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The Lost Middy: Being the Secret of the Smugglers' Gap, a novel by George Manville Fenn |
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Chapter 17 |
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_ CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. The next morning one of the first things that saluted Aleck's eyes on making his way up to the look-out on the cliff, was the sloop-of-war about a couple of miles out, sailing very slowly along, followed at a short distance by the Revenue cutter, and the lad had not been watching five minutes before he became aware of the fact that Ness Dunning's work in the garden was at a standstill, that individual being laid flat upon his chest watching the vessels' movements through a piece of pipe. Away to the right on the cliffs, dotted about which lay Eilygugg, there was a white speck here and a blue speck there, and a little more intent gazing proved to the lad that there was another speck upon the edge of the farthest cliff in view. "Women on the look-out to give warning to the smugglers," thought Aleck, and he hurried back to see if his uncle was down, and if he were not to return to the cliff-top with the glass. But the captain was just descending, and his first words were: "That's right, my boy; let's have breakfast. By the way, did you get my paper?" This started the lad, who was crammed with his news, which he hurriedly made known. "Humph!" said the old man. "Rather a lively experience for you, my lad; but you must be careful, for I don't want to have you in trouble over helping smugglers to escape." "No, uncle, of course not," said Aleck; "but do you think I did wrong?" "Certainly, my boy. This fellow--ill-conditioned fellow Megg--was fighting against the law. He was doubtless there on some business connected with smuggling, and nearly got caught by the press-gang--an institution I do not admire, but those in authority consider it a necessity for the supply of the Navy. Keep away from all these worries, and as much as possible from Rockabie and its young ruffians." "Yes, uncle; but I really did not seek to be amongst all that business in Rockabie yesterday," pleaded Aleck. "Of course not, my boy, and you need not look so penitent. The law's the law, of course, but I'm afraid if I had been appealed to as you were last night I should have done the same, and given the scoundrel a good talking to as I brought him away. There, have no more to do with it, and keep out of sight if there are boats landed, as there most probably will be, to make a search." "But suppose the officers land and know me again, uncle?" "There, there, I'm just in the midst of a tiresomely intricate chapter of my book, and don't want to have my attention taken off." "No, uncle, of course not; but if the officers and men know me again?" "Why, let them, my lad. You were doing no harm, and they can do you none. Now let's finish our breakfast." "Shall I stay in, uncle?" said Aleck. "Tom Bodger slept down in the boat last night, and I wanted to take him some breakfast." "Go and take it then, of course." "And then stay in?" "No, no; nonsense. Now don't bother me any more." "I won't get into any trouble," Aleck said to himself, as he hurried out, armed with two huge sandwiches and a mug of well-sweetened coffee, with which he got on pretty well going through the garden, hardly spilling a drop, till he was startled by the voice of the gardener, saying, from the other side, in anticipation: "Thankye, Master Aleck. That's very good of yer." That startling made the lad half stop, and about a tablespoonful of the hot preparation flew out on to the path. But Aleck paid no attention, not even turning his head, but increasing his pace, with the mug troubling him a good deal in his efforts to preserve the liquid in a state of equilibrium in a rapidly descending and very slippery and uneven rocky path. "I daresay you'd like it," muttered Aleck, as he hurried on, followed directly after by: "I'm over here, Master Aleck." "Thank you for the information, Ness, but they say none are so deaf as those who will not hear." At the next zigzag of the path he was out of sight and hearing, and a few minutes later close upon the niche devoted to his boat, with the big sandwiches complete, and quite three parts of the coffee in the mug. "Sorry to have been so long, Tom," he cried, breathlessly, "but here you--" Aleck was going to say _are_, but he felt that it would not be correct, for Tom was not there, nor anywhere within sight down the narrow waterway in the direction of the sea. He had left tokens of his presence in the shape of tidy touches, for the boat tackle had all been taken out and stowed away in the overhanging cavernous part, and the boat lay ready for any amount of necessary repairs, for, in spite of the sailor's declaration the previous evening, she had been leaking to such an extent during the night since she had been tied up, that she was one quarter full of water. "Why, he ought to have stopped to mend the hole properly. Seen the men-o'-war coming, I suppose, and gone back to Rockabie so as not to be found if the sailors come searching here. But how stupid! What am I to do with this coffee and bacon?" A moment was sufficient for his decision, and he turned and hurried back, made straight for the tool-house, where he placed the mug on the bench, with the sandwiches carefully balanced across. Then, carefully keeping out of the gardener's sight till the last minute, he turned down a path which led him near, and then, putting his hands to his lips, he shouted: "Ness!" "Yes, Master Aleck," came directly from where the man was making believe to have been busy for hours. "I've put some coffee and something to eat in the tool-shed," bellowed Aleck. "Let him think what he likes," he muttered, as he ran back indoors, obtained the glass, and was off again to make for the cliff and watch the proceedings of the men-o'-war. Their proceedings seemed to be nil, for both vessels were hove to, and after watching them for a few minutes by means of the glass, Aleck closed it, and hung about, undecided what to do. A minute later he had made up his mind, for the cave in which the smugglers' boats lay drawn up attracted him, and he was level with the cottages and preparing to descend when it occurred to him that he had better not go, for if Eben had been suspicious of his visit and ready to think him guilty of giving information to the press-gang people and Revenue men, it was quite possible that others there might be the same, while doubtless the women who had lost son, husband, or father during the past night would be in no pleasant temper to encounter. So instead of descending, Aleck went on in the direction of the great gap in the cliff where he had had so exciting an encounter with the smuggler, intending to make for the shelf again so as to sit down and watch the sloop and cutter, but only to find when he reached the place, that the view in that direction was cut off by towering rocks. Consequently he climbed back, went round the head of the deep combe, and crept round to the other side, mounted to the top, and then stood looking down into another of the great rifts in the coast-line, one which had perpendicular sides, the haunt of wild fowl, going sheer down to the water, which here came several hundred yards right into the land. There were plenty of capital places here where a strong-headed person could go and perch and excite no more notice than a sea-bird. They were what ordinary inshore folk would have called "terribly dangerous," but such an idea never occurred to Aleck, who selected one of the most risky, in a spot where the vast wall where he stood was gashed by a great crack, which allowed of a descent of some thirty feet to a broad ledge littered by the preenings of the sea-birds, which seemed, though none were present, to have made it their home. It was a delightful spot for anyone who could climb to it without growing giddy; but there was no going farther, for the angle of the ledge was quite straight, and when the lad peered over he was looking straight into the gurgling, foaming and fretting water a hundred feet below. "What a boat cove that would have made," he thought, "if there were not so many sharp rocks rising from the bottom! I shouldn't like to try and take my kittiwake in there, big as it is." The gloomy place, with its black shadowy niches and caves at the surface of the water, had a strange fascination for him. In fact, with its solemn twilight and irregular crag, arch and hollow, it looked quite an ideal entrance to some mermaid city such as is described by the poets who deal in fable. But there were the two little men-o'-war to watch, and Aleck drew back a step or two from the edge to select a comfortable seat, where the colour of the rock which rose up behind was likely to assimilate with his garments and not throw him up as a plainly-seen watcher if a telescope were directed shoreward from one of the vessels. "I wonder whether the smugglers ever come here," thought Aleck, as he looked at the face of the rock in a spot that just suited his purpose; and then he laughed to himself and felt no doubt at all, for there, just level with his face, and about eighteen inches within a crack in the rock, a shabby old horn lanthorn was wedged, and just below it was a tinder-box and a square wide-mouthed bottle, well corked, evidently to protect its contents from the spray which would come rushing up from below in a storm, the contents being so many thin slips of wood, whose sharply-pointed ends had been dipped in molten brimstone. "One of their look-outs," he said to himself, as he turned again to sit down, but only to start and crouch upon his knees in surprise; for close up to the rock wall, half hidden by a tuft of sea-pink and grey sea holly, was a very old ragged black silk neckerchief, folded and creased as if lately torn off, and bearing strange rusty dark stains, dry and unpleasant-looking, and with very little consideration Aleck settled in his own mind that, if it were not the kerchief Tom had torn from his neck to wind round the smuggler's wound, it was as like it as could be. It did not look a nice thing to take up and handle, but the lad bent lower, before rising up to say, decisively: "It must be, I'm sure, for I almost seem to know the holes. Then Eben must have been here this morning watching for the press-gang people." Another thought flashed across the lad's brain directly: "Perhaps he's close by somewhere, watching me." This thought produced a very uncomfortable feeling, and Aleck was divided between two forces which pulled different ways. One was to--as Tom Bodger called it--look out for squalls, the other to sit down quite calm and unconcerned to watch the vessels. "I can't help it if Eben does fancy I'm watching his proceedings; he must feel that I should be longing to know what is going on. No, after last night I'm sure he won't think I should make signals to the ships. Why should I? There's nothing to signal about." He focussed and re-focussed the glass, and held its larger end towards the sloop and placed one eye at the little orifice; but the left would not close and the right would not look at the sloop, but persisted in rolling about in every direction in search of Eben, who, the boy felt certain now, must be crouching back in one of the rugged clefts watching every movement he made. Aleck did the best he could to look calm and unconcerned, but anyone who had seen him from near at hand would have pronounced it as being a dismal failure. Then all at once he started. Down went the glass, and he craned forward towards the edge of the shelf to look down, for all at once there was a hoarse rumbling sound and a tremendous plash and crash as if a mass of rock had fallen from somewhere beneath him right into the rock-strewn gully below. He could not resist the desire to lie down upon his breast and edge himself forward till his face was over the edge and he could look right down into the water, which was all in motion, swaying and eddying, foaming round the half-submerged blocks of weed-hung stone, and behaving generally according to its custom as the tide went and came, for these chasms displayed little change, the water being very deep and never leaving any part of the bottom bare. There was nothing fresh to see, and after a time the lad drew back, to resume his old attitude with the glass to his eye. But he had hardly settled down again before he experienced a slight quivering sensation, as if the cliff had suddenly received a blow, while directly after there was a deep roar as of stones falling along some vast slope. Then once more silence, with the water whispering and gurgling far below. "Part of the cliff given way," thought Aleck, as he called to mind places here and there where masses of the rocky rampart which guarded the western shores had evidently fallen, and about which he had heard traditionary stories. But these falls had taken place in far distant times. No one that he had heard speak of them could go farther back than chronicling the event as something of which "my grandfather heered tell." Aleck thought no more of the sounds and went on watching the two vessels, till suddenly they seemed to be doing something in the way of action. A boat was lowered from each, and the lad's glass was powerful enough to enable him to make out the faces of the officers in the stern-sheets, one of whom was the midshipman who had charge of the boat at Rockabie pier. Aleck watched the boats rowing shoreward and separating after a time, one of the sloop's making for the Eilygugg cove, the other rowing in the direction of the gap which led up to the depression in which lay the Den. Feeling that he would like to be at home if the boat entered their private chasm, as the lad dubbed it, he turned back along the cliff and reached the garden so as to descend to the mooring-place just in time to see the cutter's boat framed in the opening, the dark rocks round and above, and the little craft floating upon a background of opalescent sea and sky. "They can't have come right in," thought Aleck, and after a time he made for the cliff again to get near the edge and look down, in time to see that both boats were being rowed back to their respective vessels. An hour after they were slowly gliding away in the direction of Rockabie, their examination having been of the most perfunctory kind. _ |
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