Into the welcome security of the fog they plunged, and dashed on
impetuously, regardless of danger to themselves or other ships from
collision, and heedless of the rules about half-speed.
"Now is our chance!" growled the Captain, "and we'll not lose it. If
the fog's only deep enough the cruiser will not see us again this side
the Atlantic."
The fog closed round in damp clinging wraiths, affecting everyone not
only with an acute feeling of discomfort, but with a sense of impending
misfortune. The sea, visible only for a few yards, came with a heave
out of the white bank and went by into mysterious obscurity with a
subdued swish, while the ship went on wailing hoarsely. Those on deck
thrust their hands deep into their pockets, hunched their shoulders, and
stared with white faces at the drifting mists and the beads of wet on
the ropes. Between the hoarse, choking cries of the foghorn there was a
heavy silence, in which the ear was strained to detect some sound of
life beyond the impenetrable cloak, and the silence was unbroken by any
word or motion, for each man stood where he was when the ship dashed
into this mantle of death--an obscurity that is worse than the blackest
of southern midnights, and is more dreaded by the mariner than the sound
of breakers on a lee shore. A seagull appearing out of nowhere, swooped
upon the ship with a startling cry, and disappeared like a wraith of fog
more solid than the other gliding and twisting coils of mist. And the
steamer plunged on, wailing and roaring in an ecstasy of mingled fear
and rage as though it also felt the depressing influence. Each one was
impressed with an actual sense of insecurity in the headlong speed of
the craft; the vibration from the stroke of the engines appeared too
great for the stability of the frame; the dip and roll seemed to be at a
perilous angle, and dark forms shaped themselves ahead, threatening the
horrors of a collision. These, it is true, melted away, being but
darker masses of fog, charged, probably, with imprisoned volumes of
smoke from another steamer; but the presence of this smoke, judged soon
for what it was by its acrid smell, disclosed the imminence of the very
danger they had anticipated. At any moment there might loom out of the
mist a solid mass in place of these darker patches, and at the speed
they were going nothing could prevent the shock and dread disaster of a
collision.
"Keep a good lookout forward, Mr Webster," sang out the Captain, in
tones that were muffled as though he were calling from a well.
"We are doing that, sir," said Webster, who had gone forward as soon as
the fog bank was entered; "but the spray is blinding."
The Captain growled under his breath, poked his nose against the
binnacle, and then glanced into the driving mist overhead.
"It's lightening above, Mr Hume, eh?"
"Yes, sir; but there appears to be a strong streamer of smoke on the
port side."
"Ay, I noticed it before; but it certainly is thicker. I'll give 'em a
call."
The steamer's siren sent forth a rending cry from its brazen throat.
Almost immediately there came a response--a wild, hoarse roar
terminating in a frantic screech.
"Where away, Mr Webster?"
"Port, sir."
"Starboard, sir."
"Dead ahead!" were the conflicting cries.
The siren flung another wild cry into the wet gloom--a cry that was at
once imploring, menacing, and complaining.
It was answered again by a roar as of a great sea beast in fear of pain.
Then followed a deep silence, while every man strained his eyes.
At the same instant they saw her, a great mass looming out suddenly just
ahead.
"Starboard!" shouted the Captain, in a voice of thunder.
The _Swift_ leant over as she answered to her helm. There was a noise
of shouting from the towering decks of the strange steamer, a feeling of
impending doom, as her iron side rolled over towards the low craft, but
next instant she was swallowed up in the gloom astern.
The Captain drew a long breath, and the men turned and looked at each
other in silence, their faces still white and fixed.
"That was a close shave, Mr Hume?"
"Yes, sir," said Frank, wiping his forehead; "I'd rather be in daylight
with the cruiser opening fire than pass through such a moment again."
"Ay, my lad, it was touch and go, and by the mercy of a good seaman at
the wheel we didn't touch."
Webster came with a swing up the steps, and clapped Frank on the back.
"I told you she'd drown you before you'd have done with her."
"Well, I'm not drowned yet."
"No; but, by gum, you were near it! Did you see the cook's face at the
gangway when we rushed by? Lord, I nearly died with laughter at his
sudden gasp, and I shouldn't wonder but he's got his mouth open yet. By
the way, the Commodore's down at the cuddy door, and by the same token
she's got her mouth open in surprise. Why not go down and tell her the
news?"
Frank accepted the hint, and very soon was beside a tall figure, dimly
seen in the shadow of the door; but, having got so far, he was at a loss
to proceed. It was a stilted form of address to call her "madam;" "Miss
Laura" was at once too familiar, and smacked of servility. Why had they
not told him her name and have done with it; why, in fact, could she not
tell it him herself? Having now mastered his first boyish fears and awe
of her beauty, and warmly conscious that he stood on a different footing
to her since he had boldly lifted her in his arms, he determined to
brush away the mystery which hedged her in.
"I beg your pardon," he said, "but I hope you will forgive me for
obeying the Captain's orders just now."
"Ah! is that you, Mr Hume? Can you tell me how we are getting on,
since I am not able to judge for myself?" She spoke gently, and he
caught the gleam of a smile.
"You must admit that, though the Captain was somewhat peremptory, the
necessity was urgent."
"And you must admit, Mr Hume, that he was obeyed with singular
promptitude, which told of distinct pleasure on your part at the
prospect of relieving the bridge of my presence. But still, you have
not told me of our position."
"We are well away from the cruiser, and when we have pierced this bank
of fog, which we may do soon, as it is growing lighter, we should be
free from danger of pursuit. Pray, however, do not think that we wished
to keep the bridge to ourselves, and if I was presumptuous to act
promptly, it was because I was anxious for your safety. You have not
said whether you forgive me?"
"Is my safety, then, of any interest to you?" she said, turning her eyes
upon him, and laying a hand upon his arm with the look and action of a
born coquette.
"Not with me only," he said earnestly, "but, if a new shipmate may say
so, with every member of the crew. Mr Webster told me his heart was in
his mouth when he saw you in danger."
"He is a brave fellow," she said softly, "and modest with it all--a man
who would give his life with a smile for anyone he liked. It sometimes
distresses me to think that I should have led him and the others upon
this venture, dangerous as it must be."
"Will you share in the danger?"
"Assuredly. This boat is mine. I had bought it when it was seized by
the Customs. The enterprise is of my planning, and what danger there is
will be shared by me." She lifted her head as she spoke.
"Why should you venture upon anything that brings danger to yourself?
Surely you have friends, relatives, who would have acted for you?"
She stood silent for some time, and looked at him curiously for his
boldness.
"I have only one relative, Mr Hume, and he is my father, a prisoner in
the hands of Balmaceda. It is to rescue him that I have risked the
passage of the Thames, and if I cannot save his life I will die with
him." There was subdued passion in her voice, and her hands were
clenched.
"Your father a prisoner in Brazil! How can they imprison an
Englishman?"
"He is no Englishman. My father is Manuel da Gama Lobo de Anstrade,
Colonel in the Army, and member of a noble Spanish family, treacherously
seized by that ruffian President."
"But you--surely you are of English descent?"
"My mother was English, Mr Hume, and I have been educated in England."
She paused for some moments, then continued quickly: "I have told you
more than is known by any on board, except Mr Commins and Captain
Pardoe. But I am seldom misled, and I am sure you will respect my
confidence."
"I will, Miss de Anstrade."
"You must not mention my name. If you knew the Brazilians you would
understand. Were this ship to fall into the hands of the President's
party, and my name were discovered, there would be little mercy shown.
Ah! what fiendish punishment they can devise! Luiz, my brother, they
made him walk blindfolded over the precipice at Garanagua."
She spoke scarcely above a whisper, but with an intentness that thrilled
her listener, and her eyes were fixed before her, wide open and
gleaming. He had seen that look before, as she stood on the bridge
gazing into the tossing seas ahead, and yet seeing nothing. Now he knew
that a terrible picture was before her eyes.
Instinctively he took her hand.
"I am grieved I should have awakened these memories," he said gently.
"You have not awakened them, my friend; they are burnt in."
He stood there in silence, holding her hand, which was like a lump of
ice in his warm grasp, and which she allowed to remain there,
unconscious of his touch. He could mark the hollow under her eyes, the
lines of pain between her dark brows, and he sighed.
She sighed too; her mind came back from its troubled wanderings in the
far Brazil, and she looked down at her hand, drawing it away, and
regarding him with haughty disfavour.
"I am sorry," he said.
"You are strangely daring, Mr Hume."
"My thought was to show my sympathy, and I could not find words."
"It is true. You English are slow of speech, but quick to act. That is
why, in this matter, I am trusting to my mother's countrymen."
"Will you trust me also, my Captain?"
"You! But we are to land you at Madeira."
"I am in your service already for a time; will you not engage me
permanently?"
"But you do not understand. We cannot hope to escape the Brazilian
warships without a fight, and they are but the first of the dangers to
be met and overcome."
"And yet you will face those dangers?"
"For my father's freedom!"
"But Mr Webster, Captain Pardoe, these sailors, what of them?"
"They are men accustomed to danger; they know the risks they run, and
are satisfied with their reward."
He flushed at this plain speech, but continued:
"And yet a few hours ago you urged me to help you?"
"And you at first declined?"
"I knew nothing then; but now you have taken me into your confidence,
and I would be a poor thing, indeed, if I were to step ashore at the
first opportunity. I may not be able to do much, but--"
"You will see I do not run into needless danger--is that it, Mr Hume?"
she said, with a smile. "I accept your services, sir," she added
slowly; "but I do so with a sadness at my heart that warns me of
impending trouble. I hope it bodes no ill to you. My mind is fixed
upon this enterprise; but, oh! often in the night my heart is heavy with
forebodings, so that I could abandon myself to the relief of womanly
tears, if I only dared. It is not an easy task, this," she went on,
with a tremble in her voice, "for a girl to be alone among strange men;
but my father, pale and stern, beckons me on, and my brother--oh, my
brother!"
Her voice gave way, and she put her hand to her eyes; then, as he stood
by pale, distressed, with an oppression in his throat, she thrust her
hand forth with a wild gesture, and swept by him to the bridge. Frank
stood awhile, then went slowly forward.
When, with a start, he came out of his reverie, it was to find the ship
free of the fog, and dashing along in the grey of the evening towards
the golden glory of an exquisite sunset. The sea stretched away to
where glowed a rim of molten gold upon the horizon; and from this
glowing band there shot streaks of fire into the sky, and rippling bars
of silver on the waters, while the deepening dusk turned the blue of the
ocean to a wonderful hue, shading from grey to deep black.