Sir Ludar

by Talbot Baines Reed

  CHAPTER TEN.

  HOW WE SAILED WITH A POET OF THE FIRST WATER.

  Ludar told me, when presently I had revived enough to hear his story,that when the tide turned and I did not appear, the Frenchman laughedand bade them haul the anchor and thank Heaven they were rid of a thief."Whereat," said Ludar, "we came to words, and the maiden took your partand besought the fellow to wait a half-hour. But he would hear none ofit. He said he was master here, and, if we liked not the ship, we mightgo out of it. Indeed," added he, "he had a mind, he said, to put us allout and be rid of so ill a company. Then there was nothing left but tolet him have his will, and we sailed. Yet I was not surprised to seeyou back."

  "And she--she did not deem me a traitor?" I asked.

  "That maiden," said Ludar, gravely, "knows not what traitor means."

  Whereat I felt partly humbled, partly comforted.

  "Yes," said Ludar, "I am glad to have you back, Humphrey, for thisvoyage bodes uneasily."

  "How do you mean?" I asked.

  "Our messmates," said he (and then I noticed that he wore a sailor'sjacket), "are a scurvy crew, as you will presently discover. Thecaptain already repents that he has taken us. The old nurse is hard toplease." Here he sighed. "The serving man is a fool. And thestranger--"

  "Ay, what of him? Who is he?"

  "He is a half-witted spark, a fugitive from justice, and, to boot, animpudent coxcomb whom I have had ten minds already to pitch over theship's side. He was hidden here on board before we came, having killeda man at Court, he brags, and seeking shelter in Scotland till the stormbe past. But here he is."

  The stranger was a slim, well-shaped youth, with a simpering lip, anddainty ringlets descending to his shoulders. He was dressedextravagantly even for the land, and for the sea ridiculously. Hisdoublet was of satin, bravely slashed and laced, and puffed to the sizeof a globe on either thigh. His hose were of crimson silk, gaily tiedwith points and knots. His shirt was of the same hue, with a shorttaffeta cloak over, bound at the neck by a monstrous ruff, out of whichhis face looked like a calf's head from a dish of trimmings. To crownall, a white plume waved in his hat, while the rapier at his waist wascaught up jauntily behind him, so that the point and the hilt lay on alevel at either hip. His face was both cheerful and weak; and, as hestrutted up to where Ludar and I stood, his gait reminded me much of achanticleer amidst his spouses.

  He was delivering himself of some poetic rapture, addressed, as itseemed, to the mud banks of the Essex shore, and feigned to perceiveneither Ludar nor me till he came upon us.

  "So," said he then, eyeing me, "here is our Flying Dutchman, our boltout of the blue, our dragon's tooth turned to man. And, by my sword, apretty fellow too. Count me as thy patron, my Hollander, and if, as Ijudge by thy face, thou hast a tooth for the honey of Parnassus hisgarden, and the dainty apples of the Muses' orchard, thou shalt notstarve verily. To be brief, I favour thee therefore, thy fortune ismade."

  I was bewildered enough by this speech, not a tithe of which could Iunderstand. I took it ill to be called Dutchman, and dragon's tooth;nor, albeit I was a printer's 'prentice, did I know what he meant byParnassus. Still, as he seemed friendly disposed, I answered:

  "I thank you."

  "Thank not me," said he, raising his hand. "Let not the groping manthank the lamp, nor the briar the brook. Thank the sun whence the lamphath his light, and the ocean to whom the brook oweth his waters. Thankthat incomparable paragon, that consummate swan, that pearl of allperfection, my mistress, of whose brightness I am but the mirror andmedium."

  "Pardon me, sir," said I, feeling very foolish to comprehend not a wordof his fine talk, "if you have anything to tell me, pray, say so; but,for the life of me, I cannot discover what you mean by all this."

  "I mean," said he, "that she, my lady, the Aphrodite who rules thesewaves, the star who guides our course, the nymph who suns her locks onthis poor ship, the same condescends to call you her servant; wherefore,owe it to her, that thou mayest also call me thy master."

  I began to weary of this jargon. Moreover, the fellow now seemed to betalking about matters which he had better leave to Ludar and me. So Isaid:

  "You are none of my master. I have a better."

  He looked a little hurt at this, I thought, and said:

  "Can an ass call the horse its master when a man claimeth both? Who isthis mortal, sirrah, that I may scorn him?"

  "This gentleman is my master," said I, growing very hot, and laying myhand on Ludar's arm.

  The gallant laughed.

  "Pretty, on my life! The dog hath its parasites, the scullion hismenial, the earthen pot his mug, and each puffeth himself into agentleman thereby. And who may you be, forsooth?"

  "Ludar McSomhairle Buidhe McDonnell of the Glyns," said Ludar, solemnly.

  The fellow laughed outright.

  "I do remember," said he, "a pretty jest of Dan Aesopus about a jackdawwho thought himself a peacock because he had a monstrous long feather tohis tail. Prithee, thou silly son of Neptune, knowest thou not that ifI did bid thee carry me my box from the fore-deck there to the poop,thou must crawl with it like my jack-porter? And, by my soul, I havenamed the very service that brought me hither. Therefore, my lord SirLudar McSorley Boy McNeptune McMalapert McDonnell of the Glyns, fetch mybox below. And should the burden be too heavy for thy dainty fingers,pray thy serving gentleman here to lend thee a hand."

  Ludar, who was leaning against the mast, yawned; whereat, the gallantdropping his fine speeches, turned as red as a lobster, and with a loudFrench oath, drew out his rapier and flourished it.

  Ludar watched him contemptuously for a while, until the blade, gettingcourage at every pass, ventured a modest prick. Then he leapt out likea cat on a mouse, and caught the silly fellow such a grip of the wristas sent his sword spinning on the deck. Picking it up, he quietly brokeit over his knee into three pieces, which he pitched one after the otheroverboard.

  "Now, master jackanapes," said he, returning to his adversary, andcatching him by his starched ruff. "You shall follow your sword."

  Then the poor fellow, scared out of his wits, let go a string of oaths,and vowed to heaven he did but jest, and loved us both like his ownbrothers, and, would Ludar but unhand him, he might count on him as afriend for life, and so forth. Even Ludar could not help laughing atthe figure he made; and having lifted him a little on to the gunwale,let him down again with a "get you gone then."

  'Twas wonderful how the gallant's courage came back as soon as he stoodfree.

  "By my soul," said he, with a gay laugh, "thou'rt a brave lad, and Ilike thee for 't. A jest is like marrow in a dog's bone, and lifewithout sport is a camel's track. Come, thou and I shall be friends, Isee; and crack more jokes than one ere this voyage be over. And, insooth, Achilles doth well to make proof now and again of the strength ofHercules. Why, my Hercules, I warrant thou couldest lift that box ofmine with thy finger and thumb. I pray thee, for my admiration, see ifthou couldest so carry it from where it now lies to my cabin in thepoop; and our flying Dutchman here shall be judge that the feat befairly done."

  Ludar, with a grim smile, owned that he had the worst of this encounter,and made the fellow happy by carrying his box in one hand; although healarmed him not a little by offering to carry him in the other.

  When this little jest was over, the captain came to us with orders tojoin the crew in making all things ready for presently meeting the seabreezes at the river's mouth; so we had no more time just then to thinkof Master Coxcomb.

  It moved my admiration to see with what a will Ludar worked at his task.He made no question of the Frenchman's right to order his services; andmethought, as he hauled away cheerily among his ill-favoured messmates,he looked as noble as had he been marching at the head of an army. Theship's crew was, to tell the truth, a scurvy company. Not counting us,there were but eleven of them, mostly French, who talked and cursedwhile they worked and three English, who sulked and grumbled. Theystared in
no friendly way at Ludar and me when we joined them; nor didthey like us the better that, without much knowledge or seamanship, weyet put our backs into what we did, and bade them do the same. Ludar,indeed, born to command, was not sparing in his abuse of their laziness;and it vexed me a little to see how he thereby made himself an enemy ofevery man among them.

  Towards nightfall we were all ship-shape, and the watch being set--ofwhich Ludar was one--I had leisure to go below to seek the sleep Isorely needed. I would fain, before doing so, have visited the maidento satisfy myself that all went well with her. But I durst hardlyventure so far without her bidding. I sought my berth below,therefore--and a vile, foul corner of the hold it was--and laid myselfdown, wondering what would be the end of all this journeying.

  There was a sailor--one of the Frenchmen--down beside me, who, when hesaw who I was, sat up and began to talk. In a foolish moment I betrayedthat I understood some of his French lingo, whereat he--being more thanhalf drunken--waxed civil, and his tongue loosed itself still more.

  "Who is she?" he whispered presently, in his foreign tongue.

  "A lady," said I, shortly.

  "So! and monstrous rich, by our lady! Comrade," said he, "I helpedcarry her box on board. Do you take me for a fool? There is somethingweighs more in that than a maiden's frocks--eh, my friend?"

  "You are a fool," said I.

  "A fool? Ha! ha! 'Tis well. And I am fool enough to-- you be her man,they say? and an honest fellow? Ha! ha!"

  "Ay, ay," said I, drowsily enough, "let me go to sleep."

  "Ay, ay," said he, "even if it be silver pieces and not gold, 'twill beenough to make men of thee and me. Dost hear, sluggard? Thee and me,and no more planks and ropes, and--"

  I had ceased to hear his maunderings, and was sound asleep.

  When I awoke, it was to hear the thundering crash of a wave on the deckoverhead, and I knew we were at last on the open sea. Alas! when Iturned over to recover my sleep, I fell into so horrible a fit ofshuddering and sickness that I believed the hour of my departure wascome. The ship rolled heavily through the uneasy water, and at everylurch my heart sunk--I know not whither. I could hear the shuffling ofsteps overhead, and the dash of the waves against the ship's side, andthe voice of the sailors at their posts. Little recked they of thecomrade who was dying below!

  Presently a call came for the new watch to turn up on deck. I washelpless to obey, and lay groaning there, not caring if the next lurchtook us down to the bottom. At last, after much shouting, the captainhimself came down and shook me roughly.

  "Leave me," said I, "to die in peace."

  "Die!" cried he, "thou sickly lubber. If you rise not in a minute'stime, we will see what a rope's end can do to 'liven thee. Come, getup."

  I struggled to my feet, but in that posture my sickness came back withdouble violence, so that I tumbled again to the floor, and vowed hemight use every rope in the ship to me, but up I could not get.

  I do not well recall what happened those next few days. I believe Istaggered upon deck and went miserably through the form of work, jeeredat by my fellow sailors, despised by my captain, and wondered at byLudar. But when, after the sickness gave way, I one day found myself ina fever, with my strength all gone, I was let go below and lie therewithout more to do. I know not how it came to pass, but ill I was for aday or two; perhaps it was the vexations of the last few weeks, or theweakness left by the sickness, or a visitation of the colic from heaven;however it was, I lay there, humbled and ashamed of my weakness, andwishing myself safe back outside Temple Bar.

  At these times, Ludar was a brother to me. He came often to see me, andtalked so cheerily, that I almost forgot how solemn his looks used tobe. More than that, he fetched me dainties to eat, without which Imight have starved; for, while the fever lasted, I could not stomach thestrong ship's fare. And I suspected more than once that he had securedmy peace from the captain by offering himself to do a good piece of mywork as well as his own.

  He spoke little enough about the maiden, though I longed to hear of her.Once, when I asked him, his face grew overcast.

  "That maiden," said he, "is never so merry as when the waves arebreaking over the deck. Yet I see her little, for, in sooth, the oldnurse has been nearer death than you, and will allow no one to go nearher but her young mistress. Nor dare I offer myself where I am notbidden. Humphrey," added he, "I prefer to talk of something else."

  Now, I must tell you that, to my surprise, I found I had another friendin these dark days; I mean the poet. Contemptible as was my plight, andmean as was the cabin I hid in, when he heard I was ill, he came morethan once to see me. It suited him to make a mighty to do about it, asif his condescension must heal me on the spot. Yet the kindness thatwas in him, and the wonder he afforded me, made up for all these airsand graces.

  "Alack and well a day!" exclaimed he, when he first came. "Vulcan hathfallen from the clouds and lieth halting below. The apple which wasrosy is become green, and the Dutchman who of late flew is now becomeship's ballast. Nay, my poor ruin, thank me not for coming; 'tis thecommon debt the high oweth to the low, the sound to the broken, the poemto the prose; nay, 'tis the duty a knight oweth to his lady's humblestmenial."

  "And how is the lady?" said I; for I wearied to hear of her, even fromany lips.

  "Hast thou seen the swan with wings new dressed float on the summertide? Hast thou heard the thrush, full-throated, call his mate acrossthe lea? Hast thou watched the moon soar up the heavens, sweeping asidethe clouds, and defying the mists of earth? Hast thou marked, myDutchman, the summer laughter on a field of golden corn? Hast thoutracked the merry breeze along the ripples of a dazzled ocean?--"

  "Yes, yes," said I, "but what has that to do with the maiden we speakof?"

  He smiled on me pityingly.

  "Such, poor youth, is she; and such, methinks, am I become, who sit ather feet and sun myself in her light--"

  "'Tis dark down here," I said, "but you seem to me neither swan, northrush, nor moon, nor a corn field, nor an ocean. But I thank you, evenas you are, for coming."

  "'Tis a sign of a sound mind," said he, "when gratitude answereth tograciousness. And now, prithee, how do you do?"

  I told him I was better, and that I might not have mended so far, butfor my dear master, Sir Ludar.

  Then he bridled up and his cheeks coloured.

  "Ah, Hercules is a good sailor, and a strong animal. 'Tis fit he shouldwait upon you, since you be in my present favour. Moreover, like curethlike, as it is said; therefore he is better here tending you, thancasting sheep's eyes on one who is as the sun above his head. I havehad a mind to admonish him to remove the offence of his visage from herpurview, for I perceived, by my own mislike of it, that it was aweariness to her. The pure glass is dimmed by the breath of thebeholder, and a face at the window darkeneth a chamber."

  "Sir Ludar will be here soon," said I; "I pray you stay and tell himthis."

  "No," said he, looking, I thought, a little alarmed. "If the cloudwithdraw not from the sun's path of his own motion, neither will hescatter for our bidding. Therefore, let him be. And, indeed, I stayhere too long, my Dutchman. Who shall say but the dove sigheth alreadyfor her truant mate? So farewell; and count me thy patron."

  He came often after this, always with the same brave talk.

  One day, however, he seemed more like a plain man and said: "'Tis timethou wert up, my Hollander. There is thunder in the air, the horizon isbig with clouds, the dull sea rustleth with the coming storm, and Ismell the wind afar off."

  "Why," said I, starting up, "Ludar told me but just now the weather wasfair and settled, and that the breeze was shifting to the south."

  "I spoke not of the weather," said he. "Let it be. The thunder mayhide beneath a brow, the lightning may flash from out two eyelids, andthe storm may break in a man's breast."

  "For Heaven's sake, speak plain," said I. "What do you mean?"

  "Wait and see," said he, "I like not these F
rench dogs. Only let thyeye be keen, thy ear quick, and thy hand ready, my Hollander, and standby me when I call on thee."

  More I could not get out of him. When I spoke of it to Ludarafterwards, he said:

  "Maybe the little antic is right. Yet they are too sorry a crew, andtoo small to do mischief. They suspect us of carrying treasure aboard,and your friend the captain, I take it, is the roundest villain of themall."

  I vowed the captain was no friend of mine; yet I believed him honest.But as for the crew, it came to my mind then what the drunken fellow hadblabbed out the first night; and I said it was like enough to be true.

  That afternoon I rose from my sick-bed and came on deck. I remember tothis hour the joy of that afternoon.

  The day was bright and fair; land was nowhere to be seen; only a stretchof blue-green water through which the _Misericorde_ spanked with a lightbreeze at her stern. The white sails shone out in the sunlight, and thehappy gulls called to one another above our heads. As I faced round anddrank in mouthful after mouthful of the fresh salt air, my life seemedto revive within me, and I felt the strength rush back into my thews.But the greatest joy of all was that the maiden, seeing me stand there,came up and bade me a joyous welcome to the upper air once more.

  "Alas," said she, laughing, "it has been dull times while you have beenbelow, Humphrey. My good old nurse has not ceased to cry out that shewas dying since we took our first lurch into the free sea. Your Knightof the Rueful Countenance flies from me whenever he sees me afar; yourFrench captain might be an Englishman, he is so sulky; and as for yourEnglish paragon there,"--and she pointed to the gallant who wasstrutting on the forward deck--"he frightens me with his frenzies andraptures. Do you all make love that way in England?"

  "No," said I, "I think not."

  "Why, Humphrey, you talk as if you knew not; I would have vowed you hada sweetheart of your own, with the rest of them."

  "Maybe I have," said I.

  Just then to my relief, Ludar came up.

  "Sir Ludar," I said, "this lady complains that you, who are so brave,run away whenever she looks your way."

  Neither the maiden nor Ludar liked my clumsy speech.

  "Nay, Sir Malapert," said she, "I complain not of what contents me.Besides, Sir Ludar has been better employed in nursing you."

  "If I be a coward," said Ludar, "it's because I dread a frown more thana battle-axe."

  The maiden looked up at him, with the gentle light in her eyes which Ihad marked before now.

  "If you dread frowns," said she, laughing, "never look in your mirror,Sir Ludar; for, by my faith, you glare at me now as if I were an Englishpoet, such as now approacheth." We looked up and there was our gallantat our elbows.

  "As the loadstone to his star, as the compass to the pole, as the riverto the sea, so come I, fair tyrant of my heart. For thy sake, I evensalute these thy satellites, O moon of my vision! who derive from theetheir lustre."

  "Witness Sir Ludar's countenance," said the maiden. "But now that thesun has come on the horizon, Sir Poet, shall not we lesser lights allpale? Pray, did you catch any fish to-day?"

  "Nay, mistress mine, how should the silly fish, dazzled by thy heavenlybrightness, see the humble bait of a mortal?"

  "I know not," said the maiden, "but I saw one sailor, an hour ago, catchthree."

  "Is it a wonder, since you watched the quivering line? Mark you, myhumble friends," said he, turning to Ludar and me. "I relieve you ofyour further attendance on me and this lady. I thank you, and sofarewell, till we summon you further."

  "Nay, Sir Poet," said the maiden, "if you must be gone, adieu. As forme, Sir Ludar is about to teach me the mystery of the angle, andHumphrey waits on Sir Ludar. Therefore, concern yourself not for me; Iam well attended."

  "Oh," said he, rather chapfallen, "your condescension is a lesson forangels. When the planet deigns to shine into the humble pool, shall thestar not do the same? I will even abide at your side, and be gracioustoo."

  But his brave intention was thwarted. For a call came just then fromthe old nurse, which carried the maiden off to her side; while Ludar andI, receiving a summons from the captain, went forward, and so left thepoet to his own devices.

  A sterner summons was not far off, as you shall hear.