Another storm seemed to have gathered in Dartmoor--a terrible storm,
which sent the rain down in sheets, which creaked and groaned as they
washed to and fro, and every now and then struck against the rocks with
a noise like thunder. Great stones seemed to be torn up and thrown here
and there, making the shepherds shout as they tried to keep their flocks
together under the shelter of some granite for, while down by the falls
at the salmon-pool the water came over as it had never come before.
Nic had a faint recollection of his fight with Humpy Dee, and of some
one coming to take his part, with the result that they were all tangled
up together till they were forced beneath the water. This must have
separated them, so that he was quite alone now, being carried round and
round the pool, rising and falling in a regular way, till he came
beneath the falls, when down came the tons of water upon his head,
driving him beneath the surface, to glide on in the darkness, feeling
sick and half-suffocated, while his head burned and throbbed as if it
would burst.
It did not seem to matter much, but it appeared very strange; and this
must be drowning, but it took such a long time, and went on and on,
repeating itself in the same way as if it would never end.
That part of it was very strange, too--that light; and it puzzled Nic
exceedingly, for it seemed to be impossible that he should be going
round and round in the salmon-pool, to be sucked under the falls, and
feel the water come thundering upon his head with a crash and creak and
groan, and in the midst of it for a lanthorn to come slowly along till
it was quite close to him, and voices to be heard.
After seeing it again and again, he felt that he understood what it was.
He had been drowned, and they were coming with a lanthorn to look for
his body; but they never found it, though they came and stood talking
about him over and over again.
At last he heard what was said quite plainly, but he only knew one voice
out of the three that spoke, and he could not make out whose that was.
The voice said, "Better, sir, to-day;" and another voice said, "Oh yes,
you're getting all right now: head's healing nicely. The sooner you get
up on deck and find your sea-legs the better."
"Oh, I shall be all right there, sir."
"Been to sea before?"
"In fishing craft, sir--often. But would you mind telling me, sir,
where we're going?"
"Oh, you'll know soon enough, my lad. Well: America and the West
Indies."
"This must be a dream," thought Nic; and he was lying wondering, when
the light was suddenly held close to him, and he could see over his head
beams and planks and iron rings and ropes, which made it all more
puzzling than ever.
Then a cool hand touched his brow, and it seemed as if a bandage was
removed, cool water laved the part which ached and burned, and a fresh
bandage was fastened on.
"Won't die, will he, sir?" said the voice Nic knew but could not quite
make out.
"Oh no, not now, my lad. He has had a near shave, and been none the
better for knocking about in this storm; but he's young and healthy, and
the fever is not quite so high this morning.--Hold the light nearer,
Jeffs.--Hallo! Look at his eyes; he can hear what we say.--Coming
round, then, my lad?"
"Yes," said Nic feebly, "round and round. The falls will not come on my
head any more, will they?"
_Crash_--_rush_! and Nic groaned, for down came the water again, and the
young man nearly swooned in his agony, while a deathly sensation of
giddiness attacked him.
"Head seems to be all right now," said the third voice.
"Yes, healing nicely; but he ought to have been sent ashore to the
hospital."
"Oh, I don't know. Bit of practice."
The roar and rush ceased, and the terrible sinking sensation passed off
a little.
"Drink this, my lad," said a voice, and Nic felt himself raised;
something nasty was trickled between his lips, and he was lowered down
again, and it was dark, while the burning pain, the giddiness, and the
going round the pool and under the falls went on over and over in a
dreamy, distant way once more. Then there was a long, drowsy space, and
the sound of the falls grew subdued.
At last Nic lay puzzling his weary, confused head as to the meaning of a
strange creaking, and a peculiar rising and falling, and why it was that
he did not feel wet.
Just then from out of the darkness there was a low whistling sound,
which he recognised as part of a tune he had often heard, and it was so
pleasant to hear that he lay quite still listening till it ended, when
he fell asleep, and seemed to wake again directly, with the melody of
the old country ditty being repeated softly close at hand.
"Who's that?" he said at last; and there was a start, and a voice--that
voice he could not make out--cried:
"Hullo, Master Nic! glad to hear you speak zensible again."
"Speak--sensible--why shouldn't I?"
"I d'know, zir. But you have been going it a rum 'un. Feel better?"
"Feel--better. I don't know. Who is it?"
"Me, sir."
"Yes, yes," cried Nic querulously; "but who is it?"
"Pete Burge, sir."
"Pete--Burge," said Nic thoughtfully, and he lay very still trying to
think; but he could not manage it, for the water in the pool seemed to
be bearing him along, and now he was gliding up, and then down again,
while his companion kept on talk, talk, talk, in a low murmur, and all
was blank once more.
Then a change came, and Nic lay thinking a little more clearly.
"Are you there, Pete Burge?" he said.
"Yes, I'm here, master."
"What was that you were saying to me just now?"
"Just now?" said the man wonderingly. "Well, you do go on queer, zir.
That was the day afore yes'day. But I zay, you are better now, aren't
you?"
"Better? I don't know. I thought I was drowned."
"Poor lad!" said Pete softly; but it seemed to sting Nic.
"What do you mean by that?" he said feebly.
"Zorry for you, master."
"Why?"
"'Cause you've been zo bad."
"Been so bad?" said Nic thoughtfully. "Why have I been so bad? It's
very strange."
Pete Burge made no reply, and there was silence again, till it was
broken by Nic, who said suddenly:
"Have you been very bad too?"
"Me, zir? Yes, horrid. Thought I was going to the locker, as they call
it. Doctor zaid I ought to have been took to the hospital."
"Were you nearly drowned?" said Nic after a pause, during which he had
to fight hard to keep his thinking power under control.
"Was I nearly drowned, zir?" said the man, with a low chuckle. "Zeems
to me I was nearly everythinged. Head smashed, chopped, choked, and
drowned too."
Nic was silent again, for he could not take in so many ideas as this at
once, and it was some minutes before he could collect himself for
another question.
"But you are better now?"
"Oh yes, zir, I'm better now. Doctor zays I'm to get up to-morrow."
"The doctor! Was that the doctor whom I heard talking yesterday?"
"Yes: two of 'em; they've pulled uz round wonderful. You frightened me
horrid, master, the way you went on, and just when I was most bad. You
made me feel it was all my fault, and I couldn't zleep for thinking that
if you died I'd killed you. But I zay, master, you won't die now, will
you?"
"How absurd!" said Nic, with a weak laugh. "Of course not. Why should
I die now?"
"Ah, why indeed, when you're getting better?"
There was another silence before Nic began again.
"I've been wondering," he said, "why it is that we can be going round
the salmon-pool like this, and yet be lying here talking about the
doctor and being bad."
"Ay, 'tis rum, sir."
"Yes, it puzzles me. Look here; didn't we have a fight with you and
your men to-night?"
"We had a big fight, sir; but it waren't to-night."
"But it's quite dark still, and I suppose it's my head being giddy that
makes me feel that we're going up and down."
"Oh no, it aren't, zir," said the man, laughing; "we're going up and
down bad enough. Not zo bad as we have been."
"And round and round?"
"No; not going round, master."
"But where are we?" said Nic eagerly.
"Ah, that puzzles you, do it, zir? Well, it puzzled me at first, till I
asked; and then the doctor zaid we was in the cockpit, but I haven't
heard any battle-cocks crowing, and you can't zee now, it's zo dark.
Black enough, though, for a pit."
"Cockpit--cockpit!" said Nic. "Why, that's on board ship."
"To be zure."
"But we are not on board ship?"
"Aren't we?" said the man.
"I--I don't understand," cried Nic after a pause. "My head is all
confused and strange. Tell me what it all means."
Pete Burge was silent.
"Poor lad!" he said to himself; "how's he going to take it when he knows
all?"
"You do not speak," said Nic excitedly. "Ah! I am beginning to think
clearly now. You came with the men after the salmon?"
"Ay, worse luck. I didn't want to, but I had to go."
"Come," said Nic sharply. "To-night, wasn't it?"
"Nay. It's 'bout three weeks ago, master."
This announcement, though almost a repetition, seemed to stun Nic for
the time; but he began again:
"We had a desperate fight, didn't we?"
"Worst I was ever in."
"And--yes, I remember; we were struggling in the pool when the sailors
came."
"That's it, master; you've got it now."
"But your side won, then, and I'm a prisoner?"
"Nay; your side won, master."
"How can that be?" cried Nic.
"'Cause it is. They was too many for uz. They come down like thunder
on uz, and 'fore we knowed where we was we was tied up in twos and being
marched away."
"Our side won?" said Nic, in his confusion.
"That's right, master. You zee, they told Humpy Dee and the rest to
give in, and they wouldn't; so the zailor officer wouldn't stand no
nonsense. His men begun with sticks; but, as our zide made a big fight
of it, they whips out their cutlashes and used them. I got one chop,
and you nearly had it, and when two or three more had had a taste of the
sharp edge they begun to give in; and, as I telled you, next thing we
was tied two and two and marched down to the river, pitched into the
bottoms of two boats, and rowed aboard a ship as zet zail at once; and
next night we was pitched down into the boats again and hoisted aboard
this ship, as was lying off Plymouth waiting to start."
"Waiting to sail?"
"That's right, master! And I s'pose she went off at once, but I was too
bad to know anything about it. When I could begin to understand I was
lying here in this hammock, and the doctor telled me."
"One moment. Where are the others?"
"All aboard, sir--that is, twenty-two with uz."
"Some of our men too?"
"Nay, zir; on'y our gang."
"But I don't understand, quite," said Nic pitifully. "I want to know
why they have brought me. Tell me, Pete Burge--my head is getting
confused again--tell me why I am here."
"Mistake, I s'pose, sir. Thought, zeeing you all rough-looking and
covered with blood, as you was one of us."
Nic lay with his head turned in the speaker's direction, battling with
the horrible despairing thoughts which came like a flood over his
disordered brain; but they were too much for him. He tried to speak;
but the dark waters of the pool were there again, and the next minute he
felt as if he had been drawn by the current beneath the fall, and all
was mental darkness and the old confusion once more.