Will Weatherhelm Part 24

We all went below and lay down, hoping to get a little sleep and rest before it was time to start. La Motte volunteered to remain on deck till the guard-boat came round, and as he spoke French like a Frenchman, he said that he should lead the officers to suppose that all the prisoners had gone on sh.o.r.e, and that might prevent them from keeping any strict watch on the lugger. He told me also that he was very anxious on another account. He had observed a fort which we should have to pa.s.s close by on our starboard hand on going out. The sentry was certain to hail us, and unless we could give the pa.s.sword and countersign, he would, as in duty bound, fire at us, and then give notice of our escape. In all probability, boats would be sent in pursuit of us, and we should be recaptured. This suggestion came like a blow, sufficient to upset all our hopes of escaping.

"Well," observed La Motte, "there is only one thing to be done. I must find out the watchword and countersign. There is some risk, but it must be run."

There was a small boat, a dinghy, belonging to the lugger, which was sometimes carried aft, but she was now placed inside the long-boat on deck. She was so light that two men could easily lift her. La Motte said he must have her in the water, and that he would go on sh.o.r.e and steal up to where any sentinels were stationed, and that he would listen when the patrols came round to relieve them. He should thus be certain to obtain the information he required. Dangerous as I thought the adventure, of course I would not hinder him from going, as, could I have spoken French, I would have gone myself. Accordingly I helped him to get the dinghy into the water, which we did without any noise.

"Now, Weatherhelm, my dear fellow," said he, "go and lie down and wait patiently till I come back; a little sleep will do you good--you want it."

I thanked him cordially, and wrung his hand as he stepped into the punt, for my heart misgave me that I should never see him again. As to going to sleep, that was, I felt, out of the question; I could scarcely bring myself to lie down. I watched the little boat with intense anxiety as he pulled away towards the sh.o.r.e. I felt much for him, but I must confess that for my own sake I was still more anxious for his success.

I was indeed enduring a bitter trial. May none of those who read my history have to go through the same! The thought of being a second time disappointed in my hopes of returning home, and of learning the fate of my beloved wife, was more than I could bear. My movements showed the agitation of my mind. Sometimes I sat down on a gun; then I rose and walked the deck; then I went below and threw myself on a locker in the cabin; but I was quickly on deck again looking out for La Motte. Then I recollected that he was not at all likely to return so soon, so I once more went below to try and warm my chilled limbs.

Another fear a.s.sailed me. I was afraid that if we delayed, some of the drunken Frenchmen might recover from their stupor and find out our project. All of a sudden another idea occurred to me,--if we got the watchword, could we not carry the lugger and all her senseless crew away together? We might handcuff them all without the slightest difficulty.

I own that for the moment I forgot how ungrateful such an act would be to her captain and mate, who had treated us so kindly. While I was thinking on the subject, Andrews woke up and looked about him.

"Is it time yet for us to be off!" he asked, in a whisper.

"No, not yet. But I say, Andrews, are you ready to carry a bold project into execution?" I asked in a low voice. I then told him what I had thought of. He jumped at the idea.

"With all my heart!" he answered. "Nothing I should like better. I hate these Frenchmen, and as for the drunken rascals on board, we can soon settle them; if they are likely to be troublesome, as soon as we get clear of the harbour, we may heave them all overboard."

"What are you thinking about?" I exclaimed, horrified at the cold-blooded way in which he spoke of murdering so many of our fellow-creatures. Suddenly, the proposal I had made burst on me in its true light. Of what black ingrat.i.tude should we have been guilty in depriving the men who had trusted us, of their property; and then, had we followed the suggestion offered by Andrews, of destroying in cold blood a number of our fellow-men, who at all events had committed no crime against us!

"No, Andrews, no!" I answered, after a little reflection; "I would rather remain a prisoner than run away with the lugger, even if we could accomplish the undertaking; much less would I injure any of the poor fellows remaining on board. Just consider, what should we say if a set of Frenchmen treated us in that way?"

"Anything is lawful in war," he answered, not agreeing with my notion.

"The Frenchmen should have kept a better look-out after us."

"You forget that the captain and mate left us intentionally with the means of escape at our disposal, and which they clearly pointed out to us. I am sorry that I even thought of carrying off the lugger, and much more that I mentioned it to you."

At length I brought Andrews round to see the proposal in the light I did, and he promised not to mention it to any one else. Thus conversing, the time pa.s.sed by much more rapidly than it had done when I was left to my own thoughts. I felt sure it must be getting late. I looked at my watch; it was nearly ten o'clock, the hour at which La Motte had told me the guard-boat made her rounds. I became very anxious about him; I felt almost sure that he must have been seized, and if so he ran a great risk of being considered a spy, in which case he would have been immediately shot. We, however, could do nothing; we must sit still and wait. There is no greater trial for men than this. If we had had any work to do, we could have borne it much better. It wanted but ten minutes to ten.

"Some accident must have befallen your old shipmate," said Andrews; "if he does not come back, we must make the attempt without him. I marked well the entrance of the harbour. If we m.u.f.fle our oars, and keep close under the fort, we may slip out without being observed. Are you inclined to make the attempt?"

"Certainly," I answered; "I would run any risk to be free. Ah! what is that? I saw something moving on the water. It is the guard-boat coming. What shall we reply?"

"We had better slip down below, and let them hail us till they are hoa.r.s.e," replied Andrews. "But no; that is not the guard-boat; it is the dinghy."

In another instant La Motte was alongside. He sprang on board. "I have it!" he exclaimed; "but I have had a sharp run for it, and was very nearly taken. Even now I am not certain that I am not pursued, I have been thinking of an explanation to give for being on sh.o.r.e, if I am found out. I must pa.s.s for a Frenchman belonging to the lugger. Do you two go below, and pretend to be drunk, or asleep, like the rest. There will be no fear then. I will call you as soon as the guard-boat has gone away. We must all then be ready to start in a moment."

Andrews and I immediately followed La Motte's directions, and going below threw ourselves on the lockers. I heard La Motte's measured tread overhead, as if he was walking the deck as officer of the watch. I listened for every sound. Presently I heard him reply in a clear, sharp voice, apparently to a hail given from a boat at a little distance.

There could be no doubt that it was the guard-boat. The answer satisfied the officers. Another minute elapsed, and La Motte sprang down below. "It is all right, Weatherhelm," he whispered; "the guard-boat is away, and now is our time to be off. Call up the other men."

It was quickly done, and all those who had resolved to venture on the undertaking were speedily on deck. We hauled up the boat, and silently took our seats on the thwarts. I pulled the after oar; La Motte steered and acted as captain; indeed, had it not been for him, we could not have made the attempt. It was a hazardous affair, for we might have to encounter another guard-boat, and we had to pa.s.s among a number of vessels on our way to the mouth of the harbour.

"If we are seen, I hope that we may be mistaken for the guard-boat,"

said La Motte, as we were preparing to shove off. "Now, my lads, shove off, and try and row as much like Frenchmen as you can."

The advice was not unnecessary, for the steady, measured pull of English men-of-war's men would have inevitably betrayed us. The night was dark, but not sufficiently so to prevent us from distinguishing the outline of the harbour. Away we pulled, rapidly but with irregular strokes. We had to pa.s.s close to several privateers, but their crews were either on sh.o.r.e or drunk, and no notice was taken of us.

More than once it occurred to me, that although we should not have wished to run off with the vessel of the people who had treated us so well, yet that we might be able successfully to cut out one of the other craft brought up nearer the mouth of the harbour; but I reflected that the experiment would be too hazardous. Should we fail, we should in all probability lose our lives; as it was, we might well be contented with the advantages we possessed. We had a good boat, though she was small, an ample supply of provisions, fine weather, and a fair wind from the southward.

We were about half-way down the harbour, when the sound of oars reached our ears. A large ship was near us; we paddled softly in, and lay close alongside under the shelter of her dark shadow. Not a sound was heard aboard her; every one was asleep. The noise of oars drew near; I trembled, lest some of her crew might be returning on board, and if they discovered us, all would be lost. We listened breathlessly; the sound of the oars pa.s.sed by; it was the guard-boat going her rounds. Had we continued pulling a minute longer, we should have been discovered. I looked up as we lay on our oars; the sky was clear; the stars were twinkling brightly overhead; there seemed every probability of the fine weather continuing. In a couple of days at most we might hope once more to tread our native sh.o.r.es, and be free to go where we might wish.

I need scarcely repeat all the anxious thoughts which crowded on my mind; the joy, the happiness unspeakable I antic.i.p.ated. I would not, I dared not, dwell on the reverse. The sound of the oars was lost in the distance. La Motte gave a sign to us to shove off, and letting our oars glide into the water, we again continued our course. Out hearts beat quick as we approached the fort. The sharp tones of the sentry's challenge rung on our ears as he saw us pa.s.sing. "Liberte!" answered La Motte promptly; another question was asked. "Victoire!" he replied.

"We are ordered out by the captain of the port with a despatch to a vessel in the offing, I know no more."

"_C'est bien_! you may pa.s.s," said an officer, whom the sentry's voice had summoned from the guard-room.

We pulled on as before; away we glided; now we hoisted our sail.

Gradually the fort was concealed by the darkness from our sight. We were free!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

HAPPY PROSPECT OF REACHING ENGLAND--WEATHER CHANGES--HEAVY GALE--EXPECT TO BE LOST--DAYS AND NIGHTS OF SUFFERING--OUR GREATEST COMFORT--A SHIP IN SIGHT--DISAPPOINTED AGAIN--ANOTHER SHIP APPEARS--OUR HOPES AND FEARS--A SNOW-STORM--GET ON BOARD AN EMIGRANT SHIP--CARRIED FAR AWAY FROM HOME--DEATH OF SHIPMATES.

Once clear of the harbour, without any sail in sight, we all gladly loosened our tongues. In spite of the cold of a winter's night, our spirits rose, and all hands laughed and chatted, and talked of what they would do when they got on sh.o.r.e. We had no necessity to look at our compa.s.s, for the stars enabled us to steer a course for the northward.

With the wind as it was, we thought that we should probably make the land somewhere about the Dorsetshire coast, should we not in the meantime fall in with any homeward-bound ship.

From the position of Saint Malo on the coast of France, far down in the deep bay or bight in which is found the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, it will be seen that we had a long voyage before us to perform in an open boat of so small a size and in the middle of winter. However, not one of us thought about that. By daylight we had made such progress that we were completely out of sight of land. A difference of opinion now arose among us. La Motte very naturally wished to put into Guernsey. It was his own country; he knew it well, and he undertook to pilot us in there. Most of the men were anxious, as the breeze was fair, to stand on at once for the coast of England.

"Now, mates," said he, "just listen to what I have to say. If the wind continues fair, and we do not fall in with an enemy's cruiser, all well and good, we may hit some harbour, or we may beach the boat with safety, and get on sh.o.r.e; but now just look at the other side of the question.

We may be picked up by an enemy, and as we are in a French boat with the name of her port on her stern, we shall be sent back from whence we have come, and be much worse off than if we had remained aboard the lugger.

That's one thing which may occur; or the wind may change, and a gale spring up, and instead of making the English coast in a couple or three days, as you expect, we may be swamped, or be knocked about for a week or ten days, and perhaps after all be driven back on to the coast of France. Now, what I say is this? Here is Guernsey on our starboard bow. We may be there by to-morrow morning at farthest. I've friends who'll treat you kindly. You'd have time to look about you, and you'll have no fear of being pressed; whereas if you land in England, after all, before you get to your homes you may find yourselves in the hands of a pressgang, and once more aboard a man-of-war."

I thought that there was so much reason in what La Motte urged, that, anxious as I was to be in England, I could not help siding with him.

All the rest of the men were, however, dead against us. They had talked so much of the delights of being on sh.o.r.e, that, in spite of all risks, they were unwilling that any delay should occur.

"No, no; hurrah for Old England!" they cried. "As long as the breeze holds, let us stand on. We are not likely to fall in with an enemy. If we see a stranger which looks suspicious, we'll douse sail, and let her pa.s.s by. The weather, too, promises to be fine. Why think of evils which may never occur?"

Perhaps La Motte and I did not resist as much as we might have done. At all events, we yielded to the wishes of the rest, and stood on. The day pa.s.sed away pleasantly enough. The sun came out and shone brightly, and for the time of the year it was tolerably warm; so that we all kept our spirits up, and, congratulating ourselves on our good fortune, did not think of coming disaster.

As is usual on such occasions, we soon got to telling the various adventures we had met with in our past lives. I have not here time to describe them, but I remember one remarkable thing was, that nearly all had been wrecked just as often as I had. Instead of looking at such disasters as punishments, they all agreed that they ought to consider themselves very fortunate in escaping, instead of losing their lives, as had so many of their shipmates. I could not help thinking the same thing, and I now began to be more convinced than ever that I was mistaken in my youthful idea that a curse hung over me. When I came to consider the matter, I perceived that I had brought on myself nearly all the misfortunes which had happened to me, or they could be very clearly traced to ordinary causes, which had affected in most instances others as well as myself. I talked the subject over with La Motte, who was a right-thinking man, and not without some wit.

"I perfectly agree with you, Weatherhelm," said he. "It is in my opinion, far better to be wrecked a dozen times than drowned once, especially if you escape the twelfth time, and live happy ever afterwards. I hope sincerely that your disasters have now come to an end. You seem to have suffered a good many since we parted."

"I have enjoyed some very great blessings, too," I answered. "I am sure I ought not to complain."

"That is just the sentiment I like to hear," he observed. "People think that they are to have all the plums and suet, and none of the hard dough, which makes up the pudding of life. We ought to be contented to take the two together--the sweets and the bitter, the rough and the smooth. That is what I have done, and I have saved myself a great deal of disappointment by not expecting more than I was likely to get."

I have often thought since of La Motte's practical philosophy.

We had every one of us soon need of all the courage and resignation we possessed. The wind, which had been steady all the day, began towards the afternoon to chop about. First it flew round to the north-east, and blew pretty hard, and we none of us liked the look of the weather.

Still we hoped that it might not grow worse. We took a reef in the mainsail, and brought the boat close up to the wind.

Before long, however, it came on to blow still harder, and the sea got up very much, and the spray came flying over us, and now and then a sea broke on board, and we had to keep a couple of hands baling to prevent the boat from filling. Night was coming on: we close-reefed the mainsail, and took a reef in the foresail, and continued our course close-hauled. By degrees the wind shifted round to the north-north-east, and though close-hauled as we lay, we were fully four points off our course, and if it held on that way, it seemed a chance even if we should fetch the coast of Cornwall. Night was coming on, but there was no improvement in the weather.