LOUIS BELGRAVE HAS SOME MISGIVINGS
Captain Scott had evidently visited the hurricane deck with the
spy-glass for the purpose of scanning the sea within eight or ten miles
of the Maud, as his report was that no steamers going in a northeasterly
direction were in sight. He did not say that he feared any interference
on the part of such vessels if any were near. At eleven o'clock it was
time for Felix to take his trick at the wheel; Morris's watch,
consisting of himself and Louis, were off duty.
It was a very democratic routine that prevailed on board of the little
steamer; for the captain was no bigger man than the two seamen before
the mast, and was obliged to take his turn on the lookout; but the
arrangement had been made by the boys, all had agreed to it, and no one
could complain. Scott went to his place in the bow, taking the glass
with him. He had given out the course to his successor at the wheel, and
the Maud was now going at full speed.
The dignity of the quarter-deck does not permit an officer, much less a
seaman, to ask questions of his superior. This sacred limit on board of
a ship was entirely constructive so far as the Maud was concerned; for
she was provided with no such planking, and the dignity was applicable
only to the persons to whom the quarter-deck is appropriated. But
Captain Ringgold was a strict disciplinarian, having served in the navy
during the War of the Rebellion.
The young navigators had imbibed this deference from the officers on
board of the Guardian-Mother, and it had become, as it were, a part of
their nautical being. It had never been incorporated in any regulation,
but it was just as potent as though it had been set forth in an order
from the commander. Captain Scott did not explain what other steamers
headed in the same direction as the Maud had to do with the present
voyage, and it was not in order to make any inquiries; but Louis
Belgrave would have been very glad to know what was passing through the
mind of his superior officer at this time.
The young commander "made no sign," and all that could be done was to
wait until events developed themselves. Morris and Louis were at liberty
to go where they pleased, and do what they liked, provided they did not
interfere with the routine of the steamer. Both of them were desirous of
understanding the situation, and they went upon the upper deck in order
to obtain a better view of the other vessels.
Morris had a field-glass which he carried with him. Like everything else
the magnate of the Fifth Avenue provided for the members of his family,
it was of the best quality, and had proved to be a powerful instrument.
He first looked for the Guardian-Mother; but he could not make her out.
The trend of the coast was to the southward, beyond Damietta, and she
had either gone out of the reach of the glass, or she was concealed by
the intervening land. The Fatimé was very distinctly to be seen, headed
for the Maud, and there could be no doubt at all in regard to her
intentions. She was in pursuit of the Maud, and her movements very
plainly indicated that she was engaged in a mischievous mission.
"It begins to look serious, don't it, Louis?" asked Morris, after both
of them had used the field-glass.
"It would look so if the Guardian-Mother were not somewhere in the
vicinity," replied Louis. "Captain Mazagan has waited till she is well
out of sight; and I have no doubt he is wondering why our two vessels
have separated. At any rate, he has bitten at the bait prepared for him
without seeing the hook it conceals."
"I don't see why the plan is not succeeding as well as could be
desired," suggested the first officer. "Of course Captain Ringgold does
not mean to leave us to fall into the hands of this pirate, as you all
call her."
"It was distinctly the understanding that she was to come between us and
any possible harm."
"Something may happen to prevent her from doing so."
"Of course there is no knowing what may happen," Louis admitted. "I do
not see what can possibly occur to prevent her from following us to
Cyprus, if we go there."
"Isn't it settled that we are to go there?" asked Morris, who had not
heard the manoeuvre discussed before the commander of the ship.
"It is not absolutely settled; for the Fatty might take to her heels,
and no doubt would do so if she discovered the Guardian-Mother in her
wake. Mazagan knows very well that she can make four knots to the
Moorish craft's three; for that is just the ratio we figured out between
them. With three or four knots the lead she could overhaul her in an
hour."
"But the pirate could make her out in clear weather ten or a dozen miles
off. But what was Captain Scott's idea in running for the island of
Cyprus?"
"In order to have room enough for his manoeuvre."
"Have you kept the run of the Maud's course, Louis?"
"I have not; I am not so much of a sailor as you are, my boy, and I
don't figure on sailing the craft unless required to do so," replied
Louis. "But why do you ask that question?"
"Because I think the captain has changed the course of the Maud, and is
headed more to the northward," answered Morris.
"What makes you think so? He gave out a north-east course to Flix. You
have seen no compass since that time, and the sun is clouded in. I see
that Captain Scott is no longer at the bow; he must have gone into the
pilot-house," added Louis, his thought in regard to the indefinite idea
in the mind of the navigator coming to him again.
"There is a compass in the standing-room, Louis; suppose we go below and
look up this matter," Morris proposed, though he could have had no
suspicion that the captain had any concealed intentions.
They went down the forward ladder to the forecastle, though there was
one aft leading into the standing-room. Louis found that Scott was
seated on the divan abaft the wheel, studying a chart, which he could
see included the island of Cyprus. He took no notice of them as they
descended the ladder, and they went to the standing-room without
stopping on the forecastle. Morris led the way; for he seemed to be
impatient to ascertain whether or not he was right in relation to the
course of the steamer.
"There you are!" he exclaimed as he looked at the face of the compass.
"The Maud is headed to the north north-east half east; and that is not
the course Captain Scott gave out when Flix took the helm."
"But it is not a great change," added Louis.
"Just now it is not; but in making two hundred miles to the northward it
would take the Maud to a point about forty miles to the westward of
where she would have brought up on her former course," Morris
explained.
"I understand your point; but what does it mean?"
"It means that we are going to a place forty miles west of the one we
started for."
"I don't understand it; and Captain Scott is just as tenacious in
keeping his own counsels as the commander of the Guardian-Mother
himself," replied Louis.
"But you have as much influence with him as the commander."
"And for that reason I will not ask him any questions in regard to the
sailing of the Maud."
Morris was not ready to ask him to call the captain to an account; and,
leaving him in the standing-room, he went into the cabin. Louis was not
willing to believe, or even to accept a suggestion that Scott had any
ulterior purpose in his mind; for it seemed very much like treason to
harbor such a thought of his friend. The only thing that gave him a hint
in that direction was the fact he had expressed that Louis ought not to
be on board of the Maud during her present mission.
If the little steamer was not to engage in some perilous adventure, why
should Scott wish he were somewhere else? But the captain was certainly
solicitous for one of those whose safety was threatened; and he tried to
believe that this was a sufficient explanation. While he was thinking of
the matter, Morris rushed out of the cabin, and looked and acted as
though he were laboring under some excitement.
"What is the matter now, Morris?" he asked.
"Matter enough!" replied the first officer. "The barometer has made a
considerable slump since I looked at it the last time."
"And that means bad weather, I suppose," added Louis, who very rarely
became excited when a young fellow would be expected to be in such a
condition.
"No doubt of it," answered the mate, wondering that he had made so
slight an impression on his companion.
"We have weathered two pretty severe gales in the Maud, and I dare say
we can do it again. I suppose the barometer will tell the same story on
board of the ship that it has on the consort."
"No doubt of that."
"Then we shall soon see the Guardian-Mother bowling this way at her best
speed," answered Louis.
The officer levelled his field-glass in the direction the ship had gone;
but there was not the least sign of her or any other steamer in that
quarter of the horizon.
"She isn't there; but she may have run in under a lee somewhere near
Damietta, in order to watch the movements of the Fatty."
"That may be; and if she has done so it was not a bad idea. But I think
we had better go forward and ascertain if there is any news there,"
added Louis, as he led the way.
If he was not alarmed at the situation in view of the weather
indications, he was certainly somewhat anxious. When he reached the
forecastle he found the captain there, using his glass very diligently,
pointing it in the direction in which the ship was supposed to be. Louis
and Morris did not interrupt his occupation. He discovered nothing, and
he was apparently going aft to get a view of the Fatimé when he noticed
the members of the port watch.
"I suppose you noticed that the course of the Maud has been changed,
Louis?" said he.
This remark afforded the perplexed millionaire a decided relief; for it
proved that the captain had not intended to conceal the change from him.
"I did not observe it, but Morris did; for he is boiling over with
nautical knowledge and skill," replied Louis, and without asking any
question.
"I was going aft to take a look at the Fatty; but I suppose you can
report what she is doing," added Captain Scott.
"Morris can, but I cannot."
"Do you think she is gaining on us?" asked the captain, turning from
Louis to the mate.
"Of course I can't tell while she is coming head on; but I cannot make
out that she has gained a cable's length upon us."
"Mr. Sentrick and Felipe put our engine in first-rate condition while we
were going up and down the Nile; and both of them say the Maud ought to
make half a knot better time than before," continued the captain. "I am
confident we are fully the equal of the Fatty in speed; and perhaps we
could keep out of her way on an emergency. You know we had a little
spurt with her in the Strait of Gibraltar. But come into the
pilot-house, Louis, for I want to show you something there;" and he led
the way.
When both of them were fairly in the little apartment, he pointed to the
barometer. If Louis was not much of a sailor, he had learned to read the
instrument, and he saw that the mercury had made a decided fall from the
last reading.
"I see; and it means bad weather," he replied.
"Flix called my attention to the fall some time ago; and after a look at
the chart I decided to alter the course," said the captain, as he
pointed out the island of Cyprus on the chart spread out on the falling
table over the divan.
"I have no doubt you have done the right thing at the right time, as you
always do in the matter of navigation."
"But look at this chart, Louis;" and it almost seemed to him that the
captain had fathomed his unuttered thoughts, because he was taking so
much pains to explain what he had done, and why he had done it. "The
course I gave out at first would have carried the Maud to Cape Gata, on
the southern coast of the island."
"I understand it so far."
"The tumble of the barometer opened the matter under a new phase. We
should have made Cape Gata about three to-morrow morning, and in my
judgment in a smart southerly or south-westerly gale. The cape would
afford us little or no shelter, as you can see for yourself; and it
would be a very bad place in a heavy blow. Our course is now north
north-east half-east for Cape Arnauti, on the north side of the island,
where we shall be under the lee of the island, though we have to get
forty miles more of westing to make it."
Louis thanked the captain for his lucid explanation. The next morning,
in a fresh gale, the Maud was off the cape mentioned.
[Illustration: "IT HAD BEEN A STORMY NIGHT." Page 51.]