'But Violet, Violet!' said I, eagerly, as she made a move toward the nearest door, 'won't you say, then—something, for Heaven's sake, to keep one in hope?' 'Why, what would you have, sir?' said she, quickly, still turning away—but bless me! I don't exactly remember what followed, in the desperation I felt—nor how near she was to me when I heard her begging me to 'go, go, if I really loved her!' 'Dearest girl!' I said, 'I shall be far enough off in a short time!' 'Do you actually sail so soon, then?' said Violet, in a low voice. 'Why, they're bracing round the ship's yards already, I hear,' answered I; 'but indeed I think the schooner might keep near for a few days, too——' 'No—no!' said she anxiously, 'go altogether, else my father will be still more set against—against——Perhaps,' she added, 'we may see you in Calcutta, when—you are'—and her eye glanced from one shoulder of my uniform to the other. 'When I've got my epaulet shifted to the right shoulder?' [26] asked I, eagerly; 'then may I see you?' 'See—yes,' was the whisper I caught—and 'Dearest, dearest Violet,' said I, almost going down on the deck before her, 'suppose I manage to ship them on both, in this confounded peace, will you——' Hush!' said Violet, listening, and all in a flutter, 'indeed you must go, else I must!' 'For God's sake, Violet,' I went on, keeping hold of her hand as she tried to get away, 'will you wait a year or two and give me the chance of a war in China—or up the Mediterranean—or——' But here the wild notions I had for a moment left me.
"Somehow or other at that instant a terrible glimpse, as it were, of Bonaparte standing up on the crag in St Helena flashed across me; and as the folly of the thing, let alone the impudence of it, struck me, I nigh-hand groaned, while Violet Hyde's fingers slipped out of mine. Just then she turned full round with a soft look of her eyes, and was going to say something, as I thought; but the handle of the aftermost door turned, and the Brigadier's lady hastened in. As I glanced round, something or other dropped lightly into the palm of my hand, and next moment Violet was gone. 'Twas only a little knot of white ribbon I'd got, though the scent and the warm touch of it together were enough to startle one—I almost thought she'd changed into it; and to this day, ma'am, I'll be hanged if I know what that was the scent of—unless it was sandal wood!
"'Quick!' said Mrs Brady, in a hurry, 'what d'ye stand staring there for, man alive? Sir Charles is upstairs, and you can't go this way; so through the cabins with ye, lieutenant, and out on the quarther-dheck!' Before I well knew what I was doing, accordingly, we were in the judge's main-cabin, where the ship's masts and the men gathering about the ropes could be seen through the round-house doors as they stood open. 'Mrs Brady,' said I, suddenly stepping back to her, 'you're an angel, ma'am, and——' 'You unprincipled young villain ye!' said she, springing aft with her fingers spread, and begining to raise her voice, 'what would ye do! Brigadier.—D'ye think 'tis deaf I was in the stair yonder, you promiscuous young——' However, I gave her one bewildered look, and heard no more of it, bolting as I did through the nearest door right against the man coming to the wheel; while the midshipman was on the look-out for me everywhere to say that the captain of the Indiaman was waiting for me below in his cabin.
"Indeed she was moving slowly through the water already, as the light cat's-paws ruffled it here and there, and drew aloft into her royals; our own little craft beginning to slip gently along to leeward of the ship, with the dark Lascars' faces under the foot of her white fore-topmast-staysail, giving her a doubtful enough air, I must own. I had nothing particular to say to Finch, in fact; but, captain as he was of the Indiaman for the time, 'twas the least I could do to see him; besides that somehow or other, I had a sort of feeling as I came on board half-an-hour before, I couldn't exactly say why, that made one anxious for a near sight of him. If he suspected anything wrong amongst his crew, why at any rate he would have an opportunity of mentioning it ere we parted company; but, awkward as our meeting each other again was, of course, and both being on such different footing from before, while my own mind was naturally full of what had just happened, it turned out much as might be expected. Finch was evidently not the same man he had been a few weeks before, except in his puppy fine gentleman manners and way of dress, which were twice as high-flown; with his hair curled, a white handkerchief hanging half out of his breast-pocket, a regular East India uniform, and everything showing the tiptop skipper. The thing that set me less at my ease with him was, that I was sure, by one glance of his eye, he had a pretty fair guess of where I had been last, and saw it in my manner—which made me the more careful, as matters stood, to give no signs of more meddling with the Indiaman. However, I threw in a hint or two, when Finch out and told me quite frankly, there had been a little disorderly conduct on board after they left the Cape, but he had thoroughly put it down, without letting the passengers know anything about it, as he said: only, the very day before, at the time when the schooner fired, there were a few of the men, he told me, that seemed inclined to disobey orders—fellows he wished he could get rid of.
"'Now, Captain Finch,' said I, as I looked over my shoulder at them from the capstan, 'will you point out the men you spoke of, sir, that showed themselves mutinous?' Finch drew back at this, however, and hummed and hawed at the word. 'Yes, mutinous,' repeated I; 'there's no use mincing the matter, I suppose. Just be so good as let me see the fellows, and I'll rid you of them at once!' Finch's glance followed mine as it lighted on Harry Foster's shaggy head watching us with the eye of a buffalo, past a knot of slouching, hulking, foremast-men of his own kidney. The moment I caught sight of Jacobs' broad, hearty, brown face, standing apart a bit with his friends, Tom, Bill, the red-haired Irish topman, and three other honest-like man-o'-war's-men, I took my cue for the meantime. 'My lads,' said I, walking quietly forward, 'I want a few hands for the Hebe frigate—you know her, I daresay—and that's enough; for a model like the Hebe doesn't float the water—now, I can't press any of you!' Here a general laugh ran along both rows, and I heard a growling chuckle from ugly Foster. 'But,' added I, laughing too, 'you can volunteer!'
"There was a dead silence, in the midst of which Tom, the fore-topman, the most dashing fellow in the ship, stepped aft with his hat in his hand, then Jacobs, then Bill, and my acquaintance the 'Savage,' then the three others. In place of grumbling, in fact, there began to be a hurrah amongst the rest, except some of Foster's chums; a few more seemed inclined to follow, and as for my gentleman captain, he appeared not to know what to do. 'Now, my man,' said I, stepping straight up to ugly Harry, and eyeing him right in the face as he stood, 'you're a fine seaman-like fellow—true-blue, I'm sure—I've taken a particular fancy to ye—won't you ship for the Hebe—eh?' Foster didn't know where to look, twisting himself round, hitching up his trousers, and altogether taken fairly aback; every eye was on him, and I'll be hanged if I don't think he turned it in his mind to agree. 'Come, Foster,' said I, in a low voice, 'I know you, my man, but if you ship I'll look over the whole!' All at once Captain Finch walked up to me, saying, 'If you persist in taking these men, sir, you'll have to answer for it, I can tell you!' 'I know my own meaning, sir,' said I firmly; 'I am in the regular course, and answer for it I will! Say the word, my man, and ship?' said I again. 'Blowed if I do!' said Harry, turning on his heel with a grim scowl; 'none o' yer frigates for me!' and he walked off. Jacobs and the others came on the gangway with their bags, however, and pitched them to the men in the boat, without anyone offering to interfere; indeed, Finch had seemingly given it up sooner than I expected.
"'Now, Captain Finch,' said I, before stepping over the side after Mr Snelling and the men, 'I'd much rather we could have hit upon the right men; however, the more need for my keeping in sight of you to windward, as I shall do at least till we steer for the Bay of Bengal. I couldn't do less, you see,' added I, on getting no answer, 'than make myself strong enough to help you if needful!' 'I shall report to the Admiral at Bombay, sir!' said he fiercely. 'You may do that, Captain Finch,' I said, 'as soon as possible; but, in the meantime, you can't be sure of what may turn up of a dark night, and a couple of lights at your main-yardarm, or anywhere, will bring the schooner down in half-an-hour or so if there's a breeze. As for a calm,' said I, turning round—but such a strange white look had come over Finch's face as he glanced after me, that, thinking he was beside himself with rage, I went down the side without another word. 'Take your own way!' I fancied I heard him mutter betwixt his teeth; but next moment we were pulling off.
"Well, the breeze ere this time was steady, though light, and we drew gradually to windward of the Indiaman, till by the afternoon the white band on her hull was just awash with the water, and there I kept her, with a little variety, pretty near the whole night, and most of the following day.
"The next night came almost as dark as it had been that night of the calm; but the breeze freshened again pretty strong, and accordingly I kept the schooner down to get nearer the ship, which we had seen in the first dog-watch dead to leeward. I was rather uneasy for a while at not being able to make out her lights, and we slipped fast through the water, when all at once both Jones and Westwood called out from forward that they saw them, and I walked to the bows.
"'All right,' said I, 'but, no, by heaven! That's the signal I named to the captain! Set stunsails, Mr Jones, and make her walk, for God's sake!' Two lights it was aloft in the gloom, right to leeward as before: there was something wrong, or else she wanted to speak us; so away we flew before the wind, under everything that could be set. I looked and looked, when a thought struck me; not another light was to be seen below, and they weren't high enough from the heave of the sea for even a ship's lower mast.