"I was then sure that the brig was the craft I had seen there. We were soon alongside. Who should we see as we stepped on deck but the old colonel and his daughter, and the little black girl Polly, who came with us from Trinidad. They seemed mightily pleased at finding that we were not drowned; especially the young lady, who told the midshipmen how anxious every one on board the frigate had been about them. Mr Rogers had to go over the whole story again.
""It"s pleasant to find that we are of some account in the world," says Mr Desmond, in his offhand Irish way; "but if you please, Miss O"Regan, we are as hungry as hounds, and as thirsty as hippopotami, and I"m sure you"ll say a good word to get us something to eat and drink."
""Bless my heart," exclaimed the colonel, "I forgot, my boys, that you had been hanging on to the drogher"s bottom for the last three days, on short allowance."
""Yes, sir," says I, thinking it was as well to speak on my own account, for he didn"t seem to understand that I had been with them; "the young gentlemen and I had nothing to stow away in our insides all that time but hard tack and rotten fruit."
""You shall have supper, then, this moment, my lads," says the colonel, and having shouted to the steward to put some food on the table, he invited the midshipmen to go below.
""And I hope this poor man, who has suffered as much as they have, may come too," says the young lady, and I blessed her sweet face as she spoke.
""Of course," says the colonel, "he might fare but badly forward."
"The skipper, a dark-looking chap, who had been walking the deck all the time, scarcely stopping to welcome us aboard, looked daggers at me, but I didn"t mind him.
""Come along, Needham, you saved our lives, and should be the first attended to," says Mr Rogers kindly to me; I, of course, know my place, and that it isn"t for the likes of me to sit down to table with my betters; but just then, if the Queen herself had asked me to take a snack with her, I"d have said, "Yes, marm, please your ladyship, with the greatest pleasure in the world."
"The steward soon had all sorts of good things on the table, but there was one above all others I wanted most, and that was a big jug of water; I could have put it to my mouth and drained it dry. The young gentlemen filled up their tumblers, and pa.s.sed on the jug to me.
""Stop," says the colonel, "you shall temper the water with claret."
But before he could finish speaking, the gla.s.ses were drained dry. We held them out again, however, and the colonel and the young lady filled them up, half-and-half, with wine and water. This brought back our appet.i.tes, and we turned to with a will, the colonel"s daughter filling up our plates with a smile, to watch how we ate. When I"d had enough I got up and made my bow, and the colonel told the steward to get me a berth somewhere, as he was sure I should be glad to turn in and take a snooze. He was right, for my eyes were winking, and the young gentlemen were pretty nigh asleep in their chairs. There were two spare cabins, and they were in them, with their eyes shut, before I had made my last sc.r.a.pe and bow at the cuddy-door. The steward told me to turn into his cot, and it didn"t take me long before I was as sound asleep as I ever was in my life. When I turned out the next morning, I found that the young gentlemen were still snoozing away. They didn"t turn out till noon, and even then they kept rubbing their eyes as if they hadn"t had enough sleep yet. Otherwise, they seemed in no way the worse for what they had gone through. In the meantime, the young lady had sent for me aft, and asked all sorts of questions about our cruise, which Mr Rogers hadn"t told her, and spoke ever so kindly to me. I thought as she was talking that there wasn"t anything in the world I wouldn"t do for her.
The colonel also had his say, and after telling me that he was sure I was a brave, trustworthy fellow, asked me should I like to go ash.o.r.e with him, and a.s.sist him in an adventure he had in hand. I answered, that though I liked a spree on sh.o.r.e as well as others, that it was my duty to stick by the three young gentlemen to look after them, and to see them safe aboard the frigate again by the first opportunity. He seemed somewhat taken aback, and said nothing more.
"The dark-looking skipper, Captain Crowhurst they called him, hadn"t as much as spoken to me, nor had the mate, and it"s my belief that if it hadn"t been for the colonel and his daughter they would have left us to perish on the wreck. There was something I didn"t like in either of them, and I made sure that they were about no good. After I had spoken my mind to the colonel, he didn"t seem quite as friendly as at first, though his daughter was just the same. The young gentlemen made themselves happy, as they were sure to do, with plenty of grub, and no watch to keep. The skipper, however, told me that as I couldn"t be kept for nothing, I must go forward and do duty. Of course I said, "Yes, sir; it"s what I"m always ready for." I managed to make friends with the ship"s company, though they were a rough lot of blacks, browns, and whites, and while I remained aboard I worked as hard as any of them.
"We had fine weather, with light winds, and in about a fortnight we sighted this here coast. All the time we hadn"t fallen in with any vessel bound for Jamaica, or indeed any English craft. Instead of steering for Carthagena, or one of the larger places, we put into a small harbour, called Sapote, some miles away from the chief town. I forgot to say that the day after we were taken off the wreck we had fallen in with a sloop, the _Billy_, which kept company with us, and now anch.o.r.ed astern of the brig. The skipper of the _Billy_ came aboard, and from the way he and the colonel and Captain Crowhurst talked, I guessed that there was something in the wind. As soon as it was dark, a boat from the sh.o.r.e came off, bringing an officer-like looking Spaniard, who shook hands with the colonel as if they were old friends. The colonel introduced the skipper to the stranger, and after another long talk we were ordered to get up a number of cases from the hold, and to lower them into the boat alongside. Two of our boats, with one from the sloop, were then got ready, with their crews all armed. The colonel and the stranger went in one of them, and the two skippers in the other, leaving the mate in charge. Just as they were ready to shove off, the colonel and his daughter came on deck, followed by the three midshipmen."
""Oh, father, may Heaven protect you, but I cannot help trembling for the danger you run," I heard the young lady say.
""No danger at all," he answered, in a cheery tone; "and I am sure that my three young friends here will take very good care of you."
""That we will, that we will;" they all cried out together, and thinks I to myself, "and so will I as long as I"ve an arm to strike with, or a head to think what to do."
"Away the boats pulled into the darkness; there wasn"t a light to be seen on sh.o.r.e; indeed, there didn"t appear to be many houses thereabouts. Mr Rogers came on deck again after the young lady and they had gone below.
""I am sorry to find the brig engaged in this sort of work," he said; "there is to be a rebellion or something of that sort on sh.o.r.e, and if the colonel is caught it will be a serious matter for him, and, what is worse still, for his daughter. What do you think of it, Needham?"
""What you do, sir," says I; "I wish that he was safe aboard again, and that we were on our way back to Jamaica; but I don"t think the skipper is likely to steer northward, till he has landed the whole of his cargo, and a good portion of it consists of arms and warlike stores."
"While we were talking the mate came aft, and asked Mr Rogers, somewhat rudely, if he was going to take charge of the deck, while he ordered me forward.
""I shall be very happy, if you wish it," said Mr Rogers.
""Maybe if you do the ship will run away with you, my lad," said the mate, with a sneer.
"I didn"t hear more, but I saw Mr Rogers walking the deck quite as if he didn"t mind what the mate had said, and was officer of the watch. It was my opinion, from the way the skipper and first mate behaved to the young gentlemen and me, that they wanted us to leave the ship, so that we might not be spies on their actions. I waited till I saw the first mate go below and the second mate come on deck. He was a quiet sort of young man, and he and Mr Rogers were on friendly terms. I then went aft. They seemed anxious, from what they were saying, about the colonel not coming back by that time. While they were talking, the young lady, with Polly, came on deck, and heard some of their remarks before they knew she was near them.
""Oh, Mr Rogers, do you really think the people on sh.o.r.e will interfere with my father?" she asked. "He surely ought to have returned by this time."
""We are expecting him every moment, Miss O"Regan," answered Mr Rogers, putting her off as it were, and not wishing to say what he thought.
"All seems perfectly quiet on sh.o.r.e."
"The other young gentlemen had followed her on deck, and they all three tried to persuade her to go below again, telling her that they were afraid she might suffer from the night air. Still she stood looking out towards the sh.o.r.e; but no lights were seen, and no sound of oars could we hear. At last Mr Rogers said, just as if he was a grown man,--"You know, Miss O"Regan, that the colonel put you under our charge, and we must respectfully insist on your going below. You may suffer from the night air coming off the sh.o.r.e, and you cannot hasten the colonel"s return by remaining on deck. We will let you know immediately he appears or that we can get tidings of him."
"If it had been Lieutenant Rogers or the captain himself saying this, neither of them could have spoken more firmly.
""I will do as you advise, and trust to your promise," said the young lady, and she and her maid went below, helped down the companion ladder by Mr Gordon and Mr Desmond.
"After this one or the other was constantly coming on deck, sent by Miss O"Regan, to learn if the boats were returning. I felt somehow as if all was not right, and I could not bring myself to leave Mr Rogers, who didn"t go below all night, except for a few minutes to get supper."
CHAPTER TWELVE.
NEEDHAM"S NARRATIVE (CONTINUED)--THE SARAH JANE CAPTURED BY CARTHAGENAN FLEET--THE COLONEL AND HIS DAUGHTER, WITH THE MIDSHIPMEN, CONVEYED ON BOARD THE ENEMY"S CORVETTE--CARRIED TO PRISON IN CARTHAGENA--THE COLONEL SEPARATED FROM HIS DAUGHTER--STELLA, AND THE MIDSHIPMEN, WITH NEEDHAM, PLACED IN AN UPPER ROOM--THE GAOLER"S WIFE--PLANS FOR ESCAPING--DESMOND AND NEEDHAM GET OUT--REACH THE CONSULATE--ALARM IN THE HOUSEHOLD--OBTAIN A BOAT, AND GO IN SEARCH OF THE CONSUL--DRIVEN OUT TO SEA.
"The night I was speaking of seemed almost as long as those we spent on the wreck. Just at dawn the first mate came on deck.
""No sign of the boats yet?" he asked, in an anxious tone.
""Yes, I hear them!" exclaimed Mr Rogers, and after listening for a minute or so to be sure that he was right, he went below to tell Miss O"Regan. She and the three midshipmen were presently on deck.
""The boats are pulling very fast; you"ll soon have the colonel on board," said Mr Rogers to the young lady, as she stood eagerly looking towards the sh.o.r.e, where we could as yet see nothing on account of the mist which still hung over it.
""Good reason they have for coming fast, I suspect," suddenly cried the first mate, who was turning an eye to the offing. The darkness of night had then pretty nearly rolled away. "What do any of you fancy those craft are out there?"
""Why," says I, "I make out a ship, and a brig, and a couple of schooners. The first are men-of-war, I judge, by the squareness of their yards, and they are standing for the harbour. They have been creeping along sh.o.r.e with the land-wind during the night, or they wouldn"t be where they are."
"The second mate agreed with me.
""I don"t see what cause we have to fear them, seeing that England is at peace with all the world," says I to him.
""I do though, if they belong to the Carthagenan government," he answered. "I wish we were well out of the harbour, that I do."
"While we were watching the strangers, Captain Crowhurst came alongside in his gig, and almost before he was on deck he shouted out,--"Hands aloft! Loose sails! Stand by to slip the cable!"
"No time for weighing!
""Oh, where is my father?" I heard the young lady ask him. "He"ll be here soon, I suppose," he answered gruffly, and turning away, he muttered, "If it hadn"t been for his obstinacy we should have been well out at sea by this time."
"The few hands sprang aloft to loose sails, the skipper went to the helm, and the mates stood ready to unshackle the cable, while the gig"s crew hoisted up their boat. I really thought that Captain Crowhurst was going to sail without waiting for the colonel. I heard him order the midshipmen, who were talking together, to lend a hand in getting the ship under weigh if they didn"t wish to be run up to the yard-arm. The poor young lady was in a state of great agitation at seeing what was happening.
""We"ll not touch a rope till the colonel is on board," says Mr Rogers; "he is our friend, and we"ll not allow him to be basely deserted. We are not under your command either, if it comes to that."
"At this the skipper swore fearfully, and, seizing a rope"s end, seemed as if he would have given a taste of it to the midshipmen all round, when the young lady, stepping before him, told him that he was a coward, and dared him to strike them. He went back to the wheel without answering. I had been keeping a look-out for the boats. Daylight was increasing, and I now saw them coming off, the men bending to their oars as if they were in chase of an enemy. They soon dashed up alongside, and the colonel came on deck, looking as cool as if nothing particular had happened, though by the way the men sprang on board and hauled away at the falls, and then turned to at loosing sails, I judged that they knew there was no time to be lost. The cable was let run out, the sails were sheeted home, and, with a light breeze off the land, we stood out of the harbour, followed by the sloop. I saw the colonel talking to his daughter, who seemed terribly alarmed; but he laughed and looked at the strangers about two miles off on the starboard bow, and then he pointed ahead as if he expected to get out of the harbour before they were up to us; I had my doubts, however, whether we should. The midshipmen then came up to him, as I supposed, to say how glad they were that he had got safe on board. He answered them very shortly, and taking the young lady by the hand led her below. Soon afterwards Mr Rogers came for"ard to where I was standing.
""I suspect, Needham, that the colonel has got into some sc.r.a.pe on sh.o.r.e," said he. "It is clear from that officer coming off to her that the brig was expected on the coast, and probably those men-of-war are sent to overhaul her. Do you think that we shall get out to sea before they come up with us? and if we don"t, can we beat them off?"
""To be honest with you, Mr Rogers, I don"t think that there"s much chance of our escaping them, and as to beating them off, even if the fellows aboard here would fight, we couldn"t do it, unless they take fright at the sound of our pop-guns," I answered.