FACE TO FACE.
----"Ah me!
The world is full of meetings such as this."
--WILLIS.
"What next?"
It was Ranty who spoke in a deep, excited voice. Ray, white and
stone-like, stood with one arm resting on the mantel, his face shaded by
his heavy, falling hair, his deep breathing painfully breaking the
silence. Ah! in that moment how the gossamer wall of his sophistry was
swept away! He had flattered himself his resolution was strong enough to
keep him from loving Pet; but now, now that she was gone, and perhaps
forever, the truth stood glaring out in all its vividness, and he felt
that he loved her with his whole heart and soul, as only a strong,
fervid, passionate nature like his could love. His strong chest heaved
with an emotion too deep and intense for words; and as he thought of
her, alone and unprotected, in the power of those ruthless men, his very
respiration stopped, until it became painful to listen for its return.
Ranty's question roused him; and the necessity for immediate action
restored, in some measure, his customary calmness and clear-headed
energy.
"We ought instantly engage the services of the Judestown police, and
begin a vigorous search, I think," said Ranty.
"Search! have not the police and the revenue officers searched for this
infernal smugglers' den for the last six months without ceasing? and
yet they were as near finding it the first day as they are now."
"Then what is to be done?" said Ranty. "We must try some means to find
her, that is certain. Poor Pet! Oh! I always had a sort of presentiment
that mad girl would get herself into some scrape of that kind, sooner or
later. Hang the villains! I would like to swing every one of them to the
yard-arm myself."
"Ought you not to send word to your father?" suggested Erminie whose
face was perfectly colorless with fear for Pet.
"I suppose I ought; but where am I to find him? He has gone, as well as
Pet, and no one seems to know in what direction he may be found. The
smugglers can't surely have taken him, too."
"Though I know it will be fruitless, I see nothing for it but to follow
your advice, and inform the Judestown authorities. The shore in every
direction must be searched; for if heaven and earth has to be roused, we
must find your sister!" exclaimed Ray.
"What if they have taken her off to sea?" suggested Ranty.
Ray started violently for a moment, at the terrible idea; the next, a
contrary conviction settled in his mind and he said:
"I hardly think so; they would not be so precipitate. At all events, by
commencing a thorough search immediately we may discover some clue to
her whereabouts. We had best return immediately to Judestown, and enlist
all we can in the search."
"We will have no difficulty in finding volunteers for the hunt," said
Ranty. "Pet was always an immense favorite with every one, and the whole
town, I believe, would rise in a body to look for her, did we wish it. I
would not give much for Black Bart's life if he attempts to show himself
to the mob after they hear this."
So saying, the two passed out, mounted their horses, and set off for
Judestown.
If that morning had seemed long to Pet in her prison, doubly long did it
appear to Erminie, who, too uneasy and restless either to sit still or
work, paced up and down the room, or passed in and out of the cottage,
straining her eyes to catch a glimpse of the first who would come with
news of Pet. But the morning passed and no one came; and sick, weary,
and worn out with anxiety and disappointment, she sunk down on a seat,
and hid her face in her hands in a passionate burst of tears.
A heavy, plodding step coming up the graveled walk in front of the
cottage roused her, at last. She sprung to her feet, and stood with
cheeks flushed, lips parted, eyes dilated, and bosom heaving, with eager
expectation.
But it was only the admiral, who came stumping in, looking more
completely mystified and bewildered than any one had ever seen him
before in their lives.
"Helm-a-lee!" roared the admiral, thrusting his huge head in the room.
"What the dickens has little Firefly run afoul of now, or what's in the
wind, anyway?"
"Oh, Admiral Havenful! Pet's lost! been carried off by those dreadful
smugglers!" said Erminie, sinking back in a fresh burst of passionate
grief.
"Stand from under!" exclaimed the old sailor, in a slow, bewildered
tone, every reasoning faculty completely upset by this astounding
intelligence.
"Oh, it was my fault! it was my fault!" cried Erminie, with bitter
self-reproach. "I should not have allowed her to go last night at all.
Oh, I will never, never forgive my self as long as I live," and another
burst of tears followed the declaration.
"Stand from under!" reiterated the admiral, still "far wide"; "Firefly
carried off by the smugglers! Good Lord! Keep her round a point or so."
"They will take her off to sea, and she will never come back again. Oh,
Pet," wept Erminie in a wild outburst of grief.
"Now, Snowdrop, just hold on a minute, will you?" said the admiral,
facing briskly round. "Just stand by till we see how we're coming. The
question is, now, where's Firefly? That's the question, ain't it,
Snowdrop?"
Erminie's sobs were her only answer.
"Just stand by a minute longer, will you?" said the admiral, lifting up
the forefinger of his right hand, and aiming it at Erminie's head.
"Firefly's gone--sunk--went to the bottom, and no one left to tell the
tale--ain't that it, Snowdrop?"
Erminie, knowing the admiral must be answered, made a motion of assent.
"Now the question is," went on the admiral, bringing the finger down
upon the palm of his other hand, and looking fixedly at them; "the
question; what did Firefly run afoul of? She must have run afoul of
something, mustn't she, Snowdrop?"
"Y-e-s, I suppose so," said Erminie, not very clearly understanding the
admiral's logic.
"And that something she run afoul of is supposed to be smugglers. Port
your helm," roared the admiral, on whose somewhat obtuse mind the whole
affair was slowly beginning to dawn.
"Oh, Admiral Havenful! what do you think they will do with her? Surely
they will not kill her!" exclaimed Erminie looking up imploringly.
"Just you hold on a minute longer, will you, Snowdrop?" said the
admiral, looking fixedly at the fingers lying on his broad left palm,
"and don't you keep putting me out like this. Pet's run afoul of
smugglers; they have boarded her, and she's knocked under and
surrendered. Ain't that it, Snowdrop?"
"They have carried her off--yes, sir," wept Erminie.
"They have carried her off--yes, sir," slowly repeated the admiral, in
the same tone of intense thoughtfulness, "they have carried her off, but
where to? There it is, Snowdrop, where to?"
"Oh, I wish I knew! I wish I knew! If we could only discern that, all
would be well. Oh, dear, dear Pet!"
"Pet has run afoul of smugglers and been carried off, nobody knows
where. Stand from under!" yelled the admiral, in a perfect paroxysm of
grief and consternation, as the whole affair now burst in full force
upon him.
There was no reply from Erminie, who still wept in silent grief.
"Main topsail haul!" shouted the old man, in mingled rage and grief, as
it all dawned clearly upon his mind at last. "Pet's gone! Been
captivated; been boarded, scuttled, and sunk. Oh, perdition!" yelled the
admiral, jumping up and stamping up and down, grasping his wig with
both hands, in his tempest of grief. "Oh, Firefly, you dear, blessed
little angel! You darned, diabolical little fool! Going and trusting
your nose into every mischief that ever was invented. Oh, you darling,
merry little whirligig! You confounded, blamed, young demon! To go and
get yourself into such a scrape. Oh, if I only had hold of the villains!
They ought to be hung to the yard-arm, every blessed one of them. Oh,
Pet, my darling! By the body and bones of Paul Jones, you ought to be
thrashed within an inch of your life. Oh, oh, oh, oh!" roared the
admiral, in a final burst of grief, as he flung himself into his chair
and began a fierce mopping of his inflamed face.
While thus engaged, another step resounded without--a slow, lingering,
dejected step--and the next moment the pallid features, and mild blue
eyes of Mr. Toosypegs beamed upon them from the door.
"Orlando," shouted the afflicted admiral, "she's went and did it!
Firefly's gone and did it! Yes, Orlando, she's gone to Davy's locker, I
expect, before this, and the Lord have mercy on her soul!"
"Admiral Havenful, I'm really sorry to hear it, I really am," said Mr.
Toosypegs, wiping his eyes with the north-west corner of his yellow
bandanna. "I never felt so bad about anything in my life. I never did, I
assure you, Admiral Havenful. But why can't they go to Davy's locker
after her? I should think they wouldn't mind the expense in a case like
this."
"Orlando C. Toosypegs," said the admiral, severely; "I hope you don't
mean to poke fun at people in grief; because if you do, it shows a very
improper spirit on your part, and a total depravity I should be sorry to
see, Orlando Toosypegs."
"Why, my gracious!" said the astonished and aggrieved Mr. Toosypegs;
"what have I said? I'm sure, Admiral Havenful, I hadn't the remotest
idea of being funny, that ever was; and if I said anything that wasn't
right, I beg your pardon for it, and can assure you I never meant it."
"Well, then, enough said," testily interrupted the admiral. "Now,
Snowdrop, look here; what are they going to do about Pet?"
"Ray and Ranty have gone to Judestown to get the people to search. They
think she is somewhere along the beach, in some hidden cave the
smugglers have there."
"U-m-m! very good," said the admiral, nodding his head approvingly;
"perhaps they will find her yet. I'll go over to Judestown myself, and
ship along with the rest. We'll scour the whole coast; so that if she's
above water anywhere, we must find her."
"I'll go, too, Admiral Havenful," said Mr. Toosypegs, with more alacrity
than he usually betrayed; "that is, if you think there is no danger with
them smugglers. You don't think there is any danger, do you, Admiral
Havenful?"
"Blame them--yes!" roared the admiral, fiercely. "I wish to the Lord
Harry I could only come across some of them! I'll be blowed if I
wouldn't give them the confoundedest keel-hauling they ever got in their
lives! If you are afraid, Orlando Toosypegs," said the admiral, facing
round with savage abruptness, "stay at home! Any man that wouldn't
volunteer in a case like this, ought to be swung to the yard-arm and
left to feed the crows. You would be a blue lookout for the commander of
a privateer--wouldn't you?"
"Admiral Havenful," said Mr. Toosypegs, abashed and rather terrified by
this outburst, "I beg your pardon, and I ain't the least afraid. I'll go
with you, and do my best to help you to keel-haul the smugglers,
whatever that may be. Miss Minnie, good-by. Don't take on about it,
because we'll be sure to find Miss Pet and bring her home. I dare say
the smugglers will give her up, if they're only asked politely."
The admiral heard this comforting assurance with a snort of unspeakable
contempt, and then waddled out; and groaning bodily and mentally,
mounted Ringbone, and accompanied by Mr. Toosypegs, set out at the rate
of half a knot an hour to Judestown.
During the remainder of the day, Erminie was left alone, half wild with
alternate hope, terror, anxiety, expectation. Her busy fingers, for a
wonder, were idle now, as she passed continually in and out, watching,
with feverish impatience, the forest road, in the hope of seeing some
one who could give her some news of how the search progressed.
But night came, and no messenger had arrived to relieve her torturing
anxiety.
It was a sultry, star-lit night. Not a breath of air stirred the
motionless leaves of the forest trees, and the clear chirp of the
katy-did and lonely cry of the whippoorwill alone broke the oppressive
silence. Down on the shore below, she could faintly hear the dreary
murmur of the waves as they sighed softly to the shore; and at long
intervals the wild, piercing cry of some sea-bird would resound about
all, as it skimmed wildly across the dark, restless deep. The wide,
lonesome heath was as silent as the grave; and the long line of
cherry-red light that usually shone over it from the parlor-windows of
the White Squall was not visible to-night--the dreary darkness
betokening its master was away. The forest lay wrapped in somber gloom,
looming up, like some huge, dark shadow, in the light of the solemn,
beautiful stars.
All within the cottage was silent, too. Ketura had long ago retired, and
the negress, Lucy, was sleeping that deep, death-like sleep peculiar to
her race.
Standing in the shadow of the vine-shaded porch, Erminie watched with
restless impatience for the return of some one from Judestown--her whole
thought of Pet and her probable fate. Unceasingly she reproached herself
for having allowed her to depart at all that night; never pausing to
reflect how little Pet would have minded her entreaties to stay when she
took it into her willful little head to go.
The clock struck nine, and then ten; and still no one came.
Half-despairing of their return that night, Erminie was about to go in,
when the thunder of horses' hoofs coming through the forest road
arrested her steps.
The next moment horse and rider came dashing at a mad, excited gallop up
to the gate, and Ray leaped off and approached.
"Oh, Ray, is there any news of her? Is she found?" eagerly exclaimed
Erminie.
"No; nor is she likely to be as far as I can see," said Ray, gloomily.
"Not the slightest trace of her has been found, though the whole beach
has been searched, from one end to another. They have given it up now,
and gone home for to-night. Ranty and the admiral stay in Judestown all
night, and the hunt is to be resumed to-morrow, with the same success, I
suppose. They are mad--worse than mad--to think they will ever see her
again."
He flung himself into a chair, and leaned his head on his hand, while
his thick, jet-black hair fell heavily over his face.
Something in his look, tone, and attitude awed and stilled Erminie into
silence. Though her own gentle heart seemed bursting with grief, there
was a depth of passionate despair in his that repressed all outward sobs
and tears. In silence they remained for a while, she silently watching
him, and trying to choke back her sobs; and then, going over, she
touched him gently on the arm, and said:
"Dear Ray, let me get you some supper; you have tasted nothing since
early this morning."
"Supper! Do you think I could eat, now?" he cried, with fierce
impatience. "I do not want any. Go!"
"Dear Ray, do not look and speak so strangely. Perhaps you will find her
to-morrow."
"Perhaps--perhaps! When a man has lost all he loves in the world, there
is a great consolation in a cool 'perhaps he may find it again.' Do you
think those hell-hounds would spare her a moment, once they got her in
their power! Oh, Petronilla--bright, beautiful Petronilla! lost, lost,
forever!"
"Ray, Ray!" exclaimed Erminie, in low, terrified tones, as a new light
broke upon her, "did you love Petronilla?"
"Love?" he cried, with passionate fierceness, starting up and shaking
back his thick, dark hair. "Yes; I loved her with a love that you with
your gentle nature and calmly-beating heart can never dream of. I loved
her as only those can love whose veins, like mine, run fire instead of
blood. Now that she is forever lost to me, I may confess; what no living
mortal would ever have discovered else. Yes; I loved her! What do you
think of my presumption, little sister? I, the beggared grandson of a
despised gipsy, educated by the bounty of her uncle, dared to lift my
eyes to this heiress, beauty and belle--this proud daughter of a prouder
father. Loved her? Yes; beyond the power of words to tell!"
One white arm was around his neck, and Erminie's soft, pitying lips were
pressed to his forehead of flame. She did not speak--no words were
needed; that silent caress bespoke her deep sympathy.
He sat still and silent for a moment; and then he started up and seized
his hat to go.
"Are you going out again, Ray?" asked Erminie, surprised and uneasy.
"Yes; for an hour or so. I cannot stay here, with this fever fire in
heart and brain."
He walked rapidly away from the cottage, and, as if involuntarily, his
steps turned in the direction of the shore. Right over the shore, in one
place, the rocks projected in a sort of shelf not more than five feet
from the ground. Underneath they went in abruptly, and thus a sort of
natural roof was formed; and the sheltered place below had been the
favorite play-ground of his boyhood.
Up and down this ledge he paced, now, absorbed in his own bitter
thoughts, and totally unheeding the flight of time. One hour, two, three
passed; and still he remained, thinking of the lost one.
Suddenly he paused. Did his ears deceive him, or did he hear voices
underneath. His own steps were muffled by the velvety carpet of moss and
grass that covered the place, and he walked to the outer edge and
listened intently. Yes; there were voices underneath, talking in low,
cautious tones. His heart gave a great throb, and he got down on his
hands and knees and peered for one moment over the cliff. Right beneath
were some half-dozen rough, uncouth-looking fellows, in the garb of
sailors, and one of them, Black Bart, he remembered to have often seen
in Judestown. Had he discovered the smugglers' haunt at last?
Laying his head close to the ground, he could catch, at intervals, this
conversation:
"Yes; he's gone for good; cleared out when he found he must be
discovered. What a pretty mess you made out of it, Bart, taking the
wrong gal, after all," said one of them.
"Well, it wasn't my fault," growled Black Bart. "How was I to know one
from t'other? Serves the old sinner right, too, to get taken in. Curse
Garnet! This comes of trusting these infernal land-sharks."
"What a beautiful hunt they had over the beach to-day!" said another,
with a low chuckle. "They'll be at it to-morrow, too, and have their
labor for their pains. Well, cap'n, does the gal still stick to her
story that she ain't the one she ought to be?"
The reply to this was given in so low a tone that Ray could not hear it,
and in his intense eagerness he leaned further over to listen. But, as
he did so, he lost his balance. He strove to save himself, but in vain;
over he must go; and seeing there was no help for it, he took a flying
leap, and landed right in the midst of the astounded freebooters!
With interjections of surprise and alarm, half a dozen bright blades
instantly flashed in the moonlight; but ere any violence could be
offered, the tall form of the outlaw chief interposed between them, and
father and son stood face to face!