Chapter Ten.A Night of Horrors.The night came, with the stars seeming to blaze in the clear atmosphere. The skipper had given up the helm to one of his men, and joined the others forward to lie down among the baskets and sleep, as it seemed, while aft, at the professor’s request, Mr Burne and Lawrence lay down to sleep, leaving the others to watch.The night grew darker, and the water beat and rippled beneath the bows, all else being wonderfully still as the boat glided on.Yussuf lit his water-pipe, and the professor a cigar, to begin conversing in a low tone, but always watchful of the slightest movement of the men.A couple of hours had glided away, and then, after being apparently fast asleep, the skipper rose and came aft to speak eagerly to Yussuf, who heard him out, and then turned to the professor.“The captain says that there is no danger of wreck or storm; that he and his men will watch over you as if you were given over to their safe keeping, and all will be well.”“Tell the captain that I prefer to sit up and watch the sea and sky,” replied the professor. “When I am tired I will lie down.”The skipper nodded and smiled, and went forward again, while, after some minutes’ silence, the professor said softly:“You are quite right to be doubtful, Yussuf, I mistrust that man.”“Yes,” replied Yussuf in the same tone, “the Greek dog will bite the hand which fed him if he has a chance, but that chance, effendi, he must not have.”The hours glided on, and some time, perhaps soon after midnight, the skipper rose again from where he had lain apparently asleep, but really watching the speakers attentively, and coming aft this time with one of his men, the sailor at the helm was changed, and the other went forward to throw himself down as if to sleep.“Will not the effendi lie down and take his rest now?” said the skipper to Yussuf. “The day will not be very long before it comes, and then it is no longer time to sleep.”Yussuf quietly repeated the man’s words to the professor, who replied coldly:“Tell the Greek captain that he is paid to convey us to our journey’s end, and that it is not for him to presume to interfere as to the way in which we pass our time. Tell him we know the night from the day.”Yussuf interpreted the words, and the Greek smiled and replied in the most humble manner that perhaps the English excellency did not know how bad it was for strangers to expose themselves to the night air. That he was anxious about them, and wished them to go into the little cabin to be safe.“Tell him to mind his own business,” said the professor shortly, and this being interpreted the man slunk forward, and the professor said softly:“There is no doubt about it, Yussuf; the man is a scoundrel and has bad intentions.”“He is a pig,” said the Muslim in a low voice full of contempt; “but he and his men will be afraid to show their teeth to your excellencies if we are watchful and take care.”Towards morning the man came aft again, but he did not speak, and just at sunrise Lawrence awoke to come hurriedly out of the cabin where Mr Burne was still sleeping.“I thought you would have called us,” he said; “I thought we were to watch.”“So you are,” said the professor smiling. “How have you slept?”“Oh, deliciously—all the night. I never do at home, but lie awake for hours.”“Even in a comfortable bed!”“Even in a comfortable bed,” replied Lawrence. “But you must be very tired. I’ll call Mr Burne now.”“No, let him lie. He is a bit of an invalid too. Suppose you go and have a sleep now, Yussuf; my friend here and I will watch.”The Turk smiled.“Your servant once went without sleep for six nights in a time of danger. He slept a little upon his horse sometimes. One night without sleep! What is it? A nothing. No, your excellency must not ask me to sleep now. A short time and we shall be ashore, and away from these Greek dogs, who think we are without arms; then thy servant will lie down and sleep for hours. Last night, to-night I shall not sleep.”The bright morning, the glancing sea, and the soft breeze seemed to take away all the fancies and suspicions of the night. The shore was in sight—the mainland or one of the beautiful Grecian isles, and to make matters more pleasant still Mr Burne was in the most amiable of tempers.“I must have been out of order when we were crossing the Channel,” he said smiling. “I thought it was sea-sickness, but it could not have been, for I am as well as can be out here in this little boat.”The professor was almost annoyed with himself for his suspicions about the Greek and his men, for an easier, happier-looking set it would have been impossible to find. They smiled and showed their teeth, as they lounged in the front of the boat or took their turn at the helm, and then picked out some sunny spot where the tall sails cast no shade and slept hour after hour. When they were not smiling or sleeping, they were eating melon, bread, grapes or olives, or watching like dogs to see if any food was going to be given them by the travellers.The sail was glorious, and at first great way was made, but in the course of the afternoon the wind dropped, and the little vessel hardly moved through the water.“This is vexatious,” the professor said. “I am anxious to get to our journey’s end.”“Don’t say that,” said Lawrence, almost reproachfully; “one seems to be so happy, and everything is so delightful out here in the sunshine. I should like to go sailing on like this for ever.”“If we had some cushions,” put in Mr Burne, who had overheard his remark. “Well, it doesn’t matter to a few days, one way or the other, Preston,” he continued; “we are very comfortable considering, my back’s better, and this is easy travelling, so never mind about Yussuf’s suspicions. All nonsense.”That day glided away, the brilliant night came, and with it the nervous feeling of all being not as it should be.Nothing more had been said to Mr Burne till quite evening, but then the professor felt it to be his duty to speak of the suspicion, and did so; but the old lawyer laughed.“What nonsense, Preston!” he said; “why, the man and his crew are like so many good-tempered gypsy boys. No, sir, I am not going to be scared because the night is coming on. Poor fellows, they are honest enough. That sour Turk—I don’t like the fellow—has been filling our heads with nonsense to make himself seem more important. It’s all right.”“I hope it is,” said the professor to himself, and in due course he lay down, but not to sleep.During the day, by a quiet understanding, he and Yussuf had taken it in turns to snatch an hour’s repose, with the result that they were far better prepared to encounter the night than might have been supposed.“We will lie down, excellency,” Yussuf took the opportunity of whispering; “but one of us must not sleep.”After a time the old lawyer, who had been leaning back watching the stars from far above till they seemed to dip down in the transparent sea, yawned aloud, and then began to talk in an unknown tongue, using a strange guttural language which for the most part consisted of a repetition, at regular intervals, of the word “Snorruk,” and this had a wonderful effect upon his companions, who had felt listless and drowsy after the hot day; but the coolness of the night and the interesting nature of Mr Burne’s discourse effectually banished sleep, and hence it was that, when the skipper and a couple of his men came stealing aft to apparently change the steersman, the professor sat up, and Lawrence saw that Yussuf was wide awake and on thequi vive.This occurred three times, and then the rosy morning lit up the tops of the distant mountains, and made the sea flash as if it were all so much molten topaz.A pleasant listless day followed, and another and another, during which the travellers slept in turn, and watched the various islands seem to rise out of the sea, grow larger, and then, after they were passed, sink down again into the soft blue water.It was a delicious dreamy time, the only drawbacks being the suspicions of the boatmen, and the cramped nature of the space at disposal.They sailed on and on now, with the water surging beneath their bows and the little vessel careening over in the brilliant sunshine; but they were still far from their destination, and now the question had arisen whether it would not be wise to put in at the principal port of Cyprus, which they were now nearing, to obtain more provisions, as the wind was so light that the prospect of their reaching Ansina that night was very doubtful.The evening had come on, with the sun going down in the midst of a peculiar bank of clouds that would have looked threatening to experienced eyes; but to the travellers it was one scene of glory, the edges of the vapours being of a glowing orange, while the sky and sea were gorgeous with tints that were almost painful in their dazzling sheen. There was not a breath of wind, not a sound upon the smooth sea. The sails hung motionless, and the heat was as oppressive as if those on board were facing some mighty furnace.“Very, very grand!” said Mr Burne at last, after he had sat with the others for some time silently watching the glorious sight; “but to my mind there’s too much of it. I should like to have it spread over months, a little bit every night, not like this, all at once.”“Oh, Mr Burne!” cried Lawrence reproachfully.“I once saw a pantomime many years ago, when I took some of my sister’s children to a box I was foolish enough to pay for. This reminds me of one of the scenes, only there are no sham fairies and stupid people bobbing about and standing on one leg. Just when everything was at the brightest a great dark curtain came down, and it was all over, and it seems to be coming here, only it’s coming up instead of coming down. Heigho—ha—hum! how sleepy I am!”He lay down as he spoke close under the low bulwark, and as he did so Lawrence glanced forward and saw that the gorgeous sunset had no charms for the sailors, for they were lying among the baskets fast asleep, their faces upon their arms, while, upon looking aft, the man at the helm was crouched up all of a heap sleeping heavily.“It is very beautiful,” said the professor; “but I daresay some of our English sunsets are nearly as bright, only we do not notice them, being either shut up or too busy to look.”“Doesn’t this curious stuffy feeling of heat make you feel drowsy, Mr Preston?” said Lawrence, after a few minutes’ silence, “or do I feel it because I am weak with being ill so long?”“My dear boy,” replied the professor laughing, “at the present moment I feel as if all my bones had been dissolved into so much gristle. It is the heat, my lad, the heat.”Lawrence lay back upon the deck with his head resting upon a pillow formed out of a doubled-up coat. He had tried going below, but the little cabin was suffocating. It was as if the bulkheads and deck had imbibed the sun’s heat all day and were now slowly giving it out. To sleep there would have been impossible, and he had returned on deck bathed in perspiration to try and get a breath of air.As he lay there he could see the old lawyer sleeping heavily, the professor with his head resting upon his hand, and his face glorified by the reflection from sea and sky, and their guide Yussuf seated cross-legged smoking placidly at his water-pipe, his dark eyes seeming to glow like hot coals.Beyond him lay the Greek and his men upon their faces, motionless as the man at the helm, and then all at once the muttering bubbling noise made by Yussuf’s pipe seemed to be coming from the old lawyer’s parted lips, and the pipe, instead of justifying its name of “hubble-bubble,” kept on sayingsnorruk—snorruk, after the fashion of Mr Burne. Finally, there was nothing—nothing at all but sleep, deep, heavy, satisfying sleep that might have lasted one hour, two hours, any length of time. It seemed as if there was no dreaming, till all at once Lawrence imagined that the professor was bitterly angry with him for getting better that he jumped up and kicked him violently, and that then, as he tried to rise, he stamped upon him, and the stamp made a loud report. He was awake.Awake, but in a dazed, puzzled state, for all was pitchy dark, and as he jumped up he was knocked down again, and would have gone over the side had he not struck against and clung to one of the ropes which supported the mast.About him a terrible struggle was going on; there was heavy, hoarse breathing; men were trampling here and there with falls and struggles upon the scrap of a deck.Then Lawrence turned cold, for there was a yell and a splash, followed directly after by a blinding flash of light and a loud report.The struggle went on for a few moments longer, seemed to cease, and a voice that he recognised said some words hastily in Greek, which were replied to in hoarse panting tones.Then the professor’s welcome voice arose out of the pitchy darkness.“Lawrence! Lawrence! where are you?”Before an answer could be given there was the dull thud of a heavy blow, and the professor roared more than spoke the one word:“Coward!”The struggle was resumed for a moment or two, while the Greek skipper yelled out some order; but before it could be executed there came from out of the darkness a sharp hiss and a loud roar. Lawrence felt himself drenched by what seemed to be a cutting tempest of rain, and then it was as if some huge elastic mass had struck the boat, capsizing it in an instant. The lad felt that he was beneath the surface of the water, the sudden plunge clearing his faculties and making him strike for the surface.As he rose he had touched a rope, which he caught at with the instinctive clutch of a drowning man, and found that it was attached to something which enabled him to keep his head above the water, but how it was or what it all meant he could not comprehend in the midst of the deafening rushing noise of the wind and the beating stinging blows of the surf that was flying over him.All at once from out of the darkness a hand seemed to be stretched forth and to grasp him by the collar of the light Norfolk jacket he wore.In spite of himself he uttered a cry of horror, but the grasp was not inimical, for he felt that he was drawn up on to what seemed to be a heaving piece of woodwork, and then a strong arm was passed round him, a man’s breast pressed him down, and the rush and roar and confusion increased.There were times when he could scarcely breathe, the wind and spray stifling him till he could turn by an effort a little aside. Then for long periods together, as they seemed, they were under water, as some wave leaped over them. In fact, after a few such experiences he was half insensible, and every struggle towards recovery was met by a new attack.How long it lasted the lad never knew; all he could comprehend was that he was floating upon something in the midst of a wildly tempestuous sea, and that the wind and spray seemed to have combined to tear him from where his feeble efforts were aided by a strong man’s arm.Once or twice he fancied he heard a shout, but he could not be sure, and he could make no effort to understand his position, for the storm that had stricken the boat so suddenly robbed him more and more of the power to move.It was like another waking from sleep, to feel that his head was being raised a little more from where it drooped, and someone pressed a pair of lips to his ear and spoke.He could not answer, he could not even move, for though the voice was familiar, its import did not reach his brain, and he lay perfectly inert till it seemed as if the sea and wind were not beating so hard upon his face, and that he could breathe more easily.Then it was not so dark, for the stars were coming out, and he found himself gazing at a great black veil that was being drawn over the heavens.The next thing he heard was a voice, a familiar voice, speaking, and another which he recognised, and which came from close by, answered, but what was said he could not tell.There was another confused half-dreamy time, and then it was comparatively light. The spray had ceased to beat, and the mass of wood upon which he had been dragged was rising and falling in a regular drowsy rocking fashion, while now he felt bitterly cold.“I cannot get to you, Yussuf,” said the familiar voice again. “If I attempt to move he will slip off into the water. Safe?”“He is alive!” came in a low deep voice from close by Lawrence’s ear, and then there was a fierce puff of wind again, and with it the dreamy sensation once more.
The night came, with the stars seeming to blaze in the clear atmosphere. The skipper had given up the helm to one of his men, and joined the others forward to lie down among the baskets and sleep, as it seemed, while aft, at the professor’s request, Mr Burne and Lawrence lay down to sleep, leaving the others to watch.
The night grew darker, and the water beat and rippled beneath the bows, all else being wonderfully still as the boat glided on.
Yussuf lit his water-pipe, and the professor a cigar, to begin conversing in a low tone, but always watchful of the slightest movement of the men.
A couple of hours had glided away, and then, after being apparently fast asleep, the skipper rose and came aft to speak eagerly to Yussuf, who heard him out, and then turned to the professor.
“The captain says that there is no danger of wreck or storm; that he and his men will watch over you as if you were given over to their safe keeping, and all will be well.”
“Tell the captain that I prefer to sit up and watch the sea and sky,” replied the professor. “When I am tired I will lie down.”
The skipper nodded and smiled, and went forward again, while, after some minutes’ silence, the professor said softly:
“You are quite right to be doubtful, Yussuf, I mistrust that man.”
“Yes,” replied Yussuf in the same tone, “the Greek dog will bite the hand which fed him if he has a chance, but that chance, effendi, he must not have.”
The hours glided on, and some time, perhaps soon after midnight, the skipper rose again from where he had lain apparently asleep, but really watching the speakers attentively, and coming aft this time with one of his men, the sailor at the helm was changed, and the other went forward to throw himself down as if to sleep.
“Will not the effendi lie down and take his rest now?” said the skipper to Yussuf. “The day will not be very long before it comes, and then it is no longer time to sleep.”
Yussuf quietly repeated the man’s words to the professor, who replied coldly:
“Tell the Greek captain that he is paid to convey us to our journey’s end, and that it is not for him to presume to interfere as to the way in which we pass our time. Tell him we know the night from the day.”
Yussuf interpreted the words, and the Greek smiled and replied in the most humble manner that perhaps the English excellency did not know how bad it was for strangers to expose themselves to the night air. That he was anxious about them, and wished them to go into the little cabin to be safe.
“Tell him to mind his own business,” said the professor shortly, and this being interpreted the man slunk forward, and the professor said softly:
“There is no doubt about it, Yussuf; the man is a scoundrel and has bad intentions.”
“He is a pig,” said the Muslim in a low voice full of contempt; “but he and his men will be afraid to show their teeth to your excellencies if we are watchful and take care.”
Towards morning the man came aft again, but he did not speak, and just at sunrise Lawrence awoke to come hurriedly out of the cabin where Mr Burne was still sleeping.
“I thought you would have called us,” he said; “I thought we were to watch.”
“So you are,” said the professor smiling. “How have you slept?”
“Oh, deliciously—all the night. I never do at home, but lie awake for hours.”
“Even in a comfortable bed!”
“Even in a comfortable bed,” replied Lawrence. “But you must be very tired. I’ll call Mr Burne now.”
“No, let him lie. He is a bit of an invalid too. Suppose you go and have a sleep now, Yussuf; my friend here and I will watch.”
The Turk smiled.
“Your servant once went without sleep for six nights in a time of danger. He slept a little upon his horse sometimes. One night without sleep! What is it? A nothing. No, your excellency must not ask me to sleep now. A short time and we shall be ashore, and away from these Greek dogs, who think we are without arms; then thy servant will lie down and sleep for hours. Last night, to-night I shall not sleep.”
The bright morning, the glancing sea, and the soft breeze seemed to take away all the fancies and suspicions of the night. The shore was in sight—the mainland or one of the beautiful Grecian isles, and to make matters more pleasant still Mr Burne was in the most amiable of tempers.
“I must have been out of order when we were crossing the Channel,” he said smiling. “I thought it was sea-sickness, but it could not have been, for I am as well as can be out here in this little boat.”
The professor was almost annoyed with himself for his suspicions about the Greek and his men, for an easier, happier-looking set it would have been impossible to find. They smiled and showed their teeth, as they lounged in the front of the boat or took their turn at the helm, and then picked out some sunny spot where the tall sails cast no shade and slept hour after hour. When they were not smiling or sleeping, they were eating melon, bread, grapes or olives, or watching like dogs to see if any food was going to be given them by the travellers.
The sail was glorious, and at first great way was made, but in the course of the afternoon the wind dropped, and the little vessel hardly moved through the water.
“This is vexatious,” the professor said. “I am anxious to get to our journey’s end.”
“Don’t say that,” said Lawrence, almost reproachfully; “one seems to be so happy, and everything is so delightful out here in the sunshine. I should like to go sailing on like this for ever.”
“If we had some cushions,” put in Mr Burne, who had overheard his remark. “Well, it doesn’t matter to a few days, one way or the other, Preston,” he continued; “we are very comfortable considering, my back’s better, and this is easy travelling, so never mind about Yussuf’s suspicions. All nonsense.”
That day glided away, the brilliant night came, and with it the nervous feeling of all being not as it should be.
Nothing more had been said to Mr Burne till quite evening, but then the professor felt it to be his duty to speak of the suspicion, and did so; but the old lawyer laughed.
“What nonsense, Preston!” he said; “why, the man and his crew are like so many good-tempered gypsy boys. No, sir, I am not going to be scared because the night is coming on. Poor fellows, they are honest enough. That sour Turk—I don’t like the fellow—has been filling our heads with nonsense to make himself seem more important. It’s all right.”
“I hope it is,” said the professor to himself, and in due course he lay down, but not to sleep.
During the day, by a quiet understanding, he and Yussuf had taken it in turns to snatch an hour’s repose, with the result that they were far better prepared to encounter the night than might have been supposed.
“We will lie down, excellency,” Yussuf took the opportunity of whispering; “but one of us must not sleep.”
After a time the old lawyer, who had been leaning back watching the stars from far above till they seemed to dip down in the transparent sea, yawned aloud, and then began to talk in an unknown tongue, using a strange guttural language which for the most part consisted of a repetition, at regular intervals, of the word “Snorruk,” and this had a wonderful effect upon his companions, who had felt listless and drowsy after the hot day; but the coolness of the night and the interesting nature of Mr Burne’s discourse effectually banished sleep, and hence it was that, when the skipper and a couple of his men came stealing aft to apparently change the steersman, the professor sat up, and Lawrence saw that Yussuf was wide awake and on thequi vive.
This occurred three times, and then the rosy morning lit up the tops of the distant mountains, and made the sea flash as if it were all so much molten topaz.
A pleasant listless day followed, and another and another, during which the travellers slept in turn, and watched the various islands seem to rise out of the sea, grow larger, and then, after they were passed, sink down again into the soft blue water.
It was a delicious dreamy time, the only drawbacks being the suspicions of the boatmen, and the cramped nature of the space at disposal.
They sailed on and on now, with the water surging beneath their bows and the little vessel careening over in the brilliant sunshine; but they were still far from their destination, and now the question had arisen whether it would not be wise to put in at the principal port of Cyprus, which they were now nearing, to obtain more provisions, as the wind was so light that the prospect of their reaching Ansina that night was very doubtful.
The evening had come on, with the sun going down in the midst of a peculiar bank of clouds that would have looked threatening to experienced eyes; but to the travellers it was one scene of glory, the edges of the vapours being of a glowing orange, while the sky and sea were gorgeous with tints that were almost painful in their dazzling sheen. There was not a breath of wind, not a sound upon the smooth sea. The sails hung motionless, and the heat was as oppressive as if those on board were facing some mighty furnace.
“Very, very grand!” said Mr Burne at last, after he had sat with the others for some time silently watching the glorious sight; “but to my mind there’s too much of it. I should like to have it spread over months, a little bit every night, not like this, all at once.”
“Oh, Mr Burne!” cried Lawrence reproachfully.
“I once saw a pantomime many years ago, when I took some of my sister’s children to a box I was foolish enough to pay for. This reminds me of one of the scenes, only there are no sham fairies and stupid people bobbing about and standing on one leg. Just when everything was at the brightest a great dark curtain came down, and it was all over, and it seems to be coming here, only it’s coming up instead of coming down. Heigho—ha—hum! how sleepy I am!”
He lay down as he spoke close under the low bulwark, and as he did so Lawrence glanced forward and saw that the gorgeous sunset had no charms for the sailors, for they were lying among the baskets fast asleep, their faces upon their arms, while, upon looking aft, the man at the helm was crouched up all of a heap sleeping heavily.
“It is very beautiful,” said the professor; “but I daresay some of our English sunsets are nearly as bright, only we do not notice them, being either shut up or too busy to look.”
“Doesn’t this curious stuffy feeling of heat make you feel drowsy, Mr Preston?” said Lawrence, after a few minutes’ silence, “or do I feel it because I am weak with being ill so long?”
“My dear boy,” replied the professor laughing, “at the present moment I feel as if all my bones had been dissolved into so much gristle. It is the heat, my lad, the heat.”
Lawrence lay back upon the deck with his head resting upon a pillow formed out of a doubled-up coat. He had tried going below, but the little cabin was suffocating. It was as if the bulkheads and deck had imbibed the sun’s heat all day and were now slowly giving it out. To sleep there would have been impossible, and he had returned on deck bathed in perspiration to try and get a breath of air.
As he lay there he could see the old lawyer sleeping heavily, the professor with his head resting upon his hand, and his face glorified by the reflection from sea and sky, and their guide Yussuf seated cross-legged smoking placidly at his water-pipe, his dark eyes seeming to glow like hot coals.
Beyond him lay the Greek and his men upon their faces, motionless as the man at the helm, and then all at once the muttering bubbling noise made by Yussuf’s pipe seemed to be coming from the old lawyer’s parted lips, and the pipe, instead of justifying its name of “hubble-bubble,” kept on sayingsnorruk—snorruk, after the fashion of Mr Burne. Finally, there was nothing—nothing at all but sleep, deep, heavy, satisfying sleep that might have lasted one hour, two hours, any length of time. It seemed as if there was no dreaming, till all at once Lawrence imagined that the professor was bitterly angry with him for getting better that he jumped up and kicked him violently, and that then, as he tried to rise, he stamped upon him, and the stamp made a loud report. He was awake.
Awake, but in a dazed, puzzled state, for all was pitchy dark, and as he jumped up he was knocked down again, and would have gone over the side had he not struck against and clung to one of the ropes which supported the mast.
About him a terrible struggle was going on; there was heavy, hoarse breathing; men were trampling here and there with falls and struggles upon the scrap of a deck.
Then Lawrence turned cold, for there was a yell and a splash, followed directly after by a blinding flash of light and a loud report.
The struggle went on for a few moments longer, seemed to cease, and a voice that he recognised said some words hastily in Greek, which were replied to in hoarse panting tones.
Then the professor’s welcome voice arose out of the pitchy darkness.
“Lawrence! Lawrence! where are you?”
Before an answer could be given there was the dull thud of a heavy blow, and the professor roared more than spoke the one word:
“Coward!”
The struggle was resumed for a moment or two, while the Greek skipper yelled out some order; but before it could be executed there came from out of the darkness a sharp hiss and a loud roar. Lawrence felt himself drenched by what seemed to be a cutting tempest of rain, and then it was as if some huge elastic mass had struck the boat, capsizing it in an instant. The lad felt that he was beneath the surface of the water, the sudden plunge clearing his faculties and making him strike for the surface.
As he rose he had touched a rope, which he caught at with the instinctive clutch of a drowning man, and found that it was attached to something which enabled him to keep his head above the water, but how it was or what it all meant he could not comprehend in the midst of the deafening rushing noise of the wind and the beating stinging blows of the surf that was flying over him.
All at once from out of the darkness a hand seemed to be stretched forth and to grasp him by the collar of the light Norfolk jacket he wore.
In spite of himself he uttered a cry of horror, but the grasp was not inimical, for he felt that he was drawn up on to what seemed to be a heaving piece of woodwork, and then a strong arm was passed round him, a man’s breast pressed him down, and the rush and roar and confusion increased.
There were times when he could scarcely breathe, the wind and spray stifling him till he could turn by an effort a little aside. Then for long periods together, as they seemed, they were under water, as some wave leaped over them. In fact, after a few such experiences he was half insensible, and every struggle towards recovery was met by a new attack.
How long it lasted the lad never knew; all he could comprehend was that he was floating upon something in the midst of a wildly tempestuous sea, and that the wind and spray seemed to have combined to tear him from where his feeble efforts were aided by a strong man’s arm.
Once or twice he fancied he heard a shout, but he could not be sure, and he could make no effort to understand his position, for the storm that had stricken the boat so suddenly robbed him more and more of the power to move.
It was like another waking from sleep, to feel that his head was being raised a little more from where it drooped, and someone pressed a pair of lips to his ear and spoke.
He could not answer, he could not even move, for though the voice was familiar, its import did not reach his brain, and he lay perfectly inert till it seemed as if the sea and wind were not beating so hard upon his face, and that he could breathe more easily.
Then it was not so dark, for the stars were coming out, and he found himself gazing at a great black veil that was being drawn over the heavens.
The next thing he heard was a voice, a familiar voice, speaking, and another which he recognised, and which came from close by, answered, but what was said he could not tell.
There was another confused half-dreamy time, and then it was comparatively light. The spray had ceased to beat, and the mass of wood upon which he had been dragged was rising and falling in a regular drowsy rocking fashion, while now he felt bitterly cold.
“I cannot get to you, Yussuf,” said the familiar voice again. “If I attempt to move he will slip off into the water. Safe?”
“He is alive!” came in a low deep voice from close by Lawrence’s ear, and then there was a fierce puff of wind again, and with it the dreamy sensation once more.
Chapter Eleven.Cast Ashore.When Lawrence came to himself again there was more vigour in his brain, and he was conscious that he was on the side of the boat held fast by Yussuf. The wind was blowing fiercely, and had seized hold of a portion of a half-submerged sail which had filled out into a half sphere, and they were going swiftly through the water.The stars were shining brightly; there was no more spray, and as he recovered himself he could see, right at the far end of the boat, the dimly defined head and shoulders of the professor, whom he knew by his great beard, and he seemed to be supporting Mr Burne.Between them, seated high and clear of the water, were the Greek skipper and a couple of his men, holding on tightly in a bent position.There was deep silence now, save the ripple made by the boat in going through the water, which it did at a fairly rapid rate, seeing how it was submerged; but the wind having filled the portion of the sail, seemed to be raising it more and more from where it lay in the water, and as a natural consequence the more surface was raised and filled, the more rapidly the other loose portion was dragged up, distended, and drew the boat along.For a full hour no one spoke. The travellers were divided by the Greek and his men, who held the post of vantage, and there was a growing feeling in every breast that if any attempt were made to get into a better position, the enemy would be roused to action, and perhaps thrust them from their precarious hold into the sea.By degrees Lawrence began to get a clear understanding of what had happened, and as far as he could make out the suspicions of Yussuf had been quite correct. The Greek and his men, for purposes of robbery, had made an attack during the night when all were asleep, and in the midst of the struggle one of the terrible squalls, whose threatenings they had not read on the previous evening, had suddenly struck and capsized the boat, to which they were now desperately clinging for life.Lawrence felt too much numbed to speak to Yussuf, or even to shout to the other end of the boat, where the professor was clinging, and his companion was too intent upon holding him in his position to care to make any remarks.The breeze blew very coldly, and the lad knew that if it increased to any great extent, and the waves rose, they must all be swept off; but the wind showed more disposition to lull than increase, the sail napping and sinking once, but only to fill again and bear them steadily on. For the squall had exhausted its violence; the intense heat had passed, and the sea rapidly grew more placid as they were borne along.There was something strange and terrible, and sufficient to appal a heart stronger than that of a boy who had suffered from a long and severe illness. The darkness seemed to float as it were in a thick transparent body upon the surface of the sea, while far above the stars shone out clearly and spangled the sky with points of gold.Where were they being borne? What was to be the end of it all? Were they to cling there for an hour—two hours, and then slip off into the sea?It was very terrible, and as he grew cold, a strange sensation of reckless despair began to oppress Lawrence, mingled with a feeling that perhaps after all it would be better to let go and slide off the boat so as to arrive at the end.These despondent thoughts were ended upon the instant by a movement made by one of the Greeks who were crouching in the middle of the boat.He seemed to be quitting his position slowly and to be creeping towards where Yussuf was clinging.At that moment the Turk heaved himself up; there was a quick movement of his arm; and Lawrence clung spasmodically to the boat, for he felt himself slipping.In his agony he did not hear the click made by the pistol the guide had snatched out and held before him; neither could he understand the Turk’s words, but they were full of menace and evidently embodied a threat.The Greek uttered an angry snarl and snatched a knife from his waist, as he crept on and said something, to which Yussuf replied by drawing trigger.The result was a click, and the Greek laughed and came on; but just as he was nearly within striking distance Yussuf drew trigger again, and this time there was the sharp flash and report of the pistol, while for a moment the smoke hid the man from view, but a cry of agony and fear was heard.The breeze cleared the smoke away directly, and revealed in the dim starlight the form of the Greek lying back and one of his companions crawling to his side.The Turk uttered a few words full of warning, and the second Greek paused to speak in a low pleading tone, to which Yussuf responded by lowering his arm and watching his enemies while one helped the other back to his place where he had clung.“Is he much hurt?” came from the other end of the boat.“I cannot say, excellency,” was Yussuf’s reply in English. But directly after he roared out a few words in Greek, with the pistol pointed; for as soon as the wounded man was crouching in the central part of the boat he said something fiercely, and his two followers began to creep towards where the professor and the old lawyer clung.It was plain enough to all what Yussuf had shouted, with pistol aimed, for the two Greek sailors cowered down as if seeking to shelter themselves behind their wounded skipper, and for a space no one moved or spoke.Yussuf was the next to break the silence with a few words of warning which made the Greeks creep back to their old position, and then what seemed to be a terrible space of time ensued in the darkness that grew colder and colder, and where it seemed to be vain to look around for help. No one moved or spoke, but all were animated by the same intense longing, and that was for the light of day.Morning seemed as if it would never come. Right in front there was a great black cloud touching the sea and rising high; but though the wind set towards the cloud, which grew higher and broader, they knew that at any time the breeze might change to a furious squall, coming from where that cloud was gathering; and when it came it would be to find them numbed and cold, and unable to resist its violence and the beating waves.The helpless drowsy sensation was attacking Lawrence again, and he would have slipped back into the sea but for the strong arm about him. The dimly-seen figures grew unreal and as if part of a dream, and he was falling more and more into a state of unconsciousness, when, as if by magic, there was a patch of light in the sky before them, to right of the great cloud; there was a dull murmur ahead; then more light, and, as if by some rapid scenic effect, the stars paled, the sky grew grey, then pink, red, glowing orange, and it was morning.Yussuf uttered a low cry of joy, for the dark cloud ahead of them was a high mountainous land, whose topmost points were beginning to blush with the first touches of the sun that was rising directly behind.“We are safe, excellencies!” cried the guide. “In an hour this wind will carry us to the shore.”“The boy!” cried the professor in a low voice that told of exhaustion.“He is here and safe,” was the reply. “It is day once more, and we can perhaps better our position.”The words were hopeful and had a stimulating effect, but nothing could be done. The Greeks could not be trusted, even under the influence of threats, to go to the help of the professor; and Yussuf dared not quit his own charge, for Lawrence was too much exhausted to be left alone; so there was but the one hope—to wait and remain clinging to the side of the boat until the breeze carried them ashore.As the sun rose warm and bright it brought with it hope and sent a glow through the chilled forms of all, but the morning light made nothing else clear. They were just as they had made themselves out to be in the darkness.The sail had been filled now till it was of a goodly size, and they were borne more swiftly still towards what seemed to be a barren rocky coast; but the same dread was in the heart of each of the travellers, and that was lest when the sun rose higher the power of the wind should fail, and, slight as the currents were in that part of the world, they might be swept past the land unseen.The dread was needless, for at the end of about a couple of hours of the most intense anxiety the boat was blown close in to the beach, and struck with abump that changed her position, shaking Yussuf and his companion from their hold.But it was into the shallow transparent water, and, gaining his feet, Yussuf tried to raise Lawrence on to his shoulders; but he was so stiff and cramped that he could only hold the lad beneath his arm and wade with him ashore.
When Lawrence came to himself again there was more vigour in his brain, and he was conscious that he was on the side of the boat held fast by Yussuf. The wind was blowing fiercely, and had seized hold of a portion of a half-submerged sail which had filled out into a half sphere, and they were going swiftly through the water.
The stars were shining brightly; there was no more spray, and as he recovered himself he could see, right at the far end of the boat, the dimly defined head and shoulders of the professor, whom he knew by his great beard, and he seemed to be supporting Mr Burne.
Between them, seated high and clear of the water, were the Greek skipper and a couple of his men, holding on tightly in a bent position.
There was deep silence now, save the ripple made by the boat in going through the water, which it did at a fairly rapid rate, seeing how it was submerged; but the wind having filled the portion of the sail, seemed to be raising it more and more from where it lay in the water, and as a natural consequence the more surface was raised and filled, the more rapidly the other loose portion was dragged up, distended, and drew the boat along.
For a full hour no one spoke. The travellers were divided by the Greek and his men, who held the post of vantage, and there was a growing feeling in every breast that if any attempt were made to get into a better position, the enemy would be roused to action, and perhaps thrust them from their precarious hold into the sea.
By degrees Lawrence began to get a clear understanding of what had happened, and as far as he could make out the suspicions of Yussuf had been quite correct. The Greek and his men, for purposes of robbery, had made an attack during the night when all were asleep, and in the midst of the struggle one of the terrible squalls, whose threatenings they had not read on the previous evening, had suddenly struck and capsized the boat, to which they were now desperately clinging for life.
Lawrence felt too much numbed to speak to Yussuf, or even to shout to the other end of the boat, where the professor was clinging, and his companion was too intent upon holding him in his position to care to make any remarks.
The breeze blew very coldly, and the lad knew that if it increased to any great extent, and the waves rose, they must all be swept off; but the wind showed more disposition to lull than increase, the sail napping and sinking once, but only to fill again and bear them steadily on. For the squall had exhausted its violence; the intense heat had passed, and the sea rapidly grew more placid as they were borne along.
There was something strange and terrible, and sufficient to appal a heart stronger than that of a boy who had suffered from a long and severe illness. The darkness seemed to float as it were in a thick transparent body upon the surface of the sea, while far above the stars shone out clearly and spangled the sky with points of gold.
Where were they being borne? What was to be the end of it all? Were they to cling there for an hour—two hours, and then slip off into the sea?
It was very terrible, and as he grew cold, a strange sensation of reckless despair began to oppress Lawrence, mingled with a feeling that perhaps after all it would be better to let go and slide off the boat so as to arrive at the end.
These despondent thoughts were ended upon the instant by a movement made by one of the Greeks who were crouching in the middle of the boat.
He seemed to be quitting his position slowly and to be creeping towards where Yussuf was clinging.
At that moment the Turk heaved himself up; there was a quick movement of his arm; and Lawrence clung spasmodically to the boat, for he felt himself slipping.
In his agony he did not hear the click made by the pistol the guide had snatched out and held before him; neither could he understand the Turk’s words, but they were full of menace and evidently embodied a threat.
The Greek uttered an angry snarl and snatched a knife from his waist, as he crept on and said something, to which Yussuf replied by drawing trigger.
The result was a click, and the Greek laughed and came on; but just as he was nearly within striking distance Yussuf drew trigger again, and this time there was the sharp flash and report of the pistol, while for a moment the smoke hid the man from view, but a cry of agony and fear was heard.
The breeze cleared the smoke away directly, and revealed in the dim starlight the form of the Greek lying back and one of his companions crawling to his side.
The Turk uttered a few words full of warning, and the second Greek paused to speak in a low pleading tone, to which Yussuf responded by lowering his arm and watching his enemies while one helped the other back to his place where he had clung.
“Is he much hurt?” came from the other end of the boat.
“I cannot say, excellency,” was Yussuf’s reply in English. But directly after he roared out a few words in Greek, with the pistol pointed; for as soon as the wounded man was crouching in the central part of the boat he said something fiercely, and his two followers began to creep towards where the professor and the old lawyer clung.
It was plain enough to all what Yussuf had shouted, with pistol aimed, for the two Greek sailors cowered down as if seeking to shelter themselves behind their wounded skipper, and for a space no one moved or spoke.
Yussuf was the next to break the silence with a few words of warning which made the Greeks creep back to their old position, and then what seemed to be a terrible space of time ensued in the darkness that grew colder and colder, and where it seemed to be vain to look around for help. No one moved or spoke, but all were animated by the same intense longing, and that was for the light of day.
Morning seemed as if it would never come. Right in front there was a great black cloud touching the sea and rising high; but though the wind set towards the cloud, which grew higher and broader, they knew that at any time the breeze might change to a furious squall, coming from where that cloud was gathering; and when it came it would be to find them numbed and cold, and unable to resist its violence and the beating waves.
The helpless drowsy sensation was attacking Lawrence again, and he would have slipped back into the sea but for the strong arm about him. The dimly-seen figures grew unreal and as if part of a dream, and he was falling more and more into a state of unconsciousness, when, as if by magic, there was a patch of light in the sky before them, to right of the great cloud; there was a dull murmur ahead; then more light, and, as if by some rapid scenic effect, the stars paled, the sky grew grey, then pink, red, glowing orange, and it was morning.
Yussuf uttered a low cry of joy, for the dark cloud ahead of them was a high mountainous land, whose topmost points were beginning to blush with the first touches of the sun that was rising directly behind.
“We are safe, excellencies!” cried the guide. “In an hour this wind will carry us to the shore.”
“The boy!” cried the professor in a low voice that told of exhaustion.
“He is here and safe,” was the reply. “It is day once more, and we can perhaps better our position.”
The words were hopeful and had a stimulating effect, but nothing could be done. The Greeks could not be trusted, even under the influence of threats, to go to the help of the professor; and Yussuf dared not quit his own charge, for Lawrence was too much exhausted to be left alone; so there was but the one hope—to wait and remain clinging to the side of the boat until the breeze carried them ashore.
As the sun rose warm and bright it brought with it hope and sent a glow through the chilled forms of all, but the morning light made nothing else clear. They were just as they had made themselves out to be in the darkness.
The sail had been filled now till it was of a goodly size, and they were borne more swiftly still towards what seemed to be a barren rocky coast; but the same dread was in the heart of each of the travellers, and that was lest when the sun rose higher the power of the wind should fail, and, slight as the currents were in that part of the world, they might be swept past the land unseen.
The dread was needless, for at the end of about a couple of hours of the most intense anxiety the boat was blown close in to the beach, and struck with abump that changed her position, shaking Yussuf and his companion from their hold.
But it was into the shallow transparent water, and, gaining his feet, Yussuf tried to raise Lawrence on to his shoulders; but he was so stiff and cramped that he could only hold the lad beneath his arm and wade with him ashore.
Chapter Twelve.A Warm Land Welcome.The distance was only some forty yards, and Yussuf was quite half-way there when he was met by the professor, who came staggering down to his aid, and between them they carried Lawrence the rest of the way, to lay him beside Mr Burne in the full sunlight and upon the soft warm sand.The three Greeks were already ashore selecting a spot a good hundred yards away, and they could be seen to be stripping the clothes from their wounded captain, and then one of them appeared to be binding a cloth round his leg, showing where Yussuf’s bullet had taken effect.By way of precaution Yussuf’s first act was to take out his pistol, and swing it about to get rid of all the water possible before uncharging it, and laying it with its cartridges in the sun to dry, in the hope that some of them might prove to be uninjured, the water not having been able to penetrate to the powder, though it was extremely doubtful.His next act was to take out his pipe from a pocket in his loose robe, and place that with his bag of tobacco and little tinder-box and matches also in the sun, which was rapidly gaining power, all of which being done he proceeded coolly enough to slip off his garments, to wring them and spread them upon the glowing sand.Meanwhile the professor was dividing himself between Lawrence and the lawyer, then lying in the warm sunshine, whose influence rapidly made itself felt, and seemed to carry strength as well as a pleasant glow.“Well, Lawrence,” said the professor anxiously, “how do you feel?”“Not quite so cold,” was the reply, “but very stiff and hungry.”“Hah!” ejaculated the professor, “then you are not very bad. Can you follow Yussuf’s example?”Lawrence hesitated.“Take my advice, my lad. Take off and wring your clothes as well as you can, and then, in spite of being soaked with the sea-water, go down and have a quick plunge, and then walk or run about till you are dry.”The advice seemed so droll, that now the danger was past the lad laughed, but he saw that Yussuf was doing precisely what the professor advised, and, weakly and shivering a good deal, he did the same.Freed by the evident lack of anything to apprehend about the lad for the present, the professor turned to Mr Burne, whom he had been helping for some hours to cling to the boat, and had sustained with a few whispered words of encouragement in his feeblest moments.The old man was lying in the sunshine just as he had sunk down upon his back, apparently too much exhausted to move, but as the professor went down on one knee by his side he opened his eyes.“Not dead yet, Preston,” he said smiling. “I say, don’t laugh at me.”“Laugh at you, my dear sir?”“For being such an old goose as to come upon such a journey. Oh, my back!”“Come, come, it was an accident.”“Accident, eh? I say, we’ll prosecute those murdering thieves of Greeks for this.”“One of them has met his punishment already,” said the professor, “and Yussuf has severely wounded another.”“Yes. I was pretty well done then, but I saw him shoot that scoundrel. I believe the heathen dog was going to shove us off.”“There is no doubt about that,” said the professor.“But Yussuf? don’t you think he was in league with the murderous rascals?”“Yussuf? My dear sir!”“Humph! No! He couldn’t have been, could he, or he wouldn’t have fought for us as he did at first, and then shot that scoundrel yonder? I hope his bandage will come off, and he’ll bleed to death.”“No, you do not,” said the professor.“Oh, yes, I do—a dog!”“No, you do not; and as to Yussuf—well, I need not defend him.”“Well, I suppose not. Boy seems to be all right, don’t he?”“Yes, I think so. This warm sunshine is a blessing.”“Hah, yes, but I’m so stiff and sore I cannot move. Preston, my dear boy, would you mind putting your hand into my pocket and taking out my snuff-box. I suppose it’s all paste, but a bit of that would be, like your sunshine, a blessing. It’s all very well, but I’d rather have a fire, a towel, a warm bath, and some dry clothes. Hah, yes! Thank you. Now for some paste.”He thrust the little box in and out among the dry sand till the moisture was all gone, and doing this dried and warmed his hands as well before he proceeded to open the lid, when he uttered a cry of satisfaction.“Bravo, Preston! Dry as dust. Have a pinch, my dear sir?”“Thanks. No. I am drying a cigar here for my refreshment, in the hot sand. I daresay my matches are all right in their metal box.”“Just as you like. Smoking is all very well, but nothing like a pinch.”“I am most anxious about the boy,” said the professor.“Must teach him to take snuff. Well, where are we? Is this a desolate island, and are we going to be so many Robinson Crusoes for the rest of our days?”“Desolate enough just here,” replied the professor; “but it must be inhabited. It strikes me that we have reached Cyprus.”“Then, my dear fellow, just look about, or shout, or do something to make the inhabitants bring me a bottle of Cyprus wine. Hah! a pinch of snuff is a blessing, and, bless me, how wet my handkerchief is!” he cried, as he struggled to his feet and took out and wrung the article in question before making the rocks echo with a tremendous blow.“How do you feel?” said the professor.“Bad, sir; but I’m not going to grumble till we get all right again. I must try and walk about to get some warmth into me. How beautiful and warm this sand is! Hah!”He seemed to revel in the beautiful dry sand of the shore, which, with the sunshine, sent a glow into the perishing limbs of all, and to such an extent that in about an hour the sufferers were not so very much the worse for their adventure. The professor and Mr Burne had lit cigars; Yussuf was enjoying his pipe; and Lawrence alone was without anything to soothe his hunger.The wounded Greek lay at a distance where his companions had left him. The professor had been to him with Lawrence, and seen to his injury, the others paying no heed, and the injured man himself only looking sulky, and as if he would like to use his knife, even though he was being tended by a man who knew something of what was necessary to be done.He was left then, and the professor and Lawrence joined Mr Burne, who was very cheerful though evidently in pain.“I say,” he said, “those fellows had planned that attack.”“Decidedly,” said the professor. “I feared it, though I did not say anything more to you.”“Then it was very ungentlemanly of you, sir,” cried the old lawyer testily. “Lucky for you I was awake, sir, or we should all have been killed in our sleep.”“I thought you were fast asleep, as, I am ashamed to say, I was.”“Oh, you own you were, professor.”“Fast.”“Then I’ll own I was too. It seems, then, that Yussuf was on the watch and met them.”“Exactly so, and saved our lives.”“Well, I don’t know about that, but he certainly kept the boy from drowning during the night, for I couldn’t stir to help him. I don’t dislike that fellow half so much as I did; but I wish to goodness he could do as those Turks and Persians did in theArabian Nights.”“What’s that?” said the professor.“Conjure a breakfast up for that poor boy.”“It strikes me,” said the professor, who was watching where Yussuf had posted himself on the edge of the sea, “that that is the very thing he is about to do.”“Eh? what do you mean?”“Oh, I say, Mr Preston, don’t talk about food if there is none,” cried Lawrence, “for I am so hungry.”“I mean this,” said the professor, “that the two Greeks down there are evidently trying to get something out of the boat, and if they find anything to eat, Yussuf is there with his loaded pistol, and he will certainly have a share.”In effect the two sailors had stripped, and were busy in the shallow water doing something, and in a short time they had contrived to thrust the boat out, and, by using the masts as levers, completely turned her round, so that her deck was parallel with the shore.The men were evidently working hard, and in a short time they had got the vessel so closely in that they were able to lower the sails, or rather run them down to the foot of each mast, with the result that, by the help of hard work with a spar they partly raised the side of the boat that was submerged, its natural inclination to resume its normal position aiding them; and at last, after several attempts, they succeeded in getting at one of the baskets of provisions that had fortunately not been washed away.As they dragged this out and waded ashore, they were for making off in the direction of the spot where their wounded skipper lay, but a few sharp orders from Yussuf stopped them.They were not disposed to yield up their prize peaceably, for each man’s hand went to his knife, and the professor ran down to Yussufs help.But there was no need. The Turk went close up to them, pistol in hand, and the men stooped and lifted the basket, carrying it between them sulkily to where Mr Burne and Lawrence were breathlessly watching the proceedings.The water streamed and dripped from the basket as they bore it over the sands, and plumped it down, scowling fiercely, where they were told to stop. Then turning, they were going off, but the professor bade them stay.They did not understand his words, but their tone was sufficient command; besides there was Yussufs pistol, which acted like a magician’s wand in ensuring obedience.“Tell the scoundrels that we will behave better to them than they have to us, Yussuf,” said the professor; and he took out from the dripping basket a great sausage, a bottle of wine, and one of the tins of biscuit that were within.“Am I to give them this food, effendi?” said Yussuf calmly. “You will get no gratitude, and the dogs will murder us if they get a chance.”“Yes; give it to them,” replied the professor. “Coals of fire upon their head, O follower of Mahomet. There, bid them eat. We may want to make them work for us.”Yussuf bowed, and handed the food and wine to the two Greeks, who took what was given them without a word, and went to join their companion.
The distance was only some forty yards, and Yussuf was quite half-way there when he was met by the professor, who came staggering down to his aid, and between them they carried Lawrence the rest of the way, to lay him beside Mr Burne in the full sunlight and upon the soft warm sand.
The three Greeks were already ashore selecting a spot a good hundred yards away, and they could be seen to be stripping the clothes from their wounded captain, and then one of them appeared to be binding a cloth round his leg, showing where Yussuf’s bullet had taken effect.
By way of precaution Yussuf’s first act was to take out his pistol, and swing it about to get rid of all the water possible before uncharging it, and laying it with its cartridges in the sun to dry, in the hope that some of them might prove to be uninjured, the water not having been able to penetrate to the powder, though it was extremely doubtful.
His next act was to take out his pipe from a pocket in his loose robe, and place that with his bag of tobacco and little tinder-box and matches also in the sun, which was rapidly gaining power, all of which being done he proceeded coolly enough to slip off his garments, to wring them and spread them upon the glowing sand.
Meanwhile the professor was dividing himself between Lawrence and the lawyer, then lying in the warm sunshine, whose influence rapidly made itself felt, and seemed to carry strength as well as a pleasant glow.
“Well, Lawrence,” said the professor anxiously, “how do you feel?”
“Not quite so cold,” was the reply, “but very stiff and hungry.”
“Hah!” ejaculated the professor, “then you are not very bad. Can you follow Yussuf’s example?”
Lawrence hesitated.
“Take my advice, my lad. Take off and wring your clothes as well as you can, and then, in spite of being soaked with the sea-water, go down and have a quick plunge, and then walk or run about till you are dry.”
The advice seemed so droll, that now the danger was past the lad laughed, but he saw that Yussuf was doing precisely what the professor advised, and, weakly and shivering a good deal, he did the same.
Freed by the evident lack of anything to apprehend about the lad for the present, the professor turned to Mr Burne, whom he had been helping for some hours to cling to the boat, and had sustained with a few whispered words of encouragement in his feeblest moments.
The old man was lying in the sunshine just as he had sunk down upon his back, apparently too much exhausted to move, but as the professor went down on one knee by his side he opened his eyes.
“Not dead yet, Preston,” he said smiling. “I say, don’t laugh at me.”
“Laugh at you, my dear sir?”
“For being such an old goose as to come upon such a journey. Oh, my back!”
“Come, come, it was an accident.”
“Accident, eh? I say, we’ll prosecute those murdering thieves of Greeks for this.”
“One of them has met his punishment already,” said the professor, “and Yussuf has severely wounded another.”
“Yes. I was pretty well done then, but I saw him shoot that scoundrel. I believe the heathen dog was going to shove us off.”
“There is no doubt about that,” said the professor.
“But Yussuf? don’t you think he was in league with the murderous rascals?”
“Yussuf? My dear sir!”
“Humph! No! He couldn’t have been, could he, or he wouldn’t have fought for us as he did at first, and then shot that scoundrel yonder? I hope his bandage will come off, and he’ll bleed to death.”
“No, you do not,” said the professor.
“Oh, yes, I do—a dog!”
“No, you do not; and as to Yussuf—well, I need not defend him.”
“Well, I suppose not. Boy seems to be all right, don’t he?”
“Yes, I think so. This warm sunshine is a blessing.”
“Hah, yes, but I’m so stiff and sore I cannot move. Preston, my dear boy, would you mind putting your hand into my pocket and taking out my snuff-box. I suppose it’s all paste, but a bit of that would be, like your sunshine, a blessing. It’s all very well, but I’d rather have a fire, a towel, a warm bath, and some dry clothes. Hah, yes! Thank you. Now for some paste.”
He thrust the little box in and out among the dry sand till the moisture was all gone, and doing this dried and warmed his hands as well before he proceeded to open the lid, when he uttered a cry of satisfaction.
“Bravo, Preston! Dry as dust. Have a pinch, my dear sir?”
“Thanks. No. I am drying a cigar here for my refreshment, in the hot sand. I daresay my matches are all right in their metal box.”
“Just as you like. Smoking is all very well, but nothing like a pinch.”
“I am most anxious about the boy,” said the professor.
“Must teach him to take snuff. Well, where are we? Is this a desolate island, and are we going to be so many Robinson Crusoes for the rest of our days?”
“Desolate enough just here,” replied the professor; “but it must be inhabited. It strikes me that we have reached Cyprus.”
“Then, my dear fellow, just look about, or shout, or do something to make the inhabitants bring me a bottle of Cyprus wine. Hah! a pinch of snuff is a blessing, and, bless me, how wet my handkerchief is!” he cried, as he struggled to his feet and took out and wrung the article in question before making the rocks echo with a tremendous blow.
“How do you feel?” said the professor.
“Bad, sir; but I’m not going to grumble till we get all right again. I must try and walk about to get some warmth into me. How beautiful and warm this sand is! Hah!”
He seemed to revel in the beautiful dry sand of the shore, which, with the sunshine, sent a glow into the perishing limbs of all, and to such an extent that in about an hour the sufferers were not so very much the worse for their adventure. The professor and Mr Burne had lit cigars; Yussuf was enjoying his pipe; and Lawrence alone was without anything to soothe his hunger.
The wounded Greek lay at a distance where his companions had left him. The professor had been to him with Lawrence, and seen to his injury, the others paying no heed, and the injured man himself only looking sulky, and as if he would like to use his knife, even though he was being tended by a man who knew something of what was necessary to be done.
He was left then, and the professor and Lawrence joined Mr Burne, who was very cheerful though evidently in pain.
“I say,” he said, “those fellows had planned that attack.”
“Decidedly,” said the professor. “I feared it, though I did not say anything more to you.”
“Then it was very ungentlemanly of you, sir,” cried the old lawyer testily. “Lucky for you I was awake, sir, or we should all have been killed in our sleep.”
“I thought you were fast asleep, as, I am ashamed to say, I was.”
“Oh, you own you were, professor.”
“Fast.”
“Then I’ll own I was too. It seems, then, that Yussuf was on the watch and met them.”
“Exactly so, and saved our lives.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but he certainly kept the boy from drowning during the night, for I couldn’t stir to help him. I don’t dislike that fellow half so much as I did; but I wish to goodness he could do as those Turks and Persians did in theArabian Nights.”
“What’s that?” said the professor.
“Conjure a breakfast up for that poor boy.”
“It strikes me,” said the professor, who was watching where Yussuf had posted himself on the edge of the sea, “that that is the very thing he is about to do.”
“Eh? what do you mean?”
“Oh, I say, Mr Preston, don’t talk about food if there is none,” cried Lawrence, “for I am so hungry.”
“I mean this,” said the professor, “that the two Greeks down there are evidently trying to get something out of the boat, and if they find anything to eat, Yussuf is there with his loaded pistol, and he will certainly have a share.”
In effect the two sailors had stripped, and were busy in the shallow water doing something, and in a short time they had contrived to thrust the boat out, and, by using the masts as levers, completely turned her round, so that her deck was parallel with the shore.
The men were evidently working hard, and in a short time they had got the vessel so closely in that they were able to lower the sails, or rather run them down to the foot of each mast, with the result that, by the help of hard work with a spar they partly raised the side of the boat that was submerged, its natural inclination to resume its normal position aiding them; and at last, after several attempts, they succeeded in getting at one of the baskets of provisions that had fortunately not been washed away.
As they dragged this out and waded ashore, they were for making off in the direction of the spot where their wounded skipper lay, but a few sharp orders from Yussuf stopped them.
They were not disposed to yield up their prize peaceably, for each man’s hand went to his knife, and the professor ran down to Yussufs help.
But there was no need. The Turk went close up to them, pistol in hand, and the men stooped and lifted the basket, carrying it between them sulkily to where Mr Burne and Lawrence were breathlessly watching the proceedings.
The water streamed and dripped from the basket as they bore it over the sands, and plumped it down, scowling fiercely, where they were told to stop. Then turning, they were going off, but the professor bade them stay.
They did not understand his words, but their tone was sufficient command; besides there was Yussufs pistol, which acted like a magician’s wand in ensuring obedience.
“Tell the scoundrels that we will behave better to them than they have to us, Yussuf,” said the professor; and he took out from the dripping basket a great sausage, a bottle of wine, and one of the tins of biscuit that were within.
“Am I to give them this food, effendi?” said Yussuf calmly. “You will get no gratitude, and the dogs will murder us if they get a chance.”
“Yes; give it to them,” replied the professor. “Coals of fire upon their head, O follower of Mahomet. There, bid them eat. We may want to make them work for us.”
Yussuf bowed, and handed the food and wine to the two Greeks, who took what was given them without a word, and went to join their companion.
Chapter Thirteen.How to bale a Boat.“Hah!” ejaculated Mr Burne, after they had made a hearty meal, seated upon the warm sands. “I don’t know that I like my biscuit sopped, and there was more salt than I cared for, but really I don’t feel as if I had done so very badly. Another taste of that wine, Preston. Hah! well, we might have been worse off.”This was the general opinion, for matters looked better now, and a discussion arose as to what they were to do next; whether they were to travel along the coast till they came to some village, or, as Yussuf suggested, try to get the boat baled out and righted, and once more make for Ansina.Yussuf declared that they were undoubtedly on the western coast of Cyprus, but he could not tell them how far they might have to journey, and it would be terrible work for Lawrence, who was too weak to walk far, so the Muslim’s suggestion was received; and its wisdom was endorsed by the action of the Greeks, who had carried their skipper down to the boat and seated him upon the sands.“We are three strong men against two now,” Yussuf had said, “for we will not count the wounded master, or the young effendi here. The men shall empty the boat of water, and they shall take us across to the coast.”“But suppose another storm should come?” said Mr Burne.“If another storm should come we should meet it like men, effendi,” said the Turk gravely. “That white squall last night saved our lives, for I was mastered.”“And so was I,” said the professor. “You are right, Yussuf; but we must not let ourselves be surprised again. I had no business to sleep.”“We should not have been surprised if yon Greek dog had not struck me down when he was pretending to be asleep by the helm. But see, effendi, he is ordering them to try and empty the boat. Let us go down and help.”The remains of the food were placed in the basket, which was carried down and left in the sun to dry, not far from where the Greek skipper was seated, holding his wounded leg.The tide there was very slight, but still it was falling, and this helped them in their plans.The two Greeks were hard at work with the spar, using it as a lever; and twice over they obtained so good a purchase that they raised the submerged side just above the water, but it slipped back directly.The professor did not hesitate, but said a few words to Yussuf, who handed his loaded pistol to Lawrence, tucked up his garment, and waded into the water at once along with Mr Preston.“Humph! just as they were getting so nice and dry,” said Mr Burne. “Well, when one is in Cyprus, one must act like a Cypriote, eh, Lawrence, my lad? I say, fancy one of my clients seeing me doing this.”He took off his coat, and rolled up his shirt-sleeves, nodding laughingly at Lawrence.“Look here, my boy,” he said, “if that Greek rascal there moves, just you go up and shoot him somewhere. Don’t kill him, but we cannot stand any of his nonsense now.”The two Greek sailors stared as the three travellers came wading to them, and seemed disposed to leave off their task; but Yussuf gave them their orders direct from Mr Preston, who made them get out some pieces of board and cut loose a couple of spars.The result of this was that one of the long spars was securely lashed by their aid to the top of the principal mast which acted as a lever, when all took hold of the spar and pushed upwards. By this means the side of the boat was raised a foot or so, and could not sink back, for the free end of the spar rested on the sand. Then another foot was gained, the end of the spar being dragged along, and so on and on, till from being where it was lashed to the top of the mast, quite an obtuse angle of the widest, it was by degrees worked into a right angle, and by that time the submerged bulwark was quite out of the water, and the keel touched the bottom and kept them from moving the boat any farther.The next thing to be done was to bale out the enormous quantity of water within, and there was no bucket or anything of the kind; but the professor was equal to the occasion. There was a small box in the big provision basket and the biscuit tin. These were emptied at once, and the two sailors set to work baling, while, as soon as it was possible, an attempt was made to get something serviceable out of the little cabin.The search was vain, but just then one of the sailors took out his knife, left the biscuit tin with which he was baling, and going forward thrust down his knife-armed hand, and cut free a good-sized cask which was lashed there for the purpose of holding water.This floated up directly, and when the man had got so far, he stood holding on and looking at it.Yussuf had seized the biscuit tin, and was baling so as to lose no time, but the professor waded to the sailor, tossed the cask over, and following it, dragged it out on to the sandy shore, where the sea-water with which it was now filled ran gurgling out of the big bung-hole.While it was emptying the professor walked some little distance to where a few pieces of rock were lying, and securing one weighing about half a hundredweight, he brought it back, set the cask up, and dashed in its head.This made a baling implement of wonderful power, as soon as it was floated back and lifted into the boat. Certainly it took two men to use it, but the professor called to Yussuf to give the baling tin back to the Greek, and come to his side, and then Christian and Muslim set to work, stripping to it and displaying energy that made the Greeks work the harder in spite of the burning sun. For seizing the cask, as he stood waist-deep, the professor depressed and sank it, and as soon as it was full, he and Yussuf raised it between them till the edge was against the low side of the boat, and then they tilted it, sending its contents into the sea.It was slow and terribly laborious work, but at the end of an hour the amount they had discharged was something tremendous, and after a rest for refreshment, the baling went on till, towards evening, the felucca was afloat once more, and riding to a little anchor cast out upon the shore.There was still a great deal more water in her, but everyone was wearied out, and the professor gave the word for a cessation of labour, when some more provision was secured, with wine, and fairly distributed, when the Greeks encamped by their skipper, and the travellers went up close to the rocks, where a little thread of delicious fresh water trickled down and lost itself in the sand.This was a treasure to the travellers, and at the professor’s desire Yussuf filled the biscuit tin, and took it to the Greeks, who, however, only laughed and said they preferred the wine.The deliriously warm evening was spent in drying the wet garments in the heated sand, and in resting. The professor, who seemed a good deal fagged by his exertions, would hardly hear of sleeping, but was exceedingly anxious about Lawrence, who, however, seemed to be none the worse for the past night’s exposure, the warmth of the day and the rest he had had having recouped him to a wonderful extent. Mr Burne, too, though he had worked very hard, declared that he never felt better, and after smoking a cigar, which he took as a sandwich between two layers of snuff, preparations were made for the night, it being decided to lie down early and rise at daybreak, when a couple more hours’ work would, it was considered, make the felucca in a condition to sail at any time.The professor insisted upon Yussuf lying down at once to get the first rest, so as to be roused up towards midnight to take the watch.He consented rather unwillingly, and then the point had to be settled who should have the pistol and take the first watch.The professor wished to commence, but Mr Burne was so indignant and insisted so sternly that the pistol was handed to him, after Yussuf had been asleep for about a couple of hours, and then Mr Preston and Lawrence sought their sandy couches, and lay for a little while listening to the soft murmur of the sea, and watching the brilliant stars in the dark sky and in the purply black water, while with regular and slow beat, like a sentry, Mr Burne walked up and down, pistol in hand.Lawrence lay awake long enough to hear the professor’s deep breathing, and his muttering of something once or twice. Then he lay gazing at the old lawyer, thinking how comical it was, and what a change from Guilford Street in busy London, till it all seemed to be dim and strange and dreamlike.Then it really was dreamlike, for, though the old lawyer was still marching up and down before Lawrence’s mental vision, it seemed to him that he had swollen out to ten times his natural size, and that he was not walking to and fro between him and the sea, but in front of the railings in Bloomsbury, and that, to prevent his making a noise and disturbing the sleepers, he had wound list all about his boots, which now made not a sound upon the pavement.To and fro, to and fro he seemed to go, till his head swelled and swelled and no longer appeared to be a head, but a great rough grenadier’s cap, and it was no longer Mr Burne, but one of the sentries in front of the British Museum, who marched, and marched, and marched, till he marched right out of sight, and all was blank as a deep, deep sleep is sometimes, from which the lad started into wakefulness just before dawn, upon hearing the professor say loudly:“Eh? What? Is it time?”
“Hah!” ejaculated Mr Burne, after they had made a hearty meal, seated upon the warm sands. “I don’t know that I like my biscuit sopped, and there was more salt than I cared for, but really I don’t feel as if I had done so very badly. Another taste of that wine, Preston. Hah! well, we might have been worse off.”
This was the general opinion, for matters looked better now, and a discussion arose as to what they were to do next; whether they were to travel along the coast till they came to some village, or, as Yussuf suggested, try to get the boat baled out and righted, and once more make for Ansina.
Yussuf declared that they were undoubtedly on the western coast of Cyprus, but he could not tell them how far they might have to journey, and it would be terrible work for Lawrence, who was too weak to walk far, so the Muslim’s suggestion was received; and its wisdom was endorsed by the action of the Greeks, who had carried their skipper down to the boat and seated him upon the sands.
“We are three strong men against two now,” Yussuf had said, “for we will not count the wounded master, or the young effendi here. The men shall empty the boat of water, and they shall take us across to the coast.”
“But suppose another storm should come?” said Mr Burne.
“If another storm should come we should meet it like men, effendi,” said the Turk gravely. “That white squall last night saved our lives, for I was mastered.”
“And so was I,” said the professor. “You are right, Yussuf; but we must not let ourselves be surprised again. I had no business to sleep.”
“We should not have been surprised if yon Greek dog had not struck me down when he was pretending to be asleep by the helm. But see, effendi, he is ordering them to try and empty the boat. Let us go down and help.”
The remains of the food were placed in the basket, which was carried down and left in the sun to dry, not far from where the Greek skipper was seated, holding his wounded leg.
The tide there was very slight, but still it was falling, and this helped them in their plans.
The two Greeks were hard at work with the spar, using it as a lever; and twice over they obtained so good a purchase that they raised the submerged side just above the water, but it slipped back directly.
The professor did not hesitate, but said a few words to Yussuf, who handed his loaded pistol to Lawrence, tucked up his garment, and waded into the water at once along with Mr Preston.
“Humph! just as they were getting so nice and dry,” said Mr Burne. “Well, when one is in Cyprus, one must act like a Cypriote, eh, Lawrence, my lad? I say, fancy one of my clients seeing me doing this.”
He took off his coat, and rolled up his shirt-sleeves, nodding laughingly at Lawrence.
“Look here, my boy,” he said, “if that Greek rascal there moves, just you go up and shoot him somewhere. Don’t kill him, but we cannot stand any of his nonsense now.”
The two Greek sailors stared as the three travellers came wading to them, and seemed disposed to leave off their task; but Yussuf gave them their orders direct from Mr Preston, who made them get out some pieces of board and cut loose a couple of spars.
The result of this was that one of the long spars was securely lashed by their aid to the top of the principal mast which acted as a lever, when all took hold of the spar and pushed upwards. By this means the side of the boat was raised a foot or so, and could not sink back, for the free end of the spar rested on the sand. Then another foot was gained, the end of the spar being dragged along, and so on and on, till from being where it was lashed to the top of the mast, quite an obtuse angle of the widest, it was by degrees worked into a right angle, and by that time the submerged bulwark was quite out of the water, and the keel touched the bottom and kept them from moving the boat any farther.
The next thing to be done was to bale out the enormous quantity of water within, and there was no bucket or anything of the kind; but the professor was equal to the occasion. There was a small box in the big provision basket and the biscuit tin. These were emptied at once, and the two sailors set to work baling, while, as soon as it was possible, an attempt was made to get something serviceable out of the little cabin.
The search was vain, but just then one of the sailors took out his knife, left the biscuit tin with which he was baling, and going forward thrust down his knife-armed hand, and cut free a good-sized cask which was lashed there for the purpose of holding water.
This floated up directly, and when the man had got so far, he stood holding on and looking at it.
Yussuf had seized the biscuit tin, and was baling so as to lose no time, but the professor waded to the sailor, tossed the cask over, and following it, dragged it out on to the sandy shore, where the sea-water with which it was now filled ran gurgling out of the big bung-hole.
While it was emptying the professor walked some little distance to where a few pieces of rock were lying, and securing one weighing about half a hundredweight, he brought it back, set the cask up, and dashed in its head.
This made a baling implement of wonderful power, as soon as it was floated back and lifted into the boat. Certainly it took two men to use it, but the professor called to Yussuf to give the baling tin back to the Greek, and come to his side, and then Christian and Muslim set to work, stripping to it and displaying energy that made the Greeks work the harder in spite of the burning sun. For seizing the cask, as he stood waist-deep, the professor depressed and sank it, and as soon as it was full, he and Yussuf raised it between them till the edge was against the low side of the boat, and then they tilted it, sending its contents into the sea.
It was slow and terribly laborious work, but at the end of an hour the amount they had discharged was something tremendous, and after a rest for refreshment, the baling went on till, towards evening, the felucca was afloat once more, and riding to a little anchor cast out upon the shore.
There was still a great deal more water in her, but everyone was wearied out, and the professor gave the word for a cessation of labour, when some more provision was secured, with wine, and fairly distributed, when the Greeks encamped by their skipper, and the travellers went up close to the rocks, where a little thread of delicious fresh water trickled down and lost itself in the sand.
This was a treasure to the travellers, and at the professor’s desire Yussuf filled the biscuit tin, and took it to the Greeks, who, however, only laughed and said they preferred the wine.
The deliriously warm evening was spent in drying the wet garments in the heated sand, and in resting. The professor, who seemed a good deal fagged by his exertions, would hardly hear of sleeping, but was exceedingly anxious about Lawrence, who, however, seemed to be none the worse for the past night’s exposure, the warmth of the day and the rest he had had having recouped him to a wonderful extent. Mr Burne, too, though he had worked very hard, declared that he never felt better, and after smoking a cigar, which he took as a sandwich between two layers of snuff, preparations were made for the night, it being decided to lie down early and rise at daybreak, when a couple more hours’ work would, it was considered, make the felucca in a condition to sail at any time.
The professor insisted upon Yussuf lying down at once to get the first rest, so as to be roused up towards midnight to take the watch.
He consented rather unwillingly, and then the point had to be settled who should have the pistol and take the first watch.
The professor wished to commence, but Mr Burne was so indignant and insisted so sternly that the pistol was handed to him, after Yussuf had been asleep for about a couple of hours, and then Mr Preston and Lawrence sought their sandy couches, and lay for a little while listening to the soft murmur of the sea, and watching the brilliant stars in the dark sky and in the purply black water, while with regular and slow beat, like a sentry, Mr Burne walked up and down, pistol in hand.
Lawrence lay awake long enough to hear the professor’s deep breathing, and his muttering of something once or twice. Then he lay gazing at the old lawyer, thinking how comical it was, and what a change from Guilford Street in busy London, till it all seemed to be dim and strange and dreamlike.
Then it really was dreamlike, for, though the old lawyer was still marching up and down before Lawrence’s mental vision, it seemed to him that he had swollen out to ten times his natural size, and that he was not walking to and fro between him and the sea, but in front of the railings in Bloomsbury, and that, to prevent his making a noise and disturbing the sleepers, he had wound list all about his boots, which now made not a sound upon the pavement.
To and fro, to and fro he seemed to go, till his head swelled and swelled and no longer appeared to be a head, but a great rough grenadier’s cap, and it was no longer Mr Burne, but one of the sentries in front of the British Museum, who marched, and marched, and marched, till he marched right out of sight, and all was blank as a deep, deep sleep is sometimes, from which the lad started into wakefulness just before dawn, upon hearing the professor say loudly:
“Eh? What? Is it time?”
Chapter Fourteen.How Mr Burne kept Watch.“Yes, effendi, quite time,” said a stern voice which Lawrence, as he sat up, recognised as Yussuf’s; and there was the grave-looking Turk, misty and strange of aspect, bending down.“Quite time, eh?” said Mr Preston yawning.“Quite time, effendi. Look there!”Mr Preston rose and gazed in the direction of the Turk’s pointing finger, which was directed towards something indistinctly seen a few yards away.“Mr Burne! Asleep!” said the professor quickly.“Yes, effendi; I lay down to rest as you bade me, and I slept, expecting to be called later on to watch; but I was not awakened, and slept heavily. I was weary.”“But Mr Burne was to watch for only three hours as near as he could guess, and then call me. It is too bad. Those scoundrels might have stolen upon us in our sleep.”Lawrence had risen and joined them.“Poor fellow!” he said softly; “he must have been tired out. Let me watch now, Mr Preston.”“No,” said the professor sternly. “Lie down and sleep, my lad. Sleep brings strength. You shall have your turn as soon as you are well enough.”“Thy servant will watch now,” said Yussuf. “It is nearly day.”“It is too bad,” said the professor again; and with the Turk he walked to where Mr Burne lay fast asleep—so soundly, indeed, that he did not stir when Yussuf bent down and took the pistol from his hand.“Let him sleep, then,” said Mr Preston rather bitterly. “I will watch;” and as he spoke he looked in the direction of the Greeks’ camp.“Let thy servant,” said Yussuf quietly; “I am well rested now.”The result was that Lawrence, after a glance round to see that everywhere it was dark and still, once more lay down to sleep, leaving Mr Preston and the Turk talking in a low voice about their proceedings the next day.Then once more all was blank, but to the lad he did not seem to have been asleep a minute when he heard voices and started up, to see that it was broad daylight, and that Mr Preston and Yussuf were in earnest conversation with Mr Burne, who was sitting up rubbing his eyes.“Been asleep!” he cried; “nonsense! I don’t believe I have closed my eyes.”“No,” said Mr Preston as Lawrence hurried up. “I do not suppose you did. It was nature, and she laid you down comfortably on this soft sandy bed.”“But you astound me,” cried the old lawyer. “I can’t believe it.”“Quite true all the same,” said the professor; “but never mind now.”“It is of no use to mind, my dear sir. We must make the best of it.”“Of course, but you should have awakened me when you felt weary.”“Yes, exactly; I meant to—I—dear me! I remember now. I thought I would lie down for a few moments to take off a drowsy feeling. I meant to get up again directly, strong and refreshed. Dear, dear, dear! I am very sorry! So unbusiness-like of me! What time is it?”The professor smiled.“About four, I think.”“Ah, yes; it must be about four,” said the old lawyer looking about him and encountering the stern eyes of Yussuf, which were full of reproach. “Good job the Greeks did not come and disturb us.”“They did not disturb you, then?” said the professor gravely.“No; not they—the scoundrels! They had too serious a lesson in the boat, and—”He stopped short and looked in the direction of the spot where the three Greek sailors had lain down to sleep the night before, and then he turned his gaze out to sea.“Why, where are they?” he exclaimed at last.“Where, indeed!” replied the professor.“You don’t mean to say—you don’t want to make me believe that they are gone!” cried Burne excitedly.“They are not anywhere near here on shore,” replied the professor; “and the boat has sailed away. There is only one in sight, miles away yonder. That may be it, but I am not sure.”“Do you mean to say that those scoundrels have taken advantage of our being asleep to get on board the boat and escape?” said the lawyer angrily.“That is the only point at which I can arrive,” said the professor. “Look around and judge for yourself.”The old lawyer looked sharply about him and then walked slowly away.“A mistake—a mistake,” he muttered; “I ought never to have come upon such a trip. Not fit for it—not fit for it. Disgraceful—disgraceful! I never—never could have believed it of myself.”He stopped and turned back.“Send away this man,” he said quickly.Yussuf turned and walked away without another word.“Preston,” exclaimed the old lawyer, “I don’t know what to say in my defence. I have nothing to say, only that I never felt anything so bitterly before.”“Then say nothing,” replied Mr Preston coldly. “You were overcome by sleep, and no wonder. But it was a terrible risk to run. Fortunately these men were cowed by what had previously taken place, and they could not know but what we were keeping a good watch.”“It is inexcusable,” cried Mr Burne. “I feel as if I could hardly look you in the face again. Left helpless here! For goodness’ sake, Preston, tell me what we are to do.”“Quietly consult together what is to be done,” was the reply. “There, man! pray, don’t look at me in that imploring way.”“But it is so inexcusable,” cried Mr Burne.“Wait a bit,” said the professor smiling; “my turn may come soon, and I shall have to ask your pardon for doing wrong. There! perhaps it is for the best. If we had retained the scoundrels they might have been too much for us and played us some far worse trick.”Mr Burne was about to speak again, but the professor arrested him and suggested a walk along the shore to the north-east; but it was finally decided to partake first of an early breakfast, then to pack together what was left of the food and start at once upon a journey that they hoped would soon lead them to a village or town.After a visit to the shore, where the deep blue water came softly rippling upon the sand, they sat down to their frugal breakfast by the spring, carefully husbanding the supplies, and then with enough provision to keep them for about a couple of days, they started off, this provision being the only luggage they had to carry, what few things they possessed having been annexed by the Greeks, who seized upon them by way of payment for the trip, as of course they would not have dared to make any claim after what had occurred; and besides, it was not likely that the skipper would care to show himself at any port frequented by Englishmen for some time to come.
“Yes, effendi, quite time,” said a stern voice which Lawrence, as he sat up, recognised as Yussuf’s; and there was the grave-looking Turk, misty and strange of aspect, bending down.
“Quite time, eh?” said Mr Preston yawning.
“Quite time, effendi. Look there!”
Mr Preston rose and gazed in the direction of the Turk’s pointing finger, which was directed towards something indistinctly seen a few yards away.
“Mr Burne! Asleep!” said the professor quickly.
“Yes, effendi; I lay down to rest as you bade me, and I slept, expecting to be called later on to watch; but I was not awakened, and slept heavily. I was weary.”
“But Mr Burne was to watch for only three hours as near as he could guess, and then call me. It is too bad. Those scoundrels might have stolen upon us in our sleep.”
Lawrence had risen and joined them.
“Poor fellow!” he said softly; “he must have been tired out. Let me watch now, Mr Preston.”
“No,” said the professor sternly. “Lie down and sleep, my lad. Sleep brings strength. You shall have your turn as soon as you are well enough.”
“Thy servant will watch now,” said Yussuf. “It is nearly day.”
“It is too bad,” said the professor again; and with the Turk he walked to where Mr Burne lay fast asleep—so soundly, indeed, that he did not stir when Yussuf bent down and took the pistol from his hand.
“Let him sleep, then,” said Mr Preston rather bitterly. “I will watch;” and as he spoke he looked in the direction of the Greeks’ camp.
“Let thy servant,” said Yussuf quietly; “I am well rested now.”
The result was that Lawrence, after a glance round to see that everywhere it was dark and still, once more lay down to sleep, leaving Mr Preston and the Turk talking in a low voice about their proceedings the next day.
Then once more all was blank, but to the lad he did not seem to have been asleep a minute when he heard voices and started up, to see that it was broad daylight, and that Mr Preston and Yussuf were in earnest conversation with Mr Burne, who was sitting up rubbing his eyes.
“Been asleep!” he cried; “nonsense! I don’t believe I have closed my eyes.”
“No,” said Mr Preston as Lawrence hurried up. “I do not suppose you did. It was nature, and she laid you down comfortably on this soft sandy bed.”
“But you astound me,” cried the old lawyer. “I can’t believe it.”
“Quite true all the same,” said the professor; “but never mind now.”
“It is of no use to mind, my dear sir. We must make the best of it.”
“Of course, but you should have awakened me when you felt weary.”
“Yes, exactly; I meant to—I—dear me! I remember now. I thought I would lie down for a few moments to take off a drowsy feeling. I meant to get up again directly, strong and refreshed. Dear, dear, dear! I am very sorry! So unbusiness-like of me! What time is it?”
The professor smiled.
“About four, I think.”
“Ah, yes; it must be about four,” said the old lawyer looking about him and encountering the stern eyes of Yussuf, which were full of reproach. “Good job the Greeks did not come and disturb us.”
“They did not disturb you, then?” said the professor gravely.
“No; not they—the scoundrels! They had too serious a lesson in the boat, and—”
He stopped short and looked in the direction of the spot where the three Greek sailors had lain down to sleep the night before, and then he turned his gaze out to sea.
“Why, where are they?” he exclaimed at last.
“Where, indeed!” replied the professor.
“You don’t mean to say—you don’t want to make me believe that they are gone!” cried Burne excitedly.
“They are not anywhere near here on shore,” replied the professor; “and the boat has sailed away. There is only one in sight, miles away yonder. That may be it, but I am not sure.”
“Do you mean to say that those scoundrels have taken advantage of our being asleep to get on board the boat and escape?” said the lawyer angrily.
“That is the only point at which I can arrive,” said the professor. “Look around and judge for yourself.”
The old lawyer looked sharply about him and then walked slowly away.
“A mistake—a mistake,” he muttered; “I ought never to have come upon such a trip. Not fit for it—not fit for it. Disgraceful—disgraceful! I never—never could have believed it of myself.”
He stopped and turned back.
“Send away this man,” he said quickly.
Yussuf turned and walked away without another word.
“Preston,” exclaimed the old lawyer, “I don’t know what to say in my defence. I have nothing to say, only that I never felt anything so bitterly before.”
“Then say nothing,” replied Mr Preston coldly. “You were overcome by sleep, and no wonder. But it was a terrible risk to run. Fortunately these men were cowed by what had previously taken place, and they could not know but what we were keeping a good watch.”
“It is inexcusable,” cried Mr Burne. “I feel as if I could hardly look you in the face again. Left helpless here! For goodness’ sake, Preston, tell me what we are to do.”
“Quietly consult together what is to be done,” was the reply. “There, man! pray, don’t look at me in that imploring way.”
“But it is so inexcusable,” cried Mr Burne.
“Wait a bit,” said the professor smiling; “my turn may come soon, and I shall have to ask your pardon for doing wrong. There! perhaps it is for the best. If we had retained the scoundrels they might have been too much for us and played us some far worse trick.”
Mr Burne was about to speak again, but the professor arrested him and suggested a walk along the shore to the north-east; but it was finally decided to partake first of an early breakfast, then to pack together what was left of the food and start at once upon a journey that they hoped would soon lead them to a village or town.
After a visit to the shore, where the deep blue water came softly rippling upon the sand, they sat down to their frugal breakfast by the spring, carefully husbanding the supplies, and then with enough provision to keep them for about a couple of days, they started off, this provision being the only luggage they had to carry, what few things they possessed having been annexed by the Greeks, who seized upon them by way of payment for the trip, as of course they would not have dared to make any claim after what had occurred; and besides, it was not likely that the skipper would care to show himself at any port frequented by Englishmen for some time to come.