VICTOR MOREDANT.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 23, 17 December 1874, Page 7

VICTOR MOREDANT.

THE LOST SHIPS.

CHAPTER XIII.

A SECRET CONFERENCE IN THE BACK

TARLOR OF THE "JOLLY TARS"

THE ARTICLES SIGNED —CHARLES RECEIVES NAUTICAL INSTRUCTIONS

—THE PARTING OF THE LOVERS.

In the back parlor of Johnny Hutcheson's house of entertainment in the Candtefiggs, called the " Jolly Tars," sat the captian of The Friends and his two owners—M'Dougal and Menzies —in close and secret conference. It was by no means the first time they had met there; in fact, the meetings had occurred so often, and were conducted with such privacy, that the landlord began to be curious as to their object, and was at some pains to endeavour to find it out by listening and peeping at the keyhole. And there he heard words and saw queer-shaped instruments drawn forth which caused him to suspect that projects were being concocted of a nefarious character. That which he saw and heard did not give him an exact understanding of the truth, but caused him to indulge in sundry shrewd and uneasy reflections. However, he concluded that it was not his business to interfere with the plans or operation of his guests; and, as they always paid him liberally for the exclusive use of his back parlor when thus met in secret conclave; he resolved not to bother himself particularly about it. On the evening in question, and at the very time when Charles Wingate and Jack Blossom were with the mate on board the vessel at the Broomielaw, they sat together engaged in one of these secret conferences. So long as the landlord was passing out and in, supplying them with the liquor they had ordered, only, commonplace topics of conversation but no sooner had Johnny been dismissed with the injunction to allow no one to intrude on them, and to permit no one to enter save Dan Bannatyne, the mate, when he should make his appearance, then they fastened the door and proceeded to dispose of the special business which had brought them together.

As M'Dougal and Menzies were formerly described to the reader when they were guests of Mr Moredant at Beechwood, we -need not again particularise them ; but as we have not seen Captain Duncan till now, we may briefly indicate his personal appearance. He was a middle-aged, stout, floridcomplexioned man, with a round face, thick lips, a broken nose, and a squint in his left eye. He wore the usual captain's dress of blue cloth, with brass buttons, and his silver chronometer was? garnished with a very massive gold chain, which lay across his well-rounded paunch. Massive rings also studded two or three of his fat and dirty fingers ; and a breast-pin, shaped like an anchor, secured the ends of his large-patterned cravat. His whole appearance was decidedly kenspeckle, and his countenance had a cunning expression, which was perhaps rendered more noticeable by the distortion of his optics. When bespoke, his voice was deep and hoarse, as the voices of most sea captains are, the roughness being produced, no doubt, by the manner in which they have to bawl their orders to the crew.

"Nowthen, Duncan," said M'Dougal as soon as privacy had been secured; " things will soon be ready for a start." " I'm glad to hear it," returned the captain ; " you've been a devilish long time in getting the cargo forward."

"That couldn't be helped. Our misfortunes have made shippers somewhat shy of sending their goods in our vessels; and we have had to wait till the manufactuers got the calicoes ready. But this is almost the last now. The bales of Dalgleish are all on board, and Gillespie's goods will be consigned within a week. Once we have them we can go to work at once, for the insurances are all effected."

"On cargo and ship both ?" queried Duncan.

" Yes, on both. Some of the underwriters hung in the wind a bit, and several inclined to decline—Gilbert, for instance, was particularly shy, and would have held back if he could have found a decent excuse; but, as he could mention none, and as I showed him that Lillie, Louden, Barnet, and the rest of them had taken our premiums, he was obliged to follow suit."

" Ah," observed Menzies, u that shows that we must make hay while the sun shines, for he'll get under a cloud soon. Our lucrative game can't go on much longer."

" Bah ! why not ?" growled the captain. " The sea will keep our secret; nothing can ever be brought against ns."

" Oh, I don't fear that," said M'Dougal, turning pale, however, at the very thought of it; "but our 'disasters' will get so notorious that the underwriters will refuse policies. Menzies is right, therefore, in saying that we must make hay while the sun shines ; and, egad! he's doing it, too, more ways than one, by what I hear." " What's he doing ?" said the captain, sharply and suspiciously. '* Hunting an heiress," laughed M'Dougal. " How does.your suit at Beechwood prosper ?" he added, turning to Menzies.

"Fairly," responded the latter. Ac Moredant is my firm ally, and the . ady is not indifferent."

" Lucky dog; and what a fool—what an egregious ass was Victor Moredant, to throw away such wealth for a mere boyish' sentiment. I thought him a cold, haughty, unsocial being, but never imagined he was such a romantic idiot." " Oh, I saw well enough that he meant to kick against the pricks, and so I was ready to take the chance when it came," said Menzies, complacently. " And a rare chance it is," added M'Dougal. " A line estate, and no end of money. A pretty girl, too, lively and agreeable. Come, Duncan, let's drink to Menzies, the future laird of Beech wood." " With all my heart. Here's to you, Mr Menzies, and the craft you are trying to get command of. Hope I'll find you pacing the quarter-deck when I come back, and with ship and cargo running before a fair breeze. And where," he added, as he set down the empty tankard — " where is the younker who wouldn't take such a prize in tow, when he had nothing ado but whip on the hawser and make sail ?" " Ah, but that's what nobody knows," replied Menzies. "He left one morning before anyone was up, and no tidings have been heard of him since. Perhaps he thought his father would move heaven and earth to get him to return ; but in that he has been disappointed, for, by my advice, he made no inquiry after him, and dosen't intend doing so." " Poor devil, he'll get upon the shoals soon, and then he'll curse the day he cut his anchor-line and drifted from his snug moorings. Come, give us another toast, Menzies, and let it be the toast this time." " Fill your tankards, then—fill them to the brim. That's right. Here's success to this new venture." They rose to their feet, each repeated the words in a low tone, then touched each other's tankard, and quaffed the contents to the dregs. As the captain sat down he drew from his breast pocket a bright shining instrument, and, holding it up before him, whispered, " There's a beauty." " What is it ?" asked both the others. " Don't you twig 1 It's a new kind of caulker. I got it made in London by a cracksman's toolmaker. This will do the business in half the time, and with a deal less trouble." They took up the instrument, and curiously examined it. it was like a gimlet, but with somewhat complex mechanism, and to illustrate its practical advantage the captain applied it to a two-inch plank, which formed the seat of one of the wooden benches. There was a slight rasping sound, and in a few moments a circular hole was drilled through the wood as if by magic. " There," said the captain, elated by their wondering looks, " ten minutes will do as much drilling as send her to the bottom in half-an-hour, and in a case of this kind speed is invaluable, for if she floats a while the ship you have sighted and mean to make for, may come alongside before she goes down, and make a discovery. The last caulking cruise nearly ruined us from that cause. The moment the look-out announced a sail, I gave the signal to Bannatyne, who dived below and drilled the holes. Ere the leakage was such as to drive us to the boats, the ship was well up, and by the time we boarded her our craft was still well above the water. It was proposed by our rescuers to run alongside and try to save her, and by the Lord Harry, it was touch and go, for the boats were actually out and manned when she went down by the head. I was all over in a sweat, I can tell ye, and resolved to have the work better done next time. And all the more need for a quick canker like this with such a cargo we have now. These d—d calicoes will keep the water out in spite of us.,' " Keep yourself easy on that head," said M'Dougal, as he and Menzies exchanged smiles. " Keep yourself easy about that, for you'll have no calicoes on board." " What the devil do you mean V " Just what I say. What's the good of throwing away the cargo if we can help it ? But how can we help it ?" " Easily —by removing" it the night before you sail, and } T ou sailing without it. That has been arranged, Bannatyne has filled the bottom of the hold with stones and the calicoes which are put in are placed above them. When you sail it will be with the morning' tide. After dark the night before, we'll have a few hands employed to unship the cargo and take it to my stores in Turner's Court. You twig the matter now ?" " Shiver my timbers, but that's what I call working* double tides," said the captain, his squinting eyes absolutely gleaming with admiration. " And will you be able to sell the calicoes under the rose ?" " Pooh; yes, without difficulty. I deal in such stuff. I'll have the webs cut into remnants, and get quit of them in that way. " Then 'that's another tidy sum brought to our side of the log-hook. Ha., ha ! the idea of going out in ballast, and sending the old Friends to the bottom empty." " Hush —for God sake hush ; here comes some one," said Menzies, in a warning tone, as voices were heard in the passage leading to the parlour. They were silent in a moment, and the captain snatched up the caulker, as he called it ; and thrust it into his bosom,

as a peculiar tap was delivered on the closed door.

"That's Davie's knock," said the Captain' with a relieved look, and instantly they opened the door, when the mate entered. He and the Captain shook hands, for the latter had been absent for some time in London, and this was their first meeting. " Well, Dan, what cheer ? I'm told you've got the old hulk'into good trim, that the cargo is nearly ready, and that we'll be able to weigh anchor in a week." " That's about it, E think," responded the mate; " but till an hour ago I thought we should he delayed for want of hands. Bain and Ward are down with the small-pox." " Confound it. Then what's to be done ?" " I have come across two men tonight—one called Jack Blossom, the other Charley Wingate—and after no little persuasion have prevailed on them to ship for the voyage. They are waiting at the bar. We had better have them in at once to sign the articles." "To be sure, to be sure," cried the Captain, hastily. " Bring them in at once, before they have time to change their minds. Quick, Dan, they may bolt while you are here." The mate produced the book con-' taining the articles, and throwing it down on the table, rushed back to the bar for Charles and Jack, whom he led forthwith into the parlour. Jack rolled in quite unabashed and drew his forelock and hitched up his trousers with a true sailor's salute. Charles, who had been tutored toimitate him in this, was about to do so as closely as he could when, to his consternation, he caught sight of M'Dougal and Menzies. Forgetting at the moment that his disguise protected him, he expected a recognition to take place instantly, and was thrown into a state of indescribable confusion. This, however, immediately subsided, when he saw them look at him without the slightest sign that they had discovered his identity. Then he called to mind his changed appearance, and strove to look unconscious and unconcerned. Jack acted as chief spokesman, and managed so that the other was kept well in the background. Dan explained to the captain the condition which was insisted on that they should mate together in the ship, and the latter readily assented to it. From the special circumstances which underlay all their proceedings it was a matter of almost no consequence what arrangements were made, so long as there were hands to work the ship till time and place proved convenient for the deed intended, A week or two from port would effect this, and after that it mattered not a fig to the captain, the owners, or the mate, what became of the crew. They might return together or they might not; but, of course, their engagement would be cancelled when the ship went down, and this rendered the terms of agreement a matter of indifference. A few minutes, therefoi'e, sufficed to adjust these, and the book was laid before the two men for their signature. Charles was now able to smile at his proximity to two men whom he had met so often in his father's house, and who knew him perfectly as Victor Moredant, but had not penetrated the disguise he now wore. It showed him how perfect and complete the disguise was, and how secure it made him. He was destined, however, to be startled again, for while Jack was signing his name with painful deliberation Menzies took it into his head to address him. " Well, my lad, are you married ?" ; he inquired. " INo, sir, I ain't," the youth managed to reply, in the sea-going- voice he had been practising. v Oh, not married. I wonder at that-—such a good-looking youngfellow as you are. But of course you have a sweetheart ? All sailors have sweethearts, haven't they ?" " Most on 'em, sir, and I won't deny as I have got one too." " I'll swear you have, and that in every port you've entered," laughed the Captain. " Trust to Jack for drawing alongside a petticoat as soon as he gets ashore." " Ay, ay, Cap'n, but sailors ain't the only ones as goes arter the gals," said Charles, putting a bold face onit.' { " Faith that's true j eh, Menzies, you know it is ?" Whereat the others laughed loudly, and under cover of the mirth Charles signed the articles in a hand as much disguised as his person, and they were free to go. " We'll sail in about a week," said the Captain, as they were about to depart. " One or other of ye had better go on board now and then to learn the day and hour, and I expect you both to be at your posts when the anchor is weighed."

"Ay, ay, sir, you may depend on us," answered Jack, as, with a pull at his forelock and a scrape with his foot, he backed towards the . door. Charles did his obeisance in the same fashion, and next moment the door closed on them, and their exit was effected to their intense relief and unbounded satisfaction.

Jack hurried home. Charles repaired to the private room in the office, and restored himself to his own proper person; then he proceeded to Mr Gilbert's residence, who, he knew, would be anxiously expecting him. After reporting to that gentleman the success which had .attended tjieni, the youth

returned to Ship Row, for by this time, according to arrangement, Jack would have announced their departure for Trinidad, and he longed to know how May would feel in view of their temporary separation. To her, he was aware the separation involved no more than absence and the usual danger to be incurred in voyaging upon the deep, and she, being a -sailor's daughter, would not be specially fearful on this account; still it would be the occasion of gratifying his yearning for a fuller manifestation of her love, and he was all impatience to know how far she would allow her feelings to show themselves.

He had his reward, and it was as delicious as he had fancied. As if she had been listening for his footstep. May had come forth to meet him ere he was half-way up the stair; and when he came to the landing, she threw herself unreservedly into his arms, murmuring—

"Oh, Charles; you and father are going away." " Yes, darling," he replied, straining her fondly to his heart; " for a time we are to bo separated ; but it won't be for very long. Trinidad is not such a terrible distance away."

" Not so far as—as —lndia-, for instance," she said.

"Oh dear no. India is much further off. I believe your father has been there."

" Yes," she answered with a shudder.

The shudder he felt as she lay on his bosom, but fortunately the darkness of the stair hid the deadly paleness which accompanied it.

" What! a sailor's daughter, and affrighted at the thought of a seavoyage ! , Fie, fie !"

" Who knows the dangers of the sea so well as those who are sailors ?" she faltered.

" Come,- come," he whispered, in a soothing- tone, " your father has accomplished many a voyage in safety, and why should ydu fear so much for this ?"

But she shuddered again, and could make no answer. How little did he know what a vision was before her at the moment —the vision of a burning ship enveloped in smoke and flame, its deck crowded by a mass of frantic human beings—of a young girl falling into the sea and rescued as by a miracle —-of the blazing hull descending into the waves—of a night spent in an open boat, and all the sufferings attendant on a scene so dreadful. The intimation of this voyage to Trinidad' had conjured up the never-to-be-forgotten spectacle, and she was moved far more deeply than he could know.

Jack, of course, was in a position to understand her feelings better, and he united with Charles in an effort to cheer her by representing the as little other than a pleasure trip, though now that he had >seen the character and appointments of the vessel in which they were to sail he did not anticipate much pleasure in the matter.

There was one consolation, however —he was very sure the voyage would not be a long one. If it was the intention of the Captain to scuttle the ship—and on this point he had no doubt—the deed would be done longbefore they got the length of Trinidad. Of danger—mere sailor's danger—Jack had little dread, for he was well aware the most ample precautions would be taken for the safety of all on board. But he could not conceal from himself that Charles and he would be exposed to special and peculiar dangers of their own, arising from the enterprise in which they had embarked. Should the captain or the mate discover that they were spies come on board for the one and only purpose of watching the perpetration of the suspected deed, in order that it might be detected and its authors punished, they might expect no mercy to be shown them. Tn that case, said Jack to himself, they'll send us to Davy Jones in the turning of a handspike.

Charles was equally alive to the imminence of this peril, and they resolved that every precaution must be taken to avoid such a discovery. Their greatest danger lay in the nautical ignorance under which Charles necessarily la : bored. How could he, almost totally unacquainted with a sailor's duties, perform his share of these in a way to deceive the rest of the crew ? Jack had provided so far for this by arranging that they should be always together* when he hoped by whispered directions and private help to cover his deficiency. But this might not serve on alldccasions,andheand Charles resolved that the week which would intervene before the sailing of the Friends should be devoted to teaching the youth the practical details of a sailor's work. For this purpose an admirable medium was at hand in a magnificent and complete model of a full-built and full-rigged ship which Jack possessed, and which proved the most valuable ornament of his house. Its place was on the top of Molly's highly-polished chest of drawers, and surrounding it were a number of curiosities which Jack had in former years brought from the foreign countries he had visited. The model was his peculiar pride, and he cherished it as a miser does his gold. It had been constructed by a ship carpenter on one of their long voyages, and Jack had rigged it himself It was of very large size, and complete in every particular. Not a spar, not a rope, not a sail was Everything that

a ship has it had, and placed exactly in ! its proper position, so that to study it minutely was to become acquainted with a vessel's construction and arrangements in all departments, and by it Jack could teach his willing and eager pupil the entire round of a sailor's work—the various operations to be performed, and the manner of doing them ; the queer yet significant names of the parts and furnishings of the ship, and all that required to be done in the way of working it.

So to it he went, Charles spending almost the whole time at Ship Bow, absorbed in tbe acquirement of that nautical knowledge which it was so essential he should obtain, and which his teacher was thoroughly able and earnestly anxious to communicate. The first day was devoted to the hull, to its outside -and inside, and Charles was made to know all about the upper and lower stern pieces; the forward, middle, and after keel piece; the stern post, the rudder, the waist, the cathead, the -transoms, and so forth.

Another day ihe subject -of study was the spars and rigging, and the youth got immersed in masts —the fore, the main, and mizen—the topmast and top-gallantmast ot each, the crosstrees, the yards, the braces, trucks, gaffs, booms, stays, halyards, chains, shrouds, lifts, (&c.,till Charles grew bewildered by the multiplicity of names and objects, their relation to, connection with, and effect upon each other. By patient attention, however, he found that order came out-of-what at first sight seemed confusion, and he experienced pleasure in being able to answer Jack's questions correctly, and in hearing the hearty ecomiums of the latter in the progress he was making. It was a long lesson that time, -extending far into the night, and ere it was done Charles could give the nomenclature of masts, spars, and cordage, and the different kinds of rigging which constituted a ship, a bark, a brig, a schooner, or a sloop. After this came the sails, mainsails, foresails, mizen sails, skysails, spencers, royals, jibs, studdingsails, lees, and spankers, with modus operandi of hoisting, furling, reefing, bending, -setting, .loosing, taking- in, and repairing. Following this came a description of the work upon the rigging, especially upon the ropes,—the laying of the strands for cable and hawser; the various splices — short splice, long splice, eye splice; the knots—sheet knot, stopper knot, shroud knot, buoy knot, square knot; the hitches—clove hitch, timber hitch, rolling hitch, marlinspike hitch, and so on.

As all these were practically illustrated with ropes and cords which Jack got for the purpose, the youth's hands were blistered and bleeding ere he had mastered such rough and knotty mysteries. But he did 'master them, and could splice, and knot, and hitch with an expertness which gave his teacher unbounded satisfaction.

The instructions which followed the proceedings were of a miscellaneous character, and related to steering, wearing, tacking, hauling, rounding, backing, the watches, the bells, weighing the anchor, taking to the boats, and a host of other matters affecting- rules, regulations, and discipline, which nothing but a resolute determination on the youth's part to accomplish his important mission would have made him labor to understand, but with which, under the motive which animated him, he grappled manfully, and proved so apt a scholar that by the day of sailing he was so learned in seamanship as to feel confidence in going on board.

May was rather inclined to pout at her lover's time being so much taken up in this way. She saw no need for a mere passenger such as she believed he was to be becoming so versed in sailor's work, and thought she and Charles should be more together, considering that he was to be so long absent. But, at a hint from Jack of the desirability of Charles being prepared for emergencies, she became quite resigned to the necessity for the studies beingprosecuted, and was content if she and Charles had a long ramble in the sweet gloaming, when their hearts revealed to each other the purity, the depth, and the intensity -of their love, and their vows of unalterable attachment were renewed with increased tenderness. Day by day, as thus they communed together, they grew dearer and dearer to each other, and the partinsr, when it came, was thereby rendered the more bitter.

Each day Jack sauntered down to the Broomielaw to learn when the ship might be expected to sail. At length he was told one afternoon that she would sail with the tide on the follow-1 ing morning just at daybreak, but that he and his mate need not be on board till half an hour before.

" All right," responded Jack. " Charley and I will have our chests up the side in time, to help the warping of the ship from her mooring-s.'' Then he returned home, and forthwith the final preparations were made.

Charles remained late that night at Ship Row. The parting- between him and May we must not describe; it was as tender, and painful, and protracted as their passionate attachment demanded. But at length* the last adieux were breathed, the last lingering embrace was unlocked, and as Charles sped down the stairs, May rushed into her

own little inner room, and sobbed herself asleep upon her couch, to he awaked again in the grey, dawn when Jack left.

l< I'll take care of him with my life," were the last words- Jack whispered to her, as she lay weeping in his arms; and as she heard the promise a-smile broke through her tears. Ere it could pass from her beautiful face, Jack bade her a last good-by, kissed and hugged Molly, and was gone.

An hour later, the *' Friends " was unfastened from her moorings, and, with the two friends on board, began to move down the river with the .first ebbing of the tide.

(Tb be continued.)