In about forty hours we made the Pan of Matanzas, and Manuel told the Captain and the white crew to hold themselves in readiness, as he soon intended to put them ashore. At sunset we were scarcely two leagues from the coast of Cuba. The negroes lowered a small boat, and stowed a quantity of water and provisions in her; and Manuel came down to the cabin, and informed Mr R—— and his daughter that it was time for them to embark. “Where?—What do you mean?” cried the young lady.—“Why, madam,” returned Manuel, “didn’t I say that all the people belonging to the brig were to put ashore here?”—“Oh, thanked be Heaven,” exclaimed she; “then we are near a harbour and a town?—My dear father!”—“No, no,” interrupted Manuel, “the coast opposite is uninhabited.”—“What do you tell me?” cried she, bursting into tears; “you surely cannot be so barbarous—my father is dying;—have a little pity. It is indeed dreadful to be here, to be among such people;—but what will become of my parent if you send us away? I have no more money to give you, but perhaps——” Here she covered her face with her hands, and sobbed so violently that her whole frame trembled.
Manuel began to pace about the cabin; I saw that he was affected, and therefore did not venture to speak. “Well, lady,” said he, after a pause, “you may remain here. I will protect you and your father—yes, even though I should bring myself into difficulty by doing so.” He then went upon deck and ordered the Captain and his crew, who had already seated themselves in the boat, to row away. The dashing of their oars, which at first broke upon the stillness of the night, gradually became fainter, and soon subsided into almost undistinguishable murmurs.
In the course of the evening Manuel asked me if I thought Mr R—— would recover from his wound. I told him that I feared he would soon be relieved from the inconvenience of having such a passenger on board. “So I suspect,” returned he; “but what is to become of his daughter and the mulatto woman? I wish I had sent them off in the boat to-night.”—“It would have been unmerciful,” said I; “perhaps the seamen themselves may perish.”—“Don’t fear; don’t fear,” cried he; “I treated them very generously. Most pirates would have left the whole party to drown in the brig, and been glad of such an opportunity of getting them out of the way. I gave them a good boat and plenty of provisions; they will easily reach Matanzas. My crew are enraged at my conduct in this affair. I must be on my guard; and, listen to me, be you also on yours!”
A short time before midnight Mr R—— complained of the oppressive closeness of the cabin, and begged to be lifted upon deck. We immediately complied with his wishes, and spread a mattress for him near the stern of the vessel. Elizabeth, his daughter, seated herself beside his couch, and the mulatto woman waited behind. I threw myself upon a ceroon at a little distance, and felt so fatigued that I gradually began to slumber, although within hearing of the sick man’s feeble groans and hurried inspirations.
I was suddenly awakened by the sound of light footsteps. I opened my eyes, and saw Elizabeth. “My father is——” She could say no more. I rose and followed her. Mr R—— lay upon his back with half-closed eyes, and seemed scarcely sensible of our approach; but in a little time he turned his face towards me, and tried to smile. He then took hold of his daughter’s hand, and attempted to greet her in the same way, but it was impossible; his lips trembled, and some tears rushed down his cheeks. None of us uttered a word, or even ventured to sigh.
It was the finest moonlight, and the whole heavens were covered with one continuous expanse of dappled white clouds. The celestial network, extending from horizon to horizon, floated in motionless repose, and the stars could be seen twinkling faintly through its apertures. The calm was such that our sails scarcely even flapped upon the masts, and our vessel lay as still as if she had been imbedded in a field of crystal. The balmy murmurings of the little surges upon the distant beach swelled upon the ear, and died away again, with a caprice that seemed in unison with the irregular motions of a tall cocoa-nut tree, which stood alone upon a projecting rock, and was waved in a melancholy manner by a land-breeze too feeble and unsteady to reach or affect us.
Elizabeth knelt silently beside her father, with clasped hands, and had that frozen look of condensed despair, which is almost too terrible for an inhabitant of this world. Her face and lips were colourless, and she seemed like a spirit waiting for a departing soul. None of us knew the exact moment at which Mr R—— died. I soon after took his daughter by the hand, and conducted her to the cabin. She neither spoke a word nor made the least resistance, and I began to fear that grief had bewildered her perceptions. Her attendant followed us, and I left them together.
I did not attempt to sleep any that night. I was occupied in thinking of Elizabeth, who had soon awakened to a full sense of her misery, and whose sobs haunted my ears wherever I went. In the morning she sank into a gentle slumber, which, after continuing two hours, left her in a state of comparative rationality and composure. I requested to see her, and we had an interview. I offered myself as a protector, and promised to do everything in my power to extricate her from her present unhappy situation, and said I would escort her to a place of safety whenever I had the good fortune to effect this. I then told who I was, and related the circumstances that had induced me to seek an asylum among the pirates. In return, she thanked me for my unremitting attentions to her father, and declared that she fully believed me to be what I professed.
The calm continued during the whole of that day, and Manuel exhibited many signs of impatience at its long duration; and the more so, as the current was gradually carrying us towards Matanzas, a place which he wished anxiously to avoid. Next morning a gentle breeze sprung up, and we had scarcely begun to profit by it, when we discovered a small brig of war, with American colours, bearing towards us under full sail. Manuel ordered his men to crowd all canvass, and tried various nautical manœuvres in the hope of escaping her; but she gained upon us every moment.