Face au drapeau. English

by Jules Verne

  CHAPTER IV.

  THE SCHOONER EBBA.

  It was not till the next morning, and then very leisurely, thatthe _Ebba_ began to make preparations for her departure. From theextremity of New-Berne quay the crew might have been seen holystoningthe deck, after which they loosened the reef lines, under thedirection of Effrondat, the boatswain, hoisted in the boats andcleared the halyards.

  At eight o'clock the Count d'Artigas had not yet appeared on deck.His companion, Serko the engineer, as he was called on board, had notquitted his cabin. Captain Spade was strolling quietly about givingorders.

  The _Ebba_ would have made a splendid racing yacht, though she hadnever participated in any of the yacht races either on the NorthAmerican or British coasts. The height of her masts, the extent ofthe canvas she carried, her shapely, raking hull, denoted her to be acraft of great speed, and her general lines showed that she was alsobuilt to weather the roughest gales at sea. In a favorable wind shewould probably make twelve knots an hour.

  Notwithstanding these advantages, however, she must in a dead calmnecessarily suffer from the same disadvantages as other sailingvessels, and it might have been supposed that the Count d'Artigaswould have preferred a steam-yacht with which he could have goneanywhere, at any time, in any weather. But apparently he was satisfiedto stick to the old method, even when he made his long trips acrossthe Atlantic.

  On this particular morning the wind was blowing gently from the west,which was very favorable to the _Ebba_, and would enable her to standstraight out of the Neuse, across Pamlico Sound, and through one ofthe inlets that led to the open sea.

  At ten o'clock the _Ebba_ was still rocking lazily at anchor, her stemup stream and her cable tautened by the rapidly ebbing tide. The smallbuoy that on the previous evening had been moored near the schoonerwas no longer to be seen, and had doubtless been hoisted in.

  Suddenly a gun boomed out and a slight wreath of white smoke arosefrom the battery. It was answered by other reports from the guns onthe chain of islands along the coast.

  At this moment the Count d'Artigas and Engineer Serko appeared ondeck. Captain Spade went to meet them.

  "Guns barking," he said laconically.

  "We expected it," replied Serko, shrugging his shoulders. "They aresignals to close the passes."

  "What has that to do with us?" asked the Count d'Artigas quietly.

  "Nothing at all," said the engineer.

  They all, of course, knew that the alarm-guns indicated that thedisappearance of Thomas Roch and the warder Gaydon from HealthfulHouse had been discovered.

  At daybreak the doctor had gone to Pavilion No. 17 to see howhis patient had passed the night, and had found no one there. Heimmediately notified the director, who had the grounds thoroughlysearched. It was then discovered that the door in rear of the park wasunbolted, and that, though locked, the key had been taken away. It wasevident that Roch and his attendant had been carried out that way. Butwho were the kidnappers? No one could possibly imagine. All that couldbe ascertained was that at half-past seven on the previous night oneof the doctors had attended Thomas Roch, who was suffering from one ofhis fits, and that when the medical man had left him the invalid wasin an unconscious condition. What had happened after the doctor tookleave of Gaydon at the end of the garden-path could not even beconjectured.

  The news of the disappearance was telegraphed to New Berne, and thenceto Raleigh. On receipt of it the Governor had instantly wired ordersthat no vessel was to be allowed to quit Pamlico Sound without havingbeen first subjected to a most rigorous search. Another dispatchordered the cruiser _Falcon_, which was stationed in the port, tocarry out the Governor's instructions in this respect. At the sametime measures were taken to keep a strict lookout in every town andvillage in the State.

  The Count d'Artigas could see the _Falcon_, which was a couple ofmiles away to the east in the estuary, getting steam up and makinghurried preparations to carry out her mission. It would take at leastan hour before the warship could be got ready to steam out, and theschooner might by that time have gained a good start.

  "Shall I weigh anchor?" demanded Captain Spade.

  "Yes, as we have a fair wind; but you can take your time about it,"replied the Count d'Artigas.

  "The passes of Pamlico Sound will be under observation," observedEngineer Serko, "and no vessel will be able to get out withoutreceiving a visit from gentlemen as inquisitive as they will beindiscreet."

  "Never mind, get under way all the same," ordered the Count. "When theofficers of the cruiser or the Custom-House officers have been overthe _Ebba_ the embargo will be raised. I shall be indeed surprised ifwe are not allowed to go about our business."

  "With a thousand pardons for the liberty taken, and best wishes for agood voyage and speedy return," chuckled Engineer Serko, following thephrase with a loud and prolonged laugh.

  When the news was received at New-Berne, the authorities at first werepuzzled to know whether the missing inventor and his keeper had fledor been carried off. As, however, Roch's flight could not have takenplace without the connivance of Gaydon, this supposition was speedilyabandoned. In the opinion of the director and management of HealthfulHouse the warder was absolutely above suspicion. They must both, then,have been kidnapped.

  It can easily be imagined what a sensation the news caused in thetown. What! the French inventor who had been so closely guarded haddisappeared, and with him the secret of the wonderful fulgurator thatnobody had been able to worm out of him? Might not the most seriousconsequences follow? Might not the discovery of the new engine be lostto America forever? If the daring act had been perpetrated on behalfof another nation, might not that nation, having Thomas Roch inits power, be eventually able to extract from him what the FederalGovernment had vainly endeavored to obtain? And was it reasonable, wasit permissible, to suppose for an instant that he had been carried offfor the benefit of a private individual?

  Certainly not, was the emphatic reply to the latter question, whichwas too ridiculous to be entertained. Therefore the whole power ofthe State was employed in an effort to recover the inventor. In everycounty of North Carolina a special surveillance was organized onevery road and at every railroad station, and every house in townand country was searched. Every port from Wilmington to Norfolk wasclosed, and no craft of any description could leave without beingthoroughly overhauled. Not only the cruiser _Falcon_, but everyavailable cutter and launch was sent out with orders to patrolPamlico Sound and board yachts, merchant vessels and fishing smacksindiscriminately whether anchored or not and search them down to thekeelson.

  Still the crew of the _Ebba_ prepared calmly to weigh anchor, and theCount d'Artigas did not appear to be in the least concerned at theorders of the authorities and at the consequences that would ensue, ifThomas Roch and his keeper, Gaydon, were found on board.

  At last all was ready, the crew manned the capstan bars, the sailswere hoisted, and the schooner glided gracefully through the watertowards the Sound.

  Twenty miles from New-Berne the estuary curves abruptly and shoots offtowards the northwest for about the same distance, gradually wideninguntil it empties itself into Pamlico Sound.

  The latter is a vast expanse about seventy miles across from SivanIsland to Roanoke. On the seaward side stretches a chain of long andnarrow islands, forming a natural breakwater north and south fromCape Lookout to Cape Hatteras and from the latter to Cape Henry, nearNorfolk City, in Virginia.

  Numerous beacons on the islands and islets form an easy guide forvessels at night seeking refuge from the Atlantic gales, and onceinside the chain they are certain of finding plenty of good anchoringgrounds.

  Several passes afford an outlet from the Sound to the sea. BeyondSivan Island lighthouse is Ocracoke inlet, and next is the inlet ofHatteras. There are also three others known as Logger Head inlet, Newinlet, and Oregon inlet. The Ocracoke was the one nearest the _Ebba_,and she could make it without tacking, but the _Falcon_ was searchingall vessels that passed through. This did not,
however, make anyparticular difference, for by this time all the passes, upon whichthe guns of the forts had been trained, were guarded by governmentvessels.

  The _Ebba_, therefore, kept on her way, neither trying to avoidnor offering to approach the searchers. She seemed to be merely apleasure-yacht out for a morning sail.

  No attempt had up to that time been made to accost her. Was she, then,specially privileged, and to be spared the bother of being searched?Was the Count d'Artigas considered too high and mighty a personage tobe thus molested, and delayed even for an hour? It was unlikely, forthough he was regarded as a distinguished foreigner who lived the lifeof luxury enjoyed by the favored of fortune, no one, as a matter offact, knew who he was, nor whence he came, nor whither he was going.

  The schooner sped gracefully over the calm waters of the sound, herflag--a gold crescent in the angle of a red field--streaming proudlyin the breeze. Count d'Artigas was cosily ensconced in a basket-workchair on the after-deck, conversing with Engineer Serko and CaptainSpade.

  "They don't seem in a hurry to board us," remarked Serko.

  "They can come whenever they think proper," said the Count in a toneof supreme indifference.

  "No doubt they are waiting for us at the entrance to the inlet,"suggested Captain Spade.

  "Let them wait," grunted the wealthy nobleman.

  Then he relapsed into his customary unconcerned impassibility.

  Captain Spade's hypothesis was doubtless correct. The _Falcon_ had asyet made no move towards the schooner, but would almost certainly doso as soon as the latter reached the inlet, and the Count would haveto submit to a search of his vessel if he wished to reach the opensea.

  How was it then that he manifested such extraordinary unconcern? WereThomas Roch and Gaydon so safely hidden that their hiding-place couldnot possibly be discovered?

  The thing was possible, but perhaps the Count d'Artigas would not havebeen quite so confident had he been aware that the _Ebba_ had beenspecially signalled to the warship and revenue cutters as a suspect.

  The Count's visit to Healthful House on the previous day had nowattracted particular attention to him and his schooner. Evidently, atthe time, the director could have had no reason to suspect the motiveof his visit. But a few hours later, Thomas Roch and his keeper hadbeen carried off. No one else from outside had been near the pavilionthat day. It was admitted that it would have been an easy matter forthe Count's companion, while the former distracted the director'sattention, to push back the bolts of the door in the wall and stealthe key. Then the fact that the _Ebba_ was anchored in rear of, andonly a few hundred yards from, the estate, was in itself suspicious.Nothing would have been easier for the desperadoes than to enter bythe door, surprise their victims, and carry them off to the schooner.

  These suspicions, neither the director nor the _personnel_ of theestablishment had at first liked to give expression to, but whenthe _Ebba_ was seen to weigh anchor and head for the open sea, theyappeared to be confirmed.

  They were communicated to the authorities of New-Berne, whoimmediately ordered the commander of the _Falcon_ to intercept theschooner, to search her minutely high and low, and from stem to stern,and on no account to let her proceed, unless he was absolutely certainthat Roch and Gaydon were not on board.

  Assuredly the Count d'Artigas could have had no idea that his vesselwas the object of such stringent orders; but even if he had, it isquestionable whether this superbly haughty and disdainful noblemanwould have manifested any particular anxiety.

  Towards three o'clock, the warship which was cruising before theinlet, after having sent search parties aboard a few fishing-smacks,suddenly manoeuvred to the entrance of the pass, and awaited theapproaching schooner. The latter surely did not imagine that she couldforce a passage in spite of the cruiser, or escape from a vesselpropelled by steam. Besides, had she attempted such a foolhardytrick, a couple of shots from the _Falcon's_ guns would speedily haveconstrained her to lay to.

  Presently a boat, manned by two officers and ten sailors, put off fromthe cruiser and rowed towards the _Ebba_. When they were only abouthalf a cable's length off, one of the men rose and waved a flag.

  "That's a signal to stop," said Engineer Serko.

  "Precisely," remarked the Count d'Artigas.

  "We shall have to lay to."

  "Then lay to."

  Captain Spade went forward and gave the necessary orders, and in a fewminutes the vessel slackened speed, and was soon merely drifting withthe tide.

  The _Falcon's_ boat pulled alongside, and a man in the bows held on toher with a boat-hook. The gangway was lowered by a couple of hands onthe schooner, and the two officers, followed by eight of their men,climbed on deck.

  They found the crew of the _Ebba_ drawn up in line on the forecastle.

  The officer in command of the boarding-party--a firstlieutenant--advanced towards the owner of the schooner, and thefollowing questions and answers were exchanged:

  "This schooner belongs to the Count d'Artigas, to whom, I presume, Ihave the honor of speaking?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "What is her name?"

  "The _Ebba_."

  "She is commanded by?--"

  "Captain Spade."

  "What is his nationality?"

  "Hindo-Malay."

  The officer scrutinized the schooner's flag, while the Count d'Artigasadded:

  "Will you be good enough to tell me, sir, to what circumstance I owethe pleasure of your visit on board my vessel?"

  "Orders have been received," replied the officer, "to search everyvessel now anchored in Pamlico Sound, or which attempts to leave it."

  He did not deem it necessary to insist upon this point since the_Ebba_, above every other, was to be subjected to the bother of arigorous examination.

  "You, of course, sir, have no intention of refusing me permission togo over your schooner?"

  "Assuredly not, sir. My vessel is at your disposal from peaks tobilges. Only I should like to know why all the vessels which happen tobe in Pamlico Sound to-day are being subjected to this formality."

  "I see no reason why you should not be informed, Monsieur the Count,"replied the officer. "The governor of North Carolina has been apprisedthat Healthful House has been broken into and two persons kidnapped,and the authorities merely wish to satisfy themselves that the personscarried off have not been embarked during the night."

  "Is it possible?" exclaimed the Count, feigning surprise. "And who arethe persons who have thus disappeared from Healthful House?"

  "An inventor--a madman--and his keeper."

  "A madman, sir? Do you, may I ask, refer to the Frenchman, ThomasRoch?"

  "The same."

  "The Thomas Roch whom I saw yesterday during my visit to theestablishment--whom I questioned in presence of the director--whowas seized with a violent paroxysm just as Captain Spade and I wereleaving?"

  The officer observed the stranger with the keenest attention, in aneffort to surprise anything suspicious in his attitude or remarks.

  "It is incredible!" added the Count, as though he had just heard aboutthe outrage for the first time.

  "I can easily understand, sir, how uneasy the authorities must be,"he went on, "in view of Thomas Roch's personality, and I cannot butapprove of the measures taken. I need hardly say that neither theFrench inventor nor his keeper is on board the _Ebba_. However, youcan assure yourself of the fact by examining the schooner as minutelyas you desire. Captain Spade, show these gentlemen over the vessel."

  Then saluting the lieutenant of the _Falcon_ coldly, the Countd'Artigas sank into his deck-chair again and replaced his cigarbetween his lips, while the two officers and eight sailors, conductedby Captain Spade, began their search.

  In the first place they descended the main hatchway to the aftersaloon--a luxuriously-appointed place, filled with art objects ofgreat value, hung with rich tapestries and hangings, and wainscottedwith costly woods.

  It goes without saying that this and the adjoining cabins wer
esearched with a care that could not have been surpassed by the mostexperienced detectives. Moreover, Captain Spade assisted them by everymeans in his power, obviously anxious that they should not preservethe slightest suspicion of the _Ebba's_ owner.

  After the grand saloon and cabins, the elegant dining-saloon wasvisited. Then the cook's galley, Captain Spade's cabin, and thequarters of the crew in the forecastle were overhauled, but no sign ofThomas Roch or Gaydon was to be seen.

  Next, every inch of the hold, etc., was examined, with the aid of acouple of lanterns. Water-kegs, wine, brandy, whisky and beer barrels,biscuit-boxes, in fact, all the provision boxes and everything thehold contained, including the stock of coal, was moved and probed, andeven the bilges were scrutinized, but all in vain.

  Evidently the suspicion that the Count d'Artigas had carried offthe missing men was unfounded and unjust. Even a rat could not haveescaped the notice of the vigilant searchers, leave alone two men.

  When they returned on deck, however, the officers, as a matter ofprecaution looked into the boats hanging on the davits, and punchedthe lowered sails, with the same result.

  It only remained for them, therefore, to take leave of the Countd'Artigas.

  "You must pardon us for having disturbed you, Monsieur the Count,"said the lieutenant.

  "You were compelled to obey your orders, gentlemen."

  "It was merely a formality, of course," ventured the officer.

  By a slight inclination of the head the Count signified that he wasquite willing to accept this euphemism.

  "I assure you, gentlemen, that I have had no hand in this kidnapping."

  "We can no longer believe so, Monsieur the Count, and will withdraw."

  "As you please. Is the _Ebba_ now free to proceed?"

  "Certainly."

  "Then _au revoir_, gentlemen, _au revoir_, for I am an _habitue_ ofthis coast and shall soon be back again. I hope that ere my return youwill have discovered the author of the outrage, and have Thomas Rochsafely back in Healthful House. It is a consummation devoutly to bewished in the interest of the United States--I might even say of thewhole world."

  The two officers courteously saluted the Count, who responded with anod. Captain Spade accompanied them to the gangway, and they were soonmaking for the cruiser, which had steamed near to pick them up.

  Meanwhile the breeze had freshened considerably, and when, at a signfrom d'Artigas, Captain Spade set sail again, the _Ebba_ skimmedswiftly through the inlet, and half an hour after was standing out tosea.

  For an hour she continued steering east-northeast, and then, the wind,being merely a land breeze, dropped, and the schooner lay becalmed,her sails limp, and her flag drooping like a wet rag. It seemed thatit would be impossible for the vessel to continue her voyage thatnight unless a breeze sprang up, and of this there was no sign.

  Since the schooner had cleared the inlet Captain Spade had stood inthe bows gazing into the water, now to port, now to starboard, as ifon the lookout for something. Presently he shouted in a stentorianvoice:

  "Furl sail!"

  The sailors rushed to their posts, and in an instant the sails camerattling down and were furled.

  Was it Count d'Artigas' intention to wait there till daybreak broughta breeze with it? Presumably, or the sails would have remained hoistedto catch the faintest puff.

  A boat was lowered and Captain Spade jumped into it, accompanied bya sailor, who paddled it towards an object that was floating on thewater a few yards away.

  This object was a small buoy, similar to that which had floated on thebosom of the Neuse when the _Ebba_ lay off Healthful House.

  The buoy, with a towline affixed to it, was lifted into the boat thatwas then paddled to the bow of the _Ebba_, from the deck of whichanother hawser was cast to the captain, who made it fast to thetowline of the buoy. Having dropped the latter overboard again, thecaptain and the sailor returned to the ship and the boat was hoistedin.

  Almost immediately the hawser tautened, and the _Ebba_, though not astitch of canvas had been set, sped off in an easterly direction at aspeed that could not have been less than ten knots an hour.

  Night was falling fast, and soon the rapidly receding lights along theAmerican coast were lost in the mist on the horizon.