"You must know, then," said Dr Scott, "that though I do not vouch for
the absolute truth of this story, the reason is that I was not myself
one of the actors therein. But I have it on what I call indisputable
authority, for old Brackenbury, who is the principal hero, told it to me
one evening in his little place down in sunny Devonshire. And I do not
believe that Brackenbury ever told an untrue tale in his life.
"A funny old fellow was Brackenbury, and it seemed to me that he must
always have been old--must have been _born_ old. He wasn't a handsome
man, nor had he a pretty face; his nearest and dearest wouldn't have
said he had. Yet, gentlemen, it is truly wonderful what a change for
the better the play of a good-natured smile throws over even the
plainest countenance. And Brackenbury used to smile from his very
heart. Then he had such honest, truthful eyes that you couldn't have
helped liking the man.
"But to my tale, as Burns says.
"Goodness knows how long ago it is, but Brackenbury was then about in
his prime, and commanded a fine vessel, that, after discharging a mixed
cargo at Sydney, was ordered on a kind of a mixed cruise round to San
Francisco, which was only a small village then, but had the gold fever
rampant. Here he had to take on board specie, with a gentleman as
supercargo. They were then to slip southwards along the western shores
of South America, calling at Callao for goods from Lima, and so onwards
round the Horn and home.
"I don't think that Brackenbury and the supercargo, Mr O'Brady, liked
each other over much. There was a natural jealousy between them.
Brackenbury looked upon O'Brady as a kind of spy on his actions, and
O'Brady didn't like Brackenbury's airs, as he was pleased to call them.
"Never mind, they were shipmates and messmates, and they settled down
together as well as they could.
"Lima was in those days a hot place, socially speaking, but Brackenbury
and his supercargo found themselves most hospitably treated. There was
one tall, dark, handsome gentleman, called Pedro Dolosa, whom they
frequently met at dinner-parties, who used to smoke much with them and
hob-nob in the cool verandahs after dessert. He took to them very much
apparently, and they were both flattered by his attention, for was he
not a count, Le Comte Pedro de Dolosa? That was his tally complete.
"Brackenbury opened his heart to him; O'Brady was jealous, and opened
his heart still more wide to Le Comte Pedro de Dolosa; and these two old
fools did what they had no right to do--they told this strange count
what their cargo was.
"However, the _Adelaide_ left Callao at last, and after encountering a
gale that blew them a long way out of their course, they lost their
reckoning; but one day they found themselves pretty close to the shore
again, and, the weather being now fine, they managed to find out their
whereabouts.
"They were south the line, and on a lovely coast.
"`I move,' said Brackenbury, `that we enjoy ourselves a bit; I'm fond of
shooting and botany.'
"`So am I,' replied O'Brady.
"Now more than once they had seen a very pretty little yacht careering
about, as if watching them, but they had no suspicion of anything like
foul play.
"It was seen again and again after this, but when one day it stood away
in through an island-bound creek--
"`I'll bet a penny,' said Brackenbury, `that that is some English lord
out on the sport; what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,
let's follow him.'
"`Agreed,' said O'Brady.
"And so they did.
"They soon found themselves in an unusually romantic spot. A little bay
it was, with a native village at the head of it, which looked imposing
as seen from the sea. Then there was a beautiful river meandering down
through a well-wooded, rolling valley, and far inland were hills and
mountains.
"The yacht lay there at anchor, but she had hoisted Spanish colours.
Next morning at breakfast--
"`I feel unusually young this morning,' said Brackenbury.
"`So do I,' replied O'Brady. `It's the air, I suppose, but I do feel as
gay as a lark.'
"`Suppose we have a little lark, then, all by ourselves up in this
valley--eh? What say? A kind of private picnic?'
"`Is it safe?'
"`Yes, safe as anything. We'll take a few blue-jackets with us and a
big hamper.'
"`Well, I'm with you,' said O'Brady, briskly.
"The spot looked so sweetly peaceful. Who could ever have dreamed that
danger lurked in those lovely woods? The whole scene was more like one
in our own delightful Devonshire than in the wilds of South America.
"Nor had the usual crowd of boats surrounded the vessel, and when the
gig from the _Adelaide_ landed the supercargo and captain, so well clad
were the natives, and so peaceful did they seem, that Brackenbury felt
half inclined to apologise to them for his armed escort.
"Two padres met them and saluted, and when told the errand that had
brought them on shore, at once agreed to escort them to the head of the
valley, where, the padres assured their illustrious visitors, there was
the finest scenery in the world. This interpreter was a tall Chilian, a
by-no-means prepossessing fellow either. He was enveloped in a kind of
blanket cloak, carried a pole in his hand, and wore a broad,
peak-crowned sombrero of very greasy straw. His pointed beard and long
black locks were greasy also. In fact he was altogether grim and
greasy, and his speech was too oily to be pleasant.
"The coach that the padres had provided was apparently about a hundred
years old, but the four horses attached to it seemed fit for anything.
"They took their seats at last, the padres crowded in beside them, and
the great hamper was put up on top, the Chilian interpreter sat down
beside the driver, and away they rumbled and rattled.
"Rumbled? Yes, rumbled; that is the exact word. Brackenbury and
O'Brady had never got such a shaking and jolting before. But the higher
up the valley the coach went, the grander grew the scenery. Every now
and then at a turn of the road, away beneath them they caught glimpses
of the green glen basking in the summer sunshine, the river gliding
through it like a silver thread, falling at last into the bright blue
bay, where lay the ship with its little white boats floating peacefully
astern.
"But the scene grew wilder still, and oh! what a wealth of woodland
beauty was all around them, covering the tops of the round hills,
climbing halfway up the sides of precipitous mountains, clinging over
cliffs and waterfalls, and fringing lovely lakes, the water of which was
so pellucid that the sandy bottom was seen yards and yards from the
shore.
"Anon the coach would plunge into a wood of pines and mimosa, draped in
the most gorgeous of creeping flowers, while down beneath lovely
snow-white heather showed in charming contrast to the mantle of scarlet
and green, that half hid the sun from them.
"It was well into the afternoon before the coach drew up at the ruins of
an ancient monastery, and our pleasure-seekers descended. Close by was
a splendid waterfall; it came foaming down from a precipice in a gorge,
and descended past them into a gloomy pool that looked dark as midnight,
so far beneath was it.
"But the thunders of the falling cataract shook the ground on which the
two sailors stood gazing almost awestruck. Far beneath was a forest
glen that bore terrible evidence to the fury of a recent storm.
"And now the lunch was spread on the green grass, and the padres waxed
quite merry over it. O'Brady had never seen priests drink wine before,
as these fellows did, and he now began to entertain a suspicion that
they were not quite what they pretended to be. He could not now help
wondering at their own folly in trusting themselves so far inland
without having brought the blue-jackets to protect them.
"`Why,' said Brackenbury, starting up at last, `the sun is almost
setting. We must be going. Where are the horses?'
"`The horses,' cried the Chilian, suddenly showing a pistol, `are round
the corner, and our way now lies up the valley.'
"Both Brackenbury and O'Brady attempted to draw revolvers, but were
immediately surrounded and disarmed by a crowd of cut-throat Chilians,
who sprang from a neighbouring thicket.
"`What means this indignity?' shouted Brackenbury, purple with rage.
"`It means, gentlemen,' said the Chilian, `dat you are now de preesoners
of Le Comte Pedro de Dolosa.'
"`Pedro de Dolosa!' cried O'Brady, aghast. `Curses on our folly! we are
ruined men! This count is a bandit.'
"`Your master shall live to rue this outrage!' cried Brackenbury, as he
and his companion, with cords around their wrists, were dragged away and
thrust into the carriage.
"Their companions, the two sham padres, had now quite altered in their
bearing towards their prisoners. They talked and laughed with each
other, and although neither Brackenbury nor O'Brady knew the exact
meaning of the words, their looks and smiles of derision were easily
enough translated.
"At sunset the carriage stopped, and the villainous-looking interpreter
informed the two officers that they were already in bed, and must remain
there all night.
"So they made the best of a bad job and slumbered away in their
respective corners till daylight. If ever during the night any thought
of escape rose in their minds, one glance out at the carriage windows,
where the vigilant and fierce-looking armed sentries stood statue-like
in the starlight, was enough to banish it.
"The journey was resumed at daybreak, and continued without intermission
until they arrived at this very place. Here the carriage was stopped,
and they were ordered to descend.
"Standing like an equestrian statue at the edge of the forest was a
tall, dark, armed man on horseback. As soon as the officers alighted he
rode forward, and, taking off his sombrero, bowed until his face almost
touched his splendid horse's mane.
"The face was Dolosa's.
"`Is it really yourself, then, you robber chief?' cried the bold captain
of the _Adelaide_.
"`It is I,' was the answer--`Le Comte Pedro de Dolosa. But let me
advise you to study civility while in my power. We know not the meaning
of the term robber chief. Beware how you provoke me!'
"All the horses were now taken out of the carriage, except one. This
was blindfolded and led to the very brink of the terrible precipice.
Then a shout was raised, the whip descended with force across the poor
doomed animals' flanks, they made a plunge forward, and next moment
carriage and all had disappeared.
"Dolosa turned laughingly round to his prisoners.
"`Now, gentlemen,' he said, `you see what has happened; I'm sorry to
inform you, you will have to walk all the rest of the way to my little
cottage among the mountains. Good-bye, my men will see you safe.'
"And away rode the robber chief.
"`What does the destruction of the carriage mean, I wonder?' said
O'Brady.
"`Without doubt,' replied Brackenbury, `it is to put our fellows off the
scent.'
"Brackenbury was right for once in his lifetime.
"The march inland was soon resumed by the officers and their captors. A
little distance farther on and the road ended in a series of narrow
footpaths, like the tracks of deer or other wild animals. These led in
different directions into the forest, and one was chosen by the leader
of the band. They walked in single file, and care was apparently taken
to destroy all trail.
"All that day the journey was continued, through jungle and forest,
across streams, and up through dreary glens, till, as night fell, they
found themselves at the gate of an ancient wall. It was opened to admit
them, and immediately re-closed with a ponderous bang.
"In a quarter of an hour afterwards they were issued into a kind of
armoury, and thence into a lofty and well-lighted supper-room.
"Tired and weary from wandering in forest wilds, here had they arrived,
and suddenly found themselves plunged into the very midst of luxury of
_every_ imaginable kind. A room with gilded cornices and hand-painted
roof, carpets soft as cushions, furniture as chaste and refined as
modern art could produce, servants in livery to wait on them, and a
supper-table laid out with viands the most tempting, and wines from
every part of the world.
"They fell to like wise and hungry men, and did justice to the good
things set before them.
"They supped alone, the count never appeared.
"After a few hours a servant came to conduct them to their bed-chamber,
and they followed him in silence.
"The servant was as silent as they were.
"He showed them the room, pointed to the beds, and left them in the
dark.
"This wasn't pleasant, nor was it pleasant to hear the key turned in the
door.
"But there was no help for it."
Book 2--CHAPTER SIX.
THE SURGEON'S YARN CONTINUED--THE PLEASANT HOME OF A ROBBER CHIEF--FACE
TO FACE WITH DEATH.
"The poet Daniel calls sleep `son of the sable night,' and brother to
Death.
"`Care charmer sleep, son of the sable night,
Brother to Death, in silent darkness born.'
"I might add that sleep is also the brother to sorrow and care, and a
kind and gentle brother he is.
"No sooner had Captain Brackenbury and his supercargo, O'Brady, been
shown to their apartment on that memorable night, and left in the dark,
than--
"`Well, Brackenbury,' said O'Brady, `here's a nice wind-up to a windy
day. But I vote we make the best of a bad job. I'm dog-tired and as
sleepy as an old owl. I'm going to turn in, even if I have to turn out
in the morning to get my head taken off.'
"`So shall I,' replied Brackenbury. `But what an uncivil brute of a
black servant that is! Why, he might as well have left the light!'
"`No doubt he's acting according to orders, my friend,' said O'Brady.
`And duty is duty, of course, on board a ship or out of it.'
"`Oh yes,' Brackenbury acquiesced, `duty is duty, as you say. But can
you find the head of your bed?'
"`Yes, mine is towards the fireplace, and yours is towards the door.'
"`Good-night,' said Brackenbury.
"`Umph!' grunted O'Brady, for he was all but asleep already.
"`Hark!' cried Brackenbury, a few minutes after. `Are you asleep,
O'Brady?'
"`No, I'm listening. Hush!'
"Had anyone come into the apartment with a light just then, they would
have seen both men sitting bolt upright in bed, with not only their
eyes, but even their mouths open.
"`I heard footsteps in the passage,' hissed Brackenbury; `they surely
can't be going to hang us to-night!'
"His voice was somewhat shaky.
"`Hang us! no! Nonsense, Brackenbury! Dolosa knows much better than to
hang us. You're not afraid, are you?'
"`Hark!' was the reply; `but now I heard a whisper. It seems in the
room. Sure you locked the door? You see, O'Brady, that with a sword in
my hand, in daylight, and with my foot on my own quarter-deck, I'm fit
for anything. But I'm not a rat, jigger me if I am. I believe Dolosa
would do anything. Now those monster niggers of his, what would hinder
half a dozen of them from smothering us, time about, with a feather-bed?
Ugh! fancy a feather-bed on top of you, and half a dozen hulking black
murderers on top o' that. Ugh, I say!'
"The sound of whispering and of footsteps had ceased, but both officers
still sat up, straining their ears.
"O'Brady laughed low. `Bedad, Brackenbury, it wouldn't take half a
dozen hulking niggers to cook your goose. I guess two would do it,
bedad, I do; _Honolulu_!' The last word was almost shrieked.
"`Goodness be near us!' cried Brackenbury, now fairly chattering with
fear. `What _is_ the matter, my friend?'
"`My hand,' replied O'Brady, `was lying over the edge of the bed, and a
cold nose touched it. Egad! Brackenbury, it did give me the shivers!'
"`Hullo!' cried Brackenbury next. `What's this? Murder! Police!
Guard! Fire!' he roared.
"Then Captain Brackenbury became suddenly quiet.
"`What is it at all, at all? Speak, friend, speak! Are the niggers
killing you? Have they smothered you alive? Are you dead entirely?
Speak, then!'
"But his friend did not answer immediately; when he did reply, O'Brady
was more puzzled than ever, and would have given a whole month's pay for
a farthing box of matches, or half a second's light from a purser's dip,
just to see what his companion in darkness and misery was about.
"`My pretty darling, then,' Brackenbury was saying, in a fond and
wheedling voice. `Come into my arms, then, you cosy-mosy little pet.
Now, now then, now then, now!'
"`Brackenbury,' cried O'Brady, `what _are_ you saying? Is it leave of
your seven senses you're taking? Have the trials of the day been too
much for you? Or is it asleep and dreaming you are?'
"`Ha! ha! ha!' laughed the captain. `'Pon my soul, O'Brady, I'm
astonished at _you_, being afraid of a mongoose. Ha! ha! ha!'
"`A mongoose! eh? What? Who's afraid?' spluttered O'Brady.
"`Yes, a mongoose! That was the cold nose you felt. It jumped on top
of my bed, it is now nestling round my neck. Darling, then, pretty
pet!'
"`Very well explained,' said the old captain, `very well indeed. Quite
accounts for the milk in the cocoanut. Good-night--good-night!'
"Both awoke at the same moment next morning, sat up in their beds--
facing each other--and rubbed their eyes. They gave one glance up at
the tall window, through which the sunlight was streaming in
many-coloured rays, then rubbed their eyes, then looked at each other
again.
"`I couldn't make out where I was for a moment,' said O'Brady.
"`Nor I,' replied Brackenbury.
"There was a knock at the door.
"`Can I come in, geentlemans?' said a voice with a strong foreign
accent.
"`Pull the latch,' said O'Brady, seeing that his companion hesitated.
"Brackenbury did as told, and a servant glided into the room, a dark
little pale-faced Portuguese.
"`I bring you de water for shave,' he said, mildly. `Also de _navaja_,
what you call it, de knife for rasp. Shall I rasp you?'
"`Thanks, no,' said both; `we will prefer to rasp ourselves.'
"`Vell den, geentlemans, I have also for you de complimentes of de great
Count de Dolosa, and he will be mooch please to see you at breekwust.
In one leetle half-hour de gong veel soun', den I come again and conduct
you to de breekwust-room.'
"`By the way,' cried Brackenbury, as the polite little man was about to
leave, `what is your name?'
"`Name, senor? si senor, my name ees Marco.'
"`Here's an odd half-sovereign I've got no use for, Marco.'
"`Gracias!' muttered Marco, slipping the coin into his waistcoat pocket.
"`Now, Marco,' continued Brackenbury, `you're a kind-hearted sort of a
chap, I know.'
"`_Si, senor, hombre de chapa_.' [man of sense.]
"`Yes; well, have you heard anything about us? No preparations to hang
us, or anything of that sort, is there, Marco?'
"Marco came in again, and quietly closed the door. Then he listened a
moment.
"`See, geentlemans,' he said, `I veel not tell a false-dad. You veel
_die_--perhaps. Perhaps you veel not.'
"`Well,' grunted O'Brady, `we could have guessed as much. Thank you for
nothing. Give him another yellow boy, Brackenbury, I'll pay you some
day--perhaps.'
"The additional coin made Marco smile.
"`Now,' he said, `I tell you _all_ de trut'. De trut' is dis: you veel
not die for two tree week. Suppose your people pay plenty _libertad_
monies for you, den you not die at all. Suppose dey not veel pay de
plenty mooch _libertad_ monies, and suppose, instead, de coome and fight
here, den you die ver' quick indeed.'
"`Thank you, thank you!' cried O'Brady. `Give him one more yellow boy,
Brackenbury.'
"`Dash my buttons, sir,' said Brackenbury, `how free you can make with
other people's cash, O'Brady!'
"Marco retired, smiling sweetly on his third yellow boy, and the two
officers began to think of getting up.
"`Ahem!' said Brackenbury.
"`What?' said O'Brady.
"`I'm a little shy,' said Brackenbury, `in dressing in the same
apartment with any one else. Ahem! did you ever know, O'Brady, that I
wore a wig?'
"`No,' grunted O'Brady. `'Pon my soul, you're as shy as a girl,
Brackenbury. I ain't shy. Now look here, did it ever strike you that I
had a glass eye?'
"`Well, no--ahem!--I've noticed, though, that you squinted a bit. Fact
is, to put it straight, I've observed you looking very steadily at the
main-truck with one eye, and apparently looking at the compass with the
other. Ha! ha! ha!'
"`Well, what does it matter?' said O'Brady. `I'm going on for sixty
years of age, man.'
"`And I,' said Brackenbury, `am precious near fifty--'
"`Just on the other side o' the hedge, eh? Ha! ha! You gay young dog.
Look here!' he continued, `perhaps you wouldn't believe it, but I have a
cork leg!'
"`Well,' cried Brackenbury, springing out of bed and preparing to shave,
`I'm glad we've both made a clean breast of it.'
"They both laughed hearty now; fact is, they felt lighter in spirits
since Marco told them there was no immediate cause for apprehension.
"And Brackenbury pulled out his false teeth, and O'Brady pulled out his,
and Brackenbury threw his wig on the top of his bed, and appeared in all
the beauty of his baldness, while O'Brady laid his glass eye on the
table, and brandished his cork leg by way of showing the captain what he
could do with it.
"Silly old fogies, weren't they? But by the time the gong went roaring
and clanging through the halls they were both dressed and waiting for
Marco.
"This individual glided silently on in front of them; for the carpets in
the corridors were as soft as moss itself.
"`Splendid mansion it looks in daylight, don't it?' whispered O'Brady.
`What a noble corridor! Just look at those chandeliers, look at the
stained windows, and those frescoes! Must have cost a power o' money,
eh?'
"`Didn't cost _him_ much, I expect,' muttered his friend. `You forget
you're not in a hotel, but in the house of a robber chief.'
"`Hush, hush, hush! not so loud, please; every whisper is heard in this
strange place.'
"Black servants or slaves, with white garments, squatted here and there
in the hall, pulling punkah strings, and rolling chalk-white eyes at the
two officers as they passed. They came at length to an immensely tall
door. At each side of it stood a sentry, dressed in blue and scarlet--
niggers both, savage-looking, armed to the teeth, and over six feet
high.
"They each pulled back a curtain, and our friends found themselves in
the breakfast-room.
"Three great windows looked out upon a noble park, in which were strange
and beautiful trees, marble figures, miniature lakes, gushing fountains,
and many a lovely bird and curious quadruped.
"Dressed in a crimson gown, the folds of which he grasped in one hand
across his chest, the count himself advanced to meet them. He stopped
halfway and bowed low.
"`I hope my guests slept well?' he said.
"The breakfast was eaten in silence almost. Afterwards--
"`Gentlemen,' said the count, `let us understand each other. You are my
prisoners--'
"`_Our_ time may come,' interrupted Brackenbury.
"`You are a bold man to talk thus. I have but to hold up a finger and
you would be dragged hence and strangled. But you are my guests as well
as prisoners. If ransomed you will leave this house unharmed. If
not--'
"`You will kill us, eh?'
"Dolosa shrugged his shoulders.
"`'Tis the fortune of war,' he said.
"An hour or two after dinner on the same night Dolosa was lounging on
the broad terrace along with his prisoner guests. A round moon was
mirrored in a lake some distance beneath them, where antlered deer could
be seen drinking; stars were shining in the sky, and on earth as well,
for fireflies flitted refulgent from bush to bush.
"Hidden somewhere behind the foliage of an upper balcony was a string
band that had been discoursing music of a strange, half-wild, but dreamy
nature that accorded well with scene and time. The music had just died
away, and there was nothing to be heard but an occasional plash in the
lake, the hum of insects, and the steady hiss of the gushing fountains.
"`'Pon my word,' said Brackenbury, who had dined well, `you have a very
nice little place here. Pity you're such a rase--'
"`A what--eh?' said Dolosa, quietly, interrupting him.
"`A recluse, I mean.'
"Dolosa smiled, and resumed his cigar.
"`I feel sure,' continued Brackenbury, `that we will be ransomed, but if
not you wouldn't hang us, would you? Eh, Count? No, no; I'm sure you
wouldn't. You're much too good a fellow for that.'
"Dolosa laughed.
"`Oh, no!' he replied, `of course not. _You_ wouldn't hang _me_ at the
yard-arm if you had me on the _Adelaide_, eh, captain? No, no; I'm sure
you wouldn't. You're _much_ too good a fellow for that.'
"`Ah, my friends,' he added, `business is business. Now if my fellows
return from your ship to-morrow with an unsatisfactory answer, I shall
cut off both your ears, captain, and send them; then your nose. That's
business. Have another cigar?'
"But poor Brackenbury was far too sick at heart to smoke any more.
"At bedtime that night two immensely tall negroes entered the room
silently and stood waiting for orders.
"`Why don't you speak, eh?' said Brackenbury.
"Both suddenly knelt in front of Brackenbury and opened great, red,
cavernous mouths.
"`Why,' cried O'Brady, aghast, `never a tongue have they between the
pair of them! Horrible! Shut your mouths, ye sturgeons! Here, put us
to bed. We come all in pieces, you know. You'll see.'
"And now Brackenbury pulled out his teeth. O'Brady did the same.
"The blackamoors looked scared.
"Then Brackenbury took off his wig and threw it on the bed.
"Both negroes glared at him.
"O'Brady quietly removed a glass eye and placed it on the table.
"The negroes edged towards the door.
"But it is the last straw that breaks the camel's back. The last straw
in this case was O'Brady's cork leg. When he sat down and whipped that
off, the blackamoors rushed headlong to the door and fled howling along
the corridor.
"Then Marco came in, all smiles and politeness.
"`They will neever, neever come again,' said Marco, laughing, when
Dolosa's guests explained what had happened.
"Two mornings after this the crisis came, for Marco politely informed
them that the first officer of the _Adelaide_ had refused to hand over
the specie to ransom his captain.
"`So,' said Marco, `one of you veel have de ears cut off dis morning.
But neever mind, geentlemans, neever mind,' he added, consolingly.
"Dolosa was as polite as if nothing were about to happen. It was a
breakfast fit for a king, but, singular to say, neither Brackenbury nor
O'Brady had the least bit of appetite. They felt sick at heart with the
shadow of some coming evil.
"They retired soon after to their room, but hardly had they entered ere
the urbane Marco glided in and tapped each on the shoulder.
"He pointed smilingly to his own ears with his two thumbs.
"`De time is coome, geentlemans,' he said; `but it is nodings,
geentlemans. Neever mind, neever mind.'
"`But I do mind,' spluttered Brackenbury. `Confound it all, even if we
don't bleed to death right away, what will our wives say to us when we
return to them with no more ears than an adder? I tell you, Marco, your
master is a diabolical scoundrel.'
"`Hush! hush! capitan,' cried Marco. `Do not speak so. De walls have
ears.'
"`Yes, and I want to keep mine.'
"`See, see,' continued Marco, as two stalwart blacks opened the door and
beckoned to the unfortunate prisoners.
"The courtyard into which they were led was a gloomy one indeed,
surrounded by high bare walls on three sides, with a cliff on the other
going sheer down to the river's side black and dismal.
"Le Comte Pedro de Dolosa lifted his hat.
"`So sorry to trouble you, gentlemen,' he said, `but the case is urgent.
Who comes first?'
"He pointed to the executioners as he spoke. They were the same negroes
who had led them to the yard.
"Brackenbury confessed afterwards that he now felt as pale as death. It
did not tend to restore his equanimity to observe one hulking negro
heating an iron to redness in a charcoal stove. This he knew was to
cauterise the awful wound after the ear had been severed.
"`Who comes first?' repeated the count, sharply.
"`Captain Brackenbury, of course,' said O'Brady. `He has the honour to
be captain of the ship.'
"`No, no, no!' cried Brackenbury; `you first, O'Brady; honour be hanged,
you're ten years older than I. Age before honour any day.'
"`Gentlemen,' said Dolosa, `as _you_ cannot agree, _I_ will solve the
difficulty. Captain Brackenbury, stand forw--'
"He never finished the sentence.
"Such a yell suddenly rang through and around his mansion, accompanied
by the clashing of swords and cracking of pistols. It was--
"`As if men fought upon the earth,
And fiends in upper air.'
"`Hurrah!' cried Brackenbury. `Our ears are saved.'
"`Off with them--quick,' cried Dolosa, `to the dungeon, and garrote them
both.'
"He pulled a pistol from his belt as he spoke and rushed away to join
the _melee_.
"Meanwhile the black giants--not the two whom they had so frightened in
their bedroom--hurried Brackenbury and O'Brady along a corridor.
"But little did they know the mettle that O'Brady was made of.
"All at once he stopped short. He quickly bent down, and, to the utter
astonishment of his would-be executioners, he undid a leg.
"That leg, Brackenbury said, was a good old-fashioned one, and of
considerable weight.
"Before the hulking negroes recovered their fright, one was felled to
the ground.
"`Poor old O'Brady,' said Brackenbury, while telling the story, `tumbled
on top of him, but I got the leg, and with it I quickly smashed the
other. In less than a minute both were senseless, and we bound them
hand and foot with the very cords they would have strangled us with.'
"Dolosa was shot, his house was fired, for the _Adelaide's_ men had come
in time.
"In two weeks more Brackenbury told me the _Adelaide_ had rounded the
Horn, and was bearing merrily up for home, with a spanking breeze and
stunsails set. For ships could sail in those days."
Everybody thanked the doctor for his story, and now, as it was wearing
late, as they had passed--
"The wee short hour ayout the twal."
Good-nights were said, and hands were shaken, and in half an hour all
but those on watch were sound asleep or dreaming of their far-off homes.
The southern stars were very bright; there was not a sound to be heard
save the lapping of the waves at the ship's side, the far-off beating of
the eternal tom-toms, or the occasional shrill shriek of an Arab
sentinel walking his rounds within the palace walls.
Book 2--CHAPTER SEVEN.