Yet here he was, lying upon a seat and shutting his eyes to prevent him from seeing a revolver. Why, one of those heroic boys would have faced the whole six shots and never trembled!
The steamer started, and so did Bertie. Taken by surprise by the sudden movement, he raised himself a little on the seat.
"Keep still!"
The captain"s voice came cool and clear. Bertie returned to his former position, not pausing to consider what his heroes would have done.
"If you want to move you must first ask my permission; but don"t you move without it, my young friend."
Bertie offered no remonstrance. The seat was not a comfortable one to lie upon. It was one of those which are found in steamers, formed of rails, with a s.p.a.ce between each rail. Possibly when they reached the open sea it would be less comfortable still. But Bertie lay quite quiet, and never said a word. It was not exactly what his heroes would have done. They would have faced the villain, and dared him to do his worst; and when he had done his worst, and sent six shots inside them, with a single bound they would have grasped him by the throat, and with a laugh of triumph have flung him head foremost into the gurgling sea.
But Bertie did not do that.
So long as they remained in the river one or two of the pa.s.sengers still continued to move about the decks. The night was so glorious that they probably thought it a pity to confine themselves in the stifling cabins. But by degrees, one after the other, they disappeared, until finally the decks were left in possession of the captain and Bertie, and those whose duty it was to keep watch at night.
Although they had pa.s.sed Hurst Castle and reached the open sea, the weather was so calm that hardly any difference was perceptible in the motion of the vessel. Bertie still lay on the seat, looking at the stars.
He had no inclination to sleep, and even had he had such inclination, not improbably the neighbourhood of "Uncle Tom" and his revolver would have banished slumber from his eyes.
He was not a sentimental boy. Sentimental boys are oftener found in books than life. But even unsentimental boys are accessible to sentiment at times. He was not a religious boy. Simple candour compels the statement that the average boy is not religious. But that night, lying on the deck, looking up at that wondrous canopy of stars, conscious of what had brought him there, aware of his danger, ignorant of the fate which was in store for him, knowing that for all he could tell just ahead of him lay instant death, he would have been more or less than boy if his thoughts had not strayed to unwonted themes.
Through G.o.d"s beautiful world, across His wondrous sea--the companion of a thief. Bertie"s thoughts travelled homewards. A sudden flood of memories swept over him.
All at once the captain paused in front of him.
"Shall I throw you overboard?"
There was a glitter in his eyes. A faint smile played about his lips.
Bertie was not inclined to smile. His tongue clave to the roof of his mouth.
"I have been asking myself the question, Why should I not? I shall have to dispose of you in one way or other in the end; why not by drowning now? One plunge and all is over."
This sort of conversation made Bertie believe in the possibility of one"s hair standing straight up on end. He felt persuaded that none of his heroes had ever been spoken to like this; nothing made of flesh and blood could listen to such observations and remain unmoved, especially with the moonlit waters disappearing into the night on every side. What crimes would they not conceal?
"It is this way. It is you, or--I. In the railway train you would have proclaimed me had you dared. You did not dare; sooner or later, perhaps, you will dare more. Why should I wait for your courage to return? We are alone; the sea tells no tales. Boys will lean overboard: what more natural than that you should fall in? It is distressing to lose one"s nephew, especially so dear a one; but what is life but a great battle-field which is covered with the slain? Sit up, my boy, and let us talk together."
Bertie sat up, not because he wished it, but because he could not help it. He had lost all control over his own movements. This man seemed to him to be some supernatural being against whom it was vain to attempt to struggle.
There was no one by to listen to the somewhat curious conversation which occurred between these two.
"So you have run away? I think you said you ran away for fun. You have evidently a turn for humour. Does this sort of thing enter into your ideas of fun--this little trip of ours?"
It emphatically did not. Bertie stammered out a negative.
"No--o!"
"You say your father is rich, you have a good home. Were you not happy there?"
"Ye--es!"
"Seriously, then, what did you propose to yourself to do when you ran away?"
"I--I don"t know."
"Did you propose to yourself a life like mine?"
Bertie shuddered. He shrank away from the man in front of him with an air of invincible repugnance.
"Answer me! Look me in the face and answer me. I have a taste for learning the opinions of my fellow-men, and you are something original in boys. Tell me, what is your candid opinion of myself? What do you think of me?"
Bertie looked up as he was bidden. There was in his face something of his old bull-dog look. Something of his old courage had come back again, and on his countenance was the answer ready written. But the captain meant to have the answer in plain words.
"Speak! you"re not moonstruck, are you? Tell me what you think of me?"
"You"ll kill me if I do."
The words came out heavily, as though he had to rid himself of an overpowering weight before he could get them out. There was a momentary pause; then the captain laughed.
"I shall kill you anyhow. What difference will it make? Tell me what you think of me."
"You are a coward and a thief!"
The words were spoken; and in speaking them perhaps Bertie came nearer to what is called a hero than ever in all his life before. But their effect upon the captain was not agreeable. Those who play at bowls must expect rubbers, and those who insist upon receiving an answer which they know can scarcely be agreeable should make the best of it when it comes. But the captain did not seem to see it.
Directly he had spoken Bertie saw that he had put his foot in it.
Instinctively he slipped his hands between the rails of the seat and held on tight. Only just in time, for the captain, stooping forward, tried to lift him in his arms.
"Leave go, you young brute!"
Bertie did leave go, but only to throw his arms about the captain"s neck. Instantly the captain stood up straight, holding Bertie in his arms, staggering beneath his weight, for the convulsive clutch of the lad"s arms about his neck enc.u.mbered him.
"If you don"t take your arms away I"ll kill you!"
But Bertie only clutched the tighter.
"Let me go! let me go!" he screamed with the full strength of his lungs.
The effect was startling. In the prevailing silence the boy"s voice was heard far out across the sea. Taken aback by such a show of resistance where none had before been offered, the captain promptly replaced the lad upon the seat.
"What"s the matter with you? It was only a joke."
Bertie unclasped his arms. The expression of his face showed that it had been no joke to him. He looked like one who was not even yet quite sure that he had escaped from death.
The man at the helm was unable to see the seat on which they sat. The forward watch had been on the other side the ship. This man now advanced.
"What"s the matter there?"
The captain met him with his most placid air.