WE GET OUT OF THE PIT--JACK STRETCHER'S ADVENTURE--SEARCH FOR MYERS--
HANKS' ADVICE--LOSE OUR SHIP IN A FOG--MINUTE-GUNS HEARD.
I was awoke by my uncle, and looking up, I saw that the stars had grown
dim, and that the rosy dawn was rapidly spreading over the sky. When
there was sufficient light to enable us to see distinctly, we discovered
that we were in an unusually large and deep chalk-pit. We had, however,
but little difficulty in climbing out of it, and in reaching the top of
the down in which it was situated. What was our surprise, on looking
seaward, to discover the cutter riding at anchor below us, and the boats
just going off to her! We therefore went to the most conspicuous
height, and waved our caps and handkerchiefs, in the hopes that some one
might by chance be on the look-out with a telescope, and perceive us.
We waited for some time, and were just giving up the case in despair,
when one of the boats put off from the cutter, and pulled directly for
the beach, above which we were standing; so we hurried down by a rough
zigzag path cut in the cliff, and were ready on the shore to receive her
when she pulled in. Who should we see in the boat but Stretcher, whom
we fancied all the time held in durance vile by the smugglers. The
honest fellow's satisfaction at seeing us was even greater than our
surprise; for he had fully believed that we had been murdered, and had
reported our death on board. The boat's crew gave three cheers as they
ran up on the beach; and in their delight they almost lifted my uncle
and me into the boat. We were not long in getting on board again, when
the cheers were repeated by all hands; and I must do honest old Hanks
the justice to say, that, though he had doubtless begun to indulge in
dreams of getting his promotion and the death vacancy, his pleasure was
as genuine as that of the rest. He had, we found, been already
arranging a plan to search for us, and to discover and capture the
smugglers. The latter part of it, our Commander determined forthwith to
execute. Before we went to breakfast, Stretcher was sent for to make
his report--a proceeding of which I did not approve, for I was very
sharp-set; but midshipmen's appetites are seldom much thought of on such
occasions. Jack soon made his appearance, with his hat in one hand,
while he smoothed down his hair most pertinaciously with the other.
"Well, Stretcher, my man; I wish to know how you managed to escape so
well out of the fangs of those rascals," said my uncle.
"Why, your honour," he answered, "I scarcely know how it all happened
myself, for after the blackguards dragged off you and Mr D'Arcy, I was
in such a taking, thinking that they were going to heave you over the
cliff, that I didn't seem to know where I was or what I was doing. At
last they made the handkerchief fast round my eyes again, so that I
couldn't see a wink; and they began to haul me along, till I found that
I was out of the cave and in the open air. On I went, up and down hill,
some way inland, it seemed; and then back again through a chine down to
the seashore. After a bit they led me up hill, and making me sit down
on a rock, they told me that if I stirred an inch before daylight, I
should meet with the same fate my master had done.
"`How am I to tell when daylight comes, you lubbers, if you leave me
with my eyes blinded,' said I.
"No one answered, but I fancied I heard some one laugh close to me.
They then lashed my arms behind me, so that I could not cast off the
bandage from my eyes.
"`So you are not going to carry me to foreign parts,' said I, for I
thought, as they didn't mind killing my officer, they would think
nothing of sending me over the cliffs also.
"`We've changed our minds,' said they, `and can't be troubled with you;
so ask no questions.'
"I didn't like the answer at all, for I made sure they was going to do
away with me somehow; but, as I couldn't help myself, I was not going to
show them what a funk I was in; so I pretended to whistle, quite happy
like. I had been whistling away some time, when I thought I heard their
footsteps moving off; and so it proved; for when I next sung out to
them, no one answered. I called them all manner of names, and
blackguarded them like fun; but it didn't make them angry, because, you
see, there was no one there to hear me. At last, when I'd grown hoarse
with hallooing after them, I thought I might as well go to sleep a bit,
seeing as how I couldn't manage to move, or to cast off the lashings
round my arms. How long I slept I don't know; but I was woke up by
hearing some one hail me, and I soon knew that they were some of the
cutter's people. When they got up to me, and cast off the handkerchief
from my eyes, then I found I had been sitting not ten feet above the
beach, and directly opposite where the cutter is brought up. That, your
honour, is all I know about it; but who the people are who played us the
trick, or whereabouts the cave is, is more than I can say."
"Do not you think that we might manage to discover the cave, though?"
asked the Commander.
"No, sir, certainly not," answered Stretcher, positively. "It may be
close to us, or it may be five miles off. To my mind, it's some very
clever hide; and those who took us there knew very well we should never
find it again."
"We must see about that," observed my uncle. "By-the-bye, Stretcher, I
gave you some things to take charge of; where are they?"
"Here, sir; they never overhauled my pockets, which shows that they have
some manners, at all events," said Jack, producing a pistol, a
handkerchief, and a card. My uncle took the card, and on it were
written the words, "This is the way we punish informers and traitors."
"Perhaps, sir, you don't know who the man was who took the lead of the
rest in the cave," said Stretcher.
"Who was he?" asked the Commander.
"No other than Bill Myers himself," answered Jack. I knew him directly,
and several of those with him; but I thought it better to keep a silent
tongue in my head, so they didn't suspect me. To my mind, Myers
murdered the man as a warning to others not to attempt to play a like
trick upon him. From what I happened to hear, I suspect the lugger has
run her cargo, and is by this time off again; for I am certain some of
the people we saw belonged to her, and they wouldn't be likely to stay
in this place after the work which has been done.
Nothing more of importance being elicited from Jack, he was dismissed;
and my uncle arranged with Hanks that all the boats should visit the
shore, and that a strict search should be made to discover the cave;
while we should communicate with the authorities, and state what had
occurred. The mist of the morning having cleared off, a look-out was
kept at the masthead for the lugger, should she be in sight, but not a
sign of her appeared; and as soon as breakfast was over, a large party
of officers and seamen went on shore to hunt for the cave. My uncle,
Stretcher, and I, meantime, went off to the nearest magistrate, to make
our depositions. Mr Gibson, the magistrate, received us very politely,
and expressed his anxiety to sift the affair to the bottom, and to bring
the offenders to justice. He took charge of the things we had found;
and while he entertained us at luncheon, he sent about to make inquiries
on the subject. The man, whose corpse we believed we had seen, was
found to be missing, and we learned that he was well-known to be
connected with the smugglers; but of the cave, and the cargo which we
suspected to have been run, no one could, or rather would, afford any
information. When, however, it was known that murder had been
committed, several persons, who had no objection to assist in simple
smuggling, but had a prejudice against murdering people, came
voluntarily forward to state all they knew and suspected about the
matter. By several, Myers had been seen on shore during the previous
day; and, what is extraordinary, one of the witnesses, an
alehouse-keeper, swore that he had seen him use the very handkerchief we
had found to sweep the crumbs off a table at which he had been eating
bread and cheese, in order to have it clean for writing. He had also
given him a letter to post, which he had forgotten to do. The
handwriting was exactly like that on the card. Another witness said
that he knew Myers by sight perfectly; that later in the day, as he was
taking a cut across some fields near the cliffs, he had seen him seated
under a tree, and that he was either loading or cleaning a pistol of the
size and shape of the one now produced. Indeed there was ample
circumstantial evidence to enable Mr Gibson to issue a warrant for the
apprehension of Myers on a charge of murder, whenever and wherever he
could be found. A reward was afterwards offered to whoever should
capture him. It is very extraordinary that the cave could not be
discovered, nor could we gain any information about the goods which had
been seen. Of Myers himself no tidings could be obtained. There was no
doubt that he had committed the murder, and he must have been aware that
many of his old friends might be tempted by the prospect of the reward
to deliver him up, should he venture again among them. The general
opinion was, therefore, that we should hear nothing more of him. We,
however, continued cruising in search of his lugger; but, though we
chased at different times several craft which we thought might be his,
we never got them within range of our guns. We, however, captured
several other smuggling vessels, and made prize of a considerable number
of tubs. The latter we picked up, either floating out at sea, or we got
them by groping after they had been sunk. Smuggling vessels carry a
considerable portion of their cargo lashed along outside, just above the
water. When hard pressed these are cut away, and the rest are thrown
overboard, so that when overhauled, nothing contraband may be found on
board. When within a short distance of land, so that marks on the shore
can be seen, weights are attached to the tubs, which are all fastened
together; and the marks being observed, so that the spot should be known
again, they are sunk. Sometimes we saw them being hove overboard and
sunk; and then, of course, we did our best to get them again. We at
length took a longer cruise than usual, and were for some time knocking
about in the longitude of Plymouth, and that turbulent portion of the
aqueous world--the Chops of the Channel. There was a light wind and a
smooth sea, and we were dodging along under easy sail, being in no hurry
to get anywhere. I was walking the deck with Hanks, talking on matters
doubtless very erudite and abstruse; but I now forget what they were.
Scriven was casting up his accounts--literally, not metaphorically, be
it understood; Growl was endeavouring to forget his cares, with eyes
fast closed, on two chairs in the gun-room; and our Commander was below,
reading.
"D'Arcy, I have taken a fancy to you, and I want to give you some good
advice," remarked my companion, after some time. "Just remember what I
say, and it will be useful to you in elbowing your way, as you must,
through this crowded world. First, then, keep that potato-trap of yours
shut, except when you want to catch potatoes in it; and your eyes and
ears open on all occasions. There is little harm in knowing a thing,
but there is a very great deal in repeating it; and much harm often in
letting others be aware that you do know it. Then, my boy, always
remember to look before you leap, and not to let go one rope before you
have a firm gripe of another. You pretty boys from green Erin's Isle
are too apt to do things in a hurry--to knock a fellow down, and then to
ask his pardon, on finding that he wasn't the man you intended to floor;
like the Irish soldier officer who declared that anchovies grew on the
walls of Gibraltar, and when he had shot his friend for doubting his
statement, recollected that it was capers he meant."
I laughed at Hanks' old story, though it was a hit against my
countrymen; for I have always found it far better to laugh off anything
said against one's self, than to put on the dignities and to look grand.
Laughter and good humour are like polished shields, which make the
shafts of satire glance off on either side; but sulkiness and dignity
are sure to bring them thick around them.
Our conversation was interrupted by the cry of "A sail on the weather
bow!" The wind was about south-east, and the cutter's head was up
Channel. I went to report her to the Commander, who immediately came on
deck, and, looking at her attentively through his glass, ordered a boat
to be lowered. He then returned below, and brought up a package.
"Mr D'Arcy," said he--and I felt very grand to be so called,--"take
this parcel on board yonder ship. I think I know her. If she is bound
to ---, leave it with the master, to be delivered immediately on his
arrival; if not, bring it back." I forget now the name of the place he
mentioned.
"Ay, ay, sir," I answered; and jumping into the boat, shoved off. Jack
Stretcher, who, in consequence of his behaviour with the smugglers, had
gained the estimation of all on board, was with me in the boat. Away we
pulled towards the ship with rapid strokes, for we knew that the faster
we pulled the less distance we should have to go. We were about
half-way between the cutter and the ship, when a bank of mist came
rolling slowly along from the southern horizon, the opposite extremities
seeming to close in, till a circle was formed around us, still, however,
having the cutter and the ship within its confines. On we rowed, the
circle growing smaller and smaller, till, by the time we reached the
ship, our own vessel was completely shrouded from view. As I knew
exactly where she was, that did not trouble me. The ship proved to be
the one I was sent to board--the _Ajax_, I think, was her name.
I delivered my despatches. The master asked me down into the cabin to
take a glass of wine, which it would have been against the principles of
a midshipman to refuse. I took two or three, and ate some cold chicken
and ham into the bargain. There were, I remember, a number of
passengers, who were very civil, and some gave me letters to take on
shore; indeed it is just possible that one of the reasons why I was so
hospitably entertained was that time might be obtained to finish and
close the said letters. At last the package of farewells, last words,
and before-forgotten directions, being ready, I tumbled with it into the
boat, and shoved off to return to the cutter.
I calculated that she bore about north-north-west from the ship; and not
having a compass, the last thing I did was to take a careful glance at
the one on board. I then pulled away, thinking that I should not lose
sight of the merchantman before we got hold of our own craft. In about
ten minutes I found that I was not a little mistaken. I had told
Stretcher, who was pulling stroke-oar, to keep his eye on the ship,
while I, meantime, was looking out for the cutter. Every moment I
expected to see her; but, as we advanced, the fog appeared to rise up
with redoubled thickness around us; and my difficulty was still further
increased when Jack Stretcher exclaimed--
"I can't see the ship nowhere, sir! She was there not a moment ago, and
just as I passed my hand over my brow, she was gone."
"Well, we must pull on," I exclaimed. "If we keep the breeze on the
starboard quarter, we cannot be far wrong."
However, not many minutes afterwards, the wind, true to its proverbial
character of fickleness, died away, and we were left without any guide
by which to steer our course across the trackless deep. Still we pulled
on, I fancied, in the direction of the coast. We should have been wise
had we laid on our oars, and gone to sleep. As I could not see ahead, I
steered by the wake astern, and was under the impression that I was
keeping a wonderfully straight line. How long we had gone on I can
scarcely tell, when we heard the sound of a gun booming along the water;
but, instead of coming from the direction in which we were steering, it
seemed to be astern of us. Still we thought it must be the cutter
firing. The men even declared that they knew the sound of the gun. The
probability was, certainly, that it was her gun, as she would be sure to
fire to show her whereabouts to us; and it was not likely that any other
vessel near us would be firing for a similar purpose. Although I was
very confident, from the straight wake I fancied I had kept, that Jack
was mistaken, and that the sound of the gun had come from some other
vessel, yet I yielded to his opinion, and pulled in the direction whence
we thought it proceeded. We had not made good a quarter of a mile when
we again heard the sound; but still, to our surprise and vexation, it
was indubitably right astern.
"That gun's from the cutter, sir," said Jack; "but I can't make it out
how it comes from away there."
No more could I; but determined this time, at all events, not to miss
our vessel, we pulled away directly towards the spot whence we were
certain the sound proceeded.
"Give way, my lads, we shall soon be up with her," I shouted; and the
crew sent the boat flying through the smooth water. I kept looking out
on either bow for the cutter, expecting every instant to see her looming
through the fog; when, for the third time, a gun was heard, but in spite
of all our hopes and expectations, and almost against our belief, it
also sounded right astern, and further away than any of the others. I
was ready to cry with vexation. It seemed like the work of magic, and
as if a set of mischievous imps or spirits, like those on Prospero's
island, were employed in trying our tempers and patience. There seemed
no use in going on thus, to be constantly baulked; so I ordered the men
to lay on their oars, resolved to wait either till the mist cleared off,
or till we could devise some better means of finding our way to the
shore than we now possessed. Thus for an hour or more we floated
listlessly on the water.