poor "pilgrim of the heart," -or a knight-errant of old, was traversing the sea from shore to shore -in search of a lost love. - -One day, as Morley trod the deck to and fro listlessly, he was -startled by the unusual, or, at least, unexpected cry of-- - -"Land, ho!" - -Telescope in hand, he sprang up the weather-rigging. - -"Land it is, indeed," said Tom Bartelot, shading his eyes with his -hand, and peering over the weather-quarter. - -"What land, Tom?" - -"Diego Alvarez, or Gough's Island. I have been looking out for it -all forenoon. Keep her full and by--full and by, lad," he added to -the steersman; "keep her closer to the wind--see how that foretopsail -shivers." - -This was about six bells (_i.e._, 3 P.M.) on a fine, clear afternoon. -The hill of Gough's Island arose dim and blue upon their weather-bow. - -Discovered long, long ago, by an adventurous Portuguese mariner, who -bestowed upon it its name, it is a lonely and desolate place, covered -with moss and sea-grass, the abode only of sea-elephants and the -fur-seal. It was named anew by Captain Gough, of the _Richmond_, -when on his voyage to China in 1731. - -After leaving it astern, good fortune seemed to abandon the -_Princess_ and her crew. - -A series of foul winds that veered round every point of the compass, -with heavy gusts and squally weather, beset her, and so cloudy was -the sky, that for several days Bartelot and his mate were quite -unable to make an observation--_i.e._, to take the sun's altitude at -noon. - -In one squall the mizzen-topniast was carried away, being broken -right off at the cap, the heel with the fid alone remaining in the -top. - -"So, friend Morley," said Tom, "if this kind of work and these foul -winds continue, we may see the Table Mountain, and have to run into -the bay for fresh water." - -"At the Cape of Good Hope?" - -"Yes. Then if you wish to have a day's run in Lubberland, you may -come ashore with me; and who can say," he added, kindly, on -perceiving how Ashton's countenance fell at the prospect of fresh -delays, "but we may there find a craft bound for the island of Paul -and Virginia, and get your hammock swung aboard of her at once?" - -One day the weather cleared a little, and the sun broke forth a few -minutes before noon. - -Bartelot and Morrison betook them to quadrant, sextant, and chart, -and found they were within some 300 miles of the Cape of Storms. - -After this the sky resumed its sombre and inky hue; the sea was gray, -save where the sun shot his beams like a flood of yellow light -through a rent in the clouds, and lit the waves below with a golden -sheen, long and steadily, about fifteen miles distant on their -weather-bow. - -"Sail, ho!" shouted Ben Plank, who, with some others, was up aloft -taking advantage of this bright blink, to get the spare -mizzen-topmast shipped, with all its hamper and gearing. - -"Where away, Ben?" asked Morley, snatching Tom's telescope from its -brass hooks under the companion-hatch. - -"There, sir, in that streak of light to windward." - -Looming large as coming out of the haze, Morley saw a large, -square-rigged vessel, with all her fore-and-aft canvas set, running -close-hauled on a different current of wind, which did not as yet -affect the _Princess_, and which would probably carry her ahead. - -Her canvas was white as snow, and shone like the outspread wings of a -swan in the bright gleam of sunshine, and in strong relief against -the gray and dusky sky beyond. - -She was visible but for a few minutes--so briefly, indeed, that -Morrison had not time to run the ensign up to the gaff-peak, when she -seemed to dart into the gray obscurity ahead, and to vanish like a -phantom that melted into the sky; but though invisible, it was -evident that the _Princess_, a faster sailer, would soon leave her -far astern. - -In that large square-rigged ship, that spanked along on a taut -bowline, with the white foam curling under her black bows, and flying -over her gilded catheads, how little Morley Ashton imagined that -Ethel Basset--the Ethel of his hopes by day and dreams by night, the -centre around which all his aspirations and his life itself -revolved--was seated side by side with Hawkshaw on one of the -quarter-deck seats, watching, through a fifteen-mile lorgnette, or -racing-glass, the outline of the _Princess_, whose canvas being all -in shadow came blackly out, for a few minutes, from the sombre -atmosphere to leeward, and then melted from their view for ever. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE STORM. - -Varied by occasional torrents of rain, black, cloudy, and squally -skies, the regular "Cape weather" continued after this, and the -_Princess_ was soon running under close-reefed topsails. So -frequently were the reefs taken in and shaken out, that Bill Morrison -said they reminded him of an old Scottish seaman's rhyme: - - "Gif the rain pouirs ere the wind swurl, - Your topsails lowse and gar them furl; - But gif the wind blaws ere pouirs the rain, - Your topsails lowse, and hoist again." - - -Even the gay spirit of Tom Bartelot became depressed by the gloomy -and threatening state of the weather, and he spent nearly his whole -time on deck, or in observing the compasses, the barometer, and state -of the pumps. - -Two days after the strange sail had been seen no the weather-bow, the -glass was still falling, while the sea and wind were rising. - -At seven bells, after taking a hurried breakfast Tom found the wind -increasing to a gale, so he took in the maintopgallantsail, the -second reef of his topsails, and set the mainstaysail. - -By midday he had to summon all hands on deck. - -"Close-reef the topsails, furl mainsail and fore and mizzen-topsail." - -These orders followed each other rapidly. - -Soon after, the _Princess_ was flying through the gloomy sea under a -close-reefed maintopsail and reefed foresail, shipping a great deal -of water the while, and labouring hard, as her pumps worked ill. - -After this, the wind began to die away, the sea went somewhat down, -and then more canvas was spread on the ship; but there were many -indications in the sky and atmosphere which filled Tom and Morrison, -and Gawthrop, too, for he had his nameless nautical instincts, with -anxieties which the younger men of the crew could not fail to -perceive. - -"How's the barometer, Morrison?" was the frequent question. - -"Still falling slowly, sir." - -"What do you think the night will be?" asked Morley. - -"There's a gloom, and a closeness too, indicating thunder." - -"Aye," said Noah Gawthrop, who had the wheel, "the wind and the sea -will make a fine bobbery together in these parts afore the morning -watch, is called." - -"Steward--Ben Plank, get the dead lights shipped," cried Bartelot, -"here comes the squall again! In with all the light sails, Morrison; -hurry forward--'way aloft lads, and lay out on the yards!" - -Thus, by six o'clock, she was again running under close-reefed -topsails and foresail. - -The clouds were banking up in strange, wild, and fantastic forms to -windward; black and sombre, they were altering every moment, -revealing weird-like patches of white and livid sky beyond. At some -parts of the horizon the blended sea and sky had the darkness of -night, while in the zenith there was at times the brightness almost -of noon. - -"I don't like the aspect of all this, Morley," said Bartelot, in a -low voice to his friend; "we are in for a rough, wild night, and I -wish it were well past." - -The wind veered rapidly round half of the compass; sometimes it -seemed to blow from all quarters at once. It came in strong and hot -gusts, while, through the bosom of the black clouds at the horizon, -the red lightning seemed to plunge its seething bolts in the sea, and -to add to the sublime terror of such a scene; the atmosphere was so -sulphurous that, at times, luminous lights like fireballs or meteors -were seen on every masthead, yardarm, and beam-end. - -"Furl the topsails, lower the yards upon the cap, leave nothing set -but the close-reefed foresail," were now Bartelot's orders. - -Morley had never before seen so wild a tempest; but he was now seaman -enough to scramble aloft with the rest, and soon found himself on the -foot-rope, and "laying out" on the arm of the main-yard, and, as he -was first up at the weather-earring, there holding on with all his -strength, for so weird was the scene below, the napping of the -canvas, the snapping of ropes, that cracked like coach-whips in the -bellowing wind, the swaying of the rigging, and the pitching of the -ship, that a terrible nausea came over him, together with a -giddiness, and had not a seaman, named Erwin, who was by his side, -caught him, he might have toppled into the sea, that roared and -seethed below. - -Ben Plank, being a strong fellow, had his post in the slings of the -mainyard, to pack the sail, and make up the bunt, or stow the heavy -middle portion. Soon all was snug aloft; but again the wind changed -so rapidly, that it flew round from the south-east to the north-west, -and then with a mighty sound of rending and tearing, the foresail was -split to ribbons, that flapped and cracked like rifle shots in the -tempest, while the ship, which seemed almost enveloped in lightning -for an instant, was almost thrown on her beam-ends. - -"Stand from under, men--there go the masts!" shouted Bartelot through -his trumpet, and a stunning peal of thunder bellowed over the ocean -at the same moment. - -Then followed a mighty crash, as if the heavens were falling on the -deck, and all shrunk instinctively aside, or stooped downward, as the -three topmasts and jib-boom broke off at the caps, and the _Princess_ -was a wreck in a moment. - -"Hatchets--cut away the hamper to ease the ship!" was now the order, -and, in a short time, the tangled wilderness of yards, masts, -cross-trees and blocks, stays and rigging, on being cut adrift, -whirled out of sight to leeward, carrying with it the unfortunate -seaman Erwin, who had been caught by the body in the bight of a rope. - -By the fall of the mizzen-topniast the starboard quarter-boat was -dashed to pieces, and the other, which was a life-boat, was torn from -its davits and vanished in the darkness like a child's toy, as a -tremendous sea pooped the ship. - -"Tom," gasped Morley, as he clung, half-drowned, or stunned, to a -belaying-pin, "are we indeed lost--do you think all is over?" - -"Nearly so--if this continues long," was the composed reply. "Hold -on, lads, here comes another sea!" - -Now the black waves continued to burst over the vessel with a series -of thundering explosions, as if determined to overwhelm it, till all -around was foam, as white as snow; but though labouring at times with -her gunwale almost under water, her whole deck strewed with fragments -and splinters of timber, bulwarks, buckets, pieces of rope, blocks, -sails, and spars, that were washed to and fro, and while the crew, -knee-deep in this debris, clung to shrouds and belaying-pins, she -rose up buoyantly ever and anon, on the crest of a wave, with all the -water streaming from her, and all the while the wild wind blew in -gusts, and bellowed like an unchained fiend. Amid the terrible scene -another seaman was swept overboard and drowned; the long-boal was -uprooted from its lashings and chocks over the main-hatch, and -carried over the side, by a sea that came right amidships, and tore -away half the starboard-bulwarks, so, fearing that the ship would -founder, Bartelot, with a heavy heart, gave orders to cut away the -lower masts. - -The men were soon at work with sharp axes, and, while keeping afoot -with difficulty under the drenching seas, shipped every moment by the -labouring hull, after cutting through the shrouds and stays, a few -blows at the foot of each mast, readily sent them, in succession, -crashing to leeward, where they vanished amid foam and obscurity. - -Noah Gawthrop had just relinquislied the now useless wheel, when a -wave broke over the quarter, tearing the rudder from its bands, and -dashing the wheel to pieces. - -"All's over with the poor _Princess_, Morley," said Tom, with a -groan; "she won't outlive the night, I fear." - -Morrison now came aft to report that the chain-pump had given way, -the other had become choked, and that water was rising fast in the -well. - -"She's sprung a leak, sir, somewhere about her fore-foot, so it is a -bad look-out for us all," said Plank, the carpenter. - -By this time the bulwarks were all torn away from the stanchions and -timber-heads amidships by the sea, which now made clean breaches over -the entire hull. - -Nothing could be done now by the crew, but to leave the ship to her -fate, and to hold on by whatever offered itself, and wait the event -of the storm abating, or, what seemed much more likely, of the ship -foundering, by settling bodily down into the trough of the sea, and -rising never more. Her cargo, too, sugar and tobacco, were the -reverse of buoyant under the circumstances; so now, Morley, Bartelot, -Morrison, the chief mate, Plank, the carpenter, and old Noah, were -all grouped about the quarter-deck, some holding on by the -timber-heads, others by the stump of the mizzenmast, while the rest -of the crew were grouped forward, where they lashed themselves to the -stump of the foremast, the barrel of the windlass, and gallows-bitts; -but so dark was the night, so terrible the sea, and so loud the wind, -that neither party could see or hear anything of the other. - -Suddenly there was a rending crash! - -An invocation of heaven rose to the lips of all, and a wild, -despairing cry from those in the forecastle reached the ears of our -friends on the quarter-deck. Morley felt the whole ship tremble -beneath his feet, as the entire quarter was burst up, or torn away -from the rest of the hull, and with his companions he found himself -floating on it, as on a species of raft, and up to his neck in water -every moment, while whirled away from the ship, of which they saw no -more, and which, no doubt, went speedily down with all on board. - -Just as this happened, Plank, the carpenter, was swept away, -clutching with despair a fragment of wreck. - -On this frail remnant of the shattered ship, the other four -unfortunates found themselves adrift on that wild, dark midnight sea, -which whirled it to and fro like a cork on the black, tempestuous -waves. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -THE FOUR CASTAWAYS. - -"Lord have mercy on us!" escaped the lips of all. - -It would seem that, by the strength and violence of the sea, the -entire quarter-deck abaft the mizzen-mast, with a portion of its -bulwarks, the taffrail, some parts of the stern windows and quarter -galleries, had been torn from the ship, and this crazy fragment was -all that intervened between our four friends and eternity. - -Being level with the sea it could not be capsized, which, at least, -was one good property. - -Lashed to such parts of it as were available, the poor victims clung -there in desperation and silence, waiting, and praying in their -hearts that the storm would abate; and now, as if its errand had been -done, its object accomplished in the total destruction of the -unfortunate _Princess_, the gusty wind began to lull gradually, -though the agitated sea rolled high and black as ever. - -As the common saying has it, the waves "ran mountains high;" but it -must be borne in mind, that few waves rise more than ten feet above -the general level of the water, which, when ten more are given for -the trough of the sea, makes the whole height from base to crest -twenty feet--sufficiently high to be terrible in aspect and effect. - -Over the raft of the _Princess_ (for it was little better) those vast -hills of water made a thundering breach every instant, or came -surging up through the apertures, from whence the companion and -skylight had been torn away. - -The taffrail was strong, and it was chiefly to it that Bartelot, -Morley, Morrison, and Gawthrop lashed themselves, for gradually all -that remained of the bulwarks were torn away, and the stump of the -mizzenmast was soon worked or sucked out by the sea. - -There was an appalling sense of loneliness, of dread and desolation, -and of too probable death being near at hand, though, perhaps, all -the more terrible, if it were protracted. - -So the fearful night wore on; the black scud was passing away, the -stars shone out, and the four castaways began to hope that morning -was at hand. Yet, ruthlessly, wave after wave came rolling over -them, each with its high and monstrous head, curling white with snowy -foam, though its sides were black and inky. Then there would be a -roar as of thunder when each burst over the fragment of wreck, -engulfing and half choking the poor dripping wretches who clung to it -in silence and despair. - -But now, as dawn, began to spread rapidly over the east, the sea went -down, and the wind also; the waves ceased to roll over the broken -deck, which floated steadily, and as it rose upheaved on each -successive swell, the occupants cast around them, eager glances from -their bloodshot eyes, in the hope of descrying a sail. - -Dawn came thoroughly in--a cloudy morning, but no sunshine. Ere long -they could see the whole horizon; but there no vestige of a sail was -visible, and now they looked blankly in each other's pallid faces. - -"My poor crew!" said Bartelot, with a thick sob in his throat, but -the exclamation had escaped him many times before; "second-mate, -carpenter, sail-maker, steward, cook, boys, and all--all gone but us, -Morley. Sad--deplorable, is it not?" - -"Do not grieve for what is irreparable," said Morrison. - -"If I saw you, Bill Morrison, my friend Ashton, and my old shipmate -Noah, all safe, I don't care if I were shark-meat this minute," he -resumed, bitterly. - -"Don't say so, Bartelot, my old boy," replied Morley, with an -affectation of spirit he was far from feeling: "you have behaved -bravely, and done all that man could do to save your ship. Take -courage; you have buoyed me up many a day, when my heart had sunk to -zero. Let me try to cheer you in turn." - -"Cheer!" Tom repeated, shaking his head sadly, and still more -bitterly, as he surveyed their home upon the waters. - -"Oh, Heaven! to think of this being a bit of the old _Princess_ we -all loved so well!" groaned Morrison, looking almost affectionately -on the frail planks over which the sea rippled at every heave. - -"Aye, sir," chimed in Noah; "it are odd, but it was a bit of that -same blessed deck, as was holystoned and prayer-booked, swabbed and -squilgeed of a morning till it were white as snow--whiter a'most than -the deck of her Majesty's yacht. I've poured half the sea over that -deck, I have, when the head-pump was rigged for'ard of a morning, and -now what is it, but only a bit of drift-wood, and we a clinging to -it, like four wet barnacles? Lor' help us!" - -"And bless our poor shipmates!" added Bartelot, pointing upwards. - -"They are all gone, sir--found sailors' graves, every one of them," -said Morrison; "the ship would fill, and go down the moment she -parted aft." - -"But you've done your duty, sir," said Noah; "and can clear yourself -of the ship's loss before any naval court in any part of the world. -I only wish we were all afore one this blessed minute, instead o' -drifting about here, without compass, biscuit, or 'bacca." - -Now came the oppressive reflection that they were without food and -without water. - -Morley had read very recently the "Paul Huet" of Eugene Sue, and the -more true story on which his romance is founded--the awful wreck of -the _Medusa_, French frigate, and thus the horrors which her crew -endured upon the raft came vividly and painfully before him now. - -The saline property of the atmosphere, their long and repeated -immersions in the ocean, the quantities of its water they had been -compelled to swallow when the drenching waves broke over them, soon -excited thirst. This longing was increased by heat, when the sun -came forth; but as yet they had no desire for food. - -All their energies were bent on watching the horizon around them, but -no sail appeared; so the wreck continued to float listlessly about, -without making way apparently in any direction. - -A boat they might have rowed in the direction of the Cape of Good -Hope, and though they might have failed to reach the coast, while -minus food and water, they would always have increased their chances -of being picked up by a passing ship, homeward or outward bound; but -on the wreck they were helpless, as if upon a desert rock fixed amid -the sea. - -The first day passed slowly, wearily on, and the sun verged westward -in his course. - -Now night descended on the sea. There was no moon, but the stars -shone clearly and sharply. - -Worn by emotion, by toil, suffering, and lack of sleep, they trusted -to the security of their lashings, and strove to find rest, or -oblivion, in slumber; but a half-wakeful doze was all they could -achieve. Each body lay, to all appearance, torpid; but the anxious -soul slept not, so each had his own keen active thoughts and dreams. - -Tom Bartelot conjured up a certain pretty little English face, whose -smiling blue eyes were associated with many a summer evening walk -among the sylvan scenery of Richmond Park, in the gardens of Kew, and -visits to Hampton Court. - -Morrison's heart was in his old mother's cottage, where he first saw -the light, by the broad waters of the Dee, that roll from the hills -of Crathie and Braemar in "the bonnie north country;" for he had -intended, at the close of another voyage, to go home to Scotland, -with all his earnings and wages, to spend them with her, and for her -only; but all that seemed hopeless now, though the hum of the sea in -his ears, as it rippled against the wreck, suggested the surf that in -boyhood he had seen breaking over the Black Dog of Belhelvie.* - - -* A rock on the Aberdeenshire coast, so named from its appearance at -low water. - - -Poor old Gawthrop, with his grizzled whiskers, and lips baked in dry -salt, dreamt of neither father, mother, nor love--for all who loved -old Noah were dead long ago; but he had a vision of a stiff jorum of - - "Boatswain's grog--just half and half," - -such as he used to get in the _Haurora_, of fifty guns; while Morley -Ashton thought, and dreamed, and murmured to himself of Ethel Basset. - - "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." - - -He had now been long absent from Ethel, and been long mourned by her -as one who was lost to her for ever, and numbered with the dead. And -now death menaced him again! - -He had been saved from destruction by his friend--saved from a death -by starvation, or despair, at Acton Chine; but only to perish with -him here amid the lonely waters of the South Atlantic; for this time -it seemed that he was too surely doomed to die--an idea rendered all -the more bitter by a conviction that Ethel would never, and could -never, know the dark story of his disappearance, for no mortal lips -could tell her save those of Hawkshaw. - -Morley felt that he might perish now; that she would never learn the -true character of his rival; of his own awful escape from Acton -Chine; of his journey to Rio de Janeiro; of his sufferings on the -raft, till relieved by death; of how he had been tossed hither and -thither by fortune's unrelenting hate, and how deeply and devotedly -he loved her. - -By this last misfortune, the wreck, more than all the others, he -might, by dying, leave her to become the wife of Hawkshaw, the -would-be assassin! - -So another night passed over, and the raft, or wreck, still floated -darkly, silently there; and now those who were thereon had ceased to -speak, even in whispers. - -Another day dawned--a day of glorious sunshine; but no food, no -water, no hope came with it; for not a sail was in sight, and their -eyes ached with weariness in searching the faint blue watery line -that marked where the sky and ocean met. - -They were becoming very feeble now, and the cravings of nature were -maddening. - -Their hair was encrusted by salt, as white as hoar-frost, their lips -were baked, their tongues parched. Already they had become gaunt and -white, hollow-cheeked, and old-looking, with eyes bloodshot and wild. - -Their feet and legs were sore and sodden by long immersion in the -brine, and their whole bodies were rendered stiff and weary by the -wet ropes which lashed them to the taffrail--a means of security -which they dared not unloose or relinquish for a moment. - -Ere long they were in a species of delirium. - -Hunger brought its own fantastic and exciting suggestions of -well-cooked viands, of hearty homely dishes, steaming and savoury, -roasts and stews, puddings and pies; but thirst, agonising thirst, -suggested ideas of cool rivers, amid which snows were dissolving; of -lonely mountain tarns, where the brown trout sported under the -broad-leaved water-docks, and where the wild bird swam; of glassy -meres, of crystal rills, that murmured under old oak trees, or shady -drooping willows, with dark green sprays, and water-lilies that -dipped therein; of iced champagne, that effervesced in crystal -goblets; of sparkling hock and seltzer-water; of jolly London stout, -all brown, with its creamy froth; of every impossible luxury that -they had not, and never more might feel upon their cracked lips and -dry, hard, arid tongues! - -A dead bird!--it was a huge albatross, with wings outspread--floated -slowly past them on the glassy oil-like sea, thus indicating a -current that ran eastward. - -They were all too weak to attempt to swim for it; so, wolfishly, with -haggard eyes and longing appetites they watched the wretched carrion -for hours, until it floated out of sight. - -Then three nautilus shells, with purple sails outspread, passed near -them, and, to Morley's excited vision, they seemed like large Roman -galleys, or fairy barges; at a vast distance--such craft as he had -read of in legends of the Rhine, in fairy tales, and knightly ballads. - -And now came Mother Carey's chickens, hopping and tripping about the -wreck, and on the ripples round it--merrily and happily, like brown -sparrows in a farmyard at home. - -About the setting of the sun, they were roused from their -listlessness by the sudden apparition of a large vessel, -barque-rigged--that is, with the fore and mainmasts of a ship and a -mizzen like a schooner's mainmast, with a long spanker-boom--bearing -down towards them. - -There was a fine breeze blowing; she had all her canvas set, and ran -on a taut bowline. - -"A ship! a sail! a sail!" they exclaimed together. - -"Now, blessed be Heaven!" said Tom, "we are saved at last! -Hurrah--hurrah!" - -She was painted a kind of yellowish white; her side chains and -hawse-holes, and all her iron work, looked red and rusty, as if she -had been long in tropical waters. - -With almost inarticulate lips they sought to hail her, and waved -their hands in frantic glee as she came on, with the white foam -curling under her bluff bows, where the old copper was green, and -covered with barnacles. Her side was lined with the faces of her -crew, who seemed to be in earnest conference, and some of whom -gesticulated violently. - -She seemed to be foreign by her build and rig, as well as by the -scarlet and blue shirts and fur caps of her men. - -Now she was close to them, and the white flag, with the black eagle -of Prussia, was hoisted at her gaff peak; now she would certainly be -hove in the wind, with a mainsail laid aback, and have a boat lowered -to relieve them. - -So close was she, that the wheel revolved to keep her away a point or -two, lest she might run the frail wreck under with her bluff bows, as -she sheered past. - -Tom hailed in English "to relieve them from misery--to save them, for -the love of mercy and of God!" - -He spoke imploringly, for a sudden doubt had chilled his heart. - -Hoarsely the hail was responded to in German, and the barque passed -on--on, without lifting tack or sheet, without lowering a boat, or -tossing a single biscuit, to those four men who were all but dying on -the wreck! The Prussian--she was the _Einicheit_, of Dantzic--stood -away on her course, and left Bartelot and his three friends in an -agony of disappointment and despair that bordered on madness!* - - -* For the infamous conduct of this Prussian crew to a Scottish ship -in distress, see any paper of May 26, 1864. - - -With such terrible emotions in their hearts, as no pen could portray, -they saw her slowly diminish in distance, and vanish into the yellow -haze that overspread the evening sea. Then once more night descended -on the world of waters, and again they were alone--more alone, they -felt, than ever, for even their fellow-beings had abandoned them. - -During all that night Morley Ashton was delirious. - -Dreams and thoughts of Acton Chase and woods, that rustled their -green leaves in the soft west wind; of golden fields, of bearded -grain, that waved like yellow billows beneath its breath; of the -voices of the larks that soared aloft into the blue sky, and of the -cushat dove that cooed to its mate in the leafy dingle; the ring of -the village chimes, and of children's merry voices--came strongly to -memory, with the comforts of the land he never more might -tread--English home he never more might see. - -Anon, strange monsters seemed to come out of the starlit bosom of the -glassy deep, to bob and dance, to glare and jabber, with faces green, -white, lilac, and rose-coloured; and all as if to mock their misery. - -These, however, were only seaweed and foambells, or floating blubber, -to which the water gave unusual size and phosphorescent light, while -the sufferers' giddy brains and weakened eyesight lent them wild and -fantastic forms. - -Poor Tom Bartelot must have been quite deranged; for more than once -Morley heard him singing what seemed to be a scrap of his old -drinking song, and his voice sunk into a childish quaver at the -couplet: - - "Oh, deign, ye kind powers, with this wish to comply, - May I always be drinking yet always be dry." - - -Then he suddenly changed his note to a kind of hoarse wail, as he -sang: - - "King Death was a rare old fellow, - He sat where no sun could shine; - He lifted his hand so yellow, - And pledged us in coal-black wine." - - -He soon after became senseless, and hung, as if asleep, drooping, -alas! it might be, dead, in the lashings that secured him to the -taffrail. - -Towards the morning of that terrible night, Morley felt life ebbing -within him, and, as it ebbed, he had a last wild dream--wild, indeed; -but too delicious to be true. - -A long, long time seemed to elapse, but another day had dawned, and a -ship--the false, cruel Prussian barque of yesterday--had returned in -quest of them. She lay to, a boat came off, he heard the rattle of -the fall tackles, and the splash of the water. They were, he -thought, rescued; he felt the lashing that bound his swollen limbs -cut by a seaman's jack-knife, and now kind faces and kind hands were -around him, and gentle voices were murmuring in his ear. - -Cool wine and grateful cordials seemed to be poured between his -parched lips, and then to be suddenly withheld when he would have -imbibed more. - -Oh, the madness of this tantalising and most feverish dream, for -Ethel Basset seemed to be there! - -Ethel, with her sweetly feminine and dear affectionate face, was -bending over him; her lips were close to his, her kiss was on his -cheek; but he could neither respond nor speak, for Hawkshaw's visage, -pale and wrathful, was between them, with knitted brows and glaring -eyes, as he had seen it last, when he fell beneath his hand at Acton -Chine. - -Then he seemed to sleep, to die; for he felt and remembered no more. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -CAPTAIN HAWKSHAW MAKES A DISCOVERY TO LEEWARD. - -On the night the _Princess_ was lost, the _Hermione_ did not escape -the same storm, which probably traversed in a circle all the waters -of the South Atlantic. - -It was no doubt the mere skirt of the tempest which affected her, as -the sky around was clear, and the stars shone brilliantly. - -Her jib was blown out of the bolt-rope and split to ribbons, and she -had her topsails close-reefed. - -"Stow what remains of the jib," ordered Captain Phillips; "into the -netting with it--quick, men; cheerily now, and up with the -foretopmast-staysail." - -As soon as this was done, he added: - -"Go below, the watch, and take a nap if you can, for it may blow -great guns before morning." - -"It is blowing three gales in one as it is," said Mr. Quail. "The -water comes waist-high in the lee-scuppers, and washes right chock -aft to the taffrail." - -The _Hermione_ was tearing through the sea upon the wind, so she -rolled little, but the wild waves came pouring over her catheads and -topgallant forecastle, and over the weather bulwarks, swashing and -plashing their snowy spray far above the level of her main-courser. - -"Who is at the wheel?" asked the captain, who was standing at the -break of the quarter-deck. - -"Badger, the long Yankee," replied Mr. Quail. - -"All seems quiet among these rascals forward; and they worked -cheerily enough to-night." - -"All quiet as yet, sir; but we don't know when their little game may -begin." - -"If they should have changed their minds?" suggested Phillips. - -"No chance of that, sir," said Quail, shaking his head. - -"Or, if the doctor was mistaken?" - -"Impossible, sir," said Quail, shaking his head again--it was under a -cloud of spray this time; "and, even if he was so, we can't mistake -the disappearance of poor Manfredi after Sharkey's ugly threats, and -their mutinous spirit in general. As first mate, I have seen enough -of it to last my time at sea." - -"I am prepared for the worst, at all events," responded Phillips, in -the same low voice, as he instinctively felt for the butt of the -revolver pistol in his breast-pocket, and ascended to the weather -side of the poop. - -Veering round to the south-eastward, the wind was soon dead against -the ship, which laboured hard, though running close-hauled, and, -while beating to windward, her head was many points away from her -proper course. - -She was running fast through the water--ten knots an hour at -least--but was making great leeway. The strain on the -weather-rigging was great; there every shroud, rope, and halyard were -tight as iron wire, while to leeward they were all blown out in wavy -bights and bends, especially at every lurch. - -There was never a lull in the fierce gale, and, with every wave that -burst against her bows, the _Hermione_ seemed to roll, or swerve, -bodily off to leeward. - -On this night poor Mr. Basset was in great mental misery, lest, amid -the tempest, for to such the gale nearly amounted, the crew should -put their nefarious designs in execution; but they had their hands -too full of necessary work to find time for mischief then. - -He twice ventured on deck, but, to the landsman's eye, the aspect of -that wild, stormy sea, visible under a starry and cloudless sky, so -appalled him, that each time he returned to the cabin with such -visible signs of tremor or emotion, that Ethel, who had found the -impossibility of sleeping, and had hastily thrown on her morning -wrapper and shawl, joined him, and sat caressingly by his side. - -Pale, anxious, and lovely she looked in her white-frilled dress; and -now every sound on deck made her father start with agitation. - -"Is the gale increasing, papa?" she asked, for the twentieth time. - -"Undoubtedly it is--but the captain laughs at it, and says his ship -is strong and stout." - -"How soundly dear Rose sleeps amid all this hurly-burly." - -"Bless the poor child--oh yes; but go to bed beside her, darling, we -have little fear to-night--for the ship, at least." - -"Have we aught to fear from the sea, papa?" - -Mr. Basset did not reply. - -"You are silent, papa," resumed Ethel, scanning his features keenly -and affectionately, and patting his cheek with her delicate hand; -"then there is some danger of which you do not tell me. Oh, papa, -what is this you would conceal from me, who, I know, am all the world -to you?" - -"You are, indeed, all the world to me now, Ethel--you and Rose," -replied the poor man, in a broken voice, as his eyes filled, and his -heart swelled with uncontrollable anxiety and emotion; "but there, -dear, there, kiss me, and go to bed; don't waken Rose--let the poor -child sleep while she may." - -And leading Ethel to her cabin, he pushed her gently in, and closing -the door, lay down on the stern-locker to watch, but not to sleep. - -This gale blew steadily for more than eight-and-forty hours, during -which the _Hermione_ carried as little canvas as possible, yet she -made so much leeway as to be blown far to the southward of the -Cape--how far was known only to Captain Phillips and his two mates, -Mr. Quail and Mr. Foster, as they had tacitly agreed to keep the crew -in total ignorance of the ship's working or progress, hoping, by -doing so, to delay, if they could not ultimately frustrate, any dark -plans the intending mutineers had formed. - -During all this gale, which showed no signs of abatement until the -evening of the second day, Ethel and her sister remained in the cabin -with old Nurse Folgate, who, with all her love for them, was -deploring the moment of weakness in which she consented to leave the -leafy seclusion of Acton-Rennel, "to go forth a-voyaging round the -world, nobody knew to where." - -Dr. Leslie Heriot found much to keep him below, too; and thus, by day -and by night, according to the plan formed and already described, -there was always at least one armed man guarding them and the -cabin-door. - -As for poor Mr. Basset, he never quitted the side of his daughters -now, until he saw them into their little cabin for the night; and -Ethel, who soon perceived her father's new solicitude and -affectionate anxiety, was quite at a loss to understand what caused -it. - -None knew how the lots had fallen, or whose cast of the dice had been -highest in the forecastle bunks of the _Hermione_; but many of her -crew, when they came on deck, on the morning subsequent to the -amiable discussion so luckily overheard by Dr. Heriot, bore -unmistakable marks of a conflict, in the shape of blackened eyes, -swollen noses, and, in more than one instance, a slash or stab from a -knife. - -Whatever were the ultimate intentions of these men, matters remained -unchanged on board the ship, the duty of which was carried on -excellently during the gale, for then every man did his duty readily -and cheerfully, either by force of habit, or from the knowledge that -to do so would save themselves much trouble and probable danger. - -No doubt they deemed it better to wait for an opportunity after they -were assured of being past the Cape, when they would seize the ship, -and, as the doctor heard suggested, haul up for the Mozambique -Channel, a very unwise idea on their part, as, in the narrow sea, -they ran the imminent risk of being overhauled by some man-of-war, -homeward bound, or transport full of troops--chances to be avoided in -the open Indian Ocean. - -The tempest had blown them to the westward, and also considerably to -the southward of the Cape, which lies in latitude 33.5.42 South, and -longitude 18.23.15 East. But the morning of the third day came in -clear and calm; there was a gentle breeze from the eastward, and the -ship was running close-hauled, with her port-tacks on board, and -everything set upon her that would draw, even to triangular skysails -and niaintopgallant staysails, so that her hull seemed a mere black -speck under such a cloud of white canvas. - -And the glorious morning sun cast her shadow far along the smooth -ocean to the westward, as she cleft its waters swiftly and steadily -with her gallant prow, from which a white female figure, representing -the _Hermione_ of the classical age, the daughter of Venus and wife -of Cadmus, with Vulcan's golden necklet round her slender throat, -spread her graceful arms above the foam. - -The fourth and fifth days after the gale were serene and lovely in -the extreme. - -There was scarcely need for the watch to rig the head-pump for the -last three mornings; washed by the waves of the recent gale, the -decks were white as snow, and not even a shred or thread of spunyarn -could be seen about the wheels of the carronades, the coamings of the -hatches, or the mouths of the scupper-holes. - -Breakfast over, Rose and Ethel came on deck, and Doctor Heriot -hastened after them with cushions, shawls, and wrappers, for the -morning air in that extreme southern latitude was cold, though clear -and bracing; even an iceberg was visible at the far and blue horizon -to the westward, an object to which Heriot drew the attention of the -sisters, and promptly arranged for them his telescope; but the fair -voyagers had become quite used to such things, so Ethel betook -herself to a novel, and Rose began a piece of crochet (which seemed -like the web of Penelope) in expectation that her lover would sit by -and converse with her. - -Both seemed paler than usual, in consequence of the few days' -confinement below. Their father was anxious still, and the poor man -continued to linger about them, to hover near them, and instinctively -his trembling hand felt for the loaded revolver he carried in secret, -if one of the crew came near his daughters, and his heart beat -quicker if even one glanced to them, for in him he suspected the -winner by the dice-box of the two abhorred Barradas. - -Hawkshaw, whom the young doctor's steady attentions to the sisters -galled and fretted, was up in the fore-rigging, somewhere, looking -out for a sail, as no one on board longed for the appearance of a -ship of war more than he did; so he kept one eye on the horizon, and -another on the quarter-deck, where Ethel and Rose were seated, -chatting and laughing. - -Heriot had carefully examined, capped, and charged anew his revolver, -and placed it in his breast-pocket before he joined them, so the crew -very little suspected how completely all their superiors were -forewarned and forearmed. - -The two girls looked, if possible, lovelier than ever on this, as it -will prove in the sequel, eventful morning, by a species of delicate -pallor induced by the close atmosphere of the cabin; and as young -Heriot gazed into their clear, full, earnest eyes, a fierce, high -spirit swelled up in his heart, and he almost rejoiced that the -terrible circumstances in which they were placed, sailing as it were -with a volcano on board, would give him an opportunity of showing how -dearly he loved Rose Basset, how willing he was to dare, alas! it -might be to die for her! - -Not that he would gain much by the last move, as reflection showed, -and die he might, perhaps, by the hands of some of those ruffians, -before she could be succoured and protected, and then there was acute -agony in the contemplation of what she might endure when he could -neither see nor avenge it. - -"Look, Ethel dear," Rose suddenly exclaimed with girlish delight, -"there is a great swan asleep on the water." - -"A swan here?" queried Ethel. - -"It is an albatross," said the doctor, smiling, "and sleeping sound -enough, certainly. I could almost toss a biscuit on his back." - -There, not twelve yards distant from the ship's side, on the smooth -surface of the sea, was a great albatross, with plumage white as -snow--a bird whose pinions may have measured twelve feet from tip to -tip--fast asleep, and floating with his huge head under his wing. - -Slowly he was upheaved upon each huge glassy swell, and slowly he -sank down into the glassy vale between them, sleeping, as Ethel said, -just as she had seen the swans on Acton Mere at home, and now this -lonely bird was perhaps 300 miles from land. - -When first descried he was upon the weather-bow, and now he was upon -the lee quarter, so rapidly the ship left far astern this great bird -of the "Ancient Mariner," enjoying his nap, all undisturbed, upon the -morning sea. - -Hawkshaw, who was pretty far up the fore-rigging, now drew the -attention of some of the crew, who were at work upon the foreyard, -greasing the sling thereof, reeving new bunt-lines to the foot of the -foretopsail, &c., to a small dark object that was floating on the -water at a great distance, and the discussion that ensued about it -soon caught the attention of the anxious and active Mr. Quail, who -was standing at the break of the quarter-deck, for the _Hermione_ had -a species of half poop, so he descended into the waist and hailed the -talkers. - -"Fore-top there!" - -"Aye, aye, sir," replied Bill Badger and Zuares Barradas. - -"Do you see anything, that you keep such a bright look-out to -leeward, eh?' - -"Yes, sir; there is something in sight," replied Zuares. - -"Something; well, what is it?" - -"The head o' the great sea-sarpent, I rayther reckons it to be," -replied Bill Badger, impudently; "I sees his row o' grinders standing -up above the water." - -"Grinders, you Yankee swab," responded Mr. Quail (under his breath, -however, for the fid-maul and a couple of iron marlinespikes were -lying in the foretop, and one of these might fall out of it, by -accident); "what you call grinders are the timber-heads of a piece of -wreck--if not, I am as green as a cabbage! A piece of wreck in sight -to leeward, sir," he reported down the skylight to Captain Phillips, -who came promptly on deck, telescope in hand. - -"Whereabouts, Mr. Quail?" - -"There, sir; you can see it now under the leach of the forecourse, -when the ship rises--can you make it out?' - -"Wreck it is, Quail; the taffrail and sternpost of a vessel. Ease -her off a bit, Pedro; edge down towards it," said the captain to the -elder Barradas, whose strong hands grasped the handsome, -brass-mounted wheel of the _Hermione_; "we are raising it fast." - -"If there ain't men a-clinging to it, I'm a Dutchman!" shouted -Badger, from the foretop. - -"The fellow is right," said Phillips, politely passing his glass to -Mr. Basset; "human figures are visible on it. Ready the lee quarter -boat, there--clear the fall tackles; keep her on a little just as she -is, Mr. Quail, and then back with the mainyard." - -All the crew crowded to the leeside of the deck now, and their entire -attention was riveted on the piece of drifting wreck which lay like a -log in the water; but towards which they were rapidly bearing down. - -Ere long, four men could be distinctly seen upon it, but whether -alive or dead none could say with certainty, though all surmised the -latter, as they made neither sign nor hail, but remained still, mute, -and passive as the timber-heads to which they were lashed, and which -rose and fell, slowly and sullenly, amid the sunny ripples of that -calm morning sea. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -DR. HERIOT'S PATIENTS. - -Filled with the interest roused by this new episode, the crew, for a -time, forgot everything in their desire to know what ship this had -been, where she hailed from, to relieve the sufferers, and to learn -all they had undergone; for, even in his worst moods, Jack is always -ready for anything, and the more of novelty it contains, the better -for him. - -The four drooping figures could be distinctly discerned now, with -their heads bare, their faces blanched and pale. Ethel and Rose were -full of commiseration; already their gentle eyes were swimming in -sympathetic tears. The former kept by the side of her father, and -the latter, in her excitement, leant more heavily than usual, -perhaps, on the arm of Dr. Heriot; and even old Nance Folgate had -come out of her berth, and muttering "Lor' a mussy me!" from time to -time, clung with cat-like tenacity to the nettings on the -lee-quarter, to see the castaways, whom, she had no doubt, had been -devouring each other from time to time, till only four were left now. - -"Back with the mainyard," shouted the captain; "to the braces, men; -let go and haul!" - -The lee-braces were cast off the belaying-pins; the weather hauled -in, and the yard was slued round till the sail was laid flat to the -mast; and now the great ship, which had been edged down towards the -piece of wreck, as she lay to, rose and fell with slow, but regular -and impatient heaves, on the swelling ridges of the sea, while, with -a quick revolution of the double-sheaved blocks, the fall-tackle fell -and the quarter-boat vanished from its davits with a splash into the -sea alongside. - -She was speedily manned: Mr. Foster, the second mate, took the -tiller; Bill Badger, the Yankee; Joe, the steward; Quaco, the black -Virginian, and Dr. Heriot (with Rose's entreaties to take care of -himself, ringing in his ears), shipped their oars in the rowlocks, -and she was shoved off. - -"Happy go lucky! here's summut new, at all events," said Bill Badger, -as he made the tough blade of the stroke-oar bend like a willow wand; -for after a long, dull voyage like that of the _Hermione_, varied -only by adverse winds and the loss of a mast at the Canaries--a -voyage in which a few restless and roving spirits are shut up for -many weeks in the small compass of a ship--anything that may serve to -relieve or vary the tedium and monotony of the life they lead is -welcome; hence, a drifting wreck, with its contingent stories, -mysteries, and the surmises it may occasion, is, perhaps, the most -welcome, though least lively adventure they could meet with. - -The proceedings of the boat's crew were watched with deep interest by -those who lined the ship's side, about 500 yards off. - -Mr. Foster pulled round the stern of the wreck, and was seen to stoop -with his face close to the water, as if he was endeavouring to read -(which was the case) the vessel's name, then sunk some feet below the -surface, as the wreck was half submerged. - -Then he sheered the boat alongside, and by the painter it was made -fast to a timber-head; but almost immediately after, for fear of -accidents, this was cast off, and she was simply held on by the -boat-hook. - -Mr. Foster, Dr. Heriot, and another stepped along the piece of -quarter-deck, and were seen to be examining the four men, whom they -relieved from their wet lashings by simply cutting these through with -a slash of Quaco's jack-knife. - -"Evidently, the poor fellows are not dead," said Captain Phillips, -joyfully, as he clapped his fat hands together. - -"How do you know, dear sir?" asked Ethel; "ah, the poor men, I do not -see them move!" - -"They are putting them into the boat to bring them aboard, Miss -Basset. If they had been dead, there would have been little use in -doing that." - -"What would you have done in that case, captain?" asked Mr. Basset. - -"Sunk each of 'em simply, with a round shot at his heels, as we did -the poor fellow whom we found floating with the life-buoy. Mr. -Quail, get some brandy and wine out of the cabin locker--some water, -please, too." - -"Oh, let me assist you, sir," exclaimed Ethel. - -"And me--me too," added Rose, with enthusiasm. - -"Stop, ladies, you'll only lose your footing and get a tumble, -perhaps, the ship is pitching so; better stay where you are, and hold -on by the side netting." - -"Hush!" said Captain Phillips, suddenly; "silence on deck--silence -fore and aft, for Dr. Heriot is hailing the ship, and waving his cap." - -"What is it that he is saying?" asked several, as the doctor's clear -voice came distinctly over the water. - -"Captain Phillips," they heard him cry, "please to request the ladies -to leave the deck." - -"That is plain enough, miss," said Mr. Quail, touching his cap to -Ethel. - -"Why--for what must we go?" said Rose, pouting. - -"You must permit me to lead you below, ladies," said the captain; -"depend upon it, the doctor knows best. There is something there he -does not wish you to see." - -So Ethel, Rose, and the old nurse, to the intense mortification of -the latter, left the deck, and retired to the cabin to wait the event. - -The truth was that the worthy young doctor had found the four -sufferers on the wreck, though not dead, as he fully ascertained on -feeling their pulses, in such a frightful state of prostration and -delirium, that he deemed it better Ethel and Rose should be spared -the shock of their first appearance, and should not witness the -conveyance of them up the ship's side. - -"They are all in the boat now, and now she is shoved off. Give way, -my boys--give way!" shouted the captain, whose kind, ruddy English -face flushed with eagerness. "Lay out on your oars and pull with a -will, for a glass of grog awaits you all." - -To do them justice, the men in the boat needed no incentive; to the -whole length of their arms they bent to their oars, and the boat came -sheering alongside in a twinkling. - -"In larboard oars, out fenders," said Mr. Foster, as he relinquished -the tiller. - -"Into the main-chains there, some of you, and bear a hand to get the -poor fellows on board," said Captain Phillips, jumping down the short -ladder at the break of the quarter-deck, just as four thin and wasted -figures--their tattered clothes sodden and saturated by salt water, -their matted hair encrusted with salt--were handed like children up -the side, passed over the bulwark, and laid on the deck near the -long-boat. - -"Poor fellows, poor fellows! God help them," said Phillips, -commiseratingly, as they seemed quite insensible. Their teeth were -clenched, but their lips were far apart, cracked, parched, and, in -some instances, bleeding. They breathed irregularly, and twitched -their fingers convulsively. - -"They must be your peculiar care for a time, doctor," said Mr. -Basset, as Heriot flung his coat on the deck, and while rolling up -his shirt-sleeves, rushed below to his medicine-chest. - -"Boy, Joe--steward, bring wine and brandy here! Carpenter, get four -comfortable hammocks slung in the 'tween decks; and you, Quaco, my -darkey, get us plenty of hot water from the galley," cried Phillips. - -"Yaas, sar," replied the sable Virginian, as he hastened forward with -a bucket. - -Every one bustled about, and even Sharkey, the sulkiest villain of -that ill-assorted crew, made himself useful in some way, or fancied -that he did so. - -"These men are evidently British seamen," said the captain, as the -doctor stooped over each, and raising his head, poured weak -brandy-and-water, with some medicament therein, down his throat. -"How thirstily they drink! One opens his eyes. All right, my -friend, you'll soon come to," added the kind skipper, as he patted -Morrison on the shoulder. "Now then," said he, "Mr. Quail, get the -quarter-boat hoisted in, and fill the mainyard. Trim the ship to her -course." - -"Very good, sir." - -It was soon done, and the _Hermione_, as she began again to walk -through the water, soon left the piece of wreck astern. - -"Did you make out the name of that unfortunate craft, Mr. Foster?" - -"Yes, sir; but with difficulty." - -"And what was it?" - -Our readers, of course, anticipate the reply. - -"The _Princess_, of London--ship rig evidently, from the side chains, -the double row of dead eyes, and the gearing of the mizzenmast." - -"All right. Now bring up the ship's log." - -The four patients were taken below. A little food, such as might be -made for children, arrowroot with, sherry, and so forth, was given to -them, and greedily they devoured it. They were then stripped, -sponged with warm fresh water, and lifted each into a comfortable -hammock, the active young doctor, Mr. Foster, the captain and -steward, working for them like servants and nurses with hearty -good-will. - -Gentle cordials were then administered, and soon after Heriot -appeared in the cabin with a bright and smiling face, wearing the -happy expression of one who, in doing a good action, has done his -best, to report that they had fallen into a sound sleep, were all -doing well, and would, he hoped, soon be free from danger. - -"It was too bad of you to send us below like children," said Rose. - -"And you think they will recover, doctor?" asked Ethel, interrupting -some playful apology of Heriot's. - -"Recover? Oh yes, and perhaps be with us soon at table, too; so poor -Manfredi's seat may thus be filled. Like Banquo's, it has long been -empty." - -"Oh, Leslie, how can you jest thus?" whispered Rose. - -"I don't jest, dearest," replied the doctor, deprecatingly. "I liked -poor Adrian Manfredi too well to associate his idea now with a jest," -he added, gravely, as he thought of that night in the forecastle -bunks, of the revelations he had heard, and the peril that was yet -unaverted. - -"Have the poor men said anything?" asked Ethel. - -"Not much, Miss Basset, beyond a few indistinct and delirious -mutterings." - -"Could you gather who they were?" - -"No; but they all seem to be seamen, save one." - -"One?" - -"Yes." - -(How little could she dream who _this one was_!) - -"And you are able to distinguish," she resumed. - -"At once--by their hands and general appearance." - -"And this one, who is not a seaman?" - -"Is a pale, and thin--but then he has been starved--and -gentleman-like young man. Though half dead with privation, he made a -whispered apology for the trouble he gave us." - -"Poor fellow!" said Ethel, whose eyes glistened. - -"Where was their vessel from?--how was she lost?--and where was she -lost?" asked Rose. - -"They are past telling all this now," said the doctor, smiling, and -patting Rose's hand; "by to-morrow evening, perhaps, we shall learn -all." - -"I do long so to hear their story--how terrible it must be--quite a -nautical romance; and then, the other poor men of their ship, who -have been drowned!" - -"Yes, Rose," said Ethel, glancing at the captain and mate, who were -each making an entry in his log or journal, "this incident will fill -up an entire page of your diary." - -"How--why?" asked Rose, reddening very perceptibly. - -"For Lucy Page's perusal," said Ethel, with a smile that had a little -mischief, or waggery, in it. - -Rose grew redder, for her diary or journal of the voyage, which she -had begun to keep (from the day she left Laurel Lodge), for the -special perusal of her friend and gossip, Lucy Page, had proved -rather a bore, and had been completely relinquished, as she could not -consistently omit, and yet shrank from recording, memoranda of a -certain little interview with the doctor, being naturally restrained -therefrom by a certain awkwardness, if the eye of Jack Page, now -almost a myth to her, as he has been, perhaps, to the reader, should -peruse them also. - -So Rose had ceased altogether to continue that interesting volume, -which, we may presume, terminated abruptly on that night recorded in -a previous chapter, when she and the doctor took a turn on deck to -view the stars. - -At this moment Cramply Hawkshaw entered the cabin with an expression -of face so scared, so altered, and so unmistakably wretched, that -Ethel surveyed him with surprise; and then, with some commiseration, -she kindly inquired if he was ill? - -He complained of giddiness, and abruptly hastened on deck. - -In fact, our ex-Texan officer had just come from between decks, where -he had been visiting the doctor's patients. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -CAPTAIN HAWKSHAW'S TROUBLES INCREASE. - -Inspired by some emotion beyond curiosity--a feeling which it would -be alike impossible to define or describe, Hawkshaw had gone between -decks to look at the rescued men. - -A man had been left to watch them. He was Bolter, the Canadian, to -whom Dr. Heriot had given strict injunctions that the sleepers were -not to be disturbed to gratify the mere curiosity of the crew; and he -growled out a few words by way of warning to Hawkshaw, who, assuming -a jaunty air, said: - -"Now, my amphibious biped, how are your patients?" - -"None of your names, mister," replied the Canadian, knitting his -brows. - -"You mistake me, my good fellow; I simply wished to know how our new -friends are." - -"Judge for yourself--blow'd if I know," was the sulky rejoinder, as -Bolter replaced a tremendous expectoration (which he shot fairly over -Hawkshaw's shoulder and out at the lee port) by a huge quid; "but -they seemed all goin' forren--out'ard bound, till the doctor hove 'em -up fresh." - -Each was in his hammock sleeping soundly, in that deep, drowsy torpor -which enables even "the famished to escape from the pangs of hunger, -and those who are perishing of thirst to escape for a time from the -agony of the parched throat"--the sleep that covereth a man all over -like a mantle, as honest Sancho Panza said, when, in the fulness of -his heart, he blessed the great inventor thereof. - -On tiptoe Hawkshaw passed from sleeper to sleeper. - -One seemed a brawny and weather-beaten seaman, with grizzled locks, -that were fast becoming gray; his bare and muscular chest was -tattooed blue with gunpowder. This was our old friend Noah Gawthrop. - -The second he looked at was somewhat hard-featured, with a high -forehead, dark, full eyebrows, a well-shaped nose, and one of those -prominent chins which bespeak firmness, decision of character, and -indomitable perseverance. He was the Scotch mate, Bill Morrison. - -The next was a pale, wan lad, whose handsome but attenuated -features---- - -"Gad's fury!" burst from the lips of Hawkshaw, as the sudden -recognition of those features struck a terror into his soul. "He -here! he! Can it be possible?" - -"Hullo, shipmate, what's the row?" said Bolter, looking up from a -sea-chest, on which he was lolling, with his hands in his pockets; -"Vast and belay this gab o' yours, or you'll waken 'em up, which is -clear ag'in the doctor's orders." - -"A mosquito stung me," said Hawkshaw, with a confusion which Bolter's -perceptions were not fine enough to discover. - -"A miskitty in these latitudes!" he exclaimed, mockingly. "I'm not -so jolly green a hand as to believe that; but be off on deck, and -leave me to keep my watch 'athout you. I may say this, though the -ship is yet trimmed by the starn," added the fellow, with an insolent -grimace, for like the rest of the crew, whom the Barradas influenced, -he had a peculiar aversion for Hawkshaw. - -The latter had now shrunk back, scarcely breathing, after assuring -himself that the pale sleeper was indeed Morley Ashton; and then -flashed upon his mind the keen and savage idea of getting him again -removed from his path--by strangling him in his sleep, by putting -poison in his food--and thus to send him out of the world ere his -eyes again fully opened on it, and ere he, Hawkshaw, could be -destroyed by the story he had to tell--by the great crime he had to -reveal. - -From the cabin, as we have told, he went on deck, and, desirous of -avoiding all, of seeking that solitude so impossible to find on board -ship, he ascended into the fore-rigging, and sat there, amid a whirl, -a chaos of thought, endeavouring to consider his prospects and -position now! - -Could he have been mistaken? - -Impossible! The likeness had been too deeply impressed upon his -memory since that awful night at Acton Chine; so he needed not to go -between decks again, and, moreover, he dared not, lest Morley should -awake and recognise him. - -"How came he to escape death at the Chine? How to be sailing on the -sea, and hereabout too?" thought Hawkshaw. "Oh, strange, and most -accursed fatality! But for me, perhaps, we might have passed that -piece of wreck--passed it unseen by all on board; but Fate is -retributive; I was the first to descry, the first to be anxious to -visit it." - -For a moment, but a moment only, there came into his soul a gleam of -joy, with the conviction that he was not, as he had so long -remorsefully considered himself, the destroyer of a fellow-creature. - -His victim--Heaven alone knew how!--had escaped, and was here alive -and safe on board the _Hermione_. The ever-present idea of crime, -with the word that had seemed ever before his eyes, on his lips, and -in his heart--that shone in his dreams like those letters of flame -that flashed on the vision of Belshazzar, could be a terror to him no -longer. - -The proverbs, that "Murder will out;" that "God's retribution will -fall upon a murderer;" the law, that "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by -man shall his blood be shed," would haunt him no more,--for this -crime at least. - -Such were his ideas for a moment; but the next, cold, selfish fear -resumed its sway, and reason showed him that he was yet an assassin -by intent--one whom his intended victim would expose, crush, and -destroy, _if_--what?--he was not anticipated, crushed and destroyed -_first_. - -To Hawkshaw, this waif from the ocean was worse by a thousand degrees -than his _rencontre_ with the two Barradas. - -To avoid the accusations, the shame and contumely that Morley Ashton -could heap upon him, by the exposure of his falsehood, cruelty, and -hypocrisy, he would, happily, now have relinquished even Ethel -Basset, and all he had hoped from her father's patronage in the Isle -of France. He would gladly have fled; but whither could he fly--how, -when, where?--encompassed as he was by the sea? Save in its depth, -there was no escape from this accursed ship, as there was no eluding -his own conscience, in this floating prison, the _Hermione_--how he -loathed the name!--with her crew of foul and treacherous mutineers. - -He had one hope left. Morley might die on getting food. He seemed -so weak when brought on board, that the powers of digestion might be -past, so that death might ensue from mere inanition. - -But then his three companions would probably know his story, and were -certain, if they survived, to reveal all Hawkshaw's guilt. - -In the bitterness of his soul, he contemplated suicide, by slipping -quietly overboard before the fatal recognition and discovery took -place; but then came the fierce thought--if one of us is to perish, -why should not he? and what time so fitting as now, when he is -weak--almost dying? And thus, in his blind desperation, some of his -old Mexican instincts or propensities grew strong within him, and he -conceived the fiendish idea of strangling, or otherwise destroying, -the half-dead lad in the night. - -If marks of violence were found upon him, Hawkshaw knew there were so -many "black sheep" in the forecastle, that one of them would readily -be blamed for the crime. - -A fierce eagerness to put himself in a safe position, to prevent the -discovery that would blight him for ever, now possessed his whole -soul, and, nerving it for the deadly task he had to do, made him long -for the darkness and silence of night, when he resolved to make the -attempt. - -In this pleasant mood of mind, he heard the cabin bell rung by Joe -the steward, announcing dinner, and descending reluctantly from his -perch in the fore-rigging, he went aft and took his seat between -Ethel and Dr. Heriot, who were conversing gaily, while he had all the -misery of having to veil over the secret serpent that gnawed at his -heart, by an outward air of ease, security, and pleasantry, which, -however, was nearly put to flight by Captain Phillips asking if he -had seen the devil in the foretop, he looked so very white about the -gills. - -One portion of the conversation, maintained amid the clinking of -glasses and plates, and the difficulty of balancing wine-glasses -nicely when the ship rolled, was by no means calculated to restore -his equanimity. - -"Miss Basset," said the young doctor, blandly, "I hope you will come -with me, and visit those poor fellows?" - -"Yes, with pleasure. Rose and papa will come too." - -"Well, it will cheer them a bit to see your dear, kind, pretty -faces," said Captain Phillips, bowing to each sister, ere he drained -his glass of sherry. - -"You will quite spoil my girls by flattering them," said Mr. Basset, -laughing. - -"Our good captain is too honest for flattery," resumed Dr. Heriot; -"but, Miss Basset, there is one fellow there who interests me much, -though why I cannot say. Please to look at him well when you see -him. There is something very remarkable about him." - -"Indeed, how, pray?" - -"I judge by his bearing, and the general expression of his face. As -a clever American writer says, of a similar impression, 'His is one -of those cases which are more numerous than supposed by those who -have never lived anywhere but in their own homes, and have never -walked but in one line from their cradles to their graves. We must -leave our straight paths for the by-ways and low places of life, if -we would learn truths by strong contrasts, and in hovels, in -forecastles, and among our own outcasts in foreign lands, see what -has been brought upon our fellow-creatures by accident, hardship, or -vice.' - -"Vice!" repeated Hawkshaw, with a nervous start, and in dread lest -Morley had already discovered himself. - -"Oh, do not misunderstand me. I merely completed the quotation. -Heaven forbid, Mr. Hawkshaw, that I should attribute vice to one so -gentle as my poor patient; but to-morrow, or at latest, next day, you -shall see them, ladies, and I shall have much pleasure in being your -guide between decks." - -Hawkshaw felt as if the doctor was dictating his sentence of -degradation and death; but he strove to preserve an unmoved -countenance, and to affect a pleasant demeanour. - -Then he had to do the honours of the table to Ethel Basset, while his -food seemed to choke him, with the agreeable consciousness that he -whom she still loved, and for whom she still sorrowed, Morley Ashton, -was asleep quietly in his hammock, on the other side of the -after-bulkhead, and scarcely three feet distant from her chair. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -HAWKSHAW TURNS NURSE. - -For that night all went well on board, as Dr. Heriot kept his watch -between decks lest he should be wanted, and the next morning he -reported a great improvement in his four patients, whom food, wine, -and sleep were restoring so fast that he hoped by evening, perhaps, -to learn their names, whence they came, and all about them. - -Hawkshaw started on hearing this. That all the four had been found -dead in their hammocks would have been to him the more welcome -tidings. - -"Aye, doctor, be sure about their names, as we must have them -inserted in the log," said Captain Phillips. "Miss Basset, may we -trouble you to pour out some tea for the poor fellows?" - -Younger than his companions, Morley was the first to recover complete -consciousness for a time on this morning. Naturally strong, lithe, -and active, he had been wont, when ashore, to ride, shoot and fish, -to be a first-rate bowler at cricket, a good hand with foils, gloves, -single-stick, and to indulge in all hardy sports; hence his vigorous -frame was less shaken than those of Bartelot, Morrison, and Noah, who -were his seniors in age. - -The 'tween decks of the _Hermione_ was a clear and airy place. -Through a half-open port to leeward he could see the bright green sea -running past in the morning sunshine; a pleasant breeze came down the -half-grating of the open hatchway, and as the ship was running on a -wind, the hammocks hung steadily. - -The ship's bell clanged on deck; he heard a hoarse voice calling the -watch, and gradually the dream-like events of the past day unfolded -themselves with some coherence, and with a sigh of joy, an unuttered -prayer of gratitude, he closed his eyes again, with the delicious -conviction of being safe and in kind hands. - -Ere long Boy Joe came from the cabin with warm tea and soaked -biscuits for them. - -How little did Morley know whose hands had poured it into the cups! -And now, refreshed, and aware of each other's presence, all swinging -side by side in their hammocks, Bartelot and Morrison began to -converse with him. - -This roused old Noah, who had dozed off to sleep again; so he began -to mutter hoarsely in a dream: - -"All starbowlines ahoy; come, tumble up the larboard watch." - -"What is the matter, Noah?" asked Bartelot. - -"It is that 'ere smatchet of a marine drummer," replied Gawthrop, -looking up vacantly. - -"He is dreaming of the old _Aurora_, of fifty guns," said Morrison, -in a weak voice, quite unlike his own. "Hollo, Noah, old fellow; -you've not unroved your life-lines yet, eh?" - -"No, mate, thank Heaven," he replied, in something of the same -childish treble; "nor you. And you shall see the Black Dog of -Belhelvie yet, as I hopes one of these blessed days to see -Dungeonness Light and the buoy at the Nore." - -"Here, shipmate, drink this, and talk after," said Joe, the steward, -as he held another cup of warm tea (in which a whipped egg was -substituted for milk) to the lips of Noah, who drained it at a -draught, and then looked less wild and more awake. - -"Go ahead, old boy," said Joe, a curly-headed, good-humoured-looking -English lad, as he tucked the blanket about Noah's shoulders; "it is -tea for dunnage, and soft biscuits for ballast just now. By-and-by, -it will be grog and old horse for cargo, eh?" - -"It's the 'tween decks that did it," muttered Noah. "I thought I was -aboard the old _Haurora_ in the Black Sea, with the boatswain ahead -in the dingy, seeing all the yards squared by the lifts and braces." - -Bartelot sank into slumber again, but Morley began to be more lively -and awake, and proceeded to compare with Morrison the notes and -incidents of yesterday, and how they came to be rescued. Their -voices sounded strangely to themselves and to each other, as at times -they sank into husky whispers. - -Morrison had seen much of the world. In the words of his countryman, -a poor sailor too (Falconer, the doomed author of the "Shipwreck"), -he had been in every climate under the sun. - - "Where polar skies congeal the eternal snow, - Or equinoctial suns for ever glow. - Smote by the freezing or the scorching blast, - 'A ship-boy on the high and giddy mast,' - From, regions where Peruvian billows roar - To the bleak coasts of savage Labrador. - From where Damascus, pride of Asian plains, - Stoops her proud neck beneath tyrannic chains, - To where the Isthmus, laved by adverse tides, - Atlantic and Pacific seas divides. - But while he measured o'er the painful race, - In fortune's wild, illimitable chase, - Adversity, companion of his way, - Still o'er the victim hung with iron sway." - - -Morrison was deeply thankful to Providence for his rescue; and on the -first night of their being saved, Morley could remember, through his -dreams, hearing the poor fellow praying very devoutly in his hammock, -and in his own national dialect, which grew all the broader and more -Doric as he communed with God and himself. - -On the afternoon of the day, so pregnant with events of importance to -him personally, Cramply Hawkshaw felt himself impelled, on various -pretences, to keep aloof from those who shared the cabin with him; -for he was in momentary dread that Dr. Heriot, to whom the name of -Morley Ashton had been rendered quite familiar by the confidences of -Rose Basset, would enter, and startle all by announcing who was one -of the four men rescued from the wreck. - -The better to achieve his dastardly project, he volunteered to attend -them on this night between decks; and his offer, though it excited -some surprise, was at once accepted by Dr. Heriot, who gave him -several directions as to the small quantities of food and diluted -wine they were to receive, if they required nourishment. - -So Hawkshaw drank deeply, mixing brandy and sherry, to nerve himself -for the dark purpose he had conceived; and, to conceal his pallor, -his restlessness and wretchedness, he secluded himself in his own -berth, and strove to sleep; but there was no sleep for him. - -Thoughts maddened him, and he muttered to himself inaudibly, while, -with a hot and trembling hand, he wiped the bead-drops from his -aching brow. - -"Why should I waver or shrink now?" he asked himself--not aloud, for -fear of being overheard; "what may I not dare, who have dared -everything, I who have risked all? For the past I have no -compunction now. Another might have done all those things as well as -I, for I did not create myself, neither did I scheme out my own -accursed destiny. Is there a demon within me, or is there one -presiding over me--some fiend, some angel of darkness, whom I cannot -see, but to whose whispers I am compelled to listen? Why does this -wretched boy cross my path again? Why does the sea--why does the -grave--give up its dead, as if to haunt, to tempt, to goad me into -crime on one hand, if I would not lose name, honour, consideration, -respect, and, it may be, Ethel and affluence, on the other? I had -thought to be good, and loyal, and true for her sake, even though she -loves me not; but all in vain. Ethel to marry me? Oh, that would be -like a white moss-rose entwined with the deadly hemlock! Had Heaven -not impelled or abandoned me, and had Hell not allured and prompted -me, perhaps I had not been the creature I find myself to-night. -_Caramba!_ it is a game of desperation between this Ashton and me. -The ball is yet at my foot, and shall I not strike it? Yes, and with -a vengeance, too!" - -Watch after watch was called; the half-hourly bells of the ship -seemed to be rung every five minutes, instead of every thirty. - -The night, solemn and starry, approached more swiftly than he could -have wished; and yet he longed that the fatal time was past--that the -terrible deed he had to do was done. - -Thus he lay on his bed, almost perspiring with mental agony and with -criminal sophistry, gradually nursing himself into the conviction -that the first law of nature--self-protection and -self-preservation--rendered that deed imperative, needful, and -requisite. - -He almost consoled himself by the idea that there was but half a life -to crush out; for was not Morley nearly half dead already? - -Darkness had set in, before he missed daylight, so completely had his -mind and thoughts been abstracted and turned inward; thus he received -a species of electric shock, when the curtain of his berth was -withdrawn by Heriot, who said: - -"Now, then, Mr. Hawkshaw--come, tumble up, old fellow--eight bells -have struck; it is twelve o'clock, and you have not been 'tween decks -yet to look after these men." - -"Twelve--twelve o'clock is it?" he stammered, with confusion, as he -leaped out. - -"Yes, to a minute; the ladies and all have supped and turned in. By -Jove! you've had a long spell in your berth. Can you make your way -forward alone?" - -"Oh yes," replied Hawkshaw, who reeled like a tipsy man, for the ship -was now running before the wind, so she rolled till her lower -studdingsail-booms nearly touched the water. - -"You have your revolver, of course?" - -"Yes," said Hawkshaw, with chattering teeth. - -"Ah! we never know what may happen. By-the-by, I have got the names -of those four sea-waifs; but the captain has gone to bed." - -"And who are they?" asked Hawkshaw, in a faint voice, and half -averting his face. - -Heriot opened his note-book, and drawing nearer the cabin lamp, read: - -"_Thomas Bartelot, late master of the 'Princess,' of London, a_ -300_-ton ship, from Rio last; William Morrison_ (countryman of mine) -_first-mate of the same; Noah Gawthrop, a seaman_----" - -"And the fourth?" asked Hawkshaw, in agony, as Heriot paused. - -"A young cabin passenger. I did not get his name, as the poor fellow -was sound asleep. They are the soul survivors of the ship. Good -night; we have a spanking breeze, and carry topmast stun'sails. Take -my poncho wrapper in addition to your railway rug." - -"Why?" - -"You'll find it cold enough, watching between decks till sunrise." - -"Thanks. Good night," muttered Hawkshaw, through his teeth, which -the poor wretch clenched, to prevent them chattering, so strong were -his emotions, as he passed through the door of the after bulk-head, -and sought his way, by lantern light, to that place which was to be -the scene of his great crime, where, all unconscious of his entrance, -Morley and his three companions were swinging in their hammocks. - -About four hours after this, a cry--almost a yell rang through the -silent ship, startling the watch on deck and the man at the helm, -terrifying Mr. Basset (whose duty it was to watch at the cabin door), -bringing Captain Phillips, Mr. Quail, and Dr. Heriot from their -berths, in dread that the great crisis of the voyage had come, that -the mutineers were in arms; there, too, were Ethel and Rose, in their -white-laced night-dresses, the latter with her rich hair all falling -over her neck, peeping fearfully from their cabin door, while Nurse -Folgate had buried herself under her bed-clothes, for that cry, which -"pierced the night's dull ear," was one of mortal agony, and it -seemed to come from--_between decks_! - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -A BITER BITTEN. - -After leaving the doctor, Hawkshaw, to gather "Dutch courage," took a -last mouthful from his brandy flask, and with his slippers on, stole -softly and stealthily between decks, so softly that his entrance was -unheard by our four friends, whom he found awake, and conversing in -low tones; so he seated himself on a chest, with his face completely -in shadow, and there he remained listening, and scarcely daring to -breathe, for with every roll of the ship the four hammocks swung -regularly to and fro, side by side, from port to starboard, and the -outer one, in which Morley lay, nearly touched the watcher's head at -times. - -The air-port was closed now, and the place was lighted by the feeble -rays of a ship-lantern, which swung from one of the beams. - -In shadow, as we have said, and with a broad tarpaulin hat slouched -over his stealthy cat-like eyes, that flashed with malignant light, -Hawkshaw sat, or crouched, listening, watching, and waiting for the -time that would suit the attempt, eagerly, and all but breathlessly, -and the duration seemed interminable, for he had no watch, his gold -repeater having been so summarily appropriated by Pedro Barradas. - -Morley spoke, and his voice, so long heard only in troubled dreams, -now thrilled through the heart of Hawkshaw, causing sharp pangs of -fear and agony; yet Morley's remark was a very simple one; but his -voice, like the voices of the others, was husky and weak. - -"Oh, the delight of such a cozy bed as this, after all we have -undergone! Eh, Tom!" - -"Yes, Morley, lad," replied Bartelot; "but I should like to know what -craft we are on board of, and for where bound. I quite forgot to ask -the doctor." - -"She's true British at all events, by her build 'tween decks, -captain," said Noah Gawthrop. "Thank God for all his mercies, -'specially to a rough old salt like me. He was very good and kind to -remember a poor old feller like Noah, that he was, when there are so -many younger and better folks to take care of. But I think the -doctor mentioned her name, captain." - -"Her--who?" - -"Why the ship, I mean, sir." - -"Yes--I am sure I heard it; she is the--the--" - -(Hawkshaw trembled as Tom paused, for if the name was uttered in -Morley's hearing, he--the listener--was lost!) "Well, it is strange -that I don't remember; but her skipper's name is Phillips, and she -hails from London. I made out that somehow." - -"I know one Phillips--Bill Phillips, who was lost in the Straits of -Sunda. He was once captain of the brig _Erminia_," said Morrison. - -"_Herminya_!" replied Gawthrop, "that is the name o' the identical -craft as we're aboard of; but she is too large--too broad in the beam -for a brig." - -"I am weary of speaking, mates, and wish to sleep," said Bartelot, -yawning; "here, under a good deck of British oak, we may take a long -spell of it without fear; and yet I can't help thinking of the poor -_Princess_, and all who perished with her. Their faces are always -before me." - -"And that was a waluable cargo o' hers, that was," added Noah, "and a -power o' trouble we took with the sugar and 'bacca casks at Rio. Oh, -lor, to think of all that 'bacca goin' to Davy Jones, and never a -leaf of it being smoked or cut in quids! She was steeved to within a -fathom of her beams, she was; and then we had Californy hides for -dunnage to the hatches--aye, aye, all gone, and I'll never have -another watch-mate like old Ben Plank again!" - -"Poor Ben!" said Morrison; "he'll never more cheer the lads in the -forecastle, or on the watch of a clear night, with the 'Bay of -Biscay' or 'Tom Bowling,' or lead the chant of 'Time for us go,' when -shipping the capstan bars. A better crew than ours never hove up -anchor!" - -With a purpose so cruel and deadly in his mind, it may be imagined -with what exasperation and impatience Hawkshaw listened to a -conversation so trivial, and maintained so drowsily at intervals. He -began to hope they were dropping asleep, when old Gawthrop spoke -again. - -"Oh, warn't that warm tea delicious this morning, captain! I doesn't -think as I'll ever take kindly to grog again, but become a regular -quaker and teetotaller." - -"Not even thumb-grog, Noah, eh--on a wet night, when a shout comes -down the forescuttle, of 'All hands reef topsails!'" said Bartelot -laughing. - -"I am almost afraid to sleep," said Morrison, "for dreams of the -wreck always come with it, and again I seem to find myself up to my -neck in cold salt water. I had often in memory, while we were -drifting about, a story my mother, poor woman! used to tell me, when -I was a laddie at home, and played truant frae the school, and when -she wished to frighten me into good behaviour; so between sleeping -and waking I used to think sometimes I was one of the doomed men she -used to speak of." - -"Doomed, mate; how?" asked Morley, raising his voice; "how were they -so?" - -"It was the belief of some of the seafaring folk who dwell in the -north of Scotland, that those among them who were wicked and sinful -in their lives were roused in the night by the knocking of a skeleton -hand on their cottage doors. The tap sounded like that of a bony or -fleshless hand, though neither the hand or arm of the summoner were -visible to mortal eyes. Compelled by a power they dared not, and -could not resist, those who were so summoned left their snug beds, -their wives and bairns (if they had them), and went, awe-stricken and -sick with horror, down the beach, where at such a time there was -always a heavy sea rolling in white foam, a black scud drifting -overhead and a storm coming on. Compelled by the same mysterious -power that brought them forth, the shivering wretches had to step on -board a long, black, coffin-shaped boat (which was always sunk to its -gunnel in water), and then they shoved off to sea. A grinning skull -formed the figure-head of this grim barge, and human bones the -thole-pins. Then a great dark cloud spread itself like a sail on the -laughing wind, and away they were borne careering into the offing of -the black and midnight sea, from whence there was no return, for -there they had to cruise for ever, like Vanderdecken at the Cape, -until the final day of Doom! Many a time such boats have been seen, -driving past the lighthouse on Buchanness, and the deep caverns of -that tremendous shore, where the sea bellows for ever and -ever--sailing on and on, towards the north, the shrieks of the -despairing mingling with the wind, on a cold winter night, when the -sleet and rain were sowing all the German sea." - -"Such a diabolical story!" exclaimed Morley. - -"Well, that is a lively legend of the north of Scotland," added -Bartelot; "but now silence, mates, and let us to sleep, if we can." - -Before this end, so desirable for the purpose of Hawkshaw, was -attained, he heard the middle-watch called, and the port-tacks were -brought more on board, which showed that the wind was veering upon -the quarter; then all became still, and he heard only the ceaseless -creaking of the timbers, the sound of the sea rushing past, the sway -to and fro of the sleepers' hammocks, and his own half-suppressed -breathing. - -The idea of cutting the head-clew of Morley's hammock, and letting -him fall head-foremost on the lower deck, occurred to Hawkshaw; and -then he preferred the idea of relaxing the clew, so that it might -seem to have given way, and the result of such a fall in Morley's -weak state would certainly kill him, while all the blame of the event -would fall on the carpenter or sailmaker who slung the hammock. - -But Hawkshaw's trembling fingers completely failed to undo the knot -of the clew--one of those mysterious ones which sailors alone can tie -and untie--so he was compelled to relinquish the idea. - -He next approached softly, to assure himself that the four men were -asleep. He opened the lantern, and passed the lighted candle twice -across their faces, which were still wan, pale, and weird in aspect, -after all they had so recently undergone. - -He looked on Morley Ashton last, for it required some courage to do -so steadily, while memories of the past and anticipations of the -future were conflicting in his heart. - -Morning was at hand now, the first sleep of the night was past, and -the four were again in dream-land--chiefly, perhaps, our friend -Morley--in that state which is between sleep and wakefulness. - -Various shades of expression were passing over his handsome, pale, -and gentle face. He muttered at times, too, and gave uneasy moans -and starts, for thought, life, the soul, were still at work. Then -his mouth wore a soft smile, as Ethel's image most likely came before -him; anon, there was a knitted brow and stern compression of the -lips, as some fierce emotion followed; and next there came a gaunt -aspect of despair, with some memory of the floating wreck, all -evincing that, while he slept, the reflections of life were busy amid -that uneasy slumber. - -With bent brows, with haggard cheeks, with eyes that glared snakily -in fear and hate, Cramply Hawkshaw gazed upon his victim; and as his -deadly intent came gushing up in his heart--as his cruelty and wrath -were screwed "to the sticking point," he quietly extinguished the -candle, without perceiving that two eyes close by were watching him -narrowly, with wonder and alarm. - -There was no light now, save that of the stars, which struggled dimly -and uncertainly through a couple of yolks in the deck overhead, and -through the grating of the open hatchway. - -Hawkshaw's heart panted as that of a chased tiger might do, and the -old emotion he felt on that terrible night at Acton Chine--a lust of -cruelty, of vengeance, and destruction--swelled or glowed within him! - -A flame seemed to pass out of his eyes, while a thousand glaring orbs -appeared to fill or pierce the obscurity about him; his breath became -short and difficult, a deafness fell upon his ears, or there came -around him an awful silence, as if the world itself stood still. -Then his hands felt as if endued with a giant's strength as they made -a clutch at Morley's mouth and throat, for he had resolved to -strangle or suffocate him. - -But it was an attempt, and no more, for ere he could achieve his -detestable purpose, he felt his hands seized, and one was grasped as -if by the teeth of some wild animal. - -The bite, with the terror and confusion it occasioned, so bewildered -him, that the wild cry of agony which roused all on board the ship -escaped his lips; he dealt a heavy blow in the dark at some one or -something, he knew not what, and breaking from the strange assailant, -fled, baffled, in consternation, to the after cabin. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -DREAD. - -"What the devil is the matter?" asked Captain Phillips, as he hastily -donned his pea-jacket, and addressed Hawkshaw, who was seated on the -cabin locker, panting with excitement. - -"Did you utter that dismal howl, Captain Hawkshaw?" added Dr. Heriot, -impatiently; "speak, sir, have you lost your voice?" - -"Very nearly, and my senses too," groaned the other, whose cup of -shame and misery was well-nigh full now. - -"What has happened?" - -"Look at my hand!" said Hawkshaw, striving to gain time for -thought--to rally his scattered wits for the coming _dénouement_--for -an explanation, or a bold defiance. - -"Well, what has happened?" - -"It is almost bleeding--bitten." - -"By what--by whom?" asked everyone at once - -"A madman." - -"Mad!" was exclaimed in wild tones by all. - -"Yes," said Hawkshaw, through his clenched teeth, and with a glare in -his eye, that seemed somewhat akin to insanity; "one of those fellows -between-decks--one of those wretches we took off the raft (a curse -upon them all!) has bitten me." - -"But which of them?" asked Heriot, who had now completely attired -himself. - -"Oh, I don't know which, and I care not which," replied the wretched -Hawkshaw, as he rubbed and blew his breath upon his aching digits. - -"And he actually bit you?" - -"Yes; have I not already said so?" - -"What were you doing?" - -"Doing--adjusting the clothes upon him," replied Hawkshaw, after a -pause; "and look you, he has almost bitten my hand to the bone." - -As he spoke he held up his right hand to the cabin lamp, and there -certainly were the marks of a row of teeth distinctly visible, for -Noah Gawthrop had been determined to give Morley's nocturnal -assailant a stamp by which he would know him again. - -"For all that I know, he may have half strangled one of his -companions, in addition to this wild assault upon me," added the -Texan captain, as a sudden thought occurred to him, for in his -confusion he did not know how far he had assaulted Morley. - -Heriot, a very sharp-witted and intelligent fellow, who, at his -native university, had met men from all parts of the world, and had -thus gained a considerable insight of human character, had been -scrutinising Hawkshaw keenly, and something in his manner, or in the -expression of his face, seemed to excite some vague suspicion--Heriot -knew not exactly of what--in his mind. - -"To me this appears like an impossibility," he began; "excuse me -saying so, but what motive----" - -"I know nothing of motives, Dr. Leslie Heriot," interrupted Hawkshaw, -becoming furious and desperate; "but this I know, that I may be -tempted to use my revolver with a vengeance, if I am molested again -by anyone on board this ship; be assured of that." - -At this sudden outburst, Heriot gave a smile of well-bred surprise, -and glanced at the captain, who said: - -"This is a most extraordinary and unaccountable affair, and must be -instantly inquired into. I am sure that the poor fellows looked -quiet enough when I saw them last. Steward--Joe, a lantern--quick! -Come, doctor, Mr. Basset--we'll see to this." - -"Oh, Leslie," cried Rose, "take care, take care!" - -"Oh, papa--dear papa, you, at least, must not go," added Ethel, who -had now put on her morning wrapper, or dressing-gown, and appeared at -the door of her little cabin. - -"Pooh, pooh, Miss Basset, there is not the slightest cause for fear, -my dear girl," said the captain, laughing, as Joe lit a ship-lantern. - -"But the poor man's sufferings may have made him vicious--wild." - -"I'll take care of your papa, ladies; and bite the fellow's head off, -mayhap, if he bites him. Come, Captain Hawkshaw, and show us which -of the four is the culprit, and then, if need be, we shall get the -bilboes ready." * - - -* Iron shackles used on board ship to secure the feet of prisoners. - - -"No, no, I cannot," replied Hawkshaw, with a sullen and hang-dog -expression in his now white and livid face. - -"What--you won't go?" - -"No." - -The captain looked at him with a smile of contempt. - -"Lead the way, captain," said Mr. Scriven Basset, impatiently; for -his ideas of legal prerogative and position were gradually becoming -stronger as he drew near the scene of his future judgeship--the sunny -Isle of France. "I am anxious to see the end of this singular -affair." - -"Oh, most accursed fate!" murmured Hawkshaw, as he sank upon the -stern locker. "All is over with me now!" he added, as Mr. Basset, -the captain, Heriot, and others quitted the cabin, to go forward -between decks, and then every minute that elapsed seemed at least an -hour. - -The cabin appeared to whirl round him like a great revolving -cylinder; there was a confused hum of voices, that seemed to mingle -with the rush of many waters, in his ear. - -Again his former thoughts of suicide occurred to him; but his soul -shrank within him at the idea of self-destruction. A loaded revolver -was close by; he glanced at it with haggard and wistful eyes. One -bullet would enable him to escape the coming shame, and by so doing, -he would gain a triumph--a ghastly victory over them all. - -But then he thought of a suicide's grave in the midnight sea; shot -off a grating to leeward, without even a prayer, and shudderingly he -withdrew his hand, and closing his eyes, muttered, with quivering -lips: - -"No, no--I cannot--I cannot." - -At this moment a soft little hand was laid gently upon his, and -looking up he beheld Ethel Basset. - -Ignorant of all this man's secret life; of his crimes committed in -wild and lawless lands; the wrong and cruelty of which he had been -guilty to herself and to Morley--she surveyed him with something of -pity, and he gazed at her bewildered, and in silence, thinking that -she never looked so lovely as at this terrible moment of his -humiliation and suspense. - -She wore a loose and ample morning wrapper, of white stuff, spotted -with red; it was profusely frilled, and fitted closely round her -delicate throat, and her tapered white arms came softly out from its -wide falling sleeves. A white tasselled cord confined it at the -waist, and she had no ornament about her, save Morley Ashton's ring. - -Turned hastily off her face, and behind her white and handsome ears, -her dark, glossy, and glorious hair fell in a long mass down her -back, and she was knotting it up with her right hand (thus showing to -perfection a smooth white arm and dimpled elbow), while her left, so -soft and small, rested on the hand of Hawkshaw; the hand that only -five minutes before had aimed a death-clutch at the throat of Morley -Ashton. - -She gazed kindly and inquiringly into his pale and agitated face, for -his present wretched and guilty aspect astonished and perplexed her. - -Her colour, always so delicate, was somewhat heightened beyond its -usual roseleaf tint, by the late excitement, and, as we have said, -Hawkshaw, with all his selfishness, with all his guilt and -bloodthirstiness, thought he never beheld her looking so lovely and -so pure as at this, to him, most terrible time. - -She was about to speak, when several footsteps were heard coming -towards the great cabin, on which she retired hastily to her own, and -shut the door. - -"Oh, my God! they are coming to denounce me! Peril--disgrace--ruin, -and no escape but death!" groaned Hawkshaw, covering his eyes with -one hand, while the other fell, by chance--or was it fatality!--on -the cold butt of the loaded revolver. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -UNMASKED. - -The time spent by the captain and his companions in the place where -the four castaways were located must have appeared interminable to -the wretched Hawkshaw, as they remained there fully an hour, for much -had to be inquired into, and much more related and explained. - -Resolved to question, cross-question, sift, and refine, and all -unconscious of the surprise that was awaiting him, Mr. Basset, with -tolerable lawyer-like activity and importance, fussily followed jolly -Captain Phillips, who had one hand stuffed into that pocket of his -pea-jacket which held his revolver, and in the other hand he swung a -ship's lantern. - -To Mr. Basset's unpractised eye, the 'tween decks seemed rather a -dreary den, to say the best of it. It was lower in height, or, to -write more correctly, between beams, than the ship's cabin, and its -furniture was exceedingly simple, consisting only of a small breaker -or gang-cask, and wooden drinking tot, set upon a sea-chest which was -securely lashed to the bulkhead, while a railway rug and poncho -wrapper lay thereby. - -Then his eye caught four queer-looking long bags, that swung by clews -and cleats from the beams longitudinally, and ont of each of the -aforesaid bags a human face was peering, with eyes expressive of -inquiry and interest; but their features could not be discerned, for -all was darkness, or nearly so, except where the light of the lantern -fell. - -"Hallo, my friends," said Captain Phillips, as he held his lantern -up, and took a rapid survey of them all, "so you are awake, I see. -What the deuce has been doing here, that we are all turned up in the -night, or rather the middle of the morning watch, in this way, eh?" - -"I don't understand what it is all about, sir," replied Tom Bartelot; -"but a few minutes ago, in my sleep, I heard a terrible cry." - -"Who was it that bit the gentleman?" asked Phillips, angrily. - -"I did, your honour," replied Noah Gawthrop, looking over the edge of -his hammock, and twitching his grizzled forelock. - -"You--and you acknowledge it!" said the captain, turning towards him -with angry surprise. - -"Yes; and I hope as I have left the marks o' my blessed grinders in -him, that's all." - -"The fellow is mad," said Mr. Basset in an undertone. - -"Do you think so?" - -"Who else would talk thus?" - -"Likely enough, sir," whispered Joe, the steward; "for I heard that -old one this morning saying that he was tormented by a marine -drummer, and shouting for all hands to reef topsails. He seemed to -think himself on board a man-o'-war." - -"A little crazed, perhaps, by recent suffering," suggested Mr. -Basset. "A short sleep may soothe him; but a bite is a serious -offence--a very serious offence." - -"I ain't no more mad than your honour," said Noah, who had overheard -their whispers, and looked up angrily; then he added, in a different -tone, "But--is that you, Captain Phillips--lor' bless you, don't you -mind o' me?" - -"No, I do not," replied the captain, curtly. - -"Not remember old Noah Gawthrop, as sailed for ten year and more with -your brother, Captain Bill, and was wrecked with him in the Straits -of Sunda?" - -"Noah, it is, by Jupiter!" exclaimed Phillips, shaking the old -seaman's hand with genuine warmth. "This is, indeed, strange; 'tis -long since we last met, Noah." - -"Five years ago, if it is a day, since I came home from the West -Ingees, and ran up the Mersey in a old sweating sugar-ship--her -berths aft and bunks for'ard a swarming with bugs and cockroaches, a -crew of Jamaiky darkies, and her lower rigging all alive with -poll-parrots. I see you minds o' me, Captain Phillips--lor' bless -me, in course you does, and know that I am no more mad than yourself, -or my own good captain here, Mr. Thomas Bartelot, of the _Princess_ -as was, poor old craft." - -"Oh, glad to see you, captain," said Phillips, shaking hands with Tom -on this blunt introduction; "and glad too, that we came so -opportunely to save you." - -"Yes," resumed Noah, "I'm the man as saved your nevvy, Master Bill, -when all hands went down in the Straits of Sunda, and I brought the -child home with me, and gave him to yourself, as your honour very -well knows. I was father and mother, dry nurse, and wet nurse, and -everything to that 'ere boy, I was; and many a time I rope's-ended -him, too, for putting plugs o' powder in my 'baccy pipe, or japanning -the starn o' my trousers with new pitch. So you knows me well -enough." - -"Of course I do, Noah, my brave old salt." - -"Of course you does. Ah, sir, your brother, Captain Bill, would -never have been lost, but in passing the straits during a south-east -monsoon, he hugged the coast of Java, with his port tacks aboard, and -so we went bump ashore on a blessed coral reef, where the sea made -clean breaches over us. I made a grab at Master Bill, who was -hauling his pet tom-cat by the tail out o' the wash to leeward, and -then we all crouched under the weather-bulwarks, ready to cut away -the masts, if necessary. But the sea saved us the trouble; for there -came a regular snorer, that carried away the topmasts at the caps, -breaking them sharp off like 'baccy pipes, the midship-house, boats, -and everything went to leeward, while the ship parted, breaking her -back fairly on the reef. I found myself in the dark, swimming away -for the bare life, among sharks and long seaweed, with little Bill -riding on my back like Sinbad's Old Man o' the Sea, and, top of all, -the tom-cat, holding on to Bill with all his claws out. 'Hold on, -you young warmint,' says I, and so he did, until we got ashore, and -next day we were sent off by the Dutch in a queer jigamaree, with a -lateen sail forward, and a dandy in her starn, to a British -man-o'-war, that was bearing through the straits on a taut bowline, -before the same monsoon that finished us off on the coral reef." - -"But why did you bite the man?" asked Captain Phillips, who had -listened with some impatience, returning to the matter in hand. - -"Because he is a pirate, if ever one broke biscuit!' - -"Take care, Noah; he is one of our cabin passengers." - -"I was a watching him, your honour, and I had queer suspicions that -he meant foul play to one of us at least, and so I pretended to -snooze, keeping watch with one eye open, though he did pass the light -twice athwart my face. I saw him, your honour, though he doused the -glim, and I could make out that he was going to strangle--to garotte, -in true Californy style--my shipmate here, young Master Morley -Ashton, who was asleep----" - -"Mr. Morley Ashton!" exclaimed Mr. Basset, in an excited voice, as he -hurried round to the other side of the hammock; "I should like to see -the gentleman who is named so." - -"Surely I should know that voice!" cried Morley, springing up in his -hammock, and almost falling back within it, overwhelmed by -astonishment on finding himself face to face with Mr. Basset--with -the father of Ethel! - -"What is this?--who is this? You, Morley Ashton, on board the -_Hermione_?" exclaimed Mr. Basset, in a gust of genuine bewilderment, -equalled only by that of Morley, who trembled with anticipation and -astonishment, and who felt at his heart a sudden and clamorous joy. -"You one of the four men taken from that melancholy wreck! How came -it to be? Explain--tell me. Good heavens! how? Oh, my poor boy, -Morley, we have long numbered you with the dead, and have mourned for -you as such--none more, believe me, than my dearest girl." - -"Where am I, sir?--what ship is this?" stammered Morley, as a new -light began to break in upon him, while grasping Mr. Basset's hand, -with one arm thrown caressingly round his neck. "Am I on board the -_Hermione_? Has she picked us up--saved us from death?" - -"Yes, sir; this is the _Hermione_, of London," said Captain Phillips, -"too long delayed by contrary winds, and the loss of a mast near the -Canaries." - -"Oh, Morley Ashton," began Mr. Basset, "if you did but know----" - -"Ashton?--Ashton?" interrupted the captain; "are you the gentleman -who was to have sailed with us--who telegraphed for a cabin berth, -and was not forthcoming when we dropped down the river?" - -"I am the same, sir." - -"What came of you? How did you disappear?" - -"I was a victim to the foulest treachery and cowardice!" - -"At the hands of whom?" asked Mr. Basset. - -"Cramply Hawkshaw." - -"What! he whom Gawthrop bit in the dark?" - -"Bit, that I might know him again, your honour, for I warn't strong -enough to grapple with him." - -"And who, he says, attempted to strangle you in your sleep?" asked -Dr. Heriot, coming forward. - -"Hawkshaw here! on board with you--with _her_!" said Morley, in a -faint voice, as certain undefinable, but terrible, suspicions arose -in his mind. - -"Yes; he is with us, a cabin passenger," replied Mr. Basset. - -"Here! here! on board the _Hermione_?" continued Morley, almost -vacantly, for his brain spun round. - -"Yes, sir, in your place," said the captain. - -"Great Heavens!" - -"Your passage was taken out, your berth ready, the money paid; but -you had slipped from your moorings somehow, so he went in your place. -There is nothing very wonderful in that, is there?" - -"He went with Ethel?" said Morley, in a tremulous and imploring voice -to Mr. Basset. - -"He came with me, as the son of my old friend, Tom Hawkshaw, of -Lincoln's Inn, to push his fortune in the Mauritius," said Mr. -Basset, hastily. - -"And Ethel--Ethel?" continued Morley, in a broken voice, while his -eyes filled with tears. - -"Is well, though she has mourned for you deeply," replied Mr. Basset. -"But pray be calm, my poor boy. How terribly agitated you are! Do -not doubt her, or misunderstand me." - -"And I shall see her--see her again?" - -"Very soon--in ten minutes, perhaps." - -"Oh, this is indeed happiness," sighed Morley, sinking back in his -hammock. "Heaven is kind--most singularly merciful to me. But -Hawkshaw--that wretch!" he added, starting up with new energy. "Oh, -Ethel must shun, avoid and loathe him, for she knows not that he is -an assassin!" - -"How an assassin?" - -"Or one who would be such." - -"A regular-built pirate, and no mistake--a rascally Californy -piccaroon!" added Noah, with sundry adjectives, which we feel the -propriety of omitting. - -"Aye, Mr. Basset, as Douglas Jerrold says, 'he is a scoundrel, who -would whet a knife on his father's tombstone to kill his mother.' -Oh, you know him not as I too surely, too truly, and too well know -him, and all of which he is capable." - -"These are severe and sweeping assertions. Explain this enigma--this -most unaccountable affair." - -"You remember, Mr. Basset, the night of my sudden disappearance from -Laurel Lodge?" - -"I shall never forget it. You had gone to Acton station, concerning -a telegram from London." - -"Concerning a berth in this very ship!" - -"Yes." - -"Returning alone, I met Cramply Hawkshaw, who entered into -conversation with me, offered me a cigar, gradually lured me to the -summit of the rocks above the Chine. There we sat listening to the -village chimes in the old church tower, chatting, smoking, and -enjoying the pleasant breeze from the Bristol Channel, till he, -inspired by rivalry, jealousy, and hate, or by some fiendish -combination of them all, at a moment when I was completely off my -guard, by one furious blow struck me over the cliff into the Chine!" - -"The Chine--oh, my God!" said Mr. Basset, in a voice that sank low -with horror. "We came to look for you, Cramply and I, for he said -that he had seen you walking there, and certainly we found marks of a -struggle--the gravel dislodged, and the turf torn. You fell into the -sea of course, but from that height! How--by what miracle did you -escape?" - -"A miracle, a narrow chance indeed! A turf-covered ledge received -me, and there for many, many hours, more than a night and a day, I -remained sleepless, and scarcely daring to move, chilled less perhaps -by the cold sea-breeze than by the horror of drowning if I rolled off -the narrow shelf, of dying slowly by starvation and falling a prey to -the sea-birds at last, till I was saved by my friend Captain -Bartelot, whose vessel passed below me." - -Excited by the memory of all he had undergone, Morley's voice -faltered and grew weak as he spoke. - -"Yes, sir," said Bartelot, striking in, "we chanced to see a human -figure perched up among the gulls and cormorants, so we made a longer -tack close in shore, and sent off a boat's crew, who climbed to the -top of the rocks and hove him the end of a line. He was then towed -up, and being quite insensible, Morrison, my mate, brought him on -board. So, being outward bound--a storm having been signalled by -Admiral Fitzroy, and beginning to break white in the offing, we had -no time for backing and filling, or chopping about the rocky shore at -Acton--I stood right down the Channel, intending to put him aboard -the first suitable ship. We never overhauled any but foreigners, so -we took him with us to Rio. He has often been well-nigh out of his -mind sometimes, sir, about--I may be pardoned mentioning her -name--Miss Basset; but he was in safe hands with me, sir, his old -schoolfellow, Tom Bartelot." - -"A strange and terrible story!" exclaimed Dr. Heriot. - -"Poor Ethel, Morley," said Mr. Basset; "oh, what she has endured, and -in silence, too!" - -"I can know that well, by what I, too, endured. Dear, dear Ethel; -and I shall see her----" - -"So soon as she can be wisely informed of the great surprise, of the -great joy, that await her. But that fellow, Hawkshaw--the fact of -how I have been duped, deluded, and disgraced by the pretended -friendship of such a man, falls like a thunderbolt upon me!" -exclaimed good, easy Mr. Scriven Basset, with more energy than he was -wont to exhibit, "and to think of my poor, sweet, and virtuous girls -being contaminated by the society of such a man, and my secluded home -being polluted by his presence, though sheltered there under the name -of his good and worthy father! Damme! it's enough to make one -suspicious of all mankind!" - -Mr. Basset thrust one hand into his breast, and the other under the -tails of his coat, and trod to and fro the whole length of the -'tween-decks, about twelve feet or so, swelling and reddening with -just ire and indignation. - -Bartelot, Morrison, and Gawthrop added many details corroborating the -remarkable escape of Morley from Acton Chine, and descriptive of his -mental sufferings during the voyage to Rio de Janeiro; and by the -time this interview, so full of stirring interest to all concerned in -it, was over, and the captain and his companions had quitted the -'tween-decks, a new day had dawned, the sun was rising brightly from -the sea, and throwing the shadow of the lofty _Hermione_ far astern -upon the gleaming waters to the westward. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE EXPULSION. - -Hawkshaw's hand, as we have stated, fell unconsciously on the loaded -revolver which lay by his side, but was instantly withdrawn. - -He had not the courage to die by his own hand, in the fashion to -which the old Romans were so partial in all their griefs and -difficulties. He looked up with a half-haggard and half-bullying or -defiant expression, as Captain Phillips, Mr. Quail, the doctor, and -Mr. Basset entered the cabin. - -The latter gave him a long, steady, and withering glance, and after -knocking at the door of Ethel's little cabin or state-room, entered -it hastily. Then the varying exclamations of astonishment and joy -which were heard within it sounded as additional knells of -disgrace--they might be those of death to Cramply Hawkshaw; and now, -after surveying him long and sternly, Captain Phillips addressed him -with great deliberation. - -Hawkshaw found himself regarded with horror and aversion, but no -ashes of fire were heaped upon his miserable head, for the good, -jolly captain was the only person who spoke. - -"Sir, give me up that revolver." - -Hawkshaw seemed to be stunned, and did not reply. - -"The revolver, sir; do you hear me?" - -"Why?" - -"Never mind why or wherefore--they matter little now." - -"I thought that we were all armed for a particular purpose." - -Captain Phillips smiled bitterly. - -"Yes," said he; "but you can be no longer trusted with arms on board -my ship." - -"Indeed!" said Hawkshaw, who knew not very well whether to cringe or -bully, and pondered in his desperation. - -"Yes; so surrender your arms. I'm an easy-going fellow, but one who -won't be trifled with, for all that. Your revolver!" - -Hawkshaw reluctantly handed Captain Phillips the loaded weapon. - -"Thank you. Now, sir, I must inform you that we have had a long -interview with the men in the 'tween-decks--those whom you so kindly -undertook to watch, though such a duty was scarcely necessary--and -after the revelations they have made, but chiefly after the account -given of you by Mr. Morley Ashton--you wince at the name, I see--you -can no longer remain in the cabin of the _Hermione_." - -"Revelations! Did I not say that one--one at least--of these men was -mad?" - -"You shall not be sent forward," continued the captain, "among my -crew, however congenial some of their spirits may be." - -"What, then?" asked Hawkshaw, with undisguised alarm. - -"You shall be secluded between decks till the end of the voyage, or -be sent on shore at the first land we make, in the hope that we may -never see you more." - -"At the Cape of Good Hope?" asked Hawkshaw eagerly. - -"I do not mean to touch at the Cape now, as we are so far to the -southward of it," replied the captain, little foreseeing that this -information was to have a fatal influence over all on board. - -"Sir," replied Hawkshaw, gathering courage for a moment, "may I -remind you that my passage to the Isle of France----" - -"Is paid for, you would say?" - -"Yes--_carambi_!" - -"By Mr. Ashton's money. Ha! ha! I have known of a man being -marooned on a rock in the Gulf of Florida--aye, or set adrift on a -hencoop, or in a punt, with three biscuits and a bottle of water, in -the middle of the South Pacific--a poor devil who was far less -criminal than you. I would to Heaven we had never seen you. No ship -with such a thorough-bred rascal on board could hope for a prosperous -voyage; and," continued the captain angrily, as his professional -superstitions came to memory, "the fact of having you with us -sufficiently accounts for the loss of our foremast after passing the -Madeira Isles, for the mysterious loss of poor Manfredi, and the head -winds we have uniformly encountered. Why, damme! we might as well -have had a parson, or an undocked Tom cat aboard. Seclusion from -among us is a punishment slight indeed for the crimes of which you -have been guilty, but chiefly for your double and dastardly attempts -upon the life of that young gentleman. You understand me, sir." - -"I understand only, Captain Phillips, that your mind has been -poisoned by a parcel of infamous falsehoods, which, on the first -shore we make, I shall ram down the throat of him who uttered them -with a pistol-bullet!" - -"I hope the person referred to will not be such a confounded donkey -as to exchange shots with a convicted assassin," replied Phillips. - -"Assassin! I--I--I----" - -Choking with sudden and uncontrollable passion, Hawkshaw sprang up -from the locker, his bloodshot eyes flashing with fire, his face pale -and haggard, the veins of his temples swollen like whipcord, and his -heart stung with the idea that Ethel in her little cabin could hear -all that passed. His voice, husky and inarticulate, failed him, but -his bearing was so threatening that Captain Phillips cocked the -revolver pistol, and said, sternly: - -"If you attempt to strike me, I will shoot you down like a gull. -Quit the cabin this instant, and if you would keep your heels out of -the bilboes, never let me find you aft the break of the quarterdeck." - -Hawkshaw's hands were opened and clenched convulsively, as if his -fingers twitched for an object to grapple with, and on which to vent -the pent-up rage and shame that consumed him; yet he found that he -had no resource but to submit and retire, so he slowly left the -cabin, but with an air of defiance which so ill became him, and so -ill befitted his present predicament, that Phillips, the mate, and -doctor, knew not whether to pity or laugh at him. - -But the whole episode was a painful one, as they could not forget, at -this climax of his humiliation, that this man, so summarily disgraced -and cast forth from among them as an unclean thing, had been for so -many months their companion and associate, their friend, and, to all -appearance, their equal. - -He repaired to the quarter-deck, and the cool breeze that swept over -the morning sea gratefully fanned his flushed face and throbbing -brow. For a time he was blind with rage, and trod mechanically to -and fro over the very cabin wherein Ethel and Rose (now filled with -tumultuous joy by the strange tidings their father had brought them, -were making a hurried toilette); till the appearance of Mr. Quail, -who came to relieve the deck, to call the watch, to change the -helmsman, and have the log hove, recalled the stern order of Captain -Phillips, and, descending the break of the quarter-deck, he went -sullenly forward--a proscribed man. - -As he did so a mocking laugh met his ear. - -It came from Pedro Barradas--who had just relieved the wheel, and -who, being ignorant of the events that had transpired in the cabin, -naturally supposed that Hawkshaw had, as usual, quitted the -quarter-deck to avoid him. - -For a moment this laugh stung him deeply; but many emotions were -conflicting in his breast on this miserable morning, so that he -scarcely felt anger at Barradas. - -He had passed a sleepless night; but no sensation of weariness felt -he, as he clambered into the fore-rigging, and sat there to consider -his position--to watch the inmates of the cabin, and to avoid the -crew, until he could conceal himself somewhere for the night. - -Oh, how he longed for its friendly shadow and concealment--longed for -it, while the beams of the morning sun gilded all the sea, and lit up -the full swelling sails of the _Hermione_. - -Feverish, and madly excited by the many emotions which had convulsed -him since the moment in which he recognised the sleeping Morley -Ashton, and more especially by the terrible and wicked thoughts of -the past night, a longing for vengeance, or victory, rather--victory -at any risk or price--filled his heart, till he nearly became mad, -when thoughts of his rival's safety, restoration, and triumph were -contrasted with his own exposure, expulsion, and disgrace. - -The crew, among whom he dared not venture, would soon learn the whole -story, and, knowing alike their reckless character and their -nefarious projects, he already felt, by anticipation, the sharp -stings of their fierce and brutal mockery, and the coming vengeance -of those he had contemptuously ignored--the Barradas. - -"Why did I not put a bullet through my head before old Phillips took -away my pistol?" thought he. "Had I done so, by this time, perhaps, -I would have been peacefully at rest below the surface of that blue -and shining sea, instead of being perched up here, a moody wretch--a -miserable and disappointed outcast." - -Slowly, slowly the sunny morning wore on. - -He heard Joe the steward's bell--once a welcome sound--rung for -breakfast. The smoking ham and eggs, broiled chicken, tea and -coffee, were borne from the steaming galley, aft to the cabin; he -knew that the whole party, with their familiar faces, would be -assembled at table as usual; and others, too, he shrewdly -anticipated, would be there. Nor was he mistaken; for all the four -castaways were so much better this morning, notwithstanding the -recent disturbance, that they had quitted their hammocks, with the -intention of coming on deck. - -Perhaps they had already begun to feel that necessity which so soon -impresses the sick or ailing on board of ship--the expediency of -getting well as soon as possible (especially in such a ship as the -_Hermione_); for, after a time, there is but little sympathy to spare -for useless hands, either fore or aft; "an overstrained sense of -manliness being the characteristic of seafaring men, or rather of -life on board ship." - -Apart from these considerations, and being bodily better, the -knowledge that Ethel Basset was only separated from him by a few -planks worked a miracle upon Morley Ashton. - -Their sodden and surf-beaten rags had all been thrown overboard, so -Morley was attired from the wardrobe of Dr. Heriot; the others were -supplied by the captain and Mr. Basset; and the appearance of Noah -Gawthrop, when rigged out in a black swallow-tailed dress coat, -belonging to the latter gentleman, with gilt buttons, and lappels of -watered silk, an old crimson velvet waistcoat, an ample pair of dark -tartan trowsers, and a sou'-wester of Mr. Quail's, was unique, and -excited considerable speculation when he came on deck. - -Forgetting his "landlubber-like toggery," with sailor-like instinct, -Noah cast his eyes aloft, and critically surveyed all the rigging, -and a smile, that puckered up the wrinkles of his old face, showed -that the result of his scrutiny was satisfactory. - -His remarkably ill-favoured visage was in no way improved by a patch -of black sticking-plaster, with which Dr. Heriot had covered a cut on -the bridge of his copper-coloured nose, the result of Hawkshaw's -random blow in the matutinal row between decks. - -Descending the break of the quarter-deck, Noah went forward, to get -his breakfast with the crew, concerning whom the officers of the ship -deemed it yet unwise to give him any warning. - -He had considerably recovered his strength, and was eagerly welcomed -by the seamen as he walked forward, and all gathered in a group about -him in the break of the deck at the forecastle bunks, clamorous to -hear his yarn about the loss of his ship--where she was from, where -bound to, what she was loaded with, and so forth--to hear all about -himself, and, though recorded last, not the least exciting topic on -which they wished enlightenment, was the cry that had come from -between decks in the first hour of the morning watch. - -Noah, seated on the barrel of the windlass, with a tin mug of -scalding hot coffee, together with a slice of salt junk, and Quaco's -"plum-duff," after denouncing the tea and arrowroot of Joe the -steward, proceeded to give, in his own fashion, a rambling narrative -of all the recent events in which he had borne a part. - -The words which he uttered did not reach the ear of Hawkshaw, in his -lofty perch; but suddenly all eyes were simultaneously cast aloft to -where he sat near the sling of the foreyard, and Noah threateningly -shook his clenched hand at him, while a roar of mocking laughter from -the crew--that bitter laughter which he so long dreaded--filled his -heart with rage and spite, that he nearly fell from his seat among -his tormentors. - -For a time, it seemed as if all these villainous upturned faces--the -thick, African nose and sausage-like lips of Quaco, the glittering -eyes and olive face of Zuares Barradas, the hideous squat form of -Sharkey--a wretch with the life of Manfredi to atone for--Badger, -with his sunken orbs and great square jaw; Bolter, the -unhealthy-looking Canadian, and all the rest--had been turned into -mocking fiends, who would yet drive him to more desperate deeds, for -he was now expelled, cast forth from among those with whom he had -associated, without a prospect of return, or a hope of retrieving -himself. - -"Is not life altogether a long comedy," says some one, "with Fate for -the stage-manager, and Passion, Inclination, Love, Hate, Revenge, -Ambition, Avarice, by turns, in the prompter's box?" - -Hawkshaw felt bitterly in his soul that his life had been a tragedy, -in which the evil passions alone had played their parts by turns, and -sometimes all together. - -What would the last scene of that tragedy be? - -"Hallo, foretop there!" cried Bill Badger, the tall, lantern-jawed, -and odious Yankee. "Well, capting, I guess you're chawed up rayther. -Thunder and lightning! come, ship with us in the little game we've -got in hand. Jine us; you carn't do better now; and who knows but -you may get your gal with the black shiners, after all?" - -"_El cuchillo primero!_ (My knife first)" said Zuares Barradas, -touching the haft of his Albacete knife with ferocious significance. - -Honest Noah opened his eyes very wide at these singular remarks, -which were followed by another roar of brutal laughter. On this, -Hawkshaw, to get, if possible, beyond the reach of their -conversation, trembling in every limb with rage, and with a strange -blindness coming over his sight, as the old clamorous ferocity -gathered in his soul, while feeling that the mocking words had not -been uttered in vain--as they suggested certain ideas of probable -vengeance on his exposers--proceeded to climb farther up the rigging, -until he perched himself on the fore-crosstrees, his past experience -having made him seaman enough to achieve this. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE MEETING. - -How shall I describe the almost mute meeting between Ethel Basset and -Morley Ashton? or shall I omit it altogether? - -Instinctively, and with proper good taste, all in the cabin left them -to themselves for a time; and even Rose--the saucy and impulsive -Rose--who looked just as Morley had last seen her when playing at -croquet in Acton Chase, with her pretty straw hat, her green zouave -jacket, and tiny bronzed Balmoral boots, after rushing back to give -him one kiss more, tripped upstairs on deck to join the doctor. - -Mr. Basset had managed to break the matter--the vast secret--to Ethel -skilfully and gently, by saying that the wrecked men could afford -some information concerning Morley Ashton; that they knew where he -was, that one had seen him lately, that he was alive and well, and so -forth. Thus there was no scene, no screaming, no fainting for joy, -and certainly no dying of that pleasant emotion. Such a climax as -the latter would have put the narrator of these events very much -about indeed, for, our story being a true one, this little romantic -portion of it dovetails with the rest--rather flatly, perhaps, -because it is _true_. - -For a time neither could exactly "realise" (to use a good -Americanism) that they were reunited--Ethel, that Morley lived; -Morley, that he should so suddenly find himself by the side of her -whom he had been pursuing through the deep, reunited, and on board -the _Hermione_, of London. - -Again and again she fell upon his breast, repeating, in a voice that -was almost breathless, but exquisitely touching: - -"My darling--oh, my darling! can this be possible? Is this reality?" - -Their poor hearts were too full to permit much to be said; nor would -it be fair to them, or interesting to others, to rehearse all the -little that they did say then. But how much had they to ask, to -relate, to explain, and to deplore? - -Morley had undergone so much, he had seen so many strange faces, and -places too--Rio de Janeiro, with bay, mountains, and isles; Tristan -d'Acunha, with its cliffs and mighty cone; Diego Alvarez, with its -sea-elephants and fur seals; the Island of the Hermit, with its -strange story of old Don Pedro de Barradas. He had encountered, -moreover, so many gales of wind, the wreck, with all its contingent -woes and horrors, and so forth, that Laurel Lodge, and Ethel's face, -figure, and whole image had seemed ten years off--at least, ten years -appeared to have elapsed since their sudden separation. - -To poor Ethel the intervening blank had seemed greater, for Morley -had lived with hope, while she had none; and, to understand and -conceive her utter bewilderment, we must bear in mind all she had -undergone. - -The sudden and unaccountable disappearance of Morley, and the -supposed mode of his death (for it was only supposed, after all), had -occasioned a more bitter sorrow, a keener and more protracted agony, -than she could have endured by weeping at his deathbed, and -afterwards knowing that he was at rest in a grave she could see, -where she might plant flowers and drop her tears. - -To have seen him borne forth from Laurel Lodge to Acton churchyard, -amid all the real and paid-for pageantry of woe, would have been -actual contentment, when contrasted with all she had suffered--doubt, -uncertainty, despair! - -Oh, she felt how deeply she must loathe Hawkshaw as the author of all -their woe! - -But now Morley was beside her, with her hands in his, looking -lovingly into her loving eyes, drinking in her murmured words, -sitting close, very close, to her, so this reunion was as stunning -and bewildering in its own way as their separation had been. - -They were dearer to each other now by a thousand degrees than ever -they were before, even after Morley's absence in Africa. - -"It is good sometimes to be absent," says a graceful writer, -truthfully; "better still to be dead, as regards our own -imperfections and our equally imperfect friends. How they rise up -and praise us for virtues we never possessed, and benignly pardon us -for sins we never committed. How tender over our memories grow those -who, living, worried our lives out, and might do so again, if we were -alive, to-morrow." - -They had none of those upbraiding thoughts to recall. Can it be -reality, this happiness? was the uppermost idea in both their minds. - -It was indeed Ethel whose head reclined upon his breast. She was -changed since last they met at peaceful Laurel Lodge, among its -rose-bowers, its giant laurels and stately sycamores; and yet how -lovely she was--lovelier even now than then. - -Long grieving had imparted a sweet Madonna-like sadness to the soft -features; her cheeks were thin, and Morley's affectionate eye could -see two white hairs amid the deep black braiding of the young girl's -head; and he saw, too, that her broad, low brow, had an impress of -care and sorrow--sorrow for him, even now, when her dark eyes were -flashing through their tears of joy. - -It was indeed she, that beloved one, whose name he had so dotingly -murmured to himself a thousand times, in the lonely watches of the -night, when treading the ship's deck under the sparkling stars of the -tropics, when the glorious planets of the Southern Cross--fabled by -the devout mariners of the old Spanish Argosies to be "a brooch taken -from the breast of the blessed _Madre de Dios_"--looked close and -nigh, so close as to cast the ship's shadow on the rolling waters. - -It was she whom he had imagined in those wild dreams by day, when the -dreams of the waking are wilder by far than those of the sleeper. - -She was beside him again, and they were hand in hand as of old, eye -bent on eye, lip meeting lip. Ethel, his own Ethel--after all they -had undergone--was beside him, so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that it -seemed indeed a dream, or like a set scene, the plot or conception of -a sensational romance or playwright--a trafficker in plots, -contrivances, and _situations_. - -It was so, and truth proved stronger than fiction after all! - -And so, forgetful of others, forgetful assuredly of breakfast, till -Joe in the steerage and Quaco in the galley were in despair about the -eggs and coffee, they would have sat till the sun that now shone -through amber clouds so merrily ahead to the eastward had beamed his -farewell rays in crimson through the stern-windows from the westward, -had not Joe's bell, rung vigorously and impatiently for the third -time, brought the whole party, including Mr. Foster, who had no -sympathy whatever for lovers, and who felt famished, having had -charge of the deck since 4 to 8 A.M.--the morning watch--and it was -now half-past 10, alike by his appetite and the captain's chronometer. - -All oblivious of the unhappy wretch who was "chewing the cud of sweet -and bitter fancy" aloft in the fore-crosstrees (where the swaying of -the mast made the rolling of the ship seem so much greater than -below) jovial indeed was the party which assembled at the sound of -Joe's bell, and how curly-headed Joe's honest English face shone as -he handed round coffee and tea, with whipped eggs for cream, or as he -skipped about with hot water, and handed to the ladies preserves in -tin cans, midshipmen's nuts and American biscuits in a silver -bread-barge, a spotless white towel thrown over the sleeve of his -round jacket the while, for Joe was something of a hybrid, half -waiter and half seaman. - -Under the cheering influence of Ethel's presence Morley's features -soon became less haggard, and the keen, hawk-like expression of his -dark eyes--an expression the result of suffering, danger, and of -being long menaced by death--rapidly softened and passed away. - -But with breakfast untasted, or feigning only to partake thereof, -Ethel, pale and feverish, sat like one in a dream. - -For this sudden restoration of Morley to life and to her, as it would -seem from the bosom of the deep--from the greedy waves of that vast -ocean which they had been traversing for more than three months--was -more difficult of realisation than the horror of his disappearance -and of his supposed dreadful death. - -But she, and Rose too, seemed so forgetful of every one present, save -Morley, that worthy young Dr. Leslie Heriot, F.R.C.S.E., actually -envied him--envied the earlier intimacy he could claim with these two -charming sisters, and felt almost jealous of the deep interest they -evinced for our poor waif of the sea. - -"And so you are indeed Miss Ethel Basset?" said Tom Bartelot, -surveying the lovely girl with honest admiration and kindliness, when -he was introduced to her. - -"I am, sir," replied Ethel, smiling at his manner; "and a very old -friend of Mr. Ashton's." - -"I can scarcely regret the loss of my ship, the poor _Princess_" said -Tom, gallantly, "or my own suffering and misfortune, when I consider -that all have been but the means to a happy end." - -"Sir?" said Ethel, blushing a little, and looking down. "You -mean----" - -"That they have been the means of bringing you and my old chum and -schoolfellow, Mr. Ashton, together again," continued Tom, blundering -still more by his straightforward inferences. - -"You are very kind, sir, in saying so," replied Ethel, as her colour -came and went. - -"That poor lad loves you as his very life," continued Tom, warming -with his subject; "aye, far beyond it, for, when compared with you, -he don't value it more than a bit of old rope-yarn! Many an hour has -he walked the deck by my side, speaking of you, and praising you; and -even when he didn't speak, by his silence and his sighs, I knew well -enough that he was thinking all the deeper." - -"My poor Morley?" said Ethel, who heard all this with joyous tears in -her eyes. - -As soon as they came on deck, Noah Gawthrop presented himself in his -peculiar attire, the black dress-coat and crimson vest, and doffing -his sou'-wester at the break of the quarter-deck, twitched his -grizzled forelock, and beckoned Morley. - -"Mr. Ashton," said he, in a stage whisper, "wot's this I hear forward -among that rum lot in the fok'stle?" - -"Really, Noah, I cannot say. What have you heard?" - -"Why, sir, they says as your sweetheart, Miss Basset--she you were -always raving about on the wreck--is aboard o' this here craft." - -"Yes, Noah, she is," replied Morley, laughing. - -"Is that dainty little 'un her?" - -"Which?" - -"She with the pork-pie hat, red stockings, and red cheeks, the -jigamaree jacket, and crinnyline?" said Noah. - -"No; the taller lady." - -"Smite my timbers! A regular-built stunner! Wot a wonderful -coinsiddins!--wot a cannondrum! as the player chaps say, when they go -bouncing about to the fiddles and blue fire!" - -"It is destiny, Noah." - -"Jest wot they says too! Well, I have given over sweethearting now; -but I have shared my pay with many o' that sort o' ware in my time. -The best of 'em all--here's her photograff done in gunpowder by the -cook's mate of the _Haurora_, as we were a working out of the harbour -of Odessa. Many a mouthful of salt-water I've swallowed, and many a -whistling Dick I've heard since that was done," said Noah, pointing -to the tattooing visible on his breast when his check shirt was open. -"But won't you introdooce me as an old shipmate? 'Mornin' marm, -'mornin'," he added, sweeping the deck with his sou'-wester, as Ethel -came frankly forward; "I'm one o' them as took Mr. Ashton off the -cliffs, and sailed with him to Rio Janairey, in South 'Meriky, in the -old _Princess_ as was." - -"Indeed--oh, I am most happy to see you, sir," replied Ethel. - -"Call me Noah, marm--Noah Gawthrop; I ain't used to being sir'd," -said he, smoothing down his gray hair. - -"Well, my good friend Noah," said Ethel, her eyes beaming, as she -presented her little white hand to Gawthrop, who looked at his own -hard palm, rubbed it well on his trousers as if to clean it, and then -shook hers gently and kindly, not crushing it up as the tars do -invariably in the play. - -"Such a dear old thing it is!" said Rose, laughing, as she observed -this interview. - -"I've made a man of him for you, Miss Ethel--I knows your name, you -see; one couldn't be long with Mr. Ashton, keeping watch and watch, -without finding out that--but I have made a man of him for you, marm. -He wasn't worth a tobacco-stopper at first; but I've taught him to -becket a royal, and send it down, yard and all, in a stiff topgallant -breeze, or a regular squall; to slush a mast from the truck-head -downward; to haul out to leeward when on the yard-arm, and if that -ain't summut towards making him a good husband for you, and one as -will, through the voyage of life, keep a firm hand on your rudder, -and trim you nicely by the starn, I don't know wot is." - -Noah's praises and rough congratulations were unintelligible to -Ethel; but as they were calculated to excite laughter, and as some of -his adjectives applicable to the "shark up aloft in the -fore-cross-trees" were neither elegant nor euphonious, he was -speedily sent forward by Tom Bartelot. - -Rose, perceiving that Ethel was deadly pale, for the events of the -morning proved rather too much for her strength, took her below for a -little time, by Mr. Basset's suggestion. Morley affectionately, and -tenderly handed her down the companion-stair--not a glance of his the -while, not an emotion or movement being unnoticed by Hawkshaw, who, -like a hawk, or rather like a tree-tiger robbed of his prey, was -still perched alone in the fore-crosstrees. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE CORPSE-LICHT. - -As Morley turned away from the companion, he was confronted by his -old friend Morrison, the mate of the defunct _Princess_. The -Scotsman's honest face was radiant with pleasure, and grasping -Morley's hand, he congratulated him warmly on the sudden change that -a few hours had made in all his plans and prospects. - -"No use in thinking of Tasmania now, or calculating the chances of -finding a ship for the Isle of France, and all that, Mr. Ashton, eh?" -said Morrison, laughing. - -"Thank Heaven, no," said Morley, as they descended the break of the -quarter-deck, and went to windward, near the main-rigging; "so great -has been the alteration in all our affairs, that I can scarcely -believe I was the poor doomed wretch of a few hours ago. Another -night on that wreck would have seen us all dead men, Morrison." - -Then Morley thought how strange it would have been if the ship, with -Ethel on board, had passed the wreck, on board of which he was lying -dead, and there was no voice to inform them of his fate, and the -terrible mystery involving it. - -"And you will be getting married now, Mr. Ashton," said Morrison, -after a pause. - -"Married!" repeated Morley, with astonishment; "where--where--here -upon the open sea?" - -"No; but when we are all landed at the Mauritius, where I shall have -to look out for another ship, and, perhaps, may have to work my way -home before the mast, for home to Scotland I must get somehow; and -before the mast----" - -"You shall never go in that fashion, Morrison, if I can help it; but -as for my being married to Miss Basset"--Morley felt his cheek flush -and his heart flutter at the thought--"that is an event which is -somewhat distant yet, and must be so, till fortune--the old -story--smiles on me." - -"That I am sorry to hear," replied the Scotsman; "what says poor -Robbie Burns, in one of the sweetest of his songs?-- - - "'Oh, why should Fate sic pleasure have, - Life's dearest bonds untwining? - And why sae sweet a flower as love - Depend on fortune's shining?' - -Well, Mr. Ashton, hap what may, though our path in life and our homes -will aye be far apart, I'll never forget the days we have spent -together; and miserable enough some of them have been latterly," -continued Morrison, who was a warm-hearted and impulsive fellow, and -whose keen gray eyes grew moist as he spoke; "and so, as I said, hap -what may, you shall always have the best wishes of poor Bill -Morrison, though a sailor has seldom more to give, unless it be a -quid from his tobacco-box, or a share of his grog on pay-day." - -"Fortune may go and hang herself," said Morley; "she has never -favoured me till now." - -"Perhaps she thought such a good-looking fellow might be left to -shift for himself," replied Morrison, laughing. "I once heard the -song I have just quoted sung by a girl, whose story was a very -strange one. She was separated from her lover by adverse -circumstances, and though they never met again in life, they repose -now in the same grave." - -"Another of your melancholy yarns, Bill?" - -"Well, it isn't lively. Shall I tell it to you?" - -"Yes, please. Miss Basset is still below." - -"I had entered on board the _Clyde_, a Greenock ship bound for -Tasmania. I was but a third mate then, and that post, you know, is -only a trifle better than being before the mast. She had several -emigrants, and among them was a man named Udny, with his wife and a -daughter whom I heard them call Hester. - -"There was with them a good-looking young fellow from the shore, a -shepherd apparently, for he wore a checked tweed suit with a Border -plaid, and a broad blue bonnet. He was evidently not going the -voyage; but he continued to hover about Hester Udny with a sad and -dreary expression of face, and I could see that the girl's eyes were -red and sore with weeping. - -"She was a bonnie, fair-haired Scotch lassie. That the pair were -lovers we could all see, and we knew that they were about to be -separated for ever, perhaps, as her parents, poor and expatriated -cotters, were going to find a new home in Tasmania. The lad was -poorer still, and had to remain behind in the old country. - -"My heart bled for them, and from time to time I could not restrain -the inclination to observe them, as they sat, hand in hand, oblivious -of the noisy throng about them, and the coarse jests of the -cargo-puddlers, dock-porters, and especially of the sailors, each of -whom volunteered to replace her sweetheart on the voyage. - -"Twilight came on as we began to cast off the warps, and were towed -down the river by a tug-steamer, so quickly, that the lights of -Greenock soon twinkled out amid the haze and smoke astern. - -"The sun had set, but the red flush of the departed day lingered -brightly beyond the dark peaks of the Argyleshire mountains that look -down on the Gairloch, the Holy Loch, so solemn and still, and many -another place that I can see in memory yet, and that I often saw in -dreams when we were floating on the wreck. - -"The lad was to go back, among a few other shore people, in the -tug-steamer. I heard the girl sobbing as if her heart would break -when she heard the order given for them to quit the ship, as we were -preparing to cast off the towline and loosening the topsails out of -the bunt. I was sent forward with a gang to cat and fish the best -bower anchor, and hoist it over the bows on board. When again I went -aft, sail had been made on the ship; the tug-steamer had disappeared -in the obscurity astern, and the sad girl was sitting alone, with her -eyes fixed on the lights that glistened in the castle of Dumbarton. - -"We had been for some days at sea before the girl came on deck. She -looked pale, wan, and thin--worn almost to a shadow with mental -suffering and sea-sickness; and the close atmosphere of a crowded -steerage was as poison to one accustomed from infancy to the green -lanes and wooded hills of Cydesdale. All pitied her forlorn -appearance, and even the roughest sailor did not jest with her now. - -"One evening she remained longer on deck than usual. I had the -wheel; the ship was running before the wind with topgallant-sails, -lower and topmast stun'sails set. The air was mild and the stars -shone clearly and brightly amid amber to the westward and the blue in -the zenith. - -"With her head muffled in a plaid, Hester Udny was seated near me; -but I had my attention mostly fixed upon the binnacle. There was -silence fore and aft, and silence on the sea, when I heard the poor -lassie singing to herself in a sweet, low voice, that song of Burns', -and the notes became full of pathos fit the lines: - - "'Oh why should Fate sic pleasure have, - Life's dearest bonds untwining? - And why sae sweet a flower as love - Depend on fortune's shining?' - - -"Suddenly she uttered a cry, and springing to me, grasped my arm. -Her plaid or shawl had fallen back, and her fine golden-coloured hair -was all in disorder; her eyes, which were a deep blue, were -unnaturally bright and dilated, and their gaze was fixed wildly upon -a part of the deck just aft the mainmast. - -"'Sailor--sailor; oh, man, man, do you see that?' she asked, in tones -of terror. - -"'What?' said I. - -"'A flame rising up through the deck, and growing higher every -moment.' - -"'Flame?' I repeated; 'there is no flame.' - -"'Fire--it is not fire; it is the figure of a man--head, shoulders, -arms, and hands--flame, all flame, pale blue, wavering, and -indistinct!' - -"'Nonsense, lassie, you are demented,' said I. - -"'And you don't see it, sailor--you don't see it?' she continued, -wildly. - -"'No, my poor lassie,' said I; 'your eyesight must deceive you.' - -"'Oh, heaven!' she shrieked, in a voice that brought all who were -below tumbling up the hatches as if the ship were going down. 'Can I -be going mad? It is like the figure of my Willie!' - -"She fell senseless on the deck, and was carried below. - -"This alleged apparition caused great speculation, and, as we had -several emigrants from the Western Highlands on board, no small -degree of terror, so that part of the deck abaft the mainmast was -always watched narrowly and suspiciously; but neither flame nor -figure saw we, though Hester afterwards asserted that one of the -watch, who heard her cry, and hastened to assist her, passed -_through_ the figure, which wavered as he did so, but again resumed -its luminous form. - -"A fortnight elapsed before she was brought on deck again; and I must -own to being shocked at the change in her appearance. Her keen blue -eyes seemed unnaturally large and sunken, with dark rings round them, -and her poor, thin, transparent hands trembled as she muffled her -plaid or shawl over her head, when the watch on deck hastened to make -a comfortable seat of old sails for her under the lee of the bulwark. - -"Fearing a repetition of what had occurred before, her father and -mother insisted on taking her below when twilight approached; but, -urged by some undefinable feeling or emotion, she lingered longer -than she should have done. - -"We were now in latitudes where the sun sets quickly, the dusk comes -on as rapidly, and heavily falls the dew. - -"Hester Udny, pale as a spectre, was soon observed to fix her eyes -upon that portion of the deck abaft the mainmast where she had seen -the apparition, with a wild, but steady and deliberate gaze, as if -fascinated; and then, in faint and tremulous accents, she declared -that the figure of flame was again visible, pale and luminous, -sometimes turning from amber to blue, and becoming hazy; that beyond -it, or through it, she could see the line of the ship's bulwark, and -the shrouds of the mainmast, as if it was transparent. - -"To undeceive her, the captain passed and repassed the place, going -each time, as she said, amid her cries, completely through the -figure, unsinged, unhurt, and all unconscious that he was doing so. - -"She swooned, and was carried below again. - -"What added greatly to the strangeness of this phenomenon was the -circumstance that some of the crew, when standing over the spot where -the spectre was alleged to appear, were seized with giddiness, -strange qualms, and even sickness, alike by day or night, and were -ridiculed by those of a less nervous temperament, who never felt any -such sensations, as 'green-horns' and 'fanciful lubbers.' - -"Hester Udny never came on deck again--alive, at least. - -"She remained in bed during the remainder of our voyage, evidently in -a rapid decline, and on the day when we made the south-west cape of -Van Diemen's Land--a high, bold, and rocky promontory--she expired. - -"We were soon within six miles of the land, and her parents begged so -hard that they might be permitted to bury the poor girl ashore, that -our skipper acceded to their request. Assisted by the sailmaker, -they wrapped her up in blankets, and her body was placed on a grating -along the thwarts of the long-boat amidships, with a union-jack -spread over it. No other pall had we, nor could we have found a -better for a heart so true as that poor lassie once possessed; and -there she lay when we entered the mouth of the Derwent river, and -worked against a head wind up D'Entrecasteaux's Channel. - -"I see that I am tiring you, Morley, with this long yarn; but Miss -Basset is still below, and the strangest part is yet to come. - -"We got aground on the western side of the channel, but ran an anchor -out, manned the capstan, and hove the ship off. At half-past nine -that night we came to anchor in thirty-fathom water, off Hobart Town, -fired a gun, and furled our canvas, with the ensign at our gaff-peak -half hoisted, to show that death had boarded us before the harpies of -the custom-house. - -"By daybreak next day I was ordered with a gang to prepare for -breaking bulk, and proceeded to unship the main-hatch prior to -starting the cargo. - -"On removing a bale or two, and a few casks, how great was our horror -to find, just abaft the mainmast, and under that portion of the deck -where Hester Udny had twice seen the figure of flame--a figure -perhaps always there, though invisible to us--the skeleton of a man, -standing quite erect against the after-bulkhead! - -"He was dressed in a gray tweed suit, with a blue bonnet, surmounted -by a red tuft, and a checked Border plaid was over his right -shoulder. All the flesh had dried upon his bones, so that his -clothes hung loosely on him. A few blackened shillings, and a mouldy -letter or two, were found in his pockets, so we at once supposed -that, being unable to pay his passage, the poor fellow had secreted -himself in the hold, little knowing how the cargo would be screwed -and stowed up to the beams, and how hermetically the hatches would be -closed by battens, tarpaulins, and iron bands; and thus he had -perished miserably, unheard, unseen, and unknown--perished of -suffocation, and remained there until he dried into a veritable white -mummy. - -"Our commiseration was greatly increased when we found that the -mouldy green letters were written by Hester Udny, and in the poor -stowaway her parents recognised her lover, Willie, the lad whom we -had all seen hovering about her on the night we hauled out from -Greenock to drop down the Clyde. - -"They were buried ashore, these two ill-starred and unfortunate -lovers, in the burying-ground of the big brick church of Hobart Town, -and the whole ship's company attended the funeral. Jack's a rough -fellow, Mr. Ashton, but I can assure you that, as we lowered their -two plain black coffins into their deep grave, side by side, with a -few fathoms of line, there was not a dry eye among us. - -"And some of the roughest patted the old father on the back, as he -stood dreamily at the head of his daughter's grave, in that far -foreign land--sae far frae the Hills o' Campsie, and wondering if it -could a' be true, and that she was lying there, while tears streamed -down his cheeks, and his white hair waved i' the wind under his auld -blue bonnet." - -It was a peculiarity of Morrison's, that whenever he became -interested, or perhaps more perfectly natural, he always slid into -his old Scottish vernacular. - -"This is a sad story, Morrison; but the luminous figure which the -girl saw--how the deuce do you account for that? She was out of her -mind, of course?" - -"Out of her mind! not at all!" responded the philosophical Scot; "she -was of a delicate temperament, and in a highly nervous and sensitive -state, thus she may or must have seen that which was invisible to us -of a rougher texture--the gaseous light proceeding from the -fermentation, putrescence, and decay of the body beneath the deck--in -short, that which we call in Scotland a corpse-Kent." * - - -* Concerning such appearances, see Baron von Reichenbach's work on -the "Dynamics of Magnetism, Electricity," &c. &c., with notes -thereto, by Dr. John Ashburner. - - -But now to return to our own story. - -A long consultation ensued concerning what was to be done with -Cramply Hawkshaw, and the conclusion come to was simply that he -should be kept in the seclusion, or "Coventry," enjoined by Captain -Phillips, till the vessel reached the Isle of France; and Morley gave -a species of parole, that he would studiously avoid, nor seek in any -way to punish him for the outrage he had formerly committed, or that -which he had latterly attempted. - -So the first day of Morley's re-union with his friends passed merrily -and happily away. - -In honour of the event, Mr. Basset had a case containing some of his -favourite Marcobrumier and sparkling hock hoisted out of the -store-room, and in the cabin that night the wine went round so -freely, that Captain Phillips's merry eyes shone in his head, Tom -Bartelot came out in his favourite drinking-song, and poor Mr. Quail, -all unused to such beverages, when he went up to relieve the deck, at -eight bells, saw two wheels and two steersmen, and the _Hermione_, -tearing through the sea with six masts, and at least seven-and-twenty -crossyards upon her. - -As it came on to blow about midnight, a reef was taken in the -topsails, and forgetting the evil projects broached by his crew on -this occasion Captain Phillips gave a double allowance of grog to the -watch, with pots of hot coffee to those who preferred them--kindness -thrown away, as it proved in the sequel. - -Now that our hero and heroine are safely re-united on board the very -ship in which they were originally to have sailed together, the -reader who is versed in novel-lore may suppose that nothing remains -but for Mr. Basset to bestow his paternal benediction no them in the -true fashion of the "heavy father," and for Hawkshaw, either at once -to be forgiven, no promising to be a good boy for the future, or to -receive condign punishment. - -But, unfortunately, our story is not fictitious, so it ends not here. - -Morley has escaped death, and is again seated by the side of Ethel -Basset, gazing into her quiet, deep, and loving eyes as if he could -do so for ever, and never, never weary, of course; but storms as yet -unthought of, unheard and unseen, are ahead. - -The good ship _Hermione_ lies bravely to her course, now east and by -north: but she carries with her the growing elements of discord, -crime, and misery. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -OUT OF SCYLLA AND INTO CHARYBDIS. - -The little excitement consequent on discovering the piece of wreck, -the rescue of those who were on it, and the speculation caused by the -recent uproar in the night, and the exclusion of Hawkshaw from the -cabin, soon passed over among the crew, who now began to consider -that there were on board four more men to feed, to win over to the -project of Pedro Barradas--a process which seemed doubtful--or to be -got rid of, if the attempt to win them failed. - -The only one with whom they supposed there was a chance of success -was Noah Gawthrop, or "Old Sticking-plaster," as they named him, from -the patch on his nose; and hence Badger, and one or two others, were -deputed to sound him on the subject; but the chief defect in their -plans arose from a doubt of the ship's whereabouts, and whether -Captain Phillips would haul up for Table Bay. - -Some were disposed to enlist Hawkshaw in their daring scheme, or at -least to sound him, too, as a little homicide in no way injured a man -in their estimation; while the misery of Hawkshaw's position on board -might have made him ready to embrace any proposition that came short -of jumping into the sea. - -Neglected, to all appearance forgotten--for who could sympathise with -an assassin?--he had passed the whole of the first day without food -in the fore-rigging. Towards evening Quaco brought him a pot of hot -coffee from the galley, which was a grateful beverage to his parched -throat, and in the twilight he came down stiff, sore, and benumbed, -and walked about amidships. - -There, Joe, the steward, came to say, that when he "wished to go -below, his traps and berth were 'tween decks, where he would have -full leisure to employ his mind in squaring the circle." - -At this jibe he clenched his hands to chastise Joe; but felt too much -crushed to make even the attempt, and turned in silence away. - -On the second or third day after his expulsion from the cabin, when -retiring to his place between decks--the same quarter in which the -four hammocks had been hung--he encountered Miss Basset, and passed -her so closely that he felt her skirts brush against him. - -Though dark and soft, Ethel's eyes were at times keen and piercing, -for they possessed a wonderful power and beauty of expression--a -beauty one may meet with perhaps but once in a lifetime. As she -passed Hawkshaw, she drew aside her skirt, as if to avoid contact, -and hastily cast down her eyes, as if loath to humiliate him, while -her breast heaved, and her cheek grew painfully pale; but in her -eyes, as they flashed beneath their downcast lashes, Hawkshaw could -see the horror, the loathing, and even terror with which his presence -inspired her. - -More humbled than ever by this, though he could have expected nothing -else, he slunk to his place of penance--his prison he deemed it, as -he seldom left it--and casting himself upon the sea-chest, groaned -aloud in rage, in bitterness, and agony of spirit. - -His food was brought to him by Quaco, the black cook; but his -appetite was gone, so each meal was taken away almost untasted. - -"By golly, Massa Hawkshaw, you had better eat and keep strong," said -Quaco, with a grin on his shining face. - -"Why--what the devil is it to you whether I eat or not, you black -thief?" asked Hawkshaw, savagely. - -"Kindness, on'y kindness, massa--yaas, yaas," he replied, grinning -more broadly than ever. - -"I want none, even from you." - -"Dat be bad--dat is; but, golly! don't you know what Pedro Barradas -am up to?" - -"No." - -"He's agoin' to be massa capting." - -"What?" - -"He's agoin' to trim de ship by de starn, he is. Jolly, ain't it! -But there will be no loblolly boys allowed to skulk 'tween decks -arter dat--by golly! no," and, grinning away like an ogre, with his -yellow eyeballs gleaming, his white teeth and angular cheek-bones -shining, Quaco retired with the greasy wooden mess-kid on which he -had brought Hawkshaw some hot lobscouse. - -Quaco's words made his heart beat faster, and set him to think -deeply, and with indescribable agitation. - -The proposed seizure of the ship was again upon the _tapis_. - -Should he acquaint Captain Phillips of it; but perhaps he knew of it -already more fully, and was quite prepared. - -By his silence, Ethel might be destroyed; by speaking in time, she -might be saved; but only saved for Morley Ashton. Damning thought! -The first impulse made him start to his feet, to summon Joe; the -second made him sink back sullenly on the sea-chest again. - -To join those in the cabin was but to serve Morley Ashton and those -who loathed him; to league with the mutineers, whom he dreaded, was -but to sink deeper in disgrace and more hopelessly into crime. - -On shore, he would have gladly fled from them all; but in that -floating prison, the _Hermione_, he had but one resource left--to -join the crew--if he would save his own life. He felt himself -helplessly at the mercy of the Barradas; and, by joining them in the -scuffle or conflict that must precede the capture of the ship, he -might find a fair means of putting a period to Morley Ashton's -existence, if some one else did not anticipate him. Morley he hated -with a tiger-like emotion--a mingled dread and aversion. - -For himself, he might yet have Ethel in his power. Some very daring, -dark, and incoherent thoughts flashed through his mind. He might -have her, in spite of Fate and Fortune, too; and afterwards, when -once on shore, she would feel herself compelled to link her future -life with his. - -The shore--any shore--oh, how he longed for it. - -He felt himself constrained to avoid the deck, save in the night, and -thus to spend the entire day below. - -Secluded there like a felon, avoided like a reptile, he asked -himself, was he really the man of yesterday or the day before?--the -same Cramply Hawkshaw who had sat at table with the Bassets and -officers of the ship, enjoying their society and companionship, as an -equal and friend? - -Was the past, indeed, gone for ever? He was on board the same ship -(how he loathed and cursed every rope in her rigging, every plank in -her hull); he still heard the same daily sounds on deck, the same -voices from time to time, and more than once he had heard Rose -Basset's ringing laugh; there was the same rush of water alongside; -the same moaning of the wind aloft; the same bell clanging the half -hours; all seemed unchanged but he alone! - -He could not bring back the perfect idea of himself, or what he was. - -How bitterly he felt, how impatiently he spurned the restraint -imposed upon him in the circumscribed space of the ship, and longed -for land, any land, as we have said--Africa, even Dahomey, were -welcome--that he might escape and hide himself from all; but chiefly -from the Bassets, before whom he had so successfully glozed over his -secret life and real character by a network of lies, crimes, and -cunning--a network which Morley's sudden appearance had torn aside. - -Right well he knew the light in which all viewed him now--a swindler, -impostor, and worse. - -Unless it lingered in the emotions of envy and wounded self-esteem, -his selfish passion for Ethel had quite evaporated, amid his shame -and humiliation, or was almost merged in his vengeful hate of -Morley--a sentiment rendered all the deeper by the wrongs already -attempted without success. - -So there, between decks, in the scene of his last attempted crime, he -sat and brooded darkly on the past, or scheming out the future; a -trial he did not dread, even if the vessel reached the Isle of -France, and Morley Ashton urged it by an appeal to the civil -authorities. - -There would be but his bare accusation, without a single witness to -support it, so a bare denial was all that was necessary, for well he -knew that no human eye had seen that encounter by the verge of Acton -Chine, in England. - -Then there was a memory of Ethel's loathing attitude and averted -glance lingering like a barbed arrow in his heart. - -"Yes," said he, aloud, "I feel the time at hand when I may requite -hate with deeper hate." - -"_Buenos noches, mi hombre de nada_," ("Good night, my rascal, or man -of nothing") said a voice in his ear, and, starting from his reverie, -he found himself confronted by the tall and muscular figure of Pedro -Barradas. - -It was night now, and the candle flickered dimly in the lantern of -perforated tin, which swung from a beam above, and its downward rays -fell on the dark face and picturesque figure of the South American -seaman, with his crisp locks and coal-black beard, his tawny ears, in -each of which a silver ring was glittering, his loose shirt of dark -blue woollen, open at his breast, on which a cross was tattooed, and -girt at the waist by a Spanish scarlet sash, in which his Albacete -knife was stuck. - -A fierce and malicious grin pervaded his sombre features--such a grin -as one might imagine in the face of a laughing fiend--as he surveyed -the crushed and miserable Hawkshaw, who, being quite unarmed, was not -without emotions of terror and alarm. - -"You scurvy _ladrone_," said Pedro, grinding his strong white teeth, -"when I remember that evening in the Barranca Secca, between Xalappa -and the Puebla de Perote, and the use you made of your lasso, I -wonder what devil prevents me from putting my knife into you." - -Hawkshaw started back, and glanced hopelessly about for a weapon. -Pedro laughed hoarsely; but his merriment did not allay the alarm of -Hawkshaw, who knew that such men as he could jest with their victim -while the knife was piercing his heart. - -"So the air of the cabin has not agreed with you, eh? Well, I -daresay you have been worse lodged and fixed in Texas, where some of -the huts are no better than a _retranche_; but I think you had better -come forward and hitch in with us." - -Hawkshaw still glanced uneasily about him. - -"Demonio! why don't you speak, and be d----d to you?" roared Pedro, -losing his patience, which was never at any time a very extensive -commodity. "Have you lost your lying tongue as well as your wits?" - -"No, Pedro Barradas, I have lost neither." - -"How long it is since I have heard my name on your tongue, -_companero_; not since we were diggers together on the banks of the -Feather River. Speak out--_presto_!" - -"What do you want with me, or require of me?" - -"I am exceedingly anxious to ascertain something of which the crew -have been kept in ignorance for some time past." - -"Something--from me?" asked Hawkshaw, with surprise. - -"Yes." - -"You mean the progress and working of the vessel?" - -"Precisely so; her whereabouts upon the sea." - -"How should I know?" - -"How you should or should not is nothing to me; but, _presto_, no -equivocation," said Pedro, placing his right hand on the haft of his -knife. - -"Then, for the soul of me, I cannot tell you," replied Hawkshaw, with -great earnestness. - -"You must have heard it mentioned, casually or otherwise, in the -cabin. The latitude and longitude, I mean." - -"If so, may I die if I can remember them now." - -Pedro's eyes began to gleam dangerously; but he changed his tactics, -and asked: - -"What does the captain mean to do with you?" - -"Do with me?" stammered Hawkshaw. - -"Yes, _santos_! I spoke plain enough." - -"But I do not understand," said Hawkshaw, evasively. - -"Must I speak more plainly?" - -"If you please." - -"How cursedly polite we are," sneered Pedro. "Well, most illustrious -Senor Caballero, does he mean to maroon you, or hang you?" - -"Neither; and in either case it is not probable he would consult you." - -"Well, _companero_, perhaps he will land you at El Cabo de Bueno -Esparanza?" said Pedro, with more suavity. - -"We are not to touch at the Cape," was the unwary reply. - -"Not to touch at the Cape?" repeated Pedro, so loudly that he might -have been heard in the cabin. - -"No." - -"Why." - -"Simply because I have been given to understand that we are past it." - -"_Por vida del demonio_! Past it, say you?" exclaimed Pedro, as if -communing with himself. - -"One thing, at least, is certain. We are not, I am sorry to say, to -touch at the Cape." - -"And who told you this?" - -"The captain himself." - -Pedro uttered a tremendous Spanish oath, expressive of extreme -astonishment and satisfaction. - -"So--so this cunning old Englander has been keeping us all in the -dark as to where we are?" - -"Exactly." - -"But wherefore?" - -"That I cannot say," said Hawkshaw, evasively. - -"_Morte de Dios_! does he suspect?--does he smell at a rat!" -exclaimed the Spaniard, with a sudden rage; but Hawkshaw remained -silent. "We must be somewhere off the coast of La Tierra de Natal, -and if so, by the ship's steering to-day, the mouth of the Mozambique -Channel should be upon our weather-bow; yet how far distant, none but -the captain and his mates can say," continued Pedro, as if in -communion with himself; but he was wrong in his supposition, for the -ship, at the time he spoke, was about a hundred miles to the -southward of Algoa Bay, which opens between Cape Recife and Cape -Padrone in southern Africa. - -"Listen to me," said Pedro, suddenly, with a savage glare in his -black eyes, a low and husky tone in his deep, sonorous voice, his -right hand on the haft of his knife, and his left planted on -Hawkshaw's shoulder with the grasp of a vice. "We mean to take this -ship, and run her on our own account; but as four new hands have been -added to the officers, will you join us? It is a fair offer--your -only chance of vengeance, too: for, ashore, you will not be worth a -rotten castano." - -"Well--well--I am with you," said Hawkshaw, in a low and husky voice. - -"_Bueno!_ we should fight for the ship whether you were with us or -not. Your hand on it, mate! But first, what terms do you want?" - -"My life, in the first place, to be respected by all, and to be set -ashore on the first land we see, as I am not a seaman." - -"The _first_ land may be a sea-weedy rock, at the mouth of the -Mozambique," said Pedro, with a diabolical grin, as it suggested a -new idea of cruelty. "Your share of plunder?" - -"I seek no plunder. I seek but revenge and liberty." - -"Your hand, then; and let us forget all about the Barranca Secca." - -Pedro grasped in his strong, hard hand the shrinking fingers of -Hawkshaw, thinking the while; - -"This ship once ours, I shall soon make short work of it with _you_, -my fine fellow!" Grinding his teeth, he added aloud, "If you betray -us, woe to you." - -"I am pledged," said Hawkshaw, in a voice like a groan. - -"The cargo is valuable, so we shall go in for a good stroke of -business together." - -"When--when do you make the attempt?" - -"To-morrow night, or the next, at latest." - -"I shall be ready." - -"Then to-morrow evening at four bells, in the second dog-watch, be in -the forecastle bunks, and you will learn all. Till then, companero, -be silent, and _remember_!" - -With another significant touch of his knife-handle, Pedro retired, -leaving Hawkshaw in a very unenviable state of mind. As a bold and -reckless ruffian, the Spanish American valued him little as an ally; -but the chief object of his visit had been attained--information that -the ship, instead of being hauled up for Table Bay, was _past_ it. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -FOUR BELLS IN THE DOG-WATCH. - -All the next day there blew a gale, and Captain Phillips, anxious to -make the most of it, as the wind was fair, squared his yards, with -all that he dared to spread upon them. So sharp was the aforesaid -gale, that on a taut bowline, no vessel could have shown more than a -single sail, perhaps; but the _Hermione_ tore on before the hurrying -blast, with her fore and main courses bellying out before it, and her -three topsails set with a single reef in each. - -Ere long, Captain Phillips was heard to shout: - -"Away aloft, men--shake the reefs out of the topsails--masthead the -yards." - -Cheerfully enough the watch sprang aloft and obeyed the order. And -now the foam flew in white sheets over her sharp bows, rolling aft to -the break of the quarter-deck, from whence it surged forward again, -and gurgled through the scuppers on each side alternately. - -Astern a tremendous sea kept rolling after her, for waves and wind -and all were with her now, and she sped before them at the rate of -eleven knots an hour; thus it required all the strength of Pedro -Barradas and of Noah Gawthrop, who volunteered for it, to hold the -wheel, and steer her steadily. - -Inspirited by the speed with which his brave ship tore along through -foam and spray, Captain Phillips walked briskly to and fro, with his -hands thrust into the pockets of his glazed storm-jacket, a -gutta-percha speaking-trumpet under one arm, and his jolly red face -shining with pleasure and drops of spray, as he glanced alternately -aloft, over the quarter, or at Mr. Quail, who smiled approvingly. - -"Hurrah, old ship!" said he; "now she goes through it! now she walks -along with a will. She smells the Mauritius already, I think." - -"The Bird Islands, or the Mozambique, more likely," muttered Pedro to -Noah. - -"What the devil have we to do with either one or the other?" asked -Noah, with sulky suspicion. - -"There she goes!" continued the captain; "and on she shall crack as -long as her sticks hold together. Mr. Quail, get preventer-braces -reeved; ship tackles on the backstays, haul all taut, and belay." - -All day the gale held on thus, and about nightfall, when it began to -abate into a steady breeze, in which the swinging booms of the lower -studding-sails dipped at times like birds' wings in the brine, the -_Hermione_ must have run more than 120 miles, and she was about that -distance off the most southern portion of the coast of Natal. - -How often had Captain Phillips and Mr. Basset wished to be fairly -round the Cape of Good Hope--to have doubled it, though it was far -away from dear old England; yet it was a necessary feature or point -to be achieved in the voyage. They were fairly round the great Cape -of Storms now, and the vessel's course was east and northerly, with a -calm sea and a fair wind. - -Every one should have been in the highest spirits; but, save Ethel -and Rose, Morley and his three companions, all were cloudy, anxious, -and dull; for Captain Phillips, his officers, and Mr. Basset felt -themselves still menaced by secret dangers. - -During the most of this day Morley had remained below with Ethel. -Rose was working beads on a cigar-case for the doctor, and Tom -Bartelot, with Morrison, remained by choice on deck. - -"Now that we can be of service, Captain Phillips," said Tom, "we must -be allowed to take our turn of duty. I know that sick folks are soon -deemed little better than skulkers aboard ship." - -"How so?" - -"When one has to take a fellow's trick at the helm, another his -look-out aloft, or out upon the booms, a third his watch, and a -fourth something else, they soon weary of him." - -"True," replied Captain Phillips, in a low voice, as they drew near -the break of the deck, and beyond ear-shot of that tall son of -Columbia, Mr. William Badger, who was at the wheel, with his very -long legs, half-cased in very short trousers, placed very far apart; -"but your arrival on board, if a lucky circumstance for you all, has -been rather a godsend to me." - -"Indeed! How? The ship doesn't look short-handed." - -"Ah! here comes Mr. Ashton; and please call your mate here. I have -something to say to you all." - -Tom beckoned Morrison, who had been busy coiling and belaying some of -the running rigging, for the crew had become exceedingly untidy and -neglectful. - -Badger's keen eyes peered from under his beetling brows, as if he -strove to see, what he could not overhear, the conversation that -ensued, when Captain Phillips detailed the secret state of his crew, -and the daring project which the doctor had heard so freely canvassed -in the forecastle. - -Bartelot and Morrison heard the honest captain's narrative with -astonishment and indignation, but Morley with a terror and agony very -much akin to Mr. Basset's, under the same circumstances. - -"In such a state of matters, why did you not haul up for Table Bay, -where some ships of war are sure to be?" asked Bartelot. - -"Such was my intention; but the same hurricane that destroyed your -ship drove mine too far to the southward. That circumstance made us -the means of saving you; but I lost thereby a chance of thinning out, -or altogether dispersing the crew, and shipping another." - -"Aye, aye," observed Morrison; "what between crews of Lascars and -coloured men, Chinese junks and piratical Bornese boats, there are -many craft disappear in these seas, and at Lloyd's the typhoons are -held responsible for all." - -"If that fellow who is at the wheel, and two who are named Barradas, -were quietly overboard, I could manage the rest, I think." - -"Barradas! are they Spaniards?" asked Tom. - -"Spanish South Americans--two of that bad lot who are so often to be -seen loafing about the Liverpool docks." - -"Troublesome hands always." - -"And these two are among the worst--the very worst. They were chums -of that fellow Hawkshaw in Texas and Mexico, at the gold diggings, -and elsewhere, it would appear. They are two brothers, named Pedro -and Zuares--at heart, pirates both." - -"Barradas!" said Morley, striving to remember; "that name seems -familiar to me." - -"Have you forgotten the name of the old hermit--the 'darvish,' as -Noah called him--whom we buried on the island, and whose papers I -read to you?" asked Morrison. - -"Don Pedro Zuares de Barradas," said Bartelot. - -"I remember now. I have his Spanish cross below," said Morley. -"Good Heavens! if these should be his sons! The names are the same. -How singular!" - -"And they were comrades of Hawkshaw, you say, Captain Phillips?" - -"Comrades, or shipmates, or something--nothing good, you may be -assured." - -And now Morley, just as Dr. Heriot joined them, recalled Hawkshaw's -strange story of how the one named Zuares committed--unwittingly, -however--the awful crime of matricide, in the Barranca Secca--that -savage story which he related on a summer evening in Acton Chase, to -the Bassets and Pages; and now, by a strange fatality, their lot was -all cast together within the narrow compass of a single ship, upon -the wide and lonely sea. - -"These are most calamitous tidings," said Morley, in a low and -troubled voice, as he passed his arm through Heriot's, and drew him -aside; "love, they say, laughs at danger; but here, Dr. Heriot, love -may weep," he added, almost with a groan. - -"Hang it, man, call me Heriot--Leslie Heriot, or whatever you like; -but drop the doctor, it sounds so precious stiff, especially -when--when we both love these two girls." - -"Well," said Morley, who, as an Englishman, had his local or national -prejudices, but meant to be complimentary, "for a Scotchman, you are -a nice fellow, Heriot; but--but Ethel and Rose, what are we to do -now?" - -"Fight to the last gasp for them, that is all," replied Heriot, -stoutly. - -While they were conversing thus, Noah Gawthrop approached Captain -Bartelot, and, in his own fashion, began to state that he had heard -some strange hints dropped by the watch at night, by others that -lounged about the windlass-bitts and forecastle; that some of the -crew had been whetting their knives on the carpenter's grindstone, -that all were on the alert, and were, he added, "sartainly up to -summut that looked like squalls, or mischief." - -As an old man-o'-war's man, Noah knew well how unpleasant was the -reputation of being a tale-bearer, and that, if it was bad ashore, it -was deemed ten times worse at sea; but in the _Aurora_ he had -acquired certain ideas of discipline which had never left him, so he -considered that he was only doing his duty in this matter. - -"What do you mean to do, your honour?" he asked of Captain Phillips, -in a husky whisper. - -Phillips gave him a grim smile, and showed the butt of a revolver in -his breast-pocket. - -"Oh, the poor girls below," said Morley. - -"I have perilled my life many times, young gentleman," said -Phillips--"many times on land, but oftener still on the great highway -of waters, and, though scared a bit, I ain't going to be frightened -now; and, believe me, my ship shall not be taken without a scrimmage. -Let these mutinous curs come on and do their worst, I'm ready for -them--life for life, and man to man." - -"Hooray, and the _Haurora_ for ever. Beat to quarters--them's my -sentiments," said Noah, with a voice so loud that long Badger, at the -wheel, craned his scraggy neck to listen, and opened his eyes and -ears very wide indeed. "D----n their limbs! I hopes to see 'em all -with their ears nailed to the mainmast, and here's the fist as will -handle the hammer and nails." - -As he made this unwise exclamation, he stepped aft, to relieve Badger -at the wheel, and that ungainly personage, avoiding the group who -were at the gangway, passed forward to the forecastle, where he at -once informed his colleagues that he "rayther reckoned that old -man-o'-war shark had blowed the whole affair upon them." - -Deeply-muttered oaths and vows of vengeance on poor old Noah were the -immediate result. - -"_Por mi honor!_" exclaimed Pedro, who was polishing the blade of his -knife on the sole of his shoe; "so, so, this is what old -sticking-plaster is up to--eh?" - -"In course, my Spanish gamecock." - -"_El espio y picaro!_ (spy and scoundrel)," said Pedro, grinding his -teeth. - -"The old corksucker!" growled the rest, using in this the most -opprobrious epithet known at sea. - -"He's a old man-o'-war's man, and, I reckon, has got notions o' -discipline, doffing his hat to the quarter-deck, and other darned -nonsense whipped into him, nigger fashion, by the boatswain's cat. -To try gettin' over such fellows is summut like reefing of a -stun'sail, or anythin' else that's next to useless." - -Having delivered himself of this aphorism, Badger proceeded to "darn" -sundry parts of Noah's person, such as his eyes and limbs, and by the -unanimous vote of all he was consigned to very warm latitudes indeed. - -Amid this, the ship's bell struck. It was the appointed time--four -bells in the second dog-watch--and then, pale as a spectre, or -looking like an evil spirit whom the sound had summoned--Cramply -Hawkshaw descended through the scuttle into the little apartment, or -fore-cabin, a close and squalid den, where his appearance was greeted -with shouts of ironical welcome and applause, in which the watch on -deck joined. - -We have already detailed a scene in this unpleasant quarter of the -ship; but have little desire to rehearse another, and so shall be -brief. - -With a mocking grimace on his moustached lip, and a ferocious gleam -in his wild black eyes, Pedro presented Hawkshaw to the crew as a new -_companero amigo_--associate and friend. - -"Hitch in, mates--make room for the capting," said Badger, drawing in -his long, lean, and misshapen legs. "So having 'ad a spell in limbo -aft, you're bound for the bunks forward, eh? Come, Pedro, prodooce -the dev'l's bones--let him have a shy with the ivories. I reckon -he's got an eye on the gals aft, as well as ourselves; and I say, -capting--Jeerusalem! ain't the black eyes o' that oldest gal regular -Broadway shiners!" - -In his misery and rage, Hawkshaw had slunk forward, and joined the -crew with two ideas uppermost in his mind: that he would yet revenge -himself on Morley Ashton, and might also have the haughty Ethel at -his mercy--that she yet might be his, and his only, despite fate, -fortune, and friends, and despite her own aversion for him. - -But when he found himself among this crew of desperadoes, whose -obscene lips bandied about the names of those so pure and gentle, -fair and tender, as Ethel and Rose Basset, the old times of Laurel -Lodge came to memory, and though bad, hardened, and desperate, -Hawkshaw felt his soul die within him. - -But it was too late for receding now! - -Criminal though he was, to find himself the chosen comrade and -companion of these wretches, filled up the full measure of his -misery; but no sympathy can be wasted on him, when we remember the -crimes of which he had been guilty, and the keen suffering he had -caused to Ethel, to Morley, and to others. - -In mockery, and in a pretended spirit of good fellowship, Pedro's -loaded _dados_ were produced from his sea-chest, and they proceeded -again to cast lots for wives among the women in the cabin, amid roars -of laughter, cheers, and other noises, while, to enhance the general -din, Mr. Badger smashed the mess-beef kid, dashed the butter gallipot -to pieces, and danced a hornpipe on the tin bread-barge. - -This noisy laughter was heard distinctly in the cabin. - -"Surely that sounds jolly and well," said Tom Bartelot, as the party -from the deck entered it; "fellows who laugh so loudly cannot mean -much mischief." - -"Ah, you don't know them," said Captain Phillips, in a low voice. - -"Mischief?" said Ethel, looking up inquiringly. - -"What, is it possible that you don't know?" Morley was beginning, -when Mr. Basset placed a finger on his lip warningly. - -Those extremely hilarious sounds in the forepart of the ship were -simply caused by the lots for sweethearts or wives being cast anew. - -Ethel had fallen to Pedro Barradas, thanks to his -peculiarly-constructed dice; Rose fell to the share of Bill Badger; -and Nance Folgate, the old nurse, to Hawkshaw; and hence the yells -and screams of laughter that ascended from the fore-scuttle, and rang -upon the still and starlight night. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE CRISIS AT LAST. - -On the morrow, a gale like that we have described carried the ship -still farther on her course; but again, towards evening, the sea and -wind went down together, and a calm and lovely night stole over the -world of waters. - -Morley had intended to speak to the two Barradas about what he -suspected--his knowledge of their secret history. Had he found an -opportunity for doing so, much evil would, perhaps, have been -averted, as he might have exercised a little influence over them; but -one time they were aloft in the rigging, at another, tarring down the -backstays, clapping on chafing gear, or otherwise occupied most of -the day, as they now began to feel a _personal interest_ in the ship; -so no opportunity occurred, and the fatal evening of the intended -mutiny crept on. - -And, notwithstanding that he was a quiet and peaceable man, and -possessed of much of the caution usually attributed to his -countrymen, matters were precipitately brought to a crisis by -Morrison, Tom Bartelot's Scotch mate, as we shall soon have occasion -to show. - -On this night our old friend was at the wheel, as a volunteer; and, -as the atmosphere was singularly calm, Morley and Ethel, Rose and -Heriot, were on deck, sometimes seated in pairs, conversing in low -and confidential tones, or promenading, arm-in-arm, between the break -of the deck and the taffrail. - -Mr. Basset and the captain were smoking near the companion-hatch, Mr. -Quail had turned in below, and the second mate, Foster, had charge of -the ship, whose lofty spread of snow-white canvas shimmered with a -weird effect in the light of the rising moon, which heaved up at the -horizon, the size of three European moons--sublime and vast--to shed -a blaze of silver radiance far across the sea. - -Noah's hints had already made Captain Phillips take in his -studding-sails and royals, so the ship was now running snugly and -easily, under the fore and main-course, topgallant-sails, jib and -spanker. - -Ethel sat silently, with her hands clasped on Morley's left arm, for -the moonlight on the water, the stars above, and his familiar voice, -made her think of home, and the beautiful garden at Laurel Lodge, -with its ribbon-borders of pinks, mignonette, and scarlet geraniums; -its roseries, its gigantic sweet peas, her sister's boasted azaleas, -which Hawkshaw had ridiculed in an evil hour; its avenues of laurels -and stately old sycamores. - -She now drew forth her mother's miniature, which she wore in her -breast, at the end of a slender gold chain. It had been taken in -that dear mother's youth, when she closely resembled Ethel herself. - -Who that surveyed that soft, bright, smiling face, could realise the -idea that it was the image of one who had long been dead, and had -passed away. - -So, as Ethel gazed upon it, her mother's figure, expression of face, -and tone of voice, the embodiment of that gentle friend and loving -mentor, all a mother should be, "the best and most beautiful of -earth's creatures," rose to memory, strangely mingled with -recollections of her death and of her funeral, on a sunny day, in -peaceful Acton churchyard, while the familiar bell tolled solemnly in -the old grey Norman tower, and when the turf looked so green, the -fresh earth so brown, and that awful and mysterious grave, as it -yawned beneath the old yew tree, so deep, so terrible! - -Then there was the reverend rector, her father's dearest friend, -reading the beautiful and impressive service for the faithful -departed, while his voice faltered and his eyes glistened. It was -the last day of an English autumn, when the leaves of the tall oaks -in the Chase, and the foliage of every coppice, were brown and crisp, -and when all the world seemed hushed and still; when even the village -urchins who clambered on the churchyard wall were mute, and sat -uncovered, and no sound stirred the air but the rector's voice, and -the solemn bell that boomed in the time-worn tower, and shook its ivy -leaves. - -So all that sad and mournful day came vividly back and unbidden to -memory now. - -"Mamma, dear, dear mamma! she did so love you, Morley!" said Ethel, -as she closed the miniature, and placed it tenderly in her bosom. - -Inspired by livelier thoughts on the other side of the quarter-deck, -merry Rose Basset and the doctor were leaning over the bulwarks, and -watching the luminous animacula that gleamed in the passing waves. - -In the second chapter of our history, we have related how Mr. Basset -had considered the early engagement between Morley Ashton and Ethel -the mere fancy of a boy and girl--a fancy which separation, or the -spirit of change, might cause to wear away and be forgotten. - -But now, by his most providential restoration, by the strength of -their mutual regard, by what the poor fellow had undergone; by what -Ethel, too, had suffered, and, more than all, by the necessity for -securing her future happiness, he felt himself bound to do the utmost -in his power to advance Morley's interests, when they all reached -their new home in the Mauritius, and a reiterated promise to this -effect had made the young pair supremely happy. - -Rose and the doctor were the next consideration; what was to be done -with them? - -The excitement consequent to recent events; the expected outbreak -among the crew; the discovery of the wreck, its occupants, and their -story, together with Hawkshaw's villainy, had so fully occupied the -attention of all on board, that Heriot had scarcely found an -opportunity for broaching a matter, which Captain Phillips's jokes -had quite prepared our friend, the judge, to have laid before him, -for his earnest consideration and kindly sympathy--neither of which -he had quite made up his mind to accord; but Rose had always flirted -with some one; and when two favourable occasions came to pass, Heriot -was dissuaded by her thoughtlessly saying: - -"Now, don't bother yet, my dear old darling Leslie," for this was her -unromantic style ("a jolly one," the doctor thought it) of addressing -him. - -Mr. Basset would have been blind indeed, had he not seen the growing -intimacy which existed between them; but he had no idea that matters -had proceeded the length of interchanged promises. Neither did he -observe the ring which Rose now wore on her engaged-finger--to wit -(for the information of the uninitiated), the third of the right -hand; and to use a hackneyed phrase, "as fairy" a finger as ever -rejoiced in that pleasant decoration, for among Rose's chief beauties -were her hands, plump, white, and tiny. - -Recent events, we have said, prevented explanations, or any account -of what the doctor's prospects were. - -"Not much, they are, certainly, dear, dear Rose," whispered Heriot, -as they sat together in the moonlight, while the ship still sped -before the wind, with all the reefs out of her topsails. "I have, -one way and another, but 100_l._ a year at present. Had I more, I -would have sought out a snug practice at home, and not roved about as -the surgeon of a sea-going merchantman." - -"Then you would not have met me, sir," said Rose, with waggish -asperity. - -"But I have an uncle, a jolly old fellow, who loves me well, for my -mother was his only sister; and he loves me for that, perhaps, rather -than any merits of my own." - -"My poor modest Leslie! well--and this uncle?" - -"When he dies--distant may the day be when he does so!--I shall come -into 400_l._ per annum more. If at the Isle of France, I could -battle the watch----" - -"Battle what?" - -"Oh, it is an old college phrase; I mean, fight my way into a -practice somehow. With you to cheer me on, we should do very well. -Then, an M.D., to get a practice, must have a wife." - -"Why?" - -"What is the difference between a doctor and a student? 'There is -but a degree between them,' says some one; but until the student has -the magical letters M.D. added to his name, he is nothing, and even -then he will never get the _passepartout_ to private houses, unless -he has a wife; and where could I find one dearer, sweeter, more -playful and joyous, more charming than----" - -"Me, you would say?" - -"Yes." - -Then here, as no one was looking, there followed a sound which made -honest Morrison, who was at the wheel, "prick up his ears," and laugh -quietly to himself in the moonlight. - -A ship, of course, does not offer the lover-like facilities of shady -lanes, green thickets, rosy bowers, or flowery garden walks; but it -produces a thousand occasions for polite attention, amidst its -rolling, tumbling, and pitching about, its extreme discomfort and -peculiarity, which are not given by the solid and immovable earth, -and which the fair dwellers thereon do not require; but it is, -nevertheless, a very awkward place for indulging in little bits of -osculation--a phrase for which I refer my fair reader to her -dictionary, if she knows it not. - -All as yet was quiet in the _Hermione_. - -The embers of discord were still smouldering amid the crew, and the -brave ship flew steadily over the shiny waters of the moonlit sea, -her ghostly shadow falling far across them. - -Inspired by the calm and beauty of the night, Morrison, as he leaned -thoughtfully over the wheel, his left hand grasping an upper spoke, -and his right hand a lower one, thinking, perhaps, of his present -shattered prospects, without ship or funds, his distant home, and his -mother's cottage by the Dee, was singing to himself in a low and -plaintive voice. - -Ethel looked up and listened, though she scarcely knew the language -in which he sang--a portion of a sweet little song (by some local -poet), and which he recalled, as we do now, from memory, though -perhaps he may have heard it from his mother, to whom this brave and -honest fellow was attached, with a devotion that was almost childish. - - "The tear dims my e'e - As I look to heaven hie, - And sigh to be free - Frae want and frae wae; - But I dinna see the road, - For between me and my God - A darkness has come doon, - Like the mist on the brae. - - "The nicht is wearin' past, - The mist is fleein' fast, - And heaven is bricht at last - To the closin' e'e; - In the hollow o' the hill, - The weary feet are still, - And the weary heart is hame - To its ain countrie." - - -At that moment the ship's bell clanged. - -"Stand by to heave the log--relieve the wheel," cried Mr. Foster. - -After considerable delay Badger, the Yankee, came slowly shambling -aft, to "take his trick" at the helm, and at the same time the whole -crew came scrambling noisily up the fore-scuttle, where the watch on -deck joined them, and they gathered in a group about the -windlass-bitts. - -Captain Phillips, Mr. Basset, and Tom Bartelot, exchanged glances of -intelligence and inquiry, while the second named, inspired by some -miserable foreboding, grew deadly pale. - -"You have not hurried yourself, mate," said Morrison. - -"No; didn't intend to, I reckon," drawled the Yankee, in his nasal -twang. - -"Why did you not come aft the moment the bell struck?" - -"Now, stranger," said Badger, in a tone of mock expostulation, "d'ye -wish your few brains blowed out with the cook's bellows, or not, that -you asks questions or gives orders here?" - -"Take the wheel, and take it in silence," said Morrison, haughtily -and sternly; for, although no mate on board the _Hermione_, he still -felt the habit of authority strong within him. - -"I knowed a man at Cape Cod, in the state of Massachusetts," -continued Badger, still delaying, and speaking slowly through his -long nose; "a Scotchman he was, Mr. Morrison, and the very moral o' -you, with a hook nose and chin, that 'ad hold a ginger-nut between -'em, who fed sea-gulls with iron filings, and sold their wings for -steel pens. A 'cute crittur! But, as I said, he was called a -Scotchman, though I calc'lates he was a Yankee Jew of Hirish -parentage." - -"If you don't take the wheel, I'll show you the foretop with a -vengeance, my fine fellow," said Morrison, who could stand anything -but sneers at his country. - -"You're riled a bit, you air, and your monkey's getting up. You've -been too well fed, mate," drawled Badger. "I reckons that at home, -in your own little clearin' of a country, you fed upon fir shavings -and cold water. As for decent junk, reg'lar old hoss, and plum-duff, -I calc'late you never heerd on 'em afore. Now, in this here craft, -as the junk's atrowcious, so that even an 'ungry Scotchman or a blue -shark wouldn't look at it, we mean to have a blow-out to-night in the -cabin, and on the best in the steward's locker too." - -At that moment Mr. Foster, who, with Joe, had been heaving the -log-line, on hearing words, came aft, and took the wheel from the -hands of Morrison, who was trembling with suppressed passion. - -"Go forward, you rascally carrion," said the Scotchman, "or, by the -heavens above us, I soon will make blue sharks' meat of you." - -Badger drew his knife, which gleamed in the moonlight, but at the -same instant he was laid sprawling on the deck by a blow from the -butt-end of a revolver with which Captain Phillips had armed -Morrison, and which the latter swung at the full length of his arm -and with no unsparing hand. - -The cry of rage uttered by Badger was answered by a yell from the -forecastle, and all the crew came rushing aft, armed with knives, -capstan-bars, and some with pistols, which they had hitherto secreted -in their sea-chests. - -"Below, ladies, below--into the cabin, and barricade the door; quick, -quick!" cried Captain Phillips, as Ethel and Rose, to their -astonishment and terror, were hurried, almost thrust down, the -companion-stair. - -Then several pistol-shots were exchanged, and a furious struggle -instantly took place on deck. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -HOW THE SHIP BROACHED TO. - -At the time of this outbreak the _Hermione_ was, as we have stated, -somewhere about 100 miles off the mouth of Algoa Bay, and not, as -Pedro had calculated, near the entrance of the Mozambique Channel. - -Hurried, actually thrust into the cabin by the hands of Morley -Ashton, Dr. Heriot, and others, Ethel and Rose Basset's terror and -astonishment may be imagined; and greatly were these emotions -increased by the sounds they heard on deck--the sudden uproar, the -stamping of feet, as of men engaged in a deadly struggle, the oaths, -imprecations, and occasional discharge of pistols. - -If Captain Phillips and his friends were disagreeably surprised to -find that the crew possessed some four or five old ship pistols, -which they had hitherto kept secretly in their sea-chests, they, on -the other hand, were much more disappointed on discovering that the -officers and passengers were fully prepared for them--alike -forewarned and forearmed; and the sudden appearance of their pistols -and revolvers, as shot after shot flashed from them in the clear -tropical moonlight, baffled the first rush aft of Pedro and his -brother, for most of the crew, following Hawkshaw's prudent example, -suddenly retreated to the forecastle, their own peculiar region and -quarters. - -A ball from Pedro's pistol found a harmless victim, for he shot dead -poor Joe the steward. But at the same moment a ball from Heriot's -revolver grazed the assassin's left ear, tearing a ring out of it, -and as he rushed back with a bewildered air, at first believing -himself to be shot through the head, Morrison followed him past the -long-boat, showering, with a capstan-bar, such blows upon him as -would have prostrated any other man than Barradas, who turned twice -upon his pursuer, to whom he opposed in vain his clubbed pistol and -the blade of his Albacete knife. - -Poor Mr. Foster, who, as related, had taken the wheel from Morrison, -was now assailed by Badger, the long Yankee, who had gathered himself -up from the deck, where he had lain sprawling. - -"Villain!" exclaimed Foster, as he clung to the spokes of the wheel, -which he dared not relinquish lest the ship should bring to by the -lee, and as he glanced the while with irrepressible agitation at the -upheld knife of the wretch who had grasped his collar, and held it at -the full length of his long, lean, muscular left arm. "Villain, -would you lift your knife to me?" - -"Ah, you 'tarnal Britisher, I would choke you like a weasel," hissed -the Yankee through his yellow teeth. - -"Do be quiet, Badger," urged Foster, as he thought of his poor wife -and little ones asleep in their beds at home. "Have you no pity--no -fear?" - -"Nayther, I reckon," snivelled the Yankee. - -"No conscience?" asked Foster, as he felt the grasp tightening on his -collar. - -"Conscience be d----! as we say in Californy. I left my blessed -conscience at Cape Horn long ago. Do you understand that?" said -Badger, ferociously. - -Down came the threatening knife, flashing in the moonshine. Foster -quitted the wheel and leaped aside, leaving the collar of his jacket -in Badger's hand; but the point of the blade gave him a severe slash -on the right shoulder. - -Filled with rage and fear, the second mate broke away, and plunged -down the companion-stair into the steerage in search of a loaded -weapon. Tom Bartelot and Mr. Basset followed him, on the same -errand, and the crew, believing that a fight had begun, once more -made a furious rush aft, and thus, being now minus five of their -number, the captain, with Morley, Heriot, and Noah Gawthrop, found -themselves driven, under a shower of blows and missiles, past the -break of the quarter-deck, and, ultimately, down below, where they -all fell in a heap upon Mr. Quail, who had turned out, half dressed, -on hearing the row on deck. - -The last to effect a retreat was Morrison, who had emptied the six -barrels of his revolver without hitting anyone, but having a -capstan-bar, a weapon to which he was more accustomed, he gave way, -step by step, with his face to the foe; but ultimately he was beaten -down the companion-stair, covered with blood, which flowed from a -wound on his right temple. - -Fighting inch by inch, there is little doubt that, at this crisis, -the crew might have forced an entrance to the cabin, especially if -some had entered by the skylight; but now a yell burst from them, -followed by a tremendous crash, and the sound as of a vast ruin -descending on the deck. - -On Foster abandoning the helm, the ship, which had been running with -a spanking breeze upon her starboard quarter, broached to; by -swinging round, all her sails were taken aback upon the weather-side, -the sudden strain was more than her spars could bear, and the fall of -a maintopmast, which had been sprung (_i.e._, split) in a recent -gale, brought down the fore and mizzen, with all their yards and -hamper, clean off at the cap of each; and thus, in a moment the -beautiful _Hermione_ was a scene of as great a ruin and disorder -aloft as she was below. - -The wilderness of masts, yards, booms, sails, blocks, and gearing -that suddenly descended on their heads somewhat cooled the ardour of -the crew, and severely injured two or three of them; but Pedro, a -thorough seaman, gave instant orders to cut, clear away, and coil up, -while, rushing to the wheel, his powerful hands soon made it revolve; -the _Hermione's_ head fell round, once more the wind came on her -quarter, her fore and main courses, jib, and driver swelled out -before it, and she stood on, but slowly, crippled and shorn of all -her fair proportions. - -This unexpected misfortune to the mutineers gave those whom they had -for a time vanquished and driven below time to gather their energies, -to reload their weapons, consider their position and resources, and -to put in requisition those plans originally formed for the defence -of the cabin, their stronghold, and chiefly of the two Misses Basset. - -The huge trunk, filled with Mr. Basset's law books (which fortunately -came too late on board to be shot with other lumber into the hold) -was slued round, and jammed across the cabin-door, which was further -secured by its usual bolts and fastenings. - -Heriot's pair of pistols, two revolvers, a double-barrelled -fowling-piece, and a sharp hatchet, were their only weapons, but they -had plenty of ammunition, all made up in cartridges, and so they -resolved to expend it to some purpose. - -"My ship! my ship! my poor ship! everything seems to have gone to the -devil aloft," groaned Captain Phillips, in an agony of rage and -mortification. - -"Oh, papa--dear papa--what has happened? What means that dreadful -noise on deck?" asked Ethel and Rose together, as they clung to their -bewildered parent, and saw with alarm their companions' blanched, -flushed, and, in some instances, blood-stained faces. Dr. Heriot and -Morley Ashton were both bleeding; the former from a scalp wound, and -the latter from a cut in the lip. "Oh, papa! tell us what all this -means?" - -"It means that those infernal villains have risen to murder us all, -ladies; but don't be alarmed for all that," said Captain Phillips, as -he reloaded his revolver, while a horrible hurly-burly was heard on -deck, where the crew, under the orders of Barradas the elder, were -cutting away or securing so much of the rigging and spars as might be -useful to them, even to bringing on board the jib-boom, which had -been snapped off at the cap, and hung in the guys at the end of the -whiskers, with the sail drooping in the water; and all the while they -worked amid a storm of oaths, imprecations, and threats. - -Among other things cast adrift was the body of poor Joe, whose -pockets were soon investigated--his pipe, knife, tobacco-box, and a -few coppers appropriated by Messrs. Sharkey and Bolter--after which -they cast him over to leeward with as much indifference as if he had -been a dead gull or bit of "old horse" (_i.e._, mouldy junk). - -Meanwhile, overcome with horror and anxiety for the probable future -of his two daughters, poor Mr. Basset was completely bewildered, and, -for a time, as Captain Phillips said, "had no more pith in him than -an empty sack." Reclined on the stern-locker, he pressed his -daughters to his breast, keeping, as if for protection, an arm round -each, and he exclaimed more than once: - -"Oh God! most merciful of all who show mercy, protect my poor girls." - -"He has committed their protection to you, sir," said Tom Bartelot, -rather impatiently; "only show a little pluck, like the rest of us, -and we shall weather these villains yet--aye, work them to an oil, if -they don't fire or sink the ship." - -"Oh, what new--what sudden horror is this?" exclaimed Ethel, wringing -her hands, and then clasping them over her temples, while she turned -her flashing eyes on each in succession. - -"No sudden 'orror at all, marm," said Noah Gawthrop, as he tightened -his waist-belt, rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, and looked -everywhere about to spit, but, being in the cabin, restrained the -impulse; "we've known o' the rig they were goin' to run this long -time past." - -"And Hawkshaw?" asked Ethel, shuddering. - -"Is a leader among them," replied Morley, applying a handkerchief to -his bleeding lip. "I never had a better opportunity for clearing off -old scores than to-night, but somehow he never----" - -"Oh, Morley, dear! leave vengeance to other hands," said Ethel, -imploringly. "Dear, dear papa," she added, laying her pale brow on -Mr. Basset's cheek, "and so it was this knowledge--this horrible -dread hanging over you--that has given such a mournful tenderness to -your voice and manner for some time past." - -Her voice, so mellow and thrilling, pierced poor Basset's heart: he -could only answer by his tears. - -"Oh, Morley, love!" said Ethel, in a low, beseeching voice, "say -something to comfort poor papa." - -But Morley could only press Mr. Basset's hand in silence, for, in -fact, the poor fellow knew not what to say. Rose had tied her little -handkerchief round the doctor's head, and it seemed a more agreeable -remedy than the piece of court-plaster he had hastily stuck on his -scar. - -To Ethel the watchful, mysterious, solicitous, and almost sorrowful -regard which her father had so long exhibited towards herself and -Rose was quite accounted for now. - -"Oh, my poor papa--my own papa!" she exclaimed, as she threw her arms -round his neck, and nestled with her lovely face close to his, "I -have no fear of death; I would face it courageously--but you, and -Rose, and Morley. Oh, I fear that the blow which kills me may kill -you all, too, you love me so much--so much more than I have deserved, -dear papa!" - -"Alas, Ethel! it is not death only that I fear for you, my sweet and -innocent lamb--and Rose----" - -"Below there, ahoy!" hailed a hoarse voice down the companion-stair, -after the hurly-burly had somewhat ceased on deck. - -"It is the voice of that villain, Sharkey," said Quail. - -"The murderer of poor Manfredi," added Dr. Heriot. - -"Below there, you swabs and cork-suckers! have you all gone to -sleep?" hailed the squat mutineer. - -"Hollo!" responded Noah, "what do you want, gallows-bird?" - -"We want the two girls. Give them up, and come on deck. Tumble up, -or it will be the worse for every man jack of you." - -"How so, you squab ragamuffin?" asked Captain Phillips. - -"We'll drop down the skylight, and make precious short work with you -all," was the hoarse response. - -"Come on then, one at a time, or all together--we are ready for you," -said Captain Phillips. - -At the same moment the cover of the skylight was roughly wrenched -off, and the chill night wind poured through the cabin, extinguishing -the lamp. - -A noisy and derisive cheer followed. - -"Silence fore and aft. _Por vida del demonio guardad vuestra maldita -garulla_ (_i.e._, "Hold your cursed clack"). Ere long I shall let -you know who is captain of the ship now," cried a deep bass voice -there was no mistaking, and the dark visage of Pedro Barradas was -seen looking down, just as Heriot led Ethel and Rose to their cabin, -when he whispered to them to take courage, and closed the door. -"Surrender, and give up your arms, or I shall set fire to the ship," -added Barradas. - -"What will you gain by doing so?" asked Captain Phillips, feeling -with his fingers if the caps on his revolver were all right, and -taking a full sight at Pedro's head, which he could see above the rim -of the skylight. - -"Gain? Not much, certainly, unless it be vengeance," replied the -Mexican, hoarsely. - -"Vengeance, you miscreant? Of what can you, accuse me? Surely I -never wronged you." - -"I have nearly lost an ear by the hand of one among you." - -"That infliction you brought upon yourself." - -"If you do not surrender in less than twenty minutes, I shall fire -the ship or scuttle her, and then shove off with all the boats, -leaving you to drown like a rat in a trap," continued Pedro. - -"Fool, as well as villain, what purpose would that serve, but to -destroy you all? Do you know how far we are from land?" asked the -captain. - -"I know that we are off the mouth of the Mozambique, and will soon -make the land by steering nor'-nor'-east," replied the mutineer, with -a grin. - -"You are wrong, Pedro Barradas--by Heaven you are! We are only off -the Bay of Algoa." - -"Well, if this wind holds good, and we keep the ship under her -courses and lower studding-sails, we will make the channel soon -enough for our purpose. But ha, ha! Senor Capitano, do you hear -that?" he added, as the sound of axes was heard; "we are starting the -main-hatch to get at the bread and spirit room, so while you starve -here, we shall drink and be jolly." - -Captain Phillips groaned as he heard those sounds, which indicated a -further destruction of the ship; but, taking a sure aim at Pedro, he -fired! The red flash and sharp report of the pistol were followed by -a yell of rage. - -"A miss is as good as a mile," cried Badger, the Yankee; and Pedro, -whose cheek was grazed by the ball, replied by firing into the cabin -a random shot, which lodged in the table; and now, with pistols and -the double-barrelled fowling-piece, there ensued a regular skirmish, -in which our friends, in the dark seclusion of the cabin, had all the -best of it, the mutineers' mode of warfare being simply a waste of -ammunition, as some four or five of them in succession continued to -dart past the open skylight, down which they fired at random. - -Too terrified to weep, Ethel and Rose, clasped in each other's arms, -reclined on their knees against the side of their bed, with poor old -nurse Folgate grovelling on the carpet beside them. - -Every instant they heard the sharp reports of the pistols, and saw -the explosions flashing through the slits in their cabin-door, and -all unaccustomed to the horrors of such an event, they could scarcely -believe that they were not in a dream. - -Who could imagine that such a scene would occur on board of a London -ship? But they knew not the evils that attend a mixed crew. - -Ignorant of the chances and casualties of voyaging on the deep, Ethel -and Rose, but particularly the former, was utterly bewildered by this -terrible episode, in which she found herself and friends involved. -Every shot, every sound, made her heart leap for her father and her -lover. - -She had pictured to herself how, with Morley by her side, she would -tend for life the declining years of her only and beloved -parent--tend him as her mother would have wished her to do. He, on -the other hand, had hoped to tend, watch, guide, and see her and Rose -far on the chequered highway of life; but now it seemed as if they -were all about to be torn from each other--he to suffer a violent and -cruel death, they dishonour and death together. - -Rose! Rose! Poor Ethel's soul shrank within her at this crisis; but -it was more with fear for dear, merry little Rose than for herself. - -For some time the exciting skirmish we have described continued, -without anyone being hit, apparently, either above or below, till -Morley felt someone close by utter a low heavy moan, or sigh, and -then fall suddenly and heavily against him. - -"Quail--Mr. Quail," he exclaimed, "is this you? Are you hurt--are -you hit?" - -It was poor Mr. Quail who, unable to reply, fell on the floor of the -cabin with blood bubbling from his mouth. A lucifer-match was -promptly applied to a candle, a light procured, and the wounded man -was laid on the floor of the captain's state-room, where Dr. Heriot -soon discovered that he was quite dead, being shot in the head by a -common nail, a proof that the ammunition of the enemy above was -running short. - -"My God! Poor Quail--his wife and little ones!" exclaimed honest -Captain Phillips, with deep emotion. "Oh, gentlemen, when will these -horrors end?" - -A low groan from Mr. Basset alone replied, and the features of the -hapless mate soon grew livid and ghastly in the flickering light of -the candle, as the damps and the pallor of death stole over them -together. - -Meanwhile the crash of axes was heard in the hold, where already some -of the mutineers were making their way in search of plunder, through -the cargo, hoping to make a breach in the bulkhead and reach the -store where the ship's provisions and spirits were kept. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -THE CABIN ATTACKED. - -Some of the mutineers now proceeded to throw various missiles, such -as cold shot, ship-buckets, spare or fallen blocks from aloft, the -carpenter's paint-pots, and so forth, into the ship's cabin; but only -in one instance, when Tom Bartelot received a contusion on the -shoulder, from a wooden marline-spike flung at random, did any of -these take effect, as our friends lurked securely, pistol in hand, in -the recesses of the upper stern-lockers, in the berths, and so forth, -but none as yet could foresee where this strife was to end, or who -would first come to terms, before the ship was utterly destroyed, as -it bade fair to be, if this internal war continued. - -Now the voice of Barradas was heard, giving orders to cast loose one -of the carronades on the quarter-deck. - -"What are they about to do with the carronade?" asked Morley, as he -listened intently. - -"Lower it between decks, to fire through the bulkhead," suggested the -old man-o'-war's man, Noah. - -"But have they any round shot?" asked Morley. - -"We have six rounds for each gun round the coaming of the -main-hatch," said Captain Phillips, with a very dejected air; "and -there are plenty more in the hold. Shot are wanted sometimes in the -Indian seas." - -"And the powder?" - -"Is all kept in a little magazine near the taffrail--the powder -required for immediate service, I mean." - -"The gun is cast loose," said Bartelot; "if Noah's idea be their -game, it is all up with us, as they may bowl us to death without -danger of resistance." - -"Unless when they are at work in the hold, we make a sally, regain -possession of the deck, ship on the main-hatch, and smother the whole -brood!" said Phillips, with a more savage emotion than ever before -glowed in his kind and jolly breast. - -A few minutes of painful suspense served to show that the intentions -of the mutineers were quite different. - -They were heard to break open the powder magazine, and load the -carronade, which, with loud yells, and much vociferation, they urged -forward to the rim of the skylight with such force as nearly to break -the framework to pieces, and over it, by using capstan-bars as -levers, they levelled and depressed the gun, by hoisting up the hind -wheels of the carriage, and driving home quoins under the breach, -till the muzzle was at the angle of forty-five degrees, and pointed -almost towards the bulkhead of the little cabin in which Ethel and -Rose were weeping and praying. - -Scarcely a moment was given for question or consideration, ere Quaco, -the black Virginian, came rushing aft from the caboose, with his -sable cheekbones shining, and his yellow eyes aflame, as he -flourished a red-hot poker, which, as an extempore match, he applied -to the touch-hole. - -A sudden and blinding flash, with a cloud of suffocating smoke, -filled all the cabin, and there was a report, or concussion, which -made the ship reel to her centre; a hundred splinters seemed to fly -in every direction, but still no personal danger was done, though the -gun had been charged, not with round shot, but with a bag of nails, -nearly all of which crashed through the centre of the mahogany table, -and lodged in the deck below. - -It was not until the first blink of dawn that those in the cabin knew -this; their first idea being, that a round shot had been sent through -the vessel's bottom; but, mad and furious though the mutineers were, -there was a method in their proceedings, and to utterly destroy the -ship was no part of their daring plan. - -Wailing cries of terror came from the ladies' cabin, and wild and -noisy ones from the old nurse; but no one was hurt there, though all -were nearly stifled by the smoke of the discharge, ere it rose slowly -through the open skylight, and floated away into the still night air. - -As the sailors were withdrawing the gun, taking advantage of its -recoil, a volley of pistol-shots from below whistled about them, and -Dr. Heriot, with a steady aim of the fowling-piece, sent a charge of -buck-shot from both barrels into the face and shoulders of one -fellow, who was immediately borne forward to the care of Quaco, who, -greatly to his own delight, and with all the mingled fun and cruelty -peculiar to his dingy race, proceeded to extract them from the -bleeding wretch, more curiously than skilfully, with the prongs of a -carving-fork. - -They now lashed the gun to its port again, and retired forward, to -consult probably. - -The ship's bell was no longer struck to call the watches, but the man -at the wheel was regularly relieved, and, though sometimes exposed to -shots from the cabin, he was never fired on. Under her courses and -other lower sails, the ship was steered to the north-east, but her -exact course those in the cabin knew not, as the tell-tale compass -had gone to wreck long ago, under the missiles showered so liberally -through the skylight. - -By the sounds that came aft from time to time, it was evident that -the crew were eating, drinking, and making merry in the region of the -forecastle; but the fears of those in the cabin were increased by -this hilarity, which increased the evil chances that overhung the -ship, if a gale came on, and found her with her crew and rigging in -such a state of disorder, and half the main-hatch open! - -As day dawned, and the armed lurkers in the once trim cabin looked -around them, its aspect filled them with exasperation and dismay. - -The mahogany table, polished to perfection by poor Joe, was split, -and literally torn to pieces by the contents of the carronade; and -below it, the planks were thickly sown with nails. All the missiles -we have enumerated, the fire buckets, double and single blocks, -six-pound shot, holystones, and "prayer-books," &c., encumbered the -floor; and there, cold, white, and ghastly, lay the stiffened corpse -of the unfortunate Mr. Quail, with many a spot and patch of blood, -that had dropped from the cuts and scars of his companions. - -Taking advantage of the lull in the hostilities, Morley, Bartelot, -and Noah Gawthrop added all the missiles that strewed the floor to -the barricade behind the cabin-door; Mr. Foster procured more caps -and ammunition for their fire-arms; Heriot prepared plasters and -bandages for their flesh wounds and bruises, while Mr. Basset and the -captain took some wine-and-water, with biscuits, to Ethel, Rose, and -their old attendant, as the only breakfast they had to offer. After -this, unknown to their fair friends in misfortune, Morrison and -Foster made preparations to launch the mortal remains of the poor -mate into the deep. - -No time was there then for prayer or homily. - -The body was simply rolled up in a blanket taken from his own bed, -lashed tight at the head and foot with a piece of rope. To the -ankles were lashed four of the shot with which the rascals on deck -had favoured them; and, opening one of the large windows next the -rudder-case, they permitted the body to drop gently, feet foremost, -into the pale-green water that seethed under the counter. - -It could be seen sinking slowly far down into the depths of the -morning sea, where it vanished; but not soon enough to elude the keen -instinct of some Cape pigeons and albatrosses, which gathered, with -ravening beaks and flapping wings, about the place where the corpse -went down, and where but a few spreading ripples appeared upon the -trough of the rolling waves. - -By her frothy wake astern, the _Hermione_ seemed to be going through -the water at the rate of six knots an hour, for the breeze was fresh -and steady. - -Some cold beef from the locker of poor Joe, and a glass of -brandy-and-water, were served round for breakfast; and none spoke, -though all thought of how they would fare when the last drop of water -in the cabin was gone! - -So passed the noon. - -The ill-fated ship still ran north-eastward, increasing hourly, as -Captain Phillips said, her chances of being overhauled by some -homeward-bound ship--a chance on which their hopes of succour mainly -depended now. - - - -END OF VOL. II. - - - -CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE - - - - - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Morley Ashton, Volume 2 (of 3), by James Grant - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MORLEY ASHTON, VOLUME 2 (OF 3) *** - -***** This file should be named 64081-8.txt or 64081-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/0/8/64081/ - -Produced by Al Haines -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Morley Ashton, Volume 2 (of 3) - A Story of the Sea - -Author: James Grant - -Release Date: December 20, 2020 [EBook #64081] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MORLEY ASHTON, VOLUME 2 (OF 3) *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines - - - - - -</pre> - - -<h1> -<br /><br /> - MORLEY ASHTON:<br /> -</h1> - -<p class="t2"> - A Story of the Sea.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - BY<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - JAMES GRANT,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t3"> - AUTHOR OF "THE ROMANCE OF WAR," "FAIRER THAN A FAIRY," ETC.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - In Three Volumes.<br /> -<br /> - VOL. II.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - LONDON:<br /> - TINSLEY BROTHERS, 8, CATHERINE STREET, W.C.<br /> - 1876.<br /> - [All rights reserved.]<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> - CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS,<br /> - CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - CONTENTS.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER I.<br /> - <a href="#chap01">Mariquita Escudero</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER II.<br /> - <a href="#chap02">The Crew of the "Hermione" Discontented</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER III.<br /> - <a href="#chap03">Rose and Dr. Heriot</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER IV.<br /> - <a href="#chap04">Man Overboard</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER V.<br /> - <a href="#chap05">The Livid Face</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER VI.<br /> - <a href="#chap06">What the Doctor overheard in the Forecastle Bunks</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER VII.<br /> - <a href="#chap07">Measures for Defence Concerted</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER VIII.<br /> - <a href="#chap08">The Sail to Windward</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER IX.<br /> - <a href="#chap09">The Storm</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER X.<br /> - <a href="#chap10">The Four Castaways</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XI.<br /> - <a href="#chap11">Captain Hawkshaw makes a Discovery to Leeward</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XII.<br /> - <a href="#chap12">Dr. Heriot's Patients</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XIII.<br /> - <a href="#chap13">Captain Hawkshaw's Troubles increase</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XIV.<br /> - <a href="#chap14">Hawkshaw turns Nurse</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XV.<br /> - <a href="#chap15">A Biter bitten</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XVI.<br /> - <a href="#chap16">Dread</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XVII.<br /> - <a href="#chap17">Unmasked</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> - <a href="#chap18">The Expulsion</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XIX.<br /> - <a href="#chap19">The Meeting</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XX.<br /> - <a href="#chap20">The Corpse-Licht</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XXI.<br /> - <a href="#chap21">Out of Scylla and into Charybdis</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XXII.<br /> - <a href="#chap22">Four Bells in the Dog-Watch</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> - <a href="#chap23">The Crisis at Last</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XXIV.<br /> - <a href="#chap24">How the Ship broached to</a><br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> - CHAPTER XXV.<br /> - <a href="#chap25">The Cabin attacked</a><br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> - -<p class="t2"> -MORLEY ASHTON. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -<br /><br /> -MARIQUITA ESCUDERO. -</h3> - -<p> -After the breathless calm of the past day, the heat -of the cabin was intense. The lamp was trimmed -and lit by the steward, but the skylight was still -kept open. -</p> - -<p> -"Awfully hot, Morley, is it not?" said Tom -Bartelot, as he threw off his jacket. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; and the heat makes one so thirsty, too!" -</p> - -<p> -"I can't give you iced champagne, as in the -gardens at Rio; but the steward has bitter beer, -beaujolais, and potash water, with grog for you, -Morrison, which I know you prefer; and you, too, -Noah, my old Triton. And now let us to work, and -overhaul the old man's papers." -</p> - -<p> -Morrison, who had been scanning over the manuscript, -helped himself to a glass of grog mechanically, -without taking his eyes from the writing. Noah -Gawthrop, who had been specially invited below, in -virtue of the part he had borne in the past day's -episode, received a jorum of stiff grog from the -steward, and seated himself near the bulkhead, -uncomfortably, on the extreme edge of a sea-chest, -in preference to the well-cushioned locker, which he -evidently considered too fine for his tarry trousers. -</p> - -<p> -Morley and Bartelot were each furnished with a -glass of beaujolais and potash water. The stars -were visible through the open skylight, paling away -into the blue ether overhead, when Morrison began -to read, translating the recluse's Spanish into -tolerable English, as he made himself master of the -subject; the sole interruptions, as he proceeded, -being an occasional interjection from Noah, such as -"Dash my buttons!" "Smite my timbers!" varied -by "Darn my eyes! the ragamuffin! the regular-built -old Bluebeard!" followed by a hard slap of -his hand upon his own thigh; though much of what -he heard proved a sore puzzle to him, especially the -religious invocations, the outbursts of remorse, and -bitter self-reproaches, which we omit in the rehearsal -of his story. -</p> - -<p> -The manuscript proceeded thus: -</p> - -<p> -"I pray the reader hereof, if he be a good Catholic, -to say a novena, or nine days' prayer, for the repose -of my sinful soul; and I beg of the first Christian -man who shall give my remains interment to place -a cross at the end of my grave. -</p> - -<p> -"Let whoever beholds these poor remains profit -by the sad spectacle they exhibit, even as the recluse, -Brother Pedro, has sought to profit by the prayers, -penance, and mortification of twenty years spent in -this solitude, while striving to atone for the errors -of forty spent in the world as Don Pedro Zuares -Miguel de Barradas. -</p> - -<p> -"I was a man of fortune in New Spain; my forefathers -were of the purest blood—the boasted blue -blood of those who dwelt by the Ebro, without taint -of Goth, of Moor, or Jew—and my more immediate -predecessors, men who came with Hernan Cortez, of -Medellin, and Francis Pizarro, of Troquillo, to -conquer the new world which Columbus had given to -Castile and Leon. -</p> - -<p> -"My direct ancestor, Don Miguel de Barradas, -came from San Pedro de Arlanza, in the district of -Burgos. A near kinsman of Hernan Cortez, he was -one of the first who settled on the table-land of -Anahuac, founding one of those powerful families -which flourish there, and who also possess all the -sea-coast, from La Vera Cruz to San Luis de Potosi. -</p> - -<p> -"In power and right of action, we were free and -unfettered, as the Spanish nobility at home. No -agrarian law could there force us to sell our vast -estates, if we neglected to cultivate them; and our -farmers we could harass, oppress, cajole, or expel -at our pleasure. -</p> - -<p> -"Proud of my descent from one of those who -conquered Tlascala and Tenochtitlan in 1521, no -man was more vain of his old Castilian pedigree -than I; yet there came a time when I joined the -patriots, and fought for the separation of Peru from -the mother country, and, with my own blood, sought -to cement the foundation of the free United States -of South America. -</p> - -<p> -"Prior to my entering upon that career of usefulness, -my objects in life were very different. -</p> - -<p> -"I was possessed of vast wealth; I had been well -educated and highly accomplished by my parents, at -whose desire I had travelled over all Europe, and -had visited its capitals, to the improvement of my -taste, though but little to the advantage of my -morals. -</p> - -<p> -"I was possessed of a person that was considered -handsome. I deemed myself a model and mirror of -honour, and had a spirit ever high and haughty, but -at times crafty and ferocious. My character was -full of inconsistencies; thus, wherever I went, I -became involved in quarrels on frivolous pretexts -and points of honour—quarrels, which invariably -ended in duels, and in these I was generally the -victor, whether with sword or with pistol, for I was -skilful in the use of both. -</p> - -<p> -"Within this shadow was a darker shade! -</p> - -<p> -"No man's wife or daughter—even were he my -best and dearest friend—could be safe from my -artful, insidious, and too often successful advances; -for to see any woman, possessed of even moderate -attractions, was to love her at once. -</p> - -<p> -"Success in each instance gave new courage and -address, and led to success in others; thus my whole -time was spent in weaving plans and intrigues, and -the chief aim of my existence was to feel myself the -conqueror. Thus to flame succeeded flame, so rapid -were my fancies, so insatiable my desires, that I -rejoiced in the idea of making three or four -assignations with as many different beauties in one day. -</p> - -<p> -"Opposition in some, the tears, the reproaches, -and the despair of others, added but piquancy to -this pursuit of the innocent and unwary, while my -hand with the small sword was so skilful and steady, -my aim with the pistol so deadly and true, that -relations and rivals sought to punish me in vain, -though thrice I escaped miraculously their attempts -at deliberate assassination. -</p> - -<p> -"Of all whom I deceived none do I mourn more -in this time of repentance and bitterness, than -Mariquita Escudero, whose image and memory fill me -yet—even at the distance of many years—with -inexpressible sorrow. -</p> - -<p> -"She was the only daughter of Miguel Escudero, -a worthy old farmer of mine, near Orizaba—that -mighty volcano, whose summit is 1,300 feet higher -than the Peak of Teneriffe, and which serves as -a landmark to all mariners bound for La Vera -Cruz. -</p> - -<p> -"Though tainted, as we deemed it, with the -Mexican blood of her mother, who was an octoroon -of a native tribe, Mariquita inherited from her father -good old Castilian blood, and was a girl far exceeding -all whom I had met or known in loveliness and -goodness, in virtue and in purity. -</p> - -<p> -"She had heard of my evil reputation, and -warned by common rumour—it may be by her -parents, or inspired by native modesty—she always -drew her mantilla close, and shunned or avoided me, -when I visited Orizaba. -</p> - -<p> -"Piqued by her coldness and inflamed by her -beauty, which was of a very remarkable kind, I -relinquished, or forgot for the time, every other -amour, to engage in this new one, proceeding to -work warily, and with all the subtlety of the fiend I -was then. -</p> - -<p> -"Though I frequently visited the <i>granja</i> (farm) -of old Miguel Escudero, I ceased to notice, save by -a casual bow, the presence of Mariquita; but strove -assiduously to gain the friendship of her brother, -Juan, a handsome and high-spirited young man, -whom, as he was a deadly shot and good swordsman, -I thought it would be as well to remove from -the vicinity of my operations. -</p> - -<p> -"I might easily have had him taken off, by -distributing a few dollars among the bandidos of the -Barranca Secca; but, though wicked enough, I was -not sufficiently a villain for that, and so preferred to -procure for him a commission as an <i>alferez</i> (ensign) -in the guards of the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, an -honour which, being so unusual, when conferred on -the son of a humble <i>grangero</i>, or farmer, filled the -soul of Miguel with gratitude, and Juan with pride -and joy. -</p> - -<p> -"Not content with this, I appointed Escudero -overseer of all my estates, with an income of about -five hundred pistoles per annum; so my cold little -beauty, the Senora Mariquita, had now a horse and -mounted groom when she went abroad, instead of a -mule, as before, and a barefooted negro runner. -</p> - -<p> -"These presents—this unwonted patronage—passed -well enough as rewards to an ancient and -faithful adherent of our house, for old Miguel -Escudero had been an especial confidant of my -father, and was descended from one of the twenty -men-at-arms whom my ancestor, Don Miguel, had -brought from San Pedro de Arlanza in Old Castile. -He regarded me with a friendship, a love, that was -almost paternal, and now pressed me to visit him -at the handsome residence which my favour and -bounty had conferred upon him; so I went to spend -three months under the same roof with Mariquita, -on the slopes of the vast Pic d'Orizaba, to hunt the -wild cattle, the elks, the buffaloes, and cabri, and -the grisly black bears, in the ever green forests and -lovely savannahs that spread away from thence -towards the Rio de Carraderas; and, nightly, it -was my joy to lay the spoils of the chase at the feet -of Mariquita, in compliment to her as the mistress -of her father's house, for such she was—luckily, for -the furtherance of my project, her watchful mother -having been recently removed by death. -</p> - -<p> -"I now saw more of her than I could ever have -done by periodical visits, and my passion grew -greater by our intimacy, for the girl was a -wondrously lovely brunette, though her skin was -exceedingly fair. The form of her hands and feet, -the contour of her head, and the soft luxuriant -masses of her ripply black hair, were all perfect; -and her eyes, large, dark, clear, and liquid, were -beautiful, and ever varying in expression. -</p> - -<p> -"I was too artful, too well trained in the ways of -vice, to seem more than simply pleased with the -society of Mariquita. I was scrupulously attentive -to her at table and elsewhere. If she mounted, my -hand and knee were at her service; but when -dismounting, she always preferred the attendance of -her father, or her old negro groom, as if determined -that no hand of mine should ever touch her slender -waist. -</p> - -<p> -"We occasionally accompanied each other on the -guitar. Songs of love were long, long avoided, but -they came at last. I remember the first we ventured -on—'Love's First Kiss,' an old song of Burgos, -beginning: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'A aquel caballero madre.'<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -And then came a time, too, when I saw that -Mariquita ceased to avoid me—a time when her -cheek flushed palpably, and when her lovely eyes -dilated and sparkled at my approach with emotions -of pleasure there were no concealing. -</p> - -<p> -"In me she beheld her father's patron and benefactor, -her brother's friend; so gratitude soon led -the way to love. -</p> - -<p> -"I beheld the growth of this secret influence -with exultation, yet never spoke of love. Inspired -by my master, the devil, I was too wary yet to mar -my game until she loved me irretrievably and -deeply. My efforts, my passion, were about to be -rewarded at last! -</p> - -<p> -"For good or for evil, to what is a man most -indebted for success in life? To genius, birth, -education, or perseverance? To none of these, but -simply to success itself. -</p> - -<p> -"Alas! she was too young, too tender, and too -artless—too full of keen Spanish and generous -Indian impulses, to withstand me; and after a time -I saw that she burned with a passion equal to my -own, which I still pretended to suppress within me, -and to veil under an outward aspect of indifference -and respect. -</p> - -<p> -"'The first symptom of true love in a young man -is timidity; in a girl it is boldness,' says a writer. -'This will surprise, and yet nothing is more simple: -the two sexes have a tendency to approach, and -each assumes the qualities of the other.' -</p> - -<p> -"This strange analysis of the human heart was -fully realised in the case of Mariquita. -</p> - -<p> -"One day we were riding at the foot of the vast -Cordillera, through those odoriferous groves, the -leaves of which are used for perfuming the chocolate. -We had contrived to miss our black groom, who had -dismounted in a part of the wood, to examine a -shoe of his horse; so, as the atmosphere of noon -was intensely hot and breathless, we sought a shady -and sequestered spot, where, under the cool, humid, -and umbrageous forest leaves, the smilax or -sarsaparilla roots, the liquidambar, the choacun root, -and the balsam of tolu were growing in luxuriance, -and where the wild cotton tree, and the broad-leaved -tobacco plant, the yellow gourd, and the purple -grape, all formed a jungle together. -</p> - -<p> -"Languid and panting with the heat of the day, -the length of our ride, and, inspired by the pleasure -she now felt in my society, Mariquita never looked -so lovely; and now, when praying that she would -alight, strange to say, I spoke timidly and with a -wildly-beating heart; but, to my surprise, she -consented, and held out her hand with a delightful -smile. -</p> - -<p> -"As I lifted her from the saddle, she threw back -her long low veil, and the heavy masses of her -perfumed hair fell upon my cheek. -</p> - -<p> -"She leant heavily forward in my arms, and, -instead of placing her on the ground, I pressed her -tenderly to my breast, with my lips trembling on -her forehead. Then I murmured in her ear: -</p> - -<p> -"'Mariquita, <i>mi querida</i>—Marguerita, my idol—I -love you—love you dearly! Will you pardon me; -will you permit it?' -</p> - -<p> -"She did not reply, but her head sank upon my -shoulder, for the crisis had come! Her lovely face -was close to mine, and I felt her breath upon my -cheek. The colour had left hers, for those emotions -which cause some women to blush make others grow -pale; but her half-closed eyes sparkled with passion -and joy under their long black lashes, and her rosy -lips were parted by a divine smile. -</p> - -<p> -"I felt that I had triumphed; that Mariquita, -the once proud, cold, and reserved Mariquita, loved -me, for that emotion which had made me at first -seem timid now made her actually bold, and her -sweet lips sought mine, it may be but too readily, in -the first glow of her girlish ardour. -</p> - -<p> -"She gave me one long and passionate kiss, and -then, without assistance, she sprang from my arms -to her saddle, saying, with mingled smiles and -tears: -</p> - -<p> -"'We have both been foolish—very foolish, -Senor Don Pedro, but let us begone.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Mariquita, consider the heat—your fatigue!' I -urged. -</p> - -<p> -"'We are some miles from the <i>granja</i>, and have -first the road to find,' she replied hurriedly. -</p> - -<p> -"With her horse's reins and her whip, she had -resumed something of her former self, but the -memory of my kisses yet burned upon her brow and -lips. I endeavoured, in vain, to lead the conversation -back to the sudden impulse which the simple -act of dismounting had given to both our -hearts. -</p> - -<p> -"I begged of her to moderate the pace of her -horse, as there was plenty of time for us to reach -home; but she would not listen to me, and seemed -to blush with anger now at the memory of what had -passed between us; yet little cared I for that, -felt assured that we had passed the Rubicon, that -this beautiful girl loved me, and that the time I -had spent with old Miguel Escudero, in rambling -among his plantations, where the negroes hoed the -sugar, planted tobacco, and gathered the cotton -tufts, had not been spent in vain. -</p> - -<p> -"Mariquita did not avoid me, so for several days -after this I never missed an opportunity, especially -when old Senor Escudero was not present, of -pressing my suit, and giving her assurances of my -unalterable love! Unalterable! Oh, <i>mal hay as tu</i>, -Pedro de Barradas, into how many charming ears -had those same words been poured, and in the -same tender accents, too! -</p> - -<p> -"But Mariquita, who had become more mistress -of herself, always heard me with composure, and -with a bearing unlike that she had exhibited in the -wood; but I could see that the simplest remark, or -most casual tone of my voice, made her heart vibrate -with pleasure, and her colour deepen. -</p> - -<p> -"One evening we were standing together at an -open window, which was shaded by a vine-covered -verandah, and faced the usually flaming summit of -the volcano of Orizaba. It was wonderfully still on -that occasion; a column of thin smoke only ascended -from it to the very zenith. The evening was lovely, -and the sun's farewell rays were gilding the mighty -summit of the cone; all was calm and quiet, save in -our hearts, which beat tumultuously. I drew closer -to Mariquita, and as she stood before me, I passed -my arms round her, kissed the back of her delicate -neck tenderly, and whispered: -</p> - -<p> -"'How long shall I speak to you of love, Mariquita?' -</p> - -<p> -"'As long as you please, Senor Don Pedro,' she -replied, with a tender smile, as she half turned -round her head. -</p> - -<p> -"'Call me Pedro, my beloved one, without the -ceremonious don—and senor, too, oh, fie!' -</p> - -<p> -"'<i>Bueno—Pedro mi querida.</i>' -</p> - -<p> -"'Sweeter still!' I exclaimed, in a low voice. -</p> - -<p> -"'Well?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Well, dearest Mariquita; how long shall we -speak of love?' -</p> - -<p> -"'As long as you please.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Ah! feel how my heart beats. I ask how -long in vain?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Long enough, senor,' said she, with a pretty -pout. -</p> - -<p> -"'<i>Senor!</i>' -</p> - -<p> -"'Yes, senor, unless—unless——' -</p> - -<p> -She paused. -</p> - -<p> -"'What?' -</p> - -<p> -"'You speak of marriage, too,' she replied, -suddenly unclasping my hands, which were tenderly -folded round her slender waist. -</p> - -<p> -"'Do you love me?' -</p> - -<p> -"'Do I love you?' she repeated, reproachfully, -turning her full, clear, and glorious eyes to mine, -while throwing back her veil and the masses of her -silky hair together; 'you know that <i>I do love you</i>, -Pedro, fondly, deeply, passionately, for you have -won that which never belonged, and never shall -belong, to another—my heart.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Beloved Mariquita!' I exclaimed, and pressed -her to my breast in a long and mutual embrace, -'and you will be mine—mine?' -</p> - -<p> -"'At the foot of the altar, Pedro—at the foot of -the altar alone,' she whispered, with a heart that -swelled with love, and with dark eyes steeped in -languor. -</p> - -<p> -"But vain are human resolves, even when made -by a heart so pure and guileless as that of Mariquita, -when struggling with a passion so deep and -consuming; for with these very words on her lips she -was yielding; we were alone and undisturbed, and -ere the sun's last rays had faded from the cone of -Orizaba, Mariquita had lost her honour! -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * -</p> - -<p> -"The hapless Mariquita! She loved me more -than ever now. She clung to me with all the -strength of love, of sacrifice, and of despair. -</p> - -<p> -"For days after this, on her knees, she besought -me to marry her. I would raise her, kiss and -console her, and flatter, too—how weary now the -task!—flatter and pacify her, making countless promises -and professions, for I still loved her in my own -selfish fashion; but I shrunk from the idea of -marriage with the daughter of one of my own -grangeros—one whose ancestors had been hewers of -wood and drawers of water to mine—a girl, moreover, -who had the taint of native blood in her veins! -</p> - -<p> -"I, Pedro de Barradas, Knight of Santiago de -Compostella, and Lord of Anahuac, whom the proud -daughters of the first men, and of the noblest -houses in New Spain, had failed to lure within the -meshes of matrimony, was not likely to mate with -the daughter of Miguel Escudero, however much I -might love her, and however much she might please -my somewhat fastidious eye. -</p> - -<p> -"I heard her many tender and pathetic entreaties—and -once, too, her wild threats of self-destruction, -poniard in hand—that I would save her from -impending shame; but I was pitiless as the ocelot—the -tiger-cat that lurked in the woods of Orizaba—all -the more pitiless that I knew she fondly—yes, -madly—loved me. -</p> - -<p> -"Weary of the endless task of seeking to console -one who would not and could not be consoled, I -quitted Orizaba for some months, as we were -planning the revolt against the mother country, a -movement which was to secure to me the captaincy of the -great castle of San Juan, de Ulloa, the citadel of -La Vera Cruz, which mounts nearly 200 pieces of -cannon, and is the key of the whole province. -</p> - -<p> -"During my absence and in the fulness of time, -Mariquita had a son, born in secrecy, amid tears, -shame, and sorrow. She baptised it by the name of -Pedro, and sent him to a lonely puebla in the -mountains that overlook the Barranca Secca, to be -nursed by one of my people. This birth, all -unknown alike to Miguel Escudero, whom I had -despatched on a political mission towards the shores -of the Pacific, and to his son, Juan, who was now a -lieutenant of infantry at the castle of San Juan -de Ulloa. -</p> - -<p> -"My passion for Mariquita still existed; her love -for me was greater than ever now, and she lived but -for me, and in the hope that in pity, if not for love, -I would espouse her still, and these hopes I was -always wicked enough to fan; 'so man wrongs, and -time avenges.' -</p> - -<p> -"Completely in my power, surrounded by my -toils, the victim of my wiles, still loving me dearly -and desperately, and still hoping for the ultimate -fulfilment of my thousand protestations, the poor -girl continued to meet me from time to time in a -deserted sugar-mill on the mountains of Orizaba, a -secret intercourse that ended fatally for her and for -all, for another son, whom we named Zuares, was -born, and at the same time the whole affair came to -the knowledge of Miguel Escudero, who, though -but a humble grangero, had all the pride of birth, -and more than the ideas of spotless honour, honesty, -and female purity, possessed by any grandee of old -Castile. -</p> - -<p> -"The poor old man's horror was beyond all description. -</p> - -<p> -"To find that his daughter's honour had been -lost, his hospitality so infamously violated, his home -disgraced, his prospects ruined, and by me—ME, -whom he had so loved and so respected, as his friend -and benefactor, was a mortal stab too deep to -survive, and within an hour after the revelation -came upon him in all its stunning details, poor -Miguel Escudero had ceased to exist. -</p> - -<p> -"He did not die by his own hand, he was too -good and too religious a man for such a terrible -act; but sinking on the floor of his chamber, he -never moved again. He died of autopsy—paralysis -of the heart! -</p> - -<p> -"I was not present at this scene of horror, being, -fortunately for myself, in command of the great -castle of San Juan de Ulloa. -</p> - -<p> -"On the day of Corpus Christi, after having -attended mass, I was walking on that portion of the -ramparts which faces the flats of Gallega, accompanied -by some of the officers of my staff, when the -young lieutenant, Juan Escudero, approached to -inform me, in a voice broken with grief, of his -father's sudden death, and to request leave of -absence to attend his obsequies. -</p> - -<p> -"My heart was struck with remorse, and grew -sick with shame. I placed my purse in his hand; I -gave him my best horse, and bade him begone to -Orizaba with good speed; but I trembled like a -craven in my soul for the hour of his return. -</p> - -<p> -"A few days passed, and the young lieutenant -came back. -</p> - -<p> -"I was walking alone on the same ramparts when -I saw him steadily approaching me. He was clad -in his uniform, and his silver epaulettes glittered in -the sun. He had a band of crape on his right arm, -and another on the hilt of his sword—a soldier's -simple mourning for a lost parent, and, alas! a lost -honour. -</p> - -<p> -"He came straight up to me; his handsome face, -so like the face of Mariquita, was deadly pale; but -the glare of wild hate shone in his eyes, and his -nether lip quivered spasmodically. -</p> - -<p> -"'Senor Don Pedro de Barradas,' said he, -saluting me, ceremoniously, 'I have the honour to -confess the many services you have rendered my -family in the days when you were true to yourself -and to us. For all these I beg to thank you. But -I have also to confess the many deep wrongs you -have done us, and I here brand you, before God -and man, as a villain and a coward, whom I have -vowed to kill like a dog, here on the ramparts of -San Juan de Ulloa!' -</p> - -<p> -"My heart sank, and my hand trembled. -</p> - -<p> -"'Senor Teniente—Senor Escudero,' I began, in -a rash and vague attempt to explain or to extenuate; -but the brother of Mariquita was mad with -ungovernable fury, and he rushed upon me, sword in -hand. -</p> - -<p> -"I knew that he would kill me without mercy, -and that there was nothing left for me but to defend -my life to the utmost, and to do this all my skill -was requisite. -</p> - -<p> -"I was the best swordsman in La Vera Cruz; but -he was twenty years my junior, young, active, and -filled with just rage and indignation. -</p> - -<p> -"Compelled to stand on my own defence, my -sole object was to ward off his cuts, to parry his -thrusts, and to keep him at bay till the castle guard -came to separate us. I sought to disarm, and if -driven to sore extremity to wound him only; but -while he was making a desperate lunge at me, my -sword entered his heart. I felt its hot blood spout -upon the blade, and pour through the hilt -upon my hand, as I flung my weapon down in grief -and dismay. -</p> - -<p> -"Juan threw up his hands, and uttered a wild -cry. It was 'Mariquita,' as he fell dead on his face, -at my feet. -</p> - -<p> -"Long, long did a horror of these events oppress -me. I buried him in the church of the Augustine -Friars, and had one hundred masses sung for the -repose of his soul—oh, who will say one for me!—I -would have made some effort to requite the living -victim of my wickedness; but now retribution came -upon me. -</p> - -<p> -"Mariquita was still living at her father's old -<i>granja</i>, on the borders of the Barranca Secca, in -shame and seclusion, nursing her children, Pedro -and Zuares, who now bore the dishonoured name of -Barradas, and each of whom had, strange to say, a -little red cross, like that of Santiago, on his left -shoulder, where their mother's hand engraved it, -lest the children should be lost. -</p> - -<p> -"About a month after Juan's death, I was -betrayed by some of his friends into the hands of -the troops of his Majesty Ferdinand VII., and was -placed by them on board a vessel for conveyance to -Spain, where an ignominious death as a traitor -awaited me. -</p> - -<p> -"When passing near this isle, a heavy gale came -on, and I fell overboard. In such a sea, to save me -was impossible; but a sailor heard my shriek of -despair, and cast over to me a hencoop. -</p> - -<p> -"God, in his goodness, enabled me to reach it, and -after drifting on the dark ocean for more than an -hour, I was cast ashore, and here have I remained -ever since, leading a life of piety and austerity, of -penance and of prayer, in the humble and earnest -hope that this imitation of the holy men of old may -atone for the errors I committed in the world as -Don Pedro Zuares Miguel de Barradas. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Rueguen a Dios por el."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Such was the substance of this strange confession, -which we have written out in a more readable and -coherent form than Morrison found it, and which -throws a light on the parentage and origin of the -two dark seamen on board the <i>Hermione</i>; and as for -the fate of the hapless Mariquita, the reader has -already learned it from Captain Hawkshaw's -unpleasant reminiscence of the Barranca Secca. -</p> - -<p> -The evening of the next day saw the <i>Princess</i> -steering for the north-western extremity of the -island of Tristan d'Acunha. At nine o' clock, -Bartelot ordered a light to be hoisted at the end of -the foretopmast studdingsail boom, and a gun to be -fired, as a signal for a shore boat, which promptly -came off from this remarkable place. -</p> - -<p> -As he wanted fresh water, the captain continued -to stand off and on till dawn next day, when Morley, -who had spent the morning watch in successful -fishing, had the gratification of seeing the sun rise -on the isle of Don Tristan d'Acunha. -</p> - -<p> -Situated far amid the lonely waves of the Southern -Atlantic, at the distance of 1,500 miles from any -continent, this lofty island has a peak of 5,000 feet -in height above the level of its beach. At dawn it -seemed like a cone of flame, shaded off by purple -tints, and towering amid a rose-coloured sea, whose -depth is so vast that it far exceeds even the height -of Tristan's loftiest peak. -</p> - -<p> -Two islands are near it: one is named the Inaccessible; -the other, the island of the Nightingale; -but they are mere masses of wild storm-beaten -rock, against which the ocean rolls its masses of -foam, and above which, in the amber-tinted sky, a -cloud of sea-hens, petrels, and albatrosses wheel -and flutter. -</p> - -<p> -In the little town which held a British garrison -when our imperial captive pined in St. Helena, there -is a mixed population of English and Portuguese -mulattoes, though the isle is described in a recent -gazetteer as being as desolate as when the Cavalier -Tristan d'Acunha traversed the southern sea with -his high-pooped caravel, and gave the place his -name, in the first years of the sixteenth century. -</p> - -<p> -Morley, Gawthrop, and three of the crew went -ashore in the jolly-boat to procure some fresh water -and vegetables. Morrison followed in the quarter-boat; -both returned in about an hour, and after -what they had brought off was put on board, they -were sent ahead with a warp to tow the ship off the -land, towards which a dangerous current had been -drifting her. -</p> - -<p> -A fine breeze soon after sprang up; the <i>Princess</i> -bore away upon her course, and ere midnight came -down upon the sea, she had bade a last farewell to -the lofty isle of Tristan d'Acunha. -</p> - -<p> -When next we see her on the ocean, we shall have -something to narrate very different from the hitherto -peaceful and prosperous voyages of Bartelot and his -shipmates. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -<br /><br /> -THE CREW OF THE "HERMIONE" DISCONTENTED. -</h3> - -<p> -For days Captain Hawkshaw was haunted by the -recollection of that strange episode, the sinking -corpse; whose features—seen through the fevered -medium of his own imagination and his guilty -conscience—seemed to assume the likeness of Morley -Ashton, as they went slowly down through the green, -translucent sea, after Dr. Leslie Heriot had attached -the cannon-shot to its heels. -</p> - -<p> -He accounted for the exclamation of horror that -escaped him, by saying to those in the boat that he -felt a sudden qualm of sickness, of disgust, or a -giddiness; and his first resource when on board -was to Joe, the captain's steward, for his brandy -bottle. -</p> - -<p> -When he began to reason with himself, however, -in a calmer moment, he perceived the impossibility -of the remains being those of Morley Ashton, as no -influence of current, tide, or wind could have drifted -them from the coast of Britain so far through the -ocean as the South Atlantic. -</p> - -<p> -The idea was absurd—impossible! -</p> - -<p> -Moreover, the drowned man had not been dead -more than a week to all appearance; and then his -hands had grasped a life-buoy, evincing that he -must have fallen overboard from some ship, or been -the victim of a wreck. -</p> - -<p> -When the impression of that affair began to wear -away, his fears of the two Barradas, and a -recollection of the manner in which Pedro, Bill Badger, -the bulky Yankee, and others of the crew had -insulted him, resumed their sway; but after a time -he began to take courage. -</p> - -<p> -"What have I to fear from the Barradas? -Nothing!" he would whisper to himself, as if to -gather comfort from the echo of his own thoughts. -"Suppose they denounce me to my friends—to -Ethel—I have simply to deny, and that is all. The -story of the padre—d——nation!—no, I mean of -the Barranca Secca—I have already told, and -Master Zuares does not shine in that affair. Even -to Ethel it is nothing new, for I have related it -more than once, to increase her horror of the -Barradas when the crisis comes." -</p> - -<p> -A <i>crisis</i> was coming, which the captain did not -quite foresee! -</p> - -<p> -"Even to Ethel it is nothing new—I can deny, -deny, and defy them all. 'Tis only my word against -theirs." -</p> - -<p> -This was all very well; but ere the voyage ended -there occurred several events, which alike put the -captain's courage and resolution to flight. -</p> - -<p> -As the <i>Hermione</i> approached the Cape of Good -Hope, she encountered alternate storms and calms, -with weather so unusually cold for the season, that -Hawkshaw had a fair excuse for permitting his -whiskers and moustache to resume their wonted -aspect of luxuriance, as he had ceased to hope for -concealment on board. -</p> - -<p> -Though pretty well inured now, by their very -protracted voyage, to the discomforts of ship-life, -Ethel and Rose Basset remained a good deal in the -cabin, especially the former, to avoid Hawkshaw's -attention, which were thus repressed by the presence -of the captain, when it was not his watch, of -Mr. Quail, or her father, who preferred to lie reading or -lounging on the cabin locker, to facing on deck the -spoon-drift that flew over the lee quarter when the -ship was going free. -</p> - -<p> -She found Adrian Manfredi, the young Italian -mate, a pleasant companion, for Rose rather -absorbed the society of Dr. Heriot. He was -gentlemanly and well bred; he had seen much of -the world, and her preference for him was so -decided, that Hawkshaw felt at times a pang of -jealous rage in his heart, which was in no way -soothed when, in the mate's hours of leisure, they -took to reading together in Italian, "I Promessi -Sposi," the beautiful novel of Alessandro Manzoni, -from the neat little three-volume edition, printed at -Lugano. -</p> - -<p> -This emotion became all the more bitter after -Ethel gave Manfredi a handsome gold locket, to hold -the hair of his little brother, "the brave boy, Attilio," -whose story he told in a previous chapter. -</p> - -<p> -The young man was no doubt charmed by the -beauty and society of a sweet English girl like Ethel -Basset; thus his voice became mellow and soft -whenever he addressed her, and his eyes sparkled with -admiration and pleasure whenever he saw her, but -beyond this, no sign of a deeper emotion escaped -him. Perhaps he felt the folly or futility of -encouraging it. -</p> - -<p> -On the other hand, Ethel's preference for him was -greatly induced by some real or imaginary -resemblance which she saw, or thought she saw, in his -features to those of Morley Ashton; though Rose -and her father failed to perceive it, and Hawkshaw, -who always trembled in his soul at the young man's -name, treated the idea with angry ridicule. -</p> - -<p> -The sullenness and other growing peculiarities in -the bearing of the crew had been increasing, so that -some would scarcely obey those orders necessary for -the working of the ship. Captain Phillips, though -full of anxiety for the probable issue, resolved to -forbear until a ship of war hove in sight, or until he -could dismiss some and put others in prison, if this -state of matters still continued, when the <i>Hermione</i> -hauled up for Table Bay. -</p> - -<p> -One day Adrian Manfredi had charge of the deck. -</p> - -<p> -The ship was running nearly fair before a fine -topgallant breeze; there was not much of a sea on, but -the sky was lowering, and a great gray bank of cloud -was resting on the ocean to the northward, for they -were encountering regular Cape weather now. -</p> - -<p> -Manfredi was conversing with Ethel from time to -time, and she was still busy with the last volume of -"I Promessi Sposi," when one of the crew, named -Samuel Sharkey, a coarse, square stump of a fellow, -having great misshapen hands, a large and very ugly -visage, came deliberately aft, with a short black pipe -in his mouth, and stood near her, puffing with great -coolness, and eyeing her with a very admiring leer. -</p> - -<p> -Ethel glanced at him uneasily, and removed to a -seat nearer the taffrail, for there was cool insolence -in the man's sinister eyes and bearing which alarmed -her very much. -</p> - -<p> -On this, Sharkey, the seaman, gave a peculiar -whistle, to which Bill Badger, the tall, ungainly -Yankee, who was at the wheel, responded; and these -signals now attracted the attention of Manfredi, who -had been looking aloft, and securing some of the -halyards to the belaying-pins. -</p> - -<p> -"Hollo, you sir!" said he, "what do you want -aft, eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"None o' your grand airs, Mister Manfreddy," -was the sulky response, "'cos they won't do in this -part o' blue water, so I tells you at once." -</p> - -<p> -"Take that pipe out of your mouth; remember -that you are on the quarter-deck, and there is a lady -here." -</p> - -<p> -"That is just what brought me aft. Are you -chaps and the cabin passengers a goin' to keep the -gals—the old judge's darters—all to yourselves? I -don't mean to offend you, marm; oh, not at all, by -no manner o' means," he continued, making a mock -bow to Ethel; "but, shiver my topsails, if, mayhap, -we won't be better acquainted afore we sights Maddygascar -and the gut of the Mosambique Channel—ha, ha!" -</p> - -<p> -And as he concluded he continued to leer at Ethel. -</p> - -<p> -"You are drunk, fellow," said Manfredi, who was -resolved to keep his temper, if possible, for the man's -words contained in them a reference to ultimate views -sufficiently daring to excite alarm. -</p> - -<p> -"I am no more a feller than you are, mayhap not -so much," replied Sharkey, taking his huge square -hands out of his trousers pockets and proceeding to -clench them very ominously; "and as for being two -or three cloths in the wind, 'taint the six-water grog -as we gets aboard o' this 'ere beastly craft as will -make me so." -</p> - -<p> -"Go forward, I command you, or by Heaven I'll -throw you overboard," said Manfredi, in a hoarse -voice. -</p> - -<p> -"If you want to swim, there may be two as can -play at that," responded the ugly seaman; "but I -knows summut easier in seamanship, and I would -advise you to l'arn it." -</p> - -<p> -"What is it?" -</p> - -<p> -"To run ten knots an hour right in the wind's eye, -with everything set that will draw, aloft and alow, -skyscrapers, moonrakers, and all." -</p> - -<p> -"My dear Miss Basset, I beg of you to excuse -this scene, and permit me to lead you below," said -Manfredi, with an agitated manner, to Ethel, who -had listened to all this with great dismay. -</p> - -<p> -"My dear, don't do nothin' o' the sort; just stay -here and see how I'll rib-roast him," said Sharkey. -</p> - -<p> -"Go forward, you gallows lubber!" thundered -Manfredi, growing pale with a passion which he -strove to repress, lest he should terrify Ethel, between -whom and this seaman he interposed. -</p> - -<p> -Sharkey, instead of complying, put his right hand -behind him, and suddenly drew forth a sheath-knife—one -of those ugly weapons which few seamen are -now without. Armed with this, he was about to -make a rush at Manfredi, when the latter, quick as -thought, and as if he had anticipated some such -catastrophe, snatched up a heavy iron marlinespike -and hurled it full at Sharkey's head, with such force -and unerring aim that he was knocked down, senseless -and bleeding, with a severe wound on the head. -</p> - -<p> -"Carry the scoundrel forward, and drench him -well with salt water, to bring him to," said Manfredi, -while panting with excitement, to the Barradas and -some of the crew who had run aft. He took the -knife from Sharkey's relaxed hand, and threw it -into the sea, adding, "I will serve every man who -disobeys me now in the same fashion, and tow him -overboard for twenty knots at the end of a line, if -the captain will allow me." -</p> - -<p> -"Mayhap as you won't," growled Sharkey, -recovering a little, as he was lifted up by his sulky and -muttering messmates; "and if you don't repent -this work <i>afore to-morrow morning</i>, you infernal -Hytalian, my name ain't Sam Sharkey!" -</p> - -<p> -That some general outbreak among the crew was -on the <i>tapis</i>, and might have taken place but for his -own resolute conduct, Manfredi had not a doubt. -</p> - -<p> -With his face covered with blood, the mutineer -was carried forward, and Dr. Heriot (whom Ethel's -scream when she beheld the scuffle had brought on -deck) with others, hastened to the forecastle to -examine the wound and have it dressed. -</p> - -<p> -The marlinespike, an iron instrument that tapers -like a pin, and is used for separating the strands of -rope when splicing or marling, had inflicted a severe -wound on the forehead of Sharkey, and the blood -was flowing freely from it. -</p> - -<p> -He growled and swore, using fearful oaths and -threats, while Heriot, bathed, dressed, and bandaged -the gash. Captain Phillips threatened to have him -put in irons till the ship reached Cape Town; but -as the wound was severe, he permitted him to -remain in his berth in the forecastle bunks, where -his shipmates remained to console him, and hear his -reiterated threats of revenge. -</p> - -<p> -Manfredi apologised to Ethel for the alarm he had -unwittingly caused her, but added that no other -course was left him but to strike the ruffian down, -to preserve his own life and authority. -</p> - -<p> -Quiet Mr. Quail made a due entry of the event -among his columns of "remarks" in the ship's log, -while Mr. Basset waxed warm at the affair, and -expounded learnedly and as became a new-fledged -judge, on the law relating to merchant seamen, -quoting Shee's edition of "Lord Tenterden," and so -forth with great fluency. -</p> - -<p> -So generous and forgiving was Manfredi, that, at -lunch time, he sent boy Joe, the captain's steward, -forward with a tot of brandy to the patient in the -forecastle, and the amiable Mr. Sharkey drank it to -the last drop, with a fearful invocation of curses on -the donor's head, and thereupon dashed the wooden -tot in Joe's face. -</p> - -<p> -Before the first dog-watch the event was apparently -forgotten; but it increased the desire of -Captain Phillips to reach Cape Town and get rid of -some of his crew. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -<br /><br /> -ROSE AND DR. HERIOT. -</h3> - -<p> -Supper was over in the cabin, and the little -community there would soon be separating for the night, -or "turning in," as it is technically named. -</p> - -<p> -"How brightly the stars are shining," said Rose, -as she peeped up through the skylight. -</p> - -<p> -"Should you like to go on deck for a moment?" -asked Dr. Heriot, in a low voice, as he hastened to -her side. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—for a moment only." -</p> - -<p> -"Take care of chill," said Mr. Basset, warningly. -</p> - -<p> -"Take care rather of yourself, Miss Rose, and, of -all things, take care of the doctor," said Captain -Phillips, laughing. "Manfredi has charge of the -deck; see how she is trimmed aloft. Report to me -when you come down, and then I'll turn in." -</p> - -<p> -Rose coloured on hearing the captain's bantering -tone, as she threw a shawl over her head and -shoulders, took the doctor's ready arm, and hastened -up the companion-stair. -</p> - -<p> -Ethel smiled sadly at her joyous and girlish sister, -for she had seen how the intimacy between the -young doctor and Rose had been ripening; and she -wondered, or speculated on, how they would separate -when the tedious voyage was over. Then she -thought of Morley Ashton, and the fatal blight that -had fallen so awfully and mysteriously upon her own -first love. -</p> - -<p> -"Miss Basset," said Hawkshaw, rising, "would -you wish— -</p> - -<p> -"To go on deck? Oh, no, thank you," said she -hurriedly, anticipating and replying to his offer -without looking up from "I Promessi Sposi." -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw seated himself again, and bit his lip, -while that malignant gleam which filled his eyes -at times shot from them covertly and unseen. -</p> - -<p> -He made one other effort to engage her in -conversation, by saying, in a low voice, as he stooped -over her: -</p> - -<p> -"Your sad smiles, Ethel, go straight to my heart, -with an effect, believe me, that is cruel—killing!" -</p> - -<p> -"Why! it seems that 'I can smile, and murder -while I smile,' as Shakespeare says. Is it so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Bantering—bantering still—even here, when -on the verge of destruction, perhaps!" muttered -Hawkshaw, as he drew back with another fierce but -covert gleam in his stealthy eyes, and Ethel never -lifted hers again from her book, until a noise on -deck aroused her. -</p> - -<p> -Rose clung closely and affectionately to the -doctor's arm, as they traversed the quarter-deck -towards the taffrail, and turned to look at the -ship, at the sky overhead, through which the wild -black scud was driving, and on the mysterious world -of water and of darkness, through which she was -careering under a press of canvas. -</p> - -<p> -Encouraged by Rose's ready accession to his -request, the young man held her right hand in -his, and pressed it tenderly to his heart. -</p> - -<p> -There was none near them save the man at the -wheel; for it was about the middle of the first -watch, or nearer eleven o'clock. -</p> - -<p> -Rose had a presentiment that a crisis was -approaching in her relations with the young doctor. -The somewhat annoying banter of Captain Phillips, -the affectionate warnings of Ethel, and the praises of -him so loudly sung by her old nurse, had all, in a -manner, prepared her for it, as much as the steady -and delicate attention he paid herself. -</p> - -<p> -Nightly, when Rose retired to rest in that little -cabin, which seemed so small, so very small, the -first night they occupied it, Nance Folgate was -wont to chant her praises of the handsome doctor. -</p> - -<p> -"Lor' a mussy me!—for a Scotchman—he is such -a sweet dispositioned youth, Miss Rose. Oh, yes! now, -ain't he, miss? He gives me no end o' cordials -and stuffs when I'm in low spirits, which are often -the case, 'specially when it blows 'ard, and the ship -tumbles about. There is such a modesty in all his -words and ways—now, ain't there? If I was a fine -young gal like you, instead o' bein' a poor old -toothless thing, I would love him, that I would, when I -saw how much he loved me—he is such a nice -young man, is the doctor. But why don't you -answer, miss?" -</p> - -<p> -If Rose did not reply to such rhapsodies as these, -it was not because she disagreed with them; but -her young heart was wild with pleasure, and she -often affected to be asleep that she might conceal -her flushing cheek on her pillow. But if the young -doctor had won over the old nurse, it was just as he -had won over the quiet and unaffected Mr. Quail, or -anyone else, as he was a good obliging fellow, and -fond of doing kind offices for all. So Rose, yielding -to an irresistible impulse, assented to a tête-à-tête -on deck, on the night in question. -</p> - -<p> -After a silence of some minutes— -</p> - -<p> -"How strange it is," said Rose, in her soft, sweet -voice, "that amid the wind which moans through -the rigging, I seem to hear the sound of bells." -</p> - -<p> -"Bells?" -</p> - -<p> -"Or is it from the bottom of the sea?" -</p> - -<p> -"Don't say so, Rose," replied Heriot. -</p> - -<p> -This sounded strange in both their ears, as he had. -never simply called her "Rose" before; yet the -implied familiarity was not without its novelty and -charm. -</p> - -<p> -"Why may I not say so?" she asked. -</p> - -<p> -"It is an old superstition of our Scottish sailors -that the bells of wrecks and sunken ships are rung -by mysterious hands at the bottom of the sea, to -announce storms and disasters." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, but you Scots are so superstitious; you live -in a land of omens and ghosts, predictions and -dreams, even in these fast railway times." -</p> - -<p> -"Yet I would that we were in Scotland now," -said Heriot, with a sigh, as he thought of the doubts -and clouds that veiled the future. -</p> - -<p> -"We?" repeated Rose, inquiringly, while peeping -from her hood and shawl, so that the light of the -binnacle lamp fell full on her sweet young face, and -very beautiful the dark-eyed girl looked. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, we," reiterated Heriot, whose heart was -rushing to his head as he held, unresisted, her plump -little hands in his. "I wish to speak with you, Rose, -to—to—I have so long desired—do you—do you -care for me Rose, dear Rose?" -</p> - -<p> -"Care for you!" she repeated, faintly. -</p> - -<p> -"Can you love me, dear, dear Rose, as I love you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said Rose, in a whisper, as her head -dropped on Heriot's shoulder, and his lips were -pressed on her throbbing brow, for now the great -secret was told, and all her pulses beat with a new, -happiness. -</p> - -<p> -A few moments of joyous silence followed. Then -crossing the deck to leeward, they were more in -obscurity; and fortunately for them, Manfredi at -that moment went forward, so Heriot pressed Rose -to his breast, and said in a low, earnest, and agitated -voice: -</p> - -<p> -"But Rose—my beloved Rose; to what end do I -love you?—to what purpose?—how taught you -love to me? We are to land you at the Isle of -France, and then sail on through the Indian Seas—to -leave you—leave you there, for I have no home—no -settled abode." -</p> - -<p> -("Papa's daughters are unlucky in their lovers," -thought Rose.) She replied, however, while tears -of apprehension filled her eyes: -</p> - -<p> -"Why cannot you leave the ship? Sailing with -it to and fro must be very tiresome." -</p> - -<p> -"Leave it?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, and live with us in the Isle of France." -</p> - -<p> -"Live with you, Rose?" said Heriot, with sad -perplexity. -</p> - -<p> -"Settle, I mean—at least, while papa is there." -</p> - -<p> -"I cannot, even if I had the means. I am bound -to the owners and to Captain Phillips, for this -voyage at least, unless the <i>Hermione</i> procures -another medical officer." -</p> - -<p> -"At Singapore?" -</p> - -<p> -Heriot smiled sadly at Rose's simplicity. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, yes—that will be delightful! and if poor -dear Morley Ashton, who is dead, were here with us -now, how happy Ethel and we should all have -been!" exclaimed Rose, while nursing herself -into a mood of the most prosperous cheerfulness, -as her happy young spirit soared into a bright -world all her own, and Heriot caressingly slipped -a ring on her "engagement" finger, whispering in -her ear: -</p> - -<p> -"It was my mother's, Rose—wear it, at all events, -for her sake and mine." -</p> - -<p> -Another kiss and the bond was sealed. Then -Rose, in a tumult of joy that could only find vent in -tears, hurried below, with her head inclined on -Ethel's bosom, told her of all that had passed -between Leslie Heriot and herself—a pretty little -narrative, interspersed with hesitations, smiles, and -blushes, till they were startled by the wild hubbub -that reigned on deck, where a terrible catastrophe -had occurred. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -<br /><br /> -MAN OVERBOARD. -</h3> - -<p> -A sudden squall, and a sea which heavily swept over -the poop with a shower of blinding spray, that hissed -away amidships, had first driven Rose and Heriot -below, and just as they retired hand in hand, they -heard the voice of Manfredi, shouting through the -wild blast: -</p> - -<p> -"Below there! all hands ahoy! come, tumble up -to take in sail!" -</p> - -<p> -Then the men were heard grumbling and swearing -as they hurried half-dressed out of the forecastle -bunks, to assist the watch; next followed the orders -"to let go," "haul down," "clew up," amid the -cracking and flapping of the canvas, as the topsails -were lowered almost to the caps; the royals and -topgallant sails taken off her; flying gib and studding -sails all in in a twinkling, though for a time the -wind howled fearfully, and the ship careered before -its fierce breath almost on her beam-ends. Little -more than steering canvas was left upon her, for -wild and black was the Atlantic squall that had -come suddenly over her, accompanied by torrents -of rain, that rattled on deck, like a tempest -of rouncival peas, while ever and anon the red -lightning flashed vividly at the horizon, but still the -brave ship flew on. -</p> - -<p> -"By the sky to-day I knew we should have a gale -to-night," said Captain Phillips cheerfully, as he -donned his storm-jacket of shiny oilskin, and came -on deck. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'A mackerel sky and grey mares' tails<br /> - Make lofty ships carry lowly sails.'<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -A glorious sailor is Manfredi! How smartly he -had all the cloth off her. But we'll need our best -umbrellas to-night." -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly, from the forecastle, through the many -wild sounds of the squall, there came the appalling -cry: -</p> - -<p> -"A man overboard! hard down! hard down!" -</p> - -<p> -Other shouts followed. -</p> - -<p> -"Ahoy! heave over the life buoy! mainsail to -the wind! clear away a boat!" -</p> - -<p> -Captain Phillips grasped his trumpet; Mr. Quail—who -had just turned into his berth with his -clothes on, "all standing"—Dr. Heriot, and -Hawkshaw sprang on deck at this new alarm. -</p> - -<p> -"Hard down with the helm!" cried Phillips; -"to the braces, men! let go, and haul! Back with -the mainyard! Ready the starboard quarter boat, -and cut away the life-buoy!" -</p> - -<p> -The mainsail was speedily laid to the mast, though -there was great danger lest, in such a gale, it might -be carried away entirely, and, in the excitement of -the moment, even the most sullen of that ill-assorted -crew worked cheerily and well. -</p> - -<p> -Alternately the huge ship rose and sank on the -mighty rolling waves; and now the spray flew from -stem to stern over her in white and blinding sheets, -plashing over her courses, and hissing under the -arched leaches of the bellying sails. -</p> - -<p> -Upheaved she rose on the foaming surge one moment, -to sink down into the yawning trough of the -sea the next, loose spars, buckets, handspikes, and -everything else adrift, going to leeward, and overboard. -</p> - -<p> -A faint but despairing cry came from the waves; -another followed, as the drowning man, struggling -hard for existence, rose on the white, foamy crest -of a wave, and then sank for ever into the black -and gaping bosom of the midnight sea. -</p> - -<p> -Then, after some minutes of the most painful and -lingering suspense, the captain, the doctor, and -others, came to the conclusion that all was over, and -that the poor victim must have perished, for it was -found impossible to lower a boat with safety, or -with the least hope of success, in such a sea or squall. -</p> - -<p> -"Fill the mainyard, Mr. Foster," said the captain -to the second mate. And he sighed bitterly as he -spoke, for John Phillips was a kind and good-hearted -man. "God receive the poor fellow! We -could do nothing more. Let the ship lie her course; -muster the hands aft, please, and see who is missing." -</p> - -<p> -The yard heads were filled; the vessel's bow fell -off from the wind, and there was less strain upon -her now, and less spray broke over her, as she tore -through the sea at liberty. -</p> - -<p> -Aft the mizzenmast the drenched seamen mustered. -</p> - -<p> -"Boy Joe! steward! bring a lantern," said the -captain. -</p> - -<p> -And now, by its weird light, were to be seen the -two dark and sullen Barradas; Bill Badger, the -bulky and insolent Yankee; the square, squat, and -ugly Sharkey, with his head bandaged up; the -Messieurs Brewser, Batter, Cribbit, and others of -that remarkable crew. -</p> - -<p> -"Are all present, Mr. Quail?" asked the captain, -as the mate passed the lantern along the dripping -line. -</p> - -<p> -"All except <i>one</i>, sir," replied Mr. Quail, whose -face wore a very ashy hue and alarmed expression. -</p> - -<p> -"Who is it?" -</p> - -<p> -"Mr. Manfredi, sir; he is nowhere on deck." -</p> - -<p> -"'Twas his watch, was it not?" said Phillips, -starting. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"Good Heavens, can it be?" exclaimed the -captain, in an agitated voice, as the threat of -Sharkey occurred to him. "If there has been foul -play to-night, I say woe to the perpetrator of it!" -</p> - -<p> -Some one now uttered a snorting laugh in the -dark. -</p> - -<p> -"Let us search below," said the doctor, taking -the steward's lantern, and proceeding to examine in -person. -</p> - -<p> -He did so, and soon returned to report that no -trace of Adrian Manfredi could be found, so the -crew were dismissed. -</p> - -<p> -"Who was the person that called out 'Man -overboard?'—who saw him last?" demanded the -captain, as they descended to the cabin. -</p> - -<p> -"I did, sir," said Joe the steward, as he closed -the door. "I was stowing the jib in its netting -with Pedro Barradas," he continued, in a low voice, -as if afraid to be overheard. "Mr. Manfredi was -standing on the topgallant forecastle, holding on -by a rope and directing us. Our heads were stooped -over our work, when all of a sudden we heard a cry. -On looking one way, I saw him falling into the sea; -on looking another, I saw a man in his shirt-sleeves, -armed with a capstan bar, slipping down into the -forecastle bunks." -</p> - -<p> -"A man?" repeated the listeners. -</p> - -<p> -"Did he strike him overboard?" asked the -captain. -</p> - -<p> -"We supposed so," replied Joe, in a whisper, and -glancing furtively at the skylight. -</p> - -<p> -"We." -</p> - -<p> -"That is, Pedro Barradas and I. He laughed—" -</p> - -<p> -"The mutinous villain!" -</p> - -<p> -"And tried to stop me from shouting to put the -helm down." -</p> - -<p> -"Did you see the man's face?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"Who do you think he was—speak!" said -Captain Phillips, perceiving that Joe, a fat, -good-natured fellow, with flabby cheeks, and large -boiled-looking gray eyes, hesitated through fear, -"speak!" -</p> - -<p> -"I am frightened, in this ship, almost to say who -I thought he was." -</p> - -<p> -"In this ship—right! Was it Sharkey, eh?" -</p> - -<p> -The steward's teeth chattered. He again glanced -fearfully at the skylight, and gave a nod in the -affirmative, and the captain struck his right heel on -the floor. -</p> - -<p> -"There has been murder committed on board -to-night; yes, a most foul murder!" he continued, -turning by a mere coincidence to Hawkshaw, who, -on hearing the terrible word, grew deadly pale, and -trembled violently from head to foot. "Would to -Heaven that I had only half-a-dozen good hard-a-weather -English seamen to keep this coloured lot in -order. Even Lascars of the lowest caste were better -than what we have!" -</p> - -<p> -The consternation in the cabin was very great, -and the conversation continued below, and the storm -above, till Mr. Quail, with many unpleasant -forebodings, went on deck to relieve the watch at four -o'clock A.M., when the wind began to abate and -the sea to go down. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V. -<br /><br /> -THE LIVID FACE. -</h3> - -<p> -The event of the night shed a gloom, a horror, over -all in the cabin next day; nor was the alarm in the -breasts of Captain Phillips and his mates in the -least soothed, when it was remarked that the cook's -grindstone was kept at work all the forenoon, and -a most ominous sharpening of sheath and clasp-knives -went on, while sundry jokes were uttered -audibly about "Mister Manfreddy having gone on -a visit to Mr. David Jones and Old Mother Carey, -without his umbrella, too;" "and the rain a fallin' -like Niagary," as Badger, the Yankee, added, with -a diabolical grin. -</p> - -<p> -The morning sky was gray and cloudy; a heavy -sea was still on, and not a sail was in sight, so -Captain Phillips swept the horizon with his telescope -in vain. -</p> - -<p> -At breakfast Ethel and her sister were informed -that Mr. Manfredi had fallen overboard in the night, -and been drowned. No hint of foul play was given -them, at their father's special request; but they -wept and mourned for the poor young fellow, of -whom they now recalled to memory so many pleasing -traits and anecdotes; among others, the sad -story of his little brother, Attilio, who had been so -savagely shot by the Austrians at Pistoja. -</p> - -<p> -His seat at table, his place in the cabin were -empty; his face and form were no longer seen, and -his step and voice were no longer heard. -</p> - -<p> -The suddenness of the catastrophe seemed most -difficult of realisation; and the words of Dana, in a -passage of one of his works, which Dr. Heriot -pointed out to Rose, came painfully and truthfully -home to all their hearts. -</p> - -<p> -"Death is at all times solemn, but never so much -so as at sea. A man dies on shore; his body -remains with his friends, and the mourners go about -the streets; but, when a man falls overboard at sea -and is lost, there is a suddenness in the event which -gives it an air of awful mystery. Then at sea you -miss a man so much. A dozen men are shut up -together in a little bark upon the wide wide sea, and -for months and months see no forms and hear no -voices but their own; but one is suddenly taken -from among them, and they miss him at every turn. -There are no new forms or faces to fill up the gap. -There is always an empty berth in the forecastle, -and one more wanting when the small night-watch -is mustered. There is one less to take the wheel, -one less to lay out with you upon the yard. You -miss his form and the sound of his voice—for habit -had made them almost necessary to you, and each -of your senses feels the loss." -</p> - -<p> -"So we shall never see him again—never!" said -Ethel, with her eyes full of tears; "so kind, good, -and gentle." -</p> - -<p> -"And so handsome, too!" added Rose. -</p> - -<p> -"A better seaman never trod a deck," sighed Mr. Quail. -</p> - -<p> -"Damnation!" was the singular addendum of -Captain Phillips, through his clenched teeth, when -thinking of the secret he had not revealed, and the -crime which, as yet, he dared not attempt to punish. -</p> - -<p> -So Ethel put past "I Promessi Sposi," which had -Manfredi's name written on the fly-leaf of the first -volume, as the relic of a friend with whom she had -spent many happy hours, whom she never more -could see, and on whose vast tomb, the boundless -ocean, she almost shuddered to look—for was not -Morley Ashton sleeping there too? -</p> - -<p> -So the gloomy day passed slowly on, and night -came on. -</p> - -<p> -Retired to their little cabin, Ethel and Rose were -disrobing for rest—Nance Folgate had long since -gone to sleep—and now, relinquishing the sad -subject of Manfredi, Rose, with a blush on her charming -face, was detailing to Ethel, for the second time, -her interview with Leslie Heriot, whose ring—containing -a large Scottish pearl, set with diamonds—glittered -on the engaged finger of her left hand. -</p> - -<p> -"And you are sure that you love him, Rose?" said -Ethel, as she took her sister's face caressingly and -affectionately between her soft hands. -</p> - -<p> -"Dearly, devotedly," was the energetic reply. -"How could I do otherwise, when he is such a kind, -darling fellow—and so handsome too?" -</p> - -<p> -"Have you weighed well the probabilities of the -future?" -</p> - -<p> -"What do you mean, Ethel dear?" -</p> - -<p> -"What papa may think." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Leslie will speak to papa to-morrow, or on -the next day, at the latest." -</p> - -<p> -Ethel smiled sadly at her sister's confidence. -</p> - -<p> -"Our voyage will soon be over, dear Rose," said -she, shaking her head seriously. "Once round the -Cape of Good Hope, we shall be speedily at the Isle -of France, and then your dream of joy will have an -end—a rough awaking; not so sad or rough as -mine, but a gloomy reality, and a doubtful future, -nevertheless." -</p> - -<p> -Poor Rose's usually merry eyes now filled with -large tears, and she permitted the braids of her -fine dark hair, which her slender fingers were -wreathing up for the night, to roll down in -unheeded masses over her bare bosom and back, which -shone white as the new-fallen snowdrift, in the light -of the cabin lamp that swung above her. -</p> - -<p> -"And Jack Page—poor Jack Page!" said Ethel, -smiling, to arouse Rose's spirit; "is he quite -forgotten—eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh bother Jack Page!" replied Rose, crimsoning, -and with the faintest tinge of irritation in her -tone, as she proceeded vigorously to knot up the -masses of black hair. "He was a pleasant enough -fellow to flirt with, or play croquet with at Laurel -Lodge (dear old Laurel Lodge! ah, heavens! Ethel, -shall we ever see it again?) He was a good fellow -for fishing or sailing on the mere——" -</p> - -<p> -"And to botanise with, and to gather wild flowers -on Cherrywood Hill," added Ethel, a little -maliciously. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; but he gave himself such insufferable airs -after he became a rifle volunteer; and as for loving -him, I should almost as soon think of loving your -adorer, the gallant Captain Hawkshaw. By-the-by, -how taciturn he has become of late." -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps he finds his task a hopeless one," said -Ethel, with a haughty smile. -</p> - -<p> -"He seems quite changed somehow," said Rose, -slipping into bed, "does he not, Ethel dear? Why -don't you speak to me?" added Rose, with sudden -alarm, and springing from her berth, on perceiving -her sister standing pale and motionless, her lips -parted, her dark eyes dilated with terror, and their -gaze fixed on the little circular window of their -cabin, which was simply a pane of thick glass, about -nine inches in diameter, framed in an iron ring, and -secured by a powerful bolt. -</p> - -<p> -Rose gazed in the same direction, and beheld, to -her intense dismay, the whole aperture filled by a -human face—a man's apparently—pale, livid, green, -and distorted, as viewed through the coarse crystal, -with large keen eyes, that glared in upon them. -</p> - -<p> -Whoever the person was that dared thus to -violate their privacy, he occupied a position of -extreme peril, for the little window in question was -below the plank sheer of the ship, and considerably -abaft the mizzen chains, so that the eavesdropper -must have been swinging alongside, almost with -his heels in the foam that boiled under the ship's -counter. -</p> - -<p> -Could the sea give up its dead? -</p> - -<p> -Was it a spectre—Manfredi, or Morley Ashton? -</p> - -<p> -Such were Rose's first ideas, as she clung in -terror to her rigid but more resolute sister, who -sprang forward and vainly attempted with her -delicate hands to wrench round the bolt, and open -the little window; but at that moment a fierce and -sardonic smile seemed to spread over that livid and -distorted visage, which instantly vanished, and then -nothing was seen through the aperture but the vast -sea that rolled in the starlight far away. -</p> - -<p> -"Papa—Nurse Folgate!" screamed Rose; but -the old woman slept like one of the seven sleepers. -</p> - -<p> -"Hush!" said Ethel, "'twas only some insolent -seaman; but we must prevent a recurrence of this," -she added, as she rapidly hung a species of curtain -over the window. "Good heavens, Rose! to think -how often this may have happened before, and we -in total ignorance of it; but the captain shall be -told in the morning." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Ethel!" exclaimed Rose, "how terrified I am." -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"At first I thought it was his ghost." -</p> - -<p> -"Whose?" -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Mr. Manfredi's." -</p> - -<p> -"Nonsense, child!" -</p> - -<p> -"A ghost on board of a ship, how dreadful that -would be! Almost as bad as a fire, for there would -be no escaping from it." -</p> - -<p> -Inspired by natural emotions of doubt, Ethel -opened the door and peeped out into the great -cabin. All was still and quiet there, at least -nothing was heard but the jarring of the rudder in its -case, and of the brass swings of the lamp and tell-tale -compass, with the heavy creaking of the ship's -timbers, the backwash under the counter, and one -other sound, to which she had become pretty familiar -about this time—to wit, the profound snoring of -Mr. Quail, as he lay at full length on the cabin -locker, with his peacoat spread over him, and his -sou'-wester at hand, ready to relieve the deck when -the middle-watch was called. -</p> - -<p> -She secured the door, perhaps more carefully than -usual. She knelt down by Rose's side to say her -prayers, after which they retired together, but lay -long awake, conversing of that future, the events of -which, happily, they could so little foresee, until -they dropped asleep, Rose with her charming face -half pillowed on Ethel's snowy shoulder. -</p> - -<p> -All remained still in the ship; but while the two -sisters slept with arms entwined, each "hushed like -the callow cygnet in its nest," anxious hearts were -watching over them elsewhere; and they formed -the subject of a somewhat unusual, but animated, -discussion among the seamen—a discussion of -which, as yet, they were happily ignorant. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VI. -<br /><br /> -WHAT THE DOCTOR OVERHEARD IN THE FORECASTLE BUNKS. -</h3> - -<p> -The love he bore Rose, the love that she permitted -him to bear, and which she so fully reciprocated, -together with the regard and esteem he had for the -grave, gentle Ethel, and good, easy Mr. Basset, -increased the anxiety with which the young Scotch -surgeon beheld the growing discontent of the -crew. -</p> - -<p> -On deck, he more than once had heard them -conferring in most unpleasant terms about the -disappearance of the third mate, and, in reply to some -remark of Sharkey's, Zuares Barradas said, with a -cunning twinkle in his eyes: -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Bueno! paso a paso va lejos.</i>" -</p> - -<p> -"Wot the devil does that mean, shipmate? Avast -with your Spanish. Carn't you speak the queen's -English?" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, it means that 'step by step goes far'. -Manfredi is gone; a little spell and we shall have -it all our own way," replied the Spanish American, -as he hitched up his trousers and slunk forward. -</p> - -<p> -"These rascals are decidedly up to something—or -whence all this skulking about, this whispering -in gangs, and knife-sharpening," said Heriot to the -captain. -</p> - -<p> -"The grindstone has never been idle all day," -observed Mr. Quail, who was looking, as the captain -remarked, "rather white about the gills, in consequence." -</p> - -<p> -After a long conference in the cabin, Dr. Heriot -offered, there being no moon about the middle of -the first night-watch, to creep forward to the -forecastle bunk, where, in defiance of orders, the crew -now kept a light burning after sundown, and -endeavour to overhear their conversation. The duty -of acting eavesdropper was not a pleasant, but, in -this instance, a most necessary one. -</p> - -<p> -The first night Heriot attempted this, he failed to -get forward unseen; but on the second, as the -atmosphere, though very cloudy, was fine, and the ship -under easy sail was going large, that is, with the -wind abaft the beam, which careened her slightly -to port, Heriot, armed with a sharp bowie-knife, -concealed in his breast, so as to be ready for any -emergency (for if discovered by the watch he might -be sent overboard after poor Manfredi) crept -forward on the leeside, keeping his head close under -the bulwarks, and in the shadow. -</p> - -<p> -The men of the watch were all grouped to windward, -smoking with their backs against the long-boat, -and the steersman could see little else than -the lights that glared in the binnacles, and the ship's -canvas, that towered aloft between him and the -sky. -</p> - -<p> -Through the two yolks of dense, thick glass that -admitted light to the forecastle bunks, in which the -seamen had their chests and berths, he could see -nothing, save that they had, as usual with them, in -defiance of the captain's order, a lamp or lantern, -the light of which glared as from two bull's-eyes -upon the forehatchway, the foot of the foremast, the -gallows-bitts abaft it, the scuttle-butt, and so forth. -</p> - -<p> -These two lines of light had the effect of rendering -the rest of the deck dark, thus favouring the -purpose of Heriot, who reached unseen the forecastle, -and crept along it, until he found himself -close to the coaming of the scuttle, or small square -hatchway, which gave access thereto, and from -whence there ascended into the pure saline atmosphere -of the midnight sea a combination of odours -that were neither of Araby nor of Ind; for more -than a dozen of dirty, tarry, unwashed, and -uncombed specimens of those seamen usually denominated -"coloured," the most ruffianly of their class, -such, as may be seen lounging and loafing about the -quays and grog-shops of Liverpool and Birkenhead, -were all seated closely round a chest, which was -lashed by ringbolts to the deck, and formed the -table, whereon they had recently supped on -scalding-hot "scouse" from a greasy wooden kid; and -the fumes of this savoury mess yet mingled with -the tar with which their clothes were saturated, and -the coarse tobacco in which they were all indulging -freely, by means of pipes, quids, and cigarettes. -</p> - -<p> -A ship's lantern, in which a candle sputtered, -shed a wavering light through the perforated tin -upon the black hair, massive frontal bones, and -square jaw of Pedro Barradas, and on his coarse, -leather-like ears, in which a pair of silver rings -were glittering; on the dark olive face of his -brother, Zuares, a villain of a more pleasing type, -only because he was younger and handsomer; on -the cruel, sardonic visage, the keen eyes, hooked -nose, and enormous chin, and tangled elf-locks of -Bill Badger, the long-legged and ungainly Yankee; -on the huge head and giant hands of the odious -Sharkey, who sat with his cheeks wedged between -his hands, his elbows planted on the chest, and his -eyes that, from under the bloody bandage encircling -his temples, glared at each speaker alternately; and -on all the rest of the ill-selected crew—fell the -lantern's dim uncertain ray, bringing some forward -into light, and leaving others almost in shadow. -</p> - -<p> -Though quite sober, for as yet they had no means -for procuring alcohol, they generally all spoke at -once, and were engaged in an angry dispute, which, -however, they were still cautious enough to conduct -with suppressed voices. -</p> - -<p> -Pedro Barradas grasped in his left hand an old -dice-box, which was served round with spunyarn, -and two suspicious-looking dice were rattled in it -from time to time. -</p> - -<p> -At the moment that Heriot peeped in, it would -seem as if our Spanish acquaintance suddenly lost -his temper. His black eyes filled with fire, his -swarthy cheek grew livid and pale, he showed all -his sharp white teeth like a dog about to bite, and -striking his drawn knife into the lid of the chest, -round which they were all grouped, and with a -force of action that made them all shrink back, he -uttered a tremendous oath, and said, in a low, -hoarse voice: -</p> - -<p> -"It is agreed, then, that we take the ship, and -make all the people aft walk the plank. Am I -to understand this?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, yes," from all hands was the reply; "and -all must walk the plank to leeward." -</p> - -<p> -"Except the women," suggested the Canadian -seaman, named Bolter. -</p> - -<p> -"In course we shall keep them!" said Badger, -laying a long and dirty finger on one side of his -hawk nose, and closing an eye wickedly; "and -take very partik'lar care o' the darlings, too." -</p> - -<p> -"We take the ship," resumed Pedro Barradas, -speaking good English, and with an air of -authority; "and then we shall run her on her own -account." -</p> - -<p> -"How?" asked one. -</p> - -<p> -"In the slaving or piccarooning line, or anything -else that comes to hand." -</p> - -<p> -"But where to?" asked the Canadian, who seemed -a man of doubts. -</p> - -<p> -"Anywheres, darn your nutmeg of a head!" -growled the Yankee; "anywheres, arter we has -had a jolly spree ashore." -</p> - -<p> -"On what shore, mate?" -</p> - -<p> -"On the coast ov Africy, in course; but not -afore, mate—not afore, I calc'late." -</p> - -<p> -"Come, now, I likes this," observed Sharkey, -putting in his voice; "if water and wittles runs -short, we may overhaul an Ingeeman, homeward-bound, -or an Australian liner——" -</p> - -<p> -"With sojers aboard, mayhap," said Bolter; "so -what will you dew then?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hail or signal for a boat, to be sure, and sink it -to leeward with a cold shot through its ribs. Shout -that it has been swamped under the counter, and to -send another, and another, and so knock 'em all on -the head. Then run her aboard, take all out of -her—the women, too, if any—then scuttle or burn -her." -</p> - -<p> -"A game you won't play long athout being -overhauled by some cussed man-o'-war," said the -Canadian. "I tell you, mates, the good old piratical -times have been put out o' fashion long since. -Even the slaving business is knocked up by them -blazing smoke-jacks and gun-boats of the African -squadron. The sea ain't wot it was, mates, when -old Kidd sailed the <i>Vulture</i> down the Channel with -a skull and marrow-bones flying at his foremasthead." -</p> - -<p> -"Hooray! I'll ship with you, Barradas," cried -another. "Grog for the drinking, a grab at these -gals, and the pick o' the good things in the -passengers' trunks and cabin-lockers." -</p> - -<p> -"And till that time comes," added Sharkey, -"we'll work Tom Cox's traverse with old Phillips—that -we shall. Precious little work he'll get out -of me." -</p> - -<p> -"But I don't like usin' the knife or plank if they -could be done athout, mates," said the Canadian -ponderingly. -</p> - -<p> -"The Reverend Mr. Ben Bolter, a Methody -parson, 'll offer up a blessin' over the empty -mess-kids," sneered the Yankee. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Par todos santos</i>," growled Pedro Barradas, -giving the Canadian a glance of profound scorn, -while Zuares uttered a shrill and ferocious laugh. -</p> - -<p> -"I say, cooky," said Sharkey, in a way which he -supposed to be very jocular, "as Ben Bolter don't -like the stickin' business, couldn't you put summut -tasty into the mess-kid o' the cabbin passingers, -and pison the whole bilin' o' them? I have known -o' such things being done afore now, mates, and -many other things, too, that never appeared in the -ship's log. Have you any Calabar beans aboard?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yaas," replied the cook, with a regular negro -grin, for he was a black Virginian, named Quaco; -"dere's a bagful in de hold. Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"I have known of a handful, put in a copper of -peasoup, doing for a whole ship's crew afore now." -</p> - -<p> -"When?" -</p> - -<p> -"In the Gulf of Florida once, and again among -the Coral Islands, in the Pacific. Aye, aye, mates, -I have seen some rum sprees in my time." -</p> - -<p> -"And you are likely to see more," added the -Yankee, "ere this cussed old craft gets her anchors -over the bows, and her ground-tackle rove. Ha, ha! -But as for the pison, you darned fool, wot of old -Basset's gals? We wants 'em partik'lar, you know. -So avast with your Calabar beans. I guess, mate, -you're up a tree, rayther." -</p> - -<p> -Sharkey was abashed into silence. -</p> - -<p> -"And that Scotch doctor," said a gaunt, -unhealthy-looking seaman, named Cribbit, who had -not yet spoken, and who so frequently required -Heriot's medical aid that he had imbibed half the -contents of his medicine-chest, "must he, too, walk -the plank?" -</p> - -<p> -"In course he must," drawled Bill Badger, stuffing -an enormous quid in the inmost recesses of his -capacious mouth. -</p> - -<p> -"No, no, <i>demonio</i>, no!" said the elder Barradas; -"we must keep him alive so long as we want him. -We can't physic ourselves, <i>companeros</i>, especially if -fever comes aboard, which it is likely to do if we -hug the land." -</p> - -<p> -"But in physicking us he might poison the whole -blessed gang," suggested the Canadian. -</p> - -<p> -"No fear of that. We'll have him chained to -the mainmast, and if a man dies in his hands, then -<i>el senor doctor de medicena</i> shall be tipped overboard -after the others." -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you, my Spanish <i>patrone</i>," thought -Heriot, who had listened to all this with blood that -alternately boiled and curdled; "a pleasant little -medical practice you are likely to find me here!" -</p> - -<p> -"Mayhap that fellow, Hawkshaw, would join us?" -suggested the Canadian again. -</p> - -<p> -"He, the white-livered Perro!" exclaimed Pedro, -"I long to have my Albacete knife between his -ribs. I'll teach him to play off quarter-deck airs -with me, the God-abandoned Piccaro! Well, is it -agreed that, instead of letting old Phillips haul up -for Table Bay, we keep the ship off the land whether -he will or will not take her before we are abreast -of La Tierra de Natal; hug the coast of Africa -after; have a run through the Mozambique Channel, -and then stand right across the Indian Sea for -whatever we may overhaul?" -</p> - -<p> -A unanimous clapping of very hard and very -dirty hands responded heartily to this programme. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, Pedro, the <i>dados</i> (dice)," said Zuares, -impatiently. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, mates, the dice!" added the Yankee, setting -his chin, which was like a shoemaker's knife, -upon his knees, and clasping his hands over his -ankles, so that he squatted on his hams like a huge -baboon. "Hooray! the old <i>Herminey</i> has been -trimmed by the starn since she saw Dungeness -Light; but we'll trim her by the head arter we -doubles the Cape—eh, mates? So now to draw -lots for them two pretty creeturs, as I calculate is -just agoin' to bed about this blessed time. Think -o' that, mates! I'm a thorough-bred Yankee—half -bull, half shark, with an uncommon cross of the -snake; so I'm blowed if I can wait almost till we -leave Table Bay astarn and bear up towards Natal. -But rattle away, Pedro, my boy!—Captain Pedro -that is to be, I reckon." -</p> - -<p> -The blood of the young Scotchman grew cold as -he listened, longing for a brace of loaded revolvers, -that he might shoot down the whole band; but -the talkative Yankee began his nasal drawling -again. -</p> - -<p> -"How I'd like to have one of 'em under a big -palm-tree in some snug diggin' on the Africy coast, -or in a wigwam on the Mozambique, thatched with -leaves, no topsails to reef o' nights, and nothin' -to do all day, but keep on admiring her, and -swigging the grog old Phillips has aboard, or -blowing a whiff of 'baccy—eh, mates? -Jeerusalem! that's summut like life, I calculate!" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Morte de Dios!</i>" swore Pedro Barradas, with -a very dark look; "haul in your slack, and be -hanged to you! There are other things than the -two girls worth casting lots for!" -</p> - -<p> -"Is there really, now?" drawled Badger. -I was looking into the senoras' cabin the other -night, and saw them going to bed. I saw lovely -necks and shoulders, and all that; but I saw more, -I can tell you, <i>companeros</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"Smite my timbers!" "Shiver my tawpsails!" -"Darn my eyes!" "Oh, Jeerusalem!" And -"What did you see?" asked several all at once. -</p> - -<p> -"A splendid jewel-case," replied the Spaniard, -while an avaricious gleam sparkled in his dark -eyes; "a box with diamond rings for the ears and -fingers; carbuncles, turquoises, and topazes, in -bracelets and necklets, all glittering on the trays -of blue and crimson velvet. So he who loses the -girls should have a chance——" -</p> - -<p> -"Of grabbing the jewels," interrupted Badger; -"in course he should—in course!" -</p> - -<p> -"Jewels or not," said Zuares Barradas, laughing, -while he rolled up a fresh cigarito, "I'll teach one -senora, at least, that it is no longer here <i>mira y no -totas</i>, as they say in Minorca." -</p> - -<p> -"Which means, in your cussed lingo?" asked Bolter. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Look</i> at me, but <i>touch</i> me not!" replied the -young Spaniard, with a grin. -</p> - -<p> -"I'm rayther pertik'lar," observed Mr. Badger, -"and I might do neither one nor t'other, if I wor -in Minorky." -</p> - -<p> -"Ay, mate; but if you saw the Minorca girls in -their robazillas of white lace or silk, pinned under -their pretty dimpled chins, and falling over their -shoulders, to be lifted at times by the wind, only as -if to show the low bodice and rounded bosom -beneath—<i>hombre</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"Here is a sentimental young villain, with an -eye for the picturesque!" thought Heriot. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, then, the dados," said Pedro, rattling the -dice-box. "I throw myself first." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Maladetto</i>, Pedro!" interrupted Zuares. "Content -yourself with rum and plunder; you are too -old and crank for either of these girls to be pleased -with you." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Vaya usted al Satanos!</i>" responded his affectionate -elder brother. "The girls, at all events, are -not too young for me to be pleased with them. I am -not more than forty, you son of a burnt castano." -</p> - -<p> -"Take the old nurse, Pedro—you'll have her a -free gift, gratis, all for nothin', and Badger's -blessing into the bargain. If one o' these gals falls to -me," continued the talkative Yankee, "I reckon I -must get shaved by the doctor, and be fixed anew; -have my 'air swabbed down with some o' the cook's -slush, and a hextra pull up o' my shirt collar—eh, -mates?" -</p> - -<p> -Amid the ferocious laughter which these and -similar remarks drew forth, and while the dice-box -rattled on the sea-chest lid Dr. Heriot withdrew, -and crept aft, just as he had done forward, by -keeping close under the lee bulwarks. -</p> - -<p> -Reaching the companion-way unseen, he slipped -downstairs, with a burning brain and aching heart—a -heart sick and sore with apprehension for others -rather than for himself; and now, with his ear -tingling with countless coarse oaths, obscenities, and -foul jokes, which, of course, have been omitted in -our relation of the remarkable discussion he had -overheard, he sought at once the cabin of Captain -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VII. -<br /><br /> -MEASURES FOR DEFENCE CONCERTED. -</h3> - -<p> -Though Ethel and Rose had retired to rest, the hour -was not late, and Captain Phillips, Mr. Basset, and -Hawkshaw were still lingering over a glass of wine -in the cabin, when Dr. Heriot entered it. -</p> - -<p> -The pallor of his face, and the excited expression -of his eyes, made them start with exclamations of -surprise and inquiry; and their alarm increased -when he filled up a glass with port and drained it, -the crystal rattling against his teeth while he did so. -</p> - -<p> -"Hallo, doctor, what the deuce is the matter?" -asked bluff Captain Phillips, changing colour, or -rather losing it partially. "You have been -forward—eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sir; and have there heard more than -enough to confirm our worst fears." -</p> - -<p> -Phillips arose, and closed the cabin door. He -then summoned from his berth Mr. Quail (as Mr. Foster, -the second mate, had charge of the deck), -and they, together with Mr. Basset and Hawkshaw, -heard with undisguised consternation the result of -the doctor's eavesdropping. -</p> - -<p> -As for Hawkshaw, he had long endured the -horrible conviction of guilt, with the still more -gnawing sense or dread of perpetual suspicion in -others. He loved Ethel, yet, as we have said -elsewhere, at times he almost hated her for her coldness -to him; but now his soul was full of terror—terror -for her and for himself, as he knew he would meet -with little mercy from the Barradas and their -friends. Retribution for the crime he had committed -at Acton Chine was about to come at last, and he -had fallen into a trap of his own devising! -</p> - -<p> -Neither Captain Phillips nor Mr. Quail were much -astonished, though grieved and alarmed, by Dr. Heriot's -tidings; but poor Mr. Basset's first thought -was for his daughters—his young, delicate, and -tenderly-nurtured girls; and already, in his excited -imagination, he beheld them, after his own butchery, -in the rude grasp of those lawless wretches, and -subjected to the grossest indignities, far from help -or human aid, upon the lonely sea, and in a floating -hell—indignities the mere idea of which wrung the -poor man's heart with agony. -</p> - -<p> -To-morrow, to-night, even now, they might be -advancing towards the cabin, intent on assassination -and robbery! -</p> - -<p> -The dread was maddening to the unhappy parent, -who made a step towards his daughters' sleeping -place, as if in anticipation, by thought and deed, to -save them from the coming peril. He had no voice -or coherence of thought for a time, and listened like -one in a dream to the discussion or consultation now -held by the officers of the ship. -</p> - -<p> -After relinquishing his practice as a barrister in -London, Scriven Basset had spent many years of -ease and affluence at Laurel Lodge, and all unused -to alarms or excitements, he felt himself totally -destitute of the stamina or courage requisite for -facing so sudden and perilous an emergency. -Personal danger he might have confronted, for he -had all the spirit of a gentleman; but at the thought -of his daughters—the graceful and ladylike Ethel, -the sweet and playful Rose—his soul seemed to die -within him. -</p> - -<p> -Cramply Hawkshaw's visage was paler than usual. -He remembered the threats used towards himself, -when Pedro Barradas so summarily appropriated his -gold watch, and while trembling for Ethel, he began -to think of means for quitting the ship, for the -safety of his own person, of which—being all the -property he possessed—he was rather disposed to be -economical. -</p> - -<p> -"The accursed—the bloody-minded villains!" -exclaimed Captain Phillips, after a pause, while -pacing to and fro. "This comes of having a -coloured crew; and this is why they have been so -sullen and insolent of late." -</p> - -<p> -"And so lazy at work, too," groaned Mr. Quail. -</p> - -<p> -"Lazy! they have done little else but take three -turns a day round the long-boat, and then a pull at -the scuttle-butt." -</p> - -<p> -"For weeks there has been no work done," -resumed Mr. Quail; "all our spunyarn and chafing-gear -are worn out, and you might as well expect -them to polish the chain-cable, or brighten up the -best bower, as prepare for an emergency, or get the -fellows even to wash or mend their own clothes." -</p> - -<p> -"If a man-of-war hove in sight, I'd put an end to -their sogering!" said Captain Phillips, still pacing -about. "I'd make them toe the mark, and work the -old iron out of them. I'd have them all seized up, -and made spread-eagles of at the gangway, the -coloured vermin." -</p> - -<p> -"A worse lot were never shipped, unless on board -a Spanish pirate," said Mr. Quail, with another -groan, as he thought of plump, jolly Mrs. Quail, and -their five little Quails, at that moment, doubtless all -a-bed in their pretty little rose-covered cottage near -the Windmill-hill at Gravesend. -</p> - -<p> -"Is there not one on whom we could depend?" -asked Mr. Basset, in faltering accents. -</p> - -<p> -"Not one, sir," replied Captain Phillips; "not -one, except Boy Joe, the steward, and he is not -worth much." -</p> - -<p> -"We are in a desperate situation, certainly," said -Heriot. "But I am most concerned for you and—and -your daughters, Mr. Basset." -</p> - -<p> -Tears started to the lawyer's eyes, and he wrung -the young doctor's readily-proffered hand. -</p> - -<p> -"And I, too, Mr. Basset, feel for you and your -two dear girls—though perhaps this business may -be all talk and sogering; yet I confess it don't look -like it," said the captain. "Thank Heaven I am a -bachelor, and have no one depending upon me but -the son of my poor brother Bill, that was drowned -in the Straits of Sunda, and my life is insured on -his account, so that is all right; but these young -ladies——" -</p> - -<p> -Phillips paused, for Mr. Basset, who was reclining -on the cabin locker, covered his face with his hands, -and groaned aloud. -</p> - -<p> -"We have no time to lose in preparing to meet -these rascals," said Dr. Heriot, with growing -confidence. "We must see what arms we can muster, -and endeavour to use them too. D—n it, Captain -Phillips, we must show fight in some fashion, and -not all walk the plank without making some of them -walk it also. I have a pair of good rifled pistols." -</p> - -<p> -"And I have two six-barrelled revolvers and a -fowling-piece," added the captain. -</p> - -<p> -"Sixteen shots," said Hawkshaw, brightening a -little. "We can barricade the cabin, and defend it -with these against them." -</p> - -<p> -"We are seven, including myself," said Phillips. -</p> - -<p> -"Seven?" said Mr. Basset, looking up. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sir; there are the two mates, the doctor, -yourself, and I, Captain Hawkshaw, and Joe the -steward." -</p> - -<p> -"But they are eighteen in number, and armed too." -</p> - -<p> -"Only with sheath-knives, so far as we know; -but then there are hatchets, cleavers, handspikes, -and capstan-bars, with anything else that will form -a weapon." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh that we were nearer the coast of Africa, that -we might all get into a boat, and quietly leave the -ship on a dark night!" said Mr. Basset, wringing -his hands, while Dr. Heriot unlocked a case of -pistols—the parting gift of his class-fellows on his -leaving the old College of King James VI.—and -proceeded at once to load and cap them, after which -he put all the ammunition in his pockets. -</p> - -<p> -"Fear for your girls bewilders you, sir," said -Captain Phillips, in a low voice, to Mr. Basset. -"That, perhaps, is natural; but to be landed on the -coast of Africa might not mend matters much with -you and them, if you fell in with some houseless -Dutch bushmen or wild Cape Caffres; and as for -me, I shall never quit my ship while a plank of her -holds together." -</p> - -<p> -"Captain Phillips," said young Heriot, with his -teeth clenched, and his eyes flashing, as he thought -of sweet Rose Basset, whose last kiss seemed yet to -linger on his lip, "if they keep quiet until morning, -I have a mind to call forward Pedro Barradas in -front of the crew, tell him what I have overheard, -and then, as an example, shoot him dead before the -rest!" -</p> - -<p> -The captain vehemently opposed this idea as rash, -and added: -</p> - -<p> -"You are very risky for a Scotsman; you would -only perish under the knives and handspikes of the -rest, and thus bring destruction the sooner on us all." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, if a man-o'-war would but come in sight!" -groaned Mr. Basset. -</p> - -<p> -"They are seldom so far off the Cape; and we -are a good way to the southward of it already." -</p> - -<p> -"Could we not sound the crew? All may not be -so bad as the Barradas," said Hawkshaw. -</p> - -<p> -"They are all alike, confound 'em!" rejoined -Captain Phillips, as he brought from his cabin the -two revolvers and the fowling-piece, all of which he -proceeded quietly, but quickly, to load and cap. -</p> - -<p> -The arms and ammunition were distributed among -them, and Hawkshaw really handled the "six-shooter" -like a man who was used to it, and, -doubtless, when in Mexico, his life and his food had -frequently depended on the goodness of his aim. -</p> - -<p> -"If we only take care and fire steadily, we may -dispose of them all in case of an attack," said -Dr. Heriot, who, with the captain, was the most resolute -of the little band. "Our chief aim must be to -prevent a surprise." -</p> - -<p> -After a council of war, it was arranged that the -ladies should be warned against leaving the cabin or -venturing much on deck, and that they should be -kept in ignorance of the why and wherefore. -</p> - -<p> -That the seven men in the cabin should stand -staunchly by each other, and never undress when -lying in their berths, so as to be ready for instant -service. -</p> - -<p> -That one at a time should hold a strict watch on -the companion-way and cabin door, and that all -should keep their arms loaded and their ammunition -constantly about them. -</p> - -<p> -That as little canvas as possible should be kept -no the ship, so that aloft she might be ready for -any sudden emergency, squall, or catastrophe. -</p> - -<p> -A large trunk, full of Mr. Basset's law-books -(which next morning was to have been shot into the -hold as lumber), was placed near the outer cabin -door, and lashed by one of its handles to a brass -ring-bolt, and so arranged that, sluing round the -other end, it effectually barricaded the sliding-door -that opened to the steerage and companion-ladder. -</p> - -<p> -To defend this avenue in case of an attack, and -so sell their lives as dearly as possible, or, it might -be, to shoot all their assailants down in succession, -were the simple but stern resolutions come to. -</p> - -<p> -These preliminaries adjusted, the captain, armed -with his revolver, took the first two hours' spell. -The rest retired to their various berths, and lay -down with their clothes on, and their weapons -beside them. -</p> - -<p> -The two hours passed away in silence. -</p> - -<p> -The captain went on deck, and sent the second -mate, Foster, below, in a not very enviable frame -of mind, after hearing what was on the <i>tapis</i>, for, -like Mr. Quail— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "He, poor fellow! had a wife and children—<br /> - Two things for dying people quite bewildering."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -So, with a beating and anxious heart, he lay down -on a locker, with a sharp hatchet under him—the -only weapon that came to hand. -</p> - -<p> -The ship was still going large, with the breeze -abaft the beam, and the fore and main studding-sails -set. Joe, the steward, was at the wheel; the -light in the forecastle bunks was extinguished now, -and the watch on deck were all grouped, in silence -apparently, to leeward of the long-boat. -</p> - -<p> -All seemed still for that night, or rather the -remainder of the morning, when the captain warned -the miserable Mr. Basset to take the next "spell," -or watch, as sentinel at the cabin door. -</p> - -<p> -Pale and sleepless, with bloodshot eyes, the poor -man received the loaded revolver, with all the -timidity and awkwardness of one who had never -handled such a weapon before, and dreading lest it -might explode of its own accord, like a loaded -fire-wheel, and thus shoot himself and everybody else; -but anon the thought of his daughters nerved his -heart and steadied his hand. -</p> - -<p> -Slowly, as if Time stood still, the minutes passed; -and when, as usual, the ship's bell clanged at each -half-hour on deck, it sounded in his ears and in his -soul like the knell of doom! -</p> - -<p> -So the poor father continued to watch in -breathless anxiety; now pacing the carpeted cabin in -miserable restlessness, then seating himself upon -the stern locker, with the revolver on his knee, and -his hands over his face, breathing an unuttered -prayer for his darling daughters; now listening, -keenly as a hunted hare, at the door of their little -cabin, to hear their soft, low breathing. Anon, -seeking the companion-way, as if the confined air -of the ship stifled him, and looking up at the -mizzen-rigging towering into the starry sky, where the -mizzen-topsail, topgallantsail, and the driver, with -the boom and gaff, spread between him and heaven -like a broad gray cloud of canvas. -</p> - -<p> -Then the thought of his dead wife, and their once -dear happy home in England far away. -</p> - -<p> -By a freak of memory, past hours of happiness, of -joviality and frivolity—hours spent amid the flowery -and leafy seclusion of Laurel Lodge, came crowding -on him, with faces of friends, their voices, smiles, -and little episodes; the green sunny lawn, the stately -chase of Acton-Rennel, the Norman cross on Cherrytree -Hill, and the great yew that shaded his wife's -grave in that quiet old English churchyard, where he -might never lie: all these came before him now, and -he marvelled in his aching breast if the horrors that -overhung him now were not a nightmare, and all a -dreadful dream! -</p> - -<p> -Ethel and Rose, so pure, so fair, so lovely, and so -highly bred, to be in such peril; at the mercy of such -men as those who formed the crew of the <i>Hermione</i>, -and far from all human succour on the wide, wide, -open sea. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VIII. -<br /><br /> -THE SAIL TO WINDWARD. -</h3> - -<p> -Under the interlaced crosses of Great Britain—our -brave old union-jack—a very different crew -manned that good little ship the <i>Princess</i>, of London, -which we last left when dropping the giant cone of -Tristan d'Acunha astern, and bearing on her voyage -towards Tasmania. -</p> - -<p> -Under Tom Bartelot's command, all went well -and prosperously, and his ship had fine weather and -spanking topsail breezes, after leaving the romantic -Isle of Tristan. -</p> - -<p> -Anxious to be useful and to kill time, Morley -Ashton had applied himself to seamanship, and, in -seeking to master all the mysteries thereof, became -the peculiar pupil of old Noah Gawthrop, who -confidently undertook "to make a man and a sailor of -him, before they saw Wan Demon's Land." -</p> - -<p> -He could soon dip his hands in a bucket of tar -without wincing; slush the mast, from the -royal-masthead down, without becoming squeamish; he -could box the compass, take his trick at the helm, -and achieve many clever things, from holding the -log-reel upwards to sending down a royal-yard -without mistake or blunder, which Noah told him -"was one of the prime feats of seamanship, which -even the queen on the throne couldn't do." -</p> - -<p> -The first time he accomplished this, was when a -squall was coming on. Ben Plank had the fore-royal, -Noah the main-royal, and Morley the mizzen. -</p> - -<p> -His spar was certainly the lightest, with a smaller -sail, but he had it struck and sent down before the -others, greatly to the delight of old Noah, who, with -all his ugliness, which was undeniable, was a genuine -salt of the old school—a regular British tar, with his -slouching shoulders and light gait, swinging arms, -and half-closed hands, that were always ready to -"tally on" to anything; a comical twinkle in his -eye, and who believed in whistling for wind as truly -as the Turkish skipper who pours oil upon the sea, -in the hope that it may float to Mecca, for the -same useful purpose. -</p> - -<p> -Noah bore on his breast, engraved in gunpowder, -a little romance of his younger days—a sailor and a -girl standing on the sea-shore. In the background -(or offing, to speak more correctly) lay a ship, with -her topsails loose, hove-apeak to her anchor, while -the smoke from a gun—the signal for sea—curled -over her quarter. Under the male figure were the -initials "N.G.," and under the girl's were—what -we won't say, for in them, lay the pet secret of old -Noah's honest heart. The ship, however, he often -pointed to with pride, saying it was a "lovely -pictur' of her Majesty's ship the <i>Haurora</i>, of fifty -guns, as was—an ugly smoke-jack now, with a -screw-propeller in her starn." -</p> - -<p> -The weather was cool, almost cold, at times, and -frequently icebergs were in sight, with their white -glistening pinnacles standing sharply defined against -the sky, and shaded off with pale green or purple -tints, that blended with the deep blue of the sea. -</p> - -<p> -Tom Bartelot's cheerful temperament, his songs -and his bonhomie, and Morrison's queer legends of -Scotland and the sea, together with grave and -earnest advice, and confidence in a Providence who -ordered all things for the best, had a good effect -upon Morley Ashton's spirits, which might have -sunk, circumstanced as he was, amid the monotony -of a sea voyage, with foreshadowed fears of evil -tidings on reaching the Isle of France, after making -a tour so circuitous as Tasmania. -</p> - -<p> -Ignorant of the unlooked-for detention of the -<i>Hermione</i> at the Canaries, and of the series of foul -winds she had encountered, Morley never doubted -that now the Bassets must have reached their -destination, and been installed in their new home; -that Mr. Basset must have entered on his official -duties, and if they were accompanied by one so -enterprising as Cramply Hawkshaw, it was difficult -to foretell how Cupid and Fortune—blind deities -both—might reward his perseverance, and thus cast -a fatal blight upon the hopes of our hero who, like -a poor "pilgrim of the heart," or a knight-errant -of old, was traversing the sea from shore to shore in -search of a lost love. -</p> - -<p> -One day, as Morley trod the deck to and fro -listlessly, he was startled by the unusual, or, at -least, unexpected cry of— -</p> - -<p> -"Land, ho!" -</p> - -<p> -Telescope in hand, he sprang up the weather-rigging. -</p> - -<p> -"Land it is, indeed," said Tom Bartelot, shading -his eyes with his hand, and peering over the -weather-quarter. -</p> - -<p> -"What land, Tom?" -</p> - -<p> -"Diego Alvarez, or Gough's Island. I have -been looking out for it all forenoon. Keep her full -and by—full and by, lad," he added to the steersman; -"keep her closer to the wind—see how that -foretopsail shivers." -</p> - -<p> -This was about six bells (<i>i.e.</i>, 3 P.M.) on a fine, -clear afternoon. The hill of Gough's Island arose -dim and blue upon their weather-bow. -</p> - -<p> -Discovered long, long ago, by an adventurous -Portuguese mariner, who bestowed upon it its name, -it is a lonely and desolate place, covered with moss -and sea-grass, the abode only of sea-elephants and -the fur-seal. It was named anew by Captain Gough, -of the <i>Richmond</i>, when on his voyage to China in 1731. -</p> - -<p> -After leaving it astern, good fortune seemed to -abandon the <i>Princess</i> and her crew. -</p> - -<p> -A series of foul winds that veered round every -point of the compass, with heavy gusts and squally -weather, beset her, and so cloudy was the sky, that -for several days Bartelot and his mate were quite -unable to make an observation—<i>i.e.</i>, to take the -sun's altitude at noon. -</p> - -<p> -In one squall the mizzen-topniast was carried -away, being broken right off at the cap, the heel -with the fid alone remaining in the top. -</p> - -<p> -"So, friend Morley," said Tom, "if this kind of -work and these foul winds continue, we may see the -Table Mountain, and have to run into the bay for -fresh water." -</p> - -<p> -"At the Cape of Good Hope?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes. Then if you wish to have a day's run in -Lubberland, you may come ashore with me; and -who can say," he added, kindly, on perceiving -how Ashton's countenance fell at the prospect of -fresh delays, "but we may there find a craft bound -for the island of Paul and Virginia, and get your -hammock swung aboard of her at once?" -</p> - -<p> -One day the weather cleared a little, and the sun -broke forth a few minutes before noon. -</p> - -<p> -Bartelot and Morrison betook them to quadrant, -sextant, and chart, and found they were within -some 300 miles of the Cape of Storms. -</p> - -<p> -After this the sky resumed its sombre and inky -hue; the sea was gray, save where the sun shot his -beams like a flood of yellow light through a rent in -the clouds, and lit the waves below with a golden -sheen, long and steadily, about fifteen miles distant -on their weather-bow. -</p> - -<p> -"Sail, ho!" shouted Ben Plank, who, with some -others, was up aloft taking advantage of this bright -blink, to get the spare mizzen-topmast shipped, with -all its hamper and gearing. -</p> - -<p> -"Where away, Ben?" asked Morley, snatching -Tom's telescope from its brass hooks under the -companion-hatch. -</p> - -<p> -"There, sir, in that streak of light to windward." -</p> - -<p> -Looming large as coming out of the haze, Morley -saw a large, square-rigged vessel, with all her -fore-and-aft canvas set, running close-hauled on a -different current of wind, which did not as yet affect -the <i>Princess</i>, and which would probably carry her -ahead. -</p> - -<p> -Her canvas was white as snow, and shone like -the outspread wings of a swan in the bright gleam -of sunshine, and in strong relief against the gray -and dusky sky beyond. -</p> - -<p> -She was visible but for a few minutes—so briefly, -indeed, that Morrison had not time to run the ensign -up to the gaff-peak, when she seemed to dart into -the gray obscurity ahead, and to vanish like a -phantom that melted into the sky; but though -invisible, it was evident that the <i>Princess</i>, a faster -sailer, would soon leave her far astern. -</p> - -<p> -In that large square-rigged ship, that spanked -along on a taut bowline, with the white foam -curling under her black bows, and flying over her -gilded catheads, how little Morley Ashton imagined -that Ethel Basset—the Ethel of his hopes by day -and dreams by night, the centre around which all -his aspirations and his life itself revolved—was -seated side by side with Hawkshaw on one of the -quarter-deck seats, watching, through a fifteen-mile -lorgnette, or racing-glass, the outline of the -<i>Princess</i>, whose canvas being all in shadow came -blackly out, for a few minutes, from the sombre -atmosphere to leeward, and then melted from their -view for ever. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IX. -<br /><br /> -THE STORM. -</h3> - -<p> -Varied by occasional torrents of rain, black, cloudy, -and squally skies, the regular "Cape weather" -continued after this, and the <i>Princess</i> was soon -running under close-reefed topsails. So frequently -were the reefs taken in and shaken out, that Bill -Morrison said they reminded him of an old Scottish -seaman's rhyme: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Gif the rain pouirs ere the wind swurl,<br /> - Your topsails lowse and gar them furl;<br /> - But gif the wind blaws ere pouirs the rain,<br /> - Your topsails lowse, and hoist again."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Even the gay spirit of Tom Bartelot became -depressed by the gloomy and threatening state of -the weather, and he spent nearly his whole time on -deck, or in observing the compasses, the barometer, -and state of the pumps. -</p> - -<p> -Two days after the strange sail had been seen no -the weather-bow, the glass was still falling, while -the sea and wind were rising. -</p> - -<p> -At seven bells, after taking a hurried breakfast -Tom found the wind increasing to a gale, so he took -in the maintopgallantsail, the second reef of his -topsails, and set the mainstaysail. -</p> - -<p> -By midday he had to summon all hands on deck. -</p> - -<p> -"Close-reef the topsails, furl mainsail and fore -and mizzen-topsail." -</p> - -<p> -These orders followed each other rapidly. -</p> - -<p> -Soon after, the <i>Princess</i> was flying through the -gloomy sea under a close-reefed maintopsail and -reefed foresail, shipping a great deal of water the -while, and labouring hard, as her pumps worked -ill. -</p> - -<p> -After this, the wind began to die away, the sea -went somewhat down, and then more canvas was -spread on the ship; but there were many indications -in the sky and atmosphere which filled Tom -and Morrison, and Gawthrop, too, for he had his -nameless nautical instincts, with anxieties which the -younger men of the crew could not fail to perceive. -</p> - -<p> -"How's the barometer, Morrison?" was the -frequent question. -</p> - -<p> -"Still falling slowly, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"What do you think the night will be?" asked Morley. -</p> - -<p> -"There's a gloom, and a closeness too, indicating -thunder." -</p> - -<p> -"Aye," said Noah Gawthrop, who had the -wheel, "the wind and the sea will make a fine -bobbery together in these parts afore the morning -watch, is called." -</p> - -<p> -"Steward—Ben Plank, get the dead lights -shipped," cried Bartelot, "here comes the squall -again! In with all the light sails, Morrison; -hurry forward—'way aloft lads, and lay out on the -yards!" -</p> - -<p> -Thus, by six o'clock, she was again running -under close-reefed topsails and foresail. -</p> - -<p> -The clouds were banking up in strange, wild, -and fantastic forms to windward; black and -sombre, they were altering every moment, -revealing weird-like patches of white and livid sky -beyond. At some parts of the horizon the blended -sea and sky had the darkness of night, while in the -zenith there was at times the brightness almost of -noon. -</p> - -<p> -"I don't like the aspect of all this, Morley," said -Bartelot, in a low voice to his friend; "we are in for -a rough, wild night, and I wish it were well past." -</p> - -<p> -The wind veered rapidly round half of the compass; -sometimes it seemed to blow from all quarters -at once. It came in strong and hot gusts, while, -through the bosom of the black clouds at the -horizon, the red lightning seemed to plunge its -seething bolts in the sea, and to add to the sublime -terror of such a scene; the atmosphere was so -sulphurous that, at times, luminous lights like fireballs -or meteors were seen on every masthead, yardarm, -and beam-end. -</p> - -<p> -"Furl the topsails, lower the yards upon the cap, -leave nothing set but the close-reefed foresail," -were now Bartelot's orders. -</p> - -<p> -Morley had never before seen so wild a tempest; -but he was now seaman enough to scramble aloft -with the rest, and soon found himself on the foot-rope, -and "laying out" on the arm of the main-yard, -and, as he was first up at the weather-earring, there -holding on with all his strength, for so weird -was the scene below, the napping of the canvas, -the snapping of ropes, that cracked like -coach-whips in the bellowing wind, the swaying of the -rigging, and the pitching of the ship, that a terrible -nausea came over him, together with a giddiness, -and had not a seaman, named Erwin, who was by -his side, caught him, he might have toppled into the -sea, that roared and seethed below. -</p> - -<p> -Ben Plank, being a strong fellow, had his post in -the slings of the mainyard, to pack the sail, and -make up the bunt, or stow the heavy middle -portion. Soon all was snug aloft; but again the wind -changed so rapidly, that it flew round from the -south-east to the north-west, and then with a -mighty sound of rending and tearing, the foresail -was split to ribbons, that flapped and cracked like -rifle shots in the tempest, while the ship, which -seemed almost enveloped in lightning for an instant, -was almost thrown on her beam-ends. -</p> - -<p> -"Stand from under, men—there go the masts!" -shouted Bartelot through his trumpet, and a -stunning peal of thunder bellowed over the ocean -at the same moment. -</p> - -<p> -Then followed a mighty crash, as if the heavens -were falling on the deck, and all shrunk instinctively -aside, or stooped downward, as the three topmasts -and jib-boom broke off at the caps, and the <i>Princess</i> -was a wreck in a moment. -</p> - -<p> -"Hatchets—cut away the hamper to ease the -ship!" was now the order, and, in a short time, the -tangled wilderness of yards, masts, cross-trees and -blocks, stays and rigging, on being cut adrift, -whirled out of sight to leeward, carrying with it the -unfortunate seaman Erwin, who had been caught -by the body in the bight of a rope. -</p> - -<p> -By the fall of the mizzen-topniast the starboard -quarter-boat was dashed to pieces, and the other, -which was a life-boat, was torn from its davits and -vanished in the darkness like a child's toy, as a -tremendous sea pooped the ship. -</p> - -<p> -"Tom," gasped Morley, as he clung, half-drowned, -or stunned, to a belaying-pin, "are we indeed -lost—do you think all is over?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nearly so—if this continues long," was the -composed reply. "Hold on, lads, here comes another sea!" -</p> - -<p> -Now the black waves continued to burst over the -vessel with a series of thundering explosions, as if -determined to overwhelm it, till all around was -foam, as white as snow; but though labouring at -times with her gunwale almost under water, her -whole deck strewed with fragments and splinters of -timber, bulwarks, buckets, pieces of rope, blocks, -sails, and spars, that were washed to and fro, and -while the crew, knee-deep in this debris, clung to -shrouds and belaying-pins, she rose up buoyantly -ever and anon, on the crest of a wave, with all the -water streaming from her, and all the while the wild -wind blew in gusts, and bellowed like an unchained -fiend. Amid the terrible scene another seaman was -swept overboard and drowned; the long-boal was -uprooted from its lashings and chocks over the -main-hatch, and carried over the side, by a sea that came -right amidships, and tore away half the starboard-bulwarks, -so, fearing that the ship would founder, -Bartelot, with a heavy heart, gave orders to cut -away the lower masts. -</p> - -<p> -The men were soon at work with sharp axes, and, -while keeping afoot with difficulty under the -drenching seas, shipped every moment by the labouring -hull, after cutting through the shrouds and stays, a -few blows at the foot of each mast, readily sent -them, in succession, crashing to leeward, where they -vanished amid foam and obscurity. -</p> - -<p> -Noah Gawthrop had just relinquislied the now -useless wheel, when a wave broke over the quarter, -tearing the rudder from its bands, and dashing the -wheel to pieces. -</p> - -<p> -"All's over with the poor <i>Princess</i>, Morley," said -Tom, with a groan; "she won't outlive the night, -I fear." -</p> - -<p> -Morrison now came aft to report that the chain-pump -had given way, the other had become choked, -and that water was rising fast in the well. -</p> - -<p> -"She's sprung a leak, sir, somewhere about her -fore-foot, so it is a bad look-out for us all," said -Plank, the carpenter. -</p> - -<p> -By this time the bulwarks were all torn away -from the stanchions and timber-heads amidships by -the sea, which now made clean breaches over the -entire hull. -</p> - -<p> -Nothing could be done now by the crew, but to -leave the ship to her fate, and to hold on by whatever -offered itself, and wait the event of the storm -abating, or, what seemed much more likely, of the ship -foundering, by settling bodily down into the trough -of the sea, and rising never more. Her cargo, too, -sugar and tobacco, were the reverse of buoyant -under the circumstances; so now, Morley, Bartelot, -Morrison, the chief mate, Plank, the carpenter, and -old Noah, were all grouped about the quarter-deck, -some holding on by the timber-heads, others by the -stump of the mizzenmast, while the rest of the crew -were grouped forward, where they lashed themselves -to the stump of the foremast, the barrel of the -windlass, and gallows-bitts; but so dark was the -night, so terrible the sea, and so loud the wind, that -neither party could see or hear anything of the -other. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly there was a rending crash! -</p> - -<p> -An invocation of heaven rose to the lips of all, and -a wild, despairing cry from those in the forecastle -reached the ears of our friends on the quarter-deck. -Morley felt the whole ship tremble beneath his feet, -as the entire quarter was burst up, or torn away -from the rest of the hull, and with his companions -he found himself floating on it, as on a species of -raft, and up to his neck in water every moment, -while whirled away from the ship, of which they -saw no more, and which, no doubt, went speedily -down with all on board. -</p> - -<p> -Just as this happened, Plank, the carpenter, was -swept away, clutching with despair a fragment of -wreck. -</p> - -<p> -On this frail remnant of the shattered ship, the -other four unfortunates found themselves adrift on -that wild, dark midnight sea, which whirled it to and -fro like a cork on the black, tempestuous waves. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER X. -<br /><br /> -THE FOUR CASTAWAYS. -</h3> - -<p> -"Lord have mercy on us!" escaped the lips of all. -</p> - -<p> -It would seem that, by the strength and violence -of the sea, the entire quarter-deck abaft the mizzen-mast, -with a portion of its bulwarks, the taffrail, some -parts of the stern windows and quarter galleries, -had been torn from the ship, and this crazy -fragment was all that intervened between our four -friends and eternity. -</p> - -<p> -Being level with the sea it could not be capsized, -which, at least, was one good property. -</p> - -<p> -Lashed to such parts of it as were available, the -poor victims clung there in desperation and silence, -waiting, and praying in their hearts that the storm -would abate; and now, as if its errand had been -done, its object accomplished in the total destruction -of the unfortunate <i>Princess</i>, the gusty wind began -to lull gradually, though the agitated sea rolled -high and black as ever. -</p> - -<p> -As the common saying has it, the waves "ran -mountains high;" but it must be borne in mind, -that few waves rise more than ten feet above the -general level of the water, which, when ten more -are given for the trough of the sea, makes the -whole height from base to crest twenty -feet—sufficiently high to be terrible in aspect and effect. -</p> - -<p> -Over the raft of the <i>Princess</i> (for it was little -better) those vast hills of water made a thundering -breach every instant, or came surging up through -the apertures, from whence the companion and -skylight had been torn away. -</p> - -<p> -The taffrail was strong, and it was chiefly to it -that Bartelot, Morley, Morrison, and Gawthrop lashed -themselves, for gradually all that remained of the -bulwarks were torn away, and the stump of the -mizzenmast was soon worked or sucked out by the -sea. -</p> - -<p> -There was an appalling sense of loneliness, of -dread and desolation, and of too probable death -being near at hand, though, perhaps, all the more -terrible, if it were protracted. -</p> - -<p> -So the fearful night wore on; the black scud was -passing away, the stars shone out, and the four -castaways began to hope that morning was at hand. -Yet, ruthlessly, wave after wave came rolling over -them, each with its high and monstrous head, -curling white with snowy foam, though its sides were -black and inky. Then there would be a roar as of -thunder when each burst over the fragment of wreck, -engulfing and half choking the poor dripping -wretches who clung to it in silence and despair. -</p> - -<p> -But now, as dawn, began to spread rapidly over -the east, the sea went down, and the wind also; the -waves ceased to roll over the broken deck, which -floated steadily, and as it rose upheaved on each -successive swell, the occupants cast around them, -eager glances from their bloodshot eyes, in the hope -of descrying a sail. -</p> - -<p> -Dawn came thoroughly in—a cloudy morning, but -no sunshine. Ere long they could see the whole -horizon; but there no vestige of a sail was visible, -and now they looked blankly in each other's pallid -faces. -</p> - -<p> -"My poor crew!" said Bartelot, with a thick sob -in his throat, but the exclamation had escaped him -many times before; "second-mate, carpenter, -sail-maker, steward, cook, boys, and all—all gone but -us, Morley. Sad—deplorable, is it not?" -</p> - -<p> -"Do not grieve for what is irreparable," said -Morrison. -</p> - -<p> -"If I saw you, Bill Morrison, my friend Ashton, -and my old shipmate Noah, all safe, I don't care -if I were shark-meat this minute," he resumed, -bitterly. -</p> - -<p> -"Don't say so, Bartelot, my old boy," replied -Morley, with an affectation of spirit he was far from -feeling: "you have behaved bravely, and done all -that man could do to save your ship. Take courage; -you have buoyed me up many a day, when my -heart had sunk to zero. Let me try to cheer you in -turn." -</p> - -<p> -"Cheer!" Tom repeated, shaking his head sadly, -and still more bitterly, as he surveyed their home -upon the waters. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Heaven! to think of this being a bit of the -old <i>Princess</i> we all loved so well!" groaned -Morrison, looking almost affectionately on the frail -planks over which the sea rippled at every heave. -</p> - -<p> -"Aye, sir," chimed in Noah; "it are odd, but it -was a bit of that same blessed deck, as was -holystoned and prayer-booked, swabbed and squilgeed -of a morning till it were white as snow—whiter -a'most than the deck of her Majesty's yacht. I've -poured half the sea over that deck, I have, when -the head-pump was rigged for'ard of a morning, -and now what is it, but only a bit of drift-wood, -and we a clinging to it, like four wet barnacles? -Lor' help us!" -</p> - -<p> -"And bless our poor shipmates!" added Bartelot, -pointing upwards. -</p> - -<p> -"They are all gone, sir—found sailors' graves, -every one of them," said Morrison; "the ship -would fill, and go down the moment she parted -aft." -</p> - -<p> -"But you've done your duty, sir," said Noah; -"and can clear yourself of the ship's loss before any -naval court in any part of the world. I only wish -we were all afore one this blessed minute, instead o' -drifting about here, without compass, biscuit, or -'bacca." -</p> - -<p> -Now came the oppressive reflection that they -were without food and without water. -</p> - -<p> -Morley had read very recently the "Paul Huet" -of Eugene Sue, and the more true story on which -his romance is founded—the awful wreck of the -<i>Medusa</i>, French frigate, and thus the horrors which -her crew endured upon the raft came vividly and -painfully before him now. -</p> - -<p> -The saline property of the atmosphere, their long -and repeated immersions in the ocean, the quantities -of its water they had been compelled to swallow -when the drenching waves broke over them, soon -excited thirst. This longing was increased by heat, -when the sun came forth; but as yet they had no -desire for food. -</p> - -<p> -All their energies were bent on watching the -horizon around them, but no sail appeared; so -the wreck continued to float listlessly about, -without making way apparently in any direction. -</p> - -<p> -A boat they might have rowed in the direction of -the Cape of Good Hope, and though they might -have failed to reach the coast, while minus food -and water, they would always have increased their -chances of being picked up by a passing ship, -homeward or outward bound; but on the wreck they -were helpless, as if upon a desert rock fixed amid -the sea. -</p> - -<p> -The first day passed slowly, wearily on, and the -sun verged westward in his course. -</p> - -<p> -Now night descended on the sea. There was no -moon, but the stars shone clearly and sharply. -</p> - -<p> -Worn by emotion, by toil, suffering, and lack of -sleep, they trusted to the security of their lashings, -and strove to find rest, or oblivion, in slumber; but -a half-wakeful doze was all they could achieve. -Each body lay, to all appearance, torpid; but the -anxious soul slept not, so each had his own keen -active thoughts and dreams. -</p> - -<p> -Tom Bartelot conjured up a certain pretty little -English face, whose smiling blue eyes were -associated with many a summer evening walk among the -sylvan scenery of Richmond Park, in the gardens of -Kew, and visits to Hampton Court. -</p> - -<p> -Morrison's heart was in his old mother's cottage, -where he first saw the light, by the broad waters of -the Dee, that roll from the hills of Crathie and -Braemar in "the bonnie north country;" for he -had intended, at the close of another voyage, to go -home to Scotland, with all his earnings and wages, -to spend them with her, and for her only; but all -that seemed hopeless now, though the hum of the -sea in his ears, as it rippled against the wreck, -suggested the surf that in boyhood he had seen -breaking over the Black Dog of Belhelvie.* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="poem"> -* A rock on the Aberdeenshire coast, so named from its -appearance at low water. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Poor old Gawthrop, with his grizzled whiskers, -and lips baked in dry salt, dreamt of neither father, -mother, nor love—for all who loved old Noah -were dead long ago; but he had a vision of a stiff -jorum of -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Boatswain's grog—just half and half,"<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -such as he used to get in the <i>Haurora</i>, of fifty guns; -while Morley Ashton thought, and dreamed, and -murmured to himself of Ethel Basset. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -He had now been long absent from Ethel, and -been long mourned by her as one who was lost to -her for ever, and numbered with the dead. And -now death menaced him again! -</p> - -<p> -He had been saved from destruction by his -friend—saved from a death by starvation, or despair, -at Acton Chine; but only to perish with him here -amid the lonely waters of the South Atlantic; for -this time it seemed that he was too surely doomed -to die—an idea rendered all the more bitter by a -conviction that Ethel would never, and could never, -know the dark story of his disappearance, for no -mortal lips could tell her save those of Hawkshaw. -</p> - -<p> -Morley felt that he might perish now; that she -would never learn the true character of his rival; -of his own awful escape from Acton Chine; of his -journey to Rio de Janeiro; of his sufferings on the -raft, till relieved by death; of how he had been -tossed hither and thither by fortune's unrelenting -hate, and how deeply and devotedly he loved her. -</p> - -<p> -By this last misfortune, the wreck, more than all -the others, he might, by dying, leave her to become -the wife of Hawkshaw, the would-be assassin! -</p> - -<p> -So another night passed over, and the raft, or -wreck, still floated darkly, silently there; and now -those who were thereon had ceased to speak, even in -whispers. -</p> - -<p> -Another day dawned—a day of glorious sunshine; -but no food, no water, no hope came with it; for -not a sail was in sight, and their eyes ached with -weariness in searching the faint blue watery line -that marked where the sky and ocean met. -</p> - -<p> -They were becoming very feeble now, and the -cravings of nature were maddening. -</p> - -<p> -Their hair was encrusted by salt, as white as -hoar-frost, their lips were baked, their tongues parched. -Already they had become gaunt and white, hollow-cheeked, -and old-looking, with eyes bloodshot and wild. -</p> - -<p> -Their feet and legs were sore and sodden by long -immersion in the brine, and their whole bodies were -rendered stiff and weary by the wet ropes which -lashed them to the taffrail—a means of security -which they dared not unloose or relinquish for a -moment. -</p> - -<p> -Ere long they were in a species of delirium. -</p> - -<p> -Hunger brought its own fantastic and exciting -suggestions of well-cooked viands, of hearty homely -dishes, steaming and savoury, roasts and stews, -puddings and pies; but thirst, agonising thirst, -suggested ideas of cool rivers, amid which snows -were dissolving; of lonely mountain tarns, where -the brown trout sported under the broad-leaved -water-docks, and where the wild bird swam; of -glassy meres, of crystal rills, that murmured under -old oak trees, or shady drooping willows, with dark -green sprays, and water-lilies that dipped therein; -of iced champagne, that effervesced in crystal -goblets; of sparkling hock and seltzer-water; of -jolly London stout, all brown, with its creamy froth; -of every impossible luxury that they had not, and -never more might feel upon their cracked lips and -dry, hard, arid tongues! -</p> - -<p> -A dead bird!—it was a huge albatross, with -wings outspread—floated slowly past them on the -glassy oil-like sea, thus indicating a current that -ran eastward. -</p> - -<p> -They were all too weak to attempt to swim for -it; so, wolfishly, with haggard eyes and longing -appetites they watched the wretched carrion for -hours, until it floated out of sight. -</p> - -<p> -Then three nautilus shells, with purple sails -outspread, passed near them, and, to Morley's excited -vision, they seemed like large Roman galleys, or -fairy barges; at a vast distance—such craft as he -had read of in legends of the Rhine, in fairy tales, -and knightly ballads. -</p> - -<p> -And now came Mother Carey's chickens, hopping -and tripping about the wreck, and on the ripples -round it—merrily and happily, like brown sparrows -in a farmyard at home. -</p> - -<p> -About the setting of the sun, they were roused -from their listlessness by the sudden apparition of -a large vessel, barque-rigged—that is, with the -fore and mainmasts of a ship and a mizzen like a -schooner's mainmast, with a long spanker-boom—bearing -down towards them. -</p> - -<p> -There was a fine breeze blowing; she had all her -canvas set, and ran on a taut bowline. -</p> - -<p> -"A ship! a sail! a sail!" they exclaimed together. -</p> - -<p> -"Now, blessed be Heaven!" said Tom, "we are -saved at last! Hurrah—hurrah!" -</p> - -<p> -She was painted a kind of yellowish white; her -side chains and hawse-holes, and all her iron work, -looked red and rusty, as if she had been long in -tropical waters. -</p> - -<p> -With almost inarticulate lips they sought to hail -her, and waved their hands in frantic glee as she -came on, with the white foam curling under her -bluff bows, where the old copper was green, and -covered with barnacles. Her side was lined with -the faces of her crew, who seemed to be in earnest -conference, and some of whom gesticulated violently. -</p> - -<p> -She seemed to be foreign by her build and rig, -as well as by the scarlet and blue shirts and fur -caps of her men. -</p> - -<p> -Now she was close to them, and the white flag, -with the black eagle of Prussia, was hoisted at her -gaff peak; now she would certainly be hove in the -wind, with a mainsail laid aback, and have a boat -lowered to relieve them. -</p> - -<p> -So close was she, that the wheel revolved to keep -her away a point or two, lest she might run the frail -wreck under with her bluff bows, as she sheered -past. -</p> - -<p> -Tom hailed in English "to relieve them from -misery—to save them, for the love of mercy and of -God!" -</p> - -<p> -He spoke imploringly, for a sudden doubt had -chilled his heart. -</p> - -<p> -Hoarsely the hail was responded to in German, -and the barque passed on—on, without lifting tack -or sheet, without lowering a boat, or tossing a single -biscuit, to those four men who were all but dying on -the wreck! The Prussian—she was the <i>Einicheit</i>, of -Dantzic—stood away on her course, and left Bartelot -and his three friends in an agony of disappointment -and despair that bordered on madness!* -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="poem"> -* For the infamous conduct of this Prussian crew to a Scottish -ship in distress, see any paper of May 26, 1864. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -With such terrible emotions in their hearts, as no -pen could portray, they saw her slowly diminish in -distance, and vanish into the yellow haze that -overspread the evening sea. Then once more night -descended on the world of waters, and again they were -alone—more alone, they felt, than ever, for even -their fellow-beings had abandoned them. -</p> - -<p> -During all that night Morley Ashton was delirious. -</p> - -<p> -Dreams and thoughts of Acton Chase and woods, -that rustled their green leaves in the soft west wind; -of golden fields, of bearded grain, that waved like -yellow billows beneath its breath; of the voices of -the larks that soared aloft into the blue sky, and of -the cushat dove that cooed to its mate in the leafy -dingle; the ring of the village chimes, and of -children's merry voices—came strongly to memory, -with the comforts of the land he never more might -tread—English home he never more might see. -</p> - -<p> -Anon, strange monsters seemed to come out of -the starlit bosom of the glassy deep, to bob and -dance, to glare and jabber, with faces green, white, -lilac, and rose-coloured; and all as if to mock their -misery. -</p> - -<p> -These, however, were only seaweed and foambells, -or floating blubber, to which the water gave -unusual size and phosphorescent light, while the -sufferers' giddy brains and weakened eyesight lent -them wild and fantastic forms. -</p> - -<p> -Poor Tom Bartelot must have been quite -deranged; for more than once Morley heard him -singing what seemed to be a scrap of his old drinking -song, and his voice sunk into a childish quaver -at the couplet: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Oh, deign, ye kind powers, with this wish to comply,<br /> - May I always be drinking yet always be dry."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Then he suddenly changed his note to a kind of -hoarse wail, as he sang: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "King Death was a rare old fellow,<br /> - He sat where no sun could shine;<br /> - He lifted his hand so yellow,<br /> - And pledged us in coal-black wine."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -He soon after became senseless, and hung, as if -asleep, drooping, alas! it might be, dead, in the -lashings that secured him to the taffrail. -</p> - -<p> -Towards the morning of that terrible night, -Morley felt life ebbing within him, and, as it ebbed, -he had a last wild dream—wild, indeed; but too -delicious to be true. -</p> - -<p> -A long, long time seemed to elapse, but another -day had dawned, and a ship—the false, cruel -Prussian barque of yesterday—had returned in -quest of them. She lay to, a boat came off, he -heard the rattle of the fall tackles, and the splash of -the water. They were, he thought, rescued; he -felt the lashing that bound his swollen limbs cut by -a seaman's jack-knife, and now kind faces and kind -hands were around him, and gentle voices were -murmuring in his ear. -</p> - -<p> -Cool wine and grateful cordials seemed to be -poured between his parched lips, and then to be -suddenly withheld when he would have imbibed -more. -</p> - -<p> -Oh, the madness of this tantalising and most -feverish dream, for Ethel Basset seemed to be -there! -</p> - -<p> -Ethel, with her sweetly feminine and dear -affectionate face, was bending over him; her lips were -close to his, her kiss was on his cheek; but he -could neither respond nor speak, for Hawkshaw's -visage, pale and wrathful, was between them, with -knitted brows and glaring eyes, as he had seen it -last, when he fell beneath his hand at Acton Chine. -</p> - -<p> -Then he seemed to sleep, to die; for he felt and -remembered no more. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XI. -<br /><br /> -CAPTAIN HAWKSHAW MAKES A DISCOVERY TO LEEWARD. -</h3> - -<p> -On the night the <i>Princess</i> was lost, the <i>Hermione</i> -did not escape the same storm, which probably -traversed in a circle all the waters of the South -Atlantic. -</p> - -<p> -It was no doubt the mere skirt of the tempest -which affected her, as the sky around was clear, and -the stars shone brilliantly. -</p> - -<p> -Her jib was blown out of the bolt-rope and split -to ribbons, and she had her topsails close-reefed. -</p> - -<p> -"Stow what remains of the jib," ordered Captain -Phillips; "into the netting with it—quick, men; -cheerily now, and up with the foretopmast-staysail." -</p> - -<p> -As soon as this was done, he added: -</p> - -<p> -"Go below, the watch, and take a nap if you can, -for it may blow great guns before morning." -</p> - -<p> -"It is blowing three gales in one as it is," said -Mr. Quail. "The water comes waist-high in the -lee-scuppers, and washes right chock aft to the -taffrail." -</p> - -<p> -The <i>Hermione</i> was tearing through the sea upon -the wind, so she rolled little, but the wild waves -came pouring over her catheads and topgallant -forecastle, and over the weather bulwarks, swashing -and plashing their snowy spray far above the level -of her main-courser. -</p> - -<p> -"Who is at the wheel?" asked the captain, who -was standing at the break of the quarter-deck. -</p> - -<p> -"Badger, the long Yankee," replied Mr. Quail. -</p> - -<p> -"All seems quiet among these rascals forward; -and they worked cheerily enough to-night." -</p> - -<p> -"All quiet as yet, sir; but we don't know when -their little game may begin." -</p> - -<p> -"If they should have changed their minds?" -suggested Phillips. -</p> - -<p> -"No chance of that, sir," said Quail, shaking his -head. -</p> - -<p> -"Or, if the doctor was mistaken?" -</p> - -<p> -"Impossible, sir," said Quail, shaking his head -again—it was under a cloud of spray this time; -"and, even if he was so, we can't mistake the -disappearance of poor Manfredi after Sharkey's ugly -threats, and their mutinous spirit in general. As -first mate, I have seen enough of it to last my time -at sea." -</p> - -<p> -"I am prepared for the worst, at all events," -responded Phillips, in the same low voice, as he -instinctively felt for the butt of the revolver pistol in -his breast-pocket, and ascended to the weather side -of the poop. -</p> - -<p> -Veering round to the south-eastward, the wind -was soon dead against the ship, which laboured hard, -though running close-hauled, and, while beating to -windward, her head was many points away from her -proper course. -</p> - -<p> -She was running fast through the water—ten -knots an hour at least—but was making great leeway. -The strain on the weather-rigging was great; -there every shroud, rope, and halyard were tight as -iron wire, while to leeward they were all blown -out in wavy bights and bends, especially at every -lurch. -</p> - -<p> -There was never a lull in the fierce gale, and, -with every wave that burst against her bows, the -<i>Hermione</i> seemed to roll, or swerve, bodily off to -leeward. -</p> - -<p> -On this night poor Mr. Basset was in great -mental misery, lest, amid the tempest, for to such -the gale nearly amounted, the crew should put their -nefarious designs in execution; but they had their -hands too full of necessary work to find time for -mischief then. -</p> - -<p> -He twice ventured on deck, but, to the landsman's -eye, the aspect of that wild, stormy sea, -visible under a starry and cloudless sky, so appalled -him, that each time he returned to the cabin with -such visible signs of tremor or emotion, that Ethel, -who had found the impossibility of sleeping, and -had hastily thrown on her morning wrapper and -shawl, joined him, and sat caressingly by his side. -</p> - -<p> -Pale, anxious, and lovely she looked in her -white-frilled dress; and now every sound on deck made -her father start with agitation. -</p> - -<p> -"Is the gale increasing, papa?" she asked, for -the twentieth time. -</p> - -<p> -"Undoubtedly it is—but the captain laughs at it, -and says his ship is strong and stout." -</p> - -<p> -"How soundly dear Rose sleeps amid all this -hurly-burly." -</p> - -<p> -"Bless the poor child—oh yes; but go to bed -beside her, darling, we have little fear to-night—for -the ship, at least." -</p> - -<p> -"Have we aught to fear from the sea, papa?" -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Basset did not reply. -</p> - -<p> -"You are silent, papa," resumed Ethel, scanning -his features keenly and affectionately, and patting -his cheek with her delicate hand; "then there is -some danger of which you do not tell me. Oh, -papa, what is this you would conceal from me, who, -I know, am all the world to you?" -</p> - -<p> -"You are, indeed, all the world to me now, Ethel—you -and Rose," replied the poor man, in a broken -voice, as his eyes filled, and his heart swelled with -uncontrollable anxiety and emotion; "but there, -dear, there, kiss me, and go to bed; don't waken -Rose—let the poor child sleep while she may." -</p> - -<p> -And leading Ethel to her cabin, he pushed her -gently in, and closing the door, lay down on the -stern-locker to watch, but not to sleep. -</p> - -<p> -This gale blew steadily for more than eight-and-forty -hours, during which the <i>Hermione</i> carried as -little canvas as possible, yet she made so much -leeway as to be blown far to the southward of the -Cape—how far was known only to Captain Phillips -and his two mates, Mr. Quail and Mr. Foster, as -they had tacitly agreed to keep the crew in total -ignorance of the ship's working or progress, hoping, -by doing so, to delay, if they could not ultimately -frustrate, any dark plans the intending mutineers -had formed. -</p> - -<p> -During all this gale, which showed no signs of -abatement until the evening of the second day, -Ethel and her sister remained in the cabin with old -Nurse Folgate, who, with all her love for them, was -deploring the moment of weakness in which she -consented to leave the leafy seclusion of -Acton-Rennel, "to go forth a-voyaging round the world, -nobody knew to where." -</p> - -<p> -Dr. Leslie Heriot found much to keep him below, -too; and thus, by day and by night, according to -the plan formed and already described, there was -always at least one armed man guarding them and -the cabin-door. -</p> - -<p> -As for poor Mr. Basset, he never quitted the side -of his daughters now, until he saw them into their -little cabin for the night; and Ethel, who soon -perceived her father's new solicitude and affectionate -anxiety, was quite at a loss to understand what -caused it. -</p> - -<p> -None knew how the lots had fallen, or whose cast -of the dice had been highest in the forecastle bunks -of the <i>Hermione</i>; but many of her crew, when they -came on deck, on the morning subsequent to the -amiable discussion so luckily overheard by -Dr. Heriot, bore unmistakable marks of a conflict, in -the shape of blackened eyes, swollen noses, and, in -more than one instance, a slash or stab from a -knife. -</p> - -<p> -Whatever were the ultimate intentions of these -men, matters remained unchanged on board the -ship, the duty of which was carried on excellently -during the gale, for then every man did his duty -readily and cheerfully, either by force of habit, or -from the knowledge that to do so would save -themselves much trouble and probable danger. -</p> - -<p> -No doubt they deemed it better to wait for an -opportunity after they were assured of being past -the Cape, when they would seize the ship, and, as -the doctor heard suggested, haul up for the -Mozambique Channel, a very unwise idea on their part, as, -in the narrow sea, they ran the imminent risk of -being overhauled by some man-of-war, homeward -bound, or transport full of troops—chances to be -avoided in the open Indian Ocean. -</p> - -<p> -The tempest had blown them to the westward, -and also considerably to the southward of the Cape, -which lies in latitude 33.5.42 South, and longitude -18.23.15 East. But the morning of the third day -came in clear and calm; there was a gentle breeze -from the eastward, and the ship was running -close-hauled, with her port-tacks on board, and -everything set upon her that would draw, even to -triangular skysails and niaintopgallant staysails, so -that her hull seemed a mere black speck under such -a cloud of white canvas. -</p> - -<p> -And the glorious morning sun cast her shadow -far along the smooth ocean to the westward, as she -cleft its waters swiftly and steadily with her gallant -prow, from which a white female figure, representing -the <i>Hermione</i> of the classical age, the daughter of -Venus and wife of Cadmus, with Vulcan's golden -necklet round her slender throat, spread her graceful -arms above the foam. -</p> - -<p> -The fourth and fifth days after the gale were -serene and lovely in the extreme. -</p> - -<p> -There was scarcely need for the watch to rig the -head-pump for the last three mornings; washed by -the waves of the recent gale, the decks were white -as snow, and not even a shred or thread of spunyarn -could be seen about the wheels of the carronades, -the coamings of the hatches, or the mouths of the -scupper-holes. -</p> - -<p> -Breakfast over, Rose and Ethel came on deck, and -Doctor Heriot hastened after them with cushions, -shawls, and wrappers, for the morning air in that -extreme southern latitude was cold, though clear and -bracing; even an iceberg was visible at the far and -blue horizon to the westward, an object to which -Heriot drew the attention of the sisters, and promptly -arranged for them his telescope; but the fair voyagers -had become quite used to such things, so Ethel -betook herself to a novel, and Rose began a piece of -crochet (which seemed like the web of Penelope) in -expectation that her lover would sit by and converse -with her. -</p> - -<p> -Both seemed paler than usual, in consequence of -the few days' confinement below. Their father was -anxious still, and the poor man continued to linger -about them, to hover near them, and instinctively -his trembling hand felt for the loaded revolver he -carried in secret, if one of the crew came near his -daughters, and his heart beat quicker if even one -glanced to them, for in him he suspected the winner -by the dice-box of the two abhorred Barradas. -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw, whom the young doctor's steady -attentions to the sisters galled and fretted, was up in -the fore-rigging, somewhere, looking out for a sail, -as no one on board longed for the appearance of a -ship of war more than he did; so he kept one eye -on the horizon, and another on the quarter-deck, -where Ethel and Rose were seated, chatting and -laughing. -</p> - -<p> -Heriot had carefully examined, capped, and charged -anew his revolver, and placed it in his breast-pocket -before he joined them, so the crew very little -suspected how completely all their superiors were -forewarned and forearmed. -</p> - -<p> -The two girls looked, if possible, lovelier than ever -on this, as it will prove in the sequel, eventful -morning, by a species of delicate pallor induced by the -close atmosphere of the cabin; and as young Heriot -gazed into their clear, full, earnest eyes, a fierce, -high spirit swelled up in his heart, and he almost -rejoiced that the terrible circumstances in which they -were placed, sailing as it were with a volcano on -board, would give him an opportunity of showing -how dearly he loved Rose Basset, how willing -he was to dare, alas! it might be to die for her! -</p> - -<p> -Not that he would gain much by the last move, as -reflection showed, and die he might, perhaps, by the -hands of some of those ruffians, before she could be -succoured and protected, and then there was acute -agony in the contemplation of what she might endure -when he could neither see nor avenge it. -</p> - -<p> -"Look, Ethel dear," Rose suddenly exclaimed -with girlish delight, "there is a great swan asleep -on the water." -</p> - -<p> -"A swan here?" queried Ethel. -</p> - -<p> -"It is an albatross," said the doctor, smiling, -"and sleeping sound enough, certainly. I could -almost toss a biscuit on his back." -</p> - -<p> -There, not twelve yards distant from the ship's -side, on the smooth surface of the sea, was a great -albatross, with plumage white as snow—a bird whose -pinions may have measured twelve feet from tip to -tip—fast asleep, and floating with his huge head -under his wing. -</p> - -<p> -Slowly he was upheaved upon each huge glassy -swell, and slowly he sank down into the glassy vale -between them, sleeping, as Ethel said, just as she -had seen the swans on Acton Mere at home, and -now this lonely bird was perhaps 300 miles from -land. -</p> - -<p> -When first descried he was upon the weather-bow, -and now he was upon the lee quarter, so rapidly the -ship left far astern this great bird of the "Ancient -Mariner," enjoying his nap, all undisturbed, upon -the morning sea. -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw, who was pretty far up the fore-rigging, -now drew the attention of some of the crew, who -were at work upon the foreyard, greasing the sling -thereof, reeving new bunt-lines to the foot of the -foretopsail, &c., to a small dark object that was -floating on the water at a great distance, and the -discussion that ensued about it soon caught the -attention of the anxious and active Mr. Quail, who -was standing at the break of the quarter-deck, for -the <i>Hermione</i> had a species of half poop, so he -descended into the waist and hailed the talkers. -</p> - -<p> -"Fore-top there!" -</p> - -<p> -"Aye, aye, sir," replied Bill Badger and Zuares -Barradas. -</p> - -<p> -"Do you see anything, that you keep such a -bright look-out to leeward, eh?' -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sir; there is something in sight," replied -Zuares. -</p> - -<p> -"Something; well, what is it?" -</p> - -<p> -"The head o' the great sea-sarpent, I rayther -reckons it to be," replied Bill Badger, impudently; -"I sees his row o' grinders standing up above the -water." -</p> - -<p> -"Grinders, you Yankee swab," responded Mr. Quail -(under his breath, however, for the fid-maul -and a couple of iron marlinespikes were lying in the -foretop, and one of these might fall out of it, by -accident); "what you call grinders are the timber-heads -of a piece of wreck—if not, I am as green as -a cabbage! A piece of wreck in sight to leeward, -sir," he reported down the skylight to Captain -Phillips, who came promptly on deck, telescope in -hand. -</p> - -<p> -"Whereabouts, Mr. Quail?" -</p> - -<p> -"There, sir; you can see it now under the leach -of the forecourse, when the ship rises—can you -make it out?' -</p> - -<p> -"Wreck it is, Quail; the taffrail and sternpost of -a vessel. Ease her off a bit, Pedro; edge down -towards it," said the captain to the elder Barradas, -whose strong hands grasped the handsome, brass-mounted -wheel of the <i>Hermione</i>; "we are raising -it fast." -</p> - -<p> -"If there ain't men a-clinging to it, I'm a -Dutchman!" shouted Badger, from the foretop. -</p> - -<p> -"The fellow is right," said Phillips, politely -passing his glass to Mr. Basset; "human figures -are visible on it. Ready the lee quarter boat, -there—clear the fall tackles; keep her on a little -just as she is, Mr. Quail, and then back with the -mainyard." -</p> - -<p> -All the crew crowded to the leeside of the deck -now, and their entire attention was riveted on the -piece of drifting wreck which lay like a log in the -water; but towards which they were rapidly bearing -down. -</p> - -<p> -Ere long, four men could be distinctly seen upon -it, but whether alive or dead none could say with -certainty, though all surmised the latter, as they -made neither sign nor hail, but remained still, mute, -and passive as the timber-heads to which they were -lashed, and which rose and fell, slowly and sullenly, -amid the sunny ripples of that calm morning sea. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XII. -<br /><br /> -DR. HERIOT'S PATIENTS. -</h3> - -<p> -Filled with the interest roused by this new episode, -the crew, for a time, forgot everything in their -desire to know what ship this had been, where she -hailed from, to relieve the sufferers, and to learn all -they had undergone; for, even in his worst moods, -Jack is always ready for anything, and the more of -novelty it contains, the better for him. -</p> - -<p> -The four drooping figures could be distinctly -discerned now, with their heads bare, their faces -blanched and pale. Ethel and Rose were full of -commiseration; already their gentle eyes were -swimming in sympathetic tears. The former kept -by the side of her father, and the latter, in her -excitement, leant more heavily than usual, perhaps, -on the arm of Dr. Heriot; and even old Nance -Folgate had come out of her berth, and muttering -"Lor' a mussy me!" from time to time, clung with -cat-like tenacity to the nettings on the lee-quarter, -to see the castaways, whom, she had no doubt, had -been devouring each other from time to time, till -only four were left now. -</p> - -<p> -"Back with the mainyard," shouted the captain; -"to the braces, men; let go and haul!" -</p> - -<p> -The lee-braces were cast off the belaying-pins; -the weather hauled in, and the yard was slued -round till the sail was laid flat to the mast; and -now the great ship, which had been edged down -towards the piece of wreck, as she lay to, rose and -fell with slow, but regular and impatient heaves, on -the swelling ridges of the sea, while, with a quick -revolution of the double-sheaved blocks, the -fall-tackle fell and the quarter-boat vanished from its -davits with a splash into the sea alongside. -</p> - -<p> -She was speedily manned: Mr. Foster, the -second mate, took the tiller; Bill Badger, the -Yankee; Joe, the steward; Quaco, the black -Virginian, and Dr. Heriot (with Rose's entreaties to -take care of himself, ringing in his ears), shipped -their oars in the rowlocks, and she was shoved -off. -</p> - -<p> -"Happy go lucky! here's summut new, at all -events," said Bill Badger, as he made the tough -blade of the stroke-oar bend like a willow wand; -for after a long, dull voyage like that of the -<i>Hermione</i>, varied only by adverse winds and the -loss of a mast at the Canaries—a voyage in which a -few restless and roving spirits are shut up for many -weeks in the small compass of a ship—anything -that may serve to relieve or vary the tedium and -monotony of the life they lead is welcome; hence, a -drifting wreck, with its contingent stories, mysteries, -and the surmises it may occasion, is, perhaps, the -most welcome, though least lively adventure they -could meet with. -</p> - -<p> -The proceedings of the boat's crew were watched -with deep interest by those who lined the ship's -side, about 500 yards off. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Foster pulled round the stern of the wreck, -and was seen to stoop with his face close to the -water, as if he was endeavouring to read (which was -the case) the vessel's name, then sunk some feet -below the surface, as the wreck was half submerged. -</p> - -<p> -Then he sheered the boat alongside, and by the -painter it was made fast to a timber-head; but -almost immediately after, for fear of accidents, this -was cast off, and she was simply held on by the -boat-hook. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Foster, Dr. Heriot, and another stepped -along the piece of quarter-deck, and were seen to -be examining the four men, whom they relieved -from their wet lashings by simply cutting these -through with a slash of Quaco's jack-knife. -</p> - -<p> -"Evidently, the poor fellows are not dead," said -Captain Phillips, joyfully, as he clapped his fat -hands together. -</p> - -<p> -"How do you know, dear sir?" asked Ethel; -"ah, the poor men, I do not see them move!" -</p> - -<p> -"They are putting them into the boat to bring -them aboard, Miss Basset. If they had been dead, -there would have been little use in doing that." -</p> - -<p> -"What would you have done in that case, -captain?" asked Mr. Basset. -</p> - -<p> -"Sunk each of 'em simply, with a round shot at -his heels, as we did the poor fellow whom we found -floating with the life-buoy. Mr. Quail, get some -brandy and wine out of the cabin locker—some -water, please, too." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, let me assist you, sir," exclaimed Ethel. -</p> - -<p> -"And me—me too," added Rose, with enthusiasm. -</p> - -<p> -"Stop, ladies, you'll only lose your footing and -get a tumble, perhaps, the ship is pitching so; -better stay where you are, and hold on by the side -netting." -</p> - -<p> -"Hush!" said Captain Phillips, suddenly; -"silence on deck—silence fore and aft, for -Dr. Heriot is hailing the ship, and waving his -cap." -</p> - -<p> -"What is it that he is saying?" asked several, -as the doctor's clear voice came distinctly over the -water. -</p> - -<p> -"Captain Phillips," they heard him cry, "please -to request the ladies to leave the deck." -</p> - -<p> -"That is plain enough, miss," said Mr. Quail, -touching his cap to Ethel. -</p> - -<p> -"Why—for what must we go?" said Rose, pouting. -</p> - -<p> -"You must permit me to lead you below, ladies," -said the captain; "depend upon it, the doctor knows -best. There is something there he does not wish -you to see." -</p> - -<p> -So Ethel, Rose, and the old nurse, to the intense -mortification of the latter, left the deck, and retired -to the cabin to wait the event. -</p> - -<p> -The truth was that the worthy young doctor had -found the four sufferers on the wreck, though not -dead, as he fully ascertained on feeling their pulses, -in such a frightful state of prostration and delirium, -that he deemed it better Ethel and Rose should be -spared the shock of their first appearance, and should -not witness the conveyance of them up the ship's side. -</p> - -<p> -"They are all in the boat now, and now she is -shoved off. Give way, my boys—give way!" -shouted the captain, whose kind, ruddy English -face flushed with eagerness. "Lay out on your oars -and pull with a will, for a glass of grog awaits you -all." -</p> - -<p> -To do them justice, the men in the boat needed -no incentive; to the whole length of their arms -they bent to their oars, and the boat came sheering -alongside in a twinkling. -</p> - -<p> -"In larboard oars, out fenders," said Mr. Foster, -as he relinquished the tiller. -</p> - -<p> -"Into the main-chains there, some of you, and -bear a hand to get the poor fellows on board," said -Captain Phillips, jumping down the short ladder at -the break of the quarter-deck, just as four thin and -wasted figures—their tattered clothes sodden and -saturated by salt water, their matted hair encrusted -with salt—were handed like children up the side, -passed over the bulwark, and laid on the deck near -the long-boat. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor fellows, poor fellows! God help them," -said Phillips, commiseratingly, as they seemed quite -insensible. Their teeth were clenched, but their lips -were far apart, cracked, parched, and, in some -instances, bleeding. They breathed irregularly, and -twitched their fingers convulsively. -</p> - -<p> -"They must be your peculiar care for a time, -doctor," said Mr. Basset, as Heriot flung his coat on -the deck, and while rolling up his shirt-sleeves, -rushed below to his medicine-chest. -</p> - -<p> -"Boy, Joe—steward, bring wine and brandy -here! Carpenter, get four comfortable hammocks -slung in the 'tween decks; and you, Quaco, my -darkey, get us plenty of hot water from the galley," -cried Phillips. -</p> - -<p> -"Yaas, sar," replied the sable Virginian, as he -hastened forward with a bucket. -</p> - -<p> -Every one bustled about, and even Sharkey, the -sulkiest villain of that ill-assorted crew, made -himself useful in some way, or fancied that he did so. -</p> - -<p> -"These men are evidently British seamen," said -the captain, as the doctor stooped over each, and -raising his head, poured weak brandy-and-water, -with some medicament therein, down his throat. -"How thirstily they drink! One opens his eyes. -All right, my friend, you'll soon come to," added -the kind skipper, as he patted Morrison on the -shoulder. "Now then," said he, "Mr. Quail, get -the quarter-boat hoisted in, and fill the mainyard. -Trim the ship to her course." -</p> - -<p> -"Very good, sir." -</p> - -<p> -It was soon done, and the <i>Hermione</i>, as she began -again to walk through the water, soon left the piece -of wreck astern. -</p> - -<p> -"Did you make out the name of that unfortunate -craft, Mr. Foster?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sir; but with difficulty." -</p> - -<p> -"And what was it?" -</p> - -<p> -Our readers, of course, anticipate the reply. -</p> - -<p> -"The <i>Princess</i>, of London—ship rig evidently, -from the side chains, the double row of dead eyes, -and the gearing of the mizzenmast." -</p> - -<p> -"All right. Now bring up the ship's log." -</p> - -<p> -The four patients were taken below. A little -food, such as might be made for children, arrowroot -with, sherry, and so forth, was given to them, and -greedily they devoured it. They were then -stripped, sponged with warm fresh water, and -lifted each into a comfortable hammock, the active -young doctor, Mr. Foster, the captain and steward, -working for them like servants and nurses with -hearty good-will. -</p> - -<p> -Gentle cordials were then administered, and soon -after Heriot appeared in the cabin with a bright and -smiling face, wearing the happy expression of one -who, in doing a good action, has done his best, to -report that they had fallen into a sound sleep, were -all doing well, and would, he hoped, soon be free -from danger. -</p> - -<p> -"It was too bad of you to send us below like -children," said Rose. -</p> - -<p> -"And you think they will recover, doctor?" -asked Ethel, interrupting some playful apology of -Heriot's. -</p> - -<p> -"Recover? Oh yes, and perhaps be with us -soon at table, too; so poor Manfredi's seat may -thus be filled. Like Banquo's, it has long been -empty." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Leslie, how can you jest thus?" whispered -Rose. -</p> - -<p> -"I don't jest, dearest," replied the doctor, -deprecatingly. "I liked poor Adrian Manfredi too well -to associate his idea now with a jest," he added, -gravely, as he thought of that night in the -forecastle bunks, of the revelations he had heard, and -the peril that was yet unaverted. -</p> - -<p> -"Have the poor men said anything?" asked Ethel. -</p> - -<p> -"Not much, Miss Basset, beyond a few -indistinct and delirious mutterings." -</p> - -<p> -"Could you gather who they were?" -</p> - -<p> -"No; but they all seem to be seamen, save one." -</p> - -<p> -"One?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -(How little could she dream who <i>this one was</i>!) -</p> - -<p> -"And you are able to distinguish," she resumed. -</p> - -<p> -"At once—by their hands and general appearance." -</p> - -<p> -"And this one, who is not a seaman?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is a pale, and thin—but then he has been -starved—and gentleman-like young man. Though -half dead with privation, he made a whispered -apology for the trouble he gave us." -</p> - -<p> -"Poor fellow!" said Ethel, whose eyes glistened. -</p> - -<p> -"Where was their vessel from?—how was she -lost?—and where was she lost?" asked Rose. -</p> - -<p> -"They are past telling all this now," said the -doctor, smiling, and patting Rose's hand; "by -to-morrow evening, perhaps, we shall learn all." -</p> - -<p> -"I do long so to hear their story—how terrible it -must be—quite a nautical romance; and then, the -other poor men of their ship, who have been -drowned!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Rose," said Ethel, glancing at the captain -and mate, who were each making an entry in his -log or journal, "this incident will fill up an entire -page of your diary." -</p> - -<p> -"How—why?" asked Rose, reddening very perceptibly. -</p> - -<p> -"For Lucy Page's perusal," said Ethel, with a -smile that had a little mischief, or waggery, in it. -</p> - -<p> -Rose grew redder, for her diary or journal of the -voyage, which she had begun to keep (from the day -she left Laurel Lodge), for the special perusal of her -friend and gossip, Lucy Page, had proved rather a -bore, and had been completely relinquished, as she -could not consistently omit, and yet shrank from -recording, memoranda of a certain little interview -with the doctor, being naturally restrained -therefrom by a certain awkwardness, if the eye of Jack -Page, now almost a myth to her, as he has been, -perhaps, to the reader, should peruse them also. -</p> - -<p> -So Rose had ceased altogether to continue that -interesting volume, which, we may presume, terminated -abruptly on that night recorded in a previous -chapter, when she and the doctor took a turn on -deck to view the stars. -</p> - -<p> -At this moment Cramply Hawkshaw entered the -cabin with an expression of face so scared, so -altered, and so unmistakably wretched, that Ethel -surveyed him with surprise; and then, with some -commiseration, she kindly inquired if he was ill? -</p> - -<p> -He complained of giddiness, and abruptly -hastened on deck. -</p> - -<p> -In fact, our ex-Texan officer had just come from -between decks, where he had been visiting the -doctor's patients. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIII. -<br /><br /> -CAPTAIN HAWKSHAW'S TROUBLES INCREASE. -</h3> - -<p> -Inspired by some emotion beyond curiosity—a feeling -which it would be alike impossible to define or -describe, Hawkshaw had gone between decks to -look at the rescued men. -</p> - -<p> -A man had been left to watch them. He was -Bolter, the Canadian, to whom Dr. Heriot had given -strict injunctions that the sleepers were not to be -disturbed to gratify the mere curiosity of the crew; -and he growled out a few words by way of warning -to Hawkshaw, who, assuming a jaunty air, said: -</p> - -<p> -"Now, my amphibious biped, how are your -patients?" -</p> - -<p> -"None of your names, mister," replied the -Canadian, knitting his brows. -</p> - -<p> -"You mistake me, my good fellow; I simply -wished to know how our new friends are." -</p> - -<p> -"Judge for yourself—blow'd if I know," was the -sulky rejoinder, as Bolter replaced a tremendous -expectoration (which he shot fairly over Hawkshaw's -shoulder and out at the lee port) by a huge -quid; "but they seemed all goin' forren—out'ard -bound, till the doctor hove 'em up fresh." -</p> - -<p> -Each was in his hammock sleeping soundly, in -that deep, drowsy torpor which enables even "the -famished to escape from the pangs of hunger, and -those who are perishing of thirst to escape for a -time from the agony of the parched throat"—the -sleep that covereth a man all over like a mantle, as -honest Sancho Panza said, when, in the fulness of -his heart, he blessed the great inventor thereof. -</p> - -<p> -On tiptoe Hawkshaw passed from sleeper to sleeper. -</p> - -<p> -One seemed a brawny and weather-beaten seaman, -with grizzled locks, that were fast becoming -gray; his bare and muscular chest was tattooed -blue with gunpowder. This was our old friend -Noah Gawthrop. -</p> - -<p> -The second he looked at was somewhat hard-featured, -with a high forehead, dark, full eyebrows, -a well-shaped nose, and one of those prominent -chins which bespeak firmness, decision of character, -and indomitable perseverance. He was the Scotch -mate, Bill Morrison. -</p> - -<p> -The next was a pale, wan lad, whose handsome -but attenuated features—— -</p> - -<p> -"Gad's fury!" burst from the lips of Hawkshaw, -as the sudden recognition of those features struck a -terror into his soul. "He here! he! Can it be -possible?" -</p> - -<p> -"Hullo, shipmate, what's the row?" said Bolter, -looking up from a sea-chest, on which he was -lolling, with his hands in his pockets; "Vast and -belay this gab o' yours, or you'll waken 'em up, -which is clear ag'in the doctor's orders." -</p> - -<p> -"A mosquito stung me," said Hawkshaw, with a -confusion which Bolter's perceptions were not fine -enough to discover. -</p> - -<p> -"A miskitty in these latitudes!" he exclaimed, -mockingly. "I'm not so jolly green a hand as to -believe that; but be off on deck, and leave me to -keep my watch 'athout you. I may say this, though -the ship is yet trimmed by the starn," added the -fellow, with an insolent grimace, for like the rest -of the crew, whom the Barradas influenced, he had -a peculiar aversion for Hawkshaw. -</p> - -<p> -The latter had now shrunk back, scarcely breathing, -after assuring himself that the pale sleeper was -indeed Morley Ashton; and then flashed upon his -mind the keen and savage idea of getting him again -removed from his path—by strangling him in his -sleep, by putting poison in his food—and thus to -send him out of the world ere his eyes again fully -opened on it, and ere he, Hawkshaw, could be -destroyed by the story he had to tell—by the great -crime he had to reveal. -</p> - -<p> -From the cabin, as we have told, he went on -deck, and, desirous of avoiding all, of seeking that -solitude so impossible to find on board ship, he -ascended into the fore-rigging, and sat there, amid a -whirl, a chaos of thought, endeavouring to consider -his prospects and position now! -</p> - -<p> -Could he have been mistaken? -</p> - -<p> -Impossible! The likeness had been too deeply -impressed upon his memory since that awful night -at Acton Chine; so he needed not to go between -decks again, and, moreover, he dared not, lest -Morley should awake and recognise him. -</p> - -<p> -"How came he to escape death at the Chine? -How to be sailing on the sea, and hereabout too?" -thought Hawkshaw. "Oh, strange, and most -accursed fatality! But for me, perhaps, we might -have passed that piece of wreck—passed it unseen -by all on board; but Fate is retributive; I was the -first to descry, the first to be anxious to visit it." -</p> - -<p> -For a moment, but a moment only, there came -into his soul a gleam of joy, with the conviction -that he was not, as he had so long remorsefully -considered himself, the destroyer of a fellow-creature. -</p> - -<p> -His victim—Heaven alone knew how!—had escaped, -and was here alive and safe on board the -<i>Hermione</i>. The ever-present idea of crime, with the -word that had seemed ever before his eyes, on his -lips, and in his heart—that shone in his dreams like -those letters of flame that flashed on the vision of -Belshazzar, could be a terror to him no longer. -</p> - -<p> -The proverbs, that "Murder will out;" that -"God's retribution will fall upon a murderer;" the -law, that "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man -shall his blood be shed," would haunt him no -more,—for this crime at least. -</p> - -<p> -Such were his ideas for a moment; but the next, -cold, selfish fear resumed its sway, and reason -showed him that he was yet an assassin by intent—one -whom his intended victim would expose, crush, -and destroy, <i>if</i>—what?—he was not anticipated, -crushed and destroyed <i>first</i>. -</p> - -<p> -To Hawkshaw, this waif from the ocean was -worse by a thousand degrees than his <i>rencontre</i> with -the two Barradas. -</p> - -<p> -To avoid the accusations, the shame and -contumely that Morley Ashton could heap upon him, -by the exposure of his falsehood, cruelty, and -hypocrisy, he would, happily, now have relinquished -even Ethel Basset, and all he had hoped from her -father's patronage in the Isle of France. He would -gladly have fled; but whither could he fly—how, -when, where?—encompassed as he was by the sea? -Save in its depth, there was no escape from this -accursed ship, as there was no eluding his own -conscience, in this floating prison, the <i>Hermione</i>—how -he loathed the name!—with her crew of foul -and treacherous mutineers. -</p> - -<p> -He had one hope left. Morley might die on -getting food. He seemed so weak when brought on -board, that the powers of digestion might be past, -so that death might ensue from mere inanition. -</p> - -<p> -But then his three companions would probably -know his story, and were certain, if they survived, -to reveal all Hawkshaw's guilt. -</p> - -<p> -In the bitterness of his soul, he contemplated -suicide, by slipping quietly overboard before the -fatal recognition and discovery took place; but then -came the fierce thought—if one of us is to perish, -why should not he? and what time so fitting as now, -when he is weak—almost dying? And thus, in his -blind desperation, some of his old Mexican instincts -or propensities grew strong within him, and he -conceived the fiendish idea of strangling, or otherwise -destroying, the half-dead lad in the night. -</p> - -<p> -If marks of violence were found upon him, -Hawkshaw knew there were so many "black sheep" -in the forecastle, that one of them would readily be -blamed for the crime. -</p> - -<p> -A fierce eagerness to put himself in a safe position, -to prevent the discovery that would blight him for -ever, now possessed his whole soul, and, nerving it -for the deadly task he had to do, made him long for -the darkness and silence of night, when he resolved -to make the attempt. -</p> - -<p> -In this pleasant mood of mind, he heard the cabin -bell rung by Joe the steward, announcing dinner, -and descending reluctantly from his perch in the -fore-rigging, he went aft and took his seat between -Ethel and Dr. Heriot, who were conversing gaily, -while he had all the misery of having to veil over -the secret serpent that gnawed at his heart, by an -outward air of ease, security, and pleasantry, which, -however, was nearly put to flight by Captain Phillips -asking if he had seen the devil in the foretop, he -looked so very white about the gills. -</p> - -<p> -One portion of the conversation, maintained -amid the clinking of glasses and plates, and the -difficulty of balancing wine-glasses nicely when the -ship rolled, was by no means calculated to restore -his equanimity. -</p> - -<p> -"Miss Basset," said the young doctor, blandly, -"I hope you will come with me, and visit those poor -fellows?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, with pleasure. Rose and papa will come too." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, it will cheer them a bit to see your dear, -kind, pretty faces," said Captain Phillips, bowing to -each sister, ere he drained his glass of sherry. -</p> - -<p> -"You will quite spoil my girls by flattering them," -said Mr. Basset, laughing. -</p> - -<p> -"Our good captain is too honest for flattery," -resumed Dr. Heriot; "but, Miss Basset, there is -one fellow there who interests me much, though -why I cannot say. Please to look at him well when -you see him. There is something very remarkable -about him." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed, how, pray?" -</p> - -<p> -"I judge by his bearing, and the general -expression of his face. As a clever American writer -says, of a similar impression, 'His is one of those -cases which are more numerous than supposed by -those who have never lived anywhere but in their -own homes, and have never walked but in one line -from their cradles to their graves. We must leave -our straight paths for the by-ways and low places -of life, if we would learn truths by strong contrasts, -and in hovels, in forecastles, and among our own -outcasts in foreign lands, see what has been brought -upon our fellow-creatures by accident, hardship, or -vice.' -</p> - -<p> -"Vice!" repeated Hawkshaw, with a nervous -start, and in dread lest Morley had already -discovered himself. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, do not misunderstand me. I merely -completed the quotation. Heaven forbid, Mr. Hawkshaw, -that I should attribute vice to one so gentle as -my poor patient; but to-morrow, or at latest, next -day, you shall see them, ladies, and I shall have -much pleasure in being your guide between decks." -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw felt as if the doctor was dictating his -sentence of degradation and death; but he strove -to preserve an unmoved countenance, and to affect -a pleasant demeanour. -</p> - -<p> -Then he had to do the honours of the table to -Ethel Basset, while his food seemed to choke him, -with the agreeable consciousness that he whom she -still loved, and for whom she still sorrowed, Morley -Ashton, was asleep quietly in his hammock, on the -other side of the after-bulkhead, and scarcely three -feet distant from her chair. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap14"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIV. -<br /><br /> -HAWKSHAW TURNS NURSE. -</h3> - -<p> -For that night all went well on board, as Dr. Heriot -kept his watch between decks lest he should be -wanted, and the next morning he reported a great -improvement in his four patients, whom food, wine, -and sleep were restoring so fast that he hoped by -evening, perhaps, to learn their names, whence they -came, and all about them. -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw started on hearing this. That all the -four had been found dead in their hammocks would -have been to him the more welcome tidings. -</p> - -<p> -"Aye, doctor, be sure about their names, as we -must have them inserted in the log," said Captain -Phillips. "Miss Basset, may we trouble you to -pour out some tea for the poor fellows?" -</p> - -<p> -Younger than his companions, Morley was the -first to recover complete consciousness for a time -on this morning. Naturally strong, lithe, and active, -he had been wont, when ashore, to ride, shoot and fish, -to be a first-rate bowler at cricket, a good hand with -foils, gloves, single-stick, and to indulge in all hardy -sports; hence his vigorous frame was less shaken -than those of Bartelot, Morrison, and Noah, who -were his seniors in age. -</p> - -<p> -The 'tween decks of the <i>Hermione</i> was a clear -and airy place. Through a half-open port to -leeward he could see the bright green sea running -past in the morning sunshine; a pleasant breeze -came down the half-grating of the open hatchway, -and as the ship was running on a wind, the -hammocks hung steadily. -</p> - -<p> -The ship's bell clanged on deck; he heard a -hoarse voice calling the watch, and gradually the -dream-like events of the past day unfolded -themselves with some coherence, and with a sigh of joy, -an unuttered prayer of gratitude, he closed his -eyes again, with the delicious conviction of being -safe and in kind hands. -</p> - -<p> -Ere long Boy Joe came from the cabin with -warm tea and soaked biscuits for them. -</p> - -<p> -How little did Morley know whose hands had -poured it into the cups! And now, refreshed, and -aware of each other's presence, all swinging side -by side in their hammocks, Bartelot and Morrison -began to converse with him. -</p> - -<p> -This roused old Noah, who had dozed off to sleep -again; so he began to mutter hoarsely in a dream: -</p> - -<p> -"All starbowlines ahoy; come, tumble up the -larboard watch." -</p> - -<p> -"What is the matter, Noah?" asked Bartelot. -</p> - -<p> -"It is that 'ere smatchet of a marine drummer," -replied Gawthrop, looking up vacantly. -</p> - -<p> -"He is dreaming of the old <i>Aurora</i>, of fifty -guns," said Morrison, in a weak voice, quite unlike -his own. "Hollo, Noah, old fellow; you've not -unroved your life-lines yet, eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, mate, thank Heaven," he replied, in something -of the same childish treble; "nor you. And -you shall see the Black Dog of Belhelvie yet, as I -hopes one of these blessed days to see Dungeonness -Light and the buoy at the Nore." -</p> - -<p> -"Here, shipmate, drink this, and talk after," said -Joe, the steward, as he held another cup of warm -tea (in which a whipped egg was substituted for -milk) to the lips of Noah, who drained it at a -draught, and then looked less wild and more awake. -</p> - -<p> -"Go ahead, old boy," said Joe, a curly-headed, -good-humoured-looking English lad, as he tucked -the blanket about Noah's shoulders; "it is tea for -dunnage, and soft biscuits for ballast just now. -By-and-by, it will be grog and old horse for cargo, eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"It's the 'tween decks that did it," muttered -Noah. "I thought I was aboard the old <i>Haurora</i> -in the Black Sea, with the boatswain ahead in the -dingy, seeing all the yards squared by the lifts and -braces." -</p> - -<p> -Bartelot sank into slumber again, but Morley -began to be more lively and awake, and proceeded -to compare with Morrison the notes and incidents -of yesterday, and how they came to be rescued. -Their voices sounded strangely to themselves and to -each other, as at times they sank into husky -whispers. -</p> - -<p> -Morrison had seen much of the world. In the -words of his countryman, a poor sailor too (Falconer, -the doomed author of the "Shipwreck"), he had -been in every climate under the sun. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "Where polar skies congeal the eternal snow,<br /> - Or equinoctial suns for ever glow.<br /> - Smote by the freezing or the scorching blast,<br /> - 'A ship-boy on the high and giddy mast,'<br /> - From, regions where Peruvian billows roar<br /> - To the bleak coasts of savage Labrador.<br /> - From where Damascus, pride of Asian plains,<br /> - Stoops her proud neck beneath tyrannic chains,<br /> - To where the Isthmus, laved by adverse tides,<br /> - Atlantic and Pacific seas divides.<br /> - But while he measured o'er the painful race,<br /> - In fortune's wild, illimitable chase,<br /> - Adversity, companion of his way,<br /> - Still o'er the victim hung with iron sway."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Morrison was deeply thankful to Providence for -his rescue; and on the first night of their being -saved, Morley could remember, through his dreams, -hearing the poor fellow praying very devoutly in his -hammock, and in his own national dialect, which -grew all the broader and more Doric as he -communed with God and himself. -</p> - -<p> -On the afternoon of the day, so pregnant with -events of importance to him personally, Cramply -Hawkshaw felt himself impelled, on various -pretences, to keep aloof from those who shared the -cabin with him; for he was in momentary dread -that Dr. Heriot, to whom the name of Morley -Ashton had been rendered quite familiar by the -confidences of Rose Basset, would enter, and startle -all by announcing who was one of the four men -rescued from the wreck. -</p> - -<p> -The better to achieve his dastardly project, he -volunteered to attend them on this night between -decks; and his offer, though it excited some surprise, -was at once accepted by Dr. Heriot, who gave -him several directions as to the small quantities of -food and diluted wine they were to receive, if they -required nourishment. -</p> - -<p> -So Hawkshaw drank deeply, mixing brandy and -sherry, to nerve himself for the dark purpose he -had conceived; and, to conceal his pallor, his -restlessness and wretchedness, he secluded himself -in his own berth, and strove to sleep; but there -was no sleep for him. -</p> - -<p> -Thoughts maddened him, and he muttered to himself -inaudibly, while, with a hot and trembling hand, -he wiped the bead-drops from his aching brow. -</p> - -<p> -"Why should I waver or shrink now?" he asked -himself—not aloud, for fear of being overheard; -"what may I not dare, who have dared everything, -I who have risked all? For the past I have no -compunction now. Another might have done all -those things as well as I, for I did not create myself, -neither did I scheme out my own accursed destiny. -Is there a demon within me, or is there one -presiding over me—some fiend, some angel of darkness, -whom I cannot see, but to whose whispers I am -compelled to listen? Why does this wretched boy -cross my path again? Why does the sea—why -does the grave—give up its dead, as if to haunt, to -tempt, to goad me into crime on one hand, if I -would not lose name, honour, consideration, respect, -and, it may be, Ethel and affluence, on the other? -I had thought to be good, and loyal, and true for -her sake, even though she loves me not; but all in -vain. Ethel to marry me? Oh, that would be like -a white moss-rose entwined with the deadly hemlock! -Had Heaven not impelled or abandoned me, and -had Hell not allured and prompted me, perhaps I -had not been the creature I find myself to-night. -<i>Caramba!</i> it is a game of desperation between this -Ashton and me. The ball is yet at my foot, and shall -I not strike it? Yes, and with a vengeance, too!" -</p> - -<p> -Watch after watch was called; the half-hourly -bells of the ship seemed to be rung every five -minutes, instead of every thirty. -</p> - -<p> -The night, solemn and starry, approached more -swiftly than he could have wished; and yet he -longed that the fatal time was past—that the -terrible deed he had to do was done. -</p> - -<p> -Thus he lay on his bed, almost perspiring with -mental agony and with criminal sophistry, gradually -nursing himself into the conviction that the first law -of nature—self-protection and self-preservation—rendered -that deed imperative, needful, and requisite. -</p> - -<p> -He almost consoled himself by the idea that there -was but half a life to crush out; for was not Morley -nearly half dead already? -</p> - -<p> -Darkness had set in, before he missed daylight, -so completely had his mind and thoughts been -abstracted and turned inward; thus he received a -species of electric shock, when the curtain of his -berth was withdrawn by Heriot, who said: -</p> - -<p> -"Now, then, Mr. Hawkshaw—come, tumble up, -old fellow—eight bells have struck; it is twelve -o'clock, and you have not been 'tween decks yet to -look after these men." -</p> - -<p> -"Twelve—twelve o'clock is it?" he stammered, -with confusion, as he leaped out. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, to a minute; the ladies and all have supped -and turned in. By Jove! you've had a long spell -in your berth. Can you make your way forward alone?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh yes," replied Hawkshaw, who reeled like a -tipsy man, for the ship was now running before the -wind, so she rolled till her lower studdingsail-booms -nearly touched the water. -</p> - -<p> -"You have your revolver, of course?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said Hawkshaw, with chattering teeth. -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! we never know what may happen. By-the-by, -I have got the names of those four sea-waifs; -but the captain has gone to bed." -</p> - -<p> -"And who are they?" asked Hawkshaw, in a -faint voice, and half averting his face. -</p> - -<p> -Heriot opened his note-book, and drawing nearer -the cabin lamp, read: -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Thomas Bartelot, late master of the 'Princess,' -of London, a</i> 300<i>-ton ship, from Rio last; William -Morrison</i> (countryman of mine) <i>first-mate of the -same; Noah Gawthrop, a seaman</i>——" -</p> - -<p> -"And the fourth?" asked Hawkshaw, in agony, -as Heriot paused. -</p> - -<p> -"A young cabin passenger. I did not get his -name, as the poor fellow was sound asleep. They -are the soul survivors of the ship. Good night; -we have a spanking breeze, and carry topmast -stun'sails. Take my poncho wrapper in addition to -your railway rug." -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"You'll find it cold enough, watching between -decks till sunrise." -</p> - -<p> -"Thanks. Good night," muttered Hawkshaw, -through his teeth, which the poor wretch clenched, -to prevent them chattering, so strong were his -emotions, as he passed through the door of the after -bulk-head, and sought his way, by lantern light, to -that place which was to be the scene of his great -crime, where, all unconscious of his entrance, Morley -and his three companions were swinging in their -hammocks. -</p> - -<p> -About four hours after this, a cry—almost a yell -rang through the silent ship, startling the watch on -deck and the man at the helm, terrifying Mr. Basset -(whose duty it was to watch at the cabin door), -bringing Captain Phillips, Mr. Quail, and Dr. Heriot -from their berths, in dread that the great crisis of -the voyage had come, that the mutineers were in -arms; there, too, were Ethel and Rose, in their -white-laced night-dresses, the latter with her rich -hair all falling over her neck, peeping fearfully from -their cabin door, while Nurse Folgate had buried -herself under her bed-clothes, for that cry, which -"pierced the night's dull ear," was one of mortal -agony, and it seemed to come from—<i>between decks</i>! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap15"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XV. -<br /><br /> -A BITER BITTEN. -</h3> - -<p> -After leaving the doctor, Hawkshaw, to gather -"Dutch courage," took a last mouthful from his -brandy flask, and with his slippers on, stole softly -and stealthily between decks, so softly that his -entrance was unheard by our four friends, whom he -found awake, and conversing in low tones; so he -seated himself on a chest, with his face completely -in shadow, and there he remained listening, and -scarcely daring to breathe, for with every roll of the -ship the four hammocks swung regularly to and fro, -side by side, from port to starboard, and the outer -one, in which Morley lay, nearly touched the -watcher's head at times. -</p> - -<p> -The air-port was closed now, and the place was -lighted by the feeble rays of a ship-lantern, which -swung from one of the beams. -</p> - -<p> -In shadow, as we have said, and with a broad -tarpaulin hat slouched over his stealthy cat-like eyes, -that flashed with malignant light, Hawkshaw sat, -or crouched, listening, watching, and waiting for the -time that would suit the attempt, eagerly, and all -but breathlessly, and the duration seemed -interminable, for he had no watch, his gold repeater -having been so summarily appropriated by Pedro -Barradas. -</p> - -<p> -Morley spoke, and his voice, so long heard only -in troubled dreams, now thrilled through the heart -of Hawkshaw, causing sharp pangs of fear and -agony; yet Morley's remark was a very simple one; -but his voice, like the voices of the others, was -husky and weak. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, the delight of such a cozy bed as this, after -all we have undergone! Eh, Tom!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Morley, lad," replied Bartelot; "but I -should like to know what craft we are on board of, -and for where bound. I quite forgot to ask the -doctor." -</p> - -<p> -"She's true British at all events, by her build -'tween decks, captain," said Noah Gawthrop. -"Thank God for all his mercies, 'specially to a -rough old salt like me. He was very good and -kind to remember a poor old feller like Noah, that -he was, when there are so many younger and better -folks to take care of. But I think the doctor -mentioned her name, captain." -</p> - -<p> -"Her—who?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why the ship, I mean, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—I am sure I heard it; she is the—the—" -</p> - -<p> -(Hawkshaw trembled as Tom paused, for if the -name was uttered in Morley's hearing, he—the -listener—was lost!) "Well, it is strange that I -don't remember; but her skipper's name is Phillips, -and she hails from London. I made out that -somehow." -</p> - -<p> -"I know one Phillips—Bill Phillips, who was lost -in the Straits of Sunda. He was once captain of -the brig <i>Erminia</i>," said Morrison. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Herminya</i>!" replied Gawthrop, "that is the -name o' the identical craft as we're aboard of; but -she is too large—too broad in the beam for a brig." -</p> - -<p> -"I am weary of speaking, mates, and wish to -sleep," said Bartelot, yawning; "here, under a -good deck of British oak, we may take a long spell -of it without fear; and yet I can't help thinking of -the poor <i>Princess</i>, and all who perished with her. -Their faces are always before me." -</p> - -<p> -"And that was a waluable cargo o' hers, that -was," added Noah, "and a power o' trouble we -took with the sugar and 'bacca casks at Rio. Oh, -lor, to think of all that 'bacca goin' to Davy Jones, -and never a leaf of it being smoked or cut in quids! -She was steeved to within a fathom of her beams, -she was; and then we had Californy hides for -dunnage to the hatches—aye, aye, all gone, and I'll -never have another watch-mate like old Ben Plank -again!" -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Ben!" said Morrison; "he'll never more -cheer the lads in the forecastle, or on the watch of -a clear night, with the 'Bay of Biscay' or 'Tom -Bowling,' or lead the chant of 'Time for us go,' -when shipping the capstan bars. A better crew -than ours never hove up anchor!" -</p> - -<p> -With a purpose so cruel and deadly in his mind, -it may be imagined with what exasperation and -impatience Hawkshaw listened to a conversation so -trivial, and maintained so drowsily at intervals. He -began to hope they were dropping asleep, when old -Gawthrop spoke again. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, warn't that warm tea delicious this morning, -captain! I doesn't think as I'll ever take -kindly to grog again, but become a regular quaker -and teetotaller." -</p> - -<p> -"Not even thumb-grog, Noah, eh—on a wet -night, when a shout comes down the forescuttle, of -'All hands reef topsails!'" said Bartelot laughing. -</p> - -<p> -"I am almost afraid to sleep," said Morrison, -"for dreams of the wreck always come with it, and -again I seem to find myself up to my neck in cold -salt water. I had often in memory, while we were -drifting about, a story my mother, poor woman! used -to tell me, when I was a laddie at home, and -played truant frae the school, and when she wished -to frighten me into good behaviour; so between -sleeping and waking I used to think sometimes I -was one of the doomed men she used to speak of." -</p> - -<p> -"Doomed, mate; how?" asked Morley, raising -his voice; "how were they so?" -</p> - -<p> -"It was the belief of some of the seafaring folk -who dwell in the north of Scotland, that those -among them who were wicked and sinful in their -lives were roused in the night by the knocking of a -skeleton hand on their cottage doors. The tap -sounded like that of a bony or fleshless hand, -though neither the hand or arm of the summoner -were visible to mortal eyes. Compelled by a power -they dared not, and could not resist, those who -were so summoned left their snug beds, their wives -and bairns (if they had them), and went, -awe-stricken and sick with horror, down the beach, -where at such a time there was always a heavy sea -rolling in white foam, a black scud drifting -overhead and a storm coming on. Compelled by the -same mysterious power that brought them forth, -the shivering wretches had to step on board a long, -black, coffin-shaped boat (which was always sunk to -its gunnel in water), and then they shoved off to -sea. A grinning skull formed the figure-head of -this grim barge, and human bones the thole-pins. -Then a great dark cloud spread itself like a sail on -the laughing wind, and away they were borne -careering into the offing of the black and midnight -sea, from whence there was no return, for there -they had to cruise for ever, like Vanderdecken at -the Cape, until the final day of Doom! Many a -time such boats have been seen, driving past the -lighthouse on Buchanness, and the deep caverns of -that tremendous shore, where the sea bellows for -ever and ever—sailing on and on, towards the -north, the shrieks of the despairing mingling with -the wind, on a cold winter night, when the sleet -and rain were sowing all the German sea." -</p> - -<p> -"Such a diabolical story!" exclaimed Morley. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, that is a lively legend of the north of -Scotland," added Bartelot; "but now silence, -mates, and let us to sleep, if we can." -</p> - -<p> -Before this end, so desirable for the purpose of -Hawkshaw, was attained, he heard the middle-watch -called, and the port-tacks were brought more -on board, which showed that the wind was veering -upon the quarter; then all became still, and he -heard only the ceaseless creaking of the timbers, the -sound of the sea rushing past, the sway to and fro -of the sleepers' hammocks, and his own -half-suppressed breathing. -</p> - -<p> -The idea of cutting the head-clew of Morley's -hammock, and letting him fall head-foremost on the -lower deck, occurred to Hawkshaw; and then he -preferred the idea of relaxing the clew, so that it -might seem to have given way, and the result of -such a fall in Morley's weak state would certainly -kill him, while all the blame of the event would fall -on the carpenter or sailmaker who slung the hammock. -</p> - -<p> -But Hawkshaw's trembling fingers completely -failed to undo the knot of the clew—one of those -mysterious ones which sailors alone can tie and -untie—so he was compelled to relinquish the idea. -</p> - -<p> -He next approached softly, to assure himself that -the four men were asleep. He opened the lantern, -and passed the lighted candle twice across their -faces, which were still wan, pale, and weird in -aspect, after all they had so recently undergone. -</p> - -<p> -He looked on Morley Ashton last, for it required -some courage to do so steadily, while memories of -the past and anticipations of the future were -conflicting in his heart. -</p> - -<p> -Morning was at hand now, the first sleep of the -night was past, and the four were again in -dream-land—chiefly, perhaps, our friend Morley—in that -state which is between sleep and wakefulness. -</p> - -<p> -Various shades of expression were passing over -his handsome, pale, and gentle face. He muttered -at times, too, and gave uneasy moans and starts, for -thought, life, the soul, were still at work. Then his -mouth wore a soft smile, as Ethel's image most -likely came before him; anon, there was a knitted -brow and stern compression of the lips, as some -fierce emotion followed; and next there came a -gaunt aspect of despair, with some memory of the -floating wreck, all evincing that, while he slept, -the reflections of life were busy amid that uneasy -slumber. -</p> - -<p> -With bent brows, with haggard cheeks, with eyes -that glared snakily in fear and hate, Cramply -Hawkshaw gazed upon his victim; and as his deadly -intent came gushing up in his heart—as his cruelty -and wrath were screwed "to the sticking point," he -quietly extinguished the candle, without perceiving -that two eyes close by were watching him narrowly, -with wonder and alarm. -</p> - -<p> -There was no light now, save that of the stars, -which struggled dimly and uncertainly through a -couple of yolks in the deck overhead, and through -the grating of the open hatchway. -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw's heart panted as that of a chased -tiger might do, and the old emotion he felt on that -terrible night at Acton Chine—a lust of cruelty, of -vengeance, and destruction—swelled or glowed -within him! -</p> - -<p> -A flame seemed to pass out of his eyes, while a -thousand glaring orbs appeared to fill or pierce the -obscurity about him; his breath became short and -difficult, a deafness fell upon his ears, or there came -around him an awful silence, as if the world itself -stood still. Then his hands felt as if endued with -a giant's strength as they made a clutch at Morley's -mouth and throat, for he had resolved to strangle -or suffocate him. -</p> - -<p> -But it was an attempt, and no more, for ere he -could achieve his detestable purpose, he felt his -hands seized, and one was grasped as if by the teeth -of some wild animal. -</p> - -<p> -The bite, with the terror and confusion it -occasioned, so bewildered him, that the wild cry of -agony which roused all on board the ship escaped -his lips; he dealt a heavy blow in the dark at some -one or something, he knew not what, and breaking -from the strange assailant, fled, baffled, in -consternation, to the after cabin. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap16"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVI. -<br /><br /> -DREAD. -</h3> - -<p> -"What the devil is the matter?" asked Captain -Phillips, as he hastily donned his pea-jacket, and -addressed Hawkshaw, who was seated on the cabin -locker, panting with excitement. -</p> - -<p> -"Did you utter that dismal howl, Captain -Hawkshaw?" added Dr. Heriot, impatiently; "speak, -sir, have you lost your voice?" -</p> - -<p> -"Very nearly, and my senses too," groaned the -other, whose cup of shame and misery was well-nigh -full now. -</p> - -<p> -"What has happened?" -</p> - -<p> -"Look at my hand!" said Hawkshaw, striving to -gain time for thought—to rally his scattered wits -for the coming <i>dénouement</i>—for an explanation, or -a bold defiance. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, what has happened?" -</p> - -<p> -"It is almost bleeding—bitten." -</p> - -<p> -"By what—by whom?" asked everyone at once -</p> - -<p> -"A madman." -</p> - -<p> -"Mad!" was exclaimed in wild tones by all. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said Hawkshaw, through his clenched -teeth, and with a glare in his eye, that seemed -somewhat akin to insanity; "one of those fellows -between-decks—one of those wretches we took off -the raft (a curse upon them all!) has bitten me." -</p> - -<p> -"But which of them?" asked Heriot, who had -now completely attired himself. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, I don't know which, and I care not which," -replied the wretched Hawkshaw, as he rubbed and -blew his breath upon his aching digits. -</p> - -<p> -"And he actually bit you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; have I not already said so?" -</p> - -<p> -"What were you doing?" -</p> - -<p> -"Doing—adjusting the clothes upon him," replied -Hawkshaw, after a pause; "and look you, he has -almost bitten my hand to the bone." -</p> - -<p> -As he spoke he held up his right hand to the -cabin lamp, and there certainly were the marks of a -row of teeth distinctly visible, for Noah Gawthrop -had been determined to give Morley's nocturnal -assailant a stamp by which he would know him -again. -</p> - -<p> -"For all that I know, he may have half strangled -one of his companions, in addition to this wild -assault upon me," added the Texan captain, as a -sudden thought occurred to him, for in his -confusion he did not know how far he had assaulted -Morley. -</p> - -<p> -Heriot, a very sharp-witted and intelligent -fellow, who, at his native university, had met men -from all parts of the world, and had thus gained a -considerable insight of human character, had been -scrutinising Hawkshaw keenly, and something in -his manner, or in the expression of his face, seemed -to excite some vague suspicion—Heriot knew not -exactly of what—in his mind. -</p> - -<p> -"To me this appears like an impossibility," he -began; "excuse me saying so, but what motive——" -</p> - -<p> -"I know nothing of motives, Dr. Leslie Heriot," -interrupted Hawkshaw, becoming furious and -desperate; "but this I know, that I may be tempted -to use my revolver with a vengeance, if I am -molested again by anyone on board this ship; be -assured of that." -</p> - -<p> -At this sudden outburst, Heriot gave a smile of -well-bred surprise, and glanced at the captain, who -said: -</p> - -<p> -"This is a most extraordinary and unaccountable -affair, and must be instantly inquired into. I am -sure that the poor fellows looked quiet enough when -I saw them last. Steward—Joe, a lantern—quick! -Come, doctor, Mr. Basset—we'll see to this." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Leslie," cried Rose, "take care, take care!" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, papa—dear papa, you, at least, must not -go," added Ethel, who had now put on her morning -wrapper, or dressing-gown, and appeared at the -door of her little cabin. -</p> - -<p> -"Pooh, pooh, Miss Basset, there is not the -slightest cause for fear, my dear girl," said the -captain, laughing, as Joe lit a ship-lantern. -</p> - -<p> -"But the poor man's sufferings may have made -him vicious—wild." -</p> - -<p> -"I'll take care of your papa, ladies; and bite the -fellow's head off, mayhap, if he bites him. Come, -Captain Hawkshaw, and show us which of the four -is the culprit, and then, if need be, we shall get the -bilboes ready." * -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Iron shackles used on board ship to secure the feet of -prisoners. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"No, no, I cannot," replied Hawkshaw, with a -sullen and hang-dog expression in his now white -and livid face. -</p> - -<p> -"What—you won't go?" -</p> - -<p> -"No." -</p> - -<p> -The captain looked at him with a smile of contempt. -</p> - -<p> -"Lead the way, captain," said Mr. Scriven -Basset, impatiently; for his ideas of legal -prerogative and position were gradually becoming -stronger as he drew near the scene of his future -judgeship—the sunny Isle of France. "I am -anxious to see the end of this singular affair." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, most accursed fate!" murmured Hawkshaw, -as he sank upon the stern locker. "All is over with -me now!" he added, as Mr. Basset, the captain, -Heriot, and others quitted the cabin, to go forward -between decks, and then every minute that elapsed -seemed at least an hour. -</p> - -<p> -The cabin appeared to whirl round him like a -great revolving cylinder; there was a confused hum -of voices, that seemed to mingle with the rush of -many waters, in his ear. -</p> - -<p> -Again his former thoughts of suicide occurred to -him; but his soul shrank within him at the idea of -self-destruction. A loaded revolver was close by; -he glanced at it with haggard and wistful eyes. -One bullet would enable him to escape the coming -shame, and by so doing, he would gain a triumph—a -ghastly victory over them all. -</p> - -<p> -But then he thought of a suicide's grave in the -midnight sea; shot off a grating to leeward, without -even a prayer, and shudderingly he withdrew his -hand, and closing his eyes, muttered, with quivering -lips: -</p> - -<p> -"No, no—I cannot—I cannot." -</p> - -<p> -At this moment a soft little hand was laid gently -upon his, and looking up he beheld Ethel Basset. -</p> - -<p> -Ignorant of all this man's secret life; of his -crimes committed in wild and lawless lands; the -wrong and cruelty of which he had been guilty to -herself and to Morley—she surveyed him with -something of pity, and he gazed at her bewildered, -and in silence, thinking that she never looked so -lovely as at this terrible moment of his humiliation -and suspense. -</p> - -<p> -She wore a loose and ample morning wrapper, of -white stuff, spotted with red; it was profusely -frilled, and fitted closely round her delicate throat, -and her tapered white arms came softly out from its -wide falling sleeves. A white tasselled cord -confined it at the waist, and she had no ornament about -her, save Morley Ashton's ring. -</p> - -<p> -Turned hastily off her face, and behind her white -and handsome ears, her dark, glossy, and glorious -hair fell in a long mass down her back, and she was -knotting it up with her right hand (thus showing to -perfection a smooth white arm and dimpled elbow), -while her left, so soft and small, rested on the hand -of Hawkshaw; the hand that only five minutes -before had aimed a death-clutch at the throat of -Morley Ashton. -</p> - -<p> -She gazed kindly and inquiringly into his pale -and agitated face, for his present wretched and -guilty aspect astonished and perplexed her. -</p> - -<p> -Her colour, always so delicate, was somewhat -heightened beyond its usual roseleaf tint, by the -late excitement, and, as we have said, Hawkshaw, -with all his selfishness, with all his guilt and -bloodthirstiness, thought he never beheld her -looking so lovely and so pure as at this, to him, most -terrible time. -</p> - -<p> -She was about to speak, when several footsteps -were heard coming towards the great cabin, on -which she retired hastily to her own, and shut the -door. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, my God! they are coming to denounce me! -Peril—disgrace—ruin, and no escape but death!" -groaned Hawkshaw, covering his eyes with one -hand, while the other fell, by chance—or was it -fatality!—on the cold butt of the loaded revolver. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap17"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVII. -<br /><br /> -UNMASKED. -</h3> - -<p> -The time spent by the captain and his companions -in the place where the four castaways were located -must have appeared interminable to the wretched -Hawkshaw, as they remained there fully an hour, -for much had to be inquired into, and much more -related and explained. -</p> - -<p> -Resolved to question, cross-question, sift, and -refine, and all unconscious of the surprise that was -awaiting him, Mr. Basset, with tolerable lawyer-like -activity and importance, fussily followed jolly -Captain Phillips, who had one hand stuffed into -that pocket of his pea-jacket which held his -revolver, and in the other hand he swung a ship's -lantern. -</p> - -<p> -To Mr. Basset's unpractised eye, the 'tween -decks seemed rather a dreary den, to say the best -of it. It was lower in height, or, to write more -correctly, between beams, than the ship's cabin, -and its furniture was exceedingly simple, consisting -only of a small breaker or gang-cask, and wooden -drinking tot, set upon a sea-chest which was securely -lashed to the bulkhead, while a railway rug and -poncho wrapper lay thereby. -</p> - -<p> -Then his eye caught four queer-looking long -bags, that swung by clews and cleats from the -beams longitudinally, and ont of each of the -aforesaid bags a human face was peering, with eyes -expressive of inquiry and interest; but their -features could not be discerned, for all was -darkness, or nearly so, except where the light of the -lantern fell. -</p> - -<p> -"Hallo, my friends," said Captain Phillips, as he -held his lantern up, and took a rapid survey of -them all, "so you are awake, I see. What the -deuce has been doing here, that we are all turned -up in the night, or rather the middle of the morning -watch, in this way, eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"I don't understand what it is all about, sir," -replied Tom Bartelot; "but a few minutes ago, in -my sleep, I heard a terrible cry." -</p> - -<p> -"Who was it that bit the gentleman?" asked -Phillips, angrily. -</p> - -<p> -"I did, your honour," replied Noah Gawthrop, -looking over the edge of his hammock, and twitching -his grizzled forelock. -</p> - -<p> -"You—and you acknowledge it!" said the captain, -turning towards him with angry surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; and I hope as I have left the marks o' my -blessed grinders in him, that's all." -</p> - -<p> -"The fellow is mad," said Mr. Basset in an -undertone. -</p> - -<p> -"Do you think so?" -</p> - -<p> -"Who else would talk thus?" -</p> - -<p> -"Likely enough, sir," whispered Joe, the steward; -"for I heard that old one this morning saying that -he was tormented by a marine drummer, and shouting -for all hands to reef topsails. He seemed to -think himself on board a man-o'-war." -</p> - -<p> -"A little crazed, perhaps, by recent suffering," -suggested Mr. Basset. "A short sleep may soothe -him; but a bite is a serious offence—a very serious -offence." -</p> - -<p> -"I ain't no more mad than your honour," said -Noah, who had overheard their whispers, and -looked up angrily; then he added, in a different -tone, "But—is that you, Captain Phillips—lor' -bless you, don't you mind o' me?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, I do not," replied the captain, curtly. -</p> - -<p> -"Not remember old Noah Gawthrop, as sailed -for ten year and more with your brother, Captain -Bill, and was wrecked with him in the Straits of -Sunda?" -</p> - -<p> -"Noah, it is, by Jupiter!" exclaimed Phillips, -shaking the old seaman's hand with genuine warmth. -"This is, indeed, strange; 'tis long since we last -met, Noah." -</p> - -<p> -"Five years ago, if it is a day, since I came home -from the West Ingees, and ran up the Mersey in a -old sweating sugar-ship—her berths aft and bunks -for'ard a swarming with bugs and cockroaches, a -crew of Jamaiky darkies, and her lower rigging all -alive with poll-parrots. I see you minds o' me, -Captain Phillips—lor' bless me, in course you does, -and know that I am no more mad than yourself, or -my own good captain here, Mr. Thomas Bartelot, -of the <i>Princess</i> as was, poor old craft." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, glad to see you, captain," said Phillips, -shaking hands with Tom on this blunt introduction; -"and glad too, that we came so opportunely to save -you." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," resumed Noah, "I'm the man as saved -your nevvy, Master Bill, when all hands went down -in the Straits of Sunda, and I brought the child -home with me, and gave him to yourself, as your -honour very well knows. I was father and mother, -dry nurse, and wet nurse, and everything to that -'ere boy, I was; and many a time I rope's-ended -him, too, for putting plugs o' powder in my 'baccy -pipe, or japanning the starn o' my trousers with -new pitch. So you knows me well enough." -</p> - -<p> -"Of course I do, Noah, my brave old salt." -</p> - -<p> -"Of course you does. Ah, sir, your brother, -Captain Bill, would never have been lost, but in -passing the straits during a south-east monsoon, he -hugged the coast of Java, with his port tacks -aboard, and so we went bump ashore on a blessed -coral reef, where the sea made clean breaches over -us. I made a grab at Master Bill, who was hauling -his pet tom-cat by the tail out o' the wash to -leeward, and then we all crouched under the -weather-bulwarks, ready to cut away the masts, if -necessary. But the sea saved us the trouble; for -there came a regular snorer, that carried away the -topmasts at the caps, breaking them sharp off like -'baccy pipes, the midship-house, boats, and everything -went to leeward, while the ship parted, breaking -her back fairly on the reef. I found myself in -the dark, swimming away for the bare life, among -sharks and long seaweed, with little Bill riding -on my back like Sinbad's Old Man o' the Sea, and, -top of all, the tom-cat, holding on to Bill with all -his claws out. 'Hold on, you young warmint,' says -I, and so he did, until we got ashore, and next day -we were sent off by the Dutch in a queer jigamaree, -with a lateen sail forward, and a dandy in her starn, -to a British man-o'-war, that was bearing through -the straits on a taut bowline, before the same -monsoon that finished us off on the coral reef." -</p> - -<p> -"But why did you bite the man?" asked Captain -Phillips, who had listened with some impatience, -returning to the matter in hand. -</p> - -<p> -"Because he is a pirate, if ever one broke biscuit!' -</p> - -<p> -"Take care, Noah; he is one of our cabin passengers." -</p> - -<p> -"I was a watching him, your honour, and I had -queer suspicions that he meant foul play to one of -us at least, and so I pretended to snooze, keeping -watch with one eye open, though he did pass the -light twice athwart my face. I saw him, your -honour, though he doused the glim, and I could -make out that he was going to strangle—to garotte, -in true Californy style—my shipmate here, young -Master Morley Ashton, who was asleep——" -</p> - -<p> -"Mr. Morley Ashton!" exclaimed Mr. Basset, -in an excited voice, as he hurried round to the other -side of the hammock; "I should like to see the -gentleman who is named so." -</p> - -<p> -"Surely I should know that voice!" cried Morley, -springing up in his hammock, and almost falling -back within it, overwhelmed by astonishment on -finding himself face to face with Mr. Basset—with -the father of Ethel! -</p> - -<p> -"What is this?—who is this? You, Morley -Ashton, on board the <i>Hermione</i>?" exclaimed Mr. Basset, -in a gust of genuine bewilderment, equalled -only by that of Morley, who trembled with -anticipation and astonishment, and who felt at his heart -a sudden and clamorous joy. "You one of the four -men taken from that melancholy wreck! How -came it to be? Explain—tell me. Good -heavens! how? Oh, my poor boy, Morley, we have long -numbered you with the dead, and have mourned for -you as such—none more, believe me, than my -dearest girl." -</p> - -<p> -"Where am I, sir?—what ship is this?" stammered -Morley, as a new light began to break in -upon him, while grasping Mr. Basset's hand, with -one arm thrown caressingly round his neck. "Am -I on board the <i>Hermione</i>? Has she picked us -up—saved us from death?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sir; this is the <i>Hermione</i>, of London," said -Captain Phillips, "too long delayed by contrary -winds, and the loss of a mast near the Canaries." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Morley Ashton," began Mr. Basset, "if -you did but know——" -</p> - -<p> -"Ashton?—Ashton?" interrupted the captain; -"are you the gentleman who was to have sailed -with us—who telegraphed for a cabin berth, and -was not forthcoming when we dropped down the -river?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am the same, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"What came of you? How did you disappear?" -</p> - -<p> -"I was a victim to the foulest treachery and -cowardice!" -</p> - -<p> -"At the hands of whom?" asked Mr. Basset. -</p> - -<p> -"Cramply Hawkshaw." -</p> - -<p> -"What! he whom Gawthrop bit in the dark?" -</p> - -<p> -"Bit, that I might know him again, your honour, -for I warn't strong enough to grapple with him." -</p> - -<p> -"And who, he says, attempted to strangle you in -your sleep?" asked Dr. Heriot, coming forward. -</p> - -<p> -"Hawkshaw here! on board with you—with -<i>her</i>!" said Morley, in a faint voice, as certain -undefinable, but terrible, suspicions arose in his -mind. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; he is with us, a cabin passenger," replied -Mr. Basset. -</p> - -<p> -"Here! here! on board the <i>Hermione</i>?" continued -Morley, almost vacantly, for his brain spun -round. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sir, in your place," said the captain. -</p> - -<p> -"Great Heavens!" -</p> - -<p> -"Your passage was taken out, your berth ready, -the money paid; but you had slipped from your -moorings somehow, so he went in your place. There -is nothing very wonderful in that, is there?" -</p> - -<p> -"He went with Ethel?" said Morley, in a -tremulous and imploring voice to Mr. Basset. -</p> - -<p> -"He came with me, as the son of my old friend, -Tom Hawkshaw, of Lincoln's Inn, to push his -fortune in the Mauritius," said Mr. Basset, hastily. -</p> - -<p> -"And Ethel—Ethel?" continued Morley, in a -broken voice, while his eyes filled with tears. -</p> - -<p> -"Is well, though she has mourned for you -deeply," replied Mr. Basset. "But pray be calm, -my poor boy. How terribly agitated you are! Do -not doubt her, or misunderstand me." -</p> - -<p> -"And I shall see her—see her again?" -</p> - -<p> -"Very soon—in ten minutes, perhaps." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, this is indeed happiness," sighed Morley, -sinking back in his hammock. "Heaven is kind—most -singularly merciful to me. But Hawkshaw—that -wretch!" he added, starting up with new -energy. "Oh, Ethel must shun, avoid and loathe -him, for she knows not that he is an assassin!" -</p> - -<p> -"How an assassin?" -</p> - -<p> -"Or one who would be such." -</p> - -<p> -"A regular-built pirate, and no mistake—a -rascally Californy piccaroon!" added Noah, with -sundry adjectives, which we feel the propriety of -omitting. -</p> - -<p> -"Aye, Mr. Basset, as Douglas Jerrold says, 'he -is a scoundrel, who would whet a knife on his -father's tombstone to kill his mother.' Oh, you -know him not as I too surely, too truly, and too -well know him, and all of which he is capable." -</p> - -<p> -"These are severe and sweeping assertions. -Explain this enigma—this most unaccountable -affair." -</p> - -<p> -"You remember, Mr. Basset, the night of my -sudden disappearance from Laurel Lodge?" -</p> - -<p> -"I shall never forget it. You had gone to Acton -station, concerning a telegram from London." -</p> - -<p> -"Concerning a berth in this very ship!" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"Returning alone, I met Cramply Hawkshaw, -who entered into conversation with me, offered me -a cigar, gradually lured me to the summit of the -rocks above the Chine. There we sat listening to -the village chimes in the old church tower, chatting, -smoking, and enjoying the pleasant breeze from the -Bristol Channel, till he, inspired by rivalry, jealousy, -and hate, or by some fiendish combination of them -all, at a moment when I was completely off my -guard, by one furious blow struck me over the cliff -into the Chine!" -</p> - -<p> -"The Chine—oh, my God!" said Mr. Basset, in -a voice that sank low with horror. "We came to -look for you, Cramply and I, for he said that he -had seen you walking there, and certainly we found -marks of a struggle—the gravel dislodged, and the -turf torn. You fell into the sea of course, but from -that height! How—by what miracle did you escape?" -</p> - -<p> -"A miracle, a narrow chance indeed! A turf-covered -ledge received me, and there for many, -many hours, more than a night and a day, I -remained sleepless, and scarcely daring to move, -chilled less perhaps by the cold sea-breeze than by -the horror of drowning if I rolled off the narrow -shelf, of dying slowly by starvation and falling a -prey to the sea-birds at last, till I was saved by my -friend Captain Bartelot, whose vessel passed below me." -</p> - -<p> -Excited by the memory of all he had undergone, -Morley's voice faltered and grew weak as he -spoke. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, sir," said Bartelot, striking in, "we chanced -to see a human figure perched up among the gulls -and cormorants, so we made a longer tack close in -shore, and sent off a boat's crew, who climbed to the -top of the rocks and hove him the end of a line. -He was then towed up, and being quite insensible, -Morrison, my mate, brought him on board. So, being -outward bound—a storm having been signalled by -Admiral Fitzroy, and beginning to break white in -the offing, we had no time for backing and filling, -or chopping about the rocky shore at Acton—I -stood right down the Channel, intending to put him -aboard the first suitable ship. We never overhauled -any but foreigners, so we took him with us to Rio. -He has often been well-nigh out of his mind -sometimes, sir, about—I may be pardoned mentioning -her name—Miss Basset; but he was in safe hands -with me, sir, his old schoolfellow, Tom Bartelot." -</p> - -<p> -"A strange and terrible story!" exclaimed Dr. Heriot. -</p> - -<p> -"Poor Ethel, Morley," said Mr. Basset; "oh, -what she has endured, and in silence, too!" -</p> - -<p> -"I can know that well, by what I, too, endured. -Dear, dear Ethel; and I shall see her——" -</p> - -<p> -"So soon as she can be wisely informed of the -great surprise, of the great joy, that await her. -But that fellow, Hawkshaw—the fact of how I have -been duped, deluded, and disgraced by the -pretended friendship of such a man, falls like a -thunderbolt upon me!" exclaimed good, easy -Mr. Scriven Basset, with more energy than he was -wont to exhibit, "and to think of my poor, sweet, -and virtuous girls being contaminated by the -society of such a man, and my secluded home -being polluted by his presence, though sheltered -there under the name of his good and worthy -father! Damme! it's enough to make one -suspicious of all mankind!" -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Basset thrust one hand into his breast, and -the other under the tails of his coat, and trod to -and fro the whole length of the 'tween-decks, about -twelve feet or so, swelling and reddening with just -ire and indignation. -</p> - -<p> -Bartelot, Morrison, and Gawthrop added many -details corroborating the remarkable escape of -Morley from Acton Chine, and descriptive of his -mental sufferings during the voyage to Rio de -Janeiro; and by the time this interview, so full -of stirring interest to all concerned in it, was over, -and the captain and his companions had quitted -the 'tween-decks, a new day had dawned, the sun -was rising brightly from the sea, and throwing the -shadow of the lofty <i>Hermione</i> far astern upon the -gleaming waters to the westward. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap18"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVIII. -<br /><br /> -THE EXPULSION. -</h3> - -<p> -Hawkshaw's hand, as we have stated, fell -unconsciously on the loaded revolver which lay by his -side, but was instantly withdrawn. -</p> - -<p> -He had not the courage to die by his own hand, -in the fashion to which the old Romans were so -partial in all their griefs and difficulties. He looked -up with a half-haggard and half-bullying or defiant -expression, as Captain Phillips, Mr. Quail, the -doctor, and Mr. Basset entered the cabin. -</p> - -<p> -The latter gave him a long, steady, and withering -glance, and after knocking at the door of -Ethel's little cabin or state-room, entered it hastily. -Then the varying exclamations of astonishment -and joy which were heard within it sounded -as additional knells of disgrace—they might be -those of death to Cramply Hawkshaw; and now, -after surveying him long and sternly, Captain -Phillips addressed him with great deliberation. -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw found himself regarded with horror -and aversion, but no ashes of fire were heaped upon -his miserable head, for the good, jolly captain was -the only person who spoke. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir, give me up that revolver." -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw seemed to be stunned, and did not -reply. -</p> - -<p> -"The revolver, sir; do you hear me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"Never mind why or wherefore—they matter -little now." -</p> - -<p> -"I thought that we were all armed for a -particular purpose." -</p> - -<p> -Captain Phillips smiled bitterly. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said he; "but you can be no longer -trusted with arms on board my ship." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed!" said Hawkshaw, who knew not very -well whether to cringe or bully, and pondered in -his desperation. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes; so surrender your arms. I'm an easy-going -fellow, but one who won't be trifled with, for -all that. Your revolver!" -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw reluctantly handed Captain Phillips -the loaded weapon. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank you. Now, sir, I must inform you that -we have had a long interview with the men in the -'tween-decks—those whom you so kindly undertook -to watch, though such a duty was scarcely necessary—and -after the revelations they have made, but -chiefly after the account given of you by Mr. Morley -Ashton—you wince at the name, I see—you can no -longer remain in the cabin of the <i>Hermione</i>." -</p> - -<p> -"Revelations! Did I not say that one—one at -least—of these men was mad?" -</p> - -<p> -"You shall not be sent forward," continued the -captain, "among my crew, however congenial some -of their spirits may be." -</p> - -<p> -"What, then?" asked Hawkshaw, with undisguised alarm. -</p> - -<p> -"You shall be secluded between decks till the -end of the voyage, or be sent on shore at the first -land we make, in the hope that we may never see -you more." -</p> - -<p> -"At the Cape of Good Hope?" asked Hawkshaw eagerly. -</p> - -<p> -"I do not mean to touch at the Cape now, as we -are so far to the southward of it," replied the -captain, little foreseeing that this information was to -have a fatal influence over all on board. -</p> - -<p> -"Sir," replied Hawkshaw, gathering courage for -a moment, "may I remind you that my passage -to the Isle of France——" -</p> - -<p> -"Is paid for, you would say?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes—<i>carambi</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -"By Mr. Ashton's money. Ha! ha! I have -known of a man being marooned on a rock in the -Gulf of Florida—aye, or set adrift on a hencoop, or -in a punt, with three biscuits and a bottle of water, -in the middle of the South Pacific—a poor devil -who was far less criminal than you. I would to -Heaven we had never seen you. No ship with such -a thorough-bred rascal on board could hope for a -prosperous voyage; and," continued the captain -angrily, as his professional superstitions came to -memory, "the fact of having you with us sufficiently -accounts for the loss of our foremast after passing -the Madeira Isles, for the mysterious loss of poor -Manfredi, and the head winds we have uniformly -encountered. Why, damme! we might as well -have had a parson, or an undocked Tom cat aboard. -Seclusion from among us is a punishment slight -indeed for the crimes of which you have been guilty, -but chiefly for your double and dastardly attempts -upon the life of that young gentleman. You -understand me, sir." -</p> - -<p> -"I understand only, Captain Phillips, that your -mind has been poisoned by a parcel of infamous -falsehoods, which, on the first shore we make, I shall -ram down the throat of him who uttered them with -a pistol-bullet!" -</p> - -<p> -"I hope the person referred to will not be such a -confounded donkey as to exchange shots with a -convicted assassin," replied Phillips. -</p> - -<p> -"Assassin! I—I—I——" -</p> - -<p> -Choking with sudden and uncontrollable passion, -Hawkshaw sprang up from the locker, his bloodshot -eyes flashing with fire, his face pale and haggard, -the veins of his temples swollen like whipcord, -and his heart stung with the idea that Ethel in her -little cabin could hear all that passed. His voice, -husky and inarticulate, failed him, but his bearing -was so threatening that Captain Phillips cocked the -revolver pistol, and said, sternly: -</p> - -<p> -"If you attempt to strike me, I will shoot you -down like a gull. Quit the cabin this instant, and -if you would keep your heels out of the bilboes, -never let me find you aft the break of the quarterdeck." -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw's hands were opened and clenched -convulsively, as if his fingers twitched for an object to -grapple with, and on which to vent the pent-up rage -and shame that consumed him; yet he found that -he had no resource but to submit and retire, so he -slowly left the cabin, but with an air of defiance -which so ill became him, and so ill befitted his -present predicament, that Phillips, the mate, and -doctor, knew not whether to pity or laugh at him. -</p> - -<p> -But the whole episode was a painful one, as they -could not forget, at this climax of his humiliation, -that this man, so summarily disgraced and cast forth -from among them as an unclean thing, had been for -so many months their companion and associate, their -friend, and, to all appearance, their equal. -</p> - -<p> -He repaired to the quarter-deck, and the cool -breeze that swept over the morning sea gratefully -fanned his flushed face and throbbing brow. For a -time he was blind with rage, and trod mechanically -to and fro over the very cabin wherein Ethel and -Rose (now filled with tumultuous joy by the strange -tidings their father had brought them, were making -a hurried toilette); till the appearance of Mr. Quail, -who came to relieve the deck, to call the watch, to -change the helmsman, and have the log hove, recalled -the stern order of Captain Phillips, and, -descending the break of the quarter-deck, he went -sullenly forward—a proscribed man. -</p> - -<p> -As he did so a mocking laugh met his ear. -</p> - -<p> -It came from Pedro Barradas—who had just -relieved the wheel, and who, being ignorant of the -events that had transpired in the cabin, naturally -supposed that Hawkshaw had, as usual, quitted the -quarter-deck to avoid him. -</p> - -<p> -For a moment this laugh stung him deeply; but -many emotions were conflicting in his breast on this -miserable morning, so that he scarcely felt anger at -Barradas. -</p> - -<p> -He had passed a sleepless night; but no sensation -of weariness felt he, as he clambered into the -fore-rigging, and sat there to consider his position—to -watch the inmates of the cabin, and to avoid the -crew, until he could conceal himself somewhere for -the night. -</p> - -<p> -Oh, how he longed for its friendly shadow and -concealment—longed for it, while the beams of the -morning sun gilded all the sea, and lit up the full -swelling sails of the <i>Hermione</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Feverish, and madly excited by the many emotions -which had convulsed him since the moment in which -he recognised the sleeping Morley Ashton, and more -especially by the terrible and wicked thoughts of the -past night, a longing for vengeance, or victory, -rather—victory at any risk or price—filled his heart, -till he nearly became mad, when thoughts of his -rival's safety, restoration, and triumph were -contrasted with his own exposure, expulsion, and -disgrace. -</p> - -<p> -The crew, among whom he dared not venture, -would soon learn the whole story, and, knowing -alike their reckless character and their nefarious -projects, he already felt, by anticipation, the sharp -stings of their fierce and brutal mockery, and the -coming vengeance of those he had contemptuously -ignored—the Barradas. -</p> - -<p> -"Why did I not put a bullet through my head -before old Phillips took away my pistol?" thought -he. "Had I done so, by this time, perhaps, I -would have been peacefully at rest below the surface -of that blue and shining sea, instead of being -perched up here, a moody wretch—a miserable and -disappointed outcast." -</p> - -<p> -Slowly, slowly the sunny morning wore on. -</p> - -<p> -He heard Joe the steward's bell—once a welcome -sound—rung for breakfast. The smoking ham and -eggs, broiled chicken, tea and coffee, were borne -from the steaming galley, aft to the cabin; he -knew that the whole party, with their familiar faces, -would be assembled at table as usual; and others, -too, he shrewdly anticipated, would be there. Nor -was he mistaken; for all the four castaways were -so much better this morning, notwithstanding the -recent disturbance, that they had quitted their -hammocks, with the intention of coming on deck. -</p> - -<p> -Perhaps they had already begun to feel that -necessity which so soon impresses the sick or ailing -on board of ship—the expediency of getting well as -soon as possible (especially in such a ship as the -<i>Hermione</i>); for, after a time, there is but little -sympathy to spare for useless hands, either fore or -aft; "an overstrained sense of manliness being the -characteristic of seafaring men, or rather of life on -board ship." -</p> - -<p> -Apart from these considerations, and being -bodily better, the knowledge that Ethel Basset was -only separated from him by a few planks worked a -miracle upon Morley Ashton. -</p> - -<p> -Their sodden and surf-beaten rags had all been -thrown overboard, so Morley was attired from -the wardrobe of Dr. Heriot; the others were -supplied by the captain and Mr. Basset; and the -appearance of Noah Gawthrop, when rigged out in -a black swallow-tailed dress coat, belonging to the -latter gentleman, with gilt buttons, and lappels of -watered silk, an old crimson velvet waistcoat, an -ample pair of dark tartan trowsers, and a -sou'-wester of Mr. Quail's, was unique, and excited -considerable speculation when he came on deck. -</p> - -<p> -Forgetting his "landlubber-like toggery," with -sailor-like instinct, Noah cast his eyes aloft, and -critically surveyed all the rigging, and a smile, that -puckered up the wrinkles of his old face, showed -that the result of his scrutiny was satisfactory. -</p> - -<p> -His remarkably ill-favoured visage was in no way -improved by a patch of black sticking-plaster, with -which Dr. Heriot had covered a cut on the bridge -of his copper-coloured nose, the result of -Hawkshaw's random blow in the matutinal row between -decks. -</p> - -<p> -Descending the break of the quarter-deck, Noah -went forward, to get his breakfast with the crew, -concerning whom the officers of the ship deemed it -yet unwise to give him any warning. -</p> - -<p> -He had considerably recovered his strength, and -was eagerly welcomed by the seamen as he walked -forward, and all gathered in a group about him in -the break of the deck at the forecastle bunks, -clamorous to hear his yarn about the loss of his -ship—where she was from, where bound to, what she -was loaded with, and so forth—to hear all about -himself, and, though recorded last, not the least -exciting topic on which they wished enlightenment, -was the cry that had come from between decks in -the first hour of the morning watch. -</p> - -<p> -Noah, seated on the barrel of the windlass, with -a tin mug of scalding hot coffee, together with a -slice of salt junk, and Quaco's "plum-duff," after -denouncing the tea and arrowroot of Joe the -steward, proceeded to give, in his own fashion, a -rambling narrative of all the recent events in which -he had borne a part. -</p> - -<p> -The words which he uttered did not reach the -ear of Hawkshaw, in his lofty perch; but suddenly -all eyes were simultaneously cast aloft to where he -sat near the sling of the foreyard, and Noah -threateningly shook his clenched hand at him, -while a roar of mocking laughter from the crew—that -bitter laughter which he so long dreaded—filled -his heart with rage and spite, that he nearly -fell from his seat among his tormentors. -</p> - -<p> -For a time, it seemed as if all these villainous -upturned faces—the thick, African nose and -sausage-like lips of Quaco, the glittering eyes and -olive face of Zuares Barradas, the hideous squat -form of Sharkey—a wretch with the life of -Manfredi to atone for—Badger, with his sunken orbs -and great square jaw; Bolter, the unhealthy-looking -Canadian, and all the rest—had been turned into -mocking fiends, who would yet drive him to more -desperate deeds, for he was now expelled, cast forth -from among those with whom he had associated, -without a prospect of return, or a hope of retrieving -himself. -</p> - -<p> -"Is not life altogether a long comedy," says -some one, "with Fate for the stage-manager, and -Passion, Inclination, Love, Hate, Revenge, -Ambition, Avarice, by turns, in the prompter's box?" -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw felt bitterly in his soul that his life -had been a tragedy, in which the evil passions alone -had played their parts by turns, and sometimes all -together. -</p> - -<p> -What would the last scene of that tragedy be? -</p> - -<p> -"Hallo, foretop there!" cried Bill Badger, the -tall, lantern-jawed, and odious Yankee. "Well, -capting, I guess you're chawed up rayther. Thunder -and lightning! come, ship with us in the little -game we've got in hand. Jine us; you carn't do -better now; and who knows but you may get your -gal with the black shiners, after all?" -</p> - -<p> -"<i>El cuchillo primero!</i> (My knife first)" said -Zuares Barradas, touching the haft of his Albacete -knife with ferocious significance. -</p> - -<p> -Honest Noah opened his eyes very wide at these -singular remarks, which were followed by another -roar of brutal laughter. On this, Hawkshaw, to -get, if possible, beyond the reach of their conversation, -trembling in every limb with rage, and with a -strange blindness coming over his sight, as the old -clamorous ferocity gathered in his soul, while feeling -that the mocking words had not been uttered in -vain—as they suggested certain ideas of probable -vengeance on his exposers—proceeded to climb -farther up the rigging, until he perched himself on -the fore-crosstrees, his past experience having made -him seaman enough to achieve this. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap19"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIX. -<br /><br /> -THE MEETING. -</h3> - -<p> -How shall I describe the almost mute meeting -between Ethel Basset and Morley Ashton? or shall -I omit it altogether? -</p> - -<p> -Instinctively, and with proper good taste, all in -the cabin left them to themselves for a time; and -even Rose—the saucy and impulsive Rose—who -looked just as Morley had last seen her when -playing at croquet in Acton Chase, with her pretty -straw hat, her green zouave jacket, and tiny bronzed -Balmoral boots, after rushing back to give him one -kiss more, tripped upstairs on deck to join the -doctor. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Basset had managed to break the matter—the -vast secret—to Ethel skilfully and gently, by -saying that the wrecked men could afford some -information concerning Morley Ashton; that they -knew where he was, that one had seen him lately, -that he was alive and well, and so forth. Thus there -was no scene, no screaming, no fainting for joy, and -certainly no dying of that pleasant emotion. Such -a climax as the latter would have put the narrator -of these events very much about indeed, for, our -story being a true one, this little romantic portion -of it dovetails with the rest—rather flatly, perhaps, -because it is <i>true</i>. -</p> - -<p> -For a time neither could exactly "realise" (to use -a good Americanism) that they were reunited—Ethel, -that Morley lived; Morley, that he should so -suddenly find himself by the side of her whom he -had been pursuing through the deep, reunited, and -on board the <i>Hermione</i>, of London. -</p> - -<p> -Again and again she fell upon his breast, -repeating, in a voice that was almost breathless, but -exquisitely touching: -</p> - -<p> -"My darling—oh, my darling! can this be -possible? Is this reality?" -</p> - -<p> -Their poor hearts were too full to permit much to -be said; nor would it be fair to them, or interesting -to others, to rehearse all the little that they did say -then. But how much had they to ask, to relate, to -explain, and to deplore? -</p> - -<p> -Morley had undergone so much, he had seen so -many strange faces, and places too—Rio de Janeiro, -with bay, mountains, and isles; Tristan d'Acunha, -with its cliffs and mighty cone; Diego Alvarez, with -its sea-elephants and fur seals; the Island of the -Hermit, with its strange story of old Don Pedro -de Barradas. He had encountered, moreover, so -many gales of wind, the wreck, with all its -contingent woes and horrors, and so forth, that Laurel -Lodge, and Ethel's face, figure, and whole image -had seemed ten years off—at least, ten years -appeared to have elapsed since their sudden separation. -</p> - -<p> -To poor Ethel the intervening blank had seemed -greater, for Morley had lived with hope, while she -had none; and, to understand and conceive her -utter bewilderment, we must bear in mind all she -had undergone. -</p> - -<p> -The sudden and unaccountable disappearance of -Morley, and the supposed mode of his death (for it -was only supposed, after all), had occasioned a more -bitter sorrow, a keener and more protracted agony, -than she could have endured by weeping at his -deathbed, and afterwards knowing that he was at -rest in a grave she could see, where she might plant -flowers and drop her tears. -</p> - -<p> -To have seen him borne forth from Laurel Lodge -to Acton churchyard, amid all the real and paid-for -pageantry of woe, would have been actual contentment, -when contrasted with all she had suffered—doubt, -uncertainty, despair! -</p> - -<p> -Oh, she felt how deeply she must loathe Hawkshaw -as the author of all their woe! -</p> - -<p> -But now Morley was beside her, with her hands -in his, looking lovingly into her loving eyes, drinking -in her murmured words, sitting close, very close, to -her, so this reunion was as stunning and bewildering -in its own way as their separation had been. -</p> - -<p> -They were dearer to each other now by a thousand -degrees than ever they were before, even after -Morley's absence in Africa. -</p> - -<p> -"It is good sometimes to be absent," says a graceful -writer, truthfully; "better still to be dead, as -regards our own imperfections and our equally -imperfect friends. How they rise up and praise us for -virtues we never possessed, and benignly pardon us -for sins we never committed. How tender over our -memories grow those who, living, worried our lives -out, and might do so again, if we were alive, -to-morrow." -</p> - -<p> -They had none of those upbraiding thoughts to -recall. Can it be reality, this happiness? was the -uppermost idea in both their minds. -</p> - -<p> -It was indeed Ethel whose head reclined upon his -breast. She was changed since last they met at -peaceful Laurel Lodge, among its rose-bowers, its -giant laurels and stately sycamores; and yet how -lovely she was—lovelier even now than then. -</p> - -<p> -Long grieving had imparted a sweet Madonna-like -sadness to the soft features; her cheeks were thin, -and Morley's affectionate eye could see two white -hairs amid the deep black braiding of the young -girl's head; and he saw, too, that her broad, low -brow, had an impress of care and sorrow—sorrow -for him, even now, when her dark eyes were flashing -through their tears of joy. -</p> - -<p> -It was indeed she, that beloved one, whose name -he had so dotingly murmured to himself a thousand -times, in the lonely watches of the night, when -treading the ship's deck under the sparkling stars of -the tropics, when the glorious planets of the Southern -Cross—fabled by the devout mariners of the old -Spanish Argosies to be "a brooch taken from the -breast of the blessed <i>Madre de Dios</i>"—looked close -and nigh, so close as to cast the ship's shadow on the -rolling waters. -</p> - -<p> -It was she whom he had imagined in those wild -dreams by day, when the dreams of the waking are -wilder by far than those of the sleeper. -</p> - -<p> -She was beside him again, and they were hand in -hand as of old, eye bent on eye, lip meeting lip. -Ethel, his own Ethel—after all they had undergone—was -beside him, so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that -it seemed indeed a dream, or like a set scene, the -plot or conception of a sensational romance or -playwright—a trafficker in plots, contrivances, and -<i>situations</i>. -</p> - -<p> -It was so, and truth proved stronger than fiction -after all! -</p> - -<p> -And so, forgetful of others, forgetful assuredly of -breakfast, till Joe in the steerage and Quaco in the -galley were in despair about the eggs and coffee, -they would have sat till the sun that now shone -through amber clouds so merrily ahead to the -eastward had beamed his farewell rays in crimson -through the stern-windows from the westward, had -not Joe's bell, rung vigorously and impatiently for -the third time, brought the whole party, including -Mr. Foster, who had no sympathy whatever for -lovers, and who felt famished, having had charge of -the deck since 4 to 8 A.M.—the morning watch—and -it was now half-past 10, alike by his appetite and -the captain's chronometer. -</p> - -<p> -All oblivious of the unhappy wretch who was -"chewing the cud of sweet and bitter fancy" aloft -in the fore-crosstrees (where the swaying of the mast -made the rolling of the ship seem so much greater -than below) jovial indeed was the party which -assembled at the sound of Joe's bell, and how -curly-headed Joe's honest English face shone as he handed -round coffee and tea, with whipped eggs for cream, -or as he skipped about with hot water, and handed -to the ladies preserves in tin cans, midshipmen's nuts -and American biscuits in a silver bread-barge, a -spotless white towel thrown over the sleeve of his round -jacket the while, for Joe was something of a hybrid, -half waiter and half seaman. -</p> - -<p> -Under the cheering influence of Ethel's presence -Morley's features soon became less haggard, and the -keen, hawk-like expression of his dark eyes—an -expression the result of suffering, danger, and of being -long menaced by death—rapidly softened and passed -away. -</p> - -<p> -But with breakfast untasted, or feigning only to -partake thereof, Ethel, pale and feverish, sat like -one in a dream. -</p> - -<p> -For this sudden restoration of Morley to life and -to her, as it would seem from the bosom of the -deep—from the greedy waves of that vast ocean which -they had been traversing for more than three months—was -more difficult of realisation than the horror of -his disappearance and of his supposed dreadful -death. -</p> - -<p> -But she, and Rose too, seemed so forgetful of -every one present, save Morley, that worthy young -Dr. Leslie Heriot, F.R.C.S.E., actually envied -him—envied the earlier intimacy he could claim with -these two charming sisters, and felt almost jealous -of the deep interest they evinced for our poor waif -of the sea. -</p> - -<p> -"And so you are indeed Miss Ethel Basset?" said -Tom Bartelot, surveying the lovely girl with honest -admiration and kindliness, when he was introduced -to her. -</p> - -<p> -"I am, sir," replied Ethel, smiling at his manner; -"and a very old friend of Mr. Ashton's." -</p> - -<p> -"I can scarcely regret the loss of my ship, the -poor <i>Princess</i>" said Tom, gallantly, "or my own -suffering and misfortune, when I consider that all -have been but the means to a happy end." -</p> - -<p> -"Sir?" said Ethel, blushing a little, and looking -down. "You mean——" -</p> - -<p> -"That they have been the means of bringing you -and my old chum and schoolfellow, Mr. Ashton, -together again," continued Tom, blundering still more -by his straightforward inferences. -</p> - -<p> -"You are very kind, sir, in saying so," replied -Ethel, as her colour came and went. -</p> - -<p> -"That poor lad loves you as his very life," -continued Tom, warming with his subject; "aye, far -beyond it, for, when compared with you, he don't -value it more than a bit of old rope-yarn! Many -an hour has he walked the deck by my side, -speaking of you, and praising you; and even when -he didn't speak, by his silence and his sighs, I knew -well enough that he was thinking all the deeper." -</p> - -<p> -"My poor Morley?" said Ethel, who heard all -this with joyous tears in her eyes. -</p> - -<p> -As soon as they came on deck, Noah Gawthrop -presented himself in his peculiar attire, the black -dress-coat and crimson vest, and doffing his -sou'-wester at the break of the quarter-deck, twitched -his grizzled forelock, and beckoned Morley. -</p> - -<p> -"Mr. Ashton," said he, in a stage whisper, -"wot's this I hear forward among that rum lot in the -fok'stle?" -</p> - -<p> -"Really, Noah, I cannot say. What have you heard?" -</p> - -<p> -"Why, sir, they says as your sweetheart, Miss -Basset—she you were always raving about on the -wreck—is aboard o' this here craft." -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, Noah, she is," replied Morley, laughing. -</p> - -<p> -"Is that dainty little 'un her?" -</p> - -<p> -"Which?" -</p> - -<p> -"She with the pork-pie hat, red stockings, and -red cheeks, the jigamaree jacket, and crinnyline?" -said Noah. -</p> - -<p> -"No; the taller lady." -</p> - -<p> -"Smite my timbers! A regular-built stunner! -Wot a wonderful coinsiddins!—wot a cannondrum! as -the player chaps say, when they go bouncing -about to the fiddles and blue fire!" -</p> - -<p> -"It is destiny, Noah." -</p> - -<p> -"Jest wot they says too! Well, I have given -over sweethearting now; but I have shared my pay -with many o' that sort o' ware in my time. The -best of 'em all—here's her photograff done in -gunpowder by the cook's mate of the <i>Haurora</i>, as we -were a working out of the harbour of Odessa. -Many a mouthful of salt-water I've swallowed, and -many a whistling Dick I've heard since that was -done," said Noah, pointing to the tattooing visible on -his breast when his check shirt was open. "But -won't you introdooce me as an old shipmate? -'Mornin' marm, 'mornin'," he added, sweeping the -deck with his sou'-wester, as Ethel came frankly -forward; "I'm one o' them as took Mr. Ashton off -the cliffs, and sailed with him to Rio Janairey, in -South 'Meriky, in the old <i>Princess</i> as was." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed—oh, I am most happy to see you, sir," replied Ethel. -</p> - -<p> -"Call me Noah, marm—Noah Gawthrop; I ain't -used to being sir'd," said he, smoothing down his gray hair. -</p> - -<p> -"Well, my good friend Noah," said Ethel, her -eyes beaming, as she presented her little white hand -to Gawthrop, who looked at his own hard palm, -rubbed it well on his trousers as if to clean it, and -then shook hers gently and kindly, not crushing it -up as the tars do invariably in the play. -</p> - -<p> -"Such a dear old thing it is!" said Rose, -laughing, as she observed this interview. -</p> - -<p> -"I've made a man of him for you, Miss Ethel—I -knows your name, you see; one couldn't be long -with Mr. Ashton, keeping watch and watch, without -finding out that—but I have made a man of him for -you, marm. He wasn't worth a tobacco-stopper at -first; but I've taught him to becket a royal, and -send it down, yard and all, in a stiff topgallant -breeze, or a regular squall; to slush a mast from -the truck-head downward; to haul out to leeward -when on the yard-arm, and if that ain't summut -towards making him a good husband for you, and -one as will, through the voyage of life, keep a firm -hand on your rudder, and trim you nicely by the -starn, I don't know wot is." -</p> - -<p> -Noah's praises and rough congratulations were -unintelligible to Ethel; but as they were calculated -to excite laughter, and as some of his adjectives -applicable to the "shark up aloft in the fore-cross-trees" -were neither elegant nor euphonious, he was -speedily sent forward by Tom Bartelot. -</p> - -<p> -Rose, perceiving that Ethel was deadly pale, for -the events of the morning proved rather too much -for her strength, took her below for a little time, by -Mr. Basset's suggestion. Morley affectionately, and -tenderly handed her down the companion-stair—not -a glance of his the while, not an emotion or -movement being unnoticed by Hawkshaw, who, like a -hawk, or rather like a tree-tiger robbed of his prey, -was still perched alone in the fore-crosstrees. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap20"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XX. -<br /><br /> -THE CORPSE-LICHT. -</h3> - -<p> -As Morley turned away from the companion, he was -confronted by his old friend Morrison, the mate of -the defunct <i>Princess</i>. The Scotsman's honest face -was radiant with pleasure, and grasping Morley's -hand, he congratulated him warmly on the sudden -change that a few hours had made in all his plans -and prospects. -</p> - -<p> -"No use in thinking of Tasmania now, or calculating -the chances of finding a ship for the Isle -of France, and all that, Mr. Ashton, eh?" said -Morrison, laughing. -</p> - -<p> -"Thank Heaven, no," said Morley, as they -descended the break of the quarter-deck, and went to -windward, near the main-rigging; "so great has -been the alteration in all our affairs, that I can -scarcely believe I was the poor doomed wretch of a -few hours ago. Another night on that wreck would -have seen us all dead men, Morrison." -</p> - -<p> -Then Morley thought how strange it would have -been if the ship, with Ethel on board, had passed -the wreck, on board of which he was lying dead, -and there was no voice to inform them of his fate, -and the terrible mystery involving it. -</p> - -<p> -"And you will be getting married now, Mr. Ashton," -said Morrison, after a pause. -</p> - -<p> -"Married!" repeated Morley, with astonishment; -"where—where—here upon the open sea?" -</p> - -<p> -"No; but when we are all landed at the Mauritius, -where I shall have to look out for another ship, and, -perhaps, may have to work my way home before the -mast, for home to Scotland I must get somehow; -and before the mast——" -</p> - -<p> -"You shall never go in that fashion, Morrison, if -I can help it; but as for my being married to Miss -Basset"—Morley felt his cheek flush and his heart -flutter at the thought—"that is an event which is -somewhat distant yet, and must be so, till -fortune—the old story—smiles on me." -</p> - -<p> -"That I am sorry to hear," replied the Scotsman; -"what says poor Robbie Burns, in one of the -sweetest of his songs?— -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'Oh, why should Fate sic pleasure have,<br /> - Life's dearest bonds untwining?<br /> - And why sae sweet a flower as love<br /> - Depend on fortune's shining?'<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -Well, Mr. Ashton, hap what may, though our path -in life and our homes will aye be far apart, I'll never -forget the days we have spent together; and -miserable enough some of them have been latterly," -continued Morrison, who was a warm-hearted and -impulsive fellow, and whose keen gray eyes grew -moist as he spoke; "and so, as I said, hap what -may, you shall always have the best wishes of poor -Bill Morrison, though a sailor has seldom more to -give, unless it be a quid from his tobacco-box, or a -share of his grog on pay-day." -</p> - -<p> -"Fortune may go and hang herself," said Morley; -"she has never favoured me till now." -</p> - -<p> -"Perhaps she thought such a good-looking fellow -might be left to shift for himself," replied Morrison, -laughing. "I once heard the song I have just -quoted sung by a girl, whose story was a very -strange one. She was separated from her lover by -adverse circumstances, and though they never met -again in life, they repose now in the same grave." -</p> - -<p> -"Another of your melancholy yarns, Bill?" -</p> - -<p> -"Well, it isn't lively. Shall I tell it to you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, please. Miss Basset is still below." -</p> - -<p> -"I had entered on board the <i>Clyde</i>, a Greenock -ship bound for Tasmania. I was but a third mate -then, and that post, you know, is only a trifle better -than being before the mast. She had several -emigrants, and among them was a man named Udny, -with his wife and a daughter whom I heard them -call Hester. -</p> - -<p> -"There was with them a good-looking young -fellow from the shore, a shepherd apparently, for he -wore a checked tweed suit with a Border plaid, and -a broad blue bonnet. He was evidently not going -the voyage; but he continued to hover about Hester -Udny with a sad and dreary expression of face, and -I could see that the girl's eyes were red and sore -with weeping. -</p> - -<p> -"She was a bonnie, fair-haired Scotch lassie. -That the pair were lovers we could all see, and we -knew that they were about to be separated for -ever, perhaps, as her parents, poor and expatriated -cotters, were going to find a new home in Tasmania. -The lad was poorer still, and had to remain behind -in the old country. -</p> - -<p> -"My heart bled for them, and from time to time -I could not restrain the inclination to observe them, -as they sat, hand in hand, oblivious of the noisy -throng about them, and the coarse jests of the -cargo-puddlers, dock-porters, and especially of the -sailors, each of whom volunteered to replace her -sweetheart on the voyage. -</p> - -<p> -"Twilight came on as we began to cast off the -warps, and were towed down the river by a -tug-steamer, so quickly, that the lights of Greenock -soon twinkled out amid the haze and smoke astern. -</p> - -<p> -"The sun had set, but the red flush of the -departed day lingered brightly beyond the dark peaks -of the Argyleshire mountains that look down on the -Gairloch, the Holy Loch, so solemn and still, and -many another place that I can see in memory -yet, and that I often saw in dreams when we were -floating on the wreck. -</p> - -<p> -"The lad was to go back, among a few other -shore people, in the tug-steamer. I heard the girl -sobbing as if her heart would break when she heard -the order given for them to quit the ship, as we -were preparing to cast off the towline and loosening -the topsails out of the bunt. I was sent forward -with a gang to cat and fish the best bower anchor, -and hoist it over the bows on board. When again -I went aft, sail had been made on the ship; the -tug-steamer had disappeared in the obscurity astern, -and the sad girl was sitting alone, with her eyes -fixed on the lights that glistened in the castle of -Dumbarton. -</p> - -<p> -"We had been for some days at sea before the -girl came on deck. She looked pale, wan, and -thin—worn almost to a shadow with mental suffering -and sea-sickness; and the close atmosphere of a -crowded steerage was as poison to one accustomed -from infancy to the green lanes and wooded hills of -Cydesdale. All pitied her forlorn appearance, and -even the roughest sailor did not jest with her now. -</p> - -<p> -"One evening she remained longer on deck than -usual. I had the wheel; the ship was running -before the wind with topgallant-sails, lower and -topmast stun'sails set. The air was mild and the -stars shone clearly and brightly amid amber to the -westward and the blue in the zenith. -</p> - -<p> -"With her head muffled in a plaid, Hester Udny -was seated near me; but I had my attention mostly -fixed upon the binnacle. There was silence fore and -aft, and silence on the sea, when I heard the poor -lassie singing to herself in a sweet, low voice, that -song of Burns', and the notes became full of pathos -fit the lines: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "'Oh why should Fate sic pleasure have,<br /> - Life's dearest bonds untwining?<br /> - And why sae sweet a flower as love<br /> - Depend on fortune's shining?'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -"Suddenly she uttered a cry, and springing to -me, grasped my arm. Her plaid or shawl had fallen -back, and her fine golden-coloured hair was all in -disorder; her eyes, which were a deep blue, were -unnaturally bright and dilated, and their gaze was -fixed wildly upon a part of the deck just aft the -mainmast. -</p> - -<p> -"'Sailor—sailor; oh, man, man, do you see that?' -she asked, in tones of terror. -</p> - -<p> -"'What?' said I. -</p> - -<p> -"'A flame rising up through the deck, and growing -higher every moment.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Flame?' I repeated; 'there is no flame.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Fire—it is not fire; it is the figure of a -man—head, shoulders, arms, and hands—flame, all flame, -pale blue, wavering, and indistinct!' -</p> - -<p> -"'Nonsense, lassie, you are demented,' said I. -</p> - -<p> -"'And you don't see it, sailor—you don't see -it?' she continued, wildly. -</p> - -<p> -"'No, my poor lassie,' said I; 'your eyesight -must deceive you.' -</p> - -<p> -"'Oh, heaven!' she shrieked, in a voice that -brought all who were below tumbling up the -hatches as if the ship were going down. 'Can I -be going mad? It is like the figure of my Willie!' -</p> - -<p> -"She fell senseless on the deck, and was carried -below. -</p> - -<p> -"This alleged apparition caused great speculation, -and, as we had several emigrants from the Western -Highlands on board, no small degree of terror, so -that part of the deck abaft the mainmast was -always watched narrowly and suspiciously; but -neither flame nor figure saw we, though Hester -afterwards asserted that one of the watch, who -heard her cry, and hastened to assist her, passed -<i>through</i> the figure, which wavered as he did so, but -again resumed its luminous form. -</p> - -<p> -"A fortnight elapsed before she was brought on -deck again; and I must own to being shocked at -the change in her appearance. Her keen blue eyes -seemed unnaturally large and sunken, with dark -rings round them, and her poor, thin, transparent -hands trembled as she muffled her plaid or shawl -over her head, when the watch on deck hastened to -make a comfortable seat of old sails for her under -the lee of the bulwark. -</p> - -<p> -"Fearing a repetition of what had occurred before, -her father and mother insisted on taking her below -when twilight approached; but, urged by some -undefinable feeling or emotion, she lingered longer -than she should have done. -</p> - -<p> -"We were now in latitudes where the sun sets -quickly, the dusk comes on as rapidly, and heavily -falls the dew. -</p> - -<p> -"Hester Udny, pale as a spectre, was soon observed -to fix her eyes upon that portion of the deck -abaft the mainmast where she had seen the apparition, -with a wild, but steady and deliberate gaze, as -if fascinated; and then, in faint and tremulous -accents, she declared that the figure of flame was -again visible, pale and luminous, sometimes turning -from amber to blue, and becoming hazy; that -beyond it, or through it, she could see the line of -the ship's bulwark, and the shrouds of the mainmast, -as if it was transparent. -</p> - -<p> -"To undeceive her, the captain passed and repassed -the place, going each time, as she said, amid her -cries, completely through the figure, unsinged, -unhurt, and all unconscious that he was doing so. -</p> - -<p> -"She swooned, and was carried below again. -</p> - -<p> -"What added greatly to the strangeness of this -phenomenon was the circumstance that some of the -crew, when standing over the spot where the spectre -was alleged to appear, were seized with giddiness, -strange qualms, and even sickness, alike by day or -night, and were ridiculed by those of a less nervous -temperament, who never felt any such sensations, as -'green-horns' and 'fanciful lubbers.' -</p> - -<p> -"Hester Udny never came on deck again—alive, -at least. -</p> - -<p> -"She remained in bed during the remainder of -our voyage, evidently in a rapid decline, and on the -day when we made the south-west cape of Van -Diemen's Land—a high, bold, and rocky -promontory—she expired. -</p> - -<p> -"We were soon within six miles of the land, and -her parents begged so hard that they might be -permitted to bury the poor girl ashore, that our skipper -acceded to their request. Assisted by the sailmaker, -they wrapped her up in blankets, and her body was -placed on a grating along the thwarts of the -long-boat amidships, with a union-jack spread over it. -No other pall had we, nor could we have found a -better for a heart so true as that poor lassie once -possessed; and there she lay when we entered the -mouth of the Derwent river, and worked against a -head wind up D'Entrecasteaux's Channel. -</p> - -<p> -"I see that I am tiring you, Morley, with this -long yarn; but Miss Basset is still below, and the -strangest part is yet to come. -</p> - -<p> -"We got aground on the western side of the -channel, but ran an anchor out, manned the capstan, -and hove the ship off. At half-past nine that night -we came to anchor in thirty-fathom water, off Hobart -Town, fired a gun, and furled our canvas, with the -ensign at our gaff-peak half hoisted, to show that -death had boarded us before the harpies of the -custom-house. -</p> - -<p> -"By daybreak next day I was ordered with a gang -to prepare for breaking bulk, and proceeded to -unship the main-hatch prior to starting the cargo. -</p> - -<p> -"On removing a bale or two, and a few casks, how -great was our horror to find, just abaft the -mainmast, and under that portion of the deck where -Hester Udny had twice seen the figure of flame—a -figure perhaps always there, though invisible to us—the -skeleton of a man, standing quite erect against -the after-bulkhead! -</p> - -<p> -"He was dressed in a gray tweed suit, with a blue -bonnet, surmounted by a red tuft, and a checked -Border plaid was over his right shoulder. All the -flesh had dried upon his bones, so that his clothes -hung loosely on him. A few blackened shillings, -and a mouldy letter or two, were found in his pockets, -so we at once supposed that, being unable to pay -his passage, the poor fellow had secreted himself in -the hold, little knowing how the cargo would be -screwed and stowed up to the beams, and how -hermetically the hatches would be closed by battens, -tarpaulins, and iron bands; and thus he had perished -miserably, unheard, unseen, and unknown—perished -of suffocation, and remained there until he dried -into a veritable white mummy. -</p> - -<p> -"Our commiseration was greatly increased when -we found that the mouldy green letters were written -by Hester Udny, and in the poor stowaway her -parents recognised her lover, Willie, the lad whom -we had all seen hovering about her on the night -we hauled out from Greenock to drop down the Clyde. -</p> - -<p> -"They were buried ashore, these two ill-starred -and unfortunate lovers, in the burying-ground of -the big brick church of Hobart Town, and the -whole ship's company attended the funeral. Jack's -a rough fellow, Mr. Ashton, but I can assure you -that, as we lowered their two plain black coffins into -their deep grave, side by side, with a few fathoms -of line, there was not a dry eye among us. -</p> - -<p> -"And some of the roughest patted the old father -on the back, as he stood dreamily at the head of -his daughter's grave, in that far foreign land—sae -far frae the Hills o' Campsie, and wondering if -it could a' be true, and that she was lying there, -while tears streamed down his cheeks, and his -white hair waved i' the wind under his auld blue -bonnet." -</p> - -<p> -It was a peculiarity of Morrison's, that whenever -he became interested, or perhaps more perfectly -natural, he always slid into his old Scottish -vernacular. -</p> - -<p> -"This is a sad story, Morrison; but the luminous -figure which the girl saw—how the deuce do you -account for that? She was out of her mind, of -course?" -</p> - -<p> -"Out of her mind! not at all!" responded the -philosophical Scot; "she was of a delicate temperament, -and in a highly nervous and sensitive state, -thus she may or must have seen that which was -invisible to us of a rougher texture—the gaseous -light proceeding from the fermentation, putrescence, -and decay of the body beneath the deck—in short, -that which we call in Scotland a corpse-Kent." * -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="footnote"> -* Concerning such appearances, see Baron von Reichenbach's -work on the "Dynamics of Magnetism, Electricity," &c. &c., -with notes thereto, by Dr. John Ashburner. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -But now to return to our own story. -</p> - -<p> -A long consultation ensued concerning what was -to be done with Cramply Hawkshaw, and the -conclusion come to was simply that he should be kept -in the seclusion, or "Coventry," enjoined by Captain -Phillips, till the vessel reached the Isle of France; -and Morley gave a species of parole, that he would -studiously avoid, nor seek in any way to punish him -for the outrage he had formerly committed, or that -which he had latterly attempted. -</p> - -<p> -So the first day of Morley's re-union with his -friends passed merrily and happily away. -</p> - -<p> -In honour of the event, Mr. Basset had a case -containing some of his favourite Marcobrumier and -sparkling hock hoisted out of the store-room, and in -the cabin that night the wine went round so freely, -that Captain Phillips's merry eyes shone in his head, -Tom Bartelot came out in his favourite drinking-song, -and poor Mr. Quail, all unused to such -beverages, when he went up to relieve the deck, -at eight bells, saw two wheels and two steersmen, -and the <i>Hermione</i>, tearing through the sea with six -masts, and at least seven-and-twenty crossyards -upon her. -</p> - -<p> -As it came on to blow about midnight, a reef was -taken in the topsails, and forgetting the evil projects -broached by his crew on this occasion Captain -Phillips gave a double allowance of grog to the -watch, with pots of hot coffee to those who preferred -them—kindness thrown away, as it proved in the -sequel. -</p> - -<p> -Now that our hero and heroine are safely re-united -on board the very ship in which they were originally -to have sailed together, the reader who is versed in -novel-lore may suppose that nothing remains but for -Mr. Basset to bestow his paternal benediction no -them in the true fashion of the "heavy father," and -for Hawkshaw, either at once to be forgiven, no -promising to be a good boy for the future, or to -receive condign punishment. -</p> - -<p> -But, unfortunately, our story is not fictitious, so it -ends not here. -</p> - -<p> -Morley has escaped death, and is again seated by -the side of Ethel Basset, gazing into her quiet, deep, -and loving eyes as if he could do so for ever, and -never, never weary, of course; but storms as yet -unthought of, unheard and unseen, are ahead. -</p> - -<p> -The good ship <i>Hermione</i> lies bravely to her course, -now east and by north: but she carries with her the -growing elements of discord, crime, and misery. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap21"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXI. -<br /><br /> -OUT OF SCYLLA AND INTO CHARYBDIS. -</h3> - -<p> -The little excitement consequent on discovering the -piece of wreck, the rescue of those who were on it, -and the speculation caused by the recent uproar in -the night, and the exclusion of Hawkshaw from the -cabin, soon passed over among the crew, who now -began to consider that there were on board four -more men to feed, to win over to the project of -Pedro Barradas—a process which seemed doubtful—or -to be got rid of, if the attempt to win them -failed. -</p> - -<p> -The only one with whom they supposed there was -a chance of success was Noah Gawthrop, or "Old -Sticking-plaster," as they named him, from the -patch on his nose; and hence Badger, and one or -two others, were deputed to sound him on the subject; -but the chief defect in their plans arose from -a doubt of the ship's whereabouts, and whether -Captain Phillips would haul up for Table Bay. -</p> - -<p> -Some were disposed to enlist Hawkshaw in their -daring scheme, or at least to sound him, too, as a -little homicide in no way injured a man in their -estimation; while the misery of Hawkshaw's -position on board might have made him ready to -embrace any proposition that came short of -jumping into the sea. -</p> - -<p> -Neglected, to all appearance forgotten—for who -could sympathise with an assassin?—he had passed -the whole of the first day without food in the -fore-rigging. Towards evening Quaco brought him a -pot of hot coffee from the galley, which was a -grateful beverage to his parched throat, and in the -twilight he came down stiff, sore, and benumbed, -and walked about amidships. -</p> - -<p> -There, Joe, the steward, came to say, that when -he "wished to go below, his traps and berth were -'tween decks, where he would have full leisure to -employ his mind in squaring the circle." -</p> - -<p> -At this jibe he clenched his hands to chastise Joe; -but felt too much crushed to make even the attempt, -and turned in silence away. -</p> - -<p> -On the second or third day after his expulsion -from the cabin, when retiring to his place between -decks—the same quarter in which the four -hammocks had been hung—he encountered Miss Basset, -and passed her so closely that he felt her skirts -brush against him. -</p> - -<p> -Though dark and soft, Ethel's eyes were at times -keen and piercing, for they possessed a wonderful -power and beauty of expression—a beauty one may -meet with perhaps but once in a lifetime. As she -passed Hawkshaw, she drew aside her skirt, as if to -avoid contact, and hastily cast down her eyes, as if -loath to humiliate him, while her breast heaved, and -her cheek grew painfully pale; but in her eyes, as -they flashed beneath their downcast lashes, -Hawkshaw could see the horror, the loathing, and -even terror with which his presence inspired her. -</p> - -<p> -More humbled than ever by this, though he -could have expected nothing else, he slunk to his -place of penance—his prison he deemed it, as he -seldom left it—and casting himself upon the -sea-chest, groaned aloud in rage, in bitterness, and -agony of spirit. -</p> - -<p> -His food was brought to him by Quaco, the black -cook; but his appetite was gone, so each meal was -taken away almost untasted. -</p> - -<p> -"By golly, Massa Hawkshaw, you had better eat -and keep strong," said Quaco, with a grin on his -shining face. -</p> - -<p> -"Why—what the devil is it to you whether I -eat or not, you black thief?" asked Hawkshaw, -savagely. -</p> - -<p> -"Kindness, on'y kindness, massa—yaas, yaas," -he replied, grinning more broadly than ever. -</p> - -<p> -"I want none, even from you." -</p> - -<p> -"Dat be bad—dat is; but, golly! don't you -know what Pedro Barradas am up to?" -</p> - -<p> -"No." -</p> - -<p> -"He's agoin' to be massa capting." -</p> - -<p> -"What?" -</p> - -<p> -"He's agoin' to trim de ship by de starn, he is. -Jolly, ain't it! But there will be no loblolly boys -allowed to skulk 'tween decks arter dat—by golly! no," -and, grinning away like an ogre, with his -yellow eyeballs gleaming, his white teeth and -angular cheek-bones shining, Quaco retired with the -greasy wooden mess-kid on which he had brought -Hawkshaw some hot lobscouse. -</p> - -<p> -Quaco's words made his heart beat faster, and -set him to think deeply, and with indescribable -agitation. -</p> - -<p> -The proposed seizure of the ship was again upon -the <i>tapis</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Should he acquaint Captain Phillips of it; but -perhaps he knew of it already more fully, and was -quite prepared. -</p> - -<p> -By his silence, Ethel might be destroyed; by -speaking in time, she might be saved; but only -saved for Morley Ashton. Damning thought! The -first impulse made him start to his feet, to summon -Joe; the second made him sink back sullenly on the -sea-chest again. -</p> - -<p> -To join those in the cabin was but to serve -Morley Ashton and those who loathed him; to -league with the mutineers, whom he dreaded, was -but to sink deeper in disgrace and more hopelessly -into crime. -</p> - -<p> -On shore, he would have gladly fled from them -all; but in that floating prison, the <i>Hermione</i>, he -had but one resource left—to join the crew—if he -would save his own life. He felt himself helplessly -at the mercy of the Barradas; and, by joining them -in the scuffle or conflict that must precede the -capture of the ship, he might find a fair means of -putting a period to Morley Ashton's existence, if -some one else did not anticipate him. Morley he -hated with a tiger-like emotion—a mingled dread -and aversion. -</p> - -<p> -For himself, he might yet have Ethel in his -power. Some very daring, dark, and incoherent -thoughts flashed through his mind. He might have -her, in spite of Fate and Fortune, too; and -afterwards, when once on shore, she would feel herself -compelled to link her future life with his. -</p> - -<p> -The shore—any shore—oh, how he longed for it. -</p> - -<p> -He felt himself constrained to avoid the deck, -save in the night, and thus to spend the entire day -below. -</p> - -<p> -Secluded there like a felon, avoided like a reptile, -he asked himself, was he really the man of yesterday -or the day before?—the same Cramply Hawkshaw -who had sat at table with the Bassets and -officers of the ship, enjoying their society and -companionship, as an equal and friend? -</p> - -<p> -Was the past, indeed, gone for ever? He was on -board the same ship (how he loathed and cursed -every rope in her rigging, every plank in her hull); -he still heard the same daily sounds on deck, the -same voices from time to time, and more than once -he had heard Rose Basset's ringing laugh; there -was the same rush of water alongside; the same -moaning of the wind aloft; the same bell clanging -the half hours; all seemed unchanged but he alone! -</p> - -<p> -He could not bring back the perfect idea of -himself, or what he was. -</p> - -<p> -How bitterly he felt, how impatiently he spurned -the restraint imposed upon him in the circumscribed -space of the ship, and longed for land, any land, as -we have said—Africa, even Dahomey, were welcome—that -he might escape and hide himself from all; -but chiefly from the Bassets, before whom he had -so successfully glozed over his secret life and real -character by a network of lies, crimes, and -cunning—a network which Morley's sudden appearance had -torn aside. -</p> - -<p> -Right well he knew the light in which all viewed -him now—a swindler, impostor, and worse. -</p> - -<p> -Unless it lingered in the emotions of envy and -wounded self-esteem, his selfish passion for Ethel -had quite evaporated, amid his shame and humiliation, -or was almost merged in his vengeful hate of -Morley—a sentiment rendered all the deeper by the -wrongs already attempted without success. -</p> - -<p> -So there, between decks, in the scene of his last -attempted crime, he sat and brooded darkly on the -past, or scheming out the future; a trial he did not -dread, even if the vessel reached the Isle of France, -and Morley Ashton urged it by an appeal to the -civil authorities. -</p> - -<p> -There would be but his bare accusation, without -a single witness to support it, so a bare denial was -all that was necessary, for well he knew that no -human eye had seen that encounter by the verge of -Acton Chine, in England. -</p> - -<p> -Then there was a memory of Ethel's loathing -attitude and averted glance lingering like a barbed -arrow in his heart. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes," said he, aloud, "I feel the time at hand -when I may requite hate with deeper hate." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Buenos noches, mi hombre de nada</i>," ("Good -night, my rascal, or man of nothing") said a voice -in his ear, and, starting from his reverie, he found -himself confronted by the tall and muscular figure -of Pedro Barradas. -</p> - -<p> -It was night now, and the candle flickered -dimly in the lantern of perforated tin, which swung -from a beam above, and its downward rays fell on -the dark face and picturesque figure of the South -American seaman, with his crisp locks and -coal-black beard, his tawny ears, in each of which a -silver ring was glittering, his loose shirt of dark -blue woollen, open at his breast, on which a cross -was tattooed, and girt at the waist by a Spanish -scarlet sash, in which his Albacete knife was stuck. -</p> - -<p> -A fierce and malicious grin pervaded his sombre -features—such a grin as one might imagine in the -face of a laughing fiend—as he surveyed the crushed -and miserable Hawkshaw, who, being quite -unarmed, was not without emotions of terror and -alarm. -</p> - -<p> -"You scurvy <i>ladrone</i>," said Pedro, grinding his -strong white teeth, "when I remember that -evening in the Barranca Secca, between Xalappa and -the Puebla de Perote, and the use you made of your -lasso, I wonder what devil prevents me from -putting my knife into you." -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw started back, and glanced hopelessly -about for a weapon. Pedro laughed hoarsely; but -his merriment did not allay the alarm of -Hawkshaw, who knew that such men as he could jest -with their victim while the knife was piercing his -heart. -</p> - -<p> -"So the air of the cabin has not agreed with you, -eh? Well, I daresay you have been worse lodged -and fixed in Texas, where some of the huts are no -better than a <i>retranche</i>; but I think you had better -come forward and hitch in with us." -</p> - -<p> -Hawkshaw still glanced uneasily about him. -</p> - -<p> -"Demonio! why don't you speak, and be d——d -to you?" roared Pedro, losing his patience, which -was never at any time a very extensive commodity. -"Have you lost your lying tongue as well as your -wits?" -</p> - -<p> -"No, Pedro Barradas, I have lost neither." -</p> - -<p> -"How long it is since I have heard my name on -your tongue, <i>companero</i>; not since we were diggers -together on the banks of the Feather River. Speak -out—<i>presto</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -"What do you want with me, or require of me?" -</p> - -<p> -"I am exceedingly anxious to ascertain something -of which the crew have been kept in ignorance -for some time past." -</p> - -<p> -"Something—from me?" asked Hawkshaw, -with surprise. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -"You mean the progress and working of the -vessel?" -</p> - -<p> -"Precisely so; her whereabouts upon the sea." -</p> - -<p> -"How should I know?" -</p> - -<p> -"How you should or should not is nothing to -me; but, <i>presto</i>, no equivocation," said Pedro, -placing his right hand on the haft of his knife. -</p> - -<p> -"Then, for the soul of me, I cannot tell you," -replied Hawkshaw, with great earnestness. -</p> - -<p> -"You must have heard it mentioned, casually or -otherwise, in the cabin. The latitude and longitude, -I mean." -</p> - -<p> -"If so, may I die if I can remember them now." -</p> - -<p> -Pedro's eyes began to gleam dangerously; but -he changed his tactics, and asked: -</p> - -<p> -"What does the captain mean to do with you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Do with me?" stammered Hawkshaw. -</p> - -<p> -"Yes, <i>santos</i>! I spoke plain enough." -</p> - -<p> -"But I do not understand," said Hawkshaw, -evasively. -</p> - -<p> -"Must I speak more plainly?" -</p> - -<p> -"If you please." -</p> - -<p> -"How cursedly polite we are," sneered Pedro. -"Well, most illustrious Senor Caballero, does he -mean to maroon you, or hang you?" -</p> - -<p> -"Neither; and in either case it is not probable -he would consult you." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, <i>companero</i>, perhaps he will land you at -El Cabo de Bueno Esparanza?" said Pedro, with -more suavity. -</p> - -<p> -"We are not to touch at the Cape," was the -unwary reply. -</p> - -<p> -"Not to touch at the Cape?" repeated Pedro, so -loudly that he might have been heard in the -cabin. -</p> - -<p> -"No." -</p> - -<p> -"Why." -</p> - -<p> -"Simply because I have been given to understand -that we are past it." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Por vida del demonio</i>! Past it, say you?" -exclaimed Pedro, as if communing with himself. -</p> - -<p> -"One thing, at least, is certain. We are not, I -am sorry to say, to touch at the Cape." -</p> - -<p> -"And who told you this?" -</p> - -<p> -"The captain himself." -</p> - -<p> -Pedro uttered a tremendous Spanish oath, -expressive of extreme astonishment and satisfaction. -</p> - -<p> -"So—so this cunning old Englander has been -keeping us all in the dark as to where we are?" -</p> - -<p> -"Exactly." -</p> - -<p> -"But wherefore?" -</p> - -<p> -"That I cannot say," said Hawkshaw, evasively. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Morte de Dios</i>! does he suspect?—does he smell -at a rat!" exclaimed the Spaniard, with a sudden -rage; but Hawkshaw remained silent. "We must -be somewhere off the coast of La Tierra de Natal, -and if so, by the ship's steering to-day, the mouth -of the Mozambique Channel should be upon our -weather-bow; yet how far distant, none but the -captain and his mates can say," continued Pedro, -as if in communion with himself; but he was wrong -in his supposition, for the ship, at the time he -spoke, was about a hundred miles to the southward -of Algoa Bay, which opens between Cape Recife -and Cape Padrone in southern Africa. -</p> - -<p> -"Listen to me," said Pedro, suddenly, with a -savage glare in his black eyes, a low and husky -tone in his deep, sonorous voice, his right hand on -the haft of his knife, and his left planted on -Hawkshaw's shoulder with the grasp of a vice. "We -mean to take this ship, and run her on our own -account; but as four new hands have been added -to the officers, will you join us? It is a fair -offer—your only chance of vengeance, too: for, ashore, -you will not be worth a rotten castano." -</p> - -<p> -"Well—well—I am with you," said Hawkshaw, -in a low and husky voice. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Bueno!</i> we should fight for the ship whether -you were with us or not. Your hand on it, mate! -But first, what terms do you want?" -</p> - -<p> -"My life, in the first place, to be respected by -all, and to be set ashore on the first land we see, as -I am not a seaman." -</p> - -<p> -"The <i>first</i> land may be a sea-weedy rock, at the -mouth of the Mozambique," said Pedro, with a -diabolical grin, as it suggested a new idea of cruelty. -"Your share of plunder?" -</p> - -<p> -"I seek no plunder. I seek but revenge and -liberty." -</p> - -<p> -"Your hand, then; and let us forget all about -the Barranca Secca." -</p> - -<p> -Pedro grasped in his strong, hard hand the -shrinking fingers of Hawkshaw, thinking the while; -</p> - -<p> -"This ship once ours, I shall soon make short -work of it with <i>you</i>, my fine fellow!" Grinding -his teeth, he added aloud, "If you betray us, woe -to you." -</p> - -<p> -"I am pledged," said Hawkshaw, in a voice like -a groan. -</p> - -<p> -"The cargo is valuable, so we shall go in for a -good stroke of business together." -</p> - -<p> -"When—when do you make the attempt?" -</p> - -<p> -"To-morrow night, or the next, at latest." -</p> - -<p> -"I shall be ready." -</p> - -<p> -"Then to-morrow evening at four bells, in the -second dog-watch, be in the forecastle bunks, and -you will learn all. Till then, companero, be silent, -and <i>remember</i>!" -</p> - -<p> -With another significant touch of his knife-handle, -Pedro retired, leaving Hawkshaw in a very -unenviable state of mind. As a bold and reckless -ruffian, the Spanish American valued him little as -an ally; but the chief object of his visit had been -attained—information that the ship, instead of being -hauled up for Table Bay, was <i>past</i> it. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap22"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXII. -<br /><br /> -FOUR BELLS IN THE DOG-WATCH. -</h3> - -<p> -All the next day there blew a gale, and Captain -Phillips, anxious to make the most of it, as the -wind was fair, squared his yards, with all that he -dared to spread upon them. So sharp was the -aforesaid gale, that on a taut bowline, no vessel could -have shown more than a single sail, perhaps; but -the <i>Hermione</i> tore on before the hurrying blast, -with her fore and main courses bellying out before -it, and her three topsails set with a single reef in -each. -</p> - -<p> -Ere long, Captain Phillips was heard to shout: -</p> - -<p> -"Away aloft, men—shake the reefs out of the -topsails—masthead the yards." -</p> - -<p> -Cheerfully enough the watch sprang aloft and -obeyed the order. And now the foam flew in white -sheets over her sharp bows, rolling aft to the break -of the quarter-deck, from whence it surged forward -again, and gurgled through the scuppers on each -side alternately. -</p> - -<p> -Astern a tremendous sea kept rolling after her, -for waves and wind and all were with her now, and -she sped before them at the rate of eleven knots an -hour; thus it required all the strength of Pedro -Barradas and of Noah Gawthrop, who volunteered -for it, to hold the wheel, and steer her steadily. -</p> - -<p> -Inspirited by the speed with which his brave ship -tore along through foam and spray, Captain Phillips -walked briskly to and fro, with his hands thrust -into the pockets of his glazed storm-jacket, a -gutta-percha speaking-trumpet under one arm, and his -jolly red face shining with pleasure and drops of -spray, as he glanced alternately aloft, over the -quarter, or at Mr. Quail, who smiled approvingly. -</p> - -<p> -"Hurrah, old ship!" said he; "now she goes -through it! now she walks along with a will. She -smells the Mauritius already, I think." -</p> - -<p> -"The Bird Islands, or the Mozambique, more -likely," muttered Pedro to Noah. -</p> - -<p> -"What the devil have we to do with either one -or the other?" asked Noah, with sulky suspicion. -</p> - -<p> -"There she goes!" continued the captain; "and -on she shall crack as long as her sticks hold -together. Mr. Quail, get preventer-braces reeved; -ship tackles on the backstays, haul all taut, and -belay." -</p> - -<p> -All day the gale held on thus, and about nightfall, -when it began to abate into a steady breeze, in -which the swinging booms of the lower studding-sails -dipped at times like birds' wings in the brine, -the <i>Hermione</i> must have run more than 120 miles, -and she was about that distance off the most -southern portion of the coast of Natal. -</p> - -<p> -How often had Captain Phillips and Mr. Basset -wished to be fairly round the Cape of Good Hope—to -have doubled it, though it was far away from -dear old England; yet it was a necessary feature or -point to be achieved in the voyage. They were -fairly round the great Cape of Storms now, and -the vessel's course was east and northerly, with a -calm sea and a fair wind. -</p> - -<p> -Every one should have been in the highest spirits; -but, save Ethel and Rose, Morley and his three -companions, all were cloudy, anxious, and dull; for -Captain Phillips, his officers, and Mr. Basset felt -themselves still menaced by secret dangers. -</p> - -<p> -During the most of this day Morley had remained -below with Ethel. Rose was working beads on a -cigar-case for the doctor, and Tom Bartelot, with -Morrison, remained by choice on deck. -</p> - -<p> -"Now that we can be of service, Captain Phillips," -said Tom, "we must be allowed to take our turn of -duty. I know that sick folks are soon deemed little -better than skulkers aboard ship." -</p> - -<p> -"How so?" -</p> - -<p> -"When one has to take a fellow's trick at the -helm, another his look-out aloft, or out upon the -booms, a third his watch, and a fourth something -else, they soon weary of him." -</p> - -<p> -"True," replied Captain Phillips, in a low voice, -as they drew near the break of the deck, and beyond -ear-shot of that tall son of Columbia, Mr. William -Badger, who was at the wheel, with his very long -legs, half-cased in very short trousers, placed very -far apart; "but your arrival on board, if a lucky -circumstance for you all, has been rather a godsend -to me." -</p> - -<p> -"Indeed! How? The ship doesn't look short-handed." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah! here comes Mr. Ashton; and please call -your mate here. I have something to say to you all." -</p> - -<p> -Tom beckoned Morrison, who had been busy -coiling and belaying some of the running rigging, -for the crew had become exceedingly untidy and -neglectful. -</p> - -<p> -Badger's keen eyes peered from under his beetling -brows, as if he strove to see, what he could not -overhear, the conversation that ensued, when Captain -Phillips detailed the secret state of his crew, and the -daring project which the doctor had heard so freely -canvassed in the forecastle. -</p> - -<p> -Bartelot and Morrison heard the honest captain's -narrative with astonishment and indignation, but -Morley with a terror and agony very much akin to -Mr. Basset's, under the same circumstances. -</p> - -<p> -"In such a state of matters, why did you not haul -up for Table Bay, where some ships of war are sure -to be?" asked Bartelot. -</p> - -<p> -"Such was my intention; but the same hurricane -that destroyed your ship drove mine too far to the -southward. That circumstance made us the means -of saving you; but I lost thereby a chance of -thinning out, or altogether dispersing the crew, and -shipping another." -</p> - -<p> -"Aye, aye," observed Morrison; "what between -crews of Lascars and coloured men, Chinese junks -and piratical Bornese boats, there are many craft -disappear in these seas, and at Lloyd's the typhoons -are held responsible for all." -</p> - -<p> -"If that fellow who is at the wheel, and two who -are named Barradas, were quietly overboard, I could -manage the rest, I think." -</p> - -<p> -"Barradas! are they Spaniards?" asked Tom. -</p> - -<p> -"Spanish South Americans—two of that bad lot -who are so often to be seen loafing about the -Liverpool docks." -</p> - -<p> -"Troublesome hands always." -</p> - -<p> -"And these two are among the worst—the very -worst. They were chums of that fellow Hawkshaw -in Texas and Mexico, at the gold diggings, and -elsewhere, it would appear. They are two brothers, -named Pedro and Zuares—at heart, pirates -both." -</p> - -<p> -"Barradas!" said Morley, striving to remember; -"that name seems familiar to me." -</p> - -<p> -"Have you forgotten the name of the old -hermit—the 'darvish,' as Noah called him—whom we -buried on the island, and whose papers I read to -you?" asked Morrison. -</p> - -<p> -"Don Pedro Zuares de Barradas," said Bartelot. -</p> - -<p> -"I remember now. I have his Spanish cross -below," said Morley. "Good Heavens! if these -should be his sons! The names are the same. How -singular!" -</p> - -<p> -"And they were comrades of Hawkshaw, you -say, Captain Phillips?" -</p> - -<p> -"Comrades, or shipmates, or something—nothing -good, you may be assured." -</p> - -<p> -And now Morley, just as Dr. Heriot joined them, -recalled Hawkshaw's strange story of how the one -named Zuares committed—unwittingly, however—the -awful crime of matricide, in the Barranca -Secca—that savage story which he related on a summer -evening in Acton Chase, to the Bassets and Pages; -and now, by a strange fatality, their lot was all cast -together within the narrow compass of a single ship, -upon the wide and lonely sea. -</p> - -<p> -"These are most calamitous tidings," said Morley, -in a low and troubled voice, as he passed his arm -through Heriot's, and drew him aside; "love, they -say, laughs at danger; but here, Dr. Heriot, love -may weep," he added, almost with a groan. -</p> - -<p> -"Hang it, man, call me Heriot—Leslie Heriot, or -whatever you like; but drop the doctor, it sounds so -precious stiff, especially when—when we both love -these two girls." -</p> - -<p> -"Well," said Morley, who, as an Englishman, had -his local or national prejudices, but meant to be -complimentary, "for a Scotchman, you are a nice -fellow, Heriot; but—but Ethel and Rose, what are -we to do now?" -</p> - -<p> -"Fight to the last gasp for them, that is all," -replied Heriot, stoutly. -</p> - -<p> -While they were conversing thus, Noah Gawthrop -approached Captain Bartelot, and, in his own -fashion, began to state that he had heard some -strange hints dropped by the watch at night, by -others that lounged about the windlass-bitts and -forecastle; that some of the crew had been -whetting their knives on the carpenter's grindstone, -that all were on the alert, and were, he added, -"sartainly up to summut that looked like squalls, or -mischief." -</p> - -<p> -As an old man-o'-war's man, Noah knew well -how unpleasant was the reputation of being a -tale-bearer, and that, if it was bad ashore, it was -deemed ten times worse at sea; but in the <i>Aurora</i> -he had acquired certain ideas of discipline which -had never left him, so he considered that he was -only doing his duty in this matter. -</p> - -<p> -"What do you mean to do, your honour?" he -asked of Captain Phillips, in a husky whisper. -</p> - -<p> -Phillips gave him a grim smile, and showed the -butt of a revolver in his breast-pocket. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, the poor girls below," said Morley. -</p> - -<p> -"I have perilled my life many times, young -gentleman," said Phillips—"many times on land, but -oftener still on the great highway of waters, and, -though scared a bit, I ain't going to be frightened -now; and, believe me, my ship shall not be taken -without a scrimmage. Let these mutinous curs -come on and do their worst, I'm ready for -them—life for life, and man to man." -</p> - -<p> -"Hooray, and the <i>Haurora</i> for ever. Beat to -quarters—them's my sentiments," said Noah, with -a voice so loud that long Badger, at the wheel, -craned his scraggy neck to listen, and opened his -eyes and ears very wide indeed. "D——n their -limbs! I hopes to see 'em all with their ears nailed -to the mainmast, and here's the fist as will handle -the hammer and nails." -</p> - -<p> -As he made this unwise exclamation, he stepped -aft, to relieve Badger at the wheel, and that -ungainly personage, avoiding the group who were at -the gangway, passed forward to the forecastle, -where he at once informed his colleagues that he -"rayther reckoned that old man-o'-war shark had -blowed the whole affair upon them." -</p> - -<p> -Deeply-muttered oaths and vows of vengeance on -poor old Noah were the immediate result. -</p> - -<p> -"<i>Por mi honor!</i>" exclaimed Pedro, who was -polishing the blade of his knife on the sole of his -shoe; "so, so, this is what old sticking-plaster is up -to—eh?" -</p> - -<p> -"In course, my Spanish gamecock." -</p> - -<p> -"<i>El espio y picaro!</i> (spy and scoundrel)," said -Pedro, grinding his teeth. -</p> - -<p> -"The old corksucker!" growled the rest, using -in this the most opprobrious epithet known at -sea. -</p> - -<p> -"He's a old man-o'-war's man, and, I reckon, has -got notions o' discipline, doffing his hat to the -quarter-deck, and other darned nonsense whipped -into him, nigger fashion, by the boatswain's cat. -To try gettin' over such fellows is summut like -reefing of a stun'sail, or anythin' else that's next to -useless." -</p> - -<p> -Having delivered himself of this aphorism, -Badger proceeded to "darn" sundry parts of -Noah's person, such as his eyes and limbs, and by -the unanimous vote of all he was consigned to very -warm latitudes indeed. -</p> - -<p> -Amid this, the ship's bell struck. It was the -appointed time—four bells in the second -dog-watch—and then, pale as a spectre, or looking like -an evil spirit whom the sound had summoned—Cramply -Hawkshaw descended through the scuttle -into the little apartment, or fore-cabin, a close and -squalid den, where his appearance was greeted with -shouts of ironical welcome and applause, in which -the watch on deck joined. -</p> - -<p> -We have already detailed a scene in this unpleasant -quarter of the ship; but have little desire -to rehearse another, and so shall be brief. -</p> - -<p> -With a mocking grimace on his moustached lip, -and a ferocious gleam in his wild black eyes, Pedro -presented Hawkshaw to the crew as a new <i>companero -amigo</i>—associate and friend. -</p> - -<p> -"Hitch in, mates—make room for the capting," -said Badger, drawing in his long, lean, and -misshapen legs. "So having 'ad a spell in limbo aft, -you're bound for the bunks forward, eh? Come, -Pedro, prodooce the dev'l's bones—let him have a -shy with the ivories. I reckon he's got an eye on -the gals aft, as well as ourselves; and I say, -capting—Jeerusalem! ain't the black eyes o' that oldest -gal regular Broadway shiners!" -</p> - -<p> -In his misery and rage, Hawkshaw had slunk -forward, and joined the crew with two ideas -uppermost in his mind: that he would yet revenge -himself on Morley Ashton, and might also have the -haughty Ethel at his mercy—that she yet might be -his, and his only, despite fate, fortune, and friends, -and despite her own aversion for him. -</p> - -<p> -But when he found himself among this crew of -desperadoes, whose obscene lips bandied about the -names of those so pure and gentle, fair and tender, -as Ethel and Rose Basset, the old times of Laurel -Lodge came to memory, and though bad, hardened, -and desperate, Hawkshaw felt his soul die within -him. -</p> - -<p> -But it was too late for receding now! -</p> - -<p> -Criminal though he was, to find himself the chosen -comrade and companion of these wretches, filled up -the full measure of his misery; but no sympathy can -be wasted on him, when we remember the crimes of -which he had been guilty, and the keen suffering he -had caused to Ethel, to Morley, and to others. -</p> - -<p> -In mockery, and in a pretended spirit of good -fellowship, Pedro's loaded <i>dados</i> were produced from -his sea-chest, and they proceeded again to cast lots -for wives among the women in the cabin, amid -roars of laughter, cheers, and other noises, while, to -enhance the general din, Mr. Badger smashed the -mess-beef kid, dashed the butter gallipot to pieces, -and danced a hornpipe on the tin bread-barge. -</p> - -<p> -This noisy laughter was heard distinctly in the -cabin. -</p> - -<p> -"Surely that sounds jolly and well," said Tom -Bartelot, as the party from the deck entered it; -"fellows who laugh so loudly cannot mean much -mischief." -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, you don't know them," said Captain Phillips, -in a low voice. -</p> - -<p> -"Mischief?" said Ethel, looking up inquiringly. -</p> - -<p> -"What, is it possible that you don't know?" -Morley was beginning, when Mr. Basset placed a -finger on his lip warningly. -</p> - -<p> -Those extremely hilarious sounds in the forepart -of the ship were simply caused by the lots for -sweethearts or wives being cast anew. -</p> - -<p> -Ethel had fallen to Pedro Barradas, thanks to his -peculiarly-constructed dice; Rose fell to the share -of Bill Badger; and Nance Folgate, the old nurse, -to Hawkshaw; and hence the yells and screams of -laughter that ascended from the fore-scuttle, and -rang upon the still and starlight night. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap23"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIII. -<br /><br /> -THE CRISIS AT LAST. -</h3> - -<p> -On the morrow, a gale like that we have described -carried the ship still farther on her course; but -again, towards evening, the sea and wind went -down together, and a calm and lovely night stole -over the world of waters. -</p> - -<p> -Morley had intended to speak to the two Barradas -about what he suspected—his knowledge of their -secret history. Had he found an opportunity for -doing so, much evil would, perhaps, have been -averted, as he might have exercised a little influence -over them; but one time they were aloft in the -rigging, at another, tarring down the backstays, -clapping on chafing gear, or otherwise occupied most -of the day, as they now began to feel a <i>personal -interest</i> in the ship; so no opportunity occurred, and -the fatal evening of the intended mutiny crept on. -</p> - -<p> -And, notwithstanding that he was a quiet and -peaceable man, and possessed of much of the caution -usually attributed to his countrymen, matters were -precipitately brought to a crisis by Morrison, Tom -Bartelot's Scotch mate, as we shall soon have -occasion to show. -</p> - -<p> -On this night our old friend was at the wheel, as -a volunteer; and, as the atmosphere was singularly -calm, Morley and Ethel, Rose and Heriot, were on -deck, sometimes seated in pairs, conversing in low -and confidential tones, or promenading, arm-in-arm, -between the break of the deck and the taffrail. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Basset and the captain were smoking near the -companion-hatch, Mr. Quail had turned in below, -and the second mate, Foster, had charge of the -ship, whose lofty spread of snow-white canvas -shimmered with a weird effect in the light of the -rising moon, which heaved up at the horizon, the -size of three European moons—sublime and vast—to -shed a blaze of silver radiance far across the sea. -</p> - -<p> -Noah's hints had already made Captain Phillips -take in his studding-sails and royals, so the ship was -now running snugly and easily, under the fore and -main-course, topgallant-sails, jib and spanker. -</p> - -<p> -Ethel sat silently, with her hands clasped on -Morley's left arm, for the moonlight on the water, -the stars above, and his familiar voice, made her -think of home, and the beautiful garden at Laurel -Lodge, with its ribbon-borders of pinks, mignonette, -and scarlet geraniums; its roseries, its gigantic -sweet peas, her sister's boasted azaleas, which -Hawkshaw had ridiculed in an evil hour; its avenues of -laurels and stately old sycamores. -</p> - -<p> -She now drew forth her mother's miniature, which -she wore in her breast, at the end of a slender gold -chain. It had been taken in that dear mother's -youth, when she closely resembled Ethel herself. -</p> - -<p> -Who that surveyed that soft, bright, smiling face, -could realise the idea that it was the image of one -who had long been dead, and had passed away. -</p> - -<p> -So, as Ethel gazed upon it, her mother's figure, -expression of face, and tone of voice, the embodiment -of that gentle friend and loving mentor, all a -mother should be, "the best and most beautiful of -earth's creatures," rose to memory, strangely mingled -with recollections of her death and of her funeral, -on a sunny day, in peaceful Acton churchyard, while -the familiar bell tolled solemnly in the old grey -Norman tower, and when the turf looked so green, -the fresh earth so brown, and that awful and -mysterious grave, as it yawned beneath the old yew -tree, so deep, so terrible! -</p> - -<p> -Then there was the reverend rector, her father's -dearest friend, reading the beautiful and impressive -service for the faithful departed, while his voice -faltered and his eyes glistened. It was the last day -of an English autumn, when the leaves of the tall -oaks in the Chase, and the foliage of every coppice, -were brown and crisp, and when all the world -seemed hushed and still; when even the village -urchins who clambered on the churchyard wall were -mute, and sat uncovered, and no sound stirred the -air but the rector's voice, and the solemn bell that -boomed in the time-worn tower, and shook its ivy -leaves. -</p> - -<p> -So all that sad and mournful day came vividly -back and unbidden to memory now. -</p> - -<p> -"Mamma, dear, dear mamma! she did so love -you, Morley!" said Ethel, as she closed the -miniature, and placed it tenderly in her bosom. -</p> - -<p> -Inspired by livelier thoughts on the other side of -the quarter-deck, merry Rose Basset and the doctor -were leaning over the bulwarks, and watching the -luminous animacula that gleamed in the passing -waves. -</p> - -<p> -In the second chapter of our history, we have -related how Mr. Basset had considered the early -engagement between Morley Ashton and Ethel -the mere fancy of a boy and girl—a fancy which -separation, or the spirit of change, might cause to -wear away and be forgotten. -</p> - -<p> -But now, by his most providential restoration, -by the strength of their mutual regard, by what the -poor fellow had undergone; by what Ethel, too, had -suffered, and, more than all, by the necessity for -securing her future happiness, he felt himself bound -to do the utmost in his power to advance Morley's -interests, when they all reached their new home in -the Mauritius, and a reiterated promise to this effect -had made the young pair supremely happy. -</p> - -<p> -Rose and the doctor were the next consideration; -what was to be done with them? -</p> - -<p> -The excitement consequent to recent events; the -expected outbreak among the crew; the discovery -of the wreck, its occupants, and their story, -together with Hawkshaw's villainy, had so fully -occupied the attention of all on board, that Heriot -had scarcely found an opportunity for broaching a -matter, which Captain Phillips's jokes had quite -prepared our friend, the judge, to have laid before him, -for his earnest consideration and kindly -sympathy—neither of which he had quite made up his mind -to accord; but Rose had always flirted with some -one; and when two favourable occasions came to -pass, Heriot was dissuaded by her thoughtlessly -saying: -</p> - -<p> -"Now, don't bother yet, my dear old darling -Leslie," for this was her unromantic style ("a jolly -one," the doctor thought it) of addressing him. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Basset would have been blind indeed, had -he not seen the growing intimacy which existed -between them; but he had no idea that matters had -proceeded the length of interchanged promises. -Neither did he observe the ring which Rose now -wore on her engaged-finger—to wit (for the -information of the uninitiated), the third of the right -hand; and to use a hackneyed phrase, "as fairy" a -finger as ever rejoiced in that pleasant decoration, -for among Rose's chief beauties were her hands, -plump, white, and tiny. -</p> - -<p> -Recent events, we have said, prevented explanations, -or any account of what the doctor's prospects -were. -</p> - -<p> -"Not much, they are, certainly, dear, dear Rose," -whispered Heriot, as they sat together in the moonlight, -while the ship still sped before the wind, with -all the reefs out of her topsails. "I have, one way -and another, but 100<i>l.</i> a year at present. Had I -more, I would have sought out a snug practice at -home, and not roved about as the surgeon of a -sea-going merchantman." -</p> - -<p> -"Then you would not have met me, sir," said -Rose, with waggish asperity. -</p> - -<p> -"But I have an uncle, a jolly old fellow, who -loves me well, for my mother was his only sister; -and he loves me for that, perhaps, rather than any -merits of my own." -</p> - -<p> -"My poor modest Leslie! well—and this uncle?" -</p> - -<p> -"When he dies—distant may the day be when -he does so!—I shall come into 400<i>l.</i> per annum -more. If at the Isle of France, I could battle the -watch——" -</p> - -<p> -"Battle what?" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, it is an old college phrase; I mean, fight -my way into a practice somehow. With you to -cheer me on, we should do very well. Then, an -M.D., to get a practice, must have a wife." -</p> - -<p> -"Why?" -</p> - -<p> -"What is the difference between a doctor and a -student? 'There is but a degree between them,' -says some one; but until the student has the -magical letters M.D. added to his name, he is -nothing, and even then he will never get the -<i>passepartout</i> to private houses, unless he has a wife; -and where could I find one dearer, sweeter, more -playful and joyous, more charming than——" -</p> - -<p> -"Me, you would say?" -</p> - -<p> -"Yes." -</p> - -<p> -Then here, as no one was looking, there followed -a sound which made honest Morrison, who was at -the wheel, "prick up his ears," and laugh quietly -to himself in the moonlight. -</p> - -<p> -A ship, of course, does not offer the lover-like -facilities of shady lanes, green thickets, rosy bowers, -or flowery garden walks; but it produces a thousand -occasions for polite attention, amidst its rolling, -tumbling, and pitching about, its extreme discomfort -and peculiarity, which are not given by the solid -and immovable earth, and which the fair dwellers -thereon do not require; but it is, nevertheless, a -very awkward place for indulging in little bits of -osculation—a phrase for which I refer my fair -reader to her dictionary, if she knows it not. -</p> - -<p> -All as yet was quiet in the <i>Hermione</i>. -</p> - -<p> -The embers of discord were still smouldering -amid the crew, and the brave ship flew steadily over -the shiny waters of the moonlit sea, her ghostly -shadow falling far across them. -</p> - -<p> -Inspired by the calm and beauty of the night, -Morrison, as he leaned thoughtfully over the wheel, -his left hand grasping an upper spoke, and his right -hand a lower one, thinking, perhaps, of his present -shattered prospects, without ship or funds, his -distant home, and his mother's cottage by the Dee, -was singing to himself in a low and plaintive voice. -</p> - -<p> -Ethel looked up and listened, though she scarcely -knew the language in which he sang—a portion of -a sweet little song (by some local poet), and which -he recalled, as we do now, from memory, though -perhaps he may have heard it from his mother, to -whom this brave and honest fellow was attached, -with a devotion that was almost childish. -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "The tear dims my e'e<br /> - As I look to heaven hie,<br /> - And sigh to be free<br /> - Frae want and frae wae;<br /> - But I dinna see the road,<br /> - For between me and my God<br /> - A darkness has come doon,<br /> - Like the mist on the brae.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - "The nicht is wearin' past,<br /> - The mist is fleein' fast,<br /> - And heaven is bricht at last<br /> - To the closin' e'e;<br /> - In the hollow o' the hill,<br /> - The weary feet are still,<br /> - And the weary heart is hame<br /> - To its ain countrie."<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -At that moment the ship's bell clanged. -</p> - -<p> -"Stand by to heave the log—relieve the wheel," -cried Mr. Foster. -</p> - -<p> -After considerable delay Badger, the Yankee, -came slowly shambling aft, to "take his trick" at -the helm, and at the same time the whole crew -came scrambling noisily up the fore-scuttle, where -the watch on deck joined them, and they gathered -in a group about the windlass-bitts. -</p> - -<p> -Captain Phillips, Mr. Basset, and Tom Bartelot, -exchanged glances of intelligence and inquiry, while -the second named, inspired by some miserable -foreboding, grew deadly pale. -</p> - -<p> -"You have not hurried yourself, mate," said -Morrison. -</p> - -<p> -"No; didn't intend to, I reckon," drawled the -Yankee, in his nasal twang. -</p> - -<p> -"Why did you not come aft the moment the bell -struck?" -</p> - -<p> -"Now, stranger," said Badger, in a tone of mock -expostulation, "d'ye wish your few brains blowed -out with the cook's bellows, or not, that you asks -questions or gives orders here?" -</p> - -<p> -"Take the wheel, and take it in silence," said -Morrison, haughtily and sternly; for, although no -mate on board the <i>Hermione</i>, he still felt the habit -of authority strong within him. -</p> - -<p> -"I knowed a man at Cape Cod, in the state of -Massachusetts," continued Badger, still delaying, -and speaking slowly through his long nose; "a -Scotchman he was, Mr. Morrison, and the very -moral o' you, with a hook nose and chin, that 'ad -hold a ginger-nut between 'em, who fed sea-gulls -with iron filings, and sold their wings for steel pens. -A 'cute crittur! But, as I said, he was called a -Scotchman, though I calc'lates he was a Yankee -Jew of Hirish parentage." -</p> - -<p> -"If you don't take the wheel, I'll show you the -foretop with a vengeance, my fine fellow," said -Morrison, who could stand anything but sneers at -his country. -</p> - -<p> -"You're riled a bit, you air, and your monkey's -getting up. You've been too well fed, mate," -drawled Badger. "I reckons that at home, in your -own little clearin' of a country, you fed upon fir -shavings and cold water. As for decent junk, -reg'lar old hoss, and plum-duff, I calc'late you never -heerd on 'em afore. Now, in this here craft, as the -junk's atrowcious, so that even an 'ungry Scotchman -or a blue shark wouldn't look at it, we mean to -have a blow-out to-night in the cabin, and on the -best in the steward's locker too." -</p> - -<p> -At that moment Mr. Foster, who, with Joe, had -been heaving the log-line, on hearing words, -came aft, and took the wheel from the hands of -Morrison, who was trembling with suppressed -passion. -</p> - -<p> -"Go forward, you rascally carrion," said the -Scotchman, "or, by the heavens above us, I soon -will make blue sharks' meat of you." -</p> - -<p> -Badger drew his knife, which gleamed in the -moonlight, but at the same instant he was laid -sprawling on the deck by a blow from the butt-end -of a revolver with which Captain Phillips had armed -Morrison, and which the latter swung at the full -length of his arm and with no unsparing -hand. -</p> - -<p> -The cry of rage uttered by Badger was answered -by a yell from the forecastle, and all the crew came -rushing aft, armed with knives, capstan-bars, and -some with pistols, which they had hitherto secreted -in their sea-chests. -</p> - -<p> -"Below, ladies, below—into the cabin, and barricade -the door; quick, quick!" cried Captain Phillips, as -Ethel and Rose, to their astonishment and terror, -were hurried, almost thrust down, the companion-stair. -</p> - -<p> -Then several pistol-shots were exchanged, -and a furious struggle instantly took place on -deck. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap24"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXIV. -<br /><br /> -HOW THE SHIP BROACHED TO. -</h3> - -<p> -At the time of this outbreak the <i>Hermione</i> was, as -we have stated, somewhere about 100 miles off the -mouth of Algoa Bay, and not, as Pedro had calculated, -near the entrance of the Mozambique Channel. -</p> - -<p> -Hurried, actually thrust into the cabin by the -hands of Morley Ashton, Dr. Heriot, and others, -Ethel and Rose Basset's terror and astonishment -may be imagined; and greatly were these emotions -increased by the sounds they heard on deck—the -sudden uproar, the stamping of feet, as of men -engaged in a deadly struggle, the oaths, imprecations, -and occasional discharge of pistols. -</p> - -<p> -If Captain Phillips and his friends were disagreeably -surprised to find that the crew possessed some -four or five old ship pistols, which they had hitherto -kept secretly in their sea-chests, they, on the other -hand, were much more disappointed on discovering -that the officers and passengers were fully prepared -for them—alike forewarned and forearmed; and the -sudden appearance of their pistols and revolvers, as -shot after shot flashed from them in the clear tropical -moonlight, baffled the first rush aft of Pedro and his -brother, for most of the crew, following Hawkshaw's -prudent example, suddenly retreated to the -forecastle, their own peculiar region and quarters. -</p> - -<p> -A ball from Pedro's pistol found a harmless victim, -for he shot dead poor Joe the steward. But at the -same moment a ball from Heriot's revolver grazed -the assassin's left ear, tearing a ring out of it, and -as he rushed back with a bewildered air, at first -believing himself to be shot through the head, Morrison -followed him past the long-boat, showering, with a -capstan-bar, such blows upon him as would have -prostrated any other man than Barradas, who turned -twice upon his pursuer, to whom he opposed in vain -his clubbed pistol and the blade of his Albacete -knife. -</p> - -<p> -Poor Mr. Foster, who, as related, had taken the -wheel from Morrison, was now assailed by Badger, -the long Yankee, who had gathered himself up from -the deck, where he had lain sprawling. -</p> - -<p> -"Villain!" exclaimed Foster, as he clung to the -spokes of the wheel, which he dared not relinquish -lest the ship should bring to by the lee, and as he -glanced the while with irrepressible agitation at the -upheld knife of the wretch who had grasped his -collar, and held it at the full length of his long, lean, -muscular left arm. "Villain, would you lift your -knife to me?" -</p> - -<p> -"Ah, you 'tarnal Britisher, I would choke you like -a weasel," hissed the Yankee through his yellow -teeth. -</p> - -<p> -"Do be quiet, Badger," urged Foster, as he -thought of his poor wife and little ones asleep in -their beds at home. "Have you no pity—no fear?" -</p> - -<p> -"Nayther, I reckon," snivelled the Yankee. -</p> - -<p> -"No conscience?" asked Foster, as he felt the -grasp tightening on his collar. -</p> - -<p> -"Conscience be d——! as we say in Californy. I -left my blessed conscience at Cape Horn long ago. -Do you understand that?" said Badger, ferociously. -</p> - -<p> -Down came the threatening knife, flashing in the -moonshine. Foster quitted the wheel and leaped -aside, leaving the collar of his jacket in Badger's -hand; but the point of the blade gave him a severe -slash on the right shoulder. -</p> - -<p> -Filled with rage and fear, the second mate broke -away, and plunged down the companion-stair into -the steerage in search of a loaded weapon. Tom -Bartelot and Mr. Basset followed him, on the same -errand, and the crew, believing that a fight had -begun, once more made a furious rush aft, and thus, -being now minus five of their number, the captain, -with Morley, Heriot, and Noah Gawthrop, found -themselves driven, under a shower of blows and -missiles, past the break of the quarter-deck, and, -ultimately, down below, where they all fell in a heap -upon Mr. Quail, who had turned out, half dressed, -on hearing the row on deck. -</p> - -<p> -The last to effect a retreat was Morrison, who had -emptied the six barrels of his revolver without hitting -anyone, but having a capstan-bar, a weapon to which -he was more accustomed, he gave way, step by step, -with his face to the foe; but ultimately he was beaten -down the companion-stair, covered with blood, which -flowed from a wound on his right temple. -</p> - -<p> -Fighting inch by inch, there is little doubt that, -at this crisis, the crew might have forced an -entrance to the cabin, especially if some had entered -by the skylight; but now a yell burst from them, -followed by a tremendous crash, and the sound as -of a vast ruin descending on the deck. -</p> - -<p> -On Foster abandoning the helm, the ship, which -had been running with a spanking breeze upon her -starboard quarter, broached to; by swinging round, -all her sails were taken aback upon the weather-side, -the sudden strain was more than her spars -could bear, and the fall of a maintopmast, which -had been sprung (<i>i.e.</i>, split) in a recent gale, brought -down the fore and mizzen, with all their yards and -hamper, clean off at the cap of each; and thus, in -a moment the beautiful <i>Hermione</i> was a scene of -as great a ruin and disorder aloft as she was -below. -</p> - -<p> -The wilderness of masts, yards, booms, sails, -blocks, and gearing that suddenly descended on -their heads somewhat cooled the ardour of the crew, -and severely injured two or three of them; but -Pedro, a thorough seaman, gave instant orders to -cut, clear away, and coil up, while, rushing to the -wheel, his powerful hands soon made it revolve; -the <i>Hermione's</i> head fell round, once more the -wind came on her quarter, her fore and main -courses, jib, and driver swelled out before it, and -she stood on, but slowly, crippled and shorn of all -her fair proportions. -</p> - -<p> -This unexpected misfortune to the mutineers gave -those whom they had for a time vanquished and -driven below time to gather their energies, to reload -their weapons, consider their position and resources, -and to put in requisition those plans originally -formed for the defence of the cabin, their -stronghold, and chiefly of the two Misses Basset. -</p> - -<p> -The huge trunk, filled with Mr. Basset's law -books (which fortunately came too late on board to -be shot with other lumber into the hold) was slued -round, and jammed across the cabin-door, which -was further secured by its usual bolts and fastenings. -</p> - -<p> -Heriot's pair of pistols, two revolvers, a double-barrelled -fowling-piece, and a sharp hatchet, were -their only weapons, but they had plenty of ammunition, -all made up in cartridges, and so they resolved -to expend it to some purpose. -</p> - -<p> -"My ship! my ship! my poor ship! everything -seems to have gone to the devil aloft," groaned -Captain Phillips, in an agony of rage and mortification. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, papa—dear papa—what has happened? -What means that dreadful noise on deck?" asked -Ethel and Rose together, as they clung to their -bewildered parent, and saw with alarm their -companions' blanched, flushed, and, in some instances, -blood-stained faces. Dr. Heriot and Morley Ashton -were both bleeding; the former from a scalp wound, -and the latter from a cut in the lip. "Oh, papa! tell -us what all this means?" -</p> - -<p> -"It means that those infernal villains have risen -to murder us all, ladies; but don't be alarmed for -all that," said Captain Phillips, as he reloaded his -revolver, while a horrible hurly-burly was heard on -deck, where the crew, under the orders of Barradas -the elder, were cutting away or securing so much of -the rigging and spars as might be useful to them, -even to bringing on board the jib-boom, which had -been snapped off at the cap, and hung in the guys -at the end of the whiskers, with the sail drooping -in the water; and all the while they worked amid -a storm of oaths, imprecations, and threats. -</p> - -<p> -Among other things cast adrift was the body of -poor Joe, whose pockets were soon investigated—his -pipe, knife, tobacco-box, and a few coppers -appropriated by Messrs. Sharkey and Bolter—after -which they cast him over to leeward with as much -indifference as if he had been a dead gull or bit of -"old horse" (<i>i.e.</i>, mouldy junk). -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile, overcome with horror and anxiety for -the probable future of his two daughters, poor -Mr. Basset was completely bewildered, and, for a time, -as Captain Phillips said, "had no more pith in him -than an empty sack." Reclined on the stern-locker, -he pressed his daughters to his breast, keeping, as if -for protection, an arm round each, and he exclaimed -more than once: -</p> - -<p> -"Oh God! most merciful of all who show mercy, -protect my poor girls." -</p> - -<p> -"He has committed their protection to you, sir," -said Tom Bartelot, rather impatiently; "only -show a little pluck, like the rest of us, and we shall -weather these villains yet—aye, work them to an -oil, if they don't fire or sink the ship." -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, what new—what sudden horror is this?" -exclaimed Ethel, wringing her hands, and then -clasping them over her temples, while she turned -her flashing eyes on each in succession. -</p> - -<p> -"No sudden 'orror at all, marm," said Noah -Gawthrop, as he tightened his waist-belt, rolled up -the sleeves of his shirt, and looked everywhere -about to spit, but, being in the cabin, restrained the -impulse; "we've known o' the rig they were goin' -to run this long time past." -</p> - -<p> -"And Hawkshaw?" asked Ethel, shuddering. -</p> - -<p> -"Is a leader among them," replied Morley, applying -a handkerchief to his bleeding lip. "I never -had a better opportunity for clearing off old scores -than to-night, but somehow he never——" -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Morley, dear! leave vengeance to other -hands," said Ethel, imploringly. "Dear, dear -papa," she added, laying her pale brow on -Mr. Basset's cheek, "and so it was this knowledge—this -horrible dread hanging over you—that has -given such a mournful tenderness to your voice and -manner for some time past." -</p> - -<p> -Her voice, so mellow and thrilling, pierced poor -Basset's heart: he could only answer by his tears. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, Morley, love!" said Ethel, in a low, -beseeching voice, "say something to comfort poor -papa." -</p> - -<p> -But Morley could only press Mr. Basset's hand in -silence, for, in fact, the poor fellow knew not what -to say. Rose had tied her little handkerchief round -the doctor's head, and it seemed a more agreeable -remedy than the piece of court-plaster he had hastily -stuck on his scar. -</p> - -<p> -To Ethel the watchful, mysterious, solicitous, and -almost sorrowful regard which her father had so -long exhibited towards herself and Rose was quite -accounted for now. -</p> - -<p> -"Oh, my poor papa—my own papa!" she exclaimed, -as she threw her arms round his neck, and -nestled with her lovely face close to his, "I have no -fear of death; I would face it courageously—but -you, and Rose, and Morley. Oh, I fear that the -blow which kills me may kill you all, too, you love -me so much—so much more than I have deserved, -dear papa!" -</p> - -<p> -"Alas, Ethel! it is not death only that I fear for -you, my sweet and innocent lamb—and Rose——" -</p> - -<p> -"Below there, ahoy!" hailed a hoarse voice down -the companion-stair, after the hurly-burly had -somewhat ceased on deck. -</p> - -<p> -"It is the voice of that villain, Sharkey," said -Quail. -</p> - -<p> -"The murderer of poor Manfredi," added Dr. Heriot. -</p> - -<p> -"Below there, you swabs and cork-suckers! have -you all gone to sleep?" hailed the squat -mutineer. -</p> - -<p> -"Hollo!" responded Noah, "what do you want, -gallows-bird?" -</p> - -<p> -"We want the two girls. Give them up, and -come on deck. Tumble up, or it will be the worse -for every man jack of you." -</p> - -<p> -"How so, you squab ragamuffin?" asked Captain -Phillips. -</p> - -<p> -"We'll drop down the skylight, and make precious -short work with you all," was the hoarse -response. -</p> - -<p> -"Come on then, one at a time, or all together—we -are ready for you," said Captain Phillips. -</p> - -<p> -At the same moment the cover of the skylight -was roughly wrenched off, and the chill night wind -poured through the cabin, extinguishing the lamp. -</p> - -<p> -A noisy and derisive cheer followed. -</p> - -<p> -"Silence fore and aft. <i>Por vida del demonio -guardad vuestra maldita garulla</i> (<i>i.e.</i>, "Hold your -cursed clack"). Ere long I shall let you know who -is captain of the ship now," cried a deep bass voice -there was no mistaking, and the dark visage of -Pedro Barradas was seen looking down, just as -Heriot led Ethel and Rose to their cabin, when he -whispered to them to take courage, and closed the -door. "Surrender, and give up your arms, or I -shall set fire to the ship," added Barradas. -</p> - -<p> -"What will you gain by doing so?" asked -Captain Phillips, feeling with his fingers if the caps -on his revolver were all right, and taking a full sight -at Pedro's head, which he could see above the rim -of the skylight. -</p> - -<p> -"Gain? Not much, certainly, unless it be -vengeance," replied the Mexican, hoarsely. -</p> - -<p> -"Vengeance, you miscreant? Of what can you, -accuse me? Surely I never wronged you." -</p> - -<p> -"I have nearly lost an ear by the hand of one -among you." -</p> - -<p> -"That infliction you brought upon yourself." -</p> - -<p> -"If you do not surrender in less than twenty -minutes, I shall fire the ship or scuttle her, and then -shove off with all the boats, leaving you to drown -like a rat in a trap," continued Pedro. -</p> - -<p> -"Fool, as well as villain, what purpose would -that serve, but to destroy you all? Do you know -how far we are from land?" asked the captain. -</p> - -<p> -"I know that we are off the mouth of the Mozambique, -and will soon make the land by steering -nor'-nor'-east," replied the mutineer, with a grin. -</p> - -<p> -"You are wrong, Pedro Barradas—by Heaven -you are! We are only off the Bay of Algoa." -</p> - -<p> -"Well, if this wind holds good, and we keep the -ship under her courses and lower studding-sails, we -will make the channel soon enough for our -purpose. But ha, ha! Senor Capitano, do you hear -that?" he added, as the sound of axes was heard; -"we are starting the main-hatch to get at the bread -and spirit room, so while you starve here, we shall -drink and be jolly." -</p> - -<p> -Captain Phillips groaned as he heard those sounds, -which indicated a further destruction of the ship; -but, taking a sure aim at Pedro, he fired! The red -flash and sharp report of the pistol were followed by -a yell of rage. -</p> - -<p> -"A miss is as good as a mile," cried Badger, the -Yankee; and Pedro, whose cheek was grazed by the -ball, replied by firing into the cabin a random shot, -which lodged in the table; and now, with pistols -and the double-barrelled fowling-piece, there ensued -a regular skirmish, in which our friends, in the dark -seclusion of the cabin, had all the best of it, the -mutineers' mode of warfare being simply a waste -of ammunition, as some four or five of them in -succession continued to dart past the open skylight, -down which they fired at random. -</p> - -<p> -Too terrified to weep, Ethel and Rose, clasped in -each other's arms, reclined on their knees against -the side of their bed, with poor old nurse Folgate -grovelling on the carpet beside them. -</p> - -<p> -Every instant they heard the sharp reports of the -pistols, and saw the explosions flashing through the -slits in their cabin-door, and all unaccustomed to the -horrors of such an event, they could scarcely believe -that they were not in a dream. -</p> - -<p> -Who could imagine that such a scene would occur -on board of a London ship? But they knew not -the evils that attend a mixed crew. -</p> - -<p> -Ignorant of the chances and casualties of voyaging -on the deep, Ethel and Rose, but particularly -the former, was utterly bewildered by this terrible -episode, in which she found herself and friends -involved. Every shot, every sound, made her heart -leap for her father and her lover. -</p> - -<p> -She had pictured to herself how, with Morley by -her side, she would tend for life the declining years -of her only and beloved parent—tend him as her -mother would have wished her to do. He, on the -other hand, had hoped to tend, watch, guide, and -see her and Rose far on the chequered highway of -life; but now it seemed as if they were all about to -be torn from each other—he to suffer a violent and -cruel death, they dishonour and death together. -</p> - -<p> -Rose! Rose! Poor Ethel's soul shrank within -her at this crisis; but it was more with fear for -dear, merry little Rose than for herself. -</p> - -<p> -For some time the exciting skirmish we have -described continued, without anyone being hit, -apparently, either above or below, till Morley felt -someone close by utter a low heavy moan, or sigh, -and then fall suddenly and heavily against him. -</p> - -<p> -"Quail—Mr. Quail," he exclaimed, "is this you? -Are you hurt—are you hit?" -</p> - -<p> -It was poor Mr. Quail who, unable to reply, fell -on the floor of the cabin with blood bubbling from -his mouth. A lucifer-match was promptly applied -to a candle, a light procured, and the wounded man -was laid on the floor of the captain's state-room, -where Dr. Heriot soon discovered that he was quite -dead, being shot in the head by a common nail, a -proof that the ammunition of the enemy above was -running short. -</p> - -<p> -"My God! Poor Quail—his wife and little ones!" -exclaimed honest Captain Phillips, with deep -emotion. "Oh, gentlemen, when will these horrors -end?" -</p> - -<p> -A low groan from Mr. Basset alone replied, and -the features of the hapless mate soon grew livid and -ghastly in the flickering light of the candle, as the -damps and the pallor of death stole over them -together. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile the crash of axes was heard in the -hold, where already some of the mutineers were -making their way in search of plunder, through the -cargo, hoping to make a breach in the bulkhead -and reach the store where the ship's provisions and -spirits were kept. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap25"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XXV. -<br /><br /> -THE CABIN ATTACKED. -</h3> - -<p> -Some of the mutineers now proceeded to throw -various missiles, such as cold shot, ship-buckets, -spare or fallen blocks from aloft, the carpenter's -paint-pots, and so forth, into the ship's cabin; but -only in one instance, when Tom Bartelot received a -contusion on the shoulder, from a wooden marline-spike -flung at random, did any of these take effect, -as our friends lurked securely, pistol in hand, in the -recesses of the upper stern-lockers, in the berths, -and so forth, but none as yet could foresee where -this strife was to end, or who would first come to -terms, before the ship was utterly destroyed, as it -bade fair to be, if this internal war continued. -</p> - -<p> -Now the voice of Barradas was heard, giving -orders to cast loose one of the carronades on the -quarter-deck. -</p> - -<p> -"What are they about to do with the carronade?" -asked Morley, as he listened intently. -</p> - -<p> -"Lower it between decks, to fire through the -bulkhead," suggested the old man-o'-war's man, -Noah. -</p> - -<p> -"But have they any round shot?" asked Morley. -</p> - -<p> -"We have six rounds for each gun round the -coaming of the main-hatch," said Captain Phillips, -with a very dejected air; "and there are plenty -more in the hold. Shot are wanted sometimes in -the Indian seas." -</p> - -<p> -"And the powder?" -</p> - -<p> -"Is all kept in a little magazine near the -taffrail—the powder required for immediate service, I -mean." -</p> - -<p> -"The gun is cast loose," said Bartelot; "if -Noah's idea be their game, it is all up with us, -as they may bowl us to death without danger of -resistance." -</p> - -<p> -"Unless when they are at work in the hold, we -make a sally, regain possession of the deck, ship on -the main-hatch, and smother the whole brood!" -said Phillips, with a more savage emotion than ever -before glowed in his kind and jolly breast. -</p> - -<p> -A few minutes of painful suspense served to -show that the intentions of the mutineers were -quite different. -</p> - -<p> -They were heard to break open the powder magazine, -and load the carronade, which, with loud yells, -and much vociferation, they urged forward to the -rim of the skylight with such force as nearly to -break the framework to pieces, and over it, by using -capstan-bars as levers, they levelled and depressed -the gun, by hoisting up the hind wheels of the -carriage, and driving home quoins under the breach, -till the muzzle was at the angle of forty-five -degrees, and pointed almost towards the bulkhead -of the little cabin in which Ethel and Rose -were weeping and praying. -</p> - -<p> -Scarcely a moment was given for question or -consideration, ere Quaco, the black Virginian, came -rushing aft from the caboose, with his sable -cheekbones shining, and his yellow eyes aflame, as he -flourished a red-hot poker, which, as an extempore -match, he applied to the touch-hole. -</p> - -<p> -A sudden and blinding flash, with a cloud of -suffocating smoke, filled all the cabin, and there was -a report, or concussion, which made the ship reel to -her centre; a hundred splinters seemed to fly in -every direction, but still no personal danger was -done, though the gun had been charged, not with -round shot, but with a bag of nails, nearly all of -which crashed through the centre of the mahogany -table, and lodged in the deck below. -</p> - -<p> -It was not until the first blink of dawn that those -in the cabin knew this; their first idea being, that -a round shot had been sent through the vessel's -bottom; but, mad and furious though the mutineers -were, there was a method in their proceedings, and -to utterly destroy the ship was no part of their -daring plan. -</p> - -<p> -Wailing cries of terror came from the ladies' -cabin, and wild and noisy ones from the old nurse; -but no one was hurt there, though all were nearly -stifled by the smoke of the discharge, ere it rose -slowly through the open skylight, and floated away -into the still night air. -</p> - -<p> -As the sailors were withdrawing the gun, taking -advantage of its recoil, a volley of pistol-shots from -below whistled about them, and Dr. Heriot, with a -steady aim of the fowling-piece, sent a charge of -buck-shot from both barrels into the face and -shoulders of one fellow, who was immediately borne -forward to the care of Quaco, who, greatly to his -own delight, and with all the mingled fun and -cruelty peculiar to his dingy race, proceeded to -extract them from the bleeding wretch, more -curiously than skilfully, with the prongs of a -carving-fork. -</p> - -<p> -They now lashed the gun to its port again, and -retired forward, to consult probably. -</p> - -<p> -The ship's bell was no longer struck to call the -watches, but the man at the wheel was regularly -relieved, and, though sometimes exposed to shots -from the cabin, he was never fired on. Under her -courses and other lower sails, the ship was steered -to the north-east, but her exact course those in the -cabin knew not, as the tell-tale compass had gone to -wreck long ago, under the missiles showered so -liberally through the skylight. -</p> - -<p> -By the sounds that came aft from time to time, it -was evident that the crew were eating, drinking, and -making merry in the region of the forecastle; but -the fears of those in the cabin were increased by -this hilarity, which increased the evil chances that -overhung the ship, if a gale came on, and found her -with her crew and rigging in such a state of -disorder, and half the main-hatch open! -</p> - -<p> -As day dawned, and the armed lurkers in the -once trim cabin looked around them, its aspect filled -them with exasperation and dismay. -</p> - -<p> -The mahogany table, polished to perfection by -poor Joe, was split, and literally torn to pieces by -the contents of the carronade; and below it, the -planks were thickly sown with nails. All the -missiles we have enumerated, the fire buckets, -double and single blocks, six-pound shot, holystones, -and "prayer-books," &c., encumbered the floor; and -there, cold, white, and ghastly, lay the stiffened -corpse of the unfortunate Mr. Quail, with many a -spot and patch of blood, that had dropped from the -cuts and scars of his companions. -</p> - -<p> -Taking advantage of the lull in the hostilities, -Morley, Bartelot, and Noah Gawthrop added all the -missiles that strewed the floor to the barricade -behind the cabin-door; Mr. Foster procured more -caps and ammunition for their fire-arms; Heriot -prepared plasters and bandages for their flesh -wounds and bruises, while Mr. Basset and the -captain took some wine-and-water, with biscuits, to -Ethel, Rose, and their old attendant, as the only -breakfast they had to offer. After this, unknown to -their fair friends in misfortune, Morrison and Foster -made preparations to launch the mortal remains of -the poor mate into the deep. -</p> - -<p> -No time was there then for prayer or homily. -</p> - -<p> -The body was simply rolled up in a blanket taken -from his own bed, lashed tight at the head and foot -with a piece of rope. To the ankles were lashed -four of the shot with which the rascals on deck had -favoured them; and, opening one of the large -windows next the rudder-case, they permitted the -body to drop gently, feet foremost, into the -pale-green water that seethed under the counter. -</p> - -<p> -It could be seen sinking slowly far down into the -depths of the morning sea, where it vanished; but -not soon enough to elude the keen instinct of some -Cape pigeons and albatrosses, which gathered, with -ravening beaks and flapping wings, about the place -where the corpse went down, and where but a few -spreading ripples appeared upon the trough of the -rolling waves. -</p> - -<p> -By her frothy wake astern, the <i>Hermione</i> seemed -to be going through the water at the rate of six -knots an hour, for the breeze was fresh and steady. -</p> - -<p> -Some cold beef from the locker of poor Joe, and -a glass of brandy-and-water, were served round for -breakfast; and none spoke, though all thought of -how they would fare when the last drop of water in -the cabin was gone! -</p> - -<p> -So passed the noon. -</p> - -<p> -The ill-fated ship still ran north-eastward, -increasing hourly, as Captain Phillips said, her chances -of being overhauled by some homeward-bound ship—a -chance on which their hopes of succour mainly -depended now. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -END OF VOL. II. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> -CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Morley Ashton, Volume 2 (of 3), by James Grant - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MORLEY ASHTON, VOLUME 2 (OF 3) *** - -***** This file should be named 64081-h.htm or 64081-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/4/0/8/64081/ - -Produced by Al Haines -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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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