CHAPTER XVIII.
AFRICA AND REPENTANCE.
Having brought Bill Stout safely into port, wefeel obliged to bestow some attention upon theother wanderers from the fold of discipline and goodinstruction. At the _Fonda del Cid_, where our brace oftourists went after taking such unceremonious leave ofBill Stout, was a party of English people who insistedupon having their breakfast at an hour that would permitthem to use the forenoon in seeing the sights ofValencia; and thus it happened that this meal wasready for the fugitives at eight o’clock.
“What day is this, Lingall?” asked Raimundo, as theycame into the main hall of the hotel after breakfast.
“Wednesday,” replied Bark.
“I thought so. Look at this bill,” added the secondmaster, pointing to a small poster, with the picture of asteamer at the head of it.
“I see it, but I can’t read it.”
“This steamer starts from Grao at ten this forenoon,for Oran. It is only half–past eight now.”
“Starts from Grao? where is that?” asked Bark.
“Grao is the port of Valencia: it is not many milesfrom here.”
“And where is the other place? I never heard of it.”
“Oran is in Algeria. It cannot be more than threehundred miles from Valencia.”
“But that will be going to Africa.”
“It will be the best thing we can do if we mean tokeep out of the way.”
“I don’t object: I am as willing to go to Africa asanywhere else.”
“We can stay over there for a week or two, and thencome back to Spain. We can hit the Tritonia at Cadizor Lisbon.”
“I don’t think I want to hit her,” replied Bark witha sheepish smile.
“I was speaking for myself; and I forgot that yourcase was not the same as my own,” added Raimundo.
“I don’t know what your case is; but, as you seemto be perfectly easy about it, I wish mine was no worsethan I believe yours is.”
“We will talk about that another time; for, if we aregoing to Oran, it is time we were on the way to theport,” said Raimundo. “If you don’t want to go toAfrica, I won’t urge it; but that will suit my case thebest of any thing I can think of.”
“It makes no difference to me where I go; and Iam perfectly willing to go with you wherever you wish,”replied Bark, who, from hating the second master, hadcome to have an intense admiration for him.
Bark Lingall believed that his companion had savedthe lives of the whole party in the boat; and certainlyhe had managed the expedition with great skill. Hewas as brave as a lion, in spite of his gentleness. Butperhaps his respect and regard for the young Spaniardhad grown out of the contrast he could not help makingbetween him and Bill Stout. He could not now understandhow it was that he had got up such an intimacywith his late associate in mischief, or rather in crime.Burning the Tritonia was vastly worse than he had atfirst considered it. Its enormity had increased in hismind when he reflected that Raimundo, who must havehad a very strong motive for his sudden disappearance,had preferred to reveal himself rather than have thebeautiful craft destroyed. In a word, Bark had madesome progress towards a genuine repentance for takingpart in the conspiracy with Bill Stout.
Raimundo paid the bill, and they took a _tartana_ forGrao. They learned from the driver that it was lessthan half an hour’s ride. They first went to the officeof the steamer, paid their passage, and secured theirstate–room.
“This is a good move for another reason,” said Raimundo,as they started again.
“What’s that?” asked Bark.
“I have been expecting to see Stout drop downupon us every moment since we went to the hotel.”
“So have I; and I think, if it had been my case, Ishould have found you by this time, if I wanted to doso,” added Bark.
“It is hardly time yet for him to get around; buthe will find the _Fonda del Cid_ in the course of theforenoon. You forget that Stout cannot speak a wordof Spanish; and his want of the language will make itslow work for him to do any thing.”
“I did not think of that.”
“Do you feel all right about leaving him as we did?”asked Raimundo. “For my part, I could not endurehim. He insulted me without the least reason fordoing so.”
“He is the most unreasonable fellow I ever met inthe whole course of my natural life. It was impossibleto get along with him; and I am entirely satisfied withmyself for leaving him,” replied Bark. “He insultedyou, as you say; and I gave him the alternative ofapologizing to you, or of parting company with us. Ibelieve I did the fair thing. A fellow cannot hug ahog for any great length of period.”
“That’s so; but didn’t you know him before?”
“I knew him, of course; and he was alwaysgrumbling and discontented about something; but Inever thought he was such a fellow as he turned out tobe. I haven’t known him but a couple of months orso.”
“I should think you would have got at him while youwere getting up something”—Raimundo did not saywhat—“with him.”
“I was dissatisfied myself. The squadron did notprove to be what I anticipated,” added Bark. “I hadan idea that it was in for a general good time; that allwe had to do was to go from place to place, and seethe sights.”
“But you knew it was a school.”
“Certainly I did; but I never supposed the fellowshad to study half as hard as they do. I thought theschool was a sort of a fancy idea, to make it take withthe parents of the boys. When I found how hard wehad to work, I was disgusted with the whole thing.Then I fell in with Bill Stout and others; and, whenwe had talked the matter over a few times, it was evenworse than I had supposed when I did all my ownthinking on the subject. After we got together, weboth became more and more discontented, till we wereconvinced that we were all slaves, and that it wasreally our duty to break the chains that bound us.This was all the kind of talk I ever had with Stout;and, as we sympathized on this matter, I never lookedany farther into his character.”
“We shall have time enough to talk over thesethings when we get on board the steamer,” addedRaimundo. “I have watched you and Stout a greatdeal on board of the Tritonia; and I confess that I wasprejudiced against you. I didn’t feel any better aboutit when I found you and Stout trying to destroy thevessel. But I must say now that you are a differentsort of fellow from what I took you to be; and nobodyever grew any faster in another’s estimation than youhave in mine since that affair last night in the felucca.I believe your pluck and skill in hauling that cut–throatdown saved the whole of us.”
“I have been thinking all the time it was you thatsaved us,” added Bark, intensely gratified at the praiseof Raimundo.
“The battle would have been lost if it hadn’t beenfor you; for I struck at the villain, and missed him. Ifyou hadn’t brought him down, his knife would havebeen into me in another instant. But here is the port.”
The steamer was one of the “_Messageries Nationales_,”though that name had been recently substituted for“Imperiales” because the emperor had been abolished.The tourists went on board in a shore–boat, and tookpossession of their state–room. They made their preparationsfor the voyage, and then went on deck. Theyfound comfortable seats, and the weather was likespring.
“What is the name of this steamer?” asked Bark.
“The City of Brest.”
“That was not the name on the handbill we saw;was it, Mr. Raimundo?”
“Yes,—_Ville de Brest_.”
“That was it,” added Bark.
“Well, that is the French of City of Brest,” laughedthe second master. “Don’t you speak French?”
“I know a little of it; and I know that a ‘_ville_’ isa city; but I didn’t understand it as you spoke theword.”
“I learned all the French I know in the academysquadron; and I can get along very well with it. Ihave spent a whole evening where nothing but Frenchwas spoken by the party. Professor Badois neverspeaks a word of English to me.”
“And you speak Italian and German besid
es, Mr.Raimundo.”
“I can get along with them, as I can with French.”
“That makes five languages you speak.”
“I am not much in Italian,” laughed the second master.“My uncle set me to learning it in New York;but I forgot most of it, and learned more while wewere in Italy than I ever knew before.”
“I wish I had some other lingo besides my own.”
“You can have it by learning it.”
“But I am not so good a scholar as you are, Mr.Raimundo.”
“You don’t know that; for, if I mistake not, youhave never laid yourself out on study, as I had notwhen I first went on board of the Young America.But, to change the subject, you have called me Mr.Raimundo three times since we sat down here. I agreewith Stout so far, that we had better drop all titles till Iput on my uniform again.”
“I have been so used to calling you Mr., that itcomes most natural for me to do so,” replied Bark.
“I think I shall change my name a little; at least, sofar as to translate it into plain English. I have alwayskept my Spanish name, which is Enrique Raimundo.It is so entered on the ship’s books; but I shall makeit Henry Raymond for the present.”
“And is that the English of the other name?”
“It is; and, when you call me any thing, let it beHenry.”
“Very well, Henry,” added Bark.
“That is the name I gave when I bought the tickets.I noticed that Stout called you Bark.”
“My name is Barclay; and you can call me that, orBark for short.”
“Bark don’t sound very respectful, and it remindsone of a dog.”
“My bark is on the wave; and I do not object to thename. I was always called Bark before I went to sea,and it sounds more natural to me than any thing elsewould. My father always called me Barclay; and Ibelieve he was the only one that did.”
“All right, Bark: if you don’t object, I need not.You hinted that you did not think you should go backto the Tritonia.”
“It wouldn’t be safe for me to do so,” replied Barkanxiously.
“I have come to the conclusion that it is always thesafest to do the right thing, whatever the consequencesmay be.”
“What! stay in the brig the rest of the voyage!”
“Yes, if that is the penalty for doing the rightthing,” replied Henry, as he chooses to be called.
“Suppose you were in my place; that you had triedto set the vessel on fire, and had run away: what wouldyou do?”
“You did not set the vessel on fire, or try to do it.It was Stout that did it,” argued Raymond.
“But I was in the plot. I agreed to take part in it;and I hold myself to be just as deep in the mire asBill Stout is in the mud,” added Bark.
“I am glad to see that you are a man about it, anddon’t shirk off the blame on the other fellow.”
“Though I did not get up the idea, I am as guiltyas Bill; and I will not cast it all upon him.”
“That’s the right thing to say.”
“But what would you do, if you were in my place?”
“Just as I said before. I should return to theTritonia, and face the music, if I were sent home in aman–of–war, to be tried for my life for the deed.”
“That’s pretty rough medicine.”
“Since I have been in the squadron, I have learneda new morality. I don’t think it would be possible forme to commit a crime, especially such as burning avessel; but, if I had done it, I should want to be hangedfor it as soon as possible. I don’t know that anybodyelse is like me; but I tell you just how I feel.”
“But, if you were bad enough to do the deed, youcould not feel as you do now,” replied Bark, shakinghis head.
“That may be; but I can only tell you how I feelnow. I never did any thing that I called a crime,—Imean any thing that made me liable to be punished bythe law,—but I was a very wild fellow in the way ofmischief. I used to be playing tricks upon the fellows,on my schoolmasters, and others, and was always in ascrape. I was good for nothing till I came on boardof the Young America. As soon as I got interested, Iworked night and day to get my lessons. Of courseI had to be very correct in my conduct, or I shouldhave lost my rank. It required a struggle for me todo these things at first; but I was determined to be anofficer. I was as severe with myself as though I hadbeen a monk with the highest of aspirations. I wasan officer in three months; and I have been one eversince, though I have never been higher than fourthlieutenant, for the reason that I am not good in mathematics.My strength is in the languages.”
“But I should think you would get discouragedbecause you get no higher.”
“Not at all. As the matter stands now with me, Ishould do the best I could if I had to take the lowestplace in the ship.”
“I don’t understand that,” added Bark, who hadcome to the conclusion that his companion was thestrangest mortal on the face of the earth; but that wasonly because Bark dwelt on a lower moral plane.
“After I had done my duty zealously for a fewmonths, I was happy only in doing it; and it gave memore pleasure than the reward that followed it. LikeIgnatius Loyola, I became an enthusiastic believer inGod, in a personal God, in Christ the Saviour, and inthe Virgin Mary: blessed be the Mother of God, herSon, and the Father of all of us!” and Raymondcrossed himself as devoutly as though he were engagedin his devotions.
Bark was absolutely thrilled by this narrative of thepersonal experience of his new–found friend; and hewas utterly unable to say any thing.
“But God and duty seem almost the same to me,”continued Raymond. “I am ready to die or to live,but not to live at the expense of right and duty. Forthe last six months I have believed myself liable to beassassinated at any time. I know not how much thishas to do with my mental, moral, and religious condition;but I am as I have described myself to be. Ishould do my duty if I knew that I should be burnedat the stake for it”
“What do you mean by assassinated?” asked Bark,startled by the statement.
“I mean exactly what I say. But I am going to tellyou my story in full. I have related it to only oneother student in the squadron; and, if we should betogether again on board of the Tritonia, I must ask youto keep it to yourself,” said Raymond.
“It has bothered me all along to understand how afellow as high–toned as you are could allow yourself tobe considered a runaway; for I suppose the officerslook upon you as such.”
“No doubt they do; but in good time I shall tellMr. Lowington the whole story, and then he will beable to judge for himself.”
By this time the steamer had started. Raymondtold his story just as he had related it to Scott onboard of the Tritonia. Bark was interested; and, whenthe recital was finished, the steamer was out of sightof land.
“I suppose you will not believe me when I say it;but I have kept out of my uncle’s way more for hissake than my own,” said Raymond in conclusion. “Iwill not tempt one of my own flesh and blood to commita crime; and I feel that it would have been cowardicefor me to run away from my ship for the meresake of saving myself from harm. Besides, I think Icould take care of myself in Barcelona.”
“I have no doubt of that,” replied Bark, whose admirationof his fellow–tourist was even increased by thenarration to which he had just listened.
Certainly Raymond was a most remarkable youngman. Bark felt as though he were in the presence of asuperior being. He realized his own meanness andlittleness, judged by the high standard of his companion.As both of them were tired, after the night on thetrain, they went to the state–room, and lay down in theirberths. Raymond went to sleep; but Bark could not,for he was intensely excited by the conversation hehad had with his new friend. He lay thinking ofhis own life and character, as compared with his companion’s;and the conspiracy in which he had takenpart absolutely filled him with horror. The inwardpeace and happiness which Raymond had realized fromhis devotion to duty strongly impressed him.
But we will not follow him through all the meanderingsof his thought. It is enough
to say that fellowshipwith Raymond had made a man of him, and he wasfully determined to seek peace in doing his whole duty.He was prepared to do what his companion had counselledhim to do,—to return to the Tritonia, and takethe consequences of his evil–doing. When his friendawoke, he announced to him his decision. Raymondsaw that he was sincere, and he did all he could toconfirm and strengthen his good resolution.
“There is one thing about the matter that troublesme,” said Bark, as they seated themselves on deckafter dinner. “I am willing to own up, and take thepenalty, whatever it may be; but, if I confess that Iwas engaged in a conspiracy to burn the Tritonia, I shallimplicate others,—I shall have to blow on Bill Stout.”
“Well, what right have you to do any thing else?”demanded Raymond earnestly. “Suppose Filipe hadkilled me last night, and had offered you a thousanddollars to conceal the crime: would it have been rightfor you to accept the offer?”
“Certainly not.”
“You would be an accomplice if you had. Youhave no more right to cover up Stout’s crime than youwould have to conceal Filipe’s. Besides, the principalought to know that he has a fellow on board that is badenough to burn the Tritonia. He may do it with someother fellow yet; and, if he should, you would sharethe guilt with him.”
“You found out what we were doing,” added Bark.
“And I felt that I ought not to leave the vessel withouttelling the steward,” replied Raymond. “I certainlyintended to inform the principal as soon as I hadan opportunity. I believe in boy honor and all thatsort of thing as much as you do; but I have no rightto let the vessels of the squadron be burned.”
The subject was discussed till dark, and Bark couldnot resist the arguments of his friend. He was resolvedto do his whole duty.
It is not our purpose to follow the fugitives intoAfrica. They reached Oran the next day, and remainedthere two weeks, until a steamer left for Malaga, whenthey returned to Spain.
“That’s the American Prince, as true as you live!”exclaimed Bark, as the vessel in which they sailed wasapproaching Malaga; and both of them had been observingher for an hour.
“She is on her way from Lisbon back to Barcelona;and she will not be in Malaga for a week or more,”replied Raymond.
Before night they were in the hotel in Malaga.