"She is won: we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur;
They'll have fleet steeds that follow," quoth young Lochinvar.
MARMION.
The liberated seamen once more pushed forward, no longer guided by
Isabella, who had got as far as her knowledge of the place extended, and
were again, in nautical language, "brought up all standing." A priest,
returning from the death-bed of one of his flock, saw them gliding along
silently and in "Indian file." His head being full of good wine, death,
the devil, &c., and the place enjoying moreover the reputation of being
haunted, his imagination magnified and multiplied the seven fugitives
into a legion of devils, with horns, tails, and fiery breath complete.
Under this impression he began to thunder forth a Latin form of
exorcism: "In nomine sanctae Trinitatis et purissimae Virginis, exorcizo
vos! Apage, Satana! Vade retro, diabole!" &c. &c. in such abominably bad
Latin, that a devil or a ghost of the least classical taste would have
incontinently fled to the Red Sea, without waiting to hear another
syllable of the formula that sent him thither. The bawling of the priest
awoke several of the neighbors, and sundry night-capped heads were
protruded from the windows of the nearest houses; but the proprietors,
catching a glimpse of the objects of the priest's alarm, and not caring
to play bo-peep with the devil, closed and barred their casements, and
betook them to their beads.
The party glided on in the same swift, silent pace; but the hindmost
sailor, irritated by the continued vociferation of the priest, and
stumbling at that moment over the carcase of a dog that had given up the
ghost a few hours before, seized it by the hind leg, and flung it at the
holy man with such true aim and force, as brought him to the ground.
Luckily the monk swooned away with terror at this unexpected buffeting
in the flesh from Satan, and his noise was consequently stopped. The
next moment the party plunged into the bushy path, and were instantly
lost to the view of the inhabitants, if indeed any were looking after
them.
Advancing swiftly along the rough path, and losing their way two or
three times, they at length heard the light dash of the surf upon the
sand-beach; but, to their no small alarm, they also plainly heard, from
time to time, the low hum of voices, though their language was not
distinguishable. Fearing the worst, Morton advanced alone to
reconnoitre, notwithstanding Isabella's earnest entreaties not to be
left alone. Moving slowly and cautiously towards the point whence
proceeded the voices, the soft sand rendering his footsteps inaudible,
he approached as near as he durst, and listened for some minutes with
the most fixed attention, to catch a word that would indicate the
character and nation of the speakers, but in vain; and he was on the
point of returning to his friends in despair, when he plainly
distinguished the exclamation, "d----n my eyes," uttered by some one at
no great distance from where he stood. No Sontag or Malibran ever
warbled a note that contained a hundredth part of the sweetness and
music that was comprised in that simple and unsophisticated ejaculation;
it decided in an instant, and beyond all possibility of doubt, who and
what was the speaker. His joy was inconceivable, and he could scarce
refrain from giving vent to it in a loud shout. Returning immediately,
he communicated the joyful intelligence to his friends; and the whole
party, with light hearts and rapid steps, advanced towards the beach.
Just as they stepped from the shade and covert of the bushes, a pistol,
the bright barrel of which glittered in the star-light, was presented to
Morton's breast; and the holder thereof, in a grum voice, commanded him
to "stand!"
"Heave to, and let's overhaul your papers," continued the speaker, who
was immediately recognized, by the voice, as Jones, the boatswain of the
Albatross.
"Hush, hush, don't speak so loud; 'tis I, 'tis Morton--Jones, is that
you, my old boy?"
"God bless you, Mr. Morton, it is you indeed--I thought 'twas a raft of
them thundering sojers bearing down upon us. I've been lying to, under
the lee of this 'ere bush, for this two hours or more, waiting for you."
The parleying between their "look-out ship," as they called Jones, and
the strangers, attracted the whole party of the Albatross to the spot;
and Morton, to his surprise, found himself and his companions surrounded
by at least thirty well-armed men. His friend Walker, the second mate of
the ship, advanced, and testifying the sincerest affection, welcomed him
once more to liberty and the company of his shipmates. Kind greetings
and hearty welcomes were given by the seamen, in their blunt,
straight-forward way, and not a few jokes were passed upon the four
liberated tars by their light-hearted messmates.
"I say, Tom Wentworth, how much _grub_ did the Don Degos allow you? a
rat a-piece, or the hind leg of a jackass among the four of you?"
"Ay," said another, "and Sundays they had a jackass's head stewed in a
lantern, and stuffed with sogers' coats."
"Yes," said a third, "and green-hide soup three times a week."
"Seasoned with brick-dust and pig-weeds," said a fourth, "by way of red
pepper and cabbages."
"Well, never mind what they've had," said old Tom Jones, interposing,
"one thing's sartain, they ha'n't had any steam, that's jist as clear
as mud."
"You're idle there, old Tom Pipes; we've had as much good wine as we
could lay our sides to. But howsomever, if you've got any white-eye in
that black betty that you're rousing out of your pea-jacket pocket, I
don't much care if I take a drop."
"Poor children!" said the boatswain, "they've been kept this whole week
in a snug, warm _caliboose_, and they'll catch cold if they're out in
the night air."
So saying, he offered his junk-bottle of New England to Morton, who
declined it, and it was then passed to his four fellow-prisoners, who
took a long, deliberate, steady aim at the stars through it in
succession.
By this time the two whale-boats and yawls, that constituted the
flotilla of the shore party, were hauled as close to the beach as the
shoalness of the water would permit, and the embarkation commenced;
Morton carrying the fair Isabella in his arms, and depositing her in the
stern-sheets of the swiftest of the boats, in which he found ample store
of boat-cloaks and pea-jackets to protect her from the night air and
heavy dews. Her attendant, Transita, was about following her mistress,
when Tom Jones, who had no suspicion that there were more than one
"young gentleman" concerned in effecting the escape of his shipmates,
or about taking passage in the ship, laid his huge hand upon her
shoulder, exclaiming,
"Halloa! shipmate, where are you bound to, if the wind stands?"
"What are you about there, Jones?" shouted Morton from the boat,
"she--he, I mean, is to go off with us. Take him through the surf."
"Ay, ay, sir; come, Mr. She--he, just get upon my shoulders, if you
please; come, bear a hand before it snows--there, stow yourself away in
the starn-sheets--there, that's the time of day--shove her bows off,
Sam, and jump aboard--so, pull round your larboard oars--now give way
together."
Their oars being all muffled, they glided, silently and swiftly, towards
the offing, edging away a little to the south, or farther side of the
bay, to avoid the possibility of observation from the shore. They had
proceeded swiftly for some minutes, and had passed the point on which
the battery stands without speaking a word, when the silence was broken
by Morton,--
"Where is the ship, Jones? do you see any thing of her?"
The boatswain desisted rowing, and, holding his head down as near the
water as possible, looked long and anxiously to the western horizon.
"I don't see her," said he, "unless that's her, here on our starboard
bow."
"No, that's the rock."
By this time the other boats had come up, and all agreed that nothing
could be seen of the ship. After a brief consultation, it was decided
that their safest plan was to continue rowing to the westward, and that
they would be sure of seeing the ship at day-break; whereas if daylight
found them in the bay, they would most assuredly be seen, and chased by
the boats from the shore.
Isabella, whom most powerful excitement had supported from the prison to
the point of embarkation, had since then, reclining on the stern-sheets
of the boat, and supported by her lover's arms, been in a state of
stupor and silence; her thoughts were in a complete whirl, almost
amounting to delirium; the kind and soothing voice of Morton she
scarcely heard, and she only awoke to consciousness during the short
deliberation just mentioned. In an agony of terror at the doubt and
uncertainty that she heard expressed around her, she uttered the wildest
exclamations, and struggled with Morton and her attendant, who
endeavored in vain to pacify and sooth her. With unspeakable anguish
Morton witnessed, for half an hour, the confusion of her intellects,
till at length she sunk down exhausted, and wept bitterly. At this
moment a voice from the yawl that had gone ahead, shouted, "There she
is!"
"Where, where?" asked a dozen eager voices.
"Right ahead."
Every eye was instantly turned in that direction, and, to their
unutterable joy, they saw, at the distance of about a mile, the light of
a signal-lantern. Every oar was most vigorously plied, and in a few
minutes the headmost boat was greeted with "Boat ahoy!" from Captain
Williams--"Albatross," was the reply, and the boats dashed up to the lee
gangway and fore-chains.
Isabella, whose buoyant spirit had recovered its spring when she saw the
danger was over, was assisted up the side by her lover and two or three
of the most careful men. As soon as Morton stepped upon deck, he was
caught in the arms of his commander, who was inarticulate from emotion.
Morton, quietly disengaging himself, presented his fair deliverer. The
old seaman folded her in his arms, and kissing her cheek, drew her arm
under his, and conducted her to the cabin, whither they were followed by
Morton.
Under the superintendence of the second mate and boatswain the boats
were now hoisted up and secured; the ship wore with her head to the
westward, all sails set, and hot coffee, beef, bread, cheese, &c.
provided liberally for the "shore party;" after which the watch was set,
the deck "relieved" by Captain Williams, and the Albatross, with her
white wings expanded, flew rapidly on her course before a fresh easterly
breeze.