Mr Durrant's prophecies with regard to the weather turned out true.
The "Sea-Gull" made with some difficulty into Yarmouth harbour, where it
remained snugly ensconced for the night. But even there, although
securely at anchor, it tossed about a good deal, and none of the
children slept particularly well.
Towards morning, however, the storm abated: the wind went down almost as
suddenly as it rose, and Mr Durrant determined to take the yacht as far
as Totland Bay, and to give the children a run on the shore. They were
all pleased with this decision, and when they landed on the pier, were
much delighted to find themselves again on _terra firma_.
The day was a very hot one; and, except for the swell after the storm,
all traces of the tempest of the preceding night had vanished. The
entire party went into the hotel for lunch, and afterwards took a long
walk on the beach in the direction of the far-famed Needles.
It was so fine and warm that the girls begged to be allowed to bathe.
There was a sheltered cove about a mile beyond Totland Bay where they
could go into the water; and all the party, provided with their bathing
things, started on their expedition.
Harriet and Jane walked on a little in front of the others: Robina, on
this occasion, found herself with the Amberley girls: Mr Durrant,
Patience and Frederica Chetwold and Ralph brought up the rear. Jane
turned now and spoke eagerly to Harriet.
"I have thought of something," she said.
"Well, what is it?" asked Harriet.
"We are all going to bathe, aren't we?"
"I suppose so," said Harriet: "not that I much care for the look of the
water," she added. "There is an awful swell, and I remember my father
once telling me that there were strong currents all round this part of
the coast. Only very good swimmers ought to go out; but of course we
are safe enough, those of us who choose to stay in our depths."
"Yes,"--said Jane--"those of us who choose; but you won't, you know--it
will be your chance."
"My chance? of what?" asked Harriet.
"Why, of proving what you want to prove to Mr Durrant."
Harriet turned and looked full at her companion. It is true she was a
good swimmer, and she was not a coward; but she knew enough about the
water to understand that even the best swimmer cannot cope against a sea
which is still perturbed by a recent storm. She said, after a pause:
"I always knew you were clever enough, Jane, when you chose to put your
brains in soak. Now, what is your thought? Out with it."
"Well," said Jane; "it is this way. They're all going to bathe--all of
them--Ralph and Mr Durrant, and all the girls. You coax Ralph to get a
little out of his depth, and then you save him. Why, it's done as easy
as possible. Why, Mr Durrant, he'll feel then just as Ralph feels for
you--that there's nothing in all the world that he won't do for you, and
Robina won't be in it at all."
Harriet was so astonished at these words, that she stood stock-still and
turned and stared at her companion.
"But if Mr Durrant is in the water himself, he will save Ralph.
Besides, he won't allow him to go out of his depth; he will just keep
him to himself. Why, Ralph is the apple of his eye, you goose!"
"Yes," said Jane; "but suppose he isn't with him."
"Now what are you talking about?"
"If something was to happen to make him go back and just let the rest of
us wait in the cove for him and oh! I know that I am a very bad girl;
but I think that if you were to make up a message of some sort he might
go back to the yacht, and while he is away, we could go into the water,
and then you will do that fine, splendid thing and--and--all will be
right."
"Yes," said Harriet; "yes." She looked at the sea. Each moment the
waves seemed to be going down; there were no "white horses" anywhere.
The whole sea as far as the distant horizon was a blue expanse. There
was not much, if any, danger, and people said it was so safe to bathe in
the cove, which they were approaching. "But what can we do to make Mr
Durrant go back?" said Harriet.
"I have thought of that too," said Jane, her colour changing. "You
remember the letter you got about your father?"
"The letter that reached me this morning?"
"Yes, you said he was ill."
"Oh, dad is often ill," said Harriet; "I mean that he is fanciful."
"Well," said Jane; "let's pretend for the time at least that he is not
fanciful, and that you are nervous about him, and that you want to hear,
and that you think there may be a telegram waiting for you on board the
`Sea-Gull.' Mr Durrant is so kind that he would think nothing of going
back to find out, and I would speak to him my own self if you would let
me. Do let me, please do, Harriet!"
"You want your five pounds," said Harriet. "It's a jolly mean way to
earn it. But still, I suppose, we are both as mean as we can be and the
idea in itself may succeed. I have asked you to manage this thing for
me, Janie, it is only fair, as you get such a lot of money by it, so do
your best, now; I leave it in your hands."
The moment Harriet said this, Jane rushed away from her. She joined Mr
Durrant, and they talked together for some minutes with great apparent
earnestness. Meanwhile, Ralph rushed up to Harriet.
"Isn't the day lovely?" he said; "won't it be nice when we are bobbing
up and down in the water? I'll show you how well I can swim, Harriet.
I can swim, you know, but I can float better than I can swim."
"You must be careful not to go out of your depth," said Harriet. "Of
course you can swim, although you are such a little boy, and when you
are tired, your father will let you ride on his back. What fun that
will be! Your father is so strong, and big."
"Yes, isn't he just splendid?" said Ralph.
At that moment, Jane came back.
"Mr Durrant has gone to the yacht," she whispered to Harriet, "but he
doesn't wish any of us to bathe until he returns."
Ralph, who was quite uninterested in Jane's whispered communication now
ran down to the edge of the water and began to amuse himself shying
pebbles into the sea.
"Of course there will be no telegram," said Harriet to Jane. "Father's
in all probability as well as usual, still, that was a good idea of
yours, and it isn't likely to be found out."
"I don't think it is likely," said Jane. "I am awfully wicked," she
continued, "and it is you, Harriet, who have made me so. I told Mr
Durrant that you were almost certain a telegram would come. It was a
lie, of course, but I have done it for Bobbie's sake, and Miriam's sake,
and now you have got to earn my five pounds for me; now is your chance."
"But you have spoilt it with that message," said Harriet. "Mr Durrant
said we were none of us to bathe until he came back."
"You must bathe," said Jane. "I am going to pretend that I forgot all
about the message. You must act as though you never got it."
"Then you, Jane, will be punished."
"I can only be in disgrace," said Jane; "and I don't mind if I get my
money. In any case, I shan't bathe; I am going to walk about very
slowly along the beach, and will wait for you near the yacht. If any of
the sailors see me, they will take me on board, and I can wait for you
there. I shall be much too miserable to look on. Don't let Ralph go
far into the sea--just a wee, wee bit out of his depth: then catch him
very quickly; only be sure you let Robina and the other girls see you do
it. Things will be all right for us both now, won't they?"
"Yes," said Harriet, in an excited tone. She too felt that her chance
had come. Her conscience was dulled to sleep. Not for worlds would she
awaken it.
Jane immediately began to walk back to Totland Bay, and Harriet turned
to the other girls who had come up now to join her.
"When,"--said Ralph, who was softly jumping up and down and holding
Vivian's hand--"when is we all going into the nice, cool, lovely blue
water?"
"But where can Mr Durrant be?" said Robina.
"He said that he would come with us because the current would certainly
be a little strong to-day. Perhaps we had better not bathe."
"Oh, of course those who are frightened need not bathe," said Harriet:
"but I am going into the water for one."
"But where is father? where is my father?" asked Ralph.
"He has gone," said Harriet, "out of great kindness to me to find out if
a telegram has come on board the `Sea-Gull' to tell me about my own
father, who isn't well. Isn't it good of him?"
"Just like father," said Ralph. "And is your father very, very bad,
Harriet?"
"Oh, I hope he is much better now," said Harriet. "But he sometimes
does get ill, and then of course I am anxious."
"'Course you are, poor Harriet," said Ralph, taking her hand and
stroking it softly.
"Well, girls," said Harriet, looking at the others; "who's going to
bathe, and who isn't?"
Two or three elected to get into their bathing things, and go into the
water. The little cove was absolutely sheltered. The water was like
glass. Some of the children were accustomed to sea-bathing, some were
not. Harriet began eagerly to question.
"Who can swim?" she asked.
"I can," said Frederica.
"And I a little bit," said Rose Amberley.
"And I can't," said Robina; "but all the same, I am going to bathe if
the rest of you do."
"And who said you were not to bathe?" asked Harriet. "It will do you
good, I think, for you look so hot and dusty."
"Yes, I believe it would do me a lot of good," said Robina, and as she
spoke she took off her hat and twisting up her thick hair, knotted it
firmly at the back of her head.
The girls then packed their bathing things, and Robina, Harriet and the
others prepared to get into the water. Little Ralph, looking prettier
than he had ever done before, in a little tight-fitting brown bathing
suit, skipped about on the edge of the waves.
"Oh! won't it be jolly!" he cried; "won't it be jolly in the water!
Come, Harriet."
On his lips the words were almost bubbling, "You can swim splendid," but
he kept them back.
"Let me hold your hand, Ralph," said Robina. "We mustn't go far because
your father is not with us, and your father wouldn't like it."
"Nonsense!" said Harriet, who was standing up to her knees in the water,
which was quite warm, and as still as possible. "Those who are
cowards," she said, "need not come on; but from the little I know of Mr
Durrant, I should say that of all things in the world, he would wish
Ralph to prove himself a brave boy. Come along with me, Ralph; hold my
hand; poor silly Robina can't swim, you know."
"Can't you, Robina? Oh, I forgot," said Ralph. He looked pityingly at
her.
"I can swim quite a little bit," he said. "Father taught me; only I
can't keep up very long, but leastways I can float. Can't you even
float, Robina? You has to turn on your back--so."
As Ralph spoke, he suited the action to the words, lying perfectly still
on his back, his head slightly lower than his chest. Harriet laughed;
put her hand under the said little head, and forced him on to his feet
again.
"Why, you are a splendid boy," she said. "You and I will see together
what we can do. The water is quite warm. Now, Ralph, you know the
stroke. Come along; I will help you. All of you who can swim, come
with me, won't you. I thought before I got into the water that the
current might be a little strong, but I see I am mistaken. We can
easily go as far as the entrance to the cove. What fun it will be to
look at the outside world from the edge of the cove."
Harriet began to swim out boldly, and Ralph for a time kept pace with
her, laughing as he did so. Suddenly, a girl cried out:
"Don't go any further, Harriet; there's a fisherman beckoning to us.
Turn back, Harriet; turn back!" Harriet turned quickly. She saw a man
on the cliff gesticulating and waving his hand. She looked at Ralph.
Ralph was still swimming close to her. The other girls had not even
gone out of their depths. Robina, however, with her face white as
death, was struggling into deep water.
"No, no!" cried Harriet. "Turn back, turn back, Robina! It's all
right--it really is. Don't come any further, you'll be drowned if you
do!"
"Ralph, Ralph, Ralph!" pleaded Robina. "Come back to me, come back!"
The little boy looked at her and smiled.
"Don't be frightened," he said. "I is all right. I is just going as
far as Harriet, and then I'll swim back to you. It's lovely in the
water, it is so warm and--"
A tiny white curling wave came up to him at that moment as though it
were a play-fellow and broke over him as though it were laughing at him,
and carried him imperceptibly so far from Harriet that she could no
longer reach out her hand to touch him. Oh, still of course he was
quite safe. He was nowhere near the entrance to the cove, and even
though there was another white wave coming on, he was safe, as safe
could be. But why had all the waves in a moment, as it were, got little
tiny white crests on them? and why was the sea not quite so blue? and
why was there a wind which took the heat out of the water? Why had all
these things happened? But of course there was not the slightest
danger? Still, perhaps Harriet might as well keep near to Ralph. She
wanted him to be in a little bit of danger. She wanted him to cry out
to her, and then she wanted to catch him and bring him back, and she
wanted the people on the shore to say: "Well done, Harriet! Well done,
brave, brave girl! You have saved the little chap's life!"
So she delayed, trifling just a minute, and now another play-fellow
wave--a bigger and a rougher one than the first two, caught the gallant
tiny swimmer, and turned him right over this time and suddenly filled
his lungs with water. Ralph threw up his arms. There was a sharp
scream from the girls on the shore. Harriet saw the fisherman flying
down from the cliffs above, and, turning herself, swam as fast as ever
she could in Ralph's direction. But now she was about to test her own
foolhardiness, for alas! poor little Ralph had got into the current--one
of those terribly dangerous currents which have wrecked not only brave
swimmers, but even boats at sea when they got within the neighbourhood
of the treacherous Needles.
The little brown head bobbed one minute on the surface of the waves and
then disappeared. Harriet gave a frantic cry. She swam after the boy,
putting out all her strength. Her hand was stretched out, and when he
reappeared, she caught him by his little bathing suit.
By this time, one of the fishermen had got into the water, and a minute
or two later, both girl and boy were lying exhausted on the beach.
"You did a mighty silly thing, young folks--daring to go into the water
on a day like this!" said the man. "Why, little master was just
drownding!"
"O Harriet!" said Frederica; "you were brave!" Harriet heard the words,
and then sank away into a swoon. Had she earned her reward? These were
the last thoughts she took with her into the world of unconsciousness.
When she came to herself, Mr Durrant was bending over her. Ralph, very
pale, but quite well, was seated close to her side and all the other
girls were gazing at her from a respectful distance.
"I don't understand this story at all," said Mr Durrant. "Sit up,
Harriet, my dear. You have received a great shock; you must drink some
of this." He held a cup of hot coffee to her lips. One of the
fishermen had brought it from his own cottage near by.
"Now, that's better," said Mr Durrant, when the girl had sipped a
little and looked round her. "But, my dear Harriet, my last
instructions were that none of you were to go into the water. Of
course, I know what a dangerous coast this is, and after the storm of
last night, you ran the most fearful risk."
"But she was brave! she was noble! She did, she did try to save me!"
said Ralph, clasping Harriet's hand and fondling it as his brown eyes
filled with tears.
"Oh yes; that is quite true," said Mr Durrant. He spoke quietly.
"Still," he said, "I don't understand why my message was disobeyed."
"But we never heard anything about it. We shouldn't have dreamed of
going into the water," said Frederica, "if we had known that you did not
approve."
"I told Jane that you were none of you to bathe until I came back.
Harriet, there is no telegram from your father: you must consider no
news as good news."
"Oh yes," said Harriet, in a faint voice. She took Ralph's hand and
whispered to him: "Stay close to me. When you are close to me, I won't
be seeing all the time your little head going under the water."
"We have a great deal to be thankful for," said Mr Durrant.
"But I cannot understand Jane Bush. She seemed in great distress about
you, Harriet, and said that you were fretting terribly about your
father. She wanted herself to go back to try and get news from the
yacht, but of course I offered to go. Still, I gave implicit directions
that you were none of you to bathe. Where is Jane?"
"I think she had a headache," said Harriet. "Anyhow, she said she would
go back and stay near the yacht. She thought, perhaps, one of the
boatmen would see her and take her on board."
"And she never gave you my message?"
"Certainly not," said Harriet.
"Well, my dear," said Mr Durrant after a pause, "I am exceedingly sorry
that this should have happened; but nevertheless we have much to be
thankful for. I have given that poor brave sailor what I hope he will
consider a suitable reward. And now, children, I think we will get back
to the yacht: the sooner Harriet lies down the better. I can see, my
dear, that your own head is aching badly."
"It is; I feel queer and rather sick," said Harriet.
"I have ordered a waggonette to meet us, and we will drive back to
Totland Bay: you are all much too tired to walk," said Mr Durrant; "all
except you, you plucky little man," he added, looking at his little son.
"You don't seem a bit the worse."
"I wasn't a bit frighted, father," said Ralph, speaking with great
excitement, "'cause I _knew_."
"What did you know, my boy?"
"That Harriet would save me, 'cause she,"--the words came out with a
rush--"did it afore!"
Everyone looked at Harriet, who turned very pale. "Is this the second
time you have saved Ralph, my dear Harriet?" asked Mr Durrant.
"Ralph?" said Harriet. "You know you ought not to speak--"
"Don't ask her, father," said Ralph.
"I ask her nothing. She has saved your life this time, that I can
testify. You are a brave girl, Harriet; forgive me for having doubted
you. Bravery like yours must be accompanied by other noble traits of
character. I will say no more for the present except to add that you
ran a terrible risk, and that whatever your good intentions, you could
not possibly have saved Ralph but for the aid of that brave sailor who
brought you both back to shore."
The said sailor now appeared on the scene to announce the approach of
the carriage which was to convey the party to the yacht. They all got
in, and in a short time were back again on board the "Sea-Gull." The
first person they saw when they stood on the deck of the pretty little
yacht was Jane, whose white face and anxious eyes would have told too
much of her story had not Harriet rushed up to her, squeezed her hand
and managed to whisper:
"It is all right; and you have but to say boldly now that you forgot to
give me the message about not bathing."
"Is that you, Jane Bush?" said Mr Durrant at that moment.
"Yes, sir," said Jane, coming forward.
Harriet gave her fingers a squeeze. That squeeze seemed to say:
"Five pounds will be yours--five beautiful, lovely, golden sovereigns!
Don't lose your courage now."
"I particularly gave you a message, Jane, when you were so anxious for
me to return to the yacht on Harriet's behalf. Did you forget it?"
"What message, sir?" asked Jane.
"I requested the young people--in fact, I did much more than request, I
desired the young people not on any account to go into the water until
my return."
"O, sir--so you did!" said Jane.
"And you never gave the message?"
"No, sir," said Jane, dropping her head.
"And why not, pray? It was very important."
"I--I had a headache, sir."
"You--in fact--forgot?"
"Yes, Mr Durrant, I--I forgot," said Jane.
"Another time, please remember. You might be an intensely miserable
girl now but for the exceeding bravery of a man who happened to see our
little party from one of the cliffs. Two lives were in extreme danger--
the life of your own special friend, Harriet Lane, and the life of my
little son. Harriet was bravest of the brave, and did manage to come to
his rescue and to hold his head above water at the critical moment, but
neither of the children could have possibly resisted the current had not
this man swum into the water in his clothes and brought them back to
land. So be more careful in future, Jane, that is all." Mr Durrant
turned away.
"You have earned your five pounds, I am sure and certain of that," said
Harriet to her companion on the evening of that same day.
Book 2--CHAPTER THIRTEEN.