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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..7ca9ac6 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69609 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69609) diff --git a/old/69609-0.txt b/old/69609-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 96ef4a1..0000000 --- a/old/69609-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6821 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Martin of Old London, by Herbert -Strang - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Martin of Old London - -Author: Herbert Strang - -Release Date: December 23, 2022 [eBook #69609] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines, John Routh & the online Distributed Proofreaders - Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIN OF OLD LONDON *** - - - - - - -[Illustration] - - - - - MARTIN OF OLD - LONDON - - By - HERBERT STRANG - - - - [Illustration] - - - OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS - LONDON : HUMPHREY MILFORD - - - - - STORIES FOR BOYS - _by_ HERBERT STRANG - - _Adventures of Dick Trevanion, The_ - _Adventures of Harry Rochester, The_ - _A Gentleman-at-arms_ - _Air Patrol, The_ - _Air Scout, The_ - _Barclay of the Guides_ - _Boys of the Light Brigade_ - _Humphrey Bold_ - _Jack Brown in China_ - _Kobo_ - _One of Clive’s Heroes_ - _Palm Tree Island_ - _Rob the Ranger_ - _Samba_ - _Settlers and Scouts_ - _Sultan Jim_ - _Tom Burnaby_ - _Winning His Name_ - _With Drake on the Spanish Main_ - - - REPRINTED 1936 IN GREAT BRITAIN AT THE - UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD, BY JOHN JOHNSON - - - - - _CONTENTS_ - - PAGE - - I. THE WAITING BOAT 5 - II. MARTIN AT HOME 8 - III. THE ASSAULT 13 - IV. MARTIN LOSES HIS JOB 16 - V. THE NOISE IN THE NIGHT 22 - VI. MARTIN’S PASSENGER 28 - VII. A BLOW IN THE DARK 33 - VIII. THE FACE AT THE WINDOW 39 - IX. AN ADVENTURE IN PUDDING LANE 44 - X. A MYSTERIOUS VISITOR 48 - XI. MR. SLOCUM AGAIN 54 - XII. THE BRASS-BOUND BOX 59 - XIII. BLACKBEARD VISITS THE BAKER 64 - XIV. ON BOARD THE _SANTA MARIA_ 69 - XV. COFFEE FOR TWO 74 - XVI. WHAT MARTIN FOUND 80 - XVII. STOP, THIEF! 84 - XVIII. SALLY TAKES A HAND 90 - XIX. GUNDRA DISAPPEARS 94 - XX. FIRE! FIRE! 100 - XXI. WHAT SUSAN FOUND 105 - XXII. THE EMPTY ROOM 110 - XXIII. 'PRENTICES TO THE RESCUE 115 - XXIV. MR. SLOCUM MOVES AT LAST 121 - XXV. MARTIN FOLLOWS 126 - XXVI. PRISONERS 131 - XXVII. MARTIN FINDS A WAY 136 - XXVIII. THE BOYS ESCAPE 142 - XXIX. MARTIN USES HIS WITS 147 - XXX. THE BOYS SWIM FOR IT 152 - XXXI. GOLLOP MAKES A DISCOVERY 157 - XXXII. THE PURSUIT 163 - XXXIII. AT GRIPS AT LAST 168 - XXXIV. GOLLOP AT BAY 174 - XXXV. MARTIN TO THE RESCUE 177 - XXXVI. MARTIN’S ORDEAL 182 - XXXVII. ALL’S WELL 188 - - Martin of Old London - - - - - CHAPTER THE FIRST - - - THE WAITING BOAT - -One fine evening in the August of the year 1666, Martin Leake, aged -fourteen and a few months, had strolled down to the riverside for a -breath of air. - -It had been a terribly hot day. The whole month had been fine and dry; -the narrow streets of London were stuffy and smelly, and it was a relief -to escape from them to the bank of the broad Thames, where the easterly -wind carried in a sharp salt tang from the sea. - -The river always had a charm for Martin. In those days it might have -been called the main highway of London City, and he loved to watch the -wherries laden with passengers, and the tall ships lying at anchor or -floating up or down on the tide. - -He sauntered on and on, every now and then exchanging a nod or smile or -cheery word with some waterman he knew. But most of the watermen were -busy on the river, and as the evening went on Martin met fewer and fewer -people. - -Presently he sat down to rest near the head of a flight of stairs that -led down to the water. A broad stone post gave support for his back, and -leaning against it he watched the sun sinking into a fiery sky, and the -lights that began to twinkle on the ships moored in the stream. - -It was very peaceful. The only sounds that reached his ears were the -plash of oars in passing boats and the voices of the watermen and their -passengers. - -Turning to look in the other direction, he noticed for the first time a -ship’s boat straining at her painter, which was made fast to a ring at -the foot of the stairs. In the boat sat, or rather crouched, a solitary -seaman—a man with a very dark face and long, coal-black hair. His head -was bent forward on his crossed arms; it seemed that the light rise and -fall of the boat on the tide had rocked him to sleep. He wore a sailor’s -long red cap and an orange-coloured jersey. - -A waterman passing at the moment stopped and smiled as he glanced at the -slumbering figure. Observing Martin, he said: - -“They sleep like cats, these foreigners.” - -“He’s a foreigner, then?” - -“For sure: out of the Portugal ship repairing at Deptford. Her -mizzen-mast, they say, was shot away by a French privateer nigh the -Goodwins. Very bold these Frenchies are of late, though I did hear as -the Duke of York have give ’em a good drubbing.” - -He said Good-night and passed on. - -All was still again. The glow faded from the sky. Martin’s eyes were -attracted by a three-master that glided out of the dusk, dropping down -with the tide. He watched her graceful shape threading her way among the -smaller craft on the river, and wondered where she was bound for, what -adventures she would meet with on her voyage. - -She had almost disappeared when Martin was roused from his reverie by -the sound of footsteps on the cobbled roadway behind him. Peeping round -the edge of the post, he saw, in the gloom, a man come forward to the -head of the stairs. There he paused and threw a look round in the manner -of a person who is ill at ease. - -Martin caught a glimpse of his face, and, with a start of surprise, -shrank back into the shelter of the post. The man had not seen him. Next -moment he stepped down the stairs, and in a low voice hailed the seaman -slumbering in the boat. - -There was no answer. The newcomer called again, more urgently. This time -the sailor stirred, straightened himself, mumbled a reply, and hauling -on the painter, drew the boat alongside the lower stairs. The man -stepped into it, casting another suspicious glance around as he seated -himself on the stern thwart. - -A word was spoken that Martin did not catch. Then the seaman cast off, -thrust his oars into the rowlocks, and with long, swinging strokes drove -the boat into the darkness downstream. - -“What’s Mr. Slocum after?” said Martin to himself as he got up and -started for home. - - - - - CHAPTER THE SECOND - - - MARTIN AT HOME - -And who was Mr. Slocum? - -Martin was the only son of a master mariner who, retiring after many -years at sea, had settled in a little house near the Tower. He had -suffered many misfortunes. Ship after ship in which he had invested his -savings was lost, and the last of them, the _Merry Maid_, sailing from -Bristol in the year ’62, had never been heard of again. - -“Have you seen or heard aught of the _Merry Maid_?” was the question the -old captain had put to all seafaring men coming into the river. - -The answer was always the same. Martin often wondered what had become of -the vessel. Many a time he wished that he could go sailing over the seas -to try to find some trace of her. But when his father and mother both -died of the Plague, he felt bound to stay on shore and help to look -after his little sister Lucy. - -They were left almost destitute, having nothing except the small sum -that was realised by the sale of Captain Leake’s furniture. This was in -the hands of a lawyer, and as it would bring in only a few shillings a -week, it was clear that Martin would have to earn something. - -He was taken from St. Paul’s school, and the lawyer found him a job in -the shop of Mr. Greatorex, a wealthy goldsmith in Cheapside, who had -known his father, and indeed had had an interest in the _Merry Maid_. - -“I’ll give the lad a trial,” Mr. Greatorex had said when the lawyer -approached him. “He’ll not get on very far unless he is apprenticed, of -course; but I’m not inclined to take him as an apprentice without a -premium; at any rate, until I find out the kind of lad he is. I’ve lost -hundreds of pounds in that unlucky vessel. Let him come and do odd jobs -for a while. Mr. Slocum will tell me how he gets on.” - -Martin had never seen Mr. Greatorex himself. Unlike most of the city -merchants of that day, who lived over their shops, the goldsmith had -built himself a house in the country, and left his business almost -entirely to Mr. Slocum, his manager. - -There were three apprentices who lived in the house, two of them -sleeping under the shop counter. They rather despised the new boy. -Martin had to come early in the morning to take down the shutters and -sweep out the shop. All day he was running errands between the shop and -the workrooms in Foster Lane, or carrying parcels to customers, or -fetching things for Mr. Slocum and the housekeeper. - -At the close of business he had to put up the shutters, and was often -very tired by the time he reached home. At first one or two of the -apprentices were inclined to bully him, but he showed himself to have -plenty of spirit and a neat way with his fists, and his tormentors soon -learnt to leave him alone. But his life was a hard one. Mr. Slocum was -ill-tempered, and nothing but Martin’s care for his sister kept him from -running away to sea. - -All the way home Martin puzzled about Mr. Slocum’s journey down the -river in the foreign boat. The apprentices talked among themselves about -their master, and Martin knew that he often went out at night, not -returning until very late. He was late also in the morning, except when -Mr. Greatorex was expected to ride in from the country. And his temper -seemed to grow worse every day. He barked at the apprentices like an -angry dog, and if they or Martin committed the slightest fault, they had -learnt to expect a thrashing. - -The house where Martin lived was a large old building that stood by -itself some distance from the riverside. It had once been the mansion of -a nobleman, but of late years it had been let out in tenements. - -The basement was occupied by an old seaman named Dick Gollop and his -wife. Gollop had served under Captain Leake in many a voyage, and -retired at the same time, obtaining employment as a constable. His thick -round figure and bandy legs were well known along the waterside, and he -was so good-tempered that the small boys of the neighbourhood liked to -go with him on his rounds, and beg him to tell them a story. - -When Martin and his sister were left homeless it was arranged that they -should live with the Gollops, the lawyer paying a small sum weekly for -their board and lodging. Martin slept in a small parlour at the back, -and Lucy in a slip room. They had their meals with the constable and his -wife, whose tongue was sometimes rather sharp, but whose heart was kind. - -“You’re late to-night, young master,” said Susan Gollop as Martin -entered the kitchen. Supper was on the table, and Lucy had already begun -her meal. Gollop was not present. - -“Look what I’ve got,” said the little girl, holding up a cake of -hardbake. - -“Ay, the Mounseer gentleman will spoil you, that he will,” said Susan. -“I never liked foreigners, but the Mounseer has a kind heart, and he has -took to you most uncommon.” - -The Mounseer was an old French gentleman who had fled from persecution -in France a few years before, and now occupied the first floor of the -Gollops’ house. He had struck up a friendship with Lucy, and regularly -every day escorted her to and from the dame’s school she attended about -a mile away. Mrs. Gollop was glad to earn a little every week for -looking after his room and his clothes; but he bought his own food and -did himself what little cooking he needed. - -“And what do you think?” Susan went on. “The second floor is let at -last.” - -“I’m glad of that,” said Martin. “You’ll get more money now.” - -“I wish I might,” said the old woman. “But the new gentleman will do for -himself. He’s a nice, fair-spoken gentleman, I will say that, Seymour by -name, and I wonder at him making his own bed and dusting and all that. -But there, I suppose he knows his own business; it’s not for me to say; -only I would have liked to make a shilling or two extra doing for him as -I did for the lodger what’s gone.” - -At this moment heavy footsteps were heard clumping down the stone -stairs. - -“Here’s my old man,” said Susan, going to the door. - -“A fine night, my hearties,” said the constable as he came in. “And -plaguey hot. Never did I know a summer as dry as this. Give me a drink, -Sue.” - -He hung his three-cornered hat on a peg, threw his staff into a corner, -stripped off his long coat, and rolled up his shirt sleeves. His broad -red face beamed as he sat down to his simple supper of bread and cheese -and beer. - -“Well, young master, what’s your own news to-day?” he said to Martin. -“Have you been conveying gold and silver about the city? When I think of -the watches and the goblets and the golden rings you carry on you, I -wonder to myself whether, being a constable, I oughtn’t to go with you.” - -“I haven’t done much of that to-day,” said Martin. “I had to fetch some -tobacco for Mr. Slocum—ah, I must tell you! I was down by the river -just now, and I saw Mr. Slocum get into a boat with a foreign sailor, -from a Portugal ship, I was told.” - -“Well, that’s not a wonderful bit of news to tell the Lord Mayor about. -These warm nights many folks like a row on the river. It freshens ’em up -and helps ’em to sleep. I reckon all the watermen were busy, and Mr. -Slocum took the first boat that was handy.” - -“I don’t think so. The boat seemed to be waiting for him.” - -“Maybe he had business with the master of the Portugal ship—a matter of -earrings for the crew, belike.” - -“But he came down in a sneaking sort of way, as if he didn’t want to be -seen.” - -“Steady, my lad; don’t you go for to be too sharp, getting fancies into -your head. It’s none of your business, what Mr. Slocum does; and if he -didn’t wish to be seen, he won’t thank you for talking about it. So take -my advice and keep your mouth shut.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRD - - - THE ASSAULT - -Next day, when Martin was preparing to put up the shutters of the shop -in Cheapside, Mr. Slocum called him. - -“Here, you Leake, you’re not to go home yet. There’s a parcel to be -taken to an address in Middle Temple Lane. It must go without fail this -evening, and you’ll have to wait for it.” - -“Very well, sir,” said Martin. - -“And on your way you can leave a letter in Whitefriars. That will save a -special journey. Don’t loiter, mind. You’ll take a receipt for the -parcel, and give it to me to-morrow.” - -Martin was a little annoyed at being kept late, as he had promised to -take Lucy on the river. But there was no help for it. He closed the -shop, then went to the workrooms in Foster Lane, where the parcel would -be made up. - -Only one workman was there at his bench, giving the final polish to a -goblet of silver-gilt. He appeared to Martin to dawdle over his job, and -it was nearly dark before the parcel was ready. - -Martin set off with it, going through St. Paul’s Churchyard and down -Ludgate Hill. Then he turned to the left, towards the maze of lanes and -alleys that constituted the district of Whitefriars. It was at a house -in one of these lanes that he had to deliver the letter. - -He walked quickly, for it was an unsavoury neighbourhood. Many of the -houses were old and tumble-down; many of the people who lived in them -were bad characters; and Martin, knowing that the parcel he carried was -valuable, wished that he could have taken it by the more direct and open -route along Fleet Street. - -It was already so dark that he had some difficulty in finding the house -at which the letter was to be delivered. In those days houses were not -numbered; some were distinguished by signs that hung over the doorways, -others had no distinguishing marks at all. - -The address on Martin’s letter ran: “To Mr. Mumford, at his house over -against the Golden Fleece Tavern.” - -After making some inquiries, Martin discovered the house where Mr. -Mumford lived, and rapped on the door. A window opened, and a hoarse -voice asked, “Who’s there?” - -“A letter from Mr. Slocum,” Martin replied. - -A few moments afterwards the door was opened, and a rough-looking man, -holding a candle, gave a hard look at Martin as he took the letter. - -“All right; no answer,” he said, without breaking the seal. - -Martin hurried away, wondering how the man knew there was no answer -before he had read the letter. - -He had got about half-way to his destination in Middle Temple Lane when -two men rushed suddenly out of a narrow doorway and almost knocked him -down. As he staggered, he felt a tug at the parcel he carried under his -arm. - -Tightening his grip upon it, he drew himself away, but next moment a -sharp blow behind his knees threw him to the ground. - -“It’s under him; quick about it,” said a hoarse voice very much like Mr. -Mumford’s. - -Martin had fallen on the parcel. He realised now that the men were -trying to steal it, and he grasped it with both arms, and called aloud -for help. - -One of the men instantly clapped his hand over Martin’s mouth, while the -other sought to wrench the parcel from his clinging arms. He kicked out -with his feet, pressed with all his weight upon the parcel, and -desperately resisted the man’s attempt to turn him over on his back. - -But his assailant was a man of brawn. The struggle was hopeless. As -Martin was heaved violently over, his mouth was released for a moment -from the clutching hand, and he let out a piercing cry. A heavy shoe -kicked him; once more he was stifled; but his cry had been heard; there -was an answering shout and the clatter of feet on the cobblestones down -the street. - -The ruffians made one more attempt to wrest the parcel away. Failing, -they kicked him again, and made off just in time to escape the sturdy -watermen who had rushed to the spot. - -“Why, it’s young Master Leake,” said one of them, lifting him from the -ground. “What’s amiss?” - -Bruised and breathless, Martin told his story. - -“They didn’t get my parcel,” he concluded. “But it’s ruined, crushed; -look at it. It’s no good my going on. I must take it back.” - -“And we’ll see you safe,” said the watermen. - -Escorted by his rescuers, Martin returned to the shop in Cheapside, and -gave the parcel into the hands of the housekeeper. Then, his aching body -supported between his two friends, he walked slowly homeward. - - - - - CHAPTER THE FOURTH - - - MARTIN LOSES HIS JOB - -The moment Martin entered the shop next day Mr. Slocum pounced on him. - -“Here, you Leake, come here,” he cried. “What do you mean by it? What -have you got to say for yourself, eh? A pretty messenger you are! Look -at this goblet; scratched, dented, absolutely ruined! Who’s to pay for -the damage? Tell me that.” - -“Truly I am sorry, sir,” said Martin; “but it was not my fault. I was -set upon and knocked down by two ruffians. But for some watermen who -came up I should have lost the goblet altogether.” - -“Watermen, you say. Did they chase the footpads?” - -“No, sir; the men ran away at once.” - -“You’d know them again, I suppose?” - -“I’m afraid not. It was nearly dark, and they attacked me so suddenly -that I hadn’t time to get much of a look at them. But I did see that one -of them had a big scar across his forehead, just above the eye.” - -“And where did this happen?” - -“A little way beyond Mr. Mumford’s, sir, just after I had given him your -letter.” - -“And you mean to tell me you were stupid enough to carry a costly goblet -into that nest of rogues?” - -“You told me to, sir.” - -“I did not.” - -“Indeed, sir, you said I was to take Mr. Mumford’s letter on my way, and -that meant——” - -“Don’t contradict me! You were a careless young dog; went meandering -along, I dare say, with your nose in the air and your eyes on the stars. -You are not to be trusted. If anything of the sort happens again, you -and I will say good-bye, Master Leake. Get your broom and sweep the -floor.” - -Mr. Slocum went to his little room at the back, and Martin set about his -work, smarting under a sense of injustice. He had simply done as he was -told, and it was unfair to be blamed for what could not have been -foreseen. Who would have guessed that anyone would attack a boy carrying -a small parcel? - -To add to his annoyance, the ’prentices began to bait him. - -“A likely story,” said one. “You made it all up.” - -“Of course he did,” said another. “Butter-fingers! Dropped the parcel; a -horse gave it a kick, and he tells this cock-and-bull story to explain -the damage.” - -Martin went on sweeping, saying nothing, though his ears began to burn. - -“Look at him blushing,” jeered the first. “His name ought to be Molly.” - -Martin threw down his broom and sprang at his tormentor, a big, hulking -fellow half a head taller. They grappled; Martin wrenched himself out of -the other’s grip and rushed at him with clenched fists. - -They fought almost without sound, fearing to draw Mr. Slocum from his -den. The ’prentice was content at first to ward off the blows that -Martin rained on him, and the scornful smile on his face only fed the -smaller boy’s rage. - -So intent were they upon the fight that neither noticed the entry of a -well-dressed elderly gentleman. He stood looking on with a smile until, -scuffling and swaying, the boys lurched against him, the ’prentice -treading on his toes. - -At this moment Mr. Slocum came out of his room and, rushing down the -shop, gave Martin a smart clout on the side of his head. - -“I beg a thousand pardons, sir,” he said to the customer. “This is a -troublesome young rascal; I have already had to admonish him this -morning, and——” - -“Oh, it’s nothing, Mr. Slocum!” said the gentleman, smiling. “Boys will -be boys. I admire the youngster’s pluck, and as for your admonishments, -I fancy they are due rather to the other for fighting one so much -smaller than himself. Besides, the lout trod on my toes, confound him!” - -“I am shocked, sir, deeply pained,” said Mr. Slocum, glaring at the two -boys. “Get away to your work; I will deal with you presently.” - -Martin could not help watching the pleasant red-faced gentleman who had -taken his part. He noticed how humble Mr. Slocum’s attitude was to the -customer, and how respectfully he spoke. - -“I wonder who he is?” Martin thought, and the gentleman’s features -remained fixed in his memory. - -When the customer had finished his business and departed, Mr. Slocum -turned to Martin and, speaking in his usual harsh, overbearing way, -said: - -“You disgrace this establishment! Mind you this: if I catch you fighting -here again I shall dismiss you on the spot!” - -Martin made no protest, but he felt the injustice of his employer’s -treatment, and wished more than ever that he was free to find a place as -ship’s boy. - -The very next day matters came to a head. - -Early in the afternoon Martin was surprised to see enter the shop the -old Frenchman who lived above the Gollops. At the moment he was -polishing some silver plate in the back premises, along with two of the -’prentices. The third was behind the counter, and the Frenchman asked -him, in his queer broken English, if he might see Mr. Slocum. - -[Illustration] - -The ’prentice went into Mr. Slocum’s office, and, returning in a few -moments, bade the visitor, not too politely, to follow him. The door of -the office was closed behind him. - -“What’s old Froggy want now?” said one of the ’prentices. - -Martin looked at the speaker in surprise. He had not himself seen -Mounseer in the shop before, but evidently this was not his first visit. - -“I’d like to know,” replied his opponent of the previous day. “I wonder -he dares to show himself in a respectable shop. His clothes aren’t fit -for a scarecrow.” - -Martin flushed. The Frenchman was his friend, a kindly, courteous, -dignified gentleman, and he disliked to hear him criticised. It was -true, Martin had to admit, now that his attention had been called to -him, that his clothes were shabby; but they were well made, and of good -quality. For the first time Martin asked himself whether the old man was -very poor. - -“I wonder where he lives,” the first ’prentice went on. “He’s never had -anything sent home, has he?” - -“Not that I know of,” was the answer. “I dare say he lives in some -filthy cellar and feeds on rats and mice. He’s come a-begging, I should -think; but he won’t get much out of old Slocum.” - -Martin had been growing more and more indignant, and could remain silent -no longer. - -“Let me tell you the French gentleman is a friend of mine, and lives in -my house,” he blurted out. - -“Oh, indeed! A friend of yours, is he? And you and he live in the same -cellar, I suppose, and share the vermin? I’m not surprised.” - -“He doesn’t live in a cellar. You’d better say no more about him; I -won’t stand it.” - -“I’ll say what I like without asking you. He’s a miserable old scarecrow -of a foreigner, and we don’t want people like him in London. He would -make a good guy for the Fifth of November. I’d like to light some -crackers under him and see him jump.” - -This was more than Martin could stand. Dropping the salver he was -polishing, he rushed at the ’prentice with such impetuosity that the boy -lost his balance and fell. Up again in an instant, he closed with -Martin, and, forgetting everything else, the two began to fight in the -narrow space behind the counter. - -“Look out!” warned the ’prentice looking on. - -But the warning came too late. They lurched against one of the -glass-cases containing jewellery. There was a crash. Splinters of glass -fell all about the floor, the door of Mr. Slocum’s den flew open, and -Mr. Slocum himself, pale with anger, dashed out, followed by the old -Frenchman. - -“You again, you young villain!” roared the goldsmith. - -He caught Martin by the ear, lugged him to the door, and shot him into -the street with a parting kick. - -“Don’t you dare to show your face here again,” he cried, “or I’ll thrash -you black and blue.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE FIFTH - - - THE NOISE IN THE NIGHT - -Martin picked himself up, rubbed the mud from his clothes, and without -giving another look at Mr. Slocum or the shop, set off on the way home. - -“I’m glad to be out of it,” he thought; “but what shall I do now to earn -some money?” - -He had taken only a few steps when he heard his name called from behind. -Turning, he saw Mounseer hurrying after him, and stood still until the -Frenchman had caught him up. - -“I see it,” said the old gentleman. “I ask, what is the matter?” - -“I am dismissed, sir; that is all,” Martin replied, as they walked on. - -“Dismissed! But yes; does the Englishman dismiss with violence? I do not -understand.” - -“Mr. Slocum was angry. I was fighting one of the ’prentices.” - -“Ah, ah, fighting; what you call the box,” said the Frenchman, smiling. -“That is what the English like, I think. It is not then a reason to -dismiss.” - -“I fought yesterday, and Mr. Slocum threatened to dismiss me if I did it -again.” - -“Ah! That is another thing. To fight once, yes; but to fight a second -time when the master forbids, that is disobedience, also it is folly. -What was the subject of the quarrel? I may ask?” - -“The fellow was saying things about——” - -Martin pulled himself up. He could not hurt the old gentleman’s feelings -by repeating the ill-natured sneers at his appearance. - -“You do not tell, eh? Well, I ask no more. You are young, Martin; as you -grow older you will know that fighting is not for always; you must -choose the proper time. Without doubt, Mr. Slocum is a hard man; but it -is reasonable he think his place of business is not the right place, nor -the hours of business the right time, for the practice of the box.” - -Martin ruefully agreed that his friend was right. - -“But come, then,” Mounseer went on, noticing his downcast look. “Do not -be down in dumps; that is what you say, eh? To fight is no disgrace, if -the cause is good. To be dismissed, that is bad, certainly; but I think -you will soon find other employment.” - -The Frenchman’s confidence was not shared by Dick Gollop and his wife -when Martin explained the reason of his early return. In applying for a -new situation he would need a reference, and it would be hopeless to -look for a recommendation from Mr. Slocum. - -“What I say is, go straight to Mr. Greatorex,” said Susan. “That Slocum -is a wicked tyrant, that’s what he is, and Mr. Greatorex ought to know -about him.” - -“Nonsense, Sue!” said her husband. “The boy disobeyed orders; that’s -mutiny, and Mr. Greatorex wouldn’t override his manager. Martin won’t -tell what he was fighting about, but says he isn’t ashamed of it. -There’s a mystery somewhere, and I don’t like it. He must look for -another job, and I hope he’ll get one.” - -Late that night, when Dick Gollop was out on his round as constable, and -Lucy had gone to bed, Susan was stitching a rent in one of Mounseer’s -shirts. - -“There! That’s done at last,” she said. “’Tis time Mounseer had a new -shirt, I’m thinking. Deary me! I’m tired out after working all this -broiling hot day, and I’m sure I don’t want to climb those stairs.” - -“Let me take it up,” said Martin. “I’ll save your legs.” - -“That’s kind of you. I promised the old gentleman he should have it -to-night, or I wouldn’t trouble you.” - -Martin took the shirt and left the room. The staircase was very dark, -and he walked up slowly, feeling his way along the wall. - -When he was about half-way up he heard a creaking on the landing above, -opposite the Frenchman’s door. He halted, and, supposing that Mounseer -himself had come out of his room to ask for his shirt, he was on the -point of calling to him when he caught the sound of hurried but soft -footfalls on the stairs higher up, and then of a door gently closed. - -He went on again, reached Mounseer’s door, and knocked. At first there -was no answer; but after knocking a second time he heard the sound of -flint and steel in the room within, then a voice asking who was there, -and at last a fumbling with the bolt. - -“Ah! It is you, my young friend, with my shirt,” said the old gentleman, -opening the door. “I had fallen asleep, and had to light my candle.” - -“I thought I heard you on the stairs, sir,” said Martin. - -“Oh no! I have not left my room. It is late, and time for your bed. -Good-night. A thousand thanks!” - -Martin returned to the basement, bade good-night to Susan, and went to -bed. But he found it impossible to sleep. He lay tossing on his bed, -worrying about the future, listening to the church clocks striking the -hours. - -It was some time after midnight when the stillness was broken by what -seemed to be a low whistle from the patch of waste ground outside and a -little above Martin’s window. The sound was not repeated, and Martin -almost believed he was mistaken; but a few seconds later he was roused -by another sound; a slight creaking, as if a window somewhere had been -opened, then closed again. - -On so hot a night anyone might open a window for air. It was the -closing, after the whistle, that caused Martin to get up, go to his -window and look out upon the waste ground. No one was in sight. There -were no more sounds, and Martin went back to bed. - -Just as he was at last dozing off to sleep he was roused by a slight -sound in the house. In old buildings the stairs often creak without -apparent cause, and Martin was not startled or disturbed. But a minute -or two later he heard a louder sound, like wood breaking, and then -shouts and the stamping of heavy feet. - -Springing out of bed he rushed into the passage and up the stairs as -quickly as he could in the dark. The noise appeared to be coming from -the neighbourhood of Mounseer’s room. When he reached the landing he was -hurled back against the wall by the impact of a heavy figure that seemed -to have come through the open door. - -Before he could recover his footing he heard someone stumbling down the -stairs. He darted to the banisters and was just able to see a dark form -rush along the passage and through the front door, which he banged after -him. - -“What is it? What ever is it?” cried Susan from the door of her room. -Lucy shrieked with alarm and fear. - -“Don’t worry,” Martin called. “He has gone.” - -He went into the Frenchman’s room, and by the faint starlight he saw a -scene that surprised him. In the middle of the floor stood the old -gentleman, rapier in hand, his coat wrapped round his left arm, as -duellists were accustomed to wear their cloaks. A chair was overturned, -and there was broken wood near the door. - -“It is you, my young friend,” said the Frenchman, dropping his point. -“Be good enough to light my candle.” - -While Martin did this, Mounseer stood on guard, watching the door. - -“He will not come back, I think,” he said. “I was disturbed by a sound -outside my door; I sleep lightly, like all who have followed campaigns, -and I had time to rise and seize my rapier before the bolt was forced -and that wretch broke in.” - -“Who was he, sir?” asked Martin. - -“That I know not,” was the reply. “But he will remember me,” he added -with a chuckle. “I felt my point get home, and the wretch was only saved -because, as I pressed him, I stumbled over my chair. . . . But, pardon, -monsieur, I did not observe you.” - -In the doorway stood a tall man in a dressing-gown, his close-cropped -poll and blue shaven cheeks giving him a strange appearance in the -candlelight. It was Mr. Seymour, the new lodger who had recently taken -the top floor. - -“I would not intrude, sir,” said the newcomer politely, “but I heard the -noise, and came to give neighbourly assistance if it were needed. I see -that it was not.” - -Mounseer bowed without saying anything. - -“I am vastly relieved, sir,” Mr. Seymour went on. “Such an attack might -have been dangerous to one of your years. The city is infested with -rogues, but one might expect to be safe with a constable in the house.” - -“The constable is not in the house at night, sir,” said the Frenchman -drily. “I thank you for your benevolent intention; the danger is past, -and I would not keep you from your bed.” - -His bow as he said this could only be taken as a courteous dismissal, -and Mr. Seymour bowed himself out. Martin guessed from the expression of -Mounseer’s face that he did not like his neighbour. - -“Now, my friend Martin, please me by returning to your bed,” said the -old gentleman. “I will barricade my door; they will not disturb me -again.” - -Martin heard the clocks strike two before he fell asleep. And it was -only in his last waking moment that he remembered having heard creaking -stairs earlier that night near Mounseer’s room. - - - - - CHAPTER THE SIXTH - - - MARTIN’S PASSENGER - -Martin spent all the next day in a fruitless search for work. Either no -one wanted a boy, or the few that had places open would not engage a boy -who had been dismissed for fighting. - -In the evening, tired and dejected, Martin was walking homeward along -the waterside. Glancing towards the stairs where he had seen Mr. Slocum -embark on the foreigner’s boat, he noticed two small boys bending down -over a boat that was moored to an iron ring. A third boy stood half-way -up the stairs, evidently keeping watch. - -While Martin was still some distance off, the two boys rose and ran up -to their companion, smiling and pointing. Then all three climbed the -remaining steps and darted away. - -Martin could not help smiling at the mischievous little fellows. They -had untied the painter, and set the boat adrift on the stream. It was -now floating down on the swift-running tide. - -By the time it came opposite Martin it was already a dozen yards from -the shore. To his surprise he saw that it was not empty, as he had -supposed. In the bottom lay a dark bearded man with a red cap and an -orange jersey—the same man as Martin had seen at the same spot two or -three days before. He was fast asleep, just as he had been then. Neither -the action of the mischievous boys nor the motion of the stream had -awakened him. - -“Hi! hi!” shouted Martin, fearing that the man might come to grief if -the boat struck against some larger vessel lower down. - -But his cries did not awaken the sleeper, and Martin ran on to the -stairs; there was usually a boat belonging to one of his watermen -friends moored on the farther side; he would put off in her and catch up -with the drifting boat before she came to harm. But there was no boat at -hand. - -“Well, never mind,” said Martin to himself. “I can’t help the -sleepy-head. I dare say he’ll be seen from some wherry or lighter. How -strange that he should be here again!” - -He sat down with his back against the stone post, and idly watched the -boat as it rapidly drifted downstream. In a few minutes two men came -from behind the head of the stairs, and grumbled at the absence of the -watermen. Then one appeared, rowing his wherry from the opposite shore. -The men hailed him; he pulled in to the foot of the stairs, took on the -impatient passengers, and rowed away again, towards the city. - -The dusk was gathering, and Martin was about to rise and go home when he -heard footsteps on the other side of him, and a voice say, angrily, - -“The boat is not here!” - -“I can’t wait,” said another voice, which Martin recognised at once as -Mr. Slocum’s. Instinctively he drew farther back into the shadow of the -post. “It would not be safe. You must hire a waterman.” - -“There isn’t one to be seen,” said the first speaker. “There never is -when you want one.” - -“No doubt one will come in a minute or two,” said Mr. Slocum. -“Good-night.” - -The speaker had been hidden from Martin by the post. He heard Mr. Slocum -hurry away; then the other man came in sight and walked down the steps. -Under his arm he carried a small box. - -“Old Slocum here again,” thought Martin. “It’s very strange.” - -He was now so much interested that he decided to wait and see what -happened. The man was tall and swarthy, with a big red nose, and a beard -as black as the foreign seaman’s. As he sat on the stairs he muttered to -himself. - -After a while a heavily-laden wherry approached from upstream. It -contained several passengers, laughing and singing noisily, and when -they disembarked and mounted the stairs Martin saw that they carried -baskets, and guessed that they were picknickers returning from a jaunt -to Chelsea or Battersea. The waterman was Jack Boulter, a friend of his. - -The waiting stranger called to Boulter, demanding to be taken to -Deptford. - -“Not me; not to-night,” said the waterman. “I’ve been out all day. I’m -going home.” - -“But you must take me, I say,” the stranger protested. He raised his -voice, and Martin was surprised at a change in his accent. With Mr. -Slocum he had spoken like an Englishman, but now his utterance was -exactly that of a foreigner. - -“What you say don’t matter,” returned Boulter, proceeding to tie up his -boat. “I won’t stir out again for no man.” - -The stranger began to plead and coax and threaten, but to all his -excited words Boulter turned a deaf ear. Some impulse prompted Martin to -rise and walk down to the bottom of the stairs. - -“I say, Boulter, let me take him to Deptford,” he said. - -“It’s you, young master,” said Boulter. “Well, you’ve rowed my wherry -time and again, and I don’t mind if you do, so long as you promise to -tie her up when you get back.” - -“Ah! You are kind. You are a friend,” said the foreigner. He produced a -shilling, and was handing it to Martin when Boulter reached forward and -took the coin. - -“Thank’ee,” he said. “Young master will take ’ee quite safe, and I’ll -get along to the Pig and Whistle.” - -In another minute Martin was pulling the wherry out into mid-stream. The -passenger sat in silence upon the stern thwart, still grasping his box. - -There was now little traffic on the river. Here and there near the banks -barges were moored, and the spars of larger vessels were outlined -against the glooming sky. Glancing frequently over his shoulder Martin -steered a course clear of obstructions, and in no long time came within -sight of the Deptford shipyards. - -Presently the passenger, who had not spoken a word, motioned Martin to -land him at a jetty jutting out from a quay along the wall of a house -overhanging the river. It had the appearance of an empty warehouse. - -Martin was pulling round when the man changed his mind. - -“No, not there,” he said. “Beyond; farther: at the stairs of Deptford.” - -Martin sculled on, feeling that there was something mysterious about his -passenger. He seemed anxious, or excited. - -The wherry was almost opposite to the Deptford stairs when a cry broke -from the passenger’s lips. Martin glanced round, and saw a boat -approaching swiftly. It contained a single man, pulling hard against the -tide. - -Martin’s passenger stood up, and shouted angrily a few words in a -foreign tongue, which Martin could not understand. The man ceased -rowing, and turned his head, and Martin recognised him as the foreign -seaman whom he had seen a little while before asleep in the drifting -craft. Next moment he swung his boat round and rowed rapidly towards the -entrance of the repairing yard. - -A few minutes later Martin landed his passenger at the foot of the -stairs. The man seemed to be in too great a hurry even to thank him. He -sped up the stairs and disappeared. - -“I’ll have a little rest before I go back,” thought Martin. - -He tied up the boat and strolled along by the edge of the repairing -dock. Only one vessel lay there, a three-master brig without her -mainmast, and it flashed into Martin’s memory that the waterman had told -him of a Portugal ship that had come in for repairs. - -“Is that a Portugal vessel?” he asked a man who was lounging near by. - -“Ay, Portugal she is,” was the reply. “Dismasted by a Frenchman in the -Channel. She’s not so foreign-looking as some Portugal ships I’ve seen, -but her crew—why, bless your life, they’re as pretty a set of -cut-throats as you’ve ever set eyes on.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE SEVENTH - - - A BLOW IN THE DARK - -Martin found himself to be taking a rather unusual interest in this -Portugal ship. It was impossible in the dusk to see her lines clearly; -indeed, she was lying so low in the dock that even in the daylight one -could not have obtained a good view of her. And the shipwrights’ work -being over for the day, there was nothing going on upon her deck. - -What interested Martin was not so much the vessel herself as the persons -with whom she seemed to be connected. There was the foreign seaman whom -he had twice seen waiting at the foot of the stairs. There was Mr. -Slocum, who had embarked on that seaman’s boat. And now there was this -third man, who had come with Mr. Slocum to the stairs, who spoke like an -Englishman and also like a foreigner, and who was evidently very well -known to the sleepy-headed seaman. - -“There’s some mystery about all this,” Martin said to himself. “Mr. -Slocum said it wasn’t safe for him to wait about at the stairs. Why? -What reason can he have for coming or sending to this Portugal ship at -all? Has she jewels or plate among her cargo, and he’s buying them? But -why should he do it secretly?” - -It was quite clear that he would not get answers to his questions by -staring at the vessel. Two or three swarthy men in outlandish costumes -were now moving about the deck: he heard their strange voices, so unlike -the sing-song of English sailors. The lighting of a lamp reminded him -that black night would soon lie upon the river. - -“It’s time to be off,” he thought, and, turning about, he walked back -without hurry to his boat, cast her off, and began to pull out into -mid-stream. - -The tide was now slack, just on the turn, and he was glad that he would -not have to row against the current. - -He had taken no more than half a dozen strokes when the silence was -broken by loud shouts from the direction of the repairing yard. Turning -his head, he saw a small figure in the act of diving into the river from -a little jetty at the angle of the yard, and behind him a number of much -taller forms rushing along as if in pursuit. - -It was so nearly dark that all these figures were only just visible. But -in a moment Martin was able to see a black head and two splashing arms -on the surface of the water. The swimmer was making straight across -towards the opposite bank. - -He was seen also by the men on the jetty. With cries of excitement they -dashed back to the shore, and ran towards a boat that was drawn up on -the mud. - -Martin had ceased rowing; his interest in the Portugal ship was whetted -anew, for surely those excitable men were foreigners from that vessel. -Who was the fugitive? - -As he rested on his oars he noticed that the swimmer had suddenly -changed his course, and was coming with swift over-hand strokes straight -for the boat. Meanwhile, the pursuers had hauled their boat off the mud, -got afloat, and were now pulling hard in the same direction. - -Martin felt a throb of excitement as he watched the chase. By this time -he realised that the fugitive was swimming to him for help, and he -checked the motion of his boat, which had been drifting slowly on the -turning tide, and edged it towards the swimmer. - -Next moment a hand shot out of the water and grasped the gunwale. The -second hand followed. Then a husky, spluttering voice whispered: - -“Take me in, quick! They will catch me.” - -Martin was thrilled when he saw that the speaker was a boy, a little -younger than himself, as he guessed. Without reasoning, acting on a -natural impulse, he shipped his oars, and trimming the boat as well as -he could by lying across it, managed with some difficulty to help the -little fellow to clamber in. - -“Quick! They will catch me,” gasped the boy again as he sank exhausted -into the bottom of the boat. - -In a moment Martin had the oars in the rowlocks and began to pull with -all his strength. He caught sight of the pursuing boat forging out of -the darkness, and the shouts of the men aboard her told him that they -had seen what had happened to the boy. - -Spurred on by the angry menace of their voices, he bent to his oars with -a will. He had seen a look of terror in the boy’s eyes as he climbed -into the boat, and afterwards he remembered, what he had not consciously -observed at the time, that the boy’s skin was dark, though his features -were not those of a Negro. - -But Martin did not look at the boy as he lay in the boat. His whole -attention was concentrated on the pursuers. His heart sank; they were -gaining on him. How could it be otherwise? The Thames wherry of those -days was a heavy lumbering craft, and a half-grown boy could not hope to -outrow the two men who were urging their boat along with strong, -sweeping strokes. - -He heard encouraging cries from the third man who sat in the stern, and -as the pursuing boat gained on him yard by yard, he saw with a strange -thrill, in spite of the darkness, that this man was the mysterious -bearded passenger whom he had rowed down the river an hour before. - -Without knowing why, this recognition urged him to still greater -exertions. But the strain was telling upon his muscles; already they -were aching almost to numbness. Yet he rowed on and on, doggedly, not -dropping his sculls until the other boat sheered up alongside, and one -of the men, swinging round the butt of his oar, dealt Martin a blow that -sent him backward off his thwart. His head struck the thwart behind, and -he lay doubled up between the two, stunned. - -How long he remained thus he never knew. When he came to himself, -conscious of a stiff back and an aching head, and raised himself, he -found that he was alone in the boat, which was drifting towards the mud -flats on the Surrey shore. - -He looked around; the other boat, the fugitive boy, the pursuers, all -had disappeared. - -“Where am I?” he thought. - -There were few lights on the banks; in the darkness he could not -recognise his whereabouts. Seizing his sculls, he rowed slowly, -painfully, across the stream towards the northern shore. Presently, in -the distance, he caught sight of dim lights stretching across the river, -and knew that they shone from the houses on London Bridge. - -With a sigh he swung the boat about, and pulled still more slowly -against the running tide, keeping close to the shore. It seemed hours -before he came to the well-known stairs. He tied up the boat and then -deliberated. - -“Shall I go and tell Boulter what’s happened? He’ll be at the Pig and -Whistle: I’d better go home.” - -Dragging himself along, more distressed at his failure to save the boy -than at his own injuries, he reached his house, groped stumblingly down -the dark stairs, and found Susan Gollop placidly knitting. - -“Why, sakes alive, what’s come to you?” she cried, as the candlelight -fell upon his pale face. - -“I’ve hurt my head,” he replied, dropping into a chair. - -“There! If my thumbs didn’t prick!” she exclaimed. “I knew something had -happened to you, you’re so late. I said to Gollop: ‘That boy’s got into -mischief, and you can’t deny it.’ Now just you sit still and let me look -at the place and tell me all about it.” - -The good woman lifted his hair gently. - -“Gracious me! A lump as big as a duck’s egg,” she cried. “You’ve been -fighting again, I’ll be bound, though I’d have thought——” - -“Don’t be a goose, Susan,” Martin interrupted. “If I’d fought, the bump -would have been in front. I was hit a foul blow, and I’ll tell you.” - -Susan Gollop was more tender in action than in speech. She bathed the -wounded head and bound it up with a strip of linen, while Martin -recounted the events of the evening. - -“Dear, dear! Well, I’m sure! Poor little boy! Oh, the wretch!” she -exclaimed at points of the story. - -“Well, I never did hear the like,” she said at the end. “That Slocum: -it’s my belief he’s doing something he’s ashamed of, or ought to be, -drat him! It’s a mercy you don’t work for him any more. And the other -man; would you know him again? For you must tell Gollop all about it, -and he’ll take the wretch up and see what the magistrates have to say to -him.” - -“Yes, I’d know him again,” Martin replied. “I couldn’t forget his big -red nose and his beard as black as your saucepan.” - -“That’s strange,” said the woman thoughtfully. - -“What’s strange?” - -“Why, if I didn’t see just such a one this very day! Ay, and in this -very street. He passed me as I came back from shopping! ‘That’s a red -coal in a black grate,’ thinks I, and indeed he was a fearsome-looking -creature.” - -“I wonder what he was doing about here?” - -“Ah! Who knows? But don’t bother your head about him any more. Get you -to your bed, and I hope the bump’ll be flatter by the morning.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE EIGHTH - - - THE FACE AT THE WINDOW - -At breakfast next morning Martin expected to have to tell his story over -again to Dick Gollop, who had been out on duty half the night. But the -moment he entered the room, with his head still bandaged, the constable -took the wind out of his sails. - -“Ahoy, shipmate!” he said, “how’s the weather? By what I hear you’ve run -through a bit of a squall.” - -“You know, then?” said Martin. - -“Know! Of course I know. When my watch was over, somewhere about four -bells, and I came below dead-beat and turned in, d’you think I could get -any sleep? Not a wink, believe me. There was my old woman wide-awake, -and bursting with the news. - -“‘Gollop,’ says she, ‘there’s rogues and rascals in the world.’ That -being no news at all, I just gave a grunt and began to snore. ‘Listen to -me,’ says she, ‘and don’t pretend.’ What you can’t help, put up with. So -I listened, always ready to oblige, and out it came, like a flood over a -weir. - -“I own I dozed one or twice afore she was well under way, but I was fair -shook up when she’d got her canvas full spread. You take my meaning? -I’ve fought with a cutlass, and I’ve knocked down a swabber with a -marline-spike, but never in my born days have I hit a man with an oar; -there’s something uncommon about that, and as a constable I took note of -it. - -“Foreign ways, to be sure. Them fellows in the boat must have been some -of the crew of that Portugal ship.” - -“Not the big-nosed man with the black beard,” said Martin. “I’m sure he -was an Englishman.” - -“Maybe, but I ask you, what was he doing along with those foreigners? -And what’s his ploy with Slocum?” - -“Ay, and why come along this very street?” Susan put in. - -“There you go!” said Dick. “I’ve seen many a big nose, also red, _and_ -black beards, likewise many tabby cats. You can’t tell one from t’other -unless you’ve studied ’em. I see a tabby in one place; you see one in -another; that don’t make ’em the same.” - -“What’s cats got to do with it?” protested Susan. - -“Nothing,” said Dick. “All I say is, if I took up a man just because -he’d a big red nose and a black beard the magistrates would call me a -fool, and belike I’d have to pay damages, and then where’d you be?” - -“Then why talk about cats?” said Susan. “And tabbies! Now if you’d said -black cats——” - -“Drat the cats!” cried the constable. “You’ll go on about ’em till -you’re tired, I suppose. Martin, what I say is, keep your weather-eye -open, and if so be as you spy that black-haired fellow again, keep him -in sight, my lad, and inform an officer of the law.” - -A tapping was heard on the banisters at the head of the stairs. - -“There’s Mounseer, Lucy,” said Susan, “waiting to take you to school.” - -The little girl sprang up; she liked her morning walk with the old -Frenchman. She ran up the stairs, but returned in a few moments. - -“Mounseer says will you please lend him a hammer and chisel,” she said. - -“Willing, and anything else,” said Gollop. “But ask him if I can do the -hammering for him. I’ve been reckoned a handy man in my time; you have -to turn your hand to any odd job at sea.” - -The girl gave the message and returned. - -“Mounseer says it’s a trifle, and he won’t trouble you!” - -“Very well then; take him the things, and welcome.” - -The Frenchman laid the tools on a chair in his room, then locked the -door and started with Lucy for the half-mile walk to her school. - -Soon afterwards Gollop and Martin went out together, the former to take -his morning draught with his cronies, the latter to make another effort -to find work. - -In his pocket he carried some bread and cheese, so that he need not come -home for the mid-day meal. - -All through the hot summer day he wandered about, seeking employment. In -the evening he returned and reported that he had again met with no -success. - -“Never mind,” said Susan. “Things will take a turn. Now, just run -upstairs and ask Mounseer for that hammer. I want it to knock some nails -in Lucy’s cupboard, so as she can hang up her things tidy. Tell him he -shall have it back if he hasn’t done with it, but he’s been banging -nearly all day, so I dare say he has.” - -On reaching the Frenchman’s door Martin saw that a staple had been -fitted to one of the side joists, evidently to receive a padlock. From -within the room came the sound of knocking. He tapped on the door; the -sound ceased and Mounseer asked: - -“Who is there?” - -“It’s me, sir,” said Martin. - -“Ah, you, my young friend. Wait but one little moment.” - -The bolts were drawn inside, the door was opened, and there stood -Mounseer in his shirt-sleeves, chisel in hand. Martin gave his message. - -“But yes; assuredly: I ask pardon for keeping it so long. But you see, -one must be careful. My lock was broken by that villain; therefore I -must make other defences.” - -Martin noticed that an iron socket for a bar was fitted to the inside of -the door, and the bar itself, a stout baulk of wood, was leaning against -the wall. - -“Pouf! It is hot,” the Frenchman went on, “though I take off my coat and -open the window. A little rest will be agreeable. But I ask for the -hammer again, until I finish; I wish to finish this night.” - -Promising to bring the hammer back in a few minutes Martin went down to -the basement. But it was more than half an hour later, and dusk was -already falling, before he was able to return: Susan’s job had taken -longer than he had expected. - -This time there was no answer to his tap on Mounseer’s door, nor any -sound from within. He waited awhile, then tapped again. A sleepy voice -asked who was there, and when Martin was at last admitted, the old -gentleman apologised for the delay. - -“It is the terrible heat,” he said, spreading out his hands. “I fall -asleep; I am old, and the labour fatigues me. How I would like to be -young, like you! Labour is light for the young.” - -“But I can’t get any work, sir,” said Martin. - -“Courage, my young friend. It will come. Seat yourself, and tell me -where you go to-day; I am very much interested.” - -Sitting on a chair facing the open window, Martin began to relate his -wanderings of the day, while the Frenchman took the hammer and chisel -and worked away at the bar of wood by the light of a candle. - -While Martin was speaking he fancied he saw something move just outside -the window. Though somewhat startled, he had the presence of mind to go -on with his story, and a few moments afterwards was astonished to see a -hat appear above the edge of the window-sill, at a corner. - -It rose slowly; the dim light of the candle at the farther end of the -room showed him a man’s face—a face seamed with a scar across the -temple. So great was his surprise at recognising one of the men who had -tried to steal his parcel that he jumped up with a sudden cry. - -Instantly the face disappeared, and by the time Martin and the Frenchman -reached the window the man was half-way down the gutter-pipe up which he -had climbed. - -With amazing quickness Mounseer seized a three-legged stool and hurled -it down. It missed the man by an inch or two, and fell with a crash upon -the ground. In another second the man dropped beside it and bolted -across the open space into the darkness. - -“What is the matter?” asked a voice from above. - -Looking up, Martin saw Mr. Seymour, the occupant of the upper floor, -leaning over his window-sill. - -“A matter of no consequence,” said the Frenchman, drawing Martin back -into the room. “I must close the shutters,” he went on, “though it will -be very hot. But I do not like the curious people.” - -“That face belonged to one of the men who tried to rob me,” said Martin. -“It is strange he should have come to the house where I live, for I’ve -nothing worth stealing here. I’ll describe him to Gollop, and he’ll -circulate the description, and someone will arrest the fellow.” - -“Not for me, my friend,” said the Frenchman. “I, a stranger, would not -give trouble. And indeed my best protection is not in the Law, but in a -few stout bolts and my lifelong friend yonder.” - -He pointed to his rapier, hanging on the wall. - -It was clear to Martin that the Frenchman wished to be alone, so he said -Good-night and went downstairs. On the way he was struck by a curious -circumstance. According to Susan Gollop, Mounseer had been hammering all -day; why then was there so little sign of it? All that he had done would -have been the work of only an hour or two. But perhaps the old gentleman -was not expert with tools. - - - - - CHAPTER THE NINTH - - - AN ADVENTURE IN PUDDING LANE - -Next morning, when the time came for Lucy to start for school, the -Frenchman said that he felt a little indisposed, and would not venture -out in the heat. - -“I’ll take her,” said Martin. “But I can’t promise to bring her back, -because I’m going in search of work again, and I don’t know where I’ll -be when school is over.” - -“Don’t you worry, my lad,” said Susan. “Dick will be home then, and he -can fetch the child for once. And I hope you’ll get a job to-day, for it -makes a difference not having your few shillings at the weekend.” - -When he had left his sister at the door of the dame’s school, Martin -stood for a minute or two undecided as to the way he would go in his -hunt for work. - -He was feeling rather disheartened. It was the first time Susan Gollop -had said a word to hint that he was a burden to her, and in his pride he -was determined that she should never have another occasion for any -remark of the sort. - -Up to the present his applications for a job had been made at the larger -places of business—establishments that would rank equal with Mr. -Greatorex’s shop in Cheapside. But it was no time to pick and choose; he -would take the meanest job that offered itself, no matter what it was. - -It occurred to him that he might have better success if he crossed the -river and made inquiries at the Hop Market in Southwark. In the course -of his walk towards London Bridge he was crossing Pudding Lane, a narrow -street near Billingsgate, when he was almost thrown down by the sudden -impact of a strange figure that darted out of a baker’s shop at the -corner. - -“Steady!” he cried, putting up his hands to protect himself. - -The figure recoiled, then without a word of excuse or explanation dashed -down the lane. Martin laughed; he had never seen a more comical object -than this boy, a little bigger than himself, who was covered with flour, -and whose head was almost concealed in a large mass of dough. - -His amusement was increased when he saw a second figure issue from the -shop—the figure of a short, stout man, he too cased in dough and flour -from head to foot. The baker set off at a toddling scamper after the -boy, their course marked on the cobblestones with a white trail. - -In a few moments the pursuer recognised that his chase was hopeless. The -boy, indeed, had turned the corner and was out of sight by the time his -master had run half a dozen paces. - -“The young villain!” cried the man, stopping short and shaking his fist -in the direction of the vanished fugitive. - -He turned back towards the shop, picking at the dough that clung to his -hair and beard, spluttering and muttering curses the while. As he was -passing Martin a mass of the loosened dough fell over his eyes, and for -a moment he tottered like a blind man. - -Martin sprang to his side, held him steady, and helped him to rid -himself of some of the dough, which hung in long clammy strips about his -face, like the curls of a full-bottomed wig. - -“Ugh! Ugh!” gasped the baker. “The insolent young ruffian! Thank you! -Thank you! My hair is short, or—— The young viper! ’Tis a mercy none -of the neighbours have seen my plight. Quick, boy; lead me. I can -scarcely see my own shop door!” - -Martin took him by the arm and led him the few paces to his shop. On the -sign hanging above the door were the words: “Faryner, Baker to His -Majesty the King.” - -Within the shop Martin stayed to give further assistance to the angry -baker, who intermingled abuse of the runaway boy with explanations, half -to himself, and half to Martin. - -“The whelp!” he exclaimed. “He comes late, and when I tax him, is saucy, -scandalously saucy. ’Twould try the patience of a saint, and I’m no -saint. Must silence his chattering tongue. Up with a pan of dough; dab -it on the rascal’s head. - -“The impudence of the knave! What does he do but snatch up another pan -and empty it over me—me, a master baker, baker to the King, contractor -to the Admiralty, purveyor to half the nobility and gentry. Ay, and -flings a bag of flour at me. What do you think of that? What is the -world coming to?” - -Martin did not venture to say what he thought. - -“Well, he’ll never darken my doors again, that’s certain. And that -reminds me. There’s his basket—the loaves ought to have been delivered -an hour ago. I was already one boy short, and the rascal knew it, and -yet he came late. I shall lose some of my best customers.” - -The greater part of the sticky mass had now been plucked from the -baker’s head. He looked ruefully at the basket of loaves in a corner of -the shop, scratched his head, became conscious that there were still -some fragments of dough adhering to his short-clipped hair, and burst -out again into violent denunciation of his errand boy. - -On the impulse of the moment Martin spoke up. - -“I’ll take the basket. I’m out of a job.” - -“Ah!” exclaimed the baker, looking at him keenly as if he was only just -aware of him. “Who are you?” - -“My name’s Martin Leake.” - -“Are you honest?” - -“Won’t you try me?” - -“That’s not a bad answer. You’ve done me a service and I like the look -of you. I’ll try you. Here’s a list of the customers these loaves are to -be delivered to. Set off at once. Nay, wait! I don’t like changes. If I -try you, and you satisfy me, I shall expect you to stick to the job. -Five shillings a week and a loaf a day. That’s my wages.” - -“I’ll be glad to earn that to begin with,” said Martin. - -“Then that’s a bargain. Don’t loiter.” - -Martin took the basket on his arm, and as he went out he heard the baker -mutter: - -“How shall I get rid of the rest of this plaguey dough? The young -ruffian!” - -Scanning the list of customers given him, Martin was interested to find -at the bottom the name of Mr. Slocum, at the goldsmith’s shop in -Cheapside. The idea of meeting his old master was not at all pleasant, -but he reflected that if he went to the back entrance, from a yard -leading out of Bow Lane, he would probably avoid such a meeting, and see -only the housekeeper or the cook, who had both been on friendly terms -with him. - -“I’m glad it’s the last on the list,” he thought. “But I wish I hadn’t -to go there at all. What strange fate is always bringing me into contact -with old Slocum? I don’t like it. There’s something mysterious about -it.” - -And it was with a strange feeling of misgiving that he trudged on with -his heavy load of bread. - - - - - CHAPTER THE TENTH - - - A MYSTERIOUS VISITOR - -Martin’s first hour’s experience as baker’s boy was by no means -pleasant. Mr. Faryner’s customers had been kept waiting for their -morning rolls and loaves, and at nearly every house where Martin called -he was received with dark looks and cutting words. - -He took it all in good part, explained that he was a new boy, and -promised to be earlier on the morrow. As the basket became lighter he -grew more cheerful, and by the time he reached Bow Lane he had almost -forgotten the forebodings with which he had started. - -Turning into the yard by which he would reach the back entrance to Mr. -Slocum’s house he suddenly collided with a boy coming in the opposite -direction. He was turning round; the basket was jerked off his arm, and -the two loaves it contained rolled out on the cobblestones. - -“Now, clumsy, why don’t you look where you are going?” said a -well-remembered voice. - -Martin had already recognised his old opponent, the apprentice through -whom he had been dismissed. He was himself recognised before he could -say a word in reply, and for a moment or two the boys stared at each -other. Then the apprentice laughed. - -“Dash my eyes!” he said. “Do I see Martin Leake?” - -Without waiting for an answer he swooped on the loaves, picked them up, -rubbed the dust off on his breeches, and rushed back into the open -doorway of the house. - -“Sally, here’s Martin Leake turned baker’s boy,” Martin heard him shout. - -In a few seconds he came out again followed by the cook with the loaves -in her hands. Martin had picked up his basket, and was standing just -outside the door. - -“Well I never!” exclaimed the cook, who had always been well disposed -towards Martin. “So you are working for Faryner, are you? I was -wondering what had come to the boy. Mr. Slocum is in a towering rage -because he’s been kept waiting for his breakfast. I’ll just send up the -bread, then I’ll come back, Master Hopton; mind you that.” - -She retreated into the house, and the boys were left at the door. They -stood looking at each other awkwardly. Martin bore Hopton no malice; on -the other hand he could not feel friendly towards him, and had not the -cook asked him to remain he would have walked away. - -“Slocum’s a terror,” said the apprentice suddenly. - -Martin did not reply. - -“Sent me out to buy a loaf,” Hopton went on. “You saved me a journey.” - -This did not appear to call for an answer. There was silence again for a -few moments. - -“I say, I’m sorry I got you turned out,” said Hopton, awkwardly. - -“You needn’t be,” said Martin, surprised. “I wouldn’t come back again -for anything.” - -“I don’t blame you. I’m sick of Slocum and his tempers. Does Faryner pay -you well?” - -“Now what’s that to do with you, Master Hopton?” said the cook, -returning. “Just you run back to the shop, or you’ll get into trouble.” - -“All right, Sally,” said the apprentice, grinning. He gave Martin a -friendly wink as he turned into the house. - -“So you have made up your quarrels,” said the cook. - -“I’m not sure that we have,” replied Martin, with a smile. “But he’s -very friendly. I wonder why?” - -“He wishes he were you, I daresay, instead of being bound to Mr. Slocum -for seven years. To Mr. Slocum, says I, though ’tis really to Mr. -Greatorex. Ah! I wish the old master had never left the City. What -things are coming to I don’t know. Mr. Slocum’s cursing and cuffing -those apprentices from morning till night, and you’re lucky to be out of -it.” - -“What’s the matter with him?” - -“Goodness alone knows! It’s my belief he has something on his mind, -but—— There he is, bawling for me. Don’t let him see you. Coming, sir, -coming!” - -Martin hurried away, feeling more than ever glad that he was no longer -in Mr. Slocum’s service, and wondering whether his old employer’s ill -temper was connected in any way with his mysterious doings on the -riverside. - -Another round, in a different part of the city, occupied part of the -afternoon, and Martin had to clean out the shop before he left for home. -Again it had been a very hot day, and he was more tired than he had ever -been before; so tired, indeed, that he was not inclined to talk about -his new job. - -“’Tis a come-down, to be sure, for a master mariner’s son,” said Dick -Gollop; “but what you can’t help, make the best of.” - -“Now don’t you go for to dishearten the lad, with your come-downs,” said -Susan. “’Tis honest and useful, and we shan’t have to buy so much -bread.” - -Weary though he was, Martin that night found it impossible to sleep. His -room was small and felt like an oven, though he had opened the window -and the door, and thrown off all the bedclothes. - -The senses of a sleepless person are extraordinarily acute, and as the -hours dragged on Martin became annoyed at the regular snores of Susan -Gollop in the room beyond. Dick happened to be out on night duty again. -For a long time the only other sounds Martin heard were the footsteps of -Mr. Seymour as he went along the passage above and up the stairs to his -room. - -“He’s very late home,” thought Martin. - -He heard the lodger shut his door; then all was silent again until a new -sound, outside his window, caught his ear. It was a slight thud, such as -would be made by a small object falling on the ground, and he might -hardly have noticed it had not recent events made him heedful and -suspicious. - -Rising from his bed he tiptoed on bare feet to the window and looked -out, taking care to keep out of sight himself. It was a starry night, -and he saw a dark patch against the sky—the form of a man standing on -the square of waste ground above the basement level. - -His thoughts flew to the man who had climbed the gutter pipe to the old -Frenchman’s room, and his heart began to beat more quickly. Then he -heard whispering voices. The man was evidently talking to someone on one -of the upper floors. Only a few words were spoken, then the man walked -quickly away. - -Martin was relieved; it seemed that there was to be no further attack on -the Frenchman’s room. But he was also puzzled. Who was the man? Why -should anyone come in the dead of night to the back of the house and -talk to one of the inmates? And to whom had he spoken? It must be either -Mounseer or Mr. Seymour. - -Still listening and watching, Martin suddenly heard the stairs creak. -More than ever puzzled, and a little alarmed, he stole out into the -passage. There were now footsteps in the hall above. He crept up the -basement stairs on hands and knees, and noticed a dim flickering light -upon the wall. - -At the top of the staircase he bent low and peeped round. A smoky candle -was guttering on the hall floor. The front door was partly open, and -Martin saw the back of a man in nightcap and dressing-gown, talking to -someone outside. - -“Mr. Seymour!” said Martin to himself. “It’s too tall for Mounseer.” - -“The sloop is in the river,” said a husky voice. “It’s too risky. You -had better take it.” - -“If I must, I must!” replied Mr. Seymour, in a low tone. - -He opened the door a little farther. Martin felt strangely excited. A -mysterious visitor to Mr. Seymour; a sloop in the river; some risky -enterprise; something that Mr. Seymour was to take; all these -circumstances sharpened his curiosity and caused him to strain eyes and -ears. - -The two men between them carried a heavy object into the hall. Martin -could not see what it was, nor could he see the features of the visitor. -Mr. Seymour was between them and the light. - -“Remember you’ll have to account to me,” said the stranger in the same -low, husky tone. - -“If you don’t trust me,” replied Mr. Seymour impatiently, “take it -away!” - -“Trust you—oh, yes!” was the answer, with a slight gurgle of laughter. -“But I thought I might as well remind you. That’s all. Good-night!” - -He turned his back and went out into the darkness, Mr. Seymour gently -closing the door behind him. And then Martin saw that the object on the -floor was a square box, brass-bound at the corners. - -Mr. Seymour shot the bolt without noise, shouldered the box, which -appeared to be of considerable weight, then looked at the candle. - -“Confound it!” he muttered, frowning. - -Martin guessed that he was annoyed because, laden with the box, he could -not stoop to lift the candle. - -Slowly, taking every step cautiously, he carried the box up the first -staircase, across the landing, and then up the staircase to his own -room. In a minute he returned, picked up the candle, and ascended once -more. - -Martin’s heart was thumping as he crept down to his room again, and it -was almost morning before he at last fell asleep. - - - - - CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH - - - MR. SLOCUM AGAIN - -Having to be early at his new job, Martin was hurried in the morning. -When he left after a quick breakfast, Dick Gollop was still a-bed; he -had only returned from his night duty about five o’clock. So Martin had -no opportunity of telling the constable of the strange incident he had -witnessed in the night, and he refrained from mentioning it to the -others for fear of alarming them. - -He was still greatly puzzled, and his mind was full of the matter as he -walked to Mr. Faryner’s shop in Pudding Lane. There was no reason why -Mr. Seymour should not have a box delivered to him. But why had the -messenger come secretly by night? What was the danger? And what was the -meaning of the mysterious reference to the sloop in the river? - -These questions were driven from his thoughts for a time by his work. -Mr. Faryner praised him for coming punctually, gave him a few odd jobs -to do, and then sent him out on the morning round. - -In due course he arrived at the goldsmith’s house, and once more made -his way to the back entrance. Leaving his basket just inside the door, -he took the four loaves intended for Mr. Slocum’s household up the -stairs to the kitchen on the first floor. - -Passing the hall landing, he noticed that the door of a small room which -was usually kept locked now stood ajar. The fact did not arouse any -particular curiosity, and he went on to the kitchen and handed the bread -to the friendly cook. - -“I’m glad you are early,” she said, “though it wouldn’t have mattered so -much this morning. The master isn’t up yet. He was out late last night, -and I warrant will be in a rare tantrum when he wakes. And how do you -like your new work?” - -“Better when I’ve finished than when I begin,” replied Martin, smiling. -“The basket is very heavy at the start, and it makes me very tired this -hot weather.” - -“Never mind; it’s something to be working for the King’s baker, and I -hope you’ll get on. There now! What did I say!” - -Mr. Slocum had just called “Sally!” from below stairs, and his voice -certainly sounded far from good-tempered. - -“Coming, sir,” the cook answered, and hurried to the head of the -staircase. - -“I want you to go at once to the dairyman’s in Milk Street and complain -of the mouldy cheese he sent me. Tell him it’s not fit for pigs, and if -he can’t serve me better I’ll deal elsewhere.” - -“Very good, sir,” said Sally. “I’ll just fetch my shawl.” - -“Nonsense, woman; you don’t need your shawl a hot day like this. Get -away at once, and be sure you don’t mince matters.” - -Martin heard Mr. Slocum’s loud angry tones distinctly. The cook hurried -downstairs, her master talking at her all the time. As soon as she had -left the house Mr. Slocum dashed up the stairs, and Martin realised that -his retreat was cut off. He had no fear of his old employer, but was not -at all eager to meet him. - -By the time Mr. Slocum reached the kitchen door, Martin had stepped back -into the shelter afforded by the jutting corner of a large cupboard. Mr. -Slocum came in hurriedly, turned the key in the door, and went straight -across the room to another door that led into a passage and thence into -his private room. - -Martin waited, undecided whether to go at once or to remain until he was -sure the coast was clear. Just as he was on the point of moving he heard -Mr. Slocum returning, and thought it better to stay where he was. - -The goldsmith’s movements were much slower now, and when he came into -view Martin had a shock of surprise. The man was carrying a box, -brass-bound at the corners, exactly like the box which had been -delivered to Mr. Seymour the previous night. He passed across the -kitchen, unlocked the door, and began to descend the stairs. - -Martin felt trapped. He was lucky in having escaped notice so far; he -could hardly hope not to be observed if Mr. Slocum returned. And hearing -Mr. Slocum enter the room on the half-landing he hurried after him on -tip-toe, hoping to slip by unseen. - -Just as he reached the half-landing Mr. Slocum, empty-handed, came out -of the little room, shutting the door behind him. Martin bent, and tried -to dash by; but Mr. Slocum heard him, turned quickly, shot out his hand -and caught him by the tail of his coat. - -“Who on earth are you?” cried the goldsmith. “No use wriggling; I have -you fast.” And then, as he caught sight of Martin’s face: “You! You -scoundrel! Where have you come from? What business have you here? Didn’t -I tell you never to show your face again?” - -“I am working for Mr. Faryner, and have just brought your bread,” Martin -replied. - -“Then what are you hanging about for? Why are you hiding in my house?” - -“The cook was called away before she had time to pay me.” - -“And you are skulking here, stealing for all I know. I’ll send for a -constable, and give you in charge on suspicion of loitering with the -intention of committing a felony.” - -“You may do that if you please, Mr. Slocum,” said Martin with spirit. -“But you have nothing against me, and you will look rather silly.” - -At this Mr. Slocum lifted his left hand to clout Martin, who took -advantage of a slight relaxing of the grip of the other hand to wrench -himself away and leap down the stairs. He picked up his basket and fled -out into the yard, leaving Mr. Slocum shouting threats and curses behind -him. - -The sequel to this unlucky meeting was seen later in the day. On -returning from his afternoon round Martin found that Mr. Slocum had sent -a message to the baker, saying that if the new errand boy was sent again -to the house he would transfer his custom. - -“You were impudent, I suppose,” said Mr. Faryner, “and you won’t suit -me, and that’s a pity, for I’d taken a fancy to you. It’s a lesson to me -to make inquiries before I hire a boy.” - -Martin thought it was high time to give his employer a little -information. He related the morning’s incident, not mentioning the box; -some instinct prompted him to keep that to himself. - -“There was nothing much to be angry about,” said the baker. “Have you -told me everything?” - -“I haven’t told you that I was once in Mr. Slocum’s employment, and he -dismissed me for——” - -“Impudence? Confess now.” - -“No, sir; for fighting one of the apprentices.” - -“Bless me, I’ve done that myself,” said Mr. Faryner, with a laugh. “But -come now, I can’t afford to lose a good customer. I daren’t send you on -that round again. Let me see.” - -He stuck his hands into his belt and looked questioningly at Martin. - -“Can you row a boat?” he asked. - -“I’ve done it often,” said Martin. “My father was a sea-captain, and -I’ve helped my friends among the watermen more than once.” - -“Capital! Then I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll put another boy on your -round, and I’ll give you the river. You’ll take supplies to the ships in -the Pool. What do you say to that?” - -“I’ll say thank you, sir; I shall like it very much.” - -“Very well, then. You see, I’ve taken a fancy to you.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWELFTH - - - THE BRASS-BOUND BOX - -When Martin reached home that evening he told his friends of the -approaching change in his work that was due to Mr. Slocum. Susan -Gollop’s red cheeks grew redder as she listened to him. - -“That Slocum is a monster!” she cried indignantly. “I’d like to give him -a piece of my mind, that I would!” - -“Now don’t you go putting your oar in, my woman,” said the constable. “I -don’t like the man, but he was within his rights in turning out of the -house the boy he dismissed for misbehaviour——” - -“Misbehaviour, indeed!” Susan interrupted. “What’s his own behaviour -like? Tell me that. Mr. Greatorex ought to know what a temper the man -has got, and if he didn’t live so far away I’d tell him myself. Martin -shall write it down for me, being no scholar myself, and we’ll send Mr. -Greatorex a letter.” - -“Avast there!” said Dick. “Look at it sensible, Sue. Mr. Greatorex is -the owner of the ship, so to put it, and he’s made Slocum captain. -’Tain’t for us to question his right so to do. And d’you think he’s -going to bother his head about the ship’s boy?” - -“What ship’s boy?” - -“Why, Martin, of course. In a manner of speaking he was the ship’s boy -aboard that craft.” - -“Stuff and nonsense!” exclaimed Susan. “You and your ship’s boy—and -Martin the son of a captain _and_ owner! Gollop, I wonder at your -ignorance.” - -“Well, my dear, what you can’t help, make the best of. Let things alone, -that’s what I say, and maybe Martin’ll never meet Slocum again, and so -it won’t matter.” - -Martin was not long in deciding that Mr. Slocum had really done him a -good turn. He liked his new job—to deliver bread to the ships in the -Pool. Their officers, coming into harbour after long voyages, were glad -to get a change from the hard, mouldy, and often worm-bitten biscuit -which they had to put up with at sea. Mr. Faryner’s excellent loaves -found a ready sale among them. - -At least once, sometimes twice, a day Martin rowed out from the steps -below London Bridge to the vessels that lay against the wharves or at -anchor in the river. Sometimes he would send up his bread in a basket -lowered over the side; sometimes, after tying his painter to the anchor -chains, he would himself swarm up a rope ladder to the deck. Now and -then he had to scramble across the lighters surrounding a vessel that -was taking in or discharging cargo. - -He found all this thoroughly interesting and enjoyable. It was much -easier to carry his basket in a boat than to carry it on his arm. He -liked to meet and chat with the jolly sailor-men and to see the insides -of the ships whose outsides he knew so well. If he could not go to sea -himself, he felt that the next best thing was to have something to do -with those who did, even if it were only supplying them with bread. - -And he was well satisfied with his change of masters. Mr. Faryner, he -found, was just as quick-tempered as Mr. Slocum, but he was not mean or -spiteful or unjust. - -One Saturday when Martin had made a slight mistake in accounting for the -money he had received from customers, the baker flew into a rage. - -“You’re either a ninny or a rascal!” he cried. “And I don’t know which -is worse. Can’t you add two and two? You’re no good to me. Boys are the -plague of my life, none of them any good. If they’re not saucy they’re -stupid, and if they’re not stupid they’re——. Here, get out of my -sight, and don’t stare at me as if I were a fat pig at a fair!” - -Martin was careful to keep out of the angry man’s way, and wondered -whether, when he received his week’s wages, he would be told to find -another job. To his surprise Mr. Faryner seemed to have forgotten the -matter that had upset him. - -“Here you are, my lad,” he said, as he handed Martin his five shillings. -“And you had better take two loaves home to-night instead of one; there -are some over, and they’ll be too stale to sell by Monday.” - -Like many another quick-tempered man’s, Mr. Faryner’s bark was worse -than his bite. - -When Martin got home that evening he found Susan Gollop in a great state -of excitement. - -“I don’t know what’s coming to us all,” she said. “Only think of it! -When Mounseer came back from his walk this afternoon he found his room -all upside-down and higgledy-piggledy, and me in the house all the time, -and never heard a sound!” - -“What happened?” asked Martin, remembering the former attempts on the -Frenchman’s room. - -“Why, someone got in, front or back, I don’t know how, and picked his -padlock, and rummaged the room, forced open his cupboard, slit up his -mattress, and even ripped the lining of his coat on the peg.” - -“But why? What were they seeking?” Martin asked in his amazement. “He -seems to have nothing valuable except his sword.” - -“Ah! That’s what puzzles me. And what’s more, Mounseer didn’t seem very -upset when he came in and found everything topsy-turvy. He just looked -round the room, and then he smiled—fancy that; smiled!—as if it was -just a muddle made by children. - -“‘You take it easy, sir,’ says I, and he gave his shoulders a shrug—you -know his way—and said, ‘Be so good, madam’—he called me madam—‘to -help me arrange.’ And when we were in the middle of putting things -straight, who should come in but Mr. Seymour. - -“‘Dear me!’ says he, all astonished like, ‘what in the world is the -matter?’ And just as I was opening my mouth, Mounseer took me up short. -‘Nothing in the world, sir,’ says he, ‘I thank you!’ And he goes -straight to the door and shuts it in Mr. Seymour’s face. - -“I was fair took aback; where were his French manners? Always so polite -to me, calling me madam and all, and yet almost rude to Mr. Seymour! - -“Mounseer must have took a dislike to him, that’s all I can say, and -very queer it is, for Mr. Seymour is a nice, pleasant-spoken gentleman, -with always a ‘Good-day, Mrs. Gollop!’ or ‘Very warm, Mrs. Gollop!’ -whenever I meet him on the stairs.” - -Martin said nothing to this, though recent incidents had made him -uncomfortable, and inclined to share in Mounseer’s evident distrust of -the mysterious lodger on the top floor. His doubts were deepened by -something that happened that very night. - -He was disturbed from a sound sleep by slight noises from the waste land -at the rear of the house. They were louder than they had been on the -previous occasion, and he guessed that the man below had had more -difficulty in attracting Mr. Seymour’s attention. - -But things happened as before. There was a short, murmured exchange of -words between the two men; the speaker below went away, Mr. Seymour came -with scarcely a sound down the stairs. Martin reached his post near the -top of the basement staircase in time to hear the same husky voice -outside the front door say: “The sloop is back in the river.” - -Again Mr. Seymour opened the door wide, and the other man brought in a -brass-bound box. - -“It’s heavier this time,” said Mr. Seymour. “You must give me a hand -with it upstairs.” - -“It’s not safe. You’ve got slippers; my sea-boots make too much noise.” - -“Take them off, and walk in your stockings!” said Mr. Seymour, -impatiently. - -The other man growled, but came forward, set the box on the floor, and -sat on it while he removed his boots. His features were still concealed -from Martin by Mr. Seymour’s figure between him and the candle half-way -down the hall. He stood up. - -“Heave ho,” he muttered. - -And then Martin started, and instinctively shrank back a little. When he -looked out again the two men, carrying the box between them, were full -in the light of the guttering candle, and in the larger of them he -recognised the black-bearded stranger whom he had first seen at the -river stairs in the company of Mr. Slocum, and whom he had rowed down to -Deptford in Jack Boulter’s wherry. - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH - - - BLACKBEARD VISITS THE BAKER - -The astonishing discovery that Mr. Seymour and Blackbeard, as he called -the stranger to himself, had dealings in common kept Martin awake for a -good many hours. - -He acknowledged that there was no reason why they should not have -business relations, but there seemed to be something underhand in these -stealthy visits by night. - -When he got up in the morning he went straight into Dick Gollop’s room, -and roused him. - -“What do you want?” asked the constable, sleepily. “It’s not my watch -yet.” - -“Wake up and listen!” replied Martin. - -“Been fighting again, eh?” - -“No. Do wake up; it’s something you ought to know.” - -“Well, spin your yarn, and don’t be long about it, or my eyes’ll shut, -and then my ears won’t be no manner of good.” - -Martin wasted no words in recounting the story of Blackbeard’s two -midnight visits and the conveying up to Mr. Seymour’s room of the two -brass-bound boxes. Gollop began to snore in the middle of it, but was -roused again by a vigorous shake. - -“And you spoil a man’s sleep for that!” the constable grumbled. “I -wouldn’t have thought it of you!” - -“But surely——” - -“Now, look here, my lad!” said Gollop, raising himself on one elbow, -“don’t you go for to teach me anything about the law.” - -“I wasn’t going——” - -“Stow your gab and hark to me! Ain’t I a constable, and therefore a man -of law? Well, then, I tell you there’s nothing in the law to prevent a -man, two men, forty men, bringing a box, two boxes, forty boxes, into a -house at any watch o’ the night, dog-watch included.” - -“But——” - -“Don’t interrupt. If so be I was to run athwart the course of a man -conveying a box in the middle watches it ’ud be my bounden duty to hail -him and ask where he was bound for—if ’twas in the street, mind you, -and I was on my rounds. But when a man has got across his own -threshold—set his foot on his own deck in a manner of speaking—then I -question him at my peril.” - -“Couldn’t you search the house?” - -“Not being an inward-bound ship, nor me a customs officer, I couldn’t, -not without a warrant.” - -“Why not get a warrant?” asked Martin. - -“Why not? Because there’s no reason to think there’s anything contraband -in them boxes; and, what’s more, because I’m dead sleepy. So just you -set a course for your baker’s shop, my lad; what you can’t help, make -the best of.” - -Martin was by no means satisfied that the constable’s exposition of the -law was sound, but it was clearly impossible to do anything more with -him until he had finished his sleep. - -That morning, Martin, in the course of his duty, boarded a vessel moored -near Wapping which he had already visited several times, and where he -had established friendly relations with the cook. - -“Two quarterns to-day, and mind they’re not stale,” said the cook. - -“We never have any stale; our bread sells like hot cakes,” said Martin. - -“Well, there’s a new customer for you astern there.” - -The cook pointed to a vessel at anchor a few cables’ lengths down the -river. - -“Why, isn’t that the Portugal ship that was repairing at Deptford?” -Martin asked. - -“Ay, that’s her. She came up out of the yard on the tide yesterday.” - -“I saw her in the yard not long ago. She’s had her mainmast shot away by -the French, they said.” - -“True, that was the yarn. She’s a queer sort of vessel, by all accounts. -The crew are all black-haired men, but that you’d expect, being -Portugals or Levantines, or summat outlandish. What’s queer is that -they’re never allowed leave on shore. Even in Deptford, when the ship -was being overhauled, they had to sling their hammocks in an old -warehouse on the riverside. They was marched about like a lot of -prisoners—conveyed there and back by the officers—and a dark-looking -lot they are too. - -“The captain’s a white man—white, says I, meaning he’s not a nigger, -for his face is the colour of beer, and his hair as black as coal, and -his beard like a horse’s mane. And it’s well his crew are foreigners, -for true-born Englishmen wouldn’t stand that sort of treatment; there’d -be mutiny aboard, trust me. But there’s no proper spirit in those -Portugals; I don’t call ’em men.” - -“They’re men enough to eat English bread, I expect,” said Martin. - -“See that you get English money. I wouldn’t trust ’em far,” declared the -cook. - -Martin laughed as he went down the side. He had already got one or two -new customers for his master, and he was so much interested in this -Portugal vessel that he felt rather excited at the prospect of boarding -her. - -But as he rowed towards her he began to have qualms. It was members of -her crew that had chased him that night when he had rowed Boulter’s -wherry down to Deptford and picked up the fugitive boy. He remembered -their wild looks and savage cries; above all, he remembered the face of -the man who had urged them on—the man who had been his -passenger—Blackbeard himself. What if he were recognised when he ran -alongside the vessel? - -This idea daunted him, and swinging the boat round, he headed up the -river. But before he was half-way back to London Bridge he wished he had -taken the risk. After all, what had he to fear? Blackbeard might not be -aboard the ship; the crew had seen him only indistinctly in the dusk, -and they had been more intent on the boy he had taken into the boat than -on himself. - -Further, suppose Blackbeard did recognise him, what then? He would know -him only as the rower of the wherry, who had allowed a boy swimming in -the river to climb into his boat for safety. There was nothing in that; -anyone else might have done the same. Blackbeard could not know that he -lived in the same house as Mr. Seymour, and was aware of his mysterious -visits to that gentleman. - -But though he repented his timidity, he felt that he had come too far to -return now. As it turned out, he was glad of his decision, for in the -evening, just before closing time at the shop, when he was sweeping up -the flour and breadcrumbs that littered the floor, and had his back to -the door, he was startled to hear behind him the husky voice of the man -he had been thinking about. - -“Pardon, sir,” said the voice; and Martin noticed that it had a foreign -accent, not at all like that in which Blackbeard had spoken to Mr. -Seymour. - -He glanced over his shoulder, thinking he might be mistaken; but no, he -could not mistake that swarthy face and strangely-trimmed beard. - -“Pardon, sir, are you the baker as send bread to the ships on the -river?” - -“I am, to be sure,” said Mr. Faryner. - -“Then I beg you send three breads regular all the days to the _Santa -Maria_ what lie by Wapping.” - -“Are you the captain?” - -“I am so.” - -“Very well, I will send the bread, and you will pay on the spot?” - -“Without doubt, yes, I will pay. Good-night.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH - - - ON BOARD THE _SANTA MARIA_ - -Before Martin started on his river journey next morning, Mr. Faryner -impressed upon him that he must not leave bread upon the _Santa Maria_ -without payment. - -“I’ve been done before now,” said the baker. “I’ve given credit to -foreign captains and they’ve sailed away without settling. Once bit, -twice shy.” - -Martin visited his regular customers as usual, then rowed on to the -Portugal vessel, which lay some distance from the other ships, and was -the last for that morning’s delivery. - -His fears of the previous evening had left him, but he was conscious of -a rather quickening pulse as he brought his boat under the side. -Dark-browed men, leaning on the bulwarks, peered curiously at him, and -he could not help wondering whether one or another of them might -recognise his features. - -A rope ladder hung from the waist. Catching hold of this, he looked up -and called: - -“Bread for the _Santa Maria_.” - -To his surprise none of the men answered. They continued to stare at him -but did not change their positions. Even if they did not understand -English, he thought they might guess his errand from the sight of the -loaves in his basket. - -“Bread,” he called again, “ordered by the captain.” - -Then someone repeated the word _capitano_, and Martin inferred from the -way they talked among themselves that the captain was not on board. -Emboldened by this discovery, Martin pointed to the loaves, and made -signs that they were intended for the ship. - -“Ha, Sebastian,” cried one of the men. - -A few moments later a very fat man came from behind and pushed his way -through to the side. His swarthy cheeks hung like dewlaps over his thick -neck, his shirt was open, revealing a massive chest almost as dark as -his face. - -“What want?” he said. - -“The captain ordered these loaves from the King’s baker,” Martin -replied. - -“Up, up,” said the man, whose English appeared to be limited to -monosyllables. - -Martin began to do as he had been instructed: to place the loaves in a -small sack, sling this on his back, and swarm up the ladder. But when -Sebastian, whom he supposed to be the cook, saw his intention, he cried -“No, no,” waved him back, and let down a rope, indicating that Martin -was to tie the sack to that. - -There seemed to be nothing else to be done, though Martin was -disappointed: he had hoped for an opportunity of seeing something of -this mysterious vessel. The sack was drawn up; the man took it in his -huge dirty hands, and was turning away when Martin detained him by -calling out the word “money,” at the same time jingling the bag that -contained his morning’s takings. - -“No money; captain not here,” said the man. “Come again other time.” - -“I can’t do that,” said Martin. “My master’s orders were not to go -without the money.” - -“Basta!” exclaimed the cook; then he turned on his heel and disappeared. - -Without an instant’s hesitation, Martin hitched his painter to the rope -ladder, and, swarming up, sprang on to the deck. The seamen made way for -him, and looked on impassively as he darted across the deck. - -[Illustration] - -The cook was on the point of entering the galley, carrying the sack -slung loosely across his shoulders. He turned as he heard quick -footsteps, but was too late to prevent Martin from snatching the sack -away. - -The man snarled an ejaculation in his own tongue, and lurched heavily -forward with arms outstretched as if to recapture the sack. But Martin -skipped back, held the sack behind him, and said firmly: - -“I must have two shillings, or I cannot leave the bread.” - -Before the cook could reply, one of the crew made a remark which drew a -roar of laughter from his mates, and brought a fierce scowl upon -Sebastian’s face, and a torrent of angry words from his lips. Martin -noticed how his multiple chin shook as he denounced the men who were -chaffing him. - -He came on, threateningly, and Martin edged back, intending to toss the -sack into the boat and at least save his bread. But at this moment there -appeared round the side of the galley a slight, thin, dusky-faced boy, -in whom Martin at once recognised the child he had vainly tried to save -from his pursuers a few nights before. The boy’s manner suggested that -curiosity had drawn him to see what was going on. - -His appearance served to divert the cook’s wrath. Turning aside, -Sebastian dealt the boy a heavy blow that struck him sprawling upon the -deck, and lifted his foot to kick him as he lay. With a sudden spring -Martin thrust himself between the bully and his victim. - -For a moment there was dead silence; then a jesting remark from the -seaman who had spoken before evoked loud guffaws from the rest of the -crew. Purple with rage, Sebastian aimed a kick at Martin, who evaded it -by a quick sidelong movement, at the same time swinging his sack and -banging the man on the side of the head. - -The sudden blow upset his balance. He toppled sideways, and with a -resounding thump measured his huge bulk on the deck. The boy, meanwhile, -had picked himself up and darted into the galley. - -At this moment a man, somewhat better dressed than the others, came up -through the open hatchway and uttered a few words in a commanding tone -of voice. Martin guessed that he was demanding the meaning of the -uproar. A babel of explanations broke from the crew. The newcomer -silenced them with a stern gesture, his uneasy manner suggesting he was -anxious to put a stop to the scene and avoid further trouble. - -With a contemptuous look at Sebastian, who had now risen to his feet, he -ordered him away, and opening a wallet that was slung at his belt, made -signs that Martin was to take from it the money due to him. Martin -picked out two shillings, emptied the sack on the deck, then clambered -down the side into his boat and rowed away. - -Remembering the vindictive scowl on the cook’s face as he slunk off, he -wondered whether his impetuous action might not have done the boy more -harm than good. He felt a great pity for the wretched-looking little -fellow, with his thin cheeks and wistful, melancholy eyes. - -“I wasn’t much good to him before,” he thought, “and only got myself a -sore head. I suppose he is cook’s mate to that fat bully, and leads a -dog’s life on board this strange ship. No doubt they’ll tell Blackbeard -all about it when he comes on board, and I shouldn’t wonder if he -complains to Mr. Faryner, and I shall get into hot water again. Well, I -couldn’t do anything else, and as Dick Gollop says, what you can’t help, -make the best of.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH - - - COFFEE FOR TWO - -Martin debated with himself whether to tell Mr. Faryner what had -happened on board the _Santa Maria_. - -“If I mention the squabble he may think I’m a quarrelsome fellow,” he -said to himself ruefully. “He’ll say I get into trouble everywhere, on -land and on water too, and tell me to go. And I did want to go aboard -again: there’s something queer about that ship, and I’d like to know -more about her.” - -It happened when he got back to the shop that the baker was so much -concerned with another matter that he gave Martin no opportunity of -telling his story. - -“I’ve got another job for you, my lad,” he said. “You know Mr. Pasqua’s -coffee-house in Newman’s Court?” - -“No, sir; and I don’t know where Newman’s Court is,” Martin replied. - -“It’s off Cornhill; you know that. Well, Mr. Pasqua came himself this -morning and ordered a quantity of rolls and cakes to be sent to his -coffee-house. It’s a feather in my cap, my lad. He used to deal with -Grimes of Gracious Street, but he’s dissatisfied. I never did think much -of Grimes. Mr. Pasqua will be a very good customer if I please him, and -I promised that the things should be sent by one o’clock, and you’re -back just in time.” - -“Must I go before dinner, sir?” asked Martin, who had been out in the -heat since early morning. - -“Before dinner? Of course you must. What does your dinner matter when -there’s a new customer to be served? The basket will be ready in five -minutes; you can have your dinner presently. And let me tell you, you -must be very polite to Mr. Pasqua if you see him. He has been a servant, -and there’s no one more likely to take offence at want of politeness in -a servant than a man who has been a servant himself. And he’s a -foreigner too.” - -“A Frenchman, sir?” - -“No, a Sicilian. I wonder you haven’t heard of him. He was the servant -of an English merchant who lived in the East, and came back with his -master a few years ago to make coffee for him in the Eastern way. Mr. -Edwards, the merchant, had learnt the use of coffee-beans, and he was so -plagued and pestered by his friends and visitors wanting to taste the -new drink that he set his servant up in a coffee-house, and the man is -now a good deal richer than I am. Here’s the last batch.” - -A man came from the bakery bearing a tray laden with crisp brown rolls -and rice-cakes. These were placed in the basket and Martin set off. - -Following the fashion set by Mr. Pasqua, others had opened coffee-houses -in different parts of the city; but they were frequented only by -merchants and gentlemen, and Martin had never been inside one. It was -therefore with considerable interest that he entered the coffee-house in -Newman’s Court. - -It was a large square room with a counter at one end, on which stood -glistening urns, porcelain cups, and silver sugar-basins. Behind it was -a young woman with golden hair piled high upon her head. A kettle hung -from a hook over a wood-fire. - -Here and there about the room were small tables surrounded by wooden -chairs. At one side the room was partitioned off into compartments, some -with doors, within which the merchants could sip their coffee and talk -over their business in privacy. - -Two boys were serving customers at the tables, and a small, dark, -foreign-looking man was moving about, exchanging a word here and a word -there. - -When Martin entered with his laden basket, the foreigner, Mr. Pasqua -himself, came up to him, and speaking in very good English, said: - -“You are from Faryner’s, boy?” - -“Yes, sir.” - -“You are in very good time. It is not yet one o’clock, and I am pleased. -Grimes’s boy was late, over and over again, and I was in danger of -losing my customers, the gentlemen who honour me. Tell Mr. Faryner that -he has begun well. And now let me see what you have brought.” - -He took a cake and a roll from the basket, and bit each of them in turn. - -“Very good,” he said, as he munched, smacking his lips and blinking his -eyelids. Martin was amused at the little man’s serious air. - -Calling one of his boys, he bade him take the basket to the signorina. -This was evidently the young woman behind the counter, but as she spoke -in a very decided London accent Martin felt sure she was not a foreigner -and wondered why she was so called. It was a harmless affectation of Mr. -Pasqua’s, like that which, in those days of Charles II, gave Italian -names to English musicians and mountebanks. - -While the basket was being emptied, Mr. Pasqua said to Martin: - -“You look tired, boy. Would you like a cup of coffee?” - -“I have never tasted it, sir,” Martin answered. - -“Then this shall be a great day in your life. A cup of coffee, -signorina.” - -A small cup was brought to Martin. Sipping it, he made a wry face. - -“Ah! You find it bitter,” said Mr. Pasqua. “But stir it with the spoon, -then taste again.” - -At the bottom of the cup was thick brown sugar. Martin stirred and -tasted. - -“That is good, eh?” said the man, smiling. “It will refresh you. And you -shall have another cup when you come the next time.” - -At this moment a bell rang in one of the closed compartments. Mr. Pasqua -himself hurried to answer the summons. As the door opened, Martin was -startled, and hastily turned his head. Seated at the little table were -two men, Mr. Slocum and Mr. Seymour. - -He was careful not to look towards them again, and was glad when the -empty basket was brought to him and he was able to get out into the -street. - -His first feeling was relief that he had not been seen by Mr. Slocum. He -thoroughly distrusted his former employer, and was ready to believe that -he would not hesitate to make mischief with Mr. Pasqua. - -“Why am I always coming across that man?” he thought. - -Then as he walked back towards Pudding Lane, he grew uneasy and -suspicious. It was a shock to him that Mr. Slocum and Mr. Seymour were -acquainted. He had seen each of them at different times with Blackbeard, -and the fact that all three were acquainted brought a crowd of -recollections to his mind. - -He remembered that he had seen Mr. Slocum carrying a brass-bound box -exactly like those which Blackbeard had brought to Mr. Seymour. He -recalled how angry Mr. Slocum had been on that occasion, without any -obvious reasonable cause. - -Blackbeard’s visits to Mr. Seymour had been secret. Was Mr. Slocum’s -anger due to the fact that he also had something to conceal? What was -the connection between the three men? Had it anything to do with the -boxes? What did they contain? Were they part of the cargo of the _Santa -Maria_?—perhaps held smuggled goods? - -Puzzling about these questions, Martin suddenly thought of another—one -that startled him. What was the nature of the business between Mr. -Slocum and the old Frenchman? - -The question came as a surprise to Martin himself. At first he did not -understand what had given rise to it, but he found himself fitting -together incidents that had previously seemed unrelated, and the more he -thought of them the more disturbed he grew. - -Hitherto no one had been able to account for the strange attacks on the -Frenchman’s room. But Martin now remembered that the face he had seen -one night at the window was the face of the man who had waylaid him -going an errand for Mr. Slocum. He remembered also Mounseer’s dislike of -Mr. Seymour—and Mr. Seymour knew Mr. Slocum. It was odd that, somehow -or other, Mr. Slocum came into everything. - -What was the mystery behind it all? To all appearance the Frenchman -possessed nothing that was worth stealing; yet what other motive than -robbery could anyone have had for breaking into his room? Mounseer knew -Mr. Slocum. Mr. Slocum knew Mr. Seymour, and that gentleman, in spite of -his politeness and his neighbourly intentions, was evidently suspected -and detested by the Frenchman. - -Martin began to feel very much worried, and had the extraordinary -conviction that the clue to the whole mystery lay with Mr. Slocum. - -“I dare say it’s very silly,” he thought; “it’s simply because I dislike -the man. Yet I can’t help it. The question is, what is Mr. Slocum at?” - -This question was dinning in Martin’s head as he walked back along the -street. So intent was he on his own thoughts that he stepped rather -heedlessly, and was brought up by the sudden collision with a man -proceeding in the opposite direction. The man let out a savage oath, and -Martin, uttering an apology, edged away, only then recognising that the -angry footfarer was Blackbeard. - -Fortunately, he thought, he had not himself been recognised, and, -allowing a short interval to elapse, he had the curiosity to follow the -man. It was with no surprise that he saw him enter Mr. Pasqua’s -coffee-house. Beyond doubt he was going to meet the two men whom Martin -had already seen there. - -More curious than ever, Martin wished that he could find some means of -discovering what the three conspirators, as he now considered them, were -about to discuss. He thought of going in and buying a cup of coffee on -the chance that he might learn something, but after a moment’s -reflection gave up the idea; there would be too much danger of his being -caught. - - - - - CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH - - - WHAT MARTIN FOUND - -The tide was running strong up the river when Martin started on his -round next morning. There was promise that the day would be hotter than -ever, but the wind, blowing briskly from the east, tempered the heat, -though at the same time it rendered doubly hard the task of rowing the -heavy wherry. - -Martin was just pulling away from a brig at which he had delivered some -loaves, when a boat, sculled by a single seaman, passed him in the -opposite direction. He recognised it at once as the boat belonging to -the _Santa Maria_, and the oarsman as the man who found it so difficult -to keep awake. - -Previously he had seen him only in the evening, and he could not help -feeling curious as to what his errand was. - -After visiting in turn the ships on his list, and scratching off the -name of one that had left her moorings, he came at length to the last, -the _Santa Maria_. - -“She won’t be here long,” he thought, noticing that a lighter lay on -each side of her. - -From the one on the starboard side cargo was being hoisted on board by -means of a clumsy kind of derrick. He made his boat fast to the other, -put the loaves into his sack, threw the empty basket into the stern, -and, with the sack slung over his shoulder, swarmed up by a rope that -hung from a second derrick, placed ready for use when the second lighter -should be discharged. - -All hands were busy with the cargo. Some of the crew grinned when they -recognised him, and as he looked inquiringly round they pointed to the -cook’s galley. Wondering what his reception would be, he went on, and -found the fat man frying some fish on his brazier, the timid-looking boy -standing by with a flask of oil. - -The cook glanced at Martin with a surly scowl, and paid him no further -attention until he had turned out the fried fish on to a plate standing -on a tray. Then he took one of the fresh, crisp rolls that Martin had -brought, set this also on the tray, and ordered the boy to carry -breakfast to the captain. - -The boy had only just gone, and Sebastian was counting the contents of -Martin’s sack, when the captain, Blackbeard himself, came along, as if -attracted by the smell of the frizzling fish. Catching sight of Martin -he stopped, looked hard at him for a moment or two, then, in his husky -voice with its foreign intonation, asked: - -“What you do here?” - -“I have brought the bread from Mr. Faryner,” Martin replied. - -“Ah!” There was a slight pause. “I see you before?” he said. - -It was clear that he had not at once recognised Martin as the boy who in -the evening dusk had rowed him down the river. Anxious to avoid -identification, Martin answered: - -“I was in Mr. Faryner’s shop when you came to give your order.” - -“Ah! So! I see you there—yes—perhaps. I think so.” - -But there was a puzzled look on his face as he followed the boy with the -tray, and Martin was on thorns lest clearer recollection should come to -him. - -Having counted the loaves and rolls, the cook, who had not addressed a -word to Martin, went away to fetch the money for them. Martin would not -have been surprised if he had been summoned to the captain’s cabin; but -Sebastian on his return simply handed him the coins, and he was free to -go. - -Without loss of time he swarmed down on to the lighter, threw his sack -upon the upturned basket in the stern of the boat rocking alongside, -hauled on the painter until the boat was near enough for him to step in, -then cast loose, drifting on the tide while he got out his oars. Then he -pulled the boat round, but rested on the oars as he looked back at the -_Santa Maria_. - -“Perhaps I ought to have asked when she is sailing,” he thought. “But I -suppose Blackbeard will give notice. I wonder what her cargo is and -where she is bound for? Perhaps Mr. Seymour and Mr. Slocum are engaged -in some venture overseas, and there is nothing really to be suspicious -about.” - -He was still in a sort of daydream, moving the oars only enough to keep -the boat’s head straight, when a shout ahead roused him. Glancing over -his shoulder, he saw a ferryboat crossing his bows. A collision seemed -inevitable, but he eased his left oar and put all his strength into his -right, and scraped by with an inch or two to spare, the ferryman pouring -out a torrent of abuse such as only the Thames waterman of those days -could command. - -The boat rocked under the sudden change of course and the wash of the -ferryboat. Martin pulled her round again, and noticed that the basket -had shifted slightly. It was now partly resting on its side against the -stern thwart. And then he caught sight of something dark between the rim -of the basket and the floor of the boat—something that surprised him so -much that for a few moments he ceased rowing and could only stare. - -It was a small dark-skinned foot, the toes and instep just protruding -from the basket. - -“Who’s there?” he called. - -The foot was suddenly withdrawn, the basket moved, settling down so as -to cover completely the person underneath. - -“I’ve seen you; you’d better show yourself,” said Martin. An idea struck -him, and he added: “Just show your face.” - -The basket moved again, and now Martin saw without surprise the dark, -pathetic face of the cook’s boy of the _Santa Maria_. - -“Don’t come out. I’ll row on,” he said. - -He looked back towards the _Santa Maria_, now some two hundred yards -astern. The crew were still hoisting and stowing the cargo; there was no -sign of excitement, nothing to show that the boy had been missed. - -Martin rowed on in silence for a few minutes until the bend in the river -hid the vessel from sight. Then he said again: - -“Don’t come out. Keep the basket over you. But tell me why you are on my -boat, and what it is that you want.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH - - - STOP, THIEF! - -It was a strange scene—had anyone witnessed it. But Martin was careful -to keep out of the course of passing wherries, and so far from the ships -at anchor that the bottom of his boat was not visible from their decks. -The rim of the basket rested on the boy’s neck, and his dusky face, with -its large pleading eyes upturned towards Martin, looked as though it -projected from the planking. - -“Me run away,” said the boy in a strange, high-pitched sing-song. “No -takee me back. No let catchee me. I pray sahib very much.” - -“Where do you come from?” said Martin. “What are you?” - -“Me India boy, come long way over black water. They beat me. See!” - -He moved the basket a little, disclosing his thin, bare arms and legs, -on which were old scars and the long livid weals of recent lashes. - -“Cover yourself,” said Martin hastily. “Go on. Tell me more.” - -The boy went on to relate, in his halting broken English, a story that -Martin heard with indignation and pity. His name was Gundra, and his -parents were servants of an English merchant at Surat. He had been -allowed to run in and out of the merchant’s godowns, and had thus picked -up the little English he knew. - -One day, when he was straying some little distance from the factory, he -was kidnapped by two big men, who carried him aboard their ship. There -he had been kept as a slave, half-starved, and cruelly used. He had not -one real friend among the crew, though the captain now and then -interposed when the fat cook was thrashing him. - -So wretched was his life that he had long wished he might die, and if he -were taken back to the ship he would throw himself overboard and let -himself drown, though he could swim, as the sahib had seen. More than -once he had been tempted to destroy himself, but had been restrained by -the hope that some day he might be rescued and restored to his home. - -“Keep me to be your slave, sahib,” he pleaded. “Me do all you tell.” - -The boy’s woebegone look, and the sight of the wounds on his limbs, -moved Martin so deeply that he had already determined to do what he -could to save him from his oppressors. But he foresaw great -difficulties. What could he do with the boy? There was no room in Dick -Gollop’s apartments; besides, he felt sure the constable, as a man of -law, would hold strong views about the offence of harbouring runaways. - -Yet he could not land the boy and leave him to his own devices. He would -be taken up as a vagrant, and what would become of him then? His lot -could hardly be worse than it had been on board the _Santa Maria_; but -Martin felt that by giving the boy shelter he had shouldered a certain -responsibility, and that he must not throw the little fellow into the -uncertain hands of chance. - -While he was thinking over the problem so suddenly thrust upon him, he -had been paddling gently, but the swift-flowing tide had already borne -the boat a good distance up the river. It was clear that he must come to -a decision within a few minutes. - -He had no friends but the Gollops and some of the watermen, and he could -not place the boy with them until he had consulted them. The idea of -running up as far as Battersea or Chelsea, and leaving Gundra there -until later, occurred to him; but he was due to return to the shop, and -he shrank from incurring Mr. Faryner’s displeasure. If it had been -evening, as on the former occasion, he might have left the boy in the -boat until after dark, but there were still many hours of daylight to -run, and the boat would be a very insecure shelter, even if the boy were -hidden under sacking. - -After much thought he decided that the simplest course was the best. He -would land at the stairs nearest his home, take the boy there as quickly -as possible, hand him over to good-hearted Susan Gollop, and go back to -his work. What was ultimately to be done with Gundra must be left for -discussion with the constable and his wife after the day’s work was -done. - -There were two or three boats at the foot of the stairs as Martin -approached, intending to land on the up-river side. But as he pulled in -towards them he suddenly noticed that one of the boats on that side was -the ship’s boat of the _Santa Maria_, which he had passed when rowing -down. The foreign seaman was in his usual attitude when waiting, half -doubled up in the stern, and apparently asleep. - -Martin at once altered his course, bearing hard on his right oar so as -to bring the boat to the nearer side of the stairs. At the same time he -gave Gundra an urgent warning to keep himself well covered by the -basket. - -He pulled easily in to the landing-place. The other boats were -unoccupied, the watermen, their owners, being out of sight, though no -doubt within hail. - -Martin was beginning to tie his boat to the post when footsteps on the -stairs above caused him to look up. It was with a feeling almost of -dismay that he saw Mr. Seymour coming down, carrying a large square -object wrapped in sacking—no doubt a box, perhaps one of the -brass-bound boxes that Blackboard had brought to the house. Behind him -came a man laden with a similar burden. - -“Next oars, sir?” called a hoarse, loud voice, and a waterman appeared -at the head of the steps. “Next oars” was the phrase commonly used by -watermen plying for hire. - -“Not to-day,” replied Mr. Seymour over his shoulder. “I have my own -boat.” - -The waterman growled about people who did honest men out of a living, -and walked away. - -Martin was desperately anxious that Mr. Seymour should not observe him. -He dared not go up the stairs and meet him face to face; not that he had -any dread of a meeting for himself, but because of his knowledge of the -runaway boy and his new-born suspicions of Mr. Seymour’s relations with -Blackbeard and Mr. Slocum. - -Turning his back to the stairs, he fumbled with his painter, as if he -found a difficulty in tying up the boat. He had, in fact, tied, untied, -and tied again before Mr. Seymour and his companion had stowed their -burdens on board, and his back was still towards them when he knew by -the thudding of the oars in the rowlocks that their boat had put off. - -It was some little time before he allowed himself to face about, hoping -that the danger of recognition was past. But he had not reckoned with -the strength of the current. The seaman, pulling the heavily-weighted -boat against the stream, had made only a few yards. Mr. Seymour’s face -was turned towards the shore. He caught sight of Martin, waved his hand -in recognition, and smiled in his usual pleasant way. - -“He doesn’t guess what I’ve got under my basket,” Martin thought, at the -same time feeling unreasonably annoyed at having been recognised at all. - -Now that the coast was clear he paddled round to the side of the stairs, -and tied up his wherry at the place vacated by the ship’s boat, wasting -time until that craft was well out of sight. Then, after a look all -round, he lifted the basket. - -“Come with me,” he said to the Indian boy, taking him by the hand, and -slinging the basket over his other arm. - -Hand in hand they ascended the stairs. Lolling against a rail was the -waterman who had offered his wherry to Mr. Seymour—a man whom he knew. - -“Ahoy, young master! What have you got there?” said the man, looking -quizzingly at the dark-faced boy, who, at the sound of his rough voice, -shrank timidly to Martin’s side and clasped his hand more tightly. - -“An Indian boy come ashore to see London,” Martin replied. “There’s no -need to mention it if questions are asked.” - -“Mum’s the word, eh? Ay, ay, I’ll keep my tongue under hatches, never -fear.” - -The two boys had walked only a few yards when they came upon the man who -had accompanied Mr. Seymour. He was seated on a tree-stump, smoking, -idly watching the river. As the boys passed him he turned and looked at -them, but Martin could not gather from his expression whether he had -paid them any special attention or not. A few minutes afterwards, -however, when they were going up the gentle hill that would presently -bring them to Bishopsgate, Martin chanced to turn his head, and saw, -with a feeling of alarm, that the man was following. - -In a flash he realised that while he had been watching Mr. Seymour the -other man must have been watching him. No doubt he had noticed how he -was acting for the purpose of consuming time. Martin had never seen the -man before, and felt sure that he knew nothing about him, but had -guessed that he had something to conceal from Mr. Seymour. What could be -done to shake him off? - -Martin knew every inch of this part of London, lying between the river -and his home. A minute or two after he had assured himself that the man -was indeed dogging him, he turned suddenly into a narrow court, dropped -Gundra’s hand, and telling the boy to keep pace with him, started to -run. - -But he was hindered by his basket. The man must have started to run -also, for before the boys had gained the end of the court the pursuer -was hard on their heels. To make matters worse, he shouted. “’Ware! -’ware! Stop, thief!” - -No one was at the moment passing in the court, but windows flew open, -heads looked out, and Martin knew that it was only a matter of minutes -before the chase would be in full cry. - -Dashing out of the court with the Indian, he ran a few yards along the -street, then darted into a narrow alley on the other side. In a moment -he realised the mistake into which his haste had led him. The place was -a cul-de-sac; there was no opening at the farther end. He was trapped. - - - - - CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH - - - SALLY TAKES A HAND - -For a moment or two Martin felt as a hunted fox might feel when the -chase had driven it into an enclosure from which there was no escape. - -The narrow alley, a sort of tunnel under the houses, opened into a -broader yard, bounded on the one side by a high blank wall, on the other -by the palings of square grass plots in front of a row of small houses. -At the farther end another wall presented an obstacle which only a cat -could have climbed. - -But just as Martin was on the verge of despair he caught sight of a -familiar figure, and in a flash he saw a possible chance of safety. - -On one of the grass plots a buxom woman was bending over a large washtub -that stood on a three-legged stool. A clothes-line, propped on poles, -was extended from a nail in the house-wall to one of the palings, and -from it hung a blue shirt, a pair of stockings, a spotted neck-cloth, -and other articles, pegged up to dry in the sun. - -“Sally Boulter!” Martin exclaimed, rushing through the little gate. - -He had recognised her as the wife of his friend Boulter the waterman, to -whom she sometimes brought his dinner to the stairs. - -“Please let us come into your house,” he went on breathlessly. “There’s -a man after us.” - -“Well, to be sure!” she cried, keeping her hands in the tub. “In with -you, young master.” - -The boys ran past her into the open doorway of the little house. At the -same moment the pursuer, red-faced with running, came out of the alley -into the yard. Apparently he had seen the boys before they disappeared, -for he pounded along straight to Mrs. Boulter’s gate. - -When he reached it he found it closed, and on the other side of it a -strapping young woman, her stout, muscular arms bared to the shoulder, -and in her hands a blanket which she had just wrung dry. Her lips were -pressed close together, and her friends would have said that she was in -a difficult mood. - -Brought up by the gate, the man asked, rather gaspingly: - -“Have you seen a baker’s boy and a blackamoor?” - -“Have I seen—what did you say?” replied Sally. - -“A baker’s boy.” - -“Many a one; baker’s boys aren’t that uncommon.” - -“Just now, I mean.” - -Sally looked up and down the yard. - -“No, I can’t see a baker’s boy just now,” she said. “But if you want a -baker’s boy, there’s a baker just round the corner, and another two -streets away. I’m busy with my man’s washing, so don’t bother me no -more.” - -“Don’t you talk of bothers, mistress,” said the man, tartly. “You’ll be -more bothered yet if you’re not careful. Didn’t I see the tail-end of -the basket going into your door? The baker’s boy is inside, and the -blackamoor too, and I’ve something to say to them, so——” - -He suddenly pushed open the gate, forcing the woman back a pace, and was -starting to run across the grass towards the house. But Sally was a -woman of spirit. Whirling the roll of blanket round her head she brought -it with a swish across the man’s neck, hurling him against the washtub. -He caught at the rim to steady himself, disturbing the balance of the -tub upon its stool. It toppled over with a crash, and the man lay -between the stool and the tub in a pool of soapy water. - -“What’s all this, missus?” cried a bluff voice. - -In the doorway stood the burly waterman, Boulter himself, surveying the -scene. Above his breeches he wore nothing but his shirt. - -“Wants bakers’ boys and blackamoors, he does,” answered his wife, -jerking her elbow towards the fallen man. “Pushes in, he does, and -upsets my washtub; clumsy, I call it.” - -“He does, does he!” said the waterman, licking his hands as he stepped -out on to the grass. “Bakers’ boys, and blackamoors, _and_ washtubs, -does he? Pushes in, does he? I’m thinking it’s black eyes what he really -wants.” - -With every sentence he had drawn a step nearer to the discomfited -intruder, who, spluttering with soapsuds, was still recumbent in the -swamp, half-hidden by the tub. - -“Get up!” cried Boulter. - -The man pushed the tub off, and rose slowly to his feet. - -“Out you go, after that,” the waterman continued, kicking the man’s hat -over the fence into the yard. - -The man slunk through the gateway, leaving a trail of soapsuds. - -“Messing up my garden!” growled Boulter, close on his heels. “Pick up -your hat.” - -As soon as the man had recovered his dripping hat he set off to run to -the alley-way. But Boulter took a stride forward, seized him by the -collar, and marched him down the yard, prodding him on with regular -applications of a bony knee. - -“I’ll learn you to come pushing into decent folk’s gardens!” said the -waterman. “On a Saturday too! After bakers’ boys and blackamoors! And -washtubs! Spilling the water! You get out!” - -He had come to the entrance of the alley, and with a parting kick sent -the man headlong towards the street. - -“Now don’t you tell me nothing,” he said to Martin when he returned to -the house. “I’m much mistook if I didn’t see this blackamoor aboard that -there Portugal ship, and if I don’t hear no stories I won’t tell no -lies, for there may be questions asked.” - -“Very well, Boulter,” said Martin. “Thank you very much for your help. -Will it be safe for us to go home now?” - -“I’ll see to that,” said the waterman. - -He accompanied the boys to the street. Lurking at the corner stood the -pursuer. On seeing Boulter he shambled away in the direction of the -river. - -“Drawed out of action,” said Boulter with a chuckle. “You’ve a clear -course on t’other tack, and I reckon you’ll come safe to port.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE NINETEENTH - - - GUNDRA DISAPPEARS - -Gundra, the Indian boy, had been a silent, nervous spectator of these -scenes. His lean body seemed to be quivering from top to toe when Martin -once more struck away for home, and the curious glances of the persons -they met brought a scared look into his eyes. - -“Cheer up!” said Martin, noticing his timorousness. “We’ll soon be home, -and I’m sure Susan Gollop will be kind to you.” - -But the first aspect of Susan Gollop made Gundra shrink back and clutch -Martin by the sleeve. The good woman was beating a mat on the waste -ground at the rear of the house, and the vigour of her strokes with the -cane, and the fierce set of her mouth, seemed to promise little -kindness. - -“Here’s a poor little Indian boy, Susan,” Martin began. - -“Don’t worry me!” Susan interrupted. “I’m late as it is; Gollop will be -roaring for his breakfast in a minute. And why aren’t you at your work, -I’d like to know?” - -All the same, she looked inquisitively at the shrinking child. Martin, -knowing her morning temper of old, discreetly said nothing, but took -Gundra back into the house, and set him on a stool with a wedge of -treacle-cake from the table. - -Presently Susan came in, flung the mat upon the floor; then, placing her -hands on her hips, stood over the boys and demanded: - -“Now what’s all this about? Who’s this black boy?” - -“He’s an Indian, and has run away from a ship where they were ill-using -him,” Martin replied. - -“Sakes alive! And what’s that to do with you, Martin Leake?” - -“I want to help him. I want you to keep him here for a day or two, until -we can decide what to do with him.” - -“Do with him? Take him back, to be sure. There’s no room for a runaway -here; you’ll get us all into trouble; and I can’t afford another mouth -to feed. I’m surprised at you. And you’ll be out of a job again. What -will Mr. Faryner say, neglecting your work like this?” - -“We can’t send him back, Susan, to be thrashed and half-starved,” Martin -began. - -He said no more, for Gundra slipped from the stool, fell upon his knees, -and holding up his bare arms, pleaded his own cause. - -“Not go back; not go back!” he cried piteously. “Me not eat much; me -work very, very hard!” - -“What’s them marks on his arms?” said Susan, suddenly. - -“Where’s he’s been lashed!” said Martin. - -“Wicked; downright wicked!” Susan exclaimed. “Poor lamb! What if he is -black? But I don’t know what Gollop will say.” - -At this moment the constable entered the room, his cheeks well lathered, -and shaving-brush in hand. - -“What’s that squeaky voice I hear?” he said. “Bless my eyes, who’s this -I see?” - -“You may well ask,” said Susan. “It’s a poor little creature of a slave -boy what’s run away.” - -“From that Portugal ship I’ve told you about,” Martin added. - -“Run away, has he?” said Gollop. “Then you’ll convoy him back as quick -as quick. Harbouring runaways is an offence in law, and as a man of law -’tis my bounden duty to give him up.” - -“For shame, Gollop!” said his wife, now completely won over. “You and -your law! What’s law, I’d like to know?” - -“Law’s your master and my living, woman,” said Gollop. “Don’t you make -any mistake about that. The boy’s a runaway, and back he goes.” - -“You’re a hard-hearted monster,” said Susan. “Look at this!” She seized -Gundra by the arm and drew him towards her husband. “Scars! Look at -’em!” - -“Show your back, Gundra,” said Martin. - -Susan herself pulled up the boy’s shirt and revealed livid streaks upon -his flesh. - -“Is there no law about that?” she demanded indignantly. - -The constable stood with his brush poised in his hand. - -“Them Portugals did that!” he cried. “Flog a poor little shrimp, eh? -Sink me if I give ’em another chance. I’m a freeborn Englishman, I am, -and law or no law, I’ll not give up any mortal soul, black or white, to -be treated that cruel. Cover him up, Sue. Split my timbers! I’ve never -seen anything like it.” He began to stamp up and down the room, kicking -over a stool, flourishing his soapy brush. “Brutes, that’s what they -are. How dare they run into an English port! Constable as I am, English -seaman I was, and sooner than send the poor little wretch back into a -ship where they treat them so savage, I’d—I’d——” - -He knocked over a chair. - -“I understand your feelings, Gollop,” said Susan mildly, “but you -needn’t smash the furniture. And you’ll want a steady hand for your -shaving, my man. Just go and make yourself tidy while I get your -breakfast.” - -“I will. Mind you, Sue, that boy stays here till the ship sails. Don’t -you give him up to no one whatsoever. And keep a still tongue. Don’t go -a-babbling.” - -“And keep him out of Mr. Seymour’s sight,” said Martin. - -“Why?” asked Susan in surprise. - -“Because—I’ll tell you later on. It’s a long story, and Mr. Faryner -will be in a rage with me if I don’t hurry back. I’m very late.” - -“What you can’t help, make the best of,” said Gollop, as he went back -into his bedroom to finish his interrupted toilet. - -The baker was in an irritable mood when Martin reached the shop. He had -had to find another messenger to carry the morning’s delivery of bread -and pastries to Mr. Pasqua’s coffee-house. His annoyance was increased -when Martin told him that the _Santa Maria_ was taking in cargo in -preparation for sailing. - -“They’ve given me no notice,” he said. “But I’ve given no credit, that’s -a blessing. What have you been doing all this time? Gaping at the -sailors, I suppose. I know you boys—eyes for anything but your proper -work. Get away into the back shop and scrub the floor.” - -Martin was thankful not to be questioned further. He had half expected -that by this time Mr. Faryner had been informed of his having brought an -Indian boy away from the ship, and he was on thorns for the rest of the -day. But nothing was said about it, and he left the shop at the usual -hour. - -When he got home, he found that Gundra was the centre of interest. -Seated on a settle beside Lucy, he was chatting cheerfully to the little -girl, answering her innumerable questions in his queer, broken English. - -“He is such a nice little boy,” she whispered to Martin. “I am so glad -you brought him.” - -Mrs. Gollop, in high good humour, was full of his praises. She related -how eagerly he had made himself useful, scouring her pots and pans, -peeling potatoes, and even showing her how to cook rice in the Indian -way. - -She had made him a shakedown in a cupboard under the stairs. - -“It’s a dark place,” she said, “and I won’t say but he’ll have mice for -company, but it was the only place I could think of, and when I’d swept -it out he was quite pleased with it. It’s very stuffy this hot weather, -but I told him to leave the door open when he goes to bed, or he’ll be -stifled. He’s a willing little fellow, that I will say.” - -The next day was Sunday, but Martin rose at his usual hour, because he -had to make a round with fresh hot rolls before the day was his own. He -noticed as he passed the cupboard under the stairs that the door, which -had been open when he said good-night to the boy, was now nearly closed. - -“Well, let it be,” said Susan, upon his telling her. “Them Indians live -in a hot country, by all that’s said, and he won’t mind the stuffiness. -And we won’t wake him; a long sleep will do him good, poor lamb.” - -Martin cleaned his boots and ate his breakfast; then, as he was about to -start for the shop, he thought he would peep into the cupboard and see -if the boy was awake. - -He listened at the door. There was no sound from within. Then very -cautiously he pulled the door towards him and looked in. The narrow -cupboard with its sloping roof was in black darkness, and for a few -moments his eyes could not distinguish even the shakedown on the floor. -But presently he was able to discern its dim outlines, and then he -started and hurriedly entered. - -Half a minute later he rushed back into the living-room, where Mrs. -Gollop was cleaning the hearth. - -“Susan,” he cried, “the cupboard is empty. Gundra has gone!” - -Mrs. Gollop was considerably upset. - -“Well, of all the ungrateful little wretches!” she exclaimed. “Coming -here whining and dropping on his knees, and me making up a bed for him -and all—and then to slink out without a word! I’ll never do anything -for a foreigner again.” - -“But we don’t know that he slunk out, Susan,” Martin protested. - -“We don’t _know_!” she retorted sarcastically. “Did he say good-bye to -_you_, then? Did you hear him go? And I warrant he didn’t go -empty-handed, either. Wait till I count my spoons!” - -“I don’t believe he’s a thief!” said Martin. “I don’t believe he ran -away. I believe someone got into the house and took him!” - -“Well, them that took him had a right to him, didn’t they? A good -riddance to bad rubbish! Now eat your fill, and be off; ’tis your first -Sunday with Mr. Faryner, and he won’t thank you if you’re late.” - -It was only six o’clock. Gollop had not returned from his nightly duty, -and Lucy was still asleep. Martin hurriedly swallowed a thick slice of -bread-and-dripping, thinking hard all the time, while Susan inspected -her drawers and cupboards to find evidence of the Indian boy’s knavery. - -“I’m sure he did not go willingly,” thought Martin. “Mr. Seymour’s man -saw him with me, and no doubt told Mr. Seymour, and he knows Blackbeard, -and—oh, what a puzzle everything is!” - -His mind was full of the matter as he started for the shop. He wondered -whether Mr. Seymour had let Blackbeard into the house during the -night—whether the boy was now back on board the _Santa Maria_, perhaps -at that very moment being thrashed by that fat bully the cook. And he -foresaw a very unpleasant time for himself when he took his bread to the -ship on Monday morning. - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH - - - FIRE! FIRE! - -Within a minute or two Martin’s mind was taken off the fate of the -Indian boy by something much more actual and immediate. On turning the -corner he was aware that there were many more people in the streets than -was usual at that hour on Sunday morning. They were all hurrying in one -direction—the same direction as himself. There was excitement in their -looks and in the way they spoke to one another; some appeared to be -asking eager questions which those they addressed were in too great -haste to answer. - -He caught the word Fire! - -“Is there a fire? Where is it?” he asked a lad in a ’prentice’s cap who -was trotting over the cobblestones. - -“London Bridge,” panted the lad, and ran on. - -Martin began to run too. The crowd grew thicker; from every street and -lane poured men and boys, and a few women, some only half dressed, all -excited, all eager. From mouth to mouth ran the terrible word Fire! and -as the throng swelled their pace quickened, and their cries, mingling -with the clatter of their shoes, raised a din that strangely disturbed -the Sabbath quiet of the bright morning. - -“It must be a big fire,” thought Martin, and he remembered hearing -Gollop speak of a fire on London Bridge when he was a boy, which had -burned all night and destroyed more than forty houses. - -“Where is it? Where is it?” - -The question was repeated again and again as newcomers joined the crowd. -No one seemed to know with certainty. Some said London Bridge, others -Cannon Street. Nothing could be seen of it. The streets were narrow, the -houses high and overlapping in their upper storeys; between their tops -the sky was cloudless blue. - -The clamour grew louder; every now and then there were strange popping -noises which for a moment startled the crowd to silence. They ran faster -and faster, jostling one another, pushing aside the less active. Swept -along in the pouring tide, Martin found himself in Little Eastcheap, and -then, far ahead in that broader thoroughfare, he saw over the roofs a -brownish tinge in the sky. - -On and on he ran, his excitement growing with every step he took. At the -corner of Gracechurch Street the meeting streams of people made so dense -a block that for a while his progress was checked; he was hemmed in amid -a press of stout citizens, unable to see anything but their backs. - -His ears were deafened by their shouts, which rose above the distant -roar and crackle. Presently, when he again began to move onward, he -heard a man near him say, in a loud voice: - -“’Tis Pudding Lane, I tell you.” - -The words were taken up around him. Pudding Lane! The cry flew from lip -to lip, and stirred the crowd into a vast surging movement southward. - -“Pudding Lane! What house, I wonder?” thought Martin. “The Three Tuns, -perhaps; they’ve a lot of straw in their yard. Or perhaps it’s at -Noakes’s, the oil-man’s. His shop would blaze.” - -More and more eager to reach the scene of the fire, he began to push and -wriggle and worm his way through the mob, getting his toes trodden on, -and indignant thrusts and cuffings from those he incommoded. As he drew -nearer to his goal the roar swelled; at moments, when he was able to -look ahead, he saw dense clouds of smoke, brown and black, sweeping -across the housetops westward, carried swiftly along by the north-east -wind. - -After what seemed to be hours of struggling he arrived at the corner of -Fish Street Hill. The air was full of smoke and floating blacks and the -suffocating smell of burning. The crowd here was denser than ever; the -din louder and more terrible. Martin, already half-choked with the -smoke, felt that his breath would be squeezed out of him by the pressure -around. But he pushed and prodded, taking advantage of the least gap -that opened as the throng swayed, and by and by he managed to force his -way to a point where he should be able to see the houses on Fish Street -Hill and in Pudding Lane opposite. - -But where were the houses? He rubbed his smarting eyes, and looked and -looked again. There were no houses any more. Where the great Star Inn -had stood, with its galleries and yards and outbuildings, there was now -nothing but a black smouldering heap. All down the Hill, all down the -Lane, it was the same black waste and desolation: not a house remained -standing. And as he looked he saw flames burst from the belfry of St. -Magnus Church beyond, and a huge column of smoke shoot up around its -lofty tower. - -“The church is ablaze!” roared the crowd. - -“The parsonage too! Save us all!” - -Here and there among the throng were persons wringing their hands and -lamenting the loss of all their possessions. Martin forced his way to -one of them, and asked eagerly: - -“Have you seen Mr. Faryner?” - -“My house is gone—my house is gone!” was all the reply he received. - -He went from one to another, repeating his question; no one knew the -whereabouts of the baker. Martin felt anxious; the house and shop were -utterly destroyed, their site was occupied only by heaps of charred and -smouldering debris. Had Mr. Faryner and his family and journeyman -escaped? It was clear that the fire must have broken out in the middle -of the night. Had they been taken by surprise and perished in the -flames? - -Martin was at a loss what to do. His occupation was gone; there was no -bread for him to carry; he could learn nothing of his employer, and he -debated with himself whether to stay and watch the progress of the fire -or to run home and tell the Gollops what he had seen. Deciding for the -second course, he turned his back and tried to fight his way to -Gracechurch Street. But the crowd had enormously increased. There were -no policemen in those days to clear the streets, no firemen to dash up -with their engines and pour water on the flames. In the churches were -kept a few leather buckets and metal squirts, but they were useless in -so great a conflagration. - -An eddy in the stream of people carried Martin into Cannon Street, and -he suddenly found himself pressed against Mr. Faryner’s man. He was -swept past him, but managed to dodge back, and seized his arm firmly. - -“Where is Mr. Faryner?” he cried. - -“Safe and sound, thank God, with his friend the mercer in Cheapside,” -the man answered. “But he’s in a terrible state of mind, and no wonder, -seeing as the fire broke out in his shop.” - -“In our shop?” asked Martin, in amazement. - -“Ay, about two o’clock this morning. I woke out of my sleep feeling I -was choking, and the place was full of smoke. I roused the master. We -couldn’t get downstairs, so we had to climb through the garret window -and along a gutter-pipe to the roof next door. How we did it, Heaven -alone knows, and I wouldn’t venture it again for a thousand pounds.” - -“What caused the fire?” - -“Who knows? ’Tis my belief——” - -But at this moment there was a cry of “Make way for the Lord Mayor!” -People pushed this way and that, and in the commotion Martin was torn -from the man’s side and swept along the street. It was hopeless to -attempt to reach him again, or to take a direct course for home, and -Martin allowed himself to drift on the tide. - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST - - - WHAT SUSAN FOUND - -The circular movement of the crowd brought Martin in time to a point -where he was able to see how swiftly the fire was spreading. The houses -at the end of London Bridge were ablaze. Between the bridge and -Fishmongers’ Hall was a warren of dilapidated timber houses intersected -by narrow alleys. Into those passages the strong wind bore sparks and -blazing fragments; the dry wood easily caught fire, and it was evident -that the whole district would soon be a furnace. - -And now the inhabitants, at first careless spectators, were seized with -panic fear, and in desperate haste began to move their goods and -furniture from the doomed houses. From every door they sallied forth, -laden with every article they could carry. There was a fierce demand for -trucks and carts; some people hastened downhill to the riverside, and -besought the aid of the watermen in conveying their goods out of harm’s -way. - -This suggested an idea to Martin. Mr. Faryner’s boat lay at the stairs -some distance below the bridge. Why should he not use it to help the -frantic people? He ought to ask Mr. Faryner’s leave, but it would take -him hours to get through the crowd to the mercer’s house in Cheapside; -indeed, it would be difficult enough, even by a roundabout route, to -reach the stairs. - -The arrival of the Lord Mayor on horseback, attended by his javelin men, -had fortunately thinned the crowd at the corner of Eastcheap, and -Martin, by dodging and winding, succeeded in making his way into one of -the lanes running down to the river. - -He would hardly have been surprised to find that the boat had already -been taken away; but it was in its usual place, padlocked to the post. -Springing in, he rowed out upon the river, which was already crowded -with craft of all kinds: the wherries of the watermen, who would reap a -rich harvest to-day: the barges of fine gentlemen come to view the -spectacle. - -Martin pulled over to the Surrey side, to avoid the sparks and burning -masses that were falling from the houses at the northern end of the -bridge, shot through one of the arches, and rowed across to the other -shore. The fire was speeding westward like a devouring monster. He -observed the flames leaping from house to house; the smoke, driven -before the wind, already reaching past Blackfriars; the blazing -particles that were whirled up and round, and fell hissing into the -river. - -The waterside was thronged with people clamouring for watermen, even -throwing their goods into the water. When Martin pulled in to the -nearest stairs he had to keep an oar’s length distant to prevent his -boat from being overcrowded and swamped, and it was only after some -argument and even altercation that he was able to take on board an old -man and woman with all their little wealth tied up in huge bundles. - -Having rowed them to Westminster, where they had a married daughter, and -refused pay, he returned, and again selected the older people from those -who besought his services. Time after time he went up and down the -river, finding it more and more difficult to steer a course among the -hundreds of craft, large and small, that almost blocked the waterway. -And on shore the roar and crackle of the flames mingled with the cries -and lamentations of homeless people. - -At last, tired and hot and hungry, Martin pulled his empty boat down -stream, fastened it to its post at the stairs which, being behind the -fire, were deserted, and dragged himself wearily homeward. It was long -past his dinner-time, but Susan Gollop had kept food waiting for him and -for her husband, who had not yet returned. - -“What’s come of the man?” she said, when Martin entered the room. -“Stopping to see the fire they’re talking about, I suppose. And you’re -as black as a sweep. What have you been doing?” - -“Helping to save people’s goods,” Martin replied. “It’s a frightful -fire, Susan; hundreds of houses burnt already, and there’s no stopping -it while the wind’s so strong. Mr. Faryner’s house is burnt down.” - -“Gracious me! What’ll you do for your living now? Where did this dratted -fire start?” - -“At our shop.” - -“Well, to be sure! Some careless wretch didn’t rake out the embers, I -warrant.” - -“Shall we be burnt, Martin?” asked Lucy, timorously. - -“Of course not, child,” Susan interposed. “It’s far enough off, and the -wind blows it away from us, thank goodness. I don’t know what the -world’s coming to, what with fires, and men who won’t come in to their -vittles, and dark doings under the stairs.” - -“What do you mean?” Martin asked. - -“Why, look at this: what do you make of that?” - -She held up a large brass button, to which were attached a few threads. - -“Well?” said Martin, wondering. - -“It’s not well: it’s a mystery. That’s a button from a man’s coat, and I -found it in the cupboard under the stairs. I went in with a candle to -take down the bed that Indian boy slept in, and tidy up, and there was -the button a-shining on the floor.” - -“What of that?” - -“Why, that boy had no buttons: his clothes was all rags and strings.” - -“It may have been there before.” - -“That I’m sure it wasn’t, for I swept out the place myself for the boy. -I ask you, how did that button come in my cupboard?” - -“I can’t tell, and it doesn’t matter much. By the look of it it’s been -torn off. I’ll just eat my dinner and then go off and see if I can find -Gollop.” - -But Martin did not find Gollop, nor indeed did he look very earnestly -for him, so much interested was he in watching the fire. Soldiers, horse -and foot, had been sent from Westminster to keep order in the streets. -At the King’s command houses were being pulled down to stay the course -of the flames. The streets were clogged with carts and barrows laden -with the goods of fugitives. And the crowds were now declaring that the -fire was the work of foreigners, and clamouring for vengeance. - -It was late in the evening when Martin, tired out, once more reached -home. Meeting the old Frenchman on the doorstep, he mentioned the -excitement about foreigners, and suggested that his friend should avoid -the crowds. Mounseer smiled and thanked him, but showed no signs of -concern. - -They stood on the doorstep watching the glow in the sky. It was a dark -night, but every now and then a burst of flame in the distance lit up -the street. Presently Mr. Seymour came along from the direction of the -river. As he reached the foot of the steps a sudden brief illumination -fell upon him. And in that moment Martin noticed that the top button of -Mr. Seymour’s coat was missing. - -Mr. Seymour halted, and, dangling his tasselled cane, said with a -pleasant smile: “A magnificent spectacle, is it not? And we need not pay -for seats.” - -“As you say, sir,” replied the Frenchman coldly, turning to enter the -house. - -Martin was trying to see clearly the kind of buttons on Mr. Seymour’s -coat, but that gentleman had faced about, so that his back was towards -the fire, and the glow in the sky had dulled a little. In order to -detain him, Martin asked: - -“Are we quite safe here, sir?” - -The Frenchman heard the question, and turned at the door, as if waiting -with some anxiety for the answer. - -“There’s not a doubt of it,” said Mr. Seymour. “We are a good distance -behind the fire, and the east wind is driving it from us along the -waterside.” - -Martin had paid little attention to Mr. Seymour’s answer, so eager was -he to satisfy himself as to the nature of the buttons. Mounseer, -apparently reassured, had disappeared. Wheeling round to follow him into -the house, Mr. Seymour came for a moment within the illumination from -the red sky, and Martin almost jumped as he noticed that the buttons -appeared to be made of the same metal as the one that Susan Gollop had -found. They seemed also to be the same size, but of that he was not -quite so sure. - -He went into the house behind Mr. Seymour, watched him ascend to the -upper floor, then ran down the basement stairs. Mrs. Gollop had prepared -supper, and there was a look of disappointment on her face when she saw -Martin enter alone. - -“Have you seen Gollop?” she asked anxiously. - -“I’m sorry, I haven’t,” Martin replied. - -“What has become of the man? I’m beginning to worrit. He’s such a -regular man for his meals. He’s never missed his Sunday dinner since he -came home from sea.” - -“Isn’t that his step?” said Martin, running to the door. - -Heavy, dragging footsteps were heard on the stairs. Lucy jumped up and -joined her brother: Mrs. Gollop stood in her place, and with a quick -lift of her apron wiped the corners of her eyes. - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND - - - THE EMPTY ROOM - -The constable tumbled rather than walked into the room. His hands and -clothes were begrimed and black; his hat was crushed and shapeless; his -fat, rosy cheeks were streaked with irregular patterns where his fingers -had rubbed. - -Susan Gollop stood with arms akimbo, grimly eyeing the returned -wanderer. - -“Well, if you’re not a pretty object!” she said severely; but her lips -were trembling a little. “There! Fetch a basin of water, Lucy, and the -pummy stone, and there’s a dirty towel on the rack.” - -Dick Gollop plumped heavily into a chair. - -“I’m dead beat, missus,” he murmured. “Give us a drink.” - -Martin handed him a mug, and he took a deep draught. - -“What a Sunday!” he exclaimed. “Fire and brimstone! The everlasting -fire! And the Lord Mayor’s just as silly as any common man. My throat’s -as dry as a bone. Another drink, lad.” - -“Don’t you talk lightly of the Lord Mayor, my man,” said his wife -reproachfully. - -“Pish! He’s scared out of his wits, no good at all. The King’s the man -for my money. ’Twas he sent orders to pull down houses so’s the fire -wouldn’t have nothing to feed on; but bless me! the Lord Mayor goes up -and down wringing his hands and crying, ‘What can I do?’ But I’m dead -beat, I say: all day and all night at it; I’ll drop asleep where I sit.” - -“Pardon,” said the Frenchman’s voice in the doorway. “You are of return. -Tell me, I pray, the house: is it safe?” - -“Don’t worrit about the house, Mounseer,” said Gollop. “There’s more -call to worrit about yourself. Keep below deck, that’s my advice to you. -The people are raging about all foreigners, specially French and Dutch, -and if they catch you in the street, ten to one they’ll do you a -mischief. I saw a Frenchman nearly torn limb from limb by a parcel of -women because he was carrying fire-balls, they said. Turned out to be -tennis-balls; that’s their ignorance. Don’t go out, Mounseer: what you -can’t help, make the best of.” - -The Frenchman smiled and thanked him, and returned to his own apartment. - -“You’re sure we’re safe, Gollop?” said Susan. “We can go to sleep in our -beds?” - -“Sure I’m going to sleep in mine,” answered Gollop. “One more drink, -then——” - -“If you’re so sure, why’s that Mr. Seymour so frightened, then? He’s -been going in and out all day; men have been traipsing up and down, -carrying out boxes and parcels and things. _He’s_ not so sure, -seemingly.” - -The mention of Mr. Seymour reminded Martin of the button. - -“I say, Susan,” he said, “where’s that button you found in the -cupboard?” - -“Bless the boy! What’s buttons to do with it? It’s on the mantelshelf, -if you must know.” - -Martin reached it down, examined it, and in a moment exclaimed: - -“This is Mr. Seymour’s. His top button is missing. I saw him as he came -in.” - -“Well!” said Susan. - -“Gundra must have torn it off. It was Mr. Seymour spirited him away.” - -“Did you ever! You hear that, Gollop?” - -“Eh? What?” said Gollop, who was beginning to doze in his chair. - -“That Indian boy was carried off in the night, and ’twas Mr. Seymour -done it. Poor little wretch! That’s kidnapping. You can’t go to sleep -yet: what’s your precious law say to that?” - -“The law says,” muttered Gollop drowsily, “what you can’t help, -make——” - -“Listen to me,” said his wife, shaking him. “You’ll just go upstairs at -once with this button and show it to that Seymour, and ask him what he -means by——” - -“Avast there, woman!” cried the constable, heaving himself out of his -chair. “I’ll sheer off to my bed and nowhere else, not for all the laws -in the kingdom. Talk of buttons and nigger boys when all the world is -afire! I’m dead-beat, I say, and I’ll turn in this minute.” - -He lurched away into the bedroom and shut the door with a bang. - -Susan looked at the door as if in a mind to follow her husband and drag -him back. Then her face softened. - -“Poor dear!” she said. “He’s that tired I never did see, and when a -man’s tired let him be, that’s what I say. But that there Seymour!” Her -lips shut tight. “Gollop can’t go, so I’ll go myself.” - -“He won’t tell you anything,” said Martin. - -“Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. But I’ll not rest till I know what he’s -done with that poor shrimp of a blackamoor. And if he won’t tell, -leastways I’ll show him the button, and ask whether he owns it, and I -warrant I’ll tell by the look on his face whether he’s a villain or -not.” - -“I’ll go with you—light you upstairs,” said Martin, taking a candle -from the table. - -“Go to bed, Lucy,” said Susan. “You are over-late already.” - -“I want to know about the Indian boy,” said Lucy. - -“Now, don’t make me cross. Go to bed at once; you shall hear all about -it in the morning.” - -Smoothing her apron and setting her cap straight, Mrs. Gollop marched -out of the room, Martin following with the candle. - -“_I’ll_ talk to him!” said the angry woman, as she began to climb the -stairs. “_I’ll_ teach him to come stealing down in the dead of night and -poking his nose into the rooms of honest people! _I’ll_ give him a piece -of my mind, and his ears will be all of a tingle before he’s done with -Susan Gollop!” - -Martin noticed with amusement that the higher she got the lower fell the -tone of her voice, until by the time she reached Mr. Seymour’s door and -knocked, and asked, “Can I speak to you, sir?” her voice was as mild as -the cooing of a dove. - -There was no answer. She knocked again. - -“Mr. Seymour, sir!” - -There was still no answer. She waited a moment or two, then summoned up -her resolution and turned the handle. To her surprise the door opened. -The room was dark. - -“Show me a light,” she whispered. - -Martin, with the candle, stepped in front of her. A glance showed that -the room was empty, except of the furniture and a quantity of litter on -the floor. - -“Well, I declare!” Susan cried, in loud indignation. “He’s gone, and -took all his belongings. There’s a coward for you!” - -Among the litter there were a few pieces of paper, suggesting that Mr. -Seymour had torn up old letters before he left. Martin, all his -suspicions revived, had the curiosity to collect these scraps. - -“We can do nothing more,” he said. “I’d like to look at these bits of -paper carefully downstairs.” - -“They’re just love-letters or other rubbidge,” scoffed Mrs. Gollop, “and -I’ve come up all these stairs for nothing at all!” - -But half an hour later Martin, poring over the papers spread before him -on the table by the light of two candles, was inclined to think that the -journey had not been in vain. He had put together a number of scraps -that appeared to be all in the same handwriting, and by shifting their -positions until the torn edges fitted together he had composed a -sentence or two that clearly formed part of a letter. What he read was -as follows: - -_. . . . Maria sails on Tuesday. All cargo must be stowed by Monday. -Tell W. S. that I do not communicate with him direct, for reasons which -. . ._ - -There was no more. Martin was at no loss to understand that the vessel -sailing on Tuesday was the _Santa Maria_; nor was it long before he came -to another conclusion. W. S. were the initials of his old employer, -William Slocum. - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTY-THIRD - - - ’PRENTICES TO THE RESCUE - -Dick Gollop and Martin both rose very late next morning. They left the -house together, but soon parted, the former to return to his duty, the -latter to resume his self-imposed office of helping people in need. - -The Fire was still raging unchecked, and was spreading from the -riverside streets towards the heart of the city. Many people who had -indulged a careless belief in the safety of their dwellings had now -flown to the opposite extreme of panic and despair, and the supply of -carts, barrows, and wherries was hopelessly unequal to the demands of -those anxious to save their goods. The streets in every direction were -blocked by frantic fugitives, and the fields north of the city were -already dotted with the encampments of homeless people. - -When Martin reached the stairs where he had left his boat he found that -it had disappeared. It was hopeless to look for it among the hundreds -that were plying on the river, and Martin, feeling himself deprived of -his occupation, made his way westwards, first with the idea of inquiring -after Mr. Faryner, and then of getting a view of the progress of the -Fire. - -As he was jostling his way among the crowds who were moving up -Cheapside, he was thrown against the old Frenchman, struggling along in -the opposite direction. It flashed into his mind that Mounseer might -have been paying another visit to Mr. Slocum, and his former feeling of -puzzlement returned with redoubled force. - -“Ah, my friend, what do you here?” asked the old man. - -“My boat has been taken,” replied Martin, looking around rather -anxiously; for the Frenchman’s words must have been heard by the persons -near him, and his accent, coupled with the cut of his clothes and his -general appearance, would certainly betray him as a foreigner. - -“So you have nothing to do,” the Frenchman continued. “Same as me; your -little sister go not to the school to-day, therefore am I unoccupied. I -enjoy the holiday,” he added, with a smile. “We shall enjoy it together, -eh?” - -“Hadn’t you better go home, sir?” said Martin, remembering what Gollop -had said overnight about the mob’s treatment of foreigners. - -“Not at all, not at all. This great sight interest me very much. You -shall take me to a place where the spectacle is most beautiful.” - -Martin noticed one or two people scowling, and wished that Mounseer -would hold his tongue. Determined to draw him away from the main stream -of traffic he turned into an alley-way, intending to go by back streets -as far as St. Paul’s, where, perhaps, the sacristan might allow them to -ascend the tower. - -Their course led them past the back entrance to Mr. Greatorex’s -premises. Just before they reached it a man came out and walked towards -Cheapside. Martin and the Frenchman recognised him at the same moment; -he was the man whose scarred face they had seen at the window—the man -who had knocked Martin down in Whitefriars. - -“What next?” thought Martin. This was a new shock of surprise. Was this -man also among Mr. Slocum’s acquaintances? The idea would never have -occurred to Martin but for his thorough distrust of Mr. Slocum, and a -strange suspicion was dawning on his mind when his attention was -diverted by a sudden movement of the Frenchman, who hurried after the -man, seized his arm, and began to speak excitedly in French. - -The man stared, swore, caught sight of Martin, then suddenly shouted: - -“Frenchy! Ho, boys, here’s one of the foreign spies what sets us afire. -Down with all Frenchies!” - -They were near the end of the lane, and the man’s words were heard and -taken up by the crowd in Cheapside. A number of roughs surged towards -them, and the accuser, finding himself supported, turned on the -Frenchman, dealt him a violent blow, and started to tear his coat off. - -“Away, you coward!” cried Martin, rushing forward to help the old -gentleman; but a burly ruffian caught him in his arms and hurled him -back. - -At this moment there was a cry from behind. - -“Why, it’s Martin Leake! Clubs! Clubs! ’Prentices to the rescue!” - -A tall figure dashed past Martin, who was staggering under the big man’s -assault, and with doubled fists attacked the aggressor with a whirling -ferocity that drove him back reeling. In the lad who had come to his -help Martin recognised his fellow-'prentice and opponent, George Hopton. - -Next moment from several doors in the neighbourhood darted one or more -flat-capped ’prentices brandishing the clubs from which they took their -rallying cry. - -For centuries the London ’prentices had been renowned for their prowess -in faction fights among themselves and against the rougher elements of -the population. The street now rang with the cry “Clubs! Clubs!” and -those formidable weapons were soon thudding on the heads and shoulders -of the rabble. - -The Frenchman had fallen to the ground, but rose when his assailant -turned to defend himself against the ’prentices, and leant, bruised and -shaken, against the wall. The success of the ’prentices’ attack was due -to its suddenness rather than its strength. There were only about six of -them altogether, and the man with the scar, seeing that no more were -joining them, again raised his cry of “Down with all Frenchies!” and -called on all true Englishmen to support him. - -By this time the crowd had increased, and several truculent fellows -broke from it and rushed towards the fight. They were heavier metal than -the ’prentice lads; soon they outnumbered them; the little band was -forced back step by step, some of them losing their clubs to the enemy. -The combat swept past the old Frenchman, carrying Martin with it, and in -a few moments the ’prentices would have suffered a disastrous rout had -not a loud shout in a tone of authority imposed a sudden peace. - -All eyes were turned upon the speaker, an elderly gentleman wearing a -well-curled periwig, and a coat of purple cloth, and carrying a -gold-headed cane which he brandished at the crowd. Martin recognised him -as the important customer of Mr. Slocum’s who had been hustled in the -course of his fight with George Hopton. - -“Back, rascals!” cried the gentleman. “Are you fools enough to believe -these absurd tales of foreign incendiaries? I tell you there’s no ground -for them. Foreigners in our midst should be treated as guests. Your -conduct is a disgrace to Englishmen and citizens of London. Away with -you, and find something useful to do.” - -“Hurrah for Mr. Pemberton!” cried the ’prentices. - -The combatants shamefacedly drew back and mingled with the more -peaceable spectators. Martin hurried to the old Frenchman’s side. - -“What! You again!” said Mr. Pemberton, recognising him. “Are you always -fighting?” - -“I owe my life to him and the others,” began Mounseer. - -[Illustration] - -“You had better go home, sir,” was the reply, “and remain within doors -while men’s minds are affected by this great calamity. As for you lads, -I hope, though I don’t expect, that you will always use your clubs in as -good a cause.” - -He moved away, followed by another cheer from the ’prentices, and Martin -started to accompany the Frenchman home, supporting him on his arm. -George Hopton and one or two other ’prentices set off to see them a -little distance on their way. - -In a few moments they became aware that the man with the scar was -skulking after them. - -“Whoop!” cried Hopton. “Clubs! Clubs!” - -With his fellow ’prentices he turned and chased the man, who did not -wait their onslaught, but dived into a narrow entry and disappeared. And -all the way home Martin was wondering what the baffled ruffian had to do -with Mr. Slocum. - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FOURTH - - - MR. SLOCUM MOVES AT LAST - -Anxious to avoid any repetition of the attack on Mounseer, Martin -conducted the old gentleman across Cheapside into Wood Street, intending -to go home by way of Aldermanbury and Cripplegate, though it involved a -long round. George Hopton accompanied them for some little distance, -then he stopped. - -“I say, I must go back,” he said, “or Slocum will be in a rage. I don’t -know what’s come to him. He seems to have lost his wits. Most of the -other goldsmiths have removed their valuables to the Tower, and Slocum -has been urged to do the same. But he refuses. ‘Time enough, time -enough,’ he says, ‘the Fire is by the river; it may not reach as far as -Cheapside.’” - -“I think he’s wrong,” said Martin. “What’s to stop it?” - -“That’s what everybody says. But his answer is that the goods are safer -in the vaults than they’d be if he moved them; there are thieves about. -That’s true enough; I’ve heard of several shops having been robbed. But -though Slocum talks like that he has been packing the stock. At least, I -suppose he has; he hasn’t asked for any help from me. He was in the -strong-room nearly all day yesterday, alone, and we heard hammering time -after time.” - -“He’s not so stupid after all,” Martin rejoined. “I suppose he talks to -keep up other people’s courage, though he’s making preparations to go. -But he’ll be lucky if he gets a cart. There are so many doing the same -thing that there aren’t enough carts to go round.” - -“Well, I must go,” said Hopton, adding in a whisper: “Keep the old man -indoors. I mayn’t be at hand next time.” - -“Thanks for your help,” said Martin, with a smile: Hopton certainly did -not suffer from an excess of modesty. - -Mounseer himself seemed to have realised at last that his friends had -given him good advice. He walked quickly, begged Martin to keep close to -him, and declared that he would not stir from the house again until the -Fire had ceased and the excitement died down. - -When they reached home they found Dick Gollop snatching a meal. He told -Martin that the services of the constables were not so necessary in the -streets now that the troops had arrived to keep order. - -“But it’s a terrible calamity,” he said, “and I’m afeard we’re not near -the end yet. The flames are spreading: they’ve got across Cannon Street, -and I was pretty near stifled as I came through Bucklersbury by the -stench from the druggists’ shops. I passed the back of your old place, -Martin. Does Mr. Seymour know Slocum?” - -“Why?” asked Martin. - -“Because I saw him coming out of the door. There was a sneaking way -about him. ‘Hallo!’ thinks I, ‘has my fine gentleman been to pawn -something?’ Then I thought maybe he knew Slocum, though you’ve never -said you saw him at the shop.” - -Martin thought it was time to acquaint the constable with what he knew -of the relations between Slocum and Seymour and the captain of the -_Santa Maria_. He spoke of Blackbeard’s visits by night, and the -brass-bound boxes, and the meeting in Mr. Pasqua’s coffee-house. - -“You ought to have told me all that before,” said Gollop reproachfully -when the story was concluded. “Me being a man of law, ’twould have been -proper I should know of them queer goings on.” - -“I did try, but you shut me up,” said Martin. - -“So I did. I was wrong. I own it; dash my sleepy head! Never you sleep -your brains away, my lad. Them brass boxes, now. There’s no telling what -mischief’s in them boxes. Still, what you can’t help, make the best of, -and I say no more for the present. When the Fire’s over maybe I’ll look -into things a bit: I’ve no time for it now—indeed, I must get back to -my duty.” - -He went out hurriedly, before Martin had related what had happened to -the old Frenchman. Susan and Lucy, when that story was told, were both -indignant at the crowd’s treatment of their friend, and nothing would -satisfy the girl but that she must take him a bowl of syllabub to -comfort him, as she said. - -Martin was too restless to remain indoors. The fascination of the Fire -drew him again into the streets, which were now still more congested, -the stream of fugitives hurrying to the fields meeting a stream of -countrymen whom the prospect of making money by hiring out their carts -had drawn to the City. The roar of the flames, the crash of falling -houses, the cries and oaths of the people struggling to save their -goods, the smells from burning oil and spices, the blazing flakes -fantastically whirling in the wind, made up a series of vivid -impressions that remained in Martin’s memory for many a day. - -Towards evening he found himself again in the neighbourhood of Mr. -Slocum’s house. He had not gone there of set purpose, but had been drawn -there unconsciously, perhaps, by a vague recollection of Dick Gollop’s -remarks. - -Going down the lane towards the back entrance, he was brought to a halt -by the sight of a large hand-truck at the door. The three ’prentices, in -their shirt sleeves, were loading it with boxes under the direction of -Mr. Slocum. - -“He’s scared at last,” thought Martin. “But what a strange time to -choose for going away.” - -He remained in a shady corner, watching. It was certainly high time that -the goldsmith’s valuables were removed, for the Fire had reached the -foot of the streets leading up to Cheapside. - -The loading was finished a few minutes after Martin’s arrival, and the -’prentices put on their coats. - -“Am I not to come, sir?” Martin heard Hopton say. - -“No; you are to stay and guard the shop. Jenks and Butler can wheel the -truck. Too many of us would attract attention, and the dusk will bring -out the thieves.” - -He threw a sheet over the truck, tying it down at the corners. So far as -appearance went, the load might have consisted only of household goods -like those which hundreds of citizens had been moving all the day. - -The two younger ’prentices seized the handles of the truck and wheeled -it up the lane. Martin, shrinking back in his corner, noticed that Mr. -Slocum, walking close behind, had a pistol projecting from his pocket. - -When they had turned into Cheapside, Martin went up to Hopton as he was -going back to the door. - -“Hallo!” said Hopton. “Is the Frenchman in trouble again?” - -“No; he won’t stir out again,” replied Martin. “So Slocum has moved at -last.” - -“The lunatic! Why didn’t he go earlier? He’ll have to make a long round -to get to the Tower, and it will be nearly dark before he arrives: just -the time for footpads to attack him. There’s nobody left in the house, -or I’d follow and see that he gets there safely.” - -“I’ll go,” said Martin, once more amused at Hopton’s idea of his own -importance. - -Hopton gave a snort. “What could you do if they were attacked?” he -asked. “You’ve no weapons.” - -“But I could shout.” - -“Go, then. It’s no concern of yours, but you might raise a hullabaloo if -anything happens. I suppose I must kick my heels here until Slocum -releases me, though I promise you I won’t stay if the flames come -anywhere near.” - -Martin set off, but during the minute or two he had been talking with -Hopton the barrow had passed out of sight among the thronging people. -Knowing that it must take a northerly direction in order to skirt the -Fire, he crossed Cheapside and dodged his way into Milk Street, the -nearest of the streets branching out of the main thoroughfare. There was -no sign of the barrow, yet it could not have got far, owing to the -crowd. - -He struck into a by-lane and came to Wood Street. The crowd here was not -so thick, and he was able to move more quickly. At the corner of Silver -Street he stopped and looked round on all sides. The evening gloom was -already descending, though the glow in the sky lit up the over-arching -houses. - -“I shall never find them now,” he thought. But just at that moment the -grinding of wheels on the cobbles drew his attention. He glanced round -and saw the barrow coming along from the direction of the Guildhall. - -“They tried that way and couldn’t get through, I suppose,” he said to -himself, and slipped into the entrance of a yard until the barrow had -passed. “Now to keep them in sight.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIFTH - - - MARTIN FOLLOWS - -Martin could hardly have explained why he felt so keenly interested in -the progress of the barrow. Mr. Slocum was only doing what most of the -goldsmiths had already done, and it was certainly his duty to save the -property of his master, Mr. Greatorex. But recent incidents had inspired -Martin with so deep a distrust of Mr. Slocum that he was determined not -to lose sight of him until the barrow had safely entered the portals of -the Tower. - -He kept far enough behind not to be observed, yet close enough to run no -risk of missing the party again. - -“I’m glad I’m not shoving the barrow,” he thought. - -The air that summer evening was hot, and its oppressiveness was enhanced -by the pervasive smell of burning. Martin followed the toiling -’prentices into Aldersgate Street and turned after them into London -Wall, expecting them to swing to the right at Bishopsgate, and so finish -their long round to the Tower. - -To his surprise, they took the eastward direction, and struck into a -winding lane that would bring them, certainly, to the river, but at a -point far away from their supposed destination. Martin was conscious of -a growing curiosity, even of excitement. The lane was narrow, and as the -dusk was deepening he lessened the distance between him and the barrow. -But a little farther on, where the lane made a sharp curve, he hung back -for a moment to give the party time to get well round the corner. - -As he did so a man came suddenly round on the inside of the curve, -brushed past him, and continued his course up the lane towards the main -street. Martin glanced round; the man was fast disappearing into the -dusk, but there was something in his shape and gait that reminded Martin -vaguely of someone he had seen, he could not remember when or where. The -impression passed in a moment, and he hurried on, anxious not to lose -sight of his quarry. - -Turning the corner, he found himself between parallel lines of tall -warehouses, some flush with the lane, others standing back behind small -yards in which goods were no doubt unloaded. He had not taken many steps -when he heard shrill cries ahead, and broke into a run, wondering why -thieves had been attracted to so quiet a spot, remote from the crowds. - -Some thirty yards ahead the lane made another sharp twist. When Martin -reached the bend he was just in time to see, dimly in the fading light, -one of the ’prentices being shoved by a man through the gateway of a -warehouse yard. The barrow, Mr. Slocum, and the other ’prentice were -already out of sight. - -Martin recognised the voice of the lad who was being roughly used as -that of Butler, and he dashed on at his topmost speed, shouting as he -ran. For a moment he had no other thought than to save the lad who had -been his fellow-'prentice from the hands of his assailant. But before he -gained the scene the wooden gate was banged to; he heard the grating of -a bolt and Butler’s protesting cries as he was lugged across the yard. - -He looked up. The gate and the wall on either side of it were at least -ten feet high; their tops were studded with nails or jagged glass; even -if he found a foothold it would be impossible to scale them. He banged -at the door, still shouting; but there was no response. Work in the -warehouse was over for the day, and no doubt any workmen or loungers who -might ordinarily have been about were far away, watching the Fire. The -cries of Butler had ceased; within the yard all was silent. - -Feeling that to knock or shout any longer here would merely be wasting -time, Martin wondered whether he could find admittance at the back of -the warehouse. He ran on a few yards and came upon a narrow passage -striking off at right angles to the lane. At a venture he turned into -this, and found himself within a few moments in a lane that evidently -ran parallel with the one he had left. - -He had only just rounded the corner when he heard the rattling of cart -wheels on the cobbles at the river-end of the lane, and caught sight of -a few strange figures dimly outlined against the background of sky. - -“Stop thief!” he shouted, dashing down the lane. - -For some minutes he had been so confused that he only now guessed that -Mr. Slocum’s barrow had entered by the gateway through which Butler had -been forced; otherwise it could scarcely have disappeared so suddenly. -As he ran, calling for help, he noticed that a large gateway, with a -wicket beside it, stood wide open on his left. He rushed up to the first -man he overtook. - -“There is villainy going on,” he said. “Help me!” - -“I’m helping myself,” the man growled; and the strangeness of his figure -was accounted for by the huge bundle he carried on his back. He was one -of the fugitives who were conveying their possessions to the river in -the hope of finding a boat. - -Martin ran on, and in the fast-gathering darkness cannoned into another -man laden almost as heavily. - -“Mind your steps!” shouted the man; and with his free hand he dealt -Martin a blow that sent him staggering against the wall. Recovering -himself he dashed on, his cries to one and another going unheeded. -People were too much concerned with their own troubles to regard the -vague demands of a lad. - -And then suddenly he found himself on the edge of a little quay -stretching into the river. There was a reddish glow reflected from the -water, and by this light he recognised, at the farther end of the quay, -the handcart he had lost sight of. It was standing deserted. A boat was -putting off, piled with boxes. The glow of the fire glinted on their -brass-bound corners and on the swarthy face of Blackbeard, who held the -tiller strings while two other men rowed steadily down stream. - -Beyond the quay there were two or three other boats into which fugitive -citizens were dumping their goods. - -“Row after that boat!” Martin cried to the watermen. “It contains stolen -goods.” - -“Not the only one,” chuckled one of the men. - -“Things of great value,” Martin persisted, looking round in vain to find -a waterman whom he knew. “The owner will reward you richly.” - -“Out of my way,” cried the man with whom Martin had collided. “What’s -your fare, waterman?” - -“Five shillings a mile,” the man replied. - -“You’re a shark, making your profit out of other folk’s calamities. But -I suppose I must pay you, though ’tis five times the proper price. Take -this bundle.” - -Seeing that the watermen were too intent on present gain to trouble -about a visionary reward, Martin turned away. And then he asked himself, -what had become of Slocum and the other ’prentice? They were certainly -not with Blackbeard in the boat. Was it possible that they too had been -carried prisoners into the warehouse? - -He retraced his steps and came to the large gateway which he had guessed -to be the main entrance to the warehouse. It was now closed, as was also -the wicket at the side. He was trying the latch when a man came up -behind. - -“Want to get in, eh? Well, so you shall.” - -Martin turned hastily, and recognised with alarm the sinister face of -the man with the scar. - -Before he could recover his wits he was seized in an iron grip. His -captor inserted a key in the lock of the wicket gate, turned it, and -snarling: “Oh, you shall get in, you shall,” pushed Martin before him -into the yard. - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SIXTH - - - PRISONERS - -Just inside the gate, on the right, was a small brick cabin, where -during working hours the gatekeeper attended for the purpose of checking -merchandise that entered or left the yard. It was now closed; its window -was shuttered; but a streak of light shone between the door and the -lintel. - -Grasping Martin firmly with one hand, with the other the man unlocked -the door, and pushed his prisoner in. An oil lamp stood on a table, and -on a chair near it sat Mr. Slocum. He started up on seeing Martin. - -“Heavens above! Have they caught you too?” he exclaimed, with an air of -genuine surprise. - -Martin glanced from him to his captor, and caught a fleeting grin on -that man’s face. - -“But how came you in this unhappy plight?” Slocum went on, speaking very -rapidly. “Why should the wretches attack you? In my own case the -explanation is simple. I set out to save Mr. Greatorex’s property from -this disastrous Fire, with Jenks and Butler; you remember them? We were -suddenly rushed upon by half a dozen footpads, hustled into the yard, -and while I was shut up here the ’prentice lads were taken—who knows -where?” - -“Not far,” said the man, grinning again. “Not so very far. You can see -’em out in the yard there.” - -He pointed through the open doorway. Shading his eyes against the light, -Martin saw dimly two figures with their backs to the wall, and a big -fellow apparently standing guard over them. - -“You can cheer each other up,” said the man, going out and locking the -door behind him. - -“A monstrous outrage!” said Slocum. “But what have the villains against -you?” - -“I’d like to know that myself,” said Martin, cautiously. - -“You were passing up from the waterside, no doubt?” said Slocum. - -“No; I was going the other way.” - -“Strange coincidence! You saw the ruffians attack me?” - -“No, I did not.” - -Martin’s answers were short. He guessed that the object of Slocum’s -questions were to ascertain how much he knew, and though he had been -almost taken in by Slocum’s manner, he now suspected that his surprise -had been feigned, and that he was playing a part. - -“Well, it is a gross attack on our personal liberty,” Slocum continued; -“and I won’t stand it!” - -He rose with an air of grim determination, and hammered sharply on the -door. The man with the scar entered. - -“Enough of this foolery!” said Slocum, elbowing the man from the -doorway. “Let me out, fellow. I warn you that you are incurring -punishment of the highest severity in holding two citizens in durance!” - -“Take it easy; none of your shoving,” said the man. “You can’t go out -without I get orders.” - -“Orders! From whom do you get your orders?” - -“That’s my look-out.” - -“You are insolent, fellow! Don’t dare to use that tone to me! I will not -put up with insolence from a ruffian and a gaol-bird!” - -“Who are you a-calling a gaol-bird?” said the man, scowling fiercely. - -Martin had already suspected that the men were play-acting. It now -seemed that the captor had forgotten his part, and was taking Slocum’s -expressions seriously. Slocum realised that he had gone too far with a -person of limited intelligence, and hastened to reassure him by -pantomimic signs which, slight as they were, did not pass unobserved by -Martin. - -“I demand to be taken outside,” Slocum went on. “I want air. What with -the hot evening and the stinking lamp this place is suffocating.” - -“Well, I’ve no orders to stifle you,” said the man. Thereupon, he took -Slocum by the sleeve and marched him out into the yard. Martin was -following, but the man turned at the door, thrust him back, and locked -him in. “Your turn presently,” he said. - -Martin sat down on the chair. He was convinced that Slocum and the man -were acting in collusion, and supposed that their object was to retain -him for an hour or two until the boat conveying Mr. Greatorex’s -valuables had got away. Remembering that the _Santa Maria_ was to sail -next day, he felt sure that those valuables would form part of her -freight, the fruits of a conspiracy in which Slocum, Blackbeard, and -Seymour were concerned. - -Waiting in the hot, stuffy room soon became tedious and uncomfortable. -Martin got up and tried the door and the window; both were securely -fastened against him. Presently he heard voices outside, the creaking of -the gate, and the rattle of wheels on the cobbles of the yard. A minute -or two later the key was turned in the lock, the door was thrown open, -and three men, one of them the man with the scar, who was now carrying a -lantern, stamped into the room. They stood for a moment looking at -Martin. - -“Why not leave him here?” said one of them. “’Twill save trouble.” - -“Won’t do,” said the man with the scar. “There’ll be folk about in the -morning; he’ll be found, and then—you see he knows too much.” - -“Well, then, why not shut his mouth? The river’s handy. With a stone -round his neck——” - -“Stow your gab, Bill,” interrupted the other irritably. “We can’t drown -’em all. Besides, orders is orders, so you’d better set about it.” - -Martin had risen at their entrance, and stood facing them, his heart -beating rather quickly and his cheeks flushing as he listened to this -frank discussion of his fate. He was not prepared for what happened. The -man who had wished to save trouble made a sudden pounce, flung his arm -round Martin’s neck, and deftly slipped a gag into his mouth. He was -then tripped up, and as he lay on the floor his hands were roped -together, and he was shoved into a sack that covered him completely. - -Thus bundled up, he was carried into the yard and dumped into the -handcart, which had been brought empty from the quay. The cart jolted -over the cobbles; he heard the gate slammed behind him, and wondered to -what destination the men had orders to convey him. - -The jolting did not last long. In a minute or two the legs of the -handcart were let down with a bump, and Martin was hoisted out. His head -being covered, he could not see where he had been brought, but he felt -himself being carried downstairs, then flung down upon boards that -rocked under his weight. He was in a boat. - -He judged by their voices that two of the three men got into the boat -after him. It moved away, and through the sack he heard the men talking -of matters he knew nothing about. After a journey that seemed much -longer than it was the boat stopped; he felt its side grate against -stone. He was lifted out and carried up a few steps, then for some yards -on the level. - -Once more he was set down. There was a knock upon a door; after an -interval of waiting the bolts were drawn; some words were exchanged -between his bearers and the man who had opened; then he was carried -along, up a flight of stairs, and finally dropped roughly to the floor. - -“Cut the sack open,” said one of the men. “Better give him some air and -take the gag out,” he added. “He won’t do no harm now.” - -The string was cut, and the sack pulled down to his shoulders. - -“Best tie him up,” said one. - -“He can’t get away.” - -“Never mind that; let’s make it sure.” - -A rope was tied round the middle of the sack, and knotted to a staple in -the wall. - -“Now all’s snug,” said a man. “We’ve lost enough time over him; let’s -get back to the City; we ought to be able to prig a thing or two out of -those fine shops in Cheapside.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEVENTH - - - MARTIN FINDS A WAY - -By the light of the lantern carried by the man with the scar Martin had -made a hasty survey of his prison. It was a large, empty room, -apparently part of a disused warehouse. When the men went away they took -the lantern with them, leaving the place in complete darkness. - -Martin was at once aware of sounds of movement on the floor -above—sounds of heavy cases or bales being dragged over the boards. At -intervals also he heard a creaking that suggested the lowering of goods -over a rusty pulley. - -“Where am I?” he thought. - -The sounds lulled, and his ears caught a slight rustle in the room -itself. - -“Rats!” he said to himself. “I hope they won’t attack me.” - -During the next pause in the louder sounds he heard another rustle -somewhat more prolonged, a faint clanking, and he had the strange -feeling that some human being besides himself was in the room. Startled, -he called out quickly: “Who’s there?” - -From some distant corner came a thin, piping voice: - -“Me, Gundra.” - -“Gundra!” He felt surprise and relief; the Indian boy was at least a -friend. “Come and untie me.” - -“Me no can,” was the reply. - -“Why not?” - -“Me tied, too.” - -“How?” - -“To thing in the wall. No can move it.” - -“Your hands tied?” - -“No; a band round me, tight.” - -Martin guessed that the boy, like himself, was fastened to a staple, -which was out of his reach. It was clear that neither could get to the -other. - -But Martin was not ready to admit that the situation was hopeless. His -hands, it is true, were tied, so that he could not loose the knot at the -staple, and he knew that if he strained on the rope he would only -tighten the knot. It might be possible to jerk the staple from the wall. -He made several attempts, but finding that there was no sound of tearing -wood, no yielding of the metal, he bent his mind to considering another -way. - -There was only a few feet of rope between him and the staple. By a -series of convulsive jerks he managed to wriggle over the floor until he -lay at the foot of the wall. Supporting himself against it, he got on to -his knees, and was then able to touch the rope with his mouth. He asked -himself whether it would be easier to cut through it with his teeth, or -to rise to his feet, trace the rope to the staple, and work away until -he had loosed the knot. - -Before he could make up his mind he heard heavy footsteps outside, -growing louder as they approached. Instantly he dropped to the floor, -wriggled back to his former position, and, when the door opened, lay on -his elbow as though he were incapable of rising higher. - -Through a door at the farther end of the room came Sebastian, the fat -cook of the _Santa Maria_. From one hand swung a horn lantern; in the -other he carried a large platter holding a pitcher of water and a hunk -of bread. He crossed to the corner where Gundra lay, gave him a kick, -set the platter beside him, then moved along to Martin, and leered down -upon him, pouring out a stream of abuse in his own language. Having -examined the staple and rope, he laughed maliciously, banged Martin’s -head with the lantern, and left the room, locking the door behind him. - -Martin had taken advantage of the lantern light to make a careful mental -note of the position of the staple. As soon as the sound of Sebastian’s -footsteps had died away he wriggled again to the wall, rose upon his -knees, then upon his feet, and began to tug with his teeth at the knot -about the staple. - -For some time he toiled in vain, trying one part of the knot after -another. Despairingly he felt that his teeth would yield before the -hempen rope. But presently he was aware of a slight loosening, and -taking heart, he continued to bite at the same coil. To his joy the knot -grew looser and looser; the second coil was easier to undo than the -first; now he felt the free end of the rope slipping out, and in a few -more minutes it was clear of the staple and dropped on the floor. - -His lips were sore, his jaw ached intolerably; and the uneasy posture he -had had to maintain had strained his muscles to the point of extreme -fatigue. For a while he lay quietly resting, not even telling Gundra -that he was free. The noises still continued on the upper floor. - -At length he started to jerk and worm his way across the floor. - -“I’m coming to untie you,” he said in a low tone. - -Moving only inch by inch, with frequent pauses for rest, he was a long -time in reaching the Indian boy’s corner. When at last he rolled beside -him he said: - -“Now, your hands are free; untie the rope round the sack.” - -Gundra groped with his fingers, and found the knot, but it had been so -well tied that it was some minutes before he succeeded in loosening it. -Then he pulled the sack away, and made a shorter job of untying Martin’s -hands. - -“Now to release you,” said Martin; “but I must wait until my hands are -less cramped. What is this place, Gundra?” - -“A big godown by the river,” replied the boy. “Plenty goods upstairs, -belong for _Santa Maria_.” - -Martin suddenly remembered that on the evening when he had rowed -Blackbeard down the river his passenger had directed him at first to row -towards a large warehouse on the bank, but had changed his mind. No -doubt this was the very warehouse which had been chosen for the -safe-keeping of the boys. It was plain, too, that it had been used as a -place of storage for ill-gotten goods until the time came when they -might safely be transferred to the _Santa Maria_. - -“If only I can get out,” Martin thought, “I’ll be in time to put a spoke -in Blackbeard’s wheel.” - -He felt over Gundra’s body to ascertain how he was fastened. About his -middle was a steel girdle, connected by a fine chain with the staple in -the wall. Martin discovered in a few moments that it was impossible to -detach the chain at either end; the links, though small, were of tough -metal, and gave no sign of yielding under the strongest strain he could -put upon them. - -“This is thirsty work,” said Martin. “I’ll take a drink from your -pitcher, Gundra. They haven’t brought me any water or food; I suppose -they think they’ll tame me. They don’t starve you?” - -“No; give food; not much.” - -“And how long have you been here?” - -Gundra explained that in the dead of Saturday night someone had come -into the cupboard under the stairs, gagged him, and carried him out of -the house. He had struggled hard. - -“That accounts for Mr. Seymour’s button,” thought Martin. “But how am I -to get Gundra free?” - -He sat for a while considering, with his knees up and his chin on his -hands. “I’ll try it,” he exclaimed at length. - -The staple was driven deep into the wall, but Martin’s idea was that its -setting might be loosened by picking at the wood around it, and that -then a tug would wrench it away. Opening his clasp knife he began to -scrape and chip at the wood, which being oak offered a considerable -resistance to his rather blunt blade. More than once he pulled at the -staple without detecting any sign of its yielding. - -“What about a violent jerk?” he thought. - -He explained to Gundra what he proposed to do. They both stood close to -the wall. Martin got his hands firmly between Gundra’s body and the -steel girdle; then at the same moment both he and the Indian made a -sudden leap into the room. The staple was torn from its setting; the -boys fell in a heap on the floor, and the metal rattled and clanged. -Clasping each other, they listened breathlessly. Had the sounds been -heard by the men above? - -There were no cries, no sudden movement, no footsteps. Every now and -then came the creaking of the pulley-block which had been going on at -intervals ever since Martin had been brought into the room, and the -exchange of a few words between the men who were presumably attending to -the lowering of the goods. They were too much occupied with their task -to notice the sounds in the room. - -“Now to get out!” said Martin in a whisper. “I think I can find my way -to the door.” - -“Me come; no let go,” said Gundra, clinging to him. - -They moved together in the direction of the door. The chain on the -Indian boy’s girdle clanked. - -“This won’t do,” said Martin. “Tuck it up inside the belt.” - -When this was done they started again. Martin had taken his bearings by -the light of the fat cook’s lantern, but in the pitch darkness he was at -fault, and it was only by feeling round the wall that they at last -reached the door. It was locked. There was no escape that way. - -“Any windows?” asked Martin. - -“No, sahib. But another door; oh, yes, over there.” - -“You have seen it open?” - -“No, but see light in crack.” - -“Then we’ll make for that. Keep close to me.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTY-EIGHTH - - - THE BOYS ESCAPE - -The two boys groped across the room to find the second door. Suddenly -Martin tripped and almost fell; he had stepped into a hole where the -floor-boards were rotted away. - -“Take care, Gundra,” he said, recovering himself. - -He felt on the floor to ascertain the size of the gap, then led the -Indian boy cautiously across it, and almost immediately touched a wall. -Passing his hand along it, he came upon an iron bar. - -“I think this is it,” he said. - -Feeling along the bar and the wall behind it, he discovered a vertical -crack. - -“A folding door,” he thought. “Now to lift the bar and see if we can -open the door and find out where it leads to.” - -The bar was thick and heavy, and so well settled down into its sockets -that it had evidently not been used for some time. Martin’s efforts to -lift it at first had no success, but after much pulling and pushing it -shifted upward suddenly with a loud squeaking noise. - -The boys held their breath, wondering whether the sound had been heard -in the room above. But the slow creaking still went on, and Martin -ventured to raise the bar from its place and lay it gently on the floor. - -There was an iron ring in one of the panels of the double door. -Inserting his finger in this Martin pulled, and the panel, sticking at -first, presently came inward with a squeak; clearly its hinges needed -oiling. Inch by inch he drew it towards him. A strong breeze blew into -the room, carrying with it a salt tang. The clear sky eastward was -studded with stars, which kindled reflections in the river. Nearer at -hand a reddish glow suffused the sky. - -While they were gazing out there was a creak above them, much louder -than they had heard before, and a large object dangling at the end of a -rope passed slowly downward within a yard of their faces. It was plain -that goods were being let down from the store-room above with some care -to avoid noise, for there was no shouting, no giving and receiving -directions, no cries of “Are you ready?” “Lower away!” such as were -usual in operations of the kind. - -Holding on by the door, Martin bent down and peered over the edge, -careful to keep out of sight. The package that had been lowered rested -on a sort of quay between the wall of the warehouse and the shored-up -bank of the river. A man was disengaging it from the rope. When it was -free he shook the rope as a signal that it might be drawn up, then -hoisted the package on to a truck and wheeled it along the quay until he -came to a short jetty. There he halted and lowered it over the side; -evidently a boat was moored below. Apparently the tide was too low to -allow of the boat’s drawing in nearer to the bank. - -Meanwhile a second load came slowly down over the pulley, and reached -the ground with a slight jolt. The man had not yet returned from the -jetty with the truck. Martin wondered whether it would be possible to -slide down the rope without attracting attention. The stars gave very -little light, and the glow from the Fire was intercepted by the angle of -the warehouse. The distance from the door to the ground was less than -twenty feet. - -Leaning out he cautiously tried the rope. It gave under a slight pull, -showing that the man above was no longer holding it firmly. But he must -have noticed the movement, for Martin heard a hoarse voice whisper, -“Don’t pull the rope through the block, you fool!” - -He shrank back into the room. - -“Are you there?” whispered the voice again. - -At this moment the man below reached the package on the ground. - -“What’s the matter?” he growled. - -“I said, don’t pull on the rope!” repeated the man above. - -“Didn’t touch it!” responded the other gruffly. - -There was an inaudible reply from the upper storey. The second load was -discharged and trundled away, the rope again wound up, and by the time -the man returned from the jetty a third package had been lowered. - -By this time Martin had arrived at a conclusion. If he and Gundra were -to escape by the rope, they must cling to it while it was descending -weighted with a load, and while the man below was still absent at the -jetty. There was the risk of their being discovered through the man at -the pulley feeling the extra drag on the rope, or through the return of -the other man while they were still suspended in the air. Even should -they reach the ground safely, there was the further risk of their being -intercepted, for they would have to pass the jetty on their left, and go -through the lower floor of the warehouse, the quay on the right -apparently ending at a high blank wall. - -But it was clear that they must either face these risks, with a chance, -however slight, of escaping, or remain as prisoners in the room, with -the certainty that the breaking of their bonds would be discovered as -soon as fat Sebastian paid them his next visit. - -In rapid whispers Martin explained his plan to the Indian boy. Timid as -Gundra had hitherto appeared, it was plain that ill-usage had not -utterly broken his spirit, for he agreed eagerly to make the attempt, -and promised to follow Martin’s instructions faithfully. - -“I will go first,” said Martin, with the idea of giving Gundra -confidence. “We can’t both go down with the same load. You must wait for -the next, but don’t come down till you see I am safe.” - -They waited, tingling with impatience and excitement, until once more a -heavy package came swaying past the open door. As soon as it had -descended below the sill, Martin took a firm hold of the rope and swung -off. There was a louder creaking of the pulley above, a more violent -oscillation of the load, a sudden quickening of the rate of descent; -then the slow, even movement was resumed. - -Martin glanced up. The pulley block hung from the wall above a similar -door some twelve feet above. The man who operated the machine was not -visible. - -Martin slid down until his feet touched the package. The moment this -reached the ground he slipped off and glided along the wall until he -came to a shaded corner beyond the shore end of the jetty. There he drew -back as far as possible into the shadow and waited. - -“Are you there?” he heard the man in the upper room whisper huskily, and -saw him lean over, holding on to the rope. - -There was no answer. His mate was at that moment half-way back from the -jetty, pushing the truck before him. A minute or so later, when he began -to loose the package, the man above noticed the movement of the rope, -and said: - -“You there, Bob?” - -“Ay! What’s up? In a hurry, ain’t you? You’ve got the easy job.” - -“No call to be nasty! Have a care to stand from under when the loads are -coming down. These old blocks are sticking. There was a mighty bad jolt -just now. I don’t trust ’em.” - -“All right; be there much more?” - -“Half a dozen boxes or so.” - -“I’m not sorry. The tide is making. I might as well wait a few minutes, -then I can pull the barge up a bit and save all this hiking with the -truck.” - -Martin’s heart sank. If the man did as he suggested, Gundra would have -no opportunity of escaping. But next moment he was reassured. - -“’Tain’t safe,” said the man above. “Barge might stick in the mud, and -tide take an hour or more to lift her. The sooner we get these things on -board the better.” - -While the men were talking the rope had been drawn up, and another load -was fastened to it almost as soon as the man below had started to wheel -the previous one away. - -The pulley creaked, the package descended. Martin watched anxiously, -wondering whether Gundra’s nerve would fail, whether the addition of his -weight to the rope would cause the man this time to look over. He saw -the slight form issue from the doorway and clutch the rope. Gundra was -much lighter than Martin; the extra weight made scarcely any difference -to the rate at which the rope descended. But Martin did not feel secure -until the load bumped on the ground, and the Indian boy, running as -lightly as a wild animal, reached his side. - - - - - CHAPTER THE TWENTY-NINTH - - - MARTIN USES HIS WITS - -Both the boys were panting a little, as much from excitement as from -exertion. For a few moments they remained, silent and still, in the -shadowy recess. Martin’s thoughts were busy with the new problem, how to -make good their escape. They were free, but they were not at large. - -“Shall we wait until the loading is finished?” Martin asked himself. -“There are only a few more loads to come down, then the barge will put -off. No doubt these men will leave, too, and we shall be able to get -away at leisure.” - -But as he pondered the matter he decided for immediate action. Convinced -that the goods now being removed were stolen property, he was bent on -saving it if that were possible, and the only obvious means of saving it -was to inform someone in authority who would send officers of the law to -arrest both goods and men. There was very little time. To win complete -freedom was a matter of urgency. - -“Come along,” Martin whispered when the man was once more busy at the -jetty. - -They crept along by the wall to the door of the warehouse. It was shut -and bolted. On each side of it was a window, but the shutters were up, -and heavily barred. It would be impossible even to attempt to force an -entrance without making a noise that would bring the man hot-foot upon -them. - -Martin glanced this way and that. The quay on the landward side was -entirely enclosed. It seemed that there was no exit from it except -through the warehouse, and that was shut. They were trapped after all. - -But there was the river. Could they escape by that? Was there, below the -jetty, a wherry or any kind of row-boat in addition to the barge that -was being loaded? Martin could not see one. Nor could they seize an -opportunity and dive into the river, for beneath the shore end of the -jetty there was nothing at low tide but liquid mud, probably deep enough -to engulf them. - -All at once the man’s remark about pulling the barge up recurred to -Martin. An idea struck him that made his heart bound and his nerves -tingle. He whispered a few words to Gundra, and anyone who could have -observed them would have noticed how they braced themselves up. - -The result of Martin’s inspiration showed itself when the man next left -the barge and wheeled the truck back along the jetty and across the -quay. As soon as his back was turned, they quitted their hiding-place -and, stooping low, made a dash for the jetty, the sound of their -movements being drowned by the noise of the rumbling wheels. - -At the place where the jetty sprang from the quay they stopped, lowered -themselves over the side, and slipped on to one of the cross-beams that -supported the planking. There they crouched breathlessly. It was a -perilous position, for the timber was slippery with slime, and they had -to hug it closely to prevent their sliding off. There, clinging and -crouching, they remained until the man had again come and gone. - -As soon as the man was at a safe distance, they clambered up to the -jetty, and crept along it on all fours until they came just above the -barge. This was now well afloat, but it was moored stem and stern to -posts on the jetty, as they saw by the light of a small oil-lamp -standing on a tub amidships. Boxes were piled fore and aft. - -The two boys slid down on to the barge by the rope by which the man had -lowered the goods. Martin ran to the stern and tried to cast the aft -mooring rope loose; but the knot was firm and the rope hard, and he had -not succeeded when he heard the rumbling of the truck wheels along the -quay. There was not time to complete the job before the man arrived. The -urgent necessity at the moment was to hide and hope that he would not -see them. - -Together they crouched down in the narrow space between the piled boxes -and the gunwale. With beating hearts they heard the rumbling draw -nearer; the heavy tramp of the man; his mutterings as he heaved his load -from the truck and lowered it to the deck of the barge. They held their -breath. Would the man follow it? No; he swung it almost over their -heads, and it settled with a bump a few feet short of them. - -The moment the man retreated, Martin dashed back to the aft rope, -struggled with the knot until he managed to cast it off, hastened -forward and cast off the rope there likewise. The barge swung free. -Against its gunwale lay the long heavy sweeps with which it was -propelled. Martin attempted to lift one of these, but found it -impossible to do so without Gundra’s help. - -The barge was already lurching shoreward on the tide. In a few moments, -unless its motion was checked, it would strike the mud, and then all -hope of escape was lost. Holding the sweep between them, the boys drove -it against the beams that supported the jetty, and tried to push off. - -Unused to the handling of so clumsy an implement, the boys were unable -to prevent its end from glancing off the slimy timber, and it plunged -with a splash into the water. But they had not let it go. Levering it up -across the gunwale, they once more made the attempt, and by exerting all -possible pressure were able to force the barge a yard or two from the -jetty. Then they were almost undone by their own vigour, for the sweep -slipped again as the barge sheered away, and they fell forward, striking -against the gunwale, and dropping the sweep with a loud clatter. - -They seized it just in time to save it from being carried overboard. -Meanwhile the barge had lost the impetus they had given it, and was -again drifting shoreward. It was clear that the noise they had made had -been heard by the men. There was a shout and hurried footsteps on the -quay, and Martin, looking up, could just see in the starlight the man at -the upper door leaning out and making wild movements with his arms, -evidently to urge on his mate below. - -In a moment this man came in sight, running along the quay to the spot -where he expected the barge to strike if it escaped the mud. Martin saw -that the next few minutes would decide his fate. - -“Catch hold!” he cried to the Indian boy. “Shove when I tell you.” - -He pointed the sweep at the angle between two supporting beams, and with -Gundra’s help drove it into the notch, and brought all his weight and -strength to bear upon it. The barge sidled outward, slowly, too slowly. -Martin realised that if the man had run on to the jetty, he could have -jumped on board before the heavy vessel was out of range. - -“Don’t let go,” Martin called, as the sweep dropped from its -resting-place into the water. - -Keeping a tight grasp on the pole, the boys pulled it slowly through the -water. The barge swung about a little, and Martin saw with joy that the -gap between it and the quay was wider. It was now too late for the man -to attempt the leap. He stood on the quayside, shouting, cursing, -gesticulating to his companions, two men who were running to join him. -The second of them, lumbering along in the rear, Martin recognised as -Sebastian the fat cook. - -Unwieldy though the sweep was, Martin was learning under the stress of -necessity how to manipulate it, his knowledge of oarsmanship assisting. -Laboriously he and Gundra dragged it through the water, and at every -stroke the barge forged a little farther from the quay. - -The men there were in all the agitation of helpless rage. There was a -flash, a crack; one of them had fired a pistol. - -“You fool!” shouted one of his companions. “Do you want to bring all -Deptford down upon us!” - -The answer was inaudible on the barge. There the boys, panting and -sweating from their exertions in the hot night, did not relax their -efforts until the heavy vessel was clear of the jetty and had begun to -drift upstream on the tide. Then, as they paused, they heard the same -voice apparently giving an order, though the words could not be -distinguished. Dimly they saw the three figures run along the quay, then -they were lost to sight in the darkness. A few moments later there came -the sound of rusty hinges creaking; somewhere a gate was opening. - -“What are they about now?” thought Martin; and he noticed for the first -time that Gundra’s eyes were wide with amazement and fright as they -gazed upon the ruddy glow of the Fire. - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRTIETH - - - THE BOYS SWIM FOR IT - -Martin felt that he had been uncommonly lucky. The utmost he had hoped -for was to escape with Gundra from the warehouse; it now seemed to his -sanguine spirit that he would save the stolen property as well. The -barge was slowly drifting upstream; there was no present sign of -pursuit; and if his luck held, before long he would get assistance from -friendly hands, and the evil schemes of Blackbeard, Slocum, and the rest -would be brought to nought. - -But he had pitched his hopes too high. The heavy barge moved only at the -pace of the tide, and neither Martin nor the Indian had sufficient -muscular strength to work the cumbersome sweep for more than a few -minutes at a time. And they were soon aware that the pursuit had -started. In the light from the glowing sky they caught sight of three or -four men hurrying along the road that bordered the river. They were -outstripping the barge; it was probably their intention to get well -ahead, find a boat, and cut across the course of the fugitives. - -They might be delayed by the fact that every serviceable boat had been -engaged for the conveyance of householders’ goods, but sooner or later -they would get some kind of craft, and then the end was inevitable. - -The same dearth of boats operated against Martin. He hailed one or two -that passed, but the watermen would not so much as wait to hear his -explanations; they were reaping a golden harvest. - -What could be done? The only chance seemed to be to run the barge across -the river to the north bank, as near as possible to the stairs where -Martin’s friends were wont to ply, and trust to finding one or other of -them at hand and ready to help. - -The barge was drifting broadside with the stream, and it was only by -dint of great efforts and strenuous pulling at the sweep that the boys -were able to bring her head in the desired direction. They had hardly -begun to creep towards the north bank when they heard shouts ahead, and -saw a wherry putting out from the southern shore and making to cross -their bows. - -The fiery aspect of the sky seemed to increase the heat of the summer -night, and Martin felt the sweat pouring off him in streams as he tugged -desperately at the sweep. He realised in a few moments the impossibility -of gaining the stairs before the wherry overtook him. To save the goods -was beyond hoping for; it would be as much as he could do to save -himself and Gundra from capture. They must abandon the barge and swim -for the shore, now perhaps some fifty yards distant. Could they do so -without being seen and followed? Martin had little doubt that the -pursuers would strain every nerve to capture them, and so ensure that -the sailing of the _Santa Maria_ should not be interfered with. - -“We must swim for it,” he said, dropping the sweep. “Come with me, and -keep low.” - -They crept behind the pile of cargo that had sheltered them when they -first boarded the barge, and slipped over the gunwale into the water on -the side remote from the pursuing wherry. Martin hoped to get at least -half way to the shore before he was seen. With Gundra he struck out -vigorously, but was soon conscious that his strength had already been -overtaxed, and he would be unable to keep up his stroke for more than a -minute or two. - -It seemed that they had only left the barge a few seconds when they -heard the wherry bump into its side, and the men scrambling on board, -cursing as they searched for the fugitives. The search did not last -long; one of the pursuers caught sight of the swimmers, who might -perhaps have got away unseen but for the glare of the Fire. - -“There they are!” - -The shout caused Martin and Gundra to put all their remaining strength -into their strokes. The pursuers rushed for their boat, and it was -fortunate for the swimmers that it lay on the farther side of the barge. -By the time it had been pulled round the stern the boys had entered -shallow water, and were wading ashore in the mud. - -And then the pursuers made a mistake. Had they continued on their course -upstream and rowed across to the nearest stairs, or to one of the quays -that broke the riverside, they could have landed well ahead of the boys -and met them while they were still floundering in the mud flats. But in -their haste and flurry, due no doubt to their wish to avoid drawing too -much attention from passing boats, they swung round against the current -and made toward the boys. - -Ankle deep in slime, Martin and Gundra struggled on to gain the waste -land that stretched up from the river bank. The pursuing boat rapidly -approached them, and was only some twenty yards behind when its nose -stuck in the mud, throwing the rowers forward over their oars. Cursing -violently, the men strove to back water, but the boat was held fast, the -oars were useless, and it was only after precious time had been wasted -that the men decided to jump overboard and continue the pursuit on foot. - -[Illustration] - -In the clinging mud their weight told against them. By the time they had -dragged themselves on to the dry land the boys were already disappearing -into the hedge-lined lane that wound north-westward in the direction of -Spitalfields. - -As they ran the chain by which Gundra had been fastened slipped from his -steel girdle, and its clanking gave a clue to their line of flight. They -heard the heavy feet of their pursuers thundering after them. Martin -tucked the chain up as well as he could, scarcely changing his pace, and -dragged Gundra along. In a minute or two they would reach houses, and -among them, shadowed from the glare of the Fire, they might hope to -elude further pursuit. - -“No can run,” panted Gundra suddenly, placing his hand over his heart. - -“A stitch,” thought Martin. - -To lose time would be fatal. Without a moment’s hesitation he hauled the -Indian through a thin place in the hedge. - -“Lie flat,” he whispered. “Don’t make a sound.” - -They lay beneath the hedge, trying to smother the sounds of their quick -breathing. The pursuers came up, passed; their footsteps receded. - -“Better wait and see if they come back,” thought Martin. “We are both -dog-tired, and want a rest.” - -Minutes passed. Martin listened for the sound of returning footsteps. -Presently he heard them, slow, dragging. The men went by on the other -side of the hedge; there was sullen rage in the tone of their voices. -Martin waited until he could hear them no longer; then he turned to the -Indian boy. - -“We can go now,” he said. “The pain is gone, Gundra?” - -Gundra was asleep. - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FIRST - - - GOLLOP MAKES A DISCOVERY - -The little fellow screamed when Martin roused him, and started up in a -fright. - -“Hush! It’s all right,” said Martin. “The men have gone. We must get -home and tell Gollop all about it. He will tell us what is best to be -done.” - -He reflected that if, as he supposed, the barge held stolen goods that -were to form part of the cargo of the _Santa Maria_, it would take some -time to row that clumsy craft against the tide, and it might still be -possible to intervene before the vessel sailed. No doubt she would leave -her moorings as soon as the tide turned, and make what headway she could -against the east wind. - -Martin had no idea what hour of the night it was, and he was surprised, -before they had gone far on the homeward way, to notice signs of dawn in -the sky. When they reached the house the sun was peering above the -horizon, its beams competing with the glow of the Fire. - -Descending into the basement, Martin found the old Frenchman in anxious -consultation with the Gollops. - -“Here’s Martin!” cried Lucy gleefully. “Oh, I _am_ glad you’ve come -home. We’ve been in such a state about you.” - -“Not a wink of sleep for any of us all night,” said Susan. “Why, bless -me! Here’s the blackamoor too.” - -Gundra had crept in timidly behind the elder boy. - -“Now what have you to say for yourself?” the woman went on. “As if there -weren’t worries enough without——” - -“Peace, woman!” cried the constable. “Don’t rate the lad. He’s fair -foundered, by the look of him. Sit you down, Martin, and tell us what -has kept you out all night.” - -Martin was glad enough to rest, and Lucy had already taken possession of -Gundra, placed him in a corner of the settle, and was asking eager -questions about the strange girdle he wore about his body. - -Without wasting words Martin related how he had followed Mr. Slocum’s -handcart, been trapped in the yard, and finally carried off to the -disused warehouse; how he had escaped with Gundra, and got away on the -barge. - -“You’re a chip of the old block,” said Gollop delightedly; “and your -poor father would be proud of you.” - -“That Slocum’s a wretch,” said Susan. “I always said so. Now, what are -you going to do, Gollop?” - -“Do! What can I do?” - -“There’s a man for you! Just as bad as the Lord Mayor. What can you do, -indeed! Why, just set off after that barge this very minute and stop it -before it’s too late.” - -“Spoken like a woman,” responded Gollop. “You don’t understand the law, -Sue. Before that barge can be stopped there must be a warrant drawn up -proper, saying as how Richard Gollop, constable——” - -“Fiddle-diddle!” Susan broke in scornfully. “Go out and get your -warrant, then, instead of talking about it.” - -“I’d get never a magistrate to listen to me; they can’t think of nothing -but the Fire. But I’ll tell you what I will do: I’ll go down to the -river and see this vessel, _Santa_ something or other; there’s plenty of -time, for they’ve got to unload the barge. I’ll ask a question or two -along the riverside, and if what I hear bears out the lad’s tale——” - -“There! Get along with you,” cried his wife. “It’s a mercy the world -isn’t all made of men.” - -“What you can’t help, make the best of,” said Gollop, as he hurried -away. - -Susan quickly prepared a meal for the famished boys. While she did so -she continued the conversation with Mounseer which Martin’s entrance had -interrupted. It appeared that the Frenchman was becoming anxious about -the safety of the house. On returning home about midnight the constable -had reported that there were signs of the Fire’s working back against -the wind. Already several houses eastward of Pudding Lane had been -consumed by the flames, and although the danger was as yet not imminent, -there was a risk that if the wind lulled or changed, the area of -destruction would extend to the Tower and the adjacent streets. - -“Keep your mind easy, Mounseer,” said Susan with comfortable assurance. -“The neighbours will give us good warning if so be the Fire comes nigh, -and you’ll have time to collect your belongings; not that you’ve got -much to lose, so far as I know.” - -Martin caught a strange look on the Frenchman’s face as he left the room -to return to his own apartment. - -“When you’ve eat your fill, Martin,” said Susan, “you’d better go to -sleep. The blackamoor child has dropped off already, poor lamb!” - -Martin lay down on his bed, but he found it impossible to sleep. His -brain whirled with thoughts of the Fire, and the barge, and the _Santa -Maria_; of Slocum, and Blackbeard, and the rest; and in spite of Susan’s -confidence the mere suggestion that the Fire might spread to their own -house and swallow it up filled him with alarm. He could not bear to -think that the Gollops might presently be among the thousands of -families that had lost their all. - -Presently he could not endure inaction any longer. He sprang up. - -“I am going out,” he said. “I must see for myself where the Fire has got -to. I won’t be very long.” - -At the top of the stairs he banged into Gollop, red-faced and panting -through haste. - -“Bless my eyes! Here’s a wonder!” gasped the man. - -“What is it? Has the Fire got to us?” said Martin. - -“The Fire! What’s the Fire to you? Martin, my lad, never did I think I’d -live to see this day.” - -“Tell me—what is it?” asked Martin in wonder. - -“Why, call me a Dutchman if that there Portugal ship ain’t the _Merry -Maid_, your father’s own vessel what never came home, to his ruin, poor -old captain of mine. The moment I set eyes on her I rubbed ’em, ’cos I -couldn’t believe it. But I knowed them lines; I knowed the pretty -creature, though they’d done something to alter the look of her. She’s -the captain’s ship as sure as I’m alive. And now you must come with me; -we’ll go to the Lord Mayor or somebody and get a warrant. She’s ready to -slip her moorings; we must arrest her; what’s your father’s is yours; -that’s the law, and soon they’ll know it!” - -Waiting just long enough to tell his wife of his amazing discovery, the -constable hurried away with Martin in his quest of the Lord Mayor. But -that magnate was not to be found; nor were any of the sheriffs -discovered in the devastated city. Gollop, distracted, was beating his -wits to recall the name and address of some magistrate in a district -still untouched when Martin suddenly caught sight of Mr. Pemberton, the -customer of Slocum’s whom he had met on two occasions. The gentleman was -standing among a group of his friends, to whom he was pointing out the -site of his own ruined dwelling. - -“He must be a magistrate,” thought Martin, remembering how Mr. Pemberton -had interfered when the crowd was molesting the Frenchman. “I’ll ask -him.” - -He ran up to the group, pushed his way among them without much ceremony, -and said: - -“Sir, may I speak to you?” - -Mr. Pemberton stared at the eager boy, displeased at what appeared to be -an unmannerly intrusion. Then his brow cleared; he smiled and said: - -“My friend the fighter, isn’t it? Well, what have you been fighting -about now?” - -Martin coloured as he felt the eyes of the group focussed on him. But he -recovered his composure in a moment, and began to pour out his story. At -first the gentlemen listened with smiles of amusement or toleration, but -as he proceeded their interest was awakened, and Mr. Pemberton himself -watched him with keen attention. - -“Stay,” he said at one point. “Your father was Reuben Leake?” - -“Yes, sir, that was his name.” - -“I have heard of him; a sound mariner. Go on.” - -Martin continued his story, doing his best to make its complications -clear. - -“Now let me understand,” said Mr. Pemberton when he had finished. “This -vessel, the _Santa Maria_, once the _Merry Maid_, is on the point of -sailing with a cargo which you suspect to consist of stolen goods, some -of them the property of the respected goldsmith Mr. Greatorex. You say -that Mr. Slocum, Mr. Greatorex’s man, is concerned in this crime with -the captain of the vessel, whom you call Blackbeard, and a man named -Seymour. The crew is mainly foreign; they have held an Indian boy as a -slave, and they kidnapped him when you had rescued him from them, and -shut you up with him in a warehouse at Deptford. Have I the story -right?” - -“Yes, sir; all that is true.” - -“Well, let me say—and my friends will agree with me—that you have -shown uncommon intelligence and courage and resource. Your running off -with the barge was an admirable device and deserved to succeed. And now -I understand that you wish to have a warrant for the arrest of the -vessel before she leaves the river. But you must have someone in -authority to execute the warrant, and in the present state of the -city——” - -“There’s me, your worship,” broke in Gollop, who had stood at hand. -“Being a man of law in the shape of a constable——” - -“Ah! Well, we must lose no time. But I have no paper, no pen—— Stay, -is that a half-burnt ledger I see among the ashes there?” - -Martin leapt to the spot and picked up the book. Mr. Pemberton tore out -a page, hurriedly wrote a few lines upon it with a pencil, and handed it -to the constable. - -“There, my man,” he said, “that is the best I can do for you. I cannot -swear that the phraseology is absolutely in form, but it will serve. I -don’t know what you will do if your Blackbeard shows fight. There is no -available force to put at your disposal; you must do the best you can. I -wish you success. I shall be glad to learn the issue of this strange -affair.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SECOND - - - THE PURSUIT - -Martin sat on a thwart side by side with Hopton, listening intently to -the discussion that passed between Gollop and Boulter as they pulled the -boat steadily downstream. - -“She got away with the first of the ebb,” said the constable. “What’s -the odds on our catching her?” - -“That depends,” replied the waterman cautiously. “I reckon she’s got -three or four hours’ start, but she won’t go faster than the tide.” - -“Not so fast, against this wind,” said Gollop. - -“True, but it ain’t blowing so hard, and it’s my belief it’ll drop to a -calm afore night. Well then, she’ll hardly make Gravesend afore the turn -of tide, and as she can’t beat up against the wind in the narrow reaches -she’ll have to lay up when the ebb fails. For summat about three hours -we ought to gain a bit on her, but not so much as to overhaul her, and -then we’ll have the tide against us.” - -“And be dead beat; I ain’t so handy with an oar as I was in my sea-going -days.” - -“Well, I’ve a friend or two in Woolwich, and if so be they ain’t saving -the London folk’s goods I’ll get ’em to come aboard and take a spell -while we rest. But suppose we catch the Portugal ship, what then, -Gollop?” - -“Why, I’ve got a warrant, ain’t I?” - -“Much good that’ll be,” said Boulter scornfully. “They won’t care a fig -for warrants or anything but swords and firelocks. You ought to have -took a boatload of soldiers, that’s what I say.” - -“Ay, it’s easy to say, but it couldn’t be done. Well, what you can’t -help, make the best of. I tell you this: that Portugal ship, leastways -the _Merry Maid_, shan’t get out of the river if I can help it.” - -Martin was half-inclined to regard the pursuit as a wild-goose chase, -and Hopton had nothing to say to encourage him; but uncertainty gave a -spice to the adventure, and they felt a pleasant thrill of anticipation. - -By the time they reached Woolwich the tide had turned, and Boulter -thought it well to pull to the shore, partly for rest and food, partly -to seek out his friends, enquire of them whether they had noticed the -Portugal ship, and try to enlist their help. Luckily he came upon two -watermen whom he knew well, and who were disengaged. From them he learnt -that the vessel had passed about three hours before; she had tow boats -out, towing her, and it was a matter of speculation on the riverside why -her crew were putting themselves to so much exertion in such hot -weather. - -Gollop’s face fell when he heard this news. It was clear that Blackbeard -expected pursuit, and was making all possible speed to evade it. -Boulter’s friends agreed to join the expedition, under promise of a good -reward if it proved successful, and the boat set off again after half an -hour’s delay, the fresh oarsmen making good progress even against the -tide. When all four men were pulling its pace was noticeably rapid, and -at Erith, six miles beyond Woolwich, Gollop was delighted to learn on -enquiry from an upgoing barge that the _Merry Maid_ was now little more -than two hours ahead. - -Hour after hour the rowers plied their oars, taking turns to rest in -couples. Martin and the old Frenchman, who had been up all night, fell -asleep on their seats, and when they awoke it was five o’clock in the -afternoon, and the boat was approaching Gravesend. Here Gollop decided -to go ashore, for as the day wore on he had become less confident, and -recognised that if Blackbeard and his crew resisted the arrest of the -ship the pursuers, hopelessly outnumbered, would not be able to enforce -it unless they could engage a party adequately armed. - -Both he and Boulter had acquaintances among the mariners of Gravesend, -but some of these were absent from their usual haunts, having been drawn -to London by the prospect of making money out of the Fire. Those who -remained showed themselves distrustful and suspicious; they were not to -be tempted to lend their services in a cause that might fail; and -Gollop, angry and troubled, made his way to the office of the Customs -officer of the port, and sought his aid as a brother man of the law. The -officer appeared to resent this claim of relationship, and treated the -constable very off-handedly. - -“Let me see this warrant you talk of,” he said, and when Gollop produced -the scrap of paper, creased, oddly-shaped, its edges frayed and -scorched, he sniffed. “I cannot act on this,” he said. “It is not drawn -up in proper form. The _Santa Maria_ has cleared; she is bound for -Lisbon, the port of an ally; she is beyond my jurisdiction.” - -At this Gollop lost his temper. - -“You and your long words!” he said. “That there vessel ain’t a Portugal -ship; she’s English from stem to stern; don’t I know? You’re neglecting -of your duty, master officer, and I’ll take good care that them above -you hear about it and you’ll get a rough hauling, my fine fellow.” - -“Get out of this,” cried the officer, losing his temper in turn. “You -may be a constable; I don’t know; but you’ll find your legs in the -stocks if you air your insolence on an officer of His Majesty’s -Customs.” - -“Come away, Dick,” said Boulter soothingly. “We ain’t done yet. And we -can’t afford to lose any more time. If the craft weathers Hope Point -she’ll have a clear run out and give us the slip altogether. Come on, -man.” - -Within a few minutes the boat was again under way. It was heavy work -pulling her down Gravesend Reach, and heavier still when, in Lower Hope -Reach, she came full in the teeth of the wind. An exclamation from -Martin caused Gollop to fling a hasty look over his shoulder. Strung out -along the lee shore three ships lay at anchor, evidently waiting for the -tide. - -“Easy all!” cried Gollop, shipping his oar. A look of triumph gleamed in -his eyes. “The second o’ them vessels—she’s the _Merry Maid_, bless her -heart!” - -“Are you sure?” said Boulter. “She’s three-quarters of a mile away.” - -“Sure! Am I sure I’ve a nose on my face? That there’s my dear old -captain’s craft, one in a thousand. She’s safe for a few hours. We’ll go -ashore and wet our whistles, my mates; this is a chance we’ve got to -make the best of.” - -They pulled in towards the shore, but lay a few yards off the mud flats -to talk over the next step before they landed. - -“We can’t fight ’em, that’s certain,” said Boulter, “being only seven -all told, two of us just boys, and one a aged furriner.” - -Mounseer smiled, and fingered his rapier. - -“True for you, mate,” said Gollop. “Well, if you ain’t strong enough to -fight, what do you do?” - -“Speaking for myself, I plays a trick.” - -“Spoke like a wise man. Now what trick could you play?” - -“That depends,” said Boulter, scratching his head. “What about boring a -hole in her hull?” - -“Seeing as none of us is a sword-fish, that can’t be done without ’tis -noticed. What about giving ’em a scare? Them furriners are easy -frightened.” - -“You couldn’t scare ’em into quitting the vessel. But you talk of -furriners. Now I come to think of it, I’ve knowed furren gentlemen put -aboard outgoing vessels in the river—gentlemen as want to get away -secret, and pay well for it. If so be——” - -He paused and looked at the Frenchman. - -“If so be as our furren gentleman could go aboard as a passenger, maybe -the rest of us could get aboard too, eh?” - -“Well, what then?” - -“Why, that’s the trick, d’you see? What I say is——” - -“But perhaps Mr. Seymour’s aboard, and he knows Mounseer,” said Martin. - -“So much the better,” cried Gollop, slapping his thigh. “But what does -Mounseer say?” - -“I do anything what please you,” said the Frenchman quietly. - -Five minutes’ close discussion ensued. Then the boat’s head was turned -upstream, and the little party, hopeful and elated, was speeding back to -Gravesend. - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRTY-THIRD - - - AT GRIPS AT LAST - -In Gravesend they spent a busy hour. While Boulter bought a small -sea-chest at a marine store, Gollop purchased cutlasses for the watermen -and a stout staff for Martin: Hopton fortunately had brought his club. A -visit to a slop shop provided sea-jackets and hats for the two boys, and -so disguised they might have been taken for cabin boys ashore. The -cutlasses, wrapped in sacking, were laid in the chest. - -“We’d better wait for the dusk,” said Gollop. “How about the tide, -Boulter?” - -“’Twill turn at dusk or thereabouts,” replied the waterman. “But the -wind’s dropping, so we mustn’t bide too long or the barque will slip -us.” - -“True; but we’ll have time to fill our holds, which I mean to say our -stomachs. An empty man’s only half a man, and every one of us will have -to make two to-night, or I’m a Dutchman.” - -Repairing to the Three Tuns inn, the little party made a good meal; then -they returned to the wherry and set off on their adventure. The tide was -still running up, but the force of the wind had sensibly diminished, and -they made good progress toward their destination. - -The sun was setting behind them, and a slight haze crept over the river. -Presently the _Santa Maria_ hove in sight. - -“All’s quiet on deck,” said Gollop, looking eagerly ahead. “They feel -pretty snug: so much the better.” - -The approach of the wherry was apparently not noticed on board. It had -drawn under the vessel’s quarter before Boulter raised a hail. - -“_Santa Maria_ ahoy!” he called. - -A dark face showed itself above the gunwale. - -“Captain aboard?” said Boulter. - -The man nodded. - -“I want a word with him,” the waterman continued. - -There was no answer: the man simply stared. - -“Speakee capitano,” said Boulter, as if obligingly suiting his language -to the comprehension of a foreigner. - -In a few halting words of broken English the man declared that the -captain was at supper and must not be disturbed. - -“What you want?” he concluded. - -“Never you mind,” said Boulter. “Bring capitano: maybe he’ll understand -plain English.” - -After some further colloquy the man was prevailed upon to seek the -captain, and Martin felt a cold trickle along his spine when he saw in -the fading light the face of Blackbeard looking down from the poop. -Instinctively he shrank down on his seat. - -“What you want?” demanded the captain, with his foreign accent. - -“A gentleman wishes a passage in your vessel, captain,” said Boulter, -persuasively. “He must get aboard at once: a foreign gentleman, you -understand: can pay well: fifty pounds, say.” - -“It is impossible,” said Blackbeard bluntly. “There is not cabin room -for passenger. No; impossible.” - -Another face was peering over his shoulder, and Martin effaced himself -more thoroughly as he recognised Slocum. The goldsmith threw a searching -glance over the boat. Martin saw him start, pluck Blackbeard by the -sleeve, and draw him out of sight. - -“Did he see me?” thought Martin, quaking a little. - -In a minute he was reassured. Blackbeard returned alone, and Martin -noticed that his eyes at once sought Mounseer, who was sitting on a -thwart next to Gollop. - -“I have considered,” he said. “Perhaps for one. You said one?” - -“Yes: one gentleman: a Frenchman,” said Boulter. “London is not safe for -the French. He was beset in the street.” - -“Very well; he shall come. And quick: soon will the tide turn.” - -He called up a seaman, and bade him lower a rope-ladder from the waist. -Mounseer got up, and staggered. - -“He is old and weak,” said Boulter. “Some of you help him, there.” - -According to the plan previously arranged, Martin and Gollop each took -one of the Frenchman’s arms and led him to the ladder. Martin climbed -nimbly to the deck, then turned to assist Mounseer, who ascended slowly, -Gollop following. To all appearances the Frenchman was feeble, -exhausted; he tottered and swayed between the others when all three were -on board. Meanwhile Boulter’s two watermen friends were proceeding to -carry up the sea-chest, which might be supposed to contain the -passenger’s baggage. - -“Come with me,” said Blackbeard. “We will make bargain.” - -He led the way towards the round-house, a sort of cabin on the upper -deck. Martin and Gollop led Mounseer between them. Slocum had -disappeared; the only persons visible were Blackbeard, the dark-faced -seaman, and some members of the crew who were lying outstretched on the -planks, resting, no doubt, after their exertions in towing the vessel. - -Martin looked curiously about the round-house as he entered. It -contained a well-spread table, two chairs and two berths; the walls were -lined with racks containing arms of all kinds: firelocks, picks, swords, -pistols. - -At a gesture from Blackbeard the Frenchman sank into one of the chairs. - -“Now you go,” the captain commanded, turning to Martin and Gollop. “I -will finish the bargain with this gentleman.” - -“Begging your pardon, sir,” said Gollop quietly, “but afore I go it is -in a manner of speaking——” - -“What you mean?” said Blackbeard, truculently. “I say you go: there is -no more for you: you have done; the business is with this gentleman.” - -“So it is, to be sure,” returned Gollop unperturbed. “Leastways a part -of it. But afore I go, it is in a manner of speaking my duty as an -officer of the law to show you a dokyment——” - -He had drawn from his pocket the warrant signed by Mr. Pemberton and was -proceeding to unfold it. But something in his manner had aroused -suspicion in the captain, who made a quick sidelong movement and -snatched at a pistol in the nearest rack. - -Then the Frenchman, who had appeared so weak and faint, showed a -marvellous alacrity for a man of his years and impotence. He sprang up -from his chair, whipped out his rapier from under his cloak, and had its -point within an inch of Blackbeard’s throat while his hand was still -closing over the pistol butt. - -For a second or two there was silence as the men faced each other. -Martin, quivering with excitement, took in the details of the scene: -Gollop flourishing the paper in his hand; Blackbeard, his hand -outstretched, his nostrils dilating, his eyes glaring; Mounseer cool, -smiling, watching the other as a cat watches a mouse. - -Then the silence was broken. The Frenchman, wearing his inscrutable -smile, said gently, in a tone not above the conversational pitch: - -“Monsieur recognises—is it not so?—that he must render himself?” - -Blackbeard made no answer in words, but his eyes narrowed, his fingers -tightened on the pistol, and he made an almost imperceptible movement. -The Frenchman read the intention in his eyes. The smile disappeared, -giving place to a look of grim resolution. One twist of the wrist, and -the rapier point, an instant before at the man’s throat, flickered like -a flash of lightning and pricked him in the forearm. He winced; the -pistol fell clattering to the floor; and he let out a cry, a loud wild -cry that must have rung through the ship from stem to stern: a rallying -cry to his crew. - -Next instant a door at the farther end of the round-house, which had -stood ajar, was flung open, and a water-bottle hurtled across the room. -It missed the Frenchman’s head by an inch, and crashed against the wall. -Through the door rushed two men, one behind the other. In the foremost -Martin recognised Mr. Seymour, the tenant of the upper floor whose -dealings with Blackbeard had first awakened his suspicions. It was he -who had thrown the bottle; the second man was for the moment hidden from -view behind him. - -Between the table and the wall on either side there was only a narrow -gangway, partly obstructed by the chairs. As he dashed forward, Seymour -snatched at a cutlass hanging above the rack of arms. He grasped it, but -by the blade, for the hilt was higher than his head. To make effective -play with it he must needs lift it from its nail and reverse it: even -then the narrow gangway would allow him no room to swing it, nor the low -roof space in which to bring it above his head: he could only give -point. - -But before he could reverse the weapon and grasp the hilt Gollop had -found himself. Dropping his warrant, he flung himself forward with a -leonine roar. Recalling the fight afterwards Martin wondered how the -burly constable had managed to squeeze himself between the table and the -wall to meet the attack. The chair went clattering along the floor; a -blow from Gollop’s sledge-hammer fist, with sixteen stone of brawn -behind it, caught Seymour clean between the eyes and sent him hurtling -over the broken chair upon the man behind. He dropped; his companion -staggered, recovered himself, and, shouting a furious curse, sprang -forward cutlass in hand. - -Protected in some degree by the huddled form of Seymour, he made a -desperate lunge at Gollop, who had been carried forward by his own -momentum, and could now neither advance nor retreat. At this critical -moment Martin seized the second chair, and, gathering his strength, -hurled it at Slocum. It took him at the level of his belt and doubled -him up. - -Then from without came a medley of shouts and the rustling thud of bare -feet upon the boards. - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FOURTH - - - GOLLOP AT BAY - -The light of battle gleamed in Gollop’s eyes. He was no longer the -constable, whose weapons were a staff and a rattle, but the boatswain of -old, who had borne his part in many a fight with pirates in the days -when he sailed the far seas with Captain Leake. - -“I carries more flesh now than I did then,” he said afterwards, when -telling the story to his cronies. “That’s what comes of marrying a good -wife what looks after your vittles. Still, what you can’t help, make the -best of; that’s what I always say.” - -Bulky though he was, at this critical moment he showed himself -astonishingly agile. He snatched two cutlasses from the stand of arms, -and thrust one into Martin’s hand. - -“Better than a stick, my lad,” he said. “Stand you guard over they two -rascals”—he indicated Slocum and Seymour, who were sitting more or less -disabled on the floor. “If they stir, touch ’em with the point.” - -Then, rather breathlessly, he turned to meet the rush at the door. - -Meanwhile the Frenchman was keeping an eye on Blackbeard. Disarmed and -injured, the captain of the _Santa Maria_ stood between the table and -the wall, his dark face distorted with fury. Mounseer could not attack -him again while he was unarmed, nor was there space or time for the duel -that would have rejoiced the Frenchman’s heart. But he knew that if he -took his eye off him for a moment he might expect a rush, and all that -he could do was to shift his ground slightly so that he might be able to -lend aid to Gollop if the crew made a determined assault through the -door. - -“You will have the goodness to retire yourself one step or two,” he said -to Blackbeard, his tone icily polite. To give himself room it was -necessary that the captain should move backward into the round-house. - -Blackbeard muttered a curse under his breath, but refused to budge. - -“Eh bien, voilà!” said the Frenchman, with a sudden deft movement -pricking him with the point of his rapier. - -The captain winced, shrieked out an oath, but made no more ado about -obeying orders. Then Mounseer half turned, and stood so that he could -either check Blackbeard if he showed fight, or move to Gollop’s help, as -the occasion might demand. - -Cutlass in hand, Martin stood over his prisoners, who had shown no sign -of activity themselves, but were looking eagerly, hopefully, towards the -door. Martin found it difficult to prevent his attention from being -distracted by the fight that was now raging there. The crew of the -vessel, headed by the officer whom Martin had seen once before, had -surged in a yelling crowd towards the round-house, catching up as they -ran any object that would serve as a weapon. Some had marline-spikes, -one brandished a short spar, another a hanger; several had drawn -evil-looking knives, and fat Sebastian wielded a meat chopper. - -But there was no order or discipline among them. Shouting, -gesticulating, they got in one another’s way in their struggle to reach -the door, where Gollop coolly awaited their onset. His broad form -blocked up the narrow entrance; the foreigners could attack only one at -a time; and as they came on, one by one, each was put out of action by a -sudden thrust or cut or lunge of the cutlass wielded by a master hand. - -Martin glowed with admiration as he watched the swift movements of the -big man. Planted firmly on his feet, his body scarcely swayed; but his -sword-arm swept from side to side, and the furious yells of his -opponents bespoke their sense of failure. Baffled, they fell back; they -collected in a group to devise some plan whereby they might overcome -this doughty defender of the door. - -Suddenly there was a shout behind them. - -“Ahoy! ahoy! Firk ’em! At ’em, my hearties!” - -The startled group turned; there were a few moments of wild confusion. -Martin, looking under Gollop’s arm, saw a welter of men, some bowled -over like ninepins, others crawling away on hands and knees. The -watermen, with George Hopton, taking their cue from the noises on deck, -had swarmed up from the wherry and swept upon the foreigners from the -rear. They burst through, irresistible; the crew scattered to right and -left; and then Gollop issued forth from the doorway and joined his -friends with a roar of welcome. - -“Round ’em up! Round ’em up!” he cried, and striding ahead of his little -party he chased the crew around the deck, across the waist, down the -ladders, into every corner where they sought refuge. Bereft of their -leaders they had no heart to fight. Within a very few minutes the -foreigners had surrendered, and were herded into the forecastle. - -A few minutes more, and the prisoners in the round-house were sitting in -a disconsolate line against the wall, their hands and feet securely -tied. - -“A very pretty job,” said Gollop, looking approvingly at the watermen’s -work. “I reckon they knots be firm enough, Mounseer; still, ’tis as well -to make sure; so maybe you’ll stand over ’em with that steel of yours -while we go and see what’s in them brass-bound boxes.” - -The Frenchman smiled, and held his rapier at the salute. - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FIFTH - - - MARTIN TO THE RESCUE - -Gollop was in a quandary. - -He had got possession of the _Santa Maria_, which would henceforth be -called by her old name, the _Merry Maid_: what was he to do with her? -Night had fallen; the tide was running out again to the sea; it seemed -necessary to wait for morning light and the turn of the tide before the -vessel could be floated back to London. But the constable had left his -duty without leave from his commanding officer, and though he had Mr. -Pemberton’s warrant to produce in self-justification, he felt that if a -strict judgment were passed upon his action, he was in danger of losing -his livelihood. - -“Seems to me I’d better leave you in command, lad,” he said to Martin, -“the ship being yours, and row back to the city.” - -“But you are tired,” replied Martin; “it would be a terribly hard pull -against the tide, and we can’t spare anyone to go with you; we’re very -few to hold the ship if the crew break out of the forecastle.” - -“Besides, there’s them boxes,” Boulter put in. The boxes had been opened -and examined: they were full of plate and jewellery. “I reckon they’re -worth a good few thousands of pounds, and Mr. Greatorex is so much -beholden to you that he’ll see you don’t lose by the night’s work.” - -“Maybe; gratitude ain’t a partickler common virtue. Howsomever, what you -can’t help, make the best of. I’ll bide here till morning, and then -we’ll see. Martin, my lad, you’re dead beat; you’ve got old eyes; turn -in, you and your friend, and sleep sound till I wake you.” - -Martin was glad enough to stretch himself on the deck against the -bulwark; his recent experiences had worn him out. - -“Your Gollop’s a Trojan,” said Hopton as he threw himself beside him. “I -say, I’ll go with you to Tyburn to see Slocum hanged.” - -“I suppose he _will_ be hanged?” said Martin sleepily. - -“Certain sure. It will be a great show. I expect he’ll make a fine -speech on the gallows.” - -But Martin was already asleep. - -When he awoke in the early morning he found that Gollop, in consultation -with the watermen, had planned out his course of action. The vessel -would be left in charge of the Customs officers, who would put a crew on -board, and lodge the criminals, Slocum, Blackbeard, and Seymour, in -jail; then the boarding party would return to the City, Gollop would -report to his captain, and a posse of constables would no doubt be -dispatched to convey the criminals to London for trial. - -About half-past five Boulter’s wherry set off on its return journey to -London. The party were well satisfied with the result of their -expedition, but the pleasure of some of them was alloyed with anxiety. -During the night the wind had fallen away; the air was still; and -Gollop, equally with the Frenchman, was filled with foreboding as to the -progress the Fire might have made during the twelve hours of his -absence. Already, before his departure, the flames had worked back -against the wind in the direction of the Tower, and now that there was -not even the wind to check them, he was on tenterhooks lest they might -have gained his house. - -Mounseer, so calm and self-possessed during the scene in the round-house -of the _Merry Maid_, was now a prey to nervous agitation, which -increased minute by minute as the wherry neared its destination. He said -nothing, but the twitching of his eyelids and the restless movements of -his hands were clear signs of his perturbation of spirit. Martin -wondered, for, like Susan Gollop, he had seen nothing of value in the -old gentleman’s apartment, and such possessions as he had could be -removed in a few minutes if the house were attacked by the Fire. - -The watermen pulled in to the steps where Martin had first become -suspicious of Slocum. There the party separated: Gollop to seek his -captain, Hopton to return home, the watermen to resume their vocation; -Martin and the Frenchman to regain their dwelling-house. - -“If so be the house has caught, lad,” said Gollop at parting, “I trust -to you to look after my Sue and the little one. I’ll come home the very -first minute I can.” - -Martin’s misgivings increased as he hurried with Mounseer through the -streets. - -“I’m sure that’s Clothworkers Hall in Mincing Lane,” he said, noticing a -huge body of yellow flame rising high into the air some distance to the -left. - -He stopped a man who was hurrying past, and asked him how far the Fire -had got. - -“How far? Where have you been, then?” was the reply. “Paul’s Church is -in ashes; so’s Fleet Street and——” - -“I mean on this side.” - -“Why, the Custom House by the river has gone, so’s a part of Tower -Street, and Mincing Lane, and the parsonage of Barking Church——” - -“Juste ciel!” cried the Frenchman. “Our house is near of that. Haste! -haste!” - -His mental distress, following on the fatigues of the night, rendered -the old gentleman’s steps unsteady, and he clung to Martin’s arm for -support. They hurried on, their alarm growing from moment to moment. -Every now and then they heard a terrific explosion, and saw immense -columns of smoke, dust, and fragments of wood spring into the air. - -“What’s that?” asked Martin of a passer-by. - -“Blowing up houses in Seething Lane,” the man replied. - -“Mon Dieu! How close!” muttered the Frenchman. “For me it is ruin, -ruin!” - -At last they turned the corner from which their house could be seen. One -glance was enough. Flames were bursting from the roof. It appeared that -the house had caught fire at the top from floating sparks. People were -running hither and thither in the street, carrying away their goods from -the neighbouring houses. In the roadway before the house was a little -group of three—Susan Gollop, Lucy, and the Indian boy, standing guard -over the household gear piled in the roadway. - -Susan’s set face relaxed as she saw Martin running towards her. - -“Where’s Gollop? Where’s my man?” she cried. - -“He’s quite safe; he’ll be here soon,” Martin replied. “Have you got -everything out?” - -“Everything but the copper. We couldn’t lift that. Come back, Mounseer; -we’ve got your things too.” - -The Frenchman had withdrawn his arm from Martin’s and was hurrying into -the open doorway of the house. He paid no attention to Susan’s cry, but -disappeared. - -“Well I declare!’ cried Susan. “Did you ever know such a foolish old -gentleman! Because he’s French, I suppose. Me and the blackamoor brought -out all his bits of things with our own hands: here they are. But I -suppose he wants to make sure we’ve got ’em all.” - -“I’ll go and bring him back,” said Martin. - -“No, no; bide here. He’ll see the room’s empty and come back himself in -a twink. There’s no call for you to go into the smother.” - -Martin allowed himself to be restrained. A knot of spectators had -gathered, and stared up at the burning house. The flames were spreading -from the roof downwards. Smoke was pouring out of the windows. Susan -watched grimly; Lucy, her eyes wide with awe, clung convulsively to -Gundra, who seemed the least concerned of all. - -Minute after minute passed. There was no sign of the Frenchman. The -window of his room was closed, but smoke was trickling out at the edges -of the casement. - -“Oh! where is my dear Mounseer?” cried Lucy, tearfully. - -“Drat the man!” said Susan. “What in the world he’s doing I don’t know. -He must have a bee in his bonnet. Here now—Martin—come back! Come -back, I say!” - -But Martin, unable to bear the suspense any longer, had broken away and -dashed into the burning house to find his old friend. - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SIXTH - - - MARTIN’S ORDEAL - -Martin was only partly conscious of what he passed through during the -next minute, and not at all aware of the risks he ran. - -The old timber house had ignited from the top; the roof had burnt -through, and blazing fragments, falling on to the landings below, had -set fire to the walls and the floors. Already the flames were eating -away the stairs, and Martin, groping his way up through the smoke and by -the aid of the banisters, was awakened to realities by a sudden sharp -stinging pain as his hand touched a place that was on fire. - -“Mounseer! Mounseer!” he called as he bounded up. - -There was no answer. - -He reached the landing at the top of the first flight. Through the -Frenchman’s open doorway, a little way to the right, thick grey smoke -was pouring. Moment by moment red-hot splinters crashed down upon the -landing, and from above came the roar and crackle of the devouring -flames. - -“Mounseer!” Martin shouted; then caught his breath and coughed as the -acrid smoke filled his throat. - -His smarting eyes streamed with water. Half blinded, he pressed his lips -firmly together and dashed across the landing into the open doorway. The -room was thick with smoke: for a moment Martin was compelled to close -his eyes; when he opened them again he saw flames bursting through the -ceiling. Part of a blazing rafter fell at his feet, and he staggered -back as innumerable sparks flew up in his face. - -“Mounseer! Mounseer!” he spluttered. - -There was no sound but the ever-growing roar of the flames. - -Guessing from the denseness of the smoke that the windows were closed, -unable to see anything clearly, Martin in desperation caught up a small -stool which he had touched with his feet and hurled it in the direction -of the window overlooking the waste ground at the back. There was a -crash of breaking glass; the smoke began to pour out through the -shattered pane, and taking advantage of the immediate lightening of the -air Martin started to grope round the room in search of the Frenchman. - -He stumbled against the table, knocked his shins against the edge of the -bed, felt across it with his hands: there was no sign of Mounseer. -Finding that he could breathe more freely near the floor he dropped on -his hands and knees and began to crawl, wincing every now and then as he -touched a fragment of burning wood. - -He made for the cupboard in the corner, thinking that Mounseer might -have been overpowered by the smoke as he stood to save some of his few -possessions there. But there was no sign of him in the corner. He worked -back, and had almost completed the tour of the room when, behind the -door, he stumbled upon something hard. It was the sole of a shoe. In -another moment he knew that the body of the Frenchman was stretched -along the floor close against the wall. - -Raising himself, he seized Mounseer’s feet and tried to drag him out -upon the landing. But suddenly his strength failed: overcome by the -smoke he fell gasping across the prostrate body, and lay for a few -moments in a state of collapse. - -Collecting himself with a great effort, he struggled to his feet and -managed to pull the inert form as far as the doorway before once more -faintness overtook him, and again he fell. - -He tried to shout for help, but only a feeble croak issued from his -parched lips. A terrible fear assailed him: if a few minutes’ immersion -in the smoke could rob him of his strength, how must it be with the -Frenchman, who had been so much longer exposed? Was he too late? Was the -old gentleman past help? - -The thought nerved him to one more effort. He rose, and pulled with all -his might at the Frenchman’s legs. Staggering, he got him through the -doorway on to the landing. Here there was a little more air, but -Martin’s head swam; sick and dizzy he reeled, fell, and struck his head -against the banisters. At the moment of his losing consciousness there -was a noise in his ears, above the roar of the flames—a noise as of -people shouting and running. - -When he came to himself he was lying in the roadway. His head and chest -were wet. His dazed, aching eyes saw Susan Gollop bending over him; in -the background were other figures, among which he by and by recognised -that of George Hopton. - -“Mounseer!” he murmured. - -“Mounseer is safe, my lamb,” said Susan, her tone unusually soft. “Take -a drink: you’ll soon be all right again.” - -He drank greedily from the cup she offered. A well-dressed elderly -gentleman came forward. - -“He is recovering, mistress?” he said. - -“Ay, sir, thank God!” replied Susan. “But I wish Gollop would come. I -don’t know what in the world we are to do now. The old house is done -for: we’ve got our little bits of furniture here, but nowhere to go.” - -“Don’t distress yourself, my good woman,” said the gentleman. “I will -make it my charge to look after you all until something can be arranged. -I would take you to my own house were it not so far away; that is -impossible; but I will at once ride off to a farm I know at Islington, -where I make no doubt I can arrange for your housing.” - -He crossed the road to where a boy was holding a horse, mounted, and -rode away. - -“Who is that?” Martin murmured. George Hopton came and stood by him. - -“Mr. Greatorex, to be sure,” answered Susan, “and a real kind gentleman. -Brave too; ay, a man of bravery if ever there was one, and quick of his -mind. He came riding up with this lad perched behind him, and the way he -got off that horse—well, ’twas a wonderful spring for a man of his -years. ‘Where’s Martin Leake?’ he sings out. ‘In the house,’ says I, -‘a-saving of the old gentleman on the first floor.’ ‘Isn’t there a _man_ -that could have done that?’ says he, scornful-like, looking round on the -crowd. And I must own they was an idle lot, all eyes and no sense. Well, -he didn’t wait a moment, but dashed into the house—though I’ll own this -lad was in front of him. My heart was in my mouth when I saw ’em vanish -into that furnace and heard ’em shouting for you——” - -“Mounseer! what of Mounseer?” asked Martin again, as remembrance came to -his dazed mind. - -“Safe and sound, bless you,” replied Susan; “that is, he will be, when -he’s come to proper. He’s over yonder, with a doctor looking after him. -It seemed an age before Mr. Greatorex came out again, though I suppose -’twas no more than a minute or two. He had you in his arms, and my heart -went pit-a-pat that dreadful when I saw your pale face and your poor -burnt hands. And behind him was this lad with Mounseer on his back: a -strong lad, and a good lad too. And you hadn’t been out of the house two -ticks when the floors fell in with a terrible crash, and sparks flying -all across the street. ’Twas a merciful Providence that sent Mr. -Greatorex in the very nick of time to save you from being burnt alive.” - -“But I don’t understand—Mr. Greatorex—how—why did he want me?” - -“I can tell you that,” said Hopton. “I went up to the shop to see if -there was anything left of it. My word! the ground did scorch my feet. -Of course it’s nothing but a black ruin: all Cheapside is burnt. I was -just coming away when Mr. Greatorex rode up. He’d come up from the -country; only think: the smoke and bits of black paper and stuff have -been carried forty or fifty miles away. He asked me about Slocum, and -whether the goods had been saved in time; and then I told him all I -knew, and said that the goods were safe on board the ship, and ’twas all -owing to you. ‘Take me at once to that Martin Leake,’ says he, and he -was in such a hurry that he made me get up on the saddle behind him: -first time in my life I’ve ever been on a horse, and don’t I ache with -the jolting! Then it happened as Mrs. Gollop said: we found you and the -old Frenchman in a heap on the landing, and we weren’t long bringing you -out, I can tell you.” - -“And such foolishness of Mounseer!” said Susan. “Nearly lost his life, -and yours too, and what for? Just for a bit of a box.” - -“A brass-bound box?” said Martin. - -“No, there’s no brass about it, so far as I could see, though he kept it -so tight in his arms that no one could see it proper. He’d quite lost -his senses when the lad brought him out, but d’you think he’d let go of -that box? Not for ever so. He clung to it as if it was the most vallyble -thing in the whole world—just a bit of a box, leather I fancy, but so -old and worn that—there, you never can tell what queer things some -folks take a fancy to.” - -“But what’s in the box?” - -“Ah, who’s to say? He’s got it in his arms still, and there it’ll be -until he’s rightly come to himself. Are you feeling better now, my -dear?” - -“Yes, though I’m rather chokey, and my hands smart.” - -“To be sure they do, and I’ve no oil to put on ’em. But I’ll get some -soon, and if Mr. Greatorex is a man of his word—and I don’t say he -isn’t—we’ll soon have you in a comfortable bed in a farm-house, and -milk and cream, and—why, it’ll be a holiday in the country, what I’ve -wanted for years. You’ll like that, won’t you, Lucy?” she asked, as the -child ran up. - -“Mounseer’s opened his eyes,” said Lucy. “I’m so glad. He smiled at me. -And then he asked for Martin. And then he said some funny words _I_ -couldn’t understand. And then he told me to come and say ‘Thank you’ a -thousand times to Martin. That was just his fun, of course, for I -couldn’t say it so many times as that, could I?” - -“That’s just his foreign way, my dear,” said Susan. “Once is enough with -English people. Run back and tell him that Martin is all right, and -we’re all going to a farm in the country. I do wish Gollop would come -home.” - - - - - CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SEVENTH - - - ALL’S WELL - -Not many hours later, in one of the comfortable rooms of a large -farm-house near the village of Islington, Dick Gollop and his wife, -Martin and Lucy and Gundra, and Mounseer—whose name was Monsieur Raoul -Marie de Caudebec—had just finished the best meal they had had for many -a day. - -Mr. Greatorex—proving himself to be a man of his word—had sent them -from the City in a hired coach, and arranged that their furniture should -follow in a wagon. He himself had promised to come and see them as soon -as he had had an interview with one of the sheriffs. - -The burns of Martin and the Frenchman had been treated with oil and -flour, and it was Susan Gollop’s opinion that, except for a scar or two, -they would show no permanent marks of their recent terrible experience. - -“And I daresay Martin won’t show none at all,” she said. “He’s young, -and young skin has time to change itself over and over again. And as to -Mounseer—well, he’s old, and I don’t suppose he’ll mind if he do bear a -blemish or two.” - -“That is philosophy, madam,” said the Frenchman with a smile. - -“Your box is marked worse than you,” Susan went on, eyeing with simple -curiosity the small leather casket that lay on the table at Mounseer’s -right hand. “You can’t make a new thing of a bit of old leather, -specially when it’s had a thorough good scorching.” - -“That is true, madam.” Mounseer laid his hand on the casket. “It is old, -older than I am; it was to my grandfather.” - -“Gracious me! Then it must be very ancient, for you ain’t a chicken -yourself. I don’t mean no offence, Mounseer.” - -“I am sure of that: it is just the English way. Eh well, my friends, you -have been so good to me that I owe you to explain. One does not talk of -the private affairs until the time comes. This is the time.” - -And then he proceeded to relate a story that held the rapt attention of -his hearers. Escaping from persecution in France, he had brought with -him nothing but his rapier and the casket that contained a number of -valuable jewels, heirlooms in his family. These were his only means of -support. One by one, as he needed money, he had sold them to Mr. Slocum. -His wants being simple, he had made the money go a long way, and he -hoped that the contents of the casket would last for the rest of his -life. - -“There now!” exclaimed Susan. “And you _would_ buy lollipops for Lucy! -You didn’t ought to, Mounseer, and I wouldn’t have allowed it if I’d -known.” - -“And so you would have robbed me of a great pleasure,” said the old -gentleman. - -“I see it now,” said Martin. “You sold your jewels from time to time to -Slocum, and he knew how valuable they were, though I don’t suppose he -paid you anything like what they were worth. And then he had planned to -rob Mr. Greatorex, and being greedy, wanted the rest of your jewels as -well. That explains the attacks on your room.” - -Mounseer assented, adding that he had of course never suspected Mr. -Slocum of any part in those attacks. Determined to protect his property, -he had removed a length of the wainscoting of the wall of his room, and -hidden the casket in the cavity behind. When his room was ransacked, -this hiding-place remained undiscovered. He had only just removed the -casket when he was overcome by the smoke. - -“And it is to you, my friend,” he said, turning to Martin, “that I owe -that I have still the means to live; and when I die, if any of my jewels -are left, they shall be to you: I will so ordain it in my testament.” - -“That’s handsome said,” cried Dick Gollop. - -“But I hope there will be none left,” said Martin, flushing. - -“Meaning that you’ll live as long as Methusalem, Mounseer,” said Susan. -“And we all agree: of that I’m very sure.” - -“I do not covet so long a life,” said Mounseer, “but it must be as the -good God pleases.” - -“Ay, and what you can’t help, make the best of,” said Gollop. “That -Slocum and his crowd, now—their course is set for the gallows, and I -hope as they’ll put a cheerful face on it. Nothing upsets me more than -to see a man draw down his chops when he’s on his way to be hanged. He -can’t get out of it, so his looks might just as well be sweet as sour.” - -Next day, when Mr. Greatorex paid his promised visit to the farm, he -brought some interesting news. The man who called himself Seymour, but -whose real name was Smith, had purchased his freedom by volunteering to -turn King’s evidence, and had already made a long statement. It appeared -that the man whom Martin had called Blackbeard was a brother of Slocum, -and had spent a good many years in piracy on the eastern seas. He had -captured Captain Leake’s vessel the _Merry Maid_, made some few -alterations in her cut—not skilfully enough to deceive the sharp eyes -of Dick Gollop—changed her name to the _Santa Maria_, and brought her -into dock after a brush with the French. He himself pretended to be a -foreigner and had assumed a foreign accent at times. - -Meeting his brother after many years’ absence, he had suggested that the -most valuable articles in Mr. Greatorex’s stock of plate and jewellery -should be gradually transferred to his vessel, carried to Portugal and -sold. Seymour had been admitted as a partner, and had taken a lodging in -the same house as the Frenchman, partly because his room would be -convenient as a temporary storing place, and partly that he might assist -in the robbery of Mounseer’s valuables. The outbreak of the Fire had -enabled Slocum to carry off the whole of the stock openly. - -Mr. Greatorex was loud in praise of Martin for the large share he had -had in saving the goods. He offered to take him as a regular apprentice, -but learning that Martin had a passion for the sea, he agreed to place -him on a King’s ship, and promised to take charge of Lucy. And being in -want of a gardener for his country house, he asked Gollop whether he -would like to exchange his constable’s staff for a spade. - -“Well, sir, I take it kind of you,” said Dick. “I don’t mind if I do. I -knows nothing about gardening, but then I knowed nothing about the law -till I took up with it, and as a man of law I reckon I’ve a pretty good -name in London town. I’ll do my best, and if I ain’t very good at it -just at first, well, what _I_ can’t help, _you_'ll make the best of, -I’ll be bound.” - -It only remained to dispose of Gundra. Susan Gollop undertook to give -him a home until Martin should sail on his first voyage to the East. -Some two years later Martin had the pleasure of restoring the boy to his -own family in Surat. - -Slocum and his confederates were not destined to be hanged after all. It -was discovered one day that they had broken prison, and they were never -captured. Years afterwards, when Martin was a captain in the King’s -Navy, he was accosted one day in Portsmouth by a wretched-looking -beggar, who suddenly stopped in the midst of his whining plea for help -and slunk off rapidly round the first corner. - -“I could swear that was Slocum,” Martin said to himself. “I suppose he -recognised me and was afraid I should give him up to justice. How it all -comes back to me—that night of the Fire!” - - THE END - - - - - TRANSCRIBER NOTES - - -Mis-spelled words and printer errors have been corrected or -standardised. - -Inconsistency in accents has been corrected or standardised. - -Illustrations have been relocated due to using a non-page layout. - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIN OF OLD LONDON *** - -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. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Martin of Old London</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Herbert Strang</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 23, 2022 [eBook #69609]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Al Haines, John Routh & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at https://www.pgdpcanada.net</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIN OF OLD LONDON ***</div> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div class='figcenter'> -<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0000' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/> -</div> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div class='figcenter'> -<img src='images/img-front.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0001' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/> -</div> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div class='lgc' style=''> <!-- rend=';' --> -<p class='line0' style='margin-top:1em;'><span style='font-size:x-large'>MARTIN OF OLD</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span style='font-size:x-large'>LONDON</span></p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line0' style='margin-top:2em;'><span style='font-size:smaller'>By</span></p> -<p class='line0'>HERBERT STRANG</p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line0' style='margin-top:3em;margin-bottom:1em;'> </p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<div class='figcenter'> -<img src='images/OUP-logo.png' alt='' id='iid-0002' style='width:15%;height:auto;'/> -</div> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line0' style='margin-top:4em;margin-bottom:1em;'> </p> -<p class='line0'>OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS</p> -<p class='line0'>LONDON : HUMPHREY MILFORD</p> -</div> <!-- end rend --> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div class='lgc' style=''> <!-- rend=';' --> -<p class='line0'>STORIES FOR BOYS</p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>by</span> HERBERT STRANG</p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Adventures of Dick Trevanion, The</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Adventures of Harry Rochester, The</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>A Gentleman-at-arms</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Air Patrol, The</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Air Scout, The</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Barclay of the Guides</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Boys of the Light Brigade</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Humphrey Bold</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Jack Brown in China</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Kobo</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>One of Clive’s Heroes</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Palm Tree Island</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Rob the Ranger</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Samba</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Settlers and Scouts</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Sultan Jim</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Tom Burnaby</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>Winning His Name</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span class='it'>With Drake on the Spanish Main</span></p> -<p class='line'> </p> -<p class='line0' style='margin-top:4em;margin-bottom:1em;'> </p> -<p class='line0'><span style='font-size:smaller'>REPRINTED 1936 IN GREAT BRITAIN AT THE</span></p> -<p class='line0'><span style='font-size:smaller'>UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD, BY JOHN JOHNSON</span></p> -</div> <!-- end rend --> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<table id='tab1' summary='' class='center'> -<colgroup> -<col span='1' style='width: 3.5em;'/> -<col span='1' style='width: 20em;'/> -<col span='1' style='width: 0em;'/> -</colgroup> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tab1c1-col3 tdStyle0' colspan='3'><span class='it'>CONTENTS</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'> </td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'> </td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'>PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'></td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'> </td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'> </td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>I.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>The Waiting Boat</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_5'>5</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>II.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Martin at Home</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_8'>8</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>III.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>The Assault</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_13'>13</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>IV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Martin Loses his Job</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_16'>16</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>V.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>The Noise in the Night</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_22'>22</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>VI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Martin’s Passenger</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_28'>28</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>VII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>A Blow in the Dark</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_33'>33</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>VIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>The Face at the Window</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_39'>39</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>IX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>An Adventure in Pudding Lane</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_44'>44</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>X.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>A Mysterious Visitor</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_48'>48</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Mr. Slocum Again</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_54'>54</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>The Brass-bound Box</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_59'>59</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Blackbeard Visits the Baker</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_64'>64</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XIV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>On Board the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span></span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_69'>69</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Coffee for Two</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_74'>74</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XVI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>What Martin Found</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_80'>80</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XVII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Stop, Thief!</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_84'>84</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XVIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Sally Takes a Hand</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_90'>90</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XIX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Gundra Disappears</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_94'>94</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Fire! Fire!</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_100'>100</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>What Susan Found</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_105'>105</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>The Empty Room</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_110'>110</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>'Prentices to the Rescue</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_115'>115</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXIV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Mr. Slocum Moves at Last</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_121'>121</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Martin Follows</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_126'>126</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXVI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Prisoners</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_131'>131</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXVII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Martin Finds a Way</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_136'>136</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXVIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>The Boys Escape</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_142'>142</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXIX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Martin Uses his Wits</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_147'>147</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXX.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>The Boys Swim for It</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_152'>152</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXXI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Gollop Makes a Discovery</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_157'>157</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXXII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>The Pursuit</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_163'>163</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXXIII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>At Grips at Last</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_168'>168</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXXIV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Gollop at Bay</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_174'>174</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXXV.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Martin to the Rescue</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_177'>177</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXXVI.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>Martin’s Ordeal</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_182'>182</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class='tab1c1 tdStyle1'>XXXVII.</td><td class='tab1c2 tdStyle2'><span class='sc'>All’s Well</span></td><td class='tab1c3 tdStyle1'><a href='#Page_188'>188</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<p class='line0' style='text-align:center;margin-top:3em;margin-bottom:2em;font-size:2.5em;'>Martin of Old London</p> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='5' id='Page_5'></span><h1 class='nobreak'>CHAPTER THE FIRST</h1></div> - -<h3>THE WAITING BOAT</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>One fine evening in the August of the year 1666, -Martin Leake, aged fourteen and a few months, had -strolled down to the riverside for a breath of air.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It had been a terribly hot day. The whole month -had been fine and dry; the narrow streets of London -were stuffy and smelly, and it was a relief to escape -from them to the bank of the broad Thames, where -the easterly wind carried in a sharp salt tang from the -sea.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The river always had a charm for Martin. In those -days it might have been called the main highway of -London City, and he loved to watch the wherries -laden with passengers, and the tall ships lying at -anchor or floating up or down on the tide.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He sauntered on and on, every now and then exchanging -a nod or smile or cheery word with some -waterman he knew. But most of the watermen were -busy on the river, and as the evening went on Martin -met fewer and fewer people.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Presently he sat down to rest near the head of a flight -of stairs that led down to the water. A broad stone post -gave support for his back, and leaning against it he -watched the sun sinking into a fiery sky, and the lights -that began to twinkle on the ships moored in the -stream.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was very peaceful. The only sounds that reached -his ears were the plash of oars in passing boats and the -voices of the watermen and their passengers.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Turning to look in the other direction, he noticed for -the first time a ship’s boat straining at her painter, -which was made fast to a ring at the foot of the stairs. -In the boat sat, or rather crouched, a solitary seaman—a -man with a very dark face and long, coal-black -hair. His head was bent forward on his crossed arms; -it seemed that the light rise and fall of the boat on the -tide had rocked him to sleep. He wore a sailor’s long -red cap and an orange-coloured jersey.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A waterman passing at the moment stopped and -smiled as he glanced at the slumbering figure. Observing -Martin, he said:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They sleep like cats, these foreigners.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s a foreigner, then?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“For sure: out of the Portugal ship repairing at -Deptford. Her mizzen-mast, they say, was shot away -by a French privateer nigh the Goodwins. Very bold -these Frenchies are of late, though I did hear as the -Duke of York have give ’em a good drubbing.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He said Good-night and passed on.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>All was still again. The glow faded from the sky. -Martin’s eyes were attracted by a three-master that -glided out of the dusk, dropping down with the tide. -He watched her graceful shape threading her way -among the smaller craft on the river, and wondered -where she was bound for, what adventures she would -meet with on her voyage.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She had almost disappeared when Martin was roused -from his reverie by the sound of footsteps on the -cobbled roadway behind him. Peeping round the -edge of the post, he saw, in the gloom, a man come -forward to the head of the stairs. There he paused and -threw a look round in the manner of a person who is ill -at ease.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin caught a glimpse of his face, and, with a -start of surprise, shrank back into the shelter of the -post. The man had not seen him. Next moment he -stepped down the stairs, and in a low voice hailed the -seaman slumbering in the boat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no answer. The newcomer called again, -more urgently. This time the sailor stirred, straightened -himself, mumbled a reply, and hauling on the painter, -drew the boat alongside the lower stairs. The man -stepped into it, casting another suspicious glance -around as he seated himself on the stern thwart.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A word was spoken that Martin did not catch. Then -the seaman cast off, thrust his oars into the rowlocks, -and with long, swinging strokes drove the boat into the -darkness downstream.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s Mr. Slocum after?” said Martin to himself -as he got up and started for home.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='8' id='Page_8'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE SECOND</h1></div> - -<h3>MARTIN AT HOME</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>And who was Mr. Slocum?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was the only son of a master mariner who, -retiring after many years at sea, had settled in a little -house near the Tower. He had suffered many misfortunes. -Ship after ship in which he had invested his -savings was lost, and the last of them, the <span class='it'>Merry -Maid</span>, sailing from Bristol in the year ’62, had never -been heard of again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have you seen or heard aught of the <span class='it'>Merry -Maid</span>?” was the question the old captain had put to all -seafaring men coming into the river.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The answer was always the same. Martin often -wondered what had become of the vessel. Many a -time he wished that he could go sailing over the seas to -try to find some trace of her. But when his father and -mother both died of the Plague, he felt bound to stay -on shore and help to look after his little sister Lucy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They were left almost destitute, having nothing -except the small sum that was realised by the sale of -Captain Leake’s furniture. This was in the hands of -a lawyer, and as it would bring in only a few shillings -a week, it was clear that Martin would have to earn -something.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was taken from St. Paul’s school, and the lawyer -found him a job in the shop of Mr. Greatorex, a wealthy -goldsmith in Cheapside, who had known his father, and -indeed had had an interest in the <span class='it'>Merry Maid</span>.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll give the lad a trial,” Mr. Greatorex had said -when the lawyer approached him. “He’ll not get on -very far unless he is apprenticed, of course; but I’m -not inclined to take him as an apprentice without a -premium; at any rate, until I find out the kind of lad -he is. I’ve lost hundreds of pounds in that unlucky -vessel. Let him come and do odd jobs for a while. -Mr. Slocum will tell me how he gets on.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had never seen Mr. Greatorex himself. Unlike -most of the city merchants of that day, who lived -over their shops, the goldsmith had built himself a -house in the country, and left his business almost entirely -to Mr. Slocum, his manager.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There were three apprentices who lived in the house, -two of them sleeping under the shop counter. They -rather despised the new boy. Martin had to come -early in the morning to take down the shutters and -sweep out the shop. All day he was running errands -between the shop and the workrooms in Foster Lane, -or carrying parcels to customers, or fetching things for -Mr. Slocum and the housekeeper.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At the close of business he had to put up the shutters, -and was often very tired by the time he reached home. -At first one or two of the apprentices were inclined to -bully him, but he showed himself to have plenty of -spirit and a neat way with his fists, and his tormentors -soon learnt to leave him alone. But his life was a hard -one. Mr. Slocum was ill-tempered, and nothing but -Martin’s care for his sister kept him from running away -to sea.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>All the way home Martin puzzled about Mr. Slocum’s -journey down the river in the foreign boat. The apprentices -talked among themselves about their -master, and Martin knew that he often went out at -night, not returning until very late. He was late also -in the morning, except when Mr. Greatorex was -expected to ride in from the country. And his temper -seemed to grow worse every day. He barked at the -apprentices like an angry dog, and if they or Martin -committed the slightest fault, they had learnt to -expect a thrashing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The house where Martin lived was a large old building -that stood by itself some distance from the riverside. -It had once been the mansion of a nobleman, but of -late years it had been let out in tenements.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The basement was occupied by an old seaman named -Dick Gollop and his wife. Gollop had served under -Captain Leake in many a voyage, and retired at the -same time, obtaining employment as a constable. His -thick round figure and bandy legs were well known -along the waterside, and he was so good-tempered that -the small boys of the neighbourhood liked to go with -him on his rounds, and beg him to tell them a story.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When Martin and his sister were left homeless it was -arranged that they should live with the Gollops, the -lawyer paying a small sum weekly for their board and -lodging. Martin slept in a small parlour at the back, -and Lucy in a slip room. They had their meals with -the constable and his wife, whose tongue was sometimes -rather sharp, but whose heart was kind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re late to-night, young master,” said Susan -Gollop as Martin entered the kitchen. Supper was on the -table, and Lucy had already begun her meal. Gollop -was not present.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Look what I’ve got,” said the little girl, holding up -a cake of hardbake.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ay, the Mounseer gentleman will spoil you, that -he will,” said Susan. “I never liked foreigners, but the -Mounseer has a kind heart, and he has took to you -most uncommon.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Mounseer was an old French gentleman who had -fled from persecution in France a few years before, and -now occupied the first floor of the Gollops’ house. He -had struck up a friendship with Lucy, and regularly -every day escorted her to and from the dame’s school -she attended about a mile away. Mrs. Gollop was glad -to earn a little every week for looking after his room -and his clothes; but he bought his own food and did -himself what little cooking he needed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And what do you think?” Susan went on. “The -second floor is let at last.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m glad of that,” said Martin. “You’ll get more -money now.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wish I might,” said the old woman. “But the -new gentleman will do for himself. He’s a nice, fair-spoken -gentleman, I will say that, Seymour by name, -and I wonder at him making his own bed and dusting -and all that. But there, I suppose he knows his own -business; it’s not for me to say; only I would have liked -to make a shilling or two extra doing for him as I did -for the lodger what’s gone.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this moment heavy footsteps were heard clumping -down the stone stairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here’s my old man,” said Susan, going to the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A fine night, my hearties,” said the constable as he -came in. “And plaguey hot. Never did I know a -summer as dry as this. Give me a drink, Sue.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He hung his three-cornered hat on a peg, threw his -staff into a corner, stripped off his long coat, and rolled -up his shirt sleeves. His broad red face beamed as he -sat down to his simple supper of bread and cheese and -beer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, young master, what’s your own news to-day?” -he said to Martin. “Have you been conveying -gold and silver about the city? When I think of the -watches and the goblets and the golden rings you -carry on you, I wonder to myself whether, being a -constable, I oughtn’t to go with you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I haven’t done much of that to-day,” said Martin. -“I had to fetch some tobacco for Mr. Slocum—ah, I -must tell you! I was down by the river just now, and I -saw Mr. Slocum get into a boat with a foreign sailor, -from a Portugal ship, I was told.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, that’s not a wonderful bit of news to tell the -Lord Mayor about. These warm nights many folks like -a row on the river. It freshens ’em up and helps ’em to -sleep. I reckon all the watermen were busy, and Mr. -Slocum took the first boat that was handy.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t think so. The boat seemed to be waiting -for him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Maybe he had business with the master of the -Portugal ship—a matter of earrings for the crew, -belike.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But he came down in a sneaking sort of way, as if -he didn’t want to be seen.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Steady, my lad; don’t you go for to be too sharp, -getting fancies into your head. It’s none of your -business, what Mr. Slocum does; and if he didn’t -wish to be seen, he won’t thank you for talking -about it. So take my advice and keep your mouth -shut.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='13' id='Page_13'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRD</h1></div> - -<h3>THE ASSAULT</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Next day, when Martin was preparing to put up the -shutters of the shop in Cheapside, Mr. Slocum called -him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here, you Leake, you’re not to go home yet. -There’s a parcel to be taken to an address in Middle -Temple Lane. It must go without fail this evening, and -you’ll have to wait for it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very well, sir,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And on your way you can leave a letter in -Whitefriars. That will save a special journey. Don’t -loiter, mind. You’ll take a receipt for the parcel, and -give it to me to-morrow.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was a little annoyed at being kept late, as he -had promised to take Lucy on the river. But there -was no help for it. He closed the shop, then went to -the workrooms in Foster Lane, where the parcel would -be made up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Only one workman was there at his bench, giving the -final polish to a goblet of silver-gilt. He appeared to -Martin to dawdle over his job, and it was nearly dark -before the parcel was ready.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin set off with it, going through St. Paul’s -Churchyard and down Ludgate Hill. Then he turned -to the left, towards the maze of lanes and alleys that -constituted the district of Whitefriars. It was at a -house in one of these lanes that he had to deliver the -letter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He walked quickly, for it was an unsavoury neighbourhood. -Many of the houses were old and tumble-down; -many of the people who lived in them were bad -characters; and Martin, knowing that the parcel he -carried was valuable, wished that he could have -taken it by the more direct and open route along -Fleet Street.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was already so dark that he had some difficulty in -finding the house at which the letter was to be delivered. -In those days houses were not numbered; -some were distinguished by signs that hung over the -doorways, others had no distinguishing marks at all.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The address on Martin’s letter ran: “To Mr. Mumford, -at his house over against the Golden Fleece -Tavern.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>After making some inquiries, Martin discovered the -house where Mr. Mumford lived, and rapped on the -door. A window opened, and a hoarse voice asked, -“Who’s there?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A letter from Mr. Slocum,” Martin replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A few moments afterwards the door was opened, and -a rough-looking man, holding a candle, gave a hard -look at Martin as he took the letter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“All right; no answer,” he said, without breaking -the seal.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin hurried away, wondering how the man knew -there was no answer before he had read the letter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had got about half-way to his destination in -Middle Temple Lane when two men rushed suddenly -out of a narrow doorway and almost knocked him -down. As he staggered, he felt a tug at the parcel he -carried under his arm.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Tightening his grip upon it, he drew himself away, but -next moment a sharp blow behind his knees threw him -to the ground.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s under him; quick about it,” said a hoarse voice -very much like Mr. Mumford’s.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had fallen on the parcel. He realised now -that the men were trying to steal it, and he grasped it -with both arms, and called aloud for help.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>One of the men instantly clapped his hand over -Martin’s mouth, while the other sought to wrench the -parcel from his clinging arms. He kicked out with his -feet, pressed with all his weight upon the parcel, and -desperately resisted the man’s attempt to turn him -over on his back.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But his assailant was a man of brawn. The struggle -was hopeless. As Martin was heaved violently over, -his mouth was released for a moment from the clutching -hand, and he let out a piercing cry. A heavy shoe -kicked him; once more he was stifled; but his cry had -been heard; there was an answering shout and the -clatter of feet on the cobblestones down the street.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The ruffians made one more attempt to wrest the -parcel away. Failing, they kicked him again, and -made off just in time to escape the sturdy watermen -who had rushed to the spot.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, it’s young Master Leake,” said one of them, -lifting him from the ground. “What’s amiss?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Bruised and breathless, Martin told his story.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They didn’t get my parcel,” he concluded. “But -it’s ruined, crushed; look at it. It’s no good my going -on. I must take it back.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And we’ll see you safe,” said the watermen.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Escorted by his rescuers, Martin returned to the -shop in Cheapside, and gave the parcel into the hands -of the housekeeper. Then, his aching body supported -between his two friends, he walked slowly homeward.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='16' id='Page_16'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE FOURTH</h1></div> - -<h3>MARTIN LOSES HIS JOB</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>The moment Martin entered the shop next day Mr. -Slocum pounced on him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here, you Leake, come here,” he cried. “What -do you mean by it? What have you got to say for -yourself, eh? A pretty messenger you are! Look at -this goblet; scratched, dented, absolutely ruined! -Who’s to pay for the damage? Tell me that.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Truly I am sorry, sir,” said Martin; “but it was -not my fault. I was set upon and knocked down by -two ruffians. But for some watermen who came up I -should have lost the goblet altogether.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Watermen, you say. Did they chase the footpads?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, sir; the men ran away at once.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’d know them again, I suppose?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m afraid not. It was nearly dark, and they -attacked me so suddenly that I hadn’t time to get -much of a look at them. But I did see that one of them -had a big scar across his forehead, just above the eye.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And where did this happen?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A little way beyond Mr. Mumford’s, sir, just after -I had given him your letter.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And you mean to tell me you were stupid enough to -carry a costly goblet into that nest of rogues?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You told me to, sir.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I did not.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Indeed, sir, you said I was to take Mr. Mumford’s -letter on my way, and that meant——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t contradict me! You were a careless young -dog; went meandering along, I dare say, with your -nose in the air and your eyes on the stars. You are not -to be trusted. If anything of the sort happens again, -you and I will say good-bye, Master Leake. Get -your broom and sweep the floor.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Slocum went to his little room at the back, and -Martin set about his work, smarting under a sense of -injustice. He had simply done as he was told, and it -was unfair to be blamed for what could not have been -foreseen. Who would have guessed that anyone would -attack a boy carrying a small parcel?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>To add to his annoyance, the ’prentices began to -bait him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A likely story,” said one. “You made it all up.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Of course he did,” said another. “Butter-fingers! -Dropped the parcel; a horse gave it a kick, and he tells -this cock-and-bull story to explain the damage.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin went on sweeping, saying nothing, though -his ears began to burn.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Look at him blushing,” jeered the first. “His -name ought to be Molly.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin threw down his broom and sprang at his -tormentor, a big, hulking fellow half a head taller. -They grappled; Martin wrenched himself out of the -other’s grip and rushed at him with clenched fists.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They fought almost without sound, fearing to draw -Mr. Slocum from his den. The ’prentice was content at -first to ward off the blows that Martin rained on him, -and the scornful smile on his face only fed the smaller -boy’s rage.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>So intent were they upon the fight that neither -noticed the entry of a well-dressed elderly gentleman. -He stood looking on with a smile until, scuffling and -swaying, the boys lurched against him, the ’prentice -treading on his toes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this moment Mr. Slocum came out of his room -and, rushing down the shop, gave Martin a smart clout -on the side of his head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I beg a thousand pardons, sir,” he said to the -customer. “This is a troublesome young rascal; I have -already had to admonish him this morning, and——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, it’s nothing, Mr. Slocum!” said the gentleman, -smiling. “Boys will be boys. I admire the youngster’s -pluck, and as for your admonishments, I fancy they -are due rather to the other for fighting one so much -smaller than himself. Besides, the lout trod on my -toes, confound him!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am shocked, sir, deeply pained,” said Mr. -Slocum, glaring at the two boys. “Get away to your -work; I will deal with you presently.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin could not help watching the pleasant red-faced -gentleman who had taken his part. He noticed -how humble Mr. Slocum’s attitude was to the customer, -and how respectfully he spoke.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wonder who he is?” Martin thought, and the -gentleman’s features remained fixed in his memory.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When the customer had finished his business and -departed, Mr. Slocum turned to Martin and, speaking -in his usual harsh, overbearing way, said:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You disgrace this establishment! Mind you this: -if I catch you fighting here again I shall dismiss you on -the spot!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin made no protest, but he felt the injustice of -his employer’s treatment, and wished more than ever -that he was free to find a place as ship’s boy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The very next day matters came to a head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Early in the afternoon Martin was surprised to see -enter the shop the old Frenchman who lived above the -Gollops. At the moment he was polishing some -silver plate in the back premises, along with two of the -’prentices. The third was behind the counter, and the -Frenchman asked him, in his queer broken English, if -he might see Mr. Slocum.</p> - -<div class='figcenter'> -<img src='images/img-019.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0003' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/> -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>The ’prentice went into Mr. Slocum’s office, and, -returning in a few moments, bade the visitor, not too -politely, to follow him. The door of the office was -closed behind him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s old Froggy want now?” said one of the -’prentices.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin looked at the speaker in surprise. He had -not himself seen Mounseer in the shop before, but -evidently this was not his first visit.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’d like to know,” replied his opponent of the -previous day. “I wonder he dares to show himself in -a respectable shop. His clothes aren’t fit for a scarecrow.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin flushed. The Frenchman was his friend, a -kindly, courteous, dignified gentleman, and he disliked -to hear him criticised. It was true, Martin had to -admit, now that his attention had been called to him, -that his clothes were shabby; but they were well made, -and of good quality. For the first time Martin asked -himself whether the old man was very poor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wonder where he lives,” the first ’prentice went -on. “He’s never had anything sent home, has he?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not that I know of,” was the answer. “I dare -say he lives in some filthy cellar and feeds on rats and -mice. He’s come a-begging, I should think; but he -won’t get much out of old Slocum.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had been growing more and more indignant, -and could remain silent no longer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Let me tell you the French gentleman is a friend of -mine, and lives in my house,” he blurted out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh, indeed! A friend of yours, is he? And you and -he live in the same cellar, I suppose, and share the -vermin? I’m not surprised.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He doesn’t live in a cellar. You’d better say no -more about him; I won’t stand it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll say what I like without asking you. He’s a -miserable old scarecrow of a foreigner, and we don’t -want people like him in London. He would make a -good guy for the Fifth of November. I’d like to light -some crackers under him and see him jump.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>This was more than Martin could stand. Dropping -the salver he was polishing, he rushed at the ’prentice -with such impetuosity that the boy lost his balance and -fell. Up again in an instant, he closed with Martin, -and, forgetting everything else, the two began to -fight in the narrow space behind the counter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Look out!” warned the ’prentice looking on.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But the warning came too late. They lurched -against one of the glass-cases containing jewellery. -There was a crash. Splinters of glass fell all about the -floor, the door of Mr. Slocum’s den flew open, and Mr. -Slocum himself, pale with anger, dashed out, followed -by the old Frenchman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You again, you young villain!” roared the goldsmith.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He caught Martin by the ear, lugged him to the door, -and shot him into the street with a parting kick.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t you dare to show your face here again,” he -cried, “or I’ll thrash you black and blue.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='22' id='Page_22'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE FIFTH</h1></div> - -<h3>THE NOISE IN THE NIGHT</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin picked himself up, rubbed the mud from his -clothes, and without giving another look at Mr. -Slocum or the shop, set off on the way home.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m glad to be out of it,” he thought; “but what -shall I do now to earn some money?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had taken only a few steps when he heard his -name called from behind. Turning, he saw Mounseer -hurrying after him, and stood still until the Frenchman -had caught him up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I see it,” said the old gentleman. “I ask, what is -the matter?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am dismissed, sir; that is all,” Martin replied, as -they walked on.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Dismissed! But yes; does the Englishman dismiss -with violence? I do not understand.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Slocum was angry. I was fighting one of the -’prentices.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah, ah, fighting; what you call the box,” said the -Frenchman, smiling. “That is what the English like, -I think. It is not then a reason to dismiss.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I fought yesterday, and Mr. Slocum threatened to -dismiss me if I did it again.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah! That is another thing. To fight once, yes; but -to fight a second time when the master forbids, that is -disobedience, also it is folly. What was the subject of -the quarrel? I may ask?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The fellow was saying things about——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin pulled himself up. He could not hurt the old -gentleman’s feelings by repeating the ill-natured -sneers at his appearance.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You do not tell, eh? Well, I ask no more. You are -young, Martin; as you grow older you will know that -fighting is not for always; you must choose the proper -time. Without doubt, Mr. Slocum is a hard man; but -it is reasonable he think his place of business is not the -right place, nor the hours of business the right time, for -the practice of the box.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin ruefully agreed that his friend was right.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But come, then,” Mounseer went on, noticing his -downcast look. “Do not be down in dumps; that is -what you say, eh? To fight is no disgrace, if the cause is -good. To be dismissed, that is bad, certainly; but I -think you will soon find other employment.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Frenchman’s confidence was not shared by -Dick Gollop and his wife when Martin explained the -reason of his early return. In applying for a new -situation he would need a reference, and it would be -hopeless to look for a recommendation from Mr. -Slocum.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What I say is, go straight to Mr. Greatorex,” said -Susan. “That Slocum is a wicked tyrant, that’s -what he is, and Mr. Greatorex ought to know about -him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nonsense, Sue!” said her husband. “The boy -disobeyed orders; that’s mutiny, and Mr. Greatorex -wouldn’t override his manager. Martin won’t tell -what he was fighting about, but says he isn’t ashamed -of it. There’s a mystery somewhere, and I don’t like it. -He must look for another job, and I hope he’ll get one.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Late that night, when Dick Gollop was out on his -round as constable, and Lucy had gone to bed, Susan -was stitching a rent in one of Mounseer’s shirts.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There! That’s done at last,” she said. “ ’Tis -time Mounseer had a new shirt, I’m thinking. Deary -me! I’m tired out after working all this broiling hot -day, and I’m sure I don’t want to climb those stairs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Let me take it up,” said Martin. “I’ll save your -legs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s kind of you. I promised the old gentleman -he should have it to-night, or I wouldn’t trouble -you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin took the shirt and left the room. The staircase -was very dark, and he walked up slowly, feeling -his way along the wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When he was about half-way up he heard a creaking -on the landing above, opposite the Frenchman’s door. -He halted, and, supposing that Mounseer himself had -come out of his room to ask for his shirt, he was on the -point of calling to him when he caught the sound of -hurried but soft footfalls on the stairs higher up, and -then of a door gently closed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went on again, reached Mounseer’s door, and -knocked. At first there was no answer; but after -knocking a second time he heard the sound of flint and -steel in the room within, then a voice asking who was -there, and at last a fumbling with the bolt.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah! It is you, my young friend, with my shirt,” -said the old gentleman, opening the door. “I had fallen -asleep, and had to light my candle.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I thought I heard you on the stairs, sir,” said -Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh no! I have not left my room. It is late, and -time for your bed. Good-night. A thousand thanks!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin returned to the basement, bade good-night to -Susan, and went to bed. But he found it impossible to -sleep. He lay tossing on his bed, worrying about the -future, listening to the church clocks striking the -hours.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was some time after midnight when the stillness -was broken by what seemed to be a low whistle from -the patch of waste ground outside and a little above -Martin’s window. The sound was not repeated, and -Martin almost believed he was mistaken; but a few -seconds later he was roused by another sound; a slight -creaking, as if a window somewhere had been opened, -then closed again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>On so hot a night anyone might open a window for -air. It was the closing, after the whistle, that caused -Martin to get up, go to his window and look out upon -the waste ground. No one was in sight. There were no -more sounds, and Martin went back to bed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Just as he was at last dozing off to sleep he was -roused by a slight sound in the house. In old buildings -the stairs often creak without apparent cause, and -Martin was not startled or disturbed. But a minute or -two later he heard a louder sound, like wood breaking, -and then shouts and the stamping of heavy feet.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Springing out of bed he rushed into the passage and -up the stairs as quickly as he could in the dark. The -noise appeared to be coming from the neighbourhood -of Mounseer’s room. When he reached the landing he was -hurled back against the wall by the impact of a heavy -figure that seemed to have come through the open door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Before he could recover his footing he heard someone -stumbling down the stairs. He darted to the -banisters and was just able to see a dark form rush -along the passage and through the front door, which he -banged after him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is it? What ever is it?” cried Susan from -the door of her room. Lucy shrieked with alarm and -fear.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t worry,” Martin called. “He has gone.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went into the Frenchman’s room, and by the -faint starlight he saw a scene that surprised him. In -the middle of the floor stood the old gentleman, -rapier in hand, his coat wrapped round his left arm, -as duellists were accustomed to wear their cloaks. A -chair was overturned, and there was broken wood -near the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is you, my young friend,” said the Frenchman, -dropping his point. “Be good enough to light my -candle.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>While Martin did this, Mounseer stood on guard, -watching the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He will not come back, I think,” he said. “I was -disturbed by a sound outside my door; I sleep lightly, -like all who have followed campaigns, and I had time to -rise and seize my rapier before the bolt was forced and -that wretch broke in.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who was he, sir?” asked Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That I know not,” was the reply. “But he will -remember me,” he added with a chuckle. “I felt my -point get home, and the wretch was only saved because, -as I pressed him, I stumbled over my chair. . . . But, -pardon, monsieur, I did not observe you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In the doorway stood a tall man in a dressing-gown, -his close-cropped poll and blue shaven cheeks -giving him a strange appearance in the candlelight. -It was Mr. Seymour, the new lodger who had recently -taken the top floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I would not intrude, sir,” said the newcomer -politely, “but I heard the noise, and came to give -neighbourly assistance if it were needed. I see that it -was not.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mounseer bowed without saying anything.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am vastly relieved, sir,” Mr. Seymour went on. -“Such an attack might have been dangerous to one -of your years. The city is infested with rogues, but -one might expect to be safe with a constable in the -house.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The constable is not in the house at night, sir,” -said the Frenchman drily. “I thank you for your -benevolent intention; the danger is past, and I would -not keep you from your bed.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His bow as he said this could only be taken as a -courteous dismissal, and Mr. Seymour bowed himself -out. Martin guessed from the expression of Mounseer’s -face that he did not like his neighbour.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now, my friend Martin, please me by returning to -your bed,” said the old gentleman. “I will barricade -my door; they will not disturb me again.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin heard the clocks strike two before he fell -asleep. And it was only in his last waking moment -that he remembered having heard creaking stairs -earlier that night near Mounseer’s room.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='28' id='Page_28'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE SIXTH</h1></div> - -<h3>MARTIN’S PASSENGER</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin spent all the next day in a fruitless search for -work. Either no one wanted a boy, or the few that -had places open would not engage a boy who had -been dismissed for fighting.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In the evening, tired and dejected, Martin was -walking homeward along the waterside. Glancing -towards the stairs where he had seen Mr. Slocum embark -on the foreigner’s boat, he noticed two small -boys bending down over a boat that was moored to an -iron ring. A third boy stood half-way up the stairs, -evidently keeping watch.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>While Martin was still some distance off, the two -boys rose and ran up to their companion, smiling and -pointing. Then all three climbed the remaining steps -and darted away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin could not help smiling at the mischievous -little fellows. They had untied the painter, and set the -boat adrift on the stream. It was now floating down -on the swift-running tide.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>By the time it came opposite Martin it was already a -dozen yards from the shore. To his surprise he saw -that it was not empty, as he had supposed. In the -bottom lay a dark bearded man with a red cap and an -orange jersey—the same man as Martin had seen at the -same spot two or three days before. He was fast asleep, -just as he had been then. Neither the action of the -mischievous boys nor the motion of the stream had -awakened him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Hi! hi!” shouted Martin, fearing that the man might -come to grief if the boat struck against some larger -vessel lower down.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But his cries did not awaken the sleeper, and Martin -ran on to the stairs; there was usually a boat belonging -to one of his watermen friends moored on the farther -side; he would put off in her and catch up with the -drifting boat before she came to harm. But there was -no boat at hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, never mind,” said Martin to himself. “I -can’t help the sleepy-head. I dare say he’ll be seen -from some wherry or lighter. How strange that he -should be here again!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He sat down with his back against the stone post, -and idly watched the boat as it rapidly drifted downstream. -In a few minutes two men came from behind -the head of the stairs, and grumbled at the absence of -the watermen. Then one appeared, rowing his wherry -from the opposite shore. The men hailed him; he -pulled in to the foot of the stairs, took on the impatient -passengers, and rowed away again, towards the -city.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The dusk was gathering, and Martin was about to -rise and go home when he heard footsteps on the -other side of him, and a voice say, angrily,</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The boat is not here!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can’t wait,” said another voice, which Martin -recognised at once as Mr. Slocum’s. Instinctively he -drew farther back into the shadow of the post. “It -would not be safe. You must hire a waterman.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There isn’t one to be seen,” said the first speaker. -“There never is when you want one.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No doubt one will come in a minute or two,” said -Mr. Slocum. “Good-night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The speaker had been hidden from Martin by the -post. He heard Mr. Slocum hurry away; then the -other man came in sight and walked down the steps. -Under his arm he carried a small box.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Old Slocum here again,” thought Martin. “It’s -very strange.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was now so much interested that he decided to -wait and see what happened. The man was tall and -swarthy, with a big red nose, and a beard as black as -the foreign seaman’s. As he sat on the stairs he -muttered to himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>After a while a heavily-laden wherry approached -from upstream. It contained several passengers, -laughing and singing noisily, and when they disembarked -and mounted the stairs Martin saw that they -carried baskets, and guessed that they were picknickers -returning from a jaunt to Chelsea or Battersea. The -waterman was Jack Boulter, a friend of his.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The waiting stranger called to Boulter, demanding to -be taken to Deptford.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not me; not to-night,” said the waterman. “I’ve -been out all day. I’m going home.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But you must take me, I say,” the stranger -protested. He raised his voice, and Martin was -surprised at a change in his accent. With Mr. Slocum -he had spoken like an Englishman, but now his -utterance was exactly that of a foreigner.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What you say don’t matter,” returned Boulter, -proceeding to tie up his boat. “I won’t stir out again -for no man.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The stranger began to plead and coax and threaten, -but to all his excited words Boulter turned a deaf ear. -Some impulse prompted Martin to rise and walk -down to the bottom of the stairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I say, Boulter, let me take him to Deptford,” he -said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s you, young master,” said Boulter. “Well, -you’ve rowed my wherry time and again, and I don’t -mind if you do, so long as you promise to tie her up -when you get back.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah! You are kind. You are a friend,” said the -foreigner. He produced a shilling, and was handing it -to Martin when Boulter reached forward and took the -coin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Thank’ee,” he said. “Young master will take ’ee -quite safe, and I’ll get along to the Pig and Whistle.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In another minute Martin was pulling the wherry -out into mid-stream. The passenger sat in silence upon -the stern thwart, still grasping his box.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was now little traffic on the river. Here and -there near the banks barges were moored, and the -spars of larger vessels were outlined against the -glooming sky. Glancing frequently over his shoulder -Martin steered a course clear of obstructions, and in no -long time came within sight of the Deptford shipyards.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Presently the passenger, who had not spoken a word, -motioned Martin to land him at a jetty jutting out -from a quay along the wall of a house overhanging the -river. It had the appearance of an empty warehouse.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was pulling round when the man changed -his mind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, not there,” he said. “Beyond; farther: at the -stairs of Deptford.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin sculled on, feeling that there was something -mysterious about his passenger. He seemed anxious, -or excited.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The wherry was almost opposite to the Deptford -stairs when a cry broke from the passenger’s lips. -Martin glanced round, and saw a boat approaching -swiftly. It contained a single man, pulling hard -against the tide.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin’s passenger stood up, and shouted angrily a -few words in a foreign tongue, which Martin could not -understand. The man ceased rowing, and turned his -head, and Martin recognised him as the foreign seaman -whom he had seen a little while before asleep in the -drifting craft. Next moment he swung his boat round -and rowed rapidly towards the entrance of the repairing -yard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A few minutes later Martin landed his passenger at -the foot of the stairs. The man seemed to be in too -great a hurry even to thank him. He sped up the stairs -and disappeared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll have a little rest before I go back,” thought -Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He tied up the boat and strolled along by the edge of -the repairing dock. Only one vessel lay there, a three-master -brig without her mainmast, and it flashed into -Martin’s memory that the waterman had told him of a -Portugal ship that had come in for repairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is that a Portugal vessel?” he asked a man who -was lounging near by.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ay, Portugal she is,” was the reply. “Dismasted -by a Frenchman in the Channel. She’s not so foreign-looking -as some Portugal ships I’ve seen, but her crew—why, -bless your life, they’re as pretty a set of cut-throats -as you’ve ever set eyes on.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='33' id='Page_33'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE SEVENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>A BLOW IN THE DARK</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin found himself to be taking a rather unusual -interest in this Portugal ship. It was impossible in the -dusk to see her lines clearly; indeed, she was lying so -low in the dock that even in the daylight one could not -have obtained a good view of her. And the shipwrights’ -work being over for the day, there was nothing -going on upon her deck.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>What interested Martin was not so much the vessel -herself as the persons with whom she seemed to be -connected. There was the foreign seaman whom he -had twice seen waiting at the foot of the stairs. There was -Mr. Slocum, who had embarked on that seaman’s boat. -And now there was this third man, who had come with -Mr. Slocum to the stairs, who spoke like an Englishman -and also like a foreigner, and who was evidently -very well known to the sleepy-headed seaman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s some mystery about all this,” Martin said -to himself. “Mr. Slocum said it wasn’t safe for him -to wait about at the stairs. Why? What reason -can he have for coming or sending to this Portugal ship -at all? Has she jewels or plate among her cargo, -and he’s buying them? But why should he do it -secretly?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was quite clear that he would not get answers to -his questions by staring at the vessel. Two or three -swarthy men in outlandish costumes were now moving -about the deck: he heard their strange voices, so -unlike the sing-song of English sailors. The lighting of -a lamp reminded him that black night would soon lie -upon the river.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s time to be off,” he thought, and, turning -about, he walked back without hurry to his boat, -cast her off, and began to pull out into mid-stream.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The tide was now slack, just on the turn, and he -was glad that he would not have to row against the -current.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had taken no more than half a dozen strokes -when the silence was broken by loud shouts from the -direction of the repairing yard. Turning his head, he -saw a small figure in the act of diving into the river -from a little jetty at the angle of the yard, and -behind him a number of much taller forms rushing -along as if in pursuit.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was so nearly dark that all these figures were only -just visible. But in a moment Martin was able to see -a black head and two splashing arms on the surface of -the water. The swimmer was making straight across -towards the opposite bank.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was seen also by the men on the jetty. With -cries of excitement they dashed back to the shore, -and ran towards a boat that was drawn up on the -mud.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had ceased rowing; his interest in the -Portugal ship was whetted anew, for surely those -excitable men were foreigners from that vessel. Who -was the fugitive?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As he rested on his oars he noticed that the swimmer -had suddenly changed his course, and was coming -with swift over-hand strokes straight for the boat. -Meanwhile, the pursuers had hauled their boat off the -mud, got afloat, and were now pulling hard in the -same direction.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin felt a throb of excitement as he watched the -chase. By this time he realised that the fugitive was -swimming to him for help, and he checked the motion -of his boat, which had been drifting slowly on the -turning tide, and edged it towards the swimmer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Next moment a hand shot out of the water and -grasped the gunwale. The second hand followed. Then -a husky, spluttering voice whispered:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Take me in, quick! They will catch me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was thrilled when he saw that the speaker -was a boy, a little younger than himself, as he guessed. -Without reasoning, acting on a natural impulse, he -shipped his oars, and trimming the boat as well as he -could by lying across it, managed with some difficulty -to help the little fellow to clamber in.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Quick! They will catch me,” gasped the boy -again as he sank exhausted into the bottom of the -boat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a moment Martin had the oars in the rowlocks and -began to pull with all his strength. He caught sight of -the pursuing boat forging out of the darkness, and the -shouts of the men aboard her told him that they had -seen what had happened to the boy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Spurred on by the angry menace of their voices, he -bent to his oars with a will. He had seen a look of -terror in the boy’s eyes as he climbed into the boat, -and afterwards he remembered, what he had not -consciously observed at the time, that the boy’s skin -was dark, though his features were not those of a -Negro.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But Martin did not look at the boy as he lay in the -boat. His whole attention was concentrated on the -pursuers. His heart sank; they were gaining on him. -How could it be otherwise? The Thames wherry of -those days was a heavy lumbering craft, and a half-grown -boy could not hope to outrow the two men who -were urging their boat along with strong, sweeping -strokes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He heard encouraging cries from the third man who -sat in the stern, and as the pursuing boat gained on -him yard by yard, he saw with a strange thrill, in -spite of the darkness, that this man was the mysterious -bearded passenger whom he had rowed down the river -an hour before.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Without knowing why, this recognition urged him -to still greater exertions. But the strain was telling -upon his muscles; already they were aching almost to -numbness. Yet he rowed on and on, doggedly, not -dropping his sculls until the other boat sheered up -alongside, and one of the men, swinging round the butt -of his oar, dealt Martin a blow that sent him backward -off his thwart. His head struck the thwart behind, and -he lay doubled up between the two, stunned.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>How long he remained thus he never knew. When -he came to himself, conscious of a stiff back and an -aching head, and raised himself, he found that he was -alone in the boat, which was drifting towards the -mud flats on the Surrey shore.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked around; the other boat, the fugitive boy, -the pursuers, all had disappeared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where am I?” he thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There were few lights on the banks; in the darkness -he could not recognise his whereabouts. Seizing his -sculls, he rowed slowly, painfully, across the stream -towards the northern shore. Presently, in the distance, -he caught sight of dim lights stretching across the river, -and knew that they shone from the houses on London -Bridge.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With a sigh he swung the boat about, and pulled -still more slowly against the running tide, keeping -close to the shore. It seemed hours before he came to -the well-known stairs. He tied up the boat and then -deliberated.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Shall I go and tell Boulter what’s happened? -He’ll be at the Pig and Whistle: I’d better go home.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Dragging himself along, more distressed at his -failure to save the boy than at his own injuries, he -reached his house, groped stumblingly down the dark -stairs, and found Susan Gollop placidly knitting.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, sakes alive, what’s come to you?” she cried, -as the candlelight fell upon his pale face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve hurt my head,” he replied, dropping into a -chair.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There! If my thumbs didn’t prick!” she exclaimed. -“I knew something had happened to you, you’re so -late. I said to Gollop: ‘That boy’s got into mischief, -and you can’t deny it.’ Now just you sit still and let -me look at the place and tell me all about it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The good woman lifted his hair gently.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Gracious me! A lump as big as a duck’s egg,” she -cried. “You’ve been fighting again, I’ll be bound, -though I’d have thought——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t be a goose, Susan,” Martin interrupted. “If -I’d fought, the bump would have been in front. I was -hit a foul blow, and I’ll tell you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Susan Gollop was more tender in action than in -speech. She bathed the wounded head and bound it -up with a strip of linen, while Martin recounted the -events of the evening.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Dear, dear! Well, I’m sure! Poor little boy! Oh, -the wretch!” she exclaimed at points of the story.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, I never did hear the like,” she said at the end. -“That Slocum: it’s my belief he’s doing something -he’s ashamed of, or ought to be, drat him! It’s a -mercy you don’t work for him any more. And the -other man; would you know him again? For you -must tell Gollop all about it, and he’ll take the wretch -up and see what the magistrates have to say to him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, I’d know him again,” Martin replied. “I -couldn’t forget his big red nose and his beard as black -as your saucepan.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s strange,” said the woman thoughtfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s strange?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, if I didn’t see just such a one this very day! -Ay, and in this very street. He passed me as I came -back from shopping! ‘That’s a red coal in a black -grate,’ thinks I, and indeed he was a fearsome-looking -creature.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wonder what he was doing about here?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah! Who knows? But don’t bother your head -about him any more. Get you to your bed, and I hope -the bump’ll be flatter by the morning.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='39' id='Page_39'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE EIGHTH</h1></div> - -<h3>THE FACE AT THE WINDOW</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>At breakfast next morning Martin expected to have -to tell his story over again to Dick Gollop, who had -been out on duty half the night. But the moment he -entered the room, with his head still bandaged, the -constable took the wind out of his sails.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ahoy, shipmate!” he said, “how’s the weather? -By what I hear you’ve run through a bit of a squall.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You know, then?” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Know! Of course I know. When my watch was -over, somewhere about four bells, and I came below -dead-beat and turned in, d’you think I could get any -sleep? Not a wink, believe me. There was my old -woman wide-awake, and bursting with the news.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ‘Gollop,’ says she, ‘there’s rogues and rascals in the -world.’ That being no news at all, I just gave a grunt -and began to snore. ‘Listen to me,’ says she, ‘and -don’t pretend.’ What you can’t help, put up with. So -I listened, always ready to oblige, and out it came, -like a flood over a weir.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I own I dozed one or twice afore she was well under -way, but I was fair shook up when she’d got her canvas -full spread. You take my meaning? I’ve fought -with a cutlass, and I’ve knocked down a swabber -with a marline-spike, but never in my born days have -I hit a man with an oar; there’s something uncommon -about that, and as a constable I took note of it.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Foreign ways, to be sure. Them fellows in the boat -must have been some of the crew of that Portugal ship.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not the big-nosed man with the black beard,” -said Martin. “I’m sure he was an Englishman.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Maybe, but I ask you, what was he doing along with -those foreigners? And what’s his ploy with Slocum?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ay, and why come along this very street?” Susan -put in.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There you go!” said Dick. “I’ve seen many a big -nose, also red, <span class='it'>and</span> black beards, likewise many tabby -cats. You can’t tell one from t’other unless you’ve -studied ’em. I see a tabby in one place; you see one -in another; that don’t make ’em the same.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s cats got to do with it?” protested Susan.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nothing,” said Dick. “All I say is, if I took up a -man just because he’d a big red nose and a black beard -the magistrates would call me a fool, and belike I’d -have to pay damages, and then where’d you be?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then why talk about cats?” said Susan. “And -tabbies! Now if you’d said black cats——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Drat the cats!” cried the constable. “You’ll go on -about ’em till you’re tired, I suppose. Martin, what I -say is, keep your weather-eye open, and if so be as you -spy that black-haired fellow again, keep him in sight, -my lad, and inform an officer of the law.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A tapping was heard on the banisters at the head of -the stairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s Mounseer, Lucy,” said Susan, “waiting to -take you to school.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The little girl sprang up; she liked her morning -walk with the old Frenchman. She ran up the stairs, -but returned in a few moments.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer says will you please lend him a hammer -and chisel,” she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Willing, and anything else,” said Gollop. “But -ask him if I can do the hammering for him. I’ve been -reckoned a handy man in my time; you have to turn -your hand to any odd job at sea.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The girl gave the message and returned.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer says it’s a trifle, and he won’t trouble -you!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very well then; take him the things, and welcome.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Frenchman laid the tools on a chair in his room, -then locked the door and started with Lucy for the -half-mile walk to her school.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Soon afterwards Gollop and Martin went out together, -the former to take his morning draught with his -cronies, the latter to make another effort to find work.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In his pocket he carried some bread and cheese, so -that he need not come home for the mid-day meal.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>All through the hot summer day he wandered about, -seeking employment. In the evening he returned and -reported that he had again met with no success.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Never mind,” said Susan. “Things will take a -turn. Now, just run upstairs and ask Mounseer for -that hammer. I want it to knock some nails in Lucy’s -cupboard, so as she can hang up her things tidy. Tell -him he shall have it back if he hasn’t done with it, but -he’s been banging nearly all day, so I dare say he has.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>On reaching the Frenchman’s door Martin saw that a -staple had been fitted to one of the side joists, evidently -to receive a padlock. From within the room came the -sound of knocking. He tapped on the door; the sound -ceased and Mounseer asked:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who is there?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s me, sir,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah, you, my young friend. Wait but one little -moment.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The bolts were drawn inside, the door was opened, -and there stood Mounseer in his shirt-sleeves, chisel in -hand. Martin gave his message.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But yes; assuredly: I ask pardon for keeping it so -long. But you see, one must be careful. My lock was -broken by that villain; therefore I must make other -defences.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin noticed that an iron socket for a bar was -fitted to the inside of the door, and the bar itself, a -stout baulk of wood, was leaning against the wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Pouf! It is hot,” the Frenchman went on, “though -I take off my coat and open the window. A little rest -will be agreeable. But I ask for the hammer again, -until I finish; I wish to finish this night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Promising to bring the hammer back in a few -minutes Martin went down to the basement. But it -was more than half an hour later, and dusk was already -falling, before he was able to return: Susan’s job had -taken longer than he had expected.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>This time there was no answer to his tap on Mounseer’s -door, nor any sound from within. He waited -awhile, then tapped again. A sleepy voice asked who -was there, and when Martin was at last admitted, the -old gentleman apologised for the delay.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is the terrible heat,” he said, spreading out his -hands. “I fall asleep; I am old, and the labour -fatigues me. How I would like to be young, like -you! Labour is light for the young.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But I can’t get any work, sir,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Courage, my young friend. It will come. Seat -yourself, and tell me where you go to-day; I am very -much interested.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sitting on a chair facing the open window, Martin -began to relate his wanderings of the day, while the -Frenchman took the hammer and chisel and worked -away at the bar of wood by the light of a candle.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>While Martin was speaking he fancied he saw -something move just outside the window. Though -somewhat startled, he had the presence of mind to go -on with his story, and a few moments afterwards -was astonished to see a hat appear above the edge of -the window-sill, at a corner.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It rose slowly; the dim light of the candle at the -farther end of the room showed him a man’s face—a -face seamed with a scar across the temple. So great -was his surprise at recognising one of the men who had -tried to steal his parcel that he jumped up with a -sudden cry.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Instantly the face disappeared, and by the time -Martin and the Frenchman reached the window the -man was half-way down the gutter-pipe up which he -had climbed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With amazing quickness Mounseer seized a three-legged -stool and hurled it down. It missed the man -by an inch or two, and fell with a crash upon the -ground. In another second the man dropped beside it -and bolted across the open space into the darkness.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is the matter?” asked a voice from above.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Looking up, Martin saw Mr. Seymour, the occupant -of the upper floor, leaning over his window-sill.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A matter of no consequence,” said the Frenchman, -drawing Martin back into the room. “I must close the -shutters,” he went on, “though it will be very hot. -But I do not like the curious people.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That face belonged to one of the men who tried to -rob me,” said Martin. “It is strange he should have -come to the house where I live, for I’ve nothing worth -stealing here. I’ll describe him to Gollop, and he’ll circulate -the description, and someone will arrest the fellow.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not for me, my friend,” said the Frenchman. “I, -a stranger, would not give trouble. And indeed my -best protection is not in the Law, but in a few stout -bolts and my lifelong friend yonder.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pointed to his rapier, hanging on the wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was clear to Martin that the Frenchman wished to -be alone, so he said Good-night and went downstairs. -On the way he was struck by a curious circumstance. -According to Susan Gollop, Mounseer had been hammering -all day; why then was there so little sign of it? All -that he had done would have been the work of only an -hour or two. But perhaps the old gentleman was not -expert with tools.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='44' id='Page_44'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE NINTH</h1></div> - -<h3>AN ADVENTURE IN PUDDING LANE</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Next morning, when the time came for Lucy to start -for school, the Frenchman said that he felt a little -indisposed, and would not venture out in the heat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll take her,” said Martin. “But I can’t promise -to bring her back, because I’m going in search of work -again, and I don’t know where I’ll be when school is -over.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t you worry, my lad,” said Susan. “Dick will -be home then, and he can fetch the child for once. -And I hope you’ll get a job to-day, for it makes a -difference not having your few shillings at the weekend.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When he had left his sister at the door of the dame’s -school, Martin stood for a minute or two undecided as -to the way he would go in his hunt for work.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was feeling rather disheartened. It was the first -time Susan Gollop had said a word to hint that he was -a burden to her, and in his pride he was determined -that she should never have another occasion for any -remark of the sort.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Up to the present his applications for a job had been -made at the larger places of business—establishments -that would rank equal with Mr. Greatorex’s shop in -Cheapside. But it was no time to pick and choose; he -would take the meanest job that offered itself, no -matter what it was.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It occurred to him that he might have better -success if he crossed the river and made inquiries at -the Hop Market in Southwark. In the course of his -walk towards London Bridge he was crossing Pudding -Lane, a narrow street near Billingsgate, when he was -almost thrown down by the sudden impact of a strange -figure that darted out of a baker’s shop at the corner.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Steady!” he cried, putting up his hands to protect -himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The figure recoiled, then without a word of excuse or -explanation dashed down the lane. Martin laughed; -he had never seen a more comical object than this boy, -a little bigger than himself, who was covered with -flour, and whose head was almost concealed in a large -mass of dough.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His amusement was increased when he saw a second -figure issue from the shop—the figure of a short, stout -man, he too cased in dough and flour from head to foot. -The baker set off at a toddling scamper after the boy, -their course marked on the cobblestones with a white -trail.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a few moments the pursuer recognised that his -chase was hopeless. The boy, indeed, had turned the -corner and was out of sight by the time his master had -run half a dozen paces.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The young villain!” cried the man, stopping short -and shaking his fist in the direction of the vanished -fugitive.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He turned back towards the shop, picking at the -dough that clung to his hair and beard, spluttering and -muttering curses the while. As he was passing Martin -a mass of the loosened dough fell over his eyes, and for -a moment he tottered like a blind man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin sprang to his side, held him steady, and -helped him to rid himself of some of the dough, which -hung in long clammy strips about his face, like the -curls of a full-bottomed wig.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ugh! Ugh!” gasped the baker. “The insolent -young ruffian! Thank you! Thank you! My hair is -short, or—— The young viper! ’Tis a mercy none of -the neighbours have seen my plight. Quick, boy; lead -me. I can scarcely see my own shop door!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin took him by the arm and led him the few -paces to his shop. On the sign hanging above the door -were the words: “Faryner, Baker to His Majesty the -King.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Within the shop Martin stayed to give further -assistance to the angry baker, who intermingled abuse -of the runaway boy with explanations, half to himself, -and half to Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The whelp!” he exclaimed. “He comes late, and -when I tax him, is saucy, scandalously saucy. ’Twould -try the patience of a saint, and I’m no saint. Must -silence his chattering tongue. Up with a pan of dough; -dab it on the rascal’s head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The impudence of the knave! What does he do but -snatch up another pan and empty it over me—me, a -master baker, baker to the King, contractor to the -Admiralty, purveyor to half the nobility and gentry. -Ay, and flings a bag of flour at me. What do you think -of that? What is the world coming to?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin did not venture to say what he thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, he’ll never darken my doors again, that’s -certain. And that reminds me. There’s his basket—the -loaves ought to have been delivered an hour ago. I -was already one boy short, and the rascal knew it, and -yet he came late. I shall lose some of my best customers.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The greater part of the sticky mass had now been -plucked from the baker’s head. He looked ruefully at -the basket of loaves in a corner of the shop, scratched -his head, became conscious that there were still some -fragments of dough adhering to his short-clipped hair, -and burst out again into violent denunciation of his -errand boy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>On the impulse of the moment Martin spoke up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll take the basket. I’m out of a job.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah!” exclaimed the baker, looking at him keenly -as if he was only just aware of him. “Who are you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My name’s Martin Leake.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you honest?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Won’t you try me?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s not a bad answer. You’ve done me a -service and I like the look of you. I’ll try you. Here’s -a list of the customers these loaves are to be delivered -to. Set off at once. Nay, wait! I don’t like changes. -If I try you, and you satisfy me, I shall expect you to -stick to the job. Five shillings a week and a loaf a day. -That’s my wages.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll be glad to earn that to begin with,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then that’s a bargain. Don’t loiter.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin took the basket on his arm, and as he went -out he heard the baker mutter:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How shall I get rid of the rest of this plaguey -dough? The young ruffian!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Scanning the list of customers given him, Martin -was interested to find at the bottom the name of Mr. -Slocum, at the goldsmith’s shop in Cheapside. The -idea of meeting his old master was not at all pleasant, -but he reflected that if he went to the back entrance, -from a yard leading out of Bow Lane, he would -probably avoid such a meeting, and see only the -housekeeper or the cook, who had both been on -friendly terms with him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m glad it’s the last on the list,” he thought. “But -I wish I hadn’t to go there at all. What strange fate is -always bringing me into contact with old Slocum? -I don’t like it. There’s something mysterious about it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And it was with a strange feeling of misgiving that -he trudged on with his heavy load of bread.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='48' id='Page_48'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>A MYSTERIOUS VISITOR</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin’s first hour’s experience as baker’s boy was -by no means pleasant. Mr. Faryner’s customers had -been kept waiting for their morning rolls and loaves, -and at nearly every house where Martin called he was -received with dark looks and cutting words.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He took it all in good part, explained that he was a -new boy, and promised to be earlier on the morrow. -As the basket became lighter he grew more cheerful, -and by the time he reached Bow Lane he had almost -forgotten the forebodings with which he had started.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Turning into the yard by which he would reach the -back entrance to Mr. Slocum’s house he suddenly -collided with a boy coming in the opposite direction. -He was turning round; the basket was jerked off his -arm, and the two loaves it contained rolled out on the -cobblestones.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now, clumsy, why don’t you look where you are -going?” said a well-remembered voice.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had already recognised his old opponent, the -apprentice through whom he had been dismissed. He -was himself recognised before he could say a word in -reply, and for a moment or two the boys stared at -each other. Then the apprentice laughed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Dash my eyes!” he said. “Do I see Martin -Leake?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Without waiting for an answer he swooped on the -loaves, picked them up, rubbed the dust off on his -breeches, and rushed back into the open doorway of -the house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sally, here’s Martin Leake turned baker’s boy,” -Martin heard him shout.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a few seconds he came out again followed by the -cook with the loaves in her hands. Martin had picked -up his basket, and was standing just outside the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well I never!” exclaimed the cook, who had -always been well disposed towards Martin. “So you -are working for Faryner, are you? I was wondering -what had come to the boy. Mr. Slocum is in a towering -rage because he’s been kept waiting for his breakfast. -I’ll just send up the bread, then I’ll come back, -Master Hopton; mind you that.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She retreated into the house, and the boys were left -at the door. They stood looking at each other awkwardly. -Martin bore Hopton no malice; on the other -hand he could not feel friendly towards him, and had -not the cook asked him to remain he would have -walked away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Slocum’s a terror,” said the apprentice suddenly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin did not reply.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sent me out to buy a loaf,” Hopton went on. -“You saved me a journey.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>This did not appear to call for an answer. There -was silence again for a few moments.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I say, I’m sorry I got you turned out,” said -Hopton, awkwardly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You needn’t be,” said Martin, surprised. “I -wouldn’t come back again for anything.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t blame you. I’m sick of Slocum and his -tempers. Does Faryner pay you well?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now what’s that to do with you, Master Hopton?” -said the cook, returning. “Just you run back to the -shop, or you’ll get into trouble.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“All right, Sally,” said the apprentice, grinning. -He gave Martin a friendly wink as he turned into the -house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So you have made up your quarrels,” said the cook.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m not sure that we have,” replied Martin, with a -smile. “But he’s very friendly. I wonder why?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He wishes he were you, I daresay, instead of being -bound to Mr. Slocum for seven years. To Mr. Slocum, -says I, though ’tis really to Mr. Greatorex. Ah! I -wish the old master had never left the City. What -things are coming to I don’t know. Mr. Slocum’s -cursing and cuffing those apprentices from morning -till night, and you’re lucky to be out of it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s the matter with him?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Goodness alone knows! It’s my belief he has -something on his mind, but—— There he is, bawling -for me. Don’t let him see you. Coming, sir, coming!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin hurried away, feeling more than ever glad -that he was no longer in Mr. Slocum’s service, and -wondering whether his old employer’s ill temper was -connected in any way with his mysterious doings on -the riverside.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Another round, in a different part of the city, -occupied part of the afternoon, and Martin had to -clean out the shop before he left for home. Again it -had been a very hot day, and he was more tired than he -had ever been before; so tired, indeed, that he was not -inclined to talk about his new job.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ’Tis a come-down, to be sure, for a master mariner’s -son,” said Dick Gollop; “but what you can’t -help, make the best of.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now don’t you go for to dishearten the lad, with -your come-downs,” said Susan. “ ’Tis honest and -useful, and we shan’t have to buy so much bread.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Weary though he was, Martin that night found it -impossible to sleep. His room was small and felt like -an oven, though he had opened the window and the -door, and thrown off all the bedclothes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The senses of a sleepless person are extraordinarily -acute, and as the hours dragged on Martin became -annoyed at the regular snores of Susan Gollop in the -room beyond. Dick happened to be out on night duty -again. For a long time the only other sounds Martin -heard were the footsteps of Mr. Seymour as he went -along the passage above and up the stairs to his room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s very late home,” thought Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He heard the lodger shut his door; then all was -silent again until a new sound, outside his window, -caught his ear. It was a slight thud, such as would be -made by a small object falling on the ground, and he -might hardly have noticed it had not recent events -made him heedful and suspicious.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Rising from his bed he tiptoed on bare feet to the -window and looked out, taking care to keep out of -sight himself. It was a starry night, and he saw a dark -patch against the sky—the form of a man standing on -the square of waste ground above the basement level.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His thoughts flew to the man who had climbed the -gutter pipe to the old Frenchman’s room, and his -heart began to beat more quickly. Then he heard -whispering voices. The man was evidently talking to -someone on one of the upper floors. Only a few -words were spoken, then the man walked quickly away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was relieved; it seemed that there was to be -no further attack on the Frenchman’s room. But he -was also puzzled. Who was the man? Why should -anyone come in the dead of night to the back of the -house and talk to one of the inmates? And to whom -had he spoken? It must be either Mounseer or Mr. -Seymour.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Still listening and watching, Martin suddenly heard -the stairs creak. More than ever puzzled, and a little -alarmed, he stole out into the passage. There were now -footsteps in the hall above. He crept up the basement -stairs on hands and knees, and noticed a dim flickering -light upon the wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At the top of the staircase he bent low and peeped -round. A smoky candle was guttering on the hall -floor. The front door was partly open, and Martin -saw the back of a man in nightcap and dressing-gown, -talking to someone outside.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Seymour!” said Martin to himself. “It’s too -tall for Mounseer.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The sloop is in the river,” said a husky voice. -“It’s too risky. You had better take it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If I must, I must!” replied Mr. Seymour, in a low -tone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He opened the door a little farther. Martin felt -strangely excited. A mysterious visitor to Mr. Seymour; -a sloop in the river; some risky enterprise; -something that Mr. Seymour was to take; all these -circumstances sharpened his curiosity and caused him -to strain eyes and ears.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The two men between them carried a heavy object -into the hall. Martin could not see what it was, nor -could he see the features of the visitor. Mr. Seymour -was between them and the light.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Remember you’ll have to account to me,” said the -stranger in the same low, husky tone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you don’t trust me,” replied Mr. Seymour -impatiently, “take it away!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Trust you—oh, yes!” was the answer, with a -slight gurgle of laughter. “But I thought I might as -well remind you. That’s all. Good-night!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He turned his back and went out into the darkness, -Mr. Seymour gently closing the door behind him. And -then Martin saw that the object on the floor was a -square box, brass-bound at the corners.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Seymour shot the bolt without noise, shouldered -the box, which appeared to be of considerable weight, -then looked at the candle.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Confound it!” he muttered, frowning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin guessed that he was annoyed because, -laden with the box, he could not stoop to lift the candle.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Slowly, taking every step cautiously, he carried the -box up the first staircase, across the landing, and then -up the staircase to his own room. In a minute he -returned, picked up the candle, and ascended once -more.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin’s heart was thumping as he crept down to -his room again, and it was almost morning before he at -last fell asleep.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='54' id='Page_54'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>MR. SLOCUM AGAIN</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Having to be early at his new job, Martin was hurried -in the morning. When he left after a quick breakfast, -Dick Gollop was still a-bed; he had only returned from -his night duty about five o’clock. So Martin had no -opportunity of telling the constable of the strange -incident he had witnessed in the night, and he refrained -from mentioning it to the others for fear of alarming -them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was still greatly puzzled, and his mind was full -of the matter as he walked to Mr. Faryner’s shop in -Pudding Lane. There was no reason why Mr. Seymour -should not have a box delivered to him. But why had -the messenger come secretly by night? What was the -danger? And what was the meaning of the mysterious -reference to the sloop in the river?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>These questions were driven from his thoughts for a -time by his work. Mr. Faryner praised him for -coming punctually, gave him a few odd jobs to do, and -then sent him out on the morning round.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In due course he arrived at the goldsmith’s house, -and once more made his way to the back entrance. -Leaving his basket just inside the door, he took the -four loaves intended for Mr. Slocum’s household up -the stairs to the kitchen on the first floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Passing the hall landing, he noticed that the door of -a small room which was usually kept locked now stood -ajar. The fact did not arouse any particular curiosity, -and he went on to the kitchen and handed the bread to -the friendly cook.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m glad you are early,” she said, “though it -wouldn’t have mattered so much this morning. The -master isn’t up yet. He was out late last night, and I -warrant will be in a rare tantrum when he wakes. And -how do you like your new work?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Better when I’ve finished than when I begin,” -replied Martin, smiling. “The basket is very heavy at -the start, and it makes me very tired this hot weather.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Never mind; it’s something to be working for the -King’s baker, and I hope you’ll get on. There now! -What did I say!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Slocum had just called “Sally!” from below -stairs, and his voice certainly sounded far from good-tempered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Coming, sir,” the cook answered, and hurried to the -head of the staircase.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want you to go at once to the dairyman’s in -Milk Street and complain of the mouldy cheese he sent -me. Tell him it’s not fit for pigs, and if he can’t serve -me better I’ll deal elsewhere.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very good, sir,” said Sally. “I’ll just fetch my -shawl.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Nonsense, woman; you don’t need your shawl a -hot day like this. Get away at once, and be sure you -don’t mince matters.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin heard Mr. Slocum’s loud angry tones distinctly. -The cook hurried downstairs, her master -talking at her all the time. As soon as she had left -the house Mr. Slocum dashed up the stairs, and Martin -realised that his retreat was cut off. He had no fear of -his old employer, but was not at all eager to meet him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>By the time Mr. Slocum reached the kitchen door, -Martin had stepped back into the shelter afforded by -the jutting corner of a large cupboard. Mr. Slocum -came in hurriedly, turned the key in the door, and -went straight across the room to another door that -led into a passage and thence into his private room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin waited, undecided whether to go at once or to -remain until he was sure the coast was clear. Just as he -was on the point of moving he heard Mr. Slocum returning, -and thought it better to stay where he was.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The goldsmith’s movements were much slower now, -and when he came into view Martin had a shock of -surprise. The man was carrying a box, brass-bound at -the corners, exactly like the box which had been -delivered to Mr. Seymour the previous night. He -passed across the kitchen, unlocked the door, and -began to descend the stairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin felt trapped. He was lucky in having -escaped notice so far; he could hardly hope not to be -observed if Mr. Slocum returned. And hearing Mr. -Slocum enter the room on the half-landing he hurried -after him on tip-toe, hoping to slip by unseen.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Just as he reached the half-landing Mr. Slocum, -empty-handed, came out of the little room, shutting -the door behind him. Martin bent, and tried to dash -by; but Mr. Slocum heard him, turned quickly, -shot out his hand and caught him by the tail of his -coat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who on earth are you?” cried the goldsmith. -“No use wriggling; I have you fast.” And then, as he -caught sight of Martin’s face: “You! You scoundrel! -Where have you come from? What business have you -here? Didn’t I tell you never to show your face -again?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am working for Mr. Faryner, and have just -brought your bread,” Martin replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then what are you hanging about for? Why are -you hiding in my house?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The cook was called away before she had time to -pay me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And you are skulking here, stealing for all I know. -I’ll send for a constable, and give you in charge on -suspicion of loitering with the intention of committing -a felony.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You may do that if you please, Mr. Slocum,” said -Martin with spirit. “But you have nothing against -me, and you will look rather silly.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this Mr. Slocum lifted his left hand to clout -Martin, who took advantage of a slight relaxing of the -grip of the other hand to wrench himself away and -leap down the stairs. He picked up his basket and -fled out into the yard, leaving Mr. Slocum shouting -threats and curses behind him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The sequel to this unlucky meeting was seen later in -the day. On returning from his afternoon round -Martin found that Mr. Slocum had sent a message to -the baker, saying that if the new errand boy was sent -again to the house he would transfer his custom.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You were impudent, I suppose,” said Mr. Faryner, -“and you won’t suit me, and that’s a pity, for I’d -taken a fancy to you. It’s a lesson to me to make -inquiries before I hire a boy.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin thought it was high time to give his employer -a little information. He related the morning’s incident, -not mentioning the box; some instinct prompted -him to keep that to himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There was nothing much to be angry about,” -said the baker. “Have you told me everything?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I haven’t told you that I was once in Mr. Slocum’s -employment, and he dismissed me for——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Impudence? Confess now.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, sir; for fighting one of the apprentices.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bless me, I’ve done that myself,” said Mr. Faryner, -with a laugh. “But come now, I can’t afford to lose a -good customer. I daren’t send you on that round -again. Let me see.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He stuck his hands into his belt and looked questioningly -at Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Can you row a boat?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve done it often,” said Martin. “My father was -a sea-captain, and I’ve helped my friends among the -watermen more than once.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Capital! Then I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll put -another boy on your round, and I’ll give you the -river. You’ll take supplies to the ships in the Pool. -What do you say to that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll say thank you, sir; I shall like it very much.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very well, then. You see, I’ve taken a fancy to -you.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='59' id='Page_59'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWELFTH</h1></div> - -<h3>THE BRASS-BOUND BOX</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>When Martin reached home that evening he told his -friends of the approaching change in his work that was -due to Mr. Slocum. Susan Gollop’s red cheeks grew -redder as she listened to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That Slocum is a monster!” she cried indignantly. -“I’d like to give him a piece of my mind, that I would!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now don’t you go putting your oar in, my woman,” -said the constable. “I don’t like the man, but he was -within his rights in turning out of the house the boy he -dismissed for misbehaviour——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Misbehaviour, indeed!” Susan interrupted. -“What’s his own behaviour like? Tell me that. Mr. -Greatorex ought to know what a temper the man -has got, and if he didn’t live so far away I’d tell him -myself. Martin shall write it down for me, being no -scholar myself, and we’ll send Mr. Greatorex a letter.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Avast there!” said Dick. “Look at it sensible, -Sue. Mr. Greatorex is the owner of the ship, so to put -it, and he’s made Slocum captain. ’Tain’t for us to -question his right so to do. And d’you think he’s going -to bother his head about the ship’s boy?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What ship’s boy?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, Martin, of course. In a manner of speaking -he was the ship’s boy aboard that craft.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Stuff and nonsense!” exclaimed Susan. “You and -your ship’s boy—and Martin the son of a captain <span class='it'>and</span> -owner! Gollop, I wonder at your ignorance.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, my dear, what you can’t help, make the best of. -Let things alone, that’s what I say, and maybe Martin’ll -never meet Slocum again, and so it won’t matter.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was not long in deciding that Mr. Slocum had -really done him a good turn. He liked his new job—to -deliver bread to the ships in the Pool. Their officers, -coming into harbour after long voyages, were glad to -get a change from the hard, mouldy, and often worm-bitten -biscuit which they had to put up with at sea. -Mr. Faryner’s excellent loaves found a ready sale -among them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At least once, sometimes twice, a day Martin rowed -out from the steps below London Bridge to the vessels -that lay against the wharves or at anchor in the -river. Sometimes he would send up his bread in a -basket lowered over the side; sometimes, after tying -his painter to the anchor chains, he would himself -swarm up a rope ladder to the deck. Now and then -he had to scramble across the lighters surrounding -a vessel that was taking in or discharging cargo.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He found all this thoroughly interesting and enjoyable. -It was much easier to carry his basket in a boat -than to carry it on his arm. He liked to meet and chat -with the jolly sailor-men and to see the insides of the -ships whose outsides he knew so well. If he could not -go to sea himself, he felt that the next best thing was to -have something to do with those who did, even if it -were only supplying them with bread.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And he was well satisfied with his change of masters. -Mr. Faryner, he found, was just as quick-tempered as -Mr. Slocum, but he was not mean or spiteful or unjust.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>One Saturday when Martin had made a slight -mistake in accounting for the money he had received -from customers, the baker flew into a rage.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re either a ninny or a rascal!” he cried. “And -I don’t know which is worse. Can’t you add two and -two? You’re no good to me. Boys are the plague of -my life, none of them any good. If they’re not saucy -they’re stupid, and if they’re not stupid they’re——. -Here, get out of my sight, and don’t stare at me as if I -were a fat pig at a fair!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was careful to keep out of the angry man’s -way, and wondered whether, when he received his -week’s wages, he would be told to find another job. To -his surprise Mr. Faryner seemed to have forgotten the -matter that had upset him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here you are, my lad,” he said, as he handed -Martin his five shillings. “And you had better take -two loaves home to-night instead of one; there are -some over, and they’ll be too stale to sell by Monday.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Like many another quick-tempered man’s, Mr. -Faryner’s bark was worse than his bite.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When Martin got home that evening he found Susan -Gollop in a great state of excitement.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t know what’s coming to us all,” she said. -“Only think of it! When Mounseer came back from his -walk this afternoon he found his room all upside-down -and higgledy-piggledy, and me in the house all the -time, and never heard a sound!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What happened?” asked Martin, remembering the -former attempts on the Frenchman’s room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, someone got in, front or back, I don’t know -how, and picked his padlock, and rummaged the room, -forced open his cupboard, slit up his mattress, and even -ripped the lining of his coat on the peg.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But why? What were they seeking?” Martin -asked in his amazement. “He seems to have nothing -valuable except his sword.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah! That’s what puzzles me. And what’s more, -Mounseer didn’t seem very upset when he came in and -found everything topsy-turvy. He just looked round -the room, and then he smiled—fancy that; smiled!—as -if it was just a muddle made by children.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ‘You take it easy, sir,’ says I, and he gave his -shoulders a shrug—you know his way—and said, ‘Be -so good, madam’—he called me madam—‘to help -me arrange.’ And when we were in the middle of -putting things straight, who should come in but Mr. -Seymour.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ‘Dear me!’ says he, all astonished like, ‘what in -the world is the matter?’ And just as I was opening -my mouth, Mounseer took me up short. ‘Nothing in the -world, sir,’ says he, ‘I thank you!’ And he goes -straight to the door and shuts it in Mr. Seymour’s face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I was fair took aback; where were his French -manners? Always so polite to me, calling me madam -and all, and yet almost rude to Mr. Seymour!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer must have took a dislike to him, that’s all -I can say, and very queer it is, for Mr. Seymour is a -nice, pleasant-spoken gentleman, with always a ‘Good-day, -Mrs. Gollop!’ or ‘Very warm, Mrs. Gollop!’ -whenever I meet him on the stairs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin said nothing to this, though recent incidents -had made him uncomfortable, and inclined to share in -Mounseer’s evident distrust of the mysterious lodger on -the top floor. His doubts were deepened by something -that happened that very night.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was disturbed from a sound sleep by slight noises -from the waste land at the rear of the house. They -were louder than they had been on the previous -occasion, and he guessed that the man below had had -more difficulty in attracting Mr. Seymour’s attention.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But things happened as before. There was a short, -murmured exchange of words between the two men; -the speaker below went away, Mr. Seymour came with -scarcely a sound down the stairs. Martin reached his -post near the top of the basement staircase in time to -hear the same husky voice outside the front door say: -“The sloop is back in the river.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Again Mr. Seymour opened the door wide, and the -other man brought in a brass-bound box.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s heavier this time,” said Mr. Seymour. “You -must give me a hand with it upstairs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s not safe. You’ve got slippers; my sea-boots -make too much noise.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Take them off, and walk in your stockings!” said -Mr. Seymour, impatiently.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The other man growled, but came forward, set the -box on the floor, and sat on it while he removed his -boots. His features were still concealed from Martin by -Mr. Seymour’s figure between him and the candle half-way -down the hall. He stood up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Heave ho,” he muttered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then Martin started, and instinctively shrank -back a little. When he looked out again the two men, -carrying the box between them, were full in the light -of the guttering candle, and in the larger of them he -recognised the black-bearded stranger whom he had -first seen at the river stairs in the company of Mr. -Slocum, and whom he had rowed down to Deptford in -Jack Boulter’s wherry.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='64' id='Page_64'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRTEENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>BLACKBEARD VISITS THE BAKER</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>The astonishing discovery that Mr. Seymour and Blackbeard, -as he called the stranger to himself, had dealings -in common kept Martin awake for a good many hours.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He acknowledged that there was no reason why they -should not have business relations, but there seemed to -be something underhand in these stealthy visits by -night.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When he got up in the morning he went straight into -Dick Gollop’s room, and roused him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you want?” asked the constable, sleepily. -“It’s not my watch yet.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Wake up and listen!” replied Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Been fighting again, eh?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No. Do wake up; it’s something you ought to -know.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, spin your yarn, and don’t be long about it, or -my eyes’ll shut, and then my ears won’t be no manner -of good.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin wasted no words in recounting the story of -Blackbeard’s two midnight visits and the conveying up -to Mr. Seymour’s room of the two brass-bound boxes. -Gollop began to snore in the middle of it, but was -roused again by a vigorous shake.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And you spoil a man’s sleep for that!” the constable -grumbled. “I wouldn’t have thought it of -you!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But surely——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now, look here, my lad!” said Gollop, raising -himself on one elbow, “don’t you go for to teach me -anything about the law.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wasn’t going——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Stow your gab and hark to me! Ain’t I a constable, -and therefore a man of law? Well, then, I tell you -there’s nothing in the law to prevent a man, two men, -forty men, bringing a box, two boxes, forty boxes, into -a house at any watch o’ the night, dog-watch included.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t interrupt. If so be I was to run athwart the -course of a man conveying a box in the middle watches -it ’ud be my bounden duty to hail him and ask where -he was bound for—if ’twas in the street, mind you, and -I was on my rounds. But when a man has got across -his own threshold—set his foot on his own deck in a -manner of speaking—then I question him at my peril.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Couldn’t you search the house?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not being an inward-bound ship, nor me a customs -officer, I couldn’t, not without a warrant.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why not get a warrant?” asked Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why not? Because there’s no reason to think -there’s anything contraband in them boxes; and, -what’s more, because I’m dead sleepy. So just you set -a course for your baker’s shop, my lad; what you can’t -help, make the best of.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was by no means satisfied that the constable’s -exposition of the law was sound, but it was -clearly impossible to do anything more with him until -he had finished his sleep.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>That morning, Martin, in the course of his duty, -boarded a vessel moored near Wapping which he had -already visited several times, and where he had -established friendly relations with the cook.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Two quarterns to-day, and mind they’re not stale,” -said the cook.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We never have any stale; our bread sells like hot -cakes,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, there’s a new customer for you astern there.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The cook pointed to a vessel at anchor a few cables’ -lengths down the river.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, isn’t that the Portugal ship that was repairing -at Deptford?” Martin asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ay, that’s her. She came up out of the yard on the -tide yesterday.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I saw her in the yard not long ago. She’s had her -mainmast shot away by the French, they said.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“True, that was the yarn. She’s a queer sort of -vessel, by all accounts. The crew are all black-haired -men, but that you’d expect, being Portugals or -Levantines, or summat outlandish. What’s queer is -that they’re never allowed leave on shore. Even in -Deptford, when the ship was being overhauled, they -had to sling their hammocks in an old warehouse on the -riverside. They was marched about like a lot of -prisoners—conveyed there and back by the officers—and -a dark-looking lot they are too.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The captain’s a white man—white, says I, meaning -he’s not a nigger, for his face is the colour of beer, and -his hair as black as coal, and his beard like a horse’s -mane. And it’s well his crew are foreigners, for true-born -Englishmen wouldn’t stand that sort of treatment; -there’d be mutiny aboard, trust me. But there’s -no proper spirit in those Portugals; I don’t call ’em -men.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They’re men enough to eat English bread, I -expect,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“See that you get English money. I wouldn’t trust -’em far,” declared the cook.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin laughed as he went down the side. He had -already got one or two new customers for his master, -and he was so much interested in this Portugal vessel -that he felt rather excited at the prospect of boarding -her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But as he rowed towards her he began to have -qualms. It was members of her crew that had chased -him that night when he had rowed Boulter’s wherry -down to Deptford and picked up the fugitive boy. He -remembered their wild looks and savage cries; above -all, he remembered the face of the man who had urged -them on—the man who had been his passenger—Blackbeard -himself. What if he were recognised when -he ran alongside the vessel?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>This idea daunted him, and swinging the boat round, -he headed up the river. But before he was half-way -back to London Bridge he wished he had taken the -risk. After all, what had he to fear? Blackbeard might -not be aboard the ship; the crew had seen him only -indistinctly in the dusk, and they had been more intent -on the boy he had taken into the boat than on himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Further, suppose Blackbeard did recognise him, -what then? He would know him only as the rower of -the wherry, who had allowed a boy swimming in the -river to climb into his boat for safety. There was -nothing in that; anyone else might have done the same. -Blackbeard could not know that he lived in the same -house as Mr. Seymour, and was aware of his mysterious -visits to that gentleman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But though he repented his timidity, he felt that he -had come too far to return now. As it turned out, he -was glad of his decision, for in the evening, just before -closing time at the shop, when he was sweeping up the -flour and breadcrumbs that littered the floor, and had -his back to the door, he was startled to hear behind him -the husky voice of the man he had been thinking about.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Pardon, sir,” said the voice; and Martin noticed -that it had a foreign accent, not at all like that in which -Blackbeard had spoken to Mr. Seymour.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He glanced over his shoulder, thinking he might be -mistaken; but no, he could not mistake that swarthy -face and strangely-trimmed beard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Pardon, sir, are you the baker as send bread to the -ships on the river?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am, to be sure,” said Mr. Faryner.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then I beg you send three breads regular all the -days to the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span> what lie by Wapping.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you the captain?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am so.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very well, I will send the bread, and you will -pay on the spot?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Without doubt, yes, I will pay. Good-night.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='69' id='Page_69'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE FOURTEENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>ON BOARD THE <span class='it'>SANTA MARIA</span></h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Before Martin started on his river journey next morning, -Mr. Faryner impressed upon him that he must not -leave bread upon the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span> without payment.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve been done before now,” said the baker. “I’ve -given credit to foreign captains and they’ve sailed -away without settling. Once bit, twice shy.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin visited his regular customers as usual, then -rowed on to the Portugal vessel, which lay some distance -from the other ships, and was the last for that -morning’s delivery.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His fears of the previous evening had left him, but he -was conscious of a rather quickening pulse as he brought -his boat under the side. Dark-browed men, leaning on -the bulwarks, peered curiously at him, and he could not -help wondering whether one or another of them might -recognise his features.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A rope ladder hung from the waist. Catching hold -of this, he looked up and called:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bread for the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>To his surprise none of the men answered. They -continued to stare at him but did not change their -positions. Even if they did not understand English, he -thought they might guess his errand from the sight of -the loaves in his basket.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bread,” he called again, “ordered by the captain.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then someone repeated the word <span class='it'>capitano</span>, and -Martin inferred from the way they talked among themselves -that the captain was not on board. Emboldened -by this discovery, Martin pointed to the loaves, and -made signs that they were intended for the ship.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ha, Sebastian,” cried one of the men.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A few moments later a very fat man came from -behind and pushed his way through to the side. His -swarthy cheeks hung like dewlaps over his thick neck, -his shirt was open, revealing a massive chest almost -as dark as his face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What want?” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The captain ordered these loaves from the King’s -baker,” Martin replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Up, up,” said the man, whose English appeared to -be limited to monosyllables.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin began to do as he had been instructed: -to place the loaves in a small sack, sling this on his -back, and swarm up the ladder. But when Sebastian, -whom he supposed to be the cook, saw his intention, -he cried “No, no,” waved him back, and let down -a rope, indicating that Martin was to tie the sack to -that.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There seemed to be nothing else to be done, though -Martin was disappointed: he had hoped for an opportunity -of seeing something of this mysterious vessel. -The sack was drawn up; the man took it in his huge -dirty hands, and was turning away when Martin -detained him by calling out the word “money,” at -the same time jingling the bag that contained his -morning’s takings.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No money; captain not here,” said the man. -“Come again other time.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can’t do that,” said Martin. “My master’s orders -were not to go without the money.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Basta!” exclaimed the cook; then he turned on his -heel and disappeared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Without an instant’s hesitation, Martin hitched his -painter to the rope ladder, and, swarming up, sprang on -to the deck. The seamen made way for him, and -looked on impassively as he darted across the deck.</p> - -<div class='figcenter'> -<img src='images/img-071.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0004' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/> -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>The cook was on the point of entering the galley, -carrying the sack slung loosely across his shoulders. He -turned as he heard quick footsteps, but was too late to -prevent Martin from snatching the sack away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man snarled an ejaculation in his own tongue, -and lurched heavily forward with arms outstretched as -if to recapture the sack. But Martin skipped back, held -the sack behind him, and said firmly:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I must have two shillings, or I cannot leave the -bread.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Before the cook could reply, one of the crew made a -remark which drew a roar of laughter from his mates, -and brought a fierce scowl upon Sebastian’s face, and a -torrent of angry words from his lips. Martin noticed -how his multiple chin shook as he denounced the men -who were chaffing him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He came on, threateningly, and Martin edged back, -intending to toss the sack into the boat and at least -save his bread. But at this moment there appeared -round the side of the galley a slight, thin, dusky-faced -boy, in whom Martin at once recognised the child he -had vainly tried to save from his pursuers a few nights -before. The boy’s manner suggested that curiosity had -drawn him to see what was going on.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His appearance served to divert the cook’s wrath. -Turning aside, Sebastian dealt the boy a heavy blow -that struck him sprawling upon the deck, and lifted -his foot to kick him as he lay. With a sudden spring -Martin thrust himself between the bully and his -victim.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For a moment there was dead silence; then a jesting -remark from the seaman who had spoken before -evoked loud guffaws from the rest of the crew. Purple -with rage, Sebastian aimed a kick at Martin, who -evaded it by a quick sidelong movement, at the same -time swinging his sack and banging the man on the -side of the head.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The sudden blow upset his balance. He toppled -sideways, and with a resounding thump measured his -huge bulk on the deck. The boy, meanwhile, had -picked himself up and darted into the galley.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this moment a man, somewhat better dressed -than the others, came up through the open hatchway -and uttered a few words in a commanding tone of -voice. Martin guessed that he was demanding the -meaning of the uproar. A babel of explanations broke -from the crew. The newcomer silenced them with a -stern gesture, his uneasy manner suggesting he was -anxious to put a stop to the scene and avoid further -trouble.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With a contemptuous look at Sebastian, who had -now risen to his feet, he ordered him away, and opening -a wallet that was slung at his belt, made signs that -Martin was to take from it the money due to him. -Martin picked out two shillings, emptied the sack on -the deck, then clambered down the side into his boat -and rowed away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Remembering the vindictive scowl on the cook’s face -as he slunk off, he wondered whether his impetuous -action might not have done the boy more harm than -good. He felt a great pity for the wretched-looking -little fellow, with his thin cheeks and wistful, melancholy -eyes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I wasn’t much good to him before,” he thought, -“and only got myself a sore head. I suppose he is -cook’s mate to that fat bully, and leads a dog’s life on -board this strange ship. No doubt they’ll tell Blackbeard -all about it when he comes on board, and I -shouldn’t wonder if he complains to Mr. Faryner, and -I shall get into hot water again. Well, I couldn’t do -anything else, and as Dick Gollop says, what you can’t -help, make the best of.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='74' id='Page_74'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>COFFEE FOR TWO</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin debated with himself whether to tell Mr. -Faryner what had happened on board the <span class='it'>Santa -Maria</span>.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If I mention the squabble he may think I’m a -quarrelsome fellow,” he said to himself ruefully. -“He’ll say I get into trouble everywhere, on land and -on water too, and tell me to go. And I did want to go -aboard again: there’s something queer about that ship, -and I’d like to know more about her.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It happened when he got back to the shop that the -baker was so much concerned with another matter that -he gave Martin no opportunity of telling his story.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve got another job for you, my lad,” he said. -“You know Mr. Pasqua’s coffee-house in Newman’s -Court?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, sir; and I don’t know where Newman’s Court -is,” Martin replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s off Cornhill; you know that. Well, Mr. -Pasqua came himself this morning and ordered a -quantity of rolls and cakes to be sent to his coffee-house. -It’s a feather in my cap, my lad. He used to -deal with Grimes of Gracious Street, but he’s dissatisfied. -I never did think much of Grimes. Mr. -Pasqua will be a very good customer if I please him, -and I promised that the things should be sent by one -o’clock, and you’re back just in time.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Must I go before dinner, sir?” asked Martin, who -had been out in the heat since early morning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Before dinner? Of course you must. What does -your dinner matter when there’s a new customer to be -served? The basket will be ready in five minutes; you -can have your dinner presently. And let me tell you, -you must be very polite to Mr. Pasqua if you see him. -He has been a servant, and there’s no one more likely -to take offence at want of politeness in a servant than a -man who has been a servant himself. And he’s a -foreigner too.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A Frenchman, sir?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, a Sicilian. I wonder you haven’t heard of him. -He was the servant of an English merchant who lived -in the East, and came back with his master a few years -ago to make coffee for him in the Eastern way. Mr. -Edwards, the merchant, had learnt the use of coffee-beans, -and he was so plagued and pestered by his -friends and visitors wanting to taste the new drink that -he set his servant up in a coffee-house, and the man is -now a good deal richer than I am. Here’s the last -batch.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A man came from the bakery bearing a tray laden -with crisp brown rolls and rice-cakes. These were placed -in the basket and Martin set off.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Following the fashion set by Mr. Pasqua, others had -opened coffee-houses in different parts of the city; but -they were frequented only by merchants and gentlemen, -and Martin had never been inside one. It was -therefore with considerable interest that he entered the -coffee-house in Newman’s Court.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was a large square room with a counter at one end, -on which stood glistening urns, porcelain cups, and -silver sugar-basins. Behind it was a young woman with -golden hair piled high upon her head. A kettle hung -from a hook over a wood-fire.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Here and there about the room were small tables -surrounded by wooden chairs. At one side the room -was partitioned off into compartments, some with doors, -within which the merchants could sip their coffee and -talk over their business in privacy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Two boys were serving customers at the tables, and -a small, dark, foreign-looking man was moving about, -exchanging a word here and a word there.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When Martin entered with his laden basket, the -foreigner, Mr. Pasqua himself, came up to him, and -speaking in very good English, said:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You are from Faryner’s, boy?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You are in very good time. It is not yet one o’clock, -and I am pleased. Grimes’s boy was late, over and over -again, and I was in danger of losing my customers, the -gentlemen who honour me. Tell Mr. Faryner that he -has begun well. And now let me see what you have -brought.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He took a cake and a roll from the basket, and bit -each of them in turn.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very good,” he said, as he munched, smacking his -lips and blinking his eyelids. Martin was amused at -the little man’s serious air.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Calling one of his boys, he bade him take the basket -to the signorina. This was evidently the young woman -behind the counter, but as she spoke in a very decided -London accent Martin felt sure she was not a foreigner -and wondered why she was so called. It was a harmless -affectation of Mr. Pasqua’s, like that which, in those days -of Charles II, gave Italian names to English musicians -and mountebanks.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>While the basket was being emptied, Mr. Pasqua -said to Martin:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You look tired, boy. Would you like a cup of -coffee?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have never tasted it, sir,” Martin answered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then this shall be a great day in your life. A cup -of coffee, signorina.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A small cup was brought to Martin. Sipping it, he -made a wry face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah! You find it bitter,” said Mr. Pasqua. “But -stir it with the spoon, then taste again.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At the bottom of the cup was thick brown sugar. -Martin stirred and tasted.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That is good, eh?” said the man, smiling. “It -will refresh you. And you shall have another cup when -you come the next time.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this moment a bell rang in one of the closed -compartments. Mr. Pasqua himself hurried to answer -the summons. As the door opened, Martin was startled, -and hastily turned his head. Seated at the little table -were two men, Mr. Slocum and Mr. Seymour.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was careful not to look towards them again, and -was glad when the empty basket was brought to him -and he was able to get out into the street.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His first feeling was relief that he had not been seen -by Mr. Slocum. He thoroughly distrusted his former -employer, and was ready to believe that he would not -hesitate to make mischief with Mr. Pasqua.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why am I always coming across that man?” he -thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then as he walked back towards Pudding Lane, he -grew uneasy and suspicious. It was a shock to him -that Mr. Slocum and Mr. Seymour were acquainted. -He had seen each of them at different times with Blackbeard, -and the fact that all three were acquainted -brought a crowd of recollections to his mind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He remembered that he had seen Mr. Slocum carrying -a brass-bound box exactly like those which Blackbeard -had brought to Mr. Seymour. He recalled how angry -Mr. Slocum had been on that occasion, without any -obvious reasonable cause.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Blackbeard’s visits to Mr. Seymour had been secret. -Was Mr. Slocum’s anger due to the fact that he -also had something to conceal? What was the connection -between the three men? Had it anything to do -with the boxes? What did they contain? Were they -part of the cargo of the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>?—perhaps held -smuggled goods?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Puzzling about these questions, Martin suddenly -thought of another—one that startled him. What was -the nature of the business between Mr. Slocum and the -old Frenchman?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The question came as a surprise to Martin himself. -At first he did not understand what had given rise to -it, but he found himself fitting together incidents that -had previously seemed unrelated, and the more he -thought of them the more disturbed he grew.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Hitherto no one had been able to account for the -strange attacks on the Frenchman’s room. But Martin -now remembered that the face he had seen one night at -the window was the face of the man who had waylaid -him going an errand for Mr. Slocum. He remembered -also Mounseer’s dislike of Mr. Seymour—and Mr. -Seymour knew Mr. Slocum. It was odd that, somehow -or other, Mr. Slocum came into everything.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>What was the mystery behind it all? To all appearance -the Frenchman possessed nothing that was -worth stealing; yet what other motive than robbery -could anyone have had for breaking into his room? -Mounseer knew Mr. Slocum. Mr. Slocum knew Mr. -Seymour, and that gentleman, in spite of his politeness -and his neighbourly intentions, was evidently suspected -and detested by the Frenchman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin began to feel very much worried, and had the -extraordinary conviction that the clue to the whole -mystery lay with Mr. Slocum.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I dare say it’s very silly,” he thought; “it’s simply -because I dislike the man. Yet I can’t help it. The -question is, what is Mr. Slocum at?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>This question was dinning in Martin’s head as he -walked back along the street. So intent was he on his -own thoughts that he stepped rather heedlessly, and -was brought up by the sudden collision with a man -proceeding in the opposite direction. The man let out a -savage oath, and Martin, uttering an apology, edged -away, only then recognising that the angry footfarer -was Blackbeard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Fortunately, he thought, he had not himself been -recognised, and, allowing a short interval to elapse, he -had the curiosity to follow the man. It was with no -surprise that he saw him enter Mr. Pasqua’s coffee-house. -Beyond doubt he was going to meet the two -men whom Martin had already seen there.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>More curious than ever, Martin wished that he could -find some means of discovering what the three conspirators, -as he now considered them, were about to -discuss. He thought of going in and buying a cup of -coffee on the chance that he might learn something, but -after a moment’s reflection gave up the idea; there -would be too much danger of his being caught.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='80' id='Page_80'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>WHAT MARTIN FOUND</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>The tide was running strong up the river when Martin -started on his round next morning. There was promise -that the day would be hotter than ever, but the wind, -blowing briskly from the east, tempered the heat, -though at the same time it rendered doubly hard the -task of rowing the heavy wherry.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was just pulling away from a brig at which he -had delivered some loaves, when a boat, sculled by a -single seaman, passed him in the opposite direction. -He recognised it at once as the boat belonging to the -<span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>, and the oarsman as the man who found -it so difficult to keep awake.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Previously he had seen him only in the evening, and -he could not help feeling curious as to what his errand -was.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>After visiting in turn the ships on his list, and -scratching off the name of one that had left her moorings, -he came at length to the last, the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She won’t be here long,” he thought, noticing that -a lighter lay on each side of her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>From the one on the starboard side cargo was being -hoisted on board by means of a clumsy kind of derrick. -He made his boat fast to the other, put the loaves into -his sack, threw the empty basket into the stern, and, -with the sack slung over his shoulder, swarmed up by a -rope that hung from a second derrick, placed ready for -use when the second lighter should be discharged.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>All hands were busy with the cargo. Some of the -crew grinned when they recognised him, and as he -looked inquiringly round they pointed to the cook’s -galley. Wondering what his reception would be, he -went on, and found the fat man frying some fish on his -brazier, the timid-looking boy standing by with a -flask of oil.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The cook glanced at Martin with a surly scowl, and -paid him no further attention until he had turned out -the fried fish on to a plate standing on a tray. Then he -took one of the fresh, crisp rolls that Martin had -brought, set this also on the tray, and ordered the boy -to carry breakfast to the captain.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The boy had only just gone, and Sebastian was -counting the contents of Martin’s sack, when the -captain, Blackbeard himself, came along, as if attracted -by the smell of the frizzling fish. Catching -sight of Martin he stopped, looked hard at him for a -moment or two, then, in his husky voice with its -foreign intonation, asked:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What you do here?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have brought the bread from Mr. Faryner,” -Martin replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah!” There was a slight pause. “I see you -before?” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was clear that he had not at once recognised -Martin as the boy who in the evening dusk had rowed -him down the river. Anxious to avoid identification, -Martin answered:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I was in Mr. Faryner’s shop when you came to give -your order.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah! So! I see you there—yes—perhaps. I think so.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But there was a puzzled look on his face as he -followed the boy with the tray, and Martin was on -thorns lest clearer recollection should come to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Having counted the loaves and rolls, the cook, who -had not addressed a word to Martin, went away to -fetch the money for them. Martin would not have been -surprised if he had been summoned to the captain’s -cabin; but Sebastian on his return simply handed him -the coins, and he was free to go.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Without loss of time he swarmed down on to the -lighter, threw his sack upon the upturned basket in the -stern of the boat rocking alongside, hauled on the painter -until the boat was near enough for him to step in, then -cast loose, drifting on the tide while he got out his -oars. Then he pulled the boat round, but rested on the -oars as he looked back at the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Perhaps I ought to have asked when she is sailing,” -he thought. “But I suppose Blackbeard will give -notice. I wonder what her cargo is and where she is -bound for? Perhaps Mr. Seymour and Mr. Slocum are -engaged in some venture overseas, and there is nothing -really to be suspicious about.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He was still in a sort of daydream, moving the oars -only enough to keep the boat’s head straight, when a -shout ahead roused him. Glancing over his shoulder, -he saw a ferryboat crossing his bows. A collision -seemed inevitable, but he eased his left oar and put all -his strength into his right, and scraped by with an -inch or two to spare, the ferryman pouring out a -torrent of abuse such as only the Thames waterman of -those days could command.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The boat rocked under the sudden change of course -and the wash of the ferryboat. Martin pulled her round -again, and noticed that the basket had shifted slightly. -It was now partly resting on its side against the stern -thwart. And then he caught sight of something dark -between the rim of the basket and the floor of the boat—something -that surprised him so much that for a -few moments he ceased rowing and could only stare.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was a small dark-skinned foot, the toes and instep -just protruding from the basket.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who’s there?” he called.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The foot was suddenly withdrawn, the basket moved, -settling down so as to cover completely the person -underneath.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ve seen you; you’d better show yourself,” said -Martin. An idea struck him, and he added: “Just -show your face.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The basket moved again, and now Martin saw -without surprise the dark, pathetic face of the cook’s -boy of the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t come out. I’ll row on,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked back towards the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>, now some -two hundred yards astern. The crew were still hoisting -and stowing the cargo; there was no sign of excitement, -nothing to show that the boy had been missed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin rowed on in silence for a few minutes until -the bend in the river hid the vessel from sight. Then he -said again:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t come out. Keep the basket over you. But -tell me why you are on my boat, and what it is that -you want.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='84' id='Page_84'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE SEVENTEENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>STOP, THIEF!</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>It was a strange scene—had anyone witnessed it. But -Martin was careful to keep out of the course of passing -wherries, and so far from the ships at anchor that the -bottom of his boat was not visible from their decks. -The rim of the basket rested on the boy’s neck, and -his dusky face, with its large pleading eyes upturned -towards Martin, looked as though it projected from -the planking.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Me run away,” said the boy in a strange, high-pitched -sing-song. “No takee me back. No let -catchee me. I pray sahib very much.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where do you come from?” said Martin. “What -are you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Me India boy, come long way over black water. -They beat me. See!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He moved the basket a little, disclosing his thin, -bare arms and legs, on which were old scars and the -long livid weals of recent lashes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Cover yourself,” said Martin hastily. “Go on. -Tell me more.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The boy went on to relate, in his halting broken -English, a story that Martin heard with indignation -and pity. His name was Gundra, and his parents were -servants of an English merchant at Surat. He had -been allowed to run in and out of the merchant’s -godowns, and had thus picked up the little English he -knew.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>One day, when he was straying some little distance -from the factory, he was kidnapped by two big men, -who carried him aboard their ship. There he had been -kept as a slave, half-starved, and cruelly used. He had -not one real friend among the crew, though the -captain now and then interposed when the fat cook -was thrashing him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>So wretched was his life that he had long wished he -might die, and if he were taken back to the ship he -would throw himself overboard and let himself drown, -though he could swim, as the sahib had seen. More -than once he had been tempted to destroy himself, but -had been restrained by the hope that some day he -might be rescued and restored to his home.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Keep me to be your slave, sahib,” he pleaded. -“Me do all you tell.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The boy’s woebegone look, and the sight of the -wounds on his limbs, moved Martin so deeply that he -had already determined to do what he could to save -him from his oppressors. But he foresaw great difficulties. -What could he do with the boy? There was -no room in Dick Gollop’s apartments; besides, he felt -sure the constable, as a man of law, would hold strong -views about the offence of harbouring runaways.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Yet he could not land the boy and leave him to his -own devices. He would be taken up as a vagrant, and -what would become of him then? His lot could -hardly be worse than it had been on board the <span class='it'>Santa -Maria</span>; but Martin felt that by giving the boy shelter -he had shouldered a certain responsibility, and that -he must not throw the little fellow into the uncertain -hands of chance.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>While he was thinking over the problem so suddenly -thrust upon him, he had been paddling gently, but the -swift-flowing tide had already borne the boat a good -distance up the river. It was clear that he must come -to a decision within a few minutes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had no friends but the Gollops and some of the -watermen, and he could not place the boy with them -until he had consulted them. The idea of running up as -far as Battersea or Chelsea, and leaving Gundra there -until later, occurred to him; but he was due to -return to the shop, and he shrank from incurring Mr. -Faryner’s displeasure. If it had been evening, as on -the former occasion, he might have left the boy in the -boat until after dark, but there were still many hours -of daylight to run, and the boat would be a very -insecure shelter, even if the boy were hidden under -sacking.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>After much thought he decided that the simplest -course was the best. He would land at the stairs nearest -his home, take the boy there as quickly as possible, -hand him over to good-hearted Susan Gollop, and go -back to his work. What was ultimately to be done -with Gundra must be left for discussion with the -constable and his wife after the day’s work was done.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There were two or three boats at the foot of the -stairs as Martin approached, intending to land on the -up-river side. But as he pulled in towards them he -suddenly noticed that one of the boats on that side -was the ship’s boat of the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>, which he had -passed when rowing down. The foreign seaman was in -his usual attitude when waiting, half doubled up in the -stern, and apparently asleep.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin at once altered his course, bearing hard on his -right oar so as to bring the boat to the nearer side of the -stairs. At the same time he gave Gundra an urgent -warning to keep himself well covered by the basket.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pulled easily in to the landing-place. The other -boats were unoccupied, the watermen, their owners, -being out of sight, though no doubt within hail.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was beginning to tie his boat to the post -when footsteps on the stairs above caused him to look -up. It was with a feeling almost of dismay that he -saw Mr. Seymour coming down, carrying a large square -object wrapped in sacking—no doubt a box, perhaps -one of the brass-bound boxes that Blackboard had -brought to the house. Behind him came a man laden -with a similar burden.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Next oars, sir?” called a hoarse, loud voice, and a -waterman appeared at the head of the steps. “Next -oars” was the phrase commonly used by watermen -plying for hire.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not to-day,” replied Mr. Seymour over his shoulder. -“I have my own boat.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The waterman growled about people who did honest -men out of a living, and walked away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was desperately anxious that Mr. Seymour -should not observe him. He dared not go up the stairs -and meet him face to face; not that he had any dread -of a meeting for himself, but because of his knowledge -of the runaway boy and his new-born suspicions of -Mr. Seymour’s relations with Blackbeard and Mr. -Slocum.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Turning his back to the stairs, he fumbled with his -painter, as if he found a difficulty in tying up the boat. -He had, in fact, tied, untied, and tied again before -Mr. Seymour and his companion had stowed their -burdens on board, and his back was still towards them -when he knew by the thudding of the oars in the -rowlocks that their boat had put off.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was some little time before he allowed himself to -face about, hoping that the danger of recognition was -past. But he had not reckoned with the strength of -the current. The seaman, pulling the heavily-weighted -boat against the stream, had made only a few yards. -Mr. Seymour’s face was turned towards the shore. He -caught sight of Martin, waved his hand in recognition, -and smiled in his usual pleasant way.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He doesn’t guess what I’ve got under my basket,” -Martin thought, at the same time feeling unreasonably -annoyed at having been recognised at all.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Now that the coast was clear he paddled round to the -side of the stairs, and tied up his wherry at the place -vacated by the ship’s boat, wasting time until that -craft was well out of sight. Then, after a look all -round, he lifted the basket.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come with me,” he said to the Indian boy, taking -him by the hand, and slinging the basket over his -other arm.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Hand in hand they ascended the stairs. Lolling -against a rail was the waterman who had offered his -wherry to Mr. Seymour—a man whom he knew.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ahoy, young master! What have you got there?” -said the man, looking quizzingly at the dark-faced -boy, who, at the sound of his rough voice, shrank -timidly to Martin’s side and clasped his hand more -tightly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“An Indian boy come ashore to see London,” -Martin replied. “There’s no need to mention it if -questions are asked.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mum’s the word, eh? Ay, ay, I’ll keep my tongue -under hatches, never fear.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The two boys had walked only a few yards when -they came upon the man who had accompanied Mr. -Seymour. He was seated on a tree-stump, smoking, -idly watching the river. As the boys passed him he -turned and looked at them, but Martin could not -gather from his expression whether he had paid them -any special attention or not. A few minutes afterwards, -however, when they were going up the gentle -hill that would presently bring them to Bishopsgate, -Martin chanced to turn his head, and saw, with a -feeling of alarm, that the man was following.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a flash he realised that while he had been watching -Mr. Seymour the other man must have been -watching him. No doubt he had noticed how he was -acting for the purpose of consuming time. Martin had -never seen the man before, and felt sure that he knew -nothing about him, but had guessed that he had something -to conceal from Mr. Seymour. What could be -done to shake him off?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin knew every inch of this part of London, -lying between the river and his home. A minute or -two after he had assured himself that the man was -indeed dogging him, he turned suddenly into a narrow -court, dropped Gundra’s hand, and telling the boy to -keep pace with him, started to run.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But he was hindered by his basket. The man must -have started to run also, for before the boys had gained -the end of the court the pursuer was hard on their -heels. To make matters worse, he shouted. “ ’Ware! -’ware! Stop, thief!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>No one was at the moment passing in the court, but -windows flew open, heads looked out, and Martin knew -that it was only a matter of minutes before the chase -would be in full cry.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Dashing out of the court with the Indian, he ran a -few yards along the street, then darted into a narrow -alley on the other side. In a moment he realised the -mistake into which his haste had led him. The place -was a cul-de-sac; there was no opening at the farther -end. He was trapped.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='90' id='Page_90'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE EIGHTEENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>SALLY TAKES A HAND</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>For a moment or two Martin felt as a hunted fox might -feel when the chase had driven it into an enclosure from -which there was no escape.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The narrow alley, a sort of tunnel under the houses, -opened into a broader yard, bounded on the one side -by a high blank wall, on the other by the palings of -square grass plots in front of a row of small houses. -At the farther end another wall presented an obstacle -which only a cat could have climbed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But just as Martin was on the verge of despair he -caught sight of a familiar figure, and in a flash he saw a -possible chance of safety.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>On one of the grass plots a buxom woman was -bending over a large washtub that stood on a three-legged -stool. A clothes-line, propped on poles, was -extended from a nail in the house-wall to one of the -palings, and from it hung a blue shirt, a pair of stockings, -a spotted neck-cloth, and other articles, pegged -up to dry in the sun.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sally Boulter!” Martin exclaimed, rushing through -the little gate.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had recognised her as the wife of his friend -Boulter the waterman, to whom she sometimes -brought his dinner to the stairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Please let us come into your house,” he went on -breathlessly. “There’s a man after us.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, to be sure!” she cried, keeping her hands in -the tub. “In with you, young master.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The boys ran past her into the open doorway of the -little house. At the same moment the pursuer, red-faced -with running, came out of the alley into the -yard. Apparently he had seen the boys before they -disappeared, for he pounded along straight to Mrs. -Boulter’s gate.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When he reached it he found it closed, and on the -other side of it a strapping young woman, her stout, -muscular arms bared to the shoulder, and in her hands -a blanket which she had just wrung dry. Her lips were -pressed close together, and her friends would have said -that she was in a difficult mood.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Brought up by the gate, the man asked, rather -gaspingly:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have you seen a baker’s boy and a blackamoor?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have I seen—what did you say?” replied Sally.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A baker’s boy.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Many a one; baker’s boys aren’t that uncommon.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Just now, I mean.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Sally looked up and down the yard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I can’t see a baker’s boy just now,” she said. -“But if you want a baker’s boy, there’s a baker just -round the corner, and another two streets away. I’m -busy with my man’s washing, so don’t bother me no -more.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t you talk of bothers, mistress,” said the man, -tartly. “You’ll be more bothered yet if you’re not -careful. Didn’t I see the tail-end of the basket going -into your door? The baker’s boy is inside, and the -blackamoor too, and I’ve something to say to them, -so——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He suddenly pushed open the gate, forcing the -woman back a pace, and was starting to run across the -grass towards the house. But Sally was a woman of -spirit. Whirling the roll of blanket round her head she -brought it with a swish across the man’s neck, hurling -him against the washtub. He caught at the rim to -steady himself, disturbing the balance of the tub upon -its stool. It toppled over with a crash, and the man lay -between the stool and the tub in a pool of soapy water.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s all this, missus?” cried a bluff voice.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In the doorway stood the burly waterman, Boulter -himself, surveying the scene. Above his breeches he -wore nothing but his shirt.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Wants bakers’ boys and blackamoors, he does,” -answered his wife, jerking her elbow towards the fallen -man. “Pushes in, he does, and upsets my washtub; -clumsy, I call it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He does, does he!” said the waterman, licking his -hands as he stepped out on to the grass. “Bakers’ -boys, and blackamoors, <span class='it'>and</span> washtubs, does he? -Pushes in, does he? I’m thinking it’s black eyes what -he really wants.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With every sentence he had drawn a step nearer to -the discomfited intruder, who, spluttering with soapsuds, -was still recumbent in the swamp, half-hidden by -the tub.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Get up!” cried Boulter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man pushed the tub off, and rose slowly to his -feet.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Out you go, after that,” the waterman continued, -kicking the man’s hat over the fence into the yard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man slunk through the gateway, leaving a trail -of soapsuds.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Messing up my garden!” growled Boulter, close on -his heels. “Pick up your hat.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As soon as the man had recovered his dripping hat -he set off to run to the alley-way. But Boulter took a -stride forward, seized him by the collar, and marched -him down the yard, prodding him on with regular -applications of a bony knee.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll learn you to come pushing into decent folk’s -gardens!” said the waterman. “On a Saturday too! -After bakers’ boys and blackamoors! And washtubs! -Spilling the water! You get out!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had come to the entrance of the alley, and with -a parting kick sent the man headlong towards the -street.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now don’t you tell me nothing,” he said to Martin -when he returned to the house. “I’m much mistook if -I didn’t see this blackamoor aboard that there Portugal -ship, and if I don’t hear no stories I won’t tell no -lies, for there may be questions asked.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very well, Boulter,” said Martin. “Thank you -very much for your help. Will it be safe for us to go -home now?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll see to that,” said the waterman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He accompanied the boys to the street. Lurking at -the corner stood the pursuer. On seeing Boulter he -shambled away in the direction of the river.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Drawed out of action,” said Boulter with a chuckle. -“You’ve a clear course on t’other tack, and I reckon -you’ll come safe to port.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='94' id='Page_94'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE NINETEENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>GUNDRA DISAPPEARS</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Gundra, the Indian boy, had been a silent, nervous -spectator of these scenes. His lean body seemed to be -quivering from top to toe when Martin once more -struck away for home, and the curious glances of the -persons they met brought a scared look into his eyes.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Cheer up!” said Martin, noticing his timorousness. -“We’ll soon be home, and I’m sure Susan Gollop will be -kind to you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But the first aspect of Susan Gollop made Gundra -shrink back and clutch Martin by the sleeve. The -good woman was beating a mat on the waste ground at -the rear of the house, and the vigour of her strokes with -the cane, and the fierce set of her mouth, seemed to -promise little kindness.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here’s a poor little Indian boy, Susan,” Martin -began.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t worry me!” Susan interrupted. “I’m late -as it is; Gollop will be roaring for his breakfast in a -minute. And why aren’t you at your work, I’d like to -know?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>All the same, she looked inquisitively at the shrinking -child. Martin, knowing her morning temper of old, -discreetly said nothing, but took Gundra back into the -house, and set him on a stool with a wedge of treacle-cake -from the table.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Presently Susan came in, flung the mat upon the -floor; then, placing her hands on her hips, stood over -the boys and demanded:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now what’s all this about? Who’s this black -boy?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s an Indian, and has run away from a ship -where they were ill-using him,” Martin replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sakes alive! And what’s that to do with you, -Martin Leake?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want to help him. I want you to keep him here -for a day or two, until we can decide what to do with -him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do with him? Take him back, to be sure. There’s -no room for a runaway here; you’ll get us all into -trouble; and I can’t afford another mouth to feed. -I’m surprised at you. And you’ll be out of a job again. -What will Mr. Faryner say, neglecting your work like -this?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We can’t send him back, Susan, to be thrashed and -half-starved,” Martin began.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He said no more, for Gundra slipped from the stool, -fell upon his knees, and holding up his bare arms, -pleaded his own cause.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not go back; not go back!” he cried piteously. -“Me not eat much; me work very, very hard!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s them marks on his arms?” said Susan, -suddenly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where’s he’s been lashed!” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Wicked; downright wicked!” Susan exclaimed. -“Poor lamb! What if he is black? But I don’t know -what Gollop will say.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this moment the constable entered the room, his -cheeks well lathered, and shaving-brush in hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s that squeaky voice I hear?” he said. -“Bless my eyes, who’s this I see?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You may well ask,” said Susan. “It’s a poor little -creature of a slave boy what’s run away.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“From that Portugal ship I’ve told you about,” -Martin added.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Run away, has he?” said Gollop. “Then you’ll -convoy him back as quick as quick. Harbouring -runaways is an offence in law, and as a man of law ’tis -my bounden duty to give him up.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“For shame, Gollop!” said his wife, now completely -won over. “You and your law! What’s law, I’d like to -know?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Law’s your master and my living, woman,” said -Gollop. “Don’t you make any mistake about that. -The boy’s a runaway, and back he goes.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re a hard-hearted monster,” said Susan. -“Look at this!” She seized Gundra by the arm and -drew him towards her husband. “Scars! Look at ’em!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Show your back, Gundra,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Susan herself pulled up the boy’s shirt and revealed -livid streaks upon his flesh.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is there no law about that?” she demanded -indignantly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The constable stood with his brush poised in his hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Them Portugals did that!” he cried. “Flog a poor -little shrimp, eh? Sink me if I give ’em another -chance. I’m a freeborn Englishman, I am, and law or -no law, I’ll not give up any mortal soul, black or white, -to be treated that cruel. Cover him up, Sue. Split my -timbers! I’ve never seen anything like it.” He began -to stamp up and down the room, kicking over a stool, -flourishing his soapy brush. “Brutes, that’s what they -are. How dare they run into an English port! Constable -as I am, English seaman I was, and sooner than send -the poor little wretch back into a ship where they treat -them so savage, I’d—I’d——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He knocked over a chair.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I understand your feelings, Gollop,” said Susan -mildly, “but you needn’t smash the furniture. And -you’ll want a steady hand for your shaving, my man. -Just go and make yourself tidy while I get your -breakfast.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I will. Mind you, Sue, that boy stays here till the -ship sails. Don’t you give him up to no one whatsoever. -And keep a still tongue. Don’t go a-babbling.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And keep him out of Mr. Seymour’s sight,” said -Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why?” asked Susan in surprise.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Because—I’ll tell you later on. It’s a long story, -and Mr. Faryner will be in a rage with me if I don’t -hurry back. I’m very late.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What you can’t help, make the best of,” said -Gollop, as he went back into his bedroom to finish his -interrupted toilet.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The baker was in an irritable mood when Martin -reached the shop. He had had to find another messenger -to carry the morning’s delivery of bread and -pastries to Mr. Pasqua’s coffee-house. His annoyance -was increased when Martin told him that the <span class='it'>Santa -Maria</span> was taking in cargo in preparation for sailing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They’ve given me no notice,” he said. “But I’ve -given no credit, that’s a blessing. What have you been -doing all this time? Gaping at the sailors, I suppose. I -know you boys—eyes for anything but your proper -work. Get away into the back shop and scrub the floor.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was thankful not to be questioned further. -He had half expected that by this time Mr. Faryner -had been informed of his having brought an Indian boy -away from the ship, and he was on thorns for the rest -of the day. But nothing was said about it, and he -left the shop at the usual hour.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When he got home, he found that Gundra was the -centre of interest. Seated on a settle beside Lucy, he -was chatting cheerfully to the little girl, answering her -innumerable questions in his queer, broken English.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He is such a nice little boy,” she whispered to -Martin. “I am so glad you brought him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mrs. Gollop, in high good humour, was full of his -praises. She related how eagerly he had made himself -useful, scouring her pots and pans, peeling potatoes, -and even showing her how to cook rice in the Indian way.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She had made him a shakedown in a cupboard -under the stairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s a dark place,” she said, “and I won’t say but -he’ll have mice for company, but it was the only place -I could think of, and when I’d swept it out he was -quite pleased with it. It’s very stuffy this hot weather, -but I told him to leave the door open when he goes to -bed, or he’ll be stifled. He’s a willing little fellow, that -I will say.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The next day was Sunday, but Martin rose at his -usual hour, because he had to make a round with -fresh hot rolls before the day was his own. He noticed -as he passed the cupboard under the stairs that the -door, which had been open when he said good-night to -the boy, was now nearly closed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, let it be,” said Susan, upon his telling her. -“Them Indians live in a hot country, by all that’s -said, and he won’t mind the stuffiness. And we won’t -wake him; a long sleep will do him good, poor lamb.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin cleaned his boots and ate his breakfast; then, -as he was about to start for the shop, he thought he -would peep into the cupboard and see if the boy was -awake.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He listened at the door. There was no sound from -within. Then very cautiously he pulled the door -towards him and looked in. The narrow cupboard -with its sloping roof was in black darkness, and for a -few moments his eyes could not distinguish even the -shakedown on the floor. But presently he was able to -discern its dim outlines, and then he started and -hurriedly entered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Half a minute later he rushed back into the living-room, -where Mrs. Gollop was cleaning the hearth.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Susan,” he cried, “the cupboard is empty. Gundra -has gone!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mrs. Gollop was considerably upset.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, of all the ungrateful little wretches!” she -exclaimed. “Coming here whining and dropping on -his knees, and me making up a bed for him and all—and -then to slink out without a word! I’ll never do -anything for a foreigner again.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But we don’t know that he slunk out, Susan,” -Martin protested.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We don’t <span class='it'>know</span>!” she retorted sarcastically. “Did -he say good-bye to <span class='it'>you</span>, then? Did you hear him go? -And I warrant he didn’t go empty-handed, either. -Wait till I count my spoons!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I don’t believe he’s a thief!” said Martin. “I don’t -believe he ran away. I believe someone got into the -house and took him!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, them that took him had a right to him, -didn’t they? A good riddance to bad rubbish! Now -eat your fill, and be off; ’tis your first Sunday with -Mr. Faryner, and he won’t thank you if you’re late.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was only six o’clock. Gollop had not returned -from his nightly duty, and Lucy was still asleep. -Martin hurriedly swallowed a thick slice of bread-and-dripping, -thinking hard all the time, while Susan -inspected her drawers and cupboards to find evidence -of the Indian boy’s knavery.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m sure he did not go willingly,” thought Martin. -“Mr. Seymour’s man saw him with me, and no doubt -told Mr. Seymour, and he knows Blackbeard, and—oh, -what a puzzle everything is!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His mind was full of the matter as he started for the -shop. He wondered whether Mr. Seymour had let -Blackbeard into the house during the night—whether -the boy was now back on board the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>, -perhaps at that very moment being thrashed by that -fat bully the cook. And he foresaw a very unpleasant -time for himself when he took his bread to the ship on -Monday morning.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='100' id='Page_100'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTIETH</h1></div> - -<h3>FIRE! FIRE!</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Within a minute or two Martin’s mind was taken off -the fate of the Indian boy by something much more -actual and immediate. On turning the corner he was -aware that there were many more people in the streets -than was usual at that hour on Sunday morning. -They were all hurrying in one direction—the same -direction as himself. There was excitement in their -looks and in the way they spoke to one another; some -appeared to be asking eager questions which those they -addressed were in too great haste to answer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He caught the word Fire!</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Is there a fire? Where is it?” he asked a lad in a -’prentice’s cap who was trotting over the cobblestones.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“London Bridge,” panted the lad, and ran on.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin began to run too. The crowd grew thicker; -from every street and lane poured men and boys, and a -few women, some only half dressed, all excited, all -eager. From mouth to mouth ran the terrible word -Fire! and as the throng swelled their pace quickened, -and their cries, mingling with the clatter of their shoes, -raised a din that strangely disturbed the Sabbath -quiet of the bright morning.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It must be a big fire,” thought Martin, and he remembered -hearing Gollop speak of a fire on London -Bridge when he was a boy, which had burned all night -and destroyed more than forty houses.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where is it? Where is it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The question was repeated again and again as -newcomers joined the crowd. No one seemed to know -with certainty. Some said London Bridge, others -Cannon Street. Nothing could be seen of it. The -streets were narrow, the houses high and overlapping -in their upper storeys; between their tops the sky was -cloudless blue.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The clamour grew louder; every now and then there -were strange popping noises which for a moment -startled the crowd to silence. They ran faster and faster, -jostling one another, pushing aside the less active. -Swept along in the pouring tide, Martin found himself -in Little Eastcheap, and then, far ahead in that -broader thoroughfare, he saw over the roofs a brownish -tinge in the sky.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>On and on he ran, his excitement growing with every -step he took. At the corner of Gracechurch Street the -meeting streams of people made so dense a block that -for a while his progress was checked; he was hemmed in -amid a press of stout citizens, unable to see anything -but their backs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His ears were deafened by their shouts, which rose -above the distant roar and crackle. Presently, when he -again began to move onward, he heard a man near him -say, in a loud voice:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ’Tis Pudding Lane, I tell you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The words were taken up around him. Pudding -Lane! The cry flew from lip to lip, and stirred the -crowd into a vast surging movement southward.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Pudding Lane! What house, I wonder?” thought -Martin. “The Three Tuns, perhaps; they’ve a lot of -straw in their yard. Or perhaps it’s at Noakes’s, the -oil-man’s. His shop would blaze.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>More and more eager to reach the scene of the fire, he -began to push and wriggle and worm his way through -the mob, getting his toes trodden on, and indignant -thrusts and cuffings from those he incommoded. As he -drew nearer to his goal the roar swelled; at moments, -when he was able to look ahead, he saw dense clouds -of smoke, brown and black, sweeping across the housetops -westward, carried swiftly along by the north-east -wind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>After what seemed to be hours of struggling he -arrived at the corner of Fish Street Hill. The air was -full of smoke and floating blacks and the suffocating -smell of burning. The crowd here was denser than -ever; the din louder and more terrible. Martin, already -half-choked with the smoke, felt that his breath would -be squeezed out of him by the pressure around. But he -pushed and prodded, taking advantage of the least -gap that opened as the throng swayed, and by and by -he managed to force his way to a point where he should -be able to see the houses on Fish Street Hill and in -Pudding Lane opposite.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But where were the houses? He rubbed his smarting -eyes, and looked and looked again. There were no -houses any more. Where the great Star Inn had stood, -with its galleries and yards and outbuildings, there was -now nothing but a black smouldering heap. All down -the Hill, all down the Lane, it was the same black waste -and desolation: not a house remained standing. And -as he looked he saw flames burst from the belfry of St. -Magnus Church beyond, and a huge column of smoke -shoot up around its lofty tower.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The church is ablaze!” roared the crowd.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The parsonage too! Save us all!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Here and there among the throng were persons -wringing their hands and lamenting the loss of all their -possessions. Martin forced his way to one of them, -and asked eagerly:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have you seen Mr. Faryner?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My house is gone—my house is gone!” was all the -reply he received.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went from one to another, repeating his question; -no one knew the whereabouts of the baker. Martin felt -anxious; the house and shop were utterly destroyed, -their site was occupied only by heaps of charred -and smouldering debris. Had Mr. Faryner and his -family and journeyman escaped? It was clear that -the fire must have broken out in the middle of the -night. Had they been taken by surprise and perished -in the flames?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was at a loss what to do. His occupation was -gone; there was no bread for him to carry; he could -learn nothing of his employer, and he debated with -himself whether to stay and watch the progress of the -fire or to run home and tell the Gollops what he had -seen. Deciding for the second course, he turned his -back and tried to fight his way to Gracechurch Street. -But the crowd had enormously increased. There were -no policemen in those days to clear the streets, no -firemen to dash up with their engines and pour water -on the flames. In the churches were kept a few leather -buckets and metal squirts, but they were useless in so -great a conflagration.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>An eddy in the stream of people carried Martin -into Cannon Street, and he suddenly found himself -pressed against Mr. Faryner’s man. He was swept -past him, but managed to dodge back, and seized his -arm firmly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where is Mr. Faryner?” he cried.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Safe and sound, thank God, with his friend the -mercer in Cheapside,” the man answered. “But he’s -in a terrible state of mind, and no wonder, seeing as the -fire broke out in his shop.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“In our shop?” asked Martin, in amazement.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ay, about two o’clock this morning. I woke out -of my sleep feeling I was choking, and the place was -full of smoke. I roused the master. We couldn’t get -downstairs, so we had to climb through the garret -window and along a gutter-pipe to the roof next door. -How we did it, Heaven alone knows, and I wouldn’t -venture it again for a thousand pounds.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What caused the fire?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who knows? ’Tis my belief——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But at this moment there was a cry of “Make way -for the Lord Mayor!” People pushed this way and -that, and in the commotion Martin was torn from the -man’s side and swept along the street. It was hopeless -to attempt to reach him again, or to take a direct -course for home, and Martin allowed himself to drift -on the tide.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='105' id='Page_105'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIRST</h1></div> - -<h3>WHAT SUSAN FOUND</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>The circular movement of the crowd brought Martin in -time to a point where he was able to see how swiftly -the fire was spreading. The houses at the end of -London Bridge were ablaze. Between the bridge and -Fishmongers’ Hall was a warren of dilapidated -timber houses intersected by narrow alleys. Into those -passages the strong wind bore sparks and blazing fragments; -the dry wood easily caught fire, and it was evident -that the whole district would soon be a furnace.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And now the inhabitants, at first careless spectators, -were seized with panic fear, and in desperate haste -began to move their goods and furniture from the -doomed houses. From every door they sallied forth, -laden with every article they could carry. There was -a fierce demand for trucks and carts; some people -hastened downhill to the riverside, and besought the -aid of the watermen in conveying their goods out of -harm’s way.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>This suggested an idea to Martin. Mr. Faryner’s -boat lay at the stairs some distance below the bridge. -Why should he not use it to help the frantic people? He -ought to ask Mr. Faryner’s leave, but it would take -him hours to get through the crowd to the mercer’s -house in Cheapside; indeed, it would be difficult -enough, even by a roundabout route, to reach the stairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The arrival of the Lord Mayor on horseback, -attended by his javelin men, had fortunately thinned -the crowd at the corner of Eastcheap, and Martin, by -dodging and winding, succeeded in making his way -into one of the lanes running down to the river.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He would hardly have been surprised to find that -the boat had already been taken away; but it was in its -usual place, padlocked to the post. Springing in, he -rowed out upon the river, which was already crowded -with craft of all kinds: the wherries of the watermen, -who would reap a rich harvest to-day: the barges of -fine gentlemen come to view the spectacle.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin pulled over to the Surrey side, to avoid the -sparks and burning masses that were falling from the -houses at the northern end of the bridge, shot through -one of the arches, and rowed across to the other shore. -The fire was speeding westward like a devouring -monster. He observed the flames leaping from house to -house; the smoke, driven before the wind, already reaching -past Blackfriars; the blazing particles that were -whirled up and round, and fell hissing into the river.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The waterside was thronged with people clamouring -for watermen, even throwing their goods into the -water. When Martin pulled in to the nearest stairs he -had to keep an oar’s length distant to prevent his boat -from being overcrowded and swamped, and it was only -after some argument and even altercation that he was -able to take on board an old man and woman with all -their little wealth tied up in huge bundles.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Having rowed them to Westminster, where they had -a married daughter, and refused pay, he returned, and -again selected the older people from those who besought -his services. Time after time he went up and -down the river, finding it more and more difficult to -steer a course among the hundreds of craft, large and -small, that almost blocked the waterway. And on -shore the roar and crackle of the flames mingled with -the cries and lamentations of homeless people.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At last, tired and hot and hungry, Martin pulled his -empty boat down stream, fastened it to its post at -the stairs which, being behind the fire, were deserted, -and dragged himself wearily homeward. It was long -past his dinner-time, but Susan Gollop had kept -food waiting for him and for her husband, who had -not yet returned.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s come of the man?” she said, when Martin -entered the room. “Stopping to see the fire they’re -talking about, I suppose. And you’re as black as a -sweep. What have you been doing?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Helping to save people’s goods,” Martin replied. -“It’s a frightful fire, Susan; hundreds of houses burnt -already, and there’s no stopping it while the wind’s so -strong. Mr. Faryner’s house is burnt down.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Gracious me! What’ll you do for your living now? -Where did this dratted fire start?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“At our shop.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, to be sure! Some careless wretch didn’t rake -out the embers, I warrant.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Shall we be burnt, Martin?” asked Lucy, timorously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Of course not, child,” Susan interposed. “It’s far -enough off, and the wind blows it away from us, thank -goodness. I don’t know what the world’s coming to, -what with fires, and men who won’t come in to their -vittles, and dark doings under the stairs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What do you mean?” Martin asked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, look at this: what do you make of that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>She held up a large brass button, to which were -attached a few threads.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well?” said Martin, wondering.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It’s not well: it’s a mystery. That’s a button -from a man’s coat, and I found it in the cupboard -under the stairs. I went in with a candle to take down -the bed that Indian boy slept in, and tidy up, and -there was the button a-shining on the floor.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What of that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, that boy had no buttons: his clothes was all -rags and strings.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It may have been there before.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That I’m sure it wasn’t, for I swept out the place -myself for the boy. I ask you, how did that button -come in my cupboard?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can’t tell, and it doesn’t matter much. By the -look of it it’s been torn off. I’ll just eat my dinner and -then go off and see if I can find Gollop.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But Martin did not find Gollop, nor indeed did he -look very earnestly for him, so much interested was he -in watching the fire. Soldiers, horse and foot, had -been sent from Westminster to keep order in the streets. -At the King’s command houses were being pulled down -to stay the course of the flames. The streets were -clogged with carts and barrows laden with the goods of -fugitives. And the crowds were now declaring that the -fire was the work of foreigners, and clamouring for -vengeance.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It was late in the evening when Martin, tired out, -once more reached home. Meeting the old Frenchman -on the doorstep, he mentioned the excitement about -foreigners, and suggested that his friend should avoid -the crowds. Mounseer smiled and thanked him, but -showed no signs of concern.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They stood on the doorstep watching the glow in the -sky. It was a dark night, but every now and then a -burst of flame in the distance lit up the street. Presently -Mr. Seymour came along from the direction of -the river. As he reached the foot of the steps a sudden -brief illumination fell upon him. And in that moment -Martin noticed that the top button of Mr. Seymour’s -coat was missing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Seymour halted, and, dangling his tasselled cane, -said with a pleasant smile: “A magnificent spectacle, -is it not? And we need not pay for seats.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“As you say, sir,” replied the Frenchman coldly, -turning to enter the house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was trying to see clearly the kind of buttons -on Mr. Seymour’s coat, but that gentleman had faced -about, so that his back was towards the fire, and the -glow in the sky had dulled a little. In order to detain -him, Martin asked:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are we quite safe here, sir?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Frenchman heard the question, and turned at -the door, as if waiting with some anxiety for the answer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s not a doubt of it,” said Mr. Seymour. “We -are a good distance behind the fire, and the east wind -is driving it from us along the waterside.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had paid little attention to Mr. Seymour’s -answer, so eager was he to satisfy himself as to the -nature of the buttons. Mounseer, apparently reassured, -had disappeared. Wheeling round to follow him into -the house, Mr. Seymour came for a moment within the -illumination from the red sky, and Martin almost jumped -as he noticed that the buttons appeared to be made of -the same metal as the one that Susan Gollop had found. -They seemed also to be the same size, but of that he -was not quite so sure.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went into the house behind Mr. Seymour, -watched him ascend to the upper floor, then ran down -the basement stairs. Mrs. Gollop had prepared supper, -and there was a look of disappointment on her face -when she saw Martin enter alone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Have you seen Gollop?” she asked anxiously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m sorry, I haven’t,” Martin replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What has become of the man? I’m beginning to -worrit. He’s such a regular man for his meals. He’s -never missed his Sunday dinner since he came home -from sea.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Isn’t that his step?” said Martin, running to the -door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Heavy, dragging footsteps were heard on the stairs. -Lucy jumped up and joined her brother: Mrs. Gollop -stood in her place, and with a quick lift of her apron -wiped the corners of her eyes.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='110' id='Page_110'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SECOND</h1></div> - -<h3>THE EMPTY ROOM</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>The constable tumbled rather than walked into the -room. His hands and clothes were begrimed and -black; his hat was crushed and shapeless; his fat, rosy -cheeks were streaked with irregular patterns where his -fingers had rubbed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Susan Gollop stood with arms akimbo, grimly -eyeing the returned wanderer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, if you’re not a pretty object!” she said -severely; but her lips were trembling a little. “There! -Fetch a basin of water, Lucy, and the pummy stone, -and there’s a dirty towel on the rack.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Dick Gollop plumped heavily into a chair.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m dead beat, missus,” he murmured. “Give us a -drink.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin handed him a mug, and he took a deep -draught.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What a Sunday!” he exclaimed. “Fire and -brimstone! The everlasting fire! And the Lord -Mayor’s just as silly as any common man. My throat’s -as dry as a bone. Another drink, lad.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t you talk lightly of the Lord Mayor, my -man,” said his wife reproachfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Pish! He’s scared out of his wits, no good at all. -The King’s the man for my money. ’Twas he sent -orders to pull down houses so’s the fire wouldn’t have -nothing to feed on; but bless me! the Lord Mayor goes -up and down wringing his hands and crying, ‘What -can I do?’ But I’m dead beat, I say: all day and all -night at it; I’ll drop asleep where I sit.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Pardon,” said the Frenchman’s voice in the doorway. -“You are of return. Tell me, I pray, the house: -is it safe?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t worrit about the house, Mounseer,” said -Gollop. “There’s more call to worrit about yourself. -Keep below deck, that’s my advice to you. The -people are raging about all foreigners, specially French -and Dutch, and if they catch you in the street, ten to one -they’ll do you a mischief. I saw a Frenchman nearly -torn limb from limb by a parcel of women because he -was carrying fire-balls, they said. Turned out to be -tennis-balls; that’s their ignorance. Don’t go out, -Mounseer: what you can’t help, make the best of.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Frenchman smiled and thanked him, and returned -to his own apartment.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re sure we’re safe, Gollop?” said Susan. “We -can go to sleep in our beds?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sure I’m going to sleep in mine,” answered Gollop. -“One more drink, then——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If you’re so sure, why’s that Mr. Seymour so frightened, -then? He’s been going in and out all day; men -have been traipsing up and down, carrying out boxes -and parcels and things. <span class='it'>He’s</span> not so sure, seemingly.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The mention of Mr. Seymour reminded Martin of the -button.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I say, Susan,” he said, “where’s that button you -found in the cupboard?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bless the boy! What’s buttons to do with it? It’s -on the mantelshelf, if you must know.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin reached it down, examined it, and in a -moment exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is Mr. Seymour’s. His top button is missing. -I saw him as he came in.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well!” said Susan.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Gundra must have torn it off. It was Mr. Seymour -spirited him away.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did you ever! You hear that, Gollop?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Eh? What?” said Gollop, who was beginning to -doze in his chair.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That Indian boy was carried off in the night, and -’twas Mr. Seymour done it. Poor little wretch! That’s -kidnapping. You can’t go to sleep yet: what’s your -precious law say to that?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The law says,” muttered Gollop drowsily, “what -you can’t help, make——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Listen to me,” said his wife, shaking him. “You’ll -just go upstairs at once with this button and show it to -that Seymour, and ask him what he means by——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Avast there, woman!” cried the constable, heaving -himself out of his chair. “I’ll sheer off to my bed and -nowhere else, not for all the laws in the kingdom. Talk -of buttons and nigger boys when all the world is afire! -I’m dead-beat, I say, and I’ll turn in this minute.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He lurched away into the bedroom and shut the -door with a bang.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Susan looked at the door as if in a mind to follow her -husband and drag him back. Then her face softened.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Poor dear!” she said. “He’s that tired I never did -see, and when a man’s tired let him be, that’s what I -say. But that there Seymour!” Her lips shut tight. -“Gollop can’t go, so I’ll go myself.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He won’t tell you anything,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. But I’ll not rest -till I know what he’s done with that poor shrimp of a -blackamoor. And if he won’t tell, leastways I’ll show -him the button, and ask whether he owns it, and I -warrant I’ll tell by the look on his face whether he’s a -villain or not.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll go with you—light you upstairs,” said Martin, -taking a candle from the table.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Go to bed, Lucy,” said Susan. “You are over-late -already.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want to know about the Indian boy,” said Lucy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now, don’t make me cross. Go to bed at once; -you shall hear all about it in the morning.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Smoothing her apron and setting her cap straight, -Mrs. Gollop marched out of the room, Martin following -with the candle.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>I’ll</span> talk to him!” said the angry woman, as she -began to climb the stairs. “<span class='it'>I’ll</span> teach him to come -stealing down in the dead of night and poking his nose -into the rooms of honest people! <span class='it'>I’ll</span> give him a piece -of my mind, and his ears will be all of a tingle before -he’s done with Susan Gollop!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin noticed with amusement that the higher -she got the lower fell the tone of her voice, until by the -time she reached Mr. Seymour’s door and knocked, -and asked, “Can I speak to you, sir?” her voice was as -mild as the cooing of a dove.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no answer. She knocked again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Seymour, sir!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was still no answer. She waited a moment or -two, then summoned up her resolution and turned the -handle. To her surprise the door opened. The room -was dark.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Show me a light,” she whispered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin, with the candle, stepped in front of her. A -glance showed that the room was empty, except of the -furniture and a quantity of litter on the floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, I declare!” Susan cried, in loud indignation. -“He’s gone, and took all his belongings. There’s a -coward for you!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Among the litter there were a few pieces of paper, -suggesting that Mr. Seymour had torn up old letters -before he left. Martin, all his suspicions revived, had -the curiosity to collect these scraps.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We can do nothing more,” he said. “I’d like to -look at these bits of paper carefully downstairs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They’re just love-letters or other rubbidge,” -scoffed Mrs. Gollop, “and I’ve come up all these stairs -for nothing at all!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But half an hour later Martin, poring over the papers -spread before him on the table by the light of two -candles, was inclined to think that the journey had not -been in vain. He had put together a number of scraps -that appeared to be all in the same handwriting, and by -shifting their positions until the torn edges fitted -together he had composed a sentence or two that -clearly formed part of a letter. What he read was as -follows:</p> - -<p class='pindent'><span class='it'>. . . . Maria sails on Tuesday. All cargo must be -stowed by Monday. Tell W. S. that I do not communicate -with him direct, for reasons which . . .</span></p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no more. Martin was at no loss to understand -that the vessel sailing on Tuesday was the <span class='it'>Santa -Maria</span>; nor was it long before he came to another -conclusion. W. S. were the initials of his old employer, -William Slocum.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='115' id='Page_115'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-THIRD</h1></div> - -<h3>’PRENTICES TO THE RESCUE</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Dick Gollop and Martin both rose very late next -morning. They left the house together, but soon parted, -the former to return to his duty, the latter to resume -his self-imposed office of helping people in need.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Fire was still raging unchecked, and was -spreading from the riverside streets towards the heart of -the city. Many people who had indulged a careless belief -in the safety of their dwellings had now flown to the -opposite extreme of panic and despair, and the supply -of carts, barrows, and wherries was hopelessly unequal -to the demands of those anxious to save their goods. -The streets in every direction were blocked by frantic -fugitives, and the fields north of the city were already -dotted with the encampments of homeless people.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When Martin reached the stairs where he had left -his boat he found that it had disappeared. It was -hopeless to look for it among the hundreds that were -plying on the river, and Martin, feeling himself -deprived of his occupation, made his way westwards, -first with the idea of inquiring after Mr. Faryner, and -then of getting a view of the progress of the Fire.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As he was jostling his way among the crowds who -were moving up Cheapside, he was thrown against -the old Frenchman, struggling along in the opposite -direction. It flashed into his mind that Mounseer -might have been paying another visit to Mr. Slocum, -and his former feeling of puzzlement returned with -redoubled force.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah, my friend, what do you here?” asked the old man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My boat has been taken,” replied Martin, looking -around rather anxiously; for the Frenchman’s words -must have been heard by the persons near him, and his -accent, coupled with the cut of his clothes and his -general appearance, would certainly betray him as a -foreigner.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So you have nothing to do,” the Frenchman -continued. “Same as me; your little sister go not to the -school to-day, therefore am I unoccupied. I enjoy the -holiday,” he added, with a smile. “We shall enjoy it -together, eh?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Hadn’t you better go home, sir?” said Martin, -remembering what Gollop had said overnight about -the mob’s treatment of foreigners.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not at all, not at all. This great sight interest me -very much. You shall take me to a place where the -spectacle is most beautiful.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin noticed one or two people scowling, and wished -that Mounseer would hold his tongue. Determined to -draw him away from the main stream of traffic he -turned into an alley-way, intending to go by back -streets as far as St. Paul’s, where, perhaps, the sacristan -might allow them to ascend the tower.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Their course led them past the back entrance to Mr. -Greatorex’s premises. Just before they reached it a -man came out and walked towards Cheapside. Martin -and the Frenchman recognised him at the same -moment; he was the man whose scarred face they had -seen at the window—the man who had knocked Martin -down in Whitefriars.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What next?” thought Martin. This was a new -shock of surprise. Was this man also among Mr. Slocum’s -acquaintances? The idea would never have occurred -to Martin but for his thorough distrust of Mr. Slocum, -and a strange suspicion was dawning on his mind when -his attention was diverted by a sudden movement of -the Frenchman, who hurried after the man, seized his -arm, and began to speak excitedly in French.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man stared, swore, caught sight of Martin, then -suddenly shouted:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Frenchy! Ho, boys, here’s one of the foreign spies -what sets us afire. Down with all Frenchies!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They were near the end of the lane, and the man’s -words were heard and taken up by the crowd in -Cheapside. A number of roughs surged towards them, -and the accuser, finding himself supported, turned on -the Frenchman, dealt him a violent blow, and started -to tear his coat off.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Away, you coward!” cried Martin, rushing forward -to help the old gentleman; but a burly ruffian -caught him in his arms and hurled him back.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this moment there was a cry from behind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, it’s Martin Leake! Clubs! Clubs! ’Prentices -to the rescue!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A tall figure dashed past Martin, who was staggering -under the big man’s assault, and with doubled fists -attacked the aggressor with a whirling ferocity that -drove him back reeling. In the lad who had come to -his help Martin recognised his fellow-'prentice and -opponent, George Hopton.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Next moment from several doors in the neighbourhood -darted one or more flat-capped ’prentices brandishing -the clubs from which they took their rallying -cry.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For centuries the London ’prentices had been -renowned for their prowess in faction fights among -themselves and against the rougher elements of the -population. The street now rang with the cry “Clubs! -Clubs!” and those formidable weapons were soon -thudding on the heads and shoulders of the rabble.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Frenchman had fallen to the ground, but rose -when his assailant turned to defend himself against the -’prentices, and leant, bruised and shaken, against the -wall. The success of the ’prentices’ attack was due to -its suddenness rather than its strength. There were -only about six of them altogether, and the man with -the scar, seeing that no more were joining them, again -raised his cry of “Down with all Frenchies!” and called -on all true Englishmen to support him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>By this time the crowd had increased, and several -truculent fellows broke from it and rushed towards the -fight. They were heavier metal than the ’prentice -lads; soon they outnumbered them; the little band -was forced back step by step, some of them losing their -clubs to the enemy. The combat swept past the old -Frenchman, carrying Martin with it, and in a few -moments the ’prentices would have suffered a disastrous -rout had not a loud shout in a tone of authority -imposed a sudden peace.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>All eyes were turned upon the speaker, an elderly -gentleman wearing a well-curled periwig, and a coat of -purple cloth, and carrying a gold-headed cane which he -brandished at the crowd. Martin recognised him as the -important customer of Mr. Slocum’s who had been -hustled in the course of his fight with George Hopton.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Back, rascals!” cried the gentleman. “Are you -fools enough to believe these absurd tales of foreign -incendiaries? I tell you there’s no ground for them. -Foreigners in our midst should be treated as guests. -Your conduct is a disgrace to Englishmen and citizens -of London. Away with you, and find something useful -to do.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Hurrah for Mr. Pemberton!” cried the ’prentices.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The combatants shamefacedly drew back and -mingled with the more peaceable spectators. Martin -hurried to the old Frenchman’s side.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What! You again!” said Mr. Pemberton, recognising -him. “Are you always fighting?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I owe my life to him and the others,” began -Mounseer.</p> - -<div class='figcenter'> -<img src='images/img-119.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0005' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/> -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>“You had better go home, sir,” was the reply, “and -remain within doors while men’s minds are affected by -this great calamity. As for you lads, I hope, though I -don’t expect, that you will always use your clubs in as -good a cause.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He moved away, followed by another cheer from the -’prentices, and Martin started to accompany the -Frenchman home, supporting him on his arm. George -Hopton and one or two other ’prentices set off to see -them a little distance on their way.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a few moments they became aware that the man -with the scar was skulking after them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Whoop!” cried Hopton. “Clubs! Clubs!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>With his fellow ’prentices he turned and chased the -man, who did not wait their onslaught, but dived into -a narrow entry and disappeared. And all the way -home Martin was wondering what the baffled ruffian -had to do with Mr. Slocum.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='121' id='Page_121'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FOURTH</h1></div> - -<h3>MR. SLOCUM MOVES AT LAST</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Anxious to avoid any repetition of the attack on -Mounseer, Martin conducted the old gentleman across -Cheapside into Wood Street, intending to go home by -way of Aldermanbury and Cripplegate, though it -involved a long round. George Hopton accompanied -them for some little distance, then he stopped.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I say, I must go back,” he said, “or Slocum will be -in a rage. I don’t know what’s come to him. He seems -to have lost his wits. Most of the other goldsmiths have -removed their valuables to the Tower, and Slocum has -been urged to do the same. But he refuses. ‘Time -enough, time enough,’ he says, ‘the Fire is by the -river; it may not reach as far as Cheapside.’ ”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think he’s wrong,” said Martin. “What’s to -stop it?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s what everybody says. But his answer is -that the goods are safer in the vaults than they’d be if -he moved them; there are thieves about. That’s true -enough; I’ve heard of several shops having been -robbed. But though Slocum talks like that he has been -packing the stock. At least, I suppose he has; he -hasn’t asked for any help from me. He was in the -strong-room nearly all day yesterday, alone, and we -heard hammering time after time.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s not so stupid after all,” Martin rejoined. -“I suppose he talks to keep up other people’s courage, -though he’s making preparations to go. But he’ll be -lucky if he gets a cart. There are so many doing the -same thing that there aren’t enough carts to go round.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, I must go,” said Hopton, adding in a -whisper: “Keep the old man indoors. I mayn’t be at -hand next time.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Thanks for your help,” said Martin, with a smile: -Hopton certainly did not suffer from an excess of -modesty.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mounseer himself seemed to have realised at last that -his friends had given him good advice. He walked -quickly, begged Martin to keep close to him, and -declared that he would not stir from the house again -until the Fire had ceased and the excitement died down.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When they reached home they found Dick Gollop -snatching a meal. He told Martin that the services of -the constables were not so necessary in the streets now -that the troops had arrived to keep order.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But it’s a terrible calamity,” he said, “and I’m -afeard we’re not near the end yet. The flames are -spreading: they’ve got across Cannon Street, and I -was pretty near stifled as I came through Bucklersbury -by the stench from the druggists’ shops. I passed -the back of your old place, Martin. Does Mr. Seymour -know Slocum?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why?” asked Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Because I saw him coming out of the door. There -was a sneaking way about him. ‘Hallo!’ thinks I, -‘has my fine gentleman been to pawn something?’ -Then I thought maybe he knew Slocum, though you’ve -never said you saw him at the shop.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin thought it was time to acquaint the constable -with what he knew of the relations between Slocum -and Seymour and the captain of the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>. -He spoke of Blackbeard’s visits by night, and the brass-bound -boxes, and the meeting in Mr. Pasqua’s coffee-house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You ought to have told me all that before,” said -Gollop reproachfully when the story was concluded. -“Me being a man of law, ’twould have been proper I -should know of them queer goings on.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I did try, but you shut me up,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So I did. I was wrong. I own it; dash my sleepy -head! Never you sleep your brains away, my lad. -Them brass boxes, now. There’s no telling what -mischief’s in them boxes. Still, what you can’t help, -make the best of, and I say no more for the present. -When the Fire’s over maybe I’ll look into things a bit: -I’ve no time for it now—indeed, I must get back to my -duty.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He went out hurriedly, before Martin had related -what had happened to the old Frenchman. Susan and -Lucy, when that story was told, were both indignant -at the crowd’s treatment of their friend, and nothing -would satisfy the girl but that she must take him a -bowl of syllabub to comfort him, as she said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was too restless to remain indoors. The -fascination of the Fire drew him again into the streets, -which were now still more congested, the stream of -fugitives hurrying to the fields meeting a stream of -countrymen whom the prospect of making money by -hiring out their carts had drawn to the City. The roar -of the flames, the crash of falling houses, the cries and -oaths of the people struggling to save their goods, the -smells from burning oil and spices, the blazing flakes -fantastically whirling in the wind, made up a series of -vivid impressions that remained in Martin’s memory -for many a day.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Towards evening he found himself again in the -neighbourhood of Mr. Slocum’s house. He had not -gone there of set purpose, but had been drawn there -unconsciously, perhaps, by a vague recollection of -Dick Gollop’s remarks.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Going down the lane towards the back entrance, he -was brought to a halt by the sight of a large hand-truck -at the door. The three ’prentices, in their shirt sleeves, -were loading it with boxes under the direction of Mr. -Slocum.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s scared at last,” thought Martin. “But what a -strange time to choose for going away.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He remained in a shady corner, watching. It was -certainly high time that the goldsmith’s valuables -were removed, for the Fire had reached the foot of the -streets leading up to Cheapside.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The loading was finished a few minutes after Martin’s -arrival, and the ’prentices put on their coats.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Am I not to come, sir?” Martin heard Hopton say.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No; you are to stay and guard the shop. Jenks and -Butler can wheel the truck. Too many of us would -attract attention, and the dusk will bring out the -thieves.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He threw a sheet over the truck, tying it down at the -corners. So far as appearance went, the load might -have consisted only of household goods like those -which hundreds of citizens had been moving all the day.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The two younger ’prentices seized the handles of the -truck and wheeled it up the lane. Martin, shrinking -back in his corner, noticed that Mr. Slocum, walking -close behind, had a pistol projecting from his pocket.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When they had turned into Cheapside, Martin went -up to Hopton as he was going back to the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Hallo!” said Hopton. “Is the Frenchman in -trouble again?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No; he won’t stir out again,” replied Martin. “So -Slocum has moved at last.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The lunatic! Why didn’t he go earlier? He’ll have -to make a long round to get to the Tower, and it will be -nearly dark before he arrives: just the time for footpads -to attack him. There’s nobody left in the house, -or I’d follow and see that he gets there safely.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll go,” said Martin, once more amused at Hopton’s -idea of his own importance.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Hopton gave a snort. “What could you do if they -were attacked?” he asked. “You’ve no weapons.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But I could shout.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Go, then. It’s no concern of yours, but you might -raise a hullabaloo if anything happens. I suppose I -must kick my heels here until Slocum releases me, -though I promise you I won’t stay if the flames come -anywhere near.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin set off, but during the minute or two he had -been talking with Hopton the barrow had passed out of -sight among the thronging people. Knowing that it -must take a northerly direction in order to skirt the -Fire, he crossed Cheapside and dodged his way into -Milk Street, the nearest of the streets branching out -of the main thoroughfare. There was no sign of the -barrow, yet it could not have got far, owing to the -crowd.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He struck into a by-lane and came to Wood Street. -The crowd here was not so thick, and he was able to -move more quickly. At the corner of Silver Street he -stopped and looked round on all sides. The evening -gloom was already descending, though the glow in the -sky lit up the over-arching houses.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I shall never find them now,” he thought. But just -at that moment the grinding of wheels on the cobbles -drew his attention. He glanced round and saw the -barrow coming along from the direction of the Guildhall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“They tried that way and couldn’t get through, I -suppose,” he said to himself, and slipped into the -entrance of a yard until the barrow had passed. “Now -to keep them in sight.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='126' id='Page_126'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-FIFTH</h1></div> - -<h3>MARTIN FOLLOWS</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin could hardly have explained why he felt so -keenly interested in the progress of the barrow. -Mr. Slocum was only doing what most of the goldsmiths -had already done, and it was certainly his duty -to save the property of his master, Mr. Greatorex. But -recent incidents had inspired Martin with so deep a -distrust of Mr. Slocum that he was determined not to -lose sight of him until the barrow had safely entered -the portals of the Tower.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He kept far enough behind not to be observed, yet -close enough to run no risk of missing the party again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m glad I’m not shoving the barrow,” he thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The air that summer evening was hot, and its -oppressiveness was enhanced by the pervasive smell of -burning. Martin followed the toiling ’prentices into -Aldersgate Street and turned after them into London -Wall, expecting them to swing to the right at Bishopsgate, -and so finish their long round to the Tower.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>To his surprise, they took the eastward direction, -and struck into a winding lane that would bring them, -certainly, to the river, but at a point far away from -their supposed destination. Martin was conscious of a -growing curiosity, even of excitement. The lane was -narrow, and as the dusk was deepening he lessened the -distance between him and the barrow. But a little -farther on, where the lane made a sharp curve, he hung -back for a moment to give the party time to get well -round the corner.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As he did so a man came suddenly round on the -inside of the curve, brushed past him, and continued -his course up the lane towards the main street. Martin -glanced round; the man was fast disappearing into the -dusk, but there was something in his shape and gait -that reminded Martin vaguely of someone he had -seen, he could not remember when or where. The -impression passed in a moment, and he hurried on, -anxious not to lose sight of his quarry.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Turning the corner, he found himself between -parallel lines of tall warehouses, some flush with the -lane, others standing back behind small yards in which -goods were no doubt unloaded. He had not taken -many steps when he heard shrill cries ahead, and broke -into a run, wondering why thieves had been attracted -to so quiet a spot, remote from the crowds.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Some thirty yards ahead the lane made another -sharp twist. When Martin reached the bend he was -just in time to see, dimly in the fading light, one of the -’prentices being shoved by a man through the gateway -of a warehouse yard. The barrow, Mr. Slocum, -and the other ’prentice were already out of sight.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin recognised the voice of the lad who was being -roughly used as that of Butler, and he dashed on at his -topmost speed, shouting as he ran. For a moment he -had no other thought than to save the lad who had -been his fellow-'prentice from the hands of his assailant. -But before he gained the scene the wooden gate -was banged to; he heard the grating of a bolt and -Butler’s protesting cries as he was lugged across the yard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He looked up. The gate and the wall on either side -of it were at least ten feet high; their tops were -studded with nails or jagged glass; even if he found a -foothold it would be impossible to scale them. He -banged at the door, still shouting; but there was no response. -Work in the warehouse was over for the day, and -no doubt any workmen or loungers who might ordinarily -have been about were far away, watching the Fire. The -cries of Butler had ceased; within the yard all was silent.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Feeling that to knock or shout any longer here would -merely be wasting time, Martin wondered whether he -could find admittance at the back of the warehouse. -He ran on a few yards and came upon a narrow passage -striking off at right angles to the lane. At a venture he -turned into this, and found himself within a few moments -in a lane that evidently ran parallel with the one he had -left.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had only just rounded the corner when he heard -the rattling of cart wheels on the cobbles at the river-end -of the lane, and caught sight of a few strange -figures dimly outlined against the background of sky.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Stop thief!” he shouted, dashing down the lane.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For some minutes he had been so confused that he -only now guessed that Mr. Slocum’s barrow had -entered by the gateway through which Butler had -been forced; otherwise it could scarcely have disappeared -so suddenly. As he ran, calling for help, he -noticed that a large gateway, with a wicket beside it, -stood wide open on his left. He rushed up to the first -man he overtook.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There is villainy going on,” he said. “Help me!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m helping myself,” the man growled; and the -strangeness of his figure was accounted for by the huge -bundle he carried on his back. He was one of the -fugitives who were conveying their possessions to the -river in the hope of finding a boat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin ran on, and in the fast-gathering darkness -cannoned into another man laden almost as heavily.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mind your steps!” shouted the man; and with his -free hand he dealt Martin a blow that sent him staggering -against the wall. Recovering himself he dashed -on, his cries to one and another going unheeded. -People were too much concerned with their own troubles -to regard the vague demands of a lad.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then suddenly he found himself on the edge of a -little quay stretching into the river. There was a -reddish glow reflected from the water, and by this light -he recognised, at the farther end of the quay, the handcart -he had lost sight of. It was standing deserted. A -boat was putting off, piled with boxes. The glow of -the fire glinted on their brass-bound corners and on -the swarthy face of Blackbeard, who held the tiller -strings while two other men rowed steadily down -stream.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Beyond the quay there were two or three other boats -into which fugitive citizens were dumping their goods.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Row after that boat!” Martin cried to the watermen. -“It contains stolen goods.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not the only one,” chuckled one of the men.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Things of great value,” Martin persisted, looking -round in vain to find a waterman whom he knew. -“The owner will reward you richly.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Out of my way,” cried the man with whom Martin -had collided. “What’s your fare, waterman?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Five shillings a mile,” the man replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re a shark, making your profit out of other -folk’s calamities. But I suppose I must pay you, -though ’tis five times the proper price. Take this -bundle.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Seeing that the watermen were too intent on present -gain to trouble about a visionary reward, Martin -turned away. And then he asked himself, what had -become of Slocum and the other ’prentice? They were -certainly not with Blackbeard in the boat. Was it -possible that they too had been carried prisoners into -the warehouse?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He retraced his steps and came to the large gateway -which he had guessed to be the main entrance to the -warehouse. It was now closed, as was also the wicket -at the side. He was trying the latch when a man came -up behind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Want to get in, eh? Well, so you shall.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin turned hastily, and recognised with alarm -the sinister face of the man with the scar.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Before he could recover his wits he was seized in an -iron grip. His captor inserted a key in the lock of the -wicket gate, turned it, and snarling: “Oh, you shall -get in, you shall,” pushed Martin before him into the -yard.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='131' id='Page_131'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SIXTH</h1></div> - -<h3>PRISONERS</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Just inside the gate, on the right, was a small brick -cabin, where during working hours the gatekeeper -attended for the purpose of checking merchandise that -entered or left the yard. It was now closed; its window -was shuttered; but a streak of light shone between the -door and the lintel.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Grasping Martin firmly with one hand, with the other -the man unlocked the door, and pushed his prisoner in. -An oil lamp stood on a table, and on a chair near it sat -Mr. Slocum. He started up on seeing Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Heavens above! Have they caught you too?” he -exclaimed, with an air of genuine surprise.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin glanced from him to his captor, and caught a -fleeting grin on that man’s face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But how came you in this unhappy plight?” -Slocum went on, speaking very rapidly. “Why should -the wretches attack you? In my own case the explanation -is simple. I set out to save Mr. Greatorex’s -property from this disastrous Fire, with Jenks and -Butler; you remember them? We were suddenly -rushed upon by half a dozen footpads, hustled into the -yard, and while I was shut up here the ’prentice lads -were taken—who knows where?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not far,” said the man, grinning again. “Not -so very far. You can see ’em out in the yard there.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pointed through the open doorway. Shading his -eyes against the light, Martin saw dimly two figures -with their backs to the wall, and a big fellow apparently -standing guard over them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You can cheer each other up,” said the man, going -out and locking the door behind him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A monstrous outrage!” said Slocum. “But what -have the villains against you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’d like to know that myself,” said Martin, cautiously.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You were passing up from the waterside, no -doubt?” said Slocum.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No; I was going the other way.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Strange coincidence! You saw the ruffians attack -me?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, I did not.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin’s answers were short. He guessed that the -object of Slocum’s questions were to ascertain how -much he knew, and though he had been almost taken -in by Slocum’s manner, he now suspected that his surprise -had been feigned, and that he was playing a part.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, it is a gross attack on our personal liberty,” -Slocum continued; “and I won’t stand it!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He rose with an air of grim determination, and -hammered sharply on the door. The man with the -scar entered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Enough of this foolery!” said Slocum, elbowing -the man from the doorway. “Let me out, fellow. I -warn you that you are incurring punishment of the -highest severity in holding two citizens in durance!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Take it easy; none of your shoving,” said the man. -“You can’t go out without I get orders.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Orders! From whom do you get your orders?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s my look-out.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You are insolent, fellow! Don’t dare to use that -tone to me! I will not put up with insolence from a -ruffian and a gaol-bird!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who are you a-calling a gaol-bird?” said the man, -scowling fiercely.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had already suspected that the men were -play-acting. It now seemed that the captor had -forgotten his part, and was taking Slocum’s expressions -seriously. Slocum realised that he had gone too far -with a person of limited intelligence, and hastened to -reassure him by pantomimic signs which, slight as they -were, did not pass unobserved by Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I demand to be taken outside,” Slocum went on. -“I want air. What with the hot evening and the -stinking lamp this place is suffocating.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, I’ve no orders to stifle you,” said the man. -Thereupon, he took Slocum by the sleeve and marched -him out into the yard. Martin was following, but the -man turned at the door, thrust him back, and locked -him in. “Your turn presently,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin sat down on the chair. He was convinced -that Slocum and the man were acting in collusion, and -supposed that their object was to retain him for an -hour or two until the boat conveying Mr. Greatorex’s -valuables had got away. Remembering that the <span class='it'>Santa -Maria</span> was to sail next day, he felt sure that those -valuables would form part of her freight, the fruits of a -conspiracy in which Slocum, Blackbeard, and Seymour -were concerned.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Waiting in the hot, stuffy room soon became tedious -and uncomfortable. Martin got up and tried the -door and the window; both were securely fastened -against him. Presently he heard voices outside, the -creaking of the gate, and the rattle of wheels on the -cobbles of the yard. A minute or two later the key was -turned in the lock, the door was thrown open, and three -men, one of them the man with the scar, who was now -carrying a lantern, stamped into the room. They stood -for a moment looking at Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why not leave him here?” said one of them. -“ ’Twill save trouble.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Won’t do,” said the man with the scar. “There’ll -be folk about in the morning; he’ll be found, and then—you -see he knows too much.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, then, why not shut his mouth? The river’s -handy. With a stone round his neck——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Stow your gab, Bill,” interrupted the other irritably. -“We can’t drown ’em all. Besides, orders is -orders, so you’d better set about it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had risen at their entrance, and stood facing -them, his heart beating rather quickly and his cheeks -flushing as he listened to this frank discussion of his -fate. He was not prepared for what happened. The -man who had wished to save trouble made a sudden -pounce, flung his arm round Martin’s neck, and deftly -slipped a gag into his mouth. He was then tripped up, -and as he lay on the floor his hands were roped together, -and he was shoved into a sack that covered him -completely.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Thus bundled up, he was carried into the yard and -dumped into the handcart, which had been brought -empty from the quay. The cart jolted over the -cobbles; he heard the gate slammed behind him, and -wondered to what destination the men had orders to -convey him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The jolting did not last long. In a minute or two the -legs of the handcart were let down with a bump, and -Martin was hoisted out. His head being covered, he -could not see where he had been brought, but he felt -himself being carried downstairs, then flung down upon -boards that rocked under his weight. He was in a -boat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He judged by their voices that two of the three men -got into the boat after him. It moved away, and -through the sack he heard the men talking of matters -he knew nothing about. After a journey that seemed -much longer than it was the boat stopped; he felt its -side grate against stone. He was lifted out and carried -up a few steps, then for some yards on the level.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Once more he was set down. There was a knock -upon a door; after an interval of waiting the bolts were -drawn; some words were exchanged between his -bearers and the man who had opened; then he was -carried along, up a flight of stairs, and finally dropped -roughly to the floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Cut the sack open,” said one of the men. “Better -give him some air and take the gag out,” he added. -“He won’t do no harm now.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The string was cut, and the sack pulled down to his -shoulders.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Best tie him up,” said one.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He can’t get away.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Never mind that; let’s make it sure.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A rope was tied round the middle of the sack, and -knotted to a staple in the wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now all’s snug,” said a man. “We’ve lost enough -time over him; let’s get back to the City; we ought to -be able to prig a thing or two out of those fine shops in -Cheapside.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='136' id='Page_136'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-SEVENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>MARTIN FINDS A WAY</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>By the light of the lantern carried by the man with the -scar Martin had made a hasty survey of his prison. It -was a large, empty room, apparently part of a disused -warehouse. When the men went away they took the -lantern with them, leaving the place in complete -darkness.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was at once aware of sounds of movement on -the floor above—sounds of heavy cases or bales being -dragged over the boards. At intervals also he heard -a creaking that suggested the lowering of goods over a -rusty pulley.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where am I?” he thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The sounds lulled, and his ears caught a slight -rustle in the room itself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Rats!” he said to himself. “I hope they won’t -attack me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>During the next pause in the louder sounds he heard -another rustle somewhat more prolonged, a faint -clanking, and he had the strange feeling that some -human being besides himself was in the room. Startled, -he called out quickly: “Who’s there?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>From some distant corner came a thin, piping voice:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Me, Gundra.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Gundra!” He felt surprise and relief; the Indian -boy was at least a friend. “Come and untie me.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Me no can,” was the reply.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why not?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Me tied, too.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“To thing in the wall. No can move it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Your hands tied?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No; a band round me, tight.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin guessed that the boy, like himself, was -fastened to a staple, which was out of his reach. It -was clear that neither could get to the other.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But Martin was not ready to admit that the situation -was hopeless. His hands, it is true, were tied, so -that he could not loose the knot at the staple, and he -knew that if he strained on the rope he would only -tighten the knot. It might be possible to jerk the staple -from the wall. He made several attempts, but finding -that there was no sound of tearing wood, no yielding of -the metal, he bent his mind to considering another way.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was only a few feet of rope between him and -the staple. By a series of convulsive jerks he managed -to wriggle over the floor until he lay at the foot of the -wall. Supporting himself against it, he got on to his -knees, and was then able to touch the rope with his -mouth. He asked himself whether it would be easier -to cut through it with his teeth, or to rise to his feet, -trace the rope to the staple, and work away until he -had loosed the knot.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Before he could make up his mind he heard heavy -footsteps outside, growing louder as they approached. -Instantly he dropped to the floor, wriggled back to his -former position, and, when the door opened, lay on his -elbow as though he were incapable of rising higher.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Through a door at the farther end of the room came -Sebastian, the fat cook of the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>. From one -hand swung a horn lantern; in the other he carried a -large platter holding a pitcher of water and a hunk of -bread. He crossed to the corner where Gundra lay, -gave him a kick, set the platter beside him, then -moved along to Martin, and leered down upon him, -pouring out a stream of abuse in his own language. -Having examined the staple and rope, he laughed -maliciously, banged Martin’s head with the lantern, -and left the room, locking the door behind him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had taken advantage of the lantern light -to make a careful mental note of the position of the -staple. As soon as the sound of Sebastian’s footsteps -had died away he wriggled again to the wall, rose upon -his knees, then upon his feet, and began to tug with his -teeth at the knot about the staple.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For some time he toiled in vain, trying one part of -the knot after another. Despairingly he felt that his -teeth would yield before the hempen rope. But -presently he was aware of a slight loosening, and taking -heart, he continued to bite at the same coil. To his joy -the knot grew looser and looser; the second coil was -easier to undo than the first; now he felt the free -end of the rope slipping out, and in a few more minutes -it was clear of the staple and dropped on the floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His lips were sore, his jaw ached intolerably; and the -uneasy posture he had had to maintain had strained his -muscles to the point of extreme fatigue. For a while -he lay quietly resting, not even telling Gundra that he -was free. The noises still continued on the upper floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At length he started to jerk and worm his way -across the floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m coming to untie you,” he said in a low tone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Moving only inch by inch, with frequent pauses for -rest, he was a long time in reaching the Indian boy’s -corner. When at last he rolled beside him he said:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now, your hands are free; untie the rope round -the sack.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gundra groped with his fingers, and found the knot, -but it had been so well tied that it was some minutes -before he succeeded in loosening it. Then he pulled the -sack away, and made a shorter job of untying Martin’s -hands.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now to release you,” said Martin; “but I must -wait until my hands are less cramped. What is this -place, Gundra?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A big godown by the river,” replied the boy. -“Plenty goods upstairs, belong for <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin suddenly remembered that on the evening -when he had rowed Blackbeard down the river his -passenger had directed him at first to row towards a -large warehouse on the bank, but had changed his -mind. No doubt this was the very warehouse which -had been chosen for the safe-keeping of the boys. It -was plain, too, that it had been used as a place of -storage for ill-gotten goods until the time came when -they might safely be transferred to the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If only I can get out,” Martin thought, “I’ll be in -time to put a spoke in Blackbeard’s wheel.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He felt over Gundra’s body to ascertain how he was -fastened. About his middle was a steel girdle, connected -by a fine chain with the staple in the wall. -Martin discovered in a few moments that it was impossible -to detach the chain at either end; the links, -though small, were of tough metal, and gave no sign -of yielding under the strongest strain he could put -upon them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This is thirsty work,” said Martin. “I’ll take a -drink from your pitcher, Gundra. They haven’t -brought me any water or food; I suppose they think -they’ll tame me. They don’t starve you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No; give food; not much.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And how long have you been here?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gundra explained that in the dead of Saturday -night someone had come into the cupboard under the -stairs, gagged him, and carried him out of the house. -He had struggled hard.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That accounts for Mr. Seymour’s button,” thought -Martin. “But how am I to get Gundra free?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He sat for a while considering, with his knees up and -his chin on his hands. “I’ll try it,” he exclaimed at -length.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The staple was driven deep into the wall, but -Martin’s idea was that its setting might be loosened by -picking at the wood around it, and that then a tug -would wrench it away. Opening his clasp knife he -began to scrape and chip at the wood, which being oak -offered a considerable resistance to his rather blunt -blade. More than once he pulled at the staple without -detecting any sign of its yielding.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What about a violent jerk?” he thought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He explained to Gundra what he proposed to do. -They both stood close to the wall. Martin got his hands -firmly between Gundra’s body and the steel girdle; -then at the same moment both he and the Indian made -a sudden leap into the room. The staple was torn -from its setting; the boys fell in a heap on the floor, -and the metal rattled and clanged. Clasping each -other, they listened breathlessly. Had the sounds been -heard by the men above?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There were no cries, no sudden movement, no footsteps. -Every now and then came the creaking of the -pulley-block which had been going on at intervals ever -since Martin had been brought into the room, and the -exchange of a few words between the men who were -presumably attending to the lowering of the goods. -They were too much occupied with their task to notice -the sounds in the room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now to get out!” said Martin in a whisper. “I -think I can find my way to the door.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Me come; no let go,” said Gundra, clinging to him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They moved together in the direction of the door. -The chain on the Indian boy’s girdle clanked.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“This won’t do,” said Martin. “Tuck it up inside -the belt.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When this was done they started again. Martin had -taken his bearings by the light of the fat cook’s -lantern, but in the pitch darkness he was at fault, and -it was only by feeling round the wall that they at last -reached the door. It was locked. There was no -escape that way.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Any windows?” asked Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, sahib. But another door; oh, yes, over there.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You have seen it open?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, but see light in crack.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Then we’ll make for that. Keep close to me.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='142' id='Page_142'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-EIGHTH</h1></div> - -<h3>THE BOYS ESCAPE</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>The two boys groped across the room to find the -second door. Suddenly Martin tripped and almost -fell; he had stepped into a hole where the floor-boards -were rotted away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Take care, Gundra,” he said, recovering himself.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He felt on the floor to ascertain the size of the gap, -then led the Indian boy cautiously across it, and almost -immediately touched a wall. Passing his hand along it, -he came upon an iron bar.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I think this is it,” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Feeling along the bar and the wall behind it, he discovered -a vertical crack.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A folding door,” he thought. “Now to lift the bar -and see if we can open the door and find out where it -leads to.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The bar was thick and heavy, and so well settled -down into its sockets that it had evidently not been -used for some time. Martin’s efforts to lift it at first -had no success, but after much pulling and pushing -it shifted upward suddenly with a loud squeaking -noise.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The boys held their breath, wondering whether the -sound had been heard in the room above. But the slow -creaking still went on, and Martin ventured to raise -the bar from its place and lay it gently on the floor.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was an iron ring in one of the panels of the -double door. Inserting his finger in this Martin pulled, -and the panel, sticking at first, presently came inward -with a squeak; clearly its hinges needed oiling. Inch by -inch he drew it towards him. A strong breeze blew into -the room, carrying with it a salt tang. The clear sky -eastward was studded with stars, which kindled -reflections in the river. Nearer at hand a reddish glow -suffused the sky.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>While they were gazing out there was a creak above -them, much louder than they had heard before, and a -large object dangling at the end of a rope passed slowly -downward within a yard of their faces. It was plain -that goods were being let down from the store-room -above with some care to avoid noise, for there was no -shouting, no giving and receiving directions, no cries of -“Are you ready?” “Lower away!” such as were usual -in operations of the kind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Holding on by the door, Martin bent down and -peered over the edge, careful to keep out of sight. The -package that had been lowered rested on a sort of -quay between the wall of the warehouse and the shored-up -bank of the river. A man was disengaging it from -the rope. When it was free he shook the rope as a -signal that it might be drawn up, then hoisted the -package on to a truck and wheeled it along the quay -until he came to a short jetty. There he halted and -lowered it over the side; evidently a boat was moored -below. Apparently the tide was too low to allow of the -boat’s drawing in nearer to the bank.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Meanwhile a second load came slowly down over the -pulley, and reached the ground with a slight jolt. The -man had not yet returned from the jetty with the -truck. Martin wondered whether it would be possible -to slide down the rope without attracting attention. -The stars gave very little light, and the glow from the -Fire was intercepted by the angle of the warehouse. -The distance from the door to the ground was less than -twenty feet.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Leaning out he cautiously tried the rope. It gave -under a slight pull, showing that the man above was -no longer holding it firmly. But he must have noticed -the movement, for Martin heard a hoarse voice -whisper, “Don’t pull the rope through the block, you -fool!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He shrank back into the room.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you there?” whispered the voice again.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this moment the man below reached the package -on the ground.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s the matter?” he growled.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I said, don’t pull on the rope!” repeated the man -above.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Didn’t touch it!” responded the other gruffly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was an inaudible reply from the upper storey. -The second load was discharged and trundled away, -the rope again wound up, and by the time the man -returned from the jetty a third package had been -lowered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>By this time Martin had arrived at a conclusion. If -he and Gundra were to escape by the rope, they must -cling to it while it was descending weighted with a -load, and while the man below was still absent at the -jetty. There was the risk of their being discovered -through the man at the pulley feeling the extra drag on -the rope, or through the return of the other man while -they were still suspended in the air. Even should they -reach the ground safely, there was the further risk of -their being intercepted, for they would have to pass -the jetty on their left, and go through the lower floor of -the warehouse, the quay on the right apparently ending -at a high blank wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But it was clear that they must either face these -risks, with a chance, however slight, of escaping, or -remain as prisoners in the room, with the certainty that -the breaking of their bonds would be discovered as -soon as fat Sebastian paid them his next visit.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In rapid whispers Martin explained his plan to the -Indian boy. Timid as Gundra had hitherto appeared, -it was plain that ill-usage had not utterly broken -his spirit, for he agreed eagerly to make the attempt, -and promised to follow Martin’s instructions faithfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I will go first,” said Martin, with the idea of giving -Gundra confidence. “We can’t both go down with the -same load. You must wait for the next, but don’t come -down till you see I am safe.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They waited, tingling with impatience and excitement, -until once more a heavy package came swaying -past the open door. As soon as it had descended below -the sill, Martin took a firm hold of the rope and swung -off. There was a louder creaking of the pulley above, a -more violent oscillation of the load, a sudden quickening -of the rate of descent; then the slow, even movement -was resumed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin glanced up. The pulley block hung from the -wall above a similar door some twelve feet above. The -man who operated the machine was not visible.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin slid down until his feet touched the package. -The moment this reached the ground he slipped off and -glided along the wall until he came to a shaded corner -beyond the shore end of the jetty. There he drew back -as far as possible into the shadow and waited.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you there?” he heard the man in the upper -room whisper huskily, and saw him lean over, holding -on to the rope.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no answer. His mate was at that moment -half-way back from the jetty, pushing the truck before -him. A minute or so later, when he began to loose the -package, the man above noticed the movement of the -rope, and said:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You there, Bob?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ay! What’s up? In a hurry, ain’t you? You’ve -got the easy job.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No call to be nasty! Have a care to stand from -under when the loads are coming down. These old -blocks are sticking. There was a mighty bad jolt just -now. I don’t trust ’em.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“All right; be there much more?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Half a dozen boxes or so.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m not sorry. The tide is making. I might as -well wait a few minutes, then I can pull the barge up a -bit and save all this hiking with the truck.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin’s heart sank. If the man did as he suggested, -Gundra would have no opportunity of escaping. But -next moment he was reassured.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ’Tain’t safe,” said the man above. “Barge might -stick in the mud, and tide take an hour or more to lift -her. The sooner we get these things on board the -better.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>While the men were talking the rope had been drawn -up, and another load was fastened to it almost as soon -as the man below had started to wheel the previous one -away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The pulley creaked, the package descended. Martin -watched anxiously, wondering whether Gundra’s -nerve would fail, whether the addition of his weight to -the rope would cause the man this time to look over. -He saw the slight form issue from the doorway and -clutch the rope. Gundra was much lighter than -Martin; the extra weight made scarcely any difference -to the rate at which the rope descended. But Martin -did not feel secure until the load bumped on the ground, -and the Indian boy, running as lightly as a wild animal, -reached his side.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='147' id='Page_147'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE TWENTY-NINTH</h1></div> - -<h3>MARTIN USES HIS WITS</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Both the boys were panting a little, as much from -excitement as from exertion. For a few moments they -remained, silent and still, in the shadowy recess. -Martin’s thoughts were busy with the new problem, -how to make good their escape. They were free, but -they were not at large.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Shall we wait until the loading is finished?” -Martin asked himself. “There are only a few more -loads to come down, then the barge will put off. No -doubt these men will leave, too, and we shall be able to -get away at leisure.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But as he pondered the matter he decided for immediate -action. Convinced that the goods now being -removed were stolen property, he was bent on saving it -if that were possible, and the only obvious means of -saving it was to inform someone in authority who -would send officers of the law to arrest both goods and -men. There was very little time. To win complete -freedom was a matter of urgency.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come along,” Martin whispered when the man was -once more busy at the jetty.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They crept along by the wall to the door of the -warehouse. It was shut and bolted. On each side of it -was a window, but the shutters were up, and heavily -barred. It would be impossible even to attempt to -force an entrance without making a noise that would -bring the man hot-foot upon them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin glanced this way and that. The quay on the -landward side was entirely enclosed. It seemed that -there was no exit from it except through the warehouse, -and that was shut. They were trapped after all.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But there was the river. Could they escape by that? -Was there, below the jetty, a wherry or any kind of -row-boat in addition to the barge that was being loaded? -Martin could not see one. Nor could they seize an -opportunity and dive into the river, for beneath the -shore end of the jetty there was nothing at low tide but -liquid mud, probably deep enough to engulf them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>All at once the man’s remark about pulling the -barge up recurred to Martin. An idea struck him that -made his heart bound and his nerves tingle. He -whispered a few words to Gundra, and anyone who -could have observed them would have noticed how they -braced themselves up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The result of Martin’s inspiration showed itself when -the man next left the barge and wheeled the truck back -along the jetty and across the quay. As soon as his -back was turned, they quitted their hiding-place and, -stooping low, made a dash for the jetty, the sound of -their movements being drowned by the noise of the -rumbling wheels.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At the place where the jetty sprang from the quay -they stopped, lowered themselves over the side, and -slipped on to one of the cross-beams that supported -the planking. There they crouched breathlessly. It -was a perilous position, for the timber was slippery -with slime, and they had to hug it closely to prevent -their sliding off. There, clinging and crouching, they -remained until the man had again come and gone.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As soon as the man was at a safe distance, they -clambered up to the jetty, and crept along it on all -fours until they came just above the barge. This was -now well afloat, but it was moored stem and stern to -posts on the jetty, as they saw by the light of a small -oil-lamp standing on a tub amidships. Boxes were -piled fore and aft.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The two boys slid down on to the barge by the rope -by which the man had lowered the goods. Martin -ran to the stern and tried to cast the aft mooring rope -loose; but the knot was firm and the rope hard, and he -had not succeeded when he heard the rumbling of the -truck wheels along the quay. There was not time to -complete the job before the man arrived. The urgent -necessity at the moment was to hide and hope that he -would not see them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Together they crouched down in the narrow space -between the piled boxes and the gunwale. With beating -hearts they heard the rumbling draw nearer; the -heavy tramp of the man; his mutterings as he heaved -his load from the truck and lowered it to the deck of -the barge. They held their breath. Would the man -follow it? No; he swung it almost over their heads, -and it settled with a bump a few feet short of them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The moment the man retreated, Martin dashed back -to the aft rope, struggled with the knot until he -managed to cast it off, hastened forward and cast off -the rope there likewise. The barge swung free. Against -its gunwale lay the long heavy sweeps with which it was -propelled. Martin attempted to lift one of these, but -found it impossible to do so without Gundra’s help.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The barge was already lurching shoreward on the -tide. In a few moments, unless its motion was checked, -it would strike the mud, and then all hope of escape -was lost. Holding the sweep between them, the boys -drove it against the beams that supported the jetty, -and tried to push off.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Unused to the handling of so clumsy an implement, -the boys were unable to prevent its end from glancing -off the slimy timber, and it plunged with a splash into -the water. But they had not let it go. Levering it up -across the gunwale, they once more made the attempt, -and by exerting all possible pressure were able to -force the barge a yard or two from the jetty. Then they -were almost undone by their own vigour, for the sweep -slipped again as the barge sheered away, and they fell -forward, striking against the gunwale, and dropping the -sweep with a loud clatter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They seized it just in time to save it from being -carried overboard. Meanwhile the barge had lost the -impetus they had given it, and was again drifting -shoreward. It was clear that the noise they had made -had been heard by the men. There was a shout and -hurried footsteps on the quay, and Martin, looking up, -could just see in the starlight the man at the upper -door leaning out and making wild movements with his -arms, evidently to urge on his mate below.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a moment this man came in sight, running along -the quay to the spot where he expected the barge -to strike if it escaped the mud. Martin saw that the -next few minutes would decide his fate.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Catch hold!” he cried to the Indian boy. “Shove -when I tell you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He pointed the sweep at the angle between two -supporting beams, and with Gundra’s help drove it -into the notch, and brought all his weight and strength -to bear upon it. The barge sidled outward, slowly, too -slowly. Martin realised that if the man had run on to -the jetty, he could have jumped on board before the -heavy vessel was out of range.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t let go,” Martin called, as the sweep dropped -from its resting-place into the water.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Keeping a tight grasp on the pole, the boys pulled it -slowly through the water. The barge swung about a little, -and Martin saw with joy that the gap between it and -the quay was wider. It was now too late for the man to -attempt the leap. He stood on the quayside, shouting, -cursing, gesticulating to his companions, two men who -were running to join him. The second of them, -lumbering along in the rear, Martin recognised as -Sebastian the fat cook.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Unwieldy though the sweep was, Martin was learning -under the stress of necessity how to manipulate it, his -knowledge of oarsmanship assisting. Laboriously he -and Gundra dragged it through the water, and at every -stroke the barge forged a little farther from the quay.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The men there were in all the agitation of helpless -rage. There was a flash, a crack; one of them had -fired a pistol.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You fool!” shouted one of his companions. “Do -you want to bring all Deptford down upon us!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The answer was inaudible on the barge. There the -boys, panting and sweating from their exertions in the -hot night, did not relax their efforts until the heavy -vessel was clear of the jetty and had begun to drift -upstream on the tide. Then, as they paused, they -heard the same voice apparently giving an order, -though the words could not be distinguished. Dimly -they saw the three figures run along the quay, then they -were lost to sight in the darkness. A few moments -later there came the sound of rusty hinges creaking; -somewhere a gate was opening.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What are they about now?” thought Martin; -and he noticed for the first time that Gundra’s eyes -were wide with amazement and fright as they gazed -upon the ruddy glow of the Fire.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='152' id='Page_152'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRTIETH</h1></div> - -<h3>THE BOYS SWIM FOR IT</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin felt that he had been uncommonly lucky. The -utmost he had hoped for was to escape with Gundra -from the warehouse; it now seemed to his sanguine -spirit that he would save the stolen property as well. -The barge was slowly drifting upstream; there was no -present sign of pursuit; and if his luck held, before -long he would get assistance from friendly hands, and -the evil schemes of Blackbeard, Slocum, and the rest -would be brought to nought.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But he had pitched his hopes too high. The heavy -barge moved only at the pace of the tide, and neither -Martin nor the Indian had sufficient muscular strength -to work the cumbersome sweep for more than a few -minutes at a time. And they were soon aware that the -pursuit had started. In the light from the glowing -sky they caught sight of three or four men hurrying -along the road that bordered the river. They were -outstripping the barge; it was probably their intention -to get well ahead, find a boat, and cut across the course -of the fugitives.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They might be delayed by the fact that every -serviceable boat had been engaged for the conveyance -of householders’ goods, but sooner or later they would -get some kind of craft, and then the end was inevitable.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The same dearth of boats operated against Martin. -He hailed one or two that passed, but the watermen -would not so much as wait to hear his explanations; -they were reaping a golden harvest.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>What could be done? The only chance seemed to be -to run the barge across the river to the north bank, as -near as possible to the stairs where Martin’s friends -were wont to ply, and trust to finding one or other of -them at hand and ready to help.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The barge was drifting broadside with the stream, -and it was only by dint of great efforts and strenuous -pulling at the sweep that the boys were able to bring -her head in the desired direction. They had hardly -begun to creep towards the north bank when they -heard shouts ahead, and saw a wherry putting out -from the southern shore and making to cross their -bows.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The fiery aspect of the sky seemed to increase the -heat of the summer night, and Martin felt the sweat -pouring off him in streams as he tugged desperately at -the sweep. He realised in a few moments the impossibility -of gaining the stairs before the wherry overtook -him. To save the goods was beyond hoping for; it -would be as much as he could do to save himself and -Gundra from capture. They must abandon the barge -and swim for the shore, now perhaps some fifty yards -distant. Could they do so without being seen and -followed? Martin had little doubt that the pursuers -would strain every nerve to capture them, and so -ensure that the sailing of the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span> should not -be interfered with.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We must swim for it,” he said, dropping the sweep. -“Come with me, and keep low.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They crept behind the pile of cargo that had -sheltered them when they first boarded the barge, and -slipped over the gunwale into the water on the side -remote from the pursuing wherry. Martin hoped to get -at least half way to the shore before he was seen. With -Gundra he struck out vigorously, but was soon conscious -that his strength had already been overtaxed, -and he would be unable to keep up his stroke for more -than a minute or two.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It seemed that they had only left the barge a few -seconds when they heard the wherry bump into its -side, and the men scrambling on board, cursing as they -searched for the fugitives. The search did not last -long; one of the pursuers caught sight of the swimmers, -who might perhaps have got away unseen but for the -glare of the Fire.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There they are!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The shout caused Martin and Gundra to put all their -remaining strength into their strokes. The pursuers -rushed for their boat, and it was fortunate for the -swimmers that it lay on the farther side of the barge. -By the time it had been pulled round the stern the -boys had entered shallow water, and were wading -ashore in the mud.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then the pursuers made a mistake. Had they -continued on their course upstream and rowed across -to the nearest stairs, or to one of the quays that broke -the riverside, they could have landed well ahead of the -boys and met them while they were still floundering in -the mud flats. But in their haste and flurry, due no -doubt to their wish to avoid drawing too much attention -from passing boats, they swung round against -the current and made toward the boys.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Ankle deep in slime, Martin and Gundra struggled on -to gain the waste land that stretched up from the -river bank. The pursuing boat rapidly approached -them, and was only some twenty yards behind when its -nose stuck in the mud, throwing the rowers forward over -their oars. Cursing violently, the men strove to back -water, but the boat was held fast, the oars were useless, -and it was only after precious time had been -wasted that the men decided to jump overboard and -continue the pursuit on foot.</p> - -<div class='figcenter'> -<img src='images/img-155.jpg' alt='' id='iid-0006' style='width:80%;height:auto;'/> -</div> - -<p class='pindent'>In the clinging mud their weight told against them. -By the time they had dragged themselves on to the dry -land the boys were already disappearing into the -hedge-lined lane that wound north-westward in the -direction of Spitalfields.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>As they ran the chain by which Gundra had been -fastened slipped from his steel girdle, and its clanking -gave a clue to their line of flight. They heard the heavy -feet of their pursuers thundering after them. Martin -tucked the chain up as well as he could, scarcely -changing his pace, and dragged Gundra along. In a -minute or two they would reach houses, and among -them, shadowed from the glare of the Fire, they -might hope to elude further pursuit.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No can run,” panted Gundra suddenly, placing his -hand over his heart.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A stitch,” thought Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>To lose time would be fatal. Without a moment’s -hesitation he hauled the Indian through a thin place in -the hedge.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Lie flat,” he whispered. “Don’t make a sound.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They lay beneath the hedge, trying to smother the -sounds of their quick breathing. The pursuers came -up, passed; their footsteps receded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Better wait and see if they come back,” thought -Martin. “We are both dog-tired, and want a rest.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Minutes passed. Martin listened for the sound of -returning footsteps. Presently he heard them, slow, -dragging. The men went by on the other side of the -hedge; there was sullen rage in the tone of their voices. -Martin waited until he could hear them no longer; then -he turned to the Indian boy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We can go now,” he said. “The pain is gone, -Gundra?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gundra was asleep.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='157' id='Page_157'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FIRST</h1></div> - -<h3>GOLLOP MAKES A DISCOVERY</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>The little fellow screamed when Martin roused him, -and started up in a fright.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Hush! It’s all right,” said Martin. “The men have -gone. We must get home and tell Gollop all about it. -He will tell us what is best to be done.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He reflected that if, as he supposed, the barge held -stolen goods that were to form part of the cargo of the -<span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>, it would take some time to row that -clumsy craft against the tide, and it might still be -possible to intervene before the vessel sailed. No doubt -she would leave her moorings as soon as the tide -turned, and make what headway she could against the -east wind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin had no idea what hour of the night it was, -and he was surprised, before they had gone far on the -homeward way, to notice signs of dawn in the sky. -When they reached the house the sun was peering -above the horizon, its beams competing with the glow -of the Fire.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Descending into the basement, Martin found the old -Frenchman in anxious consultation with the Gollops.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Here’s Martin!” cried Lucy gleefully. “Oh, I <span class='it'>am</span> -glad you’ve come home. We’ve been in such a state -about you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not a wink of sleep for any of us all night,” said -Susan. “Why, bless me! Here’s the blackamoor too.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gundra had crept in timidly behind the elder boy.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now what have you to say for yourself?” the -woman went on. “As if there weren’t worries enough -without——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Peace, woman!” cried the constable. “Don’t rate -the lad. He’s fair foundered, by the look of him. Sit -you down, Martin, and tell us what has kept you out -all night.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was glad enough to rest, and Lucy had -already taken possession of Gundra, placed him in a -corner of the settle, and was asking eager questions -about the strange girdle he wore about his body.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Without wasting words Martin related how he had -followed Mr. Slocum’s handcart, been trapped in the -yard, and finally carried off to the disused warehouse; -how he had escaped with Gundra, and got away on the -barge.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You’re a chip of the old block,” said Gollop -delightedly; “and your poor father would be proud of -you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That Slocum’s a wretch,” said Susan. “I always -said so. Now, what are you going to do, Gollop?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Do! What can I do?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s a man for you! Just as bad as the Lord -Mayor. What can you do, indeed! Why, just set off -after that barge this very minute and stop it before it’s -too late.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Spoken like a woman,” responded Gollop. “You -don’t understand the law, Sue. Before that barge can -be stopped there must be a warrant drawn up proper, -saying as how Richard Gollop, constable——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Fiddle-diddle!” Susan broke in scornfully. “Go out -and get your warrant, then, instead of talking about it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’d get never a magistrate to listen to me; they -can’t think of nothing but the Fire. But I’ll tell you -what I will do: I’ll go down to the river and see this -vessel, <span class='it'>Santa</span> something or other; there’s plenty of -time, for they’ve got to unload the barge. I’ll ask a -question or two along the riverside, and if what I hear -bears out the lad’s tale——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There! Get along with you,” cried his wife. “It’s -a mercy the world isn’t all made of men.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What you can’t help, make the best of,” said -Gollop, as he hurried away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Susan quickly prepared a meal for the famished -boys. While she did so she continued the conversation -with Mounseer which Martin’s entrance had interrupted. -It appeared that the Frenchman was becoming -anxious about the safety of the house. On returning -home about midnight the constable had reported -that there were signs of the Fire’s working back against -the wind. Already several houses eastward of Pudding -Lane had been consumed by the flames, and although -the danger was as yet not imminent, there was a risk -that if the wind lulled or changed, the area of destruction -would extend to the Tower and the adjacent -streets.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Keep your mind easy, Mounseer,” said Susan with -comfortable assurance. “The neighbours will give us -good warning if so be the Fire comes nigh, and you’ll -have time to collect your belongings; not that you’ve -got much to lose, so far as I know.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin caught a strange look on the Frenchman’s -face as he left the room to return to his own apartment.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“When you’ve eat your fill, Martin,” said Susan, -“you’d better go to sleep. The blackamoor child has -dropped off already, poor lamb!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin lay down on his bed, but he found it impossible -to sleep. His brain whirled with thoughts of -the Fire, and the barge, and the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>; of -Slocum, and Blackbeard, and the rest; and in spite of -Susan’s confidence the mere suggestion that the Fire -might spread to their own house and swallow it up -filled him with alarm. He could not bear to think that -the Gollops might presently be among the thousands of -families that had lost their all.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Presently he could not endure inaction any longer. -He sprang up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am going out,” he said. “I must see for myself -where the Fire has got to. I won’t be very long.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At the top of the stairs he banged into Gollop, red-faced -and panting through haste.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Bless my eyes! Here’s a wonder!” gasped the -man.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What is it? Has the Fire got to us?” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“The Fire! What’s the Fire to you? Martin, my lad, -never did I think I’d live to see this day.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Tell me—what is it?” asked Martin in wonder.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, call me a Dutchman if that there Portugal -ship ain’t the <span class='it'>Merry Maid</span>, your father’s own vessel -what never came home, to his ruin, poor old captain of -mine. The moment I set eyes on her I rubbed ’em, -’cos I couldn’t believe it. But I knowed them lines; I -knowed the pretty creature, though they’d done something -to alter the look of her. She’s the captain’s ship -as sure as I’m alive. And now you must come with -me; we’ll go to the Lord Mayor or somebody and get a -warrant. She’s ready to slip her moorings; we must -arrest her; what’s your father’s is yours; that’s the -law, and soon they’ll know it!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Waiting just long enough to tell his wife of his amazing -discovery, the constable hurried away with Martin -in his quest of the Lord Mayor. But that magnate was -not to be found; nor were any of the sheriffs discovered -in the devastated city. Gollop, distracted, was beating -his wits to recall the name and address of some -magistrate in a district still untouched when Martin -suddenly caught sight of Mr. Pemberton, the customer -of Slocum’s whom he had met on two occasions. The -gentleman was standing among a group of his friends, -to whom he was pointing out the site of his own -ruined dwelling.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He must be a magistrate,” thought Martin, -remembering how Mr. Pemberton had interfered -when the crowd was molesting the Frenchman. “I’ll -ask him.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He ran up to the group, pushed his way among them -without much ceremony, and said:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sir, may I speak to you?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Pemberton stared at the eager boy, displeased at -what appeared to be an unmannerly intrusion. Then -his brow cleared; he smiled and said:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“My friend the fighter, isn’t it? Well, what have -you been fighting about now?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin coloured as he felt the eyes of the group -focussed on him. But he recovered his composure in a -moment, and began to pour out his story. At first the -gentlemen listened with smiles of amusement or toleration, -but as he proceeded their interest was awakened, -and Mr. Pemberton himself watched him with keen -attention.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Stay,” he said at one point. “Your father was -Reuben Leake?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, sir, that was his name.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have heard of him; a sound mariner. Go on.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin continued his story, doing his best to make -its complications clear.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now let me understand,” said Mr. Pemberton -when he had finished. “This vessel, the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>, -once the <span class='it'>Merry Maid</span>, is on the point of sailing with a -cargo which you suspect to consist of stolen goods, -some of them the property of the respected goldsmith -Mr. Greatorex. You say that Mr. Slocum, Mr. Greatorex’s -man, is concerned in this crime with the captain -of the vessel, whom you call Blackbeard, and a man -named Seymour. The crew is mainly foreign; they -have held an Indian boy as a slave, and they kidnapped -him when you had rescued him from them, -and shut you up with him in a warehouse at Deptford. -Have I the story right?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, sir; all that is true.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, let me say—and my friends will agree with -me—that you have shown uncommon intelligence and -courage and resource. Your running off with the barge -was an admirable device and deserved to succeed. And -now I understand that you wish to have a warrant for -the arrest of the vessel before she leaves the river. -But you must have someone in authority to execute -the warrant, and in the present state of the city——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There’s me, your worship,” broke in Gollop, who -had stood at hand. “Being a man of law in the shape -of a constable——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah! Well, we must lose no time. But I have no -paper, no pen—— Stay, is that a half-burnt ledger I -see among the ashes there?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin leapt to the spot and picked up the book. -Mr. Pemberton tore out a page, hurriedly wrote a few -lines upon it with a pencil, and handed it to the -constable.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There, my man,” he said, “that is the best I can -do for you. I cannot swear that the phraseology is -absolutely in form, but it will serve. I don’t know -what you will do if your Blackbeard shows fight. There -is no available force to put at your disposal; you must -do the best you can. I wish you success. I shall be -glad to learn the issue of this strange affair.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='163' id='Page_163'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SECOND</h1></div> - -<h3>THE PURSUIT</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin sat on a thwart side by side with Hopton, -listening intently to the discussion that passed between -Gollop and Boulter as they pulled the boat steadily -downstream.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“She got away with the first of the ebb,” said the -constable. “What’s the odds on our catching her?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That depends,” replied the waterman cautiously. -“I reckon she’s got three or four hours’ start, but she -won’t go faster than the tide.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Not so fast, against this wind,” said Gollop.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“True, but it ain’t blowing so hard, and it’s my -belief it’ll drop to a calm afore night. Well then, she’ll -hardly make Gravesend afore the turn of tide, and as -she can’t beat up against the wind in the narrow -reaches she’ll have to lay up when the ebb fails. For -summat about three hours we ought to gain a bit on -her, but not so much as to overhaul her, and then we’ll -have the tide against us.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And be dead beat; I ain’t so handy with an oar as -I was in my sea-going days.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, I’ve a friend or two in Woolwich, and if so be -they ain’t saving the London folk’s goods I’ll get ’em -to come aboard and take a spell while we rest. But -suppose we catch the Portugal ship, what then, -Gollop?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, I’ve got a warrant, ain’t I?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Much good that’ll be,” said Boulter scornfully. -“They won’t care a fig for warrants or anything but -swords and firelocks. You ought to have took a boatload -of soldiers, that’s what I say.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ay, it’s easy to say, but it couldn’t be done. Well, -what you can’t help, make the best of. I tell you this: -that Portugal ship, leastways the <span class='it'>Merry Maid</span>, shan’t -get out of the river if I can help it.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was half-inclined to regard the pursuit as a -wild-goose chase, and Hopton had nothing to say to -encourage him; but uncertainty gave a spice to the -adventure, and they felt a pleasant thrill of anticipation.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>By the time they reached Woolwich the tide had -turned, and Boulter thought it well to pull to the -shore, partly for rest and food, partly to seek out his -friends, enquire of them whether they had noticed the -Portugal ship, and try to enlist their help. Luckily he -came upon two watermen whom he knew well, and -who were disengaged. From them he learnt that the -vessel had passed about three hours before; she had -tow boats out, towing her, and it was a matter of -speculation on the riverside why her crew were -putting themselves to so much exertion in such hot -weather.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Gollop’s face fell when he heard this news. It was -clear that Blackbeard expected pursuit, and was -making all possible speed to evade it. Boulter’s -friends agreed to join the expedition, under promise of -a good reward if it proved successful, and the boat set -off again after half an hour’s delay, the fresh oarsmen -making good progress even against the tide. When all -four men were pulling its pace was noticeably rapid, -and at Erith, six miles beyond Woolwich, Gollop was -delighted to learn on enquiry from an upgoing barge -that the <span class='it'>Merry Maid</span> was now little more than two -hours ahead.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Hour after hour the rowers plied their oars, taking -turns to rest in couples. Martin and the old Frenchman, -who had been up all night, fell asleep on their seats, and -when they awoke it was five o’clock in the afternoon, -and the boat was approaching Gravesend. Here -Gollop decided to go ashore, for as the day wore on he -had become less confident, and recognised that if -Blackbeard and his crew resisted the arrest of the -ship the pursuers, hopelessly outnumbered, would not -be able to enforce it unless they could engage a party -adequately armed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Both he and Boulter had acquaintances among the -mariners of Gravesend, but some of these were absent -from their usual haunts, having been drawn to London -by the prospect of making money out of the Fire. Those -who remained showed themselves distrustful and -suspicious; they were not to be tempted to lend their -services in a cause that might fail; and Gollop, -angry and troubled, made his way to the office of -the Customs officer of the port, and sought his aid as -a brother man of the law. The officer appeared to -resent this claim of relationship, and treated the -constable very off-handedly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Let me see this warrant you talk of,” he said, and -when Gollop produced the scrap of paper, creased, -oddly-shaped, its edges frayed and scorched, he sniffed. -“I cannot act on this,” he said. “It is not drawn up -in proper form. The <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span> has cleared; she -is bound for Lisbon, the port of an ally; she is beyond -my jurisdiction.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At this Gollop lost his temper.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You and your long words!” he said. “That there -vessel ain’t a Portugal ship; she’s English from stem to -stern; don’t I know? You’re neglecting of your duty, -master officer, and I’ll take good care that them above -you hear about it and you’ll get a rough hauling, my -fine fellow.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Get out of this,” cried the officer, losing his temper -in turn. “You may be a constable; I don’t know; but -you’ll find your legs in the stocks if you air your -insolence on an officer of His Majesty’s Customs.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come away, Dick,” said Boulter soothingly. “We -ain’t done yet. And we can’t afford to lose any more -time. If the craft weathers Hope Point she’ll have a -clear run out and give us the slip altogether. Come on, -man.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Within a few minutes the boat was again under way. -It was heavy work pulling her down Gravesend -Reach, and heavier still when, in Lower Hope Reach, -she came full in the teeth of the wind. An exclamation -from Martin caused Gollop to fling a hasty look over -his shoulder. Strung out along the lee shore three ships -lay at anchor, evidently waiting for the tide.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Easy all!” cried Gollop, shipping his oar. A look of -triumph gleamed in his eyes. “The second o’ them -vessels—she’s the <span class='it'>Merry Maid</span>, bless her heart!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Are you sure?” said Boulter. “She’s three-quarters -of a mile away.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Sure! Am I sure I’ve a nose on my face? That -there’s my dear old captain’s craft, one in a thousand. -She’s safe for a few hours. We’ll go ashore and wet our -whistles, my mates; this is a chance we’ve got to make -the best of.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>They pulled in towards the shore, but lay a few yards -off the mud flats to talk over the next step before they -landed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We can’t fight ’em, that’s certain,” said Boulter, -“being only seven all told, two of us just boys, and one -a aged furriner.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mounseer smiled, and fingered his rapier.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“True for you, mate,” said Gollop. “Well, if you -ain’t strong enough to fight, what do you do?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Speaking for myself, I plays a trick.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Spoke like a wise man. Now what trick could you -play?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That depends,” said Boulter, scratching his head. -“What about boring a hole in her hull?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Seeing as none of us is a sword-fish, that can’t be -done without ’tis noticed. What about giving ’em a -scare? Them furriners are easy frightened.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You couldn’t scare ’em into quitting the vessel. -But you talk of furriners. Now I come to think of it, -I’ve knowed furren gentlemen put aboard outgoing -vessels in the river—gentlemen as want to get away -secret, and pay well for it. If so be——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He paused and looked at the Frenchman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If so be as our furren gentleman could go aboard -as a passenger, maybe the rest of us could get aboard -too, eh?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, what then?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, that’s the trick, d’you see? What I say -is——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But perhaps Mr. Seymour’s aboard, and he knows -Mounseer,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So much the better,” cried Gollop, slapping his -thigh. “But what does Mounseer say?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I do anything what please you,” said the Frenchman -quietly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Five minutes’ close discussion ensued. Then the -boat’s head was turned upstream, and the little party, -hopeful and elated, was speeding back to Gravesend.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='168' id='Page_168'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRTY-THIRD</h1></div> - -<h3>AT GRIPS AT LAST</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>In Gravesend they spent a busy hour. While Boulter -bought a small sea-chest at a marine store, Gollop -purchased cutlasses for the watermen and a stout staff -for Martin: Hopton fortunately had brought his club. -A visit to a slop shop provided sea-jackets and hats -for the two boys, and so disguised they might have -been taken for cabin boys ashore. The cutlasses, -wrapped in sacking, were laid in the chest.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“We’d better wait for the dusk,” said Gollop. “How -about the tide, Boulter?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“ ’Twill turn at dusk or thereabouts,” replied the -waterman. “But the wind’s dropping, so we mustn’t -bide too long or the barque will slip us.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“True; but we’ll have time to fill our holds, which I -mean to say our stomachs. An empty man’s only half -a man, and every one of us will have to make two to-night, -or I’m a Dutchman.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Repairing to the Three Tuns inn, the little party -made a good meal; then they returned to the wherry -and set off on their adventure. The tide was still -running up, but the force of the wind had sensibly -diminished, and they made good progress toward their -destination.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The sun was setting behind them, and a slight haze -crept over the river. Presently the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span> hove -in sight.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“All’s quiet on deck,” said Gollop, looking eagerly -ahead. “They feel pretty snug: so much the better.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The approach of the wherry was apparently not -noticed on board. It had drawn under the vessel’s -quarter before Boulter raised a hail.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“<span class='it'>Santa Maria</span> ahoy!” he called.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A dark face showed itself above the gunwale.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Captain aboard?” said Boulter.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The man nodded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I want a word with him,” the waterman continued.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no answer: the man simply stared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Speakee capitano,” said Boulter, as if obligingly -suiting his language to the comprehension of a foreigner.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a few halting words of broken English the man -declared that the captain was at supper and must not -be disturbed.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What you want?” he concluded.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Never you mind,” said Boulter. “Bring capitano: -maybe he’ll understand plain English.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>After some further colloquy the man was prevailed -upon to seek the captain, and Martin felt a cold trickle -along his spine when he saw in the fading light the face -of Blackbeard looking down from the poop. Instinctively -he shrank down on his seat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What you want?” demanded the captain, with his -foreign accent.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A gentleman wishes a passage in your vessel, -captain,” said Boulter, persuasively. “He must get -aboard at once: a foreign gentleman, you understand: -can pay well: fifty pounds, say.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“It is impossible,” said Blackbeard bluntly. “There -is not cabin room for passenger. No; impossible.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Another face was peering over his shoulder, and -Martin effaced himself more thoroughly as he recognised -Slocum. The goldsmith threw a searching -glance over the boat. Martin saw him start, pluck -Blackbeard by the sleeve, and draw him out of sight.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Did he see me?” thought Martin, quaking a little.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>In a minute he was reassured. Blackbeard returned -alone, and Martin noticed that his eyes at once -sought Mounseer, who was sitting on a thwart next to -Gollop.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I have considered,” he said. “Perhaps for one. -You said one?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes: one gentleman: a Frenchman,” said Boulter. -“London is not safe for the French. He was beset in -the street.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Very well; he shall come. And quick: soon will the -tide turn.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He called up a seaman, and bade him lower a rope-ladder -from the waist. Mounseer got up, and staggered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He is old and weak,” said Boulter. “Some of you -help him, there.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>According to the plan previously arranged, Martin -and Gollop each took one of the Frenchman’s arms and -led him to the ladder. Martin climbed nimbly to the -deck, then turned to assist Mounseer, who ascended -slowly, Gollop following. To all appearances the -Frenchman was feeble, exhausted; he tottered and -swayed between the others when all three were on -board. Meanwhile Boulter’s two watermen friends -were proceeding to carry up the sea-chest, which might -be supposed to contain the passenger’s baggage.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Come with me,” said Blackbeard. “We will make -bargain.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He led the way towards the round-house, a sort of -cabin on the upper deck. Martin and Gollop led -Mounseer between them. Slocum had disappeared; -the only persons visible were Blackbeard, the dark-faced -seaman, and some members of the crew who were -lying outstretched on the planks, resting, no doubt, -after their exertions in towing the vessel.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin looked curiously about the round-house as he -entered. It contained a well-spread table, two chairs -and two berths; the walls were lined with racks containing -arms of all kinds: firelocks, picks, swords, pistols.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At a gesture from Blackbeard the Frenchman sank -into one of the chairs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Now you go,” the captain commanded, turning to -Martin and Gollop. “I will finish the bargain with this -gentleman.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Begging your pardon, sir,” said Gollop quietly, -“but afore I go it is in a manner of speaking——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What you mean?” said Blackbeard, truculently. -“I say you go: there is no more for you: you have -done; the business is with this gentleman.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“So it is, to be sure,” returned Gollop unperturbed. -“Leastways a part of it. But afore I go, it is in a -manner of speaking my duty as an officer of the law to -show you a dokyment——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had drawn from his pocket the warrant signed by -Mr. Pemberton and was proceeding to unfold it. But -something in his manner had aroused suspicion in -the captain, who made a quick sidelong movement and -snatched at a pistol in the nearest rack.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then the Frenchman, who had appeared so weak -and faint, showed a marvellous alacrity for a man of -his years and impotence. He sprang up from his chair, -whipped out his rapier from under his cloak, and had -its point within an inch of Blackbeard’s throat while -his hand was still closing over the pistol butt.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>For a second or two there was silence as the men -faced each other. Martin, quivering with excitement, -took in the details of the scene: Gollop flourishing the -paper in his hand; Blackbeard, his hand outstretched, -his nostrils dilating, his eyes glaring; Mounseer cool, -smiling, watching the other as a cat watches a mouse.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then the silence was broken. The Frenchman, -wearing his inscrutable smile, said gently, in a tone -not above the conversational pitch:</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Monsieur recognises—is it not so?—that he must -render himself?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Blackbeard made no answer in words, but his eyes -narrowed, his fingers tightened on the pistol, and he -made an almost imperceptible movement. The -Frenchman read the intention in his eyes. The smile -disappeared, giving place to a look of grim resolution. -One twist of the wrist, and the rapier point, an instant -before at the man’s throat, flickered like a flash of -lightning and pricked him in the forearm. He winced; -the pistol fell clattering to the floor; and he let out a -cry, a loud wild cry that must have rung through the -ship from stem to stern: a rallying cry to his crew.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Next instant a door at the farther end of the round-house, -which had stood ajar, was flung open, and a -water-bottle hurtled across the room. It missed the -Frenchman’s head by an inch, and crashed against the -wall. Through the door rushed two men, one behind -the other. In the foremost Martin recognised Mr. -Seymour, the tenant of the upper floor whose dealings -with Blackbeard had first awakened his suspicions. It -was he who had thrown the bottle; the second man -was for the moment hidden from view behind him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Between the table and the wall on either side there -was only a narrow gangway, partly obstructed by the -chairs. As he dashed forward, Seymour snatched at a -cutlass hanging above the rack of arms. He grasped it, -but by the blade, for the hilt was higher than his head. -To make effective play with it he must needs lift it -from its nail and reverse it: even then the narrow -gangway would allow him no room to swing it, nor the -low roof space in which to bring it above his head: he -could only give point.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But before he could reverse the weapon and grasp -the hilt Gollop had found himself. Dropping his warrant, -he flung himself forward with a leonine roar. -Recalling the fight afterwards Martin wondered how -the burly constable had managed to squeeze himself -between the table and the wall to meet the attack. -The chair went clattering along the floor; a blow -from Gollop’s sledge-hammer fist, with sixteen stone -of brawn behind it, caught Seymour clean between the -eyes and sent him hurtling over the broken chair upon -the man behind. He dropped; his companion staggered, -recovered himself, and, shouting a furious curse, sprang -forward cutlass in hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Protected in some degree by the huddled form of -Seymour, he made a desperate lunge at Gollop, who had -been carried forward by his own momentum, and -could now neither advance nor retreat. At this critical -moment Martin seized the second chair, and, gathering -his strength, hurled it at Slocum. It took him at the -level of his belt and doubled him up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then from without came a medley of shouts and the -rustling thud of bare feet upon the boards.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='174' id='Page_174'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FOURTH</h1></div> - -<h3>GOLLOP AT BAY</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>The light of battle gleamed in Gollop’s eyes. He was -no longer the constable, whose weapons were a staff -and a rattle, but the boatswain of old, who had borne -his part in many a fight with pirates in the days when -he sailed the far seas with Captain Leake.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I carries more flesh now than I did then,” he said -afterwards, when telling the story to his cronies. -“That’s what comes of marrying a good wife what -looks after your vittles. Still, what you can’t help, -make the best of; that’s what I always say.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Bulky though he was, at this critical moment he -showed himself astonishingly agile. He snatched two -cutlasses from the stand of arms, and thrust one into -Martin’s hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Better than a stick, my lad,” he said. “Stand you -guard over they two rascals”—he indicated Slocum -and Seymour, who were sitting more or less disabled on -the floor. “If they stir, touch ’em with the point.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Then, rather breathlessly, he turned to meet the -rush at the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Meanwhile the Frenchman was keeping an eye on -Blackbeard. Disarmed and injured, the captain of the -<span class='it'>Santa Maria</span> stood between the table and the wall, his -dark face distorted with fury. Mounseer could not -attack him again while he was unarmed, nor was there -space or time for the duel that would have rejoiced the -Frenchman’s heart. But he knew that if he took his -eye off him for a moment he might expect a rush, -and all that he could do was to shift his ground -slightly so that he might be able to lend aid to Gollop -if the crew made a determined assault through the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“You will have the goodness to retire yourself one -step or two,” he said to Blackbeard, his tone icily -polite. To give himself room it was necessary that the -captain should move backward into the round-house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Blackbeard muttered a curse under his breath, but -refused to budge.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Eh bien, voilà!” said the Frenchman, with a -sudden deft movement pricking him with the point of -his rapier.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The captain winced, shrieked out an oath, but made -no more ado about obeying orders. Then Mounseer -half turned, and stood so that he could either check -Blackbeard if he showed fight, or move to Gollop’s help, -as the occasion might demand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Cutlass in hand, Martin stood over his prisoners, -who had shown no sign of activity themselves, but -were looking eagerly, hopefully, towards the door. -Martin found it difficult to prevent his attention from -being distracted by the fight that was now raging there. -The crew of the vessel, headed by the officer whom -Martin had seen once before, had surged in a yelling -crowd towards the round-house, catching up as they -ran any object that would serve as a weapon. Some had -marline-spikes, one brandished a short spar, another a -hanger; several had drawn evil-looking knives, and -fat Sebastian wielded a meat chopper.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But there was no order or discipline among them. -Shouting, gesticulating, they got in one another’s way -in their struggle to reach the door, where Gollop coolly -awaited their onset. His broad form blocked up the -narrow entrance; the foreigners could attack only -one at a time; and as they came on, one by one, each -was put out of action by a sudden thrust or cut or -lunge of the cutlass wielded by a master hand.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin glowed with admiration as he watched the -swift movements of the big man. Planted firmly on his -feet, his body scarcely swayed; but his sword-arm -swept from side to side, and the furious yells of his -opponents bespoke their sense of failure. Baffled, -they fell back; they collected in a group to devise some -plan whereby they might overcome this doughty -defender of the door.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Suddenly there was a shout behind them.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ahoy! ahoy! Firk ’em! At ’em, my hearties!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The startled group turned; there were a few moments -of wild confusion. Martin, looking under Gollop’s arm, -saw a welter of men, some bowled over like ninepins, -others crawling away on hands and knees. The -watermen, with George Hopton, taking their cue from -the noises on deck, had swarmed up from the wherry -and swept upon the foreigners from the rear. They burst -through, irresistible; the crew scattered to right and -left; and then Gollop issued forth from the doorway -and joined his friends with a roar of welcome.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Round ’em up! Round ’em up!” he cried, and -striding ahead of his little party he chased the crew -around the deck, across the waist, down the ladders, -into every corner where they sought refuge. Bereft of -their leaders they had no heart to fight. Within a very -few minutes the foreigners had surrendered, and were -herded into the forecastle.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>A few minutes more, and the prisoners in the round-house -were sitting in a disconsolate line against the -wall, their hands and feet securely tied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A very pretty job,” said Gollop, looking approvingly -at the watermen’s work. “I reckon they -knots be firm enough, Mounseer; still, ’tis as well to -make sure; so maybe you’ll stand over ’em with that -steel of yours while we go and see what’s in them brass-bound -boxes.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Frenchman smiled, and held his rapier at the -salute.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='177' id='Page_177'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FIFTH</h1></div> - -<h3>MARTIN TO THE RESCUE</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Gollop was in a quandary.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He had got possession of the <span class='it'>Santa Maria</span>, which -would henceforth be called by her old name, the -<span class='it'>Merry Maid</span>: what was he to do with her? Night had -fallen; the tide was running out again to the sea; it -seemed necessary to wait for morning light and the -turn of the tide before the vessel could be floated back -to London. But the constable had left his duty without -leave from his commanding officer, and though he had -Mr. Pemberton’s warrant to produce in self-justification, -he felt that if a strict judgment were passed upon -his action, he was in danger of losing his livelihood.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Seems to me I’d better leave you in command, lad,” -he said to Martin, “the ship being yours, and row back -to the city.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But you are tired,” replied Martin; “it would be a -terribly hard pull against the tide, and we can’t spare -anyone to go with you; we’re very few to hold the ship -if the crew break out of the forecastle.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Besides, there’s them boxes,” Boulter put in. The -boxes had been opened and examined: they were full -of plate and jewellery. “I reckon they’re worth a good -few thousands of pounds, and Mr. Greatorex is so -much beholden to you that he’ll see you don’t lose by -the night’s work.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Maybe; gratitude ain’t a partickler common -virtue. Howsomever, what you can’t help, make the -best of. I’ll bide here till morning, and then we’ll see. -Martin, my lad, you’re dead beat; you’ve got old eyes; -turn in, you and your friend, and sleep sound till I -wake you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was glad enough to stretch himself on the -deck against the bulwark; his recent experiences had -worn him out.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Your Gollop’s a Trojan,” said Hopton as he threw -himself beside him. “I say, I’ll go with you to Tyburn -to see Slocum hanged.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I suppose he <span class='it'>will</span> be hanged?” said Martin sleepily.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Certain sure. It will be a great show. I expect he’ll -make a fine speech on the gallows.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But Martin was already asleep.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When he awoke in the early morning he found that -Gollop, in consultation with the watermen, had planned -out his course of action. The vessel would be left -in charge of the Customs officers, who would put a crew -on board, and lodge the criminals, Slocum, Blackbeard, -and Seymour, in jail; then the boarding party would -return to the City, Gollop would report to his captain, -and a posse of constables would no doubt be dispatched -to convey the criminals to London for trial.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>About half-past five Boulter’s wherry set off on -its return journey to London. The party were well -satisfied with the result of their expedition, but the -pleasure of some of them was alloyed with anxiety. -During the night the wind had fallen away; the air was -still; and Gollop, equally with the Frenchman, was -filled with foreboding as to the progress the Fire might -have made during the twelve hours of his absence. -Already, before his departure, the flames had worked -back against the wind in the direction of the Tower, -and now that there was not even the wind to check -them, he was on tenterhooks lest they might have -gained his house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mounseer, so calm and self-possessed during the -scene in the round-house of the <span class='it'>Merry Maid</span>, was now -a prey to nervous agitation, which increased minute by -minute as the wherry neared its destination. He said -nothing, but the twitching of his eyelids and the restless -movements of his hands were clear signs of his -perturbation of spirit. Martin wondered, for, like -Susan Gollop, he had seen nothing of value in the old -gentleman’s apartment, and such possessions as he had -could be removed in a few minutes if the house were -attacked by the Fire.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The watermen pulled in to the steps where Martin -had first become suspicious of Slocum. There the party -separated: Gollop to seek his captain, Hopton to -return home, the watermen to resume their vocation; -Martin and the Frenchman to regain their dwelling-house.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“If so be the house has caught, lad,” said Gollop at -parting, “I trust to you to look after my Sue and the -little one. I’ll come home the very first minute I can.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin’s misgivings increased as he hurried with -Mounseer through the streets.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’m sure that’s Clothworkers Hall in Mincing Lane,” -he said, noticing a huge body of yellow flame rising -high into the air some distance to the left.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He stopped a man who was hurrying past, and asked -him how far the Fire had got.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“How far? Where have you been, then?” was the -reply. “Paul’s Church is in ashes; so’s Fleet Street -and——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I mean on this side.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Why, the Custom House by the river has gone, so’s -a part of Tower Street, and Mincing Lane, and the -parsonage of Barking Church——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Juste ciel!” cried the Frenchman. “Our house is -near of that. Haste! haste!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His mental distress, following on the fatigues of the -night, rendered the old gentleman’s steps unsteady, -and he clung to Martin’s arm for support. They hurried -on, their alarm growing from moment to moment. -Every now and then they heard a terrific explosion, -and saw immense columns of smoke, dust, and fragments -of wood spring into the air.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“What’s that?” asked Martin of a passer-by.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Blowing up houses in Seething Lane,” the man -replied.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mon Dieu! How close!” muttered the Frenchman. -“For me it is ruin, ruin!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>At last they turned the corner from which their -house could be seen. One glance was enough. Flames -were bursting from the roof. It appeared that the -house had caught fire at the top from floating sparks. -People were running hither and thither in the street, -carrying away their goods from the neighbouring -houses. In the roadway before the house was a little -group of three—Susan Gollop, Lucy, and the Indian -boy, standing guard over the household gear piled in -the roadway.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Susan’s set face relaxed as she saw Martin running -towards her.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Where’s Gollop? Where’s my man?” she cried.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He’s quite safe; he’ll be here soon,” Martin replied. -“Have you got everything out?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Everything but the copper. We couldn’t lift that. -Come back, Mounseer; we’ve got your things too.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The Frenchman had withdrawn his arm from -Martin’s and was hurrying into the open doorway of -the house. He paid no attention to Susan’s cry, but -disappeared.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well I declare!’ cried Susan. “Did you ever know -such a foolish old gentleman! Because he’s French, -I suppose. Me and the blackamoor brought out all -his bits of things with our own hands: here they are. -But I suppose he wants to make sure we’ve got ’em -all.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I’ll go and bring him back,” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, no; bide here. He’ll see the room’s empty and -come back himself in a twink. There’s no call for you -to go into the smother.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin allowed himself to be restrained. A knot of -spectators had gathered, and stared up at the burning -house. The flames were spreading from the roof downwards. -Smoke was pouring out of the windows. -Susan watched grimly; Lucy, her eyes wide with awe, -clung convulsively to Gundra, who seemed the least -concerned of all.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Minute after minute passed. There was no sign of -the Frenchman. The window of his room was closed, -but smoke was trickling out at the edges of the casement.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Oh! where is my dear Mounseer?” cried Lucy, -tearfully.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Drat the man!” said Susan. “What in the world -he’s doing I don’t know. He must have a bee in his -bonnet. Here now—Martin—come back! Come back, -I say!”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>But Martin, unable to bear the suspense any longer, -had broken away and dashed into the burning house -to find his old friend.</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='182' id='Page_182'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SIXTH</h1></div> - -<h3>MARTIN’S ORDEAL</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Martin was only partly conscious of what he passed -through during the next minute, and not at all aware -of the risks he ran.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The old timber house had ignited from the top; the -roof had burnt through, and blazing fragments, falling -on to the landings below, had set fire to the walls and -the floors. Already the flames were eating away the -stairs, and Martin, groping his way up through the -smoke and by the aid of the banisters, was awakened -to realities by a sudden sharp stinging pain as his hand -touched a place that was on fire.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer! Mounseer!” he called as he bounded up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no answer.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He reached the landing at the top of the first flight. -Through the Frenchman’s open doorway, a little way -to the right, thick grey smoke was pouring. Moment -by moment red-hot splinters crashed down upon the -landing, and from above came the roar and crackle of -the devouring flames.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer!” Martin shouted; then caught his -breath and coughed as the acrid smoke filled his throat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>His smarting eyes streamed with water. Half -blinded, he pressed his lips firmly together and dashed -across the landing into the open doorway. The room -was thick with smoke: for a moment Martin was -compelled to close his eyes; when he opened them -again he saw flames bursting through the ceiling. -Part of a blazing rafter fell at his feet, and he staggered -back as innumerable sparks flew up in his face.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer! Mounseer!” he spluttered.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>There was no sound but the ever-growing roar of the -flames.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Guessing from the denseness of the smoke that the -windows were closed, unable to see anything clearly, -Martin in desperation caught up a small stool which he -had touched with his feet and hurled it in the direction -of the window overlooking the waste ground at the -back. There was a crash of breaking glass; the smoke -began to pour out through the shattered pane, and -taking advantage of the immediate lightening of the -air Martin started to grope round the room in search of -the Frenchman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He stumbled against the table, knocked his shins -against the edge of the bed, felt across it with his hands: -there was no sign of Mounseer. Finding that he could -breathe more freely near the floor he dropped on his -hands and knees and began to crawl, wincing every -now and then as he touched a fragment of burning -wood.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He made for the cupboard in the corner, thinking -that Mounseer might have been overpowered by the -smoke as he stood to save some of his few possessions -there. But there was no sign of him in the corner. He -worked back, and had almost completed the tour of -the room when, behind the door, he stumbled upon -something hard. It was the sole of a shoe. In another -moment he knew that the body of the Frenchman was -stretched along the floor close against the wall.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Raising himself, he seized Mounseer’s feet and tried -to drag him out upon the landing. But suddenly his -strength failed: overcome by the smoke he fell gasping -across the prostrate body, and lay for a few moments -in a state of collapse.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Collecting himself with a great effort, he struggled to -his feet and managed to pull the inert form as far as -the doorway before once more faintness overtook him, -and again he fell.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He tried to shout for help, but only a feeble croak -issued from his parched lips. A terrible fear assailed -him: if a few minutes’ immersion in the smoke could -rob him of his strength, how must it be with the -Frenchman, who had been so much longer exposed? -Was he too late? Was the old gentleman past -help?</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The thought nerved him to one more effort. He -rose, and pulled with all his might at the Frenchman’s -legs. Staggering, he got him through the doorway on to -the landing. Here there was a little more air, but -Martin’s head swam; sick and dizzy he reeled, fell, and -struck his head against the banisters. At the moment -of his losing consciousness there was a noise in his -ears, above the roar of the flames—a noise as of people -shouting and running.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>When he came to himself he was lying in the roadway. -His head and chest were wet. His dazed, aching -eyes saw Susan Gollop bending over him; in the -background were other figures, among which he by and -by recognised that of George Hopton.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer!” he murmured.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer is safe, my lamb,” said Susan, her tone -unusually soft. “Take a drink: you’ll soon be all -right again.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He drank greedily from the cup she offered. A well-dressed -elderly gentleman came forward.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“He is recovering, mistress?” he said.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ay, sir, thank God!” replied Susan. “But I wish -Gollop would come. I don’t know what in the world -we are to do now. The old house is done for: we’ve -got our little bits of furniture here, but nowhere to -go.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Don’t distress yourself, my good woman,” said the -gentleman. “I will make it my charge to look after -you all until something can be arranged. I would take -you to my own house were it not so far away; that is -impossible; but I will at once ride off to a farm I know -at Islington, where I make no doubt I can arrange for -your housing.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>He crossed the road to where a boy was holding a -horse, mounted, and rode away.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Who is that?” Martin murmured. George Hopton -came and stood by him.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mr. Greatorex, to be sure,” answered Susan, “and -a real kind gentleman. Brave too; ay, a man of bravery -if ever there was one, and quick of his mind. He came -riding up with this lad perched behind him, and the -way he got off that horse—well, ’twas a wonderful -spring for a man of his years. ‘Where’s Martin -Leake?’ he sings out. ‘In the house,’ says I, ‘a-saving -of the old gentleman on the first floor.’ ‘Isn’t there a -<span class='it'>man</span> that could have done that?’ says he, scornful-like, -looking round on the crowd. And I must own -they was an idle lot, all eyes and no sense. Well, he -didn’t wait a moment, but dashed into the house—though -I’ll own this lad was in front of him. My heart -was in my mouth when I saw ’em vanish into that -furnace and heard ’em shouting for you——”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer! what of Mounseer?” asked Martin -again, as remembrance came to his dazed mind.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Safe and sound, bless you,” replied Susan; “that -is, he will be, when he’s come to proper. He’s over -yonder, with a doctor looking after him. It seemed an -age before Mr. Greatorex came out again, though I -suppose ’twas no more than a minute or two. He had -you in his arms, and my heart went pit-a-pat that -dreadful when I saw your pale face and your poor -burnt hands. And behind him was this lad with -Mounseer on his back: a strong lad, and a good lad too. -And you hadn’t been out of the house two ticks when -the floors fell in with a terrible crash, and sparks flying -all across the street. ’Twas a merciful Providence that -sent Mr. Greatorex in the very nick of time to save you -from being burnt alive.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But I don’t understand—Mr. Greatorex—how—why -did he want me?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I can tell you that,” said Hopton. “I went up to -the shop to see if there was anything left of it. My -word! the ground did scorch my feet. Of course it’s -nothing but a black ruin: all Cheapside is burnt. I was -just coming away when Mr. Greatorex rode up. He’d -come up from the country; only think: the smoke and -bits of black paper and stuff have been carried forty or -fifty miles away. He asked me about Slocum, and -whether the goods had been saved in time; and then I -told him all I knew, and said that the goods were safe -on board the ship, and ’twas all owing to you. ‘Take -me at once to that Martin Leake,’ says he, and he was -in such a hurry that he made me get up on the saddle -behind him: first time in my life I’ve ever been on a -horse, and don’t I ache with the jolting! Then it -happened as Mrs. Gollop said: we found you and the old -Frenchman in a heap on the landing, and we weren’t -long bringing you out, I can tell you.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And such foolishness of Mounseer!” said Susan. -“Nearly lost his life, and yours too, and what for? -Just for a bit of a box.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“A brass-bound box?” said Martin.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“No, there’s no brass about it, so far as I could see, -though he kept it so tight in his arms that no one could -see it proper. He’d quite lost his senses when the lad -brought him out, but d’you think he’d let go of that -box? Not for ever so. He clung to it as if it was the -most vallyble thing in the whole world—just a bit of a -box, leather I fancy, but so old and worn that—there, -you never can tell what queer things some folks take a -fancy to.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But what’s in the box?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ah, who’s to say? He’s got it in his arms still, and -there it’ll be until he’s rightly come to himself. Are -you feeling better now, my dear?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Yes, though I’m rather chokey, and my hands -smart.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“To be sure they do, and I’ve no oil to put on ’em. -But I’ll get some soon, and if Mr. Greatorex is a man -of his word—and I don’t say he isn’t—we’ll soon have -you in a comfortable bed in a farm-house, and milk and -cream, and—why, it’ll be a holiday in the country, -what I’ve wanted for years. You’ll like that, won’t -you, Lucy?” she asked, as the child ran up.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Mounseer’s opened his eyes,” said Lucy. “I’m so -glad. He smiled at me. And then he asked for Martin. -And then he said some funny words <span class='it'>I</span> couldn’t understand. -And then he told me to come and say ‘Thank -you’ a thousand times to Martin. That was just his -fun, of course, for I couldn’t say it so many times as -that, could I?”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s just his foreign way, my dear,” said Susan. -“Once is enough with English people. Run back and -tell him that Martin is all right, and we’re all going to a -farm in the country. I do wish Gollop would come -home.”</p> - -<hr class='pbk'/> - -<div><span class='pageno' title='188' id='Page_188'></span><h1>CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SEVENTH</h1></div> - -<h3>ALL’S WELL</h3> - -<p class='pindent'>Not many hours later, in one of the comfortable rooms -of a large farm-house near the village of Islington, -Dick Gollop and his wife, Martin and Lucy and Gundra, -and Mounseer—whose name was Monsieur Raoul -Marie de Caudebec—had just finished the best meal -they had had for many a day.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Greatorex—proving himself to be a man of his -word—had sent them from the City in a hired coach, -and arranged that their furniture should follow in a -wagon. He himself had promised to come and see -them as soon as he had had an interview with one of -the sheriffs.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>The burns of Martin and the Frenchman had been -treated with oil and flour, and it was Susan Gollop’s -opinion that, except for a scar or two, they would -show no permanent marks of their recent terrible -experience.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And I daresay Martin won’t show none at all,” she -said. “He’s young, and young skin has time to change -itself over and over again. And as to Mounseer—well, -he’s old, and I don’t suppose he’ll mind if he do -bear a blemish or two.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That is philosophy, madam,” said the Frenchman -with a smile.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Your box is marked worse than you,” Susan went -on, eyeing with simple curiosity the small leather -casket that lay on the table at Mounseer’s right hand. -“You can’t make a new thing of a bit of old leather, -specially when it’s had a thorough good scorching.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That is true, madam.” Mounseer laid his hand on -the casket. “It is old, older than I am; it was to my -grandfather.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Gracious me! Then it must be very ancient, for you -ain’t a chicken yourself. I don’t mean no offence, -Mounseer.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I am sure of that: it is just the English way. Eh -well, my friends, you have been so good to me that I -owe you to explain. One does not talk of the private -affairs until the time comes. This is the time.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>And then he proceeded to relate a story that held the -rapt attention of his hearers. Escaping from persecution -in France, he had brought with him nothing but -his rapier and the casket that contained a number of -valuable jewels, heirlooms in his family. These were -his only means of support. One by one, as he needed -money, he had sold them to Mr. Slocum. His wants -being simple, he had made the money go a long way, -and he hoped that the contents of the casket would -last for the rest of his life.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“There now!” exclaimed Susan. “And you <span class='it'>would</span> -buy lollipops for Lucy! You didn’t ought to, Mounseer, -and I wouldn’t have allowed it if I’d known.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And so you would have robbed me of a great -pleasure,” said the old gentleman.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I see it now,” said Martin. “You sold your jewels -from time to time to Slocum, and he knew how -valuable they were, though I don’t suppose he paid -you anything like what they were worth. And then he -had planned to rob Mr. Greatorex, and being greedy, -wanted the rest of your jewels as well. That explains -the attacks on your room.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mounseer assented, adding that he had of course -never suspected Mr. Slocum of any part in those -attacks. Determined to protect his property, he had -removed a length of the wainscoting of the wall -of his room, and hidden the casket in the cavity -behind. When his room was ransacked, this hiding-place -remained undiscovered. He had only just removed -the casket when he was overcome by the -smoke.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“And it is to you, my friend,” he said, turning to -Martin, “that I owe that I have still the means to -live; and when I die, if any of my jewels are left, they -shall be to you: I will so ordain it in my testament.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“That’s handsome said,” cried Dick Gollop.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“But I hope there will be none left,” said Martin, -flushing.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Meaning that you’ll live as long as Methusalem, -Mounseer,” said Susan. “And we all agree: of that I’m -very sure.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I do not covet so long a life,” said Mounseer, “but -it must be as the good God pleases.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Ay, and what you can’t help, make the best of,” -said Gollop. “That Slocum and his crowd, now—their -course is set for the gallows, and I hope as they’ll put -a cheerful face on it. Nothing upsets me more than to -see a man draw down his chops when he’s on his way to -be hanged. He can’t get out of it, so his looks might -just as well be sweet as sour.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Next day, when Mr. Greatorex paid his promised -visit to the farm, he brought some interesting news. -The man who called himself Seymour, but whose real -name was Smith, had purchased his freedom by -volunteering to turn King’s evidence, and had already -made a long statement. It appeared that the man -whom Martin had called Blackbeard was a brother of -Slocum, and had spent a good many years in piracy on -the eastern seas. He had captured Captain Leake’s -vessel the <span class='it'>Merry Maid</span>, made some few alterations in -her cut—not skilfully enough to deceive the sharp -eyes of Dick Gollop—changed her name to the <span class='it'>Santa -Maria</span>, and brought her into dock after a brush with -the French. He himself pretended to be a foreigner -and had assumed a foreign accent at times.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Meeting his brother after many years’ absence, he -had suggested that the most valuable articles in Mr. -Greatorex’s stock of plate and jewellery should be -gradually transferred to his vessel, carried to Portugal -and sold. Seymour had been admitted as a partner, -and had taken a lodging in the same house as the -Frenchman, partly because his room would be convenient -as a temporary storing place, and partly that -he might assist in the robbery of Mounseer’s valuables. -The outbreak of the Fire had enabled Slocum to carry off -the whole of the stock openly.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Mr. Greatorex was loud in praise of Martin for the -large share he had had in saving the goods. He offered -to take him as a regular apprentice, but learning that -Martin had a passion for the sea, he agreed to place -him on a King’s ship, and promised to take charge of -Lucy. And being in want of a gardener for his country -house, he asked Gollop whether he would like to exchange -his constable’s staff for a spade.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“Well, sir, I take it kind of you,” said Dick. “I -don’t mind if I do. I knows nothing about gardening, -but then I knowed nothing about the law till I took up -with it, and as a man of law I reckon I’ve a pretty good -name in London town. I’ll do my best, and if I ain’t -very good at it just at first, well, what <span class='it'>I</span> can’t help, -<span class='it'>you</span>'ll make the best of, I’ll be bound.”</p> - -<p class='pindent'>It only remained to dispose of Gundra. Susan Gollop -undertook to give him a home until Martin should sail -on his first voyage to the East. Some two years later -Martin had the pleasure of restoring the boy to his -own family in Surat.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Slocum and his confederates were not destined to be -hanged after all. It was discovered one day that they -had broken prison, and they were never captured. -Years afterwards, when Martin was a captain in the -King’s Navy, he was accosted one day in Portsmouth -by a wretched-looking beggar, who suddenly stopped -in the midst of his whining plea for help and slunk off -rapidly round the first corner.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>“I could swear that was Slocum,” Martin said to -himself. “I suppose he recognised me and was afraid I -should give him up to justice. How it all comes back to -me—that night of the Fire!”</p> - -<p class='line0' style='text-align:center;margin-top:3em;'><span class='sc'>The End</span></p> - -<div><h1>TRANSCRIBER NOTES</h1></div> - -<p class='pindent'>Mis-spelled words and printer errors have been corrected or standardised.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Inconsistency in accents has been corrected or standardised.</p> - -<p class='pindent'>Illustrations have been relocated due to using a non-page layout.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARTIN OF OLD LONDON ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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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