When the sun rose on the following morning, nothing but green seas
surrounded us, and the Margrave of Brandenburg was doing her best to
live up to the reputation I soon discovered she possessed--namely, of
being the worst roller in the North Sea trade. She was by no means a
large craft, nor, as I soon remarked, was she particularly well found;
she belonged to a firm of Altona Jews, and, as the captain was wont to
say pathetically, "The only thing they did not grudge him was the right
to do as much work on the smallest amount of pay on which it was
possible for a man to keep body and soul together." The captain's
nationality was more difficult to determine than that of his employers.
He called himself an Englishman, but, unfortunately for this assertion,
his accent belied him. In addition to English, he spoke German like a
Frenchman, and French like a German, was equally at home in
Russian--which, to say the least of it, is not a language for the
amateur--Italian also, while in a moment of confidence he found occasion
to inform me that he had served for three years on board a Spanish
troop-ship, an assertion which would lead one to suppose that he was
conversant with that language also. In point of fact, he was one of that
curious class of sailor commonly met with outside the British mercantile
marine, who, if you asked them, would find it difficult to tell you
where they were born, and who have been so long at sea that one country
has become like another to them, provided the liquor is good and they
can scrape together a sufficient living out of it; and one flag is equal
to another, provided, of course, it is not Chinese, which as everyone
knows is no use to anyone, not even to themselves.
For the week, and more particularly for the forty-eight hours preceding
our departure from Hamburg, I had been living in such a state of nervous
tension that, as soon as we were once clear of the land, the reaction
that set in was almost more than I could bear. The prophecy Pharos had
given utterance to regarding Valerie had been verified to the letter. At
the hour appointed for leaving, she had descended from her room, looking
at first glance as healthy and strong as I had ever seen her. It was
only when I came close up to her and could catch a glimpse of her eyes
that I saw how dilated the pupils were and how unnatural was the light
they contained. From the moment she appeared upon the stairs, throughout
the drive through the city, and until we reached the steamer, not a word
crossed her lips, and it was only when we were in the saloon and Pharos
bade her retire to her cabin, that she found her voice and spoke to me.
"Good night," she said very slowly, as if it hurt her even to speak the
words, and then added with infinite sadness, "You have been very good
and patient with me, Cyril." Having said this, she disappeared into her
cabin, and I saw no more of her that night.
As I remarked at the commencement of this chapter, the sun when it rose
next morning found us in open water. Not a trace of the land was to be
seen, and you may be sure I was not sorry to be away from it. Taking one
thing with another, I had not spent a pleasant night. I had tried
sleeping in my bunk, but without success. It was filthy in the extreme,
and so small that I found it quite impossible to stretch myself out at
full length. Accordingly, I had tumbled and tossed in it, tried every
position, and had at last vacated it in favour of the settee in the
saloon, where I had remained until the first signs of day showed
themselves. Then I went on deck to find a beautiful pearl-grey dawn, in
which the steamer seemed a speck on the immensity of sea. I tried to
promenade the deck, only to find that the vessel's rolling rendered it
extremely difficult, if not well-nigh impossible. I accordingly made my
way to a sheltered spot, just abaft the saloon entrance, and, seating
myself on the skylight, endeavoured to collect my thoughts. It was a
more difficult matter than would at first be supposed, for the reason
that the side issues involved were so many, and also so important, and I
found myself being continually drawn from the main point at issue, which
was the question as to what was to become of Valerie and myself since we
found it impossible to escape from Pharos. How the latter had become
possessed of the secret of our intention to escape from him I could not
imagine, nor could I understand how he had been able to pursue and
capture us with such accuracy and despatch. As it had turned out, it was
just as well that he did follow us, and I shivered again as I thought of
what Valerie's fate might have been had he not come upon the scene so
opportunely. Of one thing I was quite convinced, in spite of the threats
he had used, and that was that, as soon as we reached England, I would
find some way--how I was to do so I did not for the moment quite
realise--of getting the woman I loved out of his clutches, this time for
good and all.
I breakfasted that morning alone. Valerie being still too ill to leave
her bunk, while Pharos, as usual, did not put in appearance until close
upon midday. By the time he did so the sea had lost much of its former
violence, and the vessel was, in consequence, making better progress.
How I longed to be in England no one can have any idea. The events of
the last few months, if they had done nothing else, had at least
deprived me of my taste for travel, and as for the land of Egypt, the
liking I had once entertained for that country had given place to a
hatred that was as vigorous as I had deemed the other sincere.
I have already said that it was midday before Pharos made his appearance
on deck; but when he did, so far as his amiability was concerned, he
would have been very much better below. Being accustomed by this time to
note the changes in his manner, it did not take me very long to see that
this was one of his bad days. For this reason I resolved to keep out of
his way as far as possible, but in my attempt I was only partly
successful.
"In thirty-eight hours, my friend," he said, when he had found me out,
"you will be in England once more, and the desire of your heart will be
gratified. You should be grateful to me, for had I not followed you to
Hamburg, it is quite certain _you_ would still be in that plague-ridden
city, and where would Valerie be? Well, Valerie would be----But there,
we will have no more of those little escapades, if you please, so
remember that. The next time you attempt to play me false, I shall know
how to deal with you. All things considered, it was a good day for me
when you fell in love with Valerie."
"What do you mean?" I asked, for I neither liked the look on his face
nor the way he spoke.
"I mean what I say," he answered. "You love Valerie, and she loves you;
but----Well, to put it mildly, she does what I tell her, and for the
future so must you! It would be as well, perhaps, if you would bear that
fact in mind."
I rose from the skylight upon which I had been sitting and faced him.
"Monsieur Pharos," I said, holding up my hand in protest, "you have gone
quite far enough. Let me advise you to think twice before you make use
of such threats to me. I do not understand by what right you speak to me
in this fashion."
"There are many things you do not understand, and at present it is not
my intention to enlighten you," he answered, with consummate coolness.
"Only remember this--while you act in accordance with my wishes, you are
safe, but if at any time you attempt to thwart me, I give you fair
warning I will crush you like a worm."
So saying, he darted another glance at me full of intense malignity, and
then took his departure. When he had gone I seated myself again and
endeavoured to solve the riddle of his behaviour. What his purpose could
be in keeping me with him, and why he was always threatening me with
punishment if I did not act in accordance with his wishes, were two
questions I tried to answer, but in vain. That there was something
behind it all which boded ill for myself, I felt morally certain, but
what that something was I had yet to discover. If I had known all, I
wonder what course of action I should have pursued.
For the remainder of the day I saw nothing of Pharos. He had shut
himself up in his cabin with only the monkey for company. Towards the
end of the afternoon, however, he sent for the captain, and they
remained closeted together for a quarter of an hour. When the latter
appeared again, it was with an unusually white face. He passed me on the
companion-ladder, and from the light I saw in his eyes I surmised that
Pharos had been treating him to a sample of his ill-humour, and that he
had come out of it considerably scared. Once more I partook of the
evening meal alone, and, as I was by this time not only thoroughly tired
of my own company, but worn out with anxiety and continual brooding upon
one subject, I sought my couch at an early hour. My dreams that night
were far from good. The recollection of that terrible afternoon in
Hamburg, when Valerie had been taken ill, and Pharos had so unexpectedly
appeared in time to save her, was sufficient to wake me up in a cold
sweat of fear. When I had somewhat recovered, I became aware that
someone was knocking on my cabin door. To my surprise it proved to be
the captain.
"What is the matter?" I inquired, as he entered. "What brings you here?"
"I have come to you for your advice," he said nervously, as he fidgeted
with his cap. "I can tell you we're in a bad way aboard this ship."
"Why, what has happened?" I inquired, sitting up and staring at his
white face. "Have we met with an accident?"
"We have," he answered, "and a bad one. A worse could scarcely have
befallen us." Then, sinking his voice to a whisper, he added, "_The
plague has broken out aboard!_"
"The plague!" I cried, in consternation. "Do you mean it? For Heaven's
sake, man, be sure you are not making a mistake before you say such a
thing!"
"I only wish I were not sure," he replied. "Unfortunately there is no
getting away from the fact. The plague's upon us, sure enough, and,
what's worse, I'm afraid it's come to stay."
"How many cases are there?" I asked, "and when did you discover it? Tell
me everything."
"We found it out early this morning," the captain replied. "There are
two cases, the steward aft here, and the cook for'ard. The steward is
dead; we pitched him overboard just before I came down to you. The cook
is very nearly as bad. I can tell you, I wish I was anywhere but where I
am. I've got a wife and youngsters depending on me at home. The thing
spreads like fire, they say, and poor Reimann was as well as you are a
couple of hours ago. He brought me a cup of coffee and a biscuit up on
to the bridge at eight bells, and now to think he's overboard!"
The captain concluded his speech with a groan, and then stood watching
me and waiting for me to speak.
"But I can't understand what brings you to me," I said. "I don't see how
I can help you."
"I came to you because I wanted to find out what I had better do," he
returned. "I thought most probably you would be able to advise me, and I
didn't want to go to him." Here he nodded his head in the direction of
Pharos's cabin. "If you could only have heard the way he bulliragged me
yesterday you would understand why. If I'd been a dog in the street he
couldn't have treated me worse, and all because I was unable to make the
boat travel twice as fast as her engines would let her go."
"But I don't see how I'm to help you in this matter," I said, and then
added, with what could only have been poor comfort, "We don't know who
may be the next case."
"That's the worst part of it," he answered. "For all we can tell it may
be you, and it might be me. I suppose you're as much afraid of it as I
am."
I had to confess that I was, and then inquired what means he proposed to
adopt for stamping it out.
"I don't know what to do," he answered, and the words were scarcely out
of his mouth before another rap sounded on the cabin door. He opened it
to find a deck hand standing outside. A muttered conversation ensued
between them, after which the captain, with a still more scared look
upon his face, returned to me.
"It's getting worse," he said. "The chief engineer's down now, and the
bosun has sent word to say he don't feel well. God help us if this sort
of thing is going to continue! Every mother's son aboard this ship will
make sure he's got it, and then who's to do the work? We may as well go
to the bottom right off."
Trouble was indeed pursuing us. It seemed as if I were destined to get
safely out of one difficulty only to fall into another. If this terrible
scourge continued we should indeed be in straits; for the Continent was
barred to us on one hand, and England on the other, while to turn her
head and put back to Hamburg was a course we could not dream of
adopting. One thing was plain to me; to avoid any trouble later we must
inform Pharos. So, advising the captain to separate those who had
contracted the disease from those who were still well, I left my cabin
and crossed to the further side of the saloon. To my surprise Pharos
received the news with greater equanimity than I had expected he would
show.
"I doubted whether we should escape unscathed," he said; "but the
captain deserves to die of it himself for not having informed me as soon
as the first man was taken ill. However, let us hope it is not too late
to put a stop to it. I must go and see the men, and do what I can to
pull them round. It would not do to have a breakdown out here for the
want of sufficient men to work the boat."
So saying he bade me leave him while he dressed, and when this operation
was completed, departed on his errand, while I returned to the saloon. I
had not been there many minutes before the door of Valerie's cabin
opened and my sweetheart emerged. I sprang to my feet with a cry of
surprise and then ran forward to greet her. Short though her illness had
been, it had effected a great change in her appearance, but since she
was able to leave her cabin, I trusted that the sea air would soon
restore her accustomed health to her. After a few preliminary remarks,
which would scarcely prove of interest even if recorded, she inquired
when we expected to reach England.
"About midnight to-night, I believe," I replied; "that is, if all goes
well."
There was a short silence, and then she placed her hand in mine and
looked anxiously into my face.
"I want you to tell me, dear," she said, "all that happened the night
before last. In my own heart I felt quite certain from the first that we
should not get safely away. Did I not say that Pharos would never permit
it? I must have been very ill, for though I remember standing in the
sitting-room at the hotel, waiting for you to return from the steamship
office, I cannot recall anything else. Tell me everything, I am quite
strong enough to bear it."
Thus entreated, I described how she had foretold Pharos's arrival in
Hamburg, and how she had warned me that he had entered the hotel.
"I can remember nothing of what you tell me," she said sadly when I had
finished. Then, still holding my hand in hers, she continued in an
undertone, "We were to have been so happy together."
"Not '_were to have been_,'" I said, with a show of confidence I was far
from feeling, "but '_are to be_.' Believe me, darling, all will come
right yet. We have been through so much together that surely we must be
happy in the end. We love each other, and nothing can destroy that."
"Nothing," she answered, with a little catch of her breath; "but there
is one thing I must say to you while I have time, something that I fear
may possibly give you pain. You told me in Hamburg that up to the
present no case of the plague had been notified in England. If that is
so, darling, what right have we to introduce it? Surely none. Thing of
the misery its coming must inevitably cause to others. For aught we know
to the contrary, we may carry the infection from Hamburg with us, and
thousands of innocent people will suffer in consequence. I have been
thinking it over all night, and it seems to me that if we did this thing
we should be little better than murderers."
I had thought of this myself, but lest I should appear to be taking
credit for more than I deserve, I must confess that the true
consequences of the action to which she referred had never struck me.
Not having any desire to frighten her, I did not tell her that the
disease had already made its appearance on board the very vessel in
which we were travelling.
"You are bargaining without Pharos, however," I replied. "If he has made
up his mind to go, how are we to gainsay him? Our last attempt could
scarcely be considered a success."
"At any cost to ourselves we must not go," she said firmly and
decidedly. "The lives of loving parents, of women and little children,
the happiness of an entire nation, depend upon our action. What is our
safety, great as it seems to us, compared with theirs?"
"Valerie, you are my good angel," I said. "Whatever you wish I will do."
"We must tell Pharos that we have both determined on no account to land
with him," she continued. "If the pestilence had already shown itself
there it would be a different matter, but as it is we have no choice
left us but to do our duty."
"But where are we to go if we do not visit England? And what are we to
do?" I asked, for I could plainly see the difficulties ahead.
"I do not know," she answered simply. "Never fear; we will find some
place. You may be certain of this, dear--if we wish God to bless our
love we must act as I propose."
"So it shall be," I answered, lifting her hand to my lips. "You have
decided for me. Whatever it may mean to ourselves, we will not do
anything that will imperil the lives of the people you spoke of just
now."
A few moments later I heard a footstep on the companion-ladder. It was
Pharos returning from his examination of the plague-stricken men. In the
dim light of the hatchway he looked more like a demon than a man, and as
I thought of the subject I had to broach to him, and the storm it would
probably bring down upon us, I am not ashamed to confess that my heart
sank into my shoes.
It was not until he was fairly in the saloon that he became aware of
Valerie's presence.
"I offer you my congratulations upon your improved appearance," he said
politely. "I am glad of it, for it will make matters the easier when we
get ashore."
I had already risen from my seat, though I still held Valerie's hand.
"Your pardon, Monsieur Pharos," I said, trying to speak calmly, "but on
that subject it is necessary that I should have a few words with you."
"Indeed," he answered, looking at me with the customary sneer upon his
face. "In that case, say on, for, as you see, I am all attention. I must
beg, however, that you will be quick about it, for matters are
progressing so capitally on board this ship that, if things go on as
they are doing at present, we may every one of us expect to be down with
the plague before midday."
"The plague!" Valerie repeated, with a note of fear in her voice. "Do
you mean to say that it has broken out on board this steamer?" Then,
turning to me, she added reproachfully, "You did not tell me that."
"Very probably not, my dear," Pharos answered for me. "Had he done so,
you would scarcely have propounded the ingenious theory you were
discussing shortly before I entered."
Overwhelming as was Valerie's surprise at the dreadful news Pharos had
disclosed to her, and unenviable as our present position was, we could
not contain our astonishment at finding that Pharos had become
acquainted with the decision we had arrived at a few moments before.
Instinctively I glanced up at the skylight overhead, thinking it might
have been through that he had overheard our conversation. But it was
securely closed. By what means, therefore, he had acquired his
information I could not imagine.
"You were prepared to tell me when I appeared," he said, "that you would
refuse to enter England, on what I cannot help considering most absurd
grounds. You must really forgive me if I do not agree with your views.
Apart from the idea of your thwarting me, your decision is ludicrous in
the extreme. However, now that you find you are no safer on board this
ship than you would be ashore--in point of fact, not so safe--you will
doubtless change your minds. By way of emphasising my point, I might
tell you that out of the twelve men constituting her crew, no less than
four are victims of the pestilence, while one is dead and thrown
overboard."
"Four," I cried, scarcely able to believe that what he said could be
true. "There were only two half an hour ago."
"I do not combat that assertion," he said; "but you forget that the
disease travels fast, faster even than you do when you run away from me,
my dear Forrester. However, I don't know that that fact matters very
much. What we have to deal with is your obliging offer to refuse to land
in England. Perhaps you will be good enough to tell me, in the event of
your not doing so there, where you will condescend to go ashore! The
Margrave of Brandenburg is only a small vessel, after all, and with the
best intention she cannot remain at sea for ever."
"What we wish to tell you is," I answered, "that we have decided not to
be the means of introducing this terrible scourge into a country that so
far is free from it."
"A very philanthropic decision on your part," he answered sarcastically.
"Unfortunately, however, I am in a position to be able to inform you
that your charity is not required. Though the authorities are not aware
of it, the plague has already broken out in England. For this reason you
will not be responsible for such deaths as may occur."
He paused and looked first at Valerie and then at myself. The old light
I remembered having seen in his eyes the night he had hypnotised me in
my studio was shining there now. Very soon the storm which had been
gathering broke, and its violence was the greater for having been so
long suppressed.
"I have warned you several times already," he cried, shaking his fist at
me, "but you take no notice. You will try to thwart me again, and then
nothing can save you. You fool! cannot you see how thin the crust is
upon which you stand? Hatch but one more plot, and I will punish you in
a fashion of which you do not dream. As with this woman here, I have but
to raise my hand, and you are powerless to help yourself. Sight,
hearing, power of speech, may be all taken from you in a second, and for
as long a time as I please." Then, turning to Valerie, he continued, "To
your cabin with you, madam. Let me hear no more of such talk as this, or
'twill be time for me to give you another exhibition of my power."
Valerie departed to her cabin without a word, and Pharos, with another
glance at me, entered his, while I remained standing in the centre of
the saloon, not knowing what to do nor what to say.
It was not until late that evening that I saw him again, and then I was
on deck. The sea was much smoother than in the morning, but the night
wind blew cold. I had not left the companion-ladder very long before I
was aware of a man coming slowly along the deck towards me, lurching
from side to side as he walked. To my astonishment it proved to be the
captain, and it was plain that something serious was the matter with
him. When he came closer I found that he was talking to himself.
"What is the matter, captain?" I inquired, with a foreboding in my
heart. "Are you not feeling well?"
He shook off the hand I had placed upon his arm.
"It is no good, I will not do it!" he cried fiercely. "I have done
enough for you already, and you won't get me to do any more."
"Come, come," I said, "you mustn't be wandering about the deck like
this! Let me help you to your cabin." So saying, I took him by the arm
and was about to lead him along the deck in the direction of his own
quarters, when, with a shout of rage, he turned and threw himself upon
me. Then began a struggle such as I had never known in my life before.
The man was undoubtedly mad, and I soon found that I had to put out all
my strength to hold my own against him.
While we were still wrestling, Pharos made his appearance from below. He
took in the situation at a glance, and as we swayed towards him threw
himself upon the captain, twining his long, thin fingers about the
other's throat and clinging to him with the tenacity of a bulldog. The
result may be easily foreseen. Overmatched as he was, the wretched man
fell like a log upon the deck, and I with him. The force with which his
head struck the planks must have stunned him, for he lay, without
moving, just where he had fallen. The light of the lamp in the companion
fell full upon his face and enabled me to see a large swelling on the
right side of the throat, a little below the ear.
"Another victim," said Pharos, and I could have sworn a chuckle escaped
him. "You had better leave him to me. There is no hope for him. That
swelling is an infallible sign. He is unconscious now; in half an hour
he will be dead."
Unhappily his prophecy proved to be correct, for though we bore him to
his cabin and did all that was possible, in something under the time
Pharos had mentioned death had overtaken him.
Our position was even less pleasant now than before. We had only the
second mate to fall back upon, and if anything happened to him I did not
see how it would be possible for us to reach our destination. As it
turned out, however, I need not have worried myself, for we were closer
to the English coast than I imagined.
Owing to the stringency of the quarantine laws, and to the fact that the
coastguards all round the British Isles were continually on the look-out
for vessels attempting to land passengers, orders had been given that no
lights should be shown; the skylights and portholes were accordingly
covered with tarpaulins.
It wanted a quarter of an hour to midnight when Pharos came along the
deck and, standing by my side, pointed away over our bow.
"The black smudge you can distinguish on the horizon is England," he
said abruptly, and then was silent, in order, I suppose, that I might
have time to digest the thoughts his information conjured up.