Chapter XXV
In which Mr Vanslyperken proves that he has a great aversion to coldsteel.
Mr Vanslyperken had been so much upset by the events of the day, that hehad quite forgotten to deliver the letters entrusted to him to the careof the Jew Lazarus; weighty indeed must have been the events which couldhave prevented him from going to receive money.
He threw himself on his bed with combined feelings of rage andmortification, and slept a feverish sleep in his clothes.
His dreams were terrifying, and he awoke in the morning unrefreshed. Themutiny and defection of the ship's company, he ascribed entirely to themachinations of Smallbones, whom he now hated with a feeling so intense,that he felt he could have murdered him in the open day. Such were thefirst impulses that his mind resorted to upon his awaking, and aftersome little demur, he sent for Corporal Van Spitter, to consult withhim. The corporal made his appearance, all humility and respect, and wasagain sounded as to what could be done with Smallbones, Vanslyperkenhinting very clearly what his wishes tended to.
Corporal Van Spitter, who had made up his mind how to act after theirprevious conference, hummed and ha'ed, and appeared unwilling to enterupon the subject, until he was pushed by his commandant, when thecorporal observed there was something very strange about the lad, andhinted at his being sent in the cutter on purpose to annoy his superior.
"That on that night upon which he had stated that he had seen the devilthree times, once it was sitting on the head-clue of Smallbones'hammock, and at another time that he was evidently in converse with thelad, and that there were strange stories among the ship's company, whoconsidered that both Smallbones and the dog were supernatural agents."
"My dog--Snarleyyow--a--what do you mean, corporal?"
The corporal then told Mr Vanslyperken that he had discovered thatseveral attempts had been made to drown the dog, but without success;and that among the rest, he had been thrown by Smallbones into thecanal, tied up in a bread-bag, and had miraculously made hisappearance again.
"The villain!" exclaimed Vanslyperken. "That then was the paving-stone.Now I've found it out, I'll cut his very soul out of his body."
But the corporal protested against open measures, as, although it wasknown by his own confession to be the case, it could not be proved, asnone of the men would tell.
"Besides, he did not think that any further attempts would be made, asSmallbones had been heard to laugh and say, 'that water would never hurthim or the dog,' which observation of the lad's had first made theship's company suspect."
"Very true," exclaimed Vanslyperken; "he floated out to the Nab buoy andback again, when I--" Here Mr Vanslyperken stopped short, and he felt adread of supernatural powers in the lad, when he thought of what hadpassed and what he now heard.
"So they think my dog--"
"De tyfel," replied the corporal.
Vanslyperken was not very sorry for this, as it would be the dog'sprotection; but at the same time he was not at all easy aboutSmallbones; for Mr Vanslyperken, as we have observed before, was bothsuperstitious and cowardly.
"Water won't hurt him, did you say, corporal?"
"Yes, mynheer."
"Then I'll try what a pistol will do, by heavens!" replied Vanslyperken."He threw my dog into the canal, and I'll be revenged, if revenge is tobe had. That will do, corporal, you may go now," continued Vanslyperken,who actually foamed with rage.
The corporal left the cabin, and it having occurred to Vanslyperken thathe had not delivered the letters, he dressed himself to go on shore.
After having once more read through the letter of the fair widow, which,at the same time that it crushed all his hopes, from its kind tenour,poured some balm into his wounded heart, he sighed, folded it up, put itaway, and went on deck.
"Pipe the gig away," said Mr Vanslyperken.
"No pipe," replied Short.
This reminded Mr Vanslyperken that Jemmy Ducks had left the ship, andvexed him again. He ordered the word to be passed to the boat's crew,and when it was manned he went on shore. As soon as he arrived at thehouse of Lazarus, he knocked, but it was some time before he wasadmitted, and the chain was still kept on the door, which was opened twoinches to allow a scrutiny previous to entrance.
"Ah! it vash you, vash it, good sar? you may come in," said the Jew.
Vanslyperken walked into the parlour, where he found seated a young manof very handsome exterior, dressed according to the fashion of thecavaliers of the time. His hat, with a plume of black feathers, lay uponthe table. This personage continued in his careless and easy positionwithout rising when Vanslyperken entered, neither did he ask him tosit down.
"You are the officer of the cutter?" inquired the young man, with an airof authority not very pleasing to the lieutenant.
"Yes," replied Vanslyperken, looking hard and indignantly in return.
"And you arrived yesterday morning? Pray, sir, why were not thoseletters delivered at once?"
"Because I had no time," replied Vanslyperken, sulkily.
"No time, sir; what do you mean by that? Your time is ours, sir. Youare paid for it; for one shilling that you receive from the rascallygovernment you condescend to serve and to betray, you receive from uspounds. Let not this happen again, my sir, or you may repent it."
Vanslyperken was not in the best of humours, and he angrily replied,"Then you may get others to do your work, for this is the last I'll do;pay me for them, and let me go."
"The last you'll do; you'll do as much as we please, and as long as weplease. You are doubly in our power, scoundrel! You betray thegovernment you serve, but you shall not betray us. If you had a thousandlives, you are a dead man the very moment you flinch from or neglect ourwork. Do your work faithfully, and you will be rewarded; but either youmust do our work or die. You have but to choose."
"Indeed!" replied Vanslyperken.
"Yes, indeed! And to prove that I am in earnest, I shall punish you foryour neglect, by not paying you this time. You may leave the letters andgo. But mind that you give us timely notice when you are ordered back tothe Hague, for we shall want you."
Vanslyperken, indignant at this language, obeyed his first impulse,which was to snatch up the letters and attempt to leave the room.
"No pay, no letters!" exclaimed he, opening the door.
"Fool!" cried the young man with a bitter sneer, not stirring from hisseat.
Vanslyperken opened the door, and to his amazement there were threeswords pointed to his heart. He started back.
"Will you leave the letters now?" observed the young man.
Vanslyperken threw them down on the table with every sign ofperturbation, and remained silent and pale.
"And now perfectly understand me, sir," said the young cavalier. "Wemake a great distinction between those who have joined the good cause,or rather, who have continued steadfast to their king from feelings ofhonour and loyalty, and those who are to be bought and sold. We honourthe first, we despise the latter. Their services we require, andtherefore we employ them. A traitor to the sovereign from whom hereceives his pay, is not likely to be trusted by us. I know yourcharacter, that is sufficient. Now, although the government make nodifference between one party or the other, with the exception that somemay be honoured with the axe instead of the gibbet, you will observewhat we do: and as our lives are already forfeited by attainder, we makeno scruple of putting out of the way any one whom we may even suspect ofbetraying us. Nay, more; we can furnish the government with sufficientproofs against you without any risk to ourselves, for we have manypartisans who are still in office. Weigh now well all you have heard,and be assured, that although we despise you, and use you only as ourtool, we will have faithful and diligent service; if not, your life isforfeited."
Vanslyperken heard all this with amazement and confusion: he immediatelyperceived that he was in a snare, from which escape was impossible. Hiscoward heart sank within him, and he promised implicit obedience.
"Nevertheless, before you go you will sign
your adherence to King Jamesand his successors," observed the young cavalier. "Lazarus, bring inwriting materials." The Jew, who was at the door, complied withthe order.
The cavalier took the pen and wrote down a certain form, in whichVanslyperken dedicated his life and means, as he valued his salvation,to the service of the exiled monarch. "Read that, and sign it, sir,"said the cavalier, passing it over to Vanslyperken.
The lieutenant hesitated. "Your life depends upon it," continued theyoung man coolly; "do as you please."
Vanslyperken turned round; the swords were still pointed, and the eyesof those which held them were fixed upon the cavalier awaiting hisorders. Vanslyperken perceived that there was no escape. With atrembling hand he affixed his signature.
"'Tis well:--now, observe, that at the first suspicion, or want of zeal,even, on your part, this will be forwarded through the proper channel,and even if you should escape the government, you will not escapeus:--our name is Legion. You may go, sir;--do your work well, and youshall be well rewarded."
Vanslyperken hastened away, passing the swords, the points of which werenow lowered for his passage. Perhaps he never till then felt howcontemptible was a traitor. Indignant, mortified, and confused, stilltrembling with fear, and, at the same time, burning with rage, hehastened to his mother's house, for he had brought on shore with him themoney which he had received at Amsterdam.
"What, more vexation, child?" said the old woman, looking Vanslyperkenin the face as he entered.
"Yes," retorted Vanslyperken, folding his arms as he sat down.
It was some time before he would communicate to his mother all thathappened. At last the truth, which even he felt ashamed of, was drawnout of him.
"Now may all the curses that ever befell a man fall on his head!"exclaimed Vanslyperken as he finished. "I would give soul and body to berevenged on him."
"That's my own child--that is what I have done, Cornelius, but I shallnot die yet awhile. I like to hear you say that; but it must not be yet.Let them plot and plot, and when they think that all is ripe, and all isready, and all will succeed--then--then is the time to revengeyourself--not yet--but for that revenge, death on the gallows wouldbe sweet."
Vanslyperken shuddered:--he did not feel how death could in any way besweet;--for some time he was wrapped up in his own thoughts.
"Have you brought the gold at last?" inquired the old woman.
"I have," replied Vanslyperken, who raised himself and produced it. "Iought to have had more,--but I'll be revenged."
"Yes, yes, but get more gold first. Never kill the goose that lays thegolden egg, my child," replied the old woman, as she turned the key.
So many sudden and mortifying occurrences had taken place in forty-eighthours that Vanslyperken's brain was in a whirl. He felt goaded to dosomething, but he did not know what. Perhaps it would have been suicidehad he not been a coward. He left his mother without speaking anotherword, and walked down to the boat, revolving first one and then anotherincident in his mind. At last, his ideas appeared to concentratethemselves into one point, which was a firm and raging animosity againstSmallbones; and with the darkest intentions he hastened on board andwent down into his cabin.
What was the result of these feelings will be seen in the ensuingchapter.