"Now, then, you in the boat, it"s of no use. Surrender, in the King"s name!"
The splashing made by the oars ceased, and Tom put his lips close to Aleck"s ear.
"You arn"t going to surrender, are yer, Master Aleck?"
"No; use your oar as a pole, and get us farther away."
"Do you hear there?" cried another voice. "Heave-to, or I"ll fire."
"All gammon, Master Aleck; I know. Don"t believe they"ve got any pistols."
"There was a shot fired," said Aleck.
"Orficer"s, p"raps, sir. Here, I can"t do no good a-poling; it"s getting deeper here."
"Scull then," said Aleck; "and be careful. They"ve got boats somewhere."
Just then there was a flapping noise, which gave them a turn.
"What"s that?" said Aleck, sharply.
"Wind got the sail loose," said Tom. "There"s a nice breeze coming on.
Shall I shake out a reef or two of the sail, sir?"
"Yes, if you think we can see to steer?"
"Dunno about that, sir. We must go gently, and feel."
The next few minutes were devoted to preparations for spreading a portion of the canvas to the light breeze, as they listened to hail after hail from the sh.o.r.e; and then, as they began to glide softly along, one of the hails from the sh.o.r.e bidding them heave-to was answered from round to their right.
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"Keep a sharp look out for a boat somewhere off here. Three prisoners in her escaping."
"My hye!" muttered Tom Bodger. "That"s nice. Resisting the law too.
Strikes me as we"re going to be in a mess."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN.
Aleck, in the midst of his excitement in his novel position, had somewhat similar thoughts to those of his rough sailor companion. For what was he doing, he asked himself--resisting the King"s men performing a duty--for a duty it was, however objectionable it might be--and helping a man they were trying to impress. Worse still, trying to secure the liberty of a well-known smuggler, one of the leading spirits in as determined a gang as existed on the coast.
It was that appeal for the sake of the wife and children that had turned the scale in Eben"s favour, and, as Aleck argued now to himself as they glided steadily over the waters of the outer harbour, what was done was done, and to hang back now would mean capture and no mercy, for he would probably find himself bundled aboard the sloop-of-war and no heed paid to his remonstrances.
"Say, Master Aleck," was suddenly whispered to him, "I hope Eben Megg arn"t going to die."
"Die? Oh, Tom, no. I forgot all about his cut head. We must tie it up."
"Tied up it is, sir, wi" my hankychy, but he"s got a nasty cut on the head. Ah, it"s bad work resisting the law, for lawful it is, I s"pose, to press men."
"Don"t talk so loud. Feel Eben"s head, and find out whether it has stopped bleeding."
"Did just now, sir, and it about hev. But, I say, Master Aleck, I"m all in a squirm about you."
"About me? Why?"
"You see, we don"t know hardly which way to turn, and I expects every minute to be running into one o" the man-o"-war boats."
"Well, if we do we do; but I think we can get right out, and it won"t be so dark then."
"I b"lieve there"s a fog sattling down, sir, and if there is we shall be ketched as sure as eggs is eggs. I"m sorry for you, my lad, and I s"pose I"m sorry for Eben Megg, though we arn"t friends. Bit sorry, too, for myself."
"Oh, they can"t hurt you, Tom."
"Can"t hurt me, sir? Why, they"ll hev me up afore the magistrits, and cut me shorter than I am."
"Nonsense!" said Aleck, with a laugh. "They don"t behead people now, and even if they did they wouldn"t do it for helping a pressed man to escape."
"Tchah! I don"t mean that way, my lad. I mean chop off my pension, and--"
"Pst!"
Unwittingly they had been slowly sailing right for one of the sloop"s boats, and their whispers had been heard, for from out of the darkness, and apparently a very little way off, came a hail and an order to stop.
"Shall us stop, sir?" said Tom.
"Stop going that way. Helm down, Tom," whispered Aleck; and the little sail swung over and filled on the other side, the water rippling gently under their bows. Otherwise it was so silent that they could hear whispers away to their right, followed by a softly given order, which was followed by the dip, dip, dip, dip of oars, and they glided so closely by the rowers that Aleck fancied he could see the man-o"-war"s boat.
A couple of minutes later they tacked again, and were sailing on, when all at once Aleck whispered, as he leaned over his companion:
"That must be the low line of the fog bank, Tom. Look how black it is!"
"Where, sir?"
"Over where I"m pointing," replied Aleck.
"By jinks!" growled Tom, excitedly, shifting the rudder and throwing the wind out of the sail, which flapped for a bit and then once more filled on the other tack.
"What was it, Tom?"
"What was it, my lad? Why, that warn"t no fog bank lying low on the water, but the harbour wall. Why, we should ha" gone smash on it in another jiffy, stove in, and sunk, for there"s no getting up the place this side."
"Are you sure it was?"
"Sartain. We"re all right, though, now, and it"s done us good, for I know where we are, and I think we can get away now unless the boat"s headed us once more."
"Keep her away a little more then. Ah! Hark at Eben! He sounds as if he"s coming to."