CHAPTER XIV
HONOURABLE SCARS
During the time that the greater part of the crew of the _Henrietta_had been occupied with the fire-ship, the enemy had redoubled theirefforts, and as the sailors returned to their guns, the mizzen-mastfell with a crash. A minute later, a Dutch man-of-war ran alongside,fired a broadside, and grappled. Then her crew, springing over thebulwarks, poured on to the deck of the _Henrietta_. They were metboldly by the soldiers, who had hitherto borne no part in the fight,and who, enraged at the loss they had been compelled to suffer, fellupon the enemy with fury. For a moment, however, the weight ofnumbers of the Dutchmen bore them back, but the sailors, who had atfirst been taken by surprise, snatched up their boarding pikes andaxes.
Prince Rupert, with the other officers and Volunteers, dashed intothe thick of the fray, and, step by step, the Dutchmen were drivenback, until they suddenly gave way and rushed back to their own ship.The English would have followed them, but the Dutch who remained onboard their ship, seeing that the fight was going against theirfriends, cut the ropes of the grapnels, and the ships drifted apart,some of the last to leave the deck of the _Henrietta_ being forcedto jump into the sea. The cannonade was at once renewed on bothsides, but the Dutch had had enough of it--having lost very heavilyin men--and drew off from the action.
Cyril had joined in the fray. He had risen to his feet and drawn hissword, but he found himself strangely weak. His hands were blisteredand swollen, his face was already so puffed that he could scarce seeout of his eyes; still, he had staggered down the steps to the waist,and, recovering his strength from the excitement, threw himself intothe fray.
Scarce had he done so, when a sailor next to him fell heavily againsthim, shot through the head by one of the Dutch soldiers. Cyrilstaggered, and before he could recover himself, a Dutch sailor struckat his head. He threw up his sword to guard the blow, but the guardwas beaten down as if it had been a reed. It sufficed, however,slightly to turn the blow, which fell first on the side of the head,and then, glancing down, inflicted a terrible wound on the shoulder.
He fell at once, unconscious, and, when he recovered his senses,found himself laid out on the poop, where Sydney, assisted by two ofthe other gentlemen, had carried him. His head and shoulder hadalready been bandaged, the Prince having sent for his doctor to comeup from below to attend upon him.
The battle was raging with undiminished fury all round, but, for themoment, the _Henrietta_ was not engaged, and her crew were occupiedin cutting away the wreckage of the mizzen-mast, and trying to repairthe more important of the damages that she had suffered. Carpenterswere lowered over the side, and were nailing pieces of wood over theshot-holes near the water-line. Men swarmed aloft knotting andsplicing ropes and fishing damaged spars.
Sydney, who was standing a short distance away, at once came up tohim.
"How are you, Cyril?"
"My head sings, and my shoulder aches, but I shall do well enough.Please get me lifted up on to that seat by the bulwark, so that I canlook over and see what is going on."
"I don't think you are strong enough to sit up, Cyril."
"Oh, yes I am; besides, I can lean against the bulwark."
Cyril was placed in the position he wanted, and, leaning his arm onthe bulwark and resting his head on it, was able to see what waspassing.
Suddenly a tremendous explosion was heard a quarter of a mile away.
"The Dutch admiral's ship has blown up," one of the men aloftshouted, and a loud cheer broke from the crew.
It was true. The Duke of York in the _Royal Charles_, of eightyguns, and the _Eendracht_, of eighty-four, the flagship of AdmiralObdam, had met and engaged each other fiercely. For a time theDutchmen had the best of it. A single shot killed the Earl ofFalmouth, Lord Muskerry, and Mr. Boyle, three gentlemen Volunteers,who at the moment were standing close to the Duke, and the _RoyalCharles_ suffered heavily until a shot from one of her guns struckthe Dutchman's magazine, and the _Eendracht_ blew up, only five menbeing rescued out of the five hundred that were on board of her.
This accident in no small degree decided the issue of the engagement,for the Dutch at once fell into confusion. Four of their ships, a fewhundred yards from the _Henrietta_, fell foul of each other, andwhile the crews were engaged in trying to separate them an Englishfire-ship sailed boldly up and laid herself alongside. A moment laterthe flames shot up high, and the boat with the crew of the fire-shiprowed to the _Henrietta_. The flames instantly spread to the Dutchmen-of-war, and the sailors were seen jumping over in great numbers.Prince Rupert ordered the boats to be lowered, but only one was foundto be uninjured. This was manned and pushed off at once, and, withothers from British vessels near, rescued a good many of the Dutchsailors.
Still the fight was raging all round; but a short time afterwardsthree other of the finest ships in the Dutch Fleet ran into eachother. Another of the English fire-ships hovering near observed theopportunity, and was laid alongside, with the same success as herconsort, the three men-of-war being all destroyed.
This took place at some distance from the _Henrietta_, but theEnglish vessels near them succeeded in saving, in their boats, aportion of the crews. The Dutch ship _Orange_, of seventy-five guns,was disabled after a sharp fight with the _Mary_, and was likewiseburnt. Two Dutch vice-admirals were killed, and a panic spreadthrough the Dutch Fleet. About eight o'clock in the evening betweenthirty and forty of their ships made off in a body, and the restspeedily followed. During the fight and the chase eighteen Dutchships were taken, though some of these afterwards escaped, as thevessels to which they had struck joined the rest in the chase.Fourteen were sunk, besides those burnt and blown up. Only oneEnglish ship, the _Charity_, had struck, having, at the beginning ofthe fight been attacked by three Dutch vessels, and lost the greaterpart of her men, and was then compelled to surrender to a Dutchvessel of considerably greater strength that came up and joined theothers. The English loss was, considering the duration of the fight,extremely small, amounting to but 250 killed, and 340 wounded. Amongthe killed were the Earl of Marlborough, the Earl of Portland, whowas present as a Volunteer, Rear-Admiral Sampson, and Vice-AdmiralLawson, the latter of whom died after the fight, from his wounds.
The pursuit of the Dutch was continued for some hours, and thenterminated abruptly, owing to a Member of Parliament named Brounker,who was in the suite of the Duke of York, giving the captain of the_Royal Charles_ orders, which he falsely stated emanated from theDuke, for the pursuit to be abandoned. For this he was afterwardsexpelled the House of Commons, and was ordered to be impeached, butafter a time the matter was suffered to drop.
As soon as the battle was over Cyril was taken down to a hammockbelow. He was just dozing off to sleep when Sydney came to him.
"I am sorry to disturb you, Cyril, but an officer tells me that a manwho is mortally wounded wishes to speak to you; and from hisdescription I think it is the fellow you call Black Dick. I thoughtit right to tell you, but I don't think you are fit to go to seehim."
"I will go," Cyril said, "if you will lend me your arm. I should liketo hear what the poor wretch has to say."
"He lies just below; the hatchway is but a few yards distant."
There had been no attempt to remove Cyril's clothes, and, by the aidof Lord Oliphant and of a sailor he called to his aid, he made hisway below, and was led through the line of wounded, until a doctor,turning round, said,--
"This is the man who wishes to see you, Sir Cyril."
Although a line of lanterns hung from the beams, so nearly blind washe that Cyril could scarce distinguish the man's features.
"I have sent for you," the latter said faintly, "to tell you that ifit hadn't been for your jumping down on to that fire-ship you wouldnot have lived through this day's fight. I saw that you recognisedme, and knew that, as soon as we went back, you would hand us over tothe constables. So I made up my mind that I would run you through inthe _melee_ if we got hand to hand with the Dutchmen, or would put amusket-ball into you while th
e firing was going on. But when I sawyou standing there with the flames round you, giving your life, as itseemed, to save the ship, I felt that, even if I must be hung for it,I could not bring myself to hurt so brave a lad; so there is an endof that business. Robert Ashford was killed by a gun that was knockedfrom its carriage, so you have got rid of us both. I thought I shouldlike to tell you before I went that the brave action you did savedyour life, and that, bad as I am, I had yet heart enough to feel thatI would rather take hanging than kill you."
The last words had been spoken in a scarcely audible whisper. The manclosed his eyes; and the doctor, laying his hand on Cyril's arm,said,--
"You had better go back to your hammock now, Sir Cyril. He will neverspeak again. In a few minutes the end will come."
Cyril spent a restless night. The wind was blowing strongly from thenorth, and the crews had hard work to keep the vessels off the shore.His wounds did not pain him much, but his hands, arms, face, and legssmarted intolerably, for his clothes had been almost burnt off him,and, refreshing as the sea-bath had been at the moment, it now addedto the smarting of the wounds.
In the morning Prince Rupert came down to see him.
"It was madness of you to have joined in that _melee_, lad, in thestate in which you were. I take the blame on myself in not orderingyou to remain behind; but when the Dutchmen poured on board I had nothought of aught but driving them back again. It would have marredour pleasure in the victory we have won had you fallen, for to you weall owe our lives and the safety of the ship. No braver deed wasperformed yesterday than yours. I fear it will be some time beforeyou are able to fight by my side again; but, at least, you have doneyour share, and more, were the war to last a lifetime."
Cyril was in less pain now, for the doctor had poured oil over hisburns, and had wrapped up his hands in soft bandages.
"It was the thought of a moment, Prince," he said. "I saw thefire-ship had steerage way on her, and if the helm were put down shewould drive away from our side, so without stopping to think about itone way or the other, I ran along to the stern, and jumped down toher tiller."
"Yes, lad, it was but a moment's thought, no doubt, but it is onething to think, and another to execute, and none but the bravestwould have ventured that leap on to the fire-ship. By to-morrowmorning we shall be anchored in the river. Would you like to beplaced in the hospital at Sheerness, or to be taken up to London?"
"I would rather go to London, if I may," Cyril said. "I know that Ishall be well nursed at Captain Dave's, and hope, erelong, to be ableto rejoin."
"Not for some time, lad--not for some time. Your burns will doubtlessheal apace, but the wound in your shoulder is serious. The doctorsays that the Dutchman's sword has cleft right through yourshoulder-bone. 'Tis well that it is your left, for it may be that youwill never have its full use again. You are not afraid of the Plague,are you? for on the day we left town there was a rumour that it hadat last entered the City."
"I am not afraid of it," Cyril said; "and if it should come toCaptain Dowsett's house, I would rather be there, that I may do whatI can to help those who were so kind to me."
"Just as you like, lad. Do not hurry to rejoin. It is not likelythere will be any fighting for some time, for it will be long beforethe Dutch are ready to take the sea again after the hammering we havegiven them, and all there will be to do will be to blockade theircoast and to pick up their ships from foreign ports as prizes."
The next morning Cyril was placed on board a little yacht, called the_Fan Fan_, belonging to the Prince, and sailed up the river, theship's company mustering at the side and giving him a hearty cheer.The wind was favourable, and they arrived that afternoon in town.According to the Prince's instructions, the sailors at once placedCyril on a litter that had been brought for the purpose, and carriedhim up to Captain Dowsett's.
The City was in a state of agitation. The news of the victory hadarrived but a few hours before, and the church bells were allringing, flags were flying, the shops closed, and the people in thestreets. John Wilkes came down in answer to the summons of the bell.
"Hullo!" he said; "whom have we here?"
"Don't you know me, John?" Cyril said.
John gave a start of astonishment.
"By St. Anthony, it is Master Cyril! At least, it is his voice,though it is little I can see of him, and what I see in no wayresembles him."
"It is Sir Cyril Shenstone," the captain of the _Fan Fan_, who hadcome with the party, said sternly, feeling ruffled at the familiaritywith which this rough-looking servitor of a City trader spoke of thegentleman in his charge. "It is Sir Cyril Shenstone, as brave agentleman as ever drew sword, and who, as I hear, saved PrinceRupert's ship from being burnt by the Dutchmen."
"He knows me," John Wilkes said bluntly, "and he knows no offence ismeant. The Captain and his dame, and Mistress Nellie are all out, SirCyril, but I will look after you till they return. Bring him up,lads. I am an old sailor myself, and fought the Dutch under Blake andMonk more than once."
He led the way upstairs into the best of the spare rooms. Here Cyrilwas laid on a bed. He thanked the sailors heartily for the care theyhad taken of him, and the captain handed a letter to John, saying,--
"The young Lord Oliphant asked me to give this to Captain Dowsett,but as he is not at home I pray you to give it him when he returns."
As soon as they had gone, John returned to the bed.
"This is terrible, Master Cyril. What have they been doing to you? Ican see but little of your face for those bandages, but your eyeslook mere slits, your flesh is all red and swollen, your eyebrowshave gone, your arms and legs are all swathed up in bandages--Haveyou been blown up with gunpowder?--for surely no wound could have sodisfigured you."
"I have not been blown up, John, but I was burnt by the flames of aDutch fire-ship that came alongside. It is a matter that a fortnightwill set right, though I doubt not that I am an unpleasant-lookingobject at present, and it will be some time before my hair growsagain."
"And you are not hurt otherwise, Master?" John asked anxiously.
"Yes; I am hurt gravely enough, though not so as to imperil my life.I have a wound on the side of my head, and the same blow, as thedoctor says, cleft through my shoulder-bone."
"I had best go and get a surgeon at once," John said; "though it willbe no easy matter, for all the world is agog in the streets."
"Leave it for the present, John. There is no need whatever for haste.In that trunk of mine is a bottle of oils for the burns, though mostof the sore places are already beginning to heal over, and the doctorsaid that I need not apply it any more, unless I found that theysmarted too much for bearing. As for the other wounds, they arestrapped up and bandaged, and he said that unless they inflamedbadly, they would be best let alone for a time. So sit down quietly,and let me hear the news."
"The news is bad enough, though the Plague has not yet entered theCity."
"The Prince told me that there was a report, before he came on boardat Lowestoft, that it had done so."
"No, it is not yet come; but people are as frightened as if it wasraging here. For the last fortnight they have been leaving in crowdsfrom the West End, and many of the citizens are also beginning tomove. They frighten themselves like a parcel of children. The cometseemed to many a sign of great disaster."
Cyril laughed.
"If it could be seen only in London there might be something in it,but as it can be seen all over Europe, it is hard to say why itshould augur evil to London especially. It was shining in the skythree nights ago when we were chasing the Dutch, and they had quiteas good reason for thinking it was a sign of misfortune to them ashave the Londoners."
"That is true enough," John Wilkes agreed; "though, in truth, I likenot to see the' thing in the sky myself. Then people have troubledtheir heads greatly because, in Master Lilly's Almanack, and otherbooks of prediction, a great pestilence is foretold."
"It needed no great wisdom for that," Cyril said, "seeing that thePlague has been for some ti
me busy in foreign parts, and that it washere, though not so very bad, in the winter, when these books wouldhave been written."
"Then," John Wilkes went on, "there is a man going through thestreets, night and day. He speaks to no one, but cries outcontinually, 'Oh! the great and dreadful God!' This troubles manymen's hearts greatly."
"It is a pity, John, that the poor fellow is not taken and shut up insome place where madmen are kept. Doubtless, it is some poor cowardwhose brain has been turned by fright. People who are frightened bysuch a thing as that must be poor-witted creatures indeed."
"That may be, Master Cyril, but methinks it is as they say, one foolmakes many. People get together and bemoan themselves till theirhearts fail them altogether. And yet, methinks they are notaltogether without reason, for if the pestilence is so heavy withoutthe walls, where the streets are wider and the people less crowdedthan here, it may well be that we shall have a terrible time of it inthe City when it once passes the walls."
"That may well be, John, but cowardly fear will not make things anybetter. We knew, when we sailed out against the Dutch the other day,that very many would not see the setting sun, yet I believe there wasnot one man throughout the Fleet who behaved like a coward."
"No doubt, Master Cyril; but there is a difference. One can fightagainst men, but one cannot fight against the pestilence, and I donot believe that if the citizens knew that a great Dutch army wasmarching on London, and that they would have to withstand a dreadfulsiege, they would be moved with fear as they are now."
"That may be so," Cyril agreed. "Now, John, I think that I couldsleep for a bit."
"Do so, Master, and I will go into the kitchen and see what I can doto make you a basin of broth when you awake; for the girl has goneout too. She wanted to see what was going on in the streets; and as Ihad sooner stay quietly at home I offered to take her place, as theshop was shut and I had nothing to do. Maybe by the time you wakeagain Captain Dave and the others will be back from their cruise."
It was dark when Cyril woke at the sound of the bell. He heard voicesand movements without, and then the door was quietly opened.
"I am awake," he said. "You see I have taken you at your word, andcome back to be patched up."
"You are heartily welcome," Mrs. Dowsett said. "Nellie, bring thelight. Cyril is awake. We were sorry indeed when John told us thatyou had come in our absence. It was but a cold welcome for you tofind that we were all out."
"There was nothing I needed, madam. Had there been, John would havedone it for me."
Nellie now appeared at the door with the light, and gave anexclamation of horror as she approached the bedside.
"It is not so bad as it looks, Nellie," Cyril said. "Not that I knowhow it looks, for I have not seen myself in a glass since I lefthere; but I can guess that I am an unpleasant object to look at."
Mrs. Dowsett made a sign to Nellie to be silent.
"John told us that you were badly burned and were all wrapped up inbandages, but we did not expect to find you so changed. However, thatwill soon pass off, I hope."
"I expect I shall be all right in another week, save for this woundin my shoulder. As for that on my head, it is but of slightconsequence. My skull was thick enough to save my brain."
"Well, Master Cyril," Captain Dave said heartily, as he entered theroom with a basin of broth in his hand, and then stopped abruptly.
"Well, Captain Dave, here I am, battered out of all shape, you see,but not seriously damaged in my timbers. There, you see, though Ihave only been a fortnight at sea, I am getting quite nautical."
"That is right, lad--that is right," Captain Dave said, a littleunsteadily. "My dame and Nellie will soon put you into ship-shapetrim again. So you got burnt, I hear, by one of those rascally Dutchfire-ships? and John tells me that the captain of the sailors whocarried you here said that you had gained mighty credit foryourself."
"I did my best, as everyone did, Captain Dave. There was not a man onboard the Fleet who did not do his duty, or we should never havebeaten the Dutchmen so soundly."
"You had better not talk any more," Mrs. Dowsett said. "You are in mycharge now, and my first order is that you must keep very quiet, orelse you will be having fever come on. You had best take a little ofthis broth now. Nellie will sit with you while I go out to prepareyou a cooling drink."
"I will take a few spoonfuls of the soup since John has taken thetrouble to prepare it for me," Cyril said; "though, indeed, my lipsare so parched and swollen that the cooling drink will be much moreto my taste."
"I think it were best first, dame," the Captain said, "that John andI should get him comfortably into bed, instead of lying there wrappedup in the blanket in which they brought him ashore. The broth will benone the worse for cooling a bit."
"That will be best," his wife agreed. "I will fetch some morepillows, so that we can prop him up. He can swallow more comfortablyso, and will sleep all the better when he lies down again."
As soon as Cyril was comfortably settled John Wilkes was sent to callin a doctor, who, after examining him, said that the burns were doingwell, and that he would send in some cooling lotion to be applied tothem frequently. As to the wounds, he said they had been so skilfullybandaged that it were best to leave them alone, unless great pain setin.
Another four days, and Cyril's face had so far recovered its usualcondition that the swelling was almost abated, and the bandages couldbe removed. The peak of the helmet had sheltered it a good deal, andit had suffered less than his hands and arms. Captain Dave and Johnhad sat up with him by turns at night, while the Dame and herdaughter had taken care of him during the day. He had slept a greatdeal, and had not been allowed to talk at all. This prohibition wasnow removed, as the doctor said that the burns were now all healingfast, and that he no longer had any fear of fever setting in.
"By the way, Captain," John Wilkes said, that day, at dinner, "I havejust bethought me of this letter, that was given me by the sailor whobrought Cyril here. It is for you, from young Lord Oliphant. It hasclean gone out of my mind till now. I put it in the pocket of mydoublet, and have forgotten it ever since."
"No harm can have come of the delay, John," Captain Dave said. "Itwas thoughtful of the lad. He must have been sure that Cyril wouldnot be in a condition to tell us aught of the battle, and he may havesent us some details of it, for the Gazette tells us little enough,beyond the ships taken and the names of gentlemen and officerskilled. Here, Nellie, do you read it. It seems a long epistle, and myeyes are not as good as they were."
Nellie took the letter and read aloud:--
"'DEAR AND WORTHY SIR,--I did not think when I was so pleasantlyentertained at your house that it would befall me to become yourcorrespondent, but so it has happened, for, Sir Cyril being sorelyhurt, and in no state to tell you how the matter befell him--ifindeed his modesty would allow him, which I greatly doubt--it isright that you should know how the business came about, and whatgreat credit Sir Cyril has gained for himself. In the heat of thefight, when we were briskly engaged in exchanging broadsides with aDutchman of our own size, one of their fire-ships, coming unnoticedthrough the smoke, slipped alongside of us, and, the flames breakingout, would speedily have destroyed us, as indeed they went neardoing. The grapnels were briskly thrown over, but she had alreadytouched our sides, and the flames were blowing across us when SirCyril, perceiving that she had still some way on her, sprang down onto her deck and put over the helm. She was then a pillar of flame,and the decks, which were plentifully besmeared with pitch, were allin a blaze, save just round the tiller where her captain had stood tosteer her. It was verily a furnace, and it seemed impossible that onecould stand there for only half a minute and live. Everyone on boardwas filled with astonishment, and the Prince called out loudly thathe had never seen a braver deed. As the fire-ship drew away from us,we saw Sir Cyril fasten the helm down with a rope, and then, loweringa bucket over, throw water on to it; then he threw off his helmet andarmour--his clothes being, by this time, all in a flame--and spran
ginto the sea, the fire-ship being now well nigh her own length fromus. She had sheered off none too soon, for some of our sails were onfire, and it was with great difficulty that we succeeded in cuttingthem from the yards and so saving the ship.
"'All, from the Prince down, say that no finer action was everperformed, and acknowledge that we all owe our lives, and His Majestyowes his ship, to it. Then, soon after we had hauled Sir Cyril onboard, the Dutchmen boarded us, and there was a stiff fight, allhands doing their best to beat them back, in which we succeeded.
"'Sir Cyril, though scarce able to stand, joined in the fray,unnoticed by us all, who in the confusion had not thought of him, andbeing, indeed, scarce able to hold his sword, received a heavy wound,of which, however, the doctor has all hopes that he will make a goodrecovery.
"'It would have done you good to hear how the whole crew cheered SirCyril as we dragged him on board. The Prince is mightily taken withhim, and is sending him to London in his own yacht, where I feel surethat your good dame and fair daughter will do all that they can torestore him to health. As soon as I get leave--though I do not knowwhen that will be, for we cannot say as yet how matters will turnout, or what ships will keep the sea--I shall do myself the honour ofwaiting upon you. I pray you give my respectful compliments to Mrs.Dowsett and Mistress Nellie, who are, I hope, enjoying good health.
"'Your servant to command,
"'SYDNEY OLIPHANT.'"
The tears were standing in Nellie's eyes, and her voice trembled asshe read. When she finished she burst out crying.
"There!" John Wilkes exclaimed, bringing his fist down upon thetable. "I knew, by what that skipper said, the lad had been doingsomething quite out of the way, but when I spoke to him about itbefore you came in he only said that he had tried his best to do hisduty, just as every other man in the Fleet had done. Who would havethought, Captain Dave, that that quiet young chap, who used to sitdown below making out your accounts, was going to turn out a hero?"
"Who, indeed?" the Captain said, wiping his eyes with the back of hishands. "Why, he wasn't more than fifteen then, and, as you say, sucha quiet fellow. He used to sit there and write, and never speakunless I spoke to him. 'Tis scarce two years ago, and look what hehas done! Who would have thought it? I can't finish my breakfast," hewent on, getting up from his seat, "till I have gone in and shakenhim by the hand."
"You had better not, David," Mrs. Dowsett said gently. "We had bestsay but little to him about it now. We can let him know we have heardhow he came by his burns from Lord Oliphant, but do not let us makemuch of it. Had he wished it he would have told us himself."
Captain Dave sat down again.
"Perhaps you are right, my dear. At any rate, till he is gettingstrong we will not tell him what we think of him. Anyhow, it can't doany harm to tell him we know it, and may do him good, for it is clearhe does not like telling it himself, and may be dreading ourquestioning about the affair."
Mrs. Dowsett and Nellie went into Cyril's room as soon as they hadfinished breakfast. Captain Dave followed them a few minutes later.
"We have been hearing how you got burnt," he began. "Your friend,Lord Oliphant, sent a letter about it by the skipper of his yacht.That stupid fellow, John, has been carrying it about ever since, andonly remembered it just now, when we were at breakfast. It was aplucky thing to do, lad."
"It turned out a very lucky one," Cyril said hastily, "for it was themeans of saving my life."
"Saving your life, lad! What do you mean?"
Cyril then told how Robert Ashford and Black Dick had been brought onboard as impressed men, how the former had been killed, and theconfession that Black Dick had made to him before dying.
"He said he had made up his mind to kill me during the fight, butthat, after I had risked my life to save the _Henrietta_, he wasashamed to kill me, and that, rather than do so, he had resolved totake his chance of my denouncing him when he returned to land."
"There was some good in the knave, then," Captain Dave said. "Yes,it was a fortunate as well as a brave action, as it turned out."
"Fortunate in one respect, but not in another," Cyril put in, anxiousto prevent the conversation reverting to the question of his bravery."I put down this wound in my shoulder to it, for if I had been myselfI don't think I should have got hurt. I guarded the blow, but I wasso shaky that he broke my guard down as if I had been a child, thoughI think that it did turn the blow a little, and saved it from fallingfair on my skull. Besides, I should have had my helmet and armour onif it had not been for my having to take a swim. So, you see, CaptainDave, things were pretty equally balanced, and there is no occasionto say anything more about them."
"We have one piece of bad news to tell you, Cyril," Mrs. Dowsettremarked, in order to give the conversation the turn which she saw hewished for. "We heard this morning that the Plague has come at lastinto the City. Dr. Burnet was attacked yesterday."
"That is bad news indeed, Dame, though it was not to be expected thatit would spare the City. If you will take my advice, you will go awayat once, before matters get worse, for if the Plague gets a hold herethe country people will have nothing to do with Londoners, fearingthat they will bring the infection among them."
"We shall not go until you are fit to go with us, Cyril," Nellie saidindignantly.
"Then you will worry me into a fever," Cyril replied. "I am gettingon well now, and as you said, when you were talking of it before, youshould leave John in charge of the house and shop, he will be able todo everything that is necessary for me. If you stay here, and thePlague increases, I shall keep on worrying myself at the thought thatyou are risking your lives needlessly for me, and if it should comeinto the house, and any of you die, I shall charge myself all my lifewith having been the cause of your death. I pray you, for my sake aswell as your own, to lose no time in going to the sister Captain Davespoke of, down near Gloucester."
"Do not agitate yourself," Mrs. Dowsett said gently, pressing himquietly back on to the pillows from which he had risen in hisexcitement. "We will talk it over, and see what is for the best. Itis but a solitary case yet, and may spread no further. In a few dayswe shall see how matters go. Things have not come to a bad pass yet."
Cyril, however, was not to be consoled. Hitherto he had givencomparatively small thought to the Plague, but now that it was in theCity, and he felt that his presence alone prevented the family fromleaving, he worried incessantly over it.
"Your patient is not so well," the doctor said to Mrs. Dowsett, nextmorning. "Yesterday he was quite free from fever--his hands werecool; now they are dry and hard. If this goes on, I fear that weshall have great trouble."
"He is worrying himself because we do not go out of town. We had,indeed, made up our minds to do so, but we could not leave him here."
"Your nursing would be valuable certainly, but if he goes on as he ishe will soon be in a high fever; his wounds will grow angry andfester. While yesterday he seemed in a fair way to recovery, I shouldbe sorry to give any favourable opinion as to what may happen if thisgoes on. Is there no one who could take care of him if you went?"
"John Wilkes will remain behind, and could certainly be trusted to doeverything that you directed; but that is not like women, doctor."
"No, I am well aware of that; but if things go on well he will reallynot need nursing, while, if fever sets in badly, the best nursing maynot save him. Moreover, wounds and all other ailments of this sort dobadly at present; the Plague in the air seems to affect all othermaladies. If you will take my advice, Dame, you will carry out yourintention, and leave at once. I hear there are several new cases ofthe Plague today in the City, and those who can go should lose notime in doing so; but, even if not for your own sakes, I should saygo for that of your patient."
"Will you speak to my husband, doctor? I am ready to do whatever isbest for your patient, whom we love dearly, and regard almost as ason."
"If he were a son I should give the same advice. Yes, I will seeCaptain Dowsett."
&
nbsp; Half an hour later, Cyril was told what the doctor's advice had been,and, seeing that he was bent on it, and that if they stayed theywould do him more harm than good, they resolved to start the next dayfor Gloucestershire.