“Certainly not from you” I replied; “at least I have not been given to understand so. My errand is merely to deliver certain papers into the hands of a certain individual ashore here, and then rejoin the ship as early as possible. The task would be absurdly easy, were it not for the unsettled state of the country, which seems to be all up in arms, what with the French, the insurgent Corsicans, and the banditti, the latter being, I am told, especially dangerous.”
“No doubt—no doubt!” remarked Rawlings in an absent sort of way. “Well, I wish you well over your cruise, my lad; keep a cool head, for it seems to me that you’ve white water all round you, whichever way you shape a course. Concerning the rejoining business, how are you going to set about that?”
“Captain Hood advised me to make the best of my way to the northern end of the island, as soon as I have delivered my despatches; he thinks it most likely I shall find the ‘Juno’ there.”
“Ay, ay? So that’s it, eh?” ejaculated Rawlings. “Well, I s’pose you’ll haul your land-tacks aboard for that trip; it’ll be a change from knocking about at sea. But if you find you can’t work that traverse, just you slip down to Ajaccio some quiet night; there’s a whole fleet of pleasure-boats of all sorts and sizes there; just jump aboard one of ’em, slip your moorings, and make a coasting v’yage of it. They’re most of ’em capital sea-boats, and you know a good model when you see one by this time, I s’pose. Don’t take a larger craft than you can handle, and, above all, don’t take a lateener; they’re fine craft when they have a full crew aboard as knows how to handle ’em, but they’re dreadful awkward for one hand. You’ll find some little things about five-and-twenty foot over all; they’re plenty large enough, and some of ’em are regular leg-o’-mutton-rigged—a big sail for’ard and a jigger aft; they sail like witches, and’ll go right in the wind’s eye. Look out for one of them chaps; one man can handle ’em in any weather. And now I must be off. Good-bye, my lad, and good luck to ye.”
So saying, he shook hands, and, plunging into the shrubbery, disappeared.
Chapter Twelve.
Betrayed into the Hands of the Philistines.
I was now fairly embarked upon my adventure, the various difficulties of which seemed suddenly to present themselves to my mind in all their formidable reality. While safe on board the frigate, surrounded by my shipmates, they had appeared to be the veriest trifles, scarcely worth a serious thought; but now that I stood alone in an enemy’s country, with nothing to depend upon but my own sagacity and nerve, I saw in an instant—as though the truth had been revealed by a lightning-flash—that I had indeed undertaken a task, the successful performance of which would tax to their utmost extent every one of the qualities for which the skipper had given me credit.