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Cormorant Crag; A Tale of the Smuggling Days, a novel by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 36. "To Vistle For Ze Vind" |
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_ CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. "TO VISTLE FOR ZE VIND" Four days passed in the quiet, uneventful way familiar on board a small vessel, with the prisoners sinking into that state of apathy known as accepting the inevitable. They were weary of condoling with one another, and telling themselves that sooner or later their chance for escape would come. They bore their position good-temperedly enough, chatted with the sailors, took a turn or two at steering under the guidance of the man at the helm, and received a nod of approbation from the captain when he saw what they were doing. "Aha, yais," he said, showing his teeth. "You vill be my first and second officer before long, and zen ve sall all be ze grand contrabandiste." "Oh, shall we?" said Vince, as soon as they were alone. "We shall see about that." The captain had been amiable enough to them, and had the boys only felt that those they loved were well and possessing the knowledge that they were safe, the life would have been pleasant enough; but the trouble at home hung like a black cloud over them, and whenever they met each other's eyes they could read the care they expressed, and the feeling of misery deepened for awhile. They went to bed as usual that fourth night, but towards morning Vince somehow felt uneasy; and at last, being troubled by thirst, he determined to go up on deck and get a pannikin of water from the cask lashed by the mainmast. He half expected to find the door fastened, but it yielded to a touch; and, after listening at the cabin for a few moments to try and find whether the captain was asleep, he crept up on deck in the cool grey of the coming morning, and, looking back, saw the man at the helm, and forward two more at the look-out. He had not many steps to go, and there was the pannikin standing ready, and the cover of the cask had only to be moved for him to dip out a tinful of the cool, fresh water, which tasted delicious; and, being refreshed by the draught, he was about to descend, when the beauty of the sea took his attention. The moon was sinking in the west and the dawn was brightening in the east, so that the waves were lit up in a peculiar way. On the side of the moon they glistened as though formed of liquid copper, while on the side facing the east they were of a lovely, pearly, silvery, ever-changing grey. So beautiful were the tints and lights and shades that Vince remained watching the surface of the sea for some minutes, and then the chill wind suggested that he should go down; when, making a sweep round, he felt as if his breath had been taken away, for there, away to the south, and looming up of huge height and size in the morning mist, was unmistakably the Crag, and they were once more close to home. Here, then, was the answer to the question they had asked one another-- Where are we sailing to now? Yes: there was the Crag, with its familiar outline; and his heart beat fast as he felt that if Mike's father were on the look-out with his glass he would be able to see the lugger's sails. "No, he must be in bed and asleep," thought Vince. "But I'll fetch Mike up to see. Why, old Jacques must be taking us home. No; he is going to fetch another load!" "Yais, zat is ze Crag," said a voice behind him, and there stood the captain with a glass under his arm. "Now you vill go down and stop vis ze ozaire boy till I tell you to come up. But zis time you can stay in ze cabin. Mind," he said impressively, "you vill stay. You _comprenez_?" "Oh yes," said Vince; "but you will let us go as soon as you've got the cargo all on board." "Aha, you sink so?" "Yes." "But you are not so stupede as to sink I can take all avay at von trip. _Non, mon ami_, it vill take four or five time more. Now go down, and tell ze ozaire to obey, and not make feel zat I can shoot." "May I bring him up to see the Crag?" said Vince. "No," replied the captain abruptly. "He sleep. Let him rest. Better you sleep too." Vince glanced in at the cabin, to find that the deadlights were up and the place very dimly lit by the tiny skylight. Then, closing the door as he entered the cupboard-like place in which they passed their nights, he found Mike still sleeping; and fearing that he would get into trouble if he tried to watch their approach, he lay down too, and was awakened apparently in a few minutes by Mike shaking him. "I say, it's awfully late, and we've anchored again." "Dressed?" said Vince in wonder. "Yes, and I was going on deck, but the skipper pushed me back and banged down the hatch. I say, I haven't the least idea where we are." "I have," said Vince. "Well, where?" "Back at the cavern." "Nonsense." "You'll see." Mike did see, and before long, for half an hour later the captain came down in the cabin, breakfast was eaten, and then the boys were allowed to go on deck, to find themselves in their old berth, with the rocks towering up and shutting them in, while the lugger was safely moored head and stern to the wall-like rock. Vince involuntarily looked round for the rugged face of old Joe Daygo, and one of the men noticed it. "Looking for the pilot, youngster?" "Yes." "Oh, he came and run us in while you two were asleep, and you don't look as if your eyes were unbuttoned yet." "It's of no use, Cinder," said Mike, as they turned away: "Jacques don't want us to see how it's all done; but only wait till we get away, and we'll find out somehow." That was a busy day for every one but the boys; who, quite feeling their helplessness about escaping, quietly settled down to think of their strange position: as the crow flew not above a mile from home, but powerless to make their presence known. The captain never left the deck, and the boats were going to and fro constantly; but they took nothing ashore, and it was evident that the smuggler meant to clear out the cavern, whose stores were far greater than the boys could have believed. The boats came back loaded down almost to the gunwale; but they were managed with wonderful dexterity, and as soon as they were made fast alongside, the men sprang aboard and their cargoes were rapidly transferred to the hold, which seemed to swallow up an enormous quantity of the contraband goods. So well shaped were the packages and so deftly packed below that they fitted into their places like great bricks in a building, so that by night the lugger was well laden, and it seemed evident that they would sail again when the tide suited. It was just after dark; all the boats were hanging from the davits, and the tired men busy over a meal the cook had prepared, while the captain was walking thoughtfully up and down the deck, his dark eyes watchful over everything, and the boys, as they leaned over the bulwarks, talking softly together about how well the various little currents were made to work for the smugglers, knew that every motion they made was watched. "It's of no use, Ladle," Vince said cheerily. "This isn't the place to try and get away. We've tried it, and we know. If it was, I'd say, jump in and swim for it!" "Pst! a boat," whispered Mike. Vince turned sharply round, to see that a small boat had suddenly glided out of the darkness, to be borne by the current up against the lugger's side; and the next minute Daygo climbed in, painter in hand, the captain going up to him at once, and then returning to where the boys were standing together. Dark as it was, they could see a mocking smile upon the man's face, but before he could speak Vince forestalled him. "All right," he said: "you want us to go below and stay till the lugger is worked out." "Yais, zat is it," said the captain. "Some day you sall help me, visout ze pilot, eh? Go below, and stop youselfs. Shut ze cabin door. You vill find somesings to eat." The boys went down without a word, and they had proof that the captain followed them, for a sharp click told that a bolt outside had been shot. "Eat!" said Vince scornfully; "he thinks that boys are always wanting to eat!" "Never mind, Cinder," said Mike, sitting down before the table, upon which some fresh provisions stood. "Let him think what he likes; let you and me eat while we have a chance; we may be escaping, and not get an opportunity for hours and hours." Vince saw the force of the argument, and followed his companion's example, both listening the while and hearing the men hurry on deck. Soon after they felt the lugger begin to move, and they sat eating and comparing notes as they recalled what they had heard the last time. But they could only build up imaginary ideas about the currents, channels and rocks which the vessel had to thread. "I give it up," said Vince; "we can't understand it all without eyes." Just then the captain came down and seated himself to make a hearty supper, and by the time he had done it was evident that they were out to sea once more, for the vessel swayed softly from side to side, but there was little motion otherwise. "You vill not be sea-seek to-night, _mes amis_," said the captain; "zere is hardly no vind at all. You must go on deck soon and vistle for it to come." But he did not let them go up till he had himself been there for some time, and when they ascended eagerly, it was to see that the sky was brilliantly studded with stars, a very faint wind blowing from the west, and the Crag looming out of the darkness about a mile away, but Joe Daygo's boat had disappeared. The lugger was gliding along very gently, on a north-easterly course, with all sail set; and the boys came to the conclusion that the last manoeuvre was to be repeated, but unless the wind sprang up the trip promised to be long and tedious. But one never knows what is going to happen at sea. They had been sailing for about a couple of hours, with the captain walking up and down with a long spy-glass under his arm; and from time to time he stopped to rest it on the rail and carefully sweep the offing, as if in search of something, but apparently always in vain, till all at once he closed the glass with a snap, and walking forward, gave a sharp order, whereupon two of the men hurried below, to return directly with a couple of lanthorns, which were rigged on to a chopstick kind of arrangement, which held them level and apart as they were attached to the halliards and sent gliding up to the mast-head. "Signal," whispered Vince; "but we can't be near the shore." They searched the soft, transparent darkness for some time, gazing in the direction in which they had seen the captain use his glass, but it was all in vain; till Vince suddenly started, and pressed his companion's arm. Then pointed to where, about a mile away, two dull stars close together seemed to be rising slowly out of the sea to a little distance above the horizon, to stand nearly stationary for a while, and then slowly sink down and disappear. "Another smuggler," whispered Vince; and then turned to look up at the mast-head of their own vessel, but their signal had been lowered. "Depend upon it," whispered Mike, "that boat will come up close, like the other did, and they'll make fast together and begin to shift cargo." "Think so?" said Vince thoughtfully, as it began to dawn upon his mind that possibly Captain Jacques with his fast lugger ran across Channel to various smuggling ports, and brought cargoes over to deposit in the cavern ready for the contraband goods to be fetched by other vessels and landed here and there upon the English coast. He did not know then that he had made a very shrewd guess, and hit the truth of how the captain had for years gone on enriching himself and others by his ingenious way of avoiding the revenue cutters, whose commanders had always looked upon the Crag as a dangerous place, that every one would avoid, but who would have given chase directly had they seen Jacques' long low swift vessel approaching any part of the English coast to land a cargo. Vince did not ripen his thoughts then--that happened afterwards, for he was interrupted by a hand laid upon his shoulder, Mike feeling another upon his. "You sink you vill keep ze middle vatch?" said the captain: "_ma foi_, no! Go down and sleep, and grow to big man." He gave them a gentle push in the direction of the hatch. "_Bon soir_," he said mockingly, and the boys went down. "You'll hear the bolts shot directly," said Vince grimly, as he seated himself on the edge of the bunk. _Click_--_clack_! came instantaneously, and then they heard an ascending step. "Don't mean us to see much of what is going on," said Mike. "Oh, it isn't that," replied Vince. "He fancies we should do something while they're busy--get a boat down, slip on board the other lugger or whatever it is." "He needn't fancy that," said Mike. "Frying-pan's bad enough; I'm not going to jump into the fire and try that!" "Nor I either. Well, shall we turn in?" "May as well: I don't want to stop up and listen to a gang of smugglers loading and unloading their stupid cargo." "Nor I, Ladle. I say, what a shame it is of old Jacques to be living now, instead of a hundred years ago! Poor old chap, you won't get any plunder after all!" "I don't see that it's right to be trying to make fun of our trouble," said Mike bitterly; "there's the poor old Crag only a few miles away, and we're shut up here!" "Don't take any notice," said Vince: "I say all sorts of things I don't mean. No chance of getting away to-night, is there?" "No--not even to drown ourselves by trying to swim away," said Mike, with a sigh; and they hardly spoke again. _ |
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