“Our men will not be prevented from coming up on that account, then,” he remarked, satisfied that the undertaking might be accomplished.
Sooner than he expected the canoe entered the broad river, at the mouth of which he hoped to find the ship at anchor. The sun had now risen, his bright rays glancing across the placid water, which shone like a sheet of burnished gold. Virginia gazed at it with astonishment. “I can be your pilot no longer,” she said, “for I have been here twice only before—the first time the water was dark and troubled, and I thought that I had reached the mighty lake across which the canoes of the palefaces, as I had heard, sail from their own lands. I came again, when seeing the opposite bank, I knew that I was in another river, but feared to venture far lest I should be unable to return against the current.”
“Continue to steer, I pray you,” said Oliver, “Ben will act as pilot to tell you which way to go, for neither of us can manage the canoe as you do; all we have to do is to keep near to the shore on our right, and we cannot miss our way.”
Virginia seemed well pleased at the confidence placed in her, and Oliver and Ben paddled on right merrily. Though the river was so broad, there still might be shoals and rocks or sunken trees; and Virginia kept her gaze ahead, to be ready to avoid them or any other dangers. The current having less strength than in the smaller stream, the canoe did not make as rapid way as at first; still, as they looked at the trees on the right, they saw that they were going at a speed with which no ordinary boat could compete.
As midday drew on, Oliver proposed landing to take their meal, but to this Virginia objected, as there might be inhabitants on the shore, who might come suddenly upon them before they had time to embark. They therefore took such food as they required, allowing the canoe meantime to float down. Virginia had not failed to look out for any canoe which might dart out upon them, for, taught by experience, she knew that they were more likely to contain foes than friends. None, however, appeared.
The sun was already sinking astern when Ben announced that he recognised the mouth of the river, and as they rounded a point, he shouted, “Hurrah! there’s the ship all right—we shall soon be aboard and astonish them not a little.”
They were hailed as they approached by the sentry on the forecastle, who seeing the maiden in her Indian dress, knew not what to expect. Ben’s reply assured him who they were, and Captain Layton and the rest of the crew quickly gathered at the side to help Virginia upon deck. She hesitated for a moment; the huge ship astonished her, surpassing all her imaginings. On hearing from Oliver who she was, the captain endeavoured by every sign he could make to show his satisfaction. “Tell her,” he said to Oliver, “that I knew her father, a brave Christian man, and she shall be to me as a daughter, so that she shall never regret the Indian friends she has left.”
He kissed her brow as he spoke, and she seemed at once to understand him. He then led her down into the cabin, round which she looked with a gaze of astonishment at the numberless articles, so strange to her eyes. “Tell her we cannot yet turn her into an English girl, for Cicely has left none of her clothes on board, and they would not fit her slim figure if she had,” said Captain Layton, “but in the mean time she must learn English, and when we get back to James Town we will rig her out properly, and she will soon be able to talk her native tongue—though I don’t suppose she ever spoke much of it in early life.”
The captain had, however, but little time just then to attend to Virginia, as Oliver had further to explain the condition of the party, and to beg that the long-boat might be sent up to their assistance. As she, however, had been waiting all this time for the return of the party, it was necessary to send for her, and she could not arrive till nightfall. Oliver and Ben volunteered to go for her at once; though they had been paddling all day, a few hours more work would do them no harm. Virginia wanted to accompany them when she heard they were going, but this the captain would not allow. Though, she seemed very unhappy at parting from her brother, Oliver soothed her by assuring her that he would soon be back; and slipping into the canoe, he and Ben set off.
“Well, I never was at sea in a craft like this before, its planking not much thicker than a sheet of paper,” said Ben, as they paddled on; “however, provided the water keeps out, it matters little whether the planking is three inches or the tenth of an inch thick.”