Prisoners of the Sea: a romance of the seventeenth century

Front matter

Prisoners of the Sea A Romance of the Seventeenth Century By Florence Morse Kingsley Authorof "Titus," "Stephen" and "Paul" WARD, LOCK & CO., Limited Warwick House, Salisbury Square London, E. C. Copyright, 1897, by FLORENCE MORSE KINGSLEY CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. Adrift, , I II. An Ocean Mystery, 5 III. L'Esperanee, II IV. The Chateau on the Island, 19 V. The Castellan, 25 VI. A Relief Party, 33 VII. The Garden of Roses, 42 VIII. Eheu! 51 IX. A Cry in the Night, 61 X. Kidnapped, 7° XI. H. M. S. Conqueror, 79 XII. A Huguenot, 89 XIII. At Warham Castle, 99 XIV. A Midnight Visitor, 109 XV. The Escape, «7 XVI. The Pines, 124 XVII. In the Crow's Nest, 133 XVIII. In the Hands of the Enemy, 143 XIX. A Confession, I52 XX. In Presence of the Governor, 161 XXI. A Friend in Need, 17° XXII. The Betrothal 179 XXIII.

Missing, 189 XXIV. How it Happened 189 XXV. Underground, 206 XXVI. The Sentries, 214 XXVII. At Sea, 223 (ii.) CONTENTS CHAPTBR PAGE XXVIII. Master and Man, 230 XXIX. The Pirates 238 XXX. The Captain of the Rouge et Noir, 246 XXXI. A Voice out of the Storm, 254 XXXII. Peril Aloft 262 XXXIII. The Signal Gun 270 XXXIV. Bovet, 278 XXXV. The Prisoners, 287 XXXVI. A Storm at Sea 297 XXXVII. AtTerciora, 3°4 XXXVIII. Georges Mendon of Paris, 313 XXXIX. The Departure, 323 XL. Without Compass, 331 XLI. Financial Transactions, 341 XLII. More Financial Transactions, 350 XLIII. The Haunted Terrace, 359 XLIV. The Ruins, 368 XLV. Tokens, 377 XLVI. Marooned, 385 XLVII. The King of the Island, 393 XLVHI. Shadows, 4°3 XLIX. A Niche in the Wall, 413 L. Found and Lost, 422 LI. "L'Esperanee" Again, 430 LII. Off the Island, 438 LIII. The Man on the Raft, 446 LIV. In Port, 453 LV. The Castaway's Story, 464 Appendix, 479 (") i 1 PRISONERS OF THE SEA

Chapter I Adrift

There were five persons in the boat, three men and two women. The faces of the women were bowed upon their knees, but the three men stared fixedly at a black shapeless mass which lay rising and falling upon the long Atlantic rollers about an eighth of a mile away. Certain jagged protrusions here and there about the mass and the tangle of broken cordage which streamed out dismally upon the night wind, suggested that this dubious object might once have been a ship. Besides the boat and the low -lying mass of wreckage there was no hint of human presence as far as the eye could reach. " She's going now !" exclaimed one of the watchers suddenly in a loud husky whisper. The woman nearest him threw up her head with a sharp cry. As if in answer to the cry the wreck leapt upward convulsively then disappeared amid a sudden fury of boiling surges.

The death struggle of a ship in mid-ocean is an awe some sight, awesome enough if one be safe and sound on the deck of a staunch vessel, but if there be but the flimsy shell of a skiff betwixt the beholder and the eternity of waters beneath, then indeed does the breath come hard, and the puny heartbeat well nigh cease. For some minutes after the disappearance of the wreck no one of the five persons who had witnessed the catas trophe uttered a sound. With eyes fixed blankly upon the spot where the vessel had gone down each sat as if frozen in his place. After a time the man in the middle of the boat gave vent to a short sound, half groan, half snort. "Wall, friends !" he ejaculated slowly, " She's gone down, and the crew's gone down — saving the three of us. The tarnal fools, they've gone whar they belong!"

His voice died away into a husky whisper. Then he began again in a loud defiant tone, "Yes, gone whar they belong, cap'n and all ! God A'mighty kin take care of cowards as 'ull desert their ship and them as is helpless. ' Will you leave the women ?' says I to the cap'n. ' Let'em go to heaven, and be damned to you, sir !' he yells in my ear and jumps into the boat after the others. I heard their death scream a cable's length and I laughed to hear it. Yes sir, I did ! Didn't I tell' em no boat 'ud live in that boiling hell of water? Didn't I say, ' Stand by the ship and the ship 'ull stand by you?' " The speaker's voice rose to a shrill quavering cry and he sprang to his feet with a wild gesture, but the man behind him laid hold on his seaman's jacket with no gentle hand. "Come, Winters, sit down, sit down ! it won't help matters to tip the boat over. ' ' The man addressed as Winters sat down and seized his oars.

"What's your further orders, sir?" he growled without turning his head. "My orders?" repeated the other meditatively. ADRIFT "We had best eat something, I suppose. After that — Yes, decidedly we must eat. Cato, hand up some food for the women." This last remark was addressed to the third man of the party — a negro, who sat flat upon the bottom of the boat, surrounded by a heap of miscellaneous articles. The old sailor shook his head slowly. " A bad busi ness, ' ' he muttered to himself. ' ' I wish the women was safe out of it. Thank God they ain't the cryin' kind — neither mother nor daughter. ' ' He leaned for ward and addressed himself to the silent figures in the stern in what was meant to be a soothing and concilia tory tone. "Be you feelin' much scairt now, ma'am? Feelin' scairt won't help us any, if you'll excuse me for sayin' so.

Jack Winters wasn't built to be drowned, I reckon. I've had a heap of luck in shipwrecks and that's a fact." The speaker paused and laid a cautious forefinger on the bowed shoulder nearest him. " Mebbe she's asleep." " No, I am not asleep," said a sweet clear voice, the English words spoken slowly and with a decided foreign accent. " But I — ah, what will become of us?" "Wall, now, that I can't rightly tell you, miss; but Lord love ye, ma'am, there's land in these here parts and there's vessels — in course there's vessels ! wa'n't our ship here a spell ago? to-morrow, mebbe, 'ull see us on the way to Ameriky with a better ship under us than The White Gull with all her feathers on." The old man faltered a little as if his confident words had choked him in the utterance. The other woman had raised her head and was regarding him earnestly.

"You hear what this good man is saying, Madeline ; there is yet hope that we may be saved. ' ' " Hope !" roared the sailor, " in course there's hope ! Who says there ain't? While there's life, there's hope, my hearties ! — I mean ma'am. Young Baillot here knows every word I've said is Gospel truth, there is land and there is vessels, mebbe not ten miles distant ; more'n that the sea's calm as a milkpan, we've water aboard and — What'd you say, sir?" ' ' That we must eat now, and then take what rest we may till morning. We may need all our strength to reach the land you speak of, Winters." The young man stepped cautiously past the sailor as he spoke, and silently proffered a cup of water and a basin filled with sea biscuit to the two women. The girl laid her hand impulsively upon his arm. "Tell me, monsieur," she began, then stopped ab ruptly.

" I forget — " she faltered drawing back. " But the English, I know it so little — is it possible that we have any chance of safety ? You also are a sailor and a brave man — ah, how brave, since you did not abandon us to our fate in the storm ; tell us shall we be safe ?' ' "We are in no present danger," replied the young man looking down into the dark eyes which were lifted appealingly to his. "As for to-morrow, who can say. We are in God's hands." He said these words in the French language. "You are then — one of us?" It was the older woman who spoke. " I am a Huguenot, madame." At this avowal the girl gave a little cry of joy and surprise, but the other only bowed her head. "We are in God's hands," she repeated gravely.

Chapter II An Ocean Mystery

Towards midnight the fog which had for some hours been creeping about the horizon closed in upon them, bringing with it a cold penetrating drizzle, while the wind freshened so considerably that an occasional dash of spray broke completely over the boat. "It's turned a nasty night, sir, and no mistake," observed Winters, buttoning his jacket tightly about him. " There'll be precious little sleep for the crew of this craft to-night." The old sailor had apparently recovered his spirits by this time, and handled his oars with as much unconcern as if he were in charge of a pleasure excursion. " Here you, Cato !" he bawled. "Catch on to that saucepan and heave some of this water overboard ; we' 11 be swamped if we ain't keerful." Hours passed, the boat wrapped in a smother of fog and night, lashed by the keen whips of the flying crests, laboriously climbed the long sides of the crinkling hills of green water which thrust themselves forward with monotonous regularity out of the darkness, only to feel her way into the yawning valleys between with irresolute pauses and sudden shivers as if she were minded to give up the unequal struggle.

"The water's about my ankles," growled Winters at length. " Quit rowing, mate, and bear a hand with the bailing. I can hold her up to the sea. ' ' "May I not bail?" cried a clear voice from the stern. "lam chilled and stiff with inaction. I must do something to help. ' ' " Let her be !" roared Winters, as the young Hugue not began a remonstrance. " She'll be better astir, and with something to limber her up a bit. Give her the panikin from under the bench, and God help the poor lass to be nimble with it." The regular sound of the basin as it struck the bottom of the boat showed that the girl had set about her task with vigor. "Bravo, miss!" cried Winters at length. "Hold hard, and rest awhile, the water's gone down a good bit since you began to ply that panikin. The dawn's at hand now, and please God, the breeze' 11 quiet down."

The old sailor was right ; before many minutes a faint gray light began to struggle through the fog which still enveloped them. Cheered by the sight Madeline fell to bailing again, though she was wet to the knees, and the heavy masses of her hair, which had become loosened as she worked, fell all about her shoulders. "Madeline, child," said her mother anxiously, pushing aside her encumbering wraps, "let me take the basin for awhile. You must rest. ' ' " No, madame," said Baillot decidedly, " forgive me for having yielded to Winters here ; mademoiselle should not have undertaken such a task." "Don't fret yourself about Winters," growled the old sailor, evidently displeased at this speech. "It's not hurt the young lady, and she's done a good stroke of work, which may save us all in the end."

"Indeed you are right, sir!" exclaimed Madeline. AN OCEAN MYSTERY "I am quite able to go on with it too," she added stoutly. "Of that there is no need at present," said Baillot, taking the basin from her reluctant hand. " The boat has ceased to ship water for the present. ' ' An hour later the fog had entirely vanished, and there was nothing to hinder a clear view of the narrow horizon about them, a floor of dancing waves, foam crested, closed in upon by the cloudless dome of a pale blue sky. "We're too low in the water to see anything," observed the young man impatiently to Winters, who was standing at his side. " Our circle of vision seems no larger than a dinner plate. ' ' " Ay, a lofty perch on the mast, with a good hull rolling beneath were more to my liking, ' ' replied the sailor with a chuckle.

" But what make you of yonder speck ! My eyes are rheumy for lack of sleep, but thar's something thar." Baillot looked keenly in the direction to which the old man pointed. At first he could see nothing but the dazzling play of the sunlit waters, but at length he too seemed to make out something which appeared, as the sailor had said, like a speck on the extreme verge of the horizon. " I see it, Winters," he said at length, "and since we have nothing better to do this morning, let us make for it. What do you think it is?" "Wall, sir,' said Winters slowly, "you can't find out from me ; it may be a rock, it may be a floating mass of wreckage. But as you say, we might as well go that way as apy for aught I see. ' ' For some time the two bent vigorously to the oars, then Baillot again stood up to ascertain the position of the distant object.

" We have either fallen off a couple of points," he observed, " or our rock is afloat ; it has changed its position since I last looked." "What is it?" asked Madame de Langres anxiously ; ' ' have you sighted land ?' ' " Alas, no, madame," replied the young man. " It can be no object of very great size ; but as our course is one of chance, we have determined to find out what yonder black fleck on the horizon is. ' ' " I can see nothing," said Madame de Langres after a prolonged gaze in the direction which the young man had indicated. "I can!" cried the young girl, who was standing up and shading her eyes with her hand from the dazzling sunlight, " and it seems to me that it moves about!" "You are right, miss," exclaimed Winters. "It does move about ! Unless I am mistaken, yonder object is the hull of a vessel.

Of a wreck mayhap ; but there may be that about her which we shall find useful. ' ' The two men again fell to their oars, the negro keeping steadily at his work of bailing, for the boat, it appeared, was leaking badly. " I hope to de Lawd," he was muttering, " dat we'll git quit ob dis boat before night. 01' Cato can't keep up dis yer bailin' much longer. ' ' They were now rapidly nearing the object of their search ; the old sailor was right in his conjecture, it was a hull, apparently that of a small vessel, lying low in the water, and rising and falling on the long ocean swell. "It has masts!" exclaimed Madeline presently, — " two of them, but I see no sails." AN OCEAN MYSTERY At this intelligence the men dropped their oars. ' ' Ay, masts she has ! ' ' cried Winters. ' ' And as deli cate as a lady's finger.

Yonder's no wreck, but blow me if I can make her out ! She's like no craft I ever saw at sea. Give way, man ! we'll soon find out what she is." Half an hour more of hard pulling brought them within hailing distance ; and Baillot, standing up in the bow of the boat, and making a trumpet of his hands, shouted : "Ship, ahoy! Ship, ahoy !" He paused and waited, but no sign of life appeared about the vessel. Again rang out the long musical cry across the water : " Ship, ahoy ! Ship, ahoy !" ' ' Can we not go nearer ?' ' cried Madeline, her eyes shining like stars in her excitement. "Surely there can be nothing to harm us !" The little vessel, with its dark green hull, its slender masts, against which lay the neatly furled sails, its glit tering brass work, and the delicate web-like tracery of its rigging, looked like a fairy craft.

The old sailor sat staring at her, his eyes bulging out of his head, his mouth open. "Wall, I'll be everlast ingly blowed if I can make her out !" he ejaculated at length. " I've seed her like on the Thames, I'm thinking. 'Tis a pleasure yacht ! But how did she come here? Why ain't she blowed to pieces with the hur ricane? Whar's the folks what sail her?" "There must be some one on board,'' said Madame de Langres, with manifest excitement. "Perhaps they are below. ' ' "£' Esperance !" cried Madeline, as she caught sight of the gilded letters which ran about the bow. "L' Esperance !" echoed Madame de Langres. " Are we all dreaming ? Surely this seems to be too wonder ful a thing to belong to the waking world." "Look, sir!" suddenly exclaimed Winters, catching at the arm of the young Huguenot.

" Do you see that?" He pointed, as he spoke, to the end of a heavy cable which was hanging from the bow. "It's her hawser sir, and it wasn't cut many hours since !"

Chapter III

l' esperance The young man caught the end of the rope and swung himself to the deck of the yacht. ' ' I will look below and report," he said, briefly. "Keep clear of her sides, Winters, till I come back !" With that he disappeared down the companion-way. He was on deck again within five minutes, and waved his hand reassuringly to the party in the boat. "There's not a soul on board !" he cried. "L'Es perance is a derelict, and ours by right ; let us take pos session at once. Here, Winters, make the boat fast at both ends ; then pass up the ladies. ' ' Winters prepared to obey. A few minutes sufficed to make their frail craft secure ; then the old man, planting his sturdy legs far apart, reached out his hands to Madeline. "Come, miss," he said, "I'll take you first." " But how am I to get up there, sir?" said Madeline, drawing back a little.

" Wall, you can't get aboard as our friend Baillot did just now, can you, miss ? So I must just hand you up to the deck, like a precious bit of cargo as you be." And unceremoniously seizing the girl in both his brawny arms, he lifted her to where Baillot was waiting to receive her. The natural embarrassment which she felt at this novel mode of conveyance was speedily lost in concern for her mother, who still sat in the boat below. "Mother," she cried anxiously, " do not fear !" "lam not afraid," said Madame de Langres, with a quiet smile. Winters lifted her with surprising gentleness, and in another instant she stood beside her daughter on the deck. Cato followed, scrambling over the side of the vessel as nimbly as a cat, and lastly Winters. All instinctively looked down at the boat which they had just quitted.

It was nearly a third full of water, for the leak had been gaining on them rapidly within the past hour. For a moment no one spoke ; then Cato, true to his craft, exclaimed, "We have left our water and biscuits behind ; dis yer ship's mighty sine, but what about her victuals ?' ' No one had thought of that, and Winters paused as he was about to cut the ropes which held the water logged boat. "You've got more sense in your woolly pate than I gave you credit for, Cato," he said. " Suppose you do a little exploring on your own account; you'll scent victuals if there be any, I'll warrant me. I'll bring aboard what we had, sir," he continued, "though wet biscuits are sorry eating; but it'll serve us, I reckon. By the token of the fresh -cut hawser, we'll see land afore many days. ' ' With a last look at the sinking boat, the women turned toward the companion-way.

They were wet to the skin, and trembling with fatigue. As they entered the cabin Madeline could not repress a cry of delight. Rich rugs carpeted the floor ; costly tapestries covered the walls ; while parted curtains of L' ESPERANCE crimson stuff revealed a second cabin, also a marvel of comfort and beauty. "'Tis nothing less than a fairy craft!" she said, shaking her head solemnly. "What if it dissolve in foam beneath our feet, and leave us luckless wanderers to sink to the ocean caves of the tricksy sprites who created it?" " Heaven forefend !" said Baillot with a grave smile. " Luckily for us it seems more substantial than the fabric which dreams are made of, though it is quite as strange and hard to believe in. I will send Cato with refreshments of some sort. ' ' The women scarcely had time to look about them, when a light tap sounded on the cabin door.

It was Cato bearing a tray laden with silver dishes. "More marvels, Cato?" inquired Madeline. " De best ting yet, lady 1" cried the old negro joyfully. " De Lawd mus' hab put dis yer ship here a purpose for us. Dar's de lubliest cook's galley ye eber see, with ebery kin ob saucepan, an' all shinin' like pure silver. An' dar's victuals fit to make a hungry man's mouf water. I didn't wait to do no fancy cookin' though, jest knocked up somethin' in a hurry, case I knew ye was 'bout starved." The old negro had been busy setting forth the con tents of his tray on a small richly carved table. His task finished, he paused a moment longer to say, " Dey's a makin' ready to get under way. I don' surely know, but I tink dey see Ian'. I ain't in no hurry, de Lawd knows when I'll get anodder such kit o' saucepans."

"You had best get back to those same saucepans, Cato, or our hungry crew will be helping themselves," observed Madeline, smiling. At this suggestion the old man vanished at once. Above stairs all was hurry and excitement. Baillot had climbed into the rigging, and was studying the horizon with a small glass which he had found in the cabin below. "What do you make, sir?" questioned Winters anxiously. The young man handed him the glass. "Ay, ay, land ! And that not far distant. If this 'ere craft has a nimble foot, as befits so fine a lady, we shall make it afore sunset ! We can crowd all sail, sir, in this breeze." The two set busily to work, and soon every stitch of canvas was set. Baillot sprang to the helm, the sails filled and the graceful hull began to move through the water. "This is a glorious little craft, sir!" cried Winters.

" See the spray fly from beneath her forefoot ! But she's not built for bad weather, and that's a brewing for to-morrow. Give me the helm, sir, and get some thing into your hold." " Tell Cato to fetch me a biscuit and do you go and eat, Winters," said Baillot, observing the ashen pallor which showed beneath the old man's tan. "You're starving, man !" " Ay ! mate, something's the matter," grumbled the sailor, laying his hand over the pit of his stomach. " I am not the man I was once !" "You'll sing a different tune after a good meal. Come, begone; and don't show your face on deck in too great a hurry. ' ' Left to himself the young man cast a thoughtful glance about the vessel. He was greatly perplexed by L'ESPfcRANCE her appearance, though he had said little to any of the company. In a region of the ocean which he knew to be desolate and far from any civilized coast, how was it possible for a yacht fit for the occupancy of some gay queen to be afloat.

He was presently aroused from his revery by the sound of a light footfall behind him. ' ' I have not your permission, monsieur, to appear upon deck," said Madeline demurely, "yet I am here, with my usual boldness, to ask a question." "Surely, mademoiselle! you did not misunderstand me, when I forbade you to venture onto the slippery, wave-swept deck of the wreck." "Assuredly not," said the girl dropping her eyelids. "I am not an able seaman, but only a woman, and therefore quite unnecessary and seriously in the way. You did right to rebuke me as severely as you did ; 'twas well merited on my part." "Mademoiselle!" exclaimed the Huguenot, "what can I say to assure you that far from being — " "You may tell me," interrupted the girl hastily, " whether it is true that we have sighted land : Madame, my mother, sent me to inquire.

We are forced," she added haughtily, "into many positions which are dis tasteful." The young man bowed with an air as haughty as her own. "I have the pleasure of informing Mademoi selle de Langres, that we have sighted land ; if the breeze holds good, we shall reach it before sunset. ' ' " What can it be ?" said Madeline easily, apparently quite unmindful of his frigid manner. " I know noth ing of our whereabouts, but are we not in the very midst of the ocean?" "I made instant search for maps and instruments when I first boarded the vessel," replied Baillot, "but I found nothing to throw any light on our position. This vessel is evidently a pleasure craft, intended for the idle amusement of a summer's day ; she has drifted from her moorings which cannot be far distant, as the freshly-cut hawser and her perfect condition testify.

We shall doubtless find a very prosaic explanation of the mystery when we reach yonder shore, ' ' he added with a short laugh. "Perchance the barbaric prince of yonder island has seized this gay craft — but, no, that cannot be. ' ' And fixing his eyes on the horizon the young man relapsed into silence. " The barbaric prince of your imaginings must be a man of learning," observed Madeline quietly, " for see what I found lying on the open lid of an escritoire below !" And she held up a slip of paper on which was inscribed in a peculiar, but perfectly legible hand a fragment of Latin verse. "But I must go below — thank you for the information which will enable my mother to repose more at her ease. ' ' By the middle of the afternoon the shores and pro montories of the island— for such it appeared, began to assume distinct proportions.

The women had reappeared upon deck, looking greatly refreshed by their hours of repose. "Would you not like to examine the shore with the glass ?' ' said Baillot, addressing Madame de Langres near whose chair he was standing. The lady accepted the proffered instrument and gazed long and earnestly at the coast which they were rapidly nearing. "I see nothing to indicate that the island is in- L' ESPERANCE habited," she said at length, raising her eyes to the young man's serious face. "Nothing but wooded heights, and a desolate reach of shore. Yet I shall be most thankful to once more set foot upon solid ground, even though it be but a savage solitude. Do you see anything more than I have said, daughter ?' ' " No, mother," said Madeline. " I see nothing but hills covered with trees, and the beach below on which the surf appears to be rolling heavily.

How shall we effect a landing ?' ' "That's what I want to know," said Winters, who had overheard the question. " What say you, sir ; shall we skirt the island a bit in search of a bay or creek into which we may safely thrust our little craft? Ifyon's a desert island we shall want to sail further some fine day, and I've no notion of stubbing my lady's toe on yonder beach; she'd do no more dancing for us, nor for any one else. ' ' " Let us skirt the island by all means," said Baillot. "We shall then have a clearer idea of the character and extent of the coast. We may find it a difficult if not impossible task to land at any point." "Never fear, sir, we'll find a nook for our beauty to weather the night in. I've no notion of sailing her much further on this cruise." " We shall see, Winters. I sincerely hope that you are right."

"And I," said Madame de Langres, "hope for the sight of a civilized town on the other side of the island. ' ' "That you won't see, ma'am," said the sailor. " For though I couldn't tell you precisely where we be, I'll bet my head thar's no town within a thousand miles of us." " Is there no other land in sight ?" asked the lady. "No other, madame," replied Baillot, who was in his turn examining the coast with the aid of the glass. " Then must not the owner of this wandering butter fly of a vessel dwell on yonder island ? It can scarcely have been afloat long." "If such be not the case, madame," replied the young man, "we shall be forced to adopt old Cato's pious explanation. He declares that the powers above have dropped this little craft from the clouds for our especial benefit." "That we were providentially guided to it, I do not fora moment doubt," said Madame de Langres with emotion.