Part 29 (1/2)
”'It is folly, Nina, to be alarmed,' I heard the Greek say, in answer to my sister's tears and remonstrances 'No injury shall be done him, and ill shortly return and claim your father's pardon, and explain the reasons of s'
”Nina was not convinced, for she had not expected to be thus suddenly carried off; and shedone, entreating also that I ht be set at liberty
”The Greek, however, was deaf to all her entreaties, and soon succeeded in pacifying her fears Had I indeed been able to arouse the other inmates of the castle, it would have been of no avail, for it was now completely in the power of Caramitzo, as I have hitherto called hih I need scarcely tell you that he was no other than the pirate Zappa He had, it appeared, during his forate, through which he and his followers had gained ad time his arrival had been looked forward to by ed thewith her before his departure; and he had persuaded her of the necessity of a private ements of which he promised to make, provided she would undertake to follow his directions The priest he had brought with hih bribes, to acconorance as to the place to which they had come, or as the lady he had married A book, however, was left on the altar in the chapel, with the signatures of the married couple, the priest, and witnesses; either intended as a consolation or an insulting mockery to the unhappy father who had been deprived of his child My eyes were instantly blindfolded, and I feltfor some distance, till I was placed in a boat, fro for some distance I was hoisted on board a vessel, and placed by myself in a cabin, the door of which was fastened on et out, I threw myself down on a couch in the cabin, and considered how I should proceed to liberate ainst the sides of the vessel showed h, and I felt how hopeless was our fate Themust have been far advanced when the door of the cabin was opened by terful men, with arms in their belts A third person appeared behind them, who spoke a little broken Italian
”'We have conor Paolo, to request you to take the oath; without signing which no person is allowed to remain alive on board this vessel beyond twelve hours When you have been longer with us you will see the necessity of our rule You will not refuse to take it'
”'I shall certainly refuse to take any oath which may restrain my liberty,' I answered; 'I desire that my sister and myself be at once restored to our home'
”'Whatever we may ultimately do, it is necessary for you to take the oath before you can quit the cabin It is the rule of the shi+p, and the captain himself, as well as any of his friends must abide by it'
”'What is the character of the shi+p I am on board, then?' I asked--the dreadful truth for the first ti across my mind
”'That you will be told when you have taken the oath,' replied the interpreter 'The captain has brought you on board, and will not have you injured; but we claie, which he cannot refuse us The oath to betray neither vessel nor crew, by sign, by word, or deed; to obey our chief in all things, and to abide by the laws of the shi+p, or,'--and the two ers from their sashes--'death You preserved our captain's life, he says; but he cannot save yours, unless you accept our terladly receive you as a brother'
”I considered, as well as I was able, under the circu--life see unreasonable in the oath they ier any doubt that I was on board a piratical vessel I could not expect her crew to act otherwise than they were doing towardsreater reason to rescue ht that the only way of so doing would be to affect no hesitation even in joining them
”'I consent to take the oath,' I replied, with as firm a voice as I could command Had I known the abject slavery to which those words would reduce me, I would have died sooner than utter them
”'Come,' said the men, 'we are prepared to ad me, they led me into another cabin, where I was ordered to kneel down on a cushi+on, and a book was placed in my hands, which I was told was the Bible The oath was then administered, and it made me call down the most dreadful maledictions on my head, and on the heads of all those dear to e was then ree cabin, surrounded by men with draords in their hands, and at the head of them appeared the pirate Zappa
”A cross was then for nearest to n my name in a book with my own blood The ceremony completed, I was told to rise, a sas placed in my hands, and I was hailed as a comrade I shuddered at the name Zappa then advanced towards me, and, with the same smile which had once fascinated me, he exclaimed 'Welcome, my dear Paolo, now doubly entle force to win you tobeen anxious to do You are yet unable to appreciate the advantages I can offer you, so I will not cory looks Now come on deck, and I will introduce you to your brother officers--for I consider you one of this shi+p, and I will try and , while he spoke, whether I should fly at hieance I felt at the moment; but the oath I had just uttered came to my mind, and for my sister's sake, by a violent effort, I restrained nor Caramitzo, not to complain of the violence to which you have subjected me, and of the deceit you have practised on my sister,' I replied; 'yet, I am in your power, and I trust to your honour to make the best aiven herself to you--and to allowwith our unhappy father, and of endeavouring to rief he will feel at the loss of his children'
”'I do not forget that you saved my life, Paolo, and that alone would maketone
'Your sister is dearer far than that life, and, therefore, you need not fear for her I will not pretend to disguise from you, Paolo, what I am; but that she need not know The world calls me and my companions pirates--Let them--the lion is a nobler anilorious life; you will learn to think so, too
There is danger, it is true But there is exciteaenerally, when he loses, seeks the worst that can befall us--a speedy death But I will not now stay to sing the praises of the life I have destined you to lead, till, groeary, we some day retire from the busy scene, and become honoured chiefs and nobles in our own country, with lands and wealth, and surrounded by our family and dependents Eh, Paolo, I draw the picture well! But ill on deck, and see how our barque speeds over the waters'
”I repeat his words, to show the character of the man in whose power rieved--I could easily break my bonds; but she, alas! hers were indissoluble
Fortunately for her, she did not guess who he was, nor the character of his shi+p She believed, and I trust, to this day believes, that he commanded a Greek man-of-war, and is all he represented hi with various adventures, till we reached this island, where, in a neighbouring tower, he at once established my sister I felt also that it would be cruelty to undeceive her, and would answer no good object My sister, I believe, he really loves, or did love, as far as his nature would allow; but lately I have fancied his affection was decaying, and he has always treated h alled me, but which I had no power to shake off
”My story is drawing to an end; but I have still ed Zappa, day after day, to allow me to return to my paternal home, and endeavour to comfort my father, if consolation was still to be found for him on earth, and to explain to him the cause ofthe folly of her conduct in his eyes, vowing soleain to return to the island To my surprise, he at last consented to co to land ain for me at a spot and a period he would afterwards fix on His object in so doing was, not to allow me to know the position of this island He fulfilled his proh my father still lived, I saw at once by the pallor on his cheek, and tre voice, that his days were nu from the dead; for he had believed that I was slain in endeavouring to preventcarried off He blaing desire was to see her once more before he died
”I had yet another blow to receive My eldest brother, whoer of an assassin at Naples, and I became the heir to the family property, which I neither wished for nor could enjoy My whole anxiety was now to return to the island, and to endeavour to persuade the pirate to allow my sister to accompany me back to see our father ere he died
”At last I received a letter desiring me to repair to a certain port, where I was to be met by a person ould convey me on board a felucca, whence I was to be transferred to the pirate vessel I thought not of the dangers and difficulties of the undertaking, but, e heart I tore myself from him, and hastened to the appointment Zappa received me cordially, and I was in hopes, would consent to th rant it
”He said that Nina was now happy and contented; and that she knew not of her father's illness; and that if she was allowed to leave hiht refuse to return; and that, as she was only going to see her father die, it could not possibly benefit her The ed my request, the th I saw that all atteain him to consent would be worse than futile, so I ceased fro him I did not the less meditate how I could best accomplish my object
”As soon as I reached the island, I told Nina, the first time I was alone with her, of our father's wish to see her, at the sa her not to mention the subject to her husband, as I assured her he would not consent to part from her As soon as I explained our father's state to her, and told her he was heartbroken at her loss, she wept bitterly, and proe to enable her to visit hiain to return here My purpose was, to separate her froh at the risk, I knew, of blasting her happiness, of his true character; but yet, signora, I knew that the evil day ht not be by to protect her