CHAPTER TWENTY ONE.
AN UNEXPECTED MEETING.
As the man was dead, it was useless to trouble further about him,especially as there were so many of the living to be attended to; Itherefore turned again toward the occupants of the cabin and said:"Ladies and gentlemen, I am very pleased to be able to assure you thatyou have no further cause for apprehension; the privateer has beencaptured and this vessel retaken by the boats of his Britannic majesty'sschooner _Dolphin_, under my command; my men are now busy, on deck andon board the brigantine, securing the prisoners; and it will be myduty--Good heavens--it cannot be--and yet it surely _is_--my father!"
I had, whilst speaking, been gradually advancing nearer to the table,and consequently more directly into the full light of the cabin lamps;and my speech had been interrupted, and the above startled exclamationwrung from me, by seeing one of the occupants of the sofas rise withdifficulty to his feet to gaze with an expression of intense eagernessin my direction. My attention had thus, naturally, been attractedtoward him, and I could scarcely credit the evidence of my senses when,in the worn and somewhat haggard features of the gazer, I recognised thewell-remembered lineaments of my father. Yet so it was, there could beno mistake about it; for as I sprang toward him, he ejaculated my name,"Lionel," and, overcome with emotion, reeled and fell, bound hand andfoot as he was, into my arms. As I embraced him our lips met, and Ithen received almost the first paternal kiss of which I had ever beenconscious.
I tenderly reseated him on the sofa, and, throwing myself on my kneesbefore him, busied myself in casting loose the lashings which confinedhis feet, glad to have so good an excuse for bowing my head, and thusconcealing the tears of emotion which sprang to my eyes. My father waseven more overcome than I was. I felt his hot tears falling upon myhands as he bent over me; and it was not until I had completely releasedhim that he regained composure enough to ejaculate, as he ferventlygrasped my hand:
"Thank God--oh! thank God for this most unexpected and welcome meeting,my precious boy, my own Lionel; and still more for your opportunearrival. You and your brave fellows made known your presence just intime to prevent what in another moment would have become a perfectpandemonium of violence, and probably of murder also. You are welcome,my son, most welcome, not only to me, but also, I am sure, to everyoneelse in this cabin."
This assurance was heartily echoed by everybody present, with theexception of the unhappy lady in whose arms lay the wounded child, andshe was evidently too much absorbed in her own grief to notice or beconscious of what was taking place. The sight of her and her miseryrecalled me to myself, and reminded me of the many duties I yet had toperform; so leaning over my father and pressing a kiss upon hisforehead--down which, by the way, the blood was slowly trickling from aslight cutlass wound--I said:
"Thank you, dear father, for your affectionate greeting. I must notremain any longer with you, however, for the present, glad as I am tohave so unexpectedly met you; I have many matters yet which _must_ beattended to; but I will rejoin you without fail the moment I feel myselfat liberty to do so. Meanwhile, have no fear of any further violence; astrong detachment of my crew is in possession of both vessels, and theschooner herself is not far distant. I will send some men in to releaseyour companions from their bonds and to help you all in putting mattersstraight once more; and, as I see that several of you have been woundedin defence of the ship, I will at once despatch a boat--if, indeed, shebe not already gone--for the _Dolphin's_ surgeon."
"Many thanks to you, young gentleman, for your kind offer," exclaimedone of the occupants of the sofa, "but if you'll kindly draw your knifeacross these lashings of mine you need not call your surgeon away fromyour own men--who, I'll be bound, stand in greater need of his servicesthan we do. I am the doctor of this ship, and if I can only get myhands and legs free I'll soon attend to my share of the patients, andthen help my brother saw-bones to attend to his as well, if, indeed, hecares to accept my help."
"Thank you, my dear sir," said I, "Mr Sanderson will be only too gladto avail himself of your services, I know; for I fear our casualties to-night will prove to be very heavy when we have time to reckon them up.Allow me."
I at once set to work to cast the worthy medico adrift, my father at thesame time performing a like office for those nearest him; and, havingreleased the doctor, I then hurried out on deck to see how matters wereprogressing.
I encountered the coxswain and several of the gig's crew on the quarter-deck. They were just about to enter the cabin in search of me to reportthat the ship had been searched and all the Frenchmen on board securedand passed down the side into the brigantine, and to inquire what theyshould next do. Looking over the Indiaman's lofty bulwarks down on tothe deck of the brigantine, I saw that there too the prisoners had beensecured and passed below, and that our lads were already busyoverhauling the prostrate bodies and separating the living from thedead. I thereupon directed the coxswain to release the crew of theIndiaman--who were at that moment lying bound hand and foot down in theforecastle--to rout out three lanterns, and to hang them lighted oneabove the other in the ship's rigging, as a preconcerted signal toWoodford that we had been successful; and then to take the gig witheight hands and pull away to the _Dolphin_ for the doctor. My next taskwas to send a couple of trustworthy hands into the Indiaman's cabin toassist the passengers in any way which might be found needful; afterwhich I scrambled down on board the brigantine to see how matters weregoing there.
I had just gained the deck of the prize when the three lanterns weredisplayed in the Indiaman's rigging, upon which a hearty cheer cameringing over the water from no great distance, and, though we could seenothing, the lightning having by this time ceased, we soon heard themeasured roll and rattle of sweeps, succeeded a few minutes later by thearrival of the _Dolphin_ alongside; Woodford having grown impatient anddetermined to see for himself what was going forward.
This, of course, greatly facilitated matters, as we were enabled totransfer our wounded directly on board the schooner, where Sanderson wasall ready awaiting them; and this we made our first task. Ourcasualties were very heavy, as I had feared they would be, five of theattacking party being killed and seventeen of them wounded severelyenough to need the doctor's services; the French loss being twenty-twokilled and forty-five wounded; so desperate, indeed, had been theirdefence that there were only three of them who had escaped completelyunscathed. About an hour after the arrival of the _Dolphin_ alongsidethe prizes, the doctor of the Indiaman came down to assist our surgeon,at the same time reporting all his patients, with one exception--butincluding the skipper and chief officer, both of whom I had supposed tobe dead--to be doing well. The one melancholy exception was the poorlittle boy I had seen lying wounded in his mother's lap, and he theworthy doctor feared would not outlast the night. The brave littlefellow, it seemed, from the story told by the doctor, had been cruellycut down by the wretch I had killed, in revenge for the child havingresented with a blow an attempted insult to his mother made by theruffian after all the crew and male passengers of the Indiaman had beensecured. I am not ashamed to say that on hearing this I regrettedhaving slain the villain, I felt that death by the sword was too goodfor him, hanging in chains being more in accordance with his deserts.And here I may state that it seemed more than probable this would be theultimate fate of the survivors of the brigantine's crew, for althoughthey claimed that the vessel was a letter of marque, no papers could befound to substantiate that claim, although I allowed the chief officerevery facility to find and produce them--if he could.
At length, having seen all the wounded attended to and made ascomfortable as possible, and having told off a prize-crew for thebrigantine and placed Woodford in command of the Indiaman, with half adozen _Dolphins_ to assist her own crew in navigating the vessel, Ireturned on board and had another short but pleasant interview with myfather, which was broken in upon by Woodford with the report that abreeze was springing up. I therefore bade a hasty adieu to thepassengers, most of whom
had by this time in a great measure recoveredtheir equanimity, and hastened on board the schooner, when the threevessels were cast adrift, the sails trimmed to a gentle easterly breeze,and a course shaped for Jamaica, it being my intention to escort theprizes into port.
On the following morning, the weather being fine, I had the gig loweredand went on board the Indiaman--which I may here mention was named the_Truxillo_; the brigantine being named the _Clarice_--when I, for thefirst time, heard an account of the circumstances attending her capture.
She hailed, it appeared, from London, from which port she had originallysailed, having on board twenty-two adult passengers, with five children;specie amounting to one hundred and fifty thousand pounds, and a veryvaluable general cargo, all for Kingston. She had joined a convoy atPlymouth, and had sailed with it, all going well with the fleet untilthey reached the neighbourhood of latitude 25 degrees North andlongitude 50 degrees West, when a hurricane was encountered whichcompletely scattered the convoy, and compelled the _Truxillo_ to run tothe southward for three days under bare poles. It was, of course,almost hopeless to think of falling in with the fleet again after thehurricane had blown itself out--the fleet no longer existed, in fact,the ships of which it was composed having been pretty effectuallydispersed; as soon, therefore, as he could make sail again, CaptainBarnes, the master of the _Truxillo_, determined to shape a course forJamaica, and take his chance of being able to reach it unmolested. Thisdetermination he had put into effect with most satisfactory results upto the moment of his capture, only two sail having been sighted in theinterim, neither of which had taken the slightest notice of him. Norwhen, on the preceding evening just before sunset, the lookout hadsighted and reported the _Clarice_, did her appearance excite the leastuneasiness. She was so small a vessel compared with the _Truxillo_,that nobody condescended to honour her with more than a glance of themost cursory description. Moreover, being discovered on the starboardbow, reaching out from the direction wherein land was known to be, withher yards artfully ill braced, her canvas badly set, her running gearhanging all in bights, and her speed--retarded by a topmast studding-sail being dropped overboard and towed from her lee quarter--less thanthat of the veriest Noah's ark of a north-country collier, she was atonce set down as a harmless coaster, and no further notice taken of her.So skilfully, indeed, had the French skipper managed his approach thateven when, shortly after midnight, his vessel dropped alongside theIndiaman, the occurrence was regarded as nothing more than an accidentof the most trivial character; and it was not until his crew wereactually swarming up the _Truxillo's_ lofty sides that the alarm wasgiven, and the crew, snatching handspikes, belaying-pins, billets ofwood from the galley, or any other weapon which they could first layhands on, too late bestirred themselves in the defence of their ship.Notwithstanding their total lack of preparation the English made asturdy and protracted resistance, affording the passengers ample time toarm themselves; and when at length the Indiaman's crew were drivenbelow, the captain and chief mate retreated to the cabin, which, withthe assistance of the male passengers, they successfully held for fullytwenty minutes after every other part of the ship was in possession ofthe enemy. It was during this resistance that the two officers namedreceived such serious wounds as prostrated them on the saloon floorapparently lifeless, and it was only with their fall that the resistanceterminated.
The fight over, the male passengers were promptly disarmed and secured,and a scene of pillage and violence, the introduction to which was aninsult offered to one of the lady passengers and the cruel cutlass-stroke inflicted upon her almost infant son for resenting it, was justcommencing, when it was happily cut short by the appearance of the_Dolphin's_ boats upon the scene.
The weather continuing fine, I remained on board the _Truxillo_ untilwell on in the afternoon, taking luncheon with the passengers at oneo'clock, and many were the compliments and oft-reiterated the thankswhich they bestowed upon me for what they were pleased to term "mygallantry" in rescuing them from the clutches of the French desperados.Many of the gentlemen were officers belonging to the various regimentsquartered on the island who had been home on furlough, whilst some ofthe ladies were the wives of officers already there whom they were goingout to join, and from what the gentlemen said, I felt sure that myconduct would on our arrival be so well reported as to do me the utmostpossible service with the admiral. My father, too, came in for hisshare of compliments and congratulations at being the parent of such ason, and this gratified me more than all the rest, for I could see thathe was both proud and pleased.
As may well be imagined I was most anxious to have a private chat withhim, no opportunity for which had yet occurred; so at length seeingthat, notwithstanding an obvious wish on the part of everybody to leaveus for a time to ourselves, we were constantly being interrupted, Iproposed to him a visit to the _Dolphin_, which saucy craft, under hertopsail, fore-trysail, and jib only, was sailing round and round the_Truxillo_, notwithstanding that the latter craft was covered withcanvas from her trucks down. The proposal was eagerly acceded to; thegig, which had been towing astern in charge of a boat-keeper, wasaccordingly hauled up alongside, her crew tumbled down into her, and ina few minutes I found myself once more _at home_. How differenteverything looked here, to be sure, from what it did on board theIndiaman! Our snow-white decks, unencumbered by anything save the long-boat and pinnace stowed upon the booms, the handsome range of formidableguns on either side, with their gear symmetrically arranged and tackle-falls neatly coiled down, the substantial bulwarks topped by theirimmaculate hammock-cloths, the gleaming polished brass-work of thevarious deck-fittings, the taunt spars, with their orderly maze ofstanding and running rigging and their broad expanse of gleaming well-cut canvas, and last, but by no means least, the stalwart sun-burnedcrew in their neat, clean, fine weather suits, presented a strikingcontrast to the scene on board the _Truxillo_, where confusion,disorder, and a very perceptible amount of dirt still reigned supreme.My father, however, did not appear to notice the difference, possiblyhis agitation was too great to permit of his being keenly sensible tohis outward surroundings; he knew that the moment for a full andcomplete explanation of the mystery connected with the strangeunreasoning jealousy which he had cherished against my mother hadarrived; and whilst I fancied that he was equally eager with myself thatthe explanation should be made, I could not help seeing that he at thesame time shrank from the ordeal.
It was not so with me. I instinctively felt that whatever the nature ofthe revelation about to be made to me, there would be a sufficientlyweak point somewhere in the evidence to cast a serious doubt upon thewhole; that I should be able to discover and assail that weak point insuch a manner as not only to satisfy myself, but also my father, that hewas wrong and I was not entirely hopeless of being also able to discovera clue which, patiently followed up, would eventually lead to asatisfactory clearing up of everything. So I took my father's arm,conducted him below into the cabin, rang for wine and glasses, and assoon as the steward had disappeared, leaned over the table toward himand said:
"Well, my dear father, at last we are alone, and can talkunrestrainedly. Of course I have a thousand questions to ask you, so Iwill commence by inquiring to what happy chance am I indebted for thepleasure of this most unexpected meeting with you?"
"I will tell you, Leo," said my father. "I am here because I could nolonger overcome my longing to see you. That letter of yours, writtenafter your escape from La Guayra, and in reply to several of mine,which, I gathered from what you said, reached you all at the same time,was my salvation, mentally and physically. Its healthy, manly common-sense tone acted upon my morbidly affected mind like a strong tonicmingled with wine; it swept away the mists which had beclouded myintellect, as the keen fresh mountain breeze sweeps the morning fog fromout the valleys; it set me thinking, and asking myself questions whichhad never occurred to me before; nay, more, it caused the sweet blossomof hope to spring up within my heart; and, finally, it aroused within mea belief--or a superstit
ion, perhaps, would be the better word--that ifwe could unite our forces, what is now dark might be made light, and Icould taste of happiness once more. But I must begin my story at thebeginning; I see that you are only mystified by what I have alreadysaid; you want an explanation, and you shall have it.
"I was twenty-six years of age when I first saw your mother. I wasstaying at Amalfi at the time, and it was in an old chateau among thehills, some fifteen miles or so in the rear of the town, that we firstmet. You have seen her portrait; you perhaps have it still, and aretherefore able to judge of her appearance for yourself. I fell in lovewith her at first sight, and having been fortunate enough, as I thenthought, to favourably impress the old uncle, her only relative, withwhom she was living, I followed up my first accidental introduction tothe inmates of the chateau until it had ripened into a close intimacy.And if I was attracted toward your mother in the first instance by herbeauty, I was still more powerfully attracted afterwards by her manyaccomplishments, and above all by the gentleness and amiability ofdisposition, the charming innocence and truth, and the unsophisticatedingenuousness of character which I thought I had discovered in her. Itwas with a feeling of indescribable pleasure and exultation that I wassoon able to detect in Maria Bisaccia's beaming, yet half-averted eyesand blushing cheeks when we met, the evidences of a growing attachmentfor myself, which I did everything in my power to foster and strengthen.Her uncle Flavio seemed quickly to guess at my wishes, and with afrankness, yet at the same time a stately dignity, which greatly raisedthe old gentleman in my estimation, took an early opportunity toacquaint me with the fact that, though some of Italy's best blood flowedthrough his niece's veins, she was absolutely penniless. That, however,made no difference whatever to me, excepting that it perhaps ratherstimulated my ardour than otherwise. I loved your mother for herself;even then I was doing good work, or, at all events, work which was wellspoken of, and which fetched a good price, so that the thought ofmarrying for money did not particularly commend itself to me. Atlength, when I felt sufficiently certain of my own feelings to justifysuch a step, I proposed, and was accepted with a sweet half-shyness,half-abandon of manner, which was as piquant and charming in effect, asI afterwards had reason to believe it was a consummately skilful pieceof acting--now, do not interrupt me, Leo; wait until you have heard meto an end before you attempt to judge. Well, not to drag out my storyto an undue length, after an acquaintance of some six months we weremarried, and it was about a month after that date that the miniature waspainted which I gave you.
"We removed to Rome, taking up our quarters in a roomy but somewhatdilapidated old villa on the outskirts of the city, where, having nowsomeone and something worth working for, I devoted myself in goodearnest to the study and pursuit of my art.
"At the outset of our married life, our--or perhaps it would be moreaccurate to say my--happiness was complete, but a time at length arrivedwhen I was obliged to ask myself whether I had not after all made amistake. Your mother's manner and demeanour to me was from the veryfirst characterised by a certain shyness, timidity, and reserve, which,charming and proper enough as it might be in a maiden, or even in a new-made bride, I fully expected and hoped would gradually wear off underthe influence of such intimate association as that of wedded life. Butit did not. She accorded to me rather the respectful and anxiouslytimid obedience of a slave to her owner than the frank spontaneousaffection of a wife for her husband. Not that she was cold orunresponsive to my demonstrations of affection, but she received andreturned them with a diffidence which lasted longer than I quite liked,and much longer than I thought it ought to last. Then suddenly, andwithout the slightest apparent cause, she began to manifest symptoms ofrestlessness, anxiety, and preoccupation, which she vainly strove toconceal beneath an assumption of increased tenderness obviously costingher a very great effort. Her uneasiness was so unmistakable that atlength, finding she did not take me into her confidence, or seek myassistance in any way, I questioned her about it, and was shocked andgrieved beyond expression to meet only with equivocating and evasivereplies to my questions. Then, for the first time, I began to suspectthat when we had married I was only second in her affection, and theresult was that, after a severe struggle with myself, I took measures tohave my wife watched. This step soon resulted in the discovery that thewoman whom I loved with such extravagant devotion, and whom I had, up tothen, believed equally devoted to me, was in the habit of secretlymeeting a young Italian after nightfall in a secluded spot at the bottomof our own garden. So great, even then, was my faith in your mother,Leo, that I could not credit the intelligence, to which I indignantlygave the lie, upon which I was challenged to personally test itsaccuracy for myself, if I dared. After this there remained but onecourse of action open to me, and Heaven knows with what reluctance Itook it I found that what I had been told, was only too true, for Isecretly witnessed no less than three meetings between your mother and ayoung man whom, imperfectly as I could distinguish his form and featuresin the dusk, I felt convinced I had somewhere seen before. At length,after so prolonged a visit that he was surprised by the rising moon, andhis features thus more fully revealed to me, I identified your mother'svisitor as a young fellow named Giuseppe Merlani, whom--why, what is thematter, Leo? Why do you look at me like that? One would swear you hadseen a ghost! What is it, my boy?"
"Nothing, nothing," I replied; "I will tell you by and bye, father; goon with your story now, and let me know the worst."
"You know the worst already, Leo," answered my father. "You willnaturally wonder why I did not break in upon the first interview Iwitnessed and demand an explanation. I will tell you why I did not. Itwas because there was really nothing beyond the clandestine character ofthe interview to which I could fairly object. My place of concealmentwas, unfortunately, so far distant from the trysting-place that I wasonly able to indistinctly catch an occasional word or two when spoken inan incautiously loud tone of voice, but I will do your mother thejustice to say that there was nothing in her manner to awaken the angerwhich I felt, and that what I resented as a want of loyalty to meconsisted in the mere act of clandestinely meeting and conversing withyoung Merlani, whom, upon recognising, I at once remembered as havingbeen a somewhat frequent visitor to the chateau Bisaccia when I firstmade your mother's acquaintance.
"At length an interview took place which proved to be the final one; andat this interview I saw your mother place a package in Merlani's hands,yield herself for a moment to his embrace, and then retreatprecipitately to the house in a state of violent agitation.
"It was then that, for the first time, a clear and intelligibleexplanation of these singular meetings dawned upon me. I realised, allin a moment, that I had been duped by a woman whose chief attractionhad, for me, consisted not so much in her surpassing loveliness ofperson, though doubtless that had had its effect upon me, as in thatangelic purity and fascinating simplicity and truthfulness of characterwhich I now discovered to be a mere worthless sham. It was evidentenough that Merlani had been her lover--most probably her _accepted_lover--when I appeared upon the scene; and that, dazzled by myappearance of superior wealth, she had in the most heartless and cruelmanner thrown him overboard; and, with a cunning and artfulness whicheven then seemed incredible to me, laid herself out only toosuccessfully to ensnare me, and by becoming my wife to secure forherself those comforts and luxuries which Merlani--poor shiftless scampthat he was--could never have afforded her.
"Now this of itself would not perhaps have vexed me so much--for I neverentertained a very high opinion of feminine conscientiousness orscrupulosity--had she, when accepting me, been frank enough to admitthat, whilst she was willing to do so, she entertained no very ardentsentiment of regard for me. But what inflicted an incurable wound alikeupon my pride and my love was the fact that she had responded to my suitwith assurances of reciprocated affection which were assumed withconsummate art. And that which to my mind made the worst feature of itall was that, by her diabolical spells, she had won me to
love her as Iverily believe woman was never loved before. And then, to discover allin a moment that her love for me was a mere fiction, or at any rate asecondary sentiment, although, even with such evidence before my eyes aswhat I have already described to you, I could scarcely realise it, andthat the idol I worshipped was at best the very incarnation of falsehoodand unworthiness, was altogether too much for me; I brooded and frettedover it until I could endure it no longer, and then, one day when sheseemed striving to weave anew round my heart the fatal spell of herendearments, I broke away from her embrace and suddenly taxed her withher perfidy, charging her with purchasing her former lover's absence andsilence by the sacrifice of her jewels, the whole of which I had soonascertained were missing.
"I hoped for a moment that my sudden outburst, taking her by surprise,would startle her into making a confession; but no, her self-possession,even at that trying moment, was perfect. For perhaps a minute she stoodspeechless, regarding me with a rapidly changing expression ofcountenance, in which incredulity, surprise, horror, grief, indignation,and finally withering scorn and contempt, were portrayed with an amountof power and skill which I have never seen equalled; then she retired toher own apartments, locked herself in, and refused to see me for morethan a week. And when at length we met, and I endeavoured in a somewhatcalmer tone to reopen the subject, she positively refused to listen to asingle word until I had apologised to her for what she chose todesignate my base and insulting suspicions. `You, for whom only I havehitherto lived, have insulted and humbled me to the very dust,' saidshe. `My conduct admits of a simple and easy explanation, but I willnever make it until you have at least acknowledged yourself hasty inbringing so shameful a charge against me without any previous attempt toascertain the truth.' This, I considered, was, under the circumstances,asking rather too much; and yet, after hurling that defiance at me, yourmother's conduct was so gentle, yet dignified, so perfectly self-possessed, that at times I felt myself almost inclined to believe that Ihad been the victim of some horrible hallucination, and that my wife wasinnocent of the deceit with which I had charged her. Well, I need notlinger over this part of my story. You can easily understand that ourdomestic happiness was destroyed, and a month later our establishmentwas broken up and we removed to England. There, in London, in the houseyou know so well, you were born about six months after the occurrence ofthe circumstances I have related. It unfortunately happened that urgentbusiness called me into the country just at that particular time; andyou may imagine the shock I received when, on returning home, I foundthe whole house in confusion, and learned that I had been six hours aparent and one short half-hour a widower. Your mother died quitesuddenly, and without even time to leave an intelligible message; but Iwas told that her last words were: `Cuthbert, darling--cruel unjustsuspicion--innocent;' and that as the last word escaped her lips shepassed away."
At this point of his narrative my father's voice suddenly broke, andwith a wail of uncontrollable anguish and an exclamation of "Heaven,have mercy upon me and heal my broken heart!" he flung his arms out uponthe cabin table, laid his head upon them, and sobbed aloud.
The Rover's Secret: A Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons of Cuba Page 21
