Carew gazed silently downwards into the clear, dark sea for some moments
after the yacht had sunk entirely out of sight; then, raising his head,
he looked towards the barque, and saw that she was lying hove-to, with
her mainyard laid aback, about a quarter of a mile distant.
"Pull away, lads," he said. "Let us get on board the Frenchman, and
don't forget that we ran into a bit of wreckage last night and so sprang
a leak. Say as little more as you can help, and don't give conflicting
accounts of our accident."
They soon came alongside the vessel, and clambered on to her deck by a
rope's end that was lowered to them. The captain of the barque gave the
order to sling the dinghy on deck and square away again.
This being done, he turned to Carew and said in French, "I am very
happy, sir, that I was so near at hand when your vessel sank. She went
down very suddenly. Pray what was the cause?"
Carew gave the very probable explanation of the mishap which had been
decided on.
"You must have run into that bit of wreckage with considerable force,"
said the captain. "What was it--a large spar?"
"Something of the sort, I imagine," replied Carew; "but we could see
nothing. It must have been floating just below the level of the water."
"It is a lucky thing for you that this happened so near to the Brazilian
coast and in the track of shipping, instead of in the middle of the
Atlantic. You should have under-girded the vessel when you found that
she had sprung so serious a leak."
"So we did," broke in Baptiste. "We got a jib under her bows. But it was
no good. She was strained along her whole bilge. I wonder she did not
fall to pieces."
"Let me introduce myself to you," said Carew. "My name is Allen. I was
the owner of the unfortunate little yacht which is now so far below us.
I think I recognise your vessel. Were you not lying near us under
Villegagnon?"
"That is quite right, sir, and I recognised your yacht as soon as I saw
your signal of distress. My name is Captain Mourez, and this is the
French barque _La Bonne Esperance_, bound for Swansea. And now, sir,
what would you like me to do with you and your crew? I see smoke ahead,
which should come from some steamer bound for Rio. Shall I signal her
and put you on board, or do you feel inclined to come on with us to
Swansea?"
Carew did not look in the captain's face, and his voice shook as he
replied, "I should esteem it a great favour, Captain Mourez, if you
would allow us to be your passengers as far as Swansea. I will of course
repay you for this when we reach England."
"Say nothing about that at present," replied the captain proudly. "You
can do what you think proper when you reach port. A French sailor is
always glad to assist other sailors in distress without the inducement
of a reward for doing so."
The boastful speech of the patriotic captain stated no more than the
truth. French sailors rarely hesitate to risk their lives at sea in
going to the rescue of their fellow-men; in this respect differing
considerably from the mariners of some other European nations, who have
acquired an unenviable notoriety for a selfish indifference to the
sufferings of others.
The captain looked from Carew to Baptiste. He could distinguish from the
latter's accent and appearance that he was no common sailor. "This
gentleman is your friend, I suppose?" he said.
"My friend, and the mate of the yacht," replied Carew. "I was my own
captain."
"I see that you are a genuine English yachtsman. But surely this is a
French gentleman?"
"No, Captain Mourez," broke in Baptiste quickly; "I am an English
subject, but I am a Creole of the Mauritius, and of French origin.
Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Baptiste Fortier."
"Very well," said the captain. "We can find room for your two men in the
forecastle. You, Mr. Allen and Mr. Fortier, will occupy cabins aft. We
have plenty to spare. Come below and I will show you round."
They entered the saloon--a spacious one for a vessel of her size. There
were four cabins on each side of it. Only two of these were occupied;
one by the captain and another by his mate. Two others were now placed
at the disposal of Carew and Baptiste.
The captain made his two guests sit down with him at the saloon table,
and produced a bottle of Bordeaux for their refreshment. The mate of _La
Belle Esperance_ soon came below and joined the party. Though no
drunkard, he was never far away when there was a drawing of corks. His
name was Duval; he was a wiry, red-headed Norman, somewhat hot-tempered,
but very garrulous and merry. Captain Mourez was a tall, handsome man,
with black hair and beard, a Breton by birth, taciturn as a rule, but
very courteous in his manners.
While these four were sitting in the saloon talking over the wreck of
the _Petrel_, there was suddenly heard the sound of something falling
heavily on the deck just overhead; then a cry and a scuffling of many
feet.
Duval hurried on deck to learn what the noise signified. Shortly
afterwards he returned again. "It is that imbecile young apprentice,
Halle, again. What an awkward cub it is! He has fallen from the mizzen
rigging this time; not from a great height, luckily. He has not hurt
himself seriously, but he seems rather sick and dizzy."
The crew of the _Petrel_ were soon at home on their new vessel. El Toro
and El Chico were made much of by the kindly Frenchmen in the
forecastle. As luck would have it, none of the crew of the barque
understood Spanish; so the two Spaniards, who knew no French, had not to
reply to questions as to the details of the yacht's misadventure. El
Toro especially, whose dense head was entirely devoid of imagination,
would have been certain to come to grief in attempting to lie in an
ingenious and consistent manner.
In the afternoon the loquacious Norman mate insisted on taking Carew and
Baptiste all over the vessel and showing them everything. He was
gratified by the keen interest the two passengers seemed to take in his
explanation. They listened attentively to all he said, for reasons of
their own. They learnt that the vessel's company, officers included,
numbered seventeen souls; that there was no second mate, but that the
boatswain took the port watch and lived with the carpenter in the small
deck-house.
Duval also took them into the forecastle, where some of the watch off
duty were sleeping at the time. Among them was the young apprentice who
had fallen from the rigging. He was tossing about restlessly in his
bunk, and his face was very flushed.
Baptiste as he passed by glanced casually at him, then scanned his face
earnestly for some time. "Come out of this," he said to Carew. "It is
too hot down here. Let us go on deck."
That evening the wind freshened considerably, and the barque, with yards
braced up, was making good way through the water. Carew, unable to
sleep, came on deck shortly before midnight, and sat down in a dark,
quiet corner to meditate. Now that the excitement of the preliminary
preparations was over, he began to realise to the full what was before
him; and an intense abhorrence of the crime he had undertaken once more
oppressed his soul. He could not retreat now. He must be the cause of
the death of all these innocent men, who had come to the rescue of his
life. If he spared them he would be carried on to England to pay the
penalty of his offences.
As he sat brooding thus miserably, a man walked towards him from the
fore part of the ship. Carew saw the red glow of his cigarette before
he could distinguish the man in the darkness, and he knew that it was
his evil genius.
"Baptiste, is that you?"
"Here I am, captain. A lovely night, is it not?"
"Sit down here," said Carew, "and speak to me. No one can overhear us
here, I think."
"No; it will be all right if we do not raise our voices," replied
Baptiste, looking round.
"How is this going to end?" whispered Carew.
"What do you mean, captain?"
"How are we four to seize a vessel with a crew of seventeen strong men
on board?"
"Strong men, indeed!" replied the Frenchman. "They will be as weak as
babies in a few days' time. By the way, I see that you did not omit to
bring your medicine chest on board with you."
Carew shuddered. "Poison!" he whispered, in a terrified voice. "Do you
mean that?"
"Why not, captain? It is a merciful and painless death if the right
stuff is used."
Carew said nothing for some time. "Whatever is done must be done soon,"
he muttered.
"That is so, captain. This vessel must be ours while we are still in the
trades and within a few days' run of a South American port. It will be
difficult enough for four of us to work her, even in these calm waters.
We must not postpone action till we get into the region of rougher
weather."
"Oh, that this dreadful thing were not necessary!" Carew groaned.
"Ah, sir, don't allow those fatal scruples of yours to torment you. If I
had some of your courage, and you some of my philosophy, what a fine
couple we should be! But as it is at present, I am the more useful man
of the two, despite my physical cowardice. Believe me, Mr. Carew, the
ancient was right who said that to know oneself is the secret of
happiness. If a man has a conscience at all, it ought to be a stable one
that does not vary. You have got a set of moral principles of a sort,
but you have not the slightest idea of what they are. One day you will
commit an action with a light heart; on the morrow your remorse will
madden you. Such inconsistency means misery. Know thyself. If you will
have a code of ethics, know it and stick to it, and be happy. But now
that you have gone so far, I recommend you to abjure conscience and
moral principles, and substitute for them my beautifully simple code of
ethics, which is summed up in three words--fear of consequences."
"I wish, indeed, that I could do so, Baptiste."
"If you wish it, this satisfactory result will come in time. All changes
in the moral sense are arrived at by wishing. _Experto crede_, as they
taught me in the _lycee_ at Nimes."
Neither spoke for some time; then Baptiste said--
"You were born under a lucky star, captain. I think that Providence has
found a way of sparing your sensitive conscience. She will do most of
the killing for you."
"What do you mean?" exclaimed Carew.
"Hush! not so loud. You remember that a young man fell from the mizzen
rigging while we were below drinking with the captain?"
"Yes."
"He is our unconscious ally. He will kill off a good many of his
comrades for us. But I will not mystify you any longer. Why did he fall
off the rigging--because he was awkward, as Duval said? Not a bit of it.
He fell because he was dizzy. Why was he dizzy? Because he was ill. This
afternoon, when I saw him first, I more than suspected that a fall could
not account for all his symptoms. I have just examined him again. I know
the signs well. He is in the first stage of _yellow fever_!"
"Yellow fever?"
"Yes, yellow fever has come to help us. The man has been very sick and
is now delirious. The stupid captain has seen him, and puts it all down
to his fall; says he must have injured his spine. How lucky for us was
that fall! Led off the scent by it, the idiots will not suspect what is
the matter with the man until the _vomito negro_ declares itself. They
have not separated him from the rest. He is now lying in his bunk in the
forecastle. All the watch below are sleeping round him. It is a small
forecastle, and the crew, imagining that fresh air is bad for a sick
man, have closed the ports. It is stifling down there at present. It is
a pest-house. All those men are breathing in contagion. Do you know that
it is the worst form of yellow fever that is now raging at Rio--very
contagious, very fatal? If it breaks out in a vessel like this it will
spread like wildfire. Man after man will fall sick and die."
"Ourselves included," said Carew recklessly.
"No, sir. We will take precautions in time. I have had the fever once,
and am not likely to have it again. I have hinted the truth to El Chico
and El Toro, and they have suddenly developed a hygienic craze for fresh
air, and insist on sleeping on deck to-night, to the amazement of the
French sailors. I would not like to insure the lives of the men who
sleep in that forecastle; most of them are doomed by this time."
Carew felt his skin turn cold and tingle with horror as he listened to
the Frenchman's cold-blooded exultation in the dreadful prospect.
"Good-night, captain. I am going to turn in now; and, by the way, let me
advise you to keep on deck in the cool wind as much as possible, and
smoke perpetually. Tobacco is a splendid disinfectant."