"What, five hundred pounds! Capitan, now do be reasonable. I tell you
no other man would get the half of what you are offered."
"Very well, then," replied the captain, "it is off. Give it to the
person who will do it for half."
"Certainly not; that is not what I mean," said the commissioner. "How
can I face my friends with such news after all I have said to them
about you? They will form a bad opinion of both you and myself."
"Oh! d---- both you and your friends. Get over the side, or I'll help
you."
"Well, Capitan S----, I have never seen a man in such a temper
before."
"Oh, go to----!"
"Oh no, no, capitan; don't say that. I cannot tell my friends of
this."
"I wouldn't take your stuff for a thousand pounds now," said the
captain.
"Forgive me, my best friend. I did not mean to be offensive; you have
misunderstood my meaning. I will give you five hundred pounds, though
I know I will have to pay one hundred out of my own purse. It is very
hard."
The captain hesitated, but was overcome by the thought of making so
large a clean profit without involving any material loss of time. In
less than an hour after darkness came on the cargo was being put
aboard with amazing facility. The first lighter was nearly discharged,
when the captain asked the agent to pay the freight. This gentleman,
with many greasy apologies, informed him that he had only half of the
money with him. He could not get his friends to agree to pay all
before starting, "but they will agree to pay half here and the other
half as soon as the lighters come to you at Amonti." "Very well,
then; I won't take another bale in, and will steam away at once."
"But," said the cunning Rock-scorpion, "you have a lighter of goods
aboard. You are very dreadful for talking about running away with it."
"You make me sick," said the captain, with a killing look of scorn.
"Capitan, you say queer things to your best friends. Now, I tell you
what I will do: I will on my own responsibility give you in cash
two-thirds now, and the other third I pledge myself will be paid at
Amonti. It would be a scandal to all concerned to allow it to drop at
the present time."
"Scandal be d----d!" replied the commander. "You're a fine lot to talk
about scandal--you who would rob Jesus Christ of his shoe-strings."
"Capitan, you do me wrong; I would never do the things you say."
"Stump up the dross like a man, then, and don't stand whining there
like a sucking turkey craving for pity," retorted Captain S----. A
look of injured piety came over the old rascal's face, who was playing
a game of Levantine jugglery, subtle and crafty.
"Ah," said he, "I am so sorry. Indeed, I cannot express my grief that
you should have changed in so short a time from the kind, generous
capitan of old times long ago to the very cruel, disobliging person of
this minute, who calls me names and refuses to reciprocate kindness
for kindness. I think my friends will say that I tell lies, which they
would not think of me, when I tell them that you have become morose
and disobliging. They will stare and say that my judgment has been
deceived. But to show my trust in you, nevertheless, I will, as I have
said, give you two-thirds cash, and the other third you will be paid
at your destination. No other man in Gibraltar would do the same; but
we are old friends who have done business together before--not
profitable, but still it was business, very hard business. Come, now,
capitan, do be reasonable, and do not look at me as though you would
like to strike my face with your fist."
The captain had been standing in a reflective mood during the
Rock-scorpion's harangue, obviously reviewing the whole position and
the policy that should be adopted. He was dubious as to the wisdom of
accepting the terms offered; but seeing that the risk to him was less
than it was to them, he spontaneously replied--
"Agreed! But I warn _you_, and you must intimate the warning to your
friends, if there is any attempt at deceiving me, or any reluctance
shown at the other end to pay the balance of freight, I will steam off
with the merchandise and the men you propose sending with me, and I
don't care to say what will become of them."
"Shake hands," said the wily agent; "and I give you my word of honour,
which everybody trusts but you since you came this time, that there
will be no trouble made. Now come to the charthouse and take over the
cash."
This formality was speedily accomplished, though not without a further
attempt to reduce the cash payment on the plea that it would endanger
his professional reputation in the eyes of his commercial friends.
"I care nothing for your reputation," murmured the candid sailor.
"What I want is two-thirds freight, so stump it all up, or I will have
it taken from you and then hoist you into your boat."
Whereupon the agent became afflicted with grief at his dear friend's
threatened cruelty.
"Really, my best friend, I must not give way here, but I will shed
tears when I get to my silent home, and speak with myself of the
change that has come to your mind."
"Don't you bother about shedding tears; you see that your friends play
the game," said the inexorable captain. "I will carry out my part;
but, by heavens! if your people don't carry out theirs, you shall all
pay dearly for it."
"You are too excited on this occasion, my dear capitan, and for this I
am sorry, as I like to see you as usual. I tell you if they do not
play the fair way, I will be responsible and be very vexed."
"Shut up, you blatherskite; the cargo is all aboard. Get into your
boat quick, and remember what I have said to you when you can overcome
the effects of your wriggling and dodging. Your cargo can only be
delivered on one condition. Keep in mind what it is. Begone, and never
let me see your evil countenance again."
Thus spoke the enterprising commander, who had begun to realize that
he was having dealings with a gang whom he would have to fight in
order to get his own. The engines were put at full speed, and kept at
that until she was fifty miles north-west of Cape Spartel, when they
were slowed so that she might not arrive before the appointed time. As
the vessel trailed sinuously over the quiet sea, the captain's
thoughts were centred on material things and the reception he was
likely to have on meeting the men his mind's eye pictured as
cut-throat ruffians. He had several conferences with the interpreter,
whose look and speech he regarded as a revelation of villainy. He was
tall and slim, with ricketty legs, dark shifty eyes, a low receding
forehead, and a mouth and chin that indicated the animal. The captain
felt instinctively the approach of trouble, and frankly told the
wretch, who he knew was deceiving him, that every bale of tobacco
would be held until after the freight was paid over in gold
sovereigns; and with an air of ostentatious authority he gave
instructions to have all the muskets and revolvers loaded and ready in
case they should be required. The hideous scoundrel fixed his eye on
the captain, and with ironic accent intimated he could not help being
filled with concern when he heard the orders given to prepare the
firearms.
"Capitan, we are not pirates; we are respectable men carrying on a
respectable trade. You need not prepare anything; we are honest
tradesmen."
The captain laughed heartily at this comic assurance of fidelity, and
felt convinced that a deep impression had been made, as the
interpreter shortly after was seen vigorously conversing with his two
compatriots. The one had been introduced as the representative of the
owner of the cargo, and the other the pilot, whose business it was to
direct the captain to that part of the coast where the craft was
awaiting the vessel's arrival. The treacherous dusk was casting its
shadows over them, and had brought with it a weird sound of the
moaning wind. The crew stood in little knots, talking earnestly to
each other. Obviously they conversed of the night's work, and all the
grave possibilities that lay in front of them. For the most part they
wore an anxious look on their faces, but there was one there whose eye
was full of sparkling fun, and whose face beamed with a self-satisfied
expectation of exhilarating dangers. The captain called him to the
bridge, and gave him some specific orders as to how he was to act when
certain signals were given. The chaste and simple motto of "the blow
first and jaw afterwards" guided him, and he was only profane when
discipline demanded it. His superstitious tendencies were in an
ordinary way an anxiety to him, but on the night in question the only
signs he gave of being affected in this way was by the half coherent
remark to the captain that he did not like to hear the shrill wail of
the wind through the rigging; "it seems to be speaking to us of some
trouble near at hand." Suddenly the interpreter called out, "I see the
feluccas." In a moment all thought of the wail of the wind had
disappeared, and this fine athletic seaman was commanding his men like
a hero. He had been told by his captain that there would more than
likely be rough work to do, and he prepared for it with a skill and
vigour that left no doubt as to how his instructions would be carried
out. "Give the signal at the proper time," said he, "and leave the
rest to me." A shipwrecked crew was being taken home in the steamer,
and these, together with her own crew, made the number look
formidable, and although they were never requested to give assistance,
they offered it in case of need. Undoubtedly the addition to the
ordinary crew had a moral effect upon the Spaniards.
The craft came alongside, and her crew jumped aboard and commenced to
handle the bales. They were peremptorily stopped by the captain
giving instructions that not a single bale was to be allowed to pass
into the lighters until the freight was paid and he had given orders.
Soon there was a carnival of foes. The captain called to the
interpreter to bring the man with the money to the saloon. The
interpreter came but not the man. The former said the money was coming
on the second lighter, but the one alongside must be loaded and sent
away first.
"No, no!" interposed the captain; "no money, no bales." He would wait
until the second lighter came, which could easily be placed alongside
astern of the first one. In a short time number two came, and was
moored as directed. A large number of men jumped aboard from both
craft. The captain again called out to bring the man with the money,
and again no one turned up but the interpreter. This time he was
defiant. He put his back against the saloon side, folded his arms and
began--
"Capitan, you see the number of people aboard your vessel. They can
take her from you, if they so wish it. I tell you frankly we have no
money; but, by God! we must and shall have the tobacco."
The captain had been reared amidst a race of men who had imbued him
with the importance of hitting decisively and with promptness, when
confronted with situations which demanded physical action. In an
instant he had hold of the scoundrel, who, he was convinced now, was
the leader of a plot to take the cargo by force. Under peremptory
compulsion, the Levantine was rushed on deck, informed that he had
miscalculated with whom he had to deal, and that any one who attempted
to carry out his threat would be fired upon.
"I give you fair warning there shall be no half measures, and I
command you to inform your friends what I have said; and also state to
them that as soon as I have been paid my freight, they will not only
be allowed to have the cargo, but I will instruct my crew to assist in
the transhipment."
It never will be known now what this plant of grace intimated
precisely to his colleagues, but the general impression was at the
time that the captain's message had not been conveyed verbatim. Soon
the babble of tongues charged the air and gave an impression of
Bedlam. The captain had resolved upon a course of action which was
strenuous. He had given certain orders to the chief engineer, and was
standing on the lower bridge reviewing the situation, when the second
officer came up to him and said in a whisper--
"The Spaniards are all armed to the teeth, sir."
"All right," said the captain, "they will soon be disarmed. Meanwhile,
as a precaution, put our men on their guard. This business must be
carried through vigorously, and with dash."
At this juncture the interpreter, apparently with the intention of
breaking the deadlock, attempted to come on the bridge, and was warned
if he put his foot on the ladder he (the captain) would jump on top of
him. He did so, and the next moment he was flattened on the deck. The
Spaniards, in great excitement, surrounded the two. At last, one of
the shipwrecked men spoke to them in Spanish, and the master asked
him if he could really speak Spanish. He replied in the affirmative.
"Then," said the captain, "translate to these men that I do not wish
to hold the cargo, but that my agreement was for the freight to be
paid immediately the craft came alongside."
This pronouncement seemed to make an impression, but they still
coveted and cavilled for the goods. They endeavoured to persuade the
master of the steamer, who had gone on to the bridge again, to anchor,
and the money would be brought off in the morning. He prevaricated
with them, and at the same time told the chief engineer secretly to
put the engines easy ahead. She was brought head on to the sea, and
the wind having risen, a nasty swell came with it, which caused the
lighters to jump and put jerky strains on their moorings. A few of
their crew jumped aboard, and were trying to pass additional ropes
around the rigging of the steamer when the captain blew his whistle.
In an instant the tow-rope of the forward lighter was cut; then it was
that the Spaniards realized what was happening. They remonstrated
with the captain; they shouted to each other excitedly; those that had
not got aboard the feluccas flew along the deck and jumped, one after
the other, on to their vessel as she swung round. Another shrill
whistle, and the last rope of lighter No. 2 was snapped. Captain S----
called out to the interpreter, who was pleading piteously to allow
them to have only some of the cargo, to jump at once if he did not
wish to lose his passage, and to be taken away with the steamer. He
quickly realized his true position, and sprang over the stern. It was
supposed that he was picked up by one of the craft. They then
commenced to fire wildly from the feluccas, but little harm was done,
and in a brief time the steamer had travelled far outside the range of
their guns, and was heading towards Cape St. Vincent, with the whole
of the contraband aboard of a value of something like £5000. The
question of how it was to be disposed of was a problem not easily
solved. The first thought was to take it to Lisbon. This idea having
broken down, the next thought was one of the Channel Islands (Jersey
or Guernsey). This also, for specific reasons, gave way. It was then
decided to take it to the port of discharge of the ordinary cargo; but
after calculating all the trouble, the payment of duty, time lost, and
possible legal technicalities, the captain resolved that the best and
cleanest way of disposing of it was to jettison the whole of it. This
decision brought him into sharp conflict with his chief officer, who
entirely disagreed with such a course.
"Is it for this," he said, "that we risked being shot and having the
steamer seized and confiscated? The tobacco belongs to us by right of
conquest, as well as by moral right, and it will be an abomination to
throw it overboard. Even if we make only a thousand pounds out of it,
it is always something; but to put it into the sea would be sinful
beyond description. I cannot bring myself to be a party to such a
thing."
The decision of the captain was irrevocable, in spite of the
persuasive eloquence of a deputation of the crew and engineers. So,
after passing the Burlings, orders were given to cut the bales, save
the packing, and shovel the tobacco overboard. This very nearly caused
open revolt, but the captain made a few tactful statements which had
good effect. He presented a case that could not be controverted, and
they yielded to the inevitable. The jettisoning commenced with bad
grace, and a continual growl was kept up until the captain himself was
overcome by the sight of the beautiful tobacco being thrown away. He
called a halt, after persuading himself that a new idea might be
presented to the mind as time went on, which would show how a profit
could be made without risking any vital interest; but this only
endured for a couple of days. No really sound idea came, and so the
work of destruction was resumed until only half a dozen bales were
left, and it was resolved to hold these whatever happened. The mate
was a sailor of the old school, and clung to the grog and tobacco
traditions of the eighteenth century. He might have forgiven the
purveyors of defective food, but if bad grog and tobacco were
supplied there was no forgiveness for that, here or hereafter! He
believed in the crew being served with grog whenever they were called
upon to do extra work, such as shortening sail or setting it, and
although he never allowed smoking when on duty, or expectoration on
the quarter-deck, a skilful seaman was all the more popular with him
if he chewed. His opinion was that they did better work, and more of
it, when they rolled a quid about in their mouths. If his attention
was called to a small boy who was practising the habit, a
pride-of-race smile would come into his face, and his laughing eyes
indicated the joy it was giving him. Then he would say, "Thank God,
the race is not becoming extinct. I have always hope of a youngster
turning out satisfactorily if he works well and chews well." As a
matter of fact, his conviction was that a boy or man who adopted the
practice did so instinctively because they were born sailors, and were
true types of British manhood. Indeed, he regarded manhood as strictly
confined to his own class, though on many occasions I have seen
volcanic evidences of shattered faith. It was not so much the money
value of the tobacco, but the _racial affection he had for it_ that
caused him to feel indignant at the suggestion of it being thrown to
the waves.
The second day subsequent to this conflict, it was the first mate's
afternoon watch below. He had partaken of his midday meal, and went to
the bridge to have a smoke. As he looked down at the bales of goods,
he said to the second mate--
"However the thought of destroying that beautiful stuff can have
entered the mind of man I cannot fathom. I think I have got him
persuaded to leave well alone. It must be nothing short of stark
lunacy."
And the two men were agreed that had their captain _been as short of
it as they_ had been one time and another he would not talk such
foolishness. The chief mate intimated that he was going to have a nap,
but that his mind was torn with presentiment which he could not speak
about calmly. At four o'clock when he came on deck he was made aware
of what had taken place during his watch below, whereupon he lapsed
into a kind of inarticulate stupor, and could not speak the
unutterable. He placed his right hand on his brow, and then on his
left breast, and stood gazing at the long Atlantic rollers, which had
the appearance of an uneven reef of rocks. The stage of stupor and
grief was superseded by that of resigned indignation. He plaintively
called out--
"Well, I'll--be--teetotally--d----d! Miles of sea to be paved with
that beautiful tobacco! Retribution will come to somebody; and, by
thunder! it should come with a clattering vengeance. I will never
forget the sight as long as I have breath."
The captain came up to him, and seeing that his mind was centred on
what he regarded as not only a calamity but a crime, he was so much
amused at his ludicrously pathetic appearance that he laughingly
repeated--
"Oh, for the touch of a vanished hand, and the sound of a voice that
is still."
The inappropriate words were merely used as a piece of chaff, but Mr.
S---- was not in a chaffing mood, so he retorted that he did not see
where the humour came in, and there was nothing to laugh at, and so
on. He then walked on to the bridge, and he and the captain were not
on friendly speaking terms any more during the voyage.
At midnight on the sixth day after parting company from the Spaniards,
the vessel was hove to to take a pilot aboard. Captain S---- took him
aside as soon as he boarded, and asked him in an undertone if he ever
did anything in the contraband line. He held up his hands as though he
were horrified at the suggestion, and exclaimed--
"Not for the world, captain!"
"Very well," replied the captain; "you go below, and I will join you
in a minute or two, after giving orders to the steward to make tea for
us."
As a matter of fact, he remained behind to give orders to the mate to
throw overboard the remaining six bales, which was a further trial to
the grief-stricken officer; and having done this the captain joined
the pilot, and entered into conversation with him. The two men were
not long in discovering that they each belonged to the brotherhood of
Freemasons. This put them on easy terms at once, and encouraged the
pilot to inquire into the meaning of the words spoken to him on
boarding.
"I do not quite know how I stand in relation to that," said the
captain. "Indeed, I am perplexed as to the plan I ought to adopt. So
many difficulties confront me as the scheme of development goes on;
but so far as I have been able to work out the problem, I think my
attitude must be straightforward, and that I should make a full
voluntary statement to the authorities. Meanwhile, if you pledge me
your Masonic honour to keep it a secret until I have made it public, I
will tell you the whole story."
The undertaking was readily given, and long before the whole story was
told, the pilot's Christian virtues had broken down. At frequent
intervals while the narrative was being told he interjected, "Oh! why
didn't you tell me?" His mind was transfixed. Then the processes of
it became confused. The vision of wealth and the reckless squandering
of some of it took possession of him, and with uncontrolled zeal he
called out--
"My God! what a story! O captain, why didn't you tell me what it was
at once, and not waste time? Let us get to work without delay. I will
undertake to land what you have got on an island and share the
proceeds with you."
"Too late, too late, my friend. You have thrown away an opportunity
which may never come to you again," replied the master, with a
mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Transactions of this kind are done
spontaneously and with vigour--they are not to be dreamed about."
"I admit my error, captain; but, oh! how was I to know? Surely you do
not mean to tell me that the balance of the tobacco has been thrown
overboard since I came here?"
"Yes, it is all gone. We do not hesitate when we face the inevitable,
no matter what the sacrifice may be."
"Well, I'm blowed!" soliloquized the pilot. "It will take me some
time to get over this little bit of history."
"I daresay," said the captain; "but it is time you took charge--she is
now within your jurisdiction. What do you say to going on the bridge?
You will find the chief officer there, with whom you may condole, if
it be safe for a stranger to speak of so delicate a subject to him.
You will, perhaps, find him stupefied with grief and shame at the
unpatriotic conduct of his commander, and I daresay his language will
impress you with the venerable traditions cherished by his class when
things are supposed to have gone wrong."
The pilot greeted the chief officer cordially, but did not receive a
very polite response to his attempts to draw him into conversation
about his recent experiences, and was cut short in a sailorly fashion
by being told if he wanted any information about experiences, as he
called them, to go and ask "that ---- fool of a skipper about it."
"I have had a little conversation with him," replied the pilot; "and
it does seem to me extraordinary--and if I were not here I might
almost say an outrage--that no other course could be found than utter
sacrifice."
"Oh, don't talk to me!" exclaimed the vivacious mate, in a flood of
passion. "You call it extraordinary and an outrage! Is that a proper
name for such wickedness? You ask me what I think of it? I tell you I
cannot think. You talk about outrage! I say, sir, it is joining
outrage to injustice, and I cannot believe that any other than a
frozen-souled fool would have done it. There is not a glimmering of
common-sense in it. The wonder is that he didn't take it back to the
scoundrels, for pity's sake!"
This outburst of withering scorn encouraged the pilot to ask what the
sailors thought of it.
"Go and ask them, if you want to hear something you've never heard
before."
The captain, who was in the charthouse, could not help hearing these
interesting opinions of himself, nor could he help enjoying the rugged
humour of them. His mate had his peculiarities, but he never doubted
his loyalty to himself, and he was sure that on reflection he would
come to see the wisdom of disentanglement. He went on to the bridge as
though all was serene, asked a few questions of the pilot, and settled
down until the vessel arrived at her discharging port.
On landing, a message-boy told him there was a telegram at the office
for him. He eagerly asked if he knew where it was from. The boy
replied, "Gibraltar." He requested the messenger to get it for him,
and found it was from the agent who shipped the tobacco, the purport
of it being to offer him £500 to bring it back, and intimating that a
letter was on the way. When this came to hand, it explained
exhaustively the reason the freight was not paid as agreed, and boldly
accused the port authorities and officials of having organized a plot
in order to accomplish their own evil ends. This precious document was
signed by the writer, and, needless to say, was not replied to. As a
necessary protection to himself, the master had a declaration signed
by the whole of the crew, stating that they had no tobacco concealed
or in their possession other than that shown to the Custom-house
officers.
As is usual after a vessel arrives in a home port, and is properly
moored and decks cleared up, the crew go aft, draw a portion of their
wages, and then go ashore. They had a fine tale to relate, and it may
be taken for granted that no incident connected therewith lost any of
its flavour in the process of narration. It would appear that the
sailors got drunk and "peached" in a most grotesque way. They declared
that although much of the contraband had been disposed of, this was
only done as a blind, and that there were tons beneath the iron ore
and in the peaks and bunkers, and all over the vessel. The story
spread, and grew as it was passed along, until it became the most
colossal smuggling enterprise ever known in the country. The captain
came on board at noon on the day following the arrival, and found a
large number of Custom-house officers on board. Some were in the holds
digging vigorously at the ore with picks and shovels. Their coats
were off, and their shirt sleeves doubled up. Others were on deck
ready for action, but the chief mate prevented them going into the
forepeak, which caused both suspicion and irritation. The captain gave
them permission. Two went forth full of hope and confidence that they
were on the point of reaping their reward. They had no sooner got down
than indescribable cries for God to help them were heard. A rush was
made to see what had happened. The lights were out, and nothing was
visible. They groped their way to the peak ladder, and were nearly
dead with fright when they reached the deck. When they had
sufficiently recovered, they said that there was something in the peak
alive, which kept butting up against them. They were sure it wasn't a
man, and that it must be something evil. An Irish sailor stood close
by laughing and jeering at them, and in genuine brogue he charged them
with being haunted by their own "evil deeds."
"You had no business there," said he, "and to prove to you that I am
right I'll swear divil a thing is there in the peak but cargo gear
and other stores. I'll go down myself and face the evil one you talk
about."
And down he went, but the fright of the officers was feeble to the
Irishman's. He shrieked and flew on deck shouting, "Be God, you're
right, he's there!"
The chief mate suspected what it was, but was not keen on going down
himself or ordering any one else to do so, so the anchor light was
lowered down and shone upon the captain's pet goat. It had been long
aboard for the purpose of supplying milk to the captain and his wife.
The peak hatch had been off, and Nannie, accustomed to go wherever she
pleased, strayed into the darkness and tumbled down. The incident
stopped all work for a time, and created a lot of good-humoured chaff.
The Irishman was especially droll, and endeavoured to carry it off by
swearing he knew it was the goat, but he wanted some other fellow to
have a go at it. "But no fear," said he; "every one of them was dying
with funk."
After a time the captain thought it right to disillusion the officer
in charge, and going up to him asked the meaning of the raid.
"Well," replied the officer, "we have information that there is a
large quantity of tobacco aboard, and that some of it is in the
forepeak, but most of it is about a couple of feet below the iron
ore."
The captain replied, "We had a lot of it a few days since, but there
is not a leaf aboard now that I know of. Every particle has been
thrown overboard. Let me reassure you on this point."
"But," said the officer, "what about the packing? My men have come
across a large quantity."
"That is very true," said the commander; "the packing is the only
thing we saved. Now get your men ashore, there's a good fellow. You
are only working them to death for no earthly reason."
"But the sailors say the tobacco was emptied out of the packing and
covered over with ore."
"Well, if you believe the sailors and you don't believe me, go on
digging. I can only repeat, the search is futile."
"Very well," replied the disconcerted official, "I shall withdraw all
my men but two, who must remain to watch and make sure of there being
no concealment. Not that I disbelieve you. It is merely a formal
precaution which I hope you will think nothing of."
The whole affair had been reported to the Collector of Customs, and
the master was informed that all things considered, the best thing had
been done in ridding himself of an awkward encumbrance. In a few days
an emissary of the Gibraltar syndicate had an interview with the
captain, and then disappeared. It was said that he was strongly
advised to disappear, lest he should be detained by legal authority.
The owner received the freight paid in advance with obvious pleasure,
like a good, Christian gentleman; but the intelligence of how it was
earned and the disastrous conclusion of the undertaking was listened
to with studied gravity. A sermon on the danger of little sins such
as covetousness and the growing love of money was impressively
preached. The owner was convinced that if ever the gentlemen involved
in this little transaction got the opportunity they would take the
master's life, so in the goodness of his heart he determined that the
vessel should not call there for coal until the spirit of vengeance
had had ample time to cool down.
More than twelve months had elapsed since these affairs occurred, when
the owner was offered a charter from the Black Sea, but one of the
unalterable conditions was that the vessel should call at Gibraltar
for orders. The captain strongly urged his owner not to lose so good a
charter because of his anxiety for him, but he was obdurate until the
captain said--
"Then I shall have to resign my command. I cannot go on like this any
longer."
"If you make this the alternative, then I must give way; but the
responsibility is yours alone," was the reply.
The charter was signed, and on a fine summer day two months after, the
_C----_ let go her anchor in Gibraltar Harbour to await her orders. A
tall, fine-looking man came aboard to solicit business of a legitimate
character. He spoke English with fluency and an almost correct accent.
The captain knew he had some business connection with the syndicate,
but did not give him any reason to suppose he had this knowledge. He
was cognisant of the characteristics of these people, and determined
that his safety was in assuming an injured attitude, and making a
slashing attack on the blackguards who had done him so much harm.
Excepting for a slight humorous twist in the corner of his mouth, Mr.
---- received the onslaught with perfect equanimity. The captain asked
if he knew the rascal P----.
"Yes," said he, "I know him. He is a bad lot, and I advise you never
to trust him again. But if you wish me to, I will convey to him what
you say; and I think you would be perfectly justified in carrying out
your intention." (The intention was to horsewhip him publicly.)
The following morning the captain landed with his wife and family, and
boldly walked past the resorts of the men who he had reason to
believe were on his track. He kept his hand on the revolver which was
in his trouser-pocket, and the sound of every foot behind him seemed
to be a message of warning. This ordeal went on for four days, and
never a sign of the dreaded assassins was seen. On the afternoon of
the fifth day he was walking down towards the boat-landing to go on
board, when his eye came in contact with the interpreter and the whole
gang that were concerned in the tobacco enterprise. There was a look
of murder on their villainous faces, which the captain said would
haunt him to his dying day. He spontaneously and without thought said
to his wife, who walked beside him--
"I see the smugglers. Don't look!"
But it came so suddenly upon her that she could not restrain the
temptation of seeing them, and the impression of their malignant looks
had a lasting effect on her. When they reached the boat, the gentleman
who had boarded her on arrival was there. He drew the captain aside,
and whispered that he was being shadowed, and urged that a double
watch be kept at the entrance to the cabin. As a matter of policy the
captain assumed an air of defiance. He promised a sanguinary reception
for them if they attempted to come near his vessel, and he believes to
this day that this alone was the means of preventing an attack.
Next morning orders were brought off, and no time was lost in weighing
anchor and clearing out, and he has never visited the place since.