it was just getting light on the following morning when the sound of a cannon was heard, and it was followed by several other shots, mingled with the rattle of distant musketry. the town woke up with a start. drums beat in the streets, and in a minute or two men armed with rifles and muskets poured out from their houses, and hurried to the rendezvous settled upon the night before. the firing came from the eastern side of the town, and the three batteries in that direction were all engaged. mingled with the report of the guns came the sound of a more distant cannonade, showing that the insurgents' artillery was also at work. among the shipping there was as great an excitement as in the town. on board[pg 274] every ship men were running up the ratlines to see if a view of the scene of action could be obtained from aloft. on the decks numbers of women, who had hastily thrown on their upper clothing, or wrapped themselves in shawls, listened anxiously to the sound of firing. scarce one but had a husband, brother, or son among the defenders of the place.
there were ten vessels lying outside the agile, and from each of these boats presently put off to the brigantine, some with three or four men, others with as many as ten, all armed with muskets.
"you will soon see how matters go, turnbull, and whether this is a real or only a feigned attack."
the landing-party were in a few minutes ready to embark. each man carried fifty rounds of ammunition for his musket, and a dozen additional cartridges for his pistols. their water-bottles were slung over their shoulders, and each had a hunch of bread and of cold meat that had been boiled in the galley the night before in readiness. they took their places in the cutter and gig, and were soon rowed ashore to the point which nat had fixed on the previous evening. the various boats and lighters used in loading the ships had all been gathered at the quay facing the agile, and nat was pleased to see that his advice in this respect had been followed.
the orders to sam and pomp, who were to remain one in each boat, were that they should push the boats out as far as the head-ropes—which had been lengthened for the occasion—would allow them, drop a small grapnel over the stern, and should then keep a sharp look-out. the moment the party were seen returning they were to pull up the grapnels, and haul on the head-ropes till the boats were alongside. both were armed, and the orders were that they were to shoot anyone who should try to force himself into either boat before the sailors came up.
nat led his party to an empty house close to the street com[pg 275]manded by the agile's guns. six of the sailors were placed as sentinels at the ends of streets running into this, the rest piled arms.
"now, mr. lippincott, i shall be obliged if you will go and ascertain how the affair is proceeding, and whether the batteries are keeping the insurgents well in check. i am about to start for the battery on this side, where i shall get a fair view of the country round, and see how matters stand.
"you will remain here, mr. thompson," he went on to the boatswain, "in charge of the party. i shall take newman with me in case i have any orders to send to you. will you come with me also, doyle?"
the two officers, followed by an active young seaman, started. on arriving near the end of the native town, nat was glad to see a group of the volunteers in front of him. they saluted as he came up.
"what force have you here, gentlemen?" he asked.
"fifty men, captain."
"it would have been better if it had been a hundred and fifty. if they come here in force you will not be able to keep them at bay long. where is your main body?"
"they are gathered in front of the municipal offices in readiness to move wherever their services may be most required."
"that is quite satisfactory. i was afraid that most of them might be at the batteries at the other side of the town, where the troops ought to be quite able to hold their own against the blacks."
at this moment another gentleman, with a red sash over his shoulder, came up. he was the commander of the company stationed there.
"i am afraid that we are rather out of it, monsieur," he said, after exchanging salutes with nat.
"i am still more afraid, sir, that you are by no means out[pg 276] of it. i think that you will find that before many minutes are over you will be hotly engaged. i have come forward to tell you that my men are placed just on the other side of royal street, and to beg that if you are not able to maintain yourselves here—and if you are attacked, i am convinced that it will be in such force that you will be unable to do so—you will not endanger your force by holding on here too long, but will retreat to royal street, and there make a stand, occupying the houses on the other side of the street. the guns of my vessel are loaded and in readiness to sweep the street with grape as the negroes try to cross it; and we shall have in addition some forty or fifty men from the merchantmen outside her, who will aid in keeping them in check. if i might advise you, i should say that it would be well for you to write a note, now that you have time to do so, saying that you are attacked in overwhelming force, and are about to fall back to royal street, which you will, aided by my sailors and guns, hold to the last, and begging your commander to send his whole force up to support you. this you will, of course, keep until the attack comes, and will send off as soon as you perceive that your position here is untenable."
"i think that is a very good suggestion," the officer said, "and shall carry it out at once."
"i will go on to the battery," nat said; "from there i shall get a better idea of the situation."
they had scarcely gone beyond the line of houses when a french soldier came running in.
"what is your news?" nat asked him.
"a great crowd of the enemy are coming, sir. the captain has sent me to beg the commander of the volunteers here to bring up his force to support him."
"you will find him a hundred yards farther on. now, doctor, you will go forward and have a look."[pg 277]
arriving at the battery, which was manned by twenty french soldiers under a young lieutenant, nat and the doctor mounted the parapet. the enemy were still half a mile away. they were in no sort of order, but were coming on in a confused mass.
"there must be three or four thousand of them, lieutenant," nat said quietly. "you may check them a little, but you will never keep them out of the town if they come on with a rush. i suppose you are loaded with grape?"
"yes, monsieur," the young frenchman said.
he felt relieved at the arrival of the commander of the british ship of war, for he was feeling the responsibility of his position greatly.
"i should let them get within four or five hundred yards," nat said quietly, "then fire your guns singly, loading as rapidly as possible. here come the volunteers; place five-and-twenty of them on each side of your battery. let them lie down, and open fire when the enemy are within two hundred and fifty yards. if they come on in spite of the fire, i should say that you had best all retire at the double. it will be of no use trying to hold the houses; they would only outflank you and cut you off. i have already arranged with the volunteers that they shall make a stand at royal street. i have a party of my sailors there in readiness to help them, and as the guns of my ship will sweep the street we should certainly be able to hold it until help arrives."
"thank you, monsieur, i will do as you suggest."
at this moment the volunteers came up at a run.
"where do you wish me to place my men?" the captain said to the french lieutenant.
"i shall be obliged if you will put half of them on each side of the battery. let them lie down there, and open fire when the enemy are within two hundred and fifty yards. if[pg 278] when they get within a hundred yards, your fire and ours does not stop them, we will then retreat together at the double. if we were once surrounded we should have no chance whatever. give your guns an elevation of five hundred yards," he said to his men.
when this was done he looked inquiringly at nat. the other nodded.
"yes, i think it is about five hundred yards." then he turned to the seaman: "go back as quickly as you can, newman, and tell mr. thompson that the blacks are coming, and that we shall probably be with him five minutes after you arrive. tell him also to send a man down as we had arranged to the wharf, to signal to the ship to be in readiness."
as he spoke the first of the guns boomed out. a few seconds later the second was fired, and this was followed by the third at a similar interval. the cannon were old ship guns, and had been heavily charged with grape, and the destruction wrought upon the crowded mass of negroes was so great that they stopped suddenly. several of their leaders were seen to rush to the front waving and gesticulating, and with a wild yell the negroes again advanced. they had gone but fifty yards when the gun that was first fired spoke out again, followed quickly by the others. this time there was no pause in the advance. yelling furiously the negroes, who were armed with guns, discharged them at random. two more rounds were fired, and then the crakle of the rifles and muskets of the volunteers broke out. the centre of the negro line paused indecisively, but the flanks continued on their way without a check.
"it is just as i thought," nat said to the doctor, who was loading and firing his piece rapidly. "do you see how their flanks are extending? one more round, lieutenant, and then we had best be going, or we shall be cut off from the town."[pg 279]
again the three guns were discharged. the execution was terrible in the centre of the black line, but the flanks still kept on.
"now, captain, get your men together," nat said to the civilian officer who was standing beside him; "if you go to the right i will go to the left. they won't hear our voices in this din."
another half-minute and the soldiers and volunteers were running at the top of their speed, but keeping well together, towards the town. they had a hundred and fifty yards' start, and also the advantage that the blacks had been coming forward at a run for over half a mile. therefore, although the latter came on with yells of triumph and exultation, they did not gain on the little party. indeed, when they once entered the native town the french considerably increased their distance, for the negroes, fearing that they might fall into an ambush, came along more carefully.
"post your men at the windows of the houses opposite to you," nat said to the french lieutenant.
"did you send your messenger on?" he asked, as he ran up to the volunteer officer.
the latter gave an exclamation of horror.
"no, i forgot all about it."
"so did i, or i should have reminded you of it. give it to one of the men now, and tell him to take it as hard as he can run. tell your men off in threes and fours to the houses opposite. i have no doubt we can keep them in check till help comes."
thompson was waiting in the street as the party ran up.
"where have you posted your men?" nat asked him.
"i thought most likely that they would come down this street, so i put four men in each of the two houses facing it, seven are in the two houses facing the next street coming down, the rest are here."[pg 280]
nat hurried up to the french officer.
"my men are in the two houses facing this and the next street, will you occupy the houses next them, and tell the officer of the volunteers to scatter his men in twos and threes in the other houses. doctor, you had better join the party in the house facing the next street; and do you, mr. thompson, place yourself with five men in the house facing the street beyond. we shall have the brunt of it, for they are more likely to come by these streets than by those near the harbour, knowing, as they do, that our ship is lying anchored off there."
it was three or four minutes before nat, from the window at which he had posted himself, saw a great body of negroes and mulattoes coming along the street facing him.
"open fire at once, lads," he said. "take good aim; every shot ought to tell in that crowd, and our fire will let them know on board that the blacks are close at hand."
yelling, shouting, and brandishing their weapons, the insurgents poured down. the fire from the next two parties had showed that the negroes were also advancing by the streets above.
a minute later three black columns poured into royal street, and as they did so a fire broke out from every window facing them. then came a deep roar, and a storm of grape swept along the street; another and another followed, and with yells of surprise and fear the rioters rushed back into shelter, leaving the streets strewn with dead and dying. it was some minutes before they could rally, and in the meantime three of the guns of the agile sent ball after ball among the houses to the west of the street. three times did the negroes attempt to cross the fatal road, but each time they fell back with heavy loss, which was specially severe in their last attempt, as the main body of the volunteers had now come up, entered by the backs of the houses and joined the[pg 281] defenders, and the fire of two hundred and fifty muskets played terrible havoc among the assailants. there was a pause in the fight now, and the ship's broadside continued to sweep the native town with balls while an occasional spurt of musketry fire broke out when the blacks showed themselves in any of the streets. suddenly from a score of houses in the native town smoke, followed speedily by flames, mounted up.
"the scoundrels have fired the town," exclaimed doyle, who had now joined nat. "they see they have no chance of crossing here, and as they cannot plunder the place they have made up their mind to destroy it."
"yes, and they are likely to succeed, doctor, the wind is blowing this way. half the native houses are roofed with palm leaves, and will burn like tinder. our only chance now is to drive the blacks out altogether and then fight the fire."
he at once sent a sailor down with a flag to signal to the ship to stop firing, then he went out into the street. as soon as he was seen he was joined by the french lieutenant and the commander, with several officers of the volunteers, together with monsieur pickard.
"i think, gentlemen," nat said, "that unless we take the offensive and drive the blacks out of the town there will be little hope of extinguishing the fire. the wind is blowing strongly in this direction, and there is not a moment to be lost if we are to save the town. the negroes must be thoroughly demoralized, they must have lost over a thousand men here and three or four hundred before they entered the town. it is quite likely that they have retreated already, but in any case i do not anticipate any serious resistance."
the others at once agreed. the drums were beaten, and the volunteers, soldiers, and sailors poured out from the houses, and then, dividing into three columns, advanced down the streets through which the blacks had retired. they met with[pg 282] no resistance. a few negroes who had entered houses to gather plunder were shot down as they issued out, but with these exceptions none of the enemy were seen until the columns issued from the town, when the negroes could be seen retreating at a run across the plain. the french officer at once ran forward with his men to the little battery, and sent shot after shot among them, for they were still less than half a mile away. the sailors and volunteers slung their muskets behind them, and, running back, endeavoured to check the course of the flames. this, however, was impossible. the fire spread from house to house with extraordinary rapidity. the wind hurled the burning flakes on ahead, dropping many upon the inflammable roofs, and in twenty minutes the whole quarter west of royal street was in flames. nat was now joined by turnbull and all the crew, the two negroes, who had been sent off to the ship with the boats, alone remaining in charge of the vessel.
"we have beaten the negroes, turnbull, but the fire will beat us. if this wind continues it will sweep the whole town away. it is useless to try and save any of these native houses. look at the burning flakes flying over our heads!"
after a short consultation with the french officers they agreed that the only chance was to arrest the fire at the edge of the european quarter, and that the whole force should at once set to work to pull down the native houses adjoining them. the sound of cannon on the other side of the town had continued until now, but it gradually ceased, as the news reached the negroes there that the main attack, of whose success they had felt sure, had hopelessly failed, and it was not long before the troops from the batteries came up to assist the workers. their labours, however, were in vain. a shout of dismay called the attention of the men who, half-blinded with the dust and smoke, were working their utmost. looking round,[pg 283] they saw that the flames were mounting up from several of the houses behind them. the wood-work was everywhere as dry as tinder, and the burning flakes, which were falling thickly upon them, had set the houses on fire in a dozen places.
"we can do nothing more, sir," the officer in command of the troops said. "the business part of the town is doomed. all that we could even hope to save are the detached houses standing in gardens and shrubberies."
so it turned out. the flames swept onward until the business quarter, as well as the native town, was completely burnt out, and it needed all the efforts of the soldiers and inhabitants to prevent the private residences of the merchants and planters from being ignited by the burning fragments scattered far and wide by the wind. it was noon when the officers and crew of the agile, accompanied by m. pickard—who was, like all the rest blackened by the dust and smoke—returned on board.
"well, that has been as hot a morning's work as i ever went through," turnbull said. "it is hard to believe that a battle has been fought and a town destroyed in the course of about five hours."
"yes; i think on the whole we may be very well satisfied, turnbull, though i suppose the people who have lost their houses and stores will hardly see it in the same light. still, they saved their lives, and at any rate, monsieur pickard, you can be congratulated on having got all your goods on board just in time."
"i am thankful indeed that it is so," the planter said. "i hope, of course, to get something for my estate. as to the house, after what we have seen here i cannot set much value on it. what has happened this morning may happen at cape fran?ois to-morrow. they might not be able to take it, but a dozen negroes choosing their time when a strong wind is[pg 284] blowing, and starting the fires in as many places, might level the town to the ground. at any rate, i shall direct the captain of the brig to sail at once for kingston, and to deliver the cargo to my agent there, and shall proceed myself to cape fran?ois. i wish to learn whether the bank there has sent off its funds and securities to some safer place, or is retaining them. in the latter case i shall withdraw them at once, and shall put up my estates for sale."
"i will give you a passage, monsieur pickard. i have nothing more to stay here for, and shall sail up the coast to-morrow morning."
"thank you very much; i accept your offer with gladness. i am anxious to close all my connection with this unfortunate island as soon as possible."
in the afternoon the governor of the town, with the officer commanding the troops, the maire, and a deputation of the leading citizens, came off to thank nat for the assistance that his crew and guns had rendered. they brought with them an official document rehearsing these services, and saying that had it not been for the assistance they had rendered, the town would undoubtedly have been captured by the blacks, and probably all the whites on shore massacred, together with their wives and families, who had taken refuge on board the shipping. the commandant stated that this document would be sent to the british admiral at kingston. nat replied very modestly, saying that both the officers and men on board had rejoiced at being able to render a service in the cause of humanity, and that he was only acting in accordance with the orders he had received from the admiral to afford every aid in his power to the white population of the island.
after this official visit many of the merchants, planters, and military officers came off individually to thank him for having saved their wives and families by the protection that he had[pg 285] afforded to the shipping, and by the aid given by his guns and the landing-party, which had alone saved the town from capture. at daybreak next morning the agile got up her anchor and started for the north. the brig containing monsieur pickard's property had sailed the previous afternoon, and the rest of the shipping were preparing to start at the time the agile got up anchor. all of them were crowded with fugitives, the women and children being now joined by many of their male relatives, who had lost almost all they possessed by the destruction of their homes and warehouses.
the next morning the brigantine arrived at cape fran?ois. the news she brought of the destruction of port-au-prince caused great excitement, as it was felt that the fate that had befallen one town might well happen to another. monsieur pickard at once went to the bank, where he found that the greater portion of the specie and all valuable documents had already been sent for safety to jamaica, and he received an order upon the bank there for the payment to him of the money he had placed on deposit in the bank, and of the various securities and documents that had been held in safe-keeping for him. he then went to pay a visit to monsieur duchesne, to whose house nat, who had landed with him, had gone direct. the family were delighted to see him.
"you may expect another visitor shortly," he said. "monsieur pickard has come on shore with me; he has gone to the bank now, but said that he would come on here later."
"then he has escaped," madame duchesne exclaimed. "we had hardly even hoped that he and his family had done so, for we knew that the blacks had risen everywhere in that part of the island."
"yes, i am happy to say that he, madame pickard, and his two daughters, all got safely away; in fact, they all came off to my craft—not the agile, you know, but to the arrow; and[pg 286] i had the pleasure of taking them as passengers to jamaica, where the ladies still are."
"that is good news indeed," myra said. "valerie is a great friend of mine. of course louise is younger, but i was very fond of her too. the year before last i spent a couple of months with them at their plantation; and, as i daresay they told you, they are always here for three or four months in the winter season."
nat then told them what had taken place at port-au-prince, and how he and his men had taken part in the fight.
"it is terrible news indeed," said m. duchesne; "and one can scarcely feel safe here. port-au-prince is the largest town in hayti, with the exception only of this, which is quite as open to the danger of fire. i think this will decide us on leaving. matters seem going from bad to worse. i don't know whether you know that three commissioners have arrived from france. so far from improving the state of things, they are making them worse every day. as far as can be seen, they are occupied solely in filling their own pockets; they have enormously increased the taxation, and that at a time when everyone is on the verge of ruin. no account is given of the sums they collect, and certainly the money has not been spent in taking any measures either for the safety of the town or for the suppression of the insurrection. i have wound up all my affairs here, and have disposed of our plantations. there are many who still believe that in time everything will come right again; i have myself no hope. even if we got peaceful possession of our estates, there would be no hands to work them. the freedom of all the blacks has been voted by that mad assembly in paris; and if there is one thing more certain than another, it is that the negroes will not work until they are obliged to, so the estates will be practically worthless. therefore i have accepted an offer for a sum which is about a[pg 287] quarter of what the estate was worth before, and consider that it is so much saved out of the fire."
"monsieur pickard is of exactly the same opinion as you are," nat said, "and has come here principally for the purpose of disposing of his estate on any terms that he can obtain."
"well, i do not think he will find any difficulty in getting about the same proportion of value as we have done. the rich mulattoes are buying freely, and, as i say, some of the whites are doing the same. ah, here he is!
"ah, my dear pickard, we are glad indeed to see you, and to learn from our friend here that your wife and daughters are safe in jamaica."
"we have been very anxious about you," madame duchesne said; "and myra has been constantly talking of your family."
"it was the same with us, i can assure you, madame; and it is strange that we should first have obtained tidings of your safety from monsieur glover, and that you should also have obtained news of ours from him. still more so that while he has, as he said to us, been of some little service to you—but which, we learnt from one of his officers, seems to have been considerable—it is to him that we also owe our lives."
"little service!" madame duchesne repeated indignantly. "however, we know monsieur glover of old. first of all he saved myra's life from that dog, and certainly he saved both our lives from the negroes. and did he save yours? he has just told us that you came on board with him, and that he took you to jamaica. still, that is not like what he did for us."
"that is one way of putting it, madame," monsieur pickard said with a smile; "but as you say you know him of old, you will not be surprised at the little story that i have to tell you."
"not now, monsieur pickard," nat said hastily, "or if you[pg 288] do i shall say good-bye to madame duchesne at once, and go straight on board."
"you must not do that," madame duchesne said as he rose to his feet; "you have only just arrived, and we are not going to let you off so easily."
"we will compromise," her husband said. "now, monsieur glover, you know that my wife and daughter will be dying of curiosity until they hear this story. suppose you take a turn down the town with me. i will go and enquire whether there is any ship likely to sail in the course of a few days or so for jamaica. then monsieur pickard can tell his story, and my wife can retail it to me later on. you see, monsieur pickard's wife and daughters are great friends of ours, and madame and myra naturally wish to hear what has happened to them during this terrible time."
"very well," nat said with a laugh, "i don't mind accepting that compromise; but really i do hate hearing things talked over which were just ordinary affairs. but remember that monsieur pickard naturally will make a great deal more of them than they are worth, since, no doubt, the outcome of them was that he and his family did get out of the hands of the blacks in consequence. now, monsieur duchesne, i will start with you at once, so that madame and myra's curiosity may be satisfied as soon as possible."
monsieur duchesne took nat first to call upon the three commissioners, who happened to be gathered in council. the commandant at port-au-prince had asked him to convey the report he had hastily drawn up of the attack on the town. this he had sent ashore as soon as he anchored; and the commissioners were discussing the news when nat and monsieur duchesne were shown in.
"i thought, gentlemen," nat said, "that you might perhaps like to ask me questions upon any point that was not explained[pg 289] in the commandant's report, which was, as he told me, drawn up in great haste; for with four-fifths of the town laid in ashes, and the population homeless and unprovided with food, his hands were full indeed."
"thank you, lieutenant glover. the report does full justice to your interposition in our favour, and indeed states that had it not been for the assistance rendered by yourself and the ship of war you command, the town would unquestionably have been carried by the insurgents, and that the whole of the whites, including the troops, would probably have been massacred. had this been done, it would undoubtedly have so greatly encouraged the rioters that we could hardly have hoped to maintain our hold even of this city."
"i was only carrying out the orders that i received in landing to protect the white inhabitants from massacre, gentlemen."
"in your opinion, is anyone to blame for the course events took?"
"even had i that opinion," nat said, "i should certainly not consider myself justified in criticising the action of the officers and authorities of a foreign power. however, the circle of the town was too large to be defended by the force available, of whom half were volunteers, ready to fight most gallantly, as i can testify, but not possessing the discipline of trained troops. i do not think, however, that even had batteries been erected all round the town, the insurgents could have been prevented from effecting an entrance at some points, and setting fire to the houses. they advanced with great determination, in spite of the destructive grape fire maintained by the three guns of the battery. undoubtedly had the batteries been placed together on that side, as on the one at which it was thought probable that the attack would be made, the insurgents might have been repulsed, but it would[pg 290] have needed a much larger force than that in the town to man all those batteries. and i think it is by no means improbable that even in that case the town might have been burnt; for there were still a large number of negroes employed on the wharves and in the warehouses, and you may take it as certain that some of these were in close communication with the insurgents, and probably agreed to fire the town should their friends fail to effect an entrance. i can only say, sir, that the citizens enrolled for defence fought most gallantly, as did the small party of soldiers manning the battery on that side, and that when the fighting was over all laboured nobly to check the progress of the flames."
several questions were put to him concerning the details of the fighting, and the measures that had been taken for the safety of the women and children, the part his own men played, and the manner in which the insurgents, after gaining a footing in the town, had been prevented from obtaining entire possession of it. at the conclusion of the interview, which had lasted for upwards of two hours, the commissioners thanked nat very cordially.
"you see," monsieur duchesne said, when they left the governor's house, "they asked no single question as to whether you thought there was any danger of a similar catastrophe taking place here."
"yes, i noticed they did not. if they had, i could have told them very plainly that, although the negroes suffered very heavily, yet the news that the second town in hayti had been almost destroyed would be sure to raise their hopes, and that i consider it extremely probable that some day or other this town will also be attacked, and no time should be lost in putting it into a state of thorough defence. i can't say that they impressed me at all favourably."
"short as is the time that they have been here, they have[pg 291] managed to excite all parties against them. they have issued an amnesty, pardoning even those who have committed the most frightful atrocities upon us. they have infuriated a portion of the mulattoes by announcing the repeal of the decree in their favour. without a shadow of legal authority they have extorted large sums of money from those mulattoes who have remained quiet and are resident here, and seem bent upon extracting all that remains of their late fortune from the whites. one of them is frequently drunk and leads a scandalous life; another appears bent solely upon enriching himself; the third seems to be a well-meaning man, but he is wholly under the control of his drunken companion. if this is the sort of aid we are to receive from france, our future is hopeless indeed. and, indeed, no small portion of my friends begin to see that unless england takes possession of the island the future is altogether hopeless. the general opinion here is that it is impossible that peace can much longer be maintained between england and france, and they hope that one of the first steps england will take after war is declared will be to land an army here."
"if the english government were persuaded that the mulattoes and negroes as well as the whites were favourable, i should think that the island might be annexed without difficulty; but unless all parties are agreed i cannot think that a force could be spared that could even hope for success. it would have been an easy task before the mulattoes and the slaves learned their own strength, but it is a very different thing now; and i should say that it would need at least five-and-twenty thousand men, and perhaps even twice that number, to reduce the island to submission and to restore peace and order. i cannot think that, engaged in a war with france, england would be able to spare anything like that force for a difficult and almost certainly a long series of operations here."[pg 292]
by this time they had arrived at monsieur duchesne's house.
"our friend has only just finished his story," madame duchesne said, as he entered. "what a story! what frightful sufferings! what horrors! and," she added with a smile, though her eyes were full of tears—"what 'little' service rendered by you and your brave crew! he has told it all, and of your fight afterwards with that terrible pirate, and how you have added to the list of those you have saved from terrible deaths some eighteen or twenty spanish gentlemen and ladies, and twice as many sailors."
"yes, i have had wonderful luck," nat said; "and you see i have been well rewarded. i am only just out of my time as a midshipman, and i am in command of a fine ship, which, in the ordinary course of things, i could not have hoped for for another eight or ten years. i have gained a considerable amount of prize-money, and best of all, the friendship of yourselves and the family of monsieur pickard. and the real author of all this is mademoiselle myra, who was good enough to have that little quarrel with her aunt's dog just at the time that i happened to be passing."
this raised a laugh, which in myra's case became almost hysterical, and her mother had to take her out of the room.
"now, monsieur duchesne, i will take this opportunity of returning on board. i promised you that i would come ashore and dine with you this evening, but i must really make its fulfilment conditional upon your assuring me that there shall be no allusion to any of my adventures."
"at any rate, i will impress upon my wife and daughter that the subject must be tabooed, and i have no doubt that they will do their best to avoid it, if they can keep away from the topic that cannot but be present in their minds. after hearing monsieur pickard's story—of which, as you must remember, i am at present wholly ignorant—you see that, [pg 293]intimate as the two families have been, it is not surprising that they should have been greatly affected by it, especially as for the last month they have been mourning for them as dead."
