Cormorant Crag Part 79

"If you sall bose be ill you can stay in bed to-day; but you vill be better up. Vell, do you feel vairy seek?"

"No, we're all right," said Vince; and soon after the two boys climbed on deck and had to shelter themselves from the spray, which was flying across the deck in a sharp shower.

It was a black-looking morning, and the gloom of the clouds tinged the surface of the sea, whose foaming waves looked sooty and dingy to a degree, while the boys found now how much more severe the storm was than they had supposed when below. The men were all in their oilskins, very little canvas was spread, and they were right out in a heavy, chopping sea, with no sign of land on any hand.

They had to stagger to the lee bulwarks and hold on, for the lugger every now and then indulged in a kick and plunge, while from time to time a wave came over the bows, deluging the deck from end to end.

But before long the slight feeling of scare which had attacked the boys pa.s.sed off, as they saw the matter-of-fact, composed manner in which the men stood at their various stations, while the captain was standing now beside the helmsman, and appeared to be giving him fresh directions as to the course he was to steer, with the result that, as the lugger's head paid off a trifle, the motion became less violent, while her speed increased.

"Aha!" shouted the captain, as he found them--"not seek yet? Vait till ve have ze _dejeuner_, and zen ve sall see."

"Oh, we've been to sea before," said Vince rather contemptuously.

"And you like ze sea, _n'est-ce pas_--is it not so?"

"Oh yes; we like the sea," said Vince. "It is good," said the captain, clapping him on the shoulder. "Zen you sall help me. You say no at ze beginning, but bah! a boy--two boy like you brave _garcons_--vill not cry to go home to ze muzzer. It is a fine sing to have a luggar of tree mast like zis, and you sall bose make you fortune ven I have done."

He nodded and turned away, leaving the boys to stand looking at each other aghast, and forgetting all about the state of the sea, till a big wave came over the bows and made them seek for shelter.

They saw but little of the captain that day, except at meal-times, when he was good-humoured and jocose with them in spite of the fact that the weather did not mend in the least. Then the next day pa.s.sed, and the next, with the wind not so violent, but the sea continued rough, and the constant misty rain kept them for the most part below. The crew were civil enough, and chatted with them when they did not ask questions; but failing to obtain any information from them as to their destination, Vince agreed with Mike that one of them should ask the captain where they were going to first. So that evening, when they were sailing slowly in a north-easterly direction, after being driven here and there by contrary winds, they waited their opportunity, and upon the captain coming up to them Vince began at once with,--

"Where are we going to first, captain?"

"Eh? you vant to know?" he said. "Vell, you sall. In zere." The boys looked sharply in the direction pointed out but could see nothing for the misty rain which drifted slowly across the sea.

"Where's in there?" said Mike.

"You are not good sailore yet, _mon ami_, or you vould have study our course. I vill tell you. You look over ze most left, and you vill see ze land of ze fat, heavy Dutchmans."

"What, Holland?" cried Vince eagerly.

"Yais: you know ze name of ze river and ports?"

"Yes; Amsterdam, Rotterdam," began Vince. "Are we going to one of those places?"

"Aha! ve sall see. You no ask questions. Some day, if you are good boy and can be trust, you vill know everysings. Perhaps ve go into ze Scheldt, perhaps ve make for ze Texel and ze Zuyder Zee, perhaps ve go noveres. Now you know."

He gave them a peculiar look and left them, and as the rain came on in a drifting drizzle the boys made this an excuse for going below.

"Mike," said Vince, as soon as they were alone, "got a pencil?"

"No."

"And there is neither pen nor ink."

"Nor yet paper."

"Then we're floored there," said Vince impatiently.

"What did you want to do?"

"Want to do? Why, write home of course, telling them where we were. We surely could post a letter at the port."

"No: he'll never give us a chance."

"Perhaps not; but we might bribe some one to take the letter."

"What with? I haven't a penny, and I don't believe you have."

Vince doubled his fists and rested his head upon them.

"I tell you what, then: we only gave our word for one day. We must wait till we are in port, and then swim ash.o.r.e. Some one would help us."

"If we could speak Dutch."

"Oh dear," said Vince, "how hard it is! But never mind, let's get away.

We might find an English ship there."

Mike shook his head, and Vince set to work inventing other ways of escaping; but they finally decided that the best way would be to wait till they were in the river or port, and then to try and get off each with an oar to help support them in what might prove to be a longer swim than they could manage.

That evening the weather lifted, and after a couple of hours' sail they found themselves off a dreary, low-lying sh.o.r.e, upon which a cl.u.s.ter or two of houses was visible, and several windmills--one showing up very large and prominent at the mouth of what seemed to be a good-sized river, whose farther sh.o.r.e they could faintly discern in the failing evening light.

"We're going up there," said Vince--"that's certain." But just as it began to grow dark there was a loud rattling, and down went an anchor, the lugger swung round, and the boys were just able to make out that they were about a couple of miles from the big windmill.

"Too many sandbanks to venture in," said Vince.

"No; we're waiting for a pilot."

"I believe," said Vince, "he'll wait for daylight and then sail up the river; and if we don't escape somehow before we're twenty-four hours older my name isn't Burnet."

Mike said nothing, but he did not seem hopeful; and soon after they were summoned to the cabin to dinner, where the captain was very friendly.

"Aha! now you see Holland. It is beautiful, is it not? Flat as ze Dutchman face. Not like your Cormorant Crag, eh? But nevaire mind. It vas time, and soon ve get b.u.t.ter, bread and milk, ze sheecan, ze potate, for you hungry boy have eat so much ve get to ze bottom of ze store."

They asked no questions, for they felt that it did not matter. Any land would do, and if they could escape it would go hard if they did not avoid recapture.

They were too much excited to sleep for some time that night, lying listening for the coming of the pilot or for the hoisting of the anchor; for there was, after all, the possibility of their having anch.o.r.ed till the tide rose sufficiently for them to cross some bar at the mouth of the river. But sleep overcame them at last, and they lay insensible to the fact that about midnight a light was hoisted at the mast-head, which was answered about an hour after by the appearance of another light in the mouth of the river--a light which gradually crept nearer and nearer till about an hour before dawn, when the boys were awakened by a soft b.u.mping against the lugger's side, followed by a dull creaking, and then came the hurrying to and fro of feet on the deck overhead.

"Quick, Mike!" cried Vince--"into your clothes. She's sinking!"

As they hurried on a few things, the pa.s.sing to and fro of men grew louder; they heard the captain's voice giving orders, evidently for the lowering of a boat, and the boys tried to fling open the door and rush on deck.

Tried--but that was all.

"Mike, we're locked in!" cried Vince frantically; and he began to kick at the door, shouting with Mike for help.

Their appeal was so vigorous that they did not have to wait for long.

There was the sound of the captain's heavy boots as he blundered down the ladder, and he gave a tremendous kick at the door.