THE RETURN TO THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER
John Scoble could have not the slightest suspicion that the magnificent
steamer in the offing, which had come to the relief of his ship’s
company and passengers, was the property of Mrs. Belgrave’s son, or
even that Louis was within a thousand miles of him. Doubtless the
captain of the Maud believed that he had accomplished all that he
had attempted, and that not even the accident of his shipwreck could
deprive him of the fruits of his victory over Louis and his friends.
He had obtained full possession of the lady he still insisted upon
calling his wife; and it could not have occurred to him that the son
was able, or would ever be able, to wrest her from his grasp, either
by force or by strategy. The beautiful steamer, less than half a mile
distant, whose boats had come to his assistance, was bound to Bermuda,
or at least would land his party at St. George or Hamilton. He was
perfectly confident that he was the master of the situation.
As he had learned from the various exciting interviews with Scoble,
Louis was aware that the persecutor of his mother did not know that
the missing million had been discovered, and certainly not that the
purchase-money of the elegant steamer off the reef had been paid from
this resource. The young millionaire had not deemed it advisable to
give him this information, for Scoble would not believe him if he did
so. The treasure was still his coveted object.
The blinding spray that broke entirely over the wreck did not permit
any one on the deck to examine the faces of those in the first cutter
when the rope thrown by the mate was made fast in the fore-sheets. The
hull of the schooner had careened over to leeward till the mainmast,
the only remaining spar, extended out over the water at an angle of
about forty-five degrees; and the cutter had brought up directly under
it, as Mr. Boulong intended, in order to carry out a plan he had formed
as soon as he understood the position of the wreck.
Under the lee of the Maud’s hull the water was not so violently
agitated as in every other situation. Still, it was impossible to go
alongside the wreck without the peril of dashing the boat to pieces.
The wreck itself, the bottom of which was by this time ground out
of her on the sharp rocks, had a dangerous motion; and it was only
a question of minutes when it would be torn in pieces. There was
certainly no time to lose; and the mate, with his plan all ready,
proceeded to execute it without a moment’s delay.
“Bangs and Williams, I have some sharp work for you,” said Mr. Boulong
with energy. “Are you ready to run some risk? If not, say so.”
“All ready, sir!” shouted both of the bow oarsmen together. “Not a man
in this ship’s company will go back on his duty!” added Bangs.
“Not one, sir!” roared Williams.
The mate took a purchase from the bottom of the boat rigged with a
strong line, and passed it to the men in the bow.
“Now, Bangs, board the wreck with this line,” continued Mr. Boulong in
a very loud tone, which the noisy sea and the grinding hull rendered
necessary. “You will follow him, Williams. Make fast the purchase about
twenty feet up the main rigging! Rig a sling for the lady, and lower
her into the boat!”
“Ay, ay, sir!” responded the two men.
With the rope fastened around his body, Bangs began the ascent of the
fast which held the boat. The mate ordered the two men who were to
remain in the boat to back water with their oars with all their might,
in order to keep the rope as stiff as possible. But it was a perilous
enterprise; and more than once Bangs was swept under water by the
slackening of the line. If he had not been a bold, brave fellow, he
would have given up the attempt in despair. He struggled with the waves
that ingulfed him frequently; and, after a desperate battle with the
elements, he reached the wreck, where he was assisted over the bulwark
by the two seamen of the schooner.
Louis had taken one of the spare oars, and was pulling with all his
strength to keep the cutter at its distance from the wreck. The mate
took the remaining oar and joined in the work, while Williams, with
the block of the purchase tied to his belt, began to climb the fast.
Either because there was a momentary lull in the gale, or because the
additional oars kept the cutter steadier, the bold seaman made his way
to the deck of the Maud with comparatively little difficulty.
The purchase was hauled on board from the boat; and Bangs, without the
loss of an instant, ran up the main rigging with the block in his hand.
Williams followed him as soon as he could catch his breath,--for he had
been under water several times in his passage up the line,--with the
purchase-rope tied around him. The mast swayed badly under the pressure
of the heavy seas; but the work was speedily accomplished. The mate had
rigged the slings in the cutter, and they had been hauled to the deck.
Suddenly there was a violent commotion in the forward part of the
wreck, and the grinding and snapping of planks and timbers could be
heard. The stump of the bowsprit, which had been broken off when
the foremast went, by the board, dropped into the boiling sea. The
forecastle was lifted up as though a charge of dynamite had wrenched it
from its position; the whole forward part of the hull crumbled away,
and these portions of the wreck were tossed in every direction by the
savage waves.
“She is going to pieces!” cried Louis, as he witnessed the destruction
of this part of the wreck.
“Not yet!” shouted Mr. Boulong. “The forward part is broken off where
the step of the foremast was ground out of her. She may hold on some
time yet.”
“My mother is still on board of her,” groaned Louis, as he sprang to
the fore-sheets of the cutter.
He had thrown off his coat and hat when he began to row, and, without
announcing his intention, he threw himself upon the fast which held the
boat, and began to climb up as the two seamen had done. He had not
made six feet before he was submerged by the loosing of the rope. The
mate saw his peril, and the three men pulled with all their might till
the young millionaire rose from the water and renewed his effort.
“Come back, Mr. Belgrave! For Heaven’s sake come back!” yelled Mr.
Boulong in an agony of suspense; for he knew that the young man was not
a sailor, and he fully expected to see him drop exhausted into the sea.
The mate and his two men made their oars bend with their earnestness
to keep the cutter at her distance. Louis did not heed the call of
Mr. Boulong, but struggled on his way to the deck of the wreck. His
mother was in peril there, in deadly peril, as her son understood it,
after the whole bow of the vessel had been carried away. He would have
believed that he was a coward if he had retreated from the holiest duty
on earth.
There were moments when the tempest lulled a little, and one of these
brief intervals, as well as the tremendous efforts of the mate and his
men in the boat, favored him, and he succeeded in reaching the bulwarks
of the stranded craft, where Bangs hauled him in, very nearly exhausted
by his tremendous exertions. The purchase and slings were all ready for
use, and Bangs rushed to the waist, where Mrs. Belgrave and Felix were
awaiting their fate or their salvation, which ever it might be.
The strong arm of the seaman encircled her, and conducted her in safety
to the mainmast. By this time Louis had partially recovered his
breath, and he seized his mother in his arms as the seamen released her
to attend to the slings. She was blinded with spray, but she was calmer
than any of the crew of the Maud. Her prayers had strengthened her, and
prepared her for a grave beneath the wild waves.
“Mother!” exclaimed Louis, as he pressed her to his bosom with a sort
of wild rapture. “Not a word, mother! You shall be saved!”
Nothing more was said, for the business of saving her was paramount in
his mind. Bangs rigged the sling, and seated her in it, very much as
she had sat in a swing when she was a child. Then with some lanyards he
tied her to the ropes, so that she could not have fallen out if she had
taken no care for her safety.
“Here, you blackguard!” shouted Williams, as he seized one of the
seamen of the Maud who was in the act of getting on the rope to make
his way to the cutter. “If another mother’s son of you attempts to get
into that boat, I will fling him overboard! We save the ladies first!”
“Don’t be frightened, mother,” said Louis, as the two sailors began to
heave on the purchase-rope. “You will be put into the boat without any
danger.”
“I am not frightened, Louis; I am in the hands of the Lord, and I
shall be saved if it his will, my son,” she replied, as she kissed and
embraced him, perhaps thinking it might be the last time in this world.
As the men heaved on the line, Mrs. Belgrave rose in the air, and Louis
passed her over the bulwark. The block of the purchase had been rigged
directly over the cutter by Bangs, and as soon as the passenger had
been raised to the shrouds, the sailors lowered her, Louis attending
to the guy rope which had been attached to her. With the oars those in
the cutter kept it as steady as possible; Mr. Boulong received her in
his strong arms, and in a few moments more she was seated in the stern
sheets.
“It is your turn next, Flix,” said Louis, who had had no time to do
anything more than shake his crony by the hand.
Felix objected, and insisted that Louis should descend next; but the
owner directed Bangs to put him in the sling, and he submitted. In a
few moments more he was in the boat. The owner of the Guardian-Mother
had not so far encountered Scoble, or Frinks his mate; and there were
only two seamen on board, besides Kimpton.
“It is your turn now, Mr. Belgrave,” said Bangs, as he rigged the sling
for a third passenger.
“I am all ready,” replied Louis, who had no desire to remain any longer.
At this moment Scoble came on deck from the cabin with his hands full
of various articles which he was doubtless anxious to save, for he must
have had a considerable sum of money in his possession. He staggered
up to the foot of the mainmast where Bangs was rigging the sling for
the owner of the steamer, for it was not an easy thing to walk on that
uneasy deck, even for a sailor. But he looked as though he had been
drinking too much brandy.
“I will be the next one to go in the boat,” said he, his speech as
thick as though his tongue was double its natural size. “I don’t want
to be separated from my wife.”
“She is no longer your wife!” said Louis in a very earnest tone.
“Louis!” exclaimed Scoble, starting back as though he had seen an
apparition. “How came you here?”
But Bangs did not suspend his preparations, and in a moment more Louis
was ready for the descent. Very likely the sight of his late stepson
roused his anger, assisted by the spirit he had taken, and he insisted
that he should go next. When he began to lay violent hands on Louis,
Bangs waited for nothing more, but knocked him half-way across the deck
with a single blow of his fist. Before he could recover, the owner was
swinging in the air, and was presently deposited in the boat.
The second cutter had come up and made fast to the stern of the first.
Mr. Boulong had three passengers now, and he decided to take no more,
as there were only five more on the wreck. The other boat was hauled
up to the fast, and secured to it. Two of the oarsmen were transferred
from the second to the first cutter, and the second officer was
directed to take off those that remained. It was a very rough passage,
but the three persons were safely taken on board of the Guardian-Mother.