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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Desperate Voyage, by Edward Frederick Knight
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: A Desperate Voyage
+
+Author: Edward Frederick Knight
+
+Release Date: March 9, 2012 [EBook #39082]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DESPERATE VOYAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Martin Pettit and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+book was produced from scanned images of public domain
+material from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+_MILNE'S EXPRESS SERIES_
+
+A DESPERATE VOYAGE
+
+[Illustration: Logo]
+
+
+_THE EXPRESS SERIES_
+
+_Uniform with this Volume_
+
+
+I. THE ROME EXPRESS
+
+BY
+
+MAJOR ARTHUR GRIFFITHS
+
+
+BY THE SAME AUTHOR
+
+II. A GIRL OF GRIT
+
+JOHN MILNE
+12 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON
+
+
+
+
+A DESPERATE VOYAGE
+
+BY
+
+E. F. KNIGHT
+
+AUTHOR OF "THE CRUISE OF THE FALCON"
+"WHERE THREE EMPIRES MEET"
+ETC. ETC.
+
+JOHN MILNE
+12 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON
+1898
+
+
+_All Rights Reserved_
+
+
+A DESPERATE VOYAGE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+In Carey Street, Chancery Lane, on the ground floor of a huge block of
+new buildings facing the Law Courts, were the offices of Messrs. Peters
+and Carew, solicitors and perpetual commissioners of oaths. Such was the
+title of the firm as inscribed on the side of the entrance door in the
+middle of a long list of other names of solicitors, architects, and
+companies, whose offices were within. But the firm was now represented
+by Mr. Carew alone; for the senior partner, a steady-going old
+gentleman, who had made the business what it was, had been despatched by
+an attack of gout, two years back, to a land where there is no
+litigation.
+
+Late one August evening Mr. Henry Carew entered his office. His face was
+white and haggard, and he muttered to himself as he passed the door. He
+had all the appearance of a man who has been drinking heavily to drown
+some terrible worry. His clerks had gone; he went into his own private
+room and locked the door. He lit the gas, brought a pile of papers and
+letters out of a drawer, and, sitting down by the table, commenced to
+peruse them. As he did so, the lines about his face seemed to deepen,
+and beads of perspiration started to his forehead. It was for him an
+hour of agony. His sins had found him out, and the day of reckoning had
+arrived.
+
+One might have taken Henry Carew for a sailor, but he was very unlike
+the typical solicitor. He was a big, hearty man of thirty-five, with all
+a sailor's bluff manner and generous ways. His friends called him Honest
+Hal, and said that he was one of the best fellows that ever lived. We
+have it on the authority of that immortal adventuress, Becky Sharp, that
+it is easy to be virtuous on five thousand a year. Had Mr. Carew enjoyed
+such an income, he would most probably have lived a blameless life and
+have acquired an estimable reputation; for he had no instinctive liking
+for crime; on the contrary, he loathed it.
+
+But one slight moral flaw in a man's nature--so slight that his best
+friends smile tolerantly at it--may, by force of circumstance, lead
+ultimately to his complete moral ruin. It is an old story, and has been
+the text of many a sermon. The trifling fault is often the germ of
+terrible crimes.
+
+Carew's fault was one that is always easily condoned, so nearly akin is
+it to a virtue; these respectably connected vices are ever the most
+dangerous, like well-born swindlers. Carew was a spendthrift. He was
+ostentatiously extravagant in many directions. He owned a smart
+schooner, which he navigated himself, being an excellent sailor, and the
+quantities of champagne consumed by his friends on board this vessel
+were prodigious.
+
+When his steady old partner died, Carew began to neglect the business
+for his pleasures. Soon his income was insufficient to meet his
+expenses. Speculation on the Stock Exchange seemed to him to be a
+quicker road to fortune than a slow-going profession. So this man,
+morally weak though physically brave, not having the courage to curtail
+his extravagances, hurried blindly to his destruction. He gambled and
+lost all his own property; for ill-luck ever pursued him. Even then it
+was not too late to redeem his position. But he was too great a coward
+to look his difficulties in the face; therefore, having the temptation
+to commit so terribly easy a crime ever before him in his office, he
+began--first, timidly, to a small extent; then wildly, in panic, in
+order to retrieve his losses--to speculate with the moneys entrusted to
+him by his clients. He pawned their securities; he forged their names;
+he plunged ever deeper into crime--and all in vain.
+
+When it was too late, he swore to himself, in the torments of his
+remorse, that if he could but once win back sufficient to replace the
+sums he had stolen, he would cut down all his expenses, forswear
+gambling and dishonesty, and stick to his profession.
+
+At last it came to this. He sold his yacht and everything else he
+possessed of value. He realised what remained of the securities under
+his charge, and then placed the entire sum as cover on a certain stock,
+the price of which, he was told, was certain to rise. It was the
+gambler's last despairing throw of the dice. The stock suddenly fell;
+settling day arrived, and his cover was swept away--he had lost all!
+
+So he sat in his office this night and faced the situation in an agony
+of spirit that was more than fear. For this was no unscrupulous,
+light-hearted villain. An accusing conscience was ever with him, and
+every fresh descent in crime meant for him a worse present hell of
+mental torture.
+
+He felt that it was idle to hope now, even for a short reprieve. Clients
+were suspicious. In a day or two at most all must be known. Disgrace and
+a felon's doom were staring him in the face. It would be impossible for
+him to raise even sufficient funds to escape from England to some
+country where extradition treaties were unknown. Carew realised all
+this. He had forced himself to look through his papers and discover the
+total of his liabilities. It was a sum he could by no effort refund.
+
+He laughed aloud--a savage, discordant laugh, as might be that of some
+lost soul.
+
+"Yes, it is all over," he thought; "I throw up the cards. But I will not
+endure the disgrace of a public trial, the ignominy of a convict's life;
+and after that to come out of jail with my soul eaten out by long years
+of penal servitude, with the brand of a felon on my name. Oh no--not
+that! After all, a man has always one last privilege left him; he holds
+in his own hands the power of terminating his own miserable existence.
+Yes; I will kill myself, and have done with it all!"
+
+In the contemplation of suicide he became calmer. Now that he had
+determined on death, his terrible anxiety left him, and the heroism of
+despair supported him.
+
+"I feel a peace of mind at this moment such as has not come to me for
+many wretched months," he said to himself. "There is almost a pleasure
+in knowing that one has got to the bottom of one's cup of suffering,
+that there can be nothing worse to come."
+
+He meditated quietly for some time as to how he should take away his
+life. At last he came to a decision, and a strange smile lit up his
+face. "Yes, that is an admirable plan; now for the means of carrying it
+out. First, I must have a sovereign or so. I can pawn my watch. Now for
+the ballast." He glanced round the room. "Yes, that will do." He rose
+and collected several heavy leaden paperweights from the different desks
+in the offices and put them into his pockets. "That will be sufficient.
+Now I will go to Brighton. It is a glorious evening. I will smell the
+sea-air once more. I will have a last dinner at an hotel; and then at
+night, when the tide is high, I will throw myself off the pier; this
+weight of lead will keep me down. And the next morning my creditors may
+seize my body: they are welcome to it."
+
+At that moment a loud knock came at the outer door. He turned pale and
+nearly fainted at the sound. Was he to be balked of those last few hours
+of freedom which he had promised himself? Were these the officers of
+justice who had come to apprehend him? Once more the dew of agony burst
+out on his brow; he groaned aloud; then, summoning resolution, the
+desperate man approached the door.
+
+But it was only the postman, after all. "Idiot that I am not to have
+known the knock! but my brain swims to-night. A letter for me. What is
+this?"
+
+He read the letter slowly through; then he put his hand to his forehead.
+A revulsion of feeling had suddenly come to him that confused and
+stunned him. "Oh, merciful Heaven!" he said, "is this but a cruel trick
+of Fortune to tempt me with a vain hope? I had quite reconciled myself
+to death--and now this comes. Perhaps it is but a short reprieve, and
+its price will be all that agonising suspense again. No, let me die; and
+yet"--he glanced at the letter again--"surely I have here a means of
+escape. If I can but collect my scattered wits and recover my cunning, I
+can save myself. I can live, but it will mean crime again--always crime!
+Oh, is it worth it?"
+
+After a painful mental struggle, he came to a determination. "Yes, I
+will live," he said.
+
+The letter was as follows:--
+
+     "DEAR CAREW,--You have often promised to cruise with me in my boat.
+     I am off to-morrow for Holland. Can you join me? Come and look me
+     up to-night, and arrange it all.--Yours sincerely,
+
+     "ARTHUR ALLEN."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Arthur Allen, barrister-at-law, was of about the same age as his friend
+Carew; a man possessed of private means sufficient for his needs, into
+whose chambers so few briefs found their way that he had for some years
+dispensed with the services of a clerk. But, as one would have surmised
+after glancing at the strong, intelligent face, he was a man by no means
+lacking in energy, and not of idle disposition: as a matter of fact, a
+scholar, and one who had taken high honours at his university, he still
+maintained his studious habits, and, having practically abandoned a
+profession that was uncongenial to him, he devoted himself to literary
+pursuits; and his thoughtful articles in the reviews and in the
+newspaper to which he was attached brought him in no insignificant
+addition to his income.
+
+No mere bookworm, he had been an athlete in his youth; but now his one
+outdoor form of amusement was the sailing of his little yacht, on which,
+always acting as his own skipper, he had taken many a delightful cruise
+in home and distant waters. He was an enthusiastic lover of the sea.
+This was the one taste he had in common with Carew. It was at some yacht
+club, of which they were both members, that they had become acquainted.
+
+It was a lovely August evening. The windows of Allen's bachelor chambers
+in the Temple were open, and through them could be seen that fair oasis
+of London's desert of bricks and mortar, Fountain Court, with its
+stately buildings, ancient trees, and quiet garden with splashing
+fountains in its midst. Nor was the view confined; for, beyond the
+chapel and the green, could be perceived the broad, gleaming Thames, and
+the distant Surrey shore, glorified by a faint mist; a peaceful,
+old-world spot, with a contemplative air about it, for it is haunted by
+the memories of much departed greatness. Allen was reclining in a
+comfortable arm-chair, drawn up to the open window, in whose recesses
+geraniums bloomed, their vivid blossoms occasionally shaking beneath the
+breath of the soft south wind that had come directly from the cool
+river.
+
+He smoked his pipe as he looked out upon the sweet sunset scene, his
+mind happily occupied in planning his coming cruise, when his
+meditations were interrupted by a knock at the outer door. He rose to
+admit his visitor, opened the door, and there stood before him Henry
+Carew in serge suit and yachting cap, a small Gladstone bag in his hand.
+
+"Hallo, Carew, old man! you have not been long replying to my letter. I
+was afraid you would have left the office before it reached you. Come
+in."
+
+"Are you alone?" inquired Carew, in a low voice.
+
+"Yes, quite alone. I am smoking a pipe of peace by myself. You have just
+come at the right time."
+
+They entered the room, and then, as the light of the sunset fell upon
+the solicitor's face, Allen perceived its haggard expression.
+
+"How queer you look, Carew!" he exclaimed. "Are you ill?"
+
+"Ill--no, not at all; but worried--worried almost out of my life,"
+replied Carew wildly, throwing himself into a chair, and putting his
+face between his hands.
+
+Allen sat in a chair opposite to him, refilled and lit his pipe, and, as
+he smoked, gazed at his friend with feelings of perplexed compassion.
+
+"Have a pipe, old fellow; there is nothing like a pipe for worry."
+
+"A pipe?" cried Carew, with contemptuous bitterness. "No; but have you
+some brandy? Give me some brandy."
+
+"Certainly, Carew," and the barrister produced a spirit-case, some
+glasses, and water.
+
+Carew poured a quantity of spirit into a glass and drank it neat. He
+was usually a temperate man.
+
+"That is not the way to clear one's brain for confronting one's
+troubles," remarked Allen.
+
+"No, you are right. It is foolish of me. Allen, I have come to say that
+I shall be very glad to accompany you on your cruise."
+
+"I am delighted to hear that. A good blow in the North Sea will do you
+good, if your mind is so upset."
+
+"Allen," said Carew, pulling himself together and speaking with more
+self-possession, "I wish I could speak to you of the business that is
+troubling me, but I am not at liberty to do so. It concerns others."
+
+"I don't want to know anything about it, old man; but I am sure you will
+soon get out of your trouble, whatever it is. With an easy conscience no
+man is miserable for long. And now that I have secured you as a hand, I
+have a sufficient crew. So we will start to-morrow morning. Will you be
+ready by then?"
+
+"I am ready now. You see I have brought my baggage with me."
+
+"Then, as we have to catch an early train to-morrow, you had better
+sleep to-night in my chambers; I can put you up. Our destination is the
+Dutch coast, old man, and we should have a jolly time of it. You have
+not yet seen my new boat, the _Petrel_--a yawl of twenty-eight tons,
+yacht measurement; a splendid sea-boat. I would go anywhere in her. She
+is now lying off Erith."
+
+Carew had been listening attentively. "What crew do you carry?" he
+asked.
+
+"Ah, let me tell you that you will have lots of work to do. We shall be
+but three all told. I have shipped one hand only--Jim, the fisherman,
+who was with me last year. Another friend was coming with me, but he has
+disappointed me."
+
+"For how long will you be away?"
+
+"About a fortnight. I have been a bit fagged of late, and want a
+holiday. I only made up my mind to take this cruise this afternoon. Not
+a soul but yourself knows we are going."
+
+On hearing this a sigh of relief escaped Carew. Yes, if he were once on
+board the yacht all trace of him would be lost. He felt almost jubilant
+as he thought of it; the recent acute tension of his mind had left a
+sort of hysterical weakness behind, and he alternated easily between
+exultant hope and profoundest despair.
+
+He reflected that if he could but contrive to reach Erith without being
+observed by any who knew him, he was safe, at anyrate for some time. But
+how to do so? It was possible that even already detectives had been set
+to watch his movements. He must take his chance of that, use all his
+wits, and incur no risk that could be avoided. Fearing to show himself
+in the streets, more especially in the Strand or Fleet Street, where so
+many would know him by sight at least, he suggested to Allen that they
+should send to a neighbouring chop-house for their dinners, and remain
+quietly in the chambers, instead of dining, as was their wont, at a
+club. The barrister agreed to this, and therefore had no opportunity
+that night of meeting any of his friends, and he communicated to no one
+his intention of sailing on the morrow. He merely left a note for his
+housekeeper on his table, informing her that he would be out of town for
+a fortnight, and that his letters were not to be forwarded.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At an early hour on the following morning a cab was brought round to the
+door of the barrister's chambers, and the two friends drove off to
+Charing Cross Station, arriving there but a few minutes before their
+train started. The chances of anyone who knew him recognising Carew on
+the way were thus reduced to a minimum. At Erith Allen's man, Jim, was
+awaiting them with the dinghy. He was a very broad-shouldered,
+florid-faced man of forty, with a protuberance in one cheek indicating
+the presence of a quid. He looked exactly what he was--a hardy,
+North-Sea smackman.
+
+Jim pulled them off to the yacht, and when the solicitor, who was
+thoroughly at home on a boat, a keen lover of the sea, with yachting as
+his one innocent pleasure, stood on the white deck, and, looking around,
+saw how glorious was that summer's day, beheld the river sparkling in
+the sunshine, thronged with stately ships and picturesque barges tacking
+up with the flood against the soft south-west wind, a delightful sense
+of freedom rushed upon him.
+
+Oh, what a thing it was to have left behind him that accursed city, with
+its weariness, its anxieties, the endless jangles of the law, the
+feverish play, the guilt, the terrible dread of detection--to have left
+it for ever!
+
+"Now, Jim, off we go!" cried the skipper. The dinghy was lifted on
+board, the mainsail was hoisted, then the jib; the moorings were slipt,
+up went the foresail, and the yacht shot out into the stream; then,
+obedient to her rudder, bore away, and tore down the river before the
+freshening breeze on the top of the strong ebb tide. Needless it is to
+describe that pleasant summer day's sail. Allen was in the highest
+spirits, and for him the happy hours flew rapidly by. Even Carew,
+intoxicated with the pure air and sunshine, and the delightful sight of
+dancing waters, forgot his sin and misery, and felt almost light-hearted
+for the first time for months; and at last, when the yacht reached the
+broader water, thinking over his position, he gave a sigh of infinite
+relief. Now, indeed, he was safe. No fugitive had ever left so little
+trace behind him.
+
+They were well outside the Thames, in the East Swin Channel, before
+dark. The sun set in a golden haze, ominous of storm on the morrow, and
+then the wind dropped. The yacht sailed very slowly down the English
+coast during the night, the three men taking it in turn to steer and
+sleep. At sunrise they were off the Naze, and the sky looked so stormy
+and the glass fell so rapidly that there was some discussion as to
+whether it would not be well to put in to Harwich. But Carew was so
+earnestly opposed to this that the owner decided to push on, and the
+vessel's head was turned seaward towards the mouth of the Maas. The
+English coast loomed less and less distinct; but so light was the wind
+that it was not till midday that they lost all sight of the land. Then
+the wind began to pipe up suddenly, and seeing nothing but stormy clouds
+and heaving water around him, Carew's spirits rose wonderfully; a
+reaction of wild gaiety succeeded his anxiety.
+
+At four it was blowing so hard that they took two reefs in the mainsail
+and shifted jibs. Shortly before sunset, Carew was taking his turn at
+the tiller; the others were below. After a while the motion of the yacht
+became so violent that the owner came on deck to have a look round.
+
+"The wind has freshened a lot this last half-hour, and there's a nasty
+sea getting up," he said. "It will be blowing a gale of wind before the
+morning. Well, we have a good craft under our feet."
+
+"She steers wonderfully easily," replied the solicitor. "She's a
+beautiful boat. I would not mind crossing the Atlantic in her."
+
+"I should think not," said the proud owner. "But look at that vessel
+across your lee-bow, Carew. What the dickens are they up to on board of
+her? She's yawing all over the place. First I thought she was on the
+port-tack; then she seemed as if she was in stays; and now--ah, I see
+it--she is hove-to."
+
+"She is a small brig," said Carew. "Get the glasses up and see what you
+can make of her."
+
+Allen dived below, brought up the binoculars, and scanned the vessel.
+"By Jove!" he cried, "she's in a nice mess. Her bowsprit is carried
+away, her foretopmast too, and her jib's streaming away like a flag.
+Hallo! and part of her stem and bulwarks have gone."
+
+"Collision." It was Jim's voice. He had just come on deck, and his quick
+eye at once realised the brig's mishap. Then he looked at her intently
+for some moments, and spoke again, in eager tones for him--
+
+"Derelict."
+
+"So she is," cried Allen. "We'll get out the boat and board her. Do you
+think the sea is too high, Jim?"
+
+Jim said nothing. He was quite ready to risk his life in a cockle-shell
+in a heavy sea, as all fishermen of the Doggerbank must be. He was not
+the man to refuse to do what his employer wished, unless the danger were
+very great indeed. He looked round at the sea, then nodded his head
+affirmatively.
+
+"I don't think it's safe," said Carew. "In the first place, see how low
+that brig is in the water; she may go down at any moment, and the sea is
+very tricky to-day. I grant you it does not seem so very rough just now,
+but every half-hour or so there have been some rather dangerous rollers.
+One passed by us just before you came on deck."
+
+But Allen's spirit of adventure was up. "Oh, nonsense!" he cried; "I'm
+going to see what she is. She may be worth standing by for salvage. Run
+down a bit nearer to her--that's it. Now let's heave-to--so. Now
+overboard with the dinghy, Jim. You stay behind and mind the yacht,
+Carew."
+
+Jim and Allen waited for a "smooth," seized the dinghy, dexterously
+launched her, and leaping in nimbly, pulled away from the yacht--a feat
+that looks easy on paper, but requires nerve and skill to perform in a
+heavy sea.
+
+"If you drift away too far, let draw your jib and sail up to us,"
+shouted Allen, as he went away.
+
+Carew stood on the deck of the yacht, which now rose and fell on the
+seas with the easy motion of a vessel that is hove-to, and watched the
+tiny boat, so frail and yet so buoyant, so far safer than she seemed, as
+she leapt from wave to wave.
+
+The dinghy was close to the brig. In another moment the men would have
+boarded her, when Carew perceived, to his horror, a huge roller coming
+up--a steep mass of water, with overhanging, breaking crest, such as are
+met with on the edge of shallows. It reached the yacht and hurled her
+high up; then dropped her again into the trough of the sea with a shock
+almost as violent as if she had struck a rock. The giant wave thundered
+by the sturdy little vessel without injuring her. But the dinghy--where
+was she?
+
+Carew strained his eyes in her direction. First the boat was hidden from
+him by the intervening wave; then he saw her for a moment floating on
+the top of a sea, some forty yards away, bottom up. He thought, too, he
+could distinguish a man's head in the water near her. The derelict had
+disappeared. Waterlogged as she was, it had only needed that last great
+sea to send her down bodily.
+
+But all this while his two companions were drowning. Why did Carew stand
+there idle? He was sailor enough to know his duty. He could have sailed
+the yacht close to the men, thrown a life-buoy to them, and have
+possibly succeeded in dragging them on board. He stood on the deck, as
+if dazed. Had he lost his head for a time? He only hesitated for two or
+three seconds, but they were invaluable--then it was too late!
+
+A sudden squall of wind and rain swept down upon the sea, and all was
+obscured in a whirling smoke of spray and vapour. It was impossible to
+see even a few yards through it; and when the squall had passed, there
+were no men and no dinghy to be seen.
+
+The dark and stormy night settled down upon the waters, and Henry Carew
+was left alone in the middle of the North Sea!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+"Am I a murderer?"
+
+So asked of his conscience, in fear and trembling, Henry Carew, as he
+stood alone upon the deck of the labouring vessel, surrounded by a waste
+of tumultuous waters.
+
+"Not a murderer!" he cried aloud. "Oh no, not that!"
+
+Then he argued with himself. "Had I done all that a man could, I think I
+should have been unable to save them. True, I lost my presence of mind.
+I did not stir a hand to help them; but that is not murder. Poor Allen!
+poor Allen! But no; this is a morbid fancy. At least I am innocent of
+that crime."
+
+He looked round at the wild sea, invisible on that starless night save
+for the white foam that hissed on the tops of the waves.
+
+"And now to make the best of my position. How fortune has turned! I, who
+two days back was surrounded by dangers, have nothing to fear now."
+
+Then he broke into a wild laugh, not of merriment or exultation, but a
+sort of hysterical effervescence that came of a mind that had long been
+tasked beyond its strength by violent emotions.
+
+But he fully realised what a great advantage the loss of his two
+companions signified for him. Yes, even at that moment when he beheld
+them drowning before him, the profit their death would bring him had
+flashed across his brain. Little wonder that he asked his conscience
+that terrible question, "Am I a murderer?"
+
+How simple his course seemed now! It needed little thought to decide on
+it. He knew that Allen was accustomed to undertake long cruises, and
+therefore would not be missed for some time. Again, the barrister was
+somewhat careless in his correspondence; so the fact of his neglecting
+to write to his friends would surprise and alarm no one. How easy, then,
+for Carew to impersonate him! He would sail the yacht into some Dutch
+port--no very difficult task; and once there, he could rely on his wits
+to make the most of the opportunities chance should throw in his way.
+Most probably he would sell the yacht and take a passage on some vessel
+bound for a South American harbour. Like most educated fugitives from
+justice, he turned to the Argentine Republic as being the safest of
+sanctuaries.
+
+Carew's eyes, accustomed to observe the signs of the weather, told him
+that the wind was likely to freshen; so he set about making himself as
+comfortable as possible for the night. He lowered the foresail, and
+still further reduced the mainsail by tricing up the tack. Then, with
+jib-sheet hauled to windward and tiller lashed, the yacht lay hove-to.
+After watching her for a few minutes, Carew saw that she was behaving
+admirably, and that he could with safety stay below the whole night if
+he chose, and leave the little vessel to take care of herself.
+
+"It will have to blow a good deal harder to hurt her," he thought; "it's
+only collision I have to be afraid of now. Well, I can considerably
+lessen the chances of that."
+
+So he went below, found the side-lamps, lit them, and fastened them to
+the shrouds.
+
+So dark had become the night that nothing could be distinguished from
+the yacht's deck, save when, as she rolled from side to side, the port
+and starboard lights cast an alternate ruddy and sickly green glare on
+the foaming water. To be out in the North Sea on so small a craft during
+a gale is terrifying in the extreme to one not inured to the sea; the
+roaring of the waves and the howling of the wind sound so much louder
+than on a larger vessel, and the quick, violent motion often confuses
+the brains even of sailors if they are accustomed only to big ships. But
+Carew was, as Allen had said, a smart man on a fore-an-after. He felt
+that, with this good boat under him, he was as safe as if he had been
+on shore.
+
+"She's snug enough," he said. "I'll go below and try to make out from
+the chart where I am; then I'll turn in and sleep--if I can."
+
+He looked at the chart, roughly calculated the distance the yacht had
+run since Allen had taken his "departure" from the Naze, and found that
+he was about half-way between the English and Dutch coasts. "That is
+good," he thought; "I have no lee-shore near me; I have plenty of room.
+I'll just stay where I am, hove-to, till the wind moderates, then make
+sail for Rotterdam."
+
+He lay down in his bunk and tried to sleep, but all in vain. His brain
+was too excited with thoughts of what had passed and what was still to
+happen. Plans to secure his safety, and visions of possible accidents,
+passed through his mind, weaving themselves in delirious manner into
+long and complicated histories of his future life--some happy, some
+terrible with retributive calamity. Unable to stay the feverish activity
+of his brain, he came on deck at frequent intervals to see that all was
+well.
+
+The vessel plunged and rolled throughout the night, her timbers
+groaning, and the wind shrieking through her rigging. But towards
+daybreak the gale began to moderate, and the glass rose slowly. Carew
+saw that the bad weather was over and that the heavy sea would soon
+subside. On the shallow German Ocean the sea rises quicker than
+elsewhere, and with its steep and breaking rollers is more perilous than
+can be experienced on any other of our home waters, as the fishermen of
+the Doggerbank know to their cost. On the other hand, here it soon
+becomes smooth again as the wind drops.
+
+An hour or so after dawn the sky was almost cloudless, and only a fresh
+breeze was blowing. The waves, no longer dangerous, broke into white
+foam that sparkled in the sunshine. It was a day to gladden a sailor's
+heart.
+
+Carew stood on deck, and under the joyous influences of that bright
+morning a calm fell on his soul, and his conscience ceased to trouble
+him. There is a sort of magnetic relation between a man and his
+surroundings. Out at sea, far away from land, with nothing but pure air
+and pure water near, even a great villain is wont to forget that he
+himself is not pure as well. In London, as he walked through the crowded
+streets, Carew knew that he was constantly jostling against men as bad
+as himself. In them he saw his own vices and crimes reflected as in a
+mirror, so that he could never put his guilt out of his mind. Again,
+fearful as he had been lately that those around him suspected him, he
+was unable to feel, even for one delusive moment, the sense of
+innocence.
+
+But out here on the great sea, so far removed from human passion, with
+nothing to remind him of his offences, it was, on the contrary,
+difficult for him to realise what manner of man he was. He was conscious
+of what he imagined were virtuous impulses. He began to flatter himself
+that he was naturally a good man, that he was more sinned against than
+sinning, and that it was foolish of him to allow a sensitive conscience
+to torment him about occurrences, regrettable indeed, but the blame of
+which was scarcely his. The fact was that he mistook the joyous feelings
+inspired by a sunny day at sea for the reawakening of his better self--a
+frequent mistake that. His soul was in complete harmony with the Nature
+around him; and Nature, whatever her actions, knows nothing of crime or
+remorse.
+
+So Henry Carew, in no unhappy frame of mind, began to consider what he
+should do next; and as he pondered, all his pluck and energy returned to
+him.
+
+"In an hour or so," he said to himself, "the sea will have gone down
+still more; then I can get the vessel under way again. In the meantime,
+I will make a thorough inspection, and discover what my resources are;
+for I must have money, or the means of raising it."
+
+He went below, and after lighting a fire in the stove to boil some water
+for coffee, he looked round the walls of the cabin. Among other
+valuables were a rifle, a revolver, a clock, and an aneroid; and Allen's
+gold watch and chain were hanging on a nail. "I can raise fifty pounds
+on these to begin with," he thought; "and now to see what there is in
+the lockers and cupboards." He rummaged everywhere; but, with the
+exception of the sextant, there was no article of any value that could
+be easily sold.
+
+At last, in a small drawer, he found the barrister's money and papers.
+There were about twenty-five pounds in gold. There was also a
+cheque-book; and on turning over its pages, Carew found that Allen had
+made a note of the balance to his credit on the counterfoil of the last
+cheque he had drawn, showing that he had the sum of fifty pounds at his
+bank. Then the solicitor glanced at the yacht's Admiralty warrant, which
+authorised Arthur Allen to fly the blue ensign of Her Majesty's fleet on
+his yacht, the _Petrel_, of sixteen tons register; a most valuable
+privilege, as Carew knew, which would serve him as passport into
+whatever foreign port he should go.
+
+He was not altogether satisfied with the result of his search, and, as
+he sat on the bunk sipping his coffee, the more he thought of his
+prospects the more gloomy they appeared to him. He felt that it would be
+very hazardous to attempt selling the yacht in Rotterdam. To do so would
+require time; and as it was the long vacation, and so many lawyers and
+others who knew him were taking their holidays, his recognition by
+someone in so favourite a haunt of tourists as the Dutch city would be a
+highly probable event. He dared not risk that. He must not stay in
+Holland a moment longer than was necessary. Then what could he do with
+so small a fund at his disposal?
+
+His eye fell on the open drawer, and he rose to close it. He happened
+then to notice the barrister's diary among the papers, and though he did
+not imagine that there could be anything in it of the slightest interest
+to himself, he took it up in a casual way and opened it at the first
+page. Suddenly the indifferent look vanished, he started visibly, and
+read with intense eagerness. "Oh!" he cried, "now it is all plain
+sailing for me. I know what to do." A triumphant light came into his
+eyes, and then, putting away the diary, he ran on deck, let the
+foresheet draw, and as he steered the vessel on her course over the
+dancing waves, the expression of his face indicated a happy confidence
+in the future; all doubt and fear had fled.
+
+The first page of the diary was devoted to memoranda; and, among other
+things, the barrister had here written a list of the investments from
+which he derived his income. The bulk of these consisted of foreign
+bonds and other easily negotiable securities, which Allen had deposited
+with his banker.
+
+It was the perusal of this list that had suggested to the quick and
+ingenious mind of the solicitor a scheme not difficult of execution, the
+very thought of which made his heart beat quick with anticipation. Carew
+shrank from the peril of forging cheques or letters of instructions to
+Allen's bankers; but now that he knew exactly how the barrister's
+account stood, a simpler and safer method of appropriating to himself a
+large proportion at least of the dead man's fortune occurred to him.
+
+Said this accomplished scoundrel to himself: "I have here a stout,
+seaworthy boat, that can easily take me across the Atlantic. I will ship
+a crew in Rotterdam, and sail for Buenos Ayres. By selling the watch and
+chain and one or two other little things I shall have enough money to
+buy stores and pay all other expenses of the voyage. Once in Buenos
+Ayres, I will go to the agent of the ---- Bank. There is sure to be one.
+I will show him my papers. I will prove to his satisfaction that I am
+Arthur Allen, barrister-at-law, owner of the yacht _Petrel_. I will
+explain that I have run short of money, and require a considerable sum
+at once. The agent will telegraph to the bank, learn that I have there
+securities to a large amount, and then he will be ready to advance to me
+as much as I want; and I will want a good deal. I will say that I am
+about to buy land, or tell some such plausible tale, get my money, and
+away. Oh, most excellent plan! Who on earth is likely to suspect that
+the yachting barrister is no other than Henry Carew, the defaulting
+solicitor?"
+
+He steered the vessel towards the Dutch coast, and soon the wind fell so
+much that he was able to shake out all his reefs.
+
+At ten he passed through a large fleet of fishing boats that were riding
+to their nets. He hailed an English smack, asking her skipper if he
+could tell him his position.
+
+"You'll get hold of the land in an hour or so," shouted the man; "and,
+as you are going now, you'll about fetch Goeree."
+
+Carew, after consulting the chart, steered in a more northerly
+direction. At midday he saw the loom of the land ahead of him; so, as
+the sky was clear, he brought up the sextant and took an observation of
+the sun, thus ascertaining his exact position.
+
+"Lucky it is that I taught myself navigation," he thought; "it will come
+in useful now."
+
+At last he could plainly distinguish the features of the coast, which
+was low and flat, with white sand-hills here and there that gleamed like
+snow in the sunshine.
+
+Then he saw a steeple, a lighthouse, and a group of cottages, with
+bright red roofs, and he knew that he was off the village of
+Scheveningen, which is a few miles to the north of the Maas. Sailing to
+the southward, he soon reached the mouth of the river, and at once some
+of the ever-watchful pilots pulled off to him in a small boat.
+
+Carew hove the yacht to, and waited for them. The boat was soon
+alongside. Four little old men, all fat and rosy, were in her. One who
+understood English well was the spokesman. Standing up in the stern he
+shouted--
+
+"Captain, you want pilot, sar?"
+
+"Yes; how much do you want to take me to Rotterdam?"
+
+Carew felt how necessary it was to husband his funds, and he suspected
+that Dutch pilots consider a yacht fair prey for extortion.
+
+The man named an exorbitant sum.
+
+"Nonsense! Too much. I'll sail her in myself."
+
+"Right, captain," replied the Dutchman calmly; "that better for me and
+my mates. You try and go in alone, you sure to run ashore. Then we help
+you off, and you give us plenty money for salvage instead of small
+pilot-fee."
+
+Carew felt that it might happen as the old man had said. The Maas is
+encumbered with shoals, and the navigation is difficult for a stranger.
+
+"Now, how much you give me, captain?"
+
+The solicitor mentioned a moderate sum.
+
+"Ah, you rich man with yacht to be hard on poor pilot! Now, I pilot you
+for the middle price."
+
+"Come on board, then," said Carew.
+
+The pilot leapt on to the yacht's deck, and the other three pulled away
+in their boat.
+
+"Now, captain. Tide in river running strong, wind is light; so we want
+all sail, or else we no move. Call up your hands and hoist topsail."
+
+"There are no hands below. I am alone," replied Carew.
+
+"Alone? What do you mean? You come from England all alone?" exclaimed
+the man in great astonishment.
+
+"Yes; my crew got drunk and were insolent just before I sailed. They
+thought I could not do without them, and they knew I was in a hurry. But
+I put them all on shore without hesitation, and I have come across
+alone."
+
+"You a very mad Englishman, but you a brave man. I never hear anything
+like that."
+
+"Pilot," said Carew, later on, as they were sailing up the river, "I
+don't want to be followed about Rotterdam as if I were a curiosity; so I
+should like you not to mention the fact of my having sailed across the
+sea alone."
+
+"All right, captain; my mouth close."
+
+"I shall want a crew of two or three good, honest Dutchmen, pilot. Can
+you recommend me any men?"
+
+"This very night you shall have one--my cousin Willem--a very good boy,
+captain."
+
+"And there is another thing, pilot. What sort of a berth are you going
+to put me in in Rotterdam?"
+
+"I will moor you along the Boompjees; nice quays them. Plenty good
+Schiedam shops on shore there. All yachts go there."
+
+"I thought so; that's why I asked. Now, pilot, I do not want to be
+moored along the Boompjees. Take me to some quiet canal, out of the way;
+you understand--a place where no yachts or foreign vessels go."
+
+"Ah, I know, captain, just the place: nothing but Holland schuyts there;
+no yachts like it, no captains like it; I not think you will like it."
+
+"I will go there. But why don't you think I shall like it?"
+
+"You no have Dutch nose; and that canal plenty smellful, captain."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+A narrow canal that pierces an out-of-the-way corner of old Rotterdam.
+Mediæval houses--narrow, lofty, terminating in quaint, pointed
+gables--overhang the sluggish waters. It is only frequented by the
+picturesque native canal boats, with their lofty masts and varnished oak
+sides, so marvellously clean, for all their dirty work. In this quiet
+spot, with its old-world, decaying look, it is difficult to realise that
+close at hand are the busy quays of the Boompjees, crowded with vessels
+from all parts of the world, noisy with the haste of modern commerce.
+
+It is a bit of Rotterdam that does not change. The British tourist,
+unless he has lost himself, never explores the narrow alleys that lead
+down to the slimy water--a gloomy, dead quarter of the city, pervaded by
+a smell that is ancient and fish-like and something worse.
+
+It was a sultry August midday. No breath of air stirred the water of the
+canal, which seemed to be fermenting under the fierce sunshine, and foul
+gases bubbled up on its surface.
+
+Only one of the many vessels moored along the quay flew a foreign flag.
+The blue ensign of Great Britain hung motionless from the mizzen of the
+yacht _Petrel_.
+
+On the deck was a sturdy little man in baggy trousers, who, despite the
+languid influence of the day, was employed in polishing the brass-work
+on the vessel with an extraordinary energy. This was Willem, the pilot's
+cousin, who had entered into Carew's service, and who had, with Dutch
+diligence, set himself the task of scrubbing the yacht up to his high
+standard of Dutch smartness as quickly as possible.
+
+The owner--by right of undisputed possession--was below, looking over
+some charts of the South Atlantic, which he had just purchased. The
+solicitor had been making all his preparations as rapidly but as quietly
+as possible. But little now remained to be done. So far, honest Willem
+was the only hand he had engaged; but he knew that he could easily ship
+as many men as he needed at a moment's notice in so large a seaport as
+Rotterdam. He told no one of his projected voyage across the Atlantic,
+knowing that to do so would at once attract attention to him; and he
+naturally dreaded that publicity should be given to his doings.
+
+He showed himself in the streets as little as possible, and he always
+went forth to make his purchases in the early morning before English
+tourists were likely to be out of their beds. He had only been in port
+two days, but he was almost ready for sea. He had some tanks fitted into
+the cabin, so that he could carry sufficient water for a long voyage; he
+had filled all the lockers and bunks with a large quantity of tinned
+meats, biscuits, and other necessary stores; he had procured his charts;
+and all this had been done in the least conspicuous manner possible.
+
+Though he had never before undertaken an ocean cruise of this magnitude,
+he knew what was requisite, and forgot nothing. There was no chronometer
+on board the yacht, and he could not afford to buy one; so, as his watch
+was not to be depended upon, he saw that he would have to navigate his
+vessel after the fashion of the good old days before chronometers were
+known. The ancient navigators carried with them their astrolabes--rough
+instruments, long since superseded by quadrants and sextants--which
+enabled them to find their latitude accurately enough. But having no
+timepieces, they were unable to ascertain their longitude by observation
+of the heavenly bodies, and had to rely on dead reckoning alone. So the
+mariner of old, after a long voyage across ocean currents of unknown
+speed and direction, was possibly many hundreds of miles out of his
+reckoning as regards longitude, though he knew his latitude to within a
+few miles.
+
+Thus, supposing, for instance, he was bound for Barbadoes, he would
+sail boldly on until, according to his calculations, he was some few
+days' journey to the eastward of his port. Then he would steer for the
+exact latitude in which it lay, and follow that line of latitude till he
+reached his destination; which he was, of course, bound to do sooner or
+later. Moreover, it was his invariable custom to heave his vessel to
+every night while running down the latitude; as otherwise he might pass
+by the island without seeing it in the darkness, and lose himself
+entirely.
+
+It was a slow method of navigation--not to say a risky one. But Carew
+would not have to encounter so many difficulties as the sailors of old;
+for ocean currents are better understood in these days, and the
+opportunities of speaking vessels at sea and ascertaining the exact
+longitude from them are very frequent.
+
+Carew had spent all the money he had found on board the yacht, and there
+were still some necessary purchases to be made. The most expensive of
+the articles yet to be bought was a dinghy, to replace the one that had
+been lost. This very morning he had found his way to the Mont de Piété
+and pawned everything he could well spare: Allen's watch and chain, the
+rifle, and one of the two binocular glasses. With that easy
+forgetfulness which was an attribute of his conscience, he had by this
+time almost come to believe that the barrister's yacht and fortune were
+rightfully his. The sum he thus raised was not a large one; but he
+calculated that it would enable him to meet every expense, though he
+would have to put to sea almost penniless, if not quite so.
+
+While Willem was still busy on deck a tall, good-looking gentleman, with
+an honest but shrewd eye and tawny beard, came along the quay and stood
+in front of the yacht, inspecting her critically for a few moments.
+
+"Is the owner on board?" he inquired of the sailor in Dutch.
+
+"The English captain is in his cabin, sir," replied the little man in a
+solemn, nasal drawl.
+
+"I should like to see him. Will you give him my card?"
+
+Willem, taking the card, descended to the cabin. "Von man here for see
+you, captain," he said in his broken English.
+
+Carew started. "A man to see me? What sort of man?" he asked.
+
+"Him a gentleman man, for him has von tall black hat. Here was his
+paper," and he handed Carew the card.
+
+The solicitor felt the blood forsake his heart. Some English
+acquaintance had found him out. He looked at the card with dread; then a
+sigh of relief escaped him; the name was certainly Dutch--Hoogendyk.
+
+Carew went on deck and politely invited his visitor to come on board.
+Mynheer Hoogendyk stepped down from the quay, and introduced himself in
+excellent English.
+
+"I am a resident of Rotterdam," he said, "and I am a leading member of
+our Yacht Club. I have come to inform you that, with your permission, we
+shall be highly delighted to make our English _confrère_ an honorary
+member of the club during his stay in our city."
+
+"I am very grateful to the club for the honour they confer upon me, and
+shall gladly avail myself of the privilege," replied the lawyer, who, as
+he spoke, made a resolve never to put his foot inside the club premises,
+but to ship his crew and sail from Rotterdam without delay. It was
+dangerous for him to stay longer, now that his retreat had been
+discovered.
+
+"I only heard of you by accident yesterday," said the visitor, who,
+unlike most of his countrymen, was garrulous and inquisitive, though a
+good fellow. "Why have you picked up a berth in this dirty,
+out-of-the-way hole?"
+
+"It is picturesque and quiet."
+
+"And filthy and unhealthy. We must move you to a better spot. There is a
+capital berth just in front of the English church. You'll see lots of
+your countrymen there. How many hands have you on board? I see you have
+shipped one Dutchman."
+
+"My two men were drunken ruffians, and I discharged them."
+
+"I will undertake to get you a good crew of my countrymen if you like. I
+suppose you are going to cruise about our coasts. Where are you going to
+from here?"
+
+"To Amsterdam," replied Carew, who was on tenterhooks of impatience. He
+felt how dangerous this man would be with his gossiping habits.
+
+"And now, sir," said Mynheer Hoogendyk, drawing out a pocket-book and
+pencil, "I will take your name and enter it on the club books."
+
+"Here is my card." Carew handed to him one of the barrister's cards.
+
+"'Mr. Arthur Allen, Fountain Court, Temple!'" read the visitor. "Ah, you
+live in the Temple! I know it well. Are you a lawyer by chance?"
+
+"I am a barrister."
+
+"Ah! How delightful! We are chips of the same block, Mr. Allen. I, too,
+am a barrister, in practice in Rotterdam. Both yachtsmen, both
+advocates, what a bond of friendship there should be between us! You
+must come and see my yacht--such a pretty little schuyt--and also our
+law courts."
+
+They sat together in the _Petrel's_ cabin, and the Dutch advocate
+commenced to question the solicitor on English law, comparing it with
+that in force in his own country. Carew was hugely bored and weary of
+his visitor's chatter, but did his best to be civil.
+
+"And, by the way," cried the Dutchman at last, "there is a trial now
+proceeding which I am sure would be of the greatest interest to you; for
+you say that the criminal law is your particular line."
+
+"What is it about?" asked the solicitor indifferently.
+
+"Piracy: the seizure of a vessel and the murder of her officers by the
+crew."
+
+All Carew's indifference vanished now. He let the cigar he was smoking
+drop from his fingers, and, turning his head, he looked at his visitor's
+face with a steady, fierce look, as of some wild beast that awaits the
+attack of another, and has strung all its nerves to resist its foe to
+the death. The Dutchman, whose eyes were directed downwards at that
+moment, did not observe that look.
+
+The slumbering conscience had been awakened again with a rude start by
+those words. For a moment Carew lost his head and fancied that this
+garrulous man was a police detective who knew everything and had been
+playing with his prisoner all this while. Then he looked at his
+visitor's face again, and felt reassured, realising the absurdity of
+such a supposition.
+
+The advocate, quite unconscious of the perturbation he had caused,
+continued--
+
+"Yes, it was a terrible story. Perhaps you remember reading in the
+papers some months ago of an act of piracy in the Spanish Main. A vessel
+trading from Curaçoa under the Dutch flag was seized by her crew--a lot
+of Spanish and Mulatto cut-throats. They murdered the captain, the mate,
+and a few honest Dutch sailors who stood by their officers. Then the
+mutineers sailed for Puerto Cabello, where, as usual, there was a civil
+war, with the intention of selling the vessel to the revolutionary
+party, which was in need of transports. When they arrived there the
+revolution was over; the Government seized the vessel, but the ruffians
+contrived to escape up country."
+
+"I remember all that well," said Carew. "The story made a great noise at
+the time."
+
+"Now it happens," said the advocate, "that three of these ruffians
+shipped as sailors in a South American port on board of a vessel bound
+for Rotterdam. One day a Dutch sailor from Curaçoa enters a drinking
+shop on the Boompjees, and sees, sitting down at a table over a bottle
+of schiedam, three men whom he recognises as part of the crew of the
+ill-fated _Vrouw Elisa_. He calls in the police, and now these gentlemen
+are being tried for their lives."
+
+"To be hanged if found guilty, I suppose?"
+
+"I hope so; but I am afraid that they will be acquitted. Everyone is
+morally sure of their guilt; but, unfortunately, the evidence for the
+prosecution has been so confused and contradictory that their identity
+has not been satisfactorily settled. The counsel for the defence is a
+very able fellow too."
+
+"What countrymen are they?" inquired Carew.
+
+"Two are Spaniards and one is a Frenchman. I think the Frenchman was the
+ringleader of the mutineers, for he looks a clever rascal. And now, Mr.
+Allen, the trial will probably conclude this afternoon. The court is
+very crowded, but I can get you in. Come along, and you will be able to
+compare the Dutch and English criminal procedure."
+
+Carew would have preferred to decline the invitation, but in ordinary
+politeness found it difficult to do so; and he accompanied the native
+lawyer--who undoubtedly possessed the gift of the gab, if no other
+qualifications for his profession--to the law courts.
+
+Carew felt anything but easy in his mind as he walked through the main
+streets of the town, at this hour of the day crowded with a motley
+throng, including not a few of his own countrymen, bent on pleasure or
+business. Pretending to listen to his companion's unceasing gossip, the
+solicitor looked anxiously about him as he went, fearing at each step to
+see some well-known face from Fleet Street. The glaring sunshine had
+rejoiced his soul when he was out on the lonely seas, but in the hives
+of his fellow-men he shrank from the all-searching light, and
+experienced guilt's instinct for safe obscurity.
+
+But he saw no one he knew on his way, and was much relieved when Mr.
+Hoogendyk procured for him, after some difficulty, a seat in a remote
+and dark corner of the court, where he could see and hear, himself
+unseen.
+
+Carew soon became so interested in watching the faces of the three men
+who were being tried for their lives that, in spite of the advocate's
+whispered suggestions on the subject, he paid no attention to the
+procedure, and did not endeavour to compare the Dutch and English legal
+systems. He took no interest in law now; he was indeed heartily sick of
+it, and hoped that he had washed his hands of it for ever.
+
+Of the three men only one had a really unprepossessing and murderous
+countenance. A murderer looks much like any other man, though people who
+take their ideas from waxwork shows think otherwise. That this should be
+so is obvious enough. A few only of murderers have homicidal
+proclivities as a part of their nature, and these indeed may betray
+their character in their physiognomy. All the other passions and vices
+of disposition can, under certain circumstances, compel the man who has
+the greatest horror of bloodshed to kill a fellow-being. In the large
+majority of cases, murder is not a tendency but the result of other
+tendencies.
+
+But one of the three prisoners had indeed a villainous appearance. He
+was a big, clumsily built Spaniard from the Basque countries, with a
+heavy, animal face and an evil mouth, indicative of the stupid cruelty
+of some savage beast.
+
+The other Spaniard was a short, stout man, with a jovial face and an
+enormous black moustache, which he twirled occasionally with a complete
+_nonchalance_. There was nothing of the murderer in his appearance.
+
+Neither of these two men exhibited any signs of fear. The first faced
+death with the dogged pluck of an animal, the second with a somewhat
+higher sort of courage.
+
+The third man alone, the Frenchman, showed that he was suffering the
+agonies of acute terror. The little Spaniard, observing this, nodded to
+him now and then, smiling maliciously, and the big man scowled at him
+with surly contempt. The Frenchman's face was quite white, and the
+perspiration poured down it in streams; his lips quivered, and, holding
+on to the rail of the dock with hands tightly clenched, he listened with
+intense attention to every word of judge or advocate.
+
+The features of this man, though distorted with fear, were delicate and
+refined. His handsome face was more like that of a Provençal gentleman
+than of a rough sailor. He was a well-knit man of about thirty, with the
+blue-black hair of the South. Over his fine and expressive eyes were
+bushy black brows, which almost met on his forehead, giving him a
+somewhat sinister appearance.
+
+Carew found himself taking a strange, morbid interest in watching these
+three faces. In some way he identified himself with the prisoners. Had
+not they committed a crime only in degree differing from his own? The
+day might come when he too would be tried for his life. He wondered
+whether he would then look like the dogged Basque, the cowardly
+Frenchman, or the other. He had always flattered himself that he did not
+fear death; but how difficult to know how he would face it until his
+time came!
+
+At last, amid complete silence, judgment was given. Carew could not
+understand the words, but he knew their import--
+
+"Not guilty!"
+
+The spectators groaned and hissed when they heard this decision. The
+Frenchman fell back fainting. The big Spaniard glanced boldly round the
+court with a ferocious scowl, and he made an involuntary motion with his
+right hand, as if he held his knife in it and was longing to rip up a
+few of his enemies. The little man smiled, and bowed pleasantly to the
+court, after the manner of an actor who is acknowledging his tribute of
+applause.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+The attorney and Carew left the court, the former volubly indignant at
+the miscarriage of justice, the latter moody and thoughtful.
+
+"And now," cried the Hollander, "here we are at the best café in
+Rotterdam. Come in, and let us wash out the taste of crime with some
+beer."
+
+They sat down at one of the little round tables, and two tall glasses
+foaming at the brim were placed before them.
+
+"They have all the English papers here," said the advocate. "I will ask
+the waiter to bring you one."
+
+Carew looked round the room, and suddenly his face paled, for he saw
+sitting at a table at some distance off a fellow-countryman, whom he
+recognised as a tobacconist in Fleet Street, a man who, no doubt, knew
+Carew's name and profession well, for the solicitor had often made
+purchases at his shop.
+
+Carew did not lose his presence of mind. The man was reading the
+_Times_, and had, in all probability, not yet observed him.
+
+"Mynheer Hoogendyk," he said, "I am sorry that I must leave you now. I
+hope you will excuse me. I have an engagement, and in your agreeable
+company I had forgotten all about it."
+
+"You flatter me, sir," replied the advocate with a bow. "I trust that
+you will honour me by dining with me to-morrow at eight, your English
+hour, I believe, for that repast. My wife speaks English well, and will
+be delighted to see you."
+
+"I accept your invitation with the greatest pleasure, mynheer."
+
+Then they rose to go, and Carew contrived to keep his lively companion
+between him and the man from Fleet Street as they walked out of the
+café.
+
+The solicitor felt ill at ease until he had left behind this bright and
+crowded portion of the city, and was once again in the region of the
+gloomy and malodorous slums where the yacht was lying.
+
+He saw how necessary it was that he should leave Rotterdam the next day
+if possible. It was no place for him. His recognition by some one or
+other must occur sooner or later if he stayed here. So, having dined in
+a dingy little hostelry on the quay opposite to the yacht, he visited
+some of the least-frequented streets, and purchased the few necessaries
+for the cruise which he had not already procured. He came across a
+fisherman on the canal who was willing to sell him a small, clumsy boat
+which could serve him as dinghy. After some bargaining in pantomime--for
+neither understood the other's tongue--Carew secured this for the sum of
+three pounds.
+
+Passing an apothecary's shop, it occurred to him that it would be well
+to take some of the more necessary medicines with him, seeing that he
+might be some months at sea without calling at any port. He entered the
+shop and proceeded to draw up a list of his requirements, to which, as
+an afterthought, he added some drugs in less common use.
+
+"These last are poisons," said the chemist in broken English. "I cannot
+supply you with these unless you are a doctor."
+
+Carew, with bold invention, explained that he was the captain of a
+vessel, and as such was the ship's doctor, and had a right to any drugs
+he might choose to ask for; and he produced his Admiralty warrant in
+proof of his statement.
+
+The man was puzzled, perused the warrant without understanding it, and
+at last, reluctantly waiving his scruples, gave the solicitor all that
+he required.
+
+His vessel was now completely fitted out; nothing was wanting but a
+crew, and here a difficulty presented itself. He felt that it was highly
+important that no one in Rotterdam should know that he was sailing for
+Buenos Ayres, else the report that so small a yacht was about to
+undertake so long a voyage would spread rapidly, and would soon appear
+in the English papers. He wished it to be supposed that he was merely
+taking a few weeks' cruise in Dutch waters.
+
+But then, how would his men take it were he only to divulge his
+destination to them when they were well out at sea? The probability was
+that they would refuse to obey his orders, and insist upon returning.
+Professional sailors are not fond of ocean voyages in tiny craft.
+
+Evidently his only plan was to prowl about the docks that night, select
+with care three likely-looking men for his purpose,--men without wives
+or ties of any sort,--bring them on board the yacht, offer them good
+pay, and at the last moment tell them where he was bound for. Then, if
+they still consented to accompany him, he would sail away at once,
+allowing them no opportunity of gossiping with their friends on shore.
+Willem, he knew, was not the man for him. The honest Dutchman must be
+discharged at once on some pretext or other.
+
+Carew sat on deck, pipe in mouth, meditating on these matters. He was
+alone on the yacht, for Willem had gone off on leave for a few hours to
+visit some of his relatives.
+
+The sun was setting into a bank of rosy vapour that promised a
+continuance of fine weather. The hot day was closing with a sultry eve.
+On that quiet canal, and on the narrow quay beneath the lofty houses,
+there was no sound or sign of life. It was almost as if he were in the
+midst of some dead and long since deserted city.
+
+But of a sudden the peacefulness of that mediæval scene was rudely
+disturbed. First was heard a confused noise in the distance, as of angry
+human voices and the trampling of many wooden shoes. Louder, nearer was
+the sound, and then Carew perceived a man rush out upon the quay from a
+narrow alley, some hundred yards away, that led towards the principal
+docks. The man, who seemed frantic with terror, stood still for one
+brief moment, looked quickly around him, as if uncertain whither to
+hurry next: whether to plunge into the canal, or run along the quay to
+left or right.
+
+Then arose a loud yell of many voices behind him, as of hounds that at
+last have caught a view of the hunted creature; and the man, hearing it,
+darted off again at full speed along the canal bank in the direction of
+the yacht.
+
+Immediately afterwards there poured out of the alley a crowd of nearly a
+hundred men, women, and children, mostly of the lowest orders; denizens
+of the slums, though some were of a more respectable class; a crowd of
+Hollanders who had lost all their native phlegm for the nonce; a crowd
+gesticulating, howling, execrating, thirsting for the blood of the man
+they were pursuing; mad and fierce as a mob of Paris in revolutionary
+days when an aristocrat was scented by the sovereign people.
+
+The wretched man was hatless; his coat and half his shirt had been torn
+from his back; the blood was trickling down his face from the wounds on
+his head where the stones that had been hurled at him had hit.
+
+On he came, running wildly before them, his face livid, his mouth open,
+his teeth set, eyes starting from his head with mortal terror, panting
+as if his heart must burst, ready to fall with exhaustion, but still
+hurrying on for his dear life's sake.
+
+When he was close to the yacht his strength failed him; he stretched out
+his arms wildly, and staggered. With a yell of triumph the cruel crowd
+was on him. A man struck him over the head with a stick. Then, with one
+last despairing effort, he threw himself from the quay on to the yacht's
+deck, and fell a helpless mass at Carew's feet, clutching him by the
+legs, as if to implore his protection, but unable to speak or move.
+
+His pursuers stood on the quay above, muttering angrily to each other,
+but hesitated a moment or so before they ventured to board the yacht,
+each waiting for someone else to lead the way.
+
+Those few moments saved the hunted man.
+
+"Below there!" cried Carew, pointing to the cabin. "Quick, man, or you
+will be lost."
+
+Seeing that the poor wretch was too exhausted to rise by himself, he
+seized him by the arm, thrust him down the cabin hatchway, closed the
+cover over him, locked it, and put the key in his pocket. It was all
+done in a few seconds, and then the solicitor turned round and stood
+calmly facing the mob.
+
+The people had not realised at first that Carew was about to rob them of
+their victim. Now that they did so, a howl of rage burst from them, and
+some shouted to him, what were evidently commands to give the man up to
+them, and menaces of what they would do if he refused, though he could
+not understand the words.
+
+One man began to clamber down to the yacht; but Carew seized his leg and
+threw him on the quay again, not over-gently. "Silence!" the solicitor
+called out, leaping back on the hatchway; and the Dutchmen, impressed by
+the Englishman's resolute bearing, paused and listened to what he had to
+say.
+
+"Does anyone here understand English?" he asked.
+
+As might be expected from a crowd in a Dutch city, several men cried
+out, "Yes, Englishman; yes, we know English."
+
+"Then, what is all this disturbance about? Are you all mad?"
+
+"We want dat man," replied a surly voice.
+
+"You can't have him."
+
+"Den ve vill take him."
+
+"Oh, will you?" Carew drew from his pocket Allen's revolver, which he
+always carried about with him now. "Look you here, my friends; I don't
+want a row, but if any man tries to come on board my vessel without my
+permission I will shoot him."
+
+They were awed by the quiet determination of his manner, and felt that
+he would carry out his words.
+
+"Does you know who you has down dere below?" asked the man who had
+spoken before.
+
+"I don't know, and I don't care; but he is not going to be murdered by
+you cowards on board my vessel. If he has committed some crime, call the
+police. I will deliver him over to them only."
+
+The passions of the mob had now cooled down considerably, and the men
+began to light their pipes, and looked once more the staid Dutchmen they
+naturally were.
+
+At this juncture five or six of the sturdy Rotterdam police arrived on
+the spot, and commenced to disperse the crowd so effectually that in a
+few minutes not a soul was left on the quay.
+
+One of the policemen, who understood a little English, came on board the
+yacht and inquired from Carew how the disturbance had commenced.
+
+Carew told him all that had occurred.
+
+"I should like to see the man," said the officer.
+
+They entered the cabin, and there, sitting in the corner of the bunk,
+trembling, haggard, his face still quite white, save where it was
+smeared with blood, was the French sailor who had that day been tried
+for murder on the high seas, and been acquitted.
+
+"I thought so," said the policeman. "It is the accused, Baptiste Liais.
+His case caused great excitement. The people are very bitter against
+him, for they all believe he was guilty. He is not safe in Rotterdam. We
+must find a way of getting him out of the country."
+
+"You can leave him here for the present," said Carew. "I will see that
+the poor wretch is safe for the night."
+
+"It is very generous of you, sir," exclaimed the astonished policeman;
+"but I think it is very unwise of you"--
+
+"I am not afraid of him," interrupted Carew, in peremptory tones. "Leave
+him with me."
+
+The officer shrugged his shoulders. He had always been taught to believe
+that Englishmen were eccentric creatures; so he went away and told his
+comrades that the owner of the yacht was a splendid specimen of the mad
+island race, and Carew and the Frenchman were left alone in the cabin
+facing one another.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+For some few moments Carew sat on the opposite bunk, watching the
+sailor's face musingly. Then, rising, he addressed him in French. "I
+will fetch you a glass of rum. It will do you good."
+
+"I thank you much, sir," said the man, in the same language; "I should
+like it, for I still feel very faint."
+
+He drank a rather large dose of the spirit, and under its influence the
+colour quickly returned to his cheek, and the scared look left his face.
+
+"You can now go into the forecastle and wash yourself," said Carew. "You
+will find a jersey and a coat hanging up there; put them on." These had
+belonged to the drowned sailor, Jim.
+
+When the Frenchman returned to the cabin cleansed of bloodstains and
+decently clothed, the solicitor was surprised to see what a
+respectable-looking fellow he was. He might well have been a gentleman
+from his appearance, and his hands, though brown and roughened by work,
+were small and finely shaped.
+
+"How do you feel now?"
+
+"Thanks to you, sir, I am now quite myself again."
+
+After a pause, Carew said, with a smile, "I never before saw such abject
+terror in a man's face as there was in yours when you were running down
+the quay."
+
+"That bloodthirsty _canaille_ was enough to inspire terror. Ah, if I
+could but get hold of that man who hit me with the stick! It was
+horrible, to run down all those streets for life with that yelping pack
+after me. I had no chance with them, though I am a good runner; for so
+soon as the brutes wearied and lagged behind, fresh ones joined the
+crowd at every corner. Ah, monsieur, I think you would have exhibited as
+much terror yourself."
+
+"Not quite as much, I think," said Carew quietly.
+
+"Perhaps not, monsieur. I am brave enough in some ways--braver, perhaps,
+than you would be; but I have not that animal contempt for death that my
+comrade, El Toro, for instance, possesses. Delicate fibres suffer the
+most."
+
+"Then you are hardly a fit person to be a ringleader of mutineers.
+Murderers should have no nerves."
+
+Baptiste Liais was a very calm person when he was not in fear, and he
+had now entirely recovered his self-possession. He shrugged his
+shoulders, and replied carelessly, "There are assassins and assassins,
+monsieur. There is courage and courage. There is the blind bravery of
+the soldier, who, shrinking not from bloodshed, risks his life in
+battle; and there is the cool nerve of the educated man, who, in cold
+blood, removes with poison those who stand in his way. I suppose you
+allow that this last is also a species of courage?"
+
+"Is that your sort of courage?"
+
+The Frenchman shook his head in a deprecatory way, and exclaimed, in
+tones of playful remonstrance, as if he were only rebutting a charge of
+one of those offences which are tolerated, and even fashionable, "But,
+monsieur, monsieur! you speak of me as if I had been proved to be an
+assassin. You forget that I was acquitted."
+
+"You say that you are innocent?"
+
+"Certainly. I am sure that I am a very inoffensive fellow." The man
+spoke with the quiet ease of one gentleman to another. It was plain that
+he had been used to decent society at some period of his life.
+
+"Were you never on board the _Vrouw Elisa_?"
+
+"I had never heard of the vessel till they arrested me here."
+
+"And your companions, the two Spaniards?"
+
+"As innocent as I am myself--no more, no less. But I see that you have
+some of that excellent English tobacco on the table. Permit me to make
+myself a cigarette."
+
+"You are a cool fellow, Baptiste Liais. I can see that you are a man of
+education. You were not always a common sailor?"
+
+"Your perception flatters me. You have divined the truth," said the
+Frenchman, bowing. "I am a gentleman by birth and education. My family
+is one of the most ancient and respected of the Provençal aristocracy. I
+need not tell you that the name I now go by is an assumed one. And
+I--well I, to be candid, am the scapegrace of the family."
+
+He rolled himself up a cigarette, lit it, and, looking up, his eyes met
+those of Carew in the frankest way possible. And yet the solicitor had
+no doubt in his own mind that the man had committed the crimes imputed
+to him; and the Frenchman, on his part, did not imagine for a moment
+that Carew believed in his innocence.
+
+"I suppose you will now look out for another ship?" the solicitor said.
+
+"How can I do so in Rotterdam? My face is known here. I am
+execrated--hunted down. No captain would ship me, no crew serve with
+me."
+
+"Won't your consul assist you?"
+
+"I don't think so," replied the Frenchman drily.
+
+Neither spoke for some time; then Carew said, "I realise your position,
+and am sorry for you. Now supposing I were to ship you on board my
+yacht, I imagine that it would be a matter of indifference to you to
+what part of the world we sailed?"
+
+The Frenchman looked curiously and keenly at Carew out of the corners of
+his eyes. "I don't care a rap where I go to so long as I get out of this
+detestable Rotterdam," he replied.
+
+"And your friends--would they come too?"
+
+"Gladly. I will answer for them."
+
+"What sort of men are they?"
+
+"The little one, a Galician from Ferrol, is not at all a bad fellow, and
+he is an excellent sailor; but the big Basque is a savage brute--one of
+such is enough on a vessel. However, he can't do much harm by himself,
+unless he makes the rest of your crew discontented. Are they
+Englishmen?"
+
+"I am alone. I have discharged my crew; and there would only be you
+three and myself on board."
+
+"That would be a sufficient number to navigate this little ship. Do you
+really mean that you wish us to come with you?"
+
+"I do," replied Carew, after a slight hesitation; and the Frenchman eyed
+him with a not unnatural astonishment.
+
+The solicitor had rapidly surveyed the situation in all its bearings,
+and he had decided that it was his wisest and safest plan to engage
+these ruffians as his crew. Morally weak, acutely fearful of disgrace,
+and cowardly of conscience as he was, Carew had plenty of physical
+courage. He was not the least daunted by the idea of venturing across
+the wide ocean on a small yacht accompanied by these murderers.
+
+Here was a crew ready to sail with him at a moment's notice and ask no
+questions. He felt that he ran but very little risk, after all; for
+these ruffians would gain nothing by murdering him. Piracy, in the old
+sense of the term, is almost impossible in these days. These men by
+themselves could do nothing with the yacht; they could not take her into
+any civilised port and dispose of her; neither of them could impersonate
+an English barrister. The seizure of the _Vrouw Elisa_ was a very
+different matter; for the mutineers then knew that there was a
+revolutionary party ready to purchase the vessel they had stolen.
+
+Again, he would make them acquainted with the fact that he was taking no
+money with him on the yacht; and he would promise to pay them, on their
+arrival at Buenos Ayres, a considerably larger sum than sailors ever
+receive for such a voyage. Under these circumstances, it could not
+possibly be to their interest to do away with him. On the contrary, it
+would be to their manifest advantage to serve him faithfully. Unless the
+men were absolute idiots, they would see all this; and he knew that the
+Frenchman, at least, was far too intelligent a man to commit a senseless
+crime that could do him no good.
+
+So argued the solicitor; and there was yet another more subtle motive
+that urged him to engage these three men in preference to honest
+sailors--a motive of which he himself was only dimly conscious. When a
+man has a sentimental objection to being a villain, and yet is one, and
+has no intention of reforming, he likes his surroundings not to be of a
+sort to reproach him and remind him of his crimes. It is painful to him
+to associate with good men. He prefers to be in the company of the bad;
+in their presence he does not feel the shame of his wickedness. So this
+man, with his strangely complex mind and conflicting instincts, was glad
+to take unto himself men worse even than himself as his companions
+across the ocean.
+
+"And to what port did you say you were sailing?" asked the Frenchman.
+
+"I will not tell you that until we are out at sea."
+
+"Oh, very well," said the man, again casting a keen glance at Carew's
+face, and smiling, as one who should say, "Have you too your
+secret--have you too committed a crime? If so, there should at once be
+an agreeable bond of sympathy between us."
+
+"How soon do you sail, sir?" he asked.
+
+"If you are all on board to-night we will sail at daybreak. I am ready
+for sea. You need not trouble about getting an outfit, for I have plenty
+of clothes in the yacht for the lot of you." Carew was thinking of the
+effects of Allen and his man Jim.
+
+"Oh, that is excellent!" cried the Frenchman. "And, excuse me, sir; what
+pay will you give us?--not that I wish to chaffer with one who has come
+to my rescue in so generous a manner."
+
+"And I do not wish to stint you," replied Carew. "You, as mate, shall
+have seven pounds a month; your comrades five pounds a month each."
+
+"That will do very well; but I should like you not to let the others
+know that I am receiving a higher pay than they. They might be
+jealous--not to say dangerous," said the cunning fellow. "Ha! what is
+that?" The Frenchman started, gripped Carew by the arm, and his cheeks
+again became white with fear.
+
+There was a sound of footsteps on the deck, and the next moment the
+tub-shaped Willem entered the cabin. When he saw who was sitting
+opposite to his master he stood stock still, his jaw dropped, and an
+expression of extreme astonishment, which amounted to horror, settled on
+his stupid, honest face.
+
+"What is the matter with you, Willem?" asked Carew, knowing well what
+was about to happen. "This is the mate I have engaged for the yacht."
+
+"Dat--dat man!" cried the Dutchman, finding his voice with difficulty.
+"You know who dat man is?"
+
+"I do. He has just left the court-house. He was unjustly accused of
+murder, and has been found innocent."
+
+"Vat--you take dat man for mate! Oh, den I go--I go at vonce! I not stay
+on board vid dat man."
+
+The usually stolid Dutchman trembled with excitement, and his broad face
+was scarlet with indignation. After a few minutes, finding that Carew
+was obdurate and would insist on engaging the most loathed man in all
+Rotterdam as mate, Willem rolled up his scanty luggage into a bundle,
+demanded and received the few guilders that were owing to him, and
+hurried on shore, grumbling uncouth Dutch oaths to himself as he went.
+
+Then the Frenchman, who had been observing the scene with a cynical
+smile, laughed bitterly.
+
+"Had I been the fiend himself that fat idiot could not have been much
+more terrified at the sight of me. Ah, how they love me--these worthy
+people of Rotterdam!"
+
+For a moment there was a troubled look upon Carew's face. With his usual
+inconsistency he half regretted, when it was too late, that honest
+Willem had left him. It seemed to him that he had now broken the last
+tie between himself and the world of law-abiding men. He felt a vague
+sense of something lost to him for ever; as if his guardian angel,
+despairing of him, had forsaken him. But he quickly shook off the
+feeling as a foolish fancy, and turned his attention to the business he
+had on hand.
+
+"Now, Baptiste," he said, "we must find your two comrades. Do you know
+where they are?"
+
+"I think I can find them. Anticipating a separation, we arranged a
+rendezvous. But I dare not walk through the streets to look for them; I
+should be recognised and murdered."
+
+"Nonsense! we will soon disguise you. Shave off your moustache and put
+on a suit of clothes that I will lend you, and your own mother would not
+know you."
+
+The Frenchman obeyed these instructions, and was so satisfied with the
+change effected in his appearance by a hairless lip and a suit of poor
+Allen's clothes that he no longer hesitated to go forth in search of his
+two shipmates.
+
+Left alone, Carew pondered, with satisfaction, on his day's doings. All
+was going on well so far. "Lucky it is for me," he thought, "that there
+is an Admiralty warrant on the yacht. Provided with that useful
+document, I sail under the blue ensign of Her Majesty's fleet, and can
+do pretty well what I like. No authorities in any port will trouble me
+in the least. I can avoid the formality of taking my crew before the
+consul to sign articles, and I will dispense with a bill of health from
+this port. I may get quarantine for a few days in consequence of this
+last omission; but what is that to the peril of informing our consul
+here of my destination? And, by the bye, I am engaged to dine with
+Mynheer Hoogendyk to-morrow. I am afraid I shall keep him waiting, and
+over the spoiling dinner his cook will lose her temper; for by that time
+I ought to be well out in the North Sea."
+
+After about an hour's absence the Frenchman returned, accompanied by the
+two Spaniards. They entered the cabin, the little Galician all smiles,
+the big Basque awkward, vainly attempting not to scowl; but, do all he
+could, he still looked the brutal ruffian he was.
+
+"I have been very lucky," said Liais. "I soon found our lost lambs."
+
+"Have you explained my proposal to them?" Carew asked.
+
+"I have, and they are quite content with the pay you offer. They don't
+care a straw where you take them to, so long as it is not to a Spanish
+port. It seems that the lads are somewhat weary of their native land,
+and they tell me that they have some officious acquaintances among the
+Spanish police whom they would prefer not to meet."
+
+"I understand. I shall not call at any Spanish port; so they may set
+their minds at ease. And now I will inscribe your names in this book, if
+you please." He took Allen's diary out of the drawer. "First of all,
+there is Baptiste Liais, mate."
+
+"No; put me down plain Baptiste. My name is so well known now that I
+should like to leave half of it out."
+
+"Very well," said Carew, as he wrote. "And who is this big fellow?"
+
+"His name is Juan Silvas. But he, too, would rather be called by any
+other name, after the unpleasant publicity of the trial. His nickname
+among us is El Toro--the bull--because of his goggle eyes, his bull-like
+features and strength, and his blind, bovine rage. Put him down as Juan
+Toro."
+
+"Good; it is done. And what is the other man's name?"
+
+"José Rodez, known among his intimates as El Chico, or the little one."
+
+"Then, following your system, I will inscribe him as José Chico. Will
+that do?"
+
+"One name is as good as another," replied the Frenchman; "but oh, _mon
+capitaine_, this has been a somewhat trying day for us, and we are all
+very hungry."
+
+"There is plenty of food on board. I will show you where to find it.
+Give the lads some supper; then turn in, all of you. The tide is early,
+and we sail at daybreak."
+
+The next morning, just as the first slight murmuring sound arose from
+the big city, telling that the giant was awaking to its restless life,
+the canal lock was opened, and the yacht shot out into the tideway.
+
+Carew, who had taken mental notes of the navigation when sailing up the
+Maas, refused the assistance of a pilot, and took his vessel safely down
+the rapid river, across the shoals that encumber the estuary, and out
+into the open sea. The weather was splendid, and the wind favoured him,
+as it blew freshly from the south-east.
+
+Then Carew's pulse quickened; a wild exultation thrilled him, as the
+yacht, leaning well over to the steady wind, all her canvas set, rushed
+with pleasant sound through the smooth water. At that moment he felt
+happy, even proud of himself. He was safe at last, free from all
+anxiety. How Fortune had befriended him! That fatal superstition in luck
+that comes to the criminal and the gambler possessed him. Whom the gods
+wish to destroy they first make mad.
+
+"Baptiste," he said, "I have heard it is a custom of Spain for the
+captain of a vessel, as soon as she is well outside the harbour, to call
+all hands aft and serve round grog, so that they can drink to the
+prosperity of the voyage. Fetch up some rum, and give each a glass."
+
+The Frenchman obeyed the order. Carew was steering at the time, and the
+men stood round him, glasses in hand, awaiting the toast. Then the
+captain raised his glass in his disengaged hand, and called out in
+French--
+
+"Comrades, here's to a prosperous voyage--_to Buenos Ayres_!"
+
+When the men heard their destination they seemed dumb with surprise for
+a moment; then they raised a joyful shout. The prospect was evidently an
+agreeable one to them.
+
+"To Buenos Ayres," said the Frenchman, bowing to Carew with a knowing
+smile, "the land where there is no extradition."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+It was mid-ocean, and no land was in sight. The glassily smooth surface
+of the sea was not broken by the faintest ripple, but it rose and fell
+slowly with the long, rhythmical swell of the Atlantic. Gentle now was
+the massive heaving of the giant's bosom, showing that he was slumbering
+only, and that the strong, fierce life was there, ready to be awakened
+at any moment to its energy of cruel destruction.
+
+Though the swell must have been of considerable height, yet so gentle
+was the undulation that no motion whatever would have been perceptible
+to one on the deck of a vessel, unless he had observed how the horizon
+was withdrawn from his sight at regular intervals by the intervening
+hills of water, as the vessel softly glided down the easy slopes into
+the broad valleys between. The wind was quite still. The sky above was
+clear and of a deeper blue than is known in northern climes; but on the
+eastern horizon lay a long, low bank of very dark cloud, seeming almost
+black in contrast to the elsewhere dazzling glare.
+
+The sea, to one looking across it, would have appeared of a beautiful
+indigo tint; but if one gazed straight down into the water, it seemed
+opaque in the purple blackness of its profundity, as if the perpetual
+night that reigned in the mysterious depths below were sending its
+shadow upwards to the surface. Yet so perfectly translucent was that
+ink-like water that any bright object, such as a plate, thrown into it
+would remain distinctly visible as it slowly descended--yes, even till
+it was so far down that it seemed no larger than a small coin.
+
+The yacht _Petrel_ lay becalmed on the tropical sea. All her canvas had
+been lowered, and she floated idly, while the fierce, vertical sun was
+blistering the paint on her sides, and the melting pitch oozed from the
+seams of her decks.
+
+For thirteen days she had been drifting thus on a windless ocean, her
+crew languid and irritable from the stifling heat, which it is
+impossible to mitigate on a small craft, waiting for the breeze that
+never came.
+
+For thirteen days of unbearable calm, broken only by occasional brief
+squalls, accompanied by torrential downpour of rain, and thunder and
+lightning of appalling grandeur--squalls which raised the flagging hopes
+of the men for a space, and to which they hastily hoisted their canvas,
+that they might be carried out of this dismal tract of the ocean; but
+after they had been driven on their way a mile or two only, the wind
+would suddenly drop again, the dark clouds would clear away, and the sun
+would blaze down fiercer than ever out of the implacable sky.
+
+The _Petrel_ had reached the region of the equatorial calms, the sultry
+Doldrums dreaded by the sailor, that broad belt of sluggish sea that
+divides the tract of the north-east trade wind from that of the
+south-east. Here the aërial currents neutralise each other and are at
+rest--a desolate, rainy ocean that lies under an almost stagnant
+atmosphere of steaming heat, where vessels have lain becalmed for
+wearisome week after week; even, in many cases, until the supply of
+fresh water had been exhausted and the men perished of thirst. And yet
+to the northward and to the southward the fresh trade winds blow
+perpetually in one direction, across vast stretches of ever-tossing
+waves.
+
+The voyage of the _Petrel_ had been a very prosperous one up to this
+point. She had met with fair winds for the most part until she reached
+the limits of the north-east trades, which, blowing right aft, had
+carried her on her way at the rate of nearly two hundred miles a day.
+Carew had sighted Madeira and the westernmost islands of the Cape Verde
+archipelago; but as the yacht was well provided with provisions, he had
+not called at any port. After having been a little over a month at sea,
+he had entered the calm region about the equator, and here, as I have
+said, scarcely any progress was made for a fortnight.
+
+By this time the crew had settled down to the regular routine of
+ship-life, and Carew was, on the whole, well satisfied with the men. The
+savagery of the big Basque would occasionally assert itself, and he was
+ever ready to pick a quarrel with his mates. The only one on board whom
+El Toro respected and feared was Carew himself; for he felt that the
+Englishman combined a physical courage, at least equal to his own, with
+a superior education; and the man who possesses these two qualities can
+always master a merely brute nature. El Toro did not conceal his
+contempt for Baptiste, who excelled him in mental ability alone; and
+again, he could not converse ten minutes with the little Galician
+without an altercation arising; for the latter, who had all the pluck of
+his big comrade, was fond of wagging his sharp tongue, and could not
+refrain from malicious banter, despite the long sheath-knife which was
+always so ready to the Basque's right hand.
+
+Carew, who had quickly gauged the character of his companions, took El
+Toro on his own watch, leaving El Chico to the French mate. Thus, as
+watch and watch was observed in the regular ship fashion--that is, one
+watch relieving the other every four hours--the cantankerous Basque had
+but few opportunities of associating with the other men.
+
+But during the fortnight of calm the discipline of the yacht had been
+relaxed. As there was no need for it, the usual watches had not been
+set; and, after they had completed the small amount of necessary work
+each day, the men were allowed to employ the rest of the time much as
+they liked. A prolonged calm on the line is trying even to the most
+amiable tempers; so that it is not to be wondered at that, on one
+occasion, El Toro, being modest as to his own powers of repartee,
+preferred to reply to a chaffing remark of El Chico's with a practical
+retort in the shape of a vicious stab, which might easily have
+diminished the ship's company by one had not the quick-eyed little man,
+leaping nimbly backwards, escaped with a slight scratch on his arm.
+
+For this offence Carew, knowing his man and how best to punish him,
+informed the Basque that a fine of a fortnight's pay had been entered
+against his name in the log-book.
+
+It was nearly midday, and the heat of the still, moist air was intense.
+The French mate lay reclined under an awning on the after-deck, rolling
+up cigarette after cigarette, and smoking them with half-shut eyes as he
+dreamily meditated.
+
+In the bows, under an awning extemporised out of an old sail, were
+squatting the two Spaniards, playing at _monte_ with a very dirty pack
+of cards. Now and then would be heard the sonorous oaths of the Basque,
+as he savagely reviled his bad luck, or the triumphant chuckle of El
+Chico, whom fortune was favouring. These two had been gambling almost
+incessantly during the calm, for the money they were to receive from
+Carew on their arrival at Buenos Ayres. The Galician had already
+succeeded in winning El Toro's pay for many weeks in advance. Neither of
+the men could read or write, but they kept a tally of their debts of
+honour--over which there was much wrangling--by cutting notches on a
+beam in the forecastle.
+
+A few minutes before noon Carew came on deck, sextant in hand, and the
+mate rose to his feet lazily. Carew's face was now bronzed by the
+tropical sun, and was fuller than it had been two months back. The
+haggard expression, the restless anxiety of his eye, had gone. He looked
+like a man with the easiest of consciences.
+
+He glanced at the two card-players forward. "Have you taken the
+precaution I ordered?" he asked the mate.
+
+"I have, captain; here they are," and Baptiste produced two formidable
+knives from his pocket.
+
+Since the incident I have mentioned, Carew had instituted a rule, to the
+effect that the men should not play at cards or dice unless they had
+previously delivered their weapons to one of the two officers.
+
+El Chico overheard the mate's reply. "Ah, captain," he cried, "you'll
+have to hand both knives over to me at the end of this game. I shall
+have won everything El Toro possesses in the world if my luck holds as
+it is doing now."
+
+"_Caramba!_ it is too much; a plague on the cards!" cried the Basque
+furiously, hurling the pack across the deck. "I'll have no more of them.
+If I have no knife, I have these hands," and he opened them out with a
+gesture of rage in front of the Galician. "I could circle your little
+neck with these, and throttle you in half a minute, El Chico."
+
+El Chico said nothing, but shrugged his shoulders with a provoking
+coolness.
+
+"El Toro, come aft," cried Carew, who had acquired enough Spanish to
+give his orders in that tongue; "come aft, and set up that mizzen
+rigging; it's as slack as possible."
+
+The wild beast acknowledged its master and proceeded to obey his orders
+in a surly fashion, even as Caliban might have reluctantly carried out
+some behest of the superior intelligence that had enslaved him.
+
+"This calm seems as if it would never end," said Carew to the mate. "It
+looks black yonder. Another squall, I suppose. Just enough to entice us
+to hoist our sails, and then to die away again."
+
+"I don't see anything like the trade-wind sky about," said Baptiste, who
+had sailed the tropical seas before.
+
+Carew took his midday observation of the sun; then, lowering his
+sextant, called out, "Make it eight bells, Baptiste," and went below to
+work out his position.
+
+He found that the _Petrel_ had only travelled five miles in the last
+twenty-four hours. He was seventy miles north of the equator, and his
+longitude by dead-reckoning (he had, as has been explained, no
+chronometer on board) was about 30° west, so that he was distant some
+five hundred miles from Cape St. Roque, the most easterly point of the
+New World.
+
+Soon after noon the dark bank of cloud rose rapidly from the horizon and
+overspread the whole heavens; the rain began to pour down as it only can
+in these equatorial regions, and a fresh breeze from the south-east
+cooled the heated atmosphere.
+
+The sails were hoisted, and the yacht ran some two or three miles; then
+the hopeless calm fell again, and there was not a cloud to be seen in
+the blue vault above. The sails flapped to and fro with a loud noise as
+the vessel rolled in the swell which the breeze had left behind it.
+
+"Oh, this accursed calm!" cried Carew impatiently; "down with all your
+canvas again."
+
+The men obeyed, grumbling at their ill-luck, and then resumed their game
+of _monte_.
+
+In the afternoon the heat became more oppressive than ever, and it was
+impossible to stay below; so all hands remained under the awnings on
+deck.
+
+The mate, after pondering for some while, said to Carew, "We shall run
+short of water if this continues much longer."
+
+"I have thought of that. We must serve out a smaller allowance."
+
+"Buenos Ayres is a long way off yet, captain. Would it not be well to
+put into some Brazilian port for water and vegetables? This heat is very
+trying on a small vessel like this. We shall have illness on board if we
+are not careful."
+
+"I do not wish to break the voyage anywhere, unless it is absolutely
+necessary," Carew replied.
+
+"I know these countries," Baptiste continued; "and there is one very
+good reason why you should call at some port on the way."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"You have no bill of health with you. Now in Buenos Ayres the
+authorities are very afraid of yellow fever, and if you arrive there
+with no papers to show where you are from, they will take it for granted
+that you have come from some infected port, and that you have probably
+lost some hands on the voyage and wish to conceal it. They would,
+therefore, put you in quarantine for who knows how long. They might,
+under the suspicious circumstances, refuse even to give you pratique at
+all, and send you off to sea again."
+
+"How will calling at a Brazilian port remedy that?"
+
+"Because in Brazil they are not afraid of yellow fever, as they always
+have it there. At Rio they won't trouble you at all, and your consul
+will give you a clean bill of health for Buenos Ayres. Then, being
+satisfied that you have had no illness on board, the Buenos Ayres people
+will grant you pratique after, let us say, a quarantine of four days,
+even if yellow fever were raging at Rio."
+
+"A queer plan to avoid quarantine for Yellow Jack by calling at the
+headquarters of the fever!" said Carew; "but I see that you are right. I
+will put into Rio."
+
+After a pause the Frenchman said thoughtfully, "I shall be sorry to
+leave this vessel, sir. I suppose you still think of selling her in the
+River Plate. I should like to continue the cruise for another year."
+
+"So should I, but I can't afford it. Yachting is an expensive
+amusement."
+
+"Oh, I don't know that. A cruise may be made to pay its way even in
+these days, especially if one carries a warrant from the Admiralty of
+one's country like you do. The authorities are always civil to one who
+sails under the Government blue ensign, and never trouble him with the
+tedious formalities the common merchantman is subjected to."
+
+"I don't know what you mean," said Carew. "There is no money to be made
+now by legitimate trade at sea. Besides, a yacht is not allowed to trade
+at all."
+
+"I said nothing about legitimate trade," said the Frenchman quietly, as
+he rolled himself another cigarette.
+
+The eyes of the two men met, and they understood each other.
+
+The mate had never let drop so broad a hint before; but he knew that he
+was safe in doing so. There had existed for some time a sort of
+freemasonry of crime between himself and Carew. They had been thrown
+altogether upon each other's society of late. Both were educated men,
+and gentlemen by birth; both were shrewd readers of character; and it is
+so far easier for the bad than for the good man to recognise a kindred
+nature.
+
+Carew did not exactly entertain a liking for his mate, but he found his
+companionship far pleasanter than that of any other man could have been.
+The Frenchman's tolerant way of looking at crime was peculiarly
+gratifying to the ex-solicitor. It acted as a most soothing salve to his
+conscience.
+
+He liked to hear the man's cynical talk--the superficial philosophy with
+which he defended crime as being the least hypocritical way of obeying
+nature's law of the struggle for existence. The very presence of this
+villain seemed to exert a strange, magnetic influence on Carew's pliable
+soul, lulling it into a fool's paradise.
+
+Such an affinity for evil between two men who are much together will
+soon destroy any conscience that either of them may happen to possess.
+
+So Carew, having become accustomed to an atmosphere of crime, no longer
+shrank from the thought of it, and, with an amused smile, replied to the
+mate's remark, "What piece of villainy are you going to suggest now,
+Baptiste?"
+
+"I don't think you ought to use that word villainy," protested the
+Frenchman, with an air of comic indignation. "As a matter of fact, I was
+not at that moment thinking of any one particular 'piece of villainy,'
+but vaguely of a great number of feasible schemes I know of for
+transferring the wickedly-earned riches of others into our own deserving
+pockets."
+
+"This is highly interesting," said Carew, in a bantering tone. "Explain
+one of these notable schemes of yours, Baptiste."
+
+But the Frenchman did not reply. He looked round the horizon with a
+puzzled expression, and, putting his hand to his ear, appeared to be
+listening intently.
+
+"Hark, captain! What is that?" he cried.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+Carew listened, and heard a low, rumbling sound like distant thunder.
+
+"Thunder out of a cloudless sky! That is strange."
+
+"That is no thunder, captain," said Baptiste, with a scared look, "but
+what it is I know not."
+
+The sound became louder. It did not seem to be approaching from any
+direction, but to be everywhere--around, below, above--filling all
+space. Then it swelled to a great roar, as of the rolling of thousands
+of drums. The air trembled at the sound, and the surface of the sea no
+longer reflected the blue sky above, but, appearing like a mirror over
+which one has breathed, vibrated into myriads of wrinkles and gyrating
+rings. Soon the water began to be greatly disturbed, and raved and
+foamed about the vessel as if she were floating in a boiling caldron.
+Then occurred an appalling prodigy. First, louder than loudest thunder,
+was heard a deafening explosion, and immediately the sea leapt up, not
+in waves, but in steep pyramids of water, piling itself up in domes, as
+if some mighty force were thrusting it up from below. The yacht pitched
+wildly into the confused whirl till she was nigh to break up with the
+violence of the shocks, and the water poured over her decks in masses,
+threatening to swamp her. Hollow whirlpools opened out suddenly in front
+of her, seeking to engulf her: a fearful spectacle to behold, which
+might make even the bravest men go mad with fright. Then came another
+explosion, and the superstitious Spaniards, holding on to the rigging
+for dear life, shrieked with abject terror as they saw the limpid sea
+suddenly thicken and change its colour to a dark, sulphurous yellow.
+There was an odour of sulphur in the air, and the sun was shining
+through a sickly yellow haze.
+
+The crew, who would have done their duty with cool courage in a
+hurricane, were completely unnerved by this alarming portent. The two
+men forward thought that the fiend himself had opened hell under them to
+swallow up their sinful souls; they prayed and blasphemed in turns. The
+French mate, white to his lips and trembling, clutched the rigging, with
+his eyes closed. Carew alone, though his cheeks were pale, was calm.
+Holding on to the bulwark to prevent himself from being thrown overboard
+by the violent leaping of the yacht, he looked around him with a
+resolute expression. He would fight bravely for his life, but he had no
+fear of death.
+
+In the midst of this turmoil a strong wind suddenly arose.
+
+"Hoist the foresail!" he shouted; but none of the terrified men obeyed
+the order. "Cowardly idiots!" he cried, and scrambling forward as well
+as he could to the mast, he seized the fore-halyards and set the sail.
+Then he returned to the tiller, after having been nearly washed
+overboard by a sea on the way, and steered the vessel dead before the
+wind.
+
+In ten minutes he had sailed, not without danger, outside the circle of
+raging water; and looking back he saw that the disturbance had already
+commenced to subside, and the loud roaring had lessened to a distant
+moaning.
+
+"_Locos!_" he cried; "madmen, cowards, hoist the mainsail! Are you women
+to be so scared by a slight _terremoto_?"
+
+"I didn't know that there were earthquakes in mid-ocean," said El Toro,
+who was the first to recover somewhat from his fright. "But, captain,
+you are a curious one. I knew you feared no man; but, _caramba!_ it
+seems you don't fear the devil himself."
+
+"Up mainsail," cried Carew again, "and don't jabber, thou great coward!
+Hurry up. We have a fair wind."
+
+The mate was now himself again. "Aha! the _terremoto_ has brought us
+luck," he cried. "Look yonder, captain," and he pointed to the east,
+where the sky had become suddenly covered with small fleecy clouds. "I
+know that sign--that is the trade wind."
+
+They put all sail on the vessel, and were soon bowling along before the
+ever-freshening wind. They had left behind them the dreary region of the
+Doldrums, with its stifling heat, and the air above the dancing waves
+was cool and bracing.
+
+The mate, who was steering, began to chaff his companions. "Say, El
+Toro, you thought the authorities below had sent for you when you felt
+that trembling of the sea."
+
+"Trembling?" replied the Basque gruffly. "There was more trembling of
+thee than of the sea itself, thou white-gilled Frenchman."
+
+"So there was," drawled the sarcastic El Chico. "But let us remember
+that our mate is a man of education--of soul. His nerves are in harmony
+with Nature. When Nature is merry he is merry; when Nature trembles; he
+trembles. But that is poetical sympathy, not fear, my friend El Toro."
+
+And so these three reviled each other's cowardice, until Carew, fearing
+bloodshed, called out, "Now, then, stop that discussion, or all of you
+bring me your knives here."
+
+Then this amiable crew smoked and sulked in silence for a while.
+
+Shortly afterwards, Carew was below studying a chart of the South
+Atlantic. To him came down the mate, who looked over his shoulder and
+asked, "How far are we now from Rio, sir?"
+
+"About sixteen hundred miles," was the reply. "That means a run of nine
+or ten days at the outside with this wind."
+
+"You are a man of great nerve," said the mate, filled with a genuine
+admiration. "I thought the bravest man would have lost his head in that
+horrid earthquake."
+
+Carew laughed. "Mine was only the courage of science at the best,
+Baptiste. You see, the phenomenon did not take me by surprise. I half
+expected something of the sort."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"Oh, it is very simple. See here,"--he pointed to the chart,--"read
+that." The words, "Volcanic region of the Atlantic," were printed across
+a large tract of ocean in the vicinity of the equator. "Now, if you will
+turn over the pages of the _South Atlantic Pilot Directory_, you will
+read that this part of the Atlantic is peculiarly subject to volcanic
+disturbance; so much so, that mariners are in this book warned on the
+subject. There are no soundings hereabouts with two thousand fathoms of
+line, and yet the disturbance is transmitted upwards through all those
+miles of water; so you can imagine the violent forces that are at work
+below us. It is rare that a vessel crosses this strange corner of the
+sea without experiencing some manifestation or other of this nature.
+Sometimes it may be only a discoloration of the water that is noticed;
+sometimes a shock is felt as if the vessel had struck a rock, or she
+shivers till the masts are like to be thrown out of her. It is a region
+terrible to superstitious sailors; but I believe it is rare that a
+vessel has sustained any serious damage from these convulsions."
+
+"Even if I had known all that I should have lost my nerve; for, say what
+you like, captain, our danger was a very real one. The _terremoto_ has
+done one good thing, anyhow: it has inspired El Chico and El Toro with
+an immense respect for your courage. We won't tell them that you were
+forewarned by the pilot book. You can do what you like with those men
+after this, Captain Allen. For the future they are your obedient
+slaves."
+
+The brave trade wind blew without intermission for ten days, and then
+Carew, being in the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, steered due west for the
+land, which, according to his dead-reckoning, was not two hundred miles
+distant. It was night, and the wind having fallen light, the yacht made
+little progress. At midnight Carew came on deck to relieve the mate.
+
+"Look over there," said Baptiste, pointing across the vessel's bows to
+the westward. "Those are the lights of Rio."
+
+"What! so soon?" cried Carew; and turning his eyes in the indicated
+direction he perceived, not indeed the gleam of a lighthouse or other
+ordinary sign of approaching land, but an appearance as of a stormy
+dawn. High above the horizon hung masses of clouds whose lower surface
+was of a faint red, as if they were reflecting some immense
+conflagration too far away to be yet visible.
+
+"You cannot distinguish any other city in the world from such a
+distance," said the mate. "When you are one hundred miles--yes, and more
+than that--away, you can tell the position of Rio de Janeiro by the
+glare that hangs over it at night. The gaslights there are innumerable.
+I have heard that it is the best lighted city in the world, and I
+believe it. At midnight the streets are illuminated as if for a fête;
+and, what is more, all the roads and paths that lead out into the
+country and up to the tops of the mountains are better lit than any of
+the streets in your London. Ah, the capital of the Brazils is a
+wonderful place!"
+
+As Carew discovered later on, Baptiste had not exaggerated the facts.
+
+At daybreak Carew was still on deck, being anxious to catch a first
+glimpse of the New World after so many weeks upon the desert seas.
+
+When the sun rose the blue sky was cloudless, but the western horizon
+was obscured by a white fog, which, Baptiste said, nearly always hovered
+over this coast at early morning.
+
+Of a sudden the upper portion of the mist lifted, and high above them
+there appeared, as if floating in mid-air, the summit of a huge
+mountain. It was of cubical shape, with perpendicular sides of bare,
+smooth stone, like the altar of some giant race--a marvellous sight to
+thus burst suddenly upon men who had for so long seen nothing but sky
+and water.
+
+"That is the Gavia Mountain," cried Baptiste; "it lies to the left of
+the entrance of the Bay of Rio."
+
+Then the morning breeze came down upon the land, and, as by enchantment,
+the mist vanished, and all the features of that wonderful coast were
+revealed to them.
+
+Lofty mountains of the most fantastic forms rose sheer from the sea.
+Some were great pyramids or peaks of ruddy granite gleaming like molten
+gold in the sunshine; others, sloping more gently, were covered with
+great forests of tropical vegetation. Along the whole shore extended a
+white line of foam, where the Atlantic swell, piled up by the fresh
+trade winds, perpetually thundered at the base of the cliffs. In places
+the ravines terminated in beautiful bays, where on beaches of silver
+sand the cocoa-nut trees waved their rustling branches. The tropical
+seas wash no lovelier a land than this; and at that moment, with the sun
+still low in the east, there were a softness and translucency in the
+gorgeous colouring that gave an unreal and fairy-like aspect to the
+scene. Close under the conical mountain known as the Sugar Loaf a gorge
+opened out, and through this was seen the vast expanse of the Bay of
+Rio, which the old navigators, in their admiration for its beauty,
+likened unto the gates of heaven.
+
+The yacht crossed the tumbling waters on the bar, sailed through the
+majestic gates, and floated on the still, pale green water of the inland
+sea.
+
+The Bay of Rio is considered to be the fairest of all the harbours of
+the earth, and one who has seen it can well believe that it is so.
+Imagine a vast lake, some eighty miles in circumference, surrounded by
+grand mountains, indented with many winding bays, and studded with
+islands of all sizes, on whose shores are many towns and villages, chief
+among which is the empire city of South America, the white Rio de
+Janeiro. A luxuriant vegetation comes down to the very edge of the
+water, even up to the streets of the city; the varied foliage of many
+species of palms, the luscious blades of the bananas, the spreading
+mangos, and bread-fruit trees giving a cool appearance to the torrid
+land.
+
+About a mile from the city of Rio, at the entrance of the bay, is the
+fortified island of Villegagnon. The yacht was sailing close under its
+shore, the mate steering. Carew was gazing at the grand scenery around
+him with deep emotion. Under the influence of this lovely nature, his
+thoughts became tender and pure; his soul was strangely subdued, and his
+mind sank into a happy reverie, such as good men who feel secure in
+their innocence are supposed alone to enjoy.
+
+The mate was watching Carew's face; then he said, in a casual manner--
+
+"I know this port pretty well, Mr. Allen, though I have only been here
+once before; and, by the way, I was sailing then in an English barque.
+Let me see, what was the captain's name? Captain Grou--no, it was not
+that--Garou--Carou--oh yes, that was it--Captain Carou."
+
+Carew started visibly and looked steadily into the mate's face, but he
+could read nothing in those impassive features. "It is but a
+coincidence," he said to himself. "It is impossible that Baptiste can
+have discovered my real name. There are many Carews in the world, after
+all." Nevertheless, the sound of the name he had put away from him for
+ever disturbed him greatly. He was awakened from his pleasant reverie,
+and the beautiful scenery had no more delights for him. All the evil
+things which he had done and had yet to do were unpleasantly brought to
+his mind. Now that he saw the great city before him, he shrank from the
+idea of mixing once more with his fellow-men. He wished he were out on
+the open sea again.
+
+"Baptiste," he said, "I should like to bring up some way from the
+quays; it will be quieter."
+
+"Certainly, captain. Let us bring up here under Villegagnon; it will be
+cooler and healthier than farther in. Look yonder at the merchantman
+anchorage. I see the yellow flag flying from at least a dozen foremasts.
+The yellow fever is evidently playing mischief at present."
+
+Baptiste had not been unobservant of Carew's start and change of
+expression at the mention of his name. The wily Frenchman had a game to
+play: he had put down his first card with a result that satisfied him.
+
+The anchor was let go under Villegagnon and the sails were stowed; then
+Baptiste, looking around him, happened to perceive a barque anchored
+about half a mile off. "Ho, El Toro," he cried; "look at that barque. Is
+she not the very sister to the old _Vrouw Elisa_?"
+
+"Baptiste," said Carew sternly, "you told me that you had never been on
+board the _Vrouw Elisa_."
+
+The mate, not in the least disconcerted, laughed, and replied, "That
+does not prevent my knowing her by sight, surely, Captain Carou--I
+mean--how stupid of me!--Captain Allen."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+Shortly after the _Petrel's_ anchor had been let go, under the island of
+Villegagnon, a galley, manned by brawny blacks, came off to the yacht; a
+Brazilian gentleman in uniform leapt on deck and introduced himself as
+the doctor of the port. On hearing that the vessel was an English yacht
+sailing under an Admiralty flag he raised no difficulties, but granted
+Carew pratique at once, despite the absence of a clean bill of health
+from Rotterdam.
+
+When the health boat had gone off again, Carew ordered the dinghy to be
+lowered. "I will go on shore at once, Baptiste," he said. "I will call
+on the British consul, and ask him for a clean bill of health for Buenos
+Ayres. We won't stay longer than is necessary in this unhealthy place."
+
+"May I suggest," replied the mate, "that you should give the lads a few
+dollars of their pay, and allow them a run on shore to stretch their
+legs after having been cooped up so long in this little craft?"
+
+Carew remembered the empty condition of the ship's treasury, and did
+not see his way to paying his crew any portion of their wages at
+present.
+
+"If they go on shore they will drink rum in the sun, and catch Yellow
+Jack," he said.
+
+"Not they, sir. These are sober Spaniards, and they are too acclimatised
+to run much risk of fever."
+
+"I'll think the matter over. But we'll leave the two men in charge this
+afternoon. You come on shore with me, Baptiste. You know Rio, and can
+show me the way about."
+
+So Carew and the mate got into the dinghy, and the latter, taking the
+oars, pulled off towards the Mole. They landed on a quay bordered by a
+negro market, where fish, fruit, rags, and all manner of odds and ends
+were sold by very fat negresses in huge yellow turbans; a filthy and
+malodorous spot. After leaving the dinghy in charge of a custom-house
+officer, they hustled their way through the jabbering crowd of blacks,
+and entered the chief streets of the city.
+
+Baptiste, who evidently knew his way well, brought Carew to the door of
+the British Consulate. "I will leave you now, captain," he said, "to
+transact your business. Let me have a dollar or so to amuse myself with,
+and I will meet you in an hour's time at the corner of the chief
+street, the Rua Ovidor, in front of the big jeweller's shop."
+
+Carew gave him a ten-shilling piece--he only had two more in the world
+now--and they separated.
+
+Having obtained a bill of health from the consul, Carew strolled through
+the hot streets until the appointed time, when the mate, punctual to a
+minute, met him at the corner of the Rua Ovidor.
+
+"Captain," said Baptiste, "it is stifling in these streets. Let us get
+on a tram and drive out of the town to the Botanical Gardens. It will be
+cooler there, and I wish to speak to you in a quiet place where there
+are no eavesdroppers about. I have made an important discovery since I
+left you."
+
+With a noise of jingling bells the mules carried them rapidly through
+the suburbs of the city; past fairy-like villas that seemed to be built
+of delicately tinted porcelain, surrounded by gardens that were
+paradises of exquisite plants, with cool fountains splashing under the
+feathery palms; past groves of marvellous trees that bore no leaves, but
+were covered instead with blossoms of purple and vivid crimson, so that
+the eye was pained by the excess of glory; past pleasant inlets of the
+great bay, where the tiny waves dashed on the white sands under the
+cocoa-nut trees; and around them rose the great amphitheatre of granite
+peaks and forest-clad mountains glowing under the cloudless sky.
+
+They reached the gate of the Botanical Gardens, and the mate led Carew
+to an avenue of oreodoxas--the most majestic of the family of palms.
+These rose straight and smooth as marble columns to an immense height,
+and far overhead their graceful leaves met in regular arches, forming a
+great aisle as of a cathedral of giants. A solemn spot, fitted to exalt
+the soul of man and inspire lofty thoughts, but which Baptiste, with an
+unconscious irony, had selected as a safe place to discuss with Carew a
+scheme of detestable crime which his lust for gold had suggested to him.
+
+They sat down on a bench under the polished trunk of one of the huge
+palms. Carew was silent. He was impressed by the marvellous nature
+around. Everything was so unfamiliar to his senses. The rich colouring
+of the beautiful and sometimes grotesquely shaped vegetation, the birds
+of brilliant plumage that flashed by him, the metallic lustre and
+monstrous forms of the beetles and other insects, the shrieking of the
+paroquets, and other noises of the intense and teeming tropical
+life--all bewildered his brain. The very air, heavy with the pungent
+odours of many flowers, seemed intoxicating. He could scarcely realise
+that this was not all some fantastic dream.
+
+But Baptiste, who had important business on hand, cared little for the
+wonders of Nature. He rolled himself a cigarette, lit it, then,
+sprawling himself in a lazy fashion on the bench, commenced--
+
+"The other day, captain, we were engaged in an interesting conversation,
+which was rather rudely disturbed by an earthquake. Have you forgotten
+the subject of it?"
+
+"I remember that you were talking some nonsense about making yachting
+pay its expenses by smuggling, or something of the sort."
+
+"I said nothing about smuggling, captain, and I was not talking
+nonsense. I said that the master of a yacht sailing under Government
+papers has many opportunities of putting gold into his pockets; that is,
+if his liver be sound and he is not troubled with a morbid conscience.
+Now, I only left you for one hour, captain, and in that time I picked up
+all the news of the port by calling at one or two rum shops--old haunts
+of mine; and, as luck would have it, I have discovered an easy way for
+us all to make our fortunes."
+
+"Silence, man!" angrily ejaculated Carew. "I don't wish to hear your
+rascally plans. You mistake me; I am not one to seek a fortune by
+illicit methods."
+
+Carew meant all he said. He intended to commit one more crime only--to
+telegraph in Allen's name to the bank for the bulk of Allen's property.
+After that, sick of sin, he would live an exemplary life, and appease
+conscience by good works in some far country. But he forgot that he who
+once starts to run down a steep hill cannot stop himself exactly when he
+wishes.
+
+"What virtue--what righteous indignation!" sneered the mate. "But,
+captain, you will have to listen to me. Whether you wish it or no, you
+_shall_ make a fortune in the way I am going to suggest."
+
+There was a menace in the man's tone and a malicious twinkle in his
+eyes.
+
+Carew looked at him. "Explain yourself, if you please," he said coldly.
+
+"So I will," cried Baptiste, with energy, abandoning his lazy drawl.
+Then, throwing away his cigarette, he rose from his recumbent position
+and stood before Carew, who still remained sitting on the bench.
+
+"Do you think that I am blind--that I am an idiot, captain? Do you
+imagine that I don't know who you are and what you have done,--with all
+your virtuous talk,--eh, Mr. Carew?"
+
+As he uttered these words rapidly the mate closely observed their effect
+upon the Englishman, whose face turned ghastly white, and whose right
+hand stole round to his back.
+
+"No shooting, if you please," cried the Frenchman, in a bantering tone.
+"Don't draw that revolver. Remember that there's a fine for carrying
+firearms in Rio. Coward though I may be, you don't frighten me here,
+captain. I know you dare not kill me on shore. The inquiry afterwards
+would be fatal to you. Besides, you are wise enough to grasp quickly the
+fact that our interests are coincident. At sea it was otherwise. There I
+held my tongue. I was aware that you would have thrown me overboard some
+dark night had you guessed that I knew so much. Here on shore I am
+safe."
+
+Carew felt that he was in the man's power, and saw the futility of
+denial. "What do you know?" he asked, in a dry voice, bringing his hand
+in front of him again.
+
+"That your name is not Allen, but Carew."
+
+"What else?"
+
+"That you are impersonating a man whose property you have stolen."
+
+Carew felt as if his heart had stopped; the tall palms swam around him.
+He closed his eyes, and was only conscious of the cataract of sound
+raised by the shrieking paroquets and the manifold hum of insects. It
+was only for a moment; then he recovered himself, and, opening his eyes,
+again saw before him the cynical face of the Frenchman. "What else?" he
+asked, with a deep sigh.
+
+"Surely that is enough, captain. But, in short, understand that I know
+all about you."
+
+"How have you learnt this?"
+
+"Suffice it that I know it. I don't wish to spoil your little game,
+captain, but you must help me in mine. I will now sit down and silently
+smoke a cigarette, so that you can ponder a while on what I have said. I
+perceive that I have somewhat disturbed your mind. Now, as violent
+emotions are very bad for the health in this hot climate, it will do you
+good to rest for a few minutes; for I have more exciting news to
+communicate."
+
+The Frenchman resumed his former lazy position, and proceeded to smoke,
+as he smiled contentedly at his own reflections; while Carew sat with
+knit brows, the perspiration streaming down his face, unable to collect
+his thoughts, but terribly conscious in a vague way that he could never
+extricate himself from the network of crime into which he had
+voluntarily thrown himself; that for him there was no hope of putting
+the past away; that one sin would lead irrevocably to another; that
+Nemesis had made all his future life as one long chain of iniquity, even
+to the unknown dreadful end of it.
+
+The Frenchman was very pleased with himself. He had succeeded beyond his
+expectations in gaining a hold over Carew, whom he could now compel to
+subserve his purposes. The mate had played a bold game of "bluff"; he
+had made Carew believe that he was acquainted with his history, whereas
+he knew nothing of it, possessed no proofs of what he had so boldly
+asserted, and had merely made an ingenious guess at the truth.
+
+At a very early stage of the voyage, Baptiste had come to the conclusion
+that the conscience of the Englishman was burdened with some crime, and
+that he was a fugitive from justice.
+
+A variety of circumstances had led him to this belief. That Carew had
+shipped three men who were known to be murderers, and had sailed away
+with them across the ocean at a moment's notice, was in itself highly
+suspicious. So the wily Frenchman, bethinking himself how useful it
+often is to know another man's disagreeable secrets, set himself to
+discover all he could of his employer's past.
+
+Many a night, when it was Carew's watch on deck, Baptiste employed
+himself in rummaging the drawers and lockers of the saloon. For a long
+time he discovered nothing to his purpose; but he was patient and minute
+in his investigations, and at last he got on the right scent in the
+following wise.
+
+He found that the handwriting in the ship's log-book and on the
+agreements which the captain had drawn out for his crew was not in the
+least like that in the diary and in the cheque-book, in which entries
+had been inscribed at a date prior to the yacht's departure from
+Rotterdam. Thus it seemed highly probable to Baptiste that his captain
+was not the Mr. Allen whom he professed to be, and whose name was on
+the ship's papers.
+
+If not Mr. Allen, then, who was he?
+
+Baptiste searched diligently night after night without finding any clue
+to this; but at last one of those slight circumstances which seem to be
+arranged by Providence to expose the crimes of the most clever and
+cautious villains, led the persevering Frenchman to the knowledge he was
+seeking.
+
+Baptiste was not a good English scholar; but he proceeded with infinite
+labour little by little to decipher Allen's diary. A few days before
+reaching Rio he came to the last page but one, and here he read the
+following entry: "Wrote Carew, asking him to come with me to Holland."
+On the next page, under the date of August the 8th, was the final entry:
+"Sail for Holland with Carew."
+
+"It is just possible," said Baptiste to himself, "that this mysterious
+captain of mine is Mr. Carew. I have no reason to suppose that he is so,
+but the point is worth testing."
+
+The mate applied the test in the manner that has been described, when,
+on entering Rio, he casually remarked that he had sailed into that
+harbour before under an English captain called Carew.
+
+His employer's sudden start and evident perturbation on hearing this
+name mentioned convinced Baptiste that he had hit the right nail on the
+head. The deduction from what he had discovered was natural enough. "If
+this is Carew," he reasoned, "he must have stolen Allen's yacht. He has
+in all probability committed other crimes; but this is enough for my
+purpose. I may be altogether wrong in my conjectures, but I think not. I
+will tax him boldly with this. If I have guessed his secret, I have the
+game in my own hands. If I prove to have been on the wrong scent, I
+shall have made an idiot of myself, but no great harm will have been
+done."
+
+So with a matchless effrontery the Frenchman opened his game under the
+shade of the great palm trees with the success that has been seen.
+
+Having smoked several cigarettes with an expression of great enjoyment,
+without speaking, Baptiste turned to Carew and said--
+
+"You are looking pale, _mon capitaine_. It is dangerous to walk about on
+an empty stomach in this climate; the fever fiend is ever watching his
+opportunity. Come with me. I will take you to a tavern I know
+of,--rough, but cheap and good,--and we will have something to eat. It
+is hours after our usual dinner-time. Afterwards I will expound to you
+the excellent scheme that is in my head--a scheme that will make us all
+rich men."
+
+Carew had by this time recovered his power for cool and rapid thought.
+He had been in vain cudgelling his brain to explain to himself in what
+possible way the mate had contrived to discover his secret.
+
+"Baptiste," he said firmly, "before moving from here, I wish you to
+clearly understand that you are not going to be my master because you
+happen to know something about my affairs; so put aside at once that
+insolent and familiar manner. If you presume too much on your knowledge
+and make me desperate, it will be the worse for you. Now tell me how
+have you acquired this knowledge?"
+
+The mate replied in his old respectful tones. "I know you too well to
+seek to be your master. But I would rather not answer your question at
+present, captain. I promise you, when you have helped me to carry out my
+plan, that I will tell you everything."
+
+"Does anyone else know as much as yourself concerning me?"
+
+"Not a single individual. Have no fears on that score. No one suspects
+that you are other than you represent yourself to be. You are as secure
+from discovery as you were before I happened to learn the truth. I alone
+know what you are, and the price of my silence is a mere bagatelle. All
+I ask is that you benefit yourself and me by casting away from you some
+of your foolish scruples. Where is the logic of going so far and no
+farther? You have committed great crimes for a trifle. A large fortune
+is now within your grasp; but one little sin more, and you will be
+rich. Then you can afford to be virtuous for the rest of your life. You
+can endow churches; you can obtain absolution; you can--but I forget;
+you are a Protestant, and so must patch your soul up in your own way."
+
+Carew shuddered, not in fear of the man before him, but at the thought
+of the relentless fate that was pursuing him. It seemed to him that this
+unscrupulous villain was the instrument of an offended Heaven, sent to
+hasten his destruction. It was vain for him to strive after repentance.
+
+A wild despair, a feeling of angry revolt against the powers of good,
+possessed him. What did it matter now? the man argued, in his reckless
+mood. Destiny drove him to crime. Why resist in agony? Whatever new
+wickedness he should have to do, not his the fault, but that of this
+pitiless and unjust Fate.
+
+"Baptiste, what is this plan that you propose?" he asked.
+
+"Let us dine before we talk business," replied the mate, rolling himself
+another cigarette. "I am as thirsty as an Englishman and as hungry as a
+German."
+
+They entered a tram and drove back towards the city; but while they were
+yet in the suburbs, Baptiste made a sign to Carew to descend, and they
+walked, the mate leading the way, down a narrow street of negro
+shanties, each surrounded by its little provision ground of bananas,
+yams, and cassava. Then they came to a very rough and disreputable
+neighbourhood, abounding in low grog shops, in which European sailors
+were courting Yellow Jack, by drinking poisonous rum. They reached a
+street which skirted the shores of the bay; and here, on the very edge
+of the water, there stood a stone house by itself.
+
+"That is the tavern I spoke of," said the mate. Then assuming his usual
+bantering tone, "It is a queer place. It will interest you, as an
+English milord travelling for his pleasure and instruction, to observe
+the humours of the place. It is the resort of the greatest villains of
+Rio--robbers, smugglers, and the like. The result is that it is an
+exceedingly quiet and respectable house. They dare not have rows in
+there; no drunkenness or thieving or kniving is allowed on those
+premises. Men frequent this café when bent on business, not on
+pleasure."
+
+The interior of the house did not seem to be used for purposes of
+entertainment, for all the customers were congregated in a large arbour
+that lay against one side of the building, and faced the sea.
+
+They entered this arbour, and sat down at one of the bare deal tables,
+and the mate, calling one of the waiters, a very evil-looking mulatto
+with one eye, selected some of the dishes out of the bill of fare.
+
+The sun was setting, and the darkness came on with the suddenness of
+tropical latitudes. Two negroes proceeded to light a number of Venetian
+lanterns that festooned the café, and Carew, while he waited for his
+dinner, gazed with amazement at the scene before him.
+
+A number of men were sitting at the tables, eating, drinking, and
+smoking. There were negroes, whites, and mulattos. They appeared to be
+of many nationalities. It would be almost impossible to see elsewhere a
+collection of more villainous faces. They sat for the most part in
+silence, as if avoiding each other's companionship; but at some of the
+tables were small groups, and here conversations were carried on in a
+low voice. There were no smiles to be seen; there was no noise; there
+were no signs of hilarity in all this assemblage. An atmosphere of gloom
+and fear seemed to pervade the place. Occasionally one of these taciturn
+beings would glance suspiciously at the table where Carew and the mate
+were sitting. Guilt, dread, and hopelessness could be read on many a
+face. It might have been a supper of lost souls in the shades of Hades,
+but then--and it was this that, by its mocking contrast, lent a strange
+horror to the scene, as if it were some fantastic and dreadful
+nightmare--the melancholy feast was taking place in a very paradise.
+
+The arbour was supported by lofty palms, and the sides of it were formed
+of a network of the most beautiful creepers, heavy with sweet blossoms
+and luscious fruits. The glittering sands of the seashore formed the
+floor. Through the roof of feathery palm leaves the innumerable and
+brilliant stars of the Southern Hemisphere could be seen glowing out of
+the depths of night. A number of small tame birds of lovely red and
+yellow plumage fluttered about the arbour, and alighted on the tables in
+search of food. Glow-worms and fireflies gleamed like diamonds among the
+foliage, and outside was heard the splashing of the tiny waves and the
+shrill cry of the cicala. The lavish tropical nature had made of this a
+fit palace for a fairy queen, and lo, it was a thieves' kitchen!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+Having dined off some very greasy dishes served up with cassava or
+lentils, and seasoned with hot peppers in the Brazilian fashion, Carew
+and the mate lit their pipes, and the one-eyed negro brought them cups
+of black coffee and glasses of white native rum. The table at which they
+sat was at some distance from any other, so all risk of their
+conversation being overheard was obviated.
+
+"All these men are thieves, you say?" said Carew, looking round at the
+strange assembly, on whose faces the Venetian lanterns cast a ruddy
+glow.
+
+"Yes, thieves and murderers, all of them," replied the mate, "but
+well-behaved, quiet folk, as you see. One is safer here than in some of
+the flash cafés in the main streets of Rio."
+
+"They carry their characters on their faces. I only see one in the whole
+crowd whom I would not instinctively distrust. Who is that tall,
+handsome old man with the long white hair and beard?"
+
+"That is our worthy host," said Baptiste. "He looks like a mild,
+mediæval saint, but there is much blood on his hands. I must introduce
+him to you, for he is a celebrated character in his way."
+
+Baptiste caught the old man's eye, and beckoned to him to approach the
+table.
+
+"Good-evening to you, Father Luigi. I think you understand French?"
+
+The old man nodded an assent.
+
+"I don't suppose you remember me? I have not been here for a very long
+time."
+
+"I never forget a face that I have seen in my café," replied the host in
+French, with a strong Italian accent.
+
+"This, Luigi, is my present captain, an English milord, travelling in
+his yacht; and this, captain, is the once well-known Roman brigand,
+Luigi Querini. Oh, an awful cut-throat in his time, I assure you."
+
+Querini shook his head sadly. "But not so now, signor. I am getting old.
+Heigh-ho, but those were grand days we had in the Abruzzi Mountains
+before Victor Emmanuel's gendarmerie spoilt Italy."
+
+"Sit down and have a glass with us, Luigi," said the mate. "_Salud y
+pesetas_--health and dollars to you; that's an old River Plate toast.
+Luigi knows Buenos Ayres well, captain. He'll tell us all about it."
+
+"Yes, I know it too well," said the old man. "I was a soldier of the
+Argentine Republic, and lived on mare's flesh on the Indian frontier for
+four years."
+
+"What made you do that?" asked Carew.
+
+"I see you are a stranger to South America, sir. Understand, I was not a
+volunteer. I had a misfortune, and therefore was pressed into the army
+for punishment."
+
+"To have a misfortune is a Pampas euphemism for having murdered a man,"
+explained the mate.
+
+"There is, as you know, no capital punishment in the River Plate,"
+continued the Italian; "if a man kills another the penalty is so many
+years' service in the army."
+
+"What a respectable army it must be," remarked Carew.
+
+"It is so," said Baptiste. "They are wise people, those Argentines. If a
+man is addicted to homicide for his private ends, they turn him into a
+wholesale homicide for the public good. That may be called the
+homoeopathic treatment of murder; like curing like."
+
+Carew laughed boisterously at the mate's witticism, and the silent men
+at the tables round, hating the sound of merriment, turned their faces
+towards him and scowled savagely.
+
+A species of intoxication had come to Carew. The strange sights and
+strong emotions of the day, the grotesque contrast presented by this
+lovely bower of pure blossoms and the foul and evil men who sat beneath
+it, confused his brain. His surroundings seemed so fantastically
+inconsistent--so unreal--that he felt as if he were some irresponsible
+being in a land of dreams, that it mattered not what he did. He was
+filled with a reckless joviality.
+
+The mate had been watching him with his keen eyes. He knew what this
+exaltation of spirits indicated, and divined that the moment was
+opportune for the mooting of his diabolical scheme. In the present
+condition of his mental faculties, the captain's obstructive conscience
+would be partly paralysed, and he would be able to listen to the mate's
+proposals without overmuch shrinking horror. So the shrewd Frenchman,
+losing no more time, hinted to the host that his presence at the table
+was no longer needed, and Querini took himself off to hobnob with
+another acquaintance.
+
+Baptiste then stretched out his legs and said--
+
+"This is very comfortable after having been cramped up so long on board
+that little boat of yours; but I hope, sir, to see you captain of a much
+larger vessel in a week or so at the latest."
+
+"So we are coming to your wonderful scheme. Let me hear all about it."
+
+"You remember, sir, that as we sailed into the bay this morning I
+pointed out a small barque to El Toro, and remarked how much she
+resembled the old _Vrouw Elisa_."
+
+"I remember your words perfectly. You betrayed yourself."
+
+"Intentionally, captain. We understand each other now; there are no
+secrets between us. Away with hypocrisy! Of course El Toro, El Chico,
+and myself formed part of the crew of the _Vrouw Elisa_. But it is
+unnecessary to recount to you our adventures on board that vessel."
+
+"They do not interest me."
+
+"I don't think you'd care to hear them," said Baptiste, showing his
+white teeth with a grim smile. "Well, to proceed. When you were at the
+consul's this morning, I entered a little drinking shop on the Mole, and
+there I overheard some sailors speaking about their vessel, which I soon
+made out to be the barque lying near us under Villegagnon, the one like
+the _Vrouw Elisa_. Said one man to the other in French--
+
+"'I suppose she's got the most valuable cargo on board of any vessel in
+Rio.'
+
+"I pricked up my ears on hearing this.
+
+"'She'd be a fine prize for a pirate,' replied the other man.
+
+"'If there were pirates nowadays,' said the first.
+
+"Feeling interested, I made inquiries about this vessel--Waiter, stand
+off another few yards. I am talking over some private business with
+this gentleman."
+
+The negro, not unused to such commands, promptly removed himself.
+
+"I discovered that the barque comes from a little harbour down the
+coast, near Santa Catharina. It seems that some prospectors have
+discovered gold in the neighbouring mountains. The quartz is
+exceptionally rich; the cost of importing the necessary machinery would
+be great. They are consequently shipping a large quantity of this quarts
+to Europe to be crushed. That barque, sailing under the French flag, is
+bound for Swansea with a cargo of this: no ordinary auriferous quartz,
+let me tell you, but containing a hitherto unexampled percentage of
+gold. She has put in here for some slight repairs, and will sail in two
+days. The barque is a new vessel, and is worth a lot of money; but the
+value of the cargo is enormous. Now, my little plan is that we four, the
+crew of the _Petrel_, seize this vessel and make our fortunes."
+
+Carew laughed scornfully. "Idiot!" he said; "is this your precious
+scheme? I took you for too clever a man to talk such nonsense. Even if
+we did succeed in seizing this vessel, what could we do with her? In
+what port could we dispose of her cargo? Piracy is impossible in these
+days. Don't you know that?"
+
+"Who talked of piracy? Surely, captain, you know me by this time. Am I
+not a coward? Am I one to commit a risky crime? I would break no law
+unless I felt that I was absolutely secure from detection; and when I do
+feel that, upon my soul, I don't know what villainy I would shrink from;
+for, as for conscience--bah! I have none. Now please follow the outlines
+of my scheme. I will leave it to your ingenuity to fill up the details."
+
+Carew, in his present mood, felt a reluctant admiration for the cool and
+cynical ruffian before him.
+
+"Piracy, in the ordinary sense of the term, is of course out of date,"
+continued the mate, as he sipped his fiery rum; "but the intelligent man
+adapts his method to the age he lives in. I will now tell you a little
+story. An English yacht, manned by four worthy fellows, sails out of Rio
+one fine day. In the night, when she is some leagues from the land, a
+dreadful accident of some kind happens--say she runs into a large
+fragment of wreckage, and staves herself in. Anyhow, she founders.
+Happily, her crew have time to lower the boat, and getting into it they
+pull away, weeping to behold the vessel, that has been their home for so
+long, go down. But they feel happier and dry their eyes when their brave
+captain tells them that the yacht is well insured. Providence assists
+them, for at daybreak they sight a French barque. They signal to her,
+are seen, are soon taken on board, and the barque resumes her voyage to
+Europe. After some days our four shipwrecked mariners, who have been
+watching their opportunity, and who are well armed, surprise the crew,
+take possession of the vessel, sail her into the nearest port, and claim
+salvage for the derelict which they have had the luck to pick up; and
+their lives for the future are happy, wealthy, and respectable. Do you
+follow my story, captain? Hi! waiter, bring us some more rum and some
+Bahia cigars."
+
+Carew sat quite motionless for some time, looking downwards, so that
+Baptiste could not see the expression of his face. The black brought the
+rum to the table and went away again. Then Carew raised his head. "I
+follow your story," he said, in a low, husky voice; "but you did not
+mention what became of the crew of the barque."
+
+"Ah, yes! What did become of them?" exclaimed the mate in an airy way.
+"I forget. They were lost somehow, I imagine--were disposed of in some
+convenient fashion--who knows? But that is a detail."
+
+Carew's face had turned fearfully white. "Thou devil!" he cried
+passionately, between his set teeth. "Not that--not that! Speak no more
+of this. It is impossible."
+
+"Understand me, captain," said the mate, abandoning his bantering tone
+for one of serious determination. "You are not going to have everything
+your own way. I must have money, and plenty of it. El Chico and El Toro
+must have money. Join us in carrying out this scheme, and we will share
+the spoil between the four of us. If you don't agree to this, I will
+expose you at once, Mr. Carew, and you will know what a nasty hole a
+Brazilian prison is. I am sorry to use this language, but business is
+business, captain."
+
+Carew looked down again, and Baptiste, furtively watching him, saw that
+his mouth was twitching and the perspiration breaking out on his
+forehead.
+
+The wretched man endeavoured to think his way out of the terrible
+dilemma before him. He had to choose between the commission of a crime
+more atrocious than any he had ever conceived, and a disgrace and
+punishment infinitely worse than death. He tried to realise his
+position, but his brain seemed numbed. The two alternatives kept
+crossing and recrossing his mind in rapid succession. He was conscious
+of them, but he could not reason upon them. He was incapable of
+consecutive thought for the time.
+
+Suddenly a discordant brass band in a low dancing saloon hard by burst
+out into a triumphant march, as a prelude to the night's riot of drunken
+sailors. It was a fragment of some French opera-bouffe, suggestive of
+feverish joy heedless of the morrow, of mad and reckless orgie. The
+sound was in accord with the man's distracted state. It at once awoke
+his mind from its lethargy. A wild and fierce impulse rushed upon him.
+Blindly he abandoned himself to what he considered to be his destiny,
+and a tempter seemed to whisper to him, "Trust to your luck. See how
+luck has been with you so far. Fortune will certainly find some way of
+relieving you of the crew of the barque, so that it will not be
+necessary for you to have their blood on your head. Arthur Allen stood
+in your path. He was removed from it; yet you were not his murderer. So
+will it be now. Trust to chance."
+
+Then Carew looked up. His features were calm and rigid, but had a
+ghastly expression. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but appeared to
+be unable to articulate. He poured himself out a quantity of the white
+rum into a glass and swallowed it. "And the other two men?" he whispered
+hoarsely.
+
+Baptiste understood his meaning. "El Chico and El Toro can be relied
+upon for this business. I know them," he said.
+
+The eyes of the two men met. There was a long pause. Then Carew muttered
+the two words--
+
+"I consent!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Carew and the mate left the café, traversed the brilliantly lighted
+city, and returned to the yacht. At an early hour on the following
+morning, Carew, too restless to sleep, came on deck. The sky was
+cloudless and the rising sun illumined the romantic scenery of the bay.
+A cool breeze blew seaward from the wooded mountains, odorous of spices
+and tropical blossoms. The sight of a world so glad and fair, so fresh
+and ever-young, might well make the saddest soul feel the joy of mere
+existence and look to life as a treasure worth the possessing.
+
+A few months before this Carew had contemplated suicide--had regarded
+death as a welcome deliverance from his troubles. Now it was otherwise;
+he set a value on his life. The causes of this change were commonplace
+enough, as are most of the motives that decide the momentous crises of a
+man's history. A healthy life in the open air at sea tends to develop
+the instinct of self-preservation and banishes morbid meditations.
+Again, the longer one has been contesting some keen game of chance and
+skill, the more anxious one is to come off the victor. This man had been
+playing a clever and desperate game for freedom--which for him meant
+life--ever since he had left England. Fortune had favoured him so long
+that he would not abandon hope and acknowledge defeat now. The ultimate
+victory had become so dear to him that he was not likely to be very
+squeamish as to the means he should employ to obtain it.
+
+So Carew had hardened his heart, or rather, having resolved on a course
+of action, he closed the avenues of his mind to certain unpleasant
+thoughts on the future. Not being as unscrupulous as his French
+associate, he found it necessary to employ an immense amount of
+self-deception. He allowed himself to drift, as it were, from one crime
+to another, trying to believe that his fate was compelling him; but he
+carefully avoided looking beyond the immediate present. He would not
+think of the far greater iniquities to which he was committing himself
+by the action he was now taking. He wilfully closed his eyes, and let
+the morrow take care of itself.
+
+When Baptiste joined the captain on deck he was exceedingly surprised to
+find him in a cheerful mood, and anxious to arrange as quickly as
+possible the plan for the seizure of the barque. Carew found a relief in
+the active employment of his brain, and he now exhibited considerable
+ingenuity. He described his views in detail to the mate, who looked with
+wonder at this inconsistent Englishman, whose complex nature he felt
+that he was very far from understanding. With all his vacillation, when
+Carew had made up his mind one way or the other, he acted promptly and
+with energy.
+
+"Baptiste," he said, "in the first place, we ought to be armed. We all
+have knives, but there is only one revolver on board. I want you to take
+my watch and chain on shore, pawn or sell them, and buy three revolvers
+and some ammunition. You can take charge of your weapon at once, but I
+will keep those of the two men until the time comes."
+
+"That is right," said the mate; "those children are not to be trusted
+with firearms. The first time they played at _monte_ they would be
+scattering each other's brains over the cards. I know a slop shop where
+there are generally some good six-shooters on sale. I will barter your
+watch there."
+
+"Also ascertain the hour of the barque's departure," said Carew. "This
+is what I suggest. You know that the south-east trade wind does not blow
+home on this coast, but is deflected and becomes a north-east wind. In
+consequence of this, all vessels bound for Europe from Rio are obliged
+to take a long board of several hundreds of miles to the eastward
+before they fall in with the true trade wind, and go about on the other
+tack. Thus we know the exact course the barque will take. She will sail
+away close-hauled on the port-tack. We will put to sea six hours before
+her, and await her some ten leagues from the land. Do you understand?"
+
+"Perfectly. I see you know what you are about, sir."
+
+"Now call the crew aft," said Carew, "and let us learn at once what they
+think of our proposal."
+
+Baptiste raised the hatch of the forecastle and roused the men. They
+quickly tumbled on deck.
+
+"I am sorry to say, comrades, that you can't go on shore here," said the
+mate in Spanish.
+
+They swore and grumbled in sonorous Castilian phrases that had best be
+left untranslated.
+
+"Now no insubordination," continued Baptiste; "the captain would not
+deprive you of a day's holiday after so long a voyage unless he had
+urgent reasons for doing so."
+
+"Reasons indeed!" muttered El Toro. "He who wants reasons can always
+find them."
+
+"Silence, you old calf! Listen! We shall most probably sail to-day, for
+there is a treasure waiting for us outside."
+
+El Chico pricked up his ears. "What! another _Vrouw Elisa_?" he asked.
+
+"Something of the sort; but this is a safer scheme. Our necks will not
+be in danger this time."
+
+"That's well for you, Baptiste," exclaimed El Toro, with his brutal
+laugh; "for your neck must be the most precious on this ship if we may
+judge from the value you set on it. Ha! ha! I never shall forget your
+white face and your starting eyes in that Dutch law court."
+
+"My neck supports a head of brains and not a pig's head like thine, with
+only three ideas in it--rum, grub, and tobacco," retorted the mate. "But
+no more nonsense; listen to me, men."
+
+Then he briefly disclosed the plan.
+
+"Bravo!" grunted El Toro. "That sounds a likely bit of business. I will
+go and sharpen my knife at once. And so our English milord is a
+game-cock, after all, like the rest of us."
+
+"He is worth fifty of you," said Baptiste. "He has the clever brains
+that can devise; and he is braver than you, El Toro."
+
+"I acknowledge him to be my superior, even in courage. I have not
+forgotten how he defied the devil himself in the _terremoto_," replied
+the Basque.
+
+Baptiste turned to Carew, and proceeded to speak in French. "The lads
+are ready to follow you anywhere, sir."
+
+"They did not seem at all surprised, and received your communication in
+a very matter-of-fact way," said Carew.
+
+"They are accustomed to strange jobs of this kind. But I don't think
+they quite realise what a vast sum we are going to make. Idiots! It
+would be a pity to give them too much. We must settle later on, captain,
+how to divide the spoil."
+
+"Last night you said that it should be divided equally among us."
+
+"I spoke hastily. I don't think so now. You and I appreciate money and
+know how to use it. These pigs would squander it. We will give them just
+enough to keep their mouths shut. You and I will divide the bulk. If we
+fill their hands with bright gold pieces, the ignorant wretches will
+imagine that they have got an inexhaustible fortune, and they will go
+away perfectly satisfied. I know the animals."
+
+The mate, taking Carew's watch and chain with him, rowed on shore in the
+dinghy, and returned in an hour with three revolvers, some cartridges,
+and a quantity of plantains, yams, and other vegetables.
+
+He leapt on deck. "Captain," he cried, "there is not much time to be
+lost. I have learnt that _La Bonne Esperance_--that is the barque's
+name--will sail without fail this evening as soon as the land breeze
+springs up."
+
+"Then we will get under way immediately after breakfast," said Carew;
+"for the wind seems to be light outside, and we shall not travel fast."
+
+The land breeze, which blows all night at Rio and refreshes the heated
+atmosphere, died away before the necessary preparations had been made on
+the yacht, and the usual calm succeeded it. So Carew had to remain at
+anchor until midday, when the sea breeze, that prevails throughout the
+hottest hours of the day, sprang up; and all sail being hoisted, the
+_Petrel_ tacked out of the bay.
+
+The yacht sailed out to sea, close-hauled on the port-tack; but the wind
+was very light, and she did not make more than two knots an hour.
+
+At sunset the land was still in sight, and Carew took cross-bearings, so
+as to ascertain his exact position. Throughout the night the navigation
+of the yacht was conducted with unusual care. The helmsman steered "full
+and by" with as much nicety as if he had been sailing a race.
+
+Every few minutes the officer of the watch looked at the compass, in
+order to detect the slightest change in the direction of the wind.
+Without these precautions it would have been impossible on the morrow to
+calculate with sufficient precision the track of the following barque.
+
+At daybreak Carew made out that he was about forty miles from the land.
+"We have gone far enough, Baptiste," he said. "The next thing is to
+calculate how much nearer this yacht sails to the wind than a clumsy,
+square-rigged vessel like _La Bonne Esperance_."
+
+"Our steering has been so good," replied the mate, "that we must have
+been sailing at least a point and a half closer than the barque."
+
+"About that, I should say. We will run down to leeward some ten miles,
+and then, I think, we shall be lying right across her track."
+
+The sheets were eased off, and the vessel was steered at right angles to
+her former course. As the wind was stronger, she covered the ten miles
+in less than two hours. Then Carew gave the order to heave-to.
+
+While the yacht, her jib to windward, rose and fell on the ocean swell
+without making any progress, everything was got ready for the carrying
+out of their design. The dinghy was lowered; the men placed in it their
+baggage and some of the more portable valuables belonging to the yacht.
+Carew put into the sternsheets a portmanteau containing, among other
+things, the ship's papers, Allen's diary and cheque-book, the revolvers,
+and the drugs which he had purchased in Rotterdam.
+
+Carew himself undertook to scuttle the yacht. He cut away a portion of
+the panelling in the main cabin; then, having bored a large hole with an
+auger through the vessel's skin, he stopped it with a wooden plug. To
+this plug he attached a piece of strong cord, which he led up on deck
+through the skylight.
+
+The men stood by watching him.
+
+"You see, Baptiste," he explained, "I have but to pull this cord, out
+comes the plug, and the vessel fills and sinks."
+
+"That is all very well so far," replied the mate; "but suppose you have
+pulled out your plug, and your vessel is three parts full, and the
+barque won't stop to pick us up,--anything is possible at sea; such
+inhumanity among sailors is not unknown,--what will you do then? How are
+you to get at that hole again to stop any more water coming in? A wise
+general secures his retreat, captain."
+
+"I have thought of all that, Baptiste," said Carew; "you have not seen
+half my arrangements yet. Follow me into the after-cabin."
+
+Baptiste obeyed.
+
+"Now take up the flooring," continued the captain.
+
+When the boards were raised a long piece of lead piping was disclosed,
+which was connected with the end of one of the ship's two pumps.
+
+"Cut that piping off as close as you can to the pump, and bring it on
+deck."
+
+This was done; then Carew, to the astonishment of his crew, proceeded to
+bend the piping until it assumed the form of a lengthened U. Putting a
+bung into one end of it he poured water into it from the other end until
+it was full. Dipping the open end into the sea, he passed the other arm
+through one of the ports, so that it depended into the cabin below the
+level of the water-line.
+
+"Hah! I see now; it is a syphon," exclaimed Baptiste.
+
+"Exactly so. Now follow my plan. As soon as we sight the barque, I take
+the bung out of the inner arm of the syphon and allow the sea to pour
+in, until I bring the yacht down as near the water's edge as I safely
+can. Then I haul my syphon on board again and so stop the flow. We hoist
+signals of distress. If _La Bonne Esperance_ won't pay any attention to
+us and sails by, all we have to do is to pump the water out of the
+yacht, and try our luck elsewhere. If the barque replies to our signals,
+and there can be no doubt about her intention to pick us up, I pull this
+cord, out comes the plug, in rushes the sea again, we jump into the
+dinghy, and as we are rowing off to the French vessel the old _Petrel_
+goes down. What do you think of that, Baptiste?"
+
+"Excellent--excellent!" exclaimed the mate.
+
+"And to avoid all chance of a hitch," continued Carew, who was
+interested in his work, "I am going to scuttle the yacht in another
+place, and lead another cord from the second plug on to the deck. Thus
+we will be doubly certain; for one plug may get jammed and refuse to
+come out, or a fish may get sucked into the hole and choke it. I have
+heard of such things happening."
+
+"You are a very clever man, captain. When you do start on a job you
+carry it out in a thorough manner. With your pluck and ingenuity you'd
+make a splendid pirate, were it not for your unfortunate scruples;" and
+the mate sighed regretfully when he thought of the useful talents wasted
+on this Englishman.
+
+At midday Carew took the latitude, and found that he had not misjudged
+his position. As the wind had not varied a quarter of a point since the
+yacht had sailed from Rio, it was almost certain that the barque would
+pass within a mile or so.
+
+El Chico, who had the keenest eyes of any on board, had been sent aloft
+to keep a good lookout for vessels. He sat on the crosstrees, and in the
+course of the day reported several craft, but none answered to the
+description of the French barque.
+
+Much as Carew had shrunk from the enterprise, he was now carried away by
+the excitement of the chase; and as the hours went by he became acutely
+anxious. He feared that he had sailed too far out to sea, and that the
+barque would pass him unobserved in the night.
+
+They waited in silence, staring eagerly across the expanse of glaring
+water.
+
+At last, at three o'clock in the afternoon, El Chico called out--
+
+"There is a barque yonder that looks something like her."
+
+"Where away?" said Baptiste.
+
+"She's coming up close-hauled on the port-tack."
+
+"Has she brown topsides and some bright green about her figure-head?"
+
+"I can't make any colour out yet."
+
+Then the mate went aloft with the binocular. After some minutes he
+scrambled down the rigging again. "Hurrah!" he cried, with a triumphant
+glitter in his eyes. "We have her safe! That is _La Belle Esperance_!"
+
+"If we run a mile more to leeward we'll be right in her track," shouted
+El Chico from aloft.
+
+All was now bustle on board the yacht. Letting the foresheet draw, they
+ran before the wind for about a quarter of an hour; then, heaving-to
+again, the cork was taken out of the syphon, and the yacht began to fill
+gradually. The barque was still more than three miles off, so there was
+ample time to prepare everything.
+
+"Now for the signals of distress," cried Carew; "bring up the flags."
+
+The two flags of the international code--N and B--were hoisted to the
+gaff end, which indicate that a vessel is in need of assistance.
+
+"They won't be able to see that for some time yet," said Baptiste. "Your
+signal flags are too small."
+
+"Then rig up the long-distance signal," cried Carew. "It is a square
+flag at the masthead with something like a ball beneath it. Hoist the
+large ensign, and fasten the life-buoy to the mast; that will look like
+a ball."
+
+The barque was now heading straight for the yacht. When she was about a
+mile off Carew loaded the small brass signal gun and fired it.
+
+About a minute afterwards a wreath of smoke was seen to issue from the
+barque's side. Then the report of a gun was heard.
+
+"We are safe now. They will pick us up," said Carew. "Hallo, there!
+Inboard with that syphon at once, or the yacht will go down under our
+feet."
+
+The men had been watching the approaching barque so intently that they
+had not observed how low in the water their own vessel now was. The
+cabin was three parts full, and all the movable articles in it were
+afloat. The syphon was brought on board, and they waited yet a little
+longer before taking the final step; for the wind had fallen light
+again, and the barque was making but slow progress towards them.
+
+"Up goes some bunting yonder," said El Chico.
+
+Carew looked through the telescope, and saw that the vessel had hoisted
+the signal H F, which signifies, "We are coming to your assistance."
+
+"Now, then, all hands tumble into the dinghy," said Carew, as, seizing
+the cords, he pulled both plugs out of the yacht's side. "Good-bye, old
+_Petrel_!" he cried, leaping into the boat after his men. "Now, pull
+away, lads."
+
+Carew's experience in scuttling vessels was naturally limited, so he
+had miscalculated the rapidity with which an already water-logged craft
+will go down if two large auger-holes are opened in her sides.
+
+The men had not pulled a couple of strokes before the yacht's bow rose
+suddenly, her stern dipped, and she sank with a gurgling sound. So near
+was the dinghy that she narrowly escaped being sucked into the vortex.
+
+They rested on their oars and gazed silently at the spot where the smart
+little yawl that had been their home for so long had floated but a
+moment before. Then, as the water smoothed over her grave, they looked
+over the side of the dinghy and beheld a strange sight. With all her
+white sails set and her flags still flying, the _Petrel_ went slowly
+down, with a gentle, oscillating movement, into the depths of that
+marvellously pellucid sea. Two sharks accompanied her, swimming round
+and round her; one thrust his evil snout for a moment into the cabin
+hatchway, as if to see if there were men below. Lower and lower the
+yacht descended into depths where the sharks could not support the
+increasing pressure of the water, so, deserting her, swam upwards; still
+lower, till she appeared no larger than a toy boat, and they could still
+distinguish her; still lower, and at last she disappeared into the
+blackness of the still, under ocean.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Carew gazed silently downwards into the clear, dark sea for some moments
+after the yacht had sunk entirely out of sight; then, raising his head,
+he looked towards the barque, and saw that she was lying hove-to, with
+her mainyard laid aback, about a quarter of a mile distant.
+
+"Pull away, lads," he said. "Let us get on board the Frenchman, and
+don't forget that we ran into a bit of wreckage last night and so sprang
+a leak. Say as little more as you can help, and don't give conflicting
+accounts of our accident."
+
+They soon came alongside the vessel, and clambered on to her deck by a
+rope's end that was lowered to them. The captain of the barque gave the
+order to sling the dinghy on deck and square away again.
+
+This being done, he turned to Carew and said in French, "I am very
+happy, sir, that I was so near at hand when your vessel sank. She went
+down very suddenly. Pray what was the cause?"
+
+Carew gave the very probable explanation of the mishap which had been
+decided on.
+
+"You must have run into that bit of wreckage with considerable force,"
+said the captain. "What was it--a large spar?"
+
+"Something of the sort, I imagine," replied Carew; "but we could see
+nothing. It must have been floating just below the level of the water."
+
+"It is a lucky thing for you that this happened so near to the Brazilian
+coast and in the track of shipping, instead of in the middle of the
+Atlantic. You should have under-girded the vessel when you found that
+she had sprung so serious a leak."
+
+"So we did," broke in Baptiste. "We got a jib under her bows. But it was
+no good. She was strained along her whole bilge. I wonder she did not
+fall to pieces."
+
+"Let me introduce myself to you," said Carew. "My name is Allen. I was
+the owner of the unfortunate little yacht which is now so far below us.
+I think I recognise your vessel. Were you not lying near us under
+Villegagnon?"
+
+"That is quite right, sir, and I recognised your yacht as soon as I saw
+your signal of distress. My name is Captain Mourez, and this is the
+French barque _La Bonne Esperance_, bound for Swansea. And now, sir,
+what would you like me to do with you and your crew? I see smoke ahead,
+which should come from some steamer bound for Rio. Shall I signal her
+and put you on board, or do you feel inclined to come on with us to
+Swansea?"
+
+Carew did not look in the captain's face, and his voice shook as he
+replied, "I should esteem it a great favour, Captain Mourez, if you
+would allow us to be your passengers as far as Swansea. I will of course
+repay you for this when we reach England."
+
+"Say nothing about that at present," replied the captain proudly. "You
+can do what you think proper when you reach port. A French sailor is
+always glad to assist other sailors in distress without the inducement
+of a reward for doing so."
+
+The boastful speech of the patriotic captain stated no more than the
+truth. French sailors rarely hesitate to risk their lives at sea in
+going to the rescue of their fellow-men; in this respect differing
+considerably from the mariners of some other European nations, who have
+acquired an unenviable notoriety for a selfish indifference to the
+sufferings of others.
+
+The captain looked from Carew to Baptiste. He could distinguish from the
+latter's accent and appearance that he was no common sailor. "This
+gentleman is your friend, I suppose?" he said.
+
+"My friend, and the mate of the yacht," replied Carew. "I was my own
+captain."
+
+"I see that you are a genuine English yachtsman. But surely this is a
+French gentleman?"
+
+"No, Captain Mourez," broke in Baptiste quickly; "I am an English
+subject, but I am a Creole of the Mauritius, and of French origin.
+Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Baptiste Fortier."
+
+"Very well," said the captain. "We can find room for your two men in the
+forecastle. You, Mr. Allen and Mr. Fortier, will occupy cabins aft. We
+have plenty to spare. Come below and I will show you round."
+
+They entered the saloon--a spacious one for a vessel of her size. There
+were four cabins on each side of it. Only two of these were occupied;
+one by the captain and another by his mate. Two others were now placed
+at the disposal of Carew and Baptiste.
+
+The captain made his two guests sit down with him at the saloon table,
+and produced a bottle of Bordeaux for their refreshment. The mate of _La
+Belle Esperance_ soon came below and joined the party. Though no
+drunkard, he was never far away when there was a drawing of corks. His
+name was Duval; he was a wiry, red-headed Norman, somewhat hot-tempered,
+but very garrulous and merry. Captain Mourez was a tall, handsome man,
+with black hair and beard, a Breton by birth, taciturn as a rule, but
+very courteous in his manners.
+
+While these four were sitting in the saloon talking over the wreck of
+the _Petrel_, there was suddenly heard the sound of something falling
+heavily on the deck just overhead; then a cry and a scuffling of many
+feet.
+
+Duval hurried on deck to learn what the noise signified. Shortly
+afterwards he returned again. "It is that imbecile young apprentice,
+Hallé, again. What an awkward cub it is! He has fallen from the mizzen
+rigging this time; not from a great height, luckily. He has not hurt
+himself seriously, but he seems rather sick and dizzy."
+
+The crew of the _Petrel_ were soon at home on their new vessel. El Toro
+and El Chico were made much of by the kindly Frenchmen in the
+forecastle. As luck would have it, none of the crew of the barque
+understood Spanish; so the two Spaniards, who knew no French, had not to
+reply to questions as to the details of the yacht's misadventure. El
+Toro especially, whose dense head was entirely devoid of imagination,
+would have been certain to come to grief in attempting to lie in an
+ingenious and consistent manner.
+
+In the afternoon the loquacious Norman mate insisted on taking Carew and
+Baptiste all over the vessel and showing them everything. He was
+gratified by the keen interest the two passengers seemed to take in his
+explanation. They listened attentively to all he said, for reasons of
+their own. They learnt that the vessel's company, officers included,
+numbered seventeen souls; that there was no second mate, but that the
+boatswain took the port watch and lived with the carpenter in the small
+deck-house.
+
+Duval also took them into the forecastle, where some of the watch off
+duty were sleeping at the time. Among them was the young apprentice who
+had fallen from the rigging. He was tossing about restlessly in his
+bunk, and his face was very flushed.
+
+Baptiste as he passed by glanced casually at him, then scanned his face
+earnestly for some time. "Come out of this," he said to Carew. "It is
+too hot down here. Let us go on deck."
+
+That evening the wind freshened considerably, and the barque, with yards
+braced up, was making good way through the water. Carew, unable to
+sleep, came on deck shortly before midnight, and sat down in a dark,
+quiet corner to meditate. Now that the excitement of the preliminary
+preparations was over, he began to realise to the full what was before
+him; and an intense abhorrence of the crime he had undertaken once more
+oppressed his soul. He could not retreat now. He must be the cause of
+the death of all these innocent men, who had come to the rescue of his
+life. If he spared them he would be carried on to England to pay the
+penalty of his offences.
+
+As he sat brooding thus miserably, a man walked towards him from the
+fore part of the ship. Carew saw the red glow of his cigarette before
+he could distinguish the man in the darkness, and he knew that it was
+his evil genius.
+
+"Baptiste, is that you?"
+
+"Here I am, captain. A lovely night, is it not?"
+
+"Sit down here," said Carew, "and speak to me. No one can overhear us
+here, I think."
+
+"No; it will be all right if we do not raise our voices," replied
+Baptiste, looking round.
+
+"How is this going to end?" whispered Carew.
+
+"What do you mean, captain?"
+
+"How are we four to seize a vessel with a crew of seventeen strong men
+on board?"
+
+"Strong men, indeed!" replied the Frenchman. "They will be as weak as
+babies in a few days' time. By the way, I see that you did not omit to
+bring your medicine chest on board with you."
+
+Carew shuddered. "Poison!" he whispered, in a terrified voice. "Do you
+mean that?"
+
+"Why not, captain? It is a merciful and painless death if the right
+stuff is used."
+
+Carew said nothing for some time. "Whatever is done must be done soon,"
+he muttered.
+
+"That is so, captain. This vessel must be ours while we are still in the
+trades and within a few days' run of a South American port. It will be
+difficult enough for four of us to work her, even in these calm waters.
+We must not postpone action till we get into the region of rougher
+weather."
+
+"Oh, that this dreadful thing were not necessary!" Carew groaned.
+
+"Ah, sir, don't allow those fatal scruples of yours to torment you. If I
+had some of your courage, and you some of my philosophy, what a fine
+couple we should be! But as it is at present, I am the more useful man
+of the two, despite my physical cowardice. Believe me, Mr. Carew, the
+ancient was right who said that to know oneself is the secret of
+happiness. If a man has a conscience at all, it ought to be a stable one
+that does not vary. You have got a set of moral principles of a sort,
+but you have not the slightest idea of what they are. One day you will
+commit an action with a light heart; on the morrow your remorse will
+madden you. Such inconsistency means misery. Know thyself. If you will
+have a code of ethics, know it and stick to it, and be happy. But now
+that you have gone so far, I recommend you to abjure conscience and
+moral principles, and substitute for them my beautifully simple code of
+ethics, which is summed up in three words--fear of consequences."
+
+"I wish, indeed, that I could do so, Baptiste."
+
+"If you wish it, this satisfactory result will come in time. All changes
+in the moral sense are arrived at by wishing. _Experto crede_, as they
+taught me in the _lycée_ at Nimes."
+
+Neither spoke for some time; then Baptiste said--
+
+"You were born under a lucky star, captain. I think that Providence has
+found a way of sparing your sensitive conscience. She will do most of
+the killing for you."
+
+"What do you mean?" exclaimed Carew.
+
+"Hush! not so loud. You remember that a young man fell from the mizzen
+rigging while we were below drinking with the captain?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"He is our unconscious ally. He will kill off a good many of his
+comrades for us. But I will not mystify you any longer. Why did he fall
+off the rigging--because he was awkward, as Duval said? Not a bit of it.
+He fell because he was dizzy. Why was he dizzy? Because he was ill. This
+afternoon, when I saw him first, I more than suspected that a fall could
+not account for all his symptoms. I have just examined him again. I know
+the signs well. He is in the first stage of _yellow fever_!"
+
+"Yellow fever?"
+
+"Yes, yellow fever has come to help us. The man has been very sick and
+is now delirious. The stupid captain has seen him, and puts it all down
+to his fall; says he must have injured his spine. How lucky for us was
+that fall! Led off the scent by it, the idiots will not suspect what is
+the matter with the man until the _vomito negro_ declares itself. They
+have not separated him from the rest. He is now lying in his bunk in the
+forecastle. All the watch below are sleeping round him. It is a small
+forecastle, and the crew, imagining that fresh air is bad for a sick
+man, have closed the ports. It is stifling down there at present. It is
+a pest-house. All those men are breathing in contagion. Do you know that
+it is the worst form of yellow fever that is now raging at Rio--very
+contagious, very fatal? If it breaks out in a vessel like this it will
+spread like wildfire. Man after man will fall sick and die."
+
+"Ourselves included," said Carew recklessly.
+
+"No, sir. We will take precautions in time. I have had the fever once,
+and am not likely to have it again. I have hinted the truth to El Chico
+and El Toro, and they have suddenly developed a hygienic craze for fresh
+air, and insist on sleeping on deck to-night, to the amazement of the
+French sailors. I would not like to insure the lives of the men who
+sleep in that forecastle; most of them are doomed by this time."
+
+Carew felt his skin turn cold and tingle with horror as he listened to
+the Frenchman's cold-blooded exultation in the dreadful prospect.
+
+"Good-night, captain. I am going to turn in now; and, by the way, let me
+advise you to keep on deck in the cool wind as much as possible, and
+smoke perpetually. Tobacco is a splendid disinfectant."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+On the day after the crew of the _Petrel_ had been taken on board the
+barque the wind freshened and was so much to the south of east that the
+vessel was enabled to sail in a north-easterly direction, a course which
+would bring her to the vicinity of the Trinidad and Martin Vas
+Archipelago.
+
+When Carew came on deck in the morning he found Baptiste there before
+him. The Provençal walked up to him jauntily, twirling his long black
+moustache, and looking jubilant. "I have seen young Hallé again," he
+said, in a low voice. "He is very bad. The symptoms are unmistakable;
+but no one suspects the truth so far. Two other men are complaining of
+headache."
+
+"Let the accursed plague work its way," said Carew gloomily, "but tell
+me nothing about it."
+
+"So be it, sir," said Baptiste, with a shrug of his shoulders.
+
+The springing up of so favourable a wind put the captain of _La Bonne
+Esperance_ in a very contented frame of mind. In his delight he became
+more talkative than was his wont, and at frequent intervals during the
+day sought out Carew in order to converse with him.
+
+Carew, for his part, did his utmost--without appearing churlish--to
+avoid the company of Captain Mourez; for he recognised him as being a
+kind-hearted and an honest man.
+
+The captain observed his passenger's unsociable mood, and, attributing
+this to his sorrow at the loss of his yacht, endeavoured to cheer him
+with lively gossip, but produced the opposite result.
+
+Nothing noteworthy occurred during the day; the wind held steady, and
+the vessel made good progress. At about ten o'clock that night, Carew
+was sitting alone in the saloon, killing thought by reading a French
+novel which the captain had lent him, when Mourez himself came in. His
+face bore a very anxious expression.
+
+"Mr. Allen," he said, "I am seriously alarmed about that man Hallé. I
+fear that he has the fever."
+
+"The yellow fever?" exclaimed Carew, not raising his eyes from his book.
+
+"It seems so to me; but I have never seen a case of yellow fever. Do you
+mind coming with me to the forecastle and giving me your opinion?"
+
+"I will do so with pleasure," replied Carew, rising from his seat; "but
+my opinion is not worth much."
+
+They entered the forecastle, which was dimly lighted by a small lantern.
+Hallé was lying on his bunk, keeping up a constant delirious chatter.
+The other men, instead of sleeping soundly through their watch below
+after the manner of sailors, were sitting together in a group at the
+corner of the forecastle farthest removed from the sick man, looking
+scared and talking to each other in subdued voices.
+
+Carew stood by Hallé's bunk and looked at him. A change for the worse
+had recently come on. His face wore an expression of intense anxiety.
+His skin was wrinkled and of a dark yellow colour.
+
+The captain made a sign to Carew, and they went on deck again. "I have
+never seen yellow fever," said the latter; "ask my mate, Baptiste
+Fortier, what he thinks about it; he has had the fever himself." Thus
+did this strange man trifle with his conscience as usual, and attempt to
+shift the responsibility for the next step in the tragedy on to his
+companion.
+
+Baptiste was found, and was sent into the forecastle. It would be quite
+useless to lie about the facts now, so, returning to where Carew and
+Mourez were standing, he said, "It is yellow fever. I am sure of it."
+
+On hearing this the captain began to pace up and down the deck in a
+state of great agitation, wringing his hands. "Good heavens! this is a
+terrible affair," he cried. "For thirty hours Hallé has been spreading
+contagion in the forecastle. Who knows where this will end?"
+
+Then Captain Mourez stood still, and after pondering a little while
+addressed Carew. "I must at once convert some portion of the vessel into
+a hospital. The forecastle is no longer a fit place for the healthy men,
+so we will give it up to the sick. Sir, we must pray for a fresh breeze
+to carry us quickly into northern latitudes, where the cold will kill
+the plague that has come to us."
+
+At that moment the boatswain came on to the quarter-deck, and Mourez
+ordered him to call up the watch below.
+
+The men reached the deck with unusual promptitude. They were summoned
+aft, and the captain in a few words explained to them how matters stood,
+and exhorted them to be courageous as French sailors should be. He
+ordered them to rig up a large awning forward, under which the crew were
+to live so long as the vessel was in warm latitudes. He also instructed
+the boatswain to ventilate the forecastle as thoroughly as was possible
+by means of wind-sails, so that a cool temperature might be obtained for
+the sick men.
+
+On the following day two other men fell ill, and were admitted into the
+hospital. In the afternoon Hallé died, and his body was immediately
+lowered into the sea.
+
+Before sunset the loom of land was visible over the ship's bows. It was
+the desert island of Trinidad, situated near latitude 20 deg. south,
+about six hundred miles from the coast of Brazil.
+
+And now a most unfortunate calamity befell the pestilence-stricken
+vessel. The wind completely died away, and she lay motionless on a sea
+of oily smoothness for three whole days. The vertical sun blazed down
+upon her out of the cloudless sky, and the intense sultriness of the
+atmosphere lowered the energies of those who were still in good health,
+and predisposed them to contagion, while it hurried on the fatal
+termination of the fever for the sick. A gloom fell on the ship's
+company. The men looked into each other's faces with helpless terror,
+for what could be done against this invisible foe? One after another
+sickened, died, and was lowered over the side in shotted shroud.
+Baptiste and the two Spaniards, though they considered themselves
+acclimatised to the tropics, and almost proof against contagion, shared
+the prevailing sense of terror.
+
+On the second day of the calm, the captain, who had doctored all the
+sick men to the best of his ability, was himself attacked by the fever.
+
+Carew, who had some little knowledge of medicine, volunteered to take
+his place, and as the mate gratefully complied with his request,
+employed all his time in attending upon the patients in the forecastle
+and the captain in his cabin.
+
+On the third day of the calm the contagion seemed to have spent itself.
+No fresh cases were reported, and those who were lying sick became no
+worse.
+
+Up to this date eight men out of the seventeen that composed the ship's
+company had died. Among these were the boatswain and the ship's cook. It
+was necessary to appoint some other man to take charge of the port
+watch; so the mate, after consulting with Carew, gave this post to
+Baptiste, as being the best educated man on board. The Provençal asked
+that the two Spaniards should be put upon his watch. El Chico, acting
+under Baptiste's orders, offered to undertake the duties of ship's cook.
+
+On this morning, being the fifth since the _Petrel's_ crew had been
+received on board, the mate came up to Baptiste and made some remarks to
+him which set the wily ruffian thinking. Duval had asked him whether he
+did not think the fever showed signs of abating.
+
+"It is impossible to say yet," replied Baptiste. "Yellow fever always
+comes in waves; it subsides and intensifies alternately."
+
+"You see, comrade," said Duval, "that even if we include you four, we
+are now very short handed. If we lose a few more men, we cannot sail
+this barque to Europe. I have decided to run back to Rio as soon as a
+breeze springs up."
+
+When the mate left him, Baptiste went in search of Carew, and found him
+in the captain's cabin, watching the sick man, who was now lying
+insensible in the last stage of the fever.
+
+Baptiste looked into the pain-distorted face. "He will go soon," he
+whispered to Carew.
+
+Carew nodded.
+
+"That was a clever idea of yours, sir," said the Frenchman.
+
+"What idea?"
+
+"To constitute yourself ship's doctor."
+
+Carew made no reply, but he understood what the remark signified.
+Baptiste, however, had misjudged him. With his usual inconsistency in
+crime, far from availing himself of his opportunities to poison the men,
+he had, on the contrary, risked his life and done his utmost to save the
+captain and the others under his charge. He was happier and was pleased
+with himself while acting thus, though he was also glad to find that his
+patients died despite his efforts. He seemed to imagine that he was
+driving a bargain with avenging Heaven--that he could set off his
+present righteous conduct against his other crimes. Men who reason with
+the greatest clearness on all other matters, often become insanely
+illogical when a guilty conscience asks for soothing casuistry.
+
+"How are you treating him?" asked Baptiste.
+
+"Not in the way you are thinking of," Carew replied, looking into the
+other's eyes.
+
+Baptiste saw that he had been mistaken in his surmise, but said no more
+on the subject.
+
+Carew's box of medicines was by his side. Baptiste looked into it, and
+drew out a bottle. "This is not poison, is it?" he asked.
+
+"No; but if you took a good dose of it it would make you feel very ill."
+
+"What is a good dose of it?"
+
+"About ten drops; it is in a concentrated form."
+
+"That will answer my purpose, then," and Baptiste put the bottle in his
+pocket. "And now, sir, I want some stuff that will prevent insomnia."
+
+The eyes of the two men met. Carew asked no questions, but merely said,
+"Take this bottle, then. Half a teaspoonful is a large dose."
+
+"Let us go into your cabin for a few minutes," said Baptiste, glancing
+at Mourez. "This man seems quite unconscious; but a man may hear as long
+as he has breath in him. I will not trust him."
+
+They crossed the saloon to Carew's cabin.
+
+"Well, what is it?"
+
+"The fever and the hot calm have done our work well while we have been
+standing by idle," said the Frenchman; "but now the time has come for
+us to act. We must seize this vessel to-night. There is a look of wind
+in the sky now, and Duval will set sail and make for Rio as soon as a
+breeze springs up. We must wait no longer."
+
+"Let it be to-night, then."
+
+"Come on deck at ten o'clock this evening. Bring the revolvers with you.
+Leave all the rest to me. You dislike details, so I will arrange
+everything."
+
+Carew bowed his head in assent, but said nothing.
+
+"You have two sick men in the forecastle, I think," said Baptiste; "are
+they strong enough to make any resistance?"
+
+Carew shook his head.
+
+"That is well. The captain will certainly not have much fight in him. So
+that leaves us only six healthy men to deal with; one on my watch, five
+on the other watch."
+
+The mate now went on deck, and Carew returned to the captain's cabin. He
+found that brave sailor lying on his bed dead.
+
+"I am glad--for his sake and for mine," muttered the Englishman to
+himself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+It is no pleasant task to describe the events that now took place on the
+French barque. This is no tale of daring buccaneers, of exciting
+hand-to-hand combats of desperate men; but a narrative of cold-blooded
+and dastardly crime.
+
+Now that the time for carrying out his devilish scheme had come,
+Baptiste had taken the lead of the conspirators. Being a pacific person
+who hated fighting and feared danger, he determined to omit no possible
+precaution to obviate the risk of failure. His brain, fertile of
+ingenious villainy, was not long in devising how to do this.
+
+In the first place, he instructed Carew on no account to leave his cabin
+between eight and ten that evening. Then he called aside the two
+Spaniards and explained his plan to them. He gave El Chico the first
+bottle which he had taken from Carew's medicine chest, and directed him
+to mix a certain quantity of the contents with the soup he was about to
+make for the men's dinner--a quantity which he calculated would be
+insufficient to produce a pronounced taste in the soup, but sufficient
+to cause unpleasant sensations in those who partook of it.
+
+At eight bells that evening the port watch relieved the starboard. There
+was absolutely nothing for the men to do, as it was still a flat calm,
+and all the sails had been furled. Duval had taken this precaution on
+the previous day, fearing that the fever might spread still further, and
+that he would not have enough hands left to shorten sail were a strong
+breeze to spring up suddenly.
+
+Duval, however, insisted upon the watches being set and the discipline
+of the vessel being carried on as usual, more with the object of
+employing the men's time and distracting their attention from the
+horrors of the situation than for any other reason.
+
+When Baptiste came aft to relieve Duval, as officer of the watch, the
+latter said, "Do you know if Mr. Allen is in his cabin, Fortier? I wish
+to see him."
+
+"I think it would be better not to disturb him. He is quite worn out
+from want of sleep. He has sat up with poor Mourez two nights in
+succession; and now that the captain is dead, and the other two sick men
+are getting better, he is having a long sleep."
+
+"Are the other men getting better?"
+
+"So Mr. Allen thinks," replied Baptiste. "With our brave captain's death
+the fever seems to have expended itself. We have no fresh cases
+to-day."
+
+"I am not sure of that," said Duval gloomily. "I wished to see Mr. Allen
+in order to tell him that I, and no less than three of the other men,
+have been feeling very unwell for the last half-hour."
+
+The drugged soup had done its work.
+
+"Indeed!" said Baptiste. "And, now that I look at you, your cheeks are
+somewhat pale, sir. But we will not wake Mr. Allen; it is unnecessary.
+He left a bottle of medicine with me this afternoon. It is a powerful
+febrifuge, and he instructed me to give a dose to the sick men below,
+and to any others who should feel in any way indisposed. I think it
+would be a prudent course to serve some round to all hands. It can do no
+harm."
+
+Duval approving of this measure, Baptiste went into his cabin and
+brought out the bottle of opiate which Carew had given him, and served
+out a very strong dose to Duval, and to each of the four men on his
+watch. Duval then retired to his cabin, and the men lay under the awning
+forward, all to sink, under the influence of the drug, into a heavy
+slumber, from which it would not be easy to wake them; while Baptiste
+was left in charge of the deck, with the two Spaniards and the remaining
+Frenchman.
+
+"You feel all right, Léon, I hope?" said Baptiste to this man, a sturdy
+Breton, who had not been affected by the drugged soup.
+
+"Yes, thank you, sir," he replied; "there's nothing the matter with me."
+
+"Won't you take a dose of the medicine as a precaution? Prevention is
+better than cure."
+
+"Not for me the filth. Time enough for medicine when one is ill, and not
+much good it does then if we may judge from the results on this unhappy
+vessel."
+
+It was necessary for Baptiste's purpose to get this man out of the way
+before anything could be done. First he thought of asking the Spaniards
+to despatch him with their knives; but this might create a disturbance
+and awake the sleepers; so the cautious Provençal waited until a safer
+plan should suggest itself.
+
+An hour of the watch had passed, and it was now nine o'clock. The sky
+became overcast, and a drizzling rain began to fall.
+
+"We shall have wind soon," said Léon. "Would it not be well to wake Mr.
+Duval?"
+
+"Not for a few minutes," replied Baptiste. "Come, now; this damp is the
+very thing to bring on fever. We ought to take something to keep the
+enemy out. If you don't like medicine, what say you to a drop of genuine
+old cognac? I have some in my cabin."
+
+"That is more in my line," said the Breton, smacking his lips; "a fig
+for your doctor's stuff, I say."
+
+"Then follow me, but step quietly. Mr. Duval's cabin is next to mine.
+If he finds you drinking brandy aft, though it is only for medicinal
+purposes, you can guess what a row there will be."
+
+Baptiste led the way to his cabin, and produced a bottle of brandy. He
+helped the man freely, but he did not attempt to drug the drink with the
+opiate, for its taste was too unmistakable.
+
+The brandy was strong, and even the Breton's hard head soon succumbed to
+it. He began to exhibit signs of intoxication, and was chattering in a
+disconnected fashion, when Baptiste suddenly rose from his seat and
+placed his hand on the man's shoulder. "Hush!" he whispered; "hush, you
+idiot! I hear Mr. Duval moving in his cabin; your noise has roused him.
+He will catch you if you don't hold your tongue. Remain here while I get
+him out of the way, under some pretext or other. Then I will return for
+you."
+
+Baptiste darted through the cabin door, and locked it on the man within,
+who, after awaiting him for some time, helped himself to some more
+brandy, and at last fell into a drunken sleep on the bed.
+
+Baptiste then entered Carew's cabin, and found him sitting up, reading
+the French novel which Captain Mourez had lent him.
+
+"Come along, sir; the time has arrived," said the Provençal. "Bring the
+revolvers with you, and first see that they are loaded. I don't suppose
+we shall have to use them, but _Quien sabe?_ as the Spaniards say."
+
+Carew made no reply, but taking the pistols from the locker in which he
+kept them, he followed his accomplice on to the deck. As they walked
+towards the fore part of the vessel Baptiste described his preparations
+for the _coup_. "The crew are at our mercy," he said; "Duval in his
+cabin, and the four men of his watch under the awning forward, are
+sleeping the heavy sleep of opium. Léon is a prisoner in my cabin, drunk
+or nearly so, in the company of an open bottle of brandy, and you say
+that the two sick men in the forecastle are too weak to move. Now, first
+of all, we must deal with the four men under the awning, for they are
+the most dangerous."
+
+Still Carew said not a word.
+
+The two Spaniards now joined them. Baptiste looked round the horizon.
+"We shall have the wind down on us soon," he said; "we must do our work
+quickly."
+
+The rain was falling more heavily than before. The night was very dark,
+and there was not a star visible in the heavens. Though as yet there was
+not a breath of wind, the ocean, as if in anticipation of its coming,
+was heaving in a long, high swell, and the vessel rolled uneasily, her
+spars groaning dismally aloft.
+
+Baptiste took two of the revolvers from Carew's hands and handed one to
+each of the Spaniards.
+
+"Don't use them, lads, unless it is absolutely necessary; we don't want
+noise. You have your knives," he whispered.
+
+"I have brought the bits of line you asked for," said El Chico,
+producing several lengths of small-sized but very strong rope.
+
+"What do you intend to do, Baptiste?" inquired Carew, in a hoarse voice,
+speaking for the first time.
+
+"Pinion those sleepers securely with these cords, fasten a weight to
+each man's leg, and heave them overboard," replied Baptiste.
+
+"It would be easier to knife them as they lie there," muttered El Toro,
+whose bloodthirsty instinct was up.
+
+"Yes," sneered Baptiste; "you love the sight of blood, you mad bull. You
+would like to have a brutal fight now. But that plan will not suit me. I
+am a man of peace; I hate unnecessary disturbance. Now to work."
+
+Then Carew spoke firmly, once more asserting his right to command.
+"Secure those men with the cords, but do not kill them. Let them live
+till to-morrow. Then I will decide what shall be done with them."
+
+"What absurd folly is this?" hissed the Provençal savagely. "Do you wish
+to endanger all our lives? They may free themselves in the night and
+retake the ship. No, they must die."
+
+"Silence! You shall know that I am still your master. These men shall
+not die to-night," said Carew resolutely.
+
+"This is too much," cried Baptiste, with impatient fury. "I have
+arranged everything so well, and now you interfere to spoil all. Curse
+that intermittent conscience of yours. It is like a geyser spouting out
+tepid water at intervals, and always at the most inopportune moment."
+
+"I will not discuss this with you," replied Carew doggedly; "but you
+know me, you coward. If you kill one of these men without my orders,
+except in self-defence, you will have to deal with me--you understand?"
+
+The Provençal did understand. He swore some horrible oaths to himself,
+and said--
+
+"There is no time to argue now. We will humour your fancy. Come on, El
+Toro and El Chico. Let us tie those fellows up as quickly and as quietly
+as we can."
+
+The three men crept noiselessly to the awning beneath which the French
+sailors lay breathing stertorously under the stupefying influence of the
+strong narcotic.
+
+Carew, meanwhile, stood outside under the rainy sky, motionless, taking
+no part in the proceedings, and at that moment wishing that the fever
+had seized him also and that he were dead and quit of it all.
+
+Baptiste and the Spaniards stooped over the sleeping men, and with the
+skill of sailors bound their limbs in such a manner that it was
+impossible for them to stir, far less to free themselves. In so complete
+a state of coma were they that the tension of the tightly drawn cords
+did not rouse them, though they murmured in their sleep. Carew almost
+hoped that they would awake. If they defended themselves and were killed
+in the heat of a mortal struggle, it would not have seemed so horrible
+to him as this silent, passionless piece of villainy.
+
+When the men were all secured, Baptiste said, "If you will stand by here
+and guard the prisoners, captain, we will go aft and see to the others."
+
+So leaving Carew behind, Baptiste and the two Spaniards went to the
+other end of the vessel and entered the saloon. First they softly opened
+the door of Baptiste's cabin, and there they found the Breton sailor
+sleeping soundly, the half-empty brandy bottle by his side.
+
+The two Spaniards held him while Baptiste bound him firmly. It was not
+till the operation was concluded that he awoke. He opened his eyes and
+looked about him in a bewildered way for a few moments; then he tried to
+raise himself and could not; and, perceiving the cords that restrained
+him, he suddenly realised the situation, and called out at the top of
+his voice, "To the rescue! A mutiny! A mutiny!"
+
+"Quick! away! leave him!" cried Baptiste rapidly. "To Duval's cabin, and
+secure him before this fellow's row wakes him. Quick! Quick!"
+
+They ran across the saloon and burst into the mate's cabin, the two
+Spaniards leading the way; for Baptiste, like a prudent general, gave
+his orders from the rear.
+
+There was a lamp burning in the cabin. Duval, roused by the din, was
+sitting up in his bed, half awake, still confused by the heavy dose of
+opium that had been administered to him. Just as the men violently swung
+the door open, Léon again raised the shout of "A mutiny! A mutiny! Mr.
+Duval, defend yourself!"
+
+The Norman heard that terrible cry, and all his senses returned to him
+in a moment.
+
+"Grapple with him at once," cried Baptiste.
+
+The two Spaniards precipitated themselves upon him; but though not a big
+man, he was a strong and wiry one. Leaping from his bunk he thrust the
+men aside, and seizing the only weapon within his reach, an iron
+water-can, he swung it round and brought it down on Baptiste's skull.
+
+"Oh, you treacherous wretch, take that!" he cried.
+
+The Provençal's evil career would have been terminated there and then
+had it not been for El Toro, who seized Duval's arm and broke the force
+of the blow. As it was, the sharp edge of the can inflicted an ugly
+wound, and Baptiste staggered back, the blood pouring all over his face.
+
+"Kill him!" he hissed, sick and faint with pain and fear, but mad with
+rage.
+
+El Toro needed no second bidding. He thrust his long knife quickly
+between the unfortunate man's ribs. Duval uttered one groan, and fell to
+the ground dead.
+
+"That was deftly done," said the Basque, wiping the blade. "Ho! my
+little Baptiste. How dost thou feel with that cracked pate of thine?"
+
+The Provençal was sitting on a chest, his head in his hands, trembling
+with fear. "Look at my head, good El Toro, I beseech you," he cried.
+"See if it is a dangerous wound."
+
+"A mere scratch," replied the Basque, after a cursory examination. "What
+a timorous woman thou art!"
+
+His comrades washed the wound and bandaged his head; then Baptiste
+recovered his presence of mind, and gave his orders. "Put the body over
+the side at once, but first fasten a weight on to it. It must not float
+about to tell tales to some passing vessel."
+
+When this had been done, he said, "Now carry that noisy Léon out of my
+cabin. Take him forward to where the other prisoners are."
+
+The Spaniards raised the helpless Breton, who, understanding that there
+was no one to whom he could give the alarm by crying out, now resigned
+himself to his fate, and uttered not a word as they laid him by the side
+of his four comrades.
+
+"The vessel is ours!" Baptiste called out in a loud voice when he
+approached Carew. There was no further reason for the avoidance of
+noise. "I salute you, captain of _La Bonne Esperance_!"
+
+"But where is Duval?" asked Carew.
+
+"Killed, captain; but in self-defence. Look at my unfortunate head: that
+was his doing. Had it not been for our brave El Toro you would have lost
+your trusty mate."
+
+Carew looked down at the five men lying on the deck. They were all awake
+now, the pain caused by the tightness of their ligatures having at last
+dispelled the lethargy of the drug. They realised all that had happened;
+they knew that they were doomed to die at the hands of this treacherous
+band. A lantern swung from the awning-pole above them, and by its dim
+light Carew saw that their faces wore an expression of dogged
+resolution, which changed suddenly to one of loathing and contempt when
+their eyes met his. Thus they stared at him in silence. He hastily
+turned his face away.
+
+"What next, captain? It must be done sooner or later. Why not at once?"
+said Baptiste.
+
+"Take them into the forecastle for to-night. Secure the two sick men as
+well," was the reply.
+
+"Just Heaven, what a cruel thing a British conscience is!" exclaimed
+Baptiste, with a loud, scornful laugh. He was intoxicated with the
+successful issue of his scheme. "I, the man without scruples, would have
+mercifully killed these men outright. You, the man of conscience, shrink
+from doing so, but are willing to shut them up in the pestilential hole
+yonder, so that an agonising fever may kill them for you. Do you really
+flatter yourself, oh, self-deceiver, that you in this way absolve your
+soul from the guilt?"
+
+"Silence!" cried Carew angrily. The man's words had hit the mark. Some
+such vain idea had indeed crossed the warped mind. Arguments of a like
+sophistical nature were always now vaguely occurring to him, and he took
+care not to reason them out, being conscious of the fallacy of them, yet
+cherishing them. A form of moral insanity this, and not an uncommon one.
+
+El Chico, who was standing by, heard Carew's last words. "Do you want
+us to die of the fever too, captain?" he grumbled. "Who's going to stand
+sentry over the prisoners in that poisonous forecastle?"
+
+Carew saw the force of this objection.
+
+"Then put them in a row along the bulwark and lash each one to a
+ring-bolt," he said.
+
+"That is a better plan," remarked Baptiste; "we can thus keep our eyes
+on them without leaving the deck. El Chico, you keep watch for two
+hours, while the rest of us sleep. We require rest after our exciting
+day's work; and as for me, that cut over the head makes me feel rather
+queer."
+
+"See, here comes the wind," cried Carew.
+
+The clouds towards the east had opened out, revealing a patch of starry
+sky, and a light breeze had sprung up.
+
+"There won't be much of it," said Baptiste, after he had scanned the
+heavens. "Let us shake out the spanker and lie-to under that for the
+night. And to-morrow morning, captain, you must decide how you are going
+to rid us of these men. We are too few to work the vessel, and cannot be
+bothered with guarding prisoners to please you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+Her capture having been effected, the barque lay hove-to under her
+spanker for the night.
+
+The south-east wind died away about midnight, and a light south-westerly
+breeze sprang up. A strong ocean current must have been setting from the
+same direction; for, though the islet of Trinidad had been so far
+distant at sunset as to be barely visible, the sound of breakers roaring
+on a beach could be plainly distinguished towards the end of the middle
+watch.
+
+At daybreak Carew was left alone in charge of the vessel, his three men
+being asleep under the awning. He paced the deck restlessly, his heart
+aching with despairing misery.
+
+The five prisoners, who were lashed along the foot of the port bulwarks,
+as if by one consent, observed a complete silence. They were too far
+apart to hold any communication with each other, and they knew how
+useless it would be to appeal to the mercy of the villains who had
+surprised them; but they all remained awake, watching intently for what
+they felt was not at all likely to occur--an opportunity to regain
+their freedom and fight for their lives.
+
+The rain had ceased, the clouds had cleared away, and out of the calm
+night gleamed the brilliant constellations of the southern hemisphere.
+There was a transparency, a depth in the heavens, such as is not
+apparent in northern latitudes. Through the nearer archipelagos of stars
+one could perceive others farther back, and beyond these others; stars
+behind stars up inconceivable distances into the depths of space; so
+that they were so crowded together as to almost unite in forming one
+continuous sheet of silver light, save in one spot, where, amid that
+most luminous portion of the firmament known as Magellan's Cloud, there
+opened out, like to a black pit, a starless void, an infinite abyss of
+nothingness.
+
+There came a faint emerald light in the east, which quickly changed to
+the pale blue of the turquoise, and the stars faded away before the
+rapid dawn of the tropics.
+
+Then Carew saw, about ten miles off, standing out darkly between him and
+the sunrise, in sharp outline against the clear sky, the desert island
+of Trinidad.
+
+It seemed to consist of a confused mass of barren mountains, most
+fantastic in their shape, falling everywhere precipitously into the
+ocean, and terminating in huge pinnacles of rock, the loftiest of which
+were crowned with wreaths of vapour. Elsewhere there were no clouds
+visible in the heavens. As the sun rose higher, its rays illumined these
+rugged summits, and they glowed as with the dull red of molten iron; for
+this island is a burnt-out volcano, and a considerable portion of it has
+been calcined into brittle cinders of a ruddy colour.
+
+It being now broad daylight, Baptiste woke up, and coming from under the
+awning gave himself a shake by way of making his toilet, glanced down
+the row of prisoners to satisfy himself that they were still safely
+secured, and then turned his face towards the dreary coast.
+
+"Hallo!" he cried, "we have drifted a long way in the night. That is an
+ugly-looking place yonder, captain. We must not get too near those black
+rocks; so we had better wake up those sleepers, and get some canvas on
+the barque at once. I suppose the next thing to be done is to make sail
+for the nearest Brazilian port."
+
+"No, Baptiste, not yet," said Carew; "I shall come to an anchor under
+that island, and wait there for a few days."
+
+"Indeed! What for?"
+
+"I have various reasons. To begin with, look at the sky. There is every
+appearance of another long calm setting in. Remember that we have yellow
+fever on board. If we land our prisoners to-day, we shall lessen our own
+risks of catching it."
+
+Baptiste whistled softly to himself.
+
+Carew stood before him, and looking steadily into his face, said,
+"Baptiste, I have determined that no more blood shall be shed on this
+vessel. I intend to put these Frenchmen ashore; then we will sail for
+Brazil."
+
+"Captain, we do not mind humouring your whims to a certain extent, but
+we are not going to put our necks in the noose to please you."
+
+"It is quite useless for you to attempt to dissuade me from my purpose.
+I have made up my mind," said Carew doggedly.
+
+Baptiste at once abandoned his threatening tone, and spoke in a
+respectful manner. "You have been very lucky so far; but don't be rash.
+Remember that luck assists him who assists himself. Consider how
+recklessly imprudent it would be to leave these men on the island. They
+would soon signal to a passing vessel, and be taken off; and pray, what
+then would our poor heads be worth?"
+
+"Vessels constantly sight Trinidad," replied Carew, "but they never pass
+very near it. For the other side of the island is fringed with dangerous
+rocks far out to sea, as the chart will show you; and, since the
+prevailing wind hereabouts is south-east, a ship would give this side
+also a wide berth, for fear of being becalmed under the lee of the
+mountains. How could the men signal to a vessel miles out at sea?"
+
+"Necessity finds a How. What is to prevent them from lighting a large
+fire?"
+
+"We will not leave them the means of lighting a fire."
+
+"They would soon discover the means. Suppose, for instance, they picked
+up some empty bottle that had been washed on shore, they could use the
+bottom of it as a burning-glass. I have heard of such a thing being
+done."
+
+"I will not argue the question with you. Those men shall be landed on
+that island; they shall not die on board this vessel."
+
+"Even if I agreed to run so great a risk, I know that the other two
+would not. You do not want a civil war on board, do you, captain?"
+
+"I do not fear one. You cannot do without me, and you all know it. If
+you murdered me and took this vessel into port, do you imagine that the
+salvage would be handed over to you without demur, as it would be to me
+if I applied for it? Grave suspicions would be raised, and there would
+be a minute investigation. Those two idiots would contradict each other
+in their evidence. It would all end in one of you turning Queen's
+evidence and the other two being hanged. Is not that right?"
+
+"I cannot deny that there is reason in your remarks," said Baptiste
+coolly. "Now am I to understand that you wish these men to live?"
+
+"I repeat that they shall not die on board this vessel!"
+
+Baptiste's keen eyes scanned Carew's careworn face; then the Provençal
+smiled, for he fancied that he now understood the working of the
+Englishman's mind. "This clever idiot must be humoured," he said to
+himself. "This is a new 'fixed idea' of his. He shrinks from bloodshed;
+he will not sanction it. But if we take these men on shore for him,
+knock them on the head there without consulting him, and then return to
+him with some fine excuse about their having resisted us and so
+compelled us to kill them in self-defence--why, he will pretend to
+believe us; he will ask no questions, and be glad that the danger has
+been removed. I understand this strange man now."
+
+Not exactly these ideas, but others somewhat similar to them, had indeed
+crossed Carew's mind. He was quite aware that it would be the height of
+folly to leave the prisoners alive on the island, but he wished to
+postpone as long as possible the murder which he felt was inevitable,
+hoping that yellow fever or some other interposition of Providence would
+solve the difficulty for him in the meanwhile.
+
+Baptiste now roused the two Spaniards, and sail was made as quickly as
+possible, so that an anchorage might be reached before the wind dropped,
+for there were sure signs of calm in the sky.
+
+Being so few in number, they dared not put much sail on the vessel. As
+Carew was unacquainted with the management of square-rigged craft,
+Baptiste gave the orders. First the foretopmast staysail was set and the
+sheets hauled aft so as to pay off before the wind. Then the two
+Spaniards were sent aloft to loose the fore upper and lower topsails,
+while Carew and Baptiste squared the yards. After this the maintopsail
+was also set.
+
+"That will be enough canvas for her," said Baptiste. "Now, sir, if
+you'll take the wheel, we will get her all ready for coming to an
+anchor."
+
+So going forward the mate saw that an anchor was got over the bows and
+that a sufficient length of cable was ranged in front of the windlass.
+
+The vessel sailed slowly towards the island until midday, when the
+expected calm fell upon the sea. However, as the current was setting
+straight on shore, the barque drifted on till four o'clock in the
+afternoon, when she was about half a mile from the breakers, and the
+anchor was let go in twenty fathoms of water.
+
+The scene that lay before them as they approached was appalling in its
+grandeur. They could perceive no vegetation of any description on the
+lofty mountains, which rose almost perpendicularly from the sea-foam
+into a bank of dark clouds that had now gathered on the summit of the
+island. The fire-consumed crags were often of strange metallic
+colours,--red and green and coppery yellow,--which gave the scenery an
+unearthly appearance, but most of the island was of a dismal coal-black.
+
+Some of the mountains seemed to have been shaken to pieces by the fires
+and earthquakes of volcanic action; for they sloped to the sea in huge
+landslips of black stones. Gigantic basaltic columns many hundreds of
+feet in height descended into the waves along a considerable portion of
+this savage coast, a formidable wall that defied the mariner to land. In
+a few places only a narrow margin of shore divided the sea from the
+inaccessible cliffs, and this was encumbered with sharp coral and great
+boulders that had fallen from above.
+
+The barque was anchored off the entrance of a profound and most gloomy
+ravine, from which a stream of water fell as a cascade into the sea. The
+head of this ravine, high above, was lost in dense clouds. It looked
+like the road to some mysterious and unknown world.
+
+Not only were the sights of this coast such as to terrify the
+imagination, but so likewise were the sounds. Though this was the lee
+side of the island, and was protected from the high swell which, raised
+by the south-east trade wind, breaks so furiously on the back of
+Trinidad, yet the sea rolled in very heavily with a stupendous roar
+that was echoed with dismal, hollow reverberations among the rocky
+ravines. After the breaking of a higher wave than usual, great masses of
+water would be dashed up the sides of a cliff to a great height. Deep
+fiords opened out in places; but even these afforded no shelter. Within
+them the sea raged as furiously as it did outside.
+
+This remote and rarely visited island was evidently a favourite
+breeding-place for several varieties of sea-birds. Vast numbers flew
+through the rigging of the vessel, uttering savage cries. So
+unaccustomed were they to the sight of man that they showed no timidity,
+but rather indignation, at his invasion, and a disposition to drive him
+off again. Many of them wheeled round the heads of the sailors with
+angry shrieks, approaching so near that they could easily have been
+caught with the hand.
+
+"I don't at all like the look of the island of Trinidad," said Baptiste.
+"It is the most inhospitable place I have ever seen. I am not surprised
+that no one cares to live here. How large is it?"
+
+"It is about fifteen miles round," Carew replied. "The Portuguese tried
+centuries ago to establish a settlement here, but they soon abandoned
+it. It is very barren, and so dangerous a surge breaks continually round
+every part of it that it is often impossible to effect a landing for
+weeks at a time."
+
+"It seems to me that it will be impossible to land to-day," said
+Baptiste.
+
+Carew went up into the maintop with a telescope, and after having
+closely examined the features of the shore, descended on deck again. "I
+thought I was right, Baptiste. We are anchored off what the pilot-book
+calls The Cascade, and I can see the landing-place described by former
+visitors to the island."
+
+"I can see nothing but a mass of foam. I can see nothing like a
+landing-place."
+
+"It is not visible from the deck. To the left of the cascade over there
+a long black rock stretches far out to sea beyond the breakers, forming
+a sort of natural pier. That is the easiest landing-place in the whole
+island. We will lower a boat at once, and put the prisoners on shore."
+
+Baptiste again looked keenly into Carew's face as he put the question.
+"Do you wish us to release them when we have landed them, and allow them
+to run wild over those picturesque crags like a lot of goats--or what do
+you wish?"
+
+"Let them have food before you take them off; and leave them, bound as
+they are now, on the beach for this night. To-morrow I will decide what
+is to be done with them."
+
+"It is always to-morrow with you, captain; but it matters not. We are
+becalmed, and are, therefore, not wasting time by this ridiculous
+trifling. It is a pity that there are no wild beasts on these desert
+islands who would kindly eat up these men for us in the night. They are
+becoming a nuisance."
+
+The Spaniards grumbled a good deal when they heard that they were to
+take the prisoners alive on shore; but they did not dare to disobey
+Carew.
+
+The two sick men, who were now recovering from the fever, were brought
+on deck, and they, together with the other prisoners, were lowered into
+one of the boats. All were still so securely bound that they could not
+move a limb.
+
+Carew stayed on board the barque while his three men pulled off to the
+island.
+
+They reached the projecting rock, and found that its sides were
+perpendicular, so that the boat could be brought alongside. The
+prisoners were not landed without considerable difficulty, and even
+danger, for they had to be dragged quickly on shore at the moment when
+the boat rising to a wave had her gunwale on a level with the summit of
+this natural jetty, before she dropped down again into the trough
+between the seas.
+
+At last the disembarkation was safely effected, and the painter having
+been made fast to a large stone, the boat was left to tumble about
+against the rough side of the jetty, in imminent danger of staving
+herself in, while the prisoners were carried one by one up the rugged
+shore.
+
+Then they laid the helpless men down. Even the brutal Spaniards, when
+they looked around them, were impressed by the weirdness of the scene.
+Whenever the sides of the ravine or of the mountains were not too steep
+they were densely covered with trees, which had not been visible from
+the vessel's deck. Now every one of these trees was dead; there was not
+a live one among them. They were of all sizes. Some stood erect as they
+had grown, some lay prone on the rocks; but all had been dead for long
+ages. On all the skeleton branches of this forest of desolation were
+sitting large sea-birds of foul appearance, who raised discordant cries,
+as if to repel the intruders, and did not take to flight, but fought
+savagely with any of the men who came near to them. There was no live
+vegetation to be seen, with the exception of certain snake-like
+creepers, which clung to the surface of the ground, and which bore large
+seed-pods of vivid green--sinister and poisonous-looking plants, that
+seemed well suited to this forlorn region. It was a scene appalling to
+the imagination, and the whole of Trinidad is of a like gloomy
+character. The same dead trees cover it throughout. It seems probable
+that at some remote period a terrific volcanic eruption destroyed every
+living thing on the island with its showers of poisonous ash; and where
+once rose from the tropical ocean a fair land, green with pleasant
+woods, is now a hideous wreck, more sterile than the desert itself.
+
+"It might be the gate of hell," said El Toro in an awed voice, looking
+up the ravine.
+
+"Now, comrades," cried Baptiste, "there is no time to lose. I don't like
+to leave the boat long where she is. As our merciful skipper objects to
+bloodshed, we must lash our prisoners to these trees."
+
+"What are you going to do with us--kill us?" asked one of the captives
+gruffly.
+
+"No; we are going to leave you here, tied up," replied Baptiste.
+
+"What! to starve to death?"
+
+"Indeed I don't know," said Baptiste, with a shrug of his shoulders.
+"This is not my doing. Our captain is a cruel man. It seems that it
+amuses him to play with you poor fellows as a cat does with a mouse.
+This is his scheme, my children, not mine. I am merciful."
+
+The men were now secured to the dead trees, and the three villains were
+moving off to their boat when one of the Frenchmen--the only one who did
+not meet his fate with fortitude, and who showed signs of the most
+abject terror--screamed out--
+
+"Oh, Monsieur Baptiste, let me go--let me go! I will join you. I will
+not betray you. I will help you work the ship. I will be your slave if
+you spare me!"
+
+His comrades reviled him for his cowardice, but he still continued his
+piteous entreaties.
+
+Baptiste turned round and gazed with a sardonic smile into the man's
+white, fear-distorted face. He felt that this was very much the way he
+would behave himself in similar circumstances, but he did not spare his
+own faults in others; few men do.
+
+"So you would join us, would you? But how do I know if I can trust you,
+my friend? You may betray us when we get into port. Will you give me a
+proof of your fidelity?"
+
+"I will give you any proof you wish," cried the wretched man, writhing
+in his bonds, but quite unable to move.
+
+"Now, if I see you commit a far greater crime than any that I and my
+crew have committed, I shall know that you dare not tell tales. If I
+release you and give you a knife, will you kill all your comrades for
+me?"
+
+The man burst into hysterical tears. "Yes!" he shrieked--"yes! Anything
+for my life."
+
+Baptiste laughed contemptuously.
+
+"Miserable man! Your answer is sufficient for me. We do not want such
+cowardly traitors among our crew. You shall stay here and die by the
+side of your braver comrades."
+
+Baptiste and the two Spaniards then hurried off to the boat, for the sun
+was just setting. They pulled off to the barque, and the mate reported
+to the captain what he had done.
+
+About an hour after their return--the night having settled down upon
+the ocean--Carew was sitting by himself on the quarter-deck. The hollow
+roar of the waves upon the beach sounded louder than in the daytime, and
+the vessel rolled in the swell caused by the recoil of the distant
+rollers.
+
+All manner of strange and frightful noises came from the direction of
+the mysterious island. It seemed to Carew that he heard groans and wails
+echoing among the ravines, but he put this down to his imagination--to
+the now greatly unstrung condition of his nerves.
+
+Suddenly he started to his feet, his heart beating violently. What was
+that he heard? Surely that last dreadful cry did not exist only in his
+fancy.
+
+"Baptiste, come here!" he called out.
+
+The mate sauntered up.
+
+"Listen!" whispered Carew; "do you hear nothing?"
+
+"Nothing but the noise of the breakers."
+
+Once more arose that awful cry. It was as a shriek of unutterable
+despair and agony; faint, but easily to be distinguished when the lull
+came between one roller and another.
+
+"What is it?"
+
+Baptiste himself turned white at the sound. "I know not; it makes one's
+blood run cold. See, they too have heard it."
+
+The Spaniards came up.
+
+"Oh, sir!" cried El Toro, his voice indistinct with terror, "let us make
+sail at once and leave behind us this horrible place. Hark! that cry
+again! It is as the shrieks of the doomed in hell. That island is the
+abode of evil spirits who are mocking us."
+
+"We cannot set sail in a flat calm. We must wait," said Carew, in a low
+voice.
+
+They stood on the deck and listened in silence. For half an hour or more
+those appalling cries continued; then they died away, and nothing was
+heard but the roaring of the ocean upon an iron-bound coast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+On the following day the fiery sun again blazed down upon the guilty
+ship out of a cloudless and windless sky. It seemed probable that one of
+those oppressive calms that are so frequent on this portion of the ocean
+would detain the barque for some days longer at her present anchorage.
+
+In the early morning, when the west side of the island was still plunged
+in shade, Carew approached the mate, who was enjoying his matutinal cup
+of coffee and cigarette on the quarter-deck.
+
+"Baptiste," he said, "I want a boat lowered; I am going on shore."
+
+"Good, sir. How many of us do you wish to accompany you?"
+
+"Thank you; I want none of you. Put the yacht's dinghy over the side.
+She is the handiest boat on board; and I will pull off by myself."
+
+"That will not be safe," objected Baptiste; "there is no place to beach
+a boat yonder, and she would smash up if you left her banging about
+alongside that rocky landing-place; we nearly lost the cutter in that
+way last night. If you desire to take a solitary promenade on that
+cheerful island, I will pull you off there myself in the dinghy, leave
+you, and return for you at any hour you mention."
+
+Carew assented to this proposal, and prepared himself for the journey by
+placing his sheath-knife and loaded revolver in his belt. Baptiste
+watched him curiously, and wondered whether this eccentric Englishman
+had at last summoned up resolution, and was about to despatch the
+prisoners outright, as being a more merciful proceeding than allowing
+them to starve to death. Baptiste ventured no remark on the subject, for
+he observed that his captain was in a taciturn and absent-minded mood;
+and there was a peculiar, far-off look in his eyes that the Frenchman
+could not understand, not knowing that Carew had been dosing himself for
+the last few days with laudanum from his medicine chest, in the vain
+hope that the drug might numb the tortures of his conscience.
+
+The dinghy was got overboard, and while Carew sat in the sternsheets,
+Baptiste took the oars and pulled leisurely across the smooth ocean
+swell.
+
+While they were yet half-way to the shore, the boat shot suddenly out of
+the fervent sunshine into the cool dark shadow cast by the lofty
+mountains.
+
+Baptiste, feeling the rapid change, rested on his oars, and looked
+round towards the pile of barren hills. "Ugh, what a horrid place!" he
+cried. "I have a sensation as if I were passing into the mouth of a
+tomb. I should not like to explore that island alone."
+
+"Pull away!" said Carew impatiently. "Are you superstitious, like those
+two Spanish brutes?"
+
+"Superstition is not one of my failings, captain," replied the
+Provençal, as he rowed on again; "but those dreadful cries we heard last
+night seem to be still ringing in my ears. I wonder what they could have
+been?"
+
+"When you have put me on shore," said Carew, paying no heed to
+Baptiste's words, "you can go back to the barque. I shall probably
+remain on the island three or four hours. Then I will return to the
+landing-place, and stand on the end of it till you come off for me. So
+see that someone looks out for me with a telescope occasionally."
+
+"We won't keep you waiting, for I know that you will soon have had
+enough of Trinidad. But perhaps monsieur has a scientific mind, and
+desires to study the botany, zoology, geology, and so forth, of the
+island?"
+
+Carew made no reply to this. They came alongside the promontory of black
+coral, and found that the sea was not rolling in so heavily as on the
+previous day. The Englishman landed without any difficulty.
+
+"Good-bye, sir," Baptiste called out. "You will find the prisoners
+behind the first big boulder up the ravine." Then he pulled lazily back
+to the vessel.
+
+Carew was now alone on the desert island with his captives. He looked to
+his knife and pistol to see that they were ready to his hand, and
+proceeded to clamber cautiously along the narrow, slippery ledge.
+
+At the farther end he found a loathsome monster standing in his way,
+seemingly quite indifferent to his approach; for it did not budge, but
+remained quite still, its ungainly form spread across the causeway, so
+that he had to step over it to pass by. Carew had never before seen one
+of the species; but he recognised this as a tropical land-crab--one of a
+hideous race of crustacea that swarm on this island, sharing the
+possession of Trinidad with the sea-birds and the snakes. In his present
+nervous state, Carew was startled by the sight of this repulsive-looking
+creature. It must have extended two feet across from claw to claw. Its
+colour was a bright saffron, and its grotesque features, which were
+turned towards the man, seemed to be fixed in a cynical grin. Its
+cruel-looking yellow pincers, hard as steel, could have bitten through
+an inch board, and between them was clutched--Carew sickened when he
+saw it--a fragment of the flesh of some animal.
+
+Reaching the rugged shore, he found it covered with these land-crabs.
+They crawled over the rocks and the dead trees, and the air was full of
+a multitudinous crackling noise, produced by the small particles of
+stone dislodged by their motion--a sound as of a distant bonfire, or as
+of an army of locusts settling on a field of maize.
+
+On the evening before, when the men had landed, they had seen none of
+these creatures; now there were thousands of them on the mountain-side.
+But it is well known that land-crabs at certain periods of the year
+migrate in immense hosts from one district to another.
+
+Even on the previous afternoon, when the coast was illumined by the full
+glory of the setting sun, Baptiste and the two Spaniards had been
+impressed by the desolate aspect before them. But now that a dark shadow
+was thrown over the chaotic masses of volcanic rock, the scenery was
+inexpressibly dreary and forbidding. Had there been no signs of life on
+the land, it would have appeared less terrible than with that ghastly
+vegetation of dead trees and snake-like creepers, and the teeming
+generation of silent crabs and foul sea-birds perpetually raising their
+hoarse cries.
+
+Carew looked round with the sense of vague terror that is experienced in
+a nightmare. He felt all the influence of this stern nature so hostile
+to the life of man. It seemed to him that at any moment some fearful
+cataclysm of the earth, or some unexampled calamity of any sort, might
+occur. It would not have appeared strange to him to behold a
+fire-breathing dragon or gigantic snake--such as are supposed to live in
+fable only--issue from that gloomy ravine. Nothing could have appeared
+too strange to happen on this mysterious shore.
+
+The prisoners could not be seen from the landing-place, as the clump of
+trees to which they had been lashed was some little way up the ravine,
+and a huge boulder of black rock stood in front of it. Carew heard no
+sound of voices as he approached. He considered it very unlikely that
+the men had succeeded in freeing themselves from their bonds; but,
+prepared for any emergency, he held his revolver in his hand and walked
+round the corner of the rock.
+
+He looked towards the clump of dead brown trees.
+
+His hand relaxed its grasp, and the revolver fell with a ringing sound
+on the rocks. He was struck motionless with a great horror. He stood
+fascinated, staring before him with wide-open eyes, unwincing. He would
+have given worlds to have closed his lids and shut out what he saw, but
+he could not. It was as if some irresistible power was holding him
+there, compelling him to look until every horrible detail of the scene
+should be burnt into his brain for ever.
+
+It was only for a few seconds, and then the spell was broken. He covered
+his face with his hands and staggered back. Then turning from the sight,
+he rushed away, not caring whither, sobbing such sobs as the lost souls
+in hell may sob in their despair--a dreadful sobbing, that told of a
+hopeless agony too intense to be endured for long by weak human flesh.
+Suddenly he stopped short, looked wildly round him, raised his hands
+towards the skies, and, uttering shrill shriek upon shriek, threw
+himself on the ground. He rolled down the steep incline for some way,
+cutting his hands and face with the sharp rocks, and when at last a
+projecting stone prevented his farther descent, he lay foaming at the
+mouth and writhing convulsively in an epileptic fit.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The tragic spectacle the man had suddenly come upon might indeed well
+have made him, the guilty cause of it, go mad with horror. The fearful
+cries that had been heard from the vessel were now explained. The
+voracious land-crabs had done his work. He had gazed upon his victims,
+and he felt that his limbs were paralysed; but his brain was intensely,
+unnaturally active. It seemed to him that a voice had said, "Look, and
+grasp all that there is to see, and remember, before the relief of
+madness is allowed to thee. Thou hast murdered sleep, and shalt never
+know peace again. For ever, in the worlds to come, the picture of this
+that thou hast done shall be branded on thy soul!"
+
+And he had been forced to look; not a detail of the horror was spared
+him. The surroundings of the scene, the weird black rocks, the gaunt
+dead trees, everything about the accursed spot entered into his brain.
+He even noticed with what callous indifference Nature seemed to
+contemplate the hideous evidences of the crime. Quite heedless, the huge
+crabs dragged their clumsy bodies slowly over the stones. The sea-birds
+fought noisily with each other for morsels of fish among the skeleton
+branches of the trees, careless of those ghastly relics of poor humanity
+beneath them. He felt how fitting a scene for such a tragedy was this
+doleful corner of the earth, this island that a malevolent fiend might
+have created, where Nature had no beauty, no love, no pity, and where,
+like some foul witch, she could only conceive forms of life cruel and
+repulsive, and become a mother of monsters.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The sun was low in the heaven, and Carew woke out of a profound slumber,
+weak, parched with thirst, his mind dazed. He raised himself on his
+elbow, and, looking round him, he found that he was lying on a beach of
+beautiful golden sand that fringed an extensive bay. From the sands
+there sloped up to a great height domes of loose stones of red volcanic
+formation, of all shapes and sizes, the débris of shattered mountains,
+and from the summits of these slopes there rose what the earthquakes had
+still left of the solid hills--dark red pinnacles: some squared like
+gigantic towers, others pointed like pyramids. The bay was enclosed by
+two huge buttresses of rock that stretched as rugged promontories far
+out into the ocean. There was no vegetation, not even a blade of grass,
+visible anywhere on this savage coast. Looking seawards he saw that a
+vast number of black rocks, among which raged a furious surf, bordered
+the shore. Beyond these were the outer reefs on which the sea broke
+heavily. And still farther out, on the horizon, rose three rocky islands
+of considerable size, glowing red as the sun's rays fell full upon them.
+
+Carew could not imagine where he was and how he had reached this place.
+He tried to think. By degrees he called to mind the dreadful sight he
+had seen in the ravine; but he could remember nothing that had occurred
+since then. As the sun was to the back of the hills, he fancied that it
+was still early in the forenoon, and that he had wandered a short
+distance only from South West Bay; though the presence of the distant
+islands and the different character of the coast perplexed him.
+
+But he could think of nothing at that moment except the satisfaction of
+the fearful thirst that was tormenting him.
+
+He rose to his feet, eager to reach the cascade as soon as possible. He
+felt that he should die if he could not procure water soon.
+
+But in which direction had he to go--to the left or to the right? He
+could not tell.
+
+Then he saw his footprints on the soft sand, showing the way that he had
+come. He had but to follow them.
+
+Dizzy and faint, and often stumbling, he wearily retraced his steps. The
+footprints led him along the shore to that extremity of the bay which
+would have been on the left hand of one looking seaward. Reaching the
+promontory of rock he clambered to the summit of it; and then, to his
+dismay, he looked down upon another extensive bay, at the farther end of
+which was a mountain of square shape falling perpendicularly into the
+surf, and preventing all further progress in that direction. An ocean
+current must be perpetually setting into this bay, for he perceived that
+the shore was strewn with a prodigious quantity of wreckage. The spars
+and barrels were heaped up together in places. There were vessels lying
+crushed among the sharp rocks; others were sunk in the sand, their
+skeleton ribs alone showing; there were vessels of all sizes, and some
+of very antique construction--relics of disaster that had been
+collecting gradually on this desert coast unvisited by man through all
+the ages since European keels first clove the southern seas: a
+melancholy record of much suffering and the loss of many gallant men.
+
+Then Carew began to suspect the truth, and a great dread fell on him.
+Lying down he placed a small stone on the edge of a shadow cast by a
+pointed rock, and watched it with a breathless suspense.
+
+Yes, it was as he had feared. _The shadow was slowly lengthening!_ He
+laid his face on the ground and wept hysterically in his despair.
+
+The shadow was lengthening, therefore the sun was setting. It was
+setting inland over the mountains, and thus the sea was to the east of
+him. So--unconsciously, by what road he knew not--he must have traversed
+the whole island, and he was now on the coast the most remote from South
+West Bay. The cascade, the water he was dying for, was miles away,
+beyond those great hills. He could never reach it in his present state.
+
+He was on the weather side of Trinidad.
+
+Those heavy breakers on the reefs were caused by the high swell of the
+south-east trades, and there on the horizon were the three islands of
+Martin Vas, twenty-five miles away.
+
+So he despaired and lay down on the rocks, and longed for the release of
+death. Then he became delirious, and fancied that he was in Fleet
+Street again, and was going into a tavern with some comrades to drink a
+glass of wine. But once more the agony of thirst woke him to a
+consciousness of his position. He staggered to his feet, and ran on
+blindly a few yards; then he stumbled, and fell to his knees.
+
+Ah! what was that gleaming so temptingly before him?--an illusion only
+to mock him into madness with its lying promise. He stretched his hand
+to it--touched it. He plunged his face into it.
+
+It was water--fresh water; a small pool left in a hollow of a rock by
+the last rains. It was nauseous to the taste, and heated by the tropical
+sun; but it was water, and infinitely more precious to him at that
+moment than all the gold quartz in his vessel's hold. He drank fiercely
+and long, before his craving was assuaged; then his senses returned to
+him, and, though still very weak, he felt capable of making an effort to
+save his life.
+
+He descended the farther side of the buttress of rock that divides the
+two bays, and again followed his footprints, which led him across the
+wreck-strewn sands to the entrance of a ravine that clove the mountains,
+and seemed to afford the only practicable pass across them.
+
+He looked upwards, and wondered how he could have possibly found his way
+with safety down that perilous place; for he supposed that he must have
+been in a trance-like condition when he made that journey, of which he
+was now so entirely oblivious.
+
+With great pain and labour he accomplished the difficult ascent. This
+ravine had the same character as most of those in Trinidad. The bottom
+of it was encumbered with masses of fallen rock, among which stood the
+mysterious dead trees. Here the foul sea-birds were very numerous. The
+air stank with the fish on which they fed; and as it was now the
+breeding season, the mothers were very fierce, and attacked Carew with
+their wings and beaks as he advanced, so that he had to arm himself with
+a piece of wood, and fight his way through them.
+
+After much weary climbing, often in places where a false step would have
+meant death, he reached an elevated plateau covered with tree-ferns--the
+only vegetation on the island which was fair to the eye.
+
+Crossing this plateau, he found himself on the summit of a precipitous
+cliff, and he looked down upon the ocean into which the sun was just
+setting. At his feet, far below, the barque lay at anchor.
+
+Proceeding along the edge of the precipice, he came to the head of a
+ravine, which he knew must be the one from which the cascade falls into
+the sea. After clambering down a little way, he reached the source of
+the stream. The cool clear water rushed out with a pleasant sound from
+a hole in the rocks. Here he lay down and drank greedily, for his throat
+was again parched with fever.
+
+Feeling too exhausted to make any further exertion, and knowing that the
+darkness would soon render it impossible to continue the descent down
+those perilous slopes, he determined to pass the night where he was.
+
+Lying on a narrow ledge of rock he fell into a profound sleep.
+
+After a while he dreamt a frightful dream. He thought that his victims
+had come to life again, and, having surprised him in his sleep, were
+holding him by his arms with a grip of iron, and were about to put him
+to the torture.
+
+He awoke with a start, and for a moment fancied that he saw their
+skeleton forms leaning over him in the starlight.
+
+But was it all a dream? What was that sensation of pain in his right
+arm, as if a vice were tightening upon it?
+
+He sprang to his feet, and with his arm dragged up a heavy weight that
+was clinging to it.
+
+Shuddering with horror, he shook it violently from him, and a large
+land-crab fell with a crash on the stones.
+
+The wretched man looked round, and could distinguish in the dim light
+that the rocks were covered with the brutes. They had come out of their
+holes at sunset, and were about to devour him alive.
+
+He seized a large stone, and hurled it at one of them. It broke through
+the creature's armour and killed it. But the others paid no heed to the
+death of their fellow, and crawled on with a deliberate slowness. He
+pulled a branch off one of the dead trees, and with this he was able to
+thrust them away as they approached. He was obliged to keep watch and
+defend himself thus through all that long night. Once or twice he
+dropped off asleep in sheer exhaustion, only to be awakened again a
+moment afterwards by the closing of sharp pincers on some portion of his
+body. It was a night the realities of which equalled in horror the worst
+illusions of a nightmare. Several times he thought of throwing himself
+off the cliffs and putting an end to his misery, but still he clung to
+life, and fought for it, as men who value it the least always will when
+in the presence of a merely physical danger.
+
+At daybreak Carew, his eyes bloodshot, his limbs shaking, having the
+appearance of one who is recovering from an attack of delirium tremens,
+descended the ravine as hastily as his weak condition permitted. He
+turned his head aside as he passed the fatal clump of trees. He reached
+the landing-place, and there found Baptiste and El Chico awaiting him
+with the cutter.
+
+Carew stepped into the boat without saying a word.
+
+Baptiste glanced at the haggard face of the captain, but made no remark
+on his altered appearance. He merely said, "We were anxious about you,
+so have been off here since daybreak waiting for you."
+
+Carew looked inquiringly into the mate's face, but did not dare to utter
+the question that was on his lips.
+
+Baptiste understood. "Yes, I have seen it," he said, in a low voice.
+Even that callous villain had been awed by the sight at the foot of the
+ravine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+For two more days the barque lay becalmed off the desert island, but not
+one of the crew ventured on land again. The two Spaniards shrunk with a
+superstitious terror from further contact with that accursed shore--that
+_costa maldita_, as they invariably spoke of it.
+
+Carew's experiences on Trinidad produced an ineffaceable impression on
+his mind. His melancholy deepened into a dull despair. He passed most of
+the day alone in his cabin, avoiding as much as possible even the sight
+of his companions. By means of ever-increasing doses of laudanum, the
+miserable man stupefied his brain into a lethargic condition, which was,
+however, frequently broken by frightful dreams when he was asleep, and
+by nervous seizures of acute and causeless terrors when he was awake.
+
+Baptiste, observing these symptoms, began to fear for Carew's reason,
+and tried in various ways to rouse him, but in vain.
+
+At last one morning a fresh south-east wind sprang up. Carew did not
+even seem to notice the change, and he gave no orders to get under way.
+So Baptiste approached him--
+
+"The sooner we have the anchor up and are off the better, captain."
+
+Carew assented in an apathetic way, and assisted the men in weighing the
+anchor and setting the sails; but he worked with a sullen silence,
+making no suggestions, leaving everything to Baptiste.
+
+After paying the vessel off before the wind with the foretopmast
+staysail, they set the fore and main topsails, an amount of canvas which
+the prudent mate considered sufficient for a barque so undermanned.
+
+As soon as the last yard had been squared, and there was no more for him
+to do, Carew again went into his cabin.
+
+A few minutes later Baptiste followed him there.
+
+"Sorry to disturb you, captain," he said, seeing the expression of
+annoyance on Carew's face, and also noticing the bottle of laudanum
+standing on the table; "but now we are off, running merrily before the
+wind, away from that accursed island. If you please, what is our
+course--where are we bound for--and have you thought of a plausible
+explanation of how we picked up this derelict? Rouse yourself, sir.
+Think, act, and be a man again."
+
+Carew had drunk a quantity of laudanum that morning, and he replied in
+a dreamy voice, as if he had lost all interest in life, and was heedless
+of the future--
+
+"Do what you like. I leave it all to you. I am unable to think."
+
+"Sir, this is cowardly of you!" cried Baptiste vehemently. "Everything
+has gone so well with us thus far, and now you lose heart when an
+immense fortune is almost in our hands. Remember what we have done for
+you, and do not risk all our lives by neglecting your duties to us."
+
+"What do I care for your lives?" replied Carew with a bitter laugh, that
+had an insane ring in it. "What is it to me where we go, even if it be
+to the bottom? Leave me."
+
+"Good-bye, sir; I will take charge of the vessel until you come to your
+senses." As he spoke, Baptiste contrived to slip the bottle of laudanum
+into his pocket unperceived by Carew.
+
+The mate went on deck and threw the bottle into the sea. "That coward
+will go mad if he drugs himself much longer," he said to himself. "When
+he got on shore he would ruin us all in some silly fit of garrulous
+remorse. He would disburden his conscience and hang us in his present
+temper. He shall have no more laudanum. I must look after him and cure
+him before we get into port. If I cannot do so, well, then, he must die.
+A pity that; for he is useful, almost necessary, to us."
+
+Baptiste consulted the chart, and determined to run for the port of
+Bahia, which is about seven hundred miles to the north-west of Trinidad.
+Having quickly formed his plans, he carried them out with considerable
+cleverness.
+
+He collected a quantity of combustible matter, and proceeded to set fire
+to some of the storerooms and other portions of the vessel in such a way
+that he could always keep the fires under control and extinguish them at
+will. It was a hazardous undertaking, but he omitted no precaution; and
+after the vessel had been three days at sea, and was still three hundred
+miles from Bahia, the effect he desired was satisfactorily produced. She
+appeared to have been ablaze almost from end to end, and so there was
+manifest a sufficient reason for the desertion of the crew at sea.
+
+The last spark having been extinguished, Baptiste hove the vessel to
+while he completed his preparations. He lowered two of the boats into
+the sea and sank them.
+
+"And now," he asked himself, "what things are the crew likely to have
+taken with them in the boats? For we must preserve the verisimilitude.
+Our story must be above suspicion; every circumstance must corroborate
+it."
+
+So he threw overboard a chronometer, a valuable sextant, a compass, and
+other articles which a captain deserting his ship would most certainly
+have carried away. The Spaniards ridiculed this excess of caution.
+"Thoughtless children!" Baptiste explained; "it is most probable that
+there are people on shore who know exactly how many chronometers,
+compasses, and so on, were on board this vessel. These things will be
+counted up, and if none are missing, the minds of men will be puzzled at
+the strange conduct of the captain. Now I do not want to puzzle people;
+very much otherwise, my imprudent children. For the same reason I am now
+going to burn the ship's papers. No captain ever leaves those behind him
+on a derelict."
+
+Carew had watched these preparations listlessly, assisting when asked to
+do so, but still suggesting nothing. He never alluded to the loss of his
+bottle of laudanum, and very probably he knew that Baptiste had taken it
+away.
+
+Early on the sixth day of the voyage the Brazilian coast was sighted,
+and the mate recognised the palm-clad hills that border the entrance to
+the Reconcava of Bahia--a beautiful inland sea, as extensive as that of
+Rio de Janeiro.
+
+And now Baptiste, feeling how great a risk would be incurred by entering
+the port while the captain was in his present demented condition, dared
+not sail into the bay; and, after a consultation with the men, braced up
+the yards, and steered the vessel along the coast to the northward, with
+the intention of making Pernambuco, which is nearly five hundred miles
+distant from Bahia. By this a delay of about three days would be gained;
+and should Carew not recover his senses in that time, he must be put out
+of the way. There was no help for it.
+
+But Baptiste and the two Spaniards knew well that if they went into port
+without the owner of the yacht, their tale would be received with
+suspicion. It would be necessary to account for his absence. Their own
+histories would be closely inquired into; the well-elaborated scheme
+might end in failure after all. The gloom of the captain seemed to
+communicate itself to the crew. The usual cheeriness of sailors was
+altogether absent during the voyage. A vague foreboding of calamity
+oppressed the men; and on board that guilty ship all went about their
+work with dismal faces, never smiling, sullen and silent, suspicious of
+each other.
+
+On the second day, the vessel was slowly sailing up the coast near
+Alagoas Bay. Baptiste was sitting on deck, rolling up and smoking his
+innumerable cigarettes as he contemplated the beautiful panorama that
+opened out before him--a land of forest-clad mountains and fertile
+valleys, down which broad rivers poured into the sea, while among the
+cocoa-nut groves upon the sandy beaches were the numerous bamboo
+villages of the negro fishermen. But Baptiste, though gazing at it, was
+in no mood to admire beautiful scenery; he was looking forward with
+alarm to the perils before him.
+
+At last, after pondering over it for some while, he determined on a
+course of action. It was a desperate thing to do, but it would bring
+matters to a crisis at once.
+
+He threw away his cigarette, loaded his revolver and placed it in his
+breast, and then, with face pale with fear but determined in expression,
+he entered Carew's cabin.
+
+The Englishman was reading a book, or pretending to do so. Baptiste took
+a seat in front of him, and commenced abruptly--
+
+"Do you wish to live, sir?"
+
+Carew looked up. "Why do you ask? If I wished to die, I could take away
+my life at any moment."
+
+"You will probably be saved that trouble. I will be perfectly frank with
+you, because I understand you. You see that we are afraid of going into
+port in your company. We think you are losing your senses, and we cannot
+allow a madman to rave our secrets in Pernambuco. We wish you to live,
+because you might be very useful to us. But if, before we are in sight
+of port, you don't satisfy us that you are sane, by ridding yourself of
+your melancholia and taking an interest in this business, we shall be
+under the painful necessity of despatching you for our own protection.
+We will have to kill you, not in any ill-feeling, I assure you, but
+with real regret."
+
+Baptiste had rightly imagined that this cool and almost ludicrously
+matter-of-fact way of broaching the subject was the best in the
+circumstances.
+
+Carew first appeared to be lost in astonishment; then he smiled sadly,
+and said, "You are a strange man. You come here to tell me that I am
+mad, and that I must become sane in two days or die--is that it?"
+
+"I don't think that you are exactly mad, but"--
+
+"I know what you mean," interrupted Carew, "and you are right. I have
+been ill for several days; but I am not mad, as you will soon discover.
+I will allow that I might soon have become so had you not stolen my
+laudanum."
+
+From that moment Carew changed his mode of life, and became much as he
+had been before his visit to the desert island. Though melancholy in his
+manner and miserable in his mind, he shook off his lethargy, bestirred
+himself, took an interest once more in the working of the ship, and
+exhibited all his old ingenuity in improving upon Baptiste's
+preparations for deceiving the authorities as to the fate of the barque.
+
+"Talented and unfathomable being," exclaimed the Frenchman admiringly,
+"what could we do without you?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The voyage was over, and the _La Bonne Esperance_ was lying under the
+Recife, that marvellous natural breakwater built by myriads of
+diminutive coral insects, which, running in a parallel line to the
+shore, forms the harbour of Pernambuco. In front of her stretched the
+long and crowded quay, with its pleasant boulevard and lofty white
+houses.
+
+The barque had been an object of great interest to the people of
+Pernambuco ever since the tug had towed her in from outside. The
+romantic story of the little English yacht that had foundered at sea,
+and of her shipwrecked crew, who had been so fortunate as to come across
+such a valuable prize, was on everybody's lips. The English residents
+had been profuse in their offers of hospitality to Carew, but under the
+pretext of ill-health he refused all these; and as soon as he had handed
+over the barque to the proper authorities he hired a room in a French
+hotel on the quay, and lived there as quietly as possible with Baptiste,
+while the Spaniards were lodged in a neighbouring tavern.
+
+The torments of his accusing conscience having now subsided, life once
+more appeared of value to this mutable-minded man, and his anxiety and
+dread of discovery returned. It caused him great uneasiness to learn how
+long a time must elapse before the settlement of the salvage would be
+completed. He found that he might have to wait many months in
+Pernambuco before receiving his share of the vessel's value.
+
+The barque had been in the Recife for about three weeks when one morning
+a coasting steamer from Rio entered the harbour. Among her passengers
+was an Englishman. When he stepped on shore he disregarded the
+importunate crowd of hotel touts, and handing his portmanteau to a black
+porter, said merely, "English Consulate!" The negro understood, and led
+the way.
+
+The Englishman found the consul in his office, asked if he could speak
+to him alone on urgent business, and was shown into a private room.
+
+He placed a letter in the consul's hands. "This," he said, "is from the
+British Consul at Rio. It will serve to introduce me."
+
+It was a somewhat lengthy letter, and as he read it an expression of
+extreme surprise came to the consul's face. "This is a most
+extraordinary story!" he exclaimed. "Tell me what more you know of this
+man."
+
+The interview was a long one. At its termination the consul said:--"Of
+course I can do nothing until an extradition warrant arrives from
+England. In the meanwhile, we must not rouse his suspicions. Let him
+still consider himself safe. He applied to me for an advance of money
+yesterday; I will let him have it if he does not ask for too much. But
+he must not see you. I recommend you to go to Caxanga--a pretty
+watering-place about half an hour from here by train. I will give you
+the name of a good hotel there. Do not come into town unless I send for
+you. Keep out of his way. I should like you to be here to-morrow morning
+at ten; for, shortly after that hour, his crew are going to make some
+depositions. I will conceal you in the next room in such a way that you
+can see them; for it will be well for you to know these men by sight. Of
+course you will pass under an assumed name while you are here."
+
+"I will call myself John Rudge," said the stranger.
+
+In spite of these precautions, the ever-watchful Baptiste soon came to
+suspect that there was mischief brewing. One day that he accompanied
+Carew to the Consulate he at once observed that the consul's manner had
+undergone a change. There was a reserve and a lack of his usual
+heartiness in his greeting of Carew. It was but a slight and involuntary
+change, and it escaped Carew's notice.
+
+A few days after this, Baptiste was sent to the Consulate with a letter.
+As he came to the door John Rudge was going out. The stranger seemed
+startled at finding himself thus suddenly face to face with the
+Frenchman, and walked hastily away.
+
+"A trifling circumstance," said Baptiste to himself; "but the lightest
+trifles show best the direction of the wind. Why did that man start at
+seeing me? Who is he?"
+
+A week passed, and Baptiste saw no more of the stranger; but at last he
+came full upon him in front of the post-office. Again Rudge seemed as if
+he wished to avoid being seen by the Frenchman, and turned his head
+aside as he passed.
+
+But Baptiste was quick in resource. "Stay a moment, if you please, sir,"
+he called out in French; "I wish to speak to you."
+
+The Englishman stood still.
+
+"Pardon me for detaining you," continued Baptiste, "but you understand
+French?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"Ah, sir, what chance! I know not a word of this horrid Portuguese
+tongue, and I wish to inquire at the post-office if there is a letter
+for me. Would you oblige me by interpreting for me?"
+
+"I don't know Portuguese myself; but the clerk in the post-office
+understands French."
+
+"Thank you, sir. I am a stranger here, you see. I am one of the crew of
+_La Bonne Esperance_, the derelict. No doubt you have heard our story?"
+
+"Oh yes, I know all about it. You were very fortunate. But excuse me,
+my friend; I am in great haste," and he hurried off.
+
+Baptiste returned to the hotel and found Carew. "Captain," he asked,
+"have you committed some peccadillo in England on account of which they
+are likely to be hunting after you here?"
+
+"It is almost impossible that any enemies I may have can have traced me
+here."
+
+"All dead, I suppose," remarked Baptiste coolly. Then he proceeded to
+explain the reasons that had prompted his questions.
+
+"You are full of foolish fears, Baptiste. I see nothing in all this."
+
+"Ah, sir, I have lived for so many years in the midst of alarms that I
+perceive the first indications of danger. When I told this Englishman
+that I was one of your crew, he exhibited no interest. He did not
+question me about our adventures, and make much of me, and take me into
+a café to give me drinks, as all the other Englishmen in Pernambuco do
+when they meet one of us heroes of the hour."
+
+"I do not see anything very alarming in his neglect to make a fuss over
+you."
+
+"I do, because I understand human nature. I see dangers ahead, and I
+intend to secure my retreat in case of disaster. I shall arrange how to
+slip away if necessary. I advise you to do the same, captain."
+
+"I have done so, Baptiste."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+Carew had been nearly six weeks in Pernambuco, when a British mail
+steamer happened to land an English passenger, who at once called on the
+consul, and introduced himself to that functionary as Mr. Norton. He had
+that to say which considerably astonished the consul, and the result was
+that on the following morning a letter was brought to Carew as he was
+sitting down to his breakfast at the hotel with Baptiste. It was from
+the consul's clerk, and ran thus:--"_Sir, will you kindly call here
+to-day? Your business is practically settled._"
+
+"Practically settled?" repeated Baptiste, when he heard the contents.
+"Those words have an unpleasant ring somehow. I know not why, but I
+cannot help fearing that something is wrong."
+
+"I too have my presentiments," said Carew, "but I am prepared."
+
+At the appointed hour Carew called at the Consulate. He found the consul
+and Lloyd's agent awaiting him in a room adjoining the principal office.
+
+There was a constraint in their manner, which he, watchful for the
+slightest suspicious indication, detected at once. They were as men who
+anticipated some momentous event, but who endeavoured to conceal their
+anxiety.
+
+The consul produced a document, and laid it on the desk. "Read this
+over, please, Mr. Allen, and see that it is correct."
+
+Carew glanced down it quickly with an eye trained to legal forms. "It is
+perfectly correct," he said.
+
+"I have a gentleman in the next room who will witness your signature to
+this statement," proceeded the consul. He opened the door, and Mr.
+Norton entered the room.
+
+The consciousness of impending peril came over Carew's guilty soul, but
+he seized the pen, and in a firm hand wrote the signature, "Arthur
+Allen, Barrister-at-law."
+
+Mr. Norton now approached the table. He took up the pen as if to sign
+his name, glanced at the document, and then, raising his head, looked
+Carew full in the face. "I cannot witness this signature," he said. "It
+is a forgery!"
+
+There was a complete silence for a few moments; then Carew, whose face
+was pale, but who betrayed no other signs of emotion, said quietly,
+"Explain your strange words, sir."
+
+"It is no good; the game is up, Mr. Carew," replied Norton. "I have a
+warrant for your arrest, and the police are at the door."
+
+"A trap has been laid for me, I see," said Carew, as quietly as before.
+"This is one of the absurd mistakes you detectives so often make; but I
+will soon clear it up. Of what am I accused?" Carew was astonished at
+his own courage in the presence of this extreme disaster, or rather--for
+it can scarcely be called courage--at his indifference to his fate. He
+felt as if he were the spectator of a tragedy which was being played by
+other men, and in which he was not himself an actor--a common state of
+mind with men in utmost peril.
+
+"The charge with which I am immediately concerned," replied the
+detective, "and on account of which an extradition warrant has been
+issued, is the forgery of a client's name by the solicitor Henry Carew.
+In the meanwhile, look at these," and he threw on the table two
+photographs. Carew took them up. One, he saw, was a portrait of Arthur
+Allen, his friend whom he left to drown in the North Sea; the other was
+a photograph of himself which had been taken eight years back, when he
+was another man, when his conscience was still clear, and before his
+gambling losses had driven him from crime to crime; sin and suffering
+had yet drawn no lines on the face, the brow was free from care. He
+gazed gloomily at this presentment of what he had been and could never
+be again, and his mind wandered back with despairing regret to memories
+of guiltless days.
+
+"On the 15th of August last," continued the detective, "a solicitor,
+Henry Carew, absconded, disappeared, leaving no trace. For some time I,
+who was entrusted with the case, was altogether at fault; but at last,
+as often happens, a coincidence threw me on the scent. I came across an
+advertisement inserted in the papers by the relatives of a missing man,
+Arthur Allen. He had left his chambers on the 15th of August, and had
+not since been heard of. Carew and Allen thus disappeared from London on
+the same day, mark you; but there was no very remarkable coincidence in
+that fact. However, I happened to remember that, while searching the
+papers of Carew to discover what were his habits, who were his
+acquaintances, and so forth, I had come across the name of this Arthur
+Allen, apparently a friend of Carew's. The clue was worth following up.
+I soon ascertained that Allen had that day sailed from the Thames in his
+yacht; that his last known port of call was Rotterdam. I went to
+Rotterdam, and there, from a Mr. Hoogendyk and others, learnt that the
+man who called himself Arthur Allen had conducted himself in a somewhat
+curious manner for an English yachtsman, and had suddenly sailed from
+that port, bound no one knew whither, with a crew of Spanish
+desperadoes."
+
+The detective now took the two photographs from the hand of Carew, who
+was still gazing at them in a dazed way, apparently not listening to the
+words of his accuser.
+
+"I procured these," Norton went on. "I brought them to Mr. Hoogendyk.
+First I showed him the portrait of Arthur Allen; he did not recognise
+it. Then I gave him the portrait of Henry Carew. 'This, of course,' he
+at once said, 'is the photograph of Mr. Allen, the Englishman who came
+here with the little yacht.' Then I knew that I was on the right track.
+Shortly afterwards, a paragraph which appeared in a London evening paper
+brought me promptly here, armed with an extradition warrant. I have the
+paragraph here. It is headed '_A Strange Story of the Sea._' I will read
+it to you. '_A telegram from Pernambuco states that a French barque,
+the_ La Bonne Esperance, _has been brought into that port a derelict.
+She was picked up by the crew of an English yacht, the_ Petrel. _The_
+Petrel _had foundered in the South Atlantic. Mr. Allen, the owner, and
+his three men took to the dinghy, and, after drifting for several days,
+encountered the deserted barque, which they sailed into Pernambuco. The
+salvage is likely to far more than compensate Mr. Allen for the loss of
+his yacht._' That is all I need say at present."
+
+The consul spoke next. "There is a Mr. Rudge here, who has been in
+Pernambuco for some weeks, who can also throw a light on this matter."
+The consul touched the bell, and the man who had assumed the name of
+Rudge was shown into the room. He closed the door behind him, and stood
+with his back against it.
+
+"This gentleman," said the consul deliberately, "affirms that _he_ is
+Arthur Allen, the barrister, the owner of the lost yacht."
+
+All in the room now turned their eyes upon Carew, to watch the effect
+upon him of this sudden presence.
+
+Yes, it was indeed Allen, though pale and thin, as if he had but just
+recovered from a sudden illness, that Carew saw before him. And now this
+strange being, who had fallen into such depths of crime, and who yet
+loathed crime so intensely, behaved in the manner that might have been
+expected from him. The better man declared himself at last. On beholding
+this accuser, who had risen thus suddenly from the dead, he displayed no
+guilty terror. On the contrary, an expression of great relief, of joy,
+almost of triumph, lit up his face, and the lines of care faded away
+from it.
+
+They all watched him with wonder.
+
+Then he spoke quietly, in tones that carried conviction. No one could
+doubt but that the words were from his heart.
+
+"Yes, I am Henry Carew. I am guilty of all that I am accused of, and of
+more, and worse things. But I am glad, indeed glad--and little gladness
+has been my lot of late--to see you, Arthur Allen, standing there alive
+before me. There is one less crime on my soul. Yes, I am now happy;
+happier than I deserve to be. I am quite ready to pay the penalty of my
+sins."
+
+There was a nobility in his countenance as he stood up erect, with none
+of the shrinking criminal about him. He felt as if he were out of the
+world already; he was free from petty fears now.
+
+Then the consul, impressed by the man's manner, said, in an almost
+respectful tone, "It is better that you should go on board the English
+steamer at once. I have arranged everything."
+
+The detective whispered something into the consul's ear, and then
+slipped out of the room quietly.
+
+Carew looked through the window at the fair tropical world without. He
+could see the busy quay, with its green trees waving in the fresh trade
+wind, and the breakers dashing upon the coral reef. Beyond that, between
+the blue sea and the blue sky, there loomed a dark mass. Carew knew that
+this was the vessel which was to be his prison, lying at anchor in the
+outer roads. He shivered; then turning to the consul said--
+
+"Grant me one last favour before I go: let me have paper and pen. I
+wish to write a letter."
+
+The consul hesitated.
+
+"Give it to him," whispered Allen, who had been eyeing Carew intently;
+and Carew rewarded him with a grateful look.
+
+The writing materials were put on the table. He sat before them with his
+back to the spectators, and as he held the pen in his right hand, he
+placed his left elbow upon the table, stooping over it, his face buried
+in the open palm as if he were meditating deeply what he should write.
+And so he remained for quite a minute without writing a word. Once a
+slight tremor passed through his frame. After that he sat quite
+motionless.
+
+The detective again entered the room, followed by two officers of
+police.
+
+"Come, sir," he said, "we must go now," and he put his hand lightly on
+Carew's shoulder.
+
+As the hand touched him, Carew's elbow slipped, his head dropped heavily
+upon the table, face downwards, and from his left hand, which had been
+over his mouth, there fell on the table, and rolled slowly across it, a
+small empty bottle.
+
+He was quite dead! He had found a use at last for the poisonous drug
+which the Rotterdam chemist had grudgingly sold him.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"The prisoner has slipped away from us," said the detective; "but,
+after all, I am not sorry for it in a way, for there was good in the
+man."
+
+And so ended the misspent life of Henry Carew--a man by nature probably
+no worse than many of the most respectable-seeming among us. But he was
+morally timid; and such a one, however benevolent be his disposition,
+however opposed to vice be his inclinations, is the slave of
+circumstances, and is quite as likely to develop into a villain as a
+saint. A weak will is the devil's easiest prey.
+
+Arthur Allen's narrative will be given in his own words:--
+
+"The last thing I remember, after Jim and myself were capsized, is that
+I was holding on to the dinghy, and that I lashed myself to her with the
+painter. Poor Jim must have gone down at once. I don't remember seeing
+him after the boat turned over. The seas must have driven the sense out
+of me. I came to, days afterwards, in the cabin of a German barque. She
+had picked me up--still lashed to the dinghy--in an insensible
+condition. The barque was bound from Hamburg to Rio. My long exposure in
+the water brought on a serious and tedious illness. I was more dead than
+alive when I landed at Rio, and was at once taken to the hospital. There
+the English Consul called to see me, and behaved with great kindness.
+When I told him my story, and who I was, he said, 'A man of your name
+came here with a yacht a short time back--an eccentric man, for he only
+stopped two days here and was off again; so I did not see him.' I asked
+what the name of the yacht was. 'The _Petrel_,' he replied. Then, of
+course, the whole truth dawned upon me, and I satisfied the consul that
+someone had stolen my yacht and had assumed my name. The consul then
+advanced to me the money I required. I was still lying in the hospital
+when the news came to Rio that the _Petrel_ had been lost at sea, and
+that her crew had found a derelict, and sailed her into Pernambuco. In
+spite of the doctor's warnings, I left the hospital, and hurried here at
+once. I was awaiting an extradition warrant from England, when Mr.
+Norton anticipated my own action, and arrived with a warrant that had
+been obtained on account of former felonies committed by Carew."
+
+The true story of the French barque and her crew was never known.
+Baptiste and the two Spaniards took alarm and disappeared from
+Pernambuco. Not that they were in danger, for they were not implicated
+in the felonies which had been brought home to Carew. But the guilty
+wretches knew not what would be discovered next, they so completely
+distrusted each other, each knowing that he himself would readily
+betray his comrades, either for a price or to secure his own safety.
+
+What ultimately happened to these three villains I do not know. Baptiste
+being a criminal of the educated, cunning, and cowardly-cautious order,
+possibly enriched himself by iniquity for many years more, and, escaping
+his deserts in this world, may yet have died in his old age, a respected
+citizen in his native land.
+
+The other two more vulgar scoundrels were no doubt hanged, or stabbed in
+a brawl, or despatched in some such summary fashion sooner or later--a
+penalty for their crimes which seems light indeed to men of this brutal
+stamp, who consider a violent death as the most desirable and indeed
+only legitimate termination to existence.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH
+
+
+
+
+ADVERTISEMENTS
+
+_The Express Series.--No. II._
+
+
+A GIRL OF GRIT
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+MY AMERICAN MILLIONS
+
+
+It was the middle of the night (as I thought) when Savory--my man, my
+landlord, valet, and general factotum--came in and woke me. He gave me a
+letter, saying simply, "The gentleman's a-waiting, sir," and I read it
+twice, without understanding it in the very least.
+
+Could it be a hoax? To satisfy myself, I sat up in bed, rubbed my
+astonished and still half-sleepy eyes, and read it again. It ran as
+follows:--
+
+     "101, LINCOLN'S INN, _July 11, 189-_.
+
+     "GRAY & QUINLAN, Solicitors.
+
+     "DEAR SIR,--It is our pleasing duty to inform you, at the request
+     of our New York agents, Messrs. Smiddy & Dann, of 57, Chambers
+     Street, New York City, that they have now definitely and
+     conclusively established your claim as the sole surviving relative
+     and general heir-at-law of their late esteemed client, Mr. Aretas
+     M'Faught, of Church Place and Fifth Avenue, New York.
+
+     "As the amount of your inheritance is very considerable, and is
+     estimated approximately at between fourteen and fifteen millions of
+     dollars, say three millions of sterling money, we have thought it
+     right to apprise you of your good fortune without delay. Our Mr.
+     Richard Quinlan will hand you this letter in person, and will be
+     pleased to take your instructions.--We are, sir, your obedient
+     servants,
+
+     "GRAY & QUINLAN."
+
+     "CAPTAIN WILLIAM ARETAS WOOD, D.S.O.,
+     21, Clarges Street, Piccadilly."
+
+
+"Here, Savory! who brought this? Do you say he is waiting? I'll see him
+in half a minute;" and, sluicing my head in cold water, I put on a
+favourite old dressing-gown, and passed into the next room, followed by
+Roy, my precious golden collie, who began at once to sniff suspiciously
+at my visitor's legs.
+
+I found there a prim little old-young gentleman, who scanned me
+curiously through his gold-rimmed pince-nez. Although, no doubt, greatly
+surprised,--for he did not quite expect to see an arch-millionaire in an
+old ulster with a ragged collar of catskin, with damp, unkempt locks,
+and unshorn chin at that time of day,--he addressed me with much
+formality and respect.
+
+"I must apologise for this intrusion, Captain Wood--you _are_ Captain
+Wood?"
+
+"Undoubtedly."
+
+"I am Mr. Quinlan, very much at your service. Pardon me--is this your
+dog? Is he quite to be trusted?"
+
+"Perfectly, if you don't speak to him. Lie down, Roy. I fear I am very
+late--a ball last night. Do you ever go to balls, Mr. Quinlan?"
+
+"Not often, Captain Wood. But if I have come too early, I can call later
+on."
+
+"By no means. I am dying to hear more. But, first of all, this
+letter--it's all _bonâ fide_, I suppose?"
+
+"Without question. It is from our firm. There can be no possible
+mistake. We have made it our business to verify all the facts--indeed,
+this is not the first we had heard of the affair, but we did not think
+it right to speak to you too soon. This morning, however, the mail has
+brought a full acknowledgment of your claims, so we came on at once to
+see you."
+
+"How did you find me out, pray?"
+
+"We have had our eye on you for some time past, Captain Wood," said the
+little lawyer smilingly. "While we were inquiring--you understand? We
+were anxious to do the best for you"--
+
+"I'm sure I'm infinitely obliged to you. But still, I can't believe it,
+quite. I should like to be convinced of the reality of my good luck. You
+see, I haven't thoroughly taken it in."
+
+"Read this letter from our New York agents, Captain Wood. It gives more
+details," and he handed me a type-written communication on two quarto
+sheets of tissue paper, also a number of cuttings from the New York
+press.
+
+The early part of the letter referred to the search and discovery of the
+heir-at-law (myself), and stated frankly that there could be no sort of
+doubt that my case was clear, and that they would be pleased, when
+called upon, to put me in full possession of my estate.
+
+From that they passed on to a brief enumeration of the assets, which
+comprised real estate in town lots, lands, houses; stocks, shares, well-
+
+
+_The Express Series--No. III._
+
+
+A DESPERATE VOYAGE
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+In Carey Street, Chancery Lane, on the ground floor of a huge block of
+new buildings facing the Law Courts, were the offices of Messrs. Peters
+and Carew, solicitors and perpetual commissioners of oaths. Such was the
+title of the firm as inscribed on the side of the entrance door in the
+middle of a long list of other names of solicitors, architects, and
+companies, whose offices were within. But the firm was now represented
+by Mr. Carew alone; for the senior partner, a steady-going old
+gentleman, who had made the business what it was, had been despatched by
+an attack of gout, two years back, to a land where there is no
+litigation.
+
+Late one August evening Mr. Henry Carew entered his office. His face was
+white and haggard, and he muttered to himself as he passed the door. He
+had all the appearance of a man who has been drinking heavily to drown
+some terrible worry. His clerks had gone; he went into his own private
+room and locked the door. He lit the gas, brought a pile of papers and
+letters out of a drawer, and, sitting down by the table, commenced to
+peruse them. As he did so, the lines about his face seemed to deepen,
+and beads of perspiration started to his forehead. It was for him an
+hour of agony. His sins had found him out, and the day of reckoning had
+arrived.
+
+One might have taken Henry Carew for a sailor, but he was very unlike
+the typical solicitor. He was a big, hearty man of thirty-five, with all
+a sailor's bluff manner and generous ways. His friends called him Honest
+Hal, and said that he was one of the best fellows that ever lived. We
+have it on the authority of that immortal adventuress, Becky Sharp, that
+it is easy to be virtuous on five thousand a year. Had Mr. Carew enjoyed
+such an income, he would most probably have lived a blameless life and
+have acquired an estimable reputation; for he had no instinctive liking
+for crime; on the contrary, he loathed it.
+
+But one slight moral flaw in a man's nature--so slight that his best
+friends smile tolerantly at it--may, by force of circumstance, lead
+ultimately to his complete moral ruin. It is an old story, and has been
+the text of many a sermon. The trifling fault is often the germ of
+terrible crimes.
+
+Carew's fault was one that is always easily condoned, so nearly akin is
+it to a virtue; these respectably connected vices are ever the most
+dangerous, like well-born swindlers. Carew was a spendthrift. He was
+ostentatiously extravagant in many directions. He owned a smart
+schooner, which he navigated himself, being an excellent sailor, and the
+quantities of champagne consumed by his friends on board this vessel
+were prodigious.
+
+When his steady old partner died, Carew began to neglect the business
+for his pleasures. Soon his income was insufficient to meet his
+expenses. Speculation on the Stock Exchange seemed to him to be a
+quicker road to fortune than a slow-going profession. So this man,
+morally weak though physically brave, not having the courage to curtail
+his extravagances, hurried blindly to his destruction. He gambled and
+lost all his own property; for ill-luck ever pursued him. Even then it
+was not too late to redeem his position. But he was too great a coward
+to look his difficulties in the face; therefore, having the temptation
+to commit so terribly easy a crime ever before him in his office, he
+began--first, timidly, to a small extent; then wildly, in panic, in
+order to retrieve his losses--to speculate with the moneys entrusted to
+him by his clients. He pawned their securities; he forged their names;
+he plunged ever deeper into crime--and all in vain.
+
+When it was too late, he swore to himself, in the torments of his
+remorse, that if he could but once win back sufficient to replace the
+sums he had stolen, he would cut down all his expenses, forswear
+gambling and dishonesty, and stick to his profession.
+
+At last it came to this. He sold his yacht and everything else he
+possessed of value. He realised what remained of the securities under
+his charge, and then placed the entire sum as cover on a certain stock,
+the price of which, he was told, was certain to rise. It was the
+gambler's last despairing throw of the dice. The stock suddenly fell;
+settling day arrived, and his cover was swept away--he had lost all!
+
+So he sat in his office this night and faced the situation in an agony
+of spirit that was more than fear. For this was no unscrupulous,
+light-hearted villain. An accusing conscience was ever with him, and
+every fresh descent in crime meant for him a worse present hell of
+mental torture.
+
+He felt that it was idle to hope now, even for a short reprieve. Clients
+were suspicious. In a day or two at most all must be known. Disgrace and
+a felon's doom were staring him in the face. It would be impossible for
+him to raise even sufficient funds to escape from England to some
+country where extradition treaties were unknown. Carew realised all
+this. He had forced himself to look through his
+
+
+_Autumn 1898_
+
+
+LIST OF NEW & RECENT BOOKS
+PUBLISHED BY JOHN MILNE AT
+12 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON
+
+
+The Express Series.
+
+This Series is designed to meet the taste of readers who desire a
+swiftly-moving, well-written, dramatic tale, of moderate length, without
+superfluous descriptive or other literary "padding," but with continuity
+and action from the first page to the last. It contains only
+specially-written and selected stories, mostly by well-known writers,
+and each volume consists of about 224 pages, crown 8vo. The First
+Edition, for the Library, is bound in red cloth, with gilt top, and
+published at 2s. 6d. The Second and subsequent Editions are issued in
+handy form for the Pocket or the Train, in stout cardboard covers,
+illustrated in colours, at 1s.
+
+
+_The following have been published:--_
+
+I. THE ROME EXPRESS. By Major ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. [_Sixth Edition_
+
+
+II. A GIRL OF GRIT. By Major ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. [_Just published._
+
+
+III. A DESPERATE VOYAGE. By E. F. KNIGHT. [_Just published._
+
+
+_CURRENT LIST._
+
+A Desperate Voyage.
+
+A Desperate Voyage. By E. F. KNIGHT, Author of "The Cruise of the
+Falcon," "Where Three Empires Meet," etc. A novel by the well-known
+_Times_ war-correspondent and author, describing the escape of an
+absconding debtor from the river Thames in a twenty-eight ton yawl, and
+his subsequent desperate experiences by sea and land in the South
+Atlantic. 224 pages, crown 8vo, red cloth gilt, gilt top, uniform with
+the above, 2s. 6d.
+
+
+A Girl of Grit.
+
+A Girl of Grit. By Major ARTHUR GRIFFITHS, Author of "The Rome Express."
+An Anglo-American story of a gigantic scheme of fraud and attempted
+abduction. 217 pages, crown 8vo, red cloth gilt, gilt top, 2s. 6d.
+
+     "If you wish for an exciting story--a story which will hold you
+     fascinated for three pleasurable hours by the intricacies of a
+     cleverly conceived plot, and the human interest of varied
+     character--read Major Arthur Griffiths' new book, 'A Girl of Grit.'
+     The whole story of the pursuit of the rascal Duke of Buona Mano and
+     the rescue of Captain Wood in mid-Atlantic carries you on with a
+     rush through a series of dramatic scenes and thrilling adventures
+     to a climax which is as novel as it is satisfactory. 'A Girl of
+     Grit' is a better told story than even 'The Rome Express,' which is
+     saying a good deal."--_Daily Mail._
+
+
+The Rome Express.
+
+The Rome Express. By Major ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. A notable Detective Story
+of much ingenuity and interest. 215 pages, crown 8vo, red cloth gilt,
+gilt top, Library Edition, 2s. 6d.; in coloured wrapper, Sixth Edition,
+1s.
+
+     "It is safe to say that the reader who glances at the first page of
+     Major Arthur Griffiths' detective story, 'The Rome Express,' will
+     certainly not skip one single word until he reaches the end. 'Who
+     could have done the deed?' is the question which absorbs the reader
+     from first to last, and in his eagerness to answer this question he
+     will start on at least four different scents, confident each time
+     that now he has the clue, but only to return baffled and bewildered
+     again and again. It is General Collingham whose shrewd wit first
+     hits upon the right track, and puts to confusion all the theories
+     and red-tapeism of the Quai de l'Horloge. But until the last
+     chapter we are as much in the dark as any one of them; the mystery
+     is inscrutable until it pleases the author to lift the veil and
+     inform us that one of the passengers was requested to continue his
+     journey in the direction of New Caledonia, and that another was
+     married at the British Embassy to Sabine, Contessa di
+     Castagneto."--_Daily Telegraph._
+
+     "Any reader who opens this book with the resolution that he will
+     read a chapter of it and then resume his ordinary occupations, is
+     likely to be surprised speedily out of such good intentions. The
+     story grips you like a vice. There is not a superfluous word in the
+     215 pages."--_Sketch._
+
+     **_The next volume of The Express Series will be a
+     story from the pen of Mr. David Christie Murray, and others are in
+     preparation._
+
+
+The Evolution of a Wife.
+
+The Evolution of a Wife, a Romance in Six Parts, by ELIZABETH HOLLAND.
+The life-story of Marie de Hauteville, a young girl of noble Swiss
+family. It contains many charming pictures of Conventual and village
+life in the Bernese Oberland, with a strong love interest of the
+non-modern school. 398 pages, large crown 8vo, cloth, Second Edition,
+6s.
+
+     "There is an extraordinary genius in 'The Evolution of a Wife.' In
+     calm and masterful handling, searching insight, and bold
+     imaginative outlook, this romance ranks among the finest first
+     books of all the novelists. In the delicate manner of Flaubert,
+     without comment, and with a powerful massing of scenes, the
+     authoress advances to her climax; and one lays down the book
+     feeling that certain impressions will not efface
+     themselves."--_Yorkshire Post._
+
+     "Marie is delightful, with her many lovers and the pathetic little
+     vanities that make her innocence anything but insipid. She is
+     absolutely realisable; and not she alone. The little Swiss town and
+     its inhabitants live at once in the reader's eye."--_Saturday
+     Review._
+
+     "A remarkable story, alike in plot and character. It makes an
+     impression that here and there reminds us of the art and the
+     passion of Charlotte Brontë's works."--_Scotsman._
+
+
+The Passion for Romance.
+
+The Passion for Romance. By EDGAR JEPSON, Author of "Sibyl Falcon."
+Describes the remarkable love affairs of Lord Lisdor, a young and
+susceptible nobleman of wealth and leisure. 378 pages, large crown 8vo,
+cloth, Second Edition, 6s.
+
+     "'The Passion for Romance' is, at the least, recommended by that
+     air of novelty so welcome to all, but to none more than to the
+     professional novel-reader. The hero--the main feature of the story,
+     as he has a right to be--is treated from a refreshingly new
+     standpoint. He is a new sort of hero as well as a fresh specimen in
+     individuals: neither villain, saint, nor martyr, but simply a
+     possible human being with some strong characteristics. The vain
+     quest and the yearning for fulfilment are told with delicacy of
+     touch, some sense of humour, and absolutely without sickly
+     sentiment or morbid passion. Is not this enough to prove that we do
+     not speak of the novel of the common or British type?"--_Athenæum._
+
+     "It is a long time since we have had a new sensation in fiction. It
+     has come at last. The author of 'The Passion for Romance' is a
+     novelist with a style that is distinguished, and--rarissimus inter
+     raros--Mr. Edgar Jepson is also a writer who has something new to
+     say. Apart from the literary merit of the work, there is the story;
+     and to say that there is nothing in fiction with which that may be
+     compared is to acknowledge at once its originality."--_Morning._
+
+
+Saint Porth.
+
+Saint Porth. The Wooing of Dolly Pentreath. By J. HENRY HARRIS. A homely
+tale of life and love in a Cornish village. 320 pages, crown 8vo, cloth
+gilt, gilt top, 6s.
+
+     "A Cornish tale of remarkable picturesqueness, altogether natural
+     and touching, full of quaint pictures of a marvellously decorative
+     people."--_Saturday Review._
+
+     "Written with singular sympathy, earnestness, and gentle humour.
+     The scene is laid on the Cornish coast, and Mr. Harris paints for
+     us the splendours of that gorgeous seascape in the manner of one
+     who feels to the full its peculiar fascination, and to whom the
+     character of the dwellers on its shore appeals with a familiar
+     charm. The delicate and precious aroma of romance perfumes every
+     page of 'Saint Porth,' and lends to this homely, unpretentious tale
+     a value and an interest that are too often lacking in novels of a
+     more ambitious scope."--_Speaker._
+
+     "Of the many efforts which writers have made during recent years to
+     portray various phases of Cornish life, this, to our mind,
+     represents one of the most successful."--_West Briton._
+
+     "However crowded the novel market may be, there is always room for
+     such refreshing little idylls as 'Saint Porth'--a simple tale,
+     simply told in delightfully breezy style."--_Birmingham Gazette._
+
+
+Paradise Row.
+
+Paradise Row, and some of its Inhabitants. By W. J. WINTLE. A series of
+powerfully painted sketches of North Country life. 240 pages, crown 8vo,
+cloth, gilt top, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "To adequately express the power and the pathos of these simply
+     told sketches, is quite beyond the scope of a review, for they
+     rouse all that is best and all that is most sacred in our common
+     humanity, making us feel more than the grandest rhetoric could, the
+     brotherhood of man. Some of the characters are real heroes, and one
+     rises from the perusal of the book with a greater respect for the
+     men who devote their lives to Christian work in the noisome dens of
+     our populous places, and with a large hope for the ultimate
+     redemption of mankind."--_North British Daily Mail._
+
+     "This is a volume of sketches of North Country life, very
+     vigorously drawn, and full of pathos well relieved with humour. It
+     shows throughout a large power of sympathy and great breadth of
+     thought."--_Spectator._
+
+     "We commend this book as both literature and life. Those who wish
+     to know how the poor live and love cannot do better than read
+     'Paradise Row.'"--_Methodist Times._
+
+     "The work of a deep thinker and a cultured writer."--_Black and
+     White._
+
+
+Butterfly Ballads.
+
+Butterfly Ballads and Stories in Rhyme. By HELEN ATTERIDGE. With
+Sixty-five Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, LOUIS WAIN, H. R. MILLAR, and
+others. 142 pages, foolscap 4to, designed cover, cloth gilt, gilt edges,
+3s. 6d.
+
+     "These real ballads are very clever indeed; we feel sure 'Ethelinda
+     Gray' and 'The Boy that went to Sea' will live in the upper circles
+     of juvenility for many a long day. 'The Doll's Dance' ought to be
+     as widely read and as keenly appreciated as 'The Butterfly's Ball
+     and the Grasshopper's Feast,' which was the delight of the children
+     of fifty years ago. The illustrations are numerous and
+     admirable."--_World._
+
+     "A delightful collection of stories in verse for little ones. It is
+     exactly what it professes to be, and does not indulge in
+     metaphysics for infants, and every little one who has the good
+     fortune to have the volume given it will be happy for a long
+     time."--_St. James's Gazette._
+
+     "'Butterfly Ballads' are by no means inappropriately named. They
+     are light and bright, and go fluttering along easily. The
+     illustrations are specially clever; the dogs, the children, and the
+     old folks are all full of character and spirit."--_Times._
+
+     "Will speedily be learned by heart, and repeated in the firelight
+     to a breathless audience."--_Lady._
+
+
+The English Stage.
+
+The English Stage. Being an Account of the Victorian Drama, by AUGUSTIN
+FILON. Translated from the French by FREDERIC WHYTE, with an
+Introduction by HENRY ARTHUR JONES. 320 pages, demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d.
+
+     "This large and painstaking volume will certainly interest all who
+     follow theatrical matters. We welcome it as an interesting and
+     valuable record."--_Times._
+
+     "That the writings of that acute French critic, M. Filon, on 'The
+     English Stage' have been creditably translated and published in
+     this country, is a subject of congratulation. The completeness with
+     which this observer in a foreign land has mastered his subject is
+     surprising, and adds much force to the penetrating and suggestive
+     criticisms with which the book abounds. Altogether the work,
+     written as it is in spirited and captivating style, is one that can
+     be perused with pleasure by all classes of readers."--_Morning
+     Post._
+
+     "One of the most entertaining, appreciative, discriminating, and
+     instructive of recent books upon the English stage."--_New York
+     Nation._
+
+     "No student of the theatre should miss reading 'The English Stage,'
+     and it should be bought, not borrowed from the library, for it is
+     essentially a book to dip into again and again. It is full of
+     interesting facts as to the recent history of the drama in this
+     country."--_Black and White._
+
+
+Verdi: Man and Musician.
+
+Verdi: Man and Musician. His Biography, with Especial Reference to his
+English Experiences, by F. J. CROWEST, Author of "The Great Tone Poets."
+With Photogravure Frontispiece of Verdi, and several full-page
+Portraits. The only recent and authoritative English Biography of the
+famous Composer. 320 pages, demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d.
+
+     "As the author of this highly interesting volume rightly says,
+     Verdi bibliography, particularly that in England, is not extensive,
+     but he has made an important addition, a book that should be read
+     by all admirers of the Italian composer. It is enriched with
+     several well-executed portraits, and is fully
+     indexed."--_Athenæum._
+
+     "A most interesting work. Did space permit, we could quote at
+     length from this delightful book; but as it is, we must leave it to
+     the reader to pick and choose for himself."--_Weekly Sun._
+
+     "A book full of interest both to musicians and laymen, embellished
+     with a speaking likeness of Verdi as a frontispiece. A distinct and
+     valuable addition to the scant Verdi literature in this
+     country."--_Manchester Courier._
+
+     "An excellently-written and faithfully-compiled history of the rise
+     and progress of a great composer, studded with gems of anecdote,
+     and teeming with an appreciation that will find an echo in the
+     heart of every lover of opera who reads it."--_Birmingham Gazette._
+
+
+[Illustration: Logo]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's A Desperate Voyage, by Edward Frederick Knight
+
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+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Desperate Voyage, by E. F. Knight.
+    </title>
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+    p {  margin-top: .75em;
+         text-align: justify;
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+    table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding: 5px; border-collapse:collapse; border: none; text-align: right;}
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+    .pagenum  { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */
+            /*  visibility: hidden;  */
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+  </head>
+<body>
+
+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Desperate Voyage, by Edward Frederick Knight
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: A Desperate Voyage
+
+Author: Edward Frederick Knight
+
+Release Date: March 9, 2012 [EBook #39082]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DESPERATE VOYAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Martin Pettit and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+book was produced from scanned images of public domain
+material from the Google Print project.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class = "mynote"><p class="center">Transcriber's Note:<br /><br />
+A Table of Contents has been added.<br /><br />The hanging hyphen, and the lack of punctuation, at the end<br />
+of two of the advertisement pages have been left as they occurred in the book.</p></div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="bold u"><i>MILNE'S EXPRESS SERIES</i></p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="bold2">A DESPERATE VOYAGE</p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<div class="center"><img src="images/logo.jpg" width='100' height='148' alt="logo" /></div>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="bold u"><i>THE EXPRESS SERIES</i></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Uniform with this Volume</i></p>
+
+<p class="bold">I. THE ROME EXPRESS</p>
+
+<p class="center">BY</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Major</span> ARTHUR GRIFFITHS</p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="center">BY THE SAME AUTHOR</p>
+
+<p class="bold">II. A GIRL OF GRIT</p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="center">JOHN MILNE</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">12 Norfolk Street, Strand, London</span></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span></p>
+
+<h1><span>A DESPERATE<br />VOYAGE</span><br /><br /><span id="id1">BY</span> <span>E. F. KNIGHT</span></h1>
+
+<p class="center">AUTHOR OF "THE CRUISE OF THE FALCON"<br />
+"WHERE THREE EMPIRES MEET"<br />ETC. ETC.</p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="center">JOHN MILNE</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">12 Norfolk Street, Strand, London</span><br />1898</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>All Rights Reserved</i></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<h2><span>CONTENTS</span></h2>
+
+<table summary="CONTENTS">
+  <tr>
+    <td class="left"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span></td>
+    <td>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<span class="smcap">Page</span></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>I</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>II</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>III</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>IV</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>V</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>VI</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_59">59</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>VII</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>VIII</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>IX</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>X</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>XI</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>XII</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>XIII</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>XIV</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>XV</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>XVI</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_185">185</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>XVII</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td>XVIII</td>
+    <td><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td>
+  </tr>
+  <tr>
+    <td><a href="#Page_225">ADVERTISEMENTS</a></td>
+    <td></td>
+  </tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="bold2">A DESPERATE VOYAGE</p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER I</span></h2>
+
+<p>In Carey Street, Chancery Lane, on the ground floor of a huge block of
+new buildings facing the Law Courts, were the offices of Messrs. Peters
+and Carew, solicitors and perpetual commissioners of oaths. Such was the
+title of the firm as inscribed on the side of the entrance door in the
+middle of a long list of other names of solicitors, architects, and
+companies, whose offices were within. But the firm was now represented
+by Mr. Carew alone; for the senior partner, a steady-going old
+gentleman, who had made the business what it was, had been despatched by
+an attack of gout, two years back, to a land where there is no
+litigation.</p>
+
+<p>Late one August evening Mr. Henry Carew entered his office. His face was
+white and haggard, and he muttered to himself as he passed the door. He
+had all the appearance of a man who has been drinking heavily to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> drown
+some terrible worry. His clerks had gone; he went into his own private
+room and locked the door. He lit the gas, brought a pile of papers and
+letters out of a drawer, and, sitting down by the table, commenced to
+peruse them. As he did so, the lines about his face seemed to deepen,
+and beads of perspiration started to his forehead. It was for him an
+hour of agony. His sins had found him out, and the day of reckoning had
+arrived.</p>
+
+<p>One might have taken Henry Carew for a sailor, but he was very unlike
+the typical solicitor. He was a big, hearty man of thirty-five, with all
+a sailor's bluff manner and generous ways. His friends called him Honest
+Hal, and said that he was one of the best fellows that ever lived. We
+have it on the authority of that immortal adventuress, Becky Sharp, that
+it is easy to be virtuous on five thousand a year. Had Mr. Carew enjoyed
+such an income, he would most probably have lived a blameless life and
+have acquired an estimable reputation; for he had no instinctive liking
+for crime; on the contrary, he loathed it.</p>
+
+<p>But one slight moral flaw in a man's nature&mdash;so slight that his best
+friends smile tolerantly at it&mdash;may, by force of circumstance, lead
+ultimately to his complete moral ruin. It is an old story, and has been
+the text of many a sermon. The trifling fault is often the germ of
+terrible crimes.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p><p>Carew's fault was one that is always easily condoned, so nearly akin is
+it to a virtue; these respectably connected vices are ever the most
+dangerous, like well-born swindlers. Carew was a spendthrift. He was
+ostentatiously extravagant in many directions. He owned a smart
+schooner, which he navigated himself, being an excellent sailor, and the
+quantities of champagne consumed by his friends on board this vessel
+were prodigious.</p>
+
+<p>When his steady old partner died, Carew began to neglect the business
+for his pleasures. Soon his income was insufficient to meet his
+expenses. Speculation on the Stock Exchange seemed to him to be a
+quicker road to fortune than a slow-going profession. So this man,
+morally weak though physically brave, not having the courage to curtail
+his extravagances, hurried blindly to his destruction. He gambled and
+lost all his own property; for ill-luck ever pursued him. Even then it
+was not too late to redeem his position. But he was too great a coward
+to look his difficulties in the face; therefore, having the temptation
+to commit so terribly easy a crime ever before him in his office, he
+began&mdash;first, timidly, to a small extent; then wildly, in panic, in
+order to retrieve his losses&mdash;to speculate with the moneys entrusted to
+him by his clients. He pawned their securities; he forged their names;
+he plunged ever deeper into crime&mdash;and all in vain.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span></p><p>When it was too late, he swore to himself, in the torments of his
+remorse, that if he could but once win back sufficient to replace the
+sums he had stolen, he would cut down all his expenses, forswear
+gambling and dishonesty, and stick to his profession.</p>
+
+<p>At last it came to this. He sold his yacht and everything else he
+possessed of value. He realised what remained of the securities under
+his charge, and then placed the entire sum as cover on a certain stock,
+the price of which, he was told, was certain to rise. It was the
+gambler's last despairing throw of the dice. The stock suddenly fell;
+settling day arrived, and his cover was swept away&mdash;he had lost all!</p>
+
+<p>So he sat in his office this night and faced the situation in an agony
+of spirit that was more than fear. For this was no unscrupulous,
+light-hearted villain. An accusing conscience was ever with him, and
+every fresh descent in crime meant for him a worse present hell of
+mental torture.</p>
+
+<p>He felt that it was idle to hope now, even for a short reprieve. Clients
+were suspicious. In a day or two at most all must be known. Disgrace and
+a felon's doom were staring him in the face. It would be impossible for
+him to raise even sufficient funds to escape from England to some
+country where extradition treaties were unknown. Carew realised all
+this. He had forced himself to look through his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> papers and discover the
+total of his liabilities. It was a sum he could by no effort refund.</p>
+
+<p>He laughed aloud&mdash;a savage, discordant laugh, as might be that of some
+lost soul.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it is all over," he thought; "I throw up the cards. But I will not
+endure the disgrace of a public trial, the ignominy of a convict's life;
+and after that to come out of jail with my soul eaten out by long years
+of penal servitude, with the brand of a felon on my name. Oh no&mdash;not
+that! After all, a man has always one last privilege left him; he holds
+in his own hands the power of terminating his own miserable existence.
+Yes; I will kill myself, and have done with it all!"</p>
+
+<p>In the contemplation of suicide he became calmer. Now that he had
+determined on death, his terrible anxiety left him, and the heroism of
+despair supported him.</p>
+
+<p>"I feel a peace of mind at this moment such as has not come to me for
+many wretched months," he said to himself. "There is almost a pleasure
+in knowing that one has got to the bottom of one's cup of suffering,
+that there can be nothing worse to come."</p>
+
+<p>He meditated quietly for some time as to how he should take away his
+life. At last he came to a decision, and a strange smile lit up his
+face. "Yes, that is an admirable plan; now for the means of carrying it
+out. First, I must have a sovereign or so. I can pawn my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> watch. Now for
+the ballast." He glanced round the room. "Yes, that will do." He rose
+and collected several heavy leaden paperweights from the different desks
+in the offices and put them into his pockets. "That will be sufficient.
+Now I will go to Brighton. It is a glorious evening. I will smell the
+sea-air once more. I will have a last dinner at an hotel; and then at
+night, when the tide is high, I will throw myself off the pier; this
+weight of lead will keep me down. And the next morning my creditors may
+seize my body: they are welcome to it."</p>
+
+<p>At that moment a loud knock came at the outer door. He turned pale and
+nearly fainted at the sound. Was he to be balked of those last few hours
+of freedom which he had promised himself? Were these the officers of
+justice who had come to apprehend him? Once more the dew of agony burst
+out on his brow; he groaned aloud; then, summoning resolution, the
+desperate man approached the door.</p>
+
+<p>But it was only the postman, after all. "Idiot that I am not to have
+known the knock! but my brain swims to-night. A letter for me. What is
+this?"</p>
+
+<p>He read the letter slowly through; then he put his hand to his forehead.
+A revulsion of feeling had suddenly come to him that confused and
+stunned him. "Oh, merciful Heaven!" he said, "is this but a cruel trick
+of Fortune to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> tempt me with a vain hope? I had quite reconciled myself
+to death&mdash;and now this comes. Perhaps it is but a short reprieve, and
+its price will be all that agonising suspense again. No, let me die; and
+yet"&mdash;he glanced at the letter again&mdash;"surely I have here a means of
+escape. If I can but collect my scattered wits and recover my cunning, I
+can save myself. I can live, but it will mean crime again&mdash;always crime!
+Oh, is it worth it?"</p>
+
+<p>After a painful mental struggle, he came to a determination. "Yes, I
+will live," he said.</p>
+
+<p>The letter was as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Carew</span>,&mdash;You have often promised to cruise with me in my boat.
+I am off to-morrow for Holland. Can you join me? Come and look me
+up to-night, and arrange it all.&mdash;Yours sincerely,</p>
+
+<p class="right">"<span class="smcap">Arthur Allen</span>."</p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER II</span></h2>
+
+<p>Arthur Allen, barrister-at-law, was of about the same age as his friend
+Carew; a man possessed of private means sufficient for his needs, into
+whose chambers so few briefs found their way that he had for some years
+dispensed with the services of a clerk. But, as one would have surmised
+after glancing at the strong, intelligent face, he was a man by no means
+lacking in energy, and not of idle disposition: as a matter of fact, a
+scholar, and one who had taken high honours at his university, he still
+maintained his studious habits, and, having practically abandoned a
+profession that was uncongenial to him, he devoted himself to literary
+pursuits; and his thoughtful articles in the reviews and in the
+newspaper to which he was attached brought him in no insignificant
+addition to his income.</p>
+
+<p>No mere bookworm, he had been an athlete in his youth; but now his one
+outdoor form of amusement was the sailing of his little yacht, on which,
+always acting as his own skipper, he had taken many a delightful cruise
+in home<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> and distant waters. He was an enthusiastic lover of the sea.
+This was the one taste he had in common with Carew. It was at some yacht
+club, of which they were both members, that they had become acquainted.</p>
+
+<p>It was a lovely August evening. The windows of Allen's bachelor chambers
+in the Temple were open, and through them could be seen that fair oasis
+of London's desert of bricks and mortar, Fountain Court, with its
+stately buildings, ancient trees, and quiet garden with splashing
+fountains in its midst. Nor was the view confined; for, beyond the
+chapel and the green, could be perceived the broad, gleaming Thames, and
+the distant Surrey shore, glorified by a faint mist; a peaceful,
+old-world spot, with a contemplative air about it, for it is haunted by
+the memories of much departed greatness. Allen was reclining in a
+comfortable arm-chair, drawn up to the open window, in whose recesses
+geraniums bloomed, their vivid blossoms occasionally shaking beneath the
+breath of the soft south wind that had come directly from the cool
+river.</p>
+
+<p>He smoked his pipe as he looked out upon the sweet sunset scene, his
+mind happily occupied in planning his coming cruise, when his
+meditations were interrupted by a knock at the outer door. He rose to
+admit his visitor, opened the door, and there stood before him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> Henry
+Carew in serge suit and yachting cap, a small Gladstone bag in his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Hallo, Carew, old man! you have not been long replying to my letter. I
+was afraid you would have left the office before it reached you. Come
+in."</p>
+
+<p>"Are you alone?" inquired Carew, in a low voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, quite alone. I am smoking a pipe of peace by myself. You have just
+come at the right time."</p>
+
+<p>They entered the room, and then, as the light of the sunset fell upon
+the solicitor's face, Allen perceived its haggard expression.</p>
+
+<p>"How queer you look, Carew!" he exclaimed. "Are you ill?"</p>
+
+<p>"Ill&mdash;no, not at all; but worried&mdash;worried almost out of my life,"
+replied Carew wildly, throwing himself into a chair, and putting his
+face between his hands.</p>
+
+<p>Allen sat in a chair opposite to him, refilled and lit his pipe, and, as
+he smoked, gazed at his friend with feelings of perplexed compassion.</p>
+
+<p>"Have a pipe, old fellow; there is nothing like a pipe for worry."</p>
+
+<p>"A pipe?" cried Carew, with contemptuous bitterness. "No; but have you
+some brandy? Give me some brandy."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, Carew," and the barrister produced a spirit-case, some
+glasses, and water.</p>
+
+<p>Carew poured a quantity of spirit into a glass<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> and drank it neat. He
+was usually a temperate man.</p>
+
+<p>"That is not the way to clear one's brain for confronting one's
+troubles," remarked Allen.</p>
+
+<p>"No, you are right. It is foolish of me. Allen, I have come to say that
+I shall be very glad to accompany you on your cruise."</p>
+
+<p>"I am delighted to hear that. A good blow in the North Sea will do you
+good, if your mind is so upset."</p>
+
+<p>"Allen," said Carew, pulling himself together and speaking with more
+self-possession, "I wish I could speak to you of the business that is
+troubling me, but I am not at liberty to do so. It concerns others."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't want to know anything about it, old man; but I am sure you will
+soon get out of your trouble, whatever it is. With an easy conscience no
+man is miserable for long. And now that I have secured you as a hand, I
+have a sufficient crew. So we will start to-morrow morning. Will you be
+ready by then?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am ready now. You see I have brought my baggage with me."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, as we have to catch an early train to-morrow, you had better
+sleep to-night in my chambers; I can put you up. Our destination is the
+Dutch coast, old man, and we should have a jolly time of it. You have
+not yet seen my new boat, the <i>Petrel</i>&mdash;a yawl of twenty-eight tons,
+yacht measurement; a splendid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> sea-boat. I would go anywhere in her. She
+is now lying off Erith."</p>
+
+<p>Carew had been listening attentively. "What crew do you carry?" he
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, let me tell you that you will have lots of work to do. We shall be
+but three all told. I have shipped one hand only&mdash;Jim, the fisherman,
+who was with me last year. Another friend was coming with me, but he has
+disappointed me."</p>
+
+<p>"For how long will you be away?"</p>
+
+<p>"About a fortnight. I have been a bit fagged of late, and want a
+holiday. I only made up my mind to take this cruise this afternoon. Not
+a soul but yourself knows we are going."</p>
+
+<p>On hearing this a sigh of relief escaped Carew. Yes, if he were once on
+board the yacht all trace of him would be lost. He felt almost jubilant
+as he thought of it; the recent acute tension of his mind had left a
+sort of hysterical weakness behind, and he alternated easily between
+exultant hope and profoundest despair.</p>
+
+<p>He reflected that if he could but contrive to reach Erith without being
+observed by any who knew him, he was safe, at anyrate for some time. But
+how to do so? It was possible that even already detectives had been set
+to watch his movements. He must take his chance of that, use all his
+wits, and incur<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> no risk that could be avoided. Fearing to show himself
+in the streets, more especially in the Strand or Fleet Street, where so
+many would know him by sight at least, he suggested to Allen that they
+should send to a neighbouring chop-house for their dinners, and remain
+quietly in the chambers, instead of dining, as was their wont, at a
+club. The barrister agreed to this, and therefore had no opportunity
+that night of meeting any of his friends, and he communicated to no one
+his intention of sailing on the morrow. He merely left a note for his
+housekeeper on his table, informing her that he would be out of town for
+a fortnight, and that his letters were not to be forwarded.</p>
+
+<p class="center">*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</p>
+
+<p>At an early hour on the following morning a cab was brought round to the
+door of the barrister's chambers, and the two friends drove off to
+Charing Cross Station, arriving there but a few minutes before their
+train started. The chances of anyone who knew him recognising Carew on
+the way were thus reduced to a minimum. At Erith Allen's man, Jim, was
+awaiting them with the dinghy. He was a very broad-shouldered,
+florid-faced man of forty, with a protuberance in one cheek indicating
+the presence of a quid. He looked exactly what he was&mdash;a hardy,
+North-Sea smackman.</p>
+
+<p>Jim pulled them off to the yacht, and when the solicitor, who was
+thoroughly at home on a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> boat, a keen lover of the sea, with yachting as
+his one innocent pleasure, stood on the white deck, and, looking around,
+saw how glorious was that summer's day, beheld the river sparkling in
+the sunshine, thronged with stately ships and picturesque barges tacking
+up with the flood against the soft south-west wind, a delightful sense
+of freedom rushed upon him.</p>
+
+<p>Oh, what a thing it was to have left behind him that accursed city, with
+its weariness, its anxieties, the endless jangles of the law, the
+feverish play, the guilt, the terrible dread of detection&mdash;to have left
+it for ever!</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Jim, off we go!" cried the skipper. The dinghy was lifted on
+board, the mainsail was hoisted, then the jib; the moorings were slipt,
+up went the foresail, and the yacht shot out into the stream; then,
+obedient to her rudder, bore away, and tore down the river before the
+freshening breeze on the top of the strong ebb tide. Needless it is to
+describe that pleasant summer day's sail. Allen was in the highest
+spirits, and for him the happy hours flew rapidly by. Even Carew,
+intoxicated with the pure air and sunshine, and the delightful sight of
+dancing waters, forgot his sin and misery, and felt almost light-hearted
+for the first time for months; and at last, when the yacht reached the
+broader water, thinking over his position, he gave a sigh of infinite
+relief.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> Now, indeed, he was safe. No fugitive had ever left so little
+trace behind him.</p>
+
+<p>They were well outside the Thames, in the East Swin Channel, before
+dark. The sun set in a golden haze, ominous of storm on the morrow, and
+then the wind dropped. The yacht sailed very slowly down the English
+coast during the night, the three men taking it in turn to steer and
+sleep. At sunrise they were off the Naze, and the sky looked so stormy
+and the glass fell so rapidly that there was some discussion as to
+whether it would not be well to put in to Harwich. But Carew was so
+earnestly opposed to this that the owner decided to push on, and the
+vessel's head was turned seaward towards the mouth of the Maas. The
+English coast loomed less and less distinct; but so light was the wind
+that it was not till midday that they lost all sight of the land. Then
+the wind began to pipe up suddenly, and seeing nothing but stormy clouds
+and heaving water around him, Carew's spirits rose wonderfully; a
+reaction of wild gaiety succeeded his anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>At four it was blowing so hard that they took two reefs in the mainsail
+and shifted jibs. Shortly before sunset, Carew was taking his turn at
+the tiller; the others were below. After a while the motion of the yacht
+became so violent that the owner came on deck to have a look round.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p><p>"The wind has freshened a lot this last half-hour, and there's a nasty
+sea getting up," he said. "It will be blowing a gale of wind before the
+morning. Well, we have a good craft under our feet."</p>
+
+<p>"She steers wonderfully easily," replied the solicitor. "She's a
+beautiful boat. I would not mind crossing the Atlantic in her."</p>
+
+<p>"I should think not," said the proud owner. "But look at that vessel
+across your lee-bow, Carew. What the dickens are they up to on board of
+her? She's yawing all over the place. First I thought she was on the
+port-tack; then she seemed as if she was in stays; and now&mdash;ah, I see
+it&mdash;she is hove-to."</p>
+
+<p>"She is a small brig," said Carew. "Get the glasses up and see what you
+can make of her."</p>
+
+<p>Allen dived below, brought up the binoculars, and scanned the vessel.
+"By Jove!" he cried, "she's in a nice mess. Her bowsprit is carried
+away, her foretopmast too, and her jib's streaming away like a flag.
+Hallo! and part of her stem and bulwarks have gone."</p>
+
+<p>"Collision." It was Jim's voice. He had just come on deck, and his quick
+eye at once realised the brig's mishap. Then he looked at her intently
+for some moments, and spoke again, in eager tones for him&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Derelict."</p>
+
+<p>"So she is," cried Allen. "We'll get out the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> boat and board her. Do you
+think the sea is too high, Jim?"</p>
+
+<p>Jim said nothing. He was quite ready to risk his life in a cockle-shell
+in a heavy sea, as all fishermen of the Doggerbank must be. He was not
+the man to refuse to do what his employer wished, unless the danger were
+very great indeed. He looked round at the sea, then nodded his head
+affirmatively.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think it's safe," said Carew. "In the first place, see how low
+that brig is in the water; she may go down at any moment, and the sea is
+very tricky to-day. I grant you it does not seem so very rough just now,
+but every half-hour or so there have been some rather dangerous rollers.
+One passed by us just before you came on deck."</p>
+
+<p>But Allen's spirit of adventure was up. "Oh, nonsense!" he cried; "I'm
+going to see what she is. She may be worth standing by for salvage. Run
+down a bit nearer to her&mdash;that's it. Now let's heave-to&mdash;so. Now
+overboard with the dinghy, Jim. You stay behind and mind the yacht,
+Carew."</p>
+
+<p>Jim and Allen waited for a "smooth," seized the dinghy, dexterously
+launched her, and leaping in nimbly, pulled away from the yacht&mdash;a feat
+that looks easy on paper, but requires nerve and skill to perform in a
+heavy sea.</p>
+
+<p>"If you drift away too far, let draw your jib and sail up to us,"
+shouted Allen, as he went away.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span></p><p>Carew stood on the deck of the yacht, which now rose and fell on the
+seas with the easy motion of a vessel that is hove-to, and watched the
+tiny boat, so frail and yet so buoyant, so far safer than she seemed, as
+she leapt from wave to wave.</p>
+
+<p>The dinghy was close to the brig. In another moment the men would have
+boarded her, when Carew perceived, to his horror, a huge roller coming
+up&mdash;a steep mass of water, with overhanging, breaking crest, such as are
+met with on the edge of shallows. It reached the yacht and hurled her
+high up; then dropped her again into the trough of the sea with a shock
+almost as violent as if she had struck a rock. The giant wave thundered
+by the sturdy little vessel without injuring her. But the dinghy&mdash;where
+was she?</p>
+
+<p>Carew strained his eyes in her direction. First the boat was hidden from
+him by the intervening wave; then he saw her for a moment floating on
+the top of a sea, some forty yards away, bottom up. He thought, too, he
+could distinguish a man's head in the water near her. The derelict had
+disappeared. Waterlogged as she was, it had only needed that last great
+sea to send her down bodily.</p>
+
+<p>But all this while his two companions were drowning. Why did Carew stand
+there idle? He was sailor enough to know his duty. He could have sailed
+the yacht close to the men, thrown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> a life-buoy to them, and have
+possibly succeeded in dragging them on board. He stood on the deck, as
+if dazed. Had he lost his head for a time? He only hesitated for two or
+three seconds, but they were invaluable&mdash;then it was too late!</p>
+
+<p>A sudden squall of wind and rain swept down upon the sea, and all was
+obscured in a whirling smoke of spray and vapour. It was impossible to
+see even a few yards through it; and when the squall had passed, there
+were no men and no dinghy to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>The dark and stormy night settled down upon the waters, and Henry Carew
+was left alone in the middle of the North Sea!</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER III</span></h2>
+
+<p>"Am I a murderer?"</p>
+
+<p>So asked of his conscience, in fear and trembling, Henry Carew, as he
+stood alone upon the deck of the labouring vessel, surrounded by a waste
+of tumultuous waters.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a murderer!" he cried aloud. "Oh no, not that!"</p>
+
+<p>Then he argued with himself. "Had I done all that a man could, I think I
+should have been unable to save them. True, I lost my presence of mind.
+I did not stir a hand to help them; but that is not murder. Poor Allen!
+poor Allen! But no; this is a morbid fancy. At least I am innocent of
+that crime."</p>
+
+<p>He looked round at the wild sea, invisible on that starless night save
+for the white foam that hissed on the tops of the waves.</p>
+
+<p>"And now to make the best of my position. How fortune has turned! I, who
+two days back was surrounded by dangers, have nothing to fear now."</p>
+
+<p>Then he broke into a wild laugh, not of merriment or exultation, but a
+sort of hysterical<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> effervescence that came of a mind that had long been
+tasked beyond its strength by violent emotions.</p>
+
+<p>But he fully realised what a great advantage the loss of his two
+companions signified for him. Yes, even at that moment when he beheld
+them drowning before him, the profit their death would bring him had
+flashed across his brain. Little wonder that he asked his conscience
+that terrible question, "Am I a murderer?"</p>
+
+<p>How simple his course seemed now! It needed little thought to decide on
+it. He knew that Allen was accustomed to undertake long cruises, and
+therefore would not be missed for some time. Again, the barrister was
+somewhat careless in his correspondence; so the fact of his neglecting
+to write to his friends would surprise and alarm no one. How easy, then,
+for Carew to impersonate him! He would sail the yacht into some Dutch
+port&mdash;no very difficult task; and once there, he could rely on his wits
+to make the most of the opportunities chance should throw in his way.
+Most probably he would sell the yacht and take a passage on some vessel
+bound for a South American harbour. Like most educated fugitives from
+justice, he turned to the Argentine Republic as being the safest of
+sanctuaries.</p>
+
+<p>Carew's eyes, accustomed to observe the signs of the weather, told him
+that the wind was likely to freshen; so he set about making<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> himself as
+comfortable as possible for the night. He lowered the foresail, and
+still further reduced the mainsail by tricing up the tack. Then, with
+jib-sheet hauled to windward and tiller lashed, the yacht lay hove-to.
+After watching her for a few minutes, Carew saw that she was behaving
+admirably, and that he could with safety stay below the whole night if
+he chose, and leave the little vessel to take care of herself.</p>
+
+<p>"It will have to blow a good deal harder to hurt her," he thought; "it's
+only collision I have to be afraid of now. Well, I can considerably
+lessen the chances of that."</p>
+
+<p>So he went below, found the side-lamps, lit them, and fastened them to
+the shrouds.</p>
+
+<p>So dark had become the night that nothing could be distinguished from
+the yacht's deck, save when, as she rolled from side to side, the port
+and starboard lights cast an alternate ruddy and sickly green glare on
+the foaming water. To be out in the North Sea on so small a craft during
+a gale is terrifying in the extreme to one not inured to the sea; the
+roaring of the waves and the howling of the wind sound so much louder
+than on a larger vessel, and the quick, violent motion often confuses
+the brains even of sailors if they are accustomed only to big ships. But
+Carew was, as Allen had said, a smart man on a fore-an-after. He felt
+that, with this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> good boat under him, he was as safe as if he had been
+on shore.</p>
+
+<p>"She's snug enough," he said. "I'll go below and try to make out from
+the chart where I am; then I'll turn in and sleep&mdash;if I can."</p>
+
+<p>He looked at the chart, roughly calculated the distance the yacht had
+run since Allen had taken his "departure" from the Naze, and found that
+he was about half-way between the English and Dutch coasts. "That is
+good," he thought; "I have no lee-shore near me; I have plenty of room.
+I'll just stay where I am, hove-to, till the wind moderates, then make
+sail for Rotterdam."</p>
+
+<p>He lay down in his bunk and tried to sleep, but all in vain. His brain
+was too excited with thoughts of what had passed and what was still to
+happen. Plans to secure his safety, and visions of possible accidents,
+passed through his mind, weaving themselves in delirious manner into
+long and complicated histories of his future life&mdash;some happy, some
+terrible with retributive calamity. Unable to stay the feverish activity
+of his brain, he came on deck at frequent intervals to see that all was
+well.</p>
+
+<p>The vessel plunged and rolled throughout the night, her timbers
+groaning, and the wind shrieking through her rigging. But towards
+daybreak the gale began to moderate, and the glass rose slowly. Carew
+saw that the bad<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> weather was over and that the heavy sea would soon
+subside. On the shallow German Ocean the sea rises quicker than
+elsewhere, and with its steep and breaking rollers is more perilous than
+can be experienced on any other of our home waters, as the fishermen of
+the Doggerbank know to their cost. On the other hand, here it soon
+becomes smooth again as the wind drops.</p>
+
+<p>An hour or so after dawn the sky was almost cloudless, and only a fresh
+breeze was blowing. The waves, no longer dangerous, broke into white
+foam that sparkled in the sunshine. It was a day to gladden a sailor's
+heart.</p>
+
+<p>Carew stood on deck, and under the joyous influences of that bright
+morning a calm fell on his soul, and his conscience ceased to trouble
+him. There is a sort of magnetic relation between a man and his
+surroundings. Out at sea, far away from land, with nothing but pure air
+and pure water near, even a great villain is wont to forget that he
+himself is not pure as well. In London, as he walked through the crowded
+streets, Carew knew that he was constantly jostling against men as bad
+as himself. In them he saw his own vices and crimes reflected as in a
+mirror, so that he could never put his guilt out of his mind. Again,
+fearful as he had been lately that those around him suspected him, he
+was unable to feel, even for one delusive moment, the sense of
+innocence.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p><p>But out here on the great sea, so far removed from human passion, with
+nothing to remind him of his offences, it was, on the contrary,
+difficult for him to realise what manner of man he was. He was conscious
+of what he imagined were virtuous impulses. He began to flatter himself
+that he was naturally a good man, that he was more sinned against than
+sinning, and that it was foolish of him to allow a sensitive conscience
+to torment him about occurrences, regrettable indeed, but the blame of
+which was scarcely his. The fact was that he mistook the joyous feelings
+inspired by a sunny day at sea for the reawakening of his better self&mdash;a
+frequent mistake that. His soul was in complete harmony with the Nature
+around him; and Nature, whatever her actions, knows nothing of crime or
+remorse.</p>
+
+<p>So Henry Carew, in no unhappy frame of mind, began to consider what he
+should do next; and as he pondered, all his pluck and energy returned to
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"In an hour or so," he said to himself, "the sea will have gone down
+still more; then I can get the vessel under way again. In the meantime,
+I will make a thorough inspection, and discover what my resources are;
+for I must have money, or the means of raising it."</p>
+
+<p>He went below, and after lighting a fire in the stove to boil some water
+for coffee, he looked round the walls of the cabin. Among<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> other
+valuables were a rifle, a revolver, a clock, and an aneroid; and Allen's
+gold watch and chain were hanging on a nail. "I can raise fifty pounds
+on these to begin with," he thought; "and now to see what there is in
+the lockers and cupboards." He rummaged everywhere; but, with the
+exception of the sextant, there was no article of any value that could
+be easily sold.</p>
+
+<p>At last, in a small drawer, he found the barrister's money and papers.
+There were about twenty-five pounds in gold. There was also a
+cheque-book; and on turning over its pages, Carew found that Allen had
+made a note of the balance to his credit on the counterfoil of the last
+cheque he had drawn, showing that he had the sum of fifty pounds at his
+bank. Then the solicitor glanced at the yacht's Admiralty warrant, which
+authorised Arthur Allen to fly the blue ensign of Her Majesty's fleet on
+his yacht, the <i>Petrel</i>, of sixteen tons register; a most valuable
+privilege, as Carew knew, which would serve him as passport into
+whatever foreign port he should go.</p>
+
+<p>He was not altogether satisfied with the result of his search, and, as
+he sat on the bunk sipping his coffee, the more he thought of his
+prospects the more gloomy they appeared to him. He felt that it would be
+very hazardous to attempt selling the yacht in Rotterdam. To do so would
+require time; and as it was the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> long vacation, and so many lawyers and
+others who knew him were taking their holidays, his recognition by
+someone in so favourite a haunt of tourists as the Dutch city would be a
+highly probable event. He dared not risk that. He must not stay in
+Holland a moment longer than was necessary. Then what could he do with
+so small a fund at his disposal?</p>
+
+<p>His eye fell on the open drawer, and he rose to close it. He happened
+then to notice the barrister's diary among the papers, and though he did
+not imagine that there could be anything in it of the slightest interest
+to himself, he took it up in a casual way and opened it at the first
+page. Suddenly the indifferent look vanished, he started visibly, and
+read with intense eagerness. "Oh!" he cried, "now it is all plain
+sailing for me. I know what to do." A triumphant light came into his
+eyes, and then, putting away the diary, he ran on deck, let the
+foresheet draw, and as he steered the vessel on her course over the
+dancing waves, the expression of his face indicated a happy confidence
+in the future; all doubt and fear had fled.</p>
+
+<p>The first page of the diary was devoted to memoranda; and, among other
+things, the barrister had here written a list of the investments from
+which he derived his income. The bulk of these consisted of foreign
+bonds and other easily negotiable securities, which Allen had deposited
+with his banker.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span></p><p>It was the perusal of this list that had suggested to the quick and
+ingenious mind of the solicitor a scheme not difficult of execution, the
+very thought of which made his heart beat quick with anticipation. Carew
+shrank from the peril of forging cheques or letters of instructions to
+Allen's bankers; but now that he knew exactly how the barrister's
+account stood, a simpler and safer method of appropriating to himself a
+large proportion at least of the dead man's fortune occurred to him.</p>
+
+<p>Said this accomplished scoundrel to himself: "I have here a stout,
+seaworthy boat, that can easily take me across the Atlantic. I will ship
+a crew in Rotterdam, and sail for Buenos Ayres. By selling the watch and
+chain and one or two other little things I shall have enough money to
+buy stores and pay all other expenses of the voyage. Once in Buenos
+Ayres, I will go to the agent of the &mdash;&mdash; Bank. There is sure to be one.
+I will show him my papers. I will prove to his satisfaction that I am
+Arthur Allen, barrister-at-law, owner of the yacht <i>Petrel</i>. I will
+explain that I have run short of money, and require a considerable sum
+at once. The agent will telegraph to the bank, learn that I have there
+securities to a large amount, and then he will be ready to advance to me
+as much as I want; and I will want a good deal. I will say that I am
+about to buy land, or tell some such plausible tale, get my money, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>
+away. Oh, most excellent plan! Who on earth is likely to suspect that
+the yachting barrister is no other than Henry Carew, the defaulting
+solicitor?"</p>
+
+<p>He steered the vessel towards the Dutch coast, and soon the wind fell so
+much that he was able to shake out all his reefs.</p>
+
+<p>At ten he passed through a large fleet of fishing boats that were riding
+to their nets. He hailed an English smack, asking her skipper if he
+could tell him his position.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll get hold of the land in an hour or so," shouted the man; "and,
+as you are going now, you'll about fetch Goeree."</p>
+
+<p>Carew, after consulting the chart, steered in a more northerly
+direction. At midday he saw the loom of the land ahead of him; so, as
+the sky was clear, he brought up the sextant and took an observation of
+the sun, thus ascertaining his exact position.</p>
+
+<p>"Lucky it is that I taught myself navigation," he thought; "it will come
+in useful now."</p>
+
+<p>At last he could plainly distinguish the features of the coast, which
+was low and flat, with white sand-hills here and there that gleamed like
+snow in the sunshine.</p>
+
+<p>Then he saw a steeple, a lighthouse, and a group of cottages, with
+bright red roofs, and he knew that he was off the village of
+Scheveningen, which is a few miles to the north of the Maas. Sailing to
+the southward,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> he soon reached the mouth of the river, and at once some
+of the ever-watchful pilots pulled off to him in a small boat.</p>
+
+<p>Carew hove the yacht to, and waited for them. The boat was soon
+alongside. Four little old men, all fat and rosy, were in her. One who
+understood English well was the spokesman. Standing up in the stern he
+shouted&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Captain, you want pilot, sar?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; how much do you want to take me to Rotterdam?"</p>
+
+<p>Carew felt how necessary it was to husband his funds, and he suspected
+that Dutch pilots consider a yacht fair prey for extortion.</p>
+
+<p>The man named an exorbitant sum.</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense! Too much. I'll sail her in myself."</p>
+
+<p>"Right, captain," replied the Dutchman calmly; "that better for me and
+my mates. You try and go in alone, you sure to run ashore. Then we help
+you off, and you give us plenty money for salvage instead of small
+pilot-fee."</p>
+
+<p>Carew felt that it might happen as the old man had said. The Maas is
+encumbered with shoals, and the navigation is difficult for a stranger.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, how much you give me, captain?"</p>
+
+<p>The solicitor mentioned a moderate sum.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, you rich man with yacht to be hard on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> poor pilot! Now, I pilot you
+for the middle price."</p>
+
+<p>"Come on board, then," said Carew.</p>
+
+<p>The pilot leapt on to the yacht's deck, and the other three pulled away
+in their boat.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, captain. Tide in river running strong, wind is light; so we want
+all sail, or else we no move. Call up your hands and hoist topsail."</p>
+
+<p>"There are no hands below. I am alone," replied Carew.</p>
+
+<p>"Alone? What do you mean? You come from England all alone?" exclaimed
+the man in great astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; my crew got drunk and were insolent just before I sailed. They
+thought I could not do without them, and they knew I was in a hurry. But
+I put them all on shore without hesitation, and I have come across
+alone."</p>
+
+<p>"You a very mad Englishman, but you a brave man. I never hear anything
+like that."</p>
+
+<p>"Pilot," said Carew, later on, as they were sailing up the river, "I
+don't want to be followed about Rotterdam as if I were a curiosity; so I
+should like you not to mention the fact of my having sailed across the
+sea alone."</p>
+
+<p>"All right, captain; my mouth close."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall want a crew of two or three good, honest Dutchmen, pilot. Can
+you recommend me any men?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span></p><p>"This very night you shall have one&mdash;my cousin Willem&mdash;a very good boy,
+captain."</p>
+
+<p>"And there is another thing, pilot. What sort of a berth are you going
+to put me in in Rotterdam?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will moor you along the Boompjees; nice quays them. Plenty good
+Schiedam shops on shore there. All yachts go there."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought so; that's why I asked. Now, pilot, I do not want to be
+moored along the Boompjees. Take me to some quiet canal, out of the way;
+you understand&mdash;a place where no yachts or foreign vessels go."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, I know, captain, just the place: nothing but Holland schuyts there;
+no yachts like it, no captains like it; I not think you will like it."</p>
+
+<p>"I will go there. But why don't you think I shall like it?"</p>
+
+<p>"You no have Dutch nose; and that canal plenty smellful, captain."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER IV</span></h2>
+
+<p>A narrow canal that pierces an out-of-the-way corner of old Rotterdam.
+Medi&aelig;val houses&mdash;narrow, lofty, terminating in quaint, pointed
+gables&mdash;overhang the sluggish waters. It is only frequented by the
+picturesque native canal boats, with their lofty masts and varnished oak
+sides, so marvellously clean, for all their dirty work. In this quiet
+spot, with its old-world, decaying look, it is difficult to realise that
+close at hand are the busy quays of the Boompjees, crowded with vessels
+from all parts of the world, noisy with the haste of modern commerce.</p>
+
+<p>It is a bit of Rotterdam that does not change. The British tourist,
+unless he has lost himself, never explores the narrow alleys that lead
+down to the slimy water&mdash;a gloomy, dead quarter of the city, pervaded by
+a smell that is ancient and fish-like and something worse.</p>
+
+<p>It was a sultry August midday. No breath of air stirred the water of the
+canal, which seemed to be fermenting under the fierce sunshine, and foul
+gases bubbled up on its surface.</p>
+
+<p>Only one of the many vessels moored along<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> the quay flew a foreign flag.
+The blue ensign of Great Britain hung motionless from the mizzen of the
+yacht <i>Petrel</i>.</p>
+
+<p>On the deck was a sturdy little man in baggy trousers, who, despite the
+languid influence of the day, was employed in polishing the brass-work
+on the vessel with an extraordinary energy. This was Willem, the pilot's
+cousin, who had entered into Carew's service, and who had, with Dutch
+diligence, set himself the task of scrubbing the yacht up to his high
+standard of Dutch smartness as quickly as possible.</p>
+
+<p>The owner&mdash;by right of undisputed possession&mdash;was below, looking over
+some charts of the South Atlantic, which he had just purchased. The
+solicitor had been making all his preparations as rapidly but as quietly
+as possible. But little now remained to be done. So far, honest Willem
+was the only hand he had engaged; but he knew that he could easily ship
+as many men as he needed at a moment's notice in so large a seaport as
+Rotterdam. He told no one of his projected voyage across the Atlantic,
+knowing that to do so would at once attract attention to him; and he
+naturally dreaded that publicity should be given to his doings.</p>
+
+<p>He showed himself in the streets as little as possible, and he always
+went forth to make his purchases in the early morning before English
+tourists were likely to be out of their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> beds. He had only been in port
+two days, but he was almost ready for sea. He had some tanks fitted into
+the cabin, so that he could carry sufficient water for a long voyage; he
+had filled all the lockers and bunks with a large quantity of tinned
+meats, biscuits, and other necessary stores; he had procured his charts;
+and all this had been done in the least conspicuous manner possible.</p>
+
+<p>Though he had never before undertaken an ocean cruise of this magnitude,
+he knew what was requisite, and forgot nothing. There was no chronometer
+on board the yacht, and he could not afford to buy one; so, as his watch
+was not to be depended upon, he saw that he would have to navigate his
+vessel after the fashion of the good old days before chronometers were
+known. The ancient navigators carried with them their astrolabes&mdash;rough
+instruments, long since superseded by quadrants and sextants&mdash;which
+enabled them to find their latitude accurately enough. But having no
+timepieces, they were unable to ascertain their longitude by observation
+of the heavenly bodies, and had to rely on dead reckoning alone. So the
+mariner of old, after a long voyage across ocean currents of unknown
+speed and direction, was possibly many hundreds of miles out of his
+reckoning as regards longitude, though he knew his latitude to within a
+few miles.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p><p>Thus, supposing, for instance, he was bound for Barbadoes, he would
+sail boldly on until, according to his calculations, he was some few
+days' journey to the eastward of his port. Then he would steer for the
+exact latitude in which it lay, and follow that line of latitude till he
+reached his destination; which he was, of course, bound to do sooner or
+later. Moreover, it was his invariable custom to heave his vessel to
+every night while running down the latitude; as otherwise he might pass
+by the island without seeing it in the darkness, and lose himself
+entirely.</p>
+
+<p>It was a slow method of navigation&mdash;not to say a risky one. But Carew
+would not have to encounter so many difficulties as the sailors of old;
+for ocean currents are better understood in these days, and the
+opportunities of speaking vessels at sea and ascertaining the exact
+longitude from them are very frequent.</p>
+
+<p>Carew had spent all the money he had found on board the yacht, and there
+were still some necessary purchases to be made. The most expensive of
+the articles yet to be bought was a dinghy, to replace the one that had
+been lost. This very morning he had found his way to the Mont de Pi&eacute;t&eacute;
+and pawned everything he could well spare: Allen's watch and chain, the
+rifle, and one of the two binocular glasses. With that easy
+forgetfulness which was an attribute of his conscience, he had by this
+time almost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> come to believe that the barrister's yacht and fortune were
+rightfully his. The sum he thus raised was not a large one; but he
+calculated that it would enable him to meet every expense, though he
+would have to put to sea almost penniless, if not quite so.</p>
+
+<p>While Willem was still busy on deck a tall, good-looking gentleman, with
+an honest but shrewd eye and tawny beard, came along the quay and stood
+in front of the yacht, inspecting her critically for a few moments.</p>
+
+<p>"Is the owner on board?" he inquired of the sailor in Dutch.</p>
+
+<p>"The English captain is in his cabin, sir," replied the little man in a
+solemn, nasal drawl.</p>
+
+<p>"I should like to see him. Will you give him my card?"</p>
+
+<p>Willem, taking the card, descended to the cabin. "Von man here for see
+you, captain," he said in his broken English.</p>
+
+<p>Carew started. "A man to see me? What sort of man?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Him a gentleman man, for him has von tall black hat. Here was his
+paper," and he handed Carew the card.</p>
+
+<p>The solicitor felt the blood forsake his heart. Some English
+acquaintance had found him out. He looked at the card with dread; then a
+sigh of relief escaped him; the name was certainly Dutch&mdash;Hoogendyk.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p><p>Carew went on deck and politely invited his visitor to come on board.
+Mynheer Hoogendyk stepped down from the quay, and introduced himself in
+excellent English.</p>
+
+<p>"I am a resident of Rotterdam," he said, "and I am a leading member of
+our Yacht Club. I have come to inform you that, with your permission, we
+shall be highly delighted to make our English <i>confr&egrave;re</i> an honorary
+member of the club during his stay in our city."</p>
+
+<p>"I am very grateful to the club for the honour they confer upon me, and
+shall gladly avail myself of the privilege," replied the lawyer, who, as
+he spoke, made a resolve never to put his foot inside the club premises,
+but to ship his crew and sail from Rotterdam without delay. It was
+dangerous for him to stay longer, now that his retreat had been
+discovered.</p>
+
+<p>"I only heard of you by accident yesterday," said the visitor, who,
+unlike most of his countrymen, was garrulous and inquisitive, though a
+good fellow. "Why have you picked up a berth in this dirty,
+out-of-the-way hole?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is picturesque and quiet."</p>
+
+<p>"And filthy and unhealthy. We must move you to a better spot. There is a
+capital berth just in front of the English church. You'll see lots of
+your countrymen there. How many hands have you on board? I see you have
+shipped one Dutchman."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p><p>"My two men were drunken ruffians, and I discharged them."</p>
+
+<p>"I will undertake to get you a good crew of my countrymen if you like. I
+suppose you are going to cruise about our coasts. Where are you going to
+from here?"</p>
+
+<p>"To Amsterdam," replied Carew, who was on tenterhooks of impatience. He
+felt how dangerous this man would be with his gossiping habits.</p>
+
+<p>"And now, sir," said Mynheer Hoogendyk, drawing out a pocket-book and
+pencil, "I will take your name and enter it on the club books."</p>
+
+<p>"Here is my card." Carew handed to him one of the barrister's cards.</p>
+
+<p>"'Mr. Arthur Allen, Fountain Court, Temple!'" read the visitor. "Ah, you
+live in the Temple! I know it well. Are you a lawyer by chance?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am a barrister."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! How delightful! We are chips of the same block, Mr. Allen. I, too,
+am a barrister, in practice in Rotterdam. Both yachtsmen, both
+advocates, what a bond of friendship there should be between us! You
+must come and see my yacht&mdash;such a pretty little schuyt&mdash;and also our
+law courts."</p>
+
+<p>They sat together in the <i>Petrel's</i> cabin, and the Dutch advocate
+commenced to question the solicitor on English law, comparing it with
+that in force in his own country. Carew was hugely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> bored and weary of
+his visitor's chatter, but did his best to be civil.</p>
+
+<p>"And, by the way," cried the Dutchman at last, "there is a trial now
+proceeding which I am sure would be of the greatest interest to you; for
+you say that the criminal law is your particular line."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it about?" asked the solicitor indifferently.</p>
+
+<p>"Piracy: the seizure of a vessel and the murder of her officers by the
+crew."</p>
+
+<p>All Carew's indifference vanished now. He let the cigar he was smoking
+drop from his fingers, and, turning his head, he looked at his visitor's
+face with a steady, fierce look, as of some wild beast that awaits the
+attack of another, and has strung all its nerves to resist its foe to
+the death. The Dutchman, whose eyes were directed downwards at that
+moment, did not observe that look.</p>
+
+<p>The slumbering conscience had been awakened again with a rude start by
+those words. For a moment Carew lost his head and fancied that this
+garrulous man was a police detective who knew everything and had been
+playing with his prisoner all this while. Then he looked at his
+visitor's face again, and felt reassured, realising the absurdity of
+such a supposition.</p>
+
+<p>The advocate, quite unconscious of the perturbation he had caused,
+continued&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, it was a terrible story. Perhaps you<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> remember reading in the
+papers some months ago of an act of piracy in the Spanish Main. A vessel
+trading from Cura&ccedil;oa under the Dutch flag was seized by her crew&mdash;a lot
+of Spanish and Mulatto cut-throats. They murdered the captain, the mate,
+and a few honest Dutch sailors who stood by their officers. Then the
+mutineers sailed for Puerto Cabello, where, as usual, there was a civil
+war, with the intention of selling the vessel to the revolutionary
+party, which was in need of transports. When they arrived there the
+revolution was over; the Government seized the vessel, but the ruffians
+contrived to escape up country."</p>
+
+<p>"I remember all that well," said Carew. "The story made a great noise at
+the time."</p>
+
+<p>"Now it happens," said the advocate, "that three of these ruffians
+shipped as sailors in a South American port on board of a vessel bound
+for Rotterdam. One day a Dutch sailor from Cura&ccedil;oa enters a drinking
+shop on the Boompjees, and sees, sitting down at a table over a bottle
+of schiedam, three men whom he recognises as part of the crew of the
+ill-fated <i>Vrouw Elisa</i>. He calls in the police, and now these gentlemen
+are being tried for their lives."</p>
+
+<p>"To be hanged if found guilty, I suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"I hope so; but I am afraid that they will be acquitted. Everyone is
+morally sure of their guilt; but, unfortunately, the evidence for the
+prosecution has been so confused and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>contradictory that their identity
+has not been satisfactorily settled. The counsel for the defence is a
+very able fellow too."</p>
+
+<p>"What countrymen are they?" inquired Carew.</p>
+
+<p>"Two are Spaniards and one is a Frenchman. I think the Frenchman was the
+ringleader of the mutineers, for he looks a clever rascal. And now, Mr.
+Allen, the trial will probably conclude this afternoon. The court is
+very crowded, but I can get you in. Come along, and you will be able to
+compare the Dutch and English criminal procedure."</p>
+
+<p>Carew would have preferred to decline the invitation, but in ordinary
+politeness found it difficult to do so; and he accompanied the native
+lawyer&mdash;who undoubtedly possessed the gift of the gab, if no other
+qualifications for his profession&mdash;to the law courts.</p>
+
+<p>Carew felt anything but easy in his mind as he walked through the main
+streets of the town, at this hour of the day crowded with a motley
+throng, including not a few of his own countrymen, bent on pleasure or
+business. Pretending to listen to his companion's unceasing gossip, the
+solicitor looked anxiously about him as he went, fearing at each step to
+see some well-known face from Fleet Street. The glaring sunshine had
+rejoiced his soul when he was out on the lonely seas, but in the hives
+of his fellow-men he shrank from the all-searching light, and
+experienced guilt's instinct for safe obscurity.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span></p><p>But he saw no one he knew on his way, and was much relieved when Mr.
+Hoogendyk procured for him, after some difficulty, a seat in a remote
+and dark corner of the court, where he could see and hear, himself
+unseen.</p>
+
+<p>Carew soon became so interested in watching the faces of the three men
+who were being tried for their lives that, in spite of the advocate's
+whispered suggestions on the subject, he paid no attention to the
+procedure, and did not endeavour to compare the Dutch and English legal
+systems. He took no interest in law now; he was indeed heartily sick of
+it, and hoped that he had washed his hands of it for ever.</p>
+
+<p>Of the three men only one had a really unprepossessing and murderous
+countenance. A murderer looks much like any other man, though people who
+take their ideas from waxwork shows think otherwise. That this should be
+so is obvious enough. A few only of murderers have homicidal
+proclivities as a part of their nature, and these indeed may betray
+their character in their physiognomy. All the other passions and vices
+of disposition can, under certain circumstances, compel the man who has
+the greatest horror of bloodshed to kill a fellow-being. In the large
+majority of cases, murder is not a tendency but the result of other
+tendencies.</p>
+
+<p>But one of the three prisoners had indeed a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> villainous appearance. He
+was a big, clumsily built Spaniard from the Basque countries, with a
+heavy, animal face and an evil mouth, indicative of the stupid cruelty
+of some savage beast.</p>
+
+<p>The other Spaniard was a short, stout man, with a jovial face and an
+enormous black moustache, which he twirled occasionally with a complete
+<i>nonchalance</i>. There was nothing of the murderer in his appearance.</p>
+
+<p>Neither of these two men exhibited any signs of fear. The first faced
+death with the dogged pluck of an animal, the second with a somewhat
+higher sort of courage.</p>
+
+<p>The third man alone, the Frenchman, showed that he was suffering the
+agonies of acute terror. The little Spaniard, observing this, nodded to
+him now and then, smiling maliciously, and the big man scowled at him
+with surly contempt. The Frenchman's face was quite white, and the
+perspiration poured down it in streams; his lips quivered, and, holding
+on to the rail of the dock with hands tightly clenched, he listened with
+intense attention to every word of judge or advocate.</p>
+
+<p>The features of this man, though distorted with fear, were delicate and
+refined. His handsome face was more like that of a Proven&ccedil;al gentleman
+than of a rough sailor. He was a well-knit man of about thirty, with the
+blue-black hair of the South. Over his fine and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> expressive eyes were
+bushy black brows, which almost met on his forehead, giving him a
+somewhat sinister appearance.</p>
+
+<p>Carew found himself taking a strange, morbid interest in watching these
+three faces. In some way he identified himself with the prisoners. Had
+not they committed a crime only in degree differing from his own? The
+day might come when he too would be tried for his life. He wondered
+whether he would then look like the dogged Basque, the cowardly
+Frenchman, or the other. He had always flattered himself that he did not
+fear death; but how difficult to know how he would face it until his
+time came!</p>
+
+<p>At last, amid complete silence, judgment was given. Carew could not
+understand the words, but he knew their import&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Not guilty!"</p>
+
+<p>The spectators groaned and hissed when they heard this decision. The
+Frenchman fell back fainting. The big Spaniard glanced boldly round the
+court with a ferocious scowl, and he made an involuntary motion with his
+right hand, as if he held his knife in it and was longing to rip up a
+few of his enemies. The little man smiled, and bowed pleasantly to the
+court, after the manner of an actor who is acknowledging his tribute of
+applause.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER V</span></h2>
+
+<p>The attorney and Carew left the court, the former volubly indignant at
+the miscarriage of justice, the latter moody and thoughtful.</p>
+
+<p>"And now," cried the Hollander, "here we are at the best caf&eacute; in
+Rotterdam. Come in, and let us wash out the taste of crime with some
+beer."</p>
+
+<p>They sat down at one of the little round tables, and two tall glasses
+foaming at the brim were placed before them.</p>
+
+<p>"They have all the English papers here," said the advocate. "I will ask
+the waiter to bring you one."</p>
+
+<p>Carew looked round the room, and suddenly his face paled, for he saw
+sitting at a table at some distance off a fellow-countryman, whom he
+recognised as a tobacconist in Fleet Street, a man who, no doubt, knew
+Carew's name and profession well, for the solicitor had often made
+purchases at his shop.</p>
+
+<p>Carew did not lose his presence of mind. The man was reading the
+<i>Times</i>, and had, in all probability, not yet observed him.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p><p>"Mynheer Hoogendyk," he said, "I am sorry that I must leave you now. I
+hope you will excuse me. I have an engagement, and in your agreeable
+company I had forgotten all about it."</p>
+
+<p>"You flatter me, sir," replied the advocate with a bow. "I trust that
+you will honour me by dining with me to-morrow at eight, your English
+hour, I believe, for that repast. My wife speaks English well, and will
+be delighted to see you."</p>
+
+<p>"I accept your invitation with the greatest pleasure, mynheer."</p>
+
+<p>Then they rose to go, and Carew contrived to keep his lively companion
+between him and the man from Fleet Street as they walked out of the
+caf&eacute;.</p>
+
+<p>The solicitor felt ill at ease until he had left behind this bright and
+crowded portion of the city, and was once again in the region of the
+gloomy and malodorous slums where the yacht was lying.</p>
+
+<p>He saw how necessary it was that he should leave Rotterdam the next day
+if possible. It was no place for him. His recognition by some one or
+other must occur sooner or later if he stayed here. So, having dined in
+a dingy little hostelry on the quay opposite to the yacht, he visited
+some of the least-frequented streets, and purchased the few necessaries
+for the cruise which he had not already procured. He came<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> across a
+fisherman on the canal who was willing to sell him a small, clumsy boat
+which could serve him as dinghy. After some bargaining in pantomime&mdash;for
+neither understood the other's tongue&mdash;Carew secured this for the sum of
+three pounds.</p>
+
+<p>Passing an apothecary's shop, it occurred to him that it would be well
+to take some of the more necessary medicines with him, seeing that he
+might be some months at sea without calling at any port. He entered the
+shop and proceeded to draw up a list of his requirements, to which, as
+an afterthought, he added some drugs in less common use.</p>
+
+<p>"These last are poisons," said the chemist in broken English. "I cannot
+supply you with these unless you are a doctor."</p>
+
+<p>Carew, with bold invention, explained that he was the captain of a
+vessel, and as such was the ship's doctor, and had a right to any drugs
+he might choose to ask for; and he produced his Admiralty warrant in
+proof of his statement.</p>
+
+<p>The man was puzzled, perused the warrant without understanding it, and
+at last, reluctantly waiving his scruples, gave the solicitor all that
+he required.</p>
+
+<p>His vessel was now completely fitted out; nothing was wanting but a
+crew, and here a difficulty presented itself. He felt that it was highly
+important that no one in Rotterdam should know that he was sailing for
+Buenos<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> Ayres, else the report that so small a yacht was about to
+undertake so long a voyage would spread rapidly, and would soon appear
+in the English papers. He wished it to be supposed that he was merely
+taking a few weeks' cruise in Dutch waters.</p>
+
+<p>But then, how would his men take it were he only to divulge his
+destination to them when they were well out at sea? The probability was
+that they would refuse to obey his orders, and insist upon returning.
+Professional sailors are not fond of ocean voyages in tiny craft.</p>
+
+<p>Evidently his only plan was to prowl about the docks that night, select
+with care three likely-looking men for his purpose,&mdash;men without wives
+or ties of any sort,&mdash;bring them on board the yacht, offer them good
+pay, and at the last moment tell them where he was bound for. Then, if
+they still consented to accompany him, he would sail away at once,
+allowing them no opportunity of gossiping with their friends on shore.
+Willem, he knew, was not the man for him. The honest Dutchman must be
+discharged at once on some pretext or other.</p>
+
+<p>Carew sat on deck, pipe in mouth, meditating on these matters. He was
+alone on the yacht, for Willem had gone off on leave for a few hours to
+visit some of his relatives.</p>
+
+<p>The sun was setting into a bank of rosy vapour that promised a
+continuance of fine weather. The hot day was closing with a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> sultry eve.
+On that quiet canal, and on the narrow quay beneath the lofty houses,
+there was no sound or sign of life. It was almost as if he were in the
+midst of some dead and long since deserted city.</p>
+
+<p>But of a sudden the peacefulness of that medi&aelig;val scene was rudely
+disturbed. First was heard a confused noise in the distance, as of angry
+human voices and the trampling of many wooden shoes. Louder, nearer was
+the sound, and then Carew perceived a man rush out upon the quay from a
+narrow alley, some hundred yards away, that led towards the principal
+docks. The man, who seemed frantic with terror, stood still for one
+brief moment, looked quickly around him, as if uncertain whither to
+hurry next: whether to plunge into the canal, or run along the quay to
+left or right.</p>
+
+<p>Then arose a loud yell of many voices behind him, as of hounds that at
+last have caught a view of the hunted creature; and the man, hearing it,
+darted off again at full speed along the canal bank in the direction of
+the yacht.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately afterwards there poured out of the alley a crowd of nearly a
+hundred men, women, and children, mostly of the lowest orders; denizens
+of the slums, though some were of a more respectable class; a crowd of
+Hollanders who had lost all their native phlegm for the nonce; a crowd
+gesticulating, howling, execrating, thirsting for the blood of the man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>
+they were pursuing; mad and fierce as a mob of Paris in revolutionary
+days when an aristocrat was scented by the sovereign people.</p>
+
+<p>The wretched man was hatless; his coat and half his shirt had been torn
+from his back; the blood was trickling down his face from the wounds on
+his head where the stones that had been hurled at him had hit.</p>
+
+<p>On he came, running wildly before them, his face livid, his mouth open,
+his teeth set, eyes starting from his head with mortal terror, panting
+as if his heart must burst, ready to fall with exhaustion, but still
+hurrying on for his dear life's sake.</p>
+
+<p>When he was close to the yacht his strength failed him; he stretched out
+his arms wildly, and staggered. With a yell of triumph the cruel crowd
+was on him. A man struck him over the head with a stick. Then, with one
+last despairing effort, he threw himself from the quay on to the yacht's
+deck, and fell a helpless mass at Carew's feet, clutching him by the
+legs, as if to implore his protection, but unable to speak or move.</p>
+
+<p>His pursuers stood on the quay above, muttering angrily to each other,
+but hesitated a moment or so before they ventured to board the yacht,
+each waiting for someone else to lead the way.</p>
+
+<p>Those few moments saved the hunted man.</p>
+
+<p>"Below there!" cried Carew, pointing to the cabin. "Quick, man, or you
+will be lost."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p><p>Seeing that the poor wretch was too exhausted to rise by himself, he
+seized him by the arm, thrust him down the cabin hatchway, closed the
+cover over him, locked it, and put the key in his pocket. It was all
+done in a few seconds, and then the solicitor turned round and stood
+calmly facing the mob.</p>
+
+<p>The people had not realised at first that Carew was about to rob them of
+their victim. Now that they did so, a howl of rage burst from them, and
+some shouted to him, what were evidently commands to give the man up to
+them, and menaces of what they would do if he refused, though he could
+not understand the words.</p>
+
+<p>One man began to clamber down to the yacht; but Carew seized his leg and
+threw him on the quay again, not over-gently. "Silence!" the solicitor
+called out, leaping back on the hatchway; and the Dutchmen, impressed by
+the Englishman's resolute bearing, paused and listened to what he had to
+say.</p>
+
+<p>"Does anyone here understand English?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>As might be expected from a crowd in a Dutch city, several men cried
+out, "Yes, Englishman; yes, we know English."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, what is all this disturbance about? Are you all mad?"</p>
+
+<p>"We want dat man," replied a surly voice.</p>
+
+<p>"You can't have him."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p><p>"Den ve vill take him."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, will you?" Carew drew from his pocket Allen's revolver, which he
+always carried about with him now. "Look you here, my friends; I don't
+want a row, but if any man tries to come on board my vessel without my
+permission I will shoot him."</p>
+
+<p>They were awed by the quiet determination of his manner, and felt that
+he would carry out his words.</p>
+
+<p>"Does you know who you has down dere below?" asked the man who had
+spoken before.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know, and I don't care; but he is not going to be murdered by
+you cowards on board my vessel. If he has committed some crime, call the
+police. I will deliver him over to them only."</p>
+
+<p>The passions of the mob had now cooled down considerably, and the men
+began to light their pipes, and looked once more the staid Dutchmen they
+naturally were.</p>
+
+<p>At this juncture five or six of the sturdy Rotterdam police arrived on
+the spot, and commenced to disperse the crowd so effectually that in a
+few minutes not a soul was left on the quay.</p>
+
+<p>One of the policemen, who understood a little English, came on board the
+yacht and inquired from Carew how the disturbance had commenced.</p>
+
+<p>Carew told him all that had occurred.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p><p>"I should like to see the man," said the officer.</p>
+
+<p>They entered the cabin, and there, sitting in the corner of the bunk,
+trembling, haggard, his face still quite white, save where it was
+smeared with blood, was the French sailor who had that day been tried
+for murder on the high seas, and been acquitted.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought so," said the policeman. "It is the accused, Baptiste Liais.
+His case caused great excitement. The people are very bitter against
+him, for they all believe he was guilty. He is not safe in Rotterdam. We
+must find a way of getting him out of the country."</p>
+
+<p>"You can leave him here for the present," said Carew. "I will see that
+the poor wretch is safe for the night."</p>
+
+<p>"It is very generous of you, sir," exclaimed the astonished policeman;
+"but I think it is very unwise of you"&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I am not afraid of him," interrupted Carew, in peremptory tones. "Leave
+him with me."</p>
+
+<p>The officer shrugged his shoulders. He had always been taught to believe
+that Englishmen were eccentric creatures; so he went away and told his
+comrades that the owner of the yacht was a splendid specimen of the mad
+island race, and Carew and the Frenchman were left alone in the cabin
+facing one another.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER VI</span></h2>
+
+<p>For some few moments Carew sat on the opposite bunk, watching the
+sailor's face musingly. Then, rising, he addressed him in French. "I
+will fetch you a glass of rum. It will do you good."</p>
+
+<p>"I thank you much, sir," said the man, in the same language; "I should
+like it, for I still feel very faint."</p>
+
+<p>He drank a rather large dose of the spirit, and under its influence the
+colour quickly returned to his cheek, and the scared look left his face.</p>
+
+<p>"You can now go into the forecastle and wash yourself," said Carew. "You
+will find a jersey and a coat hanging up there; put them on." These had
+belonged to the drowned sailor, Jim.</p>
+
+<p>When the Frenchman returned to the cabin cleansed of bloodstains and
+decently clothed, the solicitor was surprised to see what a
+respectable-looking fellow he was. He might well have been a gentleman
+from his appearance, and his hands, though brown and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> roughened by work,
+were small and finely shaped.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you feel now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks to you, sir, I am now quite myself again."</p>
+
+<p>After a pause, Carew said, with a smile, "I never before saw such abject
+terror in a man's face as there was in yours when you were running down
+the quay."</p>
+
+<p>"That bloodthirsty <i>canaille</i> was enough to inspire terror. Ah, if I
+could but get hold of that man who hit me with the stick! It was
+horrible, to run down all those streets for life with that yelping pack
+after me. I had no chance with them, though I am a good runner; for so
+soon as the brutes wearied and lagged behind, fresh ones joined the
+crowd at every corner. Ah, monsieur, I think you would have exhibited as
+much terror yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Not quite as much, I think," said Carew quietly.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps not, monsieur. I am brave enough in some ways&mdash;braver, perhaps,
+than you would be; but I have not that animal contempt for death that my
+comrade, El Toro, for instance, possesses. Delicate fibres suffer the
+most."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you are hardly a fit person to be a ringleader of mutineers.
+Murderers should have no nerves."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste Liais was a very calm person when he was not in fear, and he
+had now entirely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> recovered his self-possession. He shrugged his
+shoulders, and replied carelessly, "There are assassins and assassins,
+monsieur. There is courage and courage. There is the blind bravery of
+the soldier, who, shrinking not from bloodshed, risks his life in
+battle; and there is the cool nerve of the educated man, who, in cold
+blood, removes with poison those who stand in his way. I suppose you
+allow that this last is also a species of courage?"</p>
+
+<p>"Is that your sort of courage?"</p>
+
+<p>The Frenchman shook his head in a deprecatory way, and exclaimed, in
+tones of playful remonstrance, as if he were only rebutting a charge of
+one of those offences which are tolerated, and even fashionable, "But,
+monsieur, monsieur! you speak of me as if I had been proved to be an
+assassin. You forget that I was acquitted."</p>
+
+<p>"You say that you are innocent?"</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly. I am sure that I am a very inoffensive fellow." The man
+spoke with the quiet ease of one gentleman to another. It was plain that
+he had been used to decent society at some period of his life.</p>
+
+<p>"Were you never on board the <i>Vrouw Elisa</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"I had never heard of the vessel till they arrested me here."</p>
+
+<p>"And your companions, the two Spaniards?"</p>
+
+<p>"As innocent as I am myself&mdash;no more, no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> less. But I see that you have
+some of that excellent English tobacco on the table. Permit me to make
+myself a cigarette."</p>
+
+<p>"You are a cool fellow, Baptiste Liais. I can see that you are a man of
+education. You were not always a common sailor?"</p>
+
+<p>"Your perception flatters me. You have divined the truth," said the
+Frenchman, bowing. "I am a gentleman by birth and education. My family
+is one of the most ancient and respected of the Proven&ccedil;al aristocracy. I
+need not tell you that the name I now go by is an assumed one. And
+I&mdash;well I, to be candid, am the scapegrace of the family."</p>
+
+<p>He rolled himself up a cigarette, lit it, and, looking up, his eyes met
+those of Carew in the frankest way possible. And yet the solicitor had
+no doubt in his own mind that the man had committed the crimes imputed
+to him; and the Frenchman, on his part, did not imagine for a moment
+that Carew believed in his innocence.</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose you will now look out for another ship?" the solicitor said.</p>
+
+<p>"How can I do so in Rotterdam? My face is known here. I am
+execrated&mdash;hunted down. No captain would ship me, no crew serve with
+me."</p>
+
+<p>"Won't your consul assist you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so," replied the Frenchman drily.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p><p>Neither spoke for some time; then Carew said, "I realise your position,
+and am sorry for you. Now supposing I were to ship you on board my
+yacht, I imagine that it would be a matter of indifference to you to
+what part of the world we sailed?"</p>
+
+<p>The Frenchman looked curiously and keenly at Carew out of the corners of
+his eyes. "I don't care a rap where I go to so long as I get out of this
+detestable Rotterdam," he replied.</p>
+
+<p>"And your friends&mdash;would they come too?"</p>
+
+<p>"Gladly. I will answer for them."</p>
+
+<p>"What sort of men are they?"</p>
+
+<p>"The little one, a Galician from Ferrol, is not at all a bad fellow, and
+he is an excellent sailor; but the big Basque is a savage brute&mdash;one of
+such is enough on a vessel. However, he can't do much harm by himself,
+unless he makes the rest of your crew discontented. Are they
+Englishmen?"</p>
+
+<p>"I am alone. I have discharged my crew; and there would only be you
+three and myself on board."</p>
+
+<p>"That would be a sufficient number to navigate this little ship. Do you
+really mean that you wish us to come with you?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do," replied Carew, after a slight hesitation; and the Frenchman eyed
+him with a not unnatural astonishment.</p>
+
+<p>The solicitor had rapidly surveyed the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>situation in all its bearings,
+and he had decided that it was his wisest and safest plan to engage
+these ruffians as his crew. Morally weak, acutely fearful of disgrace,
+and cowardly of conscience as he was, Carew had plenty of physical
+courage. He was not the least daunted by the idea of venturing across
+the wide ocean on a small yacht accompanied by these murderers.</p>
+
+<p>Here was a crew ready to sail with him at a moment's notice and ask no
+questions. He felt that he ran but very little risk, after all; for
+these ruffians would gain nothing by murdering him. Piracy, in the old
+sense of the term, is almost impossible in these days. These men by
+themselves could do nothing with the yacht; they could not take her into
+any civilised port and dispose of her; neither of them could impersonate
+an English barrister. The seizure of the <i>Vrouw Elisa</i> was a very
+different matter; for the mutineers then knew that there was a
+revolutionary party ready to purchase the vessel they had stolen.</p>
+
+<p>Again, he would make them acquainted with the fact that he was taking no
+money with him on the yacht; and he would promise to pay them, on their
+arrival at Buenos Ayres, a considerably larger sum than sailors ever
+receive for such a voyage. Under these circumstances, it could not
+possibly be to their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> interest to do away with him. On the contrary, it
+would be to their manifest advantage to serve him faithfully. Unless the
+men were absolute idiots, they would see all this; and he knew that the
+Frenchman, at least, was far too intelligent a man to commit a senseless
+crime that could do him no good.</p>
+
+<p>So argued the solicitor; and there was yet another more subtle motive
+that urged him to engage these three men in preference to honest
+sailors&mdash;a motive of which he himself was only dimly conscious. When a
+man has a sentimental objection to being a villain, and yet is one, and
+has no intention of reforming, he likes his surroundings not to be of a
+sort to reproach him and remind him of his crimes. It is painful to him
+to associate with good men. He prefers to be in the company of the bad;
+in their presence he does not feel the shame of his wickedness. So this
+man, with his strangely complex mind and conflicting instincts, was glad
+to take unto himself men worse even than himself as his companions
+across the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>"And to what port did you say you were sailing?" asked the Frenchman.</p>
+
+<p>"I will not tell you that until we are out at sea."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, very well," said the man, again casting a keen glance at Carew's
+face, and smiling, as one who should say, "Have you too your<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+secret&mdash;have you too committed a crime? If so, there should at once be
+an agreeable bond of sympathy between us."</p>
+
+<p>"How soon do you sail, sir?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"If you are all on board to-night we will sail at daybreak. I am ready
+for sea. You need not trouble about getting an outfit, for I have plenty
+of clothes in the yacht for the lot of you." Carew was thinking of the
+effects of Allen and his man Jim.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that is excellent!" cried the Frenchman. "And, excuse me, sir; what
+pay will you give us?&mdash;not that I wish to chaffer with one who has come
+to my rescue in so generous a manner."</p>
+
+<p>"And I do not wish to stint you," replied Carew. "You, as mate, shall
+have seven pounds a month; your comrades five pounds a month each."</p>
+
+<p>"That will do very well; but I should like you not to let the others
+know that I am receiving a higher pay than they. They might be
+jealous&mdash;not to say dangerous," said the cunning fellow. "Ha! what is
+that?" The Frenchman started, gripped Carew by the arm, and his cheeks
+again became white with fear.</p>
+
+<p>There was a sound of footsteps on the deck, and the next moment the
+tub-shaped Willem entered the cabin. When he saw who was sitting
+opposite to his master he stood stock<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> still, his jaw dropped, and an
+expression of extreme astonishment, which amounted to horror, settled on
+his stupid, honest face.</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter with you, Willem?" asked Carew, knowing well what
+was about to happen. "This is the mate I have engaged for the yacht."</p>
+
+<p>"Dat&mdash;dat man!" cried the Dutchman, finding his voice with difficulty.
+"You know who dat man is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do. He has just left the court-house. He was unjustly accused of
+murder, and has been found innocent."</p>
+
+<p>"Vat&mdash;you take dat man for mate! Oh, den I go&mdash;I go at vonce! I not stay
+on board vid dat man."</p>
+
+<p>The usually stolid Dutchman trembled with excitement, and his broad face
+was scarlet with indignation. After a few minutes, finding that Carew
+was obdurate and would insist on engaging the most loathed man in all
+Rotterdam as mate, Willem rolled up his scanty luggage into a bundle,
+demanded and received the few guilders that were owing to him, and
+hurried on shore, grumbling uncouth Dutch oaths to himself as he went.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Frenchman, who had been observing the scene with a cynical
+smile, laughed bitterly.</p>
+
+<p>"Had I been the fiend himself that fat idiot could not have been much
+more terrified at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> the sight of me. Ah, how they love me&mdash;these worthy
+people of Rotterdam!"</p>
+
+<p>For a moment there was a troubled look upon Carew's face. With his usual
+inconsistency he half regretted, when it was too late, that honest
+Willem had left him. It seemed to him that he had now broken the last
+tie between himself and the world of law-abiding men. He felt a vague
+sense of something lost to him for ever; as if his guardian angel,
+despairing of him, had forsaken him. But he quickly shook off the
+feeling as a foolish fancy, and turned his attention to the business he
+had on hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Baptiste," he said, "we must find your two comrades. Do you know
+where they are?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think I can find them. Anticipating a separation, we arranged a
+rendezvous. But I dare not walk through the streets to look for them; I
+should be recognised and murdered."</p>
+
+<p>"Nonsense! we will soon disguise you. Shave off your moustache and put
+on a suit of clothes that I will lend you, and your own mother would not
+know you."</p>
+
+<p>The Frenchman obeyed these instructions, and was so satisfied with the
+change effected in his appearance by a hairless lip and a suit of poor
+Allen's clothes that he no longer hesitated to go forth in search of his
+two shipmates.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p><p>Left alone, Carew pondered, with satisfaction, on his day's doings. All
+was going on well so far. "Lucky it is for me," he thought, "that there
+is an Admiralty warrant on the yacht. Provided with that useful
+document, I sail under the blue ensign of Her Majesty's fleet, and can
+do pretty well what I like. No authorities in any port will trouble me
+in the least. I can avoid the formality of taking my crew before the
+consul to sign articles, and I will dispense with a bill of health from
+this port. I may get quarantine for a few days in consequence of this
+last omission; but what is that to the peril of informing our consul
+here of my destination? And, by the bye, I am engaged to dine with
+Mynheer Hoogendyk to-morrow. I am afraid I shall keep him waiting, and
+over the spoiling dinner his cook will lose her temper; for by that time
+I ought to be well out in the North Sea."</p>
+
+<p>After about an hour's absence the Frenchman returned, accompanied by the
+two Spaniards. They entered the cabin, the little Galician all smiles,
+the big Basque awkward, vainly attempting not to scowl; but, do all he
+could, he still looked the brutal ruffian he was.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been very lucky," said Liais. "I soon found our lost lambs."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you explained my proposal to them?" Carew asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I have, and they are quite content with the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> pay you offer. They don't
+care a straw where you take them to, so long as it is not to a Spanish
+port. It seems that the lads are somewhat weary of their native land,
+and they tell me that they have some officious acquaintances among the
+Spanish police whom they would prefer not to meet."</p>
+
+<p>"I understand. I shall not call at any Spanish port; so they may set
+their minds at ease. And now I will inscribe your names in this book, if
+you please." He took Allen's diary out of the drawer. "First of all,
+there is Baptiste Liais, mate."</p>
+
+<p>"No; put me down plain Baptiste. My name is so well known now that I
+should like to leave half of it out."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Carew, as he wrote. "And who is this big fellow?"</p>
+
+<p>"His name is Juan Silvas. But he, too, would rather be called by any
+other name, after the unpleasant publicity of the trial. His nickname
+among us is El Toro&mdash;the bull&mdash;because of his goggle eyes, his bull-like
+features and strength, and his blind, bovine rage. Put him down as Juan
+Toro."</p>
+
+<p>"Good; it is done. And what is the other man's name?"</p>
+
+<p>"Jos&eacute; Rodez, known among his intimates as El Chico, or the little one."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, following your system, I will inscribe him as Jos&eacute; Chico. Will
+that do?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p><p>"One name is as good as another," replied the Frenchman; "but oh, <i>mon
+capitaine</i>, this has been a somewhat trying day for us, and we are all
+very hungry."</p>
+
+<p>"There is plenty of food on board. I will show you where to find it.
+Give the lads some supper; then turn in, all of you. The tide is early,
+and we sail at daybreak."</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, just as the first slight murmuring sound arose from
+the big city, telling that the giant was awaking to its restless life,
+the canal lock was opened, and the yacht shot out into the tideway.</p>
+
+<p>Carew, who had taken mental notes of the navigation when sailing up the
+Maas, refused the assistance of a pilot, and took his vessel safely down
+the rapid river, across the shoals that encumber the estuary, and out
+into the open sea. The weather was splendid, and the wind favoured him,
+as it blew freshly from the south-east.</p>
+
+<p>Then Carew's pulse quickened; a wild exultation thrilled him, as the
+yacht, leaning well over to the steady wind, all her canvas set, rushed
+with pleasant sound through the smooth water. At that moment he felt
+happy, even proud of himself. He was safe at last, free from all
+anxiety. How Fortune had befriended him! That fatal superstition in luck
+that comes to the criminal and the gambler possessed him. Whom the gods
+wish to destroy they first make mad.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p><p>"Baptiste," he said, "I have heard it is a custom of Spain for the
+captain of a vessel, as soon as she is well outside the harbour, to call
+all hands aft and serve round grog, so that they can drink to the
+prosperity of the voyage. Fetch up some rum, and give each a glass."</p>
+
+<p>The Frenchman obeyed the order. Carew was steering at the time, and the
+men stood round him, glasses in hand, awaiting the toast. Then the
+captain raised his glass in his disengaged hand, and called out in
+French&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Comrades, here's to a prosperous voyage&mdash;<i>to Buenos Ayres</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>When the men heard their destination they seemed dumb with surprise for
+a moment; then they raised a joyful shout. The prospect was evidently an
+agreeable one to them.</p>
+
+<p>"To Buenos Ayres," said the Frenchman, bowing to Carew with a knowing
+smile, "the land where there is no extradition."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER VII</span></h2>
+
+<p>It was mid-ocean, and no land was in sight. The glassily smooth surface
+of the sea was not broken by the faintest ripple, but it rose and fell
+slowly with the long, rhythmical swell of the Atlantic. Gentle now was
+the massive heaving of the giant's bosom, showing that he was slumbering
+only, and that the strong, fierce life was there, ready to be awakened
+at any moment to its energy of cruel destruction.</p>
+
+<p>Though the swell must have been of considerable height, yet so gentle
+was the undulation that no motion whatever would have been perceptible
+to one on the deck of a vessel, unless he had observed how the horizon
+was withdrawn from his sight at regular intervals by the intervening
+hills of water, as the vessel softly glided down the easy slopes into
+the broad valleys between. The wind was quite still. The sky above was
+clear and of a deeper blue than is known in northern climes; but on the
+eastern horizon lay a long, low bank of very dark cloud, seeming almost
+black in contrast to the elsewhere dazzling glare.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p><p>The sea, to one looking across it, would have appeared of a beautiful
+indigo tint; but if one gazed straight down into the water, it seemed
+opaque in the purple blackness of its profundity, as if the perpetual
+night that reigned in the mysterious depths below were sending its
+shadow upwards to the surface. Yet so perfectly translucent was that
+ink-like water that any bright object, such as a plate, thrown into it
+would remain distinctly visible as it slowly descended&mdash;yes, even till
+it was so far down that it seemed no larger than a small coin.</p>
+
+<p>The yacht <i>Petrel</i> lay becalmed on the tropical sea. All her canvas had
+been lowered, and she floated idly, while the fierce, vertical sun was
+blistering the paint on her sides, and the melting pitch oozed from the
+seams of her decks.</p>
+
+<p>For thirteen days she had been drifting thus on a windless ocean, her
+crew languid and irritable from the stifling heat, which it is
+impossible to mitigate on a small craft, waiting for the breeze that
+never came.</p>
+
+<p>For thirteen days of unbearable calm, broken only by occasional brief
+squalls, accompanied by torrential downpour of rain, and thunder and
+lightning of appalling grandeur&mdash;squalls which raised the flagging hopes
+of the men for a space, and to which they hastily hoisted their canvas,
+that they might be carried out of this dismal tract of the ocean; but
+after they had been driven on their way a mile or two only,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> the wind
+would suddenly drop again, the dark clouds would clear away, and the sun
+would blaze down fiercer than ever out of the implacable sky.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Petrel</i> had reached the region of the equatorial calms, the sultry
+Doldrums dreaded by the sailor, that broad belt of sluggish sea that
+divides the tract of the north-east trade wind from that of the
+south-east. Here the a&euml;rial currents neutralise each other and are at
+rest&mdash;a desolate, rainy ocean that lies under an almost stagnant
+atmosphere of steaming heat, where vessels have lain becalmed for
+wearisome week after week; even, in many cases, until the supply of
+fresh water had been exhausted and the men perished of thirst. And yet
+to the northward and to the southward the fresh trade winds blow
+perpetually in one direction, across vast stretches of ever-tossing
+waves.</p>
+
+<p>The voyage of the <i>Petrel</i> had been a very prosperous one up to this
+point. She had met with fair winds for the most part until she reached
+the limits of the north-east trades, which, blowing right aft, had
+carried her on her way at the rate of nearly two hundred miles a day.
+Carew had sighted Madeira and the westernmost islands of the Cape Verde
+archipelago; but as the yacht was well provided with provisions, he had
+not called at any port. After having been a little over a month at sea,
+he had entered the calm region about the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> equator, and here, as I have
+said, scarcely any progress was made for a fortnight.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the crew had settled down to the regular routine of
+ship-life, and Carew was, on the whole, well satisfied with the men. The
+savagery of the big Basque would occasionally assert itself, and he was
+ever ready to pick a quarrel with his mates. The only one on board whom
+El Toro respected and feared was Carew himself; for he felt that the
+Englishman combined a physical courage, at least equal to his own, with
+a superior education; and the man who possesses these two qualities can
+always master a merely brute nature. El Toro did not conceal his
+contempt for Baptiste, who excelled him in mental ability alone; and
+again, he could not converse ten minutes with the little Galician
+without an altercation arising; for the latter, who had all the pluck of
+his big comrade, was fond of wagging his sharp tongue, and could not
+refrain from malicious banter, despite the long sheath-knife which was
+always so ready to the Basque's right hand.</p>
+
+<p>Carew, who had quickly gauged the character of his companions, took El
+Toro on his own watch, leaving El Chico to the French mate. Thus, as
+watch and watch was observed in the regular ship fashion&mdash;that is, one
+watch relieving the other every four hours&mdash;the cantankerous Basque had
+but few opportunities of associating with the other men.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p><p>But during the fortnight of calm the discipline of the yacht had been
+relaxed. As there was no need for it, the usual watches had not been
+set; and, after they had completed the small amount of necessary work
+each day, the men were allowed to employ the rest of the time much as
+they liked. A prolonged calm on the line is trying even to the most
+amiable tempers; so that it is not to be wondered at that, on one
+occasion, El Toro, being modest as to his own powers of repartee,
+preferred to reply to a chaffing remark of El Chico's with a practical
+retort in the shape of a vicious stab, which might easily have
+diminished the ship's company by one had not the quick-eyed little man,
+leaping nimbly backwards, escaped with a slight scratch on his arm.</p>
+
+<p>For this offence Carew, knowing his man and how best to punish him,
+informed the Basque that a fine of a fortnight's pay had been entered
+against his name in the log-book.</p>
+
+<p>It was nearly midday, and the heat of the still, moist air was intense.
+The French mate lay reclined under an awning on the after-deck, rolling
+up cigarette after cigarette, and smoking them with half-shut eyes as he
+dreamily meditated.</p>
+
+<p>In the bows, under an awning extemporised out of an old sail, were
+squatting the two Spaniards, playing at <i>monte</i> with a very dirty pack
+of cards. Now and then would be heard<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> the sonorous oaths of the Basque,
+as he savagely reviled his bad luck, or the triumphant chuckle of El
+Chico, whom fortune was favouring. These two had been gambling almost
+incessantly during the calm, for the money they were to receive from
+Carew on their arrival at Buenos Ayres. The Galician had already
+succeeded in winning El Toro's pay for many weeks in advance. Neither of
+the men could read or write, but they kept a tally of their debts of
+honour&mdash;over which there was much wrangling&mdash;by cutting notches on a
+beam in the forecastle.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes before noon Carew came on deck, sextant in hand, and the
+mate rose to his feet lazily. Carew's face was now bronzed by the
+tropical sun, and was fuller than it had been two months back. The
+haggard expression, the restless anxiety of his eye, had gone. He looked
+like a man with the easiest of consciences.</p>
+
+<p>He glanced at the two card-players forward. "Have you taken the
+precaution I ordered?" he asked the mate.</p>
+
+<p>"I have, captain; here they are," and Baptiste produced two formidable
+knives from his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>Since the incident I have mentioned, Carew had instituted a rule, to the
+effect that the men should not play at cards or dice unless they had
+previously delivered their weapons to one of the two officers.</p>
+
+<p>El Chico overheard the mate's reply. "Ah,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> captain," he cried, "you'll
+have to hand both knives over to me at the end of this game. I shall
+have won everything El Toro possesses in the world if my luck holds as
+it is doing now."</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Caramba!</i> it is too much; a plague on the cards!" cried the Basque
+furiously, hurling the pack across the deck. "I'll have no more of them.
+If I have no knife, I have these hands," and he opened them out with a
+gesture of rage in front of the Galician. "I could circle your little
+neck with these, and throttle you in half a minute, El Chico."</p>
+
+<p>El Chico said nothing, but shrugged his shoulders with a provoking
+coolness.</p>
+
+<p>"El Toro, come aft," cried Carew, who had acquired enough Spanish to
+give his orders in that tongue; "come aft, and set up that mizzen
+rigging; it's as slack as possible."</p>
+
+<p>The wild beast acknowledged its master and proceeded to obey his orders
+in a surly fashion, even as Caliban might have reluctantly carried out
+some behest of the superior intelligence that had enslaved him.</p>
+
+<p>"This calm seems as if it would never end," said Carew to the mate. "It
+looks black yonder. Another squall, I suppose. Just enough to entice us
+to hoist our sails, and then to die away again."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see anything like the trade-wind sky about," said Baptiste, who
+had sailed the tropical seas before.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p><p>Carew took his midday observation of the sun; then, lowering his
+sextant, called out, "Make it eight bells, Baptiste," and went below to
+work out his position.</p>
+
+<p>He found that the <i>Petrel</i> had only travelled five miles in the last
+twenty-four hours. He was seventy miles north of the equator, and his
+longitude by dead-reckoning (he had, as has been explained, no
+chronometer on board) was about 30&deg; west, so that he was distant some
+five hundred miles from Cape St. Roque, the most easterly point of the
+New World.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after noon the dark bank of cloud rose rapidly from the horizon and
+overspread the whole heavens; the rain began to pour down as it only can
+in these equatorial regions, and a fresh breeze from the south-east
+cooled the heated atmosphere.</p>
+
+<p>The sails were hoisted, and the yacht ran some two or three miles; then
+the hopeless calm fell again, and there was not a cloud to be seen in
+the blue vault above. The sails flapped to and fro with a loud noise as
+the vessel rolled in the swell which the breeze had left behind it.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, this accursed calm!" cried Carew impatiently; "down with all your
+canvas again."</p>
+
+<p>The men obeyed, grumbling at their ill-luck, and then resumed their game
+of <i>monte</i>.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon the heat became more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> oppressive than ever, and it was
+impossible to stay below; so all hands remained under the awnings on
+deck.</p>
+
+<p>The mate, after pondering for some while, said to Carew, "We shall run
+short of water if this continues much longer."</p>
+
+<p>"I have thought of that. We must serve out a smaller allowance."</p>
+
+<p>"Buenos Ayres is a long way off yet, captain. Would it not be well to
+put into some Brazilian port for water and vegetables? This heat is very
+trying on a small vessel like this. We shall have illness on board if we
+are not careful."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not wish to break the voyage anywhere, unless it is absolutely
+necessary," Carew replied.</p>
+
+<p>"I know these countries," Baptiste continued; "and there is one very
+good reason why you should call at some port on the way."</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"You have no bill of health with you. Now in Buenos Ayres the
+authorities are very afraid of yellow fever, and if you arrive there
+with no papers to show where you are from, they will take it for granted
+that you have come from some infected port, and that you have probably
+lost some hands on the voyage and wish to conceal it. They would,
+therefore, put you in quarantine for who knows how long. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> might,
+under the suspicious circumstances, refuse even to give you pratique at
+all, and send you off to sea again."</p>
+
+<p>"How will calling at a Brazilian port remedy that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because in Brazil they are not afraid of yellow fever, as they always
+have it there. At Rio they won't trouble you at all, and your consul
+will give you a clean bill of health for Buenos Ayres. Then, being
+satisfied that you have had no illness on board, the Buenos Ayres people
+will grant you pratique after, let us say, a quarantine of four days,
+even if yellow fever were raging at Rio."</p>
+
+<p>"A queer plan to avoid quarantine for Yellow Jack by calling at the
+headquarters of the fever!" said Carew; "but I see that you are right. I
+will put into Rio."</p>
+
+<p>After a pause the Frenchman said thoughtfully, "I shall be sorry to
+leave this vessel, sir. I suppose you still think of selling her in the
+River Plate. I should like to continue the cruise for another year."</p>
+
+<p>"So should I, but I can't afford it. Yachting is an expensive
+amusement."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, I don't know that. A cruise may be made to pay its way even in
+these days, especially if one carries a warrant from the Admiralty of
+one's country like you do. The authorities are always civil to one who
+sails under the Government blue ensign, and never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> trouble him with the
+tedious formalities the common merchantman is subjected to."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know what you mean," said Carew. "There is no money to be made
+now by legitimate trade at sea. Besides, a yacht is not allowed to trade
+at all."</p>
+
+<p>"I said nothing about legitimate trade," said the Frenchman quietly, as
+he rolled himself another cigarette.</p>
+
+<p>The eyes of the two men met, and they understood each other.</p>
+
+<p>The mate had never let drop so broad a hint before; but he knew that he
+was safe in doing so. There had existed for some time a sort of
+freemasonry of crime between himself and Carew. They had been thrown
+altogether upon each other's society of late. Both were educated men,
+and gentlemen by birth; both were shrewd readers of character; and it is
+so far easier for the bad than for the good man to recognise a kindred
+nature.</p>
+
+<p>Carew did not exactly entertain a liking for his mate, but he found his
+companionship far pleasanter than that of any other man could have been.
+The Frenchman's tolerant way of looking at crime was peculiarly
+gratifying to the ex-solicitor. It acted as a most soothing salve to his
+conscience.</p>
+
+<p>He liked to hear the man's cynical talk&mdash;the superficial philosophy with
+which he defended crime as being the least hypocritical way of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> obeying
+nature's law of the struggle for existence. The very presence of this
+villain seemed to exert a strange, magnetic influence on Carew's pliable
+soul, lulling it into a fool's paradise.</p>
+
+<p>Such an affinity for evil between two men who are much together will
+soon destroy any conscience that either of them may happen to possess.</p>
+
+<p>So Carew, having become accustomed to an atmosphere of crime, no longer
+shrank from the thought of it, and, with an amused smile, replied to the
+mate's remark, "What piece of villainy are you going to suggest now,
+Baptiste?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think you ought to use that word villainy," protested the
+Frenchman, with an air of comic indignation. "As a matter of fact, I was
+not at that moment thinking of any one particular 'piece of villainy,'
+but vaguely of a great number of feasible schemes I know of for
+transferring the wickedly-earned riches of others into our own deserving
+pockets."</p>
+
+<p>"This is highly interesting," said Carew, in a bantering tone. "Explain
+one of these notable schemes of yours, Baptiste."</p>
+
+<p>But the Frenchman did not reply. He looked round the horizon with a
+puzzled expression, and, putting his hand to his ear, appeared to be
+listening intently.</p>
+
+<p>"Hark, captain! What is that?" he cried.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER VIII</span></h2>
+
+<p>Carew listened, and heard a low, rumbling sound like distant thunder.</p>
+
+<p>"Thunder out of a cloudless sky! That is strange."</p>
+
+<p>"That is no thunder, captain," said Baptiste, with a scared look, "but
+what it is I know not."</p>
+
+<p>The sound became louder. It did not seem to be approaching from any
+direction, but to be everywhere&mdash;around, below, above&mdash;filling all
+space. Then it swelled to a great roar, as of the rolling of thousands
+of drums. The air trembled at the sound, and the surface of the sea no
+longer reflected the blue sky above, but, appearing like a mirror over
+which one has breathed, vibrated into myriads of wrinkles and gyrating
+rings. Soon the water began to be greatly disturbed, and raved and
+foamed about the vessel as if she were floating in a boiling caldron.
+Then occurred an appalling prodigy. First, louder than loudest thunder,
+was heard a deafening explosion, and immediately the sea leapt up, not
+in waves, but in steep pyramids of water, piling itself up in domes, as
+if some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> mighty force were thrusting it up from below. The yacht pitched
+wildly into the confused whirl till she was nigh to break up with the
+violence of the shocks, and the water poured over her decks in masses,
+threatening to swamp her. Hollow whirlpools opened out suddenly in front
+of her, seeking to engulf her: a fearful spectacle to behold, which
+might make even the bravest men go mad with fright. Then came another
+explosion, and the superstitious Spaniards, holding on to the rigging
+for dear life, shrieked with abject terror as they saw the limpid sea
+suddenly thicken and change its colour to a dark, sulphurous yellow.
+There was an odour of sulphur in the air, and the sun was shining
+through a sickly yellow haze.</p>
+
+<p>The crew, who would have done their duty with cool courage in a
+hurricane, were completely unnerved by this alarming portent. The two
+men forward thought that the fiend himself had opened hell under them to
+swallow up their sinful souls; they prayed and blasphemed in turns. The
+French mate, white to his lips and trembling, clutched the rigging, with
+his eyes closed. Carew alone, though his cheeks were pale, was calm.
+Holding on to the bulwark to prevent himself from being thrown overboard
+by the violent leaping of the yacht, he looked around him with a
+resolute expression. He would fight bravely for his life, but he had no
+fear of death.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p><p>In the midst of this turmoil a strong wind suddenly arose.</p>
+
+<p>"Hoist the foresail!" he shouted; but none of the terrified men obeyed
+the order. "Cowardly idiots!" he cried, and scrambling forward as well
+as he could to the mast, he seized the fore-halyards and set the sail.
+Then he returned to the tiller, after having been nearly washed
+overboard by a sea on the way, and steered the vessel dead before the
+wind.</p>
+
+<p>In ten minutes he had sailed, not without danger, outside the circle of
+raging water; and looking back he saw that the disturbance had already
+commenced to subside, and the loud roaring had lessened to a distant
+moaning.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Locos!</i>" he cried; "madmen, cowards, hoist the mainsail! Are you women
+to be so scared by a slight <i>terremoto</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know that there were earthquakes in mid-ocean," said El Toro,
+who was the first to recover somewhat from his fright. "But, captain,
+you are a curious one. I knew you feared no man; but, <i>caramba!</i> it
+seems you don't fear the devil himself."</p>
+
+<p>"Up mainsail," cried Carew again, "and don't jabber, thou great coward!
+Hurry up. We have a fair wind."</p>
+
+<p>The mate was now himself again. "Aha! the <i>terremoto</i> has brought us
+luck," he cried. "Look yonder, captain," and he pointed to the east,
+where the sky had become suddenly covered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> with small fleecy clouds. "I
+know that sign&mdash;that is the trade wind."</p>
+
+<p>They put all sail on the vessel, and were soon bowling along before the
+ever-freshening wind. They had left behind them the dreary region of the
+Doldrums, with its stifling heat, and the air above the dancing waves
+was cool and bracing.</p>
+
+<p>The mate, who was steering, began to chaff his companions. "Say, El
+Toro, you thought the authorities below had sent for you when you felt
+that trembling of the sea."</p>
+
+<p>"Trembling?" replied the Basque gruffly. "There was more trembling of
+thee than of the sea itself, thou white-gilled Frenchman."</p>
+
+<p>"So there was," drawled the sarcastic El Chico. "But let us remember
+that our mate is a man of education&mdash;of soul. His nerves are in harmony
+with Nature. When Nature is merry he is merry; when Nature trembles; he
+trembles. But that is poetical sympathy, not fear, my friend El Toro."</p>
+
+<p>And so these three reviled each other's cowardice, until Carew, fearing
+bloodshed, called out, "Now, then, stop that discussion, or all of you
+bring me your knives here."</p>
+
+<p>Then this amiable crew smoked and sulked in silence for a while.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly afterwards, Carew was below studying a chart of the South
+Atlantic. To him came down the mate, who looked over his shoulder and
+asked, "How far are we now from Rio, sir?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p><p>"About sixteen hundred miles," was the reply. "That means a run of nine
+or ten days at the outside with this wind."</p>
+
+<p>"You are a man of great nerve," said the mate, filled with a genuine
+admiration. "I thought the bravest man would have lost his head in that
+horrid earthquake."</p>
+
+<p>Carew laughed. "Mine was only the courage of science at the best,
+Baptiste. You see, the phenomenon did not take me by surprise. I half
+expected something of the sort."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed!"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, it is very simple. See here,"&mdash;he pointed to the chart,&mdash;"read
+that." The words, "Volcanic region of the Atlantic," were printed across
+a large tract of ocean in the vicinity of the equator. "Now, if you will
+turn over the pages of the <i>South Atlantic Pilot Directory</i>, you will
+read that this part of the Atlantic is peculiarly subject to volcanic
+disturbance; so much so, that mariners are in this book warned on the
+subject. There are no soundings hereabouts with two thousand fathoms of
+line, and yet the disturbance is transmitted upwards through all those
+miles of water; so you can imagine the violent forces that are at work
+below us. It is rare that a vessel crosses this strange corner of the
+sea without experiencing some manifestation or other of this nature.
+Sometimes it may be only a discoloration of the water that is noticed;
+sometimes a shock<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> is felt as if the vessel had struck a rock, or she
+shivers till the masts are like to be thrown out of her. It is a region
+terrible to superstitious sailors; but I believe it is rare that a
+vessel has sustained any serious damage from these convulsions."</p>
+
+<p>"Even if I had known all that I should have lost my nerve; for, say what
+you like, captain, our danger was a very real one. The <i>terremoto</i> has
+done one good thing, anyhow: it has inspired El Chico and El Toro with
+an immense respect for your courage. We won't tell them that you were
+forewarned by the pilot book. You can do what you like with those men
+after this, Captain Allen. For the future they are your obedient
+slaves."</p>
+
+<p>The brave trade wind blew without intermission for ten days, and then
+Carew, being in the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, steered due west for the
+land, which, according to his dead-reckoning, was not two hundred miles
+distant. It was night, and the wind having fallen light, the yacht made
+little progress. At midnight Carew came on deck to relieve the mate.</p>
+
+<p>"Look over there," said Baptiste, pointing across the vessel's bows to
+the westward. "Those are the lights of Rio."</p>
+
+<p>"What! so soon?" cried Carew; and turning his eyes in the indicated
+direction he perceived, not indeed the gleam of a lighthouse or other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>
+ordinary sign of approaching land, but an appearance as of a stormy
+dawn. High above the horizon hung masses of clouds whose lower surface
+was of a faint red, as if they were reflecting some immense
+conflagration too far away to be yet visible.</p>
+
+<p>"You cannot distinguish any other city in the world from such a
+distance," said the mate. "When you are one hundred miles&mdash;yes, and more
+than that&mdash;away, you can tell the position of Rio de Janeiro by the
+glare that hangs over it at night. The gaslights there are innumerable.
+I have heard that it is the best lighted city in the world, and I
+believe it. At midnight the streets are illuminated as if for a f&ecirc;te;
+and, what is more, all the roads and paths that lead out into the
+country and up to the tops of the mountains are better lit than any of
+the streets in your London. Ah, the capital of the Brazils is a
+wonderful place!"</p>
+
+<p>As Carew discovered later on, Baptiste had not exaggerated the facts.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak Carew was still on deck, being anxious to catch a first
+glimpse of the New World after so many weeks upon the desert seas.</p>
+
+<p>When the sun rose the blue sky was cloudless, but the western horizon
+was obscured by a white fog, which, Baptiste said, nearly always hovered
+over this coast at early morning.</p>
+
+<p>Of a sudden the upper portion of the mist lifted, and high above them
+there appeared,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> as if floating in mid-air, the summit of a huge
+mountain. It was of cubical shape, with perpendicular sides of bare,
+smooth stone, like the altar of some giant race&mdash;a marvellous sight to
+thus burst suddenly upon men who had for so long seen nothing but sky
+and water.</p>
+
+<p>"That is the Gavia Mountain," cried Baptiste; "it lies to the left of
+the entrance of the Bay of Rio."</p>
+
+<p>Then the morning breeze came down upon the land, and, as by enchantment,
+the mist vanished, and all the features of that wonderful coast were
+revealed to them.</p>
+
+<p>Lofty mountains of the most fantastic forms rose sheer from the sea.
+Some were great pyramids or peaks of ruddy granite gleaming like molten
+gold in the sunshine; others, sloping more gently, were covered with
+great forests of tropical vegetation. Along the whole shore extended a
+white line of foam, where the Atlantic swell, piled up by the fresh
+trade winds, perpetually thundered at the base of the cliffs. In places
+the ravines terminated in beautiful bays, where on beaches of silver
+sand the cocoa-nut trees waved their rustling branches. The tropical
+seas wash no lovelier a land than this; and at that moment, with the sun
+still low in the east, there were a softness and translucency in the
+gorgeous colouring that gave an unreal and fairy-like aspect to the
+scene. Close under the conical mountain known as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> the Sugar Loaf a gorge
+opened out, and through this was seen the vast expanse of the Bay of
+Rio, which the old navigators, in their admiration for its beauty,
+likened unto the gates of heaven.</p>
+
+<p>The yacht crossed the tumbling waters on the bar, sailed through the
+majestic gates, and floated on the still, pale green water of the inland
+sea.</p>
+
+<p>The Bay of Rio is considered to be the fairest of all the harbours of
+the earth, and one who has seen it can well believe that it is so.
+Imagine a vast lake, some eighty miles in circumference, surrounded by
+grand mountains, indented with many winding bays, and studded with
+islands of all sizes, on whose shores are many towns and villages, chief
+among which is the empire city of South America, the white Rio de
+Janeiro. A luxuriant vegetation comes down to the very edge of the
+water, even up to the streets of the city; the varied foliage of many
+species of palms, the luscious blades of the bananas, the spreading
+mangos, and bread-fruit trees giving a cool appearance to the torrid
+land.</p>
+
+<p>About a mile from the city of Rio, at the entrance of the bay, is the
+fortified island of Villegagnon. The yacht was sailing close under its
+shore, the mate steering. Carew was gazing at the grand scenery around
+him with deep emotion. Under the influence of this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> lovely nature, his
+thoughts became tender and pure; his soul was strangely subdued, and his
+mind sank into a happy reverie, such as good men who feel secure in
+their innocence are supposed alone to enjoy.</p>
+
+<p>The mate was watching Carew's face; then he said, in a casual manner&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I know this port pretty well, Mr. Allen, though I have only been here
+once before; and, by the way, I was sailing then in an English barque.
+Let me see, what was the captain's name? Captain Grou&mdash;no, it was not
+that&mdash;Garou&mdash;Carou&mdash;oh yes, that was it&mdash;Captain Carou."</p>
+
+<p>Carew started visibly and looked steadily into the mate's face, but he
+could read nothing in those impassive features. "It is but a
+coincidence," he said to himself. "It is impossible that Baptiste can
+have discovered my real name. There are many Carews in the world, after
+all." Nevertheless, the sound of the name he had put away from him for
+ever disturbed him greatly. He was awakened from his pleasant reverie,
+and the beautiful scenery had no more delights for him. All the evil
+things which he had done and had yet to do were unpleasantly brought to
+his mind. Now that he saw the great city before him, he shrank from the
+idea of mixing once more with his fellow-men. He wished he were out on
+the open sea again.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p><p>"Baptiste," he said, "I should like to bring up some way from the
+quays; it will be quieter."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, captain. Let us bring up here under Villegagnon; it will be
+cooler and healthier than farther in. Look yonder at the merchantman
+anchorage. I see the yellow flag flying from at least a dozen foremasts.
+The yellow fever is evidently playing mischief at present."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste had not been unobservant of Carew's start and change of
+expression at the mention of his name. The wily Frenchman had a game to
+play: he had put down his first card with a result that satisfied him.</p>
+
+<p>The anchor was let go under Villegagnon and the sails were stowed; then
+Baptiste, looking around him, happened to perceive a barque anchored
+about half a mile off. "Ho, El Toro," he cried; "look at that barque. Is
+she not the very sister to the old <i>Vrouw Elisa</i>?"</p>
+
+<p>"Baptiste," said Carew sternly, "you told me that you had never been on
+board the <i>Vrouw Elisa</i>."</p>
+
+<p>The mate, not in the least disconcerted, laughed, and replied, "That
+does not prevent my knowing her by sight, surely, Captain Carou&mdash;I
+mean&mdash;how stupid of me!&mdash;Captain Allen."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER IX</span></h2>
+
+<p>Shortly after the <i>Petrel's</i> anchor had been let go, under the island of
+Villegagnon, a galley, manned by brawny blacks, came off to the yacht; a
+Brazilian gentleman in uniform leapt on deck and introduced himself as
+the doctor of the port. On hearing that the vessel was an English yacht
+sailing under an Admiralty flag he raised no difficulties, but granted
+Carew pratique at once, despite the absence of a clean bill of health
+from Rotterdam.</p>
+
+<p>When the health boat had gone off again, Carew ordered the dinghy to be
+lowered. "I will go on shore at once, Baptiste," he said. "I will call
+on the British consul, and ask him for a clean bill of health for Buenos
+Ayres. We won't stay longer than is necessary in this unhealthy place."</p>
+
+<p>"May I suggest," replied the mate, "that you should give the lads a few
+dollars of their pay, and allow them a run on shore to stretch their
+legs after having been cooped up so long in this little craft?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p><p>Carew remembered the empty condition of the ship's treasury, and did
+not see his way to paying his crew any portion of their wages at
+present.</p>
+
+<p>"If they go on shore they will drink rum in the sun, and catch Yellow
+Jack," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"Not they, sir. These are sober Spaniards, and they are too acclimatised
+to run much risk of fever."</p>
+
+<p>"I'll think the matter over. But we'll leave the two men in charge this
+afternoon. You come on shore with me, Baptiste. You know Rio, and can
+show me the way about."</p>
+
+<p>So Carew and the mate got into the dinghy, and the latter, taking the
+oars, pulled off towards the Mole. They landed on a quay bordered by a
+negro market, where fish, fruit, rags, and all manner of odds and ends
+were sold by very fat negresses in huge yellow turbans; a filthy and
+malodorous spot. After leaving the dinghy in charge of a custom-house
+officer, they hustled their way through the jabbering crowd of blacks,
+and entered the chief streets of the city.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste, who evidently knew his way well, brought Carew to the door of
+the British Consulate. "I will leave you now, captain," he said, "to
+transact your business. Let me have a dollar or so to amuse myself with,
+and I will meet you in an hour's time at the corner of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> chief
+street, the Rua Ovidor, in front of the big jeweller's shop."</p>
+
+<p>Carew gave him a ten-shilling piece&mdash;he only had two more in the world
+now&mdash;and they separated.</p>
+
+<p>Having obtained a bill of health from the consul, Carew strolled through
+the hot streets until the appointed time, when the mate, punctual to a
+minute, met him at the corner of the Rua Ovidor.</p>
+
+<p>"Captain," said Baptiste, "it is stifling in these streets. Let us get
+on a tram and drive out of the town to the Botanical Gardens. It will be
+cooler there, and I wish to speak to you in a quiet place where there
+are no eavesdroppers about. I have made an important discovery since I
+left you."</p>
+
+<p>With a noise of jingling bells the mules carried them rapidly through
+the suburbs of the city; past fairy-like villas that seemed to be built
+of delicately tinted porcelain, surrounded by gardens that were
+paradises of exquisite plants, with cool fountains splashing under the
+feathery palms; past groves of marvellous trees that bore no leaves, but
+were covered instead with blossoms of purple and vivid crimson, so that
+the eye was pained by the excess of glory; past pleasant inlets of the
+great bay, where the tiny waves dashed on the white sands under the
+cocoa-nut trees; and around them rose the great amphitheatre of granite
+peaks and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>forest-clad mountains glowing under the cloudless sky.</p>
+
+<p>They reached the gate of the Botanical Gardens, and the mate led Carew
+to an avenue of oreodoxas&mdash;the most majestic of the family of palms.
+These rose straight and smooth as marble columns to an immense height,
+and far overhead their graceful leaves met in regular arches, forming a
+great aisle as of a cathedral of giants. A solemn spot, fitted to exalt
+the soul of man and inspire lofty thoughts, but which Baptiste, with an
+unconscious irony, had selected as a safe place to discuss with Carew a
+scheme of detestable crime which his lust for gold had suggested to him.</p>
+
+<p>They sat down on a bench under the polished trunk of one of the huge
+palms. Carew was silent. He was impressed by the marvellous nature
+around. Everything was so unfamiliar to his senses. The rich colouring
+of the beautiful and sometimes grotesquely shaped vegetation, the birds
+of brilliant plumage that flashed by him, the metallic lustre and
+monstrous forms of the beetles and other insects, the shrieking of the
+paroquets, and other noises of the intense and teeming tropical
+life&mdash;all bewildered his brain. The very air, heavy with the pungent
+odours of many flowers, seemed intoxicating. He could scarcely realise
+that this was not all some fantastic dream.</p>
+
+<p>But Baptiste, who had important business on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> hand, cared little for the
+wonders of Nature. He rolled himself a cigarette, lit it, then,
+sprawling himself in a lazy fashion on the bench, commenced&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The other day, captain, we were engaged in an interesting conversation,
+which was rather rudely disturbed by an earthquake. Have you forgotten
+the subject of it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I remember that you were talking some nonsense about making yachting
+pay its expenses by smuggling, or something of the sort."</p>
+
+<p>"I said nothing about smuggling, captain, and I was not talking
+nonsense. I said that the master of a yacht sailing under Government
+papers has many opportunities of putting gold into his pockets; that is,
+if his liver be sound and he is not troubled with a morbid conscience.
+Now, I only left you for one hour, captain, and in that time I picked up
+all the news of the port by calling at one or two rum shops&mdash;old haunts
+of mine; and, as luck would have it, I have discovered an easy way for
+us all to make our fortunes."</p>
+
+<p>"Silence, man!" angrily ejaculated Carew. "I don't wish to hear your
+rascally plans. You mistake me; I am not one to seek a fortune by
+illicit methods."</p>
+
+<p>Carew meant all he said. He intended to commit one more crime only&mdash;to
+telegraph in Allen's name to the bank for the bulk of Allen's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> property.
+After that, sick of sin, he would live an exemplary life, and appease
+conscience by good works in some far country. But he forgot that he who
+once starts to run down a steep hill cannot stop himself exactly when he
+wishes.</p>
+
+<p>"What virtue&mdash;what righteous indignation!" sneered the mate. "But,
+captain, you will have to listen to me. Whether you wish it or no, you
+<i>shall</i> make a fortune in the way I am going to suggest."</p>
+
+<p>There was a menace in the man's tone and a malicious twinkle in his
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Carew looked at him. "Explain yourself, if you please," he said coldly.</p>
+
+<p>"So I will," cried Baptiste, with energy, abandoning his lazy drawl.
+Then, throwing away his cigarette, he rose from his recumbent position
+and stood before Carew, who still remained sitting on the bench.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think that I am blind&mdash;that I am an idiot, captain? Do you
+imagine that I don't know who you are and what you have done,&mdash;with all
+your virtuous talk,&mdash;eh, Mr. Carew?"</p>
+
+<p>As he uttered these words rapidly the mate closely observed their effect
+upon the Englishman, whose face turned ghastly white, and whose right
+hand stole round to his back.</p>
+
+<p>"No shooting, if you please," cried the Frenchman, in a bantering tone.
+"Don't draw that revolver. Remember that there's a fine for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> carrying
+firearms in Rio. Coward though I may be, you don't frighten me here,
+captain. I know you dare not kill me on shore. The inquiry afterwards
+would be fatal to you. Besides, you are wise enough to grasp quickly the
+fact that our interests are coincident. At sea it was otherwise. There I
+held my tongue. I was aware that you would have thrown me overboard some
+dark night had you guessed that I knew so much. Here on shore I am
+safe."</p>
+
+<p>Carew felt that he was in the man's power, and saw the futility of
+denial. "What do you know?" he asked, in a dry voice, bringing his hand
+in front of him again.</p>
+
+<p>"That your name is not Allen, but Carew."</p>
+
+<p>"What else?"</p>
+
+<p>"That you are impersonating a man whose property you have stolen."</p>
+
+<p>Carew felt as if his heart had stopped; the tall palms swam around him.
+He closed his eyes, and was only conscious of the cataract of sound
+raised by the shrieking paroquets and the manifold hum of insects. It
+was only for a moment; then he recovered himself, and, opening his eyes,
+again saw before him the cynical face of the Frenchman. "What else?" he
+asked, with a deep sigh.</p>
+
+<p>"Surely that is enough, captain. But, in short, understand that I know
+all about you."</p>
+
+<p>"How have you learnt this?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p><p>"Suffice it that I know it. I don't wish to spoil your little game,
+captain, but you must help me in mine. I will now sit down and silently
+smoke a cigarette, so that you can ponder a while on what I have said. I
+perceive that I have somewhat disturbed your mind. Now, as violent
+emotions are very bad for the health in this hot climate, it will do you
+good to rest for a few minutes; for I have more exciting news to
+communicate."</p>
+
+<p>The Frenchman resumed his former lazy position, and proceeded to smoke,
+as he smiled contentedly at his own reflections; while Carew sat with
+knit brows, the perspiration streaming down his face, unable to collect
+his thoughts, but terribly conscious in a vague way that he could never
+extricate himself from the network of crime into which he had
+voluntarily thrown himself; that for him there was no hope of putting
+the past away; that one sin would lead irrevocably to another; that
+Nemesis had made all his future life as one long chain of iniquity, even
+to the unknown dreadful end of it.</p>
+
+<p>The Frenchman was very pleased with himself. He had succeeded beyond his
+expectations in gaining a hold over Carew, whom he could now compel to
+subserve his purposes. The mate had played a bold game of "bluff"; he
+had made Carew believe that he was acquainted with his history, whereas
+he knew nothing of it, possessed no proofs of what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> he had so boldly
+asserted, and had merely made an ingenious guess at the truth.</p>
+
+<p>At a very early stage of the voyage, Baptiste had come to the conclusion
+that the conscience of the Englishman was burdened with some crime, and
+that he was a fugitive from justice.</p>
+
+<p>A variety of circumstances had led him to this belief. That Carew had
+shipped three men who were known to be murderers, and had sailed away
+with them across the ocean at a moment's notice, was in itself highly
+suspicious. So the wily Frenchman, bethinking himself how useful it
+often is to know another man's disagreeable secrets, set himself to
+discover all he could of his employer's past.</p>
+
+<p>Many a night, when it was Carew's watch on deck, Baptiste employed
+himself in rummaging the drawers and lockers of the saloon. For a long
+time he discovered nothing to his purpose; but he was patient and minute
+in his investigations, and at last he got on the right scent in the
+following wise.</p>
+
+<p>He found that the handwriting in the ship's log-book and on the
+agreements which the captain had drawn out for his crew was not in the
+least like that in the diary and in the cheque-book, in which entries
+had been inscribed at a date prior to the yacht's departure from
+Rotterdam. Thus it seemed highly probable to Baptiste that his captain
+was not the Mr. Allen whom he <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>professed to be, and whose name was on
+the ship's papers.</p>
+
+<p>If not Mr. Allen, then, who was he?</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste searched diligently night after night without finding any clue
+to this; but at last one of those slight circumstances which seem to be
+arranged by Providence to expose the crimes of the most clever and
+cautious villains, led the persevering Frenchman to the knowledge he was
+seeking.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste was not a good English scholar; but he proceeded with infinite
+labour little by little to decipher Allen's diary. A few days before
+reaching Rio he came to the last page but one, and here he read the
+following entry: "Wrote Carew, asking him to come with me to Holland."
+On the next page, under the date of August the 8th, was the final entry:
+"Sail for Holland with Carew."</p>
+
+<p>"It is just possible," said Baptiste to himself, "that this mysterious
+captain of mine is Mr. Carew. I have no reason to suppose that he is so,
+but the point is worth testing."</p>
+
+<p>The mate applied the test in the manner that has been described, when,
+on entering Rio, he casually remarked that he had sailed into that
+harbour before under an English captain called Carew.</p>
+
+<p>His employer's sudden start and evident perturbation on hearing this
+name mentioned convinced Baptiste that he had hit the right nail on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> the
+head. The deduction from what he had discovered was natural enough. "If
+this is Carew," he reasoned, "he must have stolen Allen's yacht. He has
+in all probability committed other crimes; but this is enough for my
+purpose. I may be altogether wrong in my conjectures, but I think not. I
+will tax him boldly with this. If I have guessed his secret, I have the
+game in my own hands. If I prove to have been on the wrong scent, I
+shall have made an idiot of myself, but no great harm will have been
+done."</p>
+
+<p>So with a matchless effrontery the Frenchman opened his game under the
+shade of the great palm trees with the success that has been seen.</p>
+
+<p>Having smoked several cigarettes with an expression of great enjoyment,
+without speaking, Baptiste turned to Carew and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You are looking pale, <i>mon capitaine</i>. It is dangerous to walk about on
+an empty stomach in this climate; the fever fiend is ever watching his
+opportunity. Come with me. I will take you to a tavern I know
+of,&mdash;rough, but cheap and good,&mdash;and we will have something to eat. It
+is hours after our usual dinner-time. Afterwards I will expound to you
+the excellent scheme that is in my head&mdash;a scheme that will make us all
+rich men."</p>
+
+<p>Carew had by this time recovered his power for cool and rapid thought.
+He had been in vain cudgelling his brain to explain to himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> in what
+possible way the mate had contrived to discover his secret.</p>
+
+<p>"Baptiste," he said firmly, "before moving from here, I wish you to
+clearly understand that you are not going to be my master because you
+happen to know something about my affairs; so put aside at once that
+insolent and familiar manner. If you presume too much on your knowledge
+and make me desperate, it will be the worse for you. Now tell me how
+have you acquired this knowledge?"</p>
+
+<p>The mate replied in his old respectful tones. "I know you too well to
+seek to be your master. But I would rather not answer your question at
+present, captain. I promise you, when you have helped me to carry out my
+plan, that I will tell you everything."</p>
+
+<p>"Does anyone else know as much as yourself concerning me?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not a single individual. Have no fears on that score. No one suspects
+that you are other than you represent yourself to be. You are as secure
+from discovery as you were before I happened to learn the truth. I alone
+know what you are, and the price of my silence is a mere bagatelle. All
+I ask is that you benefit yourself and me by casting away from you some
+of your foolish scruples. Where is the logic of going so far and no
+farther? You have committed great crimes for a trifle. A large fortune
+is now within your grasp; but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> one little sin more, and you will be
+rich. Then you can afford to be virtuous for the rest of your life. You
+can endow churches; you can obtain absolution; you can&mdash;but I forget;
+you are a Protestant, and so must patch your soul up in your own way."</p>
+
+<p>Carew shuddered, not in fear of the man before him, but at the thought
+of the relentless fate that was pursuing him. It seemed to him that this
+unscrupulous villain was the instrument of an offended Heaven, sent to
+hasten his destruction. It was vain for him to strive after repentance.</p>
+
+<p>A wild despair, a feeling of angry revolt against the powers of good,
+possessed him. What did it matter now? the man argued, in his reckless
+mood. Destiny drove him to crime. Why resist in agony? Whatever new
+wickedness he should have to do, not his the fault, but that of this
+pitiless and unjust Fate.</p>
+
+<p>"Baptiste, what is this plan that you propose?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us dine before we talk business," replied the mate, rolling himself
+another cigarette. "I am as thirsty as an Englishman and as hungry as a
+German."</p>
+
+<p>They entered a tram and drove back towards the city; but while they were
+yet in the suburbs, Baptiste made a sign to Carew to descend, and they
+walked, the mate leading the way, down a narrow street of negro
+shanties, each surrounded by its little provision ground of bananas,
+yams,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> and cassava. Then they came to a very rough and disreputable
+neighbourhood, abounding in low grog shops, in which European sailors
+were courting Yellow Jack, by drinking poisonous rum. They reached a
+street which skirted the shores of the bay; and here, on the very edge
+of the water, there stood a stone house by itself.</p>
+
+<p>"That is the tavern I spoke of," said the mate. Then assuming his usual
+bantering tone, "It is a queer place. It will interest you, as an
+English milord travelling for his pleasure and instruction, to observe
+the humours of the place. It is the resort of the greatest villains of
+Rio&mdash;robbers, smugglers, and the like. The result is that it is an
+exceedingly quiet and respectable house. They dare not have rows in
+there; no drunkenness or thieving or kniving is allowed on those
+premises. Men frequent this caf&eacute; when bent on business, not on
+pleasure."</p>
+
+<p>The interior of the house did not seem to be used for purposes of
+entertainment, for all the customers were congregated in a large arbour
+that lay against one side of the building, and faced the sea.</p>
+
+<p>They entered this arbour, and sat down at one of the bare deal tables,
+and the mate, calling one of the waiters, a very evil-looking mulatto
+with one eye, selected some of the dishes out of the bill of fare.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p><p>The sun was setting, and the darkness came on with the suddenness of
+tropical latitudes. Two negroes proceeded to light a number of Venetian
+lanterns that festooned the caf&eacute;, and Carew, while he waited for his
+dinner, gazed with amazement at the scene before him.</p>
+
+<p>A number of men were sitting at the tables, eating, drinking, and
+smoking. There were negroes, whites, and mulattos. They appeared to be
+of many nationalities. It would be almost impossible to see elsewhere a
+collection of more villainous faces. They sat for the most part in
+silence, as if avoiding each other's companionship; but at some of the
+tables were small groups, and here conversations were carried on in a
+low voice. There were no smiles to be seen; there was no noise; there
+were no signs of hilarity in all this assemblage. An atmosphere of gloom
+and fear seemed to pervade the place. Occasionally one of these taciturn
+beings would glance suspiciously at the table where Carew and the mate
+were sitting. Guilt, dread, and hopelessness could be read on many a
+face. It might have been a supper of lost souls in the shades of Hades,
+but then&mdash;and it was this that, by its mocking contrast, lent a strange
+horror to the scene, as if it were some fantastic and dreadful
+nightmare&mdash;the melancholy feast was taking place in a very paradise.</p>
+
+<p>The arbour was supported by lofty palms, and the sides of it were formed
+of a network of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> the most beautiful creepers, heavy with sweet blossoms
+and luscious fruits. The glittering sands of the seashore formed the
+floor. Through the roof of feathery palm leaves the innumerable and
+brilliant stars of the Southern Hemisphere could be seen glowing out of
+the depths of night. A number of small tame birds of lovely red and
+yellow plumage fluttered about the arbour, and alighted on the tables in
+search of food. Glow-worms and fireflies gleamed like diamonds among the
+foliage, and outside was heard the splashing of the tiny waves and the
+shrill cry of the cicala. The lavish tropical nature had made of this a
+fit palace for a fairy queen, and lo, it was a thieves' kitchen!</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER X</span></h2>
+
+<p>Having dined off some very greasy dishes served up with cassava or
+lentils, and seasoned with hot peppers in the Brazilian fashion, Carew
+and the mate lit their pipes, and the one-eyed negro brought them cups
+of black coffee and glasses of white native rum. The table at which they
+sat was at some distance from any other, so all risk of their
+conversation being overheard was obviated.</p>
+
+<p>"All these men are thieves, you say?" said Carew, looking round at the
+strange assembly, on whose faces the Venetian lanterns cast a ruddy
+glow.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, thieves and murderers, all of them," replied the mate, "but
+well-behaved, quiet folk, as you see. One is safer here than in some of
+the flash caf&eacute;s in the main streets of Rio."</p>
+
+<p>"They carry their characters on their faces. I only see one in the whole
+crowd whom I would not instinctively distrust. Who is that tall,
+handsome old man with the long white hair and beard?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p><p>"That is our worthy host," said Baptiste. "He looks like a mild,
+medi&aelig;val saint, but there is much blood on his hands. I must introduce
+him to you, for he is a celebrated character in his way."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste caught the old man's eye, and beckoned to him to approach the
+table.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-evening to you, Father Luigi. I think you understand French?"</p>
+
+<p>The old man nodded an assent.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't suppose you remember me? I have not been here for a very long
+time."</p>
+
+<p>"I never forget a face that I have seen in my caf&eacute;," replied the host in
+French, with a strong Italian accent.</p>
+
+<p>"This, Luigi, is my present captain, an English milord, travelling in
+his yacht; and this, captain, is the once well-known Roman brigand,
+Luigi Querini. Oh, an awful cut-throat in his time, I assure you."</p>
+
+<p>Querini shook his head sadly. "But not so now, signor. I am getting old.
+Heigh-ho, but those were grand days we had in the Abruzzi Mountains
+before Victor Emmanuel's gendarmerie spoilt Italy."</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down and have a glass with us, Luigi," said the mate. "<i>Salud y
+pesetas</i>&mdash;health and dollars to you; that's an old River Plate toast.
+Luigi knows Buenos Ayres well, captain. He'll tell us all about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I know it too well," said the old man.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> "I was a soldier of the
+Argentine Republic, and lived on mare's flesh on the Indian frontier for
+four years."</p>
+
+<p>"What made you do that?" asked Carew.</p>
+
+<p>"I see you are a stranger to South America, sir. Understand, I was not a
+volunteer. I had a misfortune, and therefore was pressed into the army
+for punishment."</p>
+
+<p>"To have a misfortune is a Pampas euphemism for having murdered a man,"
+explained the mate.</p>
+
+<p>"There is, as you know, no capital punishment in the River Plate,"
+continued the Italian; "if a man kills another the penalty is so many
+years' service in the army."</p>
+
+<p>"What a respectable army it must be," remarked Carew.</p>
+
+<p>"It is so," said Baptiste. "They are wise people, those Argentines. If a
+man is addicted to homicide for his private ends, they turn him into a
+wholesale homicide for the public good. That may be called the
+hom&oelig;opathic treatment of murder; like curing like."</p>
+
+<p>Carew laughed boisterously at the mate's witticism, and the silent men
+at the tables round, hating the sound of merriment, turned their faces
+towards him and scowled savagely.</p>
+
+<p>A species of intoxication had come to Carew. The strange sights and
+strong emotions of the day, the grotesque contrast presented by this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>
+lovely bower of pure blossoms and the foul and evil men who sat beneath
+it, confused his brain. His surroundings seemed so fantastically
+inconsistent&mdash;so unreal&mdash;that he felt as if he were some irresponsible
+being in a land of dreams, that it mattered not what he did. He was
+filled with a reckless joviality.</p>
+
+<p>The mate had been watching him with his keen eyes. He knew what this
+exaltation of spirits indicated, and divined that the moment was
+opportune for the mooting of his diabolical scheme. In the present
+condition of his mental faculties, the captain's obstructive conscience
+would be partly paralysed, and he would be able to listen to the mate's
+proposals without overmuch shrinking horror. So the shrewd Frenchman,
+losing no more time, hinted to the host that his presence at the table
+was no longer needed, and Querini took himself off to hobnob with
+another acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste then stretched out his legs and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"This is very comfortable after having been cramped up so long on board
+that little boat of yours; but I hope, sir, to see you captain of a much
+larger vessel in a week or so at the latest."</p>
+
+<p>"So we are coming to your wonderful scheme. Let me hear all about it."</p>
+
+<p>"You remember, sir, that as we sailed into the bay this morning I
+pointed out a small<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> barque to El Toro, and remarked how much she
+resembled the old <i>Vrouw Elisa</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"I remember your words perfectly. You betrayed yourself."</p>
+
+<p>"Intentionally, captain. We understand each other now; there are no
+secrets between us. Away with hypocrisy! Of course El Toro, El Chico,
+and myself formed part of the crew of the <i>Vrouw Elisa</i>. But it is
+unnecessary to recount to you our adventures on board that vessel."</p>
+
+<p>"They do not interest me."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think you'd care to hear them," said Baptiste, showing his
+white teeth with a grim smile. "Well, to proceed. When you were at the
+consul's this morning, I entered a little drinking shop on the Mole, and
+there I overheard some sailors speaking about their vessel, which I soon
+made out to be the barque lying near us under Villegagnon, the one like
+the <i>Vrouw Elisa</i>. Said one man to the other in French&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"'I suppose she's got the most valuable cargo on board of any vessel in
+Rio.'</p>
+
+<p>"I pricked up my ears on hearing this.</p>
+
+<p>"'She'd be a fine prize for a pirate,' replied the other man.</p>
+
+<p>"'If there were pirates nowadays,' said the first.</p>
+
+<p>"Feeling interested, I made inquiries about this vessel&mdash;Waiter, stand
+off another few<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> yards. I am talking over some private business with
+this gentleman."</p>
+
+<p>The negro, not unused to such commands, promptly removed himself.</p>
+
+<p>"I discovered that the barque comes from a little harbour down the
+coast, near Santa Catharina. It seems that some prospectors have
+discovered gold in the neighbouring mountains. The quartz is
+exceptionally rich; the cost of importing the necessary machinery would
+be great. They are consequently shipping a large quantity of this quarts
+to Europe to be crushed. That barque, sailing under the French flag, is
+bound for Swansea with a cargo of this: no ordinary auriferous quartz,
+let me tell you, but containing a hitherto unexampled percentage of
+gold. She has put in here for some slight repairs, and will sail in two
+days. The barque is a new vessel, and is worth a lot of money; but the
+value of the cargo is enormous. Now, my little plan is that we four, the
+crew of the <i>Petrel</i>, seize this vessel and make our fortunes."</p>
+
+<p>Carew laughed scornfully. "Idiot!" he said; "is this your precious
+scheme? I took you for too clever a man to talk such nonsense. Even if
+we did succeed in seizing this vessel, what could we do with her? In
+what port could we dispose of her cargo? Piracy is impossible in these
+days. Don't you know that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who talked of piracy? Surely, captain,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> you know me by this time. Am I
+not a coward? Am I one to commit a risky crime? I would break no law
+unless I felt that I was absolutely secure from detection; and when I do
+feel that, upon my soul, I don't know what villainy I would shrink from;
+for, as for conscience&mdash;bah! I have none. Now please follow the outlines
+of my scheme. I will leave it to your ingenuity to fill up the details."</p>
+
+<p>Carew, in his present mood, felt a reluctant admiration for the cool and
+cynical ruffian before him.</p>
+
+<p>"Piracy, in the ordinary sense of the term, is of course out of date,"
+continued the mate, as he sipped his fiery rum; "but the intelligent man
+adapts his method to the age he lives in. I will now tell you a little
+story. An English yacht, manned by four worthy fellows, sails out of Rio
+one fine day. In the night, when she is some leagues from the land, a
+dreadful accident of some kind happens&mdash;say she runs into a large
+fragment of wreckage, and staves herself in. Anyhow, she founders.
+Happily, her crew have time to lower the boat, and getting into it they
+pull away, weeping to behold the vessel, that has been their home for so
+long, go down. But they feel happier and dry their eyes when their brave
+captain tells them that the yacht is well insured. Providence assists
+them, for at daybreak they sight a French barque. They signal to her,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>
+are seen, are soon taken on board, and the barque resumes her voyage to
+Europe. After some days our four shipwrecked mariners, who have been
+watching their opportunity, and who are well armed, surprise the crew,
+take possession of the vessel, sail her into the nearest port, and claim
+salvage for the derelict which they have had the luck to pick up; and
+their lives for the future are happy, wealthy, and respectable. Do you
+follow my story, captain? Hi! waiter, bring us some more rum and some
+Bahia cigars."</p>
+
+<p>Carew sat quite motionless for some time, looking downwards, so that
+Baptiste could not see the expression of his face. The black brought the
+rum to the table and went away again. Then Carew raised his head. "I
+follow your story," he said, in a low, husky voice; "but you did not
+mention what became of the crew of the barque."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, yes! What did become of them?" exclaimed the mate in an airy way.
+"I forget. They were lost somehow, I imagine&mdash;were disposed of in some
+convenient fashion&mdash;who knows? But that is a detail."</p>
+
+<p>Carew's face had turned fearfully white. "Thou devil!" he cried
+passionately, between his set teeth. "Not that&mdash;not that! Speak no more
+of this. It is impossible."</p>
+
+<p>"Understand me, captain," said the mate, abandoning his bantering tone
+for one of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> serious determination. "You are not going to have everything
+your own way. I must have money, and plenty of it. El Chico and El Toro
+must have money. Join us in carrying out this scheme, and we will share
+the spoil between the four of us. If you don't agree to this, I will
+expose you at once, Mr. Carew, and you will know what a nasty hole a
+Brazilian prison is. I am sorry to use this language, but business is
+business, captain."</p>
+
+<p>Carew looked down again, and Baptiste, furtively watching him, saw that
+his mouth was twitching and the perspiration breaking out on his
+forehead.</p>
+
+<p>The wretched man endeavoured to think his way out of the terrible
+dilemma before him. He had to choose between the commission of a crime
+more atrocious than any he had ever conceived, and a disgrace and
+punishment infinitely worse than death. He tried to realise his
+position, but his brain seemed numbed. The two alternatives kept
+crossing and recrossing his mind in rapid succession. He was conscious
+of them, but he could not reason upon them. He was incapable of
+consecutive thought for the time.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly a discordant brass band in a low dancing saloon hard by burst
+out into a triumphant march, as a prelude to the night's riot of drunken
+sailors. It was a fragment of some French opera-bouffe, suggestive of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>
+feverish joy heedless of the morrow, of mad and reckless orgie. The
+sound was in accord with the man's distracted state. It at once awoke
+his mind from its lethargy. A wild and fierce impulse rushed upon him.
+Blindly he abandoned himself to what he considered to be his destiny,
+and a tempter seemed to whisper to him, "Trust to your luck. See how
+luck has been with you so far. Fortune will certainly find some way of
+relieving you of the crew of the barque, so that it will not be
+necessary for you to have their blood on your head. Arthur Allen stood
+in your path. He was removed from it; yet you were not his murderer. So
+will it be now. Trust to chance."</p>
+
+<p>Then Carew looked up. His features were calm and rigid, but had a
+ghastly expression. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but appeared to
+be unable to articulate. He poured himself out a quantity of the white
+rum into a glass and swallowed it. "And the other two men?" he whispered
+hoarsely.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste understood his meaning. "El Chico and El Toro can be relied
+upon for this business. I know them," he said.</p>
+
+<p>The eyes of the two men met. There was a long pause. Then Carew muttered
+the two words&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I consent!"</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER XI</span></h2>
+
+<p>Carew and the mate left the caf&eacute;, traversed the brilliantly lighted
+city, and returned to the yacht. At an early hour on the following
+morning, Carew, too restless to sleep, came on deck. The sky was
+cloudless and the rising sun illumined the romantic scenery of the bay.
+A cool breeze blew seaward from the wooded mountains, odorous of spices
+and tropical blossoms. The sight of a world so glad and fair, so fresh
+and ever-young, might well make the saddest soul feel the joy of mere
+existence and look to life as a treasure worth the possessing.</p>
+
+<p>A few months before this Carew had contemplated suicide&mdash;had regarded
+death as a welcome deliverance from his troubles. Now it was otherwise;
+he set a value on his life. The causes of this change were commonplace
+enough, as are most of the motives that decide the momentous crises of a
+man's history. A healthy life in the open air at sea tends to develop
+the instinct of self-preservation and banishes morbid meditations.
+Again, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> longer one has been contesting some keen game of chance and
+skill, the more anxious one is to come off the victor. This man had been
+playing a clever and desperate game for freedom&mdash;which for him meant
+life&mdash;ever since he had left England. Fortune had favoured him so long
+that he would not abandon hope and acknowledge defeat now. The ultimate
+victory had become so dear to him that he was not likely to be very
+squeamish as to the means he should employ to obtain it.</p>
+
+<p>So Carew had hardened his heart, or rather, having resolved on a course
+of action, he closed the avenues of his mind to certain unpleasant
+thoughts on the future. Not being as unscrupulous as his French
+associate, he found it necessary to employ an immense amount of
+self-deception. He allowed himself to drift, as it were, from one crime
+to another, trying to believe that his fate was compelling him; but he
+carefully avoided looking beyond the immediate present. He would not
+think of the far greater iniquities to which he was committing himself
+by the action he was now taking. He wilfully closed his eyes, and let
+the morrow take care of itself.</p>
+
+<p>When Baptiste joined the captain on deck he was exceedingly surprised to
+find him in a cheerful mood, and anxious to arrange as quickly as
+possible the plan for the seizure of the barque. Carew found a relief in
+the active<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> employment of his brain, and he now exhibited considerable
+ingenuity. He described his views in detail to the mate, who looked with
+wonder at this inconsistent Englishman, whose complex nature he felt
+that he was very far from understanding. With all his vacillation, when
+Carew had made up his mind one way or the other, he acted promptly and
+with energy.</p>
+
+<p>"Baptiste," he said, "in the first place, we ought to be armed. We all
+have knives, but there is only one revolver on board. I want you to take
+my watch and chain on shore, pawn or sell them, and buy three revolvers
+and some ammunition. You can take charge of your weapon at once, but I
+will keep those of the two men until the time comes."</p>
+
+<p>"That is right," said the mate; "those children are not to be trusted
+with firearms. The first time they played at <i>monte</i> they would be
+scattering each other's brains over the cards. I know a slop shop where
+there are generally some good six-shooters on sale. I will barter your
+watch there."</p>
+
+<p>"Also ascertain the hour of the barque's departure," said Carew. "This
+is what I suggest. You know that the south-east trade wind does not blow
+home on this coast, but is deflected and becomes a north-east wind. In
+consequence of this, all vessels bound for Europe from Rio are obliged
+to take a long board of several hundreds of miles to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>eastward
+before they fall in with the true trade wind, and go about on the other
+tack. Thus we know the exact course the barque will take. She will sail
+away close-hauled on the port-tack. We will put to sea six hours before
+her, and await her some ten leagues from the land. Do you understand?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly. I see you know what you are about, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Now call the crew aft," said Carew, "and let us learn at once what they
+think of our proposal."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste raised the hatch of the forecastle and roused the men. They
+quickly tumbled on deck.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sorry to say, comrades, that you can't go on shore here," said the
+mate in Spanish.</p>
+
+<p>They swore and grumbled in sonorous Castilian phrases that had best be
+left untranslated.</p>
+
+<p>"Now no insubordination," continued Baptiste; "the captain would not
+deprive you of a day's holiday after so long a voyage unless he had
+urgent reasons for doing so."</p>
+
+<p>"Reasons indeed!" muttered El Toro. "He who wants reasons can always
+find them."</p>
+
+<p>"Silence, you old calf! Listen! We shall most probably sail to-day, for
+there is a treasure waiting for us outside."</p>
+
+<p>El Chico pricked up his ears. "What! another <i>Vrouw Elisa</i>?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Something of the sort; but this is a safer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> scheme. Our necks will not
+be in danger this time."</p>
+
+<p>"That's well for you, Baptiste," exclaimed El Toro, with his brutal
+laugh; "for your neck must be the most precious on this ship if we may
+judge from the value you set on it. Ha! ha! I never shall forget your
+white face and your starting eyes in that Dutch law court."</p>
+
+<p>"My neck supports a head of brains and not a pig's head like thine, with
+only three ideas in it&mdash;rum, grub, and tobacco," retorted the mate. "But
+no more nonsense; listen to me, men."</p>
+
+<p>Then he briefly disclosed the plan.</p>
+
+<p>"Bravo!" grunted El Toro. "That sounds a likely bit of business. I will
+go and sharpen my knife at once. And so our English milord is a
+game-cock, after all, like the rest of us."</p>
+
+<p>"He is worth fifty of you," said Baptiste. "He has the clever brains
+that can devise; and he is braver than you, El Toro."</p>
+
+<p>"I acknowledge him to be my superior, even in courage. I have not
+forgotten how he defied the devil himself in the <i>terremoto</i>," replied
+the Basque.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste turned to Carew, and proceeded to speak in French. "The lads
+are ready to follow you anywhere, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"They did not seem at all surprised, and received your communication in
+a very matter-of-fact way," said Carew.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p><p>"They are accustomed to strange jobs of this kind. But I don't think
+they quite realise what a vast sum we are going to make. Idiots! It
+would be a pity to give them too much. We must settle later on, captain,
+how to divide the spoil."</p>
+
+<p>"Last night you said that it should be divided equally among us."</p>
+
+<p>"I spoke hastily. I don't think so now. You and I appreciate money and
+know how to use it. These pigs would squander it. We will give them just
+enough to keep their mouths shut. You and I will divide the bulk. If we
+fill their hands with bright gold pieces, the ignorant wretches will
+imagine that they have got an inexhaustible fortune, and they will go
+away perfectly satisfied. I know the animals."</p>
+
+<p>The mate, taking Carew's watch and chain with him, rowed on shore in the
+dinghy, and returned in an hour with three revolvers, some cartridges,
+and a quantity of plantains, yams, and other vegetables.</p>
+
+<p>He leapt on deck. "Captain," he cried, "there is not much time to be
+lost. I have learnt that <i>La Bonne Esperance</i>&mdash;that is the barque's
+name&mdash;will sail without fail this evening as soon as the land breeze
+springs up."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we will get under way immediately after breakfast," said Carew;
+"for the wind seems to be light outside, and we shall not travel fast."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p><p>The land breeze, which blows all night at Rio and refreshes the heated
+atmosphere, died away before the necessary preparations had been made on
+the yacht, and the usual calm succeeded it. So Carew had to remain at
+anchor until midday, when the sea breeze, that prevails throughout the
+hottest hours of the day, sprang up; and all sail being hoisted, the
+<i>Petrel</i> tacked out of the bay.</p>
+
+<p>The yacht sailed out to sea, close-hauled on the port-tack; but the wind
+was very light, and she did not make more than two knots an hour.</p>
+
+<p>At sunset the land was still in sight, and Carew took cross-bearings, so
+as to ascertain his exact position. Throughout the night the navigation
+of the yacht was conducted with unusual care. The helmsman steered "full
+and by" with as much nicety as if he had been sailing a race.</p>
+
+<p>Every few minutes the officer of the watch looked at the compass, in
+order to detect the slightest change in the direction of the wind.
+Without these precautions it would have been impossible on the morrow to
+calculate with sufficient precision the track of the following barque.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak Carew made out that he was about forty miles from the land.
+"We have gone far enough, Baptiste," he said. "The next thing is to
+calculate how much nearer this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> yacht sails to the wind than a clumsy,
+square-rigged vessel like <i>La Bonne Esperance</i>."</p>
+
+<p>"Our steering has been so good," replied the mate, "that we must have
+been sailing at least a point and a half closer than the barque."</p>
+
+<p>"About that, I should say. We will run down to leeward some ten miles,
+and then, I think, we shall be lying right across her track."</p>
+
+<p>The sheets were eased off, and the vessel was steered at right angles to
+her former course. As the wind was stronger, she covered the ten miles
+in less than two hours. Then Carew gave the order to heave-to.</p>
+
+<p>While the yacht, her jib to windward, rose and fell on the ocean swell
+without making any progress, everything was got ready for the carrying
+out of their design. The dinghy was lowered; the men placed in it their
+baggage and some of the more portable valuables belonging to the yacht.
+Carew put into the sternsheets a portmanteau containing, among other
+things, the ship's papers, Allen's diary and cheque-book, the revolvers,
+and the drugs which he had purchased in Rotterdam.</p>
+
+<p>Carew himself undertook to scuttle the yacht. He cut away a portion of
+the panelling in the main cabin; then, having bored a large hole with an
+auger through the vessel's skin, he stopped it with a wooden plug. To
+this plug he attached a piece of strong cord, which he led up on deck
+through the skylight.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p><p>The men stood by watching him.</p>
+
+<p>"You see, Baptiste," he explained, "I have but to pull this cord, out
+comes the plug, and the vessel fills and sinks."</p>
+
+<p>"That is all very well so far," replied the mate; "but suppose you have
+pulled out your plug, and your vessel is three parts full, and the
+barque won't stop to pick us up,&mdash;anything is possible at sea; such
+inhumanity among sailors is not unknown,&mdash;what will you do then? How are
+you to get at that hole again to stop any more water coming in? A wise
+general secures his retreat, captain."</p>
+
+<p>"I have thought of all that, Baptiste," said Carew; "you have not seen
+half my arrangements yet. Follow me into the after-cabin."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste obeyed.</p>
+
+<p>"Now take up the flooring," continued the captain.</p>
+
+<p>When the boards were raised a long piece of lead piping was disclosed,
+which was connected with the end of one of the ship's two pumps.</p>
+
+<p>"Cut that piping off as close as you can to the pump, and bring it on
+deck."</p>
+
+<p>This was done; then Carew, to the astonishment of his crew, proceeded to
+bend the piping until it assumed the form of a lengthened U. Putting a
+bung into one end of it he poured water into it from the other end until
+it was full. Dipping the open end into the sea, he passed the other arm
+through one of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> ports, so that it depended into the cabin below the
+level of the water-line.</p>
+
+<p>"Hah! I see now; it is a syphon," exclaimed Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>"Exactly so. Now follow my plan. As soon as we sight the barque, I take
+the bung out of the inner arm of the syphon and allow the sea to pour
+in, until I bring the yacht down as near the water's edge as I safely
+can. Then I haul my syphon on board again and so stop the flow. We hoist
+signals of distress. If <i>La Bonne Esperance</i> won't pay any attention to
+us and sails by, all we have to do is to pump the water out of the
+yacht, and try our luck elsewhere. If the barque replies to our signals,
+and there can be no doubt about her intention to pick us up, I pull this
+cord, out comes the plug, in rushes the sea again, we jump into the
+dinghy, and as we are rowing off to the French vessel the old <i>Petrel</i>
+goes down. What do you think of that, Baptiste?"</p>
+
+<p>"Excellent&mdash;excellent!" exclaimed the mate.</p>
+
+<p>"And to avoid all chance of a hitch," continued Carew, who was
+interested in his work, "I am going to scuttle the yacht in another
+place, and lead another cord from the second plug on to the deck. Thus
+we will be doubly certain; for one plug may get jammed and refuse to
+come out, or a fish may get sucked into the hole and choke it. I have
+heard of such things happening."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p><p>"You are a very clever man, captain. When you do start on a job you
+carry it out in a thorough manner. With your pluck and ingenuity you'd
+make a splendid pirate, were it not for your unfortunate scruples;" and
+the mate sighed regretfully when he thought of the useful talents wasted
+on this Englishman.</p>
+
+<p>At midday Carew took the latitude, and found that he had not misjudged
+his position. As the wind had not varied a quarter of a point since the
+yacht had sailed from Rio, it was almost certain that the barque would
+pass within a mile or so.</p>
+
+<p>El Chico, who had the keenest eyes of any on board, had been sent aloft
+to keep a good lookout for vessels. He sat on the crosstrees, and in the
+course of the day reported several craft, but none answered to the
+description of the French barque.</p>
+
+<p>Much as Carew had shrunk from the enterprise, he was now carried away by
+the excitement of the chase; and as the hours went by he became acutely
+anxious. He feared that he had sailed too far out to sea, and that the
+barque would pass him unobserved in the night.</p>
+
+<p>They waited in silence, staring eagerly across the expanse of glaring
+water.</p>
+
+<p>At last, at three o'clock in the afternoon, El Chico called out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There is a barque yonder that looks something like her."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p><p>"Where away?" said Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>"She's coming up close-hauled on the port-tack."</p>
+
+<p>"Has she brown topsides and some bright green about her figure-head?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can't make any colour out yet."</p>
+
+<p>Then the mate went aloft with the binocular. After some minutes he
+scrambled down the rigging again. "Hurrah!" he cried, with a triumphant
+glitter in his eyes. "We have her safe! That is <i>La Belle Esperance</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"If we run a mile more to leeward we'll be right in her track," shouted
+El Chico from aloft.</p>
+
+<p>All was now bustle on board the yacht. Letting the foresheet draw, they
+ran before the wind for about a quarter of an hour; then, heaving-to
+again, the cork was taken out of the syphon, and the yacht began to fill
+gradually. The barque was still more than three miles off, so there was
+ample time to prepare everything.</p>
+
+<p>"Now for the signals of distress," cried Carew; "bring up the flags."</p>
+
+<p>The two flags of the international code&mdash;N and B&mdash;were hoisted to the
+gaff end, which indicate that a vessel is in need of assistance.</p>
+
+<p>"They won't be able to see that for some time yet," said Baptiste. "Your
+signal flags are too small."</p>
+
+<p>"Then rig up the long-distance signal," cried Carew. "It is a square
+flag at the masthead with something like a ball beneath it. Hoist the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
+large ensign, and fasten the life-buoy to the mast; that will look like
+a ball."</p>
+
+<p>The barque was now heading straight for the yacht. When she was about a
+mile off Carew loaded the small brass signal gun and fired it.</p>
+
+<p>About a minute afterwards a wreath of smoke was seen to issue from the
+barque's side. Then the report of a gun was heard.</p>
+
+<p>"We are safe now. They will pick us up," said Carew. "Hallo, there!
+Inboard with that syphon at once, or the yacht will go down under our
+feet."</p>
+
+<p>The men had been watching the approaching barque so intently that they
+had not observed how low in the water their own vessel now was. The
+cabin was three parts full, and all the movable articles in it were
+afloat. The syphon was brought on board, and they waited yet a little
+longer before taking the final step; for the wind had fallen light
+again, and the barque was making but slow progress towards them.</p>
+
+<p>"Up goes some bunting yonder," said El Chico.</p>
+
+<p>Carew looked through the telescope, and saw that the vessel had hoisted
+the signal H F, which signifies, "We are coming to your assistance."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then, all hands tumble into the dinghy," said Carew, as, seizing
+the cords, he pulled both plugs out of the yacht's side. "Good-bye, old
+<i>Petrel</i>!" he cried, leaping into the boat after his men. "Now, pull
+away, lads."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span></p><p>Carew's experience in scuttling vessels was naturally limited, so he
+had miscalculated the rapidity with which an already water-logged craft
+will go down if two large auger-holes are opened in her sides.</p>
+
+<p>The men had not pulled a couple of strokes before the yacht's bow rose
+suddenly, her stern dipped, and she sank with a gurgling sound. So near
+was the dinghy that she narrowly escaped being sucked into the vortex.</p>
+
+<p>They rested on their oars and gazed silently at the spot where the smart
+little yawl that had been their home for so long had floated but a
+moment before. Then, as the water smoothed over her grave, they looked
+over the side of the dinghy and beheld a strange sight. With all her
+white sails set and her flags still flying, the <i>Petrel</i> went slowly
+down, with a gentle, oscillating movement, into the depths of that
+marvellously pellucid sea. Two sharks accompanied her, swimming round
+and round her; one thrust his evil snout for a moment into the cabin
+hatchway, as if to see if there were men below. Lower and lower the
+yacht descended into depths where the sharks could not support the
+increasing pressure of the water, so, deserting her, swam upwards; still
+lower, till she appeared no larger than a toy boat, and they could still
+distinguish her; still lower, and at last she disappeared into the
+blackness of the still, under ocean.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER XII</span></h2>
+
+<p>Carew gazed silently downwards into the clear, dark sea for some moments
+after the yacht had sunk entirely out of sight; then, raising his head,
+he looked towards the barque, and saw that she was lying hove-to, with
+her mainyard laid aback, about a quarter of a mile distant.</p>
+
+<p>"Pull away, lads," he said. "Let us get on board the Frenchman, and
+don't forget that we ran into a bit of wreckage last night and so sprang
+a leak. Say as little more as you can help, and don't give conflicting
+accounts of our accident."</p>
+
+<p>They soon came alongside the vessel, and clambered on to her deck by a
+rope's end that was lowered to them. The captain of the barque gave the
+order to sling the dinghy on deck and square away again.</p>
+
+<p>This being done, he turned to Carew and said in French, "I am very
+happy, sir, that I was so near at hand when your vessel sank. She went
+down very suddenly. Pray what was the cause?"</p>
+
+<p>Carew gave the very probable explanation of the mishap which had been
+decided on.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p><p>"You must have run into that bit of wreckage with considerable force,"
+said the captain. "What was it&mdash;a large spar?"</p>
+
+<p>"Something of the sort, I imagine," replied Carew; "but we could see
+nothing. It must have been floating just below the level of the water."</p>
+
+<p>"It is a lucky thing for you that this happened so near to the Brazilian
+coast and in the track of shipping, instead of in the middle of the
+Atlantic. You should have under-girded the vessel when you found that
+she had sprung so serious a leak."</p>
+
+<p>"So we did," broke in Baptiste. "We got a jib under her bows. But it was
+no good. She was strained along her whole bilge. I wonder she did not
+fall to pieces."</p>
+
+<p>"Let me introduce myself to you," said Carew. "My name is Allen. I was
+the owner of the unfortunate little yacht which is now so far below us.
+I think I recognise your vessel. Were you not lying near us under
+Villegagnon?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is quite right, sir, and I recognised your yacht as soon as I saw
+your signal of distress. My name is Captain Mourez, and this is the
+French barque <i>La Bonne Esperance</i>, bound for Swansea. And now, sir,
+what would you like me to do with you and your crew? I see smoke ahead,
+which should come from some steamer bound for Rio. Shall I signal her
+and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> put you on board, or do you feel inclined to come on with us to
+Swansea?"</p>
+
+<p>Carew did not look in the captain's face, and his voice shook as he
+replied, "I should esteem it a great favour, Captain Mourez, if you
+would allow us to be your passengers as far as Swansea. I will of course
+repay you for this when we reach England."</p>
+
+<p>"Say nothing about that at present," replied the captain proudly. "You
+can do what you think proper when you reach port. A French sailor is
+always glad to assist other sailors in distress without the inducement
+of a reward for doing so."</p>
+
+<p>The boastful speech of the patriotic captain stated no more than the
+truth. French sailors rarely hesitate to risk their lives at sea in
+going to the rescue of their fellow-men; in this respect differing
+considerably from the mariners of some other European nations, who have
+acquired an unenviable notoriety for a selfish indifference to the
+sufferings of others.</p>
+
+<p>The captain looked from Carew to Baptiste. He could distinguish from the
+latter's accent and appearance that he was no common sailor. "This
+gentleman is your friend, I suppose?" he said.</p>
+
+<p>"My friend, and the mate of the yacht," replied Carew. "I was my own
+captain."</p>
+
+<p>"I see that you are a genuine English yachtsman. But surely this is a
+French gentleman?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p><p>"No, Captain Mourez," broke in Baptiste quickly; "I am an English
+subject, but I am a Creole of the Mauritius, and of French origin.
+Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Baptiste Fortier."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said the captain. "We can find room for your two men in the
+forecastle. You, Mr. Allen and Mr. Fortier, will occupy cabins aft. We
+have plenty to spare. Come below and I will show you round."</p>
+
+<p>They entered the saloon&mdash;a spacious one for a vessel of her size. There
+were four cabins on each side of it. Only two of these were occupied;
+one by the captain and another by his mate. Two others were now placed
+at the disposal of Carew and Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>The captain made his two guests sit down with him at the saloon table,
+and produced a bottle of Bordeaux for their refreshment. The mate of <i>La
+Belle Esperance</i> soon came below and joined the party. Though no
+drunkard, he was never far away when there was a drawing of corks. His
+name was Duval; he was a wiry, red-headed Norman, somewhat hot-tempered,
+but very garrulous and merry. Captain Mourez was a tall, handsome man,
+with black hair and beard, a Breton by birth, taciturn as a rule, but
+very courteous in his manners.</p>
+
+<p>While these four were sitting in the saloon talking over the wreck of
+the <i>Petrel</i>, there was suddenly heard the sound of something falling<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>
+heavily on the deck just overhead; then a cry and a scuffling of many
+feet.</p>
+
+<p>Duval hurried on deck to learn what the noise signified. Shortly
+afterwards he returned again. "It is that imbecile young apprentice,
+Hall&eacute;, again. What an awkward cub it is! He has fallen from the mizzen
+rigging this time; not from a great height, luckily. He has not hurt
+himself seriously, but he seems rather sick and dizzy."</p>
+
+<p>The crew of the <i>Petrel</i> were soon at home on their new vessel. El Toro
+and El Chico were made much of by the kindly Frenchmen in the
+forecastle. As luck would have it, none of the crew of the barque
+understood Spanish; so the two Spaniards, who knew no French, had not to
+reply to questions as to the details of the yacht's misadventure. El
+Toro especially, whose dense head was entirely devoid of imagination,
+would have been certain to come to grief in attempting to lie in an
+ingenious and consistent manner.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon the loquacious Norman mate insisted on taking Carew and
+Baptiste all over the vessel and showing them everything. He was
+gratified by the keen interest the two passengers seemed to take in his
+explanation. They listened attentively to all he said, for reasons of
+their own. They learnt that the vessel's company, officers included,
+numbered seventeen souls; that there was no second<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> mate, but that the
+boatswain took the port watch and lived with the carpenter in the small
+deck-house.</p>
+
+<p>Duval also took them into the forecastle, where some of the watch off
+duty were sleeping at the time. Among them was the young apprentice who
+had fallen from the rigging. He was tossing about restlessly in his
+bunk, and his face was very flushed.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste as he passed by glanced casually at him, then scanned his face
+earnestly for some time. "Come out of this," he said to Carew. "It is
+too hot down here. Let us go on deck."</p>
+
+<p>That evening the wind freshened considerably, and the barque, with yards
+braced up, was making good way through the water. Carew, unable to
+sleep, came on deck shortly before midnight, and sat down in a dark,
+quiet corner to meditate. Now that the excitement of the preliminary
+preparations was over, he began to realise to the full what was before
+him; and an intense abhorrence of the crime he had undertaken once more
+oppressed his soul. He could not retreat now. He must be the cause of
+the death of all these innocent men, who had come to the rescue of his
+life. If he spared them he would be carried on to England to pay the
+penalty of his offences.</p>
+
+<p>As he sat brooding thus miserably, a man walked towards him from the
+fore part of the ship. Carew saw the red glow of his cigarette<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> before
+he could distinguish the man in the darkness, and he knew that it was
+his evil genius.</p>
+
+<p>"Baptiste, is that you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Here I am, captain. A lovely night, is it not?"</p>
+
+<p>"Sit down here," said Carew, "and speak to me. No one can overhear us
+here, I think."</p>
+
+<p>"No; it will be all right if we do not raise our voices," replied
+Baptiste, looking round.</p>
+
+<p>"How is this going to end?" whispered Carew.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean, captain?"</p>
+
+<p>"How are we four to seize a vessel with a crew of seventeen strong men
+on board?"</p>
+
+<p>"Strong men, indeed!" replied the Frenchman. "They will be as weak as
+babies in a few days' time. By the way, I see that you did not omit to
+bring your medicine chest on board with you."</p>
+
+<p>Carew shuddered. "Poison!" he whispered, in a terrified voice. "Do you
+mean that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why not, captain? It is a merciful and painless death if the right
+stuff is used."</p>
+
+<p>Carew said nothing for some time. "Whatever is done must be done soon,"
+he muttered.</p>
+
+<p>"That is so, captain. This vessel must be ours while we are still in the
+trades and within a few days' run of a South American port. It will be
+difficult enough for four of us to work her, even in these calm waters.
+We must not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> postpone action till we get into the region of rougher
+weather."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, that this dreadful thing were not necessary!" Carew groaned.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, sir, don't allow those fatal scruples of yours to torment you. If I
+had some of your courage, and you some of my philosophy, what a fine
+couple we should be! But as it is at present, I am the more useful man
+of the two, despite my physical cowardice. Believe me, Mr. Carew, the
+ancient was right who said that to know oneself is the secret of
+happiness. If a man has a conscience at all, it ought to be a stable one
+that does not vary. You have got a set of moral principles of a sort,
+but you have not the slightest idea of what they are. One day you will
+commit an action with a light heart; on the morrow your remorse will
+madden you. Such inconsistency means misery. Know thyself. If you will
+have a code of ethics, know it and stick to it, and be happy. But now
+that you have gone so far, I recommend you to abjure conscience and
+moral principles, and substitute for them my beautifully simple code of
+ethics, which is summed up in three words&mdash;fear of consequences."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish, indeed, that I could do so, Baptiste."</p>
+
+<p>"If you wish it, this satisfactory result will come in time. All changes
+in the moral sense are arrived at by wishing. <i>Experto crede</i>, as they
+taught me in the <i>lyc&eacute;e</i> at Nimes."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p><p>Neither spoke for some time; then Baptiste said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"You were born under a lucky star, captain. I think that Providence has
+found a way of sparing your sensitive conscience. She will do most of
+the killing for you."</p>
+
+<p>"What do you mean?" exclaimed Carew.</p>
+
+<p>"Hush! not so loud. You remember that a young man fell from the mizzen
+rigging while we were below drinking with the captain?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>"He is our unconscious ally. He will kill off a good many of his
+comrades for us. But I will not mystify you any longer. Why did he fall
+off the rigging&mdash;because he was awkward, as Duval said? Not a bit of it.
+He fell because he was dizzy. Why was he dizzy? Because he was ill. This
+afternoon, when I saw him first, I more than suspected that a fall could
+not account for all his symptoms. I have just examined him again. I know
+the signs well. He is in the first stage of <i>yellow fever</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"Yellow fever?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, yellow fever has come to help us. The man has been very sick and
+is now delirious. The stupid captain has seen him, and puts it all down
+to his fall; says he must have injured his spine. How lucky for us was
+that fall! Led off the scent by it, the idiots will not suspect what is
+the matter with the man until the <i>vomito negro</i> declares itself. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>
+have not separated him from the rest. He is now lying in his bunk in the
+forecastle. All the watch below are sleeping round him. It is a small
+forecastle, and the crew, imagining that fresh air is bad for a sick
+man, have closed the ports. It is stifling down there at present. It is
+a pest-house. All those men are breathing in contagion. Do you know that
+it is the worst form of yellow fever that is now raging at Rio&mdash;very
+contagious, very fatal? If it breaks out in a vessel like this it will
+spread like wildfire. Man after man will fall sick and die."</p>
+
+<p>"Ourselves included," said Carew recklessly.</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir. We will take precautions in time. I have had the fever once,
+and am not likely to have it again. I have hinted the truth to El Chico
+and El Toro, and they have suddenly developed a hygienic craze for fresh
+air, and insist on sleeping on deck to-night, to the amazement of the
+French sailors. I would not like to insure the lives of the men who
+sleep in that forecastle; most of them are doomed by this time."</p>
+
+<p>Carew felt his skin turn cold and tingle with horror as he listened to
+the Frenchman's cold-blooded exultation in the dreadful prospect.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-night, captain. I am going to turn in now; and, by the way, let me
+advise you to keep on deck in the cool wind as much as possible, and
+smoke perpetually. Tobacco is a splendid disinfectant."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER XIII</span></h2>
+
+<p>On the day after the crew of the <i>Petrel</i> had been taken on board the
+barque the wind freshened and was so much to the south of east that the
+vessel was enabled to sail in a north-easterly direction, a course which
+would bring her to the vicinity of the Trinidad and Martin Vas
+Archipelago.</p>
+
+<p>When Carew came on deck in the morning he found Baptiste there before
+him. The Proven&ccedil;al walked up to him jauntily, twirling his long black
+moustache, and looking jubilant. "I have seen young Hall&eacute; again," he
+said, in a low voice. "He is very bad. The symptoms are unmistakable;
+but no one suspects the truth so far. Two other men are complaining of
+headache."</p>
+
+<p>"Let the accursed plague work its way," said Carew gloomily, "but tell
+me nothing about it."</p>
+
+<p>"So be it, sir," said Baptiste, with a shrug of his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>The springing up of so favourable a wind put the captain of <i>La Bonne
+Esperance</i> in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> very contented frame of mind. In his delight he became
+more talkative than was his wont, and at frequent intervals during the
+day sought out Carew in order to converse with him.</p>
+
+<p>Carew, for his part, did his utmost&mdash;without appearing churlish&mdash;to
+avoid the company of Captain Mourez; for he recognised him as being a
+kind-hearted and an honest man.</p>
+
+<p>The captain observed his passenger's unsociable mood, and, attributing
+this to his sorrow at the loss of his yacht, endeavoured to cheer him
+with lively gossip, but produced the opposite result.</p>
+
+<p>Nothing noteworthy occurred during the day; the wind held steady, and
+the vessel made good progress. At about ten o'clock that night, Carew
+was sitting alone in the saloon, killing thought by reading a French
+novel which the captain had lent him, when Mourez himself came in. His
+face bore a very anxious expression.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Allen," he said, "I am seriously alarmed about that man Hall&eacute;. I
+fear that he has the fever."</p>
+
+<p>"The yellow fever?" exclaimed Carew, not raising his eyes from his book.</p>
+
+<p>"It seems so to me; but I have never seen a case of yellow fever. Do you
+mind coming with me to the forecastle and giving me your opinion?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will do so with pleasure," replied Carew,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> rising from his seat; "but
+my opinion is not worth much."</p>
+
+<p>They entered the forecastle, which was dimly lighted by a small lantern.
+Hall&eacute; was lying on his bunk, keeping up a constant delirious chatter.
+The other men, instead of sleeping soundly through their watch below
+after the manner of sailors, were sitting together in a group at the
+corner of the forecastle farthest removed from the sick man, looking
+scared and talking to each other in subdued voices.</p>
+
+<p>Carew stood by Hall&eacute;'s bunk and looked at him. A change for the worse
+had recently come on. His face wore an expression of intense anxiety.
+His skin was wrinkled and of a dark yellow colour.</p>
+
+<p>The captain made a sign to Carew, and they went on deck again. "I have
+never seen yellow fever," said the latter; "ask my mate, Baptiste
+Fortier, what he thinks about it; he has had the fever himself." Thus
+did this strange man trifle with his conscience as usual, and attempt to
+shift the responsibility for the next step in the tragedy on to his
+companion.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste was found, and was sent into the forecastle. It would be quite
+useless to lie about the facts now, so, returning to where Carew and
+Mourez were standing, he said, "It is yellow fever. I am sure of it."</p>
+
+<p>On hearing this the captain began to pace up and down the deck in a
+state of great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> agitation, wringing his hands. "Good heavens! this is a
+terrible affair," he cried. "For thirty hours Hall&eacute; has been spreading
+contagion in the forecastle. Who knows where this will end?"</p>
+
+<p>Then Captain Mourez stood still, and after pondering a little while
+addressed Carew. "I must at once convert some portion of the vessel into
+a hospital. The forecastle is no longer a fit place for the healthy men,
+so we will give it up to the sick. Sir, we must pray for a fresh breeze
+to carry us quickly into northern latitudes, where the cold will kill
+the plague that has come to us."</p>
+
+<p>At that moment the boatswain came on to the quarter-deck, and Mourez
+ordered him to call up the watch below.</p>
+
+<p>The men reached the deck with unusual promptitude. They were summoned
+aft, and the captain in a few words explained to them how matters stood,
+and exhorted them to be courageous as French sailors should be. He
+ordered them to rig up a large awning forward, under which the crew were
+to live so long as the vessel was in warm latitudes. He also instructed
+the boatswain to ventilate the forecastle as thoroughly as was possible
+by means of wind-sails, so that a cool temperature might be obtained for
+the sick men.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day two other men fell ill, and were admitted into the
+hospital. In the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> afternoon Hall&eacute; died, and his body was immediately
+lowered into the sea.</p>
+
+<p>Before sunset the loom of land was visible over the ship's bows. It was
+the desert island of Trinidad, situated near latitude 20 deg. south,
+about six hundred miles from the coast of Brazil.</p>
+
+<p>And now a most unfortunate calamity befell the pestilence-stricken
+vessel. The wind completely died away, and she lay motionless on a sea
+of oily smoothness for three whole days. The vertical sun blazed down
+upon her out of the cloudless sky, and the intense sultriness of the
+atmosphere lowered the energies of those who were still in good health,
+and predisposed them to contagion, while it hurried on the fatal
+termination of the fever for the sick. A gloom fell on the ship's
+company. The men looked into each other's faces with helpless terror,
+for what could be done against this invisible foe? One after another
+sickened, died, and was lowered over the side in shotted shroud.
+Baptiste and the two Spaniards, though they considered themselves
+acclimatised to the tropics, and almost proof against contagion, shared
+the prevailing sense of terror.</p>
+
+<p>On the second day of the calm, the captain, who had doctored all the
+sick men to the best of his ability, was himself attacked by the fever.</p>
+
+<p>Carew, who had some little knowledge of medicine, volunteered to take
+his place, and as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> the mate gratefully complied with his request,
+employed all his time in attending upon the patients in the forecastle
+and the captain in his cabin.</p>
+
+<p>On the third day of the calm the contagion seemed to have spent itself.
+No fresh cases were reported, and those who were lying sick became no
+worse.</p>
+
+<p>Up to this date eight men out of the seventeen that composed the ship's
+company had died. Among these were the boatswain and the ship's cook. It
+was necessary to appoint some other man to take charge of the port
+watch; so the mate, after consulting with Carew, gave this post to
+Baptiste, as being the best educated man on board. The Proven&ccedil;al asked
+that the two Spaniards should be put upon his watch. El Chico, acting
+under Baptiste's orders, offered to undertake the duties of ship's cook.</p>
+
+<p>On this morning, being the fifth since the <i>Petrel's</i> crew had been
+received on board, the mate came up to Baptiste and made some remarks to
+him which set the wily ruffian thinking. Duval had asked him whether he
+did not think the fever showed signs of abating.</p>
+
+<p>"It is impossible to say yet," replied Baptiste. "Yellow fever always
+comes in waves; it subsides and intensifies alternately."</p>
+
+<p>"You see, comrade," said Duval, "that even if we include you four, we
+are now very short<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> handed. If we lose a few more men, we cannot sail
+this barque to Europe. I have decided to run back to Rio as soon as a
+breeze springs up."</p>
+
+<p>When the mate left him, Baptiste went in search of Carew, and found him
+in the captain's cabin, watching the sick man, who was now lying
+insensible in the last stage of the fever.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste looked into the pain-distorted face. "He will go soon," he
+whispered to Carew.</p>
+
+<p>Carew nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"That was a clever idea of yours, sir," said the Frenchman.</p>
+
+<p>"What idea?"</p>
+
+<p>"To constitute yourself ship's doctor."</p>
+
+<p>Carew made no reply, but he understood what the remark signified.
+Baptiste, however, had misjudged him. With his usual inconsistency in
+crime, far from availing himself of his opportunities to poison the men,
+he had, on the contrary, risked his life and done his utmost to save the
+captain and the others under his charge. He was happier and was pleased
+with himself while acting thus, though he was also glad to find that his
+patients died despite his efforts. He seemed to imagine that he was
+driving a bargain with avenging Heaven&mdash;that he could set off his
+present righteous conduct against his other crimes. Men who reason with
+the greatest clearness on all other matters, often become insanely
+illogical when a guilty conscience asks for soothing casuistry.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p><p>"How are you treating him?" asked Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>"Not in the way you are thinking of," Carew replied, looking into the
+other's eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste saw that he had been mistaken in his surmise, but said no more
+on the subject.</p>
+
+<p>Carew's box of medicines was by his side. Baptiste looked into it, and
+drew out a bottle. "This is not poison, is it?" he asked.</p>
+
+<p>"No; but if you took a good dose of it it would make you feel very ill."</p>
+
+<p>"What is a good dose of it?"</p>
+
+<p>"About ten drops; it is in a concentrated form."</p>
+
+<p>"That will answer my purpose, then," and Baptiste put the bottle in his
+pocket. "And now, sir, I want some stuff that will prevent insomnia."</p>
+
+<p>The eyes of the two men met. Carew asked no questions, but merely said,
+"Take this bottle, then. Half a teaspoonful is a large dose."</p>
+
+<p>"Let us go into your cabin for a few minutes," said Baptiste, glancing
+at Mourez. "This man seems quite unconscious; but a man may hear as long
+as he has breath in him. I will not trust him."</p>
+
+<p>They crossed the saloon to Carew's cabin.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"The fever and the hot calm have done our work well while we have been
+standing by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> idle," said the Frenchman; "but now the time has come for
+us to act. We must seize this vessel to-night. There is a look of wind
+in the sky now, and Duval will set sail and make for Rio as soon as a
+breeze springs up. We must wait no longer."</p>
+
+<p>"Let it be to-night, then."</p>
+
+<p>"Come on deck at ten o'clock this evening. Bring the revolvers with you.
+Leave all the rest to me. You dislike details, so I will arrange
+everything."</p>
+
+<p>Carew bowed his head in assent, but said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>"You have two sick men in the forecastle, I think," said Baptiste; "are
+they strong enough to make any resistance?"</p>
+
+<p>Carew shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"That is well. The captain will certainly not have much fight in him. So
+that leaves us only six healthy men to deal with; one on my watch, five
+on the other watch."</p>
+
+<p>The mate now went on deck, and Carew returned to the captain's cabin. He
+found that brave sailor lying on his bed dead.</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad&mdash;for his sake and for mine," muttered the Englishman to
+himself.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER XIV</span></h2>
+
+<p>It is no pleasant task to describe the events that now took place on the
+French barque. This is no tale of daring buccaneers, of exciting
+hand-to-hand combats of desperate men; but a narrative of cold-blooded
+and dastardly crime.</p>
+
+<p>Now that the time for carrying out his devilish scheme had come,
+Baptiste had taken the lead of the conspirators. Being a pacific person
+who hated fighting and feared danger, he determined to omit no possible
+precaution to obviate the risk of failure. His brain, fertile of
+ingenious villainy, was not long in devising how to do this.</p>
+
+<p>In the first place, he instructed Carew on no account to leave his cabin
+between eight and ten that evening. Then he called aside the two
+Spaniards and explained his plan to them. He gave El Chico the first
+bottle which he had taken from Carew's medicine chest, and directed him
+to mix a certain quantity of the contents with the soup he was about to
+make for the men's dinner&mdash;a quantity which he calculated would be
+insufficient to produce a pronounced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> taste in the soup, but sufficient
+to cause unpleasant sensations in those who partook of it.</p>
+
+<p>At eight bells that evening the port watch relieved the starboard. There
+was absolutely nothing for the men to do, as it was still a flat calm,
+and all the sails had been furled. Duval had taken this precaution on
+the previous day, fearing that the fever might spread still further, and
+that he would not have enough hands left to shorten sail were a strong
+breeze to spring up suddenly.</p>
+
+<p>Duval, however, insisted upon the watches being set and the discipline
+of the vessel being carried on as usual, more with the object of
+employing the men's time and distracting their attention from the
+horrors of the situation than for any other reason.</p>
+
+<p>When Baptiste came aft to relieve Duval, as officer of the watch, the
+latter said, "Do you know if Mr. Allen is in his cabin, Fortier? I wish
+to see him."</p>
+
+<p>"I think it would be better not to disturb him. He is quite worn out
+from want of sleep. He has sat up with poor Mourez two nights in
+succession; and now that the captain is dead, and the other two sick men
+are getting better, he is having a long sleep."</p>
+
+<p>"Are the other men getting better?"</p>
+
+<p>"So Mr. Allen thinks," replied Baptiste. "With our brave captain's death
+the fever seems<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> to have expended itself. We have no fresh cases
+to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"I am not sure of that," said Duval gloomily. "I wished to see Mr. Allen
+in order to tell him that I, and no less than three of the other men,
+have been feeling very unwell for the last half-hour."</p>
+
+<p>The drugged soup had done its work.</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed!" said Baptiste. "And, now that I look at you, your cheeks are
+somewhat pale, sir. But we will not wake Mr. Allen; it is unnecessary.
+He left a bottle of medicine with me this afternoon. It is a powerful
+febrifuge, and he instructed me to give a dose to the sick men below,
+and to any others who should feel in any way indisposed. I think it
+would be a prudent course to serve some round to all hands. It can do no
+harm."</p>
+
+<p>Duval approving of this measure, Baptiste went into his cabin and
+brought out the bottle of opiate which Carew had given him, and served
+out a very strong dose to Duval, and to each of the four men on his
+watch. Duval then retired to his cabin, and the men lay under the awning
+forward, all to sink, under the influence of the drug, into a heavy
+slumber, from which it would not be easy to wake them; while Baptiste
+was left in charge of the deck, with the two Spaniards and the remaining
+Frenchman.</p>
+
+<p>"You feel all right, L&eacute;on, I hope?" said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> Baptiste to this man, a sturdy
+Breton, who had not been affected by the drugged soup.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, thank you, sir," he replied; "there's nothing the matter with me."</p>
+
+<p>"Won't you take a dose of the medicine as a precaution? Prevention is
+better than cure."</p>
+
+<p>"Not for me the filth. Time enough for medicine when one is ill, and not
+much good it does then if we may judge from the results on this unhappy
+vessel."</p>
+
+<p>It was necessary for Baptiste's purpose to get this man out of the way
+before anything could be done. First he thought of asking the Spaniards
+to despatch him with their knives; but this might create a disturbance
+and awake the sleepers; so the cautious Proven&ccedil;al waited until a safer
+plan should suggest itself.</p>
+
+<p>An hour of the watch had passed, and it was now nine o'clock. The sky
+became overcast, and a drizzling rain began to fall.</p>
+
+<p>"We shall have wind soon," said L&eacute;on. "Would it not be well to wake Mr.
+Duval?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not for a few minutes," replied Baptiste. "Come, now; this damp is the
+very thing to bring on fever. We ought to take something to keep the
+enemy out. If you don't like medicine, what say you to a drop of genuine
+old cognac? I have some in my cabin."</p>
+
+<p>"That is more in my line," said the Breton, smacking his lips; "a fig
+for your doctor's stuff, I say."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p><p>"Then follow me, but step quietly. Mr. Duval's cabin is next to mine.
+If he finds you drinking brandy aft, though it is only for medicinal
+purposes, you can guess what a row there will be."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste led the way to his cabin, and produced a bottle of brandy. He
+helped the man freely, but he did not attempt to drug the drink with the
+opiate, for its taste was too unmistakable.</p>
+
+<p>The brandy was strong, and even the Breton's hard head soon succumbed to
+it. He began to exhibit signs of intoxication, and was chattering in a
+disconnected fashion, when Baptiste suddenly rose from his seat and
+placed his hand on the man's shoulder. "Hush!" he whispered; "hush, you
+idiot! I hear Mr. Duval moving in his cabin; your noise has roused him.
+He will catch you if you don't hold your tongue. Remain here while I get
+him out of the way, under some pretext or other. Then I will return for
+you."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste darted through the cabin door, and locked it on the man within,
+who, after awaiting him for some time, helped himself to some more
+brandy, and at last fell into a drunken sleep on the bed.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste then entered Carew's cabin, and found him sitting up, reading
+the French novel which Captain Mourez had lent him.</p>
+
+<p>"Come along, sir; the time has arrived," said the Proven&ccedil;al. "Bring the
+revolvers with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> you, and first see that they are loaded. I don't suppose
+we shall have to use them, but <i>Quien sabe?</i> as the Spaniards say."</p>
+
+<p>Carew made no reply, but taking the pistols from the locker in which he
+kept them, he followed his accomplice on to the deck. As they walked
+towards the fore part of the vessel Baptiste described his preparations
+for the <i>coup</i>. "The crew are at our mercy," he said; "Duval in his
+cabin, and the four men of his watch under the awning forward, are
+sleeping the heavy sleep of opium. L&eacute;on is a prisoner in my cabin, drunk
+or nearly so, in the company of an open bottle of brandy, and you say
+that the two sick men in the forecastle are too weak to move. Now, first
+of all, we must deal with the four men under the awning, for they are
+the most dangerous."</p>
+
+<p>Still Carew said not a word.</p>
+
+<p>The two Spaniards now joined them. Baptiste looked round the horizon.
+"We shall have the wind down on us soon," he said; "we must do our work
+quickly."</p>
+
+<p>The rain was falling more heavily than before. The night was very dark,
+and there was not a star visible in the heavens. Though as yet there was
+not a breath of wind, the ocean, as if in anticipation of its coming,
+was heaving in a long, high swell, and the vessel rolled uneasily, her
+spars groaning dismally aloft.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p><p>Baptiste took two of the revolvers from Carew's hands and handed one to
+each of the Spaniards.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't use them, lads, unless it is absolutely necessary; we don't want
+noise. You have your knives," he whispered.</p>
+
+<p>"I have brought the bits of line you asked for," said El Chico,
+producing several lengths of small-sized but very strong rope.</p>
+
+<p>"What do you intend to do, Baptiste?" inquired Carew, in a hoarse voice,
+speaking for the first time.</p>
+
+<p>"Pinion those sleepers securely with these cords, fasten a weight to
+each man's leg, and heave them overboard," replied Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>"It would be easier to knife them as they lie there," muttered El Toro,
+whose bloodthirsty instinct was up.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," sneered Baptiste; "you love the sight of blood, you mad bull. You
+would like to have a brutal fight now. But that plan will not suit me. I
+am a man of peace; I hate unnecessary disturbance. Now to work."</p>
+
+<p>Then Carew spoke firmly, once more asserting his right to command.
+"Secure those men with the cords, but do not kill them. Let them live
+till to-morrow. Then I will decide what shall be done with them."</p>
+
+<p>"What absurd folly is this?" hissed the Proven&ccedil;al savagely. "Do you wish
+to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>endanger all our lives? They may free themselves in the night and
+retake the ship. No, they must die."</p>
+
+<p>"Silence! You shall know that I am still your master. These men shall
+not die to-night," said Carew resolutely.</p>
+
+<p>"This is too much," cried Baptiste, with impatient fury. "I have
+arranged everything so well, and now you interfere to spoil all. Curse
+that intermittent conscience of yours. It is like a geyser spouting out
+tepid water at intervals, and always at the most inopportune moment."</p>
+
+<p>"I will not discuss this with you," replied Carew doggedly; "but you
+know me, you coward. If you kill one of these men without my orders,
+except in self-defence, you will have to deal with me&mdash;you understand?"</p>
+
+<p>The Proven&ccedil;al did understand. He swore some horrible oaths to himself,
+and said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"There is no time to argue now. We will humour your fancy. Come on, El
+Toro and El Chico. Let us tie those fellows up as quickly and as quietly
+as we can."</p>
+
+<p>The three men crept noiselessly to the awning beneath which the French
+sailors lay breathing stertorously under the stupefying influence of the
+strong narcotic.</p>
+
+<p>Carew, meanwhile, stood outside under the rainy sky, motionless, taking
+no part in the proceedings, and at that moment wishing that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> the fever
+had seized him also and that he were dead and quit of it all.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste and the Spaniards stooped over the sleeping men, and with the
+skill of sailors bound their limbs in such a manner that it was
+impossible for them to stir, far less to free themselves. In so complete
+a state of coma were they that the tension of the tightly drawn cords
+did not rouse them, though they murmured in their sleep. Carew almost
+hoped that they would awake. If they defended themselves and were killed
+in the heat of a mortal struggle, it would not have seemed so horrible
+to him as this silent, passionless piece of villainy.</p>
+
+<p>When the men were all secured, Baptiste said, "If you will stand by here
+and guard the prisoners, captain, we will go aft and see to the others."</p>
+
+<p>So leaving Carew behind, Baptiste and the two Spaniards went to the
+other end of the vessel and entered the saloon. First they softly opened
+the door of Baptiste's cabin, and there they found the Breton sailor
+sleeping soundly, the half-empty brandy bottle by his side.</p>
+
+<p>The two Spaniards held him while Baptiste bound him firmly. It was not
+till the operation was concluded that he awoke. He opened his eyes and
+looked about him in a bewildered way for a few moments; then he tried to
+raise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span> himself and could not; and, perceiving the cords that restrained
+him, he suddenly realised the situation, and called out at the top of
+his voice, "To the rescue! A mutiny! A mutiny!"</p>
+
+<p>"Quick! away! leave him!" cried Baptiste rapidly. "To Duval's cabin, and
+secure him before this fellow's row wakes him. Quick! Quick!"</p>
+
+<p>They ran across the saloon and burst into the mate's cabin, the two
+Spaniards leading the way; for Baptiste, like a prudent general, gave
+his orders from the rear.</p>
+
+<p>There was a lamp burning in the cabin. Duval, roused by the din, was
+sitting up in his bed, half awake, still confused by the heavy dose of
+opium that had been administered to him. Just as the men violently swung
+the door open, L&eacute;on again raised the shout of "A mutiny! A mutiny! Mr.
+Duval, defend yourself!"</p>
+
+<p>The Norman heard that terrible cry, and all his senses returned to him
+in a moment.</p>
+
+<p>"Grapple with him at once," cried Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>The two Spaniards precipitated themselves upon him; but though not a big
+man, he was a strong and wiry one. Leaping from his bunk he thrust the
+men aside, and seizing the only weapon within his reach, an iron
+water-can, he swung it round and brought it down on Baptiste's skull.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p><p>"Oh, you treacherous wretch, take that!" he cried.</p>
+
+<p>The Proven&ccedil;al's evil career would have been terminated there and then
+had it not been for El Toro, who seized Duval's arm and broke the force
+of the blow. As it was, the sharp edge of the can inflicted an ugly
+wound, and Baptiste staggered back, the blood pouring all over his face.</p>
+
+<p>"Kill him!" he hissed, sick and faint with pain and fear, but mad with
+rage.</p>
+
+<p>El Toro needed no second bidding. He thrust his long knife quickly
+between the unfortunate man's ribs. Duval uttered one groan, and fell to
+the ground dead.</p>
+
+<p>"That was deftly done," said the Basque, wiping the blade. "Ho! my
+little Baptiste. How dost thou feel with that cracked pate of thine?"</p>
+
+<p>The Proven&ccedil;al was sitting on a chest, his head in his hands, trembling
+with fear. "Look at my head, good El Toro, I beseech you," he cried.
+"See if it is a dangerous wound."</p>
+
+<p>"A mere scratch," replied the Basque, after a cursory examination. "What
+a timorous woman thou art!"</p>
+
+<p>His comrades washed the wound and bandaged his head; then Baptiste
+recovered his presence of mind, and gave his orders. "Put the body over
+the side at once, but first fasten a weight on to it. It must not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> float
+about to tell tales to some passing vessel."</p>
+
+<p>When this had been done, he said, "Now carry that noisy L&eacute;on out of my
+cabin. Take him forward to where the other prisoners are."</p>
+
+<p>The Spaniards raised the helpless Breton, who, understanding that there
+was no one to whom he could give the alarm by crying out, now resigned
+himself to his fate, and uttered not a word as they laid him by the side
+of his four comrades.</p>
+
+<p>"The vessel is ours!" Baptiste called out in a loud voice when he
+approached Carew. There was no further reason for the avoidance of
+noise. "I salute you, captain of <i>La Bonne Esperance</i>!"</p>
+
+<p>"But where is Duval?" asked Carew.</p>
+
+<p>"Killed, captain; but in self-defence. Look at my unfortunate head: that
+was his doing. Had it not been for our brave El Toro you would have lost
+your trusty mate."</p>
+
+<p>Carew looked down at the five men lying on the deck. They were all awake
+now, the pain caused by the tightness of their ligatures having at last
+dispelled the lethargy of the drug. They realised all that had happened;
+they knew that they were doomed to die at the hands of this treacherous
+band. A lantern swung from the awning-pole above them, and by its dim
+light Carew saw that their faces wore an expression of dogged
+resolution, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> changed suddenly to one of loathing and contempt when
+their eyes met his. Thus they stared at him in silence. He hastily
+turned his face away.</p>
+
+<p>"What next, captain? It must be done sooner or later. Why not at once?"
+said Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>"Take them into the forecastle for to-night. Secure the two sick men as
+well," was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Just Heaven, what a cruel thing a British conscience is!" exclaimed
+Baptiste, with a loud, scornful laugh. He was intoxicated with the
+successful issue of his scheme. "I, the man without scruples, would have
+mercifully killed these men outright. You, the man of conscience, shrink
+from doing so, but are willing to shut them up in the pestilential hole
+yonder, so that an agonising fever may kill them for you. Do you really
+flatter yourself, oh, self-deceiver, that you in this way absolve your
+soul from the guilt?"</p>
+
+<p>"Silence!" cried Carew angrily. The man's words had hit the mark. Some
+such vain idea had indeed crossed the warped mind. Arguments of a like
+sophistical nature were always now vaguely occurring to him, and he took
+care not to reason them out, being conscious of the fallacy of them, yet
+cherishing them. A form of moral insanity this, and not an uncommon one.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p><p>El Chico, who was standing by, heard Carew's last words. "Do you want
+us to die of the fever too, captain?" he grumbled. "Who's going to stand
+sentry over the prisoners in that poisonous forecastle?"</p>
+
+<p>Carew saw the force of this objection.</p>
+
+<p>"Then put them in a row along the bulwark and lash each one to a
+ring-bolt," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"That is a better plan," remarked Baptiste; "we can thus keep our eyes
+on them without leaving the deck. El Chico, you keep watch for two
+hours, while the rest of us sleep. We require rest after our exciting
+day's work; and as for me, that cut over the head makes me feel rather
+queer."</p>
+
+<p>"See, here comes the wind," cried Carew.</p>
+
+<p>The clouds towards the east had opened out, revealing a patch of starry
+sky, and a light breeze had sprung up.</p>
+
+<p>"There won't be much of it," said Baptiste, after he had scanned the
+heavens. "Let us shake out the spanker and lie-to under that for the
+night. And to-morrow morning, captain, you must decide how you are going
+to rid us of these men. We are too few to work the vessel, and cannot be
+bothered with guarding prisoners to please you."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER XV</span></h2>
+
+<p>Her capture having been effected, the barque lay hove-to under her
+spanker for the night.</p>
+
+<p>The south-east wind died away about midnight, and a light south-westerly
+breeze sprang up. A strong ocean current must have been setting from the
+same direction; for, though the islet of Trinidad had been so far
+distant at sunset as to be barely visible, the sound of breakers roaring
+on a beach could be plainly distinguished towards the end of the middle
+watch.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak Carew was left alone in charge of the vessel, his three men
+being asleep under the awning. He paced the deck restlessly, his heart
+aching with despairing misery.</p>
+
+<p>The five prisoners, who were lashed along the foot of the port bulwarks,
+as if by one consent, observed a complete silence. They were too far
+apart to hold any communication with each other, and they knew how
+useless it would be to appeal to the mercy of the villains who had
+surprised them; but they all remained awake, watching intently for what
+they felt was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> not at all likely to occur&mdash;an opportunity to regain
+their freedom and fight for their lives.</p>
+
+<p>The rain had ceased, the clouds had cleared away, and out of the calm
+night gleamed the brilliant constellations of the southern hemisphere.
+There was a transparency, a depth in the heavens, such as is not
+apparent in northern latitudes. Through the nearer archipelagos of stars
+one could perceive others farther back, and beyond these others; stars
+behind stars up inconceivable distances into the depths of space; so
+that they were so crowded together as to almost unite in forming one
+continuous sheet of silver light, save in one spot, where, amid that
+most luminous portion of the firmament known as Magellan's Cloud, there
+opened out, like to a black pit, a starless void, an infinite abyss of
+nothingness.</p>
+
+<p>There came a faint emerald light in the east, which quickly changed to
+the pale blue of the turquoise, and the stars faded away before the
+rapid dawn of the tropics.</p>
+
+<p>Then Carew saw, about ten miles off, standing out darkly between him and
+the sunrise, in sharp outline against the clear sky, the desert island
+of Trinidad.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed to consist of a confused mass of barren mountains, most
+fantastic in their shape, falling everywhere precipitously into the
+ocean, and terminating in huge pinnacles of rock, the loftiest of which
+were crowned with wreaths of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> vapour. Elsewhere there were no clouds
+visible in the heavens. As the sun rose higher, its rays illumined these
+rugged summits, and they glowed as with the dull red of molten iron; for
+this island is a burnt-out volcano, and a considerable portion of it has
+been calcined into brittle cinders of a ruddy colour.</p>
+
+<p>It being now broad daylight, Baptiste woke up, and coming from under the
+awning gave himself a shake by way of making his toilet, glanced down
+the row of prisoners to satisfy himself that they were still safely
+secured, and then turned his face towards the dreary coast.</p>
+
+<p>"Hallo!" he cried, "we have drifted a long way in the night. That is an
+ugly-looking place yonder, captain. We must not get too near those black
+rocks; so we had better wake up those sleepers, and get some canvas on
+the barque at once. I suppose the next thing to be done is to make sail
+for the nearest Brazilian port."</p>
+
+<p>"No, Baptiste, not yet," said Carew; "I shall come to an anchor under
+that island, and wait there for a few days."</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed! What for?"</p>
+
+<p>"I have various reasons. To begin with, look at the sky. There is every
+appearance of another long calm setting in. Remember that we have yellow
+fever on board. If we land our prisoners to-day, we shall lessen our own
+risks of catching it."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p><p>Baptiste whistled softly to himself.</p>
+
+<p>Carew stood before him, and looking steadily into his face, said,
+"Baptiste, I have determined that no more blood shall be shed on this
+vessel. I intend to put these Frenchmen ashore; then we will sail for
+Brazil."</p>
+
+<p>"Captain, we do not mind humouring your whims to a certain extent, but
+we are not going to put our necks in the noose to please you."</p>
+
+<p>"It is quite useless for you to attempt to dissuade me from my purpose.
+I have made up my mind," said Carew doggedly.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste at once abandoned his threatening tone, and spoke in a
+respectful manner. "You have been very lucky so far; but don't be rash.
+Remember that luck assists him who assists himself. Consider how
+recklessly imprudent it would be to leave these men on the island. They
+would soon signal to a passing vessel, and be taken off; and pray, what
+then would our poor heads be worth?"</p>
+
+<p>"Vessels constantly sight Trinidad," replied Carew, "but they never pass
+very near it. For the other side of the island is fringed with dangerous
+rocks far out to sea, as the chart will show you; and, since the
+prevailing wind hereabouts is south-east, a ship would give this side
+also a wide berth, for fear of being becalmed under the lee of the
+mountains. How could the men signal to a vessel miles out at sea?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p><p>"Necessity finds a How. What is to prevent them from lighting a large
+fire?"</p>
+
+<p>"We will not leave them the means of lighting a fire."</p>
+
+<p>"They would soon discover the means. Suppose, for instance, they picked
+up some empty bottle that had been washed on shore, they could use the
+bottom of it as a burning-glass. I have heard of such a thing being
+done."</p>
+
+<p>"I will not argue the question with you. Those men shall be landed on
+that island; they shall not die on board this vessel."</p>
+
+<p>"Even if I agreed to run so great a risk, I know that the other two
+would not. You do not want a civil war on board, do you, captain?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not fear one. You cannot do without me, and you all know it. If
+you murdered me and took this vessel into port, do you imagine that the
+salvage would be handed over to you without demur, as it would be to me
+if I applied for it? Grave suspicions would be raised, and there would
+be a minute investigation. Those two idiots would contradict each other
+in their evidence. It would all end in one of you turning Queen's
+evidence and the other two being hanged. Is not that right?"</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot deny that there is reason in your remarks," said Baptiste
+coolly. "Now am I to understand that you wish these men to live?"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p><p>"I repeat that they shall not die on board this vessel!"</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste's keen eyes scanned Carew's careworn face; then the Proven&ccedil;al
+smiled, for he fancied that he now understood the working of the
+Englishman's mind. "This clever idiot must be humoured," he said to
+himself. "This is a new 'fixed idea' of his. He shrinks from bloodshed;
+he will not sanction it. But if we take these men on shore for him,
+knock them on the head there without consulting him, and then return to
+him with some fine excuse about their having resisted us and so
+compelled us to kill them in self-defence&mdash;why, he will pretend to
+believe us; he will ask no questions, and be glad that the danger has
+been removed. I understand this strange man now."</p>
+
+<p>Not exactly these ideas, but others somewhat similar to them, had indeed
+crossed Carew's mind. He was quite aware that it would be the height of
+folly to leave the prisoners alive on the island, but he wished to
+postpone as long as possible the murder which he felt was inevitable,
+hoping that yellow fever or some other interposition of Providence would
+solve the difficulty for him in the meanwhile.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste now roused the two Spaniards, and sail was made as quickly as
+possible, so that an anchorage might be reached before the wind dropped,
+for there were sure signs of calm in the sky.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p><p>Being so few in number, they dared not put much sail on the vessel. As
+Carew was unacquainted with the management of square-rigged craft,
+Baptiste gave the orders. First the foretopmast staysail was set and the
+sheets hauled aft so as to pay off before the wind. Then the two
+Spaniards were sent aloft to loose the fore upper and lower topsails,
+while Carew and Baptiste squared the yards. After this the maintopsail
+was also set.</p>
+
+<p>"That will be enough canvas for her," said Baptiste. "Now, sir, if
+you'll take the wheel, we will get her all ready for coming to an
+anchor."</p>
+
+<p>So going forward the mate saw that an anchor was got over the bows and
+that a sufficient length of cable was ranged in front of the windlass.</p>
+
+<p>The vessel sailed slowly towards the island until midday, when the
+expected calm fell upon the sea. However, as the current was setting
+straight on shore, the barque drifted on till four o'clock in the
+afternoon, when she was about half a mile from the breakers, and the
+anchor was let go in twenty fathoms of water.</p>
+
+<p>The scene that lay before them as they approached was appalling in its
+grandeur. They could perceive no vegetation of any description on the
+lofty mountains, which rose almost perpendicularly from the sea-foam
+into a bank of dark clouds that had now gathered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> on the summit of the
+island. The fire-consumed crags were often of strange metallic
+colours,&mdash;red and green and coppery yellow,&mdash;which gave the scenery an
+unearthly appearance, but most of the island was of a dismal coal-black.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the mountains seemed to have been shaken to pieces by the fires
+and earthquakes of volcanic action; for they sloped to the sea in huge
+landslips of black stones. Gigantic basaltic columns many hundreds of
+feet in height descended into the waves along a considerable portion of
+this savage coast, a formidable wall that defied the mariner to land. In
+a few places only a narrow margin of shore divided the sea from the
+inaccessible cliffs, and this was encumbered with sharp coral and great
+boulders that had fallen from above.</p>
+
+<p>The barque was anchored off the entrance of a profound and most gloomy
+ravine, from which a stream of water fell as a cascade into the sea. The
+head of this ravine, high above, was lost in dense clouds. It looked
+like the road to some mysterious and unknown world.</p>
+
+<p>Not only were the sights of this coast such as to terrify the
+imagination, but so likewise were the sounds. Though this was the lee
+side of the island, and was protected from the high swell which, raised
+by the south-east trade wind, breaks so furiously on the back of
+Trinidad, yet the sea rolled in very heavily with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> a stupendous roar
+that was echoed with dismal, hollow reverberations among the rocky
+ravines. After the breaking of a higher wave than usual, great masses of
+water would be dashed up the sides of a cliff to a great height. Deep
+fiords opened out in places; but even these afforded no shelter. Within
+them the sea raged as furiously as it did outside.</p>
+
+<p>This remote and rarely visited island was evidently a favourite
+breeding-place for several varieties of sea-birds. Vast numbers flew
+through the rigging of the vessel, uttering savage cries. So
+unaccustomed were they to the sight of man that they showed no timidity,
+but rather indignation, at his invasion, and a disposition to drive him
+off again. Many of them wheeled round the heads of the sailors with
+angry shrieks, approaching so near that they could easily have been
+caught with the hand.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't at all like the look of the island of Trinidad," said Baptiste.
+"It is the most inhospitable place I have ever seen. I am not surprised
+that no one cares to live here. How large is it?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is about fifteen miles round," Carew replied. "The Portuguese tried
+centuries ago to establish a settlement here, but they soon abandoned
+it. It is very barren, and so dangerous a surge breaks continually round
+every part of it that it is often impossible to effect a landing for
+weeks at a time."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p><p>"It seems to me that it will be impossible to land to-day," said
+Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>Carew went up into the maintop with a telescope, and after having
+closely examined the features of the shore, descended on deck again. "I
+thought I was right, Baptiste. We are anchored off what the pilot-book
+calls The Cascade, and I can see the landing-place described by former
+visitors to the island."</p>
+
+<p>"I can see nothing but a mass of foam. I can see nothing like a
+landing-place."</p>
+
+<p>"It is not visible from the deck. To the left of the cascade over there
+a long black rock stretches far out to sea beyond the breakers, forming
+a sort of natural pier. That is the easiest landing-place in the whole
+island. We will lower a boat at once, and put the prisoners on shore."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste again looked keenly into Carew's face as he put the question.
+"Do you wish us to release them when we have landed them, and allow them
+to run wild over those picturesque crags like a lot of goats&mdash;or what do
+you wish?"</p>
+
+<p>"Let them have food before you take them off; and leave them, bound as
+they are now, on the beach for this night. To-morrow I will decide what
+is to be done with them."</p>
+
+<p>"It is always to-morrow with you, captain; but it matters not. We are
+becalmed, and are, therefore, not wasting time by this ridiculous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>
+trifling. It is a pity that there are no wild beasts on these desert
+islands who would kindly eat up these men for us in the night. They are
+becoming a nuisance."</p>
+
+<p>The Spaniards grumbled a good deal when they heard that they were to
+take the prisoners alive on shore; but they did not dare to disobey
+Carew.</p>
+
+<p>The two sick men, who were now recovering from the fever, were brought
+on deck, and they, together with the other prisoners, were lowered into
+one of the boats. All were still so securely bound that they could not
+move a limb.</p>
+
+<p>Carew stayed on board the barque while his three men pulled off to the
+island.</p>
+
+<p>They reached the projecting rock, and found that its sides were
+perpendicular, so that the boat could be brought alongside. The
+prisoners were not landed without considerable difficulty, and even
+danger, for they had to be dragged quickly on shore at the moment when
+the boat rising to a wave had her gunwale on a level with the summit of
+this natural jetty, before she dropped down again into the trough
+between the seas.</p>
+
+<p>At last the disembarkation was safely effected, and the painter having
+been made fast to a large stone, the boat was left to tumble about
+against the rough side of the jetty, in imminent danger of staving
+herself in, while the prisoners were carried one by one up the rugged
+shore.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p><p>Then they laid the helpless men down. Even the brutal Spaniards, when
+they looked around them, were impressed by the weirdness of the scene.
+Whenever the sides of the ravine or of the mountains were not too steep
+they were densely covered with trees, which had not been visible from
+the vessel's deck. Now every one of these trees was dead; there was not
+a live one among them. They were of all sizes. Some stood erect as they
+had grown, some lay prone on the rocks; but all had been dead for long
+ages. On all the skeleton branches of this forest of desolation were
+sitting large sea-birds of foul appearance, who raised discordant cries,
+as if to repel the intruders, and did not take to flight, but fought
+savagely with any of the men who came near to them. There was no live
+vegetation to be seen, with the exception of certain snake-like
+creepers, which clung to the surface of the ground, and which bore large
+seed-pods of vivid green&mdash;sinister and poisonous-looking plants, that
+seemed well suited to this forlorn region. It was a scene appalling to
+the imagination, and the whole of Trinidad is of a like gloomy
+character. The same dead trees cover it throughout. It seems probable
+that at some remote period a terrific volcanic eruption destroyed every
+living thing on the island with its showers of poisonous ash; and where
+once rose from the tropical ocean a fair land, green with pleasant
+woods, is now a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> hideous wreck, more sterile than the desert itself.</p>
+
+<p>"It might be the gate of hell," said El Toro in an awed voice, looking
+up the ravine.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, comrades," cried Baptiste, "there is no time to lose. I don't like
+to leave the boat long where she is. As our merciful skipper objects to
+bloodshed, we must lash our prisoners to these trees."</p>
+
+<p>"What are you going to do with us&mdash;kill us?" asked one of the captives
+gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>"No; we are going to leave you here, tied up," replied Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>"What! to starve to death?"</p>
+
+<p>"Indeed I don't know," said Baptiste, with a shrug of his shoulders.
+"This is not my doing. Our captain is a cruel man. It seems that it
+amuses him to play with you poor fellows as a cat does with a mouse.
+This is his scheme, my children, not mine. I am merciful."</p>
+
+<p>The men were now secured to the dead trees, and the three villains were
+moving off to their boat when one of the Frenchmen&mdash;the only one who did
+not meet his fate with fortitude, and who showed signs of the most
+abject terror&mdash;screamed out&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, Monsieur Baptiste, let me go&mdash;let me go! I will join you. I will
+not betray you. I will help you work the ship. I will be your slave if
+you spare me!"</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p><p>His comrades reviled him for his cowardice, but he still continued his
+piteous entreaties.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste turned round and gazed with a sardonic smile into the man's
+white, fear-distorted face. He felt that this was very much the way he
+would behave himself in similar circumstances, but he did not spare his
+own faults in others; few men do.</p>
+
+<p>"So you would join us, would you? But how do I know if I can trust you,
+my friend? You may betray us when we get into port. Will you give me a
+proof of your fidelity?"</p>
+
+<p>"I will give you any proof you wish," cried the wretched man, writhing
+in his bonds, but quite unable to move.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, if I see you commit a far greater crime than any that I and my
+crew have committed, I shall know that you dare not tell tales. If I
+release you and give you a knife, will you kill all your comrades for
+me?"</p>
+
+<p>The man burst into hysterical tears. "Yes!" he shrieked&mdash;"yes! Anything
+for my life."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste laughed contemptuously.</p>
+
+<p>"Miserable man! Your answer is sufficient for me. We do not want such
+cowardly traitors among our crew. You shall stay here and die by the
+side of your braver comrades."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste and the two Spaniards then hurried off to the boat, for the sun
+was just setting. They pulled off to the barque, and the mate reported
+to the captain what he had done.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p><p>About an hour after their return&mdash;the night having settled down upon
+the ocean&mdash;Carew was sitting by himself on the quarter-deck. The hollow
+roar of the waves upon the beach sounded louder than in the daytime, and
+the vessel rolled in the swell caused by the recoil of the distant
+rollers.</p>
+
+<p>All manner of strange and frightful noises came from the direction of
+the mysterious island. It seemed to Carew that he heard groans and wails
+echoing among the ravines, but he put this down to his imagination&mdash;to
+the now greatly unstrung condition of his nerves.</p>
+
+<p>Suddenly he started to his feet, his heart beating violently. What was
+that he heard? Surely that last dreadful cry did not exist only in his
+fancy.</p>
+
+<p>"Baptiste, come here!" he called out.</p>
+
+<p>The mate sauntered up.</p>
+
+<p>"Listen!" whispered Carew; "do you hear nothing?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing but the noise of the breakers."</p>
+
+<p>Once more arose that awful cry. It was as a shriek of unutterable
+despair and agony; faint, but easily to be distinguished when the lull
+came between one roller and another.</p>
+
+<p>"What is it?"</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste himself turned white at the sound. "I know not; it makes one's
+blood run cold. See, they too have heard it."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p><p>The Spaniards came up.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, sir!" cried El Toro, his voice indistinct with terror, "let us make
+sail at once and leave behind us this horrible place. Hark! that cry
+again! It is as the shrieks of the doomed in hell. That island is the
+abode of evil spirits who are mocking us."</p>
+
+<p>"We cannot set sail in a flat calm. We must wait," said Carew, in a low
+voice.</p>
+
+<p>They stood on the deck and listened in silence. For half an hour or more
+those appalling cries continued; then they died away, and nothing was
+heard but the roaring of the ocean upon an iron-bound coast.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER XVI</span></h2>
+
+<p>On the following day the fiery sun again blazed down upon the guilty
+ship out of a cloudless and windless sky. It seemed probable that one of
+those oppressive calms that are so frequent on this portion of the ocean
+would detain the barque for some days longer at her present anchorage.</p>
+
+<p>In the early morning, when the west side of the island was still plunged
+in shade, Carew approached the mate, who was enjoying his matutinal cup
+of coffee and cigarette on the quarter-deck.</p>
+
+<p>"Baptiste," he said, "I want a boat lowered; I am going on shore."</p>
+
+<p>"Good, sir. How many of us do you wish to accompany you?"</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you; I want none of you. Put the yacht's dinghy over the side.
+She is the handiest boat on board; and I will pull off by myself."</p>
+
+<p>"That will not be safe," objected Baptiste; "there is no place to beach
+a boat yonder, and she would smash up if you left her banging<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> about
+alongside that rocky landing-place; we nearly lost the cutter in that
+way last night. If you desire to take a solitary promenade on that
+cheerful island, I will pull you off there myself in the dinghy, leave
+you, and return for you at any hour you mention."</p>
+
+<p>Carew assented to this proposal, and prepared himself for the journey by
+placing his sheath-knife and loaded revolver in his belt. Baptiste
+watched him curiously, and wondered whether this eccentric Englishman
+had at last summoned up resolution, and was about to despatch the
+prisoners outright, as being a more merciful proceeding than allowing
+them to starve to death. Baptiste ventured no remark on the subject, for
+he observed that his captain was in a taciturn and absent-minded mood;
+and there was a peculiar, far-off look in his eyes that the Frenchman
+could not understand, not knowing that Carew had been dosing himself for
+the last few days with laudanum from his medicine chest, in the vain
+hope that the drug might numb the tortures of his conscience.</p>
+
+<p>The dinghy was got overboard, and while Carew sat in the sternsheets,
+Baptiste took the oars and pulled leisurely across the smooth ocean
+swell.</p>
+
+<p>While they were yet half-way to the shore, the boat shot suddenly out of
+the fervent sunshine into the cool dark shadow cast by the lofty
+mountains.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p><p>Baptiste, feeling the rapid change, rested on his oars, and looked
+round towards the pile of barren hills. "Ugh, what a horrid place!" he
+cried. "I have a sensation as if I were passing into the mouth of a
+tomb. I should not like to explore that island alone."</p>
+
+<p>"Pull away!" said Carew impatiently. "Are you superstitious, like those
+two Spanish brutes?"</p>
+
+<p>"Superstition is not one of my failings, captain," replied the
+Proven&ccedil;al, as he rowed on again; "but those dreadful cries we heard last
+night seem to be still ringing in my ears. I wonder what they could have
+been?"</p>
+
+<p>"When you have put me on shore," said Carew, paying no heed to
+Baptiste's words, "you can go back to the barque. I shall probably
+remain on the island three or four hours. Then I will return to the
+landing-place, and stand on the end of it till you come off for me. So
+see that someone looks out for me with a telescope occasionally."</p>
+
+<p>"We won't keep you waiting, for I know that you will soon have had
+enough of Trinidad. But perhaps monsieur has a scientific mind, and
+desires to study the botany, zoology, geology, and so forth, of the
+island?"</p>
+
+<p>Carew made no reply to this. They came alongside the promontory of black
+coral, and found that the sea was not rolling in so heavily<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span> as on the
+previous day. The Englishman landed without any difficulty.</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye, sir," Baptiste called out. "You will find the prisoners
+behind the first big boulder up the ravine." Then he pulled lazily back
+to the vessel.</p>
+
+<p>Carew was now alone on the desert island with his captives. He looked to
+his knife and pistol to see that they were ready to his hand, and
+proceeded to clamber cautiously along the narrow, slippery ledge.</p>
+
+<p>At the farther end he found a loathsome monster standing in his way,
+seemingly quite indifferent to his approach; for it did not budge, but
+remained quite still, its ungainly form spread across the causeway, so
+that he had to step over it to pass by. Carew had never before seen one
+of the species; but he recognised this as a tropical land-crab&mdash;one of a
+hideous race of crustacea that swarm on this island, sharing the
+possession of Trinidad with the sea-birds and the snakes. In his present
+nervous state, Carew was startled by the sight of this repulsive-looking
+creature. It must have extended two feet across from claw to claw. Its
+colour was a bright saffron, and its grotesque features, which were
+turned towards the man, seemed to be fixed in a cynical grin. Its
+cruel-looking yellow pincers, hard as steel, could have bitten through
+an inch board, and between them was clutched&mdash;Carew sickened<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> when he
+saw it&mdash;a fragment of the flesh of some animal.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching the rugged shore, he found it covered with these land-crabs.
+They crawled over the rocks and the dead trees, and the air was full of
+a multitudinous crackling noise, produced by the small particles of
+stone dislodged by their motion&mdash;a sound as of a distant bonfire, or as
+of an army of locusts settling on a field of maize.</p>
+
+<p>On the evening before, when the men had landed, they had seen none of
+these creatures; now there were thousands of them on the mountain-side.
+But it is well known that land-crabs at certain periods of the year
+migrate in immense hosts from one district to another.</p>
+
+<p>Even on the previous afternoon, when the coast was illumined by the full
+glory of the setting sun, Baptiste and the two Spaniards had been
+impressed by the desolate aspect before them. But now that a dark shadow
+was thrown over the chaotic masses of volcanic rock, the scenery was
+inexpressibly dreary and forbidding. Had there been no signs of life on
+the land, it would have appeared less terrible than with that ghastly
+vegetation of dead trees and snake-like creepers, and the teeming
+generation of silent crabs and foul sea-birds perpetually raising their
+hoarse cries.</p>
+
+<p>Carew looked round with the sense of vague terror that is experienced in
+a nightmare. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> felt all the influence of this stern nature so hostile
+to the life of man. It seemed to him that at any moment some fearful
+cataclysm of the earth, or some unexampled calamity of any sort, might
+occur. It would not have appeared strange to him to behold a
+fire-breathing dragon or gigantic snake&mdash;such as are supposed to live in
+fable only&mdash;issue from that gloomy ravine. Nothing could have appeared
+too strange to happen on this mysterious shore.</p>
+
+<p>The prisoners could not be seen from the landing-place, as the clump of
+trees to which they had been lashed was some little way up the ravine,
+and a huge boulder of black rock stood in front of it. Carew heard no
+sound of voices as he approached. He considered it very unlikely that
+the men had succeeded in freeing themselves from their bonds; but,
+prepared for any emergency, he held his revolver in his hand and walked
+round the corner of the rock.</p>
+
+<p>He looked towards the clump of dead brown trees.</p>
+
+<p>His hand relaxed its grasp, and the revolver fell with a ringing sound
+on the rocks. He was struck motionless with a great horror. He stood
+fascinated, staring before him with wide-open eyes, unwincing. He would
+have given worlds to have closed his lids and shut out what he saw, but
+he could not. It was as if some irresistible power was holding him
+there,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> compelling him to look until every horrible detail of the scene
+should be burnt into his brain for ever.</p>
+
+<p>It was only for a few seconds, and then the spell was broken. He covered
+his face with his hands and staggered back. Then turning from the sight,
+he rushed away, not caring whither, sobbing such sobs as the lost souls
+in hell may sob in their despair&mdash;a dreadful sobbing, that told of a
+hopeless agony too intense to be endured for long by weak human flesh.
+Suddenly he stopped short, looked wildly round him, raised his hands
+towards the skies, and, uttering shrill shriek upon shriek, threw
+himself on the ground. He rolled down the steep incline for some way,
+cutting his hands and face with the sharp rocks, and when at last a
+projecting stone prevented his farther descent, he lay foaming at the
+mouth and writhing convulsively in an epileptic fit.</p>
+
+<p class="center">*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</p>
+
+<p>The tragic spectacle the man had suddenly come upon might indeed well
+have made him, the guilty cause of it, go mad with horror. The fearful
+cries that had been heard from the vessel were now explained. The
+voracious land-crabs had done his work. He had gazed upon his victims,
+and he felt that his limbs were paralysed; but his brain was intensely,
+unnaturally active. It seemed to him that a voice had said, "Look, and
+grasp all that there is to see, and remember,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> before the relief of
+madness is allowed to thee. Thou hast murdered sleep, and shalt never
+know peace again. For ever, in the worlds to come, the picture of this
+that thou hast done shall be branded on thy soul!"</p>
+
+<p>And he had been forced to look; not a detail of the horror was spared
+him. The surroundings of the scene, the weird black rocks, the gaunt
+dead trees, everything about the accursed spot entered into his brain.
+He even noticed with what callous indifference Nature seemed to
+contemplate the hideous evidences of the crime. Quite heedless, the huge
+crabs dragged their clumsy bodies slowly over the stones. The sea-birds
+fought noisily with each other for morsels of fish among the skeleton
+branches of the trees, careless of those ghastly relics of poor humanity
+beneath them. He felt how fitting a scene for such a tragedy was this
+doleful corner of the earth, this island that a malevolent fiend might
+have created, where Nature had no beauty, no love, no pity, and where,
+like some foul witch, she could only conceive forms of life cruel and
+repulsive, and become a mother of monsters.</p>
+
+<p class="center">*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</p>
+
+<p>The sun was low in the heaven, and Carew woke out of a profound slumber,
+weak, parched with thirst, his mind dazed. He raised himself on his
+elbow, and, looking round him, he found that he was lying on a beach of
+beautiful golden<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> sand that fringed an extensive bay. From the sands
+there sloped up to a great height domes of loose stones of red volcanic
+formation, of all shapes and sizes, the d&eacute;bris of shattered mountains,
+and from the summits of these slopes there rose what the earthquakes had
+still left of the solid hills&mdash;dark red pinnacles: some squared like
+gigantic towers, others pointed like pyramids. The bay was enclosed by
+two huge buttresses of rock that stretched as rugged promontories far
+out into the ocean. There was no vegetation, not even a blade of grass,
+visible anywhere on this savage coast. Looking seawards he saw that a
+vast number of black rocks, among which raged a furious surf, bordered
+the shore. Beyond these were the outer reefs on which the sea broke
+heavily. And still farther out, on the horizon, rose three rocky islands
+of considerable size, glowing red as the sun's rays fell full upon them.</p>
+
+<p>Carew could not imagine where he was and how he had reached this place.
+He tried to think. By degrees he called to mind the dreadful sight he
+had seen in the ravine; but he could remember nothing that had occurred
+since then. As the sun was to the back of the hills, he fancied that it
+was still early in the forenoon, and that he had wandered a short
+distance only from South West Bay; though the presence of the distant
+islands and the different character of the coast perplexed him.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p><p>But he could think of nothing at that moment except the satisfaction of
+the fearful thirst that was tormenting him.</p>
+
+<p>He rose to his feet, eager to reach the cascade as soon as possible. He
+felt that he should die if he could not procure water soon.</p>
+
+<p>But in which direction had he to go&mdash;to the left or to the right? He
+could not tell.</p>
+
+<p>Then he saw his footprints on the soft sand, showing the way that he had
+come. He had but to follow them.</p>
+
+<p>Dizzy and faint, and often stumbling, he wearily retraced his steps. The
+footprints led him along the shore to that extremity of the bay which
+would have been on the left hand of one looking seaward. Reaching the
+promontory of rock he clambered to the summit of it; and then, to his
+dismay, he looked down upon another extensive bay, at the farther end of
+which was a mountain of square shape falling perpendicularly into the
+surf, and preventing all further progress in that direction. An ocean
+current must be perpetually setting into this bay, for he perceived that
+the shore was strewn with a prodigious quantity of wreckage. The spars
+and barrels were heaped up together in places. There were vessels lying
+crushed among the sharp rocks; others were sunk in the sand, their
+skeleton ribs alone showing; there were vessels of all sizes, and some
+of very antique construction&mdash;relics of disaster that had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> been
+collecting gradually on this desert coast unvisited by man through all
+the ages since European keels first clove the southern seas: a
+melancholy record of much suffering and the loss of many gallant men.</p>
+
+<p>Then Carew began to suspect the truth, and a great dread fell on him.
+Lying down he placed a small stone on the edge of a shadow cast by a
+pointed rock, and watched it with a breathless suspense.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, it was as he had feared. <i>The shadow was slowly lengthening!</i> He
+laid his face on the ground and wept hysterically in his despair.</p>
+
+<p>The shadow was lengthening, therefore the sun was setting. It was
+setting inland over the mountains, and thus the sea was to the east of
+him. So&mdash;unconsciously, by what road he knew not&mdash;he must have traversed
+the whole island, and he was now on the coast the most remote from South
+West Bay. The cascade, the water he was dying for, was miles away,
+beyond those great hills. He could never reach it in his present state.</p>
+
+<p>He was on the weather side of Trinidad.</p>
+
+<p>Those heavy breakers on the reefs were caused by the high swell of the
+south-east trades, and there on the horizon were the three islands of
+Martin Vas, twenty-five miles away.</p>
+
+<p>So he despaired and lay down on the rocks, and longed for the release of
+death. Then he became delirious, and fancied that he was in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> Fleet
+Street again, and was going into a tavern with some comrades to drink a
+glass of wine. But once more the agony of thirst woke him to a
+consciousness of his position. He staggered to his feet, and ran on
+blindly a few yards; then he stumbled, and fell to his knees.</p>
+
+<p>Ah! what was that gleaming so temptingly before him?&mdash;an illusion only
+to mock him into madness with its lying promise. He stretched his hand
+to it&mdash;touched it. He plunged his face into it.</p>
+
+<p>It was water&mdash;fresh water; a small pool left in a hollow of a rock by
+the last rains. It was nauseous to the taste, and heated by the tropical
+sun; but it was water, and infinitely more precious to him at that
+moment than all the gold quartz in his vessel's hold. He drank fiercely
+and long, before his craving was assuaged; then his senses returned to
+him, and, though still very weak, he felt capable of making an effort to
+save his life.</p>
+
+<p>He descended the farther side of the buttress of rock that divides the
+two bays, and again followed his footprints, which led him across the
+wreck-strewn sands to the entrance of a ravine that clove the mountains,
+and seemed to afford the only practicable pass across them.</p>
+
+<p>He looked upwards, and wondered how he could have possibly found his way
+with safety down that perilous place; for he supposed that he must have
+been in a trance-like condition<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> when he made that journey, of which he
+was now so entirely oblivious.</p>
+
+<p>With great pain and labour he accomplished the difficult ascent. This
+ravine had the same character as most of those in Trinidad. The bottom
+of it was encumbered with masses of fallen rock, among which stood the
+mysterious dead trees. Here the foul sea-birds were very numerous. The
+air stank with the fish on which they fed; and as it was now the
+breeding season, the mothers were very fierce, and attacked Carew with
+their wings and beaks as he advanced, so that he had to arm himself with
+a piece of wood, and fight his way through them.</p>
+
+<p>After much weary climbing, often in places where a false step would have
+meant death, he reached an elevated plateau covered with tree-ferns&mdash;the
+only vegetation on the island which was fair to the eye.</p>
+
+<p>Crossing this plateau, he found himself on the summit of a precipitous
+cliff, and he looked down upon the ocean into which the sun was just
+setting. At his feet, far below, the barque lay at anchor.</p>
+
+<p>Proceeding along the edge of the precipice, he came to the head of a
+ravine, which he knew must be the one from which the cascade falls into
+the sea. After clambering down a little way, he reached the source of
+the stream. The cool clear water rushed out with a pleasant sound<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> from
+a hole in the rocks. Here he lay down and drank greedily, for his throat
+was again parched with fever.</p>
+
+<p>Feeling too exhausted to make any further exertion, and knowing that the
+darkness would soon render it impossible to continue the descent down
+those perilous slopes, he determined to pass the night where he was.</p>
+
+<p>Lying on a narrow ledge of rock he fell into a profound sleep.</p>
+
+<p>After a while he dreamt a frightful dream. He thought that his victims
+had come to life again, and, having surprised him in his sleep, were
+holding him by his arms with a grip of iron, and were about to put him
+to the torture.</p>
+
+<p>He awoke with a start, and for a moment fancied that he saw their
+skeleton forms leaning over him in the starlight.</p>
+
+<p>But was it all a dream? What was that sensation of pain in his right
+arm, as if a vice were tightening upon it?</p>
+
+<p>He sprang to his feet, and with his arm dragged up a heavy weight that
+was clinging to it.</p>
+
+<p>Shuddering with horror, he shook it violently from him, and a large
+land-crab fell with a crash on the stones.</p>
+
+<p>The wretched man looked round, and could distinguish in the dim light
+that the rocks were covered with the brutes. They had come out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> of their
+holes at sunset, and were about to devour him alive.</p>
+
+<p>He seized a large stone, and hurled it at one of them. It broke through
+the creature's armour and killed it. But the others paid no heed to the
+death of their fellow, and crawled on with a deliberate slowness. He
+pulled a branch off one of the dead trees, and with this he was able to
+thrust them away as they approached. He was obliged to keep watch and
+defend himself thus through all that long night. Once or twice he
+dropped off asleep in sheer exhaustion, only to be awakened again a
+moment afterwards by the closing of sharp pincers on some portion of his
+body. It was a night the realities of which equalled in horror the worst
+illusions of a nightmare. Several times he thought of throwing himself
+off the cliffs and putting an end to his misery, but still he clung to
+life, and fought for it, as men who value it the least always will when
+in the presence of a merely physical danger.</p>
+
+<p>At daybreak Carew, his eyes bloodshot, his limbs shaking, having the
+appearance of one who is recovering from an attack of delirium tremens,
+descended the ravine as hastily as his weak condition permitted. He
+turned his head aside as he passed the fatal clump of trees. He reached
+the landing-place, and there found Baptiste and El Chico awaiting him
+with the cutter.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p><p>Carew stepped into the boat without saying a word.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste glanced at the haggard face of the captain, but made no remark
+on his altered appearance. He merely said, "We were anxious about you,
+so have been off here since daybreak waiting for you."</p>
+
+<p>Carew looked inquiringly into the mate's face, but did not dare to utter
+the question that was on his lips.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste understood. "Yes, I have seen it," he said, in a low voice.
+Even that callous villain had been awed by the sight at the foot of the
+ravine.</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER XVII</span></h2>
+
+<p>For two more days the barque lay becalmed off the desert island, but not
+one of the crew ventured on land again. The two Spaniards shrunk with a
+superstitious terror from further contact with that accursed shore&mdash;that
+<i>costa maldita</i>, as they invariably spoke of it.</p>
+
+<p>Carew's experiences on Trinidad produced an ineffaceable impression on
+his mind. His melancholy deepened into a dull despair. He passed most of
+the day alone in his cabin, avoiding as much as possible even the sight
+of his companions. By means of ever-increasing doses of laudanum, the
+miserable man stupefied his brain into a lethargic condition, which was,
+however, frequently broken by frightful dreams when he was asleep, and
+by nervous seizures of acute and causeless terrors when he was awake.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste, observing these symptoms, began to fear for Carew's reason,
+and tried in various ways to rouse him, but in vain.</p>
+
+<p>At last one morning a fresh south-east wind sprang up. Carew did not
+even seem<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> to notice the change, and he gave no orders to get under way.
+So Baptiste approached him&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The sooner we have the anchor up and are off the better, captain."</p>
+
+<p>Carew assented in an apathetic way, and assisted the men in weighing the
+anchor and setting the sails; but he worked with a sullen silence,
+making no suggestions, leaving everything to Baptiste.</p>
+
+<p>After paying the vessel off before the wind with the foretopmast
+staysail, they set the fore and main topsails, an amount of canvas which
+the prudent mate considered sufficient for a barque so undermanned.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the last yard had been squared, and there was no more for him
+to do, Carew again went into his cabin.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes later Baptiste followed him there.</p>
+
+<p>"Sorry to disturb you, captain," he said, seeing the expression of
+annoyance on Carew's face, and also noticing the bottle of laudanum
+standing on the table; "but now we are off, running merrily before the
+wind, away from that accursed island. If you please, what is our
+course&mdash;where are we bound for&mdash;and have you thought of a plausible
+explanation of how we picked up this derelict? Rouse yourself, sir.
+Think, act, and be a man again."</p>
+
+<p>Carew had drunk a quantity of laudanum<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> that morning, and he replied in
+a dreamy voice, as if he had lost all interest in life, and was heedless
+of the future&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Do what you like. I leave it all to you. I am unable to think."</p>
+
+<p>"Sir, this is cowardly of you!" cried Baptiste vehemently. "Everything
+has gone so well with us thus far, and now you lose heart when an
+immense fortune is almost in our hands. Remember what we have done for
+you, and do not risk all our lives by neglecting your duties to us."</p>
+
+<p>"What do I care for your lives?" replied Carew with a bitter laugh, that
+had an insane ring in it. "What is it to me where we go, even if it be
+to the bottom? Leave me."</p>
+
+<p>"Good-bye, sir; I will take charge of the vessel until you come to your
+senses." As he spoke, Baptiste contrived to slip the bottle of laudanum
+into his pocket unperceived by Carew.</p>
+
+<p>The mate went on deck and threw the bottle into the sea. "That coward
+will go mad if he drugs himself much longer," he said to himself. "When
+he got on shore he would ruin us all in some silly fit of garrulous
+remorse. He would disburden his conscience and hang us in his present
+temper. He shall have no more laudanum. I must look after him and cure
+him before we get into port. If I cannot do so, well, then, he must die.
+A pity that; for he is useful, almost necessary, to us."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></p><p>Baptiste consulted the chart, and determined to run for the port of
+Bahia, which is about seven hundred miles to the north-west of Trinidad.
+Having quickly formed his plans, he carried them out with considerable
+cleverness.</p>
+
+<p>He collected a quantity of combustible matter, and proceeded to set fire
+to some of the storerooms and other portions of the vessel in such a way
+that he could always keep the fires under control and extinguish them at
+will. It was a hazardous undertaking, but he omitted no precaution; and
+after the vessel had been three days at sea, and was still three hundred
+miles from Bahia, the effect he desired was satisfactorily produced. She
+appeared to have been ablaze almost from end to end, and so there was
+manifest a sufficient reason for the desertion of the crew at sea.</p>
+
+<p>The last spark having been extinguished, Baptiste hove the vessel to
+while he completed his preparations. He lowered two of the boats into
+the sea and sank them.</p>
+
+<p>"And now," he asked himself, "what things are the crew likely to have
+taken with them in the boats? For we must preserve the verisimilitude.
+Our story must be above suspicion; every circumstance must corroborate
+it."</p>
+
+<p>So he threw overboard a chronometer, a valuable sextant, a compass, and
+other articles which a captain deserting his ship would most certainly
+have carried away. The Spaniards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> ridiculed this excess of caution.
+"Thoughtless children!" Baptiste explained; "it is most probable that
+there are people on shore who know exactly how many chronometers,
+compasses, and so on, were on board this vessel. These things will be
+counted up, and if none are missing, the minds of men will be puzzled at
+the strange conduct of the captain. Now I do not want to puzzle people;
+very much otherwise, my imprudent children. For the same reason I am now
+going to burn the ship's papers. No captain ever leaves those behind him
+on a derelict."</p>
+
+<p>Carew had watched these preparations listlessly, assisting when asked to
+do so, but still suggesting nothing. He never alluded to the loss of his
+bottle of laudanum, and very probably he knew that Baptiste had taken it
+away.</p>
+
+<p>Early on the sixth day of the voyage the Brazilian coast was sighted,
+and the mate recognised the palm-clad hills that border the entrance to
+the Reconcava of Bahia&mdash;a beautiful inland sea, as extensive as that of
+Rio de Janeiro.</p>
+
+<p>And now Baptiste, feeling how great a risk would be incurred by entering
+the port while the captain was in his present demented condition, dared
+not sail into the bay; and, after a consultation with the men, braced up
+the yards, and steered the vessel along the coast to the northward, with
+the intention<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> of making Pernambuco, which is nearly five hundred miles
+distant from Bahia. By this a delay of about three days would be gained;
+and should Carew not recover his senses in that time, he must be put out
+of the way. There was no help for it.</p>
+
+<p>But Baptiste and the two Spaniards knew well that if they went into port
+without the owner of the yacht, their tale would be received with
+suspicion. It would be necessary to account for his absence. Their own
+histories would be closely inquired into; the well-elaborated scheme
+might end in failure after all. The gloom of the captain seemed to
+communicate itself to the crew. The usual cheeriness of sailors was
+altogether absent during the voyage. A vague foreboding of calamity
+oppressed the men; and on board that guilty ship all went about their
+work with dismal faces, never smiling, sullen and silent, suspicious of
+each other.</p>
+
+<p>On the second day, the vessel was slowly sailing up the coast near
+Alagoas Bay. Baptiste was sitting on deck, rolling up and smoking his
+innumerable cigarettes as he contemplated the beautiful panorama that
+opened out before him&mdash;a land of forest-clad mountains and fertile
+valleys, down which broad rivers poured into the sea, while among the
+cocoa-nut groves upon the sandy beaches were the numerous bamboo
+villages of the negro fishermen. But Baptiste,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> though gazing at it, was
+in no mood to admire beautiful scenery; he was looking forward with
+alarm to the perils before him.</p>
+
+<p>At last, after pondering over it for some while, he determined on a
+course of action. It was a desperate thing to do, but it would bring
+matters to a crisis at once.</p>
+
+<p>He threw away his cigarette, loaded his revolver and placed it in his
+breast, and then, with face pale with fear but determined in expression,
+he entered Carew's cabin.</p>
+
+<p>The Englishman was reading a book, or pretending to do so. Baptiste took
+a seat in front of him, and commenced abruptly&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Do you wish to live, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>Carew looked up. "Why do you ask? If I wished to die, I could take away
+my life at any moment."</p>
+
+<p>"You will probably be saved that trouble. I will be perfectly frank with
+you, because I understand you. You see that we are afraid of going into
+port in your company. We think you are losing your senses, and we cannot
+allow a madman to rave our secrets in Pernambuco. We wish you to live,
+because you might be very useful to us. But if, before we are in sight
+of port, you don't satisfy us that you are sane, by ridding yourself of
+your melancholia and taking an interest in this business, we shall be
+under the painful necessity of despatching you for our own protection.
+We<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> will have to kill you, not in any ill-feeling, I assure you, but
+with real regret."</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste had rightly imagined that this cool and almost ludicrously
+matter-of-fact way of broaching the subject was the best in the
+circumstances.</p>
+
+<p>Carew first appeared to be lost in astonishment; then he smiled sadly,
+and said, "You are a strange man. You come here to tell me that I am
+mad, and that I must become sane in two days or die&mdash;is that it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think that you are exactly mad, but"&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I know what you mean," interrupted Carew, "and you are right. I have
+been ill for several days; but I am not mad, as you will soon discover.
+I will allow that I might soon have become so had you not stolen my
+laudanum."</p>
+
+<p>From that moment Carew changed his mode of life, and became much as he
+had been before his visit to the desert island. Though melancholy in his
+manner and miserable in his mind, he shook off his lethargy, bestirred
+himself, took an interest once more in the working of the ship, and
+exhibited all his old ingenuity in improving upon Baptiste's
+preparations for deceiving the authorities as to the fate of the barque.</p>
+
+<p>"Talented and unfathomable being," exclaimed the Frenchman admiringly,
+"what could we do without you?"</p>
+
+<p class="center">*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p><p>The voyage was over, and the <i>La Bonne Esperance</i> was lying under the
+Recife, that marvellous natural breakwater built by myriads of
+diminutive coral insects, which, running in a parallel line to the
+shore, forms the harbour of Pernambuco. In front of her stretched the
+long and crowded quay, with its pleasant boulevard and lofty white
+houses.</p>
+
+<p>The barque had been an object of great interest to the people of
+Pernambuco ever since the tug had towed her in from outside. The
+romantic story of the little English yacht that had foundered at sea,
+and of her shipwrecked crew, who had been so fortunate as to come across
+such a valuable prize, was on everybody's lips. The English residents
+had been profuse in their offers of hospitality to Carew, but under the
+pretext of ill-health he refused all these; and as soon as he had handed
+over the barque to the proper authorities he hired a room in a French
+hotel on the quay, and lived there as quietly as possible with Baptiste,
+while the Spaniards were lodged in a neighbouring tavern.</p>
+
+<p>The torments of his accusing conscience having now subsided, life once
+more appeared of value to this mutable-minded man, and his anxiety and
+dread of discovery returned. It caused him great uneasiness to learn how
+long a time must elapse before the settlement of the salvage would be
+completed. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> found that he might have to wait many months in
+Pernambuco before receiving his share of the vessel's value.</p>
+
+<p>The barque had been in the Recife for about three weeks when one morning
+a coasting steamer from Rio entered the harbour. Among her passengers
+was an Englishman. When he stepped on shore he disregarded the
+importunate crowd of hotel touts, and handing his portmanteau to a black
+porter, said merely, "English Consulate!" The negro understood, and led
+the way.</p>
+
+<p>The Englishman found the consul in his office, asked if he could speak
+to him alone on urgent business, and was shown into a private room.</p>
+
+<p>He placed a letter in the consul's hands. "This," he said, "is from the
+British Consul at Rio. It will serve to introduce me."</p>
+
+<p>It was a somewhat lengthy letter, and as he read it an expression of
+extreme surprise came to the consul's face. "This is a most
+extraordinary story!" he exclaimed. "Tell me what more you know of this
+man."</p>
+
+<p>The interview was a long one. At its termination the consul said:&mdash;"Of
+course I can do nothing until an extradition warrant arrives from
+England. In the meanwhile, we must not rouse his suspicions. Let him
+still consider himself safe. He applied to me for an advance of money
+yesterday; I will let<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> him have it if he does not ask for too much. But
+he must not see you. I recommend you to go to Caxanga&mdash;a pretty
+watering-place about half an hour from here by train. I will give you
+the name of a good hotel there. Do not come into town unless I send for
+you. Keep out of his way. I should like you to be here to-morrow morning
+at ten; for, shortly after that hour, his crew are going to make some
+depositions. I will conceal you in the next room in such a way that you
+can see them; for it will be well for you to know these men by sight. Of
+course you will pass under an assumed name while you are here."</p>
+
+<p>"I will call myself John Rudge," said the stranger.</p>
+
+<p>In spite of these precautions, the ever-watchful Baptiste soon came to
+suspect that there was mischief brewing. One day that he accompanied
+Carew to the Consulate he at once observed that the consul's manner had
+undergone a change. There was a reserve and a lack of his usual
+heartiness in his greeting of Carew. It was but a slight and involuntary
+change, and it escaped Carew's notice.</p>
+
+<p>A few days after this, Baptiste was sent to the Consulate with a letter.
+As he came to the door John Rudge was going out. The stranger seemed
+startled at finding himself thus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> suddenly face to face with the
+Frenchman, and walked hastily away.</p>
+
+<p>"A trifling circumstance," said Baptiste to himself; "but the lightest
+trifles show best the direction of the wind. Why did that man start at
+seeing me? Who is he?"</p>
+
+<p>A week passed, and Baptiste saw no more of the stranger; but at last he
+came full upon him in front of the post-office. Again Rudge seemed as if
+he wished to avoid being seen by the Frenchman, and turned his head
+aside as he passed.</p>
+
+<p>But Baptiste was quick in resource. "Stay a moment, if you please, sir,"
+he called out in French; "I wish to speak to you."</p>
+
+<p>The Englishman stood still.</p>
+
+<p>"Pardon me for detaining you," continued Baptiste, "but you understand
+French?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, sir, what chance! I know not a word of this horrid Portuguese
+tongue, and I wish to inquire at the post-office if there is a letter
+for me. Would you oblige me by interpreting for me?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know Portuguese myself; but the clerk in the post-office
+understands French."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you, sir. I am a stranger here, you see. I am one of the crew of
+<i>La Bonne Esperance</i>, the derelict. No doubt you have heard our story?"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes, I know all about it. You were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> very fortunate. But excuse me,
+my friend; I am in great haste," and he hurried off.</p>
+
+<p>Baptiste returned to the hotel and found Carew. "Captain," he asked,
+"have you committed some peccadillo in England on account of which they
+are likely to be hunting after you here?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is almost impossible that any enemies I may have can have traced me
+here."</p>
+
+<p>"All dead, I suppose," remarked Baptiste coolly. Then he proceeded to
+explain the reasons that had prompted his questions.</p>
+
+<p>"You are full of foolish fears, Baptiste. I see nothing in all this."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, sir, I have lived for so many years in the midst of alarms that I
+perceive the first indications of danger. When I told this Englishman
+that I was one of your crew, he exhibited no interest. He did not
+question me about our adventures, and make much of me, and take me into
+a caf&eacute; to give me drinks, as all the other Englishmen in Pernambuco do
+when they meet one of us heroes of the hour."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not see anything very alarming in his neglect to make a fuss over
+you."</p>
+
+<p>"I do, because I understand human nature. I see dangers ahead, and I
+intend to secure my retreat in case of disaster. I shall arrange how to
+slip away if necessary. I advise you to do the same, captain."</p>
+
+<p>"I have done so, Baptiste."</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>CHAPTER XVIII</span></h2>
+
+<p>Carew had been nearly six weeks in Pernambuco, when a British mail
+steamer happened to land an English passenger, who at once called on the
+consul, and introduced himself to that functionary as Mr. Norton. He had
+that to say which considerably astonished the consul, and the result was
+that on the following morning a letter was brought to Carew as he was
+sitting down to his breakfast at the hotel with Baptiste. It was from
+the consul's clerk, and ran thus:&mdash;"<i>Sir, will you kindly call here
+to-day? Your business is practically settled.</i>"</p>
+
+<p>"Practically settled?" repeated Baptiste, when he heard the contents.
+"Those words have an unpleasant ring somehow. I know not why, but I
+cannot help fearing that something is wrong."</p>
+
+<p>"I too have my presentiments," said Carew, "but I am prepared."</p>
+
+<p>At the appointed hour Carew called at the Consulate. He found the consul
+and Lloyd's agent awaiting him in a room adjoining the principal office.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p><p>There was a constraint in their manner, which he, watchful for the
+slightest suspicious indication, detected at once. They were as men who
+anticipated some momentous event, but who endeavoured to conceal their
+anxiety.</p>
+
+<p>The consul produced a document, and laid it on the desk. "Read this
+over, please, Mr. Allen, and see that it is correct."</p>
+
+<p>Carew glanced down it quickly with an eye trained to legal forms. "It is
+perfectly correct," he said.</p>
+
+<p>"I have a gentleman in the next room who will witness your signature to
+this statement," proceeded the consul. He opened the door, and Mr.
+Norton entered the room.</p>
+
+<p>The consciousness of impending peril came over Carew's guilty soul, but
+he seized the pen, and in a firm hand wrote the signature, "Arthur
+Allen, Barrister-at-law."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Norton now approached the table. He took up the pen as if to sign
+his name, glanced at the document, and then, raising his head, looked
+Carew full in the face. "I cannot witness this signature," he said. "It
+is a forgery!"</p>
+
+<p>There was a complete silence for a few moments; then Carew, whose face
+was pale, but who betrayed no other signs of emotion, said quietly,
+"Explain your strange words, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"It is no good; the game is up, Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> Carew," replied Norton. "I have a
+warrant for your arrest, and the police are at the door."</p>
+
+<p>"A trap has been laid for me, I see," said Carew, as quietly as before.
+"This is one of the absurd mistakes you detectives so often make; but I
+will soon clear it up. Of what am I accused?" Carew was astonished at
+his own courage in the presence of this extreme disaster, or rather&mdash;for
+it can scarcely be called courage&mdash;at his indifference to his fate. He
+felt as if he were the spectator of a tragedy which was being played by
+other men, and in which he was not himself an actor&mdash;a common state of
+mind with men in utmost peril.</p>
+
+<p>"The charge with which I am immediately concerned," replied the
+detective, "and on account of which an extradition warrant has been
+issued, is the forgery of a client's name by the solicitor Henry Carew.
+In the meanwhile, look at these," and he threw on the table two
+photographs. Carew took them up. One, he saw, was a portrait of Arthur
+Allen, his friend whom he left to drown in the North Sea; the other was
+a photograph of himself which had been taken eight years back, when he
+was another man, when his conscience was still clear, and before his
+gambling losses had driven him from crime to crime; sin and suffering
+had yet drawn no lines on the face, the brow was free from care. He
+gazed gloomily at this presentment of what he had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> been and could never
+be again, and his mind wandered back with despairing regret to memories
+of guiltless days.</p>
+
+<p>"On the 15th of August last," continued the detective, "a solicitor,
+Henry Carew, absconded, disappeared, leaving no trace. For some time I,
+who was entrusted with the case, was altogether at fault; but at last,
+as often happens, a coincidence threw me on the scent. I came across an
+advertisement inserted in the papers by the relatives of a missing man,
+Arthur Allen. He had left his chambers on the 15th of August, and had
+not since been heard of. Carew and Allen thus disappeared from London on
+the same day, mark you; but there was no very remarkable coincidence in
+that fact. However, I happened to remember that, while searching the
+papers of Carew to discover what were his habits, who were his
+acquaintances, and so forth, I had come across the name of this Arthur
+Allen, apparently a friend of Carew's. The clue was worth following up.
+I soon ascertained that Allen had that day sailed from the Thames in his
+yacht; that his last known port of call was Rotterdam. I went to
+Rotterdam, and there, from a Mr. Hoogendyk and others, learnt that the
+man who called himself Arthur Allen had conducted himself in a somewhat
+curious manner for an English yachtsman, and had suddenly sailed from
+that port, bound no<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span> one knew whither, with a crew of Spanish
+desperadoes."</p>
+
+<p>The detective now took the two photographs from the hand of Carew, who
+was still gazing at them in a dazed way, apparently not listening to the
+words of his accuser.</p>
+
+<p>"I procured these," Norton went on. "I brought them to Mr. Hoogendyk.
+First I showed him the portrait of Arthur Allen; he did not recognise
+it. Then I gave him the portrait of Henry Carew. 'This, of course,' he
+at once said, 'is the photograph of Mr. Allen, the Englishman who came
+here with the little yacht.' Then I knew that I was on the right track.
+Shortly afterwards, a paragraph which appeared in a London evening paper
+brought me promptly here, armed with an extradition warrant. I have the
+paragraph here. It is headed '<i>A Strange Story of the Sea.</i>' I will read
+it to you. '<i>A telegram from Pernambuco states that a French barque, the</i>
+La Bonne Esperance, <i>has been brought into that port a derelict. She was
+picked up by the crew of an English yacht, the</i> Petrel. <i>The</i> Petrel
+<i>had foundered in the South Atlantic. Mr. Allen, the owner, and his
+three men took to the dinghy, and, after drifting for several days,
+encountered the deserted barque, which they sailed into Pernambuco. The
+salvage is likely to far more than compensate Mr. Allen for the loss of
+his yacht.</i>' That is all I need say at present."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p><p>The consul spoke next. "There is a Mr. Rudge here, who has been in
+Pernambuco for some weeks, who can also throw a light on this matter."
+The consul touched the bell, and the man who had assumed the name of
+Rudge was shown into the room. He closed the door behind him, and stood
+with his back against it.</p>
+
+<p>"This gentleman," said the consul deliberately, "affirms that <i>he</i> is
+Arthur Allen, the barrister, the owner of the lost yacht."</p>
+
+<p>All in the room now turned their eyes upon Carew, to watch the effect
+upon him of this sudden presence.</p>
+
+<p>Yes, it was indeed Allen, though pale and thin, as if he had but just
+recovered from a sudden illness, that Carew saw before him. And now this
+strange being, who had fallen into such depths of crime, and who yet
+loathed crime so intensely, behaved in the manner that might have been
+expected from him. The better man declared himself at last. On beholding
+this accuser, who had risen thus suddenly from the dead, he displayed no
+guilty terror. On the contrary, an expression of great relief, of joy,
+almost of triumph, lit up his face, and the lines of care faded away
+from it.</p>
+
+<p>They all watched him with wonder.</p>
+
+<p>Then he spoke quietly, in tones that carried conviction. No one could
+doubt but that the words were from his heart.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I am Henry Carew. I am guilty of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> all that I am accused of, and of
+more, and worse things. But I am glad, indeed glad&mdash;and little gladness
+has been my lot of late&mdash;to see you, Arthur Allen, standing there alive
+before me. There is one less crime on my soul. Yes, I am now happy;
+happier than I deserve to be. I am quite ready to pay the penalty of my
+sins."</p>
+
+<p>There was a nobility in his countenance as he stood up erect, with none
+of the shrinking criminal about him. He felt as if he were out of the
+world already; he was free from petty fears now.</p>
+
+<p>Then the consul, impressed by the man's manner, said, in an almost
+respectful tone, "It is better that you should go on board the English
+steamer at once. I have arranged everything."</p>
+
+<p>The detective whispered something into the consul's ear, and then
+slipped out of the room quietly.</p>
+
+<p>Carew looked through the window at the fair tropical world without. He
+could see the busy quay, with its green trees waving in the fresh trade
+wind, and the breakers dashing upon the coral reef. Beyond that, between
+the blue sea and the blue sky, there loomed a dark mass. Carew knew that
+this was the vessel which was to be his prison, lying at anchor in the
+outer roads. He shivered; then turning to the consul said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p><p>"Grant me one last favour before I go: let me have paper and pen. I
+wish to write a letter."</p>
+
+<p>The consul hesitated.</p>
+
+<p>"Give it to him," whispered Allen, who had been eyeing Carew intently;
+and Carew rewarded him with a grateful look.</p>
+
+<p>The writing materials were put on the table. He sat before them with his
+back to the spectators, and as he held the pen in his right hand, he
+placed his left elbow upon the table, stooping over it, his face buried
+in the open palm as if he were meditating deeply what he should write.
+And so he remained for quite a minute without writing a word. Once a
+slight tremor passed through his frame. After that he sat quite
+motionless.</p>
+
+<p>The detective again entered the room, followed by two officers of
+police.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, sir," he said, "we must go now," and he put his hand lightly on
+Carew's shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>As the hand touched him, Carew's elbow slipped, his head dropped heavily
+upon the table, face downwards, and from his left hand, which had been
+over his mouth, there fell on the table, and rolled slowly across it, a
+small empty bottle.</p>
+
+<p>He was quite dead! He had found a use at last for the poisonous drug
+which the Rotterdam chemist had grudgingly sold him.</p>
+
+<p class="center">*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span></p><p>"The prisoner has slipped away from us," said the detective; "but,
+after all, I am not sorry for it in a way, for there was good in the
+man."</p>
+
+<p>And so ended the misspent life of Henry Carew&mdash;a man by nature probably
+no worse than many of the most respectable-seeming among us. But he was
+morally timid; and such a one, however benevolent be his disposition,
+however opposed to vice be his inclinations, is the slave of
+circumstances, and is quite as likely to develop into a villain as a
+saint. A weak will is the devil's easiest prey.</p>
+
+<p>Arthur Allen's narrative will be given in his own words:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"The last thing I remember, after Jim and myself were capsized, is that
+I was holding on to the dinghy, and that I lashed myself to her with the
+painter. Poor Jim must have gone down at once. I don't remember seeing
+him after the boat turned over. The seas must have driven the sense out
+of me. I came to, days afterwards, in the cabin of a German barque. She
+had picked me up&mdash;still lashed to the dinghy&mdash;in an insensible
+condition. The barque was bound from Hamburg to Rio. My long exposure in
+the water brought on a serious and tedious illness. I was more dead than
+alive when I landed at Rio, and was at once taken to the hospital. There
+the English<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> Consul called to see me, and behaved with great kindness.
+When I told him my story, and who I was, he said, 'A man of your name
+came here with a yacht a short time back&mdash;an eccentric man, for he only
+stopped two days here and was off again; so I did not see him.' I asked
+what the name of the yacht was. 'The <i>Petrel</i>,' he replied. Then, of
+course, the whole truth dawned upon me, and I satisfied the consul that
+someone had stolen my yacht and had assumed my name. The consul then
+advanced to me the money I required. I was still lying in the hospital
+when the news came to Rio that the <i>Petrel</i> had been lost at sea, and
+that her crew had found a derelict, and sailed her into Pernambuco. In
+spite of the doctor's warnings, I left the hospital, and hurried here at
+once. I was awaiting an extradition warrant from England, when Mr.
+Norton anticipated my own action, and arrived with a warrant that had
+been obtained on account of former felonies committed by Carew."</p>
+
+<p>The true story of the French barque and her crew was never known.
+Baptiste and the two Spaniards took alarm and disappeared from
+Pernambuco. Not that they were in danger, for they were not implicated
+in the felonies which had been brought home to Carew. But the guilty
+wretches knew not what would be discovered next, they so completely
+distrusted each other, each knowing that he himself would<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> readily
+betray his comrades, either for a price or to secure his own safety.</p>
+
+<p>What ultimately happened to these three villains I do not know. Baptiste
+being a criminal of the educated, cunning, and cowardly-cautious order,
+possibly enriched himself by iniquity for many years more, and, escaping
+his deserts in this world, may yet have died in his old age, a respected
+citizen in his native land.</p>
+
+<p>The other two more vulgar scoundrels were no doubt hanged, or stabbed in
+a brawl, or despatched in some such summary fashion sooner or later&mdash;a
+penalty for their crimes which seems light indeed to men of this brutal
+stamp, who consider a violent death as the most desirable and indeed
+only legitimate termination to existence.</p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="center">THE END</p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="center">PRINTED BY<br />MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225"></a></span></p>
+
+<h2><span>ADVERTISEMENTS</span></h2>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold u"><i>The Express Series.&mdash;No. II.</i></p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="bold2">A GIRL OF GRIT</p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="bold">CHAPTER I</p>
+
+<p class="bold">MY AMERICAN MILLIONS</p>
+
+<p>It was the middle of the night (as I thought) when Savory&mdash;my man, my
+landlord, valet, and general factotum&mdash;came in and woke me. He gave me a
+letter, saying simply, "The gentleman's a-waiting, sir," and I read it
+twice, without understanding it in the very least.</p>
+
+<p>Could it be a hoax? To satisfy myself, I sat up in bed, rubbed my
+astonished and still half-sleepy eyes, and read it again. It ran as
+follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<blockquote><p class="right">"101, <span class="smcap">Lincoln's Inn</span>, <i>July 11, 189-</i>.</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Gray &amp; Quinlan</span>,<br />&nbsp; &nbsp;Solicitors.</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Dear Sir</span>,&mdash;It is our pleasing duty to inform you, at the request
+of our New York agents, Messrs. Smiddy &amp; Dann, of 57, Chambers
+Street, New York City, that they have now definitely and
+conclusively established your claim as the sole surviving relative
+and general heir-at-law of their late esteemed client, Mr. Aretas
+M'Faught, of Church Place and Fifth Avenue, New York.</p>
+
+<p>"As the amount of your inheritance is very considerable, and is
+estimated approximately at between fourteen and fifteen millions of
+dollars, say three millions of sterling money, we have thought it
+right to apprise you of your good fortune without delay. Our Mr.
+Richard Quinlan will hand you this letter in person, and will be
+pleased to take your instructions.&mdash;We are, sir, your obedient
+servants,</p>
+
+<p class="right">"<span class="smcap">Gray &amp; Quinlan.</span>"</p>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Captain William Aretas Wood</span>, D.S.O.,<br />
+&nbsp; &nbsp;21, Clarges Street, Piccadilly."</p></blockquote>
+
+<p>"Here, Savory! who brought this? Do you say he is waiting? I'll see him
+in half a minute;" and, sluicing my head in cold water, I put on a
+favourite old dressing-gown, and passed into the next room, followed by
+Roy, my precious golden collie, who began at once to sniff suspiciously
+at my visitor's legs.</p>
+
+<p>I found there a prim little old-young gentleman, who scanned me
+curiously through his gold-rimmed pince-nez. Although, no doubt, greatly
+surprised,&mdash;for he did not quite expect to see an arch-millionaire in an
+old ulster with a ragged collar of catskin, with damp, unkempt locks,
+and unshorn chin at that time of day,&mdash;he addressed me with much
+formality and respect.</p>
+
+<p>"I must apologise for this intrusion, Captain Wood&mdash;you <i>are</i> Captain
+Wood?"</p>
+
+<p>"Undoubtedly."</p>
+
+<p>"I am Mr. Quinlan, very much at your service. Pardon me&mdash;is this your
+dog? Is he quite to be trusted?"</p>
+
+<p>"Perfectly, if you don't speak to him. Lie down, Roy. I fear I am very
+late&mdash;a ball last night. Do you ever go to balls, Mr. Quinlan?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not often, Captain Wood. But if I have come too early, I can call later
+on."</p>
+
+<p>"By no means. I am dying to hear more. But, first of all, this
+letter&mdash;it's all <i>bon&acirc; fide</i>, I suppose?"</p>
+
+<p>"Without question. It is from our firm. There can be no possible
+mistake. We have made it our business to verify all the facts&mdash;indeed,
+this is not the first we had heard of the affair, but we did not think
+it right to speak to you too soon. This morning, however, the mail has
+brought a full acknowledgment of your claims, so we came on at once to
+see you."</p>
+
+<p>"How did you find me out, pray?"</p>
+
+<p>"We have had our eye on you for some time past, Captain Wood," said the
+little lawyer smilingly. "While we were inquiring&mdash;you understand? We
+were anxious to do the best for you"&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I'm sure I'm infinitely obliged to you. But still, I can't believe it,
+quite. I should like to be convinced of the reality of my good luck. You
+see, I haven't thoroughly taken it in."</p>
+
+<p>"Read this letter from our New York agents, Captain Wood. It gives more
+details," and he handed me a type-written communication on two quarto
+sheets of tissue paper, also a number of cuttings from the New York
+press.</p>
+
+<p>The early part of the letter referred to the search and discovery of the
+heir-at-law (myself), and stated frankly that there could be no sort of
+doubt that my case was clear, and that they would be pleased, when
+called upon, to put me in full possession of my estate.</p>
+
+<p>From that they passed on to a brief enumeration of the assets, which
+comprised real estate in town lots, lands, houses; stocks, shares, well-</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold u"><i>The Express Series.&mdash;No. III.</i></p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="bold2">A DESPERATE VOYAGE</p>
+
+<hr class="smler" />
+
+<p class="bold">CHAPTER I</p>
+
+<p>In Carey Street, Chancery Lane, on the ground floor of a huge block of
+new buildings facing the Law Courts, were the offices of Messrs. Peters
+and Carew, solicitors and perpetual commissioners of oaths. Such was the
+title of the firm as inscribed on the side of the entrance door in the
+middle of a long list of other names of solicitors, architects, and
+companies, whose offices were within. But the firm was now represented
+by Mr. Carew alone; for the senior partner, a steady-going old
+gentleman, who had made the business what it was, had been despatched by
+an attack of gout, two years back, to a land where there is no
+litigation.</p>
+
+<p>Late one August evening Mr. Henry Carew entered his office. His face was
+white and haggard, and he muttered to himself as he passed the door. He
+had all the appearance of a man who has been drinking heavily to drown
+some terrible worry. His clerks had gone; he went into his own private
+room and locked the door. He lit the gas, brought a pile of papers and
+letters out of a drawer, and, sitting down by the table, commenced to
+peruse them. As he did so, the lines about his face seemed to deepen,
+and beads of perspiration started to his forehead. It was for him an
+hour of agony. His sins had found him out, and the day of reckoning had
+arrived.</p>
+
+<p>One might have taken Henry Carew for a sailor, but he was very unlike
+the typical solicitor. He was a big, hearty man of thirty-five, with all
+a sailor's bluff manner and generous ways. His friends called him Honest
+Hal, and said that he was one of the best fellows that ever lived. We
+have it on the authority of that immortal adventuress, Becky Sharp, that
+it is easy to be virtuous on five thousand a year. Had Mr. Carew enjoyed
+such an income, he would most probably have lived a blameless life and
+have acquired an estimable reputation; for he had no instinctive liking
+for crime; on the contrary, he loathed it.</p>
+
+<p>But one slight moral flaw in a man's nature&mdash;so slight that his best
+friends smile tolerantly at it&mdash;may, by force of circumstance, lead
+ultimately to his complete moral ruin. It is an old story, and has been
+the text of many a sermon. The trifling fault is often the germ of
+terrible crimes.</p>
+
+<p>Carew's fault was one that is always easily condoned, so nearly akin is
+it to a virtue; these respectably connected vices are ever the most
+dangerous, like well-born swindlers. Carew was a spendthrift. He was
+ostentatiously extravagant in many directions. He owned a smart
+schooner, which he navigated himself, being an excellent sailor, and the
+quantities of champagne consumed by his friends on board this vessel
+were prodigious.</p>
+
+<p>When his steady old partner died, Carew began to neglect the business
+for his pleasures. Soon his income was insufficient to meet his
+expenses. Speculation on the Stock Exchange seemed to him to be a
+quicker road to fortune than a slow-going profession. So this man,
+morally weak though physically brave, not having the courage to curtail
+his extravagances, hurried blindly to his destruction. He gambled and
+lost all his own property; for ill-luck ever pursued him. Even then it
+was not too late to redeem his position. But he was too great a coward
+to look his difficulties in the face; therefore, having the temptation
+to commit so terribly easy a crime ever before him in his office, he
+began&mdash;first, timidly, to a small extent; then wildly, in panic, in
+order to retrieve his losses&mdash;to speculate with the moneys entrusted to
+him by his clients. He pawned their securities; he forged their names;
+he plunged ever deeper into crime&mdash;and all in vain.</p>
+
+<p>When it was too late, he swore to himself, in the torments of his
+remorse, that if he could but once win back sufficient to replace the
+sums he had stolen, he would cut down all his expenses, forswear
+gambling and dishonesty, and stick to his profession.</p>
+
+<p>At last it came to this. He sold his yacht and everything else he
+possessed of value. He realised what remained of the securities under
+his charge, and then placed the entire sum as cover on a certain stock,
+the price of which, he was told, was certain to rise. It was the
+gambler's last despairing throw of the dice. The stock suddenly fell;
+settling day arrived, and his cover was swept away&mdash;he had lost all!</p>
+
+<p>So he sat in his office this night and faced the situation in an agony
+of spirit that was more than fear. For this was no unscrupulous,
+light-hearted villain. An accusing conscience was ever with him, and
+every fresh descent in crime meant for him a worse present hell of
+mental torture.</p>
+
+<p>He felt that it was idle to hope now, even for a short reprieve. Clients
+were suspicious. In a day or two at most all must be known. Disgrace and
+a felon's doom were staring him in the face. It would be impossible for
+him to raise even sufficient funds to escape from England to some
+country where extradition treaties were unknown. Carew realised all
+this. He had forced himself to look through his</p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold u"><i>Autumn 1898</i></p>
+
+<p class="tbrk">&nbsp;</p>
+
+<p class="bold2">LIST OF NEW<br />&amp; RECENT BOOKS<br />PUBLISHED BY<br />
+JOHN MILNE AT<br />12 NORFOLK STREET<br />STRAND, LONDON<br /></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold u"><i><span class="smcap">Mr.</span> JOHN MILNE'S CURRENT LIST.</i></p>
+
+<p class="bold">The Express Series.</p>
+
+<p>This Series is designed to meet the taste of readers who desire a
+swiftly-moving, well-written, dramatic tale, of moderate length, without
+superfluous descriptive or other literary "padding," but with continuity
+and action from the first page to the last. It contains only
+specially-written and selected stories, mostly by well-known writers,
+and each volume consists of about 224 pages, crown 8vo. The First
+Edition, for the Library, is bound in red cloth, with gilt top, and
+published at 2s. 6d. The Second and subsequent Editions are issued in
+handy form for the Pocket or the Train, in stout cardboard covers,
+illustrated in colours, at 1s.</p>
+
+<p><i>The following have been published:&mdash;</i></p>
+
+<p>I. THE ROME EXPRESS. By Major <span class="smcap">Arthur Griffiths</span>. [<i>Sixth Edition</i></p>
+
+<p>II. A GIRL OF GRIT. By Major <span class="smcap">Arthur Griffiths</span>. [<i>Just published.</i></p>
+
+<p>III. A DESPERATE VOYAGE. By <span class="smcap">E. F. Knight</span>. [<i>Just published.</i></p>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold">A Desperate Voyage.</p>
+
+<p>A Desperate Voyage. By <span class="smcap">E. F. Knight</span>, Author of "The Cruise of the
+Falcon," "Where Three Empires Meet," etc. A novel by the well-known
+<i>Times</i> war-correspondent and author, describing the escape of an
+absconding debtor from the river Thames in a twenty-eight ton yawl, and
+his subsequent desperate experiences by sea and land in the South
+Atlantic. 224 pages, crown 8vo, red cloth gilt, gilt top, uniform with
+the above, 2s. 6d.</p>
+
+<p class="bold">A Girl of Grit.</p>
+
+<p>A Girl of Grit. By Major <span class="smcap">Arthur Griffiths</span>, Author of "The Rome Express."
+An Anglo-American story of a gigantic scheme of fraud and attempted
+abduction. 217 pages, crown 8vo, red cloth gilt, gilt top, 2s. 6d.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"If you wish for an exciting story&mdash;a story which will hold you
+fascinated for three pleasurable hours by the intricacies of a
+cleverly conceived plot, and the human interest of varied
+character&mdash;read Major Arthur Griffiths' new book, 'A Girl of Grit.'
+The whole story of the pursuit of the rascal Duke of Buona Mano and
+the rescue of Captain Wood in mid-Atlantic carries you on with a
+rush through a series of dramatic scenes and thrilling adventures
+to a climax which is as novel as it is satisfactory. 'A Girl of
+Grit' is a better told story than even 'The Rome Express,' which is
+saying a good deal."&mdash;<i>Daily Mail.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<p class="bold">The Rome Express.</p>
+
+<p>The Rome Express. By Major <span class="smcap">Arthur Griffiths</span>. A notable Detective Story
+of much ingenuity and interest. 215 pages, crown 8vo, red cloth gilt,
+gilt top, Library Edition, 2s. 6d.; in coloured wrapper, Sixth Edition,
+1s.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"It is safe to say that the reader who glances at the first page of
+Major Arthur Griffiths' detective story, 'The Rome Express,' will
+certainly not skip one single word until he reaches the end. 'Who
+could have done the deed?' is the question which absorbs the reader
+from first to last, and in his eagerness to answer this question he
+will start on at least four different scents, confident each time
+that now he has the clue, but only to return baffled and bewildered
+again and again. It is General Collingham whose shrewd wit first
+hits upon the right track, and puts to confusion all the theories
+and red-tapeism of the Quai de l'Horloge. But until the last
+chapter we are as much in the dark as any one of them; the mystery
+is inscrutable until it pleases the author to lift the veil and
+inform us that one of the passengers was requested to continue his
+journey in the direction of New Caledonia, and that another was
+married at the British Embassy to Sabine, Contessa di
+Castagneto."&mdash;<i>Daily Telegraph.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Any reader who opens this book with the resolution that he will
+read a chapter of it and then resume his ordinary occupations, is
+likely to be surprised speedily out of such good intentions. The
+story grips you like a vice. There is not a superfluous word in the
+215 pages."&mdash;<i>Sketch.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<blockquote><p><sup>*</sup>*<sup>*</sup> <i>The next volume of The Express Series will be a
+story from the pen of Mr. David Christie Murray, and others are in preparation.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold">The Evolution of a Wife.</p>
+
+<p>The Evolution of a Wife, a Romance in Six Parts, by <span class="smcap">Elizabeth Holland</span>.
+The life-story of Marie de Hauteville, a young girl of noble Swiss
+family. It contains many charming pictures of Conventual and village
+life in the Bernese Oberland, with a strong love interest of the
+non-modern school. 398 pages, large crown 8vo, cloth, Second Edition,
+6s.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"There is an extraordinary genius in 'The Evolution of a Wife.' In
+calm and masterful handling, searching insight, and bold
+imaginative outlook, this romance ranks among the finest first
+books of all the novelists. In the delicate manner of Flaubert,
+without comment, and with a powerful massing of scenes, the
+authoress advances to her climax; and one lays down the book
+feeling that certain impressions will not efface
+themselves."&mdash;<i>Yorkshire Post.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Marie is delightful, with her many lovers and the pathetic little
+vanities that make her innocence anything but insipid. She is
+absolutely realisable; and not she alone. The little Swiss town and
+its inhabitants live at once in the reader's eye."&mdash;<i>Saturday
+Review.</i></p>
+
+<p>"A remarkable story, alike in plot and character. It makes an
+impression that here and there reminds us of the art and the
+passion of Charlotte Bront&euml;'s works."&mdash;<i>Scotsman.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold">The Passion for Romance.</p>
+
+<p>The Passion for Romance. By <span class="smcap">Edgar Jepson</span>, Author of "Sibyl Falcon."
+Describes the remarkable love affairs of Lord Lisdor, a young and
+susceptible nobleman of wealth and leisure. 378 pages, large crown 8vo,
+cloth, Second Edition, 6s.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"'The Passion for Romance' is, at the least, recommended by that
+air of novelty so welcome to all, but to none more than to the
+professional novel-reader. The hero&mdash;the main feature of the story,
+as he has a right to be&mdash;is treated from a refreshingly new
+standpoint. He is a new sort of hero as well as a fresh specimen in
+individuals: neither villain, saint, nor martyr, but simply a
+possible human being with some strong characteristics. The vain
+quest and the yearning for fulfilment are told with delicacy of
+touch, some sense of humour, and absolutely without sickly
+sentiment or morbid passion. Is not this enough to prove that we do
+not speak of the novel of the common or British type?"&mdash;<i>Athen&aelig;um.</i></p>
+
+<p>"It is a long time since we have had a new sensation in fiction. It
+has come at last. The author of 'The Passion for Romance' is a
+novelist with a style that is distinguished, and&mdash;rarissimus inter
+raros&mdash;Mr. Edgar Jepson is also a writer who has something new to
+say. Apart from the literary merit of the work, there is the story;
+and to say that there is nothing in fiction with which that may be
+compared is to acknowledge at once its originality."&mdash;<i>Morning.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold">Saint Porth.</p>
+
+<p>Saint Porth. The Wooing of Dolly Pentreath. By <span class="smcap">J. Henry Harris</span>. A homely
+tale of life and love in a Cornish village. 320 pages, crown 8vo, cloth
+gilt, gilt top, 6s.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"A Cornish tale of remarkable picturesqueness, altogether natural
+and touching, full of quaint pictures of a marvellously decorative
+people."&mdash;<i>Saturday Review.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Written with singular sympathy, earnestness, and gentle humour.
+The scene is laid on the Cornish coast, and Mr. Harris paints for
+us the splendours of that gorgeous seascape in the manner of one
+who feels to the full its peculiar fascination, and to whom the
+character of the dwellers on its shore appeals with a familiar
+charm. The delicate and precious aroma of romance perfumes every
+page of 'Saint Porth,' and lends to this homely, unpretentious tale
+a value and an interest that are too often lacking in novels of a
+more ambitious scope."&mdash;<i>Speaker.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Of the many efforts which writers have made during recent years to
+portray various phases of Cornish life, this, to our mind,
+represents one of the most successful."&mdash;<i>West Briton.</i></p>
+
+<p>"However crowded the novel market may be, there is always room for
+such refreshing little idylls as 'Saint Porth'&mdash;a simple tale,
+simply told in delightfully breezy style."&mdash;<i>Birmingham Gazette.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold">Paradise Row.</p>
+
+<p>Paradise Row, and some of its Inhabitants. By <span class="smcap">W. J. Wintle</span>. A series of
+powerfully painted sketches of North Country life. 240 pages, crown 8vo,
+cloth, gilt top, 3s. 6d.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"To adequately express the power and the pathos of these simply
+told sketches, is quite beyond the scope of a review, for they
+rouse all that is best and all that is most sacred in our common
+humanity, making us feel more than the grandest rhetoric could, the
+brotherhood of man. Some of the characters are real heroes, and one
+rises from the perusal of the book with a greater respect for the
+men who devote their lives to Christian work in the noisome dens of
+our populous places, and with a large hope for the ultimate
+redemption of mankind."&mdash;<i>North British Daily Mail.</i></p>
+
+<p>"This is a volume of sketches of North Country life, very
+vigorously drawn, and full of pathos well relieved with humour. It
+shows throughout a large power of sympathy and great breadth of
+thought."&mdash;<i>Spectator.</i></p>
+
+<p>"We commend this book as both literature and life. Those who wish
+to know how the poor live and love cannot do better than read
+'Paradise Row.'"&mdash;<i>Methodist Times.</i></p>
+
+<p>"The work of a deep thinker and a cultured writer."&mdash;<i>Black and
+White.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold">Butterfly Ballads.</p>
+
+<p>Butterfly Ballads and Stories in Rhyme. By <span class="smcap">Helen Atteridge</span>. With
+Sixty-five Illustrations by <span class="smcap">Gordon Browne</span>, <span class="smcap">Louis Wain</span>, <span class="smcap">H. R. Millar</span>, and
+others. 142 pages, foolscap 4to, designed cover, cloth gilt, gilt edges,
+3s. 6d.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"These real ballads are very clever indeed; we feel sure 'Ethelinda
+Gray' and 'The Boy that went to Sea' will live in the upper circles
+of juvenility for many a long day. 'The Doll's Dance' ought to be
+as widely read and as keenly appreciated as 'The Butterfly's Ball
+and the Grasshopper's Feast,' which was the delight of the children
+of fifty years ago. The illustrations are numerous and
+admirable."&mdash;<i>World.</i></p>
+
+<p>"A delightful collection of stories in verse for little ones. It is
+exactly what it professes to be, and does not indulge in
+metaphysics for infants, and every little one who has the good
+fortune to have the volume given it will be happy for a long
+time."&mdash;<i>St. James's Gazette.</i></p>
+
+<p>"'Butterfly Ballads' are by no means inappropriately named. They
+are light and bright, and go fluttering along easily. The
+illustrations are specially clever; the dogs, the children, and the
+old folks are all full of character and spirit."&mdash;<i>Times.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Will speedily be learned by heart, and repeated in the firelight
+to a breathless audience."&mdash;<i>Lady.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold">The English Stage.</p>
+
+<p>The English Stage. Being an Account of the Victorian Drama, by <span class="smcap">Augustin
+Filon</span>. Translated from the French by <span class="smcap">Frederic Whyte</span>, with an
+Introduction by <span class="smcap">Henry Arthur Jones</span>. 320 pages, demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"This large and painstaking volume will certainly interest all who
+follow theatrical matters. We welcome it as an interesting and
+valuable record."&mdash;<i>Times.</i></p>
+
+<p>"That the writings of that acute French critic, M. Filon, on 'The
+English Stage' have been creditably translated and published in
+this country, is a subject of congratulation. The completeness with
+which this observer in a foreign land has mastered his subject is
+surprising, and adds much force to the penetrating and suggestive
+criticisms with which the book abounds. Altogether the work,
+written as it is in spirited and captivating style, is one that can
+be perused with pleasure by all classes of readers."&mdash;<i>Morning
+Post.</i></p>
+
+<p>"One of the most entertaining, appreciative, discriminating, and
+instructive of recent books upon the English stage."&mdash;<i>New York
+Nation.</i></p>
+
+<p>"No student of the theatre should miss reading 'The English Stage,'
+and it should be bought, not borrowed from the library, for it is
+essentially a book to dip into again and again. It is full of
+interesting facts as to the recent history of the drama in this
+country."&mdash;<i>Black and White.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<p class="bold">Verdi: Man and Musician.</p>
+
+<p>Verdi: Man and Musician. His Biography, with Especial Reference to his
+English Experiences, by <span class="smcap">F. J. Crowest</span>, Author of "The Great Tone Poets."
+With Photogravure Frontispiece of Verdi, and several full-page
+Portraits. The only recent and authoritative English Biography of the
+famous Composer. 320 pages, demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d.</p>
+
+<blockquote><p>"As the author of this highly interesting volume rightly says,
+Verdi bibliography, particularly that in England, is not extensive,
+but he has made an important addition, a book that should be read
+by all admirers of the Italian composer. It is enriched with
+several well-executed portraits, and is fully
+indexed."&mdash;<i>Athen&aelig;um.</i></p>
+
+<p>"A most interesting work. Did space permit, we could quote at
+length from this delightful book; but as it is, we must leave it to
+the reader to pick and choose for himself."&mdash;<i>Weekly Sun.</i></p>
+
+<p>"A book full of interest both to musicians and laymen, embellished
+with a speaking likeness of Verdi as a frontispiece. A distinct and
+valuable addition to the scant Verdi literature in this
+country."&mdash;<i>Manchester Courier.</i></p>
+
+<p>"An excellently-written and faithfully-compiled history of the rise
+and progress of a great composer, studded with gems of anecdote,
+and teeming with an appreciation that will find an echo in the
+heart of every lover of opera who reads it."&mdash;<i>Birmingham Gazette.</i></p></blockquote>
+
+<hr />
+
+<div class="center"><img src="images/logo.jpg" width='100' height='148' alt="logo" /></div>
+
+<hr />
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's A Desperate Voyage, by Edward Frederick Knight
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Desperate Voyage, by Edward Frederick Knight
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
+
+
+Title: A Desperate Voyage
+
+Author: Edward Frederick Knight
+
+Release Date: March 9, 2012 [EBook #39082]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A DESPERATE VOYAGE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Mark C. Orton, Martin Pettit and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+book was produced from scanned images of public domain
+material from the Google Print project.)
+
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+
+
+
+_MILNE'S EXPRESS SERIES_
+
+A DESPERATE VOYAGE
+
+[Illustration: Logo]
+
+
+_THE EXPRESS SERIES_
+
+_Uniform with this Volume_
+
+
+I. THE ROME EXPRESS
+
+BY
+
+MAJOR ARTHUR GRIFFITHS
+
+
+BY THE SAME AUTHOR
+
+II. A GIRL OF GRIT
+
+JOHN MILNE
+12 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON
+
+
+
+
+A DESPERATE VOYAGE
+
+BY
+
+E. F. KNIGHT
+
+AUTHOR OF "THE CRUISE OF THE FALCON"
+"WHERE THREE EMPIRES MEET"
+ETC. ETC.
+
+JOHN MILNE
+12 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON
+1898
+
+
+_All Rights Reserved_
+
+
+A DESPERATE VOYAGE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+In Carey Street, Chancery Lane, on the ground floor of a huge block of
+new buildings facing the Law Courts, were the offices of Messrs. Peters
+and Carew, solicitors and perpetual commissioners of oaths. Such was the
+title of the firm as inscribed on the side of the entrance door in the
+middle of a long list of other names of solicitors, architects, and
+companies, whose offices were within. But the firm was now represented
+by Mr. Carew alone; for the senior partner, a steady-going old
+gentleman, who had made the business what it was, had been despatched by
+an attack of gout, two years back, to a land where there is no
+litigation.
+
+Late one August evening Mr. Henry Carew entered his office. His face was
+white and haggard, and he muttered to himself as he passed the door. He
+had all the appearance of a man who has been drinking heavily to drown
+some terrible worry. His clerks had gone; he went into his own private
+room and locked the door. He lit the gas, brought a pile of papers and
+letters out of a drawer, and, sitting down by the table, commenced to
+peruse them. As he did so, the lines about his face seemed to deepen,
+and beads of perspiration started to his forehead. It was for him an
+hour of agony. His sins had found him out, and the day of reckoning had
+arrived.
+
+One might have taken Henry Carew for a sailor, but he was very unlike
+the typical solicitor. He was a big, hearty man of thirty-five, with all
+a sailor's bluff manner and generous ways. His friends called him Honest
+Hal, and said that he was one of the best fellows that ever lived. We
+have it on the authority of that immortal adventuress, Becky Sharp, that
+it is easy to be virtuous on five thousand a year. Had Mr. Carew enjoyed
+such an income, he would most probably have lived a blameless life and
+have acquired an estimable reputation; for he had no instinctive liking
+for crime; on the contrary, he loathed it.
+
+But one slight moral flaw in a man's nature--so slight that his best
+friends smile tolerantly at it--may, by force of circumstance, lead
+ultimately to his complete moral ruin. It is an old story, and has been
+the text of many a sermon. The trifling fault is often the germ of
+terrible crimes.
+
+Carew's fault was one that is always easily condoned, so nearly akin is
+it to a virtue; these respectably connected vices are ever the most
+dangerous, like well-born swindlers. Carew was a spendthrift. He was
+ostentatiously extravagant in many directions. He owned a smart
+schooner, which he navigated himself, being an excellent sailor, and the
+quantities of champagne consumed by his friends on board this vessel
+were prodigious.
+
+When his steady old partner died, Carew began to neglect the business
+for his pleasures. Soon his income was insufficient to meet his
+expenses. Speculation on the Stock Exchange seemed to him to be a
+quicker road to fortune than a slow-going profession. So this man,
+morally weak though physically brave, not having the courage to curtail
+his extravagances, hurried blindly to his destruction. He gambled and
+lost all his own property; for ill-luck ever pursued him. Even then it
+was not too late to redeem his position. But he was too great a coward
+to look his difficulties in the face; therefore, having the temptation
+to commit so terribly easy a crime ever before him in his office, he
+began--first, timidly, to a small extent; then wildly, in panic, in
+order to retrieve his losses--to speculate with the moneys entrusted to
+him by his clients. He pawned their securities; he forged their names;
+he plunged ever deeper into crime--and all in vain.
+
+When it was too late, he swore to himself, in the torments of his
+remorse, that if he could but once win back sufficient to replace the
+sums he had stolen, he would cut down all his expenses, forswear
+gambling and dishonesty, and stick to his profession.
+
+At last it came to this. He sold his yacht and everything else he
+possessed of value. He realised what remained of the securities under
+his charge, and then placed the entire sum as cover on a certain stock,
+the price of which, he was told, was certain to rise. It was the
+gambler's last despairing throw of the dice. The stock suddenly fell;
+settling day arrived, and his cover was swept away--he had lost all!
+
+So he sat in his office this night and faced the situation in an agony
+of spirit that was more than fear. For this was no unscrupulous,
+light-hearted villain. An accusing conscience was ever with him, and
+every fresh descent in crime meant for him a worse present hell of
+mental torture.
+
+He felt that it was idle to hope now, even for a short reprieve. Clients
+were suspicious. In a day or two at most all must be known. Disgrace and
+a felon's doom were staring him in the face. It would be impossible for
+him to raise even sufficient funds to escape from England to some
+country where extradition treaties were unknown. Carew realised all
+this. He had forced himself to look through his papers and discover the
+total of his liabilities. It was a sum he could by no effort refund.
+
+He laughed aloud--a savage, discordant laugh, as might be that of some
+lost soul.
+
+"Yes, it is all over," he thought; "I throw up the cards. But I will not
+endure the disgrace of a public trial, the ignominy of a convict's life;
+and after that to come out of jail with my soul eaten out by long years
+of penal servitude, with the brand of a felon on my name. Oh no--not
+that! After all, a man has always one last privilege left him; he holds
+in his own hands the power of terminating his own miserable existence.
+Yes; I will kill myself, and have done with it all!"
+
+In the contemplation of suicide he became calmer. Now that he had
+determined on death, his terrible anxiety left him, and the heroism of
+despair supported him.
+
+"I feel a peace of mind at this moment such as has not come to me for
+many wretched months," he said to himself. "There is almost a pleasure
+in knowing that one has got to the bottom of one's cup of suffering,
+that there can be nothing worse to come."
+
+He meditated quietly for some time as to how he should take away his
+life. At last he came to a decision, and a strange smile lit up his
+face. "Yes, that is an admirable plan; now for the means of carrying it
+out. First, I must have a sovereign or so. I can pawn my watch. Now for
+the ballast." He glanced round the room. "Yes, that will do." He rose
+and collected several heavy leaden paperweights from the different desks
+in the offices and put them into his pockets. "That will be sufficient.
+Now I will go to Brighton. It is a glorious evening. I will smell the
+sea-air once more. I will have a last dinner at an hotel; and then at
+night, when the tide is high, I will throw myself off the pier; this
+weight of lead will keep me down. And the next morning my creditors may
+seize my body: they are welcome to it."
+
+At that moment a loud knock came at the outer door. He turned pale and
+nearly fainted at the sound. Was he to be balked of those last few hours
+of freedom which he had promised himself? Were these the officers of
+justice who had come to apprehend him? Once more the dew of agony burst
+out on his brow; he groaned aloud; then, summoning resolution, the
+desperate man approached the door.
+
+But it was only the postman, after all. "Idiot that I am not to have
+known the knock! but my brain swims to-night. A letter for me. What is
+this?"
+
+He read the letter slowly through; then he put his hand to his forehead.
+A revulsion of feeling had suddenly come to him that confused and
+stunned him. "Oh, merciful Heaven!" he said, "is this but a cruel trick
+of Fortune to tempt me with a vain hope? I had quite reconciled myself
+to death--and now this comes. Perhaps it is but a short reprieve, and
+its price will be all that agonising suspense again. No, let me die; and
+yet"--he glanced at the letter again--"surely I have here a means of
+escape. If I can but collect my scattered wits and recover my cunning, I
+can save myself. I can live, but it will mean crime again--always crime!
+Oh, is it worth it?"
+
+After a painful mental struggle, he came to a determination. "Yes, I
+will live," he said.
+
+The letter was as follows:--
+
+     "DEAR CAREW,--You have often promised to cruise with me in my boat.
+     I am off to-morrow for Holland. Can you join me? Come and look me
+     up to-night, and arrange it all.--Yours sincerely,
+
+     "ARTHUR ALLEN."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+
+Arthur Allen, barrister-at-law, was of about the same age as his friend
+Carew; a man possessed of private means sufficient for his needs, into
+whose chambers so few briefs found their way that he had for some years
+dispensed with the services of a clerk. But, as one would have surmised
+after glancing at the strong, intelligent face, he was a man by no means
+lacking in energy, and not of idle disposition: as a matter of fact, a
+scholar, and one who had taken high honours at his university, he still
+maintained his studious habits, and, having practically abandoned a
+profession that was uncongenial to him, he devoted himself to literary
+pursuits; and his thoughtful articles in the reviews and in the
+newspaper to which he was attached brought him in no insignificant
+addition to his income.
+
+No mere bookworm, he had been an athlete in his youth; but now his one
+outdoor form of amusement was the sailing of his little yacht, on which,
+always acting as his own skipper, he had taken many a delightful cruise
+in home and distant waters. He was an enthusiastic lover of the sea.
+This was the one taste he had in common with Carew. It was at some yacht
+club, of which they were both members, that they had become acquainted.
+
+It was a lovely August evening. The windows of Allen's bachelor chambers
+in the Temple were open, and through them could be seen that fair oasis
+of London's desert of bricks and mortar, Fountain Court, with its
+stately buildings, ancient trees, and quiet garden with splashing
+fountains in its midst. Nor was the view confined; for, beyond the
+chapel and the green, could be perceived the broad, gleaming Thames, and
+the distant Surrey shore, glorified by a faint mist; a peaceful,
+old-world spot, with a contemplative air about it, for it is haunted by
+the memories of much departed greatness. Allen was reclining in a
+comfortable arm-chair, drawn up to the open window, in whose recesses
+geraniums bloomed, their vivid blossoms occasionally shaking beneath the
+breath of the soft south wind that had come directly from the cool
+river.
+
+He smoked his pipe as he looked out upon the sweet sunset scene, his
+mind happily occupied in planning his coming cruise, when his
+meditations were interrupted by a knock at the outer door. He rose to
+admit his visitor, opened the door, and there stood before him Henry
+Carew in serge suit and yachting cap, a small Gladstone bag in his hand.
+
+"Hallo, Carew, old man! you have not been long replying to my letter. I
+was afraid you would have left the office before it reached you. Come
+in."
+
+"Are you alone?" inquired Carew, in a low voice.
+
+"Yes, quite alone. I am smoking a pipe of peace by myself. You have just
+come at the right time."
+
+They entered the room, and then, as the light of the sunset fell upon
+the solicitor's face, Allen perceived its haggard expression.
+
+"How queer you look, Carew!" he exclaimed. "Are you ill?"
+
+"Ill--no, not at all; but worried--worried almost out of my life,"
+replied Carew wildly, throwing himself into a chair, and putting his
+face between his hands.
+
+Allen sat in a chair opposite to him, refilled and lit his pipe, and, as
+he smoked, gazed at his friend with feelings of perplexed compassion.
+
+"Have a pipe, old fellow; there is nothing like a pipe for worry."
+
+"A pipe?" cried Carew, with contemptuous bitterness. "No; but have you
+some brandy? Give me some brandy."
+
+"Certainly, Carew," and the barrister produced a spirit-case, some
+glasses, and water.
+
+Carew poured a quantity of spirit into a glass and drank it neat. He
+was usually a temperate man.
+
+"That is not the way to clear one's brain for confronting one's
+troubles," remarked Allen.
+
+"No, you are right. It is foolish of me. Allen, I have come to say that
+I shall be very glad to accompany you on your cruise."
+
+"I am delighted to hear that. A good blow in the North Sea will do you
+good, if your mind is so upset."
+
+"Allen," said Carew, pulling himself together and speaking with more
+self-possession, "I wish I could speak to you of the business that is
+troubling me, but I am not at liberty to do so. It concerns others."
+
+"I don't want to know anything about it, old man; but I am sure you will
+soon get out of your trouble, whatever it is. With an easy conscience no
+man is miserable for long. And now that I have secured you as a hand, I
+have a sufficient crew. So we will start to-morrow morning. Will you be
+ready by then?"
+
+"I am ready now. You see I have brought my baggage with me."
+
+"Then, as we have to catch an early train to-morrow, you had better
+sleep to-night in my chambers; I can put you up. Our destination is the
+Dutch coast, old man, and we should have a jolly time of it. You have
+not yet seen my new boat, the _Petrel_--a yawl of twenty-eight tons,
+yacht measurement; a splendid sea-boat. I would go anywhere in her. She
+is now lying off Erith."
+
+Carew had been listening attentively. "What crew do you carry?" he
+asked.
+
+"Ah, let me tell you that you will have lots of work to do. We shall be
+but three all told. I have shipped one hand only--Jim, the fisherman,
+who was with me last year. Another friend was coming with me, but he has
+disappointed me."
+
+"For how long will you be away?"
+
+"About a fortnight. I have been a bit fagged of late, and want a
+holiday. I only made up my mind to take this cruise this afternoon. Not
+a soul but yourself knows we are going."
+
+On hearing this a sigh of relief escaped Carew. Yes, if he were once on
+board the yacht all trace of him would be lost. He felt almost jubilant
+as he thought of it; the recent acute tension of his mind had left a
+sort of hysterical weakness behind, and he alternated easily between
+exultant hope and profoundest despair.
+
+He reflected that if he could but contrive to reach Erith without being
+observed by any who knew him, he was safe, at anyrate for some time. But
+how to do so? It was possible that even already detectives had been set
+to watch his movements. He must take his chance of that, use all his
+wits, and incur no risk that could be avoided. Fearing to show himself
+in the streets, more especially in the Strand or Fleet Street, where so
+many would know him by sight at least, he suggested to Allen that they
+should send to a neighbouring chop-house for their dinners, and remain
+quietly in the chambers, instead of dining, as was their wont, at a
+club. The barrister agreed to this, and therefore had no opportunity
+that night of meeting any of his friends, and he communicated to no one
+his intention of sailing on the morrow. He merely left a note for his
+housekeeper on his table, informing her that he would be out of town for
+a fortnight, and that his letters were not to be forwarded.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+At an early hour on the following morning a cab was brought round to the
+door of the barrister's chambers, and the two friends drove off to
+Charing Cross Station, arriving there but a few minutes before their
+train started. The chances of anyone who knew him recognising Carew on
+the way were thus reduced to a minimum. At Erith Allen's man, Jim, was
+awaiting them with the dinghy. He was a very broad-shouldered,
+florid-faced man of forty, with a protuberance in one cheek indicating
+the presence of a quid. He looked exactly what he was--a hardy,
+North-Sea smackman.
+
+Jim pulled them off to the yacht, and when the solicitor, who was
+thoroughly at home on a boat, a keen lover of the sea, with yachting as
+his one innocent pleasure, stood on the white deck, and, looking around,
+saw how glorious was that summer's day, beheld the river sparkling in
+the sunshine, thronged with stately ships and picturesque barges tacking
+up with the flood against the soft south-west wind, a delightful sense
+of freedom rushed upon him.
+
+Oh, what a thing it was to have left behind him that accursed city, with
+its weariness, its anxieties, the endless jangles of the law, the
+feverish play, the guilt, the terrible dread of detection--to have left
+it for ever!
+
+"Now, Jim, off we go!" cried the skipper. The dinghy was lifted on
+board, the mainsail was hoisted, then the jib; the moorings were slipt,
+up went the foresail, and the yacht shot out into the stream; then,
+obedient to her rudder, bore away, and tore down the river before the
+freshening breeze on the top of the strong ebb tide. Needless it is to
+describe that pleasant summer day's sail. Allen was in the highest
+spirits, and for him the happy hours flew rapidly by. Even Carew,
+intoxicated with the pure air and sunshine, and the delightful sight of
+dancing waters, forgot his sin and misery, and felt almost light-hearted
+for the first time for months; and at last, when the yacht reached the
+broader water, thinking over his position, he gave a sigh of infinite
+relief. Now, indeed, he was safe. No fugitive had ever left so little
+trace behind him.
+
+They were well outside the Thames, in the East Swin Channel, before
+dark. The sun set in a golden haze, ominous of storm on the morrow, and
+then the wind dropped. The yacht sailed very slowly down the English
+coast during the night, the three men taking it in turn to steer and
+sleep. At sunrise they were off the Naze, and the sky looked so stormy
+and the glass fell so rapidly that there was some discussion as to
+whether it would not be well to put in to Harwich. But Carew was so
+earnestly opposed to this that the owner decided to push on, and the
+vessel's head was turned seaward towards the mouth of the Maas. The
+English coast loomed less and less distinct; but so light was the wind
+that it was not till midday that they lost all sight of the land. Then
+the wind began to pipe up suddenly, and seeing nothing but stormy clouds
+and heaving water around him, Carew's spirits rose wonderfully; a
+reaction of wild gaiety succeeded his anxiety.
+
+At four it was blowing so hard that they took two reefs in the mainsail
+and shifted jibs. Shortly before sunset, Carew was taking his turn at
+the tiller; the others were below. After a while the motion of the yacht
+became so violent that the owner came on deck to have a look round.
+
+"The wind has freshened a lot this last half-hour, and there's a nasty
+sea getting up," he said. "It will be blowing a gale of wind before the
+morning. Well, we have a good craft under our feet."
+
+"She steers wonderfully easily," replied the solicitor. "She's a
+beautiful boat. I would not mind crossing the Atlantic in her."
+
+"I should think not," said the proud owner. "But look at that vessel
+across your lee-bow, Carew. What the dickens are they up to on board of
+her? She's yawing all over the place. First I thought she was on the
+port-tack; then she seemed as if she was in stays; and now--ah, I see
+it--she is hove-to."
+
+"She is a small brig," said Carew. "Get the glasses up and see what you
+can make of her."
+
+Allen dived below, brought up the binoculars, and scanned the vessel.
+"By Jove!" he cried, "she's in a nice mess. Her bowsprit is carried
+away, her foretopmast too, and her jib's streaming away like a flag.
+Hallo! and part of her stem and bulwarks have gone."
+
+"Collision." It was Jim's voice. He had just come on deck, and his quick
+eye at once realised the brig's mishap. Then he looked at her intently
+for some moments, and spoke again, in eager tones for him--
+
+"Derelict."
+
+"So she is," cried Allen. "We'll get out the boat and board her. Do you
+think the sea is too high, Jim?"
+
+Jim said nothing. He was quite ready to risk his life in a cockle-shell
+in a heavy sea, as all fishermen of the Doggerbank must be. He was not
+the man to refuse to do what his employer wished, unless the danger were
+very great indeed. He looked round at the sea, then nodded his head
+affirmatively.
+
+"I don't think it's safe," said Carew. "In the first place, see how low
+that brig is in the water; she may go down at any moment, and the sea is
+very tricky to-day. I grant you it does not seem so very rough just now,
+but every half-hour or so there have been some rather dangerous rollers.
+One passed by us just before you came on deck."
+
+But Allen's spirit of adventure was up. "Oh, nonsense!" he cried; "I'm
+going to see what she is. She may be worth standing by for salvage. Run
+down a bit nearer to her--that's it. Now let's heave-to--so. Now
+overboard with the dinghy, Jim. You stay behind and mind the yacht,
+Carew."
+
+Jim and Allen waited for a "smooth," seized the dinghy, dexterously
+launched her, and leaping in nimbly, pulled away from the yacht--a feat
+that looks easy on paper, but requires nerve and skill to perform in a
+heavy sea.
+
+"If you drift away too far, let draw your jib and sail up to us,"
+shouted Allen, as he went away.
+
+Carew stood on the deck of the yacht, which now rose and fell on the
+seas with the easy motion of a vessel that is hove-to, and watched the
+tiny boat, so frail and yet so buoyant, so far safer than she seemed, as
+she leapt from wave to wave.
+
+The dinghy was close to the brig. In another moment the men would have
+boarded her, when Carew perceived, to his horror, a huge roller coming
+up--a steep mass of water, with overhanging, breaking crest, such as are
+met with on the edge of shallows. It reached the yacht and hurled her
+high up; then dropped her again into the trough of the sea with a shock
+almost as violent as if she had struck a rock. The giant wave thundered
+by the sturdy little vessel without injuring her. But the dinghy--where
+was she?
+
+Carew strained his eyes in her direction. First the boat was hidden from
+him by the intervening wave; then he saw her for a moment floating on
+the top of a sea, some forty yards away, bottom up. He thought, too, he
+could distinguish a man's head in the water near her. The derelict had
+disappeared. Waterlogged as she was, it had only needed that last great
+sea to send her down bodily.
+
+But all this while his two companions were drowning. Why did Carew stand
+there idle? He was sailor enough to know his duty. He could have sailed
+the yacht close to the men, thrown a life-buoy to them, and have
+possibly succeeded in dragging them on board. He stood on the deck, as
+if dazed. Had he lost his head for a time? He only hesitated for two or
+three seconds, but they were invaluable--then it was too late!
+
+A sudden squall of wind and rain swept down upon the sea, and all was
+obscured in a whirling smoke of spray and vapour. It was impossible to
+see even a few yards through it; and when the squall had passed, there
+were no men and no dinghy to be seen.
+
+The dark and stormy night settled down upon the waters, and Henry Carew
+was left alone in the middle of the North Sea!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+
+"Am I a murderer?"
+
+So asked of his conscience, in fear and trembling, Henry Carew, as he
+stood alone upon the deck of the labouring vessel, surrounded by a waste
+of tumultuous waters.
+
+"Not a murderer!" he cried aloud. "Oh no, not that!"
+
+Then he argued with himself. "Had I done all that a man could, I think I
+should have been unable to save them. True, I lost my presence of mind.
+I did not stir a hand to help them; but that is not murder. Poor Allen!
+poor Allen! But no; this is a morbid fancy. At least I am innocent of
+that crime."
+
+He looked round at the wild sea, invisible on that starless night save
+for the white foam that hissed on the tops of the waves.
+
+"And now to make the best of my position. How fortune has turned! I, who
+two days back was surrounded by dangers, have nothing to fear now."
+
+Then he broke into a wild laugh, not of merriment or exultation, but a
+sort of hysterical effervescence that came of a mind that had long been
+tasked beyond its strength by violent emotions.
+
+But he fully realised what a great advantage the loss of his two
+companions signified for him. Yes, even at that moment when he beheld
+them drowning before him, the profit their death would bring him had
+flashed across his brain. Little wonder that he asked his conscience
+that terrible question, "Am I a murderer?"
+
+How simple his course seemed now! It needed little thought to decide on
+it. He knew that Allen was accustomed to undertake long cruises, and
+therefore would not be missed for some time. Again, the barrister was
+somewhat careless in his correspondence; so the fact of his neglecting
+to write to his friends would surprise and alarm no one. How easy, then,
+for Carew to impersonate him! He would sail the yacht into some Dutch
+port--no very difficult task; and once there, he could rely on his wits
+to make the most of the opportunities chance should throw in his way.
+Most probably he would sell the yacht and take a passage on some vessel
+bound for a South American harbour. Like most educated fugitives from
+justice, he turned to the Argentine Republic as being the safest of
+sanctuaries.
+
+Carew's eyes, accustomed to observe the signs of the weather, told him
+that the wind was likely to freshen; so he set about making himself as
+comfortable as possible for the night. He lowered the foresail, and
+still further reduced the mainsail by tricing up the tack. Then, with
+jib-sheet hauled to windward and tiller lashed, the yacht lay hove-to.
+After watching her for a few minutes, Carew saw that she was behaving
+admirably, and that he could with safety stay below the whole night if
+he chose, and leave the little vessel to take care of herself.
+
+"It will have to blow a good deal harder to hurt her," he thought; "it's
+only collision I have to be afraid of now. Well, I can considerably
+lessen the chances of that."
+
+So he went below, found the side-lamps, lit them, and fastened them to
+the shrouds.
+
+So dark had become the night that nothing could be distinguished from
+the yacht's deck, save when, as she rolled from side to side, the port
+and starboard lights cast an alternate ruddy and sickly green glare on
+the foaming water. To be out in the North Sea on so small a craft during
+a gale is terrifying in the extreme to one not inured to the sea; the
+roaring of the waves and the howling of the wind sound so much louder
+than on a larger vessel, and the quick, violent motion often confuses
+the brains even of sailors if they are accustomed only to big ships. But
+Carew was, as Allen had said, a smart man on a fore-an-after. He felt
+that, with this good boat under him, he was as safe as if he had been
+on shore.
+
+"She's snug enough," he said. "I'll go below and try to make out from
+the chart where I am; then I'll turn in and sleep--if I can."
+
+He looked at the chart, roughly calculated the distance the yacht had
+run since Allen had taken his "departure" from the Naze, and found that
+he was about half-way between the English and Dutch coasts. "That is
+good," he thought; "I have no lee-shore near me; I have plenty of room.
+I'll just stay where I am, hove-to, till the wind moderates, then make
+sail for Rotterdam."
+
+He lay down in his bunk and tried to sleep, but all in vain. His brain
+was too excited with thoughts of what had passed and what was still to
+happen. Plans to secure his safety, and visions of possible accidents,
+passed through his mind, weaving themselves in delirious manner into
+long and complicated histories of his future life--some happy, some
+terrible with retributive calamity. Unable to stay the feverish activity
+of his brain, he came on deck at frequent intervals to see that all was
+well.
+
+The vessel plunged and rolled throughout the night, her timbers
+groaning, and the wind shrieking through her rigging. But towards
+daybreak the gale began to moderate, and the glass rose slowly. Carew
+saw that the bad weather was over and that the heavy sea would soon
+subside. On the shallow German Ocean the sea rises quicker than
+elsewhere, and with its steep and breaking rollers is more perilous than
+can be experienced on any other of our home waters, as the fishermen of
+the Doggerbank know to their cost. On the other hand, here it soon
+becomes smooth again as the wind drops.
+
+An hour or so after dawn the sky was almost cloudless, and only a fresh
+breeze was blowing. The waves, no longer dangerous, broke into white
+foam that sparkled in the sunshine. It was a day to gladden a sailor's
+heart.
+
+Carew stood on deck, and under the joyous influences of that bright
+morning a calm fell on his soul, and his conscience ceased to trouble
+him. There is a sort of magnetic relation between a man and his
+surroundings. Out at sea, far away from land, with nothing but pure air
+and pure water near, even a great villain is wont to forget that he
+himself is not pure as well. In London, as he walked through the crowded
+streets, Carew knew that he was constantly jostling against men as bad
+as himself. In them he saw his own vices and crimes reflected as in a
+mirror, so that he could never put his guilt out of his mind. Again,
+fearful as he had been lately that those around him suspected him, he
+was unable to feel, even for one delusive moment, the sense of
+innocence.
+
+But out here on the great sea, so far removed from human passion, with
+nothing to remind him of his offences, it was, on the contrary,
+difficult for him to realise what manner of man he was. He was conscious
+of what he imagined were virtuous impulses. He began to flatter himself
+that he was naturally a good man, that he was more sinned against than
+sinning, and that it was foolish of him to allow a sensitive conscience
+to torment him about occurrences, regrettable indeed, but the blame of
+which was scarcely his. The fact was that he mistook the joyous feelings
+inspired by a sunny day at sea for the reawakening of his better self--a
+frequent mistake that. His soul was in complete harmony with the Nature
+around him; and Nature, whatever her actions, knows nothing of crime or
+remorse.
+
+So Henry Carew, in no unhappy frame of mind, began to consider what he
+should do next; and as he pondered, all his pluck and energy returned to
+him.
+
+"In an hour or so," he said to himself, "the sea will have gone down
+still more; then I can get the vessel under way again. In the meantime,
+I will make a thorough inspection, and discover what my resources are;
+for I must have money, or the means of raising it."
+
+He went below, and after lighting a fire in the stove to boil some water
+for coffee, he looked round the walls of the cabin. Among other
+valuables were a rifle, a revolver, a clock, and an aneroid; and Allen's
+gold watch and chain were hanging on a nail. "I can raise fifty pounds
+on these to begin with," he thought; "and now to see what there is in
+the lockers and cupboards." He rummaged everywhere; but, with the
+exception of the sextant, there was no article of any value that could
+be easily sold.
+
+At last, in a small drawer, he found the barrister's money and papers.
+There were about twenty-five pounds in gold. There was also a
+cheque-book; and on turning over its pages, Carew found that Allen had
+made a note of the balance to his credit on the counterfoil of the last
+cheque he had drawn, showing that he had the sum of fifty pounds at his
+bank. Then the solicitor glanced at the yacht's Admiralty warrant, which
+authorised Arthur Allen to fly the blue ensign of Her Majesty's fleet on
+his yacht, the _Petrel_, of sixteen tons register; a most valuable
+privilege, as Carew knew, which would serve him as passport into
+whatever foreign port he should go.
+
+He was not altogether satisfied with the result of his search, and, as
+he sat on the bunk sipping his coffee, the more he thought of his
+prospects the more gloomy they appeared to him. He felt that it would be
+very hazardous to attempt selling the yacht in Rotterdam. To do so would
+require time; and as it was the long vacation, and so many lawyers and
+others who knew him were taking their holidays, his recognition by
+someone in so favourite a haunt of tourists as the Dutch city would be a
+highly probable event. He dared not risk that. He must not stay in
+Holland a moment longer than was necessary. Then what could he do with
+so small a fund at his disposal?
+
+His eye fell on the open drawer, and he rose to close it. He happened
+then to notice the barrister's diary among the papers, and though he did
+not imagine that there could be anything in it of the slightest interest
+to himself, he took it up in a casual way and opened it at the first
+page. Suddenly the indifferent look vanished, he started visibly, and
+read with intense eagerness. "Oh!" he cried, "now it is all plain
+sailing for me. I know what to do." A triumphant light came into his
+eyes, and then, putting away the diary, he ran on deck, let the
+foresheet draw, and as he steered the vessel on her course over the
+dancing waves, the expression of his face indicated a happy confidence
+in the future; all doubt and fear had fled.
+
+The first page of the diary was devoted to memoranda; and, among other
+things, the barrister had here written a list of the investments from
+which he derived his income. The bulk of these consisted of foreign
+bonds and other easily negotiable securities, which Allen had deposited
+with his banker.
+
+It was the perusal of this list that had suggested to the quick and
+ingenious mind of the solicitor a scheme not difficult of execution, the
+very thought of which made his heart beat quick with anticipation. Carew
+shrank from the peril of forging cheques or letters of instructions to
+Allen's bankers; but now that he knew exactly how the barrister's
+account stood, a simpler and safer method of appropriating to himself a
+large proportion at least of the dead man's fortune occurred to him.
+
+Said this accomplished scoundrel to himself: "I have here a stout,
+seaworthy boat, that can easily take me across the Atlantic. I will ship
+a crew in Rotterdam, and sail for Buenos Ayres. By selling the watch and
+chain and one or two other little things I shall have enough money to
+buy stores and pay all other expenses of the voyage. Once in Buenos
+Ayres, I will go to the agent of the ---- Bank. There is sure to be one.
+I will show him my papers. I will prove to his satisfaction that I am
+Arthur Allen, barrister-at-law, owner of the yacht _Petrel_. I will
+explain that I have run short of money, and require a considerable sum
+at once. The agent will telegraph to the bank, learn that I have there
+securities to a large amount, and then he will be ready to advance to me
+as much as I want; and I will want a good deal. I will say that I am
+about to buy land, or tell some such plausible tale, get my money, and
+away. Oh, most excellent plan! Who on earth is likely to suspect that
+the yachting barrister is no other than Henry Carew, the defaulting
+solicitor?"
+
+He steered the vessel towards the Dutch coast, and soon the wind fell so
+much that he was able to shake out all his reefs.
+
+At ten he passed through a large fleet of fishing boats that were riding
+to their nets. He hailed an English smack, asking her skipper if he
+could tell him his position.
+
+"You'll get hold of the land in an hour or so," shouted the man; "and,
+as you are going now, you'll about fetch Goeree."
+
+Carew, after consulting the chart, steered in a more northerly
+direction. At midday he saw the loom of the land ahead of him; so, as
+the sky was clear, he brought up the sextant and took an observation of
+the sun, thus ascertaining his exact position.
+
+"Lucky it is that I taught myself navigation," he thought; "it will come
+in useful now."
+
+At last he could plainly distinguish the features of the coast, which
+was low and flat, with white sand-hills here and there that gleamed like
+snow in the sunshine.
+
+Then he saw a steeple, a lighthouse, and a group of cottages, with
+bright red roofs, and he knew that he was off the village of
+Scheveningen, which is a few miles to the north of the Maas. Sailing to
+the southward, he soon reached the mouth of the river, and at once some
+of the ever-watchful pilots pulled off to him in a small boat.
+
+Carew hove the yacht to, and waited for them. The boat was soon
+alongside. Four little old men, all fat and rosy, were in her. One who
+understood English well was the spokesman. Standing up in the stern he
+shouted--
+
+"Captain, you want pilot, sar?"
+
+"Yes; how much do you want to take me to Rotterdam?"
+
+Carew felt how necessary it was to husband his funds, and he suspected
+that Dutch pilots consider a yacht fair prey for extortion.
+
+The man named an exorbitant sum.
+
+"Nonsense! Too much. I'll sail her in myself."
+
+"Right, captain," replied the Dutchman calmly; "that better for me and
+my mates. You try and go in alone, you sure to run ashore. Then we help
+you off, and you give us plenty money for salvage instead of small
+pilot-fee."
+
+Carew felt that it might happen as the old man had said. The Maas is
+encumbered with shoals, and the navigation is difficult for a stranger.
+
+"Now, how much you give me, captain?"
+
+The solicitor mentioned a moderate sum.
+
+"Ah, you rich man with yacht to be hard on poor pilot! Now, I pilot you
+for the middle price."
+
+"Come on board, then," said Carew.
+
+The pilot leapt on to the yacht's deck, and the other three pulled away
+in their boat.
+
+"Now, captain. Tide in river running strong, wind is light; so we want
+all sail, or else we no move. Call up your hands and hoist topsail."
+
+"There are no hands below. I am alone," replied Carew.
+
+"Alone? What do you mean? You come from England all alone?" exclaimed
+the man in great astonishment.
+
+"Yes; my crew got drunk and were insolent just before I sailed. They
+thought I could not do without them, and they knew I was in a hurry. But
+I put them all on shore without hesitation, and I have come across
+alone."
+
+"You a very mad Englishman, but you a brave man. I never hear anything
+like that."
+
+"Pilot," said Carew, later on, as they were sailing up the river, "I
+don't want to be followed about Rotterdam as if I were a curiosity; so I
+should like you not to mention the fact of my having sailed across the
+sea alone."
+
+"All right, captain; my mouth close."
+
+"I shall want a crew of two or three good, honest Dutchmen, pilot. Can
+you recommend me any men?"
+
+"This very night you shall have one--my cousin Willem--a very good boy,
+captain."
+
+"And there is another thing, pilot. What sort of a berth are you going
+to put me in in Rotterdam?"
+
+"I will moor you along the Boompjees; nice quays them. Plenty good
+Schiedam shops on shore there. All yachts go there."
+
+"I thought so; that's why I asked. Now, pilot, I do not want to be
+moored along the Boompjees. Take me to some quiet canal, out of the way;
+you understand--a place where no yachts or foreign vessels go."
+
+"Ah, I know, captain, just the place: nothing but Holland schuyts there;
+no yachts like it, no captains like it; I not think you will like it."
+
+"I will go there. But why don't you think I shall like it?"
+
+"You no have Dutch nose; and that canal plenty smellful, captain."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+
+A narrow canal that pierces an out-of-the-way corner of old Rotterdam.
+Mediaeval houses--narrow, lofty, terminating in quaint, pointed
+gables--overhang the sluggish waters. It is only frequented by the
+picturesque native canal boats, with their lofty masts and varnished oak
+sides, so marvellously clean, for all their dirty work. In this quiet
+spot, with its old-world, decaying look, it is difficult to realise that
+close at hand are the busy quays of the Boompjees, crowded with vessels
+from all parts of the world, noisy with the haste of modern commerce.
+
+It is a bit of Rotterdam that does not change. The British tourist,
+unless he has lost himself, never explores the narrow alleys that lead
+down to the slimy water--a gloomy, dead quarter of the city, pervaded by
+a smell that is ancient and fish-like and something worse.
+
+It was a sultry August midday. No breath of air stirred the water of the
+canal, which seemed to be fermenting under the fierce sunshine, and foul
+gases bubbled up on its surface.
+
+Only one of the many vessels moored along the quay flew a foreign flag.
+The blue ensign of Great Britain hung motionless from the mizzen of the
+yacht _Petrel_.
+
+On the deck was a sturdy little man in baggy trousers, who, despite the
+languid influence of the day, was employed in polishing the brass-work
+on the vessel with an extraordinary energy. This was Willem, the pilot's
+cousin, who had entered into Carew's service, and who had, with Dutch
+diligence, set himself the task of scrubbing the yacht up to his high
+standard of Dutch smartness as quickly as possible.
+
+The owner--by right of undisputed possession--was below, looking over
+some charts of the South Atlantic, which he had just purchased. The
+solicitor had been making all his preparations as rapidly but as quietly
+as possible. But little now remained to be done. So far, honest Willem
+was the only hand he had engaged; but he knew that he could easily ship
+as many men as he needed at a moment's notice in so large a seaport as
+Rotterdam. He told no one of his projected voyage across the Atlantic,
+knowing that to do so would at once attract attention to him; and he
+naturally dreaded that publicity should be given to his doings.
+
+He showed himself in the streets as little as possible, and he always
+went forth to make his purchases in the early morning before English
+tourists were likely to be out of their beds. He had only been in port
+two days, but he was almost ready for sea. He had some tanks fitted into
+the cabin, so that he could carry sufficient water for a long voyage; he
+had filled all the lockers and bunks with a large quantity of tinned
+meats, biscuits, and other necessary stores; he had procured his charts;
+and all this had been done in the least conspicuous manner possible.
+
+Though he had never before undertaken an ocean cruise of this magnitude,
+he knew what was requisite, and forgot nothing. There was no chronometer
+on board the yacht, and he could not afford to buy one; so, as his watch
+was not to be depended upon, he saw that he would have to navigate his
+vessel after the fashion of the good old days before chronometers were
+known. The ancient navigators carried with them their astrolabes--rough
+instruments, long since superseded by quadrants and sextants--which
+enabled them to find their latitude accurately enough. But having no
+timepieces, they were unable to ascertain their longitude by observation
+of the heavenly bodies, and had to rely on dead reckoning alone. So the
+mariner of old, after a long voyage across ocean currents of unknown
+speed and direction, was possibly many hundreds of miles out of his
+reckoning as regards longitude, though he knew his latitude to within a
+few miles.
+
+Thus, supposing, for instance, he was bound for Barbadoes, he would
+sail boldly on until, according to his calculations, he was some few
+days' journey to the eastward of his port. Then he would steer for the
+exact latitude in which it lay, and follow that line of latitude till he
+reached his destination; which he was, of course, bound to do sooner or
+later. Moreover, it was his invariable custom to heave his vessel to
+every night while running down the latitude; as otherwise he might pass
+by the island without seeing it in the darkness, and lose himself
+entirely.
+
+It was a slow method of navigation--not to say a risky one. But Carew
+would not have to encounter so many difficulties as the sailors of old;
+for ocean currents are better understood in these days, and the
+opportunities of speaking vessels at sea and ascertaining the exact
+longitude from them are very frequent.
+
+Carew had spent all the money he had found on board the yacht, and there
+were still some necessary purchases to be made. The most expensive of
+the articles yet to be bought was a dinghy, to replace the one that had
+been lost. This very morning he had found his way to the Mont de Piete
+and pawned everything he could well spare: Allen's watch and chain, the
+rifle, and one of the two binocular glasses. With that easy
+forgetfulness which was an attribute of his conscience, he had by this
+time almost come to believe that the barrister's yacht and fortune were
+rightfully his. The sum he thus raised was not a large one; but he
+calculated that it would enable him to meet every expense, though he
+would have to put to sea almost penniless, if not quite so.
+
+While Willem was still busy on deck a tall, good-looking gentleman, with
+an honest but shrewd eye and tawny beard, came along the quay and stood
+in front of the yacht, inspecting her critically for a few moments.
+
+"Is the owner on board?" he inquired of the sailor in Dutch.
+
+"The English captain is in his cabin, sir," replied the little man in a
+solemn, nasal drawl.
+
+"I should like to see him. Will you give him my card?"
+
+Willem, taking the card, descended to the cabin. "Von man here for see
+you, captain," he said in his broken English.
+
+Carew started. "A man to see me? What sort of man?" he asked.
+
+"Him a gentleman man, for him has von tall black hat. Here was his
+paper," and he handed Carew the card.
+
+The solicitor felt the blood forsake his heart. Some English
+acquaintance had found him out. He looked at the card with dread; then a
+sigh of relief escaped him; the name was certainly Dutch--Hoogendyk.
+
+Carew went on deck and politely invited his visitor to come on board.
+Mynheer Hoogendyk stepped down from the quay, and introduced himself in
+excellent English.
+
+"I am a resident of Rotterdam," he said, "and I am a leading member of
+our Yacht Club. I have come to inform you that, with your permission, we
+shall be highly delighted to make our English _confrere_ an honorary
+member of the club during his stay in our city."
+
+"I am very grateful to the club for the honour they confer upon me, and
+shall gladly avail myself of the privilege," replied the lawyer, who, as
+he spoke, made a resolve never to put his foot inside the club premises,
+but to ship his crew and sail from Rotterdam without delay. It was
+dangerous for him to stay longer, now that his retreat had been
+discovered.
+
+"I only heard of you by accident yesterday," said the visitor, who,
+unlike most of his countrymen, was garrulous and inquisitive, though a
+good fellow. "Why have you picked up a berth in this dirty,
+out-of-the-way hole?"
+
+"It is picturesque and quiet."
+
+"And filthy and unhealthy. We must move you to a better spot. There is a
+capital berth just in front of the English church. You'll see lots of
+your countrymen there. How many hands have you on board? I see you have
+shipped one Dutchman."
+
+"My two men were drunken ruffians, and I discharged them."
+
+"I will undertake to get you a good crew of my countrymen if you like. I
+suppose you are going to cruise about our coasts. Where are you going to
+from here?"
+
+"To Amsterdam," replied Carew, who was on tenterhooks of impatience. He
+felt how dangerous this man would be with his gossiping habits.
+
+"And now, sir," said Mynheer Hoogendyk, drawing out a pocket-book and
+pencil, "I will take your name and enter it on the club books."
+
+"Here is my card." Carew handed to him one of the barrister's cards.
+
+"'Mr. Arthur Allen, Fountain Court, Temple!'" read the visitor. "Ah, you
+live in the Temple! I know it well. Are you a lawyer by chance?"
+
+"I am a barrister."
+
+"Ah! How delightful! We are chips of the same block, Mr. Allen. I, too,
+am a barrister, in practice in Rotterdam. Both yachtsmen, both
+advocates, what a bond of friendship there should be between us! You
+must come and see my yacht--such a pretty little schuyt--and also our
+law courts."
+
+They sat together in the _Petrel's_ cabin, and the Dutch advocate
+commenced to question the solicitor on English law, comparing it with
+that in force in his own country. Carew was hugely bored and weary of
+his visitor's chatter, but did his best to be civil.
+
+"And, by the way," cried the Dutchman at last, "there is a trial now
+proceeding which I am sure would be of the greatest interest to you; for
+you say that the criminal law is your particular line."
+
+"What is it about?" asked the solicitor indifferently.
+
+"Piracy: the seizure of a vessel and the murder of her officers by the
+crew."
+
+All Carew's indifference vanished now. He let the cigar he was smoking
+drop from his fingers, and, turning his head, he looked at his visitor's
+face with a steady, fierce look, as of some wild beast that awaits the
+attack of another, and has strung all its nerves to resist its foe to
+the death. The Dutchman, whose eyes were directed downwards at that
+moment, did not observe that look.
+
+The slumbering conscience had been awakened again with a rude start by
+those words. For a moment Carew lost his head and fancied that this
+garrulous man was a police detective who knew everything and had been
+playing with his prisoner all this while. Then he looked at his
+visitor's face again, and felt reassured, realising the absurdity of
+such a supposition.
+
+The advocate, quite unconscious of the perturbation he had caused,
+continued--
+
+"Yes, it was a terrible story. Perhaps you remember reading in the
+papers some months ago of an act of piracy in the Spanish Main. A vessel
+trading from Curacoa under the Dutch flag was seized by her crew--a lot
+of Spanish and Mulatto cut-throats. They murdered the captain, the mate,
+and a few honest Dutch sailors who stood by their officers. Then the
+mutineers sailed for Puerto Cabello, where, as usual, there was a civil
+war, with the intention of selling the vessel to the revolutionary
+party, which was in need of transports. When they arrived there the
+revolution was over; the Government seized the vessel, but the ruffians
+contrived to escape up country."
+
+"I remember all that well," said Carew. "The story made a great noise at
+the time."
+
+"Now it happens," said the advocate, "that three of these ruffians
+shipped as sailors in a South American port on board of a vessel bound
+for Rotterdam. One day a Dutch sailor from Curacoa enters a drinking
+shop on the Boompjees, and sees, sitting down at a table over a bottle
+of schiedam, three men whom he recognises as part of the crew of the
+ill-fated _Vrouw Elisa_. He calls in the police, and now these gentlemen
+are being tried for their lives."
+
+"To be hanged if found guilty, I suppose?"
+
+"I hope so; but I am afraid that they will be acquitted. Everyone is
+morally sure of their guilt; but, unfortunately, the evidence for the
+prosecution has been so confused and contradictory that their identity
+has not been satisfactorily settled. The counsel for the defence is a
+very able fellow too."
+
+"What countrymen are they?" inquired Carew.
+
+"Two are Spaniards and one is a Frenchman. I think the Frenchman was the
+ringleader of the mutineers, for he looks a clever rascal. And now, Mr.
+Allen, the trial will probably conclude this afternoon. The court is
+very crowded, but I can get you in. Come along, and you will be able to
+compare the Dutch and English criminal procedure."
+
+Carew would have preferred to decline the invitation, but in ordinary
+politeness found it difficult to do so; and he accompanied the native
+lawyer--who undoubtedly possessed the gift of the gab, if no other
+qualifications for his profession--to the law courts.
+
+Carew felt anything but easy in his mind as he walked through the main
+streets of the town, at this hour of the day crowded with a motley
+throng, including not a few of his own countrymen, bent on pleasure or
+business. Pretending to listen to his companion's unceasing gossip, the
+solicitor looked anxiously about him as he went, fearing at each step to
+see some well-known face from Fleet Street. The glaring sunshine had
+rejoiced his soul when he was out on the lonely seas, but in the hives
+of his fellow-men he shrank from the all-searching light, and
+experienced guilt's instinct for safe obscurity.
+
+But he saw no one he knew on his way, and was much relieved when Mr.
+Hoogendyk procured for him, after some difficulty, a seat in a remote
+and dark corner of the court, where he could see and hear, himself
+unseen.
+
+Carew soon became so interested in watching the faces of the three men
+who were being tried for their lives that, in spite of the advocate's
+whispered suggestions on the subject, he paid no attention to the
+procedure, and did not endeavour to compare the Dutch and English legal
+systems. He took no interest in law now; he was indeed heartily sick of
+it, and hoped that he had washed his hands of it for ever.
+
+Of the three men only one had a really unprepossessing and murderous
+countenance. A murderer looks much like any other man, though people who
+take their ideas from waxwork shows think otherwise. That this should be
+so is obvious enough. A few only of murderers have homicidal
+proclivities as a part of their nature, and these indeed may betray
+their character in their physiognomy. All the other passions and vices
+of disposition can, under certain circumstances, compel the man who has
+the greatest horror of bloodshed to kill a fellow-being. In the large
+majority of cases, murder is not a tendency but the result of other
+tendencies.
+
+But one of the three prisoners had indeed a villainous appearance. He
+was a big, clumsily built Spaniard from the Basque countries, with a
+heavy, animal face and an evil mouth, indicative of the stupid cruelty
+of some savage beast.
+
+The other Spaniard was a short, stout man, with a jovial face and an
+enormous black moustache, which he twirled occasionally with a complete
+_nonchalance_. There was nothing of the murderer in his appearance.
+
+Neither of these two men exhibited any signs of fear. The first faced
+death with the dogged pluck of an animal, the second with a somewhat
+higher sort of courage.
+
+The third man alone, the Frenchman, showed that he was suffering the
+agonies of acute terror. The little Spaniard, observing this, nodded to
+him now and then, smiling maliciously, and the big man scowled at him
+with surly contempt. The Frenchman's face was quite white, and the
+perspiration poured down it in streams; his lips quivered, and, holding
+on to the rail of the dock with hands tightly clenched, he listened with
+intense attention to every word of judge or advocate.
+
+The features of this man, though distorted with fear, were delicate and
+refined. His handsome face was more like that of a Provencal gentleman
+than of a rough sailor. He was a well-knit man of about thirty, with the
+blue-black hair of the South. Over his fine and expressive eyes were
+bushy black brows, which almost met on his forehead, giving him a
+somewhat sinister appearance.
+
+Carew found himself taking a strange, morbid interest in watching these
+three faces. In some way he identified himself with the prisoners. Had
+not they committed a crime only in degree differing from his own? The
+day might come when he too would be tried for his life. He wondered
+whether he would then look like the dogged Basque, the cowardly
+Frenchman, or the other. He had always flattered himself that he did not
+fear death; but how difficult to know how he would face it until his
+time came!
+
+At last, amid complete silence, judgment was given. Carew could not
+understand the words, but he knew their import--
+
+"Not guilty!"
+
+The spectators groaned and hissed when they heard this decision. The
+Frenchman fell back fainting. The big Spaniard glanced boldly round the
+court with a ferocious scowl, and he made an involuntary motion with his
+right hand, as if he held his knife in it and was longing to rip up a
+few of his enemies. The little man smiled, and bowed pleasantly to the
+court, after the manner of an actor who is acknowledging his tribute of
+applause.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+
+The attorney and Carew left the court, the former volubly indignant at
+the miscarriage of justice, the latter moody and thoughtful.
+
+"And now," cried the Hollander, "here we are at the best cafe in
+Rotterdam. Come in, and let us wash out the taste of crime with some
+beer."
+
+They sat down at one of the little round tables, and two tall glasses
+foaming at the brim were placed before them.
+
+"They have all the English papers here," said the advocate. "I will ask
+the waiter to bring you one."
+
+Carew looked round the room, and suddenly his face paled, for he saw
+sitting at a table at some distance off a fellow-countryman, whom he
+recognised as a tobacconist in Fleet Street, a man who, no doubt, knew
+Carew's name and profession well, for the solicitor had often made
+purchases at his shop.
+
+Carew did not lose his presence of mind. The man was reading the
+_Times_, and had, in all probability, not yet observed him.
+
+"Mynheer Hoogendyk," he said, "I am sorry that I must leave you now. I
+hope you will excuse me. I have an engagement, and in your agreeable
+company I had forgotten all about it."
+
+"You flatter me, sir," replied the advocate with a bow. "I trust that
+you will honour me by dining with me to-morrow at eight, your English
+hour, I believe, for that repast. My wife speaks English well, and will
+be delighted to see you."
+
+"I accept your invitation with the greatest pleasure, mynheer."
+
+Then they rose to go, and Carew contrived to keep his lively companion
+between him and the man from Fleet Street as they walked out of the
+cafe.
+
+The solicitor felt ill at ease until he had left behind this bright and
+crowded portion of the city, and was once again in the region of the
+gloomy and malodorous slums where the yacht was lying.
+
+He saw how necessary it was that he should leave Rotterdam the next day
+if possible. It was no place for him. His recognition by some one or
+other must occur sooner or later if he stayed here. So, having dined in
+a dingy little hostelry on the quay opposite to the yacht, he visited
+some of the least-frequented streets, and purchased the few necessaries
+for the cruise which he had not already procured. He came across a
+fisherman on the canal who was willing to sell him a small, clumsy boat
+which could serve him as dinghy. After some bargaining in pantomime--for
+neither understood the other's tongue--Carew secured this for the sum of
+three pounds.
+
+Passing an apothecary's shop, it occurred to him that it would be well
+to take some of the more necessary medicines with him, seeing that he
+might be some months at sea without calling at any port. He entered the
+shop and proceeded to draw up a list of his requirements, to which, as
+an afterthought, he added some drugs in less common use.
+
+"These last are poisons," said the chemist in broken English. "I cannot
+supply you with these unless you are a doctor."
+
+Carew, with bold invention, explained that he was the captain of a
+vessel, and as such was the ship's doctor, and had a right to any drugs
+he might choose to ask for; and he produced his Admiralty warrant in
+proof of his statement.
+
+The man was puzzled, perused the warrant without understanding it, and
+at last, reluctantly waiving his scruples, gave the solicitor all that
+he required.
+
+His vessel was now completely fitted out; nothing was wanting but a
+crew, and here a difficulty presented itself. He felt that it was highly
+important that no one in Rotterdam should know that he was sailing for
+Buenos Ayres, else the report that so small a yacht was about to
+undertake so long a voyage would spread rapidly, and would soon appear
+in the English papers. He wished it to be supposed that he was merely
+taking a few weeks' cruise in Dutch waters.
+
+But then, how would his men take it were he only to divulge his
+destination to them when they were well out at sea? The probability was
+that they would refuse to obey his orders, and insist upon returning.
+Professional sailors are not fond of ocean voyages in tiny craft.
+
+Evidently his only plan was to prowl about the docks that night, select
+with care three likely-looking men for his purpose,--men without wives
+or ties of any sort,--bring them on board the yacht, offer them good
+pay, and at the last moment tell them where he was bound for. Then, if
+they still consented to accompany him, he would sail away at once,
+allowing them no opportunity of gossiping with their friends on shore.
+Willem, he knew, was not the man for him. The honest Dutchman must be
+discharged at once on some pretext or other.
+
+Carew sat on deck, pipe in mouth, meditating on these matters. He was
+alone on the yacht, for Willem had gone off on leave for a few hours to
+visit some of his relatives.
+
+The sun was setting into a bank of rosy vapour that promised a
+continuance of fine weather. The hot day was closing with a sultry eve.
+On that quiet canal, and on the narrow quay beneath the lofty houses,
+there was no sound or sign of life. It was almost as if he were in the
+midst of some dead and long since deserted city.
+
+But of a sudden the peacefulness of that mediaeval scene was rudely
+disturbed. First was heard a confused noise in the distance, as of angry
+human voices and the trampling of many wooden shoes. Louder, nearer was
+the sound, and then Carew perceived a man rush out upon the quay from a
+narrow alley, some hundred yards away, that led towards the principal
+docks. The man, who seemed frantic with terror, stood still for one
+brief moment, looked quickly around him, as if uncertain whither to
+hurry next: whether to plunge into the canal, or run along the quay to
+left or right.
+
+Then arose a loud yell of many voices behind him, as of hounds that at
+last have caught a view of the hunted creature; and the man, hearing it,
+darted off again at full speed along the canal bank in the direction of
+the yacht.
+
+Immediately afterwards there poured out of the alley a crowd of nearly a
+hundred men, women, and children, mostly of the lowest orders; denizens
+of the slums, though some were of a more respectable class; a crowd of
+Hollanders who had lost all their native phlegm for the nonce; a crowd
+gesticulating, howling, execrating, thirsting for the blood of the man
+they were pursuing; mad and fierce as a mob of Paris in revolutionary
+days when an aristocrat was scented by the sovereign people.
+
+The wretched man was hatless; his coat and half his shirt had been torn
+from his back; the blood was trickling down his face from the wounds on
+his head where the stones that had been hurled at him had hit.
+
+On he came, running wildly before them, his face livid, his mouth open,
+his teeth set, eyes starting from his head with mortal terror, panting
+as if his heart must burst, ready to fall with exhaustion, but still
+hurrying on for his dear life's sake.
+
+When he was close to the yacht his strength failed him; he stretched out
+his arms wildly, and staggered. With a yell of triumph the cruel crowd
+was on him. A man struck him over the head with a stick. Then, with one
+last despairing effort, he threw himself from the quay on to the yacht's
+deck, and fell a helpless mass at Carew's feet, clutching him by the
+legs, as if to implore his protection, but unable to speak or move.
+
+His pursuers stood on the quay above, muttering angrily to each other,
+but hesitated a moment or so before they ventured to board the yacht,
+each waiting for someone else to lead the way.
+
+Those few moments saved the hunted man.
+
+"Below there!" cried Carew, pointing to the cabin. "Quick, man, or you
+will be lost."
+
+Seeing that the poor wretch was too exhausted to rise by himself, he
+seized him by the arm, thrust him down the cabin hatchway, closed the
+cover over him, locked it, and put the key in his pocket. It was all
+done in a few seconds, and then the solicitor turned round and stood
+calmly facing the mob.
+
+The people had not realised at first that Carew was about to rob them of
+their victim. Now that they did so, a howl of rage burst from them, and
+some shouted to him, what were evidently commands to give the man up to
+them, and menaces of what they would do if he refused, though he could
+not understand the words.
+
+One man began to clamber down to the yacht; but Carew seized his leg and
+threw him on the quay again, not over-gently. "Silence!" the solicitor
+called out, leaping back on the hatchway; and the Dutchmen, impressed by
+the Englishman's resolute bearing, paused and listened to what he had to
+say.
+
+"Does anyone here understand English?" he asked.
+
+As might be expected from a crowd in a Dutch city, several men cried
+out, "Yes, Englishman; yes, we know English."
+
+"Then, what is all this disturbance about? Are you all mad?"
+
+"We want dat man," replied a surly voice.
+
+"You can't have him."
+
+"Den ve vill take him."
+
+"Oh, will you?" Carew drew from his pocket Allen's revolver, which he
+always carried about with him now. "Look you here, my friends; I don't
+want a row, but if any man tries to come on board my vessel without my
+permission I will shoot him."
+
+They were awed by the quiet determination of his manner, and felt that
+he would carry out his words.
+
+"Does you know who you has down dere below?" asked the man who had
+spoken before.
+
+"I don't know, and I don't care; but he is not going to be murdered by
+you cowards on board my vessel. If he has committed some crime, call the
+police. I will deliver him over to them only."
+
+The passions of the mob had now cooled down considerably, and the men
+began to light their pipes, and looked once more the staid Dutchmen they
+naturally were.
+
+At this juncture five or six of the sturdy Rotterdam police arrived on
+the spot, and commenced to disperse the crowd so effectually that in a
+few minutes not a soul was left on the quay.
+
+One of the policemen, who understood a little English, came on board the
+yacht and inquired from Carew how the disturbance had commenced.
+
+Carew told him all that had occurred.
+
+"I should like to see the man," said the officer.
+
+They entered the cabin, and there, sitting in the corner of the bunk,
+trembling, haggard, his face still quite white, save where it was
+smeared with blood, was the French sailor who had that day been tried
+for murder on the high seas, and been acquitted.
+
+"I thought so," said the policeman. "It is the accused, Baptiste Liais.
+His case caused great excitement. The people are very bitter against
+him, for they all believe he was guilty. He is not safe in Rotterdam. We
+must find a way of getting him out of the country."
+
+"You can leave him here for the present," said Carew. "I will see that
+the poor wretch is safe for the night."
+
+"It is very generous of you, sir," exclaimed the astonished policeman;
+"but I think it is very unwise of you"--
+
+"I am not afraid of him," interrupted Carew, in peremptory tones. "Leave
+him with me."
+
+The officer shrugged his shoulders. He had always been taught to believe
+that Englishmen were eccentric creatures; so he went away and told his
+comrades that the owner of the yacht was a splendid specimen of the mad
+island race, and Carew and the Frenchman were left alone in the cabin
+facing one another.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+
+For some few moments Carew sat on the opposite bunk, watching the
+sailor's face musingly. Then, rising, he addressed him in French. "I
+will fetch you a glass of rum. It will do you good."
+
+"I thank you much, sir," said the man, in the same language; "I should
+like it, for I still feel very faint."
+
+He drank a rather large dose of the spirit, and under its influence the
+colour quickly returned to his cheek, and the scared look left his face.
+
+"You can now go into the forecastle and wash yourself," said Carew. "You
+will find a jersey and a coat hanging up there; put them on." These had
+belonged to the drowned sailor, Jim.
+
+When the Frenchman returned to the cabin cleansed of bloodstains and
+decently clothed, the solicitor was surprised to see what a
+respectable-looking fellow he was. He might well have been a gentleman
+from his appearance, and his hands, though brown and roughened by work,
+were small and finely shaped.
+
+"How do you feel now?"
+
+"Thanks to you, sir, I am now quite myself again."
+
+After a pause, Carew said, with a smile, "I never before saw such abject
+terror in a man's face as there was in yours when you were running down
+the quay."
+
+"That bloodthirsty _canaille_ was enough to inspire terror. Ah, if I
+could but get hold of that man who hit me with the stick! It was
+horrible, to run down all those streets for life with that yelping pack
+after me. I had no chance with them, though I am a good runner; for so
+soon as the brutes wearied and lagged behind, fresh ones joined the
+crowd at every corner. Ah, monsieur, I think you would have exhibited as
+much terror yourself."
+
+"Not quite as much, I think," said Carew quietly.
+
+"Perhaps not, monsieur. I am brave enough in some ways--braver, perhaps,
+than you would be; but I have not that animal contempt for death that my
+comrade, El Toro, for instance, possesses. Delicate fibres suffer the
+most."
+
+"Then you are hardly a fit person to be a ringleader of mutineers.
+Murderers should have no nerves."
+
+Baptiste Liais was a very calm person when he was not in fear, and he
+had now entirely recovered his self-possession. He shrugged his
+shoulders, and replied carelessly, "There are assassins and assassins,
+monsieur. There is courage and courage. There is the blind bravery of
+the soldier, who, shrinking not from bloodshed, risks his life in
+battle; and there is the cool nerve of the educated man, who, in cold
+blood, removes with poison those who stand in his way. I suppose you
+allow that this last is also a species of courage?"
+
+"Is that your sort of courage?"
+
+The Frenchman shook his head in a deprecatory way, and exclaimed, in
+tones of playful remonstrance, as if he were only rebutting a charge of
+one of those offences which are tolerated, and even fashionable, "But,
+monsieur, monsieur! you speak of me as if I had been proved to be an
+assassin. You forget that I was acquitted."
+
+"You say that you are innocent?"
+
+"Certainly. I am sure that I am a very inoffensive fellow." The man
+spoke with the quiet ease of one gentleman to another. It was plain that
+he had been used to decent society at some period of his life.
+
+"Were you never on board the _Vrouw Elisa_?"
+
+"I had never heard of the vessel till they arrested me here."
+
+"And your companions, the two Spaniards?"
+
+"As innocent as I am myself--no more, no less. But I see that you have
+some of that excellent English tobacco on the table. Permit me to make
+myself a cigarette."
+
+"You are a cool fellow, Baptiste Liais. I can see that you are a man of
+education. You were not always a common sailor?"
+
+"Your perception flatters me. You have divined the truth," said the
+Frenchman, bowing. "I am a gentleman by birth and education. My family
+is one of the most ancient and respected of the Provencal aristocracy. I
+need not tell you that the name I now go by is an assumed one. And
+I--well I, to be candid, am the scapegrace of the family."
+
+He rolled himself up a cigarette, lit it, and, looking up, his eyes met
+those of Carew in the frankest way possible. And yet the solicitor had
+no doubt in his own mind that the man had committed the crimes imputed
+to him; and the Frenchman, on his part, did not imagine for a moment
+that Carew believed in his innocence.
+
+"I suppose you will now look out for another ship?" the solicitor said.
+
+"How can I do so in Rotterdam? My face is known here. I am
+execrated--hunted down. No captain would ship me, no crew serve with
+me."
+
+"Won't your consul assist you?"
+
+"I don't think so," replied the Frenchman drily.
+
+Neither spoke for some time; then Carew said, "I realise your position,
+and am sorry for you. Now supposing I were to ship you on board my
+yacht, I imagine that it would be a matter of indifference to you to
+what part of the world we sailed?"
+
+The Frenchman looked curiously and keenly at Carew out of the corners of
+his eyes. "I don't care a rap where I go to so long as I get out of this
+detestable Rotterdam," he replied.
+
+"And your friends--would they come too?"
+
+"Gladly. I will answer for them."
+
+"What sort of men are they?"
+
+"The little one, a Galician from Ferrol, is not at all a bad fellow, and
+he is an excellent sailor; but the big Basque is a savage brute--one of
+such is enough on a vessel. However, he can't do much harm by himself,
+unless he makes the rest of your crew discontented. Are they
+Englishmen?"
+
+"I am alone. I have discharged my crew; and there would only be you
+three and myself on board."
+
+"That would be a sufficient number to navigate this little ship. Do you
+really mean that you wish us to come with you?"
+
+"I do," replied Carew, after a slight hesitation; and the Frenchman eyed
+him with a not unnatural astonishment.
+
+The solicitor had rapidly surveyed the situation in all its bearings,
+and he had decided that it was his wisest and safest plan to engage
+these ruffians as his crew. Morally weak, acutely fearful of disgrace,
+and cowardly of conscience as he was, Carew had plenty of physical
+courage. He was not the least daunted by the idea of venturing across
+the wide ocean on a small yacht accompanied by these murderers.
+
+Here was a crew ready to sail with him at a moment's notice and ask no
+questions. He felt that he ran but very little risk, after all; for
+these ruffians would gain nothing by murdering him. Piracy, in the old
+sense of the term, is almost impossible in these days. These men by
+themselves could do nothing with the yacht; they could not take her into
+any civilised port and dispose of her; neither of them could impersonate
+an English barrister. The seizure of the _Vrouw Elisa_ was a very
+different matter; for the mutineers then knew that there was a
+revolutionary party ready to purchase the vessel they had stolen.
+
+Again, he would make them acquainted with the fact that he was taking no
+money with him on the yacht; and he would promise to pay them, on their
+arrival at Buenos Ayres, a considerably larger sum than sailors ever
+receive for such a voyage. Under these circumstances, it could not
+possibly be to their interest to do away with him. On the contrary, it
+would be to their manifest advantage to serve him faithfully. Unless the
+men were absolute idiots, they would see all this; and he knew that the
+Frenchman, at least, was far too intelligent a man to commit a senseless
+crime that could do him no good.
+
+So argued the solicitor; and there was yet another more subtle motive
+that urged him to engage these three men in preference to honest
+sailors--a motive of which he himself was only dimly conscious. When a
+man has a sentimental objection to being a villain, and yet is one, and
+has no intention of reforming, he likes his surroundings not to be of a
+sort to reproach him and remind him of his crimes. It is painful to him
+to associate with good men. He prefers to be in the company of the bad;
+in their presence he does not feel the shame of his wickedness. So this
+man, with his strangely complex mind and conflicting instincts, was glad
+to take unto himself men worse even than himself as his companions
+across the ocean.
+
+"And to what port did you say you were sailing?" asked the Frenchman.
+
+"I will not tell you that until we are out at sea."
+
+"Oh, very well," said the man, again casting a keen glance at Carew's
+face, and smiling, as one who should say, "Have you too your
+secret--have you too committed a crime? If so, there should at once be
+an agreeable bond of sympathy between us."
+
+"How soon do you sail, sir?" he asked.
+
+"If you are all on board to-night we will sail at daybreak. I am ready
+for sea. You need not trouble about getting an outfit, for I have plenty
+of clothes in the yacht for the lot of you." Carew was thinking of the
+effects of Allen and his man Jim.
+
+"Oh, that is excellent!" cried the Frenchman. "And, excuse me, sir; what
+pay will you give us?--not that I wish to chaffer with one who has come
+to my rescue in so generous a manner."
+
+"And I do not wish to stint you," replied Carew. "You, as mate, shall
+have seven pounds a month; your comrades five pounds a month each."
+
+"That will do very well; but I should like you not to let the others
+know that I am receiving a higher pay than they. They might be
+jealous--not to say dangerous," said the cunning fellow. "Ha! what is
+that?" The Frenchman started, gripped Carew by the arm, and his cheeks
+again became white with fear.
+
+There was a sound of footsteps on the deck, and the next moment the
+tub-shaped Willem entered the cabin. When he saw who was sitting
+opposite to his master he stood stock still, his jaw dropped, and an
+expression of extreme astonishment, which amounted to horror, settled on
+his stupid, honest face.
+
+"What is the matter with you, Willem?" asked Carew, knowing well what
+was about to happen. "This is the mate I have engaged for the yacht."
+
+"Dat--dat man!" cried the Dutchman, finding his voice with difficulty.
+"You know who dat man is?"
+
+"I do. He has just left the court-house. He was unjustly accused of
+murder, and has been found innocent."
+
+"Vat--you take dat man for mate! Oh, den I go--I go at vonce! I not stay
+on board vid dat man."
+
+The usually stolid Dutchman trembled with excitement, and his broad face
+was scarlet with indignation. After a few minutes, finding that Carew
+was obdurate and would insist on engaging the most loathed man in all
+Rotterdam as mate, Willem rolled up his scanty luggage into a bundle,
+demanded and received the few guilders that were owing to him, and
+hurried on shore, grumbling uncouth Dutch oaths to himself as he went.
+
+Then the Frenchman, who had been observing the scene with a cynical
+smile, laughed bitterly.
+
+"Had I been the fiend himself that fat idiot could not have been much
+more terrified at the sight of me. Ah, how they love me--these worthy
+people of Rotterdam!"
+
+For a moment there was a troubled look upon Carew's face. With his usual
+inconsistency he half regretted, when it was too late, that honest
+Willem had left him. It seemed to him that he had now broken the last
+tie between himself and the world of law-abiding men. He felt a vague
+sense of something lost to him for ever; as if his guardian angel,
+despairing of him, had forsaken him. But he quickly shook off the
+feeling as a foolish fancy, and turned his attention to the business he
+had on hand.
+
+"Now, Baptiste," he said, "we must find your two comrades. Do you know
+where they are?"
+
+"I think I can find them. Anticipating a separation, we arranged a
+rendezvous. But I dare not walk through the streets to look for them; I
+should be recognised and murdered."
+
+"Nonsense! we will soon disguise you. Shave off your moustache and put
+on a suit of clothes that I will lend you, and your own mother would not
+know you."
+
+The Frenchman obeyed these instructions, and was so satisfied with the
+change effected in his appearance by a hairless lip and a suit of poor
+Allen's clothes that he no longer hesitated to go forth in search of his
+two shipmates.
+
+Left alone, Carew pondered, with satisfaction, on his day's doings. All
+was going on well so far. "Lucky it is for me," he thought, "that there
+is an Admiralty warrant on the yacht. Provided with that useful
+document, I sail under the blue ensign of Her Majesty's fleet, and can
+do pretty well what I like. No authorities in any port will trouble me
+in the least. I can avoid the formality of taking my crew before the
+consul to sign articles, and I will dispense with a bill of health from
+this port. I may get quarantine for a few days in consequence of this
+last omission; but what is that to the peril of informing our consul
+here of my destination? And, by the bye, I am engaged to dine with
+Mynheer Hoogendyk to-morrow. I am afraid I shall keep him waiting, and
+over the spoiling dinner his cook will lose her temper; for by that time
+I ought to be well out in the North Sea."
+
+After about an hour's absence the Frenchman returned, accompanied by the
+two Spaniards. They entered the cabin, the little Galician all smiles,
+the big Basque awkward, vainly attempting not to scowl; but, do all he
+could, he still looked the brutal ruffian he was.
+
+"I have been very lucky," said Liais. "I soon found our lost lambs."
+
+"Have you explained my proposal to them?" Carew asked.
+
+"I have, and they are quite content with the pay you offer. They don't
+care a straw where you take them to, so long as it is not to a Spanish
+port. It seems that the lads are somewhat weary of their native land,
+and they tell me that they have some officious acquaintances among the
+Spanish police whom they would prefer not to meet."
+
+"I understand. I shall not call at any Spanish port; so they may set
+their minds at ease. And now I will inscribe your names in this book, if
+you please." He took Allen's diary out of the drawer. "First of all,
+there is Baptiste Liais, mate."
+
+"No; put me down plain Baptiste. My name is so well known now that I
+should like to leave half of it out."
+
+"Very well," said Carew, as he wrote. "And who is this big fellow?"
+
+"His name is Juan Silvas. But he, too, would rather be called by any
+other name, after the unpleasant publicity of the trial. His nickname
+among us is El Toro--the bull--because of his goggle eyes, his bull-like
+features and strength, and his blind, bovine rage. Put him down as Juan
+Toro."
+
+"Good; it is done. And what is the other man's name?"
+
+"Jose Rodez, known among his intimates as El Chico, or the little one."
+
+"Then, following your system, I will inscribe him as Jose Chico. Will
+that do?"
+
+"One name is as good as another," replied the Frenchman; "but oh, _mon
+capitaine_, this has been a somewhat trying day for us, and we are all
+very hungry."
+
+"There is plenty of food on board. I will show you where to find it.
+Give the lads some supper; then turn in, all of you. The tide is early,
+and we sail at daybreak."
+
+The next morning, just as the first slight murmuring sound arose from
+the big city, telling that the giant was awaking to its restless life,
+the canal lock was opened, and the yacht shot out into the tideway.
+
+Carew, who had taken mental notes of the navigation when sailing up the
+Maas, refused the assistance of a pilot, and took his vessel safely down
+the rapid river, across the shoals that encumber the estuary, and out
+into the open sea. The weather was splendid, and the wind favoured him,
+as it blew freshly from the south-east.
+
+Then Carew's pulse quickened; a wild exultation thrilled him, as the
+yacht, leaning well over to the steady wind, all her canvas set, rushed
+with pleasant sound through the smooth water. At that moment he felt
+happy, even proud of himself. He was safe at last, free from all
+anxiety. How Fortune had befriended him! That fatal superstition in luck
+that comes to the criminal and the gambler possessed him. Whom the gods
+wish to destroy they first make mad.
+
+"Baptiste," he said, "I have heard it is a custom of Spain for the
+captain of a vessel, as soon as she is well outside the harbour, to call
+all hands aft and serve round grog, so that they can drink to the
+prosperity of the voyage. Fetch up some rum, and give each a glass."
+
+The Frenchman obeyed the order. Carew was steering at the time, and the
+men stood round him, glasses in hand, awaiting the toast. Then the
+captain raised his glass in his disengaged hand, and called out in
+French--
+
+"Comrades, here's to a prosperous voyage--_to Buenos Ayres_!"
+
+When the men heard their destination they seemed dumb with surprise for
+a moment; then they raised a joyful shout. The prospect was evidently an
+agreeable one to them.
+
+"To Buenos Ayres," said the Frenchman, bowing to Carew with a knowing
+smile, "the land where there is no extradition."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+
+It was mid-ocean, and no land was in sight. The glassily smooth surface
+of the sea was not broken by the faintest ripple, but it rose and fell
+slowly with the long, rhythmical swell of the Atlantic. Gentle now was
+the massive heaving of the giant's bosom, showing that he was slumbering
+only, and that the strong, fierce life was there, ready to be awakened
+at any moment to its energy of cruel destruction.
+
+Though the swell must have been of considerable height, yet so gentle
+was the undulation that no motion whatever would have been perceptible
+to one on the deck of a vessel, unless he had observed how the horizon
+was withdrawn from his sight at regular intervals by the intervening
+hills of water, as the vessel softly glided down the easy slopes into
+the broad valleys between. The wind was quite still. The sky above was
+clear and of a deeper blue than is known in northern climes; but on the
+eastern horizon lay a long, low bank of very dark cloud, seeming almost
+black in contrast to the elsewhere dazzling glare.
+
+The sea, to one looking across it, would have appeared of a beautiful
+indigo tint; but if one gazed straight down into the water, it seemed
+opaque in the purple blackness of its profundity, as if the perpetual
+night that reigned in the mysterious depths below were sending its
+shadow upwards to the surface. Yet so perfectly translucent was that
+ink-like water that any bright object, such as a plate, thrown into it
+would remain distinctly visible as it slowly descended--yes, even till
+it was so far down that it seemed no larger than a small coin.
+
+The yacht _Petrel_ lay becalmed on the tropical sea. All her canvas had
+been lowered, and she floated idly, while the fierce, vertical sun was
+blistering the paint on her sides, and the melting pitch oozed from the
+seams of her decks.
+
+For thirteen days she had been drifting thus on a windless ocean, her
+crew languid and irritable from the stifling heat, which it is
+impossible to mitigate on a small craft, waiting for the breeze that
+never came.
+
+For thirteen days of unbearable calm, broken only by occasional brief
+squalls, accompanied by torrential downpour of rain, and thunder and
+lightning of appalling grandeur--squalls which raised the flagging hopes
+of the men for a space, and to which they hastily hoisted their canvas,
+that they might be carried out of this dismal tract of the ocean; but
+after they had been driven on their way a mile or two only, the wind
+would suddenly drop again, the dark clouds would clear away, and the sun
+would blaze down fiercer than ever out of the implacable sky.
+
+The _Petrel_ had reached the region of the equatorial calms, the sultry
+Doldrums dreaded by the sailor, that broad belt of sluggish sea that
+divides the tract of the north-east trade wind from that of the
+south-east. Here the aerial currents neutralise each other and are at
+rest--a desolate, rainy ocean that lies under an almost stagnant
+atmosphere of steaming heat, where vessels have lain becalmed for
+wearisome week after week; even, in many cases, until the supply of
+fresh water had been exhausted and the men perished of thirst. And yet
+to the northward and to the southward the fresh trade winds blow
+perpetually in one direction, across vast stretches of ever-tossing
+waves.
+
+The voyage of the _Petrel_ had been a very prosperous one up to this
+point. She had met with fair winds for the most part until she reached
+the limits of the north-east trades, which, blowing right aft, had
+carried her on her way at the rate of nearly two hundred miles a day.
+Carew had sighted Madeira and the westernmost islands of the Cape Verde
+archipelago; but as the yacht was well provided with provisions, he had
+not called at any port. After having been a little over a month at sea,
+he had entered the calm region about the equator, and here, as I have
+said, scarcely any progress was made for a fortnight.
+
+By this time the crew had settled down to the regular routine of
+ship-life, and Carew was, on the whole, well satisfied with the men. The
+savagery of the big Basque would occasionally assert itself, and he was
+ever ready to pick a quarrel with his mates. The only one on board whom
+El Toro respected and feared was Carew himself; for he felt that the
+Englishman combined a physical courage, at least equal to his own, with
+a superior education; and the man who possesses these two qualities can
+always master a merely brute nature. El Toro did not conceal his
+contempt for Baptiste, who excelled him in mental ability alone; and
+again, he could not converse ten minutes with the little Galician
+without an altercation arising; for the latter, who had all the pluck of
+his big comrade, was fond of wagging his sharp tongue, and could not
+refrain from malicious banter, despite the long sheath-knife which was
+always so ready to the Basque's right hand.
+
+Carew, who had quickly gauged the character of his companions, took El
+Toro on his own watch, leaving El Chico to the French mate. Thus, as
+watch and watch was observed in the regular ship fashion--that is, one
+watch relieving the other every four hours--the cantankerous Basque had
+but few opportunities of associating with the other men.
+
+But during the fortnight of calm the discipline of the yacht had been
+relaxed. As there was no need for it, the usual watches had not been
+set; and, after they had completed the small amount of necessary work
+each day, the men were allowed to employ the rest of the time much as
+they liked. A prolonged calm on the line is trying even to the most
+amiable tempers; so that it is not to be wondered at that, on one
+occasion, El Toro, being modest as to his own powers of repartee,
+preferred to reply to a chaffing remark of El Chico's with a practical
+retort in the shape of a vicious stab, which might easily have
+diminished the ship's company by one had not the quick-eyed little man,
+leaping nimbly backwards, escaped with a slight scratch on his arm.
+
+For this offence Carew, knowing his man and how best to punish him,
+informed the Basque that a fine of a fortnight's pay had been entered
+against his name in the log-book.
+
+It was nearly midday, and the heat of the still, moist air was intense.
+The French mate lay reclined under an awning on the after-deck, rolling
+up cigarette after cigarette, and smoking them with half-shut eyes as he
+dreamily meditated.
+
+In the bows, under an awning extemporised out of an old sail, were
+squatting the two Spaniards, playing at _monte_ with a very dirty pack
+of cards. Now and then would be heard the sonorous oaths of the Basque,
+as he savagely reviled his bad luck, or the triumphant chuckle of El
+Chico, whom fortune was favouring. These two had been gambling almost
+incessantly during the calm, for the money they were to receive from
+Carew on their arrival at Buenos Ayres. The Galician had already
+succeeded in winning El Toro's pay for many weeks in advance. Neither of
+the men could read or write, but they kept a tally of their debts of
+honour--over which there was much wrangling--by cutting notches on a
+beam in the forecastle.
+
+A few minutes before noon Carew came on deck, sextant in hand, and the
+mate rose to his feet lazily. Carew's face was now bronzed by the
+tropical sun, and was fuller than it had been two months back. The
+haggard expression, the restless anxiety of his eye, had gone. He looked
+like a man with the easiest of consciences.
+
+He glanced at the two card-players forward. "Have you taken the
+precaution I ordered?" he asked the mate.
+
+"I have, captain; here they are," and Baptiste produced two formidable
+knives from his pocket.
+
+Since the incident I have mentioned, Carew had instituted a rule, to the
+effect that the men should not play at cards or dice unless they had
+previously delivered their weapons to one of the two officers.
+
+El Chico overheard the mate's reply. "Ah, captain," he cried, "you'll
+have to hand both knives over to me at the end of this game. I shall
+have won everything El Toro possesses in the world if my luck holds as
+it is doing now."
+
+"_Caramba!_ it is too much; a plague on the cards!" cried the Basque
+furiously, hurling the pack across the deck. "I'll have no more of them.
+If I have no knife, I have these hands," and he opened them out with a
+gesture of rage in front of the Galician. "I could circle your little
+neck with these, and throttle you in half a minute, El Chico."
+
+El Chico said nothing, but shrugged his shoulders with a provoking
+coolness.
+
+"El Toro, come aft," cried Carew, who had acquired enough Spanish to
+give his orders in that tongue; "come aft, and set up that mizzen
+rigging; it's as slack as possible."
+
+The wild beast acknowledged its master and proceeded to obey his orders
+in a surly fashion, even as Caliban might have reluctantly carried out
+some behest of the superior intelligence that had enslaved him.
+
+"This calm seems as if it would never end," said Carew to the mate. "It
+looks black yonder. Another squall, I suppose. Just enough to entice us
+to hoist our sails, and then to die away again."
+
+"I don't see anything like the trade-wind sky about," said Baptiste, who
+had sailed the tropical seas before.
+
+Carew took his midday observation of the sun; then, lowering his
+sextant, called out, "Make it eight bells, Baptiste," and went below to
+work out his position.
+
+He found that the _Petrel_ had only travelled five miles in the last
+twenty-four hours. He was seventy miles north of the equator, and his
+longitude by dead-reckoning (he had, as has been explained, no
+chronometer on board) was about 30 deg. west, so that he was distant some
+five hundred miles from Cape St. Roque, the most easterly point of the
+New World.
+
+Soon after noon the dark bank of cloud rose rapidly from the horizon and
+overspread the whole heavens; the rain began to pour down as it only can
+in these equatorial regions, and a fresh breeze from the south-east
+cooled the heated atmosphere.
+
+The sails were hoisted, and the yacht ran some two or three miles; then
+the hopeless calm fell again, and there was not a cloud to be seen in
+the blue vault above. The sails flapped to and fro with a loud noise as
+the vessel rolled in the swell which the breeze had left behind it.
+
+"Oh, this accursed calm!" cried Carew impatiently; "down with all your
+canvas again."
+
+The men obeyed, grumbling at their ill-luck, and then resumed their game
+of _monte_.
+
+In the afternoon the heat became more oppressive than ever, and it was
+impossible to stay below; so all hands remained under the awnings on
+deck.
+
+The mate, after pondering for some while, said to Carew, "We shall run
+short of water if this continues much longer."
+
+"I have thought of that. We must serve out a smaller allowance."
+
+"Buenos Ayres is a long way off yet, captain. Would it not be well to
+put into some Brazilian port for water and vegetables? This heat is very
+trying on a small vessel like this. We shall have illness on board if we
+are not careful."
+
+"I do not wish to break the voyage anywhere, unless it is absolutely
+necessary," Carew replied.
+
+"I know these countries," Baptiste continued; "and there is one very
+good reason why you should call at some port on the way."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"You have no bill of health with you. Now in Buenos Ayres the
+authorities are very afraid of yellow fever, and if you arrive there
+with no papers to show where you are from, they will take it for granted
+that you have come from some infected port, and that you have probably
+lost some hands on the voyage and wish to conceal it. They would,
+therefore, put you in quarantine for who knows how long. They might,
+under the suspicious circumstances, refuse even to give you pratique at
+all, and send you off to sea again."
+
+"How will calling at a Brazilian port remedy that?"
+
+"Because in Brazil they are not afraid of yellow fever, as they always
+have it there. At Rio they won't trouble you at all, and your consul
+will give you a clean bill of health for Buenos Ayres. Then, being
+satisfied that you have had no illness on board, the Buenos Ayres people
+will grant you pratique after, let us say, a quarantine of four days,
+even if yellow fever were raging at Rio."
+
+"A queer plan to avoid quarantine for Yellow Jack by calling at the
+headquarters of the fever!" said Carew; "but I see that you are right. I
+will put into Rio."
+
+After a pause the Frenchman said thoughtfully, "I shall be sorry to
+leave this vessel, sir. I suppose you still think of selling her in the
+River Plate. I should like to continue the cruise for another year."
+
+"So should I, but I can't afford it. Yachting is an expensive
+amusement."
+
+"Oh, I don't know that. A cruise may be made to pay its way even in
+these days, especially if one carries a warrant from the Admiralty of
+one's country like you do. The authorities are always civil to one who
+sails under the Government blue ensign, and never trouble him with the
+tedious formalities the common merchantman is subjected to."
+
+"I don't know what you mean," said Carew. "There is no money to be made
+now by legitimate trade at sea. Besides, a yacht is not allowed to trade
+at all."
+
+"I said nothing about legitimate trade," said the Frenchman quietly, as
+he rolled himself another cigarette.
+
+The eyes of the two men met, and they understood each other.
+
+The mate had never let drop so broad a hint before; but he knew that he
+was safe in doing so. There had existed for some time a sort of
+freemasonry of crime between himself and Carew. They had been thrown
+altogether upon each other's society of late. Both were educated men,
+and gentlemen by birth; both were shrewd readers of character; and it is
+so far easier for the bad than for the good man to recognise a kindred
+nature.
+
+Carew did not exactly entertain a liking for his mate, but he found his
+companionship far pleasanter than that of any other man could have been.
+The Frenchman's tolerant way of looking at crime was peculiarly
+gratifying to the ex-solicitor. It acted as a most soothing salve to his
+conscience.
+
+He liked to hear the man's cynical talk--the superficial philosophy with
+which he defended crime as being the least hypocritical way of obeying
+nature's law of the struggle for existence. The very presence of this
+villain seemed to exert a strange, magnetic influence on Carew's pliable
+soul, lulling it into a fool's paradise.
+
+Such an affinity for evil between two men who are much together will
+soon destroy any conscience that either of them may happen to possess.
+
+So Carew, having become accustomed to an atmosphere of crime, no longer
+shrank from the thought of it, and, with an amused smile, replied to the
+mate's remark, "What piece of villainy are you going to suggest now,
+Baptiste?"
+
+"I don't think you ought to use that word villainy," protested the
+Frenchman, with an air of comic indignation. "As a matter of fact, I was
+not at that moment thinking of any one particular 'piece of villainy,'
+but vaguely of a great number of feasible schemes I know of for
+transferring the wickedly-earned riches of others into our own deserving
+pockets."
+
+"This is highly interesting," said Carew, in a bantering tone. "Explain
+one of these notable schemes of yours, Baptiste."
+
+But the Frenchman did not reply. He looked round the horizon with a
+puzzled expression, and, putting his hand to his ear, appeared to be
+listening intently.
+
+"Hark, captain! What is that?" he cried.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+
+Carew listened, and heard a low, rumbling sound like distant thunder.
+
+"Thunder out of a cloudless sky! That is strange."
+
+"That is no thunder, captain," said Baptiste, with a scared look, "but
+what it is I know not."
+
+The sound became louder. It did not seem to be approaching from any
+direction, but to be everywhere--around, below, above--filling all
+space. Then it swelled to a great roar, as of the rolling of thousands
+of drums. The air trembled at the sound, and the surface of the sea no
+longer reflected the blue sky above, but, appearing like a mirror over
+which one has breathed, vibrated into myriads of wrinkles and gyrating
+rings. Soon the water began to be greatly disturbed, and raved and
+foamed about the vessel as if she were floating in a boiling caldron.
+Then occurred an appalling prodigy. First, louder than loudest thunder,
+was heard a deafening explosion, and immediately the sea leapt up, not
+in waves, but in steep pyramids of water, piling itself up in domes, as
+if some mighty force were thrusting it up from below. The yacht pitched
+wildly into the confused whirl till she was nigh to break up with the
+violence of the shocks, and the water poured over her decks in masses,
+threatening to swamp her. Hollow whirlpools opened out suddenly in front
+of her, seeking to engulf her: a fearful spectacle to behold, which
+might make even the bravest men go mad with fright. Then came another
+explosion, and the superstitious Spaniards, holding on to the rigging
+for dear life, shrieked with abject terror as they saw the limpid sea
+suddenly thicken and change its colour to a dark, sulphurous yellow.
+There was an odour of sulphur in the air, and the sun was shining
+through a sickly yellow haze.
+
+The crew, who would have done their duty with cool courage in a
+hurricane, were completely unnerved by this alarming portent. The two
+men forward thought that the fiend himself had opened hell under them to
+swallow up their sinful souls; they prayed and blasphemed in turns. The
+French mate, white to his lips and trembling, clutched the rigging, with
+his eyes closed. Carew alone, though his cheeks were pale, was calm.
+Holding on to the bulwark to prevent himself from being thrown overboard
+by the violent leaping of the yacht, he looked around him with a
+resolute expression. He would fight bravely for his life, but he had no
+fear of death.
+
+In the midst of this turmoil a strong wind suddenly arose.
+
+"Hoist the foresail!" he shouted; but none of the terrified men obeyed
+the order. "Cowardly idiots!" he cried, and scrambling forward as well
+as he could to the mast, he seized the fore-halyards and set the sail.
+Then he returned to the tiller, after having been nearly washed
+overboard by a sea on the way, and steered the vessel dead before the
+wind.
+
+In ten minutes he had sailed, not without danger, outside the circle of
+raging water; and looking back he saw that the disturbance had already
+commenced to subside, and the loud roaring had lessened to a distant
+moaning.
+
+"_Locos!_" he cried; "madmen, cowards, hoist the mainsail! Are you women
+to be so scared by a slight _terremoto_?"
+
+"I didn't know that there were earthquakes in mid-ocean," said El Toro,
+who was the first to recover somewhat from his fright. "But, captain,
+you are a curious one. I knew you feared no man; but, _caramba!_ it
+seems you don't fear the devil himself."
+
+"Up mainsail," cried Carew again, "and don't jabber, thou great coward!
+Hurry up. We have a fair wind."
+
+The mate was now himself again. "Aha! the _terremoto_ has brought us
+luck," he cried. "Look yonder, captain," and he pointed to the east,
+where the sky had become suddenly covered with small fleecy clouds. "I
+know that sign--that is the trade wind."
+
+They put all sail on the vessel, and were soon bowling along before the
+ever-freshening wind. They had left behind them the dreary region of the
+Doldrums, with its stifling heat, and the air above the dancing waves
+was cool and bracing.
+
+The mate, who was steering, began to chaff his companions. "Say, El
+Toro, you thought the authorities below had sent for you when you felt
+that trembling of the sea."
+
+"Trembling?" replied the Basque gruffly. "There was more trembling of
+thee than of the sea itself, thou white-gilled Frenchman."
+
+"So there was," drawled the sarcastic El Chico. "But let us remember
+that our mate is a man of education--of soul. His nerves are in harmony
+with Nature. When Nature is merry he is merry; when Nature trembles; he
+trembles. But that is poetical sympathy, not fear, my friend El Toro."
+
+And so these three reviled each other's cowardice, until Carew, fearing
+bloodshed, called out, "Now, then, stop that discussion, or all of you
+bring me your knives here."
+
+Then this amiable crew smoked and sulked in silence for a while.
+
+Shortly afterwards, Carew was below studying a chart of the South
+Atlantic. To him came down the mate, who looked over his shoulder and
+asked, "How far are we now from Rio, sir?"
+
+"About sixteen hundred miles," was the reply. "That means a run of nine
+or ten days at the outside with this wind."
+
+"You are a man of great nerve," said the mate, filled with a genuine
+admiration. "I thought the bravest man would have lost his head in that
+horrid earthquake."
+
+Carew laughed. "Mine was only the courage of science at the best,
+Baptiste. You see, the phenomenon did not take me by surprise. I half
+expected something of the sort."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"Oh, it is very simple. See here,"--he pointed to the chart,--"read
+that." The words, "Volcanic region of the Atlantic," were printed across
+a large tract of ocean in the vicinity of the equator. "Now, if you will
+turn over the pages of the _South Atlantic Pilot Directory_, you will
+read that this part of the Atlantic is peculiarly subject to volcanic
+disturbance; so much so, that mariners are in this book warned on the
+subject. There are no soundings hereabouts with two thousand fathoms of
+line, and yet the disturbance is transmitted upwards through all those
+miles of water; so you can imagine the violent forces that are at work
+below us. It is rare that a vessel crosses this strange corner of the
+sea without experiencing some manifestation or other of this nature.
+Sometimes it may be only a discoloration of the water that is noticed;
+sometimes a shock is felt as if the vessel had struck a rock, or she
+shivers till the masts are like to be thrown out of her. It is a region
+terrible to superstitious sailors; but I believe it is rare that a
+vessel has sustained any serious damage from these convulsions."
+
+"Even if I had known all that I should have lost my nerve; for, say what
+you like, captain, our danger was a very real one. The _terremoto_ has
+done one good thing, anyhow: it has inspired El Chico and El Toro with
+an immense respect for your courage. We won't tell them that you were
+forewarned by the pilot book. You can do what you like with those men
+after this, Captain Allen. For the future they are your obedient
+slaves."
+
+The brave trade wind blew without intermission for ten days, and then
+Carew, being in the latitude of Rio de Janeiro, steered due west for the
+land, which, according to his dead-reckoning, was not two hundred miles
+distant. It was night, and the wind having fallen light, the yacht made
+little progress. At midnight Carew came on deck to relieve the mate.
+
+"Look over there," said Baptiste, pointing across the vessel's bows to
+the westward. "Those are the lights of Rio."
+
+"What! so soon?" cried Carew; and turning his eyes in the indicated
+direction he perceived, not indeed the gleam of a lighthouse or other
+ordinary sign of approaching land, but an appearance as of a stormy
+dawn. High above the horizon hung masses of clouds whose lower surface
+was of a faint red, as if they were reflecting some immense
+conflagration too far away to be yet visible.
+
+"You cannot distinguish any other city in the world from such a
+distance," said the mate. "When you are one hundred miles--yes, and more
+than that--away, you can tell the position of Rio de Janeiro by the
+glare that hangs over it at night. The gaslights there are innumerable.
+I have heard that it is the best lighted city in the world, and I
+believe it. At midnight the streets are illuminated as if for a fete;
+and, what is more, all the roads and paths that lead out into the
+country and up to the tops of the mountains are better lit than any of
+the streets in your London. Ah, the capital of the Brazils is a
+wonderful place!"
+
+As Carew discovered later on, Baptiste had not exaggerated the facts.
+
+At daybreak Carew was still on deck, being anxious to catch a first
+glimpse of the New World after so many weeks upon the desert seas.
+
+When the sun rose the blue sky was cloudless, but the western horizon
+was obscured by a white fog, which, Baptiste said, nearly always hovered
+over this coast at early morning.
+
+Of a sudden the upper portion of the mist lifted, and high above them
+there appeared, as if floating in mid-air, the summit of a huge
+mountain. It was of cubical shape, with perpendicular sides of bare,
+smooth stone, like the altar of some giant race--a marvellous sight to
+thus burst suddenly upon men who had for so long seen nothing but sky
+and water.
+
+"That is the Gavia Mountain," cried Baptiste; "it lies to the left of
+the entrance of the Bay of Rio."
+
+Then the morning breeze came down upon the land, and, as by enchantment,
+the mist vanished, and all the features of that wonderful coast were
+revealed to them.
+
+Lofty mountains of the most fantastic forms rose sheer from the sea.
+Some were great pyramids or peaks of ruddy granite gleaming like molten
+gold in the sunshine; others, sloping more gently, were covered with
+great forests of tropical vegetation. Along the whole shore extended a
+white line of foam, where the Atlantic swell, piled up by the fresh
+trade winds, perpetually thundered at the base of the cliffs. In places
+the ravines terminated in beautiful bays, where on beaches of silver
+sand the cocoa-nut trees waved their rustling branches. The tropical
+seas wash no lovelier a land than this; and at that moment, with the sun
+still low in the east, there were a softness and translucency in the
+gorgeous colouring that gave an unreal and fairy-like aspect to the
+scene. Close under the conical mountain known as the Sugar Loaf a gorge
+opened out, and through this was seen the vast expanse of the Bay of
+Rio, which the old navigators, in their admiration for its beauty,
+likened unto the gates of heaven.
+
+The yacht crossed the tumbling waters on the bar, sailed through the
+majestic gates, and floated on the still, pale green water of the inland
+sea.
+
+The Bay of Rio is considered to be the fairest of all the harbours of
+the earth, and one who has seen it can well believe that it is so.
+Imagine a vast lake, some eighty miles in circumference, surrounded by
+grand mountains, indented with many winding bays, and studded with
+islands of all sizes, on whose shores are many towns and villages, chief
+among which is the empire city of South America, the white Rio de
+Janeiro. A luxuriant vegetation comes down to the very edge of the
+water, even up to the streets of the city; the varied foliage of many
+species of palms, the luscious blades of the bananas, the spreading
+mangos, and bread-fruit trees giving a cool appearance to the torrid
+land.
+
+About a mile from the city of Rio, at the entrance of the bay, is the
+fortified island of Villegagnon. The yacht was sailing close under its
+shore, the mate steering. Carew was gazing at the grand scenery around
+him with deep emotion. Under the influence of this lovely nature, his
+thoughts became tender and pure; his soul was strangely subdued, and his
+mind sank into a happy reverie, such as good men who feel secure in
+their innocence are supposed alone to enjoy.
+
+The mate was watching Carew's face; then he said, in a casual manner--
+
+"I know this port pretty well, Mr. Allen, though I have only been here
+once before; and, by the way, I was sailing then in an English barque.
+Let me see, what was the captain's name? Captain Grou--no, it was not
+that--Garou--Carou--oh yes, that was it--Captain Carou."
+
+Carew started visibly and looked steadily into the mate's face, but he
+could read nothing in those impassive features. "It is but a
+coincidence," he said to himself. "It is impossible that Baptiste can
+have discovered my real name. There are many Carews in the world, after
+all." Nevertheless, the sound of the name he had put away from him for
+ever disturbed him greatly. He was awakened from his pleasant reverie,
+and the beautiful scenery had no more delights for him. All the evil
+things which he had done and had yet to do were unpleasantly brought to
+his mind. Now that he saw the great city before him, he shrank from the
+idea of mixing once more with his fellow-men. He wished he were out on
+the open sea again.
+
+"Baptiste," he said, "I should like to bring up some way from the
+quays; it will be quieter."
+
+"Certainly, captain. Let us bring up here under Villegagnon; it will be
+cooler and healthier than farther in. Look yonder at the merchantman
+anchorage. I see the yellow flag flying from at least a dozen foremasts.
+The yellow fever is evidently playing mischief at present."
+
+Baptiste had not been unobservant of Carew's start and change of
+expression at the mention of his name. The wily Frenchman had a game to
+play: he had put down his first card with a result that satisfied him.
+
+The anchor was let go under Villegagnon and the sails were stowed; then
+Baptiste, looking around him, happened to perceive a barque anchored
+about half a mile off. "Ho, El Toro," he cried; "look at that barque. Is
+she not the very sister to the old _Vrouw Elisa_?"
+
+"Baptiste," said Carew sternly, "you told me that you had never been on
+board the _Vrouw Elisa_."
+
+The mate, not in the least disconcerted, laughed, and replied, "That
+does not prevent my knowing her by sight, surely, Captain Carou--I
+mean--how stupid of me!--Captain Allen."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+
+Shortly after the _Petrel's_ anchor had been let go, under the island of
+Villegagnon, a galley, manned by brawny blacks, came off to the yacht; a
+Brazilian gentleman in uniform leapt on deck and introduced himself as
+the doctor of the port. On hearing that the vessel was an English yacht
+sailing under an Admiralty flag he raised no difficulties, but granted
+Carew pratique at once, despite the absence of a clean bill of health
+from Rotterdam.
+
+When the health boat had gone off again, Carew ordered the dinghy to be
+lowered. "I will go on shore at once, Baptiste," he said. "I will call
+on the British consul, and ask him for a clean bill of health for Buenos
+Ayres. We won't stay longer than is necessary in this unhealthy place."
+
+"May I suggest," replied the mate, "that you should give the lads a few
+dollars of their pay, and allow them a run on shore to stretch their
+legs after having been cooped up so long in this little craft?"
+
+Carew remembered the empty condition of the ship's treasury, and did
+not see his way to paying his crew any portion of their wages at
+present.
+
+"If they go on shore they will drink rum in the sun, and catch Yellow
+Jack," he said.
+
+"Not they, sir. These are sober Spaniards, and they are too acclimatised
+to run much risk of fever."
+
+"I'll think the matter over. But we'll leave the two men in charge this
+afternoon. You come on shore with me, Baptiste. You know Rio, and can
+show me the way about."
+
+So Carew and the mate got into the dinghy, and the latter, taking the
+oars, pulled off towards the Mole. They landed on a quay bordered by a
+negro market, where fish, fruit, rags, and all manner of odds and ends
+were sold by very fat negresses in huge yellow turbans; a filthy and
+malodorous spot. After leaving the dinghy in charge of a custom-house
+officer, they hustled their way through the jabbering crowd of blacks,
+and entered the chief streets of the city.
+
+Baptiste, who evidently knew his way well, brought Carew to the door of
+the British Consulate. "I will leave you now, captain," he said, "to
+transact your business. Let me have a dollar or so to amuse myself with,
+and I will meet you in an hour's time at the corner of the chief
+street, the Rua Ovidor, in front of the big jeweller's shop."
+
+Carew gave him a ten-shilling piece--he only had two more in the world
+now--and they separated.
+
+Having obtained a bill of health from the consul, Carew strolled through
+the hot streets until the appointed time, when the mate, punctual to a
+minute, met him at the corner of the Rua Ovidor.
+
+"Captain," said Baptiste, "it is stifling in these streets. Let us get
+on a tram and drive out of the town to the Botanical Gardens. It will be
+cooler there, and I wish to speak to you in a quiet place where there
+are no eavesdroppers about. I have made an important discovery since I
+left you."
+
+With a noise of jingling bells the mules carried them rapidly through
+the suburbs of the city; past fairy-like villas that seemed to be built
+of delicately tinted porcelain, surrounded by gardens that were
+paradises of exquisite plants, with cool fountains splashing under the
+feathery palms; past groves of marvellous trees that bore no leaves, but
+were covered instead with blossoms of purple and vivid crimson, so that
+the eye was pained by the excess of glory; past pleasant inlets of the
+great bay, where the tiny waves dashed on the white sands under the
+cocoa-nut trees; and around them rose the great amphitheatre of granite
+peaks and forest-clad mountains glowing under the cloudless sky.
+
+They reached the gate of the Botanical Gardens, and the mate led Carew
+to an avenue of oreodoxas--the most majestic of the family of palms.
+These rose straight and smooth as marble columns to an immense height,
+and far overhead their graceful leaves met in regular arches, forming a
+great aisle as of a cathedral of giants. A solemn spot, fitted to exalt
+the soul of man and inspire lofty thoughts, but which Baptiste, with an
+unconscious irony, had selected as a safe place to discuss with Carew a
+scheme of detestable crime which his lust for gold had suggested to him.
+
+They sat down on a bench under the polished trunk of one of the huge
+palms. Carew was silent. He was impressed by the marvellous nature
+around. Everything was so unfamiliar to his senses. The rich colouring
+of the beautiful and sometimes grotesquely shaped vegetation, the birds
+of brilliant plumage that flashed by him, the metallic lustre and
+monstrous forms of the beetles and other insects, the shrieking of the
+paroquets, and other noises of the intense and teeming tropical
+life--all bewildered his brain. The very air, heavy with the pungent
+odours of many flowers, seemed intoxicating. He could scarcely realise
+that this was not all some fantastic dream.
+
+But Baptiste, who had important business on hand, cared little for the
+wonders of Nature. He rolled himself a cigarette, lit it, then,
+sprawling himself in a lazy fashion on the bench, commenced--
+
+"The other day, captain, we were engaged in an interesting conversation,
+which was rather rudely disturbed by an earthquake. Have you forgotten
+the subject of it?"
+
+"I remember that you were talking some nonsense about making yachting
+pay its expenses by smuggling, or something of the sort."
+
+"I said nothing about smuggling, captain, and I was not talking
+nonsense. I said that the master of a yacht sailing under Government
+papers has many opportunities of putting gold into his pockets; that is,
+if his liver be sound and he is not troubled with a morbid conscience.
+Now, I only left you for one hour, captain, and in that time I picked up
+all the news of the port by calling at one or two rum shops--old haunts
+of mine; and, as luck would have it, I have discovered an easy way for
+us all to make our fortunes."
+
+"Silence, man!" angrily ejaculated Carew. "I don't wish to hear your
+rascally plans. You mistake me; I am not one to seek a fortune by
+illicit methods."
+
+Carew meant all he said. He intended to commit one more crime only--to
+telegraph in Allen's name to the bank for the bulk of Allen's property.
+After that, sick of sin, he would live an exemplary life, and appease
+conscience by good works in some far country. But he forgot that he who
+once starts to run down a steep hill cannot stop himself exactly when he
+wishes.
+
+"What virtue--what righteous indignation!" sneered the mate. "But,
+captain, you will have to listen to me. Whether you wish it or no, you
+_shall_ make a fortune in the way I am going to suggest."
+
+There was a menace in the man's tone and a malicious twinkle in his
+eyes.
+
+Carew looked at him. "Explain yourself, if you please," he said coldly.
+
+"So I will," cried Baptiste, with energy, abandoning his lazy drawl.
+Then, throwing away his cigarette, he rose from his recumbent position
+and stood before Carew, who still remained sitting on the bench.
+
+"Do you think that I am blind--that I am an idiot, captain? Do you
+imagine that I don't know who you are and what you have done,--with all
+your virtuous talk,--eh, Mr. Carew?"
+
+As he uttered these words rapidly the mate closely observed their effect
+upon the Englishman, whose face turned ghastly white, and whose right
+hand stole round to his back.
+
+"No shooting, if you please," cried the Frenchman, in a bantering tone.
+"Don't draw that revolver. Remember that there's a fine for carrying
+firearms in Rio. Coward though I may be, you don't frighten me here,
+captain. I know you dare not kill me on shore. The inquiry afterwards
+would be fatal to you. Besides, you are wise enough to grasp quickly the
+fact that our interests are coincident. At sea it was otherwise. There I
+held my tongue. I was aware that you would have thrown me overboard some
+dark night had you guessed that I knew so much. Here on shore I am
+safe."
+
+Carew felt that he was in the man's power, and saw the futility of
+denial. "What do you know?" he asked, in a dry voice, bringing his hand
+in front of him again.
+
+"That your name is not Allen, but Carew."
+
+"What else?"
+
+"That you are impersonating a man whose property you have stolen."
+
+Carew felt as if his heart had stopped; the tall palms swam around him.
+He closed his eyes, and was only conscious of the cataract of sound
+raised by the shrieking paroquets and the manifold hum of insects. It
+was only for a moment; then he recovered himself, and, opening his eyes,
+again saw before him the cynical face of the Frenchman. "What else?" he
+asked, with a deep sigh.
+
+"Surely that is enough, captain. But, in short, understand that I know
+all about you."
+
+"How have you learnt this?"
+
+"Suffice it that I know it. I don't wish to spoil your little game,
+captain, but you must help me in mine. I will now sit down and silently
+smoke a cigarette, so that you can ponder a while on what I have said. I
+perceive that I have somewhat disturbed your mind. Now, as violent
+emotions are very bad for the health in this hot climate, it will do you
+good to rest for a few minutes; for I have more exciting news to
+communicate."
+
+The Frenchman resumed his former lazy position, and proceeded to smoke,
+as he smiled contentedly at his own reflections; while Carew sat with
+knit brows, the perspiration streaming down his face, unable to collect
+his thoughts, but terribly conscious in a vague way that he could never
+extricate himself from the network of crime into which he had
+voluntarily thrown himself; that for him there was no hope of putting
+the past away; that one sin would lead irrevocably to another; that
+Nemesis had made all his future life as one long chain of iniquity, even
+to the unknown dreadful end of it.
+
+The Frenchman was very pleased with himself. He had succeeded beyond his
+expectations in gaining a hold over Carew, whom he could now compel to
+subserve his purposes. The mate had played a bold game of "bluff"; he
+had made Carew believe that he was acquainted with his history, whereas
+he knew nothing of it, possessed no proofs of what he had so boldly
+asserted, and had merely made an ingenious guess at the truth.
+
+At a very early stage of the voyage, Baptiste had come to the conclusion
+that the conscience of the Englishman was burdened with some crime, and
+that he was a fugitive from justice.
+
+A variety of circumstances had led him to this belief. That Carew had
+shipped three men who were known to be murderers, and had sailed away
+with them across the ocean at a moment's notice, was in itself highly
+suspicious. So the wily Frenchman, bethinking himself how useful it
+often is to know another man's disagreeable secrets, set himself to
+discover all he could of his employer's past.
+
+Many a night, when it was Carew's watch on deck, Baptiste employed
+himself in rummaging the drawers and lockers of the saloon. For a long
+time he discovered nothing to his purpose; but he was patient and minute
+in his investigations, and at last he got on the right scent in the
+following wise.
+
+He found that the handwriting in the ship's log-book and on the
+agreements which the captain had drawn out for his crew was not in the
+least like that in the diary and in the cheque-book, in which entries
+had been inscribed at a date prior to the yacht's departure from
+Rotterdam. Thus it seemed highly probable to Baptiste that his captain
+was not the Mr. Allen whom he professed to be, and whose name was on
+the ship's papers.
+
+If not Mr. Allen, then, who was he?
+
+Baptiste searched diligently night after night without finding any clue
+to this; but at last one of those slight circumstances which seem to be
+arranged by Providence to expose the crimes of the most clever and
+cautious villains, led the persevering Frenchman to the knowledge he was
+seeking.
+
+Baptiste was not a good English scholar; but he proceeded with infinite
+labour little by little to decipher Allen's diary. A few days before
+reaching Rio he came to the last page but one, and here he read the
+following entry: "Wrote Carew, asking him to come with me to Holland."
+On the next page, under the date of August the 8th, was the final entry:
+"Sail for Holland with Carew."
+
+"It is just possible," said Baptiste to himself, "that this mysterious
+captain of mine is Mr. Carew. I have no reason to suppose that he is so,
+but the point is worth testing."
+
+The mate applied the test in the manner that has been described, when,
+on entering Rio, he casually remarked that he had sailed into that
+harbour before under an English captain called Carew.
+
+His employer's sudden start and evident perturbation on hearing this
+name mentioned convinced Baptiste that he had hit the right nail on the
+head. The deduction from what he had discovered was natural enough. "If
+this is Carew," he reasoned, "he must have stolen Allen's yacht. He has
+in all probability committed other crimes; but this is enough for my
+purpose. I may be altogether wrong in my conjectures, but I think not. I
+will tax him boldly with this. If I have guessed his secret, I have the
+game in my own hands. If I prove to have been on the wrong scent, I
+shall have made an idiot of myself, but no great harm will have been
+done."
+
+So with a matchless effrontery the Frenchman opened his game under the
+shade of the great palm trees with the success that has been seen.
+
+Having smoked several cigarettes with an expression of great enjoyment,
+without speaking, Baptiste turned to Carew and said--
+
+"You are looking pale, _mon capitaine_. It is dangerous to walk about on
+an empty stomach in this climate; the fever fiend is ever watching his
+opportunity. Come with me. I will take you to a tavern I know
+of,--rough, but cheap and good,--and we will have something to eat. It
+is hours after our usual dinner-time. Afterwards I will expound to you
+the excellent scheme that is in my head--a scheme that will make us all
+rich men."
+
+Carew had by this time recovered his power for cool and rapid thought.
+He had been in vain cudgelling his brain to explain to himself in what
+possible way the mate had contrived to discover his secret.
+
+"Baptiste," he said firmly, "before moving from here, I wish you to
+clearly understand that you are not going to be my master because you
+happen to know something about my affairs; so put aside at once that
+insolent and familiar manner. If you presume too much on your knowledge
+and make me desperate, it will be the worse for you. Now tell me how
+have you acquired this knowledge?"
+
+The mate replied in his old respectful tones. "I know you too well to
+seek to be your master. But I would rather not answer your question at
+present, captain. I promise you, when you have helped me to carry out my
+plan, that I will tell you everything."
+
+"Does anyone else know as much as yourself concerning me?"
+
+"Not a single individual. Have no fears on that score. No one suspects
+that you are other than you represent yourself to be. You are as secure
+from discovery as you were before I happened to learn the truth. I alone
+know what you are, and the price of my silence is a mere bagatelle. All
+I ask is that you benefit yourself and me by casting away from you some
+of your foolish scruples. Where is the logic of going so far and no
+farther? You have committed great crimes for a trifle. A large fortune
+is now within your grasp; but one little sin more, and you will be
+rich. Then you can afford to be virtuous for the rest of your life. You
+can endow churches; you can obtain absolution; you can--but I forget;
+you are a Protestant, and so must patch your soul up in your own way."
+
+Carew shuddered, not in fear of the man before him, but at the thought
+of the relentless fate that was pursuing him. It seemed to him that this
+unscrupulous villain was the instrument of an offended Heaven, sent to
+hasten his destruction. It was vain for him to strive after repentance.
+
+A wild despair, a feeling of angry revolt against the powers of good,
+possessed him. What did it matter now? the man argued, in his reckless
+mood. Destiny drove him to crime. Why resist in agony? Whatever new
+wickedness he should have to do, not his the fault, but that of this
+pitiless and unjust Fate.
+
+"Baptiste, what is this plan that you propose?" he asked.
+
+"Let us dine before we talk business," replied the mate, rolling himself
+another cigarette. "I am as thirsty as an Englishman and as hungry as a
+German."
+
+They entered a tram and drove back towards the city; but while they were
+yet in the suburbs, Baptiste made a sign to Carew to descend, and they
+walked, the mate leading the way, down a narrow street of negro
+shanties, each surrounded by its little provision ground of bananas,
+yams, and cassava. Then they came to a very rough and disreputable
+neighbourhood, abounding in low grog shops, in which European sailors
+were courting Yellow Jack, by drinking poisonous rum. They reached a
+street which skirted the shores of the bay; and here, on the very edge
+of the water, there stood a stone house by itself.
+
+"That is the tavern I spoke of," said the mate. Then assuming his usual
+bantering tone, "It is a queer place. It will interest you, as an
+English milord travelling for his pleasure and instruction, to observe
+the humours of the place. It is the resort of the greatest villains of
+Rio--robbers, smugglers, and the like. The result is that it is an
+exceedingly quiet and respectable house. They dare not have rows in
+there; no drunkenness or thieving or kniving is allowed on those
+premises. Men frequent this cafe when bent on business, not on
+pleasure."
+
+The interior of the house did not seem to be used for purposes of
+entertainment, for all the customers were congregated in a large arbour
+that lay against one side of the building, and faced the sea.
+
+They entered this arbour, and sat down at one of the bare deal tables,
+and the mate, calling one of the waiters, a very evil-looking mulatto
+with one eye, selected some of the dishes out of the bill of fare.
+
+The sun was setting, and the darkness came on with the suddenness of
+tropical latitudes. Two negroes proceeded to light a number of Venetian
+lanterns that festooned the cafe, and Carew, while he waited for his
+dinner, gazed with amazement at the scene before him.
+
+A number of men were sitting at the tables, eating, drinking, and
+smoking. There were negroes, whites, and mulattos. They appeared to be
+of many nationalities. It would be almost impossible to see elsewhere a
+collection of more villainous faces. They sat for the most part in
+silence, as if avoiding each other's companionship; but at some of the
+tables were small groups, and here conversations were carried on in a
+low voice. There were no smiles to be seen; there was no noise; there
+were no signs of hilarity in all this assemblage. An atmosphere of gloom
+and fear seemed to pervade the place. Occasionally one of these taciturn
+beings would glance suspiciously at the table where Carew and the mate
+were sitting. Guilt, dread, and hopelessness could be read on many a
+face. It might have been a supper of lost souls in the shades of Hades,
+but then--and it was this that, by its mocking contrast, lent a strange
+horror to the scene, as if it were some fantastic and dreadful
+nightmare--the melancholy feast was taking place in a very paradise.
+
+The arbour was supported by lofty palms, and the sides of it were formed
+of a network of the most beautiful creepers, heavy with sweet blossoms
+and luscious fruits. The glittering sands of the seashore formed the
+floor. Through the roof of feathery palm leaves the innumerable and
+brilliant stars of the Southern Hemisphere could be seen glowing out of
+the depths of night. A number of small tame birds of lovely red and
+yellow plumage fluttered about the arbour, and alighted on the tables in
+search of food. Glow-worms and fireflies gleamed like diamonds among the
+foliage, and outside was heard the splashing of the tiny waves and the
+shrill cry of the cicala. The lavish tropical nature had made of this a
+fit palace for a fairy queen, and lo, it was a thieves' kitchen!
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+
+Having dined off some very greasy dishes served up with cassava or
+lentils, and seasoned with hot peppers in the Brazilian fashion, Carew
+and the mate lit their pipes, and the one-eyed negro brought them cups
+of black coffee and glasses of white native rum. The table at which they
+sat was at some distance from any other, so all risk of their
+conversation being overheard was obviated.
+
+"All these men are thieves, you say?" said Carew, looking round at the
+strange assembly, on whose faces the Venetian lanterns cast a ruddy
+glow.
+
+"Yes, thieves and murderers, all of them," replied the mate, "but
+well-behaved, quiet folk, as you see. One is safer here than in some of
+the flash cafes in the main streets of Rio."
+
+"They carry their characters on their faces. I only see one in the whole
+crowd whom I would not instinctively distrust. Who is that tall,
+handsome old man with the long white hair and beard?"
+
+"That is our worthy host," said Baptiste. "He looks like a mild,
+mediaeval saint, but there is much blood on his hands. I must introduce
+him to you, for he is a celebrated character in his way."
+
+Baptiste caught the old man's eye, and beckoned to him to approach the
+table.
+
+"Good-evening to you, Father Luigi. I think you understand French?"
+
+The old man nodded an assent.
+
+"I don't suppose you remember me? I have not been here for a very long
+time."
+
+"I never forget a face that I have seen in my cafe," replied the host in
+French, with a strong Italian accent.
+
+"This, Luigi, is my present captain, an English milord, travelling in
+his yacht; and this, captain, is the once well-known Roman brigand,
+Luigi Querini. Oh, an awful cut-throat in his time, I assure you."
+
+Querini shook his head sadly. "But not so now, signor. I am getting old.
+Heigh-ho, but those were grand days we had in the Abruzzi Mountains
+before Victor Emmanuel's gendarmerie spoilt Italy."
+
+"Sit down and have a glass with us, Luigi," said the mate. "_Salud y
+pesetas_--health and dollars to you; that's an old River Plate toast.
+Luigi knows Buenos Ayres well, captain. He'll tell us all about it."
+
+"Yes, I know it too well," said the old man. "I was a soldier of the
+Argentine Republic, and lived on mare's flesh on the Indian frontier for
+four years."
+
+"What made you do that?" asked Carew.
+
+"I see you are a stranger to South America, sir. Understand, I was not a
+volunteer. I had a misfortune, and therefore was pressed into the army
+for punishment."
+
+"To have a misfortune is a Pampas euphemism for having murdered a man,"
+explained the mate.
+
+"There is, as you know, no capital punishment in the River Plate,"
+continued the Italian; "if a man kills another the penalty is so many
+years' service in the army."
+
+"What a respectable army it must be," remarked Carew.
+
+"It is so," said Baptiste. "They are wise people, those Argentines. If a
+man is addicted to homicide for his private ends, they turn him into a
+wholesale homicide for the public good. That may be called the
+homoeopathic treatment of murder; like curing like."
+
+Carew laughed boisterously at the mate's witticism, and the silent men
+at the tables round, hating the sound of merriment, turned their faces
+towards him and scowled savagely.
+
+A species of intoxication had come to Carew. The strange sights and
+strong emotions of the day, the grotesque contrast presented by this
+lovely bower of pure blossoms and the foul and evil men who sat beneath
+it, confused his brain. His surroundings seemed so fantastically
+inconsistent--so unreal--that he felt as if he were some irresponsible
+being in a land of dreams, that it mattered not what he did. He was
+filled with a reckless joviality.
+
+The mate had been watching him with his keen eyes. He knew what this
+exaltation of spirits indicated, and divined that the moment was
+opportune for the mooting of his diabolical scheme. In the present
+condition of his mental faculties, the captain's obstructive conscience
+would be partly paralysed, and he would be able to listen to the mate's
+proposals without overmuch shrinking horror. So the shrewd Frenchman,
+losing no more time, hinted to the host that his presence at the table
+was no longer needed, and Querini took himself off to hobnob with
+another acquaintance.
+
+Baptiste then stretched out his legs and said--
+
+"This is very comfortable after having been cramped up so long on board
+that little boat of yours; but I hope, sir, to see you captain of a much
+larger vessel in a week or so at the latest."
+
+"So we are coming to your wonderful scheme. Let me hear all about it."
+
+"You remember, sir, that as we sailed into the bay this morning I
+pointed out a small barque to El Toro, and remarked how much she
+resembled the old _Vrouw Elisa_."
+
+"I remember your words perfectly. You betrayed yourself."
+
+"Intentionally, captain. We understand each other now; there are no
+secrets between us. Away with hypocrisy! Of course El Toro, El Chico,
+and myself formed part of the crew of the _Vrouw Elisa_. But it is
+unnecessary to recount to you our adventures on board that vessel."
+
+"They do not interest me."
+
+"I don't think you'd care to hear them," said Baptiste, showing his
+white teeth with a grim smile. "Well, to proceed. When you were at the
+consul's this morning, I entered a little drinking shop on the Mole, and
+there I overheard some sailors speaking about their vessel, which I soon
+made out to be the barque lying near us under Villegagnon, the one like
+the _Vrouw Elisa_. Said one man to the other in French--
+
+"'I suppose she's got the most valuable cargo on board of any vessel in
+Rio.'
+
+"I pricked up my ears on hearing this.
+
+"'She'd be a fine prize for a pirate,' replied the other man.
+
+"'If there were pirates nowadays,' said the first.
+
+"Feeling interested, I made inquiries about this vessel--Waiter, stand
+off another few yards. I am talking over some private business with
+this gentleman."
+
+The negro, not unused to such commands, promptly removed himself.
+
+"I discovered that the barque comes from a little harbour down the
+coast, near Santa Catharina. It seems that some prospectors have
+discovered gold in the neighbouring mountains. The quartz is
+exceptionally rich; the cost of importing the necessary machinery would
+be great. They are consequently shipping a large quantity of this quarts
+to Europe to be crushed. That barque, sailing under the French flag, is
+bound for Swansea with a cargo of this: no ordinary auriferous quartz,
+let me tell you, but containing a hitherto unexampled percentage of
+gold. She has put in here for some slight repairs, and will sail in two
+days. The barque is a new vessel, and is worth a lot of money; but the
+value of the cargo is enormous. Now, my little plan is that we four, the
+crew of the _Petrel_, seize this vessel and make our fortunes."
+
+Carew laughed scornfully. "Idiot!" he said; "is this your precious
+scheme? I took you for too clever a man to talk such nonsense. Even if
+we did succeed in seizing this vessel, what could we do with her? In
+what port could we dispose of her cargo? Piracy is impossible in these
+days. Don't you know that?"
+
+"Who talked of piracy? Surely, captain, you know me by this time. Am I
+not a coward? Am I one to commit a risky crime? I would break no law
+unless I felt that I was absolutely secure from detection; and when I do
+feel that, upon my soul, I don't know what villainy I would shrink from;
+for, as for conscience--bah! I have none. Now please follow the outlines
+of my scheme. I will leave it to your ingenuity to fill up the details."
+
+Carew, in his present mood, felt a reluctant admiration for the cool and
+cynical ruffian before him.
+
+"Piracy, in the ordinary sense of the term, is of course out of date,"
+continued the mate, as he sipped his fiery rum; "but the intelligent man
+adapts his method to the age he lives in. I will now tell you a little
+story. An English yacht, manned by four worthy fellows, sails out of Rio
+one fine day. In the night, when she is some leagues from the land, a
+dreadful accident of some kind happens--say she runs into a large
+fragment of wreckage, and staves herself in. Anyhow, she founders.
+Happily, her crew have time to lower the boat, and getting into it they
+pull away, weeping to behold the vessel, that has been their home for so
+long, go down. But they feel happier and dry their eyes when their brave
+captain tells them that the yacht is well insured. Providence assists
+them, for at daybreak they sight a French barque. They signal to her,
+are seen, are soon taken on board, and the barque resumes her voyage to
+Europe. After some days our four shipwrecked mariners, who have been
+watching their opportunity, and who are well armed, surprise the crew,
+take possession of the vessel, sail her into the nearest port, and claim
+salvage for the derelict which they have had the luck to pick up; and
+their lives for the future are happy, wealthy, and respectable. Do you
+follow my story, captain? Hi! waiter, bring us some more rum and some
+Bahia cigars."
+
+Carew sat quite motionless for some time, looking downwards, so that
+Baptiste could not see the expression of his face. The black brought the
+rum to the table and went away again. Then Carew raised his head. "I
+follow your story," he said, in a low, husky voice; "but you did not
+mention what became of the crew of the barque."
+
+"Ah, yes! What did become of them?" exclaimed the mate in an airy way.
+"I forget. They were lost somehow, I imagine--were disposed of in some
+convenient fashion--who knows? But that is a detail."
+
+Carew's face had turned fearfully white. "Thou devil!" he cried
+passionately, between his set teeth. "Not that--not that! Speak no more
+of this. It is impossible."
+
+"Understand me, captain," said the mate, abandoning his bantering tone
+for one of serious determination. "You are not going to have everything
+your own way. I must have money, and plenty of it. El Chico and El Toro
+must have money. Join us in carrying out this scheme, and we will share
+the spoil between the four of us. If you don't agree to this, I will
+expose you at once, Mr. Carew, and you will know what a nasty hole a
+Brazilian prison is. I am sorry to use this language, but business is
+business, captain."
+
+Carew looked down again, and Baptiste, furtively watching him, saw that
+his mouth was twitching and the perspiration breaking out on his
+forehead.
+
+The wretched man endeavoured to think his way out of the terrible
+dilemma before him. He had to choose between the commission of a crime
+more atrocious than any he had ever conceived, and a disgrace and
+punishment infinitely worse than death. He tried to realise his
+position, but his brain seemed numbed. The two alternatives kept
+crossing and recrossing his mind in rapid succession. He was conscious
+of them, but he could not reason upon them. He was incapable of
+consecutive thought for the time.
+
+Suddenly a discordant brass band in a low dancing saloon hard by burst
+out into a triumphant march, as a prelude to the night's riot of drunken
+sailors. It was a fragment of some French opera-bouffe, suggestive of
+feverish joy heedless of the morrow, of mad and reckless orgie. The
+sound was in accord with the man's distracted state. It at once awoke
+his mind from its lethargy. A wild and fierce impulse rushed upon him.
+Blindly he abandoned himself to what he considered to be his destiny,
+and a tempter seemed to whisper to him, "Trust to your luck. See how
+luck has been with you so far. Fortune will certainly find some way of
+relieving you of the crew of the barque, so that it will not be
+necessary for you to have their blood on your head. Arthur Allen stood
+in your path. He was removed from it; yet you were not his murderer. So
+will it be now. Trust to chance."
+
+Then Carew looked up. His features were calm and rigid, but had a
+ghastly expression. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but appeared to
+be unable to articulate. He poured himself out a quantity of the white
+rum into a glass and swallowed it. "And the other two men?" he whispered
+hoarsely.
+
+Baptiste understood his meaning. "El Chico and El Toro can be relied
+upon for this business. I know them," he said.
+
+The eyes of the two men met. There was a long pause. Then Carew muttered
+the two words--
+
+"I consent!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+
+Carew and the mate left the cafe, traversed the brilliantly lighted
+city, and returned to the yacht. At an early hour on the following
+morning, Carew, too restless to sleep, came on deck. The sky was
+cloudless and the rising sun illumined the romantic scenery of the bay.
+A cool breeze blew seaward from the wooded mountains, odorous of spices
+and tropical blossoms. The sight of a world so glad and fair, so fresh
+and ever-young, might well make the saddest soul feel the joy of mere
+existence and look to life as a treasure worth the possessing.
+
+A few months before this Carew had contemplated suicide--had regarded
+death as a welcome deliverance from his troubles. Now it was otherwise;
+he set a value on his life. The causes of this change were commonplace
+enough, as are most of the motives that decide the momentous crises of a
+man's history. A healthy life in the open air at sea tends to develop
+the instinct of self-preservation and banishes morbid meditations.
+Again, the longer one has been contesting some keen game of chance and
+skill, the more anxious one is to come off the victor. This man had been
+playing a clever and desperate game for freedom--which for him meant
+life--ever since he had left England. Fortune had favoured him so long
+that he would not abandon hope and acknowledge defeat now. The ultimate
+victory had become so dear to him that he was not likely to be very
+squeamish as to the means he should employ to obtain it.
+
+So Carew had hardened his heart, or rather, having resolved on a course
+of action, he closed the avenues of his mind to certain unpleasant
+thoughts on the future. Not being as unscrupulous as his French
+associate, he found it necessary to employ an immense amount of
+self-deception. He allowed himself to drift, as it were, from one crime
+to another, trying to believe that his fate was compelling him; but he
+carefully avoided looking beyond the immediate present. He would not
+think of the far greater iniquities to which he was committing himself
+by the action he was now taking. He wilfully closed his eyes, and let
+the morrow take care of itself.
+
+When Baptiste joined the captain on deck he was exceedingly surprised to
+find him in a cheerful mood, and anxious to arrange as quickly as
+possible the plan for the seizure of the barque. Carew found a relief in
+the active employment of his brain, and he now exhibited considerable
+ingenuity. He described his views in detail to the mate, who looked with
+wonder at this inconsistent Englishman, whose complex nature he felt
+that he was very far from understanding. With all his vacillation, when
+Carew had made up his mind one way or the other, he acted promptly and
+with energy.
+
+"Baptiste," he said, "in the first place, we ought to be armed. We all
+have knives, but there is only one revolver on board. I want you to take
+my watch and chain on shore, pawn or sell them, and buy three revolvers
+and some ammunition. You can take charge of your weapon at once, but I
+will keep those of the two men until the time comes."
+
+"That is right," said the mate; "those children are not to be trusted
+with firearms. The first time they played at _monte_ they would be
+scattering each other's brains over the cards. I know a slop shop where
+there are generally some good six-shooters on sale. I will barter your
+watch there."
+
+"Also ascertain the hour of the barque's departure," said Carew. "This
+is what I suggest. You know that the south-east trade wind does not blow
+home on this coast, but is deflected and becomes a north-east wind. In
+consequence of this, all vessels bound for Europe from Rio are obliged
+to take a long board of several hundreds of miles to the eastward
+before they fall in with the true trade wind, and go about on the other
+tack. Thus we know the exact course the barque will take. She will sail
+away close-hauled on the port-tack. We will put to sea six hours before
+her, and await her some ten leagues from the land. Do you understand?"
+
+"Perfectly. I see you know what you are about, sir."
+
+"Now call the crew aft," said Carew, "and let us learn at once what they
+think of our proposal."
+
+Baptiste raised the hatch of the forecastle and roused the men. They
+quickly tumbled on deck.
+
+"I am sorry to say, comrades, that you can't go on shore here," said the
+mate in Spanish.
+
+They swore and grumbled in sonorous Castilian phrases that had best be
+left untranslated.
+
+"Now no insubordination," continued Baptiste; "the captain would not
+deprive you of a day's holiday after so long a voyage unless he had
+urgent reasons for doing so."
+
+"Reasons indeed!" muttered El Toro. "He who wants reasons can always
+find them."
+
+"Silence, you old calf! Listen! We shall most probably sail to-day, for
+there is a treasure waiting for us outside."
+
+El Chico pricked up his ears. "What! another _Vrouw Elisa_?" he asked.
+
+"Something of the sort; but this is a safer scheme. Our necks will not
+be in danger this time."
+
+"That's well for you, Baptiste," exclaimed El Toro, with his brutal
+laugh; "for your neck must be the most precious on this ship if we may
+judge from the value you set on it. Ha! ha! I never shall forget your
+white face and your starting eyes in that Dutch law court."
+
+"My neck supports a head of brains and not a pig's head like thine, with
+only three ideas in it--rum, grub, and tobacco," retorted the mate. "But
+no more nonsense; listen to me, men."
+
+Then he briefly disclosed the plan.
+
+"Bravo!" grunted El Toro. "That sounds a likely bit of business. I will
+go and sharpen my knife at once. And so our English milord is a
+game-cock, after all, like the rest of us."
+
+"He is worth fifty of you," said Baptiste. "He has the clever brains
+that can devise; and he is braver than you, El Toro."
+
+"I acknowledge him to be my superior, even in courage. I have not
+forgotten how he defied the devil himself in the _terremoto_," replied
+the Basque.
+
+Baptiste turned to Carew, and proceeded to speak in French. "The lads
+are ready to follow you anywhere, sir."
+
+"They did not seem at all surprised, and received your communication in
+a very matter-of-fact way," said Carew.
+
+"They are accustomed to strange jobs of this kind. But I don't think
+they quite realise what a vast sum we are going to make. Idiots! It
+would be a pity to give them too much. We must settle later on, captain,
+how to divide the spoil."
+
+"Last night you said that it should be divided equally among us."
+
+"I spoke hastily. I don't think so now. You and I appreciate money and
+know how to use it. These pigs would squander it. We will give them just
+enough to keep their mouths shut. You and I will divide the bulk. If we
+fill their hands with bright gold pieces, the ignorant wretches will
+imagine that they have got an inexhaustible fortune, and they will go
+away perfectly satisfied. I know the animals."
+
+The mate, taking Carew's watch and chain with him, rowed on shore in the
+dinghy, and returned in an hour with three revolvers, some cartridges,
+and a quantity of plantains, yams, and other vegetables.
+
+He leapt on deck. "Captain," he cried, "there is not much time to be
+lost. I have learnt that _La Bonne Esperance_--that is the barque's
+name--will sail without fail this evening as soon as the land breeze
+springs up."
+
+"Then we will get under way immediately after breakfast," said Carew;
+"for the wind seems to be light outside, and we shall not travel fast."
+
+The land breeze, which blows all night at Rio and refreshes the heated
+atmosphere, died away before the necessary preparations had been made on
+the yacht, and the usual calm succeeded it. So Carew had to remain at
+anchor until midday, when the sea breeze, that prevails throughout the
+hottest hours of the day, sprang up; and all sail being hoisted, the
+_Petrel_ tacked out of the bay.
+
+The yacht sailed out to sea, close-hauled on the port-tack; but the wind
+was very light, and she did not make more than two knots an hour.
+
+At sunset the land was still in sight, and Carew took cross-bearings, so
+as to ascertain his exact position. Throughout the night the navigation
+of the yacht was conducted with unusual care. The helmsman steered "full
+and by" with as much nicety as if he had been sailing a race.
+
+Every few minutes the officer of the watch looked at the compass, in
+order to detect the slightest change in the direction of the wind.
+Without these precautions it would have been impossible on the morrow to
+calculate with sufficient precision the track of the following barque.
+
+At daybreak Carew made out that he was about forty miles from the land.
+"We have gone far enough, Baptiste," he said. "The next thing is to
+calculate how much nearer this yacht sails to the wind than a clumsy,
+square-rigged vessel like _La Bonne Esperance_."
+
+"Our steering has been so good," replied the mate, "that we must have
+been sailing at least a point and a half closer than the barque."
+
+"About that, I should say. We will run down to leeward some ten miles,
+and then, I think, we shall be lying right across her track."
+
+The sheets were eased off, and the vessel was steered at right angles to
+her former course. As the wind was stronger, she covered the ten miles
+in less than two hours. Then Carew gave the order to heave-to.
+
+While the yacht, her jib to windward, rose and fell on the ocean swell
+without making any progress, everything was got ready for the carrying
+out of their design. The dinghy was lowered; the men placed in it their
+baggage and some of the more portable valuables belonging to the yacht.
+Carew put into the sternsheets a portmanteau containing, among other
+things, the ship's papers, Allen's diary and cheque-book, the revolvers,
+and the drugs which he had purchased in Rotterdam.
+
+Carew himself undertook to scuttle the yacht. He cut away a portion of
+the panelling in the main cabin; then, having bored a large hole with an
+auger through the vessel's skin, he stopped it with a wooden plug. To
+this plug he attached a piece of strong cord, which he led up on deck
+through the skylight.
+
+The men stood by watching him.
+
+"You see, Baptiste," he explained, "I have but to pull this cord, out
+comes the plug, and the vessel fills and sinks."
+
+"That is all very well so far," replied the mate; "but suppose you have
+pulled out your plug, and your vessel is three parts full, and the
+barque won't stop to pick us up,--anything is possible at sea; such
+inhumanity among sailors is not unknown,--what will you do then? How are
+you to get at that hole again to stop any more water coming in? A wise
+general secures his retreat, captain."
+
+"I have thought of all that, Baptiste," said Carew; "you have not seen
+half my arrangements yet. Follow me into the after-cabin."
+
+Baptiste obeyed.
+
+"Now take up the flooring," continued the captain.
+
+When the boards were raised a long piece of lead piping was disclosed,
+which was connected with the end of one of the ship's two pumps.
+
+"Cut that piping off as close as you can to the pump, and bring it on
+deck."
+
+This was done; then Carew, to the astonishment of his crew, proceeded to
+bend the piping until it assumed the form of a lengthened U. Putting a
+bung into one end of it he poured water into it from the other end until
+it was full. Dipping the open end into the sea, he passed the other arm
+through one of the ports, so that it depended into the cabin below the
+level of the water-line.
+
+"Hah! I see now; it is a syphon," exclaimed Baptiste.
+
+"Exactly so. Now follow my plan. As soon as we sight the barque, I take
+the bung out of the inner arm of the syphon and allow the sea to pour
+in, until I bring the yacht down as near the water's edge as I safely
+can. Then I haul my syphon on board again and so stop the flow. We hoist
+signals of distress. If _La Bonne Esperance_ won't pay any attention to
+us and sails by, all we have to do is to pump the water out of the
+yacht, and try our luck elsewhere. If the barque replies to our signals,
+and there can be no doubt about her intention to pick us up, I pull this
+cord, out comes the plug, in rushes the sea again, we jump into the
+dinghy, and as we are rowing off to the French vessel the old _Petrel_
+goes down. What do you think of that, Baptiste?"
+
+"Excellent--excellent!" exclaimed the mate.
+
+"And to avoid all chance of a hitch," continued Carew, who was
+interested in his work, "I am going to scuttle the yacht in another
+place, and lead another cord from the second plug on to the deck. Thus
+we will be doubly certain; for one plug may get jammed and refuse to
+come out, or a fish may get sucked into the hole and choke it. I have
+heard of such things happening."
+
+"You are a very clever man, captain. When you do start on a job you
+carry it out in a thorough manner. With your pluck and ingenuity you'd
+make a splendid pirate, were it not for your unfortunate scruples;" and
+the mate sighed regretfully when he thought of the useful talents wasted
+on this Englishman.
+
+At midday Carew took the latitude, and found that he had not misjudged
+his position. As the wind had not varied a quarter of a point since the
+yacht had sailed from Rio, it was almost certain that the barque would
+pass within a mile or so.
+
+El Chico, who had the keenest eyes of any on board, had been sent aloft
+to keep a good lookout for vessels. He sat on the crosstrees, and in the
+course of the day reported several craft, but none answered to the
+description of the French barque.
+
+Much as Carew had shrunk from the enterprise, he was now carried away by
+the excitement of the chase; and as the hours went by he became acutely
+anxious. He feared that he had sailed too far out to sea, and that the
+barque would pass him unobserved in the night.
+
+They waited in silence, staring eagerly across the expanse of glaring
+water.
+
+At last, at three o'clock in the afternoon, El Chico called out--
+
+"There is a barque yonder that looks something like her."
+
+"Where away?" said Baptiste.
+
+"She's coming up close-hauled on the port-tack."
+
+"Has she brown topsides and some bright green about her figure-head?"
+
+"I can't make any colour out yet."
+
+Then the mate went aloft with the binocular. After some minutes he
+scrambled down the rigging again. "Hurrah!" he cried, with a triumphant
+glitter in his eyes. "We have her safe! That is _La Belle Esperance_!"
+
+"If we run a mile more to leeward we'll be right in her track," shouted
+El Chico from aloft.
+
+All was now bustle on board the yacht. Letting the foresheet draw, they
+ran before the wind for about a quarter of an hour; then, heaving-to
+again, the cork was taken out of the syphon, and the yacht began to fill
+gradually. The barque was still more than three miles off, so there was
+ample time to prepare everything.
+
+"Now for the signals of distress," cried Carew; "bring up the flags."
+
+The two flags of the international code--N and B--were hoisted to the
+gaff end, which indicate that a vessel is in need of assistance.
+
+"They won't be able to see that for some time yet," said Baptiste. "Your
+signal flags are too small."
+
+"Then rig up the long-distance signal," cried Carew. "It is a square
+flag at the masthead with something like a ball beneath it. Hoist the
+large ensign, and fasten the life-buoy to the mast; that will look like
+a ball."
+
+The barque was now heading straight for the yacht. When she was about a
+mile off Carew loaded the small brass signal gun and fired it.
+
+About a minute afterwards a wreath of smoke was seen to issue from the
+barque's side. Then the report of a gun was heard.
+
+"We are safe now. They will pick us up," said Carew. "Hallo, there!
+Inboard with that syphon at once, or the yacht will go down under our
+feet."
+
+The men had been watching the approaching barque so intently that they
+had not observed how low in the water their own vessel now was. The
+cabin was three parts full, and all the movable articles in it were
+afloat. The syphon was brought on board, and they waited yet a little
+longer before taking the final step; for the wind had fallen light
+again, and the barque was making but slow progress towards them.
+
+"Up goes some bunting yonder," said El Chico.
+
+Carew looked through the telescope, and saw that the vessel had hoisted
+the signal H F, which signifies, "We are coming to your assistance."
+
+"Now, then, all hands tumble into the dinghy," said Carew, as, seizing
+the cords, he pulled both plugs out of the yacht's side. "Good-bye, old
+_Petrel_!" he cried, leaping into the boat after his men. "Now, pull
+away, lads."
+
+Carew's experience in scuttling vessels was naturally limited, so he
+had miscalculated the rapidity with which an already water-logged craft
+will go down if two large auger-holes are opened in her sides.
+
+The men had not pulled a couple of strokes before the yacht's bow rose
+suddenly, her stern dipped, and she sank with a gurgling sound. So near
+was the dinghy that she narrowly escaped being sucked into the vortex.
+
+They rested on their oars and gazed silently at the spot where the smart
+little yawl that had been their home for so long had floated but a
+moment before. Then, as the water smoothed over her grave, they looked
+over the side of the dinghy and beheld a strange sight. With all her
+white sails set and her flags still flying, the _Petrel_ went slowly
+down, with a gentle, oscillating movement, into the depths of that
+marvellously pellucid sea. Two sharks accompanied her, swimming round
+and round her; one thrust his evil snout for a moment into the cabin
+hatchway, as if to see if there were men below. Lower and lower the
+yacht descended into depths where the sharks could not support the
+increasing pressure of the water, so, deserting her, swam upwards; still
+lower, till she appeared no larger than a toy boat, and they could still
+distinguish her; still lower, and at last she disappeared into the
+blackness of the still, under ocean.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+
+Carew gazed silently downwards into the clear, dark sea for some moments
+after the yacht had sunk entirely out of sight; then, raising his head,
+he looked towards the barque, and saw that she was lying hove-to, with
+her mainyard laid aback, about a quarter of a mile distant.
+
+"Pull away, lads," he said. "Let us get on board the Frenchman, and
+don't forget that we ran into a bit of wreckage last night and so sprang
+a leak. Say as little more as you can help, and don't give conflicting
+accounts of our accident."
+
+They soon came alongside the vessel, and clambered on to her deck by a
+rope's end that was lowered to them. The captain of the barque gave the
+order to sling the dinghy on deck and square away again.
+
+This being done, he turned to Carew and said in French, "I am very
+happy, sir, that I was so near at hand when your vessel sank. She went
+down very suddenly. Pray what was the cause?"
+
+Carew gave the very probable explanation of the mishap which had been
+decided on.
+
+"You must have run into that bit of wreckage with considerable force,"
+said the captain. "What was it--a large spar?"
+
+"Something of the sort, I imagine," replied Carew; "but we could see
+nothing. It must have been floating just below the level of the water."
+
+"It is a lucky thing for you that this happened so near to the Brazilian
+coast and in the track of shipping, instead of in the middle of the
+Atlantic. You should have under-girded the vessel when you found that
+she had sprung so serious a leak."
+
+"So we did," broke in Baptiste. "We got a jib under her bows. But it was
+no good. She was strained along her whole bilge. I wonder she did not
+fall to pieces."
+
+"Let me introduce myself to you," said Carew. "My name is Allen. I was
+the owner of the unfortunate little yacht which is now so far below us.
+I think I recognise your vessel. Were you not lying near us under
+Villegagnon?"
+
+"That is quite right, sir, and I recognised your yacht as soon as I saw
+your signal of distress. My name is Captain Mourez, and this is the
+French barque _La Bonne Esperance_, bound for Swansea. And now, sir,
+what would you like me to do with you and your crew? I see smoke ahead,
+which should come from some steamer bound for Rio. Shall I signal her
+and put you on board, or do you feel inclined to come on with us to
+Swansea?"
+
+Carew did not look in the captain's face, and his voice shook as he
+replied, "I should esteem it a great favour, Captain Mourez, if you
+would allow us to be your passengers as far as Swansea. I will of course
+repay you for this when we reach England."
+
+"Say nothing about that at present," replied the captain proudly. "You
+can do what you think proper when you reach port. A French sailor is
+always glad to assist other sailors in distress without the inducement
+of a reward for doing so."
+
+The boastful speech of the patriotic captain stated no more than the
+truth. French sailors rarely hesitate to risk their lives at sea in
+going to the rescue of their fellow-men; in this respect differing
+considerably from the mariners of some other European nations, who have
+acquired an unenviable notoriety for a selfish indifference to the
+sufferings of others.
+
+The captain looked from Carew to Baptiste. He could distinguish from the
+latter's accent and appearance that he was no common sailor. "This
+gentleman is your friend, I suppose?" he said.
+
+"My friend, and the mate of the yacht," replied Carew. "I was my own
+captain."
+
+"I see that you are a genuine English yachtsman. But surely this is a
+French gentleman?"
+
+"No, Captain Mourez," broke in Baptiste quickly; "I am an English
+subject, but I am a Creole of the Mauritius, and of French origin.
+Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Baptiste Fortier."
+
+"Very well," said the captain. "We can find room for your two men in the
+forecastle. You, Mr. Allen and Mr. Fortier, will occupy cabins aft. We
+have plenty to spare. Come below and I will show you round."
+
+They entered the saloon--a spacious one for a vessel of her size. There
+were four cabins on each side of it. Only two of these were occupied;
+one by the captain and another by his mate. Two others were now placed
+at the disposal of Carew and Baptiste.
+
+The captain made his two guests sit down with him at the saloon table,
+and produced a bottle of Bordeaux for their refreshment. The mate of _La
+Belle Esperance_ soon came below and joined the party. Though no
+drunkard, he was never far away when there was a drawing of corks. His
+name was Duval; he was a wiry, red-headed Norman, somewhat hot-tempered,
+but very garrulous and merry. Captain Mourez was a tall, handsome man,
+with black hair and beard, a Breton by birth, taciturn as a rule, but
+very courteous in his manners.
+
+While these four were sitting in the saloon talking over the wreck of
+the _Petrel_, there was suddenly heard the sound of something falling
+heavily on the deck just overhead; then a cry and a scuffling of many
+feet.
+
+Duval hurried on deck to learn what the noise signified. Shortly
+afterwards he returned again. "It is that imbecile young apprentice,
+Halle, again. What an awkward cub it is! He has fallen from the mizzen
+rigging this time; not from a great height, luckily. He has not hurt
+himself seriously, but he seems rather sick and dizzy."
+
+The crew of the _Petrel_ were soon at home on their new vessel. El Toro
+and El Chico were made much of by the kindly Frenchmen in the
+forecastle. As luck would have it, none of the crew of the barque
+understood Spanish; so the two Spaniards, who knew no French, had not to
+reply to questions as to the details of the yacht's misadventure. El
+Toro especially, whose dense head was entirely devoid of imagination,
+would have been certain to come to grief in attempting to lie in an
+ingenious and consistent manner.
+
+In the afternoon the loquacious Norman mate insisted on taking Carew and
+Baptiste all over the vessel and showing them everything. He was
+gratified by the keen interest the two passengers seemed to take in his
+explanation. They listened attentively to all he said, for reasons of
+their own. They learnt that the vessel's company, officers included,
+numbered seventeen souls; that there was no second mate, but that the
+boatswain took the port watch and lived with the carpenter in the small
+deck-house.
+
+Duval also took them into the forecastle, where some of the watch off
+duty were sleeping at the time. Among them was the young apprentice who
+had fallen from the rigging. He was tossing about restlessly in his
+bunk, and his face was very flushed.
+
+Baptiste as he passed by glanced casually at him, then scanned his face
+earnestly for some time. "Come out of this," he said to Carew. "It is
+too hot down here. Let us go on deck."
+
+That evening the wind freshened considerably, and the barque, with yards
+braced up, was making good way through the water. Carew, unable to
+sleep, came on deck shortly before midnight, and sat down in a dark,
+quiet corner to meditate. Now that the excitement of the preliminary
+preparations was over, he began to realise to the full what was before
+him; and an intense abhorrence of the crime he had undertaken once more
+oppressed his soul. He could not retreat now. He must be the cause of
+the death of all these innocent men, who had come to the rescue of his
+life. If he spared them he would be carried on to England to pay the
+penalty of his offences.
+
+As he sat brooding thus miserably, a man walked towards him from the
+fore part of the ship. Carew saw the red glow of his cigarette before
+he could distinguish the man in the darkness, and he knew that it was
+his evil genius.
+
+"Baptiste, is that you?"
+
+"Here I am, captain. A lovely night, is it not?"
+
+"Sit down here," said Carew, "and speak to me. No one can overhear us
+here, I think."
+
+"No; it will be all right if we do not raise our voices," replied
+Baptiste, looking round.
+
+"How is this going to end?" whispered Carew.
+
+"What do you mean, captain?"
+
+"How are we four to seize a vessel with a crew of seventeen strong men
+on board?"
+
+"Strong men, indeed!" replied the Frenchman. "They will be as weak as
+babies in a few days' time. By the way, I see that you did not omit to
+bring your medicine chest on board with you."
+
+Carew shuddered. "Poison!" he whispered, in a terrified voice. "Do you
+mean that?"
+
+"Why not, captain? It is a merciful and painless death if the right
+stuff is used."
+
+Carew said nothing for some time. "Whatever is done must be done soon,"
+he muttered.
+
+"That is so, captain. This vessel must be ours while we are still in the
+trades and within a few days' run of a South American port. It will be
+difficult enough for four of us to work her, even in these calm waters.
+We must not postpone action till we get into the region of rougher
+weather."
+
+"Oh, that this dreadful thing were not necessary!" Carew groaned.
+
+"Ah, sir, don't allow those fatal scruples of yours to torment you. If I
+had some of your courage, and you some of my philosophy, what a fine
+couple we should be! But as it is at present, I am the more useful man
+of the two, despite my physical cowardice. Believe me, Mr. Carew, the
+ancient was right who said that to know oneself is the secret of
+happiness. If a man has a conscience at all, it ought to be a stable one
+that does not vary. You have got a set of moral principles of a sort,
+but you have not the slightest idea of what they are. One day you will
+commit an action with a light heart; on the morrow your remorse will
+madden you. Such inconsistency means misery. Know thyself. If you will
+have a code of ethics, know it and stick to it, and be happy. But now
+that you have gone so far, I recommend you to abjure conscience and
+moral principles, and substitute for them my beautifully simple code of
+ethics, which is summed up in three words--fear of consequences."
+
+"I wish, indeed, that I could do so, Baptiste."
+
+"If you wish it, this satisfactory result will come in time. All changes
+in the moral sense are arrived at by wishing. _Experto crede_, as they
+taught me in the _lycee_ at Nimes."
+
+Neither spoke for some time; then Baptiste said--
+
+"You were born under a lucky star, captain. I think that Providence has
+found a way of sparing your sensitive conscience. She will do most of
+the killing for you."
+
+"What do you mean?" exclaimed Carew.
+
+"Hush! not so loud. You remember that a young man fell from the mizzen
+rigging while we were below drinking with the captain?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"He is our unconscious ally. He will kill off a good many of his
+comrades for us. But I will not mystify you any longer. Why did he fall
+off the rigging--because he was awkward, as Duval said? Not a bit of it.
+He fell because he was dizzy. Why was he dizzy? Because he was ill. This
+afternoon, when I saw him first, I more than suspected that a fall could
+not account for all his symptoms. I have just examined him again. I know
+the signs well. He is in the first stage of _yellow fever_!"
+
+"Yellow fever?"
+
+"Yes, yellow fever has come to help us. The man has been very sick and
+is now delirious. The stupid captain has seen him, and puts it all down
+to his fall; says he must have injured his spine. How lucky for us was
+that fall! Led off the scent by it, the idiots will not suspect what is
+the matter with the man until the _vomito negro_ declares itself. They
+have not separated him from the rest. He is now lying in his bunk in the
+forecastle. All the watch below are sleeping round him. It is a small
+forecastle, and the crew, imagining that fresh air is bad for a sick
+man, have closed the ports. It is stifling down there at present. It is
+a pest-house. All those men are breathing in contagion. Do you know that
+it is the worst form of yellow fever that is now raging at Rio--very
+contagious, very fatal? If it breaks out in a vessel like this it will
+spread like wildfire. Man after man will fall sick and die."
+
+"Ourselves included," said Carew recklessly.
+
+"No, sir. We will take precautions in time. I have had the fever once,
+and am not likely to have it again. I have hinted the truth to El Chico
+and El Toro, and they have suddenly developed a hygienic craze for fresh
+air, and insist on sleeping on deck to-night, to the amazement of the
+French sailors. I would not like to insure the lives of the men who
+sleep in that forecastle; most of them are doomed by this time."
+
+Carew felt his skin turn cold and tingle with horror as he listened to
+the Frenchman's cold-blooded exultation in the dreadful prospect.
+
+"Good-night, captain. I am going to turn in now; and, by the way, let me
+advise you to keep on deck in the cool wind as much as possible, and
+smoke perpetually. Tobacco is a splendid disinfectant."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+
+On the day after the crew of the _Petrel_ had been taken on board the
+barque the wind freshened and was so much to the south of east that the
+vessel was enabled to sail in a north-easterly direction, a course which
+would bring her to the vicinity of the Trinidad and Martin Vas
+Archipelago.
+
+When Carew came on deck in the morning he found Baptiste there before
+him. The Provencal walked up to him jauntily, twirling his long black
+moustache, and looking jubilant. "I have seen young Halle again," he
+said, in a low voice. "He is very bad. The symptoms are unmistakable;
+but no one suspects the truth so far. Two other men are complaining of
+headache."
+
+"Let the accursed plague work its way," said Carew gloomily, "but tell
+me nothing about it."
+
+"So be it, sir," said Baptiste, with a shrug of his shoulders.
+
+The springing up of so favourable a wind put the captain of _La Bonne
+Esperance_ in a very contented frame of mind. In his delight he became
+more talkative than was his wont, and at frequent intervals during the
+day sought out Carew in order to converse with him.
+
+Carew, for his part, did his utmost--without appearing churlish--to
+avoid the company of Captain Mourez; for he recognised him as being a
+kind-hearted and an honest man.
+
+The captain observed his passenger's unsociable mood, and, attributing
+this to his sorrow at the loss of his yacht, endeavoured to cheer him
+with lively gossip, but produced the opposite result.
+
+Nothing noteworthy occurred during the day; the wind held steady, and
+the vessel made good progress. At about ten o'clock that night, Carew
+was sitting alone in the saloon, killing thought by reading a French
+novel which the captain had lent him, when Mourez himself came in. His
+face bore a very anxious expression.
+
+"Mr. Allen," he said, "I am seriously alarmed about that man Halle. I
+fear that he has the fever."
+
+"The yellow fever?" exclaimed Carew, not raising his eyes from his book.
+
+"It seems so to me; but I have never seen a case of yellow fever. Do you
+mind coming with me to the forecastle and giving me your opinion?"
+
+"I will do so with pleasure," replied Carew, rising from his seat; "but
+my opinion is not worth much."
+
+They entered the forecastle, which was dimly lighted by a small lantern.
+Halle was lying on his bunk, keeping up a constant delirious chatter.
+The other men, instead of sleeping soundly through their watch below
+after the manner of sailors, were sitting together in a group at the
+corner of the forecastle farthest removed from the sick man, looking
+scared and talking to each other in subdued voices.
+
+Carew stood by Halle's bunk and looked at him. A change for the worse
+had recently come on. His face wore an expression of intense anxiety.
+His skin was wrinkled and of a dark yellow colour.
+
+The captain made a sign to Carew, and they went on deck again. "I have
+never seen yellow fever," said the latter; "ask my mate, Baptiste
+Fortier, what he thinks about it; he has had the fever himself." Thus
+did this strange man trifle with his conscience as usual, and attempt to
+shift the responsibility for the next step in the tragedy on to his
+companion.
+
+Baptiste was found, and was sent into the forecastle. It would be quite
+useless to lie about the facts now, so, returning to where Carew and
+Mourez were standing, he said, "It is yellow fever. I am sure of it."
+
+On hearing this the captain began to pace up and down the deck in a
+state of great agitation, wringing his hands. "Good heavens! this is a
+terrible affair," he cried. "For thirty hours Halle has been spreading
+contagion in the forecastle. Who knows where this will end?"
+
+Then Captain Mourez stood still, and after pondering a little while
+addressed Carew. "I must at once convert some portion of the vessel into
+a hospital. The forecastle is no longer a fit place for the healthy men,
+so we will give it up to the sick. Sir, we must pray for a fresh breeze
+to carry us quickly into northern latitudes, where the cold will kill
+the plague that has come to us."
+
+At that moment the boatswain came on to the quarter-deck, and Mourez
+ordered him to call up the watch below.
+
+The men reached the deck with unusual promptitude. They were summoned
+aft, and the captain in a few words explained to them how matters stood,
+and exhorted them to be courageous as French sailors should be. He
+ordered them to rig up a large awning forward, under which the crew were
+to live so long as the vessel was in warm latitudes. He also instructed
+the boatswain to ventilate the forecastle as thoroughly as was possible
+by means of wind-sails, so that a cool temperature might be obtained for
+the sick men.
+
+On the following day two other men fell ill, and were admitted into the
+hospital. In the afternoon Halle died, and his body was immediately
+lowered into the sea.
+
+Before sunset the loom of land was visible over the ship's bows. It was
+the desert island of Trinidad, situated near latitude 20 deg. south,
+about six hundred miles from the coast of Brazil.
+
+And now a most unfortunate calamity befell the pestilence-stricken
+vessel. The wind completely died away, and she lay motionless on a sea
+of oily smoothness for three whole days. The vertical sun blazed down
+upon her out of the cloudless sky, and the intense sultriness of the
+atmosphere lowered the energies of those who were still in good health,
+and predisposed them to contagion, while it hurried on the fatal
+termination of the fever for the sick. A gloom fell on the ship's
+company. The men looked into each other's faces with helpless terror,
+for what could be done against this invisible foe? One after another
+sickened, died, and was lowered over the side in shotted shroud.
+Baptiste and the two Spaniards, though they considered themselves
+acclimatised to the tropics, and almost proof against contagion, shared
+the prevailing sense of terror.
+
+On the second day of the calm, the captain, who had doctored all the
+sick men to the best of his ability, was himself attacked by the fever.
+
+Carew, who had some little knowledge of medicine, volunteered to take
+his place, and as the mate gratefully complied with his request,
+employed all his time in attending upon the patients in the forecastle
+and the captain in his cabin.
+
+On the third day of the calm the contagion seemed to have spent itself.
+No fresh cases were reported, and those who were lying sick became no
+worse.
+
+Up to this date eight men out of the seventeen that composed the ship's
+company had died. Among these were the boatswain and the ship's cook. It
+was necessary to appoint some other man to take charge of the port
+watch; so the mate, after consulting with Carew, gave this post to
+Baptiste, as being the best educated man on board. The Provencal asked
+that the two Spaniards should be put upon his watch. El Chico, acting
+under Baptiste's orders, offered to undertake the duties of ship's cook.
+
+On this morning, being the fifth since the _Petrel's_ crew had been
+received on board, the mate came up to Baptiste and made some remarks to
+him which set the wily ruffian thinking. Duval had asked him whether he
+did not think the fever showed signs of abating.
+
+"It is impossible to say yet," replied Baptiste. "Yellow fever always
+comes in waves; it subsides and intensifies alternately."
+
+"You see, comrade," said Duval, "that even if we include you four, we
+are now very short handed. If we lose a few more men, we cannot sail
+this barque to Europe. I have decided to run back to Rio as soon as a
+breeze springs up."
+
+When the mate left him, Baptiste went in search of Carew, and found him
+in the captain's cabin, watching the sick man, who was now lying
+insensible in the last stage of the fever.
+
+Baptiste looked into the pain-distorted face. "He will go soon," he
+whispered to Carew.
+
+Carew nodded.
+
+"That was a clever idea of yours, sir," said the Frenchman.
+
+"What idea?"
+
+"To constitute yourself ship's doctor."
+
+Carew made no reply, but he understood what the remark signified.
+Baptiste, however, had misjudged him. With his usual inconsistency in
+crime, far from availing himself of his opportunities to poison the men,
+he had, on the contrary, risked his life and done his utmost to save the
+captain and the others under his charge. He was happier and was pleased
+with himself while acting thus, though he was also glad to find that his
+patients died despite his efforts. He seemed to imagine that he was
+driving a bargain with avenging Heaven--that he could set off his
+present righteous conduct against his other crimes. Men who reason with
+the greatest clearness on all other matters, often become insanely
+illogical when a guilty conscience asks for soothing casuistry.
+
+"How are you treating him?" asked Baptiste.
+
+"Not in the way you are thinking of," Carew replied, looking into the
+other's eyes.
+
+Baptiste saw that he had been mistaken in his surmise, but said no more
+on the subject.
+
+Carew's box of medicines was by his side. Baptiste looked into it, and
+drew out a bottle. "This is not poison, is it?" he asked.
+
+"No; but if you took a good dose of it it would make you feel very ill."
+
+"What is a good dose of it?"
+
+"About ten drops; it is in a concentrated form."
+
+"That will answer my purpose, then," and Baptiste put the bottle in his
+pocket. "And now, sir, I want some stuff that will prevent insomnia."
+
+The eyes of the two men met. Carew asked no questions, but merely said,
+"Take this bottle, then. Half a teaspoonful is a large dose."
+
+"Let us go into your cabin for a few minutes," said Baptiste, glancing
+at Mourez. "This man seems quite unconscious; but a man may hear as long
+as he has breath in him. I will not trust him."
+
+They crossed the saloon to Carew's cabin.
+
+"Well, what is it?"
+
+"The fever and the hot calm have done our work well while we have been
+standing by idle," said the Frenchman; "but now the time has come for
+us to act. We must seize this vessel to-night. There is a look of wind
+in the sky now, and Duval will set sail and make for Rio as soon as a
+breeze springs up. We must wait no longer."
+
+"Let it be to-night, then."
+
+"Come on deck at ten o'clock this evening. Bring the revolvers with you.
+Leave all the rest to me. You dislike details, so I will arrange
+everything."
+
+Carew bowed his head in assent, but said nothing.
+
+"You have two sick men in the forecastle, I think," said Baptiste; "are
+they strong enough to make any resistance?"
+
+Carew shook his head.
+
+"That is well. The captain will certainly not have much fight in him. So
+that leaves us only six healthy men to deal with; one on my watch, five
+on the other watch."
+
+The mate now went on deck, and Carew returned to the captain's cabin. He
+found that brave sailor lying on his bed dead.
+
+"I am glad--for his sake and for mine," muttered the Englishman to
+himself.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+
+It is no pleasant task to describe the events that now took place on the
+French barque. This is no tale of daring buccaneers, of exciting
+hand-to-hand combats of desperate men; but a narrative of cold-blooded
+and dastardly crime.
+
+Now that the time for carrying out his devilish scheme had come,
+Baptiste had taken the lead of the conspirators. Being a pacific person
+who hated fighting and feared danger, he determined to omit no possible
+precaution to obviate the risk of failure. His brain, fertile of
+ingenious villainy, was not long in devising how to do this.
+
+In the first place, he instructed Carew on no account to leave his cabin
+between eight and ten that evening. Then he called aside the two
+Spaniards and explained his plan to them. He gave El Chico the first
+bottle which he had taken from Carew's medicine chest, and directed him
+to mix a certain quantity of the contents with the soup he was about to
+make for the men's dinner--a quantity which he calculated would be
+insufficient to produce a pronounced taste in the soup, but sufficient
+to cause unpleasant sensations in those who partook of it.
+
+At eight bells that evening the port watch relieved the starboard. There
+was absolutely nothing for the men to do, as it was still a flat calm,
+and all the sails had been furled. Duval had taken this precaution on
+the previous day, fearing that the fever might spread still further, and
+that he would not have enough hands left to shorten sail were a strong
+breeze to spring up suddenly.
+
+Duval, however, insisted upon the watches being set and the discipline
+of the vessel being carried on as usual, more with the object of
+employing the men's time and distracting their attention from the
+horrors of the situation than for any other reason.
+
+When Baptiste came aft to relieve Duval, as officer of the watch, the
+latter said, "Do you know if Mr. Allen is in his cabin, Fortier? I wish
+to see him."
+
+"I think it would be better not to disturb him. He is quite worn out
+from want of sleep. He has sat up with poor Mourez two nights in
+succession; and now that the captain is dead, and the other two sick men
+are getting better, he is having a long sleep."
+
+"Are the other men getting better?"
+
+"So Mr. Allen thinks," replied Baptiste. "With our brave captain's death
+the fever seems to have expended itself. We have no fresh cases
+to-day."
+
+"I am not sure of that," said Duval gloomily. "I wished to see Mr. Allen
+in order to tell him that I, and no less than three of the other men,
+have been feeling very unwell for the last half-hour."
+
+The drugged soup had done its work.
+
+"Indeed!" said Baptiste. "And, now that I look at you, your cheeks are
+somewhat pale, sir. But we will not wake Mr. Allen; it is unnecessary.
+He left a bottle of medicine with me this afternoon. It is a powerful
+febrifuge, and he instructed me to give a dose to the sick men below,
+and to any others who should feel in any way indisposed. I think it
+would be a prudent course to serve some round to all hands. It can do no
+harm."
+
+Duval approving of this measure, Baptiste went into his cabin and
+brought out the bottle of opiate which Carew had given him, and served
+out a very strong dose to Duval, and to each of the four men on his
+watch. Duval then retired to his cabin, and the men lay under the awning
+forward, all to sink, under the influence of the drug, into a heavy
+slumber, from which it would not be easy to wake them; while Baptiste
+was left in charge of the deck, with the two Spaniards and the remaining
+Frenchman.
+
+"You feel all right, Leon, I hope?" said Baptiste to this man, a sturdy
+Breton, who had not been affected by the drugged soup.
+
+"Yes, thank you, sir," he replied; "there's nothing the matter with me."
+
+"Won't you take a dose of the medicine as a precaution? Prevention is
+better than cure."
+
+"Not for me the filth. Time enough for medicine when one is ill, and not
+much good it does then if we may judge from the results on this unhappy
+vessel."
+
+It was necessary for Baptiste's purpose to get this man out of the way
+before anything could be done. First he thought of asking the Spaniards
+to despatch him with their knives; but this might create a disturbance
+and awake the sleepers; so the cautious Provencal waited until a safer
+plan should suggest itself.
+
+An hour of the watch had passed, and it was now nine o'clock. The sky
+became overcast, and a drizzling rain began to fall.
+
+"We shall have wind soon," said Leon. "Would it not be well to wake Mr.
+Duval?"
+
+"Not for a few minutes," replied Baptiste. "Come, now; this damp is the
+very thing to bring on fever. We ought to take something to keep the
+enemy out. If you don't like medicine, what say you to a drop of genuine
+old cognac? I have some in my cabin."
+
+"That is more in my line," said the Breton, smacking his lips; "a fig
+for your doctor's stuff, I say."
+
+"Then follow me, but step quietly. Mr. Duval's cabin is next to mine.
+If he finds you drinking brandy aft, though it is only for medicinal
+purposes, you can guess what a row there will be."
+
+Baptiste led the way to his cabin, and produced a bottle of brandy. He
+helped the man freely, but he did not attempt to drug the drink with the
+opiate, for its taste was too unmistakable.
+
+The brandy was strong, and even the Breton's hard head soon succumbed to
+it. He began to exhibit signs of intoxication, and was chattering in a
+disconnected fashion, when Baptiste suddenly rose from his seat and
+placed his hand on the man's shoulder. "Hush!" he whispered; "hush, you
+idiot! I hear Mr. Duval moving in his cabin; your noise has roused him.
+He will catch you if you don't hold your tongue. Remain here while I get
+him out of the way, under some pretext or other. Then I will return for
+you."
+
+Baptiste darted through the cabin door, and locked it on the man within,
+who, after awaiting him for some time, helped himself to some more
+brandy, and at last fell into a drunken sleep on the bed.
+
+Baptiste then entered Carew's cabin, and found him sitting up, reading
+the French novel which Captain Mourez had lent him.
+
+"Come along, sir; the time has arrived," said the Provencal. "Bring the
+revolvers with you, and first see that they are loaded. I don't suppose
+we shall have to use them, but _Quien sabe?_ as the Spaniards say."
+
+Carew made no reply, but taking the pistols from the locker in which he
+kept them, he followed his accomplice on to the deck. As they walked
+towards the fore part of the vessel Baptiste described his preparations
+for the _coup_. "The crew are at our mercy," he said; "Duval in his
+cabin, and the four men of his watch under the awning forward, are
+sleeping the heavy sleep of opium. Leon is a prisoner in my cabin, drunk
+or nearly so, in the company of an open bottle of brandy, and you say
+that the two sick men in the forecastle are too weak to move. Now, first
+of all, we must deal with the four men under the awning, for they are
+the most dangerous."
+
+Still Carew said not a word.
+
+The two Spaniards now joined them. Baptiste looked round the horizon.
+"We shall have the wind down on us soon," he said; "we must do our work
+quickly."
+
+The rain was falling more heavily than before. The night was very dark,
+and there was not a star visible in the heavens. Though as yet there was
+not a breath of wind, the ocean, as if in anticipation of its coming,
+was heaving in a long, high swell, and the vessel rolled uneasily, her
+spars groaning dismally aloft.
+
+Baptiste took two of the revolvers from Carew's hands and handed one to
+each of the Spaniards.
+
+"Don't use them, lads, unless it is absolutely necessary; we don't want
+noise. You have your knives," he whispered.
+
+"I have brought the bits of line you asked for," said El Chico,
+producing several lengths of small-sized but very strong rope.
+
+"What do you intend to do, Baptiste?" inquired Carew, in a hoarse voice,
+speaking for the first time.
+
+"Pinion those sleepers securely with these cords, fasten a weight to
+each man's leg, and heave them overboard," replied Baptiste.
+
+"It would be easier to knife them as they lie there," muttered El Toro,
+whose bloodthirsty instinct was up.
+
+"Yes," sneered Baptiste; "you love the sight of blood, you mad bull. You
+would like to have a brutal fight now. But that plan will not suit me. I
+am a man of peace; I hate unnecessary disturbance. Now to work."
+
+Then Carew spoke firmly, once more asserting his right to command.
+"Secure those men with the cords, but do not kill them. Let them live
+till to-morrow. Then I will decide what shall be done with them."
+
+"What absurd folly is this?" hissed the Provencal savagely. "Do you wish
+to endanger all our lives? They may free themselves in the night and
+retake the ship. No, they must die."
+
+"Silence! You shall know that I am still your master. These men shall
+not die to-night," said Carew resolutely.
+
+"This is too much," cried Baptiste, with impatient fury. "I have
+arranged everything so well, and now you interfere to spoil all. Curse
+that intermittent conscience of yours. It is like a geyser spouting out
+tepid water at intervals, and always at the most inopportune moment."
+
+"I will not discuss this with you," replied Carew doggedly; "but you
+know me, you coward. If you kill one of these men without my orders,
+except in self-defence, you will have to deal with me--you understand?"
+
+The Provencal did understand. He swore some horrible oaths to himself,
+and said--
+
+"There is no time to argue now. We will humour your fancy. Come on, El
+Toro and El Chico. Let us tie those fellows up as quickly and as quietly
+as we can."
+
+The three men crept noiselessly to the awning beneath which the French
+sailors lay breathing stertorously under the stupefying influence of the
+strong narcotic.
+
+Carew, meanwhile, stood outside under the rainy sky, motionless, taking
+no part in the proceedings, and at that moment wishing that the fever
+had seized him also and that he were dead and quit of it all.
+
+Baptiste and the Spaniards stooped over the sleeping men, and with the
+skill of sailors bound their limbs in such a manner that it was
+impossible for them to stir, far less to free themselves. In so complete
+a state of coma were they that the tension of the tightly drawn cords
+did not rouse them, though they murmured in their sleep. Carew almost
+hoped that they would awake. If they defended themselves and were killed
+in the heat of a mortal struggle, it would not have seemed so horrible
+to him as this silent, passionless piece of villainy.
+
+When the men were all secured, Baptiste said, "If you will stand by here
+and guard the prisoners, captain, we will go aft and see to the others."
+
+So leaving Carew behind, Baptiste and the two Spaniards went to the
+other end of the vessel and entered the saloon. First they softly opened
+the door of Baptiste's cabin, and there they found the Breton sailor
+sleeping soundly, the half-empty brandy bottle by his side.
+
+The two Spaniards held him while Baptiste bound him firmly. It was not
+till the operation was concluded that he awoke. He opened his eyes and
+looked about him in a bewildered way for a few moments; then he tried to
+raise himself and could not; and, perceiving the cords that restrained
+him, he suddenly realised the situation, and called out at the top of
+his voice, "To the rescue! A mutiny! A mutiny!"
+
+"Quick! away! leave him!" cried Baptiste rapidly. "To Duval's cabin, and
+secure him before this fellow's row wakes him. Quick! Quick!"
+
+They ran across the saloon and burst into the mate's cabin, the two
+Spaniards leading the way; for Baptiste, like a prudent general, gave
+his orders from the rear.
+
+There was a lamp burning in the cabin. Duval, roused by the din, was
+sitting up in his bed, half awake, still confused by the heavy dose of
+opium that had been administered to him. Just as the men violently swung
+the door open, Leon again raised the shout of "A mutiny! A mutiny! Mr.
+Duval, defend yourself!"
+
+The Norman heard that terrible cry, and all his senses returned to him
+in a moment.
+
+"Grapple with him at once," cried Baptiste.
+
+The two Spaniards precipitated themselves upon him; but though not a big
+man, he was a strong and wiry one. Leaping from his bunk he thrust the
+men aside, and seizing the only weapon within his reach, an iron
+water-can, he swung it round and brought it down on Baptiste's skull.
+
+"Oh, you treacherous wretch, take that!" he cried.
+
+The Provencal's evil career would have been terminated there and then
+had it not been for El Toro, who seized Duval's arm and broke the force
+of the blow. As it was, the sharp edge of the can inflicted an ugly
+wound, and Baptiste staggered back, the blood pouring all over his face.
+
+"Kill him!" he hissed, sick and faint with pain and fear, but mad with
+rage.
+
+El Toro needed no second bidding. He thrust his long knife quickly
+between the unfortunate man's ribs. Duval uttered one groan, and fell to
+the ground dead.
+
+"That was deftly done," said the Basque, wiping the blade. "Ho! my
+little Baptiste. How dost thou feel with that cracked pate of thine?"
+
+The Provencal was sitting on a chest, his head in his hands, trembling
+with fear. "Look at my head, good El Toro, I beseech you," he cried.
+"See if it is a dangerous wound."
+
+"A mere scratch," replied the Basque, after a cursory examination. "What
+a timorous woman thou art!"
+
+His comrades washed the wound and bandaged his head; then Baptiste
+recovered his presence of mind, and gave his orders. "Put the body over
+the side at once, but first fasten a weight on to it. It must not float
+about to tell tales to some passing vessel."
+
+When this had been done, he said, "Now carry that noisy Leon out of my
+cabin. Take him forward to where the other prisoners are."
+
+The Spaniards raised the helpless Breton, who, understanding that there
+was no one to whom he could give the alarm by crying out, now resigned
+himself to his fate, and uttered not a word as they laid him by the side
+of his four comrades.
+
+"The vessel is ours!" Baptiste called out in a loud voice when he
+approached Carew. There was no further reason for the avoidance of
+noise. "I salute you, captain of _La Bonne Esperance_!"
+
+"But where is Duval?" asked Carew.
+
+"Killed, captain; but in self-defence. Look at my unfortunate head: that
+was his doing. Had it not been for our brave El Toro you would have lost
+your trusty mate."
+
+Carew looked down at the five men lying on the deck. They were all awake
+now, the pain caused by the tightness of their ligatures having at last
+dispelled the lethargy of the drug. They realised all that had happened;
+they knew that they were doomed to die at the hands of this treacherous
+band. A lantern swung from the awning-pole above them, and by its dim
+light Carew saw that their faces wore an expression of dogged
+resolution, which changed suddenly to one of loathing and contempt when
+their eyes met his. Thus they stared at him in silence. He hastily
+turned his face away.
+
+"What next, captain? It must be done sooner or later. Why not at once?"
+said Baptiste.
+
+"Take them into the forecastle for to-night. Secure the two sick men as
+well," was the reply.
+
+"Just Heaven, what a cruel thing a British conscience is!" exclaimed
+Baptiste, with a loud, scornful laugh. He was intoxicated with the
+successful issue of his scheme. "I, the man without scruples, would have
+mercifully killed these men outright. You, the man of conscience, shrink
+from doing so, but are willing to shut them up in the pestilential hole
+yonder, so that an agonising fever may kill them for you. Do you really
+flatter yourself, oh, self-deceiver, that you in this way absolve your
+soul from the guilt?"
+
+"Silence!" cried Carew angrily. The man's words had hit the mark. Some
+such vain idea had indeed crossed the warped mind. Arguments of a like
+sophistical nature were always now vaguely occurring to him, and he took
+care not to reason them out, being conscious of the fallacy of them, yet
+cherishing them. A form of moral insanity this, and not an uncommon one.
+
+El Chico, who was standing by, heard Carew's last words. "Do you want
+us to die of the fever too, captain?" he grumbled. "Who's going to stand
+sentry over the prisoners in that poisonous forecastle?"
+
+Carew saw the force of this objection.
+
+"Then put them in a row along the bulwark and lash each one to a
+ring-bolt," he said.
+
+"That is a better plan," remarked Baptiste; "we can thus keep our eyes
+on them without leaving the deck. El Chico, you keep watch for two
+hours, while the rest of us sleep. We require rest after our exciting
+day's work; and as for me, that cut over the head makes me feel rather
+queer."
+
+"See, here comes the wind," cried Carew.
+
+The clouds towards the east had opened out, revealing a patch of starry
+sky, and a light breeze had sprung up.
+
+"There won't be much of it," said Baptiste, after he had scanned the
+heavens. "Let us shake out the spanker and lie-to under that for the
+night. And to-morrow morning, captain, you must decide how you are going
+to rid us of these men. We are too few to work the vessel, and cannot be
+bothered with guarding prisoners to please you."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+
+Her capture having been effected, the barque lay hove-to under her
+spanker for the night.
+
+The south-east wind died away about midnight, and a light south-westerly
+breeze sprang up. A strong ocean current must have been setting from the
+same direction; for, though the islet of Trinidad had been so far
+distant at sunset as to be barely visible, the sound of breakers roaring
+on a beach could be plainly distinguished towards the end of the middle
+watch.
+
+At daybreak Carew was left alone in charge of the vessel, his three men
+being asleep under the awning. He paced the deck restlessly, his heart
+aching with despairing misery.
+
+The five prisoners, who were lashed along the foot of the port bulwarks,
+as if by one consent, observed a complete silence. They were too far
+apart to hold any communication with each other, and they knew how
+useless it would be to appeal to the mercy of the villains who had
+surprised them; but they all remained awake, watching intently for what
+they felt was not at all likely to occur--an opportunity to regain
+their freedom and fight for their lives.
+
+The rain had ceased, the clouds had cleared away, and out of the calm
+night gleamed the brilliant constellations of the southern hemisphere.
+There was a transparency, a depth in the heavens, such as is not
+apparent in northern latitudes. Through the nearer archipelagos of stars
+one could perceive others farther back, and beyond these others; stars
+behind stars up inconceivable distances into the depths of space; so
+that they were so crowded together as to almost unite in forming one
+continuous sheet of silver light, save in one spot, where, amid that
+most luminous portion of the firmament known as Magellan's Cloud, there
+opened out, like to a black pit, a starless void, an infinite abyss of
+nothingness.
+
+There came a faint emerald light in the east, which quickly changed to
+the pale blue of the turquoise, and the stars faded away before the
+rapid dawn of the tropics.
+
+Then Carew saw, about ten miles off, standing out darkly between him and
+the sunrise, in sharp outline against the clear sky, the desert island
+of Trinidad.
+
+It seemed to consist of a confused mass of barren mountains, most
+fantastic in their shape, falling everywhere precipitously into the
+ocean, and terminating in huge pinnacles of rock, the loftiest of which
+were crowned with wreaths of vapour. Elsewhere there were no clouds
+visible in the heavens. As the sun rose higher, its rays illumined these
+rugged summits, and they glowed as with the dull red of molten iron; for
+this island is a burnt-out volcano, and a considerable portion of it has
+been calcined into brittle cinders of a ruddy colour.
+
+It being now broad daylight, Baptiste woke up, and coming from under the
+awning gave himself a shake by way of making his toilet, glanced down
+the row of prisoners to satisfy himself that they were still safely
+secured, and then turned his face towards the dreary coast.
+
+"Hallo!" he cried, "we have drifted a long way in the night. That is an
+ugly-looking place yonder, captain. We must not get too near those black
+rocks; so we had better wake up those sleepers, and get some canvas on
+the barque at once. I suppose the next thing to be done is to make sail
+for the nearest Brazilian port."
+
+"No, Baptiste, not yet," said Carew; "I shall come to an anchor under
+that island, and wait there for a few days."
+
+"Indeed! What for?"
+
+"I have various reasons. To begin with, look at the sky. There is every
+appearance of another long calm setting in. Remember that we have yellow
+fever on board. If we land our prisoners to-day, we shall lessen our own
+risks of catching it."
+
+Baptiste whistled softly to himself.
+
+Carew stood before him, and looking steadily into his face, said,
+"Baptiste, I have determined that no more blood shall be shed on this
+vessel. I intend to put these Frenchmen ashore; then we will sail for
+Brazil."
+
+"Captain, we do not mind humouring your whims to a certain extent, but
+we are not going to put our necks in the noose to please you."
+
+"It is quite useless for you to attempt to dissuade me from my purpose.
+I have made up my mind," said Carew doggedly.
+
+Baptiste at once abandoned his threatening tone, and spoke in a
+respectful manner. "You have been very lucky so far; but don't be rash.
+Remember that luck assists him who assists himself. Consider how
+recklessly imprudent it would be to leave these men on the island. They
+would soon signal to a passing vessel, and be taken off; and pray, what
+then would our poor heads be worth?"
+
+"Vessels constantly sight Trinidad," replied Carew, "but they never pass
+very near it. For the other side of the island is fringed with dangerous
+rocks far out to sea, as the chart will show you; and, since the
+prevailing wind hereabouts is south-east, a ship would give this side
+also a wide berth, for fear of being becalmed under the lee of the
+mountains. How could the men signal to a vessel miles out at sea?"
+
+"Necessity finds a How. What is to prevent them from lighting a large
+fire?"
+
+"We will not leave them the means of lighting a fire."
+
+"They would soon discover the means. Suppose, for instance, they picked
+up some empty bottle that had been washed on shore, they could use the
+bottom of it as a burning-glass. I have heard of such a thing being
+done."
+
+"I will not argue the question with you. Those men shall be landed on
+that island; they shall not die on board this vessel."
+
+"Even if I agreed to run so great a risk, I know that the other two
+would not. You do not want a civil war on board, do you, captain?"
+
+"I do not fear one. You cannot do without me, and you all know it. If
+you murdered me and took this vessel into port, do you imagine that the
+salvage would be handed over to you without demur, as it would be to me
+if I applied for it? Grave suspicions would be raised, and there would
+be a minute investigation. Those two idiots would contradict each other
+in their evidence. It would all end in one of you turning Queen's
+evidence and the other two being hanged. Is not that right?"
+
+"I cannot deny that there is reason in your remarks," said Baptiste
+coolly. "Now am I to understand that you wish these men to live?"
+
+"I repeat that they shall not die on board this vessel!"
+
+Baptiste's keen eyes scanned Carew's careworn face; then the Provencal
+smiled, for he fancied that he now understood the working of the
+Englishman's mind. "This clever idiot must be humoured," he said to
+himself. "This is a new 'fixed idea' of his. He shrinks from bloodshed;
+he will not sanction it. But if we take these men on shore for him,
+knock them on the head there without consulting him, and then return to
+him with some fine excuse about their having resisted us and so
+compelled us to kill them in self-defence--why, he will pretend to
+believe us; he will ask no questions, and be glad that the danger has
+been removed. I understand this strange man now."
+
+Not exactly these ideas, but others somewhat similar to them, had indeed
+crossed Carew's mind. He was quite aware that it would be the height of
+folly to leave the prisoners alive on the island, but he wished to
+postpone as long as possible the murder which he felt was inevitable,
+hoping that yellow fever or some other interposition of Providence would
+solve the difficulty for him in the meanwhile.
+
+Baptiste now roused the two Spaniards, and sail was made as quickly as
+possible, so that an anchorage might be reached before the wind dropped,
+for there were sure signs of calm in the sky.
+
+Being so few in number, they dared not put much sail on the vessel. As
+Carew was unacquainted with the management of square-rigged craft,
+Baptiste gave the orders. First the foretopmast staysail was set and the
+sheets hauled aft so as to pay off before the wind. Then the two
+Spaniards were sent aloft to loose the fore upper and lower topsails,
+while Carew and Baptiste squared the yards. After this the maintopsail
+was also set.
+
+"That will be enough canvas for her," said Baptiste. "Now, sir, if
+you'll take the wheel, we will get her all ready for coming to an
+anchor."
+
+So going forward the mate saw that an anchor was got over the bows and
+that a sufficient length of cable was ranged in front of the windlass.
+
+The vessel sailed slowly towards the island until midday, when the
+expected calm fell upon the sea. However, as the current was setting
+straight on shore, the barque drifted on till four o'clock in the
+afternoon, when she was about half a mile from the breakers, and the
+anchor was let go in twenty fathoms of water.
+
+The scene that lay before them as they approached was appalling in its
+grandeur. They could perceive no vegetation of any description on the
+lofty mountains, which rose almost perpendicularly from the sea-foam
+into a bank of dark clouds that had now gathered on the summit of the
+island. The fire-consumed crags were often of strange metallic
+colours,--red and green and coppery yellow,--which gave the scenery an
+unearthly appearance, but most of the island was of a dismal coal-black.
+
+Some of the mountains seemed to have been shaken to pieces by the fires
+and earthquakes of volcanic action; for they sloped to the sea in huge
+landslips of black stones. Gigantic basaltic columns many hundreds of
+feet in height descended into the waves along a considerable portion of
+this savage coast, a formidable wall that defied the mariner to land. In
+a few places only a narrow margin of shore divided the sea from the
+inaccessible cliffs, and this was encumbered with sharp coral and great
+boulders that had fallen from above.
+
+The barque was anchored off the entrance of a profound and most gloomy
+ravine, from which a stream of water fell as a cascade into the sea. The
+head of this ravine, high above, was lost in dense clouds. It looked
+like the road to some mysterious and unknown world.
+
+Not only were the sights of this coast such as to terrify the
+imagination, but so likewise were the sounds. Though this was the lee
+side of the island, and was protected from the high swell which, raised
+by the south-east trade wind, breaks so furiously on the back of
+Trinidad, yet the sea rolled in very heavily with a stupendous roar
+that was echoed with dismal, hollow reverberations among the rocky
+ravines. After the breaking of a higher wave than usual, great masses of
+water would be dashed up the sides of a cliff to a great height. Deep
+fiords opened out in places; but even these afforded no shelter. Within
+them the sea raged as furiously as it did outside.
+
+This remote and rarely visited island was evidently a favourite
+breeding-place for several varieties of sea-birds. Vast numbers flew
+through the rigging of the vessel, uttering savage cries. So
+unaccustomed were they to the sight of man that they showed no timidity,
+but rather indignation, at his invasion, and a disposition to drive him
+off again. Many of them wheeled round the heads of the sailors with
+angry shrieks, approaching so near that they could easily have been
+caught with the hand.
+
+"I don't at all like the look of the island of Trinidad," said Baptiste.
+"It is the most inhospitable place I have ever seen. I am not surprised
+that no one cares to live here. How large is it?"
+
+"It is about fifteen miles round," Carew replied. "The Portuguese tried
+centuries ago to establish a settlement here, but they soon abandoned
+it. It is very barren, and so dangerous a surge breaks continually round
+every part of it that it is often impossible to effect a landing for
+weeks at a time."
+
+"It seems to me that it will be impossible to land to-day," said
+Baptiste.
+
+Carew went up into the maintop with a telescope, and after having
+closely examined the features of the shore, descended on deck again. "I
+thought I was right, Baptiste. We are anchored off what the pilot-book
+calls The Cascade, and I can see the landing-place described by former
+visitors to the island."
+
+"I can see nothing but a mass of foam. I can see nothing like a
+landing-place."
+
+"It is not visible from the deck. To the left of the cascade over there
+a long black rock stretches far out to sea beyond the breakers, forming
+a sort of natural pier. That is the easiest landing-place in the whole
+island. We will lower a boat at once, and put the prisoners on shore."
+
+Baptiste again looked keenly into Carew's face as he put the question.
+"Do you wish us to release them when we have landed them, and allow them
+to run wild over those picturesque crags like a lot of goats--or what do
+you wish?"
+
+"Let them have food before you take them off; and leave them, bound as
+they are now, on the beach for this night. To-morrow I will decide what
+is to be done with them."
+
+"It is always to-morrow with you, captain; but it matters not. We are
+becalmed, and are, therefore, not wasting time by this ridiculous
+trifling. It is a pity that there are no wild beasts on these desert
+islands who would kindly eat up these men for us in the night. They are
+becoming a nuisance."
+
+The Spaniards grumbled a good deal when they heard that they were to
+take the prisoners alive on shore; but they did not dare to disobey
+Carew.
+
+The two sick men, who were now recovering from the fever, were brought
+on deck, and they, together with the other prisoners, were lowered into
+one of the boats. All were still so securely bound that they could not
+move a limb.
+
+Carew stayed on board the barque while his three men pulled off to the
+island.
+
+They reached the projecting rock, and found that its sides were
+perpendicular, so that the boat could be brought alongside. The
+prisoners were not landed without considerable difficulty, and even
+danger, for they had to be dragged quickly on shore at the moment when
+the boat rising to a wave had her gunwale on a level with the summit of
+this natural jetty, before she dropped down again into the trough
+between the seas.
+
+At last the disembarkation was safely effected, and the painter having
+been made fast to a large stone, the boat was left to tumble about
+against the rough side of the jetty, in imminent danger of staving
+herself in, while the prisoners were carried one by one up the rugged
+shore.
+
+Then they laid the helpless men down. Even the brutal Spaniards, when
+they looked around them, were impressed by the weirdness of the scene.
+Whenever the sides of the ravine or of the mountains were not too steep
+they were densely covered with trees, which had not been visible from
+the vessel's deck. Now every one of these trees was dead; there was not
+a live one among them. They were of all sizes. Some stood erect as they
+had grown, some lay prone on the rocks; but all had been dead for long
+ages. On all the skeleton branches of this forest of desolation were
+sitting large sea-birds of foul appearance, who raised discordant cries,
+as if to repel the intruders, and did not take to flight, but fought
+savagely with any of the men who came near to them. There was no live
+vegetation to be seen, with the exception of certain snake-like
+creepers, which clung to the surface of the ground, and which bore large
+seed-pods of vivid green--sinister and poisonous-looking plants, that
+seemed well suited to this forlorn region. It was a scene appalling to
+the imagination, and the whole of Trinidad is of a like gloomy
+character. The same dead trees cover it throughout. It seems probable
+that at some remote period a terrific volcanic eruption destroyed every
+living thing on the island with its showers of poisonous ash; and where
+once rose from the tropical ocean a fair land, green with pleasant
+woods, is now a hideous wreck, more sterile than the desert itself.
+
+"It might be the gate of hell," said El Toro in an awed voice, looking
+up the ravine.
+
+"Now, comrades," cried Baptiste, "there is no time to lose. I don't like
+to leave the boat long where she is. As our merciful skipper objects to
+bloodshed, we must lash our prisoners to these trees."
+
+"What are you going to do with us--kill us?" asked one of the captives
+gruffly.
+
+"No; we are going to leave you here, tied up," replied Baptiste.
+
+"What! to starve to death?"
+
+"Indeed I don't know," said Baptiste, with a shrug of his shoulders.
+"This is not my doing. Our captain is a cruel man. It seems that it
+amuses him to play with you poor fellows as a cat does with a mouse.
+This is his scheme, my children, not mine. I am merciful."
+
+The men were now secured to the dead trees, and the three villains were
+moving off to their boat when one of the Frenchmen--the only one who did
+not meet his fate with fortitude, and who showed signs of the most
+abject terror--screamed out--
+
+"Oh, Monsieur Baptiste, let me go--let me go! I will join you. I will
+not betray you. I will help you work the ship. I will be your slave if
+you spare me!"
+
+His comrades reviled him for his cowardice, but he still continued his
+piteous entreaties.
+
+Baptiste turned round and gazed with a sardonic smile into the man's
+white, fear-distorted face. He felt that this was very much the way he
+would behave himself in similar circumstances, but he did not spare his
+own faults in others; few men do.
+
+"So you would join us, would you? But how do I know if I can trust you,
+my friend? You may betray us when we get into port. Will you give me a
+proof of your fidelity?"
+
+"I will give you any proof you wish," cried the wretched man, writhing
+in his bonds, but quite unable to move.
+
+"Now, if I see you commit a far greater crime than any that I and my
+crew have committed, I shall know that you dare not tell tales. If I
+release you and give you a knife, will you kill all your comrades for
+me?"
+
+The man burst into hysterical tears. "Yes!" he shrieked--"yes! Anything
+for my life."
+
+Baptiste laughed contemptuously.
+
+"Miserable man! Your answer is sufficient for me. We do not want such
+cowardly traitors among our crew. You shall stay here and die by the
+side of your braver comrades."
+
+Baptiste and the two Spaniards then hurried off to the boat, for the sun
+was just setting. They pulled off to the barque, and the mate reported
+to the captain what he had done.
+
+About an hour after their return--the night having settled down upon
+the ocean--Carew was sitting by himself on the quarter-deck. The hollow
+roar of the waves upon the beach sounded louder than in the daytime, and
+the vessel rolled in the swell caused by the recoil of the distant
+rollers.
+
+All manner of strange and frightful noises came from the direction of
+the mysterious island. It seemed to Carew that he heard groans and wails
+echoing among the ravines, but he put this down to his imagination--to
+the now greatly unstrung condition of his nerves.
+
+Suddenly he started to his feet, his heart beating violently. What was
+that he heard? Surely that last dreadful cry did not exist only in his
+fancy.
+
+"Baptiste, come here!" he called out.
+
+The mate sauntered up.
+
+"Listen!" whispered Carew; "do you hear nothing?"
+
+"Nothing but the noise of the breakers."
+
+Once more arose that awful cry. It was as a shriek of unutterable
+despair and agony; faint, but easily to be distinguished when the lull
+came between one roller and another.
+
+"What is it?"
+
+Baptiste himself turned white at the sound. "I know not; it makes one's
+blood run cold. See, they too have heard it."
+
+The Spaniards came up.
+
+"Oh, sir!" cried El Toro, his voice indistinct with terror, "let us make
+sail at once and leave behind us this horrible place. Hark! that cry
+again! It is as the shrieks of the doomed in hell. That island is the
+abode of evil spirits who are mocking us."
+
+"We cannot set sail in a flat calm. We must wait," said Carew, in a low
+voice.
+
+They stood on the deck and listened in silence. For half an hour or more
+those appalling cries continued; then they died away, and nothing was
+heard but the roaring of the ocean upon an iron-bound coast.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+
+On the following day the fiery sun again blazed down upon the guilty
+ship out of a cloudless and windless sky. It seemed probable that one of
+those oppressive calms that are so frequent on this portion of the ocean
+would detain the barque for some days longer at her present anchorage.
+
+In the early morning, when the west side of the island was still plunged
+in shade, Carew approached the mate, who was enjoying his matutinal cup
+of coffee and cigarette on the quarter-deck.
+
+"Baptiste," he said, "I want a boat lowered; I am going on shore."
+
+"Good, sir. How many of us do you wish to accompany you?"
+
+"Thank you; I want none of you. Put the yacht's dinghy over the side.
+She is the handiest boat on board; and I will pull off by myself."
+
+"That will not be safe," objected Baptiste; "there is no place to beach
+a boat yonder, and she would smash up if you left her banging about
+alongside that rocky landing-place; we nearly lost the cutter in that
+way last night. If you desire to take a solitary promenade on that
+cheerful island, I will pull you off there myself in the dinghy, leave
+you, and return for you at any hour you mention."
+
+Carew assented to this proposal, and prepared himself for the journey by
+placing his sheath-knife and loaded revolver in his belt. Baptiste
+watched him curiously, and wondered whether this eccentric Englishman
+had at last summoned up resolution, and was about to despatch the
+prisoners outright, as being a more merciful proceeding than allowing
+them to starve to death. Baptiste ventured no remark on the subject, for
+he observed that his captain was in a taciturn and absent-minded mood;
+and there was a peculiar, far-off look in his eyes that the Frenchman
+could not understand, not knowing that Carew had been dosing himself for
+the last few days with laudanum from his medicine chest, in the vain
+hope that the drug might numb the tortures of his conscience.
+
+The dinghy was got overboard, and while Carew sat in the sternsheets,
+Baptiste took the oars and pulled leisurely across the smooth ocean
+swell.
+
+While they were yet half-way to the shore, the boat shot suddenly out of
+the fervent sunshine into the cool dark shadow cast by the lofty
+mountains.
+
+Baptiste, feeling the rapid change, rested on his oars, and looked
+round towards the pile of barren hills. "Ugh, what a horrid place!" he
+cried. "I have a sensation as if I were passing into the mouth of a
+tomb. I should not like to explore that island alone."
+
+"Pull away!" said Carew impatiently. "Are you superstitious, like those
+two Spanish brutes?"
+
+"Superstition is not one of my failings, captain," replied the
+Provencal, as he rowed on again; "but those dreadful cries we heard last
+night seem to be still ringing in my ears. I wonder what they could have
+been?"
+
+"When you have put me on shore," said Carew, paying no heed to
+Baptiste's words, "you can go back to the barque. I shall probably
+remain on the island three or four hours. Then I will return to the
+landing-place, and stand on the end of it till you come off for me. So
+see that someone looks out for me with a telescope occasionally."
+
+"We won't keep you waiting, for I know that you will soon have had
+enough of Trinidad. But perhaps monsieur has a scientific mind, and
+desires to study the botany, zoology, geology, and so forth, of the
+island?"
+
+Carew made no reply to this. They came alongside the promontory of black
+coral, and found that the sea was not rolling in so heavily as on the
+previous day. The Englishman landed without any difficulty.
+
+"Good-bye, sir," Baptiste called out. "You will find the prisoners
+behind the first big boulder up the ravine." Then he pulled lazily back
+to the vessel.
+
+Carew was now alone on the desert island with his captives. He looked to
+his knife and pistol to see that they were ready to his hand, and
+proceeded to clamber cautiously along the narrow, slippery ledge.
+
+At the farther end he found a loathsome monster standing in his way,
+seemingly quite indifferent to his approach; for it did not budge, but
+remained quite still, its ungainly form spread across the causeway, so
+that he had to step over it to pass by. Carew had never before seen one
+of the species; but he recognised this as a tropical land-crab--one of a
+hideous race of crustacea that swarm on this island, sharing the
+possession of Trinidad with the sea-birds and the snakes. In his present
+nervous state, Carew was startled by the sight of this repulsive-looking
+creature. It must have extended two feet across from claw to claw. Its
+colour was a bright saffron, and its grotesque features, which were
+turned towards the man, seemed to be fixed in a cynical grin. Its
+cruel-looking yellow pincers, hard as steel, could have bitten through
+an inch board, and between them was clutched--Carew sickened when he
+saw it--a fragment of the flesh of some animal.
+
+Reaching the rugged shore, he found it covered with these land-crabs.
+They crawled over the rocks and the dead trees, and the air was full of
+a multitudinous crackling noise, produced by the small particles of
+stone dislodged by their motion--a sound as of a distant bonfire, or as
+of an army of locusts settling on a field of maize.
+
+On the evening before, when the men had landed, they had seen none of
+these creatures; now there were thousands of them on the mountain-side.
+But it is well known that land-crabs at certain periods of the year
+migrate in immense hosts from one district to another.
+
+Even on the previous afternoon, when the coast was illumined by the full
+glory of the setting sun, Baptiste and the two Spaniards had been
+impressed by the desolate aspect before them. But now that a dark shadow
+was thrown over the chaotic masses of volcanic rock, the scenery was
+inexpressibly dreary and forbidding. Had there been no signs of life on
+the land, it would have appeared less terrible than with that ghastly
+vegetation of dead trees and snake-like creepers, and the teeming
+generation of silent crabs and foul sea-birds perpetually raising their
+hoarse cries.
+
+Carew looked round with the sense of vague terror that is experienced in
+a nightmare. He felt all the influence of this stern nature so hostile
+to the life of man. It seemed to him that at any moment some fearful
+cataclysm of the earth, or some unexampled calamity of any sort, might
+occur. It would not have appeared strange to him to behold a
+fire-breathing dragon or gigantic snake--such as are supposed to live in
+fable only--issue from that gloomy ravine. Nothing could have appeared
+too strange to happen on this mysterious shore.
+
+The prisoners could not be seen from the landing-place, as the clump of
+trees to which they had been lashed was some little way up the ravine,
+and a huge boulder of black rock stood in front of it. Carew heard no
+sound of voices as he approached. He considered it very unlikely that
+the men had succeeded in freeing themselves from their bonds; but,
+prepared for any emergency, he held his revolver in his hand and walked
+round the corner of the rock.
+
+He looked towards the clump of dead brown trees.
+
+His hand relaxed its grasp, and the revolver fell with a ringing sound
+on the rocks. He was struck motionless with a great horror. He stood
+fascinated, staring before him with wide-open eyes, unwincing. He would
+have given worlds to have closed his lids and shut out what he saw, but
+he could not. It was as if some irresistible power was holding him
+there, compelling him to look until every horrible detail of the scene
+should be burnt into his brain for ever.
+
+It was only for a few seconds, and then the spell was broken. He covered
+his face with his hands and staggered back. Then turning from the sight,
+he rushed away, not caring whither, sobbing such sobs as the lost souls
+in hell may sob in their despair--a dreadful sobbing, that told of a
+hopeless agony too intense to be endured for long by weak human flesh.
+Suddenly he stopped short, looked wildly round him, raised his hands
+towards the skies, and, uttering shrill shriek upon shriek, threw
+himself on the ground. He rolled down the steep incline for some way,
+cutting his hands and face with the sharp rocks, and when at last a
+projecting stone prevented his farther descent, he lay foaming at the
+mouth and writhing convulsively in an epileptic fit.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The tragic spectacle the man had suddenly come upon might indeed well
+have made him, the guilty cause of it, go mad with horror. The fearful
+cries that had been heard from the vessel were now explained. The
+voracious land-crabs had done his work. He had gazed upon his victims,
+and he felt that his limbs were paralysed; but his brain was intensely,
+unnaturally active. It seemed to him that a voice had said, "Look, and
+grasp all that there is to see, and remember, before the relief of
+madness is allowed to thee. Thou hast murdered sleep, and shalt never
+know peace again. For ever, in the worlds to come, the picture of this
+that thou hast done shall be branded on thy soul!"
+
+And he had been forced to look; not a detail of the horror was spared
+him. The surroundings of the scene, the weird black rocks, the gaunt
+dead trees, everything about the accursed spot entered into his brain.
+He even noticed with what callous indifference Nature seemed to
+contemplate the hideous evidences of the crime. Quite heedless, the huge
+crabs dragged their clumsy bodies slowly over the stones. The sea-birds
+fought noisily with each other for morsels of fish among the skeleton
+branches of the trees, careless of those ghastly relics of poor humanity
+beneath them. He felt how fitting a scene for such a tragedy was this
+doleful corner of the earth, this island that a malevolent fiend might
+have created, where Nature had no beauty, no love, no pity, and where,
+like some foul witch, she could only conceive forms of life cruel and
+repulsive, and become a mother of monsters.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The sun was low in the heaven, and Carew woke out of a profound slumber,
+weak, parched with thirst, his mind dazed. He raised himself on his
+elbow, and, looking round him, he found that he was lying on a beach of
+beautiful golden sand that fringed an extensive bay. From the sands
+there sloped up to a great height domes of loose stones of red volcanic
+formation, of all shapes and sizes, the debris of shattered mountains,
+and from the summits of these slopes there rose what the earthquakes had
+still left of the solid hills--dark red pinnacles: some squared like
+gigantic towers, others pointed like pyramids. The bay was enclosed by
+two huge buttresses of rock that stretched as rugged promontories far
+out into the ocean. There was no vegetation, not even a blade of grass,
+visible anywhere on this savage coast. Looking seawards he saw that a
+vast number of black rocks, among which raged a furious surf, bordered
+the shore. Beyond these were the outer reefs on which the sea broke
+heavily. And still farther out, on the horizon, rose three rocky islands
+of considerable size, glowing red as the sun's rays fell full upon them.
+
+Carew could not imagine where he was and how he had reached this place.
+He tried to think. By degrees he called to mind the dreadful sight he
+had seen in the ravine; but he could remember nothing that had occurred
+since then. As the sun was to the back of the hills, he fancied that it
+was still early in the forenoon, and that he had wandered a short
+distance only from South West Bay; though the presence of the distant
+islands and the different character of the coast perplexed him.
+
+But he could think of nothing at that moment except the satisfaction of
+the fearful thirst that was tormenting him.
+
+He rose to his feet, eager to reach the cascade as soon as possible. He
+felt that he should die if he could not procure water soon.
+
+But in which direction had he to go--to the left or to the right? He
+could not tell.
+
+Then he saw his footprints on the soft sand, showing the way that he had
+come. He had but to follow them.
+
+Dizzy and faint, and often stumbling, he wearily retraced his steps. The
+footprints led him along the shore to that extremity of the bay which
+would have been on the left hand of one looking seaward. Reaching the
+promontory of rock he clambered to the summit of it; and then, to his
+dismay, he looked down upon another extensive bay, at the farther end of
+which was a mountain of square shape falling perpendicularly into the
+surf, and preventing all further progress in that direction. An ocean
+current must be perpetually setting into this bay, for he perceived that
+the shore was strewn with a prodigious quantity of wreckage. The spars
+and barrels were heaped up together in places. There were vessels lying
+crushed among the sharp rocks; others were sunk in the sand, their
+skeleton ribs alone showing; there were vessels of all sizes, and some
+of very antique construction--relics of disaster that had been
+collecting gradually on this desert coast unvisited by man through all
+the ages since European keels first clove the southern seas: a
+melancholy record of much suffering and the loss of many gallant men.
+
+Then Carew began to suspect the truth, and a great dread fell on him.
+Lying down he placed a small stone on the edge of a shadow cast by a
+pointed rock, and watched it with a breathless suspense.
+
+Yes, it was as he had feared. _The shadow was slowly lengthening!_ He
+laid his face on the ground and wept hysterically in his despair.
+
+The shadow was lengthening, therefore the sun was setting. It was
+setting inland over the mountains, and thus the sea was to the east of
+him. So--unconsciously, by what road he knew not--he must have traversed
+the whole island, and he was now on the coast the most remote from South
+West Bay. The cascade, the water he was dying for, was miles away,
+beyond those great hills. He could never reach it in his present state.
+
+He was on the weather side of Trinidad.
+
+Those heavy breakers on the reefs were caused by the high swell of the
+south-east trades, and there on the horizon were the three islands of
+Martin Vas, twenty-five miles away.
+
+So he despaired and lay down on the rocks, and longed for the release of
+death. Then he became delirious, and fancied that he was in Fleet
+Street again, and was going into a tavern with some comrades to drink a
+glass of wine. But once more the agony of thirst woke him to a
+consciousness of his position. He staggered to his feet, and ran on
+blindly a few yards; then he stumbled, and fell to his knees.
+
+Ah! what was that gleaming so temptingly before him?--an illusion only
+to mock him into madness with its lying promise. He stretched his hand
+to it--touched it. He plunged his face into it.
+
+It was water--fresh water; a small pool left in a hollow of a rock by
+the last rains. It was nauseous to the taste, and heated by the tropical
+sun; but it was water, and infinitely more precious to him at that
+moment than all the gold quartz in his vessel's hold. He drank fiercely
+and long, before his craving was assuaged; then his senses returned to
+him, and, though still very weak, he felt capable of making an effort to
+save his life.
+
+He descended the farther side of the buttress of rock that divides the
+two bays, and again followed his footprints, which led him across the
+wreck-strewn sands to the entrance of a ravine that clove the mountains,
+and seemed to afford the only practicable pass across them.
+
+He looked upwards, and wondered how he could have possibly found his way
+with safety down that perilous place; for he supposed that he must have
+been in a trance-like condition when he made that journey, of which he
+was now so entirely oblivious.
+
+With great pain and labour he accomplished the difficult ascent. This
+ravine had the same character as most of those in Trinidad. The bottom
+of it was encumbered with masses of fallen rock, among which stood the
+mysterious dead trees. Here the foul sea-birds were very numerous. The
+air stank with the fish on which they fed; and as it was now the
+breeding season, the mothers were very fierce, and attacked Carew with
+their wings and beaks as he advanced, so that he had to arm himself with
+a piece of wood, and fight his way through them.
+
+After much weary climbing, often in places where a false step would have
+meant death, he reached an elevated plateau covered with tree-ferns--the
+only vegetation on the island which was fair to the eye.
+
+Crossing this plateau, he found himself on the summit of a precipitous
+cliff, and he looked down upon the ocean into which the sun was just
+setting. At his feet, far below, the barque lay at anchor.
+
+Proceeding along the edge of the precipice, he came to the head of a
+ravine, which he knew must be the one from which the cascade falls into
+the sea. After clambering down a little way, he reached the source of
+the stream. The cool clear water rushed out with a pleasant sound from
+a hole in the rocks. Here he lay down and drank greedily, for his throat
+was again parched with fever.
+
+Feeling too exhausted to make any further exertion, and knowing that the
+darkness would soon render it impossible to continue the descent down
+those perilous slopes, he determined to pass the night where he was.
+
+Lying on a narrow ledge of rock he fell into a profound sleep.
+
+After a while he dreamt a frightful dream. He thought that his victims
+had come to life again, and, having surprised him in his sleep, were
+holding him by his arms with a grip of iron, and were about to put him
+to the torture.
+
+He awoke with a start, and for a moment fancied that he saw their
+skeleton forms leaning over him in the starlight.
+
+But was it all a dream? What was that sensation of pain in his right
+arm, as if a vice were tightening upon it?
+
+He sprang to his feet, and with his arm dragged up a heavy weight that
+was clinging to it.
+
+Shuddering with horror, he shook it violently from him, and a large
+land-crab fell with a crash on the stones.
+
+The wretched man looked round, and could distinguish in the dim light
+that the rocks were covered with the brutes. They had come out of their
+holes at sunset, and were about to devour him alive.
+
+He seized a large stone, and hurled it at one of them. It broke through
+the creature's armour and killed it. But the others paid no heed to the
+death of their fellow, and crawled on with a deliberate slowness. He
+pulled a branch off one of the dead trees, and with this he was able to
+thrust them away as they approached. He was obliged to keep watch and
+defend himself thus through all that long night. Once or twice he
+dropped off asleep in sheer exhaustion, only to be awakened again a
+moment afterwards by the closing of sharp pincers on some portion of his
+body. It was a night the realities of which equalled in horror the worst
+illusions of a nightmare. Several times he thought of throwing himself
+off the cliffs and putting an end to his misery, but still he clung to
+life, and fought for it, as men who value it the least always will when
+in the presence of a merely physical danger.
+
+At daybreak Carew, his eyes bloodshot, his limbs shaking, having the
+appearance of one who is recovering from an attack of delirium tremens,
+descended the ravine as hastily as his weak condition permitted. He
+turned his head aside as he passed the fatal clump of trees. He reached
+the landing-place, and there found Baptiste and El Chico awaiting him
+with the cutter.
+
+Carew stepped into the boat without saying a word.
+
+Baptiste glanced at the haggard face of the captain, but made no remark
+on his altered appearance. He merely said, "We were anxious about you,
+so have been off here since daybreak waiting for you."
+
+Carew looked inquiringly into the mate's face, but did not dare to utter
+the question that was on his lips.
+
+Baptiste understood. "Yes, I have seen it," he said, in a low voice.
+Even that callous villain had been awed by the sight at the foot of the
+ravine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+
+For two more days the barque lay becalmed off the desert island, but not
+one of the crew ventured on land again. The two Spaniards shrunk with a
+superstitious terror from further contact with that accursed shore--that
+_costa maldita_, as they invariably spoke of it.
+
+Carew's experiences on Trinidad produced an ineffaceable impression on
+his mind. His melancholy deepened into a dull despair. He passed most of
+the day alone in his cabin, avoiding as much as possible even the sight
+of his companions. By means of ever-increasing doses of laudanum, the
+miserable man stupefied his brain into a lethargic condition, which was,
+however, frequently broken by frightful dreams when he was asleep, and
+by nervous seizures of acute and causeless terrors when he was awake.
+
+Baptiste, observing these symptoms, began to fear for Carew's reason,
+and tried in various ways to rouse him, but in vain.
+
+At last one morning a fresh south-east wind sprang up. Carew did not
+even seem to notice the change, and he gave no orders to get under way.
+So Baptiste approached him--
+
+"The sooner we have the anchor up and are off the better, captain."
+
+Carew assented in an apathetic way, and assisted the men in weighing the
+anchor and setting the sails; but he worked with a sullen silence,
+making no suggestions, leaving everything to Baptiste.
+
+After paying the vessel off before the wind with the foretopmast
+staysail, they set the fore and main topsails, an amount of canvas which
+the prudent mate considered sufficient for a barque so undermanned.
+
+As soon as the last yard had been squared, and there was no more for him
+to do, Carew again went into his cabin.
+
+A few minutes later Baptiste followed him there.
+
+"Sorry to disturb you, captain," he said, seeing the expression of
+annoyance on Carew's face, and also noticing the bottle of laudanum
+standing on the table; "but now we are off, running merrily before the
+wind, away from that accursed island. If you please, what is our
+course--where are we bound for--and have you thought of a plausible
+explanation of how we picked up this derelict? Rouse yourself, sir.
+Think, act, and be a man again."
+
+Carew had drunk a quantity of laudanum that morning, and he replied in
+a dreamy voice, as if he had lost all interest in life, and was heedless
+of the future--
+
+"Do what you like. I leave it all to you. I am unable to think."
+
+"Sir, this is cowardly of you!" cried Baptiste vehemently. "Everything
+has gone so well with us thus far, and now you lose heart when an
+immense fortune is almost in our hands. Remember what we have done for
+you, and do not risk all our lives by neglecting your duties to us."
+
+"What do I care for your lives?" replied Carew with a bitter laugh, that
+had an insane ring in it. "What is it to me where we go, even if it be
+to the bottom? Leave me."
+
+"Good-bye, sir; I will take charge of the vessel until you come to your
+senses." As he spoke, Baptiste contrived to slip the bottle of laudanum
+into his pocket unperceived by Carew.
+
+The mate went on deck and threw the bottle into the sea. "That coward
+will go mad if he drugs himself much longer," he said to himself. "When
+he got on shore he would ruin us all in some silly fit of garrulous
+remorse. He would disburden his conscience and hang us in his present
+temper. He shall have no more laudanum. I must look after him and cure
+him before we get into port. If I cannot do so, well, then, he must die.
+A pity that; for he is useful, almost necessary, to us."
+
+Baptiste consulted the chart, and determined to run for the port of
+Bahia, which is about seven hundred miles to the north-west of Trinidad.
+Having quickly formed his plans, he carried them out with considerable
+cleverness.
+
+He collected a quantity of combustible matter, and proceeded to set fire
+to some of the storerooms and other portions of the vessel in such a way
+that he could always keep the fires under control and extinguish them at
+will. It was a hazardous undertaking, but he omitted no precaution; and
+after the vessel had been three days at sea, and was still three hundred
+miles from Bahia, the effect he desired was satisfactorily produced. She
+appeared to have been ablaze almost from end to end, and so there was
+manifest a sufficient reason for the desertion of the crew at sea.
+
+The last spark having been extinguished, Baptiste hove the vessel to
+while he completed his preparations. He lowered two of the boats into
+the sea and sank them.
+
+"And now," he asked himself, "what things are the crew likely to have
+taken with them in the boats? For we must preserve the verisimilitude.
+Our story must be above suspicion; every circumstance must corroborate
+it."
+
+So he threw overboard a chronometer, a valuable sextant, a compass, and
+other articles which a captain deserting his ship would most certainly
+have carried away. The Spaniards ridiculed this excess of caution.
+"Thoughtless children!" Baptiste explained; "it is most probable that
+there are people on shore who know exactly how many chronometers,
+compasses, and so on, were on board this vessel. These things will be
+counted up, and if none are missing, the minds of men will be puzzled at
+the strange conduct of the captain. Now I do not want to puzzle people;
+very much otherwise, my imprudent children. For the same reason I am now
+going to burn the ship's papers. No captain ever leaves those behind him
+on a derelict."
+
+Carew had watched these preparations listlessly, assisting when asked to
+do so, but still suggesting nothing. He never alluded to the loss of his
+bottle of laudanum, and very probably he knew that Baptiste had taken it
+away.
+
+Early on the sixth day of the voyage the Brazilian coast was sighted,
+and the mate recognised the palm-clad hills that border the entrance to
+the Reconcava of Bahia--a beautiful inland sea, as extensive as that of
+Rio de Janeiro.
+
+And now Baptiste, feeling how great a risk would be incurred by entering
+the port while the captain was in his present demented condition, dared
+not sail into the bay; and, after a consultation with the men, braced up
+the yards, and steered the vessel along the coast to the northward, with
+the intention of making Pernambuco, which is nearly five hundred miles
+distant from Bahia. By this a delay of about three days would be gained;
+and should Carew not recover his senses in that time, he must be put out
+of the way. There was no help for it.
+
+But Baptiste and the two Spaniards knew well that if they went into port
+without the owner of the yacht, their tale would be received with
+suspicion. It would be necessary to account for his absence. Their own
+histories would be closely inquired into; the well-elaborated scheme
+might end in failure after all. The gloom of the captain seemed to
+communicate itself to the crew. The usual cheeriness of sailors was
+altogether absent during the voyage. A vague foreboding of calamity
+oppressed the men; and on board that guilty ship all went about their
+work with dismal faces, never smiling, sullen and silent, suspicious of
+each other.
+
+On the second day, the vessel was slowly sailing up the coast near
+Alagoas Bay. Baptiste was sitting on deck, rolling up and smoking his
+innumerable cigarettes as he contemplated the beautiful panorama that
+opened out before him--a land of forest-clad mountains and fertile
+valleys, down which broad rivers poured into the sea, while among the
+cocoa-nut groves upon the sandy beaches were the numerous bamboo
+villages of the negro fishermen. But Baptiste, though gazing at it, was
+in no mood to admire beautiful scenery; he was looking forward with
+alarm to the perils before him.
+
+At last, after pondering over it for some while, he determined on a
+course of action. It was a desperate thing to do, but it would bring
+matters to a crisis at once.
+
+He threw away his cigarette, loaded his revolver and placed it in his
+breast, and then, with face pale with fear but determined in expression,
+he entered Carew's cabin.
+
+The Englishman was reading a book, or pretending to do so. Baptiste took
+a seat in front of him, and commenced abruptly--
+
+"Do you wish to live, sir?"
+
+Carew looked up. "Why do you ask? If I wished to die, I could take away
+my life at any moment."
+
+"You will probably be saved that trouble. I will be perfectly frank with
+you, because I understand you. You see that we are afraid of going into
+port in your company. We think you are losing your senses, and we cannot
+allow a madman to rave our secrets in Pernambuco. We wish you to live,
+because you might be very useful to us. But if, before we are in sight
+of port, you don't satisfy us that you are sane, by ridding yourself of
+your melancholia and taking an interest in this business, we shall be
+under the painful necessity of despatching you for our own protection.
+We will have to kill you, not in any ill-feeling, I assure you, but
+with real regret."
+
+Baptiste had rightly imagined that this cool and almost ludicrously
+matter-of-fact way of broaching the subject was the best in the
+circumstances.
+
+Carew first appeared to be lost in astonishment; then he smiled sadly,
+and said, "You are a strange man. You come here to tell me that I am
+mad, and that I must become sane in two days or die--is that it?"
+
+"I don't think that you are exactly mad, but"--
+
+"I know what you mean," interrupted Carew, "and you are right. I have
+been ill for several days; but I am not mad, as you will soon discover.
+I will allow that I might soon have become so had you not stolen my
+laudanum."
+
+From that moment Carew changed his mode of life, and became much as he
+had been before his visit to the desert island. Though melancholy in his
+manner and miserable in his mind, he shook off his lethargy, bestirred
+himself, took an interest once more in the working of the ship, and
+exhibited all his old ingenuity in improving upon Baptiste's
+preparations for deceiving the authorities as to the fate of the barque.
+
+"Talented and unfathomable being," exclaimed the Frenchman admiringly,
+"what could we do without you?"
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The voyage was over, and the _La Bonne Esperance_ was lying under the
+Recife, that marvellous natural breakwater built by myriads of
+diminutive coral insects, which, running in a parallel line to the
+shore, forms the harbour of Pernambuco. In front of her stretched the
+long and crowded quay, with its pleasant boulevard and lofty white
+houses.
+
+The barque had been an object of great interest to the people of
+Pernambuco ever since the tug had towed her in from outside. The
+romantic story of the little English yacht that had foundered at sea,
+and of her shipwrecked crew, who had been so fortunate as to come across
+such a valuable prize, was on everybody's lips. The English residents
+had been profuse in their offers of hospitality to Carew, but under the
+pretext of ill-health he refused all these; and as soon as he had handed
+over the barque to the proper authorities he hired a room in a French
+hotel on the quay, and lived there as quietly as possible with Baptiste,
+while the Spaniards were lodged in a neighbouring tavern.
+
+The torments of his accusing conscience having now subsided, life once
+more appeared of value to this mutable-minded man, and his anxiety and
+dread of discovery returned. It caused him great uneasiness to learn how
+long a time must elapse before the settlement of the salvage would be
+completed. He found that he might have to wait many months in
+Pernambuco before receiving his share of the vessel's value.
+
+The barque had been in the Recife for about three weeks when one morning
+a coasting steamer from Rio entered the harbour. Among her passengers
+was an Englishman. When he stepped on shore he disregarded the
+importunate crowd of hotel touts, and handing his portmanteau to a black
+porter, said merely, "English Consulate!" The negro understood, and led
+the way.
+
+The Englishman found the consul in his office, asked if he could speak
+to him alone on urgent business, and was shown into a private room.
+
+He placed a letter in the consul's hands. "This," he said, "is from the
+British Consul at Rio. It will serve to introduce me."
+
+It was a somewhat lengthy letter, and as he read it an expression of
+extreme surprise came to the consul's face. "This is a most
+extraordinary story!" he exclaimed. "Tell me what more you know of this
+man."
+
+The interview was a long one. At its termination the consul said:--"Of
+course I can do nothing until an extradition warrant arrives from
+England. In the meanwhile, we must not rouse his suspicions. Let him
+still consider himself safe. He applied to me for an advance of money
+yesterday; I will let him have it if he does not ask for too much. But
+he must not see you. I recommend you to go to Caxanga--a pretty
+watering-place about half an hour from here by train. I will give you
+the name of a good hotel there. Do not come into town unless I send for
+you. Keep out of his way. I should like you to be here to-morrow morning
+at ten; for, shortly after that hour, his crew are going to make some
+depositions. I will conceal you in the next room in such a way that you
+can see them; for it will be well for you to know these men by sight. Of
+course you will pass under an assumed name while you are here."
+
+"I will call myself John Rudge," said the stranger.
+
+In spite of these precautions, the ever-watchful Baptiste soon came to
+suspect that there was mischief brewing. One day that he accompanied
+Carew to the Consulate he at once observed that the consul's manner had
+undergone a change. There was a reserve and a lack of his usual
+heartiness in his greeting of Carew. It was but a slight and involuntary
+change, and it escaped Carew's notice.
+
+A few days after this, Baptiste was sent to the Consulate with a letter.
+As he came to the door John Rudge was going out. The stranger seemed
+startled at finding himself thus suddenly face to face with the
+Frenchman, and walked hastily away.
+
+"A trifling circumstance," said Baptiste to himself; "but the lightest
+trifles show best the direction of the wind. Why did that man start at
+seeing me? Who is he?"
+
+A week passed, and Baptiste saw no more of the stranger; but at last he
+came full upon him in front of the post-office. Again Rudge seemed as if
+he wished to avoid being seen by the Frenchman, and turned his head
+aside as he passed.
+
+But Baptiste was quick in resource. "Stay a moment, if you please, sir,"
+he called out in French; "I wish to speak to you."
+
+The Englishman stood still.
+
+"Pardon me for detaining you," continued Baptiste, "but you understand
+French?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"Ah, sir, what chance! I know not a word of this horrid Portuguese
+tongue, and I wish to inquire at the post-office if there is a letter
+for me. Would you oblige me by interpreting for me?"
+
+"I don't know Portuguese myself; but the clerk in the post-office
+understands French."
+
+"Thank you, sir. I am a stranger here, you see. I am one of the crew of
+_La Bonne Esperance_, the derelict. No doubt you have heard our story?"
+
+"Oh yes, I know all about it. You were very fortunate. But excuse me,
+my friend; I am in great haste," and he hurried off.
+
+Baptiste returned to the hotel and found Carew. "Captain," he asked,
+"have you committed some peccadillo in England on account of which they
+are likely to be hunting after you here?"
+
+"It is almost impossible that any enemies I may have can have traced me
+here."
+
+"All dead, I suppose," remarked Baptiste coolly. Then he proceeded to
+explain the reasons that had prompted his questions.
+
+"You are full of foolish fears, Baptiste. I see nothing in all this."
+
+"Ah, sir, I have lived for so many years in the midst of alarms that I
+perceive the first indications of danger. When I told this Englishman
+that I was one of your crew, he exhibited no interest. He did not
+question me about our adventures, and make much of me, and take me into
+a cafe to give me drinks, as all the other Englishmen in Pernambuco do
+when they meet one of us heroes of the hour."
+
+"I do not see anything very alarming in his neglect to make a fuss over
+you."
+
+"I do, because I understand human nature. I see dangers ahead, and I
+intend to secure my retreat in case of disaster. I shall arrange how to
+slip away if necessary. I advise you to do the same, captain."
+
+"I have done so, Baptiste."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+
+Carew had been nearly six weeks in Pernambuco, when a British mail
+steamer happened to land an English passenger, who at once called on the
+consul, and introduced himself to that functionary as Mr. Norton. He had
+that to say which considerably astonished the consul, and the result was
+that on the following morning a letter was brought to Carew as he was
+sitting down to his breakfast at the hotel with Baptiste. It was from
+the consul's clerk, and ran thus:--"_Sir, will you kindly call here
+to-day? Your business is practically settled._"
+
+"Practically settled?" repeated Baptiste, when he heard the contents.
+"Those words have an unpleasant ring somehow. I know not why, but I
+cannot help fearing that something is wrong."
+
+"I too have my presentiments," said Carew, "but I am prepared."
+
+At the appointed hour Carew called at the Consulate. He found the consul
+and Lloyd's agent awaiting him in a room adjoining the principal office.
+
+There was a constraint in their manner, which he, watchful for the
+slightest suspicious indication, detected at once. They were as men who
+anticipated some momentous event, but who endeavoured to conceal their
+anxiety.
+
+The consul produced a document, and laid it on the desk. "Read this
+over, please, Mr. Allen, and see that it is correct."
+
+Carew glanced down it quickly with an eye trained to legal forms. "It is
+perfectly correct," he said.
+
+"I have a gentleman in the next room who will witness your signature to
+this statement," proceeded the consul. He opened the door, and Mr.
+Norton entered the room.
+
+The consciousness of impending peril came over Carew's guilty soul, but
+he seized the pen, and in a firm hand wrote the signature, "Arthur
+Allen, Barrister-at-law."
+
+Mr. Norton now approached the table. He took up the pen as if to sign
+his name, glanced at the document, and then, raising his head, looked
+Carew full in the face. "I cannot witness this signature," he said. "It
+is a forgery!"
+
+There was a complete silence for a few moments; then Carew, whose face
+was pale, but who betrayed no other signs of emotion, said quietly,
+"Explain your strange words, sir."
+
+"It is no good; the game is up, Mr. Carew," replied Norton. "I have a
+warrant for your arrest, and the police are at the door."
+
+"A trap has been laid for me, I see," said Carew, as quietly as before.
+"This is one of the absurd mistakes you detectives so often make; but I
+will soon clear it up. Of what am I accused?" Carew was astonished at
+his own courage in the presence of this extreme disaster, or rather--for
+it can scarcely be called courage--at his indifference to his fate. He
+felt as if he were the spectator of a tragedy which was being played by
+other men, and in which he was not himself an actor--a common state of
+mind with men in utmost peril.
+
+"The charge with which I am immediately concerned," replied the
+detective, "and on account of which an extradition warrant has been
+issued, is the forgery of a client's name by the solicitor Henry Carew.
+In the meanwhile, look at these," and he threw on the table two
+photographs. Carew took them up. One, he saw, was a portrait of Arthur
+Allen, his friend whom he left to drown in the North Sea; the other was
+a photograph of himself which had been taken eight years back, when he
+was another man, when his conscience was still clear, and before his
+gambling losses had driven him from crime to crime; sin and suffering
+had yet drawn no lines on the face, the brow was free from care. He
+gazed gloomily at this presentment of what he had been and could never
+be again, and his mind wandered back with despairing regret to memories
+of guiltless days.
+
+"On the 15th of August last," continued the detective, "a solicitor,
+Henry Carew, absconded, disappeared, leaving no trace. For some time I,
+who was entrusted with the case, was altogether at fault; but at last,
+as often happens, a coincidence threw me on the scent. I came across an
+advertisement inserted in the papers by the relatives of a missing man,
+Arthur Allen. He had left his chambers on the 15th of August, and had
+not since been heard of. Carew and Allen thus disappeared from London on
+the same day, mark you; but there was no very remarkable coincidence in
+that fact. However, I happened to remember that, while searching the
+papers of Carew to discover what were his habits, who were his
+acquaintances, and so forth, I had come across the name of this Arthur
+Allen, apparently a friend of Carew's. The clue was worth following up.
+I soon ascertained that Allen had that day sailed from the Thames in his
+yacht; that his last known port of call was Rotterdam. I went to
+Rotterdam, and there, from a Mr. Hoogendyk and others, learnt that the
+man who called himself Arthur Allen had conducted himself in a somewhat
+curious manner for an English yachtsman, and had suddenly sailed from
+that port, bound no one knew whither, with a crew of Spanish
+desperadoes."
+
+The detective now took the two photographs from the hand of Carew, who
+was still gazing at them in a dazed way, apparently not listening to the
+words of his accuser.
+
+"I procured these," Norton went on. "I brought them to Mr. Hoogendyk.
+First I showed him the portrait of Arthur Allen; he did not recognise
+it. Then I gave him the portrait of Henry Carew. 'This, of course,' he
+at once said, 'is the photograph of Mr. Allen, the Englishman who came
+here with the little yacht.' Then I knew that I was on the right track.
+Shortly afterwards, a paragraph which appeared in a London evening paper
+brought me promptly here, armed with an extradition warrant. I have the
+paragraph here. It is headed '_A Strange Story of the Sea._' I will read
+it to you. '_A telegram from Pernambuco states that a French barque,
+the_ La Bonne Esperance, _has been brought into that port a derelict.
+She was picked up by the crew of an English yacht, the_ Petrel. _The_
+Petrel _had foundered in the South Atlantic. Mr. Allen, the owner, and
+his three men took to the dinghy, and, after drifting for several days,
+encountered the deserted barque, which they sailed into Pernambuco. The
+salvage is likely to far more than compensate Mr. Allen for the loss of
+his yacht._' That is all I need say at present."
+
+The consul spoke next. "There is a Mr. Rudge here, who has been in
+Pernambuco for some weeks, who can also throw a light on this matter."
+The consul touched the bell, and the man who had assumed the name of
+Rudge was shown into the room. He closed the door behind him, and stood
+with his back against it.
+
+"This gentleman," said the consul deliberately, "affirms that _he_ is
+Arthur Allen, the barrister, the owner of the lost yacht."
+
+All in the room now turned their eyes upon Carew, to watch the effect
+upon him of this sudden presence.
+
+Yes, it was indeed Allen, though pale and thin, as if he had but just
+recovered from a sudden illness, that Carew saw before him. And now this
+strange being, who had fallen into such depths of crime, and who yet
+loathed crime so intensely, behaved in the manner that might have been
+expected from him. The better man declared himself at last. On beholding
+this accuser, who had risen thus suddenly from the dead, he displayed no
+guilty terror. On the contrary, an expression of great relief, of joy,
+almost of triumph, lit up his face, and the lines of care faded away
+from it.
+
+They all watched him with wonder.
+
+Then he spoke quietly, in tones that carried conviction. No one could
+doubt but that the words were from his heart.
+
+"Yes, I am Henry Carew. I am guilty of all that I am accused of, and of
+more, and worse things. But I am glad, indeed glad--and little gladness
+has been my lot of late--to see you, Arthur Allen, standing there alive
+before me. There is one less crime on my soul. Yes, I am now happy;
+happier than I deserve to be. I am quite ready to pay the penalty of my
+sins."
+
+There was a nobility in his countenance as he stood up erect, with none
+of the shrinking criminal about him. He felt as if he were out of the
+world already; he was free from petty fears now.
+
+Then the consul, impressed by the man's manner, said, in an almost
+respectful tone, "It is better that you should go on board the English
+steamer at once. I have arranged everything."
+
+The detective whispered something into the consul's ear, and then
+slipped out of the room quietly.
+
+Carew looked through the window at the fair tropical world without. He
+could see the busy quay, with its green trees waving in the fresh trade
+wind, and the breakers dashing upon the coral reef. Beyond that, between
+the blue sea and the blue sky, there loomed a dark mass. Carew knew that
+this was the vessel which was to be his prison, lying at anchor in the
+outer roads. He shivered; then turning to the consul said--
+
+"Grant me one last favour before I go: let me have paper and pen. I
+wish to write a letter."
+
+The consul hesitated.
+
+"Give it to him," whispered Allen, who had been eyeing Carew intently;
+and Carew rewarded him with a grateful look.
+
+The writing materials were put on the table. He sat before them with his
+back to the spectators, and as he held the pen in his right hand, he
+placed his left elbow upon the table, stooping over it, his face buried
+in the open palm as if he were meditating deeply what he should write.
+And so he remained for quite a minute without writing a word. Once a
+slight tremor passed through his frame. After that he sat quite
+motionless.
+
+The detective again entered the room, followed by two officers of
+police.
+
+"Come, sir," he said, "we must go now," and he put his hand lightly on
+Carew's shoulder.
+
+As the hand touched him, Carew's elbow slipped, his head dropped heavily
+upon the table, face downwards, and from his left hand, which had been
+over his mouth, there fell on the table, and rolled slowly across it, a
+small empty bottle.
+
+He was quite dead! He had found a use at last for the poisonous drug
+which the Rotterdam chemist had grudgingly sold him.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"The prisoner has slipped away from us," said the detective; "but,
+after all, I am not sorry for it in a way, for there was good in the
+man."
+
+And so ended the misspent life of Henry Carew--a man by nature probably
+no worse than many of the most respectable-seeming among us. But he was
+morally timid; and such a one, however benevolent be his disposition,
+however opposed to vice be his inclinations, is the slave of
+circumstances, and is quite as likely to develop into a villain as a
+saint. A weak will is the devil's easiest prey.
+
+Arthur Allen's narrative will be given in his own words:--
+
+"The last thing I remember, after Jim and myself were capsized, is that
+I was holding on to the dinghy, and that I lashed myself to her with the
+painter. Poor Jim must have gone down at once. I don't remember seeing
+him after the boat turned over. The seas must have driven the sense out
+of me. I came to, days afterwards, in the cabin of a German barque. She
+had picked me up--still lashed to the dinghy--in an insensible
+condition. The barque was bound from Hamburg to Rio. My long exposure in
+the water brought on a serious and tedious illness. I was more dead than
+alive when I landed at Rio, and was at once taken to the hospital. There
+the English Consul called to see me, and behaved with great kindness.
+When I told him my story, and who I was, he said, 'A man of your name
+came here with a yacht a short time back--an eccentric man, for he only
+stopped two days here and was off again; so I did not see him.' I asked
+what the name of the yacht was. 'The _Petrel_,' he replied. Then, of
+course, the whole truth dawned upon me, and I satisfied the consul that
+someone had stolen my yacht and had assumed my name. The consul then
+advanced to me the money I required. I was still lying in the hospital
+when the news came to Rio that the _Petrel_ had been lost at sea, and
+that her crew had found a derelict, and sailed her into Pernambuco. In
+spite of the doctor's warnings, I left the hospital, and hurried here at
+once. I was awaiting an extradition warrant from England, when Mr.
+Norton anticipated my own action, and arrived with a warrant that had
+been obtained on account of former felonies committed by Carew."
+
+The true story of the French barque and her crew was never known.
+Baptiste and the two Spaniards took alarm and disappeared from
+Pernambuco. Not that they were in danger, for they were not implicated
+in the felonies which had been brought home to Carew. But the guilty
+wretches knew not what would be discovered next, they so completely
+distrusted each other, each knowing that he himself would readily
+betray his comrades, either for a price or to secure his own safety.
+
+What ultimately happened to these three villains I do not know. Baptiste
+being a criminal of the educated, cunning, and cowardly-cautious order,
+possibly enriched himself by iniquity for many years more, and, escaping
+his deserts in this world, may yet have died in his old age, a respected
+citizen in his native land.
+
+The other two more vulgar scoundrels were no doubt hanged, or stabbed in
+a brawl, or despatched in some such summary fashion sooner or later--a
+penalty for their crimes which seems light indeed to men of this brutal
+stamp, who consider a violent death as the most desirable and indeed
+only legitimate termination to existence.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH
+
+
+
+
+ADVERTISEMENTS
+
+_The Express Series.--No. II._
+
+
+A GIRL OF GRIT
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+MY AMERICAN MILLIONS
+
+
+It was the middle of the night (as I thought) when Savory--my man, my
+landlord, valet, and general factotum--came in and woke me. He gave me a
+letter, saying simply, "The gentleman's a-waiting, sir," and I read it
+twice, without understanding it in the very least.
+
+Could it be a hoax? To satisfy myself, I sat up in bed, rubbed my
+astonished and still half-sleepy eyes, and read it again. It ran as
+follows:--
+
+     "101, LINCOLN'S INN, _July 11, 189-_.
+
+     "GRAY & QUINLAN, Solicitors.
+
+     "DEAR SIR,--It is our pleasing duty to inform you, at the request
+     of our New York agents, Messrs. Smiddy & Dann, of 57, Chambers
+     Street, New York City, that they have now definitely and
+     conclusively established your claim as the sole surviving relative
+     and general heir-at-law of their late esteemed client, Mr. Aretas
+     M'Faught, of Church Place and Fifth Avenue, New York.
+
+     "As the amount of your inheritance is very considerable, and is
+     estimated approximately at between fourteen and fifteen millions of
+     dollars, say three millions of sterling money, we have thought it
+     right to apprise you of your good fortune without delay. Our Mr.
+     Richard Quinlan will hand you this letter in person, and will be
+     pleased to take your instructions.--We are, sir, your obedient
+     servants,
+
+     "GRAY & QUINLAN."
+
+     "CAPTAIN WILLIAM ARETAS WOOD, D.S.O.,
+     21, Clarges Street, Piccadilly."
+
+
+"Here, Savory! who brought this? Do you say he is waiting? I'll see him
+in half a minute;" and, sluicing my head in cold water, I put on a
+favourite old dressing-gown, and passed into the next room, followed by
+Roy, my precious golden collie, who began at once to sniff suspiciously
+at my visitor's legs.
+
+I found there a prim little old-young gentleman, who scanned me
+curiously through his gold-rimmed pince-nez. Although, no doubt, greatly
+surprised,--for he did not quite expect to see an arch-millionaire in an
+old ulster with a ragged collar of catskin, with damp, unkempt locks,
+and unshorn chin at that time of day,--he addressed me with much
+formality and respect.
+
+"I must apologise for this intrusion, Captain Wood--you _are_ Captain
+Wood?"
+
+"Undoubtedly."
+
+"I am Mr. Quinlan, very much at your service. Pardon me--is this your
+dog? Is he quite to be trusted?"
+
+"Perfectly, if you don't speak to him. Lie down, Roy. I fear I am very
+late--a ball last night. Do you ever go to balls, Mr. Quinlan?"
+
+"Not often, Captain Wood. But if I have come too early, I can call later
+on."
+
+"By no means. I am dying to hear more. But, first of all, this
+letter--it's all _bona fide_, I suppose?"
+
+"Without question. It is from our firm. There can be no possible
+mistake. We have made it our business to verify all the facts--indeed,
+this is not the first we had heard of the affair, but we did not think
+it right to speak to you too soon. This morning, however, the mail has
+brought a full acknowledgment of your claims, so we came on at once to
+see you."
+
+"How did you find me out, pray?"
+
+"We have had our eye on you for some time past, Captain Wood," said the
+little lawyer smilingly. "While we were inquiring--you understand? We
+were anxious to do the best for you"--
+
+"I'm sure I'm infinitely obliged to you. But still, I can't believe it,
+quite. I should like to be convinced of the reality of my good luck. You
+see, I haven't thoroughly taken it in."
+
+"Read this letter from our New York agents, Captain Wood. It gives more
+details," and he handed me a type-written communication on two quarto
+sheets of tissue paper, also a number of cuttings from the New York
+press.
+
+The early part of the letter referred to the search and discovery of the
+heir-at-law (myself), and stated frankly that there could be no sort of
+doubt that my case was clear, and that they would be pleased, when
+called upon, to put me in full possession of my estate.
+
+From that they passed on to a brief enumeration of the assets, which
+comprised real estate in town lots, lands, houses; stocks, shares, well-
+
+
+_The Express Series--No. III._
+
+
+A DESPERATE VOYAGE
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+
+In Carey Street, Chancery Lane, on the ground floor of a huge block of
+new buildings facing the Law Courts, were the offices of Messrs. Peters
+and Carew, solicitors and perpetual commissioners of oaths. Such was the
+title of the firm as inscribed on the side of the entrance door in the
+middle of a long list of other names of solicitors, architects, and
+companies, whose offices were within. But the firm was now represented
+by Mr. Carew alone; for the senior partner, a steady-going old
+gentleman, who had made the business what it was, had been despatched by
+an attack of gout, two years back, to a land where there is no
+litigation.
+
+Late one August evening Mr. Henry Carew entered his office. His face was
+white and haggard, and he muttered to himself as he passed the door. He
+had all the appearance of a man who has been drinking heavily to drown
+some terrible worry. His clerks had gone; he went into his own private
+room and locked the door. He lit the gas, brought a pile of papers and
+letters out of a drawer, and, sitting down by the table, commenced to
+peruse them. As he did so, the lines about his face seemed to deepen,
+and beads of perspiration started to his forehead. It was for him an
+hour of agony. His sins had found him out, and the day of reckoning had
+arrived.
+
+One might have taken Henry Carew for a sailor, but he was very unlike
+the typical solicitor. He was a big, hearty man of thirty-five, with all
+a sailor's bluff manner and generous ways. His friends called him Honest
+Hal, and said that he was one of the best fellows that ever lived. We
+have it on the authority of that immortal adventuress, Becky Sharp, that
+it is easy to be virtuous on five thousand a year. Had Mr. Carew enjoyed
+such an income, he would most probably have lived a blameless life and
+have acquired an estimable reputation; for he had no instinctive liking
+for crime; on the contrary, he loathed it.
+
+But one slight moral flaw in a man's nature--so slight that his best
+friends smile tolerantly at it--may, by force of circumstance, lead
+ultimately to his complete moral ruin. It is an old story, and has been
+the text of many a sermon. The trifling fault is often the germ of
+terrible crimes.
+
+Carew's fault was one that is always easily condoned, so nearly akin is
+it to a virtue; these respectably connected vices are ever the most
+dangerous, like well-born swindlers. Carew was a spendthrift. He was
+ostentatiously extravagant in many directions. He owned a smart
+schooner, which he navigated himself, being an excellent sailor, and the
+quantities of champagne consumed by his friends on board this vessel
+were prodigious.
+
+When his steady old partner died, Carew began to neglect the business
+for his pleasures. Soon his income was insufficient to meet his
+expenses. Speculation on the Stock Exchange seemed to him to be a
+quicker road to fortune than a slow-going profession. So this man,
+morally weak though physically brave, not having the courage to curtail
+his extravagances, hurried blindly to his destruction. He gambled and
+lost all his own property; for ill-luck ever pursued him. Even then it
+was not too late to redeem his position. But he was too great a coward
+to look his difficulties in the face; therefore, having the temptation
+to commit so terribly easy a crime ever before him in his office, he
+began--first, timidly, to a small extent; then wildly, in panic, in
+order to retrieve his losses--to speculate with the moneys entrusted to
+him by his clients. He pawned their securities; he forged their names;
+he plunged ever deeper into crime--and all in vain.
+
+When it was too late, he swore to himself, in the torments of his
+remorse, that if he could but once win back sufficient to replace the
+sums he had stolen, he would cut down all his expenses, forswear
+gambling and dishonesty, and stick to his profession.
+
+At last it came to this. He sold his yacht and everything else he
+possessed of value. He realised what remained of the securities under
+his charge, and then placed the entire sum as cover on a certain stock,
+the price of which, he was told, was certain to rise. It was the
+gambler's last despairing throw of the dice. The stock suddenly fell;
+settling day arrived, and his cover was swept away--he had lost all!
+
+So he sat in his office this night and faced the situation in an agony
+of spirit that was more than fear. For this was no unscrupulous,
+light-hearted villain. An accusing conscience was ever with him, and
+every fresh descent in crime meant for him a worse present hell of
+mental torture.
+
+He felt that it was idle to hope now, even for a short reprieve. Clients
+were suspicious. In a day or two at most all must be known. Disgrace and
+a felon's doom were staring him in the face. It would be impossible for
+him to raise even sufficient funds to escape from England to some
+country where extradition treaties were unknown. Carew realised all
+this. He had forced himself to look through his
+
+
+_Autumn 1898_
+
+
+LIST OF NEW & RECENT BOOKS
+PUBLISHED BY JOHN MILNE AT
+12 NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON
+
+
+The Express Series.
+
+This Series is designed to meet the taste of readers who desire a
+swiftly-moving, well-written, dramatic tale, of moderate length, without
+superfluous descriptive or other literary "padding," but with continuity
+and action from the first page to the last. It contains only
+specially-written and selected stories, mostly by well-known writers,
+and each volume consists of about 224 pages, crown 8vo. The First
+Edition, for the Library, is bound in red cloth, with gilt top, and
+published at 2s. 6d. The Second and subsequent Editions are issued in
+handy form for the Pocket or the Train, in stout cardboard covers,
+illustrated in colours, at 1s.
+
+
+_The following have been published:--_
+
+I. THE ROME EXPRESS. By Major ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. [_Sixth Edition_
+
+
+II. A GIRL OF GRIT. By Major ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. [_Just published._
+
+
+III. A DESPERATE VOYAGE. By E. F. KNIGHT. [_Just published._
+
+
+_CURRENT LIST._
+
+A Desperate Voyage.
+
+A Desperate Voyage. By E. F. KNIGHT, Author of "The Cruise of the
+Falcon," "Where Three Empires Meet," etc. A novel by the well-known
+_Times_ war-correspondent and author, describing the escape of an
+absconding debtor from the river Thames in a twenty-eight ton yawl, and
+his subsequent desperate experiences by sea and land in the South
+Atlantic. 224 pages, crown 8vo, red cloth gilt, gilt top, uniform with
+the above, 2s. 6d.
+
+
+A Girl of Grit.
+
+A Girl of Grit. By Major ARTHUR GRIFFITHS, Author of "The Rome Express."
+An Anglo-American story of a gigantic scheme of fraud and attempted
+abduction. 217 pages, crown 8vo, red cloth gilt, gilt top, 2s. 6d.
+
+     "If you wish for an exciting story--a story which will hold you
+     fascinated for three pleasurable hours by the intricacies of a
+     cleverly conceived plot, and the human interest of varied
+     character--read Major Arthur Griffiths' new book, 'A Girl of Grit.'
+     The whole story of the pursuit of the rascal Duke of Buona Mano and
+     the rescue of Captain Wood in mid-Atlantic carries you on with a
+     rush through a series of dramatic scenes and thrilling adventures
+     to a climax which is as novel as it is satisfactory. 'A Girl of
+     Grit' is a better told story than even 'The Rome Express,' which is
+     saying a good deal."--_Daily Mail._
+
+
+The Rome Express.
+
+The Rome Express. By Major ARTHUR GRIFFITHS. A notable Detective Story
+of much ingenuity and interest. 215 pages, crown 8vo, red cloth gilt,
+gilt top, Library Edition, 2s. 6d.; in coloured wrapper, Sixth Edition,
+1s.
+
+     "It is safe to say that the reader who glances at the first page of
+     Major Arthur Griffiths' detective story, 'The Rome Express,' will
+     certainly not skip one single word until he reaches the end. 'Who
+     could have done the deed?' is the question which absorbs the reader
+     from first to last, and in his eagerness to answer this question he
+     will start on at least four different scents, confident each time
+     that now he has the clue, but only to return baffled and bewildered
+     again and again. It is General Collingham whose shrewd wit first
+     hits upon the right track, and puts to confusion all the theories
+     and red-tapeism of the Quai de l'Horloge. But until the last
+     chapter we are as much in the dark as any one of them; the mystery
+     is inscrutable until it pleases the author to lift the veil and
+     inform us that one of the passengers was requested to continue his
+     journey in the direction of New Caledonia, and that another was
+     married at the British Embassy to Sabine, Contessa di
+     Castagneto."--_Daily Telegraph._
+
+     "Any reader who opens this book with the resolution that he will
+     read a chapter of it and then resume his ordinary occupations, is
+     likely to be surprised speedily out of such good intentions. The
+     story grips you like a vice. There is not a superfluous word in the
+     215 pages."--_Sketch._
+
+     **_The next volume of The Express Series will be a
+     story from the pen of Mr. David Christie Murray, and others are in
+     preparation._
+
+
+The Evolution of a Wife.
+
+The Evolution of a Wife, a Romance in Six Parts, by ELIZABETH HOLLAND.
+The life-story of Marie de Hauteville, a young girl of noble Swiss
+family. It contains many charming pictures of Conventual and village
+life in the Bernese Oberland, with a strong love interest of the
+non-modern school. 398 pages, large crown 8vo, cloth, Second Edition,
+6s.
+
+     "There is an extraordinary genius in 'The Evolution of a Wife.' In
+     calm and masterful handling, searching insight, and bold
+     imaginative outlook, this romance ranks among the finest first
+     books of all the novelists. In the delicate manner of Flaubert,
+     without comment, and with a powerful massing of scenes, the
+     authoress advances to her climax; and one lays down the book
+     feeling that certain impressions will not efface
+     themselves."--_Yorkshire Post._
+
+     "Marie is delightful, with her many lovers and the pathetic little
+     vanities that make her innocence anything but insipid. She is
+     absolutely realisable; and not she alone. The little Swiss town and
+     its inhabitants live at once in the reader's eye."--_Saturday
+     Review._
+
+     "A remarkable story, alike in plot and character. It makes an
+     impression that here and there reminds us of the art and the
+     passion of Charlotte Bronte's works."--_Scotsman._
+
+
+The Passion for Romance.
+
+The Passion for Romance. By EDGAR JEPSON, Author of "Sibyl Falcon."
+Describes the remarkable love affairs of Lord Lisdor, a young and
+susceptible nobleman of wealth and leisure. 378 pages, large crown 8vo,
+cloth, Second Edition, 6s.
+
+     "'The Passion for Romance' is, at the least, recommended by that
+     air of novelty so welcome to all, but to none more than to the
+     professional novel-reader. The hero--the main feature of the story,
+     as he has a right to be--is treated from a refreshingly new
+     standpoint. He is a new sort of hero as well as a fresh specimen in
+     individuals: neither villain, saint, nor martyr, but simply a
+     possible human being with some strong characteristics. The vain
+     quest and the yearning for fulfilment are told with delicacy of
+     touch, some sense of humour, and absolutely without sickly
+     sentiment or morbid passion. Is not this enough to prove that we do
+     not speak of the novel of the common or British type?"--_Athenaeum._
+
+     "It is a long time since we have had a new sensation in fiction. It
+     has come at last. The author of 'The Passion for Romance' is a
+     novelist with a style that is distinguished, and--rarissimus inter
+     raros--Mr. Edgar Jepson is also a writer who has something new to
+     say. Apart from the literary merit of the work, there is the story;
+     and to say that there is nothing in fiction with which that may be
+     compared is to acknowledge at once its originality."--_Morning._
+
+
+Saint Porth.
+
+Saint Porth. The Wooing of Dolly Pentreath. By J. HENRY HARRIS. A homely
+tale of life and love in a Cornish village. 320 pages, crown 8vo, cloth
+gilt, gilt top, 6s.
+
+     "A Cornish tale of remarkable picturesqueness, altogether natural
+     and touching, full of quaint pictures of a marvellously decorative
+     people."--_Saturday Review._
+
+     "Written with singular sympathy, earnestness, and gentle humour.
+     The scene is laid on the Cornish coast, and Mr. Harris paints for
+     us the splendours of that gorgeous seascape in the manner of one
+     who feels to the full its peculiar fascination, and to whom the
+     character of the dwellers on its shore appeals with a familiar
+     charm. The delicate and precious aroma of romance perfumes every
+     page of 'Saint Porth,' and lends to this homely, unpretentious tale
+     a value and an interest that are too often lacking in novels of a
+     more ambitious scope."--_Speaker._
+
+     "Of the many efforts which writers have made during recent years to
+     portray various phases of Cornish life, this, to our mind,
+     represents one of the most successful."--_West Briton._
+
+     "However crowded the novel market may be, there is always room for
+     such refreshing little idylls as 'Saint Porth'--a simple tale,
+     simply told in delightfully breezy style."--_Birmingham Gazette._
+
+
+Paradise Row.
+
+Paradise Row, and some of its Inhabitants. By W. J. WINTLE. A series of
+powerfully painted sketches of North Country life. 240 pages, crown 8vo,
+cloth, gilt top, 3s. 6d.
+
+     "To adequately express the power and the pathos of these simply
+     told sketches, is quite beyond the scope of a review, for they
+     rouse all that is best and all that is most sacred in our common
+     humanity, making us feel more than the grandest rhetoric could, the
+     brotherhood of man. Some of the characters are real heroes, and one
+     rises from the perusal of the book with a greater respect for the
+     men who devote their lives to Christian work in the noisome dens of
+     our populous places, and with a large hope for the ultimate
+     redemption of mankind."--_North British Daily Mail._
+
+     "This is a volume of sketches of North Country life, very
+     vigorously drawn, and full of pathos well relieved with humour. It
+     shows throughout a large power of sympathy and great breadth of
+     thought."--_Spectator._
+
+     "We commend this book as both literature and life. Those who wish
+     to know how the poor live and love cannot do better than read
+     'Paradise Row.'"--_Methodist Times._
+
+     "The work of a deep thinker and a cultured writer."--_Black and
+     White._
+
+
+Butterfly Ballads.
+
+Butterfly Ballads and Stories in Rhyme. By HELEN ATTERIDGE. With
+Sixty-five Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, LOUIS WAIN, H. R. MILLAR, and
+others. 142 pages, foolscap 4to, designed cover, cloth gilt, gilt edges,
+3s. 6d.
+
+     "These real ballads are very clever indeed; we feel sure 'Ethelinda
+     Gray' and 'The Boy that went to Sea' will live in the upper circles
+     of juvenility for many a long day. 'The Doll's Dance' ought to be
+     as widely read and as keenly appreciated as 'The Butterfly's Ball
+     and the Grasshopper's Feast,' which was the delight of the children
+     of fifty years ago. The illustrations are numerous and
+     admirable."--_World._
+
+     "A delightful collection of stories in verse for little ones. It is
+     exactly what it professes to be, and does not indulge in
+     metaphysics for infants, and every little one who has the good
+     fortune to have the volume given it will be happy for a long
+     time."--_St. James's Gazette._
+
+     "'Butterfly Ballads' are by no means inappropriately named. They
+     are light and bright, and go fluttering along easily. The
+     illustrations are specially clever; the dogs, the children, and the
+     old folks are all full of character and spirit."--_Times._
+
+     "Will speedily be learned by heart, and repeated in the firelight
+     to a breathless audience."--_Lady._
+
+
+The English Stage.
+
+The English Stage. Being an Account of the Victorian Drama, by AUGUSTIN
+FILON. Translated from the French by FREDERIC WHYTE, with an
+Introduction by HENRY ARTHUR JONES. 320 pages, demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d.
+
+     "This large and painstaking volume will certainly interest all who
+     follow theatrical matters. We welcome it as an interesting and
+     valuable record."--_Times._
+
+     "That the writings of that acute French critic, M. Filon, on 'The
+     English Stage' have been creditably translated and published in
+     this country, is a subject of congratulation. The completeness with
+     which this observer in a foreign land has mastered his subject is
+     surprising, and adds much force to the penetrating and suggestive
+     criticisms with which the book abounds. Altogether the work,
+     written as it is in spirited and captivating style, is one that can
+     be perused with pleasure by all classes of readers."--_Morning
+     Post._
+
+     "One of the most entertaining, appreciative, discriminating, and
+     instructive of recent books upon the English stage."--_New York
+     Nation._
+
+     "No student of the theatre should miss reading 'The English Stage,'
+     and it should be bought, not borrowed from the library, for it is
+     essentially a book to dip into again and again. It is full of
+     interesting facts as to the recent history of the drama in this
+     country."--_Black and White._
+
+
+Verdi: Man and Musician.
+
+Verdi: Man and Musician. His Biography, with Especial Reference to his
+English Experiences, by F. J. CROWEST, Author of "The Great Tone Poets."
+With Photogravure Frontispiece of Verdi, and several full-page
+Portraits. The only recent and authoritative English Biography of the
+famous Composer. 320 pages, demy 8vo, cloth, 7s. 6d.
+
+     "As the author of this highly interesting volume rightly says,
+     Verdi bibliography, particularly that in England, is not extensive,
+     but he has made an important addition, a book that should be read
+     by all admirers of the Italian composer. It is enriched with
+     several well-executed portraits, and is fully
+     indexed."--_Athenaeum._
+
+     "A most interesting work. Did space permit, we could quote at
+     length from this delightful book; but as it is, we must leave it to
+     the reader to pick and choose for himself."--_Weekly Sun._
+
+     "A book full of interest both to musicians and laymen, embellished
+     with a speaking likeness of Verdi as a frontispiece. A distinct and
+     valuable addition to the scant Verdi literature in this
+     country."--_Manchester Courier._
+
+     "An excellently-written and faithfully-compiled history of the rise
+     and progress of a great composer, studded with gems of anecdote,
+     and teeming with an appreciation that will find an echo in the
+     heart of every lover of opera who reads it."--_Birmingham Gazette._
+
+
+[Illustration: Logo]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's A Desperate Voyage, by Edward Frederick Knight
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