by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XIX ESCAPE
Gradually a greater amount of liberty was given to Gervaise. Escapefrom Tripoli was deemed impossible, especially as he was supposed to beentirely ignorant of Arabic. He was, indeed, scarcely regarded now as aslave by the head mason, and instead of being clad in rags was dressedlike other overseers. He was no longer obliged to walk with the gang toand from the palace, and was at last granted permission to go into thetown for an hour or two after his work was over, instead of returningdirect to the prison. The first time this permission was given to himhe placed himself on the road by which Ben Ibyn would leave the town,choosing a quiet spot where the meeting would not be observed. Gervaisehad for some time taken to staining his face, hands, and legs withwalnut juice, beginning with a weak solution, and very graduallyincreasing the strength until he had reached a shade approximating tothat of the lighter coloured portion of the population. The head masonhad on one occasion noticed it, and said, "The sun is darkening yourskin, Gervaise, until you might verily pass as a Moor."
Gervaise detected an expression of doubt in the tone the officer hadspoken to the interpreter, and replied at once, "It is not altogetherthe sun. Since I have obtained permission to come to my work alone,I have taken to slightly darkening my skin, in order to go to and frounmolested, and free from the insults that the boys and beggars hurl atChristians."
The master mason nodded approvingly when the answer was translated tohim.
"It is a wise step," he said; "for truly the hatred of Christians isvery strong among the lower classes, especially since it became knownthat the galleys that sailed from here nearly two years ago were, withall the fleet from which so much was expected, utterly destroyed. It iswell, then, that you should pass unnoticed, for were there a tumult inthe street you might lose your life, and I should lose the best labouroverseer I have ever had."
Thus, then, as Gervaise walked through the streets on the first occasionof obtaining his liberty, he attracted no attention whatever. When hesaw Ben Ibyn approaching he stepped out to meet him. The merchant lookedin his face, but for a moment failed to recognise him, then he exclaimedsuddenly, "It is Gervaise! Ah, my son, I am indeed rejoiced to seeyou. We have spoken of you so often at home, and sorely did my wife anddaughters grieve when you were torn from us. I did not dare to send anymessage to you, for the sultan pretended great anger against me, andused the opportunity to squeeze me hardly; but I have frequently madeinquiries about you, and was glad indeed to find that even in prison youreceived promotion; had it been otherwise--had I found that you werein misery--I would have endeavoured, whatever the risk, to aid you toescape."
"I have indeed nothing to complain of, and was sorry to learn that youhad suffered on my account. Have you ever learned how it came about thatI was denounced?"
"No, indeed; I would have given much to know, and assuredly the dog,whoever he was, should have been made to suffer."
"It was Hassan. The villain met me when I was with the gang, and boastedthat it was he who had sent me there. He had told the news to someofficial, who had, of course, repeated it to the sultan; doubtless heconcealed his own share in the matter, otherwise he too would, next timehe returned here, have had to pay for his part in it."
"I will make him pay more heavily than the sultan would," Ben Ibyn saidsternly; "I will speak to my friends among the merchants, and henceforthno Berber will buy aught from him; and we have hitherto been his bestcustomers. But let us not waste our time in speaking of this wretch. Howcomes it that you are walking freely in the streets of Tripoli? I cansee that your face is stained, although you are no longer a Nubian."
Gervaise told him how it was that he was free to walk in the city afterhis work was done.
"I shall now," he went on, "be able to carry out any plan of escape thatmay occur to me; but before I leave, as I shall certainly do ere long,I mean to settle my score with Hassan, and I pray you to send one ofthe men who were with me in the galley, and whom you took into youremployment, directly you hear that his ship is in harbour. Do not givehim either a note or a message: bid him simply place himself in theroad between the prison gate and the palace, and look fixedly at me as Ipass. I shall know it is a signal that Hassan is in the port."
"Can I aid you in your flight? I will willingly do so."
"All that I shall need is the garb of a peasant," Gervaise said. "Imight buy one unnoticed; but, in the first place, I have no money, andin the second, when it is known that I have escaped, the trader mightrecall the fact that one of the slave overseers had purchased a suit ofhim."
"The dress of an Arab would be the best," the merchant said. "That Iwill procure and hold in readiness for you. On the day when I sendyou word that Hassan is here, I will see that the gate of my garden isunbarred at night, and will place the garments down just behind it. Youmean, I suppose, to travel by land?"
"I shall do so for some distance. Were I to steal a boat from the port,it would be missed in the morning, and I be overtaken. I shall thereforego along the coast for some distance and get a boat at one of thevillages, choosing my time when there is a brisk wind, and when I maybe able to get well beyond any risk of being overtaken. Now, Ben Ibyn, Iwill leave you; it were better that we should not meet again, lest somesuspicion might fall upon you of having aided in my escape. I cannotthank you too much for all your past kindness, and shall ever bear agrateful remembrance of yourself and your family."
"Perhaps it were better so," Ben Ibyn said; "for if the Moors can findany excuse for plundering us, they do so. Have you heard the news thatthe Sultan of Turkey's expedition for the capture of Rhodes is all butcomplete, and will assuredly sail before many weeks have passed?"
"I have not heard it," Gervaise replied; "and trust that I may be intime to bear my share in the defence. However, the blow has been sooften threatened that it may be some time before it falls."
"May Allah bless you, my son, and take you safely back to your friends!Be assured that you shall have notice as soon as I know that Hassan hasreturned, and you shall have the bundle with all that is needful, behindmy gate."
Another two months passed. Gervaise looked in vain for Ben Ibyn'smessenger as he went to and from the palace, and chafed terribly at thedelay, when, for aught he knew, the Turkish fleet might already havebrought Mahomet's army to Rhodes. At last, as he came back from work, hesaw with intense satisfaction one of the men, whose face he recognised,leaning carelessly against the wall. The man gave no sign ofrecognition, but looked at him earnestly for a minute, and thensauntered off up the street. Gervaise went up into the town as usual,walked about until it became quite dark, and then went to the gate thatled into the merchant's garden. He found that it was unfastened,and, opening it, he went in and closed it behind him. As he did so hestarted, for a voice close by said,
"Master, it is I, the messenger whom you saw two hours since. Ben Ibynbade me say that he thought you might require some service, and, knowingthat I could be trusted, bade me wait for you here. He thought that youmight possibly need a messenger to Hassan."
"The very thing," Gervaise exclaimed. "I have been puzzling myself invain as to how I could get speech with him in some quiet place; butwith your assistance that will be easy; but first let me put on thisdisguise."
This was easily effected, even in the dark. A loose flowing robe ofwhite cotton, girt in at the waist, a long bernouse with hood to coverthe head, a sash with a dagger, and a scimitar, completed the disguise.
"Here is a pouch," the man said, "with money for your journey, anda long sword, which he says you can hang at your back beneath yourbernouse."
Gervaise gave an exclamation of pleasure. By its length and weight hewas sure that the weapon must have been the property of a Christianknight.
"Shall I carry the message this evening?" the man asked. "It is earlystill, and it were best that you should not linger in the city, wherethere is sure to be a strict search for you in the morning."
"But perhaps he may recognise your face?"
"It is blackened, m
y lord, and I am dressed as you were when with BenIbyn."
"Let us settle our plans, then, before we sally out from here; we couldnot find a safer place for talking. What message, think you, would bethe most likely to tempt Hassan to come ashore? You do not know whatspoil he has brought?"
"No; besides, if a merchant wanted to buy he would go on board toinspect Hassan's wares. We must have something to sell. It must besomething tempting, and something that must be disposed of secretly. Imight tell him that my employer--and I would mention some merchant whosename would carry weight with him--has received from the interior a largeconsignment of slaves, among whom are three or four girls, who wouldfetch high prices in Egypt, and as he believes they have been capturedfrom a tribe within the limits of the sultan's territory, he is anxiousto get rid of them, and will either dispose of them all cheaply in alot, or will hand them over to him to take to Egypt to sell, giving hima large commission for carrying them there and disposing of them."
"I do not like tempting even an enemy by stories that are untrue,"Gervaise said doubtfully.
"I have no scruples that way," the man said, with a laugh; "and it is Iwho shall tell the story, and not you."
Gervaise shook his head.
"Could you not say that you came from one who owes him a heavy debt anddesires to pay him?"
"I do not think that would bring him ashore. Hassan doubtless trades forready money, and must be well aware that no one here can be greatly inhis debt. No, my lord; leave the matter in my hands. I will think ofsome story before I go on board that will fetch him ashore. But first wemust settle where I am to bring him; there are some deserted spots nearthe wall on the east side of the town."
"I know where you mean," Gervaise agreed; "let us go in that directionat once, for the sooner you are off the better."
In half an hour a spot was fixed on, near some huts that had fallen intoruin. Here Gervaise seated himself on a sand heap, while the man hurriedaway. The moon had just risen, it being but three days since it was atits full. The night was quiet; sounds of music, laughter, and occasionalshouts came faintly from the town. Seated where he was, Gervaise couldsee the port and the ships lying there. Half an hour later he saw a boatrow off to one of them, which he had already singled out, from its sizeand general appearance, as being that of Hassan; ten minutes later hesaw it returning. At that distance separate figures could not be madeout, but it seemed to him that it loomed larger than before, and hethought that certainly one, if not more, persons, were returning withhis messenger. Presently he heard men approaching; then Hassan's voicecame distinctly to his ears.
"How much farther are you going to take me? Remember, I warned you thatunless I found that my journey repaid me, it would be bad for you."
"It is but a few yards farther, my lord. There is my master the sheik ofthe Beni Kalis awaiting you."
Gervaise rose to his feet as Hassan and two of his crew came up.
"Now," the former said roughly, "where have you bestowed these captivesyou want to sell me?"
"Will you please to follow me into this courtyard?" Gervaise said.He had, while waiting, reconnoitred the neighbourhood, and found anenclosure with the walls still perfect, and had determined to bringHassan there, in order to prevent him from taking to flight. Hassanentered it unsuspectingly, followed by his two men. Gervaise fell backa little, so as to place himself between them and the entrance. Then hethrew back the hood of his bernouse.
"Do you recognise me, Hassan?" he said sternly. "I am the captive whomyou beat almost to death. I told you that some day I would kill you;but even now I am willing to forgive you and to allow you to depart inpeace, if you will restore the amulet you took from me."
The corsair gave a howl of rage.
"Christian dog!" he exclaimed. "You thought to lead me into a trap,but you have fallen into one yourself. You reckoned that I should comealone; but I suspected there was something hidden behind the story ofthat black, and so brought two of my crew with me. Upon him, men! Cuthim down!" So saying, he drew his scimitar, and sprang furiously uponGervaise. The latter stepped back into the centre of the gateway, so asto prevent the men, who had also drawn their swords, passing to attackhim from behind. He had undone the clasp of his bernouse, and allowed itto fall to the ground as he addressed Hassan, and his long sword flashedin the moonlight as the corsair sprang forward.
Hassan was a good swordsman, and his ferocious bravery had rendered himone of the most dreaded of the Moorish rovers. Inferior in strength toGervaise, he was as active as a cat, and he leapt back with the springof a panther, avoiding the sweeping blow with which Gervaise had hopedto finish the conflict at once; the latter found himself thereforeengaged in a desperate fight with his three assailants. So furiously didthey attack him that, foot by foot, he was forced to give ground. As hestepped through the gateway one of the pirates sprang past him, but ashe did so, a figure leapt out from beyond the wall, and plunged a daggerinto his back, while at the same moment, by cutting down another pirate,Gervaise rid himself of one of his assailants in front; but as he didso, he himself received a severe wound on the left shoulder from Hassan,who, before he could again raise his weapon, sprang upon him, and triedto hurl him to the ground.
Gervaise's superior weight saved him from falling, though he staggeredback some paces; then his heel caught against a stone, and he fell,dragging Hassan to the ground with him. Tightly clasped in each other'sarms, they rolled over and over. Gervaise succeeded at last in gettingthe upper hand, but as he did so Hassan twisted his right arm free,snatched the dagger from Gervaise's girdle, and struck furiously at him.Gervaise, who had half risen to his knees, was unable to avoid theblow, but threw himself forward, his weight partly pinning the corsair'sshoulders to the ground, and the blow passed behind him, inflicting buta slight wound in the back; then, with his right hand, which was nowfree, he grasped Hassan by the throat with a grip of iron. The piratestruggled convulsively for a moment, then his left hand released hisgrasp of his opponent's wrist. A minute later Gervaise rose to his feet:the pirate was dead.
Gervaise stooped and raised the fallen man's head from the ground, feltfor the chain, pulled up Claudia's gage, and placed it round his ownneck; then he turned to his guide.
"I have to thank you for my life," he said, holding out his hand to him."It would have gone hard with me if that fellow had attacked me frombehind. I had not bargained for three of them."
"I could not help it, my lord. It was not until Hassan had stepped downinto the boat that I knew he was going to take any one with him; then hesuddenly told two of his men to take their places by him, saying to me,as he did so, 'I know not whether this message is a snare; but mind,if I see any signs of treachery, your life at any rate will pay theforfeit.' I knew not what to do, and indeed could do nothing; but,knowing my lord's valour, I thought that, even against these odds, youmight conquer with such poor aid as I could give you."
"It was not poor aid at all," Gervaise said heartily. "Greatly am Iindebted to you, and sorry indeed am I, that I am unable to reward younow for the great service that you have rendered me."
"Do not trouble about that, my lord. I am greatly mistaken if I do notfind in the sashes of these three villains sufficient to repay me amplyfor my share in this evening's work. And now, my lord, I pray you tolinger not a moment. The gates of the town shut at ten o'clock, and itcannot be long from that hour now. But first, I pray you, let me bind upyour shoulder; your garment is soaked with blood."
"Fortunately my bernouse will hide that; but it were certainly best tostaunch the blood before I start, for it would be hard for me to get atthe wound myself."
The man took one of the sashes of the corsairs, tore it into strips, andbandaged the wound; then with another he made a sling for the arm. Ashe took off the sashes a leather bag dropped from each, and there was achink of metal. He placed them in his girdle, saying, "I shall have timeto count them when I get back."
Gervaise sheathed his sword, and put on the bernouse, pulling the hoodwell ove
r his head; then, with a few more words of thanks, started forthe gate, leaving the man to search Hassan's girdle.
The gate was a quarter of a mile distant. Gervaise passed through withthe usual Arabic salutation to the sentry, and with difficulty represseda shout of exultation as he left Tripoli behind him.
Following the coast road he walked till daylight; then he left it andlay down among the sand hills for five or six hours. He calculated thatno pursuit would be begun until midday. His absence was not likely to benoticed until the gangs began work in the morning, when an alarm wouldbe given. The sentries at the gates on the previous evening wouldbe questioned, and when it was found that no one answering to hisdescription had passed out before these were closed, there would bea rigid search throughout the city and port. The vessels would allbe examined, and the boatmen questioned as to whether any craft wasmissing. Not until the search proved absolutely fruitless would it beseriously suspected that he had, either by passing through the gates indisguise, or by scaling the walls, made for the interior. None knew thathe could speak Arabic, and it would be so hopeless an undertaking forany one unacquainted with the language to traverse the country withoutbeing detected, that the Moors would be slow to believe that he hadembarked upon such adventure. However, when all search for him in thetown and in the vessels in the port proved fruitless, doubtless mountedmen would be despatched in all directions; some would take the coastroads, while others would ride into the interior to warn the head men ofthe villages to be on the lookout for an escaped slave.
After a sleep of five hours, Gervaise pursued his journey. He had walkedfor eight hours, and calculated that he must be fully thirty miles fromTripoli, and that not until evening would searchers overtake him. Afterwalking four miles he came to a large village. There he purchased a bagof dates, sat down on a stone bench by the roadside to eat them, andentered into conversation with two or three Moors who sauntered up. Tothese he represented that he belonged to a party of his tribe who hadencamped for the day at a short distance from the village in orderto rest their horses before riding into Tripoli, whither they wereproceeding to exchange skins of animals taken in the chase, and someyoung horses, for cotton clothes, knives, and other articles of barterwith the tribes beyond them.
After quenching his thirst at a well in front of the mosque, he retracedhis steps until beyond the village, then struck out into the country,made a detour, came down into the road again, and continued his journeyeastward. He walked until nightfall, and then again lay down.
He was now fully fifty miles from Tripoli, and hoped that he was beyondthe point to which horsemen from that town would think of pursuing theirsearch. It was likely that they would not have gone beyond the villageat which he had halted on the previous day; for when they learned fromthe inhabitants that no stranger, save an Arab, had entered it, theywould content themselves with warning the head man to be on the watchfor any stranger unable to speak their tongue, and would not consider itnecessary to push their steps farther.
For four days Gervaise continued his journey. At each village throughwhich he passed he added to his stock of dates, until he had as manyas he could carry under his bernouse without attracting observation. Healso purchased a large water bottle, which he slung round his neck.
All this time the sea lay to his left like a sheet of glass, and heknew that until a change of weather occurred, it was useless for himto attempt to escape by boat. On the fifth day there were signs of achange. He saw a dark line far out at sea; it came across the waterrapidly, and presently a gentle breeze began to blow from the northwest;it gradually increased in strength, and when, in the afternoon, hestopped at a village, the waves were breaking upon the shore.
After repeating his usual story, he sauntered down to the water's edge.There were several boats hauled up, and a hundred yards out two or threelarger craft were lying at anchor. He entered into conversation withsome of the fishermen, and his questions as to the boats led them tobelieve him altogether ignorant of the sea. The craft were, they toldhim, used sometimes for fishing, but they often made voyages to townsalong the coast with dates and other produce. Each boat carried a singleshort mast, to the top of which was attached a long tapering spar, onwhich the sail was furled.
Gervaise knew that these small feluccas were generally fast sailors andfair sea boats, and resolved to seize one of them, trusting that whenonce the sail was shaken out he would be able to manage it singlehanded. Accustomed to boats, he picked out that which he thought wouldbe the fastest, and then walked away for half a mile, and lay down tosleep until the village was silent for the night. He had with him someoaten cakes he had bought there, a string of fish he had purchased fromthe boatmen, and with these and the dates he thought he could managefor four or five days at least. As to water, he could only hope that heshould find a supply on board the boat. When he judged it to be aboutten o'clock he went down to the shore again, took off his clothes andmade them into a bundle; then, wading out into the water to within fiftyyards of the felucca, swam off to it, towing the bundle behind him.
He had no difficulty in climbing on board, and after dressing himself inthe clothes he had worn at Tripoli, and had kept on underneath the Arabattire, he pulled the head rope until the craft was nearly over theanchor. He then loosened the line that brailed up the sail, got thestone that served as an anchor on board, hauled the sheet aft, and tookhis place at the tiller. The wind had dropped a good deal with the sun,but there was still sufficient air to send the light craft fast throughthe water. He steered out for a time, and then, when he thought himselfa good mile from the shore, headed east. By the appearance of the wateras it glanced past, he thought that he must be making from five to sixmiles an hour, and when the sun rose at five o'clock, believed that hewas nearly forty miles on his way. He now fastened the tiller with arope and proceeded to overhaul the craft.
It was decked over forward only, and he crept into the cabin, which waslittle more than three feet high. The first thing his eye lit on was abulky object hanging against the side, and covered with a thick blackblanket of Arab manufacture. Lifting this, he saw, as he expected, thatthe object beneath it was a large waterskin well filled; the blanket hadevidently been placed over it to keep it cool when the sun streamed downon the deck above it. There was also a large bag of dates, and anotherof flat cakes, and he guessed that these had all been put on board theevening before, in readiness for a start in the morning. This relievedhim of his chief anxiety, for he had been unable to think of any planfor replenishing his supply, or to concoct a likely tale that, were heobliged to go on shore, would account for his being alone in a craft ofthat size.
The wind increased again after sunrise, and being unable to reef thesail single handed he managed partially to brail it up. All day thecraft flew along with the wind on the quarter, making six or seven milesan hour; and he felt that by morning he would be well beyond pursuit. Onthe run he passed several craft engaged in fishing, but these gave himno uneasiness. He had in the morning, with some old sails he found,constructed three rough imitations of human figures, one with the Arabdress and another with the bernouse, and had placed them against thebulwarks, so that at a short distance it would appear that there werethree men on board. Feeling confident that the deception would not benoticed, he kept his course without swerving, and passed some of thefishing boats within hailing distance, waving his hand and shouting theusual Arab salutation to their crews.
During the day he contented himself with eating some dates and anoatmeal cake or two; but at sunset he added to this two or three fishthat he had split open and hung up to dry in the sun and wind. There wascharcoal on board, and a flat stone served as a hearth in the bottom ofthe boat, but he had no means of lighting a fire, for this the fishermenwould have brought off when they came on board in the morning. After hehad finished his meal and taken his place again at the tiller healtered his course. Hitherto he had been steering to the south of east,following the line of coast, but he now saw before him the projectingpromontory of Cap
e Mezurata, which marks the western entrance of thegreat Gulf of Sydra; and he now directed his course two points northof east, so as to strike the opposite promontory, known as Grenna, morethan a hundred miles away. The wind fell much lighter, and he shook outthe sail to its full extent. All night he kept at his post, but findingthe wind perfectly steady he lashed the tiller so as to keep the boat'shead in the direction in which he was steering, and dozed for somehours, waking up occasionally to assure himself that she was keeping hercourse.
At sunrise he indulged in a wash in sea water, and felt freshened andrevived. He now kept a sharp lookout for distant sails, for he was outof the ordinary course a coaster would take, and would have attractedthe attention of any corsair coming out from the land; the sea, however,remained clear of ships. All day the felucca made rapid progress, foralthough the wind freshened, Gervaise did not lessen sail as before,being now accustomed to the boat and confident of her powers. As soonas the wind died away again after sunset, he lay down for a good sleep,feeling this was an absolute necessity, and knowing that before morninghe should be obliged to keep a sharp lookout for land. He slept longerthan he had intended, for the day was breaking when he opened his eyes.He sprang to his feet, and saw the land stretching ahead of him at adistance, as he thought, of some fifteen miles, and at once put the helmdown and bore more to the north.
He judged, from what he had heard on the coast, that he must be nearlyoff Cape Tejones, behind which lies the town of Bengasi, and wasconfirmed in the belief on finding half an hour later that the coast,which had run nearly north and south, trended sharply away to thenortheast. All day long he kept about the same distance from the land,and at night, instead of keeping on his course, brailed up the sailentirely, and allowed the vessel to drift, as he knew that beforemorning he should lose the coast if he continued as he was going. Heslept without moving until daylight, and then saw, to his satisfaction,by means of landmarks he had noticed the evening before, that the boathad drifted but a few miles during the night. As the day went on, he sawthat the coastline was now east and west, and felt that he must be offthe most northerly point of the promontory; he accordingly laid hiscourse to the northeast, which would take him close to Cape Saloman, themost easterly point of Crete, and from two hundred and fifty to threehundred miles distant.
For twenty-four hours he sailed quietly on, the wind dropping lighterand lighter; then it suddenly died out altogether; for some hours therewas not a breath to stir the surface of the water, and the heat wasstifling. Gervaise slept for some time; when he awoke the same stillnessreigned, but there was a change in the appearance of the sky; itsbrightness was dulled by a faint mist, while, although the sea was ofa glassy smoothness, there was an imperceptible swell that caused thefelucca to sway uneasily. Gervaise had sufficient experience of theLevant to know that these signs were ominous of a change, and he atonce set to work to prepare for it. Although he saw that it would bedifficult for him unaided to hoist the long spar back into its place,he decided to lower it. This was not difficult, as its weight brought itdown on to the deck as soon as he slackened the halliards; he unhookedit from the block, and then lashed the sail securely to it. When he haddone this he looked round. A bank of dark clouds lay across the horizonto the northwest, and in a short time he could see that this was risingrapidly.
Before taking down the spar and sail, he had deliberated as to whetherit would be better to run before the coming gale or to lie to, and haddecided on the latter alternative, as, were it to continue to blow long,he might be driven on to the Egyptian coast. Moreover, the felucca'sbow was much higher out of water than the stern, and he thought that shewould ride over the waves with greater safety than she would did theysweep down upon her stern.
He had heard that the Greeks, when caught in a sudden gale in smallboats, often lashed the oars together, threw them overboard with a ropeattached, and rode to them safely through a sea that would otherwisehave overwhelmed them. After much consideration as to what had best bedone, he took the anchor rope, which was some sixty yards in length,fastened one end to each end of the spar, and then lashed the middle ofthe rope to the bow of the felucca; then, using an oar as a lever, hewith great labour managed to launch the spar over the bow, with the sailstill attached to it.
When he had completed this, he looked round at the state of the weather.The clouds had risen so fast that their edge was nearly overhead,spanning the sky like a great arch. Ahead of him it seemed almost asblack as night. He had not been out in many of the gales that at timessweep the eastern waters of the Mediterranean with terrible violence,but had seen enough of them to know that it was no ordinary one that hewas about to encounter. He looked over the bow; the spar at present waslying in contact with the stem. With an oar he pushed it across so as tobe at right angles with the craft, and then, there being nothing else todo, sat down and waited for the storm to burst. In a short time heheard a dull moaning sound, a puff of wind struck the boat, but in a fewseconds died out; it was sufficient to give the light craft stern way,and she drifted backwards, the rope tightening, until the spar layacross her bows, and some twenty yards away.
The dull moaning had grown louder; and now ahead of him he saw a whiteline. It approached with extraordinary rapidity. Knowing the fury withwhich it would burst upon him, he leapt down, and stood at the entranceto the cabin, with his head just above the deck. With a deafening roarthe wind struck the boat, which staggered as if she had on her fullcourse struck on a rock, while a shower of spray flew over her. Halfblinded and deafened, Gervaise crawled into the cabin, closed the door,and lay down there; whatever happened, there was nothing he could do. Hewas soon conscious that the spar and sail were doing their work, forthe boat still lay head to wind. The noise overhead and around wasdeafening; above the howl of the wind could be heard the creaking of thetimbers, and the boat seemed to shiver as each fresh gust struck her.
In half an hour he looked out again. There was, as yet, but little sea;the force of the wind seemed to flatten the water, and the instant awave lifted its head it was cut off as if by a knife, and carriedaway in spray. The boat herself was moving rapidly through the water,dragging the spar behind her, and Gervaise almost trembled at thethought of the speed at which she would have flown along had it not beenfor the restraint of the floating anchor. Gradually the sea got up, butthe light craft rode easily over it, and Gervaise, after commendinghis safety to God, lay down, and was soon fast asleep. In spite of themotion of the vessel, he slept soundly for many hours. When he awoke heopened the cabin door and looked out. A tremendous sea was running, buthe thought the wind, although so strong that he could scarce lift hishead above the shelter of the bulwark, was less violent than it hadbeen when it first broke upon him. He saw to his satisfaction that thefelucca breasted the waves lightly, and that although enveloped in sprayshe took no green water over the bows.
The spar and sail acted not only as a floating anchor, but as abreakwater, and the white crested waves, which came on as if theywould break upon the boat, seemed robbed of half their violence bythe obstruction to their course, and passed under the felucca withoutbreaking. For forty-eight hours the gale continued; at the end ofthat time it ceased almost as suddenly as it had begun. The sun shonebrightly out, the clouds cleared entirely away. It was some hours beforethe sea went down sufficiently for Gervaise to attempt to get the sparon deck again. It was a heavy task, taxing his strength to the utmost,but after a deal of labour it was got on board, and then raised to itsposition at the masthead; the sail was shaken out, and the felucca againput on her course.
