The Cryptogram: A Story of Northwest Canada
Page 7
CHAPTER VII.
THE SKIPPER OF THE SPEEDWELL.
The alarm took us by surprise, for we had expected to get the start onour enemies by at least half an hour. That the officers of the law wereat the door none of us doubted. We stood still where we were, and in awhisper the captain admonished us to be quiet. There was a briefsilence, and then the rapping began again.
"What am I to do?" whispered Monsieur Ragoul, and so loudly that hiswife promptly clapped a hand over his mouth.
"They have come to seize us," said I, in a low voice. "I fear we are ina trap, with no choice but to yield or fight."
"Resistance would be folly," Captain Rudstone replied quickly, "and forMiss Hatherton's sake we must not be taken. There is a chancefor us yet--it is possible that the back way of the house has been leftunguarded."
"Then let us be off at once," I urged, taking courage from hissuggestions.
As I spoke, a lull came in the pounding, and a voice cried loudly,"Open! Open!"
Monsieur Ragoul was fairly beside himself with terror and the servantswere as helpless as himself; so the captain and I had to act forourselves, and that without the loss of another second. We found theside door, opened it, and closed it softly behind us when we steppedinto the court. The pounding at the front of the house had startedafresh, and there was a clamor off in the distance; but so far as wecould see by the moonlight this rear avenue of escape was open.
The captain led the way forward, and I followed with Miss Hatherton atmy side; her hand rested on my arm, and I could not detect the slightesttremor in her touch. We glided swiftly across the court, and entered anarrow passage leading to the street beyond. We were just at the end ofit when a man appeared abruptly from one side and barred the way.
"Not so fast!" he exclaimed, with a movement to draw a weapon. "Stop, inthe name of--"
The fellow got no further, for quickly the captain had him pinned by thethroat. The two fell after a brief scuffle, and I heard somebody's headgive the stone an ugly rap. The captain jumped to his feet, but theother man lay motionless and quiet.
"Is he dead?" Miss Hatherton asked, in a horrified whisper.
I bent over the fellow, and recognized him as one of the town watch.
"He is only stunned," I replied, "but he got a bad fall, and won't knowanything for a couple of hours."
Meanwhile Captain Rudstone had ventured out of the passage toreconnoiter, and he called to us sharply to join him. We did so, andwere relieved to find that the street was dark and empty.
"I feared the man would have companions with him," said I. "It seems hecame round here alone."
"Yes, luckily for us," the captain replied. "There will be a pretty rowbefore long; that scoundrel Mackenzie has wasted no time in showing hishand. But I think we are fairly safe, and if the skipper of theSpeedwell is open to reason we shall be going down the river under fullsail within the hour."
"I hope so, indeed," I replied. "You say the man is a friend of yours?"
"He owes me more than one service, Mr. Carew, but enough of speech! Doyou and Miss Hatherton follow me closely, and avoid any appearance ofalarm or haste."
We had already crossed the street that lay in the rear of the SilverLily, and entered one at right angles to it. There was a great deal ofnoise behind us, and for this reason there was the more danger to beapprehended from the front, since the alarm had roused some of theinhabitants of the quarter from their beds. Here and there men passed uswith sharp glances, and curious faces stared down at us from openwindows. But none stopped us, so boldly and with such unconcern did wecomport ourselves, and after treading a maze of the straggling and dirtylittle thoroughfares, we came out on Bonaventure Street at a point closeto the river.
And now we made a discovery that was very discomforting. Looking up inthe direction of the hotel, we could see vaguely-moving figures, andthere was a sound of shouting and running that swelled louder on theair.
"Our escape has been discovered," said I.
"Without a doubt," replied Captain Rudstone; "and what is worse, thechase is coming this way. Some persons whom we met have giveninformation. But the river is close at hand, and our pursuers havebarely started from the Silver Lily."
"Will we escape them?" Miss Hatherton inquired anxiously.
"Assuredly," said I, in spite of a lurking doubt. "Keep up your courage.We are almost within reach of safety."
We quickened our pace--this end of the street was deserted--and fiftyyards more brought us to the water's edge. The captain and I felt a fearthat neither of us put into words, but happily it proved unfounded; forat the landing-steps, a short distance below, the faithful Baptiste waswaiting with a boat--a deep, roomy little craft which he had found nearby. At once we got in, Baptiste retreated to the bow, and Miss Hathertonand myself occupied the stern seat. The captain took the oars, and hewisely made the most of the opportunity by pulling straight out fromshore and in between the shipping that was anchored hereabouts. It is awonder we fared so well, for swinging lanterns shed their light upon us,and we passed under decks where men were pacing their night watches. Butno inquisitive voices hailed us, and we glided safely through to theopen river and turned downstream with the current. The tangle of mastsand spars receded behind us, hiding the spot where we had embarked, andfor five minutes we drifted on in the moonlight, our hearts too full forspeech. Then Miss Hatherton broke the silence.
"Is the ship that we are seeking near or far?" she asked.
Captain Rudstone turned in his seat, and pointed to a dark object abouthalf a mile below us.
"There lies the Speedwell," he replied, "a quarter of a mile out fromshore, and by herself."
This was reassuring news, but there were perils to be reckoned with. Agreat hue and cry was spreading along the town's edge, mainly in thedirection of the landing-stairs, and we looked for a boat to appearbehind us at any moment. Also, to my mind, there was some uncertainty asto the reception the Speedwell's skipper would give us.
However, there was no sign of pursuit within next five minutes, and bythat time we were alongside of the ship, which was a tidy brig of somehundred and fifty tons burden. Her sea gear was rove and her sailsstowed. Several heads looked over her bulwarks as we made fast, and avoice hailed us sharply.
"That you, Bunker?" the captain replied.
"Yes. Who are you?" came suspiciously.
"Myles Rudstone."
There was an exclamation of surprise, and a moment later a rope ladderwas thrown down to us. Baptiste and I and the girl preceded the captain,and as he followed us he cast the boat adrift. At the first sight,seeing him on deck by the glare of a lantern, I was favorably impressedby Hiram Bunker. He was a short, thick-set man, with a sandy beard and ashrewd, good natured face. He scanned Miss Hatherton and myself withopen amazement, and shook hands heartily with Captain Rudstone.
"Glad to meet you again, sir," he cried in a nasal voice. "My matewakened me up to listen to the row over yonder," pointing to the shore,"and that's why I'm on deck at this hour. I might have guessed you had ahand in the rumpus. But what does it mean, anyway?".
The captain explained, making the situation thoroughly clear, and thelittle skipper listened with thoughtful attention.
"It's an ugly scrape," was his grave comment.
"It is that; but you can get us out of it. What do you say?"
"I say I'll do it," cried the skipper. "I'm a Hudson Bay man at heart,and I'll save the lot of you--hang the risk!"
"And you will sail at once?"
"At once. I've got my full cargo on board, and I was only waiting fordaylight to start. It's not far off that now. But, shiver my timbers, ifthere don't come the rascals you thought you had slipped!"
He pointed up the river, and I saw a longboat approaching swiftly. Itwas still a good distance off, but there was not a moment to lose, andthe skipper was aware of the fact. He hastily roused the crew, and Inever saw a more pleasing sight than that hardy lot of men as
they setto work to unfurl the sails and get the vessel under way.
Miss Hatherton stood with me at the bulwark, holding to my arm, andasking me what I thought of the situation. I hardly knew how to answerher, for there was no telling as yet what was going to happen. A stiffbreeze was blowing ready for the canvas, and when the anchor was liftedwe began to drift. But meanwhile the boat had come up close, and withevident determination to board us. It held ten men, and they were mostlyat the oars.
"Sheer off, there!" cried the skipper. "What do you want?"
"You are sheltering fugitives from the law," a harsh voice replied."Give them up. It's a case of murder!"
The skipper refused in plain terms, and catching a sudden gleam ofsteel, he shouted savagely:
"If you come any nearer or fire a single shot I'll give you a volley often guns!"
By this time the ship was under way and moving with full canvas spread.The pursuing boat fell back, its occupants yelling curses and threats;and so the danger passed. The Speedwell bore swiftly on, leaving a foamywake dancing on the bosom of the St. Lawrence, and in my delight I felttempted to throw my arms about Miss Hatherton. Captain Rudstone joinedus, and with thankful hearts we watched the lights of Quebec fading inthe distance.