Ronald Morton, or the Fire Ships Part 6

Captain Maitland gave the necessary orders to an old man who acted as his servant-of-all-work, but Surly Grind would not be induced to let go the bridle, even though a savoury mess besides the bone was placed before his nose, till his master had called to him from the window and released him from his office. The pony, as soon as he had had his basin of brose, and his bridle and saddle were taken off him, trotted off to the plot of greenest gra.s.s in the neighbourhood.

"That is a curious name you have given your pony, Mr Lawrence,"

observed Maitland, when his guest was comfortably seated at supper. "It is what would be called in Scotland a water kelpie. Is there anything of the nature of a Trow in your little animal?"

"More, perhaps, than you think of, friend," answered Lawrence, gravely.

"Neogle can do everything but speak; whatever I tell him he does it immediately. He follows me like my dog; he'll step into my boat and lie down at the bottom of it, as readily as Surly Grind himself, or if I order him to swim astern, he jumps in forthwith; and if I was to take a cruise round the mainland, he would come after me as long as he had strength to swim."

"He may do all that and not be a trow," observed Morton, laughing; for he, as well as Captain Maitland, was anxious to prevent Lawrence's thoughts running upon the recent events.

"Right, cousin Morton, right," answered Lawrence. "I came honestly by him by purchase, and called him Neogle on account of his strength, and sagacity, and docility. The country people gave the name of the Neogle to a wicked sort of trow, whom they believe lives in the water, and whose great aim is to carry off people to destroy them. On that account he appears in the shape of a pretty pony, bridled and saddled, and all ready for a pleasant gallop across the country. He has a great fancy for carrying off millers. To do this he stops the wheel of the mill.

That makes the miller come out of the house to learn what is the matter.

On goes the mill once more, and when he looks about he sees the pony.

If he is a young miller, and has not heard about the Neogle, or doesn't believe in it, or forgets about it--'Ho, ho!' says he, 'the mill is going on all smooth and pleasantly, so I'll just take a gallop, and be back before it's time to put in more grist.' On that he leaps on the seeming pony, when off goes the trow, fleet as the winds. Away, away he goes. In vain the poor miller tries to throw himself off: a broken leg or an arm would be far, far better than the fate awaiting him. He is though, he finds, glued, as it were, to the saddle. On gallops the Neogle over hill and down, and bog, and loch, and stream, and voe; nothing stops him till the sea is reached, and then across it he flies till he is over the deep water, when down he dives in a ma.s.s of flame, with loud shrieks of mocking laughter, and never again is the poor miller heard of."

"That's a curious notion, Mr Lawrence," observed Captain Maitland. "I never heard it before; but do you say the people believe in it?"

"Troth do I; and why should they not?" answered Lawrence, blinking his eyes. "There are many things which you have seen in your voyages, and which would seem very strange to our people, if you were to tell of them. As to the Neogle, I never saw one that I know of, but I should be very cautious about mounting him if I did."

The evening was now drawing on, the storm which had for some time been threatening had nearly reached the island; vivid flashes of lightning darted from the sky, and loud thunder claps rolled almost overhead. A sharp neigh was heard, and Lawrence Brindister started up.

"Ah, Neogle is aware of what is coming, and has trotted up to ask for shelter," he observed, going to the window. "You'll let him have a corner in your stable, captain, I dare say?"

The request was at once complied with, and scarcely was the pony under shelter than down came the storm, the wind blowing furiously, with torrents of rain, while the lightning flashed faster and brighter, and the thunder broke in louder and more crashing peals. The rain kept the party close prisoners in the house till it was time for them to retire to bed. All night the storm raged. At an early hour Lawrence Brindister was on foot, the rain had ceased, but the wind blew as furiously as ever. Lawrence was seen to put on his boots, then hurrying to the stable he mounted Neogle, and followed by Surly Grind, he was trotting off, when Captain Maitland hailed him, and inquired where he was going.

"To Navie Grind, Captain," was his answer. "I have a fancy for watching the sea breaking over those cliffs, as it will be doing this morning, and maybe I shall get a glimpse of the Spanish ship, for she is not so far off our sh.o.r.es as some of you may think, and as those on board would pray they might be."

"Heaven forbid that the Spaniard, or any other craft, is near our cliffs at this time," said Morton. "There are good seamen on board her, and she must have got a good offing before she met the gale."

"Still, we'll take a stroll across to Navie Grind, and have a look at the Western Ocean," observed Maitland. "I love to watch it at all times, in storm or sunshine; but, as my days of romance are over, we'll have breakfast first. Morton, you'll agree to that? Mr Lawrence, you'll join us? The sea will not go down before you have had time to break your fast, nor will, I trust, the Spanish ship heave in sight."

Notwithstanding, however, all the hospitable old sailor's persuasions, Lawrence would only be persuaded to take a handful of oatcake and a draught of milk; and then away he trotted on Neogle, followed by Surly Grind, towards the west. Morton and their host took their time in discussing a far more substantial breakfast, consisting of salted and dried haddocks, pickled pork, oaten cakes, and other substantial articles of food, sufficient to astonish a southern stomach. The captain then lighted his pipe, inviting Rolf to join him, and they smoked away in that deliberate manner which showed that they considered it a far pleasanter pastime than battling with the fierce gale outside.

Captain Maitland at length shook the ashes out of his pipe, and was considering whether he should light another, when Lawrence Brindister's voice was heard from below the window, shouting--

"The spirits of the storm have not failed in their duty; the proud Spaniards will meet with their deserts. I knew it would be so. Hurra!

hurra! but I'm off again. I wouldn't miss the sight to be made Earl of Zetland."

The two friends hurried to the window, and inquired what was the matter.

"Matter!" exclaimed Lawrence. "Why, that the Spanish corvette is driving ash.o.r.e, and that ere many minutes are over she and all on board will be hurled to destruction. I would save poor Hilda if I could, in spite of her pride and haughtiness, but that is beyond human power to accomplish."

"Heaven forbid!" exclaimed Captain Maitland. "The poor young lady, we must at all events try to save her and those with her."

"Are you certain, Mr Lawrence, that it is the Spanish ship you have seen?" shouted Morton; but he received no answer, for Lawrence had turned Neogle's head, and was galloping off as hard as the little creature could lay hoof to the ground.

"Whether Spanish or any other ship, we'll try what brave hearts and stout hands can do to help the unfortunates on board her," said the fine old seaman, Captain Maitland, as he hurried out of the house. "Here, Sandy Neill, Davie Borthwick,--here, lads!" he shouted, and two stout seafaring-looking men employed on his farm came running up. "There's a ship ash.o.r.e, or likely soon to be, and you'll be ready to follow me, not to wreck and to plunder, but to save life, if so we can."

Both Sandy and Davie agreed to do whatever the captain wished, and Morton's own crew were also quickly collected. Before setting out they provided themselves with such coils of rope and long spars as the captain's store could provide. Morton and his friend, armed with stout sticks and coats b.u.t.toned up, followed by their men, set out with the fierce gale blowing in their teeth, on their errand of mercy.

CHAPTER NINE.

NAVIE GRIND DESCRIBED--THE WRECK ON Sh.o.r.e--THE SHIP DASHED TO PIECES-- THE RESCUED.

Navis Grind, or Navie Grind, the point towards which Morton and his friend directed their steps, is a high cliff forming the extreme western point of that part of Shetland called North Maven, and thus stands out prominently into the Atlantic Ocean, some way to the south of Ronas Hill. A short way off from it, due west, like the advanced sentry of an outpost, is the small rocky islet of Ossa Skerry, but this in no way breaks the force of the seas as they rush impetuously onward from far far away across the ocean. It seems, on the contrary, to have the effect of uniting the strength of two seas in one, and of impelling them with double vehemence against the bold cliff which confronts their fury.

Solid as is the rock of which the cliff is composed, it has in the course of ages been rent away, quarried out as it were; huge blocks, many of several tons weight, being cast far away inland, while the whole ground, for two or three hundred yards from the edge of the cliff, is strewed with fragments of lesser size, so that the rocks present more the appearance of the ruins of some vast edifice, than, as they really are, ma.s.ses hove there by the operation of one of nature's most potent agents. At length the sea has worked a deep chasm in the cliff, and each successive storm seems to dig out and force upward a fresh layer of rock. As the party approached this spot, so wild and desolate at all times, but doubly so now, the seas, dark, towering, and topped with crests of foam, came rolling onward in quick succession, with a fierceness which seemed irresistible, till, meeting the cliff, they rushed upwards in dense ma.s.ses, making the very ground shake with the concussion. Now a sea, fiercer than its forerunners, would tear away a huge fragment of rock, and throw it into the air as if it had been projected from the mouth of a volcano, or send it rolling along the down, making it dangerous to approach the spot; and, while dense sheets of spray obscured the view seaward, the great body of water was thrown back in a continuous cascade, increasing the tumult of the foaming caldron which raged below.

"It was near this wild place that Lawrence Brindister obtained that strange dog of his," said Captain Maitland to Morton. "It was the only living creature washed ash.o.r.e from the wreck of a large ship--a foreigner, we could not ascertain of what nation. While others were engaged in picking up the treasures they could find, he, at no little risk to his own life, a.s.sisted the poor animal, who was sadly battered by the fragments of wreck, and exhausted by swimming to land. The creature looked up into his face, licked his hand, and, from that moment, claimed him as his master, and would follow no one else. See, there he stands; I fear he is to-day in one of his maddest fits."

The captain pointed, as he spoke, to the top of a high rocky mount which overlooked the sea. Lawrence Brindister, with his two dumb animals by his side, was there seen gesticulating wildly, waving his hand towards the ocean, and shouting apparently with his utmost strength. The roar of the waters, however, as they were hurled against the cliff, added to the howling of the tempest, created a noise so deafening that even the two seamen, accustomed even in the hurricane to make their voices heard, could with difficulty hear each other speak.

Their first glance, as they came in sight of the sea, was in search of the ship of which Lawrence had told them.

"Too true, there she is," exclaimed Morton, while a sickening feeling came over his heart.

Morton and his friend lifted their gla.s.ses to their eyes mechanically, for they could scarcely have expected to have discovered more than their unaided sight would have told them.

"She is the Spanish corvette, there's no doubt about it," shouted Morton to his companion, who, however, could scarcely hear what else he said, as he added: "All the poor fellows on board can hope to do is to put off this fatal moment, though I doubt not they have some notion of making Yell Sound; but the sight of Ronas Hill must, if they look at their charts, show them that they cannot fail to drive on sh.o.r.e long before they could reach it."

"Even now that ship might be saved, or, at all events, the lives of her people, if she had a pilot on board to carry her into Yell Sound,"

shouted Captain Maitland. "What say you, Rolf?"

"That if mortal power could carry a man on board her, I would go,"

answered Morton. "But what boat could live in such a sea as that?"

"If a boat built and manned by human hands can live in this sea, there is one this moment in Hamna Voe as well able to do so as any which floats on water," answered Maitland. "Some of her crew may be at their hut even now, though the gale will have given those who live nearest a holiday, and they probably have gone to their houses."

The voe alluded to was a small but deep one, forming a good harbour on the north side of Navie Grind. High rugged rocks formed the sides, but there was a pathway down them to the water. Towards the inner end there was a piece of level ground, sloping up from the beach; here the fishermen had built a shed, which served them as a dwelling during the fishing season. It was a long, low edifice, composed both of mud and blocks of rock, but chiefly of timber, fragments of wreck cast up on the beach. The doorway was the only aperture, and this served not only for the ingress and egress of the inhabitants, but to admit light, and to allow such part of the smoke from the fire in the centre as ever found its way into the open air to escape; a considerable portion, it appeared clinging to the walls and rafters, which were thoroughly blackened by it, giving it a somewhat gloomy aspect. On one side were piled up masts, and spars, and oars; and sails, and nets, and coils of rope were hung against the walls or on the beams overhead; while, on the other, were a row of bunks or standing bed places, formed out of fragments of wreck-wood. Three or four men, seated on casks or three-legged stools, were busily plying their netting-needles, while several others were fast asleep on the bunks. The pathway, down which Morton and his companions hurried, led close down to the shed. His announcement, as he entered, that there was a ship in sight, partly dismasted, made all hands, the sleepers as well as the workers, spring to their feet. They looked rather blank, however, when Captain Maitland, who entered directly after, added:

"Remember, lads, we must have none of the old customs of the island put in practice, understand that. We want to save the ship if we can, or the lives of those on board. Come, lads, they are fellow-creatures-- seamen like ourselves, in distress. Where is the faint-hearted coward who would leave them to perish without lifting a hand to save them.

Such a fellow is not to be found among Shetlanders, I hope."

This appeal had an instant effect. When the men heard that Captain Maitland and Rolf Morton proposed going out in their boat to a.s.sist the disabled ship, they agreed to lend her, and to accompany them, the captain undertaking to make good any damage which might accrue, even to the loss of the boat herself.

The boat, the largest of the cla.s.s used for fishing on that coast, pulled twelve oars, and, what with the men belonging to her, and those who had come from Hillswick, as fine a crew as ever manned a boat was collected. The oars and other gear being placed in her, the next thing to be done was to launch her; and while this operation was taking place, Morton and his friend ascended the cliff, to ascertain the position of the corvette, and what prospect there was of getting on board her. As they climbed up the path they observed that the wind had somewhat abated, and this gave them greater hopes of getting to sea. A moment's glance, however, told them, when they reached the top of the cliff, that all hope of saving the ship must be abandoned. Perhaps the Spaniards, mistaking Saint Magnus's Bay for the entrance of Yell Sound, she had been kept away and then hauled up again; but there she was drifting bodily down towards the terrific headland on which they stood.

Callous and cold-hearted indeed must be the man who can witness with indifference a scene such as that at which the two seamen now gazed--the proud ship, which but the day before had left the sh.o.r.e in such gallant trim, now shattered and crippled, struggling on amid the giant seas which were about, in a few short moments, to hurl her to destruction.

"Nothing can save her, I fear," cried Morton, his generous heart wrung with sorrow.

"Nothing," answered his older companion; "still, by the will of Providence, we may be able to save the lives of some of the people on board; but we must wait and see where she strikes: if we were to attempt to get out to her now we should only involve ourselves in her fate."

"If she fails to weather Ossa Skerry she will drift right down on Navie Grind, and then Heaven have mercy on their souls, for no human being on board can escape," said Captain Maitland. "A few minutes must settle the point."

"Luff, luff all you can, men," he exclaimed, as if those on board could hear him. Probably they had caught sight of the terrific sea breaking over the cliffs, and still hoped to weather the little island under their lee bow.

All this time Lawrence Brindister kept his post, with his pony and dog by his side, waving his arms towards the ship, and apparently shouting out as before.

"She will weather the Skerry even now," cried Morton, but at that instant a squall--one of the last blasts of the tempest--struck her.