“I know. I know. You come.”
We climbed into the carriage, which was a sort of cart. We were sorry for the two little donkeys who were going to pull us along. They looked pathetically frail, but we were soon laughing and clinging together in our glee, for it was not the smoothest of rides. It seemed long and, after a while we were soon waiting rather impatiently for a glimpse of the sea.
Gertie called to the driver.
“We should be there now. Why don’t we see the sea?”
“Sea here,” cried the boy, waving his whip vaguely, but we could not see any sign of it.
What followed was like a nightmare. I dreamed of it for a long time afterwards. The vehicle was brought to a standstill and we clambered out.
“Where are we?” cried Gertie.
“This sea,” was the reply.
“Ship here.”
“I can’t see them,” we said.
“Here. You pay.”
“But you haven’t taken us there,” wailed Gertie in exasperation.
“No,” I agreed.
“This isn’t the right place.”
I was beginning to feel nervous. We had been caught once over the wallet. It was just about three o’clock and the last launch left at three-thirty.
Gertie clearly was thinking the same.
“You must take us there at once,” she said.
The young boy nodded.
“You pay,” he said.
“But you haven’t taken us there. We will pay when you do.”
“You pay. You pay.”
“What for?” cried Gertie indignantly.
“We didn’t ask to come here,” I added.
“You must take us to the launch.”
We had very little money. Gertie had lost all hers to the wallet salesman, and there was only what I had, which I knew was not a great deal. But we had to get back to the launch which would take us to the ship.
I tried to explain. I opened my purse.
I said: “All this is yours if you take us back to the launch.”
He looked contemptuously at the money.
Then he nodded.
“You pay. I take.”
He took all the money and, still nodding, he turned and leaped into the driver’s seat and drove off.
We looked at each other in dismay. We were far from the ship, without money, bewildered and more and more alarmed with every passing moment.
The awful realization came to us. We were alone in an alien country.
The people were unfamiliar: recent experiences had taught us that we must be wary; it was difficult to communicate with them, for we did not speak their language. We were helpless, numb with fear, too scared to think clearly, and we were old enough to guess a little of the horrors which might befall us, but not old enough to have a notion of how we could cope with the situation.
The thought flashed into my mind that only a miracle could save us.
“Only God could help us.” I had spoken my thoughts aloud.
Gertie was staring at me.
“What can we do?” she said in a whisper.
“We can pray to God,” I said.
I suppose faith grows strong when we are in desperate situations from which there appears to be no escape except through Divine help. I knew mine was the faith of desperation. I believed because I had to the alternative was too awful to contemplate. And I think Gertie felt the same.
We stood very still, closed our eyes and put the palms of our hands together.
“Please, God,” we whispered, ‘help us to get back to the ship. “
We opened our eyes. What had we expected? To see the dock and the launching place materialize before our eyes?
Everything was exactly the same. Nothing had changed . except ourselves. We had faith. The panic had left us. We would find our way back somehow. God would show us the way.
Gertie had taken my hand.
“Let’s go along there. I am sure we came past that place.”
I noticed the big white building which stood a little apart from the others.
I said: “We’ll ask in there. That’s it. Someone will be able to speak English. They’ll help us.”
Gertie nodded and we hurried towards the building.
And then . the miracle happened. A man came out of the building and there was something familiar about him. I saw that it was Dr. Emmerson.
I was exultant. God had answered our prayer.
“Dr. Emmerson,” I called.
He stopped. He stared and then he hurried towards us.
“Carmel! What are you doing here? The ship sails at four.”
“Dr. Emmerson!” I panted.
“We’re lost. A man brought us here and left us. He said it was the dock.”
Dr. Emmerson looked puzzled for a second or so. Then he hesitated no longer. He hustled us away from the building One of the donkey-driven carriages was approaching. He hailed it and said something to the driver. He could speak the language and there was a moment of excited talk. Then we got into the carriage and drove off at great speed.
We somewhat incoherently told Dr. Emmerson what had happened.
“I can’t think why you two young girls were allowed out on your own!”
“We weren’t,” said Gertie.
“We lost the boys,” I explained.
Dr. Emmerson looked shocked.
“I only hope we can make it,” he said.
“Time’s running short.”
“The last launch goes at…” I said.
“Yes, I know.” He looked at his watch and was clearly worried.
I was silently giving prayers of thanks all the time while Dr. Emmerson was urging the driver to go faster. I could see by his gestures that the man was getting the utmost speed out of the poor donkeys.
The joy of seeing the dock was great, but dismay followed. The last launch had left a few minutes before we had arrived and was on its way out to the Lady of the Seas.
We got out of the carriage. Dr. Emmerson gave the driver money and we stood for a few seconds, staring at the departing launch which seemed to be rapidly reducing the distance between itself and the ship.
Dr. Emmerson looked very dismayed.
There were a few rowing-boats on the water. He shouted to one of them.
He was pointing to the Lady of the Seas and to us. I guessed what he was saying. They came to a hasty agreement and the next moment we were all climbing into a rowing-boat.
It was slow progress. We saw that the launch had reached the ship and the passengers were already on board. The launch was, in fact, being drawn to the deck from which it usually hung. The ship was preparing to sail.
There were some men standing on the landing-stage which was in the process of being dismantled. Dr. Emmerson shouted to them. It was not easy to get their attention, but at last he did.
He shouted: “Two little girls. Passengers. The Captain’s niece.”
He had their attention. We were tremendously relieved. We were going to be all right but we had known we would be when our prayers were answered.
There was some time to wait. Several people had come out on to the deck and were leaning over the rail, looking at us.
Dr. Emmerson was clearly greatly relieved. He was confident that he would get us back on board now. He must have been wondering what he would do with two girls on his hands.
He said: They can’t set up the landing-stage again. I expect they’ll let down a rope-ladder. “
“A rope-ladder!” I cried, looking at Gertie.
“That’ll be fun,” she said, with more apprehension than conviction.
She was right to be concerned. It was no easy matter.
We were bobbing about in our little boat, which seemed very tiny and frail beside the Lady of the Seas.
The people from the deck watched while the ladder was being lowered.
“You’ll have to be careful,” said Dr. Emmerson.
“This can be a tricky business. They’ll
be waiting up there to catch you, and I’ll help from here below … but there’s a little distance when you’ll be on your own. Understand?”
“Yes,” I said.
He caught the end of the ladder as it descended.
“You first, Carmel,” he said.
“Ready? Go carefully. On no account lose your grip on the rope. Hang on to it at all cost. And don’t look down at the sea. Keep your eyes straight ahead. Ready?”
I was off. He was holding me until I got beyond his reach. Then for a short time I was alone, clinging to the ladder as Dr. Emmerson had advised. I took one cautious step after another. Then I felt hands from above. Two strong sailors had hauled me on to the deck.
Then it was Gertie’s turn.
We stood beside each other. We were safe. We had seen our miracle and felt exalted. I knew Gertie felt as I did.
We looked down at Dr. Emmerson who was smiling very happily. The look of anxiety had completely disappeared from his face.
“Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Emmerson,” we shouted.
“Goodbye,” he replied.
“And don’t do it again!”
People were surrounding us, among them Jimmy and Timothy.
“Idiots!” said Jimmy.
“What did you think you were doing?”
Mrs. Forman was hugging us, half laughing, half crying.
“We were so worried,” she said.
“But, thank God you are safe.”
“Yes,” I said.
“Let us thank God.”
There was a great deal of fuss about the adventure. Uncle Toby had heard nothing of it until we were safe on board. It was the law of the ship that he was not to be disturbed at such times except with emergencies, and our failure to return on board in time would not be considered a disaster in nautical terms.
He was very disturbed when he learned what had happened, and I realized even more what potential dangers we might have faced.
He sent for me to go to his cabin an hour or so after sailing.
“Never, never let a thing like that happen again!” he said sternly.
“We wouldn’t have let it happen then if we could have helped it,” I told him.
“You could have helped it. You should have stayed with the boys.”
“We didn’t mean to leave them. They just disappeared.”
“You shall never go ashore again unless you are with a reliable person.”
He had never been angry with me before, and I could not stop my tears.
I had been so elated to be safe, and to have incurred his anger made me more unhappy than anything else could.
He relented at once and took me into his arms.
He said: “It’s only because you mean so much to me. When I think what could have happened …”
We were silent for a while, clinging to each other.
“Never … never…” he began.
“No, I won’t. I won’t, I promise.”
After a few moments, he was his old self again.
“All’s well that ends well. I can’t be grateful enough to Emmerson. It was a miracle that he happened to be there.”
“Yes,” I said with conviction.
“It was a miracle.”
“He’s a good fellow. I’ll write to him and you and Gertie can enclose a note.”
“Oh, we will, we will. I’m so happy to be back with you, and you’re not really angry?”
“As long as you don’t do anything so foolish again.”
“Oh, I won’t. I’ll be careful. I promise.”
So all was well. I was back and Uncle Toby was only cross with me because he loved me so much.
He sent for Jimmy and Timothy. He must have talked to them very severely, for they emerged from his cabin red-faced and solemn. They were subdued for several days afterwards.
Mrs. Forman blamed herself. She should never have allowed us to go, she said. But she was assured that she must not blame herself; and in any case she had been so worried at the time about Mr. Forman. He was now making satisfactory progress and would be recovered completely in a few days.
That incident had an effect on Uncle Toby. He was a little quiet at times, and sometimes absentminded, as though preoccupied in some way.
We were together as often as before, and I believed that, whenever it was possible, he wanted to be with me; and what he enjoyed most was sitting in a quiet spot on deck and talking to me.
There were occasions, though, when he would lapse into silence rare with him in the past and he would begin to say something, and then seem to change his mind.
This change in him had come about since our dramatic adventure and I believed it had something to do with that.
Then I learned what it was all about.
We had dined and it was one of those occasions when Uncle Toby had an hour or so to spare. It was a beautiful night, the sea was calm and a full moon was making a path of light across the water, and there was no sound but the gentle swishing of the waves against the sides of the ship.
Uncle Toby said suddenly: “You’re not a child any more, Carmel, I’ve been thinking that perhaps it is about time you began to learn a few things.”
“Yes?” I said eagerly.
“About me,” he said.
“About yourself.”
I was tensely, eagerly waiting.
“Please tell me. Uncle Toby. More than anything, I want to know.”
“Well, in the first place, I’m not your Uncle Toby.”
“I know. You’re Estella, Henry and Adeline’s, of course.”
“Yes. I’m that all right. Perhaps I’d better start from the beginning.”
“Oh yes, please.”
“I told you that my family didn’t want me to go to sea, didn’t I? I wasn’t like the rest of them. Well, you knew my sister, the doctor’s wife. You wouldn’t say I was like her, would you?”
I shook my head vigorously.
“I wasn’t like my sister, Florence, either.”
“The one Estella and Adeline went to … Oh no!”
“That’s the one. You see, I am most unlike them all. They all conformed, except perhaps Grace herself, who married the country doctor who was considered unworthy by the family. But then, it was probably that he was the only one who had ever showed any desire to join forces with Grace, so it was the doctor or no one. I’m being unkind. The fact is, I was never close to any of them. You can understand why I went to sea.”
I nodded. Certainly I could understand anyone’s wanting to get away from Mrs. Marline, not counting the rest of them.
“You were so different,” I said.
“Chalk from cheese, as they say.”
“But you were reconciled afterwards.”
“Let me tell you how it was. When I was a young officer, my ship was stationed in Australia, In Sydney actually. It’s a fine place and the harbour is grand. One of the finest in the world. Didn’t Cook say that when he discovered it? And he was right. Well, there we were based and there we took on our passengers and cargo and sailed round the world . just like the Lady of the Seas … to places in the vicinity mostly. Hong Kong, Singapore, New Guinea, New Zealand. I was twenty when I met Elsie. I was young, hot-headed, romantic you might say. We were married.”
“You have a wife?”
“Kind of.”
“How can you have a wife … kind of ?”
“You were always a very logical young lady, and you are right. You either have a wife or you don’t. What I mean is that ours was not like most marriages. We see each other now and then. I’ll see her when I get to Sydney. We’re good friends, but we don’t share our lives any more. We both decided it was best that way.”
“But she is your wife.”
“Marriage vows are binding. You’re either married or you’re not. So we are.”
“Shall I see her?”
“Yes. You’ll meet Elsie. She and I are the best of friends. We don’t see each other very often. Perhaps that’s why.”
<
br /> “You don’t really like her.”
“Oh, but I do. I like her very much. We get on well for a time. She’s a good sort.”
“Then why … ?”
“There are things you’ll understand later. Human beings are complicated creatures. They rarely do what they’re expected to. She couldn’t leave her country, and I’m a wanderer. She’s got a comfortable little place near the harbour. She was born there. Native heath and all that. But I want to talk about us … you and me.”
“Yes,” I said excitedly.
“We took to each other from the start, didn’t we? There was something special, wasn’t there?”
“Yes, there was.”
“We were drawn to each other. Carmel, I am your father.”
There was a deep silence while joy flooded over me.
“You are pleased?” he asked at length.
“It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
He took my hand and kissed it tenderly.
“It’s the best thing that ever happened to me, too,” he said.
I sat in wonder. If I could have been granted my dearest wish, it would have been just this.
He said: “You must be wondering how it all came about.”
I nodded blissfully.
“When I heard you had been left behind in Suez, it gave me such a shock. I could only be thankful that I did not hear until you were safe. I should have been frantic. I should have left the ship and gone in search of you. And that would have been the end of my career at sea. “
“Oh, I’m sorry … so sorry.”
“I know. It wasn’t your fault. Those stupid boys should have taken more care of you. The idea came to me that you were growing up and it was time you knew the truth. It was then that I decided to tell you, Carmel. I did not know. I had not an inkling until the doctor wrote to me. I was in New Zealand when I received the letter. Posts are often delayed, as you can imagine. Dear old Dr. Edward. His heart was in the right place. You see, he knew. Thank God he did.”
“They would have sent me to an orphanage. I should never have known you … or who I was.”
That prospect seemed doubly gloomy now that I could compare it with what I should have missed.
“Even Grace had to relent and look after you when she knew you were one of the family. But let me tell you. Your mother was a gipsy girl.”
“Zingara!” I cried.
He looked at me in amazement.
The Black Opal Page 10
