“When Philadelphia delivered the sentence,” continued the captain, “he appeared to take a malignant joy in having such an opportunity for reviling your father—there was no name of opprobrium he did use: but your honoured parent replied to him only with a look of wonder and pity; and with a bow to his relentless judges, left the court in company with his guards.”
“Noble old man!” cried Oriel, earnestly.
“As soon as the people learned the result of the trial, they were in the deepest affliction,” added Captain Barter, “that the kind and excellent philanthropist—the true and disinterested patriot, the glory of their city, and the pride of the world—should perish on a scaffold, was more than they could endure. But they had no leaders, and no weapons; and, although they would have risen in a mass in his rescue, under the circumstances of the case they saw that any attempt of the kind was utterly hopeless. All eyes were then turned toward you. Your character had already acquired their admiration; your relationship to Master Porphyry excited their devotion; and, knowing that you had departed on a voyage, the most powerful friends of your father met secretly for the purpose of devising some plan by which they could make you acquainted with your father’s danger, and with their desire to assist in his rescue. With this idea in view, all your father’s vessels that could be sent to sea, besides a vast number of ships belonging to other merchants who had volunteered to give their assistance, sailed in quest of you. From knowing something of the plan of voyage designed by your father I imagined that about this time you would be crossing the Atlantic; so here I have been sailing about for the last two days, and there are nearly a hundred sail of merchant vessels in the same pursuit.”
“A sail on the larboard bow!” shouted a man.
“That is one of them, I have no doubt, sir,” observed Captain Barter.
“A sail on the starboard quarter!” shouted another.
“There is another, sir!” added the captain.
“A sail to leeward!” cried a third.
“We shall have them all about you soon, sir,” said Captain Barter.