The situation had been accepted by the rest of the ship"s company without any great display of emotion. Biler"s melancholy remained unchanged, and still, as of yore, he pa.s.sed much of his time at the mast-head, contemplating the universe, and eating raw turnips.
Jericho remained as busy as ever, and cared for his pots, and his kettles, and his pans, without apparently being conscious that his master was a slave now, as well as himself. Upon Terry, also, the yoke of captivity lay but lightly. It was not in the nature of Terry to be downcast or sullen; and the simple expedients which had led him to fraternize with the shipwrecked sailors had afterwards enabled him to fraternize equally well with the crew of the Aigle that had been put on board. These had gone, and it remained now for him to come to an understanding with the Acadians. Constant practice had made him more capable, and, in addition to his own natural advantages, he had also learned a few French words, of which he made constant use in the most efficient way. The Acadians responded to Terry"s advances quite as readily as any of the others had done; and before they had been on board one day they were all singing and laughing with the merry Irish lad, and going into fits of uproarious mirth at Terry"s incessant use of the few French words which he had learned; for it was Terry"s delight to stop each one of them, and insist on shaking hands, whenever he met them, saying at the same time, with all the gravity in the world,--
"_Commy voo party voo, bong tong. Bon jure, moosoo_!"
Thus nearly a week pa.s.sed, and during all that time Zac had heard nothing about the fate of his friends ash.o.r.e. Neither the priest nor Margot sent him any message whatever. The Acadians themselves did not hold any communication with the sh.o.r.e, but remained on board quite placidly, in a state of calm content--as placidly, indeed, as though they had been living on board the Parson all their lives.
During all the time Zac had been meditating over his situation, and trying to see his way out of it. At length a ray of light began to dawn into his mind, which illuminated his present position, and opened up to him a way of action. One day after dinner, while the Acadians were lolling in the sun, and while Terry was smoking his pipe forward, Zac sauntered up to him in a careless fashion, and placing himself near Terry, where he could not be overheard, he began to talk in an easy tone with the other,
"Terry, lad," said he, "I"m getting tired o" this here."
"Faix, an" it"s mesilf that"s been waitin" to hear ye say that same for a week an" more--so it is."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "I Think We Can Manage To Get The Schooner From These Chaps."]
"Wal, ye see, I ben a turnin" it over in my mind, and hain"t altogether seen my way clear afore; but now it seems to me as how it"s a burnin" shame to stand this here any longer."
"Thrue for you; an" so it is," said Terry. "An" so, ef ye"ve got anythin" on yer mind that ye want to do, why, out with it, for I"m your man."
"Wal, ye see," resumed Zac, "it"s this here; I don"t want to go away out o" this jest yet."
"Not go away! Tare an ages," cried Terry; "d"ye want to be a prisoner?"
"Course not. I mean this: I don"t want to go an" leave my friend here, Motier, in the hands of the Philistines."
"Sure ye can"t do anythin" for him; an" he"s among his own kin--so he is; for he jabbers French ayqual to the best of thim."
"No, I can"t do anything for him as I am; that"s a fact; and so I"m bound to put myself in a position whar I can do somethin"; that is, I"m bound to seize this here schewner, an" bring the old Parson back to the fold."
"Arrah, sure, an" that"s the right sort of talk--so it is; an" it"s mesilf that"s glad to hear ye. An" so, what is it, captain dear? Out with it. Tell me what yer plan is, an" I"m wid ye--so I am."
"I think, Terry, that we can manage to get the schewner from these chaps--can"t we?"
"Sure we can. Sure, an" I"d ingage to do it alone, almost."
"They don"t watch much."
"Not a bit of it."
"The two that watch at night sleep half the time."
"Sure, an" that"s thrue for you, for I"ve seed thim at it whin I was asleep mesilf."
"We can git Jericho to bar down the cabin door, Terry, an" then you an" I can seize the two on deck."
"Aisy enough--so it is. They"ll all be dead asleep--so they will."
"Wal, thar we"ll have them; an" then I hope to be able to bring a pressure on the natyves of these regions by which I may git my friend out of their clutches."
"Sure, an" I don"t onderstand ye at all, at all."
"Why, I"ll have these six Acadians prisoners, an" then I"ll sail up off Grand Pre, an" threaten to cut the throats of all of them if they don"t send off Motier to me in ten minutes."
"Tare an" ages!" cried Terry. "Whoroo! but isn"t that the plan? It is. It bates the wurruld--so it does. An whin"ll ye begin, captain darlint?"
"To-night," said Zac.
CHAPTER XIII.
A STROKE FOE LIBERTY.
Zac and Terry talked for a long time over the plan, trying to chat in an off-hand and careless manner, so as not to excite any suspicion.
No suspicion appeared to be raised among the Acadians, who took no notice of them whatever. So Zac and Terry had sufficient opportunity to arrange all the details of the plan, and it was decided that Terry should indicate to Jericho what was to be done by him. It was agreed that the best time would be about three o"clock in the morning; for then the Acadians below would all be in their soundest sleep, while those who kept watch on deck would probably, in accordance with their usual careless fashion, be sunk into a slumber no less sound. Terry at length left Zac, and moved about in a desultory fashion, after which he finally settled down among the Acadians, and began to sing to them the immortal strain of St. Patrick.
Although Zac had upon his mind the weight of such an important enterprise, yet it did not at all interfere with his usual slumbers.
He went to bed at nine, and slept soundly. At about half past two he awoke, and waited a little longer. Then he roused Terry and Jericho.
Terry then went upon deck noiselessly, and reconnoitred. It was as they had hoped it would be. Two men were on deck as a watch, but both were crouched under the taffrail fast asleep. Terry proposed to go and shut down the cabin door, where the rest of the Acadians were; but Zac concluded that it would be best for Jericho to do this, so that in case the noise should wake the watch, he and Terry might be on hand to deal with them. Jericho was now sent aft, charged with the burden of an important commission. He went softly and swiftly, like a spirit of night. His whole nature seemed changed by the purpose before him. In an instant he had ceased to be the lowly slave intent on cookery, and had started up into the att.i.tude of an African warrior. As he glided along, Zac and Terry, with equal noiselessness, moved towards the slumbering watch, and then waited. It was necessary that the cabin should first be closed, so that those within, if alarmed by the outcry of their friends, should not be able to help them.
All went on well. Jericho reached the cabin, and then swiftly, and with as little noise as possible, shut the door and fastened it. Upon this, Zac and Terry each seized one of the slumbering Acadians, and before they were fairly awake they were disarmed.
Zac and Terry both scorned to bind them, partly out of kindly feeling towards them, partly because they themselves had not been bound, and partly out of the pride of their manhood. The Acadians at first stood stupefied, and then, recognizing the whole truth, they slunk forward, and stood dejectedly in the bows, where they awaited with fear the further action of their late prisoners.
Both Terry and Zac made friendly signs to them, pressing their hands on their hearts, smiling, nodding, and so forth; while Terry even went so far as to whistle one of their favorite melodies. But the Acadians were not to be rea.s.sured. They looked upon themselves as lost men, and evidently regarded Terry as a traitor of the deepest dye.
They now waited till the others in the cabin should make some sign.
Jericho had armed himself with an axe, with which he stood ready to act in case of a fight. It was evident that the Acadians in the cabin had heard nothing whatever, and not one of them awaked before the usual time. Then, of course, the painful discovery was made by them.
At first, loud cries and threats were made; but these were stilled by Zac, who in a voice of thunder awed them into silence.
"You are prisoners!" said he. "Give up your arms."
The one who understood a little English was able to comprehend this.
The command was followed by an excited debate among the four, which was at last ended by a second mandate from Zac, accompanied by a threat to fire upon them. At this a hurried answer was given:--
"We render. We render. Fire not."
A small skylight was then opened, and all the arms and equipments of the prisoners were pa.s.sed up. These were appropriated by Zac. The door of the cabin was then unfastened and opened, and the prisoners called upon to come forth. They came looking fearful and dejected, as though apprehending the worst. Zac, Terry, and Jericho, each with his musket, stood at the stern, and as they came out they motioned to them to go to the bows. The Acadians obeyed in silence, and soon joined their two companions.
Some time was now occupied by Zac in talking over with Terry the best course to be pursued. They at length decided to allow the Acadians to remain unbound by day, and to shut them down at night, or while sailing. As long as these men were unarmed and themselves armed, they had not the slightest fear of any trouble arising. For the Acadians, though stout, muscular fellows, were all so good-natured and phlegmatic in their faces that no danger of anything so desperate as an attack on their part was to be antic.i.p.ated. It was decided, however, while they were on deck, to keep them confined to the forward part of the schooner.
This Zac succeeded in making known to them.
"We won"t do you no harm," said he. "We won"t tie you or bind you. At night you must go below to sleep. If any of you make an attack, we won"t show you any mercy. So you"d best keep quiet."