MYSTERIOUS CONSULTATIONS AND PLANS--GASCOYNE ASTONISHES HIS FRIENDS, AND
MAKES AN UNEXPECTED CONFESSION.
"A pretty morning's work I have made of it, mother," said Henry, as he
flung himself into a chair in the cottage parlour, on his return from
the weary and fruitless chase which has just been recorded.
The widow was pale and haggard, but she could not help smiling as she
observed the look of extreme disappointment which rested on the
countenance of her son.
"True, Henry," she replied, busying herself in preparing breakfast, "you
have not been very successful, but you made a noble effort."
"Pshaw! a noble effort, indeed! Why, the man has foiled me in the two
things in which I prided myself most--wrestling and running. I never
saw such a greyhound in my life."
"He is a giant, my boy; few men could hope to overcome him."
"True, as regards wrestling, mother; I am not much ashamed of having
been beaten by him at that; but running--that's the sore point. Such a
weight he is, and yet he took the north gully like a wild cat, and you
know, mother, there are only two of us in Sandy Cove who can go over
that gully. Ay, and he went a full yard farther than ever I did. I
measured the leap as I came down. Really it is too bad to have been
beaten so completely by a man who must be nearly double my age. But,
after all, the worst of the whole affair is, that a pirate has escaped
me after I actually had him in my arms! the villain!"
"You do not _know_ that he is a villain," said the widow in a subdued
tone.
"You are right, mother," said Henry, looking up from the plate of bacon,
to which he had been devoting himself with much assiduity, and gazing
earnestly into his mother's face; "you are right, and, do you know, I
feel inclined to give the fellow the benefit of the doubt, for to tell
you the truth I have a sort of liking for him. If it had not been for
the way in which he has treated you, and the suspicious character that
he bears, I do believe I should have made a friend of him."
A look of evident pleasure crossed the widow's face while her son spoke,
but as that son's eyes were once more riveted on the bacon, which his
morning exercise rendered peculiarly attractive, he did not observe it.
Just then the door opened, and Mr Mason entered. His face wore a
dreadfully anxious expression.
"Ha! I'm glad to see you, Henry," said he; "of course you have not
caught your man. I have been waiting anxiously for you to consult about
our future proceedings. It is quite evident that the pirate schooner
cannot be far off. Gascoyne must either have swam ashore, or been
landed in a boat. In either case the schooner must have been within the
reef at the time, and there has been little wind since the squall blew
itself out yesterday."
"Quite enough, how ever, to blow such a light craft pretty far out to
sea in a few hours," said Henry, shaking his head.
"No matter," replied Mr Mason, with a sigh, "_something_ must be done
at any rate, I have borrowed the carpenter's small cutter, which is
being now put in order for a voyage. Provisions and water for a few
days are already on board, and I have come to ask you to take command of
her, as you know something of navigation. I will go, of course, but
will not take any management of the little craft, as I know nothing
about the working of vessels."
"And where do you mean to go?" asked Henry.
"That remains to be seen. I have some ideas running in my head, of
course, but before letting you know them I wish to hear what you would
advise."
"I would advise, in the first place, that you should provide one or two
thorough sailors to manage the craft. By the way, that reminds me of
Bumpus. What of him? Where is he? In the midst of all this bustle I
have not had time for much thought, and it has only just occurred to me
that if this schooner is really a pirate, and if Gascoyne turns out to
be Durward, it follows that Bumpus is a pirate too, and ought to be
dealt with accordingly."
"I have thought of that," said Mr Mason, with a perplexed look, "and
intended to speak to you on the subject, but events have crowded so fast
upon each other of late that it has been driven out of my mind. No
doubt, if the _Foam_ and the _Avenger_ are one and the same vessel, as
seems too evident to leave much room for doubt, then Bumpus is a pirate,
for he does not deny that he was one of the crew. But he acts strangely
for a pirate. He seems as much at his ease amongst us as if he were the
most innocent of men. Moreover, his looks seem to stamp him a
thoroughly honest fellow. But, alas! one cannot depend on looks."
"But where is the man?" asked Henry.
"He is asleep in the small closet off the kitchen," said Mrs Stuart,
"where he has been lying ever since you returned from the heathen
village. Poor fellow, he sleeps heavily, and looks as if he had been
hurt during all this fighting."
"Hurt! say you?" exclaimed Henry, laughing; "it is a miracle that he is
now alive after the flight he took over the north cliff into the sea."
"Flight! over the north cliff!" echoed Mrs Stuart in surprise.
"Ay, and a fearful plunge he had." Here Henry detailed poor Jo's
misadventure. "And now," said he, when he had finished, "I must lock
his door and keep him in. The settlers have forgotten him in all this
turmoil; but depend upon it if they see him they will string him up for
a pirate to the first handy branch of a tree without giving him the
benefit of a trial; and that would not be desirable."
"Yet you would have shot Gascoyne on mere suspicion without a thought of
trial or justice," said Mrs Stuart.
"True, mother, but that was when I was seizing him, and in hot blood,"
said Henry, in a subdued voice. "I was hasty there, no doubt. Lucky
for us both that the pistol missed fire."
The widow looked as if she were about to reply, but checked herself.
"Yes," said Mr Mason, recurring to the former subject, "as we shall be
away a few days, we must lock Bumpus up to keep him out of harm's way.
Meanwhile--"
The missionary was interrupted here by the sudden opening of the door.
An exclamation of surprise burst from the whole party as they sprang up,
for Gascoyne strode into the room, locked the door, and taking out the
key handed it to Henry, who stood staring at him in speechless
amazement.
"You are surprised to see me appear thus suddenly," said he, "but the
fact is that I came here this morning to fulfil a duty; and although
Master Henry there has hindered me somewhat in carrying out my good
intentions, I do not intend to allow him to frustrate me altogether."
"I do not mean to make a second attempt, Gascoyne, after what has
occurred this morning," said Henry, seating himself doggedly on his
chair. "But it would be as well that you should observe that Mr Mason
is a stout man, and, as we have seen, can act vigorously when occasion
offers. Remember that we are two to one now."
"There will be no occasion for vigorous action, at least as regards me,
if you will agree to forget your suspicions for a few minutes, and
listen to what I have got to say. Meanwhile, in order to shew you how
thoroughly in earnest I am, and how regardless of my personal safety, I
render myself defenceless--thus."
Gascoyne pulled a brace of small pistols from their place of concealment
beneath the breast of his shirt, and, drawing the knife that hung at his
girdle, hurled them all through the open window into the garden. He
then took a chair, planted it in the middle of the room, and sat down.
The sadness of his deep voice did not change during the remainder of
that interview. The bold look which usually characterised this peculiar
man had given place to a grave expression of humility, which was
occasionally varied by a troubled look.
"Before stating what I have come for," said Gascoyne, "I mean to make a
confession. You have been right in your suspicions--_I am Durward the
pirate_! Nay, do not shrink from me in that way, Mary. I have kept
this secret from you long, because I feared to lose the old friendship
that has existed between us since we were children. I have deceived you
in _this thing only_. I have taken advantage of your ignorance to make
you suppose that I was merely a smuggler, and that, in consequence of
being an outlaw, it was necessary for me to conceal my name and my
movements. You have kept my secret, Mary, and have tried to win me back
to honest ways, but you little knew the strength of the net I had
wrapped around me. You did not know that I was a pirate!"
Gascoyne paused, and bent his head as if in thought. The widow sat with
clasped hands, gazing at him with a look of despair on her pale face.
But she did not move or speak. The three listeners sat in perfect
silence until the pirate chose to continue his confession.
"Yes, I have been a pirate," said he, "but I have not been the villain
that men have painted me." He looked steadily in the widow's face as he
said these words deliberately.
"Do not try to palliate your conduct, Gascoyne," said Mr Mason,
earnestly. "The blackness of your sin is too great to be deepened or
lightened by what men may have said of you. You are a pirate. Every
_pirate is a murderer_."
"I am not a murderer," said Gascoyne, slowly, in reply, but still fixing
his gaze on the widow's face, as if he addressed himself solely to her.
"You may not have committed murder with your own hand," said Mr Mason,
"but the man who leads on others to commit the crime is a murderer in
the eye of God's law as well as in that of man."
"I never led on men to commit murder," said Gascoyne, in the same tone
and with the same steadfast gaze. "This hand is free from the stain of
human blood. Do you believe me, Mary?"
The widow did not answer. She sat like one bereft of all power of
speech or motion.
"I will explain," resumed the pirate captain, drawing a long breath, and
directing his looks to Henry now.
"For reasons which it is not necessary that you should know, I resolved
some years ago to become a pirate. I had been deceived--shamefully
deceived and wronged--by wealthy and powerful men. I had appealed to
the law of my country, and the law refused to right me. No, not the
law, but those who sat on the judgment-seat to pervert the law. It
matters not now; I was driven mad at the time, for the wrong done was
not done so much to me as to those whom I loved. I vowed that I should
be avenged.
"I soon found men as mad as myself who only wanted a leader to guide
them in order to run full swing to destruction. I seized the _Foam_, of
which schooner I was mate, called her the _Avenger_, and became a
pirate. No blood was shed when I seized the schooner. Before an
opportunity occurred of trying my hand at this new profession, my anger
had cooled. I _repented_ of what I had done, but I was surrounded by
men who were more bent on mischief than I was. I could not now draw
back, but I modified my plan. I determined to become merely a _robber_
and use the proceeds of my trade to indemnify those to whom injustice
had been done. I thought at the time that there was some justice in
this. I called myself in jest, a tax-gatherer of the sea. I ordered
the men aft one day and explained to them my views. I said that I
abhorred the name and the deeds of pirates, that I would only consent to
command them if they agreed never to shed human blood except in fair and
open fight.
"They liked the idea. There were men among them who had never heartily
agreed to the seizing of the schooner, and who would have left her if I
would have allowed them; these were much relieved to hear my proposal.
It was fixed that we should _rob_, but not _murder_. Miserable fool
that I was! I thought it was possible to go just so far and no farther
into sin. I did not know at that time the strength of the fearful
current into which I had plunged.
"But we stuck to our principles. We never did commit murder. And as
our appearance was always sufficient to cause the colours of any ship we
ever came across to be hauled down at once, there has been no occasion
for shedding blood, even in fair and open fight. Do you believe me,
Mary?" said Gascoyne, pausing at this point.
The widow was still silent, but a slight inclination of her head
satisfied the pirate, who was about to resume, when Mr Mason
said--"Gascoyne, do you call warfare in the cause of robbery by the name
of `fair and open fight?'"
"No, I do not. Yet there have been great generals and admirals in this
world who have committed wholesale murder in this same cause, and whose
names stand high in the roll of fame!"
A look of scorn rested on the pirate's face as he said this, but it
passed away quickly.
"You tell me that there were some of the men in the schooner whom you
kept aboard against their will?" said Mr Mason. "Did it never occur to
you, Gascoyne, that you may have been the murderer of the _souls_ of
these men?"
The pirate made no reply for some time, and the troubled anxious look
that had more than once crossed his face returned.
"Yes," said he at length, "I have thought of that. But it is done now
and cannot be undone. I can do no more now than give myself up to
justice. You see, I have thrown away my arms and stand here
defenceless. But I did not come here to plead for mercy. I come to
make to you all the reparation I can for the wrong I have done you.
When that last act is completed, you may do with me what you please. I
deserve to die, and I care not to live."
"O Gascoyne, speak not thus," exclaimed the widow, earnestly. "However
much and deeply you have sinned against man, if you have not taken life
you do not deserve to die. Besides, there is a way of pardon open to
the very chief of sinners."
"I know what you mean, Mary, I know what you mean; but--well, well, this
is neither the time nor place to talk of such things. Your little girl,
Mr Mason, is in the hands of the pirates."
"I know that," said the missionary, wincing as if he had received a deep
wound, "but she is not in _your_ power now."
"More's the pity; she would have been safer with me than with my first
mate, who is the greatest villain afloat on the high seas. He does not
like our milk-and-water style of robbing. He is an out-and-out pirate
in heart, and has long desired to cut my throat. I have to thank him
for being here to-night. Some of the crew who are like himself seized
me while I was asleep, bound and gagged me, put me into a boat and rowed
me ashore;--for we had easily escaped the _Talisman_ in the squall, and
doubling or our course came back here. The mate was anxious to clear
off old scores by cutting my throat at once and pitching me into the
sea. Luckily some of the men, not so bloodthirsty as he, objected to
this, so I was landed and cast loose."
"But what of Alice?" cried Mr Mason, anxiously. "How can we save her?"
"By taking my advice," answered Gascoyne. "You have a small cutter at
anchor off the creek at the foot of the hill. Put a few trusty men
aboard of her, and I will guide you to the island where the _Avenger_
has been wont to fly when hard pressed."
"But how do you know that Manton will go there?" inquired Henry,
eagerly.
"Because he is short of powder, and all our stores are concealed there,
besides much of our ill-gotten wealth."
"And how can you expect us to put ourselves so completely in your
power?" said Mr Mason.
"Because you _must_ do so if you would save your child. She is safe
now, I know, and will be until the _Avenger_ leaves the island where our
stores are concealed. If we do not save her before that happens, _she
is lost to you for ever_!"
"That no man can say. She is in the hands of God," cried Mr Mason,
fervently.
"True, true," said Gascoyne, musing. "But God does not work by
miracles. We must be up and doing at once. I promise you that I shall
be faithful, and that, after the work is done, I will give myself up to
justice."
"May we trust him, mother?" said Henry.
"You may trust him, my son," replied the widow, in a tone of decision
that satisfied Henry, while it called forth a look of gratitude from the
pirate.
The party now proceeded to arrange the details of their plan for the
rescue of Alice and her companions. These were speedily settled, and
Henry rose to go and put them in train. He turned the key of the door
and was on the point of lifting the latch, when this was done for him by
some one on the outside. He had just time to step back when the door
flew open, and he stood face to face with Hugh Barnes the cooper.
"Have you heard the news, Henry?--hallo!"
This abrupt exclamation was caused by the sight of Gascoyne, who rose
quietly the moment he heard the door open, and, turning his back towards
it, walked slowly into a small apartment that opened off the widow's
parlour, and shut the door.
"I say, Henry, who's that big fellow?" said the cooper, casting a
suspicious glance towards the little room into which he had disappeared.
"He is a _friend_ of mine," replied Mrs Stuart, rising hastily, and
welcoming her visitor.
"Humph! it's well he's a _friend_," said the man as he took a chair, "I
shouldn't like to have him for an enemy."
"But what is the news you were so anxious to tell us?" inquired Henry.
"That Gascoyne, the pirate captain, has been seen on the island by some
of the women, and there's a regular hunt organising. Will you go with
us?"
"I have more important work to do, Hugh," replied Henry, "besides, I
want you to go with me on a hunt which I'll tell you about if you'll
come with me to the creek."
"By all means, come along."
Henry and the cooper at once left the cottage. The latter was let into
the secret, and prevailed on to form one of the crew of the _Wasp_, as
the little cutter was named. In the course of the afternoon everything
was in readiness. Gascoyne waited till the dusk of the evening, and
then embarked along with Ole Thorwald; that stout individual having
insisted on being one of the party, despite the remonstrances of Mr
Mason, who did not like to leave the settlement, even for a brief
period, so completely deprived of all its leading men. But Ole
entertained a suspicion that Gascoyne intended to give them the slip;
and having privately made up his mind to prevent this he was not to be
denied.
The men who formed the crew--twelve in number--were selected from among
those natives and settlers who were known never to have seen the pirate
captain. They were chosen with a view to their fighting qualities, for
Gascoyne and Henry were sufficient for the management of the little
craft. There were no large guns on board, but all the men were well
armed with cutlasses, muskets, and pistols.
Thus equipped, the _Wasp_ stood out to sea with a light breeze, just as
the moon rose on the coral reef and cast a shower of sparkling silver
across the bay.