I FIND MY LADY BIDDY, AND WE DESPOIL OUR ENEMIES; WITH OTHER FACETIOUS
MATTER.
The moment I concluded that those wretches at the foot of the ravine
were carrying off Lady Biddy I threw myself down the rocks to her
rescue; and had the chances of breaking my neck thereby been a
hundredfold as great I should not have hesitated. For I considered that
it was by my fault she had been taken, and that therefore I owed my life
for hers; indeed, I valued not my life as a straw, save as it might be
of service to her, for what use was life to me without her? I might as
well be dead and forgotten as alive and she lost; nay better, for to
live bereft for ever of her, or in doubt as to her fate, would be
continual misery and the cause of never-abating self-reproach.
With these thoughts running confusedly in my head and urging me to
desperate leaps which I had never dared to attempt in cooler blood, I
descended that rocky gorge like any bounding ball, till coming to level
ground, I spied half a dozen fellows clustered together in the shadow of
a rock round one who was slicing a pine-nut to share among them. But no
Lady Biddy could I see; nor was there any sign of her between them and
the boat which lay hard by in the creek, as I have said.
By this time, the heat of my spirits being somewhat abated I reasoned
with myself that to attack those six men, unarmed as I was, would be a
piece of foolhardy madness which could do her no good, nor me neither,
except as the cutting of my throat would put me out of my present
anxiety, and that if I was to rescue her at all it must be by cunning.
Whereof I set myself to approach them unseen, that I might learn, if
possible, where they had bestowed their captive, and this I did without
great difficulty, for hereabouts were many scattered stones and abundant
growth of prickly shrubs, ground-palms, and the like.
Being come so nigh them that I could hear their remarks upon the fruit
they were eating, which seemed entirely to occupy their thoughts, I
waited for the conversation to take another turn. Presently one of them,
flinging himself on the ground, says:
"Well, mates, I take it we've done work enough for this bout, so here
shall I lie at my ease till it be time to fill the barricoes and get
back a ship-board."
"Ay, I'm with you there, Jack," says another, following his example.
The rest were not slow to lie down likewise, save one, who, scratching
his head, says:
"How about this here female we are to carry back alive or dead?"
"Plague take her, say I, and the likes of her," grunted he who spoke
first. "What do we want of females? She's brought us no luck, and I'd as
soon see a rat in the ship."
"So say I," chimed in his mate. "The other fellows have gone after her,
and let them catch her if they may. For my own part I wish her no worse
luck than to give them leg-bail and lose herself in these woods. You
don't catch me running after no females till I get back to Penzance."
Hearing this I was struck with amazement, and could not too much admire
my folly in rushing headlong into danger without proper occasion. For
now I readily perceived what was the fact, that Lady Biddy, awaking
after my departure, had caught sight of the men at the foot of the gorge
and taken measures to conceal herself from discovery should they ascend.
While thus hidden she had seen me come upon that point of rock, and to
attract my attention, had called me by name as loud as she dared. My
descent had been too furious for her to stop me by her further cries,
which were lost upon my ear; and thus, in going to her, as I thought,
had drawn myself away.
However, it was with a glad heart that I perceived my folly, and
stealthily withdrew from those men whom a few minutes earlier I was like
to have fallen among, and turned to follow the course of the torrent to
the level above.
I made short work of this business when I was fairly out of sight of the
seamen, and before long I again heard that sweet voice calling, "Benet,
Benet!" upon which, casting my eyes eagerly about, I descried my dear
Lady Biddy in a little natural cavern formed by two leaning rocks. She
clasped her hands, and her face beamed with joy to see me again; but if
she was pleased--lord! what was I? Then we sat down together and
narrated our experiences, I blaming myself hugely for my headstrong
conduct; yet still she smiled.
"Won't you be angry with me, Lady Biddy, for my rashness?" says I.
"Nay," says she; "you may blame yourself, but I cannot; for was it not
to save me you encountered this danger? Since it has ended thus, I can
but be pleased with this proof of your devotion. Yet, when I call again,
I would not have you run away."
Then we were silent awhile; I know not why, except that I was too happy
to speak.
But presently, reflecting on the dangers we had escaped, and considering
how we might yet be encompassed by those who had given us chase on the
sands--for, if one parcel of wretches came hither by accident, why might
not the rest?--it came into my head that if we could descend and possess
ourselves of the empty boat while the men were yet sleeping, we might
come to the other side of the river, and so secure ourselves from
pursuit. This scheme did so recommend itself to me that I at once
propounded it to Lady Biddy.
"Have you not run enough risk, Benet?" she asked, a little frightened by
the audacity of my design.
"Ay," says I; "and 'tis for that very reason I would put that broad
river betwixt us and the recurrence of such risks."
"As you will," says she, with spirit. "If it ought to be done, you shall
not find me wanting in courage."
I gave her my reasons for thinking it should be attempted, and she was
the first to rise, saying, as she did so:
"I am ready. Let us set about it at once."
So, with good heart, we started to encounter this new peril.
First of all we followed the stream of waterfalls till we found a part
where we could cross to the other side, and, getting over without great
difficulty, we scaled the further slope, that from the ridge we might
discover some other way of reaching the river-side than by the gorge.
And here we found the hillside clothed with a very dense wood, having
but little undergrowth because of the shade. By running from tree to
tree we managed very well to break the descent, and came at length into
wet ground; but in these parts there is no danger or hardship in wetting
the feet; so along this level we made our way till we came to a great
growth of reeds that stood like a green wall before us. Here we went up
a little, for the reeds betokened deeper water, besides being a harbor
for cockodrills and water-snakes; then, pushing on still further, we
reached the end of that reedy growth, and perceived we were come to the
creek where the stream discharged itself, and not a stone's throw from
the boat. Whereupon I bade Lady Biddy wait there patiently awhile, and
crept forward, under cover of the bush, until I caught sight of the
seamen. They were all asleep like so many logs, and most of them on
their faces, as is the manner of mariners when they slumber.
Coming from my cover I stepped into the stream, which spread out and was
of considerable depth, and carefully waded to the boat, unhitched the
head line from the bush to which it was attached, and letting it swing
out into the current drew it as gently as might be to that spot where
Lady Biddy was waiting in pale concern.
I beckoned to her, and she came boldly out and stepped noiselessly into
the boat; then got I in after her, and, taking up an oar, shoved gently
out over the shoal until I had depth and room to ply my oars. Still was
I obliged to be stealthy, for we were yet within gunshot, and the
fellows had their muskets with them; nor had they left a weapon in the
boat save only one sword, which, however, was a treasure to me. So then
I pulled for some while very gently, but getting a furlong from the
shore I laid to with a will; and it was a great delight to see how Lady
Biddy did smile and rub her hands together for glee.
Now, being out a good way, I saw that this was no river at all, so far
as I could make out, but only a great lake of water made by the stream
that rushed down the hills and flooded the valley in the rainy season.
There was no break in the chain of hills that environed us, and we were,
as it seemed, in the centre of a prodigious hollow. And these slopes
were all clothed with trees in bloom (the flowering season not yet being
over), and wherever the eye rested it was delighted with glowing hues,
brilliant where the sun fell, and delicate in the shade, so that looking
around it was as if a thick haze of color rose from these woods.
"It is like a land of faerie," said Lady Biddy; and, indeed, it did seem
like enchantment. Yet was I sorry this was not a river, but only a kind
of lagoon; however, I knew it would cost our pursuers a week to get at
us by going round the lake by those thick, tangled woods; nor could they
fetch another boat to our pursuit without giving us ample time for
escape.
As we neared the opposite shore the chain of mountains disappeared
behind the nearer hills, which showed that they were at a considerable
distance; but this gave me no great concern. Nor did I cast my eyes that
way frequently, being more intent to see if the fellows had discovered
the loss of their boat. We reached the shore, and yet I could see no
sign of their moving, though I plainly descried the rock against which
they lay.
We had fallen down a little towards the sea by reason of a current where
the lake, as I call it, disembogued into the sea beyond the bar of sand,
so that when we landed we perceived the black ship lying out at her
moorings, but happily at a great distance.
I pulled the boat into the bank, which was here washed by the current
free of the refuse that lay upon the other side, and having helped Lady
Biddy to land, I fetched the sword out of the boat, and drawing it from
its scabbard found it was as a good sword as any could wish to have,
which was a great comfort to me.
While I was making fast the boat I was startled by a loud thump in the
hinder part of it; but upon opening the locker to see what might have
caused this noise, I discovered then to my great delight a _tortugua_[1]
lying on his back. Then, calling Lady Biddy, I bade her come and look at
the supper our enemies had provided for us. At first she was frightened
at the sight of this poor, inoffensive creature, never having seen the
like before; but when I told her that it was excellent meat as any
prince might eat, she was as pleased as I, being by this time pretty
sharp set. Then, having both a mind to make our supper whilst we might,
she set about to gather sticks for a fire while I dispatched the
tortugua and cut some steaks ready for dressing with my sword-blade, for
other cutlery had we none.
[Footnote 1: Turtle.--F. B.]
While I was still at this business, Lady Biddy comes back with her arms
full of sticks, and very cheerful.
"But, Benet," says she, of a sudden, dropping the wood and turning
aghast, "what is the use of wood with nothing to light it?"
So I showed her how to get fire by rubbing two bits of touchwood
together, and to see us on our knees blowing the embers into a flame,
choking as the smoke got into our throats, and laughing as we rubbed our
smarting eyes, all as merry as grigs, one would have thought we had come
there a pleasuring and had no trouble in the world. It is clear enough
why I was happy, but I can only explain Lady Biddy's lightness of heart
by contrasting her present condition with the days and nights of terror
and bitter suffering that had gone before.
Be that how it may, I know this, that, as we knelt before the fire
cooking our steaks on the end of sticks, we had to lay them down for
laughing, when we heard the poor fools on the other side of the lake
firing off their muskets in rage to find their boat gone, and to see the
smoke of the fire at which we were cooking their tortugua for our own
comfort. Indeed, to think of the plight of those who did seek to do us
mortal hurt--one party cursing in the midst of tearing thorns, and the
other with no means of getting back to their ship but by threading
intricate woods, with a sorry reception when they showed themselves to
their captain at last--was enough to make any cat laugh.