Devon Boys Part 70

Poor fellows! Just about a dozen of you. Well, there's no mistake about your having made a brave defence, Captain Duncan. Not a man unhurt. Sir, I'm proud to know you."

"My men behaved better than I did, sir," said my father modestly.

"Oh, of course, sir," cried the lieutenant laughing; "but avast talking.

What can we do for you? I'm here ash.o.r.e with the lugger and prisoners till my ship comes back, so what shall we do? You don't want doctoring, I see?"

"We want covering in first of all, sir," said the doctor, pointing to the unroofed shed.

"Of course you do," cried the lieutenant; "and all your men wounded.

Here, heave ahead, my lads, and half of you run back to the lugger and bring up all the spare sails and spars you can get hold of. If there are no spars bring the sweeps."

"Ay, ay, sir," cried the sailors; and half of them went off at the double back along the valley, while the others, under the command of their officer, set to work and shovelled and brushed out all the burnt charcoal and smouldering wood from the long shed, and then from the counting-house, and after that they were busy at work cutting ling and heath with their cutla.s.ses, when the men despatched to the lugger came back loaded with sails and spars.

At it they went, and in a very short time had rigged up a roof over the shed for our poor fellows, carried in a quant.i.ty of ling, and spread over that more sail-cloth, making quite a comfortable bed with room for a dozen men, and ample s.p.a.ce for the doctor to go between.

Then, with the tenderness of women, the great bronzed fellows lifted the wounded men who could not walk, slipped under them a hammock, and one at each corner carried them in and laid them down.

"There you are, messmates," said the biggest of the men; "now, then, a quid apiece for you to keep down the pain. Make ready: pockets, 'bacco boxes," he shouted, and his comrades laughingly obeyed.

"Thank you, my lads, thank you," cried the doctor, going round and shaking hands with all in turn; "why, it would be a pleasure to have to do with such men as you. But there, you're safe and sound."

"At present, sir," said the big sailor; "but hark! They're at it yonder."

We listened and sure enough there was the distant sound of heavy firing coming from the west.

"And we not in it, mates," said the big sailor dolefully.

The wounded being cared for and the miners' wives beginning to come back, we left them in the doctor's charge, and, in response to the lieutenant's invitation, went back with him to the lugger.

"I'll send your fellows up all I can," he said, "but you two come to the lugger cabin, and I think I can sc.r.a.pe you up a bit of a meal."

We were ready enough to go for many reasons, one of them being curiosity; and having shaken hands with Bigley, and asked my father to do the same, for the poor fellow was very miserable and despondent, away we went.

"The rascals!" said the lieutenant, "they've got all your silver then?

How much was it worth?"

"Nearly two thousand five hundred pounds' worth," said my father.

"What a haul!" exclaimed the lieutenant, "and so compact and handy.

Never mind, captain, hark at our guns talking to them. They'll have to disgorge. But, I say, some one must have told them where to come."

"I'm afraid so," said my father.

"Who was likely to know?--this smuggling rascal that we have got in the French lugger?"

"Who is he? An Englishman?"

"No, sir, a Frenchman who speaks English pretty well. The officer on the revenue cutter knows him. A Captain Gualtiere, I believe."

"Oh!" I exclaimed.

"You know him then?" said the officer sharply.

"Yes," said my father; "he picked up my son and two companions one day after their boat had been blown out to sea."

"He seems to have picked up something else beside, sir," cried the officer--"knowledge of where you kept your silver. And you may depend upon it his lugger has been playing leader to the French sloop, and showed the captain where to land. Two thousand five hundred pounds in bars of silver! We must have that back."

"I'm afraid you are not quite right, sir," said my father sadly. "I think we shall find that the betrayal of my place was due to a smuggler who used to live in yonder cottage, information respecting whose cargo landing I was compelled, as a king's officer, to give to the commander of the cutter. It has been an old sore, and it has doubtless rankled."

"Oh, father!" I said sadly, "do you think this really is so?"

"Yes, Sep," he replied, "and so do you; but don't be alarmed, I shall not visit it upon his son. The poor lad thinks the same, I am sure, and he is half broken-hearted about it." We reached the beach soon after, where a couple of Jacks were in charge of the boat, and soon after we were pulled alongside of the lugger, to find that the men left on board, in charge of a midshipman of about my own age, had been busy repairing damages, _fishing_, as they called it, the broken spar, while the lugger's crew sat forward smoking and looking on, in company with their skipper, who rose smiling, and saluted.

"Aha! Le Capitaine Dooncaine," he cried; "and m'sieu hees sone. I salute you both."

"Salute me?" cried my father angrily. "After this night's work?"

"This night's work, mon capitaine?" he said lightly. "Vy node. I am prisonaire; so is my sheep, and my brave boys. But it ees ze fortune of var."

"Yes; the fortune of war," said my father bitterly.

"I do node gomplaine myself. You Angleesh are a grand nation; ve are a grand nation. Ve are fighting now. If ze sloop sail vin she vill come for me. If she lose ze capitaine vill be prisonaire, and behold encore ze fortune of war."

"Sir," said my father, "it is the act of pirates to descend upon a set of peaceful people as your countrymen did last night, thanks to your playing spy."

"Spy? Espion? Monsieur insults a French gentleman. I am no spy."

"Was it not the work of a spy to bring that French sloop here to ravage my place and steal the ore that had been smelted down?"

"True, saire, it vas bad; but ze espion was your own countrymen, saire.

Ze Capitaine Gualtiere does no do such not you calls dirty vorks as zat."

"Jonas Uggleston! It was he, then?" cried my father. "I felt sure of it; but I believed you to have had a hand in it, Captain Gualtiere."

"A hand in him, sair. Ze Capitaine Ugglee-stone ask me to join him, it there is months ago, sair; but I am a smugglaire, and a shentilhomme, node a pirate."

"Captain Gualtiere," said my father, "you once saved my boy's life, and I have insulted you--a prisoner. Sir, I beg your pardon."

My father took off his hat, and before he realised what was about to take place, the Frenchman had thrown his lithe arms about him and kissed his cheek.

"Sair," he exclaimed with emotion, "I am a prisonaire, but I look upon ze Capitaine Dooncaine as a friend."

They then shook hands, and my father coloured up as he saw the officer of the frigate look on as if amused.

"Monsieur," said Captain Gualtiere; "I am no longer the maitre here; but you vill entaire my cabine, and I pray you to take dejeuner--ze breakezefast vis me."

The result was that we had a surprisingly good meal, and very refreshing it proved, though I was in terrible pain all the time, and kept on wondering whether I ought to eat and drink.

The lieutenant from the frigate kept getting up and going on deck to listen to the firing, which was very heavy in the distance, though nothing could be seen, and he exclaimed once against the great headland, the Ram's Nose, which shut off the view.