THE TABLES TURNED--CONSOLE MYSELF WITH THE FIDDLE--SET THE FRENCHMEN
DANCING--CAPTAIN DIDOT--MY PLACE OF IMPRISONMENT--ESCAPE--GREATER
DANGER--FRIGHTEN MY FRIENDS.
Everything was going on as tranquilly as possible. Hanks was sweeping
the horizon with his glass, looking out for the cutter, when suddenly,
without the slightest warning, I saw the sentry's pistol knocked out of
his fist, and he himself hove headlong into the sea. Away flew the
skipper's cigar, and up he jumped as lively as a cricket, and, with two
of his men, threw himself upon Hanks, who, taken unawares (his eyes
engaged in his telescope), was bundled overboard. I tried to catch him
by the leg, but his old blue trousers tore in my grasp, and a big
Frenchman dealt me such a blow on the head that I was for an instant
stunned.
When I came to my senses, I saw the wherry dropping astern, and the
Frenchmen, with pump-handles and boat-hooks, striking at the poor
fellows they had hove overboard, with the foul intent of drowning them.
I observed that somebody was in the wherry, for her sails were being
hoisted, and I was bolting aft for the purpose of jumping into the water
and swimming to her, when the skipper caught me by the arm. "Stay, my
little fellow," he exclaimed; "we don't want to hurt you, and don't want
witnesses to this work. You must go with us."
While he was speaking, some of the smugglers had got hold of the muskets
which our people had brought on board, and presenting them at the
wherry, snapped the locks. Fortunately they were not loaded, or the
priming had fallen out, and the villains were saved from the
perpetration of further crimes.
The men in the water swam towards the wherry, and I judged from her
movements that those in her were engaged in picking them up. I sang out
and struggled in vain; but the Frenchman held me fast, and finally, to
save himself further trouble, lifted me up by the collar and shoved me
down the companion-hatch into the cabin, closing the slide over me.
There was I, like a mouse caught in a trap. At first I burst into a fit
of tears, more from rage and indignation at being outwitted and
surprised by the Frenchman than from the prospect in store for me, which
was not, however, very pleasant. I might expect to be kept a prisoner
in some out-of-the-way place in France, or perhaps, to be shipped to the
other side of the globe and to be unable to return home for years to
come. I made ineffectual attempts to get on deck to see what had become
of Hanks and our men; but as I could not move the slide, I was obliged
to sit down quietly in the cabin. My melting mood was soon over.
"Better now," thought I to myself. "I won't let these big blackguards
of Frenchmen see me down-hearted, any how. For the honour of old
Ireland and the name of D'Arcy, I'll put a bold face on the matter," and
I began to sing.
There was a row on deck, and a great deal of jabbering; and the little
vessel heeled over to the breeze; but I had no means of discovering what
was taking place, nor where we were going.
The only light let into the vessel was through a bulls-eye in the deck,
so that at first I thought I was shut up in darkness. As, however, my
sight got accustomed to the glimmer, I discovered a fiddle and bow hung
up against the bulkhead.
"Come," thought I, "I'll show the froggies that, though they may shut me
up, they can't damp my spirits in a hurry," and seizing the instrument,
I struck up an Irish jig. It was the most jolly tune I could recollect,
and seldom failed to move the heels of all who heard it. I played away
for some time without any notice being taken of my music; then I heard
one fellow begin to shuffle away overhead, and then another, and
presently it appeared as if the whole crew were toeing and heeling it in
fine style. Then there were loud fits of laughter; and afterwards the
slide was withdrawn and the skipper descended into the cabin.
"Vell, you are, _bon garcon_, one merry fellow," he said, laughing.
"You make good use of my violin."
"I am fond of music, and play when I can," I answered in an indifferent
tone; "but I'm tired now, and intend to go to sleep."
"Well, but I have come to take you on deck to play to my people," said
he. "They are pleased with you, and it will be better for you if you
do."
"What! you ask me to play for the amusement of the men who have been
ill-treating my shipmates, and murdering them, for what I know to the
contrary," I answered, indignantly. "No! I played for my own
amusement, and do not intend to play any more."
"Your shipmates attacked us first; and besides, my little man, we have
not murdered them, or done them much harm either, except depriving them
of your company, and of a few muskets and pistols," he answered. "Take
my advice: be as obliging as you can; they will be civil to you in
return."
"Well, monsieur, I believe you are right," I replied. "If they really
have not hurt my brother officer and our men, I will fiddle for them as
long as they like."
Saying this, I followed him on deck, where I seated myself on the
companion-hatch; and as I played away, in spite of the tumbling of the
little vessel in the heavy sea running, all the Frenchmen, including
Monsieur Didot, kept skipping, and jumping, and whirling about, hugging
each other like bears, and shouting with glee at having saved their
cargo from the clutches of the revenue people. We were standing,
close-hauled, towards the French coast. I looked anxiously for the
wherry, for I thought Hanks would have followed; but she was nowhere in
sight. One of the Englishmen was at the helm, and the other two were
forward. They were sulky brutes, and seemed much more bitter against me
than were the Frenchmen. Whenever I ceased playing, the skipper gave me
a hint to go on again; and there sat I, one of His Majesty's officers,
scraping away on an old Cremona for the amusement of a set of smugglers
and outlaws. The scene struck me as so ludicrous that I burst into a
loud fit of laughter till the tears began to stream down my cheeks. I
fiddled all the faster, till the delight of the Frenchmen knew no
bounds; and as a proof of their regard, some of them came up and
actually almost hugged the breath out of my body, calling me a brave
_garcon_, a jolly _garcon_ and an ornament to my country. This fun
continued till we made the land, about dark. Some time afterwards, I
found that we were running into a small harbour, with a pier on one side
and a lighthouse on it. Its name I could not learn; but I supposed it
was somewhere to the eastward of Cherbourg. I was trying to make out
the look of the place, when the captain, touching me on the shoulder,
said, "Go down below, _my boy_; when I want you I will come for you."
There was that in his tone which showed me that it would be useless to
dispute his orders; so I returned to the cabin. Finding a berth with
some bed-clothes in it, I crept in, and coiling myself away, was soon,
fast asleep. I was awoke after some time by the skipper's voice. He
was holding up a lantern, and looking round, seemingly much surprised at
not seeing me. He laughed as I poked my head out of my crib.
"Ah, _mon petit_, you make yourself at home wherever you go," he
exclaimed. "But get up; you must come with me, and I will find a worthy
lady who will take good care of you for some time to come."
I answered that I was very much obliged to him, but that I wanted to
return home as soon as possible.
"Ah, that cannot be," said he, in a quiet tone. "I am sorry to
inconvenience you; but you will allow that it is better to be kept a
prisoner than to have been thrown overboard as food for the fish."
"Much obliged to you, monsieur," I replied. "I cannot dispute your
reasoning; so just be good enough to tell me what you want me to do."
"To get up and come with me," said he; "and listen, my young friend,--if
you attempt to run away, I will simply blow your brains out. I don't
wish you any harm, as I have proved; but necessity compels me to be
explicit."
I did not know whether or not he was in earnest; but as it is dangerous
to trifle with a man who has the power to put so unpleasant a threat in
execution, I thought it wisest to obey him. I accordingly followed him
on deck, when he took my hand and led me along a plank which was thrown
from the vessel to the shore. We walked through the narrow street of a
village odoriferous of fish, and then out into the country, which in
agreeable contrast smelt of fresh grass and flowers. Proceeding along a
road which, by looking at the stars overhead, I judged ran inland, we
reached a farm-house, standing a little back from the road. The
smuggler knocked with his fist at the floor, but no one answered, nor
was any light seen through the windows. We waited some further time
without receiving any answer to our summons.
"_Morbleu_! I forgot the hour; they have all gone to bed. I must knock
again," said he, giving several thundering blows on the door.
At length a female voice asked who was there.
"It is Captain Didot and a friend; open quick, good Madeleine," he said
in French. "We are tired and hungry and sleepy, and wish to be inside
instead of outside your door."
"Ah! it is you, Monsieur Didot, I know full well," answered the voice.
"I will let you in."
We were, however, kept some time longer, and at last the door opened,
and a young woman made her appearance, dressed in a high white cap and
short petticoats, dark woollen stockings, and wooden shoes, but very
neat and trim. I had never before seen a woman in so odd a rig. She
smiled a welcome to my companion, and shutting the door behind us, a
good deal of talking took place; but though I could manage to make out
Captain Didot's French, I did not understand a word she said. We then
went into a nice clean parlour, with a red-brick floor, and sat down and
talked again. Suddenly, up jumped the lady in the high cap, and after
an absence of ten minutes or so, returned with a tray covered with
eatables and drinkables. I instinctively drew my chair to the table at
the sight without waiting to be bid, whereat our hostess smiled, and
observed that the _pauvre enfant_ was hungry. Captain Didot took the
hint and helped me; nor did he forget himself; and setting to work, we
made a very capital supper.
"I must now be off," observed Monsieur Didot, as he came to an anchor;
"but before I go, I must give you a caution, Monsieur Englishman. You
are not to make your appearance outside these garden walls for the next
fortnight. If you attempt to get away, ill-will come of it. Remember
that madame here will take care of you, and you may have as much fruit
to eat and wine to drink as you like; and now, good night, my friend.
You hear, do you not?"
I did hear; but I was so very sleepy that I could not recollect enough
French to answer him. While he continued talking to madame, I dropped
off asleep in my chair, and for long in my dreams I heard the buzz of
their voices. When I was at last awoke, by feeling a hand placed on my
shoulder, the smuggling captain was gone.
"Come," said the good-natured woman; "you want rest, my boy;" and taking
a candle, she led me into a neat little room with a comfortable bed in
it, where I very soon forgot myself in slumber.
The next morning, when I turned out, I found that I was an occupant of a
comfortable farm-house, with a garden attached, full of fruit-trees and
vegetables. An old man and his wife made their appearance, and I
discovered that the young woman who had received us the previous night
was their daughter. While we were at breakfast, I heard the old couple
complaining of Captain Didot for having brought me there. They
evidently fancied that I did not understand French.
"He will be getting us into trouble with his tricks, one of these days,"
remarked the old lady. "Ah! Madeleine, my daughter, it would be much
wiser in you to have nothing more to say to him."
Mademoiselle looked very glum, as if she did not like the counsel. I
pretended to be deeply absorbed, discussing the fresh eggs and other
eatables placed before me.
"Ha, ha!" thought I to myself; "I see how the wind blows. They will not
dare, then, to keep me a prisoner longer than I like to stay. Well, I'm
very comfortable here at present; so I will spend a day or so with the
good people."
I saw that I was narrowly watched wherever I went; but I did not forget
the French skipper's advice to take advantage of the fine fruit with
which the garden abounded. When Madeleine saw that I was apparently
contented, we became very good friends; and I must own that I spent the
day not unpleasantly. I began, however, to reflect that I had no
business to remain where I was if I had the power of getting away; so I
turned in my mind how I could best make my escape. I guessed that to do
so would not be quite so easy as at first appeared; for I had observed a
labourer continually near me, and I remarked that whenever I went to a
distant part of the garden his occupation invariably took him in the
same direction.
"Somehow or other I must manage to make a run for it," thought I to
myself; but when I came to examine the locality, I found that the garden
was surrounded with fields and ditches; and though I might swim across
the latter, I should certainly have been caught and made very
uncomfortable and dirty into the bargain. I therefore gave up that
idea, and amused myself in the best way I could. I helped Mademoiselle
Madeleine in her poultry-yard and dairy, looked in on the old lady
employed in her culinary affairs, walked over the farm with the old man,
and chatted in my somewhat unintelligible French, with every one I met.
Happening to go into my own room in the evening, I found the window
open, and looking out, I saw that the height from the sill to the ground
was not more than from twelve to fifteen feet.
"Ho, ho!" thought I; "it will be a foolish bird which can't get out of a
cage like this; but I will bide my time." I hurried away, and ran
downstairs, where I was soon after summoned to supper. I made myself
quite at home, and did not fail to do justice to the meal. The
household went to rest early, and as soon as I fancied every one was
asleep I got up from my bed, where I had thrown myself, and reconnoitred
the ground. To avoid the risk of laming myself by a jump, I tied my
sheets together, and secured them to the leg of a table, which I managed
to jam between the shutter and the wall so as to prevent its slipping;
and placing my hat tightly on my head, and buttoning up my coat, I let
myself quietly down to the ground. I was afraid of awakening some one
in the house should I run, as I felt inclined to do; so I crept softly
away, till I had got to some distance, and then took to my heels, as
fast as I could go, in the direction of the town or fishing village
where I had landed. After going for some distance, I thought that I
must have missed my way; but the murmur of the water on the beach
assured me that I had taken the right direction. At last I found myself
among some straggling cottages, my nose helping me to find the locality
I was in search of. My first care was to look out for the lugger, to
avoid her. Much to my satisfaction, she was not there, neither was any
one moving on the quay; so I walked about till I found a shed somewhat
less odorous than its neighbours, where I determined to take up my abode
till daylight. Here I quickly made myself a nest with some ropes and
spars--albeit not a very soft one,--and fell fast asleep. Having the
necessity of being alert on my mind, I awoke just as dawn was breaking,
and, jumping up, I ran down to the quay. The flapping of a sail told me
that some one was astir, and, looking round, I saw at the end of the
quay a cutter preparing to get under weigh.
"Cutter ahoy!" I sung out, running the chance of anybody understanding
me. "Where are you bound for?"
"Hillo; who are you?" asked a voice in English.
"I want a cast across the Channel," I answered.
"Well, come aboard, and we'll see what we can do for you," said the same
speaker.
I accordingly ran along the quay, and jumped on the cutter's deck just
as her last warp was cast off. I had a rough Flushing coat buttoned up
close round me; and as I had on also a low tarpaulin hat, I thought I
looked the character I wished to assume. The people on board were
likewise too busy to afford me more than a passing glance as I sprung on
deck. A rough, weather-beaten old fellow, with one eye, who, from the
orders he issued, I knew to be the master, stood at the helm. His crew
consisted of seven hands--strong, active-looking fellows,--many more
than the craft required to work her. This circumstance at once made me
suspect that she was not over honest.
"Faith," thought I to myself, "this isn't the best place in the world
for a revenue officer to find himself in."
But it was now too late to get oh shore again. The headsheets were let
draw, the main eased off a little, the peak hoisted up, and, with a fair
breeze, the cutter glided out of the harbour.
"Well, youngster, you were not long in making up your mind about
coming," said the old skipper, scrutinising me, I thought, pretty
narrowly from head to foot. "What place are you bound for, eh?"