Chapter Fifteen.

Our escape and rescue.

The brig, as she lay hove-to, rode comparatively easy and dry, requiring no attention; all, therefore, that I had to do was to maintain a sharp lookout, and be ready to show a light betimes in the event of another craft heaving in sight and steering such a course as would be likely to bring her foul of us. But while my self-imposed duty was thus a light one, demanding only alertness on my part, the situation and condition of the brig were such as to cause me profound anxiety, which was in no degree lessened by the loss of the four men who had gone overboard with the wreck of the fore-topmast. Had the ship been sound this last circumstance would have caused me no regret whatever, for the simple reason that their loss reduced the number of my enemies by four; but their loss, and the casualties due to the fracas in the forecastle, resulted in the reduction of the number of the effective crew to six, of whom the cook and the steward were two who could be relied upon for little or nothing more than mere pulling and hauling, while, of the remaining four, two were still suffering from wounds sufficiently severe to partially disable them; and this reduction, with the brig practically a wreck, was a serious one. Moreover, the glass remained very low, and there was no indication whatever of the speedy abatement of the gale, or even any ground for hope that we had seen the worst of it; on the contrary, the sky looked wilder than ever, while the gusts of wind that frequently swept down upon us were certainly growing more savage as the minutes dragged their slow length away.

At length, after what seemed like an eternity of watching, the lagging dawn came slowly oozing out of the scowling east, revealing a sky of portentous gloom, of a deep, slatey-purple tint, blotched with shreds of flying dirty-white vapour, and a sea that was positively appalling in its height and steepness, and the fury with which it ran. Yet, heavy as was the sea, and swiftly as the great liquid hills came swooping down upon the battered brig, the little craft rode them fairly well, if a trifle languidly—which latter characteristic I attributed to the quantity of water still present in her hull; and after studying her behaviour by daylight for a full half-hour, I came to the conclusion that the sooner that water should be pumped out of her, the better. So, watching my opportunity, I rushed for’ard along the unprotected deck—over which the water washed heavily at times—and called all hands to turn out and pump the ship dry; and after a great deal of grumbling, and much show of disinclination, I at length succeeded in getting them on deck, and persuading them to man the pumps. They pumped steadily until it was time to knock off for breakfast, when we sounded the well, and found a depth of twenty-one inches.

Breakfast, that morning, was rather a comfortless meal, for the cook, terrified lest he and his galley should be washed overboard together, had not furnished a very appetising spread; while the wild movements of the vessel, the harsh and dismal creaking of her timbers, the frequent heavy washing of water along the decks, and the roar of the gale, all combining together to create a concert of doleful sounds, rendered the cabin a distinctly unpleasant place, of sojourn; I therefore made no long tarrying at the table, merely remaining below long enough to snatch a hasty meal, and to say a few words of comfort and encouragement to my sweetheart, and then hurried on deck again, to see how matters were faring there.

The scene that met my gaze as I emerged from the companion, was depressing and discouraging in the extreme. The sky looked darker and more threatening than ever; the wind was freshening rapidly, and sweeping along in savage gusts that smote the seething wave-crests and tore them into blinding, stinging showers of salt spray, that so thickened the atmosphere as to completely veil and hide everything beyond a distance of half a mile. The sea, mountainous as it had been all through the night, had grown in steepness and height, and had acquired a still more formidable and menacing run during the short time that I had been below; while the fact was unquestionable that the brig was labouring more heavily, and the sea washing in steadily-increasing volume athwart that portion of her deck that lay unprotected through the loss of her bulwarks. It appeared to me that we should do better and ride easier if we showed a small spread of canvas—just sufficient to steady the vessel, to cause her to turn up a good bold weather side to the seas, and to place her under command of her helm; and I accordingly dodged my way to the fore-scuttle, and sang out for all hands to come on deck to make sail. They came at length, four of them, moving with that slow and exasperating deliberation that the merchant seaman assumes when he considers that he is being put upon; and at length, by dint of sheer persistence, I induced them to overhaul the sail-locker, with the result that we found a main staysail, new, and made of good stout canvas, evidently intended for a storm sail, which, still working with the same deliberation and show of indifference, they finally consented to bend and set. The result was at once apparent: the brig began to move through the water, taking the seas very much easier as she was humoured at them with the helm, while the increased height of weather side that she turned up had the effect of considerably lessening the amount of water washing over the deck, and rendering the task of getting fore and aft comparatively safe.

But I was still not satisfied; great as was the improvement effected by the setting of the staysail, the brig yet seemed to labour more heavily than was to be reasonably accounted for, even by the fact that she had water in the hold; and then it occurred to me to sound the well afresh and ascertain whether the amount of that water was increasing. I accordingly fetched the rod, carefully dried it, and, watching until the brig was for an instant on an even keel, lowered it down the pump barrel. Upon withdrawing it the startling discovery was made that since the men had last been at the pumps the depth of water in the hold had increased by three inches! The water was draining into the hull, somewhere, and that, too, in sufficient quantity to keep us busy. I directed the attention of the men to the condition of the pump rod; and with deep, bitter curses levelled at the weather, the brig—at everything, in short, except the indifference of themselves and their shipmates that had brought us all to this pass—they went to work afresh at the pumps, while I made my way to the forecastle, and, as was my daily wont, attended to the injuries of the two wounded men, Dirk and Mike, who were confined to their bunks. With the brig leaping and plunging so desperately my task was by no means an easy one, and upon this occasion it occupied me so long, that ere I had quite finished, the other men came below, still cursing and grumbling, to get their dinner. I inquired whether they had succeeded in reducing the quantity of water in the hold at all, and was informed—with further curses—that they had only reduced it by about two inches, and that they were willing to be eternally condemned if they ever laid a hand upon the pump brake again. But about six bells in the afternoon watch, while I was at the wheel, the man Harry came aft, sounded the well, and shouting to me “twenty-six inches,” went for’ard again; with the result that, a quarter of an hour or so later, they all came aft once more, and continued pumping for nearly two hours; with what effect, however, I could not say, for none of them condescended to inform me. Nor did either of them offer to relieve me at the wheel; but that I was not at all surprised at, as they doubtless considered that what they had done at the pumps was quite as much as could be expected of them. I was not forgotten, however; for Florence, making use of the fire that I had caused to be lighted in the cabin-stove, prepared for me a most substantial and appetising meal, consisting of toasted rashers of ham, cabin bread—carefully cleared of weevils—and tea, which she actually brought on deck to me, standing by me and tending the wheel in the cleverest fashion while I hurriedly devoured the food! Not satisfied with doing this for me, the dear girl, knowing that I had been on deck all the previous night, actually proposed remaining at the wheel, in the midst of all the elemental fury, long enough to enable me to snatch a few hours’ sleep! What think you of that, shipmates, for devotion on the part of a sweetheart? But that, of course, was going altogether beyond the utmost that I could possibly consent to, and, thanking her heartily for her generous solicitude, I sent her below, with strict injunctions to turn in early and secure a good night’s rest. For—although I was careful not to hint as much to her even in the most distant fashion—I did not at all like the way that matters were going with us; the leak and the men’s aversion to the labour of pumping, taken together, made up a bad lookout, and I foresaw that unless a change for the better in one respect or the other soon took place, it would speedily come to our being obliged to take to the boats.

Throughout the whole of that wet, wild, cheerless night I stood at the wheel, tending the ship and helping her through the seas; and it was not until dawn was abroad that anyone came to relieve me; when Cockney Harry made his appearance, staggering and dodging his way aft along the flooded decks.

“Mornin’, sir,” he remarked as he took over the wheel from me. “You looks dead wore out, you do. You surely ain’t been at this here muckin’ wheel the whole blessed night, have ye, sir?”

“Certainly I have,” said I, “seeing that the brig had to be looked after, and neither of you men saw fit to relieve me!”

“Well,” admitted the fellow, “that’s a howlin’ shime, and no mistike. The fact is that we was all dead tired with sweatin’ at them infernal pumps. I meant to ha’ come along and took a spell at water-grindin’, but in w’itin’ for them swines to all go to sleep I went to sleep myself, and never woke up agine until five minutes ago.”

“Quite so,” said I drily. “But, if you really intended to have relieved me, why have waited until the rest were asleep?”

“Well, ye see, sir, it was this way,” answered the man. “When we went below lawst night, after knockin’ off pumping all hands of us was on the growl, ’cause of the heavy work we’d had to do; and Sam up and said that the best thing we could do ’d be to tike to the boats, as soon as the gale broke, and let the blessed old hooker go to the bottom, rather than have to keep all on pumpin’ of her everlastin’ly until we fetched a port. And the rest of ’em agreed with him. Then Dirk ups and asts what was to be done with you and the lidy; and, nobody else seemin’ to have a hawnser ready, I says that I supposes you’ll both have to come with us. But Dirk, he says No; it won’t never do for you to land along of us; you knows enough to hang some of us, and he for one don’t mean to take no risks; and t’others all agreed with him; and at last ’twas settled that if the leak don’t take up when the gale breaks, we’re to take to the boats, leavin’ you and the lidy aboard to go down with the brig. I thought I’d wait and hear if anybody had anything else to say about it afore comin’ aft to relieve you; and it was while I was w’itin’ that I dropped asleep.”

“Thank you, Harry, for affording me this very important item of information,” said I. “You are a good sort of fellow, and you may depend upon it that I will not forget the service you have done me. And so that scoundrel Dirk would leave the lady and me to drown, would he, after all that I have done for him? Very well! Now, Harry, neither Miss Onslow nor I will be left aboard here to drown, you may take your oath of that. It is clear to me, now, that it must be war to the death between the forecastle and the cabin, and I shall take my measures accordingly. The question is: Which side—cabin or forecastle—do you intend to be on? If you choose to join me, I will do what I can for you; and if you elect to throw in your lot with those murderers for’ard, I will still bear you in mind, so far as I can, consistently with the lady’s and my own safety.”

“Thank’ee, sir,” answered the fellow. “If I might make so bold, sir, what do you intend to do?”

“That,” said I, “I can only tell you in the event of your coming over on my side.”

“Very well, sir,” returned he, “I’ll think it over while you’re tikin’ a rest, and let you know when you come on deck agine.”

And therewith I went below and, flinging myself into my bunk, at once fell into a profound and dreamless sleep that lasted until I was awakened by the discordant clank of the pumps, about four bells in the forenoon watch, when I found Miss Onslow patiently awaiting me in the cabin, with another hot meal all ready for my delectation.

It was apparent to me, immediately upon awaking, that the gale had broken; and when I went on deck I found that the sky had cleared to windward, showing here and there fast—widening patches of blue sky, while the wind had already dropped to the strength of a strong breeze; the sea, however, showed little diminution of height, although it was no longer so steep, nor was it now breaking dangerously; but the brig was rolling as furiously and more sluggishly than ever; and the clear water that gushed from the pumps told a tale that there was no mistaking. I noticed that five men were now working at the pumps—the cook and steward being two of them—and all hands were growling together, and cursing both loud and deep as they toiled at the brakes.

“Well, lads,” said I, approaching them, “what is the news from the pumps? Is there any hope of getting them to suck?”

“Suck?” exclaimed one of them, in tones of ineffable disgust. “No, they’ll never suck no more in this world. There’s up’ards o’ three feet o’ water in the hooker, now, and she’s gainin’ on us at the rate o’ two inches an hour while we pumps at her. She’s bound to the bottom, she is; and I only hopes she’ll keep afloat long enough to let us get the boats afloat without smashin’ of ’em to smithereens alongside. Whereabouts is the nearest land, mister; and how fur off is it?”

“Ask me after I have taken my sights at noon—it looks as though I shall be able to get the sun to-day—and I will tell you,” said I. Then, finding the men sulky, and quite tired of listening to their curses, I went aft and relieved the wheel, remaining there until about a quarter of an hour to midday, when, the sky having cleared, I sang out for somebody to relieve me while I “shot the sun.” It was Harry who came at my call; and as he took over the wheel he remarked, just loud enough for me to hear, and staring away to windward as he spoke:

“I’ve made up my mind, sir; I’m with you and the lidy. I ain’t agoin’ to have no more truck with them other chaps; they’re no better than murderers; they’ve mide up their minds to leave you and the lidy aboard; and there’s no movin’ of ’em from that.”

“All right, my lad,” said I. “You will find, before many hours are over your head, that you have made a wise choice. Can you read?”

The fellow intimated that he could.

“Then,” said I, “I will write out such instructions as it will be necessary for me to give you, and you must find an opportunity to read them over, unobserved by the rest. And you must also obey them to the letter; for upon your obedience will depend the success or failure of my scheme.”

With which I left him, and went below for my sextant.

Upon working out the result of my meridian observation, I found that we were close upon one hundred and forty miles from Staten Island, which bore North by East a quarter East of us—a distance which might be traversed in less than forty-eight hours by a properly-equipped boat, in fine weather. But what if it should come on to blow again? It was a contingency that I did not care to contemplate. There was one point in our favour: the mercury was rising slowly and steadily; and, please God, if we were able to leave the brig in good time we might succeed in reaching shelter of some sort before the setting-in again of bad weather. And, in any case, it was a contingency that had to be faced, since it was perfectly clear, by this time, that the brig had been so severely battered and strained during the late gale that nothing we could do would avail to keep her afloat much longer.

Having pricked off the brig’s position on the chart, I proceeded to write out my instructions to the man Harry. It may perhaps be thought that, in committing those instructions to paper, I was doing an imprudent thing—that I was, in fact, furnishing irrefutable evidence of my intentions, should the man choose to play me false, and show the paper to his companions. But I had faith in the fellow; there was an honest look in his eyes; and the fact that he had of his own free will warned me of the other men’s intentions was another point in his favour. And, last but not least, I believed that he had wit enough to see that he would be better serving his own interests by attaching himself to me than by throwing in his lot with the others, and that consequently he would have no interest in playing me false; I therefore unhesitatingly handed him his instructions at the first opportunity, and left him to carry them out with as little delay as possible.

Upon returning to the deck, after working out my sights, I found that the men had knocked off pumping, but were hanging about the deck, as though waiting for something, instead of going below to dinner. And presently I found out what was in the wind, the man known as Sam stepping forward to inquire whereabout my observation placed the ship. I told him.

“Then,” said he, “if we steers nothe-an’-by-east a quarter east, steady, we’re bound to fetch this here Staten Hiland, are we?”

“Certainly,” said I. “And I hope that we shall make it some time the day after to-morrow.”

“The day a’ter to-morrer!” ejaculated the man. “Do ye mean with this here brig?”

“No,” said I; “I mean with the boats. The brig could never fetch it, in her present disabled condition, except with a fair wind, even if you could keep her afloat so long, which I do not for a moment believe.”

A grim smile of satisfaction—which the fellow strove to conceal—flickered for a moment over his rugged, sullen features, and then he turned away, without another word, and slouched forward, followed by his companions. As for me, I went aft and took the wheel from the man who was tending it; and, as soon as he had disappeared, lashed it, and set about certain preparations that I felt it was now high time to make. These did not occupy me long, and upon their completion I went below, where—the cook and Steward having been busy at the pumps all the morning—Florence was awaiting me with a good, appetising dinner prepared by herself. While we were discussing the meal together—the steward having gone forward with the others—I told my companion that the supreme moment was at hand when it would be necessary for us to make a bold dash for our lives, and I warned her to prepare for it by putting all her slender stock of clothing together in a parcel, and to be ready to act with me at a moment’s notice as soon as the boats were in the water. She received my intelligence very quietly, and although she lost her colour and became marble-white to the lips for perhaps a minute while I explained my plans, her courage never faltered; and when I had finished she put her hand in mine, with the simple remark:

“Very well, Charlie dear; you have only to tell me what you wish me to do, and you will find me obedient in every particular.”

Meanwhile, the wind, which had been blowing a strong breeze at breakfast-time, had been dropping steadily all through the day, until toward the close of the afternoon it had softened down to the strength of a royal breeze, with a corresponding diminution in the height of the sea; yet it was evident that it would not be possible to safely lower a boat for some hours to come. But that the men were eager to be off was also perfectly evident, for instead of manning the pumps again after dinner, they had spent the entire afternoon hanging about the decks, inspecting and overhauling the boats, getting provisions, water, and other necessaries together—the cook lighting a fire in the galley, and boiling a considerable quantity of meat in the coppers—while, at intervals, one or another of them would sound the well, and report the result to his comrades; their actions being marked by a curious commingling of stealthiness and candour, as though they were quite unable to decide whether to keep their intentions a secret from me, or whether it would be possible to still more completely hoodwink me by a pretence of being perfectly frank and open. At length, however, the latter plan seemed to be the favoured one; for about sunset the man Sam came to me with the information that they, had decided to leave the brig at daybreak, and they’d be glad to know whether I thought the hooker ’d keep above water until then without pumpin’. Before replying, I inquired what depth of water there was then in the hold, and at what rate it was making, after which a brief calculation enabled me to assure them that she would probably last until noon next day; but that nevertheless I would recommend them to prepare for a start the first thing after breakfast; and that the lady and I would be ready by that time.

From this time forward the brig—hove-to, and with her helm lashed—was left to take care of herself, the greatly-improved condition of the weather permitting of this, while the men proceeded, in their own slow, deliberate fashion, with their preparations for abandoning her. As for us aft, our preparations were of the simplest possible kind, consisting merely of the stowing of our clothing in a bundle that could be flung into the boat at a moment’s notice—and the very careful loading of the brace of duelling-pistols with which my unknown French friend had presented me. These little matters attended to, I urged Florence to lie down and endeavour to secure a few hours’ sleep, following the same good advice myself as soon as she had retired to her cabin.

I was awakened about midnight by the man Harry, who had been anxiously awaiting the moment for the others to get to sleep, in order that he might slip aft, unnoticed, to inform me of the progress of his own particular share in our enterprise.

“Well, Harry,” said I, “how do matters stand? Have you succeeded in accomplishing all that I directed you to do?”

“Yes, sir,” said he. “I was afride at first that I shouldn’t get a chaunce to go down into the fore-peak without bein’ noticed; but ‘the doctor’ made that right by asting for somebody to fetch him up a bit more coal. Which I offered to do for him. Once I was down in the peak, the rest was easy enough; the arms-chist hadn’t never been locked, so I collared a couple of pair of pistols, and then scraped the coal away from under the chist until the whole bag o’ tricks fetched away and slid down into the water, where nobody won’t ever find it again. Then I had a look at the magazine what poor Chips had knocked together. The door was only fastened by a staple, so I soon had it open; and when I’d found a couple o’ packets of pistol-cartridges, I just hove everything else I could lay hands on down a’ter the arms-chist. So, even though some of ’em has pistols, they won’t have no ammunition for ’em—unless they happened to have a few cartridges by ’em—which makes us all right.”

“Capital!” exclaimed I. “And, now, as to the final arrangements of the men; what are they?”

“Why, ’twas arranged that I was to be on deck, so’s to keep a sort of general heye on the brig and you; and to call all hands for’ard at daybreak—or earlier if the sea flattens down enough to launch a boat afore then. Then we’re goin’ to lower the gig that you had when you picked us up—she bein’ the most wholesomest boat of the two—and put everything into her that we’re goin’ to tike with us—includin’ plenty o’ grub and water. And at the last minute, when we’re ready to shove off, you and the lidy are to be set upon and battened down below, and then we all jumps into the boat and makes sail.”

I considered a while, and then said, reflectively:

“It is just questionable whether it would not, after all, be the best plan to let the scoundrels get right away, and then launch the French boat.”

“That’s no good,” interrupted Harry; “the French boat is stove. Sam thought of that last night; says he: ‘If we don’t mind our weather heye, that there feller aft may break his way out from below a’ter we’re gone, and get away in t’other boat.’ And Dirk, he says: ‘Tike the “doctor’s” coal hammer and smash in a bottom plank. That’ll stop any sich little gime as you speaks of, Sam.’ And a’ter a little more talk, Sam ups and does it while you was below, asleep.”

“The scoundrels!” ejaculated I fiercely. “So they are absolutely determined to murder us, are they? Very well; their blood be on their own heads! Now listen to me, Harry.” And therewith I unfolded my final plans, and gave him a few last instructions; after which Harry went on deck again, to be there in the event of any of the others taking it into their heads to go on deck and have a look round.

Anxious to get as much rest as possible, I flung myself down upon one of the sofa-lockers; but my nerves were just then rather too tautly strung, and all my senses too keenly on the alert, to admit of anything like sound sleep, and I simply dozed, hearing Harry’s every movement on deck, until the grey light of dawn began to ooze down through the skylight, when I went to my berth, soused my head in a basin of cold water, had a good refreshing wash, and then went on deck to look round; the people forward appearing on deck at the precise moment when I emerged from the companion. They seemed to be rather disconcerted at seeing me, but I feigned not to have noticed it, devoting my immediate attention to the weather. It was quite fine now, with a nice little royal breeze from about due east; the sea had gone down wonderfully during the night, and there was very little more than the heavy swell to contend with, while even that looked a great deal more formidable than it really was. As for the brig, she was much more buoyant than I had expected to find her; I gave her fully six hours longer to live—quite long enough to enable the wretches who meditated my destruction to repair and launch the boat that they had wilfully damaged, while the job would occupy them long enough to enable me to gain a good start and get clear away from them.

The cook went to his galley, and lighted his fire, quite in the ordinary way, and set about preparing breakfast, while the rest, going to the City of Cawnpore’s gig, looked into her, talking together in low tones. Then they cast off the gripes and tackle falls, and lowered her until her gunwale was just level with the rail, when they began to pass into her and stow the kegs of water, provisions, and other matters that they intended taking with them; and by the extreme care that each man bestowed upon the storage of his own particular bundle of “dunnage,” I felt tolerably certain that their respective parcels of gems were concealed therein. Seeing them thus employed, I slipped down below, gave Miss Onslow a call, and then returned to the deck with her and my own bundle, together with the chronometer and sextant, all of which, in an easy, off-hand manner, I placed in the stern-sheets. As I did so, the man Sam looked up, and exclaimed savagely:

“Here, what the—” but was instantly interrupted by one of his mates, who murmured a few words in his ear.

“What is the matter?” demanded I, with a great affectation of innocence; “surely there is room in the boat for the few things belonging to the lady and myself?”

“Oh, ay,” he growled surlily; “there’s room enough—or, if there ain’t, we’ll make room, so’s you and the lady shall have plenty o’ clothes for your trip—eh, mates?”

The others responded with a sinister laugh at the grim humour of the joke; but without taking any notice, I looked on at the work with just that amount of interest that I might be reasonably expected to take, until the steward called me to say that breakfast was ready. Then, with a glance of intelligence at Harry—to which he responded—I turned away and went below.

The breakfast was a very good one—just the substantial, appetising kind that one would wish to sit down to upon such an occasion; and I did ample justice to it. At length, at what I judged to be the right moment, I signed to Miss Onslow to go on deck, and then rose to my feet as though to follow her; but instead of springing up the companion ladder I turned to the steward, seized him by the throat, and flung him violently to the deck. The shock stunned him; and before he recovered consciousness I had got him lashed arms and legs together, like a trussed fowl, with a gag in his mouth that I had already prepared for the purpose. Making sure that he was quite secure, and could not possibly release himself, or cry out, I dashed up the companion ladder, and drew over the slide, securing it and the doors with wedges. Harry was sitting on the windlass barrel, taking his breakfast al fresco, and acting as lookout generally while the others breakfasted below; and directly he saw me throw up my hand as a signal to him, he slid off the windlass, crept softly to the fore-scuttle, and swiftly closed the hatch, securing it by thrusting a wooden pin through the staple. There was an immediate outcry from below, quickly followed by savage bangs upon the underside of the hatch; but, taking no notice of these manifestations, the fellow rushed aft and at once assisted me to place Miss Onslow in the gig. Then, springing to the tackle falls, we lowered the boat smartly the short remaining distance to the water, and, springing into her, unhooked the tackles and shoved clear of the brig. Then, still working for our lives, we stepped the mast, set the sails, and headed the boat to the northward. Nor were we much too quick; for we had scarcely placed a cable’s length between us and the brig when we heard a crash aboard her, and the next instant we saw the fellows rising out of the forecastle and rushing aft. Of course they at once caught sight of us, and promptly blazed away with their pistols at us; but none of the bullets came anywhere near. Then they began to shout imprecations at us, and prayers to us to return; but we remained equally deaf to both, and in a few minutes—the boat slipping nimbly along through the water—we were out of hearing of them, and congratulating ourselves and each other upon our good luck in having succeeded in so neatly effecting our escape without being obliged to fight for the possession of the boat.

I headed north, with the intention of making Staten Island if possible; but we had scarcely been under way two hours when Harry, who was forward, keeping a lookout, sighted a sail dead to windward, heading our way, and we at once so manoeuvred the boat as to intercept her. She came bowling down toward us, hand over hand, and when she was within about three miles of us I made her out to be a frigate. She was coming so directly for us that it was impossible for us to miss each other, and within half an hour of the moment when we first discovered her I had the supreme satisfaction of assisting Florence up the side of Her Britannic Majesty’s ship Ariadne, commanded by my former shipmate and very good friend Harry Curtis; while half an hour later the five men whom I had left aboard the brig were taken off her, and safely lodged in irons on the Ariadne’s lower deck. Of the excitement that ensued upon our rescue I have no space to dwell; suffice it to say that the Marie Renaud had duly arrived in Table Bay, and had there reported the act of piracy of which she had been the victim, my letter being at the same time placed in the hands of the authorities, who, after a proper amount of deliberation, had despatched the Ariadne in search of the piratical brig.

Is there anything else to tell? I think not, except it be to mention that Miss Onslow was the heroine of the ship, and every man, fore and aft, her devoted slave during our passage to the Cape, where the six survivors of O’Gorman’s gang were duly put upon their trial for piracy upon the high seas. The man Harry, acting upon my advice, offered to turn Queen’s Evidence; and the favourable report that I was able to make of his conduct caused his offer to be accepted, with the result that he received a free pardon, while Dirk the Dutchman was sentenced to death, and the other four to penal servitude for life; the Dutchman, however, cheated the gallows by dying in prison of his wounds, after lingering for so long a time that it seemed as though he would after all recover.

“And the gems that were the prime cause of so much of your trouble—what became of them?” I fancy I hear some fair reader exclaim.

Well, there proved to be such insuperable difficulties in the way of establishing their rightful ownership that the Home Government very kindly undertook the charge of them until the man who could satisfactorily prove his right to them should put in an appearance. It was a marvellously curious circumstance, however, that I should have happened to anticipate this precise difficulty and its probable solution, almost at the moment when I first identified the distant Ariadne as a man-o’-war; with the result that—well, there is no need to be too explicit, is there? it will perhaps suffice if I say that the seaman Harry is to-day living very comfortably indeed as an independent gentleman of considerable means; while the four magnificent suites of jewellery—rubies, diamonds, emeralds, and pearls—that Mrs Charles Conyers, née Florence Onslow, sports from time to time are the eternal envy and admiration of all who get the opportunity to see them.

The End.