Part 52 (1/2)
”A lady who pleads so energetically should have her prayers granted,”
said the pirate, with a tone of irony ”But let him beware how he behaves--unhand hiue ”These ladies have pleaded for the prisoner, and are answerable for his conduct And tow, signora,” he said, in a blander tone, addressing himself to Ada, ”by what means do you propose to remedy the fault of thatwhich the pirate stood regarding her attentively
”It is fitter for you to point out the means by which I can serve you, than for th replied ”Indeed, I can do nothing till I am restored to my friends; I am sure that any ransom you ladly give for ht of before; but, are you aware, lady, that it is usual to secure the ransom before the prisoner is restored?”
observed Zappa
”Touch then at one of the Ionian Islands, where there are English authorities, and let , I doubt not, the money will be raised, and will be deposited wherever you desire If you will allow o on shore, I will promise to do my very utmost to place the money in your hands, and will send word to the British cruiser, now in search of this shi+p, that I am in safety; and will at the same time exert all the influence I may possess with my friends to obtain your pardon, should you be captured
This I promise to do most faithfully”
”Oh, listen to her!” exclai his hands ”Land her in safety and honour a her own people, and she will pay you the money if you demand it, and I--I will be responsible that she does so with my life--but why demand it? you have already more wealth than you require on board this vessel, and no rest nor safety can you expect, or hope to find, while you follow your present pursuits; your hand against every ainst you,”--(Nina knew not that she was quoting the words of the sacred book to describe her husband)--”but oh, my husband, remember that there is a land across the narrow Adriatic, where your deeds are unknown, and where we may henceforth live unsuspected in tranquillity, and with such happiness as we can enjoy--that land, the land of my birth--there, in the home which I deserted for your sake, you will be secure; there I atch over you, will tend you, will strive to et the past in the contentment of the present; and should you be discovered, should any one atteive my life with joy for yours Oh say that you will do this--say you will abandon the evil course you are leading, and you will hter than it has done for many a day, and bless the words you utter”
The pirate was so at her with a glance oftime seen, ”you know not what you ask me to do You know not the difficulty, the al what you wish Even were I seized with the humour to turn virtuous, I cannot abandon my vessel and my crew; they are bound to me and I to them; and were I to quit thee for my desertion, they would inform all they met of my retreat
If I proposed to leave them they would not let me, and from that instant I should lose all my authority And then think, should I even succeed in co the existence you propose, how is it likely to suit one, accustomed from his earliest days to the dissipation of cities, or the wild excite coardless of all laws but those I have framed, and yet obedient tobusiness of a country far bumpkins in their daily toil? No, Nina, you must not expect it; I feel it cannot be”
He was silent, and seeht His lips moved, but his words were alht and beautiful ever to be realised,” he murmured ”Alas, alas, I have for ever cut irl too--oh, it is a cruel fate for her to be linked for ever to one so lost Yet it ain seek out the speronara of the Sicilian Alessandro, and he should land us on some part of the coast I would select, nor should he knohither ent Ah--but is he to be trusted? Would he not, if he saw our wealth, be te himself of it?-- would he not, even if we concealed it ever so carefully, or even had it not, suspect that we had it, and equally attempt our destruction? Who is to be trusted? In whom can I, especially, of all men, dare to confide? Alas! on no one Every one of my fellow men, except the ruffians who surround ht, it is true, find soer bound for the Italian coast, and with a well-invented tale about the vessel I had quitted, persuade theo”
”Nina, I will think about it,” he said, aloud ”I would please you if I could; but though reat, alas! the ood are small indeed”
”Oh, do ly in his face ”Resolve with your determined will to execute what you think of--resolve to overcoers, and she and I will bless you to our dying day, and our prayers will ascend to heaven to ih down your soul and prevent you fro clearly where true peace and happiness can alone be found”
”Enough, Nina, enough, or you willhis hands fro on deck, where his voice was heard, i some orders in his usual firm and loud tones
”You will conquer, my sweet Nina; you will persuade him to abandon a pirate's life, and happinessthe cheek of her friend, who sat pale and tre on the couch by her side
Nina shook her head sorrowfully
”Alas!” she replied, ”you know not the ard spirit which possesses him, or you would not speak to me of hope”
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
Several days had passed, and the _Sea Haas still ao Twice she had attee to Cephalonia; but each time she had been driven back by the appearance of suspicious sails to the ard, which her captain believed to be Britishin search of hiht on the yard-arms, and topmast-heads to look out for the first faint outline of a shi+p; yet, not as before, in the hopes of falling in with a richly-ladenher, lest she should prove to be one of the many eneer favoured the to the ard, had aided to baffle theale, which had so opportunely arisen to enable him to force his way out of the harbour of Lissa; but nohen he equally needed it, and had no evil purpose in viehen better intentions had been fors had arisen, it refused to blow Either contrary winds or calms had always been met with, and till he had a prospect of a quick run, it would be folly to venture out from amid the islets, which now sheltered hi off any place for an hour together, lest an eneive him no time to make sail to escape He seldom went below, but wrapped in his cloak he threw himself on the deck, eary nature required rest, to be ready at a hts were full of toil, care, and watchfulness, and thus the time wore on It was a lovely day; the sky was of the most intense blue, without a cloud or speck to di the hue of the bright canopy above, was of so crystal a clearness that the eye see to its very lowest depths; the sun shone forth with glowing splendour, and the wind of the gentle zephyr, which came fro the water, or of forcing through it the pirate brig Her sails, spread to catch the first breath of a stronger breeze, now hung alave a loud flap of iainst the masts
Blue islands rose out of the water on every side of the shi+p; so the horizon, others,above it; and besides the more distant islands, several islets were seen, th, and others of a few hundred yards; the largest only being of a height sufficient to conceal a vessel behind them Some were broken into picturesque forms, and their sides sprinkled with rass, and a fe shrubs looked green and inviting at a little distance--a deception which a nearer approach quickly dissipated Here and there also black lines and spotsthe summit of coral reefs, which, with any sea, were entirely concealed by the wild foareater number of these were almost flush with the water, or below it, a few rose as much as five or ten feet above it As may be supposed, no vessel would venture into this locality, unless those on board ell acquainted with its nuers
To increase the the islands, running towards various quarters, accordingly as they encountered the opposition of the rocks, either above or below the surface, so that it was impossible, from the appearance of the land, to say in which direction the vessel, exposed to their influence, would next be carried
Into one of these currents, the _Sea Hawk_ had now got, and though she appeared to be stationary in the water, she was being driven on at a rapid rate past the land to the ard Her captain, however, apprehended no danger--he had every rock and shoal mapped out in his mind far more correctly than on any chart in existence, and he felt confident of being able to avoid the was carried bodily to ard, and steerage as just kept on her
The heat of the cabin was so great, that Ada and Nina had been forced on deck, over the after part of which an awning had been spread to shelter them fro delay which had occurred had depressed their spirits, and filled their i evil
Paolo stood by hi, with a vacant listlessness, at the sea; no one speaking to hi no one