Jacob had from the first constituted himself the attendant of the
invalid gentleman, and daily brought him his food from the common stock.
"By-the-bye, my man," he said, looking up at Jacob, "I heard your
officer spoken of as Lieutenant Castleton, do you know to what
Castletons he belongs?"
"I don't know exactly what you mean, sir, but I know that his father is
Sir Ralph Castleton of Texford, because I come from Hurlston, which is
hard by there; and mother lived in the family of Mr Herbert Castleton
near Morbury, so you see, sir, I know all about the family."
"Ah, that is remarkable," observed the gentleman, as if to himself.
"Has Sir Ralph Castleton been long at Texford?" he asked.
"Let me see, it's about a matter of three or four years since he came
there, when his uncle Sir Reginald Castleton died. There was an elder
brother, I have heard mother say, Mr Ranald Castleton, who was lost at
sea, so Mr Ralph became to be Sir Ralph and got the estate."
"Has Sir Ralph many children?" enquired the gentleman, who appeared much
interested in Jacob's account.
"Yes, sir; besides Mr Harry there is his eldest son Mr Algernon, and
their sister Miss Julia, a young lady who, I have heard mother say, is
liked by everyone in those parts."
The gentleman asked whether Lady Castleton was alive, and made many
other enquiries about Texford, and its neighbourhood.
"If you will give me your name, sir, I will let Lieutenant Castleton
know what you have been asking, as he can tell you more about the family
than I can."
The gentleman made no reply and for some minutes appeared lost in
thought.
"Yes," he said at length, "you may inform him that my name is Hastings--
that having once known some members of his family, on hearing his name,
I was curious to learn whether he was related to them, and that I shall
be happy to see him at any time he has leisure to look in on me."
Jacob delivered the message, and next day Harry paid Mr Hastings a
visit. He found him, as his appearance betokened a man of education and
refinement, but his spirits appeared greatly depressed. He received
Harry in a friendly way, and soon threw off the formal manners he had at
first exhibited.
Harry, though naturally somewhat curious to know more about him, afraid
of appearing inquisitive did not venture to question him in the way he
might otherwise have done.
"I fear, sir, you feel greatly the misfortune that has happened to us,"
observed Harry, "it must have been a bitter disappointment indeed, when
you had every reason to hope that you would, after we had retaken the
ship, been able to proceed on your voyage to England."
"My young friend, I am inured to misfortunes and disappointments,"
answered Mr Hastings. "For years past I have been accustomed to them.
I have been deprived of all I held dear in life. I had resolved long
ago to return to Europe, soon after the last war with France broke out.
I was on my way to England, when the ship in which I had taken my
passage, was captured by the French and carried into an island in the
Indian Ocean, with which no English seaman was acquainted. Here I with
many others was detained a prisoner. Some were liberated, every means
being taken to prevent them from becoming acquainted with its position.
I unfortunately was known to have ascertained it from some observation I
had been seen taking, and I was therefore detained till the termination
of the war. My health gave way and I had given up all hopes of
recovery, when I was taken to Batavia. Here I remained till long after
the commencement of the present war, but was at length, however, allowed
to sail for Bencoolen. I was again detained till the arrival of the
_Culloden_, on board which I embarked, and she, as you know, was
captured by a French frigate, and it seems to me that my prospect of
reaching England is as far off as ever."
Harry endeavoured to cheer the unfortunate man, assuring him that he
felt certain Captain Headland would, as soon as he possibly could, come
to look for the _Culloden_, and that he would without fail visit their
island.
"I wish that I possessed your hopefulness, my young friend," answered
Mr Hastings, with a look of melancholy.
Harry after this conversation with Mr Hastings often visited him, and
was always received with a warm welcome. Instead of having suffered
from the exposure to which he had been subject on the night of the
wreck, he, from that day, appeared to gain strength, and was soon able
to walk about, and to visit different parts of the little island.
Whatever he might have appeared to the passengers he showed no
haughtiness when, as was frequently the case, he entered into
conversation with the men. He never failed, when he met Jacob, to have
a talk with him, and make more enquiries about Texford and Hurlston. At
last one day Jacob said:--
"I think, sir, you must know the place."
"You forget, my friend, that you have already told me so much about it,
that I might easily describe it as well as if I had been there," was the
answer.
By Harry's judicious arrangement, good discipline was maintained among
the community over whom he was called to govern, while he induced them
to add to their stock of provisions by fishing and snaring birds, and by
collecting eggs among the cliffs, and shell-fish from the rocks.
Fortunately a cask of hooks had been saved from the Dutch ship, as also
a box of seeds. The islanders had cultivated a considerable plot of
ground which produced vegetables of all sorts, and this was now much
increased by the new comers.
Every evening after their return from fishing and bird catching, the men
collected round the common fire which had by general consent been
lighted in the middle of the village. Here they employed themselves in
cooking and eating the fish and birds they had caught. It soon became
the general meeting place of the whole community. At first the
passengers had kept aloof, but by degrees they were induced to come and
listen to the seamen's yarns, and to join in the conversation.
Harry and Mr Hastings sometimes came near to the fire and joined in the
conversation, though they more frequently sat at a little distance,
listening to what was going forward, and often not a little amused by
the remarks of their companions.
They were thus seated when the evening meal having been served out, the
men as usual amused each other by narrating their adventures. Jack was
appealed to, to give his, for he was supposed to have gone through more
than the rest.
"Do you mean, mates, how I got away from the Malays, and was wrecked on
this island?" he asked.
"No, no, Jacob has been telling us that you were wrecked long before
that time, and had to live among savages ever so long," answered one of
the men. "Can't you begin at the beginning; let us hear all about
yourself since you first came to sea."
Jack at first modestly apologised for talking about himself, but in a
short time Harry heard him giving an account of his early days when he
first found himself on board a ship, knowing no more about the sea than
did one of the sheep of the flock he had been wont to attend. He went
on exciting the interest of his hearers till he arrived at that part of
his history which he had already given to Harry.
"You see, mates, as I wanted to part from the skipper, and the skipper
wanted to part from me, I was not sorry to ship on board another craft,
little thinking what was about to happen to her. She had a strange
name, had that craft, so strange that neither I nor any one else, I
should think, could manage to speak it."
Jack then went on to describe how the little boy had been brought on
board, how the mate seemed to have especial dislike to the child, and
then how the vessel was wrecked.
Mr Hastings who had before been lying down, sat up, and bending
forward, listened with the greatest attention to what Jack was saying.
Suddenly he exclaimed in a tone of the deepest interest, rising and
coming up to Jack, "Was the name of the craft you sailed in the
_Bomanjee Horrmarjee_?"
"That was the name, sir," exclaimed Jack, "and if you are not the
gentleman who brought the little boy aboard, you are just like him,
though to be sure as a good many years have passed since then, that
would make the difference."
"I am the person you suppose, and the father of the little boy; and tell
me, my friend, was he saved from the wreck? Is he still alive? What
has become of him?"
"This is indeed wonderful," exclaimed Harry, who had accompanied Mr
Hastings. "I can answer your questions. Your son has long been my most
intimate friend, and is now my captain. He commands the _Thisbe_, and I
trust before many weeks are over that the earnest desire of his heart
will be fulfilled, that he will have the happiness of meeting the father
he has so long desired to find. When I discovered Jack Headland, the
faithful guardian of his early days, I congratulated myself that the
only existing clue, as I supposed, on which my friend could depend for
tracing his parents had been found, though I little thought that it
would be so rapidly followed up. I can assure you, sir, that you will
have every reason to be proud of your son, for a more noble and gallant
fellow does not exist; and that he is your son I have not the shadow of
a doubt."
Mr Hastings, begging Jack to follow, retired to his hut accompanied by
Harry, that he might learn from the honest seaman fuller particulars of
everything relating to the boy he had brought up.
Jack seemed to rejoice as much as he did, and to be fully convinced that
he was right in his conjectures. Jack at length retired, leaving the
two gentlemen alone.
"It is, indeed, wonderful, Mr Castleton, that you and my son should
thus have been brought together, and I trust that whatever may occur,
your friendship will continue as warm as ever."
"There is little doubt about that, sir;" answered Harry, "especially as
I hope we shall some day become nearly related, as my friend is engaged
to marry my only sister, though my father objects to the match on
grounds which I consider very insufficient--his ignorance of his
parentage; but now I trust that will no longer be an impediment."
"If my son is really attached to your sister, I have very little doubt
when I plead his cause that your father will give his consent," said Mr
Hastings, in a tone which somewhat puzzled Harry. "It maybe a
satisfaction for you to know that my family is in no way inferior to
yours. More I need not say, as I have reasons for not entering into
particulars."
As may be supposed, Harry was now doubly anxious for the arrival of
Headland, contemplating the joy and satisfaction the discovery of his
father would give him, and he longed also to be able to write to Julia
to tell her the news which would, he knew, tend so much to banish her
anxieties for the future.
Still day after day went by, and no sail appeared to cheer the sight of
the shipwrecked party.