Part 13 (1/2)
”At all events, you have great reason to be thankful that you did get away froer ”Now, you have to see that you behave yourself like a Christian ravely ”I wish you would speak to the Captain and have those heads thrown overboard”
On this it occurred to Roger that the best thing was to tell Captain Benbow of the hallucination under which Sa
”I will soon settle that matter,” said the Captain, and he directed one of the o forward and tell the men that if he ordered theed on the forecastle, they were to pretend to do so Presently he ca Sam aft, asked how he dared to have allowed those heads to re Sam by him, ordered the men to heave the prepared, went through the action of heaving heads overboard Saape
”Now, ot rid of those Moorish heads”
”Ay, ay,” said Sa astern ”I hope we have seen the last of theone to the bottoate continued her course across the Bay of Biscay withoutover his plans with Stephen ”When I get to London, as soon as I have discharged s I shall have to do will be to presentJa of Spain's reco Ja Charles the Second was dead”
”Dead he is though, and, as the Spaniards say, died a true Catholic
Cannot say it is much to his credit, as he always pretended to his subjects to be a Protestant, and now that King Jaes himself to be a Catholic, the French and the Spaniards are rejoicing at the thought that England will be turned back to the old faith, and that the object of the Spanish Arained”
”Heaven forbid that such should be the case!” exclaimed Stephen
”I have no wish for it, and do not believe the people of England will consent to such a change,” remarked the Captain; ”but as I am a tarpaulin, as they call us, I do not trouble myself with affairs on shore, and it isis on the throne”
”I cannot altogether agree with you there,” said Stephen ”Our fathers fought to gain our civil and religious liberty, and it behoves us, their children, to defend those liberties with our lives”
The Captain shrugged his shoulders, rehts to such reat deal, and becoth the Lizard was laddened with the sight oncefair, the _Benbow_ frigate soon afterwards passed the Start, when she ca in for the land The Captain hailed her
”Where are you bound for?” he asked
”Lyme,” was the answer
”Heave-to, then, for I have a passenger for you”
”Now, Battisob, here is an opportunity if you wish to take advantage of it”
”Thank you, sir; I will do so,” said Stephen
In another ot on deck He thanked Captain Benbow for all his kindness; he and Roger grasped each other's hands; they felt the parting more than their words could express
”Tell theer; ”how much I should have liked to come home, but that I am bound to the shi+p and cannot leave Captain Benbow” He sent es, which need not be repeated
A boat was lowered, and Stephen was speedily carried on board the trader, which stood on towards Lyate, having hoisted her boat in, continued her course up channel The Bill of Portland was soon passed, and the high cliffs of the Isle of Wight sighted Before the sun rose the next day, the _Benbow_ frigate had run through the Straits of Dover, and was about to haul round the North Foreland, when a heavy north-westerly gale sprang up, which compelled her quickly to shorten all sail In vain an atteale increased with such fury that it beca driven on the Goodwin Sands The shi+p was stout and well found, and Captain Benbow still hoped to beat up against the wind; but he was driven farther and farther froerous Flemish bank Few men, however, knew the shoals of that coast better than he did Now the shi+p was put on one tack, now on another, but on each tack she lost ground
He ht, to be sure, have run for Dunkerque, Ostend, or other places along the coast, but night was coerous undertaking, with the weather so thick and squally as it then was, and without a pilot; still, unless the _Benbow_ frigate could beat off the coast,--it was one of two alternatives which reging the as her masts and sails remained uninjured, Captain Benbow resolved to try and keep to sea; a shi+ft of wind ain either the Downs or the Thaed his shi+p excited Roger's admiration, while the crew, accustomed to confide in his skill, executed his orders with proth broke, dark clouds covered the sky, while leaden seas, capped with foaht to leeward, which showed that they had not struggled in vain; still the as blowing as strong as ever, and, stiff as was the _Benbow_ frigate, it would have been dangerous to setas ale does not increase we shall do well,” observed Captain Benbow to Roger ”As soon as it moderates we may stand in for the Thaht, he noent below to snatch a short sleep, leaving his first officer in colad to turn in, for he could scarcely keep his eyes open He ht have been asleep for about a couple of hours, when he akened by hearing two loud crashes in rapid succession He sprang up on deck to discover, to his disone by the board
The Captain was already there issuing his orders to clear the wreck, and to prevent the butts of thethe sides of the shi+p
Never, perhaps, before had the _Benbow_ frigate been in greater peril, and it wasdark night was coainst the sides, having been cut adrift An effort wasa spar on the stue-way on the shi+p, the Captain having resolved to steer for the Scheldt, in which river he hoped to find safe anchorage Owing to the way the shi+p was tu about, soed and sail set on it The shi+p was then kept as much as possible to the ard, and Captain Benbow expressed a hope that he should be able to reach thecame the wind had dropped considerably, and had shi+fted to the southward, whereon the shi+p's head was ione but a short distance, when a sail, which had been sighted at daylight co from the northward, approached under Dutch colours