"God only knows," he answered, "I do not. We will miss the ship!" he cried, wringing his hands. "What a fool I was, not to be sure that I had gotten on board the right boat. Dunraven must have caught wind of my scheme somewhere, and laid this trap into which I walked like an idiot."
"Thou couldst not know it," I answered. "Do not blame thyself. Yonder goes an oar!" And one of the oars, loosed from the socket by the struggle, floated out into the stream. I jumped forward and caught another as it was about to follow suit. "Catch yonder one, Bobby! I shouted, and quickly he did so. Only two remained out of four; one of the others had floated away, probably when the seamen had loosened it.
"Where dost thou say we are?" I asked. "We had best turn back upstream, and make for the ship."
He was standing up, and peered around him.
"I know yonder house," he said finally, pointing out to where a great many-gabled house gleamed far away in the darkness. "'Tis Sir John Norton's house, and it is five miles from where Governor White lies, and the tide is against us; we shall never make it before morning," and he groaned hopelessly.
"Do not despair," I said cheerfully. "Take one of the oars and we will have a try at it. We will go under if we must, but first we will make a game fight," and seating myself, I began to tug at one of the oars.
Years ago I could row, but I had grown older now, and rowing was more difficult to me. Slowly we turned, and began to pull against the tide; it was about three o'clock in the morning, and we had only two hours at the most to make the ship, for she sailed at five o'clock, as Bobby informed me. He, tugging opposite, cursed his luck, as with a groan he bent to his task. Of Dunraven and the sailor we heard nothing. They had disappeared, and the dark river told no secrets.
I shall never forget that night's work, as with aching back I pulled for my life, and not only mine, but for Bobby's as well; for to my repeated offers to put him on shore, and let him strike through the country for his estates, he turned a deaf ear.
"Leave thee to thy death?" he cried indignantly. "No, I have not sunk so low as that. Thou couldst never make the ship alone, and to remain in England is but to invite certain discovery. They will scour all England to find thee, and there is no place that thou couldst remain in safety. No—we will both sink or swim together."
My hands, unaccustomed to the hard work, had blistered, and every stroke gave me pain. The sweat stood in large drops upon my forehead, and ran down my face; my back seemed as though it would break, as I bent to the work; my breath came in quick gasps. Two miles gone—and it was four o'clock. I stopped for an instant, and tearing off the sleeves of my doublet, I handed one in silence to Bobby, and wrapping the other about the handle of my oar, resumed my task.