CHAPTER VI.
----"The letter! ay! the letter! 'Tis there a woman loves to speak her wishes; It spares the blushes of the love-sick maiden. And every word's a smile, each line a tongue." _Duo._
The slumbers of Griffith continued till late on the following morning,when he was awakened by the report of a cannon, issuing from the deckabove him. He threw himself, listlessly, from his cot, and perceivingthe officer of marines near him, as his servant opened the door of hisstateroom, he inquired, with some little interest in his manner, if "theship was in chase of anything, that a gun was fired?"
"'Tis no more than a hint to the Ariel," the soldier replied, "thatthere is bunting abroad for them to read. It seems as if all hands wereasleep on board her, for we have shown her signal, these ten minutes,and she takes us for a collier, I believe, by the respect she pays it."
"Say, rather, that she takes us for an enemy, and is wary," returnedGriffith. "Brown Dick has played the English so many tricks himself,that he is tender of his faith."
"Why, they have shown him a yellow flag over a blue one, with a cornet,and that spells Ariel, in every signal-book we have; surely he can'tsuspect the English of knowing how to read Yankee."
"I have known Yankees read more difficult English," said Griffith,smiling; "but, in truth, I suppose that Barnstable has been, likemyself, keeping a dead reckoning of his time, and his men have profitedby the occasion. She is lying to, I trust."
"Ay! like a cork in a mill-pond, and I dare say you are right. GiveBarnstable plenty of sea-room, a heavy wind, and but little sail, andhe will send his men below, put that fellow he calls long Tom at thetiller, and follow himself, and sleep as quietly as I ever could atchurch."
"Ah! yours is a somniferous orthodoxy, Captain Manual," said the youngsailor, laughing, while he slipped his arms into the sleeves ofa morning round-about, covered with the gilded trappings of hisprofession; "sleep appears to come most naturally to all you idlers. Butgive me a passage, and I will go up, and call the schooner down to us inthe turning of an hour-glass."
The indolent soldier raised himself from the leaning posture he hadtaken against the door of the stateroom, and Griffith proceeded throughthe dark wardroom, up the narrow stairs that led him to the principalbattery of the ship, and thence, by another and broader flight of stepsto the open deck.
The gale still blew strong, but steadily; the blue water of the oceanwas rising in mimic mountains, that were crowned with white foam, whichthe wind, at times, lifted from its kindred element, to propel in mist,through the air, from summit to summit. But the ship rode on theseagitated billows with an easy and regular movement that denoted theskill with which her mechanical powers were directed.
The day was bright and clear, and the lazy sun, who seemed unwillingto meet the toil of ascending to the meridian, was crossing the heavenswith a southern inclination, that hardly allowed him to temper themoist air of the ocean with his genial heat. At the distance of a mile,directly in the wind's eye, the Ariel was seen obeying the signal whichhad caused the dialogue we have related. Her low black hull was barelydiscernible, at moments, when she rose to the crest of a larger wavethan common; but the spot of canvas that she exposed to the wind was tobe seen, seeming to touch the water on either hand, as the little vesselrolled amid the seas. At times she was entirely hid from view, when thefaint lines of her raking masts would again be discovered, issuing, asit were, from the ocean, and continuing to ascend, until the hull itselfwould appear, thrusting its bows into the air, surrounded by foam, andapparently ready to take its flight into another element.
After dwelling a moment on the beautiful sight we have attempted todescribe, Griffith cast his eyes upward to examine, with the keenness ofa seaman, the disposition of things aloft, and then turned his attentionto those who were on the deck of the frigate.
His commander stood, in his composed manner, patiently awaiting theexecution of his order by the Ariel, and at his side was placed thestranger who had so recently acted such a conspicuous part in themanagement of the ship. Griffith availed himself of daylight and hissituation to examine the appearance of this singular being more closelythan the darkness and confusion of the preceding night had allowed. Hewas a trifle below the middle size in stature, but his form was muscularand athletic, exhibiting the finest proportions of manly beauty. Hisface appeared rather characterized by melancholy and thought, than bythat determined decision which he had so powerfully displayed in themoments of their most extreme danger; but Griffith well knew that itcould also exhibit looks of the fiercest impatience. At present, itappeared, to the curious youth, when compared to the glimpses hehad caught by the lights of their lanterns, like the ocean at rest,contrasted with the waters around him. The eyes of the pilot restedon the deck, or, when they did wander, it was with uneasy and rapidglances. The large pea-jacket, that concealed most of his other attire,was as roughly made, and of materials as coarse, as that worn by themeanest seaman in the vessel; and yet it did not escape the inquisitivegaze of the young lieutenant, that it was worn with an air of neatnessand care that was altogether unusual in men of his profession. Theexamination of Griffith ended here, for the near approach of theAriel attracted the attention of all on the deck of the frigate to theconversation that was about to pass between their respective commanders.
As the little schooner rolled along under their stern, Captain Munsondirected his subordinate to leave his vessel and repair on board theship. As soon as the order was received, the Ariel rounded to, anddrawing ahead into the smooth water occasioned by the huge fabric thatprotected her from the gale, the whale-boat was again launched from herdecks, and manned by the same crew that had landed on those shores whichwere now faintly discerned far to leeward, looking like blue clouds onthe skirts of the ocean.
When Barnstable had entered his boat, a few strokes of the oars sent it,dancing over the waves, to the side of the ship. The little vessel wasthen veered off to a distance, where it rode in safety under the careof a boat-keeper, and the officer and his men ascended the side of thelofty frigate.
The usual ceremonials of reception were rigidly observed by Griffith andhis juniors, when Barnstable touched the deck; and though every hand wasready to be extended toward the reckless seaman, none presumed to exceedthe salutations of official decorum, until a short and private dialoguehad taken place between him and their captain.
In the mean time, the crew of the whale-boat passed forward, and mingledwith the seamen of the frigate, with the exception of the cockswain, whoestablished himself in one of the gangways, where he stood in theutmost composure, fixing his eyes aloft, and shaking his head in evidentdissatisfaction, as he studied the complicated mass of rigging abovehim. This spectacle soon attracted to his side some half-dozen youths,with Mr. Merry at their head, who endeavored to entertain their guest ina manner that should most conduce to the indulgence of their own waggishpropensities.
The conversation between Barnstable and his superior soon ended; whenthe former, beckoning to Griffith, passed the wondering group who hadcollected around the capstan, awaiting his leisure to greet him morecordially, and led the way to the wardroom, with the freedom of one whofelt himself no stranger. As this unsocial manner formed no part of thenatural temper or ordinary deportment of the man, the remainder of theofficers suffered their first lieutenant to follow him alone, believingthat duty required that their interview should be private. Barnstablewas determined that it should be so, at all events; for he seized thelamp from the mess-table, and entered the stateroom of his friend,closing the door behind them and turning the key. When they wereboth within its narrow limits--pointing to the only chair the littleapartment contained, with a sort of instinctive deference to hiscompanion's rank--the commander of the schooner threw himself carelesslyon a sea-chest; and, placing the lamp on the table, he opened thediscourse as follows:
"What a night we had of it! Twenty times I thought I could see the seabreaking over you; and I had given you over as drowned men, or, whatis worse,
as men driven ashore, to be led to the prison-ships of theseislanders, when I saw your lights in answer to my gun. Had you hoistedthe conscience of a murderer, you wouldn't have relieved him more thanyou did me, by showing that bit of tallow and cotton, tipped with flintand steel. But, Griffith, I have a tale to tell of a different kind----"
"Of how you slept when you found yourself in deep water, and how yourcrew strove to outdo their commander, and how all succeeded so wellthat there was a gray-head on board here, that began to shake withdispleasure," interrupted Griffith; "truly, Dick, you will get intolubberly habits on board that bubble in which you float about, where allhands go to sleep as regularly as the inhabitants of a poultry-yard goto roost."
"Not so bad, not half so bad, Ned," returned the other, laughing; "Ikeep as sharp a discipline as if we wore a flag. To be sure, forty mencan't make as much parade as three or four hundred; but as for making ortaking in sail, I am your better any day."
"Ay, because a pocket-handkerchief is sooner opened and shut than atable-cloth. But I hold it to be un-seamanlike to leave any vesselwithout human eyes, and those open, to watch whether she goes east orwest, north or south."
"And who is guilty of such a dead man's watch?"
"Why, they say aboard here, that when it blows hard, you seat the manyou call long Tom by the side of the tiller, tell him to keep her headto sea, and then pipe all hands to their night-caps, where you allremain, comfortably stowed in your hammocks, until you are awakened bythe snoring of your helmsman."
"'Tis a damned scandalous insinuation," cried Barnstable, with anindignation that he in vain attempted to conceal. "Who gives currency tosuch a libel, Mr. Griffith?"
"I had it of the marine," said his friend, losing the archness that hadinstigated him to worry his companion, in the vacant air of one who wascareless of everything; "but I don't believe half of it myself--I haveno doubt you all had your eyes open last night, whatever you might havebeen about this morning."
"Ah! this morning! there was an oversight, indeed! But I was studying anew signal-book, Griffith, that has a thousand times more interest forme than all the bunting you can show, from the head to the heel of yourmasts."
"What! have you found out the Englishman's private talk?"
"No, no," said the other, stretching forth his hand, and grasping thearm of his friend. "I met last night one on those cliffs, who has provedherself what I always believed her to be, and loved her for, a girl ofquick thought and bold spirit."
"Of whom do you speak?"
"Of Katherine----"
Griffith started from his chair involuntarily at the sound of this name,and the blood passed quickly through the shades of his countenance,leaving it now pale as death, and then burning as if oppressed by atorrent from his heart. Struggling to overcome an emotion, which heappeared ashamed to betray even to the friend he most loved, the youngman soon recovered himself so far as to resume his seat, when he asked,gloomily:
"Was she alone?"
"She was; but she left with me this paper and this invaluable book,which is worth a library of all other works."
The eye of Griffith rested vacantly on the treasure that the othervalued so highly, but his hand seized eagerly the open letter which waslaid on the table for his perusal. The reader will at once understandthat it was in the handwriting of a female, and that it was thecommunication Barnstable had received from his betrothed on the cliffs.Its contents were as follows:
"Believing that Providence may conduct me where we shall meet, or whenceI may be able to transmit to you this account, I have prepared a shortstatement of the situation of Cecila Howard and myself; not, however, tourge you and Griffith to any rash or foolish hazards, but that you mayboth sit down, and, after due consultation, determine what is proper forour relief.
"By this time, you must understand the character of Colonel Howard toowell to expect he will ever consent to give his niece to a rebel. Hehas already sacrificed to his loyalty, as he calls it (but I whisper toCecilia, 'tis his treason), not only his native country, but no smallpart of his fortune also. In the frankness of my disposition (you knowmy frankness, Barnstable, but too well!), I confessed to him, afterthe defeat of the mad attempt Griffith made to carry off Cecilia, inCarolina, that I had been foolish enough to enter into some weak promiseto the brother officer who had accompanied the young sailor in histraitorous visits to the plantation. Heigho! I sometimes think it wouldhave been better for us all, if your ship had never been chased into theriver, or, after she was there, if Griffith had made no attempt to renewhis acquaintance with my cousin. The colonel received the intelligenceas such a guardian would hear that his ward was about to throw awaythirty thousand dollars and herself on a traitor to his king andcountry. I defended you stoutly: said that you had no king, as the tiewas dissolved; that America was your country, and that your professionwas honorable; but it would not all do. He called you rebel; that I wasused to. He said you were a traitor; that, in his vocabulary, amounts tothe same thing. He even hinted that you were a coward; and that Iknew to be false, and did not hesitate to tell him so. He used fiftyopprobrious terms that I cannot remember; but among others were thebeautiful epithets of 'disorganizer,' 'leveller, 'democrat,' and'jacobin' (I hope he did not mean a monk!). In short, he acted ColonelHoward in a rage. But as his dominion does not, like that of hisfavorite kings, continue from generation to generation, and one shortyear will release me from his power, and leave me mistress of my ownactions--that is, if your fine promises are to be believed--I bore itall very well, being resolved to suffer anything but martyrdom, ratherthan abandon Cecilia. She, dear girl, has much more to distress her thanI can have; she is not only the ward of Colonel Howard, but his nieceand his sole heir. I am persuaded this last circumstance makes nodifference in either her conduct or her feelings; but he appears tothink it gives him a right to tyrannize over her on all occasions. Afterall, Colonel Howard is a gentleman when you do not put him in a passion,and, I believe, a thoroughly honest man; and Cecilia even loves him.But a man who is driven from his country, in his sixtieth year, with theloss of near half his fortune, is not apt to canonize those who compelthe change.
"It seems that when the Howards lived on this island, a hundred yearsago, they dwelt in the county of Northumberland. Hither, then, hebrought us, when political events, and his dread of becoming the uncleto a rebel, induced him to abandon America, as he says, forever. We havebeen here now three months, and for two-thirds of that time we lived intolerable comfort; but latterly, the papers have announced the arrivalof the ship and your schooner in France; and from that moment as stricta watch has been kept over us as if we had meditated a renewal ofthe Carolina flight. The colonel, on his arrival here, hired an oldbuilding, that is, part house, part abbey, part castle, and all prison;because it is said to have once belonged to an ancestor of his. In thisdelightful dwelling there are many cages that will secure more uneasybirds than we are. About a fortnight ago an alarm was given in aneighboring village which is situated on the shore, that two Americanvessels, answering your description, had been seen hovering along thecoast; and, as people in this quarter dream of nothing but that terriblefellow, Paul Jones, it was said that he was on board one of them. ButI believe that Colonel Howard suspects who you really are. He was veryminute in his inquiries, I hear; and since then has established a sortof garrison in the house, under the pretence of defending it againstmarauders, like those who are said to have laid my Lady Selkirk undercontribution.
"Now, understand me, Barnstable; on no account would I have you riskyourself on shore; neither must there be blood spilt, if you love me;but that you may know what sort of a place we are confined in, and bywhom surrounded, I will describe both our prison and the garrison. Thewhole building is of stone, and not to be attempted with slight means.It has windings and turnings, both internally and externally, that wouldrequire more skill than I possess to make intelligible; but the rooms weinhabit are in the upper or third floor of a wing, that you may call atower, if you are in a romantic
mood, but which, in truth, is nothingbut a wing. Would to God I could fly with it! If any accident shouldbring you in sight of the dwelling, you will know our rooms by thethree smoky vanes that whiffle about its pointed roof, and also, by thewindows in that story being occasionally open. Opposite to our windows,at the distance of half a mile, is a retired unfrequented ruin,concealed, in a great measure, from observation by a wood, and affordingnone of the best accommodations, it is true, but shelter in some of itsvaults or apartments. I have prepared, according to the explanationsyou once gave me on this subject, a set of small signals, of differentlycolored silks, and a little dictionary of all the phrases that I couldimagine as useful to refer to, properly numbered to correspond with thekey and the flags, all of which I shall send you with this letter. Youmust prepare your own flags, and of course I retain mine, as well as acopy of the key and book. If opportunity should ever offer, we can have,at least, a pleasant discourse together; you from the top of the oldtower in the ruins, and I from the east window of my dressing-room! Butnow for the garrison. In addition to the commandant, Colonel Howard, whoretains all the fierceness of his former military profession, thereis, as his second in authority, that bane of Cecilia's happiness, KitDillon, with his long Savannah face, scornful eyes of black, and skin ofthe same color. This gentleman, you know, is a distant relative of theHowards, and wishes to be more nearly allied. He is poor, it is true,but then, as the colonel daily remarks, he is a good and loyal subject,and no rebel. When I asked why he was not in arms in these stirringtimes, contending for the prince he loves so much, the colonel answersthat it is not his profession, that he has been educated for the law,and was destined to fill one of the highest judicial stations in thecolonies, and that he hoped he should yet live to see him sentencecertain nameless gentlemen to condign punishment. This was consoling, tobe sure; but I bore it. However, he left Carolina with us, and here heis, and here he is likely to continue, unless you can catch him, andanticipate his judgment on himself. The colonel has long desired to seethis gentleman the husband of Cecilia, and since the news of your beingon the coast, the siege has nearly amounted to a storm. The consequencesare, that my cousin at first kept her room, and then the colonel kepther there, and even now she is precluded from leaving the wing weinhabit. In addition to these two principal jailers, we have fourmen-servants, two black and two white; and an officer and twentysoldiers from the neighboring town are billeted on us, by particulardesire, until the coast is declared free from pirates! yes, that is themusical name they give you--and when their own people land, and plunder,and rob, and murder the men and insult the women, they are calledheroes! It's a fine thing to be able to invent names and makedictionaries--and it must be your fault, if mine has been framed for nopurpose. I declare, when I recollect all the insulting and cruel thingsI hear in this country of my own and her people, it makes me losemy temper and forget my sex; but do not let my ill humor urge you toanything rash; remember your life, remember their prisons, remember yourreputation, but do not, do not forget your
"KATHERINE PLOWDEN.
"P.S. I had almost forgotten to tell you, that in the signal-book youwill find a more particular description of our prison, where it stands,and a drawing of the grounds, etc."
When Griffith concluded this epistle, he returned it to the man towhom it was addressed, and fell back in his chair, in an attitude thatdenoted deep reflection.
"I knew she was here, or I should have accepted the command offered tome by our commissioners in Paris," he at length uttered; "and I thoughtthat some lucky chance might throw her in my way; but this is bringingus close, indeed! This intelligence must be acted on, and that promptly.Poor girl, what does she not suffer in such a situation!"
"What a beautiful hand she writes!" exclaimed Barnstable; "'tis asclear, and as pretty, and as small, as her own delicate fingers. Griff,what a log-book she would keep!"
"Cecilia Howard touch the coarse leaves of a log-book!" cried the otherin amazement; but perceiving Barnstable to be poring over the contentsof his mistress' letter, he smiled at their mutual folly, and continuedsilent. After a short time spent in cool reflection, Griffith inquiredof his friend the nature and circumstances of his interview withKatherine Plowden. Barnstable related it, briefly, as it occurred, inthe manner already known to the reader.
"Then," said Griffith, "Merry is the only one, besides ourselves, whoknows of this meeting, and he will be too chary of the reputation of hiskinswoman to mention it."
"Her reputation needs no shield, Mr. Griffith," cried her lover; "'tisas spotless as the canvas above your head, and----"
"Peace, dear Richard; I entreat your pardon; my words may have conveyedmore than I intended; but it is important that our measures should besecret, as well as prudently concerted."
"We must get them both off," returned Barnstable, forgetting hisdispleasure the moment it was exhibited, "and that, too, before the oldman takes it into his wise head to leave the coast. Did you ever get asight of his instructions, or does he keep silent?"
"As the grave. This is the first time we have left port, that he has notconversed freely with me on the nature of the cruise; but not a syllablehas been exchanged between us on the subject, since we sailed fromBrest."
"Ah! that is your Jersey bashfulness," said Barnstable; "wait till Icome alongside him, with my eastern curiosity, and I pledge myself toget it out of him in an hour."
"'Twill be diamond cut diamond, I doubt," said Griffith, laughing;"you will find him as acute at evasion, as you can possibly be at across-examination."
"At any rate, he gives me a chance to-day; you know, I suppose, thathe sent for me to attend a consultation of his officers on importantmatters."
"I did not," returned Griffith, fixing his eyes intently on the speaker;"what has he to offer?"
"Nay, that you must ask your pilot; for while talking to me, the old manwould turn and look at the stranger, every minute, as if watching forsignals how to steer."
"There is a mystery about that man, and our connection with him, that Icannot fathom," said Griffith. "But I hear the voice of Manual callingfor me; we are wanted in the cabin. Remember, you do not leave the shipwithout seeing me again."
"No, no, my dear fellow; from the public we must retire to anotherprivate consultation."
The young men arose, and Griffith, throwing off the roundabout in whichhe had appeared on deck, drew on a coat of more formal appearance, andtaking a sword carelessly in his hand, they proceeded together along thepassage already described, to the gun-deck, where they entered, with theproper ceremonials, into the principal cabin of the frigate.