The crew of the Sicilian speronara were busily engaged the whole fore
part of the day in discharging the small quantity of cargo, consisting
chiefly of corn and other provisions, with which their vessel was laden.
When this was done she immediately cleared out at the custom-house, and
without any of her crew having even visited the shore, she got up her
anchor, and commenced making sail. The long tapering yard of her
foresail was first hoisted, and its folds of white canvas let fall, and
when her head paid round, her mainsail was next got on her, and sheeted
home. Instead, however, of running out of the harbour, as it at first
appeared she was about to do, after she had gone a little distance, just
between Fort Saint Angelo and Fort Ricasoli, she hauled her foresail to
windward, and hove to. The probable cause of this was soon explained,
for a small boat was seen to dart out from beneath the fortifications of
Valetta, and to take its way across the harbour towards her, carrying a
person in the stern-sheets, wrapped up in a cloak, with a broad-brimmed
hat shading his features. The hat may not have been worn for the
purpose of disguise, for the rays of the sun, striking down full upon
the water, were very ardent, and there was good reason for its being
worn to protect him from their fury; but there was not quite so much for
the use of the cloak, unless, following the Italian fashion, he carried
that also over his shoulders for the same reason. The boat ran
alongside the speronara, when the person, whoever he was, stepped out,
and the foresail being let draw, the beautiful little craft stood out of
the harbour. The boat on its return was found to belong to the boatman
Manuel, who, being questioned as to the person he had conveyed on board
the speronara, declared that he had not the slightest notion who he
was--that he had never before seen his face, and that he could not tell
whether he was an Englishman, an Italian, or a Frenchman, but that he
thought the former. He said, all he knew was, that he had come down to
the shore and engaged his boat, and as he had paid him well for the job,
it was not his business to make further inquiries. The general opinion
was, that he was some person making his escape from his creditors; but
by the time the proper authorities were informed of the supposed fact,
and the necessary measures taken to ascertain its truth, the delinquent
was far beyond their reach.
The wind was about north-west--there was a nice fresh breeze, and
supposing that the speronara was bound for Syracuse, she could, hauling
as close to the wind as she was able to do, easily lay her course for
that port. Either, however, she was carelessly steered, or she was
bound to some port in Italy, for, after hauling round Saint Elmo, she
fell off considerably from the wind, and finally, when she might have
been supposed to have got beyond the range of observation of those on
shore, who were not likely to take much notice of so insignificant a
little craft, and of so ordinary a rig, she eased off both her sheets,
and, with the wind on her larboard quarter, indeed, almost astern, ran
out into the offing. By this course she crossed in a short time the
mouth of the harbour; and though at a considerable distance, she was
enabled to watch any vessel coming out.
Her movements, however, were not totally unobserved, for Captain
Fleetwood, who had called at the house of Colonel Gauntlett, early in
the morning, in the vain hope of seeing Ada, was returning in a
disconsolate mood along the ramparts, and meditating in what way his
duty should direct him to proceed, when his eye fell on the speronara,
hove-to directly below him, Manuel's boat just touching her side.
As he had, like most naval officers, a remarkably good glass in his
pocket, he directed it towards the little vessel, and among the people
on her deck he fancied that he distinguished the figure of the stranger
who had paid so much attention to Ada on the previous evening. Now, as
he understood that that gentleman was about to sail immediately for
Greece, he was naturally surprised, indeed so unlikely did it appear,
that he thought he must be mistaken. Although he was very far from
being of a suspicious disposition, yet combining the manner in which the
stranger had gone on board, and the doubtful character of the craft
herself, he determined to watch her movements.
Another cause also combined to create very extraordinary suspicions in
his mind respecting the character of the stranger, who had made his
appearance so suddenly in Malta. On his way to Colonel Gauntlett's
residence, that morning, he had passed the office of the chief of the
harbour police, and on looking in to speak a word with Captain S--, he
found him engaged in examining three Greek merchants, who stated that
the vessel in which they were making a passage from Athens to Sicily,
had been plundered by a well-known pirate of the name of Zappa, and that
he had appeared on board their vessel; that they had spoken to him, and
that they felt almost confident that they had seen the same person,
without any disguise, in a coffee-house in Valetta on the previous
evening. They acknowledged, that though at first they had no doubt of
his identity, yet that when he came up to them, and entered into
conversation, they were staggered in their belief; but that after he had
disappeared it again occurred to them with greater force than ever, that
he must be the man they at first thought. When convinced of this they
immediately set out in the hopes of falling in with him, and with the
intention of handing him over to the police; but they were unsuccessful
in their search, and when, after many inquiries, they learned before
whom they should make their depositions, it was too late in the day to
see any one. After sleeping on the subject, they were as strong in
their opinion as on the previous night, and the first thing in the
morning they had come, they said, to make their statement. Captain S--
listened attentively. He told them that he thought they must be
mistaken as to the identity of the person, as he could not believe that
a pirate would have the audacity to venture into Valetta; particularly
just after he had committed a daring act of piracy. The Greeks shrugged
their shoulders, but asserted that from what they had heard of Zappa,
they believed him capable of any act of hardihood.
"At all events," observed Captain S--, "I will take your description of
the gentleman. Figure tall, features regular, eyes large and animated,
hair black, and slight curling moustache--not a bad-looking fellow for a
cut-throat, at all events. I will order the police instantly to go in
search of him, and if he can be found, of which I have no doubt, we will
examine him, and confront him with you; and if he turns out to be Signor
Zappa, he will, probably, before many days are over, be hanging up
alongside Captain Delano and his shipmates."
The Greeks were satisfied that they were right, and on their retiring,
officers were instantly despatched in search of the supposed pirate.
The result of their inquiries Captain Fleetwood had not yet learned; but
the description given by the Greeks answered so exactly to that of the
Prince Argiri Caramitzo, whom he had met at the ball the previous night,
that he could not help being struck by it.
"I did not altogether like the style of the fellow," he muttered to
himself. "He is good-looking enough, certainly; but there was an
impudent, sinister expression about his countenance which one does not
observe in that of an honest man. I wonder, too, what right he has to
the title of prince. There are some few chiefs in Greece, who call
themselves princes, but they are very rare. Who they are can easily be
ascertained, and I must learn if such a title exists. Let me see, he
was introduced, too, by that fellow Dunnup. He is a _mauvais sujet_ I
suspect, and I should fight very shy of his friends at all events. What
could have taken the gentleman on board that craft then! That puzzles
me! I must see to it."
Accordingly when the speronara let draw her foresail, and stood out of
the harbour, he retraced his steps along the ramparts towards port Saint
Elmo, to a position whence he could command a clear view to seaward.
"She is a pretty lively craft that," he observed to himself, as he saw,
with the pleased eye of a seaman, the rapid way in which the vessel
glided over the crisp curling waves. "The fellows know how to handle
her too; but what is she about now, I wonder? I thought, by the way she
first steered, she was bound for Sicily, but there she goes running off
to the south-east. I cannot be mistaken." And he took a scrutinising
glance at her with his telescope. "Yes, that is her, there can be no
doubt about the matter."
Now love makes most men sharp-witted in everything regarding the object
of their affection, and Captain Fleetwood was certainly not a man to be
less so than any other person.
The sudden change in the course of the speronara had given rise in his
mind to sundry suspicions. They were not very serious, and probably,
under other circumstances, he would not have entertained them; but he
was out of spirits and fatigued, and he could not help connecting the
movements of the speronara with the sailing of the _Zodiac_, on board
which vessel Ada and her uncle were that evening to commence their
voyage. He did not, however, suppose that a craft of her character
would venture to attack an armed brig of the size of the _Zodiac_,
unless she could take her by surprise, nor could she have any chance of
success against so brave and good a seaman as Captain. Bowse, and so
fine a crew as his; but at the same time he thought it would be more
prudent to let him know what he had seen, and urge him to be on his
guard against the speronara.
"I never heard of one of those fellows committing piracy--probably he is
up to some smuggling trick--perhaps he expects to fall in with some
vessel, and will take her goods out of her during the night, to run them
on the Sicilian or Italian coast; perhaps to put that good-looking
fellow of a Greek prince, if that is him, on board some craft or other
bound eastward. However, I must speak to Bowse about it. I wish to
heaven I might sail and convoy the brig; but the admiral would not give
me leave if I was to ask him--he would only think it was an excuse to be
near Miss Garden."
These thoughts passed through his mind as he hurried down to the quay,
where his boat was waiting for him, and jumping into her, he started for
the _Zodiac_. He had made the acquaintance of the honest master, on
finding that the colonel and his niece were going by his vessel, and he
had been every day on board to assist in arranging Ada's cabin, and to
suggest many little alterations which might conduce to her comfort and
convenience.
Captain Bowse was on board with every preparation made for sailing, and
only awaited the arrival of his passengers. The master of the _Zodiac_
heard the account given by the naval officer without any alarm, though
at the same time he owned that there was some cause for suspicion; and
he promised to keep a sharp look-out, and to take all the precaution in
his power to prevent being surprised. When he heard that the Greek
stranger had gone on board the speronara, he remembered the visit of a
personage answering his description, on the previous evening, to his
vessel, and he felt glad that he had not been induced to take him.
"The chances are, if the fellow be a rogue, that he saw that there would
be no use trying to do anything with the _Zodiac_ and he has gone to lay
his plots against some other craft," he observed. "That's my view of
the case, sir, and I don't think that you need at all alarm yourself
about the safety of your friends. But although we are safe ourselves,
that is no reason that we should not think of others; and if I was you,
sir, I would make inquiries about the strange gentleman, and give notice
to the authorities of what you have observed. You can tell, sir, of his
wanting to take a passage to Greece, on board here, and then shipping
off suddenly in a Sicilian craft. There may be nothing in it; but there
may be something; and to my mind it's as well never to trust to a rope
with a strand gone."
Wishing a prosperous voyage to the master, and again cautioning him to
be careful, Captain Fleetwood stepped into his gig, and had got some
little distance, when he saw a large boat approaching, which he divined
contained her he loved best on earth, with her uncle and his attendants.
How could he resist the temptation of seeing and speaking to her once
more? so, giving his boat a sweep, he pulled round to the other side of
the _Zodiac_, from that on which the gangway ladder was shipped, and lay
on his oars, trusting to the chance of seeing Ada on deck, while her
uncle was below.
There were fewer packages than most families travel with, for the
colonel was a martinet, and would allow none of his womankind, as he
called them, to have more traps than was absolutely necessary; and thus
no time was lost in getting the party and their goods on board. Besides
the colonel and his niece, there was a little Maltese girl, as an
attendant, and the colonel's own man, Mitchell, who, like his master,
was a character not unworthy of note. Bowse, who understood pretty well
the state of affairs, soon contrived to get the colonel below, while he
detained Ada on deck, and then pointing out Captain Fleetwood's boat to
her, beckoned him on board. He was much too judicious to show in any
other way that he was aware of the feelings of the parties; but leaving
them together, he rejoined the colonel in the cabin, determined to keep
him there as long as he could, showing him the arrangements made for his
convenience. Little did the old gentleman think, that when praising
many of them, he was indebted for them to the man for whom he had
conceived so hearty an aversion. What the lovers said need not be told.
Those few moments were sweet but sad, and both felt that they would on
no account have missed them. Ada again assured him that nothing should
induce her to give him up, and he repeated his promise to hasten and
claim her in spite of all opposition. The appearance of Bowse's honest
face up the companion-ladder was the signal for him to tear himself away
from her, and he had just time to get over the side, when the colonel
appeared on deck.
"What are you gazing at there, missie?" he asked, as he saw her, soon
after, looking up the harbour. "Oh, ay, thinking of your partners at
the ball, I suppose." She did not answer; but as she turned her face
with a reproachful look at her uncle, her eyes were full of tears.
As soon as Bowse came on deck, he gave the signal to weigh. The cable
was already hove short, the topsails were loose. The men went about the
work with alacrity, and in a style very different to that of merchant
seamen in general. They were all prime hands, mostly old men-of-war's
men turned adrift, as ships were paid off, and had all before served
with Bowse.
He carried on the duty, therefore, as far as circumstances would allow,
in the fashion to which they had been accustomed, and to which they
willingly submitted. The brig was consequently looked upon as as fine a
vessel as any sailing out of the port of London. To the cheery sound of
the pipe, they manned the capstan bars, and singing in chorus to a merry
strain, away they ran swiftly round. A hand was sent to the helm, and
the mate was on the forecastle.
"Heave and away," he sung out, as the cable appearing up and down showed
that the anchor was under the forefoot. As the wind blew out of the
harbour, the jib and fore-topmast-staysail were now hoisted to cast her.
With renewed exertions the crew hove round, and the shout they uttered
gave the signal that they had dragged the anchor from the bottom. The
bow of the vessel feeling the power of her head sails, now paid slowly
off.
"Heave and in sight," the mate next sung out, as the anchor appeared
above water. Another turn ran it up to the bows. The foretopsail was
next sheeted home and hoisted, and the head yards braced forward to help
her round more quickly. In the meantime the anchor was catted and
fished ready for sea, and as the wind came abaft the beam, the head
yards were squared, and the fore-clew-garnets being let run, the
ponderous folds of the foresail were allowed to fall towards the deck,
just as the wind was brought right aft. Both sheets were then hauled
aft, and the increasing breeze no longer finding escape beneath it, blew
it out in a graceful swell which made it appear as if it were about to
lift the vessel bodily out of the water to carry her gliding over the
waves. The fore-topmast-staysail, no longer being of use, was hauled
down, and her fore-topgallantsail and royal, with the after sail, were
next set, followed by studden-sails on either side, till the brig
presented the appearance of a tall tower of white canvas shining
brightly in the rays of the sun, which was setting directly astern, and
which threw on them, in confused lines of tracery-work, the shadows of
the masts, their respective shrouds and running rigging.
Ada, who would not be persuaded by her uncle to go below, as he said, to
get her out of harm's way, looked on with deep interest at these
proceedings, and with admiration at the method by which, in so short a
time, so beautiful a fabric could be raised. Ada delighted in
everything connected with the sea. She was a sailor's daughter, and she
loved a sailor; but even before she had known Captain Fleetwood she felt
an affection for things nautical, and certainly he had done much to
increase her regard. She enjoyed too the physical pleasures of the sea,
the fresh free breeze, and the light dancing wave, which to her was a
source of no inconvenience. While others suffered, she was on deck
enjoying existence to the full. It is true that she had as yet only
seen the ocean in its summer dress, and except from the experience of a
short gale, which she looked upon rather as giving a zest to the
pleasure of a voyage, she knew little of its wintry tempests, its
dangers and horrors. Bowse observed the interest she took in all that
was going forward, and, like a true sailor, felt as much gratified as if
she was his own daughter, and under his especial protection. Jack, the
cabin-boy, was coiling away a rope near him, and beckoning to him, he
sent him down for a comfortable chair, which, on its appearance, he
placed before her.
"There, miss," he observed, "I think you will be able, more at your
ease, to sit and look at the little island we are leaving behind us.
It's always a pleasure to take the last look at the place we are going
from."
Ada thanked him with a sweet smile for the chair which he had
judiciously placed on the starboard side of the poop, and looking partly
aft, so that she could command a full view of the harbour, where the
_Ione_ lay, and of the fortifications of Valetta. The _Zodiac_ was now
running out between forts Saint Elmo and Ricasoli; and as she cleared
the former, she felt the wind drawing rather more to the northward. Her
yards were, therefore, braced forward, and her mainsail hauled out; and
now with the wind on her quarter, a point in which every sail a
square-rigged vessel can carry draws best, with a fine rattling breeze
she rapidly left the shores of Malta astern.