“I do not apprehend any thing serious on that account; for the boatswain and the carpenter will obey the orders of the captain, whatever happens; and he has the means to conquer any rebellion with their help.”
“But we have heard nothing from them since the newspaper account, except that they had sailed for Funchal, and then from Funchal for the Canaries,” continued the judge. “Are we to wait here till they come?”
“It is a run of nearly eighteen hundred miles to the Bermudas, which is our next stopping-place; and I should like to see the Ville d’Angers before she sets out on this long voyage,” replied Mr. Lowington. “I have my doubts whether Mr. Frisbone, as he has the invalid sister of his wife with him, will care to go any farther than Madeira; and I depend upon him to assist in keeping things straight on board of the steamer.”
Another day passed, and the Ville d’Angers came not. Mr. Lowington began to be anxious, and the judge was more impatient than ever. At last, after a long conference, it was decided that the two steamers of the fleet should return to the Madeiras in search of the truants. Before night they were on their way; but they were not ten hours out of Horta when the fog settled down upon them, and they were buried in it till they were near their destination. They went into the harbor of Funchal; but the Ville d’Angers had not returned.
CHAPTER XXIII.
CARRYING OUT THE PROGRAMME.
CAPT. O’HARA went on shore as soon as the Ville d’Angers dropped her anchor in the harbor of Funchal. After considerable inquiry he found the agent of the principal, and was very much surprised to learn that the fleet had sailed for the Canary Islands, leaving no instructions for him. The agent, or banker, knew nothing whatever of the intentions of Mr. Lowington, nor even where the academy squadron was going from the Canaries.
When the fleet sailed from Funchal, Mr. Lowington and the vice-principals had no doubt whatever that the absent students would return to the Madeiras by the mail-steamer which would arrive the last of the month. For this reason the principal had not thought to leave any instructions for O’Hara. They were all confident they should find the party domiciled at a hotel on their arrival from the Canaries, or on board of the packet, if the fleet arrived before her. The problem was simple enough; and there appeared to be no chance for a failure to connect.
O’Hara was on shore a couple of hours in his search for the banker, and in looking up what information he could obtain in regard to the fleet. As soon as the island of Porto Santo was seen from the fore-top of the steamer, Gregory and Clinch began to be very nervous about the prospect ahead. They feared that the Josephine was still at Funchal, in spite of Gregory’s theory to the contrary. Whatever disposition was made of the rest of the ship’s company of the steamer, they were sure they should be handed over to the senior vice-principal on board of the schooner. They would at once be sent into the steerage of the vessel; and this they regarded as the worst fate that could possibly befall them.
Since they had the liberty of the steamer, they had been planning all sorts of wild expeditions with the “sprigs,” who had the highest opinion of the enterprise of Gregory. They did not care for Clinch; but they would rather take him than lose his companion in rebellion. They all desired to see the island of Madeira; and they were willing to stay there a month or more in the springtime. After this, though their plans were not yet clearly defined, they intended to visit other islands of the Atlantic, and then go to the United States. Gregory was at home there, and would be of service to them.
“All this is very nice,” said Gregory, after the land had been reported; “but it will be all up with me as soon as we get to Funchal. I shall be sent on board of the vessel to which I belong; and that will be the last you will see of me.”