CHAPTER XXI.
The morning passed over brightly and tranquilly, the sea was calm, the sky, with the exception of a few faint gray streaks scattered about it in different directions, was quite clear, the wind favourable, though not full, and nothing was seen over the face of the ocean, but a few scattering fishing boats, and the distant gleam of white sails making their way to various points upon the horizon. There was a quietness in the scene, a peaceful mildness in the aspect of the treacherous sea, which brought a calm to the bosom of Lucy Effingham and Charles Tyrrell. They felt as if the time which had passed before, had been a period of turmoil and vexation, of grief, care, and anguish, and as if now had begun another state, as if this was the first day of a tranquil existence.
Toward three o'clock, however, not exactly to windward, but somewhat more to the southeast, the blue of the sky which had extended at first clear and distinct from the zenith to the horizon, began to change to a sort of lead colour, as it approached the verge of the sea.
As the time went on, it grew deeper and deeper in hue, not separate, and defined from the rest of the sky, but blending into the blue as it approached the zenith, yet at the height of a few degrees above the waves presenting the colour of a dark cloud. Across this, too, there began to appear small detached masses of a cloud of a different colour, a whitish or silvery gray, and Hailes and the captain, who had passed the greater part of the day in walking up and down the deck, side by side, paused and looked out in that direction several times, commenting on what they saw with laconic briefness.
Another object, however, soon after attracted their attention, which was a vessel right to windward, with all sails set, and coming up apparently with a much stronger breeze than they themselves possessed. The captain of the ship watched the coming vessel for a minute or two through his telescope, and then handed it to Hailes, who watched her accurately, also, for some time, and then replied to something that the master had said to him, "Yes, she is," and added a very unnecessary oath.
The captain again took the glass, and after having resumed his examination for some time he turned round and gave orders for making more sail. These orders were promptly obeyed, and ere they had been executed long the wind began to freshen. The sea at the same time became somewhat rougher, and the schooner cut through the water with far greater rapidity.
Charles Tyrrell began to be a little apprehensive, judging, from what he remarked, that the captain found greater reason to hurry his voyage, than he had at first anticipated. Leaving Lucy for a moment, he approached Hailes, and asked him in a low tone, what vessel that was they had been looking at.
"She is the revenue-cutter," said Hailes; "at least I think so, by the cut of her sails."
"Is there any chance of their coming up with us?" demanded Charles Tyrrell.
"Oh, bless you, no, sir," replied he. "As for sailing, we'll out-sail any cutter in the service; but I have heard say, that she'll go nearer to the wind, than any vessel that ever was seen, and you see it's looking a little dirty to the southeast."
Charles returned to Lucy, not more at ease than before; but she seemed to have no idea of danger and, feeling no sickness, enjoyed the sight of the waves dashing past the schooner's sides, as she cut her way straight through the midst of them. Charles Tyrrell, of course, said nothing to rouse her apprehensions; but he could not refrain, from time to time, from turning his eyes to the vessel that was following, and which he felt sure was gaining upon them in some degree. As the wind freshened every moment, however, and more sail was set, the schooner made greater and greater way through the water; but the motion of the vessel was greatly increased, and the captain advised the young lady to go below. Lucy assured him that she was very well; but he replied,
"You'll soon have to go down, ma'am, however; for I think it'll rain before night--ay, and very soon, too."
The captain's words were prophetic, for ere half an hour more was over it did begin to rain, blowing at the same time very hard, so that the spray was dashed over the whole deck, and rendered it no longer a pleasant station for a lady.
As it now wanted not long to night, Lucy agreed to go down into the cabin, though the heat below was oppressive, and she felt a greater degree of confidence and security, when she saw what was passing around her. She gave way to no weak fears, however, though the novelty of her situation, the extreme motion of the vessel, the gale that was beginning to blow hard upon shore, and various other circumstances which she might have remarked, might well have afforded cause for apprehension, to a person by nature less timid than herself. But Lucy had, as we have said, much command over her own mind; and though her imagination was quick, she would not suffer it to dwell upon any circumstances that might unnerve her; but, both for the sake of Charles Tyrrell and herself, would give way to nothing but hope, unless it were that more confident trust in Providence, which never abandoned her.
After remaining with her some time in the cabin, which was rendered less pleasant, or rather more unpleasant than it otherwise would have been, by the piteous sighings and groanings of the maid, Charles Tyrrell, went again upon deck, to see how everything was going on. He found both Hailes and the master looking somewhat anxious, and, on questioning the former more closely, he found that the vessel, which was still distinctly to be seen following, was ascertained to be the revenue-cutter, and that she was decidedly in chase of them. The wind had shifted a little, and blew stronger than ever, and though we cannot describe the manœuvre which the king's ship was performing, in the proper nautical language, yet we can tell the impression which Hailes's account produced upon the mind of Charles Tyrrell, and which was, that the cutter, by some peculiar quality in her sailing, was trying to get out farther to sea than the schooner, and to keep her nearer the land with a lee shore and a strong wind.
Hailes, however, rubbed his hands, when he concluded his account, saying,
"We'll beat them yet; for you see this schooner will go through what they can't go through, for the life of them."
Charles Tyrrell, however, went down to Lucy with a heavy heart. He saw that there were evidently greater danger and discomforts awaiting his course than he had anticipated, and he blamed himself severely for having persuaded Lucy to take a share in such a fate as that which seemed likely to befall him.
It was now beginning to turn dark, the ship keeling fearfully, with the press of canvass, and the strength of the wind, and it was impossible for Lucy to conceal from herself that it was blowing a gale, that they were going with the most tremendous rapidity, and that there was a terrible sea running.
Charles endeavoured to amuse her as much as he could, and talked upon every subject that he thought would interest her, speaking with hope and expectation of the morrow, and pointing tenderly, and yet ardently, to the time when she should become his own, and the happiness of each, be linked for ever, with that of the other. Of course this was the subject of all others, the most likely to interest them both; but still he could not help seeing that sometimes when a sharp sea struck the ship, and made every timber in the whole frame thereof quiver, Lucy fixed an anxious gaze upon his face, as if she would fain have inquired, Is there any danger? At length, toward nine o'clock, he said, "Well, dear Lucy, I will go up and see how we are going on. It is a very rough night for so young a sailor as you are; but do not be alarmed, my beloved; I feel confident that we shall get through it all."
On arriving upon the deck, Charles found the night, indeed, tremendous. It was raining hard, the wind was coming in sharp, heavy gusts, the shore was seen distinctly, within no very great distance of the ship, and the schooner itself was bounding on through the waters, like some terrified bird cutting through the air in full flight. The night was not so dark as might have been expected, however; for the full moon, though hidden by the clouds, still gave some degree of light, and Charles Tyrrell, looking out for the vessel, which he had seen in chase of them, thought he could distinguish it farther out to sea, than that which bore him; but much nearer than it had appeared before.
He had scarcely been five minutes upon deck, however, when he was confirmed in the supposition, by a bright flash seen in that direction, followed by the heavy roar of a cannon, mingling with the sobbing of the wind.
"Ay, fire away," said Hailes, "fire away. We'll see you at the bottom first. This is an awkward job, Mr. Tyrrell," he said, "a devilish awkward job."
"It's a terrible night, indeed," replied Charles Tyrrell; "but do you think there is any immediate danger of the ship?"
"Oh, it's not the night at all," replied Hailes. "It's bad enough, to be sure; but I've gone through twenty worse nights than this; but it is that cursed cutter. You see all we could do, she's got the better of us. If we can get round the nose, you see, and across the bay, without getting aground on the spit, we shall do well enough, and send her to the devil. But the wind's blowing dead ashore. She can go far nearer to the wind than we can, and I doubt very much whether she won't drive us into the bay; and there, you know, she has us safe."
"And what is to be done then?" demanded Charles Tyrrell.
"Why, that is what I don't know, sir," replied Hailes; "but I think you had better come and speak to the Captain, and ask him. He's at the wheel."
Charles Tyrrell accordingly walked up with Hailes, and put his question as briefly as possible; for he saw that all the master's energies were at work, and required also in the steering of the ship.
"What is to be done, Captain!" he said.
"Why, upon my soul, sir," replied the captain, "I don't know. I've done my best for you, and no man can do more. I've risked the ship in a way she was never risked before. If we get round the nose, I am afraid it is all that we can possibly do. Unless the wind changes within ten minutes, I see no chance whatever of getting across the bay. Give me two points to the eastward, and I will do it, if all the cutters in the world were to try to stop me; but with the wind where it now is, the thing's next to impossible."
"But if you are driven into the bay," said Charles Tyrrell, "let me know what----"
"The only thing for you to do, sir," said the captain, "will be, to get into the boat with the lady and Hailes, land as fast as possible, and get across the headland to the little town of Wrexton, as early as possible to-morrow morning. I will lie to in the bay all night. The next morning the cutter'll send her boats aboard, and make a search, but your being out of the ship, I don't care, for I've got no cargo; and then, as soon, as that is over, and she's sailed, I'll come round, and lay to off Wrexton for you."
"Then do you think," said Charles Tyrrell, "that the ship is in pursuit of me?"
"To be sure, sir--to be sure," replied the captain. "The smuggling is the thing they'll talk about, but it's you they're after; for they know very well I've no cargo. Mayhap, indeed, they think Captain Longly's on board, knowing that he's a part owner, and looking after him very sharp, I understand just now."
"Breakers ahead! breakers ahead!" cried a loud voice from the bow of the vessel, and the captain slightly depressed the wheel.
"I'll talk to you in a minute, sir," he said, and Charles Tyrrell, looking forward, saw indeed that it was a moment, when the whole attention of the man at the helm was required, to steer the vessel in safety. Right before the ship was a long ridge of white foam, stretching out far into the sea, while on the leeward bow there was indeed a space where no such formidable appearance presented itself; but then, at a distance, so short that it appeared scarcely a hundred yards from the schooner, rose, in the shape of a promontory, a pile of gigantic, black cliffs to the northwest, against which the waves were dashing with fearful violence, and sending up the foam in white flashes over the dark, awful face of the rock. The wind was still blowing a gale from the south, and the ship heeling so, that even the sailors could not keep their feet, without holding; the deck of the vessel was literally under water, as she cut through, rather than rose over the waves, and straight on upon the breakers the captain seemed to be directing their course.
Not a word was now spoken by any one, and it was an awful moment, till at length, the loud voice of the captain shouted forth, "Now stand to your tackle!"
The roaring of the breakers a-head, and the dashing of the waves upon the cliffs to the south, was distinctly heard above the howling of the wind; but as the captain spoke, by a rapid movement of his hands upon the wheel, the course of the vessel was altered, her head brought round more to the rock, and shooting through the deep water, like an arrow from a bow, she left the breakers to windward, and neared the point of the promontory.
There was another anxious pause, as she cut her way, on coming nearer and nearer to the rock; but the captain's eye was fixed upon it, and rushing on with awful rapidity, she passed at what seemed less than half a cable's length; and to the relief of all who watched, the line of coast on the other side of the promontory was seen running off to the northeast, in the form of a deep and sheltered bay.
"There," said the captain, when the point was rounded--"there! there is not a vessel on this coast would have done that but the Hannah. Here Tom, take the helm!" and without resuming his conversation with Charles Tyrrell, he took a night-glass and looked out to windward after the cutter.
"Well, it is wonderful!" he said at length, "I can't think it natural to see anything going almost right in the teeth of the wind. But I can tell that fellow what--if he have not got the devil on board, he'll be upon the hog's back before an hour's over. Howsoever, sir," he continued, turning to his passenger, "there is no time to be lost for you. As soon as we get a little under the lee of the land, I'll have the boat out, to take you, and Hailes, and the lady, ashore. Get away across the country as quickly as you can, to Wrexton. There you'll find a little bit of an inn, where you can stay till I send the boat for you again. Better go down and tell her, for five minutes will bring us into smooth water; and if that fellow clears the hog's back, which I don't think he will, he'll be overhauling us as soon as he gets into the bay."
Charles Tyrrell needed no second bidding, but hurried down, to prepare Lucy for this new change. He found her pale and agitated, but still firm, and ready to follow at once any wish that he might express. While left alone in solitude to her own thoughts, everything around her had, indeed, appeared terrific; the rushing and dashing of the waves against the side of the ship, the excessive heeling of the vessel, the frequent strokes of the waves, which seemed as if they would have rent her from stem to stern, the howling of the wind, the rattling of the cordage, had all been heard, as she sat and listened, and had filled her mind with apprehensions of the darkest character.
All this reconciled her, however, wonderfully to the idea of landing again so speedily. Already the water was smoother, and the wind less felt, and she hurried the few preparations that were necessary, desiring the maid to rise and accompany her, which she doubted not that she would do with the greatest alacrity and willingness. The woman, however, showed, not the slightest inclination to stir. Overpowered with sea-sickness, the most selfish of all maladies, she said she could not rise, and she would not; and if she were to die, that she would rather lie and die where she was, than go in a little boat, at that time of night and be drowned.
There was no time to argue with her, for the sound of lowering the boat was already heard, and Charles supported Lucy up to the deck, while Hailes loaded himself with those things which were absolutely necessary to her comfort.
When they arrived upon the deck of the ship, the whole scene was comparatively tranquil--sheltered from the force of the winds, by the high lands, forming one side of the bay, which we have beforementioned, the schooner was running along rapidly, indeed, but easily, the sea was much calmer, and the rain had ceased. It was oppressively warm, and the clouds, rolling together in large masses, seemed to portend a thunder-storm, but still they occasionally broke away, and afforded from time to time a glimpse of the moon, setting large and dark coloured, on the western verge of the horizon.
Few words were spoken by any party, and, as the boat was by this time alongside, Charles Tyrrell led Lucy toward it, and with the aid of Hailes, and the captain, placed her safely in it without much difficulty; though the sea would have looked terrific to any eyes, which had not immediately before contemplated that which was running on the outside of the bay.
She was scarcely seated, and agitated a good deal by the darkness, the pitching of the boat, and all the appalling circumstances around her when the sudden sound of a cannon came booming over the water. Lucy stared, and turned to Charles Tyrrell, as if for explanation.
"We are just in time, my beloved," he said, "that is I suppose a shot to bring the schooner to;" but ere the men in the boat had rowed a hundred yards, a second gun was heard, and then another shortly after, and Hailes was heard to mutter to himself,
"That's the cutter upon the hog's back, or I never heard minute-guns before--serves them right--serves them right. They wanted to run us ashore, and now they've got ashore themselves."
Charles Tyrrell made no observation, for he could not but feel pain and anxiety at the thought of the king's vessel, and all that it contained, having struck upon the awful reef which they had passed so closely. He knew, too, that Lucy would feel the same, and he therefore refrained from explaining the probable cause of the sounds that they heard, which were repeated from minute to minute, as the boat rowed on toward the shore.
Every stroke of the oars, however, as the boat entered a little bay within the larger one, brought them into smoother water, and at length, when they were a few oars length off the shore, no one would have known that a storm was raging over the open sea, had it not been for the rapid moving of the clouds, chequered dimly with light and darkness in the sky over head, and the sharp whistling of the wind, which made itself heard above the cliffs.
Their landing was, therefore, effected with ease and safety, and Lucy could not help acknowledging to her own heart, that she was relieved and rejoiced, even more than she had expected, on finding her foot once more upon the firm land.
"Now you know your way to Alcombe, Master Hailes," said one of the men in the boat, "you can't well miss it."
Hailes only replied by an "ay! ay!" and the boat pushed off again as fast as possible toward the ship.