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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3f181e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52102 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52102) diff --git a/old/52102-8.txt b/old/52102-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 04a931d..0000000 --- a/old/52102-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10335 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Across the Salt Seas, by John Bloundelle-Burton - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Across the Salt Seas - A Romance of the War of Succession - -Author: John Bloundelle-Burton - -Release Date: May 19, 2016 [EBook #52102] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACROSS THE SALT SEAS *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by -Google Books (Princeton University) - - - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: - 1. Page scan source: Google Books - https://books.google.com/books?id=OsUsAAAAYAAJ - (Princeton University) - 2. The diphthong oe is represented by [oe]. - - - - - -Across the Salt Seas. - - - - - - -ACROSS -THE SALT SEAS - - -A ROMANCE OF THE -WAR OF SUCCESSION - - - -BY -JOHN BLOUNDELLE-BURTON - -AUTHOR OF "IN THE WAY OF ADVERSITY," -"THE HISPANIOLA PLATE," "A GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER," ETC. - - - - - -HERBERT S. STONE & CO. -CHICAGO & NEW YORK -MDCCCXCVII - - - - - - -COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY -HERBERT S. STONE & CO. - - - - - - -Across the Salt Seas. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -Dreams he of cutting foreign throats, of breaches, ambuscadoes, -Spanish blades; of healths five fathoms deep.--Shakespeare. - - -"Phew!" said the captain of _La Mouche Noire_, as he came up to me -where I paced the deck by the after binacle. "Phew! It is a devil in -its death agonies. What has the man seen and known? Fore Gad! he makes -me shudder!" - -Then he spat to leeward--because he was a sailor; also, because he was -a sailor, he squinted into the compass box, then took off his leather -cap and wiped the warm drops from his forehead with the back of his -hand. - -"Death agonies!" I said. "So! it is coming to that. From what? -Drinking, old age, or----" - -"Both, and more. Yet, when I shipped him at Rotterdam, who -would have thought it! Old and reverend-looking, eh, Mr. Crespin? -White haired--silvery. I deemed him some kind of a minister--yet, now, -hearken to him!" - -And as he spoke he went to the hatchway, bent his head and shoulders -over it, and beckoned me to come and do likewise; which gesture I -obeyed. - -Then I heard the old man's voice coming forth from the cabin where -they had got him, the door of it being open for sake of air, because, -in this tossing sea, the ports and scuttles were shut fast--heard him -screaming, muttering, chuckling and laughing; calling of healths and -toasts; dying hard! - -"The balustrades!" he screamed. "Look to them. See! Three men, their -hands stretched out, peering down into the hall; fingers touching. -God!"--he whispered this, yet still we heard--"how can dead men stand -thus together, gazing over, glancing into dark corners, eyes rolling? -See how yellow the mustee's eyes are! But still, all dead! Dead! Dead! -Dead! Yet there they stand, waiting for us to come in from the garden. -Ha! quick--the passado--one--two--in--out--good! through his midriff. -Ha! Ha! Ha!" and he laughed hideously, then went on: "The worms will -have a full meal. Or"--after a pause, and hissing this: "Was he dead -before? Hast run a dead man through?" - -"Like this all day long," the captain muttered in my ear, "from the -dawn. And now the sun is setting; see how its gleams light up the -hills inland. God's mercy! I hope he dies ere long. I want not his -howlings through my ship all night. Mr. Crespin," and he laid his hand -on my arm, "will you go down to him, to service me? You are a -gentleman. Maybe can soothe him. He is one, too. Will you?" - -I shrugged my shoulders and hitched my sea cloak tighter round me; -then I said: - -"To do you a service--yes. Yet I like not the job. Still, I will go," -and I put my hand on the brass rail to descend. Then, as I did so, we -heard him again--a-singing of a song this time. But what a song! And -to come from the dying lips of that old, white-haired, reverend-looking -man! A song about drinkings and carousings, of girls' eyes and lips and -other charms, which he should have thought no more of for the past two -score years! and killing of men, and thievings and plunder. Then another -change, orders bellowed loudly, as though he trod on deck--commands -given to run out guns--cutlasses to be ready. Shrieks, whooping and -huzzas! - -"He has followed the sea some time in his life," the captain whispered -as I descended the companion steps. "One can tell that. And I thought -him a minister!" - -I nodded, looking up at him as I went below, then reached the open -door of the cabin where the man lay. - -He was stretched out upon his berth, the bedding all dishevelled and -tossed beneath him, with, over it, his long white hair, like spun -flax, streaming. His coat alone of all his garments was off, so that -one saw the massive gold buttons to his satin waistcoat; could -observe, too, the richness of his cravat, the fineness of his shirt. -His breeches, also, were of satin, black like his waistcoat--the -stuff of the very best; his buckles to them gold; his shoes fastened -with silver latchets. That he was old other things than his hair -showed--the white face was drawn and pinched with age, the body lean -and attenuated, the fingers almost fleshless, the backs of his hands -naught but sinews and shrivelled skin. And they were strange hands, -too, for one to gaze upon; white as the driven snow, yet with -a thickness at the tips of the fingers, and with ill-shapen, -coarse-looking nails, all seeming to say that, once, in some far off -time, those hands had done hard, rough work. - -By the side of the berth, upon one of the drawers beneath it, pulled -out to make a seat, there squatted a mulatto--his servant whom he had -brought on board with him when we took him into the ship in the Maas. -A mulatto, whose brown, muddy looking eyeballs rolled about in terror, -as I thought, of his master's coming death, and made me wonder if they -had given his distempered brain that idea of the "mustee's yellow -eyes," about which he had been lately shrieking. Yet, somehow, I -guessed that 'twas not so. - -"How is 't with him now?" I asked the blackamoor, seeing that his -master lay quiet for the time being; "is this like to be the end?" - -"Maybe, maybe not," the creature said in reply. "I have seen him as -far gone before--yet he is alive." - -"How old is he?" - -"I know not. He says he has seventy years." - -"I should say more," I answered. Then I asked: "Who is he?" - -"The captain has his name." - -"That tells nothing. When he is dead he will be committed to the sea -unless we reach Cadiz first. And he has goods," casting my eye on two -chests, one above the other, standing by the cabin bulkhead. "They -will have to be consigned somewhere. Where is he going?" - -"To Cadiz." - -"Ha! Well, so am I. He is English?" - -"Yes--he is English." - -'Twas evident to me that this black creature meant to tell nothing of -his master's affairs--for which there was no need to blame him--and I -desisted from my enquiries. For, in truth, this old man's affairs were -not my concern. If he died he would be tossed into the sea, and that -would be the end of him. And if he did not die--why still 'twas no -affair of mine. I was but a passenger, as he was. - -Therefore, I turned me on my heel to quit the cabin, when, to my -astonishment, nay, almost my awestruck wonderment, I heard the old man -speaking behind me as calmly as though there were no delirium in his -brain nor any fever whatever. Perhaps, after all, I thought, 'twas but -the French brandy and the Geneva he had been drinking freely of since -we took him on board, and which he brought with him in case bottles, -that had given him his delirium, and that the effect was gone now with -his last shriekings and ravings. - -But that which caused most my wonderment was that he was speaking in -the French--which I had very well myself. - -"What brings you here, Grandmont?" he asked, his eyes, of a cold grey, -fixed on me. - -"So," thinks I, "you are not out of your fever yet, to call me by a -name I never heard of." But aloud, I answered: - -"I have taken passage the same as you yourself. And we travel the same -road--toward Cadiz." - -Meanwhile the negro was a-hushing of him--or trying to--saying: -"Master, master, you wander. Grandmont is not here. This gentleman is -not he"; and angered me, too, even as he said it, by a scornful kind -of laugh he gave, as though to signify: "Not anything like him, -indeed." - -But the old man took no heed of him--pushing him aside with a strength -in the white coarse hand which you would not have looked to see in one -so spent--and leaned a little over the side of the berth, and went on: - -"Have you heard of it, yet, Grandmont?" - -Not knowing what to do, nor what answer to make, I shook my -head--whereon he continued: "Nineteen years of age now, if a day. Four -years old then--two hundred crowns' worth of good wood burnt,--all -burnt--a mort o' money! But we have enough left and to serve, 'tis -true. A plenty o' money--though 'tis soaked in blood. Nineteen years -old, and like to be a devil--like yourself, Grandmont!" - -"Grandmont is dead," the negro muttered. "Drownded dead, master. You -know." - -This set the old man off on another tack, doubtless the words -"drownded dead" recalling something to him; and once more he began -his chantings--going back to the English--which were awful to hear, -and brought to my mind the idea of a corpse a-singing: - - "Fishes' teeth have eat his eyes; - His limbs by fishes torn." - -Then broke off and said: "Where am I? Give me to drink." - -This the negro did, taking from out the drawer he sat upon a bottle of -Hungary water, and pouring a draught into a glass, which, when the old -man had tasted, set him off shrieking curses. - -"Brandy!" he cried, "Brandy! French brandy, not this filth. Brandy, -dog!" and as he spoke he raised his hand and clutched at the other's -wool, "If I had you in Martinique----" then, exhausted, fell back on -his pillows and said no more, forgetting all about the desired drink. - -Now, that night, when I sat with the captain after supper, he being a -man who had roamed the world far and wide, and had not always been, as -he was now, a carrier of goods only, with sometimes a passenger or -two, from London to the ports of France, Spain and Portugal, we talked -upon that hoary-headed old sinner lying below in the after-starboard -cabin; I telling him all that had passed in my hearing. - -And he, smoking his great pipe, listened attentively, nodding his head -every now and again, and muttering much to himself; then said: - -"Spoke about two hundred crowns' worth of good wood being burnt, eh? -That would be at Campeachy. Humph! So! So! We have heard about that. -Told the black, too, that he wished he had him in Martinique, did he? -Also knew Grandmont. Ha! 'tis very plain." Then he rose and went to -his desk, lifted up the sloping lid and took out a book and read from -it--I observing very well that it was his log. - -"See," he said, pushing it over to me, "that's what he calls himself -now. Yet 'tis no more his name than 'tis mine--or yours." - -Glancing my eye down the column, I came to my own name--after a list -of things by way of cargo which he had on board, such as a hundred and -seventy barrels of potash, sixty bales of hemp, a hundred bales of -Russia leather, twenty barrels of salted meat, twenty-eight barrels of -whale oil and many other things. Came to my own name, Mervyn Crespin, -officer, passenger to Cadiz. Then to the old man's: - -"John Carstairs, gentleman, with servant, passenger to Cadiz." - -"No more his name than 'tis mine--or yours," the captain repeated. - -"What then?" I asked. - -"It might be--anything," and again he mused. "Martinique," he went on, -"Campeachy. A friend of Grandmont's. Let me reflect. It might be John -Cuddiford. He was a friend of Grandmont's. It might be Alderly. But -no, he was killed, I think, by Captain Nicholas Crafez of Brentford. -Dampier, now--nay, this one is too old; also William Dampier sailed -from the Downs three years ago. I do believe 'tis Cuddiford." - -"And who then is Grandmont, Captain? And this Cuddiford--or -Carstairs?" - -"Ho!" said he, "'tis all a history, and had you been sailor, or worn -that sword by your side for King William as you wear it now for Queen -Anne, you would have known Grandmont's name. Of a surety you would -have done so, had you been sailor." - -"Who are they, then?" - -"Well now, see. Grandmont was--for he is dead, drowned coming back -from the Indies in '96--that's six years agone--with a hundred and -eighty men, all devils like himself." - -As he said this I started, for his words were much the same as those -which the old man had used an hour or so before when he had spoken of -something--a child, as I guessed--that had been four years old, and -was now nineteen and "like to be a devil" like himself--Grandmont. It -seemed certain, therefore, that this man, Grandmont, was a friend in -life, and that now there was roaming about somewhere a son who had all -the instincts of its father, and who was known to Carstairs, or -Cuddiford. - -This made the story of interest to me, and caused me to listen -earnestly to the captain's words. - -"Coming back from the Indies, and not so very long, either, after the -French king had made him a lieutenant of his navy--perhaps because he -was a villain. He does that now and again. 'Tis his way. Look at Bart, -to wit. There's a sweet vagabond for you. Has plagued us honest -merchants and carriers more than all Tourville's navy. Yet, now, he is -an officer, too." - -"But Grandmont, Captain! Grandmont." - -"Ah! Grandmont. Well, he was a -filibuster--privateer--buccaneer--pirate--what you will! Burnt up all -their woods at Campeachy--the old man spake true--because the -commandant wouldn't pay the ransom he and his crew demanded; also -because the commandant said that when he had slaughtered them all, if -he did so, he would never find out where their buried wealth was. Then -he took a Pink one day with four hundred thousand francs' worth of -goods and money on board, and slew every soul in the ship. Tied dead -and living together, back to back, and flung them into the sea. Oh! He -was a devil," he concluded. "A wicked villain! My word! If only some -of our ships of war could have caught him." - -"Yet he is dead?" - -"Dead enough, the Lord be praised." - -"And if this is a friend of his--this Cuddiford, or Carstairs--he must -needs be a villain, too." - -"Needs be! Nay, is, for a surety. And, Mr. Crespin," he said, speaking -slowly, "you have heard his shrieks and singings--could you doubt what -he has been?" - -"Doubt? No," I answered. "Who could? Yet, I wonder who were the dead -men looking down the stairs, as they came in from the garden." - -"Who? Only a few of their victims. If he and Grandmont worked together -they could not count 'em. Well, one is dead; good luck when the other -goes too. And, when he does, what a meeting they will have there!" and -he pointed downward. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -SECRET SERVICE. - - -It seemed not, however, as though this meeting were very likely to -take place yet, since by the time we were off Cape St. Vincent--which -was at early dawn of the second morning following the old man's -delirium--that person seemed to have become very much restored. 'Tis -true he was still very weak, and kept his berth; but otherwise seemed -well enough. Also all his fever and wanderings were gone, and as he -now lay in his bunk reading of many papers which the negro handed to -him from the open uppermost chest, he might, indeed, have passed for -that same reverend minister which the captain had, at the beginning, -imagined him to be. - -Both of us--the captain because he was the captain, and I because I -was the only other passenger--had been in and out to see him now and -again and to ask him how he did. Yet, I fear, 'twas not charity nor -pity that induced either of us to these Christian tasks. For the -skipper was prompted by, I think, but one desire, namely, to get the -man ashore alive out of his ship, and, thereby, to have done with him. -He liked not pirates, he said, "neither when met on the high seas, nor -when retired from business"; while as for myself, well! the man -fascinated me. He seemed to be, indeed, so scheming an old villain, -and to have such a strange past behind him, that I could not help but -be attracted. - -Now in these visits which I had paid him at intervals, he had told me -that he was on his way to Cadiz, where he had much business to attend -to; sometimes, he said, in purchasing goods that the galleons brought -in from the Indies, sometimes in sending out other goods, and so -forth. Also he said--which was true enough, as I knew very well--the -galleons were now due; it was for this reason he was on his way to the -south of Spain. - -"So," said the captain, when I repeated this, "the devil can speak -truth sure enough when he needs. To wit, it is the truth that the -galleons are on their way home. What else has he said to you, Mr. -Crespin?" - -"He has asked me what my business may be." - -"And you have told him?" - -"Nay. I tell no one that," I replied, "It is of some consequence, and -I talk not of it." - -Yet here, and with a view to making clear this narrative which I am -setting down, 'tis necessary that I should state who and what I am, -and also the reason why I, Mervyn Crespin, am on my road to Cadiz on -board a coasting vessel, _La Mouche Noire_--once a French ship of -merchandise, now an English one. She was taken from that nation by -some of our own vessels of war, sold by public auction, and bought by -her present captain, who now is using her in his trade between England -and Holland, and Holland and Spain--a risky trade, too, seeing that -war has broken out again, that England and Austria are fighting the -French and Spanish, and that the sea swarms with privateers; yet, -because of the risk, a profitable trade, too, for those who can make -their journeys uncaught by the enemy. - -However, to myself. - -I am, let me say, therefore, an officer of the Cuirassiers, or Fourth -Horse, which, a short time before the late King William's death, has -been serving in the Netherlands under the partial command of Ginkell, -Earl of Athlone. The rank I hold is that of lieutenant--aspiring -naturally to far greater things--and already I have had the honor of -taking part in several sieges, amongst others Kaiserswerth, with which -the war commenced, as well as in many skirmishes. Now, 'twas at this -place, where my Lord the Earl of Athlone commanded, that I had the -extreme good fortune, as I shall ever deem it, of being wounded, and -thereby brought under his Lordship's notice. As for the wound, 'twas -nothing, one of M. Bouffler's lancers having run me through the fleshy -part of my arm, and it was soon healed; but the earl happened to see -the occurrence, as also the manner in which I cut the man down a -second later, and from that moment he took notice of me--sent for me -to his quarters when the siege was over, spoke with commendation of my -riding and my sword play, and asked me of my family, he being one who, -although a Dutchman who came only into England with his late master, -knew much of our gentry and noble homes. - -"Of the Crespins of Kent, eh?" he said. "The Crespins--a fair, good -family. I knew Sir Nicholas, who fell at the Boyne. What was he to -you?" - -"My uncle, sir. The late king gave me my guidon in the Cuirassiers -because of his service." - -"Good! He could do no less. Your uncle was a solid man--trustworthy. -If he said he would do a thing, he did it--or died. 'Twas thus in -Ireland. You remember?" - -"I remember, sir. He said he would take prisoner Tyrconnel with his -own hands, and would have done it had not a bullet found his brain." - -"I do believe he would. Are you as trustworthy as he?" - -"Try me," and I looked him straight in the face. - -"Maybe I will. A little later," and even as he spoke fell a-musing, -while he drank some schnapps, which was his native drink, and on -which, they say, these Hollanders are weaned--from a little glass. -Then soon spake again: - -"What languages have you? Any besides your own?" - -"I have the French. Also some Spanish. My grandmother was of Spanish -descent, and dwelt with us in Kent. She taught me." - -"Humph!" And again he mused, then again went on, though now--doubtless -to see if my French was any good, and to try me--he spoke in that -tongue. - -"Could you pass for a Frenchman, think you, amongst those who are not -French, say in Spain itself?" - -"Yes, amongst those who are not French, I am sure I could. Even -amongst those who are French, if I gave out that I was, say, a -Dutchman speaking with an accent," and I laughed, for I could not help -it. The earl had a bottle nose and eyes like a lobster's, and made a -queer grimace when I said this boldly. Then he, too, laughed. - -"So I've an accent, eh, when I speak French? You mean that?" - -"I mean, sir, that however well one speaks a language not their own, -there is some accent that betrays them to those whose native tongue -they are speaking. A Dutchman, a Swiss, most Englishmen and many -Germans can all speak French, and 'twould pass outside France for -French. But a native of Touraine, or a Parisian, or any subject of -King Louis could not be deceived." - -"True. Yet you or I could pass, say in Spain, for Frenchmen." - -"I am sure." - -"Humph! Well, we will see. And, perhaps, I will, as you say, -try you. Only if I do, 'twill be a risky service for you. A -lieutenant-colonelcy or a gibbet. A regiment or a bullet. How would -you like that?" - -"I risk the bullet every moment that the Cuirassiers are in action, -and there is no lieutenant-colonelcy in the other scale if I escape. I -prefer the 'risky service,' when there is one. As for the gibbet; -well, one death is the same as another, pretty much, and the gibbet -will do as well as any other, so long as 'tis not at Tyburn--which -would be discreditable." - -"You are a man of metal!" the Dutchman exclaimed, "and I like you, -although you don't approve of my accent. You will do. I want a man of -action, not a courtier----" - -"I meant no rudeness," I interposed. - -"Nor offered any. Tush! man, we Dutch are not courtiers, either. But -we are staunch. And I will give you a chance of being so. Come here -again to-morrow night. You shall have a throw for that colonelcy--or -that gibbet." - -"My Lord, I am most grateful to you." - -"Good day. Come to-morrow night. Now I must sleep." And he began to -divest himself of his wig and clothes, upon which I bowed and -withdrew. - -Be sure I was there the next night at the same time, exchanging my -guard with Bertram Saxby, who, alas! was killed shortly afterward at -Ruremonde. The day I had passed in sleeping much, for I had a -suspicion that it was like enough Ginkell would send me on the service -he had spoken of that very night; might, indeed, order me to take -horse within the next hour, and I was desirous of starting fresh--of -beginning well. He was a rough creature, this Dutch general--or -English, rather, now!--and would be as apt as not to give me my -instructions as I entered the room, and bid me be miles away ere -midnight struck. Therefore I went prepared. Also my horse was ready in -its stall. - -He was not alone when I did enter his quarters. Instead, he was seated -at a table covered with papers and charts, on the other side of which -there sat another gentleman, a man of about fifty, of strikingly -handsome features; a man who, in his day, I guessed, must have played -havoc with women's hearts--might, indeed, I should think, have done so -now had he been inclined that way. Those soft, rounded features, and -those eyes, themselves soft and liquid--I saw them clearly when he -lifted them to scan my face!--would, I guessed, make him irresistible -to the fair sex. - -He spoke first after I had saluted the Earl of Athlone--and I observed -that, intuitively, he also returned my salute by a bend of his head, -so that I felt sure he was used to receive such courtesies wherever he -might be and in whatever company--then he said to the Dutchman, in a -voice that, though somewhat high, was as musical as a chime of bells. - -"This is the gentleman, Ginkell?" - -"This is the gentleman. A lieutenant of the Fourth Horse." - -"Sir," said the other, "be seated," and he pointed with a beautifully -white hand to a chair by the table. "I desire some little conversation -with you. I am the Earl of Marlborough." And as he mentioned his name -he put out that white hand again and offered it to me, I taking it -with all imaginable respect. He was at this time the most conspicuous -subject of any sovereign in the world; his name was known from one end -of Europe to the other. Also it was the most feared, although he had -not yet put the crowning point to his glory nor risen to the highest -rank for which he was destined. But he was very near his zenith -now--his greatness almost at its height--and, I have often thought -since, there was something within him at this time which told him it -was close at hand. For he had an imperturbable calmness, an unfailing -quiet graciousness, as I witnessed afterward on many occasions, which -alone could be possessed by one who felt sure of himself. In every -word he spoke, in his every action, he proclaimed that he was certain -of, and master of, his destiny! - -"My Lord Athlone tells me," he continued, when I was seated, the soft -voice flowing musically, "that you have the fitting aspirations of a -soldier--desire a regiment, and are willing to earn one." - -I bowed and muttered that to succeed in my career was my one desire, -and that if I could win success I would spare no effort. Then he went -on: - -"You speak French. That is good. Also Spanish. That, too, is good. -Likewise, I hear, can disguise your identity as an Englishman if -necessary. That is well, also. Mr. ----" and he took up a piece of -paper lying before him, on which I supposed my name was written, "Mr. -Crespin, I--we--are going to employ you on secret service. Are you -willing to undertake it?" - -"I am willing, my Lord, to do anything that may advance my career. -Anything that may become a soldier." - -"That is as it should be. The light in which to regard -matters--anything that may become a soldier. That before all. Well, to -be short, we are going to send you to Cadiz." - -"To Cadiz, my Lord!" I said, unable to repress some slight feeling of -astonishment. - -"Yes. To Cadiz, where you will not find another English soldier. Still -that will, perhaps, not matter very much, since we do not desire you -when there to appear as a soldier yourself. You are granted leave from -your regiment indefinitely while on this mission, and, at the first at -least, you will be a private gentleman. Also, when at Cadiz, you will -please to be anything but an _English_ gentleman." - -"Or a Dutch one," put in the other earl with a guttural laugh. -"Therefore, assume not the Dutch accent." - -Evidently my Lord Marlborough did not know of the joke underlying this -remark, since he went on: - -"As a Frenchman you will have the best chance. Or, perhaps, as a Swiss -merchant. But that we leave to you. What you have to do is to get to -Cadiz, and, when there, to pass as some one, neither English nor -Dutch, who is engaged in ordinary mercantile pursuits. Then when the -fleet comes in----" - -"The fleet, my Lord!" - -"Yes. The English fleet. I should tell you--I must make myself clear. -A large fleet under Admirals Rooke and Hopson, as well as some Dutch -admirals, are about to besiege Cadiz. They will shortly sail from -Portsmouth, as we have advices, and it is almost a certainty that they -will succeed in gaining possession of the island, which is Cadiz. That -will be of immense service to us, since, while we are fighting King -Louis in the north, the Duke of Ormond, who goes out in that fleet in -command of between thirteen and fourteen thousand men, will be able to -attack the Duke of Anjou, or, as he now calls himself, King Philip V -of Spain, in the south. But that is not all. We are not sending you -there to add one more strong right arm to His Grace's forces--we could -utilize that here, Mr. Crespin," and he bowed courteously, "but -because we wish you to convey a message to him and the admirals." - -I, too, bowed again, and expressed by my manner that I was listening -most attentively, while the earl continued: - -"The message is this: We have received information from a sure source -that the galleons now on their way back to Spain from the Indies have -altered their plan of arrival because they, in their turn, have been -informed in some way, by some spy or traitor, that this expedition -will sail from England. Therefore they will not go near Cadiz. But the -spot to which they will proceed is Vigo, in the north. Now," and he -rose as he spoke, and stood in front of the empty fireplace, "your -business will be to convey this intelligence to Sir George Rooke and -those under him, and I need not tell you that you are like enough to -encounter dangers in so conveying it. Are you prepared to undertake -them?" - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -I FIND A SHIP. - - -"You see," the Earl of Marlborough continued, while Ginkell and I -stood on either side of him, "that neither your risks nor your -difficulties will be light. To begin with, you must pass as a -Frenchman, or, at least, not an Englishman, for Cadiz, like all -Spanish ports and towns, will not permit of any being there. -Therefore, your only way to get into it is to be no Englishman. Now, -how, Mr. Crespin, would you suggest reaching the place and obtaining -entry? It is far away." - -I thought a moment on this; then I said: - -"But Portugal, my lord, is not closed to us. That country has not yet -thrown in its lot with either France or Austria." - -"That is true. And the southern frontier of Portugal is very near to -Spain--to Cadiz. You mean that?" - -"Yes. I could proceed to the frontier of Portugal, could perhaps get -by sea to Tavira--then, as a Frenchman, cross into Spain, and so to -Cadiz." - -He pondered a little on this, then said: "Yes, the idea is feasible. -Only, how to go to Tavira?" and he bent over a chart lying on the -table, and regarded it fixedly as he spoke. "How to do that?" running -his finger down the coast line of Portugal as he spoke, and then up -again as far north as the Netherlands, stopping at Rotterdam. - -"All traffic is closed," he muttered, "between Spain and Holland now, -otherwise there would be countless vessels passing between Rotterdam -and Cadiz which would doubtless put you ashore on the Portuguese -coast. But now--now--there will scarce be any." - -Ginkell had been called away by one of his aides-de-camp as his -lordship bent over the chart and mused upon it, or, doubtless, his -astute Dutch mind might have suggested some way out of the difficulty -that stared us in the face; but even as we pondered over the sheet an -idea occurred to me. - -"My Lord," I said, "may I suggest this: That I should make my way to -Rotterdam to begin with--by some chance there may be a ship going -south--through some part of the bay at least. But even if it is not -so--if all traffic is stopped--why then I could at least get to -England, might arrive there before the fleet sails for Cadiz." - -"Nay," his Lordship interrupted; "you would be too late. They may have -sailed by now." - -"I know not what further to propose, my Lord." - -"We must risk it," he said, promptly. "Chance your finding some vessel -by which you can proceed, even if only part of the way. The hope is a -poor one, yet 'tis worth catching at. King Louis wants the money those -galleons are bringing; his coffers are empty; he hardly knows where to -turn for the wherewithal to pay his and his grandson's men; we want -it, too, if we can get it. Above all, we want to prevent the wealth -falling into the hands of Spain, which now means France. Mr. Crespin, -on an almost forlorn chance you must start for Rotterdam." - -"When shall I go, my Lord? To-night? At once?" - -"You are ready?" - -"I am ready." - -"Good! You have the successful soldier's qualities. Yes, you must go -at once--at once." - - * * * * * * * * * - -That night I was on the road for Rotterdam, which is fifty leagues -and more to the northeast of Kaiserswerth, so that I had a fair good -ride before me ere I reached what might prove to be the true outset of -my journey. - -I did not go alone, however, since at this time I rode in the company -of my Lord Marlborough, who was returning to the Hague, to which he -had come in March as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to -the States General, as well as Captain General of all Her Majesty's -forces, both at home and abroad. Also, his Lordship had been chosen to -command the whole of the allied forces combined against the King of -France and his grandson, the King of Spain, whom we regarded only as -the Duke of Anjou; and he was now making all preparations for that -great campaign, which was already opened, and was soon to be pushed on -with extreme vigour and with such success that at last the power and -might of Louis were quite crushed and broken. This concerns not me, -however, at present. - -Nor did my long ride in company with his Lordship and a brilliant -staff offer any great incident. Suffice it, therefore, if I say that -on the evening of the second day from my setting out, and fifty hours -after I had quitted Kaiserswerth, I rode into Rotterdam, and, finding -a bed for the night at the "Indian Coffee House," put up there. - -This I did not do, however, without some difficulty, since, at this -time, Rotterdam was full of all kinds of people from almost every part -of Europe, excepting always France and Spain, against the natives of -which countries very strict laws for their expulsion had been passed -since the declaration of war which was made conjointly by the Queen, -the Emperor and the States General, against those two countries on the -4th of May of this year, 1702. - -But of other peoples the town was, as I say, full. In the river there -lay coasting vessels, deep sea vessels, merchant ships, indeed every -kind of craft almost that goes out to sea, and belonging to England, -to Holland, to Denmark and other lands. Also there were to be seen -innumerable French vessels; but these were prizes which had been -dragged in after being taken prisoners at sea, and would be disposed -of shortly, as well as their goods and merchandise, by the Dyke-Grauf, -or high bailiff. And of several of these ships, the captains and the -seamen, as well as in many cases the passengers who were belated on -their journeys, were all ashore helping to fill up the inns and -taverns. Also troops were quartered about everywhere, these being not -only the Dutch, or natives, who were preparing to go forward to the -Hague and thence to wheresoever my Lord Marlborough should direct, but -also many of our own, brought over by our great ships of war to -Helvetsluys, and, themselves, on their way to serve under his command. - -The room, therefore, which I got at the Indian Coffee House, was none -of the best, yet, since I was a soldier, I made shift with it very -well, and in other ways the place was convenient enough for my -purpose. It may be, indeed, that I could scarce have selected a better -house at which to stop, seeing that the "ordinary" below was the one -most patronized by the merchant captains who flocked in daily for -their dinner, and for the conversation and smoking and drinking which -succeeded that meal. - -And now, so that I shall arrive as soon as may be at the description -of all that befell me, and was the outcome of the mission which the -Earl of Marlborough confided to me, let me set down at once that it -was not long before I, by great good chance, stumbled on that very -opportunity which I desired, and which was so necessary to the -accomplishment of what his Lordship wanted. - -This is how it happened: - -After the ordinary, at which I myself took a seat every day at one -o'clock, the drinking and the smoking and the conversation began, as I -have said, and none, however strange they might be at first to the -customers of the place, could be there long without the making of -acquaintances; for all the talk ran on the one subject in which all -were interested and absorbed, namely, the now declared war and the -fighting which had been done, and was also to do; on the stoppage to -trade and ruin to business that must occur, and such like. And I can -tell you that many an honest sea captain and many a burly Rotterdam -burgher drank down his schnapps or his potato brandy or seidel of -brown beer, as his taste might be, while heaving also of sighs, or -muttering pious exclamations or terrible curses--also as his taste -might direct--at the threatened ruin, and also at the fear which -gripped his heart, that soon he would not have the wherewithal left -for even these gratifications, humble as they were. - -"Curse the war!" said one, to whom I had spoken more than once. He -was, indeed, my captain of _La Mouche Noire_, in whose ship you have -already found me; "it means desolation for me and mine if it lasts, -hunger and shoelessness for my wife and little ones at home in -Shadwell. Above all I curse the ambition of the French king, who has -plunged all Europe into it; placed all honest men 'twixt hawk and -buzzard, as to fortune. Curse him, I say." - -"Ay, gurse him!" chimed in a fat Friesslander captain, who sat at his -elbow. "Gurse him, I say, too. I was now choost maging for Chava; -should have peen out of the riffer mit meine vreight if his vleet had -not gorne along mit that von gursed Chean Part in it, ven I had to put -pack. And here I am mit all mein goots----" - -"And here am I, mit all mein!" broke in my captain, a-laughing in -spite of himself, "yet--yet I know not if I will not make a push for -it. I think ever of the home at Shadwell and the little ones. I could -not abide to think also of their calling for bread, and of their -mother having none to give them. Yet 'twill come to that ere long. And -the war may last for years." - -"Where were you for?" I asked him, using indeed what had become a set -phrase in my mouth since I had consorted with all these sailors. For -by enquiring of each one with whom I conversed what his destination -had been, or would be if he had courage to risk the high seas outside, -I thought that at last I might strike upon one whose way was mine. For -all were not afraid to go forth; indeed there was scarcely a dark -night in which one or two did not get down the river and sneak out -into the open, thinking that, when there, there was a chance of -escaping the French ships of war and privateers and of reaching their -destination, while by remaining here there was no chance of earning a -brass farthing. And I had known of several ships going out since I had -been in Rotterdam, only they were of no use to me. One was bound for -Archangel, another one for the Indies, a third for our colony of -Massachusetts. - -"I," said my captain, whose name I knew afterward to be Tandy. "I? Oh, -I was freighted for Cadiz. But of course, that can never be now. Yet -if I could but get away I might do much with my goods. At Lisbon they -would sell well, or even farther south. Though, 'tis true, there's not -much money below that till one comes to Spain." - -Though I had thought the time must come when I should hear one of -these sailors say that Cadiz was, or had been, his road (I knew that -if it did not come soon 'twould be no good for me, and I might as well -make my way back to my regiment), yet now, when I did so hear it, I -almost started with joyful surprise. Yet even in so hearing, what had -I gained? The captain had but said that at one time, before the -declaration of hostilities, he had been ready to sail for Cadiz. He -did not say that at this moment--almost three months later--he was -still likely to go. Instead, had said it could never be now. - -But--for it meant much to me!--my heart beat a little faster as I -asked, leaning across the beer and spirit-slopped table to him: - -"Do you ever on your cruises carry passengers?" - -He gave me a quick glance. I read it to mean that he would be glad to -know what my object could be in such a question, put seriously and in -a somewhat low tone, as though not intended for other people's ears. -Then he said: - -"Oh! ay! I carry 'em, when I can get 'em, if they will pay fairly. But -who do you think would trust themselves aboard a coaster now, in such -times as these, unless she was under convoy of one of the queen's -ships in company with others?" - -"I would," I replied, leaning even a little more forward than before, -and speaking in a still lower tone. "I would, to get as near to Cadiz -as might be. And pay well, too." - -He did not speak for a moment; instead, he glanced his eye over me as -though scanning my outward gear for proof of what I had said as to -paying handsomely. Yet I did not fear this scrutiny, for I was well -enough appareled at all points, having when I left Venloo put off my -uniform and donned a very fair riding suit of blue cloth, well faced -and passemented; also my plain sword and wig were of the best, such as -befitted a gentleman. - -"Pay well," he said, when he had concluded this inspection, "pay well. -Humph! That might induce me, since I am like enough to lose my goods -ere I sight Cape Finisterre. Pay well. You mean it? Well, now see! -What would you pay? Come. A fancy price? To be put as near Cadiz as -can be compassed. And no questions asked," and he winked at me so that -I wondered what he took me for. Later on I found that he supposed me -to be one of the many spies in the pay of France, who, because they -had both the English and French tongue, were continually passing from -one part of the continent of Europe to another. - -"As to the questions," I replied, "you might ask as many as you -desired. They would not be answered. As to the pay, what will you -take?" - -He thought a moment, and again his eye ranged over my habiliments; -then he said, sharply: - -"A hundred guineas. Fifty down, on the nail, the rest at the end of -the journey. You to take all risks. That is, I mean, even though we -get no further than the mouth of the Scheldt--which is like enough. -Say, will you give it?" - -"'Tis, indeed, a fancy price, yet, on conditions, yes," I answered -promptly. - -"Those conditions being----" - -"That you weigh within twenty-four hours; that if we are chased you -run, or even fight, till there is no further hope, and that if we -escape capture you approach to the nearest point to Cadiz possible. -Tavira to be that point." - -He got up and went out of the door into the street, and I saw him -looking up into the heavens at the clouds passing beneath the sun. -Then he came back and resumed his seat, after which he said: - -"If the wind keeps as 'tis now I will weigh ere twenty-four hours are -past. The conditions to be as you say. And the fifty guineas to be in -my hands ere we up anchor. They," he added, half to himself, "will be -something for the home even though I lose my ship." - -And this being settled and all arrangements concluded, we went off in -his boat, which was lying at the steps of the Boömjes, to see the -ship. Then, I having selected my cabin out of two which he had -unoccupied, returned to the coffee house to write my Lord Marlborough -word of what I had done, to dispose of my horse--which I was sorry -enough to do, since it was a good, faithful beast that had carried me -well; yet there was no use in keeping it, I not knowing if I should -ever see Rotterdam again--to make one or two other preparations, and -to write to my mother at home. - -As to the hundred guineas--great as the demand was, I felt justified -in paying it, since, if I succeeded in my task, the result might be -splendid for England. Also I had a sufficiency of money with me, the -earl having ordered two hundred guineas to be given me out of the -regimental chest (which was pretty full, seeing that at Venloo eight -great chests of French gold were taken possession of by us on gaining -the town), and had also given me bills for three hundred more guineas, -signed by his own hand, which the money changers would be only too -glad to pay anywhere. And, besides this, I had some money of my own, -and should have more from the sale of the horse. - -There remains one thing, however, to mention, which I have almost -forgot to set down, namely, that at the Indian Coffee House I had -given my name accurately, his Lordship, who was perfectly acquainted -with France--indeed, he had once served her under Turenne, in his -capacity of colonel of the "English Regiment" sent out by King Charles -the Second--having said that Crespin was as much a French as an -English name. And although no questions had as yet been asked as to -what my business was, there being, indeed, none who had any right or -title to so ask, I had resolved that, if necessary, I would do this: -namely, here in Holland I would be English, since, at the time, and we -being allies, it was almost one and the same thing; and that in Spain -I would be French, which was also at the period one and the same -thing. And if we were to be captured by any of Louis' privateers or -ships of war also I should be French, in that case possibly a -Canadian, to account for any strangeness in my accent. - -And with this all fixed in my mind I made my preparations for going to -sea in _La Mouche Noire_. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -AN ESCAPE. - - -The wind shifted never a point, so that, ere sunset the next day, we -were well down the river and nearing the mouth, while already ahead of -us we could see the waves of the North Sea tumbling about. Also, we -could see something else, that we could have done very well without, -namely, the topmasts of a great frigate lying about three miles off -the coast, or rather cruising about and keeping off and on, the vessel -being doubtless one of Louis' warships, bent on intercepting anything -that came out of the river. - -"Yet," said Captain Tandy, as he stood on the poop and regarded her -through his perspective glass, "she will not catch us. Let but the -night fall, and out we go, while, thanks to the Frenchman who built -our little barky, we can keep so well in that she can never come anear -us." - -"She can come near enough, though, to send a round shot or two into -our side," I hazarded, "if she sees our lights." - -"She won't see our lights," the captain made answer, and again he -indulged in that habit which seemed a common one with him--he winked -at me; a steady, solemn kind of a wink, that, properly understood, -conveyed a good deal. And, having favoured me with it, he gave orders -that the light sail under which we had come down the river should be -taken in, and, this done, we lay off the little isle of Rosenberg, -which here breaks the Maas in two, until nightfall. - -And now it was that Tandy gave me a piece of information which, at -first, I received with anything but satisfaction; the information, to -wit, that at the last moment almost--at eleven o'clock in the morning, -and before I had come on board--he had been fortunate enough to get -another passenger, this passenger being the man Carstairs--or -Cuddiford, as he came to consider him--whom, at the opening of this -narrative, you have seen in a delirium. - -"I could not refuse the chance, Mr. Crespin," he said, for he knew -my name by now. "Things are too ill with me, owing to this accursed -fresh war, for me to throw guineas away. So when his blackamoor -accosted me at the 'Indian' and said that he heard I was going a -voyage south--God, He knows how these things leak out, since I had -never spoke a word of my intention, though some of the men, or the -ship's chandler, of whom I bought last night, may have done so--and -would I take his master and him? I was impelled to do it! There are -the wife and the children at home." - -"And have you got another hundred guineas from him?" I asked. - -"Ay, for him and the black. But they will not trouble you. The old -gentleman--who seems to be something like a minister--tells me he is -not well, and will not quit his cabin. The negro will berth near him; -they will not interfere with you." - -"Do they know there is another passenger aboard?" - -"I have not spoken to the old man; maybe, however, some of the sailors -may have told the servant. Yet none know your name; but I--it can be -kept secret an you wish." And again he winked at me, thinking, of -course, as he had done before, that my business was of a ticklish -nature, as indeed it was, though not quite that which he supposed. -Nay, he felt very sure it must be so, since otherwise he would have -got no hundred guineas out of me for such a passage. - -"I do not wish it known," I said. "It _must_ be kept secret. Also my -country. There must be no talking." - -"Never fear," he replied. "I know nothing. And I do not converse with -the men, most of whom are Hollanders, since I had to pick them up in a -hurry. As for the old man, you need not see him; and, if you do, you -can keep your own counsel, I take it." - -I answered that I could very well do that; after which the captain -left me--for now the night had come upon us, dark and dense, except -for the stars, and we were about to run out into the open. But even as -I watched the men making sail, and felt the little ship running -through the water beneath me--I could soon hear her fore foot gliding -through it with a sharp ripple that resembled the slitting of silk--I -wished that those other passengers had not come aboard, that I could -have made the cruise alone. - -Yet we were aboard, he and I, and there was no help for it; it must be -endured. But still I could not help wondering what any old minister -should want to be making such a journey as this for; especially -wondered, also, why he should be attended by a black servant; and why, -again, it should be worth his while to pay a hundred guineas for the -passage. - -But you know now as well as I do that this man was no minister, but -rather, if Tandy's surmises were right, some villainous old filibuster -who had lived through evil days and known evil spirits; my meditations -are, therefore, of no great import. Rather let me get on to what was -the outcome of my journey. - -When we were at sea we showed no light at all; no! not at foremast, -main or mizzen; so that I very well understood now why the captain had -winked as he said that the Frenchman, if she was that, would not see -us; and especially I understood it when, on going below, I found that -the cabin windows were fastened with dead lights so that no ray could -steal out from them. Also, the hatches were over the companions so -that neither could any light ascend from below. In truth, as we -slapped along under the stiff northeast breeze that blew off the -Holland coast, we seemed more like some dark flying spectre of the -night than a ship, and I could not but wonder to myself what we should -be taken for if seen by any passer-by. Yet, had I only known, there -were at that time hundreds of ships passing about in all these waters -in the same manner--French ships avoiding the English war vessels, and -English and Dutch avoiding the French war vessels; and--which, -perhaps, it was full as well I did not know--sometimes two of them -came into contact with each other, after which neither was ever more -heard of. Only, in different ports there were weeping women and -children left, who--sometimes for years!--prayed for the day to come -when the wanderers might return, they never knowing that, instead of -those poor toilers of the sea having been made prisoners (as they -hoped) who would at last be exchanged, they were lying at the bottom -of the sea. - -"'Tis a gay minister, at any rate," I said to Captain Tandy when I -returned to the deck--for all was so stuffy down below, owing to the -closing up of every ingress for the fresh air, that I could not remain -there--"and he at least seems not to mind the heat." - -"What is he doing, then?" the captain asked. - -"He is singing a little," I replied, "and through the half open door -of his cabin one may hear the clinking of bottle against glass. A -merry heart." - -"The fiend seize his mirth! I hope he will not make too much turmoil, -nor set the ship afire. If he does we shall be seen easy enough." - -I hoped so, too, and as each night the old man waxed more noisy and -the clink of the bottle was heard continuously--until at last his -drinking culminated as I have written--the fear which the captain had -expressed took great hold of me, so that I could scarce sleep at all. -Yet those fears were not realized, the Lord be praised! or I should -scarcely be penning this narrative now. - -The first night passed and, as 'twas summer, the dawn soon came, by -which time we were running a little more out to sea, though--since to -our regret we saw that the frigate was on our beam instead of being -left far behind, as we had hoped would be the case--we now sailed -under false colours. Therefore at our peak there flew at this -time the lilies of France, and not our own English flag. Yet 'twas -necessary--imperative, indeed--that such should be the case if we -would escape capture. And even those despised lilies might not save us -from that. If the frigate, which we knew by this time to be a ship of -war, since her sides were pierced three tiers deep for cannon, and on -her deck we could observe soldiers, suspected for a moment those -colours to be false she would slap a shot at us; the first, perhaps, -across our bows only, but the second into our waist, or, if that -missed, then the third, which would doubtless do our office for us. - -At present, however, she did nothing, only held on steadily on her -course, which nevertheless was ominous enough, for this action told -plainly that she had seen us leave the river, or she would have -remained luffing about there still. And, also, she must have known we -were not French, for what French ship would have been allowed to come -out of the Maas as we had come? - -She did nothing, I have said; yet was not that sleuth-like following -of hers something? Did it not expound the thoughts of her captain as -plainly as though he had uttered them in so many words? Did it not -tell that he was in doubt as to who and what we were; that he set off -against the suspicious fact of our having quitted the river, which -bristled with the enemies of France, the other facts, namely, that our -ship was built French fashion, that maybe he could read her French -name on her stern, and that she flew the French flag? - -Yet what puzzled us more than aught else was, how had the frigate -known that we had so got out? The night had been dark and black, and -we showed no lights. - -Still she knew it. - -The day drew on and, with it, the sea abated a little, so that the -tumbling waves, which had often obscured the frigate from us for some -time, and, doubtless, us from it, became smoother, and Tandy, who had -never taken his eye off the great ship, turned round and gave now an -order to the men to hoist more sail. Also another to the man at the -wheel to run in a point. - -Then he came to where I was standing, and said: - -"She draws a little nearer; I fear they will bring us to. Ha! as I -thought." And even as he spoke there came a puff from the frigate's -side; a moment later the report of a gun; another minute, and, hopping -along the waves went a big round shot, some fifty yards ahead of us. - -"What will you do?" I asked the captain. "The next will not be so far -ahead." - -"Run for it," he said. "They may not hit us--short of a broadside--and -if I can get in another mile or so they cannot follow. Starboard, you -below," he called out again to the man at the wheel, and once more -bellowed his orders to the men aloft. - -This brought the ship's head straight for where the land was--we could -see it plain enough with the naked eye, lying flat and low, ten miles -away--also it brought our stern to the frigate, so that we presented -nothing but that to them--a breadth of no more than between twenty and -twenty-five feet. - -"'Twill take good shooting to hit us this way," said Tandy very -coolly. "Yet, see, they mean to attempt it." - -That this was so, one could perceive in a moment; then came three -puffs, one after the other, from their upper tier; then the three -reports; then the balls hurtling along on either side of us, one just -grazing our larboard yard-arm--we saw the splinters fly like -feathers!--the others close enough, but doing no harm. - -"Shoot, and be damned to you," muttered Tandy; "another ten minutes -more, and you can come no further. Look," and he pointed ahead of us -to where I saw, a mile off, the water crisping and foaming over a -shoal bank, "'tis eight miles outside Blankenberg, and is called 'The -Devil's Bolster.' And we can get inside it, and they cannot." Then -again he bellowed fresh orders, which even I, a landsman, understood -well enough, or, at least, their purport. They were to enable us to -get round and inside the reef, and so place it between us and the -frigate. - -They saw our move as soon as it was made, however, whereupon the -firing from their gun-ports grew hotter, the balls rattling about us -now in a manner that made me fear the ship must be struck ere long; -nay, she was struck once, a round shot catching her on her starboard -quarter and tearing off her sheathing in a long strip. Yet, at -present, that was all the harm she had got, excepting that her mizzen -shroud was cut in half. - -But now we were ahead of the reef and about half a mile off it; ten -minutes later we were inside it, and, the frigate being able to -advance no nearer because of her great draught, we were safe. They -might shoot, as the captain said, and be damned to them; but shoot as -much as they chose, they were not very like to hit us, since we were -out of range. We were well in sight of each other, however, the reef -lying like a low barricade betwixt us, and I could not but laugh at -the contempt which the sturdy Dutch sailors we had on board testified -for the discomfited Frenchmen. There were three of them at work on the -fo'castle head at the time the frigate left off her firing, and no -sooner did she do so and begin to back her sails to leave us in -peace--though doubtless she meant lying off in wait for us when we -should creep out--than these great Hollanders formed themselves into a -sort of dance figure, and commenced capering and skipping about, with -derisive gestures made at the great ship. And as we could see them -regarding us through their glasses, by using our own, we knew very -well that they saw these gestures of contempt. Tandy, however, soon -put a stop to these, for, said he, "They may lie out there a week -waiting for us, and if then they catch us, they will not forget. And -'twill go all the harder with us for our scorn. Peace, fools, desist." -Whereon the men left off their gibes. - -"Lie out there a week," thinks I to myself. "Fore Gad! I trust that -may not be so. For if they do, and one delay follows another, heaven -knows when I shall see Cadiz. Too late, anyway, to send the fleet -after the galleons, who will, I fear, be in and unloaded long before -the admiral can get up to Vigo." - -Yet, as luck would have it, the frigate was not to lie there very -long--not even so long as an hour. For, see, now, how Providence did -intervene to help me on my way, and to remove at least that one -obstacle to my going forward on my journey. - -Scarce had those lusty Dutch sailors been ordered off the head by -Tandy than, as I was turning away from laughing at them, my attention -was called back by a shout from the same quarter, and on looking -round, I saw two of them spring up the ladder again to the very spot -they had left, and begin pointing eagerly away beyond the frigate. And -following their glances and pointing, this is what I saw: - -Two other great ships looming large on the seascape, rising rapidly -above the water, carrying all their canvas, coming on at a mighty -rate. Two great ships sailing very free but near together, which in a -few moments spread apart, so that they put me in mind of some huge -bird opening of its wings--I know not why, yet so it was!--and then -came on at some distance from each other, their vast black hulls -rising every moment, and soon the foam becoming visible beneath their -bows as their fore feet flung it asunder. - -"Down with that rag," shouted Tandy, squinting up at the lilies on our -peak, and hardly shifting his perspective glass to do so. "Down with -it, and up with our own. My word! The Frenchman will get a full meal -now. Look at their royal masts and the flag of England flying on -them." - -I did look, and, after a hasty glance, at something else--the French -frigate, our late pursuer! - -Be very sure that she had seen those two avengers coming up in that -fair breeze--also that she was making frantic efforts to escape. But -her sails were all laid aback as I have said, also, she was off the -wind. The glasses showed the confusion that prevailed on board her. -And she had drifted so near the shoal that her danger was great. -Unless she boldly ran out to meet those two queen's ships she would be -on it ere long, and that was what she dared not do. - -For now from the others we saw the puff of smoke, like white balls of -wool, come forth; we saw the spits of flame; saw the Frenchman's -mainmast go down five minutes later, and hang over the side nearest us -like some wounded creature all entangled in a net. And still she -neared the shoal, and still the white balls puffed out till they made -a long fleecy line, through which the red flames darted; borne on the -air we heard shouts and curses; amidst the roaring of the English -cannon firing on the helpless, stricken thing, we heard another sound, -a grinding, crashing sound, and we knew she was on the bank. Then saw -above, at her mizzen, the French flag pulled down upon the cap, and -heard through their trumpets their loud calls for assistance from the -conquerors. - -"Humph! Humph!" said Tandy. "Old Lewis," for so he spoke of him, "has -got one ship the less--that's all. Loose the foresheet, there, my -lads; stand by the mainsail halyards. Good. That's it; all together!" - -And away once more we went. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE ENGLISH SHIPS OF WAR. - - -After that we met with no further trouble or interference, not even, -so far as we knew, being passed by anything of more importance than a -few small carrying craft similar to ourselves, who bore away from us -on sighting with as much rapidity as we were prepared to bear away -from them, since in those days, and for long after, no ship passing -another at sea but dreaded it as though it was the Evil One himself; -dreaded that the cabin windows, with their clean dimity cloths run -across them, might be, in truth, nothing but masked gun ports with the -nozzles of the cannon close up against the other side of those running -curtains; dreaded, also, that, behind the bales of goods piled up in -the waist, might be lurking scores of men, armed to the teeth, and -ready for boarding! - -Also, as though to favour us--or me, who needed to get to the end of -my journey as soon as might be--the wind blew fresh and strong abaft -us from the north, so that by the evening of the fifth day from -leaving Rotterdam we were drawing well to our journey's end, and were, -in fact, rounding Cape St. Vincent, keeping in so near the coast that -we could not only see the cruel rocks that jut out here like the teeth -of some sea monster, but also the old monks sitting sunning themselves -in front of their monastery above the cliffs. - -And now it was at that time, and when we were getting very near to -Tavira--which must be our journey's end, unless the English fleet, of -which Lord Marlborough had spoken, was already into Cadiz, and masters -of the place--that the old man who called himself Carstairs was taken -with his delirium, of which I have written already. - -But, as also I have told, he was better the next day, by noon of which -we were well into the Bay of Lagos, and running for Cape Santa Maria; -and 'twas then that he told me that story of his having much business -to attend to at Cadiz, and that, the galleons being now due there, he -was on his way to meet them. - -That I laughed in my sleeve at the fool's errand on which this old man -had come--this old man, who had been a thieving buccaneer, if his -wanderings and Tandy's suspicions were true--you may well believe. -Also, I could not help but fall a-wondering how he would feel if, on -nearing Tavira, we learnt that our countrymen were masters of Cadiz. -For then he would do no business with his precious galleons, even -should my Lord Marlborough be wrong--which, however, from the sure -way in which he had spoken, I did not think was very like to be the -case--and even if they had made for Cadiz, since they would at once be -seized upon. - -It was, however, of extreme misfortune that just at this time when all -was so well for my chances, and when we were nearing our destination, -the weather should have seen fit to undergo a sudden change, and that -not only did the wind shift, but all the summer clearness of the back -end of this fair August month should have departed. Indeed, so strange -a change came over the elements that we knew not what to make of it. -Up to now the heat had been great, so great, indeed, that I--who could -neither endure the stuffiness of my cabin below nor the continual -going and coming of the negro in the gangway which separated his -master's cabin from mine, nor the stench of some drugs the old man was -continually taking--had been sleeping on the deck. But now the tempest -became so violent that I was forced to retreat back to the cabin, to -bear the closeness as best I might, to hear the flappings of the black -creature's great feet on the wooden floor at all hours of the night, -and, sometimes again, the yowlings of the old man for drink. - -For with the shifting of the wind to the east, or rather east by -south, a terrible storm had come upon us; across the sea it howled and -tore, buffeting our ship sorely and causing such destruction that it -seemed like enough each moment that we should go to the bottom, and -this in spite of every precaution being taken, even to striking our -topmasts. Also we lay over so much to our starboard, and for so long, -that again and again it seemed as though we should never right, while -as we thus lay, the sea poured into us from port and scuttle. But what -was worse for me--or would be worse if we lived through the tempest we -were now in the midst of--we were being blown not only off our course, -but back again the very way we had come, and out into the western -ocean, so that to all else there had to be added the waste of most -precious time. Time that, in my case, was golden! - -Meanwhile Carstairs, who during the whole of our passage from -Rotterdam had carefully kept his cabin--not even coming on deck during -the time we were chased by the French frigate nor, later, when the two -ships of war had battered and driven her on to the shoal bank--now saw -fit to appear on deck and to take a keen interest in all that was -going on around. - -"A brave storm," he said, shrieking the words in my ear--I having at -last struggled up again to get air--amidst the howling of the wind and -the fall of the sea upon our deck, each wave sounding as though a -mountain had fallen, "a brave storm! Ha! I have seen a-many, yet I -know not if ever one worse than this." - -"What think you of our chances?" I bawled back at him, while I noticed -that his eye was brighter and clearer than I had seen it before, and -that in his face there was some colour. - -"We shall do very well," he answered, "having borne up till now. That -fellow knows his work," and he nodded toward where Tandy was engaged -in getting the foreyard swayed up. "We shall do." - -His words were indeed prophetic, for not an hour after he had uttered -them the wind shifted once more, coming now full from the south, which -was, however, of all directions the very one we would not have had it -in; and with the change the sea went down rapidly, so that in still -another hour the waves, instead of breaking over our decks, only -slapped heavily against the ship's sides, while the vessel itself -wallowed terribly amongst them. Yet so far we were saved from worse. - -But now to this there succeeded still another change--the sea began to -smoke as though it were afire; from it there rose a cold steaming -vapour, and soon we could not see twenty yards ahead of us, nor was -the man at the wheel able to see beyond the fore-hatch. So that now we -could not move in any direction for fear of what might be near, and -were forced to burn lights and fire guns at intervals to give notice -of our whereabouts in chance of passers by. - -Again, however--this time late at night--the elements changed, the -mist and fog thinned somewhat and rose some feet from the surface of -the now almost tranquil sea; it was at last possible to look ahead -somewhat, though not possible to proceed, even if the light wind which -blew beneath the fog would have taken us the way we desired to go. - -And still the mist cleared so that we could see a mile--or two -miles--around, and then we observed a sight that none of us could -comprehend, not even Cuddiford, who whispered once to himself, though -I heard him plain enough, "What in the name of the devil does it mean? -What? What?" - -Afar off, on our starboard quarter, we saw in the darkness of the -night--there was no moon--innumerable lights dotting the sea; long -lines of light such as tiers of ports will emit from ships, also -lights higher up, as though on mastheads and yards--numbers of them, -some scores each in their cluster. - -Cuddiford's voice sounded in my ear. Cuddiford's finger was laid on my -arm. - -"You understand?" he asked. - -"No." - -"'Tis some great fleet." - -I started--hardly could I repress that start or prevent myself from -exclaiming: "The English fleet for Cadiz!" - -Yet even as I did so, the water rippled on the bows where we were -standing. It sounded as if those ripples blended with the man's voice -and made a chuckling laugh. - -"A large fleet," he said slowly, "leaving Spain and making for the -open." - -Then a moment later he was gone from my side. - -Leaving Spain and making for the open! What then did that mean? -"Leaving Spain and making for the open!" I repeated to myself again. -Was that true? And to assure myself I leant further forward into the -night--as though half a yard nearer to those passing lights would -assist my sight!--and peered at those countless clusters. - -Was it the English fleet that was leaving Spain? Whether that was or -not--whether 'twas in truth the English fleet or not--it _was_ leaving -Spain; I could understand that. We in our ship were almost stationary; -that body was rapidly passing out to sea. - -What did it mean? Perhaps that the English had done their -work--destroyed Cadiz. I did not know if such were possible, but -thought it might be so. Perhaps that the galleons had been on their -way in, after all, and had been warned of those who were there before -them, and so had turned tail and fled. - -Yet I feared--became maddened and distraught almost at the very -idea--that, having done their work, my countrymen should have left the -place, gone out to the open on, perhaps, their way back to England. -Became maddened because, if such were the case, there was no -opportunity left me of advising them about the galleons. While, on the -other hand, if that passing fleet was in truth the galleons, then were -they saved, since never would they come near the coast of Spain again -while British ships remained there. Rather would they keep the open -for months, rather put back again to the Indies than run themselves -into the lion's jaws. - -Truly I was sore distressed in pondering over all this; truly my -chance of promotion seemed very far off now. Yet I had one -consolation: I had done my best; it was not my fault. - -That night, to make things more unpleasant than they already -were--and to me it seemed that nothing more was wanting to aid my -melancholy!--Cuddiford began his drinkings and carousals again, -shutting off himself with the negro in his cabin, from whence shortly -issued the sounds of glasses clinking, of snatches of songs--in which -the black joined--of halloaing and of toasts and other things. Ribald -bawlings, too, of a song of which I could catch only a few words now -and again, but which seemed to be about a mouse which had escaped from -a trap and also from a great fierce cat ready to pounce on it. Then, -once more, clappings and clinkings of glasses together--an intolerable -noise, be sure!--and presently, with an oath, confusion drank to -England. - -"So," thinks I, "my gentleman, that is how you feel, is it? Confusion -to England! Who and what are you, then, in the devil's name? Spy of -France or Spain, besides being retired filibuster, or what? Confusion -to England, eh?" - -And even as I thought this and heard his evil toast, I determined to -hear more. Whereon I slipped quietly off my bunk, got out into the -gangway and listened across it to his cabin opposite, feeling very -sure as I did so that both he and his black imagined I was up on deck. - -Then I heard him say, going on, evidently, with a phrase he had begun: - -"Wherefore, I tell you, my lily, my white pearl, that those accursed -seamen and soldiers--this Rooke, who chased me once so that I lost -all my goods in my flight--are tricked, hoodwinked, _embustera; -flanqués comme une centaine d'escargots!_ Done for--and so is this -white-livered Englishman over there in t'other cabin--who I do believe -is an English spy. Ho! that we had him in Maracaibo or Guayaquil. -Hein! Hey! my snowball?" - -"Hoop! Hoop!" grunted the brute, his companion. "Hoop! Maracaibo! -Hoop! But, but, John"--"John," thinks I, "and to his master!"--"don't -speak so loud. Perhaps they hear you." - -"Let them hear and be damned to them. What care I?" Yet still he -lowered his voice, though not so low but what I made out his words: - -"Fitted out a fleet, did they, to intercept the galleons? Oh! the -beautiful galleons! Oh! the sweet and lovely galleons! Oh, my -beautiful _Neustra Senora de Mercedes_. You remember how she sits on -the water like a swan, Cćsar? And the beautiful _Santa Susanna!_ What -ships! what lading! Oh! I heard it all in London. I know. Thought they -would catch 'em in Cadiz, did they? Ha! Very well. Now, see, my lily -white. They have been too quick; got in too soon--and--and what's the -end on't? Those are the galleons going out--back again to the sea--and -the English fleet can stop in Cadiz till the forts sink 'em or they -rot. Give me some more drink. 'Of all the girls that there can be, the -Indy girl's the girl for me,'" and he fell a-singing. - -"If he is right, my Lord Marlborough has been deceived," I whispered -to myself. "Yet which knows the most? Still this old ruffian must be -right. Who else could be putting to sea but the galleons?" and I went -back once more to my cabin to ponder over matters. - -But now--all in a moment--there arose such an infernal hubbub from -that other cabin that one might have thought all the fiends from below -had been suddenly let loose; howls from the negro, so that I thought -the other must be killing of him in his drunken frenzy; peals of -laughter from the old man, bangings and kickings of bulkheads and the -crash of a falling glass. And, in the middle of it all, down ran Tandy -from the deck above, with, as I thought, a more concerned look upon -his face than even such an uproar as this called for. Then he made at -once for the cabin where those two were; yet, even as he advanced -swiftly, he paused to ask me if I had heard him speak a passing -picaroon a quarter of an hour back. - -"Not I," I replied. "Who could hear aught above in such a din as this -below? What did they tell you?" - -"Bad! Bad news. But first to quell these brutes," and he ran on as he -spoke, and kicked against the fast-closed cabin door. - -"Bad news!" I repeated to myself, even as I followed him. "Bad news. -My God! the old villain is right and the galleons have escaped. -Farewell, my hopes of promotion; I may as well get back to the -regiment by the first chance that comes." - -But now I had to listen to Tandy setting his other passenger to his -facings, which he did without more ado, since, the cabin door not -being opened quick enough, he applied his brawny shoulder to it and -soon forced it to slide back in its frame, the lock being torn out by -his exertion. Then after a few oaths and curses, which need not be set -down here, he roared as follows: - -"See here, you drunken, disreputable old vagabond, out you go from -this ship to-morrow morning, either ashore in Lagos bay or in the first -Guarda Costa or sailing smack that comes anigh us carrying the -Portygee colours. And as for you, you black, shambling brute," turning -to the negro and seizing him by the wool, whereby he dragged him into -the gangway, after which he administered to him a rousing kick, "get -you forward amongst the men, and, by God! if you come back aft again -I'll shoot you like a dog." - -"My friend," said old Carstairs, speaking now with as much sobriety -and dignity as though he had been drinking water all these days; "my -good friend, you forget. I have paid my passage to Cadiz, and to Cadiz -I will go, or the nearest touching point. Also, there are laws----" - -"There are," roared Tandy, "and 'twill not suit you to come within a -hundred leagues of any of them. To-morrow you go ashore." - -"I have business with the in-coming galleons," said Carstairs, leering -at him. "Those galleons going out now will come in again, you know. -Soon!" and still he leered. - -"Galleons, you fool!" replied the captain. "Those are the English -warships. Your precious galleons may be at the bottom of the ocean. -Very like are by now." - -And then that old man's face was a sight to see, as, suddenly, it -blanched a deathly white. - -"The English warships," he murmured. "The English warships," and then -fell back gasping to his berth, muttering: "Out here! Out here!" - -"Is this true?" I asked him a moment later, as we went along forward -together. "Is it true?" - -"Ay, partly," he replied. "Partly. They are the English ships of war, -but, my lad, I have had news which I did not tell him. They are in -retreat. Have failed. Cadiz is not taken, and they are on their way -back to England." - -"My God!" I exclaimed. And I know that as I so spoke I, too, was white -to the lips. - -"On their way back to England!" I repeated. - -"Ay--that's it," he said. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -GALLEONS ABOUT! - - -"What's to do now? That's the question," said Tandy, an hour later, as -he and I sat in his little cabin abaft the mainmast, while, to hearten -ourselves up, we sipped together a bottle of Florence wine which he -had on board, and he sucked at his great pipe. "What now? No use for -me to think of Cadiz, though what a chance I would have had if our -countrymen had only made themselves masters of it! And for you, Mr. -Crespin? For you? I suppose, in truth, you knew of this--had some -affair of commerce, too, which brought you this way, on the idea that -they would be sure to capture the place." - -"Ay, I had some idea," I answered, moodily, thinking it mattered very -little what I said now, short of the still great secret that the -galleons were going into Vigo, and never did mean coming into these -more southern regions. This secret I still kept, I say--and for one -reason. It was this, namely, that I thought it very likely that, even -though the fleet under Rooke might be driven back from Cadiz, they yet -had a chance of encountering the galleons making their way up to Vigo, -and, if they did so, I felt very sure that they would attack those -vessels, even in their own hour of defeat. Therefore, I said nothing -about the real destination of the Spanish treasure ships, though I -knew well enough that all hope was gone of my being the fortunate -individual to put my countrymen on their track. - -Also, I remembered that that hoary-headed old ruffian, Carstairs, had -spoken of two at least of those galleons as being of importance to -him--and you may be sure that I had no intention whatever of -enlightening him as to anything I knew. - -"What did the Portuguese picaroon tell you?" I asked of Tandy, now; -"what information give? And--are they sure of their news?" - -"Oh, very sure," he answered. "No doubt about that. No doubt whatever -that we have failed in the attack on Cadiz--abandoned the siege, gone -home. They were too many for us there, and--'tis not often that it -happens, God be praised!--we are beaten." - -"But why so sure? And are they--these Portuguese--to be trusted?" - -"What use to tell lies? They _are_ Portuguese, and would have welcomed -a victory." - -I shrugged my shoulders at this--then asked again what the strength of -their information was. - -To which the captain made reply: - -"They came in, it seems, early in the month, and called on the -governor to declare for Austria against France, to which he returned -reply that it was not his custom to desert his king, as many of the -English were in the habit of doing, he understood; whereon--the Duke -of Ormond being vexed by such an answer, which, it seems, did reflect -on him--the siege of Port St. Mary's commenced, the place being taken -by our people and being found to be full of wealth----" - -"Taken and full of wealth!" I exclaimed. "Yet you say we are -defeated!" - -"Listen," went on Tandy, "that was as nothing; for now the German -Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, who had come too, in the interests of his -Austrian master, interfered, begging of Rooke and that other not to -destroy the town, since it would injure their cause forever with the -Spaniards, and--and--well, the Portygee captain of that picaroon I -spoke says that they were only too willing to fall in with his desires -and retire without making further attempt." - -"And these are English seamen and soldiers!" I muttered furiously. "My -God! To turn tail thus!" - -"Ormond agreed not with these views, it seems," Tandy went on, "but he -could not outweigh the admirals--and that is all I know, except that -he will perhaps impeach 'em when they get back to England. And, -anyway, they are gone." - -"And with them," I thought to myself, "go all my hopes. The galleons -will get in safe enough; there is nothing for it but to make back for -Holland and tell the earl that I have failed. No more than that," and -my bitterness was great within me at these reflections, you may be -sure. - -Tandy, I doubted not, observed these feelings which possessed me, for -a minute later he said--while I observed that in a kindly way he -filled up my glass for me, as I sat brooding with my head upon my -hands by the side of the cuddy table: - -"I see this touches you nearly, Mr. Crespin, and am grieved. Yet -what will you do now? Since you have missed your chance--I know not -what--will you return with me? If so you are very welcome, and--and," -he spoke this with a delicacy I should scarce have looked for, "and -there will be no--no--passage money needed. _La Mouche Noire_ is at -your service to Rotterdam, or, for the matter of that, to Deal or -London, or where you will. I shall but stay to go in to Lagos for wood -and water, and, perhaps, sell some of my goods, if fortune serves so -far, and then--why then, 'tis back again to Holland or England to see -what may be done. I have the passage moneys of you and that old ribald -aft. For me things might be worse, thank God!" - -At first I knew not what answer to make to this kindly, offer--for -kindly it was, since there was according to our compact no earthly -reason whatsoever why he should convey me back again, except as a -passenger paying highly for the service. In truth, I was so sick and -hipped at the vanishing of this, my great opportunity, that I had -recked nothing of what happened now. All I knew was that I had failed; -that I had missed, although through no fault of mine own, a glorious -chance. Therefore I said gloomily: - -"Do what you will--I care not. I must get me back to Holland somehow, -and may as well take passage there with you as go other ways. In truth -there is none that I know of. Yet, kind as your offer is to convey me -free of charge, it must not be. I cannot let you be at a loss, and I -have a sufficiency of money." - -"Oh! as for that, 'tis nothing. However, we will talk on this later. -Now let's see for getting into Lagos--there is nothing else to be -done. 'Specially as I must have wood and water." - -Then he went away to study his chart and compass, while I sought my -bed again, and, all being perfect silence at this time in Carstairs' -cabin--doubtless he was quite drunk by now!--I managed to get some -sleep, though 'twas uneasy at the best. - -In the morning when I again went on deck I saw that we were in full -sail, as I had guessed us to be from the motion of the ship while -dressing myself below; also, a look at the compass box told me we were -running due north--for Lagos. And, if aught could have cheered the -heart of a drooping man, it should have been the surroundings of this -fair, bright morning. It was, I remember well, September 22--the -glistening sea, looking like a great blue diamond sparkling beneath -the bright sun, the white spume flung up forward over our bows, the -equally white sheets above. Also, near us, to add to the beauty of the -morn, the sea was dotted with a-many small craft, billander rigged, -their sails a bright scarlet--and these, Tandy told me, were -Portuguese fishing boats out catching the tunny, which abounds -hereabout. While, away on our starboard beam, were--I started as I -looked at them--what were they? - -Three great vessels near together, their huge white sails bellied out -to the breeze, sailing very free; the foam tossed from their stems, -almost contemptuously, it seemed, so proudly did they dash it away -from them; vessels full rigged, and tightly, too; vessels along the -sides of which there ran tier upon tier of gun-ports; vessels also, -from each of whose mastheads there flew a flag--the flag of England! - -"What does it mean?" I asked Tandy, who strolled along the poop toward -me, his face having on it a broad grin, while his eye drooped into -that wink he used so. "What does it mean? They are our own ships of -war; surely they are not chasing us!" - -"Never fear!" said he. "They are but consorts of ours just now. Oh! -it's a brave talk we have been having together with the flags this -morning. They are of the fleet--are Her Majesty's ships _Eagle_, -_Stirling Castle_ and _Pembroke_--and are doing exactly the same as -ourselves, are going into Lagos for water. Also those transports -behind," and he pointed away aft, where half a dozen of those vessels -were following. - -"The fleet," I gasped, "the fleet that has left Cadiz--the great fleet -under Sir George Rooke--and going into Lagos!" - -"Some of them--those you see now on our beam, and the transports -coming up." - -"And the others," I gasped again, overcome by this joyful news, "the -others? What of them?" - -"Oh! they will lie off till these go out with the fresh water casks. -Then for England." - -"Never," I said to myself. "Not yet, at least," and I turned my face -away so that Tandy should not perceive the emotion which I felt sure -must be depicted on it. - -For think, only think, what this meant to England--to me! - -It meant that I--the only man in the seas around Spain and Portugal -who knew of where the galleons would be, or were by now--I who alone -could tell them, tell this great fleet, which I had but lately missed, -of the whereabouts of those galleons--had by God's providence come -into communication with them again; meant that the instant we were in -Lagos bay I could go aboard one of those great warships and divulge -all--tell them to make for Vigo, tell them that it was in their power -to deal so fierce a blow to Spain and France as should cripple them. - -I could have danced and sung for very joy. I could have flung my arms -around Tandy's sun-burned and hairy neck in ecstasy, have performed -any act of craziness which men indulge in when a great happiness falls -upon them; nay, would have done any deed of folly, but that I was -restrained by the reflection of how all depended on me now, and of -how--since I was the bearer of so great a piece of news from so great -a man as the Earl of Marlborough--it behooved me to act with -circumspection and decorum. Therefore I calmed myself, instead of -indulging in any transports whatever. I recollect that I even forced -myself to make some useless remark upon the beauty of the smiling -morn; that I said also that I thought _La Mouche Noire_ was making as -good seaway as the great frigates themselves, then asked coldly and -indifferently, with the same desire for disguise, when Tandy thought -we might all be in the bay and at anchorage. - -He glanced up at the sun--he had a big tortoise-shell watch in his -pocket, but, sailor-like, never looked at it during the day, and when -he had the sun for horologe--then leaned over the high gunwale of the -ship and looked between his hands toward the north, and said: - -"The old castle of Penhas is rising rapidly to view. 'Tis now eight of -the clock. By midday we shall have dropped anchor." - -"And the frigates?" I asked, with a nod toward the queen's great -ships, which still were on our beam, in the same position to us as -before. - -"About the same. Only they will go in first to make choice of their -anchorage." Then he added: "But they will not stay long; no longer -than to fill the casks. Perhaps a day, or till nightfall." - -"'Twill be long enough for me," I thought. "An hour would suffice to -get on board one of them, ask to be taken off and sent to the -admiral's ship to tell my tale. Long enough." - -And now I went below again--with what different feelings from those -which possessed me when I went on deck, you may well suppose--and -began hastily to bestow my necessaries, such as they were, into the -bag I had carried behind me on my horse from Venloo to Rotterdam: a -change of linen, some brushes, a sleeping gown and a good cloak, -carried either around me or the bag, if warm and dry weather, my -powder flask and a little sack of bullets for my cavalry pistols--that -was all. Also I counted my pieces, took out my shagreen bill case and -saw that my Lord Marlborough's money drafts were safe, as well as my -commission to the regiment, which must now serve as a passport and -letter of presentation, and I was ready to go ashore at any moment, -and to transfer myself to one of the ships if they would take me with -them after I had told my news, as my Lord had said I was to demand -they should do. Yet, little while enough as I had been a-doing of -these things, 'twas not so quickly finished but that there was time -for an interruption; interruption from Mr. Carstairs, who, a moment or -so after I had been in my cabin, tapped gently, almost furtively, it -seemed to me, upon the door, and on my bidding him come in--I -suspecting very well who it was--put his head through the opening he -had made by pushing it back. - -"Are we in danger?" he asked, while as he spoke, I could not but -observe that he looked very badly this morning--perhaps from the -renewals of his drinkings. His face was all puckered and drawn, and -whiter, it seemed to me, than before; his eyes were hideously -bloodshot--that must, I guessed, be the drink--while the white, coarse -hand with which he grasped the panel shook, I observed. - -"Danger!" I repeated coldly, as well as curtly, for, as you may be -sure, I had come to thoroughly despise, as well as cordially to -detest, this dissolute old man who, besides, had a black and fearful -past behind him, if his feverish wanderings of mind were to be -trusted. "Danger! From what?" - -"There are war frigates by us," he whispered. "Do you not know?" - -"Yes, I know. But you who have been, it seems, a sailor, should also -know our own flag, I think." - -"Our own flag! Our English flag!" - -"Can you not see?" - -"They are on the other side of the ship. I cannot see aught through my -port." - -"Look through mine, then," I answered, pointing to it, and he, with -many courteous excuses for venturing to intrude--he was much changed -now, I thought--went over to my window, and gazed at the queen's -vessels. - -"True," he said. "True. They are English--our--ships. Where could they -come from, do you suppose?" - -"From the Cadiz fleet. And they are going into Lagos, as we are." - -"And then--do you know where to, then--afterward--noble sir?" - -"Then they will go north." - -He drew a long breath at this--I guessed it to be a sigh of -satisfaction at the thought that the English fleet should be going -north, while the galleons, in which he had seemed to be so concerned, -should either be going into, or gone into, Cadiz--as he supposed. Then -he said: - -"Oh, sir, this is, indeed, good news. For--for--I have business at -Cadiz--very serious business, and--if they had remained here in the -south they might have done much harm to honest traders, might they -not? Do you not think so?" - -"They may do harm elsewhere," I answered, again curtly. And my brevity -caused him to look at me enquiringly. - -"What harm? What can they do?" - -"Oh! as for that," I said, unable to resist the temptation of repaying -him somewhat for all the discomfort he had caused in the ship, and -also because I so much despised him, "as for that, they might do much. -They say there are some galleons about. Supposing they should meet -them. 'Tis a great fleet; it could be fateful to a weaker one." - -"Galleons! Galleons about!" he repeated--shrieked, almost. "Nay! Nay! -Nay! The galleons are safe in Cadiz by now." - -"Are they?" I said, shrugging of my shoulders. - -"Are they not?" And now his face was death itself. - -"We spoke a ship last night which did not say so," I answered. "No -galleons have passed this way, gone in yet." - -I almost regretted my words, seeing, a moment later, their effect on -him. For that effect was great--I had nigh written terrible. - -He staggered back from the port-hole by which he had been standing, -gazing out at the _Pembroke_ and her consorts, his face waxy now from -the absence of blood; his lips a bluish purple, so that I could see -the cracks in them; his coarse white hands twitching; and his eyes -roving round my cabin lighted on my washing commode, on which stood -the water ewer; then he seized it and the glass, poured out from one -to the other--his hand shook so that the neck of the vessel clinked a -tune upon the rim of the glass--and drank, yet not without some sort -of a murmured apology for doing so--an apology that became almost a -whine. - -"Not passed this way--not gone in yet? My God! Where are they? -And--and--with that fleet here--here--here--'twixt here and Cape St. -Vincent! Where are they?" - -"Probably coming in now--on their way," I made answer. "Or very near." -Then next said, quietly: "You seem concerned about this?" - -"Concerned!" he wailed. "Concerned! I have my fortune, my all--'tis -not much, yet much to me--on board two of the galleons, and--and--ah!" -and he clutched at his ruffled shirt front. "The English fleet is -there--across their path! My God!" - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -LAGOS BAY. - - -Tandy had timed our arrival in the bay with great exactness, since, -soon after midday, both the queen's ships and ourselves had dropped -anchor within it, the former saluting, and being saluted in return, by -some artillery from the crazy old castle that rose above the shore. -And now from those three frigates away went pinnaces and jolly boats, -as well as the great long boats and launches, all in a hurry to -fetch off the water which they needed, while also I could see very -well that from the _Pembroke_ they were a-hoisting overboard their -barge, into which got some of the land officers--as the sailors call -the soldiers--and also a gentleman in black who was, I supposed, a -chaplain. - -And then I considered that it was time for me to be ashore, too, since -I knew not how long 'twould take for the ships of war to get in what -they wanted, and to be off and away again; though Tandy told me I need -be in no manner of hurry, since they had let down what he called their -shore anchors, which they would not have done had they intended going -away again in a moment, when they would have used instead their kedge, -or pilot, anchors. - -However, I was so impatient that I would not be stayed, and -consequently begged the captain to let me have one of the shore boats, -which had come out on our arrival and were now all around us, called -alongside; and into this I jumped the instant it touched our ship. My -few goods I left on board, to be brought on land when the captain -himself came, which he intended to do later; nor did I make my -farewells to him, since I felt pretty sure we should meet again -shortly, while it was by no means certain that the admiral would take -me with him, after I had delivered my news; but, instead, might order -me to return at once to the earl with some reply message. Yet I hoped -this would not be so, especially since his Lordship had bidden me see -the thing out and then bring him, as fast as I could make my way back -to the Netherlands, my account of what had been done. - -As for that miserable old creature, Carstairs, I clean forgot all -about him; nor even if I had remembered his existence, should I have -troubled to pay him any adieux, for in truth, I never supposed that I -should see him again in this world, and for certain, I had no desire -to do so; yet as luck would have it--but there is no need to -anticipate. - -I jumped into the shore boat, I say, as soon as it came alongside _La -Mouche Noire_, and was quickly rowed into the port, observing as I -went that there was a considerable amount of craft moored in the bay, -many of which had doubtless run in there during the storms of a night -or two ago, while, also, there were some sheltering in it which would -possibly have been lying in other harbors now--and those, Spanish -ones--had it not been for the war and the consequent danger of attack -from the English and Dutch navies in any other waters than those of -Portugal, she being, as I have said, neutral at present, though -leaning to our--the allies'--side. To wit, there were at this moment -some German ships, also a Dane or two, a Dutchman and a Swedish bark -here. - -And now I stepped ashore on Portuguese ground, and found myself -torn hither and thither by the most ragged and disorderly crowd of -beggars one could imagine, some of them endeavouring to drag me off to -a dirty inn at the waterside, in front of which there sat two priests -a-drinking with some scaramouches, whom I took to be Algarvian -soldiers, while others around me had, I did believe, serious -intentions on my pockets had I not kept my hands tight in them. -Also--which hearted me up to see--there were many of our English -sailors about, dressed in their red kersey breeches with white tin -buttons, and their grey jackets and Welsh kersey waistcoats, all of -whom were bawling and halloaing to one another--making the confusion -and noise worse confounded--and using fierce oaths in the greatest -good humour. And then, while I stood there wondering how I should find -those whom I sought for, I heard a voice behind me saying in cheery -tones in my own tongue: - -"Faith, Tom, 'tis an Englishman, I tell you. No doubt about that. Look -to his rig; observe also he can scarce speak a word more of the -language of the country he is in than we can ourselves. Does not that -proclaim him one of us? Except our beloved friends, the French, who -are as ignorant of other tongues as we are, we are the worst. Let's -board him--we are all in the same boat." - -Now, knowing very well that these remarks could hardly be applied to -any one but me, I turned round and found close to my elbow a fat, -jolly-looking gentleman, all clad in black, and with a black scarf -slung across him, and wearing a tie-wig, which had not been powdered -for many a day--a gentleman with an extremely red face, much pitted -with the small-pox. And by his side there stood four or five other -gentlemen, who, 'twas easy to see at a glance, were of my own -trade--their gold laced scarlet coats, the aiguillettes of one, the -cockades in all their hats, showed that. - -"Sir," said the one who had spoken, taking off his own black hat, -which, like his wig, would have been the better for some attention, -and bowing low. "I fear you overheard me. Yet I meant no offense. And, -since I am very sure that you are of our country, there should be -none. Sir, I am, if you will allow me to present myself, Mr. Beauvoir, -chaplain of her Majesty's ship, _Pembroke_. These are my friends, -officers serving under his Grace of Ormond, and of my Lord Shannon's -grenadiers and Colonel Pierce's regiment"; whereon he again took off -his hat to me, in which polite salutation he was followed by the -others, while I returned the courtesy. - -And now I knew that I had found what I wanted--knew that the road was -open to me to reach the admiral, to tell my tale. I had found those -who could bring me into communication with the fleet; be very sure I -should not lose sight of them now. But first I had to name myself, -wherefore I said: - -"Gentlemen, I am truly charmed to see you. Let me in turn present -myself. My name is Mervyn Crespin, lieutenant in the Cuirassiers, or -Fourth Horse, and it is by God's special grace that I have been so -fortunate as to encounter you. For," and here I glanced round at the -filthy crowd which environed us, and lowered my voice a little, "I am -here on a special mission to your commander from my Lord Marlborough. -Yet I thought I had failed when I heard you were off and away from -Cadiz." - -Now, when I mentioned the position which I held in the army all looked -with increased interest at me, and again took off their hats, while -when I went on to speak of my mission from the Earl of Marlborough -there came almost a dazed look into some of their faces, as though -'twas impossible for them to understand what the Captain-General of -the Netherlands could have to say with the fleet that had been sent -forth from England to Cadiz. - -"A message to our commander," Mr. Beauvoir said. "A message to our -commander. By the Lord Harry, I am afraid 'tis even now a bootless -quest, though. Our commander with all his fleet is on his way back to -England--and pretty well dashed, too, through being obliged to draw -off from Cadiz, I can tell you. I fear you will not see him this side -of Spithead, even if you go with us, who are about to follow him." - -That I was also "pretty well dashed" at this news needs no telling, -since my feelings may be well enough conceived; yet I plucked up heart -to say: - -"I do think, if your captain but hears the news I bring, that he will -endeavour to catch the fleet and turn it from its homeward course--ay, -even though he sets sail again to-night without so much as a drop of -fresh water in his casks. 'Tis great news--news that may do much to -cripple France." - -"Is it private, sir?" the chaplain asked. "For the ears of the -admirals alone?" - -"Nay," said I; "by no means private from English ears; yet," I -continued, with still another glance around, "not to be spoken openly. -Is there no room we can adjourn to?" - -"We have been trying ourselves for half an hour to find an inn," said -one of the grenadiers, with a laugh, "which swarms not with vermin of -all sorts. Yet, come, let us endeavour again. Even though there is -naught for gentlemen to eat or drink, we may, at least, be alone and -hear this news. Come, let us seek for some spot," and he elbowed his -way through the waterside crowd which still stood gaping round us, and -which, even when we all moved away, hung on our heels, staring at us -as though we were some strange beings from another world. Also, -perhaps, they thought to filch some scrap of lace or galloon from off -our clothes. - -"Away, vagabonds! What in heaven's name is Portuguese for 'away, -vagabonds'?" muttered Mr. Beauvoir, making signs to the beggarly -brood, who--perhaps because often our ships put in here for water, and -they were accustomed to seeing the English--held out their dirty, -claw-like hands, and shrieked: "Moaney! Moaney! Englase moaney!" -"Away, I say, and leave us in peace!" - -And gradually, seeing there was nothing more to be gotten after one or -two of us had flung them a coin or so, they left us to our devices, so -that we were able to stroll along the few miserable streets which the -town possessed; able to observe, also, that there was no decent inn -into which a person, who valued his future comfort and freedom from a -month or so of itching, could put his foot in safety. - -But now we reached a little open spot, or _plaza_, a place which had a -melancholy, deserted look--there being several empty houses in this -gloomy square--while, on another, we saw the arms of France stuck up, -a shield with a blazing sun upon it,--the emblem of Louis!--and the -lilies on it, also--and guessed it must be the consul's place -of business. And here it seemed to me as if this was as -fitting an opportunity as I should find for making the necessary -disclosures--disclosures which, when these gentlemen had heard them, -might induce them to hurry back to the _Pembroke_, bring me into -communication with the captain, and lead him to put to sea, in the -hopes of picking up the remainder, and chief part, of the English -fleet, which was but twenty-four hours ahead of them. - -"Gentlemen," I said, "here is a quiet spot"--as indeed it was, seeing -that there was nothing alive in this mournful _plaza_ but a few -scraggy fowls pecking among the stones, and a lean dog or two sleeping -in the sun. "Let me tell you my news." - -Whereupon all of them halted and stood round me, listening eagerly -while I unfolded my story and gave them the intelligence that the -galleons had gone into Vigo, escorted, as the earl had said while we -rode toward Rotterdam, by a large French fleet. - -"'Fore George, Harry," said Mr. Beauvoir, turning toward the elder of -the officers with him, a captain in Pierce's regiment, "but this is -mighty fine news. Only--can it be true? I mean," he went on with a -pleasant bow to me, "can it be possible that the Earl of Marlborough -is not mistaken? For, if 'tis true and we can only communicate with -Sir George Rooke and get him back again, 'twill be a fine thing; wipe -out the scandal and hubbub that will arise over our retreat from -Cadiz, go far to save Parliament enquiries and the Lord knows what--to -say nothing of court martials. Humph?" - -"Why should the earl be mistaken in this?" asked one of the others. "At -least he was right in judging they would not go into Cadiz." - -"We must take you at once to Captain Hardy, of our ship," said the -chaplain. "'Tis for him to decide when he has heard your story. Come, -let us get back to the pinnace--no time must be wasted." - -"With the very greatest will in the world," said I. "'Tis for that I -have travelled from Holland, and, pray God, I have not come too late. -Success means much for me." - -Then we turned to go, while the officers attacked me on all sides for -an account of the siege of Kaiserswerth, of which they had not yet -heard full accounts, and we were just leaving the square when there -appeared at the door of the French consul's house a man who, no sooner -did he observe us and our English appearance--which betrays us all -over Europe, I have noticed, though I know not why--and also the -brilliancy of the officers' dress, than he set to work bowing and -grimacing like a monkey; also he began calling out salutations to us -in French, and asking us how the English did now in the wars? and -saying that, for himself, he very much regretted that France and -England had got flying at one another's throats once more, since if -they were not fools and would only keep united, as they had been in -the days of him whom he called _le grand roi Charles Deux_, they might -rule the world between them; which was true enough as regarded their -united powers (if not the greatness of that late king of ours), as -many other people more sensible than he have thought. - -"'Tis a merry heart," said Mr. Beauvoir, smiling on the fantastic -creature as he gibbered and jumped about on his doorstep, while the -others looked contemptuously at him, for we soldiers had but a poor -opinion of the French, though always pleased to fight them; "a joyous -blade! Let us return his civility"; whereupon he took off his hat, -which courtesy we all imitated, and wished him "Good day" politely in -his own language. - -"Ha! you speak French, monsieur," the other said at this; "also you -have the _bonne mine_. English gentlemens is always gentlemens. Ha! I -ver' please see you."--he was himself now speaking half English and -half French. "_Je vous salue_. Lagos ver' _triste_. I always glad see -gentlemens. _Veuillez un verre de vin? C'est Français, vrai Français!_ -Ver' goot." - -"'Tis tempting," said the chaplain of the Pembroke, his face appearing -to get more red than before at the invitation. "Well, we can do no -harm in having a crack with him. Only--silence, remember," and he -glanced at the officers. "Not a word of our doings--lately, now, or to -come." - -"Never fear," said the eldest. "We can play a better game than that -would be," whereon the chaplain, after bowing gracefully to our -would-be host, said in very fair French that, if he desired it, we -would all drink a glass of wine with him--only he feared we were too -many. - -"Not a jot, not a jot," this strange creature cried, beckoning all of -us into the house and forthwith leading us into a whitewashed room, in -the middle of which was a table with, upon it, a great outre of wine, -bound and supported by copper bands and flanked with a number of -glasses, so that one might have thought he was ever offering -entertainment to others. Then, with great dexterity, he filled the -requisite number of glasses, and, after making us each touch his with -ours, drank a toast. - -"_A la fin de la guerre_," he said, after screaming, first, -"_Attention, messieurs_," and rapping on the table with his glass to -claim that attention, "_ŕ l'amitié incassable de la France et de -l'Angleterre. Vivent, vivent, vivent la France et l'Angleterre_," and -down his throat went all the wine. - -"A noble toast," said Mr. Beauvoir, with a gravity which--I know not -why!--I did not think, somehow, was his natural attribute, "a noble -toast. None--be he French or English--could refuse to pledge that," -and, with a look at the others, away went his liquor, too, while my -brother officers, with a queer look upon their faces, which seemed to -express the thought that they scarce knew whether they ought to be -carousing in this manner with the representative of an enemy, -swallowed theirs. - -"Ha! goot, ver' goot," our friend went on, "we will have some more." -And in a twinkling he had replenished the glasses and got his own up -to, or very near to, his lips. And catching a glance of Mr. Beauvoir's -grey eye as he did this, I felt very sure that the reverend gentleman -knew as well as I did, or suspected as well as I did, that these were -by no means the first potations our friend had been indulging in this -morning. - -"Another toast," he cried now, "_sacré nom d'un chien!_ we will drink -more toasts. _A la santé_"--then paused, and muttered: "No, no. I -cannot propose that. No. _Ce n'est pas juste_." - -"What is not just, monsieur?" asked Mr. Beauvoir, pausing with his own -uplifted glass. - -"Why, _figurez-vous_, I was going to commit an _impolitesse_--what you -call a _rudesse_--rudeness--in your English tongue. To propose the -continued prosperity of France--no! _vraiment il ne faut pas ça_. -Because you are my guests--I love the English gentlemens always--and -it is so certain--so very certain." - -"The continued success of France is very certain, monsieur?" said one -of the grenadiers, looking darkly at him. "You say that?" - -"_Sans doute_. It cannot be otherwise. On sea and land we must triumph -now--and then--then we shall have _la paix incassable_. Oh! yes, now -that Chateaurenault is on the seas, we must perforce win there--win -every--everything. And for the land, why----" - -"Chateaurenault is on the seas!" exclaimed the chaplain, looking very -grave. "And how long has that been, monsieur?" - -"Oh, some time, some time." Then he put his finger to his nose and -said, looking extremely cunning in his half drunkenness. "And soon now -he will be free to scour them, turn his attention to you and the -Dutch--curse the Dutch always, they are _cochons!_--soon, ver' soon. -Just as soon as the galleons are unloaded at Vigo--when we need -protect them no more." - -Swift as lightning all our eyes met as the good-natured sot said this -in his boastfulness; then Mr. Beauvoir, speaking calmly again, said: - -"So he is protecting them at Vigo, eh? 'Tis not often they unload -there." - -"_Ah, non, non_. Not ver' often. But, you see, you had closed Cadiz -against them, so, _naturellement_, they must go in somewhere." - -"Naturally. No--not another drop of wine, I thank you." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -ON BOARD H. M. S. PEMBROKE. - - -A good snoring breeze was ripping us along parallel with the -Portuguese coast a fortnight later, every rag of canvas being -stretched aloft--foretop gallant royals, mizzentop gallant royals and -royal staysails. For we had found the main body of the fleet at last, -after eleven days' search for them, and we were on the road to Vigo. - -Only, should we be too late when we got there? That was the question! - -Let me take up my tale where I left off. Time enough to record our -hopes and fears when that is told. - -Our French friend, whose boastfulness had increased with every drop of -Montrâchet he swallowed (and 'twas real good wine, vastly different, -the chaplain, who boasted himself a fancier, said afterward, from the -filthy concoctions to be obtained in that part of Portugal), had been -unable to hold his tongue, having got upon the subject of the -greatness of his beloved France, and the consequence was that every -word he let fall served but to corroborate the Earl of Marlborough's -information and my statement. Nay! by the time he allowed us to quit -his house, which was not for half an hour after he had first divulged -the neighborhood of Chateaurenault and the galleons, and during which -period he drank even more fast and furious than before, he had given -us still further information. For, indeed, it seemed that once this -poor fool's tongue was unloosed, there were no bounds to his vaunts -and glorifications, and had it not been that he was our host and, -also, that every word he said was of the greatest value to us, I do, -indeed, believe that one or other of the officers would have twisted -his neck for him, so exasperating was his bragging. - -"_Pauvre Angleterre! Pauvre Angleterre!_" he called out, after we had -refused to drink any more, though he himself still kept on -unceasingly; "Poor England. Ah, mon Dieu, what shall become of her! -Beaten at Cadiz----" - -"Retired from Cadiz, if you please, monsieur," one of Pierce's -officers said sternly, "because the Dutch ships had runout of -provisions, and because, also, the admiral and his Grace could not -hope to win Spain to the cause of Austria by bombarding their towns -and invading their country. Remember that, sir, if you please." - -"_Oh, la la! C'est la męme chose_. It matters not." Then the talkative -idiot went on: "I hope only that the fleet is safe in England by now. -Ver' safe, because otherwise----" - -"Have no fear, sir," the officer said again, though at a sign from Mr. -Beauvoir, he held his peace and allowed the Frenchman to proceed. - -"Ver' safe, because, otherwise, Chateaurenault will soon catch -them--poof! like a mouse in grimalkin's claws. The _débarquement_ must -be over by now--oh yes, over by now!--_l'amiral_ will be free to roam -the seas with his great fleet. _Tiens! c'est énorme!_ There is, for -instance, _La Sirčne, L'Espérance, La Superbe, Le Bourbon, -L'Enflame_--all terrible vessels. Also many more. _Le Solide, Le Fort, -Le Prompte--Fichtre!_ I cannot recall their names--they are fifteen in -all. What can you do against that?" - -"What did we do at La Hogue?" asked Mr. Beauvoir quietly. - -"Ha! La Hogue! _Voilŕ--faute de bassesse--faute de_----" - -"Sir," said the chaplain, interrupting, "let us discourse no more on -this subject. If we do we shall but get to quarrelling---and you have -been polite and hospitable. We would not desire that to happen. Sir, -we are obliged to you," and he held out his hand. - -The strange creature took it--he took all our hands and shook them; he -even seemed about to weep a little at our departure, and muttered that -Lagos was "ver' triste." He loved to see any one, even though a -misguided enemy. - -"And," said Mr. Beauvoir, as we made our way down to the quay where -the pinnace was to take them off, "to chatter to them as well as see -them. Forgive him, Lord, he is a madman! Yet, I think," turning to me, -"you should be satisfied. He corroborates you, and he has told us -something worth knowing. Fifteen ships of war in all, eh?" whereon he -fell a-musing. "A great fleet, in truth; yet ours is larger and we are -English. That counts." - -It took us a very little while to fetch off to the _Pembroke_, and on -arriving on board, Mr. Beauvoir instantly sent to know if he could see -the captain, since he brought great news from the shore. The sentry -would not, however, by any means undertake to deliver the message, -since Captain Hardy was now abed, he having been on the poop all night -while the ships were coming in; whereupon Mr. Beauvoir, saying that -the business we were now on took precedence of sleep and rest, pushed -his way into the great cabin and instantly knocked at the door outside -the captain's berth. Also, he called to him to say that he had news of -the galleons and the French admiral's fleet, and that there waited by -his side an officer of the land forces charged with a message to him -from the Earl of Marlborough. - -"What!" called out the captain as we heard him slip his door open, -after hearing also a bound as he leaped from his bunk to the floor. -"What!" and a minute after he stood before us, a fine, brave-seeming -gentleman, without his coat or vest on. - -"What! News of the galleons! Are you the messenger, sir?" looking at -me and returning my salute. "Quick! Your news; in as few words as may -be." - -And in a few words I told him all while he stood there before me, the -chaplain supplementing of my remarks in equally few words by a -description of what the drunken French consul had maundered on about -in his boastings. - -And the actions of this captain showed me at once that I was before -one of those sea commanders who, by their daring and decision, had -done so much to make our power on the ocean feared, notwithstanding -any checks such as that of Cadiz, which they might now and again have -to submit to. - -"Sentry!" he called out, running into his cabin to strike upon a gong -by his bedside at the same time. "Sentry!" And then, when the man -appeared, went on: "Send the yeoman of the signals to me at once. Away -with you." - -"Make signal," he said to the lad, who soon came tumbling down the -companion ladder, his glass under his arm, "to Captain Wishart in the -_Eagle_, and all the captains in the squadron, to repair here for -consultation without loss of time. Up! and waste no moment." - -And sure enough--for in Her Majesty's navy they are as prompt as we of -the sister service, if not prompter, since to a sailor, minutes are -sometimes of as much importance as an hour on land--ere a quarter of -an hour had passed the waters of the harbour were dotted with the -barges of the other captains making for our ship, and, five minutes -after that, all were assembled in the great cabin listening to my -tale. And all were at once agreed on what must be a-doing. - -"'Tis of vast importance," said Captain Wishart, who I think was the -senior, since he presided, "that the admiral be acquainted with this. -'Tis for him to decide what shall be done when he has heard the -mission on which this officer has come, and heard also the words of -the Frenchman. Now, who has the fastest sailer? You, I think, Hardy." - -"True enough," replied that captain, "as to speed, I can sail two feet -to every one of all the rest. Yet the head of the ship is somewhat -loose, which may endanger the masts; she is also leaky, and our food -is short. Nevertheless, since the intelligence has been by good luck -brought to my hands I am loth indeed to resign the honor of finding -Sir George." - -"Nor shall you resign it," exclaimed the other captains. "The chance -is yours. Succeed in it and you will get your flag. Hardy, you must -take it." - -Enough that I say he took it--had he not done so he would not have -been worth one of his ship's biscuits, the cases of which were, as it -happened, now running extremely low. Took it, too, in spite of the -murmurings of some of his men, who said that they had signed for the -expedition to Cadiz, and for that alone, and, therefore, it was -plainly his duty to return to England. But Captain Hardy had a short -way with such as these--a way well enough known to sailors!--while to -others, with whom he thought it worth while to explain at all, he -pointed out that there must be in the galleons, if they could only get -alongside of them, sufficient prize money for all. - -Off we went, therefore, to find the admiral and the main body of the -fleet, while, as luck would have it, there blew from off the -Portuguese coast a soft, brisk wind which took us along on the course -we desired, namely, that in which we supposed and hoped that Sir -George Rooke and the Dutch fleet had gone. All the same, it was no -very pleasant cruise; the food ran lower and lower as day after day -passed and we could not see so much as a topsail anywhere, until at -last we came to two biscuits a day, officers and men. Then, to make -matters worse, the weather came on rough and boisterous, so that the -captain said for sure the fleet would separate; that though we might -find one or two of the number 'twas scarce likely we should find more, -and that even those which we might by chance come across would -possibly not have the _Royal Sovereign_, which was Rooke's ship, -amongst them. - -Briefly, however, we did find them after eleven days, and when we had -begun to give up all hope, and while another terrible fear had taken -possession of our minds--the fear that even should we come together -and proceed to Vigo, we might find the galleons unloaded and their -treasure removed inland. However, as I have now to tell--and, indeed, -as you have read of late in the published accounts of our attack upon -those galleons--that was not to be. - -We found, therefore--to hurry on--the two fleets very close to one -another, and no sooner had Sir George communicated the news to the -Dutch admiral, Vandergoes, and to the Duke of Ormond, than it was -determined to at once proceed on the way to Vigo to see if the -galleons were there, and if--above all things--they still had their -goods in them; for, though 'twas like enough that we should destroy -them if we could, and crush Chateaurenault as well, 'twould be but -half a victory if we could not wrench away the spoils from the enemy -and profit by it ourselves. - -And now off went two frigates to scout in the neighbourhood of the Bay -of Vigo and see how much truth there was in the information my Lord -Marlborough had sent; and on the night of October 9, to which we had -come by this time, they returned; returned with the joyful -intelligence that the treasure ships were drawn up as far as possible -in a narrow strait in the harbour; that outside and guarding them, -were some twenty French and Spanish ships of war, and that across the -harbour was stretched a huge boom of masts and spars, protected on -either side by great batteries of cannon. - -Also they brought another piece of good news: The galleons, they -thought, were still _unloaded_. - -And still another piece of intelligence, equally welcome: The frigates -had sighted Sir Cloudesley Shovel's fleet in the neighbourhood of Cape -Finisterre, had communicated with him, and brought back word that as -we drew near to Vigo he would combine with us. - -That night we kept high revels on board all our ships--those only -whose duty it was to take the watches being prevented from joining in -the delirium of joy. Casks were broached and healths were drunk, -suppers eaten joyously--we of the _Pembroke_ having now all we could -desire given us from our consorts--songs sung. And, if there was one -who more than others was the hero of the evening, it was the simple -gentleman who had brought the first intimation of the whereabouts of -those whom we now meant to "burn, plunder, and destroy," as the old -naval motto runs; the man who now pens these lines--myself. - -Perhaps 'twas no very good preparation for a great fight that, on the -night before the day when we hoped to be gripping French and Spaniards -by the throat, blowing up, burning or sinking their ships, and seizing -their treasures, we should have been wassailing and carousing deeply -all through that night. Yet, remember, we were sailors and soldiers; -we were bent on an errand of destruction against the tyrant who had -crushed and frighted all Europe for now nigh sixty years; the splendid -despot who, but a few months ago, had acknowledged as King of England -one whom every Englishman had sworn deeply should never sit on -England's throne, nor inherit the crown of his ancestors--if, indeed, -the Stuarts were the ancestors of the youth whom the late James called -his son. - -For this remembrance we may be forgiven--forgiven for hating Louis and -all his brood--hating him, the tyrant of Versailles, and the fat -booby, his grandson, who aspired to grasp the throne of Spain by the -help of Versailles and its master, that great, evil King of France! - -Through that night, I say, we drank and caroused, called toasts to our -good queen, prayed God that we might do her credit on the morrow, and -exalt the name of great Anna? And even the watch, coming off duty in -turns, ran into the main cabin ere they sought their berths, seized -cans and cannikins brimming high, and drank her health and that of our -own dear land. - -'Twas a great night, yet it came to an end at last, and the autumn -morning dawned, thick, hazy, damp--still, not so thick or hazy but -that we could see through it the mountains over and around Vigo -looming up, and, at their feet, the entrance to the bay. - -Also, we saw, away to the northwest, the fleet of Sir Cloudesley -Shovel coming up toward us, escorted and led by our scouts. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -THE TAKING OF THE GALLEONS. - - -Looking back upon that great day--it was October 11--it seems to me -that many of the events which happened must have been due to the mercy -and goodness of God, so incredible were they. - -For see now what fell out at the very first, namely, that the haze and -mist were so thick that we were enabled to anchor at the mouth of the -great river and harbour without so much as even our presence being -known, so that when the sun set and the fog lifted, the surprise of -those snared and trapped creatures was great, and they at once began -firing wildly upon us, without, however, doing any harm whatever. But -the lifting of that fog showed us what we had to encounter, the work -that was to be done. - -For, first, it enabled us to see that, across the river, or narrow -strait, as indeed it was, the French admiral had laid a tremendous -boom, made up of cables, yards and masts, topchains and casts, some -nine feet in circumference, while the whole was kept fixed and steady -by anchors at either side. This, too, we perceived, was constructed -between two forts known as the Ronde and the Noot, one on the left -bank and the other on the right, while far up the harbour, where we -saw the galleons all a-lying tucked in comfortably under the cliffs, -with a line of French ships of battle, and some Spanish ones, ahead of -and guarding them, we perceived a great fort, which is known as the -Fort of Redondella. - -And now the night came down upon us, and we knew that for this day -there would be no fighting, though, since all through it the admiral -went from ship to ship in his barge, giving orders, 'twas very certain -that at daybreak it would begin. - -And so it did, as now I have to describe. - -For on the morrow, and when, as near six o'clock as may be, the sun -came up swiftly over the great hills, or mountains, which abound here, -we made our first preparations for the attack by the landing of the -Duke of Ormond with two thousand five hundred and fifty men on the -side of the Fort Redondella, they marching at once toward it on foot. - -As for myself, although a soldier, it had been decided that I should -remain in the _Pembroke_, and this for more than one reason. - -"You have," said Captain Hardy to me, "no uniform with you; therefore, -if you fall into the hands of those on shore it may go hard with you. -Yet here you can be of service; help train a gun, if need be, issue -orders, take part in the boarding, which must surely occur, perhaps -take part in sacking of the galleons. There's business for you--such, -indeed as, as a soldier, you are not very like to ever see again. My -lad!" he went on--and in truth I was a lad to him, though I esteemed -myself a very full-fledged man--"you are to be congratulated. You -will have much to talk about in years to come--if you survive this -day--which falls not often to a landsman's lot," and he ran away as -gay as a lad himself, all grizzled with service though he was, to -prepare for assisting in breaking the boom. - -So I stayed in the _Pembroke_ and, as you shall see, if you do but -read, the doing so led to all that happened to me which I have now to -set down, and all of which--had it not so happened--would have -prevented this narrative from ever being penned, since it is not to -describe only the siege of Vigo and the taking of the Spanish galleons -that I am a-writing of this story. - -Therefore I proceed: - -Down from the hills already the smoke was rolling fast, obscuring -the beauteous morn by now; white smoke from the cannon in the -fort--through which there leapt every moment great spits of flame from -the big guns' mouths!--dun-coloured smoke from the grenades carried by -Lord Shannon and Colonel Pierce's grenadiers; black, greasy smoke -vomited forth from the fuzees. And it came down to the water and -poured across it in clouds, enveloping the galleons in its wreaths and -the great French ships of battle; clinging around our own topsails and -masts, almost obscuring each of our vessels from the other. - -Yet not so much, neither, but that--a breeze having sprung up after a -calm which had enforced us to drop our anchors for a while--we, -of the _Pembroke_, could see glide by us a great ship, with her men on -yards and masts and in fighting tops, all cheering lustily, and some -a-singing--a vessel that rushed forward as a tiger rushes to its prey. -At first we thought it was the _Royal Sovereign_--that great, noble -ship which transmits a name down from Bluff Harry's days--then knew we -were mistaken. It was the _Torbay_, Vice-Admiral Hopson's own, in -which he flew his flag, her sails all clapt on, her cable training at -her side, where he had cut it, so as to lose no precious time, her -course direct for the boom. And after her went ourselves, as hound let -loose from leash follows hound. Captain Hardy had spoken true--'twas a -day not to be missed! - -We heard a snapping, a crashing--'twas awful, too, to hear!--we heard -roar upon roar from hundreds of lusty throats in that great ship--we -knew the boom was gone--cut through as a woodsman's axe cuts through a -sapling. Amidst all the enemy's fire--fire from the French ships and -those Spanish forts on shore--we heard it. And we, too, cheered and -shouted--sent up our queen's name to the smoke-obscured heavens above. -Some cried the old watchword of past days, "St. George and England"; -some even danced and jumped upon the decks for glee--danced and -jumped, even though the hail of ball was scattering us like ninepins, -or a hundred pins!--even though some lay writhing on those decks, and -some were lying there headless, armless, legless! What mattered? The -enemy were there behind that boom, and it was broken. We were amongst -them now. Let those die who must; those live who were to conquer. - -Between the _Bourbon_ and _L'Espérance_ the noble _Torbay_ rushed--to -the jaws of death she went, as though to a summer cruise on friendly -seas, her anchor cables roared through her hawse-holes--Hopson had -anchored 'twixt those two great French ships! He was there; there was -to be, could be, no retreat now; 'twas death or victory. - -At first it seemed as though it could alone be the first. The cannon -grinned like teeth through tier upon tier of gunboats in the -Frenchman's sides; the balls crashed into the Torbay; they did the -same with us and Vandergoes' ship, now ranged on the other side of the -_Bourbon_--a French fireship had clapt alongside of her, and set her -rigging alight; her foretopmast went by the board; her sails were all -aflame; her foreyard burnt like a dry log; her larboard shrouds burnt -at the dead-eyes. - -Yet still she fought and fought--vomited forth her own flames and -destruction; still from the throats of those left alive came shouts of -savage exultation, for, all afire as she was, we saw that she was -winning. And not only she, but all of us. We had sunk one Frenchman -ourselves. Vandergoes had mastered the _Bourbon_--she was done for! -The _Association_ had silenced a battery ashore. And now a greater -thing than all happened--Chateaurenault saw that he was beaten, set -his flagship, _Le Fort_, on fire, and fled to the shore, calling on -all his captains to follow him. - -Yet still one awful dread remained! The _Torbay_ was burning -fiercely, charred masts and yards were falling to the deck--itself -aflame--blocks burning like tarred wood crashed down, too. What if her -powder magazine exploded! If it did, all in her neighbourhood would be -destroyed, hurled to atoms, as she herself would be. - -Almost it seemed as if that had happened now. There came a hideous -roar, a belch of black, suffocating smoke; it set all sneezing and -coughing as though a sulphur mine were afire. Yet that explosion, that -great cloud of filthy blackness, those masses of burnt and charred -wood hurled up into the air and falling with a crash on every deck -around, amidst shrieks and howls and curses terrible to hear, though -drowned somewhat by the booming of the cannon all about, was to be the -salvation of the _Torbay_, of ourselves, and of the Dutchmen. - -For it was the fireship itself that had exploded. It was, in truth, a -merchantman laden with snuff, which had been hastily fitted up as one -of those craft. And in so doing the density of the fumes which it -emitted, and its falling _débris_ when it was burst asunder, helped to -put out the flames that raged in the _Torbay_ and in us. - -The firing began to cease even as this happened; the enemy began to -recognise that 'twas useless. They would have been blind not to have -so recognised. On shore 'twas easy _Association_; on the water the -_Bourbon_ was ours. The lilies were hauled down, in their place -floated the banner of England; the fireship had vanished into the -elements, the great boom lay in pieces on the water like some long, -severed snake. Yet might one have wept to gaze upon the _Torbay_--the -queen and victress of this fight--and upon ourselves. - -There she lay--Hopson by now in the _Monmouth_, to which he had been -forced to transfer his flag, so sad a ruin was she--listing over to -her wounded starboard side, into which the water poured in volumes, it -becoming tinged as it mixed with the blood in her scuppers; her yards -and masts were charred sticks; black bits of sooty, greasy matter, -which had once been her white sails, floated down slowly to the waves -and fell upon and dissolved into them. Also her shrouds were but burnt -pieces of rope and twine now. Upon her deck there were stretched a -hundred and twenty men, dead or dying. And with the _Pembroke_ it was -almost as bad. We were shattered and bruised, our foremast gone, our -own sails shot through and through, and hanging over the sides like -winding sheets, our own decks charnel houses. Yet we had won the -fight, the day was ours, the galleons our booty. - -But were they? That was the question! - -'Twas true, they were all as we had first seen them, though some, we -noticed, had been run ashore, perhaps to give them a chance of -hurriedly landing some of their cargo; but, alas! we noticed now that -they were all aflame, were burning fiercely. - -And we knew well enough what this meant--meant that the French and -Spaniards had set them on fire so that we should benefit nothing -through their falling into our hands. And all of us saw it at the same -time--Rooke saw it, Hopson saw it--every man on board our English -decks who was still alive saw and understood. - -By God's mercy the breeze was still blowing into the strait. Some of -us still had some sail left clinging to our bruised and battered -yards; enough to take us farther in, enough to enable the boarding -parties to row ashore, to reach those burning ships, to save -something, surely! - -From all the ships' sides as we ran up as far as we could toward where -they lay, came now the hoarse grating of the ropes running through the -blocks as the boats were lowered. Into those boats leaped swarms of -men, their cutlasses ready, their pistols in their hands, their eyes -inflamed with the lust of plunder, wild oaths and jokes, curses--and, -sometimes, prayers that we were not too late--upon their lips. - -And in our cutter I went, too--appointed to the command of her in -place of the lieutenant who should have taken that command, but who -now lay dead upon the _Pembroke's_ deck, a dozen balls in his body. - -Jostling one another--for there were scores of boats lowered by now, -and all making their way, under either sail or the seamen's brawny -arms, to where those burning galleons lay--we rushed through the half -mile of water that separated us from them, all eager to board and be -amongst the spoil. And woe, I thought, to him or them who, when we -were there, should strive to bar our entrance! Our blood was up, -fevered by the carnage of the earlier hours; woe to them who -endeavoured to prevent our final triumph! Through wreckage of all -kinds we went, spars, yards and masts, military tops floating like -tubs, dead men face upward, living men clinging to oars and overturned -boats and shrieking to be saved, while ever still, in front of us, the -galleons burned and blazed--one blew up as we neared it, another, -spouting flames from port and window and burning to the water's edge, -sank swiftly and in a moment beneath the water. - -But at last we were up to them, were beneath their bows, could see -their great figureheads and read their names--most of them so terribly -sacred that one wondered that even Spaniards should so dare to profane -those holy words by using them for their ships! - -And now some orders were issued by a grey-haired officer to those -close by. The boarding parties were told off in boats of twos and -threes to the different vessels flaming before our eyes. The one which -I commanded was directed to a great vessel of three decks, having -above her upper one a huge poop-royal, and named--heavens, what a name -for a ship!--_La Sacra Familia_. And as we swept toward them all we -saw that one mercy was now to be vouchsafed. There would be no further -slaughter here; no need for more shedding of blood. The vessels were -not defended; those who had set fire to them had undoubtedly fled. - -Yet up on the poop-royal of that galleon, to which we now clambered by -aid of rope and ladder--with cutlass in mouth and pistol in belt--as -well as by chains and steps, we saw there was still some human life -left. We saw a tall monk standing there, gazing down curiously at us, -his shaven crown glistening in the autumn sun. Also, it seemed as -though he smiled a welcome to us, was glad to see us; perhaps regarded -us as men who might save him from that burning mass. - -We rushed on board, and first, before all other things, except a -salutation which I made to the monk by a touch of the finger to my -hat, I directed those under my command to endeavour to stifle the -fire, which seemed at present to be entirely confined to the after -part of the ship. "For," said I to those of my own following, and also -to those who had come in the other boats under the command of two -bo'suns, "if this is not done there will be no getting at the goods -whatever. Where generally is the storage made?" I asked, turning to -one of these officers. - -"Faith, sir, I know not," he said, with a harsh laugh. "My account has -been ever with the king's--and now the queen's--ships. We sailors know -little of such things as stored treasure. Yet," and he again laughed, -"we have our opportunity now. If we can but quench this fire, we may -learn something." - -"Perhaps," said a voice behind me, musical and deep, and greatly to my -astonishment--when I turned round and saw who its owner was, namely, -the monk--speaking in very good English, "I may be of some service -here. I have been a passenger in her since she loaded at Guayaquil," -and his eyes met mine boldly. - -They were large, roving eyes, too, jet-black and piercing, and looked -out from a dark, handsome face. A face as close-shaven as the crown, -yet with the blue tinge all over upper lip and chin and cheeks which -showed where there grew a mass of hair beneath. - -"I am obliged to you, sir," I answered, touching my hat again--for his -manner proclaimed that this was no common peasant who had become a -monk because the life was easier than that of a hedger and ditcher; -but, instead, a man who knew something of the world and its -courtesies. Then, he having told me that all the plate and coin was in -the middle of the ship, and the merchandise, such as skins and -leather, Campeachy wood, quinquina, silks, indigo and cochineal in the -after part, I sent off all the men to endeavour at once to extinguish -the flames below; to cut off communication between the atmosphere and -that part of the ship which was already in flames; to close all -hatches and bulkhead doors; to stop up the crevices by which the air -could pass to the burning part, and, if possible, to separate the one -half of the vessel from the other, as well as to pour down water on -the flames. - -And, half an hour later--while still I stood gazing down on the men at -their work, and still by my side stood the monk, uttering no word, but -regarding with interest all that was doing--one of the bo'suns called -up to me, saying: - -"We have scotched it now, sir. There is no more fire left." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -SENOR JUAN BELMONTE. - - -And now I made my way below by the main hatch--for the after-companion -was all burnt, so that there was no descent by that, I being intent on -the men finding out--and setting to work at once on getting at and -landing--the specie there might be in the ship; for, although the -galleons were ours now, and 'twas a certainty that neither French nor -Spaniards could make any attempt whatsoever to recover possession of -them, there was another matter to be thought about, namely, that this -one, of which I was, so to speak, in chief command, might be so badly -injured that she might sink at any moment; and, if she did that, then -it would be goodbye to any bars of silver and gold, pistoles or -crusadoes which she might have stowed away in her, ready for the -Castile mint. And with this apprehension in my mind, I decided that -the unloading must at once begin. - -But as I came down the main companion it was apparent that I must make -my way aft through the great cabin, since my men were all at work in -the hinder part of the ship; and, consequently, I put my hand to the -cabin door to open it, when I discovered that it was closed--shut -fast. Yet, even as I perceived this, while still I moved the catch -about between my fingers, wondering what I should do, and whether I -must not go back and fetch some of the sailors up from the after part -to burst open the door, I heard a footstep, light, yet firm, tapping -on the cabin deck; a footstep that, I could very well perceive, was -coming toward the closed door; and then, a moment later, I heard a -voice on the other side say something in Spanish, of which I could not -catch one word; yet I doubted not that a question had been asked as to -who I was, and what I wanted. - -Remembering, however, that I stood here in the position of a captor, -remembering, too, that since all these Spanish galleons had been under -the protection of the French admiral (with also three Spanish ships of -war, though 'tis true _they_ did not count for much), I replied in the -French language, which, as I have before said, I had very well: - -"I am an officer from the English fleet, and am now in charge of this -vessel. Open the door without delay." - -"Are you an English officer?" the voice now said, in my own -tongue, to which I--thinking that the tones were soft, gracious ones -enough--replied: - -"I am an English officer. Open the door at once." - -Then I heard the bolt shot back, and entered the great cabin. - -What kind of personage I had expected to find behind that door I -scarcely now can say--though I do remember well enough that, judging -by the gentle, musical voice which had replied to my summons, I should -not have been over-surprised to find myself face to face with some -Spanish woman--yet the person who appeared before me raised my -curiosity when we now stood face to face, for, certainly, I -had expected some one vastly different from him on whom I now -gazed--perhaps a Spanish sailor; a woman, as I have mentioned, or some -old don who had managed to get left behind when all the rest had fled. - -Yet I saw none of these. - -Instead, a youth, somewhat tall--I remember that his eyes were almost -on a level with mine, and I am tall myself--also extremely handsome, -while, to add to that handsomeness, his dress was rich, if not costly. -But first for his appearance. - -Those eyes were soft, dark ones, such as, I think, our poets call -"liquid," and they looked out at me from an oval face, dark and olive -in complexion, over which the black hair curled in mighty becoming -waves, though it was not all visible, since on his head he wore a -beaver cap, looped up at one side with a steel buckle, and with, in -it, a deep crimson feather--a hat that added extremely to his boyish -beauty. For that he was a boy of almost tender years was certain. Upon -his upper lip there was that soft down which is not a moustache, but -tells only where some day a moustache will be; his colouring, too--a -deep, rich red beneath the olive skin--proclaimed extreme -youthfulness. But, what was even more agreeable than all, was the -bright, buoyant smile with which he looked at me--a smile which -flashed from those dark, soft eyes and trembled on the full, red lips, -yet seemed strangely out of place here in this captured vessel, and -upon the face of a prisoner--for such, indeed, he was. - -But now--even as we were saluting of each other, and while I noticed -the easy grace with which this youth took off his beaver hat--I -noticed also the handsome satin coat he wore, the embroidered, -open-worked linen collar, and the pretty lace at his sleeves; -perceived, also, that his breeches were lined with camlet and faced -with white taffeta. I spoke to him, saying: - -"Sir, I am afraid this is but a rough visit which I pay. Yet, since I -find you aboard this galleon, you must know what brings me here; must -know that it and all her consorts have fallen into our power--the -power of England and Holland." - -"In faith, I know it very well," the young man answered. "Heavens, -what a cannonading you kept up! Yet--though perhaps you may deem me -heartless if I say so!--I cannot aver that I am desperate sick at the -knowledge that you have drubbed France and Spain this morning. -_Carámba!_ I am not too much in love with either, though you find me a -passenger here." - -"Monsieur is not then either French or Spanish?" I hazarded, while he -unstrapped his blade from its _porte-epée_ and flung it on the cabin -locker as though it wearied him. "Perhaps English, to wit. And of the -West Indies? A passenger taking this ship as a means whereby to reach -his native land?" - -He looked at me with those soft dark eyes--I know not even now why -they brought up the thought of velvet to my mind--paused a moment then -said: - -"Monsieur, I do protest you are a wizard, a conjuror, a geomancer. In -truth you have hit it. I am English, though not by birth--but subject -to England." - -"I should scarce have thought, indeed," I ventured to say, "that -monsieur was of English blood." - -"No?" with a slight intonation. "And why not? I flatter myself that I -have the English very well." - -"You have it perfectly," I replied, making a little bow, "but scarce -the English look. Now a Spaniard--a Frenchman--I would have ventured -to say, judging by your appearance, to----" - -Again that merry laugh rang out, and again that handsome youth told me -I must be a wizard. "For," said he, "you have pinked me in the very -spot. My mother was a Spaniard--my father a Frenchman. And we have -lived so long in Jamaica that I speak English like an Englishman: You -see?" - -Then almost before I could answer that I did see and understand, this -handsome youth--who seemed as volatile as a butterfly!--began to sing -softly to himself: - - - "And have you heard of a Spanish lady? - How she wooed an Englishman? - Garments gay and rich as may be, - Decked with jewels, had she on." - - -While at the same time he picked up an instrument which I learned -later was known as a viol d'amore, and began to produce sweet sounds -from it. - -Now, this youth won so much upon me, what with his appearance--and -already I found myself wondering what the ladies must think of -him!--and his light, merry nature, that, had other things been -different, I could very well have passed the whole day with him in -this main cabin, only there was duty to be done. By now I knew that -the men would most like have reached the bullion chests and be ready -for getting them out; wherefore, the moment he ceased his song, I said -as courteously as may be: - -"I have to leave you now, sir--there is work to be done in this ship -by nightfall. Yet, since you say you are a British subject, we must -take some care of you. Will you come with me to see one of the -admirals, who will dispose of you as best may be? If you seek to reach -England, doubtless they can put you in the way--give you a passage--or -what do you propose doing?" - -For answer he shrugged his shoulders indifferently, then said: - -"England is my destination--yet there is no pressing hurry. I am on my -road to seek some friends there, but I mind not if I tarry a little. -One of these friends--oh! a dear old creature, a Saint, I think--I -have been bent on finding for some years now. And I shall find him. -Then--but no matter! A few more weeks in comparison with those years -matter but little. I shall find him. Oh, yes. I have no fear." - -I, too, shrugged my shoulders now--for this was, after all, no answer -to my question; then I said: - -"But how will you proceed? You can scarce stay here--this galleon will -probably be sunk by the admiral directly she is unloaded. What will -you do?" - -He shrugged his shoulders with a look of extreme indifference, -muttering something in Spanish, which I thought might be a proverb; -then said: "Indeed, sir, I do not know. But this admiral of yours, -what will he do with me--where take me if I go with you? I thought to -ship at one time from Cadiz to England; then, later, when I learned we -were coming in here, I thought to travel by land to some near port and -find a vessel for the same place. Now I know not what to do." - -Neither did I know what to suggest that he should do, except that -I told him it was very certain he must see the admiral, who, without -any doubt, I thought, would find him an opportunity of reaching -England--would probably take him with the fleet. - -"And," I went on, "this should be of some service to you, in the way -of money, at least. 'Twill be a good thing for you to be put on -English ground at no cost to yourself. Also, you may have goods or -specie in this ship, which can be saved for you. And then, too, you -will be near those friends you speak of--that one, especially, who is -a Saint--who will doubtless help and assist you." - -Again I saw the bright, luminous smile come upon his features, as he -answered: - -"Ay! he would assist me, no doubt. Oh! yes. _Mon Dieu!_ Yes! Beyond -all doubt. And he will be so glad to see me. We have not met for some -time. But, sir, I thank you very much for your concern about me. Only, -as far as money goes, I am not needy. I have bills about me now, drawn -on the old Bank of Castile, and also on some goldsmiths of London, as -well as some gold pieces in my pocket. While as for the goods or -specie you speak of--why, never fear! Neither this galleon nor any -other has a pistole's worth of aught that belongs to me on board--the -risk was too great with the seas swarming with English ships of war. -No, sir, beyond the box which contains my necessaries, I stand to lose -nothing." - -"I rejoice to hear it," I said, "though doubtless, since you are a -British subject, all that belonged to you would have been sacred. Yet, -even as 'tis, 'tis better so." Then, seeing the bo'sun at the cabin -door, pulling his long matted hair by form of salute, and, doubtless, -wondering what kept me so long away from him and his men, I said: "Now -I must leave you for a time. Yet it will not be long. I trust you have -all you require to sustain you until we reach the ship I am attached -to." - -But even as I spoke, and without listening much to his answer, which -was to the effect that a good meal had been eaten that morning before -the battle began, and that, if necessary, he knew very well where to -lay his hands on some food, a thought struck me which I wondered had -not occurred to me before during my interview with him. Therefore, -turning to him, I said: - -"But how comes it that I find you here alone--or all alone but for the -reverend monk whom I saw above? How is it that you and he did not -desert the ship as the others must have done?" - -"Oh! as for that," he replied, still with that sweet smile of his, and -still with that bright, careless air which he had worn all through, -and which caused him to appear superior to any of the melancholy as -well as uncomfortable circumstances by which he was surrounded, "as -for that, the explanation is simple enough." Then, speaking rapidly -now, he went on: - -"We saw your great ships break the boom; ha! _por Diôs_, 'twas grand, -splendid. We saw your ships range themselves alongside the Frenchmen, -saw them crash into them their balls, set them afire, destroy them. -_Espléndido! Espléndido! Espléndido!_" he exclaimed, bursting into the -Spanish in his excitement. "Poof! away went the _Bourbon_, topping -over on her side, up went the fireship--we heard your shouts and -cries, heard the great English seamen singing their songs. I tell you -it was glorious. _Magnifico!_ Only--these creatures here--the -_canailles_--these _desperdicios_--these--_Diôs!_ I know not the word -in English--thought not so. 'Great God!' screamed Don Trebuzia de -Vera, our captain--a miserable pig, a coward. 'Great God, they win -again, these English dogs; curse them! they never lose, we are lost! -lost! lost! And see,' he bellowed, 'the French admiral lands, he -flees, deserts his ship, ha! sets it afire. Flee we, too, therefore. -Flee! Away! To the boats, to the shore, to the mountains. Away! They -come nearer. Away, all, or there will not be a whole throat amongst -us.'" - -"We knowed that was what would happen," chuckled the bo'sun, who still -stood at the open door, his fierce face lit up with a huge grin of -approval. "Go on, young sir. Tell us the tale." - -And, scarce heeding him, the youth, who had recovered his breath, went -on: - -"They obeyed him--they fled. Into the water, up the rocks, off inland -they went. They never cast a thought to us, to Padre Jaime and myself, -the only two passengers in the ship. Not they--they cared no jot -whether we were blown up, or shot, or sunk, no more than they thought -of their ingots in the hold. Their wretched lives were all in all to -them now." - -"Therefore they fled and left you here!" - -"They fled and left us here, setting fire first to the ship, and -caring nothing if we were burnt in it or not. Though that could scarce -have happened, I think, since it would have been easy enough for us to -plunge into the water and get ashore. Also the reverend father above -bade me take heart--though I needed no such counsel, having never lost -mine--averred that your side had won, that the next thing would be the -arrival of your boats to secure the plunder--which has fallen out as -he said--and that then both he and I would be safe. Which also has -come to pass," he concluded. - -"The reverend father appears to be well versed in the arts of war, -captures and so forth," I remarked, as now we made our way together to -the waist of the ship, followed by the bo'sun. "A strange knowledge -for one of his trade!" - -"_Por Diôs!_" the young fellow said, "'tis not so strange, neither, as -you will say if ever you get him to speak about the strange places in -which he has pursued his ministrations. Why, sir, he has assisted at -the death of many a dying sinner of the kind we have in our parts, -held cups of water to their burning lips, wiped the sweat of death -from off their brows. Oh!" he said, stopping by one of the galleon's -great quarter deck ports, in which the cowards who fled from the -heavily armed ship had left a huge loaded brass cannon run out, which -they had not had the spirit to fire; stopping there and laying a long, -slim hand upon my arm--while I noticed that the nails were most -beautifully shaped--"Oh! he has been in some strange places; seen -strange things, the siege and plunder of Maracaibo, to wit, and many -other places; seen blood run like water." - -"The siege and plunder of Maracaibo!" I found myself repeating as we -drew near the fore-hatches, which were now open. "The siege and -plunder of Maracaibo!" Where had I heard such words as these before, -or words like them? Where? where? On whose lips had I last heard the -name of Maracaibo? - -And, suddenly, I remembered that that wicked old ruffian, who had been -fellow-passenger with me in _La Mouche Noire_ had mentioned that place -to the filthy black who was his servant--or his friend. - -And--for what reason I know not, for there was no sequence whatsoever -in such thoughts and recollections--I recalled his drunken and -frenzied shouts to some man whom he called Grandmont; his questions -about some youth nineteen years old, who was like to be by now grown -up to be a devil like that dead Grandmont to whom he imagined he was -speaking. - -Which was, if you come to think of it, a strange sort of recollection, -or memory, to be evoked simply through my hearing again the name of -that tropic town of Maracaibo mentioned by this handsome young man. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -FATHER JAIME. - - -Under the direction of the second bo'sun, the men who had all come -into the ship with me had now gotten the battens off and had lifted -the hatch hoods--for although it has taken some time to write down my -meeting and interview with this young gentleman, it had not, in very -fact, occupied more than twenty minutes--and I found them already -beginning to bring up some large chests and boxes with strange marks -upon them. - -Also, I found standing close by the opening the monk whom the young -man had called Father Jaime, he being engaged in peering down into the -hold with what seemed to me a great air of interest, which was not, -perhaps, very strange, seeing that the treasure below was now destined -for a far different purpose from that for which it was originally -intended. - -He turned away, however, from this occupation on seeing us approach, -and said quietly, in the rich, full voice which I had previously -noticed, to the young man by my side: - -"So, Seńor Juan, you have found a friend, I see. You are fortunate. -This way you may light on your road to England." - -"And you, sir, what is your destination, may I ask?" I said, for I -knew I should soon have to decide what to do with him. The grey-haired -officer had given me, among other hurried instructions, one to the -effect that anything which was brought up from below was to be -instantly sent off to Sir George Rooke's flagship; and 'twas very easy -to see that there was none too much specie in this ship--while I knew -not what was to be done with the merchandise. Therefore, the time was -now near at hand for me to return and report myself, taking with me my -findings, while, also, I should have to take with me these two whom I -had discovered left behind on board. - -Father Jaime bowed graciously on my asking this question--indeed, he -was a far more courteous and well bred man than I, perhaps in my -ignorance, had ever supposed would have been found amongst his -class--and replied: "I, sir, have to present myself at Lugo, where -there is a monastery to which I am accredited." Then, with an -agreeable smile, he continued: - -"I trust I shall not be detained. Already I am two years behind my -time--as is our young friend here, Seńor Juan Belmonte, and----" - -"Two years!" I exclaimed. - -"In truth, 'tis so," my young gentleman, whose name I now learned, -replied. "Two years. These galleons should have sailed from Hispaniola -that length of time ago, only so many things have happened. First -there was the getting them properly laden, then the fear of -filibusters and buccaneers----" - -"That fear exists no longer, my son," the monk interrupted. "They are -disbanded, broken up, gone, dispersed. There will be no more -buccaneering now, the saints be praised." - -He said: "the saints be praised yet had he not worn the holy garb -he did, I should have almost thought that he said it with regret. -Indeed, were it not for his shaven crown and face, he would not have -ill-befitted the general idea I had formed of those gentry--what with -his stalwart form, bold, fierce eyes and sun-browned visage. - -"Ay, the saints be praised!" the young seńor repeated after him, -"the saints be praised. They were the curse of the Indies--I am -old enough to remember that. Yet, now, all are gone, as you say, -dispersed--broken up. Pointis has done that, and death and disease. -Still, where are they?--those who are alive--I wonder." - -"There are few alive now," the monk replied, "and those of no worth. -Recall, my son, recall what we know happened in the Indies. Kidd is -taken, Grogniet dead, Le Picard executed. Townley--a great man -that!--I--I mean, a great villain--fell with forty wounds in his body; -at Guayaquil nine brave--nine vagabonds--left dead; and more, many -more." - -"And the villain Gramont"--and now I started; was this whom he called -Gramont the man that old vagabond Carstairs had spoken of--as I -supposed--as Grandmont?--"forget not the greatest of them all, holy -father. What of him?" - -"He died at sea. Drowned," Father Jaime replied. Then added: "He was -the boldest of them all." - -"'Twas never known for certain that he was so drowned," Belmonte said. - -"'Twas known for certain; is certain. I have spoken with those who saw -his ship's boats floating near where he must have been cast away and -lost. Fool that he was! Madman! Louis the King gave him his -commission, made him Lieutenant du Roi. Then, because the devil's -fever was hot in his blood, he must make one more of his accursed -cruises, and go filibustering thus, besieging towns, plundering and -destroying once more. The fool! to do it 'neath the King's lilies--to -ruin himself forever, when he was rich, rich--ah, heavens! how rich he -was! 'Tis well for him that he was drowned--disappeared forever. -Otherwise the wheel would have been his portion. And," he added after -a pause, "righteously so. Righteously so!" - -Stopping as he said those words, he saw that we were regarding him -with interest--for, indeed, had this drowned buccaneer been a friend -of his he could scarcely have spoken with more fervency--then added, -impressively: - -"My sons, I knew that man--that Gramont; and I--I pitied him. Knowing -his fate, and much of his life, I pity him still." - -Then he turned away and began telling of his beads as he strode up and -down the deck. And I, remembering all I had overheard the man -Carstairs say, determined that, if the chance arose, I would ask the -reverend father if he had known this Carstairs, too; for I had -sufficient curiosity in my composition to desire to learn something -more about that hoary-headed old vagabond, though 'twas not at all -likely that I should ever set eyes on him again. - -That chance was not now, however, since at this moment there came -alongside the whole flotilla of boats, which had been despatched -severally to the various galleons, they being at this time all -collected together ere going back to the admiral, and needing only us -to make them complete. Wherefore, giving orders to have all the chests -and boxes which we had unearthed placed in our own boats, we stepped -over the side, I motioning to the father and the seńor to take their -places by me. - -"Your necessaries," I said, "can be fetched away later, when 'tis -decided how your respective journeys are to be brought to an end." - -And now, ere I get on with what I have to tell, it is fitting that--to -make an end of this siege of Vigo, which, indeed, reinstated later, in -the opinion of the Parliament and their countrymen, all those who had -failed at Cadiz--I set down what was the advantage to England of this -taking of the galleons, though, in truth, that advantage was far more -in the crushing blow it administered to the French sea service than in -aught else; for it broke that service's power more than aught else had -done since the time of La Hogue, ten years ago; and it crippled France -so upon the waters that, though she still continued to fight us boldly -whenever we met, she was able to do but very little harm in that way. - -Of the fifteen great ships of war which the French admiral, -Chateaurenault, commanded, five were burned up, some being set alight -by themselves ere they fled, the others by us. Four others were run -ashore and bulged. Five more, not so badly injured, were taken home by -our fleet, and afterward did us good service against their old -masters, these being _Le Prompte_, _L'Assure_, _Le Firme_, _Le -Modčre_, and _Le Triton_; while the remaining one, _Le Bourbon_, was -captured, as I have said, by Vandergoes, and fell to the share of the -Dutch. Then, of their frigates, we burnt two, and also a fireship -other than the merchantman loaded with snuff. Also, we burnt and -destroyed three Spanish men-of-war. - -As to the galleons, eight of them were sunk by their owners, the -others were divided between our Dutch friends and ourselves. And this -is what we got for our share: A few ingots of gold, several bars of -silver and some jewels--the principal thing of worth amongst these -being a great crown of gold set with rubies; a gold crucifix enriched -with many stones, seven hundred pounds' weight of silver bars, many -cases of silver ore, and some enormous cases of plate. Also, there was -much cochineal, tobacco, logwood, cocoa, snuff and sugar, some of -which was saved and some was sunk to the bottom. And the gold and -silver was afterward taken to our English mint and coined into -five-pound pieces, crowns, half-crowns and shillings, each piece -having "Vigo" stamped beneath the queen's head, thereby to distinguish -it. Later on, and somewhat later, too--it was when I drew my share of -the prize money, to which I became entitled as having taken part in -that great fight--I observed that my pieces had that word upon them. - -But alas! there should have been much more, only the galleons had lain -twenty-five days within that harbour ere we got to them, and, during -that time, they had landed much which had been sent on to Lugo, and, -had it not been for that foolish Spanish punctilio, which would not -allow anything to be done hastily, they would have gotten all of their -goods and precious things ashore. Only, because they should have gone -into Cadiz and discharged there, and had instead come to Vigo, much -delay happened ere the order for their doing so was given. Which was -very good for us. - -Our loss, considering the fierce fight both sides made of it, was not -considerable. Hopson, his ship, because she had borne the brunt of the -encounter, did suffer the most, she having one hundred and fifteen of -her sailors killed on the deck or drowned, with nine wounded; the -_Barfleur_ and the _Association_ had each but two men killed; the -_Mary_ lost none; the _Kent_ had her bo'sun wounded, while for -ourselves, we had many wounded, but none that I know of killed. Of -those who went ashore to attack the Fort of Redondella under his Grace -of Ormond, none of much note were slain, but Colonel Pierce got a bad -wound from a cannon shot fired by one of our own men-of-war, and some -other colonels were also wounded. - -'Twas through a mighty mass of wreckage and floating spars, masts -and yards, that we passed toward the _Royal Sovereign_, which lay back -a bit and was nearest the mouth of the strait and beyond where that -boom had been, and as we did so I saw my young gentleman, Seńor -Belmonte, turn somewhat pale as he observed the terrible traces which -battles--and more particularly sea battles--always leave behind. -Indeed, the soft red flush leapt to his cheeks, and the full scarlet -lips themselves looked more white than red as his eyes glanced down at -the objects that went a-floating by on the water; and, perhaps, since -he was so young, 'twas not very strange that these sights should have -sickened him. For there passed us dead men with half their heads blown -off; others with a terrible grin of agony upon their faces; some with -half their inwards dragging alongside them like cords--the waves all -tinged a horrid reddish brown--while hats, wigs and other things -floating by as the tide made, were but cruel sights for so young a -man--and he, probably, no fighter--to see. And, after such a lusty -encounter as this had been, one could not hope to witness anything -much better. - -As for the monk--on whom I could not but instinctively fix my eyes now -and again, for (although I could not have told why) the man had -fascinated me with the knowledge which he seemed to have once -possessed of all those hideous filibusters and sea rovers who now, he -said, were dead and gone and driven off the ocean--he seemed to regard -these things as calmly and impassibly as though he sat in some lady's -boudoir. His dark eyes, 'twas true, flashed here and there and all -around--now on a headless man, and now on the contorted features of -another, but he paled not, nor did he express or give any sign of -interest in aught until we ran alongside our noble _Royal Sovereign_, -when he cast his eye approvingly over her. - -"A great vessel," he said, "a mighty craft! Worthy to represent her -great country"; then grasped the life line hanging down, as I motioned -him to ascend her gangway, and went on board as calmly as though -accustomed to going over the sides of ships every day of his life. -From the main shrouds there hung a flag when we stepped on board, -which I have since learned to know denoted that a council of war was -being held in the ship; also there were many captains' gigs and some -admirals' barges all about her, so that 'twas plain enough to see, -even without that flag, that a consultation was taking place on board. -And scarce had I given my orders for the chests to be hauled in than -the first lieutenant approached me and asked very courteously if I was -not Lieutenant Crespin. - -A moment later I was being ushered into the great main cabin, leaving -my two companions on the deck for the present--and in another instant -was making my salutations to the grey-haired admiral, Sir George -Rooke, who sat at the head of the table, and to his Grace, the Duke of -Ormond--a brave, handsome soldier--who had come on board after taking -of the Fort of Redondella. - -And now I pass over the many flattering things said to me by those -great officers seated there--since we had flown straight to Vigo after -the _Pembroke_ had picked up the fleet at sea, and had at once been -occupied in our preparations for taking of the galleons, this was the -first time we had met--over, also, the compliments paid me for the -manner in which I had made my way from Holland to Cadiz and Lagos. -Suffice it that both Sir George Rooke and the duke told me that my -services would not be forgot, and that when I returned to my Lord -Marlborough I should not go unaccompanied by their commendations. -However, enough of this. And now I told my tale of the morning, and of -the two persons I had found on board _La Sacra Familia_--told, too, -that they were at this moment on board the Royal Sovereign, I having -deemed it best to bring them along with me. - -"Let us see them," said Rooke, and straightway bade his flag -lieutenant go bring them in. - -But I think that, although I had told all assembled at this board what -kind of persons these were whom I had discovered in the ship, all the -admirals, generals and captains were astonished at their appearance -when they stood before them; while so handsome a show of it did my -young Seńor Belmonte make, that, perhaps almost unknowing what he did, -Admiral Hopson pushed a chair toward him and bade him be seated. And -because such courtesy could not be shown to one of these visitors -without the same being extended to the other, the monk was also -accommodated with a chair in which he sat himself calmly, his eyes -roving round all those officers assembled there. - -"You were passengers in this galleon--the--the--_Sacra Familia?_" Sir -George said, glancing at a paper in his hand, on which I supposed the -names of all the captured ships were written down, "and as this -officer tells me, are anxious to proceed to your destination. Will you -inform me of what that destination is, so that we may assist you in -your desire?" - -"Mine," exclaimed Seńor Juan--and as his sweet, soft voice uttered the -words musically, all eyes were turned on him, "is England eventually; -yet," and he smiled that gracious smile which I had seen before, "my -passage was but paid to Spain--and I am in Spain. Beyond being -permitted to go ashore here with my few necessaries, I know not that I -need demand any of your politely proffered assistance." - -Sir George shrugged his shoulders while he looked attentively at the -handsome young man--who, I thought, to speak truth, received the -civilities of his speech with somewhat too much the air of one -accustomed to having homage and consideration paid to him--then he -said quietly: - -"That, of course, shall be done at once. There can be no obstacle to -that. We only regret that the rigours of war have caused us to -inconvenience any ordinary passenger. You have of course your papers." - -"Yes, I have them here," and he produced from his breast a bundle, at -which Sir George glanced lightly. - -Then he turned to Father Jaime, who preserved still the look of -calmness which had distinguished him all through. Yet I wondered, too, -that he should have done so, for he had been subjected to even more -scrutiny than Belmonte had been, perhaps because of the garb he wore; -scrutiny that, in one instance at least, would have disquieted a less -contained man, since Admiral Hopson, I noticed, had scarcely ever -taken his eyes off him since he had entered the cabin, or, when he had -taken them off, had instantly refixed them so upon his countenance -that 'twas very palpable to me that the man puzzled him. But what need -to describe that look which all the world has often seen on the face -of one who is endeavouring to recall to himself where, or whether, he -has ever seen another before. - -"And you, sir?" the admiral asked. - -"My destination," the monk replied, his voice firm, full and sonorous -as before, "is the Abbey of Lugo; and since 'tis far nearer here than -Cadiz, I can scarce regret finding myself at Vigo, instead of at the -latter place." - -And, even as he spoke, I saw Hopson give a slight start and look even -more intently at him than before. - -Then he bent forward toward Father Jaime, and said quietly: "Reverend -sir, is it possible that we have ever met before? In the West Indies, -to wit?" - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -WHAT DID THE ADMIRAL DISCOVER? - - -Not a month had elapsed ere I stood alone on the beach of Viana, which -is in the province of Entre-Douro-é-Minho, in Portugal, and watched, -with somewhat sad thoughts in my mind, the white foresail and mainsail -of the _Pembroke's_ jolly boat rising and falling on the waters as, -gradually, it made its way out to sea to where, a league off, there -lay the English fleet. The English fleet, and bound for England! - -Vigo was freed of its enemies and captors; over night, at dark, the -whole of the British forces had cleared out of the bay, and, this -morning, Juan Belmonte and myself had been put ashore at this -miserable Portuguese town, or rather village, lying some twenty miles -south of the Spanish frontier. - -Briefly, this was the reason why I found myself standing alone upon -this beach watching that fast disappearing boat, while, walking up to -the town, went Seńor Juan to seek for lodgings for us for the night. - -After that council was concluded on board the _Royal Sovereign_--and -from which Father Jaime, Belmonte and myself had retired after our -interview with the admirals--the conclusion had been arrived at that, -the work being done here--namely, the French fleet in our power and -the Spanish galleons destroyed--it would be impolitic as well as -unnecessary for the English to remain any longer in the place. This -decision was, however, come to totally against the desire of the Duke -of Ormond, who himself was anxious to take possession of the town of -Vigo, to lie there during the winter months, and, in the spring, to -open again the campaign against France in that portion of Spain. -Unfortunately, however, for this idea--which was in fact a mighty good -one, and, if carried out, might have gone far toward crippling France -even more than she was eventually crippled--it was impossible. There -were no provisions whereby his army could be sustained for the winter, -nor had Rooke a sufficiency in his ships to provide him with, and -neither would the admiral consent to leave behind a portion of his -fleet with which--should it come to that--the duke could escape in -case of necessity. - -"For," said he to Ormond, as I learnt, "you have seen, my Lord Duke, -the disaster which has followed on our enemies trusting themselves -within this narrow and landlocked bay. Would your Grace, therefore, -think it wise to follow their bad example and give them an opportunity -which, doubt not, they would take as soon as possible, of retaliating -upon us?" - -And to this Ormond could but shrug his shoulders, being able to find -no answer to such remark. Therefore, at last--for all was not decided -on the instant, but only after many more councils and much further -argument--it was resolved that the fleet should remain no longer, nor, -of course, the land forces neither. - -But while all these determinations were being come to, I had had more -than one interview with Rooke and Ormond (both of whom had entertained -and made much of, nor ceased ever their commendations of, me), since -it was very necessary that a decision should be come to as to what was -to be my future course. For my work was done, my connection with this -fleet over; I had no more business there. It was time I got back to my -own regiment. Only how to get there--that was the question! - -"You will scarce find at any port, Spanish or Portuguese," said the -admiral to me, "a vessel putting to sea now; the risk is too great. -For, consider, we are all about, and none know what may be our next -move--this one has frightened all this part of the world. Then that -old dog, Benbow, lieth in wait farther up. While to make the seas -still more dangerous, the French ships of war and the privateers are -everywhere. In truth, all traffic on the water is at an end for a -time." - -"Tis not so on land, though, sir," I ventured to say, "with a good -horse I would undertake----" - -"What!" exclaimed Ormond, with a laugh, "not surely to make your way -to Flanders by land! You would scarce try that." - -"Ay! but I would, though, my Lord Duke," I said, laughing, too, at the -look of amazement on his face. "In very truth, I would. I have thought -it all over." - -"'Tis impossible! You would never arrive." - -"Your Grace, I think I should. Permit me to explain. We are here in -Spain----" - -"Ay," said Rooke, interposing, "and so we are. But, Mr. Crespin, you -would never get ashore, or, getting there, would never escape out of -Vigo. Remember, the town itself is not in our hands, and the moment we -were gone you would be set upon, or, even though you should be -unmolested while we remain here, you would be followed from Vigo -and----" - -"Sir," I interrupted in my excitement, "this is my plan: There -is a seaport hard by here, called Viana, and 'tis in Portuguese -territory--therefore neutral--yet inclining more to us than to -France." - -"Aye," said Rooke, "and will come over to us ere long. The king leans -to our side the most, because we are strongest on the seas--this -taking of the galleons will decide him." - -"Meanwhile," I went on, "'tis neutral. Now, from there I can make my -way to Spain----" - -"There's the rub! When you are in Spain. And afterward, in France. -What then?" - -"In both countries I can be a Frenchman," and now I saw these two -great officers look at me attentively. "I have the French tongue very -well--well enough to pass through Spain as a Frenchman, while--when in -France--I can pass as a Spaniard who knows the French." - -"'S heart!" exclaimed Ormond, slapping of the table with his be-ringed -hand, "but I would you were in one of my regiments. You have a brain -as well as a stalwart form. You must go far; and shall, if my word is -any good with Jack Churchill." - -"My Lord Duke, you are most gracious. Yet may I not ask if the plan is -a fair one? At least, remembering that, by sea, the way is closed." - -Fair or not fair, at least I brought them to it--more especially -since, even though they had most utterly disapproved of my proposed -method, they could neither of them have opposed it. For I was the Earl -of Marlborough's officer; nay, more, I was his own particular and -private messenger; I had come under his orders, and was still under -them. Moreover, his last words to me had been: "Do your duty; fulfil -the task I charge you with; then make your way back to me as best you -can." That was all, yet enough. - -Therefore it was arranged without more demur, though Sir George Rooke, -who was now growing old, shook his head somewhat gravely, even as he -ceased endeavouring to turn me from what I had resolved on. - -"For," said he, kindly, "I like it not. You are still young--some -years off thirty, I should suppose--and you are a good soldier--too -good to be spared to any crawling Spaniard's knife or to fall into any -truculent Frenchman's hands. And I would have taken you to England and -put in the first queen's ship for Holland, had you chosen. Still, as -you will, you will. Only, be very careful." - -"Sir!" I said, touched at his fatherly consideration. "Be sure I will. -Yet I think I can take care of myself. I have a good sword and a -strong arm, and--well, one bullet is much the same as another. If one -finds me in Spain or France, 'twill be no worse than one in Flanders. -And, perhaps, my bullet is not moulded yet!" - -As for his Grace, he took a different tack, he being younger and more -_débonnair_ than the admiral. - -"Oddsbobs," he said, "bullets are bullets, and may be a soldier's lot -or not. But for you, Lieutenant, I fear a worse danger. You are a -good-looking fellow enough, with your height and breadth, blue eyes -and brown hair. Rather, therefore, beware of the Spanish girls, and -keep out of their way--or, encountering them, give them no cause for -jealousy! Oh! I know them, and--well, they are the devil! 'Tis they -who wield the knife--as often as not against those whom they loved -five minutes back." - -And, looking at the duke--who was himself of great manly beauty--I -could well enough believe he knew what he was talking of. For, if all -reports were true--but this matters not. - -The time had not, however, yet come, for some day or so, for me to set -out, since 'twas arranged that I should be put ashore by one of the -_Pembroke's_ boats when the fleet went out of the bay, and that then -my last farewell would be made to those amongst whom I had now lived -for some weeks. Meanwhile, Sir George asked me what had become of my -young friend, the Spanish gentleman, whom he called my "captive." - -Now, this young captive had had still another interview with him after -that first one, Sir George having sent for him from the Pembroke, into -which he had been temporarily received as a guest--since _La Sacra -Familia_ had been sunk by us after being dismantled of all in her of -any worth--and he had once more renewed his offer of taking him to -England. And it surprised me exceedingly--I being present at this -interview--to observe the extraordinary courtesy and deference which -he--who was more used to receive deference from his fellow-men than to -accord it--showed to the youth; for he took him very graciously by the -hand when he entered the cabin, led him to a seat, and, when there, -renewed once more that offer of which I have spoken. - -Indeed, his politeness was so great that I began to wonder if, by any -chance, the admiral knew of this young man being any one of extreme -importance, to whom it might be worth his while, as the chief -representative of England here, to pay court. Yet, so silly was that -wonderment that I dismissed it instantly from my mind, deciding that -it was pity for his youth and loneliness which so urged the other. - -"If you would go with us," he said, sitting by Belmonte's side, and -speaking in the soft, well bred tones which were special to him, "you -should be very welcome, I assure you, sir; and I do not say this as a -sailor speaking to one who has by chance fallen into his hands, so to -put it, but as an old man to a--to a young one; for, sir, I have -children myself, some young as you, some older; have sons and--and -daughters, and I should be most grateful to all who would be kind to -them." - -Now, as he spoke thus there became visible in Seńor Juan another trait -of character which I had scarce looked to see, it proving him to be a -youth of great susceptibility. For, as the admiral made his kindly -speech, I saw the beautiful dark eyes of the young man fill with -tears--'twas marvellous how handsome he appeared at this moment--and, -a second later, he had seized the old man's hand and had clasped it to -his breast and kissed it. - -But, even as he performed this action, I also saw Sir George start a -little, give, indeed, what was but the faintest of starts; yet beneath -the bronze upon his manly face there rose a colour which, had he not -been a sailor, and that a pretty old one, might have appeared to be a -blush. But because he was so manly and so English himself--being -always most courteous and well bred, though abhorring, as it seemed to -me, all signs of emotion--I concluded that this foreign style of -salutation did not commend itself over-much to him; yet he listened -very courteously, deferentially almost, it appeared, to the words of -gratitude which the youth was now pouring out--words of gratitude for -his offer, yet combined also with an absolute refusal of that offer. - -"Very well; since you will not, sir," he said, when the young man had -finished, "there is no more to be done. Yet, take a word of warning -from me, I beseech you. You will find it hard to reach England in a -better way than I have suggested to you. Both France and Spain must be -overrun with troops of all kinds at this time and--if you fall into -their hands with your papers about you, showing you are an English -subject--it may go hard. Also"--and now he tapped the cabin deck with -his red-heeled shoe and looked down at it for a moment--"also--you are -extremely well favoured. That, too, may injure you should--should--but," -he went on, and without concluding his last sentence, "you understand -what I mean," and now he gazed at Seńor Juan with clear, frank eyes; -gazed straight into his own. - -For the life of me I could not understand what he was driving at, even -if the youth himself could; since how a man should be injured by his -good looks, even though in a hostile country, I failed to conceive. -Certain, however, it was that the other understood well enough Sir -George's meaning--his next action showed plainly enough that he did. - -For now the rich warm colouring left his soft downless cheeks, even -the full lips became pale, and he lifted his long slim hand and thrust -it through the clusters of curls that hung over his forehead, as -though in some distress of mind; then said, a moment later, looking up -now and returning the admiral's glance fearlessly, while speaking very -low. - -"Yes, I understand. Yet, Seńor, have no fear." - -But I noticed, all the same, that he lifted his other hand as though -to deprecate Sir George saying another word, which gesture he too -seemed quite to understand, since he gave a half bow very solemnly ere -he turned away. - -Later, after Seńor Juan had departed, and when Admiral Hopson had come -over to the _Royal Sovereign_, to prepare for another of those endless -councils which took place daily, Sir George looked up at me from some -papers he was perusing, and said: "You are in the _Pembroke_, Mr. -Crespin. Where have they bestowed that young man?" - -"He is very comfortable, sir," I replied. "They have given him a spare -cabin in the after flat." - -"And the officers? Do they make him welcome, treat him with courtesy?" - -"Oh, yes, indeed. He is popular with them already, sings them sweet -songs accompanied by that instrument of his; is a rare hand at tricks -of all kinds with the pass-dice and cards, and so forth. They will -miss him when he has gone." - -"Humph! Does he say who or what he is--which island in the Indies he -belongs to--who are his kith and kin?" - -"He says not much, sir, on that score; except that he is well enough -to do--is traveling more or less to kill time--cares very little where -he goes to for the present, so that he sees the world. As for his -home, he appears best acquainted with Jamaica." - -"Ha!" said Sir George. "He says all that, does he? Yet, though 'tis -not permissible to doubt those who stand more or less in the degree of -guests, I somewhat suspect that young man of not being all he appears -to be. There is some other reason for his voyage to Europe than that -he gives; he comes not on mere pleasure only. I know that--some day if -you ever meet him again you will very likely know it, too, Mr. -Crespin." - -"Perhaps," exclaimed Admiral Hopson--who was soon to become Sir John -Hopson (with a good pension) for the gallant part he had played in the -late fight--"he was a friend of that accursed monk, although he has -not levanted as he did. And since you talk of meetings, why, i'fags, I -would like to meet that gentleman once more." - -"Levanted!" Sir George and I exclaimed together. "Is the monk set -out?" - -"Ay, he is," replied the other. "Went last night--the instant he could -get his necessaries out of the galleon's hold. It was discourteous, -too, since I had previously sent to crave a few words with him." - -"'S faith," Sir George exclaimed with a laugh, "you are not turning -Papist, old friend, are you? Didst want the monk to shrive or confess -you, or receive you into his church?" - -"Not I--no Papistical doings for me," the blunt old gentleman replied. -"The church my mother had me baptised in, and under whose blessing I -have been fighting all my life, is good enough for me to finish in. -Still, had I a foolish woman's mind to change, 'twould not be to that -man I should go." - -"Why!" exclaimed Sir George, "what know you of him? Yet--yet," and he -spoke slowly, "you know the Indies, Tom--and the monks are not always -what they might be. Did you chance to know him, since you sent to -demand an interview?" - -"I thought so," said the inscrutable old sea dog quietly, "wherefore I -sent asking him for a meeting. Yet, as our beloved friends the French -say, the cowl does not always make the monk. Hey? And, if 'tis the -man I think, 'twas not always the cowl and gown that adorned his -person--rather, instead, the belt and pistols, buff jerkin, scarlet -sash, long serviceable rapier handy, and--have at you, ha! one, two -and through you. Hey!" - -And as he spoke he made a feint of lunging at his brother admiral with -a quill that lay to his hand. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -"DANGERS WORSE THAN SHOT OR STEEL--OR DEATH." - - -Now I return to the beach at Viana, on which I stood after having -quitted the fleet--yet still, ere I go on, I must put you in the way -of knowing how it comes about that for companion I have Seńor Juan -Belmonte, who at this moment is making his way into what proved to be -a very filthy town in search of lodgings for us for the night. And -this is how it came about: - -When it was decided finally that I should part from the British -squadron on the day they cleared out--they intending to anchor over -night outside of Vigo bay and to send forward some frigates scouting -ere going on their way to England--I made mention to Belmonte that -such was my intention. Also I asked him--I finding of him in his -cabin, where he was reading a Spanish book of love verses--what he -meant to do with himself, since, if he did not leave the ship when, or -before, I did, he would be forced to accept Sir George's invitation to -proceed to England with him. - -"Oh, my friend!" he said, with ever the soft, gentle smile upon his -handsome features, "my friend and conqueror"--for so he had taken to -terming me--"I want no terrible journey to England in these great -fierce ships of war. Tell me, tell me, _amígo mio_, what you are going -to do yourself. Your plans! Your plans!" - -"My plans," I said, seeing no reason why I should not divulge them to -him, since it was impossible he could do me any hurt, even if so -inclined, which I thought not very likely, "are simple ones. I go -ashore at Viana, find a horse--one will carry me part of the journey, -then I can get another--and so, by God's will, get to the end, to my -destination." - -"But the destination. The destination. Where is it? Tell me that." - -"The destination is Flanders, the seat of the present war. I am a -soldier. My place is there." - -"Aye, aye," he replied. "I know. You have told me. Your service is not -with these ships nor their soldiers, but with others--a great army, -far north." - -"That is it," I said. - -"And you will travel all that way--mean to travel--alone!" - -"I must," I said, "if I intend to get there. There is no other way." - -"Take me with you!" he exclaimed, suddenly, springing impetuously to -his feet from the chair in which he sat. "Take me with you! I will be -a good companion--amuse you, sing to you, wile away the long hours, -stand by your side. If necessary," yet he said this a little slower, -and with more hesitation, as I thought, "fight with you." - -Now, putting all other objections which rose to my mind away for the -moment, this last utterance of his did not recommend him very strongly -to me. "Fight for me, indeed!" I thought. "A fine fighter this would -be!--a youth who had turned pale at seeing a dead man or two floating -by in the water after the battle, or at hearing the shriek of a -wounded one as we rowed past him on our way to the _Royal Sovereign!_" - -However, aloud I said: - -"Seńor Belmonte, I fear it cannot be as you desire. The road will be -hard and rough, the journey long; there will be little opportunity for -singing and jiggettings. Moreover, death will always be more or less -in the air. If, in Spain or France, I am discovered--nay, even -suspected of being what I am, an English soldier--'twill be short -shrift for me. I shall be deemed a spy, and shot, or hung to the -nearest tree. Take, therefore, my counsel at once, and follow it. Go -you to England in this ship, as the admiral invites you. That way you -will be safe and easy." - -"No, no, no," he answered. "I will not; I will not. I will go with -you. I like you," he said, with a most friendly glance. "If--if you go -alone--if we part here--we shall never meet again. That shall not be. -I am resolved. And--and--only let me go, and I will be so good! I -promise. Will not sing a note--will--see there!" and, like a petulant -boy as he was, he seized his viol d'amore, which hung on a nail in the -cabin, and dashed it to the floor, while, a moment later, he would -have stamped his foot into it had I not stopped him. "Yes, I will -break it all to pieces. Since it offends you, I will never strike -another note on it, nor will I ever sing again--not in your hearing, -at least--though I have known some who liked well enough to hear me -play--and sing, too." - -"Juan," I said, not knowing in the least why his impassioned grief -moved me so much as to address him thus familiarly, which I had never -done before, "it offends me not at all; instead, I have often listened -gratefully to the music of your voice and viol. But now--now--on such -a journey as I go it would be out of place, even if you were there, -which you must not be." - -"I must. I must. I must," he answered. "I will. You called me Juan -just now--ah! you are my friend, or you would not speak thus. Oh!" he -went on, and now he clutched my arm and gazed fervently into my face, -"do not refuse. And see, think, Mervan," pronouncing my name thus, and -in a tone that would have moved a marble heart, "I shall be no trouble -to you. I can ride, oh! like a devil when I choose--I have ridden with -the Mestizos and natives in the isles--and I can use a pistol or -petronel, also a sword. See," and he whipped his rapier off the bed -where it was a-lying, drew it from its sheath impetuously, as he did -everything, and began making pass after pass through the open door of -the cabin into the gangway. "I know what to do. Also, remember, I can -speak Spanish when we are in Spain--pass for a Spaniard if 'tis -necessary--and--and--and----" he broke off, "if you will not take me -with you, why, then, I will follow you; track you like a shadow, sleep -like a dog outside the inn in which you lie warm and snug; ay! even -though you beat me and drive me away for doing so." - -Again and still again I resisted, yet 'twas hard to do; for, though I -had spoken against his singings and playings, and kept ever before my -eyes the stern remembrance of my duty, which was to make my way -straight to my goal and crash through all impediments, I could not but -reflect that this bright, joyous lad by my side would help to cheer -many a lonely hour and many a gloomy mile. Yet again I spoke against -the project, putting such thoughts aside. - -"Child," I said, "you do not know, do not understand. Our--my--path -will be beset with dangers. _I_ know what I am doing, what lies before -me. Listen, Juan. 'Tis more than like that I shall never reach -Flanders, never ride with my old troops again, never more feel a -comrade's hand clasped in mine; may perish by the wayside, have my -throat cut in some lonely inn, be shot in the back, taken as a spy. -Yet 'tis my duty. I am a soldier and a man; you are----" - -"Yes?" with an inward catching of the breath, a flash from the dark -eyes. - -"A boy; a lad; also, you say, well enough to do, with a long and happy -life before you, no call upon you to fling that life away. Juan, it -must not be." - -"It shall," he said, leaning forward toward me. "It shall; I swear it -by my dead mother's memory. Boy! Lad, you say. So be it. Yet with the -will and determination of a hundred men. To-morrow, Mervan, to-night, -to-day, if I can get a boat to the great ship out there, I visit the -admiral and ask him to put me ashore with you. And he will do it. -Great as he is, in command over all you English here, I have a power -within," and he struck his breast with his hands, "a power over him -which will force him to do as I wish. Do you dare me--challenge me?" - -"No," I answered quietly, though in truth somewhat amazed at his -words, while still remembering the strange deference Sir George had -shown all along to the youth. "I dare to say you may prevail--with -him." - -"Aye--with him!" and now he laughed a little, showing the small pearly -white teeth, somewhat. "With him! I understand. But you mean not with -you also. Yet, with you, too, I shall prevail. I will follow you till -you give me leave to keep ever by your side. Remember, if I am not -Spanish, I have lived in Spain's dependencies. I can be very Spanish -when I choose," and again he laughed, and again the white teeth -glistened beneath the scarlet lips. - -"If," I said, scarce knowing or understanding what power was -influencing me, making me a puppet in this youth's hands--yet still a -yielding one!--"the admiral gives his consent to put you ashore, then -I----" - -"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, Mervan?" he interposed quickly. - -"Then I will not withhold mine. Come with me if you choose--remember, -'tis at your own risk." - -In a moment his whole face was transfigured with joy. Seeing that joy, -I deemed myself almost a brute to have ever tried to drive him away -from me, although I had endeavoured to do so as much for his own -safety as my own. He laughed and muttered little pleased expressions -in Spanish which I neither understood nor am capable of setting down -here; almost I thought he would Have flung his arms around my neck and -embraced me. Indeed, it seemed as though he were about to do so, but, -suddenly recollecting himself, desisted--perhaps because he knew that -to us English such demonstrations were not palatable. - -And now I have to tell how Sir George placed no obstruction in the -way, allowing him to go ashore with me; yet, when he heard that we -were to travel together the look upon his face was one of extreme -gravity, almost of sternness. Also, he maintained a deep silence for a -moment or two after I had told him such was to be the case, and sat -with his eyes fixed on me as though he were endeavouring to read my -very inmost thoughts. But at last he said quietly, and with even more -than usual of that reserve which characterised him: - -"You have found out nothing about this young man yet, Mr. Crespin, -then?--know nothing more about him than you have known from the first? -Um?" - -"I know nothing more, sir." - -Again he paused awhile, then spoke once more, with the slightest -perceptible shrug of his shoulders as he did so: - -"Very well. 'Tis your affair, not mine. You are not under my command, -but that of the Earl of Marlborough. You must do as seems best to you. -Yet have a care what you are about." Then he leant forward toward me, -and said: "Mr. Crespin, you have done extremely well--have gained a -high place in our esteem. When his Lordship reads what the Duke of -Ormond and myself have to say about you, you will find your promotion -very rapid, I think. Do not, I beseech of you--do not imperil it in -any way; do not be led away into jeopardising the bright future, the -brilliant career, that is before you. Run on no rock, avoid every -shoal that may avert your successful course." - -"Sir," said, "I am a soldier with many unknown dangers before me. This -boy can add nothing to their number. Yet, sir, for your gracious -consideration for me I am deeply grateful." - -Still he regarded me, saying nothing for a moment or so, then spoke -again: - -"Dangers!" he said--"the dangers every honest soldier or sailor -encounters in his calling are nothing; they are our portion; must be -avoided, if may be; if not, must be accepted. And he who falls in the -battle has naught to repine at--at least he falls honourably, leaves a -clean memory behind." - -"Sir!" - -"But there are other dangers that are worse than shot, or steel--or -death! Many a brave soldier and sailor has gone under from other -causes than these. Mr. Crespin, I say no more--have, perhaps, said too -much, were it not that you have strangely interested me." Then, -abruptly, he went on, and as though with the intention of forbidding -any more remarks on that subject: "Captain Hardy shall be instructed -to send you both ashore on the morning after we go out. Here are some -papers from the duke and myself to the Earl of Marlborough. Be careful -of them; they relate to you alone. I--we--hope they will assist you to -go far." - -I bowed and murmured my thanks, for which he observed there was no -necessity whatever, then gave me his hand and said: - -"Farewell, Mr. Crespin; we may not meet again. I wish you all you can -desire for yourself. Farewell." - -But he uttered no further word of warning of any kind, and so let me -go away from him wondering blindly what it was he knew of this young -man; wondering above all what it was against which he covertly put me -on my guard. - -Later on--though not for some time to come--I knew and understood. - - * * * * * * * * * - -I found Juan--after the sails of the boat from the _Pembroke_ had -faded into little white specks upon the surface of the water, until -they looked no bigger than the flash made by seagull's wing--found him -outside the one and only inn of this small town, lolling against the -doorpost--made dirty and greasy with the shoulders of countless -Algarvian peasants--and amusing himself by trying to make a group of -ragged children understand the pure Spanish he was speaking to them. - -Then, as he saw me crossing the filthy street, he came over to meet -me--never heeding the splashing of mud administered to the handsome -long boots which he had now upon his legs, though he was dainty, too, -in his ways--and began telling me of what arrangements he had already -made for our journey. - -"First, _mío amigo_," he said, joyously, "about the horses. Two are -already in command. One, a big bony creature which is for you, Mervan, -because you also are big and stalwart, and require something grand to -carry you--while for me there is a jennet with, oh! such a fiery eye -and a way of biting at everything near it. But have no fear! Once I am -on its back, and _por Diôs!_ it will do as I want, not as it wants." - -I laughed, then asked if these animals were to be our own. - -"Oh, yes, our own," he said. "Our very own. I have bought them--they -are ours. And, if they break down--yours, I think, must surely do -so--why, we will turn them loose into the nearest wood, and--buy some -more." - -"At this rate we shall spend some money ere we strike Flanders," I -said. - -"Ho! Ho! Money--who cares for money! I have plenty, enough for you and -me, too. We will travel comfortably, _mon ami_; have the best of -everything. Plenty of money, and--and, Mervan, do you know, if it was -not for one of the most accursed villains who ever trod the face of -the earth, I should be so rich that--that--oh! it is impossible to -say. Mervan," catching at my arm with that boyish impetuosity of his -which ever fascinated me; "you are English, therefore you know all the -English, I suppose. In Jamaica and Hispaniola and all the other -islands we know everybody. Mervan, who is, or where is, James Eaton?" - -"James Eaton!" I exclaimed, with a laugh at his innocent supposition -that we were all acquainted with each other in England as they are in -the Indies; yet 'tis true that he could not know that our capital city -alone had so vast and incredible a population as half a million -souls! "James Eaton! Who and what is he? An officer? If so, I might, -perhaps, know, or get to know, something of him." - -"An officer? Oh! yes, _por Diôs!_ he is an officer--has been once. But -not such as you or those brave ones we have just parted from. An -officer. _Corpo di Bacco!_ A villain, _vagamundo_, Mervan--a -_filibustier_--what the English call in the islands a damned pirate." - -"Humph!" I said. "A friend of yours? Eh, Juan?" - -"A friend of mine? Ho! Yes. Mon Dieu! He is a friend. Wait--when we -are in England you shall see how much I love my friend. Oh, yes! You -shall see. When I take him by his beard and thrust this through his -black heart," and he touched the quillon of the sword by his side as -he spoke. - -"And is he the villain who has stolen your wealth?" I asked, as we -entered now the door of the inn, I nearly falling backward from the -horrible odours which greeted my nostrils when we did so. - -"He is the villain. Oh! 'tis a story. Such a story. You shall hear. -But not now--not now. Now we will eat and drink and be gay." - -"But," I said, my curiosity much aroused, "if he has stolen your -wealth how comes it you are rich, as you say? Have you two -fortunes--two sources of wealth?" - -"Yes," he replied, with his bright, sweet smile. "Two fortunes--the -one he stole, the other--but no matter for fortunes now. I have enough -and plenty for myself--and, Mervan, for you if you want it. Plenty." - -"I, too, have enough for present wants," I said. "Quite enough." - -"_Bueno_. _Bueno_," he said. "Then all is well. And now to -eat, drink and be gay until to-morrow. Then away, away, away to -Flanders--anywhere, so long as we are together. Joy to-day, work and -travel to-morrow. But, Mervan," and once more he placed his hand -supplicatingly on my arm. "Forgive. Forgive me. I--I have brought the -viol d'amore." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -"IT IS WAR TIME! IF IT MUST BE, IT MUST." - - -We were English gentlemen furnished with passports to enable us to -travel through Spain--which might not be difficult, since there were -likely to be as many English troops in that country as there were -French, while one-half of the inhabitants wavered in their espousals -of either us and Austria or Louis and Philip. - -That, at least, was what we _meant to give_ out if anyone in -Portugal--and in Viana especially--should make it their business to -ask us any questions, which, however, was not very likely to be the -case; for, in this miserable hole--and miserable it was beyond all -thought--there were none who could have any possible right to so ask -us of our affairs, there being no consul of any country whatever in -the place--and, for the rest, we were English. That was enough; we -were English, come ashore from that great fleet whose deeds of the -last few weeks had spread consternation for leagues around and on -either side of Vigo, and whose topmasts were now very plainly visible -a mile or so out from the shore; topsails, too, which would be -conspicuous enough to all in Viana for another day or so, until the -scouts returned with their news; and before this fleet had disappeared -we should be gone, too--on our road to Spain, to France, to Flanders. - -That road was already decided on--we were poring over the chart now -upstairs in the sleeping room Juan had secured for me, he having -another one for himself on the opposite side of the corridor--poring -over it by the light of an oil lamp and the flames cast by a bright -cork-wood fire which we had caused to be lit, since 'twas already very -cold, it being now November. - -We had resolved, however, that the great high road to France would not -be the very best, perhaps, for our purpose--the road which, passing -through Portugal into Spain at Miranda and Tuy, runs through -Valladolid and Burgos up to Bayonne and France, for these towns were -in the kingdoms of Leon and Castile, and here all were, we learnt, for -Philip and France; but we knew also that with other parts of Spain it -was no so. Away on the eastern shores, Catalonia and Valencia had -declared for Charles of Austria and the allies. Nearer to where we -were, namely, in Galicia, above Portugal, they wavered. Yet 'twas said -now that they inclined toward us, perhaps because Vigo is in Galicia -and, therefore, they had had a taste of how we could be either good -friend or fateful foe. Certainly we had shown we could well be the -latter! - -"Yes," I said to Juan, my finger on the chart; "this way will be our -road. Across the frontier where the Minho divides the two countries, -then up its banks to Lugo, and so through the Asturias to Biscay and -Bayonne. That is our way, and, after all, 'tis not much farther than -t'other. And safer, too. If Galicia leans to us, so may the Asturians. -If not, we shall be no worse off than if we traversed Leon, Castile -and Navarre." - -"_Vogue la galčre!_" cried the boy, who generally varied his -exclamations from Spanish to French and French to English--whichever -came uppermost--"I care nothing. We shall be together, _mio amigo_; -that's enough for me." - -"Together for a time," I put in; "for a time. Remember, once we reach -Flanders--if we ever do--which is more than doubtful--my service -claims me. 'Tis war there, hard knocks and buffets for me--for you the -first sloop or vessel of any sort that will run you over to the -English coast." - -"Oh, la, la!" said Juan, "'tis not come yet. We have a month, at -least, together, and perhaps even then we will not part. This great -soldier, this fierce captain you speak of, this English lord who -contends with France--perhaps he will let me fight too. Give me--what -is it you call it?--a pair of colours. Then we could fight side by -side, Mervan, could we not?" - -I nodded and muttered: "Perhaps," though in truth I thought nothing -was more unlikely. In some way I had come to have none too great an -opinion of the youth's courage or capacity for fighting, remembering -how he had paled, nay, almost shuddered, at the sight of those poor -dead ones floating in Vigo harbour; while for the "pair of -colours"--well, there was plenty of interest being made on all sides -by those of influence in England to obtain such things for their own -kith and kin. There would be mighty little chance for this young -stripling to be received into any regiment. Therefore I went on with -our plans, saying, as I still glanced at the chart: - -"That must be the road. And from Lugo across the mountains to Baos, -then to Elcampo, and so to Bilbao up to Bayonne. That is the way." - -"To Lugo," he repeated, meditatively. "To Lugo. Humph! To Lugo. That -is the way they went, you know--Chateaurenault and his captains--when -they fled from you." - -Now I started when he said this, for I had, indeed, forgotten the -slight rumour I had heard to that effect--forgotten it amidst all the -excitement of the stirring times that had followed the battle and the -taking of the galleons. Yet now the fact was recalled to my mind, I -did not let it alter my determination, and after a moment's -reflection, I said: - -"Still it matters not. They will not have gone that way for the same -reason that we shall go it. On their road to France! Chateaurenault -will not stay there, but rather push on to Paris to give an account of -his defeat--make the best excuses he can to his master. Nor will he -come back--an he does, he will find nothing here. His ships are sunk -or being carried to England, and 'tis so with the galleons that are -not themselves at the bottom of the ocean. 'Tis very well. To-morrow -we set out for Lugo, take the first step on our road." - -And on the morrow we did set out--amidst, perhaps, as disagreeable -circumstances as could be the case. - -For when we rose early the snow was falling in thick flakes; also -'twas driven into our faces by a stiff northeasterly wind which -brought it down from the Cantabrian mountains, and soon our breasts -were covered with a layer of it which we had much ado to prevent from -freezing on them, and could only accomplish by frequent buffets. Yet -we were not cold, neither, since our horses were still able to trot -beneath it--for as yet it lay not upon the roads, and we could thus -keep ourselves warm. Yet, withal, we made some ten leagues that -day--the animals under us proving far better than might with reason -have been expected, judging by their lean and sorry appearance--and -arrived ere nightfall at a small village--yet walled and fortified, -because it lies close on to the Spanish frontier--called Valenza. And -here we rested for the night, finding, however, at first great -difficulty in being permitted to get into it, and, next, an equal -trouble in obtaining lodgings in the one inn of the place. - -Also we learnt that it behooved us to be very careful when we set out -next day, or we might find it impossible to enter Spain, which now lay -close at hand, and separated only by the Minho from this place; or, -being in, might find it hard to go forward. - -"For," said the host, a filthy, unkempt creature who looked as though -he were more accustomed to attending to cattle in their sheds than to -human beings, but who by great good fortune was able to speak broken -French, "at Tuy, where you must pass into Spain, they are rigourous -now as to papers, letting none enter who are not properly provided. -_Basto!_ 'tis not a week ago that one went forward who was passed -through with difficulty. And a Spaniard, too, though from the Indies." - -"From the Indies!" exclaimed Juan, with impetuosity. "From the Indies! -Why, so am I and--and this seńor," looking at me, "both from the -Indies. Therefore, we can pass also, I should suppose." - -"Oh, for that," answered the man, "I know not. Yet this old man went -through, somehow. He had come up from the south--from Cadiz, as I -think, or Cartagena, or the Sierras--in a great coach and four, -travelled as a prince, had good provisions with him, and ho!--he gave -me to taste of it!--some strong waters that made me feel like a -prince, too, though the good God knows I am none!" and he cast his -eyes round the filthy room into which we had been shown. "Also, he had -his papers all regular; also," and here he gave a glance at us of -unspeakable cunning, "he was generous and open-handed. That spared him -much trouble." - -"Perhaps 'twill spare us, too!" again exclaimed Juan. "We can also be -generous and open-handed." - -"It will do much. Yet the papers! The papers! Have you the papers?" - -Now, we had no papers whatsoever that would stand us in such stead; -therefore, when we were alone together in the room which was to be -ours, and in which there were two miserable, dirty-looking beds, side -by side, covered with sheepskins for coverlets--and perhaps for -blankets, too!--we fell to discussing what must be done; for it was at -once plain and easy to see that at Tuy we should never get through. I -had no papers nor passports whatever, while Juan bore about him only -those which proved that he was a subject of England. - -"Yet," said he, "they knew not that on board _La Sacra Familia_, and, -because I could speak Spanish as well as they, deemed me a Spaniard. I -wonder if I could get through that way." - -"_You_ might, possibly," I replied. "I am sure I never should. The -Spanish which I know is scarce good enough for that." - -"'Tis true," he said, reflectively--"true enough. Yet, you have the -French. See, Mervan, here is an idea. I am a Spaniard and you are a -Frenchman, for the moment. Both countries are sworn friends now as -regards their government, if not their people. Why should not we be -travelling together as natives of those lands?" - -"An we were," I answered, "we should not be without passports. -Remember, we come to them from Portugal; therefore, to have gotten -into Portugal as either Spanish man or Frenchman, we should have -wanted papers; and we have none. Consequently, the first question -asked us will be, How got we into Portugal? Then what reply shall we -make? That we came from the English fleet, which has just destroyed -their galleons? That will scarce do, Juan, for our purpose, I think." - -Acknowledging such to be the case, Juan sat himself down on the dirty -bed and began to ponder. - -"At least we will not be whipped," he muttered, "and at the -outset, too. Mervan, we must find another road somehow, or, better -still--there must be some part of the frontier which runs the northern -length of this miserable land, and which is unguarded. Can we not get -across without any road? Up one side of a mountain and down another, -and so--into Spain!" - -"'Tis that I have thought of. Yet there are the horses--also a river -to cross. And, as luck will have it, the mountains hereabouts are none -too high nor dense with woods, nor do they run from east to west, but -rather south and north. Such as there are, you can see from this -window," and I pointed in the swift, on-coming darkness of the -November evening to where they could be seen across the river, their -summits low, and over them a rusty rime-blurred moon rising. - -Then I went on: - -"Juan, we must tempt the landlord with some of that _largesse_ which -the old man who came in the coach seems to have distributed so -lavishly--only, he has bestowed it on the Spanish side--ours must -begin here. Come, let us go and see what can be done with him." - -"But what to do?" the boy said, looking at me with his strange eyes -full of intelligence and perhaps anxiety. - -"This: there must be some way of traversing the river when there is no -town on either side--if the worst came to the worst we could swim it -on our horses at night." - -"On such a night as this!" exclaimed Juan, shuddering and glancing out -through the uncurtained window at the flakes of snow which still fell. -"It would be death," he whispered, shuddering again. - -"You are easily appalled," I said, speaking coldly to him for the -first time since our acquaintance. "Yet, remember, I warned you of -what you might expect in such an expedition as this. You would have -done better to accept the admiral's offer. A cabin in the _Pembroke_ -would have been a lady's withdrawing room in contrast to what we may -have to encounter." - -"Forgive me. Forgive," he hastened to say pleadingly. "Indeed, indeed, -Mervan, I am bold and no coward--but, remember, I am of the tropic -south, and 'tis the cold of the river that appalls me--not fear for my -life. Like many of our clime, I can sooner face death than -discomfort." - -"There will be enough facing of both ere we have done--that is, if we -ever get farther than here," I said, almost contemptuously. - -"So be it," he exclaimed, springing to his feet and evidently bitterly -hurt by my tone. Indeed, 'twas very evident he was, since the tears -stood in his eyes. "So be it. We face it! Now," and he rapped the -table between us as though to emphasise his words, "continue your -plans, make your suggestions, bid me swim rivers, cross mountains, -plunge into icy streams or burning houses, and see if I flinch or draw -back again. Only--only," and his voice sank to its usual soft tones, -"do not be angry with me." - -That it was impossible to be angry with him long I felt, nor, for some -unexplained reason, could I despise him for his evident objection to -discomfort--the discomfort which would arise from so trifling a -thing--to me, a cuirassier--as swimming one's horse across a river on -a winter night. And, as my contempt, such as it was, vanished at once -at his plea to me not to be angry with him, I exclaimed: - -"At worst it shall be made as light for you as may be, since you are -only a boy after all! And if that worst comes," I continued, in a good -natured, bantering way, which caused the tears to disappear and the -smiles to return, which brought back to my mind a song my good old -father used to sing about "Sunshine after Rain"--"if that worst comes, -why, I will swim the river with you on my back, and your jennet shall -swim by my horse's side. Now, for the landlord!" - -We found that unclean personage a-sitting over a fair good fire, which -roared cheerfully up a vast open chimney from the stone floor upon -which the logs were, with, by his side, a woman who was blind, as we -saw very quickly when she turned eyes on us which were naught but -white balls with no pupils to them. And, because we at once perceived -that there was no power of sight in those dreadful orbs, I made no -more to do, but, slipping of my finger into my waistcoat pocket, -pulled out two great gold doubloons--worth more than our guineas--and -held them up before him. Then I said in French, and speaking low, -because I knew not whether that stricken one might understand or not: - -"See, this will pay our addition and more. Now listen. You may equally -as well have them as the _guarda frontéra_ at Tuy. Will you?" - -He nodded, grasping the pieces--I noticed that he kept them from -clinking against each other, perhaps because he wanted not his wife to -know that he had gotten them--then put each into a different pocket, -and said: "She understands not the French. Speak." - -"We have no papers. Listen; we are English! We must cross into Spain, -Tell us some other road; put us in the way, and--see--to-morrow -morning, these are for you also." - -And I took forth two more of the golden coins. - -He looked at us a moment, then said: "You--hate--Spain?" Again I -nodded. - -"So all of us here at Valenza," he went on. "A fierce, cruel neighbor, -would trample on us because we are weak. Will seize us yet an England -helps not. Crush them--and France--the world's plague! Listen!" - -Then, as we bent our heads, he went on: "From here there is a bye-road -leads to the river bank; it crosses by a wooden bridge into Spain, a -league this side of Melagasso. I will put you in the way in the -morning. Once over that bridge, there is a road cut from the rock that -mounts two hundred paces. There at the summit is the _guarda -frontéra_. Two men are there, an old and a young one. Kill them, and -you are through, leaving no trace behind. Afterward, there is no sign -of life for three leagues." - -"Kill them!" I exclaimed. "Must that be done?" - -"Ay--or silence them. But--killing is best. And--and--the cliff is -high, the river runs deep beneath. Cast them in, and you are safe." - -"They may see us passing the bridge--kill _us_ ere we can mount the -road." - -"Do it in the night," the fellow whispered. "In the night, when all is -dark. And 'twill be almost nightfall ere you are there. Do it then." - -"There is no other way, no other entrance to Spain?" - -"None--without papers." - -"Good. It is war time! If it must be, it must." - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -"DRAW SWORDS!" - - -Another night had come--'twas already dark--and Juan and I sat on our -horses in the cork wood, at the end of which we could hear the Minho -swirling along beneath the ramshackle bridge that divided Portugal -from Spain. And, as good fortune would have it, there was on this, the -Portuguese side, no _guarda frontéra_ whatever. Perhaps that poor, -impoverished land thought there was naught to guard from ingress, also -that nothing would be brought from Spain to them. The traffic set all -the other way! - -Because there was no need for us to be too soon where we were now; -indeed, because 'twas not well that we should be here ere nightfall, -the landlord had not awakened me until nine in the morning. And then, -on his doing so, I perceived that the other sheepskin-clad bed by my -side had not been occupied at all. Wherefore I started up in some -considerable fright, calling out to him through the door to know where -was my friend, the young seńor, whom I had left warming himself at the -great fire below over night, and saying that he would follow me to bed -ere long. - -"Oh! he is below," he replied. "Has passed the night in front of the -fire wrapped in his cloak, saying that 'twas there alone he could keep -himself from death by the cold. He bids me tell you all is well for -your journey, the horses fresh; also there is a good meal awaiting -you"; whereon I performed my ablutions, hurried on my garments and -rapidly made my way to the public room below. - -"Juan," I said, "you should have warned me of your intention of -remaining below. This is not good campaigning, nor comradeship. Had I -awakened in the night and found you missing, I should have descended -to seek for you, fearing that danger had come to you, and 'tis not -well for travellers to be aroused unnecessarily from their beds on -winter nights. Also we should keep always together. Soldiers--and you -have to be one now!--on dangerous service should not separate." - -"Forgive," he said, as, it seemed, he was always saying to me, and -uttering the words in his accustomed soft, pleading voice. "Forgive. -But--oh! Mervan!" pausing a moment as though seeking for some excuse -for having deserted me for the night--"oh! Mervan! that bed was so--so -filthy and untempting. And the room so cold, when without fire. And it -was so warm here. I could not force myself to leave this room." - -Remembering what he had said about those who came from the tropics -dreading cold and discomfort even more than death, I thought I -understood how he should have preferred sleeping here to doing so -above. Therefore, I merely said: - -"There might be worse beds than that you would not use--may be worse -for us ere long. Still, no matter. You slept warm here as I did -upstairs. Yet 'tis well I did not waken. Now let us see for breakfast -and our departure," and giving a glance at the landlord, who was -bringing in a sort of thick soup in which I saw many dried raisins -floating, also some eggs and coarse black bread, as well as some -chocolate which smelt mighty good and diffused a pleasing aroma -through the room, I tapped my waistcoat pocket to remind him of the -other doubloons that were in it. And he nodded understandingly. - -The journey to where we now stood this evening was as uneventful as -though we had been traveling in safety in our own England. The road -into which the man had put us in the morning led first of all through -countless villages--I have since heard that in all Europe there is no -land so thickly sown with villages as this poor one of Portugal--then -trailed off into a dense chestnut-fringed track that was no longer a -road at all. - -And now we knew that we were close unto the spot where our first -adventure on the journey, that we hoped might at last bring us to -Flanders, must of necessity take place. We were but half an hour's -ride from the crazy bridge the man had spoken of as connecting his -country with Spain--the bridge on the other side of which was the -rocky path, with, at the top of it, the hut in which we should find -two Spanish _guardas frontéras_ armed to the teeth and prepared to bar -the way to all who could not show their right to pass. - -Yet we were resolved to pass--or leave our bodies there. - -"There is," the landlord had said, "a holy stone at the spot where the -path leading to the bridge enters the cork wood. You cannot mistake -it. Upon that stone is graven the Figure, beneath it an arrow pointing -the way to Melagasso. Your path lies to the left and thus to the -bridge. God keep you." - -We left that stone as he had directed, with one swift glance -upward at those blessed features--I noticing Juan crossed himself -devoutly--slowly over fallen leaves that lay sodden on the earth -beneath their mantle of snow, and over dried branches blown to the -earth, our horses trod. And so for a quarter of an hour we pursued our -way, while still the night came on swifter and swifter until, at last, -we could scarce see each other's forms beneath the thick foliage above -our heads. - -Yet we heard now that swirling, rushing river--heard its murmur as it -swept past its banks, and its deep swish as it rolled over what was -doubtless some great boulder stone out in the stream--heard, too, its -hum as it glided by the supports of the bridge that we knew was before -us. Also, we saw above our heads a light gleaming--a light that we -knew must come from the frontiermen's house. - -And we had to steal up to where that light twinkled brightly, in what -was now the clear, frosty air, since the snow had ceased--indeed, had -not fallen all day--and all was clear overhead; to steal up, and then, -if might be, make our hasty rush past on our horses' backs, or stay to -cross steel and exchange ball with those who barred our way. - -"Forward to the bridge!" I whispered to Juan, fearing that even from -where we were my voice might be borne on the clear night air up to -that height. "Loosen, also, your blade in its sheath! And your -pistols, too--are they well primed?" - -"Yes," he whispered back, his voice soft and low as a woman's when she -murmurs acknowledgment of her love. "Yes." - -"You do not fear?" - -"I fear nothing--we are together," and, as he spoke, I felt the long, -slim, gloved hand touch mine. - -A moment later we had left the shadow of the wood; we stood above the -sloping bank of the river rushing by; another moment and our horses' -feet would be upon the wooden bridge--its creaking quite apparent to -our ears as the stream swept under it. - -"'Tis God's mercy," I whispered again to him, "that the river is so -brawling; otherwise the horses' hoofs upon these boards would be heard -as plain as a musket's roar. Ha! I had forgotten!" - -"Forgotten what, Mervan?" the gentle voice of Juan whispered back. -"Forgotten what?" - -"If they should neigh! If there should be any of their kind up there!" -and as I spoke, as the thought came to me, I felt as though I myself -feared. - -"Pray God they do not; yet, if they do, it must be borne." And now I -noticed his voice was as firm as though he had experienced a hundred -such risks as this we were running. Then he added: "The Indians muffle -theirs with their serapes when they draw near a foe. Shall we do -that?" - -"No," I answered, "'tis too late. Let's on. Yet, remember, at the -slowest pace. Thus their hoofs will fall lighter." And again I -exclaimed: "Thank God, the river drowns their clatter!" - -Yet, a moment later, and I had cause for further rejoicing. From above -where that light twinkled there came a sound of singing--a rich, full -voice a-trolling of a song, with another voice joining in. - -Or was there more than one voice joining in? If so, we might have more -than the old man and the young one, of whom the landlord had spoken, -to encounter. Almost directly Juan confirmed my dread. - -"There are half a dozen there," he said, very calmly. "I know enough -of music to recognise that. What to do now?" - -"To go on," I answered. "See, we are across the bridge--there is the -road--in another moment we shall be ascending the path. Praise heaven, -we can ride abreast." - -And in that other moment we were riding abreast slowly up that path, -the snow that lay on it deadening now the sound of the horses' hoofs, -while the voices within helped also to silence them. - -"I know the song," Juan whispered--and I marvelled at his -calmness--his! the youth's who had been so nervous when there was -naught to fear, yet who now, when danger was close upon him, seemed to -fear nothing--"have sung it myself. 'Tis 'The Cid's Wedding.'" - -"'Twill not be songs about weddings that they will be engaged on," I -said, "if any come out of that hut during the next ten minutes; but -rather screeches of death--from us or them. Have your sword ready, -Juan, also your pistols." - -"They are ready," he said. "Yet what to do? Suppose any come forth ere -we are past the door, over the frontier. Am I to ride straight through -them--are we to do so?" - -"Ay. Sit well down in your saddle, give your nag his head, and--if any -man impedes your way, stand up in your stirrups, cut down straight at -him, or, if yours is not a cutting sword, thrust straight at the -breast of--Ha!" - -My exclamation--still under my breath, since my caution did not desert -me--was caused by what now met our eyes, namely, the opening of some -door giving on to the road in front of where the frontier cabin stood; -the gleaming forth into that road of a stream of light, and then the -coming out from the hut and the mingling of some four or five figures -of men in the glare. - -Now, when this happened, we had progressed up the hillside road -two-thirds of the way, so that we were not more than seventy paces, if -as much, from where those people were; yet, as I calculated, even at -this nearness to them, we might still, if all went well, escape -discovery. For we were under the shelter of the shelving rock which -reared itself to our left hands, and not out in the middle of the -road, which was here somewhat broad; and, therefore, to the darkness -of the night was added the still deeper darkness of the rock's -obscurity. And, I reflected, 'twas scarce likely any would be coming -our way from this party, which was evidently breaking up, since the -Portuguese and Spaniards did not, I thought, fraternise very much. -'Twas not very probable any would be returning our way. Consequently, -I deemed that we were safe, or almost so; that, soon, some of those in -the road would take themselves off, and would leave behind in the hut -none but the old man and the young man of whom the landlord had -spoken. Nay, more, a glance down the road in the direction of where we -were would, in the darkness of the night, reveal nothing of our -whereabouts. And I conveyed as much to Juan by a pressure of my hand, -yet leaning forward, too, over to his side and whispering: - -"All the same, be ready. It may come to a rush. If one of our horses -neighs or shakes itself--so much as paws the earth--if a bridle -jangles--we are discovered." - -And a glance from those bright eyes--I protest, I saw them glisten in -the darkness of the starlit night!--told me that he had heard and -understood. Told me, also, that he was ready. After that--after those -whispered words of mine, that responsive glance of his--we sat as -still as statues on our steeds, hardly allowing our breath to issue -from our lungs--watching--watching those figures. - -God! would they never separate? Would not some depart and the others -retire into the cabin and shut the door against the cold wintry night? -Offer us the opportunity to make one turn of the wrist on our reins, -give one pressure of our knees to the animals' flanks and dash up the -remains of the ascent and past the hut ere those within could rush out -and send a bullet after us from fusil, gun or musketoon? - -At last they gave signs of parting--we heard the _buenas noches_ and -the _adiós_ issuing from those Spanish throats; we saw two of the -men--their forms blurred and magnified in the outstreaming rays of the -lamp--clasp each other's hands; we knew that they were saying farewell -to one another. And then--curse the buffoon!--and then, when they had -even parted and two had turned toward the door to re-enter, and the -others had taken their first steps upon the road forward--then, I say, -one of these latter turned back, made signs to all the others, and, -when he had fixed their attention, began to dance and caper about in -the road, imitating for the benefit of his friends, as I supposed, -some dance or dancer he had lately seen. - -From the lips of my doubtless high-strung companion there came a -long-drawn breath; almost I could have sworn I heard the soft murmur -of a smothered Spanish oath; and then once more those whom we watched -parted from each other--the buffoonery was over, the imitation, if it -was such, finished. Again, with laughs and jokes, they broke up and -separated. - -"Our chance is at hand, at last!" I whispered. - -Was it? - -The others--those going away--had disappeared round a bend of both -rock and road; the two left behind were retiring into their house -when, suddenly, the last one stopped, paused a moment, put up his hand -to his head as though endeavouring to recall something, then put out -his other hand, seemed to grasp a lantern from inside the door, and, -slowly, began a moment later to descend the road where we sat our -steeds. - -And now we were discovered beyond all doubt; in a moment or so he -would perceive us; another, and he would challenge us; would shout -back to his comrade in the hut--perhaps call loud enough to attract -the attention of his departing friends. We should be shot down, our -horses probably hamstrung, we brought to earth, prisoners or dead. - -"Swords out!" I said to Juan, "and advance. Quick, put your horse to -the canter at once; ride past him--over him if need be." - -A moment later and we had flashed by the astonished man, the jennet -that bore Juan springing up the hill like a cat, my own bony but -muscular steed alongside; behind us we heard his roars; an instant -after the ping of a bullet whistled by my ears, fired at us by the -other one in the hut as we advanced; another moment and he was -out in the road, endeavouring to swing a wooden gate, that hung -on hinges attached to the cabin, across the road. Also, which was -worst of all, we heard answering calls from the men who had gone on -ahead--tramplings and shouts--we knew that they were coming back to -help. - -But we were at the gate now, and still it was not shut, there wanted -yet another yard or so ere its catch would meet the socket post, and, -shifting my reins into my sword hand, I seized its top bar, -endeavouring to bear it back by the combined weight of my horse and -myself upon the man striving to shut it. - -Then I heard the fellow at the gate call out something of which I -understood no word, heard Juan give a reply with--who would have -believed it of him at this moment--a mocking laugh; heard the word, -_Inglese_; knew intuitively that he had told them who and what we -were, and had defied them. - -And also, as I divined all this, I saw that the other men had -returned, had reached the gate and were lending their assistance to -aid in its being barred against us. - -It was war time, as I had said before; I took heart of grace in -remembering this, and I set to work to hew my way, even though I -killed all who opposed me, toward the distant goal I sought. One -brawny Spaniard who, even as he lent his whole weight to the gate, -drew forth a huge pistol, I cut down over those bars, he falling all -a-heap in the road; another I ran through the shoulder; and I saw the -steel of Juan's lighter sword gleam like a streak of lightning betwixt -the upper and the second bar; I heard the third man who had come back -give a yell of pain as it reached him, while a pistol he had just -fired fell to the ground--he falling a moment later on top of it. - -And now there was but the original man left at the gate, and still it -was not shut! Wherefore I brought the whole strength and power of my -body to force it back so that there should be room for us to pass. - -Yet, even as I did so, I had to desist, for from behind, I heard Juan -shout: - -"Mervan, Mervan, help me!" and on looking round I saw that the jennet -was riderless. Saw also, that he was down, that the man who had begun -to descend the hill was wrestling with him on the ground, and that, as -they struggled together, both were rolling over toward the lower part -of the precipice or rock side, which hung perpendicularly above the -swift flowing river. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE FIRST FIGHT. - - -In a moment I, too, was off my horse--had tied it and the jennet's -reins together--and had flung myself on the man--a big, brawny fellow -who had one arm around Juan's body while, with his disengaged hand, he -felt for a knife in his girdle. - -Even as I did so I saw that they were both perilously near the edge of -the rock which hung over the river, that in a few more moments both -must have gone over it--over and down, crashing through bushes and -shrubs until they fell into that rapid stream below, or were hurled on -to the timbers of the crazy bridge, with, probably, their bones broken -all to pieces. - -Yet, small as was the space left in which a third man might intervene, -be sure I lost no time in doing so, in flinging myself upon that -muscular Spaniard and in tearing him off his prey. Seizing him by -the collar of his jacket, one hand around his throat, I dragged him -from the boy--for I was as muscular as he, and, maybe, younger, -too--wrenched him to his feet and sent him reeling back into the road. - -"Catch the horses," I said to Juan, "quick. And mount yourself. Be -ready. Once I have disposed of this fellow there remains none but the -one at the gate." - -And, although the lad tottered as he rose to his feet, he did as I -bade him, and, securing the animals, which had but backed a few paces -down the road, got into his saddle again. Then he said--though -faintly: "I will go forward and dispose of the remaining man." - -Yet there was still this one to be disposed of--and I understood at a -glance that I had no easy task before me ere I could do so. - -He was a fellow of great bulk--this I could observe in the light of a -watery half moon that now peeped up over the bend of the rock by where -the cabin stood; also he was well armed. In his hand he held now a -long cavalry sword, which he had drawn from its steel scabbard with a -clash even as he staggered back against the rock; with his other hand -he fumbled at the silken sash around his waist, in which was the knife -he had endeavoured to draw against Juan. - -In God's mercy, he had no pistol! - -He muttered some hoarse words--to me they conveyed little--yet no -words were needed. I knew as well as though he had spoken my own -tongue that one of three things must happen now: That great inch-deep -blade either buried in my heart or my head cleft open with it, or my -straight English weapon through and through him! - -Then we set to it. - -As animals which are bereft of speech fight, so we fought now--only -more warily. For they fly at each other's throats, in a moment are -locked in each other's grasp, their fangs deep in the other's flesh. -It was not so with us. We had not to come too close, but rather to -guard and feint, to avoid each other till the moment, the one critical -and supreme moment, came. Thus we began. - -At first, perhaps, because of the deadly weight of his blade--better -for cut than thrust--he aimed twice at my head, and tried again a third -time, then jumped back with another of his--to me--unintelligible hoarse -and raucous exclamations; for, at that attempt, I had quickly--ay! and -easily, too--parried the blow, had disengaged my weapon, and, with a -rapid thrust, had nearly struck home--had missed the inside of his ribs -by an inch only. Then knew that the next time I should not fail. - -"Curse you," I muttered, "if I could speak your _patois_, I'd tell you -that you are doomed." While to myself I said: "He is a clumsy fool, -and--he is mine." - -We had turned in these passadoes, as I drove him back; so, too, I had -edged him round. Now, 'twas I who had the rock behind me, 'twas he who -had the declivity of the lower precipice behind him. - -And he knew it as well as I--saw in a moment all that this meant, -and--endeavoured to turn again. - -Yet he never had the chance. Trust me for that!--as my recollection of -the daily lessons in the fence school at Hounslow, which for a year -Dutch William's best _ferrailleurs_ had taught me ere my father got my -guidon for me. - -He never had the chance! Yet he strove hard for it, too; proved that -Spain made no bad choice when she sent him to this frontier post; -strove hard to beat me round again, to bring my back in the position -his was--to the lip of the plateau--and failed. - -If I could have spoken to him in his _patois_--for 'twas scarce -Spanish--if I could have made him understand, if he would have -discontinued his contest with me, I would have spared him, and -willingly; would have bidden him let me go in peace, and be saved -himself. For he was a brave man; too good a one for the doom that must -now be his. Yet he forced me to it, forced me to go on, ceased not for -one instant his swinging blows and thrusts, forced me to parry and -thrust in turn for my own salvation--to drive him back step by step to -the brink of the precipice behind him. And, now, it was not five paces -behind him. - -His was the danger--I wondered if he knew it--yet mine the horror. -Above the clashing of our swords I heard now the dull, hoarse roaring -of the river below, heard its angry swish as it struck past the -timbers of the bridge below--in my desire to save him I told him madly -in my best Spanish to desist--to save himself. Also, I think, he saw -upon my face some look of horror at the fate that must be his, some -beads of sweat, perhaps, upon it, too--I know I felt them there--saw -them, and--God help him!--misunderstood them. Misunderstood, and -thought my look of horror, my sweat, were for my own safety. - -With a leap, a roar, he came at me again like a tiger springing at its -prey, his blows raining upon my sword; almost I thought that even now -he would have borne me to the earth, have conquered. And I thrust -blindly, too, in desperation, knew that my blade was through his arm, -saw him jump back, stagger--and disappear! - -And up from below where he had last stood there came a scream of awful -fear and terror, the branches and the bushes crashed, there was a thud -upon the water a hundred feet below--and then nothing more but the -swirl of the river and its hoarse murmur as it swept along. - -It had not taken much time in the doing. A moment later I was running -up the road to where the gate stood, swung back now so that the road -was clear. And Juan was sitting on his horse, a pistol in his hand, -and in the road, standing beneath him, his hands by his side, stood -the last remaining man, dreading to move, palsied with fright, and -speechless. - -"What shall we do with him?" the youth asked, turning on me a face in -which there was now left no vestige of that brilliant colour it had -once borne. "What? Kill him?" and his eyes flashed ominously, so that -I knew the lust for blood was awakened. - -"Nay," I said. "Nay. There is no need for that. Bind him and lock him -up here in his hut. That will do very well. Also, he is old. What of -these others?" and I turned to those who lay in the road. - -As I looked at them, it seemed that none were hurt to death--for which -I was thankful enough, since a soldier needs but to disable his enemy, -and seeks not to take life needlessly. The one whom I had first cut -down seemed to have but a scalp wound--doubtless the thick, coarse hat -of felt he wore had turned my blade; he whom I had run through the -shoulder had but a flesh wound, which would trouble him for some weeks -at most; while the fellow whom Juan had pinked had got an ugly gash in -the neck. - -"We will put them all in here together," I said, pointing to their -hut, "then leave them. Doubtless they will be relieved in some hours. -Yet the longer ere it happens the better. We must press on and on till -we are well clear of this part of the world. There will be a hue and -cry." - -After saying which, I proceeded to drag the wounded men in--one of -them was able to enter the place unaided, though not without many -melancholy groans and ejaculations--and then motioned to the old man -to follow. - -But now, obeying me even as I so pointed to the door, he cast an -imploring glance at Juan, and then muttered something to him, the boy -answering him with a laugh. And on my demanding to know what he had -said, my companion replied: - -"He saw you take up the lamp. Therefore he asked if you were going to -burn them all when they were locked in the hut." - -"Humph!" I said. "It has not quite come to that." - -Time was, however, precious now, therefore it was useless for us to -remain here any longer, or to waste any more of it; whereon, again -taking up the lamp, I carried it out into the road. Then I removed the -key from where it hung by the side of the door, and, going out, locked -them all inside. - -"Now," I said, "they can remain there till some one comes by to set -them free. Yet, if that some one comes across from Portugal, and our -late landlord speaks truth, they will be in no hurry to do that -friendly office for them." After which I blew out the lamp, and, -walking to the edge of the under precipice, hurled both it and the key -down into the river beneath. - -For some time after we had set out upon our journey again we rode in -silence, Juan being as much occupied, I supposed, with his thoughts as -I with mine. And, indeed, my own were none of the pleasantest; above -all I regretted that that brave man with whom I had fought had gone to -his doom. For, although killing was my trade, and although I had -already taken part in several skirmishes and fights, I had none too -great a liking for having been obliged to slay him. Yet I consoled -myself with the reflection that it was his life or mine, and with that -I had to be content. But also there were other things that troubled -me, amongst them being what I feared would prove certain, namely, that -there would be that hue and cry after us of which I had spoken for -some time at least, and until we had left the frontier far behind. -Nor, since Lugo was but a short distance from this place, would it be -possible for us to stop there even for so much as a night's rest. We -must go on and on till we had outstripped all chance of being -recognised as the two men who had forced themselves into a hostile -country in the manner we had done. - -But now, breaking in on these reflections, I heard Juan's soft voice -speaking to me, murmuring words of admiration and affection. - -"Mervan," he said, "if I liked you before--ay! from the very moment -you stood outside the cabin door of _La Sacra Familia_ and bade me -unlock it, and when the first sound of your voice told me I had naught -to fear--I love you now. My life upon it! you are a brave man, such as -I delight in seeing." - -I laughed a little at this compliment, yet soberly, too, for this was -no time for mirth--also, I recognised clearly enough that every step -the animals beneath us took brought us nearer to other dangers, by the -side of which our recent adventure was but child's play--then -answered: - -"And what of yourself, Juan? You have done pretty well, too, I'm -thinking; go on like this, and you will be fitted to ride stirrup to -stirrup with the most grim old blades of Marlborough's armies when we -get to Flanders--if we ever do! I thought you nervous, to speak solemn -truth; now I am glad to have you by my side." - -"Yet," said the boy, his face radiant with delight, as I saw when he -turned it on me under the rays of the moon, "I was deathly sick with -fear all the time. Oh! my God!" he cried suddenly, "what should I have -done, what become of me, if you had been struck down?" Then added, -anxiously, a moment later. "You are not wounded?" - -"Not a scratch. And you?" - -"Nor I, either. Yet I was so faint as I guarded that old man by the -gate, that I doubted if I could sit the horse much longer; I should -have fallen to earth, I do verily believe, had you not joined me when -you did." - -"Poor lad," I said, "poor lad. You have chosen but a rough road, a -dangerous companion. You should have gone to England in the -_Pembroke_, with the fleet. You would have been half way there by now, -and in safety." - -"Never!" he said. "Never!" And, as if to give emphasis to his words, -he turned round in his saddle toward me, placing his left hand on the -cantle as though to obtain a steady glance of my face, and continued. - -"I told you we were friends, sworn friends and true. Also, that to be -together was all that I asked. Mervan, our friendship is rivetted, -bound, now; nothing but death or disaster shall part us--nothing; till -at least, this journey is concluded. Then--then--if you choose to turn -me off you may; but not before. You have not yet learnt, do not know -yet, what a Spanish--a--a man reared amongst Spaniards feels when he -swears eternal friendship." - -After which he regained his position and rode on, looking straight -between his horse's ears. But once I heard him mutter to himself, -though still not so low, either, but what I heard it very well: - -"Friendship. _Diôs!_" - -And this warm, fervent youth, this creature full of emotion and -glowing friendship, was him against whom the admiral had expressed -some distaste when he learned that I proposed to ride in his company; -had doubted if that companionship might not be of evil influence over -my fortunes during the journey. If he knew nothing, what did it all -mean? I asked myself. Above all (and this I had pondered on again and -again, though without being able to arrive at any answer to the -riddle), why warn me against one whom he, when brought into contact -with that one himself, had treated with such scrupulous deference? - -Even as I thought again upon these things I resolved that as our -acquaintance, our friendship and comradeship ripened, I would ask Juan -who and what he was. - -For at present I knew no more than I have written down--that he was -young and handsome, and was well to do. But beneath all, was there -some mystery attached to him? Some mystery which the older and more -far seeing eyes of Sir George had been able to pry into and discover, -while mine were still blinded to it? - -We were passing now through a wild and desolate region, a portion of -the western extremity of northern Spain, in which we met no sign of -human life or human habitation, hardly, indeed, any sign of animal -life. Also we had struck a chain of mountains densely clothed with -cork and chestnut woods, the trees of which were bare of leaves, and -through the branches of which the wind moaned cheerlessly. On our left -these mountains, after an interval of barren moorland, rose -precipitously; to our right the Minho rolled sullenly along, the road -we traversed lying between it and the moor. So desolate, indeed, was -all around us now that we might have been two travellers from another -world journeying through this, a forgotten or undiscovered one; no -light either far or near twinkled from hut or cottage, neither bark of -dog nor low of cattle reached our ears; all was desolate, silent and -deserted. - -Yet, even as the road lifted so that we knew we were ascending those -mountains step by step, we observed signs which, added to the well -kept state of the road itself, told us it was not an altogether unused -one. For though the snow lay hard and caked upon it, we could observe -where it had taken the impression of cart wheels and of animals' -hoofs, could perceive by this that it was sometimes traversed. - -And, presently, we observed something else, something that told us -plainly enough that we were now in the direct way for Lugo, observed -that there branched into the road we were travelling an even broader -one than it--causing, too, our own road to broaden out itself as it -ran further north; a road in the middle of which was a huge stone -column or pedestal, with arms also of stone upon it, pointing -different ways, and with, carved on them, words and figures. - -And of these arms one pointed west and bore upon it the words: To -Vigo; another pointed north with, on it, the words: To Lugo. - -And seeing all this by the aid of a tinder box and lantern which we -carried amongst our necessaries--seeing it, too, by craning our necks -and standing up in our stirrups--we knew that we had now struck the -route along which those must have come who had fled from Vigo after -the taking of the galleons. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -MY GOD! WHO IS HE? - - -All that night we rode, yet slowly, too, for the sake of the horses, -and in the morning--which broke bright, clear and frosty, the sun -sparkling and shining gaily amongst the leafless branches and trees of -the forests through which we passed--reached a little town, or -village, about half way 'twixt the frontier and Lugo, a place called -Chantada, and not far from another town named Orense, which, because -it had a large population--as we gathered from a sight of its roofs -and spires, all a-shining in the morning sun, as we could see very -well from the mountains as we passed along them--we avoided. Also, we -avoided it because it lay not so much upon our direct route, by some -three or four leagues, as Chantada itself. - -"Now, come what may," said I to Juan, as we drew near this place, "and -even though we should be pursued from the border--which is not very -like--we must stop here for some hours. We require rest ourselves; as -for the beasts, they must have it; otherwise they will have to be left -behind and others found. And that would be a pity--they are better -than might have been looked for!" As, indeed, they were, especially -considering the haphazard manner in which we had come by them, both -having kept on untiring on the road, while, as for the jennet which -Juan bestrode, it was, possibly because of his light weight, as fresh -as on the hour we set out. - -Then, turning to him, I said, even as I noticed that he showed no -signs of fatigue--at which I marvelled somewhat!--and that his -handsome face was as bright and full of colour as it had ever been: - -"You must be a-weary, Juan? Three or four hours' sleep will do you a -world of good. And you shall have it, my lad, even though I sit at -your door with a drawn sword in my hand to prevent interruption." - -As usual, he smiled that gracious, winsome smile upon me--a smile -which was always forthcoming in response to any simple little kindness -I evidenced to him--and said: - -"I could ride on for hours thus--feel no fatigue. Maybe 'tis the -brightness of the morning that heartens me so; perhaps the crisp -coolness of these mountains--Heavens! how different 'tis from aught we -know of in the Indies!--that makes me insensible to it! Yet, Mervan," -and he gave me a glance from his eyes, under the dark and now -dishevelled curls that hung almost over them, "there is one thing I -long to do now. Mervan, do not refuse. I have earned the right!" - -"What is it, child?" I asked, wondering what strange request he might -be about to prefer. - -"Let me sing and play a little. 'Twill do no harm, and--and--you -know--the viol is here," and he touched lightly the valise strapped in -front of his saddle. - -"Sing, if you will," I said, yet casting a glance around and ahead of -me to see if there were any about whose curiosity might be attracted -by the music--though in sober truth it would not much have mattered -had there been. In such a land as this--though I scarce knew it -then!--for a traveller to pass along on his way singing for -cheerfulness and for solace was no strange thing, but rather, instead, -the custom. "Sing, if you wish--I shall be glad enough to hear a merry -note or so. For audience, however, there will be no other." - -"I want none," he replied, "if you are content." And by now, having -got out the little viol d'amore, he struck a few notes upon it and -began to sing. - -At first his song was, as I understood and as he told me afterward, a -love-ballad addressed by a youth to his mistress; the words--as he -uttered them--soft and luscious as the trill of the nightingale on -summer night. And his marvellous beauty added also to the effect it -had on me, made me wonder how many dark, tropic beauties in the lands -he came from had already lost their hearts to him. Nay, wondered so -much that, as the last sweet tones of both his voice and viol died -upon the crisp morning air, I asked him a question to that effect. - -"Ho! Ho!" he laughed, yet softly as he had just now sung. "None! None! -None! In the Indies I am nothing; all are as dark as I except when -they are golden--fair--and--and--Mervan, _mon ami_, no woman has ever -said a word of love to me." - -"Humph!" I said, doubting. "Nor you, perhaps, a word of love to them." - -"Nor I a word of love to them. Never, never. _Le grand jamais!_" - -"Nor ever loved?" with a tone of doubt so strong in my voice now that -he could not fail to understand it. - -"Nor ever loved," he repeated. "Yes--yes--I love now. Now!" Then, -impetuously, as he ever spoke--like a torrent let loose from mountain -side--he went on: - -"Love! Love! Love! With heart and soul, and brain on fire. Love! so -that for the creature I adore--have learnt to worship, I would--ah! -what would I not do? Cast my body beneath that creature, plunge -through fire or water--Oh!" he exclaimed, breaking off as suddenly as -he had begun, "Oh! I am a fool! A fool! A fool!" - -"But, surely," I said, "surely, with such as you are, that love does -not go unrequited. If you have spoken to the object of this passion, -told of this love you say you bear--and are believed--it must be -returned. Such love as yours would not be simulated, must therefore be -appreciated." - -"Simulated!" he exclaimed. "Simulated. It cannot be simulated, not -assumed like a mountebank's robe ere he plays a part. Any one can -paint a flame, any tawdry daubster of an inn signboard, but not even -Murillo himself could paint the heat. And my love is heat--not--not -flame." - -"And the lady? The lady?" I asked almost impatiently. "Surely she -does--she must--return this love." - -Volatile as he was, and, changing his mood again in a moment, he -looked slyly at me under the dark locks, twanged the viol again and -burst into another song, different from the one he had but recently -finished, the song which I had previously known him to sing: - - - "Oh! have you heard of a Spanish lady, - How she wooed an Englishman?" - - -"I am an Englishman now, you know, Mervan," interrupting the song. -Then going on: - - - "Garments gay and rich as may be, - Decked with jewels, she had on." - - -"Did she woo you, then?" I asked, as he paused a moment. - -For answer he sang again: - - - "As his prisoner fast he kept her, - In his hands her life did lie; - Cupid's bands did tie them faster - By the twinkling of an eye----" - - -He stopped abruptly and pointed ahead of him with the little viol, -then wrapped it up again in his valise and said: - -"See, _amígo_, there is the village--what was its name cut on the -pedestal? Now what are we? Eh? And whence come we if any questions are -asked?" - -"You are a young Spanish gentleman," I said, repeating a lesson I had -hitherto in our ride tutored him in, "from Vigo. I am a Frenchman. We -are on our way to Bayonne to join the French forces. Also, we neither -of us know English." - -"_Bon, pas un mot_," he replied, catching me up brightly. "_Et nous -parlons Anglais comme une vache parle Espagnol. N'est-ce fas, mon -ami?_" - -"_C'est ça. En avant_," I replied, and with a laugh we each touched -our horses with the heel and cantered down into the village of -Chantada. - -'Twas a poor place enough for any travellers to see, consisting of a -long, but very wide street, with a fountain in the midst of a wide -open square, around which there lay a number of grunting swine--lean -and repulsive--and also some score or so of geese, all basking in the -morning sun. - -Yet next in importance to the church, which was on one side of this -_plaza_, was that which we most sought for, an inn, and, perhaps -because of the road being one of importance 'twixt both Portugal and -Vigo to France, it was a large, substantial-looking house, long, and -with many rooms on either side the great porte, as well as in the two -stories beneath its sloping and serrated Spanish roof; also, it looked -prosperous--a huge gilt coronet hung out over the unpaved street. For -name it had painted along all its front, the words "Taverna Duquesa -Santa Ana." - -Under the great archway we rode in, seeing that in a vast courtyard -there stood a travelling coach on which, although there were no horses -attached to it, some baggage was still left piled up beneath some -skins; hearing also the stamping of several horses in their stables. - -"Ask," said I to Juan, speaking in French--as agreed between us, there -was to be no more English spoken unless we were certain no ears could -overhear us--"ask if we can be accommodated for some hours, say, until -night. Then we must resume our journey. Ask that." - -Obedient to my behest, the youth turned to a man who came out from the -door giving entrance to the inn itself and, in Spanish, made his -demand, whereupon the fellow, after bowing politely, said: - -"There is ample accommodation for--for more--alas!--than travel these -roads." - -Then, because I addressed a word or so in French to him, he continued -in that language, which, however, he had exceedingly badly: - -"Messieurs will stay here till night, then push on to Lugo? _Bon_, -they will be there by morning. So! So! Yes, in verity, they can have a -good meal. There are geese, fowls, meat, also some wine of excellence. -Messieurs may refresh themselves in all ways." - -Our horses put in the stable, therefore, we sat down half an hour -later in a vast _sala_--in which a great banquet might have been given -with ease--to a dish of veal, a fowl, and an _olla-podrida_, all of -which would have been good enough had they not been flavoured so much -with garlic that--to my taste, at least--all pleasure was destroyed; -also we had some most excellent chocolate and some good spirituous -liquor to follow--at which latter Juan turned a wry face. Then -ordering another meal to be ready ere we set out--with strict -injunctions that the flavouring should on this occasion be omitted--we -betook ourselves to the rooms above, where we were to get a few hours' -rest. - -Yet, as we passed along the whitewashed corridor, the windows of which -gave on to the stable yard, the travelling coach standing there caught -our eyes, and I said to the host: - -"You have at least some one else here besides us. Some great -personage, I should suppose, by his equipage," and I directed my -glance to where the great carriage was. - -"Ho!" said the man with the true Spanish shrug of the shoulder, which -is even more emphatic than the French one, more suggestive, as it -seems to me; "a personage of wealth, I should say, but no grandee--of -Spain, at least." - -"Of what land, then?" I asked. "And why a personage of wealth, yet no -grandee?" - -"Oh! well, for that," the man said, with again the inimitable shrug, -"his deportment, his conduct is not that which our nobility permit -themselves. Though I know not--perhaps it may be so--he is a nobleman -of--well--possibly, England. He drinks heavily--name of a dog! but he -drinks like a fiend, _un enragé_--cognac, cognac, cognac--also he -sings all the night, sometimes so that even the fowls and the dogs are -awakened, also all our house. Yet he pays well--very well!" - -"Doubtless," I replied, quietly, "an English nobleman. Such is their -custom, according to the ideas of other nations. Well, let us to -rest," whereon Juan and I turned each into a room which the landlord -indicated, and, so far as I was concerned, I slept calmly and -peacefully until awakened by him at three of the afternoon. - -Now, when I descended to where our other repast was prepared for us, -which would probably be the last one of a substantial nature which we -should be likely to get ere reaching Lugo, I found Juan there walking -up and down the great _sala_, his sword swishing about against his -left leg as he turned backward and forward petulantly. Also, I could -see that something had ruffled his usually sweet disposition--that -his colour was a little higher than in general, and that the soft -velvet-looking eyes were sparkling angrily. - -"Why, what is it?" I asked, even as the landlord brought in the first -cover, "what is it, my boy? You are ruffled." - -"Be very sure I am!" he exclaimed, speaking rapidly, and of course in -French, so that the man heard and understood all he said. "I have been -insulted----" - -"Insulted!" - -"At least rebuffed, and rudely, too; and by, of all men, a filthy -blackamoor--a--a--_por Diôs!_--a slave! Oh! that I had him in the -Indies! He would insult no white one again, I tell you!" and he -fingered the hilt of his weapon and stamped his shapely foot on the -uncarpeted floor till his spurs jangled. - -"Come," I said, "you can afford to despise the creature. How did it -happen?" - -"Happen! Happen!" Juan replied, still angry. "How?" - -"Monsieur saw the black man preparing the luggage on the great coach," -the landlord said, as he removed the dish-cover from a course of pork -and raisins, "and asked which way his master went. And the fellow was -surly, rude--said that was their business, not the affair of -strangers. Also, they sought no companions, if--if the young seńor -meant that----" - -"Who never offered our company," Juan broke in again. "Curse him! I -wish I had him in the Indies!" he repeated. - -"Come," I said again, "come. This is beneath you, Juan--to be angry -with a slave! As well be vexed with a dog that yaps and snaps at you -when you go to pat it. Sit down and eat your meal. We have a long ride -before us." - -Perhaps he saw some sense in my suggestion, for he flung himself into -a chair and began to eat; and meanwhile the host, who was still -hovering about, handing us now a dish of mutton dressed with oysters -and pistachio nuts, and now some stewed pomegranates, chattered away -at one side, telling us that the negro's master was not well--that he -had been drinking again; but yet he was determined to set out at once. - -"Though," said he, "but an hour before the caballeros rode in he had -resolved to stay until to-morrow. I know not why he has changed his -mind so swiftly. Oh!--the drink, the drink, the drink!" and he wagged -his head. - -That the dissolute man whom the landlord considered to be, in -consequence, an English nobleman, was about to depart there could be -no possibility of doubt. From where we sat at table, and because -curtains to the windows seemed to be things of which those who kept -the inn had never thought, we could see out into the courtyard quite -plainly. Saw first the horses brought out--four of them--and harnessed -to the huge, lumbering vehicle--the nobleman would have proved himself -a kinder-hearted man if he had used six!--saw their cloths taken off -their backs by the postillion, and observed the latter make ready to -mount the near side leader. Also we saw the _facchinos_ on ladders -strapping tight the baggage which had been brought down and hoisted on -top, then heard the landlord, who had now left serving us to attend to -his parting guest, give orders that the noble traveller should be -informed that all was ready for his departure. Upon which we quitted -our seats at the table and walked over to the window, Juan's curiosity -much excited at the chance of seeing this drunken English _milor_, as -he called him. We had not long to wait. For presently we heard a -considerable trampling on the stairs and some mumbled words--to my -surprise the deep, guttural tones seemed familiar!--and then we saw a -wrapped figure carried out between two of the _facchinos_ and lifted -up into the carriage. - -And behind that figure walked a negro, his head also enveloped in a -rich red shawl--as though the black creature feared the cold night -air, forsooth! - -But, even as they lifted the debauched man into his carriage, the -wrappings about his face became disturbed and fell back on his -shoulders, so that I could see his face--and I started as I did so. -Started even more, too, when, a second later, I heard Juan exclaim in -a subdued voice: - -"My God, who is he? Almost I could swear----" - -While in my excitement I interrupted him, saying: - -"That an English nobleman! That!--Why, 'tis the drunken old ruffian -who came from Rotterdam with me in the ship." - -"And his name? His name?" Juan asked, breathlessly. "His name?" - -"John Carstairs." - -Even as I spoke the postillion cracked his whip, and the great -carriage rolled out of the courtyard, the lamps twinkling and -illuminating our faces as it passed before the window. Showed, too, as -they flashed on Juan's face, that he was once more deathly pale and -all his rich colouring vanished--as I had seen it vanish more than -once before. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -BETRAYED. - - -"His name is Carstairs? Humph!" Juan said to me when the last sound of -the wheels had died away, and we no longer heard the rumbling of the -great Berlin upon the stones of the roughly paved street outside. -"Carstairs!" - -"That is the name under which he was entered as a passenger in the -papers of _La Mouche Noire_," I answered. Then continued, looking at -the boy as a thought came to my mind. "Why! have you ever seen him -before, Juan, or have you any reason to suppose it is anything else -than Carstairs?" - -For the thought that had come to me, the recollection which had -suddenly sprung to my mind, was the memory of the words Captain Tandy -had used when first we discussed the old man. "'Tis no more his name -than 'tis mine or yours." - -Also I recalled that he had said, after meditation, that he was more -like to have been one Cuddiford than anybody else. - -And now it seemed as though this stripling who had become my -companion, this boy whose years scarce numbered eighteen, also knew -something of him--disbelieved that his name was Carstairs. - -"Do you think," I went on, "that it is something else? Cuddiford, -say?" - -"Nay," he replied. "Nay. Not that. Not that. I have heard of -Cuddiford, though. I think he was brought to London and tried. -But--but--oh!" he exclaimed, breaking off, "it cannot be!" - -"What cannot be?" - -"If," he said, speaking very slowly, very gravely now, "if it were not -eight years since I last set eyes on him, when I was quite a child; if -he had a beard down over his chest instead of being close shaven, I -should say, Mervan, that this was the ruffian I have come to England -to seek; the villain who robbed me of the fortune my father left -me--the scoundrel, James Eaton." - -"James Eaton!" I exclaimed. "The man you asked me about; thought I -might be like to know?" - -"The same." - -"Had he, this Eaton, been a buccaneer? for I make no doubt -that man has." I said. "The captain of _La Mouche Noire_ thought -so--and--and--his ravings and deliriums seemed to point that way." - -"I know not," Juan said. "Eaton was a villain--yet--yet--I can scarce -suppose my father would have trusted him with a fortune if he had -known him to be such as that." - -"Who was your father, Juan?" - -"I--I," he answered, looking at me with those clear starry eyes--eyes -into which none could gaze without marvelling at their beauty--"I do -not know." - -"You do not know!--yet you know he bequeathed a fortune to you and -left it in the man Eaton's hands." - -"Mervan," he said, speaking quickly, "you must be made acquainted with -my history--I will tell it you. To-night, when we ride forth again; -but not now. See, our horses are ready, they are bringing them from -the stables. When we are on the road I will tell you my story. 'Twill -not take long. Come, let us pay the bill, and away." - -"I will pay the bill," I said; "later we can regulate our accounts. -And as you say, we had best be on the road. For if that old man has -seen me, or if his black servant has done so--it--it--may be serious." - -"Serious!" he repeated. "Serious! For _you_, my friend?" And as he -spoke there was in his voice so tender an evidence that he thought -nothing of any danger which could threaten him, but only of what might -befall me, that I felt sure, now and henceforth, of the noble, -unselfish heart he possessed. "Oh! not serious for you." - -"Ay," I replied. "Ay. Precious serious! Remember, he knows I went -ashore in Lagos bay, that I sailed in the English fleet to Vigo. What -will happen, think you, if he warns them at Lugo that such a one as -I--an Englishman--who assisted at the taking of the galleons, is on -the road 'twixt here and there?" - -"My God!" the boy exclaimed, thrusting his hand through the curls -clustering over his eyes--as he always did when in the least excited. -"It might mean----" - -"Death," I said, "sharp and swift; without trial or time for shrift; -without----" - -"But--whether he be Eaton--or--Carstairs--he is English himself." - -"Ay, and so he is." I answered, "But be sure he has papers--also he -can speak Spanish well, will doubtless pass for a Spaniard. Also, -unless I am much mistook, had a cargo in one of those galleons--for -what else has he followed up here? For what--but the hopes of getting -back some of the saved spoil which has been brought to Lugo? That -alone would give him the semblance of being Spanish--would earn him -sympathy. Meanwhile, what should I be deemed? A spy! And I should die -the spy's death." - -"What then to do next?" Juan asked, with a helpless, piteous look. - -"There is but one thing for _me_ to do," I replied. "One thing alone. -As I told you ere we set out from Viana, my task is to ride on -straight, unerringly, to my goal--on to Flanders, through every -obstacle, every barrier; to crash through them, if heaven permits, as -Hopson crashed through that boom at Vigo--to reach Lord Marlborough or -to fall by the wayside. That is my duty, and I mean to do it." - -"Mervan! Mervan!" he almost moaned. - -"'Tis that," I went on. "But--think not I say it unkindly, with lack -of friendship or in forgetfulness of our new found _camaraderie_--for -you the need does not exist." - -"What!" - -"Hear me, I say, Juan. I speak but for your safety. For you there is -no duty calling; the risk does not exist. You are free--a traveller at -your ease." - -"Silence!" he cried--his rich, musical voice ringing clear through the -vast _sala_ in the midst of which we now stood once more; and as he -spoke he raised his hand with a gesture of command. "Silence, I say! -By the body of my dead and unknown father, you do not know Juan -Belmonte. What! Set out with you and turn back at the first sign of -danger, and that a danger to you alone! Oh!" he exclaimed, changing -his tone again, emotional as ever. "Oh! Mervan, Mervan." - -"I spoke but for your sake," I said, sorry and grieved to see I had -wounded him. "For that alone." - -"Then speak no more, never again in such a strain. I said I would -never quit your side till Flanders is reached; no need to repeat those -words. Where you go I go--unless you drive me from your side." - -And now it was my turn to exclaim against him, to cry: "Juan! you -think I should do that!" Yet even as I spoke, I could not but add: -"The danger to you as well as me may be terrible." - -"No more," he said. "No more. We ride together until the end -comes--for one or both of us. Now, let us call the reckoning and -begone. The horses are there," and he strode to the window and made a -sign to the stable-man to be ready for us. Yet ere the landlord came, -he spoke to me again. - -"Remember," he said, "that beyond our _camaraderie_, of which you have -spoken--ay! 'tis that and more, far more--beyond all this, I do -believe the old man whose face I saw as the great lamps shone full -on it is James Eaton. I have come to Europe, to this cold quarter of -the world, to find him. Do you think with him not half a league ahead -that I will be turned from the trail? Never! I follow that man to -Lugo--since his beard is gone I cannot pluck him by that, but I can -take his throat in my hands, thrust this through his evil heart," and -he rapped the quillon of his sword sharply as he spoke. Then added: -"As I will. As I will." - -"You do not think he has recognised you, too? Seen you, though unseen -himself, while we have been in this house, passing through these -passages and corridors? as I doubt not either he saw me, or that negro -of his." - -He thought a moment after I said this, then suddenly emerged from his -meditation and laughed a bright, ringing laugh, such as I had learnt -to love the hearing of. - -"Nay," he replied. "Nay," and still he laughed, "He has not--could not -recognise me. No! No! No! When I present myself to him he--will--he -will be astonished." - -And once more he laughed. - -What a strange creature it was, I thought. As brave as a young lion; -as emotional and variable as a woman. - -In answer to our pealing at the bell, to our calls also, the -landlord came in at last, not hurrying himself at all, as it seemed -to us, to bring the bill. Indeed, we had observed him, as we looked -forth from the window, engaged in a conversation with two of the -townspeople--shrouded in the long cloaks which Spaniards wear--their -heads as close together as if they were concocting a crime, though, -doubtless, talking of nothing more important than the weather. - -"The bill," I said, "the bill. Quick. Our horses await us, and we have -far to ride." - -"Ay," he replied. "Ay," and flinging down a filthy piece of paper on -the table, added: "There is the bill"; and he stood drumming his -fingers on the table while I felt for the coins with which to pay it. -Yet, even as I did so, I noticed that the fellow's manner was quite -changed from what it had been hitherto. His obsequiousness of the -morning had turned to morose surliness, which he took no trouble to -conceal. And, wondering if Juan, who was standing by, fastening his -spur strap, had observed the same thing, I glanced at him and saw his -eyes fixed on the man. - -"There are two pistoles," I said, flinging them on the table. "They -will more than pay our addition; give the rest to the servants." - -"Ay!" he replied. "Ay!" but with no added word of thanks. - -"Is't not enough?" Juan asked. - -"It is enough." Then he turned to me and said: "You are riding to Lugo -to-night?" - -"That is our road," I replied, feeling my temper mount at the man's -changed manner. "What of it? Does that route displeasure you, pray?" - -"Ho!" he grunted; "for that, it makes no matter to me." Then added: -"The horses are there," in so insolent a tone that I had a difficulty -in restraining myself from kicking or striking him. But I remembered -that, before all else, our safety had to be consulted, and that naught -should be done to cause delay to our progress; wherefore, I swallowed -my ire as best I might. - -Yet, as we rode out of the courtyard, I saw at once that Juan's own -thoughts tended exactly in the same direction as mine, since he said -to me: - -"That fellow has been told something by the old man--doubtless, that -you are English--that we both are. _Por Diôs!_ Suppose he has informed -him that you were in the English fleet!" - -"I have no doubt that the man has been told so," I replied. "But no -matter. If it were not for you I should not care a jot." - -Then once more I saw the dark eyes turned on me, and wished that I had -held my tongue--at least as regarded the latter part of my speech. - -It seemed as if the town had gone to bed already. The great square was -deserted--except that the geese and pigs were still in it, huddled -together around the fountain, and severally cackled and grunted as we -trotted by them; down the long street, as we rode, we saw no signs of -any one being outside the doors. - -Yet, as we neared the extremity of both the town and the street, and -came to where the latter ended off into a country road stretching -along a dreary-looking plain, over which the moon had risen, we saw -that such was not precisely the case. At the end of the street, that -which was the last building was a little, low, whitewashed chapel; -above its black door there was a figure in a little niche, with, -burning in front of it, a candle in a miserable red-glassed lantern; -and, feeble as were the rays cast forth from this poor, yet sacred, -lamp, they were sufficient to show us three men on horseback, all -sitting their steeds as rigidly as statues. - -Judging by their long black cloaks and the tips of steel scabbards -which protruded beneath them, and which were plainly enough to be -seen, even in that dim, cloudy light, I imagined these men to be the -town gendarmerie--though doubtless they had some other name to -denominate them--and supposed this was a comfortable position which -they probably selected nightly. Also, the position was at both an exit -and an entrance to the place, therefore a natural one. - -"A fine night, gentlemen," one remarked, and next I heard him say -something to Juan, which he replied to; in both of their remarks the -name of Lugo being quite distinct to my ears. But, beyond this, -nothing else passed, and, a few moments later, we were riding at a -smart trot across the dreary, moor-like plain. - -"They asked," Juan said, in answer to my question, "if our destination -was Lugo. That was all." - -"So I thought I heard," I said. And added: "Until we were past them I -felt not at all sure they might not be on the lookout for us. Might, -perhaps, intend to stop us. If Carstairs, or Eaton, or whatever his -name is, blew upon me to the landlord, he would be as like to do it to -the authorities also. However, we are in the open now, and all is well -so far." - -By this time the moon was well up, and we could see the country along -which we were riding; could perceive that 'twas indeed a vast open -plain, with, however, as it seemed to me, a forest or wood ahead of -us, into which the road we were on trended at last. Could see, too, -the snow lying white all around, as far as the moor stretched, and -looking beneath the moonbeams like some dead sea across which no ship -was trying to find its way. - -"A mournful spot," I said to Juan, as, half an hour later, we had -almost reached the entrance to the great forest, which we had observed -drawing nearer to us at every stride our beasts took; "'tis well we -made a full meal ere we set out. We are not very like to come across -another ere we reach Lugo." - -I spoke as much to hearten up my companion as for any other reason, -since I feared that, in spite of his bravery and firm-fixed -determination to never leave my side, he must be very much alarmed at -the thoughts of what might happen to us ere we had gone many more -leagues. - -But, remarking that he made no answer to my idle words, I glanced -round at him and perceived that his head was turned half way back -toward whence we had come, and that upon his face was a look of -intense eagerness--the look of one who listens attentively for some -sound. - -"What is it, Juan?" I asked. - -"Horses' hoofs on the road behind us," he said, "and coming swiftly, -too. Hark! do you not hear?" - -And even as he spoke I did hear them. Heard also something else to -which my soldier's ears had made me very well accustomed: The clank of -steel-scabbarded swords against horses' flanks. - -"It is the men we passed by the chapel," I said, "following us now. -Yet, if 'tis us they seek, why not stop us ere we left the town? They -could do as much against us there as here." - -"They were but three then," the lad answered, calmly as though he -were counting guineas into his palm instead of the hoof-beats of those -on-coming horses; "now there are more--half a dozen, I should say. If -'tis us they follow, they have waited to be reinforced." - -And I felt sure that he had guessed right, since the very thought -which he expressed had already risen in my own mind. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -THE SECOND FIGHT. - - -We had entered the forest five minutes later, and be very sure, we -wasted no more time in waiting for those behind to come up, since, if -'twas us they followed, we might as well be in its shadow as in the -open. For if we were outnumbered the trees themselves would afford us -some shelter, make a palisade from behind which we might get a shot at -them if 'twas too hot for a hand-to-hand encounter. At any rate, I had -sufficient military knowledge to know that 'tis best to fight against -unequal odds with a base, or retreat, to fall back on, than to be -without one. - -Yet as we rode into this forest I loosened my blade in its sheath, and -felt with my thumb to see that the priming of my pistols was ready; -also bade Juan do the same; likewise to keep behind me as much as -might be. - -"For," said I, "if they mean attack I will give them no chance of -beginning it. The first hostile word, and I force my horse between -them, cutting right and left, and do you the same, following behind -me. Thereby you may chance to take off those whom I miss." - -And I laughed--a little grimly, perhaps--as I spoke, for I thought -that if there were, indeed, six men behind us, my journey toward -Flanders was already as good as come to an end. Yet, all the same, I -laughed, for, strange though it may seem to those who have never known -the delights of crossed steel, a fight against odds had ever an -exhilarating effect upon me; which was, perhaps, as it should be with -a knight of the blade. - -Juan, however, did not laugh at all, though he told me he would follow -my orders to the utmost, and, indeed, was so silent that I asked him -if his nerves were firm. To which he replied that I should see when -the moment came. - -And now upon the crisp night air we heard the clang of those on-coming -hoofs ringing nearer and nearer; a rough or deadened kind of sound -told us the iron shoes were on the fallen leaves which covered all the -track from where the wood began; the scabbards of the riders flapped -noisily now against spur and horses' flanks; bridles jangled very -near. - -Then they were close upon us--five of them!--and a voice called out: - -"Halt, there! You are Englishmen--one a sailor and a spy passing -through the land." - -"You lie!" rang out Juan's voice, in answer. "We are not Englishmen." - -That his reply in fluent Spanish--the Spanish, too, of a gentleman, -and not of a common night patrol--astonished them, I could see. The -leader, he who had spoken, glanced round at his four comrades, and, an -instant after, spoke again: - -"Who are you, then, and why does not the big man answer?" - -"He speaks French. I am Spanish. Molest us not." - -"Molest! _Cuerpo di Baco!_ We are informed you are English. Produce -your papers!" - -"We have none. They are lost." - -"Ho! ho! ho!" the leader replied. "Very well, very well. 'Tis as I -thought. That man is English; he is denounced this night. As for you, -the accursed English have many possessions wherein our tongue is -spoken. We understand." - -And he gave, as I supposed, some order, since all advanced their -animals a few paces nearer, while, as they did so, Juan whispered to -me in the French: "Be ready, but do nothing yet." - -"You will return to Chantada with us," the spokesman said, sitting his -horse quietly enough, yet with the blade of his drawn sword glistening -in the moonbeams as it lay across the creature's neck--as, I observed, -did the blades of all the others. "That finishes our affair. For the -rest you will answer to the Regidór." - -"We shall not return. Our way lies on." - -"So be it. Then we must take you," and, as he spoke, I saw a movement -of his knee--of all their knees--that told me they meant to seize us. - -And I knew that the time had come. - -"At them!" cried Juan at the same moment. "Advance, Mervan!" - -A touch to the curb, and my beast fell back--'twas a good animal, -that! had, I believe, been a charger in its day, so well it seemed to -know its work--then a free rein and another touch of the heel, and I -was amongst them, my sword darting like lightning around. Also, at my -rear, came the jennet's head; near me there flashed the steel of -Juan's lighter weapon; and in a moment we had crashed through -them--they fell away on either side of us like waves from a ship's -forefoot!--fell away for a moment, though closing again in an instant. - -"Return and charge!" I cried to Juan, still in French. "At them again! -See, one has got his quietus already!" As, indeed, he had, for the -great fellow was hanging over his horse's neck, in a limp and listless -fashion, which showed that he was done for. But now those four closed -together as we went at them, Juan stirrup to stirrup with me in this -second charge, and our tactics had to be changed. We could no longer -burst through them, so that it was a hand-to-hand fight now; they had -pistols in their holsters, but no chance to use them; they could not -spare a hand to find those holsters--could not risk our swords through -their unguarded breasts; wherefore we set to work, blade to blade. - -We should have won, I do believe. Already I had thrust through and -through one man's arm--as luck would have it, 'twas not the sword -arm--already they backed before our rain of blows and cuts and -thrusts, when, by untoward fate, my horse stumbled on the frosty road -and came down; came down upon his haunches, slipping me from the -saddle over the cantle and so to the earth; then regained its hind -legs once more and dashed out from the fray. - -And now our position was mighty perilous. Above I saw Juan on the -jennet fencing well with two of the men; over me were the two others -cutting down at my head, though, since by God's mercy I had retained -my weapon, their blows were up to now unavailing. Yet I knew this -could not be for long--nor last--wherefore I cried: - -"Save yourself, Juan, save yourself; disengage and flee." - -Under my own blade, under those two others that beat upon it so that I -wondered it shivered not in my hand, I saw the boy manfully holding -his own--once, too, I saw him rip up the jerkin of one of his -opponents, and heard the latter give a yell of pain--then, "Great -God!" I thought, "what has happened now?" - -For there was a fifth man upon the scene. A man, tall and stalwart, -mounted on a great, big boned, black horse, who had suddenly sprung -from out a chestnut copse by the side of the track; a man in whose -hands there gleamed a sword that a second later was laced and entwined -with those attacking Juan; a man who hurled oaths in Spanish and -French at them--I heard _carambas_ and _por Diôs's_ and other -words--which sounded like the rolling of some great cathedral organ as -they came from his deep throat--_tonneres_, _ventre-bleus_ and -_carrognes_ I heard. - -Heavens! who was this man who beat back those others as a giant might -push back a handful of children; whose sword--even as with one hand he -grasped Juan round the waist--went through an adversary's neck so that -he fell groaning upon me, his blood spurting as if from a spigot? Who -was he who laughed loud and long as, with one accord, all those still -alive turned and fled back upon the road they had come? Fled, leaving -us, thanks be to God and this new arrival, the victors of the fray. - -He sat his horse calmly now, looking after their retreating figures, -his great sombrero slouched across his face, wiping his blade upon the -coal-black creature's mane; then, as their figures disappeared from -our view, he said in French: - -"Warmer work this, Seńor Belmonte, than twanging viols and singing -love songs, _n'est-ce pas?_" and from his throat there came again that -laugh. - -Glancing up, I saw that which caused me to start, even as I heard Juan -say: "You! You here! And in this garb!"--saw that which made me wonder -if I had gone demented. For this man who had so suddenly come to our -rescue, this _fine lame_ whose thrusts had won the fray for us, was -none other than the monk I had seen on board _La Sacra Familia_, the -holy man known there as Father Jaime. - -And swiftly as I gazed up at him there came to my recollection old -Admiral Hopson's suspicions as to having seen him before, also the -imitation pass he had made across the table with the quill at his -brother-admiral, and his words: - -"'Twas not always the cowl and gown that adorned his person--rather -instead the belt and pistols--the long, serviceable rapier, handy." - -What did it mean? - -Ere he answered either Juan's startled enquiries or my stare of -amazement, which he must very well have seen in the moon's rays as I -regarded him, he cantered off after my horse, which was standing -quietly in the forest side by side with that other animal on whose -neck the first wounded man had fallen--he was now lying dead upon the -ground!--and brought both back to where we were, leading them by their -reins. - -"You will want your horse, monsieur," he said, "to continue your -journey. _Bon Dieu!_ you both made a good fight of it, though they -would have beaten you had I not come up at the moment." - -"Believe us, we both thank you more than words can express," I said, -while Juan sat his jennet, still breathing heavily from his exertions, -yet peering with all the power of those bright eyes at the man before -him, "but your appearance is so different from what it was when last -we met that--that I am lost in amazement. You were, sir, a holy monk -then." - -"_Cucullus non facit monachum_," he replied, in what I recognised to -be very good Latin, then added, with a laugh: "In journeying through -dangerous places we are not always what we seem to be. To wit: -Monsieur was either an English soldier or sailor when I saw him -last--an enemy to Spain and France--hating both, as I should suppose. -Yet now he is a private gentleman, and, I imagine, desires nothing -less than that his real position should be known." - -"But you--you," Juan interposed, "you were monk from the first moment -I set eyes on you, from the hour when we left Hispaniola. Are you not -one?" - -"My boy," he said, and as he spoke he touched Juan on the sleeve as -they both sat their horses side by side--I being also mounted again by -this time--"my boy, I replied to your companion just now with a -proverb. I answer you with another: 'Look not a gift horse in the -mouth.' I have saved your life, at least, if not this gentleman's. -And----" - -But Juan stammering forth some words of regret for the curiosity he -had shown, he stopped him with still another touch on the sleeve, and -said: - -"Briefly, let me tell this: I had reasons to be in Spain, to quit the -Indies and accompany the galleons, get a passage by some means. It -suited me to come disguised as a monk; there was no other way. For, -rightly or wrongly, both Spain and France are my enemies; in my own -proper character I could never have reached here. Being here, I am -still in danger if discovered; to avoid that discovery I have now -doffed the monkish garb, so that all traces of me are lost. Enough, -however; I am on my road to Lugo. Does your way lie the same road?" - -We both answered that it did, whereon he said, speaking quickly and, -as I noticed, in the tone of one who seemed very well used to issuing -orders, as well as accustomed to deciding for himself and others: - -"So be it. Let us ride together--and at once. Every moment we tarry -here makes our position more dangerous. Those men will no sooner have -returned to Chantada than every available soldier will be sent forward -to arrest us, even though we be in Lugo itself. You will be recognised -without doubt if you stay an instant in the town. Your one chance is -to get into it and out again as soon as may be. - -"And you?" I asked, as now we put spurs to our horses and dashed along -the forest track. "And you? If any of those who were in this affray -return with the soldiers you speak of, it will be hard for you, too, -to escape recognition. Your form cannot be disguised." - -"It will be disguised again," he answered very quietly, "when I have -once more resumed the monk's garb. I have it here," and he tapped the -great valise strapped on his horse's back. "It has not been worn since -I got ashore at Vigo, and that's far behind this by many leagues. -There are none here like to recognise me." - -"You stay, then, in Lugo?" - -"I must stay. I have affairs." - -He said this so decidedly that we neither of us ventured to ask him -any more questions, though, a moment or two afterward, he volunteered -to us the statement that, if another horse he had previously bought -when he landed at Vigo had not broken down, he would long ere this -have been in Lugo. Only the finding of a fresh animal--the one he now -bestrode--had taken him some time, and thereby caused him to be late -on his road, which, as we said gratefully enough, was fortunate for -us. - -"Ay," he replied, "it was; and also that I was breathing my animal in -the forest at the time those others overtook you. But, _nom d'un -chou!_ I have been a fighter in my day myself, and, since I could not -see two men set upon by five, my old instincts were aroused; though," -he added, with extreme _sang froid_, "had it been an even fray, I -might have left you to it." - -And now it seemed to both Juan and myself as though this man's -assistance to us necessitated us showing some confidence in him; -wherefore, very briefly, we gave him some description of why we were -travelling together, and of how, because Juan had naught else of much -importance to do at the outset of his arrival in Europe, he had -elected to be my companion as far as Flanders. - -"Humph!" he exclaimed at this, "he is a young knight errant, as I told -him oft enough in the galleon, when he talked some rhodomontade about -being on his way to Europe to seek out and punish a villain who had -wronged him. Well, sir, even if he finds not the man, he is likely -enough to meet with sufficient adventures in your company ere he -reaches Flanders." - -"He thinks he has found him already," I said quietly, in reply. - -"What!" and he turned his great eyes on both of us. "Found him. Here -in Spain!" and he laughed incredulously. - -"He thinks nothing of the kind," Juan cried hotly, roused more, I -thought, by that scornful laugh than by my doubting words. "He is sure -of it!" - -And then he told the whole story of our having seen the old man's -coach in the inn, of the black's insolent reply, of his departure at -night, and of the little doubt there could be that he it was who had -betrayed us to the people of Chantada; also he added: - -"But I have him. Have him fast. He is but a league or so ahead of us, -must stop some hours, at least, in Lugo. And then--then, James Eaton, -look to yourself!" - -As he uttered those words the black horse which the other bestrode -plunged forward, pricked, as I thought, by some unintentional movement -of the rider's spur, while that rider turned round in his saddle and -gazed at Juan, his face, as it seemed to me, livid beneath the -moonlight. - -"Who? What name is that on your lips?" - -"The name of a damned villain. The name of James Eaton." - -"James Eaton. James Eaton--what is he to you, then? What evil has he -done to you?" - -"What evil?" Juan replied, with a bitter laugh. "What evil? and what -is he to me? Only this: He was left guardian to me by my dead father, -and--and--he ill-treated and robbed me. No more than that!" - -"You! You! You!" this mysterious man said, his hand raised to his -eyebrows, his dark, piercing eyes gleaming beneath that hand--upon his -face a look I could not fathom. "You!" - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -"THE COWL DOES NOT ALWAYS MAKE THE MONK." - - -We were drawing very near to Lugo now, as the wintry morning gave -signs of breaking; already the great spurs and cańons of the mountains -that flanked the east side of the river Minho began to shape -themselves into something tangible and distinct from the dull clouds -at their summits, and their peaks and crags to stand out clearly. -Also, we noticed that villages were scattered about at the base of -these mountains; observed lights twinkling in the windows of cottages, -and passed a bridge which spanned the river and carried on a road that -led from that east side to the western one; a road with, on it, a -great pedestal of rock, serving, as others which we had passed had -served us, as milestones and finger-posts; a road leading, as we -learnt, from another Viana, different from the one in Portugal at -which Juan and I had landed from the English fleet. - -We were drawing very near. - -For the last two or three hours we had ridden almost in silence, knee -to knee, all wrapped in our long cloaks, and with nothing breaking in -upon that silence but, sometimes, the hoot of an owl from out the -beeches and tamarisks which fringed the road, and sometimes the scream -of an eagle far up in the mountains, roused, perhaps, from his eyrie -by the clang of our animals' hoofs upon the hard-bound, frosty earth. - -Yet some words had been spoken, too, ere we lapsed into this silence; -for, as our friend and deliverer had exclaimed, "You! You!" on hearing -that James Eaton had robbed Juan of whatever might have been left in -his care by the lad's dead father, Juan himself had quickly exclaimed: - -"Is he known also to you, then?" - -"He was once, long ago--ay, long ago!" Then he paused, as though -unwilling to tell more, though, a moment later, he said: - -"And now you think he is ahead of us?--that we shall find him in -Lugo?" - -"Without doubt," Juan and I answered, both speaking together, while -the former went on: - -"He must halt for some time in Lugo, if only to get a change of -horses." - -"'Tis my belief," I struck in, "he will do more than that. Judging -from what I learnt of him in the ship which brought us both from -Holland, Lugo is his destination, the end of his journey." - -"Wherefore?" the man who had been "Father Jaime" asked. - -"Because," I replied, "he was on his way to Cadiz, where, he thought, -as all did, that the galleons were going in. And he told me in a -frenzy, when he learnt that the English fleet was about in those -waters, that he had a fortune on board two of the galleons. Be sure, -therefore, he would follow them up to Vigo as soon as he could, after -being put ashore at Lagos and learning that much of the treasure had -been set ashore and then forwarded on to Lugo----" - -"Would follow them here?" the other said. "Ha! Well, then, we shall -surely meet," and he laughed a little, very quietly, to himself. "Must -meet! And I--I shall have something to say to James Eaton--shall -recall myself to him. He will be pleased to see me!" and again he -laughed--though this time the laughter sounded grimly. - -"I also shall have something to say to him," exclaimed Juan. "To----" - -"Recall yourself to him also," the other broke in. - -"Perhaps," the boy replied, "perhaps. We shall see, though it may not -be just at first." - -"At first," said the other, taking him up, "let me present myself. I -assure you 'twill be best. Let me put in my claim to his attention. -Then you can follow suit." - -"And I," I exclaimed, speaking now. "I, too, have something to settle -with Mr. James Eaton, if that be his name. I owe it to him that my -journey to Flanders has been interrupted by that scene upon the road, -owe it to him that I ran a very fair chance of never continuing that -journey further than a couple of leagues this side of Chantada. - -"I believe, too, that it was he who drew the attention of a French ship -of war to the vessel which was carrying me and my intelligence to -Cadiz, as then supposed." - -"How?" asked the ex-monk, "and why?" - -"The reason wherefore," I replied, "might be because he suspected my -mission in some way. The manner in which he let the French ship know -of our whereabouts was probably by leaving open the dead light of his -cabin when he lay drinking, while all the others were closed so as to -avoid her. Oh! be sure," I continued, "when you two have done with him -I shall have an account also to make." - -"We are three avengers," the other replied, with still that grim laugh -of his. "James Eaton will have other things to think of besides -getting back his treasure at Lugo, if it is there; for, when Seńor -Belmonte and myself and you have finished with him--sir," he said, -breaking off and regarding me, "I do not know your name, how to -designate you. What may it be?" - -"My name," I replied, "is Mervyn Crespin. May I ask by what we are to -address you? At present, at least, you do not style yourself 'Father -Jaime,' I apprehend." - -"Nay," he said. "Nay--not until I don the cowl again. But, see, none -of us, I should suppose, are desirous of travelling through this -hostile country, entering this town of Lugo, which may bristle with -dangers to all of us, under our right names. Therefore--though even -thus 'tis not desirous that these names should be spoken more often -than needs--I will be Seńor Jaime. There are Jaimes for second names, -as well as first." - -"And," exclaimed Juan, entering at once into the spirit of the matter, -"there are Juans for second names as well as first, also. Therefore I -will be Seńor Juan." - -"And I," I said, "since I pretend to speak no Spanish, but am supposed -to be a Frenchman, will be Monsieur Crespin. That is a French name, as -well as English. There are scores of Crespins in Maine and Anjou--'tis -from there we came originally. 'Twill do very well." - -So, this understanding arrived at, we rode on afterward in that -silence which I have told you of. - -But now it was full day, cold, crisp and bright, with the sun topping -the mountains to our left and sending down fair, warm beams athwart -the river, which served to put some life into us, as well as a little -extra heat besides that which the motion of our horses and the glow of -their bodies had hitherto afforded us. - -Also, we had left the forest now and entered a great plain which -rolled away to the west of those mountains, and of the river which -brawled and splashed at their base; a plain that in summer was, -doubtless, covered with all the rich vegetation for which the north of -Spain is famed, but that now stretched bare as the palm of a hand, and -recalled to my mind the fair Weald of Kent when winter's icy grip is -on it. Yet 'twas well covered with villages, some close together, some -a league or two leagues apart, and, under where the last spurs of the -Cantabrian mountains swept round directly to the west, we saw rise -before us the high walls of a town, with above them an incredible -amount of towers--we making out between twenty and thirty of these as -each stride of our animals brought us nearer to them. - -"That," said Seńor Jaime--as he was now to be called--though God only -knew what his right name was!--while our eyes regarded it from still -afar, "must be Lugo. Now let us decide for our plan of action. And, -first, as to getting into it." - -"Do you make your entry," I asked, "as a gentleman travelling through -the land, or as priest--monk?" - -"As monk!" he replied. "So best! I have other affairs here, besides -the desire of meeting my old friend, Eaton. Now, observe, this is what -I propose: You shall go first together--you will have no difficulty in -getting in, seeing that there is no frontier to cross. Nor will you be -asked for papers, since, once in, you will not get out again unless -you appear satisfactory to those who are there." - -"We must get out again after a short rest, after a few hours," I -replied. "I make no manner of doubt that by now we are followed from -Chantada--if those who are behind us reach Lugo ere we have quitted -it, we shall be stopped beyond all doubt." - -Seńor Jaime paused a moment ere he answered; pondering, doubtless, on -this being the case. Then, speaking slowly, he said: - -"If--if--'twere possible that you," looking at me, "and you," -regarding Juan, "could also enter the town disguised; could appear as -something vastly different from what you are, you would be safe; we -would remain together. And--and--that would please me. We must not -part, having met as we have done," and his eyes rested particularly -upon Juan as he spoke, so that I felt sure he would far less willingly -part with him than with me; that it was of this bright, handsome boy -he was thinking most. - -"I," exclaimed Juan, "would, above all other things but one--that one -the not parting company with Mervan, my friend!"--how softly he -murmured those words, "my friend!"--"stay here. For I am resolved to -bring to bar that villain, James Eaton. But how--how to do it? How to -enter the town disguised? We do not travel with masks and vizards, nor -could we assume them an we did. Also, how to change our appearance -sufficiently to be unrecognised by any of those behind?" - -"For him," said Seńor Jaime, addressing Juan, but looking at me, "'tis -easy enough. I can help him to change himself in a moment. I have -here," and he tapped the great valise strapped on to his horse's back, -"a second monk's gown, of another order than the one I wore--that was -a Carmelite's and, as you know, brown; the second is a Dominican's, -and white. The object which brings me to Europe--later you shall know -it--if it prospers, forced me to provide myself with more than one -disguise." - -Then after pausing a moment, perhaps to judge of the effect of this -announcement on us, he went on: "Well, Monsieur Crespin! What do you -say? Will you be a monk and stay with Juan till he has seen his -beloved friend, James Eaton, or will you insist on his abandoning his -interview with that personage and riding post-haste to Flanders? Only -remember, if he and you do so, or if you do this alone, the chance is -also missed of your having a reckoning with that old man also." - -Now I was sorely posed by this suggestion of his--sorely. For, -firstly, there was something bitterly distasteful to me, a soldier -and, I hoped, a brave one, in masquerading in any such guise as this -suggested. Also, I knew that it ill became me to tarry on my journey -back for any cause whatever, let alone a new formed friendship for -Juan Belmonte. My place was with the Cuirassiers, and with them I -ought to be--both the earls having hinted that there would be some -hard fighting ere long--while, as for revenging myself on the villain -whose name now seemed for a certainty to be Eaton, well! that might -easily be left to Seńor Jaime and Juan. If they did not between them -very effectually confound that hoary-headed scoundrel, I should be -much astonished. - -On the other hand, there were many things that made for my disguising -myself ere I entered Lugo, and, rapidly enough as I sat my horse -deliberating, those things ran through my mind. To begin with, it -would be full of Spanish and French soldiers and sailors, the runaways -from Vigo, who, undoubtedly, would have followed the bulk of the -treasure which had been removed from the galleons and transported -here; and it was possible that there might be some who would recognise -me, since I had played a pretty prominent part in the attack. It -might, therefore, be best that--little as this disguising of myself -was to my taste--I should do as Seńor Jaime suggested. - -Yet, all the same--and in the next moment--I decided that I would not -do this thing; for, besides that it was too repugnant to me, I knew -that it would be useless. And, knowing this, I said so, in spite of -the pleading, pitiful glances which Juan cast at me--glances which -plainly enough implored me to adopt the monk's dress, and thereby be -enabled to stay in Lugo until vengeance was wrought upon James Eaton. - -"No," I said, turning to Seńor Jaime, who sat quietly on my horse -awaiting my answer, while I studiously avoided Juan's gaze. "No, I -will not do it. I am a soldier, and as a soldier--at least as a man, -and not a monk--I will get through Spain and France. Besides, the -disguise would be useless." - -"Wherefore?" - -"In reply to that," I said, "let me ask you a question: What do you -intend to do with your horse? Monks do not ride, as a rule--in -Flanders I never saw one on horseback; also, your boots and great -steel spurs beneath the gown would betray you." - -Now, he seemed very fairly posed at this, and for a moment bent his -head over his animal's mane, as though lost in thought. Then suddenly -he burst out into one of his deep, sonorous laughs, and exclaimed: - -"Body of St. Iago! I never thought of that. Though, for the boots, it -matters not; I have the monkish sandals with me. And--and--perhaps the -horse can be smuggled into the town somehow, and with it the boots! -Ha! I must think!" - -And again he became buried in thought; yet, a moment later, he spoke -once more: - -"If you enter Lugo as you are," he said, "you will be taken for a -certainty. There are--there must be--many coming after us from behind, -from Chantada--they will describe you. Remember, you were not only -seen under the moon's rays during the fight in the wood, but in the -town previously. And, if you are taken, there is no hope for you! -Eaton has told that you are English--fought against the galleons at -Vigo. God! it means the garrote for both of you. You understand what -that is? An upright post, a hasp of iron around your neck and it, a -wheel to screw that hasp tight to the post--with your neck between -them!--and--and--your eyeballs out of your head--your tongue half a -foot long. That is what awaits you if you are taken." - -"I will never be taken," I said, between my teeth, "to suffer that. -Bah! If I cannot, if we cannot, get out of the town again on the other -side, have I not this, and this?" and I touched my pistol holsters. -"They will be in my belt then." - -After saying which I turned to Juan to ask him if he agreed with me, -and saw that Seńor Jaime's ghastly description of the garrote had made -him as pale as death. - -"What think you, comrade?" I asked. "Is it not best that you and I -forego our vengeance on this man, Eaton, and push on as fast as may -be, leaving him to our friend here, who also seems to have a reckoning -to make--who appears, also, one who can extort it? Or will you -disguise yourself and stay behind?" - -"Nay. Nay," he answered. "Where you go, I go. And--God knows I am no -poltroon--yet--yet--I could not suffer that. I have seen it in the -Indies--oh!" and he put his hands to his eyes, letting his reins fall. -"Not that, not that!" - -"Will you push on with me, then, foregoing your vengeance?" - -"Yes. Yes, since my vengeance risks such death as that. But," turning -to the other, "you proposed a disguise for me. Was I to be a monk, -too?" - -"Nay," he said. "Nay. But you are a brave, handsome lad--I thought -that in some way we might have transformed you into a woman. You would -make a presentable one." - -"A woman!" he echoed, looking mighty hot and raging at the suggestion. -"A woman!--I, who have fought by Mervan's side! Never. Also," he -added, after somewhat of a pause, "it is not as a woman that I intend -to meet James Eaton, if at all; but as a man demanding swift justice. -A woman would be like to get none of that from him." - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -A NARROW ESCAPE. - - -That evening--or rather afternoon, when already the wintry night was -at hand--Juan and I were in Lugo and once more making preparations to -continue our journey--to go on west now, through the Asturias, -Santander and Biscay, as our chart showed us, toward St. Sebastian and -Bayonne, which would bring us into France. But also we hoped that, -after we had passed by the former of these provinces, on reaching the -sea, which we should then do, our journey by land might be at an end; -that we might find, by great good fortune, at some seaside town a -vessel, either English or Dutch, which would take us north to where we -desired to go. - -But, alas! 'tis useless to write down all the plans we concocted in -the dirty parlour of the inn we had rested in--an inn dignified by the -name of the "Pósada del Gran Grifon," since 'twas not to be our lot to -make that journey, nor to set out upon it. - -Let me not, however, anticipate, but write down all that now befell -us; also let me now begin to tell of the strange marvels that I was -destined to behold the unravelling of, as also the dangers which from -this period encompassed me. - -We were alone, had entered Lugo alone, Seńor Jaime having bidden us -ride ahead of him and leave him to find his way into the town by -himself. - -"And," he said, "be very sure I shall do it. Fear not for me. Only, if -I come not by the time four o'clock has struck, believe that either I -have fallen into the hands of the enemy or that, for some reason, I -have not been able to get face to face with Eaton. Therefore, ride on -without me. Remember my disguise will save _me_. You have both refused -to be disguised. By consequence, look to yourselves. We shall meet -again. I know your road." - -And now four o'clock had struck from the cathedral hard by, and he had -not come. Yet, why not? we asked each other. A peasant whom we had met -on the road when but a league between us and Lugo had mentioned this -inn as one where good accommodation for man and beast could be -obtained, and ere we parted from Jaime we had determined that it -should be our meeting place. - -And still he had not come. And it was four o'clock and past. - -"We must go," I said to Juan, "we must go. 'Tis courting frightful -danger to remain here. Already I have observed half a dozen French and -Spanish sailors pass this window, whom I saw on board some of the -ships and galleons; also some officers. If I meet them face to face, -and they remember me, as I do them, there will be----" - -"What?" asked Juan, his face full of terror. - -"Well--no Mervyn Crespin a few hours hence! that's all." - -"Oh, come, come, come," he exclaimed, catching at my arm. "For God's -sake, come! Why, why did we ever enter this town! 'Twas madness. We -should have remembered they had fled hither." - -"There is no other high road to France and Flanders," I said, "that -justifies the risk. Yet, Juan, remember, even now it is not too late -for you to part from me, if you choose. Your coming on here means -nothing. _You_ did not fight against the galleons; therefore you are -in no danger----" - -"Silence!" he said again, as he had said once before. "Silence! I will -hear no word about leaving you." - -Then suddenly he came away from the window, at which he had been -standing, and crossed the room to me. - -"Look," he said. "Look from out that window into the street; then say -if it is not too late for us to part--if my danger is not as great as -yours. Look, I say!" - -Glancing first at him, in wonderment at his exclamation, and what the -meaning of it might be, yet with some sort of understanding mounting -to my brain also, I stepped across to the dirty, unwashed window and -looked out into the street. - -And then I understood. - -Through the dim light cast on the now darkened street by oil lamps, -swung across it at intervals, and also by the candles burning in. -_relicários_, set into the walls, as well as by the feeble glare which -emerged from curtainless and unshuttered windows, I saw a band of men -slowly passing, their drawn swords in their hands, or with musketoons -upon their shoulders. - -And ahead of all this body, which was composed of perhaps a dozen, -there marched two of those with whom we had fought on the road between -Chantada and this place--the leader who had addressed us, and another. -As they passed along they gazed at each man whom they encountered; -halting opposite our window, they looked at an inn which faced ours -directly, a little place on which was painted the name, "Pósada Buena -Ventura." - -"Open the window a crack," I said to Juan--doing so myself, however, -as I spoke--"and let us listen. Hear what they say. Softly," and -following my words we placed our ears to the inch-wide orifice. - -And then we heard every word as it fell from their lips. - -"That house opposite," the leader said, "is the last to be examined -except this and another"--while Juan whispered: "I cannot catch its -name--It sounds like the San Cristobal. Yes. Yes. 'Tis that. Ha! And, -see, they enter the house opposite. Yet some remain in the street." -And we both peered from behind the side of the window at them as they -stood there in the road, a crowd of urchins gathered round. - -"We are trapped," I said, "trapped. We can never get out. The horses -are in the stables behind--also, the gates are shut." - -"God!" exclaimed Juan, suddenly, even as I spoke, "they have finished -there already--are coming here. Another five minutes and they will be -in this room." - -"What shall we do?" he wailed a moment later. - -"Escape while there is time--from this room, at least. Loosen your -sword in its sheath--follow me," and I drew him back from the window. - -"But where? Where to go to?" - -"Out of the house, at least. Come. The stairs lead down to the back -part of the house; there is the yard and the stables--also a garden. I -observed it when the horses were put up. Come. There is a wall at the -end of the garden which separates it from another. If we can get over -that we can at least escape into the town. By God's grace, there may -be some way out of it besides the gates. And we have the cloak of -night to help us." - -All the time I was speaking I had been drawing Juan toward the door; -also I had seen that my papers and money were bestowed about me -safely--I doubted if we should ever see our valises again!--or, for -the matter of that, our horses. It would be heaven's providence now if -we ever got out of this town alive, and even that I deemed unlikely. -And at this crisis that was all we had to hope for, if so much. - -"Lift your _porte epée_ by the hand," I whispered. "If the scabbard -clanks on the stairs we are undone. Follow me." - -In another instant we were outside the door of the room. For -precaution and as a possible means of gaining time I drew the key from -the inside of the lock, then placed it in the keyhole outside, made a -turn and, again withdrawing it, dropped it into my pocket. This would -take up some moments, while they clamoured without, bidding us open. -It would take some few more to break down the door, which they would -very probably do. They might be precious moments to us. - -It was quite dark outside in the corridor, but at the farther end -there glimmered a faint light from an oil lamp set upon a bracket, -though its rays scarcely reached here, namely, to the head of the deep -oak stairs opposite where the door of the room we had just quitted -was. But from below, which was a stone-flagged passage running from -the front of the house to the back, there was another light--thank -God, 'twas nearer the street than the exit to the yard! - -We descended seven steps, then the stairs turned sharply from a small -landing--we ourselves did not dare, however, to turn them. - -For below, in that cold stone corridor, we heard and recognised the -voice of the man who had challenged us in the forest ere the fight -began, a night ago. - -"Here, are they?" we heard him say. "Here--so the birds are caught. -The one, big, stalwart, brown--that is the English _demonio_--the -other, younger, dark, handsome, might play the lover in one of Vega's -spectacles. Ha! And the third who joined in the murder--an elder one, -swart and grimy, black as the devil himself--is he here, too?" - -"Nay," said the woman, whose voice told us she was the landlady, -"there are but two, the bronzed one and the youth. You will not hurt -him! Nay! Nay! _Diôs!_ he is young and beautiful." - -"Have no fear. _We_ will not hurt either, if they do not resist. If -they do, we shall cut them down. But--otherwise--no! no!" and he -laughed a fierce, hard laugh. "Oh, no. There are others to hurt -them--the governor, the Regidórs, the judges. Ho! They will hurt them -through the garrote--or--or--the flames. The brasero! The wheel! Now -lead up to them. Where is the room they harbour in?" - -"I will fetch another lamp," the woman said. "This one is fixed. -Wait." And we heard her clatter down the corridor on her Spanish -pattens. Yet she paused, too, a moment, and turned back, saying: - -"Spare him--the young one. Heavens! his lips and eyes are enough to -madden an older woman than I am." - -"Quick, then, quick," the other answered. "They sleep in the prison -to-night, and our supper waits at the gatehouse. Quick." - -"Shall we dash through them?" Juan whispered; and now I noticed that, -as before in the hour of danger, his voice was firm and steady. "One -might escape even though the other is taken." And I heard him mutter, -in even lower tones: "Pray God it is you." - -"No," I said. "No. We go together. Together escape or--die." - -Then, even as I spoke, I saw what I had not observed before, owing to -the dim light in which all was surrounded; saw that opposite to us on -the landing--where the stairs turned--there was a door. Closed tight -into its frame, 'twas true, yet leading doubtless into some room -opening off the stairs which led up to the other one we had quitted. - -I was near enough to put my foot out quietly and touch it with my toe -and--God be praised!--it yielded, opened inward. - -"Into it," I said in Juan's ear, "into it. They will pass it as they -go up to where we have come from. When they have done so we may creep -down. In!" - -A moment later we had entered that room, had quitted the stairs--and -the woman had come back and rejoined the men, was leading them up -those very stairs, across the very spot where a few instants before we -had been standing. - -Yet our hearts leapt to our mouths--mine did, I know!--when we who -were standing on the other side of the door heard him stop outside it, -and, striking the panel with his finger--the rap of his nail upon it -was clearly perceptible to our eager ears--say to the woman: - -"Is this the room--are they here?" - -The woman gave a low laugh in answer; then she said: - -"Nay. Nay. 'Tis mine. By the saints! what should they do there! That -handsome _Inglés_, devil though he be!--or that lovely boy? Heavens, -no!" and again she laughed, and added: "Come. They are here. Up these -stairs." - -Even as we heard their heavy, spurred feet clatter on those stairs we -were seeking for some mode of escape, and that at once. - -Alas! 'twas not to be out of the door again and down into the stone -passage, as we had thought. - -For one glance through a great crack, and we saw, by peering down -below, that these Spanish alguazils had some method in their -proceedings. They had left two of their number behind; they stood in -the passage waiting for what might happen above; waiting, perhaps, to -hew down the two fugitives whom those others were seeking for, should -they rush down; waiting for us. There was no way there! - -Then, for the room--what did that offer? - -It was as dark as a vault--we could distinguish nothing--not even -where the bed was--at first. Yet, later, in a few moments--while we -heard, above, the rapping of sword hilts upon the door of the chamber -we had just quitted--while we heard, too, the leader shouting: "Open. -Open--_Bandidos! Assassinatóres! Espias!_ or we will blow the lock -off"--we saw at the end of the room a dull murky glimmer, a light that -was a light simply in contrast to the denser gloom around--knew there -was a window at that end. - -Was that our way out? - -Swiftly we went toward it--tore aside a curtain drawn across a -bar--the noise the rings made as they ran seemed enough to alarm those -men above, must have done so but for the infernal din they themselves -were making--opened the lattice window--and, heaven help us!--found -outside an iron, interlaced grate that would have effectually barred -the exit of aught bigger than a cat! - -We were trapped! Caught! It seemed as if naught could save us now! - -"Lock the door," I whispered to Juan. "They will come here next. The -moment they find we are not in the other room!--ha! they know it now, -or will directly." - -For as I spoke there rang the report of a musketoon through the empty -passages of the house. They were blowing the lock off! - -Desperately, madly, exerting a force that even I had never yet -realized myself as possessing, I seized the cross-bars of that iron -grating; I pushed them outward, praying to God for one moment--only -one moment--of Samson's strength. And--could do nothing! Nothing, at -first. Yet--as still I strained and pushed, as I drew back my arms to -thrust more strongly even than before--it seemed as if the framework, -as if the whole thing, yielded, as if it were becoming loosened in its -stone or brick setting. Inspired by this, I pushed still more, threw -the whole weight of my big body into one last despairing effort--and -succeeded! The grate was loosened, torn out of the frame; with a -clatter of falling chips and small _débris_ it fell into the yard ten -feet below. - -My prayer was heard! - -"Quick, Juan," I said, "quick, come. Out of the window, give me your -hands. I will lower you. 'Tis nothing." - -From Juan there came in answer a cry, almost a scream of terror. - -"Save me! Save me!" he shrieked, "there is another man in the room!" -and as he so cried, I heard a thump upon the floor--a thump such as -one makes who leaps swiftly from a bed--a rush across that floor. Also -a muttered curse in Spanish, a tempest of words, a huge form hurled -against mine, two great muscular hands at my throat. - -In a moment, however, my own hands were out, too, my thumbs pressing -through a coarse beard upon a windpipe. "Curse you," I said in -Spanish, as I felt that grasp on me relax. "Curse you, you are -doomed," and drawing back, I struck out with my full force to the -front of me. - -Struck out, to feel my clenched fist stopped by a hairy face--the thud -was terrible even to my ears!--to hear a bitter moan and, a moment -later, a fall--dull and like a dead weight!--upon the floor. - -"Come, Juan, come," I cried. "Come." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -WHO? GRAMONT? - - -As he scrambled through the window--as I let him down by his hands, so -that, with the length of his arm and mine together, his feet were not -more than a yard from the ground--I heard those others outside the -door. Heard also the woman shriek: - -"There is none in here, I tell you--pigs, idiots! If they have -escaped, 'tis to the street or to the roof. Search those rooms first. -This is my chamber. _Diôs!_ Are you men to enter thus a woman's -apartment!" - -"So be it," the leader said. "We will. But, remember, if we find them -not we will search this room. Remember!" and we heard him and the -others striding off to some other part of the house. - -By this time I was myself half out of the window. From the creature I -had felled to the floor there came no sound; but from the door outside -I heard the woman whisper: - -"Renato, come forth. Quick, I say! If they find you here you are lost. -You will be taken--sent to the colonies. Come forth!" - -Then I waited to hear no more, understanding clearly enough that the -woman had herself been sheltering in her own room some malefactor, -probably some lover. And, doubtless, he had thought we were seeking -for him, had found him in that darkened room--that we were the -alguazils. His presence was explained. - -Taking Juan by the hand, I passed rapidly by the stables as we went -away from the street and up into the garden beyond--a small place, -neglected and dirty, in which I had noticed, when we arrived, numbers -of enormous turnips growing--vegetables much used in the country. - -Then, a moment later, we were close by a low, whitewashed wall--'twas -not so high as my head--over which I helped Juan, following instantly -myself. - -"Heaven knows," I said, "where we are now, except that we have left -the inn behind. This may be the garden of some great _residéncia_, or -of another inn. Well, we must get through somehow into the street -beyond." - -"And afterward?" Juan asked, his face close to mine, as though trying -to see me in the dark of the night. "Afterward?" - -"God knows what--afterward! We shall never get out of the gates, 'tis -certain. There are five--all are doubtless warned by now. Pity 'tis we -did not follow our friend's suggestion and disguise ourselves. That -way, we might have been safe. I as a monk, you as a woman, we should -never have been recognised." - -"'Tis too late," said Juan. "Too late now. We must go on; on to the -end. Yet I wonder where that friend, Jaime, is. Perhaps taken, his -disguise seen through." - -We had reached the house to which this garden belonged by now--a -different one from the neglected thing we had lately left, well cared -for, and with great tubs of oleanders and orange trees placed about it -at regular intervals, as we could now see by the rising moon, which -was peeping over the chimney tops and casting its rays along a broad -path which we had followed; were close up to the house, a great white -one, with this, its garden side, full of windows covered with -_persianas_, or jalousies, and from some of them lights streaming. - -"'Tis an inn, for sure," I said, "and full of--hark! whose voice is -that?" - -Yet there was no need to ask; 'twas a voice not easily forgotten which -was speaking now; the voice of the man, Seńor, or "Father," Jaime. - -"Ay," we heard in those rich, sonorous tones, "alive, and here to call -you to account." - -And following this we heard another voice, supplicating, wailing, -screaming, almost: "No! No! No! Mercy! Pardon!" - -Beneath the moon's increasing rays we gazed into each other's eyes, -then quickly, together--as if reading each other's thoughts also--we -moved toward where those sounds proceeded from. - -Toward a room in the angle of the great white house, with a door -opening on to the garden in which we stood--'twas open now, though -half across it hung a heavy curtain of some thick material. It was -easy enough to guess how 'twas that curtain was thrown half back and -the door stood open. - -That way Jaime had come upon his prey. - -Standing behind that door, behind that heavy half-fallen curtain, -this was what we saw: The man Jaime, with in his hand a drawn -sword--doubtless he had hidden it beneath his monk's gown since he -returned to the assumption of the latter. - -In front of Jaime, upon his knees, his hands clasped, his white hair -streaming behind him, was the man whose name I had deemed to be -Carstairs, or Cuddiford, but which Juan had averred was in truth James -Eaton. - -"Alive!" Jaime went on. "Alive. Villain, answer for your treachery ere -I slay you. Where is my wealth--my child's wealth. Where is my -daughter?" - -As he spoke I heard a gasp, a moan beside me, felt a trembling. And, -looking down, I saw Juan staring into the room, his eyes distended as -though he was fascinated. - -"My child," Jaime went on. "My child. Where is she?" - -"I--I--do not know," the old man muttered--hissed in a whisper. "I -do--not know. She left me--years ago. Yet--I loved her." - -"Liar. I have heard of you in the Indies. You stole the wealth I left -in your hands for her--you drove her forth. Answer. Is she dead?" - -"I lost all in trade," Eaton moaned again, "all, all. I thought -to double it--you were dead--they said so--would never come back. -I--I----" - -"Look," whispered Juan in my ear. "Look behind you." - -At his words I turned, and then I knew that we were lost, indeed. Lost -forever. - -The men from Chantada, accompanied by those of Lugo, were in this -garden--had followed us over the wall, had found out our way of -escape. - -We were doomed! The garrote--the stake--were very near now. - -They saw us at once, in an instant--doubtless our forms stood out -clearly enough in the beams of the lamp as they poured forth into the -garden--and made straight for us, their swords drawn, the unbrowned -barrels of their musketoons and pistols gleaming in the moonlight. And -the leader shouted, as he ran slightly ahead of the others: "You -cannot escape again. Move and we fire on you!" - -Yet we heeded him not, but with a bound leapt into the room where -those two were--leapt in while I cried: "Jaime, we are undone. Assist -us again." - -Then swift as lightning I shut the door to, let fall the curtain and -drew my sword. "I will never yield to them," I said. "Juan and I -escape or die here together." - -"Together!" Juan echoed, drawing also his weapon forth. - -There was but time to see a still more frightened glance on Eaton's -face than before--if added terror could come into a man's eyes more -than had been when those eyes had glinted up at Jaime as he stood over -him, it came now as Juan sprang to my side, his hat fallen off and his -hair dishevelled--while those men were at the door giving on to the -garden. And in an instant it was burst open by them--'twas but a poor -frail thing!--they were in the room. - -"Yield!" the leader cried, "yield, or you die here at once!" - -But now Jaime was by our side; three blades were flashing in their -faces; we were driving them back, assisted also by a fourth--the negro -servant of Eaton, who had sprung into the room from another door. Yet -that assistance lasted but a second. Doubtless the unhappy wretch -preferred it, thinking it was his master who was in danger! A pistol -was fired by some one, and I saw him reel back, falling heavily on the -floor, dead, with a bullet between his eyes. And, as he did so, from -Eaton there came a scream, while he flung himself over the creature's -body. - -With those others pistols were now the order of the day, fired -ineffectually at first, while still I and the leader fought -hand-to-hand around the room. And I had him safe. I knew if I was not -cut down from behind that he was mine. My blade was under and over his -guard. I prepared for the last lunge, when--curses on the luck!--a -bullet took me in the right forearm; there ran through that arm, up to -my shoulder, a feeling of numbness, a burning twinge; my sword fell -with a clang to the floor. - -And in another moment two of them had sprung on and secured me; two -others had grasped Juan, and disarmed him, too. - -And now there was none on our side to oppose himself to them but -Jaime. - -"Shoot him down! Kill him!" the leader cried. Then added: "You fool, -there is naught against you, yet, if you court fate, receive it." - -But, great fighter as he was, what could he do against all those? One -hung upon his sword arm, another clasped a leg, a third was dragging -at his neck from behind, a fourth holding his monkish gown. - -In another moment he, too, was disarmed. We were beaten--prisoners! -The lives of all of us were at an end. None could doubt that! - -The leader drew a long breath, then turned to where, at the open door -of the passage, were gathered the landlord, as I supposed; several -_facchinos_ and some trembling women servants, white to the lips, and -said: - -"Observe, all you. I take these men--these _asasinos_ within your -house. I denounce these two," and he indicated Juan and me, "the one -as an English spy and a man who fought against us at Vigo, this other -one, this boy, as his comrade and accomplice. Bear witness to my -words, also to their deeds of blood." - -From that crowd in the passage there came murmurs and revilings in -reply: "You should have slain them here," some said; "Better the -garrote or the flames in the _plaza da Mercado_," said others. - -"As for this monk, this false monk--for such I know him now to -be--easy enough to recognise him as one of the brigands we fought with -the other night--had he not joined in this fray he had been safe. We -sought him not. Now, also, the flames or the garrote for him." Then, -breaking off, he exclaimed: "Who is this--and that black slave lying -dead there?" and he pointed to Eaton and the other. "Who are they?" - -"A gentleman and his servant staying in this, my house," the landlord -said, speaking for the first time, "doubtless assaulted by the -_vagabundos_. Oh! 'tis terrible." - -"Off with these three," the leader said. "To the prison in the -ramparts to-night--the judge to-morrow." - -And as he gave his orders his men and the men of Lugo with him formed -round us, prepared to obey. - -But, now, for the first time Eaton spoke, approaching the leader -fawningly, speaking in a soft voice. - -"Seńor," he said, "ere you take them away, a word. This one," looking -at me, "you knew already--at Chantada; I have told you who and what he -is. For the boy it matters not. He is but a follower." - -Yet as he spoke I noticed he carefully avoided Juan's eyes, fixed full -blaze on him as they flamed from out of his now white, marble face. - -"These, I say, you know," he went on. "But for this other one--this -pretended monk, this brigand of the night--you do not know him; nor -who he is and what has been. Let me tell you." - -"Viper," Jaime murmured. "Villain. Thief! Yet," he continued, "I stoop -not to ask your silence. Speak. Tell all. But, James Eaton, beware. -Caged tigers sometimes break their bars and get free." - -"Yours will never be broken," the leader said, looking at the same -time with a wondering glance from one to the other. - -"'Tis true. 'Tis very true," Eaton went on, his voice oily, -treacherous as before. "Yet since you might break yours, I give this -gentleman a double reason for binding you faster. Sir," turning to him -whom he so addressed, "this monk, this brigand as he appears, would be -an innocent man were he that alone, in comparison with what he really -is." - -"Who in the name of all the fiends is he, then? Answer quick." - -"A murderer," the old man hissed now, raising his voice, "not -four-fold, but four thousand-fold. See," and he pointed his fingers at -Jaime, "see in him the man who sacked Maracaibo, Guayaquil, Campeachy; -the man who has burnt men and women alive in their houses like pigs in -a stye, sunk countless Spanish and French ships, plundered, murdered, -ravished--the arch-villain of the Caribbean Sea--not dead, but alive, -and trapped at last. The buccaneer, filibuster, pirate--Gramont!" - -Amidst their voices--their shouts and cries--for all in Spain had -known that awful name, though its owner had long been deemed dead and -lost at sea--I heard a cry--it was a scream--from Juan; I saw him reel -as he stood by my left side, then stagger heavily against me, -supported from falling to the floor only by my unwounded arm around -him. - -He had fainted. - -And, as I held up the drooping form, I learnt the secret hidden from -me for so many days. I knew now what it was that Sir George Rooke had -earlier learnt. I penetrated the disguise of Juan Belmonte. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -SENTENCED TO DEATH. - - -I lay within a darkened cell in the prison which formed part of the -ramparts of Lugo. Lay there, a man doomed to death; sentenced to be -burnt at the stake, as a spy taken in a country at war with my own. To -be burnt at the stake on some Sunday morning, because that day was -always a day of festival, because all Lugo would be there to witness, -because from all the country round the peasants would come in to see -the Englishman expire in the flames. - -Doomed to death! - -Yet not alone. By my side--his right hand nailed to an upright plank! -(so the sentence had run) to which our bodies were to be fastened by -chains--was to stand that other man, Gramont--the pirate and buccaneer -who, as Eaton had testified, had been called the Shark of the Indies. - -I had been tried first by the Alcáide of Lugo and the principal -Regidór, assisted by the Bishop of the province, an extremely old -man--and had been soon disposed of. Evidence was forthcoming--there -was plenty of it in Lugo in the shape of French sea-captains and -sailors from the Spanish galleons--that I had fought with the English -at Vigo; also, that I had slain men betwixt the border and here. And, -again, there was the evidence of Eaton that I had travelled from -Rotterdam as the undoubted bearer of the news that the galleons were -approaching Spain. - -Also, not content with all this, I was on my way through the land, -gleaning evidence of all that was taking place within it, so as to -furnish, as none could otherwise suppose, information to my countrymen -when I should reach them. - -No need for my trial to be spun out; one alone of all these facts was -enough to condemn me, and, after a whispered conference between the -Alcáide, the Regidór and the Bishop, the latter delivered the above -sentence, his voice almost inaudible because of his great age, yet -strong enough for the purpose--powerful enough to reach my ears and -those of the small crowd within the court house; that was sufficient. - -So I knew my fate, and knew, too, that it was useless to say aught, to -utter one word. I had lost the game; the stakes would have to be paid -in full. - -Then began the unravelling of the history of him who stood beside -me--swarthy, contemptuous--his eyes glancing around that court, -alighting at one moment on the withered form and cadaverous face of -the Bishop, at another on the figure of the Regidór, a moment later on -the Alcáide, a younger, well favoured man, whom I guessed a soldier in -the past or present. - -Gramont's condemnation was assured by the part he had played on that -night when he assisted us on the road 'twixt Chantada and Lugo. That -alone would have forfeited his life amidst these Spaniards; yet, -perhaps from curiosity, perhaps because even they doubted whether so -summary an execution, and one so horrible, was merited by that night's -work, they decided to hear the denouncement of Eaton, the story of -Gramont's past life. They bade the former speak, tell all. - -And what a story it was he told! - -Sitting in a chair near the Bishop, looking nearly as old as that old -man himself, he poured out horror after horror; branded the man by my -side as one too steeped in cruelty to be allowed to live another hour, -if what he said was, indeed, true. - -Told how this man had ravaged all the Spanish main--had besieged -Martinique, Nombre de Diós, Campeachy, and scores of other places, -shedding blood like water everywhere--had sunk and plundered ships; -burnt them and the men in them--burnt them alive; gave instances, too, -of cruelty extreme. - -"I have known him to tie dead and living together and fling them to -the sharks," he said--"dead and living _Spaniards!_ Also hang them to -the bowsprit by a cord round their waists, a knife placed in one hand, -so that, while freedom was theirs if they chose to sever the rope, a -worse death awaited them when they fell into the water--a death from -sharks, from alligators! Oh, sir, oh, reverend prelate," he continued, -stretching out his hands toward the old, almost blind man, "I have -seen worse than this. Once he and his followers besieged a monastery -full of holy fathers, governed by a bishop saintly as yourself; and -they defended it vigorously, bravely--would have driven this tiger -back but for one thing." - -"What?" asked the younger of the judges, the Alcáide. And I noticed -that now, as all through this testifying of Eaton, that Alcáide seemed -less disposed to accept his evidence than the others were. Later on I -knew the reason that so urged him. - -"What?" he said. - -"Some of the priests had already fallen into his hands and the hands -of his crew. Then they it was whom he forced to advance first against -the monastery--to fire the brass cannon they had brought with them -against their brethren; forced them to do so, so that those brethren -should not know them, should shoot them down first. - -"Also," said the Alcáide, "it might have been to prevent their firing -at all. In open war a great commander would, perhaps, have availed -himself of such a cunning ruse." - -Then I knew for sure this man had been, or was, a soldier. - -More, much more, was told by Eaton--'tis best I set down nothing -further--then the end came, The sentence was passed; he, too, was -doomed to die, by my side, on the Sunday that should later be -appointed. - -"Break off," the Bishop said. "Justice will be done." Whereupon he -glanced down at his papers--I wondering that he could see them with -those purblind eyes--while, pausing in his attempt to rise, he "Yet -there was another. The youth"--and here I pricked up my ears, for -of Juan I had heard nothing since taken to the prison in the -ramparts--"the youth who fought by the side of this man--this -spy--this _Inglés_. How comes it he is not before us?" - -For a moment, as it seemed to me, the Alcáide hesitated, then he said: - -"He is not well. He was hurt in the _męlée_; he cannot be brought -before us for some days. Later, if necessary, he can be tried." - -Although I had drawn as far away from Gramont as I could since I had -learned his true nature and character and the bloodshed of which he -had been guilty, I could not prevent myself from letting my eyes fall -on him now; and I saw that for the first time there was a look of -eagerness in his eyes, that he was watching the younger of those -judges, watching as though filled with an intensity of feeling as to -what might next be said. - -"If necessary, Capitan Morales," the Regidór said, speaking now for -almost the first time, "if necessary! By all reports he is as bad as -his elder comrades. A wild cat, all say. Why should it not be -necessary?" - -"He is very young," the Alcáide replied, undoubtedly confused, "very -young; also he--he--is not well. I should do wrong to produce him -before you in the state he is. As governor I must use my discretion," -and he made a feint of being engaged with the papers before him. - -Then I felt sure that he, too, knew Juan's secret, as I now did. - -And I wondered to what advantage he might put that secret on behalf of -Juan. Wondered while I felt glad at the thought which had now risen to -my mind--the thought that, at last, Juan might be saved from our doom. - -Again the Bishop said at this time--doubtless his worn old frame was -fatigued by the morning's work: - -"Let us rise. There is no more to be done, since--since--this youth -cannot yet be brought before us," and once more he placed his white, -shrunken hands upon the desk in front of him to obtain the necessary -aid to quitting his seat. - -But now the governor, whose name was Morales, made a motion of -dissent, accompanying it, however, by soft, respectful words. - -"Nay, most reverend father, nay," he said, "not yet, if you will -graciously permit that we continue our examination farther," while as -he spoke the Bishop sank back again with a wearied look of assent. "I -am not satisfied." - -"Not satisfied," the old man whispered, while the Regidór also echoed -his words, though in far louder tones. "What is it you are not -satisfied with, Capitan Morales?" - -"With that man's testimony," he exclaimed, pointing his finger over -his desk at Eaton. "In no manner of way satisfied," and as he spoke it -almost seemed--I should have believed it to be so in any other country -but Spain, a land of notorious injustice and love of cruelty for the -sake of cruelty--as if the crowd in the court somewhat agreed with -him. Also, even as he spoke, a voice shouted from the midst of those -forming it: - -"Ay! How knows he all this? Ask him that." - -Glancing my eyes in the direction whence those words came, they fell -upon a man of rude though picturesque appearance, whose voice I -thought it was; a fellow bearded and bronzed, with, in his ears, great -rings of gold; a man whom, I scarce know why, I instantly deemed a -sailor. Perhaps, one of the many who had fled from the galleons or the -French ships of war. - -"I am about to ask him that!" exclaimed Morales, though he cast an -angry glance toward the crowd. "It is his answer to that which I -require." - -Then all eyes were instantly directed toward Eaton, one pair flaming -like burning coals from beneath their bushy brows--the eyes of -Gramont. - -Looking myself at him, noticing the ashy colour of his face as he -heard that unknown voice uprise amidst the people gathered in the -court--as also he heard in reply the words of Morales--noticing, too, -the quivering of his white lips and the look as of a hunted rat that -came into his eyes--I found myself wondering if he had not thought of -how his denunciation of the man by my side was his own accusation -also. - -"I ask you," went on Morales, "how you know all these things. None but -an eye-witness, a participator, could have told as much!" - -Upon that muttering and gesticulating crowd, upon the shaggy, -black-bearded Asturians and Biscayans--some of them rude mountaineers -from the Gaviara and some even ruder sailors from the wild and -tempest-beaten shores of Galicia--upon the swarthy Spanish women with -knives in their girdles and babes at their bare breasts, there fell a -hush as all listened for his answer--a hush, broken only by his own -halting attempt to find an answer that should be believed--gain -credence not only with the judges, but the people. - -"I have--heard--it said--heard it told," he whispered, in quavering -tones. "'Twas common talk in all the Indies--his name hated--dreaded. -Used as a means to fright the timid--to----" - -He paused. For, like a storm that howls across the seas, sweeping all -before it in its course, another voice, a deeper, fuller, more -sonorous one, swept through that court and drowned his; the voice of -the lost man by my side. - -"Hear me, you judges," he cried, confronting all--standing there with -his manacled hands in front of him, yet his form erect, his glance -contemptuous, his eyes fire. "Hear me. Let me tell all. I have the -right--the last on earth granted to one such as I--for one who sees -and reads his doom in all your faces. Give me your leave to speak." - -"Speak!" the Bishop murmured, his tones almost inaudible. "Speak--yet -hope nothing." - -"Hope!" Gramont said. "Hope! What should I hope? Nothing! in truth. -No more than I fear aught. I am the man this one charges me with -being--am Gramont. That is enough. Gramont, the filibuster--one of a -hundred of your countrymen, of Frenchmen, of Englishmen. But," and -he glanced proudly around the court, "the leader of them all, of -almost all. Yet, if I am guilty, who is there in the Indies that is -innocent? Was Morgan, the English bulldog?--yet his king made him -deputy-governor of his fairest isle. Was Basco, Lolonois--is Pointis? -Answer me that. And, you of Spain, you, one of her bishops, you, one -of her soldiers," and he glanced at each of them, "how often has one -of you blessed the ships that sailed from your shores laden with men -of my calling--how often have men of your trade," again he glanced at -Morales, "belonged to mine? Yet now I, a Frenchman, a comrade in arms -of you Spanish, am judged by the words of such as that"--and this time -his eyes fell on Eaton. - -Also all in the court looked at him again. - -"Now," went on Gramont, "hear who and what he is--hear, too, how he -knows all that I have done. He was my servant--my ship's steward -once--then rose through lust of cruelty to be my mate and second in -command. And he it was who first whispered that the captured monks and -priests, as he terms them, should be sent against the monastery at -Essequibo. Only--he has forgotten, his memory fails--they were not -monks and priests--but _nuns_." - -"No, no, no!" shrieked Eaton, as a tumult indescribable arose within -the court, while now the mountaineers and seamen howled, "burn him and -let the other go," and the fierce dark-eyed women clutched their babes -closer to their breasts, fingering the hilts of the knives in their -girdles at the same time. - -"Nuns! Holy nuns!" the Bishop gasped. "Great God!" - -"Ay! Holy nuns. And hear one more word from me; it is the truth, -though it avails me nothing. I was not at Essequibo then, was far -away, was, in truth, at Cape Blanco. And he--he--James Eaton, was the -man." - -There rose more tumult and more uproar--it seemed as though all the -men in the court would force the barrier that separated them from the -judges and from Eaton and us, the prisoners--would slay that villain, -that monstrous wretch, upon the spot. But at a look from the Alcáide -some of the alguazils and men-at-arms by that barrier, thrust and -pushed them back, and made a line between them and the body of the -court. - -"Again listen," Gramont went on, when some silence had at last been -obtained. "It is my last word. I was not there--was gone--the band was -broken up, dispersed. From Spain had come an order from your king that -those who desisted were to be pardoned; from Louis of France came the -same news by Pointis. And I was one who so desisted, took service -under Louis, was made his lieutenant. Also I was on my way to France -when I was cast away. Cast away, after leaving my child, my wealth, in -that man's hands for safe keeping. He drove the one from him with -curses and cruelty, he stole the other. And--hear more--those galleons -coming to Cadiz were bringing that stolen wealth to him--because I -knew that it was so I came in them to Spain, hoping by my disguise to -meet him, to wrench it back from him, to call him to account for his -treatment of my girl." - -On the court there had come a hush--as the calm comes after the storm; -hardly any spoke now--yet all, from Bishop downward, regarded Eaton, -trembling, shivering there. - -And once more in that hush, Gramont's voice uprose again. - -"For myself I care not. Do with me what you will. But, remember, I -denounce him, that man there, as pirate and buccaneer ten times more -bloodthirsty and cruel than any other who ever ravaged the Indies; I -denounce him, the denouncer, as thief, filibuster and spy. Do with me -what you will--only take heed. Spare him not. And if you seek -corroboration of my word, demand it of him who is my fellow-prisoner, -demand the truth from Juan Belmonte." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -MY LOVE! MY LOVE! - - -The days passed as I lay in my dungeon in the ramparts, and each -morning when the jailer--who, I soon learned, was deaf and dumb--came -with a loaf of bread and jar of water, I braced myself to receive the -tidings that it was my last on earth. - -Yet a week went by and I had not been summoned to the plank and -flames--I began, as I lost count of time--as I forgot the days of the -week themselves--to wonder if, after all, the sentence was one that -they did not dare to carry out. And, remembering that in Spain nothing -could be done without reference to the powers at Madrid, I mused upon -whether, if they did so dare, the sanction for the execution of -Gramont and myself must be first obtained ere the execution could take -place; also I mused on many other things, be sure, besides my own -impending fate, a fate which, I thought, would never be known to any -of my countrymen, which would be enveloped forever in a darkness -nothing could lift. I thought of Juan and of the secret which -that wild, impulsive nature had concealed from me for so many -days--wondered what would be the end of that career; thought, too, of -Gramont, the man whose blood-guiltiness had been so great, yet who, as -he stood by my side a doomed man, had seemed almost a hero by reason -of his indifference to, his scorn of, his fate. - -The dungeon, as I have termed it, though in fact it was more like a -cell, was in and at the uppermost part of the ramparts of Lugo--noted -for being the most strongly walled and fortified town in all -Spain--was, indeed, a room in the great wall which sloped down -perpendicularly to the Minho beneath; a wall, smooth and absolutely -upright, or vertical, on which a sparrow could scarcely have found a -crevice in which to lodge or perch, rising from eighty to a hundred -feet from the base of the rock on which it was built and through which -the river rushed. This I had seen as we had passed under it on the -other side of the Minho when we approached the town; could see, -indeed, in the daytime as I glanced down on to the river beneath -through the heavily grated and barred window which admitted light to -my prison; also I could observe the country outside and the mountains -beyond, while I heard at night the swirl of the river as it sped by -those rocks below. - -Because there was no chance of escape for any creature immured within -this cell, since none could force away those grates and bars, even had -he possessed that strength of Samson, for which I had once prayed; -because, also, had I been able to do so, there was nothing but the -jagged rocks beneath, or the swift river, into which to cast myself, I -was not chained nor manacled; was at liberty, instead, to move about -as I chose; to peer idly out all day at the freedom of the open -country beyond, which would never again be mine, or to cast myself -upon the pallet on the floor and sleep and dream away the hours that -intervened between now and my day of doom. Nay, I was at liberty, had -I so chosen, to strangle myself with my bedding, or, for the matter of -that, my belt or cravat, or end my life in any manner I might desire. -Perhaps, though I knew not that it was so, it might be hoped such -would be the end. It might save trouble and after consequences. - -None came near me all the day or night, except that mute jailer, of -whom I have spoken, when he brought me my bread and water every -morning, and it was, therefore, with a strange feeling of -surprise--with a plucking at my heart, and a fear, which I despised -myself for, that my last hour was come--that one night, as I lay in -the dark, I heard footsteps on the stones of the passage outside the -cell door--footsteps that stopped close by that door, some of them -heavy, the others light. I heard, too, the clash of keys together, the -grating of one in the huge lock, a moment later. - -"Remember," I whispered to myself. "Remember, you are a man--a -soldier. Be brave." - -Then slowly the door opened, and a figure came in, bearing a light in -its hand, while, a second later, the door was closed and locked again -from the outside; the heavy footsteps were heard by me retreating down -the passage. - -The figure was that of "Juan" Belmonte. - -"You here?" I said, springing up, and then I advanced toward it, my -hands outstretched, while my companion of so many days sprang to my -arms, lay in them, sobbing as though with a broken heart. - -"Do not weep, do not weep," I said, and, as I spoke, my lips touched -that white brow--no whiter now than all the rest of the face, "do not -weep. What is, is, and must be borne." - -"My love, my love!" those other lips--whose rich crimson I had once -marvelled at so much--sobbed forth now, "my love, how can I help but -weep? Oh, Mervan, I have learnt to love you so, to worship you, for -your strength and courage! And now to see you thus--thus! My God!" - -"Be brave still," I said; would have added "Juan"; only, not knowing, -I paused. - -"What shall I call you?" I asked. - -"Juana." - -"Do they--the judges--know?" - -"The Alcáide knows: 'Tis through that knowledge I am here." - -"Why," I whispered, my arms about her as she clung to me, "why was -this disguise assumed, these dangers run? Oh! Juana, since I learnt -what you were in truth I have shuddered, sweated at the memories of -your risks. What reason had you for coming to Europe as a man? and -with such beauty, too! 'Tis marvellous it was never seen through." - -"They would not give passage to women in the galleons," she answered. -"Therefore I came as I did; also I knew I might better find -Eaton--confront him, in a garb, another sex, which would prevent him -from recognising the little child he had treated so evilly." Then, -suddenly, with a wail, she exclaimed: "Oh, my God! Mervan, I have not -come to talk of this, but to be with you for our last hour; one hour -before we die. The Alcáide has granted me that--and one other -thing--on conditions;" and I felt her shudder in my arms. - -"Before we die," I repeated stupidly, saying most of her words over -again. "Granted you this and one other thing--and on conditions. What -conditions? Tell me all; make me to understand. _We_ die? Not you! -They cannot slay you." - -From some neighbouring church a deep-toned bell was pealing solemnly -as I spoke. Far down below, by the river banks, I heard the splash of -some fishermen's boats as they went by to their night work--always, -until my eyes close for the last time, I shall remember those sounds -accompanying her words in answer to mine--shall hear them in my -ears--her words: "I can slay myself." - -"Juana!" - -"Must slay myself," she went on, "there is no other way. Can I live -without you--or, living, fullfil those conditions?" and, even as she -said this, our lips met. "But," I asked, my voice hoarse with grief -and misery, "what are they, and wherefore granted?" - -"He gives me one life--his--my father's! My God! he my father!--he -will not give me yours because he thinks you are my lover--and--and -the condition is that on the night when he is set free, I fly from -Lugo with him, Morales, to Portugal. He will be safe there, he says. -'Tis rumoured the king has joined England." - -"And you accept the terms?" I asked, bitterly, knowing that I loved -this girl as fondly as she loved me. Had loved her since I discovered -her sex as she reeled into my arms on that night. "You accept?" - -"I accept. Nay!" she exclaimed, "do not thrust me from you--you -cannot doubt my love, my adoration. Else why am I here a prisoner in -Lugo--why, except because I could not quit your side, could not tear -myself from you?" - -"How then accept?" - -"Listen. I must save him. God!--he is my father--to my eternal shame! -Yet--yet, being so, his soul must not go to seek its Maker yet--'tis -too deeply drenched with crime, he must have time--time to live--to -repent--to wash away his sins. Oh! Mervan, you are my love, my love, -my first and only love--will be my last--yet--I must save him." - -"At what a cost! Your own perdition!" - -"No, no. Listen. Morales leaves here the day before my unhappy father -is given his chance of escape--the door of his cell will be set open -for him at night; none will bar his exit by a back way--I, too, shall -be gone. Morales will take me with him in my own proper garb, that of -a woman. Then--then--because I shall not believe in my father's -freedom until I am sure of it, know it, he will join us at the -frontier--not the one which we passed, but where the road crosses to -Braganza at a place called Carvallos--and----" - -"You will keep your word!" - -"Yes. To myself--not him. My father will be safe--Morales unable to do -more against him--I--I shall be dead. Once I am assured all is well -with him I shall end my life. There will be nothing more to live for." - -"Suppose," I whispered, "suppose--it might be!--that I should escape, -and, doing so, find you dead! Oh, Juana, how would it be with me then? -How could I live?" - -"Ah, my love," she said, whispering, too, "can you not believe I have -thought of that--believe that if all hope of your escaping was not -gone I should not have decided thus? But, Mervan, you are a brave man, -have faced death too often to fear to do so once again for the last -time. Mervan, my love, my life--there is no hope. None. He has told -me--he--Morales--that the morning after all are gone but you, you will -surely be put to death. My own, my sweet, there is no hope." - -"If I could escape first----" - -"It is impossible. Impossible. Oh! I have begged him on my knees again -and again to give you the same chance as he gives my father--have told -him that, since he ruins himself to set free the one, it would cost -him no more to let both go--yet, yet--he will not." - -"Why not?" - -"I have said. And he makes but a single answer. One is my father--the -other my lover. Laughs, too, and says he does not jeopardise his own -body--ruin for certain his own life in his own land--to fling that -lover back into my arms." - -"Still, if he knows that until a few days ago I deemed you a boy----" - -"Knows it!" she exclaimed. "Oh, my God! have I not told him so a -hundred times--sworn that we were but strangers thrown together scarce -a month past; had never met before. And to all my vows and -protestations he replies: 'Knowing you now to be a woman--as I have -myself by chance discovered--he must love you as I do. I will not save -him to steal you from me.'" - -"Yet, with this refusal on his lips, you yield--or appear to yield." - -"My father! My father!" she cried, flinging her arms madly around my -neck. "My father! My father! For his sake I must yield. Oh, my love, -my love, my love--I must." - - * * * * * * * * * - -I cannot write down--in absolute truth, cannot recall--our last sad -parting, our frenzied words, our fond embraces. Suffice it that I say -we tore ourselves apart at the sound of the mute's footsteps--that -Juana was borne away almost insensible. - -For that we should never meet again in this world we recognised--we -were parted forever. I had found and won--although till lately unknown -to myself!--the most fond and loving heart that had ever yielded -itself up to a man--found it only as I stood upon the brink of my -grave. - -Yet if there were anything that could reconcile me to my loss of her -it would be that grave, I knew; that--or the casting of my ashes to -the wind after my body was consumed by the _braséro_--would bring the -oblivion I desired. And, since she, too, meant to die the moment her -father was safe, neither would be left to mourn the other. At least -the oblivion of death would be the happy lot of both. Yet, as now the -hours followed one another, as I heard them strike upon the bells of -all the churches in this old city, and boom forth solemnly from the -cathedral tower--wondering always, yet resignedly, when I should hear -them for the last time; wondering, too, when the key would once more -grate in the lock and I should be summoned to my doom--I cursed myself -for never having penetrated Juan's disguise, for never having guessed -she was a woman. Sir George Rooke had done so, I knew now; that was -what he meant by his solemn warnings to me--fool that I was, not to be -as far-seeing as he! - -There were many things, which I now recalled, that should also have -opened my eyes--her timidity, her nervousness, the strange power of -mustering up courage at a moment of imminent danger; also the frequent -change of colour; the remaining in the inn kitchen all one night; the -shriek for assistance at the barrier encounter. And yet I had been -blind, and thought it was a boy who rode by my side through all the -perils we had passed. - -I might have saved her had I but had more insight--might have -refused to let her accompany me; have sternly ordered her to -travel in some other way than along the danger-strewn path which I had -come. She would have been safe now--what mattered it what had befallen -me!--would have been free, with no hideous necessity of taking her own -life to escape from the love which Morales forced upon her. - -Yet, as I tossed upon my pallet, thinking of all this--thinking, too, -of how fondly I had come to love this girl, so dear to me now that we -were lost to each other forever--I knew, I felt sure, that no stern -commands issued to her to turn back and quit my side would have been -of any avail; that, as she had once threatened, she would have -followed me like a dog, have lain upon the step of the house wherein I -slept, would never have quitted my side. - -For hers was the hot, burning love of the southern woman, of which I -had often read and heard told by wanderers into far-off lands--the -love that springs in a moment into those women's breasts, and, once -born, is never quenched except by death--as, alas! hers was now to be -quenched. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -"AS THE NIGHT PASSETH AWAY." - - -Still the days passed and I meditated on whether each as it came was -to be my last. Wondered as every morning I watched the opening of the -heavily clamped door, if, instead of my loaf and jar of water, that -deaf and dumb jailer had come to summon me forth to my fate; and -wondered again at what might cause the delay, since morning after -morning his behaviour was ever the same, the bread always placed on -the rough stone shelf that ran around the room, with the water by its -side. That, and nothing more. - -That Juana had gone by now with the Alcáide, I thought must surely be -the case. I had taken since that night when last we met--and parted -forever--to scoring with a nail a mark daily on the whitewashed but -filthy wall, so that thereby I might keep some count of the days as -they went by, and now there were six of such marks there. Surely she -was gone--surely, too, I thought, Gramont's escape had taken place by -now--yet they came not for me. What did it mean? - -In my agony at the thought that by now, perhaps, Juana was dead by her -own hand--I pictured her to myself using the small poniard I knew she -carried, or the equally small pistol of which she was possessed--I -groaned--nay! almost shrieked sometimes at my horrible picturings of -her beautiful form and face stiff with death; in that agony I came to -pray at last to God that the day or night which was passing over me -might be my last. That He, in His supreme mercy, would see fit to -inspire them with the resolve to make an end of me. Prayed that, by -the time those never ceasing clocks without had struck once more the -hour they were striking as I made my supplication, my soul might have -left my body--that that body might be no more than a heap of ashes. - -For I could bear my existence no longer. My thoughts--of my beauteous -mistress lying in death's hideous grasp, of my poor old father, and -the misery which would be his--not at my falling like a soldier, but -at the mystery which would forever enshroud my death--were more than I -could support. - -But still another day passed--the seventh--and still again at daybreak -there was no summons to me to go forth and meet my fate. Yet, since by -the increased pealings of the bells, and by the ringing of some -sweeter sounding ones than those usually heard, I knew it was the -Sabbath I wondered that my doom had not come. For the Sabbath was, I -remembered, the day of execution in this land, because 'tis always a -fęte day, when the people are at leisure to be excited and amused. - -That day passed, however, the night drew on, the dark had come; and -still I was alive; had before me another night of horror and of mortal -agony unspeakable to endure. - -From my ghastly, silent warder I had tried more than once to obtain -some hint, or information, as to when I might expect my sentence to be -carried out--if I could have learnt that, I should have known also -that Gramont was gone--was free--that, my God! Juana was dead, or near -to her death. But as well might I have asked the walls of this cell in -which I was, for a word or sign. I wrote on those walls with the nail -a question--_the_ question: "When am I to die?" and he stared as -stolidly at it as though he were no more able to see than to speak or -hear. Thinking, perhaps, that he could not read, I made sighs upon my -fingers to him, at all of which he shook his head, though what he -meant to convey I know not. Yet, had my mind not been so distraught, I -should have remembered that, perhaps, if he could not understand the -one neither could he the other. Reflecting later on, however, I felt -sure that he was able to do both--it was the only way in which one so -afflicted as he was could have been made to understand his orders; -and, still later, I knew that such was the case. And now, on that -Sunday, as the horrid gloom of the winter night enveloped all the -country around, while up from the pastures and fields there rose a -vapour or fog, I took a terrible resolve, driven thereto by the misery -of my reflections. - -I determined that, if my death by the hands of the executioner came -not to-morrow, I would take my own life. I could endure no longer, -could think no more upon Juana as a dead woman, as one slain by her -own hand. - -"Oh! Juana, Juana," I wailed more than once, "my lost Juana." Then -added, with fierceness, "Yet--no matter. We meet to-morrow at the -latest." - -Though they had taken my weapons from me ere they brought me here, -there was enough of opportunity to my hand for accomplishing my -purpose. There was the nail I had found--my sash, or belt--my -cravat--either would serve for my purpose if I was brave enough to -accomplish it. - -"Brave enough--brave enough!" I found myself repeating. "Brave enough! -Or," I whispered, "cowardly enough? Which is it? Which?" - -And, as still the long hours of the night went on, and I lay on my -pallet staring up into the darkness, listening to the hours told over -and over again by the bells, until my soul sickened at their sound, -watching a glint of the moon's rays on the metal roof of the -cathedral, I answered my own question, reasoned with myself that -self-destruction was the coward's, not the brave man's, act, and -resolved at last to cast that awful resolution behind me, to endure -and meet my fate like a man, as a gallant soldier should. - -And so, eased--I scarce knew why--by my determination, I fell at last -into a tranquil sleep, and dreamt that I was back in England, walking -in my father's old flower garden in the Weald, with my love, Juana, by -my side. - -Some unaccustomed noise awoke me from that fair dream--something to -which I was not used in the long silence of the nights--some sound -which, as I raised myself on my elbow and peered around the cell, I -could not understand; for in that cell there was no other presence, as -for a moment I had imagined when I sprang up, half asleep and half -awake; the moon, which had now overtopped the cathedral towers, showed -that plain enough. Deep scurrying clouds were passing beneath her face -swiftly--obscuring sometimes her brilliancy for some moments, 'tis -true; yet, as she emerged now and again from them, her flood poured in -and lit up the whole chamber. There was no one in it but myself! - -What, therefore, was the sound I had heard? Stealthy footsteps -outside?--those of my doomsmen, perhaps!--or was it some silent -executioner about to steal in on me in the night, thereby to prevent -the publicity of a death in the market place--a death which might by -chance be reported to my own countrymen afar off, and like enough, if -the war rolled down this way, be bitterly avenged? Was that it? - -Again beneath the moon there passed heavy clouds, extinguishing her -light so that for a moment my prison was once more steeped in -darkness--I found myself thinking that there would be snow ere -morning; that, if that morning brought my death, 'twould be a -bleak and wintry scene which the flames of the _braséro_ would -illuminate!--then through a break in those clouds a ray stole forth, a -ray that glinted in through the iron bars of the window grate, across -the stone-flagged floor, and onward to the heavily clamped door, then -was arrested there--one spot shining out amidst those beams with the -brightness and the dazzle of a diamond. - -What was that thing, that spot on which the ray glinted so? - -Creeping toward the door, as silently and lightly as I could go, I -reached it, put out my finger and touched that gleaming spark, and -found that it proceeded from the extremity of a key which was in the -lock and which now protruded by a trifle into the room. It was the -insertion of that key which had awakened me. - -Yet--what did it mean, and why, when once in the lock, was it not -turned; why not followed by the entry of one or more persons into the -cell? - -Were they coming back later to fall on me? Had the key been first -inserted by some who had withdrawn directly afterward, so that, if the -noise awakened me, I should sleep again shortly, when they could -return to finish their work? This must be the true explanation--I was -to be executed in the depth of the night when all were asleep in the -old town, when no cry of anguish, no scream from one being done to -death, would be heard. - -"Yet," I thought to myself, "these precautions are useless. As well -here as in the flames to-morrow. What matters where or how?" - -At that moment my ears caught a sound--something was passing down the -stone passage outside--something that was not the heavy tread of the -jailer. Instead, a muffled sound--yet perceptible to me. A shuffling, -scraping sound as though one who was shoeless was dragging each foot -carefully along after the other. - -Then I saw the end of the key which projected through the lock turn--I -saw it sparkle in the moon's rays--once it grated harshly, creaked! -And, slowly, a moment afterward the door opened inward, leaving the -passage outside dark and cavernous. He who had so opened it with one -hand carried no light in the other. - -Stepping back from it, watching what should happen next--yet, I swear -before heaven, with no fear at my heart--why should there be, since I -desired to die and join my love? yet still with that heart beating -loudly from excitement--I saw the blackness of the doorway blurred -with a deeper intensity by a form standing outside it. I saw the -moonbeams reach that form, lighting it up for a moment and glistening -on the eyes of it. I saw before me the great figure and heavy, stolid -face of my dumb, impenetrable jailer. The mute! Also observed that -under his arm he carried something long--a sword. - -His eyes upon me, he advanced into the cell--I seeing that his feet -were bare except for thick, coarse stockings which he wore--yet making -no motion as though to attack me, his action not such as would have -rendered a more desperate man than myself resolved to defend himself. -Then slowly, while I, my back against the farthest wall, stared at him -more in wonder than in awe, he raised the arm under which the sword -was not borne, and motioned to me with his finger, crooked somewhat, -to follow him, pointing a moment afterward down the dark passage. - -"So," I whispered to myself, drawing a deep breath as I did so, "the -hour has come. He bids me follow him. I understand--it is to be done -before daylight. Well, I am ready. God give me strength and pardon -me." - -Then I made ready to follow him, while he, observing this, prepared to -lead the way. - -All was profound and dark outside that cell when once we were in the -passage--so dark that, ere I had barely reached it, I felt his great -hand upon my arm, felt him clutching my sleeves between his fingers. -And thus together we went on, he silent as a corpse, except for his -breathing, which sometimes I heard--sometimes, too, felt upon my -cheek--I going to my death. - -One thing I noticed, even in these moments of intensity. We went the -opposite way from that by which I had first been brought--the opposite -way from which his footsteps, when he had been shod, had invariably -sounded; also the opposite way from which my love had come to bid me a -last farewell, and had been carried insensible after our parting. - -Whither was I being taken? - -The end of the corridor was reached in the darkness; I knew that by -the fact that his grasp tightened perceptibly on my sleeve; also that, -by a pressure of his fingers on it, he was turning me somewhat to the -left; likewise, that grasp put a degree of curb upon me; a moment -later seemed to signify that I was to go on again. And it felt to me -that, in a way, I was being supported--held up. - -Another instant, and I knew why. We were descending stairs--on the way -down, doubtless, to some exit that should lead to my place of doom! -Still I resisted not. One path to oblivion served as well as another. - -By the manner in which the steps were cut I knew at once that we were -in some tower, and that the stairs were circular; also my hand, which -I kept against the side, told me the same thing. Moreover, there were -_[oe]illets_, or arrow slits, in the wall, through which I could see -the moon shining on another wall, which seemed to be some fifty paces -off--probably, I thought, the opposite wall of some courtyard built -into, or by the side of, the huge ramparts. - -Of sound there was none, no noise of any kind, no tramp of sentry to -be heard, although I knew well enough that on the ramparts themselves -soldiers were kept constantly on guard. Nothing; all as still as -death, the death to which I was being led. - -At last the stairs ended. My feet told me we were on the level now, a -level into which they sank somewhat as I took step after step, whereby -I judged that we were walking on sand, and wondered in what part of -that prison, of those huge ramparts, we might be. Surely, I thought, -some lowermost vault or dungeon, perhaps beneath the foundations of -the structure, beneath the rocks between which the river flowed. - -"My God!" I murmured to myself, "is this my fate? To be immured -forever in some dark dungeon in the bowels of the earth, where neither -light, nor sound--never hope--can come again. Better death at once, -swift and merciful, than this. Far better." - -Yet almost it seemed to my now frighted heart that this alone could be -the case. - -The air reeked and was clammy, as though with long confinement in this -underground place, and by remaining ever unrefreshed from without by -heaven's pure breezes was mawkish and sickly as the breath of a -charnel house--perhaps 'twas one!--perhaps those who died here were -left to fester and moulder away till their corpses turned to skeletons -and their skeletons to dust; to die here, where no cry for help could -issue forth, no more than any sound except a muffled one could -penetrate, as I knew at this moment, for far above I heard a deep boom -that seemed like the muffled roar of a cannon--a sound that was in -truth the eternal bell of the cathedral telling the hour; also another -broke on my ear--a swift, rushing noise, yet deadened, too--the sound, -I thought, of the Minho passing near. - -Then, all at once--as I knew that the sickly, reeking air would choke -me, felt sure that ere many paces more had been traversed I must reel -and fall upon that sanded floor--there blew upon my face a gust of -air--oh! God! it was as though I had changed a monumental vault all -full of rankling dead for some pure forest through which fresh breezes -swept--far down toward where my dimmed eyes gazed I saw a glimmer of -something that looked like the light of a coming dawn. - -And I thanked heaven that, at least, these horrid vaults were not to -be my prison or my grave; that, let whatever might befall me, my -punishment was not to be dealt out here. - -And ever still as I went on that stricken man walked by my side, held -my arm with his hand, and directed the way toward the sombre light -that gleamed afar. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -WHAT HAS HAPPENED? - - -The light increased as we advanced; the space it occupied grew larger; -also it seemed to be entering at what I now judged to be the mouth, or -exit, of some narrow, vaulted passage, through which we were -progressing and arriving at the end of; almost, too, it seemed as if -this passage was itself growing less dark; as if now--as I turned my -eyes to where the mute walked by my side--the outline of his form was -becoming visible. - -What was I to find at the end of this outlet--what to see awaiting me -when at last I stood at the opening in the midst of the wintry dawn--a -scaffold, or the _braséro?_ Which? I perceived now--my eyes -accustoming themselves to the dusky gloom--that this vaulted way, or -corridor, was one hewn through a bed of rock, and roughly, too, -blasted, perhaps, in earlier days; and that all along its sides were -great slabs, or masses, of this rock, that lay where they had fallen. -Perceived something else, also--a man crouching down behind one of the -fallen blocks, his cape held across his face by one hand, so that -naught but the eyes were visible; the eyes--and one other thing that -shone and glistened even in the surrounding gloom--a huge gold -earring, of the circumference of a crown-piece, which fell over the -crimson edge, or guarding, of that cloak. - -Where had I seen a man wearing such earrings as that before? Where? -Then, even as I went on to my death, I remembered--recalled the man. -'Twas he who had cried out to the Alcáide in the court, bidding him -question Eaton as to how he knew so much of Gramont's past--yet--what -doing here, why hiding behind that fallen mass? Was there some one -within these dungeons whom he sought--some one for whom an attempted -rescue was to be planned? I knew of none--knew of no other prisoner -within these walls--since now Gramont was, must be, as far away as his -unhappy child--my lost love, Juana. Yet, perhaps, it was not very like -I should have known. - -But now the end was at hand. I scarce cared to turn my eyes to observe -whether or not the mute had seen the sailor shrinking behind the -stone; instead, nerved myself, by both prayer and fierce -determination, to meet my fate, to make my exit into the open as -bravely as became a man; to let not one of my executioners see that I -feared them or the flames that were to burn the life out of me. - -So we drew near the mouth of the passage--moving through the gloom -that was as the gloom of a shuttered and darkened house on some wintry -morn--I seeing that, beyond and outside, was a sloping, stone-flagged -decline that led down to a lane which ran out into the open country -beyond. We were, therefore, outside the walls of Lugo, and I deemed -that it was here, unknown to the townspeople, that I was to meet my -fate. - -We stood a moment later on that stone-covered descent, and I gazed -around it startled--amazed! For here, upon it, was no hideous -_braséro_ piled up with logs of wood, and drenched with resin and -pitch to make those logs burn more fiercely; no upright plank nor beam -against which the sufferer's hand--my hand!--was to be nailed through -the palm; no executioners clad in black from head to foot. Instead, a -man in peasant's dress--green breeches, leather _zapátas_ and a -sheepskin jacket. A peasant holding by the reins two horses, one -black, the other dappled grey. - -I felt almost as though once more I should faint--felt as I had done -in that reeking, mouldy corridor through which I had come--became -sick, indeed, at the relief, even though 'twere for an hour or so -only, which was accorded me from instant death, since I knew that here -that death could not be dealt out. - -Then I turned to the deaf and dumb man--if such he was--who had now -released my arm--had done so, indeed, since the half light had been -reached--and implored him to tell me what was intended. - -For answer--he guessed, no doubt, the import of my words--he pointed -to the horses and made signs I should mount one of them. And I, -incredulous, asking God inwardly what was meant, went toward the black -one and seizing its reins and twisting a lock of its mane around my -thumb prepared to do as I was bid, yet with my nerves tingling and -trembling so that I scarce knew whether I could reach the saddle or -not. - -Then, ere the attempt was made, as I raised my foot to the iron, the -mute touched my arm, felt in his belt with the other hand and, -producing a piece of paper, gave it to me. - -It was from Juana; ran thus in English: - - -Your road is through Samos, Caldelas and the other Viana. At Terroso -you will cross the frontier. The jailer will guide you to us. Come -quickly, so that thereby my fate may be decided. - - Juana. - - -That was all. All--from her to me! From her to me! No word of love -accompanying the message. Not one! - -She had saved me in some way--had induced the Alcáide to bring about -my escape also--had done this, yet could send me no greeting such as -she must have known I hungered for. Was it shame, remorse, that made -her so silent and so cold? Heartbroken, I thrust the letter into my -pocket, and, at a sign from the mute, mounted the horse, he doing the -same with the other. - -Then, ere we gave them their reins, he leant across and put into my -hands the sword he had carried under his arm since first he opened the -door of my cell; a sword long and serviceable-looking, with a great -hilt and curled quillon; one that I had seen another like somewhere, -though where it was I could not recall. - - * * * * * * * * * - -'Twas over twenty leagues to Terroso, I learnt in the course of our -ride. Diminishing those leagues moment by moment, we went on and on, -the black horse that I bestrode never faltering in its quick pace, the -grey keeping close to it. - -And I, my brain whirling, my heart beating tumultuously within my -breast, my whole being--my soul!--shaken by the release from an awful -death which had come to me, would have given all that I was possessed -of if from that stricken, silent, terrible companion by my side I -could have extracted one word--gleaned from him one jot or atom of -information! Yet to my repeated exclamations he, seeing that I was -speaking to him, shook his head persistently; when I made signs to him -in the alphabet which I felt sure he knew, he turned his face away and -rode on stolidly. Had a dead man, a spectre, been riding ever by my -side, swiftly when I rode swiftly, halting when I halted, neither -could have been more terrible to me than this living creature, so -immutable and impenetrable. - -I was sore beset--distraught, my mind full of fearful fancies! Fancies -that I should find Juana dead--though, too, I imagined that she would -not slay herself until she had made sure of my safety, else why her -letter?--fancies that, since the letter contained no word or hint of -love, she had forced herself to tear me out of her heart forever; -forced herself to do so because now she knew she could never be aught -to me again. These fancies, these thoughts, were awful in their -intensity; were made doubly so by this silent creature who never -quitted my side. - -And once my agony of nerves grew so great that I turned round upon -him--gesticulating fiercely--hating myself for my brutality in doing -so against one who was, in truth, my saviour--shrieking at him: - -"Speak! Speak! For God's sake, speak! Utter some word. Give some sign -of being alive--a reasoning thing. Speak, I say, or leave me--else I -shall slay you." - -Then I shuddered and could have slain my own self at the man's action. - -For he turned and looked at me--it was in the fast gathering -twilight, as side by side always, we were slowly riding up a mountain -path--looked--then, as I gazed, the tears rolled down his coarse face! -And, poor unhappy, afflicted thing! those tears continued to trickle -down that face till night hid it from my eyes. - -I knew now that he understood at least, that he comprehended the words -of pity and remorse I poured forth before the darkness came; at least -the touch I made gently on his sleeve was read aright by him. For on -his broad, expressionless face, to me for so long a stolid mask, there -came a placid smile, and once he returned my touch lightly as still we -rode on, and on, and on. - -We halted that night to rest our horses and ourselves at a miserable -inn, high up in the mountains, a place round which the snow was -falling in great flakes, that seemed, indeed, to be embedded in snow. -A ghastly, horrid place in which, as I sat shuddering by the fire, -while my companion and the landlord slept near it--wondering if by now -Juana had accomplished her dreadful purpose, unable longer to bear the -company of the man, Morales, to whom she had sold herself; or, almost -worse still, the company of her sin stained father; wondering too, if -by now that splendid form was stiff in death!--I almost cursed the -escape that had come to me. In truth, I think that now, upon this -night, amidst the horrors of this lonely mountain inn, I was almost a -madman; for the soft beat of the flakes upon the glass of the window -seemed to my frenzied mind like the tapping of ghostly fingers; as I -fixed my eyes upon those flakes and saw them alight one by one upon -the panes and then dissolve and vanish, it looked to me as though they -were fingers that scratched at the window and were withdrawn only to -return a moment later. Also the wind screamed round the house--I -started once, feeling sure I heard a woman--Juana--shriek my name, -plucked at the sword by my side and would have made for the door, but -that the landlord laughed at me and pushed me back, saying that those -shrieks were heard nightly and all through the night during the -winter. - -At last, however, I slept, wrapped in my cloak before the peat fire, -the mute in another chair by my side. And so, somehow, the night wore -through. The morning came, and we were on our road once more, ten -leagues still to be compassed ere the frontier was reached, with, -behind us, as now I gathered from my mutilated companion's manner in -answer to my questions, the possibility that we might be pursued. That -after us, in hot chase, might be coming some from Lugo who had -discovered our escape. - -The mountain water courses and rivulets hummed beneath the frozen snow -bound over them by the bitter frost, the tree boughs waved above our -heads and across our path as, gradually descending once more to the -plain, the chestnuts and the oak trees took the place of the gaunt -black pines left behind above; once on this bitter morning we saw the -sun steal out from amidst the clouds--lying down low on the horizon as -though setting instead of rising. Yet on we rode for our lives, with -upon me a deeper desire than the salvation of my own existence--the -hope that I should be in time to save Juana, to wrench her from -Morales ere it was too late, to bear her away at last to happiness and -love unspeakable. Rode on, my black horse stumbling once over a mass -of stone rolled down from the heights above; the dappled grey coming -to its haunches from a similar cause, yet both lifted quickly by a -sharp turn of our wrists and rushing on again down the declivity, -danger in every stride and only avoided by God's mercy. - -The leagues flew by--were left behind--a long billowy plain arrived -at, sprinkled with hamlets from which the cheerful smoke rose to the -sky; the mute had passes which took us through that other town of -Viana; the last spot of importance was reached--and passed!--that lay -between us and the border--between us and Portugal and safety. - -Then once more our beasts slackened in their stride, again the ground -rose upward, once more the hills were before us, above them at the -summit was the frontier, Terroso. Another hour and we should be -there--Juana's and my fate determined. - -To use whips--neither of us had spurs--was cruel, yet there was no -other way; therefore we plied them, pressed reeking flanks, rode on -and on mercilessly. And now the end was at hand; afar off I saw a -cabin over which floated both the banner of Spain and of Portugal. We -were there some moments later--the mute's papers again examined--our -passage allowed. - -We had escaped from Spain! - -"You ride quickly," the Portuguese _aduanista_ said; "seek some -others, perhaps, who come before you?" and he addressed himself to my -companion, probably because he bore the passports. Then continued: "If -'tis a seńor and seńora you desire, they are in the _fonda_ half a -league further on." - -"_They_," he said, "'_They!_' God be praised!" I murmured. Had any -tragedy occurred it would not have been "they." - -Not waiting to answer, but briefly nodding my thanks, we went on, the -last half league dwindling to little more than paces now. - -And then I saw the _fonda_, a place no bigger than a wooden cabin, I -saw a woman seated on a bench outside against its wall, her elbows -upon her knees, her dark head buried in her hands. - -She heard the ring of our horses' hoofs upon the road, all sodden as -it was with half-melted snow, and sprang to her feet--then advanced -some paces and, shading her eyes, looked up the way that we were -coming; dashed next her hand across those eyes as though doubting what -she saw, and ran down the road toward us. - -As I leapt from my horse she screamed, "Mervan!" and threw herself -into my arms, her lips meeting mine in one long kiss, then staggered -back some paces from me, exclaiming: - -"How! How, oh, my love, how--how have you escaped--found your way -here--to me?" - -"How?" I repeated after her, startled at the question; startled, too, -at the tone of her voice. "How! Do I not owe my salvation to you--to -your power over him--the Alcáide?" - -"My God! No!" she answered. "Never would he have aided you to escape." -Then, suddenly, as some thought struck her, she screamed aloud: -"Mervan--Mervan--where is my unhappy father?" - -"Your father! Is he not here?" - -"No! No! No! Oh, God! what has happened? Has he been left behind to -meet his doom?" - -And, as she spoke, she reeled and would have fallen had I not caught -her in my arms. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -"LIAR, I WILL KILL YOU!" - - -He had been left behind--and I was here! He whose escape had been -arranged for was still a prisoner--I, whose doom had been fixed, was -free. - -What did it mean? What mystery had taken place? - -One glance toward the _fonda_ fifty yards away was sufficient to show -that mystery there was--as unintelligible to another as to Juana. And -more than mystery!--that my presence here was as hateful as -unexpected, to one person at least. To Morales, the Alcáide! - -For even as my love recovered sufficiently to be able to stand without -my assistance, though still leaning heavily upon me, I--looking toward -that _fonda_--saw Morales issuing rapidly from it, his sword carried -in his left hand, his right hand plucking the blade from the scabbard. -And--more ominous still of what his intentions were, as well as of his -fury!--as he ran toward us he flung the now empty sheath away from him -and rushed forward, the bare blade gleaming. - -Then as he reached the spot where we both stood together, the mute -behind us--while, even as I too plucked the sword the poor creature -had furnished me with from its scabbard and stood upon my guard, I -saw that his stolid face expressed not only fear but something -else--astonishment!--Morales shouted, his words tumbling pell mell -over each other so much as to be difficult of understanding. - -"Wretches! Traitor! Traitress! 'Tis thus I am deceived--hoodwinked! -Tricked and ruined so that your lover may be restored to your false -arms. So be it--thus, also, I avenge myself," and--horror!--he made a -pass at Juana as she stood by my side. He was a Spaniard--and his love -had turned to hate and gall! - -Yet ere the shriek she uttered had ceased to ring on the wintry -morning air, the deadly thrust that was aimed full at her breast was -parried by my own blade; putting her behind me with my left hand, I -struck full at him, resolved that ere another five minutes were over -his own life should pay for that craven attempt; struck full at his -own breast, missing it only by an inch, yet driving him back from me. - -Back, step by step, yet knowing even as I did so that' it was no odds -on me in this encounter, that here was a swordsman who would dispute -every thrust of mine; that it would be lucky if his long blade did not -thread my ribs ere my own weapon found his heart. - -It behooved me to be careful, I knew. Already, in the first moment, he -had settled down to fighting carefully and cautiously; already one -devilish Italian thrust was given--he must have crossed the Alps, I -thought, to learn it!--that almost took me unawares; that, had my -parry not been quick, would have brought his quillon hurtling at my -breast, with the blade through me. Yet, it had failed! and with the -failure the chance was gone. - -"I know your thrust," I whispered, maybe hissed, at him; "'twill serve -no more." - -But even as I said these words it came to me that I should not win -this fight, that he was the better man--my master--at the game--that I -was lost. And as I thought this I saw--while we shifted ground a -little on the sodden snow--the mute standing gazing earnestly, almost -fascinated, upon us; I saw some people at the door of the _fonda_--a -man and a woman--regarding us with horror-stricken glances--I saw -Juana on her knees, perhaps praying! It might be so, since her head -was buried in her hands! - -And if he won, if he slew me, even wounded and disabled me, she was -lost, too; with me out of the way, with her father dead or still a -prisoner, nothing could save her. Her last hope would be gone. - -That spurred me, egged me on, put a fierce and fresh determination in -my heart, since I had not lost my courage, but only my confidence. -That, and one other thing; for I saw upon the melting snow beneath our -feet, even as we trod it into water, a tinge of crimson; I saw a few -drops lie spotting it--and I knew that that blood was not mine. -Therefore, I had touched him, had only missed his life by a hair's -breadth; next time it might not be drops--might be the heart's blood -of him who had sought that of my loved one! - -Still, I could not do it, could not thrust through and through him. -Every drive, every assault, was parried easily. Once, when I lunged so -near him that I heard his silk waistcoat rip, he laughed a low, -mocking laugh as he thrust my blade aside with a turn of his iron -wrist; I could not even, as I tried, take him in the sword arm and so -disable him. - -Also, I knew what was in his mind, specially since, for some few -moments, he had ceased to thrust back at me. He was bent on tiring me -out. Then--then--his opportunity would have come, would be at hand. - -"Disable him! Disable him!" Why did those words haunt my brain, ring -through it again and again; seem to deaden even the scraping hiss of -steel against steel. "Disable him!" What memory was arising in that -brain of some one, something, long forgotten? A second later, even as -I felt my point bring pressed lower and lower by his own blade, knew a -lunge was coming--parried it as it came--safely once more, thank -God!--I remembered, knew what that memory meant. - -Recalled a little, hunchbacked Italian _escrimeur_ who used to haunt a -fence school at the back of the Exchange in the Strand; a man whose -knowledge of attack was poor in the extreme, yet who could earn a -beggar's wage by teaching some marvellous methods of disarming an -adversary. And I had flung him a crown more than once to be taught his -tricks! - -Now those crowns should bear interest! - -I changed my tactics, lunged no more; our blades became silent; they -ceased to hiss like drops of water falling on live coals or hot iron; -almost they lay motionless together, mine over his, yet I feeling -through blade and hilt the strength of that black, hairy wrist which -held the other weapon. Also, I think he felt the strength of mine; -once his eye shifted, though had the moment been any other the shift -would have been unnoticeable. - -That was my time! Swift as lightning, I, remembering the dwarf's -lessons of long ago--why did I remember also the little sniggering -chuckle he used to utter as he taught them?--drew back my sword an -inch, then thrust, then back again with a sharp wrench, and, lo! -Morales' sword was flying through the air three feet above his -head--he was weaponless! My own was drawn back a second later, another -moment I should have avenged his assassin's thrust at Juana--yet I -could not do it. For he, recognising he was doomed, stood there before -me, his arms folded over his breast, his eyes confronting mine. - -"Curse you!" he said, "you have won. Well--kill me. At once." - -No need for me to say that could not be. In the moment that I twisted -his weapon out of his wrist I had meant to slay him, had drawn back my -own weapon to thrust it through chest and lungs and back, and stretch -him dead at my feet--yet now I spared him. - -Villain as he was--scoundrel who would traffic with a broken-hearted -woman for her honour and her soul as a set-off against her father's -safety, and, in doing so, also betray the country he served--I could -not slay a defenceless man. - -His sword had fallen at my feet; one of them was upon it. I motioned -to him now to return to the _fonda_--to begone. - -"You have missed your quarry," I said; "'twill never fall to your lure -again. Away!" - -Yet, still standing there before us--for now Juana had once more flown -to my side, and was sobbing bitterly, her wild, passionate words -expressing partly her thanks to God for my double safety, and partly -her bewailings that her father had gone to his fate--he had something -to say, could not depart without a malediction. - -"Curse you both!" he exclaimed once more. "Curse you! Had I known of -your trick you should all have burnt and grilled on the _braséro_ ere -this--ay, even you, wanton!--ere I had let you fool me so." - -Then he turned away as though to go back to the _fonda_, yet returned -again, and, striding back to where the mute stood motionless, his -expression one of absolute vacancy--as though, in truth, he was only -now become dumb from utter surprise--he struck at him full in the face -with his clenched fist. - -"Dolt, idiot, hound!" he said. "Was it to aid in such treachery -against me as this that I saved you from the Inquisition? God! that I -had left them to take your useless life! Dumb fool!" - -I, standing there, with Juana still clinging to my neck, as she had -done since the duel was over, saw the man stagger back and wipe the -blood from his lips; saw, too, his hands clench firmly; saw him take -one step forward, as though he meant to throw himself upon Morales; -then stop suddenly, and do nothing. Perhaps even now, after this foul -blow, he remembered that he had been saved from death once by him who -struck that blow. - -But a moment later he approached the Alcáide, though now humbly, and -like a beaten slave who sues for pardon, and entreats that no further -punishment shall be dealt out to him, and, an instant after, began, -with fingers and hands and many strange motions, to tell his master -something--something in a dumb language that was, still, not the deaf -and dumb language in common use, and which I myself chanced to know, -yet one that none could doubt both of these men were in the habit of -conversing in. - -He was telling some strange tale, I saw and understood by one glance -at my late opponent's face; neither could any doubt that who gazed -upon it! - -At first that face expressed amazement, incredulity--all the emotions -that are to be observed on the countenance of one who listens to some -story which he either cannot believe, or thinks issues, at best, from -a maniac. Yet gradually, too, there came over the face of Morales -another look--the look of one who does believe at last, in spite of -himself; also there dawned on it a hideous, gloating expression, such -as might befit a fiend who listens to the tortured cries of a victim. - -What did it mean? What tale was that stricken creature telling him by -those symbols, which none but he understood? What? What? - -A moment later we knew--if Morales did not lie to us. - -The mute had ceased his narrative, his hands made no further signs, -and, slowly, he stepped back again to where the horses we had -travelled on stood together, the reins of one tied to the other--and -Morales turned to us, his features still convulsed with that horrible -expression of gloating. - -"I have wronged you," he said, raising his forefinger and pointing it -at Juana, who shuddered and clasped me closer even as he did so; "and -you," glancing at me. "The treachery was not yours, but another's; -unless--unless"--and he paused as though seeking for words--"unless it -should be termed otherwise. Say, not treachery, but--sublime -sacrifice." - -"What!" from both her lips and mine. "What!" - -"Your father," he said, "had his chance"--and again that forefinger -was pointed at her--"this poor fool, my servant, went to set him free; -the horse was waiting for him--only, instead, it has borne _you_ to -safety"--and now he glanced at me--"also there was his sword for -him--that by your side." - -"My God! My God!" I heard Juana whisper on my breast. - -"Only he--this buccaneer--would not accept it, not take it. He, -stained deep with crime as he was, his name an accursed one through -all the Indies--men spit upon the ground there, they say, with -loathing when they hear it mentioned, even now--could bear all things -but one. Shall I tell you what that one thing is?" and he glanced -again at Juana, a very hell of hate in his look. - -But she could only moan upon my bosom and murmur: "My father! Oh, my -father!" - -"He could not bear," Morales went on, "that his child should be what -he knew she had become by now--my friend----" - -"Liar!" I cried. "I will kill you for this." - -"Could not bear that she should bring deeper disgrace than even he had -done upon your tainted names. Therefore he refused to come; therefore -he preferred the flames to which he has gone"--a wild, piercing scream -broke from Juana as he said those words--"and--so--so--that there -should be nothing rise up to prevent him from going to his death, so -that he should put away from himself all chance of salvation from that -death and earn his oblivion from disgrace, he persuaded this fool that -a mistake had been made--that 'twas you, not he, who was to be saved, -allowed to escape." - -"You lie," I said again. "You lie. Some part of this story is true, -some false, Gramont never believed that she would give herself to you; -knew that she meant to slay herself the instant she was assured of his -safety. Spanish dog, you lie, and I will have your life for it." - -"It is true," he said hoarsely, "as true as that an hour after you -left Lugo he was led out and burnt at the _braséro_--the _braséro_ -that was prepared for you. Now," and once more he addressed Juana, -"you have your lover back again--be happy in the possession; in the -knowledge that his life is saved by the loss of your father's. Be -happy in that." - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -THE DEAD MAN'S EYES--THE DEAD MAN'S HANDS. - - -Was Juana dying, I asked myself that night--dying of misery and of all -that she had gone through? God, He only knew--soon I should know, too. - -Ere I had carried her to the _fonda_, Morales had disappeared, his -afflicted follower with him--ere we reached the miserable room, in -which she had passed the two nights that had elapsed since she had -come here with him who had bartered for the sacrifice of her honour -against her father's safety, I heard the trample of horses' hoofs, I -saw from the inn window both those men ride swiftly away, their road -being that which led on into Portugal. - -It was not possible that I should follow him and exact vengeance for -all that he had done or attempted to do against her, force him once -more to an encounter, disarm him again--and, when he was thus -disarmed, spare him no further. Not possible, because, henceforth, my -place was by her side. I must never leave her again in life--leave her -who had come to this through her love of me, her determination to -follow me through danger after danger, reckless of what might befall. - -She lay now upon her bed, feverish and sometimes incoherent, yet, at -others, sane and in her right mind, and it was at one of such moments -as these that I, sitting by her side, heard her whisper: - -"Mervan, where is that man--Morales?" - -"He is gone, dear heart; he will trouble you no more. -And--and--remember we are free. As soon as you are restored we can -leave here--there is nothing to stop us now. My journey through Spain -and France can never be recommenced--we must make for England by sea -somehow. Then, when I have placed you in safety, I must find my way -across to Flanders." - -For a while she lay silent after I had said this; lay there, her -lustrous eyes open, and with the fever heightening and intensifying, -if such were possible, her marvellous beauty. For now the carmine of -her cheeks and lips was--although fever's ensign!--even more -strikingly lovely than before; this woman on whom I gazed so fondly -was beyond all compare the most beautiful creature on which my eyes -had ever rested. As I had thought at first, so, doubly, I thought now. - -Presently she moaned a little, not from bodily pain, but agony of -mind, as I learnt shortly--then she said: - -"Mervan, why do you stay by my side--why not go at once back to your -own land? Leave me?" - -"Juana!" I exclaimed, deeming that I had mistaken her state, and that, -in truth, she was beside herself. Then added, stupidly and in a dazed -manner: "Leave you!" - -"Ay. Why stay by me? You have heard, know all, whose child--to my -eternal shame!--I am. The child of that bloodstained man, Gramont. -Ay," she said, again, "he, that other, Morales, spoke true. There is -no name in all the Indies remembered with such hate and loathing as -his. And I--I--am his child. Go--leave me to die here." - -"Juana," I said, "can you hear me, understand what I am saying--going -to say to you? Is your brain clear enough to comprehend my words? -Speak--answer me." - -For reply she turned those eyes on me; beneath the dark dishevelled -curls I saw their clear glance--I knew that all I should say would be -plain to her. - -"Listen to my words," I continued therefore. "Listen--and believe; -never doubt more. Juana, I love you with my whole heart and -soul--before all and everything else this world holds for me. I love -you. I love you. I love you," and as I spoke I bent forward and -pressed my lips to her hot burning ones. "And you tell me to leave -you, because, forsooth! you are his child. Oh! my sweet, my sweet, if -you were the child of one five thousand times worse than he has been, -ay! even though Satan claimed you for his own, I would love you till -my last breath, would never quit your side. Juana, we are each other's -forever now." - -"No! No! No!" - -"Yes, I say," I cried almost fiercely. "Yes. We are each other's -alone. You are mine, mine, mine. I have no other thought, no other -hope in all this world but you. If--if--our faith were the same I -would send for a priest now who should make us one; there should be no -further moment elapse in all the moments of eternity before you were -my wife." - -I felt the long slim hand tighten on mine for an instant, then release -it a moment later; but she said no more for a time. Yet the look on -her face was one of happiness extreme. After a while, however, she -spoke again. - -"The admiral knew," she whispered. "He had found out my secret." - -For a moment I could not recall what she referred to--the incidents -which had happened in such quick succession since we had quitted the -fleet had almost obliterated from my memory the recollection of all -that had taken place prior to that time. Yet now I remembered, -and--remembering--there came back to me Sir George Rooke's strange -diffidence after she had seized his hand and pressed it to her heart. -Also, I recalled the deference with which he had treated her whom I -thought then to be no more than a handsome, elegant youth, as well as -my feeling of surprise at that deference. - -And still, as I reflected over this, there was one other thing in -connection with him which also came back to me; his words, to wit, -that there were even worse things than shot or steel or death to cloud -a brave man's career--that many a soldier had gone down before worse -than these. And I knew now against what he had intended to warn -me--against the woman now lying here sore stricken, the woman whom I -loved and worshipped, the one who had been to me as faithful as a dog. - -"So be it," I said to myself, "so be it. If I am to become bankrupt -and shipwrecked through my love for her, I must be. Henceforth she is -all in all to me, and there is nothing else in my life. Yet, up to -now, the admiral's warning has been but little realised--I owe no ruin -to her, but, rather, salvation." - -For I could not but recall that 'twas through her that any loophole of -escape had come to me in the prison of Lugo; to her unhappy father -that I owed, if Morales had spoken true, the absolute escape itself. - -Even as I sat there meditating thus she moaned again: "My father. My -lost, doomed father," and once more I heard her whisper: "His child! -His child! The saints pity me!" - -And now I set myself to place that lost father before her in a far -different light than that in which she regarded him--to make her -believe that, when almost all in the Indies who had their account with -the sea had in their time been much as he had been, his crimes were -not so black as they appeared to her; to also paint in glowing colours -that sublime sacrifice--Morales had termed it truthfully!--which he -had made in remaining behind whilst I escaped, in dying while opening -to me the path to life and freedom. - -"Juana, my sweet," I said, speaking low, yet as sympathetically as I -could to her, "Juana, you deem his sin greater than it is. Also, -remember, 'tis almost certain Morales lies when he said he died -because--because--of your flight with him. For, remember--what the -vagabond forgot in his rage and hate!--remember, he knew of your -resolve, your determination to pretend to give yourself to him in -exchange for his safety." - -As I said these words I saw her eyes glisten, saw her head turned more -toward me on the pillow--in her face the expression of one to whose -mind comes back the recollection of a forgotten fact, a truth. - -"_Diôs!_" she whispered, "it was so. He knew of my intention. 'Tis -true; Morales lied. Yet," she went on a moment later, "yet that cannot -cleanse him from his past sins, purge his soul from the crimes with -which 'tis stained." - -"Crimes!" I re-echoed, "Crimes! Think, recall, my beloved, what those -crimes were. Those of buccaneer, 'tis true, yet not so bad but that -all like him were not deemed too sunken in sin to be refused pardon by -Spain, by France, even by my own land. Those pardons were sent out to -the Indies shortly before he was thought to be lost--had he returned -to France, then he would have held a position of honour under Louis." - -"How?" she asked--and now I noticed that in her face there seemed to -be a look of dawning hope, a look too, as though with that newborn -hope there was a return of strength accompanied by an absence of such -utter despair as had broken her down. "How know you that?" - -"I was there in the court when he was tried," I said, "I heard his -words--and none who heard them could doubt their truth, no more than -they could his fierce denouncement of that unutterable villain, Eaton. -Juana," I said, endeavouring to speak as impressively as was in my -power, to thrust home more decisively the growing conviction to her -heart that Gramont was not the devil he had been painted, "you must -teach yourself to think less ill of your father than report has made -him. And--and remember, he could have escaped an he would; it was, as -that man said, a sublime sacrifice when he went to his doom." - -"But why?" she asked, "why?" Though even as she did so, I saw, I knew, -that in her heart there was the hope and wish to find something that -might whiten his memory for her. - -"Why," I repeated, bending near to her, speaking as deeply and -earnestly as I could; above all, the softened feeling I was -endeavouring to bring about in her heart toward that lost, dead father -must be made to grow, until at last she should regard his memory with -pity if naught else. "Why, because as I do believe, as I believe -before God, he knew we loved each other, Juana----" - -"Ah, Mervan!" - -"Because his life was already far spent, because ours were in their -spring; because, it may be, he knew that with him gone and me escaped -in his place there was the hope of many happy years before you--with -me--of years always together, of our being ever by each other's side -until the end. Juana, my beloved, my love, think not of him as one -beyond pardon and redemption, but rather as one who purified forever -the errors of his life by the deep tenderness and sacrifice of his -end." - -I had won. - -As I concluded she raised herself from the pillows on which she lay, -the long shapely arms met round my neck, the dark curly head sank to -my shoulder; soon nothing broke the silence of the room but her sobs. -Yet ever and again she whispered through her tears: "My father, my -unhappy father. May God forgive me if I have judged you too harshly." - -Soon after that I left her sleeping peacefully and with, as it seemed -to me, much of her fever gone--yet even as she slept I, sitting -watching by her side, saw still the tears trickle forth from beneath -the long eyelashes that fringed her cheeks, and knew that in her sleep -she was dreaming of him. - -But again I told myself that I had won; that henceforth the memory of -her father's erring life would not stand between her and me, between -our love. - -The peasant who kept the miserable inn, and whose curiosity as to all -that had taken place recently--the arrival of Juana and Morales, the -duel, and then the rapid departure of him and the mute, while I -remained behind in his place--was scarcely appeased by my curt and -stern information that the lady above was shortly to become my wife, -told me that there was no suitable sleeping place for me other than -the public room. The other seńor, he said, had had to make shift with -that, since the one spare room which the seńora occupied was the only -one available in the house. He supposed, he added gruffly, that I, -too, could do the same thing. There was a bench--and he pointed as he -spoke to a rough wooden thing which did not promise much ease or -rest--on which the other seńor had slept; also a deep chair, in which -one might repose easily before the fire. Would that do? Yes, I -answered, either would do very well. I was fatigued, and could sleep -anywhere. All I asked was that I should be left alone. - -This was done, though ere the man and his wife departed to their -quarters for the night the latter took occasion to make a remark to -me. The lady, she observed, if she might make so bold as to say it, -seemed to be of an undecided frame of mind. When she and the other -seńor arrived she had understood that he was the person to whom she -was about to be married. It was strange, she thought, that the lady -should elope over the border with one seńor, to be married to another. -However, she added, it was no affair of hers. - -"It is no affair of yours," I said sternly once more. "Leave me alone -and interfere not in our affairs. Your bill," I continued, "will be -paid; that is sufficient." Whereon she said that was all that was -required, and so, at last, I was left to myself. - -Left to myself to sit in the great chair before the fire and muse on -all that had lately occurred to make my journey toward Flanders a -failure; to muse still more deeply on the love that had come to me -unsought, unthought of; the love that, when I had at last accomplished -my task and rejoined Marlborough, would, I hoped, crown my life. - -Yet, as the snow beat against the window, for once more it was a rough -night and the wind howled here as it had howled the night before, -across in Spain--while as before the flakes falling on the rude panes -seemed to my mind to resemble ghostly finger-tips that touched the -glass and then were drawn off it back into the darkness without--I -thought also of the now dead and destroyed man, the buccaneer who, all -blood-guilty as he was, had yet gone to a doom that he might have -escaped from. - -And my thought prevented sleep, even though I had not now slept for -many, many hours--my terrible reflections unstrung me--it seemed -almost as if the spirit of that dead man had followed me, was outside -the rough wooden door; as if, amidst those falling and swift-vanishing -snowflakes on the glass, I saw his eyes glaring out of the blackness -into the room. And soon I became over-wrought, the gentle beat of the -snow became the tap of a hand summoning me to open and admit his -spectral form--an awful fantasy took possession of me! - -Was, I asked myself--as furtively I turned my eyes to those solemn, -silent flakes that fell upon the window pane, rested there a moment -gleaming white, then vanished into nothingness--was the lost soul of -that man hovering outside the door or that window--the soul that but a -few hours ago had quitted his body? - -If I looked again at the casement should I see, as though behind some -dark veil, the eyes of Gramont glaring into the room; see those flakes -of snow take more tangible form--the form of a dead man's fingers -scratching at the panes, tearing at them to attract my attention? - -Distraught--maddened by the terror of my thoughts, fearful of myself, -of the silence that reigned through the house, I sprang to my feet--I -was mad!--I must go out into the gloom and blackness of the night---- - -God!--what was that? - -There _was_ a tapping at the door--a footstep--next a tap at the -window. The hands were there; I saw the fingers--the snow falling -round them--on them. I saw, too, the eyes of Gramont peering in at me. - -"What is it?" I cried hoarsely. "What? What?" - -Then through the roar of the tempest without, through the shriek of -the wind, above the loud hum of the torrent, I heard--or was I mad and -dreaming that I heard?--the words: - -"Open. To me--her father." - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -"LET US KISS AND PART." - - -As I unbarred the door that gave directly from the miserable -living-room of the house to the outside he came in, the snow upon the -shoulders of the cape he wore--some flakes even upon his face. - -"You are alive! Escaped!" I whispered, recognising that this was no -phantom of my brain, but the man himself. "Safe! Thank God!" - -"Where is she?" he asked, pausing for no greeting, giving me none. "My -child! Is _she_ safe? Or--have I come too late?" - -"She is here--safe. It is not too late." - -His eyes roamed round the room; then, not seeing her, he continued: - -"Where? I must see her--once." - -"_Once?_" - -"For the last time. After that we shall never meet again. The shadow -of my life, my past, must fall on her no more. Yet--once--I must see -her. Lead me to where she is." - -"She has been ill, delirious--is crushed by all that has -happened--by----" - -"All that she has learnt," he interrupted, his voice deep and -solemn--broken, too. "Yet I must see her." - -"She is asleep above." - -For answer to this he made simply a sign, yet one I understood very -well--a sign that I should delay no longer. - -"Come," I said, "come." And together we went up the narrow stairs to -the room she occupied--stole up them, as though in fear of waking her. - -Pushing the door open gently, we saw by the rays of the _veilleuse_, -which I had ordered to be placed in the room, that she was sleeping; -observed also that our entry did not disturb her; also it was easy to -perceive that she was dreaming. Sometimes, as we standing there gazed -down, the long, dark lashes that drooped upon her cheeks quivered; -from beneath them there stole some tears; once, too, the rosy lips -parted, and a sigh came from between them. - -"My child, my child!" Gramont whispered to himself, "child of her whom -I loved better than my life--that we should meet at last, only to part -forever!" - -And from his own eyes the tears rolled down--from his! He stooped and -bent over her; his face approached hers; his lips touched that white -brow, over which the short-cut hair curled in such glorious -dishevelment, while he murmured: - -"Unclose those eyelids once, look for the last time on me." Then he -half-turned his head away, as though to prevent his own tears from -falling on and awakening her. - -Was he a sorcerer, I wondered, even as I watched--a sorcerer, as well -as other things unnamable? Had he the power over his own child to thus -reach her mind and brain, even though both were sunk in a deep, -feverish sleep? In truth, it appeared so. - -For, even as he spoke, those eyelids did unclose, the dark, dreamy -eyes gazed up into his, while, slowly, the full, white, rounded arms -encircled his neck, and their lips met, and from him I heard the -whispered words: - -"Farewell, farewell, forever. Oh, my child, my child!" - -Yet--and I thanked God for it then, as ever since I have thanked Him -again and again!--he had turned away ere the answering whisper came -from her lips, had not heard the words that fell from them--the words: - -"Mervan, Mervan, my beloved!" - -Thanked God he had not known how, in her sleep, she deemed those -kisses mine, and dreamed of me alone. - - * * * * * * * * * - -"'Twas went on the storm increased, the snow no longer came in flakes -against the window of the room below, in which we sat, but, instead, -lay thick and heavy in masses on the sill without--was driven, too, -against the window by the fierce, tempestuous wind that howled down -from the mountains above, and rocked the miserable inn. - -"There is no going on to-night," Gramont said, coming in out of the -storm after having gone forth to attend to the horse that had brought -him from Lugo, and having bestowed it in the stables, where were the -animals on which Juana and I had also ridden. "No going on to-night." -Then, changing the subject abruptly, he said: "Where is that man?" - -Not pretending to doubt as to whom he made allusion, I said: - -"The Alcáide?" - -"Ay, the Alcáide." - -Whereon I told him of all that had happened since my arrival with the -mute, and of his immediate departure further on into Portugal. - -"You should have slain him," he said, "the instant you had disarmed -him. You loved Juana and she you--she told me so when she divulged his -scheme to me in the prison--you should never have let him go free with -life." - -"I _had_ disarmed him. I could not slay a weaponless, defenceless -man." - -"One slays a snake--awake or sleeping. He merited death." - -"Yet to him, in a manner, we all owe our lives. Juana--I--you." - -"Owe our lives! Owe our lives to him! To one who trafficked with my -girl's honour as against her father's freedom; a man who betrayed his -trust to his own country as a means whereby to gratify his own evil -desires! And for you--for me--what do we owe him? The chance of my -escape came from another's hand than his." - -"From another's! You could have escaped even without that vile compact -made between--God help us--Juana and him?" - -"Ay--listen. You stood by my side in the court when they tried us; you -heard a voice in that court; saw the man who called out in loud tones -to the man, Morales. You saw him, observed, maybe, that he bore about -him the signs of a sailor." - -As he spoke there came to me a recollection of something more than -this--a recollection of where I had seen that man again, of how it was -he who crouched behind the fallen masses of blasted rock in the -passage beneath the bed of the river through which I had passed to -freedom; also, I remembered the great gold rings in his ears, and the -glistening of one upon the guarding of his cloak as he shrank back -into the darkness. - -"I remember him," I said, "very well--also, I saw him again, on the -night that mute led me forth, helped me to escape." - -"'Tis so. That man saved me, was bent on saving me from the moment he -saw my face in the court. He is a Biscayan--yet we had met in other -lands; once I had saved his life--from Eaton. He--that doubly damned -traitor--that monster of sin--had taken him prisoner in a pink he -owned, yet had not captured her without a hard fight, in which this -man, Nuńez Picado, nearly slew him. Then, this was Eaton's revenge: He -bound him and set him afloat in a dismantled ketch he had by him, that -to which Picado was bound being a barrel of gunpowder. And in that -barrel was one end of a slow match, the other end alight and trailing -the length of the ketch's deck." - -"My God!" - -"So slow a match that it would take hours ere it reached the powder, -hours in which the doomed wretch would suffer ten thousand-fold the -tortures of the damned. Yet one thing Eaton forgot--forgot that those -hours of long drawn-out horror to his victim were also hours in which -succour might come. And it was so. I passed that craft drifting slowly -to and fro off Porto Rico. In the blaze of the noontide I saw a -brighter, redder light than the sparkle of sun on counter and -brass--when I stepped on board the ketch there was not a foot of the -slow-match left--not an hour longer of life left to the man. Only, the -bitterness of death was over for him then--he was a raving maniac, and -so remained for months." - -"He has at last repaid you in full." - -"Ay! In full. He knew the secret way into the ramparts; all was -concocted, all arranged for our escapes." - -"For yours and hers?" - -"For hers and mine. Had it not been that you had to be saved -also--that the freedom which Juana had obtained from Morales for me -must be transferred to you, since I needed it not, she would never -have been allowed to go forth with him. I or Picado would have slain -him in the prison and escaped with her." - -"I begin to understand." - -"'Twas best, however, to let her go forth unknowing--at least it -removed him away from what had to be done--made it certain that he -could not impede your escape. The rest was easy. I persuaded the mute -that 'twas you, not I, whom it was intended to save, that 'twas for -you her letter was meant, that it was I who was doomed." - -"And Eaton? Eaton?" I asked. - -"Eaton has paid the forfeit of his treachery," he said. "It has -rebounded on his own head. The _braséro_ thirsted for its victim--the -populace for its holiday. They have had it. Trust Nuńez Picado for -that." - -He said no more, neither then nor later, and never yet have I learnt -how that vilest of men was the substitute for those whom he had hoped -and endeavoured to send to the flames. Yet, also, never have I doubted -that it was done, since certain it is that from that time he has never -again crossed my path. - -"The storm increases," Gramont said, as he strode to the window and -peered out into the darksome night. "Yet--yet--I must go on at -daybreak. I--I have that which needs take me on." - -"Stay here with us," I cried, "stay here. Juana will be my wife at the -first moment chance offers. Stay." - -"Nay," he said. "Nay. She and I must never meet again. That is the -expiation of my life which I have set myself--I will go through with -it. In that last kiss above, I took my farewell of her forever in this -world." - -"What will you do?" I asked through my now fast-falling tears, tears -that none needed to be ashamed of; tears that none, listening to his -heart-broken words as they dropped slowly from his lips, could have -forborne to shed. "What is your life to be?" - -"God only knows," he replied; "yet one of penitence, of prayers for -forgiveness so long as that life lasts. Thereby--thereby--I shall be -fitter for the end. I am almost old now; it may not be far off." - -Silence came upon us after that--a silence broken only by the howl of -the wind outside the lonely house, by the thud of snow falling now and -again from the roof and eaves--blown off by the fury of the tempest. -But broken by scarcely aught else, unless 'twas a sigh that -occasionally, and all unwittingly, as I thought, escaped from that -poor sinner's overcharged breast. Yet, for the rest, nothing; no sound -from that room above, where Juana lay sleeping; nothing but sometimes -the expiring logs falling together with a gentle clash in the grate. - -Then suddenly, as I almost dozed on one side of those logs, he being -on the other, I heard him speaking to me, his voice deep, sonorous and -low--perhaps he feared it might reach her above!--yet clear and -distinct. - -"Evil," he said, "as my existence has been, misjudge me not. None -started on life's path meaning better than I. God help me! none -drifted into worse extremes. Will you hear my story--such as 'tis meet -you should know--you who love my child?" - -I bowed my head; I whispered, "Yes." Once, because I pitied him, I -gently touched his hand with mine. - -"I was a sailor," he went on, his dark eyes gleaming tenderly at that -small offering of my sympathy, "bred up to the sea, the only child of -a poor Protestant woman. Later--when Louis the king first fell under -the thrall of the wanton, De Maintenon, my mother died of starvation, -ruined by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, ruined ere that -revocation by the shadow it cast before it on all of our faith. Think -you that what was doing in the Indies by the Spaniards made me love -the followers of the Romish church more?" - -He paused a moment--again he went on: - -"In the Indies to which I had wandered, I met with men who had sworn -to extirpate, if might be, every Spaniard, every one of those who in -their time swore that there was to be no peace beyond the line. That -was their oath--we helped them to keep it, made it our watchword, too. -All of us, Morgan, Pointis, Avery, Lolonois, your other countryman, -Stede Bonnet, a hundred others, all of different lands, yet all of one -complexion--hatred against Spain. And there was no peace beyond the -line. You are a soldier, may be one for years, yet you will never know -blood run as blood ran then. You may rack cities, even Louis' own -capital, you will never know what sharing booty means as we knew it. -Ere I was thirty I possessed a hundred thousand gold pistoles, ere -another year had passed I owned nothing but the sword by my side, the -deck I trod." - -"Yet," I said, "when you were lost--disappeared--you left your child a -fortune--which Eaton stole." - -"I did more," he answered. "I left her that--but--I left her another -which Eaton could not steal. She has it now; it is, it must be safe. -Do you know your wife brings you a great dowry?" - -I started--I had never thought of this!--yet, ere I could say aught, -he went on again. - -"I pass over much. I come to twenty years ago. Eaton was my -lieutenant; we were about to besiege Maracaibo, a gallant company -three hundred strong. Well, let me hurry--see, the daylight is coming. -I must away--Maracaibo fell, our plunder was great. Also, we had many -prisoners. Amongst them one, a girl, young and beautiful; God! she was -an angel!" - -"Juana's mother that was to be," I whispered, feeling sure. - -"Hear me. She was my prize--there were others, but I heeded them not, -had eyes only for her. Her ransom was fixed at five thousand pistoles, -because she was the niece of the wealthiest man of all, to be paid ere -we sailed three days later. And I prayed that they might never be -forthcoming, that I might bear her away with me, teach her to love me -as I loved her." - -"And they were not paid?" I asked breathlessly. - -"We did not sail in three days' time; the money of the place had been -sent away inland on our approach; also one-half our body were all mad -with drink ashore. 'Twas more nigh three weeks ere we were ready to -depart." - -"And the lady?" - -"Her uncle had died meanwhile of a fever--yet--yet--the ransom was -forthcoming. She was affianced to a planter; he came on board my ship, -and with him he brought the gold." - -"Ah!" - -"My oath bound me to take it--had I refused, my brethren had the -right--since we had laws regulating all things amongst us--to remove -me from my command. I had to see him count the gold out on the cabin -table, to tell her she was free to go." - -"And she went?" I asked again, almost breathless. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -GONE. - - -"She went," he continued, "and I thought that she was gone from me -forever, since, filibuster as I was, as I say, my oath to my -companions bound me to set her free upon payment of the ransom. Yet, -by heaven's grace, she was mine again ere long." - -He paused, looking out of the snow-laden window through which there -stole now a greyness which told of the coming of the wintry day; -pointed toward it as though bidding me remember that his time with me -was growing short; then went on: - -"I was ashore for the last time before we sailed for Port Royal; those -of us who were something better than brutish animals seeking for those -who were wallowing in debauchery; finding them, too, either steeped in -drink, or so overcome by their late depravity that they had to be -carried on board the ships like logs. Then, as we passed down a street -seeking our comrades, I saw her again--saw her lovely face at the -grilled window of a house that looked as though it might be a convent; -at a window no higher from the ground than my own head. And she saw me -too, made a sign that I should stop, should send on my company out of -earshot; which done, she said: - -"'Save me. For God's sake, save me!'" - -"'Save you, Seńorita,' I whispered, for I knew not who might be -lurking near, might be, perhaps, within the dark room to which no ray -of the blazing sun seemed able to penetrate; 'save you from what, from -whom?' - -"'From him who ransomed me--_Diôs!_ that you had not taken the money. -I hate him, was forced to be affianced to him, am a prisoner here in -this convent until to-morrow, when I am to become his wife.' - -"'Yet, Seńorita,' I murmured--'how to do it? These walls seem strong, -each window heavily grated, doubtless the house well guarded--and--and -we sail at daybreak.' - -"'Yet an entrance may be made by the garden,' she whispered in reply; -'the house is defended by negroes only--my room at the top of the -stairs. Save me. Save me.'" - -Again Gramont paused--again he pointed at the day-spring -outside--hurriedly he went on: - -"I saved her. Twenty of us--that vile Eaton was one!--passed through -the garden at midnight--up those stairs--killing three blacks who -opposed us"--even as he spoke I remembered Eaton's ravings in _La -Mouche Noire_ as to the dead men glaring down into the passage; knew -now of what his frenzied mind had been thinking on--"bore her away. -Enough! three months later, we were married in Jamaica!" - -He rose as though to go forth and seek his horse, determined to -make his way on in spite of the snow that lay upon the ground in -masses--because, as I have ever since thought, he had sworn to undergo -his self-imposed expiation of never gazing more upon his child's -face!--then he paused, and spoke once more: - -"She died," and now his voice was broken, trembled, "in giving birth -to her who is above; died when I had grown rich again--so rich that -when I sailed for France, my pardon assured, my commission as -Lieutenant du Roi to Louis in my pocket, I left her with Eaton, not -even then believing how deep a villain he was; thinking, too, that I -should soon return. Left with him, also, a fortune for her, What -happened to her and that fortune you have learnt. Yet, something else -you have to learn. Her mother's name had been Belmonte, and when Juana -fled from Eaton, driven thence by his cruelty, she, knowing this, -found means to communicate with an old comrade of mine, by then turned -priest and settled at the other end of the island--at Montego. Now, -see how things fall out; how, even to one belonging to me, God -is good. 'Twas in '86 I sailed for France, my commission in my -cabin--nailed in my pride to a bulkhead--when, alas! madman as I was, -I encountered a great ship--a treasure ship, as I believed, sailing -under Spanish colours. And--and--the devil was still strong in -me--still strong the hatred of Spain--the greed and lust of plunder. -God help me! God help and pardon me!" and as he spoke he beat his -breast and paced the dreary room, now all lit up by the daylight from -without. Even as I write I see and remember him, as I see and remember -so many other things that happened in those times. - -"We boarded her," he continued, a moment later; "we took her treasure; -she was full of it--yet even as we did so I knew that I was lost -forever in this world, all chance of redemption gone--my hopes of -better things passed away forever. For she was sailing under false -colours; she was a French ship, one of Louis' own, and, seeing that we -ourselves carried the Spanish flag, the better to escape the ships of -war of Spain that were all about, had herself run them up. And we -could not slay them and scuttle the ship--we had passed our word for -their safety--moreover, an we would have done so 'twas doubtful if we -should have succeeded. There were women on board, and, though the men -fought but half-heartedly to guard the treasure that was their king's, -they would have fought to the death for them. Therefore, we emptied -the vessel of all that it had--we left them their lives--let them go -free." - -"But why, why?" I asked, still not comprehending how this last attack -upon another ship--and that but one of many stretching over long -years!--should be so fateful to him, "why not still go on to France, -commence a new life under better surroundings?" - -"Why?" he repeated, "why? Alas! you do not understand. I, a -commissioned officer of the French king, had made war on his ships, -taken his goods; also," and he drew a long breath now, "also -there were those on board who knew and recognised me--we had met -before--knew I was Gramont. That was enough. There was no return to -France for me; or, if once there, nothing but the block or the wheel." - -"God pity you," I gasped, "to have thrown all chance away thus--thus!" - -He seemed not to heed my words of sympathy, wrung from me by my swift -comprehension of all he had lost; instead, he stood there before me, -almost like those who are turned to stone, making no movement, only -speaking as one speaks who encounters a doom that has fallen on him, -as one who tells how hope and he have parted forever on wide, -diverging roads. - -"There were others besides myself," he continued, "who had ruined all -by their act of madness, others of my own land who had gained their -pardon, and lost it now forever, flung away all hopes of another life, -of happier days to come, for the dross that we apportioned between -ourselves, though in our frenzy we almost cast it into the sea. As for -my share, though 'twas another fortune, I would not touch a pistole, -but sent it instead to the priest I have spoken of--sent it by a sure -hand--and bade him keep it for my child, add it to that which Eaton -held for her; told him, too, to guard it well, since neither he nor -she would ever see me more!" - -"And after--after?" I asked. - -"After, we disbanded--parted. I went my way, they theirs; earned my -living hardly, yet honestly, in Hispaniola; should never have left the -island had I not discovered that Eaton, who even then sometimes passed -under the name of Carstairs--that was his _honest_ name--and who had -long since disappeared from my knowledge, was having a large amount of -goods and merchandise shipped under that name in the fleet of -galleons, about to sail as soon as possible. And then--then--knowing -how he had treated the child I left in his care--the child of my dead -and lost love--I swore to sail in those galleons, to find him, to -avenge----" He paused, exclaiming, "Hark! What is that?" - -Above--I heard it as soon as he--there was a footfall on the floor. We -knew that Juana was moving, had arisen. - -"Go to her," he said, and I thought that his voice was changed--was -still more broken--"Go; it may be she needs something. Go." - -"Is this our last farewell? Surely we shall meet again." - -"Go. And--and--tell her--her father--nay. Tell her nothing. Go." - -O'ermastered by his words, by, I think, too, the misery of the man who -had been my companion through the dreary night, my heart wrung with -sorrow for him who stood there so sad a figure, I went, obeying his -behest. - -But ere I did so, and before I opened the door that gave on the stairs -leading to her room, I took his hand, and whispered: - -"It _is_ our last farewell! Yet--oh, pause and think--she is your -child. Have you no word--no last word of love nor plea for pardon--to -send?" - -For a moment his his quivered, his breast heaved and he turned toward -the other, and outer, door, so that I thought he meant to go without -another sign. But, some impulse stirring in his heart, he moved back -again to where I stood; murmuring, I heard him say: - -"In all the world she has none other but you. Remember that. Farewell -forever. And--in days to come--teach her not to hate--my memory. -Farewell." - -Then, his hand on the latch of the outer door, he pointed to the other -and the stairs beyond. - -While I, stealing up them, knew that neither his child nor I would -ever see him more, and, so knowing, prayed that God would at last -bring ease and comfort to the erring man. - -As I neared the door of the room in which she had slept she opened it -and came forth upon the bare landing--pale, as I saw in the light of -the now fully broken day, but with much of the fever gone; also with, -upon her face, that smile which ever made summer in my heart. - -"You are better," I said, folding her to me, "better? Have slept well? -Is it not so?" Yet, even as I spoke, I led her back to the room whence -she had come. She must not descend _yet!_ "You have not stirred all -through the night, I know." - -"I dreamt," she said, "that you came to me, bade me farewell forever. -Yet that passed, and again I dreamed that we should never part more. -Therefore, I was happy, even in my sleep." Then broke off to say: -"Hark! They are stirring in the house. Are the horses being prepared? -I hear one shaking its bridle. Can any go forth to-day?" and she moved -toward the window. - -"Nay, Juana," I said, leading her back again, although imperceptibly, -to the middle of the room, "do not go to the window. The cold is -intense--stay here by my side." - -Not guessing my reason--since it was impossible she should understand -what was happening below!--I led her back. Led her back so that she -should not see one come forth from the stable whom she deemed dead and -destroyed--so that she should not be blasted by the sight of her -father passing away in actual life from her forever; then sat down by -her side and led the conversation to our future--to how we should get -away from here to England and to safety. Also, I told her not to -bewail, as she did again and again, my failure to proceed further on -my journey to Flanders and the army; demonstrated, to her that, at -least, there had been no failure in the mission I had undertaken; -that my secret service had been carried out--and well carried out, -too--and, consequently, my return mattered not very much with regard -to a week or month. The allies, I said, could fight and win their -battles very well without my aid, as I doubted not they were doing by -now, while--for the rest--had I not done my share both here and in -Spain? Proved, too--speaking a little self-vauntingly, perhaps, by -reason of my intense desire to soothe and cheer her and testify that -she had been no barrier in my path to glory--that I, also, though far -away from my comrades, had stood in the shadow of death, had been face -to face with the grim monster equally with those who braved the -bayonets, the muskets and the cannon of Louis' armies. - -But all the time I spoke to her my apprehension was very great, my -nerves strung to their bitterest endurance, my fear terrible that she -would hear the man below going forth, that she might move to the -window and see him--and that, thus seeing, be crushed by the sight. - -For I knew that he was moving now--that he was passing away forever -from this gloomy spot which held the one thing in all the world that -was his, and linked him to the wife he had loved so dearly; knew that, -solitary and alone, he was about to set forth into a dreary world -which held no home for him nor creature to love him in his old age. I, -too, heard the bridle jangling again; upon the rough boards of the -stable beneath the windows of the _fonda_ I heard the dead, dull thump -of a horse's hoofs; I knew that the animal was moving--that he was -setting out upon his journey of darkness and despair. - -"You are sad, Mervan," she said, her cheek against mine, while her -voice murmured in my ear. "Your words are brave, yet all else belies -them." - -"It is not for myself," I answered. "Not for myself." - -The starry eyes gazed into mine, the long, slim hand rested on my -shoulder. - -"For whom?" she whispered. "For whom? For him? My father?" - -I bowed my head--from my lips no words seemed able to come--yet said -at last: - -"For him. Your father." Then, for a moment, we sat there together, -saying nothing. But soon she spake again. - -"My thoughts of him are those of pity only, now," she murmured -once more. "Pity, deep as a woman's heart can feel. And--and--my -love--remember, I never knew who my father was until that scene in the -inn at Lugo--thought always his, our name was in truth Belmonte. The -secret was well kept--by Eaton, for his own ends, doubtless; by my -father's friend, the priest who had once been as he was, for his past -friendship's sake. If I judged him harshly, a life of pity for his -memory shall make atonement." - -As she said these words, while I kissed and tried to comfort her, she -rose from where we were sitting and went to the window, I not -endeavouring to prevent her now, feeling sure that he was gone; for -all had become very still; there was no longer any sound in the -stable, nor upon the snow, which, as I had seen as the day broke, had -frozen and lay hard as iron on the ground beneath it. - -Yet something there was, I knew, that fascinated her as she gazed out -upon the open; something which--as she turned round her face to me--I -saw had startled, terrified her. For, pale as she had been since we -had met again here, and with all the rich colouring that I loved so -much gone from her cheeks, she was even whiter, paler than I had ever -known her--in her eyes, too, a stare of astonishment, terror. - -"Mervan!" she panted, catching her breath, her hand upon her heart, -"Mervan, look, oh, look!" and she pointed through the window. - -"See," she gasped, "see. The form of one whom I deemed dead--or is he -in truth dead, and that his spectre vanishing into the dark wood -beyond? See, the black horse, that which he bestrode that night--oh! -Mervan--Mervan--Mervan--why has his spirit returned to earth? Will it -haunt me forever--forever--punish me because of my shame of him?" - -And while I saw the horseman's figure disappear now--and forever--into -the darkness of the pine forest, she lay trembling and weeping in my -arms. To calm which, and also bring ease to her troubled heart, I told -her all. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -ALWAYS TOGETHER NOW. - - -The frost held beneath a piercing east wind which blew across the -mountains that separated Portugal from Leon, so that now the snow was -as hard as any road and there was no longer any reason to delay our -setting forth. And more especially so was this the case because my -beloved appeared to have entirely recovered from the fever into which -she had been thrown by the events of the past weeks. - -"I am ready, Mervan," she said to me the next day, "ready to depart, -to leave forever behind these lands--which I hope never to see -again--to dwell always in your own country and near you." - -Wherefore I considered in my mind what was best now to be done. - -That we were safe here in Portugal we knew very well--only it was not -in Portugal that we desired to remain, but rather to escape from; to -cross the seas as soon as might be--to reach England or Holland. Yet -how to do that we had now to consider. - -I had said we were safe here, and of this safety we had sure proof not -many hours after her unhappy father had departed on his unknown -journey; a journey that led I knew not where, no more than I knew what -would be the end of it. And this proof was that, in the afternoon of -the same day, the landlord of the inn came running in to us as fast as -he could scamper across the already frozen snow; his face twitching -with excitement, his voice shaking, too, from the same cause. - -"Holy Virgin!" he exclaimed, while he gesticulated like a madman, his -wife doing the same thing by his side, "who and what have I sheltered -here in my house. Pirates and filibusters, gaol breakers and -murderers, women whose vows are made and broken day by day. 'Tis mercy -we are not all stabbed to the death in our beds," and again he -grimaced and shook and spluttered. - -"You are as like," I said sternly, with a tap to my sword hilt, "to be -stabbed to the death now, and at once, if you explain not this -intrusion and your words, fellow." For he had roused my ire by -bursting in on Juana and me in the manner he had done, and by -frightening her, as I knew by the way she clung to me. "Answer at -once, what mean you?" - -"There are at the frontier," he said, speaking now more calmly, also -more respectfully as he noted my attitude, while his wife ceased her -clamour too, "some half dozen Spaniards from Lugo, all demanding where -you are--and--and the wo--the lady; also asking for one they call -their Alcáide, as well as another, who, they say, is a hundred-fold -assassin. Likewise they vow they will have you back to Lugo." - -"Will they! Well, we will see for that! Meanwhile, what say the -frontiermen on this side, here in Portugal?" - -"They dispute. They refuse. They say 'tis whispered o'er all our land -that the king has joined with the English brigands----" - -"Fellow! remember." And again I threatened him. - -"With the English nation against Spain and France. It may be so or -not; I do not know. Yet I think you will be spared to--to--slay----" - -Again he halted in his speech, reading danger in my glance, while I, -turning to Juana, bade her keep calm and await my return from the -border, to which I meant to proceed to see what was a-happening. - -At first she would not hear of my doing this; she threw herself upon -my neck, she besought me by our newborn love, by all our hopes of -happiness in days to come, not to go near those men, Reminded me, too, -that even now we were free to escape, to seize upon the horses, push -on further into Portugal and to safety. Also she pleaded with me to -remember that if aught happened to me, if I was taken again and -carried back to Spain, all hope would indeed be gone, no more escape -possible. Wept, also, most piteously, and besought me to recollect -that if aught such as this befell she would indeed be alone in the -world, and must die. - -Yet I was firm; forced myself to be so. In my turn, bade her remember -that I was a soldier, that soldiers could not skulk and run away when -there was naught to fear. - -"For," I said, whispering also many other words of love and comfort in -her ear, "it may be true that the king has joined with us. For months -it has been looked for, expected. And if 'tis not even so, these -people hate Spain and all in it with a deep hatred. They cannot harm -us, certainly no half dozen can. 'Twould take more than that. Let me -go, sweetheart." - -And gently I disengaged her arms from my neck and went away amidst her -prayers and supplications for my safety; amidst also the mutterings of -the landlord to the effect that the _Inglés_ seemed to fear neither -devil nor man. - -'Twas not many moments to the border 'twixt the two countries, and I -soon was there--seeing, however, as I hurried toward it, to the -priming of my pistols, and that my sword was loose enough in its -scabbard for easy drawing forth--and there I perceived that a harangue -was going on between the Spanish and Portuguese frontiermen, while, on -the side of the former, were also the half-dozen Spaniards, of whom -the inn keeper had spoken. And amongst them I recognised two or three -of those who had captured us in the inn garden at Lugo. - -"Ha!" one of them called out as I approached. "Ha! See, there is one, -the second of the brigands, though not the worst. _Assassinator!_" he -shrieked at me, "we must have you back at Lugo." - -"Best take me, then," I replied, as I drew close up, "yet 'twill cost -you dear," and as I spoke I whipped my sword from out its scabbard. - -There was to be neither fight nor attempt to capture me, however; in -truth, as you have now to see, my weapon had done its last work in -either Spain or Portugal, since the men on this side meant not that -the Spaniards should have their way. - -"Back, I tell you," shouted the Portuguese chief, "or advance at your -peril. We are at war; 'tis known over all our land the _Inglés_ are -our allies. You have come on a bootless errand." - -Now this, as I learnt later, was not the case in absolute fact, since -Portugal joined not with us till the next spring had come, yet it -served very well for my purpose; for these Spaniards did doubtless -think that they would have got me--and, I suppose, Juana, -too--bloodlessly, and have been able to hale us back to Lugo and its -accursed _braséro_. But now they found out their mistake; they would -have to fight to get me, and as, I think, they feared my sword as much -as the four or five others of my new-found Portuguese friends, they -very wisely desisted from any attempt. And so, after many angry words -exchanged on both sides, in which I took no part, I went back to the -inn, feeling sure that, unless I ever ventured into Spain again, I was -free of its clutches. - - * * * * * * * * * - -Once more, a few hours later, my love and I were on the road as -travelling companions, only now we were lovers instead of friends, and -the companionship was, by God's mercy, to be for the length of our -lives. And sweet it was to me, beyond all doubt, to have her by my -side, to hear her soft voice in my ears, and to listen to the words of -love that fell from her lips--sweet, too, to me to make reply to them. - -For one thing also I was devoutly grateful, namely, that I had not -hesitated to tell her that her father still lived; that he had yet, by -heaven's grace, many years before him in which to expiate his past; -that he had escaped the awful end to which he had been doomed, and -which, during some few hours, she imagined he had suffered--devoutly -grateful that I had done this, because, now, the sorrow which she felt -for the erring man was chastened by the knowledge that it was not too -late for him to repent and obtain pardon, and that his death, whatever -it might be, could scarce be one of such horror as that from which he -had escaped. - -After some consideration I had decided that 'twould be best we should -make our way to Oporto, where I thought 'twas very like we might find -some ship for either England or Holland--perhaps, also, since the -trade of that town with England is of such extreme importance, some -vessel of war acting as convoy for the merchants. Moreover, the -distance was not great in so small a land as this, and by the chart I -carried seemed not to be more than thirty or forty leagues, though to -compass them we should have to pass over mountains more than once. Yet -the horses were fresh--I rode now my own on which Gramont had come and -had then exchanged for the black one on which I had escaped, it having -been prepared for me ere I took his place--the snow was hard as iron; -it was not much to do. And, much or little, it had to be done. - -And so we progressed, passing through Mirandella and Murca, striking -at last a broad high road that ran straight for Oporto--scaling -mountains sometimes, plunging sometimes into deep valleys and crossing -streams over shaking wooden bridges that by their appearance seemed -scarce strong enough to bear a child, yet over which we got in safety. -And, though neither she nor I spoke our thoughts, I think, I know, -that the same idea was ever present to her mind as to mine, the idea -that we might ere long come upon some sign of her father. For, now and -again, as she peered down upon the white track we followed, losing -more than once the road, yet finding it again ere long, she would rein -in the jennet and look at the tracks frozen in the snow, then shake -her head mournfully as we went on once more. - -But of Gramont we saw no sign--nor ever saw him again in this world. - - - -Going on and on, however, we drew near as I judged, to the coast, -still climbing the mountains and still passing at other times through -the valleys, over all of which there lay the vast white pall burying -everything beneath it. - -We heard also the great river that is called the Douro, rolling and -humming and swirling beneath the roof of frozen snow which, in some -places, stretched across it from bank to bank. In some places, too, -where the road we traversed approached nearer to the stream, we saw it -cleaving its way through banks so narrowed by their coating of ice -that it o'erleapt and foamed above the sides, while with a great -swish, such as a huge tide makes upon a shingly beach, its waters -spread out with a hissing splash from their eddies and swept over the -borders on either side. Yet, because the way this river rushed was -likewise our way to peace and happiness--the road toward the great sea -we hoped so soon to traverse--we regarded it with interest. - -"See," I said to Juana, as now we rode close to it, so that at this -time our horses' feet were laved by its overflow, "see how it bears -down with it great trees from far inland, from where we have come; -also other things, the wooden roof of some peasant's hut, some -household goods too. I fear it has swept over the country, has burst -in places from its narrow frost-bound sides." - -'Twas true--such must have happened--for even as I spoke, there went -by the body of a horse--the creature's sides all torn and lacerated, -doubtless by some narrow passage in which the spears of ice would be -as sharp as swords' points; then, next--oh! piteous sight!--a little -dead babe rolled over and over as the waves bore it along in their -swift flight. - -"Look, look," she murmured, pointing forward to where the river -broadened, but out into the breadth of which there projected a spur, -or tongue of land; "look! that catches much of what comes down--see! -the dead horse's progress is stopped upon it--and Mervan, the little -babe is also rolled on to that slip of land while there are many other -things besides; more bodies of both men and animals." - -There were, in solemn truth. As we rode nearer to that jutting -promontory, we saw that much of what the Douro had brought down was -stopped by it; upon the frozen tongue of land protruding were mixed in -confusion many things. The dead horse and another which had preceded -it; some poor sheep, a dog, the little babe which had just passed -before our eyes, and two or three dead men; some on their backs, their -arms extended on that frozen refuge--one on his face. - -Mostly they were peasants; their garb told that, also their rough, -coarse hands, which showed black against the leper whiteness of the -ice and snow beneath them. But he who lay upon his face was none such, -his scarlet coat, guarded with galloon, had never graced a peasant's -back, no more than any peasant had worn that sword (with now both -blade and scabbard broken) that was by his side. - -And halting upon the little ridge which made the summit of that -promontory and gazing upon that man, I knew as well as if I could see -his down-turned face, whose body it was stretched out there upon its -icy bier. - -Also I saw that she knew, too. Neither scarlet coat nor battered -weapon was strange to her. - -"I will descend," I said, speaking in a low voice, such as those -assume who stand in presence of the dead. "I will descend and make -sure," whereupon she bowed her head in reply, making no demur. At that -moment she, perhaps, thought it best to make sure that he who had -sought her soul's degradation would never traffic with another woman's -honour. - -But as I went down on foot now to that tongue of land on which the -drowned reposed, I had another reason besides this of making sure that -the body was that of her tempter, the Alcáide. I desired to discover -if 'twas by the river alone that he had come to his death (borne down -and into it by some streamlet nearer the Spanish border), and not by -the avenging weapon of him who said that I should never have spared -him, have never let him quit my side with life. For they might have -met, I knew; the one who went first might have been belated on his -road--snowbound; the second might have overtaken him, his vengeance -have been swift and sure. - -Stepping across the bodies of the drowned animals, avoiding those of -the peasants, and putting gently aside that of the little babe, I -reached him, recognising as I did so the coal black hair flecked and -streaked with grey, the rings upon the hands stretched out, backs -upward. Then I turned him over, seeing that the face was torn and cut -by the jagged ice through which he had been hurried, also bruised and -discoloured. But in all the body no sign of rapier wound, nor pistol -shot, nor of avenging finger marks upon the throat. - -So I went back to her and took my reins from her hands and once more -we set out upon our way. - -But the dark, lustrous eyes as they gazed into mine asked silent and -unworded questions--so that I guessed my thoughts had been in her -mind, too!--and when I answered with as equal a silence I knew that I -had brought comfort to her heart. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -THE END. - - -The early part of September, 1704, had been stormy and wet and very -dismal, so that all in London feared that the great spectacle, which -had been arranged with much pains and forethought for the seventh of -that month, must be impaired if not totally ruined by the inclemency -of the weather. And many there were who, during the night that passed -away and when the dawn came, rose from their beds to peer out and see -what the day promised. - -Yet by great good fortune none were doomed to disappointment. For from -away over the river, down by where the great ships were all a-lying -dressed with flags, the sun came up in great magnificence and -splendour; the clouds turned from purple to a fair pure daffodil; a -sweeter autumn morning none had ever seen nor could hope to see. - -And now from very early in the morning the crowd came in from far and -wide, from north and south and east and west, from the villages along -the river as far away as sylvan Richmond on one side, or Hampstead on -another; while the gentry drove in from their country seats at Clapham -or Kensington and on the road that leads to Fulham. Also those -regiments at Hounslow, and the foot guards at Kensington, as well as -the city militia from the east side, were all making their way into -the town, with drums a-beating and flags streaming out to the fresh -morning air and trumpets braying, while in the city itself my Lord -Mayor was getting ready to proceed to Temple Bar, there to receive the -queen and court. - -For this day, the seventh of September, had been fixed for the -thanksgiving for the victory of Blenheim which the Duke of Marlborough -had recently won. The pity only being that, of those who were to take -part in the great ceremony, my Lord Duke could not be there, he being -still engaged on the Continent. - -Nevertheless, from St. James' there set out so great a company for St. -Paul's that 'tis never likely any one then alive could expect to -witness a more noble and imposing sight. For there were all the great -officers of state, with, amidst them, the queen in a sumptuous coach -drawn by eight horses, Her Majesty being ablaze with jewels. Alone she -went in that coach excepting one companion, a lady dressed as quietly -and simply as could be any lady in the land, there being neither at -neck or bosom or throat, or in her hair, any single trinket to be -seen. - -Yet, I think, she was that day the proudest woman in all England, not -even excepting great Anna, since she was the wife of the conqueror who -had trampled Louis and his armies under foot; was Sarah, Duchess of -Marlborough. Could any female heart have desired to be more! - -In front of, as well as behind, and on either side of that chariot of -state, there rode the Queen's Guards; yet ahead of those who rode -behind--he being nearest to the back of the carriage--was one who -yielded to none in thankfulness and gratitude for all which Providence -had seen fit to do for him. An officer this, one handed, his left -arm bound up--it having been nearly lopped off at Blenheim by one of -the Elector of Bavaria's huge dragoons, whom that officer slew a -moment later with his right hand--whose scarf, sword knot, -richly laced scarlet coat and gold cockade proclaimed him a colonel -of horse--myself. - -From where we entered the Strand--by the cross set up here--we saw -that all the shops were boarded up and scaffolded, partly to resist -the crowd and partly to furnish benches on which sight-seers might -sit. On those benches, also in the shop windows, on the bulks and at -the windows of the tradesmen's parlours above, was a noble and -splendid company, the ladies of which had all adorned themselves with -their choicest dresses and ribbons and laces, the more to do honour to -those other two ladies in the great coach. Then, behind, came the -lords of Parliament and the gentlemen of the Commons, also the -Bishops in their wigs and lawn--each and all in coaches drawn by -six horses--as well as many others of the nobility; while from the -churches along the route, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, St. Mary's in -the Strand and St. Clement's Danes, the bells clashed and clanged, -and, inside, the organs blew and anthems pealed. - -At Temple Bar there was a great halt, since the gates were shut, yet -opened as the queen came to them, whereon my Lord Mayor, surrounded by -the aldermen and sheriffs, in their red robes and on horses richly -caparisoned, received Her Majesty, the former handing to her the sword -of the city, which she at once returned; after which we progressed -once more toward St. Paul's, where, later, the dean preached a moving -sermon. - -And now my eyes were fixed and searching for a face--two faces--at a -window beyond the Church of St. Dunstan's in Fleet street--which was -all hung with banners and adornments stretched across from side to -side--and presently I saw that which I sought for--a lady on a balcony -holding up a little wee child in her arms, a lady dark and beautiful -and dressed all in her best, her robe a rich brocade, with, at her -breast, a knot of ribbons, the colours of the Fourth Horse--the woman -who has ever been in my eyes the fairest, most lovely of her sex, my -loved and honoured wife. And she stood there seeking for me, leaning -over the balcony to wave and kiss her hand, took, also, our babe's -little one in her arms and caused it to wave, too. - -Riding by, I looked up and saw them, and blessed God--blessed God and -praised His name, because He had seen fit to bring us safe through all -the dangers we had encountered together, because He had seen fit to -give to me for wife the sweetest woman the world held, and to bring us -safe into haven at last. - -For that, as well as all else, I blessed and praised His name, even as -from roofs of houses and taverns the salvos roared forth, the bells -pealed from the steeples, and we progressed through the city; -companies ranged 'neath their banners, and, between the lines kept by -the militia, the queen bowing from her side of the coach, the great, -stately duchess from hers, the people shouting all the time, and -crying but two names, "Anne" and "Marlborough," and women holding up -their children, so that, in the days to come, when those children were -old, they might say they had gazed on the wife of the greatest soldier -in the world. And thus, at last, we came to St. Paul's and gave -thanksgiving. - -It was when night had fallen after Blenheim that my Lord Duke sent for -me to his room in the inn, where he and the Marshal Tallard--who had -led the French, and been defeated that day, and was now an honoured -and well-cared-for prisoner of his Grace--were quartered, and spoke to -me as follows: - -"Colonel Crespin--for such you will be when the next gazette is -published--if it were not that others have a prior claim, it should be -you to whom I would confide my message to the queen and lords. For," -and he smiled sweetly, as usual, though, to-night, a little wearily, -"I have a recollection of your value as a bearer of despatches; yet, -all the same, you shall go to England. You have a wife and child -there, I know." - -And again he smiled as I bowed before him. - -"For which you have to thank me. By St. George, I never thought when I -sent you on that journey you were going sweetheart hunting, too." - -Whereby you will perceive that his Grace knew very well all that had -befallen me two years before, when I set out for Spain to find, if -might be, the English fleet. It would be strange, indeed, if he had -not known it, for my story had been told all over the forces from the -moment I returned and joined my regiment; nay, more than once, I had -told it to Marlborough himself. - -"I shall not be far behind you," he continued, "the New Year should -see me home, too. Yet I have messages for the queen and my own wife. -You shall bear them. It will give you an opportunity of seeing your -own wife. She is, I hear, vastly beautiful." - -"In my eyes, my lord Duke, the most beautiful woman in the world." - -"That is as it should be. So," he continued simply, "I think of mine. -But, also, you must see the queen. She has heard of your adventures, -wishes she had seen you when you were on leave in England. Tell her -all--tell her as bravely in words as you can be brave in action--and -you will not stop at the command of a regiment of horse. See also -my wife; her influence is extreme--our enemies say 'tis a bad -influence--yet she will help you." - -And I did see the queen on my arrival in England, also the great -duchess, Sarah, on the night before we went to St. Paul's; after which -I wondered no more how every one loved the former, spoke of her, -indeed, as the "Good" Queen--a title, I think, as dear and precious as -that of "Great," which Elizabeth had worn. She was very ruddy, I -noticed when I stood before her, her beautiful red-brown hair bound -most matronly above her brow, while her arms--which were bare, to -show, as I have heard, their extreme beauty--were most marvellous to -behold, as well as her hands. Yet, queen as she was, and a well -favoured one, too, it was more on the other lady who stood behind her -that my eyes rested; for she was beautiful beyond all I had imagined, -so that I wondered not that report said the duke loved her as fondly -as when they were boy and girl together, she only a maid of honour, -and he an ensign. Yet, also, I thought that beauty marred by an -imperious haughtiness which made her seem the queen and the real queen -seem her subject. - -"So, Colonel Crespin," Her Majesty said to me, "I set eyes on you at -last--you of whom I have heard so much. Well, I am vastly proud to -know so brave a gentleman. Later, I must also know your wife--whom I -hear you wooed and won in a strange fashion." Then changing the -subject swiftly, while her kindly eyes rested on me, she said: "Your -father must be very proud of you." - -Not knowing what reply to make to such a compliment, I could but bow -again, whereon she continued: - -"Your arm is bound up, I see--I hear you got the wound at Blenheim. -'Tis very well. In after years it will be as great a distinction to -have had that wound as any honours or titles that may come to you. It -does not prevent your riding?" - -I murmured that it inconvenienced me but very little, whereon Her -Majesty said: - -"That is also well. To-morrow I desire you follow my coach to St. -Paul's. I love my people to see those who have served me bravely," -whereon, with a gracious inclination of her head, accompanied by a -sweet smile upon her honest, kindly face, she turned and left the -apartment, the duchess bowing too, though somewhat more haughtily than -the queen had done. Yet she whispered a word in my ear as she passed -out; a word appropriate enough to one as proud as she. - -"You have served _him_ well," she said. "Those who do that are my -friends forever." - -And now the rejoicings for our victory at Blenheim were over--the -siege and taking of Gibraltar three weeks before, by my other friend, -Sir George Rooke, being not forgotten--the crowds had dispersed, the -great banquet to be given by the city was near at hand and the -illuminations of London were beginning. - -Yet I had no desire to be feasting in the midst of that great -company--instead, I was seated in the room from the balcony of which I -had seen my wife that morning; her head upon my shoulder, her lips -murmuring words of love inexpressible in my ear; words in which, -amongst the rest, I caught those that told me how proud she was to -have won me from all other women, how proud and happy in knowing that -we were each other's forever in this world. - - * * * * * * * * * - -What need to set down more--what more have I to say? - -Only this. That never would she hear of redeeming any of that second -fortune which her unhappy father had left in the custody of the priest -in the Indies who had once been as he himself was; and consequently, -that from the time we became man and wife no further intercourse was -ever held between us and those far-off islands from which she came. -Nor was that fortune wanted--God has ever been good to us; I have -prospered exceedingly in my soldier's calling; all is very well. - -Of him, Gramont, we have never heard more. Yet that, somewhere, he is, -if still alive, expiating his past I have never doubted. The truth was -in the man's eyes as he spoke to me on that morning when he went forth -broken-hearted from the house which held his child; the truth, and a -firm determination to atone by suffering and hardship for all that he -had done. And what stronger or more stern resolve could any sinner -have taken than that of his? The determination to tear himself away -forever from the companionship of his newly found daughter, and to -remove thereby from her forever the shame of his presence. - -"Come, Mervan," she said to me, as now the autumn evening turned to -night, and from every house in Fleet street the illuminations began to -glisten. "Come, you must prepare for the city banquet." - -"Nay," I said, "nay. I need no banquets, would prefer to stay here by -your side." - -"And so I would you should do. Yet you must go. I will not have you -absent from so great a thing. You! my hero--my king. And while you are -gone I will watch over our child, or solace myself with this." - -And as she spoke she went over to where the spinet was, and touched a -smaller instrument that lay upon it--the little viol d'amore from -which we have never parted, and never will. - - - -THE END. - - - -PRINTED BY STROMBERG, ALLEN & CO. -FOR -HERBERT S. 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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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Across the Salt Seas - A Romance of the War of Succession - -Author: John Bloundelle-Burton - -Release Date: May 19, 2016 [EBook #52102] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACROSS THE SALT SEAS *** - - - - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by -Google Books (Princeton University) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<p class="hang1">Transcriber's Notes:<br> -1. Page scan source: Google Books<br> -https://books.google.com/books?id=OsUsAAAAYAAJ<br> -(Princeton University)</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<p class="center">Across the Salt Seas.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>ACROSS</h4> -<h3>THE SALT SEAS</h3> -<br> - -<h5>A ROMANCE OF THE<br> -WAR OF SUCCESSION</h5> -<br> -<br> - -<h5>BY</h5> -<h4>JOHN BLOUNDELLE-BURTON</h4> - -<h5>AUTHOR OF "IN THE WAY OF ADVERSITY,"<br> -"THE HISPANIOLA PLATE," "A GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER," ETC.</h5> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>HERBERT S. STONE & CO.<br> -CHICAGO & NEW YORK</h4> -<h5>MDCCCXCVII</h5> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h5>COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY<br> -HERBERT S. STONE & CO.</h5> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h3>Across the Salt Seas.</h3> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER I.</h4> - -<p class="normal" style="font-size:10pt"><b>Dreams he of cutting foreign throats, of breaches, ambuscadoes, -Spanish blades; of healths five fathoms deep.--<i>Shakespeare</i>.</b></p> -<br> - -<p class="normal">"Phew!" said the captain of <i>La Mouche Noire</i>, as he came up to me -where I paced the deck by the after binacle. "Phew! It is a devil in -its death agonies. What has the man seen and known? Fore Gad! he makes -me shudder!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he spat to leeward--because he was a sailor; also, because he was -a sailor, he squinted into the compass box, then took off his leather -cap and wiped the warm drops from his forehead with the back of his -hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Death agonies!" I said. "So! it is coming to that. From what? -Drinking, old age, or----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Both, and more. Yet, when I shipped him at Rotterdam, who -would have thought it! Old and reverend-looking, eh, Mr. Crespin? -White haired--silvery. I deemed him some kind of a minister--yet, now, -hearken to him!"</p> - -<p class="normal">And as he spoke he went to the hatchway, bent his head and shoulders -over it, and beckoned me to come and do likewise; which gesture I -obeyed.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I heard the old man's voice coming forth from the cabin where -they had got him, the door of it being open for sake of air, because, -in this tossing sea, the ports and scuttles were shut fast--heard him -screaming, muttering, chuckling and laughing; calling of healths and -toasts; dying hard!</p> - -<p class="normal">"The balustrades!" he screamed. "Look to them. See! Three men, their -hands stretched out, peering down into the hall; fingers touching. -God!"--he whispered this, yet still we heard--"how can dead men stand -thus together, gazing over, glancing into dark corners, eyes rolling? -See how yellow the mustee's eyes are! But still, all dead! Dead! Dead! -Dead! Yet there they stand, waiting for us to come in from the garden. -Ha! quick--the passado--one--two--in--out--good! through his midriff. -Ha! Ha! Ha!" and he laughed hideously, then went on: "The worms will -have a full meal. Or"--after a pause, and hissing this: "Was he dead -before? Hast run a dead man through?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Like this all day long," the captain muttered in my ear, "from the -dawn. And now the sun is setting; see how its gleams light up the -hills inland. God's mercy! I hope he dies ere long. I want not his -howlings through my ship all night. Mr. Crespin," and he laid his hand -on my arm, "will you go down to him, to service me? You are a -gentleman. Maybe can soothe him. He is one, too. Will you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">I shrugged my shoulders and hitched my sea cloak tighter round me; -then I said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"To do you a service--yes. Yet I like not the job. Still, I will go," -and I put my hand on the brass rail to descend. Then, as I did so, we -heard him again--a-singing of a song this time. But what a song! And -to come from the dying lips of that old, white-haired, reverend-looking -man! A song about drinkings and carousings, of girls' eyes and lips and -other charms, which he should have thought no more of for the past two -score years! and killing of men, and thievings and plunder. Then another -change, orders bellowed loudly, as though he trod on deck--commands -given to run out guns--cutlasses to be ready. Shrieks, whooping and -huzzas!</p> - -<p class="normal">"He has followed the sea some time in his life," the captain whispered -as I descended the companion steps. "One can tell that. And I thought -him a minister!"</p> - -<p class="normal">I nodded, looking up at him as I went below, then reached the open -door of the cabin where the man lay.</p> - -<p class="normal">He was stretched out upon his berth, the bedding all dishevelled and -tossed beneath him, with, over it, his long white hair, like spun -flax, streaming. His coat alone of all his garments was off, so that -one saw the massive gold buttons to his satin waistcoat; could -observe, too, the richness of his cravat, the fineness of his shirt. -His breeches, also, were of satin, black like his waistcoat--the -stuff of the very best; his buckles to them gold; his shoes fastened -with silver latchets. That he was old other things than his hair -showed--the white face was drawn and pinched with age, the body lean -and attenuated, the fingers almost fleshless, the backs of his hands -naught but sinews and shrivelled skin. And they were strange hands, -too, for one to gaze upon; white as the driven snow, yet with -a thickness at the tips of the fingers, and with ill-shapen, -coarse-looking nails, all seeming to say that, once, in some far off -time, those hands had done hard, rough work.</p> - -<p class="normal">By the side of the berth, upon one of the drawers beneath it, pulled -out to make a seat, there squatted a mulatto--his servant whom he had -brought on board with him when we took him into the ship in the Maas. -A mulatto, whose brown, muddy looking eyeballs rolled about in terror, -as I thought, of his master's coming death, and made me wonder if they -had given his distempered brain that idea of the "mustee's yellow -eyes," about which he had been lately shrieking. Yet, somehow, I -guessed that 'twas not so.</p> - -<p class="normal">"How is 't with him now?" I asked the blackamoor, seeing that his -master lay quiet for the time being; "is this like to be the end?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Maybe, maybe not," the creature said in reply. "I have seen him as -far gone before--yet he is alive."</p> - -<p class="normal">"How old is he?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I know not. He says he has seventy years."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I should say more," I answered. Then I asked: "Who is he?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"The captain has his name."</p> - -<p class="normal">"That tells nothing. When he is dead he will be committed to the sea -unless we reach Cadiz first. And he has goods," casting my eye on two -chests, one above the other, standing by the cabin bulkhead. "They -will have to be consigned somewhere. Where is he going?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"To Cadiz."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha! Well, so am I. He is English?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes--he is English."</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas evident to me that this black creature meant to tell nothing of -his master's affairs--for which there was no need to blame him--and I -desisted from my enquiries. For, in truth, this old man's affairs were -not my concern. If he died he would be tossed into the sea, and that -would be the end of him. And if he did not die--why still 'twas no -affair of mine. I was but a passenger, as he was.</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore, I turned me on my heel to quit the cabin, when, to my -astonishment, nay, almost my awestruck wonderment, I heard the old man -speaking behind me as calmly as though there were no delirium in his -brain nor any fever whatever. Perhaps, after all, I thought, 'twas but -the French brandy and the Geneva he had been drinking freely of since -we took him on board, and which he brought with him in case bottles, -that had given him his delirium, and that the effect was gone now with -his last shriekings and ravings.</p> - -<p class="normal">But that which caused most my wonderment was that he was speaking in -the French--which I had very well myself.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What brings you here, Grandmont?" he asked, his eyes, of a cold grey, -fixed on me.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," thinks I, "you are not out of your fever yet, to call me by a -name I never heard of." But aloud, I answered:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have taken passage the same as you yourself. And we travel the same -road--toward Cadiz."</p> - -<p class="normal">Meanwhile the negro was a-hushing of him--or trying to--saying: -"Master, master, you wander. Grandmont is not here. This gentleman is -not he"; and angered me, too, even as he said it, by a scornful kind -of laugh he gave, as though to signify: "Not anything like him, -indeed."</p> - -<p class="normal">But the old man took no heed of him--pushing him aside with a strength -in the white coarse hand which you would not have looked to see in one -so spent--and leaned a little over the side of the berth, and went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Have you heard of it, yet, Grandmont?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Not knowing what to do, nor what answer to make, I shook my -head--whereon he continued: "Nineteen years of age now, if a day. Four -years old then--two hundred crowns' worth of good wood burnt,--all -burnt--a mort o' money! But we have enough left and to serve, 'tis -true. A plenty o' money--though 'tis soaked in blood. Nineteen years -old, and like to be a devil--like yourself, Grandmont!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Grandmont is dead," the negro muttered. "Drownded dead, master. You -know."</p> - -<p class="normal">This set the old man off on another tack, doubtless the words -"drownded dead" recalling something to him; and once more he began -his chantings--going back to the English--which were awful to hear, -and brought to my mind the idea of a corpse a-singing:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Fishes' teeth have eat his eyes; -His limbs by fishes torn."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then broke off and said: "Where am I? Give me to drink."</p> - -<p class="normal">This the negro did, taking from out the drawer he sat upon a bottle of -Hungary water, and pouring a draught into a glass, which, when the old -man had tasted, set him off shrieking curses.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Brandy!" he cried, "Brandy! French brandy, not this filth. Brandy, -dog!" and as he spoke he raised his hand and clutched at the other's -wool, "If I had you in Martinique----" then, exhausted, fell back on -his pillows and said no more, forgetting all about the desired drink.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, that night, when I sat with the captain after supper, he being a -man who had roamed the world far and wide, and had not always been, as -he was now, a carrier of goods only, with sometimes a passenger or -two, from London to the ports of France, Spain and Portugal, we talked -upon that hoary-headed old sinner lying below in the after-starboard -cabin; I telling him all that had passed in my hearing.</p> - -<p class="normal">And he, smoking his great pipe, listened attentively, nodding his head -every now and again, and muttering much to himself; then said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Spoke about two hundred crowns' worth of good wood being burnt, eh? -That would be at Campeachy. Humph! So! So! We have heard about that. -Told the black, too, that he wished he had him in Martinique, did he? -Also knew Grandmont. Ha! 'tis very plain." Then he rose and went to -his desk, lifted up the sloping lid and took out a book and read from -it--I observing very well that it was his log.</p> - -<p class="normal">"See," he said, pushing it over to me, "that's what he calls himself -now. Yet 'tis no more his name than 'tis mine--or yours."</p> - -<p class="normal">Glancing my eye down the column, I came to my own name--after a list -of things by way of cargo which he had on board, such as a hundred and -seventy barrels of potash, sixty bales of hemp, a hundred bales of -Russia leather, twenty barrels of salted meat, twenty-eight barrels of -whale oil and many other things. Came to my own name, Mervyn Crespin, -officer, passenger to Cadiz. Then to the old man's:</p> - -<p class="normal">"John Carstairs, gentleman, with servant, passenger to Cadiz."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No more his name than 'tis mine--or yours," the captain repeated.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What then?" I asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It might be--anything," and again he mused. "Martinique," he went on, -"Campeachy. A friend of Grandmont's. Let me reflect. It might be John -Cuddiford. He was a friend of Grandmont's. It might be Alderly. But -no, he was killed, I think, by Captain Nicholas Crafez of Brentford. -Dampier, now--nay, this one is too old; also William Dampier sailed -from the Downs three years ago. I do believe 'tis Cuddiford."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And who then is Grandmont, Captain? And this Cuddiford--or -Carstairs?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ho!" said he, "'tis all a history, and had you been sailor, or worn -that sword by your side for King William as you wear it now for Queen -Anne, you would have known Grandmont's name. Of a surety you would -have done so, had you been sailor."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who are they, then?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well now, see. Grandmont was--for he is dead, drowned coming back -from the Indies in '96--that's six years agone--with a hundred and -eighty men, all devils like himself."</p> - -<p class="normal">As he said this I started, for his words were much the same as those -which the old man had used an hour or so before when he had spoken of -something--a child, as I guessed--that had been four years old, and -was now nineteen and "like to be a devil" like himself--Grandmont. It -seemed certain, therefore, that this man, Grandmont, was a friend in -life, and that now there was roaming about somewhere a son who had all -the instincts of its father, and who was known to Carstairs, or -Cuddiford.</p> - -<p class="normal">This made the story of interest to me, and caused me to listen -earnestly to the captain's words.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Coming back from the Indies, and not so very long, either, after the -French king had made him a lieutenant of his navy--perhaps because he -was a villain. He does that now and again. 'Tis his way. Look at Bart, -to wit. There's a sweet vagabond for you. Has plagued us honest -merchants and carriers more than all Tourville's navy. Yet, now, he is -an officer, too."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But Grandmont, Captain! Grandmont."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ah! Grandmont. Well, he was a -filibuster--privateer--buccaneer--pirate--what you will! Burnt up all -their woods at Campeachy--the old man spake true--because the -commandant wouldn't pay the ransom he and his crew demanded; also -because the commandant said that when he had slaughtered them all, if -he did so, he would never find out where their buried wealth was. Then -he took a Pink one day with four hundred thousand francs' worth of -goods and money on board, and slew every soul in the ship. Tied dead -and living together, back to back, and flung them into the sea. Oh! He -was a devil," he concluded. "A wicked villain! My word! If only some -of our ships of war could have caught him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet he is dead?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Dead enough, the Lord be praised."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And if this is a friend of his--this Cuddiford, or Carstairs--he must -needs be a villain, too."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Needs be! Nay, is, for a surety. And, Mr. Crespin," he said, speaking -slowly, "you have heard his shrieks and singings--could you doubt what -he has been?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Doubt? No," I answered. "Who could? Yet, I wonder who were the dead -men looking down the stairs, as they came in from the garden."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who? Only a few of their victims. If he and Grandmont worked together -they could not count 'em. Well, one is dead; good luck when the other -goes too. And, when he does, what a meeting they will have there!" and -he pointed downward.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER II.</h4> - -<h5>SECRET SERVICE.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">It seemed not, however, as though this meeting were very likely to -take place yet, since by the time we were off Cape St. Vincent--which -was at early dawn of the second morning following the old man's -delirium--that person seemed to have become very much restored. 'Tis -true he was still very weak, and kept his berth; but otherwise seemed -well enough. Also all his fever and wanderings were gone, and as he -now lay in his bunk reading of many papers which the negro handed to -him from the open uppermost chest, he might, indeed, have passed for -that same reverend minister which the captain had, at the beginning, -imagined him to be.</p> - -<p class="normal">Both of us--the captain because he was the captain, and I because I -was the only other passenger--had been in and out to see him now and -again and to ask him how he did. Yet, I fear, 'twas not charity nor -pity that induced either of us to these Christian tasks. For the -skipper was prompted by, I think, but one desire, namely, to get the -man ashore alive out of his ship, and, thereby, to have done with him. -He liked not pirates, he said, "neither when met on the high seas, nor -when retired from business"; while as for myself, well! the man -fascinated me. He seemed to be, indeed, so scheming an old villain, -and to have such a strange past behind him, that I could not help but -be attracted.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now in these visits which I had paid him at intervals, he had told me -that he was on his way to Cadiz, where he had much business to attend -to; sometimes, he said, in purchasing goods that the galleons brought -in from the Indies, sometimes in sending out other goods, and so -forth. Also he said--which was true enough, as I knew very well--the -galleons were now due; it was for this reason he was on his way to the -south of Spain.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," said the captain, when I repeated this, "the devil can speak -truth sure enough when he needs. To wit, it is the truth that the -galleons are on their way home. What else has he said to you, Mr. -Crespin?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He has asked me what my business may be."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And you have told him?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay. I tell no one that," I replied, "It is of some consequence, and -I talk not of it."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet here, and with a view to making clear this narrative which I am -setting down, 'tis necessary that I should state who and what I am, -and also the reason why I, Mervyn Crespin, am on my road to Cadiz on -board a coasting vessel, <i>La Mouche Noire</i>--once a French ship of -merchandise, now an English one. She was taken from that nation by -some of our own vessels of war, sold by public auction, and bought by -her present captain, who now is using her in his trade between England -and Holland, and Holland and Spain--a risky trade, too, seeing that -war has broken out again, that England and Austria are fighting the -French and Spanish, and that the sea swarms with privateers; yet, -because of the risk, a profitable trade, too, for those who can make -their journeys uncaught by the enemy.</p> - -<p class="normal">However, to myself.</p> - -<p class="normal">I am, let me say, therefore, an officer of the Cuirassiers, or Fourth -Horse, which, a short time before the late King William's death, has -been serving in the Netherlands under the partial command of Ginkell, -Earl of Athlone. The rank I hold is that of lieutenant--aspiring -naturally to far greater things--and already I have had the honor of -taking part in several sieges, amongst others Kaiserswerth, with which -the war commenced, as well as in many skirmishes. Now, 'twas at this -place, where my Lord the Earl of Athlone commanded, that I had the -extreme good fortune, as I shall ever deem it, of being wounded, and -thereby brought under his Lordship's notice. As for the wound, 'twas -nothing, one of M. Bouffler's lancers having run me through the fleshy -part of my arm, and it was soon healed; but the earl happened to see -the occurrence, as also the manner in which I cut the man down a -second later, and from that moment he took notice of me--sent for me -to his quarters when the siege was over, spoke with commendation of my -riding and my sword play, and asked me of my family, he being one who, -although a Dutchman who came only into England with his late master, -knew much of our gentry and noble homes.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Of the Crespins of Kent, eh?" he said. "The Crespins--a fair, good -family. I knew Sir Nicholas, who fell at the Boyne. What was he to -you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"My uncle, sir. The late king gave me my guidon in the Cuirassiers -because of his service."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Good! He could do no less. Your uncle was a solid man--trustworthy. -If he said he would do a thing, he did it--or died. 'Twas thus in -Ireland. You remember?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I remember, sir. He said he would take prisoner Tyrconnel with his -own hands, and would have done it had not a bullet found his brain."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I do believe he would. Are you as trustworthy as he?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Try me," and I looked him straight in the face.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Maybe I will. A little later," and even as he spoke fell a-musing, -while he drank some schnapps, which was his native drink, and on -which, they say, these Hollanders are weaned--from a little glass. -Then soon spake again:</p> - -<p class="normal">"What languages have you? Any besides your own?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have the French. Also some Spanish. My grandmother was of Spanish -descent, and dwelt with us in Kent. She taught me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Humph!" And again he mused, then again went on, though now--doubtless -to see if my French was any good, and to try me--he spoke in that -tongue.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Could you pass for a Frenchman, think you, amongst those who are not -French, say in Spain itself?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes, amongst those who are not French, I am sure I could. Even -amongst those who are French, if I gave out that I was, say, a -Dutchman speaking with an accent," and I laughed, for I could not help -it. The earl had a bottle nose and eyes like a lobster's, and made a -queer grimace when I said this boldly. Then he, too, laughed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So I've an accent, eh, when I speak French? You mean that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I mean, sir, that however well one speaks a language not their own, -there is some accent that betrays them to those whose native tongue -they are speaking. A Dutchman, a Swiss, most Englishmen and many -Germans can all speak French, and 'twould pass outside France for -French. But a native of Touraine, or a Parisian, or any subject of -King Louis could not be deceived."</p> - -<p class="normal">"True. Yet you or I could pass, say in Spain, for Frenchmen."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am sure."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Humph! Well, we will see. And, perhaps, I will, as you say, -try you. Only if I do, 'twill be a risky service for you. A -lieutenant-colonelcy or a gibbet. A regiment or a bullet. How would -you like that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I risk the bullet every moment that the Cuirassiers are in action, -and there is no lieutenant-colonelcy in the other scale if I escape. I -prefer the 'risky service,' when there is one. As for the gibbet; -well, one death is the same as another, pretty much, and the gibbet -will do as well as any other, so long as 'tis not at Tyburn--which -would be discreditable."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are a man of metal!" the Dutchman exclaimed, "and I like you, -although you don't approve of my accent. You will do. I want a man of -action, not a courtier----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I meant no rudeness," I interposed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nor offered any. Tush! man, we Dutch are not courtiers, either. But -we are staunch. And I will give you a chance of being so. Come here -again to-morrow night. You shall have a throw for that colonelcy--or -that gibbet."</p> - -<p class="normal">"My Lord, I am most grateful to you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Good day. Come to-morrow night. Now I must sleep." And he began to -divest himself of his wig and clothes, upon which I bowed and -withdrew.</p> - -<p class="normal">Be sure I was there the next night at the same time, exchanging my -guard with Bertram Saxby, who, alas! was killed shortly afterward at -Ruremonde. The day I had passed in sleeping much, for I had a -suspicion that it was like enough Ginkell would send me on the service -he had spoken of that very night; might, indeed, order me to take -horse within the next hour, and I was desirous of starting fresh--of -beginning well. He was a rough creature, this Dutch general--or -English, rather, now!--and would be as apt as not to give me my -instructions as I entered the room, and bid me be miles away ere -midnight struck. Therefore I went prepared. Also my horse was ready in -its stall.</p> - -<p class="normal">He was not alone when I did enter his quarters. Instead, he was seated -at a table covered with papers and charts, on the other side of which -there sat another gentleman, a man of about fifty, of strikingly -handsome features; a man who, in his day, I guessed, must have played -havoc with women's hearts--might, indeed, I should think, have done so -now had he been inclined that way. Those soft, rounded features, and -those eyes, themselves soft and liquid--I saw them clearly when he -lifted them to scan my face!--would, I guessed, make him irresistible -to the fair sex.</p> - -<p class="normal">He spoke first after I had saluted the Earl of Athlone--and I observed -that, intuitively, he also returned my salute by a bend of his head, -so that I felt sure he was used to receive such courtesies wherever he -might be and in whatever company--then he said to the Dutchman, in a -voice that, though somewhat high, was as musical as a chime of bells.</p> - -<p class="normal">"This is the gentleman, Ginkell?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"This is the gentleman. A lieutenant of the Fourth Horse."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir," said the other, "be seated," and he pointed with a beautifully -white hand to a chair by the table. "I desire some little conversation -with you. I am the Earl of Marlborough." And as he mentioned his name -he put out that white hand again and offered it to me, I taking it -with all imaginable respect. He was at this time the most conspicuous -subject of any sovereign in the world; his name was known from one end -of Europe to the other. Also it was the most feared, although he had -not yet put the crowning point to his glory nor risen to the highest -rank for which he was destined. But he was very near his zenith -now--his greatness almost at its height--and, I have often thought -since, there was something within him at this time which told him it -was close at hand. For he had an imperturbable calmness, an unfailing -quiet graciousness, as I witnessed afterward on many occasions, which -alone could be possessed by one who felt sure of himself. In every -word he spoke, in his every action, he proclaimed that he was certain -of, and master of, his destiny!</p> - -<p class="normal">"My Lord Athlone tells me," he continued, when I was seated, the soft -voice flowing musically, "that you have the fitting aspirations of a -soldier--desire a regiment, and are willing to earn one."</p> - -<p class="normal">I bowed and muttered that to succeed in my career was my one desire, -and that if I could win success I would spare no effort. Then he went -on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"You speak French. That is good. Also Spanish. That, too, is good. -Likewise, I hear, can disguise your identity as an Englishman if -necessary. That is well, also. Mr. ----" and he took up a piece of -paper lying before him, on which I supposed my name was written, "Mr. -Crespin, I--we--are going to employ you on secret service. Are you -willing to undertake it?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am willing, my Lord, to do anything that may advance my career. -Anything that may become a soldier."</p> - -<p class="normal">"That is as it should be. The light in which to regard -matters--anything that may become a soldier. That before all. Well, to -be short, we are going to send you to Cadiz."</p> - -<p class="normal">"To Cadiz, my Lord!" I said, unable to repress some slight feeling of -astonishment.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes. To Cadiz, where you will not find another English soldier. Still -that will, perhaps, not matter very much, since we do not desire you -when there to appear as a soldier yourself. You are granted leave from -your regiment indefinitely while on this mission, and, at the first at -least, you will be a private gentleman. Also, when at Cadiz, you will -please to be anything but an <i>English</i> gentleman."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Or a Dutch one," put in the other earl with a guttural laugh. -"Therefore, assume not the Dutch accent."</p> - -<p class="normal">Evidently my Lord Marlborough did not know of the joke underlying this -remark, since he went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"As a Frenchman you will have the best chance. Or, perhaps, as a Swiss -merchant. But that we leave to you. What you have to do is to get to -Cadiz, and, when there, to pass as some one, neither English nor -Dutch, who is engaged in ordinary mercantile pursuits. Then when the -fleet comes in----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"The fleet, my Lord!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes. The English fleet. I should tell you--I must make myself clear. -A large fleet under Admirals Rooke and Hopson, as well as some Dutch -admirals, are about to besiege Cadiz. They will shortly sail from -Portsmouth, as we have advices, and it is almost a certainty that they -will succeed in gaining possession of the island, which is Cadiz. That -will be of immense service to us, since, while we are fighting King -Louis in the north, the Duke of Ormond, who goes out in that fleet in -command of between thirteen and fourteen thousand men, will be able to -attack the Duke of Anjou, or, as he now calls himself, King Philip V -of Spain, in the south. But that is not all. We are not sending you -there to add one more strong right arm to His Grace's forces--we could -utilize that here, Mr. Crespin," and he bowed courteously, "but -because we wish you to convey a message to him and the admirals."</p> - -<p class="normal">I, too, bowed again, and expressed by my manner that I was listening -most attentively, while the earl continued:</p> - -<p class="normal">"The message is this: We have received information from a sure source -that the galleons now on their way back to Spain from the Indies have -altered their plan of arrival because they, in their turn, have been -informed in some way, by some spy or traitor, that this expedition -will sail from England. Therefore they will not go near Cadiz. But the -spot to which they will proceed is Vigo, in the north. Now," and he -rose as he spoke, and stood in front of the empty fireplace, "your -business will be to convey this intelligence to Sir George Rooke and -those under him, and I need not tell you that you are like enough to -encounter dangers in so conveying it. Are you prepared to undertake -them?"</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER III.</h4> - -<h5>I FIND A SHIP.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">"You see," the Earl of Marlborough continued, while Ginkell and I -stood on either side of him, "that neither your risks nor your -difficulties will be light. To begin with, you must pass as a -Frenchman, or, at least, not an Englishman, for Cadiz, like all -Spanish ports and towns, will not permit of any being there. -Therefore, your only way to get into it is to be no Englishman. Now, -how, Mr. Crespin, would you suggest reaching the place and obtaining -entry? It is far away."</p> - -<p class="normal">I thought a moment on this; then I said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"But Portugal, my lord, is not closed to us. That country has not yet -thrown in its lot with either France or Austria."</p> - -<p class="normal">"That is true. And the southern frontier of Portugal is very near to -Spain--to Cadiz. You mean that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes. I could proceed to the frontier of Portugal, could perhaps get -by sea to Tavira--then, as a Frenchman, cross into Spain, and so to -Cadiz."</p> - -<p class="normal">He pondered a little on this, then said: "Yes, the idea is feasible. -Only, how to go to Tavira?" and he bent over a chart lying on the -table, and regarded it fixedly as he spoke. "How to do that?" running -his finger down the coast line of Portugal as he spoke, and then up -again as far north as the Netherlands, stopping at Rotterdam.</p> - -<p class="normal">"All traffic is closed," he muttered, "between Spain and Holland now, -otherwise there would be countless vessels passing between Rotterdam -and Cadiz which would doubtless put you ashore on the Portuguese -coast. But now--now--there will scarce be any."</p> - -<p class="normal">Ginkell had been called away by one of his aides-de-camp as his -lordship bent over the chart and mused upon it, or, doubtless, his -astute Dutch mind might have suggested some way out of the difficulty -that stared us in the face; but even as we pondered over the sheet an -idea occurred to me.</p> - -<p class="normal">"My Lord," I said, "may I suggest this: That I should make my way to -Rotterdam to begin with--by some chance there may be a ship going -south--through some part of the bay at least. But even if it is not -so--if all traffic is stopped--why then I could at least get to -England, might arrive there before the fleet sails for Cadiz."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," his Lordship interrupted; "you would be too late. They may have -sailed by now."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I know not what further to propose, my Lord."</p> - -<p class="normal">"We must risk it," he said, promptly. "Chance your finding some vessel -by which you can proceed, even if only part of the way. The hope is a -poor one, yet 'tis worth catching at. King Louis wants the money those -galleons are bringing; his coffers are empty; he hardly knows where to -turn for the wherewithal to pay his and his grandson's men; we want -it, too, if we can get it. Above all, we want to prevent the wealth -falling into the hands of Spain, which now means France. Mr. Crespin, -on an almost forlorn chance you must start for Rotterdam."</p> - -<p class="normal">"When shall I go, my Lord? To-night? At once?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are ready?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am ready."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Good! You have the successful soldier's qualities. Yes, you must go -at once--at once."</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing: 9px"> -* * * * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">That night I was on the road for Rotterdam, which is fifty leagues -and more to the northeast of Kaiserswerth, so that I had a fair good -ride before me ere I reached what might prove to be the true outset of -my journey.</p> - -<p class="normal">I did not go alone, however, since at this time I rode in the company -of my Lord Marlborough, who was returning to the Hague, to which he -had come in March as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to -the States General, as well as Captain General of all Her Majesty's -forces, both at home and abroad. Also, his Lordship had been chosen to -command the whole of the allied forces combined against the King of -France and his grandson, the King of Spain, whom we regarded only as -the Duke of Anjou; and he was now making all preparations for that -great campaign, which was already opened, and was soon to be pushed on -with extreme vigour and with such success that at last the power and -might of Louis were quite crushed and broken. This concerns not me, -however, at present.</p> - -<p class="normal">Nor did my long ride in company with his Lordship and a brilliant -staff offer any great incident. Suffice it, therefore, if I say that -on the evening of the second day from my setting out, and fifty hours -after I had quitted Kaiserswerth, I rode into Rotterdam, and, finding -a bed for the night at the "Indian Coffee House," put up there.</p> - -<p class="normal">This I did not do, however, without some difficulty, since, at this -time, Rotterdam was full of all kinds of people from almost every part -of Europe, excepting always France and Spain, against the natives of -which countries very strict laws for their expulsion had been passed -since the declaration of war which was made conjointly by the Queen, -the Emperor and the States General, against those two countries on the -4th of May of this year, 1702.</p> - -<p class="normal">But of other peoples the town was, as I say, full. In the river there -lay coasting vessels, deep sea vessels, merchant ships, indeed every -kind of craft almost that goes out to sea, and belonging to England, -to Holland, to Denmark and other lands. Also there were to be seen -innumerable French vessels; but these were prizes which had been -dragged in after being taken prisoners at sea, and would be disposed -of shortly, as well as their goods and merchandise, by the Dyke-Grauf, -or high bailiff. And of several of these ships, the captains and the -seamen, as well as in many cases the passengers who were belated on -their journeys, were all ashore helping to fill up the inns and -taverns. Also troops were quartered about everywhere, these being not -only the Dutch, or natives, who were preparing to go forward to the -Hague and thence to wheresoever my Lord Marlborough should direct, but -also many of our own, brought over by our great ships of war to -Helvetsluys, and, themselves, on their way to serve under his command.</p> - -<p class="normal">The room, therefore, which I got at the Indian Coffee House, was none -of the best, yet, since I was a soldier, I made shift with it very -well, and in other ways the place was convenient enough for my -purpose. It may be, indeed, that I could scarce have selected a better -house at which to stop, seeing that the "ordinary" below was the one -most patronized by the merchant captains who flocked in daily for -their dinner, and for the conversation and smoking and drinking which -succeeded that meal.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now, so that I shall arrive as soon as may be at the description -of all that befell me, and was the outcome of the mission which the -Earl of Marlborough confided to me, let me set down at once that it -was not long before I, by great good chance, stumbled on that very -opportunity which I desired, and which was so necessary to the -accomplishment of what his Lordship wanted.</p> - -<p class="normal">This is how it happened:</p> - -<p class="normal">After the ordinary, at which I myself took a seat every day at one -o'clock, the drinking and the smoking and the conversation began, as I -have said, and none, however strange they might be at first to the -customers of the place, could be there long without the making of -acquaintances; for all the talk ran on the one subject in which all -were interested and absorbed, namely, the now declared war and the -fighting which had been done, and was also to do; on the stoppage to -trade and ruin to business that must occur, and such like. And I can -tell you that many an honest sea captain and many a burly Rotterdam -burgher drank down his schnapps or his potato brandy or seidel of -brown beer, as his taste might be, while heaving also of sighs, or -muttering pious exclamations or terrible curses--also as his taste -might direct--at the threatened ruin, and also at the fear which -gripped his heart, that soon he would not have the wherewithal left -for even these gratifications, humble as they were.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Curse the war!" said one, to whom I had spoken more than once. He -was, indeed, my captain of <i>La Mouche Noire</i>, in whose ship you have -already found me; "it means desolation for me and mine if it lasts, -hunger and shoelessness for my wife and little ones at home in -Shadwell. Above all I curse the ambition of the French king, who has -plunged all Europe into it; placed all honest men 'twixt hawk and -buzzard, as to fortune. Curse him, I say."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, gurse him!" chimed in a fat Friesslander captain, who sat at his -elbow. "Gurse him, I say, too. I was now choost maging for Chava; -should have peen out of the riffer mit meine vreight if his vleet had -not gorne along mit that von gursed Chean Part in it, ven I had to put -pack. And here I am mit all mein goots----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"And here am I, mit all mein!" broke in my captain, a-laughing in -spite of himself, "yet--yet I know not if I will not make a push for -it. I think ever of the home at Shadwell and the little ones. I could -not abide to think also of their calling for bread, and of their -mother having none to give them. Yet 'twill come to that ere long. And -the war may last for years."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Where were you for?" I asked him, using indeed what had become a set -phrase in my mouth since I had consorted with all these sailors. For -by enquiring of each one with whom I conversed what his destination -had been, or would be if he had courage to risk the high seas outside, -I thought that at last I might strike upon one whose way was mine. For -all were not afraid to go forth; indeed there was scarcely a dark -night in which one or two did not get down the river and sneak out -into the open, thinking that, when there, there was a chance of -escaping the French ships of war and privateers and of reaching their -destination, while by remaining here there was no chance of earning a -brass farthing. And I had known of several ships going out since I had -been in Rotterdam, only they were of no use to me. One was bound for -Archangel, another one for the Indies, a third for our colony of -Massachusetts.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I," said my captain, whose name I knew afterward to be Tandy. "I? Oh, -I was freighted for Cadiz. But of course, that can never be now. Yet -if I could but get away I might do much with my goods. At Lisbon they -would sell well, or even farther south. Though, 'tis true, there's not -much money below that till one comes to Spain."</p> - -<p class="normal">Though I had thought the time must come when I should hear one of -these sailors say that Cadiz was, or had been, his road (I knew that -if it did not come soon 'twould be no good for me, and I might as well -make my way back to my regiment), yet now, when I did so hear it, I -almost started with joyful surprise. Yet even in so hearing, what had -I gained? The captain had but said that at one time, before the -declaration of hostilities, he had been ready to sail for Cadiz. He -did not say that at this moment--almost three months later--he was -still likely to go. Instead, had said it could never be now.</p> - -<p class="normal">But--for it meant much to me!--my heart beat a little faster as I -asked, leaning across the beer and spirit-slopped table to him:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do you ever on your cruises carry passengers?"</p> - -<p class="normal">He gave me a quick glance. I read it to mean that he would be glad to -know what my object could be in such a question, put seriously and in -a somewhat low tone, as though not intended for other people's ears. -Then he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! ay! I carry 'em, when I can get 'em, if they will pay fairly. But -who do you think would trust themselves aboard a coaster now, in such -times as these, unless she was under convoy of one of the queen's -ships in company with others?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I would," I replied, leaning even a little more forward than before, -and speaking in a still lower tone. "I would, to get as near to Cadiz -as might be. And pay well, too."</p> - -<p class="normal">He did not speak for a moment; instead, he glanced his eye over me as -though scanning my outward gear for proof of what I had said as to -paying handsomely. Yet I did not fear this scrutiny, for I was well -enough appareled at all points, having when I left Venloo put off my -uniform and donned a very fair riding suit of blue cloth, well faced -and passemented; also my plain sword and wig were of the best, such as -befitted a gentleman.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Pay well," he said, when he had concluded this inspection, "pay well. -Humph! That might induce me, since I am like enough to lose my goods -ere I sight Cape Finisterre. Pay well. You mean it? Well, now see! -What would you pay? Come. A fancy price? To be put as near Cadiz as -can be compassed. And no questions asked," and he winked at me so that -I wondered what he took me for. Later on I found that he supposed me -to be one of the many spies in the pay of France, who, because they -had both the English and French tongue, were continually passing from -one part of the continent of Europe to another.</p> - -<p class="normal">"As to the questions," I replied, "you might ask as many as you -desired. They would not be answered. As to the pay, what will you -take?"</p> - -<p class="normal">He thought a moment, and again his eye ranged over my habiliments; -then he said, sharply:</p> - -<p class="normal">"A hundred guineas. Fifty down, on the nail, the rest at the end of -the journey. You to take all risks. That is, I mean, even though we -get no further than the mouth of the Scheldt--which is like enough. -Say, will you give it?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis, indeed, a fancy price, yet, on conditions, yes," I answered -promptly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Those conditions being----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"That you weigh within twenty-four hours; that if we are chased you -run, or even fight, till there is no further hope, and that if we -escape capture you approach to the nearest point to Cadiz possible. -Tavira to be that point."</p> - -<p class="normal">He got up and went out of the door into the street, and I saw him -looking up into the heavens at the clouds passing beneath the sun. -Then he came back and resumed his seat, after which he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"If the wind keeps as 'tis now I will weigh ere twenty-four hours are -past. The conditions to be as you say. And the fifty guineas to be in -my hands ere we up anchor. They," he added, half to himself, "will be -something for the home even though I lose my ship."</p> - -<p class="normal">And this being settled and all arrangements concluded, we went off in -his boat, which was lying at the steps of the Boömjes, to see the -ship. Then, I having selected my cabin out of two which he had -unoccupied, returned to the coffee house to write my Lord Marlborough -word of what I had done, to dispose of my horse--which I was sorry -enough to do, since it was a good, faithful beast that had carried me -well; yet there was no use in keeping it, I not knowing if I should -ever see Rotterdam again--to make one or two other preparations, and -to write to my mother at home.</p> - -<p class="normal">As to the hundred guineas--great as the demand was, I felt justified -in paying it, since, if I succeeded in my task, the result might be -splendid for England. Also I had a sufficiency of money with me, the -earl having ordered two hundred guineas to be given me out of the -regimental chest (which was pretty full, seeing that at Venloo eight -great chests of French gold were taken possession of by us on gaining -the town), and had also given me bills for three hundred more guineas, -signed by his own hand, which the money changers would be only too -glad to pay anywhere. And, besides this, I had some money of my own, -and should have more from the sale of the horse.</p> - -<p class="normal">There remains one thing, however, to mention, which I have almost -forgot to set down, namely, that at the Indian Coffee House I had -given my name accurately, his Lordship, who was perfectly acquainted -with France--indeed, he had once served her under Turenne, in his -capacity of colonel of the "English Regiment" sent out by King Charles -the Second--having said that Crespin was as much a French as an -English name. And although no questions had as yet been asked as to -what my business was, there being, indeed, none who had any right or -title to so ask, I had resolved that, if necessary, I would do this: -namely, here in Holland I would be English, since, at the time, and we -being allies, it was almost one and the same thing; and that in Spain -I would be French, which was also at the period one and the same -thing. And if we were to be captured by any of Louis' privateers or -ships of war also I should be French, in that case possibly a -Canadian, to account for any strangeness in my accent.</p> - -<p class="normal">And with this all fixed in my mind I made my preparations for going to -sea in <i>La Mouche Noire</i>.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER IV.</h4> - -<h5>AN ESCAPE.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">The wind shifted never a point, so that, ere sunset the next day, we -were well down the river and nearing the mouth, while already ahead of -us we could see the waves of the North Sea tumbling about. Also, we -could see something else, that we could have done very well without, -namely, the topmasts of a great frigate lying about three miles off -the coast, or rather cruising about and keeping off and on, the vessel -being doubtless one of Louis' warships, bent on intercepting anything -that came out of the river.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet," said Captain Tandy, as he stood on the poop and regarded her -through his perspective glass, "she will not catch us. Let but the -night fall, and out we go, while, thanks to the Frenchman who built -our little barky, we can keep so well in that she can never come anear -us."</p> - -<p class="normal">"She can come near enough, though, to send a round shot or two into -our side," I hazarded, "if she sees our lights."</p> - -<p class="normal">"She won't see our lights," the captain made answer, and again he -indulged in that habit which seemed a common one with him--he winked -at me; a steady, solemn kind of a wink, that, properly understood, -conveyed a good deal. And, having favoured me with it, he gave orders -that the light sail under which we had come down the river should be -taken in, and, this done, we lay off the little isle of Rosenberg, -which here breaks the Maas in two, until nightfall.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now it was that Tandy gave me a piece of information which, at -first, I received with anything but satisfaction; the information, to -wit, that at the last moment almost--at eleven o'clock in the morning, -and before I had come on board--he had been fortunate enough to get -another passenger, this passenger being the man Carstairs--or -Cuddiford, as he came to consider him--whom, at the opening of this -narrative, you have seen in a delirium.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I could not refuse the chance, Mr. Crespin," he said, for he knew -my name by now. "Things are too ill with me, owing to this accursed -fresh war, for me to throw guineas away. So when his blackamoor -accosted me at the 'Indian' and said that he heard I was going a -voyage south--God, He knows how these things leak out, since I had -never spoke a word of my intention, though some of the men, or the -ship's chandler, of whom I bought last night, may have done so--and -would I take his master and him? I was impelled to do it! There are -the wife and the children at home."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And have you got another hundred guineas from him?" I asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, for him and the black. But they will not trouble you. The old -gentleman--who seems to be something like a minister--tells me he is -not well, and will not quit his cabin. The negro will berth near him; -they will not interfere with you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do they know there is another passenger aboard?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have not spoken to the old man; maybe, however, some of the sailors -may have told the servant. Yet none know your name; but I--it can be -kept secret an you wish." And again he winked at me, thinking, of -course, as he had done before, that my business was of a ticklish -nature, as indeed it was, though not quite that which he supposed. -Nay, he felt very sure it must be so, since otherwise he would have -got no hundred guineas out of me for such a passage.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I do not wish it known," I said. "It <i>must</i> be kept secret. Also my -country. There must be no talking."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Never fear," he replied. "I know nothing. And I do not converse with -the men, most of whom are Hollanders, since I had to pick them up in a -hurry. As for the old man, you need not see him; and, if you do, you -can keep your own counsel, I take it."</p> - -<p class="normal">I answered that I could very well do that; after which the captain -left me--for now the night had come upon us, dark and dense, except -for the stars, and we were about to run out into the open. But even as -I watched the men making sail, and felt the little ship running -through the water beneath me--I could soon hear her fore foot gliding -through it with a sharp ripple that resembled the slitting of silk--I -wished that those other passengers had not come aboard, that I could -have made the cruise alone.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet we were aboard, he and I, and there was no help for it; it must be -endured. But still I could not help wondering what any old minister -should want to be making such a journey as this for; especially -wondered, also, why he should be attended by a black servant; and why, -again, it should be worth his while to pay a hundred guineas for the -passage.</p> - -<p class="normal">But you know now as well as I do that this man was no minister, but -rather, if Tandy's surmises were right, some villainous old filibuster -who had lived through evil days and known evil spirits; my meditations -are, therefore, of no great import. Rather let me get on to what was -the outcome of my journey.</p> - -<p class="normal">When we were at sea we showed no light at all; no! not at foremast, -main or mizzen; so that I very well understood now why the captain had -winked as he said that the Frenchman, if she was that, would not see -us; and especially I understood it when, on going below, I found that -the cabin windows were fastened with dead lights so that no ray could -steal out from them. Also, the hatches were over the companions so -that neither could any light ascend from below. In truth, as we -slapped along under the stiff northeast breeze that blew off the -Holland coast, we seemed more like some dark flying spectre of the -night than a ship, and I could not but wonder to myself what we should -be taken for if seen by any passer-by. Yet, had I only known, there -were at that time hundreds of ships passing about in all these waters -in the same manner--French ships avoiding the English war vessels, and -English and Dutch avoiding the French war vessels; and--which, -perhaps, it was full as well I did not know--sometimes two of them -came into contact with each other, after which neither was ever more -heard of. Only, in different ports there were weeping women and -children left, who--sometimes for years!--prayed for the day to come -when the wanderers might return, they never knowing that, instead of -those poor toilers of the sea having been made prisoners (as they -hoped) who would at last be exchanged, they were lying at the bottom -of the sea.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis a gay minister, at any rate," I said to Captain Tandy when I -returned to the deck--for all was so stuffy down below, owing to the -closing up of every ingress for the fresh air, that I could not remain -there--"and he at least seems not to mind the heat."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What is he doing, then?" the captain asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is singing a little," I replied, "and through the half open door -of his cabin one may hear the clinking of bottle against glass. A -merry heart."</p> - -<p class="normal">"The fiend seize his mirth! I hope he will not make too much turmoil, -nor set the ship afire. If he does we shall be seen easy enough."</p> - -<p class="normal">I hoped so, too, and as each night the old man waxed more noisy and -the clink of the bottle was heard continuously--until at last his -drinking culminated as I have written--the fear which the captain had -expressed took great hold of me, so that I could scarce sleep at all. -Yet those fears were not realized, the Lord be praised! or I should -scarcely be penning this narrative now.</p> - -<p class="normal">The first night passed and, as 'twas summer, the dawn soon came, by -which time we were running a little more out to sea, though--since to -our regret we saw that the frigate was on our beam instead of being -left far behind, as we had hoped would be the case--we now sailed -under false colours. Therefore at our peak there flew at this -time the lilies of France, and not our own English flag. Yet 'twas -necessary--imperative, indeed--that such should be the case if we -would escape capture. And even those despised lilies might not save us -from that. If the frigate, which we knew by this time to be a ship of -war, since her sides were pierced three tiers deep for cannon, and on -her deck we could observe soldiers, suspected for a moment those -colours to be false she would slap a shot at us; the first, perhaps, -across our bows only, but the second into our waist, or, if that -missed, then the third, which would doubtless do our office for us.</p> - -<p class="normal">At present, however, she did nothing, only held on steadily on her -course, which nevertheless was ominous enough, for this action told -plainly that she had seen us leave the river, or she would have -remained luffing about there still. And, also, she must have known we -were not French, for what French ship would have been allowed to come -out of the Maas as we had come?</p> - -<p class="normal">She did nothing, I have said; yet was not that sleuth-like following -of hers something? Did it not expound the thoughts of her captain as -plainly as though he had uttered them in so many words? Did it not -tell that he was in doubt as to who and what we were; that he set off -against the suspicious fact of our having quitted the river, which -bristled with the enemies of France, the other facts, namely, that our -ship was built French fashion, that maybe he could read her French -name on her stern, and that she flew the French flag?</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet what puzzled us more than aught else was, how had the frigate -known that we had so got out? The night had been dark and black, and -we showed no lights.</p> - -<p class="normal">Still she knew it.</p> - -<p class="normal">The day drew on and, with it, the sea abated a little, so that the -tumbling waves, which had often obscured the frigate from us for some -time, and, doubtless, us from it, became smoother, and Tandy, who had -never taken his eye off the great ship, turned round and gave now an -order to the men to hoist more sail. Also another to the man at the -wheel to run in a point.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he came to where I was standing, and said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"She draws a little nearer; I fear they will bring us to. Ha! as I -thought." And even as he spoke there came a puff from the frigate's -side; a moment later the report of a gun; another minute, and, hopping -along the waves went a big round shot, some fifty yards ahead of us.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What will you do?" I asked the captain. "The next will not be so far -ahead."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Run for it," he said. "They may not hit us--short of a broadside--and -if I can get in another mile or so they cannot follow. Starboard, you -below," he called out again to the man at the wheel, and once more -bellowed his orders to the men aloft.</p> - -<p class="normal">This brought the ship's head straight for where the land was--we could -see it plain enough with the naked eye, lying flat and low, ten miles -away--also it brought our stern to the frigate, so that we presented -nothing but that to them--a breadth of no more than between twenty and -twenty-five feet.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Twill take good shooting to hit us this way," said Tandy very -coolly. "Yet, see, they mean to attempt it."</p> - -<p class="normal">That this was so, one could perceive in a moment; then came three -puffs, one after the other, from their upper tier; then the three -reports; then the balls hurtling along on either side of us, one just -grazing our larboard yard-arm--we saw the splinters fly like -feathers!--the others close enough, but doing no harm.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Shoot, and be damned to you," muttered Tandy; "another ten minutes -more, and you can come no further. Look," and he pointed ahead of us -to where I saw, a mile off, the water crisping and foaming over a -shoal bank, "'tis eight miles outside Blankenberg, and is called 'The -Devil's Bolster.' And we can get inside it, and they cannot." Then -again he bellowed fresh orders, which even I, a landsman, understood -well enough, or, at least, their purport. They were to enable us to -get round and inside the reef, and so place it between us and the -frigate.</p> - -<p class="normal">They saw our move as soon as it was made, however, whereupon the -firing from their gun-ports grew hotter, the balls rattling about us -now in a manner that made me fear the ship must be struck ere long; -nay, she was struck once, a round shot catching her on her starboard -quarter and tearing off her sheathing in a long strip. Yet, at -present, that was all the harm she had got, excepting that her mizzen -shroud was cut in half.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now we were ahead of the reef and about half a mile off it; ten -minutes later we were inside it, and, the frigate being able to -advance no nearer because of her great draught, we were safe. They -might shoot, as the captain said, and be damned to them; but shoot as -much as they chose, they were not very like to hit us, since we were -out of range. We were well in sight of each other, however, the reef -lying like a low barricade betwixt us, and I could not but laugh at -the contempt which the sturdy Dutch sailors we had on board testified -for the discomfited Frenchmen. There were three of them at work on the -fo'castle head at the time the frigate left off her firing, and no -sooner did she do so and begin to back her sails to leave us in -peace--though doubtless she meant lying off in wait for us when we -should creep out--than these great Hollanders formed themselves into a -sort of dance figure, and commenced capering and skipping about, with -derisive gestures made at the great ship. And as we could see them -regarding us through their glasses, by using our own, we knew very -well that they saw these gestures of contempt. Tandy, however, soon -put a stop to these, for, said he, "They may lie out there a week -waiting for us, and if then they catch us, they will not forget. And -'twill go all the harder with us for our scorn. Peace, fools, desist." -Whereon the men left off their gibes.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Lie out there a week," thinks I to myself. "Fore Gad! I trust that -may not be so. For if they do, and one delay follows another, heaven -knows when I shall see Cadiz. Too late, anyway, to send the fleet -after the galleons, who will, I fear, be in and unloaded long before -the admiral can get up to Vigo."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, as luck would have it, the frigate was not to lie there very -long--not even so long as an hour. For, see, now, how Providence did -intervene to help me on my way, and to remove at least that one -obstacle to my going forward on my journey.</p> - -<p class="normal">Scarce had those lusty Dutch sailors been ordered off the head by -Tandy than, as I was turning away from laughing at them, my attention -was called back by a shout from the same quarter, and on looking -round, I saw two of them spring up the ladder again to the very spot -they had left, and begin pointing eagerly away beyond the frigate. And -following their glances and pointing, this is what I saw:</p> - -<p class="normal">Two other great ships looming large on the seascape, rising rapidly -above the water, carrying all their canvas, coming on at a mighty -rate. Two great ships sailing very free but near together, which in a -few moments spread apart, so that they put me in mind of some huge -bird opening of its wings--I know not why, yet so it was!--and then -came on at some distance from each other, their vast black hulls -rising every moment, and soon the foam becoming visible beneath their -bows as their fore feet flung it asunder.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Down with that rag," shouted Tandy, squinting up at the lilies on our -peak, and hardly shifting his perspective glass to do so. "Down with -it, and up with our own. My word! The Frenchman will get a full meal -now. Look at their royal masts and the flag of England flying on -them."</p> - -<p class="normal">I did look, and, after a hasty glance, at something else--the French -frigate, our late pursuer!</p> - -<p class="normal">Be very sure that she had seen those two avengers coming up in that -fair breeze--also that she was making frantic efforts to escape. But -her sails were all laid aback as I have said, also, she was off the -wind. The glasses showed the confusion that prevailed on board her. -And she had drifted so near the shoal that her danger was great. -Unless she boldly ran out to meet those two queen's ships she would be -on it ere long, and that was what she dared not do.</p> - -<p class="normal">For now from the others we saw the puff of smoke, like white balls of -wool, come forth; we saw the spits of flame; saw the Frenchman's -mainmast go down five minutes later, and hang over the side nearest us -like some wounded creature all entangled in a net. And still she -neared the shoal, and still the white balls puffed out till they made -a long fleecy line, through which the red flames darted; borne on the -air we heard shouts and curses; amidst the roaring of the English -cannon firing on the helpless, stricken thing, we heard another sound, -a grinding, crashing sound, and we knew she was on the bank. Then saw -above, at her mizzen, the French flag pulled down upon the cap, and -heard through their trumpets their loud calls for assistance from the -conquerors.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Humph! Humph!" said Tandy. "Old Lewis," for so he spoke of him, "has -got one ship the less--that's all. Loose the foresheet, there, my -lads; stand by the mainsail halyards. Good. That's it; all together!"</p> - -<p class="normal">And away once more we went.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER V.</h4> - -<h5>THE ENGLISH SHIPS OF WAR.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">After that we met with no further trouble or interference, not even, -so far as we knew, being passed by anything of more importance than a -few small carrying craft similar to ourselves, who bore away from us -on sighting with as much rapidity as we were prepared to bear away -from them, since in those days, and for long after, no ship passing -another at sea but dreaded it as though it was the Evil One himself; -dreaded that the cabin windows, with their clean dimity cloths run -across them, might be, in truth, nothing but masked gun ports with the -nozzles of the cannon close up against the other side of those running -curtains; dreaded, also, that, behind the bales of goods piled up in -the waist, might be lurking scores of men, armed to the teeth, and -ready for boarding!</p> - -<p class="normal">Also, as though to favour us--or me, who needed to get to the end of -my journey as soon as might be--the wind blew fresh and strong abaft -us from the north, so that by the evening of the fifth day from -leaving Rotterdam we were drawing well to our journey's end, and were, -in fact, rounding Cape St. Vincent, keeping in so near the coast that -we could not only see the cruel rocks that jut out here like the teeth -of some sea monster, but also the old monks sitting sunning themselves -in front of their monastery above the cliffs.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now it was at that time, and when we were getting very near to -Tavira--which must be our journey's end, unless the English fleet, of -which Lord Marlborough had spoken, was already into Cadiz, and masters -of the place--that the old man who called himself Carstairs was taken -with his delirium, of which I have written already.</p> - -<p class="normal">But, as also I have told, he was better the next day, by noon of which -we were well into the Bay of Lagos, and running for Cape Santa Maria; -and 'twas then that he told me that story of his having much business -to attend to at Cadiz, and that, the galleons being now due there, he -was on his way to meet them.</p> - -<p class="normal">That I laughed in my sleeve at the fool's errand on which this old man -had come--this old man, who had been a thieving buccaneer, if his -wanderings and Tandy's suspicions were true--you may well believe. -Also, I could not help but fall a-wondering how he would feel if, on -nearing Tavira, we learnt that our countrymen were masters of Cadiz. -For then he would do no business with his precious galleons, even -should my Lord Marlborough be wrong--which, however, from the sure -way in which he had spoken, I did not think was very like to be the -case--and even if they had made for Cadiz, since they would at once be -seized upon.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was, however, of extreme misfortune that just at this time when all -was so well for my chances, and when we were nearing our destination, -the weather should have seen fit to undergo a sudden change, and that -not only did the wind shift, but all the summer clearness of the back -end of this fair August month should have departed. Indeed, so strange -a change came over the elements that we knew not what to make of it. -Up to now the heat had been great, so great, indeed, that I--who could -neither endure the stuffiness of my cabin below nor the continual -going and coming of the negro in the gangway which separated his -master's cabin from mine, nor the stench of some drugs the old man was -continually taking--had been sleeping on the deck. But now the tempest -became so violent that I was forced to retreat back to the cabin, to -bear the closeness as best I might, to hear the flappings of the black -creature's great feet on the wooden floor at all hours of the night, -and, sometimes again, the yowlings of the old man for drink.</p> - -<p class="normal">For with the shifting of the wind to the east, or rather east by -south, a terrible storm had come upon us; across the sea it howled and -tore, buffeting our ship sorely and causing such destruction that it -seemed like enough each moment that we should go to the bottom, and -this in spite of every precaution being taken, even to striking our -topmasts. Also we lay over so much to our starboard, and for so long, -that again and again it seemed as though we should never right, while -as we thus lay, the sea poured into us from port and scuttle. But what -was worse for me--or would be worse if we lived through the tempest we -were now in the midst of--we were being blown not only off our course, -but back again the very way we had come, and out into the western -ocean, so that to all else there had to be added the waste of most -precious time. Time that, in my case, was golden!</p> - -<p class="normal">Meanwhile Carstairs, who during the whole of our passage from -Rotterdam had carefully kept his cabin--not even coming on deck during -the time we were chased by the French frigate nor, later, when the two -ships of war had battered and driven her on to the shoal bank--now saw -fit to appear on deck and to take a keen interest in all that was -going on around.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A brave storm," he said, shrieking the words in my ear--I having at -last struggled up again to get air--amidst the howling of the wind and -the fall of the sea upon our deck, each wave sounding as though a -mountain had fallen, "a brave storm! Ha! I have seen a-many, yet I -know not if ever one worse than this."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What think you of our chances?" I bawled back at him, while I noticed -that his eye was brighter and clearer than I had seen it before, and -that in his face there was some colour.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We shall do very well," he answered, "having borne up till now. That -fellow knows his work," and he nodded toward where Tandy was engaged -in getting the foreyard swayed up. "We shall do."</p> - -<p class="normal">His words were indeed prophetic, for not an hour after he had uttered -them the wind shifted once more, coming now full from the south, which -was, however, of all directions the very one we would not have had it -in; and with the change the sea went down rapidly, so that in still -another hour the waves, instead of breaking over our decks, only -slapped heavily against the ship's sides, while the vessel itself -wallowed terribly amongst them. Yet so far we were saved from worse.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now to this there succeeded still another change--the sea began to -smoke as though it were afire; from it there rose a cold steaming -vapour, and soon we could not see twenty yards ahead of us, nor was -the man at the wheel able to see beyond the fore-hatch. So that now we -could not move in any direction for fear of what might be near, and -were forced to burn lights and fire guns at intervals to give notice -of our whereabouts in chance of passers by.</p> - -<p class="normal">Again, however--this time late at night--the elements changed, the -mist and fog thinned somewhat and rose some feet from the surface of -the now almost tranquil sea; it was at last possible to look ahead -somewhat, though not possible to proceed, even if the light wind which -blew beneath the fog would have taken us the way we desired to go.</p> - -<p class="normal">And still the mist cleared so that we could see a mile--or two -miles--around, and then we observed a sight that none of us could -comprehend, not even Cuddiford, who whispered once to himself, though -I heard him plain enough, "What in the name of the devil does it mean? -What? What?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Afar off, on our starboard quarter, we saw in the darkness of the -night--there was no moon--innumerable lights dotting the sea; long -lines of light such as tiers of ports will emit from ships, also -lights higher up, as though on mastheads and yards--numbers of them, -some scores each in their cluster.</p> - -<p class="normal">Cuddiford's voice sounded in my ear. Cuddiford's finger was laid on my -arm.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You understand?" he asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"No."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis some great fleet."</p> - -<p class="normal">I started--hardly could I repress that start or prevent myself from -exclaiming: "The English fleet for Cadiz!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet even as I did so, the water rippled on the bows where we were -standing. It sounded as if those ripples blended with the man's voice -and made a chuckling laugh.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A large fleet," he said slowly, "leaving Spain and making for the -open."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then a moment later he was gone from my side.</p> - -<p class="normal">Leaving Spain and making for the open! What then did that mean? -"Leaving Spain and making for the open!" I repeated to myself again. -Was that true? And to assure myself I leant further forward into the -night--as though half a yard nearer to those passing lights would -assist my sight!--and peered at those countless clusters.</p> - -<p class="normal">Was it the English fleet that was leaving Spain? Whether that was or -not--whether 'twas in truth the English fleet or not--it <i>was</i> leaving -Spain; I could understand that. We in our ship were almost stationary; -that body was rapidly passing out to sea.</p> - -<p class="normal">What did it mean? Perhaps that the English had done their -work--destroyed Cadiz. I did not know if such were possible, but -thought it might be so. Perhaps that the galleons had been on their -way in, after all, and had been warned of those who were there before -them, and so had turned tail and fled.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet I feared--became maddened and distraught almost at the very -idea--that, having done their work, my countrymen should have left the -place, gone out to the open on, perhaps, their way back to England. -Became maddened because, if such were the case, there was no -opportunity left me of advising them about the galleons. While, on the -other hand, if that passing fleet was in truth the galleons, then were -they saved, since never would they come near the coast of Spain again -while British ships remained there. Rather would they keep the open -for months, rather put back again to the Indies than run themselves -into the lion's jaws.</p> - -<p class="normal">Truly I was sore distressed in pondering over all this; truly my -chance of promotion seemed very far off now. Yet I had one -consolation: I had done my best; it was not my fault.</p> - -<p class="normal">That night, to make things more unpleasant than they already -were--and to me it seemed that nothing more was wanting to aid my -melancholy!--Cuddiford began his drinkings and carousals again, -shutting off himself with the negro in his cabin, from whence shortly -issued the sounds of glasses clinking, of snatches of songs--in which -the black joined--of halloaing and of toasts and other things. Ribald -bawlings, too, of a song of which I could catch only a few words now -and again, but which seemed to be about a mouse which had escaped from -a trap and also from a great fierce cat ready to pounce on it. Then, -once more, clappings and clinkings of glasses together--an intolerable -noise, be sure!--and presently, with an oath, confusion drank to -England.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," thinks I, "my gentleman, that is how you feel, is it? Confusion -to England! Who and what are you, then, in the devil's name? Spy of -France or Spain, besides being retired filibuster, or what? Confusion -to England, eh?"</p> - -<p class="normal">And even as I thought this and heard his evil toast, I determined to -hear more. Whereon I slipped quietly off my bunk, got out into the -gangway and listened across it to his cabin opposite, feeling very -sure as I did so that both he and his black imagined I was up on deck.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I heard him say, going on, evidently, with a phrase he had begun:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Wherefore, I tell you, my lily, my white pearl, that those accursed -seamen and soldiers--this Rooke, who chased me once so that I lost -all my goods in my flight--are tricked, hoodwinked, <i>embustera; -flanqués comme une centaine d'escargots!</i> Done for--and so is this -white-livered Englishman over there in t'other cabin--who I do believe -is an English spy. Ho! that we had him in Maracaibo or Guayaquil. -Hein! Hey! my snowball?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Hoop! Hoop!" grunted the brute, his companion. "Hoop! Maracaibo! -Hoop! But, but, John"--"John," thinks I, "and to his master!"--"don't -speak so loud. Perhaps they hear you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Let them hear and be damned to them. What care I?" Yet still he -lowered his voice, though not so low but what I made out his words:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Fitted out a fleet, did they, to intercept the galleons? Oh! the -beautiful galleons! Oh! the sweet and lovely galleons! Oh, my -beautiful <i>Neustra Senora de Mercedes</i>. You remember how she sits on -the water like a swan, Cćsar? And the beautiful <i>Santa Susanna!</i> What -ships! what lading! Oh! I heard it all in London. I know. Thought they -would catch 'em in Cadiz, did they? Ha! Very well. Now, see, my lily -white. They have been too quick; got in too soon--and--and what's the -end on't? Those are the galleons going out--back again to the sea--and -the English fleet can stop in Cadiz till the forts sink 'em or they -rot. Give me some more drink. 'Of all the girls that there can be, the -Indy girl's the girl for me,'" and he fell a-singing.</p> - -<p class="normal">"If he is right, my Lord Marlborough has been deceived," I whispered -to myself. "Yet which knows the most? Still this old ruffian must be -right. Who else could be putting to sea but the galleons?" and I went -back once more to my cabin to ponder over matters.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now--all in a moment--there arose such an infernal hubbub from -that other cabin that one might have thought all the fiends from below -had been suddenly let loose; howls from the negro, so that I thought -the other must be killing of him in his drunken frenzy; peals of -laughter from the old man, bangings and kickings of bulkheads and the -crash of a falling glass. And, in the middle of it all, down ran Tandy -from the deck above, with, as I thought, a more concerned look upon -his face than even such an uproar as this called for. Then he made at -once for the cabin where those two were; yet, even as he advanced -swiftly, he paused to ask me if I had heard him speak a passing -picaroon a quarter of an hour back.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Not I," I replied. "Who could hear aught above in such a din as this -below? What did they tell you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Bad! Bad news. But first to quell these brutes," and he ran on as he -spoke, and kicked against the fast-closed cabin door.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Bad news!" I repeated to myself, even as I followed him. "Bad news. -My God! the old villain is right and the galleons have escaped. -Farewell, my hopes of promotion; I may as well get back to the -regiment by the first chance that comes."</p> - -<p class="normal">But now I had to listen to Tandy setting his other passenger to his -facings, which he did without more ado, since, the cabin door not -being opened quick enough, he applied his brawny shoulder to it and -soon forced it to slide back in its frame, the lock being torn out by -his exertion. Then after a few oaths and curses, which need not be set -down here, he roared as follows:</p> - -<p class="normal">"See here, you drunken, disreputable old vagabond, out you go from -this ship to-morrow morning, either ashore in Lagos bay or in the first -Guarda Costa or sailing smack that comes anigh us carrying the -Portygee colours. And as for you, you black, shambling brute," turning -to the negro and seizing him by the wool, whereby he dragged him into -the gangway, after which he administered to him a rousing kick, "get -you forward amongst the men, and, by God! if you come back aft again -I'll shoot you like a dog."</p> - -<p class="normal">"My friend," said old Carstairs, speaking now with as much sobriety -and dignity as though he had been drinking water all these days; "my -good friend, you forget. I have paid my passage to Cadiz, and to Cadiz -I will go, or the nearest touching point. Also, there are laws----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"There are," roared Tandy, "and 'twill not suit you to come within a -hundred leagues of any of them. To-morrow you go ashore."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have business with the in-coming galleons," said Carstairs, leering -at him. "Those galleons going out now will come in again, you know. -Soon!" and still he leered.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Galleons, you fool!" replied the captain. "Those are the English -warships. Your precious galleons may be at the bottom of the ocean. -Very like are by now."</p> - -<p class="normal">And then that old man's face was a sight to see, as, suddenly, it -blanched a deathly white.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The English warships," he murmured. "The English warships," and then -fell back gasping to his berth, muttering: "Out here! Out here!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Is this true?" I asked him a moment later, as we went along forward -together. "Is it true?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, partly," he replied. "Partly. They are the English ships of war, -but, my lad, I have had news which I did not tell him. They are in -retreat. Have failed. Cadiz is not taken, and they are on their way -back to England."</p> - -<p class="normal">"My God!" I exclaimed. And I know that as I so spoke I, too, was white -to the lips.</p> - -<p class="normal">"On their way back to England!" I repeated.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay--that's it," he said.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER VI.</h4> - -<h5>GALLEONS ABOUT!</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">"What's to do now? That's the question," said Tandy, an hour later, as -he and I sat in his little cabin abaft the mainmast, while, to hearten -ourselves up, we sipped together a bottle of Florence wine which he -had on board, and he sucked at his great pipe. "What now? No use for -me to think of Cadiz, though what a chance I would have had if our -countrymen had only made themselves masters of it! And for you, Mr. -Crespin? For you? I suppose, in truth, you knew of this--had some -affair of commerce, too, which brought you this way, on the idea that -they would be sure to capture the place."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, I had some idea," I answered, moodily, thinking it mattered very -little what I said now, short of the still great secret that the -galleons were going into Vigo, and never did mean coming into these -more southern regions. This secret I still kept, I say--and for one -reason. It was this, namely, that I thought it very likely that, even -though the fleet under Rooke might be driven back from Cadiz, they yet -had a chance of encountering the galleons making their way up to Vigo, -and, if they did so, I felt very sure that they would attack those -vessels, even in their own hour of defeat. Therefore, I said nothing -about the real destination of the Spanish treasure ships, though I -knew well enough that all hope was gone of my being the fortunate -individual to put my countrymen on their track.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also, I remembered that that hoary-headed old ruffian, Carstairs, had -spoken of two at least of those galleons as being of importance to -him--and you may be sure that I had no intention whatever of -enlightening him as to anything I knew.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What did the Portuguese picaroon tell you?" I asked of Tandy, now; -"what information give? And--are they sure of their news?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, very sure," he answered. "No doubt about that. No doubt whatever -that we have failed in the attack on Cadiz--abandoned the siege, gone -home. They were too many for us there, and--'tis not often that it -happens, God be praised!--we are beaten."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But why so sure? And are they--these Portuguese--to be trusted?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What use to tell lies? They <i>are</i> Portuguese, and would have welcomed -a victory."</p> - -<p class="normal">I shrugged my shoulders at this--then asked again what the strength of -their information was.</p> - -<p class="normal">To which the captain made reply:</p> - -<p class="normal">"They came in, it seems, early in the month, and called on the -governor to declare for Austria against France, to which he returned -reply that it was not his custom to desert his king, as many of the -English were in the habit of doing, he understood; whereon--the Duke -of Ormond being vexed by such an answer, which, it seems, did reflect -on him--the siege of Port St. Mary's commenced, the place being taken -by our people and being found to be full of wealth----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Taken and full of wealth!" I exclaimed. "Yet you say we are -defeated!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Listen," went on Tandy, "that was as nothing; for now the German -Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt, who had come too, in the interests of his -Austrian master, interfered, begging of Rooke and that other not to -destroy the town, since it would injure their cause forever with the -Spaniards, and--and--well, the Portygee captain of that picaroon I -spoke says that they were only too willing to fall in with his desires -and retire without making further attempt."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And these are English seamen and soldiers!" I muttered furiously. "My -God! To turn tail thus!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ormond agreed not with these views, it seems," Tandy went on, "but he -could not outweigh the admirals--and that is all I know, except that -he will perhaps impeach 'em when they get back to England. And, -anyway, they are gone."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And with them," I thought to myself, "go all my hopes. The galleons -will get in safe enough; there is nothing for it but to make back for -Holland and tell the earl that I have failed. No more than that," and -my bitterness was great within me at these reflections, you may be -sure.</p> - -<p class="normal">Tandy, I doubted not, observed these feelings which possessed me, for -a minute later he said--while I observed that in a kindly way he -filled up my glass for me, as I sat brooding with my head upon my -hands by the side of the cuddy table:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I see this touches you nearly, Mr. Crespin, and am grieved. Yet -what will you do now? Since you have missed your chance--I know not -what--will you return with me? If so you are very welcome, and--and," -he spoke this with a delicacy I should scarce have looked for, "and -there will be no--no--passage money needed. <i>La Mouche Noire</i> is at -your service to Rotterdam, or, for the matter of that, to Deal or -London, or where you will. I shall but stay to go in to Lagos for wood -and water, and, perhaps, sell some of my goods, if fortune serves so -far, and then--why then, 'tis back again to Holland or England to see -what may be done. I have the passage moneys of you and that old ribald -aft. For me things might be worse, thank God!"</p> - -<p class="normal">At first I knew not what answer to make to this kindly, offer--for -kindly it was, since there was according to our compact no earthly -reason whatsoever why he should convey me back again, except as a -passenger paying highly for the service. In truth, I was so sick and -hipped at the vanishing of this, my great opportunity, that I had -recked nothing of what happened now. All I knew was that I had failed; -that I had missed, although through no fault of mine own, a glorious -chance. Therefore I said gloomily:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do what you will--I care not. I must get me back to Holland somehow, -and may as well take passage there with you as go other ways. In truth -there is none that I know of. Yet, kind as your offer is to convey me -free of charge, it must not be. I cannot let you be at a loss, and I -have a sufficiency of money."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! as for that, 'tis nothing. However, we will talk on this later. -Now let's see for getting into Lagos--there is nothing else to be -done. 'Specially as I must have wood and water."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he went away to study his chart and compass, while I sought my -bed again, and, all being perfect silence at this time in Carstairs' -cabin--doubtless he was quite drunk by now!--I managed to get some -sleep, though 'twas uneasy at the best.</p> - -<p class="normal">In the morning when I again went on deck I saw that we were in full -sail, as I had guessed us to be from the motion of the ship while -dressing myself below; also, a look at the compass box told me we were -running due north--for Lagos. And, if aught could have cheered the -heart of a drooping man, it should have been the surroundings of this -fair, bright morning. It was, I remember well, September 22--the -glistening sea, looking like a great blue diamond sparkling beneath -the bright sun, the white spume flung up forward over our bows, the -equally white sheets above. Also, near us, to add to the beauty of the -morn, the sea was dotted with a-many small craft, billander rigged, -their sails a bright scarlet--and these, Tandy told me, were -Portuguese fishing boats out catching the tunny, which abounds -hereabout. While, away on our starboard beam, were--I started as I -looked at them--what were they?</p> - -<p class="normal">Three great vessels near together, their huge white sails bellied out -to the breeze, sailing very free; the foam tossed from their stems, -almost contemptuously, it seemed, so proudly did they dash it away -from them; vessels full rigged, and tightly, too; vessels along the -sides of which there ran tier upon tier of gun-ports; vessels also, -from each of whose mastheads there flew a flag--the flag of England!</p> - -<p class="normal">"What does it mean?" I asked Tandy, who strolled along the poop toward -me, his face having on it a broad grin, while his eye drooped into -that wink he used so. "What does it mean? They are our own ships of -war; surely they are not chasing us!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Never fear!" said he. "They are but consorts of ours just now. Oh! -it's a brave talk we have been having together with the flags this -morning. They are of the fleet--are Her Majesty's ships <i>Eagle</i>, -<i>Stirling Castle</i> and <i>Pembroke</i>--and are doing exactly the same as -ourselves, are going into Lagos for water. Also those transports -behind," and he pointed away aft, where half a dozen of those vessels -were following.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The fleet," I gasped, "the fleet that has left Cadiz--the great fleet -under Sir George Rooke--and going into Lagos!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Some of them--those you see now on our beam, and the transports -coming up."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And the others," I gasped again, overcome by this joyful news, "the -others? What of them?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! they will lie off till these go out with the fresh water casks. -Then for England."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Never," I said to myself. "Not yet, at least," and I turned my face -away so that Tandy should not perceive the emotion which I felt sure -must be depicted on it.</p> - -<p class="normal">For think, only think, what this meant to England--to me!</p> - -<p class="normal">It meant that I--the only man in the seas around Spain and Portugal -who knew of where the galleons would be, or were by now--I who alone -could tell them, tell this great fleet, which I had but lately missed, -of the whereabouts of those galleons--had by God's providence come -into communication with them again; meant that the instant we were in -Lagos bay I could go aboard one of those great warships and divulge -all--tell them to make for Vigo, tell them that it was in their power -to deal so fierce a blow to Spain and France as should cripple them.</p> - -<p class="normal">I could have danced and sung for very joy. I could have flung my arms -around Tandy's sun-burned and hairy neck in ecstasy, have performed -any act of craziness which men indulge in when a great happiness falls -upon them; nay, would have done any deed of folly, but that I was -restrained by the reflection of how all depended on me now, and of -how--since I was the bearer of so great a piece of news from so great -a man as the Earl of Marlborough--it behooved me to act with -circumspection and decorum. Therefore I calmed myself, instead of -indulging in any transports whatever. I recollect that I even forced -myself to make some useless remark upon the beauty of the smiling -morn; that I said also that I thought <i>La Mouche Noire</i> was making as -good seaway as the great frigates themselves, then asked coldly and -indifferently, with the same desire for disguise, when Tandy thought -we might all be in the bay and at anchorage.</p> - -<p class="normal">He glanced up at the sun--he had a big tortoise-shell watch in his -pocket, but, sailor-like, never looked at it during the day, and when -he had the sun for horologe--then leaned over the high gunwale of the -ship and looked between his hands toward the north, and said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"The old castle of Penhas is rising rapidly to view. 'Tis now eight of -the clock. By midday we shall have dropped anchor."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And the frigates?" I asked, with a nod toward the queen's great -ships, which still were on our beam, in the same position to us as -before.</p> - -<p class="normal">"About the same. Only they will go in first to make choice of their -anchorage." Then he added: "But they will not stay long; no longer -than to fill the casks. Perhaps a day, or till nightfall."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Twill be long enough for me," I thought. "An hour would suffice to -get on board one of them, ask to be taken off and sent to the -admiral's ship to tell my tale. Long enough."</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I went below again--with what different feelings from those -which possessed me when I went on deck, you may well suppose--and -began hastily to bestow my necessaries, such as they were, into the -bag I had carried behind me on my horse from Venloo to Rotterdam: a -change of linen, some brushes, a sleeping gown and a good cloak, -carried either around me or the bag, if warm and dry weather, my -powder flask and a little sack of bullets for my cavalry pistols--that -was all. Also I counted my pieces, took out my shagreen bill case and -saw that my Lord Marlborough's money drafts were safe, as well as my -commission to the regiment, which must now serve as a passport and -letter of presentation, and I was ready to go ashore at any moment, -and to transfer myself to one of the ships if they would take me with -them after I had told my news, as my Lord had said I was to demand -they should do. Yet, little while enough as I had been a-doing of -these things, 'twas not so quickly finished but that there was time -for an interruption; interruption from Mr. Carstairs, who, a moment or -so after I had been in my cabin, tapped gently, almost furtively, it -seemed to me, upon the door, and on my bidding him come in--I -suspecting very well who it was--put his head through the opening he -had made by pushing it back.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Are we in danger?" he asked, while as he spoke, I could not but -observe that he looked very badly this morning--perhaps from the -renewals of his drinkings. His face was all puckered and drawn, and -whiter, it seemed to me, than before; his eyes were hideously -bloodshot--that must, I guessed, be the drink--while the white, coarse -hand with which he grasped the panel shook, I observed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Danger!" I repeated coldly, as well as curtly, for, as you may be -sure, I had come to thoroughly despise, as well as cordially to -detest, this dissolute old man who, besides, had a black and fearful -past behind him, if his feverish wanderings of mind were to be -trusted. "Danger! From what?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"There are war frigates by us," he whispered. "Do you not know?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes, I know. But you who have been, it seems, a sailor, should also -know our own flag, I think."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Our own flag! Our English flag!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Can you not see?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"They are on the other side of the ship. I cannot see aught through my -port."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Look through mine, then," I answered, pointing to it, and he, with -many courteous excuses for venturing to intrude--he was much changed -now, I thought--went over to my window, and gazed at the queen's -vessels.</p> - -<p class="normal">"True," he said. "True. They are English--our--ships. Where could they -come from, do you suppose?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"From the Cadiz fleet. And they are going into Lagos, as we are."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And then--do you know where to, then--afterward--noble sir?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then they will go north."</p> - -<p class="normal">He drew a long breath at this--I guessed it to be a sigh of -satisfaction at the thought that the English fleet should be going -north, while the galleons, in which he had seemed to be so concerned, -should either be going into, or gone into, Cadiz--as he supposed. Then -he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, sir, this is, indeed, good news. For--for--I have business at -Cadiz--very serious business, and--if they had remained here in the -south they might have done much harm to honest traders, might they -not? Do you not think so?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"They may do harm elsewhere," I answered, again curtly. And my brevity -caused him to look at me enquiringly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What harm? What can they do?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! as for that," I said, unable to resist the temptation of repaying -him somewhat for all the discomfort he had caused in the ship, and -also because I so much despised him, "as for that, they might do much. -They say there are some galleons about. Supposing they should meet -them. 'Tis a great fleet; it could be fateful to a weaker one."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Galleons! Galleons about!" he repeated--shrieked, almost. "Nay! Nay! -Nay! The galleons are safe in Cadiz by now."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Are they?" I said, shrugging of my shoulders.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Are they not?" And now his face was death itself.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We spoke a ship last night which did not say so," I answered. "No -galleons have passed this way, gone in yet."</p> - -<p class="normal">I almost regretted my words, seeing, a moment later, their effect on -him. For that effect was great--I had nigh written terrible.</p> - -<p class="normal">He staggered back from the port-hole by which he had been standing, -gazing out at the <i>Pembroke</i> and her consorts, his face waxy now from -the absence of blood; his lips a bluish purple, so that I could see -the cracks in them; his coarse white hands twitching; and his eyes -roving round my cabin lighted on my washing commode, on which stood -the water ewer; then he seized it and the glass, poured out from one -to the other--his hand shook so that the neck of the vessel clinked a -tune upon the rim of the glass--and drank, yet not without some sort -of a murmured apology for doing so--an apology that became almost a -whine.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Not passed this way--not gone in yet? My God! Where are they? -And--and--with that fleet here--here--here--'twixt here and Cape St. -Vincent! Where are they?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Probably coming in now--on their way," I made answer. "Or very near." -Then next said, quietly: "You seem concerned about this?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Concerned!" he wailed. "Concerned! I have my fortune, my all--'tis -not much, yet much to me--on board two of the galleons, and--and--ah!" -and he clutched at his ruffled shirt front. "The English fleet is -there--across their path! My God!"</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER VII.</h4> - -<h5>LAGOS BAY.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">Tandy had timed our arrival in the bay with great exactness, since, -soon after midday, both the queen's ships and ourselves had dropped -anchor within it, the former saluting, and being saluted in return, by -some artillery from the crazy old castle that rose above the shore. -And now from those three frigates away went pinnaces and jolly boats, -as well as the great long boats and launches, all in a hurry to -fetch off the water which they needed, while also I could see very -well that from the <i>Pembroke</i> they were a-hoisting overboard their -barge, into which got some of the land officers--as the sailors call -the soldiers--and also a gentleman in black who was, I supposed, a -chaplain.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then I considered that it was time for me to be ashore, too, since -I knew not how long 'twould take for the ships of war to get in what -they wanted, and to be off and away again; though Tandy told me I need -be in no manner of hurry, since they had let down what he called their -shore anchors, which they would not have done had they intended going -away again in a moment, when they would have used instead their kedge, -or pilot, anchors.</p> - -<p class="normal">However, I was so impatient that I would not be stayed, and -consequently begged the captain to let me have one of the shore boats, -which had come out on our arrival and were now all around us, called -alongside; and into this I jumped the instant it touched our ship. My -few goods I left on board, to be brought on land when the captain -himself came, which he intended to do later; nor did I make my -farewells to him, since I felt pretty sure we should meet again -shortly, while it was by no means certain that the admiral would take -me with him, after I had delivered my news; but, instead, might order -me to return at once to the earl with some reply message. Yet I hoped -this would not be so, especially since his Lordship had bidden me see -the thing out and then bring him, as fast as I could make my way back -to the Netherlands, my account of what had been done.</p> - -<p class="normal">As for that miserable old creature, Carstairs, I clean forgot all -about him; nor even if I had remembered his existence, should I have -troubled to pay him any adieux, for in truth, I never supposed that I -should see him again in this world, and for certain, I had no desire -to do so; yet as luck would have it--but there is no need to -anticipate.</p> - -<p class="normal">I jumped into the shore boat, I say, as soon as it came alongside <i>La -Mouche Noire</i>, and was quickly rowed into the port, observing as I -went that there was a considerable amount of craft moored in the bay, -many of which had doubtless run in there during the storms of a night -or two ago, while, also, there were some sheltering in it which would -possibly have been lying in other harbors now--and those, Spanish -ones--had it not been for the war and the consequent danger of attack -from the English and Dutch navies in any other waters than those of -Portugal, she being, as I have said, neutral at present, though -leaning to our--the allies'--side. To wit, there were at this moment -some German ships, also a Dane or two, a Dutchman and a Swedish bark -here.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I stepped ashore on Portuguese ground, and found myself -torn hither and thither by the most ragged and disorderly crowd of -beggars one could imagine, some of them endeavouring to drag me off to -a dirty inn at the waterside, in front of which there sat two priests -a-drinking with some scaramouches, whom I took to be Algarvian -soldiers, while others around me had, I did believe, serious -intentions on my pockets had I not kept my hands tight in them. -Also--which hearted me up to see--there were many of our English -sailors about, dressed in their red kersey breeches with white tin -buttons, and their grey jackets and Welsh kersey waistcoats, all of -whom were bawling and halloaing to one another--making the confusion -and noise worse confounded--and using fierce oaths in the greatest -good humour. And then, while I stood there wondering how I should find -those whom I sought for, I heard a voice behind me saying in cheery -tones in my own tongue:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Faith, Tom, 'tis an Englishman, I tell you. No doubt about that. Look -to his rig; observe also he can scarce speak a word more of the -language of the country he is in than we can ourselves. Does not that -proclaim him one of us? Except our beloved friends, the French, who -are as ignorant of other tongues as we are, we are the worst. Let's -board him--we are all in the same boat."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, knowing very well that these remarks could hardly be applied to -any one but me, I turned round and found close to my elbow a fat, -jolly-looking gentleman, all clad in black, and with a black scarf -slung across him, and wearing a tie-wig, which had not been powdered -for many a day--a gentleman with an extremely red face, much pitted -with the small-pox. And by his side there stood four or five other -gentlemen, who, 'twas easy to see at a glance, were of my own -trade--their gold laced scarlet coats, the aiguillettes of one, the -cockades in all their hats, showed that.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir," said the one who had spoken, taking off his own black hat, -which, like his wig, would have been the better for some attention, -and bowing low. "I fear you overheard me. Yet I meant no offense. And, -since I am very sure that you are of our country, there should be -none. Sir, I am, if you will allow me to present myself, Mr. Beauvoir, -chaplain of her Majesty's ship, <i>Pembroke</i>. These are my friends, -officers serving under his Grace of Ormond, and of my Lord Shannon's -grenadiers and Colonel Pierce's regiment"; whereon he again took off -his hat to me, in which polite salutation he was followed by the -others, while I returned the courtesy.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I knew that I had found what I wanted--knew that the road was -open to me to reach the admiral, to tell my tale. I had found those -who could bring me into communication with the fleet; be very sure I -should not lose sight of them now. But first I had to name myself, -wherefore I said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Gentlemen, I am truly charmed to see you. Let me in turn present -myself. My name is Mervyn Crespin, lieutenant in the Cuirassiers, or -Fourth Horse, and it is by God's special grace that I have been so -fortunate as to encounter you. For," and here I glanced round at the -filthy crowd which environed us, and lowered my voice a little, "I am -here on a special mission to your commander from my Lord Marlborough. -Yet I thought I had failed when I heard you were off and away from -Cadiz."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, when I mentioned the position which I held in the army all looked -with increased interest at me, and again took off their hats, while -when I went on to speak of my mission from the Earl of Marlborough -there came almost a dazed look into some of their faces, as though -'twas impossible for them to understand what the Captain-General of -the Netherlands could have to say with the fleet that had been sent -forth from England to Cadiz.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A message to our commander," Mr. Beauvoir said. "A message to our -commander. By the Lord Harry, I am afraid 'tis even now a bootless -quest, though. Our commander with all his fleet is on his way back to -England--and pretty well dashed, too, through being obliged to draw -off from Cadiz, I can tell you. I fear you will not see him this side -of Spithead, even if you go with us, who are about to follow him."</p> - -<p class="normal">That I was also "pretty well dashed" at this news needs no telling, -since my feelings may be well enough conceived; yet I plucked up heart -to say:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I do think, if your captain but hears the news I bring, that he will -endeavour to catch the fleet and turn it from its homeward course--ay, -even though he sets sail again to-night without so much as a drop of -fresh water in his casks. 'Tis great news--news that may do much to -cripple France."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Is it private, sir?" the chaplain asked. "For the ears of the -admirals alone?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," said I; "by no means private from English ears; yet," I -continued, with still another glance around, "not to be spoken openly. -Is there no room we can adjourn to?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"We have been trying ourselves for half an hour to find an inn," said -one of the grenadiers, with a laugh, "which swarms not with vermin of -all sorts. Yet, come, let us endeavour again. Even though there is -naught for gentlemen to eat or drink, we may, at least, be alone and -hear this news. Come, let us seek for some spot," and he elbowed his -way through the waterside crowd which still stood gaping round us, and -which, even when we all moved away, hung on our heels, staring at us -as though we were some strange beings from another world. Also, -perhaps, they thought to filch some scrap of lace or galloon from off -our clothes.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Away, vagabonds! What in heaven's name is Portuguese for 'away, -vagabonds'?" muttered Mr. Beauvoir, making signs to the beggarly -brood, who--perhaps because often our ships put in here for water, and -they were accustomed to seeing the English--held out their dirty, -claw-like hands, and shrieked: "Moaney! Moaney! Englase moaney!" -"Away, I say, and leave us in peace!"</p> - -<p class="normal">And gradually, seeing there was nothing more to be gotten after one or -two of us had flung them a coin or so, they left us to our devices, so -that we were able to stroll along the few miserable streets which the -town possessed; able to observe, also, that there was no decent inn -into which a person, who valued his future comfort and freedom from a -month or so of itching, could put his foot in safety.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now we reached a little open spot, or <i>plaza</i>, a place which had a -melancholy, deserted look--there being several empty houses in this -gloomy square--while, on another, we saw the arms of France stuck up, -a shield with a blazing sun upon it,--the emblem of Louis!--and the -lilies on it, also--and guessed it must be the consul's place -of business. And here it seemed to me as if this was as -fitting an opportunity as I should find for making the necessary -disclosures--disclosures which, when these gentlemen had heard them, -might induce them to hurry back to the <i>Pembroke</i>, bring me into -communication with the captain, and lead him to put to sea, in the -hopes of picking up the remainder, and chief part, of the English -fleet, which was but twenty-four hours ahead of them.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Gentlemen," I said, "here is a quiet spot"--as indeed it was, seeing -that there was nothing alive in this mournful <i>plaza</i> but a few -scraggy fowls pecking among the stones, and a lean dog or two sleeping -in the sun. "Let me tell you my news."</p> - -<p class="normal">Whereupon all of them halted and stood round me, listening eagerly -while I unfolded my story and gave them the intelligence that the -galleons had gone into Vigo, escorted, as the earl had said while we -rode toward Rotterdam, by a large French fleet.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Fore George, Harry," said Mr. Beauvoir, turning toward the elder of -the officers with him, a captain in Pierce's regiment, "but this is -mighty fine news. Only--can it be true? I mean," he went on with a -pleasant bow to me, "can it be possible that the Earl of Marlborough -is not mistaken? For, if 'tis true and we can only communicate with -Sir George Rooke and get him back again, 'twill be a fine thing; wipe -out the scandal and hubbub that will arise over our retreat from -Cadiz, go far to save Parliament enquiries and the Lord knows what--to -say nothing of court martials. Humph?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why should the earl be mistaken in this?" asked one of the others. "At -least he was right in judging they would not go into Cadiz."</p> - -<p class="normal">"We must take you at once to Captain Hardy, of our ship," said the -chaplain. "'Tis for him to decide when he has heard your story. Come, -let us get back to the pinnace--no time must be wasted."</p> - -<p class="normal">"With the very greatest will in the world," said I. "'Tis for that I -have travelled from Holland, and, pray God, I have not come too late. -Success means much for me."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then we turned to go, while the officers attacked me on all sides for -an account of the siege of Kaiserswerth, of which they had not yet -heard full accounts, and we were just leaving the square when there -appeared at the door of the French consul's house a man who, no sooner -did he observe us and our English appearance--which betrays us all -over Europe, I have noticed, though I know not why--and also the -brilliancy of the officers' dress, than he set to work bowing and -grimacing like a monkey; also he began calling out salutations to us -in French, and asking us how the English did now in the wars? and -saying that, for himself, he very much regretted that France and -England had got flying at one another's throats once more, since if -they were not fools and would only keep united, as they had been in -the days of him whom he called <i>le grand roi Charles Deux</i>, they might -rule the world between them; which was true enough as regarded their -united powers (if not the greatness of that late king of ours), as -many other people more sensible than he have thought.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis a merry heart," said Mr. Beauvoir, smiling on the fantastic -creature as he gibbered and jumped about on his doorstep, while the -others looked contemptuously at him, for we soldiers had but a poor -opinion of the French, though always pleased to fight them; "a joyous -blade! Let us return his civility"; whereupon he took off his hat, -which courtesy we all imitated, and wished him "Good day" politely in -his own language.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha! you speak French, monsieur," the other said at this; "also you -have the <i>bonne mine</i>. English gentlemens is always gentlemens. Ha! I -ver' please see you."--he was himself now speaking half English and -half French. "<i>Je vous salue</i>. Lagos ver' <i>triste</i>. I always glad see -gentlemens. <i>Veuillez un verre de vin? C'est Français, vrai Français!</i> -Ver' goot."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis tempting," said the chaplain of the Pembroke, his face appearing -to get more red than before at the invitation. "Well, we can do no -harm in having a crack with him. Only--silence, remember," and he -glanced at the officers. "Not a word of our doings--lately, now, or to -come."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Never fear," said the eldest. "We can play a better game than that -would be," whereon the chaplain, after bowing gracefully to our -would-be host, said in very fair French that, if he desired it, we -would all drink a glass of wine with him--only he feared we were too -many.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Not a jot, not a jot," this strange creature cried, beckoning all of -us into the house and forthwith leading us into a whitewashed room, in -the middle of which was a table with, upon it, a great outre of wine, -bound and supported by copper bands and flanked with a number of -glasses, so that one might have thought he was ever offering -entertainment to others. Then, with great dexterity, he filled the -requisite number of glasses, and, after making us each touch his with -ours, drank a toast.</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>A la fin de la guerre</i>," he said, after screaming, first, -"<i>Attention, messieurs</i>," and rapping on the table with his glass to -claim that attention, "<i>ŕ l'amitié incassable de la France et de -l'Angleterre. Vivent, vivent, vivent la France et l'Angleterre</i>," and -down his throat went all the wine.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A noble toast," said Mr. Beauvoir, with a gravity which--I know not -why!--I did not think, somehow, was his natural attribute, "a noble -toast. None--be he French or English--could refuse to pledge that," -and, with a look at the others, away went his liquor, too, while my -brother officers, with a queer look upon their faces, which seemed to -express the thought that they scarce knew whether they ought to be -carousing in this manner with the representative of an enemy, -swallowed theirs.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha! goot, ver' goot," our friend went on, "we will have some more." -And in a twinkling he had replenished the glasses and got his own up -to, or very near to, his lips. And catching a glance of Mr. Beauvoir's -grey eye as he did this, I felt very sure that the reverend gentleman -knew as well as I did, or suspected as well as I did, that these were -by no means the first potations our friend had been indulging in this -morning.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Another toast," he cried now, "<i>sacré nom d'un chien!</i> we will drink -more toasts. <i>A la santé</i>"--then paused, and muttered: "No, no. I -cannot propose that. No. <i>Ce n'est pas juste</i>."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What is not just, monsieur?" asked Mr. Beauvoir, pausing with his own -uplifted glass.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why, <i>figurez-vous</i>, I was going to commit an <i>impolitesse</i>--what you -call a <i>rudesse</i>--rudeness--in your English tongue. To propose the -continued prosperity of France--no! <i>vraiment il ne faut pas ça</i>. -Because you are my guests--I love the English gentlemens always--and -it is so certain--so very certain."</p> - -<p class="normal">"The continued success of France is very certain, monsieur?" said one -of the grenadiers, looking darkly at him. "You say that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Sans doute</i>. It cannot be otherwise. On sea and land we must triumph -now--and then--then we shall have <i>la paix incassable</i>. Oh! yes, now -that Chateaurenault is on the seas, we must perforce win there--win -every--everything. And for the land, why----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Chateaurenault is on the seas!" exclaimed the chaplain, looking very -grave. "And how long has that been, monsieur?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, some time, some time." Then he put his finger to his nose and -said, looking extremely cunning in his half drunkenness. "And soon now -he will be free to scour them, turn his attention to you and the -Dutch--curse the Dutch always, they are <i>cochons!</i>--soon, ver' soon. -Just as soon as the galleons are unloaded at Vigo--when we need -protect them no more."</p> - -<p class="normal">Swift as lightning all our eyes met as the good-natured sot said this -in his boastfulness; then Mr. Beauvoir, speaking calmly again, said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"So he is protecting them at Vigo, eh? 'Tis not often they unload -there."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Ah, non, non</i>. Not ver' often. But, you see, you had closed Cadiz -against them, so, <i>naturellement</i>, they must go in somewhere."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Naturally. No--not another drop of wine, I thank you."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER VIII.</h4> - -<h5>ON BOARD H. M. S. PEMBROKE.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">A good snoring breeze was ripping us along parallel with the -Portuguese coast a fortnight later, every rag of canvas being -stretched aloft--foretop gallant royals, mizzentop gallant royals and -royal staysails. For we had found the main body of the fleet at last, -after eleven days' search for them, and we were on the road to Vigo.</p> - -<p class="normal">Only, should we be too late when we got there? That was the question!</p> - -<p class="normal">Let me take up my tale where I left off. Time enough to record our -hopes and fears when that is told.</p> - -<p class="normal">Our French friend, whose boastfulness had increased with every drop of -Montrâchet he swallowed (and 'twas real good wine, vastly different, -the chaplain, who boasted himself a fancier, said afterward, from the -filthy concoctions to be obtained in that part of Portugal), had been -unable to hold his tongue, having got upon the subject of the -greatness of his beloved France, and the consequence was that every -word he let fall served but to corroborate the Earl of Marlborough's -information and my statement. Nay! by the time he allowed us to quit -his house, which was not for half an hour after he had first divulged -the neighborhood of Chateaurenault and the galleons, and during which -period he drank even more fast and furious than before, he had given -us still further information. For, indeed, it seemed that once this -poor fool's tongue was unloosed, there were no bounds to his vaunts -and glorifications, and had it not been that he was our host and, -also, that every word he said was of the greatest value to us, I do, -indeed, believe that one or other of the officers would have twisted -his neck for him, so exasperating was his bragging.</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Pauvre Angleterre! Pauvre Angleterre!</i>" he called out, after we had -refused to drink any more, though he himself still kept on -unceasingly; "Poor England. Ah, mon Dieu, what shall become of her! -Beaten at Cadiz----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Retired from Cadiz, if you please, monsieur," one of Pierce's -officers said sternly, "because the Dutch ships had runout of -provisions, and because, also, the admiral and his Grace could not -hope to win Spain to the cause of Austria by bombarding their towns -and invading their country. Remember that, sir, if you please."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Oh, la la! C'est la męme chose</i>. It matters not." Then the talkative -idiot went on: "I hope only that the fleet is safe in England by now. -Ver' safe, because otherwise----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Have no fear, sir," the officer said again, though at a sign from Mr. -Beauvoir, he held his peace and allowed the Frenchman to proceed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ver' safe, because, otherwise, Chateaurenault will soon catch -them--poof! like a mouse in grimalkin's claws. The <i>débarquement</i> must -be over by now--oh yes, over by now!--<i>l'amiral</i> will be free to roam -the seas with his great fleet. <i>Tiens! c'est énorme!</i> There is, for -instance, <i>La Sirčne, L'Espérance, La Superbe, Le Bourbon, -L'Enflame</i>--all terrible vessels. Also many more. <i>Le Solide, Le Fort, -Le Prompte--Fichtre!</i> I cannot recall their names--they are fifteen in -all. What can you do against that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What did we do at La Hogue?" asked Mr. Beauvoir quietly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha! La Hogue! <i>Voilŕ--faute de bassesse--faute de</i>----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir," said the chaplain, interrupting, "let us discourse no more on -this subject. If we do we shall but get to quarrelling---and you have -been polite and hospitable. We would not desire that to happen. Sir, -we are obliged to you," and he held out his hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">The strange creature took it--he took all our hands and shook them; he -even seemed about to weep a little at our departure, and muttered that -Lagos was "ver' triste." He loved to see any one, even though a -misguided enemy.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And," said Mr. Beauvoir, as we made our way down to the quay where -the pinnace was to take them off, "to chatter to them as well as see -them. Forgive him, Lord, he is a madman! Yet, I think," turning to me, -"you should be satisfied. He corroborates you, and he has told us -something worth knowing. Fifteen ships of war in all, eh?" whereon he -fell a-musing. "A great fleet, in truth; yet ours is larger and we are -English. That counts."</p> - -<p class="normal">It took us a very little while to fetch off to the <i>Pembroke</i>, and on -arriving on board, Mr. Beauvoir instantly sent to know if he could see -the captain, since he brought great news from the shore. The sentry -would not, however, by any means undertake to deliver the message, -since Captain Hardy was now abed, he having been on the poop all night -while the ships were coming in; whereupon Mr. Beauvoir, saying that -the business we were now on took precedence of sleep and rest, pushed -his way into the great cabin and instantly knocked at the door outside -the captain's berth. Also, he called to him to say that he had news of -the galleons and the French admiral's fleet, and that there waited by -his side an officer of the land forces charged with a message to him -from the Earl of Marlborough.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What!" called out the captain as we heard him slip his door open, -after hearing also a bound as he leaped from his bunk to the floor. -"What!" and a minute after he stood before us, a fine, brave-seeming -gentleman, without his coat or vest on.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What! News of the galleons! Are you the messenger, sir?" looking at -me and returning my salute. "Quick! Your news; in as few words as may -be."</p> - -<p class="normal">And in a few words I told him all while he stood there before me, the -chaplain supplementing of my remarks in equally few words by a -description of what the drunken French consul had maundered on about -in his boastings.</p> - -<p class="normal">And the actions of this captain showed me at once that I was before -one of those sea commanders who, by their daring and decision, had -done so much to make our power on the ocean feared, notwithstanding -any checks such as that of Cadiz, which they might now and again have -to submit to.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sentry!" he called out, running into his cabin to strike upon a gong -by his bedside at the same time. "Sentry!" And then, when the man -appeared, went on: "Send the yeoman of the signals to me at once. Away -with you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Make signal," he said to the lad, who soon came tumbling down the -companion ladder, his glass under his arm, "to Captain Wishart in the -<i>Eagle</i>, and all the captains in the squadron, to repair here for -consultation without loss of time. Up! and waste no moment."</p> - -<p class="normal">And sure enough--for in Her Majesty's navy they are as prompt as we of -the sister service, if not prompter, since to a sailor, minutes are -sometimes of as much importance as an hour on land--ere a quarter of -an hour had passed the waters of the harbour were dotted with the -barges of the other captains making for our ship, and, five minutes -after that, all were assembled in the great cabin listening to my -tale. And all were at once agreed on what must be a-doing.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis of vast importance," said Captain Wishart, who I think was the -senior, since he presided, "that the admiral be acquainted with this. -'Tis for him to decide what shall be done when he has heard the -mission on which this officer has come, and heard also the words of -the Frenchman. Now, who has the fastest sailer? You, I think, Hardy."</p> - -<p class="normal">"True enough," replied that captain, "as to speed, I can sail two feet -to every one of all the rest. Yet the head of the ship is somewhat -loose, which may endanger the masts; she is also leaky, and our food -is short. Nevertheless, since the intelligence has been by good luck -brought to my hands I am loth indeed to resign the honor of finding -Sir George."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nor shall you resign it," exclaimed the other captains. "The chance -is yours. Succeed in it and you will get your flag. Hardy, you must -take it."</p> - -<p class="normal">Enough that I say he took it--had he not done so he would not have -been worth one of his ship's biscuits, the cases of which were, as it -happened, now running extremely low. Took it, too, in spite of the -murmurings of some of his men, who said that they had signed for the -expedition to Cadiz, and for that alone, and, therefore, it was -plainly his duty to return to England. But Captain Hardy had a short -way with such as these--a way well enough known to sailors!--while to -others, with whom he thought it worth while to explain at all, he -pointed out that there must be in the galleons, if they could only get -alongside of them, sufficient prize money for all.</p> - -<p class="normal">Off we went, therefore, to find the admiral and the main body of the -fleet, while, as luck would have it, there blew from off the -Portuguese coast a soft, brisk wind which took us along on the course -we desired, namely, that in which we supposed and hoped that Sir -George Rooke and the Dutch fleet had gone. All the same, it was no -very pleasant cruise; the food ran lower and lower as day after day -passed and we could not see so much as a topsail anywhere, until at -last we came to two biscuits a day, officers and men. Then, to make -matters worse, the weather came on rough and boisterous, so that the -captain said for sure the fleet would separate; that though we might -find one or two of the number 'twas scarce likely we should find more, -and that even those which we might by chance come across would -possibly not have the <i>Royal Sovereign</i>, which was Rooke's ship, -amongst them.</p> - -<p class="normal">Briefly, however, we did find them after eleven days, and when we had -begun to give up all hope, and while another terrible fear had taken -possession of our minds--the fear that even should we come together -and proceed to Vigo, we might find the galleons unloaded and their -treasure removed inland. However, as I have now to tell--and, indeed, -as you have read of late in the published accounts of our attack upon -those galleons--that was not to be.</p> - -<p class="normal">We found, therefore--to hurry on--the two fleets very close to one -another, and no sooner had Sir George communicated the news to the -Dutch admiral, Vandergoes, and to the Duke of Ormond, than it was -determined to at once proceed on the way to Vigo to see if the -galleons were there, and if--above all things--they still had their -goods in them; for, though 'twas like enough that we should destroy -them if we could, and crush Chateaurenault as well, 'twould be but -half a victory if we could not wrench away the spoils from the enemy -and profit by it ourselves.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now off went two frigates to scout in the neighbourhood of the Bay -of Vigo and see how much truth there was in the information my Lord -Marlborough had sent; and on the night of October 9, to which we had -come by this time, they returned; returned with the joyful -intelligence that the treasure ships were drawn up as far as possible -in a narrow strait in the harbour; that outside and guarding them, -were some twenty French and Spanish ships of war, and that across the -harbour was stretched a huge boom of masts and spars, protected on -either side by great batteries of cannon.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also they brought another piece of good news: The galleons, they -thought, were still <i>unloaded</i>.</p> - -<p class="normal">And still another piece of intelligence, equally welcome: The frigates -had sighted Sir Cloudesley Shovel's fleet in the neighbourhood of Cape -Finisterre, had communicated with him, and brought back word that as -we drew near to Vigo he would combine with us.</p> - -<p class="normal">That night we kept high revels on board all our ships--those only -whose duty it was to take the watches being prevented from joining in -the delirium of joy. Casks were broached and healths were drunk, -suppers eaten joyously--we of the <i>Pembroke</i> having now all we could -desire given us from our consorts--songs sung. And, if there was one -who more than others was the hero of the evening, it was the simple -gentleman who had brought the first intimation of the whereabouts of -those whom we now meant to "burn, plunder, and destroy," as the old -naval motto runs; the man who now pens these lines--myself.</p> - -<p class="normal">Perhaps 'twas no very good preparation for a great fight that, on the -night before the day when we hoped to be gripping French and Spaniards -by the throat, blowing up, burning or sinking their ships, and seizing -their treasures, we should have been wassailing and carousing deeply -all through that night. Yet, remember, we were sailors and soldiers; -we were bent on an errand of destruction against the tyrant who had -crushed and frighted all Europe for now nigh sixty years; the splendid -despot who, but a few months ago, had acknowledged as King of England -one whom every Englishman had sworn deeply should never sit on -England's throne, nor inherit the crown of his ancestors--if, indeed, -the Stuarts were the ancestors of the youth whom the late James called -his son.</p> - -<p class="normal">For this remembrance we may be forgiven--forgiven for hating Louis and -all his brood--hating him, the tyrant of Versailles, and the fat -booby, his grandson, who aspired to grasp the throne of Spain by the -help of Versailles and its master, that great, evil King of France!</p> - -<p class="normal">Through that night, I say, we drank and caroused, called toasts to our -good queen, prayed God that we might do her credit on the morrow, and -exalt the name of great Anna? And even the watch, coming off duty in -turns, ran into the main cabin ere they sought their berths, seized -cans and cannikins brimming high, and drank her health and that of our -own dear land.</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas a great night, yet it came to an end at last, and the autumn -morning dawned, thick, hazy, damp--still, not so thick or hazy but -that we could see through it the mountains over and around Vigo -looming up, and, at their feet, the entrance to the bay.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also, we saw, away to the northwest, the fleet of Sir Cloudesley -Shovel coming up toward us, escorted and led by our scouts.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER IX.</h4> - -<h5>THE TAKING OF THE GALLEONS.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">Looking back upon that great day--it was October 11--it seems to me -that many of the events which happened must have been due to the mercy -and goodness of God, so incredible were they.</p> - -<p class="normal">For see now what fell out at the very first, namely, that the haze and -mist were so thick that we were enabled to anchor at the mouth of the -great river and harbour without so much as even our presence being -known, so that when the sun set and the fog lifted, the surprise of -those snared and trapped creatures was great, and they at once began -firing wildly upon us, without, however, doing any harm whatever. But -the lifting of that fog showed us what we had to encounter, the work -that was to be done.</p> - -<p class="normal">For, first, it enabled us to see that, across the river, or narrow -strait, as indeed it was, the French admiral had laid a tremendous -boom, made up of cables, yards and masts, topchains and casts, some -nine feet in circumference, while the whole was kept fixed and steady -by anchors at either side. This, too, we perceived, was constructed -between two forts known as the Ronde and the Noot, one on the left -bank and the other on the right, while far up the harbour, where we -saw the galleons all a-lying tucked in comfortably under the cliffs, -with a line of French ships of battle, and some Spanish ones, ahead of -and guarding them, we perceived a great fort, which is known as the -Fort of Redondella.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now the night came down upon us, and we knew that for this day -there would be no fighting, though, since all through it the admiral -went from ship to ship in his barge, giving orders, 'twas very certain -that at daybreak it would begin.</p> - -<p class="normal">And so it did, as now I have to describe.</p> - -<p class="normal">For on the morrow, and when, as near six o'clock as may be, the sun -came up swiftly over the great hills, or mountains, which abound here, -we made our first preparations for the attack by the landing of the -Duke of Ormond with two thousand five hundred and fifty men on the -side of the Fort Redondella, they marching at once toward it on foot.</p> - -<p class="normal">As for myself, although a soldier, it had been decided that I should -remain in the <i>Pembroke</i>, and this for more than one reason.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You have," said Captain Hardy to me, "no uniform with you; therefore, -if you fall into the hands of those on shore it may go hard with you. -Yet here you can be of service; help train a gun, if need be, issue -orders, take part in the boarding, which must surely occur, perhaps -take part in sacking of the galleons. There's business for you--such, -indeed as, as a soldier, you are not very like to ever see again. My -lad!" he went on--and in truth I was a lad to him, though I esteemed -myself a very full-fledged man--"you are to be congratulated. You -will have much to talk about in years to come--if you survive this -day--which falls not often to a landsman's lot," and he ran away as -gay as a lad himself, all grizzled with service though he was, to -prepare for assisting in breaking the boom.</p> - -<p class="normal">So I stayed in the <i>Pembroke</i> and, as you shall see, if you do but -read, the doing so led to all that happened to me which I have now to -set down, and all of which--had it not so happened--would have -prevented this narrative from ever being penned, since it is not to -describe only the siege of Vigo and the taking of the Spanish galleons -that I am a-writing of this story.</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore I proceed:</p> - -<p class="normal">Down from the hills already the smoke was rolling fast, obscuring -the beauteous morn by now; white smoke from the cannon in the -fort--through which there leapt every moment great spits of flame from -the big guns' mouths!--dun-coloured smoke from the grenades carried by -Lord Shannon and Colonel Pierce's grenadiers; black, greasy smoke -vomited forth from the fuzees. And it came down to the water and -poured across it in clouds, enveloping the galleons in its wreaths and -the great French ships of battle; clinging around our own topsails and -masts, almost obscuring each of our vessels from the other.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet not so much, neither, but that--a breeze having sprung up after a -calm which had enforced us to drop our anchors for a while--we, -of the <i>Pembroke</i>, could see glide by us a great ship, with her men on -yards and masts and in fighting tops, all cheering lustily, and some -a-singing--a vessel that rushed forward as a tiger rushes to its prey. -At first we thought it was the <i>Royal Sovereign</i>--that great, noble -ship which transmits a name down from Bluff Harry's days--then knew we -were mistaken. It was the <i>Torbay</i>, Vice-Admiral Hopson's own, in -which he flew his flag, her sails all clapt on, her cable training at -her side, where he had cut it, so as to lose no precious time, her -course direct for the boom. And after her went ourselves, as hound let -loose from leash follows hound. Captain Hardy had spoken true--'twas a -day not to be missed!</p> - -<p class="normal">We heard a snapping, a crashing--'twas awful, too, to hear!--we heard -roar upon roar from hundreds of lusty throats in that great ship--we -knew the boom was gone--cut through as a woodsman's axe cuts through a -sapling. Amidst all the enemy's fire--fire from the French ships and -those Spanish forts on shore--we heard it. And we, too, cheered and -shouted--sent up our queen's name to the smoke-obscured heavens above. -Some cried the old watchword of past days, "St. George and England"; -some even danced and jumped upon the decks for glee--danced and -jumped, even though the hail of ball was scattering us like ninepins, -or a hundred pins!--even though some lay writhing on those decks, and -some were lying there headless, armless, legless! What mattered? The -enemy were there behind that boom, and it was broken. We were amongst -them now. Let those die who must; those live who were to conquer.</p> - -<p class="normal">Between the <i>Bourbon</i> and <i>L'Espérance</i> the noble <i>Torbay</i> rushed--to -the jaws of death she went, as though to a summer cruise on friendly -seas, her anchor cables roared through her hawse-holes--Hopson had -anchored 'twixt those two great French ships! He was there; there was -to be, could be, no retreat now; 'twas death or victory.</p> - -<p class="normal">At first it seemed as though it could alone be the first. The cannon -grinned like teeth through tier upon tier of gunboats in the -Frenchman's sides; the balls crashed into the Torbay; they did the -same with us and Vandergoes' ship, now ranged on the other side of the -<i>Bourbon</i>--a French fireship had clapt alongside of her, and set her -rigging alight; her foretopmast went by the board; her sails were all -aflame; her foreyard burnt like a dry log; her larboard shrouds burnt -at the dead-eyes.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet still she fought and fought--vomited forth her own flames and -destruction; still from the throats of those left alive came shouts of -savage exultation, for, all afire as she was, we saw that she was -winning. And not only she, but all of us. We had sunk one Frenchman -ourselves. Vandergoes had mastered the <i>Bourbon</i>--she was done for! -The <i>Association</i> had silenced a battery ashore. And now a greater -thing than all happened--Chateaurenault saw that he was beaten, set -his flagship, <i>Le Fort</i>, on fire, and fled to the shore, calling on -all his captains to follow him.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet still one awful dread remained! The <i>Torbay</i> was burning -fiercely, charred masts and yards were falling to the deck--itself -aflame--blocks burning like tarred wood crashed down, too. What if her -powder magazine exploded! If it did, all in her neighbourhood would be -destroyed, hurled to atoms, as she herself would be.</p> - -<p class="normal">Almost it seemed as if that had happened now. There came a hideous -roar, a belch of black, suffocating smoke; it set all sneezing and -coughing as though a sulphur mine were afire. Yet that explosion, that -great cloud of filthy blackness, those masses of burnt and charred -wood hurled up into the air and falling with a crash on every deck -around, amidst shrieks and howls and curses terrible to hear, though -drowned somewhat by the booming of the cannon all about, was to be the -salvation of the <i>Torbay</i>, of ourselves, and of the Dutchmen.</p> - -<p class="normal">For it was the fireship itself that had exploded. It was, in truth, a -merchantman laden with snuff, which had been hastily fitted up as one -of those craft. And in so doing the density of the fumes which it -emitted, and its falling <i>débris</i> when it was burst asunder, helped to -put out the flames that raged in the <i>Torbay</i> and in us.</p> - -<p class="normal">The firing began to cease even as this happened; the enemy began to -recognise that 'twas useless. They would have been blind not to have -so recognised. On shore 'twas easy <i>Association</i>; on the water the -<i>Bourbon</i> was ours. The lilies were hauled down, in their place -floated the banner of England; the fireship had vanished into the -elements, the great boom lay in pieces on the water like some long, -severed snake. Yet might one have wept to gaze upon the <i>Torbay</i>--the -queen and victress of this fight--and upon ourselves.</p> - -<p class="normal">There she lay--Hopson by now in the <i>Monmouth</i>, to which he had been -forced to transfer his flag, so sad a ruin was she--listing over to -her wounded starboard side, into which the water poured in volumes, it -becoming tinged as it mixed with the blood in her scuppers; her yards -and masts were charred sticks; black bits of sooty, greasy matter, -which had once been her white sails, floated down slowly to the waves -and fell upon and dissolved into them. Also her shrouds were but burnt -pieces of rope and twine now. Upon her deck there were stretched a -hundred and twenty men, dead or dying. And with the <i>Pembroke</i> it was -almost as bad. We were shattered and bruised, our foremast gone, our -own sails shot through and through, and hanging over the sides like -winding sheets, our own decks charnel houses. Yet we had won the -fight, the day was ours, the galleons our booty.</p> - -<p class="normal">But were they? That was the question!</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas true, they were all as we had first seen them, though some, we -noticed, had been run ashore, perhaps to give them a chance of -hurriedly landing some of their cargo; but, alas! we noticed now that -they were all aflame, were burning fiercely.</p> - -<p class="normal">And we knew well enough what this meant--meant that the French and -Spaniards had set them on fire so that we should benefit nothing -through their falling into our hands. And all of us saw it at the same -time--Rooke saw it, Hopson saw it--every man on board our English -decks who was still alive saw and understood.</p> - -<p class="normal">By God's mercy the breeze was still blowing into the strait. Some of -us still had some sail left clinging to our bruised and battered -yards; enough to take us farther in, enough to enable the boarding -parties to row ashore, to reach those burning ships, to save -something, surely!</p> - -<p class="normal">From all the ships' sides as we ran up as far as we could toward where -they lay, came now the hoarse grating of the ropes running through the -blocks as the boats were lowered. Into those boats leaped swarms of -men, their cutlasses ready, their pistols in their hands, their eyes -inflamed with the lust of plunder, wild oaths and jokes, curses--and, -sometimes, prayers that we were not too late--upon their lips.</p> - -<p class="normal">And in our cutter I went, too--appointed to the command of her in -place of the lieutenant who should have taken that command, but who -now lay dead upon the <i>Pembroke's</i> deck, a dozen balls in his body.</p> - -<p class="normal">Jostling one another--for there were scores of boats lowered by now, -and all making their way, under either sail or the seamen's brawny -arms, to where those burning galleons lay--we rushed through the half -mile of water that separated us from them, all eager to board and be -amongst the spoil. And woe, I thought, to him or them who, when we -were there, should strive to bar our entrance! Our blood was up, -fevered by the carnage of the earlier hours; woe to them who -endeavoured to prevent our final triumph! Through wreckage of all -kinds we went, spars, yards and masts, military tops floating like -tubs, dead men face upward, living men clinging to oars and overturned -boats and shrieking to be saved, while ever still, in front of us, the -galleons burned and blazed--one blew up as we neared it, another, -spouting flames from port and window and burning to the water's edge, -sank swiftly and in a moment beneath the water.</p> - -<p class="normal">But at last we were up to them, were beneath their bows, could see -their great figureheads and read their names--most of them so terribly -sacred that one wondered that even Spaniards should so dare to profane -those holy words by using them for their ships!</p> - -<p class="normal">And now some orders were issued by a grey-haired officer to those -close by. The boarding parties were told off in boats of twos and -threes to the different vessels flaming before our eyes. The one which -I commanded was directed to a great vessel of three decks, having -above her upper one a huge poop-royal, and named--heavens, what a name -for a ship!--<i>La Sacra Familia</i>. And as we swept toward them all we -saw that one mercy was now to be vouchsafed. There would be no further -slaughter here; no need for more shedding of blood. The vessels were -not defended; those who had set fire to them had undoubtedly fled.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet up on the poop-royal of that galleon, to which we now clambered by -aid of rope and ladder--with cutlass in mouth and pistol in belt--as -well as by chains and steps, we saw there was still some human life -left. We saw a tall monk standing there, gazing down curiously at us, -his shaven crown glistening in the autumn sun. Also, it seemed as -though he smiled a welcome to us, was glad to see us; perhaps regarded -us as men who might save him from that burning mass.</p> - -<p class="normal">We rushed on board, and first, before all other things, except a -salutation which I made to the monk by a touch of the finger to my -hat, I directed those under my command to endeavour to stifle the -fire, which seemed at present to be entirely confined to the after -part of the ship. "For," said I to those of my own following, and also -to those who had come in the other boats under the command of two -bo'suns, "if this is not done there will be no getting at the goods -whatever. Where generally is the storage made?" I asked, turning to -one of these officers.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Faith, sir, I know not," he said, with a harsh laugh. "My account has -been ever with the king's--and now the queen's--ships. We sailors know -little of such things as stored treasure. Yet," and he again laughed, -"we have our opportunity now. If we can but quench this fire, we may -learn something."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Perhaps," said a voice behind me, musical and deep, and greatly to my -astonishment--when I turned round and saw who its owner was, namely, -the monk--speaking in very good English, "I may be of some service -here. I have been a passenger in her since she loaded at Guayaquil," -and his eyes met mine boldly.</p> - -<p class="normal">They were large, roving eyes, too, jet-black and piercing, and looked -out from a dark, handsome face. A face as close-shaven as the crown, -yet with the blue tinge all over upper lip and chin and cheeks which -showed where there grew a mass of hair beneath.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am obliged to you, sir," I answered, touching my hat again--for his -manner proclaimed that this was no common peasant who had become a -monk because the life was easier than that of a hedger and ditcher; -but, instead, a man who knew something of the world and its -courtesies. Then, he having told me that all the plate and coin was in -the middle of the ship, and the merchandise, such as skins and -leather, Campeachy wood, quinquina, silks, indigo and cochineal in the -after part, I sent off all the men to endeavour at once to extinguish -the flames below; to cut off communication between the atmosphere and -that part of the ship which was already in flames; to close all -hatches and bulkhead doors; to stop up the crevices by which the air -could pass to the burning part, and, if possible, to separate the one -half of the vessel from the other, as well as to pour down water on -the flames.</p> - -<p class="normal">And, half an hour later--while still I stood gazing down on the men at -their work, and still by my side stood the monk, uttering no word, but -regarding with interest all that was doing--one of the bo'suns called -up to me, saying:</p> - -<p class="normal">"We have scotched it now, sir. There is no more fire left."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER X.</h4> - -<h5>SENOR JUAN BELMONTE.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">And now I made my way below by the main hatch--for the after-companion -was all burnt, so that there was no descent by that, I being intent on -the men finding out--and setting to work at once on getting at and -landing--the specie there might be in the ship; for, although the -galleons were ours now, and 'twas a certainty that neither French nor -Spaniards could make any attempt whatsoever to recover possession of -them, there was another matter to be thought about, namely, that this -one, of which I was, so to speak, in chief command, might be so badly -injured that she might sink at any moment; and, if she did that, then -it would be goodbye to any bars of silver and gold, pistoles or -crusadoes which she might have stowed away in her, ready for the -Castile mint. And with this apprehension in my mind, I decided that -the unloading must at once begin.</p> - -<p class="normal">But as I came down the main companion it was apparent that I must make -my way aft through the great cabin, since my men were all at work in -the hinder part of the ship; and, consequently, I put my hand to the -cabin door to open it, when I discovered that it was closed--shut -fast. Yet, even as I perceived this, while still I moved the catch -about between my fingers, wondering what I should do, and whether I -must not go back and fetch some of the sailors up from the after part -to burst open the door, I heard a footstep, light, yet firm, tapping -on the cabin deck; a footstep that, I could very well perceive, was -coming toward the closed door; and then, a moment later, I heard a -voice on the other side say something in Spanish, of which I could not -catch one word; yet I doubted not that a question had been asked as to -who I was, and what I wanted.</p> - -<p class="normal">Remembering, however, that I stood here in the position of a captor, -remembering, too, that since all these Spanish galleons had been under -the protection of the French admiral (with also three Spanish ships of -war, though 'tis true <i>they</i> did not count for much), I replied in the -French language, which, as I have before said, I had very well:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am an officer from the English fleet, and am now in charge of this -vessel. Open the door without delay."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Are you an English officer?" the voice now said, in my own -tongue, to which I--thinking that the tones were soft, gracious ones -enough--replied:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am an English officer. Open the door at once."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I heard the bolt shot back, and entered the great cabin.</p> - -<p class="normal">What kind of personage I had expected to find behind that door I -scarcely now can say--though I do remember well enough that, judging -by the gentle, musical voice which had replied to my summons, I should -not have been over-surprised to find myself face to face with some -Spanish woman--yet the person who appeared before me raised my -curiosity when we now stood face to face, for, certainly, I -had expected some one vastly different from him on whom I now -gazed--perhaps a Spanish sailor; a woman, as I have mentioned, or some -old don who had managed to get left behind when all the rest had fled.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet I saw none of these.</p> - -<p class="normal">Instead, a youth, somewhat tall--I remember that his eyes were almost -on a level with mine, and I am tall myself--also extremely handsome, -while, to add to that handsomeness, his dress was rich, if not costly. -But first for his appearance.</p> - -<p class="normal">Those eyes were soft, dark ones, such as, I think, our poets call -"liquid," and they looked out at me from an oval face, dark and olive -in complexion, over which the black hair curled in mighty becoming -waves, though it was not all visible, since on his head he wore a -beaver cap, looped up at one side with a steel buckle, and with, in -it, a deep crimson feather--a hat that added extremely to his boyish -beauty. For that he was a boy of almost tender years was certain. Upon -his upper lip there was that soft down which is not a moustache, but -tells only where some day a moustache will be; his colouring, too--a -deep, rich red beneath the olive skin--proclaimed extreme -youthfulness. But, what was even more agreeable than all, was the -bright, buoyant smile with which he looked at me--a smile which -flashed from those dark, soft eyes and trembled on the full, red lips, -yet seemed strangely out of place here in this captured vessel, and -upon the face of a prisoner--for such, indeed, he was.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now--even as we were saluting of each other, and while I noticed -the easy grace with which this youth took off his beaver hat--I -noticed also the handsome satin coat he wore, the embroidered, -open-worked linen collar, and the pretty lace at his sleeves; -perceived, also, that his breeches were lined with camlet and faced -with white taffeta. I spoke to him, saying:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir, I am afraid this is but a rough visit which I pay. Yet, since I -find you aboard this galleon, you must know what brings me here; must -know that it and all her consorts have fallen into our power--the -power of England and Holland."</p> - -<p class="normal">"In faith, I know it very well," the young man answered. "Heavens, -what a cannonading you kept up! Yet--though perhaps you may deem me -heartless if I say so!--I cannot aver that I am desperate sick at the -knowledge that you have drubbed France and Spain this morning. -<i>Carámba!</i> I am not too much in love with either, though you find me a -passenger here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Monsieur is not then either French or Spanish?" I hazarded, while he -unstrapped his blade from its <i>porte-epée</i> and flung it on the cabin -locker as though it wearied him. "Perhaps English, to wit. And of the -West Indies? A passenger taking this ship as a means whereby to reach -his native land?"</p> - -<p class="normal">He looked at me with those soft dark eyes--I know not even now why -they brought up the thought of velvet to my mind--paused a moment then -said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Monsieur, I do protest you are a wizard, a conjuror, a geomancer. In -truth you have hit it. I am English, though not by birth--but subject -to England."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I should scarce have thought, indeed," I ventured to say, "that -monsieur was of English blood."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No?" with a slight intonation. "And why not? I flatter myself that I -have the English very well."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You have it perfectly," I replied, making a little bow, "but scarce -the English look. Now a Spaniard--a Frenchman--I would have ventured -to say, judging by your appearance, to----"</p> - -<p class="normal">Again that merry laugh rang out, and again that handsome youth told me -I must be a wizard. "For," said he, "you have pinked me in the very -spot. My mother was a Spaniard--my father a Frenchman. And we have -lived so long in Jamaica that I speak English like an Englishman: You -see?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then almost before I could answer that I did see and understand, this -handsome youth--who seemed as volatile as a butterfly!--began to sing -softly to himself:</p> -<pre> - - "And have you heard of a Spanish lady? - How she wooed an Englishman? - Garments gay and rich as may be, - Decked with jewels, had she on." - -</pre> -<p class="continue">While at the same time he picked up an instrument which I learned -later was known as a viol d'amore, and began to produce sweet sounds -from it.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, this youth won so much upon me, what with his appearance--and -already I found myself wondering what the ladies must think of -him!--and his light, merry nature, that, had other things been -different, I could very well have passed the whole day with him in -this main cabin, only there was duty to be done. By now I knew that -the men would most like have reached the bullion chests and be ready -for getting them out; wherefore, the moment he ceased his song, I said -as courteously as may be:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have to leave you now, sir--there is work to be done in this ship -by nightfall. Yet, since you say you are a British subject, we must -take some care of you. Will you come with me to see one of the -admirals, who will dispose of you as best may be? If you seek to reach -England, doubtless they can put you in the way--give you a passage--or -what do you propose doing?"</p> - -<p class="normal">For answer he shrugged his shoulders indifferently, then said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"England is my destination--yet there is no pressing hurry. I am on my -road to seek some friends there, but I mind not if I tarry a little. -One of these friends--oh! a dear old creature, a Saint, I think--I -have been bent on finding for some years now. And I shall find him. -Then--but no matter! A few more weeks in comparison with those years -matter but little. I shall find him. Oh, yes. I have no fear."</p> - -<p class="normal">I, too, shrugged my shoulders now--for this was, after all, no answer -to my question; then I said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"But how will you proceed? You can scarce stay here--this galleon will -probably be sunk by the admiral directly she is unloaded. What will -you do?"</p> - -<p class="normal">He shrugged his shoulders with a look of extreme indifference, -muttering something in Spanish, which I thought might be a proverb; -then said: "Indeed, sir, I do not know. But this admiral of yours, -what will he do with me--where take me if I go with you? I thought to -ship at one time from Cadiz to England; then, later, when I learned we -were coming in here, I thought to travel by land to some near port and -find a vessel for the same place. Now I know not what to do."</p> - -<p class="normal">Neither did I know what to suggest that he should do, except that -I told him it was very certain he must see the admiral, who, without -any doubt, I thought, would find him an opportunity of reaching -England--would probably take him with the fleet.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And," I went on, "this should be of some service to you, in the way -of money, at least. 'Twill be a good thing for you to be put on -English ground at no cost to yourself. Also, you may have goods or -specie in this ship, which can be saved for you. And then, too, you -will be near those friends you speak of--that one, especially, who is -a Saint--who will doubtless help and assist you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Again I saw the bright, luminous smile come upon his features, as he -answered:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay! he would assist me, no doubt. Oh! yes. <i>Mon Dieu!</i> Yes! Beyond -all doubt. And he will be so glad to see me. We have not met for some -time. But, sir, I thank you very much for your concern about me. Only, -as far as money goes, I am not needy. I have bills about me now, drawn -on the old Bank of Castile, and also on some goldsmiths of London, as -well as some gold pieces in my pocket. While as for the goods or -specie you speak of--why, never fear! Neither this galleon nor any -other has a pistole's worth of aught that belongs to me on board--the -risk was too great with the seas swarming with English ships of war. -No, sir, beyond the box which contains my necessaries, I stand to lose -nothing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I rejoice to hear it," I said, "though doubtless, since you are a -British subject, all that belonged to you would have been sacred. Yet, -even as 'tis, 'tis better so." Then, seeing the bo'sun at the cabin -door, pulling his long matted hair by form of salute, and, doubtless, -wondering what kept me so long away from him and his men, I said: "Now -I must leave you for a time. Yet it will not be long. I trust you have -all you require to sustain you until we reach the ship I am attached -to."</p> - -<p class="normal">But even as I spoke, and without listening much to his answer, which -was to the effect that a good meal had been eaten that morning before -the battle began, and that, if necessary, he knew very well where to -lay his hands on some food, a thought struck me which I wondered had -not occurred to me before during my interview with him. Therefore, -turning to him, I said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"But how comes it that I find you here alone--or all alone but for the -reverend monk whom I saw above? How is it that you and he did not -desert the ship as the others must have done?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! as for that," he replied, still with that sweet smile of his, and -still with that bright, careless air which he had worn all through, -and which caused him to appear superior to any of the melancholy as -well as uncomfortable circumstances by which he was surrounded, "as -for that, the explanation is simple enough." Then, speaking rapidly -now, he went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"We saw your great ships break the boom; ha! <i>por Diôs</i>, 'twas grand, -splendid. We saw your ships range themselves alongside the Frenchmen, -saw them crash into them their balls, set them afire, destroy them. -<i>Espléndido! Espléndido! Espléndido!</i>" he exclaimed, bursting into the -Spanish in his excitement. "Poof! away went the <i>Bourbon</i>, topping -over on her side, up went the fireship--we heard your shouts and -cries, heard the great English seamen singing their songs. I tell you -it was glorious. <i>Magnifico!</i> Only--these creatures here--the -<i>canailles</i>--these <i>desperdicios</i>--these--<i>Diôs!</i> I know not the word -in English--thought not so. 'Great God!' screamed Don Trebuzia de -Vera, our captain--a miserable pig, a coward. 'Great God, they win -again, these English dogs; curse them! they never lose, we are lost! -lost! lost! And see,' he bellowed, 'the French admiral lands, he -flees, deserts his ship, ha! sets it afire. Flee we, too, therefore. -Flee! Away! To the boats, to the shore, to the mountains. Away! They -come nearer. Away, all, or there will not be a whole throat amongst -us.'"</p> - -<p class="normal">"We knowed that was what would happen," chuckled the bo'sun, who still -stood at the open door, his fierce face lit up with a huge grin of -approval. "Go on, young sir. Tell us the tale."</p> - -<p class="normal">And, scarce heeding him, the youth, who had recovered his breath, went -on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"They obeyed him--they fled. Into the water, up the rocks, off inland -they went. They never cast a thought to us, to Padre Jaime and myself, -the only two passengers in the ship. Not they--they cared no jot -whether we were blown up, or shot, or sunk, no more than they thought -of their ingots in the hold. Their wretched lives were all in all to -them now."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Therefore they fled and left you here!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"They fled and left us here, setting fire first to the ship, and -caring nothing if we were burnt in it or not. Though that could scarce -have happened, I think, since it would have been easy enough for us to -plunge into the water and get ashore. Also the reverend father above -bade me take heart--though I needed no such counsel, having never lost -mine--averred that your side had won, that the next thing would be the -arrival of your boats to secure the plunder--which has fallen out as -he said--and that then both he and I would be safe. Which also has -come to pass," he concluded.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The reverend father appears to be well versed in the arts of war, -captures and so forth," I remarked, as now we made our way together to -the waist of the ship, followed by the bo'sun. "A strange knowledge -for one of his trade!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Por Diôs!</i>" the young fellow said, "'tis not so strange, neither, as -you will say if ever you get him to speak about the strange places in -which he has pursued his ministrations. Why, sir, he has assisted at -the death of many a dying sinner of the kind we have in our parts, -held cups of water to their burning lips, wiped the sweat of death -from off their brows. Oh!" he said, stopping by one of the galleon's -great quarter deck ports, in which the cowards who fled from the -heavily armed ship had left a huge loaded brass cannon run out, which -they had not had the spirit to fire; stopping there and laying a long, -slim hand upon my arm--while I noticed that the nails were most -beautifully shaped--"Oh! he has been in some strange places; seen -strange things, the siege and plunder of Maracaibo, to wit, and many -other places; seen blood run like water."</p> - -<p class="normal">"The siege and plunder of Maracaibo!" I found myself repeating as we -drew near the fore-hatches, which were now open. "The siege and -plunder of Maracaibo!" Where had I heard such words as these before, -or words like them? Where? where? On whose lips had I last heard the -name of Maracaibo?</p> - -<p class="normal">And, suddenly, I remembered that that wicked old ruffian, who had been -fellow-passenger with me in <i>La Mouche Noire</i> had mentioned that place -to the filthy black who was his servant--or his friend.</p> - -<p class="normal">And--for what reason I know not, for there was no sequence whatsoever -in such thoughts and recollections--I recalled his drunken and -frenzied shouts to some man whom he called Grandmont; his questions -about some youth nineteen years old, who was like to be by now grown -up to be a devil like that dead Grandmont to whom he imagined he was -speaking.</p> - -<p class="normal">Which was, if you come to think of it, a strange sort of recollection, -or memory, to be evoked simply through my hearing again the name of -that tropic town of Maracaibo mentioned by this handsome young man.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XI.</h4> - -<h5>FATHER JAIME.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">Under the direction of the second bo'sun, the men who had all come -into the ship with me had now gotten the battens off and had lifted -the hatch hoods--for although it has taken some time to write down my -meeting and interview with this young gentleman, it had not, in very -fact, occupied more than twenty minutes--and I found them already -beginning to bring up some large chests and boxes with strange marks -upon them.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also, I found standing close by the opening the monk whom the young -man had called Father Jaime, he being engaged in peering down into the -hold with what seemed to me a great air of interest, which was not, -perhaps, very strange, seeing that the treasure below was now destined -for a far different purpose from that for which it was originally -intended.</p> - -<p class="normal">He turned away, however, from this occupation on seeing us approach, -and said quietly, in the rich, full voice which I had previously -noticed, to the young man by my side:</p> - -<p class="normal">"So, Seńor Juan, you have found a friend, I see. You are fortunate. -This way you may light on your road to England."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And you, sir, what is your destination, may I ask?" I said, for I -knew I should soon have to decide what to do with him. The grey-haired -officer had given me, among other hurried instructions, one to the -effect that anything which was brought up from below was to be -instantly sent off to Sir George Rooke's flagship; and 'twas very easy -to see that there was none too much specie in this ship--while I knew -not what was to be done with the merchandise. Therefore, the time was -now near at hand for me to return and report myself, taking with me my -findings, while, also, I should have to take with me these two whom I -had discovered left behind on board.</p> - -<p class="normal">Father Jaime bowed graciously on my asking this question--indeed, he -was a far more courteous and well bred man than I, perhaps in my -ignorance, had ever supposed would have been found amongst his -class--and replied: "I, sir, have to present myself at Lugo, where -there is a monastery to which I am accredited." Then, with an -agreeable smile, he continued:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I trust I shall not be detained. Already I am two years behind my -time--as is our young friend here, Seńor Juan Belmonte, and----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Two years!" I exclaimed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"In truth, 'tis so," my young gentleman, whose name I now learned, -replied. "Two years. These galleons should have sailed from Hispaniola -that length of time ago, only so many things have happened. First -there was the getting them properly laden, then the fear of -filibusters and buccaneers----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"That fear exists no longer, my son," the monk interrupted. "They are -disbanded, broken up, gone, dispersed. There will be no more -buccaneering now, the saints be praised."</p> - -<p class="normal">He said: "the saints be praised yet had he not worn the holy garb -he did, I should have almost thought that he said it with regret. -Indeed, were it not for his shaven crown and face, he would not have -ill-befitted the general idea I had formed of those gentry--what with -his stalwart form, bold, fierce eyes and sun-browned visage.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, the saints be praised!" the young seńor repeated after him, -"the saints be praised. They were the curse of the Indies--I am -old enough to remember that. Yet, now, all are gone, as you say, -dispersed--broken up. Pointis has done that, and death and disease. -Still, where are they?--those who are alive--I wonder."</p> - -<p class="normal">"There are few alive now," the monk replied, "and those of no worth. -Recall, my son, recall what we know happened in the Indies. Kidd is -taken, Grogniet dead, Le Picard executed. Townley--a great man -that!--I--I mean, a great villain--fell with forty wounds in his body; -at Guayaquil nine brave--nine vagabonds--left dead; and more, many -more."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And the villain Gramont"--and now I started; was this whom he called -Gramont the man that old vagabond Carstairs had spoken of--as I -supposed--as Grandmont?--"forget not the greatest of them all, holy -father. What of him?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He died at sea. Drowned," Father Jaime replied. Then added: "He was -the boldest of them all."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Twas never known for certain that he was so drowned," Belmonte said.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Twas known for certain; is certain. I have spoken with those who saw -his ship's boats floating near where he must have been cast away and -lost. Fool that he was! Madman! Louis the King gave him his -commission, made him Lieutenant du Roi. Then, because the devil's -fever was hot in his blood, he must make one more of his accursed -cruises, and go filibustering thus, besieging towns, plundering and -destroying once more. The fool! to do it 'neath the King's lilies--to -ruin himself forever, when he was rich, rich--ah, heavens! how rich he -was! 'Tis well for him that he was drowned--disappeared forever. -Otherwise the wheel would have been his portion. And," he added after -a pause, "righteously so. Righteously so!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Stopping as he said those words, he saw that we were regarding him -with interest--for, indeed, had this drowned buccaneer been a friend -of his he could scarcely have spoken with more fervency--then added, -impressively:</p> - -<p class="normal">"My sons, I knew that man--that Gramont; and I--I pitied him. Knowing -his fate, and much of his life, I pity him still."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he turned away and began telling of his beads as he strode up and -down the deck. And I, remembering all I had overheard the man -Carstairs say, determined that, if the chance arose, I would ask the -reverend father if he had known this Carstairs, too; for I had -sufficient curiosity in my composition to desire to learn something -more about that hoary-headed old vagabond, though 'twas not at all -likely that I should ever set eyes on him again.</p> - -<p class="normal">That chance was not now, however, since at this moment there came -alongside the whole flotilla of boats, which had been despatched -severally to the various galleons, they being at this time all -collected together ere going back to the admiral, and needing only us -to make them complete. Wherefore, giving orders to have all the chests -and boxes which we had unearthed placed in our own boats, we stepped -over the side, I motioning to the father and the seńor to take their -places by me.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Your necessaries," I said, "can be fetched away later, when 'tis -decided how your respective journeys are to be brought to an end."</p> - -<p class="normal">And now, ere I get on with what I have to tell, it is fitting that--to -make an end of this siege of Vigo, which, indeed, reinstated later, in -the opinion of the Parliament and their countrymen, all those who had -failed at Cadiz--I set down what was the advantage to England of this -taking of the galleons, though, in truth, that advantage was far more -in the crushing blow it administered to the French sea service than in -aught else; for it broke that service's power more than aught else had -done since the time of La Hogue, ten years ago; and it crippled France -so upon the waters that, though she still continued to fight us boldly -whenever we met, she was able to do but very little harm in that way.</p> - -<p class="normal">Of the fifteen great ships of war which the French admiral, -Chateaurenault, commanded, five were burned up, some being set alight -by themselves ere they fled, the others by us. Four others were run -ashore and bulged. Five more, not so badly injured, were taken home by -our fleet, and afterward did us good service against their old -masters, these being <i>Le Prompte</i>, <i>L'Assure</i>, <i>Le Firme</i>, <i>Le -Modčre</i>, and <i>Le Triton</i>; while the remaining one, <i>Le Bourbon</i>, was -captured, as I have said, by Vandergoes, and fell to the share of the -Dutch. Then, of their frigates, we burnt two, and also a fireship -other than the merchantman loaded with snuff. Also, we burnt and -destroyed three Spanish men-of-war.</p> - -<p class="normal">As to the galleons, eight of them were sunk by their owners, the -others were divided between our Dutch friends and ourselves. And this -is what we got for our share: A few ingots of gold, several bars of -silver and some jewels--the principal thing of worth amongst these -being a great crown of gold set with rubies; a gold crucifix enriched -with many stones, seven hundred pounds' weight of silver bars, many -cases of silver ore, and some enormous cases of plate. Also, there was -much cochineal, tobacco, logwood, cocoa, snuff and sugar, some of -which was saved and some was sunk to the bottom. And the gold and -silver was afterward taken to our English mint and coined into -five-pound pieces, crowns, half-crowns and shillings, each piece -having "Vigo" stamped beneath the queen's head, thereby to distinguish -it. Later on, and somewhat later, too--it was when I drew my share of -the prize money, to which I became entitled as having taken part in -that great fight--I observed that my pieces had that word upon them.</p> - -<p class="normal">But alas! there should have been much more, only the galleons had lain -twenty-five days within that harbour ere we got to them, and, during -that time, they had landed much which had been sent on to Lugo, and, -had it not been for that foolish Spanish punctilio, which would not -allow anything to be done hastily, they would have gotten all of their -goods and precious things ashore. Only, because they should have gone -into Cadiz and discharged there, and had instead come to Vigo, much -delay happened ere the order for their doing so was given. Which was -very good for us.</p> - -<p class="normal">Our loss, considering the fierce fight both sides made of it, was not -considerable. Hopson, his ship, because she had borne the brunt of the -encounter, did suffer the most, she having one hundred and fifteen of -her sailors killed on the deck or drowned, with nine wounded; the -<i>Barfleur</i> and the <i>Association</i> had each but two men killed; the -<i>Mary</i> lost none; the <i>Kent</i> had her bo'sun wounded, while for -ourselves, we had many wounded, but none that I know of killed. Of -those who went ashore to attack the Fort of Redondella under his Grace -of Ormond, none of much note were slain, but Colonel Pierce got a bad -wound from a cannon shot fired by one of our own men-of-war, and some -other colonels were also wounded.</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas through a mighty mass of wreckage and floating spars, masts -and yards, that we passed toward the <i>Royal Sovereign</i>, which lay back -a bit and was nearest the mouth of the strait and beyond where that -boom had been, and as we did so I saw my young gentleman, Seńor -Belmonte, turn somewhat pale as he observed the terrible traces which -battles--and more particularly sea battles--always leave behind. -Indeed, the soft red flush leapt to his cheeks, and the full scarlet -lips themselves looked more white than red as his eyes glanced down at -the objects that went a-floating by on the water; and, perhaps, since -he was so young, 'twas not very strange that these sights should have -sickened him. For there passed us dead men with half their heads blown -off; others with a terrible grin of agony upon their faces; some with -half their inwards dragging alongside them like cords--the waves all -tinged a horrid reddish brown--while hats, wigs and other things -floating by as the tide made, were but cruel sights for so young a -man--and he, probably, no fighter--to see. And, after such a lusty -encounter as this had been, one could not hope to witness anything -much better.</p> - -<p class="normal">As for the monk--on whom I could not but instinctively fix my eyes now -and again, for (although I could not have told why) the man had -fascinated me with the knowledge which he seemed to have once -possessed of all those hideous filibusters and sea rovers who now, he -said, were dead and gone and driven off the ocean--he seemed to regard -these things as calmly and impassibly as though he sat in some lady's -boudoir. His dark eyes, 'twas true, flashed here and there and all -around--now on a headless man, and now on the contorted features of -another, but he paled not, nor did he express or give any sign of -interest in aught until we ran alongside our noble <i>Royal Sovereign</i>, -when he cast his eye approvingly over her.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A great vessel," he said, "a mighty craft! Worthy to represent her -great country"; then grasped the life line hanging down, as I motioned -him to ascend her gangway, and went on board as calmly as though -accustomed to going over the sides of ships every day of his life. -From the main shrouds there hung a flag when we stepped on board, -which I have since learned to know denoted that a council of war was -being held in the ship; also there were many captains' gigs and some -admirals' barges all about her, so that 'twas plain enough to see, -even without that flag, that a consultation was taking place on board. -And scarce had I given my orders for the chests to be hauled in than -the first lieutenant approached me and asked very courteously if I was -not Lieutenant Crespin.</p> - -<p class="normal">A moment later I was being ushered into the great main cabin, leaving -my two companions on the deck for the present--and in another instant -was making my salutations to the grey-haired admiral, Sir George -Rooke, who sat at the head of the table, and to his Grace, the Duke of -Ormond--a brave, handsome soldier--who had come on board after taking -of the Fort of Redondella.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I pass over the many flattering things said to me by those -great officers seated there--since we had flown straight to Vigo after -the <i>Pembroke</i> had picked up the fleet at sea, and had at once been -occupied in our preparations for taking of the galleons, this was the -first time we had met--over, also, the compliments paid me for the -manner in which I had made my way from Holland to Cadiz and Lagos. -Suffice it that both Sir George Rooke and the duke told me that my -services would not be forgot, and that when I returned to my Lord -Marlborough I should not go unaccompanied by their commendations. -However, enough of this. And now I told my tale of the morning, and of -the two persons I had found on board <i>La Sacra Familia</i>--told, too, -that they were at this moment on board the Royal Sovereign, I having -deemed it best to bring them along with me.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Let us see them," said Rooke, and straightway bade his flag -lieutenant go bring them in.</p> - -<p class="normal">But I think that, although I had told all assembled at this board what -kind of persons these were whom I had discovered in the ship, all the -admirals, generals and captains were astonished at their appearance -when they stood before them; while so handsome a show of it did my -young Seńor Belmonte make, that, perhaps almost unknowing what he did, -Admiral Hopson pushed a chair toward him and bade him be seated. And -because such courtesy could not be shown to one of these visitors -without the same being extended to the other, the monk was also -accommodated with a chair in which he sat himself calmly, his eyes -roving round all those officers assembled there.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You were passengers in this galleon--the--the--<i>Sacra Familia?</i>" Sir -George said, glancing at a paper in his hand, on which I supposed the -names of all the captured ships were written down, "and as this -officer tells me, are anxious to proceed to your destination. Will you -inform me of what that destination is, so that we may assist you in -your desire?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mine," exclaimed Seńor Juan--and as his sweet, soft voice uttered the -words musically, all eyes were turned on him, "is England eventually; -yet," and he smiled that gracious smile which I had seen before, "my -passage was but paid to Spain--and I am in Spain. Beyond being -permitted to go ashore here with my few necessaries, I know not that I -need demand any of your politely proffered assistance."</p> - -<p class="normal">Sir George shrugged his shoulders while he looked attentively at the -handsome young man--who, I thought, to speak truth, received the -civilities of his speech with somewhat too much the air of one -accustomed to having homage and consideration paid to him--then he -said quietly:</p> - -<p class="normal">"That, of course, shall be done at once. There can be no obstacle to -that. We only regret that the rigours of war have caused us to -inconvenience any ordinary passenger. You have of course your papers."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes, I have them here," and he produced from his breast a bundle, at -which Sir George glanced lightly.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he turned to Father Jaime, who preserved still the look of -calmness which had distinguished him all through. Yet I wondered, too, -that he should have done so, for he had been subjected to even more -scrutiny than Belmonte had been, perhaps because of the garb he wore; -scrutiny that, in one instance at least, would have disquieted a less -contained man, since Admiral Hopson, I noticed, had scarcely ever -taken his eyes off him since he had entered the cabin, or, when he had -taken them off, had instantly refixed them so upon his countenance -that 'twas very palpable to me that the man puzzled him. But what need -to describe that look which all the world has often seen on the face -of one who is endeavouring to recall to himself where, or whether, he -has ever seen another before.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And you, sir?" the admiral asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"My destination," the monk replied, his voice firm, full and sonorous -as before, "is the Abbey of Lugo; and since 'tis far nearer here than -Cadiz, I can scarce regret finding myself at Vigo, instead of at the -latter place."</p> - -<p class="normal">And, even as he spoke, I saw Hopson give a slight start and look even -more intently at him than before.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he bent forward toward Father Jaime, and said quietly: "Reverend -sir, is it possible that we have ever met before? In the West Indies, -to wit?"</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XII.</h4> - -<h5>WHAT DID THE ADMIRAL DISCOVER?</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">Not a month had elapsed ere I stood alone on the beach of Viana, which -is in the province of Entre-Douro-é-Minho, in Portugal, and watched, -with somewhat sad thoughts in my mind, the white foresail and mainsail -of the <i>Pembroke's</i> jolly boat rising and falling on the waters as, -gradually, it made its way out to sea to where, a league off, there -lay the English fleet. The English fleet, and bound for England!</p> - -<p class="normal">Vigo was freed of its enemies and captors; over night, at dark, the -whole of the British forces had cleared out of the bay, and, this -morning, Juan Belmonte and myself had been put ashore at this -miserable Portuguese town, or rather village, lying some twenty miles -south of the Spanish frontier.</p> - -<p class="normal">Briefly, this was the reason why I found myself standing alone upon -this beach watching that fast disappearing boat, while, walking up to -the town, went Seńor Juan to seek for lodgings for us for the night.</p> - -<p class="normal">After that council was concluded on board the <i>Royal Sovereign</i>--and -from which Father Jaime, Belmonte and myself had retired after our -interview with the admirals--the conclusion had been arrived at that, -the work being done here--namely, the French fleet in our power and -the Spanish galleons destroyed--it would be impolitic as well as -unnecessary for the English to remain any longer in the place. This -decision was, however, come to totally against the desire of the Duke -of Ormond, who himself was anxious to take possession of the town of -Vigo, to lie there during the winter months, and, in the spring, to -open again the campaign against France in that portion of Spain. -Unfortunately, however, for this idea--which was in fact a mighty good -one, and, if carried out, might have gone far toward crippling France -even more than she was eventually crippled--it was impossible. There -were no provisions whereby his army could be sustained for the winter, -nor had Rooke a sufficiency in his ships to provide him with, and -neither would the admiral consent to leave behind a portion of his -fleet with which--should it come to that--the duke could escape in -case of necessity.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For," said he to Ormond, as I learnt, "you have seen, my Lord Duke, -the disaster which has followed on our enemies trusting themselves -within this narrow and landlocked bay. Would your Grace, therefore, -think it wise to follow their bad example and give them an opportunity -which, doubt not, they would take as soon as possible, of retaliating -upon us?"</p> - -<p class="normal">And to this Ormond could but shrug his shoulders, being able to find -no answer to such remark. Therefore, at last--for all was not decided -on the instant, but only after many more councils and much further -argument--it was resolved that the fleet should remain no longer, nor, -of course, the land forces neither.</p> - -<p class="normal">But while all these determinations were being come to, I had had more -than one interview with Rooke and Ormond (both of whom had entertained -and made much of, nor ceased ever their commendations of, me), since -it was very necessary that a decision should be come to as to what was -to be my future course. For my work was done, my connection with this -fleet over; I had no more business there. It was time I got back to my -own regiment. Only how to get there--that was the question!</p> - -<p class="normal">"You will scarce find at any port, Spanish or Portuguese," said the -admiral to me, "a vessel putting to sea now; the risk is too great. -For, consider, we are all about, and none know what may be our next -move--this one has frightened all this part of the world. Then that -old dog, Benbow, lieth in wait farther up. While to make the seas -still more dangerous, the French ships of war and the privateers are -everywhere. In truth, all traffic on the water is at an end for a -time."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Tis not so on land, though, sir," I ventured to say, "with a good -horse I would undertake----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What!" exclaimed Ormond, with a laugh, "not surely to make your way -to Flanders by land! You would scarce try that."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay! but I would, though, my Lord Duke," I said, laughing, too, at the -look of amazement on his face. "In very truth, I would. I have thought -it all over."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis impossible! You would never arrive."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Your Grace, I think I should. Permit me to explain. We are here in -Spain----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay," said Rooke, interposing, "and so we are. But, Mr. Crespin, you -would never get ashore, or, getting there, would never escape out of -Vigo. Remember, the town itself is not in our hands, and the moment we -were gone you would be set upon, or, even though you should be -unmolested while we remain here, you would be followed from Vigo -and----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir," I interrupted in my excitement, "this is my plan: There -is a seaport hard by here, called Viana, and 'tis in Portuguese -territory--therefore neutral--yet inclining more to us than to -France."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Aye," said Rooke, "and will come over to us ere long. The king leans -to our side the most, because we are strongest on the seas--this -taking of the galleons will decide him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Meanwhile," I went on, "'tis neutral. Now, from there I can make my -way to Spain----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"There's the rub! When you are in Spain. And afterward, in France. -What then?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"In both countries I can be a Frenchman," and now I saw these two -great officers look at me attentively. "I have the French tongue very -well--well enough to pass through Spain as a Frenchman, while--when in -France--I can pass as a Spaniard who knows the French."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'S heart!" exclaimed Ormond, slapping of the table with his be-ringed -hand, "but I would you were in one of my regiments. You have a brain -as well as a stalwart form. You must go far; and shall, if my word is -any good with Jack Churchill."</p> - -<p class="normal">"My Lord Duke, you are most gracious. Yet may I not ask if the plan is -a fair one? At least, remembering that, by sea, the way is closed."</p> - -<p class="normal">Fair or not fair, at least I brought them to it--more especially -since, even though they had most utterly disapproved of my proposed -method, they could neither of them have opposed it. For I was the Earl -of Marlborough's officer; nay, more, I was his own particular and -private messenger; I had come under his orders, and was still under -them. Moreover, his last words to me had been: "Do your duty; fulfil -the task I charge you with; then make your way back to me as best you -can." That was all, yet enough.</p> - -<p class="normal">Therefore it was arranged without more demur, though Sir George Rooke, -who was now growing old, shook his head somewhat gravely, even as he -ceased endeavouring to turn me from what I had resolved on.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For," said he, kindly, "I like it not. You are still young--some -years off thirty, I should suppose--and you are a good soldier--too -good to be spared to any crawling Spaniard's knife or to fall into any -truculent Frenchman's hands. And I would have taken you to England and -put in the first queen's ship for Holland, had you chosen. Still, as -you will, you will. Only, be very careful."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir!" I said, touched at his fatherly consideration. "Be sure I will. -Yet I think I can take care of myself. I have a good sword and a -strong arm, and--well, one bullet is much the same as another. If one -finds me in Spain or France, 'twill be no worse than one in Flanders. -And, perhaps, my bullet is not moulded yet!"</p> - -<p class="normal">As for his Grace, he took a different tack, he being younger and more -<i>débonnair</i> than the admiral.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oddsbobs," he said, "bullets are bullets, and may be a soldier's lot -or not. But for you, Lieutenant, I fear a worse danger. You are a -good-looking fellow enough, with your height and breadth, blue eyes -and brown hair. Rather, therefore, beware of the Spanish girls, and -keep out of their way--or, encountering them, give them no cause for -jealousy! Oh! I know them, and--well, they are the devil! 'Tis they -who wield the knife--as often as not against those whom they loved -five minutes back."</p> - -<p class="normal">And, looking at the duke--who was himself of great manly beauty--I -could well enough believe he knew what he was talking of. For, if all -reports were true--but this matters not.</p> - -<p class="normal">The time had not, however, yet come, for some day or so, for me to set -out, since 'twas arranged that I should be put ashore by one of the -<i>Pembroke's</i> boats when the fleet went out of the bay, and that then -my last farewell would be made to those amongst whom I had now lived -for some weeks. Meanwhile, Sir George asked me what had become of my -young friend, the Spanish gentleman, whom he called my "captive."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, this young captive had had still another interview with him after -that first one, Sir George having sent for him from the Pembroke, into -which he had been temporarily received as a guest--since <i>La Sacra -Familia</i> had been sunk by us after being dismantled of all in her of -any worth--and he had once more renewed his offer of taking him to -England. And it surprised me exceedingly--I being present at this -interview--to observe the extraordinary courtesy and deference which -he--who was more used to receive deference from his fellow-men than to -accord it--showed to the youth; for he took him very graciously by the -hand when he entered the cabin, led him to a seat, and, when there, -renewed once more that offer of which I have spoken.</p> - -<p class="normal">Indeed, his politeness was so great that I began to wonder if, by any -chance, the admiral knew of this young man being any one of extreme -importance, to whom it might be worth his while, as the chief -representative of England here, to pay court. Yet, so silly was that -wonderment that I dismissed it instantly from my mind, deciding that -it was pity for his youth and loneliness which so urged the other.</p> - -<p class="normal">"If you would go with us," he said, sitting by Belmonte's side, and -speaking in the soft, well bred tones which were special to him, "you -should be very welcome, I assure you, sir; and I do not say this as a -sailor speaking to one who has by chance fallen into his hands, so to -put it, but as an old man to a--to a young one; for, sir, I have -children myself, some young as you, some older; have sons and--and -daughters, and I should be most grateful to all who would be kind to -them."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, as he spoke thus there became visible in Seńor Juan another trait -of character which I had scarce looked to see, it proving him to be a -youth of great susceptibility. For, as the admiral made his kindly -speech, I saw the beautiful dark eyes of the young man fill with -tears--'twas marvellous how handsome he appeared at this moment--and, -a second later, he had seized the old man's hand and had clasped it to -his breast and kissed it.</p> - -<p class="normal">But, even as he performed this action, I also saw Sir George start a -little, give, indeed, what was but the faintest of starts; yet beneath -the bronze upon his manly face there rose a colour which, had he not -been a sailor, and that a pretty old one, might have appeared to be a -blush. But because he was so manly and so English himself--being -always most courteous and well bred, though abhorring, as it seemed to -me, all signs of emotion--I concluded that this foreign style of -salutation did not commend itself over-much to him; yet he listened -very courteously, deferentially almost, it appeared, to the words of -gratitude which the youth was now pouring out--words of gratitude for -his offer, yet combined also with an absolute refusal of that offer.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Very well; since you will not, sir," he said, when the young man had -finished, "there is no more to be done. Yet, take a word of warning -from me, I beseech you. You will find it hard to reach England in a -better way than I have suggested to you. Both France and Spain must be -overrun with troops of all kinds at this time and--if you fall into -their hands with your papers about you, showing you are an English -subject--it may go hard. Also"--and now he tapped the cabin deck with -his red-heeled shoe and looked down at it for a moment--"also--you are -extremely well favoured. That, too, may injure you should--should--but," -he went on, and without concluding his last sentence, "you understand -what I mean," and now he gazed at Seńor Juan with clear, frank eyes; -gazed straight into his own.</p> - -<p class="normal">For the life of me I could not understand what he was driving at, even -if the youth himself could; since how a man should be injured by his -good looks, even though in a hostile country, I failed to conceive. -Certain, however, it was that the other understood well enough Sir -George's meaning--his next action showed plainly enough that he did.</p> - -<p class="normal">For now the rich warm colouring left his soft downless cheeks, even -the full lips became pale, and he lifted his long slim hand and thrust -it through the clusters of curls that hung over his forehead, as -though in some distress of mind; then said, a moment later, looking up -now and returning the admiral's glance fearlessly, while speaking very -low.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes, I understand. Yet, Seńor, have no fear."</p> - -<p class="normal">But I noticed, all the same, that he lifted his other hand as though -to deprecate Sir George saying another word, which gesture he too -seemed quite to understand, since he gave a half bow very solemnly ere -he turned away.</p> - -<p class="normal">Later, after Seńor Juan had departed, and when Admiral Hopson had come -over to the <i>Royal Sovereign</i>, to prepare for another of those endless -councils which took place daily, Sir George looked up at me from some -papers he was perusing, and said: "You are in the <i>Pembroke</i>, Mr. -Crespin. Where have they bestowed that young man?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is very comfortable, sir," I replied. "They have given him a spare -cabin in the after flat."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And the officers? Do they make him welcome, treat him with courtesy?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, yes, indeed. He is popular with them already, sings them sweet -songs accompanied by that instrument of his; is a rare hand at tricks -of all kinds with the pass-dice and cards, and so forth. They will -miss him when he has gone."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Humph! Does he say who or what he is--which island in the Indies he -belongs to--who are his kith and kin?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He says not much, sir, on that score; except that he is well enough -to do--is traveling more or less to kill time--cares very little where -he goes to for the present, so that he sees the world. As for his -home, he appears best acquainted with Jamaica."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha!" said Sir George. "He says all that, does he? Yet, though 'tis -not permissible to doubt those who stand more or less in the degree of -guests, I somewhat suspect that young man of not being all he appears -to be. There is some other reason for his voyage to Europe than that -he gives; he comes not on mere pleasure only. I know that--some day if -you ever meet him again you will very likely know it, too, Mr. -Crespin."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Perhaps," exclaimed Admiral Hopson--who was soon to become Sir John -Hopson (with a good pension) for the gallant part he had played in the -late fight--"he was a friend of that accursed monk, although he has -not levanted as he did. And since you talk of meetings, why, i'fags, I -would like to meet that gentleman once more."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Levanted!" Sir George and I exclaimed together. "Is the monk set -out?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, he is," replied the other. "Went last night--the instant he could -get his necessaries out of the galleon's hold. It was discourteous, -too, since I had previously sent to crave a few words with him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'S faith," Sir George exclaimed with a laugh, "you are not turning -Papist, old friend, are you? Didst want the monk to shrive or confess -you, or receive you into his church?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Not I--no Papistical doings for me," the blunt old gentleman replied. -"The church my mother had me baptised in, and under whose blessing I -have been fighting all my life, is good enough for me to finish in. -Still, had I a foolish woman's mind to change, 'twould not be to that -man I should go."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why!" exclaimed Sir George, "what know you of him? Yet--yet," and he -spoke slowly, "you know the Indies, Tom--and the monks are not always -what they might be. Did you chance to know him, since you sent to -demand an interview?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I thought so," said the inscrutable old sea dog quietly, "wherefore I -sent asking him for a meeting. Yet, as our beloved friends the French -say, the cowl does not always make the monk. Hey? And, if 'tis the -man I think, 'twas not always the cowl and gown that adorned his -person--rather, instead, the belt and pistols, buff jerkin, scarlet -sash, long serviceable rapier handy, and--have at you, ha! one, two -and through you. Hey!"</p> - -<p class="normal">And as he spoke he made a feint of lunging at his brother admiral with -a quill that lay to his hand.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XIII.</h4> - -<h5>"DANGERS WORSE THAN SHOT OR STEEL--OR DEATH."</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">Now I return to the beach at Viana, on which I stood after having -quitted the fleet--yet still, ere I go on, I must put you in the way -of knowing how it comes about that for companion I have Seńor Juan -Belmonte, who at this moment is making his way into what proved to be -a very filthy town in search of lodgings for us for the night. And -this is how it came about:</p> - -<p class="normal">When it was decided finally that I should part from the British -squadron on the day they cleared out--they intending to anchor over -night outside of Vigo bay and to send forward some frigates scouting -ere going on their way to England--I made mention to Belmonte that -such was my intention. Also I asked him--I finding of him in his -cabin, where he was reading a Spanish book of love verses--what he -meant to do with himself, since, if he did not leave the ship when, or -before, I did, he would be forced to accept Sir George's invitation to -proceed to England with him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, my friend!" he said, with ever the soft, gentle smile upon his -handsome features, "my friend and conqueror"--for so he had taken to -terming me--"I want no terrible journey to England in these great -fierce ships of war. Tell me, tell me, <i>amígo mio</i>, what you are going -to do yourself. Your plans! Your plans!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"My plans," I said, seeing no reason why I should not divulge them to -him, since it was impossible he could do me any hurt, even if so -inclined, which I thought not very likely, "are simple ones. I go -ashore at Viana, find a horse--one will carry me part of the journey, -then I can get another--and so, by God's will, get to the end, to my -destination."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But the destination. The destination. Where is it? Tell me that."</p> - -<p class="normal">"The destination is Flanders, the seat of the present war. I am a -soldier. My place is there."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Aye, aye," he replied. "I know. You have told me. Your service is not -with these ships nor their soldiers, but with others--a great army, -far north."</p> - -<p class="normal">"That is it," I said.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And you will travel all that way--mean to travel--alone!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I must," I said, "if I intend to get there. There is no other way."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Take me with you!" he exclaimed, suddenly, springing impetuously to -his feet from the chair in which he sat. "Take me with you! I will be -a good companion--amuse you, sing to you, wile away the long hours, -stand by your side. If necessary," yet he said this a little slower, -and with more hesitation, as I thought, "fight with you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, putting all other objections which rose to my mind away for the -moment, this last utterance of his did not recommend him very strongly -to me. "Fight for me, indeed!" I thought. "A fine fighter this would -be!--a youth who had turned pale at seeing a dead man or two floating -by in the water after the battle, or at hearing the shriek of a -wounded one as we rowed past him on our way to the <i>Royal Sovereign!</i>"</p> - -<p class="normal">However, aloud I said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Seńor Belmonte, I fear it cannot be as you desire. The road will be -hard and rough, the journey long; there will be little opportunity for -singing and jiggettings. Moreover, death will always be more or less -in the air. If, in Spain or France, I am discovered--nay, even -suspected of being what I am, an English soldier--'twill be short -shrift for me. I shall be deemed a spy, and shot, or hung to the -nearest tree. Take, therefore, my counsel at once, and follow it. Go -you to England in this ship, as the admiral invites you. That way you -will be safe and easy."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, no, no," he answered. "I will not; I will not. I will go with -you. I like you," he said, with a most friendly glance. "If--if you go -alone--if we part here--we shall never meet again. That shall not be. -I am resolved. And--and--only let me go, and I will be so good! I -promise. Will not sing a note--will--see there!" and, like a petulant -boy as he was, he seized his viol d'amore, which hung on a nail in the -cabin, and dashed it to the floor, while, a moment later, he would -have stamped his foot into it had I not stopped him. "Yes, I will -break it all to pieces. Since it offends you, I will never strike -another note on it, nor will I ever sing again--not in your hearing, -at least--though I have known some who liked well enough to hear me -play--and sing, too."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Juan," I said, not knowing in the least why his impassioned grief -moved me so much as to address him thus familiarly, which I had never -done before, "it offends me not at all; instead, I have often listened -gratefully to the music of your voice and viol. But now--now--on such -a journey as I go it would be out of place, even if you were there, -which you must not be."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I must. I must. I must," he answered. "I will. You called me Juan -just now--ah! you are my friend, or you would not speak thus. Oh!" he -went on, and now he clutched my arm and gazed fervently into my face, -"do not refuse. And see, think, Mervan," pronouncing my name thus, and -in a tone that would have moved a marble heart, "I shall be no trouble -to you. I can ride, oh! like a devil when I choose--I have ridden with -the Mestizos and natives in the isles--and I can use a pistol or -petronel, also a sword. See," and he whipped his rapier off the bed -where it was a-lying, drew it from its sheath impetuously, as he did -everything, and began making pass after pass through the open door of -the cabin into the gangway. "I know what to do. Also, remember, I can -speak Spanish when we are in Spain--pass for a Spaniard if 'tis -necessary--and--and--and----" he broke off, "if you will not take me -with you, why, then, I will follow you; track you like a shadow, sleep -like a dog outside the inn in which you lie warm and snug; ay! even -though you beat me and drive me away for doing so."</p> - -<p class="normal">Again and still again I resisted, yet 'twas hard to do; for, though I -had spoken against his singings and playings, and kept ever before my -eyes the stern remembrance of my duty, which was to make my way -straight to my goal and crash through all impediments, I could not but -reflect that this bright, joyous lad by my side would help to cheer -many a lonely hour and many a gloomy mile. Yet again I spoke against -the project, putting such thoughts aside.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Child," I said, "you do not know, do not understand. Our--my--path -will be beset with dangers. <i>I</i> know what I am doing, what lies before -me. Listen, Juan. 'Tis more than like that I shall never reach -Flanders, never ride with my old troops again, never more feel a -comrade's hand clasped in mine; may perish by the wayside, have my -throat cut in some lonely inn, be shot in the back, taken as a spy. -Yet 'tis my duty. I am a soldier and a man; you are----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes?" with an inward catching of the breath, a flash from the dark -eyes.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A boy; a lad; also, you say, well enough to do, with a long and happy -life before you, no call upon you to fling that life away. Juan, it -must not be."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It shall," he said, leaning forward toward me. "It shall; I swear it -by my dead mother's memory. Boy! Lad, you say. So be it. Yet with the -will and determination of a hundred men. To-morrow, Mervan, to-night, -to-day, if I can get a boat to the great ship out there, I visit the -admiral and ask him to put me ashore with you. And he will do it. -Great as he is, in command over all you English here, I have a power -within," and he struck his breast with his hands, "a power over him -which will force him to do as I wish. Do you dare me--challenge me?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," I answered quietly, though in truth somewhat amazed at his -words, while still remembering the strange deference Sir George had -shown all along to the youth. "I dare to say you may prevail--with -him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Aye--with him!" and now he laughed a little, showing the small pearly -white teeth, somewhat. "With him! I understand. But you mean not with -you also. Yet, with you, too, I shall prevail. I will follow you till -you give me leave to keep ever by your side. Remember, if I am not -Spanish, I have lived in Spain's dependencies. I can be very Spanish -when I choose," and again he laughed, and again the white teeth -glistened beneath the scarlet lips.</p> - -<p class="normal">"If," I said, scarce knowing or understanding what power was -influencing me, making me a puppet in this youth's hands--yet still a -yielding one!--"the admiral gives his consent to put you ashore, then -I----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, Mervan?" he interposed quickly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then I will not withhold mine. Come with me if you choose--remember, -'tis at your own risk."</p> - -<p class="normal">In a moment his whole face was transfigured with joy. Seeing that joy, -I deemed myself almost a brute to have ever tried to drive him away -from me, although I had endeavoured to do so as much for his own -safety as my own. He laughed and muttered little pleased expressions -in Spanish which I neither understood nor am capable of setting down -here; almost I thought he would Have flung his arms around my neck and -embraced me. Indeed, it seemed as though he were about to do so, but, -suddenly recollecting himself, desisted--perhaps because he knew that -to us English such demonstrations were not palatable.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I have to tell how Sir George placed no obstruction in the -way, allowing him to go ashore with me; yet, when he heard that we -were to travel together the look upon his face was one of extreme -gravity, almost of sternness. Also, he maintained a deep silence for a -moment or two after I had told him such was to be the case, and sat -with his eyes fixed on me as though he were endeavouring to read my -very inmost thoughts. But at last he said quietly, and with even more -than usual of that reserve which characterised him:</p> - -<p class="normal">"You have found out nothing about this young man yet, Mr. Crespin, -then?--know nothing more about him than you have known from the first? -Um?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I know nothing more, sir."</p> - -<p class="normal">Again he paused awhile, then spoke once more, with the slightest -perceptible shrug of his shoulders as he did so:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Very well. 'Tis your affair, not mine. You are not under my command, -but that of the Earl of Marlborough. You must do as seems best to you. -Yet have a care what you are about." Then he leant forward toward me, -and said: "Mr. Crespin, you have done extremely well--have gained a -high place in our esteem. When his Lordship reads what the Duke of -Ormond and myself have to say about you, you will find your promotion -very rapid, I think. Do not, I beseech of you--do not imperil it in -any way; do not be led away into jeopardising the bright future, the -brilliant career, that is before you. Run on no rock, avoid every -shoal that may avert your successful course."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir," said, "I am a soldier with many unknown dangers before me. This -boy can add nothing to their number. Yet, sir, for your gracious -consideration for me I am deeply grateful."</p> - -<p class="normal">Still he regarded me, saying nothing for a moment or so, then spoke -again:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Dangers!" he said--"the dangers every honest soldier or sailor -encounters in his calling are nothing; they are our portion; must be -avoided, if may be; if not, must be accepted. And he who falls in the -battle has naught to repine at--at least he falls honourably, leaves a -clean memory behind."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sir!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"But there are other dangers that are worse than shot, or steel--or -death! Many a brave soldier and sailor has gone under from other -causes than these. Mr. Crespin, I say no more--have, perhaps, said too -much, were it not that you have strangely interested me." Then, -abruptly, he went on, and as though with the intention of forbidding -any more remarks on that subject: "Captain Hardy shall be instructed -to send you both ashore on the morning after we go out. Here are some -papers from the duke and myself to the Earl of Marlborough. Be careful -of them; they relate to you alone. I--we--hope they will assist you to -go far."</p> - -<p class="normal">I bowed and murmured my thanks, for which he observed there was no -necessity whatever, then gave me his hand and said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Farewell, Mr. Crespin; we may not meet again. I wish you all you can -desire for yourself. Farewell."</p> - -<p class="normal">But he uttered no further word of warning of any kind, and so let me -go away from him wondering blindly what it was he knew of this young -man; wondering above all what it was against which he covertly put me -on my guard.</p> - -<p class="normal">Later on--though not for some time to come--I knew and understood.</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing: 9px"> -* * * * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">I found Juan--after the sails of the boat from the <i>Pembroke</i> had -faded into little white specks upon the surface of the water, until -they looked no bigger than the flash made by seagull's wing--found him -outside the one and only inn of this small town, lolling against the -doorpost--made dirty and greasy with the shoulders of countless -Algarvian peasants--and amusing himself by trying to make a group of -ragged children understand the pure Spanish he was speaking to them.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, as he saw me crossing the filthy street, he came over to meet -me--never heeding the splashing of mud administered to the handsome -long boots which he had now upon his legs, though he was dainty, too, -in his ways--and began telling me of what arrangements he had already -made for our journey.</p> - -<p class="normal">"First, <i>mío amigo</i>," he said, joyously, "about the horses. Two are -already in command. One, a big bony creature which is for you, Mervan, -because you also are big and stalwart, and require something grand to -carry you--while for me there is a jennet with, oh! such a fiery eye -and a way of biting at everything near it. But have no fear! Once I am -on its back, and <i>por Diôs!</i> it will do as I want, not as it wants."</p> - -<p class="normal">I laughed, then asked if these animals were to be our own.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, yes, our own," he said. "Our very own. I have bought them--they -are ours. And, if they break down--yours, I think, must surely do -so--why, we will turn them loose into the nearest wood, and--buy some -more."</p> - -<p class="normal">"At this rate we shall spend some money ere we strike Flanders," I -said.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ho! Ho! Money--who cares for money! I have plenty, enough for you and -me, too. We will travel comfortably, <i>mon ami</i>; have the best of -everything. Plenty of money, and--and, Mervan, do you know, if it was -not for one of the most accursed villains who ever trod the face of -the earth, I should be so rich that--that--oh! it is impossible to -say. Mervan," catching at my arm with that boyish impetuosity of his -which ever fascinated me; "you are English, therefore you know all the -English, I suppose. In Jamaica and Hispaniola and all the other -islands we know everybody. Mervan, who is, or where is, James Eaton?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"James Eaton!" I exclaimed, with a laugh at his innocent supposition -that we were all acquainted with each other in England as they are in -the Indies; yet 'tis true that he could not know that our capital city -alone had so vast and incredible a population as half a million -souls! "James Eaton! Who and what is he? An officer? If so, I might, -perhaps, know, or get to know, something of him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"An officer? Oh! yes, <i>por Diôs!</i> he is an officer--has been once. But -not such as you or those brave ones we have just parted from. An -officer. <i>Corpo di Bacco!</i> A villain, <i>vagamundo</i>, Mervan--a -<i>filibustier</i>--what the English call in the islands a damned pirate."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Humph!" I said. "A friend of yours? Eh, Juan?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"A friend of mine? Ho! Yes. Mon Dieu! He is a friend. Wait--when we -are in England you shall see how much I love my friend. Oh, yes! You -shall see. When I take him by his beard and thrust this through his -black heart," and he touched the quillon of the sword by his side as -he spoke.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And is he the villain who has stolen your wealth?" I asked, as we -entered now the door of the inn, I nearly falling backward from the -horrible odours which greeted my nostrils when we did so.</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is the villain. Oh! 'tis a story. Such a story. You shall hear. -But not now--not now. Now we will eat and drink and be gay."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But," I said, my curiosity much aroused, "if he has stolen your -wealth how comes it you are rich, as you say? Have you two -fortunes--two sources of wealth?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," he replied, with his bright, sweet smile. "Two fortunes--the -one he stole, the other--but no matter for fortunes now. I have enough -and plenty for myself--and, Mervan, for you if you want it. Plenty."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I, too, have enough for present wants," I said. "Quite enough."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Bueno</i>. <i>Bueno</i>," he said. "Then all is well. And now to -eat, drink and be gay until to-morrow. Then away, away, away to -Flanders--anywhere, so long as we are together. Joy to-day, work and -travel to-morrow. But, Mervan," and once more he placed his hand -supplicatingly on my arm. "Forgive. Forgive me. I--I have brought the -viol d'amore."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XIV.</h4> - -<h5>"IT IS WAR TIME! IF IT MUST BE, IT MUST."</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">We were English gentlemen furnished with passports to enable us to -travel through Spain--which might not be difficult, since there were -likely to be as many English troops in that country as there were -French, while one-half of the inhabitants wavered in their espousals -of either us and Austria or Louis and Philip.</p> - -<p class="normal">That, at least, was what we <i>meant to give</i> out if anyone in -Portugal--and in Viana especially--should make it their business to -ask us any questions, which, however, was not very likely to be the -case; for, in this miserable hole--and miserable it was beyond all -thought--there were none who could have any possible right to so ask -us of our affairs, there being no consul of any country whatever in -the place--and, for the rest, we were English. That was enough; we -were English, come ashore from that great fleet whose deeds of the -last few weeks had spread consternation for leagues around and on -either side of Vigo, and whose topmasts were now very plainly visible -a mile or so out from the shore; topsails, too, which would be -conspicuous enough to all in Viana for another day or so, until the -scouts returned with their news; and before this fleet had disappeared -we should be gone, too--on our road to Spain, to France, to Flanders.</p> - -<p class="normal">That road was already decided on--we were poring over the chart now -upstairs in the sleeping room Juan had secured for me, he having -another one for himself on the opposite side of the corridor--poring -over it by the light of an oil lamp and the flames cast by a bright -cork-wood fire which we had caused to be lit, since 'twas already very -cold, it being now November.</p> - -<p class="normal">We had resolved, however, that the great high road to France would not -be the very best, perhaps, for our purpose--the road which, passing -through Portugal into Spain at Miranda and Tuy, runs through -Valladolid and Burgos up to Bayonne and France, for these towns were -in the kingdoms of Leon and Castile, and here all were, we learnt, for -Philip and France; but we knew also that with other parts of Spain it -was no so. Away on the eastern shores, Catalonia and Valencia had -declared for Charles of Austria and the allies. Nearer to where we -were, namely, in Galicia, above Portugal, they wavered. Yet 'twas said -now that they inclined toward us, perhaps because Vigo is in Galicia -and, therefore, they had had a taste of how we could be either good -friend or fateful foe. Certainly we had shown we could well be the -latter!</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," I said to Juan, my finger on the chart; "this way will be our -road. Across the frontier where the Minho divides the two countries, -then up its banks to Lugo, and so through the Asturias to Biscay and -Bayonne. That is our way, and, after all, 'tis not much farther than -t'other. And safer, too. If Galicia leans to us, so may the Asturians. -If not, we shall be no worse off than if we traversed Leon, Castile -and Navarre."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Vogue la galčre!</i>" cried the boy, who generally varied his -exclamations from Spanish to French and French to English--whichever -came uppermost--"I care nothing. We shall be together, <i>mio amigo</i>; -that's enough for me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Together for a time," I put in; "for a time. Remember, once we reach -Flanders--if we ever do--which is more than doubtful--my service -claims me. 'Tis war there, hard knocks and buffets for me--for you the -first sloop or vessel of any sort that will run you over to the -English coast."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, la, la!" said Juan, "'tis not come yet. We have a month, at -least, together, and perhaps even then we will not part. This great -soldier, this fierce captain you speak of, this English lord who -contends with France--perhaps he will let me fight too. Give me--what -is it you call it?--a pair of colours. Then we could fight side by -side, Mervan, could we not?"</p> - -<p class="normal">I nodded and muttered: "Perhaps," though in truth I thought nothing -was more unlikely. In some way I had come to have none too great an -opinion of the youth's courage or capacity for fighting, remembering -how he had paled, nay, almost shuddered, at the sight of those poor -dead ones floating in Vigo harbour; while for the "pair of -colours"--well, there was plenty of interest being made on all sides -by those of influence in England to obtain such things for their own -kith and kin. There would be mighty little chance for this young -stripling to be received into any regiment. Therefore I went on with -our plans, saying, as I still glanced at the chart:</p> - -<p class="normal">"That must be the road. And from Lugo across the mountains to Baos, -then to Elcampo, and so to Bilbao up to Bayonne. That is the way."</p> - -<p class="normal">"To Lugo," he repeated, meditatively. "To Lugo. Humph! To Lugo. That -is the way they went, you know--Chateaurenault and his captains--when -they fled from you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now I started when he said this, for I had, indeed, forgotten the -slight rumour I had heard to that effect--forgotten it amidst all the -excitement of the stirring times that had followed the battle and the -taking of the galleons. Yet now the fact was recalled to my mind, I -did not let it alter my determination, and after a moment's -reflection, I said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Still it matters not. They will not have gone that way for the same -reason that we shall go it. On their road to France! Chateaurenault -will not stay there, but rather push on to Paris to give an account of -his defeat--make the best excuses he can to his master. Nor will he -come back--an he does, he will find nothing here. His ships are sunk -or being carried to England, and 'tis so with the galleons that are -not themselves at the bottom of the ocean. 'Tis very well. To-morrow -we set out for Lugo, take the first step on our road."</p> - -<p class="normal">And on the morrow we did set out--amidst, perhaps, as disagreeable -circumstances as could be the case.</p> - -<p class="normal">For when we rose early the snow was falling in thick flakes; also -'twas driven into our faces by a stiff northeasterly wind which -brought it down from the Cantabrian mountains, and soon our breasts -were covered with a layer of it which we had much ado to prevent from -freezing on them, and could only accomplish by frequent buffets. Yet -we were not cold, neither, since our horses were still able to trot -beneath it--for as yet it lay not upon the roads, and we could thus -keep ourselves warm. Yet, withal, we made some ten leagues that -day--the animals under us proving far better than might with reason -have been expected, judging by their lean and sorry appearance--and -arrived ere nightfall at a small village--yet walled and fortified, -because it lies close on to the Spanish frontier--called Valenza. And -here we rested for the night, finding, however, at first great -difficulty in being permitted to get into it, and, next, an equal -trouble in obtaining lodgings in the one inn of the place.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also we learnt that it behooved us to be very careful when we set out -next day, or we might find it impossible to enter Spain, which now lay -close at hand, and separated only by the Minho from this place; or, -being in, might find it hard to go forward.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For," said the host, a filthy, unkempt creature who looked as though -he were more accustomed to attending to cattle in their sheds than to -human beings, but who by great good fortune was able to speak broken -French, "at Tuy, where you must pass into Spain, they are rigourous -now as to papers, letting none enter who are not properly provided. -<i>Basto!</i> 'tis not a week ago that one went forward who was passed -through with difficulty. And a Spaniard, too, though from the Indies."</p> - -<p class="normal">"From the Indies!" exclaimed Juan, with impetuosity. "From the Indies! -Why, so am I and--and this seńor," looking at me, "both from the -Indies. Therefore, we can pass also, I should suppose."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, for that," answered the man, "I know not. Yet this old man went -through, somehow. He had come up from the south--from Cadiz, as I -think, or Cartagena, or the Sierras--in a great coach and four, -travelled as a prince, had good provisions with him, and ho!--he gave -me to taste of it!--some strong waters that made me feel like a -prince, too, though the good God knows I am none!" and he cast his -eyes round the filthy room into which we had been shown. "Also, he had -his papers all regular; also," and here he gave a glance at us of -unspeakable cunning, "he was generous and open-handed. That spared him -much trouble."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Perhaps 'twill spare us, too!" again exclaimed Juan. "We can also be -generous and open-handed."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It will do much. Yet the papers! The papers! Have you the papers?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, we had no papers whatsoever that would stand us in such stead; -therefore, when we were alone together in the room which was to be -ours, and in which there were two miserable, dirty-looking beds, side -by side, covered with sheepskins for coverlets--and perhaps for -blankets, too!--we fell to discussing what must be done; for it was at -once plain and easy to see that at Tuy we should never get through. I -had no papers nor passports whatever, while Juan bore about him only -those which proved that he was a subject of England.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet," said he, "they knew not that on board <i>La Sacra Familia</i>, and, -because I could speak Spanish as well as they, deemed me a Spaniard. I -wonder if I could get through that way."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>You</i> might, possibly," I replied. "I am sure I never should. The -Spanish which I know is scarce good enough for that."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis true," he said, reflectively--"true enough. Yet, you have the -French. See, Mervan, here is an idea. I am a Spaniard and you are a -Frenchman, for the moment. Both countries are sworn friends now as -regards their government, if not their people. Why should not we be -travelling together as natives of those lands?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"An we were," I answered, "we should not be without passports. -Remember, we come to them from Portugal; therefore, to have gotten -into Portugal as either Spanish man or Frenchman, we should have -wanted papers; and we have none. Consequently, the first question -asked us will be, How got we into Portugal? Then what reply shall we -make? That we came from the English fleet, which has just destroyed -their galleons? That will scarce do, Juan, for our purpose, I think."</p> - -<p class="normal">Acknowledging such to be the case, Juan sat himself down on the dirty -bed and began to ponder.</p> - -<p class="normal">"At least we will not be whipped," he muttered, "and at the -outset, too. Mervan, we must find another road somehow, or, better -still--there must be some part of the frontier which runs the northern -length of this miserable land, and which is unguarded. Can we not get -across without any road? Up one side of a mountain and down another, -and so--into Spain!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis that I have thought of. Yet there are the horses--also a river -to cross. And, as luck will have it, the mountains hereabouts are none -too high nor dense with woods, nor do they run from east to west, but -rather south and north. Such as there are, you can see from this -window," and I pointed in the swift, on-coming darkness of the -November evening to where they could be seen across the river, their -summits low, and over them a rusty rime-blurred moon rising.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Juan, we must tempt the landlord with some of that <i>largesse</i> which -the old man who came in the coach seems to have distributed so -lavishly--only, he has bestowed it on the Spanish side--ours must -begin here. Come, let us go and see what can be done with him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But what to do?" the boy said, looking at me with his strange eyes -full of intelligence and perhaps anxiety.</p> - -<p class="normal">"This: there must be some way of traversing the river when there is no -town on either side--if the worst came to the worst we could swim it -on our horses at night."</p> - -<p class="normal">"On such a night as this!" exclaimed Juan, shuddering and glancing out -through the uncurtained window at the flakes of snow which still fell. -"It would be death," he whispered, shuddering again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are easily appalled," I said, speaking coldly to him for the -first time since our acquaintance. "Yet, remember, I warned you of -what you might expect in such an expedition as this. You would have -done better to accept the admiral's offer. A cabin in the <i>Pembroke</i> -would have been a lady's withdrawing room in contrast to what we may -have to encounter."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Forgive me. Forgive," he hastened to say pleadingly. "Indeed, indeed, -Mervan, I am bold and no coward--but, remember, I am of the tropic -south, and 'tis the cold of the river that appalls me--not fear for my -life. Like many of our clime, I can sooner face death than -discomfort."</p> - -<p class="normal">"There will be enough facing of both ere we have done--that is, if we -ever get farther than here," I said, almost contemptuously.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So be it," he exclaimed, springing to his feet and evidently bitterly -hurt by my tone. Indeed, 'twas very evident he was, since the tears -stood in his eyes. "So be it. We face it! Now," and he rapped the -table between us as though to emphasise his words, "continue your -plans, make your suggestions, bid me swim rivers, cross mountains, -plunge into icy streams or burning houses, and see if I flinch or draw -back again. Only--only," and his voice sank to its usual soft tones, -"do not be angry with me."</p> - -<p class="normal">That it was impossible to be angry with him long I felt, nor, for some -unexplained reason, could I despise him for his evident objection to -discomfort--the discomfort which would arise from so trifling a -thing--to me, a cuirassier--as swimming one's horse across a river on -a winter night. And, as my contempt, such as it was, vanished at once -at his plea to me not to be angry with him, I exclaimed:</p> - -<p class="normal">"At worst it shall be made as light for you as may be, since you are -only a boy after all! And if that worst comes," I continued, in a good -natured, bantering way, which caused the tears to disappear and the -smiles to return, which brought back to my mind a song my good old -father used to sing about "Sunshine after Rain"--"if that worst comes, -why, I will swim the river with you on my back, and your jennet shall -swim by my horse's side. Now, for the landlord!"</p> - -<p class="normal">We found that unclean personage a-sitting over a fair good fire, which -roared cheerfully up a vast open chimney from the stone floor upon -which the logs were, with, by his side, a woman who was blind, as we -saw very quickly when she turned eyes on us which were naught but -white balls with no pupils to them. And, because we at once perceived -that there was no power of sight in those dreadful orbs, I made no -more to do, but, slipping of my finger into my waistcoat pocket, -pulled out two great gold doubloons--worth more than our guineas--and -held them up before him. Then I said in French, and speaking low, -because I knew not whether that stricken one might understand or not:</p> - -<p class="normal">"See, this will pay our addition and more. Now listen. You may equally -as well have them as the <i>guarda frontéra</i> at Tuy. Will you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">He nodded, grasping the pieces--I noticed that he kept them from -clinking against each other, perhaps because he wanted not his wife to -know that he had gotten them--then put each into a different pocket, -and said: "She understands not the French. Speak."</p> - -<p class="normal">"We have no papers. Listen; we are English! We must cross into Spain, -Tell us some other road; put us in the way, and--see--to-morrow -morning, these are for you also."</p> - -<p class="normal">And I took forth two more of the golden coins.</p> - -<p class="normal">He looked at us a moment, then said: "You--hate--Spain?" Again I -nodded.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So all of us here at Valenza," he went on. "A fierce, cruel neighbor, -would trample on us because we are weak. Will seize us yet an England -helps not. Crush them--and France--the world's plague! Listen!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, as we bent our heads, he went on: "From here there is a bye-road -leads to the river bank; it crosses by a wooden bridge into Spain, a -league this side of Melagasso. I will put you in the way in the -morning. Once over that bridge, there is a road cut from the rock that -mounts two hundred paces. There at the summit is the <i>guarda -frontéra</i>. Two men are there, an old and a young one. Kill them, and -you are through, leaving no trace behind. Afterward, there is no sign -of life for three leagues."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Kill them!" I exclaimed. "Must that be done?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay--or silence them. But--killing is best. And--and--the cliff is -high, the river runs deep beneath. Cast them in, and you are safe."</p> - -<p class="normal">"They may see us passing the bridge--kill <i>us</i> ere we can mount the -road."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do it in the night," the fellow whispered. "In the night, when all is -dark. And 'twill be almost nightfall ere you are there. Do it then."</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is no other way, no other entrance to Spain?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"None--without papers."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Good. It is war time! If it must be, it must."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XV.</h4> - -<h5>"DRAW SWORDS!"</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">Another night had come--'twas already dark--and Juan and I sat on our -horses in the cork wood, at the end of which we could hear the Minho -swirling along beneath the ramshackle bridge that divided Portugal -from Spain. And, as good fortune would have it, there was on this, the -Portuguese side, no <i>guarda frontéra</i> whatever. Perhaps that poor, -impoverished land thought there was naught to guard from ingress, also -that nothing would be brought from Spain to them. The traffic set all -the other way!</p> - -<p class="normal">Because there was no need for us to be too soon where we were now; -indeed, because 'twas not well that we should be here ere nightfall, -the landlord had not awakened me until nine in the morning. And then, -on his doing so, I perceived that the other sheepskin-clad bed by my -side had not been occupied at all. Wherefore I started up in some -considerable fright, calling out to him through the door to know where -was my friend, the young seńor, whom I had left warming himself at the -great fire below over night, and saying that he would follow me to bed -ere long.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! he is below," he replied. "Has passed the night in front of the -fire wrapped in his cloak, saying that 'twas there alone he could keep -himself from death by the cold. He bids me tell you all is well for -your journey, the horses fresh; also there is a good meal awaiting -you"; whereon I performed my ablutions, hurried on my garments and -rapidly made my way to the public room below.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Juan," I said, "you should have warned me of your intention of -remaining below. This is not good campaigning, nor comradeship. Had I -awakened in the night and found you missing, I should have descended -to seek for you, fearing that danger had come to you, and 'tis not -well for travellers to be aroused unnecessarily from their beds on -winter nights. Also we should keep always together. Soldiers--and you -have to be one now!--on dangerous service should not separate."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Forgive," he said, as, it seemed, he was always saying to me, and -uttering the words in his accustomed soft, pleading voice. "Forgive. -But--oh! Mervan!" pausing a moment as though seeking for some excuse -for having deserted me for the night--"oh! Mervan! that bed was so--so -filthy and untempting. And the room so cold, when without fire. And it -was so warm here. I could not force myself to leave this room."</p> - -<p class="normal">Remembering what he had said about those who came from the tropics -dreading cold and discomfort even more than death, I thought I -understood how he should have preferred sleeping here to doing so -above. Therefore, I merely said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"There might be worse beds than that you would not use--may be worse -for us ere long. Still, no matter. You slept warm here as I did -upstairs. Yet 'tis well I did not waken. Now let us see for breakfast -and our departure," and giving a glance at the landlord, who was -bringing in a sort of thick soup in which I saw many dried raisins -floating, also some eggs and coarse black bread, as well as some -chocolate which smelt mighty good and diffused a pleasing aroma -through the room, I tapped my waistcoat pocket to remind him of the -other doubloons that were in it. And he nodded understandingly.</p> - -<p class="normal">The journey to where we now stood this evening was as uneventful as -though we had been traveling in safety in our own England. The road -into which the man had put us in the morning led first of all through -countless villages--I have since heard that in all Europe there is no -land so thickly sown with villages as this poor one of Portugal--then -trailed off into a dense chestnut-fringed track that was no longer a -road at all.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now we knew that we were close unto the spot where our first -adventure on the journey, that we hoped might at last bring us to -Flanders, must of necessity take place. We were but half an hour's -ride from the crazy bridge the man had spoken of as connecting his -country with Spain--the bridge on the other side of which was the -rocky path, with, at the top of it, the hut in which we should find -two Spanish <i>guardas frontéras</i> armed to the teeth and prepared to bar -the way to all who could not show their right to pass.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet we were resolved to pass--or leave our bodies there.</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is," the landlord had said, "a holy stone at the spot where the -path leading to the bridge enters the cork wood. You cannot mistake -it. Upon that stone is graven the Figure, beneath it an arrow pointing -the way to Melagasso. Your path lies to the left and thus to the -bridge. God keep you."</p> - -<p class="normal">We left that stone as he had directed, with one swift glance -upward at those blessed features--I noticing Juan crossed himself -devoutly--slowly over fallen leaves that lay sodden on the earth -beneath their mantle of snow, and over dried branches blown to the -earth, our horses trod. And so for a quarter of an hour we pursued our -way, while still the night came on swifter and swifter until, at last, -we could scarce see each other's forms beneath the thick foliage above -our heads.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet we heard now that swirling, rushing river--heard its murmur as it -swept past its banks, and its deep swish as it rolled over what was -doubtless some great boulder stone out in the stream--heard, too, its -hum as it glided by the supports of the bridge that we knew was before -us. Also, we saw above our heads a light gleaming--a light that we -knew must come from the frontiermen's house.</p> - -<p class="normal">And we had to steal up to where that light twinkled brightly, in what -was now the clear, frosty air, since the snow had ceased--indeed, had -not fallen all day--and all was clear overhead; to steal up, and then, -if might be, make our hasty rush past on our horses' backs, or stay to -cross steel and exchange ball with those who barred our way.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Forward to the bridge!" I whispered to Juan, fearing that even from -where we were my voice might be borne on the clear night air up to -that height. "Loosen, also, your blade in its sheath! And your -pistols, too--are they well primed?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes," he whispered back, his voice soft and low as a woman's when she -murmurs acknowledgment of her love. "Yes."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You do not fear?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I fear nothing--we are together," and, as he spoke, I felt the long, -slim, gloved hand touch mine.</p> - -<p class="normal">A moment later we had left the shadow of the wood; we stood above the -sloping bank of the river rushing by; another moment and our horses' -feet would be upon the wooden bridge--its creaking quite apparent to -our ears as the stream swept under it.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis God's mercy," I whispered again to him, "that the river is so -brawling; otherwise the horses' hoofs upon these boards would be heard -as plain as a musket's roar. Ha! I had forgotten!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Forgotten what, Mervan?" the gentle voice of Juan whispered back. -"Forgotten what?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"If they should neigh! If there should be any of their kind up there!" -and as I spoke, as the thought came to me, I felt as though I myself -feared.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Pray God they do not; yet, if they do, it must be borne." And now I -noticed his voice was as firm as though he had experienced a hundred -such risks as this we were running. Then he added: "The Indians muffle -theirs with their serapes when they draw near a foe. Shall we do -that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," I answered, "'tis too late. Let's on. Yet, remember, at the -slowest pace. Thus their hoofs will fall lighter." And again I -exclaimed: "Thank God, the river drowns their clatter!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, a moment later, and I had cause for further rejoicing. From above -where that light twinkled there came a sound of singing--a rich, full -voice a-trolling of a song, with another voice joining in.</p> - -<p class="normal">Or was there more than one voice joining in? If so, we might have more -than the old man and the young one, of whom the landlord had spoken, -to encounter. Almost directly Juan confirmed my dread.</p> - -<p class="normal">"There are half a dozen there," he said, very calmly. "I know enough -of music to recognise that. What to do now?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"To go on," I answered. "See, we are across the bridge--there is the -road--in another moment we shall be ascending the path. Praise heaven, -we can ride abreast."</p> - -<p class="normal">And in that other moment we were riding abreast slowly up that path, -the snow that lay on it deadening now the sound of the horses' hoofs, -while the voices within helped also to silence them.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I know the song," Juan whispered--and I marvelled at his -calmness--his! the youth's who had been so nervous when there was -naught to fear, yet who now, when danger was close upon him, seemed to -fear nothing--"have sung it myself. 'Tis 'The Cid's Wedding.'"</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Twill not be songs about weddings that they will be engaged on," I -said, "if any come out of that hut during the next ten minutes; but -rather screeches of death--from us or them. Have your sword ready, -Juan, also your pistols."</p> - -<p class="normal">"They are ready," he said. "Yet what to do? Suppose any come forth ere -we are past the door, over the frontier. Am I to ride straight through -them--are we to do so?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay. Sit well down in your saddle, give your nag his head, and--if any -man impedes your way, stand up in your stirrups, cut down straight at -him, or, if yours is not a cutting sword, thrust straight at the -breast of--Ha!"</p> - -<p class="normal">My exclamation--still under my breath, since my caution did not desert -me--was caused by what now met our eyes, namely, the opening of some -door giving on to the road in front of where the frontier cabin stood; -the gleaming forth into that road of a stream of light, and then the -coming out from the hut and the mingling of some four or five figures -of men in the glare.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, when this happened, we had progressed up the hillside road -two-thirds of the way, so that we were not more than seventy paces, if -as much, from where those people were; yet, as I calculated, even at -this nearness to them, we might still, if all went well, escape -discovery. For we were under the shelter of the shelving rock which -reared itself to our left hands, and not out in the middle of the -road, which was here somewhat broad; and, therefore, to the darkness -of the night was added the still deeper darkness of the rock's -obscurity. And, I reflected, 'twas scarce likely any would be coming -our way from this party, which was evidently breaking up, since the -Portuguese and Spaniards did not, I thought, fraternise very much. -'Twas not very probable any would be returning our way. Consequently, -I deemed that we were safe, or almost so; that, soon, some of those in -the road would take themselves off, and would leave behind in the hut -none but the old man and the young man of whom the landlord had -spoken. Nay, more, a glance down the road in the direction of where we -were would, in the darkness of the night, reveal nothing of our -whereabouts. And I conveyed as much to Juan by a pressure of my hand, -yet leaning forward, too, over to his side and whispering:</p> - -<p class="normal">"All the same, be ready. It may come to a rush. If one of our horses -neighs or shakes itself--so much as paws the earth--if a bridle -jangles--we are discovered."</p> - -<p class="normal">And a glance from those bright eyes--I protest, I saw them glisten in -the darkness of the starlit night!--told me that he had heard and -understood. Told me, also, that he was ready. After that--after those -whispered words of mine, that responsive glance of his--we sat as -still as statues on our steeds, hardly allowing our breath to issue -from our lungs--watching--watching those figures.</p> - -<p class="normal">God! would they never separate? Would not some depart and the others -retire into the cabin and shut the door against the cold wintry night? -Offer us the opportunity to make one turn of the wrist on our reins, -give one pressure of our knees to the animals' flanks and dash up the -remains of the ascent and past the hut ere those within could rush out -and send a bullet after us from fusil, gun or musketoon?</p> - -<p class="normal">At last they gave signs of parting--we heard the <i>buenas noches</i> and -the <i>adiós</i> issuing from those Spanish throats; we saw two of the -men--their forms blurred and magnified in the outstreaming rays of the -lamp--clasp each other's hands; we knew that they were saying farewell -to one another. And then--curse the buffoon!--and then, when they had -even parted and two had turned toward the door to re-enter, and the -others had taken their first steps upon the road forward--then, I say, -one of these latter turned back, made signs to all the others, and, -when he had fixed their attention, began to dance and caper about in -the road, imitating for the benefit of his friends, as I supposed, -some dance or dancer he had lately seen.</p> - -<p class="normal">From the lips of my doubtless high-strung companion there came a -long-drawn breath; almost I could have sworn I heard the soft murmur -of a smothered Spanish oath; and then once more those whom we watched -parted from each other--the buffoonery was over, the imitation, if it -was such, finished. Again, with laughs and jokes, they broke up and -separated.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Our chance is at hand, at last!" I whispered.</p> - -<p class="normal">Was it?</p> - -<p class="normal">The others--those going away--had disappeared round a bend of both -rock and road; the two left behind were retiring into their house -when, suddenly, the last one stopped, paused a moment, put up his hand -to his head as though endeavouring to recall something, then put out -his other hand, seemed to grasp a lantern from inside the door, and, -slowly, began a moment later to descend the road where we sat our -steeds.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now we were discovered beyond all doubt; in a moment or so he -would perceive us; another, and he would challenge us; would shout -back to his comrade in the hut--perhaps call loud enough to attract -the attention of his departing friends. We should be shot down, our -horses probably hamstrung, we brought to earth, prisoners or dead.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Swords out!" I said to Juan, "and advance. Quick, put your horse to -the canter at once; ride past him--over him if need be."</p> - -<p class="normal">A moment later and we had flashed by the astonished man, the jennet -that bore Juan springing up the hill like a cat, my own bony but -muscular steed alongside; behind us we heard his roars; an instant -after the ping of a bullet whistled by my ears, fired at us by the -other one in the hut as we advanced; another moment and he was -out in the road, endeavouring to swing a wooden gate, that hung -on hinges attached to the cabin, across the road. Also, which was -worst of all, we heard answering calls from the men who had gone on -ahead--tramplings and shouts--we knew that they were coming back to -help.</p> - -<p class="normal">But we were at the gate now, and still it was not shut, there wanted -yet another yard or so ere its catch would meet the socket post, and, -shifting my reins into my sword hand, I seized its top bar, -endeavouring to bear it back by the combined weight of my horse and -myself upon the man striving to shut it.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I heard the fellow at the gate call out something of which I -understood no word, heard Juan give a reply with--who would have -believed it of him at this moment--a mocking laugh; heard the word, -<i>Inglese</i>; knew intuitively that he had told them who and what we -were, and had defied them.</p> - -<p class="normal">And also, as I divined all this, I saw that the other men had -returned, had reached the gate and were lending their assistance to -aid in its being barred against us.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was war time, as I had said before; I took heart of grace in -remembering this, and I set to work to hew my way, even though I -killed all who opposed me, toward the distant goal I sought. One -brawny Spaniard who, even as he lent his whole weight to the gate, -drew forth a huge pistol, I cut down over those bars, he falling all -a-heap in the road; another I ran through the shoulder; and I saw the -steel of Juan's lighter sword gleam like a streak of lightning betwixt -the upper and the second bar; I heard the third man who had come back -give a yell of pain as it reached him, while a pistol he had just -fired fell to the ground--he falling a moment later on top of it.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now there was but the original man left at the gate, and still it -was not shut! Wherefore I brought the whole strength and power of my -body to force it back so that there should be room for us to pass.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, even as I did so, I had to desist, for from behind, I heard Juan -shout:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mervan, Mervan, help me!" and on looking round I saw that the jennet -was riderless. Saw also, that he was down, that the man who had begun -to descend the hill was wrestling with him on the ground, and that, as -they struggled together, both were rolling over toward the lower part -of the precipice or rock side, which hung perpendicularly above the -swift flowing river.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XVI.</h4> - -<h5>THE FIRST FIGHT.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">In a moment I, too, was off my horse--had tied it and the jennet's -reins together--and had flung myself on the man--a big, brawny fellow -who had one arm around Juan's body while, with his disengaged hand, he -felt for a knife in his girdle.</p> - -<p class="normal">Even as I did so I saw that they were both perilously near the edge of -the rock which hung over the river, that in a few more moments both -must have gone over it--over and down, crashing through bushes and -shrubs until they fell into that rapid stream below, or were hurled on -to the timbers of the crazy bridge, with, probably, their bones broken -all to pieces.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, small as was the space left in which a third man might intervene, -be sure I lost no time in doing so, in flinging myself upon that -muscular Spaniard and in tearing him off his prey. Seizing him by -the collar of his jacket, one hand around his throat, I dragged him -from the boy--for I was as muscular as he, and, maybe, younger, -too--wrenched him to his feet and sent him reeling back into the road.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Catch the horses," I said to Juan, "quick. And mount yourself. Be -ready. Once I have disposed of this fellow there remains none but the -one at the gate."</p> - -<p class="normal">And, although the lad tottered as he rose to his feet, he did as I -bade him, and, securing the animals, which had but backed a few paces -down the road, got into his saddle again. Then he said--though -faintly: "I will go forward and dispose of the remaining man."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet there was still this one to be disposed of--and I understood at a -glance that I had no easy task before me ere I could do so.</p> - -<p class="normal">He was a fellow of great bulk--this I could observe in the light of a -watery half moon that now peeped up over the bend of the rock by where -the cabin stood; also he was well armed. In his hand he held now a -long cavalry sword, which he had drawn from its steel scabbard with a -clash even as he staggered back against the rock; with his other hand -he fumbled at the silken sash around his waist, in which was the knife -he had endeavoured to draw against Juan.</p> - -<p class="normal">In God's mercy, he had no pistol!</p> - -<p class="normal">He muttered some hoarse words--to me they conveyed little--yet no -words were needed. I knew as well as though he had spoken my own -tongue that one of three things must happen now: That great inch-deep -blade either buried in my heart or my head cleft open with it, or my -straight English weapon through and through him!</p> - -<p class="normal">Then we set to it.</p> - -<p class="normal">As animals which are bereft of speech fight, so we fought now--only -more warily. For they fly at each other's throats, in a moment are -locked in each other's grasp, their fangs deep in the other's flesh. -It was not so with us. We had not to come too close, but rather to -guard and feint, to avoid each other till the moment, the one critical -and supreme moment, came. Thus we began.</p> - -<p class="normal">At first, perhaps, because of the deadly weight of his blade--better -for cut than thrust--he aimed twice at my head, and tried again a third -time, then jumped back with another of his--to me--unintelligible hoarse -and raucous exclamations; for, at that attempt, I had quickly--ay! and -easily, too--parried the blow, had disengaged my weapon, and, with a -rapid thrust, had nearly struck home--had missed the inside of his ribs -by an inch only. Then knew that the next time I should not fail.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Curse you," I muttered, "if I could speak your <i>patois</i>, I'd tell you -that you are doomed." While to myself I said: "He is a clumsy fool, -and--he is mine."</p> - -<p class="normal">We had turned in these passadoes, as I drove him back; so, too, I had -edged him round. Now, 'twas I who had the rock behind me, 'twas he who -had the declivity of the lower precipice behind him.</p> - -<p class="normal">And he knew it as well as I--saw in a moment all that this meant, -and--endeavoured to turn again.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet he never had the chance. Trust me for that!--as my recollection of -the daily lessons in the fence school at Hounslow, which for a year -Dutch William's best <i>ferrailleurs</i> had taught me ere my father got my -guidon for me.</p> - -<p class="normal">He never had the chance! Yet he strove hard for it, too; proved that -Spain made no bad choice when she sent him to this frontier post; -strove hard to beat me round again, to bring my back in the position -his was--to the lip of the plateau--and failed.</p> - -<p class="normal">If I could have spoken to him in his <i>patois</i>--for 'twas scarce -Spanish--if I could have made him understand, if he would have -discontinued his contest with me, I would have spared him, and -willingly; would have bidden him let me go in peace, and be saved -himself. For he was a brave man; too good a one for the doom that must -now be his. Yet he forced me to it, forced me to go on, ceased not for -one instant his swinging blows and thrusts, forced me to parry and -thrust in turn for my own salvation--to drive him back step by step to -the brink of the precipice behind him. And, now, it was not five paces -behind him.</p> - -<p class="normal">His was the danger--I wondered if he knew it--yet mine the horror. -Above the clashing of our swords I heard now the dull, hoarse roaring -of the river below, heard its angry swish as it struck past the -timbers of the bridge below--in my desire to save him I told him madly -in my best Spanish to desist--to save himself. Also, I think, he saw -upon my face some look of horror at the fate that must be his, some -beads of sweat, perhaps, upon it, too--I know I felt them there--saw -them, and--God help him!--misunderstood them. Misunderstood, and -thought my look of horror, my sweat, were for my own safety.</p> - -<p class="normal">With a leap, a roar, he came at me again like a tiger springing at its -prey, his blows raining upon my sword; almost I thought that even now -he would have borne me to the earth, have conquered. And I thrust -blindly, too, in desperation, knew that my blade was through his arm, -saw him jump back, stagger--and disappear!</p> - -<p class="normal">And up from below where he had last stood there came a scream of awful -fear and terror, the branches and the bushes crashed, there was a thud -upon the water a hundred feet below--and then nothing more but the -swirl of the river and its hoarse murmur as it swept along.</p> - -<p class="normal">It had not taken much time in the doing. A moment later I was running -up the road to where the gate stood, swung back now so that the road -was clear. And Juan was sitting on his horse, a pistol in his hand, -and in the road, standing beneath him, his hands by his side, stood -the last remaining man, dreading to move, palsied with fright, and -speechless.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What shall we do with him?" the youth asked, turning on me a face in -which there was now left no vestige of that brilliant colour it had -once borne. "What? Kill him?" and his eyes flashed ominously, so that -I knew the lust for blood was awakened.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," I said. "Nay. There is no need for that. Bind him and lock him -up here in his hut. That will do very well. Also, he is old. What of -these others?" and I turned to those who lay in the road.</p> - -<p class="normal">As I looked at them, it seemed that none were hurt to death--for which -I was thankful enough, since a soldier needs but to disable his enemy, -and seeks not to take life needlessly. The one whom I had first cut -down seemed to have but a scalp wound--doubtless the thick, coarse hat -of felt he wore had turned my blade; he whom I had run through the -shoulder had but a flesh wound, which would trouble him for some weeks -at most; while the fellow whom Juan had pinked had got an ugly gash in -the neck.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We will put them all in here together," I said, pointing to their -hut, "then leave them. Doubtless they will be relieved in some hours. -Yet the longer ere it happens the better. We must press on and on till -we are well clear of this part of the world. There will be a hue and -cry."</p> - -<p class="normal">After saying which, I proceeded to drag the wounded men in--one of -them was able to enter the place unaided, though not without many -melancholy groans and ejaculations--and then motioned to the old man -to follow.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now, obeying me even as I so pointed to the door, he cast an -imploring glance at Juan, and then muttered something to him, the boy -answering him with a laugh. And on my demanding to know what he had -said, my companion replied:</p> - -<p class="normal">"He saw you take up the lamp. Therefore he asked if you were going to -burn them all when they were locked in the hut."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Humph!" I said. "It has not quite come to that."</p> - -<p class="normal">Time was, however, precious now, therefore it was useless for us to -remain here any longer, or to waste any more of it; whereon, again -taking up the lamp, I carried it out into the road. Then I removed the -key from where it hung by the side of the door, and, going out, locked -them all inside.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," I said, "they can remain there till some one comes by to set -them free. Yet, if that some one comes across from Portugal, and our -late landlord speaks truth, they will be in no hurry to do that -friendly office for them." After which I blew out the lamp, and, -walking to the edge of the under precipice, hurled both it and the key -down into the river beneath.</p> - -<p class="normal">For some time after we had set out upon our journey again we rode in -silence, Juan being as much occupied, I supposed, with his thoughts as -I with mine. And, indeed, my own were none of the pleasantest; above -all I regretted that that brave man with whom I had fought had gone to -his doom. For, although killing was my trade, and although I had -already taken part in several skirmishes and fights, I had none too -great a liking for having been obliged to slay him. Yet I consoled -myself with the reflection that it was his life or mine, and with that -I had to be content. But also there were other things that troubled -me, amongst them being what I feared would prove certain, namely, that -there would be that hue and cry after us of which I had spoken for -some time at least, and until we had left the frontier far behind. -Nor, since Lugo was but a short distance from this place, would it be -possible for us to stop there even for so much as a night's rest. We -must go on and on till we had outstripped all chance of being -recognised as the two men who had forced themselves into a hostile -country in the manner we had done.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now, breaking in on these reflections, I heard Juan's soft voice -speaking to me, murmuring words of admiration and affection.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mervan," he said, "if I liked you before--ay! from the very moment -you stood outside the cabin door of <i>La Sacra Familia</i> and bade me -unlock it, and when the first sound of your voice told me I had naught -to fear--I love you now. My life upon it! you are a brave man, such as -I delight in seeing."</p> - -<p class="normal">I laughed a little at this compliment, yet soberly, too, for this was -no time for mirth--also, I recognised clearly enough that every step -the animals beneath us took brought us nearer to other dangers, by the -side of which our recent adventure was but child's play--then -answered:</p> - -<p class="normal">"And what of yourself, Juan? You have done pretty well, too, I'm -thinking; go on like this, and you will be fitted to ride stirrup to -stirrup with the most grim old blades of Marlborough's armies when we -get to Flanders--if we ever do! I thought you nervous, to speak solemn -truth; now I am glad to have you by my side."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet," said the boy, his face radiant with delight, as I saw when he -turned it on me under the rays of the moon, "I was deathly sick with -fear all the time. Oh! my God!" he cried suddenly, "what should I have -done, what become of me, if you had been struck down?" Then added, -anxiously, a moment later. "You are not wounded?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Not a scratch. And you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nor I, either. Yet I was so faint as I guarded that old man by the -gate, that I doubted if I could sit the horse much longer; I should -have fallen to earth, I do verily believe, had you not joined me when -you did."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Poor lad," I said, "poor lad. You have chosen but a rough road, a -dangerous companion. You should have gone to England in the -<i>Pembroke</i>, with the fleet. You would have been half way there by now, -and in safety."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Never!" he said. "Never!" And, as if to give emphasis to his words, -he turned round in his saddle toward me, placing his left hand on the -cantle as though to obtain a steady glance of my face, and continued.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I told you we were friends, sworn friends and true. Also, that to be -together was all that I asked. Mervan, our friendship is rivetted, -bound, now; nothing but death or disaster shall part us--nothing; till -at least, this journey is concluded. Then--then--if you choose to turn -me off you may; but not before. You have not yet learnt, do not know -yet, what a Spanish--a--a man reared amongst Spaniards feels when he -swears eternal friendship."</p> - -<p class="normal">After which he regained his position and rode on, looking straight -between his horse's ears. But once I heard him mutter to himself, -though still not so low, either, but what I heard it very well:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Friendship. <i>Diôs!</i>"</p> - -<p class="normal">And this warm, fervent youth, this creature full of emotion and -glowing friendship, was him against whom the admiral had expressed -some distaste when he learned that I proposed to ride in his company; -had doubted if that companionship might not be of evil influence over -my fortunes during the journey. If he knew nothing, what did it all -mean? I asked myself. Above all (and this I had pondered on again and -again, though without being able to arrive at any answer to the -riddle), why warn me against one whom he, when brought into contact -with that one himself, had treated with such scrupulous deference?</p> - -<p class="normal">Even as I thought again upon these things I resolved that as our -acquaintance, our friendship and comradeship ripened, I would ask Juan -who and what he was.</p> - -<p class="normal">For at present I knew no more than I have written down--that he was -young and handsome, and was well to do. But beneath all, was there -some mystery attached to him? Some mystery which the older and more -far seeing eyes of Sir George had been able to pry into and discover, -while mine were still blinded to it?</p> - -<p class="normal">We were passing now through a wild and desolate region, a portion of -the western extremity of northern Spain, in which we met no sign of -human life or human habitation, hardly, indeed, any sign of animal -life. Also we had struck a chain of mountains densely clothed with -cork and chestnut woods, the trees of which were bare of leaves, and -through the branches of which the wind moaned cheerlessly. On our left -these mountains, after an interval of barren moorland, rose -precipitously; to our right the Minho rolled sullenly along, the road -we traversed lying between it and the moor. So desolate, indeed, was -all around us now that we might have been two travellers from another -world journeying through this, a forgotten or undiscovered one; no -light either far or near twinkled from hut or cottage, neither bark of -dog nor low of cattle reached our ears; all was desolate, silent and -deserted.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, even as the road lifted so that we knew we were ascending those -mountains step by step, we observed signs which, added to the well -kept state of the road itself, told us it was not an altogether unused -one. For though the snow lay hard and caked upon it, we could observe -where it had taken the impression of cart wheels and of animals' -hoofs, could perceive by this that it was sometimes traversed.</p> - -<p class="normal">And, presently, we observed something else, something that told us -plainly enough that we were now in the direct way for Lugo, observed -that there branched into the road we were travelling an even broader -one than it--causing, too, our own road to broaden out itself as it -ran further north; a road in the middle of which was a huge stone -column or pedestal, with arms also of stone upon it, pointing -different ways, and with, carved on them, words and figures.</p> - -<p class="normal">And of these arms one pointed west and bore upon it the words: To -Vigo; another pointed north with, on it, the words: To Lugo.</p> - -<p class="normal">And seeing all this by the aid of a tinder box and lantern which we -carried amongst our necessaries--seeing it, too, by craning our necks -and standing up in our stirrups--we knew that we had now struck the -route along which those must have come who had fled from Vigo after -the taking of the galleons.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XVII.</h4> - -<h5>MY GOD! WHO IS HE?</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">All that night we rode, yet slowly, too, for the sake of the horses, -and in the morning--which broke bright, clear and frosty, the sun -sparkling and shining gaily amongst the leafless branches and trees of -the forests through which we passed--reached a little town, or -village, about half way 'twixt the frontier and Lugo, a place called -Chantada, and not far from another town named Orense, which, because -it had a large population--as we gathered from a sight of its roofs -and spires, all a-shining in the morning sun, as we could see very -well from the mountains as we passed along them--we avoided. Also, we -avoided it because it lay not so much upon our direct route, by some -three or four leagues, as Chantada itself.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now, come what may," said I to Juan, as we drew near this place, "and -even though we should be pursued from the border--which is not very -like--we must stop here for some hours. We require rest ourselves; as -for the beasts, they must have it; otherwise they will have to be left -behind and others found. And that would be a pity--they are better -than might have been looked for!" As, indeed, they were, especially -considering the haphazard manner in which we had come by them, both -having kept on untiring on the road, while, as for the jennet which -Juan bestrode, it was, possibly because of his light weight, as fresh -as on the hour we set out.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, turning to him, I said, even as I noticed that he showed no -signs of fatigue--at which I marvelled somewhat!--and that his -handsome face was as bright and full of colour as it had ever been:</p> - -<p class="normal">"You must be a-weary, Juan? Three or four hours' sleep will do you a -world of good. And you shall have it, my lad, even though I sit at -your door with a drawn sword in my hand to prevent interruption."</p> - -<p class="normal">As usual, he smiled that gracious, winsome smile upon me--a smile -which was always forthcoming in response to any simple little kindness -I evidenced to him--and said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I could ride on for hours thus--feel no fatigue. Maybe 'tis the -brightness of the morning that heartens me so; perhaps the crisp -coolness of these mountains--Heavens! how different 'tis from aught we -know of in the Indies!--that makes me insensible to it! Yet, Mervan," -and he gave me a glance from his eyes, under the dark and now -dishevelled curls that hung almost over them, "there is one thing I -long to do now. Mervan, do not refuse. I have earned the right!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What is it, child?" I asked, wondering what strange request he might -be about to prefer.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Let me sing and play a little. 'Twill do no harm, and--and--you -know--the viol is here," and he touched lightly the valise strapped in -front of his saddle.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Sing, if you will," I said, yet casting a glance around and ahead of -me to see if there were any about whose curiosity might be attracted -by the music--though in sober truth it would not much have mattered -had there been. In such a land as this--though I scarce knew it -then!--for a traveller to pass along on his way singing for -cheerfulness and for solace was no strange thing, but rather, instead, -the custom. "Sing, if you wish--I shall be glad enough to hear a merry -note or so. For audience, however, there will be no other."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I want none," he replied, "if you are content." And by now, having -got out the little viol d'amore, he struck a few notes upon it and -began to sing.</p> - -<p class="normal">At first his song was, as I understood and as he told me afterward, a -love-ballad addressed by a youth to his mistress; the words--as he -uttered them--soft and luscious as the trill of the nightingale on -summer night. And his marvellous beauty added also to the effect it -had on me, made me wonder how many dark, tropic beauties in the lands -he came from had already lost their hearts to him. Nay, wondered so -much that, as the last sweet tones of both his voice and viol died -upon the crisp morning air, I asked him a question to that effect.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ho! Ho!" he laughed, yet softly as he had just now sung. "None! None! -None! In the Indies I am nothing; all are as dark as I except when -they are golden--fair--and--and--Mervan, <i>mon ami</i>, no woman has ever -said a word of love to me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Humph!" I said, doubting. "Nor you, perhaps, a word of love to them."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nor I a word of love to them. Never, never. <i>Le grand jamais!</i>"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nor ever loved?" with a tone of doubt so strong in my voice now that -he could not fail to understand it.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nor ever loved," he repeated. "Yes--yes--I love now. Now!" Then, -impetuously, as he ever spoke--like a torrent let loose from mountain -side--he went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Love! Love! Love! With heart and soul, and brain on fire. Love! so -that for the creature I adore--have learnt to worship, I would--ah! -what would I not do? Cast my body beneath that creature, plunge -through fire or water--Oh!" he exclaimed, breaking off as suddenly as -he had begun, "Oh! I am a fool! A fool! A fool!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"But, surely," I said, "surely, with such as you are, that love does -not go unrequited. If you have spoken to the object of this passion, -told of this love you say you bear--and are believed--it must be -returned. Such love as yours would not be simulated, must therefore be -appreciated."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Simulated!" he exclaimed. "Simulated. It cannot be simulated, not -assumed like a mountebank's robe ere he plays a part. Any one can -paint a flame, any tawdry daubster of an inn signboard, but not even -Murillo himself could paint the heat. And my love is heat--not--not -flame."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And the lady? The lady?" I asked almost impatiently. "Surely she -does--she must--return this love."</p> - -<p class="normal">Volatile as he was, and, changing his mood again in a moment, he -looked slyly at me under the dark locks, twanged the viol again and -burst into another song, different from the one he had but recently -finished, the song which I had previously known him to sing:</p> -<pre> - - "Oh! have you heard of a Spanish lady, - How she wooed an Englishman?" - -</pre> -<p class="normal">"I am an Englishman now, you know, Mervan," interrupting the song. -Then going on:</p> -<pre> - - "Garments gay and rich as may be, - Decked with jewels, she had on." - -</pre> -<p class="normal">"Did she woo you, then?" I asked, as he paused a moment.</p> - -<p class="normal">For answer he sang again:</p> -<pre> - - "As his prisoner fast he kept her, - In his hands her life did lie; - Cupid's bands did tie them faster - By the twinkling of an eye----" - -</pre> -<p class="normal">He stopped abruptly and pointed ahead of him with the little viol, -then wrapped it up again in his valise and said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"See, <i>amígo</i>, there is the village--what was its name cut on the -pedestal? Now what are we? Eh? And whence come we if any questions are -asked?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are a young Spanish gentleman," I said, repeating a lesson I had -hitherto in our ride tutored him in, "from Vigo. I am a Frenchman. We -are on our way to Bayonne to join the French forces. Also, we neither -of us know English."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Bon, pas un mot</i>," he replied, catching me up brightly. "<i>Et nous -parlons Anglais comme une vache parle Espagnol. N'est-ce fas, mon -ami?</i>"</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>C'est ça. En avant</i>," I replied, and with a laugh we each touched -our horses with the heel and cantered down into the village of -Chantada.</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas a poor place enough for any travellers to see, consisting of a -long, but very wide street, with a fountain in the midst of a wide -open square, around which there lay a number of grunting swine--lean -and repulsive--and also some score or so of geese, all basking in the -morning sun.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet next in importance to the church, which was on one side of this -<i>plaza</i>, was that which we most sought for, an inn, and, perhaps -because of the road being one of importance 'twixt both Portugal and -Vigo to France, it was a large, substantial-looking house, long, and -with many rooms on either side the great porte, as well as in the two -stories beneath its sloping and serrated Spanish roof; also, it looked -prosperous--a huge gilt coronet hung out over the unpaved street. For -name it had painted along all its front, the words "Taverna Duquesa -Santa Ana."</p> - -<p class="normal">Under the great archway we rode in, seeing that in a vast courtyard -there stood a travelling coach on which, although there were no horses -attached to it, some baggage was still left piled up beneath some -skins; hearing also the stamping of several horses in their stables.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ask," said I to Juan, speaking in French--as agreed between us, there -was to be no more English spoken unless we were certain no ears could -overhear us--"ask if we can be accommodated for some hours, say, until -night. Then we must resume our journey. Ask that."</p> - -<p class="normal">Obedient to my behest, the youth turned to a man who came out from the -door giving entrance to the inn itself and, in Spanish, made his -demand, whereupon the fellow, after bowing politely, said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is ample accommodation for--for more--alas!--than travel these -roads."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, because I addressed a word or so in French to him, he continued -in that language, which, however, he had exceedingly badly:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Messieurs will stay here till night, then push on to Lugo? <i>Bon</i>, -they will be there by morning. So! So! Yes, in verity, they can have a -good meal. There are geese, fowls, meat, also some wine of excellence. -Messieurs may refresh themselves in all ways."</p> - -<p class="normal">Our horses put in the stable, therefore, we sat down half an hour -later in a vast <i>sala</i>--in which a great banquet might have been given -with ease--to a dish of veal, a fowl, and an <i>olla-podrida</i>, all of -which would have been good enough had they not been flavoured so much -with garlic that--to my taste, at least--all pleasure was destroyed; -also we had some most excellent chocolate and some good spirituous -liquor to follow--at which latter Juan turned a wry face. Then -ordering another meal to be ready ere we set out--with strict -injunctions that the flavouring should on this occasion be omitted--we -betook ourselves to the rooms above, where we were to get a few hours' -rest.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, as we passed along the whitewashed corridor, the windows of which -gave on to the stable yard, the travelling coach standing there caught -our eyes, and I said to the host:</p> - -<p class="normal">"You have at least some one else here besides us. Some great -personage, I should suppose, by his equipage," and I directed my -glance to where the great carriage was.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ho!" said the man with the true Spanish shrug of the shoulder, which -is even more emphatic than the French one, more suggestive, as it -seems to me; "a personage of wealth, I should say, but no grandee--of -Spain, at least."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Of what land, then?" I asked. "And why a personage of wealth, yet no -grandee?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! well, for that," the man said, with again the inimitable shrug, -"his deportment, his conduct is not that which our nobility permit -themselves. Though I know not--perhaps it may be so--he is a nobleman -of--well--possibly, England. He drinks heavily--name of a dog! but he -drinks like a fiend, <i>un enragé</i>--cognac, cognac, cognac--also he -sings all the night, sometimes so that even the fowls and the dogs are -awakened, also all our house. Yet he pays well--very well!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Doubtless," I replied, quietly, "an English nobleman. Such is their -custom, according to the ideas of other nations. Well, let us to -rest," whereon Juan and I turned each into a room which the landlord -indicated, and, so far as I was concerned, I slept calmly and -peacefully until awakened by him at three of the afternoon.</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, when I descended to where our other repast was prepared for us, -which would probably be the last one of a substantial nature which we -should be likely to get ere reaching Lugo, I found Juan there walking -up and down the great <i>sala</i>, his sword swishing about against his -left leg as he turned backward and forward petulantly. Also, I could -see that something had ruffled his usually sweet disposition--that -his colour was a little higher than in general, and that the soft -velvet-looking eyes were sparkling angrily.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why, what is it?" I asked, even as the landlord brought in the first -cover, "what is it, my boy? You are ruffled."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Be very sure I am!" he exclaimed, speaking rapidly, and of course in -French, so that the man heard and understood all he said. "I have been -insulted----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Insulted!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"At least rebuffed, and rudely, too; and by, of all men, a filthy -blackamoor--a--a--<i>por Diôs!</i>--a slave! Oh! that I had him in the -Indies! He would insult no white one again, I tell you!" and he -fingered the hilt of his weapon and stamped his shapely foot on the -uncarpeted floor till his spurs jangled.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Come," I said, "you can afford to despise the creature. How did it -happen?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Happen! Happen!" Juan replied, still angry. "How?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Monsieur saw the black man preparing the luggage on the great coach," -the landlord said, as he removed the dish-cover from a course of pork -and raisins, "and asked which way his master went. And the fellow was -surly, rude--said that was their business, not the affair of -strangers. Also, they sought no companions, if--if the young seńor -meant that----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who never offered our company," Juan broke in again. "Curse him! I -wish I had him in the Indies!" he repeated.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Come," I said again, "come. This is beneath you, Juan--to be angry -with a slave! As well be vexed with a dog that yaps and snaps at you -when you go to pat it. Sit down and eat your meal. We have a long ride -before us."</p> - -<p class="normal">Perhaps he saw some sense in my suggestion, for he flung himself into -a chair and began to eat; and meanwhile the host, who was still -hovering about, handing us now a dish of mutton dressed with oysters -and pistachio nuts, and now some stewed pomegranates, chattered away -at one side, telling us that the negro's master was not well--that he -had been drinking again; but yet he was determined to set out at once.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Though," said he, "but an hour before the caballeros rode in he had -resolved to stay until to-morrow. I know not why he has changed his -mind so swiftly. Oh!--the drink, the drink, the drink!" and he wagged -his head.</p> - -<p class="normal">That the dissolute man whom the landlord considered to be, in -consequence, an English nobleman, was about to depart there could be -no possibility of doubt. From where we sat at table, and because -curtains to the windows seemed to be things of which those who kept -the inn had never thought, we could see out into the courtyard quite -plainly. Saw first the horses brought out--four of them--and harnessed -to the huge, lumbering vehicle--the nobleman would have proved himself -a kinder-hearted man if he had used six!--saw their cloths taken off -their backs by the postillion, and observed the latter make ready to -mount the near side leader. Also we saw the <i>facchinos</i> on ladders -strapping tight the baggage which had been brought down and hoisted on -top, then heard the landlord, who had now left serving us to attend to -his parting guest, give orders that the noble traveller should be -informed that all was ready for his departure. Upon which we quitted -our seats at the table and walked over to the window, Juan's curiosity -much excited at the chance of seeing this drunken English <i>milor</i>, as -he called him. We had not long to wait. For presently we heard a -considerable trampling on the stairs and some mumbled words--to my -surprise the deep, guttural tones seemed familiar!--and then we saw a -wrapped figure carried out between two of the <i>facchinos</i> and lifted -up into the carriage.</p> - -<p class="normal">And behind that figure walked a negro, his head also enveloped in a -rich red shawl--as though the black creature feared the cold night -air, forsooth!</p> - -<p class="normal">But, even as they lifted the debauched man into his carriage, the -wrappings about his face became disturbed and fell back on his -shoulders, so that I could see his face--and I started as I did so. -Started even more, too, when, a second later, I heard Juan exclaim in -a subdued voice:</p> - -<p class="normal">"My God, who is he? Almost I could swear----"</p> - -<p class="normal">While in my excitement I interrupted him, saying:</p> - -<p class="normal">"That an English nobleman! That!--Why, 'tis the drunken old ruffian -who came from Rotterdam with me in the ship."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And his name? His name?" Juan asked, breathlessly. "His name?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"John Carstairs."</p> - -<p class="normal">Even as I spoke the postillion cracked his whip, and the great -carriage rolled out of the courtyard, the lamps twinkling and -illuminating our faces as it passed before the window. Showed, too, as -they flashed on Juan's face, that he was once more deathly pale and -all his rich colouring vanished--as I had seen it vanish more than -once before.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XVIII.</h4> - -<h5>BETRAYED.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">"His name is Carstairs? Humph!" Juan said to me when the last sound of -the wheels had died away, and we no longer heard the rumbling of the -great Berlin upon the stones of the roughly paved street outside. -"Carstairs!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"That is the name under which he was entered as a passenger in the -papers of <i>La Mouche Noire</i>," I answered. Then continued, looking at -the boy as a thought came to my mind. "Why! have you ever seen him -before, Juan, or have you any reason to suppose it is anything else -than Carstairs?"</p> - -<p class="normal">For the thought that had come to me, the recollection which had -suddenly sprung to my mind, was the memory of the words Captain Tandy -had used when first we discussed the old man. "'Tis no more his name -than 'tis mine or yours."</p> - -<p class="normal">Also I recalled that he had said, after meditation, that he was more -like to have been one Cuddiford than anybody else.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now it seemed as though this stripling who had become my -companion, this boy whose years scarce numbered eighteen, also knew -something of him--disbelieved that his name was Carstairs.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do you think," I went on, "that it is something else? Cuddiford, -say?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," he replied. "Nay. Not that. Not that. I have heard of -Cuddiford, though. I think he was brought to London and tried. -But--but--oh!" he exclaimed, breaking off, "it cannot be!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What cannot be?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"If," he said, speaking very slowly, very gravely now, "if it were not -eight years since I last set eyes on him, when I was quite a child; if -he had a beard down over his chest instead of being close shaven, I -should say, Mervan, that this was the ruffian I have come to England -to seek; the villain who robbed me of the fortune my father left -me--the scoundrel, James Eaton."</p> - -<p class="normal">"James Eaton!" I exclaimed. "The man you asked me about; thought I -might be like to know?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"The same."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Had he, this Eaton, been a buccaneer? for I make no doubt -that man has." I said. "The captain of <i>La Mouche Noire</i> thought -so--and--and--his ravings and deliriums seemed to point that way."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I know not," Juan said. "Eaton was a villain--yet--yet--I can scarce -suppose my father would have trusted him with a fortune if he had -known him to be such as that."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who was your father, Juan?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I--I," he answered, looking at me with those clear starry eyes--eyes -into which none could gaze without marvelling at their beauty--"I do -not know."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You do not know!--yet you know he bequeathed a fortune to you and -left it in the man Eaton's hands."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mervan," he said, speaking quickly, "you must be made acquainted with -my history--I will tell it you. To-night, when we ride forth again; -but not now. See, our horses are ready, they are bringing them from -the stables. When we are on the road I will tell you my story. 'Twill -not take long. Come, let us pay the bill, and away."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I will pay the bill," I said; "later we can regulate our accounts. -And as you say, we had best be on the road. For if that old man has -seen me, or if his black servant has done so--it--it--may be serious."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Serious!" he repeated. "Serious! For <i>you</i>, my friend?" And as he -spoke there was in his voice so tender an evidence that he thought -nothing of any danger which could threaten him, but only of what might -befall me, that I felt sure, now and henceforth, of the noble, -unselfish heart he possessed. "Oh! not serious for you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay," I replied. "Ay. Precious serious! Remember, he knows I went -ashore in Lagos bay, that I sailed in the English fleet to Vigo. What -will happen, think you, if he warns them at Lugo that such a one as -I--an Englishman--who assisted at the taking of the galleons, is on -the road 'twixt here and there?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"My God!" the boy exclaimed, thrusting his hand through the curls -clustering over his eyes--as he always did when in the least excited. -"It might mean----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Death," I said, "sharp and swift; without trial or time for shrift; -without----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"But--whether he be Eaton--or--Carstairs--he is English himself."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, and so he is." I answered, "But be sure he has papers--also he -can speak Spanish well, will doubtless pass for a Spaniard. Also, -unless I am much mistook, had a cargo in one of those galleons--for -what else has he followed up here? For what--but the hopes of getting -back some of the saved spoil which has been brought to Lugo? That -alone would give him the semblance of being Spanish--would earn him -sympathy. Meanwhile, what should I be deemed? A spy! And I should die -the spy's death."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What then to do next?" Juan asked, with a helpless, piteous look.</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is but one thing for <i>me</i> to do," I replied. "One thing alone. -As I told you ere we set out from Viana, my task is to ride on -straight, unerringly, to my goal--on to Flanders, through every -obstacle, every barrier; to crash through them, if heaven permits, as -Hopson crashed through that boom at Vigo--to reach Lord Marlborough or -to fall by the wayside. That is my duty, and I mean to do it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mervan! Mervan!" he almost moaned.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis that," I went on. "But--think not I say it unkindly, with lack -of friendship or in forgetfulness of our new found <i>camaraderie</i>--for -you the need does not exist."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Hear me, I say, Juan. I speak but for your safety. For you there is -no duty calling; the risk does not exist. You are free--a traveller at -your ease."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Silence!" he cried--his rich, musical voice ringing clear through the -vast <i>sala</i> in the midst of which we now stood once more; and as he -spoke he raised his hand with a gesture of command. "Silence, I say! -By the body of my dead and unknown father, you do not know Juan -Belmonte. What! Set out with you and turn back at the first sign of -danger, and that a danger to you alone! Oh!" he exclaimed, changing -his tone again, emotional as ever. "Oh! Mervan, Mervan."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I spoke but for your sake," I said, sorry and grieved to see I had -wounded him. "For that alone."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Then speak no more, never again in such a strain. I said I would -never quit your side till Flanders is reached; no need to repeat those -words. Where you go I go--unless you drive me from your side."</p> - -<p class="normal">And now it was my turn to exclaim against him, to cry: "Juan! you -think I should do that!" Yet even as I spoke, I could not but add: -"The danger to you as well as me may be terrible."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No more," he said. "No more. We ride together until the end -comes--for one or both of us. Now, let us call the reckoning and -begone. The horses are there," and he strode to the window and made a -sign to the stable-man to be ready for us. Yet ere the landlord came, -he spoke to me again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Remember," he said, "that beyond our <i>camaraderie</i>, of which you have -spoken--ay! 'tis that and more, far more--beyond all this, I do -believe the old man whose face I saw as the great lamps shone full -on it is James Eaton. I have come to Europe, to this cold quarter of -the world, to find him. Do you think with him not half a league ahead -that I will be turned from the trail? Never! I follow that man to -Lugo--since his beard is gone I cannot pluck him by that, but I can -take his throat in my hands, thrust this through his evil heart," and -he rapped the quillon of his sword sharply as he spoke. Then added: -"As I will. As I will."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You do not think he has recognised you, too? Seen you, though unseen -himself, while we have been in this house, passing through these -passages and corridors? as I doubt not either he saw me, or that negro -of his."</p> - -<p class="normal">He thought a moment after I said this, then suddenly emerged from his -meditation and laughed a bright, ringing laugh, such as I had learnt -to love the hearing of.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," he replied. "Nay," and still he laughed, "He has not--could not -recognise me. No! No! No! When I present myself to him he--will--he -will be astonished."</p> - -<p class="normal">And once more he laughed.</p> - -<p class="normal">What a strange creature it was, I thought. As brave as a young lion; -as emotional and variable as a woman.</p> - -<p class="normal">In answer to our pealing at the bell, to our calls also, the -landlord came in at last, not hurrying himself at all, as it seemed -to us, to bring the bill. Indeed, we had observed him, as we looked -forth from the window, engaged in a conversation with two of the -townspeople--shrouded in the long cloaks which Spaniards wear--their -heads as close together as if they were concocting a crime, though, -doubtless, talking of nothing more important than the weather.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The bill," I said, "the bill. Quick. Our horses await us, and we have -far to ride."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay," he replied. "Ay," and flinging down a filthy piece of paper on -the table, added: "There is the bill"; and he stood drumming his -fingers on the table while I felt for the coins with which to pay it. -Yet, even as I did so, I noticed that the fellow's manner was quite -changed from what it had been hitherto. His obsequiousness of the -morning had turned to morose surliness, which he took no trouble to -conceal. And, wondering if Juan, who was standing by, fastening his -spur strap, had observed the same thing, I glanced at him and saw his -eyes fixed on the man.</p> - -<p class="normal">"There are two pistoles," I said, flinging them on the table. "They -will more than pay our addition; give the rest to the servants."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay!" he replied. "Ay!" but with no added word of thanks.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Is't not enough?" Juan asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is enough." Then he turned to me and said: "You are riding to Lugo -to-night?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"That is our road," I replied, feeling my temper mount at the man's -changed manner. "What of it? Does that route displeasure you, pray?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ho!" he grunted; "for that, it makes no matter to me." Then added: -"The horses are there," in so insolent a tone that I had a difficulty -in restraining myself from kicking or striking him. But I remembered -that, before all else, our safety had to be consulted, and that naught -should be done to cause delay to our progress; wherefore, I swallowed -my ire as best I might.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, as we rode out of the courtyard, I saw at once that Juan's own -thoughts tended exactly in the same direction as mine, since he said -to me:</p> - -<p class="normal">"That fellow has been told something by the old man--doubtless, that -you are English--that we both are. <i>Por Diôs!</i> Suppose he has informed -him that you were in the English fleet!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have no doubt that the man has been told so," I replied. "But no -matter. If it were not for you I should not care a jot."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then once more I saw the dark eyes turned on me, and wished that I had -held my tongue--at least as regarded the latter part of my speech.</p> - -<p class="normal">It seemed as if the town had gone to bed already. The great square was -deserted--except that the geese and pigs were still in it, huddled -together around the fountain, and severally cackled and grunted as we -trotted by them; down the long street, as we rode, we saw no signs of -any one being outside the doors.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, as we neared the extremity of both the town and the street, and -came to where the latter ended off into a country road stretching -along a dreary-looking plain, over which the moon had risen, we saw -that such was not precisely the case. At the end of the street, that -which was the last building was a little, low, whitewashed chapel; -above its black door there was a figure in a little niche, with, -burning in front of it, a candle in a miserable red-glassed lantern; -and, feeble as were the rays cast forth from this poor, yet sacred, -lamp, they were sufficient to show us three men on horseback, all -sitting their steeds as rigidly as statues.</p> - -<p class="normal">Judging by their long black cloaks and the tips of steel scabbards -which protruded beneath them, and which were plainly enough to be -seen, even in that dim, cloudy light, I imagined these men to be the -town gendarmerie--though doubtless they had some other name to -denominate them--and supposed this was a comfortable position which -they probably selected nightly. Also, the position was at both an exit -and an entrance to the place, therefore a natural one.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A fine night, gentlemen," one remarked, and next I heard him say -something to Juan, which he replied to; in both of their remarks the -name of Lugo being quite distinct to my ears. But, beyond this, -nothing else passed, and, a few moments later, we were riding at a -smart trot across the dreary, moor-like plain.</p> - -<p class="normal">"They asked," Juan said, in answer to my question, "if our destination -was Lugo. That was all."</p> - -<p class="normal">"So I thought I heard," I said. And added: "Until we were past them I -felt not at all sure they might not be on the lookout for us. Might, -perhaps, intend to stop us. If Carstairs, or Eaton, or whatever his -name is, blew upon me to the landlord, he would be as like to do it to -the authorities also. However, we are in the open now, and all is well -so far."</p> - -<p class="normal">By this time the moon was well up, and we could see the country along -which we were riding; could perceive that 'twas indeed a vast open -plain, with, however, as it seemed to me, a forest or wood ahead of -us, into which the road we were on trended at last. Could see, too, -the snow lying white all around, as far as the moor stretched, and -looking beneath the moonbeams like some dead sea across which no ship -was trying to find its way.</p> - -<p class="normal">"A mournful spot," I said to Juan, as, half an hour later, we had -almost reached the entrance to the great forest, which we had observed -drawing nearer to us at every stride our beasts took; "'tis well we -made a full meal ere we set out. We are not very like to come across -another ere we reach Lugo."</p> - -<p class="normal">I spoke as much to hearten up my companion as for any other reason, -since I feared that, in spite of his bravery and firm-fixed -determination to never leave my side, he must be very much alarmed at -the thoughts of what might happen to us ere we had gone many more -leagues.</p> - -<p class="normal">But, remarking that he made no answer to my idle words, I glanced -round at him and perceived that his head was turned half way back -toward whence we had come, and that upon his face was a look of -intense eagerness--the look of one who listens attentively for some -sound.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What is it, Juan?" I asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Horses' hoofs on the road behind us," he said, "and coming swiftly, -too. Hark! do you not hear?"</p> - -<p class="normal">And even as he spoke I did hear them. Heard also something else to -which my soldier's ears had made me very well accustomed: The clank of -steel-scabbarded swords against horses' flanks.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is the men we passed by the chapel," I said, "following us now. -Yet, if 'tis us they seek, why not stop us ere we left the town? They -could do as much against us there as here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"They were but three then," the lad answered, calmly as though he -were counting guineas into his palm instead of the hoof-beats of those -on-coming horses; "now there are more--half a dozen, I should say. If -'tis us they follow, they have waited to be reinforced."</p> - -<p class="normal">And I felt sure that he had guessed right, since the very thought -which he expressed had already risen in my own mind.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XIX.</h4> - -<h5>THE SECOND FIGHT.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">We had entered the forest five minutes later, and be very sure, we -wasted no more time in waiting for those behind to come up, since, if -'twas us they followed, we might as well be in its shadow as in the -open. For if we were outnumbered the trees themselves would afford us -some shelter, make a palisade from behind which we might get a shot at -them if 'twas too hot for a hand-to-hand encounter. At any rate, I had -sufficient military knowledge to know that 'tis best to fight against -unequal odds with a base, or retreat, to fall back on, than to be -without one.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet as we rode into this forest I loosened my blade in its sheath, and -felt with my thumb to see that the priming of my pistols was ready; -also bade Juan do the same; likewise to keep behind me as much as -might be.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For," said I, "if they mean attack I will give them no chance of -beginning it. The first hostile word, and I force my horse between -them, cutting right and left, and do you the same, following behind -me. Thereby you may chance to take off those whom I miss."</p> - -<p class="normal">And I laughed--a little grimly, perhaps--as I spoke, for I thought -that if there were, indeed, six men behind us, my journey toward -Flanders was already as good as come to an end. Yet, all the same, I -laughed, for, strange though it may seem to those who have never known -the delights of crossed steel, a fight against odds had ever an -exhilarating effect upon me; which was, perhaps, as it should be with -a knight of the blade.</p> - -<p class="normal">Juan, however, did not laugh at all, though he told me he would follow -my orders to the utmost, and, indeed, was so silent that I asked him -if his nerves were firm. To which he replied that I should see when -the moment came.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now upon the crisp night air we heard the clang of those on-coming -hoofs ringing nearer and nearer; a rough or deadened kind of sound -told us the iron shoes were on the fallen leaves which covered all the -track from where the wood began; the scabbards of the riders flapped -noisily now against spur and horses' flanks; bridles jangled very -near.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then they were close upon us--five of them!--and a voice called out:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Halt, there! You are Englishmen--one a sailor and a spy passing -through the land."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You lie!" rang out Juan's voice, in answer. "We are not Englishmen."</p> - -<p class="normal">That his reply in fluent Spanish--the Spanish, too, of a gentleman, -and not of a common night patrol--astonished them, I could see. The -leader, he who had spoken, glanced round at his four comrades, and, an -instant after, spoke again:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who are you, then, and why does not the big man answer?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He speaks French. I am Spanish. Molest us not."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Molest! <i>Cuerpo di Baco!</i> We are informed you are English. Produce -your papers!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"We have none. They are lost."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ho! ho! ho!" the leader replied. "Very well, very well. 'Tis as I -thought. That man is English; he is denounced this night. As for you, -the accursed English have many possessions wherein our tongue is -spoken. We understand."</p> - -<p class="normal">And he gave, as I supposed, some order, since all advanced their -animals a few paces nearer, while, as they did so, Juan whispered to -me in the French: "Be ready, but do nothing yet."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You will return to Chantada with us," the spokesman said, sitting his -horse quietly enough, yet with the blade of his drawn sword glistening -in the moonbeams as it lay across the creature's neck--as, I observed, -did the blades of all the others. "That finishes our affair. For the -rest you will answer to the Regidór."</p> - -<p class="normal">"We shall not return. Our way lies on."</p> - -<p class="normal">"So be it. Then we must take you," and, as he spoke, I saw a movement -of his knee--of all their knees--that told me they meant to seize us.</p> - -<p class="normal">And I knew that the time had come.</p> - -<p class="normal">"At them!" cried Juan at the same moment. "Advance, Mervan!"</p> - -<p class="normal">A touch to the curb, and my beast fell back--'twas a good animal, -that! had, I believe, been a charger in its day, so well it seemed to -know its work--then a free rein and another touch of the heel, and I -was amongst them, my sword darting like lightning around. Also, at my -rear, came the jennet's head; near me there flashed the steel of -Juan's lighter weapon; and in a moment we had crashed through -them--they fell away on either side of us like waves from a ship's -forefoot!--fell away for a moment, though closing again in an instant.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Return and charge!" I cried to Juan, still in French. "At them again! -See, one has got his quietus already!" As, indeed, he had, for the -great fellow was hanging over his horse's neck, in a limp and listless -fashion, which showed that he was done for. But now those four closed -together as we went at them, Juan stirrup to stirrup with me in this -second charge, and our tactics had to be changed. We could no longer -burst through them, so that it was a hand-to-hand fight now; they had -pistols in their holsters, but no chance to use them; they could not -spare a hand to find those holsters--could not risk our swords through -their unguarded breasts; wherefore we set to work, blade to blade.</p> - -<p class="normal">We should have won, I do believe. Already I had thrust through and -through one man's arm--as luck would have it, 'twas not the sword -arm--already they backed before our rain of blows and cuts and -thrusts, when, by untoward fate, my horse stumbled on the frosty road -and came down; came down upon his haunches, slipping me from the -saddle over the cantle and so to the earth; then regained its hind -legs once more and dashed out from the fray.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now our position was mighty perilous. Above I saw Juan on the -jennet fencing well with two of the men; over me were the two others -cutting down at my head, though, since by God's mercy I had retained -my weapon, their blows were up to now unavailing. Yet I knew this -could not be for long--nor last--wherefore I cried:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Save yourself, Juan, save yourself; disengage and flee."</p> - -<p class="normal">Under my own blade, under those two others that beat upon it so that I -wondered it shivered not in my hand, I saw the boy manfully holding -his own--once, too, I saw him rip up the jerkin of one of his -opponents, and heard the latter give a yell of pain--then, "Great -God!" I thought, "what has happened now?"</p> - -<p class="normal">For there was a fifth man upon the scene. A man, tall and stalwart, -mounted on a great, big boned, black horse, who had suddenly sprung -from out a chestnut copse by the side of the track; a man in whose -hands there gleamed a sword that a second later was laced and entwined -with those attacking Juan; a man who hurled oaths in Spanish and -French at them--I heard <i>carambas</i> and <i>por Diôs's</i> and other -words--which sounded like the rolling of some great cathedral organ as -they came from his deep throat--<i>tonneres</i>, <i>ventre-bleus</i> and -<i>carrognes</i> I heard.</p> - -<p class="normal">Heavens! who was this man who beat back those others as a giant might -push back a handful of children; whose sword--even as with one hand he -grasped Juan round the waist--went through an adversary's neck so that -he fell groaning upon me, his blood spurting as if from a spigot? Who -was he who laughed loud and long as, with one accord, all those still -alive turned and fled back upon the road they had come? Fled, leaving -us, thanks be to God and this new arrival, the victors of the fray.</p> - -<p class="normal">He sat his horse calmly now, looking after their retreating figures, -his great sombrero slouched across his face, wiping his blade upon the -coal-black creature's mane; then, as their figures disappeared from -our view, he said in French:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Warmer work this, Seńor Belmonte, than twanging viols and singing -love songs, <i>n'est-ce pas?</i>" and from his throat there came again that -laugh.</p> - -<p class="normal">Glancing up, I saw that which caused me to start, even as I heard Juan -say: "You! You here! And in this garb!"--saw that which made me wonder -if I had gone demented. For this man who had so suddenly come to our -rescue, this <i>fine lame</i> whose thrusts had won the fray for us, was -none other than the monk I had seen on board <i>La Sacra Familia</i>, the -holy man known there as Father Jaime.</p> - -<p class="normal">And swiftly as I gazed up at him there came to my recollection old -Admiral Hopson's suspicions as to having seen him before, also the -imitation pass he had made across the table with the quill at his -brother-admiral, and his words:</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Twas not always the cowl and gown that adorned his person--rather -instead the belt and pistols--the long, serviceable rapier, handy."</p> - -<p class="normal">What did it mean?</p> - -<p class="normal">Ere he answered either Juan's startled enquiries or my stare of -amazement, which he must very well have seen in the moon's rays as I -regarded him, he cantered off after my horse, which was standing -quietly in the forest side by side with that other animal on whose -neck the first wounded man had fallen--he was now lying dead upon the -ground!--and brought both back to where we were, leading them by their -reins.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You will want your horse, monsieur," he said, "to continue your -journey. <i>Bon Dieu!</i> you both made a good fight of it, though they -would have beaten you had I not come up at the moment."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Believe us, we both thank you more than words can express," I said, -while Juan sat his jennet, still breathing heavily from his exertions, -yet peering with all the power of those bright eyes at the man before -him, "but your appearance is so different from what it was when last -we met that--that I am lost in amazement. You were, sir, a holy monk -then."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Cucullus non facit monachum</i>," he replied, in what I recognised to -be very good Latin, then added, with a laugh: "In journeying through -dangerous places we are not always what we seem to be. To wit: -Monsieur was either an English soldier or sailor when I saw him -last--an enemy to Spain and France--hating both, as I should suppose. -Yet now he is a private gentleman, and, I imagine, desires nothing -less than that his real position should be known."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But you--you," Juan interposed, "you were monk from the first moment -I set eyes on you, from the hour when we left Hispaniola. Are you not -one?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"My boy," he said, and as he spoke he touched Juan on the sleeve as -they both sat their horses side by side--I being also mounted again by -this time--"my boy, I replied to your companion just now with a -proverb. I answer you with another: 'Look not a gift horse in the -mouth.' I have saved your life, at least, if not this gentleman's. -And----"</p> - -<p class="normal">But Juan stammering forth some words of regret for the curiosity he -had shown, he stopped him with still another touch on the sleeve, and -said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Briefly, let me tell this: I had reasons to be in Spain, to quit the -Indies and accompany the galleons, get a passage by some means. It -suited me to come disguised as a monk; there was no other way. For, -rightly or wrongly, both Spain and France are my enemies; in my own -proper character I could never have reached here. Being here, I am -still in danger if discovered; to avoid that discovery I have now -doffed the monkish garb, so that all traces of me are lost. Enough, -however; I am on my road to Lugo. Does your way lie the same road?"</p> - -<p class="normal">We both answered that it did, whereon he said, speaking quickly and, -as I noticed, in the tone of one who seemed very well used to issuing -orders, as well as accustomed to deciding for himself and others:</p> - -<p class="normal">"So be it. Let us ride together--and at once. Every moment we tarry -here makes our position more dangerous. Those men will no sooner have -returned to Chantada than every available soldier will be sent forward -to arrest us, even though we be in Lugo itself. You will be recognised -without doubt if you stay an instant in the town. Your one chance is -to get into it and out again as soon as may be.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And you?" I asked, as now we put spurs to our horses and dashed along -the forest track. "And you? If any of those who were in this affray -return with the soldiers you speak of, it will be hard for you, too, -to escape recognition. Your form cannot be disguised."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It will be disguised again," he answered very quietly, "when I have -once more resumed the monk's garb. I have it here," and he tapped the -great valise strapped on his horse's back. "It has not been worn since -I got ashore at Vigo, and that's far behind this by many leagues. -There are none here like to recognise me."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You stay, then, in Lugo?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I must stay. I have affairs."</p> - -<p class="normal">He said this so decidedly that we neither of us ventured to ask him -any more questions, though, a moment or two afterward, he volunteered -to us the statement that, if another horse he had previously bought -when he landed at Vigo had not broken down, he would long ere this -have been in Lugo. Only the finding of a fresh animal--the one he now -bestrode--had taken him some time, and thereby caused him to be late -on his road, which, as we said gratefully enough, was fortunate for -us.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay," he replied, "it was; and also that I was breathing my animal in -the forest at the time those others overtook you. But, <i>nom d'un -chou!</i> I have been a fighter in my day myself, and, since I could not -see two men set upon by five, my old instincts were aroused; though," -he added, with extreme <i>sang froid</i>, "had it been an even fray, I -might have left you to it."</p> - -<p class="normal">And now it seemed to both Juan and myself as though this man's -assistance to us necessitated us showing some confidence in him; -wherefore, very briefly, we gave him some description of why we were -travelling together, and of how, because Juan had naught else of much -importance to do at the outset of his arrival in Europe, he had -elected to be my companion as far as Flanders.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Humph!" he exclaimed at this, "he is a young knight errant, as I told -him oft enough in the galleon, when he talked some rhodomontade about -being on his way to Europe to seek out and punish a villain who had -wronged him. Well, sir, even if he finds not the man, he is likely -enough to meet with sufficient adventures in your company ere he -reaches Flanders."</p> - -<p class="normal">"He thinks he has found him already," I said quietly, in reply.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What!" and he turned his great eyes on both of us. "Found him. Here -in Spain!" and he laughed incredulously.</p> - -<p class="normal">"He thinks nothing of the kind," Juan cried hotly, roused more, I -thought, by that scornful laugh than by my doubting words. "He is sure -of it!"</p> - -<p class="normal">And then he told the whole story of our having seen the old man's -coach in the inn, of the black's insolent reply, of his departure at -night, and of the little doubt there could be that he it was who had -betrayed us to the people of Chantada; also he added:</p> - -<p class="normal">"But I have him. Have him fast. He is but a league or so ahead of us, -must stop some hours, at least, in Lugo. And then--then, James Eaton, -look to yourself!"</p> - -<p class="normal">As he uttered those words the black horse which the other bestrode -plunged forward, pricked, as I thought, by some unintentional movement -of the rider's spur, while that rider turned round in his saddle and -gazed at Juan, his face, as it seemed to me, livid beneath the -moonlight.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who? What name is that on your lips?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"The name of a damned villain. The name of James Eaton."</p> - -<p class="normal">"James Eaton. James Eaton--what is he to you, then? What evil has he -done to you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What evil?" Juan replied, with a bitter laugh. "What evil? and what -is he to me? Only this: He was left guardian to me by my dead father, -and--and--he ill-treated and robbed me. No more than that!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"You! You! You!" this mysterious man said, his hand raised to his -eyebrows, his dark, piercing eyes gleaming beneath that hand--upon his -face a look I could not fathom. "You!"</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XX.</h4> - -<h5>"THE COWL DOES NOT ALWAYS MAKE THE MONK."</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">We were drawing very near to Lugo now, as the wintry morning gave -signs of breaking; already the great spurs and cańons of the mountains -that flanked the east side of the river Minho began to shape -themselves into something tangible and distinct from the dull clouds -at their summits, and their peaks and crags to stand out clearly. -Also, we noticed that villages were scattered about at the base of -these mountains; observed lights twinkling in the windows of cottages, -and passed a bridge which spanned the river and carried on a road that -led from that east side to the western one; a road with, on it, a -great pedestal of rock, serving, as others which we had passed had -served us, as milestones and finger-posts; a road leading, as we -learnt, from another Viana, different from the one in Portugal at -which Juan and I had landed from the English fleet.</p> - -<p class="normal">We were drawing very near.</p> - -<p class="normal">For the last two or three hours we had ridden almost in silence, knee -to knee, all wrapped in our long cloaks, and with nothing breaking in -upon that silence but, sometimes, the hoot of an owl from out the -beeches and tamarisks which fringed the road, and sometimes the scream -of an eagle far up in the mountains, roused, perhaps, from his eyrie -by the clang of our animals' hoofs upon the hard-bound, frosty earth.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet some words had been spoken, too, ere we lapsed into this silence; -for, as our friend and deliverer had exclaimed, "You! You!" on hearing -that James Eaton had robbed Juan of whatever might have been left in -his care by the lad's dead father, Juan himself had quickly exclaimed:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Is he known also to you, then?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He was once, long ago--ay, long ago!" Then he paused, as though -unwilling to tell more, though, a moment later, he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"And now you think he is ahead of us?--that we shall find him in -Lugo?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Without doubt," Juan and I answered, both speaking together, while -the former went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"He must halt for some time in Lugo, if only to get a change of -horses."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis my belief," I struck in, "he will do more than that. Judging -from what I learnt of him in the ship which brought us both from -Holland, Lugo is his destination, the end of his journey."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Wherefore?" the man who had been "Father Jaime" asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Because," I replied, "he was on his way to Cadiz, where, he thought, -as all did, that the galleons were going in. And he told me in a -frenzy, when he learnt that the English fleet was about in those -waters, that he had a fortune on board two of the galleons. Be sure, -therefore, he would follow them up to Vigo as soon as he could, after -being put ashore at Lagos and learning that much of the treasure had -been set ashore and then forwarded on to Lugo----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Would follow them here?" the other said. "Ha! Well, then, we shall -surely meet," and he laughed a little, very quietly, to himself. "Must -meet! And I--I shall have something to say to James Eaton--shall -recall myself to him. He will be pleased to see me!" and again he -laughed--though this time the laughter sounded grimly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I also shall have something to say to him," exclaimed Juan. "To----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Recall yourself to him also," the other broke in.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Perhaps," the boy replied, "perhaps. We shall see, though it may not -be just at first."</p> - -<p class="normal">"At first," said the other, taking him up, "let me present myself. I -assure you 'twill be best. Let me put in my claim to his attention. -Then you can follow suit."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And I," I exclaimed, speaking now. "I, too, have something to settle -with Mr. James Eaton, if that be his name. I owe it to him that my -journey to Flanders has been interrupted by that scene upon the road, -owe it to him that I ran a very fair chance of never continuing that -journey further than a couple of leagues this side of Chantada.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I believe, too, that it was he who drew the attention of a French ship -of war to the vessel which was carrying me and my intelligence to -Cadiz, as then supposed."</p> - -<p class="normal">"How?" asked the ex-monk, "and why?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"The reason wherefore," I replied, "might be because he suspected my -mission in some way. The manner in which he let the French ship know -of our whereabouts was probably by leaving open the dead light of his -cabin when he lay drinking, while all the others were closed so as to -avoid her. Oh! be sure," I continued, "when you two have done with him -I shall have an account also to make."</p> - -<p class="normal">"We are three avengers," the other replied, with still that grim laugh -of his. "James Eaton will have other things to think of besides -getting back his treasure at Lugo, if it is there; for, when Seńor -Belmonte and myself and you have finished with him--sir," he said, -breaking off and regarding me, "I do not know your name, how to -designate you. What may it be?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"My name," I replied, "is Mervyn Crespin. May I ask by what we are to -address you? At present, at least, you do not style yourself 'Father -Jaime,' I apprehend."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," he said. "Nay--not until I don the cowl again. But, see, none -of us, I should suppose, are desirous of travelling through this -hostile country, entering this town of Lugo, which may bristle with -dangers to all of us, under our right names. Therefore--though even -thus 'tis not desirous that these names should be spoken more often -than needs--I will be Seńor Jaime. There are Jaimes for second names, -as well as first."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And," exclaimed Juan, entering at once into the spirit of the matter, -"there are Juans for second names as well as first, also. Therefore I -will be Seńor Juan."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And I," I said, "since I pretend to speak no Spanish, but am supposed -to be a Frenchman, will be Monsieur Crespin. That is a French name, as -well as English. There are scores of Crespins in Maine and Anjou--'tis -from there we came originally. 'Twill do very well."</p> - -<p class="normal">So, this understanding arrived at, we rode on afterward in that -silence which I have told you of.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now it was full day, cold, crisp and bright, with the sun topping -the mountains to our left and sending down fair, warm beams athwart -the river, which served to put some life into us, as well as a little -extra heat besides that which the motion of our horses and the glow of -their bodies had hitherto afforded us.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also, we had left the forest now and entered a great plain which -rolled away to the west of those mountains, and of the river which -brawled and splashed at their base; a plain that in summer was, -doubtless, covered with all the rich vegetation for which the north of -Spain is famed, but that now stretched bare as the palm of a hand, and -recalled to my mind the fair Weald of Kent when winter's icy grip is -on it. Yet 'twas well covered with villages, some close together, some -a league or two leagues apart, and, under where the last spurs of the -Cantabrian mountains swept round directly to the west, we saw rise -before us the high walls of a town, with above them an incredible -amount of towers--we making out between twenty and thirty of these as -each stride of our animals brought us nearer to them.</p> - -<p class="normal">"That," said Seńor Jaime--as he was now to be called--though God only -knew what his right name was!--while our eyes regarded it from still -afar, "must be Lugo. Now let us decide for our plan of action. And, -first, as to getting into it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do you make your entry," I asked, "as a gentleman travelling through -the land, or as priest--monk?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"As monk!" he replied. "So best! I have other affairs here, besides -the desire of meeting my old friend, Eaton. Now, observe, this is what -I propose: You shall go first together--you will have no difficulty in -getting in, seeing that there is no frontier to cross. Nor will you be -asked for papers, since, once in, you will not get out again unless -you appear satisfactory to those who are there."</p> - -<p class="normal">"We must get out again after a short rest, after a few hours," I -replied. "I make no manner of doubt that by now we are followed from -Chantada--if those who are behind us reach Lugo ere we have quitted -it, we shall be stopped beyond all doubt."</p> - -<p class="normal">Seńor Jaime paused a moment ere he answered; pondering, doubtless, on -this being the case. Then, speaking slowly, he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"If--if--'twere possible that you," looking at me, "and you," -regarding Juan, "could also enter the town disguised; could appear as -something vastly different from what you are, you would be safe; we -would remain together. And--and--that would please me. We must not -part, having met as we have done," and his eyes rested particularly -upon Juan as he spoke, so that I felt sure he would far less willingly -part with him than with me; that it was of this bright, handsome boy -he was thinking most.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I," exclaimed Juan, "would, above all other things but one--that one -the not parting company with Mervan, my friend!"--how softly he -murmured those words, "my friend!"--"stay here. For I am resolved to -bring to bar that villain, James Eaton. But how--how to do it? How to -enter the town disguised? We do not travel with masks and vizards, nor -could we assume them an we did. Also, how to change our appearance -sufficiently to be unrecognised by any of those behind?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"For him," said Seńor Jaime, addressing Juan, but looking at me, "'tis -easy enough. I can help him to change himself in a moment. I have -here," and he tapped the great valise strapped on to his horse's back, -"a second monk's gown, of another order than the one I wore--that was -a Carmelite's and, as you know, brown; the second is a Dominican's, -and white. The object which brings me to Europe--later you shall know -it--if it prospers, forced me to provide myself with more than one -disguise."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then after pausing a moment, perhaps to judge of the effect of this -announcement on us, he went on: "Well, Monsieur Crespin! What do you -say? Will you be a monk and stay with Juan till he has seen his -beloved friend, James Eaton, or will you insist on his abandoning his -interview with that personage and riding post-haste to Flanders? Only -remember, if he and you do so, or if you do this alone, the chance is -also missed of your having a reckoning with that old man also."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now I was sorely posed by this suggestion of his--sorely. For, -firstly, there was something bitterly distasteful to me, a soldier -and, I hoped, a brave one, in masquerading in any such guise as this -suggested. Also, I knew that it ill became me to tarry on my journey -back for any cause whatever, let alone a new formed friendship for -Juan Belmonte. My place was with the Cuirassiers, and with them I -ought to be--both the earls having hinted that there would be some -hard fighting ere long--while, as for revenging myself on the villain -whose name now seemed for a certainty to be Eaton, well! that might -easily be left to Seńor Jaime and Juan. If they did not between them -very effectually confound that hoary-headed scoundrel, I should be -much astonished.</p> - -<p class="normal">On the other hand, there were many things that made for my disguising -myself ere I entered Lugo, and, rapidly enough as I sat my horse -deliberating, those things ran through my mind. To begin with, it -would be full of Spanish and French soldiers and sailors, the runaways -from Vigo, who, undoubtedly, would have followed the bulk of the -treasure which had been removed from the galleons and transported -here; and it was possible that there might be some who would recognise -me, since I had played a pretty prominent part in the attack. It -might, therefore, be best that--little as this disguising of myself -was to my taste--I should do as Seńor Jaime suggested.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, all the same--and in the next moment--I decided that I would not -do this thing; for, besides that it was too repugnant to me, I knew -that it would be useless. And, knowing this, I said so, in spite of -the pleading, pitiful glances which Juan cast at me--glances which -plainly enough implored me to adopt the monk's dress, and thereby be -enabled to stay in Lugo until vengeance was wrought upon James Eaton.</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," I said, turning to Seńor Jaime, who sat quietly on my horse -awaiting my answer, while I studiously avoided Juan's gaze. "No, I -will not do it. I am a soldier, and as a soldier--at least as a man, -and not a monk--I will get through Spain and France. Besides, the -disguise would be useless."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Wherefore?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"In reply to that," I said, "let me ask you a question: What do you -intend to do with your horse? Monks do not ride, as a rule--in -Flanders I never saw one on horseback; also, your boots and great -steel spurs beneath the gown would betray you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now, he seemed very fairly posed at this, and for a moment bent his -head over his animal's mane, as though lost in thought. Then suddenly -he burst out into one of his deep, sonorous laughs, and exclaimed:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Body of St. Iago! I never thought of that. Though, for the boots, it -matters not; I have the monkish sandals with me. And--and--perhaps the -horse can be smuggled into the town somehow, and with it the boots! -Ha! I must think!"</p> - -<p class="normal">And again he became buried in thought; yet, a moment later, he spoke -once more:</p> - -<p class="normal">"If you enter Lugo as you are," he said, "you will be taken for a -certainty. There are--there must be--many coming after us from behind, -from Chantada--they will describe you. Remember, you were not only -seen under the moon's rays during the fight in the wood, but in the -town previously. And, if you are taken, there is no hope for you! -Eaton has told that you are English--fought against the galleons at -Vigo. God! it means the garrote for both of you. You understand what -that is? An upright post, a hasp of iron around your neck and it, a -wheel to screw that hasp tight to the post--with your neck between -them!--and--and--your eyeballs out of your head--your tongue half a -foot long. That is what awaits you if you are taken."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I will never be taken," I said, between my teeth, "to suffer that. -Bah! If I cannot, if we cannot, get out of the town again on the other -side, have I not this, and this?" and I touched my pistol holsters. -"They will be in my belt then."</p> - -<p class="normal">After saying which I turned to Juan to ask him if he agreed with me, -and saw that Seńor Jaime's ghastly description of the garrote had made -him as pale as death.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What think you, comrade?" I asked. "Is it not best that you and I -forego our vengeance on this man, Eaton, and push on as fast as may -be, leaving him to our friend here, who also seems to have a reckoning -to make--who appears, also, one who can extort it? Or will you -disguise yourself and stay behind?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay. Nay," he answered. "Where you go, I go. And--God knows I am no -poltroon--yet--yet--I could not suffer that. I have seen it in the -Indies--oh!" and he put his hands to his eyes, letting his reins fall. -"Not that, not that!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Will you push on with me, then, foregoing your vengeance?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes. Yes, since my vengeance risks such death as that. But," turning -to the other, "you proposed a disguise for me. Was I to be a monk, -too?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," he said. "Nay. But you are a brave, handsome lad--I thought -that in some way we might have transformed you into a woman. You would -make a presentable one."</p> - -<p class="normal">"A woman!" he echoed, looking mighty hot and raging at the suggestion. -"A woman!--I, who have fought by Mervan's side! Never. Also," he -added, after somewhat of a pause, "it is not as a woman that I intend -to meet James Eaton, if at all; but as a man demanding swift justice. -A woman would be like to get none of that from him."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXI.</h4> - -<h5>A NARROW ESCAPE.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">That evening--or rather afternoon, when already the wintry night was -at hand--Juan and I were in Lugo and once more making preparations to -continue our journey--to go on west now, through the Asturias, -Santander and Biscay, as our chart showed us, toward St. Sebastian and -Bayonne, which would bring us into France. But also we hoped that, -after we had passed by the former of these provinces, on reaching the -sea, which we should then do, our journey by land might be at an end; -that we might find, by great good fortune, at some seaside town a -vessel, either English or Dutch, which would take us north to where we -desired to go.</p> - -<p class="normal">But, alas! 'tis useless to write down all the plans we concocted in -the dirty parlour of the inn we had rested in--an inn dignified by the -name of the "Pósada del Gran Grifon," since 'twas not to be our lot to -make that journey, nor to set out upon it.</p> - -<p class="normal">Let me not, however, anticipate, but write down all that now befell -us; also let me now begin to tell of the strange marvels that I was -destined to behold the unravelling of, as also the dangers which from -this period encompassed me.</p> - -<p class="normal">We were alone, had entered Lugo alone, Seńor Jaime having bidden us -ride ahead of him and leave him to find his way into the town by -himself.</p> - -<p class="normal">"And," he said, "be very sure I shall do it. Fear not for me. Only, if -I come not by the time four o'clock has struck, believe that either I -have fallen into the hands of the enemy or that, for some reason, I -have not been able to get face to face with Eaton. Therefore, ride on -without me. Remember my disguise will save <i>me</i>. You have both refused -to be disguised. By consequence, look to yourselves. We shall meet -again. I know your road."</p> - -<p class="normal">And now four o'clock had struck from the cathedral hard by, and he had -not come. Yet, why not? we asked each other. A peasant whom we had met -on the road when but a league between us and Lugo had mentioned this -inn as one where good accommodation for man and beast could be -obtained, and ere we parted from Jaime we had determined that it -should be our meeting place.</p> - -<p class="normal">And still he had not come. And it was four o'clock and past.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We must go," I said to Juan, "we must go. 'Tis courting frightful -danger to remain here. Already I have observed half a dozen French and -Spanish sailors pass this window, whom I saw on board some of the -ships and galleons; also some officers. If I meet them face to face, -and they remember me, as I do them, there will be----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"What?" asked Juan, his face full of terror.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Well--no Mervyn Crespin a few hours hence! that's all."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh, come, come, come," he exclaimed, catching at my arm. "For God's -sake, come! Why, why did we ever enter this town! 'Twas madness. We -should have remembered they had fled hither."</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is no other high road to France and Flanders," I said, "that -justifies the risk. Yet, Juan, remember, even now it is not too late -for you to part from me, if you choose. Your coming on here means -nothing. <i>You</i> did not fight against the galleons; therefore you are -in no danger----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Silence!" he said again, as he had said once before. "Silence! I will -hear no word about leaving you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then suddenly he came away from the window, at which he had been -standing, and crossed the room to me.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Look," he said. "Look from out that window into the street; then say -if it is not too late for us to part--if my danger is not as great as -yours. Look, I say!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Glancing first at him, in wonderment at his exclamation, and what the -meaning of it might be, yet with some sort of understanding mounting -to my brain also, I stepped across to the dirty, unwashed window and -looked out into the street.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then I understood.</p> - -<p class="normal">Through the dim light cast on the now darkened street by oil lamps, -swung across it at intervals, and also by the candles burning in. -<i>relicários</i>, set into the walls, as well as by the feeble glare which -emerged from curtainless and unshuttered windows, I saw a band of men -slowly passing, their drawn swords in their hands, or with musketoons -upon their shoulders.</p> - -<p class="normal">And ahead of all this body, which was composed of perhaps a dozen, -there marched two of those with whom we had fought on the road between -Chantada and this place--the leader who had addressed us, and another. -As they passed along they gazed at each man whom they encountered; -halting opposite our window, they looked at an inn which faced ours -directly, a little place on which was painted the name, "Pósada Buena -Ventura."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Open the window a crack," I said to Juan--doing so myself, however, -as I spoke--"and let us listen. Hear what they say. Softly," and -following my words we placed our ears to the inch-wide orifice.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then we heard every word as it fell from their lips.</p> - -<p class="normal">"That house opposite," the leader said, "is the last to be examined -except this and another"--while Juan whispered: "I cannot catch its -name--It sounds like the San Cristobal. Yes. Yes. 'Tis that. Ha! And, -see, they enter the house opposite. Yet some remain in the street." -And we both peered from behind the side of the window at them as they -stood there in the road, a crowd of urchins gathered round.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We are trapped," I said, "trapped. We can never get out. The horses -are in the stables behind--also, the gates are shut."</p> - -<p class="normal">"God!" exclaimed Juan, suddenly, even as I spoke, "they have finished -there already--are coming here. Another five minutes and they will be -in this room."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What shall we do?" he wailed a moment later.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Escape while there is time--from this room, at least. Loosen your -sword in its sheath--follow me," and I drew him back from the window.</p> - -<p class="normal">"But where? Where to go to?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Out of the house, at least. Come. The stairs lead down to the back -part of the house; there is the yard and the stables--also a garden. I -observed it when the horses were put up. Come. There is a wall at the -end of the garden which separates it from another. If we can get over -that we can at least escape into the town. By God's grace, there may -be some way out of it besides the gates. And we have the cloak of -night to help us."</p> - -<p class="normal">All the time I was speaking I had been drawing Juan toward the door; -also I had seen that my papers and money were bestowed about me -safely--I doubted if we should ever see our valises again!--or, for -the matter of that, our horses. It would be heaven's providence now if -we ever got out of this town alive, and even that I deemed unlikely. -And at this crisis that was all we had to hope for, if so much.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Lift your <i>porte epée</i> by the hand," I whispered. "If the scabbard -clanks on the stairs we are undone. Follow me."</p> - -<p class="normal">In another instant we were outside the door of the room. For -precaution and as a possible means of gaining time I drew the key from -the inside of the lock, then placed it in the keyhole outside, made a -turn and, again withdrawing it, dropped it into my pocket. This would -take up some moments, while they clamoured without, bidding us open. -It would take some few more to break down the door, which they would -very probably do. They might be precious moments to us.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was quite dark outside in the corridor, but at the farther end -there glimmered a faint light from an oil lamp set upon a bracket, -though its rays scarcely reached here, namely, to the head of the deep -oak stairs opposite where the door of the room we had just quitted -was. But from below, which was a stone-flagged passage running from -the front of the house to the back, there was another light--thank -God, 'twas nearer the street than the exit to the yard!</p> - -<p class="normal">We descended seven steps, then the stairs turned sharply from a small -landing--we ourselves did not dare, however, to turn them.</p> - -<p class="normal">For below, in that cold stone corridor, we heard and recognised the -voice of the man who had challenged us in the forest ere the fight -began, a night ago.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Here, are they?" we heard him say. "Here--so the birds are caught. -The one, big, stalwart, brown--that is the English <i>demonio</i>--the -other, younger, dark, handsome, might play the lover in one of Vega's -spectacles. Ha! And the third who joined in the murder--an elder one, -swart and grimy, black as the devil himself--is he here, too?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," said the woman, whose voice told us she was the landlady, -"there are but two, the bronzed one and the youth. You will not hurt -him! Nay! Nay! <i>Diôs!</i> he is young and beautiful."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Have no fear. <i>We</i> will not hurt either, if they do not resist. If -they do, we shall cut them down. But--otherwise--no! no!" and he -laughed a fierce, hard laugh. "Oh, no. There are others to hurt -them--the governor, the Regidórs, the judges. Ho! They will hurt them -through the garrote--or--or--the flames. The brasero! The wheel! Now -lead up to them. Where is the room they harbour in?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I will fetch another lamp," the woman said. "This one is fixed. -Wait." And we heard her clatter down the corridor on her Spanish -pattens. Yet she paused, too, a moment, and turned back, saying:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Spare him--the young one. Heavens! his lips and eyes are enough to -madden an older woman than I am."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Quick, then, quick," the other answered. "They sleep in the prison -to-night, and our supper waits at the gatehouse. Quick."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Shall we dash through them?" Juan whispered; and now I noticed that, -as before in the hour of danger, his voice was firm and steady. "One -might escape even though the other is taken." And I heard him mutter, -in even lower tones: "Pray God it is you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No," I said. "No. We go together. Together escape or--die."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, even as I spoke, I saw what I had not observed before, owing to -the dim light in which all was surrounded; saw that opposite to us on -the landing--where the stairs turned--there was a door. Closed tight -into its frame, 'twas true, yet leading doubtless into some room -opening off the stairs which led up to the other one we had quitted.</p> - -<p class="normal">I was near enough to put my foot out quietly and touch it with my toe -and--God be praised!--it yielded, opened inward.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Into it," I said in Juan's ear, "into it. They will pass it as they -go up to where we have come from. When they have done so we may creep -down. In!"</p> - -<p class="normal">A moment later we had entered that room, had quitted the stairs--and -the woman had come back and rejoined the men, was leading them up -those very stairs, across the very spot where a few instants before we -had been standing.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet our hearts leapt to our mouths--mine did, I know!--when we who -were standing on the other side of the door heard him stop outside it, -and, striking the panel with his finger--the rap of his nail upon it -was clearly perceptible to our eager ears--say to the woman:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Is this the room--are they here?"</p> - -<p class="normal">The woman gave a low laugh in answer; then she said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay. Nay. 'Tis mine. By the saints! what should they do there! That -handsome <i>Inglés</i>, devil though he be!--or that lovely boy? Heavens, -no!" and again she laughed, and added: "Come. They are here. Up these -stairs."</p> - -<p class="normal">Even as we heard their heavy, spurred feet clatter on those stairs we -were seeking for some mode of escape, and that at once.</p> - -<p class="normal">Alas! 'twas not to be out of the door again and down into the stone -passage, as we had thought.</p> - -<p class="normal">For one glance through a great crack, and we saw, by peering down -below, that these Spanish alguazils had some method in their -proceedings. They had left two of their number behind; they stood in -the passage waiting for what might happen above; waiting, perhaps, to -hew down the two fugitives whom those others were seeking for, should -they rush down; waiting for us. There was no way there!</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, for the room--what did that offer?</p> - -<p class="normal">It was as dark as a vault--we could distinguish nothing--not even -where the bed was--at first. Yet, later, in a few moments--while we -heard, above, the rapping of sword hilts upon the door of the chamber -we had just quitted--while we heard, too, the leader shouting: "Open. -Open--<i>Bandidos! Assassinatóres! Espias!</i> or we will blow the lock -off"--we saw at the end of the room a dull murky glimmer, a light that -was a light simply in contrast to the denser gloom around--knew there -was a window at that end.</p> - -<p class="normal">Was that our way out?</p> - -<p class="normal">Swiftly we went toward it--tore aside a curtain drawn across a -bar--the noise the rings made as they ran seemed enough to alarm those -men above, must have done so but for the infernal din they themselves -were making--opened the lattice window--and, heaven help us!--found -outside an iron, interlaced grate that would have effectually barred -the exit of aught bigger than a cat!</p> - -<p class="normal">We were trapped! Caught! It seemed as if naught could save us now!</p> - -<p class="normal">"Lock the door," I whispered to Juan. "They will come here next. The -moment they find we are not in the other room!--ha! they know it now, -or will directly."</p> - -<p class="normal">For as I spoke there rang the report of a musketoon through the empty -passages of the house. They were blowing the lock off!</p> - -<p class="normal">Desperately, madly, exerting a force that even I had never yet -realized myself as possessing, I seized the cross-bars of that iron -grating; I pushed them outward, praying to God for one moment--only -one moment--of Samson's strength. And--could do nothing! Nothing, at -first. Yet--as still I strained and pushed, as I drew back my arms to -thrust more strongly even than before--it seemed as if the framework, -as if the whole thing, yielded, as if it were becoming loosened in its -stone or brick setting. Inspired by this, I pushed still more, threw -the whole weight of my big body into one last despairing effort--and -succeeded! The grate was loosened, torn out of the frame; with a -clatter of falling chips and small <i>débris</i> it fell into the yard ten -feet below.</p> - -<p class="normal">My prayer was heard!</p> - -<p class="normal">"Quick, Juan," I said, "quick, come. Out of the window, give me your -hands. I will lower you. 'Tis nothing."</p> - -<p class="normal">From Juan there came in answer a cry, almost a scream of terror.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Save me! Save me!" he shrieked, "there is another man in the room!" -and as he so cried, I heard a thump upon the floor--a thump such as -one makes who leaps swiftly from a bed--a rush across that floor. Also -a muttered curse in Spanish, a tempest of words, a huge form hurled -against mine, two great muscular hands at my throat.</p> - -<p class="normal">In a moment, however, my own hands were out, too, my thumbs pressing -through a coarse beard upon a windpipe. "Curse you," I said in -Spanish, as I felt that grasp on me relax. "Curse you, you are -doomed," and drawing back, I struck out with my full force to the -front of me.</p> - -<p class="normal">Struck out, to feel my clenched fist stopped by a hairy face--the thud -was terrible even to my ears!--to hear a bitter moan and, a moment -later, a fall--dull and like a dead weight!--upon the floor.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Come, Juan, come," I cried. "Come."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXII.</h4> - -<h5>WHO? GRAMONT?</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">As he scrambled through the window--as I let him down by his hands, so -that, with the length of his arm and mine together, his feet were not -more than a yard from the ground--I heard those others outside the -door. Heard also the woman shriek:</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is none in here, I tell you--pigs, idiots! If they have -escaped, 'tis to the street or to the roof. Search those rooms first. -This is my chamber. <i>Diôs!</i> Are you men to enter thus a woman's -apartment!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"So be it," the leader said. "We will. But, remember, if we find them -not we will search this room. Remember!" and we heard him and the -others striding off to some other part of the house.</p> - -<p class="normal">By this time I was myself half out of the window. From the creature I -had felled to the floor there came no sound; but from the door outside -I heard the woman whisper:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Renato, come forth. Quick, I say! If they find you here you are lost. -You will be taken--sent to the colonies. Come forth!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I waited to hear no more, understanding clearly enough that the -woman had herself been sheltering in her own room some malefactor, -probably some lover. And, doubtless, he had thought we were seeking -for him, had found him in that darkened room--that we were the -alguazils. His presence was explained.</p> - -<p class="normal">Taking Juan by the hand, I passed rapidly by the stables as we went -away from the street and up into the garden beyond--a small place, -neglected and dirty, in which I had noticed, when we arrived, numbers -of enormous turnips growing--vegetables much used in the country.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, a moment later, we were close by a low, whitewashed wall--'twas -not so high as my head--over which I helped Juan, following instantly -myself.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Heaven knows," I said, "where we are now, except that we have left -the inn behind. This may be the garden of some great <i>residéncia</i>, or -of another inn. Well, we must get through somehow into the street -beyond."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And afterward?" Juan asked, his face close to mine, as though trying -to see me in the dark of the night. "Afterward?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"God knows what--afterward! We shall never get out of the gates, 'tis -certain. There are five--all are doubtless warned by now. Pity 'tis we -did not follow our friend's suggestion and disguise ourselves. That -way, we might have been safe. I as a monk, you as a woman, we should -never have been recognised."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis too late," said Juan. "Too late now. We must go on; on to the -end. Yet I wonder where that friend, Jaime, is. Perhaps taken, his -disguise seen through."</p> - -<p class="normal">We had reached the house to which this garden belonged by now--a -different one from the neglected thing we had lately left, well cared -for, and with great tubs of oleanders and orange trees placed about it -at regular intervals, as we could now see by the rising moon, which -was peeping over the chimney tops and casting its rays along a broad -path which we had followed; were close up to the house, a great white -one, with this, its garden side, full of windows covered with -<i>persianas</i>, or jalousies, and from some of them lights streaming.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis an inn, for sure," I said, "and full of--hark! whose voice is -that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet there was no need to ask; 'twas a voice not easily forgotten which -was speaking now; the voice of the man, Seńor, or "Father," Jaime.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay," we heard in those rich, sonorous tones, "alive, and here to call -you to account."</p> - -<p class="normal">And following this we heard another voice, supplicating, wailing, -screaming, almost: "No! No! No! Mercy! Pardon!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Beneath the moon's increasing rays we gazed into each other's eyes, -then quickly, together--as if reading each other's thoughts also--we -moved toward where those sounds proceeded from.</p> - -<p class="normal">Toward a room in the angle of the great white house, with a door -opening on to the garden in which we stood--'twas open now, though -half across it hung a heavy curtain of some thick material. It was -easy enough to guess how 'twas that curtain was thrown half back and -the door stood open.</p> - -<p class="normal">That way Jaime had come upon his prey.</p> - -<p class="normal">Standing behind that door, behind that heavy half-fallen curtain, -this was what we saw: The man Jaime, with in his hand a drawn -sword--doubtless he had hidden it beneath his monk's gown since he -returned to the assumption of the latter.</p> - -<p class="normal">In front of Jaime, upon his knees, his hands clasped, his white hair -streaming behind him, was the man whose name I had deemed to be -Carstairs, or Cuddiford, but which Juan had averred was in truth James -Eaton.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Alive!" Jaime went on. "Alive. Villain, answer for your treachery ere -I slay you. Where is my wealth--my child's wealth. Where is my -daughter?"</p> - -<p class="normal">As he spoke I heard a gasp, a moan beside me, felt a trembling. And, -looking down, I saw Juan staring into the room, his eyes distended as -though he was fascinated.</p> - -<p class="normal">"My child," Jaime went on. "My child. Where is she?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I--I--do not know," the old man muttered--hissed in a whisper. "I -do--not know. She left me--years ago. Yet--I loved her."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Liar. I have heard of you in the Indies. You stole the wealth I left -in your hands for her--you drove her forth. Answer. Is she dead?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I lost all in trade," Eaton moaned again, "all, all. I thought -to double it--you were dead--they said so--would never come back. -I--I----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Look," whispered Juan in my ear. "Look behind you."</p> - -<p class="normal">At his words I turned, and then I knew that we were lost, indeed. Lost -forever.</p> - -<p class="normal">The men from Chantada, accompanied by those of Lugo, were in this -garden--had followed us over the wall, had found out our way of -escape.</p> - -<p class="normal">We were doomed! The garrote--the stake--were very near now.</p> - -<p class="normal">They saw us at once, in an instant--doubtless our forms stood out -clearly enough in the beams of the lamp as they poured forth into the -garden--and made straight for us, their swords drawn, the unbrowned -barrels of their musketoons and pistols gleaming in the moonlight. And -the leader shouted, as he ran slightly ahead of the others: "You -cannot escape again. Move and we fire on you!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet we heeded him not, but with a bound leapt into the room where -those two were--leapt in while I cried: "Jaime, we are undone. Assist -us again."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then swift as lightning I shut the door to, let fall the curtain and -drew my sword. "I will never yield to them," I said. "Juan and I -escape or die here together."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Together!" Juan echoed, drawing also his weapon forth.</p> - -<p class="normal">There was but time to see a still more frightened glance on Eaton's -face than before--if added terror could come into a man's eyes more -than had been when those eyes had glinted up at Jaime as he stood over -him, it came now as Juan sprang to my side, his hat fallen off and his -hair dishevelled--while those men were at the door giving on to the -garden. And in an instant it was burst open by them--'twas but a poor -frail thing!--they were in the room.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yield!" the leader cried, "yield, or you die here at once!"</p> - -<p class="normal">But now Jaime was by our side; three blades were flashing in their -faces; we were driving them back, assisted also by a fourth--the negro -servant of Eaton, who had sprung into the room from another door. Yet -that assistance lasted but a second. Doubtless the unhappy wretch -preferred it, thinking it was his master who was in danger! A pistol -was fired by some one, and I saw him reel back, falling heavily on the -floor, dead, with a bullet between his eyes. And, as he did so, from -Eaton there came a scream, while he flung himself over the creature's -body.</p> - -<p class="normal">With those others pistols were now the order of the day, fired -ineffectually at first, while still I and the leader fought -hand-to-hand around the room. And I had him safe. I knew if I was not -cut down from behind that he was mine. My blade was under and over his -guard. I prepared for the last lunge, when--curses on the luck!--a -bullet took me in the right forearm; there ran through that arm, up to -my shoulder, a feeling of numbness, a burning twinge; my sword fell -with a clang to the floor.</p> - -<p class="normal">And in another moment two of them had sprung on and secured me; two -others had grasped Juan, and disarmed him, too.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now there was none on our side to oppose himself to them but -Jaime.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Shoot him down! Kill him!" the leader cried. Then added: "You fool, -there is naught against you, yet, if you court fate, receive it."</p> - -<p class="normal">But, great fighter as he was, what could he do against all those? One -hung upon his sword arm, another clasped a leg, a third was dragging -at his neck from behind, a fourth holding his monkish gown.</p> - -<p class="normal">In another moment he, too, was disarmed. We were beaten--prisoners! -The lives of all of us were at an end. None could doubt that!</p> - -<p class="normal">The leader drew a long breath, then turned to where, at the open door -of the passage, were gathered the landlord, as I supposed; several -<i>facchinos</i> and some trembling women servants, white to the lips, and -said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Observe, all you. I take these men--these <i>asasinos</i> within your -house. I denounce these two," and he indicated Juan and me, "the one -as an English spy and a man who fought against us at Vigo, this other -one, this boy, as his comrade and accomplice. Bear witness to my -words, also to their deeds of blood."</p> - -<p class="normal">From that crowd in the passage there came murmurs and revilings in -reply: "You should have slain them here," some said; "Better the -garrote or the flames in the <i>plaza da Mercado</i>," said others.</p> - -<p class="normal">"As for this monk, this false monk--for such I know him now to -be--easy enough to recognise him as one of the brigands we fought with -the other night--had he not joined in this fray he had been safe. We -sought him not. Now, also, the flames or the garrote for him." Then, -breaking off, he exclaimed: "Who is this--and that black slave lying -dead there?" and he pointed to Eaton and the other. "Who are they?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"A gentleman and his servant staying in this, my house," the landlord -said, speaking for the first time, "doubtless assaulted by the -<i>vagabundos</i>. Oh! 'tis terrible."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Off with these three," the leader said. "To the prison in the -ramparts to-night--the judge to-morrow."</p> - -<p class="normal">And as he gave his orders his men and the men of Lugo with him formed -round us, prepared to obey.</p> - -<p class="normal">But, now, for the first time Eaton spoke, approaching the leader -fawningly, speaking in a soft voice.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Seńor," he said, "ere you take them away, a word. This one," looking -at me, "you knew already--at Chantada; I have told you who and what he -is. For the boy it matters not. He is but a follower."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet as he spoke I noticed he carefully avoided Juan's eyes, fixed full -blaze on him as they flamed from out of his now white, marble face.</p> - -<p class="normal">"These, I say, you know," he went on. "But for this other one--this -pretended monk, this brigand of the night--you do not know him; nor -who he is and what has been. Let me tell you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Viper," Jaime murmured. "Villain. Thief! Yet," he continued, "I stoop -not to ask your silence. Speak. Tell all. But, James Eaton, beware. -Caged tigers sometimes break their bars and get free."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yours will never be broken," the leader said, looking at the same -time with a wondering glance from one to the other.</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis true. 'Tis very true," Eaton went on, his voice oily, -treacherous as before. "Yet since you might break yours, I give this -gentleman a double reason for binding you faster. Sir," turning to him -whom he so addressed, "this monk, this brigand as he appears, would be -an innocent man were he that alone, in comparison with what he really -is."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Who in the name of all the fiends is he, then? Answer quick."</p> - -<p class="normal">"A murderer," the old man hissed now, raising his voice, "not -four-fold, but four thousand-fold. See," and he pointed his fingers at -Jaime, "see in him the man who sacked Maracaibo, Guayaquil, Campeachy; -the man who has burnt men and women alive in their houses like pigs in -a stye, sunk countless Spanish and French ships, plundered, murdered, -ravished--the arch-villain of the Caribbean Sea--not dead, but alive, -and trapped at last. The buccaneer, filibuster, pirate--Gramont!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Amidst their voices--their shouts and cries--for all in Spain had -known that awful name, though its owner had long been deemed dead and -lost at sea--I heard a cry--it was a scream--from Juan; I saw him reel -as he stood by my left side, then stagger heavily against me, -supported from falling to the floor only by my unwounded arm around -him.</p> - -<p class="normal">He had fainted.</p> - -<p class="normal">And, as I held up the drooping form, I learnt the secret hidden from -me for so many days. I knew now what it was that Sir George Rooke had -earlier learnt. I penetrated the disguise of Juan Belmonte.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXIII.</h4> - -<h5>SENTENCED TO DEATH.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">I lay within a darkened cell in the prison which formed part of the -ramparts of Lugo. Lay there, a man doomed to death; sentenced to be -burnt at the stake, as a spy taken in a country at war with my own. To -be burnt at the stake on some Sunday morning, because that day was -always a day of festival, because all Lugo would be there to witness, -because from all the country round the peasants would come in to see -the Englishman expire in the flames.</p> - -<p class="normal">Doomed to death!</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet not alone. By my side--his right hand nailed to an upright plank! -(so the sentence had run) to which our bodies were to be fastened by -chains--was to stand that other man, Gramont--the pirate and buccaneer -who, as Eaton had testified, had been called the Shark of the Indies.</p> - -<p class="normal">I had been tried first by the Alcáide of Lugo and the principal -Regidór, assisted by the Bishop of the province, an extremely old -man--and had been soon disposed of. Evidence was forthcoming--there -was plenty of it in Lugo in the shape of French sea-captains and -sailors from the Spanish galleons--that I had fought with the English -at Vigo; also, that I had slain men betwixt the border and here. And, -again, there was the evidence of Eaton that I had travelled from -Rotterdam as the undoubted bearer of the news that the galleons were -approaching Spain.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also, not content with all this, I was on my way through the land, -gleaning evidence of all that was taking place within it, so as to -furnish, as none could otherwise suppose, information to my countrymen -when I should reach them.</p> - -<p class="normal">No need for my trial to be spun out; one alone of all these facts was -enough to condemn me, and, after a whispered conference between the -Alcáide, the Regidór and the Bishop, the latter delivered the above -sentence, his voice almost inaudible because of his great age, yet -strong enough for the purpose--powerful enough to reach my ears and -those of the small crowd within the court house; that was sufficient.</p> - -<p class="normal">So I knew my fate, and knew, too, that it was useless to say aught, to -utter one word. I had lost the game; the stakes would have to be paid -in full.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then began the unravelling of the history of him who stood beside -me--swarthy, contemptuous--his eyes glancing around that court, -alighting at one moment on the withered form and cadaverous face of -the Bishop, at another on the figure of the Regidór, a moment later on -the Alcáide, a younger, well favoured man, whom I guessed a soldier in -the past or present.</p> - -<p class="normal">Gramont's condemnation was assured by the part he had played on that -night when he assisted us on the road 'twixt Chantada and Lugo. That -alone would have forfeited his life amidst these Spaniards; yet, -perhaps from curiosity, perhaps because even they doubted whether so -summary an execution, and one so horrible, was merited by that night's -work, they decided to hear the denouncement of Eaton, the story of -Gramont's past life. They bade the former speak, tell all.</p> - -<p class="normal">And what a story it was he told!</p> - -<p class="normal">Sitting in a chair near the Bishop, looking nearly as old as that old -man himself, he poured out horror after horror; branded the man by my -side as one too steeped in cruelty to be allowed to live another hour, -if what he said was, indeed, true.</p> - -<p class="normal">Told how this man had ravaged all the Spanish main--had besieged -Martinique, Nombre de Diós, Campeachy, and scores of other places, -shedding blood like water everywhere--had sunk and plundered ships; -burnt them and the men in them--burnt them alive; gave instances, too, -of cruelty extreme.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have known him to tie dead and living together and fling them to -the sharks," he said--"dead and living <i>Spaniards!</i> Also hang them to -the bowsprit by a cord round their waists, a knife placed in one hand, -so that, while freedom was theirs if they chose to sever the rope, a -worse death awaited them when they fell into the water--a death from -sharks, from alligators! Oh, sir, oh, reverend prelate," he continued, -stretching out his hands toward the old, almost blind man, "I have -seen worse than this. Once he and his followers besieged a monastery -full of holy fathers, governed by a bishop saintly as yourself; and -they defended it vigorously, bravely--would have driven this tiger -back but for one thing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What?" asked the younger of the judges, the Alcáide. And I noticed -that now, as all through this testifying of Eaton, that Alcáide seemed -less disposed to accept his evidence than the others were. Later on I -knew the reason that so urged him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What?" he said.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Some of the priests had already fallen into his hands and the hands -of his crew. Then they it was whom he forced to advance first against -the monastery--to fire the brass cannon they had brought with them -against their brethren; forced them to do so, so that those brethren -should not know them, should shoot them down first.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Also," said the Alcáide, "it might have been to prevent their firing -at all. In open war a great commander would, perhaps, have availed -himself of such a cunning ruse."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I knew for sure this man had been, or was, a soldier.</p> - -<p class="normal">More, much more, was told by Eaton--'tis best I set down nothing -further--then the end came, The sentence was passed; he, too, was -doomed to die, by my side, on the Sunday that should later be -appointed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Break off," the Bishop said. "Justice will be done." Whereupon he -glanced down at his papers--I wondering that he could see them with -those purblind eyes--while, pausing in his attempt to rise, he "Yet -there was another. The youth"--and here I pricked up my ears, for -of Juan I had heard nothing since taken to the prison in the -ramparts--"the youth who fought by the side of this man--this -spy--this <i>Inglés</i>. How comes it he is not before us?"</p> - -<p class="normal">For a moment, as it seemed to me, the Alcáide hesitated, then he said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is not well. He was hurt in the <i>męlée</i>; he cannot be brought -before us for some days. Later, if necessary, he can be tried."</p> - -<p class="normal">Although I had drawn as far away from Gramont as I could since I had -learned his true nature and character and the bloodshed of which he -had been guilty, I could not prevent myself from letting my eyes fall -on him now; and I saw that for the first time there was a look of -eagerness in his eyes, that he was watching the younger of those -judges, watching as though filled with an intensity of feeling as to -what might next be said.</p> - -<p class="normal">"If necessary, Capitan Morales," the Regidór said, speaking now for -almost the first time, "if necessary! By all reports he is as bad as -his elder comrades. A wild cat, all say. Why should it not be -necessary?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is very young," the Alcáide replied, undoubtedly confused, "very -young; also he--he--is not well. I should do wrong to produce him -before you in the state he is. As governor I must use my discretion," -and he made a feint of being engaged with the papers before him.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I felt sure that he, too, knew Juan's secret, as I now did.</p> - -<p class="normal">And I wondered to what advantage he might put that secret on behalf of -Juan. Wondered while I felt glad at the thought which had now risen to -my mind--the thought that, at last, Juan might be saved from our doom.</p> - -<p class="normal">Again the Bishop said at this time--doubtless his worn old frame was -fatigued by the morning's work:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Let us rise. There is no more to be done, since--since--this youth -cannot yet be brought before us," and once more he placed his white, -shrunken hands upon the desk in front of him to obtain the necessary -aid to quitting his seat.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now the governor, whose name was Morales, made a motion of -dissent, accompanying it, however, by soft, respectful words.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay, most reverend father, nay," he said, "not yet, if you will -graciously permit that we continue our examination farther," while as -he spoke the Bishop sank back again with a wearied look of assent. "I -am not satisfied."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Not satisfied," the old man whispered, while the Regidór also echoed -his words, though in far louder tones. "What is it you are not -satisfied with, Capitan Morales?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"With that man's testimony," he exclaimed, pointing his finger over -his desk at Eaton. "In no manner of way satisfied," and as he spoke it -almost seemed--I should have believed it to be so in any other country -but Spain, a land of notorious injustice and love of cruelty for the -sake of cruelty--as if the crowd in the court somewhat agreed with -him. Also, even as he spoke, a voice shouted from the midst of those -forming it:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay! How knows he all this? Ask him that."</p> - -<p class="normal">Glancing my eyes in the direction whence those words came, they fell -upon a man of rude though picturesque appearance, whose voice I -thought it was; a fellow bearded and bronzed, with, in his ears, great -rings of gold; a man whom, I scarce know why, I instantly deemed a -sailor. Perhaps, one of the many who had fled from the galleons or the -French ships of war.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am about to ask him that!" exclaimed Morales, though he cast an -angry glance toward the crowd. "It is his answer to that which I -require."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then all eyes were instantly directed toward Eaton, one pair flaming -like burning coals from beneath their bushy brows--the eyes of -Gramont.</p> - -<p class="normal">Looking myself at him, noticing the ashy colour of his face as he -heard that unknown voice uprise amidst the people gathered in the -court--as also he heard in reply the words of Morales--noticing, too, -the quivering of his white lips and the look as of a hunted rat that -came into his eyes--I found myself wondering if he had not thought of -how his denunciation of the man by my side was his own accusation -also.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I ask you," went on Morales, "how you know all these things. None but -an eye-witness, a participator, could have told as much!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Upon that muttering and gesticulating crowd, upon the shaggy, -black-bearded Asturians and Biscayans--some of them rude mountaineers -from the Gaviara and some even ruder sailors from the wild and -tempest-beaten shores of Galicia--upon the swarthy Spanish women with -knives in their girdles and babes at their bare breasts, there fell a -hush as all listened for his answer--a hush, broken only by his own -halting attempt to find an answer that should be believed--gain -credence not only with the judges, but the people.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have--heard--it said--heard it told," he whispered, in quavering -tones. "'Twas common talk in all the Indies--his name hated--dreaded. -Used as a means to fright the timid--to----"</p> - -<p class="normal">He paused. For, like a storm that howls across the seas, sweeping all -before it in its course, another voice, a deeper, fuller, more -sonorous one, swept through that court and drowned his; the voice of -the lost man by my side.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Hear me, you judges," he cried, confronting all--standing there with -his manacled hands in front of him, yet his form erect, his glance -contemptuous, his eyes fire. "Hear me. Let me tell all. I have the -right--the last on earth granted to one such as I--for one who sees -and reads his doom in all your faces. Give me your leave to speak."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Speak!" the Bishop murmured, his tones almost inaudible. "Speak--yet -hope nothing."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Hope!" Gramont said. "Hope! What should I hope? Nothing! in truth. -No more than I fear aught. I am the man this one charges me with -being--am Gramont. That is enough. Gramont, the filibuster--one of a -hundred of your countrymen, of Frenchmen, of Englishmen. But," and -he glanced proudly around the court, "the leader of them all, of -almost all. Yet, if I am guilty, who is there in the Indies that is -innocent? Was Morgan, the English bulldog?--yet his king made him -deputy-governor of his fairest isle. Was Basco, Lolonois--is Pointis? -Answer me that. And, you of Spain, you, one of her bishops, you, one -of her soldiers," and he glanced at each of them, "how often has one -of you blessed the ships that sailed from your shores laden with men -of my calling--how often have men of your trade," again he glanced at -Morales, "belonged to mine? Yet now I, a Frenchman, a comrade in arms -of you Spanish, am judged by the words of such as that"--and this time -his eyes fell on Eaton.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also all in the court looked at him again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Now," went on Gramont, "hear who and what he is--hear, too, how he -knows all that I have done. He was my servant--my ship's steward -once--then rose through lust of cruelty to be my mate and second in -command. And he it was who first whispered that the captured monks and -priests, as he terms them, should be sent against the monastery at -Essequibo. Only--he has forgotten, his memory fails--they were not -monks and priests--but <i>nuns</i>."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, no, no!" shrieked Eaton, as a tumult indescribable arose within -the court, while now the mountaineers and seamen howled, "burn him and -let the other go," and the fierce dark-eyed women clutched their babes -closer to their breasts, fingering the hilts of the knives in their -girdles at the same time.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nuns! Holy nuns!" the Bishop gasped. "Great God!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay! Holy nuns. And hear one more word from me; it is the truth, -though it avails me nothing. I was not at Essequibo then, was far -away, was, in truth, at Cape Blanco. And he--he--James Eaton, was the -man."</p> - -<p class="normal">There rose more tumult and more uproar--it seemed as though all the -men in the court would force the barrier that separated them from the -judges and from Eaton and us, the prisoners--would slay that villain, -that monstrous wretch, upon the spot. But at a look from the Alcáide -some of the alguazils and men-at-arms by that barrier, thrust and -pushed them back, and made a line between them and the body of the -court.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Again listen," Gramont went on, when some silence had at last been -obtained. "It is my last word. I was not there--was gone--the band was -broken up, dispersed. From Spain had come an order from your king that -those who desisted were to be pardoned; from Louis of France came the -same news by Pointis. And I was one who so desisted, took service -under Louis, was made his lieutenant. Also I was on my way to France -when I was cast away. Cast away, after leaving my child, my wealth, in -that man's hands for safe keeping. He drove the one from him with -curses and cruelty, he stole the other. And--hear more--those galleons -coming to Cadiz were bringing that stolen wealth to him--because I -knew that it was so I came in them to Spain, hoping by my disguise to -meet him, to wrench it back from him, to call him to account for his -treatment of my girl."</p> - -<p class="normal">On the court there had come a hush--as the calm comes after the storm; -hardly any spoke now--yet all, from Bishop downward, regarded Eaton, -trembling, shivering there.</p> - -<p class="normal">And once more in that hush, Gramont's voice uprose again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For myself I care not. Do with me what you will. But, remember, I -denounce him, that man there, as pirate and buccaneer ten times more -bloodthirsty and cruel than any other who ever ravaged the Indies; I -denounce him, the denouncer, as thief, filibuster and spy. Do with me -what you will--only take heed. Spare him not. And if you seek -corroboration of my word, demand it of him who is my fellow-prisoner, -demand the truth from Juan Belmonte."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXIV.</h4> - -<h5>MY LOVE! MY LOVE!</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">The days passed as I lay in my dungeon in the ramparts, and each -morning when the jailer--who, I soon learned, was deaf and dumb--came -with a loaf of bread and jar of water, I braced myself to receive the -tidings that it was my last on earth.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet a week went by and I had not been summoned to the plank and -flames--I began, as I lost count of time--as I forgot the days of the -week themselves--to wonder if, after all, the sentence was one that -they did not dare to carry out. And, remembering that in Spain nothing -could be done without reference to the powers at Madrid, I mused upon -whether, if they did so dare, the sanction for the execution of -Gramont and myself must be first obtained ere the execution could take -place; also I mused on many other things, be sure, besides my own -impending fate, a fate which, I thought, would never be known to any -of my countrymen, which would be enveloped forever in a darkness -nothing could lift. I thought of Juan and of the secret which -that wild, impulsive nature had concealed from me for so many -days--wondered what would be the end of that career; thought, too, of -Gramont, the man whose blood-guiltiness had been so great, yet who, as -he stood by my side a doomed man, had seemed almost a hero by reason -of his indifference to, his scorn of, his fate.</p> - -<p class="normal">The dungeon, as I have termed it, though in fact it was more like a -cell, was in and at the uppermost part of the ramparts of Lugo--noted -for being the most strongly walled and fortified town in all -Spain--was, indeed, a room in the great wall which sloped down -perpendicularly to the Minho beneath; a wall, smooth and absolutely -upright, or vertical, on which a sparrow could scarcely have found a -crevice in which to lodge or perch, rising from eighty to a hundred -feet from the base of the rock on which it was built and through which -the river rushed. This I had seen as we had passed under it on the -other side of the Minho when we approached the town; could see, -indeed, in the daytime as I glanced down on to the river beneath -through the heavily grated and barred window which admitted light to -my prison; also I could observe the country outside and the mountains -beyond, while I heard at night the swirl of the river as it sped by -those rocks below.</p> - -<p class="normal">Because there was no chance of escape for any creature immured within -this cell, since none could force away those grates and bars, even had -he possessed that strength of Samson, for which I had once prayed; -because, also, had I been able to do so, there was nothing but the -jagged rocks beneath, or the swift river, into which to cast myself, I -was not chained nor manacled; was at liberty, instead, to move about -as I chose; to peer idly out all day at the freedom of the open -country beyond, which would never again be mine, or to cast myself -upon the pallet on the floor and sleep and dream away the hours that -intervened between now and my day of doom. Nay, I was at liberty, had -I so chosen, to strangle myself with my bedding, or, for the matter of -that, my belt or cravat, or end my life in any manner I might desire. -Perhaps, though I knew not that it was so, it might be hoped such -would be the end. It might save trouble and after consequences.</p> - -<p class="normal">None came near me all the day or night, except that mute jailer, of -whom I have spoken, when he brought me my bread and water every -morning, and it was, therefore, with a strange feeling of -surprise--with a plucking at my heart, and a fear, which I despised -myself for, that my last hour was come--that one night, as I lay in -the dark, I heard footsteps on the stones of the passage outside the -cell door--footsteps that stopped close by that door, some of them -heavy, the others light. I heard, too, the clash of keys together, the -grating of one in the huge lock, a moment later.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Remember," I whispered to myself. "Remember, you are a man--a -soldier. Be brave."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then slowly the door opened, and a figure came in, bearing a light in -its hand, while, a second later, the door was closed and locked again -from the outside; the heavy footsteps were heard by me retreating down -the passage.</p> - -<p class="normal">The figure was that of "Juan" Belmonte.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You here?" I said, springing up, and then I advanced toward it, my -hands outstretched, while my companion of so many days sprang to my -arms, lay in them, sobbing as though with a broken heart.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do not weep, do not weep," I said, and, as I spoke, my lips touched -that white brow--no whiter now than all the rest of the face, "do not -weep. What is, is, and must be borne."</p> - -<p class="normal">"My love, my love!" those other lips--whose rich crimson I had once -marvelled at so much--sobbed forth now, "my love, how can I help but -weep? Oh, Mervan, I have learnt to love you so, to worship you, for -your strength and courage! And now to see you thus--thus! My God!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Be brave still," I said; would have added "Juan"; only, not knowing, -I paused.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What shall I call you?" I asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Juana."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Do they--the judges--know?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"The Alcáide knows: 'Tis through that knowledge I am here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why," I whispered, my arms about her as she clung to me, "why was -this disguise assumed, these dangers run? Oh! Juana, since I learnt -what you were in truth I have shuddered, sweated at the memories of -your risks. What reason had you for coming to Europe as a man? and -with such beauty, too! 'Tis marvellous it was never seen through."</p> - -<p class="normal">"They would not give passage to women in the galleons," she answered. -"Therefore I came as I did; also I knew I might better find -Eaton--confront him, in a garb, another sex, which would prevent him -from recognising the little child he had treated so evilly." Then, -suddenly, with a wail, she exclaimed: "Oh, my God! Mervan, I have not -come to talk of this, but to be with you for our last hour; one hour -before we die. The Alcáide has granted me that--and one other -thing--on conditions;" and I felt her shudder in my arms.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Before we die," I repeated stupidly, saying most of her words over -again. "Granted you this and one other thing--and on conditions. What -conditions? Tell me all; make me to understand. <i>We</i> die? Not you! -They cannot slay you."</p> - -<p class="normal">From some neighbouring church a deep-toned bell was pealing solemnly -as I spoke. Far down below, by the river banks, I heard the splash of -some fishermen's boats as they went by to their night work--always, -until my eyes close for the last time, I shall remember those sounds -accompanying her words in answer to mine--shall hear them in my -ears--her words: "I can slay myself."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Juana!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Must slay myself," she went on, "there is no other way. Can I live -without you--or, living, fullfil those conditions?" and, even as she -said this, our lips met. "But," I asked, my voice hoarse with grief -and misery, "what are they, and wherefore granted?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He gives me one life--his--my father's! My God! he my father!--he -will not give me yours because he thinks you are my lover--and--and -the condition is that on the night when he is set free, I fly from -Lugo with him, Morales, to Portugal. He will be safe there, he says. -'Tis rumoured the king has joined England."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And you accept the terms?" I asked, bitterly, knowing that I loved -this girl as fondly as she loved me. Had loved her since I discovered -her sex as she reeled into my arms on that night. "You accept?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I accept. Nay!" she exclaimed, "do not thrust me from you--you -cannot doubt my love, my adoration. Else why am I here a prisoner in -Lugo--why, except because I could not quit your side, could not tear -myself from you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"How then accept?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Listen. I must save him. God!--he is my father--to my eternal shame! -Yet--yet, being so, his soul must not go to seek its Maker yet--'tis -too deeply drenched with crime, he must have time--time to live--to -repent--to wash away his sins. Oh! Mervan, you are my love, my love, -my first and only love--will be my last--yet--I must save him."</p> - -<p class="normal">"At what a cost! Your own perdition!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"No, no. Listen. Morales leaves here the day before my unhappy father -is given his chance of escape--the door of his cell will be set open -for him at night; none will bar his exit by a back way--I, too, shall -be gone. Morales will take me with him in my own proper garb, that of -a woman. Then--then--because I shall not believe in my father's -freedom until I am sure of it, know it, he will join us at the -frontier--not the one which we passed, but where the road crosses to -Braganza at a place called Carvallos--and----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"You will keep your word!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes. To myself--not him. My father will be safe--Morales unable to do -more against him--I--I shall be dead. Once I am assured all is well -with him I shall end my life. There will be nothing more to live for."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Suppose," I whispered, "suppose--it might be!--that I should escape, -and, doing so, find you dead! Oh, Juana, how would it be with me then? -How could I live?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ah, my love," she said, whispering, too, "can you not believe I have -thought of that--believe that if all hope of your escaping was not -gone I should not have decided thus? But, Mervan, you are a brave man, -have faced death too often to fear to do so once again for the last -time. Mervan, my love, my life--there is no hope. None. He has told -me--he--Morales--that the morning after all are gone but you, you will -surely be put to death. My own, my sweet, there is no hope."</p> - -<p class="normal">"If I could escape first----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is impossible. Impossible. Oh! I have begged him on my knees again -and again to give you the same chance as he gives my father--have told -him that, since he ruins himself to set free the one, it would cost -him no more to let both go--yet, yet--he will not."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why not?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have said. And he makes but a single answer. One is my father--the -other my lover. Laughs, too, and says he does not jeopardise his own -body--ruin for certain his own life in his own land--to fling that -lover back into my arms."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Still, if he knows that until a few days ago I deemed you a boy----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Knows it!" she exclaimed. "Oh, my God! have I not told him so a -hundred times--sworn that we were but strangers thrown together scarce -a month past; had never met before. And to all my vows and -protestations he replies: 'Knowing you now to be a woman--as I have -myself by chance discovered--he must love you as I do. I will not save -him to steal you from me.'"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet, with this refusal on his lips, you yield--or appear to yield."</p> - -<p class="normal">"My father! My father!" she cried, flinging her arms madly around my -neck. "My father! My father! For his sake I must yield. Oh, my love, -my love, my love--I must."</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing: 9px"> -* * * * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">I cannot write down--in absolute truth, cannot recall--our last sad -parting, our frenzied words, our fond embraces. Suffice it that I say -we tore ourselves apart at the sound of the mute's footsteps--that -Juana was borne away almost insensible.</p> - -<p class="normal">For that we should never meet again in this world we recognised--we -were parted forever. I had found and won--although till lately unknown -to myself!--the most fond and loving heart that had ever yielded -itself up to a man--found it only as I stood upon the brink of my -grave.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet if there were anything that could reconcile me to my loss of her -it would be that grave, I knew; that--or the casting of my ashes to -the wind after my body was consumed by the <i>braséro</i>--would bring the -oblivion I desired. And, since she, too, meant to die the moment her -father was safe, neither would be left to mourn the other. At least -the oblivion of death would be the happy lot of both. Yet, as now the -hours followed one another, as I heard them strike upon the bells of -all the churches in this old city, and boom forth solemnly from the -cathedral tower--wondering always, yet resignedly, when I should hear -them for the last time; wondering, too, when the key would once more -grate in the lock and I should be summoned to my doom--I cursed myself -for never having penetrated Juan's disguise, for never having guessed -she was a woman. Sir George Rooke had done so, I knew now; that was -what he meant by his solemn warnings to me--fool that I was, not to be -as far-seeing as he!</p> - -<p class="normal">There were many things, which I now recalled, that should also have -opened my eyes--her timidity, her nervousness, the strange power of -mustering up courage at a moment of imminent danger; also the frequent -change of colour; the remaining in the inn kitchen all one night; the -shriek for assistance at the barrier encounter. And yet I had been -blind, and thought it was a boy who rode by my side through all the -perils we had passed.</p> - -<p class="normal">I might have saved her had I but had more insight--might have -refused to let her accompany me; have sternly ordered her to -travel in some other way than along the danger-strewn path which I had -come. She would have been safe now--what mattered it what had befallen -me!--would have been free, with no hideous necessity of taking her own -life to escape from the love which Morales forced upon her.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, as I tossed upon my pallet, thinking of all this--thinking, too, -of how fondly I had come to love this girl, so dear to me now that we -were lost to each other forever--I knew, I felt sure, that no stern -commands issued to her to turn back and quit my side would have been -of any avail; that, as she had once threatened, she would have -followed me like a dog, have lain upon the step of the house wherein I -slept, would never have quitted my side.</p> - -<p class="normal">For hers was the hot, burning love of the southern woman, of which I -had often read and heard told by wanderers into far-off lands--the -love that springs in a moment into those women's breasts, and, once -born, is never quenched except by death--as, alas! hers was now to be -quenched.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXV.</h4> - -<h5>"AS THE NIGHT PASSETH AWAY."</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">Still the days passed and I meditated on whether each as it came was -to be my last. Wondered as every morning I watched the opening of the -heavily clamped door, if, instead of my loaf and jar of water, that -deaf and dumb jailer had come to summon me forth to my fate; and -wondered again at what might cause the delay, since morning after -morning his behaviour was ever the same, the bread always placed on -the rough stone shelf that ran around the room, with the water by its -side. That, and nothing more.</p> - -<p class="normal">That Juana had gone by now with the Alcáide, I thought must surely be -the case. I had taken since that night when last we met--and parted -forever--to scoring with a nail a mark daily on the whitewashed but -filthy wall, so that thereby I might keep some count of the days as -they went by, and now there were six of such marks there. Surely she -was gone--surely, too, I thought, Gramont's escape had taken place by -now--yet they came not for me. What did it mean?</p> - -<p class="normal">In my agony at the thought that by now, perhaps, Juana was dead by her -own hand--I pictured her to myself using the small poniard I knew she -carried, or the equally small pistol of which she was possessed--I -groaned--nay! almost shrieked sometimes at my horrible picturings of -her beautiful form and face stiff with death; in that agony I came to -pray at last to God that the day or night which was passing over me -might be my last. That He, in His supreme mercy, would see fit to -inspire them with the resolve to make an end of me. Prayed that, by -the time those never ceasing clocks without had struck once more the -hour they were striking as I made my supplication, my soul might have -left my body--that that body might be no more than a heap of ashes.</p> - -<p class="normal">For I could bear my existence no longer. My thoughts--of my beauteous -mistress lying in death's hideous grasp, of my poor old father, and -the misery which would be his--not at my falling like a soldier, but -at the mystery which would forever enshroud my death--were more than I -could support.</p> - -<p class="normal">But still another day passed--the seventh--and still again at daybreak -there was no summons to me to go forth and meet my fate. Yet, since by -the increased pealings of the bells, and by the ringing of some -sweeter sounding ones than those usually heard, I knew it was the -Sabbath I wondered that my doom had not come. For the Sabbath was, I -remembered, the day of execution in this land, because 'tis always a -fęte day, when the people are at leisure to be excited and amused.</p> - -<p class="normal">That day passed, however, the night drew on, the dark had come; and -still I was alive; had before me another night of horror and of mortal -agony unspeakable to endure.</p> - -<p class="normal">From my ghastly, silent warder I had tried more than once to obtain -some hint, or information, as to when I might expect my sentence to be -carried out--if I could have learnt that, I should have known also -that Gramont was gone--was free--that, my God! Juana was dead, or near -to her death. But as well might I have asked the walls of this cell in -which I was, for a word or sign. I wrote on those walls with the nail -a question--<i>the</i> question: "When am I to die?" and he stared as -stolidly at it as though he were no more able to see than to speak or -hear. Thinking, perhaps, that he could not read, I made sighs upon my -fingers to him, at all of which he shook his head, though what he -meant to convey I know not. Yet, had my mind not been so distraught, I -should have remembered that, perhaps, if he could not understand the -one neither could he the other. Reflecting later on, however, I felt -sure that he was able to do both--it was the only way in which one so -afflicted as he was could have been made to understand his orders; -and, still later, I knew that such was the case. And now, on that -Sunday, as the horrid gloom of the winter night enveloped all the -country around, while up from the pastures and fields there rose a -vapour or fog, I took a terrible resolve, driven thereto by the misery -of my reflections.</p> - -<p class="normal">I determined that, if my death by the hands of the executioner came -not to-morrow, I would take my own life. I could endure no longer, -could think no more upon Juana as a dead woman, as one slain by her -own hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Oh! Juana, Juana," I wailed more than once, "my lost Juana." Then -added, with fierceness, "Yet--no matter. We meet to-morrow at the -latest."</p> - -<p class="normal">Though they had taken my weapons from me ere they brought me here, -there was enough of opportunity to my hand for accomplishing my -purpose. There was the nail I had found--my sash, or belt--my -cravat--either would serve for my purpose if I was brave enough to -accomplish it.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Brave enough--brave enough!" I found myself repeating. "Brave enough! -Or," I whispered, "cowardly enough? Which is it? Which?"</p> - -<p class="normal">And, as still the long hours of the night went on, and I lay on my -pallet staring up into the darkness, listening to the hours told over -and over again by the bells, until my soul sickened at their sound, -watching a glint of the moon's rays on the metal roof of the -cathedral, I answered my own question, reasoned with myself that -self-destruction was the coward's, not the brave man's, act, and -resolved at last to cast that awful resolution behind me, to endure -and meet my fate like a man, as a gallant soldier should.</p> - -<p class="normal">And so, eased--I scarce knew why--by my determination, I fell at last -into a tranquil sleep, and dreamt that I was back in England, walking -in my father's old flower garden in the Weald, with my love, Juana, by -my side.</p> - -<p class="normal">Some unaccustomed noise awoke me from that fair dream--something to -which I was not used in the long silence of the nights--some sound -which, as I raised myself on my elbow and peered around the cell, I -could not understand; for in that cell there was no other presence, as -for a moment I had imagined when I sprang up, half asleep and half -awake; the moon, which had now overtopped the cathedral towers, showed -that plain enough. Deep scurrying clouds were passing beneath her face -swiftly--obscuring sometimes her brilliancy for some moments, 'tis -true; yet, as she emerged now and again from them, her flood poured in -and lit up the whole chamber. There was no one in it but myself!</p> - -<p class="normal">What, therefore, was the sound I had heard? Stealthy footsteps -outside?--those of my doomsmen, perhaps!--or was it some silent -executioner about to steal in on me in the night, thereby to prevent -the publicity of a death in the market place--a death which might by -chance be reported to my own countrymen afar off, and like enough, if -the war rolled down this way, be bitterly avenged? Was that it?</p> - -<p class="normal">Again beneath the moon there passed heavy clouds, extinguishing her -light so that for a moment my prison was once more steeped in -darkness--I found myself thinking that there would be snow ere -morning; that, if that morning brought my death, 'twould be a -bleak and wintry scene which the flames of the <i>braséro</i> would -illuminate!--then through a break in those clouds a ray stole forth, a -ray that glinted in through the iron bars of the window grate, across -the stone-flagged floor, and onward to the heavily clamped door, then -was arrested there--one spot shining out amidst those beams with the -brightness and the dazzle of a diamond.</p> - -<p class="normal">What was that thing, that spot on which the ray glinted so?</p> - -<p class="normal">Creeping toward the door, as silently and lightly as I could go, I -reached it, put out my finger and touched that gleaming spark, and -found that it proceeded from the extremity of a key which was in the -lock and which now protruded by a trifle into the room. It was the -insertion of that key which had awakened me.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet--what did it mean, and why, when once in the lock, was it not -turned; why not followed by the entry of one or more persons into the -cell?</p> - -<p class="normal">Were they coming back later to fall on me? Had the key been first -inserted by some who had withdrawn directly afterward, so that, if the -noise awakened me, I should sleep again shortly, when they could -return to finish their work? This must be the true explanation--I was -to be executed in the depth of the night when all were asleep in the -old town, when no cry of anguish, no scream from one being done to -death, would be heard.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet," I thought to myself, "these precautions are useless. As well -here as in the flames to-morrow. What matters where or how?"</p> - -<p class="normal">At that moment my ears caught a sound--something was passing down the -stone passage outside--something that was not the heavy tread of the -jailer. Instead, a muffled sound--yet perceptible to me. A shuffling, -scraping sound as though one who was shoeless was dragging each foot -carefully along after the other.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I saw the end of the key which projected through the lock turn--I -saw it sparkle in the moon's rays--once it grated harshly, creaked! -And, slowly, a moment afterward the door opened inward, leaving the -passage outside dark and cavernous. He who had so opened it with one -hand carried no light in the other.</p> - -<p class="normal">Stepping back from it, watching what should happen next--yet, I swear -before heaven, with no fear at my heart--why should there be, since I -desired to die and join my love? yet still with that heart beating -loudly from excitement--I saw the blackness of the doorway blurred -with a deeper intensity by a form standing outside it. I saw the -moonbeams reach that form, lighting it up for a moment and glistening -on the eyes of it. I saw before me the great figure and heavy, stolid -face of my dumb, impenetrable jailer. The mute! Also observed that -under his arm he carried something long--a sword.</p> - -<p class="normal">His eyes upon me, he advanced into the cell--I seeing that his feet -were bare except for thick, coarse stockings which he wore--yet making -no motion as though to attack me, his action not such as would have -rendered a more desperate man than myself resolved to defend himself. -Then slowly, while I, my back against the farthest wall, stared at him -more in wonder than in awe, he raised the arm under which the sword -was not borne, and motioned to me with his finger, crooked somewhat, -to follow him, pointing a moment afterward down the dark passage.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So," I whispered to myself, drawing a deep breath as I did so, "the -hour has come. He bids me follow him. I understand--it is to be done -before daylight. Well, I am ready. God give me strength and pardon -me."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I made ready to follow him, while he, observing this, prepared to -lead the way.</p> - -<p class="normal">All was profound and dark outside that cell when once we were in the -passage--so dark that, ere I had barely reached it, I felt his great -hand upon my arm, felt him clutching my sleeves between his fingers. -And thus together we went on, he silent as a corpse, except for his -breathing, which sometimes I heard--sometimes, too, felt upon my -cheek--I going to my death.</p> - -<p class="normal">One thing I noticed, even in these moments of intensity. We went the -opposite way from that by which I had first been brought--the opposite -way from which his footsteps, when he had been shod, had invariably -sounded; also the opposite way from which my love had come to bid me a -last farewell, and had been carried insensible after our parting.</p> - -<p class="normal">Whither was I being taken?</p> - -<p class="normal">The end of the corridor was reached in the darkness; I knew that by -the fact that his grasp tightened perceptibly on my sleeve; also that, -by a pressure of his fingers on it, he was turning me somewhat to the -left; likewise, that grasp put a degree of curb upon me; a moment -later seemed to signify that I was to go on again. And it felt to me -that, in a way, I was being supported--held up.</p> - -<p class="normal">Another instant, and I knew why. We were descending stairs--on the way -down, doubtless, to some exit that should lead to my place of doom! -Still I resisted not. One path to oblivion served as well as another.</p> - -<p class="normal">By the manner in which the steps were cut I knew at once that we were -in some tower, and that the stairs were circular; also my hand, which -I kept against the side, told me the same thing. Moreover, there were -<i>[oe]illets</i>, or arrow slits, in the wall, through which I could see -the moon shining on another wall, which seemed to be some fifty paces -off--probably, I thought, the opposite wall of some courtyard built -into, or by the side of, the huge ramparts.</p> - -<p class="normal">Of sound there was none, no noise of any kind, no tramp of sentry to -be heard, although I knew well enough that on the ramparts themselves -soldiers were kept constantly on guard. Nothing; all as still as -death, the death to which I was being led.</p> - -<p class="normal">At last the stairs ended. My feet told me we were on the level now, a -level into which they sank somewhat as I took step after step, whereby -I judged that we were walking on sand, and wondered in what part of -that prison, of those huge ramparts, we might be. Surely, I thought, -some lowermost vault or dungeon, perhaps beneath the foundations of -the structure, beneath the rocks between which the river flowed.</p> - -<p class="normal">"My God!" I murmured to myself, "is this my fate? To be immured -forever in some dark dungeon in the bowels of the earth, where neither -light, nor sound--never hope--can come again. Better death at once, -swift and merciful, than this. Far better."</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet almost it seemed to my now frighted heart that this alone could be -the case.</p> - -<p class="normal">The air reeked and was clammy, as though with long confinement in this -underground place, and by remaining ever unrefreshed from without by -heaven's pure breezes was mawkish and sickly as the breath of a -charnel house--perhaps 'twas one!--perhaps those who died here were -left to fester and moulder away till their corpses turned to skeletons -and their skeletons to dust; to die here, where no cry for help could -issue forth, no more than any sound except a muffled one could -penetrate, as I knew at this moment, for far above I heard a deep boom -that seemed like the muffled roar of a cannon--a sound that was in -truth the eternal bell of the cathedral telling the hour; also another -broke on my ear--a swift, rushing noise, yet deadened, too--the sound, -I thought, of the Minho passing near.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, all at once--as I knew that the sickly, reeking air would choke -me, felt sure that ere many paces more had been traversed I must reel -and fall upon that sanded floor--there blew upon my face a gust of -air--oh! God! it was as though I had changed a monumental vault all -full of rankling dead for some pure forest through which fresh breezes -swept--far down toward where my dimmed eyes gazed I saw a glimmer of -something that looked like the light of a coming dawn.</p> - -<p class="normal">And I thanked heaven that, at least, these horrid vaults were not to -be my prison or my grave; that, let whatever might befall me, my -punishment was not to be dealt out here.</p> - -<p class="normal">And ever still as I went on that stricken man walked by my side, held -my arm with his hand, and directed the way toward the sombre light -that gleamed afar.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXVI.</h4> - -<h5>WHAT HAS HAPPENED?</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">The light increased as we advanced; the space it occupied grew larger; -also it seemed to be entering at what I now judged to be the mouth, or -exit, of some narrow, vaulted passage, through which we were -progressing and arriving at the end of; almost, too, it seemed as if -this passage was itself growing less dark; as if now--as I turned my -eyes to where the mute walked by my side--the outline of his form was -becoming visible.</p> - -<p class="normal">What was I to find at the end of this outlet--what to see awaiting me -when at last I stood at the opening in the midst of the wintry dawn--a -scaffold, or the <i>braséro?</i> Which? I perceived now--my eyes -accustoming themselves to the dusky gloom--that this vaulted way, or -corridor, was one hewn through a bed of rock, and roughly, too, -blasted, perhaps, in earlier days; and that all along its sides were -great slabs, or masses, of this rock, that lay where they had fallen. -Perceived something else, also--a man crouching down behind one of the -fallen blocks, his cape held across his face by one hand, so that -naught but the eyes were visible; the eyes--and one other thing that -shone and glistened even in the surrounding gloom--a huge gold -earring, of the circumference of a crown-piece, which fell over the -crimson edge, or guarding, of that cloak.</p> - -<p class="normal">Where had I seen a man wearing such earrings as that before? Where? -Then, even as I went on to my death, I remembered--recalled the man. -'Twas he who had cried out to the Alcáide in the court, bidding him -question Eaton as to how he knew so much of Gramont's past--yet--what -doing here, why hiding behind that fallen mass? Was there some one -within these dungeons whom he sought--some one for whom an attempted -rescue was to be planned? I knew of none--knew of no other prisoner -within these walls--since now Gramont was, must be, as far away as his -unhappy child--my lost love, Juana. Yet, perhaps, it was not very like -I should have known.</p> - -<p class="normal">But now the end was at hand. I scarce cared to turn my eyes to observe -whether or not the mute had seen the sailor shrinking behind the -stone; instead, nerved myself, by both prayer and fierce -determination, to meet my fate, to make my exit into the open as -bravely as became a man; to let not one of my executioners see that I -feared them or the flames that were to burn the life out of me.</p> - -<p class="normal">So we drew near the mouth of the passage--moving through the gloom -that was as the gloom of a shuttered and darkened house on some wintry -morn--I seeing that, beyond and outside, was a sloping, stone-flagged -decline that led down to a lane which ran out into the open country -beyond. We were, therefore, outside the walls of Lugo, and I deemed -that it was here, unknown to the townspeople, that I was to meet my -fate.</p> - -<p class="normal">We stood a moment later on that stone-covered descent, and I gazed -around it startled--amazed! For here, upon it, was no hideous -<i>braséro</i> piled up with logs of wood, and drenched with resin and -pitch to make those logs burn more fiercely; no upright plank nor beam -against which the sufferer's hand--my hand!--was to be nailed through -the palm; no executioners clad in black from head to foot. Instead, a -man in peasant's dress--green breeches, leather <i>zapátas</i> and a -sheepskin jacket. A peasant holding by the reins two horses, one -black, the other dappled grey.</p> - -<p class="normal">I felt almost as though once more I should faint--felt as I had done -in that reeking, mouldy corridor through which I had come--became -sick, indeed, at the relief, even though 'twere for an hour or so -only, which was accorded me from instant death, since I knew that here -that death could not be dealt out.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I turned to the deaf and dumb man--if such he was--who had now -released my arm--had done so, indeed, since the half light had been -reached--and implored him to tell me what was intended.</p> - -<p class="normal">For answer--he guessed, no doubt, the import of my words--he pointed -to the horses and made signs I should mount one of them. And I, -incredulous, asking God inwardly what was meant, went toward the black -one and seizing its reins and twisting a lock of its mane around my -thumb prepared to do as I was bid, yet with my nerves tingling and -trembling so that I scarce knew whether I could reach the saddle or -not.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, ere the attempt was made, as I raised my foot to the iron, the -mute touched my arm, felt in his belt with the other hand and, -producing a piece of paper, gave it to me.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was from Juana; ran thus in English:</p> -<br> - -<p class="normal" style="font-size:smaller"> -Your road is through Samos, Caldelas and the other Viana. At Terroso -you will cross the frontier. The jailer will guide you to us. Come -quickly, so that thereby my fate may be decided.</p> - -<p style="text-indent:60%">Juana.</p> -<br> - -<p class="normal">That was all. All--from her to me! From her to me! No word of love -accompanying the message. Not one!</p> - -<p class="normal">She had saved me in some way--had induced the Alcáide to bring about -my escape also--had done this, yet could send me no greeting such as -she must have known I hungered for. Was it shame, remorse, that made -her so silent and so cold? Heartbroken, I thrust the letter into my -pocket, and, at a sign from the mute, mounted the horse, he doing the -same with the other.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, ere we gave them their reins, he leant across and put into my -hands the sword he had carried under his arm since first he opened the -door of my cell; a sword long and serviceable-looking, with a great -hilt and curled quillon; one that I had seen another like somewhere, -though where it was I could not recall.</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing: 9px"> -* * * * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas over twenty leagues to Terroso, I learnt in the course of our -ride. Diminishing those leagues moment by moment, we went on and on, -the black horse that I bestrode never faltering in its quick pace, the -grey keeping close to it.</p> - -<p class="normal">And I, my brain whirling, my heart beating tumultuously within my -breast, my whole being--my soul!--shaken by the release from an awful -death which had come to me, would have given all that I was possessed -of if from that stricken, silent, terrible companion by my side I -could have extracted one word--gleaned from him one jot or atom of -information! Yet to my repeated exclamations he, seeing that I was -speaking to him, shook his head persistently; when I made signs to him -in the alphabet which I felt sure he knew, he turned his face away and -rode on stolidly. Had a dead man, a spectre, been riding ever by my -side, swiftly when I rode swiftly, halting when I halted, neither -could have been more terrible to me than this living creature, so -immutable and impenetrable.</p> - -<p class="normal">I was sore beset--distraught, my mind full of fearful fancies! Fancies -that I should find Juana dead--though, too, I imagined that she would -not slay herself until she had made sure of my safety, else why her -letter?--fancies that, since the letter contained no word or hint of -love, she had forced herself to tear me out of her heart forever; -forced herself to do so because now she knew she could never be aught -to me again. These fancies, these thoughts, were awful in their -intensity; were made doubly so by this silent creature who never -quitted my side.</p> - -<p class="normal">And once my agony of nerves grew so great that I turned round upon -him--gesticulating fiercely--hating myself for my brutality in doing -so against one who was, in truth, my saviour--shrieking at him:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Speak! Speak! For God's sake, speak! Utter some word. Give some sign -of being alive--a reasoning thing. Speak, I say, or leave me--else I -shall slay you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then I shuddered and could have slain my own self at the man's action.</p> - -<p class="normal">For he turned and looked at me--it was in the fast gathering -twilight, as side by side always, we were slowly riding up a mountain -path--looked--then, as I gazed, the tears rolled down his coarse face! -And, poor unhappy, afflicted thing! those tears continued to trickle -down that face till night hid it from my eyes.</p> - -<p class="normal">I knew now that he understood at least, that he comprehended the words -of pity and remorse I poured forth before the darkness came; at least -the touch I made gently on his sleeve was read aright by him. For on -his broad, expressionless face, to me for so long a stolid mask, there -came a placid smile, and once he returned my touch lightly as still we -rode on, and on, and on.</p> - -<p class="normal">We halted that night to rest our horses and ourselves at a miserable -inn, high up in the mountains, a place round which the snow was -falling in great flakes, that seemed, indeed, to be embedded in snow. -A ghastly, horrid place in which, as I sat shuddering by the fire, -while my companion and the landlord slept near it--wondering if by now -Juana had accomplished her dreadful purpose, unable longer to bear the -company of the man, Morales, to whom she had sold herself; or, almost -worse still, the company of her sin stained father; wondering too, if -by now that splendid form was stiff in death!--I almost cursed the -escape that had come to me. In truth, I think that now, upon this -night, amidst the horrors of this lonely mountain inn, I was almost a -madman; for the soft beat of the flakes upon the glass of the window -seemed to my frenzied mind like the tapping of ghostly fingers; as I -fixed my eyes upon those flakes and saw them alight one by one upon -the panes and then dissolve and vanish, it looked to me as though they -were fingers that scratched at the window and were withdrawn only to -return a moment later. Also the wind screamed round the house--I -started once, feeling sure I heard a woman--Juana--shriek my name, -plucked at the sword by my side and would have made for the door, but -that the landlord laughed at me and pushed me back, saying that those -shrieks were heard nightly and all through the night during the -winter.</p> - -<p class="normal">At last, however, I slept, wrapped in my cloak before the peat fire, -the mute in another chair by my side. And so, somehow, the night wore -through. The morning came, and we were on our road once more, ten -leagues still to be compassed ere the frontier was reached, with, -behind us, as now I gathered from my mutilated companion's manner in -answer to my questions, the possibility that we might be pursued. That -after us, in hot chase, might be coming some from Lugo who had -discovered our escape.</p> - -<p class="normal">The mountain water courses and rivulets hummed beneath the frozen snow -bound over them by the bitter frost, the tree boughs waved above our -heads and across our path as, gradually descending once more to the -plain, the chestnuts and the oak trees took the place of the gaunt -black pines left behind above; once on this bitter morning we saw the -sun steal out from amidst the clouds--lying down low on the horizon as -though setting instead of rising. Yet on we rode for our lives, with -upon me a deeper desire than the salvation of my own existence--the -hope that I should be in time to save Juana, to wrench her from -Morales ere it was too late, to bear her away at last to happiness and -love unspeakable. Rode on, my black horse stumbling once over a mass -of stone rolled down from the heights above; the dappled grey coming -to its haunches from a similar cause, yet both lifted quickly by a -sharp turn of our wrists and rushing on again down the declivity, -danger in every stride and only avoided by God's mercy.</p> - -<p class="normal">The leagues flew by--were left behind--a long billowy plain arrived -at, sprinkled with hamlets from which the cheerful smoke rose to the -sky; the mute had passes which took us through that other town of -Viana; the last spot of importance was reached--and passed!--that lay -between us and the border--between us and Portugal and safety.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then once more our beasts slackened in their stride, again the ground -rose upward, once more the hills were before us, above them at the -summit was the frontier, Terroso. Another hour and we should be -there--Juana's and my fate determined.</p> - -<p class="normal">To use whips--neither of us had spurs--was cruel, yet there was no -other way; therefore we plied them, pressed reeking flanks, rode on -and on mercilessly. And now the end was at hand; afar off I saw a -cabin over which floated both the banner of Spain and of Portugal. We -were there some moments later--the mute's papers again examined--our -passage allowed.</p> - -<p class="normal">We had escaped from Spain!</p> - -<p class="normal">"You ride quickly," the Portuguese <i>aduanista</i> said; "seek some -others, perhaps, who come before you?" and he addressed himself to my -companion, probably because he bore the passports. Then continued: "If -'tis a seńor and seńora you desire, they are in the <i>fonda</i> half a -league further on."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>They</i>," he said, "'<i>They</i>' God be praised!" I murmured. Had any -tragedy occurred it would not have been "they."</p> - -<p class="normal">Not waiting to answer, but briefly nodding my thanks, we went on, the -last half league dwindling to little more than paces now.</p> - -<p class="normal">And then I saw the <i>fonda</i>, a place no bigger than a wooden cabin, I -saw a woman seated on a bench outside against its wall, her elbows -upon her knees, her dark head buried in her hands.</p> - -<p class="normal">She heard the ring of our horses' hoofs upon the road, all sodden as -it was with half-melted snow, and sprang to her feet--then advanced -some paces and, shading her eyes, looked up the way that we were -coming; dashed next her hand across those eyes as though doubting what -she saw, and ran down the road toward us.</p> - -<p class="normal">As I leapt from my horse she screamed, "Mervan!" and threw herself -into my arms, her lips meeting mine in one long kiss, then staggered -back some paces from me, exclaiming:</p> - -<p class="normal">"How! How, oh, my love, how--how have you escaped--found your way -here--to me?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"How?" I repeated after her, startled at the question; startled, too, -at the tone of her voice. "How! Do I not owe my salvation to you--to -your power over him--the Alcáide?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"My God! No!" she answered. "Never would he have aided you to escape." -Then, suddenly, as some thought struck her, she screamed aloud: -"Mervan--Mervan--where is my unhappy father?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Your father! Is he not here?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"No! No! No! Oh, God! what has happened? Has he been left behind to -meet his doom?"</p> - -<p class="normal">And, as she spoke, she reeled and would have fallen had I not caught -her in my arms.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXVII.</h4> - -<h5>"LIAR, I WILL KILL YOU!"</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">He had been left behind--and I was here! He whose escape had been -arranged for was still a prisoner--I, whose doom had been fixed, was -free.</p> - -<p class="normal">What did it mean? What mystery had taken place?</p> - -<p class="normal">One glance toward the <i>fonda</i> fifty yards away was sufficient to show -that mystery there was--as unintelligible to another as to Juana. And -more than mystery!--that my presence here was as hateful as -unexpected, to one person at least. To Morales, the Alcáide!</p> - -<p class="normal">For even as my love recovered sufficiently to be able to stand without -my assistance, though still leaning heavily upon me, I--looking toward -that <i>fonda</i>--saw Morales issuing rapidly from it, his sword carried -in his left hand, his right hand plucking the blade from the scabbard. -And--more ominous still of what his intentions were, as well as of his -fury!--as he ran toward us he flung the now empty sheath away from him -and rushed forward, the bare blade gleaming.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then as he reached the spot where we both stood together, the mute -behind us--while, even as I too plucked the sword the poor creature -had furnished me with from its scabbard and stood upon my guard, I -saw that his stolid face expressed not only fear but something -else--astonishment!--Morales shouted, his words tumbling pell mell -over each other so much as to be difficult of understanding.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Wretches! Traitor! Traitress! 'Tis thus I am deceived--hoodwinked! -Tricked and ruined so that your lover may be restored to your false -arms. So be it--thus, also, I avenge myself," and--horror!--he made a -pass at Juana as she stood by my side. He was a Spaniard--and his love -had turned to hate and gall!</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet ere the shriek she uttered had ceased to ring on the wintry -morning air, the deadly thrust that was aimed full at her breast was -parried by my own blade; putting her behind me with my left hand, I -struck full at him, resolved that ere another five minutes were over -his own life should pay for that craven attempt; struck full at his -own breast, missing it only by an inch, yet driving him back from me.</p> - -<p class="normal">Back, step by step, yet knowing even as I did so that' it was no odds -on me in this encounter, that here was a swordsman who would dispute -every thrust of mine; that it would be lucky if his long blade did not -thread my ribs ere my own weapon found his heart.</p> - -<p class="normal">It behooved me to be careful, I knew. Already, in the first moment, he -had settled down to fighting carefully and cautiously; already one -devilish Italian thrust was given--he must have crossed the Alps, I -thought, to learn it!--that almost took me unawares; that, had my -parry not been quick, would have brought his quillon hurtling at my -breast, with the blade through me. Yet, it had failed! and with the -failure the chance was gone.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I know your thrust," I whispered, maybe hissed, at him; "'twill serve -no more."</p> - -<p class="normal">But even as I said these words it came to me that I should not win -this fight, that he was the better man--my master--at the game--that I -was lost. And as I thought this I saw--while we shifted ground a -little on the sodden snow--the mute standing gazing earnestly, almost -fascinated, upon us; I saw some people at the door of the <i>fonda</i>--a -man and a woman--regarding us with horror-stricken glances--I saw -Juana on her knees, perhaps praying! It might be so, since her head -was buried in her hands!</p> - -<p class="normal">And if he won, if he slew me, even wounded and disabled me, she was -lost, too; with me out of the way, with her father dead or still a -prisoner, nothing could save her. Her last hope would be gone.</p> - -<p class="normal">That spurred me, egged me on, put a fierce and fresh determination in -my heart, since I had not lost my courage, but only my confidence. -That, and one other thing; for I saw upon the melting snow beneath our -feet, even as we trod it into water, a tinge of crimson; I saw a few -drops lie spotting it--and I knew that that blood was not mine. -Therefore, I had touched him, had only missed his life by a hair's -breadth; next time it might not be drops--might be the heart's blood -of him who had sought that of my loved one!</p> - -<p class="normal">Still, I could not do it, could not thrust through and through him. -Every drive, every assault, was parried easily. Once, when I lunged so -near him that I heard his silk waistcoat rip, he laughed a low, -mocking laugh as he thrust my blade aside with a turn of his iron -wrist; I could not even, as I tried, take him in the sword arm and so -disable him.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also, I knew what was in his mind, specially since, for some few -moments, he had ceased to thrust back at me. He was bent on tiring me -out. Then--then--his opportunity would have come, would be at hand.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Disable him! Disable him!" Why did those words haunt my brain, ring -through it again and again; seem to deaden even the scraping hiss of -steel against steel. "Disable him!" What memory was arising in that -brain of some one, something, long forgotten? A second later, even as -I felt my point bring pressed lower and lower by his own blade, knew a -lunge was coming--parried it as it came--safely once more, thank -God!--I remembered, knew what that memory meant.</p> - -<p class="normal">Recalled a little, hunchbacked Italian <i>escrimeur</i> who used to haunt a -fence school at the back of the Exchange in the Strand; a man whose -knowledge of attack was poor in the extreme, yet who could earn a -beggar's wage by teaching some marvellous methods of disarming an -adversary. And I had flung him a crown more than once to be taught his -tricks!</p> - -<p class="normal">Now those crowns should bear interest!</p> - -<p class="normal">I changed my tactics, lunged no more; our blades became silent; they -ceased to hiss like drops of water falling on live coals or hot iron; -almost they lay motionless together, mine over his, yet I feeling -through blade and hilt the strength of that black, hairy wrist which -held the other weapon. Also, I think he felt the strength of mine; -once his eye shifted, though had the moment been any other the shift -would have been unnoticeable.</p> - -<p class="normal">That was my time! Swift as lightning, I, remembering the dwarf's -lessons of long ago--why did I remember also the little sniggering -chuckle he used to utter as he taught them?--drew back my sword an -inch, then thrust, then back again with a sharp wrench, and, lo! -Morales' sword was flying through the air three feet above his -head--he was weaponless! My own was drawn back a second later, another -moment I should have avenged his assassin's thrust at Juana--yet I -could not do it. For he, recognising he was doomed, stood there before -me, his arms folded over his breast, his eyes confronting mine.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Curse you!" he said, "you have won. Well--kill me. At once."</p> - -<p class="normal">No need for me to say that could not be. In the moment that I twisted -his weapon out of his wrist I had meant to slay him, had drawn back my -own weapon to thrust it through chest and lungs and back, and stretch -him dead at my feet--yet now I spared him.</p> - -<p class="normal">Villain as he was--scoundrel who would traffic with a broken-hearted -woman for her honour and her soul as a set-off against her father's -safety, and, in doing so, also betray the country he served--I could -not slay a defenceless man.</p> - -<p class="normal">His sword had fallen at my feet; one of them was upon it. I motioned -to him now to return to the <i>fonda</i>--to begone.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You have missed your quarry," I said; "'twill never fall to your lure -again. Away!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, still standing there before us--for now Juana had once more flown -to my side, and was sobbing bitterly, her wild, passionate words -expressing partly her thanks to God for my double safety, and partly -her bewailings that her father had gone to his fate--he had something -to say, could not depart without a malediction.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Curse you both!" he exclaimed once more. "Curse you! Had I known of -your trick you should all have burnt and grilled on the <i>braséro</i> ere -this--ay, even you, wanton!--ere I had let you fool me so."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then he turned away as though to go back to the <i>fonda</i>, yet returned -again, and, striding back to where the mute stood motionless, his -expression one of absolute vacancy--as though, in truth, he was only -now become dumb from utter surprise--he struck at him full in the face -with his clenched fist.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Dolt, idiot, hound!" he said. "Was it to aid in such treachery -against me as this that I saved you from the Inquisition? God! that I -had left them to take your useless life! Dumb fool!"</p> - -<p class="normal">I, standing there, with Juana still clinging to my neck, as she had -done since the duel was over, saw the man stagger back and wipe the -blood from his lips; saw, too, his hands clench firmly; saw him take -one step forward, as though he meant to throw himself upon Morales; -then stop suddenly, and do nothing. Perhaps even now, after this foul -blow, he remembered that he had been saved from death once by him who -struck that blow.</p> - -<p class="normal">But a moment later he approached the Alcáide, though now humbly, and -like a beaten slave who sues for pardon, and entreats that no further -punishment shall be dealt out to him, and, an instant after, began, -with fingers and hands and many strange motions, to tell his master -something--something in a dumb language that was, still, not the deaf -and dumb language in common use, and which I myself chanced to know, -yet one that none could doubt both of these men were in the habit of -conversing in.</p> - -<p class="normal">He was telling some strange tale, I saw and understood by one glance -at my late opponent's face; neither could any doubt that who gazed -upon it!</p> - -<p class="normal">At first that face expressed amazement, incredulity--all the emotions -that are to be observed on the countenance of one who listens to some -story which he either cannot believe, or thinks issues, at best, from -a maniac. Yet gradually, too, there came over the face of Morales -another look--the look of one who does believe at last, in spite of -himself; also there dawned on it a hideous, gloating expression, such -as might befit a fiend who listens to the tortured cries of a victim.</p> - -<p class="normal">What did it mean? What tale was that stricken creature telling him by -those symbols, which none but he understood? What? What?</p> - -<p class="normal">A moment later we knew--if Morales did not lie to us.</p> - -<p class="normal">The mute had ceased his narrative, his hands made no further signs, -and, slowly, he stepped back again to where the horses we had -travelled on stood together, the reins of one tied to the other--and -Morales turned to us, his features still convulsed with that horrible -expression of gloating.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I have wronged you," he said, raising his forefinger and pointing it -at Juana, who shuddered and clasped me closer even as he did so; "and -you," glancing at me. "The treachery was not yours, but another's; -unless--unless"--and he paused as though seeking for words--"unless it -should be termed otherwise. Say, not treachery, but--sublime -sacrifice."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What!" from both her lips and mine. "What!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Your father," he said, "had his chance"--and again that forefinger -was pointed at her--"this poor fool, my servant, went to set him free; -the horse was waiting for him--only, instead, it has borne <i>you</i> to -safety"--and now he glanced at me--"also there was his sword for -him--that by your side."</p> - -<p class="normal">"My God! My God!" I heard Juana whisper on my breast.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Only he--this buccaneer--would not accept it, not take it. He, -stained deep with crime as he was, his name an accursed one through -all the Indies--men spit upon the ground there, they say, with -loathing when they hear it mentioned, even now--could bear all things -but one. Shall I tell you what that one thing is?" and he glanced -again at Juana, a very hell of hate in his look.</p> - -<p class="normal">But she could only moan upon my bosom and murmur: "My father! Oh, my -father!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He could not bear," Morales went on, "that his child should be what -he knew she had become by now--my friend----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Liar!" I cried. "I will kill you for this."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Could not bear that she should bring deeper disgrace than even he had -done upon your tainted names. Therefore he refused to come; therefore -he preferred the flames to which he has gone"--a wild, piercing scream -broke from Juana as he said those words--"and--so--so--that there -should be nothing rise up to prevent him from going to his death, so -that he should put away from himself all chance of salvation from that -death and earn his oblivion from disgrace, he persuaded this fool that -a mistake had been made--that 'twas you, not he, who was to be saved, -allowed to escape."</p> - -<p class="normal">"You lie," I said again. "You lie. Some part of this story is true, -some false, Gramont never believed that she would give herself to you; -knew that she meant to slay herself the instant she was assured of his -safety. Spanish dog, you lie, and I will have your life for it."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is true," he said hoarsely, "as true as that an hour after you -left Lugo he was led out and burnt at the <i>braséro</i>--the <i>braséro</i> -that was prepared for you. Now," and once more he addressed Juana, -"you have your lover back again--be happy in the possession; in the -knowledge that his life is saved by the loss of your father's. Be -happy in that."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h4> - -<h5>THE DEAD MAN'S EYES--THE DEAD MAN'S HANDS.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">Was Juana dying, I asked myself that night--dying of misery and of all -that she had gone through? God, He only knew--soon I should know, too.</p> - -<p class="normal">Ere I had carried her to the <i>fonda</i>, Morales had disappeared, his -afflicted follower with him--ere we reached the miserable room, in -which she had passed the two nights that had elapsed since she had -come here with him who had bartered for the sacrifice of her honour -against her father's safety, I heard the trample of horses' hoofs, I -saw from the inn window both those men ride swiftly away, their road -being that which led on into Portugal.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was not possible that I should follow him and exact vengeance for -all that he had done or attempted to do against her, force him once -more to an encounter, disarm him again--and, when he was thus -disarmed, spare him no further. Not possible, because, henceforth, my -place was by her side. I must never leave her again in life--leave her -who had come to this through her love of me, her determination to -follow me through danger after danger, reckless of what might befall.</p> - -<p class="normal">She lay now upon her bed, feverish and sometimes incoherent, yet, at -others, sane and in her right mind, and it was at one of such moments -as these that I, sitting by her side, heard her whisper:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mervan, where is that man--Morales?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"He is gone, dear heart; he will trouble you no more. -And--and--remember we are free. As soon as you are restored we can -leave here--there is nothing to stop us now. My journey through Spain -and France can never be recommenced--we must make for England by sea -somehow. Then, when I have placed you in safety, I must find my way -across to Flanders."</p> - -<p class="normal">For a while she lay silent after I had said this; lay there, her -lustrous eyes open, and with the fever heightening and intensifying, -if such were possible, her marvellous beauty. For now the carmine of -her cheeks and lips was--although fever's ensign!--even more -strikingly lovely than before; this woman on whom I gazed so fondly -was beyond all compare the most beautiful creature on which my eyes -had ever rested. As I had thought at first, so, doubly, I thought now.</p> - -<p class="normal">Presently she moaned a little, not from bodily pain, but agony of -mind, as I learnt shortly--then she said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mervan, why do you stay by my side--why not go at once back to your -own land? Leave me?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Juana!" I exclaimed, deeming that I had mistaken her state, and that, -in truth, she was beside herself. Then added, stupidly and in a dazed -manner: "Leave you!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay. Why stay by me? You have heard, know all, whose child--to my -eternal shame!--I am. The child of that bloodstained man, Gramont. -Ay," she said, again, "he, that other, Morales, spoke true. There is -no name in all the Indies remembered with such hate and loathing as -his. And I--I--am his child. Go--leave me to die here."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Juana," I said, "can you hear me, understand what I am saying--going -to say to you? Is your brain clear enough to comprehend my words? -Speak--answer me."</p> - -<p class="normal">For reply she turned those eyes on me; beneath the dark dishevelled -curls I saw their clear glance--I knew that all I should say would be -plain to her.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Listen to my words," I continued therefore. "Listen--and believe; -never doubt more. Juana, I love you with my whole heart and -soul--before all and everything else this world holds for me. I love -you. I love you. I love you," and as I spoke I bent forward and -pressed my lips to her hot burning ones. "And you tell me to leave -you, because, forsooth! you are his child. Oh! my sweet, my sweet, if -you were the child of one five thousand times worse than he has been, -ay! even though Satan claimed you for his own, I would love you till -my last breath, would never quit your side. Juana, we are each other's -forever now."</p> - -<p class="normal">"No! No! No!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yes, I say," I cried almost fiercely. "Yes. We are each other's -alone. You are mine, mine, mine. I have no other thought, no other -hope in all this world but you. If--if--our faith were the same I -would send for a priest now who should make us one; there should be no -further moment elapse in all the moments of eternity before you were -my wife."</p> - -<p class="normal">I felt the long slim hand tighten on mine for an instant, then release -it a moment later; but she said no more for a time. Yet the look on -her face was one of happiness extreme. After a while, however, she -spoke again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The admiral knew," she whispered. "He had found out my secret."</p> - -<p class="normal">For a moment I could not recall what she referred to--the incidents -which had happened in such quick succession since we had quitted the -fleet had almost obliterated from my memory the recollection of all -that had taken place prior to that time. Yet now I remembered, -and--remembering--there came back to me Sir George Rooke's strange -diffidence after she had seized his hand and pressed it to her heart. -Also, I recalled the deference with which he had treated her whom I -thought then to be no more than a handsome, elegant youth, as well as -my feeling of surprise at that deference.</p> - -<p class="normal">And still, as I reflected over this, there was one other thing in -connection with him which also came back to me; his words, to wit, -that there were even worse things than shot or steel or death to cloud -a brave man's career--that many a soldier had gone down before worse -than these. And I knew now against what he had intended to warn -me--against the woman now lying here sore stricken, the woman whom I -loved and worshipped, the one who had been to me as faithful as a dog.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So be it," I said to myself, "so be it. If I am to become bankrupt -and shipwrecked through my love for her, I must be. Henceforth she is -all in all to me, and there is nothing else in my life. Yet, up to -now, the admiral's warning has been but little realised--I owe no ruin -to her, but, rather, salvation."</p> - -<p class="normal">For I could not but recall that 'twas through her that any loophole of -escape had come to me in the prison of Lugo; to her unhappy father -that I owed, if Morales had spoken true, the absolute escape itself.</p> - -<p class="normal">Even as I sat there meditating thus she moaned again: "My father. My -lost, doomed father," and once more I heard her whisper: "His child! -His child! The saints pity me!"</p> - -<p class="normal">And now I set myself to place that lost father before her in a far -different light than that in which she regarded him--to make her -believe that, when almost all in the Indies who had their account with -the sea had in their time been much as he had been, his crimes were -not so black as they appeared to her; to also paint in glowing colours -that sublime sacrifice--Morales had termed it truthfully!--which he -had made in remaining behind whilst I escaped, in dying while opening -to me the path to life and freedom.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Juana, my sweet," I said, speaking low, yet as sympathetically as I -could to her, "Juana, you deem his sin greater than it is. Also, -remember, 'tis almost certain Morales lies when he said he died -because--because--of your flight with him. For, remember--what the -vagabond forgot in his rage and hate!--remember, he knew of your -resolve, your determination to pretend to give yourself to him in -exchange for his safety."</p> - -<p class="normal">As I said these words I saw her eyes glisten, saw her head turned more -toward me on the pillow--in her face the expression of one to whose -mind comes back the recollection of a forgotten fact, a truth.</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Diôs!</i>" she whispered, "it was so. He knew of my intention. 'Tis -true; Morales lied. Yet," she went on a moment later, "yet that cannot -cleanse him from his past sins, purge his soul from the crimes with -which 'tis stained."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Crimes!" I re-echoed, "Crimes! Think, recall, my beloved, what those -crimes were. Those of buccaneer, 'tis true, yet not so bad but that -all like him were not deemed too sunken in sin to be refused pardon by -Spain, by France, even by my own land. Those pardons were sent out to -the Indies shortly before he was thought to be lost--had he returned -to France, then he would have held a position of honour under Louis."</p> - -<p class="normal">"How?" she asked--and now I noticed that in her face there seemed to -be a look of dawning hope, a look too, as though with that newborn -hope there was a return of strength accompanied by an absence of such -utter despair as had broken her down. "How know you that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"I was there in the court when he was tried," I said, "I heard his -words--and none who heard them could doubt their truth, no more than -they could his fierce denouncement of that unutterable villain, Eaton. -Juana," I said, endeavouring to speak as impressively as was in my -power, to thrust home more decisively the growing conviction to her -heart that Gramont was not the devil he had been painted, "you must -teach yourself to think less ill of your father than report has made -him. And--and remember, he could have escaped an he would; it was, as -that man said, a sublime sacrifice when he went to his doom."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But why?" she asked, "why?" Though even as she did so, I saw, I knew, -that in her heart there was the hope and wish to find something that -might whiten his memory for her.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why," I repeated, bending near to her, speaking as deeply and -earnestly as I could; above all, the softened feeling I was -endeavouring to bring about in her heart toward that lost, dead father -must be made to grow, until at last she should regard his memory with -pity if naught else. "Why, because as I do believe, as I believe -before God, he knew we loved each other, Juana----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ah, Mervan!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Because his life was already far spent, because ours were in their -spring; because, it may be, he knew that with him gone and me escaped -in his place there was the hope of many happy years before you--with -me--of years always together, of our being ever by each other's side -until the end. Juana, my beloved, my love, think not of him as one -beyond pardon and redemption, but rather as one who purified forever -the errors of his life by the deep tenderness and sacrifice of his -end."</p> - -<p class="normal">I had won.</p> - -<p class="normal">As I concluded she raised herself from the pillows on which she lay, -the long shapely arms met round my neck, the dark curly head sank to -my shoulder; soon nothing broke the silence of the room but her sobs. -Yet ever and again she whispered through her tears: "My father, my -unhappy father. May God forgive me if I have judged you too harshly."</p> - -<p class="normal">Soon after that I left her sleeping peacefully and with, as it seemed -to me, much of her fever gone--yet even as she slept I, sitting -watching by her side, saw still the tears trickle forth from beneath -the long eyelashes that fringed her cheeks, and knew that in her sleep -she was dreaming of him.</p> - -<p class="normal">But again I told myself that I had won; that henceforth the memory of -her father's erring life would not stand between her and me, between -our love.</p> - -<p class="normal">The peasant who kept the miserable inn, and whose curiosity as to all -that had taken place recently--the arrival of Juana and Morales, the -duel, and then the rapid departure of him and the mute, while I -remained behind in his place--was scarcely appeased by my curt and -stern information that the lady above was shortly to become my wife, -told me that there was no suitable sleeping place for me other than -the public room. The other seńor, he said, had had to make shift with -that, since the one spare room which the seńora occupied was the only -one available in the house. He supposed, he added gruffly, that I, -too, could do the same thing. There was a bench--and he pointed as he -spoke to a rough wooden thing which did not promise much ease or -rest--on which the other seńor had slept; also a deep chair, in which -one might repose easily before the fire. Would that do? Yes, I -answered, either would do very well. I was fatigued, and could sleep -anywhere. All I asked was that I should be left alone.</p> - -<p class="normal">This was done, though ere the man and his wife departed to their -quarters for the night the latter took occasion to make a remark to -me. The lady, she observed, if she might make so bold as to say it, -seemed to be of an undecided frame of mind. When she and the other -seńor arrived she had understood that he was the person to whom she -was about to be married. It was strange, she thought, that the lady -should elope over the border with one seńor, to be married to another. -However, she added, it was no affair of hers.</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is no affair of yours," I said sternly once more. "Leave me alone -and interfere not in our affairs. Your bill," I continued, "will be -paid; that is sufficient." Whereon she said that was all that was -required, and so, at last, I was left to myself.</p> - -<p class="normal">Left to myself to sit in the great chair before the fire and muse on -all that had lately occurred to make my journey toward Flanders a -failure; to muse still more deeply on the love that had come to me -unsought, unthought of; the love that, when I had at last accomplished -my task and rejoined Marlborough, would, I hoped, crown my life.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, as the snow beat against the window, for once more it was a rough -night and the wind howled here as it had howled the night before, -across in Spain--while as before the flakes falling on the rude panes -seemed to my mind to resemble ghostly finger-tips that touched the -glass and then were drawn off it back into the darkness without--I -thought also of the now dead and destroyed man, the buccaneer who, all -blood-guilty as he was, had yet gone to a doom that he might have -escaped from.</p> - -<p class="normal">And my thought prevented sleep, even though I had not now slept for -many, many hours--my terrible reflections unstrung me--it seemed -almost as if the spirit of that dead man had followed me, was outside -the rough wooden door; as if, amidst those falling and swift-vanishing -snowflakes on the glass, I saw his eyes glaring out of the blackness -into the room. And soon I became over-wrought, the gentle beat of the -snow became the tap of a hand summoning me to open and admit his -spectral form--an awful fantasy took possession of me!</p> - -<p class="normal">Was, I asked myself--as furtively I turned my eyes to those solemn, -silent flakes that fell upon the window pane, rested there a moment -gleaming white, then vanished into nothingness--was the lost soul of -that man hovering outside the door or that window--the soul that but a -few hours ago had quitted his body?</p> - -<p class="normal">If I looked again at the casement should I see, as though behind some -dark veil, the eyes of Gramont glaring into the room; see those flakes -of snow take more tangible form--the form of a dead man's fingers -scratching at the panes, tearing at them to attract my attention?</p> - -<p class="normal">Distraught--maddened by the terror of my thoughts, fearful of myself, -of the silence that reigned through the house, I sprang to my feet--I -was mad!--I must go out into the gloom and blackness of the night----</p> - -<p class="normal">God!--what was that?</p> - -<p class="normal">There <i>was</i> a tapping at the door--a footstep--next a tap at the -window. The hands were there; I saw the fingers--the snow falling -round them--on them. I saw, too, the eyes of Gramont peering in at me.</p> - -<p class="normal">"What is it?" I cried hoarsely. "What? What?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Then through the roar of the tempest without, through the shriek of -the wind, above the loud hum of the torrent, I heard--or was I mad and -dreaming that I heard?--the words:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Open. To me--her father."</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXIX.</h4> - -<h5>"LET US KISS AND PART."</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">As I unbarred the door that gave directly from the miserable -living-room of the house to the outside he came in, the snow upon the -shoulders of the cape he wore--some flakes even upon his face.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are alive! Escaped!" I whispered, recognising that this was no -phantom of my brain, but the man himself. "Safe! Thank God!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Where is she?" he asked, pausing for no greeting, giving me none. "My -child! Is <i>she</i> safe? Or--have I come too late?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"She is here--safe. It is not too late."</p> - -<p class="normal">His eyes roamed round the room; then, not seeing her, he continued:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Where? I must see her--once."</p> - -<p class="normal">"<i>Once?</i>"</p> - -<p class="normal">"For the last time. After that we shall never meet again. The shadow -of my life, my past, must fall on her no more. Yet--once--I must see -her. Lead me to where she is."</p> - -<p class="normal">"She has been ill, delirious--is crushed by all that has -happened--by----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"All that she has learnt," he interrupted, his voice deep and -solemn--broken, too. "Yet I must see her."</p> - -<p class="normal">"She is asleep above."</p> - -<p class="normal">For answer to this he made simply a sign, yet one I understood very -well--a sign that I should delay no longer.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Come," I said, "come." And together we went up the narrow stairs to -the room she occupied--stole up them, as though in fear of waking her.</p> - -<p class="normal">Pushing the door open gently, we saw by the rays of the <i>veilleuse</i>, -which I had ordered to be placed in the room, that she was sleeping; -observed also that our entry did not disturb her; also it was easy to -perceive that she was dreaming. Sometimes, as we standing there gazed -down, the long, dark lashes that drooped upon her cheeks quivered; -from beneath them there stole some tears; once, too, the rosy lips -parted, and a sigh came from between them.</p> - -<p class="normal">"My child, my child!" Gramont whispered to himself, "child of her whom -I loved better than my life--that we should meet at last, only to part -forever!"</p> - -<p class="normal">And from his own eyes the tears rolled down--from his! He stooped and -bent over her; his face approached hers; his lips touched that white -brow, over which the short-cut hair curled in such glorious -dishevelment, while he murmured:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Unclose those eyelids once, look for the last time on me." Then he -half-turned his head away, as though to prevent his own tears from -falling on and awakening her.</p> - -<p class="normal">Was he a sorcerer, I wondered, even as I watched--a sorcerer, as well -as other things unnamable? Had he the power over his own child to thus -reach her mind and brain, even though both were sunk in a deep, -feverish sleep? In truth, it appeared so.</p> - -<p class="normal">For, even as he spoke, those eyelids did unclose, the dark, dreamy -eyes gazed up into his, while, slowly, the full, white, rounded arms -encircled his neck, and their lips met, and from him I heard the -whispered words:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Farewell, farewell, forever. Oh, my child, my child!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet--and I thanked God for it then, as ever since I have thanked Him -again and again!--he had turned away ere the answering whisper came -from her lips, had not heard the words that fell from them--the words:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mervan, Mervan, my beloved!"</p> - -<p class="normal">Thanked God he had not known how, in her sleep, she deemed those -kisses mine, and dreamed of me alone.</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing: 9px"> -* * * * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">"'Twas went on the storm increased, the snow no longer came in flakes -against the window of the room below, in which we sat, but, instead, -lay thick and heavy in masses on the sill without--was driven, too, -against the window by the fierce, tempestuous wind that howled down -from the mountains above, and rocked the miserable inn.</p> - -<p class="normal">"There is no going on to-night," Gramont said, coming in out of the -storm after having gone forth to attend to the horse that had brought -him from Lugo, and having bestowed it in the stables, where were the -animals on which Juana and I had also ridden. "No going on to-night." -Then, changing the subject abruptly, he said: "Where is that man?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Not pretending to doubt as to whom he made allusion, I said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"The Alcáide?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay, the Alcáide."</p> - -<p class="normal">Whereon I told him of all that had happened since my arrival with the -mute, and of his immediate departure further on into Portugal.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You should have slain him," he said, "the instant you had disarmed -him. You loved Juana and she you--she told me so when she divulged his -scheme to me in the prison--you should never have let him go free with -life."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I <i>had</i> disarmed him. I could not slay a weaponless, defenceless -man."</p> - -<p class="normal">"One slays a snake--awake or sleeping. He merited death."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet to him, in a manner, we all owe our lives. Juana--I--you."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Owe our lives! Owe our lives to him! To one who trafficked with my -girl's honour as against her father's freedom; a man who betrayed his -trust to his own country as a means whereby to gratify his own evil -desires! And for you--for me--what do we owe him? The chance of my -escape came from another's hand than his."</p> - -<p class="normal">"From another's! You could have escaped even without that vile compact -made between--God help us--Juana and him?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay--listen. You stood by my side in the court when they tried us; you -heard a voice in that court; saw the man who called out in loud tones -to the man, Morales. You saw him, observed, maybe, that he bore about -him the signs of a sailor."</p> - -<p class="normal">As he spoke there came to me a recollection of something more than -this--a recollection of where I had seen that man again, of how it was -he who crouched behind the fallen masses of blasted rock in the -passage beneath the bed of the river through which I had passed to -freedom; also, I remembered the great gold rings in his ears, and the -glistening of one upon the guarding of his cloak as he shrank back -into the darkness.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I remember him," I said, "very well--also, I saw him again, on the -night that mute led me forth, helped me to escape."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Tis so. That man saved me, was bent on saving me from the moment he -saw my face in the court. He is a Biscayan--yet we had met in other -lands; once I had saved his life--from Eaton. He--that doubly damned -traitor--that monster of sin--had taken him prisoner in a pink he -owned, yet had not captured her without a hard fight, in which this -man, Nuńez Picado, nearly slew him. Then, this was Eaton's revenge: He -bound him and set him afloat in a dismantled ketch he had by him, that -to which Picado was bound being a barrel of gunpowder. And in that -barrel was one end of a slow match, the other end alight and trailing -the length of the ketch's deck."</p> - -<p class="normal">"My God!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"So slow a match that it would take hours ere it reached the powder, -hours in which the doomed wretch would suffer ten thousand-fold the -tortures of the damned. Yet one thing Eaton forgot--forgot that those -hours of long drawn-out horror to his victim were also hours in which -succour might come. And it was so. I passed that craft drifting slowly -to and fro off Porto Rico. In the blaze of the noontide I saw a -brighter, redder light than the sparkle of sun on counter and -brass--when I stepped on board the ketch there was not a foot of the -slow-match left--not an hour longer of life left to the man. Only, the -bitterness of death was over for him then--he was a raving maniac, and -so remained for months."</p> - -<p class="normal">"He has at last repaid you in full."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ay! In full. He knew the secret way into the ramparts; all was -concocted, all arranged for our escapes."</p> - -<p class="normal">"For yours and hers?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"For hers and mine. Had it not been that you had to be saved -also--that the freedom which Juana had obtained from Morales for me -must be transferred to you, since I needed it not, she would never -have been allowed to go forth with him. I or Picado would have slain -him in the prison and escaped with her."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I begin to understand."</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Twas best, however, to let her go forth unknowing--at least it -removed him away from what had to be done--made it certain that he -could not impede your escape. The rest was easy. I persuaded the mute -that 'twas you, not I, whom it was intended to save, that 'twas for -you her letter was meant, that it was I who was doomed."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And Eaton? Eaton?" I asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Eaton has paid the forfeit of his treachery," he said. "It has -rebounded on his own head. The <i>braséro</i> thirsted for its victim--the -populace for its holiday. They have had it. Trust Nuńez Picado for -that."</p> - -<p class="normal">He said no more, neither then nor later, and never yet have I learnt -how that vilest of men was the substitute for those whom he had hoped -and endeavoured to send to the flames. Yet, also, never have I doubted -that it was done, since certain it is that from that time he has never -again crossed my path.</p> - -<p class="normal">"The storm increases," Gramont said, as he strode to the window and -peered out into the darksome night. "Yet--yet--I must go on at -daybreak. I--I have that which needs take me on."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Stay here with us," I cried, "stay here. Juana will be my wife at the -first moment chance offers. Stay."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," he said. "Nay. She and I must never meet again. That is the -expiation of my life which I have set myself--I will go through with -it. In that last kiss above, I took my farewell of her forever in this -world."</p> - -<p class="normal">"What will you do?" I asked through my now fast-falling tears, tears -that none needed to be ashamed of; tears that none, listening to his -heart-broken words as they dropped slowly from his lips, could have -forborne to shed. "What is your life to be?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"God only knows," he replied; "yet one of penitence, of prayers for -forgiveness so long as that life lasts. Thereby--thereby--I shall be -fitter for the end. I am almost old now; it may not be far off."</p> - -<p class="normal">Silence came upon us after that--a silence broken only by the howl of -the wind outside the lonely house, by the thud of snow falling now and -again from the roof and eaves--blown off by the fury of the tempest. -But broken by scarcely aught else, unless 'twas a sigh that -occasionally, and all unwittingly, as I thought, escaped from that -poor sinner's overcharged breast. Yet, for the rest, nothing; no sound -from that room above, where Juana lay sleeping; nothing but sometimes -the expiring logs falling together with a gentle clash in the grate.</p> - -<p class="normal">Then suddenly, as I almost dozed on one side of those logs, he being -on the other, I heard him speaking to me, his voice deep, sonorous and -low--perhaps he feared it might reach her above!--yet clear and -distinct.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Evil," he said, "as my existence has been, misjudge me not. None -started on life's path meaning better than I. God help me! none -drifted into worse extremes. Will you hear my story--such as 'tis meet -you should know--you who love my child?"</p> - -<p class="normal">I bowed my head; I whispered, "Yes." Once, because I pitied him, I -gently touched his hand with mine.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I was a sailor," he went on, his dark eyes gleaming tenderly at that -small offering of my sympathy, "bred up to the sea, the only child of -a poor Protestant woman. Later--when Louis the king first fell under -the thrall of the wanton, De Maintenon, my mother died of starvation, -ruined by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, ruined ere that -revocation by the shadow it cast before it on all of our faith. Think -you that what was doing in the Indies by the Spaniards made me love -the followers of the Romish church more?"</p> - -<p class="normal">He paused a moment--again he went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"In the Indies to which I had wandered, I met with men who had sworn -to extirpate, if might be, every Spaniard, every one of those who in -their time swore that there was to be no peace beyond the line. That -was their oath--we helped them to keep it, made it our watchword, too. -All of us, Morgan, Pointis, Avery, Lolonois, your other countryman, -Stede Bonnet, a hundred others, all of different lands, yet all of one -complexion--hatred against Spain. And there was no peace beyond the -line. You are a soldier, may be one for years, yet you will never know -blood run as blood ran then. You may rack cities, even Louis' own -capital, you will never know what sharing booty means as we knew it. -Ere I was thirty I possessed a hundred thousand gold pistoles, ere -another year had passed I owned nothing but the sword by my side, the -deck I trod."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Yet," I said, "when you were lost--disappeared--you left your child a -fortune--which Eaton stole."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I did more," he answered. "I left her that--but--I left her another -which Eaton could not steal. She has it now; it is, it must be safe. -Do you know your wife brings you a great dowry?"</p> - -<p class="normal">I started--I had never thought of this!--yet, ere I could say aught, -he went on again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I pass over much. I come to twenty years ago. Eaton was my -lieutenant; we were about to besiege Maracaibo, a gallant company -three hundred strong. Well, let me hurry--see, the daylight is coming. -I must away--Maracaibo fell, our plunder was great. Also, we had many -prisoners. Amongst them one, a girl, young and beautiful; God! she was -an angel!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Juana's mother that was to be," I whispered, feeling sure.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Hear me. She was my prize--there were others, but I heeded them not, -had eyes only for her. Her ransom was fixed at five thousand pistoles, -because she was the niece of the wealthiest man of all, to be paid ere -we sailed three days later. And I prayed that they might never be -forthcoming, that I might bear her away with me, teach her to love me -as I loved her."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And they were not paid?" I asked breathlessly.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We did not sail in three days' time; the money of the place had been -sent away inland on our approach; also one-half our body were all mad -with drink ashore. 'Twas more nigh three weeks ere we were ready to -depart."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And the lady?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Her uncle had died meanwhile of a fever--yet--yet--the ransom was -forthcoming. She was affianced to a planter; he came on board my ship, -and with him he brought the gold."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ah!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"My oath bound me to take it--had I refused, my brethren had the -right--since we had laws regulating all things amongst us--to remove -me from my command. I had to see him count the gold out on the cabin -table, to tell her she was free to go."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And she went?" I asked again, almost breathless.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXX.</h4> - -<h5>GONE.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">"She went," he continued, "and I thought that she was gone from me -forever, since, filibuster as I was, as I say, my oath to my -companions bound me to set her free upon payment of the ransom. Yet, -by heaven's grace, she was mine again ere long."</p> - -<p class="normal">He paused, looking out of the snow-laden window through which there -stole now a greyness which told of the coming of the wintry day; -pointed toward it as though bidding me remember that his time with me -was growing short; then went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I was ashore for the last time before we sailed for Port Royal; those -of us who were something better than brutish animals seeking for those -who were wallowing in debauchery; finding them, too, either steeped in -drink, or so overcome by their late depravity that they had to be -carried on board the ships like logs. Then, as we passed down a street -seeking our comrades, I saw her again--saw her lovely face at the -grilled window of a house that looked as though it might be a convent; -at a window no higher from the ground than my own head. And she saw me -too, made a sign that I should stop, should send on my company out of -earshot; which done, she said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Save me. For God's sake, save me!'"</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Save you, Seńorita,' I whispered, for I knew not who might be -lurking near, might be, perhaps, within the dark room to which no ray -of the blazing sun seemed able to penetrate; 'save you from what, from -whom?'</p> - -<p class="normal">"'From him who ransomed me--<i>Diôs!</i> that you had not taken the money. -I hate him, was forced to be affianced to him, am a prisoner here in -this convent until to-morrow, when I am to become his wife.'</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Yet, Seńorita,' I murmured--'how to do it? These walls seem strong, -each window heavily grated, doubtless the house well guarded--and--and -we sail at daybreak.'</p> - -<p class="normal">"'Yet an entrance may be made by the garden,' she whispered in reply; -'the house is defended by negroes only--my room at the top of the -stairs. Save me. Save me.'"</p> - -<p class="normal">Again Gramont paused--again he pointed at the day-spring -outside--hurriedly he went on:</p> - -<p class="normal">"I saved her. Twenty of us--that vile Eaton was one!--passed through -the garden at midnight--up those stairs--killing three blacks who -opposed us"--even as he spoke I remembered Eaton's ravings in <i>La -Mouche Noire</i> as to the dead men glaring down into the passage; knew -now of what his frenzied mind had been thinking on--"bore her away. -Enough! three months later, we were married in Jamaica!"</p> - -<p class="normal">He rose as though to go forth and seek his horse, determined to -make his way on in spite of the snow that lay upon the ground in -masses--because, as I have ever since thought, he had sworn to undergo -his self-imposed expiation of never gazing more upon his child's -face!--then he paused, and spoke once more:</p> - -<p class="normal">"She died," and now his voice was broken, trembled, "in giving birth -to her who is above; died when I had grown rich again--so rich that -when I sailed for France, my pardon assured, my commission as -Lieutenant du Roi to Louis in my pocket, I left her with Eaton, not -even then believing how deep a villain he was; thinking, too, that I -should soon return. Left with him, also, a fortune for her, What -happened to her and that fortune you have learnt. Yet, something else -you have to learn. Her mother's name had been Belmonte, and when Juana -fled from Eaton, driven thence by his cruelty, she, knowing this, -found means to communicate with an old comrade of mine, by then turned -priest and settled at the other end of the island--at Montego. Now, -see how things fall out; how, even to one belonging to me, God -is good. 'Twas in '86 I sailed for France, my commission in my -cabin--nailed in my pride to a bulkhead--when, alas! madman as I was, -I encountered a great ship--a treasure ship, as I believed, sailing -under Spanish colours. And--and--the devil was still strong in -me--still strong the hatred of Spain--the greed and lust of plunder. -God help me! God help and pardon me!" and as he spoke he beat his -breast and paced the dreary room, now all lit up by the daylight from -without. Even as I write I see and remember him, as I see and remember -so many other things that happened in those times.</p> - -<p class="normal">"We boarded her," he continued, a moment later; "we took her treasure; -she was full of it--yet even as we did so I knew that I was lost -forever in this world, all chance of redemption gone--my hopes of -better things passed away forever. For she was sailing under false -colours; she was a French ship, one of Louis' own, and, seeing that we -ourselves carried the Spanish flag, the better to escape the ships of -war of Spain that were all about, had herself run them up. And we -could not slay them and scuttle the ship--we had passed our word for -their safety--moreover, an we would have done so 'twas doubtful if we -should have succeeded. There were women on board, and, though the men -fought but half-heartedly to guard the treasure that was their king's, -they would have fought to the death for them. Therefore, we emptied -the vessel of all that it had--we left them their lives--let them go -free."</p> - -<p class="normal">"But why, why?" I asked, still not comprehending how this last attack -upon another ship--and that but one of many stretching over long -years!--should be so fateful to him, "why not still go on to France, -commence a new life under better surroundings?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Why?" he repeated, "why? Alas! you do not understand. I, a -commissioned officer of the French king, had made war on his ships, -taken his goods; also," and he drew a long breath now, "also -there were those on board who knew and recognised me--we had met -before--knew I was Gramont. That was enough. There was no return to -France for me; or, if once there, nothing but the block or the wheel."</p> - -<p class="normal">"God pity you," I gasped, "to have thrown all chance away thus--thus!"</p> - -<p class="normal">He seemed not to heed my words of sympathy, wrung from me by my swift -comprehension of all he had lost; instead, he stood there before me, -almost like those who are turned to stone, making no movement, only -speaking as one speaks who encounters a doom that has fallen on him, -as one who tells how hope and he have parted forever on wide, -diverging roads.</p> - -<p class="normal">"There were others besides myself," he continued, "who had ruined all -by their act of madness, others of my own land who had gained their -pardon, and lost it now forever, flung away all hopes of another life, -of happier days to come, for the dross that we apportioned between -ourselves, though in our frenzy we almost cast it into the sea. As for -my share, though 'twas another fortune, I would not touch a pistole, -but sent it instead to the priest I have spoken of--sent it by a sure -hand--and bade him keep it for my child, add it to that which Eaton -held for her; told him, too, to guard it well, since neither he nor -she would ever see me more!"</p> - -<p class="normal">"And after--after?" I asked.</p> - -<p class="normal">"After, we disbanded--parted. I went my way, they theirs; earned my -living hardly, yet honestly, in Hispaniola; should never have left the -island had I not discovered that Eaton, who even then sometimes passed -under the name of Carstairs--that was his <i>honest</i> name--and who had -long since disappeared from my knowledge, was having a large amount of -goods and merchandise shipped under that name in the fleet of -galleons, about to sail as soon as possible. And then--then--knowing -how he had treated the child I left in his care--the child of my dead -and lost love--I swore to sail in those galleons, to find him, to -avenge----" He paused, exclaiming, "Hark! What is that?"</p> - -<p class="normal">Above--I heard it as soon as he--there was a footfall on the floor. We -knew that Juana was moving, had arisen.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Go to her," he said, and I thought that his voice was changed--was -still more broken--"Go; it may be she needs something. Go."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Is this our last farewell? Surely we shall meet again."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Go. And--and--tell her--her father--nay. Tell her nothing. Go."</p> - -<p class="normal">O'ermastered by his words, by, I think, too, the misery of the man who -had been my companion through the dreary night, my heart wrung with -sorrow for him who stood there so sad a figure, I went, obeying his -behest.</p> - -<p class="normal">But ere I did so, and before I opened the door that gave on the stairs -leading to her room, I took his hand, and whispered:</p> - -<p class="normal">"It <i>is</i> our last farewell! Yet--oh, pause and think--she is your -child. Have you no word--no last word of love nor plea for pardon--to -send?"</p> - -<p class="normal">For a moment his his quivered, his breast heaved and he turned toward -the other, and outer, door, so that I thought he meant to go without -another sign. But, some impulse stirring in his heart, he moved back -again to where I stood; murmuring, I heard him say:</p> - -<p class="normal">"In all the world she has none other but you. Remember that. Farewell -forever. And--in days to come--teach her not to hate--my memory. -Farewell."</p> - -<p class="normal">Then, his hand on the latch of the outer door, he pointed to the other -and the stairs beyond.</p> - -<p class="normal">While I, stealing up them, knew that neither his child nor I would -ever see him more, and, so knowing, prayed that God would at last -bring ease and comfort to the erring man.</p> - -<p class="normal">As I neared the door of the room in which she had slept she opened it -and came forth upon the bare landing--pale, as I saw in the light of -the now fully broken day, but with much of the fever gone; also with, -upon her face, that smile which ever made summer in my heart.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are better," I said, folding her to me, "better? Have slept well? -Is it not so?" Yet, even as I spoke, I led her back to the room whence -she had come. She must not descend <i>yet!</i> "You have not stirred all -through the night, I know."</p> - -<p class="normal">"I dreamt," she said, "that you came to me, bade me farewell forever. -Yet that passed, and again I dreamed that we should never part more. -Therefore, I was happy, even in my sleep." Then broke off to say: -"Hark! They are stirring in the house. Are the horses being prepared? -I hear one shaking its bridle. Can any go forth to-day?" and she moved -toward the window.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay, Juana," I said, leading her back again, although imperceptibly, -to the middle of the room, "do not go to the window. The cold is -intense--stay here by my side."</p> - -<p class="normal">Not guessing my reason--since it was impossible she should understand -what was happening below!--I led her back. Led her back so that she -should not see one come forth from the stable whom she deemed dead and -destroyed--so that she should not be blasted by the sight of her -father passing away in actual life from her forever; then sat down by -her side and led the conversation to our future--to how we should get -away from here to England and to safety. Also, I told her not to -bewail, as she did again and again, my failure to proceed further on -my journey to Flanders and the army; demonstrated, to her that, at -least, there had been no failure in the mission I had undertaken; -that my secret service had been carried out--and well carried out, -too--and, consequently, my return mattered not very much with regard -to a week or month. The allies, I said, could fight and win their -battles very well without my aid, as I doubted not they were doing by -now, while--for the rest--had I not done my share both here and in -Spain? Proved, too--speaking a little self-vauntingly, perhaps, by -reason of my intense desire to soothe and cheer her and testify that -she had been no barrier in my path to glory--that I, also, though far -away from my comrades, had stood in the shadow of death, had been face -to face with the grim monster equally with those who braved the -bayonets, the muskets and the cannon of Louis' armies.</p> - -<p class="normal">But all the time I spoke to her my apprehension was very great, my -nerves strung to their bitterest endurance, my fear terrible that she -would hear the man below going forth, that she might move to the -window and see him--and that, thus seeing, be crushed by the sight.</p> - -<p class="normal">For I knew that he was moving now--that he was passing away forever -from this gloomy spot which held the one thing in all the world that -was his, and linked him to the wife he had loved so dearly; knew that, -solitary and alone, he was about to set forth into a dreary world -which held no home for him nor creature to love him in his old age. I, -too, heard the bridle jangling again; upon the rough boards of the -stable beneath the windows of the <i>fonda</i> I heard the dead, dull thump -of a horse's hoofs; I knew that the animal was moving--that he was -setting out upon his journey of darkness and despair.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are sad, Mervan," she said, her cheek against mine, while her -voice murmured in my ear. "Your words are brave, yet all else belies -them."</p> - -<p class="normal">"It is not for myself," I answered. "Not for myself."</p> - -<p class="normal">The starry eyes gazed into mine, the long, slim hand rested on my -shoulder.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For whom?" she whispered. "For whom? For him? My father?"</p> - -<p class="normal">I bowed my head--from my lips no words seemed able to come--yet said -at last:</p> - -<p class="normal">"For him. Your father." Then, for a moment, we sat there together, -saying nothing. But soon she spake again.</p> - -<p class="normal">"My thoughts of him are those of pity only, now," she murmured -once more. "Pity, deep as a woman's heart can feel. And--and--my -love--remember, I never knew who my father was until that scene in the -inn at Lugo--thought always his, our name was in truth Belmonte. The -secret was well kept--by Eaton, for his own ends, doubtless; by my -father's friend, the priest who had once been as he was, for his past -friendship's sake. If I judged him harshly, a life of pity for his -memory shall make atonement."</p> - -<p class="normal">As she said these words, while I kissed and tried to comfort her, she -rose from where we were sitting and went to the window, I not -endeavouring to prevent her now, feeling sure that he was gone; for -all had become very still; there was no longer any sound in the -stable, nor upon the snow, which, as I had seen as the day broke, had -frozen and lay hard as iron on the ground beneath it.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet something there was, I knew, that fascinated her as she gazed out -upon the open; something which--as she turned round her face to me--I -saw had startled, terrified her. For, pale as she had been since we -had met again here, and with all the rich colouring that I loved so -much gone from her cheeks, she was even whiter, paler than I had ever -known her--in her eyes, too, a stare of astonishment, terror.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Mervan!" she panted, catching her breath, her hand upon her heart, -"Mervan, look, oh, look!" and she pointed through the window.</p> - -<p class="normal">"See," she gasped, "see. The form of one whom I deemed dead--or is he -in truth dead, and that his spectre vanishing into the dark wood -beyond? See, the black horse, that which he bestrode that night--oh! -Mervan--Mervan--Mervan--why has his spirit returned to earth? Will it -haunt me forever--forever--punish me because of my shame of him?"</p> - -<p class="normal">And while I saw the horseman's figure disappear now--and forever--into -the darkness of the pine forest, she lay trembling and weeping in my -arms. To calm which, and also bring ease to her troubled heart, I told -her all.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXXI.</h4> - -<h5>ALWAYS TOGETHER NOW.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">The frost held beneath a piercing east wind which blew across the -mountains that separated Portugal from Leon, so that now the snow was -as hard as any road and there was no longer any reason to delay our -setting forth. And more especially so was this the case because my -beloved appeared to have entirely recovered from the fever into which -she had been thrown by the events of the past weeks.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I am ready, Mervan," she said to me the next day, "ready to depart, -to leave forever behind these lands--which I hope never to see -again--to dwell always in your own country and near you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Wherefore I considered in my mind what was best now to be done.</p> - -<p class="normal">That we were safe here in Portugal we knew very well--only it was not -in Portugal that we desired to remain, but rather to escape from; to -cross the seas as soon as might be--to reach England or Holland. Yet -how to do that we had now to consider.</p> - -<p class="normal">I had said we were safe here, and of this safety we had sure proof not -many hours after her unhappy father had departed on his unknown -journey; a journey that led I knew not where, no more than I knew what -would be the end of it. And this proof was that, in the afternoon of -the same day, the landlord of the inn came running in to us as fast as -he could scamper across the already frozen snow; his face twitching -with excitement, his voice shaking, too, from the same cause.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Holy Virgin!" he exclaimed, while he gesticulated like a madman, his -wife doing the same thing by his side, "who and what have I sheltered -here in my house. Pirates and filibusters, gaol breakers and -murderers, women whose vows are made and broken day by day. 'Tis mercy -we are not all stabbed to the death in our beds," and again he -grimaced and shook and spluttered.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You are as like," I said sternly, with a tap to my sword hilt, "to be -stabbed to the death now, and at once, if you explain not this -intrusion and your words, fellow." For he had roused my ire by -bursting in on Juana and me in the manner he had done, and by -frightening her, as I knew by the way she clung to me. "Answer at -once, what mean you?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"There are at the frontier," he said, speaking now more calmly, also -more respectfully as he noted my attitude, while his wife ceased her -clamour too, "some half dozen Spaniards from Lugo, all demanding where -you are--and--and the wo--the lady; also asking for one they call -their Alcáide, as well as another, who, they say, is a hundred-fold -assassin. Likewise they vow they will have you back to Lugo."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Will they! Well, we will see for that! Meanwhile, what say the -frontiermen on this side, here in Portugal?"</p> - -<p class="normal">"They dispute. They refuse. They say 'tis whispered o'er all our land -that the king has joined with the English brigands----"</p> - -<p class="normal">"Fellow! remember." And again I threatened him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"With the English nation against Spain and France. It may be so or -not; I do not know. Yet I think you will be spared to--to--slay----"</p> - -<p class="normal">Again he halted in his speech, reading danger in my glance, while I, -turning to Juana, bade her keep calm and await my return from the -border, to which I meant to proceed to see what was a-happening.</p> - -<p class="normal">At first she would not hear of my doing this; she threw herself upon -my neck, she besought me by our newborn love, by all our hopes of -happiness in days to come, not to go near those men, Reminded me, too, -that even now we were free to escape, to seize upon the horses, push -on further into Portugal and to safety. Also she pleaded with me to -remember that if aught happened to me, if I was taken again and -carried back to Spain, all hope would indeed be gone, no more escape -possible. Wept, also, most piteously, and besought me to recollect -that if aught such as this befell she would indeed be alone in the -world, and must die.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet I was firm; forced myself to be so. In my turn, bade her remember -that I was a soldier, that soldiers could not skulk and run away when -there was naught to fear.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For," I said, whispering also many other words of love and comfort in -her ear, "it may be true that the king has joined with us. For months -it has been looked for, expected. And if 'tis not even so, these -people hate Spain and all in it with a deep hatred. They cannot harm -us, certainly no half dozen can. 'Twould take more than that. Let me -go, sweetheart."</p> - -<p class="normal">And gently I disengaged her arms from my neck and went away amidst her -prayers and supplications for my safety; amidst also the mutterings of -the landlord to the effect that the <i>Inglés</i> seemed to fear neither -devil nor man.</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas not many moments to the border 'twixt the two countries, and I -soon was there--seeing, however, as I hurried toward it, to the -priming of my pistols, and that my sword was loose enough in its -scabbard for easy drawing forth--and there I perceived that a harangue -was going on between the Spanish and Portuguese frontiermen, while, on -the side of the former, were also the half-dozen Spaniards, of whom -the inn keeper had spoken. And amongst them I recognised two or three -of those who had captured us in the inn garden at Lugo.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Ha!" one of them called out as I approached. "Ha! See, there is one, -the second of the brigands, though not the worst. <i>Assassinator!</i>" he -shrieked at me, "we must have you back at Lugo."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Best take me, then," I replied, as I drew close up, "yet 'twill cost -you dear," and as I spoke I whipped my sword from out its scabbard.</p> - -<p class="normal">There was to be neither fight nor attempt to capture me, however; in -truth, as you have now to see, my weapon had done its last work in -either Spain or Portugal, since the men on this side meant not that -the Spaniards should have their way.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Back, I tell you," shouted the Portuguese chief, "or advance at your -peril. We are at war; 'tis known over all our land the <i>Inglés</i> are -our allies. You have come on a bootless errand."</p> - -<p class="normal">Now this, as I learnt later, was not the case in absolute fact, since -Portugal joined not with us till the next spring had come, yet it -served very well for my purpose; for these Spaniards did doubtless -think that they would have got me--and, I suppose, Juana, -too--bloodlessly, and have been able to hale us back to Lugo and its -accursed <i>braséro</i>. But now they found out their mistake; they would -have to fight to get me, and as, I think, they feared my sword as much -as the four or five others of my new-found Portuguese friends, they -very wisely desisted from any attempt. And so, after many angry words -exchanged on both sides, in which I took no part, I went back to the -inn, feeling sure that, unless I ever ventured into Spain again, I was -free of its clutches.</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing: 9px"> -* * * * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">Once more, a few hours later, my love and I were on the road as -travelling companions, only now we were lovers instead of friends, and -the companionship was, by God's mercy, to be for the length of our -lives. And sweet it was to me, beyond all doubt, to have her by my -side, to hear her soft voice in my ears, and to listen to the words of -love that fell from her lips--sweet, too, to me to make reply to them.</p> - -<p class="normal">For one thing also I was devoutly grateful, namely, that I had not -hesitated to tell her that her father still lived; that he had yet, by -heaven's grace, many years before him in which to expiate his past; -that he had escaped the awful end to which he had been doomed, and -which, during some few hours, she imagined he had suffered--devoutly -grateful that I had done this, because, now, the sorrow which she felt -for the erring man was chastened by the knowledge that it was not too -late for him to repent and obtain pardon, and that his death, whatever -it might be, could scarce be one of such horror as that from which he -had escaped.</p> - -<p class="normal">After some consideration I had decided that 'twould be best we should -make our way to Oporto, where I thought 'twas very like we might find -some ship for either England or Holland--perhaps, also, since the -trade of that town with England is of such extreme importance, some -vessel of war acting as convoy for the merchants. Moreover, the -distance was not great in so small a land as this, and by the chart I -carried seemed not to be more than thirty or forty leagues, though to -compass them we should have to pass over mountains more than once. Yet -the horses were fresh--I rode now my own on which Gramont had come and -had then exchanged for the black one on which I had escaped, it having -been prepared for me ere I took his place--the snow was hard as iron; -it was not much to do. And, much or little, it had to be done.</p> - -<p class="normal">And so we progressed, passing through Mirandella and Murca, striking -at last a broad high road that ran straight for Oporto--scaling -mountains sometimes, plunging sometimes into deep valleys and crossing -streams over shaking wooden bridges that by their appearance seemed -scarce strong enough to bear a child, yet over which we got in safety. -And, though neither she nor I spoke our thoughts, I think, I know, -that the same idea was ever present to her mind as to mine, the idea -that we might ere long come upon some sign of her father. For, now and -again, as she peered down upon the white track we followed, losing -more than once the road, yet finding it again ere long, she would rein -in the jennet and look at the tracks frozen in the snow, then shake -her head mournfully as we went on once more.</p> - -<p class="normal">But of Gramont we saw no sign--nor ever saw him again in this world.</p> - -<p class="normal"></p> - -<p class="normal">Going on and on, however, we drew near as I judged, to the coast, -still climbing the mountains and still passing at other times through -the valleys, over all of which there lay the vast white pall burying -everything beneath it.</p> - -<p class="normal">We heard also the great river that is called the Douro, rolling and -humming and swirling beneath the roof of frozen snow which, in some -places, stretched across it from bank to bank. In some places, too, -where the road we traversed approached nearer to the stream, we saw it -cleaving its way through banks so narrowed by their coating of ice -that it o'erleapt and foamed above the sides, while with a great -swish, such as a huge tide makes upon a shingly beach, its waters -spread out with a hissing splash from their eddies and swept over the -borders on either side. Yet, because the way this river rushed was -likewise our way to peace and happiness--the road toward the great sea -we hoped so soon to traverse--we regarded it with interest.</p> - -<p class="normal">"See," I said to Juana, as now we rode close to it, so that at this -time our horses' feet were laved by its overflow, "see how it bears -down with it great trees from far inland, from where we have come; -also other things, the wooden roof of some peasant's hut, some -household goods too. I fear it has swept over the country, has burst -in places from its narrow frost-bound sides."</p> - -<p class="normal">'Twas true--such must have happened--for even as I spoke, there went -by the body of a horse--the creature's sides all torn and lacerated, -doubtless by some narrow passage in which the spears of ice would be -as sharp as swords' points; then, next--oh! piteous sight!--a little -dead babe rolled over and over as the waves bore it along in their -swift flight.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Look, look," she murmured, pointing forward to where the river -broadened, but out into the breadth of which there projected a spur, -or tongue of land; "look! that catches much of what comes down--see! -the dead horse's progress is stopped upon it--and Mervan, the little -babe is also rolled on to that slip of land while there are many other -things besides; more bodies of both men and animals."</p> - -<p class="normal">There were, in solemn truth. As we rode nearer to that jutting -promontory, we saw that much of what the Douro had brought down was -stopped by it; upon the frozen tongue of land protruding were mixed in -confusion many things. The dead horse and another which had preceded -it; some poor sheep, a dog, the little babe which had just passed -before our eyes, and two or three dead men; some on their backs, their -arms extended on that frozen refuge--one on his face.</p> - -<p class="normal">Mostly they were peasants; their garb told that, also their rough, -coarse hands, which showed black against the leper whiteness of the -ice and snow beneath them. But he who lay upon his face was none such, -his scarlet coat, guarded with galloon, had never graced a peasant's -back, no more than any peasant had worn that sword (with now both -blade and scabbard broken) that was by his side.</p> - -<p class="normal">And halting upon the little ridge which made the summit of that -promontory and gazing upon that man, I knew as well as if I could see -his down-turned face, whose body it was stretched out there upon its -icy bier.</p> - -<p class="normal">Also I saw that she knew, too. Neither scarlet coat nor battered -weapon was strange to her.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I will descend," I said, speaking in a low voice, such as those -assume who stand in presence of the dead. "I will descend and make -sure," whereupon she bowed her head in reply, making no demur. At that -moment she, perhaps, thought it best to make sure that he who had -sought her soul's degradation would never traffic with another woman's -honour.</p> - -<p class="normal">But as I went down on foot now to that tongue of land on which the -drowned reposed, I had another reason besides this of making sure that -the body was that of her tempter, the Alcáide. I desired to discover -if 'twas by the river alone that he had come to his death (borne down -and into it by some streamlet nearer the Spanish border), and not by -the avenging weapon of him who said that I should never have spared -him, have never let him quit my side with life. For they might have -met, I knew; the one who went first might have been belated on his -road--snowbound; the second might have overtaken him, his vengeance -have been swift and sure.</p> - -<p class="normal">Stepping across the bodies of the drowned animals, avoiding those of -the peasants, and putting gently aside that of the little babe, I -reached him, recognising as I did so the coal black hair flecked and -streaked with grey, the rings upon the hands stretched out, backs -upward. Then I turned him over, seeing that the face was torn and cut -by the jagged ice through which he had been hurried, also bruised and -discoloured. But in all the body no sign of rapier wound, nor pistol -shot, nor of avenging finger marks upon the throat.</p> - -<p class="normal">So I went back to her and took my reins from her hands and once more -we set out upon our way.</p> - -<p class="normal">But the dark, lustrous eyes as they gazed into mine asked silent and -unworded questions--so that I guessed my thoughts had been in her -mind, too!--and when I answered with as equal a silence I knew that I -had brought comfort to her heart.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h4>CHAPTER XXXII.</h4> - -<h5>THE END.</h5> -<br> - -<p class="normal">The early part of September, 1704, had been stormy and wet and very -dismal, so that all in London feared that the great spectacle, which -had been arranged with much pains and forethought for the seventh of -that month, must be impaired if not totally ruined by the inclemency -of the weather. And many there were who, during the night that passed -away and when the dawn came, rose from their beds to peer out and see -what the day promised.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet by great good fortune none were doomed to disappointment. For from -away over the river, down by where the great ships were all a-lying -dressed with flags, the sun came up in great magnificence and -splendour; the clouds turned from purple to a fair pure daffodil; a -sweeter autumn morning none had ever seen nor could hope to see.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now from very early in the morning the crowd came in from far and -wide, from north and south and east and west, from the villages along -the river as far away as sylvan Richmond on one side, or Hampstead on -another; while the gentry drove in from their country seats at Clapham -or Kensington and on the road that leads to Fulham. Also those -regiments at Hounslow, and the foot guards at Kensington, as well as -the city militia from the east side, were all making their way into -the town, with drums a-beating and flags streaming out to the fresh -morning air and trumpets braying, while in the city itself my Lord -Mayor was getting ready to proceed to Temple Bar, there to receive the -queen and court.</p> - -<p class="normal">For this day, the seventh of September, had been fixed for the -thanksgiving for the victory of Blenheim which the Duke of Marlborough -had recently won. The pity only being that, of those who were to take -part in the great ceremony, my Lord Duke could not be there, he being -still engaged on the Continent.</p> - -<p class="normal">Nevertheless, from St. James' there set out so great a company for St. -Paul's that 'tis never likely any one then alive could expect to -witness a more noble and imposing sight. For there were all the great -officers of state, with, amidst them, the queen in a sumptuous coach -drawn by eight horses, Her Majesty being ablaze with jewels. Alone she -went in that coach excepting one companion, a lady dressed as quietly -and simply as could be any lady in the land, there being neither at -neck or bosom or throat, or in her hair, any single trinket to be -seen.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet, I think, she was that day the proudest woman in all England, not -even excepting great Anna, since she was the wife of the conqueror who -had trampled Louis and his armies under foot; was Sarah, Duchess of -Marlborough. Could any female heart have desired to be more!</p> - -<p class="normal">In front of, as well as behind, and on either side of that chariot of -state, there rode the Queen's Guards; yet ahead of those who rode -behind--he being nearest to the back of the carriage--was one who -yielded to none in thankfulness and gratitude for all which Providence -had seen fit to do for him. An officer this, one handed, his left -arm bound up--it having been nearly lopped off at Blenheim by one of -the Elector of Bavaria's huge dragoons, whom that officer slew a -moment later with his right hand--whose scarf, sword knot, -richly laced scarlet coat and gold cockade proclaimed him a colonel -of horse--myself.</p> - -<p class="normal">From where we entered the Strand--by the cross set up here--we saw -that all the shops were boarded up and scaffolded, partly to resist -the crowd and partly to furnish benches on which sight-seers might -sit. On those benches, also in the shop windows, on the bulks and at -the windows of the tradesmen's parlours above, was a noble and -splendid company, the ladies of which had all adorned themselves with -their choicest dresses and ribbons and laces, the more to do honour to -those other two ladies in the great coach. Then, behind, came the -lords of Parliament and the gentlemen of the Commons, also the -Bishops in their wigs and lawn--each and all in coaches drawn by -six horses--as well as many others of the nobility; while from the -churches along the route, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, St. Mary's in -the Strand and St. Clement's Danes, the bells clashed and clanged, -and, inside, the organs blew and anthems pealed.</p> - -<p class="normal">At Temple Bar there was a great halt, since the gates were shut, yet -opened as the queen came to them, whereon my Lord Mayor, surrounded by -the aldermen and sheriffs, in their red robes and on horses richly -caparisoned, received Her Majesty, the former handing to her the sword -of the city, which she at once returned; after which we progressed -once more toward St. Paul's, where, later, the dean preached a moving -sermon.</p> - -<p class="normal">And now my eyes were fixed and searching for a face--two faces--at a -window beyond the Church of St. Dunstan's in Fleet street--which was -all hung with banners and adornments stretched across from side to -side--and presently I saw that which I sought for--a lady on a balcony -holding up a little wee child in her arms, a lady dark and beautiful -and dressed all in her best, her robe a rich brocade, with, at her -breast, a knot of ribbons, the colours of the Fourth Horse--the woman -who has ever been in my eyes the fairest, most lovely of her sex, my -loved and honoured wife. And she stood there seeking for me, leaning -over the balcony to wave and kiss her hand, took, also, our babe's -little one in her arms and caused it to wave, too.</p> - -<p class="normal">Riding by, I looked up and saw them, and blessed God--blessed God and -praised His name, because He had seen fit to bring us safe through all -the dangers we had encountered together, because He had seen fit to -give to me for wife the sweetest woman the world held, and to bring us -safe into haven at last.</p> - -<p class="normal">For that, as well as all else, I blessed and praised His name, even as -from roofs of houses and taverns the salvos roared forth, the bells -pealed from the steeples, and we progressed through the city; -companies ranged 'neath their banners, and, between the lines kept by -the militia, the queen bowing from her side of the coach, the great, -stately duchess from hers, the people shouting all the time, and -crying but two names, "Anne" and "Marlborough," and women holding up -their children, so that, in the days to come, when those children were -old, they might say they had gazed on the wife of the greatest soldier -in the world. And thus, at last, we came to St. Paul's and gave -thanksgiving.</p> - -<p class="normal">It was when night had fallen after Blenheim that my Lord Duke sent for -me to his room in the inn, where he and the Marshal Tallard--who had -led the French, and been defeated that day, and was now an honoured -and well-cared-for prisoner of his Grace--were quartered, and spoke to -me as follows:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Colonel Crespin--for such you will be when the next gazette is -published--if it were not that others have a prior claim, it should be -you to whom I would confide my message to the queen and lords. For," -and he smiled sweetly, as usual, though, to-night, a little wearily, -"I have a recollection of your value as a bearer of despatches; yet, -all the same, you shall go to England. You have a wife and child -there, I know."</p> - -<p class="normal">And again he smiled as I bowed before him.</p> - -<p class="normal">"For which you have to thank me. By St. George, I never thought when I -sent you on that journey you were going sweetheart hunting, too."</p> - -<p class="normal">Whereby you will perceive that his Grace knew very well all that had -befallen me two years before, when I set out for Spain to find, if -might be, the English fleet. It would be strange, indeed, if he had -not known it, for my story had been told all over the forces from the -moment I returned and joined my regiment; nay, more than once, I had -told it to Marlborough himself.</p> - -<p class="normal">"I shall not be far behind you," he continued, "the New Year should -see me home, too. Yet I have messages for the queen and my own wife. -You shall bear them. It will give you an opportunity of seeing your -own wife. She is, I hear, vastly beautiful."</p> - -<p class="normal">"In my eyes, my lord Duke, the most beautiful woman in the world."</p> - -<p class="normal">"That is as it should be. So," he continued simply, "I think of mine. -But, also, you must see the queen. She has heard of your adventures, -wishes she had seen you when you were on leave in England. Tell her -all--tell her as bravely in words as you can be brave in action--and -you will not stop at the command of a regiment of horse. See also -my wife; her influence is extreme--our enemies say 'tis a bad -influence--yet she will help you."</p> - -<p class="normal">And I did see the queen on my arrival in England, also the great -duchess, Sarah, on the night before we went to St. Paul's; after which -I wondered no more how every one loved the former, spoke of her, -indeed, as the "Good" Queen--a title, I think, as dear and precious as -that of "Great," which Elizabeth had worn. She was very ruddy, I -noticed when I stood before her, her beautiful red-brown hair bound -most matronly above her brow, while her arms--which were bare, to -show, as I have heard, their extreme beauty--were most marvellous to -behold, as well as her hands. Yet, queen as she was, and a well -favoured one, too, it was more on the other lady who stood behind her -that my eyes rested; for she was beautiful beyond all I had imagined, -so that I wondered not that report said the duke loved her as fondly -as when they were boy and girl together, she only a maid of honour, -and he an ensign. Yet, also, I thought that beauty marred by an -imperious haughtiness which made her seem the queen and the real queen -seem her subject.</p> - -<p class="normal">"So, Colonel Crespin," Her Majesty said to me, "I set eyes on you at -last--you of whom I have heard so much. Well, I am vastly proud to -know so brave a gentleman. Later, I must also know your wife--whom I -hear you wooed and won in a strange fashion." Then changing the -subject swiftly, while her kindly eyes rested on me, she said: "Your -father must be very proud of you."</p> - -<p class="normal">Not knowing what reply to make to such a compliment, I could but bow -again, whereon she continued:</p> - -<p class="normal">"Your arm is bound up, I see--I hear you got the wound at Blenheim. -'Tis very well. In after years it will be as great a distinction to -have had that wound as any honours or titles that may come to you. It -does not prevent your riding?"</p> - -<p class="normal">I murmured that it inconvenienced me but very little, whereon Her -Majesty said:</p> - -<p class="normal">"That is also well. To-morrow I desire you follow my coach to St. -Paul's. I love my people to see those who have served me bravely," -whereon, with a gracious inclination of her head, accompanied by a -sweet smile upon her honest, kindly face, she turned and left the -apartment, the duchess bowing too, though somewhat more haughtily than -the queen had done. Yet she whispered a word in my ear as she passed -out; a word appropriate enough to one as proud as she.</p> - -<p class="normal">"You have served <i>him</i> well," she said. "Those who do that are my -friends forever."</p> - -<p class="normal">And now the rejoicings for our victory at Blenheim were over--the -siege and taking of Gibraltar three weeks before, by my other friend, -Sir George Rooke, being not forgotten--the crowds had dispersed, the -great banquet to be given by the city was near at hand and the -illuminations of London were beginning.</p> - -<p class="normal">Yet I had no desire to be feasting in the midst of that great -company--instead, I was seated in the room from the balcony of which I -had seen my wife that morning; her head upon my shoulder, her lips -murmuring words of love inexpressible in my ear; words in which, -amongst the rest, I caught those that told me how proud she was to -have won me from all other women, how proud and happy in knowing that -we were each other's forever in this world.</p> - -<p class="center"><span style="letter-spacing: 9px"> -* * * * * * * * *</span></p> - -<p class="normal">What need to set down more--what more have I to say?</p> - -<p class="normal">Only this. That never would she hear of redeeming any of that second -fortune which her unhappy father had left in the custody of the priest -in the Indies who had once been as he himself was; and consequently, -that from the time we became man and wife no further intercourse was -ever held between us and those far-off islands from which she came. -Nor was that fortune wanted--God has ever been good to us; I have -prospered exceedingly in my soldier's calling; all is very well.</p> - -<p class="normal">Of him, Gramont, we have never heard more. Yet that, somewhere, he is, -if still alive, expiating his past I have never doubted. The truth was -in the man's eyes as he spoke to me on that morning when he went forth -broken-hearted from the house which held his child; the truth, and a -firm determination to atone by suffering and hardship for all that he -had done. And what stronger or more stern resolve could any sinner -have taken than that of his? The determination to tear himself away -forever from the companionship of his newly found daughter, and to -remove thereby from her forever the shame of his presence.</p> - -<p class="normal">"Come, Mervan," she said to me, as now the autumn evening turned to -night, and from every house in Fleet street the illuminations began to -glisten. "Come, you must prepare for the city banquet."</p> - -<p class="normal">"Nay," I said, "nay. I need no banquets, would prefer to stay here by -your side."</p> - -<p class="normal">"And so I would you should do. Yet you must go. I will not have you -absent from so great a thing. You! my hero--my king. And while you are -gone I will watch over our child, or solace myself with this."</p> - -<p class="normal">And as she spoke she went over to where the spinet was, and touched a -smaller instrument that lay upon it--the little viol d'amore from -which we have never parted, and never will.</p> -<br> -<br> -<br><h4>THE END.</h4> -<br> -<br> -<br> -<h5>PRINTED BY STROMBERG, ALLEN & CO.<br> -FOR<br> -HERBERT S. STONE & COMPANY<br> -PUBLISHERS<br> -CHICAGO<br> -1897</h5> -<br> -<br> -<br> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Across the Salt Seas, by John Bloundelle-Burton - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ACROSS THE SALT SEAS *** - -***** This file should be named 52102-h.htm or 52102-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/1/0/52102/ - -Produced by Charles Bowen from page scans provided by -Google Books (Princeton University) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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