DONALBLANE CARRIES HIS POINT.
It was one thing for Donalblane to make up his mind to go to Darien,
and quite another to carry his resolution into effect.
Alexander Blane was a masterful man, who had no fancy for accepting
advice or suggestions from other folk. He much preferred thinking of
things himself, and Donalblane knew well enough that for him to make a
direct request meant its being turned down both promptly and finally.
Strategy was therefore necessary, and, after some deep thought and the
casting aside of various schemes, he hit upon one that gave promise of
success if judiciously carried out.
Thanks to his natural quickness of mind and his interest in his
studies, he had quite won the heart of the dominie who with book and
birch ruled his little educational kingdom, and so to wise William
Laidlaw he went with his scheme. Now, as it happened, no man in
Scotland had been more fired by Paterson's daring project than this
school-teacher of Leith. He was a Scot of the Scots, and the bitterest
regret of his life was that a crippled leg, which made active movement
impossible, barred his own way to joining the expedition.
Disappointed in that direction, he had done what was perhaps even
better--he had invested the entirety of his own savings in the stock,
and he had by tongue and pen done all in his power to promote the
interest of the enterprise. It was therefore only natural that he
should listen to Donalblane's bashful confidence with a swelling and
sympathetic heart.
"Ay! ay! laddie," he said, regarding the eager, earnest boy with a look
of unwonted tenderness, "and so ye wad fain gang tae Darien? I dinna
blame ye. Glad wad I be to gang myself, if I were na too auld for sic
a far-going. But if I be too old, are ye na too young, Donald?" And
he bent a keen look upon him from under his shaggy brows.
Donalblane flushed and moved uneasily on his seat. That was the very
argument he most feared. "I am owre young, maybe," he replied; "but
I'm verra strong, and big for my age;" which was true enough, as he
looked full two years older than he really was. "And then, ye ken,
there'll no be anither such chance as this to see the world for the
rest of my life."
The dominie smiled shrewdly. That was the usual talk of youth. He
knew much better; but somehow the lad's passion for the adventure took
strong hold upon him, and the upshot of their talk together that summer
evening was that Donalblane went home joyful of heart because he had
enlisted an ally who was pledged to help him in realising his desire.
Mr. Laidlaw was on excellent terms with Mr. Blane, and no excuse
therefore was needed for a friendly visit, in the course of which the
talk naturally enough came round to the Darien expedition, already in
course of being fitted out.
"Hech! but I wad fain be going myself," said the dominie, heaving a
huge sigh of regret, "and if it were na for this halting leg of mine,
I'd be putting my name down."
Mr. Blane indulged in a sympathetic smile. The idea of the limping
dominie venturing to face the perils and privations on sea and land
that were sure to be encountered touched his sense of humour, but he
was too courteous to betray it.
"I'm inclined a bit that way likewise," he responded, "and were I only
twenty instead of sixty, I'd be offering myself to Maister Paterson."
"Have ye thought o' sending any one in your stead?" inquired the
dominie, as innocently as if no hidden purpose inspired him.
"Ay, I have thought something of it, but I've not made up my mind at
all," was the reply.
Having thus secured his opening, the wily dominie, by strategic
devices, which did infinite credit to his ingenuity and knowledge of
human nature without putting any strain upon his conscience, at last
succeeded not only in filling Mr. Blane's mind with the idea of Donald
being sent out in some sense as his representative, but in so doing it
that the worthy shipmaster quite supposed he had conceived the notion
himself.
Accordingly, a few days later Mr. Blane called Donald into his own
room, and began asking him some questions that made the boy's eyes
glitter with hope.
The sagacious dominie, knowing Mr. Blane, had counselled Donald not to
let on in any way how eagerly he desired to go to Darien, but to seem
simply willing to do whatever he was told. He therefore put a strong
curb upon himself, and responded respectfully to what was asked of him.
"Ye've got a great liking for the sea, they tell me, lad," began Mr.
Blane, with a keen glance at the bright face and sturdy figure.
[Illustration: "'YE'VE A GREAT LIKING FOR THE SEA. THEY TELL ME, LAD,'
BEGAN MR. BLANE."]
"Oh, yes, sir," answered Donald emphatically.
"And wad ye care to go away altogether on a ship?" asked his uncle.
"Ay, that I would, sir," was the hearty reply; and then, in a sly,
apologetic tone, "But of course I'd like to come back again."
Mr. Blane smiled grimly. He quite understood the boy's eagerness to be
rid of the restraints of school and of town life, and did not take at
all amiss the readiness he expressed to leave the roof that had
sheltered him so comfortably, and fare forth into unknown difficulties
and dangers.
"And what wad ye say to going with Mr. Paterson away out to America, if
he'll let you?" was the next question; and Donald could feel his
uncle's deep-set eyes piercing him like arrows.
But he controlled himself wonderfully, and in a quiet, steady voice,
that touched no chord of opposition, said, "I wad like it verra weel,
if _you_ will let me go, sir."
Mr. Blane was better pleased by this response than he showed, and,
after a brief silence, he got up, saying, "Well, well, we'll think
about it--we'll think about it. Ye're owre young, maybe, to be leavin'
your friends to gang among strangers; but ye're a likely lad, and it
may go towards making a man of you. Say naething about it--do you
hear?--for the present--not a word."
Donald promptly promised, and left his uncle with a heart full of hope.
Only to the dominie did he mention the interview, and then for nearly a
week he was kept on tenterhooks of anxiety.
In the meantime Mr. Blane conferred with Mr. Paterson, and having been
assured by him that he would take a kindly interest in the boy, and
allow him to return at the end of the year if he wished, he fully
decided to let him go.
When this was communicated to Donald, he had great difficulty in
restraining the impulse to give a great shout and fling his
tam-o'-shanter to the ceiling, but by an heroic effort he kept himself
in hand, and, after expressing his gratitude to his uncle, hurried away
to the dominie with the good news. Thus was this momentous matter
settled, and now came the business of getting ready.
Owing to the withdrawal of the English subscribers and the consequent
decrease in the amount of capital aimed at, the expedition could not be
fitted out on so large a scale as Mr. Paterson had at first intended.
Nor was this the only difficulty he had to encounter. If the funds
were somewhat deficient, there was no lack of enthusiasm. The chivalry
of Scotland had been aroused, and hundreds of men of high family were
ready to exchange their prospects in their own country for the golden
hopes held out by America, recking little of doubts and dangers.
It became a delicate and troublesome task to select from such a throng
of eager volunteers, for, of course, all could not go, and, alas! for
the success of the enterprise, in too many cases family interest or
personal influence prevailed to find a place for some good-for-nothing
scapegrace instead of an honest, hard-working man, who would have been
a valuable addition. If only Mr. Paterson had been able to inspire
those associated with him with his own unselfish zeal and high
integrity, there might have been a different story to tell. Unhappily,
he stood almost alone in seeking no advantage or profit. Everybody
else had a keen eye to number one. As a natural consequence,
numberless jealousies, suspicions, and antagonisms arose. Instead of
working harmoniously together, the council in charge of affairs plotted
and counterplotted, wrangled and fought, until poor Paterson's patience
was utterly exhausted, and he had good reason to wish himself well out
of the business.
Not only were the members of the expedition ill-selected, for the
reasons given, but the ships that were to carry them, the arms,
provisions, goods, and entire equipment, were all contracted for in a
manner that greatly enriched the merchants at the expense of the
enterprise, and led to the loss of many a life in the after-days.
The ships were old and rotten, but so painted and fixed up as to
disguise the fact. The arms were of inferior quality, the provisions
adulterated so shamefully as to be hardly fit for human food, and the
merchandise taken for traffic with the natives of the Land of Promise
consisted mainly of shop-worn remainders; yet for everything the
highest price was charged and paid.
To crown all, the ships were commanded by coarse, brutal, and ignorant
captains, jealous of and hostile to one another, and caring little for
the authority of the council. But Donalblane knew nothing of this,
and, beyond warning him to be very careful to keep his own counsel and
to be chary of making new friends, his uncle had not given him any hint
of it.
Proud of his substantial wooden chest, containing not only an excellent
outfit of clothes, but a good pair of pistols, a sword, and a small
quantity of beads and trinkets wherewith to do a little trafficking
with the natives on his own account, he stood on the deck of the
largest of the little fleet of five vessels one bright day in July 1698.