CHAPTER EIGHT.
THE CAPTAIN'S PROPHECY.
Before many hours had passed the Captain's words proved correct. Theclouds gathered over the tors, and there was a tremendous storm athousand feet above the Point. The lightning flashed and struck andsplintered the rugged old masses of granite; the thunder roared, andthere was a perfect deluge of rain; while down near the sea, though itwas intensely hot, not a drop fell, and the evening came on soft andcool.
"Solly, my lad," cried the Captain, rubbing his hands, "we shall havethe fall roaring before midnight; but don't sit up to listen to it."
"Cert'n'y not, sir," said the old sailor.
"Your watch will begin at daybreak, when you will hoist the signal forCaptain Lawrence."
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"And keep eye to west'ard on and off all day, to try if you can sightthe frigate."
"Ay, ay, sir!"
"And in the course of the morning you will go quietly round and tell themen to rendezvous here about eight, when you will serve out the arms."
"Ay, ay, sir."
"The good stout oak cudgels I had cut; and if we're lucky, my lad, weshall have as nice and pleasant a fight as ever we two had in ourlives."
"Quite a treat, sir," said the old sailor; "and I hope we shall be ableto pay our debts."
The Captain was in the highest of glee all the evening, and he shook hisson's hand very warmly when they parted for bed.
About one o'clock Nic was aroused from a deep sleep by a sharp knockingat his door.
"Awake, Nic?" came in the familiar accents.
"No, father. Yes, father. Is anything wrong?"
"Wrong? No, my boy; right! Hear the fall?"
"No, father; I was sound asleep."
"Open your window and put out your head, boy. The water's coming downand roaring like thunder. Good-night."
Nic slipped out of bed, did as he was told, and, as he listened, therewas the deep, musical, booming sound of the fall seeming to fill theair, while from one part of the ravine a low, rushing noise told thatthe river must be pretty full.
Nic stood listening for some time before closing his window andreturning to bed, to lie wakeful and depressed, feeling a strange kindof foreboding, as if some serious trouble was at hand. It was not thathe was afraid or shrank from the contest which might in all probabilitytake place the next night, though he knew that it would be desperate--for, on the contrary, he felt excited and quite ready to join in thefray; but he was worried about his father, and the difficulty he knew hewould have in keeping him out of danger. He was in this awkwardposition, too: what he would like to do would be to get Solly and acouple of their stoutest men to act as bodyguard to protect his father;but, if he attempted such a thing, the chances were that the Captainwould look upon it as cowardice, and order them off to the thick of thecudgel-play.
Just as he reached this point he fell asleep.
Nic found the Captain down first next morning, looking as pleased as aboy about to start for his holidays.
"You're a pretty fellow," he cried. "Why, I've been up hours, and wentright to the falls. Pool's full, Nic, my boy, the salmon are up, andit's splendid, lad."
"What is, father?"
"Something else is coming up."
"What?"
"Those scoundrels are on the _qui vive_. I was resting on one of therough stone seats, when, as I sat hidden among the trees, I caught sightof something on the far side of the pool--a man creeping cautiously downto spy out the state of the water."
"Pete Burge, father?" cried Nic eagerly.
"Humph! No; I hardly caught a glimpse of his face, but it was too shortfor that scoundrel. I think it was that thick-set, humpbacked rascalthey call Dee."
"And did he see you, father?"
"No: I sat still, my boy, and watched till he slunk away again. Nic,lad, we shall have them here to-night, and we must be ready."
"Yes, father, if Captain Lawrence sends his men."
"Whether he does or no, sir. I can't sit still and know that my salmonare being stolen. Come--breakfast! Oh, here's Solly.--Here, you, sir,what about those two signal flags? Hoist them directly."
"Run 'em up, sir, as soon as it was light."
"Good. Then, now, keep a lookout for the frigate." The day wore awaywith no news of the ship being in the offing, and the Captain began tofume and fret, so that Nic made an excuse to get away and look out,relieving Solly, stationing himself by the flagstaff and scanning thehorizon till his eyes grew weary and his head ached.
It was about six o'clock when he was summoned to dinner by Solly, whotook his place, and Nic went and joined his father.
"Needn't speak," said the old man bitterly; "I know; Lawrence hasn'tcome. We'll have to do it ourselves."
Nic was silent, and during the meal his father hardly spoke a word.
Just as they were about to rise, Solly entered the room, and the Captainturned to him eagerly.
"I was going to send for you, my lad," he said. "Captain Lawrence mustbe away, and we shall have to trap the scoundrels ourselves. How manymen can we muster?"
"Ten, sir."
"Not half enough," said the Captain; "but they are strong, staunchfellows, and we have right on our side. Ten against twenty or thirty.Long odds; but we've gone against heavier odds than that in our time,Solly."
"Ay, sir, that we have."
"We must lie in wait and take them by surprise when they're scattered,my lads. But what luck! what luck! Now if Lawrence had only kept faithwith me we could have trapped the whole gang."
"Well, your honour, why not?" said Solly sharply.
"Why not?"
"He'll be here before we want him."
"What?" cried Nic. "Is the frigate in sight?"
"In sight, sir--and was when you left the signal station."
"No," said Nic sharply; "the only vessel in sight then was a bigmerchantman with her yards all awry."
"That's so, sir, and she gammoned me. The skipper's had her streakpainted out, and a lot of her tackle cast loose, to make her look like alubberly trader; but it's the frigate, as I made out at last, comingdown with a spanking breeze, and in an hour's time she'll be closeenough to send her men ashore."
The Captain sprang up and caught his son's hand, to ring it hard.
"Huzza, Nic!" he cried excitedly. "This is going to be a night ofnights."
It was.
Nic Revel: A White Slave's Adventures in Alligator Land Page 8