The Cruise of the Frolic Part 32

It was, as we have mentioned, blowing and raining, and as dark as pitch, so that our friends had no reason to complain of the weather. After feeling about for some time, Joe discovered a small double line, to which he fastened one of the stouter ropes, and hauling away on one end of it, brought it back again into the boat. Who had rove the small line we cannot say, but we fear that there was a little traitor in the garrison; perhaps Joe or Tom had contrived to do it before they entered the sergeant's sitting-room.

"Hold on fast," Joe whispered to his comrades; "I'll be up in a moment."

Saying this, he climbed up the rope, and soon had his face flush with the summit of the castle-walls. Looking round cautiously, he observed no one, so he climbed over the parapet, and advanced across the platform to the top of a flight of steps which communicated with the lower part of the building. He looked over the railing, but his eyes could not pierce the gloom, so he descended the steps, and had the satisfaction to find Lawson fast asleep at the bottom of them, sheltered from the rain by one of the arches. "All's right: he won't give us much trouble, at all events," he muttered to himself; and returning to the parapet he summoned his companions. Two other boats had now joined the first, and, one after the other, twelve smugglers scaled the walls. Others were, it must be understood, watching at various points in the neighbourhood, to give the earliest notice of the approach of the coast-guard. Joe stationed two men by the side of Lawson to bind and gag him if he awoke, which he was not likely to do, while the rest proceeded with their work.

They soon contrived to break open the door of the store, opening from the platform, where the tubs had been deposited; then each man, carrying one at a time, like ants at their work, they transported them to the parapet of the castle-wall. From thence, with great rapidity, they were lowered into the boats, and then conveyed round to the foot of a garden belonging to an uninhabited house, which, of course, had the character of being haunted by spirits. Joe and his friends worked with a will, as much delighted with the thought of doing the revenue as at recovering their property.

The greater number had been thus secured when the rain ceased, and the clouds driving away, the smugglers were afraid of being seen by their opponents. They therefore secured the door of the nearly empty store, and all descending, unrove the rope from the breech of the gun to which it had been fastened, so as to leave no trace of their proceedings.

The next morning Lawson, on recovering from his tipsy slumbers, seeing the door closed, reported that all was right. Mr Hogson was the first person to make the discovery that all was wrong, and his astonishment and rage may be more easily imagined than described. Nearly every tub of the rich prize had disappeared; and the lieutenant swore he was certain that wicked little vixen, Margaret Ramrod, had something to do with it.

Neither Sergeant Ramrod nor Lawson could in any way account for it; and as it would have been a subject of mirth to all their brother-officers, who would not have shared in the prize, the authorities of Fairport thought it wiser not to say much on the subject. Several persons were suspected of having had a hand in the transaction; but the smugglers were known to be too true to each other to afford the remotest chance of discovering the culprits.

Soon after this Joe Buntin married Margaret Ramrod; and, wonderful to relate, forswore smuggling ever after. Whether her persuasions, or from finding it no longer profitable, had most influence, is not known; at all events, he is now one of the most successful and active pilots belonging to Fairport, and though he does not mention names, he is very fond, among other stories, of telling how a certain friend of his did the revenue.

As soon as old Sleet had finished his story, which was much more effective when told by him than as it now stands written down by me, he sc.r.a.ped his right foot back, made a swing with his hat, and was rolling forward, when Hearty cried out, "Stop, stop, old friend, your lips want moistening after that long yarn, I'm sure. What will you have, champagne, or claret, or sherry, or brandy, or rum, or--"

The honest seaman grinned from ear to ear.

"Grog," he answered, emphatically. "There's nothing like that to my mind, Mr Hearty. It's better nor all your French washes put together."

Due praise was bestowed on Joe Buntin's history, but he evidently thought the extra gla.s.s of grog he had won of far more value.

"Health to you, gentlemen and ladies all, and may this sweet craft never want a master nor a mistress either," he rapped out; then fearing he had said something against propriety, he rolled away to join his messmates forward.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR.

THE POLACCA-BRIG AGAIN--THE "ZEBRA" IN CHASE--REFLECTIONS ON AFRICA AND THE SLAVE-TRADE.

It was now time for the officers of the "Zebra" to return on board their ship. Another night and day pa.s.sed away much in the same manner as its predecessors. All this time we were edging over to the African coast.

Miss Mizen was rapidly recovering her strength, indeed she could no longer be declared an invalid, and it was very evident that a sea-life perfectly agreed with her.

Though I missed Bubble's fun and anecdotes, and his merry laugh and good-natured visage, I must confess that I much enjoyed the society of the two ladies. Mrs Mizen was a kind-hearted, right-minded, good-natured, sensible, motherly woman, without a particle of affectation or nonsense of any sort. She had seen a good deal of the world, and of the people in it, and could talk well of what she had seen. Under present circ.u.mstances, indeed, I preferred her, as a companion, to her daughter. Barring the difference of age, they were very like each other. Miss Mizen also treated me with the utmost frankness and kindness as the friend of her intended husband, and I often enjoyed a pleasant conversation with her, though, of course, it more frequently fell to my share to entertain her mother.

While the fine weather lasted, the life we led was excessively pleasant; but as winter was now rapidly approaching, we knew that we must look out for squalls and heavy seas. We had, as I before remarked, been making our way to the westward along the African coast, now making the land, and then standing off again at night-time.

One morning when daylight broke, we found ourselves rather in-sh.o.r.e of the brig. As I came on deck to relieve Porpoise, I saw her signalising.

We got the signal-book.

"What is Rullock talking about?" asked my brother-officer, as I was looking over the leaves of Harriot's well-known work.

"A suspicious sail to the north-west. Stay where you are. I shall chase, but be back by nightfall," said I; on which Porpoise ordered the answering signal to be hoisted.

The brig now crowded all sail, but as she kept away I saw that the bunting was again at work.

"If we do not appear by noon to-morrow, return to Malta," said I, interpreting the flags. "And so our pleasant cruise will be up: but all things pleasant must come to an end. I wish it could have lasted longer."

"Well, Porpoise, what do you make of the stranger he is after?"

"By--that she is no other than our friend the Greek polacca-brig," he exclaimed, almost letting his gla.s.s fall from aloft, where he had gone to get a look of the vessel the brig was chasing. "I have a great mind to rouse Hearty up, and get him to disobey orders, and go in chase of her also. I don't like the thoughts of the pirate being captured without our being present."

"Remember that we have ladies on board, and I don't think Hearty will be inclined to run the risk of carrying away our spars or mast for any such gratification," I remarked. "He'll be for obedience in this case, depend on it."

"That's the worst of having ladies on board," answered Porpoise with a sigh. "But, I say, they have been rather more alive on board the brig than I should have given them credit for. How could they have suspected that the polacca out there was our friend?"

"You forget that Will Bubble is on board, and probably he was on deck, and aloft, indeed, at sunrise, and made out the Greek," I answered, not that I considered that there was any want of strict discipline or sufficient alertness kept on board the brig, though the crew were any thing but first-rate specimens of men-of-war's men.

By the by, that reminds me that I should like to say a few words about manning the navy. But I won't, though, simply because the subject is just here somewhat out of place. We are off the northern coast of Africa in a yacht with some ladies on board, and they might be bored, and we have to watch the proceedings of the brig-of-war and the vessel of which she is in chase. Only I would strongly urge any members of parliament, or other law-makers, or persons of influence, whose eyes may glance over these pages to think, and talk, and _do_ very seriously about the matter. It will not bear letting alone or sleeping over.

Something must be done, and at once. I've known ships-of-war go to sea with not a quarter of the men seamen--because seamen were not to be got.

How would it fare with us had we to engage in a downright earnest naval war? Our men, it will be answered, will fight like Britons; so they will, I doubt not, but is it just to oppose landsmen to the well-trained seamen of other nations? Is it just to the able seamen to make them do the work which should be shared by others? But now we will again look after the brig-of-war and the chase.

The polacca, as soon as she saw that the British man-of-war was in pursuit of her, made all sail to the northward and westward. Old Rullock was evidently determined that she should not escape from any neglect on his part of carrying enough sail. Royals and studding-sails were quickly set, and under a wide spread of snow-white canvas away stood the "Zebra," leaving us jogging slowly on, with the purpose of returning to the spot whence we started. Hearty's surprise, as may be supposed, was very considerable, and so was that of his lady guests, when they found that the brig had run away from us.

"However, Mrs Mizen, I suppose we must obey orders, must we not?" said he, with a shrug of his shoulders. "If you do not blame Captain Rullock for his treachery, I am sure that I do not, since he has left with me hostages of so much value for his safe return."

Mrs Mizen and her daughter seemed to think the affair a very good joke, only they could not understand why the cutter should not go in chase of the polacca as well as the brig-of-war.

"Perhaps the captain wishes to have all the honour of capturing the pirate by himself without our a.s.sistance," observed Porpoise; "I suppose the fellow will show fight should he come up with him."

"No fear of that," I remarked. "The truth is, I suspect, that Captain Rullock feared, that had he allowed the yacht to proceed in chase of the pirate, we might have come up with her before he could, and had to bear the brunt of the action. He probably would not have cared very much about that, had there been only four yachting gentlemen on board to be shot at, but the case was very different when his sister and niece might be placed in danger."

"He did very right. There can be no dispute about it," said Hearty.

"We must bear our disappointment like men, and during breakfast we will consider what amus.e.m.e.nt we can afford our guests, to recompense them for the absence of the brig in the landscape--or rather seascape we ought to call it--for little enough of the land have we had this cruise."

We had a great deal of amusing conversation during breakfast. It is a pleasant meal everywhere, if people are well and in spirits, and nowhere is it more pleasant than at sea under the same provisions.

"What do you say to a look at the African coast, Mrs Mizen?" exclaimed Hearty. "We could get there very soon--could we not, Porpoise?"

"We should be well in with the land, so as to have a good view of it before the evening, and if the wind holds, we might be back here before the brig-of-war returns to look for us," was the answer.

"Capital; then let us stand in there at once," said Hearty. "It is a fine, mountainous, bold coast, very picturesque. You will have your sketching things ready, I hope," he added, looking at Miss Mizen. He had not learnt to call her Laura when any one else was present.

Miss Mizen said she would get her drawing-board and colour-box ready, and Porpoise went on deck to put the cutter's head to the southward. A steady breeze from the south-west enabled us to stand in for the land close-hauled. As we rapidly approached it, the mountains, with their lofty peaks and wooded sides, seemed to rise out of the water like the scene at a theatre, till the lower lands at their base--rocky, undulating heights, and even the seash.o.r.e--became clearly visible.

"How very different is this scenery from the common notion of Africa!"

said Miss Mizen, as, with Hearty's help, she was arranging her sketching-board, to make a view of the coast. "I have hitherto always pictured it to myself as a country of arid sands and dense jungle."

"You'd find jungle enough and sand enough in many parts, Miss Mizen, where I have been," observed Porpoise. "But both in the north and south there are districts which will vie in fertility with most in the world.

Just think of Egypt; what an abundance of corn does that produce! All along this north coast are many fertile districts: so there are on the west coast, only it is rather too hot there to be pleasant; and then at the Cape and Natal are to be found spots rich in various productions."

"You draw a glowing picture of the country, Mr Porpoise," observed Mrs Mizen.

"I do, ma'am, because the country deserves it," he answered. "The world owes a great deal to Africa, and I should like to see every possible attempt made to repay it by continued and strenuous efforts for the civilisation of her people. The work is a very great one, there is no doubt about that, and a few feeble and isolated efforts will not accomplish it. The merchant princes of England must take the matter up, and send out several expeditions at the same time. The officers should be experienced, energetic men, the vessels well supplied with merchandise, and well-armed to protect it. But what can we hope for while the abominable slave-trade still flourishes? England is doing her best to put it down, but she is but ill supported by other nations.

America, with all her boasting about freedom, protects and encourages those engaged in it; while France, professing to be the most civilised and liberal of countries, does the same. Spain and Portugal only occasionally pretend to interfere with a very bad grace, and secretly aid and abet the wretches carrying it on under their flag. I say, at any cost and at every cost, England must put it down. No matter if she goes to war with all the world to do so. It will be a glorious war for the most holy cause, and honest men will be able to pray with sincerity and faith, that heaven will protect her in it."

"I am very glad to hear you speak so, Mr Porpoise," said Mrs Mizen; "I will answer for it, that no war would be so popular among the women of England as a war against slavery and the slave-trade. No one worthy of the name of an Englishwoman would refuse to sell her jewels and every thing of value to support it."