The morning passed over brightly and tranquilly, the sea was calm, the
sky, with the exception of a few faint gray streaks scattered about it
in different directions, was quite clear, the wind favourable, though
not full, and nothing was seen over the face of the ocean, but a few
scattering fishing boats, and the distant gleam of white sails making
their way to various points upon the horizon. There was a quietness in
the scene, a peaceful mildness in the aspect of the treacherous sea,
which brought a calm to the bosom of Lucy Effingham and Charles
Tyrrell. They felt as if the time which had passed before, had been a
period of turmoil and vexation, of grief, care, and anguish, and as if
now had begun another state, as if this was the first day of a
tranquil existence.
Toward three o'clock, however, not exactly to windward, but somewhat
more to the southeast, the blue of the sky which had extended at first
clear and distinct from the zenith to the horizon, began to change to
a sort of lead colour, as it approached the verge of the sea.
As the time went on, it grew deeper and deeper in hue, not separate,
and defined from the rest of the sky, but blending into the blue as it
approached the zenith, yet at the height of a few degrees above the
waves presenting the colour of a dark cloud. Across this, too, there
began to appear small detached masses of a cloud of a different
colour, a whitish or silvery gray, and Hailes and the captain, who had
passed the greater part of the day in walking up and down the deck,
side by side, paused and looked out in that direction several times,
commenting on what they saw with laconic briefness.
Another object, however, soon after attracted their attention, which
was a vessel right to windward, with all sails set, and coming up
apparently with a much stronger breeze than they themselves possessed.
The captain of the ship watched the coming vessel for a minute or two
through his telescope, and then handed it to Hailes, who watched her
accurately, also, for some time, and then replied to something that
the master had said to him, "Yes, she is," and added a very
unnecessary oath.
The captain again took the glass, and after having resumed his
examination for some time he turned round and gave orders for making
more sail. These orders were promptly obeyed, and ere they had been
executed long the wind began to freshen. The sea at the same time
became somewhat rougher, and the schooner cut through the water with
far greater rapidity.
Charles Tyrrell began to be a little apprehensive, judging, from what
he remarked, that the captain found greater reason to hurry his
voyage, than he had at first anticipated. Leaving Lucy for a moment,
he approached Hailes, and asked him in a low tone, what vessel that
was they had been looking at.
"She is the revenue-cutter," said Hailes; "at least I think so, by the
cut of her sails."
"Is there any chance of their coming up with us?" demanded Charles
Tyrrell.
"Oh, bless you, no, sir," replied he. "As for sailing, we'll out-sail
any cutter in the service; but I have heard say, that she'll go nearer
to the wind, than any vessel that ever was seen, and you see it's
looking a little dirty to the southeast."
Charles returned to Lucy, not more at ease than before; but she seemed
to have no idea of danger and, feeling no sickness, enjoyed the sight
of the waves dashing past the schooner's sides, as she cut her way
straight through the midst of them. Charles Tyrrell, of course, said
nothing to rouse her apprehensions; but he could not refrain, from
time to time, from turning his eyes to the vessel that was following,
and which he felt sure was gaining upon them in some degree. As the
wind freshened every moment, however, and more sail was set, the
schooner made greater and greater way through the water; but the
motion of the vessel was greatly increased, and the captain advised
the young lady to go below. Lucy assured him that she was very well;
but he replied,
"You'll soon have to go down, ma'am, however; for I think it'll rain
before night--ay, and very soon, too."
The captain's words were prophetic, for ere half an hour more was over
it did begin to rain, blowing at the same time very hard, so that the
spray was dashed over the whole deck, and rendered it no longer a
pleasant station for a lady.
As it now wanted not long to night, Lucy agreed to go down into the
cabin, though the heat below was oppressive, and she felt a greater
degree of confidence and security, when she saw what was passing
around her. She gave way to no weak fears, however, though the novelty
of her situation, the extreme motion of the vessel, the gale that was
beginning to blow hard upon shore, and various other circumstances
which she might have remarked, might well have afforded cause for
apprehension, to a person by nature less timid than herself. But Lucy
had, as we have said, much command over her own mind; and though her
imagination was quick, she would not suffer it to dwell upon any
circumstances that might unnerve her; but, both for the sake of
Charles Tyrrell and herself, would give way to nothing but hope,
unless it were that more confident trust in Providence, which never
abandoned her.
After remaining with her some time in the cabin, which was rendered
less pleasant, or rather more unpleasant than it otherwise would have
been, by the piteous sighings and groanings of the maid, Charles
Tyrrell, went again upon deck, to see how everything was going on. He
found both Hailes and the master looking somewhat anxious, and, on
questioning the former more closely, he found that the vessel, which
was still distinctly to be seen following, was ascertained to be the
revenue-cutter, and that she was decidedly in chase of them. The wind
had shifted a little, and blew stronger than ever, and though we
cannot describe the man[oe]uvre which the king's ship was performing,
in the proper nautical language, yet we can tell the impression which
Hailes's account produced upon the mind of Charles Tyrrell, and which
was, that the cutter, by some peculiar quality in her sailing, was
trying to get out farther to sea than the schooner, and to keep her
nearer the land with a lee shore and a strong wind.
Hailes, however, rubbed his hands, when he concluded his account,
saying,
"We'll beat them yet; for you see this schooner will go through what
they can't go through, for the life of them."
Charles Tyrrell, however, went down to Lucy with a heavy heart. He saw
that there were evidently greater danger and discomforts awaiting his
course than he had anticipated, and he blamed himself severely for
having persuaded Lucy to take a share in such a fate as that which
seemed likely to befall him.
It was now beginning to turn dark, the ship keeling fearfully, with
the press of canvass, and the strength of the wind, and it was
impossible for Lucy to conceal from herself that it was blowing a
gale, that they were going with the most tremendous rapidity, and that
there was a terrible sea running.
Charles endeavoured to amuse her as much as he could, and talked upon
every subject that he thought would interest her, speaking with hope
and expectation of the morrow, and pointing tenderly, and yet
ardently, to the time when she should become his own, and the
happiness of each, be linked for ever, with that of the other. Of
course this was the subject of all others, the most likely to interest
them both; but still he could not help seeing that sometimes when a
sharp sea struck the ship, and made every timber in the whole frame
thereof quiver, Lucy fixed an anxious gaze upon his face, as if she
would fain have inquired, Is there any danger? At length, toward nine
o'clock, he said, "Well, dear Lucy, I will go up and see how we are
going on. It is a very rough night for so young a sailor as you are;
but do not be alarmed, my beloved; I feel confident that we shall get
through it all."
On arriving upon the deck, Charles found the night, indeed,
tremendous. It was raining hard, the wind was coming in sharp, heavy
gusts, the shore was seen distinctly, within no very great distance of
the ship, and the schooner itself was bounding on through the waters,
like some terrified bird cutting through the air in full flight. The
night was not so dark as might have been expected, however; for the
full moon, though hidden by the clouds, still gave some degree of
light, and Charles Tyrrell, looking out for the vessel, which he had
seen in chase of them, thought he could distinguish it farther out to
sea, than that which bore him; but much nearer than it had appeared
before.
He had scarcely been five minutes upon deck, however, when he was
confirmed in the supposition, by a bright flash seen in that
direction, followed by the heavy roar of a cannon, mingling with the
sobbing of the wind.
"Ay, fire away," said Hailes, "fire away. We'll see you at the bottom
first. This is an awkward job, Mr. Tyrrell," he said, "a devilish
awkward job."
"It's a terrible night, indeed," replied Charles Tyrrell; "but do you
think there is any immediate danger of the ship?"
"Oh, it's not the night at all," replied Hailes. "It's bad enough, to
be sure; but I've gone through twenty worse nights than this; but it
is that cursed cutter. You see all we could do, she's got the better
of us. If we can get round the nose, you see, and across the bay,
without getting aground on the spit, we shall do well enough, and send
her to the devil. But the wind's blowing dead ashore. She can go far
nearer to the wind than we can, and I doubt very much whether she
won't drive us into the bay; and there, you know, she has us safe."
"And what is to be done then?" demanded Charles Tyrrell.
"Why, that is what I don't know, sir," replied Hailes; "but I think
you had better come and speak to the Captain, and ask him. He's at the
wheel."
Charles Tyrrell accordingly walked up with Hailes, and put his
question as briefly as possible; for he saw that all the master's
energies were at work, and required also in the steering of the ship.
"What is to be done, Captain!" he said.
"Why, upon my soul, sir," replied the captain, "I don't know. I've
done my best for you, and no man can do more. I've risked the ship in
a way she was never risked before. If we get round the nose, I am
afraid it is all that we can possibly do. Unless the wind changes
within ten minutes, I see no chance whatever of getting across the
bay. Give me two points to the eastward, and I will do it, if all the
cutters in the world were to try to stop me; but with the wind where
it now is, the thing's next to impossible."
"But if you are driven into the bay," said Charles Tyrrell, "let me
know what----"
"The only thing for you to do, sir," said the captain, "will be, to
get into the boat with the lady and Hailes, land as fast as possible,
and get across the headland to the little town of Wrexton, as early as
possible to-morrow morning. I will lie to in the bay all night. The
next morning the cutter'll send her boats aboard, and make a search,
but your being out of the ship, I don't care, for I've got no cargo;
and then, as soon, as that is over, and she's sailed, I'll come round,
and lay to off Wrexton for you."
"Then do you think," said Charles Tyrrell, "that the ship is in
pursuit of me?"
"To be sure, sir--to be sure," replied the captain. "The smuggling is
the thing they'll talk about, but it's you they're after; for they
know very well I've no cargo. Mayhap, indeed, they think Captain
Longly's on board, knowing that he's a part owner, and looking after
him very sharp, I understand just now."
"Breakers ahead! breakers ahead!" cried a loud voice from the bow of
the vessel, and the captain slightly depressed the wheel.
"I'll talk to you in a minute, sir," he said, and Charles Tyrrell,
looking forward, saw indeed that it was a moment, when the whole
attention of the man at the helm was required, to steer the vessel in
safety. Right before the ship was a long ridge of white foam,
stretching out far into the sea, while on the leeward bow there was
indeed a space where no such formidable appearance presented itself;
but then, at a distance, so short that it appeared scarcely a hundred
yards from the schooner, rose, in the shape of a promontory, a pile of
gigantic, black cliffs to the northwest, against which the waves were
dashing with fearful violence, and sending up the foam in white
flashes over the dark, awful face of the rock. The wind was still
blowing a gale from the south, and the ship heeling so, that even the
sailors could not keep their feet, without holding; the deck of the
vessel was literally under water, as she cut through, rather than rose
over the waves, and straight on upon the breakers the captain seemed
to be directing their course.
Not a word was now spoken by any one, and it was an awful moment, till
at length, the loud voice of the captain shouted forth, "Now stand to
your tackle!"
The roaring of the breakers a-head, and the dashing of the waves upon
the cliffs to the south, was distinctly heard above the howling of the
wind; but as the captain spoke, by a rapid movement of his hands upon
the wheel, the course of the vessel was altered, her head brought
round more to the rock, and shooting through the deep water, like an
arrow from a bow, she left the breakers to windward, and neared the
point of the promontory.
There was another anxious pause, as she cut her way, on coming nearer
and nearer to the rock; but the captain's eye was fixed upon it, and
rushing on with awful rapidity, she passed at what seemed less than
half a cable's length; and to the relief of all who watched, the line
of coast on the other side of the promontory was seen running off to
the northeast, in the form of a deep and sheltered bay.
"There," said the captain, when the point was rounded--"there! there
is not a vessel on this coast would have done that but the Hannah.
Here Tom, take the helm!" and without resuming his conversation with
Charles Tyrrell, he took a night-glass and looked out to windward
after the cutter.
"Well, it is wonderful!" he said at length, "I can't think it natural
to see anything going almost right in the teeth of the wind. But I can
tell that fellow what--if he have not got the devil on board, he'll be
upon the hog's back before an hour's over. Howsoever, sir," he
continued, turning to his passenger, "there is no time to be lost for
you. As soon as we get a little under the lee of the land, I'll have
the boat out, to take you, and Hailes, and the lady, ashore. Get away
across the country as quickly as you can, to Wrexton. There you'll
find a little bit of an inn, where you can stay till I send the boat
for you again. Better go down and tell her, for five minutes will
bring us into smooth water; and if that fellow clears the hog's back,
which I don't think he will, he'll be overhauling us as soon as he
gets into the bay."
Charles Tyrrell needed no second bidding, but hurried down, to prepare
Lucy for this new change. He found her pale and agitated, but still
firm, and ready to follow at once any wish that he might express.
While left alone in solitude to her own thoughts, everything around
her had, indeed, appeared terrific; the rushing and dashing of the
waves against the side of the ship, the excessive heeling of the
vessel, the frequent strokes of the waves, which seemed as if they
would have rent her from stem to stern, the howling of the wind, the
rattling of the cordage, had all been heard, as she sat and listened,
and had filled her mind with apprehensions of the darkest character.
All this reconciled her, however, wonderfully to the idea of landing
again so speedily. Already the water was smoother, and the wind less
felt, and she hurried the few preparations that were necessary,
desiring the maid to rise and accompany her, which she doubted not
that she would do with the greatest alacrity and willingness. The
woman, however, showed, not the slightest inclination to stir.
Overpowered with sea-sickness, the most selfish of all maladies, she
said she could not rise, and she would not; and if she were to die,
that she would rather lie and die where she was, than go in a little
boat, at that time of night and be drowned.
There was no time to argue with her, for the sound of lowering the
boat was already heard, and Charles supported Lucy up to the deck,
while Hailes loaded himself with those things which were absolutely
necessary to her comfort.
When they arrived upon the deck of the ship, the whole scene was
comparatively tranquil--sheltered from the force of the winds,
by the high lands, forming one side of the bay, which we have
beforementioned, the schooner was running along rapidly, indeed, but
easily, the sea was much calmer, and the rain had ceased. It was
oppressively warm, and the clouds, rolling together in large masses,
seemed to portend a thunder-storm, but still they occasionally broke
away, and afforded from time to time a glimpse of the moon, setting
large and dark coloured, on the western verge of the horizon.
Few words were spoken by any party, and, as the boat was by this time
alongside, Charles Tyrrell led Lucy toward it, and with the aid of
Hailes, and the captain, placed her safely in it without much
difficulty; though the sea would have looked terrific to any eyes,
which had not immediately before contemplated that which was running
on the outside of the bay.
She was scarcely seated, and agitated a good deal by the darkness, the
pitching of the boat, and all the appalling circumstances around her
when the sudden sound of a cannon came booming over the water. Lucy
stared, and turned to Charles Tyrrell, as if for explanation.
"We are just in time, my beloved," he said, "that is I suppose a shot
to bring the schooner to;" but ere the men in the boat had rowed a
hundred yards, a second gun was heard, and then another shortly after,
and Hailes was heard to mutter to himself,
"That's the cutter upon the hog's back, or I never heard minute-guns
before--serves them right--serves them right. They wanted to run us
ashore, and now they've got ashore themselves."
Charles Tyrrell made no observation, for he could not but feel pain
and anxiety at the thought of the king's vessel, and all that it
contained, having struck upon the awful reef which they had passed so
closely. He knew, too, that Lucy would feel the same, and he therefore
refrained from explaining the probable cause of the sounds that they
heard, which were repeated from minute to minute, as the boat rowed on
toward the shore.
Every stroke of the oars, however, as the boat entered a little bay
within the larger one, brought them into smoother water, and at
length, when they were a few oars length off the shore, no one would
have known that a storm was raging over the open sea, had it not been
for the rapid moving of the clouds, chequered dimly with light and
darkness in the sky over head, and the sharp whistling of the wind,
which made itself heard above the cliffs.
Their landing was, therefore, effected with ease and safety, and Lucy
could not help acknowledging to her own heart, that she was relieved
and rejoiced, even more than she had expected, on finding her foot
once more upon the firm land.
"Now you know your way to Alcombe, Master Hailes," said one of the men
in the boat, "you can't well miss it."
Hailes only replied by an "ay! ay!" and the boat pushed off again as
fast as possible toward the ship.