by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XI
IN THE HANDS OF THE TURKS
Towards the end of the cruise the schooner had just returned to thecoast of Asia Minor after having run across to Athens and taken onboard the officers and men who had sailed the last prizes taken there.On the day after they took up their place on their cruising groundthey fell in with a large polacca brig. The vessel mounted ten smallguns, and fought with some obstinacy, and it was not until Martynplaced the schooner so that she could rake the brig's decks, whichwere crowded with men, that she hauled down her flag.
"Lower two boats, Miller. You take charge of one and Tarleton theother. By the look of those fellows I don't believe they are Turks atall. I believe they are from Algiers or Tunis; pirates at ordinarytimes, but who have come here to pick up slaves cheap. They aretreacherous beggars, so be on your guard. There is a very strong crew.Don't row alongside till I lay the schooner broadside on."
In five minutes Miller hailed from the deck of the prize, "You areright, sir, they are Algerines, and as cut-throat a looking lot asever I came across. She is crowded below with Greek women and girls,and as far as I can see at present she has no cargo of any sort. Ihave sent one of the boats for Marco. He can speak to the women, whoare making a fearful hubbub down below."
"Have you disarmed the crew, Mr. Miller?"
"Mr. Tarleton has just finished that. We have had to knock a good manyof the scoundrels down. They are as savage as wildcats."
The schooner was brought alongside the polacca and lashed there. Thedeck of the prize showed that the fire of the schooner had beenterribly destructive. Over twenty bodies lay scattered about,principally round the guns.
"Are they all dead?" Martyn asked as he stepped on board.
"They are all dead now, but they were not when we boarded her. But asthey lay there they fired their pistols among us. Two or threepretended to be dead, and then sprang up, knife in hand, and severalof the men have got nasty cuts; so that was soon put a stop to. Someof the fellows below made quite a fight of it, and the men had to usetheir cutlasses pretty freely. However, they are all disarmed andbound now. I have no doubt they are Algerine pirates, and deserve tobe hung to the yard-arm every man-jack of them."
"Have you overhauled the hold yet?"
"Yes, sir. It is filled with these unhappy slaves. She evidently camemerely in ballast, with money to buy them."
"Well, no doubt these fellows have been pirates, Mr. Miller, but as wehave no means to prove it we must let them go as we have the others,though it is a nuisance, for they only warn the people at the portsagainst us. We won't put them on the mainland this time, but land themon one of the little islands. They may be some time in getting a craftto take them to the mainland, and then they will find it rough workmaking along the coast. However, we can settle upon that later. Thefirst thing to do is to get the decks roughly cleaned and the deadbodies thrown overboard."
A dozen men were set to work with mops and buckets, while othersfastened shot to the feet of the Algerines and dropped them overboard.As soon as this was done Marco was sent below to tell the captivesthat they could come on deck.
As the women poured up, looking almost dazed at their sudden release,and at the bright sunlight after the stifling atmosphere of the darkhold in which they had been confined for six days, Horace saw one ofthem, a woman of some five-and-thirty years of age, to whose side agirl of fifteen was clinging, looking round with an air of excitement,in strong contrast to the comparative apathy of the others. Sheglanced round at him and the men engaged in tidying up the deck,and then with a cry sank fainting on the deck. He hurried up to her,and partly raised her, when he was struck by the cry of the girl, "Oh,mother, mother!" He looked at her in astonishment.
THE GREEK CAPTIVES ARE BROUGHT ON DECK]
"Are you English?" he exclaimed.
"Yes," she cried, "we are English; but we have been seized and carriedaway by these horrid Turks. Mother said she fancied she heard someshouts in English, but she thought she must have been mistaken, asonly a Greek came down and spoke to us in the hold, and she did notthink it possible that it could be English. And have you rescued usout of the hands of the Turks, sir? Mother said they were taking usaway to sell us as slaves."
"Yes, we have rescued you," Horace said. "You are free now. If youwill hold your mother's head for a moment I will fetch the doctor; wehave one on board."
"If you would get a little water, sir, she will soon come round. Shehas fainted several times since we were captured."
Horace, however, caught sight of Macfarlane.
"Doctor, here is an English lady among the captives. She has fainted.Please see to her. I will run to get some water;" and he sprang overthe bulwark on to the deck of the schooner.
"Bring some brandy with you too," Macfarlane said as he hurried to theside of the fainting woman.
Horace rushed down to the cabin, and returned with a jug of water, adecanter of brandy, and a tumbler. The doctor sprinkled some water onthe lady's face, poured a few drops of spirits between her lips, andin a minute or two she opened her eyes.
"It is all right now, madam," he said as she looked round in aconfused way. "You are safe among friends and British sailors."
"Thank God for His mercies!" she murmured, while tears fell down hercheeks. "It seems almost too great happiness to be true."
In a few minutes she was well enough to be assisted down to the cabinof the schooner, where she was left to the care of her daughter for atime. Half an hour later she was able to relate her story to Mr.Beveridge. She was, she said, the wife of an English merchant atSmyrna. They lived a short distance out of the town, and had, sincethe troubles began, gone but little abroad, for although it was onlythe Greeks who had been involved in the massacre that had taken placethere some months before, there was a good deal of hostility upon thepart of the lower class of the population against all Christians. Oneevening she had been with her daughter in the garden, her husbandbeing engaged till late at his business in the town. It was justgetting dark, and she was about to re-enter the house, when five orsix ruffians of the lowest class rushed into the garden, seized herand her daughter in spite of their shrieks, threw thick cloths overtheir heads, and then carried them away. They were taken for somedistance, when they stopped, and she heard an animated conversationand the clink of money. Then they were placed in a boat, and presentlycarried up on to the deck of a ship and taken below.
When their mufflings were removed they found they were in the hold ofa vessel with a large number of Greek captives. She endeavoured invain to make herself understood by the sailors who came below, andwho, she perceived at once, were not Turks. She told them that she wasEnglish, and that her husband would pay a large sum if she and herdaughter were set on shore unharmed. No attention was paid to herentreaties, but on her persisting she was brutally knocked down, andin a short time a man, who was evidently an officer, came down andforced them both to take off their European dresses and put on othersthat some of the Greek women were ordered to hand over to them. It wasnow evident to her that they had been seized by some of the ruffiansof the town and sold to the Algerines, who were in no way particularas to the nationality of their slaves, and that they were destined tobe sold in the slave-market of either Tunis or Algiers.
A few hours after they were taken on board they heard the anchor runup, and could soon tell by the ripple of the water against the planksthat they were under weigh. All hope now left them, and they hadpassed a terrible six days, overcome by despair, and half suffocatedby the foul air of the hold. Hope had again sprung up when a gun wasfired overhead, and it was soon evident that the vessel was engaged inan encounter with an enemy. At last the firing ceased, then there wasa sound of shouting and the clashing of swords on the deck above theirheads. Presently the hatchways had been opened and a Greek had comedown and told them that the vessel had been captured from the Turks,and that they were free. She fancied that she heard English voices,but until she had reached the deck and saw the faces and uniforms ofthe
sailors, she thought that she must be mistaken. After that sheremembered no more until she heard the doctor's voice.
"I am rejoiced indeed that I have been enabled to save you and yourdaughter from the horrors of slavery," Mr. Beveridge said. "We havehad the pleasure of rescuing many hundreds of Greek women and childrenfrom the hands of the Turks, but I never expected to find acountrywoman among them. This cabin will be at your disposal, exceptthat we must, I fear, take our meals here. The cabin adjoining will bewholly yours. In the course of a week I hope to land you at Corfu,thence you will be able to write to your husband and arrange eitherfor joining him again at Smyrna, or taking a passage for England,which would, I should think in the present state of things, be thewisest course. My purse will be entirely at your disposal. I am theowner of this schooner, which is called the _Misericordia_, andalthough we fight under the Greek flag, and have come out to assistthem to obtain their independence, we are principally devotingourselves to saving the unhappy victims of this war."
The lady, whose name was Mrs. Herbert, expressed her deep gratitude,and Mr. Beveridge at once took possession of Miller's cabin, as thelieutenant would, he had no doubt, remain in charge of the prize. Whenthe capture was made, the schooner was some eighty miles to the eastof Rhodes, and after talking the matter over with Miller, Martyndecided to land the Algerines on Caxo, an islet lying some fifty milesto the south-west of Rhodes. Miller and Tarleton were for the presentto continue on board the prize. The prisoners, forty-eight in number,were transferred into the schooner. The next evening they arrived offCaxo, where the Algerines were landed in boats. Martyn then went onboard the polacca.
"I have been thinking, Miller, that as we seem to have frightened allthe Turks into remaining in port for the present, I will leave you andTarleton on board the polacca, and give you twenty men and let youcruise on your own account, while we take these women and childrenround to the Ionian Isles. We will shift two of the eighteen-pounderson board this craft. No one will suspect you, and you will have a goodchance of picking up some more prizes, while the sight of our whitesails sends everything running into port as far off as they can beseen. We can rendezvous here again this day fortnight."
"I should like that very much," Miller said, "and I think it is acapital plan. I must ask Mr. Beveridge to let me have Marco, or Ishall have no means of making myself understood either by Turk orGreek."
A fortnight later the schooner returned to the island. She had hadrough weather for the last three days of her voyage, but the sky hadnow cleared again.
"There is the island," Martyn said, as Horace came up at six o'clockin the morning to take charge of the watch, for he had now command ofthe starboard watch, and Tom Burdett had the port. "There is theisland, but there is no sign of the polacca yet. I wonder Miller isnot here first. If we had been having calms I should not have been theleast surprised at his not turning up, but with this strong southerlywind there is no reason why he should not have been here. Go up to themain-top, Horace, and take a look round."
But Horace could see no sail in sight.
"You are not uneasy about Miller surely," Mr. Beveridge said atbreakfast, seeing that Martyn was not in his usual spirits.
"Well, I am rather uneasy, sir. Miller would be more likely to be aday too soon than too late, and with the wind from the south he couldhave calculated his time here from wherever he happened to be, withinan hour or two. The wind has been strong with us, and for aught I knowit may have been blowing a gale more to the east. We don't know muchabout the sailing qualities of the polacca, certainly she was verylight in ballast, and if she has been caught off a lee shore in aheavy gale she may not have been able to claw off, especially if shehappened to be embayed when it came on. Of course we must give himtwenty-four hours more, but if he does not come then we will shape ourcourse north-east and cruise along the coast; as we get eastward wemay pick up some fishing craft or small coaster and hear what theweather has been there, possibly even get news of the polacca. IfMiller gets here after we have left, he will guess what course we havetaken. Very likely he will land a boat and learn that we have beenhere, and the course we took when we sailed away, and would then beguided by circumstances. At any rate, if nothing has happened to him,we are sure to meet sooner or later."
"Do just as you think best, Captain Martyn. I most sincerely trustthat there are no grounds for your uneasiness. Hitherto everything hasgone well with us, and it would be terrible indeed if anything shouldhave happened to our two friends and so many of our brave fellows."
The day passed slowly. A look-out was kept in the top, but until thesun went down no sail was seen above the horizon. The crew shared theanxiety of their captain, and gathering in groups, discussed whatcould have occurred to prevent their consort arriving at therendezvous.
"I don't believe as the Turks have caught them," one of the sailorssaid. "You won't never gammon me into taking in such a yarn as that. Idon't believe as there is a Turk living would get the weather gauge ofLieutenant Miller. As to tempests, that is different. We don't carefor tempests one way or the other on board the schooner, but then sheis a craft such as you don't see twice in a v'yage round the world. Ifthey had been in her I shouldn't have felt noways uneasy; but seeingas how they are in a outlandish brig whose ways they don't understand,it may be that if they was caught off a lee shore by a heavy gale,even the first lieutenant with our men at his back couldn't get herout of the mess."
"I said all along," another sailor put in, shaking his head, "as therewas bad luck coming. Three days ago I dreamed of a black cat, andeveryone as knows anything knows as there ain't nothin' more unluckyto dream about than a black cat."
"Surely, Bill," another said, shaking his head gravely.
"Well, mates, it is my opinion," Tom Burdett said gruffly, "as thereis something in dreams, but in nine cases out of ten it is somethingas has gone afore and not what comes after. I know once when I cameback from a v'yage I had written a letter to tell my old woman whattime I should arrive. I reckoned to be in to dinner. Well, the coachbroke down and I did not get in till nine o'clock. The old woman hadmade a plum-duff pretty nigh as big as my head, knowing as I was fondof it, and she was in such a taking at my not having been in to eat itat dinner that I sat down and I finished that there pudding cold forsupper. Well, I dreamt of about ten million black cats and about asmany sharks mixed up together, but if you will believe me nothing cameof it; and ever since that I have held to the opinion that when youhave a bad dream, what you have got to think about when you wake ain'twhat it means in the future, but what you have been having for supper.
"Now, I expect if Bill there was to turn his mind back he wouldremember that the night as he had that dream, he had been fillinghisself up with fruit or such like trash afore he turned in. I don'tsay as nothing has happened to Lieutenant Miller and our mates, but Iam cocksure as that black cat Bill said he dreamt on hadn't nothing todo with it either way. Why, bless me, in my village there is hundredsof women as thinks of nothing but dreams and tokens. It is no matterwhat you dream of, they have got a 'terpretation of it, and if the'terpretation happens to be a bad one they bother their husbands andbrothers and sons, as the case may be, not to put to sea, and there ismany a good fisherman whose cupboard is bare half the year, throughlistening to them. I may have my ideas as to whether harm are come tothat polacca or not, but if every seaman on board the ship was todream of a black tom-cat and his wife and family, it wouldn't make notso much as a shade of difference, in my opinion."
Martyn did not wait for daylight, but when the middle watch wasrelieved sail was made, and the schooner bore away to the north-east.Land was sighted about four o'clock, and by nightfall they werecoasting along at the distance of about a mile. When it became darkthey stood on and off the shore, as Martyn wished to examine everyinlet and bay as they went on. As soon as it was daylight the schoonerproceeded on her way. The sails of several craft were made out seawardduring the course of the day, but none of these resembled the canvasof the polacca, and attentio
n was concentrated upon the shore, everyrock being closely scanned with glasses, and a sharp look-out kept forsignals of any kind.
In the evening a small fishing-boat was overhauled as it made its wayinto a village. The fishermen were interrogated by Zaimes, whounderstood a little Turkish. They had seen nothing of any craftanswering to a description of the polacca. Interrogated about theweather, they replied that the storm four days before had been anexceptionally severe one, coming on very suddenly and blowing withtremendous force for some hours.
The next morning they were at the mouth of the Gulf of Adalia.
"If Miller has gone to grief anywhere," Martyn said to Horace, "it isas likely as not to be somewhere in this bay. He might very well havebeen cruising about in here to pick up anything coming out of Adalia,which is the principal port along this part of the coast. It is alarge bay, you see, and if he happened to be well up it when he wascaught in that sudden gale it is probable enough that he would not beable to beat out in that craft. I see on the map there are three orfour small towns between this Cape and Adalia. I don't want to showourselves inside the cape, for the probability is the schooner wouldbe recognized directly. What I think will be the best plan would befor you and Zaimes to take one of the boats and coast along close into the cape. There is a place called Grambusa a mile or two around thecorner, and another place called Yanar a little farther on. I want youeither to board a fishing-boat and find out whether they have news ofa wreck between this and Adalia, or have heard of any Greek orEuropean prisoners being brought there from farther east. If you can'tsucceed in getting hold of a fishing-boat, Zaimes might land and tryto pick up the news at some cottage in the outskirts of the village.There are Greeks in all these sea-side villages, for most of thefishing is in their hands, and though in the towns there weremassacres I don't suppose they would be disturbed in quiet villageswhere they had been settled for generations."
Zaimes was summoned, and agreed at once to land, as both Martyn andHorace were of opinion that there was more probability of theirgetting trustworthy information that way than from fishermen, whowould be scared at finding their boat suddenly overhauled.Accordingly, taking a gig with six men Horace and Zaimes started forthe shore, while the schooner turned her head west.
"I shall cruise backward and forward," Martyn said. "I sha'n't go morethan four miles from the cape; so when you come out again you willonly have to lie on your oars till I come back for you."
They rowed direct to shore, crept along close to it till they saw thevillage half a mile ahead, and then rowed in and landed Zaimes. He wasabsent an hour, and his walk assured Horace that he had bad news evenbefore he reached the side of the boat.
"I am afraid you have bad news, Zaimes."
Zaimes shook his head. "Very bad; it could hardly be worse. There areseveral Christians in the village, and I learned from them that fourdays ago a brig that was caught in the storm was driven ashore closeto Adalia. It was found that she was a Turkish vessel which had beencaptured by pirates. The people would have torn them to pieces, butthe pasha, who had come down to the shore with a body of troops to tryand save those on board the ship when she was seen to be drivingashore, protected them from the mob and lodged them in prison. Theysay that he has sent off to Smyrna, where the governor of Anatoliaresides, to ask for instructions, and it is expected that orders willcome for their execution in a day or two."
"Stretch to your oars, men," Horace said. "The others have beenwrecked and captured by the Turks, and the sooner we are on board withthe news the better."
The men bent to their oars and made the boat fly through the water,and when they rounded Cape Khelidonia they saw the schooner a quarterof a mile away in the act of going about. They were seen almost assoon as they caught sight of her, and she remained thrown up in thewind until they got alongside. Martyn and Mr. Beveridge were both ondeck, and as soon as Zaimes had told his story they went down into thecabin for a consultation.
"What on earth is to be done?" Martyn said; "Adalia is a large town.Zaimes says there are troops there, likely enough a whole regiment. Itwould be hopeless to try to attack it with thirty men. The only thingI can see at present would be for us to sail right in, anchor off thetown, and threaten to bombard it with red-hot shot if they don't giveup the prisoners. The objection is that they are likely to have somebatteries there, and in that case we might get the worst of it.Besides, it is likely enough that they might hang Miller and the restof them at the first shot we fired."
"No, that is not to be thought of," Mr. Beveridge said. "It seems tome that we might anchor within sight of the place, send a boat ashorewith a white flag, and offer to pay any ransom they might fix for theprisoners. I would rather pay ten thousand pounds than that harmshould come to them. What do you think, Horace?"
"If we could have got at the pasha before he sent off to Smyrna thatmight have done, father; but having once referred the case to Smyrna,I am afraid he might consider it too risky to let them go. But wemight try that if everything else fails."
"But what else is there, Horace?"
"Well, I should say, father, the best thing would be to land Zaimesand myself again. He has already made some acquaintances in thevillage here, and no doubt they could rig us both up in dresses liketheir own. Then we could go boldly on to Adalia, find out exactly howthings stand, what sort of a place they are imprisoned in, how strongis the guard, and how close the barrack of the troops is to theprison. I should suggest that you sail away west, so that if, as it islikely enough, the schooner has been noticed by any of the peasants inthe villages scattered about among the hills and word sent to Adalia,the report may also go that it has sailed right away. Then you shouldcapture a small Turkish craft; a large fishing-boat would do. Leaveten men on board the schooner, and sail in the prize nearly up toAdalia. If you anchor, say a couple of miles this side of the town,and hoist a little flag, say a red flag over a white, to yourmast-head we should recognize you and come down to the beach.
"If it is in the daytime you will make us out with your glasses easilyenough, and send a boat ashore for us. If it is nighttime we willempty out a little powder, moisten it, and flash it off; then you cansend ashore for us. I should order the schooner to come every night,keeping three or four miles off shore, sailing up nearly to Adalia,and then returning so as to be round the cape again before daylight.In that way we could communicate with her and go on board again whenwe liked. Till we examine the place there is no saying whether thereis a possibility of rescue or not. If we find that there is nopossibility of anything being done in that direction we can embark onboard the schooner again, and carry out the plan you suggested: anchoroff Adalia, and send in to offer a ransom, with the alternative thatif it is not accepted we will bombard the place about their ears. Inthat way, you see, we shall anyhow lose nothing by this expedition ofZaimes and myself ashore."
"I think your plan is an excellent one, Horace," Martyn said, and Mr.Beveridge equally approved of it.
"I don't think there will be any great danger about it, Martyn. Thereseems no reason why any suspicion should fall upon him and Zaimes ifthey are dressed in the same way as the Greeks in these villages."
"No, I don't see why there should. Of course they will only speak withother Greeks. I certainly think the plan of our getting hold of asmall native craft and anchoring near the town is a capital one. Itwill save a great deal of time, for it is somewhere about fifty milesfrom the cape to the town, and it would, in fact, save a whole day,as, if they come off to us in the evening we could do what there is todo that night, whereas, if they had to walk all the way down the coastto the cape and come on board there it would be too late to doanything that night, and we should have to wait until the next."
Zaimes was called in, and eagerly embraced the proposal when it wasexplained to him. He was passionately fond of his brother, from whomhe had never been separated, and was ready to dare anything to attempthis rescue. It was agreed they had better wait till dark before theylanded. Accordingly the schooner sailed we
st for some hours and didnot return to the cape until after darkness had fallen. Then Zaimesand Horace were landed, and as soon as the boat returned the schooneragain sailed away. Before leaving the ship Horace had dressed himselfas a Greek, and on landing they walked to the village.
"You had best remain outside for a few minutes, Mr. Horace," Zaimessaid, "while I see the man I conversed with this morning. I told himthen that my brother was on board the polacca that was wrecked, andthat I should endeavour to get the ear of some person of importance atAdalia. He said that he was sure that I could do nothing, but anythinghe could do to help me he would, for his people came years ago fromNaxos, which, as you know, is our native place. I will just go infirst to see if he is alone and to tell him that I have a friend withme. As soon as I see that he is in the same mood I will call you in."
In three or four minutes the door of the cottage opened again andHorace was called in.
"This is the young friend who accompanies me," Zaimes said to the man."He is not a relation, but he has been with my brother ever since hewas born, and is willing to join me in the effort to save him."
"It is quite hopeless," the peasant said. "You are only risking yourlives. Still, that is your business. You are ready, you say, to buy ofme two suits of our clothes. I have one suit belonging to my son, whois at present away in a coasting ship, and I have a suit of my ownthat I can let you have."
Zaimes and Horace had both brought on shore a considerable amount ofgold stowed in belts beneath their clothes, in case they should findany opportunity of bribing a prison official, and had in their pocketsan ample sum for any ordinary expenditure. As the peasant only askedabout three times the amount which the clothes would cost new, theypaid for them without bargaining, and at once put them on.
"I have a brother at Adalia," the man said, well pleased with thebargain he had made; "and if you go to him and say that you come fromme, his brother Alexis, of this village, I am sure he will be glad tolodge you, especially when you tell him that you too belong to Naxos."
After receiving instructions as to how to find the man's brother inAdalia they started at once upon their journey. They lay down forthree hours in the middle of the night in a wood, and entered Adaliaat eight o'clock in the morning. They went straight to the address thepeasant had given them. It was a small house with but two rooms, andits master was a cobbler. As soon as Zaimes mentioned his brother'sname, and said that they were ready to pay for the accommodation, theshoemaker agreed at once to receive them. He was a chatty fellow, andwas very anxious to hear news about affairs in Greece, when they toldhim that they had but lately arrived from there.
"Now," he said, "what is your business? Of course I can see that youdo not belong to us. You are from Naxos, as you say; I notice a fewturns of speech such as my father used to use. But what have you comehere for? and why have you bought my brother's clothes from him, for Irecognized them directly you came in? I like to know things, notbecause I am inquisitive, but because I do not want to have thepasha's executioner suddenly coming in at the door and taking off myhead, without even explaining the reason why."
"I am what I told you, a Greek of Naxos," Zaimes said; "and as Iexplained to your brother, I have a brother who is one of the crew ofthat ship that was wrecked here six days ago; and I have come to seewhether, by greasing the palms of some of the officials, I can manageto get him out."
"That you can't," the man said decidedly. "If he were in the civilprison it might be done; but the pasha, guessing perhaps that many ofus Christians would sympathize with them, or possibly having an ideathat the mob might rise, handed them over to the soldiers, and theyare confined in a room in the military prison in the centre of thebarracks, where there are lots of sentries. The gates have beenclosed since they were taken there, and no civilian is allowed toenter under any pretence. So you see there is no bribing to be done.Of course the sentries are changed frequently. There is no knowingwhat officer has the prisoners specially under his charge. And even ifhe were bribed, there would be no getting them past the sentries. Soyou can give up the idea altogether of getting your brother out."
"How long does it take for a messenger to go from here to Smyrna?"Zaimes asked, with a slight glance at Horace to show that he waschanging the conversation purposely.
"By ordinary travelling some two weeks; but a mounted messenger, withrelays of horses, can do it in four days."
"Then in another three days the answer may come from Smyrna?"
"That is so. I wonder myself that the pasha took the trouble ofsending to the governor of Anatolia, instead of hanging the prisonersat once."
"I suppose he thought that the governor might like to have them sentto him, so that he could forward them to Constantinople."
"Are you thinking of delaying the messenger's return? That might bedone, you know." And the man drew his finger across his throatsignificantly.
"I don't see that the delay would be of any use," Zaimes replied. "Ifthere is no chance of getting my brother out, it matters not whetherthe messenger arrives to-day or a fortnight hence. However, it is amatter that may be worth thinking over later. At any rate we will goout and have a look at the barracks. Will you go with us? I am notwithout money, and can make it well worth your while to aid us by youradvice."
"I am ready enough," the man said. "Trade is dull, and a man mustlive; and besides, I would gladly save a Christian and a native of myown island from the Turks."
"I would not trust him too far," Zaimes said in an undertone toHorace when the man went into the apartment behind to speak to hiswife. "He is now inclined to help us, especially if he thinks that hewill be well paid for it. But we had better not let him know anythingof our plans. When he saw there was danger, what with fear as to hisown safety and the hope of a bigger reward than he could expect to getfrom us, he might decide to turn traitor. We had better let himsuppose that we have given up all hope."
"I agree with you, Zaimes. His hint about the messenger may be auseful one. I don't mean, of course, that we should cut the poorbeggar's throat; but we might bind him and fasten him up for a fewdays if we find there is need of time to make our preparations."
"I am afraid time will not help us," Zaimes said. "The fellow can haveno motive for lying; and if what he says is a fact, I don't see ashadow of a chance of our getting them out, even if we had all thecrew of the schooner here."
"We shall know more about it when we have seen the place, Zaimes. Iexpected they would be securely locked up, and it is not much worsethan I looked for. It is hard if we can't hit on some plan for gettingthem out."