CHAPTER TEN.
Paul and O'Grady, as they were dragged back by the villagers to the inn,felt certain that their true character would be discovered, and thatthey would be sent to prison. Paul was especially unhappy under thebelief that his bad French had betrayed him. He wished that he couldgive Reuben warning to keep out of the way of the meddling villagers,lest he also should be captured. Still, he was not a lad to give in,and he determined to play the part he had assumed as long as he could.When the villagers saw Francois, they shouted out to him that they hadgot the young rogues fast enough. Paul at once began to expostulatewith the inn-keeper, and, with a volubility which did him credit, gavethe whole story which had been arranged by Rosalie. The traveller, whohad retired on one side, but had remained near enough to hear what Paulsaid, now stepped forward, exclaiming, "Of course--all they say is true.I know all about them. Their grandfather is a most estimable man--atenant of my maternal uncle, the Sieur Caudbec. I saw him when last Iwas in the south of France, and these lads, I think I saw them--yes,surely I know both of them. You know me, the son of the Baron deMontauban--one who was always kind to the poor, and a friend of trueliberty."
Paul glanced at the speaker; he was very young. He looked again. Therecould be no doubt about it. Though somewhat disguised by his travellingcostume and civilian's dress, there stood before him Alphonse Montauban.He ran forward and took Alphonse's hand, not to shake it, however, but,remembering their supposed relative ranks, to put it to his lips.O'Grady, though not understanding what had been said, and wondering whyhe did so, followed his example.
"Come, worthy Francois," said Alphonse; "though I had intended toproceed across the country, I will rest here to-night; and as I take aninterest in the family of these lads, they shall spend the evening withme, and live at my cost. Let a good supper be prepared for us all, and,mark you, a bottle of your best wine."
Saying this, Alphonse led the way into the inn. He stopped at the door,however, and taking some money out of his purse, handed it to thelandlord, saying, "Let some of these honest people here, after theirquick run, have wherewithal to drink my health."
Alphonse, with considerable dignity, walked into a private room in theinn, and taking a chair, beckoned to the seeming peasant lads to sitnear him, while the landlord received his orders for supper. As soon asFrancois had retired, he burst into a fit of laughter, and, jumping up,shook the midshipmen warmly by the hand, and begged them to tell him howthey came to be there. They gave him, as rapidly as they could, anaccount of their adventures.
"And do you not know the name of the old gentleman, `mon oncle,' as youcall him, and that of the chateau? But I do. He is my dear father, andthat pretty little Rosalie is my very sweet cousin. The story is justsuch as I could have supposed she would have invented. And they thinkme dead. That is very natural, for when the _Alerte_ escaped from the_Cerberus_, of course her people would have reported all on board theirconsort drowned. You will be surprised that I should not have reachedhome before this, but I had a long voyage, and as I had no wish to go tosea again, when I found on landing that it was not known I had escaped,I made the best of my way to the house of a relative near the coast, whoprovided me with clothing and funds, and I have only lately been able tocommence my journey homeward. Now, however, I have a great inclinationto turn back and to see you safely embarked to cross the Channel."
The English midshipmen would not, however, hear of his carrying out sucha proposal. If caught, he would be more severely dealt with than theywould, and they felt sure that, if they were cautious, they should beable to reach the coast by themselves. At length, Alphonse, seeing thewisdom of their arguments, and remembering his duty to his father,consented. He, however, said that he must first communicate with ReubenCole, and let him know the road they had taken, that he might followthem. Alphonse had become quite an Englishman in his habits, and thethree old friends spent a very pleasant evening. They were up beforedaylight, when Alphonse, slipping out, hurried off to the woodman's hut.The woodman and his new mate were on foot, and Reuben, havingascertained that the young strangers were at the auberge, was verydoubtful how to proceed. He rubbed his eyes, and hitched awayconvulsively at his belt, when he saw Alphonse, for some minutes, beforehe dared believe his own eyes.
"Well, sir, things do come about curious," he exclaimed at last. "FirstI falls in with the young gentlemen, and then they falls in with you,just in time for you to save them from being packed off to prison."
As Alphonse knew that part of the country well, he was able to fix on aspot about three miles from the village, where he suggested that theyand Reuben should lie concealed during the remainder of the day, andtravel on, as they had proposed, at night. Having made thesearrangements with Reuben, he returned to the auberge. Once more, afteran early breakfast, the friends parted; Alphonse starting in awonderfully old-fashioned _caleche_ on two wheels, which gave promise ofbreaking down on its way to his father's chateau, and the midshipmenproceeding northward on their own sturdy legs. They fell in with ReubenCole at the spot arranged on, and then all three, plunging into theforest, made themselves comfortable for the rest of the day. Nightafter night they travelled on. Sometimes they met people during theday, and either little notice was taken of them, or Paul easily answeredthe questions put to him. Reuben always had his crutches ready, and ina wonderfully quick time he was on his wooden leg, and hobbling along ata rate of a mile or so an hour, so that no one would have suspected thathe had a long journey before him. The whole party were in very goodspirits, for as they had found friends when they least expected it, andgot out of difficulties when they thought that they were irretrievablylost, so they hoped that they might be equally fortunate another time.O'Grady declared that this life was that of a perpetual picnic. Theygenerally took shelter during the day in a wood, or among hills, or insome deserted hut, or, like gipsies, under a hedge in some unfrequenteddistrict; or, if it rained, which was not very often, they got into somebarn or shed in the outskirts of a hamlet; and twice they found cavesinto which they could creep, and several times some old ruins of castlesor chateaux afforded them shelter. Their plan was to walk on tilldaybreak, and then O'Grady or Paul climbed a height or a tree, andsurveyed the country ahead. If no habitations were to be seen, theypushed on further, and then took another survey of the country, to finda place of shelter for the day. When they required food, they generallyfirst passed through a village, and then Paul went back, towards theevening to purchase it. As soon as he had bought it, they proceededonward, so that, should the villagers have any suspicions, they were notlikely to overtake them. They were now approaching the coast, andgreater caution than ever was, of course, necessary. Their greatestdifficulty, however, would be finding a fit boat, and getting awayunperceived.
"I suppose that it will not be wrong to steal a boat," said Paul. "Idon't quite like the thoughts of that."
O'Grady laughed, and remarked, "Why, you see, Gerrard, that necessityhas no law. The owner of the boat will not be pleased to lose it, butthen he is one of a nation with whom England is at war, and we have asmuch right to run away with his boat, as his countrymen have to keep usprisoners."
At length, after a long walk, at break of day the sea appeared in sightin the far distance, somewhere between Cherbourg and Barfleur. Withbeating hearts they went on. They could not resist the temptation oftrying to ascertain whereabouts they were, and if there was a boat nearwhich might serve their purpose. It might have been wiser had they, asusual, lain by during daylight. They walked on till they reached thetop of a cliff overlooking the Channel. Across those waters was theland they so earnestly desired to reach. To the west a blue line ofland stretched out into the sea. It was the promontory on whichCherbourg is situated. If they were able to get to the end, they wouldhave much less distance to go by sea, and might, in the course of littlemore than a day, reach the Isle of Wight. The great point was to find aboat. Not one was in sight. It was a question whether they should goeast or west i
n search of some fishing village, where they might findone. They carefully examined the coast, and as the sun rose in the sky,his beams lighting up the shore on the west, they fancied that theycould make out some buildings in the distance. They at once turned inthat direction. As they advanced, they found that they were notmistaken. Before concealing themselves, as they proposed doing, tillnight, they carefully reconnoitred the place from the cliff above it.There was a tower, and a small harbour with several small craft andboats at anchor in it, and two or three better sort of houses, besidesnumerous cottages and huts, and, at a little distance, a chateau of somepretension to architecture. They would have preferred a place wherethere were no gentlemen, who would naturally be less likely to believetheir story. In other respects, they could not have desired to reach amore satisfactory locality. The cliffs appeared to be full of caves, inone of which they could lie hidden till night. They calculated thattheir food would last them for a couple of days, so that by husbandingit, even if their voyage were prolonged, they would have enough tosupport life. After hunting about for some time, they selected a cavehalf-way up the cliff, which sailors alone, and that not without somedifficulty, could reach. The entrance was small, but there was ampleroom for them to lie down, and, what was of importance, they were not atall likely to be disturbed. As they had walked all night, and had beenscrambling about all the morning, they were very tired, and directlythey had taken some breakfast, they fell fast asleep. Paul was awokeafter some time by the roaring sound of the waves dashing against theshore. He could see through the narrow opening dark clouds scouringacross the sky, the rain descending in torrents, while ever and anonthere came vivid flashes of lightning, followed by loud, rattling pealsof thunder, which seemed to shake the very rock above their heads. Thewind, too, blew fiercely, and the whole ocean before them was coveredwith white-topped billows. Reuben awoke and looked out. He came backand seated himself.
"Well, young gentlemen," he said quietly, "one thing is certain--we maymake up our minds to have to remain here for some days to come. Thatsea won't go down in a hurry, and till it does, it will be hard to comeat a French boat which will carry us safe across."
It was very evident that Reuben's observation was correct, yet it wasvery provoking to be thus, delayed when their expedition was so nearly,as they thought, brought to a happy conclusion. Two days passed, andthe gale did not abate. It now, therefore, became necessary for Paul togo in search of provisions. His companions wished to accompany him, buthe preferred going alone, and, if possible, to some inland village wherethere was less risk of their object being suspected. He set off earlyin the morning, and after walking for nearly three hours, he entered avillage where he hoped to find both bread and meat. He could not getit, however, without being asked some rather searching questions. Hereplied promptly, that he had a brother with him, and that as they hadstill some way to go, and did not wish to delay on the road, he wishedto lay in a stock of provisions at once. Fortunately there were threeor four small shops in the place, at each of which he made somepurchases, filling up his wallet at a farm-house, where he got a supplyof eggs and a ham. Highly satisfied with the success of hisundertaking, he took his way back to the cave. He had got within acouple of miles of the end of his journey, rather tired with the weightof the provisions he carried, when, on sitting down on a bank to rest,he saw that somebody was following him. He was puzzled what to do.Should he go on, his retreat would be discovered; if he stopped, hewould be overtaken, and disagreeable questions might, perhaps, be askedof him. So he got up and went on again as fast as his legs could carryhim. More than once, however, he looked back. The man he had seen wasstill behind. "He may, perhaps, only be going the same way that I am,"thought Paul. "I will take the first turning I can find to the right orleft, and he may then, perhaps, pass on and miss me."
The opportunity occurred sooner than he expected. The road made severalsharp turns. A narrow path, between high banks, led off to the right.He turned sharp into it, and by running rapidly along, was soon out ofsight of the high road. He sat down and waited. No one came. He hopedthat he had escaped his pursuer. At last he came cautiously out andlooked about. No one was in sight. He walked on swiftly towards thecliff. He had to descend and then to mount again to reach the cave.His companions welcomed him on their own account as well as on his, forthey were nearly starved. There was a stream, however, of good waterclose at hand, which had prevented them from suffering from thirst.They had now provisions to last them, they hoped, till they reachedEngland. Paul had bought a tin saucepan, in which they could boil theireggs and make some soup, and as O'Grady had collected a supply of driftwood, they were able to cook their dinner and to enjoy the warmth of afire. Altogether, they had not much reason to complain of theirdetention. Three more days passed, and the wind abating, the sea wentdown, and once more the calm ocean shone in the beams of the rising sun.
"Hurrah!" cried O'Grady; "we may sail to-night, and, if we're in luckand the wind holds, we may sight the shore of old England before theworld is two days older."
The day passed very slowly away, as they had nothing with which toemploy themselves. Fortunately, midshipmen, as O'Grady boasted, have apowerful knack of sleeping; and so they passed most of the time, in theintervals of their meals, lost in oblivion of all sublunary matters. Asthe shades of evening drew on, they roused up and were all animation.They had reconnoitred the path to the village, and found that it wouldbe necessary to get down to the beach while there was still daylight toenable them to see their way. They hoped to find shelter in someboat-shed or out-house till the inhabitants had gone to bed. They wenton cautiously, Paul in advance, lest they should meet any one; Reubenhobbling forward on his wooden leg and sticks. The lights in thevillage were being put out as they approached. "They are early people--so much the better for us," thought Paul. "We can easily seize a boatand get off."
The thought had scarcely passed through his mind, when a voiceexclaimed, "Hallo! who goes there?"
"A friend," answered Paul.
"How many friends?" asked the man. "Let me see: two young lads and alame man--answers the description. Come along with me, my friends, forI have more to say to you."
The two midshipmen and Reuben followed, much crest-fallen. They were inthe hands of the police; of that there could be no doubt. Should theykeep up their assumed characters, or acknowledge their true ones andbrave the worst. They could not venture to speak to consult with eachother. Paul thought that the best plan would be to keep silent tillcompelled to speak. He therefore got as near O'Grady as he could, and,pretending to stumble, put his finger against his friend's lips.O'Grady passed on the signal soon afterwards to Reuben. This matterarranged, they quietly followed their captor--O'Grady doing his best tohum a tune which he had heard Rosalie sing, and forgetting that hepretended to be deaf as well as dumb. There was still sufficient lightfor them to see that their captor was a gendarme, a discovery far frompleasant, as it led them to suppose that some person in authority was atthe place, who might dispose of them in a somewhat summary manner. Theman turned round once or twice, and told them, in no pleasant voice, towalk quicker, while he led the way to the chateau they had observed fromthe cliff. They found themselves standing before the chateau. Itlooked vast and gloomy in the dark. In another minute they were in alarge hall in the presence of several persons, one of whom, afierce-looking bearded official, inquired who they were, where they hadcome from, whither they were going.
Paul, with a fluency which surprised himself, narrated the story whichhad been arranged by Rosalie, O'Grady going through his part, pointingto his lips, and making inarticulate sounds, while Reuben imitated himin a way which seemed to try the gravity of those before whom he stood.Paul thought that all was going on smoothly, when he was considerablytaken aback by seeing the officer laugh, and hearing him say in fairEnglish:--
"You speak well, certainly, for one who has been so short a time in thecountry, but I should have understood you b
etter had you spoken inEnglish; and now I should like to know what your young friend here, andyour lame companion, have to say for themselves. There's a salt-waterlook about them which makes me suspect that they know more about a shipthan a vineyard."
The midshipmen saw that all further disguise was useless.
"Well, sir," exclaimed O'Grady, "if you know that we are Englishofficers, you will understand that we were captured in a merchantmanreturning home invalided, and that as we were not on our parole, we hada full right to endeavour to make our escape."
"Granted, young sir," said the officer, blandly; "and not only had you aright to endeavour to escape, but you shall be allowed to proceed if youwill answer me a few simple questions."
"What are they?" asked Paul and O'Grady, in a breath.
"Oh, a mere trifle," said the officer. "Who concealed you when youfirst made your escape? who assisted you to obtain your disguise? whoinvented your well-arranged story? and who forwarded you on your way?"
The midshipmen looked at each other.
"Shall I answer, Paddy?" asked Paul, eagerly.
"No, no, it's myself that will spake to the gentleman," exclaimedO'Grady, in that rich brogue in which an Irishman indulges when he isabout to express a sentiment which comes up from the depth of his heart."If your honour is under the belief that British officers are made upof such dirty ingredients that they would be capable of doing the vile,treacherous, ungrateful act you have insulted us by proposing, you neverwere more mistaken in your life. We are prisoners, and you have thepower of doing whatever you like with us; but at least treat us withthat respect which one gentleman has a right to demand from another."
The French officer started back with astonishment, not unmixed withanger. "How have I insulted you? How dare you address me in thatstyle?" he asked.
"When one man asks another to do a dirty action, he insults him, andthat's what you've asked us to do, Mounseer," exclaimed O'Grady,indignantly. "And just let me observe, that it is possible we may havehad wits enough in our own heads to concoct the story we told youwithout being indebted to any man, woman, or child for it, especiallywhen we were stimulated with the desire of getting out of thisoutlandish country, and being at you again; and as to the clothes, smallblame to the people who sold them when they got honest gold coins inexchange."
"That story will not go down with me, young gentleman," observed theofficer with a sneer. "However, enough of this trifling; we shall seein a few days whether you will alter your mind. Monsieur," hecontinued, turning to an elderly gentleman standing at the side of thehall, "we must have these persons locked up in one of your rooms. I begthat you will send your steward to point out a chamber from whence theycannot escape, and give us the trouble of again catching them."
"Monsieur," said the old gentleman, drawing himself up with an indignantair, "all the rooms are occupied; my chateau is not a prison, and I haveno intention of allowing it to become one."
"Ho! ho!" cried the officer, pulling his moustache, and stamping withrage, "is that the line you have taken up? I was ordered to respectyour chateau, and so I must; but take care, citoyen... However,sergeant, take them to the old tower; there is a room at the top of thatwhere they will be safe enough. The wind and rain beat in a little, tobe sure, but for any inconvenience they may suffer, they will beindebted to my friend here. Off with them!"
With scant ceremony the sergeant dragged them through the hall, Reubenstumping along after them on his wooden leg. They soon reached thetower, which was close to the little harbour. It was a very oldbuilding of three low stories, surrounded by sand, and the stonesoutside were so rough and so frequently displaced, that even by thelight of the now risen moon it seemed as if there could not be muchdifficulty in climbing up to the top from the outside, or descend by thesame means.
The sergeant shoved them on before him up a winding stair, which creakedand groaned at every step.
"En avant, en avant!" cried the sergeant when O'Grady attempted to enterone of the lower chambers; and at length they found themselves in a roomat the very top. The sergeant, grumblingly observing that they wouldnot require food till the next morning, gave Reuben a push which nearlysent him sprawling into the middle of the chamber, closed the door witha slam, and locked and bolted it securely.
Reuben whipped off his wooden leg, and began flourishing it about andmaking passes at the door whence the sergeant had disappeared,exclaiming with a laugh, "Well, the beggars haven't found me out, andthey'll be surprised at what a man with a timber toe can do!"
He tied it on again, however, very soon, for a heavy step was heard onthe stairs, and they saw by the light of the moon that their own walletsand a jug of water were placed on the floor just inside the door.
"We have a friend somewhere, probably the old gentleman at the chateau,or we should not have got back those things," observed Paul; "so let'scheer up: we might have been much worse off."
All agreed to the truth of this remark, and, as they were hungry, tooksome supper, and then Paddy proposed that they should reconnoitre thepremises.
The windows were very narrow, with an iron bar down the centre, so thatit was impossible to get through them. There was not a particle offurniture in the room, nor anything which would serve for their beds.
"It isn't cold yet, and we must make ourselves as comfortable as we canin the least windy corner of the place," observed Paul.
"What do you think of trying to get away instead?" asked O'Grady.
"With all my heart!" answered Paul; "but what do you say to the moon?Should we not be seen?"
"It might help us, and it might betray us," said O'Grady. "Let us askCole."
Reuben said that he must have a look round from the windows, before hepronounced an opinion. The midshipmen helped him up to each of them insuccession. He considered that in so bright a light they were nearlycertain to be seen; but as the moon rose later every day they would havea fair chance of making good their escape. That they could not go atonce was very evident, so they dusted a corner, and coiled themselves upto sleep. Daylight revealed the dirty condition of the room, and alsothe rotten state of the roof. Reuben pointed it out and remarked,"There, if we can't get through the windows, it will be hard if we donot make our way out by the roof. If they keep us here many days, we'lldo it."
In the course of the morning a man appeared with a fresh jug of water,and some bread and cheese, and dried figs. It was better than ordinaryprison fare, and as the man did not look very savage, Paul thought thathe would try and move him to procure them something on which to sleep.He explained, in the most pathetic language he could command, the miserythey had suffered, and begged for bedding of some sort. The man nodded,and returned in the evening with some bundles of straw.
"But there is nothing to cover us, and barely sufficient to keep us fromthe floor," observed Paul.
The man smiled, and replied, "To-morrow, perhaps, I may find somethingof more use to you."
The following day he came again, loaded with a bundle of old sails."Seamen have no reason to complain who can obtain such coverlids asthese," he remarked, as he threw them down, and again left the room.
Each time that he went, they heard the sound of the door being lockedand bolted. On undoing the sails they found that ropes were attached tothem, and on examining these they were found to be sound and strong.
"That man is our friend, and depend on it these ropes were not sent inhere by chance," observed O'Grady positively. "Very likely the oldgentleman at the chateau sent him."
They were confirmed in the opinion that the rope was intended for use,by the appearance of the man, in the evening, to bring them a freshsupply of provisions.
"I've heard it said that it's no easy matter to keep English seamen in acage when they have the will to get out," he remarked, as he turnedround towards the door.
"Are we likely to be kept here long?" Paul asked.
"Until directions have been received from head-quarters, and as they aresome way off, a
nd yours is not a matter of importance, it may be a monthor more," was the answer.
"He means to say that we may select our time for escaping," said Paulwhen the man had gone; "unless the rope was sent as a trap to tempt usto try and escape."
"Oh, they would not take that trouble," observed O'Grady. "If they hadwished to treat us ill, they would have done so."
Three more days passed. The moon did not now rise till nearly midnight.This would give them ample time to get away out of sight of land beforedaylight. That evening their friend brought, with other provisions, asmall keg of water, and a bottle of brandy, which he placed under thesails, and nodding, took his departure.
"No time to be lost," said O'Grady; "as soon as our guard has paid ushis last visit, we must commence operations."
Just before dark a gendarme as usual put his head in at the door, lookedround the room, and then stamped down-stairs again to a guard-room, inwhich it seemed that three or four men were stationed.
"There is no time to be lost, if it is to be done, gentlemen," exclaimedReuben, stumping about the room as soon as the man was gone. "If wecan't get through a window, I have marked two or three spots where wecan through the roof, and we've rope enough to help us out either way.We have first to make up some packs to carry our stores."
It was important to do all this while daylight remained, now fast fadingaway. The packs were soon made, and the various lengths of ropefastened together. Reuben then, with the aid of his younger companions,climbed up to the roof, and, without difficulty, pulled down first thewooden lining, and then the slates, which he handed to them to avoidmaking a noise, and soon had a hole large enough for them to getthrough. The slates and ropes and their packs were then hid under thestraw, in case any one should visit them before the hour of starting,not that such an event was likely to occur. They then threw themselveson their beds to be ready to pretend to be asleep at a moment's notice.The hours passed slowly. The night was calm; that was fortunate, or anylittle wind there was came from the south, which was better. They couldhear a clock strike, that probably on the tower of the little churchattached to the chateau. It was already nine o'clock, and they thoughtthat all chance of interruption was over, when they heard steps on thestairs. The sergeant and a guard entered. He held a lantern in hishand. They lay trembling lest the light should be thrown upwards, andthe hole in the roof be discovered.
"They seem to be asleep," observed the sergeant; "it is wonderful whatpower of sleeping these Englishmen possess. However, I must awake them.Rouse up, my boys, and understand that you are to march to-morrow forParis at an early hour; but the worthy citizen Montauban has directed meto say that he will supply you with funds for your necessarymaintenance, and to enable you to make your defence should you beaccused, as he fears you may be, of being spies."
Paul started up on hearing this address, with as much terror as he couldassume, considering that he had hoped in a few hours to be out of thereach of all French myrmidons of the law, and in a few words thanked thecitizen Montauban for his kind purpose, adding that a French midshipmanof the same name had long been his companion.
"Undoubtedly a nephew of citizen Montauban's, and his heir. The youngman was long supposed to be lost; but he was here a short time back, andit is owing to the kind way he was treated by the English, that the oldgentleman takes so warm an interest in you. However, lie down; I willtell him what you say, and he will communicate with you to-morrow,unless something should occur to prevent him. Good night."
"I hope that something will occur," cried Paul, jumping up as soon asthe officer was gone. "Very kind of the old gentleman, and just likeAlphonse to interest his uncle in our favour."
"Yes, indeed," said O'Grady; "curious, though, that we should havefallen in with so many of his relations."
Just then, however, they were too much engrossed with the work in handto talk on the subject. They considered it safer to wait another houror more before moving, lest they should encounter any straggler on theirway to the harbour, or be seen descending the tower.
"Time to start," cried O'Grady, who, as the senior officer, was to takethe command.
Their knapsacks were soon secured to their backs. Reuben used hiswooden leg to assist in securing the rope by driving it into the wall.They all soon climbed up to the roof, and let down the rope, whichreached nearly to the bottom, as far as they could judge. Should it notprove long enough, and stones be underneath, broken limbs would be theconsequence. Paul was certain that there was sand (as they had gonenearly round the tower when looking for the door), and, as the youngestand lightest, volunteered to go first. He without hesitation flunghimself off; but at the moment he began to descend, it occurred to himthat he might possibly have to pass before one of the windows of theguard-room, and he half expected to find himself seized and dragged inby a gendarme. It was too late, however, to go back. All must berisked. So down he cautiously slid, doing his best to make no noise.He kept his feet tightly pressed against the rope, that he mightascertain when he had reached the end. Suddenly he felt that there wasno more rope. At all events all the windows had been avoided. Helowered himself more cautiously than ever, till his hand grasped thevery end in which Reuben had made a knot. He hung down by it by onehand, and looked down. He could see the ground; but it seemed stillsome way below him. Should he risk a fall? He recollected the unevencharacter of the wall, and hauling himself up a little, he was able tostretch out his feet sufficiently to reach it. He put out one hand inthe same direction, and caught hold of an iron staple. He could nowclutch the wall, and feeling his way, he descended about eight feet tothe ground. It was fortunate that he had not jumped, for, instead ofsand, there was a slab of hard rock on which he would have fallen.Scarcely had he time to get under the rope, than he saw another figuredescending.
"Try to get to the wall," he whispered, "and I will help you down."
It was Reuben. After several efforts he reached the staple, andscrambled down. Paddy quickly followed at a much greater speed. Therewas no time to warn him that the rope was too short, and had not Reubenand Paul stretched out their arms and broken his fall, he would verylikely have broken his legs.
"I thought that I heard some one coming upstairs," he whispered. "Notquite certain, but could not stop to learn. Away for the harbour!"
They stepped lightly till they were on the soft sands, and then they ranon as fast as their legs could move. They examined the harbour; but nota boat could they find of any size on the shore. They had all probablybeen removed by the order of the police, to prevent either prisoners ofwar or refugees from escaping. A small one, however, lay moored off alittle distance from the shore.
"I will bring her in," whispered Paul; and without another word hestripped off his clothes, and, with knife in his mouth, slippednoiselessly into the water, and struck boldly out towards the boat.O'Grady and Reuben anxiously watched him, or rather the phosphorescentwake he left in the water. Even that after a time disappeared. Couldthe brave boy have sunk? The hearts of both his friends trembled.Every instant they expected to be pounced upon by gendarmes; but thoughthey listened earnestly as may be supposed, no sounds came from thetower. At length the boat began to move. Paul must have got on boardall right, and cut the cable. Yes, there he was standing up on athwart, and working her on with a single paddle.
"Jump in," he whispered, as soon as he reached the shore; "there arelights in the old tower, and our flight will quickly be discovered. Itmay be some time, however, before they find a boat to pursue us."
O'Grady and Reuben required no second bidding. The former, however,very nearly forgot Paul's clothes. He sprang back for them, andnarrowly escaped a tumble into the water.
"You dress while we pull out to look for a fit craft," said Paddy,seizing a paddle. But Paul kept hold of his own, in his eagernessdeclaring that he did not feel the cold.
To select a craft was easy; but it was possible that there might bepeople on board who might dispute their possession
. However, that mustbe risked. O'Grady pointed out a small sloop of some eight or ten tons.She was not likely to have many people on board. They must besurprised and silenced immediately. While the boat drifted alongside,Paul put on his clothes. It would not have been pleasant to fight as hewas; and besides, he might not have had time to dress afterwards.Taking care that their boat should not strike against the side of thelittle vessel, the three adventurers leaped on board as noiselessly aspossible. The after hatch was closed. No one could be in the cabin.But as they crept forward they discovered that the fore hatch was open.Reuben signed that he would go down first. The midshipmen waited aninstant, when they heard a noise, and leaping down they found theircompanion struggling with a powerful man, whom a boy, who had justleaped out of his berth, was about to assist.
"You are our prisoners," cried Paul, throwing himself on the boy; whileO'Grady assisted Reuben, and so completely turned the tables, that theFrenchman was quickly secured. The boy who had struggled bravely withPaul, for the purpose, it seemed, of getting his head up the hatchway tosing out, then gave in.
"You will be well treated, my friends, if you remain quiet; but if youmake the slightest noise, I cannot answer for your lives," said Paul.
To prevent any risk of the sort the hatch was clapped on after they hadexamined the vessel.
"We will get ready to make sail, while you, Gerrard, cut the cable, andthen go to the helm," said O'Grady. "Cut!" he cried, in a few seconds.
A light breeze came off the land. Paul cut, and then hurried to thehelm. He started as he turned his glance towards the shore; for there,in the direction of the old tower, a bright light was burning. Itquickly increased in magnitude--bright flames burst forth. "It must bethe old tower itself," he thought, for there was no time to sayanything. The flames increased, and it now became evident that it wasthe tower itself; for the whole building was soon wrapped in flames, theglare reaching far down the harbour, and lighting up the sails of theirvessel.
"We shall be seen and pursued, I'm afraid," cried Paul.
"Seen, or not, we must stand on; and at all events we shall have thestart of them," answered O'Grady. "It's not impossible that they maythink we have perished in the flames. I am sorry, though, for ReubenCole's timber toe. Ha! ha! ha! it would have enraged the monsieurs tofind that they had been so completely duped."
All this time the little vessel was gliding out from among a number ofothers, and the curious eyes of many persons were glaring at her, whowondered whither she was going. The probabilities that the midshipmenand Reuben would be retaken seemed very great.
Paul Gerrard, the Cabin Boy Page 10