Part 4 (2/2)
And immediately he raised his cutla.s.s to strike back I caught him a very smart blow on the knuckles, and sent his weapon flying over the side of the boat into the water, where it instantly sank.
By this time I think we were both too furious to be willing to end the combat without one or the other's death. Rupert, as soon as he knew what had happened, fairly sprang upon me, and clutched my throat, bearing me down with him into the boat. Here he knelt above me, squeezing my windpipe, and emitting horrid snarls like a wild beast.
My senses began to forsake me, and I was as good as lost, when, by the direct mercy of Providence, my right hand encountered the blade of my own cutla.s.s, lying close beside us, which I instantly s.n.a.t.c.hed at, and plunged as hard as I could thrust into Rupert's side. And with that, feeling his fingers relax themselves as he tottered sideways from off me, I raised myself half up, lifted him by the thighs, and cast him clean over the side of the boat into the sea. And that done I sank down again in a b.l.o.o.d.y swoon, and perceived nothing more.
It was, as I learned, above a week afterwards when I fully came to myself, and discovered that I was lying in my former garret at the ”Three-decker.” There was an old woman coming into the room to wait upon me, who told me that I had been brought ash.o.r.e on the night of the duel by men wearing masks; and one of them, whom she knew by his voice and carriage to be the boatswain of the _Fair Maid_, had given money out of his pocket for me to be taken care of till such time as I should recover.
In the state of weakness to which I was reduced I shed tears at hearing of this kindness on the part of that rough man, who was, I sadly feared, a great scoundrel, of most villainous evil life. My next business was to ask what had become of him and the rest of the _Fair Maid's_ crew.
”The _Fair Maid_ sailed yesterday,” the crone answered. ”They warped her out on the afternoon ebb. 'Tis said she sails under a privateer's commission against the French.”
I scarce knew whether to be glad of this news, or sorry. I told myself that I could hardly have looked for a welcome among those men after being the means of their lieutenant's death; and, moreover, I had learnt enough of their character to feel strongly averse to a cruise in such company. Yet they were the only friends I had, and I was grown used to them; and the thought that I was left there, as it were, alone, with nothing to turn to, made me very dismal after all.
It seemed somewhat strange to me, during the rest of that day, that Marian had never once come to inquire for me; but I put off speaking about it to the morrow. In the morning I awoke greatly refreshed, and feeling well enough to leave my bed, which I did, and came down into the bar of the house to look for her.
I found only her uncle, a weazened, peevish man, who had showed himself very little while the privateersmen were about his house. I bade him a courteous good morrow.
”Good morrow t'ye,” he snapped out churlishly. ”I'm glad to see you're about again, as I daresay you know your reckoning has run out.”
This I did not believe, but thought it beneath me to pick a quarrel with such a man. Besides, he was Marian's uncle.
”Any charges you may have against me shall be fairly met,” I answered proudly. ”But where is Mistress Marian? I have not seen her these two days.”
”And you're not like to see her again, I take it,” he returned disagreeably. ”At least, not in my house; I've had enough of the impudent baggage.”
”What are you saying, man?” I demanded, much dismayed. ”You need not miscall your own niece, I should think. But what of her? Do you mean she has left you?”
”Aye, what else should I mean? And right glad I am to be rid of such a trollop, drawing all the rapscallions of the port in here, and bringing my tavern into disrepute.”
He spoke so bitterly that I believe he was trying to talk himself into thinking he had profited by her departure. For in reality she had brought him the chief part of his custom, and there was at that moment, as I could perceive, not a soul in the tavern beside ourselves. But I did not stop to reflect on this.
”Where has she gone? What has happened?” I questioned breathlessly, with a terrible fear in my heart.
”Nay, whither she has gone is more than I can tell you, for as likely as not the jade has lied to me. But she left this place two days ago, in the afternoon, and all the account she gave me was that she had taken her pa.s.sage in the _Fair Maid_ for her father's house in Calcutta.”
I fell down on a bench, like a man stunned, and groaned aloud. Then I sprang to my feet again and made for the door.
”I will follow her!” I cried out madly. ”If she has gone to the end of the world I will go after her, and all the devils in h.e.l.l shall not hold me back!”
And leaving the man there, staring at me as if he thought I was crazed, I ran out of the house, and so stumbled right into the arms of a pressgang come ash.o.r.e off a king's s.h.i.+p which had that morning dropped anchor in Yarmouth Roads.
CHAPTER V
_ON BOARD THE KING'S s.h.i.+P_
The license of these pressgangs was so well known, and had been made familiar to me by so many tales, that I had little hope from the first of escaping their clutches. It is true they were only authorised to impress seamen and fishermen, and that after proving their commission before justices of the peace. But if report did not belie them, they looked not too closely into a man's seamans.h.i.+p; but, if they found a likely fellow, regarded all as fish which came into their net.
<script>