"I'll tell you what," said I; "just do you pretend to be mad, and play
all sorts of strange pranks, and do all the mischief you can; and then
the captain will propose to buy you, and perhaps the old Moor will sell
you a bargain, and be glad to be rid of you."
"A very good idea," he answered. "But here am I chained up like a dog,
and how am I to get free?"
"No fear," said I, producing a knife which Peter had given me,
containing all sorts of implements, and among them a file. "You shall
soon be at liberty, at all events."
Accordingly I set to work, and in less than an hour I had filed the
chain from off his legs. While we were filing away, we arranged what he
was to do. He was to make a huge cap, with a high peak of straw, and he
was to cut his jacket into shreds, and a red handkerchief I had into
strips, and to fasten them about him in long streamers, and he was to
take a thick pole in his hand, covered much in the same way, and then he
was to rush into the house, shrieking and crying out as if a pack of
hounds were after him.
"They will not wonder at seeing me mad, for I have done already many
strange things, and very little work, since I came here," he remarked.
"But what it to become of the chain?"
"You had better carry that with you, and clank it in their faces," said
I. "Make as if you had bitten it through. That will astonish them, and
they will, at all events, be afraid to come near your teeth."
To make a long story short, we worked away with a will, and in half an
hour or so he was rigged out in a sufficiently strange fashion. I have
no doubt, had Peter been with us, he would have improved on our
arrangement. I then, advising Lyal to follow me in a short time, stole
back, and took my place unobserved in the old Moor's dining-hall. The
captain guessed what I had been doing, but the rest of the party had
been too much engaged in their potations to miss me. After a little
time I stole over to the captain and told him the arrangements I had
made, that he might be ready to act accordingly.
In a short time the silence which had hitherto prevailed was broken by a
terrible uproar of dogs barking, and men hallooing and crying out at the
top of their voices; while, above all, arose as unearthly shrieks as I
had ever heard. Presently in rushed a crowd of black and brown
servants, followed by a figure which I recognised as that of Lyal,
though he had much improved his appearance by fastening a haik over his
shoulders and another round his waist, while he waved above his head a
torch, at the risk of setting his high straw-cap on fire. The people
all separated before him, as he dashed on, right up to the old Moor,
who, with a drunken gaze of terror and astonishment, stared at him
without speaking.
"Ho! ho!" shouted the sailor, seizing him by the nose; "old fellow, I
have you now!"
Thereon he kicked over the jar of Schiedam, the contents of which he set
on fire with his torch; and keeping fast hold of the old Moor's nose,
who in his fright knew not how to resist, dragged him round and round
the room, shouting and shrieking all the time like a very demoniac.
The place would have been meantime set on fire had not the captain and I
quenched the flames, while the renegade and the interpreter, in their
drunken humours, could only lean back on their cushions, and laugh as if
they would split their sides at the extraordinary predicament of our
host.
"I say, countrymen, if you had but your horses ready, we might gallop
away before all these people knew where they are," shouted Lyal.
"Who'll just take a spell at the old fellow's nose, for I am tired of
holding on?"
On this Captain Gale thought that it was time to interfere, and he and I
going up to the old Moor, pretended to use great exertion in dragging
away the sailor from him. The captain then led him back to his seat,
while I held Lyal.
"Here, Sidy," said the captain to the interpreter; "tell the old man
that if he will give me fifty dollars, I will take that madman off his
hands."
When the old Moor had somewhat recovered his composure, Sidy explained
the offer. "He says that he can kill him, and so get him out of his
way!" was the answer. "He dare not do that," put in the renegade; "all
the people here will own him as inspired. Abate your price, and stick
to it."
Finally, the captain consented to carry away the madman on having twenty
dollars added to the price he was to receive for his goods.
"Take him! take him!" exclaimed the old Moor. "The man who can eat
through iron, drive all my slaves before him, set fire to my house, and
pull me by the nose, is better away from me than near! Take care,
though, that he does not come back again!"
The captain promised that he would take very good care of that; and the
next day, with joyful hearts at our unexpected success, we set forward
on our return-journey to Salee. As the renegade and Sidy were both to
be rewarded according to our success, they were well content; and by
their aid, the same night we got on board the brig with our recovered
countryman without being observed. We had now to turn the whole of our
attention to the recovery of Captain Stenning; and every excuse which
Captain Gale could think of was made for our stay in the harbour.
Still, we had very little of our cargo left, and every day saw it
decrease. The spring-tides were also coming on, when there was the
greatest depth of water on the bar, and we could the most easily make
our escape without a pilot.