The Castaways Part 10

"Thank you. It is exceedingly good and kind of you to think so much for me, and so little for yourself," answered my companion. She spoke with her face turned away from me, so that I was unable to read its expression, and her voice had an intonation that I would have given much to have been able to translate. Was it merely my imagination--I asked myself--or was there really a recurrent shade of her former hauteur of manner, mingled with just the faintest suggestion of irony and impatience? The fact is that I was at that moment as far from being able to comprehend this lovely but inscrutable woman as when I met her for the first time in the saloon of the _City of Cawnpore_: her moods were as changeable as the weather: there were occasions when her manner toward me was almost as warm and genial and sympathetic as even a lover could require; while there were others when she appeared animated by a set purpose to impress upon me the conviction that our remarkable adventure together invested me with no claim whatever upon her beyond that of the merest ordinary grat.i.tude. As for me, if I have not already allowed the fact to leak out, I may as well here make a clean breast of it and confess that I loved her with all the ardent pa.s.sion of which a man's heart is capable, and I was resolutely determined to win her love in return; but up to the moment of which I am now speaking I seemed to have made so little headway that I often doubted whether I had made any at all. I had, however, come at length to recognise that the rebuffs I occasionally met with followed some speech or action of mine of which the young lady did not wholly approve; and so I soon found it to be in the present instance. She remained silent for perhaps half a minute after speaking the words the recounting of which has extorted from me the above explanation, and then continued, with much greater cordiality:

"Believe me, Mr Conyers, I am sincerely grateful to you for your perfectly evident anxiety on my account; but I am obliged to confess that I do not regard our situation as nearly so desperate as you seem to do; I do not think that either of us will have anything to fear from O'Gorman and his companions if you will but reconcile yourself to the performance of the task that they have imposed upon you. What I _do_ really fear is what may happen if you wilfully exasperate them by making any attempt to thwart their plans by depriving them of your a.s.sistance-- without which, I would remind you again, they can do nothing. Help them to carry through their undertaking--never mind whether or not it be a fool's errand--and I have every confidence that they will treat us with the utmost consideration, after their own rough fashion; but seriously provoke them, and, I ask you, what are likely to be the consequences to us both? Of course if you can so contrive it that we can _both_ be rescued by the ship in sight, I shall be more delighted than I can say; but as to your attempting to get _me_ transferred to her _alone_--you will think it strange, unaccountable, perhaps, but I feel so very much more safe here, with you to protect me, than I should on board the strange ship, _alone_, that if you are to remain here I would very much rather remain with you."

Words calculated to send the blood of an ardent lover throbbing through his veins like quicksilver, are they not? Yet they excited not one atom of jubilation in me, for they were uttered in a tone of such coldness and indifference that I felt as certain as I could be of anything that it was wholly of herself, and not at all of me, that the speaker was thinking.

"Very well," I answered, steeling myself to the adoption of an equally cold manner of speech; "I think I understand your wishes in this matter, and will endeavour to carry them out; if the strangers yonder can be induced to take us _both_ out of the hands of these ruffians, well and good; if not, I am to take no other steps?"

She bowed acquiescence, and turned to her book once more, with a manner indicating that the discussion was at an end; and I, accepting the hint, retired at once to my cabin to prepare a letter addressed to the skipper of the stranger, to be conveyed to him if opportunity should permit.

But although I had yielded a seeming acquiescence to Miss Onslow's misguided wish to share my captivity--should it be continued--aboard the brig, it must not be supposed that I had any intention of lending myself to so terribly dangerous and mistaken a proceeding. It was perfectly clear to me that the high-spirited girl had, in some unaccountable way, completely missed the point of my remarks, and utterly failed to comprehend the frightfully precarious and perilous character of her position aboard the brig; moreover, her mere presence there served O'Gorman as a lever and a menace powerful enough to constrain me irresistibly to the most abject submission to his will; so long as she remained where she was, in the power of these ruffians, I could do absolutely nothing, for fear of what they might inflict upon her by way of revenge; but with her removed from their power, and placed in safety, I might possibly be able to bring every one of the wretches into the grip of the law that they had so audaciously defied. And so, when I began to pen my letter to the unknown skipper, I was careful--after briefly describing our peculiar situation--to appeal to him, as powerfully as I could, to effect the rescue of the girl by any means at his command, regardless of what might become of me.

Having at length finished my letter, I folded it up into a suitably small and compact form, placed it by itself in one of my pockets, in readiness to transfer it at the first favourable opportunity to the individual for whom it was intended, and then, filling my pipe, made my way leisurely up on deck to take a look round and see in what direction matters were trending.

It was a magnificently fine and brilliant moon-lit night, with only a few small, scattered shreds of light fleecy cloud floating overhead, and a soft, warm air breathing out from the north-east so gently that it scarcely stirred the oil-smooth surface of the ocean, which indeed it only touched here and there in faint, evanescent cat's-paws that barely sufficed to give the brig steerage-way with squared yards and every possible inch of canvas spread. As for the barque, she was now about a point on the starboard bow, not more than a mile distant, and was evidently not under command, as she had swung round head to wind, and lay there in the bright moonlight swaying with an almost imperceptible swing over the long, low hummocks of gla.s.sy swell, with her canvas-- gleaming softly and spectrally under the showering moonbeams. All hands--O'Gorman included--except the man at the wheel, were on the forecastle-head, intently watching her, and talking eagerly together, so I had a good opportunity to take a leisurely survey of her, and draw my conclusions as to her nationality. I went to the companion, secured the night-gla.s.s, and took a good look at her; with the result that I concluded her to be of French or Italian nationality--rather an awkward and unexpected development for me, I having foolishly taken it for granted that she would prove to be British and written my letter in English accordingly. And yet, perhaps, if my surmise should prove to be correct, I might be afforded a better opportunity to make an effective appeal for a.s.sistance than if the craft were British, for I gravely doubted whether O'Gorman or any of his people spoke French or Italian, and if that were the case they would probably require me to act as interpreter for them, and thus afford me just such an opportunity as I desired. On the other hand, I could not but feel that an appeal for help, made to a French or an Italian crew, was much less likely to meet with a favourable response than if made to a crew of Britons.

These reflections pa.s.sed through my mind as I stood peering through the tube at the becalmed barque; it did not need a very prolonged scrutiny to enable me to learn all that was possible of her at that distance, and presently I replaced the gla.s.s in its beckets, and proceeded to saunter fore and aft the deck, from the wake of the main rigging to the wheel grating, smoking meditatively the while.

By the time that I had smoked my pipe out we had neared the barque to within less than half, a mile; and I was momentarily expecting to hear O'Gorman give the order to round-to and lower away the boat--wondering, meanwhile, how on earth I could possibly contrive to get my letter conveyed to the skipper--when the Irishman came shambling aft and, placing himself at my side, inquired:

"Well, misther, have you finished your shmoke?"

"Yes," I answered curtly. "Why do you ask the question, pray?"

"Because," he replied, "I'll have to ask ye to just step down below _and stay there for the rest of the night_!"

"To step down below--and stay there?" I repeated indignantly. "What do you mean, man? Surely I am not to be sent to my bunk like a child, whether I wish to go or not?"

"Bedad, but ye are thin; so make no more bones about it!" he retorted, with quickly-rising anger.

"But, my good fellow, this is preposterous,"--I began, thoroughly exasperated at such treatment, and keenly anxious not to lose even the most slender chance of communicating with the strangers. But the fellow would permit no argument, his quick temper caught fire instantly at the merest suggestion of remonstrance on my part, and he cut me short by exclaiming furiously:

"Howly Sailor! Phwhat's the use av' talkin' about it? Ye've got to go below, and that's all there is about it. Will ye go p'aceably, or will I have to call some of the hands aft to _make_ ye go?"

Again did I feel that terrible, overpowering sensation of murderous anger grip at my heart, as it had already done once before in an altercation with this brutal ruffian, the blood again mounted to my head like fire, and, reckless of all consequences, I was in the very act of pulling myself together for a spring at his throat, when I felt a small hand--the touch of which thrilled me, even at that moment--laid upon my arm, and Miss Onslow's voice--pitched in its most seductive tones--said:

"Will you please come with me at once--_at once_--Mr Conyers? I have something of the utmost importance to say to you!"

With an effort that caused me to turn sick and giddy, I mastered the impulse that urged me to strike my enemy dead, there and then, and, mute with the intensity of my feelings, permitted my companion to lead me away. We descended the companion ladder in silence; and upon reaching the cabin Miss Onslow--as upon a former occasion--led me to one of the sofa-lockers, upon which she seated herself, gently drawing me down beside her. Then, looking anxiously into my face, she said:

"Mr Conyers, I could almost find it in my heart to be angry with you.

Why--oh, _why_ will you persist in laying yourself open to such insults from that great, coa.r.s.e brute, by condescending to argue with him? What is the use of doing so? Surely you must realise, by this time, that you are quite powerless in the hands of these men, and that you cannot control or influence them in any way. Then, why attempt to do it? The only result is that you are insulted, and at once become positively mad with anger, under the influence of which you will some day--unless you are very careful--do something that you will be exceedingly sorry for.

For instance, what would have happened, had I not fortunately chanced to have gone on deck the moment that I heard you and that Irish ruffian in conversation?"

"You are right--perfectly right," I answered; "and you make me feel very heartily ashamed of myself for my lamentable want of self-control--of which I will take especial care that henceforward there shall be no repet.i.tion. Of course I can see clearly enough, now, how positively suicidal it would have been for me to have yielded to the impulse that animated me at the moment when you so fortunately came upon the scene-- suicidal for myself, and ruinously disastrous for _you_--which circ.u.mstance will, I a.s.sure you, amply suffice as an effectual check upon me for the future. We are but two against sixteen, and common sense tells me that, with such odds against us, violence is out of the question; we must depend upon craft and diplomacy to secure our ends."

"Oh! I am _so_ glad to find you taking a reasonable view of our most unfortunate situation," exclaimed my companion, her eyes sparkling with pleasure. "Of course," she continued, "I can easily understand how terribly exasperating it must be to you--a naval officer, who has always. .h.i.therto been accustomed to the most implicit obedience on the part of your crew--to find yourself defied and insulted by these wretches, and I am not at all surprised that, under such circ.u.mstances, you find the provocation all but unendurable; but I am sure you are right in believing, as you say, that we must fight by diplomatic means rather than by a resort to brute force. I feel sure that the latter would be a terrible mistake on our part, and I will not attempt to deny that on the two occasions when you seemed about to resort to such means, I have been most horribly frightened."

"Yes," I exclaimed, with profound contrition, "I can quite understand that you would be so; and I very humbly beg your pardon for having so terrified you. I have been contemptibly weak at the very moment when I most needed to be strong; but have no further fear; you have effectually cured me of my weakness. And, now, you may as well tell me what was the important matter upon which you so urgently desired to speak to me."

For a moment my companion gazed at me with a most bewitching expression of perplexity in her glorious eyes; then her face lighted up with a smile of amus.e.m.e.nt, and she broke into a musical laugh.

"What!" she exclaimed. "Do you not yet understand? I only wanted to say to you what I have just said--or, rather I wanted to get you away from that Irishman before your impetuous temper had time to precipitate a disaster."

"I see," said I, "Well--"

I was interrupted by a sound of hailing that seemed to proceed, not from our own forecastle but from some spot a little way ahead of us; and I at once concluded that its source must be the strange barque, the existence of which I had entirely forgotten in the interest of the discussion between myself and Miss Onslow. I listened for a reply from O'Gorman, but there was none; and presently the hailing was repeated--this time from a much nearer point--and immediately followed by an excited shouting and jabbering, in which I believed I could distinguish a word or two of French. I sprang to my feet, and was about to rush up on deck, when Miss Onslow checked the movement by laying her hand upon my arm, and saying:

"_Please_ oblige me by staying here. If you were to go on deck, that wretch would only insult you again; so why lay yourself open to such treatment, since you can do absolutely nothing? You _must_ school yourself to allow those men to have their own way, since neither persuasion nor force are of any avail with them."

"True," answered I. "But it is instinctive for a sailor--and especially an _officer_--to rush on deck when he hears such an outcry as that,"--as the shouting and jabbering became momentarily nearer and more excited.

At that instant O'Gorman's voice shouted an order to "Stand by!"

immediately followed by a command to the helmsman to "Hard a-starboard!"

and presently there occurred a gentle shock--showing that the brig had collided with something apparently on the rounding of her starboard bow--accompanied by a most outrageous clamour, in which "S-a-c-r-es" and other French expletives plentifully abounded.

"Now, take a turn anywhere you can, and as often as you can," shouted O'Gorman, "and then follow me. And if they offer any resistance, knock 'em down, or heave 'em overboard."

"Why, good Heavens! they have run the barque aboard, and are taking her!" I exclaimed, astonished and shocked beyond expression, as it dawned upon me that the wretches were committing a further act of piracy. And I made as though to spring to my feet. In an instant Miss Onslow had seized my hand in hers, gripping me so firmly that I could not break away from her without exercising a certain measure of violence.

"And if they _are_?" said she, "can you do anything to prevent it?"

"No," answered I. "But I will tell you what I _can_ do. If you will suffer me to go on deck I can see whether all hands have boarded the barque. And, if they have, and there appears to be the slightest possibility of our being able to effect our escape, I will cut the brig adrift, and make off with her!"

"Do you really think such a feat possible?" demanded my companion, with sparkling eyes.

"I scarcely know," answered I. "If the breeze has freshened at all within the last few minutes, it might be done; not otherwise; because in the latter event they could lower the barque's boats and overhaul us in a very few minutes."

"At all events it is quite worth while to ascertain whether there is any chance of success. Let us go on deck and see!" exclaimed Miss Onslow, her features at once all aglow with excitement as she sprang to her feet.

"Agreed!" cried I, overjoyed to find the young lady so unexpectedly yielding approval to my rather desperate plan. "I will go on deck first, and ascertain the precise state of affairs; and if I find that there is a sufficiently fair prospect of success to justify us in the attempt I will call to you through the skylight as soon as I need your help."

My companion regarded me somewhat doubtfully for a moment, and then reseated herself, saying:

"Very well. I think I can trust you _now_. But please be very careful; and do not attempt anything unless you feel certain of success."

Meanwhile, the uproar that had prevailed for a few minutes prior to and following upon the contact between the two craft had suddenly ceased; and as I emerged from the companion-way I saw that, even supposing there had ever been a prospect of my plan proving successful--which there had not, the wind having died away to the merest breathing--I was now too late. For the two vessels--their hulls prevented from grinding together by several cork fenders hung between them--were so securely lashed together that it would have cost me several minutes' hard work to cut them adrift. Moreover, O'Gorman, followed by half a dozen of his gang, were just in the act of scrambling inboard again from the stranger. The Irishman saw me upon the instant of my emerging from the companion, and immediately shouted:

"Here, Misther Conyers, ye're just the man we want! Do you spake Frinch?"

"Yes," answered I, believing that I saw my opportunity. "Why?"

"Becase," he replied, "the chaps aboard the barque don't seem to be able to undershtand a worrud we say to thim; and bedad we're in the same fix with regar-rd to thim. So we want an interpreter; and maybe you'll be able to act that same for us."

"Very well," said I; "what do you want me to do?"

"Whoy, we'll take it kindly of ye if you'll just be so obligin' as to shtep aboard the barque, and say what we want ye to say," answered the fellow. "But, mind," he added warningly, "don't ye attimpt to say annything else, or by the Piper it'll be the worse for ye--and for the young woman down below. I can undershtand Frinch like a native--so I shall know everything that you say--but begorra the Oirish brogue of me makes it difficult for thim froggies to undershtand me when I shpake to thim."

"All right," I answered, perfectly easy in my mind, "you can stand alongside me, and hear everything that pa.s.ses."