Dick was surprised when, on descending to the deck, he found that what
seemed to him a by no means very difficult feat had attracted general
attention. Not only did half a dozen of the sailors pat him on the
back, with exclamations expressive of their surprise and admiration,
but the other midshipmen spoke quite as warmly, the eldest saying:
"I could have got up the rope, Holland, but I could not have gone up
straight, as you did, without stopping for a bit to take breath. You
don't look so very strong, either."
"I think that it is knack more than strength," Dick replied. "I have
done a lot of practice at climbing, for I have always wanted to get
strong, and I heard that there was no better exercise."
When, presently, Dick went aft to the quarterdeck, Captain Barstow
said to him:
"You have astonished us all, lad. I could hardly believe my eyes, when
I saw you going up that rope. I first caught sight of you when you had
climbed but twenty feet, and wondered how far you would get, at that
pace. I would have wagered a hundred guineas to one that you would not
have kept it up to the top.
"Well, lad, whatever profession you take to, it is certain that you
will be a good sailor spoilt."
They had now been three weeks out, but had made slow progress, for the
winds had been light, and mostly from the southwest.
"This is very dull work," the doctor said to Dick one day, at dinner.
"Here we are, three weeks out, and still hardly beyond the Channel.
There is one consolation. It is not the fault of the ship. She has
been doing well, under the circumstances, but the fates have been
against her, thus far. I have no doubt there are a score of ships
still lying in the Downs, that were there when we passed; and, tedious
as it has been beating down the Channel, with scarce wind enough most
of the time to keep our sails full, it would have been worse lying
there, all the time."
"Still, we have gained a good bit on them, sir."
"If the wind were to change round, say to the northeast, and they
brought it along with them, they would soon make up for lost time, for
it would not take them three days to run here. However, we shall begin
to do better, soon. I heard the captain say that he should change his
course tomorrow. We are somewhere off Cork, and when he makes a few
miles more westing, he will bear away south. If we had had a
favourable wind, we should have taken our departure from the Start,
but with it in this quarter we are obliged to make more westing,
before we lay her head on her course, or we should risk getting in too
close to the French coast; and their privateers are as thick as peas,
there."
"But we should not be afraid of a French privateer, doctor?"
"Well, not altogether afraid of one, but they very often go in
couples; and sometimes three of them will work together. I don't think
one privateer alone would venture to attack us, though she might
harass us a bit, and keep up a distant fire, in hopes that another
might hear it and bear down to her aid. But it is always as well to
keep free of them, if one can. You see, an unlucky shot might knock
one of our sticks out of us, which would mean delay and trouble, if no
worse.
"We had a sharp brush with two of them, on the last voyage, but we
beat them off. We were stronger then than we are now, for we had two
hundred troops on board, and should have astonished them if they had
come close enough to try boarding--in fact, we were slackening our
fire, to tempt them to do so, when they made out that a large craft
coming up astern was an English frigate, and sheered off.
"I don't know what the end of it was, but I rather fancy they were
taken. The frigate followed them, gaining fast; and, later on, we
could hear guns in the distance."
"You did not join in the chase then, doctor?"
"Oh, no. Our business is not fighting. If we are attacked, of course
we defend ourselves; but we don't go a foot out of our way, if we can
help it."
Three weeks at sea had done wonders for Mrs. Holland. Now that she was
fairly embarked upon her quest, the expression of anxiety gradually
died out. The sea air braced up her nerves, and, what was of still
greater benefit to her, she was able to sleep soundly and dreamlessly,
a thing she had not done for years. Dick was delighted at the change
in her.
"You look quite a different woman, Mother," he said. "I don't think
your friends at Shadwell would know you, if they were to see you now."
"I feel a different woman, Dick. I have not felt so well and so bright
since your father sailed on his last voyage. I am more convinced than
ever that we shall succeed. I have been trying very hard, for years,
to be hopeful, but now I feel so without trying. Of course, it is
partly this lovely weather and the sea air, and sleeping so well; and
partly because everyone is so kind and pleasant."
As soon as the Madras had been headed for the south, she began to make
better way. The wind freshened somewhat, but continued in the same
quarter. Grumbling ceased over the bad luck they were having, and
hopeful anticipations that, after all, they would make a quick passage
were freely indulged in.
On the fourth day after changing her course, she was off the coast of
Spain, which was but a hundred and fifty miles distant. At noon that
day the wind dropped suddenly, and, an hour later, it was a dead calm.
"We are going to have a change, Dick," the doctor said, as he stopped
by the lad, who was leaning against the bulwark watching a flock of
seabirds that were following a shoal of fish, dashing down among them
with loud cries, and too intent upon their work to notice the ship,
lying motionless a hundred yards away.
"What sort of a change, doctor?"
"Most likely a strong blow, though from what quarter it is too soon to
say. However, we have no reason to grumble. After nearly a month of
light winds, we must expect a turn of bad weather. I hope it will come
from the north. That will take us down to the latitude of Madeira, and
beyond that we may calculate upon another spell of fine weather, until
we cross the Line."
As the afternoon wore on, the weather became more dull. There were no
clouds in the sky, but the deep blue was dimmed by a sort of haze.
Presently, after a talk between the captain and the first officer, the
latter gave the order, "All hands take in sail."
The order had been expected, and the men at once swarmed up the
rigging. In a quarter of an hour all the upper sails were furled. The
light spars were then sent down to the deck.
"You may as well get the top-gallant sails off her, too, Mr. Green,"
the captain said to the first officer. "It is as well to be prepared
for the worst. It is sure to blow pretty hard, when the change comes."
The top-gallant sails were got in, and when the courses had been
brailed up and secured, the hands were called down. Presently the
captain, after going to his cabin, rejoined Mr. Green.
"The glass has gone up again," Dick heard him say.
"That looks as if it were coming from the north, sir."
"Yes, with some east in it. It could not come from a better quarter."
He turned and gazed steadily in that direction.
"Yes, there is dark water over there."
"So there is, sir. That is all right. I don't mind how hard it blows,
so that it does but come on gradually."
"I agree with you. These hurricane bursts, when one is becalmed, are
always dangerous, even when one is under bare poles."
Gradually the dark line on the horizon crept up towards the ship. As
it reached her the sails bellied out, and she began to move through
the water. The wind increased in strength rapidly, and in half an hour
she was running south at ten or eleven knots an hour. The thermometer
had fallen many degrees, and as the sun set, the passengers were glad
to go below for shelter.
Before going to bed, Dick went up on deck for a few minutes. The
topsails had been reefed down, but the Madras was rushing through the
water at a high rate of speed. The sea was getting up, and the waves
were crested with foam. Above, the stars were shining brilliantly.
"Well, lad, this is a change, is it not?" the captain said, as he came
along in a pea jacket.
"We seem to be going splendidly, Captain."
"Yes, we are walking along grandly, and making up for lost time."
"It is blowing hard, sir."
"It will blow a good deal harder before morning, lad, but I do not
think it will be anything very severe. Things won't be so comfortable
downstairs, for the next day or two, but that is likely to be the
worst of it."
The motion of the ship kept Dick awake for some time, but, wedging
himself tightly in his berth, he presently fell off to sleep, and did
not wake again until morning. His two cabin mates were suffering
terribly from seasickness, but he felt perfectly well, although it
took him a long time to dress, so great was the motion of the ship.
On making his way on deck, he found that overhead the sky was blue and
bright, and the sun shining brilliantly. The wind was blowing much
harder than on the previous evening, and a heavy sea was running; but
as the sun sparkled on the white crests of the waves, the scene was
far less awe inspiring than it had been when he looked out before
retiring to his berth. The ship, under closely-reefed main and
fore-top sails, was tearing through the water at a high rate of speed,
throwing clouds of spray from her bows, and occasionally taking a wave
over them that sent a deluge of water along the deck.
"What do you think of this, lad?" Mr. Rawlinson, who was in charge of
the watch, asked him; as, after watching his opportunity, he made a
rush to the side and caught a firm hold of a shroud.
"It is splendid, sir," he said. "Has she been going like this all
night?"
The officer nodded.
"How long do you think it will last, sir?"
"Two or three days."
"Will it be any worse, sir?"
"Not likely to be. It is taking us along rarely, and it is doing us
good in more ways than one.
"Look there;" and as they rose on a wave, he pointed across the water,
behind Dick.
The lad turned, and saw a brig running parallel to their course, half
a mile distant.
"What of her, sir?"
"That is a French privateer, unless I am greatly mistaken."
"But she has the British ensign flying, sir."
"Ay, but that goes for nothing. She may possibly be a trader, on her
way down to the Guinea coast, but by the cut of her sails and the look
of her hull, I have no doubt that she is a Frenchman."
"We are passing her, sir."
"Oh, yes. In a gale and a heavy sea, weight tells, and we shall soon
leave her astern; but in fine weather, I expect she could sail round
and round us. If the French could fight their ships as well as they
can build them, we should not be in it with them."
"Why don't we fire at her, Mr. Rawlinson?"
The officer laughed.
"How are you going to work your guns, with the ship rolling like this?
No, lad, we are like two muzzled dogs at present--we can do nothing
but watch each other. I am sorry to say that I don't think the fellow
is alone. Two or three times I have fancied that I caught a glimpse of
a sail on our starboard quarter. I could not swear to it, but I don't
think I was mistaken, and I called the captain's attention that way,
just before he went down ten minutes ago, and he thought he saw it,
too. However, as there was nothing to be done, he went down for a
caulk. He had not left the deck since noon, yesterday."
"But if she is no bigger than the other, I suppose we shall leave her
behind, too, Mr. Rawlinson?"
"Ay, lad, we shall leave them both behind presently; but if they are
what I think, we are likely to hear more of them, later on. They would
not be so far offshore as this, unless they were on the lookout for
Indiamen, which of course keep much farther out than ships bound up
the Mediterranean; and, having once spotted us, they will follow us
like hounds on a deer's trail. However, I think they are likely to
find that they have caught a tartar, when they come up to us.
"Ah! Here is the doctor.
"Well, doctor, what is the report below?"
"Only the usual number of casualties--a sprained wrist, a few
contusions, and three or four cases of hysterics."
"Is Mother all right, doctor?" Dick asked.
"As I have heard nothing of her, I have no doubt she is. I am quite
sure that she will not trouble me with hysterics. Women who have had
real trouble to bear, Dick, can be trusted to keep their nerves steady
in a gale."
"I suppose you call this a gale, doctor?"
"Certainly. It is a stiff north-easterly gale, and if we were facing
it, instead of running before it, you would not want to ask the
question.
"That is a suspicious-looking craft, Rawlinson," he broke off,
catching sight of the brig, now on their port quarter.
"Yes, she is a privateer I have no doubt, and, unless I am mistaken,
she has a consort somewhere out there to starboard. However, we need
not trouble about them. Travelling as we are, we are going two knots
an hour faster than the brig."
"So much the better," the doctor said, shortly. "We can laugh at one
of these fellows, but when it comes to two of them, I own that I don't
care for their company. So the longer this gale holds on, the better."
The mate nodded.
"Well, Dick," the doctor went on, "do you feel as if you will be able
to eat your breakfast?"
"I shall be ready enough for it, doctor, but I don't see how it will
be possible to eat it, with the vessel rolling like this."
"You certainly will not be able to sit down to it--nothing would stay
on the table a minute. There will be no regular breakfast today. You
must get the steward to cut you a chunk of cold meat, put it between
two slices of bread, and make a sandwich of it. As to tea, ask him to
give you a bottle and to pour your tea into that; then, if you wedge
yourself into a corner, you will find that you are able to manage your
breakfast comfortably, and can amuse yourself watching people trying
to balance a cup of tea in their hand."
Not more than half a dozen passengers ventured on deck, for the next
two days, but at the end of that time the force of the wind gradually
abated, and on the following morning the Madras had all her sails set,
to a light but still favourable breeze. Madeira had been passed, to
Dick's disappointment; but, except for a fresh supply of vegetables,
there was no occasion to put in there, and the captain grudged the
loss of a day, while so favourable a wind was taking them along.
"Do you think we shall see anything of that brig again, doctor?" Dick
asked, as, for the first time since the wind sprang up, the passengers
sat down to a comfortable breakfast.
"There is no saying, Dick. If we gained two knots an hour during the
blow (and I don't suppose we gained more than one and a half), they
must be a hundred and twenty miles or so astern of us; after all, that
is only half a day's run. I think they are pretty sure to follow us
for a bit, for they will know that, in light winds, they travel faster
than we do; and if we get becalmed, while they still hold the breeze,
they will come up hand over hand. It is likely enough that, in another
three days or so, we may get a sight of them behind us."
This was evidently the captain's opinion also, for during the day the
guns were overhauled, and their carriages examined, and the muskets
brought up on deck and cleaned. On the following day the men were
practised at the guns, and then had pike and cutlass exercise.
None of the passengers particularly noticed these proceedings, for
Dick had been warned by the captain to say nothing about the brig; and
as he was the only passenger on deck at the time, no whisper of the
privateers had come to the ears of the others.
The party were just going down to lunch, on the third day, when a
lookout in the maintop hailed the deck:
"A sail astern."
"How does she bear?"
"She is dead astern of us, sir, and I can only make out her upper
sails. I should say that they are her royals."
Mr. Green ran up, with his telescope slung over his shoulder.
"I cannot make much out of her, sir," he shouted to the captain. "She
may be anything. She must be nearly thirty miles astern. I think, with
Pearson, that it is her royals we see."
"Take a look round, Mr. Green."
The mate did so, and presently called down:
"I can make out something else away on the starboard quarter, but so
far astern that I can scarce swear to her. Still, it can be nothing
but a sail."
"Thank you, Mr. Green. I daresay that we shall know more about her,
later on."
When the captain joined the passengers at table, one of the ladies
said:
"You seem interested in that ship astern of us, captain."
"Yes, Mrs. Seaforth. One is always interested in a ship, when one gets
down as far as this. She may be another Indiaman, and although the
Madras has no claim to any great speed in a light breeze like this,
one never likes being passed."
The explanation was considered as sufficient, and nothing more was
said on the subject. By sunset, the upper sails of the stranger could
be made out from the deck of the Madras. Mr. Green again went up, and
had a look at her.
"She is coming up fast," he said, when he rejoined the captain. "She
keeps so dead in our wake that I can't make out whether she is a brig
or a three master; but I fancy that she is a brig, by the size and cut
of her sails. I can see the other craft plainly enough now; she is
eight or ten miles west of the other, and has closed in towards her
since I made her out before. I have no doubt that she is a large
schooner."
"Well, it is a comfort that they are not a few miles nearer, Mr.
Green. There is no chance of their overtaking us before morning, so we
shall be able to keep our watches as usual, and shall have time to get
ready for a fight, if there is to be one."
"The sooner the better sir, so that it is daylight. It is quite
certain that they have the legs of us."
In the morning, when Dick came up, he found that the wind had quite
died away, and the sails hung loosely from the yards. Looking astern,
he saw two vessels. They were some six miles away, and perhaps two
miles apart. As they lay without steerage way, they had swung partly
round, and he saw that they were a brig and a schooner. The former he
had no doubt, from her lofty masts and general appearance, was the
same the Madras had passed six days before. As the passengers came up,
they were full of curiosity as to the vessels.
"Of course, we know no more actually than you do yourselves," the
captain said, as some of them gathered round and questioned him, "but
I may as well tell you, frankly, that we have very little doubt about
their being two French privateers. We passed them during the gale, and
had some hopes that we should not see them again; but, in the light
breeze we have been having during the last few days, they have made up
lost ground, and I am afraid we shall have to fight them."
Exclamations of alarm broke from some of the ladies who heard his
words.
"You need not be alarmed, ladies," he went on. "We carry twelve guns,
you know, and I expect that all of them are of heavier metal than
theirs. The Madras is a strongly-built ship, and will stand a good
deal more hammering than those light craft will, so that I have no
doubt we shall give a good account of ourselves."
After breakfast, the hatches were opened and the gun cases belonging
to the passengers brought on deck. Scarce one of them but had a rifle,
and many had, in addition, a shotgun. The day passed without any
change in the positions of the vessels, for they still lay becalmed.
"Why don't they get out their boats, and tow their vessels up?" Dick
asked the doctor.
"Because they would be throwing away their chances, if they did so.
They know that we cannot get away from them, and we might smash up
their boats as soon as they came within range. Besides, their speed
and superior handiness give them a pull over us, when fighting under
sail. They may try to tow up during the night, if they think they are
strong enough to take us by boarding, but I hardly think they will do
so."
The night, however, passed off quietly. But in the morning a light
breeze sprang up from the east, the sails were trimmed, and the Madras
again began to move through the water. By breakfast time, the craft
behind had visibly decreased their distance.
The meal was a silent one. When it was over, the captain said:
"As soon as those fellows open fire, ladies, I must ask you all to go
down into the hold. The sailors have already cleared a space, below
the waterline, large enough for you; and they will take down some
cushions, and so on, to make you as comfortable as possible, under the
circumstances. Pray do not be alarmed at any noises you may hear. You
will be below the waterline, and perfectly safe from their shot; and
you may be sure that we shall do our best to keep the scoundrels from
boarding us; and I will let you know, from time to time, how matters
are going."
The unmarried men at once went up on deck. The others lingered for a
short time behind, talking to their wives and daughters, and then
followed.
"The wind has strengthened a bit, Mr. Green," the captain said, "and I
fancy we shall get more."
"I think so, too, Captain."
"Then you may as well get off the upper sails, and make her snug. Get
off everything above the top gallant. Then, if the wind increases, we
shall not want to call the men away from the guns."
The crew had, without orders, already mustered at quarters. The
lashings had been cast off the guns, the boatswain had opened the
magazines, and a pile of shot stood by each gun, together with cases
of canister and grapeshot for close work. Boarding pikes and cutlasses
were ranged along by the bulwarks. The men had thrown aside their
jackets, and many of those at the guns were stripped to the waist.
Some of them were laughing and talking, and Dick saw, by their air of
confidence, that they had no doubt of their ability to beat off the
assault of the privateers.
The latter were the first to open the ball. A puff of smoke burst out
from the brig's bows, followed almost instantly by one from the
schooner. Both shots fell short, and, for a quarter of an hour, the
three vessels kept on their way.
"We have heavier metal than that," the captain said, cheerfully, "and
I have no doubt we could reach them. But it is not our game to play at
long bowls, for it is probable that both of them carry a long pivot
gun, and if they were to draw off a bit, they could annoy us
amazingly, while we could not reach them."
Presently the privateers opened fire again. They were now about a mile
away, and the same distance from each other. Their shot fell close to
the Indiaman, and two or three passed through her sails.
Still no reply was made. The men at the guns fidgeted, and kept
casting glances towards the poop, in expectation of an order. It came
at last, but was not what they had expected.
"Double shot your guns, men," the captain said.
Scarcely was the order obeyed when the brig, which was now on the port
quarter, luffed up a little into the wind, and fired a broadside of
eight guns. There was a crashing of wood. The Madras was hulled in
three places; two more holes appeared in her sails; while the other
shot passed harmlessly just astern of her.
There was an angry growl among the sailors, as the schooner bore away
a little, and also fired her broadside. Except that a man was struck
down by a splinter from the bulwarks, no damage was done.
"Bear up a little," the captain said to the second officer, who was
standing by the helmsman. "I want to edge in a little towards the
brig, but not enough for them to notice it.
"Now, gentlemen," he went on, to the passengers, "I have no doubt that
most of you are good shots, and I want you, after we have fired our
broadside, to direct your attention to the brig's helmsmen. If you can
render it impossible for the men to stand at the wheel, we will make
mincemeat of this fellow in no time. Directly I have fired our port
broadside, I am going to bring her up into the wind on the opposite
tack, and give him the starboard broadside at close quarters. Don't
fire until we have gone about, and then pick off the helmsmen, if you
can.
"Get ready, men."
The brig was now but a little more than a quarter of a mile distant.
"Aim at the foot of his mainmast," he went on. "Let each man fire as
he gets the mast on his sight."
A moment later the first gun fired, and the whole broadside followed
in quick succession.
"Down with the helm! Hard down, sheets and tacks!"
The men whose duty it was to trim the sails ran to the sheets and
braces. The Madras swept up into the wind, and, as her sails drew on
the other tack, she came along on a course that would take her within
a hundred yards of the brig.
As she approached, three rifles cracked out on her poop. One of the
men at the helm of the brig fell, and as he did so, half a dozen more
shots were fired; and as his companion dropped beside him, the brig,
deprived of her helm, flew up into the wind.
Three men ran aft to the wheel, but the deadly rifles spoke out again.
Two of them fell. The third dived under the bulwark, for shelter.
"Steady, men!" the captain shouted. "Fetch her mainmast out of her!"
As they swept along under the stern of the brig, each gun of their
other broadside poured in its fire in succession, raking the crowded
deck from end to end. A moment later, the mainmast was seen to sway,
and a tremendous cheer broke from the Madras as it went over the side,
dragging with it the foretopmast, with all its gear.
"Down with the helm again!" the captain shouted. "Bring her head to
wind, and keep her there!"
The first officer sprang forward, to see that the order was carried
into effect, and a minute later the Indiaman lay, with her sails
aback, at a distance of a hundred yards, on the quarter of the brig.
"Grape and canister!" the captain shouted, and broadside after
broadside swept the decks of the brig, which, hampered by her
wreckage, was lying almost motionless in the water. So terrible was
the fire, that the privateer's men threw down the axes with which they
were striving to cut away the floating spars, and ran below.
"Double shot your guns, and give her one broadside between wind and
water!" the captain ordered.
"Haul on the sheets and braces, Mr. Green, and get her on her course
again--the schooner won't trouble us, now."
That craft had indeed, at first, luffed up, to come to the assistance
of her consort; but on seeing the fall of the latter's mast, and that
she was incapable of rendering any assistance, had again altered her
course, feeling her incapacity to engage so redoubtable an opponent,
single handed. Three hearty cheers broke from all on board the Madras
as, after pouring in a broadside at a distance of fifty yards, she
left the brig behind her, and proceeded on her way.
"Then you don't care about taking prizes, captain?" one of the
passengers said, as they crowded round to congratulate him upon his
easy, and almost bloodless, victory.
"No, taking prizes is not my business; and were I to weaken my crew,
by sending some of them off in a prize, I might find myself
short-handed if we met another of these gentlemen, or fell in with bad
weather. Besides, she would not be worth sending home."
"The brig is signalling to her consort, sir," Mr. Green said, coming
up.
"Ay, ay. I expect she wants help badly enough. I saw the chips fly
close to her waterline, as we gave her that last broadside."
"They are lowering a boat," one of the passengers said.
"So they are. I expect they haven't got more than one that can swim.
"I think she is settling down," the captain said, as he looked
earnestly at the wreck astern. "See how they are crowding into that
boat, and how some of the others are cutting and slashing, to get the
wreckage clear of her."
"She is certainly a good bit lower in the water than she was," the
first officer agreed. "The schooner has come round, and won't be long
before she is alongside of her."
There was no doubt that the brig was settling down fast. Men stood on
the bulwarks, and waved their caps frantically to the schooner. Others
could be seen, by the aid of a glass, casting spars, hen coops, and
other articles overboard, and jumping into the water after them; and
soon the sea around the wreck was dotted with heads and floating
fragments, while the wreckage of the mainmast was clustered with men.
When the Madras was a mile away, the schooner was lying, thrown up
head to wind, fifty yards from the brig; and her boats were already
engaged in picking up the swimmers. Suddenly the brig gave a heavy
lurch.
"There she goes!" the captain exclaimed.
A moment later the hull had disappeared, and the schooner remained
alone.
By this time, the whole of the ladies had ascended from their place of
safety to the poop, and a general exclamation broke from the
passengers, as the brig disappeared.
"The schooner will pick them all up," the captain said. "They must
have suffered heavily from our fire, but I don't think any will have
gone down with her. The boat, which has already reached the schooner,
must have taken a good many, and the mainmast and foretopmast and
spars would support the rest, to say nothing of the things they have
thrown overboard. There is one wasp the less afloat."
No further adventure was met with, throughout the voyage. They had a
spell of bad weather off the Cape, but the captain said it was nothing
to the gales they often encountered there, and that the voyage, as a
whole, was an exceptionally good one; for, even after the delays they
had encountered at the start, the passage had lasted but four months
and a half.
They touched at Point de Galle for news, and to ascertain whether any
French warships had been seen, of late, along the coast. A supply of
fresh vegetables and fruit was taken on board, as the vessel, after
touching at Madras, was to go on to Calcutta. A few of the passengers
landed at Point de Galle, but neither Dick nor his mother went ashore.
"You will have plenty of opportunities of seeing Indians, later on,
Dick," Mrs. Holland had said; "and, as the gigs will not take all
ashore, we may as well stop quietly here. I heard the captain say that
he would weigh anchor again, in four hours."
Dick was rather disappointed, but, as they would be at Madras before
long, he did not much mind.
Ten days later, they anchored off that town. Little was to be seen
except the fort, a number of warehouses, and the native town, while
the scenery contrasted strongly with that of Ceylon, with its masses
of green foliage, with hills rising behind.
For the last fortnight, Mrs. Holland had been somewhat depressed. Now
that the voyage was nearly over, the difficulties of the task before
her seemed greater than they had done when viewed from a distance, and
she asked herself whether, after all, it would not have been wiser to
have waited another two or three years, until Dick had attained
greater strength and manhood. The boy, however, when she confided her
doubts to him, laughed at the idea.
"Why, you know, Mother," he said, "we agreed that I had a much greater
chance, as a boy, of going about unsuspected, than I should have as a
man. Besides, we could never have let Father remain any longer,
without trying to get him out.
"No, no, Mother, you know we have gone through it over and over again,
and talked about every chance. We have had a first-rate voyage, and
everything is going on just as we could have wished, and it would
never do to begin to have doubts now. We have both felt confident, all
along. It seems to me that, of all things, we must keep on being
confident, at any rate until there is something to give us cause to
doubt."
On the following morning, they landed in a surf boat, and were
fortunate in getting ashore without being drenched. There was a rush
of wild looking and half-naked natives to seize their baggage; but
upon Mrs. Holland, with quiet decision, accosting the men in their own
language, and picking out four of them to carry the baggage up, to one
of the vehicles standing on the road that ran along the top of the
high beach, the rest fell back, and the matter was arranged without
difficulty.
After a drive of twenty minutes, they stopped at a hotel.
"It is not like a hotel, Mother," Dick remarked, as they drew up. "It
is more like a gentleman's house, standing in its own park."
"Almost all the European houses are built so, here, Dick, and it is
much more pleasant than when they are packed together."
"Much nicer," Dick agreed. "If each house has a lot of ground like
this, the place must cover a tremendous extent of country."
"It does, Dick; but, as every one keeps horses and carriages, that
does not matter much. Blacktown, as they call the native town, stands
quite apart from the European quarter."
As soon as they were settled in their rooms, which seemed to Dick
singularly bare and unfurnished, mother and son went out for a drive,
in one of the carriages belonging to the hotel. Dick had learned so
much about India from her that, although extremely interested, he was
scarcely surprised at the various scenes that met his eye, or at the
bright and varied costumes of the natives.
Many changes had taken place, during the seventeen years that had
elapsed since Mrs. Holland had left India. The town had increased
greatly in size. All signs of the effects of the siege by the French,
thirty years before, had been long since obliterated. Large and
handsome government buildings had been erected, and evidences of
wealth and prosperity were everywhere present.