THE CRUISE IN THE FELUCCA.
Raimundo was very much disgusted when he
found that Bill Stout and Bark Lingall were to
be the companions of his flight. Thus far he had felt
that his conduct was justifiable. His uncle Manuel
had taught him to believe that his guardian intended to
“put him out of the way.” Don Alejandro had not
actually attempted to do any thing of this kind, so far
as was known; and no case could be made out against
him. Don Manuel did not mean that he should have
an opportunity to attempt any thing of the kind. Certainly
it was safer to keep out of his way, than to tempt
him to do a deed which his own brother believed he
was capable of doing. Raimundo thought Don Manuel
was right: indeed, he could remember enough of
Don Alejandro’s treatment of him before he left Barcelona,
to convince him of his guardian’s intentions.
But when he found himself in the boat, escaping
from the Tritonia with two of the worst “scalliwags”
of the crew, the case seemed to present a different
aspect to him. He realized that he was in bad company;
and he felt contaminated by their presence, Yet
he did not see how he could help himself. The only
way he could get out of the scrape was to surrender
to the chief steward, and in due time be handed over
to the agent of his guardian. Whether he was correct
or not in his estimate of his uncle’s character, he was
sincere in his belief that Don Alejandro intended to do
him harm, even to the sacrificing of his life. Independently
of his personal fears, he did not think it
would be right to give himself up to one who might be
tempted to do an evil deed. He concluded to make
the best of the situation, and as soon as possible to get
rid of his disagreeable companions.
“Where shall we go, Raimundo?” asked Bill Stout,
as confidentially as though he had been a part of the
enterprise from the beginning.
“We must go on shore, of course,” replied the
young Spaniard, who was not yet sufficiently reconciled
to the situation to be very cordial.
More than this, he had not yet considered what his
course should be when he had left the vessel; but it
occurred to him, as Bill asked the question, that the
_alguacil_, whose action had been fully reported to him
by Hugo, might be watching the vessel from the shore.
Raimundo looked about him to get a better idea of the
situation. The wind was from the north–west, which
swung the Prince so that she lay between the Tritonia
and the landing–place, and hid her hull from the view
of any one on the city side.
“I think we had better not land at any of the usual
places,” suggested Bark. “Marline, Rimmer, and all
the rest of the forward officers, are in charge of the
boats at the principal landing.”
“I had no idea of going to the city. It would not
be safe for me to show my face there,” answered Raimundo;
and he directed the boatman to pull to the
Barceloneta side of the port, and in such a direction as
to keep in the shadow of the vessels of the fleet.
The man offered to land them at a more convenient
place; but Raimundo insisted upon going to the point
indicated. Very likely the boatman suspected that his
passengers were not leaving the vessel to which they
belonged in a perfectly regular manner; but probably
this would not make any difference to him, as long as
he was well paid for his services. Presently the boat
grounded on some rocks at the foot of the sea–wall,
which rose high above them. As usual the boatman
was anxious to obtain another job; and he offered to
take them to any point they wished to go to.
“I will take you back to your ship when you are
ready to go,” continued the man with a smile, and a
twinkle of the eye, which was enough to show that he
did not believe they intended to return.
Raimundo replied that they had no further use for
the boat that day.
“I have a big boat like that,” persisted the man,
pointing to a felucca which was sailing down the bay.
The craft indicated was about thirty feet long, and
carried a large lateen sail.
“Where is she?” asked Raimundo, with interest.
The man pointed up the harbor, and said he could
have her ready in a few minutes.
“Do you go out to sea in her?”
“Oh, yes! go to Majorca in her,” replied the boatman,
quite excited at the prospect of a large job.
“Can you take us to Tarragona in her?” continued
the young Spaniard, to whom the felucca suggested
the best means of getting away from Barcelona.
“Certainly I can: there is no trouble about it.”
“How much shall you charge to take us there?”
“It is fifteen leagues to Tarragona,” replied the
boatman, who proceeded to magnify the difficulties of
the enterprise as soon as the price was demanded.
“Very well: we can go by the railroad,” added Raimundo,
who fully comprehended the object of the man.
“Your officers will see you if you go into the city,”
said the boatman, with a cunning smile.
There was no longer any doubt that the fellow fully
comprehended the situation, but the fugitive saw that
he would not betray them; for, if he did, he would lose
the job, which he evidently intended should be a profitable
one.
“Name your price,” he added; and he was willing
to pay liberally for the service he desired.
“Five hundred _reales_,” answered the man.
“Do you think we have so much money?” laughed
the fugitive. “We can’t make a bargain with you.”
“What will you give?” asked the boatman.
“Two hundred _reales_.”
After considerable haggling, the bargain was struck
at three hundred _reales_, or fifteen dollars; and this
was less than the fugitive had expected to pay. The
rest of the arrangements were readily made. Filipe,
for this was the name he gave, was afraid his passengers
would be captured while he went for his felucca;
and, keeping in the shadow of the sea–wall, he pulled
them around the point on which the old light–house
stands, and landed them on some rocks under the wall.
In this position they could not be seen from the vessels
of the fleet, or from the landing–place on the other
side, while the high wall concealed them from any
person on the shore who did not take the trouble to
look over at them.
“We shall want something to eat,” said Raimundo,
as the boatman was about to leave them. “Take this,
and buy as much bread and cold meat as you can with
it.”
Raimundo handed him three dollars in Spanish silver,
which Hugo had obtained for him. The large sum of
money he had was in Spanish gold, obtained in Genoa.
He had a few dollars in silver left for small expenses.
“What are we here for?” asked Bill Stout, who, of
course, had not understood a word of the conversation
of his companion and the boatman.
Both he and Bark had asked half a dozen times
what they were talking about; but Raimundo had not
answered them.
“What has been going on between you and that
fellow all this time?” asked Bill, in a tone so imperative
that the young officer did not like it at all.
“I have made a bargain with him to take us to
Tarragona,” replied Raimundo coldly.
“And did not say a word to Bark and me about it!”
exclaimed Bill.
“If you don’t like it you need not go. I did not
invite you to come with me.”
“Did not invite me!” sneered Bill. “I know you
didn’t; but we are in the party, and want you to understand
that we are no longer under your orders. You
needn’t take it upon yourself to make arrangements for
me.”
“I made the arrangement for myself, and I don’t
ask you to go with me,” answered Raimundo with
dignity.
“Come, come! Bill, dry up!” interposed Bark. “Do
you want to make a row now before we are fairly out
of the vessel?”
“I got out of the vessel to get clear of those snobs
of officers, and I am not going to have one of them
lording it over me here.”
“Nonsense! He hasn’t done any thing that you can
find fault with,” added Bark.
“He has made a trade with that boatman to take us
somewhere without saying a word to us about it,”
blustered Bill. “I want to put a check on that sort of
thing in the beginning.”
“He has done just the right thing. If we had been
alone we could not have managed the matter at all.”
“I could have managed it well enough myself.”
“You can’t speak a word of Spanish, nor I either.”
“I don’t even know where that place is—Dragona—or
whatever it is,” growled Bill.
“I am not to blame for your ignorance,” said Raimundo.
“You heard every thing that was said; and, if
you don’t like it, I am willing to get along without
you.”
“Come, Bill; we must not get up a row. Raimundo
has done the right thing, and for one I am very much
obliged to him,” continued Bark.
“He might have told us what he was about,” added
Bill, somewhat appeased by the words of his fellow–conspirator.
“We had no time to spare; and he could not stop to
tell the whole story twice over.”
“Where is the place we are going to?” demanded
Bill in the same sulky tone.
“Tarragona, a seaport town, south of here. How
far is it, Mr. Raimundo?”
“About fifty miles.”
“Will you tell us now, if you please, what arrangements
you made with the boatman?” continued Bark,
doing his best to smooth the ruffled feelings of the
young Spaniard.
“Certainly I will; but I want to say in the first
place that I had rather return to the Tritonia at once
than be bullied by Stout or by anybody else. I don’t
put on any airs, and I mean to treat everybody like a
gentleman. I am a Spaniard, and I will not be insulted
by any one,” said Raimundo, with as much dignity as
an hidalgo in Castile.
“I didn’t mean to insult you,” said Bill mildly.
“Let it pass; but, if it is repeated, we part company
at once, whatever the consequences,” added Raimundo,
who then proceeded to explain what had passed
between Filipe and himself.
The plan was entirely satisfactory to Bark; and so
it was to Bill, though he had not the grace to say so.
The villain had an itching to be the leader of whatever
was going on himself; and he was very much afraid
that the late second master of the Tritonia would
usurp this office if he did not make himself felt in the
beginning. He was rather cowed by the lofty stand
Raimundo had taken; and he had come to the conclusion
that he had better wait till the expedition was a
little farther along before he attempted to assert himself
again.
“Have you any money?” asked Raimundo, when he
had finished his explanation.
“Yes. Both of us have money; and we will pay our
share of the cost of the boat,” replied Bark, who was
ten times more of a man than his companion in mischief.
“Is it Spanish money?”
“No, not any of it. I have seven English sovereigns
in gold, and some silver. Bill has twelve sovereigns.
I can draw over eighty pounds on my letter of credit;
and Bill can get fifty on his.”
“I only wanted to know what ready money you had,”
added Raimundo. “You must not say a word about
money when we get into the felucca.”
“Why not?” asked Bill, in his surly way, as though
he was disposed to make another issue on this point.
“I don’t know the boatman; and it is very likely he
may have another man with him. There he comes,
and there is another man with him,” replied Raimundo,
as the felucca appeared off the light–house. “If you
should show them any large sum of money, or let them
know you had it, they might be tempted to throw us
overboard for the sake of getting it. Of course, I
don’t know that they would do any thing of the kind;
but it is best to be on the safe side.”
“Some of these Spaniards would cut a man’s throat
for half a dollar,” added Bill.
“So would some Americans; and they do it in New
York sometimes,” replied Raimundo warmly. “I repeat
it: don’t say a word about money.”
“The men in the boat cannot understand us if we
do,” suggested Bark.
“They may speak English, for aught I know.”
“The one you talked with could not.”
“I don’t know about that. I did not try him in
English. We must all pretend that we have very little
money, whether we do it in English or in Spanish.
When Filipe—that’s his name—asked me five hundred
_reales_ for taking us to Tarragona, I said that I
had not so much money.”
“And that was a lie; wasn’t it?” sneered Bill.
“If it was, it is on my conscience, and not yours;
and it may be a lie that will save your life and mine,”
answered Raimundo sharply.
“I don’t object to the lie; but I thought you, one of
the parson’s lambs, did object to such things,” chuckled
Bill.
“I hate a lie: I think falsehood is mean and ungentlemanly;
but I believe there is a wide difference
between a lie told to a sick man, or to prevent a boatman
from being tempted to cut your throat, and a lie
told to save you from the consequences of your own
misconduct.”
“Well, you needn’t preach: we are not chaplain’s
lambs,” growled Bill.
“Neither am I,” added Raimundo. “I am what
they call a Christian in Spain, and that is a Roman
Catholic. But here is the felucca. Now mind what I
have said, for your own safety.”
Filipe ran the bow of his craft up to the rocks on
which the fugitives were standing, and they leaped on
board of her. The boatman’s assistant shoved her off,
and in a moment more she was driving down the harbor
before the fresh breeze. The second man in the boat
was not more than twenty years old, while Filipe
was apparently about forty–five. He introduced his
companion as his son, and said his name was John
(_Juan_).
At the suggestion of Raimundo, the fugitives coiled
themselves away in the bottom of the felucca, so that
no inquisitive glass on board of the vessels or on the
shore should reveal their presence to any one that
wanted them. In this position they had an opportunity
to examine the craft that was to convey them out of the
reach of danger, as they hoped and believed. She was
not so large as the craft that Filipe had pointed out as
the model of his own; but she carried two sails, and
was decked over forward so as to form quite a roomy
cuddy. She was pointed at both ends, and sailed like
a yacht. It was about one o’clock when the party went
on board of her, and at her present rate of speed she
would reach her destination in six or seven hours. She
had the wind on her beam, and the indications were
that she would have it fair all the way. There was not
a cloud in the sky, and there was every promise of fair
weather for the rest of the day. When the felucca had
passed Monjuich, the party ventured to move about the
craft, as they were no longer in danger of being seen
from the city or the fleet; but they took the precaution
to keep out of sight when they passed any other craft
which might report them to their anxious friends in
Barcelona.
“What have you got to eat, Filipe?” asked Raimundo,
when the felucca was clear of the city.
“Plenty to eat and drink,” replied the skipper.
“Let me see what you have, for I am beginning to
have an appetite.”
[Illustration: “RAIMUNDO DID NOT HESITATE TO STRIKE HIM DOWN.” Page 172.]
Juan was directed to bring out the hamper of provisions
his father had purchased. Certainly there were
enough of them; but the quality was any thing but
satisfactory. Coarse black bread, sausages that looked
like Bolognas, and half a dozen bottles of cheap wine,
were the principal articles in the hamper. The whole
could not have cost half the money given to the boatman.
But Filipe insisted that he had paid a _peseta_
more than the sum handed him.
Raimundo inquired into this matter more because he
was anxious to know about the character of the man
than because he cared for the sum expended. He felt
that he was, in a measure, in this man’s power; and he
desired to ascertain what sort of a person he had to
deal with. If he was not wicked enough to cut the
throats of his passengers, or to throw them overboard
for their money, he might betray them when there was
no more money to be made out of them. The inquiry
was not at all satisfactory in its results. Filipe had
cheated him on the provisions; and Raimundo was
confident that he would do so in other matters to the
extent of his opportunities.
The food tasted better than it looked; and Raimundo
made a hearty meal, as did all the others on board,
including the boatmen. Raimundo would not drink
any of the wine; but his companions did so quite freely,
in spite of his caution. He noticed that Filipe urged
them to drink, and seemed to be vexed when he could
not induce him to taste the wine.
“Where are you going when you get to Tarragona?”
asked the boatman, when the collation was disposed of.
“I think I shall go to Cadiz, and join my ship when
she arrives there,” replied Raimundo.
“To Cadiz!” exclaimed Filipe. “How can you go
to Cadiz when you have no money?”
Raimundo saw that he had said too much, and that
the skipper wished to inquire into his finances.
“I shall get some money in Tarragona,” he replied;
but he did not deem it prudent to mention his letter of
credit.
Filipe continued to ply him with questions, which he
evaded answering as well as he could. He did his
best to produce the impression on his mind that he
had no money. The boatman asked him about his
companions, whether they could not let him have all
the money he wanted to enable him to reach Cadiz.
Why did they leave their ship if they had no money?
How did he expect to get money in Tarragona?
“How do I know that you will pay me if you are so
poor?” demanded Filipe, evidently much vexed at the
result of his inquiry.
“I have money enough to pay you, and a few dollars
more,” replied Raimundo.
“I don’t know: I think you had better pay me now,
before I go any farther.”
“No, I will not pay you till we get to Tarragona,”
replied the young Spaniard.
“I don’t know that you have money enough to pay
me,” persisted the boatman.
Raimundo took from his pocket the three isabelinos
he had reserved for the purpose of paying for the
boat, with the silver he had left, and showed them to
the rapacious skipper.
“That will convince you that I have the money,”
said he, as he returned the gold and silver to his
pocket.
He resolutely refused to pay for the boat till her
work was done. By this time Bill and Bark, overcome
by the wine they had drunk, were fast asleep in the
cuddy where they had gone at the invitation of the boatman.
Raimundo was inclined to join them; but the
skipper was a treacherous fellow, and it was not prudent
to do so. After all the man’s efforts to ascertain
what money he had, he was actually afraid the fellow
would attack him, and attempt to search his pockets.
There were brigands in Spain,—at least, a party had
been recently robbed by some in the south; and there
might be pirates as well. So confident was the passenger
of the evil intentions of Filipe, that he believed, if
he was not robbed, it would be because the man supposed
he had no more money than he had shown him.
He kept his eye on a spare tiller in the boat, which he
meant to use in self–defence if the occasion should
require.
Just before dark Bill and Bark, having slept off the
effect of the wine, awoke, and came out of the cuddy.
Filipe proposed that they should have supper before
dark, and ordered Juan to bring out the hamper.
Raimundo did not want any supper, and refused to eat
or drink. Bark and Bill were not hungry, and also
declined. Then the skipper urged them to drink.
“Don’t taste another drop,” said Raimundo earnestly.
“That man means mischief.”
“Do you mean to insult me?” demanded Filipe,
fixing a savage scowl upon Raimundo.
It was plain enough now that the man understood
English, though he had not yet spoken a word of it,
and had refused to answer when spoken to in that language.
At the same time he left the helm, which Juan
took as though he was beside his father for that purpose.
Raimundo leaped from his seat, with the tiller in
his hand; for he had kept his place where he could lay
his hand upon it.
“Stand by me!” shouted he to his companions.
Filipe rushed upon Raimundo, and attempted to
seize him by the throat. The young officer struck at
him with the tiller, but did not hit him. He dodged
the blow; but it fanned his wrath to the highest pitch.
Raimundo saw him thrust his hand into his breast–pocket;
and he was sure there was a knife there. He
raised his club again; but at this instant Bark Lingall
threw his arms around the boatman’s throat, and, jamming
his knees into his back, brought him down on his
face in the bottom of the boat.
“Hold him down! don’t let him up!” cried Raimundo.
Bark was a stout fellow; and he held on, in spite of
the struggles of the Spaniard. At this moment Juan
left the tiller, and rushed forward to take a hand in the
conflict, now that his father had got the worst of it. He
had a knife in his hand, and Raimundo did not hesitate
to strike him down with the heavy tiller; and he lay
senseless in the bottom of the felucca. The young
officer then went to the assistance of Bark Lingall;
and, in a few minutes more, they had bound the skipper
hand and foot, and lashed him down to the floor.