CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.
The greater part of the population of the island residing near theharbour were assembled on the shores of the bay to enjoy, under theshade of the high cliffs, the deliriously cool air of the evening, andto welcome the return of their chief, whose mistico was seen approachingfrom the westward.
There were old men and women, the elders and parents, as well as theyoung men and maidens, who had come with happy hearts, to amusethemselves with various light sports, but chiefly to dance theirfavourite Romaika, which has been handed down to them from the earliestdays of their heroic ancestors, when it was known under the more classicname of the Cretan or Doedalian dance.
Century after century has seen it danced by the youths and maidens ofsuccessive generations, on the self-same spots--always the mostbeautiful in the neighbourhood--both on the islands and on the main,since the time when Greece was young and strong--the fit cradle of thearts and sciences; when that literature was produced which will last aslong as the world exists; when those temples arose, and those statuescame forth from their native rock, which subsequent ages have never beenable to equal; when all that the human mind could conceive most eleganthad its birth; when her ships traversed all known seas, and her colonieswent forth to civilise the earth; when her sages gave laws to the world,and a handful of her sons were sufficient to drive back thousands uponthousands of the vaunted armies of the East; from those glorious epochsto the time when, sunk in effeminacy and vice, despising the wisdom ofher ancestors, she fell under the sway of the most savage of the tribesshe had once despised--yet still, in abject slavery, while all that mancared for was destroyed, the sports of their youth were not forgotten;and what was learned in youth, the parents taught their children torevive, as their only consolation in their misery and degradation.
Thus, Homer's description of the dance in his days would answerperfectly, even to the very costume, for that danced in a remote islandof the Archipelago:--
"A figure dance succeeds: A comely band Of youths and maidens, bounding hand-in-hand; The maids in soft cymars of linen drest; The youths all graceful in the glossy waistcoat.
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"Now all at once they rise--at once descend, With well-taught feet, now shaped in oblique ways, Confusedly regular, the moving maze: Now forth, at once, too swift for sight they spring, And undistinguish'd blend the flying ring. So whirls a wheel in giddy circle tost, And rapid as it runs the single spokes are lost."
Among the spectators was Nina, and after much persuasion she had inducedAda Garden to accompany her, with Marianna. Ada had done so after dueconsideration, from believing that it would be better to appear as muchas possible at her ease; and by meeting the strangers, without appearingin any way to recognise them, or to take interest in them, to disarm anysuspicions she thought it probable old Vlacco might entertain.
The veteran pirate had at first grumbled at allowing her to leave hertower; but Nina silenced him by asserting that, during her lord'sabsence, she had the chief command; and that if he would not obey, shewould complain of his cruelty and tyranny, and declare that he was nobetter than a Turk.
Marianna was delighted at once more finding herself looking at a crowd,and sadly wanted to go and join the dancers, though her mistress wouldnot allow her to do so; and even Ada herself felt her spirits rise underthe genial influence of others' happiness. She forgot that thehandsome, spirited youths she saw before her were beings brought up tobecome robbers and murderers; and that the lovely maidens she gazed onwere taught to consider such deeds as justifiable and praiseworthy. Shesaw in them, for the moment, only the descendants of the ancient Greeks;and in form and feature, and even in dress, how slight the change.Alas! that their own indolence and effeminacy should have reduced themso low that they should become the slaves of despots, and thus have allthe vices inherent in a state of slavery. Nina and Ada did not venturedown into the bay among the crowd, but stood apart on a ledge, raisedsome thirty or forty feet above the sands, at the entrance of theravine, where they could overlook the whole scene. The old fishermenand their wives were seated in groups, either on the rocks under thecliffs, or on seats formed of the spars and planks of the boats rangedalong the sands. The youths wore their gayest sashes, and their redfezzes set jauntily on one side; and the maids their best cymars, withtheir beautiful hair adorned with garlands of wild flowers, in richprofusion, streaming down their backs.
Many of the girls were very lovely, with tall, graceful figures, andtheir hair of auburn hue, which is as much prized now as of yore. Themusic was primitive, consisting of pipes, such as Pan might have playedon, and stringed instruments like the guitar or violin. The musicianswere in appearance like the bards of old, ancient men, with white locksand flowing beards; but they appeared, nevertheless, to reap as muchpleasure from the scene as the rest.
They had just begun to play as Nina and Ada reached the spot, and thedancers had formed in line to commence their amusement. A pretty andgraceful girl, with a chaplet composed of flowers and shells, the spoilsof the sea and land, and a garland of the same nature hung like a scarfacross her shoulders, led off the dance; a handsome youth, with one handholding hers, and the other another girl's, came next, and so a chainwas formed of alternately a young man and a maiden. At first the leaderadvanced with a slow and seemingly sedate pace, all following, in ameasured time, to the musician's solemn strain. By degrees, as themusic became more lively and animated, so did the movement of thedancers increase in rapidity. First, the foremost girl led her chain ofdancers along the smooth sand at a rapid rate; then she suddenly turned,and setting to her partner, flew off, and darted under the upraised armsof those at the furthest extremity, dragging the rest after her; thenshe twisted among the rocks, on the shore, and when weary of thatmovement, joined her hand to that of the youth at the other end, andcommenced circling round and round at as rapid a rate as the feet of thedancers could more. When all were panting and dizzy, suddenly she brokethe circle, and led off again in a line towards the sea, till shereached the very brink, where the sparkling wavelets washed the shiningpebbles and many-tinted shells; and watching till the water receded, shedarted after it, and flew back before it caught her; though many whowere in honour bound to follow her, in vain hurried their steps beforethe returning wave overtook them, amid the shouts of laughter of theirmore fortunate companions. Nothing would, however, induce them to breakthe indissoluble chain. Then she led them smiling and shaking theirheads as they went in review before their older friends, who were seatedas spectators, and the rest expected they were thus to visit all thegroups; off again she darted to chase the retreating wave, and then oncemore to join hands in the lively wheel, and at last, overcome with theirexertion, they sank on the sands exhausted, though they quickly againsprang up to renew their sport. Several other similar sets were formedat the same time; one of which, composed of the younger people, was ledby little Mila; nor was it the least lively or joyous of them all.
Ada Garden looked anxiously around to discover whether Fleetwood and hiscompanions were there, and she soon perceived him and several otherpersons in the costume of Maltese seamen, mixed among a number of theislanders, who considered themselves too old to dance and too young tosit quiet as spectators. Fleetwood descried her; he was afraid almostto look towards her, lest any one might suspect him. Jack Raby was nearhim, and he whispered to him to be prepared, should the people they werewith move in that direction, to recognise Marianna, and to rush up towhere she was standing. Ada watched them as they moved from place toplace, now talking with some of the old people, now with others, till atlast they reached a group below her. The moment was not lost. MasterJack uttered an admirable imitation of a cry of joy, and commencedscrambling directly up the cliff, in a way only a midshipman or a monkeycan scramble, towards Marianna. She also played her part exceedinglywell. She shrieked with joy, and bent over the cliffs, exclaiming inMaltese,--
"My de
ar brother, my dear brother, where have you come from? Oh, I amso delighted to see you!"
Jack answered in return with his choicest gibberish, which did perfectlywell to express all the sentiments of fraternal affection he was at thatmoment experiencing; indeed, no one could have understood him had hespoken Maltese, and few were listening even to what was said, they wereall too much occupied either with watching the dance, or the approach oftheir chief's mistico, which was now seen just at the opening of themouth of the bay, and adding not a little to the picturesque beauty ofthe scene. Raby had no little difficulty in getting up the cliff--hehad chosen so steep a place--and he was very nearly slipping all the waydown again, just as he had reached the edge of the ledge, but all servedto show the ardour of his affection. By a desperate effort he sprang upand rushed into Marianna's arms, and she had no reason to complain ofhis neglecting the promise his captain had made for him; and to doMarianna full justice, she played the part of an affectionate sister toadmiration. No one would have suspected that they were not delighted tomeet after a long separation, and yet they had never, to theirknowledge, seen each other till that moment.
"Oh, my sister, I am so delighted to see you," exclaimed Raby. "Andnow, Miss Garden, pray listen to me," and he gave Marianna another kissand a hug. "The captain has fixed on a boat to run off with, and weshall easily be able to launch her, and will have her ready near thoserocks to the left there exactly at midnight, when he and I will bewaiting for you under your tower. He wants to know if that old rascalof a pirate locks you up every night as he did us. Pretend to bespeaking to my sister here."
Marianna got another kiss. Perhaps, in that respect, Master Raby ratheroverdid his part; but he was a young actor, and as his captain hadordered him to do so, he was not to blame.
"I fear so," answered Ada. "Lady Nina will give him the key."
"If not, we must go the whole hog, as the Yankees say, and pick thelock, or we shall have to lower you out of the window. We are not goingto be stopped by anything. You must prepare a line of some sort to haulup a rope by, which we will bring in case of necessity. No one willsuspect us; for we have been working away at the mistico all day, andshe isn't off yet; in fact, we took care she shouldn't be, for there isevery prospect of a calm, and a pulling-boat will answer our purposemuch better. The pirates, if they trouble their heads about us, thinkwe are going to try and get away in the mistico; though my belief is,they don't intend to let us; and I should not be at all surprised butwhat they'll go this evening and rip off a few planks, or bore holes inher bottom, to prevent our escaping, lest we should betray the positionof this island. However, Miss Garden, be of good cheer, whatever ourskipper--I beg pardon, Captain Fleetwood--undertakes is sure to be rightin the end."
"Tell your captain, Mr Raby, that I will be prepared," whispered Ada,looking away from where he was standing. "Tell him, that I have no fearfor myself; but do try and caution him to be careful of himself; andallow me also to thank you for your generous zeal in my service, and toentreat you to be cautious."
"Oh, as for me, Miss Garden, I like the fun of the business," repliedthe midshipman bluntly. "I would do anything, too, to serve thecaptain; and as for him, he's never rash, and you must not think thathe, or any of us, wouldn't gladly risk ten times the danger we now runto serve you. So now I must be off again, to tell my companions that Ihave found my sister. There, Miss Marianna, I think I've kissed you asmuch as the most affectionate of brothers would be expected to do--I'llgive you a few more when I come back."
And away sprang the light-hearted youth down the hill, and, getting backto his companions, he appeared to be pointing out to them hisnewly-found sister, and to be expressing, with animated gestures, hisdelight at the discovery.
"It's all right, sir," he whispered to his captain; "Miss Garden isn't abit afraid, and will have a line ready to haul up a rope to her window,if she cannot get out any other way. What shall I do now, sir?"
"Go back to your sister and try and learn where the chief pirate hasbeen, and gain any other information which may be useful," repliedFleetwood. "Perhaps you will be allowed to remain altogether with her,and if you can, do so; for you will be of the greatest service inassisting Miss Garden to escape from the tower."
"With all my heart, sir. Would it be proper to give Miss Smaitch anymore kisses? It seems to please her," said the midshipman, withapparent innocence, just as he was running off.
"Perfectly unnecessary, I should think," replied Fleetwood, almostlaughing at the mid's pretended simplicity, which, having held the sameirresponsible rank himself, he could fully appreciate. "You may overactyour part."
"No fear, sir--I'll be decorous in the extreme, and if you don't see meagain, suppose all goes right; I'll get shut up in Miss Garden's tower,if I possibly can."
He did not wait for further directions, but scrambled up the cliff againto where Marianna was standing, who, supposing that she was to receivehim as before, threw her arms round his neck and paid him off in his owncoin.
Nina, whether she believed in the relationship or not, took good care toexplain to the bystanders that the Maltese attendant had found a brotheramong the shipwrecked crew of the mistico, and it all seemed so natural,that no one doubted the statement. Even old Vlacco, who was generallyso wide awake that, in his own opinion, no one could take him in, wascompletely deceived, and threw no difficulties in the way of Jack Raby'saccompanying Ada to the tower, when Nina requested that the brother andsister might not be parted.
As Jack was very small for his age, he looked much younger than hereally was, and the old pirate, considering him a mere child, thought hecould do no harm, at all events; and should it be necessary to cut thethroats of the rest of the party, to ensure their not escaping, it mightbe as well to save him, to make him a servant to the English lady. Thiscircumstance was of great advantage to Ada, as the lively conversationof the young midshipman, whose buoyancy of spirit nothing could damp,served to divert her mind from dwelling on the dangers of the attemptabout to be made to rescue her; and she was also able to learn from himmany of the events with which the reader is acquainted but of which shehad hitherto, of course, remained in ignorance.
While what we have been describing took place, the _Zoe_ was drawingrapidly in with the land. The breeze was fair to carry her close to theharbour's mouth, and then, having sufficient way on her, down came hertwo tapering lateen sails, and she glided up to her well-knownanchorage. She was instantly surrounded with boats full of people,anxious to know what adventures she had met with during her briefcruise, and how she had weathered the storm the previous day. They sooncame back, and it was speedily noised abroad that some event ofimportance had occurred, and much bustle and discussion took place inconsequence. Two wounded men were conveyed on shore to their owncottages, or rather huts, and messengers were forthwith despatched insearch of Signor Paolo, to bring him to attend on them, for he wasnowhere to be found among the crowd on the shores of the bay.
Zappa himself was next seen to step into his boat, when the musiciansbegan to play their most lively airs, the dancers to dance their best,and those who had firearms, to discharge them in his honour; the sharpreport, for they were all loaded with ball, echoing from cliff to cliffaround the bay. He stepped on shore with a brow less calm and a smileless sweet than usual, and returned the salutations of his followers ina manner less courteous than his wont, as he hurried on towards theentrance of the ravine leading up to his abode. He stopped short on hisway, for his eye fell on Nina and Ada standing close together, andtalking like two friends long acquainted. He was much puzzled. He hadonly been absent two days, and he was not aware that either of them knewof the other's existence; though as it was no longer important,according to his present policy, to keep them apart, the meeting did notmatter; and he little knew how soon similarity of misfortune makesbrothers and sisters of us all. He looked up, and made a bow to them ashe passed; but he paid them no further attention, and taking Vlacco'sarm, he led him up the ravine.
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Poor Nina's heart sank within her. It was the first time he had treatedher with cold neglect and indifference. Ada Garden saw also thatsomething was wrong: she had observed the two wounded men landed fromthe mistico, and she remarked the angry brow of the pirate; so she cameto the conclusion that he had been defeated in some skirmish or other,and that, very probably, he was expecting the island to be attacked bythe Turks, as had been the case with others, when most of the populationhad been put to the sword. She mentioned her fears to Jack Raby.
"I don't think it's anything very bad, for the young pirates andpiratesses are still dancing away as merrily as before," he answered."But I'll soon know all about it."
And once more he rejoined his friends, and exchanging a few words withthem, ran back to Marianna.
"It's a warmer matter than I thought; but still there is nothing to bealarmed about, Miss Garden," he said, as soon as he had recovered hisbreath. "The Greek officer, who is with us, hears from the people thattheir chief had the impudence to go on board an English brig-of-war--that he was pursued by her boats, and very nearly captured. I wish togoodness he had been--but nothing more is known on the subject. Thereis no doubt he has visited the _Ione_, and I only hope he has got noinkling of what she is there for, and what we are about. If he has, yousee, why that is only a still greater reason for not letting the grassgrow under our feet."
The news brought by the midshipman of course alarmed Ada very much, asshe saw all the dreadful consequences which would too probably ensue,should Zappa discover who he had in his power. He had the reputation ofbeing treacherous, vindictive, and cruel; and he was not likely to growmerciful towards men who had ventured into his island in disguise, forthe purpose, he would naturally suspect, not only of rescuing her, butof observing his means of defence, in order afterwards to attack him.
The evening was drawing to a close--the dancers had grown weary, and theelders had begun to retire to their homes; so Ada gladly acceded toNina's wish to turn their steps up the ravine.
They parted at the foot of Nina's tower; and, as Ada bade her new friendfarewell--as she believed, for the last time--her heart bled for herunhappy position and too probable fate. Ada hurried to her tower,followed by Jack Raby and Marianna, fearful of meeting with the pirate,lest he should stop to question the young midshipman; but, luckily, hedid not appear; and as soon as they reached her chamber, they setthemselves to work to prepare for their flight.