t^	t^^W	n	f ' '■
.—ui	V	'M	is
	^ m
W,	m 'i^-' 1	'V	' :l^

-.^ !!> 1^ i:^ J^ '^:-' •«- 'i^-^. f t' . t: m m w t^ u- -w^ t;is

,"«■ ,^,. '*»'■ 4-..^*'- .

KM

-J^:.. ...^^^Ife.^.. i^

1 . .|v.^ Jw\, f.v^ IT"

■«., ^**-*.' ■^^■■«!> •*■*■•■;«% '*>'■ *«,'^- ■ '*«•,. •^' w.

■^t*»^*„f? t* f^:_. J*;: n:: f

^r.i'iSS

ir> "IT"

r.fl. !;..«;■: U

m ^

^.,m:m. »■

THE PILOT

A TALE OF TOE BE A

J. FENIMORE COOPER

WITH AN

IXTRODUCTION BY SUSAX^ i- ! vr^rnn i; rnm^FR

liOSTON AND NEW YORK HOrOHTON MIFFLIN CO]\I^A^^'

m ^^

nn*.^

aS li.' ^i. »..•• m W ^ ^

A1

liTWKni

THE PILOT

A TALE OF THE SEA

BY

J. FENIMORE COOPER

WITH AN

INTRODUCTION BY SUSAN FENIMORE COOPER

" List I ye Landsmen, all to me."

BOSTON AND NEW YORK HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

Copyright, 1884, Bt SDBAN FIENIMOEK COOFEK

WILLIAM BRANFORD SHUBRICK, ESO^ U. S. NAVY.

Mr Dear Shubrick:

Each year brings some new and melancholy chasm in wh&z is now the brief list of my naval friends and former associates. War, dicease, «aid the casualties of a hazardous profession, have made fearful inroads in the limited number ; while the places of the dead are supplied by pomes that to me are those of strangers. With the consequences of these sad changes before me, I cherish the recollection of those with irhom I once lived in close familiarity with peculiar interest, and feel a triumph in their growing reputations, that is but little short of their own honest pride.

But neither time ncr separation has shaken our intimacy : and I know that in dedicating to you this volume, I tell you nothing new, when I add, that it is a tribrtc paid to an enduring friendship, by Your old Messmate,

THE AUTHOR.

PEEFAOE.

It ifl probable a true history of human events would shoir that a far larger proportion of our acts are the results of ■udden impulses and accident, than of that reason of which we so much boast. However true, or false, this opinion may be in more important matters, it is certainly and strictly correct as relates to the conception and execution of this book.

« The Pilot " was published in 1823. This was not long ftfter the appearance of " The Pirate," a work which, it is hardly necessary to remind the reader, has a direct connec- tion with the sea. In a conversation with a friend, a man of polished taste and extensive reading, the authorship of the Scottish novels came under discussion. The claims of Sir Walter were a little distrusted, on account of the pecul- iar and minute information that the romances were then very generally thought to display. " The Pirate " was cited AS a very marked instance of this universal knowledge, and H was wondered where a man of Scott's habits and associti- cions could have become so familiar with the aea. The writer had frequently observed that there was much loose- 5.ess in this universal knowledge, and that the secret of iUi B access was to be traced to the power of creatmg that vraisemblance, which is so remarkably exhibited in those world-renowned fictions, rather than to any very accurate information on the part of their author. It would have been hypercritical to object to " The Pirate," that it was not strictly nautical, or true in its details ; but, when the rrverse was urged as a proof of what, considering the char-

fill PEEFACE.

acter of other portions of the work, would have been most extraordinary attainments, it was a sort of provocation to ^pute the seamanship of " The Pirate," a quality to which me book has certainly very little just pretension The result of this conversation was a sudden determination to produce a work which, if it had no other merit, might pre- gent truer pictures of the ocean and ships than any that ar« to be found in " The Pirate." To this unpremeditated decision, purely an impulse, is not only " The Pilot " due, but a tolerably numerous school of nautical romances that have succeeded it.

The author had many misgivings concerning the success of the undertaking, atter he had made some progress in the work ; the opinions of his different friends being anything but encouraging. One would declare that the sea could not be made interesting ; that it was tame, monotonous, and without any other movement than unpleasant storms, and that, for his part, the less he got of it the better. The women very generally protested that such a book would have the odor of bilge-water, and that it would give them the maladie de men Not a single individual among all those who discussed the merits of the project, within the range of the author's knowledge, either spoke, or looked, encouragingly. It is probable that all these persons antici- pated a signal failure.

So very discouraging did these ominous opinions get to be, that the writer was once or twice tempted to throw his manuscript aside, and turn to something new. A favorable opinion, however, coming from a very unexpected quarter, put a new face on the matter, and raised new hopes. Among the intimate friends of the writer, was an English- man, who possessed most of the peculiar qualities of the educated of his country. He was learned even, had a taste thr" ?ra8 so just as always to command respect, but was prej- odiceti, »nd particularly so in all that related to this ooantry umI \i& literature. He could never be persuad»l to »liDir«

PREFACE. Im

Bryant's " Water-Fowl," and this mainly liecause. If it wer« accepted aa good poetry, it must be placed at once amongst the finest fugitive pieces of the language. Of the " Thana- topsis " he thought better, though inclined to suspect it of being a plagiarism. To the tender mercies of this one-sided critic, who had never affected to compliment the previoua works of the author, the sheets of volume of *' The Pilot '* were committed, with scarce an expectation of his liking them. The reverse proved to be the case ; he expressed Limfielf highly gratified, and predicted a success for the book which it probably never attained.

Thus encouraged, one more experiment was made, a sea- man being selected for the critic A kinsiixan, a namesake, and an old messmate of the author, one now in coidvnand on a foreign station, was chosen, and a considerable portion of the first volume was read to him. There is no wish to con- ceal the satisfaction with which the e^ect on this listener was observed. He treated the whole matter as fact, and his criticisms were strictly professional, and perfectly just. But the interest he betrayed could not be mistaken. It gave a perfect and most gratifying assurance that the work would be more likely to find favor with nautical men, than with any other class of readers.

" The Pilot " could scarcely be a favorite with females. The story has little interest for them, nor was it much heeded by the author of the book, in the progress of his 'abors. His aim was to Illustrate vessels and the ocean, -ather than to draw any pictures of sentiment and love, in this last respect, the book has small claims on the reader's attention, though it is hoped that the story has guScient interest to relieve the more strictly nautical fea- tures of the work.

It would be affectation to deny that '• The PUot " met with a most unlooked-for success. The novelty of the design probably contributed a large share of this result 8«*ft-ia2e8 came into vogue, as a consequence- and, as every

X PREf A0£

practical part of knowledge has its uses, something has l»een gained by letting the landsman into the secrets of the sea- man's manner of life. Perhaps, in some small degree, an interest has been awakened in behalf of a very numerous, and what has hitherto been a sort of proscribed class of men, tliat may directly tend to a melioration of their con- dition.

It is not easy to make the public comprehend all the necessities of a service afloat. With several hundi-ed ruds beings confined within the narrow limits of a vessel, men of aU nations and of the lowest habits, it would be to the last degree indiscreet to commence their reformation by relaxing the bonds of discipline, under the mistaken impulses of a false philanthropy. It has a lofty sound, to be sure, to talk about American citizens being too good to be brought under the lash, upon the high seas ; but he must have a very mistaken notion who does not see that tens of thousands of these pretending persons on shore, even, would be greatly benefited by a little judicious flogging. It is tb judgment in administering, and not the mode of punishment, that requires to be looked into ; and^ in this respect, there has certainly been a great improvement of late years. It is eeldom, indeed, that any institution, practice, or system, is improved by the blind interference of those who know nothing about it. Better would it be to trust to the experi- ence of those who have long governed turbulent men, than to the impulsive experiments of those who rarely regard more than one side of a question, and that the most showy and glittering ; having, quite half of the time, some selfish personal end to answer.

There is an uneasy desire among a vast many well-dis- jtosed persons to get the fruits of the Christian faith, with- oc* troubling themselves about the faith itself. This is done under the sanction of Peace Societies, Temperance and Moral Reform Societies, in which the end is ^oo often mis- taken for the means. When the Almighty sent his Son on

PREFACE. n

earth, it was to point out the way in which all this waa V) be brought about, by means of the Church ; but men have »o frittered away tliat body of divine organization, through their divisions and subdivisions, all arising from human con- ceit, that it is no longer regarded as the agency it was so obviously intended to be, and various contrivances are to be employed as substitutes for that which proceeded d' recti? from the Son of God !

Among the efforts of the day, however, the;e is one con nected with the moral improvement of the sailor that com- mands our profound respect. Cut off from most of the charities of life, for so large a portion of his time, deprived altogether of association with the gentler and better portions of the other sex, and living a man in a degree proscribed, »mid the many signs of advancement that distinguish the \ge, it was time that he should be remembered and singled 9ut, and become the subject of combined and Christian philanthropy. There is much reason to believe that the effort, now making in the right direction and under proper fcuspices, will be successful ; and that it will cause the lash to be laid aside in the best and most rational manner. — by rendering its use unnecessary.

OoOTMtttowii, Auguat 10, Ittf.

LN"TEODUOTIOJSr.

BY SUSAN FENIMORE COOPER.

The idea of writing a romance connected with che se* msLS accidentally suggested by a conversation at the table of Mr. Charles Willies. This gentleman, belonging to a generation older than Mr. Cooper, held a prominent posi- tion in the society of New York, at that date ; he was a nephew of the celebrated John Wilkes of " North Briton " notoriety, but a man of widely opposite character, distin- guished not only for his literary tastes, but for his polished manners and agreeable conversation. He had known the author of " The Spy " from boyhood, and felt a warm interest in him personally, and in connection with bis literary career. It was, indeed, by the advice of this gentleman that " Pre- caution," the first tale of the writer, was published, in 1819 Mr. Wilkes lived at that time in what was then considered the choicest groimd in New York for homes of elegant lei- sure, in Hudson Square, under the shadow of St. John's Church, where rows of dignified houses surrounded what was called St. John's Park, a quiet, pleasant green, of no great size, *o which the owners of the adjoining houses alone had access. To-day that same ground has become one of the great railroad centres of the largest town in America, where travel and traffic reign supreme, with all the din and racket following in the train of the locomotive, The last tree of the " Park " has long since been felled. The inmates of those homes of quiet elegance have long since taken flight to streets more congenial. St. John's Church alone keeps its ground. But fifty years ago, among

XIV INTRODUCTION.

the dignified homes surrounding the green " Park," none was more hospitable than that of Mr. Wilkes, and there Ml". Cooper was very frequently to be found among the guests.

"The Pioneers" was published in October, 1822. The dinner party referred to occurred not long after. The au- thor of " Waverley " had recently published " The Pirate," and,' as usual with every fresh volume from his pen, the book and its characters entered largely into the table-talk of the hour. The admiration of the landsmen of the party was much excited by the nautical passages of the narrative, and some of the guests doubted whether Sir Walter Scott, the legal man, the poetical interpreter of past centuries, could have drawn marine touches so correctly ; the fact was, indeed, given as a reason for doubting his identity with the author of " Waverley." No man admired the genius of Sir Walter Scott more than the author of " The Pioneers," but on this occasion he maintained the opinion that " The Pirate " was not thoroughly satisfactory to a nautical reader ; he added, that a man accustomed to ships and the sea could have accomplished far more with the same materials as those em- ployed in " The Pirate." His companions all differed from him. They considered the proportion of nautical matter as a proof of the author's skill ; they held that similar scenes introduced very freely into a work of fiction must neces- sarily become tedious from their monotony, that they could not long be made really interesting to the general reader, professional men might take pleasure in them, but for a landsman occasional passages, brief episodes, admitted for the sake of variety, must always be sufficient. More than this must necessarily become an error of judgment in any work of fiction. Mr. Cooper opposed this view, with his usual spirit and animation. He mentioned Smollett, but was told that the novels of this writer owed their success to their coarse, but vigorous wit and humor, and in spite of any connection with the sea. Still the author of " The Spy " maintained that a work of this nature, with the scene laid

INIKODUCTION. XV

on the ocean, whose machinery should be ships, the waves, »nd the winds, whose principal characters should be sea- men, acting and talking as such, might be written with pro* fessiona. accuracy, and yet possess equal interest with a similar book connected with the land. The general opin- ion of the company was very strongly against him. An J. ui a conversation with his host, prolonged after they had left the table, the same views were clearly expressed by Mr. Wilkes, for whose taste and judgment Mr. Cooper hud the highest respect. On this occasion, however, the friends differed very decidedly. Before the conversation had tiirne/1 to other subjects Mr. Cooper had already resolved to pro\e the justness of his own opinion, although no declaration to that effect was then made. The same evening, on his way home from the house of Mr. "Wilkes, the outline of a nau- tical romance was vaguely sketched in his own mind.

" I must write one more book, — a sea tale, — to show what can be done in that way by a sailor ! " he exclaimed to Mrs. Cooper, little foreseeing that the freshly-planned romance should be only the first of a series of similar nar- ratives.

It was the intention to blend history and nautical fiction in the new work, or at least to introduce some one striking historical character, believing that the reader's attention could thus be more readily attracted. No necessity for any such historical figure would seem really to have existed ; at a later day many were the incidents of sea life to which the same pen gave deep interest, and in which the characters were all imaginary. The new book, however, was to bo a first attempt, a bold experiment with elements as yet un- tried. It was conceived necessary to connect with tho narrative some historical name which should give it impor- tance, and for the same reason the period of the Revolution was chosen for the date of the tale. The nautical annals of that time were brief, and a rapid glance was sufficient to •how that among the historical figures that of the bold ad Tenturer, Paul Jones, stood prominent as one of the few

XVI INTRODUCTION.

adaj[«ied to a work of fiction. His cruise in the Ranger

suggested the plot of " The Pilot."

The reader may have partially forgotten the daring de- scent of Jones upon Whitehaven and St Mary's Isle. A few details of the exploit are given ; they may have interest to one holding " The Pilot " in his hand, history and fiction under the reader's eye at the same moment. Paul Jones bad received a lieutenant's commission in the Americao navy as earl) as 1775. Three years later, after active and honorable service in different vessels, he wrote to the Amer- ican Commissioners at Paris that he had long entertained the opinion that our ships should be employed in small squadrons, or singly, on secret and sudden expeditious upon important ports of the enemy, then in a condition so de- fenseless that they might easily be surprised by a small force. " We cannot yet fight their navy, as their numbers and force are so far superior to ours. Therefore, it seems to be our most natural province to surjsrise their defenseless places, and thereby divert their attention, and draw it ofi from our coasts." The cruise of the Ranger was the con- sequence of these suggestions. " I have in contemplation several enterprises of some importance. When an enemy thinks a design against him improbable, he can always be surprised and attacked with advantage." With these view» he sailed from Brest early in April, 1778, running into the Irish Channel, taking several trading vessels as he mored northward. On the 18th of April the Ranger was off the Isle of Man ; the wind was favorable for carrying out a project her commander had already formed of attacking the town of Whitehaven, on the coast of Cumberland, and burning the shipping in that port, " to put an end, by one good fire, in England, of shipping, to all the burnings in America." as he declared. The shifting of the wind com- pelled Jones to give up the attack on that day, after he had reached the harbor and his boats were ready to be lowered. The following day, having captured and sunk a schooner, he learned that nearly a dozen merchantmen, under convojr

INTRODUCTION. XVll

of a king's tender, manned with impressed seamen, were lying at anchor in I ochvyan, on the adjacent coast of Scot- land. Instantly he ietermined to capture them, but again the wind changed. A day later he was off Carrickfergus, and learned from a fishing-smack that a sloop-of-war which he could see at anchor with his glass was the Drake, of the royal navy, carrying twenty guns. Immediately he planned a bold and manly attack on the sloop, intending to run into the harbor at night, overlay the cable of the Drake, as if by accident, and take a position on her bow, by which her decks would be open to a fire of musketry from the Ranger, when boarders could be thrown into the English vessel, and her capture would be all but certain. The plan was successfully carried out up to the last impor- tant act; the Ranger entered the harbor, drew near the Drake, overlaid her anchor, rounded to on her bow, but — • the anchor hung, and did not drop at the important moment i the Ranger drifted too far on the quarter of the English man-of-war to carry out the plan of a surprise. This enter prise, so daring in its conception, also failed. But tho Ranger, having been taken at night for an awkward mer- chantman, made her way safely out to sea again, and that in spite of a gale, without her true character having been discovered. The acts in the drama of Jones's naval career followed each other with wonderful rapidity. If one plan failed at sunset, another was under way with the dawn of the next day. Whitehaven was again the goal on the 2 2d of April ; a fair, mild day, although the country was white with snow. Again the lightness of the wind delayed the approach until midnight. When a lad Paul Jones had made his first cruise from this Cumberland port ; some fears of his life, as boy and man, had been passed in the vown ; his mother and sisters were at that moment living in the neighborhood ; he knew the ground thoroughly — these facts were all in favor of the success of the plan, but they t'hrow a shadow over the daring exploit. A man of ■ound feeling and high sense of honor would scarcely have b

XVIU INTRODUCTION.

aimed at that particular port, even as an act of retaliaticm, smless under especial necessity. But it was, beyond aU doubt, this very intimate knowledge of what had been almost home ground which led Jones to that point of the coast. Setting aside this drawback to the brilliancy of the exploit, we are compelled to admire the daring gallantry and imperturbable coolness with which the plan was carried out. At midnight, on the 22d of April, Jones left the Ranger with two boats, containing thirty-one officers and men who had volunteered for the duty. The early spring morning had already dawned when the boats reached the pier. It is said that not far from one hundred large trading ships lay on the northern side of the large stone pier divid • ing the harbor, while about one hundred and fifty craft, varying from two to four hundred tons, lay on the opposite side of the wall. The ships were all aground ; and so com- pletely were they considered out of all danger, that there was not water enough within reach to have saved a single vessel, had the flames once been thoroughly kindled. Two batteries of thirty guns commanded the port. On landing, Jones instantly led the attack upon the batteries ; he scaled the breastwork of that nearest the pier, and, with a few fol lowers, completely surprised the small garrison, who were very snugly enjoying the comfort of the guard-house, in- cluding the sentinel, made them prisoners, and spiked the guns. Posting sentinels, and giving directions as to firing the shipping, he hastened with but one follower to the sec- ond post, a quarter of a mile distant ; here the guns also were spiked, and a safe retreat thus secured for the party. But the shipping had not yet been fired, Lieutenant Wal- lings ford, to whom the task had been committed, declared that his light had gone out. He evidently disliked the duty which had been allotted to him, muttering words ta the effect that " nothing could be gained by burning poor •,»eople's propert}'." The day was beginning to dawn ; the people of the town had become alarmed. The invaders had depended upon caudles brought wi*^^'' '"-=>m for firing

INTRODUCTION. XIX

the shipping, but these had now all burned away. It seems odd to a reader of the present day, when lucifer matches Ere carried about in the pocket, that candles should have been the only means depended on for a great conflagration ; but such was the fact, and to this fact Wliitehaven owed its safety. But Jones was resolved that the lire should at least be kindled ; he ran to a neighboring house, procured A light, and with his own hand kindled a fire in the steerage of one of the larger ships, closely surrounded by others, emptying a barrel of tar into the flames, which soon bursi through the hatchway, and fired the rigging. The sun had now risen. Parties of the townspeople began to gather hurriedly here and there, amazed and bewildered. Jonea held his ground, however, steadily, until his party had all embarked, even standing alone on the pier for a moment, looking about him in proud defiance ; then he entered his boat and rode quietly out of the harbor. Three of his men, however, had deserted, and betrayed the object of the expe- dition. The townspeople gathered at the pier, and suc- ceeded in arresting the flames. The one ship fired by Jones is said to have been the only vessel destroyed.

Jones had apparently scarcely touched the deck of the Ranger, when his active spirit aimed another blow at the enemy. He steered for St. Mary's Isle, near Kirkcud- bright, on the Scotch coast. Here lay a beautiful estate of Lord Selkirk ; to seize the person of this gentleman and exchange him for some distinguished American prisoner was the object. Again the bold adventurer started with a single boat on his daring errand. He landed on the isle, bat on his way to the house learned that Lord Selkirk was absent. He returned to the shore ; his oflacers were eager to seize the plate in the house, again larging the plea of re- taliation, much silver having been seized in American home^ by English soldiers. Jones always declared that he con- sented to this step with great reluctance. However, armed with pistols and cutlasses, and commanded by the first lieu- *^iBnant. the boat's crew went tp the house. Lady Selkirk

XX INTRODUCTION.

was at breakfast ; she saw the party approaching, and, little aware of their character, sent to offer them refreshments. Lieutenant Simpson and another officer then went into the house and stated their errand to Lady Selkirk herself. No violence was offered, and no resistance was made ; the but* ler collected the plate, including the tea-pot on the table, wliich was emptied for the purpose. Jones himself kept aloof ; he no doubt spoke the truth when he declared that this act was not approved by himself, and he labored ear- nestly to purchase the plate and return it to Lo'd Selkirk. It was sold by prize agents in France, and it was with no little difficulty that Jones eventually succeeded in repur- chasing it all, and returning it to Lord Selkirk, after an interval of more than seven years and a long correspond- ence. The old tea-leaves from Lady Selkirk's eventful breakfast were still found in the silver tea-pot. Nothing delighted the vanity of Paul Jones more than carrying on a correspondence with distinguished personages ; many were the letters he wrote during those seven years to Lord and Lady Selkirk, to Franklin, to M. de Vergennes, relating to the plate, the correspondence beginning as soon as he landed in France by a letter to Lady Selkirk. An allusion in the letter to Lady Selkirk, declaring that he had " sacrificed the softer affections of the heart and prospects of domestic happiness," led to the introduction of the character of Alice Dunscombe into " The Pilot."

The day after the descent on St. Mary's Isle, Paul Jones *ras already off Carrickfergus, on an errand more manly, and more worthy of the flag under which he sailed. He was in quest of the Drake, the sloop-of-war he had fruit' lessly attempted to capture by surprise in the port of Loch vyau; only three days earlier. Tidings of the attempt upon Whitehaven had already reached Belfast, and the Drake was preparing to pursue the American cruiser, with a large number of volunteers on board, her crew amounting in ab to one hundred and sixty men. The feats of the Ranger uul her daring commander had indeed excited a, pank

INTRODUCTION. XXI

throughout the three kiugdoms, more especially on the coasts of the Irish Channel, where alarm beacons were now blazing on both shores. It was not until the sun had nearly set that the Drake succeeded in making her way out of Belfast Ix)ugh, against a strong tide. The ships met ii* mid-channel, and the fire was kept up obstinately, at close quarters, broadside to broadside, for an hour and four min- utes, when the brave Captain Burden of the Drake was killed, and the crew called for quarter. The English vessel was very much cut up, and her loss in killed and wounded was forty-two. The injuries to the Ranger were compara- tively inconsiderable, and her number of killed and wounded amounted to only eight. An act of humanity on the part of Jones will be read with pleasure. It had been necessary to seize a fishing-boat and crew, on the Ranger's fir?t ap- proach to Belfast Lough, five days earlier ; these poor men were now released, and as their boat had been swamped, another was given to them, and money to replace what they had lost. He also sent ashore at the same time two infirm men captured in one of his prizes, giving them his last guinea to pay their expenses to Dublin. The Drake was soon after carried successfully into Brest. This brief record of only two weeks of the daring and gallant career of Paul Jones will give an accurate idea of the man himself, and of his feats of nautical adventure. Such was the original of the nameless hero of " The Pilot." For the machinery of the tale, two ships, a frigate and a schooner, were chosen. The name of the larger vessel was purposely omitted, with the idea of vaguely connecting her cruise in the readers' valnd with that of some one of the few American men-of- 'var of the same date. To the schooner the name of th3 Ariel was given, — a name well adapted to the peculiar character of the beautiful American craft of that size, and also a repetition of the name of a larger vessel, commarided at one time by Paul Jones himseK, when in the American service.

" The Pilot " was written in New York, in 1823, and

XXU INTEODUCTIUN.

published 6y Mr. Charles Wiley, on the 29th ol Decembe-' of that year. While writing the book the author received a large amount of discouragement from his friends, wh«i were not to be convinced of the possibility of writing a tale 3f the sea which should be even tolerably interesting. Not one, as he himself repeatedly stated, encouraged him either by word or look. On the contrary, all shook their heada ominously. They all apparently anticipated a signal failure. The subject was deemed to be, in its very nature, incapable cf literary treatment. It is amusing now to look back at this notion, the last half century having produced so many nautical works, more or less interesting.

There could be no doubt, however, as to the success of " The Pilot," after publication. All that interest which the writer had believed it possible to throw around a naval narrative was fully aroused. The opinion declared some months earlier at the table of Mr. Wilkes was proved to be correct. The pictures placed before the reader were drawr" with so much spirit and poetical feeling, with so much clea ness and fidelity, as to command attention and fill the pul lie mind for the moment. The success of the book in England was also decided. Ere long, indeed, the tale was translated into French and German and Italian, — and that Ji spite of the many technical difficulties of the subject, — « convincing proof of the interest of the work. The flag of the little Ariel was carried triumphantly into the Bay of Biscay, aye, into the classic waters of the Mediterranean.

With the character of Paul Jones, as given in " The Pilot," Mr. Cooper, at a later day, was himself dissatisfied. It wa« not sufficiently true to the reality. The pilot of the frigate was represented as a man of higher views and aims, in a moral sense, than the facts of the life of Paul Jones would justify. The commander of the Ranger was in truth a bold and daring adventurer, a skillful seaman, a brave partisan, %u ambitious man — but ne was not the enthusiast in f»ri rate feeling, in political views, described in ilie pih t of the jrgtkte. The author would gladly have severed entirely

INTRODUCTION, XXIU

the slight historical link between the two, and left the pilot A8 vaguely connected with the annals of the country as the ship he steered. It will be observed that the name of Jones never once occurs in the book, although, of course, his fig- ure, and different incidents of his career are alluded to with suili^ient distinctness to mark his identity with the famous li/lventurer.

With Long Tom Coffin, also, he was in later life lesa darlsfied than most of his readers. As he looked back at the character, in the maturity of long experience, he saw it with a clearer view, a greater fullness of conception, a more complete finish of detail ; he considered it, as it now ap- pears, as only a sketch, and would gladly have wrought up the portrait of the old salt, a man after his own heart, to a finished picture, as he had done with Natty Bumppo. He felt that he had not done full justice to Long Tom. Of the two characters, he considered that of Boltrope better, per- haps, as a piece of workmanship, than that of the old Nan- 'ucket hero.

" The Pilot " was dedicated to a very dear and intimate friend, William Branford Shubrick, of South Carolina, then a lieutenant in the navy, a former messmate on the Wasp, when both were midshipmen. It was a friendship of much more than common strength of attachment, lasting unbroken until death. Mr. Cooper continued deeply interested in the navy, and closely watchful of its interests throughout his life. When traveling in Europe, and passing through Geneva, he called to pay his respects to M. Simon, a F-ench gentleman, an emigre, who had lived long in New i'oik, where he had married Miss Wilkes, a sister of Mr. Charles Wilkes. In the course of the conversation M. Si- mon, a literary man of some note at that day, remarked to him : " You were the only man I ever heard foretell the result of the naval war of 1812, between England and Amer» ica. You were correct i/i your prediction." " I knew the ships, and I knew the men who commanded them," was th« tmphatic reply.

THE PILOT.

CHAPTER L

Sullen waves, incessant rolling, Rudely dashed against her sides.

Sono.

A SDiTGLE glance at the map will make the reader ao> qaainted with the position of the eastern coast of the Inland of Great Britain, as connected with the shores of the oppo- site continent. Together they form the boundaries of the Email sea that has for ages been known to the world as the scene of maritime exploits, and as the great avenue through which commerce and war have conducted the fleets of the northern nations of Europe. Over this sea the islanderj long asserted a jurisdiction, exceeding that which reason concedes to any power on the highway of nations, and which frequently led to conflicts that caused an expenditure of blood and treasure, utterly disproportioned to the advan- tages that can ever arise from the maintenance of a useless and abstract right. It is across the waters of this disputed ocean that we shall attempt to conduct our readers, select- ing a period for our incidents that has a peculiar interest for every American, not only because it was the birthday of his nation, but because it was also the era when reason and common sense began to take the place of custom and feudal practices in the management of the affairs of na- tions.

Soon after the events of the Revolution had involved the kingdoms of France and Spain, and the republics of Hol- land, in our quarrel, a group of laborers was collected in a field that lay exposed *o the winds of tixe ocean, on the 1

3 THE PILOT.

northeastern coast of England. These men wete llghtei^ ing their toi], and cheering the gloom of a day in Decern, ber, by uttering their crude opinions on the political aspect* )f the times. The fact that England was engaged in a wai with some of her dependencies on the other side of the At- lantic, had long been known to them, after the mannei thai faint rumors of distant and miiuteresting events gain on the eai ; but now that nations, with whom she had been useo to battle, were armed against her in the quari-el, the din of war had disturbed the quiet even of these secluded and illit- erate rustics. The principal speakers, on the occasion, wer* a Scotch drover, who was waiting the leisure of the occu- pant of the fields, and an Irish laborer, who had found his way across the Channel, and thus far over the island, in quest of employment.

" The nagurs wouldn't have been a job at all for ould England, letting alone Ireland," said the latter, " if these French and Spanishers hadn't been troubling themselves in the matter. I'm sure it's but little reason I have for thank- ing them, if a man is to kape as sober as a praist at mass, for fear he should find himself a souldier, and he knowing nothing about the same."

" Hoot ! mon ! ye ken but little of raising an airmy in Ireland, if ye mak' a drum o' a whiskey keg," said the dro- ver, winking to the listeners. " Noo, in the north, they ca' a gathering of the folk, and follow the pipes as graciously )»3 ye wad journey kirkward o' a Sabbath morn. I've seen a' the names o' a Heeland rt^j'ment on a sma' bit paper, that ye might cover wi' a leddy's hand. They war' a' Camerons and ]\r Donalds, though they paraded sax hundred men ! But what ha' ye gotten here ! That chield has an ow'r lik- ing to the land for a seafaring body ; an' if the bottom o' the gea be ony thing like the top o't, he's in gr'at danger o' a flhipwrack ! "

Tliis unexpected change in the disco irse drew all eyes on the object towards which the staff of the observant drover was pointed. To the utter amazement of every individual present, a small vessel was seen moving slowly round a [K>int of land that formed one of the sides of the little b»j

THE PILOT. a

to which the field the laborers were in compo-ed the other. There was something very peculiar in the externals of this unusual visitor, which adderl in no small degree to the sur- prise created by her appearance in that retired place. None but the smallest vessels, and those rarely, or, at lon^ intervals, a desperate smuggler, were ever known to venture eo close to the laud, amid the sand-bars and sunken rocks irith which that immediate coast abounded. The adventur^ ous mariners who now attempted this dangerous navigation in 80 wanton, and, apparently, so heedless a manner, were in a low black schooner, whose hull seemed utterly dispro- portioned to the raking masts it upheld, which, in their turn, supported a lighter set of spars, that tapered away until their upper extremities appeared no larger than the lazy pennant, that in vain endeavored to display its length in the light breeze.

The short day of that high northern latitude was already drawing to a close, and the sun was throwing his i)arting rays obliquely acoss the waters, touching the gloomy waves here and there with streaks of pale light. The stormy winds of the German Ocean were apparently lulled to rest ; and, though the incessant rolling of the surge on the shore heightened the gloomy character of the hour and the view, the light ripple that ruffled the sleeping billows was pro- duced by a gentle air, that blew directly from the land. Notwithstanding this favorable circumstance, there was something threatening in the aspect of the ocean, which was speaking in hollow but deep murmurs, like a volcano on the eve of an eruption, that greatly heightened the feel- ings of amazement and dread with which the peasants be- held this extraordinary interruption to the quiet of their little bay. With no other sails spread to the action of the air than her heavy mainsail, and one of ihose light jib* {hat projected far beyond her bows, the vessel glided ovei the water with a grace and facility that seemed magical to the beholders, who turned their wondering looks from tho •chooner to each othe* in silent amizement. At length th<j irover spoke in a low solemn voice : —

" He's a boM chield tha^ steers her! and Jf that bit craft

• THE PILOT.

has wood in her bottom, like the brigantines that ply be* tween Lun'on and the Frith at Leith, he's iu man dangei Jiaii a prudent mou could wish. Aye ! he's by the big r(;ck that shows his head when the tide runs low, but it's no mortal man who can steer long m the road he's jou'"neying ftud not speedily find land wi' water a-top o't."

'llie little schoouer, however, still held her way f.mong Ihe rooks and sand-pits, making such slight deviations in her iX)ur8e, as proved her to be under the direction of one who knew his danger, until she had entered as far into the bay as prudence could at all justify, when her canvas was gath- ered into folds, seemingly without the agency of hands, and the vessel, after rolling for a few minutes on the long bil- lows that hove in from the ocean, swung round in the cur rents of the tide, and was held by her anchor.

The peasants now began to make their conjectures moie freely concerning the character and object of their visitor ; some intimating that she was engaged in contraband trade, and others that her views were hostile, and her business war. A few dark hints were hazarded on the materiality of her construction, for nothing of artificial formation, it vvas urged, would be ventured by men in such a dangerous place, at a time when even the most inexperienced lands- man was enabled to foretell the certain gale. The Scotch- man, who, to all the sagacity of his countrymen, added no small portion of their superstition, leaned greatly to the latter conclusion, and had begun to express this sentiment warily and with reverence, when the child ot Erin, who ap« peare*! not to possess any very definite ideas gn the subject, interrupted him by exclaiming —

" Faith ! there's two of them ! a big and a little ! sure fchii bogles of the saa likes good company the same as any ether Christians ! "

•*Twa!" echoed the drover; " twa ! ill luck bides o' lome o' ye. Twa craft a-sailing without hand to guide them, in sic a place as this, whar' eyesight is na guid jnougb to show the dangers, bodes evil to a' that luik .hereon Hoot ! she's na yearhng, the tither ! Luik, mon ! luik •he's a gallaut boat, and a gr'at : " he paused, raised hij

THE PILOT. a

pack from tlie gr mnd, and first giving one searching look »tthe objects of his susi)icioiis, he nodded with great saga'jity to the listeners, and continued, as he moved slowly towa.fta the interior of the country, •' I should na wonder if she carried King George's commission aboot her : weel, weel I wull journey upward to the town, and ha' a crack wi' t,h< good mon ; for they craft have a suspeecious aspect, ^d the sma' bit thing wu'ld nab a mon quite easy, and the big ane wu'ld hold u? a' and no feel we war' in her."

This sagacious warning caused a general movement in the party, for the intelligence of a hot press was among the rumors of the times. The husbandmen collected theii implements of labor, and retired homewards ; and though many a curious eye was bent on the movements of the vessels from the distant hills, but very few of those not immediately interested in the mysterious visitors ventured to approach the little rocky cliffs that lined the bay.

"^he vessel that occasioned these cautious movements was a gallant ship, whose huge hull, lofty masts, and square yards, loomed in the evening's haze, above the sea, like a distant mountain rising from the deep. She carried but little sail, and though she warily avoided the near approach to the land that the schooner had attempted, the similarity of their movements was suiliciently apparent to warrant the conjecture that they were employed on the same duty. The frigate, for the ship belonged to this class of "-oels. floated across the entrance of the little bay, majestically in the tide, with barely enough motion through the water to govern her movements, until she arrived opposite to the place where her consort lay, when she hove up heavily into the wiml, squared the enormous yards on her mainmast, and attempted, in counteracting the 250wer of her sails by each itther, to remain stationary ; but the light air that had at CO time swelled her heavy canvas to the utmost begm to fail, and the long waves that rolled in fi-om the ocean rteased to be rufiled with the breeze from the land. Tiie currents and the billows were fast sweeping the fiigale Vowards one of the pomts of the estuary, where the black heads of tht^ roi^ks could be seen ruuuing far into the sea,

9 THE PILOT.

and, 111 their turn, the mariners of the ship dropi)ed as anchor to the bottom, and drew her sails in festoons to the yards. As the vessel swung round to the tide, a heavy ensign was raised to her peak, and a current of air opening;, for a moment, its folds, the white field and red cross, that distinguished the flag of England, were displayed to view. So much even the wary drover had loitered at a distance to behold ; but when a boat was launched from eithei vessel, he quickened his steps, observing to his wondering and amused companions, that " They craft woj-o a'thegithoi mair bonny to luik on than to abide wi'."

-A numerous crew manned the barge that was lowered from the frigate, which, after receiving an officer, with an attendant youth, left the ship, and moved with a measured stroke of its oars, directly towards the head of the bay. As it passed at a short distance from the schooner, a light whale-boat, pulled by four athletic men, shot from her side, and rather dancing over than cutting through the waves, crossed her course with a wonderful velocity. As the boats approached each other, the men, iz. obedience to signals from their officers, suspended their efforts, and for a few mmutes they floated at rest, during which time there was the following dialogue : —

" Is the old man uiad ! " exclaimed the young officer in

ne whale-boat, when his men had ceased rowing ; " does he

think that the bottom of the Ai'iel is made of iron, and that

a rock can't knock a hole in it ! or does he think she ia

manned with alligators, who can't be drowned ! "

A languid smile played for a moment round the hand •ome features of the yoimg man, who was rather reclining than sitting in the stern-sheets of the barge, as he re plied, —

* He knows your prudence too well. Captain Barnstal Ic^ to fear either the wreck of your vessel or'the drowning ot her crew. How near the bottom does your keel lie ? "

" I am afraid to sound," returned Barnstable. " I havt oever the heart to touch a lead-line when I see the rocki coming up to breathe like so many porpoises."

• You are afloat ! " exclaimed the other, with a vehemonoo that denoted an abundance of latent fire.

THE PILOT. 7

•* Afloat ! " echoed his friend ; " aye ! the little Ariel irould float in air ! '' As he spoke, he rose in the boat, and lifting his leathern sea-cap from his head, stroked back the thick clusters of black locks which shadowed his sun- burnt conntenance, while he viewed his little vessel with the complacency of a seaman who was proud of her qualities- ** But it's close work, Mr. GrifTith, when a man rides to » single anchor in a place like this, and at such a night-fall What are the orders ? "

"' I shall pull into the surf and let go a grapnel ; you will take ]Mr. ]\Ierry into your whale-boat, and try to drive her through the breakers on the beach."

" Beach ! " retorted Barnstable ; " do you call a perpen- dicular rock of a hundred feet in height a beach ! "

" We shall not dispute about terms," said Griffith, smil- ing, " but you must manage to get on the shore ; we have Been the signal from the land, and know that the pilot, whom we have so long expected, is ready to come off."

Barnstable shook his head with a grave air, as he muttered to himself, " This is droll navigation ; first we run into an unfrequented bay that is full of rocks, and sand-pits, and shoals, and then we get off our pilot. But how am I to know him ? "

" Merry will give you the pass-word, and tell you where to look for him. I would land myself, but my orders for- bid it. K you meet with difficulties, show three oar-blades in a row, and I will pull in to your assistance. Three oarc on end and a pistol will bring the fire of my muskets, and the signal repeated from the barge will draw a shot from the ship."

" I thank you, I thank you," said Barnstable, carelessly ; * I believe I can fight my own battles against all the enemies we are likely to fall in with on this coast. Bat ilia old man is surely mad. I would " —

" Yoi would obey his orders if he were here, and ycu wUl now please to obey mine." said Griffith, in a tone that the frienvlly expression of liis eye contradicted. " Pull in, And keep a lookout for a small man in a drab pea-jacket ; Merry will give you the word ; if he answer it, bring him off" to the barge."

8 THE PILOT.

The young men now nodded familiarly and kindly to each other, and the boy who was called Mr. Merry having changed his place from the barge to the whale-boat, Barn- stable threw himself into his seat, and making a signal with his hand, his men again bent to their oars. The light vessel shot away from her companion, and dashed in boldly tjwards the rocks ; after skirting the shore for some dis- tance in quest of a favorable place, she was suddenly turned and, dashing over the broken waves, was run upon a spot where a lauding could be effected in safety.

In the mean time the barge followed these movein</iit«, j»t some distance, with a more measured progress, and when file whale-boat was observed to be drawn up alongside of a rock, the promised grapnel was cast into the water, and hei crew deliberately proceeded to get their fire-arms in a state for immediate service. Everything appeared to be done in obedience to strict orders that must have been previously Juiamunicated ; for the young man, who has been introduced to the reader by the name of Griffith, seldom spoke, and then only in the pithy expressions that are apt to fall from those who are sure of obedience. Whei* the boat had brought up to her grapnel, he sunk back at his length on the cushioned seats of the barge, and drawing his hat over his eyes in a listless manner, he continued for many minutes apparently absorbed in thoughts altogether foreign to his present situation. Occasionally he rose, and would first bend his looks in quest of his companions on the shore, and then, turning his expressive eyes towards the ocean, the ab- stracted and vacant air that so often usurped the place of animation and intelligence in his countenance, would givo place to the anxious and intelligent look of a seaman gifted with an experience beyond his years. His weather-beaten Hud hardy crew, having made their dispositions for otfensf, lat in profound silence, with their hands thrust into the bo K?m8 of their jackets, but with their eyes earnestly regarding e\'ery cloud that was gathering in the threatening atmos- phere, and exchanging looks of deep cure, whenever the boat "ose higher than usual on one of these long, heavy g^ouLd-swells, that were heavhig in from the ocean with increasiniir rapidity and magnitude.

THE PILOT.

CHAPTER n.

A horseman's coat shaU hide Thy taper shape and comeliness of side ; And with a bolder stride and looser air, Mingled with men, a man thou must appear

Priob.

Wben tlie whale-boat obtained the position we have d^ ■rVibed, the young lieutenant, who, in consequence of com- Ujanding a schooner, was usually atldressed by the title of captain, stepped on the rocks, followed by the youthful mid- shipman, who had quitted the barge to aid in the hazard- ous duty of their expedition.

" This is, at best, but a Jacob's ladder we have to climb," said Barnstable, casting his eyes upward at the difficult as- cent, " and it's by no means certain that we shall be well received when we get up, even though we should reach the top."

" We are under the guns of the frigate," returned the boy ; " and you remember, sir, three oar-blades and a pistol repeated from the barge, will draw her fire."

" Yes, on our own heads. Boy, never be so foolish as to trust a long shot. It makes a great smoke and some noise, but it's a terrible uncertain manner of throwing old iron about. In such a business as this I would sooner trust Tom Coffin and his harpoon, to back me, than the best broadside that ever rattled out of the three decks of a ninety gtia thip. Come, gather your limbs together, and try f you r,<ui ^alk on terra firma, Mister Coffin."

The seaman who was addressed by this dire ai">pellalion t.rose slowly from the place where he was stationed as cock- swain of the boat, and seemed to ascend high in air by th« gradual evolution of numberless folds in his body. When erect, he stood nearly s^x fuot and as many inches in hi*

iO THE PILOT.

shoes, though, when elevated in his most perpendicular atti tude, there was a forward inclination about his head and shoulders that appeared to be the consequence of habitual confinement in limited lodgings. His whole frame was des- titute of the rounded outlines of a well formed man, though bis enormous hands furnished a display of bones and sinews which gave indication of gigantic strength. On his head he wore a little, low, brown hat of wool, with an arched t jp, that threw an expression of peculiar solemnity and hardness oyer his harsh visage, the sharp, prominent features of which were completely encircled by a set of black whiskers, that began to be grizzled a little with age. One of his hands grasped, with a sort of instinct, the staff of a bright harpoon, the lower end of which he placed firmly on the rock, as, in obedience to the order of his commander, he left the place where, considering his vast dimensions, he had been estab- lished in an incredibly small space.

As soon as Captain Barnstable received this addition to his strength, he gave a few precautionary orders to the men in the boat, and proceeded to the difficult task of ascending the rocks. Notwithstanding the great daring and personal agility of Barnstable, he would have been completely baffled in this attem2:)t, but for the assistance he occasionally re- ceived from his cockswain, whose prodigious strength and great length of limbs enabled him to make exertions which it would have been useless for most men to attempt. When within a few feet of the summit, they availed themselves of a projecting rock to pause for consultation and breath, both of which seemed necessary for their further movements.

" This will be but a bad place for a retreat, if we should uappet to fall in with enemies," said Barnstable. " Where wee we to look for this pilot, Mr. Merry, or how are we to kuow him ; and what certainty have you that he will not betray us?"

" The -uestion you are to put to him is written on trus bit of paper," returned the boy, as he handed the other the word of recognition : " we made the signal on the point of the rock at yon headland, but, as he must have seen our poat, he will follow us to this place. As to his '>etrayiuj{

THE PILOT 11

ns, he seems to have the confidence of Captain Muv eou, who has kept a bright lookout for him ever since we made the land."

" Aye," muttered the lieutenant, " and I shall have a bright lookout kept on him now we are on the land. I like not this business of hugging the shore so closely, u^:ir have I much faith in any traitor. What think you of iti Master Coffin ? "

The hardy old seaman, thus addressed, turned his grave visage on his commander, and replied with a becoming grav- ity,—

" Give me a plenty of sea-room, and good canvas, where there is no occasion for pilots at all, sir. For my part, I was born on board k chebacco-man, and never could see the use of more land than now and then a small island to raise a few vegetables, and to dry your fish ; I'm sure the sight of it always makes me feel uncomfortable, unless we have the wind dead off shore."

" Ah ! Tom, you are a sensible fellow," said Barnstable, with an air half comic, half serious. " But we must be moving ; the sun is just touching those clouds to sea-ward, and God keep us from riduig out this night at anchor in such a place as this."

Laying his hand on a projection of the rock above him, Barnstable swung himself forward, and following this move- ment with a desperate leap or two, he stood at once on the brow of the clilF. His cockswain very deliberately raised the midshipman after his officer, and proceeding with more caution but less exertion, he soon placed himself by his side.

When they reached the level land that lay above the cliffs, and began to inquire, with curious and wary eyes, into the surrounding scenery, the adventurers discovered a cultivated country, divided in the usual manner, by hediget and walls. Only one habitation for man, however, and that B small dilapivlated cottage, stood within a mile of thero, most of the d\>ellings being placed as far as convenience would permit, from the fogs and damps of tlie ocean. • "Here seenrs to be neithe:* anything to apprehend, nor Uie object of )ur search," said Barnstable, when he had

>S, THE PILOT.

taken th^ whole view in his survey : " I fear Me have landed to no purpose, IVIr. Merry. What say you, long Tom ; see you what we want ? "

" I see no pilot, sir," returned the cockswain , " but it's an ill wind that blows luck to nobody ; there is a mouth- ftil of fresh meat stowed away under that row of bushes, thit would make a double ration to all hands in the Ariel."

The midshipman laughed, as he pointed out to Barnstable the object of the cockswain's solicitude, which proved to be a fat ox, quietly ruminating under a hedge near them.

"There's many a hungry fellow aboard of us," said the boy, merrily, " who would be glad to second long ' Tom's motion, if the time and business would permit us to slay the animal."

"It is but a lubber's blow, INIr. Merry," returned the cockswain, without a muscle of his hard face yielding, as he struck the end of his harpoon violently against the earth, and then made a motion towards poising the weapon ; " let Captain Barnstable but say the word, and I'll drive the iron though him to tlie qixick ; I've sent it to the seizing in many a whale, that hadn't a jacket of such blubber as that fellow wears."

" Pshaw ! you are not on a whaling voyage, where every- thing that offers is game," said Barnstable, turning himself pettishly away from the beast, as if he distrusted his own forbearance ; " but stand fast ! I see some one approaching behind the hedge. Look to your arms, Mr. Merry, — the first thing we hear may be a shot."

" Not from that cruiser," cried the thoughtless lad ; " he Is a younker, like myself, and would hardly dare run down opon such a formidable force as we muster."

" You saj' true, boy," returned Barnstable, relinquishing the grasp he held on his pistol. " He comes on with ca:J« tion, as if afraid. He is small, and is in drab, though I should hardly call it a pea-jacket — and yet he nay be cnr num. Stand you both here, while I go and haU hfjn "

As Barnstable walked rapidly towards the hedge, that -n part concealed the stranger, the latter stopped suddenly, and teemed to be In doubt whether to advance or to retreat

THE PILOT. 13

Before he had decided on e^^her, the instive sailor was within a few feet of liim.

" Pnij, sir," said Barnstable, "what water have we in this baj ? "

The slight term of the stranger started, with an extraor diuary emotion, at this question, and he shrunk aside in voluntarily, as if to conceal his features, before he answered^ in a voice that was barely audible, —

" I should think it would be the water of the German Ocean."

" Indeed ! you must have passed no small part of your short life in the study of geography, to be so well informed," returned the lieutenant ; " perhaps, sir, your cunning is also equal to telling me how long we shall sojourn together, if 1 make you a prisoner, in order to enjoy the benefit of youi wit ? "

To this alarming intimation, the youth who was ad- dressed made no reply ; but as he averted his face, and concealed it with both his hands, the offended seaman, be- lieving that a salutary impression had been made upon the fears of his auditor, was about to proceed with his inter* rogatories. The singular agitation of the stranger's frame, however, caused the lieutenant to continue silent a few mo- ments longer, when, to his utter amazement, he discovered that what he had mistaken for alarm was produced by an endeavor, on the part of the youth, to suppress a violent fit of laughter.

" Now, by all the whales in the sea," cried Barnstiible, " but you are merry out of season, young gentleman. It's quite bad enough to be oi'dered to anchor in such a bay aa this with a storm brewing before my eyes, without lauding to be laughed at by a stripling who has not strength to carry a beard if he had one, when I ought to be getting an ofSng for the safety of both body and soul. But I'll kxow more of you and your jokes, if I take you into my own mess, and am giggled out of my sleep for the rest of thi cruise."

As the commander of the schooner concluded, he aj> nroache.i the stranger, with an air of offering some violence

14 THE PILOT.

but the other shrank Dack from his extended arm, and ei« claimed, with a voice m which real terror had gotten tlw better of mirth, —

" Barnstable ! dear Barnstable ! would you harm me ! "

The sailor recoiled several feet, at this unexpected ap« peal, and rubbing his eyes, he threw the cap from h's head, before he cried, —

" A\^hat do I hear ! and what do I see ! There lies th« Ariel — and yonder is the frigate. Can this be Katherine Plowden ! "

His doubts, if any doubts remained, were soon removed, for the stranger sank on the bank at her side, in an attitude in which female bashfulness was beautifully contrasted with her attire, and gave vent to her mirth in an uncontrollable burst of merriment.

From that moment, all thoughts of his duty, and the pilot, or even of the Ariel, appeared to be banished from the mind of the seaman, who sprang to her side, and joined in her mirth, though he hai'dly knew why or wherefore.

When the diverted girl had in some degree recovered her composure, she turned to her companion, who had sat good-naturedly by her side, content to be laughed at, and said, —

" But this is not only silly, but cruel to others. I owe you an explanation of my unexpected appearance, and per- baps, also, of my extraordinary attire."

" I can anticipate everything," cried Barnstable ; " you beard that we were on the coast, and have flown to redeem the promises you made me in America. But I ask no more ; the chaplain of the frigate " —

" May preach as usual, and to as little purpose," inter- inptcd the disguised female; "but no nuptial benediction bliall be pronounced over me, until I have effected the ob- ject of this hazard :)us experiment. You are not usually gelfish, Barnstable ; would you have me forgetful of the happuiess of others ! "

" Of whom do you speak ? "

^ My poor, my devoted cousin. I heard laat two vesseU answering the description of the frigate and the Ariel yren

THE PILOT. 15

leen hovering on the coast, and I determined at once te have a communi nation with you. I liave followed your movements for a week, in this dress, hut have been unsuc- cessful till now. To-day I observed you to approach nearer to the shore than usual, and happily, by being advert-uT-ous, 1 have been successful."

" Aye, God knows we are near enough to the land ! But does Captain Munson know of your wish to get on board his ship ? "

" Certainly not — none know of it but yourself. 1 thought that if Griffith and you could learn our situation, you might be tempted to hazard a little to redeem us from our thi'alldom. In this paper I have prepared such an ac- count as will, I trust, excite all your cliivalry, and by which you may govern your movements."

" Our movements ! " interrupted Barnstable. " You will pilot us in person."

" Then there's two of them ! " said a hoarse voice near them. The alarmed female shrieked as she recovered her feet, but she still adhered, with instinctive dependence, to the side of her lover. Barnstable, who recognized the tones of his cockswain, bent an angry brow on the sober visage that was peering at them above the hedge, and de- manded the meaning of the interruption.

" Seeing you were hull-down, sir, and not knowing but the chase might lead you ashore, Mr. Merry thought it best to have a lookout kept. I told him that you were over- hauling the mail bags of the messenger for the news, but as he was an officer, sir, and I nothing but a common hand, I did as he ordered."

'^ Return, sir, where I commanded you to remain," said Barnstable, " and desire Mr. Merry to wait my pleasure."

The cockswain gave the usual reply of an obedient sea- man ; hilt before he left the hedge, he stretched out one of his brawny arms towards the ocean, and said, in tones of Bolenanity suited tD his apprehensions and character, —

" 1 showed you how to knot a reef-point, and pass a gas- ket, Captain Barnstable, nor do I believe you could even Ake two half-hitches when vou first "lan e abosrl of th*

IC THE PILOT

Spalmacitty. These be things that a man is soon oxpsrt in, but it takes the time of his nat'ral life to larn to know the weather. There be streaked wind-galls in the offing that speak as plainly, to all that see them, and know God's language in the clouds, as ever you spoke tlirougk a trum- pet, to shorten sail ; besides, sir, don't you hear the sta muaning, as if it knew the hour was at hand when it wjw M wake up from its sleep ! "

" Aye, Tom," returned his officer, walking to the edge of the cliffs, and throwing a seaman's glance at the gloomy ocean, " 'tis a threatening night indeed ; but this pilot must be had — and " —

" Is that the man ? " interrupted the cockswain, pointing towards a man who was standing not far from them, an at- tentive observer of their proceedings^ at the same time that he was narrowly watched himself by the young midshipman. " God send that he knows his trade well, for the bottom of a ship will need eyes to find its road out of this wild anchorage."

" That must indeed be the man ! " exclaimed Barnstable, at once recalled to his duty. He then held a short dialogue with his female companion, whom he left concealed by the hedge, and proceeded to address the stranger. When near 3nough to be heard, the commander of the schooner de- nanded, —

" What water have you in this bay ? "

The stranger, who seemed to expect this question, an- wered without the least hesitation, —

" Enough to take all out in safety, who have entered with lonfideuce."

" You are the man I seek," cried Barnstable ; " are yoa ready to go off?"

" Both ready and willing," returned the Pilot, " and there m need of haste. I would give the best hundred guineas that ever were coined for two hours more use of that sun which has left us, or for even half tie time of tliis fading twilight."

" Think yd 'i our situation so bad ? " said the lieutenant ** Follow this gentleman to the boat then ; I will join yov

THE PiLCT. 17

by the tim« you can descend the cliffa. I believe I can pre- ,

vail on another hand to go off with us."

" Time is more precious now tlian any number of hands," said the Pilot, throwing a glance of impatience from ander his lowering orows, " and the consequences of delay maet be visited on those who occasion it."

" And, sir, I will meet the consequences with those who hare a right to inquire into my conduct," said Barmtable, haughtilf.

With this warning and retort they separated ; the young officer retracing his steps impatiently towards his mistre&s, muttering his indignation in suppressed execrations, and the Pilot, drawing the leathern belt of liis pea-jacket mechanic- ally around his body, as he followed the midshipman and cockswain to their boat, in moody silence.

Barnstable found the disguised female who had announced herself as Katherine Plowden, awaiting his return, with in- tense anxiety depicted on every feature of her intelligent countenance. As he felt all the responsibility of his situa- tion, notwithstanding his cool reply to the pilot, the yomig man hastily drew an arm of the apparent boy, foi'getful of her disguise, through his own, and led her forward.

" Come, Katherine," he said, " the time urges to be prompt."

" What pressing necessity is there for immediate depart- ure ? " she inquired, checking his movements by withdi-aw ing herself from his side.

" You heard the ominous prognostic of my cockswain on the weather, and I am forced to add my own testimony to his opinion. 'Tis a crazy night that threatens us, though I cannot repent of coming into the bay, since it has led to this interview."

" God forbid that we should either of us have cause to repent of it," eaid Katherine, the paleness of anxiety chas- tig away the rich bloom that had mantled the animated face of the brunette. " But you have the paper — folio vi its directions, and come to our rescue ; you will find ua wnling captives, if Griffith and yourself are our conquer- ors."

1

18 THE PILOT.

" What mean you, Katherine ! " exclaimed her lover •* you at least are now in safety ; 'twould be madness to tempt your fate again. M}'^ vessel can and shall protjict you, until your cousin is redeemed ; and then, remember, 1 have a claim on you for life."

" And how would you dispose of me in the interval .'' " Raid the young maiden, retreating slowly from his ad- vances.

" In the Ariel ; by Heaven, you shall be her commander I mil bear that rank only in name."

" I thank you, thank you, Barnstable, but distrust my abilities to fill such a station," she said, laughing, though the color that again crossed her youthful features was like the glow of a summer's sunset, and even her mirthful eyes seemed to reflect their tints. " Do not mistake me, saucy one. If I have done more than my sex will warrant, re- member it was through a holy motive, and if I have more than a woman's enterprise, it must be " —

" To lift you above the weakness of your sex," he cried, " and to enable you to show your noble confidence in me.

" To fit me for, and to keep me worthy of being one day your wife." As she uttered these words she turned and disappeared, with a rapidity that eluded his attempt to de- tain her, behind an angle of the hedge, that was near them. For a moment, Barnstable remained motionless, through surprise, and when he sprang forward in pursuit, he was able only to catch a glimpse of her light form, in the gloom of the evening, as she again vanished in a little thicket at some distance.

Barnstable was about to pursue, when the air lighted with a sudden flash, and the bellowing report of a cannon rolled along the cliffs, and was echoed among the hills far iaiand.

" Aye, grumble away, old dotard ! " the disappointed young saibr muttered to himself, while he reluctantly obeyed the signal ; '' you are in as great a hurry to get oul of your danger as you were to run into it."

The quick reports of three muskets from the barge b»

THE PILOT. 11»

DeatL where he stood urged him to quicken his pace, and as he threw himself carelessly down the rugged and dangerous passes of the cliffs, his experienced eye beheld the weU- knowE lights disjjlayed from the frigate, which commanded ** the recall of all her boats."

THE FlUn.

CHAPTER ra.

In such a time as this, it is not meet

That every nice otfeuse should hear its comuent.

SuAKBiFBASm.

The cliffs threw tlieir dark shadows wide on the waters, And the gloom of the evening had so for advanced as to conceal the discontent that brooded over the ordinarily open brow of Barnstable as he sprang from the rocks into the boat, and took his seat by the side of the silent Pilot.

"5Shove off! " cried the lieutenant, in tones that his men knew must be obeyed. " A seaman's curse light on the folly that exposes planks and lives to such navigation ; and all to burn some old timberman, or catch a Norway trader asleep ! give way, men, give way ! "

Notwithstanding the heavy and dangerous surf that was beginning to tumble in upon the rocks, in an alarming man- ner, the startled seamen succeeded in urging their light boat over the waves, and in a few seconds were without the point where danger was most to be apprehended. Barnstable bad seemingly disregarded the breakers as they passed, but Brat sternly eying the foam that rolled by them in succes sive sur^'es, until the boat rose regularly on the long seas, when he turned his looks around the bay in quest of the barge.

" Aye. Griffith has tired of rocking in his pillowed cra- dle," he muttered, " and will give us a pull to the frigate when we ought to be getting the schooner out o*' tliis har*i "eatured landscape. This is just such a pl&^ as one of your sighing lovers would doat on a little land, a little water, and a good deal of rock. Damme, long Tom, but I %xn more than half of your mind, that an island now and Iheu 18 all the terra lirma that a seaman needs."

IHl!. PILUi. 21

" It's reason and philosophy, sir," returned the sedate «.'ukswain ; " and wliat laud there is, should always be a bC'ft mud, or a sandy ooze, in order that an anchor might C'tld, and to make soundiugs sartain. I have lost many % d(!ep sea, besides hand-leads by the dozetis, on rocky bot^ toms ; but give me the roadstead where a lead comes up light and an anchor heavy. There's a boat pulling athwart our fore-foot, Captain Barnstable ; shall I run her aboard, or give her a berth, sir ? "

" 'Tis the barge ! " cried the officer ; " Ned has not de serted me, after all ! "

A loud hail from the approaching boat confirmed this opinion, and, in a few seconds, the barge and whale-boat were again rolling by each other's side. Griffith was no longer reclining on the cushions of his seats, but spoke earnestly, and with a slight tone of reproach in his man- ner.

" Why have you wasted so many precious moments, when every minute threatens us with new dangers ? I was obeying the signal, but I heai*d your oars, and pulled back to take out the Pilot. Have you been successful?"

" There he is ; and if he finds his way out, through the shoals, he will earn a right to his name. This bids fair to oe a night when a man will need a spy-glass to find the moon. But when you hear what I have seen on those jascally cliffs, you will be more ready to excuse my delay, Mr. Griffith."

'• You have seen the true man, I trust, or we inejur this hazard to an evil purpose."

" Aye, I have seen him that is a true man, and bim that ig not," replied Barnstable, bitterly ; " you have the boy with vou, Griffith — ask him what his young eyes have seen."

" Shall I ! " cried the y'oung midshipman, laughing ; "then I have seen a httle clipper, in disguise, outsail an dd man-of-war's man in a hard chase, and 1 have been a straggling rover in long-togs as much like my cousin " —

" Peace, gabbler ! " exclaimed Barnstable in a voice of thunder ; " would you detain th*» lx)ats with your silly non

22 THE PILOT.

sense at a time like this ? Away into the barge, gir, and if fou find him willing to hear, tell Mr. Griffith what jovat foolish conjectures amount to, at your leisure."

The boy stepped lightly from tlie whale-boat to the barge, »irhither the Pilot had already preceded him, and, as ho simk, with a mortified air, by the side of Griffith, he said, in a low voice, —

" And that won't be long, I know, if Mr. Giiffith think* and feels on the coast of England as he thought and felt at home."

A silent pressure of his hand was the only reply that the young lieutenant made, before he paid the parting compli- ments to Barnstable, and directed his men to pull for their ship.

The boats were separating, and the plash of the oars was already heard, when the voice of the Pilot was for the first time raised in earnest.

" Hold ! " he cried ; « hold water, I bid ye ! "

The men ceased their effiarts, at the commanding tones of his voice, and turning towards the whale-boat, he con- tinued, —

" You will get your schooner under way immediately Captain Barnstable, and sweep into the offing with as little delay as possible. Keep the ship well open from the northern headland, and as you pass us, come within hail."

" This is a clean chart and plain sailing, Mr. Pilot," returned Barnstable ; " but who is to justify my moving without orders, to Captain Munson? I have it in black and white, to run the Ariel into this feather-bed sort of a place, and I must at least have it by signal or word of mouth from my betters, before my cut-water curls another wave. The road may be as hard to find going out as it was coming in ; and then I had daylight as w^U as vouf written directions to steer by."

** Would you lie there to perish on such a night ? " said the PUot, sternly. " Two hours hence, this heavy swell will break where your vessel now rides so quietly."

" There we think exactly alike ; but if I get drowned now, I am drowned according to orders ; wherea*. if I

THE PILOT. 22)

knock a plank out of the schooner's bottom, by following your directions, 'twill be a hole to let iu matiny, as well as BOa-water. How do I know but the old man wants another pilot or two ? "

" That's philosophy," muttered the cockswain of tba whale-boat, in a voice that was audible : " but it's a hard strain on a man's conscience to hold 3n in such an aachc* •

" Then keep your anchor down, and follow it to the bottom," said the Pilot to himself ; " it's worse to contend with a fool than a gale of wind ; but if" —

" No, no, sir — no fool neither," interrupted Griffith. " Barnstable does not deserve that epithet, though he cer- tainly carries the point of duty to the extreme. Heave up at once, JNIr. Barnstable, and get out of this bay as fast aa possible."

"Ah! you don't give the order with half the pleasure with which I shall execute it ; pull away, boys ! the Ariel shall never lay her bones in such a hard bed, if I can help it."

As the commander of the schooner uttered these words with a cheering voice, his men spontaneously shouted, and the whale-boat darted away from her companion, and was Boon lost in the gloomy shadows cast from the clifls.

In the mean time, the oarsmen of the barge were not idle, but by strenuous efforts they forced the heavy boat rapidly through the water, and in a few minutes she ran alongside of the frigate. During this period the Pilot, in a voice which had lost all the startling fierceness and authority it had manifested in his short dialogue with Barnstable, -equested Griffith to repeat to him, slowly, the names of the officers that belonged to his ship. When the young lieutenant had complied with this request, he observed to lus companion, —

" All good men and true, IMr. Pilot ; and though this business in wliich you are just now engaged maybe hazard- ous to an Eng'ishman, there are none with us who will betray you. We need your services, and as we expect good faith from you, so shall we offer it to you in exehange."

" And how know you that I need ita exerciae 7 " asked

24 THE PILOT.

the Pilot, in a manner that denoted a cold indifference U the subject.

" Why, though you talk pretty good English, for a na- tive," returned Griffith, " yet you have a small bur-r-r in your mouth that would prick the tongue of a man who was born on the other side of the Atlantic."

" It is but of littl-i moment where a man is born, or how he speaks," returned the Pilot, coldly, " so that he does his duty bravely, and ia good faith."

It was perhaps fortunate for the harmony of this dialogue, that the gloom, which had now iacreased to positive dark- ness, completely concealed the look of scornful irony that crossed the handsome features of the young sailor, as ha leplied, —

" True, true, so that he does his duty, as you say, in good faith. But, as Barnstable observed, you must know your road well to travel among these shoals on such a night as this. Know you what water we draw ? "

" 'Tis a frigate's draught, and I shall endeavor to keep you in four fathoms ; less than that would be dangerous."

" She's a sweet boat ! " said Griffith ; " and minds her helm as a marine watches the eye of his sergeant at a drill ; but you must give her ^-oom in stays, for she fore-reaches, as if she would put out the wind's eye."

The Pilot attended, with a practiced ear, to this descrip- tion of the qualities of the ship that he was about to at- tempt extricating from an extremely dangerous situation. Not a syllable was lost on him ; and when Griffith had ended, he remarked, with the singular coldness that per- vaded his manner, —

'• That is both a good and a bad quality in a ciirrow :iannel. I fear it will be the latter to-night, when we shiii l^uire to have the ship in leading-strings."

" I suppose we must feel our way with the lead ? " said Griffith.

" We shall need both eyes and leads," returned the Pilot, recurring insensibly to his soliloquizing tone of voice. " I have been both in and out in darker nights than this, though •erer with a heavier draught than a half-two."

THE PILOl. 25

** Then, by Heaven, you are not fit to Landle that ship among these rocks and breakers!" exclaimed Griffith; "your men of a light drauglit never know their water; 'tia die deep keel only that linds a channel ; Pilot ! Pilot ! beware how you trifle with us ignorantly ; for 'tis a dan- gerous experiment to play at hazards with an enemy."

" Young man, you know not what you threaten, nor whom," said the Pilot sternly, though his quiet manner still remained undisturbed ; " you forget that you have a supe- rior here, and that I have none."

" That shall be as you discharge your duty," cried Griflith; "for if" —

" Peace ! " interrupted the PUot, " we approach the ship ; let us enter in harmony."

He threw himself back on the cushions when he had said this ; and Grilfith, though filled with the apprehensions of suffering, either by great ignorance or treachery on the part of his companion, smothered his feelings so far as to be silent, and they ascended the side of the vessel in apparent cordiality.

The frigate was already riding on lengthened seas, that I oiled in from the ocean at each successive moment with increasing violence, though her topsails still hung supinely from her yards ; the air, which continued to breathe occa- sionally from the land, being unable to shake the heavy canvas of which they were composed.

The only sounds that were audible, when Griflith and the Pilot had ascended to the gangway of the frigate, were produced by the sullen dashing of the sea against the massive bows of the ship, and the shrill whistle of the boat- swain's mate, as he recalled the side-boys, who were placed on either side of the gangway, to do honor to the sutrance of the first lieutenant and his companion.

But though such a profound silence reigned among the hundreds who inhabited the huge fabric, the light produced by a dozen battle-lanterns, that were arranged in different parts of the decks, served not only to exhibit faintly the persons of the crew, but the mingled feeling of curios'ty and care that dwelt on most of their countenances.

26 THE PILOT.

Large groups of men were coDec.ed in the gangw*)'^, around the maiiimast, and on the booms of the vessel, whose faces were tlistinctly visible, while numerous figures, lying along the lower yards, or bending out of the tops, might be dimly traced in the background, all of whom expressed by their attitudes the interest they took in the arrival of the bt>at.

Though such crowds were collected m other parts of the ven&el, the quarter-deck was occupied only by the officers, who were disposed according to their several ranks, and were equally silent and attentive as the remainder of the crew. In front stood a small coUectiot of young men, who, by their similarity of dress, were the equals and companions of Griffith, though his juniors in rank. On the opposite side of the vessel was a larger assemblage of youths, who claimed Mr. Merry as their fellow. Around the capstan three or four figures were standing, one of whom wore a coat of blue, with the scarlet facings of a soldier, and another the black vestments of the ship's chaplain. Behind these, and nearer the passage to the cabin from which he had just ascended, stood the tall, erect form of the com- mander of the vessel.

After a brief salutation between Griffith and the junior officers, the former advanced, followed slowly by the Pilot, to the place where he was expected by his veteran com- mander. The young man removed his hat entirely, as he bowed with a little more than his usual ceremony, and said, —

'' We have succeeded, sir, though not without more diffi- culty and delay than were anticipated."

" But you have not brought off the Pilot," said the cap- tain, " and without him, all our risk and trouble have been ?n vain."

" lie is here," said Griffith, stepping aside, and extending his arm towards the man that stood behind him, wrappe(f lO the chin in his coarse pea-jacket, and his face shadowed by the falling rims of a large hat, that had seen much and hard service.

" This ! " exclaimed the oiptain ; " then there is a Md

THF riLOT. 27

mistake — this is not the man I would have seen, ntrcaa another supply his place."

" I know not whom you expected, Captain Munson," sai^ the stranger, in a low, quiet voice; "but if you have nat forgotten the day when a very different flag from t'lat emblem of tyranny that now hangs over yon taffrail waa first spread to the wind, you may remember the hand tbil raised it."

" Bring here the light ! " exclaimed the commander, hastily.

AVhen the lantern was extended towards the Pilot, sind the glare fell strong on his features, Captain Munson started, as he beheld the calm blue eye that met his gaze, and the composed but pallid countenance of the other. lavolun tarily raising his hat, and baring his silver locks, the veteran cried, —

" It is he ! though so changed " —

" That his enemies did not know him," interrupted the Pilot, quickly ; then touching the other by the arm as he Jed him aside, he continued, in a lower tone, " neither must his friends, until the proper hour shall arrive."

Griffith had fallen back to answer the eager questions of his messmates, and no part of this short dialogue was over heard by the officers, though it was soon perceived that their commander had discovered his error, and was satisfied that the proper man had been brought on board his vessel. For many minutes the two continued to pace a part of the quarter-deck, by themselves, engaged in deep and earnesi discourse.

As Griffith had but little to communicate, the currosity of his listeners was soon apjjeased, and all eyes were directed towards that mysterious guide, who was to conduct them from a situation already surromided by perils^ which each noment not only magnified in appearance, but increased ixi r«ality.

tR THE IILOT.

CHAPTER IV.

Behold the threaden sails, Borne with the invisible and creeping wijde Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowed saa, Breasting the lofty surge.

SUAKSSPXAUL

It bas been already explained to the reader, that the: 4 were threatening symptoms in the appearance of the weather to create serious forebodings of evil in the breast of a sea- man. When removed from the shadows of the cliffs, the night was not so dark but objects could be discerned at some little distance, and in the eastern horizon there was a streak of fearful light impending over the gloomy waters, in which the swelling outline formed by the rising waves was becommg each moment more distinct, and, consequently, more alarming. Several dark clouds overhung the vessel, whose towering masts apparently propped the black vapor, while a few stars were seen twinkling, with a sickly flame, in the streak of clear sky that skirted the ocean. Still, light currents of air, occasionally, swept across the bay, bringing with them the fresh odor from the shore, but iheir flitting irregularity too surely foretold them to be the expiring breath of the land-breeze. The roaring of the ttrf, as it rolled a the margin of the bay, produced a dull, aicnotonous sound, that was only interrupted, at times, by .t hollow bellowing, as a larger wave than usual broke ▼iclently against some cavity in the rock. Everything, in abort, anited to render the scene gloomy and portentous. mthout creating instant terror, for the ship rose easily on Ihe long billows, without even straightening the heavy cable that held her to her anchor.

Tl.e Ir.gher officers were collected aroimd the capstan, engaged in earnest dieoourse about their situation and pro*-

THE PILOT 29

pects, while som 3 of the oldest and most favored seamen would extend their short walk to the hallowed precircts of the quarter-deck, to catch, with greedy ears, the opinions that fell from their superiors. Numberless were the un- easy glances that were thrown from both officers and mei at their commander and the Pilot, who still continued iheii secret communion in a distant part of the vessel. Onw, an ungovernable curiosity, or the heedlessness of his years, led one of the youthful midshipmen near them, but a Btem rebuke from his captain sent the boy, abashed and cower, mg, to hide his nlortification among his fellows. Thii reprimand was received oy tlie elder officers as an intimation that the consultation which they beheld was to be strictly inviolate ; and, though it by no means suppressed the repeated expressions of their impatience, it effectually pre- vented an interruption to the commtinications, which all, however, thought were unreasonably protracted for the occasion.

" This is no time to be talking over bearings and dis- tances," observed the officer next in rank to Griffith ; " but we should call the hands up, and try to kedge her off while the sea will suffer a boat to live."

" 'Twould be a tedious and bootless job to attempt warp- ing a ship for miles against a head-beating sea," returned the first lieutenant ; " but the land-breeze yet flutters aloft, ind if our light sails would draw, with the aid of this ebb lide we might be able to shove her from the shore."

" Hail the tops, Griffith," said the other, " and ask if they feel the air above ; 'twill be a hint at least to set tho old man and that lubberly Pilot in motion."

Griffith laughed as he complied w^ith the :eque5t, and when he received the customary reply to his call, he de- roanded in a loud voice, —

♦' "VVliich way have you the wind, aloft ? "

" We feel a light cat's-paw, now and then, from the land, ftir," returned the sturdy captain of the top ; " but our top- sail }iang8 in the clew-lines, sir, without winking."

Cajitain Mimson and his companion suspended their dis- course "vbile this question and answer were excoaaged, aibd

80 THE PILOT.

then resumed their dialogue as earnestly as if it had received

no interruption.

" If it did wink, the hint would be lost on our betters,'* saic the officer of the marines, whose ignorance of seaman ship added greatly to his perception of the danger, but who, from pure idleness, made more jokes than any other man in the ship. " That Pilot would not receive a delicate inti lation through his ears, Mr. Griffith ; suppose you try bim by the nose."

" Faith, there was a flash of gunpowder between us in the barge," returned the first lieutenant, " and he does not seem a man to stomach such hints as you advise. Although he looks so meek and quiet, I doubt whether he has paid much attention to the book of Job."

" Why should he ? " exclaimed the chaplain, whose appre hensions at least equaled those of the marine, and with a much more disheartening effect ; " I am sure it would have been a great waste of time : there are so many charts of the coast, and books on the navigation of these seas, for him to study, that I sincerely hope he has been much better employed."

A loud laugh was created at this speech among the listeners, and it apparently produced the effect that was so long anxiously desired, by putting an end to the mysterious conference between their caj^tain and the pilot. As the former came forward towards his expecting crew, he said, in the composed, steady manner that formed the principal trait in his character, —

" Get the anchor, IMr. Griffith, and make sail on the ship ; the hour has arrived when we must be moving."

The cheerftd " Aye. aye, sir ! " of the young lieutenant was hardly uttered, before the cries of half a dozen midship- ncen were heard summoning the boatswain and his mates to their duty

There was a general movement in the living masses that clustered around the mainmast, on the booms, and in the gangways, tboagh their habits of discii^line held the crew a moment longer in suspense. The silence was first broken by the sound of the boatswain's whistle, followed by the

TEE PILOT. 31

hoarse cry of "All hands, up anchor, ahoy!" the foimer rising on the night air from its first low mellow notes to a piercing shrillness that gradually died away on the waters and the latter bellowing through every cranny of the ship, like the hollow murmurs of distant thunder.

The change produced by the customary summons was magical. Human behigs sjirang out from between the guns, rushed up the hatches, threw tliemselves with careless activity from the booms, and gathered from every quai'ter BO rapidly, that in an instant, the deck of the frigate was alive with men. The profound silence, that had hitherto been only interrupted by the low dialogue of the officers, was now changed for the stern orders of the lieutenants, mingled with the shriller cries of the midshipmen, and the hoarse bawling of the boatswain's crew, rising above the tumult of preparation and general bustle.

The captain and the pilot alone reminded passive, in this scene of general exertion ; for apprehension had even stimu- lated that class of officers which is called " idlers " to unusual activity, though frequently reminded by their more experi- enced messmates that, instead of aiding, they retarded the duty of the vessel. Tlie bustle, however, gradually ceased, and in a few minutes, the same silence pervaded the ship as before.

" We are brought-to, sir," said Griffith, who stood over- Jooking the scene, holding in one hand a short speaking- trumpet, and grasping with the other one of the shrouds of the ship, to steady liimself in the position he had taken on a gua.

" Heave round, sir," was the calm reply.

*< Heave round ! " repeated Griffith, aloud.

'' Heave round ! " echoed a dozen eager voices at onoe, and the lively strains of a fife struck up a brisk dr, to enli^'en the labor. The capstan was instantly set in motion, and thj measured tread of the seamen was heard, as they gtamped the deck in the cii'cle of their march. For a few minutes no other sounds were heard, if we except the voice of an oficer, occasionally cheering the sailors, when it was announced that trey " were shurt ; " or, iu other words, that the ship was nearly over her anchor.

85 THE PILOT

'* Heave and pall," cried Griffith ; when the qui»"e'^«g cotes of the whistle were again succeeded by a general still- ness in the vessel.

" What is to be done now, sir ? " continued the lieu- tenant ; " shall we trip the anchor ? There seems not a breath of air ; and as the tide runs slack, I doubt whether the sea do not heave the ship ashore."

There was so much obvious truth in this conjecture, that all eyes turned from the light and animation afforded by the decks of the frigate, to look abroad on the waters, in a vain desire to pierce the darkness, as if to read the fate of their apparently devoted ship, from the aspect of nature.

" I leave all to the pilot," said the captain, after he had Btood a short time by the side ol Griffith, anxiously studying the heavens and the ocean. " What say you, Mr. Gray ? "

The man who was thus first addressed by name was lean- ing over the bulwarks, with his eyes bent in the same direc- tion as the others ; but as he answered he turned his face towards the speaker, and the light from the deck fell full upon his quiet features, which exhibited a calmness border- ing on the supernatural, considering his station and responsi- bility.

" There is much to fear from this heavy ground-swell," he said, in the same unmoved tones as before ; " but there is certain destruction to us, if the gale that is brewing in the east finds us waiting its fury in this wild anchorage. All the hemp that ever was spun into cordage would not hold a ship an hour, chafing on these rocks, with a north- easter pouring its fury on her. If the powers of man cau compass it, gentlemen, we must get an offing, and that epeedilj."

" You say no more, sir, than the youngest boy in the ship can see for himself," said Griffith ; " ha ! here comes tha schooner ! "

The dashing of the long sweeps in the water was now plainly audible, and the little Ariel was seen through the gloom, moving heavily under their feeble impulse. As she massed slowly under the stern of the frigate, the cheeriu

THE PILOT. 83

»oice of BamFtable was first heard, oiiening the commumca^ tions between them.

'• Here's a night for spectac.es, Captain Munson ! " he cried ; " but I thought I heard your fife, sir. 1 trust iu God, you do not mean to ride it out here till morning ? "

" I like the berth as little as yourself, Mr. Barnstat-e ' returned the veteran seaman, in his calm manner, in which anxiety was, however, beginning to grow evident. " We are short ; but are afraid to let go our hold of the bott/jra, lest the sea cast us ashore. How make you out .ne wind ? "

" Wind ! " echoed the other ; " there is not enough to blow a lady's curl aside. K you wait, sir, till the land- breeze fills your sails, you will wait another moon. 1 believe I've got my egg-shell out of that nest of gray-caps i but how it has been done m the dark, a better man than myself must explain."

" Take your directions from the Pilot, IMr. Barnstable," returned his commanding officer, " and follow them strictly and to the letter."

A deathlike silence, in both vessels, succeeded this order ; for all seemed to listen eagerly to catch the words that fell from the man on whom, even the boys now felt, depended their only hopes for safety. A short time was suffered to elapse, before his voice was heard, in the same low but dis- Xinct tones as before : —

" Your sweeps will soon be of no service to you," he said, " against the sea that begins to heave in ; but your light wails will help them to get you out. So long as you can head east-and-by-north, you are doing well, and you can stand on till you open the light from that northern headland, «hen you can heave to, and fire a gun ; but if, as I dread, you are struck aback before you open the light, you may trust to your lead on the larboard tack ; but beware, with jrour head to the southward, for no lead will serve yoxi there"

** i can walk over the same ground on one tack as on .he ^3r," said Barnstable, "and make both legs of a length."

" It will not do." returned the Pilot. " If you fall off a

84 THE PILOT.

point to starboard from east-and -by-north, in going large, you will find both rocks and points of shoals to brin^ you up ; and beware, as I tell you, of the starboard tack."

" And how shall I find my way ? you will let me trust to neither time, lead, nor log."

" You must trust to a quick eye and a ready hand. The breakers only will show you the dangers, when you are uot able to make out the bearings of the land. Tack in season, »ir, and don't spare the lead when you head to port."

"Aye, aye," returned Barnstable, in a low muttering roice. " This is a sort of blind navigation with a venge- Mice, and all for no purpose that I can see — see ! damme, eyesight is of about as much use now as a man's nose would be in reading the Bible."

" Softly, softly, Mr. Barnstable," interrupted his com- mander, — for such was the anxious stillness in both vessels that even the rattling of the schooner's rigging was heard, as she rolled in the trough of the sea, — " the duty on which Congress has sent us must bo performed, at the hazard of our lives."

" I don't mind my life, Captain Munson," said Barnstable, " but there is a great want of conscience in trusting a vessel in such a place as this. However, it is a time to do, and not to talk. But if there be such danger to an easy draught of water, what will become of the frigate ? had I not better play jackal, and try and feel the way for you ? "

" I thank you," said the Pilot ; " the offer is generous, but would avail us nothing. I have the advantage of knowing the ground well, and must trust to my memory and God's good favor. Make sail, make sail, sir, and if you succeed, we will venture to break ground."

The order was promptly obeyed, and in a very short tune the Ariel was covered with canvas. Though no air iras peroaptiWe on the decHs of the frigate, the little •chooner was so light, that shi», succeeded in stemming Ler Way over the rising waves, aic'ed a little by the tide ; and in a few minutes her low hull was just discernible in th« Btraak of light along the horiz.)n, with the dark outline of her sails rising above the sea, until their fanciful sumaiiti were lost in the shadows of the clouds.

THE PILOT. to

Griffith had listened to the foregoing dialogue lil«e tbe

rest of the junioi- officers, in profound silence ; out when the Ariel began to grow indistiuct to the eye, he jumped lightly from the gun to the deck, and cried, —

" She slips off, like a vessel from the stocks ! shall I trip the anchor, sir, and follow ? "

" "We have no choice," replied his captain. " You heal the question, Mr. Gray? shall we let go the bottom? "

" It must be done, Captain Muuson ; we maj want more drift than the rest of this tide to get us to a place of safety," said the Pilot. " I would give five years from a life that I know will be short, if the ship lay one mile further sea- ward."

This remark was unheard by all, except the commander of the frigate, who again walked aside with the Pilot, where they resumed their mysterious communications. The words of assent were no sooner uttered, however, than Griffith gave forth from his trumpet the command to " Heave away ! " Again the strains of the fife were followed by the tread of the men at the capstan. At . the same time that the anchor was heaving up, the sails were loosened from the yai'ds, and opened to invite the breeze. In effecting this duty, orders were thundered through the trumpet of the first lieutenant, and executed with the rapidity of thought. Men were to be seen, like spots in the dim light from the heavens, lying on every yard, or hanging as in air, while strange cries were heard issuing from every part of the rigging, and each spar of the vessel. " Ready the fore« royal," cried a shrill voice, as if from the clouds ; " Ready the fore-yard," uttered the hoarser tones of a seaman be- neath him ; " All ready aft, sir," cried a third, from anothei quarter ; and in a few minutes the order was given to " Let fell."

The little light which fell from the sty was now excluded by the falling canvas, and a deeper gloom was cast athwart the decks of the ship, that served to render the brilliancy of the lanterns even vivid, while it gave to objects outboard % more appalling and dreary appearance than before.

Every individual, excepting the commander and hif

B6 THE PILOT.

associate, was notv earnestly engaged in getting the ship ander way. The sounds of " We're away," were repeated by a burst from fifty voices, and the rapid evolutions of the capstan announced that nothing but the weight of the anchor was to be lifted. The hauling of cordage, the rattling of blocks, blended with the shrill calls of the boat- ewuin and his mates, succeeded ; and though to a landsman all would have appeared confusion and hurry, long practice and strict discipline enabled the crew to exhibit their ship under a cloud of canvas, from her deck to the trucks, in less time than we have consumed in relating it.

For a few minutes, the officers were not disappointed by the result ; for though the heavy sails flapped lazily against the masts, the light duck on the loftier spars swelled out- wardly, and the ship began sensibly to yield to their in- fluence.

" She travels ! she travels ! " exclaimed Griffith, joyously ; " ah, the hussy ! she has as much antipathy to the land as any fish that swims : it blows a little gale aloft, yet ! "

"We feel its dying breath," said the Pilot, in low, sooth- ing tones, but in a manner so sudden as to startle Griffith, at whose elbow they were unexpectedly uttered. " Let us forget, young man, everything but the number of lives that depend, this night, on your exertions and my knowledge."

" If you be but half as able to exhibit the one, as I am willing to make the other, we shall do well," returned the lieutenant, in the same tone. " Remember, whatever may be your feelings, that we are on an enemy's coast, and love it not enough to wish to lay our bones there."

With this brief explanation they separated, the vegfe'fel requiring the constant and close attention of the officer to her movements.

The exultation produced in the crew by the progress of their ship through the water was of short duration ; for the breeze that had seemed to await their motions, after forc- ing the vessel for a quarter of a mile, fluttered for a few minutes amid their light canvas, and then left them en^ tirely. The quartermaster, whose duty it was to superin« tend the helm, soon announced that he was losing the com

THE riLOT. 37

mnnd of the vessel, as she was no longer obedient to her rudder. This ungrateful intelligence was promptly eom- municated to his commander by Griihth, who suggested the propriety of again dropping an anchor.

" I refer you to Mr. Gray," returned the captain ; " he la the pilot, sir, and with him rests the safety of the ■vessel."

" Pilots sometimes lose ships as well as save them," said Griffith: " know you the man well. Captain Munson, who holds all our lives in his keeping, and so coolly as if ho cared but little for the venture ? "

" Mr. Griffith, I do know him ; he is, in my opinion, both competent and faithful. Thus much I tell you, to relieve your anxiety ; more you must not ask ; but is there not a shift of wind ? "

" God forbid ! " exclaimed his lieutenant ; " if that north- easter catches us within the shoals, our case will be desper- ate indeed ! "

The heavy rolling of the vessel caused an occasional expansion, and as sudden a reaction, in their sails, which left the oldest seaman in the ship in doubt which way the currents of air were passing, or whether there existed ^ny that were not created by the flapping of their own canvas. The head of the ship, however, began to fall off from the sea, and notwithstanding the darkness, it soon became apparent that she was driving in, bodily, towards the shore.

During these few minutes of gloomy doubt, Griffith, by one of those suddeu revulsions of the mind, that connect the opposite extremes of fooling, lost his animated anxiety, and relapsed into the listless apathy that so often came over him, even in the most critical moments of trial and danger. He was standing with one elbow restng on his capstan, shading his eves from the light of the battle-lantern Uiat stood near him with one hand, when he felt a gentle ressure of the other, that recalled his recollection. Look- ng affectionately, though still recklessly, at the boy who stood at his side, he said, —

" Dull music, Mr. Merry."

"^ So dull, sir, that I can't dance to it," returned the nuishipman. " Nor do I bolie^e there is a man in the

88 THE PILOT.

ship who would not rather hear ' The girl I left behind me, than those execrable sounds."

" What sounds, boy ? The ship is as quiet as the Quaker meeting in the Jerseys, before your good old grandfather used to break the charm of silence with his sonorous voice."

" Ah ! laugh at my peaceable blood, if thou wilt, Mr. Griffith," said the arch youngster ; " but remember, there is a mixture of it in all sorts of veins. I wish I could hear ona of the old gentleman's chants now, sir ; I could always sleep to them, like a gull in the surf. But he that sleeps to-night, with that lullaby, will make a nap of it."

" Sounds ! I hear no sounds, boy, but the flapping aloft ; even that Pilot, who struts the quarter-deck like an admiral, has nothing to say."

" Is not that a sound to open a seaman's ear ? "

" It is in truth a heavy roll of the surf, lad, but the night air carries it heavily to our ears. Know you not the sound of the surf yet, younker ? "

" I know it too well, Mr. Griffith, and do not wish to know it better. How fast are we tumbling in towards that Burf, sir ? "

" I think we hold our own," said Griffith, rousing again ; '* though we had better anchor. Luff, fellow, luff; you are broadside to the sea ! "

The man at the wheel repeated his former intelligence, adding a suggestion, that he thought the ship " was gather- ing stern-way."

" Haul up your courses, Mr. Griffith," said Captain Man- eon, " and let us feel the wind."

The rattling of the blocks was soon heard, and the enor- mous sheets of canvas that hung from the lower yards were jistantly suspended " in the brails." When this change was effected, all on board stood silent and breathless, as if ex- pecting to learn their fate by the result. Several contra- dictory opinions were at length hazarded among the officers, when Griffith seized the candle from the lantern, and spring- ing on one of the guns, held it on high, exposed to the ac- tion of the air. The little flame waved, with uncertain •liramering, for a moment, and then buined steadily, in a

TBE I'llOT. 89

line with the masts. Griffith was about to lower his ftx- tended arm, when, feeling a slight sensation of coolness ou his hand, he paused, and the light turned slowly towards the land, flared, flickered, and finally deserted the wick.

" l;0se not a moment, Mr. Griffith," cried the Pilot aloud ; " clew up and furl everything but your three topsails, and "let them be double-reefed. Now is the time to fulhll your promise."

The young man paused one moment, in astonishment, aa the clear, distinct tones of the stranger struck his ears so unexpectedly ; but turning his eyes to seaward, he sprang on the deck, and proceeded to obey the order, as if life uad deith depended ou bis despatch.

40 -rgx pilot.

CHAPTER V.

She rights ! she rights, boys ! wear off shore .

Soka

The extraordinary activity of Griffith, which comtr.uni cated itself with promjititude to the crew, was produced by a sudden alteration in the weather. In place of the well defined streak along the horizon, that has been already de- scribed, an immense body of misty light appeared to be moving in, with rapidity, from the ocean, while a distinct but distant roaring announced the sure approach of the tempest that had so long troubled the waters. Even Grif- fith, while thundering his orders through the trumpet, and urging the men, by his cries, to expedition, would pause, for instants, to cast anxious glances in the direction of the coming storm ; and the faces of the sailors who lay on the yards were turned, instinctively, towards the same quarter of the heavens, while they knotted the reef-points, or passed the gaskets, that were to confine the unruly canvas to the prescribed limits.

The Pilot alone, in that confused and busy throng, where voice rose above voice, and cry echoed cry, in quick suc- cession, appeared as if he held no interest in the important Btake. AVith his eyes steadily fixed on the approacliing mist, and his arms folded together in composure, he stood calmly waiting the result.

The ship had fallen off, with her broadside to he sea, fcnd was become unmanageable, and the sails were already brought into the folds necessary to her security, when I he quick and heavy fluttering of canvas was thrown across the water, with all the gloomy and chilling sensations that such sounds produce, where darkness and danger unite to appall the seaman.

THE PILOT 41

" The schooner has it ! " cried Griffith ; " :6arnstable has held on, like himself, to the last moment. God send that the squall leave him cloth enough to keep hin, from the shore ! "

" His sails are easily handled," the commander observed, ** and she must be over the principal danger. We aie felling off before it, jMi-. Gray ; shall we try a cast of the lead ? "

The Pilot turned from his contemplative posture, and mo 7ed slowly across the deck before he returned any reply to this question, like a man who not only felt that every- thing depended on himself, but that he was equal to the emergency.

" 'Tis unnecessary," he at length said ; " 'twould be cer- tain destruction to be taken aback ; and it is difficult to say, within several points, how the wind may strike us."

" 'Tis difficult no longer," cried Griffith ; " for here it comes, and in right earnest ! "

The rushing sounds of the wind were now, indeed, heard at hand ; and the words were hardly past the lips of the young lieutenant, before the vessel bowed down heavily to one side, and then, as she began to move through the water, rose again majestically to her upright position, as if saluting, like a courteous champion, the powerful antagonist with which she was about to contend. Not another minute elapsed, before the ship was throwing the waters aside, with a lively progress, and, obedient to her helm, was brought as near to the desired course as the direction of the wind would allow, "^he hurry and bustle on the yards gradually subsided, and the men slowly descended to the deck, all straining their eyes to pierce the gloom in which they were enveloped, and some shaking their heads, in melancholy doubt, afraid to express the apprehensions they really enter- tained. All on board anxiously waited for the fury of the gale ; for there were none so ignorant or inexperienced in that gallant frigate, as not to know tliat as yet they only felt the infant effiDrts of the wind. Each moment, however, it 'ncreased in power, though so gradual was the alteration, that the relieved mariners began to believe that all their

42 THE PILOT.

gloomy forebodings were not to be realized. During this short interval of uncertainty, no other sounds were hoard than the whistling of the breeze, as it passed quickly through the mass of rigging that belonged to the vessel, and the dashing of the spray that began to fly from her bows, like the foam of a cataract.

" It blows fresh," cried Griffith, who was the first to speak in tliat moment of doubt and anxiety ; " but it is uc more than a cap-full of wind after all. Give us elboW' room, and the right canvas, Mr. Pilot, and I'll handle the ghip like a gentleman's ya^ht, in this breeze."

" Will she stay, think y 3, under this sail ? " said the low voice of the stranger.

" She will do all that man, in reason, can ask of wood and iron," returned the lieutenant ; " but the vessel don't float the ocean that will tack under double-reefed topsails alone, against a heavy sea. Help her with the courses, Pilot, and you shall see her come round like a dancing- master."

" Let us feel the strength of the gale first," returned the man who was called Mr. Gray, moving from the side of Giilfith to the weather gangway of the vessel, where he stood in silence, looking ahead of the ship, with an air of singular coolness and abstraction.

All the lanterns had been extinguished on the deck of the frigate, when her anchor was secured, and as the first mist of the gale had passed over, it was succeeded by a faint light that was *a good deal aided by the glittering foam of the waters, wliich now broke in white curls around che vessel in every direction. The land could be fairly dis- cerned, rising like a heavy bank of black fog, above the margin of the waters, and was only distinguishable from the ieavcns by its deejier gloom and obscurity. The last rope was coiled, and deposited in its proper place, by the teamen, and for several minutes the stillness of death pervaded the crowded decks. It was evident to every one, that their ship was dashing at a prodigious rate through the waves and as she was approaching, with sucli velocity, the quarter rf the bay where the shoals and dangers were known to Jt

THE PILOT. 48

situated, nothing but the habits of the most exact disci* pline could suppress the uneasiness of the officers and men ■'/ithin their own bosoms. At length the voice of Captain Munson was heard, calling to the Pilot.

" Shall I send a hand into the chains, Mr. Gray," he said, ^ and try our water ? "

Althoagh this question was asked aloud, and the interest ft excited drew many of the officers and men around him, iH eager impatience for his answer, it was unheeded by the man to whom it was addressed. His head rested on his hand, as he leaned over the hammock-cloths of the vessel, and his whole air was that of one whose thoughts wandered from the pressing necessity of their situation. Griffith was among those who had approached the Pilot ; and after wait- ing a moment, from respect, to hear the answer to his com- mander's question, he presumed on his own rank, and leav- ing tl>e circle that stood at a little distance, stepped to the aide of the mysterious guardian of their lives.

" Captain Munson desires to know whether you wish a cast of the lead ? " said the young officer, with a little im- patience of manner. No immediate answer was made to this repetition of the question, and Griffith laid his hand unceremoniously on the shoulder of the other, with an in- tent to rouse liim before he made another application for a reply, but the convulsive start of the Pilot held him silent in amazement.

" Fall back there," said the lieutenant, sternly, to the men, who were closing around them in a compact circle ; "away with you to your stations, and see all clear for stays." The dense mass of heads dissolved, at this order, tike the water of one of the waves commingling with the ocean, and the lieutenant and his companions were left by ti.emselves.

" This is not a time for musing, Mr. Gray," continued Griffith ; " remember our compact, and look to your charge ; IS it not time to put the vessel in stays ? of what are you ji earning ? "

The Pilot laid his hand on the extended arm of tho lieu tenant and gasped it with a convulsive pressure, as he an ••■ered, —

44 THE PILOT.

" 'Tis a dream of reality. You are young, Mr Griffith, nor am I past the noon of life ; but should you live fifty years longer, you never can see and experience what ^ have encountered in my little period of three-andithirty years ! "

A good deal astonished at this burst of feeling, so singu» lar at such a moment, the young sailor was at a loss for a reply ; but as his duty was uppermost in his thoughts, ha still dwelt or. the theme that most interested him.

" I hope much of your experience has been on this coast, for the ship travels lively," he said, " and the daylight shewed us so much to dread, that we do not feel over valiant in the dark. How much longer shall we stand on, upon this tack ? "

The Pilot turned slowly from the side of the vessel, and walked towards the commander of the frigate, as he replied, in a tone that seemed deeply agitated by his melancholy re- flections, —

" You have your wish, then ; much, very much of my early life was passed on this dreaded coast. What to you is all darkness and gloom, to me is light as if a noon-day sun shone upon it. But tack your ship, sir, tack your ship; I would see how she works before we reach the point where she must behave well, or we perish."

Griffith gazed after him in wonder, while the Pilot slowly paced the quarter-deck, and then, rousing from his trance, gave forth the cheering order that called each man to his station, to perform the desired evolution. The confident assurances which the young officer had given to the Pilot respecting the qualities of his vessel, and his own ability to manage her, were fully realized by the result. Tiie helm was no sooner put a-lee, than the huge ship bore up gal^ lantly against tlie wind, and, dashing directly through the waves, threw the foam high into the' air, as she looked boldly into the very eye of the wind ; and then, yielding grace- fully to its })ower, she fell off on the other tack, with her head pointed from those dangerous shoals that she had so recently approached with such terrifying velocity. The Ueavy ya^Us swung round, as if they had been vanes t*

THE PIICT. 4fi

dedicate the currents of the air ; and iu a few moments the frigate again moved, with stately progress, through the water, leaving the rocks and shoals behind her on one side of the bay, but advancing towards those that offered equal danger on the other.

During this time the sea was becoming more agitated, and the violence of the wind was gradually increasing. The latter no longer whistled amid the cordage of the ves- sel, but it seemed to howl, surlily, as it passed the compli- cated machinery that the frigate obtruded on its path. An endless succession of white surges rose above the heavy b'Uows, and the very air was glittering with the light that was disengaged from the ocean. The ship yielded, each moment, more and more before the storm, and in less than half an hour from the time that she had lifted her anchor, she was driven along with tremendous fury by the full power of a gale of wind. Still, the hardy and expe- rienced mariners who directed her movements held her to the course that was necessary to their preservation, and Btill Griffith gave forth, when directed by their unknown Pilot, those orders that turned her in the narrow channel where alone safety was to be found.

So far, the performance of his duty appeared easy to the stranger, and he gave the required directions in those stuJi, calm tones, that formed so remarkable a contrast to the re- sponsibility of his situation. But when the land was be- coming dim, in distance as well as darkness, and the agitated sea alone was to be discovered as it swept by them in foam, he broke in upon the monotonous roaring of the tempest with the sounds of his voice, seeming to shake off hia apathy, and rouse himself to the occasion.

" Now is the time to watch her closely, Mr. Griffith," he cried ; " here we get the true tide and the reai danger Place the best quartermaster of your ship in those chains, and let an officer stand by him, and see that he gives ue the nght water."

" I will take that office on myself,"' said the captaia "pass a light into the weather main-chains."

" Stand by your braces ! " exclaimed the Pilot, with start 'iag quickness. " Heave away that lead ! "

4b THE PILOT.

These preparations laught the crew to expect the crisis and every officer and man stood in fearfid silence, at his as- signed station, awaiting the issue of the trial. Even the quartermaster at the cun gave out his orders to the men at the wheel, in deeper and hoarser tones than usual, as if anxious not to disturb the quiet and order of the vessel.

While tliis deep expectation pervaded the frigate, thp^ piercing cry of the leadsman, as he called " By the mark seven,"' rose above the tempest, crossed over the decks, and appeared to pass away to leeward, borne on the blast like the warnings of some water spirit.

•• 'Tis well," returned the Pilot calmly ; " try it again."

" The short pause was succeeded by another cry, " And a half-five ! "

" Sho shcals ! .'^he shoals ! " exclaimed Griffith ; " keep her a good full."

" Aye ! you must hold the vessel in command, now," said the Pilot, with those cool tones that are most appalling in critical moments, because they seem to denote most prepa- ration and care.

The third call, " By the deep four ! " was followed by a prompt direction from the stranger to tack.

Griffith seemed to emulate the coolness of the Pilot, in issuing the necessary orders to execute this manceuvre.

The vessel rose slowly from the inclined position into which she had been forced by the tempest, and the sails were shaking violently, as if to release themselves from their confinement, while the ship stemmed the billows, when the well-known voice of the sailing-master was heard shout- ing from the forecastle, —

" Breakers ! breakers, dead ahead ! "

This appalling sound seemed yet to be lingering about file ship, when a second voice cried, —

" Breakers on our lee-bow ! "

" We are in a bight of the shoals, Mr. Gray," cried the commander. " She loses her way ; perhaps an anchor might hold her."

" Clear away that best bower I " shoited Griffith tbrougb ais trumpet.

THE PILOT. 47

Hold on ! " cried the Pilot, in a voice that reached ihe very heaits of aL who heard him ; " hold on every- thhig."

The young man turned fiercely to the daring stranger who thus defied the discipline of his vessel, and at once demanded, —

" Who is it that dares to countermand my orders ? is it i:ot enough that you run the ship into danger, but you must interfere to keep her there ? If another word " —

'' Peace, Mr. Griffith," interrupted the captain, bending from the rigging, his gray locks blowing about in the wind, and adding a look of wildness to the haggard care that he exhibited by the light of his lantern ; " yield the trumpet to Mr. Gray ; he alone can save us."

Griffith threw his speaking-trumpet on the deck, and as he walked proudly away, muttered in bitterness of feel-

" Then all is lost, indeed ! and among the rest, the foolish hopes with which I visited this coast."

There was, however, no time for reply ; the ship had been rapidly running into the wind, and as the effiarts of the crew were paralyzed by the contradictory orders they had heard, she gradually lost her way, and in a few seconds all her sails were taken aback.

Before the crew understood their situation the Pilot had applied the trumpet to his mouth, and in a voice that rose above the tempest, he thundered forth his orders. Each command was given distinctly, and with a precision that showed him to be master of his profession. The helm was kept fast, the head yards swung up heavily against the wini, imd the vessel was soon whirling round on her heel, with fi retrograde movement.

Griffith was too much of a seaman not to perceive that the Pilot had seized, with a perception almost intuitive, the only method that promised to extricate the vessel from her eituation. He was young, impetuous, and proud — but he was also generous. Forgetting his resentment and hia jaortifiijation, he rushed forward among the men, and, by tus presence and example, added certamty to the experi

48 THE PILOT.

ment. The ship fell off slowly before the gale, and bowed her yards nearly to the water, as she felt the blast pouring its fury on her broadside, while the surly waves beat violently against her stern, as if in reproach at departing from her usual manner of moving.

The voice of the Pilot, however, was stUl heard, steady »nd calm, and yet so clear and high as to reach every ear ; and the obedient seamen whirled the yards at his bidding, in despite of the tempest, as if they handled the toys of their childhood. When the ship had fallen off dead liefore the wind, her head-sails were shaken, her after- yarda trimmed, and her helm shifted, before she had time to run upon the danger that had threatened, as well to leeward as to windwai'd. The beautiful fabric, obedient to her govern- ment, threw her bows up gracefully towards the wind again ; and, as hnr sails were trimmed, moved out from amongst the dangerous shoals, in which she had been embayed, aa steadily and swiftly as she had approached them.

A moment of breathless astonishment succeeded the accomplishment of this nice manoeuvre, but there was no time for the usual expressions of surprise. The stranger still held the trumpet, and continued to lift his voice amid the bowlings of the blast, whenever prudence or skill required any change in the management of the ship. For an hour longer there was a fearful struggle for their pres- ervation, the channel becoming at each step more comph- cated, and the shoals thickening around the mariners on every side. The lead was cast rapidly, and the quick eye of the Pilot seemed to pierce the darkness with a keenness of vision that exceeded human power. It was apparent to all in the vessel that they were under the guidance of one who understood the navigation thoroughly, and their exer- ious kept pace with their reviving confidence. Again and again the frigate appeared to be rushing blindly on shoals whers the sea was covered with foam, and where destruction would have been as sudden as it was certain, when the clear voice of the stranger was heard warning them of the danger, and inciting them to their duty. The vessel was implicitly yielded to his government ; and during those

THE PL.*.iT. 49

>

anxious moments when she waa dashing the waters aside, throwr>^ the spray over her enormous yards, each ear would lisicn eagerly for those sounds that had obtained a command over the crew, that can only be acquired, under such cucumstauces, by great steadiness and consummate skill. The ship was recovering from the inaction of chang- ing Ler course, in one of those critical tacks that she had made so often, when the PUot, for the first time, addressed the commander of the frigate, who stUl continued to superin- tend the all-important duty of the leadsman.

" Now is the pinch," he said, " and if the ship bebavea well, we are safe ; but if otherwise, all we have yet done will be useless."

The veteran seaman whom he addressed, left the chains at this jjortentous notice, and calling to his first lieutenant, required of the stranger an explanation of his warning.

" See you yon light on the southern headland ? " returned the Pilot ; " you may know it from the star near it, by its sinking, at times, in the ocean. Now observe the hum- mock, a little north of it, looking like a shadow in the norizon ; 'tis a hill far inland. If we keep that light open from the hill, we shall do well ; but if not, we surely go to pieces."

" Let us tack again ! " exclaimed the lieutenant.

The PUot shook his head as he replied, —

" There is no more tacking or box-hauUng to be done to-night. We have barely room to pass out of the shoals on this course ; and if we can weather the ' Devil's Grip,' we clear their outermost point ; but if not, as I said before, there is but an alternative."

" If we had beaten out the way we entered," exclaimed Griffith, " we should have done well."

" Say^ also, if the tide would have let us do so," returned the Pilot, calmly. " Gentlemen, we must be prompt ; we have but a mUe to go, and the ship appears to fly. That topsail is not enough to keep her up to the wind ; we want both jib and mainsail."

"'Tis a perilous thing to loosen cauvas m ftuch a torn* pest!" observed the dsubtful captait

60 THE PILOT.

i

"It must be done," returned the collected stranger ; » w« perish without it ; see ! the light already touches the edge of the hummock ; the sea casts us to leeward ! "

" It shall be done ! " cried Griffith, seizing the trumpet from the hand of the Pilot.

The orders of the lieutenant were executed almost aa soon as issued ; and, everything being ready, the enormout foils of the mainsail were trusted loose to the blast. There was an instant when the result was doubtful ; the tremen- dous threshing of the heavy sail seemed to bid defiance to all restraint, shaking the ship to her centre ; but art and strength prevailed, and gradually the canvas was distended, and bellying as it filled, was drawn down to its usual placo by the power of a hundred men. The vessel yielded to this immense addition of force, and bowed before it like a reed bending to a breeze. But the success of the measure was announced by a joyful cry from the stranger, that seemed to burst from his inmost soul.

"She feels it! she springs her luff! observe," he said, " the light oj)ens from the hummock already : if she will only bear her canvas, we shall go clear ! "

A report, like that of a cannon, interrupted his excla- mation, and something resembling a white cloud was seen drifting before the wind from the head of the ship, till it was driven into the gloom far to leeward.

" 'Tis the jib, blown from the bolt-ro^jes," said the com- mander of the frigate. " This is no time to spread light duck — but the mainsail may stand it yet."

" The sail woidd laugh at a tornado," returned :he lieu- tenant; "but the mast springs like a piece of steel."

" Silence all ! " cried the Pilot. " Now, gentlemen, we shall soon know our fate. Let her luff — luff you can ! "

This warning effectually closed all discourse, and the h^iirdy mariners, knowing that they had already done all in tlie power of man to insure their safety, stood in breathless anxiety, awaiting the result. At a short distance ahead of them the whole ocean was white with foam, and the wave& lastead of rolling on in regular succession, appeared to bj toatins about in mad gambols. A single streak of dark

THE PILOT. 61

hillows, not half a cable's length in width, could be dis- cerned running into this chaos of water ; but it was soon lost to the eye amid tlie confusion of the disturbed element. Along this narrow path the vessel moved more heavUy than before, being brought so near the wind as to keep her Bails touching. The Pilot silently proceeded to the wheel, and, with his own hands, he imdertook the steerage of the ship. No noise proceeded from the frigate to interrupt the horrid tumult of the ocean ; and she entered the channel among the breakers, with the silence of a desperate calm- ness. Twenty times, as the foam rolled away to leeward, the crew were on the eve of uttering their joy, as they Bup2X/sed the vessel past the danger ; but breaker after breaker would still heave up before them, following each other into the general mass, to check their exultation. Occasionally, the fluttering of the sails would be heard ; and when the looks of the starts .d seamen were turned to the wheel, they beheld the stranger grasping its spokes, with his quick eye glancing from the water to the canvas. At length the ship reached a point, where she appeared to be rushing directly into the jaws of destruction, when, sud- denly her course was changed, and her head receded rapidly from the wind. At the same instant the voice of the Pilot was heard shouting, —

" Square away the yards ! — in mainsaU ! "

A general burst from the crew echoed, " Square away the yards ! " and, quick as thought, the frigate was seen gliding along the channel before the wind. The eye had jardly time to dwell on the foam, wliich seemed like clouds driving in the heavens, and directly the gallant vessel issued from her perUs, and rose and fell on the heavy waves of the sea.

The seamen were yet drawing long breaths, ar 1 gazing About them like men recovered from a trance, when Griffith »pproached the man who had so successfully conducted Jaem through their perils. The lieutenant grasped the band of the other, as ha said, —

" You have this night proved yourself a faithful pilot, *nd such a seaman as the world cannot equal."

62 THE PILOT.

The pressure of the hand was warmly returned hi the mknown mariner, who replied, —

" I am no stranger to the seas, and I may yet find my grave in them. But you, too, have deceived me ; you have acted nobly, young man, and Congress " —

" What of Congress ? " asked Griffith, observing him to pause.

'• Wliy, Congress is fortunate if it has many such ships as ihis," said the stranger, coldly, walking away toward the /»mmander.

Griffith gazed after him a moment in surprise ; but, aa his duty required his attention, other thoughts soon engaged his mind.

The vessel was pronounced to be in safety: The gale was heavy and increasing, but there was a clear sea before them ; and, as she slowly stretched out into the bosom of the ocean, preparations were made for her security during its continuance. Before midnight, everything was in order.

A gun from the Ariel soon announced the safety of the schooner also, which had gone out by another and an easier channel, that the frigate had not dared to attempt ; when the commander directed the usual watch to be set, and the remainder of the crew to seek their necessary repose.

The captain withdrew with the mysterious pilot to his own cabin, Griffith gave his last order ; and renewing his charge to the officer instructed with the care of the vessel, he vtished him a pleasant watch, and sought the refresh- ment of his own cot. For an hour the young lieutenant lay musing on the events of the day. The remark of Barnstable would occur to him, in connection with the singular comment of the boy ; and then his thoughts would recur to the Pilot, who, taken from the hostile shores of Britain, and with her accent on his tongue, had served them so faithfully and so well. He remembered the anxiety of Captain Munson to procure this stranger, at the rery hazard from which they had just been relieved, and puzzled himself with conjecturing why a pilot was to be Bought at such a risk. His more private feelings would then resume their sv/ay, and the recollection of America, hi»

TUE PILOT. 58

mistress, and his home, mingled with the confused images <A the drowsy youth. The dashing oi the billows against ihe Bide of the ship, the creaking of guns and bulk-heads, with the roaring of the tempest, however, became gradually less and less distinct, until nature yielded to necessity, and the young man forgot even the romantic Images of hi& loif^ Oi Uw deep sleep of a seaocuui.

M THE PILOT.

CMAPTER VI.

The letter ! aye, the letter'. TIm there a woman loves to speak her wishes; It gpares the blushes of the love-sick maiden And every word's a smile, each line a tongue.

Duo.

The slumljers of Griffith continued till late on the, fol- fowing morning, when he was awakened by the report of a cannon, issuintr from the deck above him. He threw him- self, listlessly, from his cot, and perceiving the officer of marmes near him, as his servant opened the door of liia state-room, he inquired, with some little interest in his man- ner, if " the ship was in chase of anything, that a gun was fired ? "

" 'T's no more than a hint to the Ariel," the soldier re- plied, " that there is bunting abroad for them to read. It seems as if all hands were asleep on board her, for we have shown her signal, these ten minutes, and she takes us for a collier, I believe, by the respect she pays it."

" Say, rather, that she takes us for an enemy, and is wavy," returned Griffitli. " Brown Dick has played the English so many tricks himself, that he is tender of hia faith."

," Why, they have shown him a yellow flag over a blue one, with a cornet, and that spells Ariel, in every signal book we have ; surely he can't suspect the English of know* ng how to read Yankee."

*' J have known Yankees read more difficult English, ' Bait'. Griffith, smiling ; " but, in truth, I suppose that Barp stable has been, like myself, keeping a dead reckoning of bis fime, and his men have profited by the occasion. She )B hing to, I trust?"

" Ajo ! like a cork in a mill-pond, and I dare say yon

THE PILOT. 55

are rigli*. Give Barnstable plenty of sea-room, a heavy wind, and but little sail, and he will send his men below, put that fellow he calls long Tom at the tiller, and follow himself, and sleep as quietly as I ever could at church."

" Ah ! yours is a somniferous orthodoxy. Captain Man- ual," said the young sailor, laughing, while he slipped his arms into the sleeves of a morning round-about, covered with the gilded trappings of his profession ; '' sleep appears to come most naturally to all you idlers. But give me a passage, and I will go up, and call the schooner down to us in the turning of an hour-glass."

The indolent soldier raised himself from the leaning posture he had taken against the door of the state-room, and Griffith proceeded through the dark ward -room, up the narrow stairs that led him to the principal battery of the ship, and thence, by another and broader flight of steps, to the open deck.

The gale still blew strong, but steadily ; the blue water of the ocean was rising in mimic mountains, that were crowned with white foam, which the wind, at times, lifted from its kindred element, to propel in mist, through the air, from summit to summit. But the ship rode on these agitated billows with an easy and regular movement, that denoted the skill with which her mechanical powers were directed. The day was bright and clear, and the lazy sun, who seemed unwilling to meet the toU of ascending to the meridian, was crossing the heavens with a southern inclina- tion, that hardly allowed him to temper the moist air of the ocean with his genial heat. At the distance of a mile, directly in the wind's eye, the Ariel was seen, obeying the signal which had caused the dialogue we have related. Her low black hull was barely discernible, at moments, wh.en she rose to the crest of a larger wave than common ; but the spot of canvas that she exposed to the wind was to bo seen, seeming to touch the water on either hand, as the little vessel rolled amid the seas. At times she was entirely hid from view, when the faint lines of her raking masts would be again discovered, issuing, as it were, from !be oc^au, and continuing to ascend, until the hull itself

66 THE PILOT.

would appear, thrusting its bows into the air, 8nrrom»ded by foam, and apparently ready to take its flight into another element.

After dwelling a moment on the beautiful sight we have attempted to describe, Griffith cast his eyes upward, to ex- amine, with the keenness of a seaman, the disposition of things aloft, and then turned his attention to those who were on the deck of the frigate.

His commander stood, in his composed manner, patiently awaiting the execution of his order by the Ariel, and at his side was placed the stranger who had so recently acted such a conspicuous part in the management of the ship. Griffith availed himself of daylight and his situation to examine the appearance of this singular being more closely than the darkness and confusion of the preceding night had allowed. He was a trifle below the middle size in stature, but his form was muscular and athletic, exhibiting the finest pro- portions of manly beauty. His face appeared rather characterized by melancholy and thought, than by that determined decision which he had so powerfully displayed in the moments of their most extreme danger ; but Griffith well knew that it could also exhibit looks of the fiercest impatience. At present, it appeared, to the curious youth, when compared to the glimpses he had caught by the lights of their lanterns, like the ocean at rest, contrasted with the waters around him. The eyes of the Pilot rested on the deck, or when they did wander, it was with uneasy and rapid glances. The large pea-jacket, that concealea most of bis other attire, was as roughly made, and oi materials as coarse, as that worn by the meanest seaman iu the vessel ; and yet, it did not escape the inquisitive gaze of the young lieutenant, that it was worn with an ai] ot neatness and care that was altogether unusual in men of hi* profession. The examination of Griffith ended here, for the near approach of the Ariel attracted the attention of all on the deck of the frigate, to the conversation that was about to pass betw'ien their respective commanders.

As the little schooner rolled along under *.heir storti, Captain Munson directed his subordinate to leave his vessel

THE PILGT. CT

Hid repau- ou board the ship. As sc^n as the order was received, t-he Ariei rounded-to, and drawing ahead into the smooth water oi^ca&ioned by the huge fabric that protected her from the gale, the whale-boat was again launched from her decks, aud maimed by the same crew that had landed on those shores which were now faintly discerned far to lee- ward, looking like Wue clouds on the skirts of the ocean.

'When Barnstable had entered his boat, a few strokes of the oars sent it, dar.crng over the waves, to the side of the ship. The little vessel was then veered oif to a distance, where it rode in safety under the care of a boat-keeper, and the officer and his «ien ascended the side of the lofty frigate.

The usual ceremonials of reception were rigidly observed by Griffith and his juniors, when Barnstable touched the deck ; and though every hand was ready to be extended towards the reckless seaman, none presumed to exceed the salutations of official decorum, until a short and private dia logue had taken place between him and their captain.

In the mean time, the crew of the whale-boat passed for- ward, and mingled with the seamen of the frigate, with the exception of the cockswain, who established himself in one of the gangways, where he stood in the utmost composure, fixing his eyes aloft, and shaking his head, in evident dis- satisfaction, as he studied the complicated mass of rigging above him. This spectacle soon attracted to his side some half-dozen youths, with Mr. Merry at their head, who endeavored to entertain their guest in a manner that should most conduce to the indulgence of their own waggish pro- pensities.

The conversation between Barnstable and his superior soon ended ; when the former, beckoning to Griffith, passed the wondering group who had collected around the capstan, awaiting his leisure to greet him more cordially, and led the way to the ward -roc m, with the freedom of one who telt himself no stranger. As this unsocial manner formed no part of the natural temper or ordinary deportment of the man. the remainder of the officers suffijred their first lieu- tenant to follow him alone, believing that duty required that

68 THE PILOT.

their interview should be private. Barnstable was deter« mined that it should be so, at all events ; for he seized the lamp from the mess-table, and entered the state-room of his friend, closing the door behind them, and turning the key. When they were both within its narrow limits — pointing to the only chair the little apartment contained, with a sort of instinctive deference to his companion's rank — the com- mander of the schooner threw himself carelessly on a sea chest ; and, placing the lamp on the table, he opened the discourse as follows : —

" What a night we had of it ! twenty times I thought 1 could see the sea breaking over you ; and I had given you over as drowned men, or, what is worse, as men driven ashore, to be led to the prison-ships of these islanders, when I saw your lights in answer to my gun. Had you hoisted the conscience of a murderer, you wouldn't have relieved him more than you did me, by showing that bit of tallow and cotton, tipped with flint and steel. But, Griffith, I have a tale to tell of a different kind " —

" Of how you slept when you found yourself in deep ■water, and how your crew strove to outdo their commander, and how all succeeded so well, that there was a gray head on board here, that began to shake with displeasure," inter- rupted Griffith ; " truly, Dick, you will get into lubberly habits on board that bubble in which you float about, where all hands go to sleep as regularly as the inhabitants of a poultry-yard go to roost."

" Not so bad, not half so bad, Ned," returned the other, laughing ; " I keep as sharp a discipline as if we wore a flag. To be sure, forty men can't make as much parade as three or four hundred ; but as for making or taking in sailj I am your better any day."

" Aye, because a pocket-handkerchief is sooner opened *nd shut than a table-cloth. But I hold it to be unseaman- like to leave any vessel without human eyes, and tho£* open, to watch whether she goes east or west, north o* iouth."

" And who is guilty of such a dead man's watch ? "

" Why, they say aboard here, that when it blows hard,

THE PILOT. 69

you seat the rr.in you call long Tom by the bide of the tiller, tell liira to keep her heml-to-sea, and then pipe all hands to their night-caps, where you all remain, comfortably stowed in your hammocks, until you are awakened by the snoring of your helmsman."

" 'Tis a damned scandalous insinuation," cried Barnstable, with an indignation that he in vain attempted to conceal * Who gives currency to such a libel, Mr. Griffith ? "

" I had it of the marine," said his friend, losing the arch- ness that had instigated him to worry his companion, in the vacant air of one who was careless of everything ; " but I don't believe half of it myself — I have no doubt you all had your eyes open last night, whatever you might have been about this morning."

" Ah ! this morning ! there was an oversight, indeed ! But I was studying a new signal-book, Griffith, that has a thousand times more interest for me than all the bunting you can show, from the head to the heel of your masts."

" What ! have you found out the Englishman's private talk ? "

" No, no," said the other, stretching forth his hand, and grasping the arm of his friend. " I met last night one on those cliffs, who has proved herself what I always believed her to be, and loved her for, a girl of quick thought and bold spirit."

" Of whom do you speak ? "

«0f Katherine" —

Griffith started from his chair involuntarily at the sound of tliis name, and the blood passed quickly through the shades of his countenance, leaving it now pale as death, and then burning as if oppressed by a torrent from the heart. Struggling to overcome an emotion which he appeared ashamed to betray even to the friend he most loved, tho young man soon recovered himself so far as to resume iifi Beat, when he asked, gloomily, —

« Was she alone ? "

" She wa-s ; but she left with me this paper, and this inval- Qable book which is wortl* a library of all other works,"

Tlie eye "if Griffith rested vacantly on the treasure thai

60 Tl'S HLOT.

the other vaiued so highly, but his haud seized eagerly tha open letter which was laid on the table for his perusal The reader will at once understand, that it was in the hand- writing of a female, and that it was the coma unication Barnstable had received from his betrothed on the clifl& Its contents were as follows : —

** Believing tl at Providence may conduct me where we »hiil meet, or whence I may be able to transmit to you this account, I have prepared a short statement of the situation of Cecilia Howard and myself; not, however, to urge you and Griffith to any rash or foolish hazards, but that you may both sit down, and, after due consultation, determine what ia proper for our relief.

" By this time, you must understand the character of Colonel Howard too well to expect he will ever consent to give his niece to a rebel. He has already sacrificed to his loyalty, as he calls it (but I whisper to Cecilia, 'tis his treason), not only his native country, but no small part of his fortune also. In the frankness of my disposition (you know my frankness, Barnstable, but too well !) I confesi^ed to him, after the defeat of the mad attempt Griffith made to carry off Cecilia, in Carolina, that I had been foolish enough to enter into some weak promise to the brother officer who had accompanied the young sailor in his traitorous visits to the plantation. Heigho ! I sometimes think it would have been better for us all, if your ship had never been chased into the river, or, after she was there, if Griffith had made ao attempt to renew his acquaintance with my cousin. The colonel received the intelligence as such a guardian would hear that his ward was about to throw away thirty thousand dollars and herself on a traitor to his king and country. I defended you stoutly : said that you hal no king, as the tie was dissolved ; that America was your country, and that your profession was honorable ; but it wojild not all do. He called you rebel ; that I was used to. He said you were a traitor ; that, in his vocabulary, amount! to the same thing. He even hinted that you were a coward •nJ that I knew to be false, and did not hesitate to tell hin

THE PILOT. 61

BO. He used fifty opprobrious terms that I ^anuot remem- ber ; but among others were the beautiful epithets of ' dis- organizer,' ' leveler,' ' democrat,' and ' jacobin.' (I hope he did not mean a monk !) In short, he acted Colonel Howard m a rage. But as his dominion does not, like that of his favorite kings, continue from generation to generation, and one short year will release me from his power, and leave me mistress of my own actions — that is, if your fine promises are to be believed — I bore it all very well, being resolved to suffer anything but martyrdom, rather than abandon Cecilia. She, dear girl, has much more to distress her than I can have ; she is not only the ward of Colonel Howard, but his niece, and his sole heir. I am persuaded this last circumstance makes no difference in either her conduct or her feelings ; but he appears to think it gives him a right to tyrannize over her on all occasions. After all. Colonel Howard is a gentleman when you do not put him in a pas- sion, and, I believe, a thoroughly honest man ; and CecUia even loves him. But a man who is driven from his country, in his sixtieth year, with the loss of near half his fortune, is not apt to canonize those who compel the change.

" It seems that when the Howards lived on this island, a hundred years ago, they dwelt in the county of Northum- berland. Hither, then, he brought us, when political events, and his dread of becoming the uncle to a rebel, induced him to abandon America, as he says, forever. We have been here now three months, and for two thirds of that time we lived in tolerable comfort ; but latterly, the papers have announced the arrival of the ship and your schooner in France ; and from that moment as strict a watch has becm kept over us, as if we had meditated a renewal of the Car- olina flight. The colonel, on his arrival here, hired an eld building, that is, part house, part abbey, part castle, and all orison ; because it is said to have once belonged to an an- cestor of his. In this delightful dwelling there are many fc&ges that wUl secure more uneasy birds than we are, A.bout a fortnight ago an alarm was given in a neighl)oriiig village, which is situated on the shore, that two American vessels, answering your description, had been seen hovering

b2 THE PILOT.

blong the coast ; and, as people in this quarter di-eam of iiothing but that terrible fellow Paul Jones, it was said that he was on board one of them. But I believe that Colonel lloward suspects who you really are. He was very minute in his inquiries, I hear ; and since then has established a Bort of garrison in the house, under the pretense of defend- ing it against marauders, like those who are said to hav« laid my Lady Selkirk under contribution.

" Now, understand me, Barnstable ; on no account wo'ild I have you risk yourself on shore ; neither must there l>e blood spilt, if you love me ; but that you may know what sort of a place we are confined in, and by whom surrounded, I will describe both our prison and the garrison. The whole building is of stone, and not to be attempted with slight means. It has windings and turnings, both internally and externally, that would require more skill than I posses* to make intelligible ; but the rooms we inhabit are in tlie upper or third floor of a wing, that you may call a tower, if you are in a romantic mood, but which, in truth, is noth- ing but a wing. Would to God I could fly with it ! If any accident should bring you in sight of the dwelling, you will know our rooms by the three smoky vanes that whiffle about its pointed roof, and also, by the windows in that story being occasionally open. Opposite to our windows, at the distance of half a mile, is a retired, unfrequented ruin, concealed, in a great measure, from observation by a wood, and affording none of the best accommodations, it is true, but shelter in some of its vaults or apartments. I have prepared, according to the explanations you once gave me on this subject, a set of small signals, of differently colored Bilks, and a little dictionary of all the phrases that I could imagine as useful to refer to, properly numbered to corre- spond with the key and the flags, all of which I shall send jrou with this letter. You must prepare your own flag?, and of course I retain mine, as well as a copy of the key and bock. If opportunity should ever offer, we can have, Rt least, a pleasant discourse together ; you from the top of the old tower in the ruins, and I from the east window oi my dressing-room ! But now for the garrison. In additioi

THE PILOT. 68

to the commandant, Colonel Howard, who retains all the fierceness of his former military profession, there is, as his Becond in authority, that bane of Cecilia's happiness, Ivit Dillon, with his long Savannah face, scornful eyes of black, and skin of the same color. This gentleman, you know, i8 a distant relative of the Howards, and wishes to be more nearly allied. He is poor, it is true, but Jien, as the colonel daily remarks, he is a good and loyal subject, and uo rebel. When I asked why he was not in arms in these stirring times, contending for the prince he loves so much, the colonel answered that it is not his profession, that he has been educated for the law, and was destined to fill one of the highest judicial stations in the colonies, and that he hoped he should yet live to see him sentence certain name- less gentlemen to condign punishment. This was consoling, to be sure ; but I bore it. However, he left Carolina with us, and here he is, and here he is likely to continue, unlesa you can catch him, and anticipate his judgment on himself. The colonel has long desired to see this gentleman the hus- band of Cecilia, and since the news of your being on the coast, the siege has nearly amounted to a storm. The con- sequences are, that my cousin a^ first kept her room, and then the colonel kept her there, and even now she is pre- cluded from leaving the wing we inhabit. In addition to these two principal jailers, we have four men-servants, two black and two white ; and an officer and twenty soldiers from the neighboring town are billeted on us, by particular desire, until the coast is declared free from pirates ! yes, that is the musical name they give you — and when their own people land, and plunder, and rob, and murder ;he men and insult the women, tliey are called heroes ! It's a (ine thing to be able to invent names and make dictionaries — and it must be your faiUt, if miue has been framed for ao purpose. I declare, when I recollect all the insulting tind cruel things I hear in this country of my own and her people, it makes me lose my temper, and forget my sex • but do not let my ill humor urge you to anything rash remember your life, remember their prisons, remember youl •eputation, but do not, d^ not foiget your

" lOxiWiRINE PlOWDEN

64 THE PILOT.

" P. S. — I had almost forgotten to tell you, that in the signal-book you will find a more particular description of our prison, where it stands, and a drawing of the grounds, etc."

When Griffith concluded this epistle, he returned it to the man to whom it was addressed, and fell back in his chair, in an attitude that denoted deep reflection.

" I knew she was here, or I should have accepted the command offered to me by our commissioners in Paris," he at length uttered ; " and I thought that some lucky chance might throw her in my way ; but this is bringing us close, indeed ! This intelligence must be acted on, and that promptly. Poor girl, what does she not suffer in such a situation ! "

" What a beautifixl hand she writes ! " exclaimed Barn- stable ; " 'tis as clear, and as pretty, and as small, as her own delicate fingers. Griff., what a log-book she would keep ! "

" Cecilia Howard touch the coarse leaves of a log-book ! " cried the other in amazement ; but perceiving Barnstable to be poring over the contents of his mistress's letter, he smiled at their mutual folly, and continued silent. After a short time spent in cool reflection, Griffith inquired of his friend the nature and circumstances of his interview with Katherine Plowden. Barnstable related it, briefly, as it occurred, in the manner already known to the reader.

" Then," said Griffith, " Merry is the only one, besides ourselves, who knows of this meeting, and he will be too chary of the reputation of his kinswoman to mention it."

" Her reputation needs no shield, Mr. Griffith," cried her lover ; " 'tis as spotless as the canvas above your head, Wd" —

" Peace, dear Richard ; I entreat your pardon ; my words may have conveyed more than I intended ; but it is impor- tant that our measures should be secret, as well as pru denily concerted."

'^ We must get them both off," returned Barnstable, for- f^ettmg his displeasure the moment it was exhibited, " anc

THE PILOT. bd

that, too, before the old man takes it into his wise head to leave the coast. Did you ever get a sight of his Instruc- tions, or does he keep silent ? "

" As the grave. This is the first time we have left port, that he has not conversed freely with me on the nature of the cruise ; but not a syllable has been exchanged between us on the subject, since we sailed from Brest."

" Ah ! that is your Jersey bashfulness," said Barnstable ; " wait till I come alongside him, with my Eastern curiosity, and I pledge myself to get it out of him in an hour."

" 'Twill be diamond cut diamond, I doubt," said Griffith, laughing ; " you will find him as acute at evasion, as you can possibly be at a cross-examination."

" At any rate, he gives me a chance to-day ; you know, I suppose, that he sent for me to attend a consultation of his officers on important matters."

" I did not," returned Grifiith, fixing his eyes intently on the speaker ; " what has he to offer."

" Nay, that you must ask your Pilot ; for while talking to me, the old man would turn and look at the stranger, every minute, as if watching for signals how to steer."

" There is a mystery about that man, and our connection with him, that I cannot fathom," said Griffith. " But I hear the voice of Manual calling for me ; we are wanted in the cabin. Remember, you do not leave the ship without seeing me again."

" No, no, my dear fellow ; from the public we must retire to another private consultation."

The young men arose, and Griffith, throwing off" the roundabout in which he had appeared on deck, drew on a coat of more formal appearance, and taking a sword care- lessly in his hand, they proceeded together along the pas- sage alreadj described, to the gun-deck, where they entered, with the proper caremonials, into the principal cabin of the Cigate.

i

66 THE VILOn.

CHAPTER Vn.

Sempronius, speak.

Cato.

Thb aiTangem(ints for the consultation were brief &&d Bimple. The veteran commander of the frigate received hia officers with punctilious respect ; and pointing to the chairs that were placed round the table, which was a fixture in the centre of his cabin, he silently seated himself, and his ex- ample was followed by all without further ceremony. In taking their stations, however, a quiet, but rigid observance was paid to the rights of seniority and rank. On the right of the captain was placed Griffith, as next in author- ity ; and opposite to him was seated the commander of the schooner. The officer of marines, who was included in the number, held the next situation in point of precedence, the same order being observed to the bottom of the table, which was occupied by a hard-featured, square-built, athletic man, who held the office of sailing-master. "When order was re- stored, after the shont interruption of taking their places, the officer who had required the advice of his inferiors, opened the business on which he demanded their opinions

" My instructions direct me, gentlemen," he said, " after making the coast of England, to run the land down " —

The hand of Griffith was elevated respectfully for silence, and the veteran paused, with a look that inquired the reasoa i}( hi« interruption.

" "We are not alone," said the lieutenant, glancing his eyo kwards the part of the cabin where the P'lot stood, leatiiig on on, (f the guns, in an attitude of easy indulgence.

The sti anger moved not at this direct hint; neither did Ms eye change fnm its close survey of a chart that lay lear him on the deck. The captain dropped his voice to ones of cautious respect, as he replied, —

THE PILOT, 67

** Tis oijy Mr. Gray. His services will be necessary on the occasion, and therefore nothing need be concealed from him."

Gliinces of surprise were exchanged among the young men ; but Griffith bowing his sUent acquiescence in fhe decision of his suj^erior, the latter proceeded : —

'•I was ordered to watch for certain signals from the headJands that we made, and was furnished with the best of charts, and such directions as enabled us to stand into the bay we entered last night. We have now obtained a pilot, and one who has proved himself a skillful man ; such a one, gentlemen, as no officer need hesitate to rely on, in any emergency, either on account of his integrity or his knowledge."

The veteran paused, and turned his looks on the counte nances o^ the listeners, as if to collect their sentiments on this important point. Receiving no other reply than the one conveyed by the silent inclinations of the heads of his hearers, the commander resumed his explanations, referring to an open paper in his hand : —

" It is known to you all, gentlemen, that the unfortunate question of retaliation has been much agitated between the two governments, our own and that of the enemy. For this reason, and for certain political purposes, it has become an object of solicitude with om* commissioners in Paris to obtain a few individuals of chai'acter from the enemy, who may be held as a check on their proceedings, while at the same time it brings the evils of war, from our own shores, home to those who have caused it. An opportunity now offers to put this plan in execution, and I have collected you, in order to consult on the means."

A profound silence succeeded this unexpected communi- cation of the object of their cruise. After a short pause, their captain added, addressing himself to the sailing mas- ter,—

" "WTiat course would you advise me to pursue, I^Ir. Bolt- rope ? "

The weather-beaten seaman who was thus called on to break through the difficulties of a knotty point with hi«

68 THE PILOT.

opinion, laid one of his short, bony hands ou the table, and began to twirl an inkstand with great industry, while with the other he conv^eyed a pen to his mouth, which was appar- ently masticated with aU tlie relish that he could possibly have felt had it been a leaf from the famous Virginian, weed. But perceiving that he was expected to answer, after looking first to his right hand, and then to his left, he epoke as follows, in a hoarse, thick voice, in which the fogi of the ocean seemed to have united with sea-damps and colds to destroy everything like melody : —

" If this matter is ordered, it is to be done, I suppose," he said ; " for the old rule runs, ' Obey orders, if you break owners ; ' though the maxim which says, ' One hand for the owner, and t'other for yourseli",' is quite as good, and has saved many a hearty fellow from a fall that would have balanced the purser's books. Not that I mean a purser's books are not as good as any other man's ; but that when a man is dead, his account must be closed, or there wiU be a false muster. Well, if the thing is to be done, the next question is, how is it to be done? There is many a man that knows there is toa much canvas on a ship, who can't teU how to shorten sail. Well, then, if the thing is really to be done, we must either land a gang to seize them, or we must show false lights and sham colors, to lead them off to the ship. As for landing. Captain Mimson, I can only speak for one man, and that is myself, which is to say, that if you run the ship with her jib-boom into the king of Eng- land's parlor-windows, why, I'm consenting, nor do 1 care how much of his crockery is cracked in so doing ; but as to putting the print of my foot on one of his sandy beaches, if I do, that is always speaking for only one man, and saving your presence, may 1 hope to be d d."

The yo'ing men smiled as the tough old seaman uttered his sentiments so f-tikly, rising with his subject, to tJiat which with him was the climax of all discussion ; but hia commander, who was but a more improved scholar from the same rough school, appeared to understand his argument* entirely, and without altering a muscle of his rigid counte- nance, he required the opinion of the junior lieutenant.

THE PILOT. 69

The young man spoke firmly, but modestly, though the amount of what he said was not much more distinct than that uttered by the master, and was very much to the same purpose, with the exception, that he appeared to entertain no personal reluctance to trusting himself on dry ground.

The opinions of the others grew gradually more explicit and clear, as they ascended in the scale of rank, until it came to the turn of the captain of marines to speak. Thero was a trifling exhibition of professional pride about the sol- dier, in delivering his sentiments on a subject that embraced a good deal more of his peculiar sort of duty than ordinarily occurred in the usual operations of the frigate.

" It appears to me, sir, that the success of this expedition depends altogether upon the manner in which it is con- ducted." After this lucid opening, the soldier hesitated a moment, as if to collect his ideas for a charge that should look down all opposition, and proceeded. " The landing, of course, will be effected on a fair beach, mider cover of the frigate's guns, and could it be possibly done, the schooner should be anchored in such a manner as to throw in a flanking fire on the point of debarkation. The arrange- ments for the order of march must a good deal depend on the distance to go over ; though I should think, sir, an ad- vanced party of seamen, to act as pioneers for the column of marines, should be pushed a short distance in front, whUe the baggage and baggage-guard might rest upon the frigate antU the enemy was driven into the interior, when it coidd advance without danger. There should be flank-guards, under the orders of two of the oldest midshipmen ; and a light corps might be formed of the top-men to cooperate with the marines. Of course, sir, Mr. Griffith will lead, in person, the musket-men and boarders, armed with their long pikes, whom I presume he will hold in reserve, as I trust my inib"':ary claims and experience entitle me to the command of the m liu body "

" Well done, field-marshal ! " cried Barnstable, with a glee that seldom regarded time or place ; '' you should never let salt-water mould your buttons ; but in Washiug- tou's camp, aye ! and in Washington's tent, you should

70 THE PILOT.

«wmg your hammock in future. Why, sir, do you think T»a

are about to invade Eugland ? "

" I know that every military movemeni should be execated with precision, Captain Barnstable," returned the marine. " I am too much accustomed to hear the sneers of the sea* officers, to regai'd what I know proceeds from ignorance. If Captain Muuson is disposed to employ me and my com- mand in this expedition, I trust he wUl discover that marines arc good for something more than to mount guard and pay salutes." Then, turning haughtily from his antagonist, he continued to address himself to their common superior, as if disdaining further intercourse with one who, from the nature of the case, must be unable to comprehend the force of what he said. " It will be prudent. Captain Munson, to send out a party to reconnoitre, before we march ; and as it may be necessary to defend ourselves in case of a repulse, I would beg leave to recommend that a corps be provided with intrenching tools, to accompany the expedition. They would be extremely usefiol, sir, in assisting to throw up field-works ; though, I doubt not, tools might be found in abundance in this country, and laborers impressed for the service, on an emergency."

This was too much for the risibility of Barnstable, who broke forth in a fit of scornful laughter, which no one saw proper to interrupt ; though Griffith, on turning his head, to conceal the smile that was gathering on his own face, perceived the fierce glance which the Pilot threw at the merry seaman, and wondered at its significance and impa- tience. When Captain Munson thought that the mirth of the lieutenant was concluded, he rmldly desired his reasons foi amusing himself so exceedingly with the plans of the marme.

" 'Tis a chart for a campaign ! " cried Barnstable, " and should be sent off express to Congress, before the French men are brought into the field ! "

" Have you any better plan to propose, Mr. Barnstable r * inquired the patient commander.

" Better ! aye, one that wiU take no time, and cause no trouble, to execute it," cried the other ; " 'tis a seaman's job, lir, and must be done with a seaman's means."

THE PILOT. 71

** Pardon me, Captain Barnstable," intennpteJ the marine, whose jocular vein was entirely absorbed in his military pride ; *' if there be service to be done on shore, I claim it as my right to be employed."

" Claim what yo i will, soldier ; but how will you carry on the tvar with a parcel of fellows who don't know one end of a boat from the other ? " returned the reckless sailor, " Do you think that a barge or a cutter is to be beached in tlie same manner you ground firelock, by word of command ? No, no, Captain Manual — I honor your courage, for I hava seen it tried, but d e if " —

" You forget, we wait for your project, Mr. Barnstable/ said the veteran.

"I crave your patience, sir; but no project is necessary. Point out the bearings and distance of the place where the men you want are to be found, and I will take the heel of the gale, and rrni in to the land, always speaking for good water and no rocks. Mr. Pilot, you will accompany me, for you carry as true a map of the bottom of these seas in your head as ever was made of dry ground. I will look out for good anchorage ; or if the wind should blow off shore, let the schooner stand off and on, till we should be ready to take the broad sea again. I would land, out of my whale-boat, with long Tom and a boat's crew, and find- ing out the place you will describe, we shall go up, and take the men you want, and bring them aboard. It's all plain- sailing ; though as it is a well-peopled countiy, it may be necessary to do our shore work in the dark."

" Mr. Griffith, we only wait for your sentiments," pro- ceeded the ca^jtain, " when, by comparmg opinions, we may decide on the most prudent course."

The first lieutenant had been much absorbed in thought during the discussion of the subject, and might have been on that account, better prepared to give his opinion with effect. Pointing to the man who yet stood behind him. leaning on a gun, he commenced by asking, —

•' Is it your intention that man shall accompany IIh party ? "

- It «»."

72 THE PILOl.

" And from Lim you expect the necessary information, ux to guide our movements ? "

" You are altogether right."

" K, sir, he has but a moiety of the skill on the land that he possesses on the water, I will answer for his success." returned the lieutenant, bowing slightly to the stranger, who received the compliment by a cold inclination of his head. " I must desire the indulgence of both Mr. Barnsta- ble and Captain Manual," he continued, "and claim the command as of right belonging to my rank."

" It belongs naturally to the schooner," exclaimed the impatient Barnstable.

" There may be enough for us all to do," said Griffith, elevating a finger to the other, in a manner, and with an im- pressive look, that was instantly comprehended. " I neither agree wholly with the one nor the other of these gentlemen, *Tis said, that since our appearance on the coast, the dwell- ings of many of the gentry are guarded by small detach- ments of soldiers from the neighboring towns."

" Who says it ? " asked the Pilot, advancing among them with a suddeunecis that caused a general silence.

" I say it, sir," returned the lieutenant, when the moment- ary surprise had passed away.

" Can you vouch for it ? "

« I can."

" Name a house, or an individual, that is thus pro- tected ? "

Griffith gazed at the man who thus forgot himself in the midst of a consultation like the present, and yielding to his Dative pride, hesitated to reply. But mindful of the deo- tarations of his captain, and the recent services of the Pilot, he at length said, with a little embarrassment of manner, —

*' I know It to be the fact, in the dwelling of a Colonel Howard, who resides but a few leagues to the north of us "

The stranger started at the name, and then raising his eye keenly to the face of the young man, appeared to study his thoughts in his varying countenance. But the action and the pause that followed, were of short continuance. His lip slightly curled, whether in scorn or with a concealed

1HE PILOT. 78

smile, would have been difficult to say, so closely did it resemble both, and as he dropped quietly back to his place at the gun, he said, —

" 'Tis more than probable you are right, sir ; and if 1 might presume to advise Captain Munson, it would be to lay great weight on your opinion."

Griffith turned, to see if he could comprehend more meaning in the manner of the stranger than his words ex- pressed, but his face was again shaded by his hand, and his eyes were once more fixed on the chart with the same vacant abstraction as before.

'• I have said, sir, that I agree wholly neither with Mr. Barnstable nor Captain Manual," continued the lieutenant, after a short pause. " The command of this party is mine, as the senior officer, and I must beg leave to claim it. I certainly do not think the preparation that Captain Manual advises necessary ; neither would I imdertake the duty with as little caution as Mr. Barnstable proposes. K there are soldiers to be encountered, we should have soldiers to oppose them ; but as it must be sudden boat work, and regular evolutions must give place to a seaman's bustle, a Bea-officer should command. Is my request granted, Captain Munson ? " . The veteran replied, without hesitation, —

" It is, sir ; it was my intention to offer you the service, snj I rejoice to see you accept it so cheerfully."

Griffith with difficulty concealed the satisfaction with which he listened to his commander, and a radiant smilo Ulumined his pale features, when he observed, —

" With me then, sir, let the responsibility rest. I request that Captain Manual, with twenty men, may be put under my orders, if that gentleman does not dislike the duty." TL'> marine bowed, and cast a glance of triumph at Barn- stable. " I will take my own cutter, with her tried crew, go on board the schooner, and when the wind lulls, we will run in to the land, and then be governed by circumstances.

The commander of the schooner threw back the tri umphant look o^ the marine, and exclaimed, in his joyoui manner, —

74 TKS PILOT.

"'Tis a good p.an, and done like a seaman, Mr. Griffith A.ye, aye, let the schooner be employed ; and il it be necea- Bary, you shall see her anchored in one of their duck-ponds, with her broadside to bear on the parlor-windows of the best house in the island ! But twenty marines ! they wilt cause a jam in my little craft."

" Not a man less than twenty would be prudent," returned Griffith. " More service may offer than that lee seek."

Barnstable well understood his allusion, but still Qe replied, —

" Make it all seamen, and I will give you room for thirty. But these soldiers never know how to stow away their arms and legs, vmless at a drill. One will take the room of two sailors ; they swing their hammocks athwari- ships, heads to leeward, and then turn out wrong end upper- most at the call. Why, damn it, sir, the chalk and rotten- stone of twenty soldiers will choke my hatches ! "

" Give me the launch, Captain Munsdn ! " exclaimed the indignant marine, " and we will follow Mr. Griffith in an open boat, rather than put Captain Barnstable to so much inconvenience."

" No, no, Manual," cried the other, extending his muscular arm across the table, with an open palm, to the soldier ; " you would all become so many Jonahs in uniform, and I doi'bt whether the fish could digest your cartridge-boxes and bayonet-belts. You shall go with me, and learn, with your own eyes, whether we keep the cat's watch aboard the Ariel that you joke about."

The laugh was general, at the expense of the soldier, if we except the Pilot and the commander of the frigate. The former was a silent, and apparently an abstracted, but in reality a deeply interested listener to the discourse ; and liere were moments when he bent his looks on the speakers, tie if he sought more in their characters than was exhibited oy the gay trifling of the moment. Captain Munson seldom allowed a muscle of his wrinkled features to disturb then repose ; and if he had not the real dignity to repress the antimely mirth of his officers, he had too much good naturt;

THE PILOT. 76

to wish to disturb their harmless enjoyments. He expressecl himself satisfied with the proposed arrangements, and beckoned to his steward to place before them the usual beverage, with which all their coii.sidtations concluded.

The sailing-master appeared to think that the same order was to be observed in their potations as in councli, and helping himself to an allowance which retained its hue even in its diluted state, he first raised it to the light, and then observed, —

" This ship's water is nearly the color of rum itself ; if it only had its flavor, what a set of hearty dogs we should be ! ]Mr. Griffith, I find you are willing tu haul your land-tacka aboard. Well, it's natural for youth to love the earth ; but there is one man, and he is sailing-master of this ship, who saw land enough, last night, to last him a twelvemonths But if you will go, here's a good land-fiiU, and a better offing to you. Captain Munson, my respects to you. I Bay, sir, if we should keep the ship more to the south'ard, it's my opinion, and that's but one man's, we should fall in with some of the enemy's homeward-bound West-Indiamen, and find wherewithal to keep the life in us when we see fit to go ashore ourselves."

As the tough old sailor made frequent application of the glass to his mouth with one hand, and kept a firm hold of the decanter with the other, during this speech, his com- panions were compelled to listen to his eloquence, or depart with their thirst unassuaged. Barnstable, however, quite coolly dispossessed the tar of the bottle, and mixing for himself a more equal potation, observed, in the act, —

" That is the most remarkable glass of grog you have, Boltrope, that I ever saOed with ; it draws as little water as the Ariel, and is as hard to find the bottom. If your «pirit-room enjoys the same sort of engine to replenish it, as you pump out your rum, Congress will sail this frigate cheaply."

TLe other officers helped themselves with still greater moderation, Griffith barely moistening his lips, and the Pilot rejecting the offered glass altogether. Captain Mun- K)n ooutir Aed standing, and his officers, perceiving that

76 THE PILOT.

their presence was uo longer necessary, bowed, and took their leave. As Griffith was retiring last, he felt a hand •aid lightly on his shoulder, and turning, percei\ jd that he was detanied by the Pilot.

" Mr. Griffith," he said, when they were quite alone with the commander of the frigate, " the occurrences of the last night should teach us conlidence in each other ; without it, we go on a dangerous and fruitless errand."

"Is the hazard equal ? " returned the youth. " I am known to all to be the man I seem — am in the service of my country — belong to a family, and enjoy a name, that is a pledge for my loyalty to the cause of America ; and yet I trust myself on hostile ground, in the midst of enemies, with a weak arm, and under circumstances where treachery would prove my ruin. Who and what is the man who thus enjoys your confidence, Captain Munson ? I ask the ques- tion less for myself than for the gallant men who wdl fear- lessly follow wherever I lead."

A shade of dark displeasure crossed the features of the stranger, at one part of this speech, and at its close he sank into deep thought. The commander, however, replied, —

" There is a show of reason in your question, Mr. Griffith, and yet you are not the man to be told that implicit obedience is what I have a right to expect. I have not your pretensions, sir, by birth or education, and yet Con- gress have not seen proper to overlook my years and services. I command this frigate " —

" Say no more," interrupted the Pilot. " There is reason iji his doubts, and they shalj be appeased. I like the proud and fearless eye of the young man, and while he dreads a gibbet from my hands, I will show him how to repose a noble coafiience. Read this, sir, and tell me if you dis- trust me now ? "

While the stranger spoke, he thrust his hand into the bosom of his dress, and drew forth a parchment, decorated with rilibons, and bearing a massive seal, which he opened, i»nd laid on the table before the youth. As he pointed with his finger impressively, to difi'erent parts of the witing, hi» i^ye kindled with a 'look of unusual fire, and there was « (kiut tinge discernible ou his pallid features when he spoke.

THE PILOT. 77

" See ! " he said, " royalty itself does not hesitate to bear w^itiiess in my fiivor, and that is not a name to occasion dread to an American."

Griifith gazed with wonder at the fair signature of the Qnfortunate Louis, which graced the bottom of the parch- ment ; but when his eye obeyed the signal of the stranger, and rested on the body of the instrument, he started back from the table, and fixing his animated eyes on the Pilot, he cried, while a glow of tiery courage flitted across his coun- tenance, —

" Lead on ! I'll follow you to death ! "

A smile of gratified exultation struggled aiound the lips of the stranger, who took the arm of the young man, and led him into a state-room, leaving the commander of the frigate, standing in his unmoved and quiet mauaer, a ipeo.'Htor of, but hardly an acto** in, the scene.

78 THE PILOT

CHAPTER Vin.

Fierce bounding, forward sprang the ship. Like greyhound starting from the slip To seize his flying prey.

Lord of the Isles.

Although the subject of the consultation remained a secret with those whose opinions were required, yet enough of the result leaked out among the subordinate officers, to throw the whole crew into a state of eager excitement. The rumor spread itself along the decks of the frigate, with the rapidity of an alarm, that an expedition was to attempt the shore on some hidden service, dictated by the Congress itself; and conjectures were made respecting its force and destination, with all that interest which might be imagined A^ould exist among the men whose lives or liberties were to abide the issue. A gallant and reckless daring, mingled with the desire of novelty, however, was the prevailing sentiment among the crew, who would have received with cheers the intelligence that their vessel was commanded to force the passage of the united British fleet. A few of the older and more prudent of the sailors were exceptions to this thoughtless hardihood, and one or two, among whom the cockswain of the whale-boat was the most cons^jicuous, ventured to speak doubtingly of all sorts of land service, as being of a nature never to be attempted by seamen.

Captain Manual had his men paraded in the weather- gangway ; and after a short address, calculated to infame their military ardor and patriotism, acquainted ihcva that ae required twenty volunteers, which was in truth half their aumber, for a dangerous service. After a short pause, the isompany stepped forward, like one man, and announced themselves as ready to follow him to the end of the world. The maj ine cast a look over his shoulder, at this gratifying

THE PILOT. 79

^tvlaration, in quest of Barnstable ; but observing that the Bailor was occupied with some papers on a distant part of the quarter-deck, he proceeded to make a most impartial division among the candidates for glory ; taking care at the same time, to cull his company in such a manner as to give himself the flower of his men, and, consequently, to leave the ship the refuse.

While this arrangement was taking place, and the crew of the frigate was in this state of excitement, Griffith as- cended to the deck, his countenance flushed witl unusual enthusiasm, and his eyes beaming with a look of ai mation and gayety, that had long been strangers to the face of the young man. He was giving forth the few necessary orders to the seamen he was to take with him from the ship, wheu Barnstable again motioned him to follow, and led the way once more to the state-room.

" Let the wind blow its pipe out," said the commander of the Ariel, when they were seated ; " there will be no landing on the eastern coast of England till the sea goea down. But this Kate was made for a sailor's wife ! See, Griffith, what a set of signals she has formed, out of her own cunning head."

" I hope your opinion may prove true, and that you may be the happy sailor who is to wed her," returned the other. " The girl has indeed discovered surprising art in this busi- ness ! where could she have learnt the method and system «o well?"

" Where ! why, where she learnt better things ; how to prize a whole-hearted seaman, for instance. Do you think that my tongue was jammed in my mouth, all the time we used to sit by the side of the river in Carolina, and thit we found nothing to talk about ! "

" Did you amuse your mistress with treatises on the art cf navigation, and the science of signals ? " said Griffith, Bmiling.

'' I answered her questions, Mr. Griffith, as any civil man «»^Guld to a woman he loved. The girl has as much curios- ily as one of my own townswomen who has weathered cap« fcjty without a husband and her tongue goes like a dog*

80 THE PILOT.

vane in a calm, first one way and then another. Bat here is her dictionary. Now own, GrifF., in spite of your col- lege learning and sentimentals, that a woman of ingenuity and cleverness is a very good sort of a help-mate."

" I never doubted the merits of Miss Plowden," said the other, with a droll gravity that often mingled with his deeper feelings, the result of a sailor's habits, blended with native character. " But this indeed surpasses all my expeo tations ! Why, she has, in truth, made a most judicious selection of phrases. 'No. 168. **** indelible;' '169, **** end only with life ; ' '170. **** I fear yot-s misleads me;' '171.'" —

" Pshaw ! " exclaimed Barnstable, snatching the book from before the laughing eyes of Griffith ; " what folly, to throw away our time now on such nonsense ! What thmk you of this expedition to the land ? "

" That it may be the means of rescuing the ladies, though it fail in making the prisoners we anticipate."

" But this Pilot ! you remember that he holds us by our necks, and can run us all up to the yard-arm of some Eng- lish ship, whenever he chooses to open his throat at their threats or bribes."

" It would have been better that he should have cast the ship ashore, when he had her entangled in the shoals ; it would have been our last thought to suspect him of treach- ery then," returned Griffith. " I follow him with confi- dence, and must believe that we are safer with him than we should be without him."

" Let him lead to the dwelling of his fox-hunting minis- ters of state," cried Barnstable, thrusting his book of sig- nals into his bosom : " but here is a chart that will show ua the way to the port we wish to find. Let my foot once more touch terra firma, and you may write craven against my name, if that laughing vixen slips her cable before my eyes, and shoots into the wind's eye again like a flying-fish chased by a dolphin. Mi-. Griffith, we must have the chap- lam with us to the shore."

" The madness of love is driving you into the errors of the soldier. Would you 'ie-by to hear sermons, with a fljr wifi party like ours ? "

THE PaOT. 51

** Nay, nay, we must lay-to for nothing that is not un avoidable ; but there are so many tacks in such a chase, when one has time to breathe, that we might as well spend our leisure in getting that fellow to splice us together. He has a handy way with a praj'er book, and could do the jo a as well as a bishop ; and I should like to be able to say, that this is the last time these two saucy names, which are written at the bottom of this letter, should ever be seen sailing in the company of each other."

" It will not do," said his friend, shaking his head, and endeavoring to force a smile which his feelings suppressed ; " it will not do, Richard ; we must yield our own inclinai- tions to the service of our country ; nor is this Pilot a man who wUl consent to be led from his purpose."

" Then let him follow his purpose alone," cried Barnsta- ble. " There is no human power, always saving my supe- rior officer, that shall keep me from throwing abroad these tiny signals, and having a private talk with my dark-eyed Kate. But for a paltry pilot ! he may luff and bear away as he pleases, while I shall steer as true as a magnet for that old ruin, where I can bring my eyes to bear on that romantic wing and three smoky vanes. Not that I'll forget my duty ; no, I'll help you catch the Englishmen ; but when that is done, hey ! for Katherine Plowden and my true love 1 "

" Hush, madcap ! the ward-room holds long ears, and our bulk-heads grow thin by wear. I must keep you and myself to our duty. This is no children's game that we play ; it seems the commissioners at Paris have thoughl proj)er to employ a frigate in the sport."

Barnstable's gayety was a little repressed by the grave luanner of his companion ; but after reflecting a moment, he started on his feet, and made the usual movements for departure.

" Whither ? " asked Griffith, gently detaining his impa tient friend.

" To old Moderate ; I have a proposal to make that may remove every difficulty ''

6

82 THE PILOT.

" Name it to me, then ; I am in his council, aud may Kive you the trouble and mortification of a refusal."

" How many of those gentry does he wish to line his cabin with ? "

" The Pilot has named no less than six, all men of rant and consideration with the enemy. Two of them are peers, two more belong to the Commons House of Parliament, cue is a general, and the sixth, like ourselves, is a sailor, and holds the rank of captain. They muster at a hunning-seat near the coast, and believe me, the scheme is not without its plausibility."

" Well, then, there are two apiece for us. You follow the Pilot, if you will ; but let me sheer off for this dwelling of Colonel Howard, with my cockswain and boat's crew. I will surprise his house, release the ladies, and on my way back, lay my hands on two of the first lords I fall in with I suppose, for our business, one is as good as another."

Griflith could not repress a faint laugh, whde he re- plied, —

" Though they are said to be each other's peers, there is, I believe, some difference even in the quality of lords. Eng- land might thank us for ridding her of some among them- Neither are they to be found, like beggars, under every hedge. No, no, the men we seek must have something better than their nobility to recommend them to our favor. But let us examine more closely into this plan and map of IVIiss Plow- den ; something may occur that shall yet bring the place within our circuit, like a contingent duty of the cruise."

Barnstable reluctantly relinquished his own wild plan to the more sober judgment of his friend, and they passed an hour together, inquiring into the practicability, and consult- ing on the means, of making their public duty subserve the piirposes of their private feelings.

The gale continued to blow heavily during the whr e c i that morning ; but towards noon the usual indications of better weather became apparent. During these few hours jf inaction in the frigate, the marines, who were draftea for service on the land, moved through the vessel with a busy ind stirring air, as if they were about to participate ia

THE PILOT. 83

the glory anJ danger of the campaign their officer had planned, while the few seamen who were to accompany the expedition steadily paced the deck, with their hands thrust into the bosoms of their neat blue jackets, or cccasioually stretched towards the horizon, as their fingers traced, for their less experienced shiijmates, the signs of an abatement in the gale among the driving clouds. The last lagger among the soldiers had appeared, with his knapsack on his back^ in the lee-gangway, where his comrades were collected, armed and accoutered for the strife, when Captain Munsou ascended to the quarter-deck, accompanied by the straugei and his first lieutenant. A word was spoken by the latter in a low voice to a midshipman, who skipped gayly along the deck, and presently the shrill call of the boatswain was heard, preceding the hoarse cry of —

" Away there, you Tigers, away ! "

A smart roll of the drum followed, and the marines pa- raded, while the six seamen who belonged to the cutter that owned so fierce a name, made their preparations for lower- mg their little bark from the quarter of the frigate into the troubled sea. Everything was conducted in the most exact order, and with a coolness and skill that bade defiance to the turbulence of the angry elements. The marines were safely transported fi'om the ship to the schooner, under the favoring shelter of the former, though the boat ap- peared, at times, to be seeking the cavities of the ocean, and again to be riding in the clouds, as she passed from one vessel to the other.

At length it was announced that the cutter was ready to receive the officers of the party. The Pilot walked asVla, and held private discourse, for a few moments, with the commander, who listened to his sentences with marked and singular attention. When their confidence was ended, the veteran bared his gray head to the blasts, and offered his hand to the other, with a seaman's frankness, mingled with ihe deference of an inferior. The compliment was cour- teously returned by the stranger, who turned quickly on hia heel, and directed the attention of those wlio awaited hi* movements, by a significant gesture, to the gangway.

84 THE PILOT.

** Come, gentlemen, let us go," said Griffith, start, ug fronj A reverie, and bowing his hasty compliments to his brethroD in arms.

When it appeared that his superiors were ready to entei the boat, the boy, who, by nautical courtesy, was styled IMr Merry, and who had been ordered to be in readiness, sprang over the side of the frigate, and glided into the cutter, with fhe activity of a squirrel. But the captain of mai'inea j.aused, and cast a meaning glance at the Pilot, whose place It was to precede him. The stranger, as he lingered on the deck, was examining the aspect of the heavens, and seemed unconscious of the expectations of the soldier, who gave vent to his impatience, after a moment's detention, by say-

'«& —

" "We wait for you, INIr. Gray."

Aroused by the sound of his name, the Pilot glanced hin quick eye on the speaker, but instead of advancing, he gen- tly bent his body, as he again signed towards the gangway with his hand. To the astonishment not only of the sob dier, but of all who witnessed this breach of naval etiquette, Griffith bowed low, and entered the boat with the same promptitude as if he were preceding an admiral. Whether the stranger became conscious of his want of courtesy, or was too indifferent to surrounding objects to note occur- rences, he immediately followed himself, leaving to the u a- rine the post of honor. The latter, who was distinguished for his skill in all matters of naval or military etiquette, thought proper to apologize, at a fitting time, to the first lieutenant, for suffering his senior officer to precede him into a boat, but never failed to show a becoming exultation, when he recounted the circumstance, by dwelling on the wanner in which he had brought down the pride of th* haughty Pilot.

Barnstable had been several hours on board his littl* vessel, which was every way prepared for their reception ; and as soon as the heavy cutter of the frigaie was hoisted on her deck, he announced that the schooner was ready ta «ul It has been already intimated, that the Ai-iel ijc- longed to the smallest class of sea- vessels ; and as the

THE PILOT. 8i>

•ymmetry of Iier construction reduced e\en that size m appearance, she was peculiarly well adapted to the sort of service in which she was about to be employed. Notwith 8tan(lin<r her lightness rendered her nearly as buoyant as a ."jork, iad at times she actually seemed to ride on the foam, her low decks were perpetually washed by the heavy seaa that dashed against her frail sides, and she tossed and rolled in the hollows of the waves, in a manner that compelled even the practiced seamen v/ho trod her decks to move with guarded steps. Still she was trimmed and cleared with aa air of nautical neatness and attention that aiforded the utmost possible room for her dimensions ; and though in miniature, she wore the trappings of war as proudly as if the metal she bore was of a more fatal and dangerous character. The murderous gim, which, since the period of which we are writing, has been universally adopted in all vessels of inferior size, was then in the infancy of its inven- tion, and was known to the American mariner only by reputation, under the appalling name of a " smasher." Of a vast calibre, though short and easily managed, its ad- vantages were even in that early day beginning to be appreciated, and the largest ships were thought to be un- usually well provided with the means of offense, when they carried two or three cannon of this formidable invention among their ai'mament. At a later day, this weapon ha? been improved and altered, until its use has become general in vessels of a certain size, taking its appellation from the Carron, on the banks of w^hich river it was first moulded. In place of these carronades, six light brass cannon were tirmly lashed to the bulwarks of the Ariel, their brazen throats blackened by the sea-water, which so often broke harmlessly over these engines of destruction. In the centre of the vessel, between her two masts, a gun of the name iuetal, but of nearly twice the length of the other, was mounted on a carriage of a new and singular construction, which admitted of its being turned in any direction, so Jia to be of service in most of the Emergencies that o<*cur in wval warfare.

The eye of the Pilot examined this armament closolj,

86 THE PILOT.

and then turned to the well-ordered decks, the neat and compact rigging, and the hardy faces of the tine young crew, with manifest satisfaction. Contrary to what had beet his practice during the short time he had been vith them, he uttered his gratification freely and aloud.

" You have a tight boat, Mr. Barnstable," he said, " and a gallant-looking crew. You promise good service, sira in time of need, and that hour may not be far distant."

" The sooner the better," returned the reckless sailor ; " I have not had an opportunity of scaling my guns since we quitted Brest, though we passed several of the enemy's cutters coming up channel, with whom our bull-dogs longed for a conversation. Mr. Griffith will tell you, Pilot, that my little sixes can speak, on occasion, with a voice nearly as loud as the fi-igate's eighteens."

" But not to as much purpose," observed Griffith ; " ' Vox et prasterea nihil,' as we said at the school."

" I know nothing of your Greek and Latin, Mr. Griffith," retorted the commander of the Ariel ; " but if you mean that those seven brass playthings won't throw a round-shot as far as any gun of their size and height above the water or won't scatter grape and canister with any blunderbuss in your ship, you may possibly find an opportunity that will convince you to the contrary, before we part company."

" They promise well," said the Pilot, who was evidently Ignorant of the good understanding that existed between the two officers, and wished to conciliate all under his directions ; " and I doubt not they will argue the leading points of a combat with good discretion. I see that you have christened them — I suppose for their respective merits. They are indeed expressive names ! "

" 'Tis the freak of an idle moment," said Barnstable, laughmg, as he glanced his eyes to the caimon, above Ivhi^h were painted the several quaint names of "Boxer," " Plumper," " Grinder," " Scatterer," " Exterminator," and • NaLl-Driver."

'' Why have you thrown the mid-ship gun without th« pale of y )ur baptism ? " asked the Pilot ; " or do you koow •t lij the usual title of the ' Old Woman ' ? "

THE PILOT. 87

" No, no ; I have no such petticoat terras on joanl me," cried the other ; " but move more to starboard, and yon will see its style painted on the cheeks of the carriage ; it's a name that need not cause them to blush either."

" 'Tis a singular epithet, though not without some Tiean- ing!"

" It lias more than you, perhaps, di'eam of, sir. That •worthy seaman whom you see leaning against the foremast, »nd who would serve, on occasion, for a spare spar himself, is the captain of that gun, and more than once has decided some warm disputes with John Bull, by the manner in which he has wielded it. No marine can trail his musket more easily than my cockswain can train his nine-pounder on an object ; and thus from their connection, and some resemblance there is between them in length, it has got the name which you perceive it carries — that of ' Long Tom.' "

The Pilot smiled as he listened, but turning away from the speaker, the deep reflection that crossed his brow but too plainly showed that he trifled only from momentary indulgence ; and Griffith mtimated to Barnstable, that as the gale was sensibly abating, they would pursue the object of their destination.

Thus recalled to his duty, the commander of the schooner forgot the delightful theme of expatiating on the merits of his vessel, and issued the necessary orders to direct their movements. The little schooner slowly obeyed the impulse of her helm, and fell off before the wind, when the folds of her square sail, though limited by a prudent reef, were opened to the blasts, and she shot away from her consort, like a meteor dancing across the waves. The black mass of the frigate's hull soon sunk in distance ; and long before the bun had fallen below the hills of England, her tall masts were barely distinguishable by the small cloud of sail that held the vessel to her station. As the ship disappeared, the land seemed to issue out of the bosom of the deep ; and m rapid was their progress, that the dwellings of the gentry, the humbler cottages, and even the dim lines of the bedges, became gradually more distinct to the eyes of the Aold mariners, until they were beset with the gloom of

88 THE PILOT.

evening, whe'i the whole scene faded from their view in the darkness of the hour, loaving only the fiint outline of the land visible in the tract before them, and the sullen bUlowa of the ocean raging with appalling violence in the rear.

Still the little Ariel held on her way, skimming the ocean like a water-fowl seeking its place of nightly rest, and shooting in towards the land as fearlessly as if the dangers of the preceding night were already forgotten. No ekoals or rocks appeared to arrest her course, and we must leave her gliding into the dark streak that was thrown froin the high and rocky cliffs, that lined a basin of bold entrance, whore the mariners often sought and found a refuge froiB Ibe dangers of the German Ocean.

THE PILOT. 89

CHAPTER IX.

Sirrah . how dare you leave your barley-broth, To come in armor thus, against your king ?

Drama.

The large irregular building iiihabitea by Colonel How- ttrd well deserved the name it had received from the pen of Katherine Plowden. Notwithstanding the confusion in its orders, owing to the diiferent ages in which its several parts had been erected, the interior was not wanting in that appearance of comtbrt which forms the great characteristic of English domestic life. Its dark and intricate mazes of halls, galleries, and apartments were all well provided with good and substantial furniture ; and whatever might have been the purposes of their original construction, they were now peacefully appropriated to the service of a quiet and well-ordered family.

There were divers portentous traditions of cruel separa- tions and blighted loves, which always linger, like cobwebs, around the walls of old houses, to be heard here also, and which, doubtless, in abler hands, might easily have been wrought up into scenes of high interest and delectable pathos. But our humbler eiforts must be limited by an attempt to describe man as God has made him, vulgar and unseemly as he may appear to sublimated faculties, to the possessors of which enviable qualifications we desire to say, at once, that we are determined to eschew all things super- naturally refined, as we would the devil. To all those, then, who are tired of the company of their species, we ivould bluntly insinuate that the sooner they throw aside our pages, and seize upon those of some more highly gifted bard, the sooner will they be in the way of quitting earth, If not of attaining heaven. Our business is solely to treat «f man, and this ^air scene on which he aces, and that tMtt

90 THE PILOT.

in bis subtleties, and metaphysical contradictions, but in hia palpable nature, that all may understand our meaning as well as ourselves — whereby we manifestly reject the prodigious advantage of being thought a genius, by perhaps foolishly refusing the mighty aid of incomprehensibility to establish such a character.

Leaving the gloomy shadows of the cliffs, under which the little Ariel has been seen to steer, and the sullen roaring of the surf along the margin of the ocean, we shall endeavor to transport the reader to the dining-parlor of St. Ruth's Abbey, taking the evening of the same day as the time for introducing another collection of those personages, whose acts and characters it has become our duty to describe.

The room was not of very large dimensions, and every part was glittering with the collected light of half a dozen handles, aided by the fierce rays that glanced from the grate, vhich held a most cheerful fire of sea-coal. The mouldings of the dark oak wainscoting threw back upon the massive table of mahogany streaks of strong Hght, wliich played among the rich fluids that were sijarkling on the board, in mimic haloes. The outline of this picture of comfort was formed by damask curtains of a deep red, and enormous oak chairs with leathern backs and cushioned seats, as if the apartment were hermetically sealed against the world and its chilling cares.

Around the table, which still stood in the centre of the floor, were seated tlu-ee gentlemen, in the easy enjoyment of their daily repast. The cloth had been drawn, and the bottle was slowly passing among them, as if those who par- took of its bounty well knew that neither the time nor the opportunity would be wanting for their deliberate indul- gence in its pleasures.

At one end of the table an elderly man was seated, who performed whatever little acts of com'tesy the duties of a host would appear to render necessary, in a company where all seemed to be equally at their ease and at home. Thia gentleman was in the decline of life, though his erect car- riage, quick movements, and steady hand, equally denoted that it was an old age free from the usual iniirmitiea. I&

THE PILOT. 91

his dress, he belonged to that class whose members always follow the fashions of the age anterior to the one iii which they live, whether from disinclination to sudden changes of any kind, or from the recollections of a period which, with them, has been hallowed by scenes and feehngs that the chilling evening of life can neither revive nor equal. Age might possibly have thrown its blighting frosts on his thin locks, but art had labored to conceal the ravages with the nicest care. An accurate outline of powder covered not only the parts where the hair actually remained, but wher- ever nature had prescribed that hair should grow. IIi« countenance was strongly marked in features, if not in ex- pression, exhibiting, on the whole, a look of noble integi-ity and high honor, which was a good deal aided in its effect by the lofty receding forehead, that rose like a monument above the whole, to record the character of the aged veteran. A few streaks of branching red mingled with a swarthiness of complexion, that was rendered more conspicuous by the outline of unsullied white, which nearly surrounded his prominent features.

Opposite to the host, who it will at once be understood was Colonel Howard, was the thin yellow visage of Mr. Christopher Dillon, that bane to the happiness of her cousin, already mentioned by INIiss Plowden.

Between these two gentlemen was a middle-aged, hard- featured man, attired in the livery of King George, whose countenance emulated the scarlet of his coat, and whose principal employment, at the moment, appeared to consist in doing honor to the cheer of his entertainer.

Occasionally, a servant entered or left the room in silen* e giving admission, however, through the open door, to :he rushing sounds of the gale, as the wind murmured amid the vigies and high chimneys of the edifice.

A man in the dress of a rustic was standmg near the chair of Colonel Howard, between whom and the master of the mai sion a dialogue had been maintained which closed ag follows. The colonel was the first to speak, after the cur- tain is drawn from between the eyes of the reader and the •eeue.

92 THE PILOT.

" Said you, farmer, that the Scotchman beheld the V8» §els with his own eyes ? "

The answer was a simple negative.

" Well, well," continued the colonel, " you can withdraw/'

The man made a rude attempt at a bow, which being re- turned by the old soldier with formal grace, he left the ro(»m. The host, turning to his companions, resumei tba subject.

•' If those rash boys have really persuaded the silly dotaia who commands the frigate, to trust himself within the shoals OB the eve of such a gale as this, their case must have been hopeless indeed ! Thus may rebellion and disaffection ever meet with the just indignation of Providence ! It would not surprise me, gentlemen, to hear that my native land had been engulfed by earthquakes, or swallowed by the ocean, so awful and inexcusable has been the weight of her transgressions ! And yet it was a proud and daring boy who held the second station in that ship ! I knew his father well, and a gallant gentleman he was, who, like my own brother, the parent of Cecilia, preferred to serve his master on the ocean rather than on the land. His son in- herited the bravery of his high spirit, without its loyalty. One would not wish to have such a youth drowned, either."

This speech, which partook much of the nature of a solil- oquy, especially towards its close, called for no immediate reply ; but the soldier, having held his glass to the candle, to admire the rosy hue of its contents, and then sipped of the fluid so often that nothing but a clear light remained to gaze at, quietly replaced the empty vessel on the table, and, as he extended an arm towards the blushing bottle, he spoke, in the careless tones of one whose thoughts were dwelling on another theme : —

" Aye, true enough, sir ; good men are scarce, and, as you say, one cannot but mourn his fate, though his death be glorious ; quite a loss to his majesty's service, I dare Bay, it will prove."

" A loss to the service of his majesty ! " echoed the hosV ^ his death glorious ! No, Captain BorroughclitFe, the death of no rebel cau be glorious ; and how he can be a lou

THE PILOT. 93

to his mrvjdyiy's service, I am myself quite at a loss to im- derstand."

The soldier, whose ideas were in that happy state of con- fusion '/hat renders it ditficult to command the one most needet', but who still, from long discipline, had them under a wonderful control for the disorder of his brain, answered, with great promptitude, —

" I mean the loss of his example, sir. It would have been so appalling to others to have seen the young maa executed instead of shot in battle."

" He is drowned, sir."

" Ah ! that is the next thing to being hanged ; that cir- cumstance had escaped me."

" It is by no means certain, sir, that the ship and schooner that the drover saw are the vessels you take them to have been," said 'Ms. Dillon, in a harsh, drawling tone of voice. " I should doubt their daring to venture so openly on the coast, and in the direct track of our vessels of war."

" These people are our countrymen, Christopher, though they are rebels," exclaimed the colonel. " They are a hardy and brave nation. When I had the honor to serve his maj- esty, some twenty years since, it was my fortune to face the enemies of my king in a few small affairs. Captain Borrough- clitfe ; such as the siege of Quebec, and the battle before its gates, a trifling occasion at Ticonderoga, and that un- fortunate catastrophe of General Braddock — with a few others. I must say, sir, in favor of the colonists, that they played a manful game on the latter day ; and this gentle- man who now heads the rebels sustained a gallant name among us for his conduct in that disastrous business. He was a discreet, well-behaved young man, and quite a gentler- man. I have never denied that Mr. Washington was very tiuch of a gentleman."

" Yes ! " said the soldier, yawning, " he was educated lime jg his majesty's troops, and he could hardly be other- wise. But I am quite melancholy about this unfortunate drowning. Colonel Howard. Here will be an end of my vocation, J suppose ; and I am far from denying that your hoepitality has made these quarters most agreeable to me."

94 THE PILOT.

" Then, sir, the obligation is only mutual," returned the host, with a polite inclination of his head : " but gentlemen who, like ourselves, have been made free of the camp, need not bandy idle compliments about such trifles. If it were my kinsman Dillon, now, whose thoughts run more on ' Coke upon Littleton ' than on the gayeties of a mess-table and a soldier's life, he might think such formalities as neces- sary as his hard words are to a deed. Come, Borrough- cliffe, my dear fellow, I believe we have given an honeei glass to each of the royal family (God bless them all !) ; let us swallow a bumper to the memory of the immortal Wolfe."

" An honest proposal, my gallant host, and such a one as a soldier will never decline," returned the captain, who roused himself with the occasion. " God bless them all ! Bay I, in echo ; and if this gracious queen of ours ends as famously as she has begun, 'twill be such a family of princes as no other army of Europe can brag of around a mess- table."

" Aye, aye, there is some consolation in that thought, in the midst of this dire rebellion of my countrymen. But I'll vex myself no more with the unpleasant recollections ; the arms of my sovereign will soon purge that wicked land of the foul stain."

" Of that there can be no doubt," said Borroughcliffe, whose thoughts still continued a little obscured by the spark- ling Madeii-a that had long lain ripening under a Carolinian pun ; " these Yankees fly before his majesty's regulars, like BO many dirty clowns in a London mob before a charge of the horse-guards."

•' Pardon me, Captain Borroughcliffe," said his host, elevating his person to more than its usually erect attitude: " they may be misguided, deluded, and betrayed, but the comparison is unjust. Give them arms and give them dis- cipline, and he who gets an inch of their land from them, plentiful as it is, will find a bloody day on which to take possession."

" The veriest coward in Christendom would fight in a gountry where wine brews itself into such a cordial as this.

THE PILOT. 95

returned the cool soldier. "I am a living proof that jou mistook my meaning ; for had not those loose-flapped eeiitlemen they call Vermontese and Hampshire-granters (God grant them his blessing for the deed !) finished two thirds of my company, I should not have been at this day under your roof, a recruiting instead of a marching officer ; neither should I have been bound up in a covenant, like the law of Moses, could Burgoyne have made heed against their long-legged marchings and counter-marchings. Sir, I drink their healths, with all my heart ; and with such a bottle of guUien sunshuie before me, rather than disj)lease so good n friend, I will go through Gates's whole army, regiment ly regimejit, company by company, or, if you insist on the same, even man by man, in a bumper."

" On no account would I tax your politeness so far," .>eturned the colonel, abundantly mollified by this ample concession ; " I stand too much your debtor, Captain Bor- roughclitfe, for so fi-eely volunteering to defend my house against the attacks of my piratical, rebellious, and misguided countrymen, to think of requiring such a concession."

" Harder duty might be performed, and no favors asked, my respectable host," returned the soldier. " Country quaiirers are apt to be didl, and the liquor is commonly execrable ; but in such a dwelling as this, a man can rock himself in the very cradle of contentment. And yet there is one subject of complaint, that I should disgrace my regi- ment did I not speak of — for it is incumbent on me, both as a man and a soldier, to be no longer silent."

" Name it, sir, freely, and its cause shaU be as freely redressed," said the host, in some amazement.

'' Here we three sit, from morning to night," continued the soldisr; "bachelors all, well provisioned and better liquored, I grant you, but like so many well-fed anchorites, while two of the loveliest damsels in the island pine in soli- tude within a hundred feet of us, without tasting the homage of oiir sighs. This, I will maintain, is a reproach both to your character. Colonel Howard, as an old soldier, and to mine as a young one. As to our old friend Coke on top of Littleton here, I leave him to the quiddities of thft law to plead his own cause." ^

96 THE PILOT.

The brow of the host contracted for a memento and the sallow cheek of Dillon, who had sat during the dialogue in a sullen silence, appeared to grow even livid ; but gradually the open brow of the veteran resumed its frank expression, and the lips of the other relaxed into a Jesuitical sort of a smile, that was totally disregarded by the captain, who amused himself with sipping his wine while he waited for an answer, as if he analyzed each drop that crossed hig palate.

After an embarrassing pause of a moment, Colonel Howard broke the silence.

" There is reason in Borroughcliffe's hint, for such I take it to be" —

" I meant it for a plain, matter-of-fact complaint," inter- rupted the soldier.

" And you have cause for it," continued the colonel. " It is unreasonable, Christopher, that the ladies should allow their dread of these piratical countrymen of ours to exclude us fi'om their society, though prudence may require that they remain secluded in their apartments. We owe the respect to Captain BorroughcliflPe, that at least we admit him to the sight of the cofFee-urn in an evening."

" That is precisely my meaning," said the captain : " as for dining with them, why, I am well provided for here ; but there is no one knows how to set hot water a hissing in so professional a manner as a woman. So forward, my dear and honored colonel, and lay your injunctions on them, that they command your humble servant and Mr. Coke unto Littleton to advance and give the countersign of gallantry."

Dillon contracted his disagreeable features into something that was intended for a satirical smile, before he spoke as follows . —

" Both the veteran Colonel Howard and the gallant Cap- tain BorroughcliiFe may find it easier to overcome tne enemies of his majesty in the field than to shake a woman's caprice. Not a day has passed these three weeks, that I have not sent my inquiries to the door of INIiss Howard, as became her father's kinsman, with a wish to appease her ipprehensiona of the pirates ; but little has she deigned OM

THE PILOT. 97

Ui reply, more tlian such thanks as her ibx and breeding could not well dispense with."

" Well, you have been as fortunate as myself, and why you should be more so, I see no reason," cried the soldier^ throwing a glance of cool contempt at the other : " fear whitens the cheek, and ladies best love to be seen when the roses flourish rather than the lilies."

" A woman is never so interesting. Captain Borrough- diffe." sal I the gallant host, " as when she appears to lean on man for support ; and he who does not feel himself honored by the trust, is a disgrace to his species,"

" Bravo ! my honored sir, a worthy sentiment, and spoken like a true soldier ; but I have heard much of the Icveliness of the ladies of the Abbey since I have been in my present quarters, and I feel a strong desire to witness beauty en- circled by such loyalty as could induce them to flee their native country, rather than to devote their charms to the rude keeping of the rebels." The colonel looked grave, and for a moment fiei'ce ; but the expression of his dis- pleasure soon passed away in a smile of forced gayety, and, as he cheerfully rose from his seat, he cried, —

" You shall be admitted this very night, and this instant, Captain Borroughcliffe. "We owe it, sir, to your services here, as well as in the field, and those froward girls shall be humored no longer. Nay, it is nearly two weeks since I have seen my ward myself ; nor have I laid my eyes on my niece but twice in aU that time. Christoj^her, I leave the captain under your good care while I go seek admission into the cloisters : we call that part of the building the cloisters, because it holds our nuns, sir ! You will pardon my early absence from the table, Captain Borroughclifl'e."

" I beg it may not be mentioned ; you leave an excellent representative behind you, sir," cried the soldier, taking in the lank figure of IMr. Dillon in a sweeping glance, that terminated with a settled gaze on his decanter. " Make my devoirs to the recluses, and say all that your own excellent wit shall suggest as an apology for my impatience. Mr. Dillon, I meet you in a bumper to their healths and la their honor."

f

98 THE PILOT.

The challenge was coldly accepted ; and while tl^sc

gentlemen still held their glasses to their }ips, Colonel Howard left the apartment, bowing low, and uttering a thousand excuses to his guest, as he proceeded, and even oiFering a very unnecessary apology of the same effect to his habitual inmate, Mr. Dillon.

" Is fear so very powerful within these old walls," said the soldier, when the door closed behind their host, " that your ladies deem it necessary to conceal themselves before even an enemy is known to have landed ? "

Dillon coldly replied, —

" The name of Paul Jones is terrific to all on this coast, I believe ; nor are the ladies of St. Ruth singular in their apprehensions."

" Ah ! the pirate has bought himself a desperate name since the affair of Flamborough Head. But let him look to't, if he trusts himself in another Whitehaven expedition, while there is a detachment of the th in the neighbor- hood, though the men should be nothing better than re- cruits."

" Our last accounts leave him safe in the court of Louis,** returned his companion ; " but there are men as desperate as himself, who sail the ocean under the rebel flag, and from one or two of them we have had much reason to apprehend the vengeance of disappointed men. It is they that we hope are lost in this gale."

" Hum ! I hope they were dastards, or your hopes are a Uttle unchristian, and " —

He would have proceeded, but the door opened, and his orderly entered, and announced that a sentinel had detamed three men, who were passing along the highway, near the A.bbey, and who, by their dress, appeared to be seamen.

" Well, let them pass," cried the captain ; " what, have we nothing to do better than to stop passengers, like foot- pads on the king's highway ! Give them of your canteens, and let the rascals pass. Your orders were to give th« alarm if any hostile party landed on the coast, net to detait peaceable subjects on their lawful business."

** J beg your honor's pardon," returned the sergeant

THE PILOT. 99

* but these men seemed lurking abou the grounds for no good, and as they kept carefully aloof from the place where our sentinel was posted, until to-night, Downing thought it looked suspiciously, and detained them." » " Downing is a fool, and it may go hard with him for hia officiousness. What have you done with the men ? "

" I took them to the guard-room in the east wing, yoiv honor."

" Then feed them ; and harkye, sirrah ! liquor them well that we hear no complaints, and let them go."

" Yes, sir, yes ; your honor shall be obeyed ; but there i» a straight, soldierly-looking fellow among them, that I think might be persuaded to enlist, if he were detained till morn- ing. I doubt, sir, by his walk, but he has served already."

" Ha ! what say you ! " cried the captain, pricking up his ears like a hound who hears a well-known cry, "served, think ye, already ? "

" There are signs about him, your honor, to that effect. An old soldier is seldom deceived in such a thing ; and con- sidering his disguise, for it can be no other, and the place where we took him, there is no danger of a have-us corpses until he is tied to us by the laws of the kingdom."

" Peace, you knave ! " said Borroughcliffe, rising, and making a devious route towards the door ; " you speak in the presence of my Lord Chief Justice that is to be, and should not talk lightly of the laws. But still you say rea- son ; give me your arm, sergeant, and lead the way to the east wing ; my eyesight is good for nothing in such a dark night. A soldier should always visit his guard before the tattoo beats."

After emulating the courtesy of their host, Captain Bor- roughcliffe retired on this patriotic errand, leaning on hia iabordinate in a style of most familiar condescension. Dil- ion continued at the table, endeavoring to express the ran- corous feelings of his breast by a satirical smile of contempt, that was necessarily lost on all but himself, as a large mir- ror threw back the image of his morose and unpleasant fea- tures.

But we must precede the ve'.eran colonel in his visits Ut \he " clcii ters."

IOC THE PILOT

CHAPTER X.

And kindness like their own Inspired those eyes, affectionate and glad, That seemed to love wbate'ei they looked upon; Whether with Hebe's mirth her features shone, Or, if a shade more pleasing them o'ercast — Yet so becomingly th' expression past, That each succeedmg look was loveUer than the last.

Gektrude of Wyomihg.

The western wing of St. Ruth House, or Abbey, as the building was indiscriminately called, retained but few ves- tiges of the uses to which it had been originally devoted. The upper apartments were small and numerous, extending on either side of a long, low, and dark gallery, and might have been the dormitories of the sisterhood who were said to have once inhabited that portion of the edifice ; but the ground-floor had been modernized, as it was then called, about a century before, and retained just enough of its ancient character to blend the venerable with what was thought comfortable in the commencement of the reign of the third George. As this wing had been appropriated to the mistress of the mansion, ever since the building had changed its spiritual character for one of a more carnal na- ture. Colonel Howard continued the arrangement, when he became the temporary possessor of St. Ruth, until, in the course of events, the apartments which had been apjiro- oriated for the accommodation and convenience of his niece were eventually converted into her prison. But as the se- verity of the old veteran was as often marked by an exhi bition of his virtues as of his foibles, the confinement an'' bis displeasure constituted the sole subjects of complaint that were given to the young lady. That our readers may be better qualified to judge of the nature of their imprison ment, we shall transport them, without further cinuunloow-

THE PILOT. 101

tion, into the presence of the two females, whom tbey must be already prepared to receive.

The withdrawing-room of St. Ruth's was an apartment which, tradition said, had formerly been the refectory of the little bevy of fair sinners who sought a refuge within its walls from the temptations of the world. Their numl)er was not large, nor their entertainments very splendid, oi this limited space could not have contained them. Th« room, however, was of fair dimensions, and an air of pecul- iar comfort, mingled with chastened luxury, was thrown around it, by the voluminous folds of the blue damask car- tains that nearly concealed the sides where the deep win- dows were placed, and by the dark leathern hangings, richly stamped with cunning devices in gold, that orna- mented the two others. Massive couches in carved ma- hogany, with chairs of a similar material and fashion, all covered by the same rich fabric that • composed the curtains, together with a Turkey carpet, over the shaggy surface of which all the colors of the rainbow were scattered in bright confusion, united to relieve the gloomy splendor of the enormous mantel, deep, heavy cornices, and the complicated carvings of the massive wood-work which cumbered the walls. A brisk fire of wood was burning on the hearth, in compliment to the willful prejudice of Miss Plowden, who had maintained, in her most vivacious manner, that sea-coal was *' only tolerable for blacksmiths and Englishmen." In addition to the cheerful blaze from the hearth, two waxen lights, in candlesticks of massive silver, were lending their aid to enliven the apartment. One of these was casting its rays brightly along the confused colors of the carpet on which it stood, flickering before the active movements of the form that played around it with light and animated in- flections. The posture of this young lady was infantile in grace, and, with one ignorant of her motives, her employ- ment would have been obnoxious to the same construction. Divers small square pieces of silk, strongly contrasted to each other in color, lay on every side of her, and were changed, as she kneeled on the floor, by her nimble hands, into as many different combinations as if she was humor-

102 THE PILOT.

ttig the fancies of her sex, or consulting the shades of hei own dark but rich complexion in the shop of a mercer. The close satin dress of this young female served to display her small figure in its true proportions, while her dancing eyes of jet-black shamed the dyes of the Italian manufac- turer by their superior radiancy. A few ribbons of pink, disposed about her person with an air partly studied, and yet carelessly coquettish, seemed rather to reflect than lend the rich bloom that mantled around her laughing counte- nance, leaving to the eye no cause to regret that she was not fauer.

Another female figure, clad in virgin white, was reclining on the end of a distant couch. The seclusion in which they lived might have rendered this female a little careless of her appearance, or, what was more probable, the comb had been found unequal to its burthen ; for her tresses, which rivaled the hue and gloss of the raven, had burst from their confinement, and dropping over her shoulder, feU along her dress in rich profusion, finally resting on the damask of the couch, in dark folds, like glittering silk. A small hand, which seemed to blush at its own naked beauties, supported her head, imbedded in the volumes of her hair, like the fairest alabaster set in the deepest ebony. Beneath the dark profusion of her curls, which, notwithstanding the Bweeping train that fell about her person, covered the sum- mit of her head, lay a low, spotless forehead of dazzling whiteness, that was relieved by two arches so slightly and truly drawn that they appeared to have been produced by the nicest touches of art. The fallen lids and long silken lashes concealed the eyes that rested on the floor, as if their mistress mused in melancholy. The remainder of the fea- tures of this maiden were of a kind that is most difficult to describe, being neither regular nor perfect in their sev- eral parts, yet harmonizing and composing a whole, that formed an exquisite picture of female delicacy and loveli- ness. There might or there might not have been a tinge ftf slight red in her cheeks, but it varied with each emotios. »f her bosom, even as she mused in quiet, now seeming to ^teal iiiiidiouslj over her glowing temples, and then leaving

THE pnoT. 103

on her face ai' almost startling paleness. Her stature, as "he reclined, seemed above the medium height of woman- hood, and her figure was rather delicate than fiill, though the little foot that rested on the damask cushion before her, displayed a rounded outline that any of her sex might envy.

" 0 ! I'm as expert as if I were signal officer to the Lord High Admiral of this realm ! " exclaimed the laughing female on the floor, clapping her hands together in girlish exultation. " I do long, Cecilia, for an opportunity to ex- hibit my skill."

While her cousin was speaking, Miss Howard raised her head, with a faint smile, and as she turned her eyes towards the other, a spectator might have been disappointed, but could not have been displeased, by the unexpected change the action produced in the expression of her countenance. Instead of the piercing black eyes that the deep color of her tresses would lead him to expect, he would have beheld two large, mild, blue orbs, that seemed to float in a liquid 60 pm-e as to be nearly invisible, and which were more re- markable for their tenderness and persuasion, than for the vivid flashes that darted from the quick glances of her com- panion.

" The success of your mad excursion to the sea-side, my cousin, has bewildered your brain," returned Cecilia ; " but I know not how to conquer your disease, unless we pre- scribe salt water for the remedy, as in some other cases of madness."

*' Ah ! I am afraid your nostnim would be useless," cried Katherine ; " it has failed to wash out the disorder from the sedate Mr. Richard Barnstable, who has had the regimen administered to him through many a hard gale, but who continues as fair a candidate for Bedlam as ever. Would you thiiik it. Cicely, the crazy one urged me, in the ten Koiutes' conversation we held together on the cliffs, to fccept of his schooner as a shower-bath ! "

" I can think that joui hardihood might encourage him te expect much, bnt surely he could not have been serioiu h) such a proposal ! "

104 THE PILOT.

" 0 ! to do the wretch justice, he did say something of a chaplain to consecrate the measure, but there was boundlesa impudence in the thought. I have not, nor shall I forget it, or forgive him for it, these six-and-twenty years. What a fine time he must have had of it, in his little Ariel, among the monstrous waves we saw tumbling in upon the shore to- day, coz ! I hope they will wash his impudence out of him ! I do think the man cannot have had a dry thread about him, from sun to sun. I must believe it as a punish- ment for his boldness, and, be certain, I shall tell him of it. I will form half a dozen signals, this instant, to joke at his moist condition, in very revenge."

Pleased with her own thoughts, and buoyant with the se- cret hope that her adventurous vmdertaking would be finally crowned with complete success, the gay girl shook her black locks, in infinite mirth, and tossed the mimic flags gayly around her person, as she was busied in forming new com- binations, in order to amuse herself with her lover's disas- trous situation. But the features of her cousin clouded with the thoughts that were excited by her remarks, and she replied, in a tone that bore some little of the accents of reproach, —

" Katherine ! Katherine ! can you jest when there is so much to apprehend? Forget you what Alice Dunscombe told us of the gale, this morning? and that she spoke of cwo vessels, a ship and a schooner, that had been seen ven- turing with fearful temerity within the shoals, only six miles from the Abbey, and that vmless God in his gracious providence had been kind to them, there was but little .loubt that their fate would be a sad one ? Can you, that know so well who and what these daring mariners are, be marry about the self-same winds that cause their danger ? "

The thoughtless, laughing girl was recalled to her recol- l?y?.ticn by this remonstrance, and every trace of mirtla van* ished fi'om her countenance, leaving a momentary de&th-like paleness crossing her face, and she clasped her hands before her, and fastened her keen eyes vacantly on the splendid pieces of silk that now lay unheeded around her. At this critical moment the door of the room slowly opened, aad

THE PILOT. 105

lloionel Howard entered the apartmeut with an air that displayed a droll mixture of stern indignation, with a chiv- airic and habitual respect to the sex.

" I solicit your pardon, young ladies, for the interrup- tion," he said ; '• I trust, however, that an old man's pres- ence can never be entirely unexpected in the drawing-room of his wards."

As he bowed, the colonel seated himself on the end of the couch, opposite to the place where his niece had been reclinirg, for Miss Howard had risen at his entrance, and continued standing until her uncle had comfortably disposed of himself. Throwing a glance which was not entii'ely free from self-commendation around the comfortable apartment, the veteran proceeded, in the same tone as before : —

" You are not without the means of making any guest welcome, nor do I see the necessity of such constant seclu- sion from the eyes of the world as you thus rigidly prac- tice."

Cecilia looked timidly at her uncle, with surprise, before she returned an answer to his remark.

" We certainly owe much to your kind attention, dear sir," she at length uttered ; " but is our retirement altogether voluntary ? "

" How can it be otherwise ! are you not mistress of this mansion, madam ? In selecting the residence where your, and, permit me to add, my ancestors, so long dwelt in credit and honor, I have surely been less governed by any natural j^jride that I might have entertained on such a subject, than by a desire to consult your comfort and happiness. Every- thing appears to my aged eyes as if we ought not to be ashamed to receive our friends within these walls. The cloisters of St. Ruth, Miss Howard, are not entirely bare^ tt'ither are their tenants wholly unworthy to be seen/'

■ Open, then, the portals of the Abbey, sir, and ycui aiece wiil endeavor to do proper credit to the hospitality tf its master."

" That was spoken like Harry Howard's daughter, franklv «ad generously ! " cried the old soldier, insensibly edging himsell nearer to his niece. " If my brother had devoted

106 THE PILOl.

himself to the camp, Instead of the sea, Cecilia, he would have made one of the bravest and ablest generals in his majesty's service — poor Harry! he might have been living at this very day, and at this moment leading the victorious troops of his sovereign through the revolted colonies in tri- umph. But he is gone. Cicely, and has left you behind him, as his dear representative, to perpetuate our family, and to possess what little has been left to us from the ravages of the times."

" Surely, dear sir," said Cecilia, taking his hand, which had unconsciously approached her person, and pressing it to her lips, " we have no cause to complain of our lot in re- spect to fortune, though it may cause us bitter regret that 80 few of us are left to enjoy it."

" No, no, no," said Katheriue, in a low, hurried voice ; " Alice Dunscombe is and must be wrong ; Providence would never abandon brave men to so cruel a fate!"

" Ahce Dunscombe is here to atone for her error, if she has fallen into one," said a quiet, subdued voice, in which the accents of a provincial dialect, however, were slightly perceptible, and which, in its low tones, wanted that silvery clearness that gave so much feminine sweetness to the words of IMiss Howard, and which even rang melodiously in the ordinarily vivacious strains of her cousin.

The surprise created by these sudden interruptions caused a total suspension of the discourse. Katherine Plowden, who had continued kneeling in the attitude before described, arose, and as she looked about her in momentary confusion, the blood again mantled her face with the fresh and joyous springs of life. The other speaker advanced steadily into the middle of the room ; and after returning, with studied civility, the low bow of Colonel Howard, seated herself tc eilence on the opposite couch. The manner of her en- tiaiice, her reception, and her attire, sufficiently denoted that the presence of this female was neither unusual nor unwelcome. She was dressed with marked simplicity, though with a studied neatness, that more than compensated for the absence of ornaments. Her age might not have much exceeded thirty, but there was an adoption of custom!

THE PILOT. 107

In her attire that indicated she was not unwilling to be thought older. Her fair flaxen hair was closely confined by a dark bandeau, such as was worn in a nation farther uorth by virgins only, over which a few curls strayed, in a manner that showed the will of their mistress alone re- strained their luxuriance. Her light complexion liad lost much of its brilliancy, but enough still remained to assert its original beauty and clearness. To this description might be added, fine, mellow, blue eyes ; beautifully white, though large, teeth; a regular set of features, and a person that was clad in a dark lead-colored silk, which fitted her full, but gracefiilly-moulded form with the closest exactness.

Colonel Howard paused a moment after this lady wag seated, and then turning himself to Katherine with an air that became stiff and constrained by attempting to seem extremely easy, he said, —

" You no sooner summon Miss Alice, but she appears, Miss Plowden — ready and (I am bold to say, Mss Alice) able to defend herself against all charges that her worst enemies can allege against her."

" I have no charges to make against INIiss Dunscombe," said Katherine, pettishly, " nor do I wish to have dissen- sions created between me and my friends, eveu by Colonel Howard."

" Colonel Howard will studiously avoid such ofienses in future," said the veteran, bowing ; and turning stifily to the others, he continued, " I was just conversing with my niece as you entered, Miss Alice, on the subject of her immuring herself hke one of the veriest nuns who ever inhabited these cloisters. I tell her, madam, that neither her years, nor my fortsine, nor, indeed, her own, for the child of Harry How- ard was not left penniless, require that we should live as if the doors of the world were closed against us, or there was n ") other entrance to St. Ruth's but through those antiquated whidows. Miss Plowden, I feel if to be my duty to uiquire why those pieces of silk are provided in such an unusual abundance, and in so extraordinary a shape ? "

'' To make a gala dress for the ball you are about t« give, sir," said Kathe-ine, with a saucy smile, that was onlj

108 THE PILOT.

checked by tho. reproachful glance of her cousin. " Yon have taste in a lady's attire, Colonel Howard ; mil not this bright yellow form a charming relief to my brown face, wliile this white and black relieve one another, and this pink contrasts so sweetly with black eyes. Will not the whole form a tm-ban- fit for an empress to wear ? "

As the arch maiden prattled on in this unmeaning man- ner, her rapid fingers entwined the flags in a confused maze, which she threw over her head m a form not unlike the ornament for which she intimated it was intended. The veteran was by far too polite to dispute a lady's taste, and he renewed the dialogue, with his slightly awakened suspi- cion completely quieted by her dexterity and artifice. But although it was not difiicult to deceive Colonel Howard in matters of female dress, the case was very different with Alice Dunscombe. This lady gazed with a steady eye and reproving countenance on the fantastical turban, until Kath- erine threw herself by her side, and endeavored to lead her attention to other subjects, by her playful motions and whispered questions.

" I was observing. Miss Alice," continued the colonel, " that although the times had certainly inflicted some loss on my estate, yet we were not so much reduced, as to be un- able to receive our friends in a manner that would not dis- grace the descendants of the ancient possessors of St. Kuth. Cecilia, here, my brother Harry's daughter, is a young lady that any imcle might be proud to exhibit, and I would have her, madam, show your English dames, that we rear no un- worthy specimens of the parent stock on the other side of the Atlantic."

" You have only to declare your pleasure, my good uncle," said IVIiss Howard, " and it shall be executed."

*' Tell us how we can oblige you, sir," continued Kath- erine, " and if it be in any manner that will relieve the tedium of this dull residence, I promise you at least one cheerful assistant to your scheme."

"You speak fair," cried the colonel, "and like two di» creet and worthy girls ! Well, then, our first step shall be to send a message to Dillon and the captain, and invite them o attend jrour coffee. I see the hour approaches."

THE ?IL0T. 10?

Cecilia made no reply, but looked distressed, and dropped her mild eyes to the carpet ; but Miss Plowdeu took it upon herself to answer.

" Nay, sir, that would be for them to proceed in the mat* tei ; as your proposal was that the first step should be oxu"s, Bupjjose we all adjourn to your part of the house, and do the honors of the tea-table in your drawing-room, instead of our own. I understand, sir, that you have had an apart- ment fitted up for that purpose in some style ; a woman's taste might aid your designs, however."

" Miss Plowden, I believe I intimated to you some time since," said the displeased colonel, " that so long as certain suspicious vessels were known to hover on this coast, I should desire that you and JMiss Howard would confine yourselves to this wing."

"Do not say that we confine ourselves," said Katherine, " but let it be spoken in plain English, that you confine us here."

" Am I a jailer, madam, that you apply such epithets to my conduct? INIiss Alice must form strange conclusions of our manners, if she receive her impressions 6'om your very singular remarks. I" —

" All measures adopted from a dread of the ship and schooner that ran within the Devil's Grip, yester-eve may be dispensed with now," interrupted Miss Dunscombe, in a mel- ancholy, reflecting tone. " There are few living who know the dangerous paths that can conduct even the smallest craft in safety from the land, with daylight and fair winds ; but when darkness and adverse gales oppose them, the chance for safety lies wholly in God's kindness."

" There is truly much reason to believe they are lost," letumed the veteran, in a voice in which no exultation was apparent.

" They are not lost ! " exclaimed Katherine, with start- ling energy, leaving her seat, and walking across the room to join Cecilia, with an air that seemed to elevate her little figure to the height of her cousin. " They are skillful and they are brave, and what gallant sailors can do will they do, tnd successfully ; besides, in what behalf would a just ProT

110 THE PILOT.

idence sooner exercise its merciful power, than to protect the daring cliildren of an oppressed country, while contend ins against tyranny and countless wrongs ? "

The conciliating disposition of the colonel deserted him, as he listened. His own black eyes sparkled with a rivid- uess unusual for his years, and his courtesy barely permitted the lady to conclude, ere he broke forth, —

" What sin, madam, what damning crime, would sooner call down the just wrath of Heaven on the transgressors, than the act of foul rebellion ? It was this crime, madam, that deluged England in blood in the reign of the first Charles ; it is this crime tliat has dyed more fields red than all the rest of man's oiFeoses united ; it has been visited on our race as a condign punishment, from the days of the deservedly devoted Absalom, down to the present time ; in short, it lost heaven forever to some of the most glorious of its angels, and there is much reason to believe that it is the one un pardonable sin named m the holy gospels."

" I know not that you have authority for believing it to be the heavy enormity that you mention, Colonel Howard," said IMlss Dunscombe, anticipating the spirited reply of Katherine, and willing to avert it ; she hesitated an instant, and then drawing a heavy, shivering sigh, she continued, in a voice that grew softer as she spoke, '' 'tis indeed a crime of magnitude, and one that throws the common backslidings of our lives, sjDeaking by comiiarison, into the sunshine of his favor. Many there are who sever the dearest ties o'^ this life, by madly rushing into its sinful vortex ; for I fain tliink the heart grows hard with the sight cf human calamity, and becomes callous to the miseries its owner inflicts ; especially where we act the wrongs on our own kith and kin, regardless who or how many that are dear to us suffer by our evil deeds. It is, besides. Colonel Howard, a dangerous temptation, to one little practiced in the great world, to find himself suddenly elevated into the seat of j^ower ; and if it do not lead tQ the commission of great crimes, it surely pre* pares the way to it, by hardening the heart."

" I hear you patiently, ]\Iiss Alice," said Katherine, dano> mg her little foot, in affected coolness : " for you neithei

THE PILOl. in

know of whom nor to whom you speak. But Colonel Howard has not that apology. Peace;, Cecilia, for I must Bpeak ! Believe them not, dear girl ; there is not a we^ hair on their heads. For you. Colonel Howard, who must recollect that the sister's son of the mothers of both your niece and myself is on board that frigate, there is tn appear^ ance of cruelty in using such language."

" I pity the boy ! from my soul I pity him ! " exclaimed the veteran ; " he is a child, and has followed the current that is sweeping our unhappy colonies down the tide of de- struction. But there are others in that vessel who have no excuse of ignorance to offer. There is a son of my old ac- quaintance, and the bosom friend of my brother Harry, Cecilia's father, dashing Hugh Griffith, as we called him. The urchins left home together, and were rated on board one of his majesty's vessels on the same day. Poor Harry lived to carry a broad pennant in the service, and Hugh died in command of a frigate. This boy, too ! he was nurtured on board his father's vessel, and learned, from his majesty's discipline, how to turn his arms against his king. There is something shockingly unnatural in that circumstance, Miss Alice ; 'tis the child inflicting a blow on the parent. 'Tis such men as these, with Washington at their head, who maintain the bold front that this rebellion wears."

" There are men, who have never worn the servile livery of Britain, sir, whose names are as fondly cherished in America as any that she boasts of," said Katherine proudly ; •' aye, sir, and those who would gladly oppose the bravest officers in the British fleet."

" I contend not against your misguided reason," said Colonel Howard, rising with cool respect. " A young lady who ventures to compare rebels with gallant gentlemen engaged in their duty to their prince, cannot escape the imjmtation of possessing a misguided reason. No man ' — 1 speak not of women, who cannot be supposed so well versed in human nature — but no man who has reached ihe time of life that entitles him to be called by that name can consort with these disorganizers, who would destroy everything that is sacred — these levelers, who would pull

112 THE PILOT.

dovin the great, to exalt the little — these jacobins, who — who" —

" Nay, sir, if you are at a loss for opprobrious epithets," Baith Katherine, with provoking coolness, " call on Mr. Christopher DUlon for assistance ; he waits your pleasure at the door."

Colonel Howard turned in amazement, forgetting his angry declamations at this unexpected intelligence, and beheld, in reality, the sombre visage of his kinsman, who stood holding the door in his hand, apparently as much 8ur» prised at finding himself in the presence of the ladiea, M they themselve« could be at Ids unusual visit.

THE PILOT. 118

CHAPTER XI.

Prithee, Kate, let's stand a^ide, and see the end of this coDtroveny.

Shak£spkak».

During the warm discussions of the preceding chapter, Miss Howard had bowed her pale face to the arm of the couch, and sat an unwilling and distressed listener to the controversy ; but now that another, and one whom she thought an unauthorized intruder on her privacy was announced, she asserted the dignity of her sex as proudly, .hough with something more of discretion, than her cousin zovld possibly have done. Rising from her seat, she jiquired, —

" To what are we indebted for so unexpected a visit from Mr. Dillon ? Surely he must know that we are prohibited going to the part of the dwelling where he resides, and I just Colonel Howard will tell him that common justice "equires we should be permitted to be private."

The gentleman replied, in a manner in which malig aant anger was sufl&ciently mingled with calculating humU-

" ISIiss Howard will think better of my intrusion, when ihe knows that I come on business of importance to her ancle."

" Ah ! that may alter the case. Kit ; but the ladies must jave the respect that is due to their sex. I forgot, some- jow, to have myself announced ; but that Borroughcliffe .eads me deeper into my Madeira than I have been accus- X)med to go, since the time when my poor brother Harry, with his worthy friend, Hugh Griffith — the devil seize Hugh Griffith, and all his race — your pardon. Miss Alice — what is your business with me, Mr. Dillon ? "

** I bear a message from Captain Borroughcliffe. Yoa 8

114 THE PILOT.

may remember that, according to your suggestioDS, the sentinels were to be changed every night, sir."

" Aye, aye ; we practiced that in our campaign against Montcalm ; 'twas necessary, to avoid the murders of their Indians, who were sure. Miss Alice, to shoot down a man at his post, if he were placed two nights running in the same place."

" Well, sir, your prudent precautions have not been thrown away," continued Dillon, moving farther into the apartment, as if he felt himself becoming a more welcome guest as he proceeded ; " the consequences are, that we have already made three prisoners."

" Truly it has been a most politic scheme ! " exclaimed Katherine Plowden, with infinite contempt. " I suppose, as Mr. Christopher Dillon applauds it so highly, that it has some communion with the law ! and that the redoubtable garrison of St. Euth are about to reap the high glory of being most successful thief-takers ! "

The sallow face of Dillon actually became livid as he replied, and his whole frame shook with the rage he vainly endeavored to suppress.

" There may be a closer communion with the law, and its ministers, perhaps, than ]\Iiss Plowden can desire," he said ; " for rebellion seldom finds favor in any Christian code."

" Rebellion ! " exclaimed the colonel ; " and what ha* this detention of three vagabonds to do with rebellion. Kit ? Has the damnable poison found its way across the Atlantic ? — your pardon, Miss Alice — but this is a subject on which you can feel with me ; I know your sentiments on the allegiance that is due to our anointed sovereign. Speak, ]SIr. Dillon, are we surrounded by another set of demons 1 if so, we must give ourselves to the work, and rally round our prince ; for this island is the main pillar of his throne."

" I cannot say that there is any appearance, at present, of an intention to rise in this island," said Dillon, with demure gravity ; " though the riots in London warrant any precautionary measures on the part of his majesty's min iaters. even to a suspension of the habeas corpus. But yoa

THE PILOT. 115

hare Lad your suspicions concerning two c»?rtain vessels that have been threatening the coast, for several days past, in a most piratical manner?"

The little foot of Katherine played rapidly on the splen- ddd carpet, but slie contented herself with bestowing a glance of the most sovereign contempt on the speaker, as if she dis- dained any further reply. With the colonel, however, this was touching a theme that lay nearest his heart, aud he answered, in a manner worthy of the importance of the subject, —

" You speak like a sensible man, and a loyal subject, Mr. Dillon. The habeas corpus. Miss Alice, was obtained in the reign of King John, along with Magna Charta, for the security of the throne, by his majesty's barons ; some of my own blood were of the number, which alone would be a pledge that the dignity of the crown was properly consulted. As to our piratical countrymen, Christopher, there is much reason to think that the vengeance of an offended Providence has already reached them. Those who know the coast well tell me that without a better pilot than an enemy would be likely to procure, it would be impossible for any vessel to escape the shoals among which they entered, on a dark night, and with an adverse gale ; the morning has arrived, and they are not to be seen ! "

" But be they friends or be they enemies, sir," continued Dillon, respectfully, " there is much reason to think that we have now in the Abbey those who can tell us something of their true character ; for the men we have detained carry with them the appearance of having just landed, and wear not only the dress, but the air of seamen,"

" Of seamen ! " echoed Katherine, a deadly paleness chasing from her cheeks the bloom which indignation had heightened.

" Of seamen, JNIiss Plowden," repeated DilloUj with ma- lignanl satisfaction, but concealing it under an air of submis- give respect.

" I thank you, sir, for so gentle a term," replied the young )ady, recollecting herself, aud recovering her presence of mind in .he same instaut: "the imagination of Mr. Dillos

llo THE PILOT.

is so apt to conjure the worst, that he is entitled to oaf praise for so far humoring our weakness, as not to alarm ui with, the apprehensions of their being pirates."

"Nay, madam, they may yet deserve that name," re- turned the other, coolly ; " but my education has instructed me to hear the testimony before I pronounce sentence." * " Ah ! that the boy has found in his ' Coke upon Little- ton,' " cried the colonel ; " the law is a salutary corrective ti human infirmities, IVliss Alice ; and among other things, it teaches patience to a hasty temperament. But for this cursed, unnatural rebellion, madam, the young man would, at this moment, have been diffusing its blessings from a judicial chair, in one of the colonies — aye, and I pledge myself, to all alike, black and white, red and yellow, with such proper distinctions as nature has made between the officer and the private. Keep a good heart, kinsman ; we shall yet find a time ! the royal arms have many hands, and things look better at the last advices. But come, we wUl proceed to the guard-room, and put these stragglers to the question ; run-away s, I'll ventm-e to predict, from one of his majesty's cruisers, or, perhaps, honest subjects engaged in supplying the service with men. Come, Kit, come, let us go, and " —

" Are we then to lose the company of Colonel Howard so soon ? " said Katherine, advancing to her guardian, with an air of blandishment and pleasantry. " T know that he too soon forgets the hasty language of our little disputes, to part in anger, if, indeed, he will even quit us till he has tasted of our coffee."

The veteran turned to the speaker of this unexpected address, and listened with profound attention. When she had done, he replied, with a good deal of softness in his tones, —

"Ah! provoking one! you knosv me too well, to doubt my forgiveness ; but duty must be attended to, though even a yoimg lady's smiles tempt me to remain. Yes, yes, child, you, too, are the daughter of a very brave and worthy se* man ; but you carry your attachment to that profession too fiu", IMiss Plowden — you do, indeed you do."

THE PILOT. 117

Katherine migat nave faintly blushed ; but the slight •mile, which mingled with the expression of her shame, gave to her countenance a look of additional archness, and she laid her hand lightly on the sleeve of her guardian, to detain him, as she replied, —

" Yet why leave us. Colonel Howard ? It is long smce we have seen you in the cloisters, and you know you come RS a father; tarry, and you may yet add confessor to the title."

" I know thy sins already, girl," said the worthy colonel, unconsciously yielding to her gentle eiforts to lead him back to his seat; "they are, deadly rebellion in your heart to your prince, a most inveterate propensity to salt water, and a great disrespect to the advice and wishes of an old fellow whom your father's will and the laws of the realm have made the guardian of your person and fortune."

" Nay, say not the last, dear sir," cried Katherine ; " for there is not a syllable you have ever said to me on that foolish subject, that I have forgotten. Will you resume your seat again ? Cecilia, Colonel Howard consents to take his coffee with us."

" But you forget the three men, honest lOt, there, and our respectable guest. Captain Borroughcliflfe."

" Let honest Kit stay there, if he please ; you may send a request to Captain BorroughcliiFe to join our party ; I have a woman's curiosity to see the soldier; and as for the three men " — she paused, and affected to muse a moment, jyhen she continued, as if struck by an obvious thought^ " yes, and the men can be brought in and examined h<^re ; who knows but they may have been wrecked in the gale, and need our pity and assistance, rather than deserve your suspicions ! "

" There is a solemn warning in Miss Plowden's conjec- ture, that should come home to the breasts of all who live on •this wild coast," said Alice Dunscombe ; "I have kiiowr. many a sad wreck among the hidden shoals, and when thj wind has blown but a gentle gale compared to last night'/ tempest. The wars, and the uncertainties of the timet, together with man's ovf^ 'vicked passions ^;c;ve made great

118 THE PILOT.

havoc with those who knew well the windings of the chan- nels among the ' Ripples.' Some there were who could pass, as I have often heard, within a fearful distance of the Devil's Grip,' the darkest night that ever shadowed Eng- land ; but all are now gone of that daring set, either by th? nand of death, or, what is even as mournful, by unnatura? banishment from the land of their fathers."

" This war has then probably drawn off most of them^ for your recollections must be quite recent, IMiss Alice," said the veteran ; " as many of them were engaged in the business of robbing his majesty's revenue, the country is in some measure requited for the former depredations, by their present services, and at the same time it is happily rid of their presence. Ah ! madam, ours is a glorious constitu tion, where things are so nicely balanced, that, as in the physical organization of a healthy, vigorous man, the baser parts are purified in the course of things, by its own whole- some struggles."

The pale features of Alice Dunscombe became slightly tinged with red, as the colonel proceeded, nor did the faint glow entirely leave her pallid face, untU she had said, —

" There might have been some who knew not how to respect the laws of the land, for such are never wanting; but there were others, who, however guilty they might be in many respects, need not charge themselves with that mean crime, and yet who could find the passages that lie hid from common eyes, beneath the rude waves, as well as you could find the way through the halls and galleries of the Abbey, with a noonday sun shining upon its vanes and high chimneys."

*' Is it your pleasure. Colonel Howard, that we examine the three men, and ascertain whether they belong to the number of these gifted pilots?" said Christopher Dillon, who was growing uneasy at his awkward situation, and who hardly deemed it necessary to conceal the look of contempt which he cast at the mild Alice, while he spoke ; " perhaps we may gather information enough from them, to draw a chart of the coast that may gain us credit with my lo^di of the Admiralty."

THE PILOT. 119

This unprovoked attack on their unresisting and on- offending guest, brought the rich blood to the very temj/ies of Miss Howard, who rose, and addressed herself to ha' kinsman, with a manner that could not easily be mistaken, any more than it could be condemned : —

'• If Mr. Dillon will comply with the wishes of Colonel Howard, as my cousin has expressed them, we shall not, at least, have to accuse ourselves of unnecessarily detaining men who probably are more unfortunate than guilty."

When she concluded, Cecilia walked across the apartment and took a seat by the side of Alice Dunscombe, with whom she began to converse, in a low, soothing tone of voice. Mr. Dillon bowed with a deprecating humility, and hav- ing ascertained that Colonel Howard chose to give an audience, where he sat, to the prisoners, he withdrew to execute his mission, secretly exulting at any change that promised to lead to a renewal of an intercourse that might terminate more to his advantage, than the lofty beauty whose favor he courted was, at present, disposed to concede.

" Christopher is a worthy, serviceable, good fellow," said the colonel, when the door closed, " and I hope to live yet to see him clad in ermine. I would not be understood literally, but figuratively ; for furs would but ill comport with the climate of the Carolinas. I trust I am to be con- sulted by his majesty's ministers when the new appoint- ments shall be made for the subdued colonies, and he may safely rely on my good word being spoken in his favor. Would he not make an excellent and independent ornament of the bench, IVIiss Plowden ? "

Katherine compressed her lips a little as she replied, —

" I must profit by his own discreet rules, and see testi- mony to that effect, before I decide, sir. But listen ! " The young lady's color changed rapidly, and her eyea became fixed in a sort of feverish gaze on the door. " He has at least been active ; I hear the heavy tread of meu already approaching."

" Ah ! it is he certainly ; justice ought always to be jiTompt as well as certain, to make it perfect , like a drum- head court-martial, which, by the way, is as summary a sort

120 THE PILOT.

of government as heart could wish to live under. If hit majesty's ministers could be persuaded to introduce into the revolted colonies " —

" Listen ! " interrupted Katherine, in a voice which be« Bpoke her deep anxiety ; " they draw near ! "

The sound of footsteps was in fact now so audible as to induce the colonel to suspend the delivery of his plan for governing the recovered provinces. The long, low gallery which was paved with a stone flagging, soon brought the foot steps of the approaching party more distinctly to their ears, and presently a low tap at the door announced their arrival. Colonel Howard arose, with the air of one who was to sustain the principal character in the ensuing interview, and bade them enter. Cecilia and Alice Dunscombe merely cast careless looks at the opening door, indifferent to the scene ; but the quick eye of Katherine embraced, at a glance, every figure in the group. Drawing a long, quivering breath, she fell back on the couch, and her eyes again lighted with their playful expression, as she hummed a low, rapid air, with a voice in which even the suppressed tones were liquid melody.

Dillon entered, preceding the soldier, whose gait had become more steady, and in whose rigid eye a thoughtful expression had taken the place of its former vacant gaze. In short, something had manifestly restored to him a more complete command of liis mental powers, although he might not have been absolutely sobered. The rest of the party continued in the gallery, whUe Mr. DUlon presented the renovated captain to the colonel, when the latter did him the same kind office with the ladies.

" IMiss Plowden," said the veteran, for she offered first in the circle, " this is my friend. Captain Borroughcliffe : he has long been ambitious of this honor, and I have no doubt his reception will be such as to leave him no cause to repent he has been at last successful."

Katherine smiled, and answered, with ambiguous em- phasis, —

** I know not how to thank him suflaciently for the care he has bestowed on our poor persons."

THE PILOT. 121

Tb« soldier locked steadily at her for a moment, with au eye that seemed to threaten a retaliation in kind, ero he replied, —

" One of those smiles, madam, would be an ample com- pensation for services that are more real than such as exist only in intention."

Katherine bowed ■« ith more complacency than she usually bestowed on those who wore the British uniform ; and they proceeded to the next.

" This is INIiss Alice Dunscombe, Captain Borroughcliffe, daughter of a very worthy clergyman who was formerly the curate of this parish, and a lady who does us the pleasure of giving us a good deal of her society, though far less than we all wish for."

The captain returned the civil inclination of Alice, and the colonel proceeded.

" JVIiss Howard, allow me to present Captain Borrough- cliffe, a gentleman who, having volunteered to defend St. Ruth in these critical times, merits all the favor of its mistress."

Cecilia gi'acefully rose, and received her guest with sweet complacency. The soldier made no reply to the customary compliments that she uttered, but stood an instant gazing at her speaking coimtenance, and then, laying his hand involuntarily on his breast, bowed nearly to his sword-hilt.

These formalities duly observed, the colonel declared his readiness to receive the prisoners. As the door was opened by Dillon, Katherine cast a cool and steady look at the strangers, and beheld the light glancing along the arms of the soldiers who guarded them. But the seamen entered alone ; while the rattling of arms, and the heavy dash of the muskets on the stone pavement, announced that it was thought prudent to retain a force at hand, to watch thesfl secret intruders on the grounds t^' the Abbey.

\S2 THE PILOT.

CHAPTER Xn.

Food for powder; they'U fill a pit as well aa better.

TlTE three men who now entered the apartment appeared tv be nothing daunted by the presence into which they were osbered, though clad in the coarse and weather-beaten vestments of seamen who had been exposed to recent and severe duty. They silently obeyed the direction of the soldier's finger, and took their stations in a distant corner of the room, like men who knew the deference due to rank, at the same time that the habits of their lives had long ac- customed them to encounter the vicissitudes of the world. "With this slight preparation, Colonel Howard began the business of examination.

" I trust ye are all good and loyal subjects," the veteran commenced, with a considerate respect for innocence, " but the times are such that even the most worthy characters become liable to suspicion ; and, consequently, if our ap- prehensions should prove erroneous, you must oveilook the mistake, and attribute it to the awful condition into which rebellion has plunged this empire. We have much reason to fear that some project is about to be undertaken on the coast by the enemy, who has appeared, we know, with a frigate and schooner ; and the audacity of the rebels is onlj equaled by their shameless and wicked disrespect for the fights of the sovereign."

While Colonel Howard was uttering his apologetic pre* &mble, the prisoners fastened their eyes on him with much interest ; but when he alluded to the apprehended attack the gaze of two of them became more keenly attentive, and, before he concluded, they exchanged furtive glances of deep meaniog. No reply was made, however, and after a short

THE PILOT. 123

jMiuse, as if to allow time for his words to make a proper impression, the veteran continued : —

" We have no evidence, I understand, that you are in the smallest degree connected with the enemies of this country ; but as you have been found out of the king's highway, or, rather, on a by-path, which I must confess is frequently used by the people of the neighborhood, but which is nev« ertheless nothing but a by-path, it becomes no m( re than what self-preservation requires of us, to ask you a few such questions as I trust will be satisfactorily answered. To use your own nautical phrases, ' From whence came ye, pray ? ' and ' Wliither are ye bound ? ' "

A low, deep voice replied, —

" From Sunderland, last, and bound, overland, to White- haven."

This simple and direct answer was hardly given, before the attention of the listeners was called to Alice Dunscombe, who uttered a faint shriek, and rose from her seat involun- tarily, while her eyes seemed to vri'l fearfully, and perhaps a little wildly, round the room.

" Are you ill, Miss Alice ? " said the sweet, soothing tones of Cecilia Howard ; " you are, indeed you are : lean on me, that I may lead you to your apartment."

" Did you hear it, or was it only fancy ? " she answered^ uer cheek blanched to the whiteness of death, and her whole frame shuddering as if in convulsions ; " say, did yon hear it too ? "

• "I have heard nothing but the voice of my imc'e, who is standing near you, anxious, as we all are, for your recovery from this dreadftil agitation."

Alice still gazed wUdly from face to face. Her eye did aot rest satisfied with dwelling on those who surrounded her, but surveyed, with a sort of frantic eagerness, the fig ures and appearance of the three men, who stood in humble patience, the silent and unmoved witnesses of this extraor dinary scene. At length she veiled her eyes with both her hands, as if to shut out some horrid vision, and then remov- ing them, she smiled languidly, as she signed for Cecilia to «A8ist her from the room. To the polite and assiduoad

124 THE PILOT.

offers of tlie gentlemen, she returned no other thanks thaj those conveyed in her looks and gestures ; but when the eentiiidls who paced the gallery were passed, and the ladies were alone, she breathed a long, shivering sigh, and found an utterance.

" 'Twas like a voice from the silent gi-ave ! " she said, ** but it could be no more than mockery. No, no, 'tis a just punishment for letting the image of the creature fill the place that should be occupied only with the Creator. Ah ! Miss Howard, Miss Plowden, ye are both young — in tho pride of your beauty and loveliness — but little do ye know, and less do ye dread, the temptations and errors of a sinful world."

" Her thoughts wander ! " whisjiered Katherine, with anxious tenderness ; " some awful calamity has affected her intellect ! "

" Yes, it must be ; my sinful thoughts have wandered, and conjured sounds that it would have been dreadful to hear in truth, and within these walls," said Alice, more composedly, smiling with a ghastly expression, as she gazed on the two beautiful, solicitous maidens who supported her yielding person. " But the moment of weakness is passed, and I am better ; aid me to my room, and return, that you may not interrupt the reviving harmony between yourselves and Colonel Howaixl. I am now better — nay, I am quite restored."

" Say not so, dear Miss Alice," returned Cecilia ; " your fcice denies what your kindness to us induces you to utt6r ; ill, very ill, you are, nor shall even your own commands induce me to leave you."

" Remain, then," said IMiss Dunscombe, bestowing a Icolr of gratetul affection on her lovely supporter ; " and while our Katherine returns to the drawing-room, to give the gentlemen their coffee, you shall continue with me, as my ^ntle nurse."

By this time they had gained the apartment, and Kath erine, after assisting her cousin to place Alice on her bed "^turned to do the honors of the drawing-room.

Colonel Howard ceased his examuiation of the priaouersi

THE PILOT. 126

at her entrance, to inquire, with courtly solicitude, after the invalid ; and when his questions were answered, he again proceeded as follows : —

"This is what the lads would call plain sailing, Borrocgh- cliffe : they are out of employment in Sunderland, and have acquaintances and relatives in Whitehaven, to wliom Aiey are going for assistance and labor. All very probable, and perfectly harmless."

" Nothing more so, my respectable host," returned the jocund soldier ; " but it seometh a grievous misfortune that a trio of such flesh and bh-od should need work wherewithal to exercise their thews and sinews, while so many of the vessels of his majesty's fleet navigate the ocean in quest of the enemies of old England."

" There is truth in that ; much truth in your remark," cried the colonel. " What say you, my lads, will you fight the Frenchmen and the Don — aye, and even my own re- bellious and infatuated countrymen ? Nay, by Heaven, it is not a trifle that shall prevent his majesty from possessing the services of three such heroes. Here are five guineas apiece for you the moment that you put foot on board the Alacrity cutter ; and that can easily be done, as she lies at anchor this very night, only two short leagues to the south of this, in a small port, where she is riding out the gale as snugly as if she were in a corner of this room."

One of the men affected to gaze at the money with long- ing eyes, while te asked, as if weighing the terms of the engagement, —

" Whether the Alacrity was called a good sea-boat, and w as thought to give a comfortable berth to her crew ? "

" Comfortable ! " echoed Borroughcliffe ; " for that matter, flhe is called the bravest cutter in the navy. You have seen much of the world, I dare say ; did you ever see such • flace as the Marine Arsenal at Carthagena, in old Spain ? "

" Indeed I have, sir," returned the seaman, in a cool, c-ol- •t?cted tone.

" Ah ! you have ! well, did you ever meet with a house Oi Paris that they call the Tuileries ? because it's a dog- kennel to the Alacrity.''

126 THE PILOT.

" I have even fallen in with the plact. , ou mention, sir," returned the sailor; "and must own the berth quite goo I enough for such as I am, if it tallies with your description."

" The deuce take these blue-jackets," muttered Borrough- cliflfe, addressing himself unconsciously to Mi&^ Plowden, near whom he happened to be at the time ; " thej run their tarry countenanges into all the corners of the eai*h, and abridge a man most lamentably in his comparisons. iTow, who the devU would have thought that fellow had ever j-uS his sea-green eyes on the palace of King Louis ? "

Katherine heeded not his speech, but sat eying the pris oners with a confused and wavering expression of counte- nance, while Colonel Howard renewed the discourse, b> exclaiming, —

" Come, come, Borroughclifle, let us give the lads n' tales for a recruit, but good, plain, honest English — Go<i bless the language, and the land for which it was first made, too ! There is no necessity to tell these men, if they are what they seem to be, practical seamen, that a cutter of ten guns contains all the room and accommodation of a palace."

" Do you allow nothing for English oak and English comfort, mine host ? " said the immovable captain ; " do you think, good sir, that I measure fitness and propriety by square and compass, as if I were planning Solomon's temple anew ? All I mean to say is, that the Alacrity is a vessel of singular compactness and magical arrangement of room. Like the tent of that handsome brother of the fairy, in the Arabian Nights, she is big or she is little, as occasion need- eth ; and now, hang me, if I don't think I have uttered more in her favor than her commander would say to help me to ft recruit, though no lad in the three kingdoms should ap- j»ear wUling to try how a scarlet coat would suit his boorish figure."

" That time has not yet arrived, and God forbid that it ever should, while the monarch needs a soldier in the field to protect his rights. But what say ye, my men ? you have heard the recommendation that Captain Borroughcliffe ha» given of the Alacrity, which is altogether ti-ue — aft( r mak- ing some allowances for language. WUI ye serve r shall J

THE PILOT. 127

order you a cheering glass a man, and lay by the gold, till I hear from the cutter that you are enrolled under the banners of the best of kings ? "

Katherine Plowden, who hardly seemed to breathe, so close and intent was the interest with which she regarded the seamen, fancied she observed lurking smiles on their faces ; but if her conjectures were true, their disposition to be merry went no further, and the one who had spoken hitherto replied, in the same calm manner as before, —

" You will excuse us, if we decline shipping in the cuttefj bir ; we are used to distant voyages and large vessels, whereas the Alacrity is kept at coast duty, and is not of a size to lay herself alongside of a Don or a Frenchman with a double row of teeth."

" If you prefer that sort of sport, you must to the right- about for Yarmouth ; there you will find ships that will meet anytliing that swims," said the colonel.

" Perhaps the gentlemen would prefer abandoning the cares and dangers of the ocean for a life of ease and gayety," said the captain. " The hand that has long dallied with a marhnspike may be easily made to feel a trigger, as grace- fully as a lady touches the keys of her piano. In short, there is and there is not a great resemblance between the life of a sailor, and that of a soldier. There are no gales of wind, nor short allowances, nor reefing topsails, nor ship- wrecks, among soldiers ; and, at the same time, there is just as much, or even more, grog-drinking, jollifying, care-killing fun around a canteen and an open knapsack, than there is on the end of a mess-chest, with a full can and a Saturday night's breeze. I have crossed the ocean several times, and I must own that a ship, in good weather, is very much the same as a camp or comfortable barracks ; mind, I say only in very good weather."

" We have no doubt that all you say is true, sir," observed the spokesman of the three ; " but what to you may seem a hardship, to us is pleasure. We have faced too many a gale to mind a capful of wind, and should think ourselves always in the calm latitudes in one of your barracks, where there is nothing to do but to eat our g'ub, and tc march a L'ttJe fore

128 THE PILOT.

and aft a small piece of green earth. "We hardly know one end of a musket from the other."

" No ! " said Borroughcliiie, musing ; and then advancing with a quick step towards them, he cried, in a spirited manner, "Attention ! right ! dress ! "

The speaker, and the seaman next him, gazed at the cap- tain in silent wonder ; but the third individual of the party, who had drawn himself a little aside, as if willing to be unnoticed, or perhaps pondering on his condition, involun. tarily started at this unexpected order, and erecting himself, threw his head to the right as promptly as if he had been on a parade-ground.

" Oho 1 ye are apt scholars, gentlemen, and ye can learn, I see," continued Borroughcliffe. " I feel it to be proper that I detain these men till to-morrow morning, Colonel Howard ; and yet I would give them better quarters than the hard benches of the guard-room."

"Act your pleasure, Captain Borroughcliffe," returned the host, " so you do but your duty to our royal master. They shall not want for cheer, and they can have a room over the servants' offices in the south side of the Abbey."

" Three rooms, my colonel, three rooms must be provided, though I give up my own."

" There are several small empty apartments there, where blankets might be taken, and the men placed for safe-keep- ing, if you deem it necessary ; though, to me, they seem like good, loyal tars, whose greatest glory it would be to ser^e their prince, and whose chief pleasure would consist ii: get- ting alongside of a Don or a Monsieur."

" We shall discuss these matters anon," said Borrough- cliffe, dryly. " I see Miss Plowdeu begins to look grave at our abusing her patience so long, and I know that cold cof- fee is, like withered love, but a tasteless sort of a beverage. Come, gentlemen, en avant ! you have seen the Tuileriea, and must have heard a little French. Mr. Christopher Dil- lon, know you where these three small apartments ar« situate, lying, and being,' as your parchments read ? "

" I do, sir," said the complying lawyer, " and sliall tak« much pleasure in guiding you to them. I thiuk your decia>

THE PILOT. 129

ion that of a prudent and sagacious officer, and much doubt wrhether Durham Castle, or some other fortress, will bo thought too big to hold them, ere long."

As this speech was uttered while the men were passing from the room, its effect on them was unnoticed ; but Kath- arine Plowden, who was left for a few moments by rierself, sat and pondered over what she had seen and heard, with a thonghtfulness of manner that was not usual to her gay and buoyant spirits. The sounds of the retii'ing footsteps, how- ever, gradually grew fainter, and the return of her guardian alone recalled the recollection of the young lady to the duties of her situation.

While engaged in the little offices of the tea-table, Kath- erine threw many furtive glances at the veteran ; but, although he seemed to be musing, there was nothing aus- tere or suspicious in his frank, open countenance.

" There is much useless trouble taken with these wander- ing seamen, sir," said Katherine, at length ; " it seems to be the particular province of Mr. Christopher Dillon to make all that come in contact with him excessively uncom- fortable."

"And what has Kit to do with the detention of the

men

" What ! why, has he not undertaken to stand godfather to their prisons ? — by a woman's patience, I think. Colonel Howard, this business will gain a pretty addition to the names of St. Ruth. It is already called a house, an abbey, a place, and by some a castle ; let Mr. Dillon have his way "or a month, and it will add jail to the number."

" Kit is not so happy as to possess the favor of Miss Vlowden ! but still Kat is a worthy fellow, and a good felloWj jfcud a sensible fellow ; aye ! and what is of more value than aU these put together, Miss Katherine, Mr. Christopher Dillon is a faithful and loyal subject to his prince. His mother was my cousin-german, madam, and I cannot say how soon I may call him my nephew. The Dillons are of good Irish extraction, and I believe that even Miss Plowden will admit that the Howards have some pretensions to s name."

9

180 THE PILOT.

" Ah ! it is those very things called names that I n. osi allude to," said Katherine, quickly. " But au hour since you were indignant, my dear guardian, because you suspected that I insinuated you ought to write jailer behind the name of Howard, and even now you submit to have the office palmed upon you."

" You forget. Miss Katherine Piowden, that it is the pleasure of one of his majesty's officers to detain these men."

" But I thought that the glorious British conslitutiou, which yoj so often mention," interrupted the young lady, spiritedly, "gives liberty to all who touch these blessed shores ; you know, sir, that out of twenty blacks that you brought with you, how few remain ; the rest having fled on the wings of the spirit of British liberty ! "

This was touching a festering sore in the colonel's feel- mgs, and his provoking ward well knew the effects her ob- servation was likely to produce. Her guardian did not ireak forth in a violent burst of rage, or furnish those man- tfestations of his ire that he was wont to do on less impor- tant subjects ; but he arose, with all his dignity concentered in a look, and, after making a violent effort to restrain his feelings within the bounds necessary to preserve the decorum of his exit, he ventured a reply.

" That the British constitution is glorious, madam, is most true. That this island is the sole refuge where liberty has been able to find a home, is also true. The tyranny and oppression of the Congi'ess, which are grinding down the colonies to the powder of desolation and poverty, are not worthy the sacred name. Rebellion pollutes all that it *ouches, madam. Although it often commences under the lanction of holy liberty, it ever terminates in despotism. The annals of the world, fi'om the time of the Greeks and Romans down to the present day, abundantly prove it. There was that Julius Cassar — he was one of your peo- ple's men, and he ended a tyrant. Oliver Cromwell was (mother — a rebel, a demagogue, and a tyrant. The grad* tions, madam, are as inevitable as from childhood to youtli. "Mjd from youth to age. As for the little afialr that y(ju

THE PILOT. 131

have beeu pleased to mention, of the — of the — of my pri- vate concerns, I can only say that the affairs of nations are not to be judged of by domestic incidents, any more than domestic occurrences are to be judged of by national poli- tics" The colonel, like many a better logician, mistook hia antithesis for argument, and paused a moment to admire his own eloquence ; but the current of his thoughts, which always flowed in torrents on this subject, swept him along in its course, and he continued : " Yes, madam, here, and Lere alone, is true liberty to be found. With this solemn asseveration, which is not lightly made, but which is the re- sult of sixty years' experience, I leave you. Miss Plowden ; let it be a subject of deep reflection with you, for I too well understand your treachei'ous feelings not to know that your political errors encourage your personal foibles ; reflect, for your own sake, if you love not only your own happiness, but your respectability and standing in the world. As for the black hounds that you spoke of, they are a set of rebellious, mutinous, ungrateful rascals ; and if ever I meet one of the damned " —

The colonel had so far controlled his feelings, as to leave the presence of the lady before he broke out into the bitter invectives we have recorded, and Katherine stood a minute, pressing her forefinger on her lips, listening to his voice as it grumbled along the gallery, until the sounds were finally excluded by the closing of a distant door. The willful girl then shook her dark locks, and a smile of arch mischief blended with an expression of regret in her countenance, as she spoke to herself, whUe with hurried hands she threw her tea equipage aside in a confused pile : —

" It was perhaps a cruel experiment, but it has succeeded. Though prisoners ourselves, we are at least left free for the remainder of this night. These mysterious sailors must be examined more closely. If the proud eye of Edward Grif- fith was not glaring under the black wig of one of them, I am no judge of features ; and where has Master Barnstable concealed his charming visage ! for neither of the others oould be he. But now for Cecilia."

132 THE PILOT.

Her light form glided from the room, while she wis yet Bpeakuig ; and flitting along the dimly lighted passages, it disappeared in one of those tm-nings that led to the more ■ecret apartipente of the Abbey.

THE PILOT. 133

CHAPTER Xm.

How I Lncia, wouldst thou have me sink awftj In pleasing dreams, and lose myself in love?

Cato.

The reader must not imagine that the world stood stil2 during the occurrence of the scenes we have related. By the time the three seamen were placed in as many different rooms, and a sentinel was stationed in the gallery common to them all, in such a manner as to keep an eye on his whole charge at once, the hour had run deep into the night. Captain Borroughcliffe obeyed a summons from the colonel, who made him an evasive apology for the change in their evening's amusement, and challenged his guest to a renewal of the attack on the Madeira. This was too grateful a theme to be lightly discussed by the captain ; and the Abbey clock had given forth as many of its mournful remonstrances as the division of the hours wolud permit, before they sepa- rated. In the mean time, Mr. Dillon became invisible ; though a servant, when questioned by the host on the sub- ject, announced, that " he believed Mr. Christopher had

chosen to ride over to , to be in readiness to join the

hunt, on the morning, with the dawn." WhUe the gentle- men were thus indulging themselves in the dining-parlor, and laughing over the tales of other times and hard cam- paigns, two very different scenes occmred in other parts of the building.

When the quiet of the Abbey was only interrupted by the howling of the wind, or by the loud and prolonged *aughs which echoed through the passages from the joyous pair who were thus comfortably established by the side of the bottle, a door was gently opened on one of the galleries of the " cloisters," and Katherine Plowden issued from it| mapped in a close mantle, and holding in ber hand a chaa>-'

IM THE PILOT.

berlamp, which threw its dim light faintly along the gloomv w^alls in front, leaving all behind her obscured in darkness. She was, however, soon followed by two other female fig- ires, clad in the same manner, and provided with similar lights. When all were in the gallery, Katherine drew the door softly to, and proceeded in front to lead the way.

" Hist ! " said the low, tremulons voice of Cecilia, " they are yet up in the other parts of the house ; and if it be as you suspect, our visit would betray them, and prove the means of their certain destruction."

" Is the laugh of Colonel Howard in his cups so singular and unknown to your ear, Cecilia, that you know it not ? " said Katherine with a little spirit ; " or do you forget that on such occasions he seldom leaves himself ears to hear, or eyes to see with ? But follow me ; it is as I suspect — it must be as I suspect ; and unless we do something to rescue them, they are lost, unless they have laid a deeper scheme than is apparent."

" It is a dangerous road ye both journey," added the placid tones of Alice Dunscombe ; " but ye are young, and ye are credulous."

" K you disapprove of our visit," said Cecilia, " it cannot be right, and we had better return."

" No, no ; I have said naught to disapprove of your present errand. If God has put the lives of those in your custody whom ye have taught yourselves to look up to with love and reverence, such as woman is bound to yield to one man, He has done it for no idle purpose. Lead 18 to their doors, Katherine ; let us relieve our doubts, at . east."

The ardent girl did not wait for a second bidding, but she led them, with light and quick steps, along the gallery, until they reached its termination, where they descended to the basement floor by a flight of narrow steps ; acd carefoUy opening a small door, emerged into the open air They now stood on a small plat of grass, wliich lay betTceen the building and the ornamental garden, across which they moved rajiidly, concealing their lights, and bending their shrinking forms before the shivering blasts that poured tbeii

THE PILOT. 136

fiiry upon them from the ocean. They sool reached a large but rough addition to the buildings, that concealed it» plain architecture behind the more labored and highly- finished parts of the edilice, into wliich they entered through a massive door that stood ajar, as if to admit them.

" Chloe has been true to my orders," whispered Kather» ine, as they passed out of the chilling air ; " now, if all the servants are asleep, our chance to escape imnoticed amouuta to certainty."

It became necessary to go through the servants' hall, which they effected unobserved, as it had but one occupant, an aged black man, who, being ])osted with his ear within two feet of a bell, in this attitude had committed himself to * deep sleep. Gliding through this hall, they entered divers long and intricate passages, all of which seemed as familiar lo Katherine as they were unknown to her companions, antil they reached another flight of stejis, which they as- cended. They w(ire now near their goal, and stopped to examine whether any or what difficulties were likely to be jpposed to their further progress.

" Now, indeed, our case seems hopeless," whispered Kath- irine, as they stood, concealed by the darkness, in one end •if an extremely long nari'ow passage ; " here is the sentinel Ji the building, instead of being, as I had supposed, under the <<rindows ; what is to be done now ? "

" Let us return," said Cecilia, in the same manner ; " my aifluence with my uncle is great, even though he seems un- ^nd to us at times. In the morning I will use it to per- suade him to free them, on receiving their promise to abaU' Ion all such attempts in future."

" In the morning it will be too late," returned Katherine ; '*I saw that demon. Kit Dillon, mount his horse, under the pretense of riding to the great hunt of to-morrow, but I know his malicious eye too well to be deceived in his errand. Hs is silent that he may be sure ; and if to-morrow cornea, »nd fuids Griffith within these walls, he will be condemned to a scaffold."

'* Say no more," said Alice Dunscombe, with singular emotion ; " some lucky circumstance may aid us with thin

186 THE PILOT.

As she spoke, she advanced : they bad not proceeded far, before the stern voice of the soldier challenged the party.

" 'Tis no time to hesitate," whispered Katherine : " we are the ladies of the Abbey, looking to our domestic affairs," she continued aloud, "and think it a little remarkable that we are to encounter armed men, while going through our own dwelling."

The soldier respectfully presented his musket, and re- plied, —

" My orders are to guard the doors of these three rooms, ladies ; we have prisoners in them, and as for anything else, my duty will be to serve you all in my power."

" Prisoners ! " exclaimed Katherine, in affected surprise ** does Captain Borroughcliffe make St. Ruth's Abbey a jail ! Of what offenses are the poor men guilty ? "

" I know not, my lady ; but, as they are sailors, I suppose they have run from his majesty's service."

" This is singular, truly ! and why are they not sent to the county prison ? "

" This must be examined into," said Cecilia, dropping the mantle from before her face. " As mistress of this house, I claim a right to know whom its walls contain ; you will oblige me by opening the doors, for I see you have the keys suspended from your belt."

The sentinel hesitated. He was greatly awed by the presence and beauty of the speakers, but a still voice re- minded him of his duty. A lucky thought, however, inter- posed to relieve him from his dilemma, and at the same time to comply with the request, or rather order, of the lady. As he handed her the keys, he said, —

" Here they are, my lady ; my orders are to keep the prisoners in, not to keep any 3ne out. When you are done with them, you will please return them to me, if it be only to save a poor fellow's eye ; for unless the door is kept locked, I shall not dare to look about me for a moment."

CecUia promised to return the keys, and she had ajj-lied one of them to a lock with a trembling hand, when Alica Dunscombe arrested her arm, and addressed the soldier.

" Say you there are three ? — are they men in years ? *"

THE PILOT. 137

"■ No, my lady, all good serviceable lads, who couldn't do better than to serve his majesty, or, as it may prove, worse than to run from their colors."

" But are their years and appearance similar ? I ask, for I have a friend who has been guilty of some boyish tricks, and has tried the seas, I hear, among other foolish hazards."

" There is no boy here. In the far room on the left is a mart, soldier-looking chap, of about thirty, who the captain thinks has carried a musket before now ; on him I am charged to keep a particular eye. Next to him is as pretty a looking youth as eyes could wish to see, and it makes one feel mournful to think what he must come to, if he has really deserted his ship. In the room near you, is a smaller, quiet little body, who might make a better preacher than a sailor, or a soldier either, he has such a gentle way with him."

Alice covered her eyes with her hand a moment, and then recovering herself, proceeded : —

" Gentleness may do more with the unfortunate men than fear ; here is a guinea ; withdraw to the far end of the passage, where you can watch them as well as here, while we enter, and endeavor to make them confess who and what they really are."

The soldier took the money, and after looking about him in a little uncertainty, he at length complied, as it was obviously true they could only escape by passing him, near the flight of steps. When he was beyond hearing, Alice Dumscombe turned to her companions, and a slight glow appeared in feverish spots on her cheeks, as she addressed them : —

" It would be idle to attempt to hide from you, that I expect to meet the individual whose voice I must have heard in reality to-night, instead of cmly imaginary soundai as I vainly, if not wickedly, supposed. I have many rea- sons for changing my opinion, the chief of which is, that he is leagued with the rebellious Americans in this unnatural war. Nay, chide me not. Miss Plowden •, you will remem- ber that I found my being on this 'sland. I come here on

138 THE PILOT.

no vain or weak errand, Miss Howard, but to »pare hnmaa blood." She paused, as if struggling to S}.eak calmly " But no one can witness the interview except our God."

" Go, then," said Katherine, secretly rejoicing at her de- termination, " while we inquire into the characters of the others."

Alice Dunscombe turned the key; and gently opening the door, she desired her companions to tap for her, as they returned, and then instantly disappeared in the apartment.

Cecilia and her cousin proceeded to the next door, which they opened in silence, and entered cautiously into the room. Katherine Plowden had so far examined into the arrange- ments of Colonel Howard, as to know that at the same time he had ordered blankets to be provided for the prisoners, he had not thought it necessary to administer any further to the accommodations of men who had apparently made their beds and pillows of planks for the greater part of their lives.

The ladies accordingly found the youthful sailor whom they sought, with his body rolled in the shaggy covering, extended at his length along the naked boards, and buried in a deep sleep. So timid were the steps of his visitors, and so noiseless was their entrance, that they approached even to his side without disturbing his slumbers. The head of the prisoner lay rudely pillowed on a billet of wood, one hand protecting his face from its rough surface, and the other thrust into his bosom, where it rested, with a relaxed grasp, on the handle of a dirk. Although he slept, and that heavily, yet his rest was unnatural and perturbed. His breathing was hard and quick, and something like the low, rapid murmurings of a confused utterance mingled with his respiration. The moment had now arrived when the char- acter of Cecilia Howard appeared to undergo an entire change. Hitherto she had been led by her cousin, whose activity and enterprise seemed to qualify her so well for the office of guide ; but now she advanced before Katherine, and, extending her lamp in such a manner as to throw the light across the face of the sleeper, she bent to examuie hvk wuntenance, with keen and anxious eyes.

" Am I right ? " whispered her couain.

THE PILOT. 139

*' May God, in his infinite compassion, pity and protect him ! " murmured CecUia, her whole frame involuntarily fihuddering, as the conviction that she beheld Griffith flashed across her mind. " Yes, Katherine, it is he, and presump- tuous madness has driven him here. But time presses ; he must be awakened, and his escape effected at every hazard."

" Nay, then, delay no longer, but rouse him from hi« sleep."

"Griffith! Edward Griffith!" said the soft tones ot Cecilia ; " Griffith, awake ! "

" Your call is useless, for they sleep nightly among tem- pests and boisterous sounds," said Katherine ; " but I have heard it said that the smallest touch will generally cause one of them to stir."

" Griffith ! " repeated Cecilia, laying her fair hand timidly on his own.

The flash of lightning is not more nimble than the leap that the young man made to his feet, which he no sooner gained, than his dirk gleamed in the light of the lamps, as he brandished it fiercely with one hand, while with the other he extended a pistol, in a menacing attitude, towards his disturbers.

" Stand back ! " he exclaimed ; " I am your prisoner only as a corpse ! "

The fierceness of his front, and the glaring eyeballs, that rolled wildly around him, appalled Cecilia, who shrank back in fear, dropping her mantle from her person, but still keep- ing her mild eyes fastened on his countenance with a con- fiding gaze, that contradicted her shrinking attitude, as she replied, —

" Edward, it is I — Cecilia Howard, come to «ave yon from destruction ; you are known even through your in- genious disguise."

The pistoi and the dirk fell together on the blanket of the young sailor, whose looks instantly lost their disturbed expression in a glow of pleasure.

" Fortune at length favors me ! " he cried. " This ia kind, Cecilia ; more than I deserve, and much more tha^ I expected. But you are nov, alone."

140 THE PILOT.

" 'Tis my cousin Kate ; to her piercing eyes you ow« your detection, and she has kindly consented to accompany me, that we might urge you to — nay, that we might, if necessary, assist you to fiy. For 'tis cruel folly, Griffith, thus to tempt your fate."

" Have I tempted it, then, in vain ! Miss Plowden, to you I must appeal for an answer and a justiicaticn.'

Katherine looked displeased-; but after a moment's hesi- tation, she replied, —

" Your servant, Mr. Griffith ; I perceive that the erudite Captain Barnstable has not only succeeded in spelling through my scrawl, but he has also given it to all handa for perusal."

" Now you do both him and me injustice," said Griffith ; " it surely was not treachery to show me a plan in which I was to be a principal actor."

" Ah ! doubtless your excuses are as obedient to your calls as your men," returned the young lady ; " but how comes it that the hero of the Ariel sends a deputy to perform a duty that is so peculiarly his own ? is he wont to be second in

rescues

?"

" Heaven forbid that you should think so meanly of him for a moment ! We owe you much, Miss Plowden ; but we may have other duties. You know that we sei've our com- mon country, and have a superior with us, whose beck is oiir law."

" Return, then, Mr. Griffith, while you may, to the service of our bleeding country," said Cecilia ; " and, after the joint effijrts of her brave children have expelled the intruders from her soil, let us hope there shall come a time when Katherine and myself may be restored to our native homes."

*' Think you, Miss Howard, to how long a period the mighty arm of the British king may extend that time ? We shall prevail ; a nation fighting for its dearest rights must ever prevail ; but 'tis not the work of a day, for a people, poor, scattered, and impoverished as we have been, to bea» down a power like that of England ; surely you forget, that in bidding me to leave you witli such expectations. Miss Howard, you doom me to an almost hopeless banishment I '

THE PILOT. 141

*» We must trust to the will of God," said Cecilia ; " if He ordaip that America is to be free only after protracted suf ferings, I can aid her but with my prayers ; but you have an arm and an experience, Griffith, that might do her better service ; waste not your usefulness, then, in visionary schemes for private happiness, but seize the moments as they offer, and return to your ship, if indeed it is yet in safety, and en« deavor to forget this mad undertaking, and, for a time, the being who has led you to the adventure."

" This is a reception that I had not anticipated," returned Griffith ; " for though accident, and not intention, has thrown me into your presence this evening, I did hope that whea I again saw the frigate, it would be in your company, Cecilia."

"You cannot justly reproach me, Mr. Griffith, with your disappointment ; for I have not uttered or authorized a syl- lable that could induce you or any one to believe that I would consent to quit my uncle."

*' Miss Howard will not think me presumptuous, if I re- mind her that there was a time when she did not think me unworthy to be intrusted with her person and happiness."

A rich bloom mantled on the face of Cecilia, as she replied, —

" Nor do I now, Mr. Griffith ; but you do well to remind me of my former weakness, for the recollection of its folly and imprudence only adds to my present strength."

" Nay," interrupted her eager lover, " if I intended a re« proach, or harbored a boastful thought, spurn me from you forever, as unworthy of your favor."

" I acquit you of both much easier than I can acquit my* Belf of the charge of weakness and folly," continued Cecilia ; " but there are many things that have occurred, since we last met, to prevent a repetition of such inconsiderate rash- ness on my part. One of them is," she added, smiling eweetly, " that I have numbered twelve additional months to my age. and a hundred to my experience. Another, and perhaps a more important one, is, that my uncle then con- tinued among the friends of his youth, surrounded by those whose blood mingies with his own ; but here he lives a •tranger ; and, though he finds some consolation in dwelling

142 THE PILOT.

i

in a building where his ancestors have dwelt before him, yet

he walks as an alien through its gloomy passages, and would find the empty honor but a miserable compensation for the kindness and affection of one whom he has loved and cher- ished from her infancy."

" And yet he is opposed to you in your private wishes, Cecilia, unless my besotted vanity has ied me to believe what it would now be madness to learn was false ; and in your opinions of public things, you are q'lite as widely separated. I should think there could be but little happiness dependent on a connection where there is no one feeling entertained in common."

" There is, and an all-important one," said Miss Howard ; " 'tis our love. He is my kind, my affectionate, and, unless thwarted by some evil cause, my indtdgent uncle and guard- ian, — and I am his brother Harry's child. This tie is not easily to be severed, ]\Ir. Griffith ; though, as I do not wish to Bee you crazed,! shall not add, that your besotted vanity has played you false ; but surely, Edward, it is possible to feel a double tie, and so to act as to discharge our duties to both. I never, never can or will consent to desert my uncle, a stranger as he is in the land whose rule he upholds so blindly. You know not this England, Griffith ; she receives her children from the colonies with cold and haughty dis- trust, like a jealous stepmother, who is wary of the favors that she bestows on her fictitious offspring."

" I know her in peace, and I know her in war," said the young saUor, proudly, " and can add, that she is a haughty friend, and a stubborn foe ; but she grapples now with those who ask no more of her than an open sea and an enemy's favors. But this determination will be melancholy tidings for me to convey to Barnstable."

" Nay," said Cecilia, smiling, " I cannot vouch for others who have no uncles, and who have an extra quantity of Ul- humor and spleen against this country, its people, and its laws, although profoundly ignorant of them all."

" Is Miss Howard tired of seeing me under the tiles ol St. Ruth ? " asked Katherine. " But hark ! are there noi fiootateps approaching along the gallery ? "

THE PILOT. 143

They listened, in breathless silence, and soon heard dis* tiuctly the approaching tread of more tliau one person. Voices were quite audil)le, and before they had time to con- sult on what was best to be done, the words of the speakers were distinctly heard at the door of their own apartment.

" Aye ! he has a military air about him, Peters, that wul make him a prize ; come, open the door."

" This is not his room, your honor," said the alarmed Soldier ; " he quarters in the last room in the gallery."

" How know you that, fellow ? come, produce the key, and open the way for me ; I care not who sleeps here ; there JB no saying but I may enlist them all three."

A single moment of dreadful incertitude succeeded, when the sentinel was heard saying, in reply to this peremptory order, —

" I thought your honor wanted to see the one with tho blacK stock, and so left the r3st of the keys at the other end of the passage ; but " —

" But nothing, you loon ; a sentinel should always carry his keys about him, like a jailer ; follow, then, and let* me see the lad who dresses so well to the right."

As the heart of Katherine began to beat less vehemently she said, —

" 'Tis Borroughcliffe, and too drunk to see that we have left the key in the door ; but what is to be done .'' we have but a moment for consultation."

" As the day dawns," said Cecilia, quickly, " I shall send here, under the pretense of conveying you food, my own woman " —

" There is no need of risking anything for my safety," in- terrupted Griffith ; " I hardly think we shall be detained, and if we are, Barnstable is at hand with a force that would scatter these recruits to the four winds of heaven."

" Ah ! that would lead to bloodshed, and scenes of hor- roi . " exclaimed Cecilia.

'' 1 /iflten ! " cried Katherine, " they approach again ! **

A man now stopped, once more, at their door, which was «l)eiied softly, and the face of the sentinel was tlunist into ihe aparticent.

144 THE PILOT.

** Captain Borrouglicliffe is on Ms rounds, and for fifty of your guineas I would not leave you here another minute."

" But one word more," said CecUia.

" Not a syllable, my lady, for my life," returned the man ; ** the lady from the next room waits for you, and in mercy to a poor fellow, go back where you came from."

The appeal was unanswerable, and they complied, Cecilia Baying, as they left the room, —

*' 1 shall send you food in the morning, young man, and directions how to take the remedy necessary to your safety."

In the passage they found Alice Dungcombe, with her face concealed in her mantle ; and, it would seem, by the heavy sighs that escaped from her, deeply agitated by the interview which she had just encountered.

But as the reader may have some curiosity to know what occurred to distress this unoffending lady so sensibly, we shall detain the narrative, to relate the substance of thai which passed between her and the individual whom she •ought

THE PILOT. 14b

CHAPTER XIV

Ai wben a lion in hln den, Hath heard the hwiVtn' cries, And nisheo forth to meet hig foea, So did the Douglaa rise.

Peect.

Alice Do'scombe did not find the second of the pnaon- ere l)uried,like Griinth, in sleep, Vjut he was seated on one of the old chairs that were in the apartment, with his back to the door, and ajjparently looking through the small win- dow, on the dark and dreary scenery over which the tempest was yet sweeping in its fury. Her approach was unheeded, until the light from her lamp glared across his eyes, when be started from his musing posture, and advanced to meet her. He was the first to speak.

" I expected this visit," he said, " when I found that yon recogTiized my voice ; and I felt a deep assurance in my breast, that Alice Dunscombe would never betray me."

His listener, though expecting this confirmation of her conjectures, was unable to make an immediate reply, but Bbe sank into the seat he had abandoned, and waited a few moments, as if to recover her powers.

" It was, then, no mysterious warning ! no airy voice that mocked my ear ; but a dread reality ! " she at length said. "Why have you thus braved the indignation of the laws of your country ? On what errand of fell mischief has youi ruthless temper again urged you to embark ? "

" This is strong and cruel language, coming from you to me, Alice Dunscombe," returned the stranger, with cool asperity ; " and the time has been when I should have been greeted, after a shorter absence, with milder terms."

" I deny it not ; I cannot, if I would, conceal my infirmity from myself or you : I hardly wish it to continue unknow t 10

146 THE PILOT.

to tLe world. K I have once jsteemed you — if I have

plighted to you my troth, and in my confiding folly forgot my higher duties, God has amply punished me for the weak- ness in your own evil deeds."

" Nay, let not our meeting be embittered with useless and provoking recriminations," said the other ; " for we have much to say before you communicate the errand of mercy on which you have come hither. I know you too well, Alice, not to see that you perceive the peril in wliich I am placed, and are willing to venture something for my safety. Your mother — does she yet live ? "

" She is gone in quest of ray blessed father," said Alice covering her pale face with her hands ; " they have left me alone, truly ; for he who was to have been all .to me, was first false to his faith, and has since become unworthy of my confidence."

The stranger became singularly agitated, his usually quiet eye glancing hastily from the floor to the countenance of his companion, as he paced the room with hurried steps ; at length he replied, —

" There is much, perhaps, to be said in explanation, that you do not know. I left the country, because I found in it nothing but oppression and injustice, and I could not invite you to become the bride of a wanderer, without either name or fortune. But I have now the opportunity of proving my truth. You say you are alone ; be so no longer, and try how far you were mistaken in believing that I should one day supply the place to you of both father and mother."

There is something sootliing to a female ear in the offer of even protracted justice, and Alice spoke with less of acrimony in her tones, during the remainder of their con- ference, if not with less of severity in her language.

" You talk not like a man whose life hangs but on a thread that the next minute may snap asunder. Whither would you lead me ? is it to the Tower at London ? "

" Think not I have weakly exposed my person without a sulficient protection," returned tko stranger, with cool Id- difference ; " there are many gallant men who only wait my signal, to crush the paltry force of this officer like a worn \eneath my feet."

THE PILOT. 147

" Then has the conjecture of Colone Howard been trae 1

and the manner in which the enemy's vessels have passed the shoals is no longer a mystery ! you have been their pilot!"

" I have."

" What ! would ye pervert the knowledge gained in the springtime of your guileless youth to the foul purpose of bringing desolation to the doors of those you once knew and respected ! John ! John ! is the image of the maiden whom in her morning of beauty and simplicity I believe you did love, so faintly impressed, that it cannot soften your hard heart to the misery of those among whom she has been born, and who compose her little world ? "

" Not a hair of theirs shall be touched, not a thatch shall blaze, nor shall a sleepless night befall the vilest among them — and all for your sake, Alice ! England comes to this contest with a seared conscience, and bloody hands, but all shall be forgotten for the present, when both opportunity and power offer to make her feel our vengeance, even in her vitals. I came on no such errand."

" What, then, has led you blindly into snares, where all your boasted aid would avail you nothing ; for, should I call aloud your name, even here, in the dark and dreary pas- sages of this obscure edifice, the cry would echo through the country ere the morning, and a whole people would be found in arms to punish your audacity."

" My name has been sounded, and that in no gentle strains," returned the Pilot, scornfully, " when a whole people have quailed at it, the craven, cowai'dly wretches fly- ing before the man they had wronged. I have lived to bear the banners of the new republic proudly in sight of the three kingdoms, when practiced skill and equal arms have in vain sti-uggled to pliick it down. Aye, Alice, the echoes of my guns are still roaring among your eastern hills, and would render my name more appalling than inviting to your sleeping yeomen."

" BoabC not of the momentary success that the arm of God has yielded to your unhallowed efforts," said Alice ; * for a day of severe and heavy retribution must follow .

148 THE PILOT.

nor flatter yourself with the idle hope, that >our name, terrible as ye have rendered it to the virtuous, is sufficient, of itself, to drive the thoughts of home, and country, and kin, from all who hear it. Kay, I know not that even now, in listening to you, I am not forgetting a solemn duty, which would teach me to proclaim your presence, that the land might know that her unnatural son is a dangerous bur- then in her bosom."

The Pilot turned quickly in his short walk ; and, after reading her countenance, with the expression of one who felt his security, he said, in gentler tones, —

" Would that be Alice Dunscombe ? would that be like the mild, generous girl whom I knew in my youth ? But I repeat, the threat would fail to intimidate, even if you were capable of executing it. I have said that it is only to make the signal, to draw around me a force sufficient to scatter these dogs of soldiers to the four winds of heaven."

" Have you calculated your power justly, John ? " said Alice, unconsciously betraying her deep interest in his safety. " Have you reckoned the ijrobability of Mr. Dillon's arriving, accompanied by an armed band of horsemen, with the morning's sun ? for it's no secret in the Abbey that he is gone in quest of such assistance."

" Dillon ! " exclaimed the Pilot, starting ; " who is he ? and on what suspicion does he seek this addition to your guard ? "

" Nay, John, look not at me, as if you would know the secrets of my heart. It was not I who prompted him to such a step ; you cannot for a moment think that I would beti'ay you ! But too surely he has gone ; and, as the night wears rapidly away, you should be using the hour of grace to effect your own security."

" Fear not for me, Alice," returned the Pilot proudly; while a faint smUe struggled around his compressed lip * and yet I like not this movement either. How call you his name ? Dillon ! is he a minion of King George ? "

" He is, John, what you are not, a loyal subject of his sovereign lord the king ; and, though a native of the re- volted colonies, he h-is preserved his virtue uncontaminatod uuid the corruptions and temptations of the times."

THE PILOT. 149

•* An American I and disloyal to the liberties of the human race ! By Heuven, he had better not cross me ; for if my arm reach him, it shall hold him forth as a spectacle ol treason to the world."

" And has not the world enough of such a spectacle in yourself? Are ye not, even now, breathing your native a'j', though lurking through the mists of the island, with desptr- ate intent against its peace and happiness?"

A dark and fierce expression of angry resentment flashed from the eyes of the Pilot, and even his iron frame seemed to shake with emotion, as he answered, —

" Call you his dastardly and seliish treason, aiming, as it does, to aggrandize a few, at the expense of millions, a par- allel case to the generous ardor that impels a man to fight in the defense of sacred liberty ? I might tell you that I am armed in the common cause of my fellow-subjects and coun- trymen ; that though an ocean divided us in distance, yet are we a people of the same blood, and children of the same parents, and that the hand which oppresses one inflicts an injury on the other. But I disdain all such narrow apolo- gies. I was born on this orb, and I claim to be a citizen of it. A man with a soul not to be limited by the arbitrary boundaries of tyrants and hirelings, but one who has the right as well as the inclination to grapple with oppression, in whose name soever it is exercised, or in whatever hollow and specious shape it founds its claim to abuse our race."

" Ah ! John, John, though this may sound like reason to rebellious ears, to mine it seemeth only as the ravings of insanity. It is in vain ye build up your new and disorganiz- ing systems of rule, or rather misrule, which are opposed to all that the world has ever yet done, or ever will see done in peace and happiness. What avail your subtleties and false reasonings against the heart ? It is the heart which iells us where our home is, and how to love it."

" You talk like a weak and prejudiced woman, Alice," said the Pilot, more composedly ; " and one who would ghackle nations with the ties that bmd the young and feebl« of your own sex togethe"."

" And by what holier or better bond can they be united ?

IbO THE PILOT.

said Alice. " Are not the relations of domestic life of God'g establishing, and have not the nations grown from families, as branches spread from the stem, till the tree overshadows the land ? 'Tis an ancient and sacred tie that binds man to his nation ; neither can it be severed without infamy."

The Pilot smiled disdainfully, and throwing open the rough exterior of his dress, he drew forth, in succession, several articles, while a glowing pride lighted his counte- nance, as he offered them singly to her notice.

" See, Alice ! " he said, " call you this infamy ! This broad sheet of parchment is stamped with a seal of no mean importance, and it bears the royal name of the princely Louis also ! And view this cross ! decorated as it is with jewels, the gift of the same illustrious hand ; it is not apt to be given to the children of infamy, neither is it wise or decorous to stigmatize a man who has not been thought un- worthy to consort with princes and nobles, by the oppro« bi'ious name of the ' Scotch Pirate.' "

" And have ye not earned the title, John, by ruthless deeds and bitter animosity ? I could kiss the baubles ye show me, if they were a thousand times less splendid, had they been laid upon your breast by the hands of your lawful prince ; but now they appear to my eyes as indelible blots upon your attainted name. As for your associates, I have heard of them : and it seemeth that a queen might be better employed than encouraging by her smiles the disloyal sub- jects of other monarchs, though even her enemies. God only knows when his pleasure may suffer a spirit of disaffec- tion to rise up among the people of her own nation, and then the thought that she has encouraged rebellion may prove both bitter and unwelcome."

" That the royal and lovely Antoinette has deigned to repay my services with a small portion of her gracious ap- probation is not among the least of my boasts," returned the Pilot, in affected humility, while secret pride was manifested even in his lofty attitude. " But venture not a syllable in her dispraise, for you know not whom you censure. She M less distinguished by her illustrious bii'th and elevated **on, than by hor virtues and loveliness. She lives the

THE PILOT. 161

first of her sex in Europe : the daughter of an einpeior, tho consort of the most powerful king, and the smiling and be- loved i^atroness of a nation who worship at her feet. Her life is above all reproach, as it is above all earthly punish- ment, were she so lost as to merit it ; and it has been the will of Providence to place her far beyond the reach of all human misfortunes."

" Has it placed her above human errors, John ! punish- ment is the natural and inevitable consequence of sin ; and unless she can say more than has ever fallen to the lot of humanity to say truly, she may yet be made to feel the chastening arm of One, to whose eyes all her pageantry and power are as vacant as the air she breathes — so insignifi- cant must it seem when com^iared to his own just rule ! But if you vaunt that you have been permitted to kiss the hem of the robes of the French queen, and have been the companion of high-born and flaunting ladies, clad in their richest array, can ye yet say to yourself, that amid them all ye have found one whose tongue has been bold to tell you the truth, or whose heart has sincerely joined in her false professions ? "

" Certainly none have met me with the reproaches that I have this night received from Alice Dunscombe, after a separation of six long years," returned the Pilot.

" If I have spoken to you the words of holy truth, John, let them not be the less welcome, because they are strangers to your ears. O ! think that she who has thus dared to use the language of reproach to one whose name :'s terrible to all who live on the border of this island, is led to the rash act by no other motive than interest in your eternal wel fare."

" Alice ! Ahce ! you madden me with these foolish speeches ! \m I a monstei- to frighten unprotected women and helpless children ? What mean these epithets, as coupled with my name ? Have you, too, lent a credulous ear to the vile calumnies with which the policy of your rulers has ever attempted to destroy the fair fame of those who oppose them, and those chiefly who oppose them with ■ixcess r My name may be terrible to the otficers of th«

loJ! THE PILOT.

royal fleet, but where and how have I earned a claim to be

considered formidable to the helpless and unoffending ? "

Alice Dunscombe cast a furtive and timid glance at the Pilot, which spoke even stronger than her words, as she re- plied, —

" 1 know not that all which is said of you and your deedj is true. I have often prayed, in bitterness and sorrow, that a tenth part of that which is laid to your charge may not be heaped on your devoted head at the great and final account. But, John, I have known you long and well, and Heaven forbid, that on this solemn occasion, which may be the last» the last of our earthly interviews, I should be found want, ing in Christian duty, through a woman's weakness. I have often thought, when I have heard the gall of bitter reproach and envenomed language hurled against your name, that they who spoke so rashly, little understood the man they vituperated. But, though ye are at times, and I may say almost always, as mild and even as the smoothest sea over which ye have ever sailed, yet God has mingled in your na- ture a fearfid mixture of fierce passions, which, roused, are more like the southern waters when troubled with the tor- nado. It is diflicult for me to say how far this evil spirit may lead a man, who has been goaded by fancied wrongs to forget his country and home, and who is suddenly clothed ■with power to show his resentments."

The PUot listened with rooted attention, and his piercing eye seemed to reach the seat of those thoughts which she but half expressed ; still he retained the entire command o* himself, and answered, more in sorrow than in anger, —

" If anything could convert me to your own peaceful and unresisting opinions, Alice, it would be the reflections that offer themselves at this conviction, that even you ha"Tfl been led, by the base tongues of my dastardly enemies, to doubt my honor and conduct. What is fame, when a man can be thus traduced to his nearest friends ? But no more of these childish reflections ! they are unworthy of myself, my office, and the sacred cause in which I have enlisted I '

" Nay, John, shake them not off," said Alice, unconsciously laying her hand on his arm ; " they are as the dew to tL«

THE PILOT. 168

pa/ched herbage, and may freshen the feelings of your youth, and soften the heart that has grown hard, if hard it be, more by unnatural indulgence, than its own base incli- nations."

" Alice Dunscombe," said the Pilot, api^roaching her with solemn earnestness, " I have learnt much this night, though I came not in quest of such knowledge. You have taught me how powerful is the breath of the slanderer, and how frail is the tenure by which we hold our good names. Full twenty times have I met the hirelings of your prince in open battle, fighting ever manfully under that flag which was first raised to the breeze by my own hands, and which, I thank my God, I have never yet seen lowered an inch ; but with no one act of cowardice or private wrong in aU that service can I reproach myself; and yet, how am I re- warded ! The tongue of the vile calumniator is keenei than the sword of the warrior, and leaves a more indelible scar ! "

" Never have ye uttered a truer sentiment, John, and God send that ye may encourage such thoughts to your own eternal advantage," said Alice, with engaging interest. '* You say that you have risked your precious life in twenty combats, and observe how little of Heaven's favor is be- stowed on the abettors of rebellion ! They tell me that the world has never witnessed a more desperate and bloody struggle than this last, for which your name has been made to sound' to the furthermost ends of the isle."

" 'Twill be known wherever naval combats are spoken of!" interrupted the Pilot, the melancholy which had bo* ^'Un to lower in his countenance giving place to a look of proud exultation.

" And yet its fancied glory cannot shield your name from pn-ong, nor are the rewards of the victor equal, in a tempo- ral sense, to those which the vanquished has received. Know you that our gracious monarch, deeming your adver* sary's cause so sacred, has extended to him liis royal favor ? "

" Aye ! he has dubbed him knight ! " exclaimed the Pilot, with a scornful and bitter laugh : " let him be again furnished with a ship, and me with another opportunity, and

154 THE PILOT.

I promise him an earldom, if being again vanquislied cai

constitute a claim ! "

" Spe«ik not so rashly, nor vaunt yourself of possessing a protecting power that may desert you, John, when you most need it, and least expect the change," returned his compan- ion ; " the battle is not always to the strong, neither is the race to the swift."

* Forget you, my good Alice, that your words wili admit of a double meaning ? Has the battle been to the strong ! Thoxigh you say not well in denying the race to the swift. Yes, yes ; often and again have the dastards escaped me by their prudent speed ! Alice Dunscombe, you know not a thousandth part of the torture that I have been made to feel, by high-born miscreants, who envy the merit they cannot equal, and detract from the glory of deeds that they dare not attempt to emulate. How have I been cast upon the ocean, like some unworthy vessel that is commissioned to do a desperate deed, and then to bury itself in ftie ruin it has made ! How many malignant hearts have triumphed as they beheld my canvas open, thinking that it was spread to hasten me to a gibbet, or to a tomb in the bosom of the ocean ! but I have disappointed them ! "

The eyes of the Pilot no longer gazed with their piercing and settled meaning ; but they flashed with a fierce and ^ild pleasure, as he continued, in a louder voice, —

" Yes, bitterly have I disappointed them ! O ! the tri- umph over my fallen enemies has been tame to this heart- felt exultation which places me immeasurably above those false and craven hypocrites ! I begged, I implored the Frenchmen, for the meanest of their craft, which possessed but the common qualities of a ship of war ; I urged the pol- icy and necessity of giving me such a force, for even then 1 promised to be found in harm's way ; but envy and jealousy robbed me of my just dues, and of more than half my glory They call me pirate ! If I have claim to the name, it wac furnished more by the paltry outfit of my friends, than by any act towards my enemies ! "

** And do not these recollections prompt you to return to your allegiance, to your prince and native land, Johr i ' wud Alice, in a subdued voice.

THE PILOT. 156

' Away with the silly thought ! " interrupted the Pilot. re.««lled to himself as if by a sudden conviction of the weak- ne.>ri he had betrayed ; " it is ever thus where men are made cOiiepicuous by their works — but to your visit ; I have the po*ver to rescue myself and companions from this paltry coiiflnement, and yet, I would not have it done with violence for your sake. Bring you the means of doing it in quiet ? "

' When ths morning arrives, you will all be conducted to the apartment where we first met. This will be done at the solicitation of Miss Howard, under the plea of compas- eion and justice, and with the professed object of inquiring into your situations. Her request wiU not be refused ; and wuxle your guard is stationed at the door, you will be shown, Dy another entrance, through the private apartments of the wing, to a window whence you can easily leap to the ground, where a thicket is at hand ; afterwards we shall trust your safety to your own discretion."

" And if this Dillon, of whom you have spoken, should suspect the truth, how will you answer to the law for aiding our escape ? "

" I believe he little dreams who is among the prisoners," said Alice, musing, " though he may have detected the char- acter of one of your companions. But it is private feeling, rather than public spirit, that urges him on."

" I have suspected something of this," returned the Pilot, with a smile, that crossed those features where ungovernable passions had so lately been exhibited, with an effect that might be likened to the last glimmering of an expiring con- flagration, serving to render the surrounding ruin more ob- vious. " Tliis young Griffith has led me from my direct path with his idle imprudence, and it is right that his mis- tress should incur some risk. But with you, Alice, the case is different ; here you are only a guest, and it is unnecessary that you should be known in the unfortunate affair. Should my name get abroad, this recreant American, this Colonel Howard, wiU find all the favor he has purchased by advo- cating the cause of tyranny necessa"y to protect him from Ihe displeasure of the ministry."

" I feai to trust so delicate = measure to the young

156 THE PILOT.

discretion of my amiable friend," said Alice, shftking her head.

" Remember, that she has her attachment to plead in her excuse ; but dare you say to the world that you stUl re- member, with gentle feelings, the man whom you stigmatize with such opprobrious epithets ? "

A slight color gleamed over the brow of Alice Duns- combe, as she uttered, in a voice that was barely audible, —

" There is no longer a reason why the world shoiOd know of such a weakness, though it did exist." And, as the feint glow passed away, leaving her face pale nearly as the hue of death, her eyes kindled with unusual fire, and she added, " They can but take my life, John ; and that I am ready to lay down in your service ! "

" Alice ! " exclaimed the softened Pilot, " my kind, my gentle Alice ! "

The knock of the sentinel at the door was heard at this critical moment. "Without waiting for a reply to his sum- mons, the man entered the apartment ; and, in hurried lan- guage, declared the urgent necessity that existed for the lady to retire. A few brief remonstrances were uttered by both Alice and the PUot, who wished to comprehend more clearly each other's intentions relative to the intended es- cape ; but the fear of personal punishment rendered the sol- dier obdurate, and a dread of exposure at length induced the lady to comply. She arose, and was leaving the apart- ment with lingering steps, when the Pilot, touching her hand, whispered to her impressively, —

" Alice, we meet again before I leave this island for- ever ? "

" We meet in the morning, John," she returned, in the eame tone of voice, " in the apartments of Miss Howard."

He dropped her hand, and she glided from the room, when the impatient sentinel closed the door, and silently turned the key on his prisoner. The Pilot remained in a Ustening attitude, until the light footsteps of the retiring pair were no longer audible, when he paced his confined apartment with perturbed steps, occasionally pausing to look out at tVe driving clouds, and the groaning oaks that were

THE PILOT. 157

tremoling and rocking their broad arms in the fitful gusts of the gale. In a few minutes the tempest in his own pas- sions had gradually subsided to the desperate and still calm- ness that made him the man he was ; when he again seated himself where Alice had found him, and began to muse on the events of the times, from which the transition to pro- jecting schemes of daring enterprise and mighty conse- quences was but the usual employment of his active and restless mind.

158 THE PILOT.

CHAPTER XV.

1 have no exquisite reason for't, but I've reason good enough.

TWELJ-TH NiOBI

Ths cou&tenance of Captain BorroughclifFe, when the Bentinel admitted him to the apartment he had selected, was in that state of doubtful illumination, when looks of peculiar cunning blend so nicely with the stare of vacancy, that the human face is rendered not unlike an April day, now smil- ing and inviting, and at the next moment clouded and dreary. It was quite apj^arent that the soldier had an ob- ject for his unexpected visit, by the importance of his air, and the solemnity of the manner with which he entered on the business. He waved his hand for the sentinel to retire, with lofty dignity, and continued balancing his body, during the closing of the door, and while a sound continued audible to his confused faculties, with his eyes fixed in the direction of the noise, with that certain sort of wise look that in many men supplies the place of something better. When the cap« tain felt himself secure from interruption, he moved round with quick military precision, in order to face the man of whom he was in quest. Griffith had been sleeping, though uneasily, and with watchfulness ; and the Pilot had been calmly awaiting the visit which it seemed he had antici- pated ; but their associate, who was no other than Captain Manual, of the marines, was discovered in a very different condition from either. Though the weather was cool, and the night tempestuous, he had thrown aside his pea-jacket, with most of his disguise, and was sitting ruefully on hia blanket, wiping, with one hand, the large drops of sweat from his forehead, and occasionally grasping his throat with the other, with a kind of convulsed mechanical movement. He stared wildly at his visitor, though his entrance pro

THE PILOT. 159

daced no other alteration in these pursuits, than a more diligent application of his handkerchief, and a more frequent grasping of his naked neck, as if he were willing to ascer- tain, by actual experiment, what degree of pressure the part was able to sustain, without exceeding a given quantity of inconvenience.

" Comrade, I greet ye ! " said BorroughclifFe, staggering tc the side of his prisoner, where he seated himself with an eiitu'e absence of ceremony : " Comrade, I greet ye ! Is the kingdom in danger, that gentlemen traverse the island in the uniform of the regiment of incognitus, incognitii, 'torum — damme, how I forget my Latin ! Say, my fine fellow, are you one of these 'torums ? "

Manual breathed a little hard, which, considering the manner he had been using his throat, was a thing to be ex- pected; but, swallowing his apprehensions, he answered with more spirit than his situation rendered prudent, or the occasion demanded.

" Say what you wUl of me, and treat me as you please, I defy any man to call me Tory with truth."

" You are no 'torum ! Well, then, the war-office has got up a new dress ! Yoiu" regiment must have earned their facings in storming some water battery, or perhaps it has done duty as marines. Am I right ? "

" I'll not deny it," said Manual, more stoutly : " I have eerved as a marine for two years, though taken from the line of" —

" The army," said Borroughcliffe, interrupting a most damning confession of which "• state rine " the other had be- longed to. " I kept a dog-watch, myself, once, on board the fleet of my Lord Howe ; but it is a service that I do not envy any man. Our afternoon parades were dreadfully un- steady for it's a time, you know, when a man wants solid ground to stand on. However, I purchased my company with some prize-money that fell in my way, and I always remember the marine service with gi-atitude. But tliis ia dry work. I have put a bottle o+' sparkling Madeira in my pocket, with a couple of glasses, which we will discuss, while we talk over more important matters. Thrust your hand

160 THE PILOT.

into my right pocket ; I have been used to dress to the front 80 long, that it comes mighty awkward to me to make this backward motion, as if it were into a cartridge-box."

Manual, who had been at a loss how to construe the man- ner of the other, perceived at once a good deal of plain English in this request, and he dislodged one of Colonel Howard's dusty bottles, with a dexterity tLat denoted tne earnestness of his purpose. Borroughcliife had made a suitable j^rovision of glasses ; and extracting the cork in a certain scientific manner, he tendered to his companion a bumper of the liquor, before another syllable was uttered by either of the expectants. The gentlemen concluded their draughts with a couple of smacks, that sounded not unlike the pistols of two practiced duellists, though certainly a much less alarming noise, when the entertainer renewed the discourse.

" I like one of your musty -looking bottles, that is covered with dust and cobwebs, with a good southern tan on it," he said. " Such liquor does not abide in the stomach, but it gets into the heart at once, and becomes blood in the beat- ing of a pulse. But how soon I knew you ! That sort of knowledge is the freemasonry of our craft. I knew you to be the man you are, the moment I laid eyes on you in what we call our guard-room ; but I thought I would humor the old soldier who lives here, by letting him have the formula of an examination, as a sort of deference to his age and former rank. But I knew you the instant I saw you. I have seen you before ! "

The theory of BorroughclLffe, in relation to the incorpo- lation of wine with the blood, might have been true in the case of the marine, whose whole frame appeared to undergo a kind of magical change by the experiment of drinking, which, the reader will understand, was diligently persevered in, while a drop remained in the bottle. The perspiration no longer rolled from his brow, neither did his throat mani fest that uneasiness which had rendered such constant ex- ternal applications necessary ; but he settled down into an air of cool but curious interest, which, in some measure, wai khe necessary concomitant of his situation.

THE PILOT. 161

" We may have met before, as I have been much m ser- vice, aud yet I know not where you could have seen me," said Manual. " Were you ever a prisoner of war ? "

" Hum ! not exactly such an unfortunate devil ; but a sort of conventional non-combatant. I shared the hardships, the glory, the equivocal victories (where we killed and drove countless numbers of rebels — who were not), and, woe h me ! the capitulation of Burgoyne. But let that pass — which was more than the Yankees would allow us to do. loa Know not where I could have seen you ? I have seen you on parade, in the field, in battle and out of battle, in camp, in barracks, in short, everywhere but in a diawing- room. No, no ; I have never seen you before this night in a drawing-room ! "

Manual stared in a good deal of wonder and some un- easiness, at these confident assertions, which promised to put his life in no little jeopardy ; and it is to be supposed that the pecuUar sensation about the throat was revived, as he made a heavy draught, before he said, —

" You will swear to this — can you call me by name ? "

" I will swear to it in any court in Christendom," said the dogmatical soldier ; " and your name is — is — Fugle- man ! "

" If it is, T'll be damned ! " exclaimed the other with ex- alting precipitation.

" Swear not ! " said BorroughclifFe, with a solemn air ; " for what mattereth an empty name ! Call thyself by what appellation thou wilt, I know thee. Soldier is written on thy martial front ; thy knee bendeth not ; nay, I even doubt if the rebelliou8 member bow in prayer."

" Come, sir," interrupted Manual, a little sternly ; " 1.0 more of this trifling, but declare your will at once. Rebel- lious member, indeed ! These fellows will call the skies of America rebellious heavens shortly ! "

"I like thy spirit, lad," returned the undisturbed Bor- roughcliffe : " it sits as gracefully on a soldier, as his sash Hnd gorget ; but it is lost on an old campaigner. I marvali however, that thou takest such umbrage at my slight at- lack on thy orthodoxy. I fear the fortress must be weak, U

162 THE PILOT.

where the outworks are defended with such a waste of ass- necessary courage ! "

" I know not why or wherefore you have paid me thii visit, Captain Borroughcliffe," said Manual, with a laudable discretion, which prompted him to reconnoitre the other's views a little, before he laid himself more open ; " if captain be your rank, and Borroughcliffe be your name. But this I do know, that if it be only to mock me in my present sit- uation, it is neither soldier-like nor manly ; and it is what, in other circumstances, might be attended by some hazard."

" Hum ! " said the other, with his immovable coolness ; " I see you set the wine down as nothing, though the king drinks not as good ; for the plain reason that the sun of England cannot find its way through the walls of Windsor Castle as easily as the sun of Carolina can warm a garret covered with cedar shingles. But I like your spirit more and more. So draw yourself up in battle array, and let us have another charge at this black bottle, when I shall lay before your military eyes a plan of the whole campaign."

Manual fi^rst bestowed an inquiring glance on his com- panion ; when, discovering no other expression than foolish cunning, which was fast yielding before the encroaching footsteps of stupid inebriety, he quietly placed himself in the desired position. The wine was drunk, when Borroughcliffe proceeded to open his communications more unreservedly.

" You are a soldier, and I am a soldier. That you are a soldier, my orderly could tell ; for the dog has both seei a campaign, and smelt villainous saltpetre, when compounded according to a wicked invention ; but it required the officer to detect the officer. Privates do not wear such linen is this, which seemeth to me an unreasonably cool attire for the season ; nor velvet stocks, with silver buckles ; nor is there often the odorous flavor of sweet-scented pomatum to be discovered around their greasy locks. In short, thou art both soldier and officer."

" I confess it," said Manual ; " I hold the rank of captaioi and shall expect the treatment of one."

" I thmk I have furnished you with wine fit for a gen «ral.'' r^t'lrned Borroughcliffe; "but have your own way

THE PILOT. 163

Now, it would be apparent to men, whose facvdties had noi been rendered clear by such cordials as this dwelling abouudeth with, that when you officei's journey through the island, clad in the uniform iucognitorum, which, in your case, means the marine corps, something is in the wind of more than usual moment. Soldiers owe their allegiamxr to their prince, and next to him, to war, women, and wine. Of war, there is none in the realm ; of women plenty; but win-g, I reget to say, that is, good wine, grows both sc&;"ce and dear. Do I speak to tlie purpose, comrade ? "

" Proceed," said Manual, whose eyes were not less atten- tive than his ears, in a hope to discover whether his true character were understood.

" En avant ! in plain English, forward march ! Well, then, the difficulty lies between women and wine ; which, when the former are pretty, and the latter rich, is a very agreeable sort of an alternative. That it is not wine of which you are in quest, I must believe, my comrade captain, or you would not go on the adventure in such shabby attire. You will excuse me, but who would think of putting any- thing better than their Port before a man in a pair of tarred trowsers ? No ! no ! Hollands, green-and-yellow Hollands, is a potation good enough to set before one of the present bearing."

" And yet I have met with him who has treated me to the choicest of the south-side Madeira ! "

" Know you the very side from which the precious fluid comes! That looks more in favor of the wine. But, after all, woman, dear capricious woman, who one moment fancies Bhe sees a hero in regimentals, and the next a saint in a cas- sock ; and who always sees something admirable in a suitor, whether he be clad in tow or velvet — • woman is at the bottom of this mysterious masquerading. Am I right, com- rade ? "

By this time Manual had discovered that he was safe, and he returned to the conversation with a revival of all his eady wits, wliich had been strangely paralyzed by his pre- vious disorder in the region of the throat. First bestowiui' R wicked wink on his companion, and a look that would have ouikloue the wisest aspect of Solomon, he replied. —

164 THE PILOT.

* Ah ! woman Las much to answer for ! "

" I knew it," exclaimed Borroughcliffe ; " and ttis confe»> sion only confirms me in the good opinion I have always en- tertained of myself. If his majesty has any particular wish to close this American business, let him have a certain con- vention burnt, and a nameless person promoted, and we ehall see ! But, answer as you love truth ; is it a busiDcsa of holy matrimony, or a mere dalliance with the sweets of Cupid?"

" Of honest wedlock," said Manual, with an air as seriooi as if Hymen already held him in his fetters.

" 'Tis honest ! Is there money ? "

" Is there money ? " repeated Manual, with a sort of con- temptuous echo. " Would a soldier part with his liberty, but with his life, unless the chains were made of gold ? '*

" That's the true military doctrine ! " cried the other ; " faith, you have some discretion in your amphibious corps, I find ! But why this disguise ? are the ' seniors grave,' as well as ' potent and reverend ' ? Why this disguise, I again ask ? "

" WTiy this disguise ! " repeated Manual, coolly : " is there any such thing as love in your regiment without disguise ? With us, it is a regular symptom of the disease."

" A most just and discreet description of the passion, my amphibious comrade ! " said the English officer ; " and yet the symptoms in your case are attended by some very ma- lignant tokens. Does your mistress love tar ? "

" No ; but she loveth me ; and, of course, whatever attire I choose to appear in."

" Still discreet and sagacious ! and yet only a most pal- pable feint to avoid my direct attack. You have heard of such a placer*as Gretna Green, a little to the north of this, I dare say, my aquatic comrade. Am I right ? "

" Gretna Green ! " said Manual, a little embarrassed by his ignorance ; " some parade-ground, I suppose ? "

" Aye, for those who suffer under the fire of Master Cupi(i A parade-ground ! well, there is some artful simplicity in that ! But all will not do with an old campaigner. It is a difficult thing to impose on an old soldier, my water battery

THE PILOT. 166

Now listen and answ er ; and you shall see what it is to pos- sess a discernment — therefore deny nothing. You are in love ! "

" I deny nothing," said Manual, comprehending at once that this was his safest course.

" Your mistress is willing, and the money is ready, but the old people say, Halt ! "

" I am still mute ! "

" 'Tis prudent. You say, March — Gretna Green is the object ; and your flight is to be by water ! "

" Unless I can make my escape by water, I shall never make it," said Manual, with another sympathetic movement with his hand to his throat.

" Keep mute ; you need tell me nothing. I can see into a mystery that is as deep as a well, to-night. Your companions are hirelings ; perhaps your shipmates ; or men to pilot you on this expedirion ! "

" One is my shipmate, and the other is our pilot," said Manual, with more truth than usual.

" You are well provided. One thing more, and I shall become mute in my turn. Does she whom you seek lie in this house ? "

" She does not ; she lies but a short distance from this place ; and I should be a happy fellow could I but once more put foot " —

" Eyes on her. Now listen, and you shall have your wish. You possess the ability to march yet, which, considering the lateness of the hour, is no trifling privilege ; open that win- dow — is it possible to descend from it .'' "

Manual eagerly complied, but he turned from the place in iisappointment.

"It would be certain death to attempt the leap. Tha devil only could escape from it."

" So I should think," returned Borroughcliffe, dryly. " You must be content to pass for that respectable gentleman for the rest of your days, in St. Ruth's Abbey. For through that identical hole must you wing your flight on the oinioM •f love."

" But how ! The tL'ng ii impossible."

166 THE PILOT

" In imagLQation only. There is some stir, a good deal of foolish apprehension, and a great excess of idle c iriosity among certain of the tenants of this house, on your account. They fear the rebels, who, we all know, have not soldiers enough to do their work neatly at home, and who, of course, would never think of sending any here. You wish to be snug — I wish to serve a brother in distress. Through that window you must be supposed to iiy — no matter how ; while by following me you can pass the sentinel, and retire peaceably, like any other mortal on your own two Btout legs."

This was a result that exceeded all that Manual had an- ticipated from their amicable but droll dialogue ; and the hint was hardly given, before he threw on the garments that agitation had before rendered such encumbrances ; and in less time than we have taken to relate it, the marine was completely equipped for his departure. In the mean time, Captain Borroughcliffe raised himself to an extremely erect posture, which he maintained with the inflexibility of a rigid martinet. When he found himself established on his feet. the soldier intimated to his prisoner that he was ready to proceed. The door was instantly opened by Manual, and together they entered the gallery.

" Who comes there ? " cried the sentinel, with a vigilance and vigor that he intended should compensate for his pre- vious neglect of duty.

" Walk straight, that he may see you," said Borrough- cliffe, vrith much philosophy.

" Who goes there ? " repeated the sentinel, throwing hia aausket to a poise, with a rattling sound that echoed along the naked walls.

" Walk crooked," added Borroughcliffe, " that if he fire he may miss."

" We shall be shot at, with this folly," muttered ManuaL ^ We are friends, and your officer is one of us."

" Stand, friends ; advance, officer, and give the counter tign," cried the sentinel.

" That is much easier said than done," returned his cap« tain ; '■'■ forward, Mr. Amphibious, you can walk like a post^

THE PILOT. 167

man , move to the front, and proclaim the magical word, 'Loyalty;' 'tis a standing countersign, ready furnish "^l to my hands by mine host, the colonel ; your road is then clear before you — bat hark " —

Manual made an eager step forward, when, recollecting himself, he turned, and added, —

" My assistants, the seamen ! I can do nothing without them."

" Lo ! the keys are in the doors, ready for my aumis- eion," said tlie Englishman ; " turn them, and bring out your forces."

Quick as thought. Manual was in the room of Griffith, to whom he brietiy communicated the situation of things, when he reappeared in the passage, and then proceeded ou a similar errand to the room of the Pilot.

" Follow, and behave as usual," he whispered ; " say not a word, but trust all to me."

The Pilot arose, and obeyed these instructions without asking a question, with the most admirable coolness.

" I am now ready to proceed," said Manual, when they had joined Borroughcliff'e.

During the short time occupied in these arrangements, the sentinel and his captain had stood looking at each othef with great military exactitude. The former ambitious of manifesting his watchfulness, the latter awaiting the return of the marine. The captain now beckoned to Manual to advance and give the countersign.

"Loyalty," whispered Manual, when he approached the sentinel. But the soldier had been allowed time to reflect ; and as he well understood the situation of hio officer, he hesitated to allow the prisoner to pass. After a moment'* pause, he said, —

" Advance, friends." At this summons the whole party moved to the point of his bayonet ; when the man contm- ued : " The prisoners have the countersign, Captain Bor* roughclitfe, but 1 dare not let them pass."

" Why not ? " asked the captain ; " am I not here, sirrah 1 do you not know me ? "

" Yes, sir, I know your honor, and respect your honor

168 THE PILOT.

but I was posted here by my sergeant, and ordered not to

let these men pass out on any account."

" That's what I call good disciplme," said Borroughcliffe, with an exulting laugh ; " I knew the lad would not mind me any more than that he would obey the orders of that lamp. Here are no slaves of the lamp, my amphibious comrade ; drill ye your marines in this consummate style to niceties ? "

" What means this trifling ? " said the Pilot, sternly.

" Ah ! I thought I should turn the laugh on you," cried Manual, affecting to join in the mirth ; " we know all these things well, and we practice them in our corps ; but though the sentinel cannot know you, the sergeant will ; so let him be called, and orders be given through him to the man on post, that we may pass out."

" Your throat grows uneasy, I see," said Borroughcliffe ; " you crave another bottle of the generous fluid. Well, it shall be done. Sentinel, you can throw up yon window, and give a call to the sergeant."

" The outcry wUl ruin us," said the Pilot, in a whisper to Griffith.

" Follow me," said the young sailor. The sentinel was turning to execute the orders of his captain as Griffith spoke, when springing forward, in an instant he wrenched the musket from his hands ; a heavy blow with its butt felled the astonished soldier to the floor ; then, poising his weapon, Griffith exclaimed, —

" Forward ! we can clear our own way now ! "

" On ! " said the Pilot, leaping lightly over the prostrate soldier, a dagger gleaming in one hand, and a pistol pre- sented in the other.

Manual was by his side in an instant, armed in a similar manner ; and the three rushed together from the building, without meeting any one to oppose their flight.

Borroughcliffe was utterly unable to follow, and so as- tounded was he by this sudden violence, that several min- ntes passed before he was restored to the use of his speech, a faculty which seldom deserted him. The man had recov- ered his senses and his feet, however ; and the two stood

THE PILOT. 169

gazing at each other in mute condolence. At length the sentinel broke the silence : —

" Shall I give the alarm, your honor ? "

" I rather think not, Peters. I wonder if there be any such thing as gratitude or good-breeding in the marine corps ! "

" I hope your honor will remember that I did my duty, and that I was disarmed while executing your orders."

" I can remember nothing about it, Peters, except that it is rascally treatment, and such as I shall yet make this amphibious aquatic gentleman answer for. But lock the door — look as if nothing had happened, and " —

" Ah ! your honor, that is not so easily done as your honor may please to think. I have not any doubt but there is the print of the breech of a musket stamped on my back and shoulders, as plainly to be seen as that light."

" Then look as you please ; but hold your peace, sirrah. Here is a crown to buy a plaster. I heard the dog throw away your musket on the stairs — go seek it, and return to your post ; and when you are relieved, act as if nothing had happened. I take the responsibility on myself."

The man obeyed ; and when he was once more armed, Borroughcliffe, a good deal sobered by the surprise, made the best of his way to his own apartment, muttering threats and execrations against the " corps of marines and the whole race," as he called them, '' of aquatic amphibii."

170 THE PiLOT

CHAPTER XVL

Away! away! the covey's fled tbe cover; Put forth the dogs, and let the falcon fly; I'll spend some leisure in the keen pursuit, Nor longer waste my hours in sluggish quiet.

The soldier passed the remainder of the night in tbe heavy sleep of a bacchanalian, and awoke late on the following morning, only when aroused by the entrance of his servant. When the customary summons had iudvced the captain to unclose his eyelids, he arose in his bed, and after performing the usual operation of a dil'gent friction on his organs of vision, he turned sternly to his man, and remarked, with an ill-humor that seemed to implicate the innocent servant in the fault which his master condemned, ^

" I thought, sirrah, that I ordered Sergeant Drill not to let a drumstick touch a sheep-skin while we quartered in the dwelling of this hospitable old colonel ! Does the fellow despise my commands ? or does he think the roll of a drum, echoing through the crooked passages of St. Ruth, a mel- ody that is fit to disturb the slumbers of its inmates ? "

" I believe, sir," returned the man, " it was the wish of Colonel Howard himself, that on this occasion the sergeant should turn out the guard by the roll of the drum."

" The devil it was ! I see the old fellow loves to tickle the drum of his own ear now and then with familiar sounds ; but have you had a muster of the cattle from the farm-yard too, as well as a parade of the guard ? I hear the tram- pling of feet, as if the old Abbey were a second ark, and all the beasts of the field were coming aboard of us ! "

" 'Tis nothing but the party of dragoons from , who

are wheeling into the court-yard, sir, where the colonel has gone out to receive them."

** Court-yard ! liglit dragoons ! " repeated Borroughcliffe

THE PILOT. 171

in amazement; "and has it come to this, that twenty gtont fellows of the th are not enough to guard such a rook- ery as this Old Abbey, against the ghosts and northeast storms, but we must have horse to reinforce us ? Hum ! I suppose some of these booted gentlemen have heard of this South Carolina Madeira."

" O, no, sir ! " cried his man ; " it is only the party thai ]\Ir. Dillon went to seek last evening, after you saw fi% sir, to put the three pirates in irons."

" Pirates in irons ! " said Borroughcliffe, again passhig his hands over his eyes, though in a more reflecting manner than before : " ha ! O ! I remember to have put three suspicious-looking rascals in the black-hole, or some such place ; but what can Mr. Dillon, or the light dragoons, have to do with these fellows ? "

" That we do not know, sir ; but it is said below, sir, as some suspicions had fallen on their being conspirators and rebels from the colonies, and that they were great officers and Tories in disguise ; some said that one was General Washington, and others that it was only three members of the Yankee parliament, come over to get our good old English fashions to set themselves up with."

" Washington ! Members of Congress ! Go — go, sim- pleton, and learn how many these troopers muster, and what halt they make ; but stay, place my clothes near me. Now, do as I bid you, and if the dragoon officer inquire for me, make my respects, and tell him I shall be with him Boon. Go, fellow ; go."

^VTien the man left the room, the captain, while he pro- ceeded with the business of the toilet, occasionally gave utterance to the thoughts that crowded on his recollection, after the manner of a soliloquy.

" Aye ! my commission to a half-pay ensigncy, that some of these lazy fellows, who must have a four-legged beast to cai ry them to the wars, have heard of the ' south side.' South side ! I believe I must put an advertisement in the London Gazette,' calling that amphibious soldier to an account;. K he be a true man, he will not hide himself ander his incognito, but wll give me a meeting. Jf that

172 THE riLOT.

should fail, damme, J'il ride across to Yarmouth, and caE out the first of the mongrel breed that I fall in with. 'Sdeath ! was ever such an insult ]iracticed on a gentleman, and a scldier, before ? Would that I only knew his name Why, if the tale should get abroad, I shall be the standing joke of the mess-table, until some greater fool than myself can be found. It would cost me at least six duels to get rid of it. No, no ; not a trigger will I pull in my own regiment about the silly affair : but I'll have a crack at some marine in very revenge ; for that is no more than reasonable. That Peters ! if the scoundrel should dare whisper anything of the manner in which he was stamped with the breech of the musket ! I can't flog him for it ; but if I don't make it up to him the first time he givei me a chance, I am ignorant of the true art of balancing regi mental accounts."

By the time the recruiting officer had concluded this BolUoquy, which affords a very fair exposition of the cur- rent of his thoughts, he was prepared to meet the new- comers, and he accordingly descended to the court-yard, as in duty bound, to receive them in his proper person. BorroughclifFe encountered his host, in earnest conversation with a young man in a cavalry uniform, in the principal entrance of the Abbey, and was greeted by the former with, —

" A good morning to you, my worthy guard and pro- tector ! here is rare news for your loyal ears. It seems that our prisoners are enemies to the king in disguise ; and

Cornet Fitzgerald — Captain BorroughclifTe, of the th,

permit me to make you acquainted with Mr. Fitzgerald, of

the th Light Dragoons." While the soldiers exchanged

their salutations, the old man continued, " The cornet has been kind enough to lead down a detachment of his troop to escort the rogues up to London, or some other place, where they will find enough good and loyal officers to form a court-martial, that can authorize their execution as spies. Christopher Dillon, my worthy kinsman. Kit, saw into their real characters at a glance ; while you and I, like two un suspecting boys, thought the rascals would have made jil

THE PILOT. 178

■len eo hOiT'e the king. But Kit has an eye and a head ihat lew enjoy like him, and I would that he might receive ais dues at the English bar."

" It is to be desired, sir," said Borroughcliffe, with a -^ave aspect, that was produced chiefly by his effort to give tiffed to his sarcasm, but a little, also, by the recoUeo /-icn of the occurrences that were yet to be explained ; "but what reason has iNIr. Christopher Dillon to believ^e that the three seamen are more or less than they seem ? "

" I know not what ; but a good and sufficient reason, I will venture my life," cried the colonel ; " Kit is a lad for reasons, which you know is the foundation of his profession, and knows how to deliver them manfully in the proper place ; but you know, gentlemen, that the members of the bar cannot assume the open and bold front that becomes a soldier, without often endangering the cause in which they are concerned. No, no ; trust me. Kit has his reasons, and in good time will he deliver them."

" I hope, then," said the captain carelessly, " that it may be found that we have had a proper watch on our charge, Colonel Howard ; I think you told me the windows were too high for an escape ia that direction, for I had no sen- tinel outside of the building."

" Fear nothing, my worihj friend," cried his host ; " un- less your men have slept, ruitead of watching, we have them safe ; but, as it will be necessary to convey thetn away before any of the civil authority can lay hands oe them, let us proceed to the rear, and unkennel the dog3 A party of the horse might proceed at once with theo^

io , while we are breaking our fasts. It would be no

very wise thing to allow the civilians to deal with them for they seldom have a true idea of the nature of the crime."

" Pardon me, sir," said the young officer of horse ; " I was led to believe, by l\Ir. Dillon, that we might meet w.ih a party of the enemy in some little force, and that I should find a pleasanter duty than that of a constable ; besides, sir, the laws of the realm guarantee to the subject a trial by Uis peers, and it is more than I dare do to carry the men to ihe barracks, without first taking the m before a magistrate '

174 THE PILOT.

"Aye! you speak of loyal and dutiful subjects," said the oolonel ; " and, as respects them, doubtless, you are right but such privileges are withheld from enemies and traitors"

" It must be first proved that they are such, before they can receive the treatment or the punishment that they merit," returned the young man, a little positively, who felt tlie more confidence, because he had only left the Temple the year before. " If I take charge of the men at all, it will be only to transfer them safely to the civil authority."

" Let us go and see the prisoners," cried Borroughcliffe, with a view to terminate a discussion that was likely to wax warm, and which he knew to be usdess ; " perhaps they may quietly enroll themselves under the banners of our sovereign, when all other interference, save that of wholesome discipline, will become unnecessary."

" Nay, if they are of a rank in life to render such a step probable," returned the cornet, " I am well content that the matter should be thus settled. I trust, however, that

Captain Borroughcliffe will consider that the th light

dragoons has some merit in this affair, and that we are far short of our numbers in the second squadron."

" We shall not be difficult at a compromise," returned the captain ; " there is one apiece for us, and a toss of a guinea shall determine who has the third man. Sergeant ! follow, to deliver over your prisoners, and relieve your sentry."

As they proceeded, in compliance with this arrangement, to the building in the rear, Colonel Howard, who made one of the party, observed, —

" I dispute not the penetration of Captain Borroughcliffe, but I understand Mr, Christopher Dillon that there is rea- son to believe one of these men, at least, to be of a dasa altogether above that of a common soldier ; in which oase, ^our plans may fall to the ground."

" And who does he deem the gentleman to be ? " asked Borroughcliffe, " a Bourbon in disguise, or a secret repre- sentative of the rebel Congress ? "

" Nay, nay : 'le said nothing more ; my kinsman Kit keeps a close mouth whenever Dame Justice is about to balance hes- scales. There are men wJio may be said to

THE PILOT. 176

have been bom to be soldiers ; of which number I should call the Earl Cornwallis, who makes such head against the rebels in the two Carolinas ; others seem to be intended by nature for divines, and saints on earth, such as their Gracee of York and Canterbury ; while another class appears as if it were impossible for them to behold things unless with discriminating, impartial, and disinterested eyes ; to which> I should say, belong my Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, and my kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon. I trust, gentlemen, that, when the royal arms have crushed this rebellion, hia majesty's ministers will see the propriety of extending the dignity of the peerage to the colonies, as a means of reward to the loyal, and a measure of policy to prevent further disaffection ; in which case I hope to see my kinsman dec- orated with the ermine of justice bordering the mantle of a peer."

" Your expectations, my excellent sir, are right reason- able ; as I doubt not your kinsman will become, at some future day, that which he is not at present, unhappily for his deserts, right honorable," said Borroughcliffe. " But be of good heart, sir ; from what I have seen of his merits, I doubt not that the law will yet have its revenge in due season, and that we shall be properly edified and instructed how to attain elevation in life, by the future exaltation of ]\lr. Christopher Dillon ; though by what title he is to be then known, I am at a loss to say."

Colonel Howard was too much occupied with his own ex-parte views of the war and things in general, to observo the shrewd looks that were exchanged between the soldiers ; but he answered with perfect simplicity, —

'''■ I have reflected much on that point, and have come to \hi opinion, that as he has a small estate on this river, he ihculd cause his first barony to be known by the title of Pedee.' "

*' Barony ! " echoed Borroughcliffe ; " I trust the new nobles of a new world will disdain the old worn-out distinc- tions of a hackneyed universe — eschew all baronies, mine host, and cast earldoms and dukedoms to the shades. The '\r\mortal Locke has unlocked his fertUe mind to furnish

17© THE PILOT.

you with appellations suited to the originality of your con- dition and the nature of your country. Ah ! here comei the Cacique of Pedee, in his proper person ! "

As Borroughcliffe spoke, they were ascending the flight of stone steps which led to the upper apartments, where the prisoners were still supposed to be confined ; and, at the same moment, the sullen, gloomy features of DUlon were seen as he advanced along the lower passage, with aa expression of malicious exultation hovering about his dark brow, that denoted his secret satisfaction. As the hours passed away, the period had come round when the man who had been present at the escape of Griffith and his friends, was again posted to perform the duty of sentinel. As this soldier well knew the situation of his trust, he was very coolly adjusted, with his back against the wall, endeavoring to compensate himself for his disturbed slumbers during the night, when the sounds of the approaching foosteps warned him to assume the appearance of watchfulness.

" How now, fellow ! " cried Borroughcliffe ; " what have you to say to your charge ! "

" I believe the men sleep, your honor ; for I have heard no noises from the rooms since I relieved the last senti- nel."

" The lads are weary, and are right to catch what sleep they can in their comfortable quarters," returned the cap- tain. " Stand to your arms, sirrah ! and throw back your shoulders ; and do not move like a crab, or a train-band corporal ; do you not see an officer of horse coming up ? Would you disgrace your regiment ? "

" Ah ! your honor. Heaven only knows whether I shall ever get my shoulders even again."

" Buy another plaster," said Borroughcliffe, slipping a shilling into his hand ; '' observe, you know nothing but your duty."

" Which is, your honor " —

" To mind me, and be silent. But here comes the ser geant with his guard: he will relieve you."

The rest of the j>arty stopped at the other end of the gallery, to allow the few files of soldiers who were led bj

THE PILOT. 177

the orderly to pass them, when they all move J towards ths prisons in a body. The sentinel was relieved in due mil- itary style when Dillon jilaced his hand on one of the doors, and said, with a malicious sneer, —

" Open here first, Mr. Sergeant ; this cage holds the man we most want."

" Softly, softly, my Lord Chief Justice, and most puia« Bant Cacique," said the captain ; " the hour bus not yei r;ome to impanel a jury of fat yeomen, and no man must interfere with my boys but myself."

" The rebuke is harsh, I must observe, Captain Bor- roughcliffe," said the colonel ; " but I pardon it because it is military. No, no. Kit ; these nice points must be left to mai'tial usages. Be not impatient, my cousin ; I doubt not the hour will come, when you shall hold the scales of jus- tice, and satisfy your loyal longings on many a traitor. Zounds ! I could almost turn executioner myself in such a

cause

" I can curb my impatience, sir," returned Dillon, with hy]30critical meekness, and great self-command, though his eyes were gleaming with savage exultation. " I beg par- don of Captain Borroughcliffe, if, in my desire to render the civil authority su])erior to the military, I have trespassed on your customs."

" You see, Borroughcliffe ! " exclaimed the colonel, ex- ultingly, " the lad is ruled by an instinct in all matters of law and justice. I hold it to be impossible that a man thus endowed can ever become a disloyal subject. But our breakfast waits, and Mr. Fitzgerald has breathed his horse his cool morning; let us proceed at once to the examjna- iion."

Borroughcliffe motioned to the sergeant to open the door when the whole party entered the vacant room.

" Your prisoner has escaped ! " cried the cornet, after a single moment employed in making sure of the fact.

" Never ! it must not, shall not be ! " cried Dillon, quiv- ering with rage, as he glanced his eyes furiously around the apaifment; "here has been treachery I and foil treason to die king ! "

U

178 THE PILOT.

"By whom committed, Mr. Christopher Dillodf" (aid Borroughcliffe, knitting liis brow, and speaking in a sup- pressed tone : " dare you, or any man living, charge treason to the th! "

A very different feeling from rage appeared now to in- crease the shivering propensities of the future judge, who at once perceived it was necessary to moderate his passion ; and he returned, as it were by magic, to his former plausi- ble and insinuating manner, as he replied, —

" Colonel Howard will understand the cause of my warm feelings, when I tell him that this very room contained, last night, that disgrace to his name and country, as well as traitor to his king, Edward Griffith, of the rebel navy."

" What ! " exclaimed the colonel, starting, " has that rec- reant youth dared to pollute the threshold of St. Ruth mth his footstep ? but you dream, Kit ; there would be too much hardihood in the act."

" It appears not, sir," returned the other ; " for though in this very apartment he most certainly was, he is here no longer. And yet from this window, though ojjen, escape would seem to be impossible, even with much assistance."

" If I thought that the contumelious boy had dared to be guilty of such an act of gross impudence," cried the colonel^ " I should be tempted to resume my arms, in my old age, to punish his effrontery. What ! is it not enough that he entered my dwelling in the colony, availing himself of the distraction of the times, with an intent to rob me of my choicest jewel — aye ! gentlemen, even of my brother Harry's daughter — but that he must also invade this hal- lowed island with a like purpose, thus thrusting his treason, as it were, into the presence of his abused prince ! No, nc, Kit, thy loyalty misleads thee : he has never dared to do the deed ! "

" Listen, sir, and you shall be convinced," returned ihc plia. it Christopher. " I do not wonder at your unbelief; - but as a good testimony is the soul of justice, I cannot re« gist its influence. You know that two vessels, coi respond iiLg in aj^ijearance to the two rebel cruisers that annoyed us so much in the Carolinas, have been seen on ihe coa»t

THE PILOT. 179

for several days, which induced us to beg the protection of Captain Borroughcliffe. Three men are found, the day succeeding that on which we hear that these vesselb came within the shoals, stealing through the grounds of St. Ruth, in sailors' attire. They are arrested, and in the voice oi one of them, sir, I immediately detected that of the traitor Griflith. He was disguised, it is true, and cunningly so ; but when a man has devoted his whole life to tl e business of investigating truth," he added, with an air of uiuch mod- esty, " it is difficult to palm any disguise on his senses."

Colonel Howard was strongly impressed with the proba- bility of these conjectures, and the closing appeal confirmed him immediately in his kinsman's opinion, while Borrough- cliffe listened with deep interest to the speakers, and moro than once bit his lip with vexation. When Dillon con- cluded, the soldier exclaimed, —

" I'll swear there was a man among them, who has been used to the drill."

" Nothing more probable, my worthy friend," said Dil- lon ; " for as the landing was never made without some evil purpose, rely on it, he came not unguarded or unprotected. I dare say, the three were all officers, and one of them might have been of the marines. That they had assistance is cer- tain, and it was because I felt assured they had a force secreted at hand, that I went in quest of the reinforce ment."

There was so much plausibility, and, in fact, so much ruth in all this, that conviction was unwillingly admitted by Borroughcliffe, who walked aside a moment, to conceal he confusion which, in spite of his ordinary mflexibility of countenance, he felt was manifesting itself in his rubric vill- age, while he muttered, —

" The amphibious dog ! he was a soldier, but a txa'.toi and an enemy. No doubt he will have a marvelous satisfac- tion in delighting the rebellious ears of his messmates, by rehearsing the manner in which he poured cold water down

the back of one Borroughcliffe, of the th, who was

amusing him, at the same time, by pouring good, rich, souih-side Madeira down his own rebellious throat. I hav«

180 THE PILOT.

a good mind to exchange my scarlet coat tor a blu*i jacket, on purpose to meet the sly rascal on the other element where we can discuss the matter over again. Well, ser geant do you find the other two ? "

"They are gone together, your honor," returned the or- derly, who just then reentered from an examination of the other apartments ; " and unless the evil one helped thena off, it's a mysterious business to me."

" Colonel Howard," said Borroughcliffe, gravely, " your precious south-side cordial must be banished from the board, regularly with the cloth, until I have my revenge ; for sat- isfaction of this insult is mine to claim, and I seek it this instant. Go, Drill ; detail a guard for the protection of the house, and feed the rest of your command, then beat the general, and we will take the field. Aye, my worthy veteran host, for the first time since the days of the unlucky Charles Stuart, there shall be a campaign in the heart of England."

" Ah ! rebellion, rebellion ! accursed, unnatural, unholy rebellion, caused the calamity then and now ! " exclaimed the colonel.

" Had I not better take a hasty refreshment for my men and their horses ? " asked the cornet ; " and then make a Bweep for a few miles along the coast ? It may be my luck to encounter the fugitives, or some part of their force."

" You have anticipated my very thoughts," returned Bor- roughcliffe. " The Cacique of Pedee may close the galea of St. Ruth, and, by barring the windows, and arming the servants, he can make a very good defense against an at- tack, should they think proper to assail our fortress ; after he has repulsed them, leave it to me to cut off their re- treat." .

Dillon but little relished this roposal ; for he thought an attempt to storm the Abbey would be the most probable course adopted by Griffith, in order to rescue his mistress ; and the jurist had none of the spirit of a soldier in his composition. In truth, it was this deficiency that had in- duced him to depart in person, the preceding night, in quest of the reinforcement, instead of sending an express on th«

THE PILOT. 181

errand. But the necessity of devising an excuse for a change in this dangerous arrangement was obviated by Colonel Howard, who exclaimed, as soon as Borroughcliffe concluded his plan, —

" To me. Captain Borroughcliffe, belongs, of right, the duty of defending St. Ruth, and it shall be no boy's plav to force my works ; but Kit would rather try his chance m ine open field, I know. Come, let us to our breakfast, and then he shall mount, and act as a guide to the horse, along the difficult passes of the sea-shore."

" To breakfast then let it be," cried the captain ; " I dig- trust not my new commander of the fortress ; and in the field the Cacique forever ! We follow you, my worthy host."

This arrangement was hastily executed in all its parts. The gentlemen swallowed their meal in the manner of men who ate only to sustain nature, and as a duty ; after which the whole house became a scene of bustling activity. The troops were mustered and paraded ; Borroughcliffe, setting apart a guard for the building, placed himself at the head of the remainder of his little party, and they moved out of the court-yard in open order, and at quick time. Dillon joy- fully beheld himself mounted on one of the best of Colonel Howard's hunters, where he knew that he had the control, in a great measure, of his own destiny ; his bosom throbbing with a powerful desire to destroy Griffith, while he enter- tained a lively wish to effect his object without incurring any personal risk. At his side was the young cornet, seated with practiced grace in his saddle, who, after giving time for the party of foot-soldiers to clear the premises, glanced tis eye along the few files he led, and then gave the word 0 move. The little division of horse wheeled briskly into tpen column, and, the officer touching his cap to Cclone! Howard, they dashed through the gateway together, ani pursued their route towards the sea-side at a hand-gallop.

The v^eteran lingered a few minutes, while the clattering of hoofs was to be heard, or the gleam of arms was visible, to he.ar and gaze at sounds and sights that he still loved ; ttftor which he proceeded, in person, and not without a

182 THE PILOT.

secret enjoy men t of the excitement, to barricade the doon and windows, with an undaunted determination of making, in case of need, a stout defense.

St. Ruth lay but a short two miles from the ocean , to which numerous roads led, through the grounds of the Abbey, which extended to the* shore. Along one of these paths Dillon conducted his party, until, after a few minutes of hard riding, they approached the cliffs, when, posting hi 8 troopers under cover of a little copse, the cornet rode in ad- vance with his guide, to the verge of the perpendicular rocks, whose bases were washed by the foam that still whitened the •waters from the surges of the subsiding sea.

The gale had broken before the escape of the prisonei's ; and as the power of the eastern tempest had gradually diminished, a light current from the south, that blew directly along the land, prevailed ; and, though the ocean still rolled in fearful billows, their surfaces were smooth, and they were becoming, at each moment, less precipitous and more regu- lar. The eyes of the horsemen were cast in vain over the immense expanse of water that was glistening bi'ightly vmder the rays of the sun, which had just risen from its bosom, in quest of some object, or distant sail, that might confirm their suspicions, or relieve their doubts. But everything of that description appeared to have avoided the dangerous naviga- tion during the violence of the late tempest, and Dillon was withdrawing his eyes in disappointment from the vacant view, when, as they fell towards the shore, he beheld that which caused him to exclaim, —

" There they go ! and, by Heaven, they will escape ! "

The cornet looked in the direction of the other's finger, when he beheld, at a short distance from the land, and ap- parently immediately under his feet, a little boat that looketl like a dark shell upon the water, rising and sinking amid the waves, as if the men it obviously contained were resting on their oars in idle expectation.

" 'Tis they ! " continued Dillon ; " or, what is more prob- able, it is their boat waiting to convey them to their vessel "_o common business would induce seamen to lie in this caifr iess manner, within sveh a narrow distance of the surf."

THE PILOT. 188

" And what is to be done ? They cannot he made 'o feel horse where they are ; nor would the muskets of the foot be of any use. A light three-pounder would do ita work handsomely on them ! "

The strong desire which Dillon entertained to intercept, or rather to destroy the party, rendered him prompt at ex- pedients. After a moment of musing, he rejilied, —

" The runaways must yet be on the land ; and by scour- ing the coast, and posting men at proper intervals, their re- treat can easily be prevented ; in the mean time I will ride undar the spur to bay, where one of his majesty's cut- ters now lies at anchor. It is but half an hour of hard rid- ing, and I can be on board of her. The wind blows directly in hei" favor ; and if we can once bring her down behind that headland, we shall infallibly cut off or sink these mid- night depredators."

" Off, then ! " cried the cornet, whose young blood was boiling for a skirmish ; " you will at least drive them to the shore, where I can deal with them."

The words were hardly uttered, before Dillon, after gal- loping furiously along the cliffs, and turning short into a thick wood that lay in his route, was out of sight. The loyalty of this gentleman was altogether of a calculating na- ture, and was intimately connected with what he considered his fealty to himself. He believed that the possession of Miss Howard's person and fortune were advantages that would much more than counterbalance any elevation that he was likely to obtain by the revolution of affairs in his native colony. He considered Griffith as the only natural obstacle to his success ; and he urged his horse forward with a des- perate determination to work the ruin of the young sailor, before another sun had set. When a man labors in an evU cause, with such feelings, and with such incentives, he seldom eliglits or neglects his work ; and Mr. Dillon, accordingly, was on board the Alacrity several minutes short of the time in wh'.ch he had promised to perform the distance.

The plain old seaman who commanded the cutter, listened to his tale with cautious ears ; and examined into the state of the weather, and other matters connected with his duty

184 ^H'=', PI1.0T.

mth the slow and deliberate decision of one who had never done much to acquire a confidence in himself, and who had been but niggardly rewarded for the little he had actually performed.

As Dillon was urgent, however, and *hc day seemed pr'^^ pitious, he at length decided to act as he was desired, and the cutter was accordingly gotten under way.

A crew of something less than fifty men moved with no little of their commander's deliberation ; but as the little vessel rounded the j oint behind which she had been anch- ored, her guns were cleared, and the usual preparations were completed for immediate and actual service.

Dillon, sorely against his will, was compelled to continue on board, in order to point out the place where the unsus- pecting boatmen were expected to be entrapped. Every- thing being ready, when they had gained a safe distance from the land, the Alacrity was kept away before the wind, ftnd glided along the shore with a swift and easy progress that promised a speedy execution of the business in which ear commander had embarked.

THE PILOT. 185

CHAPTER XVn.

Very like a whale.

Shakespeare.

Notwithstanding the ob;ect of their expedition was of a public nature, the feelings which had induced both Griffith and Barnstable to accompany the Pilot with so much will- ingness, it will easily be seen, were entirely personal. The short intercourse that he had maintained with his associates enabled the mysterious leader of their party to understand the characters of his two j)rincipal officers so thoroughly, as to induce him, when he landed, with the purpose of recon- noitering to ascertain whether the objects of his pursuit still held their determination to assemble at the appointed hour, to choose Griffith and Manual as his only associates, leaving Barnstable in command of his own vessel, to await their return, and to cover their retreat. A good deal of argu- ment, and some little of the authority of his superior officer, was necessary to make Barnstable quietly acquiesce in this arrangement ; but as his good sense told him that nothing should be unnecessarily hazarded, until the moment to strike the final blow had arrived, he became gradually more resigned ; taking care, however, to caution Griffith to recon- noitre the Abbey while his companion was reconnoitering

house. It was the strong desire of Griffith to comjDly

with this injunction, which carried them a little out of their proper path, and led to the consequences that we have partly related. The evening of that day was the time when the Pilot intended to complete his enterprise, thinking to entrap his game while enjoying the festivities that usually succeeded their sports ; and an early hour in the morning was appointed, when Barnstable should appear at the nearest point to the Abbey, and take off bis countrymen, in order

186 THE PILOT.

that they might be as little as possible subjected to the gaw of their enemies by daylight. If they foiled to arrive at the appointed time, his instructions were to return to his pchooner, which lay snugly embayed in a secret and retired haven, that but few ever approached, either by land or water.

While the young cornet still continued gazing at the whale-boat (for it was the party from the schooner that he Baw), the hour expired for the appearance of Griffith and his companions ; and Barnstable reluctantly determined to comply with the letter of his instructions, and leave them to their own sagacity and skill to regain the Ariel. The boat had been suffered to ride in the edge of the surf, since the appearance of the sun ; and the eyes of her crew were kept anxiously fixed on the cliffs, though in vain, to discover the signal that was to call them to the place of landing. After looking at his watch for the twentieth time, and as often casting glances of uneasy dissatisfaction towards the shore, the lieutenant exclaimed, —

" A charming prospect, this, Master Coffin, but rather too much poetry in it for your taste ; I believe you relish no land that is of a harder consistency than mud ! "

" I was born on the waters, sir," returned the cockswain, from his snug abode, where he was bestowed with his usual economy of room, '' and it's according to all things for a man to love his native soil. I'll not deny, Cajitain Barn- stable, but I would rather drop my anchor ow a. oottom that won't broom a keel, though, at the same time, I harbor no great malice against dry land."

" I shall never forgive it, myself, if any accident has befallen Griffith in this excursion," rejoined the lieutenant ; ** his pilot may be a better man on the water than on terra firma, long Tom."

The cockswair turned his solemn visage, with an ex» traordinary meanmg, towards his commander, before he replied, —

" For as long a time as I have followed 'the waters, sir and that has been ever since I've drawn my rations, seeing (hat I was bom while the boat was crossing Nantucket

THE PILOT. x87

ihoals, I've never known a pilot come off in greater need, than the cne we fell in with, when we made that stretch or two on the laud, in the dog-watch of yesterdaj ."

" Aye, the fellow has played his part like a man ; the oocasion was great, and it seems that he was quite equal to his work."

" The frigate's people tell me, sir, that he handled ths gliip like a top," continued the cockswain ; " but she is a Bliip that is a nateral inimy of. the bottom ! "

" Can you say as much for this boat, Master CoflBn ? " cried Barnstable ; " keep her out of the surf, or you'll have us rolling in uj^on the beach, presently, like an emjjty water- cask ; you must remember that we cannot all wade, like yourself, in two-fathom water."

The cockswain cast a cool glance at the crests of foam that were breaking over the tops of the billows, within a few yards of where their boat was riding, and called aloud to his men, —

" Pull a stroke or two ; away with her into dark water."

The drop of the oars resembled the movements of a nice machine, and the light boat skimmed along the water like a duck, that approaches to the very brink of some imminent danger, and then avoids it, at the most critical moment, apparently without an effort. AYhile this necessary move- ment was making, Barnstable arose, and surveyed the cliffs with keen eyes, and then turning once more in disappoint ment from his search, he said, —

" Pull more from the land, and let her run down at an easy stroke to the schooner. Keep a lookout at the cliffs, boys ; it is possible that they are stowed in some of the holes in the rocks, for it's no daylight business they are on."

The order was promptly obeyed, and they had glided along for nearly a mile in this manner, in the most pro- found silence, when suddenly the stillness was broken by a heavy rush of air, and a dash of the water, seemingly at no great distance from them

" By Heaven, Tom," criei Barnstable, starting, " there * the blow of a whale ! "

188 THE PILOT.

" Aye, aye, sir," returned the cockswain -Tith undisturbed composure ; " here is his spout not half a mile to seaward ; the easterly gale has driven the creatur' to leeward, and he b^ns to find himself in shoal water. He's been sleeping, while he should have been working to windward ! "

" The fellow takes it coolly, too ! he's in no hurry to got %j otSng ! "

" I rather conclude, sir," said the cockswain, rolling orep his tobacco in his mouth, very composedly, while his little sunken eyes began to twinkle with pleasure at the sight, " the gentleman has lost his reckoning, and don't know which way to head to take himself back into blue water."

" 'Tis a fin-back ! " exclaimed the lieutenant ; " he will soon make headway, and be off."

" No, sir, 'tis a right whale," answered Tom ; " I saw his spout ; he threw up a pair of as pretty rainbows as a Chris- tian would wish to look at. He's a raal oil-butt, that <eUow ! "

Barnstable laughed, turned himself away from the tempt- ing sight, and tried to look at the clifis ; and then uncon- sciously bent his longing eyes again on the sluggish animal, who was throwing his huge carcass, at times, for many feet ^om the water, in idle gambols. The temptation for sport, and the recollection of his early habits, at length prevailed over his anxiety in behalf of his friends, and the young oflScer inquired of his cockswain, —

" Is there any whale-line in ihe boat, to make fast to that harpoon which you bear about with you in fair weather or foul ? "

" I never trust the boat from the schooner without part of a shot, sir," returned the cockswaLu ; " there is some- thing nateral in the sight of a tub to my old eyes."

Barnstable looted at his watch, and again at the cliffs, when he exclaimed, in joyous tones, —

" Give strong wa,v, n:v hearties ! There seems nothing better to be done ; iei us have a stroke of a harpoon a/ that impudent rascal."

The men shouted spontaneously, and the old coc>*«fv<«n faff«MV<l hi» goiwi^k visage to relax into a small laugh, 'wtui*

THE PILOT. 189

the whale-boat sprang forward like a courser for the goal During the few minutes they were pulling towards tneii game, long Tom arose from his crouching attitude in the Etern-sheets, and transferred his huge form to the bows of the boat, where he made such preparations to strike ihe whale as the occasion required. The tub, containing about half of a whale line, was placed at the feet of Barnstable/ who had been preparing an oar to steer with in place of the rudder, wliich was unshipped, in order that, if neceasarjj the boat might be whirled round when not advancing.

Their approach was utterly unnoticed by the monster of the deep, who continued to amuse himself with throwing the water in two circular spouts high into the air, occasion- ally flourishing the broad flukes of his tail with a graceful but terrific force, until the hardy seamen were within a few hundred feet of him, when he suddenly cast his head down- ward, and, without an apparent effort, reared his immense body for many feet above the water, waving his tail vio- lently, and producing a whizzing noise, that sounded likp the rushing of winds.

The cockswain stood erect, poising his harpoon, ready for the blow ; but when he beheld the creature assume this formidable attitude, he waved his hand to his commander, who instantly signed to his men to cease rowing. In this situation the sportsmen rested a few moments, while the whale struck several blows on the water in rapid succession, the noise of which reechoed along the cliffs, like the hollow reports of so many cannon. After this wanton exhibition of his terrible strength, the monster sank again into his native element, and slowly disappeared from the eyes of his pursues.

" Which way did he head, Tom ? " cried Barnstable, the moment the whale was out of sight.

" Pretty much up and down, sir," returned the cock ' swain, whose eye was gradually brightening with the ex- citement of the sport ; " he'll soon run his nose against thfl bottom if he stands long on that course, and will be glad to get another snuff of pure air ; send her a few fathoms to starboard, sir, and I promise we shall not be out of lu Kruck."

190 THE PILOT

The conjecture of the experienced old seaman proved true ; for in a few moments the water broke near them, and another spout was cast into the air, when the huge ani- mal rushed for half his length in the same direction, ard fell on the sea with a turbulence and foam equal to that which is produced by the launching of a vessel, for the first time, into its proper element. After this evolution thfi whale rolled heavily, and seemed to rest from furtlie'/ efforts

His slightest movements were closely watched by Barn- stable and his cockswain, and when he was in a state of comparative rest, the former gave a signal to his crew to ply their oars once more. A few long and vigorous strokes sent the boat directly up to the broadside of the whale, with its bows pointing towards one of the fins, which was, at times, as the animal yielded sluggishly to the action of the waves, exposed to view. The cockswain poised his harpoon with much precision, and then darted it from him with a violence that buried the iron in the blubber of their foe. The instant the blow was made, long Tom shouted, with singular earnestness, —

" Starn all ! "

" Stern all ! " echoed Barnstable ; when the obedient seamen, by united efforts, forced the boat in a backward direction beyond the reach of any blow from their formida- ble antagonist. The alarmed animal, however, meditated no such resistance; ignorant of his own power, and of the msignificance of his enemies, he sought refuge in flight. One moment of stupid surprise succeeded the entrance cf the iron, when he cast his huge tail into the air, with a violence that threw the sea around him into increased com- motion, and then disappeared with the quickness of light- ning, amid a cloud of foam.

" Snub him ! " shouted Barnstable ; " hold on, Tom ; ha rises already."

" Aye, aye, sir," replied the composed cockswain, seizing the line, which was running out of the boat with a velocity that rendered such a manoeuvre rather hazardous, and caus- ing it to yield more gradually round the large loggerhead

THE PILOT. 191

thac was placed in the bows of the boat for that purpose. Presently the line stretched forward, and rising to the sur- face with trema.ous vibrations, it indicated the direction in which the animal might be expected to reajjpear. Barn- etable had cast the bows of the boat towards that point, be- fore the terrified and wounded victim rose once more to the surface, whose time was, however, no longer wasted in his sports, but who cast the waters aside, as he forced his way, with prodigious velocity, along the surface. The boat was dragged violently in his wake, and cut through the billows with a terrific rapidity, that at moments appeared to bury the slight fabric in the ocean. When long Tom beheld his victim throwing his spouts on high again, he pointed with exultation to the jetting fluid, which was streaked with the deep red of blood, and cried, —

" Aye, I've touched the fellow's life ! it must be . more than two foot of blubber that stops my iron from reaching the life of any whale that ever sculled the ocean ! "

" I believe you have saved yourself the trouble of using the bayonet you have rigged for a lance," said his com- mander, who entered into the sport with all the ardor of one whose youth had been chiefly passed in such pursuits : *' feel your line. Master Coflin ; can we haul alongside of our enemy ? I like not the course he is steericg, as he tows us from the schooner."

" 'Tis the creatur's way, sir," said the cockswain ; " you know they need the air in their nostrils, when they run, the same as a man ; but lay hold, boys, and let's haul up to him."

The seamen now seized the whale-line, and slowly drew their boat to within a few feet of the tail of the fish, whose progress became sensibly less rapid, as he grew weak with the loss of blood. In a few minutes he stopped running, and ajjpeared to roll uneasily on the water, as if suflTering the agoliy of death.

" Shall we pull in, and finish him, Tom ? " cried 6am- rttable ; " a few sets from your bayonet would do it."

The cockswain stood examining his game with cool ji»« STOtion, and replied to this interrogatory, —

192 THE PUC?'.

"No, sir, no — he's going into his flurry ; there's no oo casion for disgracing ourselves by isiag a soldier's weapon in tak'ng a whale. Starn off, sir, a'^-arn off! the creatur's in his flurry ! "

The warning of the prudent cochswain was promptly obeyed, and the boat cautiously drrw off to a distance, leaving to the animal a clear space, while under its dying agonies. From a state of perfect rest, the terrible monster threw its tail on high, as when in sport, ]>ut its blows were trebled in rapidity and violence, tUl all ra.s hid from view by a pyramid of foam, that was deeplj dyed with blood. The roarings of the fish were like the btl'owing of a herd of bulls ; and to one who was ignorant of the fact, it would have appeared as if a thousand monsters uv^re engaged in deadly combat, behind the bloody mist that obstructed the view. Gradually, these effects subsided, and irhen the dis- colored water again settled down to the long i\nd regular swell of the ocean, the fish was seen, exhausted, and yield- ing passively to its fate. As life departed, the enormous black mass rolled to one side ; and when the white and glistening skin of the belly became apparent, the seamen well knew that their victory was achieved.

" What's to be done now ? " said Barnstable, as he stood and gazed with a diminished excitement at their victim ; " he will yield no food, and his carcass wUl probably arift to land, and furnish our enemies with the oil."

" If I had but that creatur' in Boston Bay," said th^ cockswaia, " it would prove the making of me ; but such ^ my luck forever ! Pull up, at any rate, and let me get r-"" harpoon and line — the English shall never get them whi*" old Tom Cofiin can blow."

" Don't speak too fast," said the strokesman of the boat ** whether you get your iron or not, here he comes is chase ! "

" "What mean you, fellow ? " cried Barnstable.

" Captain Barnstable can look for himself," returned the •eaman, " and tell whether I speak truth."

The yoimg sailor turned, and saw the Alacrity, bearing down before the wind, with all her sails set, as she rounded

THE VILOT. 193

a headland, but a short hai^ league to windward of the place where the boat lay.

" Pass that glass to me," i aid the captain, with steady composure. " This promises is work in one of two ways : if she be armed, it has become our turn to run ; if not, ive are strong enough to carry her."

A very brief survey made the experienced oflBccr ac- quainted with the true character of the vessel in sight ; and, replacing the glass with much coolness, he said, —

'• That fellow shows long arms, and ten teeth, beside King George's pennant from his topmast-head. Now, my lads, you are to pull for your hves ; for whatever may be the notions of Mr. Coffin on the subject of his harpoon, I have no inclination to have my arms jjinioned by John Bull, though his majesty himself put on the irons."

The men well understood the manner and meaning of their commander ; and, throwing aside their coats, they applied themselves in earnest to their task. For haF an hour a profound sUence reigned in the boat, which made an amazing progress. But many circumstances conspired to aid the cutter ; she had a fine breeze, with smooth water, and a strong tide in her favor ; and, at the expiration of the time we have mentioned, it was but too apparent that the distance between the pursued and the pursuers was les- sened nearly half. Barnstable preserved his steady coun- tenance, but there was an expression of care gathering around his dark brow, which indicated that he saw the in- creasing danger of their situation.

" That fellow has long legs. Master Coffin," he said, in a cheerful tone ; " your whale-line must go overboard, and the fifth oar must be handled by your delicate hands."

Tom arose from his seat, and proceeding forward, he cast the tub and its contents together into the sea, when he seated himself at the bow oar, and bent his athletic frame with amazing vigor to the task.

" Ah ! there is much of your philosophy in that stroke, long Tom," cried his commander ; " keep it up, boys ; and if we gain nothing else, we shall at least gam time for de- liberation. Come, Master Coffin, what think you ! we hav« 13

194 THE PILOT.

three resources before us ; let us hear which is your choice first, we can turn and fight and be sunk ; secondly, we can pull to the land, and endeavor to make good our retreat to the schooner in that manner ; and thirdly, we can head to the shore, and possibly, by running under the guns of that fellow, get the wind of him, and keep the air in our nos- trils, after the manner of the whale. Damn the whale ' but for the tow the black rascal gave us, we should have been out of sight of this rover ! "

" If we fight," said Tom, with quite as much composuK as his commander manifested, " we shall be taken or sunk ; if we land, sir, I shall be taken for one man, as I never could make any headway on dry ground ; and if we try to get the wind of him by pulling under the cliflTs, we shall be cut oiF by a parcel of lubbers that I can see running along their edges, hoping, I dare say, that they shall be able to get a skulking shot at a boat's crew of honest seafaring men."

" You speak with as much truth as pliilosophy, Tom,'' said Barnstable, who saw his slender hopes of success cur- tailed, by the open appearance of the horse and foot on the cliffs. " These Englishmen have not slept the last night, and I fear Griffith and Manual will fare but badly. That fellow brings a capful of wind down with him — 'tis just his play, and he walks like a race-horse. Ha ! he begins to be in earnest ! "

While Barnstable was speaking, a column of white smoke was seen issuing from the bows of the cutter; and as the report of a cannon was wafted to their ears, the shot was seen skipping from wave to wave, tossing the water in spray, and flying to a considerable distance beyond them. The seamen cast cursory glances in the direction of the passing ball, but it produced no manifest eflfect in either their con- duct or appearance. The cockswain, who scanned its range with an eye of more practice than the rest, observed " That's a lively piece for its met:il, and it speaks with a good clear voice ; but if they hear it aboard the Ariel, tlie man who fired it will be sorry it wasn't born dumb."

" You are the prince of philosophers, Master Coffin 1 *

THE PILOT. 195

cried Barnstable ; " there is some hope in ihac ; let the Englishmen talk away, and my life on it, the Ariels doa't believe it is thmider ; hand me a musket — I'll draw an- other shot."

The piece was given to Barnstable, who discharged it sev- eral times, as if to taunt their enemies ; and the scheme was completely successful. Goaded by the insults, the cut- ter discharged gim after gun at the little boat, throwing the shot frequently so near as to wet her crew with the spray, but without injuring them in the least. The failure of these attempts of the enemy excited the mirth of the reck- less seamen, instead of creating any alarm ; and whenever a shot came nearer than common, the cockswain would utter some such expression as —

" A ground swell, a long shot, and a small object, make a clean target ; " or, " A man must squint straight to hit a boat."

As, notwithstanding their unsuccessful gunnery, the cut- ter was constantly gaining on the whale-boat, there was a prospect of a speedy termination of the chase, when the re- port of a cannon was thrown back like an echo from one of the Englishman's discharges, and Barnstable and his com- panions had the pleasure of seeing the Ariel stretching slowly out of the little bay where she had passed the night, with the smoke of the gun of defiance curling above her taper masts.

A loud and simultaneous shout of rapture was given by the lieutenant and all his boat's crew, at this cheering sight, while the cutter took in all her light sails, and, as she iiauled up on a wind, she fired a whole broadside at the successful fugitives. Many stands of grape, with several round shot, flew by the boat, and fell upon the water near them, raising a cloud of foam, but without doing any in- jury.

" She dies in a flurry," said Tom, casting his eyes at the little vortex into which the boat was then entering.

" If her commander be a true man," cried Barnstable, * he'll not leave us on so short an acquaintance. Give way, my souls I give way ! I would see more of this lo- quaciour cruiser."

196 THE PILOT".

1 he temptation for exertion was great, and it waa not disregarded by the men ; in a few jciinutes the whale-boat reached the schooner, when the crew of the latter received their commander and his companions with shouts and cheers that rang across the waters, and reached the ears of the <!»• ^)pointod srpectators on the verge of the clifis.

THE PILOT. 197

CHAPTER XVni.

Thus guided on their course they bore, Until they neared the mainland shore ; When frequent on the hollow blast, Wild shouts of merriment were cast.

Lord of niE l8i.n.

The joyful shouts and hearty cheers of the Ariel's crew continued for some time after her commander had reached her deck. Barnstable answered the congratulations of hia otficers by cordial shakes of the hand ; and after waiting for the ebullition of delight among the seamen to subside a little, he beckoned with an air of authority for silence.

" I thank you, my lads, for your good-will," he said, when all were gathered around him in deep attention : " they have given us a tough chase, and if you had left us another mile to go, we had been lost. That fellow is a king's cutter ; and though his disposition to run to leeward is a good deal mollified, yet he shows signs of fight. At any rate, he is stripping off some of his clothes, which looks as if he were game. Luckily for us. Captain Manual has taken all the marines ashore with him (though what he has done witl them or himself, is a mystery), or we should have had our decks lumbered with live cattle; but, as it is, we have a good working breeze, tolerably smooth water, and a dead match ! There is a sort of national obligation on us to ivhip that fellow ; and therefore, without more words about the matter, let us turn to and do it, that we may get our breakfasts."

To this specimen of marine eloquence the crew cheered as usual, the young men burning for the combat, and the few old sailors who belonged to the schooner shaking their heads with infinite satisfaction, and swearing by sundry •traiige oaths that their captain " could talk, when there

198 THE PILOT.

was need of such thing, like the best dictionary that eve vas launched."

During this short harangue, and the subsequent com ments, tlie Ariel had been kept under a cloud of canvas, as near to the wind as she could lie ; and as this was her best sailing, she had stretched swiftly out from the land, to a distance whence the cliffs, and the soldip>rs who were spread along their summits, became plainly visible, Barnstable turned his glass repeatedly, from the cutter to the shore, as different feelings predominated in his breast, before he again Bpoke.

" If INIr. Griffith is stowed away among those rocks," he at length said, " he shaU see as pretty an argument dis- cussed, in as few words, as he ever listened to, provided the gentlemen in yonder cutter have not changed their minds as to the road they intend to journey — what think you, Mr. Merry?"

" I wish with all my heart and soul, sir," returned the fearless boy, "that Mr. Griffith was safe aboard us; it seems the country is alarmed, and God knows what will happen if he is taken ! As to the fellow to windward, he'U find it easier to deal with the Ariel's boat than with her mother ; but he carries a broad sail ; I question if he means to show play."

" Never doubt him, boy," said Barnstable ; " he is working off the shore, like a man of sense, and besides, he has his spectacles on, trying to make out what tribe of Yankee Indians we belong to. You'll see him come to the wind presently, and send a few pieces of iron down this way, by way of letting us know where to find him. Much as I like your first lieutenant, Mr. Merry, I would rather leave him on the land this day, than see him on my decks. I want uo fighting captain to work this boat for me ! But tell the drummer, sir, to beat to quarters."

The boy, who was staggering under the weight of hia melodious instrument, had been expecting this command, and, without waiting for the midshipman to communicate the order, he commenced that short rub-a-dub air, that will at any time rouse a thousand men from the deepest sleep

THE PILOT. 199

ftnd cause them to fly to their means of offense with a com* mon soul. The crew of the Ariel had been collected in groups, studying the appearance of the enemy, cracking their jokes, and waiting only for this usual order to repair to the guns ; and at the first tap of the drum, they spread with steadiness to the different parts of the little vessel, where their various duties called them. The cannon were surrounded by small parties of vigorous and athletic young men ; the few marines were drawn up in array with mus- kets ; the officers appeared in their boarding-caps, with pistols stuck in their belts, and naked sabres in their hands, Barnstable paced his little quarter-deck with a firm tread, dangling a speaking-trumpet, by its lanyard on his fore* finger, or occasionally applying the glass to his eye, which, when not in use, was placed under one arm, while his sword was resting against the foot of the mainmast ; a pair of heavy ship's pistols were thrust into his belt also ; and piles of muskets, boarding-pikes, and naked sabres, were placed on different parts of the deck. The laugh of the seamen was heard no longer ; and those who spoke uttered their thoughts only in low and indistinct whispers.

The English cutter held her way from the land, until she got an offing of more than two miles, when she reduced her sails to a yet smaller number ; and heaving mto the wind, she fired a gun in a direction opposite to that which pointed to the Ariel.

" Now I would wager a quintal of codfish, Master Coffm," said Barnstable, " against the best cask of porter that -was sver brewed in England, that fellow believes a Taukee schooner can fly in the wind's eye ! If he wishes *o speak to us, why don't he give his cutter a little sheet, and come down?"

The cockswain had made his arrangements for the com- bat, with much more method and philosophy than any other man in the vessel. When the drum beat to quarters, he tlirew aside Ins jacket, vest, and shirt, with as little nesita- tion as if he stood under an American sun, and with all tha discetion of a man who had engaged in an undertaking that required the free u-e of his utmost powers. As he

200 THE PILOT.

was known to be a privileged individual in the Ariel, and one whose opinions, in all matters of seamanship, were regarded as oracles by the crew, and were listened to by his commander with no little demonstration of respect, the question excited no surprise. He was standing at the breech of his long gun, with his brawny arms folded on a breast that had been turned to the color of blood by long exposure, his grizzled locks fluttering in the breeze, and h's tall form towering far above the heads of all near him.

" He hugs the wind, sir, as if it was his sweetheart," was his answer ; " but he'll let go his hold soon ; and if he don't, wo can find a way to make him fall to leeward."

" Keep a good full ! " cried the commander, in a stern voice ; " and let the vessel go through the water. That fellow walks well, long Tom ; but we are too much for him on a bowline ; though, if he continue to di'aw ahead in this manner, it will be night before we can get alongside him."

" Aye, aye, sir," returned the cockswain ; " them cutters carries a press of canvas when they seem to have but little; their gaffs are all the same as young booms, and spread a broad head to their mainsails. But it's no hard matter to knock a few cloths out of their bolt-ropes, when she will both drop astarn and to leeward."

" I believe there is good sense in your scheme, this time," said Barnstable ; " for I am anxious about the frigate's people — though I hate a noisy chase ; speak to him, Tom, jmd let us see if he will answer."

*' Aye, aye, sir," cried the cockswain, sinking his body in such a manner as to let his head fall to a level with the cannon that he controlled, when, after divers orders, and dLmdry movements to govern the direction of the piece, he applied a match, with a rapid motion, to the priming. An immense body of white smoke rushed from the muzzle of the cannon, followed by a sheet of vivid fii-e, until, losing iti power, it yielded to the wind, and, as it rose from the water, spread like a cloud, and, passing through the masts of the schooner, was driven far to leeward, and soon blended m the mists which were swiftly scudding before the fresh Dreezes of the ocean.

THE PILOT. 201

Althougb irany curious eyes \rere watching this beautifiil eight from the cliffs, there was too little of novelty in the exhibition to attract a single look of the crew (»f the schooner, from the more important examination of the effect of the shot on their enemy. Barnstable sprang lightly on a gun, and watched the instant when the ball would strike, with keen interest, while long Tom threw himself aside from the line of the smoke with a similar intention ; hold* ing one of his long arms extended towards his namesake, with a finger on the vent, and supporting his frame by plac- ing the hand of the other on the deck, as his eyes glanced through an opposite port-hole, in an attitude that most men might have despaired of imitating with success.

" There go the chips ! " cried Barnstable. " Bravo ! Master Coffin, you never planted iron in the ribs of an Englishman with more judgment. Let him have another piece of it; and if he like the sport, we'll play a game of long bowls with him ! "

" Aye, aye, sir," returned the cockswain, who, the instant he witnessed the effects of his shot, had returned to superin- tend the reloading of his gun ; " if he holds on half an hour longer, I'll dub him down to our own size, when we can close, and make an even fight of it."

The drum of the Englishman was now, for the first time, heard, rattling across the waters, and echoing the c»ll to quarters, that had already proceeded from the Ariel.

" Ah ! you have sent him to his guns ! " said Barnstable ; we shall now hear more of it ; wake him up, Tom — wake Un up ! "

" We shall start him on end, or put him to sleep alto gether, shortly," said the deliberate cockswain, who never allowed himself to be at all hurried, even by his commander. " My shot are pretty much like a shoal of porpoises, auJ eommonly sail in each other's wake. Stand by — hea /e her breech forward — so; get out of that, you damned young reprobate, and let my harpoon alone ! "

" What are you at, there, Master Coflin ? " cried Bant* •table ; "are you tongue-tied ? "

" Here's one of the boys skylarking with my bar|>oon m

202 THE PILOT.

the lee-scuppers, and by-and-by, when I shall want it most,

theie'U be a no-man's-land to hunt for it in."

" Never mind the boy, Tom ; send him aft here to me, and I'll polish his behavior ; give the Englishman some more iron."

" I want the little villain to pass up my cartridges," re- turned the angry old seaman ; " but if you'll be so good, sir, as to hit him a crack or two, now and then, as he goes by you to the magazine, the monkey wUl learn his manne's, and the schooner's work will be all the better done for it. A yovmg herring-faced monkey ! to meddle with a tool ye don't know the use of. If your parents had spent more of their money on your edication, and less on your outfit, you'd ha' been a gentleman to what ye are now."

" Hurrah ! Tom, hurrah! " cried Barnstable, a Mttle im- patiently ; " is your namesake never to open his turoat again ! "

" Aye, aye, sir ; all ready," grumbled the cockswain ; •'depress a little; so — so; a damned young baboon-behaved curmudgeon ; overhaul that forward fall more ; stand by with your match — but I'll pay him ! — fire ! " This was the actual commencement of the fight ; for as the shot of Tom Cofiin travelled, as he had intimated, very much in the Bame direction, their enemy found the sport becoming too hot to be endured in sUence, and the report of the second gun from the Ariel was instantly followed by that of the whole broadside of the Alacrity. The shot of the cutter 6ew in a very good direction, but her guns were too light to give them efiiciency at that distance ; and as one or two were heard to strike against the bends of the schoonei', and fell back, innocuously, into the water, the cockswain, whose good-humor became gradually restored as the combat thick- ened, remarked with his customary apathy, —

* Them count for no more than love-taps — does the Esiglishman think that we are firing salutes ! "

'' Stir him up, Tom ! every blow you give him will help to open his e3^es," cried Barnstable, rubbing his hands with glee, as he witnessed the success of his eflforts to close.

Thus far the cockswain and his crew had the tight, on th«

THE t»rLOT. 203

part of the Ariel, altogether to tNmselves, the men who were stationed at the smaller and shorter guns standing in perfect idleness by their sides ; but in ten or fifteen minutes the commander of the Alacrity, who had been staggered by the weight of the shot that had struck him, found that it was no longer in his power to retreat, if he wished it ; when he decided on the only course that was left for a brave ma:i to pursue, and steered boldly in such a direction as would soonest bring him in contact with his enemy, without expos- ing his vessel to be raked by his fire. Barnstable watched each movement of his foe with eagle eyes, and when the vessel had got within a lessened distance, he gave the order for a general fire to be opened. The action now grew warm and spirited on both sides. The power of the wind was counteracted by the constant explosion of the cannon ; and, instead of driving rapidly to leeward, a white canopy of curling smoke hung above the Ariel, or rested on the water, lingering in her wake, so as to mark the path by which she was approaching to a closer and still deadlier Btruggle. The shouts of the young sailors, as they handled their instruments of death, became more animated and fierce, while the cockswain pursued his occupation with the silence and skiU of one who labored in a regular vocation. Barn- stable was unusually composed and quiet, maintaining the grave deportment of a commander on whom rested the for- tunes of the contest, at the same time that his dark eyes were dancing with the fire of suppressed animation.

" Give it them ! " he occasionally cried, in a voice that might be heard amid the bellowing of the cannon ; " never mind their cordage, my lads ; drive home their bolts, and make your marks below their ridge-ropes."

In the mean time the Englishman played a manful game.

Il3 had suffered a heavy loss by the distant Ciinncnade, which no metal he possessed could retort upon his enemy ; but he struggled nobly to repair the erior in judgment with which he hud begun the contest. The two vessels gradu- ftily drew nigher to each other until they both entered into ^he common cloud created by their fire, which thickened and spread around then: in such a manner as to conceal

204 THE PILOT.

their dark bulls from the gaze of the curious and interested spectators on the cliffs. The heavy reports of the cannon were now mingled with the rattling of muskets and pistols, and streaks of fire might be seen glancing like flashes o\' lightning tbrout,b the white cloud which enshrouded the combatants ; and many minutes of painful uncertainty fol- lowed, before the deeply-interested soldiers, who were gaz- ing at the scene, discovered on whose banners victory had alighted.

We shall follow the combatants into their misty wreath, and display to the reader the events as they occurred.

The fire of the Ariel was much the most quick and deadly, both because she had suffered less, and her men were less exhausted ; and the cutter stood desperately on to decide the combat, after grappling, hand to hand. Barn- stable anticipated her intention, and well understood her commander's reason for adopting this course ; but he was not a man to calculate coolly his advantages, when pride and daring invited him to a more severe trial. Accordingly, he m^t the enemy half-way, and as the vessels rushed together, the stern of the schooner was secured to the bows of the cutter, by the joint efforts of both parties. The voice of the English commander was now plainly to be heard, in the uproar, calling to his men to follow him.

" Away there, boarders ! repel boarders on the starboai'd quarter ! " shouted Barnstable through his trumpet.

This was the last order that the gallant young sailor gave with this instrument ; for, as he spoke, he cast it from him, and, seizing his sabre, flew to the spot where the enemy was about to make his most desperate effort. The shouts, execrations, and tauntings of the combatants, now succeeded to the roar of the cannon, which could be used no longer with effect, though the fight was still maintained wilh spirited discharges of the small-arms.

" Sweep him from his decks ! " cried the English com- mander, as he appeared on his own bulwarks, surrounded by a dozen of his bravest men ; " drive the rebellious dog« uto the sea ! "

" Away there, marines ! " retorted Barnstable, firing hu

THE riLOT 205

pistol at the advancing enemy ; " leave not a man of them to sup his grog again."

The tremendous and close volley that succeeded this order, nearly accomplished the command of Barnstalle to the letter, and the commander of the Alacrity, perceiving that he stood alone, reluctantly fell back on the deck of his own vessel, in order to bring on his men once more.

" Board her ! gray-beards and boys, idlers and all ! " shouted Barnstable, springing in advance of his crew ; a powerful arm arrested the movement of the dauntless sea- man, and before he had time to recover himself, he was drawn violently back to his own vessel by the irresistible grasp of his cockswain.

" The fellow's in liis flurry," said Tom, " and it wouldn't be wise to go within reach of his flukes ; but I'll just step ahead and give him a set with my harpoon."

Without waiting for a reply, the cockswain reared his tall frame on the bulwarks, and was in the attitude of stepping on board of his enemy, when a sea separated the vessels, and he fell with a heavy dash of the waters into the ocean. As twenty muskets and pistols were discharged at the instant he appeared, the crew of the Ariel supposed hia fall to be occasioned by his wounds, and were rendered doubly fierce by the sight, and the cry of their commander to —

" Revenge long Tom ! board her ! long Tom or death ! "

They threw themselves forward in irresistible numbers, and forced a passage, with much bloodshed, to the forecastle of the Alacrity. The Englishman was overpowered, but Btill remained undaunted — he rallied his crew, and bore up most gallantly to the fray. Thrusts of pikes and blows of sabres were becoming close and deadly, while muskets and pistols were constantly discharged by those who were kept At a distance by the pressure of the throng of closer com- tjatants.

Barnstable led his men in advance, and became a mark ■>f peculiar vengeance to his enemies, as they slowly yielded aefore his vigorous assaults. Chance had placed the two pommanders on opposite sides of the cutter's deck, and tu»

206 THE PILOT.

victory seemed to incline towards either party, wherever these daring officers directed the struggle in person. But the Englishman, perceiving that the ground he maintained in person was lost elsewhere, made an effort to restore 'he battle, by changing his position, followed by one or two of his best men. A marine, who preceded him, leveled his musket within a few feet of the head of the American com- ma ider, and was about to fire, when Merry glided among the combatants, and passed his dirk into the body of the man who fell at the blow ; shaking his jiiece, with horrid imprecations, the wounded soldier prepared to deal his vengeance on his youthful assailant, when the fearless boy leaped within its muzzle, and buried his own keen weapon in his heart.

" Hurrah ! " shouted the unconscious Barnstable, from the edge of the quarter-deck, where, attended by a few men, he was driving all before him. " Revenge ! — long Tom and victory ! "

" We have them ! " exclaimed the Englishman ; " handle your pikes ! we have them between two fires."

The battle would probably have terminated very differ- ently from what previous circumstances had indicated, had not a wild-looking figure appeared in the cutter's channels at that moment, issuing from the sea, and gaining the deck at the same instant. It was long Tom, with his iron visage rendered fierce by his previous discomfiture, and his grizzled locks drenched with the briny element from which ae had risen, looking like Neptune with his trident. With- out speaking, he poised his harpoon, and, with a powerful effort, pinned the unfortunate Englishman to the mast of his own vessel.

" Starn all ! " cried Tom by a sort of instinct, when the Wow was struck; and catching up the musket of the falleu canrine, he dealt out terrible and fatal blows with its butt, dn all who apj^roached liim, utterly disregarding the use of the bayonet on its muzzle. The unfortunate commander of the Alacrity brandished his sword witli frantic gestures wliile his eyes rolled in horrid wilduess, when he writhe<i *or an instani m his passing agonies, and then, as his heal

THE PILOT. 5i07

dropped lifeless upon his gored breast, 1)8 hung figuinbt tha Bpar, a spectacle of dismay to his crew A ew of the Englishmen stood chained to tiie spot in silent horror at the sight, l)ut most of them fled to their lower deck, or hastened to conceal themselves in the secret parts of the vessel, leaving to the Americans the undisputed possession of the Alacrity.

Two thirds of the cutter's crew suffered either in life oi limbs, by this short struggle ; nor was the victory obtained by Barnstable without jiaying the jjrice of several valuable lives. The first burst of conquest was not, however, the moment to appreciate the sacrifice, and loud and reiterated shouts proclaimed the exultation of the conquerors. Aa the flush of victory subsided, however, recollection returned, and Barnstable issued such orders as humanity and his duty rendered necessary. While the vessels were separating, and the bodies of the dead and w^ounded were removing, the conqueror paced the deck of his prize, as if lost in deep reflection. He passed his hand frequently across his black- ened and blood-stained brow, while his eyes would rise to examine the vast canopy of smoke that was hovering above the vessels, like a dense fog exhaling from the ocean. The result of his deliberations was soon announced to the crew.

" Havd down all your flags," he cried ; " set the English- man's colors again, and show the enemy's jack above our ensign in the Ariel."

The appearance of the whole channel fleet within half gun-shot, would not have occasioned more astonishment among the victors than this extraordinary mandate. The wondering seamen suspended their several employments, to gaze at the singular change that was making in the flags^ those symbols that were viewed with a sort of reverence ; feut none presumed to comment openly on the procedure fxcept long Tom, who stood on the quarter-deck of the i>rizc, straightening the pliable iron of the harpoon which he had recovered, with as much care and diligence as if it were necessary to the maintenance of their conquest. Like Ac others, however, he suspended his employment, when be heard this order, and maniiested no reluctance to ex press his dissatisfactioa at the measure.

208 THE PILOT.

" If the Englishmen grumble at the fight, and think a not fair play," muttered the old cockswain, " let as tr)- it over again, sir ; as they are somewhat short of hands, they can send a boat to the land, and get off a gang of them lazy riptyles, the soldiers, who stand looking at us, like so many red lizards crawling on a beach, ind we'll give thena another chance ; but damme, if I see the use of whipping them, if this is to be the better end of the matter."

" What's that you're grumbling there, like a dead north- eMSter, you horse mackerel ? " said Barnstable ; " where are our friends and countrymen who are on the land ? are we to leave them to swing on gibbets or rot in dungeons ? "

The cockswain listened with great earnestness, and when his commander had spoken, he struck the palm of his broad hand against his brawny thigh, with a report like a pistol, and answered, —

" I see how it is, sir ; you reckon the red-coats have Mr. Griffith in tow. Just run the schooner into shoal water, Captain Barnstable, and drop an anchor, where we can get the long gun to bear on them, and give me the whale-boat and five or six men to back me — they must have long legs if they get an offing before I run them aboard ! "

" Fool ! do you think a boat's crew could contend with fifty armed soldiers ? "

" Soldiers ! " echoed Tom, whose spirits had been strongly excited by the conflict, snapping his fingers with ineffiible disdain ; " that for all the soldiers that were ever rigged : one whale could kill a thousand of them ! and here stands the man that has killed his round hundred of whales ! "

" Pshaw, you grampus, do you turn braggart in your old age?"

" It's no bragging, sir, to speak a log-book truth ! but if Captain Barnstable thinks that old Tom Coffin carries a speaking-trumpet for a figure-head, let him pass the word forrard to man the boats."

" No, no, my old master at the marlinspike," said Barn- stable, kindly, " I know thee too well, thou brother of Nep- tune ! but shall we not throw the bread-room dust in those Englishmen's eyes, by wearing their bunting awnile, tiL something may offer lo help our captured countrymen ?"

THE PILOT. 209

The cockswain shook his head and cogitated a moment, M if struck with sundry new ideas, when he an&wered, —

" Aye, aye, sir ; that's blue-water philosophy : as deep as the sea ! Let the riptyles clew up the corners of their mouths to their eyebrows, now ! when they come to hear the raal Yankee truth of the matter, they will sheet them down to their leather neckcloths ! "

With this reflection the cockswain was much consoled, and the business of repairing damages and securing the prize proceeded without fiirther interruption on his part. The few prisoners who were unhurt, were rapidly trans ferred to the Ariel. While Barnstable was attending to this duty, an unusual bustle drew his eyes to one of the hatchways, where he beheld a couple of his marines drag- ging forward a gentleman, whose demeanor and appearance indicated the most abject terror. After examining the extraordinary appearance of this individual, for a moment, iu silent amazement, the lieutenant exclaimed, — ■

" Who have we here ? some amateur in fights ! an in- quisitive, wonder-seeking non-combatant, who has volun- teered to serve his king, and perhaps draw a picture, or write a book, to serve himself ! Pray, sir, in what capacity did you serve in this vessel ? "

The captive ventured a sidelong glance at his interroga- tor, in whom he expected to encounter Griffith, but perceiv- ing that it was a face he did not know, he felt a revival of confidence that enabled him to reply, —

" I came here by accident ; being on board the cutter at the time her late commander determined to engage you. It was not in his power to land me, as I trust you will not hesitate to do ; your conjecture of my being a non-com- batant " —

" Is perfectly true," interrupted Barnstable ; " it requires no spy-glass to read that name written on you from stem to •tern ; but for certain weighty reasons " —

Ho paused to turn at a signal given him by young Merry who whispered eagerly in his ear, —

" 'Tis Mr. Dillon, kinsman of Colonel Howard ; I've seen him often, sailing in the wake of my cousin Cicely." 14

210 THE PILOT.

" Dillon !" exclaimed Barnstable, rubbing his haniU with pleasure ; " what, Kit of that name ! he witli ' the Savannah face, eyes of black, and skin of the same color ? ' he's grown a little whiter with fear ; but he's a prize, at this moment, worth twenty Alacrities ! "

These exclamations were made in a low voice, and at Bome little distance from the prisoner, whom he new mpproached and addressed.

" Policy, and consequently duty, require that I should detain you for a short time, sir ; but you shall have a sailor's welcome to whatever we possess, to lessen the weight of captivity."

Barnstable precluded any reply, by bowing to his captive, and turning away to superintend the management of his vessels. In a short time it was announced that they were ready to make sail, when the Ariel and her prize were brought close to the wind, and commenced beating slowly along the land, as if intending to return to the bay whence the latter had sailed that morning. As they stretched in to the shore on the first tack, the soldiers on the cliffs rent the air with their shouts and acclamations, to which Barnstable, pointing to the assimaed symbols that were fluttering in the breeze from his masts, directed his crew to respond in the most cordial manner. As the distance, and the want of boats, prevented any further communication, the soldiers, after gazing at the i-eceding vessels for a time, disappeared from the cliffs, and were soon lost from the sight of the adventurous mariners. Hour after hour was consumed in the tedious navigation, against an adverse tide, and the short day was drawing to a close, before they approached the mouth of their destined haven. While making one of theu' numerous stretches, to and from the land, the cuttei, in which Barnstable continued, passed the victim of their morD» mg's sport, riding on the water, the waves cui-ling over hia huge carcass as on some rounded rock, and already sur- rounded by the sharks, who were preying on his defenselesa body

" See ! Master Cofiin,'' cried the lieutenant, pointing out the object to his cockswain as they glided by i^, " the shovel-

THE PILOT. 211

noued gentlemen are regaling daintily ; you have neglected the Christian's duty of burying your dead."

The old seaman cast a melancholy look at the dead whale, and replied, —

" II" I had the creatur' in Boston Bay, or on the Sandy Point of Munny-Moy, 'twould be the making of me ! But riches and honor are for the great and the larned, and there's nothing left for poor Tom Coffin to do, but to veer and haul on his own rolling-tackle, that he may ride out the rest of the gale of life without springing any of his old spars."

" How now, long Tom ! " cried his officer, " these rocks and cliffs will shipwreck you on the shoals of poetry yet ; you grow sentimental ! "

" Them rocks might wrack any vessel that struck them,'' said the literal cockswain ; " and as for poetry, I wants none better than the good old song of Captain Kidd ; but it's enough to raise solemn thoughts in a Cape Poge Indian, to see an eighty-barrel whale devoured by shirks — 'tis an awful waste of property ! I've seen the death of two hun- dred of the creaturs, though it seems to keep the rations of poor old Tom as short as ever."

The cockswain walked aft, while the vessel was passing the whale, and seating himself on the taffrail, with his face resting gloomily on his bony hand, he fastened his eyes oa the object of his solicitude, and continued to gaze at it with melancholy regret, while it was to be seen glistening in the sunbeams, as it rolled its glittering side of white into the air, or the rays fell unreflected on the black and rougher coat of the back of the monster. In the mean time, the navigators diligently pursued their way for the haven wo have mentioned, into which they steered with every appear- ance of the fearlessness of friends, and the exultation of con- querors.

A few eager and gratified spectators lined the edges of the small bay, and Barnstable concluded his arrangement for deceiving the enemy, by admonishing his crew that they were now about to enter on a service that would require their utmost intrepidity and sagacity

212 THE PILOT.

CHAPTER XIX.

Our trumpet called you to this gentle paile.

Kino Jom.

As Griffith and his companions rushed from the office! of St. Ruth into the open air, they encountered no one to intercept their flight, or communicate the alarm. Warned by the experience of the earlier part of the same niglit, they avoided the points where they knew the sentinels were posted, though fully prepared to bear down all resistance, and were soon beyond the probability of immediate detec- tion. They proceeded, for the distance of half a mile, with rapid strides, and with the stern and sullen silence of men who expected to encounter immediate danger, resolved to breast it with desperate resolution ; but, as they plunged into a copse, that clustered around the ruin which has been already mentioned, they lessened their exertions to a more deliberate pace, and a short but guarded dialogue ensued-

" "We have had a timely escape," said Griffith ; " I would much rather have endured captivity, than have been the cause of introducing confusion and bloodshed into the peace- ful residence of Colonel Howard."

" I would, sir, that you had been of this opinion some lours earlier," returned the Pilot, with a severity in his tones that even conveyed more meaning than his words.

" I may have forgotten my duty, sir, in my anxiety to mquire into the condition of a family in whom I feel a particular interest," returned Griffith, in a manner in which pride evidently struggled with respect ; " but this is not a time for regrets ; I apprehend that we follow you on an errand of some moment, where actions would be raor« acceptable than any words of apology. What is your pieaa- ore now ? "

THE PILOT. 213

" I much fear that our project will be defeated," said the Pilot, gloomily ; " the alarm will spread with the morning fogs, and there will be musterings of the yeomen, and con- sultations of the gentry, that will drive all thoughts of amusement from their minds. The rumor of a descent will; at any time, force sleep from the shores of this island, to at least ten leagues inland."

" Aye, you have probably passed some pleasant nights, with your eyes open, among them, yourself, Master Pilot," said Manual ; " they may thank the Frenchman, Thurot, in the old business of '56, and our own dare-devil, the bloody Scotchman, as the causes of their quarters being so often beaten up. After all, Thurot, with his fleet, did no more than bully them a little, and the poor fellow was finally ex- tinguished by a few small cruisers, like a drummer's boy under a grenadier's cap ; but honest Paul sang a different tune for his countrymen to dance to, and " —

" I believe you will shortly dance yourself. Manual," interrupted Griffith, quickly, " and in very pleasure that you have escaped an English prison."

" Say, rather, an English gibbet," continued the elated marine ; " for had a com-t-martial or a court-civil discussed the manner of our entrance into this island, I doubt whether we should have fared better than the dare-devil himself, honest " —

" Pshaw ! " exclaimed the impatient Griffith ; " enough of this nonsense. Captain Manual : we have other matters to discuss now. What course have you determined to piu'sue, ]^Ir. Gray ? "

The Pilot started, like a man aroused from a deep mus- ing, at this question, and after a pause of a moment, he spoke in a low tone of voice, as if still under the influence of deep and melancholy feeling : —

" The night has already run into the morning watch, but the sun is backward to show himself in this latitude in the heart of winter. I must depart, my friends, to rejoin you Bome ten hour^ hence : it will be necessary to look deeper into our scheme before we hazard anything, and no one can do the service but myself: where shall we meet •gain ^ "

•214 THE PILOT.

*'I have reason to think that there is an unfrequented ruin at no great distance from us," said Griffith ; " perhaps we might find both shelter and privacy among its deserted walls."

" The thought is good," returned the Pilot, " and 'twill answer a double purpose. Could you find the place where you put the marines in ambush, Captain Manual? "

" Has a dog a nose ? and can he follow a clean scent ? ' exclaimed the marine ; " do you think, Signor Pilota, that a general ever puts his forces in an ambuscade where he can't find them himself? 'Fore God! I knew well enough where the rascals lay snoring on their knapsacks, some half an hour ago, and I would have given the oldest majority in Washington's army to have had them where a small intima- tion from myself could have brought them in line ready dressed for a charge. I know not how you fared, gentle- men, but, with me, the sight of twenty such vagabonds would have been a joyous spectacle : we would have tossed that Captain Borroughcliffe and his recruits on the point of our bayonets, as the devil would pitch " —

" Come, come, IManual," said Griffith, a little angrily, " you constantly forget our situation and our errand ; can you lead your men hither without discovery, before the day dawns ? "

" I want but the shortest half-hour that a bad watch ever travelled over to do it in."

"Then follow, and I will appoint a place of secret rendez- vous," rejoined Griffith ; " Mr. Gray can learn our situation at the same time."

The Pilot was seen to beckon, through the gloom of the night, for his companions to move forward ; when they proceeded, with cautious steps, in quest of the desired shelter. 4. short search brought them in contact with a part of the *uinous walls, which spread over a large surface, and which, in places, reared their black fragments against the sky, casting a deeper obscurity across the secret recesses of the irood.

" This will do," said Griffith, when they had skirted fo- •ome distacce the outline of the crumbl'ng fabric ; " bring

THE PILOT. 215

B7> your men to this point, where I will meet you, and con- tiiict them to some more secret place, for which I shall search during your absence."

" A perfect paradise, after the cable-tiers of the Ai-iel ! " exclaimed Manual ; " I doubt not but a good spot might be selected among these trees for a steady drill, — a thing my Boul has pined after for six long mouths."

" Away, away ! " cried Griffith ; " here is no place foi idle parades ; if we find shelter from discovery and cap ture uutil you shall be needed in a deadly struggle, 'twill b« well."

Manual was slowly retracing his steps to the skirts cf the wood, when he suddenly turned, and asked, —

" Shall I post a small picket, a mere corporal's guard, m the open ground in front, and make a chain of sentinels to our works ? "

" We have no works — we want no sentinels," returned his impatient commander ; " our security is only to be found in secrecy. Lead up your men under the cover of the trees, and let those three bright stars be your landmarks ; bring them in a range with the northern corner of the wood " —

" Enough, Mr. Griffith," interrupted Manual ; " a column of troops is not to be steered like a ship, by compass, and bearings and distances ; trust me, sir, the march shall be conducted with proper discretion, though in a military manner."

Any reply or expostulation was prevented by the sudden disappearance of the marine, whose retreating footsteps were heard for several moments, as he pioved at a deliber- ate pace through the underwood. During this shoit in- terval, the Pilot stood reclining against the corner of the ruins in profound silence ; but when the sounds of Maimal's march were no longer audible, he advanced from under the deeper shadows of the wall, and approached his youthful companion.

" We are indebt«d to the marine for our escape,'* he said ; " I hope we are not to suffer by his folly."

" He is what Barnstable calls a rectangular man," returuod

216 THE PILOT.

GriflSth, " and will have his way in matters of his profession, though a daring companion in a hazardous expedition. If we can keep him from exposing us by his silly parade, we shall find him a man who will do his work like a soldier sir, when need happens."

" 'Tis all I ask ; until the last moment, he and his com- mand must be torpid ; for if we are discovered, any attempt of ours, with some twenty bayonets and a half-pike or two, would be useless against the force that would be brought to crush us."

"The truth of your opinion is too obvious," returned Griffith ; " these fellows will sleep a week at a time in a gale at sea, but the smell of the land wakes them up, and I fear 'twill be hard to keep them close during the day."

" It must be done, sir, by the strong hand of force," said the Pilot, sternly, " if it cannot be done by admonition ; if we had no more than the recruits of that drunken martinet to cope with, it would be no hard task to drive them into the sea ; but I learned in my prison that horse are expected on the shore with the dawn ; there is one they call Dillon, who is on the alert to do us mischief"

" The miscreant ! " muttered Griffith ; " then you also have had communion, sir, with some of the inmates of St. Ruth?"

" It behooves a man who is embarked in a perilous enter- prise to seize aU opportunities to learn his hazard," said the Pilot, evasively : " if the report be true, I fear we have but little hopes of succeeding in our plans."

" Nay, then, let us take the advantage of the darkness to regain the schooner ; the coasts of England swarm with hostile cruisers, and a rich trade is flowing into the bosons of this island from the four quarters of the world ; we shall not seek long for a foe worthy to contend with, nor for thfl opportunities to cut up the Englishman in his sinews of war " — his wealth."

" Griffith," returned the Pilot, in his still, low tones, thai seemed to belong to a man who never knew ambition, no'* felt human passion, " I grow sick of this struggle between merit and privileged rank. It is in vain that I scour tba

THE PILOT. 211

i^aters which the King of England boastingly calls \iis own, and capture his vessels in the very mouths of his harbors, if my reward is to consist only of violated promises, and hollow professions ; but your proposition is useless to me ; I have at length obtained a ship of a size sufficient to con- vey my person to the shores of honest, plain-dealing America ; and I would enter the hall of Congress, on my return, attended by a few of the legislators of this learned isle, who think they possess the exclusive privUege to be wise, and virtuous, and great."

" Such a retinue might doubtless be grateful both to youi own feelings and those who would receive you," said Griffith modestly ; "but would it affect the great purposes of ooi struggle ? or is it an exploit, when achieved, worth th« hazard you incur ? "

Griffith felt the hand of the Pilot on his own, pressing i* with a convulsive grasp, as he replied, in a voice, if possi ble, even more desperately calm than his former tones, —

" There is glory in it, young man ; if it be purchased with danger, it shall be rewarded by fame ! It is true, I wear your republican livery, and call the Americans my brothers ; but it is because you combat in behalf of human nature. "Were your cause less holy, I would not shed the meanest drop that flows in English veins to serve it ; but now, it hallows every exploit that is undertaken in its favor, and the names of all who contend for it shall belong to posterity. Is there no merit in teaching these proud islanders that the arm of liberty can pluck them from the very empire of their corruption and oppression ? "

" Then let me go and ascertain what we most wish to know ; you have been seen there, and might attract " —

" You little know me," interrupted the Pilot ; " the deed IS my own. If I succeed, I shall claim the honor, and it is proper that I incur the hazard ; if I fail, it will be buried in oblivion, like fifty others of my schemes, which, had I power to back me, would have thrown this kingdom in con- sternation, from the lookouts on the boldest of its head- Ian is, to tnose on the turrets of Windsor Castle. But I was bom without the nobij'ty of twenty generations to oot^

218 THE PILOT.

rupt my blood and deaden my soul, and am not trusted by the degenerate wretches who rule the French marine."

*' 'Tis said that ships of two decks are building from our own oak," said Griffith ; " and you have only to present yourself in America, to be em]>loyed most honorably."

" Aye ! the republics cannot doubt the man who has sup- ported their flag, without lowering it an inch, in so many bloody conflicts ! I do go there, Griffith, but my way lies on this path ; my pretended friends have bound my hands often, but my enemies, never — neither shall they now Ten hours will determine all I wish to know, and with yon I trust the safety of the party till my return ; be vigilant, but be prudent."

" If you should not appear at the appointed hour," ex- daimed Griffith, as he beheld the Pilot turning to depart, " where am I to seek, and how serve you ? "

" Seek me not, but return to your vessel ; my earliest years were passed on this coast, and I can leave the island, should it be necessary, as I entered it, aided by this disguise and my own knowledge ; in such an event, look to your charge, and forget me entirely."

Griffith could distinguish the silent wave of his hand when the Pilot concluded, and the next instant he was left alone. For several minutes the young man continued where he had been standing, musing on the singular endowments and rest- less enterprise of the being with whom chance had thus unexpectedly brought him in contact, and with whose fate and foi-tune his own prospects had, by the intervention of nnlooked-for circumstances, become intimately connected. When the reflections excited by recent occurrences had passed away, he entered within the sweejiing circle of the ruinous walls, and after a very cursory survey of the state if the dilapidated building, he was satisfied that it contained enough secret places to conceal his men, until the return of the Pilot should warn them that the hour had come when they must attempt the seizure of the devoted sportsmen, or darkness should again facilitate their return to the Ariel ft was now about the commencem'ent of that period of deep light, which seamen distinguish as the morning watch, and

THE PILOT. 219

GriflBth ventured to the edge of the little \*ood, to listen if any sounds or tumult indicated that thej were pursued. On reaching a point where his eye could faintly distinguish distant objects, the young man paused, and bestowed a close and wary investigation on the surrounding scene.

The fury of the gale had sensibly abated, but a steady current of sea air was rushing through the naked branches of the oaks, lending a dreary and mournful sound to the gloom of the dim prospect. At the distance of a short half- •uile, the confused outline of the pile of St. Ruth rose proudly against the streak of light which was gradually increasing above the ocean, and there were moments when the young seaman even fancied he could discern the bright caps that topped the waves of his own disturbed element. The long, dull roar of the surf, as it tumbled heavUy on the beach, or dashed with unbroken violence against the hard boundary of rocks, was borne along by the blasts distinctly to his ears. It was a time and a situation to cause the young seaman to ponder deeply on the changes and chances of his hazardous profession. Only a few short hours had passed since he was striving with his utmost skill, and with all his collected enei'gy, to guide the enormous fabric, in which so many of his comrades were now quietly sleeping on the broad ocean, from that very shore on which he now stood in cool indifference to the danger. The recollection of home, America, his youthful and enduring passion, and the character and charms of his mistress, blended in a sort of wild and feverish confusion, which was not, however, without its pleasures, in the ardent fancy of the young man ; and he was slowly approaching, step by step, towards the Abbey, when the sound of footsteps, proceeding evi- dently from the measured tread of disciplined men, reached his ears. He was instantly recalled to his recollection by this noise, which increased as the party deliberately ap- proached ; and in a few moments he was able to distinguish a line of men, marching in order towards the edge of the wood, from which he had himself so recently issued. Re- tiring rapidly under the deeper shadow of the *ree3, he waited until it was apparent the party intended to entei •nder its cover also, when he ventured to speak.

220 THE PILOT.

" Who comes ? and on what errand ? " he cried.

" A skulker, and to burrow like a rabbit, or jump from hole to hole, like a wharf-rat ! " said Manual, sulkily ; "here have I been marching, within half musket-shot of the enemy, without daring to pull a trigger even on their outposts, because our muzzles are plugged with that uni- versal extinguisher of gunpowder, called prudence. 'Fore God ! Mr. Griffith, I hope you may never feel the tempta- tion to do an evil deed, which I felt just now to throw a volley of small shot into that dog-kennel of a place, if it were only to break its windows, and let in the night air upon the sleeping sot who is dozing away the fumes of Bome as good old ' south-side — harkye, Mr. Griffith, one word in your ear."

A short conference took place between the two officers, apart from the men, at the close of which, as they rejoined the party, Manual might be heard urging his plans on the reluctant ears of Griffith in the following words : —

" I could carry the old dungeon without waking one of the snorers ; and consider, sir, we might get a stock of as rich cordial from its cellars as ever oOed the throat of a gentleman ! "

" 'Tis idle, 'tis idle," said Griffith impatiently ; " we are not robbers of hen-roos«^s, nor wine-gaugers, to be prying into the vaults of the English gentry, Captain Manual ; but honorable men, employed in the sacred cause of liberty and our country. Lead your party into the ruin, and let them seek their rest ; we may have work for them with tho dawn."

" EvU was the hour when I quitted the line of the army, to place a soldier under the orders of an awkward squad of tarry jack(jts ! " muttered Manual, as he proceeded to exe- cute an order that was delivered with an air of authority that he knew must be obeyed. " As pretty an opportunity for a surprise and a forage thrown away, as ever crossed 'he path of a partisan ! but, by all the rights of man I'll ha7e an encampment in some order. Here, you ser- geajt, detail a corporjxl and three men for a picket, and sta- tion them in the skirts of tliis wood. We shall have a

THE T'lLOT. 221

sentinel in adva/ice of our position, and things shall be con-, ilucted witli some air of discipline."

Griffith heard this order with great inward disgust ; but as he anticipated the return of the Pilot before the light could arrive to render this weak exposure of their situat''>if apparent, he forbore exercising his power to alter the ar- rangement. Manual had, therefore, the satisfaction of see- ing his little party quartered, as he thought, in a military manner, before he retired with Griffith and his men into one of the vaulted apartments of the ruin, which, by its open and broken doors, invited their entrance. Here the marines disposed themselves to rest, while the two officers succeeded in passing the tedious hours, without losing their characters for watchfulness, by conversing with each other, or, at whiles, suffering their thoughts to roam in the very different fields, which fancy would exhibit to men of such differing characters. In this manner hour after hour passed, in listless quiet, or sullen expectation, until the day had gradually advanced, and it became dangerous to keep the sentinels and picket in a situation where they were liable to be seen by any straggler who might be passing near the wood. Manual remonstrated against any alteration, as being entirely unmilitary, for he was apt to carry his notions of tactics to extremes whenever he came in collision with a sea officer; but in this instance his superior was firm, and the only concession the captain could obtain was the per- mission to place a solitary sentinel within a few feet of the vault, though under the cover of the crumbling walls of the building itself. With this slight deviation in their arrange- ments, the uneasy party remained for several houi's longer, impatiently waiting the period when they should be requires o move.

The g-ms first fired from the Alacrity had been distinctly r.udJble, and were pronounced by Griffith, whose practiced ear detected the metal of the piece that was used, as not uroceeding from the schooner. When the rapid though distant rumbling of the spirited cannonade became audible, It was with difficulty that Griffith could restrain either his owp feelings or the conduct of his companions withio

222 THE PILOT.

those bounds that prudence and their situation requireil The last ^un was, however, fired, and not a, man had left the vault, and conjectures as to the result of the fight sno ceeded to those which had been made on th^ character of ^he combatants during the action. Some c? the marinea ivould raise their heads from the fragments which served them as the pillows on which they were seeking disturbed and stolen slumbers, and after listening to the cannon would again compose themselves to sleep, like men who felt no concern in a contest in which they did not participate. Others, more alive to events, and less drowsy, lavishly ex- pended their rude jokes on those who were engaged in the struggle, or listened with a curious interest to mark the progress of the battle, by the uncertain index of its noise. When the fight had been some time concluded. Manual in- dulged his ill-humor more at length : —

" There has been a party of pleasure within a league of us, Mr. Griffith," he said, " at which, but for our present subterraneous quarters, we might have been guests, and thus laid some claim to the honor of sharing in the victory. But it is not too late to push the party on as far as the cliffs, where we shall be in sight of the vessels, and we may possibly establish a claim to our share of the prize- money."

" There is but little wealth to be gleaned from the cap- ture of a king's cutter," returned Griffith ; " and thsre «rould be less honor were Barnstable encumbered with our additional and useless numbers."

" Useless ! " repeated Manual ; " there is much good ser- vice to be got out of twenty-three well-drilled and well- chosen marines : look at those fellows, Mr. Griffith, and tnen tell me if you think them an encumbrance in the hour of need."

Griffith smiled, and glanced his eye over the sleeping grcup, — for when the firing had ceased the whole party had again sought their repose, — and he could not help ad miring the athletic and sinewy limbs that lay scattered arcand the gloomy vault, in every posture that ease or whia dictated. From the stout frames of the men, hi» glanco

THE PILOT. 228

WHS directed to the stack of fire-arms, from whose glittering lubes and polished bayonets strong rays of light were re- flected, even in that dark apartment. Manual followed the direction of his eyes, and watched the expression of his countenance, with inward exultation ; but he had the for- bearance to await his reply before he manifested his feelings more openly.

" I know them to be true men," said Griffith, " when needed, but — hark ! what says he ? "

" Who goes there ? what noise is that ? " repeated the •entinel who was placed at the entrance of the vault.

Manixal and Griffith sprang at the same instant from their places of rest, and stood, unwilling to create the slight- est sounds, listening with the most intense a)\xiety to catch the next indications of the cause of their gixardian's alarm. A short stillness, like that of death, succeeded, during which Sriffith whispered, —

" 'Tis the Pilot ! his hour has been long passed."

The words were hardly spoken, when the clashing of Bteel in fierce and sudden contact was heard, and at the next instant the body of the sentinel fell heavily along the stone steps that led to the open air, and rolled lifelessly to their feet, with the bayonet that had caused his death pro- jecting from a deep wound in his breast.

" Away, away I sleepers away ! " shouted Griffith.

" To arms ! " cried Manual, in a voice of thunder.

The alarmed marines, suddenly aroused from their slum- bers at these thrilling cries, sprang on their feet in a con- fused cluster, and at that fatal moment a body of living fire darted into the vault, which reechoed with the reports of twenty muskets. The uproar, the smoke, and the groans wLich escaped from many of his party, could not restrain fyrlfnth another instant ; his pistol was fired through the cloud which concealed the entrance of the vault, and he followed the leaden messenger, trailing a half-pike, and ihouting to his men, —

" Cone on ! follow, my lads ; th?y are nothing but sol

liflTS."

Even while he spoke, the ardent young seaman was ruab'

224 THE PILOT.

mg up the narrow passage ; but as he gained the open Bpace, his foot struck the writhing body of the victim of his shot, and he was precipitated headlong into a group of armed men.

" Fire ! Manual, fire ! " shouted the infuriated prisoner j " fire, while you have them in a cluster."

* Aye, fire, Mr. Manual," said Borroughclifie, with greal coolness, " and shoot your own ofiicer : hold him up, boys hold him up in front ; the safest place is nighest to him."

" Fire ! " repeated Griffith, making desperate eflforta to release himself from the grasp of five or six men ; " fire, and disregard me."

" If he do, he deserves to be hung," said BorroughcliflTe j " such fine fellows are not sufficiently plenty to be shot at like wild beasts in chains. Take him from before the mouth of the vault, boys, and spread yourselves to your duty."

At the time Griffith issued from the cover, Manual was mechanically employed in placing his men in order ; and the marines, accustomed to do everything in concert and array, lost the moment to advance. The soldiers of Bor- roughcliffe reloaded their muskets, and fell back behind different portions of the wall, where they could command the entrance to the vault with their fire, without much ex- posure to themselves. This disposition was very coolly reconnoitered by Manual in person, through some of the crevices in the wall, and he hesitated to advance against the force he beheld while so advantageously posted. In this situation several shots were fired by either party, without effect, until Borroughcliffe, perceiving the inefficacy of that mode of attack, summoned the garrison of the vault to a parley.

" Surrender to the forces of his majesty. King George che Third," he cried, " and I promise you quarter."

" Will you release your prisoner, and give us free pas sage to our vessels ? " asked Manual ; " the garrison tu march out with all the honors of war, and officers to retain their side-arms ? "

" Inadmissible," returned Borroughcliffe, with greaf gravity ; " the honor of his majesty's arms, and the welfare

THE PILOT. 22i>

of the realm, forbid such a treaty: but I offer you safe quarter, and honorable treatment."

" Officers to retain tlieir side-arms, your prisoner to be released, and the whole party to return to America, on parole, not to serve until exchanged ! "

" Not granted," said BorroughclifFe. * The most that 1 can yield is a good potation of the generous south-side ,; and if you are the man I take you for, you will know how to prize such an offer."

" In what capacity do you summon us to yield ? as men entitled to the benefit of the laws of arms, or as rebels to your king ? "

" Ye are rebels all, gentlemen," returned the deliberate Borroughcliffe, " and as such ye must yield ; though so far as good treatment and good fare goes, you are sure of it while in my power ; in all other respects you lie at the mercy of his most gracious majesty."

" Then let his majesty show his gracious face, and come and take us, for I'll be " —

The asseveration of the marine was interrupted by Grif- fith, whose blood had sensibly cooled, and whose generous feelings were awakened in behalf of his comrades, now that his own fate seemed decided.

" Hold, Manual," he cried, " make no rash oaths : Cap- tain Borroughcliffe, I am Edward Griffith, a lieutenant in the navy of the United American States, and I pledge you Viy honor to a parole " —

" Release him," said Borroughcliffe.

Griffith advanced between the two parties, and spoke so as to be heard by both : —

" I propose to descend to the vault, and ascertain the loss »nd present strength of Captain Manual's party : if the atter be not greater than I apprehend, I shall advise him c a surrender on the usual conditions of civilized nations.*

" Go," said the soldier ; " but stay ; is he a half-and-Ialf ~ an amphibious — pshaw ! I mean a marine ? "

" lie is, sir, a captain in that corps" —

" The very man," interrupted Borroughcliffe ; " I thought • recollected the liquid sounds of his voice. It will be well

15

226 THE PILOT.

to speak to hiir. of the good fare of St. Ruth ; and you may add, that I know my man : I shall besiege, instead of storm' ing him, with the certainty of a surrender when his canteen is empty. The vault he is in holds no such beverage as the cellars of the Abbey."

Griffith smiled, in spite of the occasion and his vexation ; and making a slight inclination of his head, he passed into the vault, giving notice to his friends, by his voice, in order to apprise them who approached.

Ha found six of the marines, including the sentinel, lying dead on the ragged pavement, and four others wounded, but stifling their groans, by the order of their commander, that they might not inform the enemy of his weakness. With the remainder of his command Manual had intrenched him- self behind the fragment of a wall that intersected the vault, and, regardless of the dismaying objects before him, main- tained as bold a front, and as momentous an air, as if the fate of a walled town depended on his resolution and ingenuity.

" You see, Mr. Griffith," he cried, when the young sailor approached this gloomy but really formidable arrangement, *' that nothing short of artillery can dislodge me : as for that drinking Englishman above, let him send down his men by platoons of eight or ten, and I'll pile them up on those steps, four and five deep."

" But artillery can and will be brought, if it should be necessary," said Griffith ; " and there is not the least chance of your eventual escape : it may be possible for you to de- stroy a few of the enemy, but you are too humane to wish tc do it unnecessarily."

" No doubt," returned Manual with a grim smile ; " aM let methinks I could find present pleasure in shooting seve^i 3f them — yes, just seven, which is one more than they ha^' i rtrnck off my roster."

'' Rem amber your own wounded," added Griffith ; " they »s;ff(!r i^T v/ant of aid, while you protract a i:<seless defense.

A few smothered groans from the sufferers seconded thia appeal, and INlanual yielded, though with a very iU grace, w* th3 necessity of the case.

THF. PILOT. 227

" Go, then, and tell him that we will surrender as pris- oners of war," he said, " on the conditions that he grants me my side-arms, and that suitable care shall be taken of the sick — be particular to call them sick — for some lucky- accident may yet occur before the compact is ratified^ and I would not have him learn our loss."

Gritfith, without waiting for a second bidding, hastened t<? Borroughcliffe with his intelligence.

" His side-arms ! " repeated the soldier, when the other had done ; " what are they, I pray thee — a marlinspike ? for if his equipments be no better than thine own, my worthy prisoner, there is little need to quarrel about their owner- ship."

" Had I but ten of my meanest men, armed with such half-pikes, and Captain Borroughcliffe and his party were put at deadly strife with us," retorted Griffith, " he might find occasion to value our weapons more highly."

" Four such fiery gentlemen as yourself would have routed my command," returned Borroughcliffe, with undis- turbed composure. " I trembled for my ranks when I saw you coming out of the smoke like a blazing comet from behind a cloud! and I shall never think of somersets with- out returning inward thanks to their inventor. But our treaty is made ; let your comrades come forth and pile their arms."

Griffith communicated the result to the captain of ma- rines, when the latter led the remnant of his party out of his sunken fortress into the open air.

The men, who had manifested throughout the whole busi- ness that cool subordination and unyielding front, mixed with the dauntless spirit that to this day distinguishes the corps of which they were members, followed their com- jaander in sullen silence, and stacked their arras, with as wuch regularity and precision as if they had been ordered xt relieve themselves after a march. When this necessary preliminary had been observed, Borroughcliffe unmasked his forces, and our adventurers found themselves once mure in ".he power of the enemy, and under circumstances which tendered the prospect of a speedy release from their cap- U^ity no«trly hopeless.

228 THE PILOT

CHAPTER XX.

If your father will do me any honor, so ;

If not, let him kill the next Percy himself;

I look to be either earl or duke, I can assure jon.

FAUrtATW.

Manual cast sundry discontented and sullen looks froua his captors to the remnant of his own command, while the process of pinioning the latter was conducted, with much discretion, under the directions of Sergeant Drill, when meeting, in one of his dissatisfied glances, with the pale and disturbed features of Griffith, he gave vent to his ill-humor, by saying, —

" This results from neglecting the precautions of military discipline. Had the command been with me, who, I may say, without boasting, have been accustomed to the duties of the field, proper pickets would have been posted, and instead of being caught like so many rabbits in a burrow, to be smoked out with brimstone, we should have had an open field for the struggle ; or we might have possessed ourselves of these walls, which I could have made good for two hours at least, against the best regiment that ever wore King George's facings."

" Defend the outworks before retreating to the citadel ! " oried BorroughclifFe ; " 'tis the game of war, and shows science : but had you kept closer to your burrow, the rabbits might now have all been frisking about in that pleasant abode. The eyes of a timid hind were greeted thia mornings while journeying near this wood, with a passing eight of armed men in strange attire ; and as he fled, with an intent of casting himself into the sea, as fear will some iimes urge one of his kind to do, he luckily encountered me on the cliffs, who humanely saved his life, by compelling hiiu to cooduct us hither. There is often wisdom in science, my

THE PILOT 229

worthy contemporary in arms ; but there is sometimes safety in ignorance."

" You have succeeded, sir, and have a right to be plea» ant," said Manual, seating himself gloomOy on a fragment of the ruin, and fastening his looks on the melancholy spec- tacle of the lifeless bodies, as they were successively brought from the vault and placed at his feet ; " but these men have been my own children, and you will excuse me if I cannoi retort your pleasantries. Ah ! Captain Borroughcliffe, you are a soldier, and know how to value merit. I took those very fellows, who sleep on these stones so quietly, from the hands of nature, and made them the pride of our art. They were no longer men, but brave lads, who ate and drank, wheeled and marched, loaded and fired, laughed or were sorrowful, spoke or were silent, only at my will. As for soul, there was but one among them all, and that was in my keeping ! Groan, my children, groan freely now ; there is no longer reason to be silent. I have known a single musket-bullet cut the buttons from the coats of five of them in a row, without rasing the skin of a man ! I could ever calculate, with certainty, how many it would be necessary to expend in all regular service ; but this accursed banditti business has robbed me of the choicest of my treasures. You stand at ease now, my children ; groan, it will soften your anguish."

Borroughcliffe appeared to participate, in some degree, in the feelings of his captive, and he made a few appropriate ipmarks in the way of condolence, while he watcher! the j^ reparations that were making by his own men to move. At length his orderly announced that substitutes for bar- rows were provided to sustain the wounded, and inquired if it were his pleasure to return to their quarters.

" Who has seen the horse ? " demanded the captain ; ** which way did they march ? Have they gained any lid- ings of the discovery of this party of the enemy ? "

" Not from us, your honor," returned the sergeant ; " they bad ridden along the coast before we .left the cliffs, and it .was said their officer intended to scour the shore for several miles, and spread the alarm."

230 THE FILOT.

" Let him ; it is all such gay gallants are good for. Drill, honor is almost as scarce an article with our arms just now as pi'omotion. We seem but the degenerate children of the heroes of Poictiers ; you understand me, sergeant ? "

" Some battle fou't by his majesty's trooi)s against the French, your honor," returned the orderly, a little at a loss )0 comprehend the expression of his officer's eye.

" Fellow, you grow dull on victory," exclaimed Bor- wughclifFe : " come hither, I would give you orders. Do you think. Mister Drill, there is more honor, or likely to be more profit, in this little morning's amusement than you and I can stand under ? "

" I should not, your honor : we have both pretty broad shoulders " —

" That are not weakened by undue burthens of this nature," interrupted his captain, significantly : " if we let the news of this affair reach the ears of those hungry dra- goons, they would charge upon us open-mouthed, like a pack of famished beagles, and claim at least half the credit, and certainly all the profit."

" But, your honor, there was not a man of them even" —

" No matter. Drill ; I've known troops that have been engaged, and have suffered, cheated out of their share of victory by a well-worded despatch. You know, fellow, that in the smoke and confusion of a battle a man can only see what passes near him, and common prudence requires that he only mention in his official letters what he knows can't be easily contradicted. Thus your Indians, and, indeed, all alUes, are not entitled to the right of a general order, any more than to the right of a parade. Now, I dare say, you have heard of a certain battle of Blenheim?"

•' Lord ! your honor, 'tis the pride of the British army, that and the Culloden ! 'Twas when the great Corporal John beat the French king, and all his lords and ncbility with half his nation in arms to back him."

" Aye ! there is a little of the barrack readings in the Recount, but it is substantially true ; know you how many French were in tho field that Jay, JVIister Drill ? "

" 1 have never seen the totals of their muster, sir, in

THE PILOT. 231

print ; but, judging oy the difference betwixt the nations, I •hould suppose some hundreds of tliousands "

" And yet, to oppose this vast army, tlie duke had onlj ten or twelve thousand well-fed Englishmen! You look aslounded, sergeant ! "

" Why, your honor, that does seem rather an overmatch ibi- an old soldier to swallow ; the random shot would sweep aivay so small a force."

"And yet the battle was fought, and the victory won I but the Duke of Marlborough had a certain Mr. Eugene, with some fifty or sixty thousand High-Dutchers, to back him. You never heard of Mr. Eugene ? "

"Not a syllable, your honor; I always thought that Corporal John " —

" Was a gallant and great general ; you thought right, Mister Drill. So would a certain nameless gentleman be also, if his majesty would sign a commission to that effect. However, a majority is on the high road to a regiment, and with even a regiment a man is comfortable ! In plain English, Mister Drill, we must get our prisoners into the Abbey with as little noise as possible, in order that the horse may continue their gambols along the coast, without coming to devour our meal. All the fuss must be made at the war-olfice : for that trifle you may trust me ; I thmk I know who holds a quiU that is as good in its way as the sword he wears. Drill is a short name, and can easily be written within the folds of a letter."

" Lord, your honor ! " said the gratified halberdier, " I'm sure such an honor is more — but your honor can ever command me ! "

" I do ; and it is to be close, and to make your men keep close, until it shall be time to speak, when I pledge myself there shall be noise enough." Borroughcliffe shook hie head, with a grave air, as he continued, "' It has beeu a devil of a bloody fight, sergeant ! look at the dead and wounded ; a wood on each flank — supported by a rum in the centre. O 'i ink — ink can be soilt on the details with great effect

D, fellow, and prepare to march."

Thus enlightened on the subject of his comip«\ider'i

282 THE PILOT

ulterior views, the non-commissioned agent of the captain 8 wishes proceeded to give suitable instructions to the rest ot the party, and to make the more immediate preparations for a march. The arrangements were soon completed. The bodies of the slain were left unsheltered, the seclusion of the ruin being deemed a sufficient security against the danger of any discovery, until darkness should favor their removal, in conformity with Borroughcliffe's plan to monop- olize the glory. The wounded were placed on rude litteru, composed of the muskets and blankets of the prisoners, when the conquerors and vanquished moved together in a compact body from the ruin, in such a manner as to make the former serve as a mask to conceal the latter from the curious gaze of any casual passenger. There was but little, indeed, to apprehend on this head, for the alarm and the terror, consequent on the exaggerated reports that flew through the country, effectually prevented any intruders on the usually quiet and retired domains of St. Ruth.

The party was emerging from the wood, when the crack- ing of branches, and rustling of dried leaves, announced, however, that an interruption of some sort was about to occur.

" K it should be one of their rascally patrols ! " ex- claimed Borroughcliffe, with very obvious displeasure , *' they trample like a regiment of cavalry ! but, gentlemen, you will acknowledge yourselves, that we were retiring from the field of battle when we met the reinforcement, if it should prove to be such."

" We are not disposed, sir, to deny you the glory of hav- ing achieved your victory single-handed," said Griffith, glancing his eyes uneasily in the direction of the approach- uig sounds, expecting to see the Pilot issue from the thicket jn which he seemed to be entangled, instead of any detach- er en t of his enemies.

" Clear the way, Caesar ! " cried a voice at no great dis- tance from them ; " break through the accursed vines on •ny right, Pompey ! — press forward, my fine fellows, or we may be too late to smell even the smoke of the fight."

" Hum ! " ejaculated the captain, with his phUosophi*

THE PILOT. 233

mdiffereuce of manner entirely reestablished, " this most b« • Roman legion just awoke from a trance of some seven teen centuries, and that the voice of a centurion. We will halt, Mister Drill, and view the manner of an ancient march ! "

While the captain was yet speaking, a violent effort dis- engaged the advancing party from the thicket of orarcbles in which they had been entangled, when two blacks, each bending under a load of fire-arms, preceded Colonel How- ard into the clear space where Borroughcliffe had halted bis detachment. Some little time was necessary to enable the veteran to arrange his disordered dress, and to remove the perspiring effects of the unusual toil from his features, before he could observe the addition to the captain's num« bers.

" We heard you fire," cried the old soldier, making, at the same time, the most diligent application of his bandanna, •' and I determined to aid you with a sortie, which, when judiciously timed, has been the means of raising many a siege ; though, had Montcalm rested quietly within his walls, the plains of Abr'am might never have drunk his blood."

" 0 ! his decision was soldierly, and according to all rules of war," exclaimed Manual ; " and had I followed his example, this day might have produced a different tale ! "

" Why, who have we here ! " cried the colonel, in aston- ishment ; " who is it that pretends to ci'iticise battles and sieges, dressed in such a garb ? "

" 'Tis a dux incognitorum, my worthy host," said Bor- roughcliffe ; " which means, in our English language, a cap- taia of marines in the service of the American Congress."

** What ! have you then met the enemy ? aye ! and by the fame of the immortal Wolfe you have captured them ! " cried the delighted veteran. " I was pressing on with a part of my garrison to your assistance, for I had seen that fou were marching in this direction, and even the report of a few muskets was heard."

" A few ! " interrupted the conqueror ; '• I know not what you call a few, ay gallant and ancient friend : j^v

23i THE PILOT.

may possibly have shot at each other by the week in the lays of Wolfe, and Abercrombie, aud Braddock ; but 1 toe have seen smart firing, and can hazard an opinion in such matters. There was as pretty a roll made by fire-arms at the battles on the Hudson as ever rattled from a drum ; it is all over, and many live to talk of it : but this has been the mosi desperate affair, for the numbers, I ever was en-- gaged in ! I speak always with a reference to the numbers. The wood is pretty well sprinkled with dead ; and we have contrived to bring off a few of the desperately wounded with us, as you may perceive."

" Bless me ! " exclaimed the surprised veteran, " that such an engagement should happen within musket-shot of the Abbey, and I know so little of it ! My faculties are on the wane, I fear, for the time has been when a single dis- charge would rouse me from the deepest sleep."

" The bayonet is a silent weapon," returned the composed captain, with a significant wave of his hand ; " 'tis the Eng- lishman's pride, and every experienced officer knows, that one thrust fi-om it is worth the fire of a whole platoon."

" What, did you come to the charge ! " cried the colonel ; * by the Lord, BorroughcliiFe, my gallant young friend, I would have given twenty tierces of rice, and two able-bod- ied negroes, to have seen the fray ! "

" It would have been a pleasant spectacle to witness, sans disputation," returned the captain ; " but victory is ours without the presence of Achilles, this time. I have them, ail that survive the affair ; at least, all that have put foot on English soU."

" Aye, and ths king's cutter has brought in the schooner ! " added Colonel Howard. " Thus perish all re- bellion fof evermore ! Where's Eat ? my kinsman, 'Mr. Christopher Dillon ? I would ask him what the laws of the realm next prescribe to loyal subjects. Here will be work foi the jurors of INIiddlesex, Captain BorroughclifFe, if n#t for a secretary of state's warrant. Where is Kit, my kins- man ; the ductile, the sagacious, the loyal Christopher ? "

" The Cacique ' non est,' as more than one bailiff haa laid of sundry clever fellows in our regiment, when ther*

THE PILOT. 235

has been a pressing occasion for their appearance," said the •oldier ; " but the cornet of horse has given me reason to believe that his provincial lordship, who repaired on board the cutter to give intelligence of the position of the enemy, continued there to share the dangers and honois cf naval combat."

" Aye, 'tis like him ! " cried the colonel, rubbing his hands with glee ; " 'tis like him ! he has forgotten the lavf and his peaceful occupations, at the sounds of military prepara- tion, and has carried the head of a statesman into the fight, with the ardor and thoughtlessness of a boy."

" The Cacique is a man of discretion," observed the cap- tain, with all his usual dryness of manner, "and will, doubt- less, recollect his obligations to posterity and himself, though be be found entangled in the mazes of a combat. But I marvel that he does not return, for some time has now elapsed since the schooner struck her flag, as my own eyes have witnessed."

" You will pardon me, gentlemen," said Griffith, advanc- ing towards them with uncontrollable interest ; " but I have ■unavoidably heard part of your discourse, and cannot think you will find it necessary to withhold the whole truth from » disarmed captive : say you that a schooner has been captured this morning ? "

" It is assuredly true," said Borroughcliffe, vrith a dis- play of nature and delicacy in his manner that did his heart infinite credit ; " but I forbore to tell you, because I thought your own misfortunes would be enough for one time. Mr. Griffith, this gentleman is Colonel Howard, to whose hos- pitality you will be indebted for some favors before wo separate."

" Griffith! " echoed the colonel, in quick reply," Griffith ! what a sight for my old eyes to witness ' — the child of vorthy, gallant, loyal Hugh Griffith a captive, and taken in arms against his prince ! Young man, young man, what would thy honest father, what would his bosom friend, my own poor brother Harry, have said, had it pleased God that tnev nad survived to witness this burning shame and lasting •^igma on thy respectable name F "

2S6 THL PILOT.

" Had my father lived, he would now have becu uphold ing the independence of his native land," said the young man, proudly. " I wish to respect even the prej ad' ces of Colonel Howard, and beg he will forbear urging a subject on which I fear we never shall agree."

" Never, while thou art to be found in the ranks of re- bellion ! " cried the colonel. " 0 ! boy, boy ! how T co-ild have lovad and cherished thee, if the skill and knowledge obtair.?d :n the service of thy prince were now devoted to the maintenance of his unalienable rights ! I loved thy father, worthy Hugh, even as I loved my own brothc Harry."

" And his son should still be dear to you," interrupted Griffith, taking the reluctant hand of the colonel into both his own.

. *' Ah, Edward, Edward ! " continued the softened vet- eran, "how many of my day-dreams have been destroyed by thy perversity ! nay, I know not that Kit, discreet and loyal as he is, could have found such favor in my eyes as thyself; there is a cast of thy father in that face and smile, Ned, that might have won me to anything short of treason — and then Cicely, provoking, tender, mutinous, kind, af- fectionate, good Cicely, would have been a link to unite us forever."

The youth cast a hasty glance at the deliberate Bor roughcliffe, who, if he had obeyed the impatient expression of his eye, would have followed the party that was slowly bearing the wounded towards the Abbey, before he yielded to his feelings, and answered, —

" Nay, sir ; let this then be the termination of our mis- understanding — your lovely niece shall be that link, and you shall be to me as your friend Hugh would have been .tad he lived, and to Cecilia tvdce a parent."

" Boy, boy," said the veteran, averting his face to conceal the working of his muscles, " you talk idly ; my word li now plighted *o my kinsman Kit, and thy scheme is imprao ticable."

" Nothing is impracticable, sir, to youth and enterprise when aided by age and experience like yours," returaeO Griffith ; " this war must soon terminate."

THE PILOT. 237

*♦ ITiis war ! " echoed the colouel, shaking loose the grasp which Griffith held on liis arm ; " aye, what of this war, young man ? Is it not an accursed attempt to deny the rights of our gracious sovereign, and to place tyrants, reared in kennels, on the throne of princes ! a scheme to elevate the wicked at the expense of the good ! a project to aid anrighteous ambition, under the mask of sacred liberty and the popular cry of equality ! as if there could be liberty without order ! or equality of rights, where the privileges of the sovereign are not as sacred as those of the people ! "

" You judge us harshly, Colonel Howard," said Griffith.

" I judge you ! " interrupted the old soldier, who, by this time, thought thj youth resembled any one rather than his friend Hugh ; " it is not my province to judge you at all ; if it were ! — but the time will come, the time will come. I am a patient man, and can wait the course of things ; yes, yes, age cools the blood, and we learn to sup- press the passions and impatience of youth : but if the ministry would issue a commission of justice for the colo- nies, and put the name of old George Howard in it, I am a dog, if there should be a rebel alive in twelve months. Sir," turning sternly to Borroughcliffe, " in such a cause, I could prove a Roman, and hang — hang — yes, I do think, sir, I could hang my kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon ! "

" Spare the Cacique such an unnatural elevation before his time," returned the captain, with a gi'ave wave of the hand : " behold," pointing towards the wood, " there is a more befitting subject for the gallows ! Mr. Griffith, yon- der man calls himself your comrade ? "

The eyes of Colonel Howard and Griffith followed the direction of his finger, and the latter instantly recognized the Pilot, standing in the skirts of the wood, with hi« arms folded, apparently surveying the condition of his friends.

^ That man," said Griffith, in confusion, and hesitating to atter even the equivocal truth that suggested itself, " that man does not belong to our ship's conipany."

" And yet he has been seen in your company," returned the incredulous Borroughelitfe ; " he was the spokesman in

288 THE PILOT.

last night's examination, Colonel Howard, ard, donhtless, commands the rear-guard of tlie rebels."

" You say true," cried the veteran ; " Pc mpey I Caesar present ! fire ! "

The blacks started at the sudden orders of their master of whom they stood in the deepest awe • and, presenting their muskets, they averted their faces, and shuttuig thei* eyes, obeyed the bloody mandate.

" Charge ! " shouted the colonel, flourishing the ancient Bword with which he had armed himself, and pressing foi ward with all the activity that a recent fit of the gout would allow ; " charge, and exterminate the dogs with the bayo- net ! push on, Pompey — dress, boys, dress."

" If your friend stand this charge," said Borroughcliffe to Griffith, with unmoved composure, " his nerves are made of iron ; such a charge would break the Coldstreams ; with Pompey in the ranks ! "

" I trust in God," cried Griffith, " he will have forbear ance enough to respect the weakness of Colonel Howard — he presents a pistol ! "

" But he will not fire ; the Romans deem it prudent to halt ; nay, by Heaven, they countermarch to the rear. Holla ! Colonel Howard, my worthy host, fall back on jova reinforcements ; the wood is full of armed men ; they can- not escape us ; I only wait for the horse to cut oflF the re- treat."

The veteran, who had advanced within a short distance of the single man who thus deliberately awaited the attack, halted at this summons ; and, by a glance of his eye, ascer- tained that he stood alone. Believing the words of Bor- roughcliffe to be true, he slowly retired, keeping his 5ice manfully towards his enemy, until he gained the support of the captain.

" Recall the troops, Borroughcliffe ! " he cried, " and let us charge into the wood ; they will fly before his majesty's arms like guilty scoundrels, as they are. As for the ne- groea, I'll teach the black rascals to desert their master at such a moment. They say Fear is pale, but, damme, Bor roughcliffe, if I do not believe his skin is black."

THE PILOT. 289

"T have seen him of all colors; blue, white, black, and party-colored," said the ca])tain. " I must take the com- mand of matters on myself, however, my excellent host ; let U3 retire into the Abbey, and trust me to cut otf the re- mainder of the rebels."

In this arrangement the colonel reluctantly acquiesced, ajid the three followed the soldier to the dwelling, at a pace that was adapted to the infirmities of its master. The ex- citement of the onset, and the current of his ideas, had united, however, to banish every amicable thought from tho breast of the colonel, and he entered the Abbey with a resolute determination of seeing justice dealt to Griffith and his companions, even though it should push them to the foot of the gallows.

As the gentlemen disappeared from his view, among the shrubbery of the grounds, the Pilot replaced the weapon that was hanging from his hand, in his bosom, and, turning with a saddened and thoughtful brow, he alowlj reentered iht wood.

24^ THE PILOT

CHAPTER XXI.

When these prodigies Do 80 conjointly meet, let not men say, These are their reasons, — They are natural; For, I believe they are portentous things Unto the climate that they point upon.

Casca.

The reader will discover, by referring to the time oon •urned in the foregoing events, that tlie Ariel, with her prize, did not anchor in the bay already mentioned, imtL Griffith and his party had been for several hours in the cus- tody of their enemies. The supposed capture of the rebel Bchooner was an incident that excited but little interest, and no surprise, among a people who were accustomed to con Bider their seamen as invincible ; and Barnstable had not found it a difficult task to practice his deception on the few rustics whom curiosity induced to venture alongside the vessels during the short continuance of daylight. When, however, the fogs of evening began to rise along the nar- row basin, and the curvatures of its margin were lost in the single outline of its dark and gloomy border, the young sea- man thought it time to apply himself in earnest to his duty. The Alacrity, containing all her own crew, together with the Ariel's wounded, was gotten sUently under way ; and driving easily before the heavy air that swept from the land, she drifted from the harbor, until the open sea lay be- fore her, when her sails were spread, and she continued to maka the best of her way in quest of the frigate. Barn- Btable had watched this movement with breathless anxiety; for on an eminence that completely commanded the waters to some distance, a small but rude battery had been erected for the purpose of protecting the harbor against the depre- dations and insults of the smaller vessels of the enemy

THE PILOT. 241

i»nd a guard of sufficient force to manage the two heavy guns it contained was maintained in the work at all times. He was ignorant how far this stratagem had been success ful, and it was only when he heard the fluttering of the Alacrity's canvas, as she opened it to the breeze, that he felt he was yet secure.

" 'Twill reach the Englishmen's ears," said the boy Slerry, who stood on the forecastle of the schooner, by the Bide of his commander, listening with breathless interest to the sounds ; " they set a sentinel on the point, as the suu went down, and if he is a trifle better than a dead man, or a marine asleep, he will suspect something is wrong."

" Never ! " returned Barnstable, with a long breath, that announced all his apprehensions were removed ; " he will be more likely to believe it a mermaid fanning herself thia cool evening, than to suspect the real fact. What say you^ Master Cofiin ? will the soldier smell the truth ? "

" They're a dumb race," said the cockswain, casting his eyes over his shoulders, to ascertain that none of their own marine guard was near him ; " now, there was our sergeant, who ought to know something, seeing that he has been afloat these foiu' years, maintained, dead in the face and eyes of what every man, who has ever doubled Good Hope, knows to be true, that there was no such vessel to be fallen in with in them seas, as the Flying Dutchman ! and then, again, when I told him that he was a ' know-nothing,' and asked him if the Dutchman was a more unlikely thing than that there should be places where the inhabitants split the year into two watches, and had day for six months, and night the rest of the time, the greenhorn laughed in my face, and I do believe he would have told me I lied, but for one thing."

" And what might that be ? " asked Barnstable, gravely

" Why, sii ," returned Tom, stretching his bony fingers, aa he surveyed his broad palm, by the little light that re- oiained, " though I am a peaceable man, I can be roused."

" And you have seen the Flying Dutchman ? "

" I never doubled the east cape ; though I can find ray ray through Le Maire in the darkest night that ever fell

IS

242 THE PILOT.

from the heavens ; but I have seen them that liav 8 seeo her, and siDoken her too."

" "Well, be it so ; you must turn fly-ag Yankee, yourselt, to-nigLc, Master Cotiin. Man your boat at once, sir, and arm your crew."

The cockswain paused a moment before he proceeded to obey this unexpected order, and, pointing towards the bat- tery, he inquired with infinite phlegm, —

" For shore-work, sir ? Shall we take the cutlashes and pistols ? or shall we want the pikes ? "

" There may be soldiers in our way, with their bayonets,'* Baid Barnstable, musing ; " arm as usual, but thi'ow a few long pikes into the boat ; and harkye, Master Coffin, out with your tub and whale-line : for I see you have rigged yourself anew in that way."

The cockswain, who was moving from the forecastle, turned short at this new mandate, and with an air of re- monstrance, ventured to say, —

" Trust an old whaler, Captain Barnstable, who has beeu used to these craft all his life. A whale-boat is made to pull with a tub and line in it, as naturally as a ship is made to sail with ballast, and " —

" Out with it, out with it," interrupted the other, with an impatient gesture, that his cockswain knew signified a pos- itive determination. Heaving a sigh at what lie deemed his commander's prejudice, Tom apjjlied himself without further delay to the execution of the orders. Barnstable laid hia hand familiarly on the shoulder of the boy, and led him to the stern of his little vessel, in profound silence. The can- vas hood that covered the entrance to the cabin was thrown partly aside ; and by the light of the lamp that was burning iu the small apartment, it was easy to overlook, from the t-\'ck, what was passing beneath them. Dillon sat support- /flg his head with his two hands, in a manner that shaded ios face, but in an attitude that denoted deep and abstracted musing.

*' I would that I could see the face of my prisoner," said Barnstable, in an undertone, that was audible only to hi» companion. "The eye of a man is a sort of light-bousa-

THE PILCT. 243

n> tell one how to steer into the haven of his confidence, boy."

" And sometimes a beacon, sir, to warn you there is no safe anchorage near him," returned the ready boy.

" Rogue ! " muttered Barnstable, " your cousin Kate Bpoke there."

" If my cousin Plowden were here, INIr. Barnstable,, I know that her opinion of yon gentleman would not be at all more favorable."

" And yet, I have determined to trust him ! Listen, boy, and tell me if I am wrong ; you have a quick wit, like some others of your family, and may suggest something advan- tageous." The gratified midshipman swelled with the con- scious pleasure of possessing his commander's confidence, and followed to the taffrail, over which Barnstable leaned, while he delivered the remainder of his communication. "I have gathered from the 'long-shore-men who have come off this evening, to stare at the vessel which the rebels have been able to build, that a party of seamen and marines have been captured in an old ruin near the Abbey of St. Ruth, this very day."

" 'Tis l\Ir. Griffith ! " exclaimed the boy.

" Aye ! the wit of your cousin Katherine was not nece*. Bary to discover that. Now, I have proposed to this gen- tleman with the Savannah face, that he should go into the A.bbey, and negotiate an exchange. I will give him for Griffith, and the crew of the Alacrity for Manual's command and the Tigers."

" The Tigers ! " cried the lad, with emotion ; " have they got my Tigers, too ! would to God that jNlr. Griffith had permitted me to land ! "

" It was no boy's work they were about, and room waa iCArcer in their boat than live lumber. But this Mr. Dillon has accepted my proposition, and has pledged himself that Griffith shall retiu^n within an hour after he is permitted to enter the Abbey : will he redeem his honor from the pledge ? "

" He may," said Merry, musing a moment ; " for I be- .'cve he thinks the presence of INIr. Griffith under the «am6

244 THE PILOT.

roof with Mis3 Howard, a thing to be prevented, if posn* ble ; he may be true in this instance, though he has a hol- low look."

" He has bad-looking light-bouses, I will own," said Barnstable ; " and yet he is a gentleman, and promises fair ; 'tis unmanly to suspect him in such a matter, and I will have faith ! Now listen, sir. The absence of older heads oust throw great responsibility on your young shoulders : watch that battery as closely asif you were at the mast- head of your frigate, on the lookout for an enemy ; tbo instant you see lights moving in it, cut, and run into the offing ; you will find me somewhere under the cliffs, and fou will stand off and on, keeping the Abbey in sight, untU you fall in with us."

Merry gave an attentive ear to these and divers other solemn injunctions that he received from his commander, who, having sent the officer next to himself in authority in charge of the prize (the third in command being included in the list of the wounded), was compelled to intrust his beloved schooner to the vigilance of a lad whose years gave no promise of the experience and skill that he actually possessed.

When his admonitory instructions were ended, Barnsta- ble stepped again to the opening in the cabin hood, and for a suigle moment before he spoke, once more examined the countenance of his prisoner, with a keen eye. Dillon had "emoved his hands from before his sallow features ; and, as u conscious of the sci'utiny his looks were to undergo, had concentrated the whole expression of his forbidding aspect m a settled gaze of hopeless submission to his fate. At .least, so thought his captor, and the idea touched some of the finer feelings in the bosom of the generous young sea- man. Discarding, instantly, every suspicion of his pris- oner's honor, as alike unworthy of them both, Barnstable ■uramoued him, in a cheerful voice, to the boat. There Iras a flashing of the features of Dillon, at this call, which gave an indefinable expression to his countenance, that again ■tartled the sailor ; but it was so very transient, and could ■o easily be mistaken for a smile of pleasure at his promised

THE PILOT. 245

fiberation, that the doubts it engendered passed away almost AS speedily as the ecjuivocal expression itself. BurL-ttable was in the act of foilowinn; his companion into the boa'*, when he felt himself detained by a slight hold of his arm.

*' What would you have ? " he asked of the midshipraau who had given him the signal.

" Do not trust too much to that Dillon, sir," returned (he Anxious boy, in a whisper ; " if you had seen his face, ati 1 did, when the binnacle light fell upon it, as he came up the cabin ladder, you would put no faith in him."

" I should have seen no beauty," said the generous lieu- tenant, laughing ; " but, there is long Tom, as hard-featured a youth of two score and ten as ever washed in brine, who has a heart as big, aye, bigger than that of a kraken. A bright watch to you, boy, and remember a keen eye on the battery." As he was yet speaking, Barnstable crossed the gunwale of his little vessel, and it was not until he waa seated by the side of his prisoner, that he continued, aloud, — "Cast the stops off your sails, Mr. Merry, and see all clear to make a run of everything ; recollect, you are short- handed, sir. God bless ye ! and d'ye hear ? if there is a man among you who shuts more than one eye at a time, I'll make him, when I get back, open both wider than if Tom Coffin's friend, the Flying Dutchman, was booming down upon him. God bless ye. Merry, my boy ; give 'em the square-sail, if this breeze off-shore holds on till morn- ing : shove off."

As Barnstable gave the last order, he fell back on his seat^ and, drawing back his boat-cloak around him, maintained b. profound silence, until they had passed the two small headlands that formed the mouth of the harbor. The men pulled, with muffled oars, their long, vigorous strokes, and the boat glided with amazing rapidity past the objects that could be yet indistinctly seen along the dim shore. When, however, they had gained the open ocean, and the direction )f their little bark was changed to one that led thfm in a Mi with the coast, and within the shadows of the cliffs, the ^ckswain, deeming that the silence was no longer necessarf to their safety, ventured lo break it, as follows : —

246 THE PILOT.

" A square- sail is % good sail to carry on a craft, dead afore it, and in a heavy sea ; but if fifty years can teach a man to know the weather, it's my judgment that should the Ariel break ground after the night turns at eight bells, she'll need her mainsail to hold her up to her course."

The lieutenant started at this sudden interruption, ana casting his cloak from his shoulders, he looked abroad on the waters, as if seeking those portentous omens which uis- tarbed the imagination of his cockswain.

" How now, Tom," he said, sharply, " have ye turned croaker in your old age ? what see you, to cause such an old woman's ditty ? "

" 'Tis no song of an old woman," returned the cockswain, with solemn earnestness, " but the warning of an old man ; and one who has spent his days where there were no hiUs to prevent the winds of heaven from blowing on him, unless they were hills of salt water and foam. I judge, sir, there'll be a heavy northeaster setting in upon us afore the morning watch is called."

Barnstable knew the experience of his old messmate too well, not to feel uneasiness at such an opinion, delivered in BO confident a manner; but after again surveying the horizon, the heavens, and the ocean, he said, with a contin- ued severity of manner, —

" Your prophecy is idle, tliis time, Master Coffin ; every- thing looks like a dead calm. This swell is what is left from the last blow ; the mist over-head is nothing but the nightly fog, and you can see, with your own eyes, that it ia driving seaward ; even this land-breeze is nothing but the air of the ground mixing with that of the ocean ; it is heavy with dew and fog, but it's as sluggish as a Dutch galliot."

" Aye, sir, it is damjj, and there is little of it," rejoined Tom ; " but as it comes only from the shore, so it never goes far on the water. It is hard to learn the true signs of the weather. Captain Barnstable, and none get to know them well, but such as study little else, or feel but little else. There is only One who can see the winds of heaven, or who can tell when a hurricane is to begin, or where it wil] end. Still, a man isn't like a whale or a porpoise, thii

TIIK PILOT. 247

takes the air in his nostril.^, but never knows whether it ia ft southeaster or a northwester that he feeds upon. Look broad-off to leeward, sir ; see the streak of clear sky shin- ing under the mists ; take an old seafaring man's word for it, Captain Barnstable, that whenever the light shines out of the heavens in that fashion, 'tis never done for noJ;hing , besides, the sun set in a dark bank of clouds, and the little moon we had was dry and windy."

Barnstable listened attentively, and with increasing con cern, for he well knew that his cockswain possessed a quck and almost unerring judgment of the weather, notwithstand- ing the confused medley of superstitious omens and signs with which it was blended ; but again throwing himself back in his boat, he muttered, —

" Then let it blow ; Griffith is worth a heavier riskj and if the battery can't be cheated, it can be carried."

Nothing further passed on the state of the weather. Dillon had not ventured a single remark since he entered the boat, and the cockswain had the discretion to under- stand that his officer was willing to be left to his own thoughts. For nearly an hour they pursued their way with diligence ; the sinewy seamen, who wielded the oars, urging their light boat along the edge of the surf with unabated velocity, and apparently with untired exertions. Occasion- ally, Barnstable would cast an inquiring glance at the littlo irJets that they passed, or would note, with a seaman's eye, the small portions of sandy beach that were scattered here and there along the rocky boundaries of the coast. One, in particular, a deeper inlet than common, where a run of fresh water was heard gurgling as it met the tide, he point ad out to his cockswain, by significant, but silent ges- tures, as a place to be especially noted. Tom, who under- stood the signal as intended for his own eye alone, made his observations on the spot with equal taciturnity, biit with all the minuteness that would distinguish one long accus- tomed to find his way, whether by land or water, by lauvl- marks, and the bearings of different objects. Soon atter this silent communication between the lieutenant and his coriltswain. tlie boat was suddenly turned, and was in tho

24 S THE PILOT.

act of clashing upon the spit of sand before it, when Bany Btable checked the movement by his voice : —

" Hold water ! " he said ; " 'tis the sound of oars ! "

The seamen held their boat at rest, while a deep atten- tion was given to the noise that had alarmed the ears of their commander.

" See, sir," said the cockswain, pointing towards the eastern horizon ; " it is just rising into the streak of light to seaward of us — now it settles in the trough — ah ! he re you have it again ! "

"By heavens !" cried Barnstable, " 'tx8 a man-of-war's stroke it pulls ; I saw the oar-blades as they fell ! and listen to the sound ! neither your fisherman nor your smuggler pulls such a regular oar."

Tom had bowed his head nearly to the water, in the act of listening, and now raising himself, he spoke with con- fidence, —

" That is the Tiger ; I know the stroke of her crew as well as I do of my own. Mr. Merry has made them learn the new-fashioned jerk, as they dip their blades, and they feather with such a roU in their rullocks ! I could swear to the stroke."

" Hand me the night-glass," said his commander im- patiently ! " I can catch them, as they are lifted into the streak. You are right, by every star in our flag, Tom ! — but there is only one man in her stern-sheets. By my good eyes, I believe it is that accursed Pilot, sneaking from the land, and leaving Griffith and Manual to die in English pilsons. To shore with you — beach her at once ! "

The order was no sooner given than it was obeyed, and in less than two minutes, the impatient Barnstable, Dillon, and the cockswain, were standing together on the sands.

The impression he had received, that his friends wore abandoned to their fate by the Pilot, urged the generous young seaman to hasten the departure of his prisoner, as ho was fearful every moment might interpose some new obstacle to the success of his plans.

" IMr. Dillon," he said, the instant they were landed, " I exact no new promise — your honor is already plighted"*-

THE PILOT. 249

** If oaths can make it stronger," interrupted Dillon, " I mil take them."

"Oaths cannot — the honor of a gentleman is, at all times, enough. I shall send my cockswain with yon to the Abbey, and you will either return with him, in person^ within twD hours, or give Mr. Griilith and Captain Manual to his guidance. Proceed, sir, you are coudidonally free ; there is an easy opening by which to ascend the cliffs."

Dillon once more thanked his generous captor, and then proceeded to force his way up the rough eminence.

" Follow, and obey his instructions," said Barca^able to his cockswain, aloud.

Tom, long accustomed to implicit obedience, handled his harpoon, and was quietly following in the footsteps of his new leader, when he felt the hand of the lieutenant on his shoulder.

" You saw where the brook emptied over the hillock of sand ? " said Barnstable, in an undertone.

Tom nodded assent.

"You will find us there riding without the surf — 'twill not do to trust too much to an enemy."

The cockswain made a gesture of great significance with Lis weapon, that was intended to indicate the danger their prisoner would incur, should he prove false ; when, apply- ing the wooden end of the harpoon to the rocks, he ascended the ravine at a rate that soon brou^rh him to the aide oi Mn ooupanion.

260 THE PILOT

CHAPTER XXII.

Aye, marry, let me have him to sit under; He's like to be a cold soldier.

Falstaft.

Barnstable lingered on the sands for a few minutet, imtil the footsteps of Dillon and the cockswain were no longer audible, when he ordered his men to launch their boat once more into the surf. While the seamen pulled leisurely towards the place he had designated as the point where he would await the return of Tom, the lieutenant first began to entertain serious apprehensions concerning the good faith of his prisoner. Now that Dillon was beyond his control, his imagination presented, in very vivid colors, several little circumstances in the other's conduct, which might readily excuse some doubts of his good faith ; and, by the time they had reached the place of rendezvous, and had cast a light grapnel into the sea, his fears had rendered him excessively uncomfortable. Leaving the lieutenant to his reflections on this unpleasant subject, we shall follow Dillon and his fearless and unsuspecting companion in their progress towards St. Ruth.

The mists to which Tom had alluded in his discussion with his commander on the state of the weather, appeared to be settling nearer to the earth, and assuming more decidedly the appearance of a fog, hanging above them in Bluggish volumes, but little agitated by the air. The con- sequent obscurity added deeply to the gloom of the night, and it would have been difficult for one less acquaintec than Dillon with the surrounding localities, to find the path which led to the dwelling of Colonel Howard. After some Utile search, this desirable object was effected ; and tlie civilian led the way, with rapid strides, towards the Abbey.

" Aye, aye ! said Tom, who followed his steps, and

THE PILOT. 251

equaled his paces, without any apparent effort- " you ahore people have an easy way to find your course and distance- when you get into the track. I was once left by the craft I belonged to, in Boston, to find my way to Plymouth, which is a matter of fifteen leagues, or there-away ; and so, finding nothing was bound up the bay, after lying-by for a week, I concluded to haul aboard my land-tacks. I spent the better part of another week in a search for some hooker^, on board which I might work my passage across the coun- try, for money was as scarce then with old Tom CofTm as it is now, and is likely to be, unless the fisheries get a good luff soon ; but it seems that nothing but your horse- flesh, and horned cattle, and jackasses, are privileged to do the pulling and hauling in your shore-hookers ; and I was forced to pay a week's wages for a berth, besides keeping a banyan on a mouthful of bread and cheese, from the time we hove-up in Boston, 'till we came-to in Plymouth town."

" It was certainly an unreasonable exaction on the part of the wagoners, from a man in your situation," said Dillon, in a friendly, soothing tone of voice, that denoted a willing- ness to pursue the conversation.

" My situation was that of a cabin passenger," returned the cockswain ; " for there was but one hand forward, beside the cattle I mentioned — that was he who steered — and an easy berth he had of it ; for there his course lay atween walls of stone, and fences : and, as for his reckoning, why, they had stuck up bits of stone on an end, with his day's work footed up, ready to his hand, every half league or so. Besides, the landmarks were so plenty, that a man with half an eye might steer her, and no fear of getting to le> ward."

" You must have found yourself as it were in i new world," observed Dillon.

" Why, to me it was pretty much the same as if I had been set afloat in a strange country, though I may be said to be a native of those parts, being born on the coast. I had often heard shore-men say, that there was as nc>acb arth as water in the world, which I always set down as ««

252 THE PILOT.

rank lie, for Tve sailed with a flowing sheet mouths an -end without falling in with as much land or rock as would answer a gull to lay its eggs on ; but I will own, that atween Boston and Plymouth, we were out of sight of water for as much as two full watches ! "

Dillon pursued this interesting subject with great dili- gence ; and by the time they reached the wall, winch inclosed the large paddock that surrounded the Abbey, the cockswain was deeply involved in a discussion of the com- parative magnitude of the Atlantic Ocean and the continsLt of Amei ica.

Avoiding the principal entrance to the building, through the great gates which communicated with the court in front, Dillon followed the windings of the wall until it led them to a wicket, which he knew was seldom closed for the night until the hour for general rest had arrived. Their way now lay in the rear of the principal edijSce, and soon con- ducted them to the confused pile which contained the oflftces- The cockswain followed his companion with a confiding reli- ance on his knowledge and good faith, that was somewhat increased by the freedom of communication that had been maintained during their walk from the cliffs. He did not perceive anything extraordinary in the other's stopping at the room which had been provided as a sort of barracks for the soldiers of Captain Borroughcliffe. A conference which took place between Dillon and the sergeant was soon ended, when the former beckoned to the cockswain to follow, and, taking a circuit round the whole of the offices, they entered the Abbey together, by the door through which the ladies had issued, when in quest of the three prisoners, as has been already related. After a turn or two among the narrow passages of that part of the edifice, Tom, whose faith in the Gicilities of land navigation began to be a little shaken, ^ound himself following his guide through a long dark ^lery, that was terminated at the end toward which they were approaching, by a half-open door, that admitted a glimpse into a well-lighted and comfortable apartment. To ►his door Dillon hastily advanced, and, throwing it open, khe cockswain enjoyed a fiiL view of the very scene that w«

THE PILOT. 253

iefscribed, in introducing Colonel Howard to the acquaint- ance of the reader, and under circumstances of great simili- tude. The cheerfiil fire of coal, the strong and glaring light, the tables of polished mahogany, and the blushing fluids, were still the same in appearance, while the only perceptible change was in the number of those who partook of the cheer. The master of the mansion, and Borrough' cliffe, were seated opposite to each other, employed in dis- cussing the events of the day, and diligently pushing to and fro the glittering vessel, that contained a portion of the generous liquor they both loved so well ; a task which each moment rendered lighter,

" If Kit would but return," exclaimed the veteran, whose back was to the opening door, " bringing with him his honest brows encircled, as they will be, or ought to be, with laurel, I should be the happiest old fool, BorroughclifFe, in his majesty's realm of Great Britain ! "

The captain, who felt the necessity for the unnatural restraint he had imposed on his thirst to be removed by the capture of his enemies, pointed towards the door with one hand, while he grasped the sparkling reservoir of the " south- side " with the other, and answered, —

" Lo ! the Cacique himself ! his brow inviting the diadem — ha ! who have we in his highness's train ? By the Lord, Sir Cacique, if you travel with a body-guard of such grena- diers, old Frederic of Prussia himself will have occasion to envy you the corps ! a clear six-footer in nature's stock- ings ! and the arms as unique as the armed ! "

The colonel did not, however, attend to half of his com- panion's exclamations, but turning, he beheld the individual he had so much desired, and received him with a delight proportioned to the unexpectedness of the pleasure. For several minutes, Dillon was compelled to listen to the rapid questions of his venerable relative, to all of which he answered with a prudent reserve, that might, in some measure, have been governed by the presence of the cock- swain. Tom stood with infinite composure, leaning on his harooon, and surveying, with a countenance where wonder was singularly blended with contempt, the furniture anri

254 THE pilot:

arrangements of an apartment that was far more splendi'J than any be Lad before seen. In tbe mean time, Borrough- cliffe entirely disregarded tbe private communications tbat passed between bis bost and Dillon, wbicb gradually became more deeply interesting, and finally drew tbem to a distant corner of tbe apartment, but taking a most undue advantage of tlie absence of tbe gentleman, wbo bad so lately been big boon companion, he swallowed one potation after another, as if a double duty bad devolved on him, in consequence of tbe desertion of tbe veteran. Whenever his eye did wander from tbe ruby tints of his glass, it was to survey with unrepressed admiration tbe inches of the cockswain, about whose stature and frame there were numberless excellent points to attract the gaze of a recruiting officer. From this double pleasure, the captain was, however, at last Bummoned, to participate in the councils of bis friends.

Dillon was spared tbe disagreeable duty of repeating the artful tale be had found it necessary to palm on the colonel, by tbe ardor of tbe veteran himself, wbo executed tbe task in a manner tbat gave to tbe treachery of his Idnsman every appearance of a justifiable artifice, and of unshaken zeal in tbe cause of bis prince. In substance, Tom was to be detained as a prisoner, and the party of Barnstable were to be entrapped, and of course to share a similar fate. Tbe sunken eye of Dillon cowered before tbe steady gaze which Sorrougbcliffe fastened on him, as the latter listened to the plaudits tbe colonel lavished on his cousin's ingenuity ; but the hesitation tbat lingered in the soldier's manner vanished when he turned to examine their unsuspecting prisoner, who was continuing bis survey of tbe apartment, while be innocently imagined tbe consultations be witnessed were merely tbe proper and preparatory steps to his admissiou into tbe presence of Mr. Griffith.

" Drill," said Borrougbcliffij, aloud, " advance, and receive your orders." Tbe cockswain turned quickly at this sudden mandate, and, for the first time, perceived tbat be bad been followed into tbe gallery by tbe orderly and two files of tbe recruits, armed. *' Take this man to tbe guard-room, and feed hin, and see tbat he dies not of thirst."

THE PILOT. 255

There was nothing alarming in this order ; and Tom waa following the soldiers, in obedience to a gesture from their captiiin, when their steps were arrested in the gallery, by the cry of " Halt ! "

" On recollection, Drill," said BorroughcliFe, in a tcnc from which all dictatorial sounds were banished, " show thfl gentleman into my own room, and see him properly sup- plied."

The orderly gave such an intimation of his comprehend- ing the meaning of his officer, as the latter was accustomed to receive, when Borroughcliffe returned to his bottle, and the cockswam followed his guide, with an alacrity and good will that were not a little increased by the repeated mention of the cheer that awaited him."

Luckily for the impatience of Tom, the quarters of the captain were at hand, and the promised entertainment by no means slow in making its appearance. The former was an apartment that opened from a lesser gallery, which com municated with the principal passage already mentioned ; and the latter was a bountiful but ungarnished supply of that staple of the British isles, called roast beef; of which the kitchen of Colonel Howard was never without a due And loyal provision. The sergeant, who certainly under- stood one of the signs of his captain to imply an attack on the citadel of the cockswain's brain, mingled, with his own hands, a potation that he styled a rummer of grog, and which he thought would have felled the animal itself that Tom was so diligently masticating, had it been alive and in its vigor. Every calculation that was made on the infirmity of the cockswain's intellect, under the stimulus of Jamaica, was, howev^er, futile. He swallowed glass after glass, with prodigious relish, but, at the same time, with immovable Pteadiness i and the eyes of the sergeant, who felt it incum- IxiTit to do honor to his own cheer, were already glistening in his head, when, happily for the credit of his heart, a tap at tho door announced the presence of his captain, and relieved him from the impending disgr-ace of being drunk blind by a recruit.

As Bon-oughcliife entered the apartment, he cor'-Tandod «JU8 orderly to retire, adding, —

256 THE PILOT.

"Mr. Dillon will give you instructions, which you are implicitly to obey."

Drill, who had sense enough remaining to apprehend the displeasure of his officer, should the latter discover his con- dition, quickened his departure, and the cockswain soon found himself alone with the captain. The vigor of Tom's attacks on the remnant of the sirloin was now much abated, leaving in its stead that placid quiet which is apt to linger about the palate long after the cravings of the appetite have been appeased. He had seated himself on one of the tmnka of BorroughclifFe, utterly disdaining the use of a chair ; and, with the trencher in his lap, was using his own jackknife on the dilapidated fragment of the ox, with something of that nicety with which the female ghoul of the Arabian Tales might be supposed to jiick her rice with the point of her bodkin. The captain drew a seat nigh the cockswain ; and, with a familiarity and kindness infinitely condescend- ing, when the difference in their several conditions is con- sidered, he commenced the following dialogue : —

" I hope you have found your entertainment to your liking, Mr. — a — a — I must own my ignorance of your name."

" Tom," said the cockswain, keeping his eyes roaming over the contents of the trencher ; " commonly called long Tom, by my shipmates."

" You have sailed with discreet men, and able navigators, it will seem, as they understood longitude so well," rejoined the captain ; " but you have a patronymic — I would say another name ? "

" Coffin," returned the cockswain " I'm called Tom, when there is any hurry, such as letting go the halyards, or a sheet ; long Tom, when they want to get to windward of an old seaman, by fair weather ; and long Tom CofSu, when they wish to hail me, so that none of my cousins of the same name, about the islands, shall answer ; for ] Delieve the best man among them can't measure much ovei a fcithom, taking him from his headworks to his heel."

" You are a most deserving fellow," cried BorroughclifFe, " and it is painful to think to what a fate the treachery oi Mr. Dillon has ccusigned you."

THE PILOT. 25T

The suspicious of Tom, if he ever entertained any, were lulled to rest too effectually by the kindness he had received, to be awakened by this equivocal lament ; he therefore, after renewing his intimacy with the rummer„ contented himself by saying, with a satisfied simplicity, —

" I am consigned to no one, carrying no cargo but 1 his Mr. Dillon, who is to give me Mr, Griffith in exchange, or go back to the Ariel himself, as my prisoner."

"Ah! my good friend, I fear you will find, whfn the time comes to make this exchange, that he will refuse to do either."

" But, I'll be d d if he don't do one of them ! my

orders are to see it done, and back he goes ; or Mr. Griffith^ who is as good a seaman, for his years, as ever trod a deck, slips his cable from this here anchorage."

BorroughclifFe affected to eye his companion with great commiseration ; an exhibition of compassion that was, how- ever, completely lost on the cockswain, whose nerves were strung to their happiest tension by his repeated libations, while his wit was, if anything, quickened by the same cause, though his own want of guile rendered him slow to com- prehend its existence in others. Perceiving it necessary to speak plainly, the captain renewed the attack ' in a more direct manner : —

" I am sorry to say that you will not be permitted to return to the Ariel ; and that your commander, Mr. Barn- stable, will be a prisoner within the hour; and,. in fact, that your schooner will be taken before the morning breaks."

" Who'll take her ? " asked the cockswain, with a grim smile, on whose feelings, however, this combination of threatened calamities was beginning to make some impres- sion.

"You must remember, that she lies immediately under the heavy guns of a battery that can sink her in a few minutes ; an express has already been sent to acquaint the commander of the work with the Ariel's true character »na as the wind has already begun to blow from the ocean* her escape is impossible."

The truth, together with its portentous consequences, now

17

258 THE PILOT.

begaa to glare across the faculties -of the cockswain. He remembered his own prognostics on the weather, and the nelpless situation of the schooner, deprived of more than half her crew, and left to the keeping of a boy, while her commander himself was on the eve of captivity. The trencher fell from his lap to the floor, his head sunk on his knees, his face was concealed between his broad palms, and, in spite of every effort the old seaman could make to con- ceal his emotion, he fairly groaned aloud.

For a moment, the better feelings of Borroughcliffe pra» railed ; and he paused as he witnessed this exhibition cf suffering in one, whose head was already sprinkled with the marks of time ; but his habits, and the impressions left by many years passed in collecting victims for the wars, soon resumed their ascendency, and the recruiting officer dili- gently addressed himself to an improvement of his advan- tage.

" I pity from my heart the poor lads whom artifice or mistaken notions of duty may have led astray, and who will thus be taken in arms against their sovereign ; but as they are found in the very island of Britain, they must be made examples to deter others. I fear, that unless they can make their peace with government, they will all be condemned to death.'*

" Let them make their peace with God, then ; your government can do but little to clear the log-account of a man whose watch is up for this world."

" Buv, by making their peace with tho?e who have the power, their lives may be spared," said the captain, watch- jig, with keen eyes, the effect his words produced on the cockswain.

" It matters but little, when a man hears the messenger pipe liis hammock down for the last time ; he keeps hig Iratch in another world, though he goes below in this. But to see wood and iron, that has been put together after such moulds as the Ariel's, go into strange hands, is a blow that a man may remember long after the purser's books have been squared against his iwme forever ! I would rather that twenty shot should strike my old carcass, than one should

THE PILOT. 259

hull tho schoonir that didn't pass out above her water- liiie."

Borroughcliffe replied, somewhat carelessly, " 1 maj be mistaken, after all ; and, instead of putting any of you to deatli, they may place you all on board the prison-ahjps, whare you may yet have a merry time of it these ten or fifteen years to come."

" How's that, shipmate ! " cried the cockswain, with a start ; " a prison-ship, d'ye say ? you may tell them they can save the expense of one man's rations by hanging him^ if they please, aud that is old Tom Coffin."

" There is no answering for their caprice : to-day they :Qay order a dozen of you to be shot for rebels ; to-morrow thev may choose to consider you as prisoners of war, and send you to the hulks for a dozen years."

" Tell them, brother, that I'm a rebel, will ye ? and ye'll tell 'em no lie — one that has fou't them since Manly'a time, in Boston Bay, to this hour. I hope the boy will blow her up ! it would be the death of poor Richard Barn- stable to see her in the hands of the English ! "

" I know of one way," said Borroughcliffe, affecting to muse, " and but one, that will certainly avert the prison- ship ; for, on second thoughts, they will hardly put you to death."

" Name it, friend," cried the cockswain, rising from his seat in evident perturbation, " and if it lies in the power of man, it shall be done."

" Nay," said the captain, dropping his hand familiarly on the shoulder of the other, who listened with the most eager attention, " 'tis easily done, and no dreadful thing in itself , you are used to gunpowder, aud know its smell from otto of roses ! "

" Aye, aye," cried the impatient old seaman ; " I have had it flashing under my nose by the hour ; what then ? "

" Why, then, what I have to propose will be nothing to 9 man like you ■ — you found the beef wholesome, and the grog mellow ? "

*' Aye, aye, all well enough ; but what is that to an old aaiJor?" asked the cockswain, uucousciously grasping tha

260 THE PILOT.

collar of Borrouglicliffe's coat, in his agitation ; " wbftt then ? "

The captain manifested no displeasure at this unexpected familiarity, but smiled with suavity as he unmasked the bat- tery, from behind which he had hitherto carried (it his aV tacks.

" Why, then, you have only to serve your Kiug &a you have before served the Congress — and Jet me be the mau to show you your colors."

The cockswain stared at the speaker intently, but it waa evident he did not clearly comprehend the nature of the proposition, and the captain pursued the subject : —

" In plain English, enlist in my company, my fine fellow, and your life and liberty are both safe."

Tom did not laugh aloud, for that was a burst of feeling in which he was seldom known to indulge ; but every feature of his weather-beaten visage contracted into an expression of bitter, ironical contempt. Borroughcliffe felt the iron fingers, that still grasped his collar, gradually tightening about his throat, like a vice ; and, as the arm slowly con- tracted, his body was drawn, by a power that it was in vain to resist, close to that of the cockswain, who, when their faces were within a foot of each other, gave vent to his emotions in woi'ds : —

" A messmate, before a shipmate ; a shipmate, before a stranger; a stranger, before a dog — but a dog before a soldier ! "

As Tom concluded, his nervous arm was suddenly extended to the utmost, the fingers relinquishing their grasp at the same time ; and, when Borroughcliffe recovered his dis- ordered faculties, he found himself in a distant corner of the apartment, prostrate among a confused pde of chairs, tables, and wearing apparel. In endeavoring to rise from this bumble posture, the hand of the captain fell on the hilt of his sword, which had been included in the confused assem* blage of articles produced by his overthrow.

" How now, scoundrel ! " he cried, baring the glittering weapon, and springing on his feet ; " you must be taught your distance, I perceive."

THE PILOT. 261

rhe cockswain seized the harpoon which leaned against thn wall, and dropped its barbed extremity within a foot of the breast of his assailant, with an expression of the eye that denoted the danger of a nearer approach. The captain, however, wanted not for courage, and stung to the quick by the insult, he had received, he made a desperate parry, and atxempted to pass within the point of the novel weapon of hi^ adversary. The slight shock was followed by a sweep- ing whirl of the harpoon, and Borroughcliffe found himself without arms, completely at the mercy of his foe. The bloody intentions of Tom vanished with his success; for, laying aside his weapon, he advanced upon his antagonist, and seized him with an open palm. One more struggle, in which the captain discovered his incompetency to make any defense against the strength of a man who managed him as if he had been a child, decided the matter. When the cap- tain was passive in the hands of his foe, the cockswain pro- duced sundry pieces of sennit, marline, and ratlin-stufF, from his pockets, which appeared to contain as great a variety of small cordage as a boatswain's store-room, and proceeded to lash the arms of the conquered soldier to the posts of hi« bed, with a coolness that had not been distui'bed since tho commencement of hostilities, a silence that seemed inflexible, and a dexterity that none but a seaman could equal. When this part of his plan was executed, Tom paused a moment, and gazed around him as if in quest of something. The naked sword caught his eye, and, with this weapon in his hand, he deliberately approached his captive, whose alarm prevented his observing, that the cockswain had snapped the blade asunder from the handle, and that he had already encircled the latter with marline.

" For God's sake," exclaimed Borroughcliffe, " murder me not in cold blood ! "

The silver hilt entered his mouth as the words issued from A, and the captain found, while the line was passed and re passed, in reiieated involutions across the back of his neck, that he was in a condition to which he often subjected his own men, when unruly, and which is universally called bemg gaggea." The cock^waia now ai>peared to think himhi-lf

262 THE PILOT.

entitled (o all the privileges of a conqueror ; for, taking the light in his hand, he commenced a scrutiny into the nature and quality of the worldly effects that lay at his mercy. Sundry articles, that belonged to the equipments of a soldier, were examined, and cast aside with great contempt, and divers garments of plainer exterior were rejected as unsuited to the frame of the victor. He, however, soon encountered tv^o articles, of a metal that is universally understood. But ancertainty as to their use appeared greatly tc embarrass him. The circular prongs of these curiosities were applied to either hand, to the wrists, and even to the nose, and the little wheels, at their opposite extremity were turned and examined with as much curiosity and care, as a savage would expend on a watch, until the idea seemed to cross the mind of the honest seaman, that they formed part of the useless trappings of a military man ; and he cast them aside also, as utterly worthless. 'BorroughclilFe, who watched every movement of his conqueror, with a good-humor that would have restored perfect harmony between them, could he but have expressed half what he felt, witnessed the safety of a favorite pair of spurs with much pleasure, though nearly suffocated by the mirth that was unnaturally re- pressed. At length, the cockswain found a pair of hand* somely mounted pistols, a sort of weapon with which he seemed quite familiar. They were loaded, and the knowl- edge of that fact appeared to remind Tom of the necessity of departing, by bringing to his recollection the danger of his commander and of the Ariel. He thrust the weapons into the canvas belt that encircled his body, and, graspirg his harpoon, approached the bed, where Borroughcliffe was seated in duresse.

" Harkye, friend," said the cockswain, " may the Lord forgive you, as I do, for wishing to make a soldier of a sea- faring man, and one who has followed the waters since he was an hour old, and one who hopes to die off soundings, and to be buried in brine. I wish you no harm, friend but you'U have to keep a stopper on your conversation tih such time as some of your messmates call in this way, whicli ^ hope will be as soon after I get an offing as may be."

THE PILOT. *i»*3

"With these amicable wishes, the cockswain departe«L leaving BorroughcliiFe the light, and the undisturbed poS' session of his apartment, though not in the most easy or the most enviable situation imaginable. The captain heard the bolt of his lock turn, and the key rattle as the cockswain withdrew it from the door — two precautionary steps which clearly indicated that the vanquisher deemed it piudent to secure his retreat by insuring the detention of the rvf tjuinhf^d, for at least a time.

S64 THE PILOT.

CHAPTER XXm.

Whilst Vengeance, in the lurid sdr, Lifts her red arm, exposed and bare — Who, Fear, this ghastly train can see, And look not madly wild, like thee !

CoLLura^

It h certain that Tom Coffin had devised no settled plan »f operations, when he issued from the apartment of Bor- roughcliffe, if we except a most resolute determination to make the best of his way to the Ariel, and to share her fete, let it be either to sink or swim. But this was a resolution much easier formed by the honest seaman than executed, in his present situation. He would have found it less difficult to extricate a vessel from the dangerous shoals of the " Devil's Grip," than to thread the mazes of the labyrinth of passages, gallexies, and apartments, in which he found himself involved. He remembered, as he ex- pressed it to himself, in a low soliloquy, " to have run into a narrow passage from the main channel, but whether he had sheered to the starboard or larboard hand," was a material fact that had entii'ely escaped his memory. Tom was in that part of the building that Colonel Howard had desig- nated as the " cloisters," and in which, luckily for him, he was but little liable to encounter any foe, the room occu- pied by Borroughcliffe being the only one in the entire wing that was not exclusively devoted to the service of the ladies. The circums^vice of the soldier's being permitted to invade this sanctuarj was owing to the necessity, on the part of Colonel Howard, of placing either Griffith, Manual, O' the recruiting officer, in the vicinity of his wards, or of Bubjecting his prisoners to a treatment that the veteran Would have thought unworthy of his name and character This recent change in the quarters of Borroughcliffe ope^

THE PILOT. 26a

a ted doubly to the advantage of Tom, by lessening the chance of the speedy release of his uneasy captive, as well as by diminishing his own danger. Of the former circum stance he was, however, not aware : and the consideration of the latter was a sort of reflection to which the cockswain was in no degree addicted.

Following, necessarily, the line of the wall, he soon emerged from the dark and narrow passage in which he had first found himself, and entered the principal gallery, that communicated with all the lower apartments of that wing, as well as with the main body of the edifice. An open door, through which a strong light was glaring, at a distant end of this gallery, instantly caught his eye, and the old seaman had not advanced many steps towards it, before he discovered that he was approaching the very room which had so much excited his curiosity, and by the identical passage through which he had entered the Abbey. To turn, and retrace his steps, was the most obvious course for any man to take who felt anxious to escape ; but tho sounds of high conviviality, bursting from the cheerful apartment, among which the cockswain thought he dis- tinguished the name of Griffith, determined Tom to advance and reconnoitre the scene more closely. The reader will anticipate that when he paused in the shadow, the doubting old seaman stood once more near the threshold which he had so lately crossed, when conducted to the room of Borroushcliflfe. The seat of that gentleman was now oc- cupied by Dillon, and Colonel Howard had resumed his wonted station at the foot of the table. The noise was chiefly made by the latter, who had evidently been enjoy- ing a more minute relation of the means by which his kins* man had entrapped his unwary enemy.

" A noble ruse ! " cried the veteran, as Tom assumed his post, in ambush ; " a most noble and ingenious ruse, and such a one as would have baffled Caesar ! He must have been a cunning dog, that Caesar ; but I do think, Kit, you would have been too much for him ; hang me, if I don't think you would have puz/'ed Wolfe himself, had you held Quebec, instead of Montcalm ! Ah, boy, we vrxat yoa io

266 THE PILOT.

the colonies, with the ermine over your shoulders ; micb meJi as you, cousin Christopher are sadly, sadly wanted there to defend his majesty's rights."

" Indeed, dear sir, your partiality gives me credit for qiialities I do not possess," said Dillon, drojiping his eyes, perhaps with a feeling of conscious unworthiness, but with an air of much humility; "the little justifiable artifice" —

*' Aye ! there lies the beauty of the transaction," in- terrupted the colonel, shoving the bottle from him, with the free, open air of a man who never harbored disguise ; " you told no lie ; no mean deception, that any dog, however base and unworthy, might invent ; but you practiced a neat, a niilitary, a — a — yes, a classical deception on your enemy ; ^ classical deception, that is the very term for it ! such a deception as Pompey, or Marc Antony, or — or — you know those old fellows' names, better than I do, Kit ; but name the cleverest fellow that ever lived in Greece or Rome, and I shall say he is a dunce compared to you. 'Twas a real Spartan trick, both simple and honest."

It was extremely fortunate for Dillon, that the anima- tion of his aged kinsman kept his head and body in such constant motion, during this apostrophe, as to intercept the aim that the cockswain was deliberately taking at his head with one of Bon-oughcliffe's pistols ; and perhaps the sense of shame which induced him to sink his face on his hands, was another means of saving his life, by giving the indig- nant old seaman time for reflection.

" But you have not spoken of the ladies," said Dillon, after a moment's pause ; " I should hope, they have borne the alarm of the day like kinswomen of the family of Howard."

The colonel glanced his eyes around him, as if to assure himself they were alone, and dropped his voice, as he Ruswered, —

" Ah, Kit ! they have come to, since this rebel scoundrel Griffith, has been brought into the Abbey ; we were favored with the company of even Miss Howard, jn the dining-room, to-day. There was a gc od deal of * deal nucleing,' and ' fears that my life might be e imposed by th«

THE PILOT. 267

qnairels and skirmishes of these desperadoes who have landed ; ' as if an old fellow, who served through the whole war, from '56 to 'G3, was afraid to let his nose smell gun- powder p.nj more than if it were snuff! But it will be a hard matter to wheedle an old soldier out of his allegiance ! This Griffith goes to the Tower, at least, Mr. Dillon."

" It would be advisable to commit his person to the nvii authority, without delay."

" To the constable of the Tower, the Earl Cornwallis, a good and loyal nobleman, who is, at this moment, fighting the rebels in my own native province, Christopher/' inter- rupted the colonel ; " that will be what I call retributive justice ; but," continued the veteran, rising with an air of gentlemanly dignity, " it will not do to permit even the constable of the Tower of Loudon to surpass the master of St. Ruth in hospitality and kindness to his prisoners. I have ordered suitable refreshments to their apartments, and it is incumbent on me to see that my commands have been properly obeyed. Arrangements must also be made for the reception of this Captain Barnstable, who will, doubtless, soon be here."

" Within the hour, at farthest," said Dillon, looking un- easily at his watch.

" We must be stirring, boy," continued the colonel, mov- mg towards the door that led to the apartments of his prisoners ; " but there is a courtesy due to the ladies, aa well as to those unfortunate violators of the laws — go, Christopher, convey my kindest wishes to Cecilia ; she don't deserve them, the obstinate vixen, but then she is my brother Harry's child ! and while there, you arch dog, plead your own cause. Marc Antony was a fool to you at % ' ruse,' and yet Marc was one of your successful suitors, ioo ; there was that Queen of the Pyramids " —

The door closed on the excited veteran, at these wcrds, and Dillon was left standing by himself, at the side of the table, musing, as if in doub:, whether to venture on the step that his kinsman had proposed, or not.

The greater part of the preceding discourse was unin* telligibk *» the cockswain who had waited its terraiDation

268 THE PILOT.

«\itli extraordinary patience, in hopes he might obtain some

information that he could render of service to the captives. Before he had time to decide on what was now best for him to do, Dilfon suddenly determined to venture himself in the cloisters ; and, swallowing a couple of glasses of wine> in a breath, he passed the hesitating cockswain, who waa concealed by the opening door, so closely as to brush his person, and moved down the gallery with those rapid strides which men who act under the impulse of forced resolutions ire very apt to assume, as if to conceal their weakness from themselves. Tom hesitated no longer ; but aiding the im- pulse given to the door by Dillon, as he passed, so as to darken the passage, he followed the sounds of the other's footsteps, while he trod in the manner already described, the stone pavement of the gallery. Dillon paused an in- stant at the turning that led to the room of BorroughcliiFe, but whether irresolute which way to urge his steps, or lis- tening to the incautious and heavy tread of the cockswain, is not known ; if the latter, he mistook them for the echoes of his own footsteps, and moved forward again without making any discovery.

The light tap which Dillon gave on the door of the withdrawing-room of the cloisters, was answered by the soft- voice of Cecilia Howard herself, who bid the applicant enter. There was a slight confusion evident in the manner of the gentleman as he complied with the bidding, and io its hesitancy, the door was, for an instant, neglected.

" I come. Miss Howard," said Dillon, " by the commands of your uncle, and, permit me to add, to my own " —

" May Heaven shield us ! " exclaimed Cecilia, clasping \e hands in affright, and rising involuntardy from her ©juch, " are we, too, to be imprisoned and murdered ? "

" Surely IMiss Howard will not impute to me " — Dillon paused, observing that the wild looks, not only of Cecilia, br : of Katherine and Alice Dunscombe, also, were directed Ai some other object, and turning, to his manifest terror he beheld the gigantic frame of the cockswain, surmounte<1 by an iron visage fixed hi settled hostility, in possession of the 9uly passage from the apartment.

THE PILOT 269

" If there's murder to be done," said Toin, after survey- lug the astonished group with a stern eye, " it's as likely this here liar will be the one to dp it, as another ; but you have nothing to fear from a man who has followed the seaa too long, and has grappled with too many monsters, both fish and flesh, not to know how to treat a helpless wom.in. None, who know him, will say that Thomas Coffin ever used uncivil language, or unseaman-like conduct, to any u! his mother's kind."

" Coffin ! " exclaimed Katherine, advancing with a more confident air, from the corner into which terror had driven lier with her companions.

" Aye, Coffin," contiimed the old sailor, his grim features gradually relaxing, as he gazed on her bright looks ; " 'tis a solemn word, but it's a word that passes over the shoals, among the islands, and along the cape, oftener than any other. My father was a Coffin, and my mother was a Joy ; and the two names can count more flukes than all the rest in the island together ; though the Worths, and the Gar' ners, and the Swaines, dart better harpoons, and set truei lances, than any men who come fiom the weather-side of the Atlantic."

Katherine listened tc this digression in honor of the whalers of Nantucket, with marked complacency ; and, when he concluded, she repeated, slowiv, —

" Coffin ! this, then, is long Tom ! " '

" Aye, aye, long Tom, and no sham in the name either," returned the cockswain, suffering the stern indignation that had lowered around his hard visage to relax into a low laugh as he gazed on her animated features ; " the Lord bless your smiling face and bright black eyes, young madam J fou have heard of old long Tom, then ? most lively, 'twas something about the blow he strikes at the fish — ah ! Tvc old and I'm stiff, now, young madam, but afore I was nine« teen, I stood at the head of the dauce. at a ball on the sape, and that with a partner almost as handsome as your- self; aye, and this was after I had three broad flukes logged against my name."

" No," said Katherine, adva-^ioing in her eagerness » st«p

270 THE PILOT.

or two nigher to the old tar, her cheeks flushing while sho «poke, " I had heard of you as an instructor in a seaman's iuty, as the faithful cockswain, nay, I may say, as the de- voted companion and friend, of Mr. Richard Barnstable ; but, perhaps, you come now as the bearer of some message or letter from that gentleman."

The sound of his commander's name suddenly revived the recollection of Coffin, and with it all the tierce stern- ness of his manner returned. Bending his eyes keenly on the cowering form of Dillon, he said, in those deep, harsU tones, that seem peculiar to men who have braved the ele- ments, until they appear to have imbibed some of their roughest qualities, —

" Liar ! how now ? what brought old Tom Coffin into these shoals and narrow channels ? was it a letter ? ha ! but by the Lord that maketh the winds to blow, and teach- eth the lost mariner how to steer over the wide waters, you shall sleep this night, villain, on the planks of the Ariel ; and if it be the will of God that beautiful piece of handi- craft is to sink at her moorings, like a worthless hulk, ye shall still sleep in her ; aye, and a sleep that shall not end, till they call all hands, to foot up the day's-work of this life, at the close of man's longest voyage."

The extraordinary vehemence, the language, the attitude of the old seaman, commanding in its energy, and the hon- es«- indignation that shone in every look of his keen eyes, together with the nature of the address, and its paralyzing effect on Dillon, who quailed before it like the stricken Jeer, united to keep the female listeners, for many moments, Bilent through amazement. During this brief period, Tom advanced upon his nerveless victim, and lashing his arms Bogether behind his back, he fastened him by a strong cord, to the broad canvas belt that he constantly wore around his own body, leaving to himself, by this arrangement, the free use of his arms and weapons of offense, while he se- cured his captive.

" Surely," said Cecilia, recovering her recollection the first of the astonished group, " Mr. Barnstable haS not cont Daissioued you to offer this violence to my uncle's kinsraau

THE PILOT. 271

ander the roof uf Colonel Howard ? Miss Plowden, youl frieud has strangely forgotten himself in this transaction, if this man acts in obedience to his order ! "

" My friend, my cousin Howard," returned Katherine, " would never commission his cockswain, or any one, to dc an unworthy deed. Speak, honest sailor ; why do you com- mit this outrage on the woi-thy Mr. Dillon, Colonel HoW" ard's kinsman, and a cupboard cousin of St. Ruth's Ab- bey ? "

" Nay, Katherine " —

" Nay, Cecilia, be patient, and let the stranger have utterance ; he may solve the difficulty altogether."

The cockswain, understanding that an explanation was expected from his lips, addressed himself to the task with an energy suitable both to the subject and to his own feel- ings. In a very few words, though a little obscured by his peculiar diction, he made his listeners understand the confi- dence that Barnstable had reposed in Dillon, and the treach- ery of the latter. They heard him with increased astonish- ment, and Cecilia hardly allowed him time to conclude, before she exclaimed, —

" And did Colonel Howard, could Colonel Howard listen to this treacherous project ! "

" Aye, they spliced it together among them." returned Tom ; " though one part of this cruise wLU turn out but badly."

" Even Borroughcliffe, cold and hardened as he appears 'o be by habit, would spurn at such dishonor," added Mias Jloward.

" But, Mr. Barnstable ? " at length Katherine succeeded in saying, when her feelings permitted her utterance, " said you not, that soldiers were in quest of him ? "

" Aye, aye, young madam," the cockswain replied, smil- ing with grim ferocity, " they are in chase, but he has shifted his anchorage, and even if they should find him, his long pikes would make short work of a dozen red-coats. The Lord of tempests and calms have mercy, though, on the schooner ! Ah, young maduin, she is as lovely to 'he eyes of an old seafarnig man, as any of your kind can ye to human nature ! "

272 THE PILOT.

" But whj this delay ? away then, honest Tom, and r^ real the treachery to your commander ; you may not yet be too late — why delay a moment ? " '

" The ship tarries for want of a pilot. I could carry three fathom over the shoals of Nantucket, the darke&t night that ever shut the windows of heaven, but I should be likely to run upon breakers in this navigation. As it was, I was near getting into company that I should have had to fight my way out of."

" If that be all, follow me," cried the ardent Katherine ; •* I will conduct you to a path that leads to the ocean, with- out approaching the sentinels."

UntU this moment, Dillon had entertained a secret ex- pectation of a rescue, but when he heard this proposal, he felt his blood retreating to his heart, from every part of hia agitated frame, and his last hope seemed wrested from him. Raising himself from the abject shrinking attitude in which both shame and dread had conspired to keep him, as though he had been fettered to the spot, he approached Cecilia, and cried, in tones of horror, —

" Do not, do not consent. Miss Howard, to abandon me to the fury of this man ! Your imcle, your honorable uncle, even now applauded and united with me in my enter prise, which is no more than a common artifice in war."

" My uncle would unite, Mr. Dillon, in no project of df .^berate treachery like this," said Cecilia, coldly.

"He did, I swear by " —

" Liar ! " interrupted the deep tones of the cockswain.

DUlon shivered with agony and terror, while the sounc*^ of this appalling voice sunk into his inmost soul ; but a'' the gloom of the night, the secret ravines of the cliffs, anc* he turbulence of the ocean, flashed across his imagination, lie again yielded to a dread of the horrors to which he fchould be exposed, in encountering them at the mere) of his powerful enemy, and he continued his solicitations : —

"Hear me, once more hear me — Miss Howard,! be- seech you, hear me ! Am I not of your own blood and country ? will you see me abandoned to the wild, merciless, malignant fury of this man, who will transfix me vith thai

THE PILOT. 273

«— O God ! if you hf^d but seen the sight T beheld in the Alacrity ! — hear me, Miss Howard ; for the love you bear your INIakcr, intercede for me ! Mr. Griffith shall be re« leased " —

" Liar ! " again interrupted the cockswain.

" What promises he ? " asked Cecilia, turning her averted fiice once more at the miserable captive.

"Nothing at all that will be fulfilled," said Kalherine; " follow, honest Tom, and I, at least, will conduct you in good faith."

" Cruel, obdurate Miss Plowden ; gentle, kind Miss Alice, you will not refuse to raise your voice in my favor ; your heart is not hardened by any imaginary dangers to thos» you love."

" Nay, address not me," said Alice, bending her meek eyes to the floor ; " I trust your life is in no danger ; and I pray that He who has the power, will have the mercy, to see you unharmed."

" Away ! " said Torn, grasping the collar of the helpless Dillon, and rather carrying than leading him into the gallery : " if a sound, one quarter as loud as a young por- poise makes when he draws his first breath, comes from you, villain, you shall see the sight of the ^Alacrity over again. My harpoon keeps its edge well, and the old arm can yet drive it to the seizing."

This menace effectually silenced even the hard, perturbed breathings of the captive, who, with his conductor, followed the light steps of Katherine through some of the secret mazes of the building, until, in a few minutes, they issued through a small door into the open air. "Without pausing to deliberate, Miss Plowden led the cockswain through the grounds, to a different wicket from the one by which be had tntered the paddock, and pointing to the path, which might )e dinxy tra :ed along the faded herbage, she bade God blosa Am, iai a voice that discovered her interest in his safety, »nd vanished from his sight like an aerial being.

Tom needed no incentive to his speed, now that his course ay so plainly before him, but loosening his pistv^ls in hia Selt, and jxjising his harpoon, he crossed the fields at a gai< 18

274 THE PILOT.

that compelled his companion to exert his utmost powers, in the way of walking, to equal. Once or twice Dillon ventured to utter a word or two ; but a stern " Silence ! " from the cockswain warned him to cease, until, perceiving that they were approaching the cliffs, he made a final effort to obtain his liberty by hurriedly promising a large bribe. The cockswain made no reply, and the captive was secretly hoping that his scheme was produchig its wonted effects, when he unexpectedly felt the keen, cold edge of the barbed •'ron of ths harpoon pressing against his breast, through the opening of his ruffles, and even rasing the skin.

" Liar ! " said Tom ; " another word, and Pll drive it through your heart ! "

From that moment Dillon was as silent as the grave. They reached the edge of the cliffs, without encountering the party that had been sent in quest of Barnstable, and at a point near where they had landed. The old seaman paused an instant on the verge of the precipice, and cast his experienced eyes along the wide expanse of water that lay before him. The sea was no longer sleeping, but already in heavy motion, and rolling its surly waves against the base of the rocks on which he stood, scattering their white crests high in foam^ The cockswain, after bending his looks along the whole line of the eastern horizon, gave utterance to a low and stifled groan; and then, striking the staff of his harpoon violently against the earth, he pursued his way along the very edge of the cliffs, muttering certain dreadful denunciations, which the conscience of his appalled listener did not fail to apply to himself. It appeared to the latter, that his angry and excited leader sought the giddy verge of the precipice with a sort of wanton recklessness, so daring were the steps that he took along its brow, notwithstanding the darkness of the hour, and the violence of the :iast8 ihat occasionally rushed by them, leaving behind a kiad of reac- tion, that more than once brought the life of the mar.acled captive in imminent jeopardy. But it would seem the wary cockswain had a motive for this apparently inconsiderate desperation. When they had made good quite half the ii*tance between the point where Barnstable had landed

THE PILOT. 279

»nd that where he had appointed to meet his cockswain, the Bounds of voices were brought indistinctly to their ears, in one of the momentary pauses of the rushing winds, and caused the cockswain to make a dead stand in his progress. lie listened intently for a single minute, when his resolution appeared to be taken. He turned to Dillon and spoke; though his voice, was suppressed and low, it was deep and resolute.

" One word, and you die ; over the cliffs ! You must take a seaman's ladder: there is footing on the rocks, and crags for your hands. Over the cliff, I bid ye, or I'll cast ye mto the sea, as I would a dead enemy ! "

" Mercy, mercy ! " implored Dillon ; " I could not do it in the day ; by this light I shall surely perish."

•' Over with ye ! " said Tom, " or " —

Dillon waited for no more, but descended, with trembling steps, the dangerous precipice that lay before him. He was followed by the cockswain, with a haste that unavoidably dislodged his captive from the trembling stand he had taken on the shelf of a rock, who, to his increased horror, found himself dangling in the air, his body impending over the sullen surf, that was tumbling in with violence upon the rocks beneath him. An involuntaiy shriek bm-st from Dillon, as he felt his person thrust from the narrow shelf; and his cry sounded, amidst the tempest, like the screechings of the spirit of the storm.

" Another such a call, and I cut your tow-line, villain," said the determined seaman, " when nothing short of eter- nity will bring you up."

The sounds of footsteps and voices were now distinctly audible, and presently a party of armed men appeared on the edges of the rocks, directly above them.

" It was a human voice," said one of them, " and ike a man in distress."

" It cannot be the men we are sent in search of," returned Sergeant Drill ; " for no watchword that I ever heard bounded like that cry."

" They say that such cries are often heard in storms along this coast," said a voice that was uttered with less of mditarj

216 THE PILOT.

coiifidence than the two others : '* and the; are thoug)\t to come from drowned seamen."

A feeble laugh arose among the listeners, and one or two forced jokes were made at the expense of their superstitious comrade 3 but the scene did not fail to produce its effect on even the most sturdy among the unbelievers in the marvel- ous ; for, after a few more similar remarks, the whole party retired from the cliffs, at a pace that might have been accelerated by the nature of their discourse. The cock- swain, who had stood all this time, firm as the rock which supported him, bearing up not only his own weight, but the person of Dillon also, raised his head above the brow of the precipice; as they withdrew, to reconnoitre, and then, draw ing up the nearly insensible captive, and placing him in safety on the bank, he followed himself. Not a momenft was wasted in unnecessary explanations, but Dillon found himself again urged forward, with the same velocity as before. In a few minutes they gained the desired ravine, down which Tom plunged with a seaman's nerve, dragging his prisoner after him, and directly they stood where the waves rose to their feet, as they flowed far and foaming across the sands. The cockswain stooped so low as to bring the crests of the billows in a line with the horizon, when he discovered the dark boat, playing in the outer edge of the urf.

" What ho ! Ariels there ! " shouted Tom, in a voice that the growing tempest cai'ried to the ears of the retreating soldiers, who quickened their footsteps, as they listened to sounds which their fears taught them to believe super- natural.

" Who hails ? " cried the well-known voice of Barnstable.

"Once your master, now your servant," answered the cockswain with a watchword of his own invention.

" 'Tis he," returned the lieutenant ; " veer away, boys, Teer away. You must wade into the surf."

Tom caught Dillon in his arms ; and throwing him, like a cork, across his shoulder, he dashed into the streak of foam that was bearing the boat on its crest, and before his companion had time for remonstrance o" entreaty, he fovmd Uimself once more by the side of Barnstable.

THE PILOT. 277

" Who have we here ? " asked the lieutenant ; " this :« pot Griffith ! "

" Haul out and weigh your grapnel," said the excited cockswain ; " and then, boys, if you love the Ai"iel, pull while the life and the will is left in you."

Barnstable knew his man, and not another question wa« asked, until the boat was without the breakers, now skim" ming the rounded summits of the waves, or settling mto the hollows of the seas, but always cutting the waters asunder, as she urged her course, with amazing velocity, towards the haven where the schooner had been left at anchor. Then, in a few but bitter sentences, the cockswain explained to his commander the treachery of DUlon, and the danger of the schooner.

" The soldiers are slow at a night muster," Tom concluded ; "and from what I overheard, the express will have to make a crooked course, to double the head of the bay, so that but for this northeaster, we might weather upon them yet ; but it's a matter that lies altogether in the will of Providence. Pull, my hearties, pull ! everything depends on vour cars tQ-night."

Barnstable listened in deep silence to this uriexpected narration, which sounded in the ears of DilloP like his funeral knell. At length, the suppressed voice of the lieu- tenant was heard, also, uttering, —

"Wretch ! if I should cast you into the se^ «» f ^^ for the fishes, who could blame me ? But if my «»W*-'X)t goei to tlie bottom, she shall prove your coffin 1 "

ST8 THE FJurr.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Had I been any god of power, I would Have sunk the sea within the earth, ere It should the good ship so have swallowed.

The arms of Dillon were released from their confinement by the cockswain, as a measure of humane caution against accidents, when they entered the surf; and the captive now availed himself of the circumstance to bury his features in the folds of his attire, when he brooded over the events of the last few hours with that mixture of malignant pas- sion and pusillanimous dread of the future, that formed the chief ingredients in his character. From this state of ap- parent quietude neither Barnstable nor Tom seemed dis- posed to rouse him by their remarks, for both were too much engaged with their own gloomy forebodings, to indulge in any unnecessary words. An occasional ejaculation from the former, as if to propitiate the spirit ci£ the storm, as he gazed on the troubled appearance of the elements, or a cheering cry from the latter to animate his crew, alone were aeard amid the sullen roaring of the waters, and the mourn ful whistling of the winds that swept heavily across tha broad waste of the German Ocean. There might hav« been an hour consumed thus, in a vigorous struggle between the seamen and the growing billows, when the boat doubled the northern headland of the desired haven, and shot at once, from its boisterous passage along the margin of the breakers, into the placid waters of the sequestered r»ay The passing blasts were still heard rushing above the high lands that surrounded, and in feet formed the estuary ; but the profound stillness of deep night pervaded the secret re- cesses, along the uuruffled surface of its waters. The shad- ows of the hUls seemed to have accumulated, like a mass ot

THE PILOT. 279

gloom, in the centre of the basin, and though every eye iu- voluntarily turned to search, it was in vain tliat the anxiout seamen endeavored to discover their little vessel through its density. While the boat glided into this quiet scene, Barn- stable anxiously observed, —

" Everything is as still as death."

"God send it is not the .stillness of death!" ejaculated *he cockswain. " Here, here, ' he continued, speaking in a lower tone, as if fearful of being overheard, " here she lies, sir, more to port ; look into the streak of clear sky above the marsh, on the starboard hand of the wood, there ; that long black line is her main-topmast ; I know it by the rake ; and there is her night-pennant fluttering about that bright star ; aye, aye, sir, there go our own stars aloft yet, dancing among the stars in the heavens ! God bless her ! God bless her ! she rides as easy and as quiet as a gull asleep ! "

" I believe all in her sleep too," returned his commander. " Ha ! by Heaven, we have arrived in good time ; the sol- diers are moving ! "

The quick eye of Barnstable had detected the glimmer- ing of passing lanterns, as they flitted across the embrasures of the battery, and at the next moment the guarded but dis- tinct sounds of an active bustle on the decks of the schooner were plainly audible. The lieutenant was rubbing his hands together, with a sort of ecstasy, that probably will not be understood by the great majority of our readers, while long Tom was actually indulging in a paroxysm of his low spirit- less laughter, as these certain intimations of the safety of the Ariel, and of the vigilance of her crew, were conveyed to iheir ears ; when the whole hull and taper spars of their floating home became unexpectedly visible, and the sky, the placid basin, and the adjacent hills, were illuminated by a flash as sudden and as vivid as the keenest lightning. Both Barnstable and his cockswain seemed instinctively to strain their eyes towards the schooner, with an effort to surpass human vision ; but ere the rolling reverberations of the re port of a heavy piece of ordnance from the»heights had com mcnced. the dull, wbiiitling rush of the shot swept over thei*

280 THE PILOT.

heads, like the moaning of a hurricane, and was succeeded by the plash of the waters, which was followed, in a breath, by the rattling of the mass of iron, as it bounded with vio- lent fury from rock to rock, shivering and tearing the frag* ments that lined the margin of the bay.

" A bad aim with the first gun generally leaves your ej*- emy clean decks," said the cockswain, with his delibeiat€ sort of philosophy ; " smoke makes but dim spectacles ; besides, the night always grows darkest as you call off the morning watch."

" That boy is a miracle for his years ! " rejoined the de- lighted lieutenant. ' See, Tom, the younker has shifted his berth in the dark, and the Englishmen have fired by the day-range they must have taken, for we left him in a direct line between the battery and yon hummock ! What would have become of us, if that heavy fellow had plunged upon our decks, and gone out below the water-line ? "

" We should have sunk into English mud, for eternity, as sure as our metal and kentledge would have taken us down," responded Tom ; " such a point-blanker would have torn off a streak of our wales, outboard, and not even left the mariners time to say a prayer ! Tend bow there ! "

It is not to be supposed that the crew of the whale-boat continued idle, during this interchange of opinions between the lieutenant and his cockswain ; on the contrary, the sight of their vessel acted on them like a charm, and, believing that all necessity for caution was now over, they had ex- pended their utmost strength in efforts that had already brought them, as the last words of Tom indicated, to the side of the Ariel. Though every nerve of Barnstable was thrilling with the excitement produced by his feelings pass- ing from a state of the most doubtful apprehension to thai of a revived and almost confident hope of effecting his es- cape, he assumed the command of his vessel with all that etern but calm authority, that seamen find it most necessary to exert in the moments of extremest danger. Any one of the heavy shot that their enemies continued to hurl from their heights into the darkness of the haven he well knew nast prove fatal to them, a* it would, unavoidably, past

THE PILOT. 281

through the slight fabric of the Ariel, and open a passage to the water that no means he possessed could remedy. HIm mandates were, therefore, issued with a full perception of the critical nature of the emergency, but with that collect- edness of manner, and intonation of voice, that were beal adapted to enforce a ready and animated obedience. Un- der this impulse, the crew of the schooner soon got their anchor freed from the bottom, and, seizing their sweeps, they forced her by their united efforts directly in the face of the battery, under that shore whose summit was now crowned with a canopy of smoke, that every discharge of the ordnance tinged with dim colors, like the faintest tints that are reflected from the clouds toward a setting sun. So long as the seamen were enabled to kee]) their little bark vmder the cover of the hill, they were, of course, safe ; but Barnstable perceived, as they emerged from its shadow, and were drawing nigh the passage which led into the ocean, that the action of his sweeps would no longer avail them against the currents of air they encountered, neither would the darkness conceal their movements from his enemy, who had already employed men on the shore to discern the po- sition of the schooner. Throwing off at once, therefore, all appearance of disguise, he gave forth the word to spread the canvas of his vessel, in his ordinary cheerful manner.

" Let them do their worst now, Merry," he added ; " we have brought them to a distance that I think will keep their iron above water, and we have no dodge about us, younksr ! "

" It must be keener marksmen than the militia, or vol- unteers, or fencibles, or whatever they call themselves, behind yon grass-bank, to frighten the saucy Ariel from the wind," returned the reckless boy ; " but why have you brought Jonah aboard us again, sir ? Look at him by t he light of the cabin lamp ; he wuiks at every gun, as if he expected the shot would hull his own ugly yellow physiog- jcmy. And what tidings have we, sir, from Mr. Griffith and the marine ? "

" Name him not," said Barnstable, pressing the shoulder on which he lightly leaned,- with a convulsive grasp, thai

£82 THE PILOT.

caused the boy to yield with pain ; " name him not, Merry I want my temper and my faculties at this moment undis- turbed, and thinking of the wretch unfits me for my duty But, there will come a time ! go forward, sir ; we feel the wind, and have a narrow passage to work through."

The boy obeyed a mandate which was given in the isuai prompt manner of their profession, and which, he wcil un- derstood, was intended to intimate, that the distance which years and rank had created between them, but which Baru- Dtable often chose to forget while communing with Merry, Was now to be resumed. The sails had been loosened and set ; and, as the vessel approached the throat of the paS" sage, the gale, which was blowing with increasing violence, began to make a very sensible impression on the light bark. The cockswain, who, in the absence of most of the inferior officers, had been acting, on the forecastle, the part of one who felt, from his years and experience, that he had some right to advise, if not to command, at such a juncture, now walked to the station which his commander had taken, near the helmsman, as if willing to place himself in the way of being seen.

" Well, Master Coffin," said Barnstable, who well imder- stood the propensity his old shipmate had to commune with him on all important occasions, " what think you of the cruise now ? Those gentlemen on the hill make a great noise, but I have lost even the whistling of their shot ; one would think they could see our sails against the broad band of light which is opening to seaward."

" Aye, aye, sir ; they see us, and mean to hit us too ; but we are running across their fire, and that with a ten-knot breeze ; but when we heave in stays, and get in a line wlub their guns, we shall see, and it may be feel, more of their work than we do now ; a thirty-two ain't trained as e^sDy fta a fowling-piece or a ducking-gun."

Bar)istable was struck with the truth of this observatiou but as there existed an immediate necessity for placing the schooner in the very situation to which the other alluded, be gave his orders at once, and the vessel came about, and ran with her head pointing towards the sea, in as short a time as we hare taken to record it.

THE PILOT. 283

" There, they have us now, or never," cried the lieuteit- ant, when the evolution was completed. " If we fetch to windward off the northern point, we shall lay out into the offing, and in ten minutes we might laugh at Queen Anne's pocket-piece, which, you know, old boy, sent a ball from Hover to Calais."

"* Aye, sir, I've heard of the gun," returned the grave sea- man, " and a lively piece it must have been, if the straits were always of the same width they are now. But I see that. Captain Barnstable, which is moi-e dangerous than a dozen of the heaviest cannon that were ever cast can be, it half a league's distance. The water is bubbling through our lee-scuppers, already, sir."

" And what of that ? haven't I buried her guns often, and yet kept every spar in her without crack or splinter ? "

" Aye, aye, sir, you have done it, and can do it again, where there is sea-room, which is all that a man wants for comfort in this life. But when we are out of these chops, we shall be embayed, with a heavy northeaster setting dead into the bight ; it is that which I fear. Captain Barnstable, more than all the powder and ball in the whole island."

" And yet, Tom, the balls are not to be despised, either ; those fellows have found out their range, and send fheir iron within hail again : we walk pretty fast, Mr. Coffin ; but a thirty -two can out-travel us, with the best wind that ever blew."

Tom threw a cursory glance towards the battery, which had renewed its fire with a spirit that denoted they saw their object, as he answered, —

" It is never worth a man's while to strive to dodge a shot; foi they are all commissioned to do their work; the same as a ship is commissioned to cruise in certain lati* tudes ; but for the winds and the weather, they are given for a seafaring man to guard against, by making or short' ening sail, as the case may be. Now, the headland to tha southward stretches full tliree leagues to windward, and the shoals lie to the north ; among which God keep us com ever running this craft again ! "

" We will beat her out of tin bight, old fellow," ciied the

284 THE PILOT.

lieutenant ; " we shall have a leg of three leagues iu length to do it in."

" I have known longer legs too short," returned the cockswain, shaking his head ; " a tumbling sea, with a lee* tide, on a lee-shore, makes a sad leeway."

The lieutenant was in the act of replying to this saying with a chee:'ful laugh, when the whistling of a passing ^hct was instantly succeeded by a crash of splintered wood ; and at the next moment the head of the mainmast, after totter- ing for an instant in the gale, fell toward the deck, bring- ing with it the mainsail, and the long line of topmast, that had been bearing the emblems of America, as the' cock- swain had expressed it, among the stars of the heavens.

" That was a most unlucky hit ! " Barnstable suffered to escape him, in the concern of the moment ; but, instantly resuming all his collectedness of manner and voice, he gave h'«t orders to clear the wreck, and secure the fluttering canvas.

The mournful forebodings of Tom seemed to vanish with the appearance of a necessity for his exertions, and he waa foremost among the crew iu executing the orders of their commander. The loss of all the sail on the mainmast forced the Ariel so much from her course, as to render it difficult to weather the point, that jutted, under her lee, for some distance into the ocean. This desirable object was. however, effected by the skill of Barnstable, aided by the excellent properties of his vessel ; and the schooner, borne down by the power of the gale, from whose fury she had now no protection, passed heavily along the land, heading, as far as possible, from the breakers, while the seamen were engaged in making their preparations to display as much of their mainsail as the stump of the mast would allow them to spread. The firing from the battery ceased, as the Ariel rounded the little promontory ; but Barnstable, whose gaze was now bent intently on the ocean, soon perceived that, aa bis cockswain had predicted, he had a much more threat- ening danger to encounter in the elements. When their damages were repaired, so far as circumstances would per- pDUt, the cockswain returned to his wonted station new th«

THE PILOT. 285

fieutenant; and after a momentary pause, during wlu<li hig eyes roved over the rigging witli a seaman's scrutiny, he resumed the discourse.

" It would have been better for us that the best man in the schooner sliould have been dubbed of a limb, by that shot, than that the Ariel should have lost her best leg ; a mainsail close-reefed may be prudent canvas as the w^ind blows, but it holds a poor lulF to keep a craft to windward."

" What would you have, Tom Coffin ? " retorted his com- mander. " You see she draws ahead, and off-shore ; do you expect a vessel to fly in the very teeth of the gale ? or would you have me wear and beach her at once ? "

" I would have nothing, nothing. Captain Barnstable," returned the old seaman, sensibly touched at his command- er's disjileasure : " you are as able as any man that ever trod a plank to work her into an offing ; but, sir, when that soldier-officer told me of the scheme to sink the Ariel at her anchor, there were such feelings come athwart my phi- losophy as never crossed it afore. I thought I saw her a wrack, as plainly, aye, as plainly as you may see the stump of that mast ; and, I will own it, for it's as natural to love the craft you sail in as it is to love one's self, I will own that my manhood fetched a heavy lee-lurch at the sight."

'' Away with ye, ye old sea-croaker ! forward with ye, and see that the head-sheets are trimmed flat. But hold ! come hither, Tom ; if you have sights of wrecks, and sharks, and other beautiful objects, keep them stowed in your own silly brain; don't make a ghost-parlor of my forecastle. The lads begin to look to leeward, now, oftener than I would have them. Go, sirrah, go, and take example from Ml. Merry, who is seated on your namesake there, and is singing as if he were a chorister in his father's church."

" Ah, Captain Barnstable, Mr. Merry is a boy, and knows Jiothing, so fears nothing. But I shall obey your orders, sir ; and if the men fall astarn this gale, it shan't be Ibr anything tliey'll hear from old Tom Coffin."

The cockswain lingered a moment, notwithstanding hifl pi omised obedience, and then ventured to request that —

" Captain Barnstable would please call Mr. Merry from

286 THE PILOT.

the gun ,• for I know, from having followed the seas my natural life, that singing in a gale is sure to bring the wind down upon a vessel the heavier ; for He who rules the tempests is displeased that man's voice shall be heard whe& He chooses to send his own breath on the water."

Barnstable was at a loss, whether to laugh at his cock Bwain's infirmity, or to yield to the impression which his ea/nest and solemn manner had a powerful tendency to produce, amid such a scene. But making an effort to shake off the superstitious awe that he felt creeping around his own heart, the lieutenant relieved the mind of the worthy old seaman so far as to call the careless boy from his perch, to his own side ; where respect for the sacred character of the quarter-deck instantly put an end to the lively air he had been humming. Tom walked slowly forward, appar- ently much relieved by the reflection that he had effected so important an object.

The Ariel continued to struggle against the winds and ocean for several hours longer, before the day broke on the tempestuous scene, and the anxious mariners were enabled to form a more accurate estimate of their real danger. As the violence of the gale increased, the canvas of the schooner had been gradually reduced, untU she was unable to show more than was absolutely necessary to prevent her driving helplessly on the laud. Barnstable watched the appearance of the weather, as the light slowly opened upon them, with an intense anxiety, which denoted that the pre- sentiments of the cockswain were no longer deemed idle. On looking to windward, he beheld the green masses of water that were rolling in towards the land, with a violence that seemed irresistible, crowned with ridges of foam ; and there were monents when the air appeared filled with sparkling gems, as the rays of the rising sun fell upon the spray that was swept from wave to wave. Toward the land the view was still more appalling. The cliffs, but a short half-league under the lee of the schooner, were, at all times, nearly hid from the eye by the pyramids of water which the furious element, so sudden'^y restrained in iti rioleuoe, cast high into the air, as if seeking to overleaf

THE PILOT. 28T

!;he boundaries that nature had fixed to its dominion. The whole coast, from the distant lieadland at the soutli, to the well-known shoals that stretched far beyond their course in the opposite direction, displayed a broad belt of foam, .uto which it would have been certain destruction, for the proudest ship that ever swam, to enter. Still, the Ariel (luated on the billows lightly and in safety, though yield- ing to the impulses of the waters, and, at timef, appearing to be engulfed in the yawning chasms, which, apparently, opened beneath her to receive the little fabric. The low rumor of acknowledged danger had found its way through ihe schooner, and the seamen, after fastening their hopeless looks on the small spot of canvas that they were still able to show to the tempests, would turn to view the dreary line of coast, that seemed to offer so gloomy an alternative. Even Dillon, to whom the report of their danger had found its way, crept from his place of concealment in the cabin, and moved about the decks unheeded, devouring, with greedy ears, such opinions as fell from the lips of the sullen mariners.

At this moment of appalling apprehension, the cockswain exhibited the calmest resignation. He knew all had beeu done, that lay in the power of man, to urge their little vessel from the land, and it was now too evident, to his ex- perienced eyes, that it had been done in vain ; but, consid- ering himself as a sort of fixture in the schooner, he was quite prepared to abide her fate, be it for better or for worse. The settled look of gloom that gathered around the fi'ank brow of Barnstable was in no degree connected with any considerations of himself; but proceeded from that sort of parental responsibility, from which the sea- conunander is never exempt. The discipline of the crew, however, still continued perfect and unyielding. There had, it is true, been a slight movement made by one or two of the older seamen, which indicated an intention to drown the apprehensions of death in ebriety ; but Barnstable had c;»!led for his pistols in a tone tnat checked the procedure instantly, and, although the fatal weapons were, untouched hj bun, left to lie exposed on the capstan, where they had

288 THE PILOT.

been placed by his servant, aot another symptom of msub" ordination appeared among the devoted crew. There was even what to a landsman might ieem an appalling affecta- tion of attention to the most trifling duties of the vessel ; and the men who, it should seem, ought to be devoting the brief moments of their existence to the mighty business of the hour, were constantly called to attend to the moat trivial details of their profession. Ropes were coiled, and the slightest damages occasioned by the waves, which, at short mtervals, swept across the low decks of the Ariel, were repaired, with the same precision and order^ ns if she yet lay embayed in the haven from which she had just been driven. In this manner the arm of authority was kept extended over the silent crew, not with the vain desire to preserve a lingering though useless exercise of power, but with a view to maintain that unity of action that now could alone afford them even a ray of hope.

" She can make no head against this sea, under that rag of canvas," said Barnstable, gloomily, addressing the cock- swain, who, with folded arms, and an air of cool resignation, was balancing his body on the verge of the quarter-deck, while the schooner was plunging madly into waves that nearly buried her in their bosom : " the poor little thing trembles like a frightened child, as she meets the water."

Tom sighed heavily, and shook his head, before he an- swered, —

" If we could have kept the head of the mainmast an hour longer, we might have got an offing, and fetched to windward of the shoals ; but as it is, sir, mortal man can't drive a craft to windward — she sets bodily in to land, and will be in the breakers in less than an hour, unless God wills that the wind shall cease to blow."

" We have no hope left us, but to anchor ; our ground tackle may yet bring her up."

Tom turned to his commander, and replied solemnly, and with that assurance of manner, that long experience only can give a man in moments of great danger, —

" If our sheet-cable was bent to our heaviest anchor, this ■ea would bring it home, though nothing but her launch was

THE PILOT. liM9

ndiflg bj it. A northeaster in the German Ocvian must and will blow itself out ; nor shall we get the crown of the gale until the sun falls over the land. Then, indeed, it may lull ; for the winds do often seem to reverence the glory of the heavens too much to blow their might in its very face ! "

"We must do our duty to ourselves and the country," returned Barnstable. " Go, get the two bowers spliced, and have a kedge bent to a hawser : we'll back our two anchors together, and veer to the better end of two hundred and forty fathoms ; it may yet bring her up. See all clear there for anchoring, and cutting away the mast ! we'll leave the wiTid nothing but a naked huU to whistle over."

" Aye, if there was nothing but the wind, we might yet live to see the sun sink behind them hills," said the cock- swain ; " but what hemp can stand the strain of a craft that is buried, half the time, to her foremast in the water ? "

The order was, however, executed by the crew, with a

sort of desperate submission to the will of their commander ;

and when the preparations were completed, the anchors and

kedge were dropped to the bottom, and the instant that the

Ariel tended to the wind, the axe was applied to the little

that was left of her long, raking masts. The crash of the

falling spars, as they came, in succession, across the decks

of the vessel, appeared to produce no sensation amid that

scene of complicated danger ; but the seamen proceeded in

silence to their hopeless duty of clearing the wrecks. Every

eye followed the floating timbers, as the waves swept them

away from the vessel, with a sort of feverish curiosity, to

witness the effect produced by their collision with those

rockg that lay so fearfully near them ; but long before the

spars entered the wide border of foam, they were hid from

view by the furious element in which they floated. It was

now felt by the whole crew of the Ariel, that their lasc

means of safety had been adopted ; and, at each desperate

»nd headlong plunge the vesseJ took, into the bosom of the

jeas that rolled upon her forecastle, the anxious seamen

thought' that they could percei^'e the yielding of the iron

diat yet clung to the bottom, or could hear the violent surge

18

290 THE PILOT.

of the parting strands of the cable, that siill held them to

their anchors. While the minds of the sailors were agitated with the faint hopes that had been excited by the movements of their schooner, Dillon had been permitted to wander about the deck unnoticed : his rolling eyes, hard breathing, and clenched hands, excited no observation among the men, «yhose thoughts were yet dwelling on the means of safety. But now, when with a sort of frenzied desperation he would follow the retiring waters along the decks, and venture his person nigh the group that had collected around and on the gun of the cockswain, glances of fierce or of sullen vengeance were cast at him, that conveyed threats of a nature that bo was too much agitated to understand.

" K ye are tired of this woi'ld, though your time, like my own, is probably but short in it," said^j^om to him, as he passed the cockswain in one of his turns,*' "you can go for- ward among the men ; but if ye have need of the moments to foot up the reck'ning of your doings among men, afore ye're brought to face your Maker, and hear the log-book of Heaven, I would advise you to keep as nigh as possible to Captain Barnstable or myself."

" Will you promise to save me if the vessel is wrecked ? '' exclaimed Dillon, catching at the first sounds of friendly interest that had reached his ears since he had been recap- tured ; " O ! if you will, I can secure your future ease, yes, wealth, for the remainder of your days ! "

" Your promises have been too ill kept afore this, for the {.■eace of your soul," returned the cockswain, without bitter- ness, though sternly ; " but it is not in me to strike even a whale that is already spouting blood."

The intercessions of Dillon were interrupted by a dread- fdl cry, that arose among the men forward, and which sounded with increased horror, amid the roarings of the tempest. The schooner rose on the breast of a wave at the same instant, and falling off with her broadside to the sea, she drove in towards the cliffs, like a bubble on the rapids of a cataract.

" ( )ur ground-tackle has parted," said Tom, with his re* signed patience of manner undisturbed ; " she shall die aa

THE PILOT. 291

Baey as man can make her i " While he yet spoke, he seized the tiller, and gave to the vessel such a direction as would be most likely to cause her to strike the rocks with her bows foremost.

Tliere was, for one moment, an expression of exqui'site anguish betrayed in the dark countenance of Barnstable ; but, at the next, it passed away, and he spoke cheerfully to his men : —

" Be steady, my lads, be calm ; there is yet a hope of lift for you — our light draught will let us run in close to tht cliiJs, and it is still falling water — see your boats clear, and be steady."

The crew of the whale-boat, aroused by this speech from a sort of stupor, sprang into their light vessel, which was quickly lowered into the sea, and kept riding on the foam, free from the sides of the schooner, by the powerful exertions of the men. The cry for the cockswain was earnest and repeated, but Tom shook his head, without replying, still grasping the tiller, and keeping his eyes steadily bent on the chaos of waters into whicti they were driving. The launch, the largest boat of the two, was cut loose from the " gripes," and the bustle and exertion of the moment rendered the crew insensible to the horror of the scene that siuTounded them. But the loud hoarse call of the cockswain, to " Look out ! secure yourselves ! " suspended even their efforts, and Sit that instant the Ariel settled on a wave that melted from under her, heavily on the rocks. The shock was so violent, as to throw all who disregarded the warning cry from their feet, and the universal quiver that pervaded the vessel was like the last shudder of animated nature. For a time long enough to breathe, the least experienced among the men sup- posed the danger to be past ; but a wave of great height followed the one that had deserted them, and raising the ressel again, threw her roughly still farther on the bed of •ocks, and at the same time its crest broke over her quar- er, sweeping the length of her decks with a fury that was «lmost resistless. The shuddering seamen beheld their lOOsened boat driven from their grasp, and dashed against ibe base o\ the cliffs, where no fragment of her wreck could

292 THE PILOT.

be t;raced, at the receding of the waters. But the passing

billow had thrown the vessel into a position which, in some measure, protected her decks from the violence of those that succeeded it.

" Go, my boys, go," said Barnstable, as the moment of dreadful uncertainty passed ; " you have still the whale- boat, and she, at least, will take you nigh the shore. Go into her, my boys. God bless you, God bless you all ! You have been faithful and honest fellows, and I believe He will not yet desert you ; go, my friends, while there ia a lull."

The seamen threw themselves, in a mass, into the light vessel, which nearly sunk under the unusual burden ; but when they looked around them, Barnstable and Merry, Dillon and the cockswain, were yet to be seen on the decks of the Ariel. The former was pacing, in deep, and perhaps bitter melancholy, the wet planks of the schooner, while the boy hung, unheeded, on his arm, uttering disregarded petitions to his commander to desert the wreck. Dillon approached the side where the boat lay, again and again, but the threatening countenances of the seamen as often drove him back in despair. Tom had seated himself on the heel of the bowsprit, where he continued, in an attitude of quiet resignation, returning no other answers to the loud and repeated calls of his shipmates, than by waving his hand toward the shore.

" Now hear me," said the boy, urging his request, to tears ; " if not for my sake, or for your own sake, Mr. Barnstable, or for the hope of God's mercy, go into the boat, for the love of my cousin Katherine."

The young lieutenant paused in his troubled walk, and f jr a moment he cast a glance of hesitation at the cliffs ; but, at the next instant, his eyes fell on the ruin of his reseel, and he answered, —

" Never, boy, never ; if my hour has come, I will not ghrink from my fate."

" Listen to the men, dear sir ; the boat will be swamped, idongside iSie wreck, and their cry is, that without you thej will not let her go."

THE PILOT. 298

Barnstable motioned to the boat, to bid the boy enter it, »Dd turned away in silence.

" "Well," said Merry, with firmness, " if it be right that a lieutenant shall stay by the wreck, it must also be right for a midshipman ; shove off; neither Mr. Barnstable nor my- eelf will quit the vessel."

" Boy, your life has been intrusted to my keeping, «iud at my hands will it be required," said his comm&nder, ift" ing the struggling youth, and tossing him into the arms of the seamen. " Away with ye, and God be with you ; there is more weight in you, now, than can go safe to land."

Still the seamen hesitated, for they perceived the cock swain moving, with a steady tread, along the deck, and they hoped he had relented, and would yet persuade the lieu- tenant to join his crew. But Tom, imitating the example of his commander, seized the latter, suddenly, in his power- ful grasp, and threw him over the bulwarks with an irresistible force. At the same moment he cast the fast of the boat from the pin that held it, and, lifting his broad hands high into the air, his voice was heard in the tem- pest : —

" God's will be done with me," he cried. " I saw the first timber of the Ariel laid, and shall live just long enough to see it turn out of her bottom ; after which I wish to live no longer."

But his shipmates were swept far beyond the sounds of his voice, before half these words were uttered. All com- mand of the boat was rendered impossible, by the numbers it contained, as well as the raging of the surf; and, as it rose on the white crest of a wave, Tom saw his beloved little craft for the last time. It fell into a trough of the sea, and in a few moments more its fragments were ground into splinters on the adjacent rocks. The cockswain still remained where he had cast off the rope, and beheld 1h« numerous heads and arms that appeared rising, at sh*^*?! mtervali?, on the waves ; some making powerful and well- directed efforts to gain the sands, that were becoming visible ti the tide fell, and others wUdlj tossed, in the frantic

294 THE PILOT.

moveiiients of helpless despair. The honest old Beaiuan gave a cry of joy, as he saw Barnstable issue fiom the surf, bearing the form of Merry in safety to the sands, where, one by one, several seamen soon appeared also, dripping and exhausted. Many others of the crew were carried, in a similar manner, to places of safety ; though, as Tom raturned to his seat on the bowsprit, he could not conceal from his reluctant eyes, the lifeless forms that were, in other spots, driven against the rocks with a fury that soon left them but few of the outward vestiges of humanity.

Dillon and the cockswain were now the sole occupants of their dreadful station. The former stood in a kind of stupid despair, a witness of the scene we have related ; but as his curdled blood began again to flow more warmly through his heart, he crept close to the side of Tom, with that sort of selfish feeling that makes even hopeless misery more tolerable, when endured in participation with another.

" "When the tide falls," he said, in a voice that betrayed the agony of fear, though his words expressed the renewal of hope, " we shall be able to walk to land."

" There was One and only one to whose feet the waters were the same as a dry deck," returned the cockswain ; " and none but such as have his power will ever be able to walk from these rocks to the sands." The old seaman paused, and turning his eyes, which exhibited a mingled expression of disgust and compassion, on his companion, he added, with reverence, " Had you thought more of Him in fair weather, your case would be less to be pitied in this tempest."

" Do you still think there is much danger ? " asked Dillon.

" To them that have reason to fear death. Listen ! do you hear that hollow noise beneath ye ? "

" 'Tis the wind driving by the vessel ! "

" 'Tis the poor thing herself," said the affected cockswain '* giving her last groans. The water is breaking up her decks, and in a few minutes more, the handsomest model ♦.Hat ever cut a wave, will be like the chips that fell from her timbers in framing 1 "

THE PILOT. 295

** Why then did you remain here ! " cried Dillor , wildly.

" To die in my coffin, if it should be the will of God," returned Tom. " These waves, to me, are what the lanij is to you ; I was born on them, and I have always meaat that they should be my grav^i."

" But I — I," shrieked Dillon, " I am not ready to die 1 T cannot die ! — I will not die ! "

" Poor wretch ! " muttered his companion ; " you muet go, like the rest of us ; when the death-watch is called, none can skulk from the muster."

" I can swim," Dillon continued, rushing with frantic eagerness to the side of the wreck. " Is there no billet of wood, no rope, that I can take with me ? "

" None ; everything has been cut away, or carried off by the sea. If ye are about to strive for your life, take with ye a stout heart and a clean conscience, and trust the rest to God ! "

" God ! " echoed Dillon, in the madness of his frenzy " I know no God ! there is no God that knows me ! "

" Peace ! " said the deep tones of the cockswain, in a voice that seemed to speak in the elements ; " blasphemer, peace ! "

The heavy groaning, produced by the water, in the timbers of the Ariel, at that moment added its impulse to the raging feelings of Dillon, and he cast himself headlong into the sea.

The water, thrown by the rolling of the surf on the beach, was necessarily returned to the ocean, in eddies, in different places favorable to such an action of the element. Into the edge of one of these counter- currents, that was produced by the very rocks on which the schooner lay, and which the watermen call the " under-tow," Dillon had, 'i»- knowingly, thrown his person ; and when the waves bad di*iven him a short distance from the wreck, he was met by B stream that his most desperate efforts could not overcome. He was a light and powerful swimmer, and the struggle was hard and protracted. With the shore immediately before his eyes, and at no great distance, he was led, as by » false phantom, to continue his efforts, although they did

29C THE PILOT.

not advance him a foot. The old seaman, who at first had watched his motions with careless indifference, understood the danger of his situation at a glance ; and, forgetful of his own fate, he shouted aloud, in a voice that was driven ovciT the struggling victim to the ears of his shipmates on the sands, —

" Sheer to port, and clear the imder-tow ! sheer to the southward ! "

Dillon heard the sounds, but his faculties were too much obscured by terror, to distinguish their object ; he, however, blindly yielded to the call, and gradually changed his direc- tion, until his face was once more turned towards the vessel. The current swept him diagonally by the rocks, and he was forced into an eddy, where he had nothing to contend against but the waves, whose violence was much broken by the wreck. In this state, he continued still to struggle, but with a force that was too much weakened to overcome the resistance he met. Tom looked around him for a rope, but all had gone over with the spars, or been swept away by the waves. At this moment of disappointment, his eyes met those of the desperate Dillon. Calm, and inured to horrors, as was the veteran seaman, he involuntarily passed his hand before his brow, to exclude the look of despair he encountered ; and when, a moment afterwards, he removed the rigid member, he beheld the sinking form of the victim as it gradually settled in the ocean, stUl struggling, with regular but impotent strokes of the arms and feet, to gain \lie wreck, and to preserve an existence that had been so much abused in its hour of allotted probation.

" He will soon know his God, and learn that his God knows him ! " murmured the cockswain to himself. As he yet spoke, the wreck of the Ariel yielded to an overwhelm- ing sea, and, after an universal shudder, her timbers and planks gave way, and were swept towards the cliffs, bear- ing the body of the simple-hearted cockswain among thti *«iiu.

THE PILOT, Wl

CHAPTER XXV.

Let U3 think of them that sleep Full many a fathom deep, By the wild and stormy steep, Elsiuore 1

Campbeu>.

Long and dreary did the hours appear to Barnstable, be» 53re the falliug tide had so far receded as to leave the sand* entirely exposed to his search for the bodies of his lost shipmates. Several had been rescued from the wild fury of the waves themselves ; and one by one, as the melan- choly conviction that life had ceased was forced on the fcurvivors, they had been decently interred in graves dug on the very margin of that element on which they had passed their lives. But still the form longest known and most beloved was missing, and the lieutenant paced the broad space that was now left between the foot of the cliiFs and the raging ocean, with hurried strides and a feverish eye, watching and following those fragments of the wreck that the sea still continued to cast on the beach. Living and dead, he now found that of those who had lately been in the Ariel, only two were missing. Of the former he could muster but twelve, besides Merry and himself, and his nion had already interred more than half that number of the latter, which, together, embraced all who had trusted their lives to the frail keeping of the whale-boat.

'* Tell me not, boy, of the impossibility of his being safe," »a'!d Barnstable, in deep agitation, which he in vain strog- gi^ to conceal from the anxious youth, who thought it unnecessary to follow the uneasy motions of his commander, as he strode along the sands. " How often have men been found floating on pieces of wreck, days after the loss of their vessel ? and you caj see, with your own eyes, that the

298 THE PILOT.

falling water has swept the planks this distance ; aye, t good half-league from where she struck. Does the look- out, from the top of the cliffs, make no signal of seeing him yet?"

" None, sir, none ; we shall never see him again. The men say, that he always thought it sinful to desert a wreck, and that he did not even strike out once for his life, though he has been known to swim an hour, when a whale has Btove his boat. God knows, sir," added the boy, hastily dashing a tear from his eye, by a stolen movement of hie hand, " I loved Tom Coffin better than any foremast mau in either vessel. You seldom came aboard the frigate but we had him in the steerage among us reefers, to hear his long yarns, and share our cheer. We all loved him, Mr. Barn- stable ; but love cannot bring the dead to life again."

" I know it, I know it," said Barnstable, with a huskiness in his voice, that betrayed the depth of his emotion. " I am not so foolish as to believe in impossibilities ; but while there is a hope of his living, I will never abandon poor Tom Coffin to such a dreadful fate. Think, boy, he may, at this moment, be looking at us, and praying to his Maker that He would turn our eyes upon him ; aye, praying to hia God, for Tom often prayed, though he did it in his watch, standing, and in silence."

" If he had clung to life so strongly," returned the mid shipmau, " he would have struggled harder to preserve it."

Barnstable stopped short in his hurried walk, and fast- ened a look of opening conviction on his companion ; but, as he was about to speak in reply, the shouts of the seamen reached his ears, and, turning, they saw the whole party running along the beach, and motioning, with violent ges- tures, to an intermediate point in the ocean. Tlie lieuten- ant and Merry hui-ried back, and, as they approached the men, they distinctly observed » human figure, borne along by the wives, at moments seeminj^ ♦x? rise above them, and already floating in the last of the breakers. They had hardly ascertained so much, when a heav swell carried tha 'juanimate body far upon the sands, where was left by th« retiring waters.

THE PILOT. 299

'* Tis my cockswain ! " cried Barnstable, rushing to the spot. He stopped suddenly, however, as he came within view of the features, and it was some little time before he appeared to have collected his faculties sufficiently to add, in tones of deep horror, "What wretrh is this, boy.! hia •:orm is unmutilated, and yet observe the 3yes ! they eeem as if the sockets would not contain them, and they gaze as wildly as if their owner yet had life — the hands are open and spread, as though they would still buffet the waves ! "

" The Jonah ! the Jonah ! " shouted the seamen, with Bavage exultation, as they successively approached the corpse ; " away with his carrion into the sea again ! give him to the sharks ! let him tell his lies in the claws of the lobsters ! "

Barnstable had turned away from the revolting sight, in disgust ; but when he discovered these indications of impo- tent revenge, in the remnant of his crew, he said, in that voice which all respected and still obeyed, —

" Stand back ! back with ye, fellows ! would you disgrace your manhood and seamanship, by wreaking your venge- ance on him whom God has already in judgment!" A silent, but significant gesture towards the earth succeeded his words, and he walked slowly away.

" Bury him in the sands, boys," said Merry, when his commander was at some little distance ; " the next tide will unearth him."

The seamen obeyed his orders, while the midshipman rejoined his commander, who continued to pace along the bsach, occasionally halting, to throw his uneasy glances ever the water, and then hurrying onward, at a rate that caused his youthful companion to exert his greatest powe2 to maintain the post he had taken at his side. Every effort to discover the lost cockswain was, however, after two hours' more search, abandoned as fruitless; and with reason, for the sea was never known to give up the body »f the man who might be emphatically called its own dead,

" There goes the sun, already dropping behind the cliffs," 6aid the lieutenant, throwing himself on a rock ; " and the hcur will soon arrive to set the dog-watches ; but we bav*

800 T5L fILOT.

notliing left to watch over, boy ; the surf and rocks h» $ Dot even left us a whole plank that we may lay our be»». i on for the night."

" The men have gathered many articles on yon beab-si^ BIT," returned the lad ; " they have found arms to delend curs elves with, and food m give us strength to use thein.*

" And who shall be our enemy ? " asked BarnstaWe, bitterly ; " shall we shoulder our dozen pikes, and carry England by boarding ? "

" We may not lay the whole island under contribution," continued the boy, anxiously watching the expression of hia commander's eye ; " but we may still keep ourselves in work until the cutter returns fi'om the frigate. I hope, sir, you do not think our case so desperate, as to intend yield- ing as prisoners."

" Prisoners ! " exclaimed the lieutenant ; " no, no, lad, it has not got to that, yet ! England has been able to wreck my craft, I must concede ; but she has, as yet, obtained no other advantage over us. She was a precious model. Merry ! the cleanest run, and the neatest entrance, that art ever united on the stem and stern of the same vessel ! Do you remember the time, younker, when I gave the fi'igate my topsails, in beating out of the Chesapeake? I could always do it, in smooth water, with a whole-sail-breeze. But she was a frail thing ! a frail thing, boy, and could bear but little."

" A mortar ketch would have thumped to pieces where she lay," returned the midshipman.

" Aye, it was asking too much of her, to expect she could hold together on a bed of rocks. Merry, I loved her ; dearly did I love her ; she was my first command, and X knew and loved every timber and bolt in her beautitui ftame!"

" I believe it is as natural, sir, for a seaman to love the wood and iron in which he has floated over the depths of the ocean for so many days and nights," rejoined the boy, " as it is for a father to love the members of his own family."

^ Quite, quite, aye, more so," said Barnstable, speaking

THE PILOT. 301

M if he were choked by emotion. Merry felt the hoavj grasp of the lieutei.ant on his slight arm, while his com- mander continued, in a voice that gradually increased in power, as his feelings jjredomiuated ; " and yet, boy, a hu- man being cannot love the creature of his own formation \<i ■ he does the works of God. A man can never regard his ship as he does his shipmates. I sailed with him, boy, when everything seemed bright and happy, as at your age ; when^ as he often expressed it, I knew nothing and feared nothing. I was then a truant from an old father and a kind mother, and he did that for me which no parents could have done in my situation — he was my father and mother on the deep ! hours, days, even months, has he passed in teaching me the art of our profession ; and now, in my manhood, he has fol- lowed me from ship to ship, from sea to sea, and has only quitted me to die, where I should have died — as if he felt the disgrace of abandoning the poor Ariel to her fate, by herself ! "

" No, no, no — 'twas his superstitious pride ! " inter- rupted Merry ; but perceiving that the head of Barnstable had sunk between his hands, as if he would conceal his emotion, the boy added no more ; but he sat respectfully watching the display of feeling that his officer in vain en- deavored to suppress. Merry felt his own form quiver with sympathy at the shuddering which passed through Barnsta- ble's frame ; and the relief experienced by the lieutenant himself was not greater than that which the midshi^jman felt, as the latter beheld large tears forcing their way through the other's fingers, and fallincr on the sands at his feet. They were followed by a violent burst of emotion, Buch as is seldom exhibited in the meridian of life ; but which, when it conquers the nature of one who has buffeted the chances of the world with the loftiness of his sex and character, breaks down every barriei', and seems to sweep before it, like a rushing torrent, all the factitious defenses which habit and education have created to protect the pride of manhood. Merry had often beheld the commanding severity of the lieutenant's manner in moments of dangeri with deep respect ; he had been drawn towards him bj

302 THE PILOT.

kindness and affection, in times of gayety and recklessness . but he now sat for mauy minutes, profoundly sUent, regard- ing his officer with sensations that were nearly allied to awe. The struggle with himself was long and severe in the bosom of Barnstable ; but, at length, the calm of re- lieved passions succeeded to his emotion. When be arose from the rock, and removed his hands from his features, hj'2 eye was hard and proud, his brow slightly contracted, auJ he spoke in a voice so harsh, that it startled his compan- ion: —

'' Come, sir ; why are we here and idle ? are not yon poor fellows looking up to us for advice and orders how to proceed in this exigency ? Away, away, ]\Ir. Merry ; it is not a time to be drawing figures in the sand with your dirk ; the flood-tide will soon be in, and we may be glad to hide our heads in some cavern among these rocks. Let us be stirring, sir, whUe we have the sun, and muster enough food and arms to keep life in us, and our enemies off us, until we can once more get afloat."

The wondering boy, whose experience had not yet taught him to appreciate the reaction of the passions, started at this unexpectyi summons to his duty, and followed Barn- stable towards the group of distant seamen. The lieuten- ant, who was instantly conscious how far pride had ren- dered him unjust, soon moderated his long strides, and continued in milder tones, which were quickly converted into his usual frank communications, though they still re- mained tinged with a melancholy that time only could en- tirely remove, —

" We have been unlucky, Mr. Merry, but we need not despair ; these lads have gotten together abundance of sup- plies, I see; and, with our arms, we can easUy make cur- eelves mastc rs of some of the enemy's smaller craft, and find our way back to the frigate, wlieu tnis gale has blown itself ou.t. We must keej) ourselves close, though, or we shall have the red-coats coming down upon us, like so many sharks around a wreck. Ah ! God bless her. Merry ! there is not such a sight to be seen on the whole beach as two of her planks holding together."

THE PILOT. 303

The midshipman, without adverting to this suddei/ alln- lion tc their vessel, prudently pursued the. train of ideas in which his coramancer had started.

" There is an opening into the country, but a short distanc* south of us, where a brook empties into the sea," he said. " We might find a cover in it, or in the wood above, into which it leads, until we can have a survey of the coaat, or san seize some vessel to carry us off."

' There would be a satisfaction in waiting till the morn- ing watoh, and then carrying that accursed battery, which took off the better leg of the poor Ariel ! " said the lieu tenant ; " the thing might be done, boy, and we could hold the work, too, until the Alacrity and the frigate draw in to land."

" If you prefer storming works to boarding vessels, there is a fortress of stone, Mr. Barnstable, which Ties directly on our beam. I could see it through the haze, when I was on the cliffs, stationing the lookout — and " —

" And what, boy ? speak without a fear ; this is a time for jfree consultation."

" Why, sir, the garrison might not all be hostile — we should liberate Mr. Griffith and the marines ; besides " —

" Besides what, sir ? "

" I should have an opportunity, perhaps, of seeing my cousin Cecilia, and my cousin Katherine."

The countenance of Barnstable grew animated as he list- ened, and he answered with something of his usual cheer- fiil manner, — >

" Aye, that, indeed, would be a work worth carrying !

and the rescuing of our shipmates, and the marines, would

read like a thing of military discretion — ha ! hoy ! all the

rest would be incidental, younker ; like the capture of the

eet, after you have whipped the convoy."

" ] do suppose, sir, that if the Abbey be taken, Colonel I Toward will own himself a prisoner of war."

" And Colonel Howard's wards ! now there is good sense Ji this scheme of thine. Master Merry, and I will give it proper reflection. But here are our poor fellows ; speak cheeringly to them, sir, that we may hold them in tem[)ei for our enterprise."

804 THE PILOT.

Barnstable and the naidshipman joined their shipwiecked companions, with that air of authority which is seldonj wanting between the superior and the inferior, in nautical intercourse, but at the same time with a kindness of sj^eecb and looks, that might have been a little increased by their critical situation. After partaking of the food which had been selected from among the fragments that still lay scat- tered, for more than a mile, along the beach, the lieutenant directed ths seamen to arm themselves with such weapons as offered, and also to make sufficient provision, from the schooner's stores, to last them for four-and-twenty houra longer. These orders were soon executed ; and the whoJe party, led by Barnstable and Merry, proceeded along the foot of the cliffs, in quest of the opening in the rocks, through which the little rivulet found a passage to the ocean. The weather contributed, as much as the seclusion of the spot, to prevent any discovery of the small party, which pursued its object with a disregard of caution that might, under other circumstances, have proved fatal to its safety. Barnstable paused in his march when they had all entered the deep ravine, and ascended nearly to the brow of the precipice, that formed one of its sides, to take a last and more scrutinizing survey of the sea. His countenance exhibited the abandonment of all hope, as his eye moved slowly from the northern to the southern boundary of the horizon, and he prepared to pursue his march, by moving, reluctantly, up the stream, when the boy, who still clung to his side, exclaimed joyously, — *

" Sail ho ! It must be the frigate in the offing ! "

" A sail ! " repeated his commander ; " where-away do you see a sail in this tempest ? Can there be another a? hardy and unfortunate as ourselves ! "

" Look to the starboard hand of the point of rock ^o windward ! " cried the boy ; " now you lose it — ah ! new the sun falls upon it ! 'tis a sail, sir, as sure as canvas can be spread in such a gale ! "

" I see what you mean," returned the other, " but i* •eems a gull, skimming the sea ! nay, now it rises, indeed, *nd shows itself like a bellying topsail ; pass up that glas^

THl PILOT. 305

ladj; here is a fellow in the offing who may prove a fiiend "

Merry waited the result of the lieutenant's examination with yeuthfiil impatience, and did not fail to ask imme- diately, —

"Can you make it out, sir? is it the ship or the cutter?"

" Come, there seemeth yet some hope left for us, br^y," retarned Barnstable, closing the glass ; " 'tis a ship lying- to undei her main-topsail. If one might but dare to show himself on these heights, he would raise her hull, and make sure of her character ! But I think I know her spars, though even her topsail dips, at times, when there is noth- ing to be seen but her bare poles ; and they shortened by her topgallant-masts."

" One would swear," said Merry, laughing, as much through the excitement produced by this intelligence, as at his conceit, " that Captain Munson would never carry wood aloft, when he can't carry canvas. I remember, one night, Mr. Griffith was a little vexed, and said, around the capstan, he believed the next order would be, to rig in the bowsprit, and house lower-masts ! "

" Aye, aye, Griffith is a lazy dog, and sometimes gets lost in the fogs of his own thoughts," said Barnstable ; " and I suppose old Moderate was in a breeze. However, this looks as if he were in earnest ; he must have kept the Bhjjp away, or she would never have been where she is ; 1 do verily believe the old gentleman remembers that he has a few of his officers and men on this accursed island. This is well, Mer y ; for should we take the Abbey, we have a place at hand in which to put our prisoners."

" We must have patience till the morning," added the boy, " for no boat would attempt to land in such a sea."

" No boat could land ! The best boat that ever floated, boy, has sunk in these breakers ! But the wind lessens, and before morning the sea will fall. Let us on, and find a ''erth for our poor lads, where they can be made more com- 'ortable."

The two officers now descended from their elevation, and '«d th« way still further up the deep and narrow dell, iintil, 30

506 THE riLOi.

as the ground rose gradually before them, they found theiDi

selves in a dense wood, on a level with the adjaccD'i country,

" Here should be a ruin at hand, if I have a true reckon, ing, and know my courses and distances," said Barnstable ; " I have a chart about me that speaks of such a landmark.'

The lieutenant turned away from the laughing expression of the boy's eye, as the latter archly inquired, —

" Was it made by one who knows the coast well, sir ? or was it done by some schoolboy, to learn his maj^s, as the girls work samplers ? "

" Come, younker, no sampler of your impudence. But look ahead ; can you see any habitation that has been de- serted ? "

" Aye, sir, here is a pile of stones before us, that looks as dirty and ragged as if it was a soldier's barrack ; can this be what you seek ? "

" Faith, this has been a whole town in its day I we should call it a city in America, and furnish it with a mayor, aldermen, and recorder ; you might stow old Faneuil Hall in one of its lockers."

"With this sort of careless dialogue, which Barnstable en- gaged in, that his men might discover no alteration in his manner, they approached the mouldering walls that had proved so fraU a protection to the party under Griffith.

A short time was passed in examining the premises, when the wearied seamen took possession of one of the dilapidated apartments, and disposed themselves to seek that rest of which they had been deprived by the momentous occur- rences of the past night.

Barnstable waited until the loud breathing of the eeamen assured him that they slept, when he aroused the drowsy boy, who was fast losing his senses in the same sort of ob- livion, and motioned him to follow. Merry arose, and they stole together from the apartment, with guarded steps, and penetrated more deeply into the gloomy recesses of Ufa* place.

THE PILOT. 807

CHAPTER XXVI.

I permit thee to be Sosia again

Drt deh.

Ws must leave the two adventurers winding their way among the broken piles, and venturing boldly beneath the tottering arches of the ruin, to accompany the reader, at the same hour, within the more comfortable walls of the Abbey ; where, it will be remembered, Borroughclitfe was left in a condition of very equivocal ease. As the earth had, how- ever, in the interval, nearly run its daily round, circum- stances had intervened to release the soldier from his con- finement — and no one, ignorant of the fact, would read in the careless air and smiling visage of the gentleman who who was now seated at the hospitable board of Colonel Howard, directing, with so much discretion, the energies of his masticators to the delicacies of the feast, that those foragers of nature had been so recently condemned, for four long hours, to the mortification of discussing the bar- ren subject of his own sword-hilt. BorroughclifFe, however, maintained not only his usual post, but his well-earned reputation at the table, with his ordinary coolness of de- meanor ; though at times there were fleeting smiles that crossed his military aspect, which sufficiently indicated that he considered the matter of his reflection to be of a par- ticularly ludicrous character. In the young man who sat by his side, dressed in the deep-blue jacket of a seaman, with the fine white linen of his collar contrasting strongly with the black silk handkerchief tliat was tied with studied uegligence around his neck, and whose easy air and mannei contrasted still more strongly with this attire, the reader («\Ll discover Griffith. The captive paid much less devotion to the viands than his neighbor, thoui^h lie affected mora

808 THE PILOT.

attention to the business of the table than he actually be^ Btowed, with a sort of consciousness that it would relieve the blushing maiden who presided. The laughing eyea of Katherine Plowden were glittering by the side of the mild countenance of Alice Dunscombe, and, at times, were fastened in droll interest on the rigid and upright exterior that Captain Manual maintained, directly opposite to where she was seated. A chair had also been jalaced for Dillon

— of course it was vacant.

' And so, Borroughclitfe," cried Colonel Howard, w ith a freedom of voice, and a vivacity in his air, that announced the increasing harmony of the rejjast, " the sea-dog left you nothing to chew but the cud of your resentment ! "

" That and my sword-hilt," returned the immovable recruiting officer. " Gentlemen, I know not how your Con- gress rewards militaiy achievements ; but if that worthy fellow were in my company, he should have a halberd within a week — spurs I would not oiFer him, for he affects to Bpurn their use."

Griffith smiled, and bowed in silence to the liberal com- pliment of BorroughclifFe ; but Manual took on himself the task of replying : —

" Considering the drilling the man has received, the con- duct has been well enough, sir ; though a well-trained soldier would not only have made prisoners, but he would hav* secured them."

" I perceive, my good comrade, that your thoughts are ronning on the exchange," said Borroughcliffe, good- humoredly ; " we will fill, sir, and, by permission of the ladies, drink to a speedy restoration of rights to both parties

— the s;atu quo ante bellum ! "

" With all my heart ! " cried the colonel ; " and Cicely and Miss Katherine will pledge the sentiment in a woman's eip ; will ye not, my fair wards ? Mr. Griffith, I honor this proposition of yours, which will not only liberate yourself. but restore to us my kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon. Kit had imagined the thing well ; ha ! Borroughcliffe ! 'twas ngeniously contrived, but the fortune of war interposed l^lf to bis success ; and yet it is a deep and iiiexp lir^bi^

THE PILOT. 309

mystery to me, how Kit should have been conveyed from the Abbey with so little noise, and without raising the ftlarm."

" Chiistopher is a man who understands the philosophy of B-lence, as well as that of rhetoric," returned Boirougli- diife, " and must have learned, in his legal studies, that it is Bometimes necessary to conduct matters sub silentio. You Bmile at my Latin, INIiss Plowden ; but really, since I have become an inhabitant of this monkish abode, my little learn- ing is stimulated to unwonted efforts — nay, you are pleased to be yet more merry ! I used the language, because silence is a theme in which you ladies take but little pleasure.'

Katherine, however, disregarded the slight pique that was apparent in the soldier's manner ; but, after following the train of her own thoughts in silent enjoyment for a moment longer, she seemed to yield to their drollery, and laughed until her dark eyes flashed with merriment. Cecilia did not assume the severe gravity with which she sometimes endeavored to repress what she thought the unseasonable mirth of her cousin ; and the wondering Griffith fancied, as he glanced his eye from one to the other, that he could dis- cern a suppressed smile playing among the composed fea- tures of Alice Dunscombe. Katherine, however, soon suc- ceeded in repressing the .paroxysm, and, with an air of infinitely comic gravity, she replied to the remark of the soldier : —

" I think I have heard of such a process in nautical affairs as towing ; but I must appeal to ISIr. Griffith for the cor- rectness of the term."

" You could not speak with more accuracy," returned the* young sailor, with a look that sent the conscious blood to the temples of the lady, " though you had made marine terms your study."

" The profession requires less thought, perhaps, than you imagine, sir ; but is this towing often done, as Captain Bop- roughcliffe — I beg his pardon — as the monks have it, sub silentio ? "

" Spare me, fair lady," cried the captain, " and we will establish a compact of mutual grace ; you to forgive my teaming, and I to suppress my suspicious."

510 THE PILOT.

" Suspicions, sir, is a word that a lady must defy."

" And defiance a challenge that a soldier can nevei receive ; so I must submit to talk English, though the fathers of the Church were my companions. I suspect that Miss Plowden has it in her power to explain the manner of Mr. Christopher Dillon's departure."

The lady did not reply, but a second burst of merriment succeeded, of a liveliness and duration quite equal to ihe former.

" How's this ? " exclaimed the colonel ; " permit me to say. Miss Plowden, your mirth is very extraordinary ! I trust no disrespect has been offered to my kinsman ? Mr Griffith, our terms are, that the exchange shall only bo made on condition that equally good treatment has been extended to the parties ! "

" If Mr. Dillon can complain of no greater evil than that of being laughed at by Miss Plowden, sir, he has reason to call himself a happy fellow."

" I know not, sir ; God forbid that I should forget what is due to my guests, gentlemen ! but ye have entered my dwelling as foes to my prince."

" But not to Colonel Howard, sir."

" I know no difference, Mr. Griffith. King George or Colonel Howard — Colonel Howard or King George. Our feelings, our fortunes, and our fate, are as one ; with the mighty odds that Providence has established between the prince and his people ! I wish no other fortune than to share, at an humble d'atance, the weal or woe of my sov- ereign ! "

" You are not called upon, dear sir, to do either, by the thoughtlessness of us ladies," said Cecilia, rising ; " but hero comes one who should turn our thoughts to a more impor- tant subject — our dress."

Politeness induced Colonel Ploward, who both loved an(J resi)ected his niece, to defer his remarks to another time : and Katherine, springing from her chair with childish eager- ness, flew to the side of her cousin, who was directing a ser- vant that had announced the arrival of one of those erratic Tenders of small articles, who supply, in remote districts of

THF PILOT. 311

the country, the places of more regular traders, to show the lad into the diuing-parlor. The repast was so far ended, aa to render this interruption less objectionable ; and as all felt the object of Cecilia to be the restoration of hai'mony, the boy was ushered into the room without further delay. The contents of his small basket, consisting chiefly of essences, and the smaller articles of female economy, were p]a}^ully displayed on the table by Katherine, who declared herself the patroness of the itinerant youth, and who laugh- uigly appealed to the liberality of the gentlemen in behalf of her protege.

" You perceive, my dear guardian, that the boy must be loyal ; for he offers, here, perfume that is patronized by no loss than two royal dukes : do suffer me to place a box aside, for your especial use : you consent ; I see it in your eye. And, Captain Borroughcliffe, as you appear to be foi getting the use of your own language, here is even a horn-book for you ! How admirably provided he seems to be ! You must have had St. Ruth in view, when you laid in your stock, child ? "

" Yes, my lady," the boy replied, with a bow that was studiously awkward ; " I have often heard of the grand ladies that dwell in the old Abbey, and I have journeyed a few miles beyond my rounds, to gain their custom."

" And surely they cannot disappoint you. Miss Howard, tlat is a palpable hint to your purse; and I know not that even Miss Alice can escape contribution, in these trouble- some times. Come, aid me, child ; what have you to rec- ommend, in particular, to the favor of these ladies ? "

The lad approached the basket, and rummaged its contents, for a moment, with the appearance of deep, mercenary in- terest ; and then, without lifting his hand from the confu- sion he had caused, he said, while he exhibited something within the basket to the view of his smiling observer, —

« This, my lady."

Katherine started, and glanced her eyes, with a piercing look, at the countenance of the boy, and then turned them ..neiisily from face to face, with conscious timidity. Cecilia had effected her object, and had resumed her seat in silent

312 THE PILOT.

abstraction ; Alice was listening to the remarks of Captain Manual and the host, as they discussed the propriety of cer- tain military usages ; Griffith seemed to hold communion with his mistress, by imitating her silence ; but Katherine, in her stolen glances, met the keen look ct Borroughcliffe fastened on her face, in a manner that did not fail instanU.y to suspend the scrutiny,

" Come, CecUia," she cried, after a pause of a moment " we trespass too long on the patience of the gentlemen | not only to keep possession of our seats, ten minutes after the cloth has been drawn ! but even to introduce our es- sences, and tapes, and needles, among the Madeira, and — shall I add, cigars, colonel ? "

" Not while we are favored with the company of Miss Plowden, certainly."

" Come, my coz ; I perceive the colonel is growing par- ticularly polite, which is a never-failing sign that he tires- of our presence."

Cecilia rose, and was leading the wq,y to the door, when Katherine turned to the lad, and added, —

" You can follow us to the drawing-room, child, where we can make our purchases, without exposing the mystery of our toilets."

" Miss Plowden has forgotten my horn-book, I believe," said Borroughcliffe, advancing from the standing group who surrounded the table ; " possibly I can find some work, in the basket of the boy, better fitted for the improvement of a grown-up young gentleman than this elementary treatise."

CecUia, observing him to take the basket from the lad, resumed her seat, and her exan pie was necessarily followed by Katherine ; though not without some manifest indica- tions of vexation.

" Come hither, boy, and explain the use of your wares. This is soap, and this a penknife, I know ; but what name do you affix to this ? "

" That ? that is tape," returned the lad, with an unpa- tience that might very naturally be attributed to the inter ruption that was thus given to bis trade.

" And this ? "

THE PiLOT. 313

"That?" repeated the stripling, pa asing, with a hesiufc' tion between sulkiness and doubt; "that?" —

" Come, this is a little ungallant ! " cried Katherine ; " to keep three ladies dying with irajtatience to possess them selves of their finery, while you detain the boy, to ask the name of a tambouring-needle ! "

" I should apologize for asking questions that are so easily answered ; but perhaps he will find the next naore difficult to solve," returned Borrouglicliffe, placing the sub- ject of his inquiries in the palm of his hand, in such a man- ner as to conceal it from all but the boy and himself. " This *ias a name too ; what is it ? "

" That ? — that — is sometimes called — white-line."

" Perhaps you mean a white lie ? "

" How, si? ! " exclaimed the lad, a little fiercely, " a Ue!"

" Only a white one," returned the captain. " What do you call this. Miss Dunscombe ? "

" We call it bobbin, sir, generally, in the north," said the placid Alice.

" Aye, bobbin, or white-line ; they are the same thing," added the young trader.

*' They are ? I think, now, for a professional man, you know but little of the terms of your art," observed Borrough- cliffe, with an affectation of irony ; " I never have seen a youth of your years who knew less. What names, now would you affix to this, and this, and this ? "

While the captain was speaking, he drew from his pockets the several instruments that the cockswain had made use of the preceding night to secure his prisoner.

" That," exclaimed the lad, with the eagerness of one who would vindicate his reputation, "is ratlin-stuff; and this ia marline ; and that is sennit."

" Enough, enough," said Borroughcliffe ; " you have ex- hibited sufficient knowledge, to convince me that you do know something of your trade., and nothing of these articles. Mr. Griffith, do you claim this boy ? "

" I believe I must, sir," said the young sea-officer, who had been intently listening to the eiaminatio u. " On what

314 THE PILOT.

ever errand you have now ventured here^ Mr. Merry, it ia

useless to affect further concealment."

"Merry!" exclaimed Cecilia Howard; ' is it you, then, my cousin? are you, too, fallen into the power of your enemies ! was it not enough that " —

The young lady recovered her recollection in time to suppress the remainder of the sentence, though the grate- ful expression of Griffith's eye sufficiently indicated that he had, in his thoughts, filled the sentence with expressions abundantly flattering to his own feelings.

" How's this, again ! " cried the colonel ; " my two wards embracing and fondling a vagrant, vagabond pedlar, before my eyes ! is this treason, Mr. Griffith ? or what means the extraordinary visit of this young gentleman ? "

" Is it extraordinary, sir," said Merry himself, losing his assumed awkwardness, in the ease and confidence of one whose faculties had been early exercised, " that a boy, like myself, destitute of mother and sisters, should take a like risk on himself, to visit the only two female relatives he has in the world ? "

" Why this disguise, then ? surely, young gentleman, it was unnecessary to enter the dwelling of old George How- ard, on such an errand, clandestinely, even though your tender years have been practiced on, to lead you astray from your allegiance. Mr. Griffith and Captain Manual must pardon me, if I express sentiments, at my own table, that they may find unpleasant ; but this business requires. us to be explicit."

" The hospitality of Colonel Howard is unquestionable," returned the boy ; " but he has a great reputation for his ioyalty to the crown."

* Aye, young gentleman ; and, I trust, with some justice.'

*' Would it, then, be safe to intrust my person in th« lands of one who might think it his duty to detain me ?"

" Tins is plausible enough, Captain Borroughcliffe, and 1 loulit not the boy speaks with candor. I would, now, that jQy kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon, were here, that I might learn ^f it would be misprision of treason to per mil this youth *> depart, unmolested, and without exchange? '''

THE PILOT. 31b

" Inquire of tlie young gentleman, after the Cac'que," returned the recruiting officer, who, apparently satisfied in producing the exposure of ]Merry, had resumed his seat at the table ; " perhaps he is, in verity, an ambassador, em- powered to treat on behalf of his highness."

" How say you ? " demanded the colonel ; " do you know anything of my kinsman ? "

The anxious eyes of the whole party were fasteneJon he boy for many moments, witnessing the sudden change froin careless freedom to deep horror expressed in his countenance. At length he uttered, in an undertone, the secret of Dillon's &te.

" He is dead."

" Dead ! " repeated every voice in the room.

" Yes, dead ! " said the boy, gazing at the pallid faces of those who surrounded him.

A long and fearful silence succeeded the announcement of this intelligence, which was only interrupted by Griffith, who said, —

" Explain the manner of his death, sir, and where his body lies."

" His body lies interred in the sands," returned Merry, with a deliberation that proceeded from an opening percep- tion, that if he uttered too much, he might betray the losa of the Ariel, and, consequently, endanger the liberty of Barnstable.

" In the sands ? " was echoed from every part of the room.

" Aye, in the sands : but how he died, I cannot explain."

" He has been murdered ! " exclaimed Colonel Howard, whose command of utterance was now amply restored to him ; " he has been treacherously, and dastardly, and basely nurdered ! "

" He has not been murdered," said the boy, firmly ; " uor did he meet his death among those who deserve the name 5i*her of traitors or of dastards."

" Said you not that he was dead ? that liy kinsman was buried in the sands of the sea-shore ? "

" Both are true, sir " —

" And you refuse to explaiu how he met his death, and •rhj he has been thus iguomiuiously iiterred?"

316 iHE PILOT.

>* He received his interment by my orders, sir ; and if there be ignominy about his grave, his own acts have heaped it on him. As to the manner of his death, I cannot, and will not speak."

" Be calm, my cousin," said Cecilia, in an imploring voice : " re?pect the age of my uncle, and remember his strong at* hchment to ^h: Dillon."

The veteran had, however, so far mastered his feelings, ti to continue the dialogue with more recollection.

" IMr. Griffith," he said, " I shall not act hastily — you and y^our companion will be jileased to retire to your several apartments. I will so far respect the son of ray brother Hari-y's friend as to believe your parole will be sacred. Go, gentlemen ; you are unguarded."

The two prisoners bowed low to the ladies and their host, and retired. Griffith, however, lingered a moment on the threshold, to say —

" Colonel Howard, I leave the boy to your kindness and consideration. I know you will not forget that his blood mingles with that of one who is most dear to you."

" Enough, enough, sir," said the veteran, waving his hand to him to retire ; " and you, ladies ; this is not a place for you, either."

" Never will I quit this child," said Katherine, " whUe such a horrid imputation lies on him. Colonel Howard, act your pleasure on us both, for I suppose you have the power ; but his fate shall be my fate."

" There is, I trust, some misconception in this melancholy affair," said Borroughcliffe, advancing into the centre of the agitated group ; " and I should hope, by calmness and mod- oration, all may yet be exjilaiued : young gentleman, you have borne arms, and must know, notwithstanding your y^oath, what it is to be in the power of your enemies ? "

" Never ! " returned the proud boy ; " I am a captive for tSie first time."

" I speak sir, in reference to our power."

" You nay order me to a dungeon ; or, as I have entered the Abbey in disguise, possibly to a gibbet."

'■* And is that a fate to be met so calmly by one so young ? *

THE PILOT. 817

** You dare not do it, Captain Borroughcliffe," cried Kath* erine, involuntarily throwing an arm around the boy, as il to shield him from harm ; " you would blush to think of such a cold-blooded act of vengeance. Colonel Howard."

" If we could examine the young man, where* the warmth of feeling, which these ladies exhibit, might not be excited," said the captain, apart to his host, " we should gain important intelligence."

" Miss Howard, and you, Miss Plowden," said the veteran, in a manner that long habit had taught his wards to respect, " your young kinsman is not in the keeping of savages, and you can safely confide him to my custody. I am sorry that we have so long kept Miss Alice standing, but she will find relief on the couches of your drawing-room, Cecilia."

Cecilia and Katherine permitted themselves to be coa^ ducted to the door, by their polite but determined guardian, where he bowed to their retiring persons, with the exceed- ing courtesy that he never failed to use, when in the least excited.

" You appear to know your danger, Mr. Merry," .<?aid BorroughclitFe, after the door was closed ; " I trust you also know what duty would dictate to one in my situation."

" Do it, sir," returned the boy ; " you have a king to render an account to, and I have a country."

" I may have a country also," said Borroughcliffe, with a calmness that was not in the least disturbed by the taunting air with which the youth delivered himself " It is possible for me, however, to be lenient, even merciful, when the in- terests of that prince, to whom you allude, are served ; you tame not on this enterprise alone, sir ? "

" Had I come better attended, Captain Borroughcliflfe miglit have heard these questions instead of putting them."

" I am happy, sir, that your retinue has been so small %ad yet, oven the rebel schooner called the Ariel might have Tirnished you with a more becoming attendance. I cannot but thinb you are not far distant from your friends."

" He is near his enemies, your honor," said Sergeant Drill, who had entered the room unobserved ; '' for here Li a boy who says he has been seized in the old ruin, and

318 THE PILOT.

robbed of his goods and clothes ; and by his description, thin

lad should be the thief."

Borroughcliffe signed to the boy, who stood in the back« ground, to advance ; and he was instantly obeyed, with all that eagerness which a sense of injury on the part of the sufferer could excite. The tale of this unexpected intruder was soon told, and was briefly this : —

He had been assaulted by a man and a boy (the lattfcf was in presence), while arranging his effects, in the ruin- preparatory 4o exhibiting them to the ladies of the Abbey, and had been robbed of such part of his attire as the boy had found necessary for his disguise, together with his basket of valuables. He had been put into an apartment of an old tower, by the man, for safe keeping ; but as the latter frequently ascended to its turret, to survey the country, he had availed himself of this remissness, to escape : and, to conclude, he demanded a restoration of his property, and vengeance for his wrongs.

Merry heard his loud and angry details with scornful com- posure, and before the offended pedlar was through his nai • rative, had divested himself of the borrowed garments, whicii he threw to the other with singular disdain.

" We are beleaguered, mine host ! beset ! besieged ! " cried Borroughcliffe, when the other had ended. " Plere is a rare plan to rob us of our laurels ! aye, and of our re- wards ! but, harkye. Drill ! they have old soldiers to deal with, and we shall look into the matter. One would wish to triumph on foot ; you understand me ? — there was no horse in the battle. Go, fellow, I see you grow wiser ; take this young gentleman — and remember he is a young gentle- nan — put him in safe keeping, but see him supplied with till he wants."

Borroughcliffe bowed politely to the haughty bend of the body with which Merry, who now began to think himself a toartyr to his country, followed the orderly from the room.

" There is mettle in the lad ! " exclaimed the captain ; "' and if he Lve to get a beard, 'twill be a hardy dog who ventures to pluck it. I am glad, mine host, that this ' wau- ^firmg Jew ' has arrived, to save the poor fellow's feelingCi

THE PILOT. 319

for I detest tamijering with such a noble spirit. I saw, by his eye, that he had squinted oftener over a gun, than through a needle ! '*

" But they have murdered my kinsman ! — the loyal, the learned, the ingenious Mr. Christopher Dillon ! "

" If they have done so, they shall be made to answer it,** said Borroughcliffe, reseating himself at the table, with a coolness that furnished an ample pledge of the impartiality of his judgment ; "but let us learn the facts, before we do aught hastily."

Colonel Howard was fain to comply with so reasonable a proposition, and he resumed his chair, while his companion proceeded to institute a close examination of the pedlar boy.

We shall defer, until the proper time may arrive, record- ing the result of his inquiries ; but shall so far satisfy the curiosity of our readers as to tell them, that the captaiu learned sufficient to convince him a very serious attempt WHS meditatei on the Abbey ; and, as he thought, euoD^ wlfo, to eoAbla him to avert the danger.

82€ THE PILOT.

CHAPTER XXVII.

I have not seen Scr likely an ambassador of love.

Merchant cf Tsitioa.

Cecilia, and Katherine separated from Alice Dunsoombe ic the lower gallery of the cloisters ; and the cousins as* cended to the apartment which was assigned them as a dress- ing-room. The intensity of feeling that was gradually accumulating in the breasts of the ladies, as circumstances brought those in whom their deepest interests were centered into situations of extreme delicacy, if not of actual danger, perhaps, in some measure, prevented them from experienc- ing all that concern which the detection and arrest of Merry might be supposed to excite. The boy, like themselves, was an only child of one of those three sisters, who caused the close connection of so many of our characters ; and his tender years had led his cousins to regard him with an affec- tion that exceeded the ordinary interest of such an affinity but they knew, that in the hands of Colonel Ploward his person was safe, though his liberty might be endangered. When the first emotions, therefore, which were created by his sudden appearance after so long an absence, had sub- Bided, their thoughts wore rather occupied by the considera- tion of what consequences to others might proceed from hia arrest, than by any reflections on the midshipman's actual condition. Secluded from the observations of any strange 3yes, the two maidens indulged their feelings, without re- »traint, according to their several temperaments. Kather- ine moved to and fro in the apartment, with feveri.sh anx- iety, while Miss Howard, by concealing her countenance under the ringlets of her luxuriant, dark hair, and shading; her eyes with a fair hand, seemed to be willing to commuDO with her thoughts more quietly.

THE PILOT. 321

" Barnstable cannot be far distant," said the fojtner, after B few minutes bad passed ; " for he never would have sent that child on such an errand, by himself! "

Cecilia raised her mild, blue eyes to the countei.auce of her cousin, as she answered, —

" All thoughts of an exchange must now be a])andoned ; ' and perhaps the persons of the prisoners will be held sa pledges, to answer for the life of Dillon."

" Can the wretch be dead ? or is it merely a threat, or some device of that urchin ? he is a forward child, and would not hesitate to speak and act boldly, on emer- gency." ^

" He is dead ! " returned Cecilia, veiling her face again, in horror ; " the eyes of the boy, his whole countenance, confirmed his words ! I fear, Katherine, that Mr. Barnstar ble has suffered his resentment to overcome his discretion, when he learned the trea^^hery of Dillon ; surely, surely, though the hard usages of war may justify so dreadful a revenge on an enemy, it was unkind to forget the condition of his own friends ! "

" ]Mr. Barnstable has done neither, Miss Howard," said Katherine, checking her uneasy footsteps, her light form swelling with pride ; " Mr. Barnstable is equally incapable of murdering an enemy, or of deserting a friend ! "

" But retaliation is neither deemed nor called murder, by nen in arms."

" Think it what you will, call it what you will, Cecilia Howard, I will pledge my life, that Richard Barnstable haa "M answer for the blood of none but the open enemies of his »imtry."

" The miserable man may have fallen a sacrifice to the anger of that terrific seaman, who led him hence a cap .ive I "

" That terrific seaman, INliss Howard, has a heart as teu • ler as your own. He is " —

"Nay, Katherine," interrupted Cecilia, "you chide ma unkindly ; let us not add to our unavoidable misery, by Buch harsh contention."

" I do not contend with you, Cecilia ; J merely defeai ai

822 THE PILOT.

the absent and the innocent from your unkind Buspicioua, my cousin."

" Say, rather, your sister," returned Miss Howard, their hands involuntarily closing upon each other, " for we are surely sisters! But let us strive to think of something lesa horrible. Poor, poor Dillon ! now that he has met a fate so f'^rrible, I can even fancy him less artful and more upright' than we had thought him ! You agree with me, Kather- ine, I see by your countenance, and we will dwell no longer on the subject. Katherine ! my cousin Kate, what see you ? "

Miss Plowden, as she relinquished her pressure of the hand of Cecilia, had renewed her walk with a more regu- lated step; but she was yet making her first turn across tlie room, when her eyes became keenly set on the opposite window, and her whole frame was held in an attitude of ab- sorbed attention. The rays of the setting sun fell bright upon her dark glances, which seemed fastened on some dis- tant object, and gave an additional glow to the mantling color that was slowly stealing, across her cheeks, to her temples. Such a sudden alteration in the manner and ap- pearance of her companion had not failed to catch the atten- tion of Cecilia, who, in consequence, interruj^ted herself by the agitated question we have related. Katherine slowly beckoned her companion to her side, and, pointing in the direction of the wood that lay in view, she said —

" See yon tower, in the ruin ! Do you observe those small spots of pink and yellow that are fluttering above xtH iraUs?"

" I do. They are the lingering remnants of the foliage of some tree ; but they want the vivid tints which grace tLa autumn of our own dear America ! "

" One is the work of God, and the other has been .^ro iuced by the art of man. Cecilia, those are no leaves, but Uiey are my own childish signals, and without doubt ]iarn- Btable himself is on that ruined tower. Merry cannot, will not, betray him ! "

"My life should be a pledge for the honor of our little oousin," said Cecilia. " But you have the telescone of vaj

THE PILOT. 328

uncle at Laud, ready for such an event ! one look through it will ascertain the truth " —

Katherine sprang to the spot where the instrument stood, and with eager hands she prepared it for the necessary observation.

'^ It is he ! " she cried, the instant her eye was put to the glass. " I even see his head above the stones. How un thinking, to expose himself so unnecessarily ! "

" But what says he, Katherine ? " exclaimed Ce-cilia ; " you alone can interpret his meaning."

The little book which contained the explanations of IVIiss Plowden's signals was now hastily produced, and its leavea rapidly run over in quest of the necessary number.

" 'Tis only a question to gain my attention. I must let him know he is observed."

When Katherine, as much to indulge her secret propen- sities, as with any hope of its usefulness, had devised this plan for communicating with Barnstable, she had, luckily, not forgotten to arrange the necessary means to reply to his interrogat6ries. A very simple arrangement of some of the ornamental cords of the window-curtains enabled her to effect this purpose ; and her nimble fingers soon fastened the pieces of silk to the lines, which were now thrown into the air, when these signals in miniature were instantly dis- played in the breeze.

" He sees them ! " cried CecUia, " and is preparing to change his flags."

•' Keep then your eye on him, my cousin, and tell me the colors that he shows, with their order, and I will en- dear r to read his meaning."

" He is as expert as yourself! There are two more of them fluttering above the stones again : the upper is wbi^e and the lower black."

" White over black," repeated Katherine, rapidly, to her* self, as she turned the leaves of her book. " ' My messenger: has he been seen ? ' To that we must answer the unhappy truth. Here it is — yellow, white, and red : ' He is a pris- ,m€r.' Hoi/ fortunate that I should have prepared such a question and answer. What says he, Cecilia, to this news?"

324 THE PILOT.

" He is busy making his changes, dear. Nuj Katherine, you shake so violently as to move the glass ! Now he is done ; 'tis yellow over black, this time."

" ' Griffith, or who ? ' He does not understand us ; but "^ had thought of the poor boy, in making out the numbers — ah ! here it is ; yellow, green, and red : ' My cousin Merry.'' He cannot feil to understand us now."

" He has already taken in his flags. The news seems to alarm him, for he is less expert than before. He shows ^hem now — they are green, red, and yellow."

" The question is, ' Am I safe ? ' 'Tis that which made him tardy. Miss Howard," continued Katherine. " Barn- stable is ever slow to consult his safety. But how shall 1 answer him ? should we mislead him now, how could we ever forgive ourselves ! "

" Of Andrew Merry there is no fear," returned Cecilia ; " and I think if Captain BorroughclifFe had any intimation of the proximity of his enemies, he would not continue at the table."

" He will stay there while wine will sparkle, and man can swallow," said Katherine ; " but we know, by sad expe- rience, that he is a soldier on an emergency ; and yet, I'll trust to his ignorance this time — here, I have an answer* ' You are yet safe, hut be wary.^ "

" He reads your meaning with a quick eye, Katherine ; and he is ready with his answer too : he shows green over white, this time. Well ! do you not hear me ? 'tis green over white. Why, you are dumb — what says he, dear ? "

Still Katherine answered not, and her cousin raised her eyes from the glass, and beheld her companion gazing ear- nestly at the open page, while the glow which excitement had before brought to her cheek was increased to a still deeper bloom,

'^ I hope your blushes and his signals are not ominouf^ Kate," added Cecilia ; " can green imply his jealousy, as white does your purity ? what says he, coz ? "

"He talks, like yourself, muv..K nonsense," said Katherine, turning to her flags, with a pettish air, that was singularly »ntradicted by her gratified countenance ; "but the situa

THE PILOT. 325

lion of things requires that I should talk to Barnstable more freely."'

" I can retire," said Cecilia, rising from her chair with a grave manner.

" Nay, Cecilia, I do not deserve these looks — 'tis /ou who exhibit levity now! But you can perceive for your- self tliat evening is closing in, and that some other medium for conversation, besides the eyes, may be adopted. Here is a signal, which will answer : ' When the Abbey clock strikes nine, come with care to the wichet, which opens, at the ecut side of the Paddock, on the road : until then, keep secret.' I had prepared this very signal, ii case an interview should be necessary."

" Well, he sees it," returned Cecilia, who had resumed her place by the telescope, " and seems disposed to obey you, for I no longer discern his flags or his person."

IVliss Howard now arose from before the glass, her ob- servations being ended ; but Katherine did not return the instrument to its corner, without fastening one long and anxious look through it on what now appeared to be the deserted tower. The interest and anxiety produced by thia short and imperfect communication between IMiss Plowden and her lover, did not fail to excite reflections in both the ladies, that furnished materials to hold them in earnest dis- course, until the entrance of Alice Dunscombe announced that their presence was expected below. Even the unsuspecting Alice, on entering, observed a change in the countenances and demeanor of the two cousins, which betrayed that their secret conference had not been entirely without contention. The features of Cecilia were disturbed and anxious, and their expression was not unlike melancholy ; while the dark flashing eye, flushed temples, and proud, determined step of Katherine exhibited in an equal, if not a greater degree, a very different emotion. As no reference to the subject of their conversation was, however, made by either of the foung ladies, after the entrance of Alice, she led the .vay, OQ silence, to the drawing-room.

The ladies were received, by Colonel Howaid and Bor- vovghcVtSe, uith marked attention. In the former ther«

326 THE PILOT.

wer(j ir^mefits wheu a deep gloom would, in spit© of hia very obvious exertions to the contrary, steal over his opea generous countenance ; but the recruiting officer maintained an air of immovable coolness and composure. Twenty times did he detect the piercing looks of Katherine fastened on him, with an iutentness that a less deliberative man might have had the vanity to misinterpret ; but even this flattering testimonial of his power to attract failed to dis- turb his self-possession. It was in vain that Katherine endeavored to read his countenance, where everything was fixed in military rigidity, though his deportment appeared more than usually easy and natural. Tived at length with her fruitless scrutiny, the excited girl turned her gaze upon the clock : to her amazement, she discovered that it was on the stroke of nine, and, disregarding a deprecating glance from her cousin, she arose and quitted the apartment. BorroughclifFe opened the door for her exit, and, while the lady civilly bowed her head in acknowledgment of his at- tention, their eyes once more met ; but she glided quickH by him, and found herself alone in the gallery. Katherine hesitated, more than a minute, to proceed, for she thought she had detected in that glance a lurking expression, that manifested conscious security mingled with secret design. It was not her nature, however, to hesitate, when circum- etances required that she should be both prompt and alert; and, throwing over her slight person a large cloak, that was in readiness for the occasion, she stole warily from the building.

Although Katherine suspected most painfully, that Bor- roughcliffe had received intelligence that might prove dan- gerous to her lover, she looked around her in vain, on gaining the open air, to discover any alteration in the ar-^ rangements of the defense of the Abbey, which might con- firm her suspicions, or the knowledge of which might enable her to instruct Barnstable how to avoid the secret danger. Every disposition remained as it had been since the capture of Griffith and his companion. She heard the heavy, c/^ick Bteps of the sentinel, who was posted beneath their windows, eudeavoring to warm liimself on his confined post ; and m

THE PILOT. ' 32?

she paused to listen, she also detected the n itling of anna from the soldier, who, as usual, guarded th i appi oach o» that part of the building where his comrades v.^ere quartered The night had set in cloudy and dark, althougli the gale had greatly subsided towards the close of the day ; still the wind swept heavily, and, at moments, with a rushing noise, among the irregular walls of the edifice ; and it required the utmogf nicety of ear to distinguish even these well-known sounds, among such accompaniments. When Katherine, however, was satisfied that her organs had not deceived her, sho turned an anxious eye in the direction of what Borrough- cliffe called his " barracks." Everything in that direction appeared so dark and still, as to create a sensation of un- 5asiness, by its very quiet. It might be the silence of sleep ihat now pervaded the ordinarily gay and mirthful apart- .nent ! or it might be the stillness of a fearful preparation ! rhere was no time, however, for further hesitation, and Katherine drew her cloak more closely about her form, and j^roceeded with light and guarded steps, to the appointed .iipot. As she approached the wicket the clock struck the .iour, and she again paused, while the mournful sounds were jorne by her on the wind, as if expecting that each stroke jn the bell would prove a signal to unmask some secret de- tiign of BorroughclifFe. As the last vibration me.ted away, »>ae opened the little gate, and issued on the highway. The lugure of a man sprang forward from behind an angle of the I, all, as she appeared ; and while her heart was sLill throb- t .ng with the suddenness of the alarm, she found herself in tl.e arms of Barnstable. After the first few words of recog- r.iiion and pleasure which the young sailor uttered, he ao yaainted his mistress with the loss of his schooner, and tbe citaation of the survivors.

'' And now, Katherine," he concluded, " you have come, I trust, never to quit me ; or, at most, to return no more to tLat old Abbey, unless it be to aid in liberating Griffith, and then to join me again forever."

" Why, truly, there is so much to tempt a young woojaa to renounce her homo and friends, in the description you iuive just given of your condition, that I hardly knoiv how

828 THE PILOT

to refuse your request, Barnstable. You are ver/ tokrably provided with a dwelling in the ruin ; and I suppose certain predatory schemes are to be adopted to make it habitable .' St. Ruth is certainly well supplied with the necessary arti- cles, but whether we should not be shortly removed to the Castle at York, or the jail at Newcastle, is a question that T put to your discretion."

" Why yield your thoughts to such silly subjects, lovely trifler ! " said Barnstable, " when the time and the occasioa both urge us to be in earnest ? "

" II is a woman's province to be thrifty, and to look after the comforts of domestic life," returned his mistress ; " and I would discharge my functions with credit. But I feel you are vexed, for, to see your dark countenance is out of the question, on such a night. When do you propose to com- mence housekeeiDing, if I should yield to your proposals ? "

" I have not concluded relating my plans, and your pro- voking wit annoys me ! The vessel I have taken will im- questionably come into the land, as the gale dies ; and I intend making my escape in her, after beating this English- man, and securing the liberty of Miss Howard and yourself. I could see the frigate in the offing, even before we left the cliffs."

" This certainly sounds better ! " rejoined Katherine, in a manner that indicated she was musing on their prospects ; " and yet there may exist some difficulties in the way that you little suspect."

" Difficulties there are none — there can be none."

" Si^eak not irreverently of the mazes of love, Mr. Barn- Btable. When was it ever known to exist unfettered or anembarrassed ? even I have an explanation to ask of you, that I would much rather let alone."

" Of me ! ask what you will, or how you will ; I am a careless, unthinking fellow, Miss Plowden ; but to you I have little to answer for — unless a foolish scrt of adoration be an offense against your merits."

Barnstable felt the little hand that was supported on his »rm, pressing the limb, as Katherine replied, in a tone so changed from its former forced levity, that he started as the

THE PILOT. 329

fir»f eounds reached his ears. " Merry has brought in a horrid report ! " she said ; " I would I could believe it un- true ! but the looks of the boy, and the absence of Dillon, both confirm it."

" Poor Merry ! he too has fallen into the trap ! but thejr shall yet find one who is too cunning for them. Is it to the fate of that wretched Dillon that you allude ? "

" He was a wretch," continued Katheriue, in the sara* roice, " and he deserved much punishment at your hands, Barnstable ; but life is the gift of God, and is not to bo taken whenever human vengeance would aj^pear to require a victim."

'^ His life was taken by Him who bestowed it," said the sailor. " Is it Katherine Plowden who would suspect me of the deed of a dastard ? "

" I do not suspect you — I do not suspect you," cried Katherine ; '' I will never suspect any evil of you again. You are not, you cannot be angry with me, Barnstable ? Had you heard the cruel suspicions of my cousin Cecilia, and had your imagination been busy in portraying your wrongs and the temptations to forget mercy, like mine, even while my tongue denied your agency in the suspected deed, you would — you would at least have learned how much easier it is to defend those we love against the open attacks of others, than against our own jealous feelings."

" Those words, love and jealousy, will obtain your ac- quittal," cried Barnstable, in his natural voice ; and, after uttering a few more consoling assurances to Katherme, whose excited feelings found vent in tears, he brie£y re- lated the manner of Dillon's death.

" I had hoped I stood higher in the estimation of M'sa Howard than to be subjected to even her suspicions," he said, when he had ended his explanation. " Griffith has been but a sorry representative of our trade, if he has loft such an opinion of its pursuits."

" I do not know that Mr. Gr'ffith would altogether have escaped my conjectures, nad he been the disappointed com- mander, and you the prisoner," returned Katherine : " yoa know not how much we have both, studied th« usaaes of

330 THE PILOT.

war, and with what dreadful pictures of hosti*ge8, retalia- tions, and military executions our minds are stored ! but a mountain is raised off my spirits, and I could almost say that I am now ready to descend the valley of life in youi company."

" It IS a discreet determination, my good Katherli.e, ar.d God bless you for it; the companion may not be so good as you deserve, but you will find him ambitious of your praise. Now let us devise means to effect our object."

" Therein lies another of my difficulties. Griffith, I much fear, will not urge Cecilia to another flight, against her — her — what shall I call it Barnstable — her caprice, or her judgment ? Cecilia will never consent to desert" her uncle, and I cannot muster the courage to abandon my poor cousin, in the face of the world, in order to take shelter with even Mr. Richard Barnstable ! "

" Speak you from the heart now, Katherine ? "

" Very nearly — if not exactly."

" Then have I been cruelly deceived ! It is easier to tind a path in the trackless ocean, without chart or compass, than to know the windings of a woman's heart ! "

" Nay, nay, foolish man ; you forgot that I am but small, and how very near my head is to my heart ; too nigh, I fear, for the discretion of their mistress ! but is there no method of forcing Griffith and Cecilia to their own good, vithout undue violence ? "

" It cannot be done ; he is my senior in rank, and tho Instant I release him he will claim the command. A ques- tion might be raised, at a leisure moment, on the merits or such a claim — but even now my own men are, as you know, nothing but a draft from the frigate, and thrj ^ould not hesitate to obey the orders of the first lieutenant. *»ho is not a man to trifle on matters of duty."

" 'Tis vexatious, truly," said Katherine, " that all my well-concerted schemes in behalf of this wayward paii should be frustrated by their own willful conduct ! But after all, have you justly estimated your strength, Barnsta^ b)e ? are you certain that you would be successful, and tha* ir.'thout hazard, too, if you should make the attempt ? '"

THE PILOT. 331

* Morally, and what is better, physically certain. My men are closely hid, where no one suspects an enemy to lie ; they are anxious for the enterprise, and the suddenness of the attack will not only make the victory sure, but it will be rendered bloodless. You will aid us in our en> trance, Katherine : I shall first secure this recruiting olBcer, and his command will then surrender without striking a blow. Perhaps, atter all, Griffith will hear reason ; if he do not, I will not yield my authority to a released captiv^ without a struggle."

" God send that there shall be no fighting ! " mtinnured his companion, a little appalled at the images his language had raised before her imagination ; " and, Barnstable, I en- join you, most solemnly, by all your affection for me, and by evei'y thing you deem most sacred, to protect the person of Colonel Howard at every hazard. There must be no excuse, no pretense, for even an insult to my passionate, good, obstinate, but kind old guardian. I believe I have given him already more trouble than I am entitled to give any one, and Heaven forbid that I should cause him any serious misfortune ! "

" He shall be safe, and not only he, but all that are with him, as you will perceive, Katherine, when you hear my plan. Three hours shall not pass over my head before you will see me master of that olo" Abbey. Griffith, aye, Grif- fith, must be content to be my inferio*-, until we get afloat again."

" Attempt nothing vmless you feel certain of being abla to maintain your advantage, not only against your enemies^ but also against your friends," said the anxious Katherine. *' Rely on it, "both Cecilia and Griffith are refining so much on their feelii^gs, that neither will be your ally."

" This comes of passing the four best years of his lifo within walls of brick, poring over Latin grammars and syntaxes, and such other nonsense, when he should have jcen rolling them away in a good box of live-oak, and jtudying, at most, how to sum up his day's work, and tell where his ship lies after a blow. Your college learning may answer well enough f jr a man who has to live by hia

332 THIE. PILOT,

wits, l*"!^ it can be of little use to one who :s never aRraid to read human nature, by looking his fellow-creatures foil in the face, and whose hand is as ready as his tongue. 1 have generally found the eye that was good at Latin was dull at a compass, or in a night squall : and yet, Giiff is a seaman ; though I have heard him even read the Testu* ment in Greek ! Thank God, I had the wisdom to run away from school the second day they undeitook to teach me d strange tongue, and I believe I^m the more honest tasfn, and the better seaman, for my ignorance ! " ^

" There is no telling what you might have been, Barnsta- ble, under other circumstances," retorted his mistress, with a playfulness of manner that she could not always repress, though it was indulged at the expense of him she most loved ; " I doubt not but, under proper training, you would have made a reasonably good priest."

" If you talk of priests, Katherine, I shall remind you that we carry one in the ship. But listen to my plan : we may talk further of priestcraft when an opportunity may offer."

Barnstable then proceeded to lay before his mistress a project he had formed for surprising the Abbey that night, which was so feasible that Katherine, notwithstanding her recent suspicions of Borroughcliffe's designs, came gradually to believe it would succeed. The young seaman answered her objections with the readiness of an ardent mind, bent on executing its purposes, and with a fertility of resources that proved he was no contemptible enemy, in matters that required spirited action. Of Merry's remaining firm and Caithful he had no doubt ; and although he acknowledged the escape of the pedlar boy, he urged that the lad had seen no other of his party besides himself, whom he mistook for a common marauder.

As the disclosure of these plans were frequently inter- rupted by little digressions, connected with the peculiar emotions of the lovers, more than an hour flew by, before they separated. But Katherine at length reminded him how swiftly the time was passing, and how much remaiuetl to be done, when he reluctantly consented to see her ouc« through the wicket, where they parted.

THE PILOT. 333

Mia* Plowden adopterl the same precaution in returning to the house she had used on leaving it ; and she was con« gratulating herself on its success, when her eye caught a glimpse of the figure of a man, who was apparently follow- ing at some little distance, in her footsteps, and dogging her motions. As the obscure form, however, paused also when she 9'opped to give it an alarmed, though inquiring look, and then slowly retired towards the boundary of the pad- dock, Katherine, believing it to be Barnstable watching over her safety, entered the Abbey, with every idea of alarm entirely lost i» the pleasing reflection of her lover's aolici-

todA

834 THE PILOT.

CHAPTER XXVm.

He looks aliroad, and soon appears, O'er Homcliffe hill, a plump of spears, Beneath a pennon gay.

Mahmiov.

The sharp sounds of the supper-bell were ringing along the gallery, as JMiss Plowden gained the gloomy passage ; and she quickened her steps to join the ladies, in order that no further suspicions might be excited by her absence Alice Dunscombe was already proceeding to the dining- parlor, as Katherine passed through the door of the draw- ing-room ; but Miss Howard had loitered behind, and was met by her cousin alone.

" You have then been so daring as to venture, Kathei ine ! " exclaimed Cecilia.

" I have," returned the other, throwing herself into a chair, to recover her agitation, " I have, CecUia ; and I have met Barnstable, who wdl soon be in the Abbey, and its mas- ter."

The blood which had rushed to the face of Cecilia on first seeing her cousin, now retreated to her heart, leaving every part of her fine countenance of the whiteness of her pol- ished temples, as she said —

** And are we to have a night of blood ! "

" "We are to have a night of freedom, IMiss Howard ; freedom to you, and to me ; to Andrew Merry, to Griffith, and to his companion ! "

" What freedom, more than we now enjoy, Katherine, is needed by two young women ? Think you I can remain silent, and see my uncle betrayed before my eyes? his life perhaps endangered ! "

" Your own life and person wUl not be held more sacred, ^''ocilia Howari, than that of your uncle. If you will con-

THE PILOT. 335

liemn GriflSth to a prison, and perhaps to a gibbet, oetray Barnstable, as you have tlireatened ; an opportunity will not be wanting at the supper-table, whither I thall lead the way, since the mistress of the house appears to forget her duty."

Katherine arose, and with a firm step and proud eye she moved along the gallery to the room where their presence was expected by the rest of the family. Cecilia followed ill silence, and the whole party immediately took their sev- eral places at the board.

'ITie first few minutes were passed in the usual attentiotiB of the gentlemen to the ladies, and the ordinary civilities of the table ; during which, Katherine had so far regained the equanimity of her feelings, as to commence a watchful scrutiny of the manners and looks of tier guardian and BorroughcliiFe, in which she determined to persevere until the eventful hour when she was to expect Barnstable should arrive. Colonel Howard had, however, so far got the com- mand of himself, as no longer to betray his former abstrac- tion. In its place Katherine fancied, at moments, that she could discover a settled look of conscious scrutiny, mingled a little with an expression of severe determination ; such as, in her earlier days, she had learned tb dread as sure in- dications of the indignant, but upright, justice of an honor- able mind. Borroughclifife, on the other hand, was cool, polite, and as attentive to the viands as usual, with the alarming exception of discovering much less devotion to the Pride of the Vineyards than he commonly manifested on such occasions. In this manner the meal passed by, and the cloth was removed, though the ladies appeared willing ro retain their places longer than was customary. Colonel Howard, filling up the glasses of Alice Dunscombe and himself, passed the bottle to the recruiting officer, and, with a sort of effort that was intended to rouse the dormant sheerfulness of his guests, cried, —

" Come, Borroughcliffe, the ruby lips of your neighbors ^ould be still more beautiful, were they moistened with •.his rich cordial, and that, too, accompanied by some loyal ■entimeut. Miss Alice is ever ready to express her fealtj

83G THE PILOT.

to her sovereign ; in her name, I can give the health of hw

most sacred Majesty, with defeat and death to all traitors ! "

" If the prayers of an humble subject, and one of a sex that has but little, need to mingle in the turmoil of the world, and that has less right to pretend to understand tho Eubtleties of statesmen, can much avail a high and mighty prince like him who sits on the throne, then will he never know temporal evil," returned Alice, meekly ; " but I can- not wish death to any one, not even to my enemies, if any I have, and much less to a people who are the children of the same family with myself."

" Children of the same family ! " the colonel repeated, slowly, and with a bitterness of manner that did not fail to attract the painful interest of Katherine : " children of the same family ! Aye ! even as Absalom was the child of David, or as Judas was of the family of the holy Apostles ! But let it pass unpledged — let it pass. The accursed spirit of rebellion has invaded my dwelling, and I no longer know where to find one of my household that has not been assailed by its malign influence ! "

" Assailed I may have been among others," returned Alice ; " but not corrupted, if purity, in this instance, con- sists in loyalty " —

" What sound is that ! " interrupted the colonel, with startling suddenness. " Was it not the crash of some violence. Captain Borroughcliffe ? "

" It may have been one of my rascals who has met with a downfall in passing from the festive board — where you know I regale them to-night, in honor of our success — to his blanket," returned the captain with admirable indiffer* ence ; " or i'; may be the very spirit of whom you have spoken so freely, my host, that has taken umbrage at your remarks, and is passing from the hospitable walls of St. Ruth into the open air, without submitting to the smali trouble of ascertaining the position of doors. In the latter case there may be some dozen perches or so of wall to re- place in the morning."

The colonel, who had risen, glanced his eyes uneasily from the speaker to the door, and was evidently but littl« disposed to enter into the pleasantry of his guest.

THE PILOT. 387

* There are unusual noises, Captain BorrouglicLife, in the ground.'! of the Abbey, if not in the building itself," he said, advancing with a fine military air, from the table to the centre of the room, " and, as master of the mansion, I will inquire who it is that thus unseasonably disturbs these domains. If as friends, they shall have welcome, though their visit be unexpected ; and if enemies, they shall also meet with such a reception as will become an old soldier ! "

"No, DO," cried Cecilia, entirely thrown off her guard by the manner and language of the veteran, and rushing into his arms. " Go not out, my uncle ; go not into the terrible fray, my kind, my good uncle ! you are old, you have already done more than your duty ; why should you be exposed to danger ? "

" The girl is mad with terror, Borroughcliffe," cried the colonel, bending his glistening eyes fondly on his niece, " and you will have to furnish my good-for-nothing, gouty old person vdth a corporal's guard, to watch my night-cap, or the silly child will have an uneasy pillow, till the sun rises once more. But you do not stir, sir ? "

" Why should I ? " cried the captain ; " Miss Plowden yet deigns to keep me comj^any, and it is not in the nature

of one of the th to desert his bottle and his standard at

the same moment. For, to a true soldier, the smiles of a lady are as imposing in the parlor as the presence of his colors in the field."

" I continue undisturbed. Captain Borroughcliffe," said Katherine, "because I have not been an inhabitant, for so many months, of St. Ruth, and not learned to know the tunes which the wind can play among its chimneys and pointed roofs. The noise which has taken Colonel Howard from his seat, and which has so unnecessarily alarmed my cousin Cicely, is nothing but the JEolian harp of the Abbey sounding a double bass."

The captain fastened on her composed countenance, while fcbe was speaking, a look of open admiration that brought, though tardily, the color more deeply to her cheeks : and he answered with something extremely equivocal, both in hie emphasis and his air — 22

338 THE PILOT.

" I have avowed my allegiance, and I ^\'ill abide by it So long as Miss Plowden will deign to bestow ber com- pany, so long will sbe find me among ber most faitbful and persevering attendants, come wbo may, or wbat will."

" You compel me to retire," returned K itherine, rising "whatever may have been my gracious intentions in the matter ; for even female vanity must crimson, at an adora- iion so profound as that which can chain Captain Borrough cliffe to a sujiper-table ! As your alarm has now dissipated my cousin, will you lead the way ? Miss Alice and myself attend you."

" But not into the paddock, surely, Miss Plowden," said the captain ; " the door, the key of which you have just turned, communicates with the vestibule. This is the passage to the drawing-room."

The lady faintly laughed, as if in derision of her own for- getfulness, while she bowed her acknowledgment, and moved towards the proper passage : she observed, —

" The madness of fear has assailed some, I believe, who have been able to affect a better disguise than Miss Howard."

" Is it the fear of present danger, or of that which is iu reserve ? " asked the captain ; " but, as you have stipulated 80 generously in behalf of my worthy host here, and of one, also, who shall be nameless, because he has not deserved such a favor at your hands, your safety shall be one of my especial duties in these times of peril."

" There is jieril, then ! " exclaimed Cecilia ; " your looks announce it, Captain Borroughcliffe ! The changing coun- tenance of my cousin tells me that my fears are too true ! "'

The soldier had now risen also, and, casting aside the air if i^adinage, which he so much delighted iu, he came for^ ward into the centre of the apartment, with the manner of .ane who felt it was time to be serious.

" A soldier is ever in peril, when the enemies of his king are at hand. Miss Howard," he answered : " ind that such Ib now the case, Miss Plowden can testify, if she will. But you are the allies of both parties ; retire, then, to your own apartments, and await the result of the struggle which is a^ hand."

THE PILOT. 339

"You speak of clanger and hidden perils,' said Alice Dunsconibe ; " know ye aught that justifies your fears ? **

"I know all," Borroughcliffe coolly replied,

" All ! " exclaimed Katherine.

''All!" echoed Alice, in tones of honor. "If, then, you know all, you must know his desperate courage, and powerful hand, when opposed ; yield in quiet, and he will not harm ye. Believe me, believe one who knows his very nature, that no lamb can be more gentle than he would be with unresisting women ; nor any lion more fierce, with his enemies ! "

" As we happen not to be of the feminine gender," re- turned Borroughcliffe, with an air somewhat splenetic, " we must abide the fury of the king of beasts. His paw is, even now, at the outer door ; and, if my orders have been obeyed, his entrance will be yet easier than that of the wolf to the respectable female ancestor of the little Red- riding-hood."

" Stay your hand for one single moment ! " said Kath erine, breathless with interest ; " you are the master of my secret, Captain Borroughcliffe, and bloodshed may be the consequence. I can yet go forward, and, perhaps, save many inestimable lives. Pledge to me your honor, that they who come hither as your enemies, this night, shall depart in peace, and I will pledge to you my life for the safety of the Abbey."

'* O ! hear her, and shed not human blood ! " cried Cecilia.

A loud crash interrupted further speech, and the sounds jf heavy footsteps were heard in the adjoining room, as if many men were alighting on its floor, in quick succession. Borroughcliffe drew back, with great coolness, to the op- posite side of the large apartment, and took a sheathed Bword from the table where it had been placed ; at the same moment the door was burst open, and Barnstable entered alone, but heavily armed.

" You are my prisoners, gentlemen," said the sailor, as he advanced ; " resistance is useless, and without it you shall receive favor. Ha, Miss Plowden ! my advice was, th&t you should not be present at this scene."

340 THE PILOT.

" Barnstable, we are betrayed ! " cried the agitated Katherine. " But it is not yet too late. Blood has not yet been spilt, and you can retire, without that dreadful alternative, with honor. Go, then, delay not another moment ; for should the soldiers of Captain Borroughcliffe come to the rescue of their commander, the Abbey would be a scene of horror ! "

" Go you away ; go, Katherine," said her lover, with impatience ; " this is no place for such as you. But, G\p- tain Borroughcliffe, if such be your name, you must perceive that resistance is in vain. I have ten good pikes in this outer room, in twenty better hands, and it will be madness to fight against such odds."

" Show me your strength," said the captain, " that I may take counsel with mine honor."

" Your honor shall be appeased, my brave soldier, for such is your bearing, though your livery is my aversion, and your cause most unholy ! Heave ahead, boys ! but hold your hands for orders."

The party of fierce-looking sailors whom Barnstable led, on receiving this order, rushed into the room in a medley ; but, notwithstanding the surly glances, and savage char- acters of their dress and equipments, they struck no blow, nor committed any act of hostility. The ladies shrank back appalled, as this terrific little band took possession of the hall ; and even Borroughcliffe was seen to fall back towards a door, which, in some measure, covered his re- treat. The conftision of this sudden movement had not yet subsided, when sounds of strife were heard rajiidly ap- proaching from a distant part of the building, and presently one of the numerous doors of the apartment was violently opened, when two of the garrison of the Abbey rushed into the hall, vigorously pressed by twice their number of sea- men, seconded by Griffith, Manual, and Merry, who were armed with such weapons of offense as had presented them- selves to their hands, at their unexpected liberation. There was a movement on the part of the seamen, who were RJready in possession of the room, that threat? ned instant death to the fiimtiyes : but Barnstable beat down theii

THE PILOT. 3-41

pikOH with his sword, and sternly ordered them to fall back. Surprise produced the same pacific result among the com- batants ; and as the soldiers hastily sought a refuge behind their own officers, and the released captives, with their liberators, joined the body of their friends, the quiet of tiie hall, which had been so rudely interrupted, was socn restored.

" You see, sir," said Barnstable, after grasping the handi of Griffith and Manual in a warm and cordial pressure, " that all my plans have succeeded. Your sleeping guard are closely watched in their barracks by one party ; our officers are released, and your sentinels cut off by another ; while, with a third, I hold the centre of the Abbey, and am substantially in possession of your own person. In consid- eration, therefore, of what is due to humanity, and to the presence of these ladies, let there be no struggle ! I shall impose no difficult terms, nor any long imprisonment."

The recruiting officer manifested a composure throughout the whole scene, that would have excited some uneasinesa in his invaders, had there been opportunity for minute ob- servation ; but his countenance now gradually assumed an appearance of anxiety, and his head was frequently turned, as if listening for further and more important interruptions. He answered, however, to this appeal with his ordinary deliberation.

" You speak of conquests, sir, before they are achieved. My venerable host and myself are not so defenseless as you may choose to imagine." While speaking he threw aside the cloth of a side table, from beneath which the colonei iud himself were instantly armed with a brace of pistola each, " Here are the death-warrants of four of your party, and these brave fellows at my back can account for two .nore. I believe, my transatlantic warrior, that we are new something in the condition of Cortes and the Mexicans, .vhen the former overran part of your continent — I being Cortes, armed with artificial thunder and lightning, and you the Indians, with nothing but your pikes and slings, and such other antediluvian inventions. Shipwrecks and sea-watet are Catal dampers of gunpowder I "

842 THE PILOT.

"That W3 are unprovided with fire-arms, I will not deny," said Barnstable ; " but we are men who are used, from infancy, to depend on our good right arms for life and safety, and we know how to use them, though we should even grapple with death ! As for the trifles in your hands, gentlemen, you are not to suppose that men who are trained to look in at one end of a thirty-two pounder, loaded with graj^e, while the match is put to the other, will so much as wink at their report, though you fired them by fifties. What say you, boys, is a pistol a weapon to repel board- ers?"

The discordant and disdainful laughs that burst from the restrained seamen, were a sufficient pledge of their indiffer- ence to so trifling a danger. Borroughcliffe noted their hardened boldness, and taking the supper bell, which was lying near him, he rang it, for a minute, with great violence. The heavy tread of trained footsteps soon followed this ex- •raordinary summons ; and presently the several doors of ihe apartment were opened, and filled with armed soldiers, irearing the livery of the English crown.

" If you hold these smaller weapons in such vast con- tempt," said the recruiting officer, when he perceived that his men had possessed themselves of all the avenues, " it is in my power to try the virtue of some more formidable. After this exhibition of my strength, gentlemen, I presume you cannot hesitate to submit as prisoners of war."

The seamen had been formed in something like military array, by the assiduity of Manual, during the preceding dialogue ; and as the different doors had discovered fresh accessions to the strength of the enemy, the marine indus- triously offered new fronts, until the small party was com- pletely arranged in a hollow square, that might have proved formidable in a charge, bristled as it was with the deadly pikes of the Ariel.

" Here has been some mistake," said Griffith, after glanc- Dg his eye at the formidable array of the soldiers ; " I take precedence of Mr. Barnstable, and I shall propose to you, Captain Borroughcliffe, terms tli-at may remove this scene of strife from the dwelling of Colonel Howard."

THE PILOT. 343

" ITie dwelling of Colonel Howard," cried the veteran, '- is the dwelling of his king, or of the meanest servant of the crown ! so, BorroughclifFe, spare not the traitors on ciiy behalf; accept no other terms than such unconditional sub* mission as is meet to exact from the rebellious subjects c£ the anointed of the Lord."

"While Griffith spoke, Barnstable folded his arms, iu •ffected composure, and glanced his eyes expressively at the shivering Katherine, who, with her companions, still con- tinued agitated spectators of all that passed, chained to the ipot by their apprehensions ; but to this formidable denun- ciation of the master of the Abbey he deemed proper to reply —

" Now, by every hope I have of sleeping again on salt water, old gentleman, if it were not for the presence of these three trembling females, I should feel tempted to dispute, at once, the title of his majesty. You may make such a covenant as you will with Mr. Griffith, but if it contain one syllable about submission to your king, or of any other allegiance than that which I owe to the Continental Con- gress, and the State of Massachusetts, you may as well con- sider the terms violated at once ; for not an article of such an agreement will I consider as binding on me, or on any that shall choose to follow me as leader."

" Here are but two leaders, Mr. Barnstable," interrupted the haughty Griffith ; " the one of the enemy, and the other of the arms of America. Captain Borroughcliffe, to you, as the former, I address myself. The great objects of the contest which now unhappily divides England from her ancient colonies, can be iu no degree affected by the events of this night ; while, on the other hand, by a rigid adher- enco to military notions, much private evil and deep domes* tic calamity must follow any struggle in such a place. We .ave but to speak, sir, and these rude men, who already btand impatiently handling their instruments of death, will aim them at each other's lives ; and who can say that he •hall be able to stay their hands when and where he wiii ! I know you to be a soldier, and that you are not yet to learn how much easier it is to stimulate to blood, than to glut vengeance."

344 THE PILOT.

Borroughcllffe, unused to the admission of violent emo tions, and secure in the superiority of his own party, both in numbers and equipments, heard him with the cooles* composure to the end, and then answered in his customary manner, —

" I honor your logic, sir. Your premises are indisputa- ble, and the conclusion most obvious. Commit, then, these worthy tars to the good keeping of honest Drill, who will see their famished natures revived by divers eatables, and a due proportion of suitable fluids ; wliile we can discuss the manner in which you are to return to the colonies, around a bottle of liquor, which my friend Manual there assures mh has come from the sunny side of the island of Madeira, to be drunk in a bleak corner of that of Britain. By my pal- ate ! but the rascals brighten at the thought. They know- by instinct, sir, that a shipwrecked mariner is a fitter com panion to a ration of beef and a pot of porter, than to sucl« unsightly things as bayonets and boarding-pikes ! "

" Trifle not unseasonably ! " exclaimed the impatient young sailor. " You have the odds in numbers, but whether it will avail you much in a deadly struggle of hand to hand, is a question you must put to your prudence ; wa stand not here to ask terms, but to grant them. You must be brief, sir ; for the time is wasting while we delay."

" I have offered to you the means of obtaining, in per- fection, the enjoyment of the three most ancient of the numerous family of the arts — eating, drinking, and sleep- ing ! What more do you require ? "

" That you order these men, who fill the pass to the outer door, to fall back and give us room. I would take, in oeac^, these armed men from before the eyes of those who are unused to such sights. Before you oppose this demand, think how easily these hardy fellows could make a way for themsi Ives, against your divided force."

" Your companion, the experienced Captain Manual, wiU tell you tha^ such a manoeuvre would be very unmilitary with a superior body in your rear ! "

" I have not leisure, sir, for this folly," cried the indig- uant Griffith. " Do you refuse us an unmoles>^^ed retreat from the Abbey ? "

THE PILOT. 840.

-Ido."

Griffith turned, witji a look of extreme emotion, to the ladies, and beckoned to them to retire, unable to give utter- ance to his wishes in words. After a moment of deep silence, however, he once more addressed Borroughcliife in the tones of conciliation.

" K Manual and myself will return to our prisons, and submit to the will of your government," he said, " can the rest of the party return to the frigate unmolested ? "

" They cannot," replied the soldier, who, perceiving that the crisis approached, was gradually losing his artificial deportment in the interest of the moment. "You, and all others who willingly invade the peace of these realms, must abide the issue ! "

" Then God protect the innocent and defend the right ! "

" Amen."

" Give way, villains ! " cried Griffith, facing the party that held the outer door ; " give way, or you shall be riddled with our pikes ! "

" Show them your muzzles, men ! " shouted Borrough- cliffe ; " but pull no trigger till they advance."

There was an instant of bustle and preparation, in which the rattling of fire-arms blended with the suppressed execra- tions and threats of the intended combatants ; and Cecilia and Katherine had both covered their faces to veil the horrid sight that was momentarily expected, when Alice Duns- combe advanced boldly between the points of the threaten- ing weapons, and spoke in a voice that stayed the hands that were already uplifted.

" Hear me, men ! if men ye be, and not demons, thirsting for each other's blood ; though ye walk abroad in the semblance o? Him who died that ye might be elevated to the rank of angels ! Call ye this war ? Is this ^he glorv that is made to warm the hearts of even silly and confiding iromen ? Is the peace of families to be destroyed to gratify your wicked lust for conquest ; and is life to be taken in vain, in order that ye may boast of the foul deed in your wicked revels ? Fall back, then, ye British soldiers ! if ye be worthy of that name, and give passage to a woman ; and

846 THE PILOT.

remember that the first shot that is fired will be buried in her bosom ! "

The men, thus enjoined, shrank before her commanding mein, and a way was made for her exit through that very door which Grifl&th had, in vain, solicited might be cleared for himself and party. But Alice, instead of advancing, appeared to have suddenly lost the use of those faculties which had already effected so much. Her figure seemed rooted to the spot where she had spoken, and her eyes were fixed in a settled gaze, as if dwelling on some horrid object While she yet stood in this attitude of unconscious heljiless- ness, the door-way became again darkened, and the figure of the Pilot was seen on its tkreshhold, clad, as usual, in the humble vestments of his profession, but heavily armed with the weapons of naval war. For an iustant, he stood a eilent spectator of the scene ; and then advanced calmly, bat with eearohing eyes, into the centre c^ the apartment

THE PILOT. 347

CHAPTER XXJX.

Welcome, SigniDr ■ you are almost come t/ part almost a fray,

Much Ado About Notbivg.

** Down with your arms, you Englishmen ! " said the Jar ing intruder ; " and you, who fight in the cause of sacred liberty, stay your hands, that no unnecessary blood may flow. Yield yourself, proud Briton, to the power of the Thirteen Republics ! "

" Ha ! " exclaimed Borroughcliffe, grasping a pistol, with an air of great resolution, " the work thickens ; I had not included this man La my estimate of their numbers. Is he a Samson, that his single arm can change the face of things 80 suddenly ! Down with your own weapon, you masquer- ader ! or, at the report of this pistol, your body shall be made a target for twenty bullets."

'* And thine for a hundred ! " returned the Pilot. " Without there ! wind your call, fellow, and bring in our numbers. We will let this confident gentleman feel his Weakness."

He had not done speaking, before the shrill whistle of a Hoatswain rose gradually on the ears of the listeners, imtil 'he sense of hearing became painfully oppressed, by the piercing sounds that rang under the arched roof of the hall, and penetrated even to the most distant recesses of the Abbey. A tremendous rush of men followed, who drove in before them the terrified fragment of BorroughclifFe's com- mand, that had held the vestibule ; and the outer room became filled with a dark mass of human bodies.

" Let them hear ye, lads ! " cried their leader ; " the Abbey is your own ! "

The roaring of a tempes'' was not louder than the shoal 'iiat burst from his followers, who continaed their cJieen,

348 THE PILOT.

peal on peal, until the very roof of the edifice aj,pviared tu tremble with their vibrations. Numerous dark and shaggy heads were seen moving around the passage ; some cased in the iron-bound caps of the frigate's boarders, and others glittering with the brazen ornaments of her marine guard The sight of the latter did not faU to attract the eye of Manual, who rushed among the throng, and soon reappeared, followed by a trusty land of his own men, who took posses- sion of the post held by the soldiers of BorroughclifFe, while the dialogue was continued between the leaders of the adverse parties.

Thus far Colonel Howard had yielded to his guest, with a deep reverence for the priuciiiles of military subordina- tion, the functions of a commander ; but, now that affairs appeared to change so materially, he took on himself th^ right to question these intruders into his dwelling.

" By what authority, sir," the colonel demanded, " is it that you dare thus to mvade the castle of a subject of thia realm ? Do you come backed by the commission of tho lord lieutenant of the county, or has your warrant the signature of his majesty's secretary for the home depart- ment ? "

" I bear no commission from any quarter," returned the Pilot ; " I rank only an humble follower of the friends of America ; and having led these gentlemen into danger, I have thought it my duty to see them extricated. They are no\> safe ; and the right to command all that hear me rests with Mr. Griffith, who is commissioned by the Continental Congress for such service."

When he had spoken, he fell back from the position hf occupied in the centre of the room, to one of its sides where, leaning his body agamst the wainscot, he stood a silent observer of what followed.

" It appears, then, that it is to you, degenerate son of a most worthy father, that I must repeat my demand," con- tinued the veteran. "By what right is my dwelling thus rudely assailed ? and why is my quiet and the peace of those I protect, so daringly violated ? "

" I might answer you, Colonel Howard, by saying that it

THE PILOT. 349

Is according to the laws of arms, or rather in retaliation for the thousand evils that your English troops have inflicted between Maine and Georgia ; but I wish not to increase the unpleasant character of this scene, and I therefore will tell you, that our advantage shall be used with moderation. The instant that our men can be collected, and our prisoners properly secured, your dwelling shall be restored to your authority. We are no freebooters, sir ; and you will find it so after our departure. Captain Manual, draw off your guard into the grounds, and make your dispositions for a return march to our boats; let the boarders fall back, there ! out with ye ! out with ye — tumble out, you boarders ! "

The amicable order of the young lieutenant, which was delivered after the stern, quick fashion of his profession, operated on the cluster of dark figures that were grouped around the door like a charm ; and as the men whom Barn- stable had led followed their shipmates into the court-yard, the room was now left to such only as might be termed the gentlemen of the invading party, and the family of Colonel Howard.

Barnstable had continued silent since his senior officer had assumed the command, listening most attentively to each syllable that fell from either side ; but now that so few remained, and the time pressed, he spoke again : —

" If we are to take boat so soon, Mr. Griffith, it would be seemly that due preparations should be made to receive the ladies, who are to honor us with their presence; shall I take that duty on myself? "

The abrupt proposal produced a universal surprise in hia hearers ; though the abashed and conscious expression of Katherine Plowden's features sufficiently indicated that to her, at least, it was not altogether unexpected. The long silence that succeeded the question was interrupted by Colonel Howard.

" Ye are masters, gentlemen ; help yourselves to what- ever best suits your inclinations. My dwelling, my goods, and my wards, are alike at your disposal — or, perhaps Miss AJice here, good and kind Miss Alice Duliscombe, may suit

860 THE PILOT.

the "taste of some among ye! Ah! Edward GriffitJil Edward Griffnh ! little did I ever " —

" Breathe not that name in levity again, thou scoffer, or even your years may prove a feeble protection ! " said a stern, startling voice from behind. All eyes turned invol untarily at the unexpected sounds, and the muscxilar form of the Pilot was seen resuming its attitude of repose against the wall, though every fibre of his frame was working with suppressed passion.

When the astonished looks of Griffith ceased to dweL od this extraordinary exhibition of interest in his companion, they were turned imploringly towards the fair cousins, who ijtill occupied the distant corner, whither fear had impelled them.

" I have said, that we are not midnight marauders, Colonel Howard," he replied : " but if any there be, here, who will deign to commit themselves to our keeping, I trust it will not be necessary to say, at this hour, what will be their reception."

" We have not time for unnecessai:y compliments," cried the impatient Barnstable; " here is Merry, who, by years and blood, is a suitable assistant for them, in arranging their little baggage — what say you, urchin, can you play the lady's maid on emergency ? "

" Aye, sir, and better than I acted the pedlar boy," cried the gay youngster ; " to have my merry cousin Kate and my good cousin Cicely for shij^mates, I could play our common grandmother ! Come, coz, let us be moving ; you will have to allow a little leeway in time, for my awk- wardness."

" Stand back, young man ! " said Miss Howard, rejDulsing ^s familiar attempt to take her arm ; and then advancing, with a maidenly dignity, nigher to her guardian, she con- tinued, " I cannot know what stipulations have been agreed o by my cousin Plowden, in the secret treaty she has made this night with Mr, Barnstable : this for myself Colonel Howard ; I would have you credit your brother's child when the says, that, to her, the events of the hour have not been TQore unexpected than to yourself."

THE PILOT. 351

Hie veteran gazed at her. for a moment, with an exprea- ■ion of his eye that denoted reviving tenderness ; but gloomy doubts appeared to cross his mind again, and he shook his head, as he walked proudly away.

" Nay, then," added Cecilia, her head dropping meekly on her bosom, " I may be discredited by my uncle, but I cannot be disgraced without some act of my own."

She slowly raised her mild countenance again, and bend- ing her eyes on her lover, she continued, while a rich rush of blood passed over her fine features —

" Edward Griffith, I will not, I cannot say how humiliat- irg it is to think that you can, for an instant, believe I would again forget myself so much as to wish to desert him whom God has given me for a protector, for one chosen by oay own ei-ring passions. And you, Andrew Merry ! learn to respect the child of your mother's sister, if not for her own sake, at least for that of her who watched your cradle ! "

" Here appears tobe some mistake," said Barnstable, who participated, however, in no trifling degree, in the embar- rassment of the abashed boy ; " but, like all other mistakes on such subjects, it can be explained away, I suppose. ]Mr. Griffith, it remains for you to speak ; damn it, man," he whispered, " you are as dumb as a cod-fish — I am sure so fine a woman is worth a little fair weather talk : you are muter than a four-footed beast — even an ass can bray ! "

" We will hasten our departure, Mr. Barnstable," said Griffith, sighing heavily, and rousing himself, as if from a trance. " These rude sights cannot but appal the ladies. You will please, sir, to direct the order of our march to the shore. Captain Manual has charge of our prisoners, who nust all be secured, to answer for an equal number of our own countrymen."

" And our countrywomen ! " said Barnstable, " are they to be forgotten, in the selfish recollection of our own secu- rity?"

'' "With them we have no right to interfere, unless at their 'equest."

" By Heaven ! Mr. Griffit^n, this may smack of learning,"

352 THE J'lLOT.

cried the other, " and it may plead bookish aiithority as its precedent ; but let me tell you, sir, it savors but little of a sailor's love."

" Is it unworthy of a seaman, and a gentleman, to permit ihe woman he calls his mistress to be so, other than in name ^ "

" Well, then, Griif, I pity you, fi-om my soul. I woul I rather have had a sharp struggle for the happiness that I shall now obtain so easily, than that you should be thus cruelly disappointed. But you cannot blame me, my friend, that I avail myself of fortune's favor. Miss Plowden, your fair hand. Colonel Howard, I return you a thousand thanks for the care you have taken, hitherto, of this precious charge; and believe me, sir, that I speak frankly, when I say, that, next to myself, I should choose to entrust her with you in j^reference to any man on earth."

The colonel turned to the speaker, and bowed low, while he answered with grave courtesy, —

" Sir, you repay my slight services "with too much grat- itude. If Miss Katherine Plowden has not become under my guardianship all that her good fixther. Captain John Plowden, of the Royal Navy, could have wished a daughter of his to be, the fault, unquestionably, is to be attributed to my inability to instruct, and to no inherent quality in the young larly herself. I will not say, Take her, sir, since you have her in your possession already, and it would be out of my power to alter the an-angement ; therefore, I can only wish that you may find her as dutiful as a wife, as she has been, hitherto, as a ward and a subject."

Katherine had yielded her hand, passively, to her lover, and suffered him to lead her inore into the circle than she had before been ; but now she threw off his arm, and shak- ing aside the dark curls which she had rather invited to fall in disorder around her brow, she raised her face and looked proudly up, with an eye that sparkled with the spirit of its mistress, and a face that grew pale with emotion at each moment, as she proceeded —

" Gentlemen, the one may be as ready to receive as the other is to leject ; but has the daughter of John Plowden

THE PILOT. 358

no ■voice in this cool disposal of her person ? If her guardian tires of her presence, other habitations may be found, with- out inflicting so severe a ^jenalty on this gentlenaan, as to compel him to provide for her accommodation in a vessel which must be already straitened for room ! "

She turned, and rejoined her cousin with such an air of maidenly resentment, as a young woman would be apt to discover, who found herself the subject of matrimonial arrangement without her own feelings being at all consulted. Barnstable, who knew but little of the windings of the female heart, or how necessary to his mistress, notwithstanding hei previous declarations, the countenance of Cecilia was to any decided and open act in his favor, stood in stupid wonder at her declaration. He could not conceive that a woman who had already ventured so much in secret in his behalf, and who had so often avowed her weakness, should shrink to declare it again at such a crisis, though the eyes of a uni verse were on her ! He looked from one of the party to the other, and met in every face an expression of delicate reserve, except in those of the guardian of his mistress, and of Borroughcliffe.

The colonel had given a glance of returning favor at her, whom he now conceived to be his repentant ward, while the co-untenance of the entrapped captain exhibited a look of droll surprise, blended with the expression of bitter ferocity it had manifested since the discovery of his own mishap.

" Perhaps, sir," said Barnstable, addressing the latter, fiercely, " you see something amusing about the person of this lady, to divert you thus unseasonably. We tolerate no Buch treatment of our women in America ! "

" Nor do we quarrel before ours in England," returned the soldier, throwing back the fierce glance of the sailor with interest ; " but I was thinking of the revolutions that time can produce ! nothing more, I do assure you. It :g not half an hour since I thought myself a most happy fellow secure in my plans for overreaching the scheme you had to im*prise me ; and now 1 am as u.isei'able a dog as wetira

•ing'e epaulette, and has no hope of seeing its fellow ! " 23

854 THE PILOT.

" An I in what manner, sir, can this sudden change apply to me ? " asked Katherine, with all her spirit.

" Certainly not to your perseverance in the project to assist my enemies, madam," returned the soldier with affected humility ; " nor to your zeal for their success, or youi con- summate coolness at the supper-table ! But I find it is :ime that I should be superannuated — I can no longer serve my king with credit, and should take to serving my God, like all other worn-out men of the world ! My hearing is surely defective, or a paddock wall has a most magical effect in determining sounds ! "

Katherine waited not to hear the close of this sentence, but walked to a distant part of the room to conceal the burning blushes that covered her countenance. The manner in which the plans of Barnstable had become known to his foe was no longer a mystery. Her conscience also re- proached her a little with some unnecessary coquetry, as she remembered that quite one half of the dialogue between her lover and herself, under the shadow of that very wall to which Borroughcliffe alluded, had been on a subject alto- gether foreign to contention and tumults. As the feelings of Barnstable were by no means so sensitive as those of his mistress, and his thoughts much occupied with the means of attaining his object, he did not so readily comprehend the ndirect allusion of the soldier, but turned abruptly away to Griffith, and observed with a serious air, —

" I feel it my duty, Mr. Griffith, to suggest, that we have standing instructions to secure all the enemies of America, wherever they may be found, and to remind you, that the States have not hesitated to make prisoners of femalos n many instances."

" Bravo ! " cried Borroughcliffe ; " if the ladies will not go as your mistresses, take them as your captives! "

" 'Tis well for you, sir, that you are a captive yourself, «T Tou should be made to answer for this speech," retorted the irritated Barnstable. " It is a responsible command, Mr. Griffith and must not be disregarded."

" To your duty, ]\Ir. Barnstable," said Griffith, again arousing from deep abstraction ; " you have your orderi| tir : let them be executed promptly."

THE PILOT. 355

** I have also the orders of otir common superior, Cap- tain Munson, Mr Griffith ; and I do assure you, sir, that in making out my instructions for the Ariel — poor thing! there are no two of her timbers hanging together — but my instructions were decidedly particular on that head."

" And my orders now supersede them."

" But am I justifiable m obeying a verbal order from au inferior, in direct opposition to a written instruction ? "

Griffith had hitherto manifested in his deportment noth- ing more than a cold determination to act ; but the blood now flew to every vessel in his cheeks and forehead, and his dark eyes flashed fire, as he cried, authorita'tively, —

" How, sir ! do you hesitate to obey ? "

" By Heaven, sir, I would dispute the command of the Continental Congress itself, should they bid me so far to for- get my duty to — to " —

" Add yourself, sir ! Mr. Barnstable, let this be the last of it. To your duty, sir."

« My duty calls me here, Mr. Griffith."

" I must act, then, or be bearded by my own oflicers. ]SIr. Merry, direct Captain Manual to send a sergeant and a file of marines."

" Bid him come on himself ! " cried Barnstable, mad- dened to desperation by his disappointment ; " 'tis not his whole corps that can disarm me — let them come on ! Hear, there, you Ariels ! rally round your captain."

" The man among them who dares to cross that threshold without my order, dies ! " cried Griffith, menacing with a naked hanger the seamen who had promptly advanced at the call of their old commander. " Yield your sword, Mr, Barnstable, and spare yourself the disgrace of having it forced from you by a common soldier."

" Let me see the dog who dare attempt it ! " exclaimed Barnstable, flourishing his weapon in fierce anger. Griffith had extended his own arm in the earnestness of his feelings, and their hangers crossed each othe."'. The clashing of the Bte(il operated on both like the sound of the clarion on a wai-horse, and there were sudden and rapid blows, and aM tapid paJries, exchanged between the hashing weapons.

356 THE PILOT.

" Barnstable ! Barnstable ! " cried Katlieriiie, rushing into his arms, " I will go with you to the ends of the earth ! "

Cecilia Howard did not speak ; but when Griffith recov ered Ms coolness, he beheld her beautiful form kneeling at his feet, with her pale face bent imploringly on his own dis- turbed countenance. The cry of Miss Plowden had sepa- rated the combatants, before an opportunity for shedding blood had been afforded; but the young men exchanged looks of keen resentmeut, notwithstanding the interference of their mistresses. At this moment Colonel Howard ad- vanced, and raising his niece from her humble posture, said, —

" Tliis is not a situation for a child of Harry Howard, though she knelt in the presence, and before the throne, of her sovereign. Behold, my dear Cecilia, the natural con- sequences of this rebellion ! It scatters discord in their ranks ; and, by its damnable leveling principles, destroys aU distinction of rank among themselves ; even these rash boys know not where obedience is due ! "

" It is due to me," said the Pilot, who now stepped for- ward among the agitated group, " and it is time that I en- force it. ]Mr. Griffith, sheathe your sword. And you, sir, who have defied the authority of your senior officer, and have forgotten tlie obligation of your oath, submit, and re- turn to your duty."

Griffith started at the sounds of his calm voice, as if with sudden recollection ; and then, bowing low, he returned the weapon to its scabbard. But Barnstable still encircled the waist of his mistress with one arm, while with the other he brandished his hanger, and laughed with scorn at this ex- traordinary assumption of authority.

" And who is this," he cried, " who dare give such aa order to me ! "

The eyes of the Pilot flashed with a terrible fire, while a fierce glow seemed to be creeping over his whole frame, which actually quivered with passion. But, suppressing this exhibition of his feelings, by a sudden and pofrerfuj effort, he answered in an emphatic manner, — .

THL PILOT. 367

•*Oiie who has a right to order, and who wi'U he obeyed ! "

The extraordinary manner of the speaker contributpd aa much as his singular assertion to induce Barnstable, in has surprise, to lower the point of his weapon, with an air that migl t easily have been mistaken for submission. The Pilot fastened his glowing eyes on him, for an instant, and then turning to the rest of the listeners, he continued, more nuldly, —

'* It is true that we came not here as marauders, and that our wish is, to do no unnecessary acts of severity to the aged and the helpless. But this officer of the crown, and this truant American in particular, are fairly our prisoners ; as such, they must be conducted on board our ship."

" But the main object of our expedition ? " said Grif- fith.

" 'Tis lost," returned the Pilot, hastily ; " 'tis sacrificed to more private feelings ; 'tis like a hundred others, ended in disappointment, and is forgotten, sir, forever. But the interests of the Republics must not be neglected, Mr. Griffith. Though we are not madly to endanger the lives of those gallant fellows, to gain a love smile from one young beauty, neither are we to forget the advan- tages they may have obtained for us, in order to procure one of approbation from another. This Colonel Howard will answer well in a bargain with the minions of the crown, and may purchase the freedom of some worthy pa- triot who is deserving of his liberty. Nay, nay, suppress tha-; haughty look, and turn that proud eye on any, rather tkan me ; he goes to the frigate, sir, and that immediately.''

" Then," said Cecilia Howard, timidly approaching the §pot where her uncle stood, a disdainful witness of the dis- sensions amongst his captors ; " then will I go with him I He shall never be a resident among his enemies alone ! "

** It would be more ingenuous, and more worthy of my brother's daughter," said her uncle, coldly. " if she ascribed her willingness to depart to its proper motive." Disregard- ing thfe look of deep distress with which Cecilia received Jiis mortifying rejection of her tender attentiou, the old

358 THE PROT.

man walked towards Borrouglicliffe, who was gnawing tli« hilt of his sword, in very vexation at the downfall of his high-raised hopes, and placing himself by -his side, with an air of infinitely dignified submission, he continued, " Act your pleasure on us, gentlemen : you are the conquerors, and we must even submit. A brave man knows as well how to yield with decorum, as to defend himself stoutly when he is not surprised, as we have been. Bi<t if aa opportunity should ever offer ! Act your pleasures, gen- tlemen ; no two lambs were ever half so meek as Captain Borroughchffe and myself."

The smile of affected, but bitter resignation, that the colonel bestowed on his fellow-prisoner, was returned by that officer with an attempt at risibility that abundantly be- tokened the disturbed state of his feelings. The two, how- 3ver, succeeded in so far maintaining appearances, as to contemplate the succeeding movements of the conqueror's with a sufficient degree of composure.

The colonel steadily and coldly rejected the advances of his niece, who bowed meekly to his will, and relinquished, for the present, the hope of bringing him to a sense of his injustice. She however employed herself in earnest, to give such directions as were necessary to enforce the resolution she h«d avowed, and in this unexpected employment she found both a ready and a willing assistant in her cousin. The latter, unknown to Miss Howard, had, in anticipation of some such event as the present, long since made, in secret, aU those preparations which might become necessary to a sud- den fhght from the Abbey. In conjunction with her lover, -then, who, perceiving the plan of the Pilot was furthering his own views, deemed it most wise to forget his quarrel with ihat mysterious individual, she flew to point out the means of securing those articles which were already in prej^aration Barnstable and Merry accompanied her light steps among the narrow, dark passages of the Abbey, with the utmost delight ; the former repeatedly apostrophizing her wit and oeauty, and, indeed, all of her various merits, and the latter lAughiug, and indulging those buoyant spirits, that a l)oy of bis years ai d i eflection might be supposed to feel even ic

THE PILOT. 359

«nch a scene. It was fortunate for her cousin that Kather* ine had poc-sessed so much forethought ; for the attention of Cecilia Howard ^vas directed much more to the comforts of her uiicie, tlian to those whicli were necessary for lier' self. Attendee! by Alice Dunscombe, the young mistress of St. Ruth moved through the solitary apartments of tha building, listening to the mild religious consolation of hei companion, in silence, at times yielding to those bursts of mortified feeling that she could not repress, or again as calmly giving her orders to her maids, as if the intended movement was one of but ordinary interest. All ihi^ time the party in the dining-hall remained stationary. Th.i Pilot, as if satisfied with what he had already done, sank back to his reclining attitude against the wall, though his eyes ke>3nly watched every movement of the preparations, in a manner which denoted that his was the master-spirit that directed the whole. Griffith had, however, resumed, u: appearance, the command, and the busy seamen addressed themselves for orders to him alone. In this manner an hour was consumed, when Cecilia and Katherine appearing In succession attired in a suitable manner for their departure, and the baggage of the whole party having been already intrusted to a petty officer and a party of men, Griffith gave forth the customary order to put the whole in motion. The shrill, piercing whistle of the boatswain once more rang among the galleries and ceilings of the Abbey, and was fol- lowed by the deep hoarse cry of —

" Away, there, you S'hore-draft ! away, there, you board- ers ! ahead, heave ahead, sea-dogs ! "

This extraordinary summons was succeeded by the roll of a drum, and the strains of a fife, from without, when the whole party moved from the building in the order that had been previously prescribed by Captain Manual, who acted as the marshal of the forces on the occasion.

The Pilot had conducted his surprise with so much skill ftud secrecy as to have secured every individual about the Abbey, whether male i " female, soldier or civilian ; and as '«t might be dangerous to leave any behind who could con- vey intelligence into the country, Griffith had ordered

360 THE PILOT.

that every human being found in the building should be conducted to the cliffs ; to be held in durance at least until the departure of the last boat to the cutter, which, he was informed, lay close in to the land, awaiting their reembark- ation. The hurry of the departure had caused many lights to be kindled in the Abbey, and the contrast between the glare within and the gloom without attracted the wandering looks of the captives, as they issued into the paddock. One of those indefinable and unaccountable feelings which so often cross the human mind, induced Cecilia to pause at the great gate of the grounds, and look back at the Abbey, with a presentiment that she was to behold it for the last time. The dark and ragged outline of the edifice was clearly delineated against the northern sky, while the open windows and neglected doors per- mitted a view of the solitude within. Twenty tapers were shedding their useless light in the empty apartments, as if in mockery of the deserted walls ; and Cecilia turned shuddering from the sight, to press nigher to the person of her indignant uncle, with a secret impression that her pres* ence would soon be more necessary than ever to his happi- ness.

The low hum of voices in front, with the occasional strains of the fife, and the stern mandates of the sea-officers icon recalled her, however, from these visionary thoughts to the surrounding realities, whUe the whole party pursued 'jheir way with diligence to the margin of the ocean.

THE PILOT. 361

CHAPTER XXX.

A chieftain to the Highlands bound,

Cries, " Boatman, do not tarry! And I'll give thee a silver pound,

To row us o'er the ferry."

Lord Ulun's Davohtbk.

The sky had been without a cloud during the day, tha gale having been dry and piercing, and thousands of stars w"re now shining through a chill atmosphere. As the eye, therefore, became accustomed to the change of light, it obtained a more distinct view of surrounding objects. At the head of the line that was stretched along the narrow pathway marched a platoon of the marines, who maintained the regular and stead v front of trained warriors. They were followed at some little distance by a large and con- fused body of seamen, heavily armed, whose disposition to disorder and rude merriment, which became more violent from their treading on solid ground, was with difficulty restrained by the presence and severe rebukes of their own oflBcers. In the centre of this confused mass, the whole of the common prisoners were placed, but were no otherwise attended to by their nautical guard than as they furnished the subjects of fun and numberless quaint jokes. At some distance in their rear marched Colonel Howard and Bor- roughcliffe, arm in arm, both maintaining the most rigid and dignified silence, though under the influence of very bilter feelings. Behind these, again, and pressing as nigh as possible to her uncle, was Miss Howard, leaning on the arm of Alice Dunscombe, and surrounded by the female domestics of the establishment of St. Ruth. Katherine Plowden moved lightly, by herself, in the shadow of this group, with elastic steps, but with a maiden coyness that taught her to veil her satisfactiDi: with the semblance of

862 THE PILOT.

captivity. Barnstable watched her movements with delight, within six feet of her, but submitted to the air of caprice in his mistress, which seemed to require that he should come no nearer. Griffith, avoiding the direct Hue of the party walked on its skirts in such a situation tliat his eye could command its whole extent, in order, if necessary, to direct the movements. Auother body of the marines marched at the close of the procession, and Manual, in jierson, brought np the rear. The music had ceased by command, and nothing was now audible but the regular tread of the soldiers, with the sighs of the dying gale, interrupted oc- casionally by the voice of an officer, or the hum of low dialogue.

" This has been a Scotch prize that we've taken," muv tered a surly old seaman ; " a ship without head-money or cargo ! There was kitchen timber enough in the old jug of a place to have given an outfit in crockery and knee- buckles to every lad in the ship ; but, no ! let a man's mouth water ever so much for food and raiment, damme, if the officers would give him leave to steal even so good a thing as a spare Bible."

" You may say all that, and then make but a short \arn of the truth," returned the messmate who walked by his side : " if there had been such a thing as a ready-made prayer handy, they would have choused a poor fellow out of the use of it. I say, Ben, I'll tell ye what; it's my opinion, that if a chap is to turn soldier and carry a musket, he should have soldier's play, and leave to plunder a little ; now the devil a thing have I laid my hands on to* night, except this firelock and my cutlash — unless you can call this bit of a table-cloth something of a windfall."

"Aye! you have fallen hi there -with a fresh bolt of duck, I see ! " said the other, in manifest admiration of the texture of his companion's i:)rize ; " why, it would spread aa broad a clue as our mizen-royal, if it was loosened ! well, your luck hasn't been every man's luck ; for my part, J think this here hat was made for some fellow's great toe I've rigged it on my head both fore and aft, and athwan ships ; but curse the inch can 1 drive it down ; I say, Sam yonH give us a shirt off that table-clotb ? "

THE PILOT. 368

* Aye, aye, you can have one comer of it ; or for that matter, ye can take the full half, Ben ; but I don't see that we go otf to the ship any richer than we lauded, unless you may muster she-cattle among your prize money."

" No richer ! " interrupted a waggish young sailor, who had been hitherto a silent listener to the conversation be- tween his older and more calculating shipmates ; " I think we are set up for a cruise in them seas where the day watches last six months ; don't you see we have caught a double allowance of midnight ! "

While speaking, he laid his hands on the bare and woolly heads of Colonel Howard's two black slaves, who were moving near him, both occupied in mournful forebodings on the results that were to flow from this unexpected loss of their liberty. " Slue your faces this way, gentlemen," he added ; " there ; don't you think that a sight to put out the binnacle lamps ? there's darkness visible for ye ! "

" Let the niggers alone," grumbled one of the more aged speakers ; " what are ye skylarking with the like of them for ? the next thing they'll sing out, and then you'll hear one cf the officers in your wake. For my part, Nick, I can't see why it is that we keep dodging along shore here, with less than ten fathoms under us, when, by stretching into the broad Atlantic, we might fall in with a Jamaica- man every day or two, and have sugar bogheads and rum pimcheons as plenty aboard us as hard fare is now."

" It is all owing to that Pilot," returned the other ; " for, t'ye see, if there was no bottom, there would be no pilots. This is a dangerous cruising gi'ound, where we stretch into live fathoms, and then drop our lead on a sand-pit, or a rock ] Besides, they made night- work of it too ! If we had daylight for fourteen hours instead of seven, a man might trust to feeling his way for the other ten."

" Now, ain't ye a couple of old horse marines ! " again interrupted the young sailor ; " don't you see that Congress wants us to cut up Johnny Bull's coasters, and that old Blow-Hard has found the days too short for his business, and so he has landed a party to get hold of night. Here we have him 1 and whci we get off to the sliip, we shali

S64 TUE PILOT.

put hL-i under hatches, and then you'll see the face cf the fiun again ! Come, my lilies ! let these two gentlemen look into your cabin windows — what ? you won't ! Then I must squeeze your woolen night-caps for ye ! "

The negroes, who had been submitting to his humora ^ith the abject humility of slavery, now gave certain low intimations that they were suffering pain, under the rough manipulation of their tormentor.

" AMiat's that ! " cried a stern voice, whose boyish tones seemed to mock the air of authority that was assumed by the speaker, " who's that, I say, raising that cry among ye?"

The willful young man slowly removed his two hands from the woolly polls of the slaves, but as he suffered them to fell reluctantly along their sable temples, he gave the ear of one of the blacks a tweak that caused him to give vent to another cry, that was uttered with a much greater confidence of sympathy than before.

" Do ye hear there ! " repeated Merry ; " who's skylark- incj with those negroes ? "

" 'Tis no one, sir," the sailor answered with affected gravity ; " one of the pale faces has hit his shin against a cobweb, and it has made his ear ache ! "

" Harkye, you IMr. Jack Joker ! how came you in the midst of the prisoners ? did not I order you to' handle your pike, sir, and to keep in the outer line ? "

" Aye, aye, sir, you did ; and I obeyed orders as long as I could ; but these niggers have made the night so dark, that I lost my way ! "

A low laugh passed through the confused crowd of sea- men ; and even the midshipman might have been indulging himself in a similar manner at this specimen of quaint humor from the fellow, who was one of those licensed men tkat are to be found in every ship. At length —

" Well, sir," he said, " you have found out your false rtv;kouing now ; so get you back to the place where I bid fou «;tay."

" Aye. aye, sir, I'm going. By all the blunders in th« t ai'ser's book, Mr. Merry, but that cobweb has made one or

THE PILOT. 865

those niggers shed tears ! Do let me stay to catch a little ink, sir, to write a letter with to my poor old mother^ devil the line has she had from me since we sailed froin the Chesapeake ! "

"If ye don't mind me at once, Mr. Jack Joker, I'll h? my cutlass over your head," returned Merry, his voice now betraying a much greater sympathy in the sutfcring? of that abject race, who are still in some measure, but who formerly were much more, the butts of the unthinking and licentwus among our low countrymen ; " then ye can writ« your letter in red ink if ye will ! "

" I wouldn't do it for the w^orld," said Joker, sneaking away towards his proper station ; " the old lady wouldn't forget the hand, and swear it was a forgery ; I wonder, though, if the breakers on the coast of Guinea be black ! as I've heard old seamen say, who have cruised in them latitudes."

His idle levity was suddenly interrupted by a voice that spoke above the low hum of the march, with an air of authority, and a severity of tone, that could always quell, by a single word, the most violent ebullition of merriment in the crew.

The low buzzing sounds of " Aye, there goes Mr. Grif- fith ! " and of " Jack has woke up the first lieutenant, he had better now go to sleep himself ; " were heard passing among the men. But these suppressed communications 80on ceased, and even Jack Joker himself pursued his way with diligence, on the skirts of the party, as mutely as if v'ae power of speech did not belong to his organization.

The reader has too often accompanied us over the ground between the Abbey and the ocean, to require any descrip- tion of the route pursued by the seamen during the preced- mg characteristic dialogue ; and we shall at once pass to the incidents which occurred on the arrival of the party at the cliffs. As the man who had so unexpectedly assurt'^ a momentary authority within St. Ruth had unaccountably disappeared from among them, Griffith continued to exer- cise lae right of command, without referring to any other for oousultation. He never addressed himself to Barnst*

566 THE PILOT.

ble, and it was apparent that both the haughty young meo felt that the tie which had hitherto united them in such close intimacy was, for the present at least, entirely severed* Indeed, Griffith was only restrained by the presence of Cecilia and Katherine from arresting his refractory inferior on the spot; and Barnstable, who felt all the consciousness of error, without its proper humility, with difficulty so fa repressed his feelings, as to forbear exhibiting in the pres- ence of his mistress such a manifestation of his spirit as his wounded vanity induced him to imagine was necessary to his honor. The two, however, acted in harmony on ono Bubject, though it was without concert or communication. The first object with both the young men was to secure the embarkation of the fair cousins ; and Barnstable ])roceeded instantly to the boats, in order to hasten the prepaxations that were necessary before they could receive these anex- pected captives : the descent of the Pdot having been made in such force as to require the use of all the frigate's boats, which were left riding in the outer edge of the surf, await- ing the return of the expedition. A loud call from Barn- stable gave notice to the officer in command, and in a few moments the beach was crowded with the busy and active crews of the "cutters," "launches," "barges," "jolly-boats," "pinnaces," or by whatever names the custom of the times attached to the different attendants of vessels of war. Had the fears of the ladies themselves been consulted, the frig- ■ite's laimch would have been selected for their use, on ac- count of its size ; but Barnstable, who would have thought 6uch a choice on his part humiliating to his guests, ordered the 3ag, low barge of Captain Munson to be drawn upon the sand, it being peculiarly the boat of honor. The haadg of fifty men were applied to the task, and it was soon au' aounced to Colonel Howard and his wards that the little vessel was ready for their reception, IManual had halted tn the summit of the cliffs with the whole body of the laarines, where he was busily employed in posting pickets and sentinels, and giving the necessary instructions to his men to cover the embarkation of the seamen, in a style that he cooceived to be altogether military. The mass of

THE PILOT. 367

the common prisoners, including the inferior domestics of the Abbey and the men of Borroughcliffe, were also held in the same place, under a suitable guard ; but Colonel Howard and his companion, attended by the ladies and their own maidsj had descended the rugged path to the beach, and were standing passively on the sands, when the intelligence that the boat waited for them was announced.

" Where is he ? " asked Alice Dunscombe, turning heT head, as if anxiously searching for some other than those around her.

" Where is who ? " inquired Barnstable ; " we are all herC; and the boat waits."

" And will he tear me — even me, from the home of my infancy! the land of my birth and my affections!"

" I know not of whom you speak, madam, but if it be of Mr. Griffith, he stands there, just without that cluster of seamen."

Griffith, hearing himself thus named, approached the ladies, and, for the first time since leaving the Abbey, ad- dressed them : " I hope I am already understood," he said, " and that it is unnecessary for me to say, that no female here is a prisoner ; though, should any choose to trust them selves on board our ship, I pledge to them the honor of an oflScer, that they shall find themselves protected, and safe.**

" Then will I not go," said Alice.

" It is not expected of you," said Cecilia ; " you have no ties to bind you to any here." (The eyes of Alice were «till wandering over the listeners.) " Go, then, IVIiss Alice, and be the mistress of St. Ruth, until my return ; or," she added, timidly, " until Colonel Howard may declare his pleasure."

" I obey you, dear child ; but the agent of Colonel How- aid, at B , will undoubtedly be authorized to take

i^arge of his effects."

Wliile no one but his niece alluded to his will, the mas- tet of the Abbey had found, in his resentment, a sufficient tpology foi his rigid demeanor ; but he was far too well bred to bear in silence, such a modest appeal to his wighesi from so fair and so loyal a subject as Alice Dunscombe.

868 THE PILOT.

** To relieve you, madam, and for no other reason, will I speak on this subject," he said ; " otherwise, I should leave the doors and windows of St. Ruth open, as a melancholy monument of rebellion, and seek my future compensation from the crown, when the confiscated estates of the leaders of this accursed innovation on the rights of princes shall come to the hammer. But you. Miss Alice, are entitled tc every consideration that a lady can expect from a gentle man. Be pleased, therefore, to write to my agent, and re- quest him to seal up my papers, and transmit them to the office of his majesty's secretary of state. They breathe no treason, madam, and are entitled to official protection. The house, and most of the furniture, as you know, are the prop- erty of my landlord, who, in due time, will doubtless take charge of his own interest. I kiss your hand, IMiss Alice, and I hope we shall yet meet at St. James' — depend on it madam, that the royal Charlotte shall yet honor your merits ; I know she cannot but estimate your loyalty."

" Here I was born, in humble obscurity ; here I have lived, and here I hope to die in quiet," returned the meek Alice ; " if I have known any pleasure, in late years, beyond that which every Christian can find in our daily .duties, it has been, my sweet friends, in your accidental society. Such companions, in this remote corner of the kingdom, have been a boon too precious to be enjoyed without alloy, it seems ; and I have now to exchange the past pleasure for present pain. Adieu ! my young friends ; let your trust be in Him, to whose eyes both prince and peasant, the Euro- pean and the American, are alike, and we shall meet again, tnough it be neither in the island of Britain, nor on your own wide continent."

" That," said Colonel Howard, advancing, and taking her Hand with kindness, " that is the only disloyal sentiment I biave ever heard fall from the lips of jMiss Alice Dunscombo ! Is it to be supposed that Heaven has established ordera among men, and that it does not respect the works of ita own formation ! But adieu ; no doubt, if time was allowed «»8 for suitable explanations, we should find but little or no •^ilTererice of opinion on this subject."

THE PILOT. 36*

Alice did not appear to consider the matter as worthy of further discussion at sucli a moment ; for she gently returned the colonel's leave-taking, and then gave her undivided at- tention to her female friends. Cecilia wept bitterly on the shoulder of lier respected companion, giving vent to her regret at parting, and her excited feelings, at the same mo- ment ; and Katherine pressed to the side of Alice, with the kindliness prompted by her warm but truant heart. Their embraces were given and received in silence, and each of the young ladies moved towards the boat, as she with- drew herself from the arms of Miss Dunscombe. Colonel Howard would not precede his wards, neither would he as- sist them into the barge. That attention they received from Barnstable, who, after seeing the ladies and their attendants seated, turned to the gentlemen, and observed —

" The boat waits."

" Well, ]Miss Alice," said Borroughcliffe, in bitter irony, " you are intrusted by our excellent host with a message to his agent ; will you do a similar service to me, and write a report to the commander of the district, and just tell him what a dolt — aye, use the plainest terms, and say what an ass one Captain Borroughcliffe has proved himself in this affair. You may throw in, by way of episode, that he has been playing bo-peep with a rebellious young lady from the violonies, and, like a great boy, has had his head broken for his pains ! Come, my worthy host, or rathei fellow pris- oner, I follow you, as in duty bound."

" Stay," cried Griffith ; " Captain Borroughcliffe does no t embark in that boat."

" Ha ! sir ; am I to be herded with the common men ? Forget you that I have the honor to bear the commissioa jf his Britannic Majesty, and that " —

" I forget nothing that a gentleman is bound to remem- ber, Captain Borroughcliffe ; among other things, I recol- lect the liberality of your treatment to myself, when a pris- oner. The instant the safety of my command will justify «uch a step, not only you but your men, shall be set at liberty."

Borroughcliffe started iu surprise, but bis feelings wera 24

870 THE PILOT.

too much soured by the destruction of those visious of glory in which he had been luxuriously indulging for the last day or two, to admit of his answering as became a man. He swallowed his emotions, therefore, by a violent effort, and walked along the beach, affecting to whistle a low, but lively air.

" Well, then," cried Barnstable, " all our captives are seated. The boat waits only for its officers ! "

In his turn, Griffith walked away in haughty silence, aa if disdaining to hold communion with his former friend. Barnstable paused a moment, from a deference that long habit had created for his superior officer, and which was not to be shaken off by every burst of angry passion ; but perceiving that the other had no intention to return, he or- dered the seamen to raise the boat from the sand, and bear it bodily into the water. The command was instantly obeyed ; and by the time the young lieutenant was in his seat, the barge was floating in the still heavy though no longer dangerous surf, and the crew sprang into their places.

" Bear her off, boys ! " he cried ; " never mind a wet jacket. Pve seen many a worthy fellow tumbling on this beach in a worse time than t\is ! Now you have her head to sea; give way, my souls, give way."

The seamen rose simultaneously at their oars, and by an united effort obtained the command of their boat ; which, after making a few sudden ascents, and as many heavy pitches in the breitkers, gained the smoother seas of the swelling ocean, and stemmed the waters in a direction foi the plaos wbere thrj Alacrity was supposed to be in wsiit-

THE PILOT. 871

CHAPTER XXXI.

His only plot was this — that, much provoked, He raised his vengeful arm against his country.

Thombor.

Alice Ddnscombe remained on the sands, watching the dark spot that was soon hid amid the waves in the obscu- rity of night, and listening, with melancholy interest, to the regulated sounds of the oars, which were audible long after the boat had been blended with the gloomy outline of the eastern horizon. When all traces of her departed friends were to be found only in her own recollections, she slowly turned from the sea, and hastening to quit the bustling throng that were preparing for the embarkation of the rest of the party, she ascended the path that conducted her once more to the summit of those cliffs, along which she had so often roved, gazing at the boundless element that washed their base with sensations that might have been peculiar to her own situation.

The soldiers of Boi-roughcliffe, who were stationed at the head of the pass, respectfully made way ; nor did any of the %entinels of Manual heed her retiring figure, until she \pproached the rear guard of the marines, who were com- manded by their vigilant captain in person.

" Who goes there ? " cried Manual, advancing without the dusky group of soldiers, as she approached them.

" One who possesses neither the power nor the inclination to do ye harm," answered the solitary female ; " 'tis Alice Dunscombe, returning, by permission of your leader, to the place of her birth."

" Aye," muttered Manual, " this is one of Griffith's immilitary exhibitions of his politeness ! does the man think that there was ever a woman who had no tongue ! Have

872 THE PILOT.

you the countersign, madam, that 1 may know you bear a sufficient warrant to pass ? "

" T have no other warrant besides my sex and weakness, unless Mr. Griffith's knowledge that I have left him can be so considered."

" The two former are enough," said a voice, that pro- ceeded from a figure which had hitherto stood unseen, shaded by the trunk of an oak, that spread its wide but naked arms above the spot where the guard was paraded.

" Who have we here ! " Manual again cried ; " come in yield, or you will be fired at."

" What, will the gallant Captain Manual fire on his owi rescuer ! " said the Pilot, with cool disdain, as he advanced from the shadow of the tree. " He had better reserve his bullets for his enemies, than waste them on his friends."

" You have done a dangerous deed, sir, in approaching, clandestinely, a guard of marines ! I wonder that a man who has already discovered, to-night, that he has some knowledge of tactics, by so ably conducting a surprise, should betray so much ignorance in the forms of approaching a picket ! "

" 'Tis now of no moment," returned the Pilot ; " my knowledge and my ignorance are alike immaterial, as the command of the party is surrendered to other and perhaps more proper hands. But I would talk to this lady alone, sir ; she is an acquaintance of my youth, and I will see her on her way to the Abbey."

" The step would be unmilitary, Mr. Pilot, and you will excuse me if I do not consent to any of our expedition straggling without the sentries. If you choose to remain here to hold your discourse, I will march the picket out of hearing ; though I must acknowledge I see no ground so favorable as this we are on, to keep you within the range of our eyes. You perceive that I have a ravine to retreat into in case of surprise, with this line of wall on my left flank and the trunk of that tree to cover my right. A very pretty stand might be made here, on emergency ; for even the oldest troops fight the best when their flanks are properly covered, and a way to make a regular retreat is open ir their rear."

THE PILOT. 373

* Say no more, sir; I would not break up such a poaition on any account," returned the Pilot ; " the lady w'll con- sent to retrace her path for a short distance."

Alioe followed his steps, in compliance with this request, until he had led her to a place, at some little distance from the marines, where a tree had been prostrated by the late gale. She seated herself quietly on its trunk, and appeared to await with patience his own time for the explanation of his motives in seeking the interview. The Pilot paced for several minutes back and forth, in fi'ont of the place where she was seated, in profound silence, as if communing with himself; when suddenly throwing off his air of absence, he came to her side, and assumed a position similar to the one which she herself had taken.

" The hour is at" hand, Alice, when we must part," he at length commenced ; " it rests with yourself whether it shall be forever."

" Let it then be forever, John," she returned, with a slight tremor in her voice.

" That word would have been less appalling, had tliis accidental meeting never occurred. And yet your choice may have been determined by prudence ; for what is there in my fate that can tempt a woman to wish that she might share it ? "

" If ye mean your lot is that of one who can find but few, or even none, to partake of his joys, or to share in hia sorrows — whose life is a continual scene of dangers and calamities, of disappointments and mishaps — then do ye know but little of the heart of woman, if ye doubt of either her ability or her willingness to meet them with the man %f her choice."

" Say you thus, Alice ? then have I misunderstood your meaning, or misinterpreted your acts. My lot is not alto- gether that of a neglected man, unless the favor of princes, and the smiles of queens, are allowed to go for nothing. My life is, however, one of many and fearful dangers ; and yet it is not filled altogether with calamities and mishaps ; b it, A'.ice?" He paused a moment, but in vain, for her jswer. " Nay, then, I have been deceived in the estia»

r^flL*if'

872

THE PILOT.

ycm the countersign, madam, that 1 may know you bear a

Bufficieut warrant to pass ? "

" T have no other warrant besides ray sex and weakness, unless Mr. Griffith's knowledge that I have left him can be so considered."

" The two former are enough," said a voice, that pro- ceeded from a figure which had hitherto stood unseen, shaded by the trunk of an oak, that spread its wide but naked arms above the spot where the guard was paraded.

" Who have we here ! " Manual again cried ; " come in yield, or you will be fired at."

" What, will the gallant Captain Manual fire on his owi rescuer ! " said the Pilot, with cool disdain, as he advanced from the shadow of the tree. " He had better reserve his bullets for his enemies, than waste them on his friends."

" You have done a dangerous deed, sir, in approaching, clandestinely, a guard of marines ! I wonder that a man who has already discovered, to-night, that he has some knowledge of tactics, by so ably conducting a surprise, should betray so much ignorance in the forms of approaching a picket ! "

" 'Tis now of no moment," returned the Pilot ; " my knowledge and my ignorance are alike immaterial, as the command of the party is surrendered to other and perhaps more proper hands. But I would talk to this lady alone, sir ; she is an acquaintance of my youth, and I will see her on her way to the Abbey."

" The step would be unmilitary, Mr. Pilot, and you will excuse me if I do not consent to any of our expedition Btraggling without the sentries. If you choose to remain here to hold your discourse, I will march the picket out of hearing ; though I must acknowledge I see no ground so favorable as this we are on, to keep you within the range of our eyes. You perceive that I have a ravine to retreat into in case of surprise, with this line of wall on my left flank and the trunk of that tree to cover my right. A very pretty stand might be made here, on emergency ; for even the oldest troops fight the best when their flanks are propei-ly covered, and a way to make a regular retreat is open ir their rear."

:i^s!

ins? in:;

I

S 4i M ^. M 1

THE PILOT.

^_>* .^

■-sin ■:;of

■ Say no more, sir; I would not break up such a poaition on any account," returned the Pilot ; " the lady w'll con- sent to retrace her path for a short distance."

Alice followed his steps, in compliance with this request, ontil he had led her to a place, at some little distance from the marines, where a tree had been prostrated by the late gale. She seated herself quietly on its trunk, and appeared to await with patience his own time for the explanation of his motives in seeking the interview. The Pilot paced for several minutes back and forth, in front of the place where she was seated, in profound silence, as if communing with himself; when suddenly throwing off his air of absence, he came to her side, and assumed a position similar to the one which she herself had taken.

" The hour is at hand, Alice, when we must part," he at length commenced ; " it rests with yourself whether it shall be forever."

" Let it then be forever, John," she returned, with a slight tremor in her voice.

" That word would have been less appalling, had tlm accidental meeting never occurred. And yet your choice may have been determined by prudence ; for what is there in my fate that can tempt a woman to wish that she might share it ? "

" If ye mean your lot is that of one who can find but few, or even none, to partake of his joys, or to share in hia sorrows — whose life is a continual scene of dangers and calamities, of disappointments and mishaps — then do ye know but little of the heart of woman, if ye doubt of either her ability or her willingness to meet them with the man %f her choice."

" Say you thus, Alice ? then have I misunderstood your meaning, or misinterpreted your acts. My lot is not alto- gether that of a neglected man, unless the favor of princes, and the smUes of queens, are allowed to go for nothing. My life is, however, one of many and fearful dangers ; and yet it is not filled altogether with calamities and mishaps ; is it, A'.t'ce ? " He paused a moment, but in vain, for her uswer. " Nay, then, I have been deceived in the estim*

D -= in O)

O O (O «

« O >n -5

list

i^: *"

574 THE PILOT.

tion that the world has affixed to my combats and enter* prises ! I am not, Alice, the man I would be, or even the man I had deemed myself."

" You have gained a name, John, among the warriofp ; f the age," she answered, in a subdued voice ; " and it is a name that may be said to be written in blood ! "

" The blood of my enemies, Alice ! "

" The blood of the subjects of your natural prince ! The blood of those wKo breathe the air you first breathed, and who were taught the same holy lessons of instruction that you were first taught ; but which, I fear, you have too soon forgotten ! "

" The blood of the slaves of despotism ! " he sternly inter- rupted her ; " the blood of the enemies of freedom ! you have dwelt so long in this dull retirement, and you have cherished so blindly the prejudices of your youth, that the promise of those noble sentiments I once thought I could see budding in Alice Dunscombe, has not been fulfilled."

" I have lived and thought only as a woman, as became my sex and station," Alice meekly reiDlied ; " and when it shall be necessary for me to live and think otherwise, I should wish to die."

" Aye, there lie the first seeds of slavery ! A dependent woman is sure to make the mother of craven and abject wretches, who dishonor the name of man ! "

" I shall never be the mother of children, good or bad," said Alice, with that resignation in her tones that showed she had abandoned the natural hopes of her sex. " Singly and unsupported have I lived ; alone and uulamented must t be carried to my grave."

The exquisite pathos of her voice, as she uttered this olacid speech, blended as it was with the sweet and calm .ignity of virgin pride, touched the heart of her listener, tad he continued silent many moments, as if in reverence jf her determination. Her sentiments awakened in his own breast those feelings of generosity and disinterestedness, i^^bich had nearly been smothered in restless ambition ana the pride of success. He resumed the discourse, therefore, more mildly, and with a much greater exhibition of deef Geeling, and Ijss of passion, in his manner.

THE PILOT. 3T5

* I know not, Alice that I ought, situated as I am, aiid eoi) tented, if not happy, as you are, ev'en to attempt to revive in your bosom those sentiments which I was once led to think existed there. It cannot, after all, be a desirable fate, to share tl)e lot of a rover like myself: one who may be termed a Quixote hi the behalf of libera! principles, and who may be hourly called to seal the truth of those prin- ciples with his life."

" There never existed any sentiment in my breast, in wliich you are concerned, that does not exist there still, and unchanged," returned Alice, with her single-hearted sin- cerity.

" Do I hear you aright? or have I misconceived your resolution to abide in England ? or have I not rather mis- taken your early feelings ? "

" You have fallen into no error now nor then. The weakness may still exist, John ; but the strength to struggle with it has, by the goodness of God, grown with my years. It is not, however, of myself, but of you, that I would speak. I have lived like one of our simple daisies, which in the budding may have caught your eye ; and I shall also wilt like the humble flower, when the winter of my time arrives, without being missed from the fields that have known me for a season. But your fall, John, will be like that of the oak that now supports us, and men shall pronoimce on the beauty and grandeur of the noble stem while standing, as well as of its usefulness when felled."

" Let them pronounce as they will ! " returned the proud stranger. " The truth must be finally known : and when that hour shall come, they will say, he was a faithful and gallant warrior in his day ; and a worthy lesson for a.'l who Hre born in slavery, but would live in freedom, shall be found in Ms example."

" Such may be the language of that distant people, whcm ye have adopted in the place of those that once formed home and kin to ye," said Alice, glancing her eye timidly at his countenance, as if to discern how far she might ven- ture, without awakening his resentment ; " but what will tiie men of the land of your birth transmit to their children,

876 THE PILOT.

who will be the childreu of those that are of your ow>- blood ? "

" They will say, Alice, whatever their crooked policy may suggest, or their disappointed vanity can urge. But the picture must be drawn by the friends of the hero, as well as by his enemies ! Think you that there are not pens as well as swords in America ? "

" I have heard that America called a land, John, where God has lavished his favors with an unsparing hand ; where He has bestowed many climes with their several fruits, and where his power is exhibited no less than his mercy It is said her rivers are without any known end, and that lakes are found in her bosom, which would put our German Ocean to shame ! The plains, teeming with verdure, are spread over wide degrees ; and yet those sweet valleys, which a single heart can hold, are not wanting. In short, John, I hear it is a broad land, that can furnish food for each pas- sion, and contain objects for every affection."

" Aye, you have found those, Alice, in your solitude, who have been willing to do her justice ! It is a country that can form a world of itself; and why should they who in- herit it look to other nations for their laws ? "

" I pretend not to reason on the right of children of that soil to do whatever they may deem most meet for their own welfare," returned Alice ; " but can men be born in such a land, and not know the feelings which bind a human being to the place of his birth ? "

" Can you doubt that they should be patriotic ? " ex- claimed the Pilot in surprise. " Do not their efforts in this Bacred cause — their patient sufferings — their long priva- tions— speak loudly in their behalf?"

" And will they, who know so well how to love home, song the praises of him, who has turned his ruthless hand against the laud of his fathers ? "

" Forever harping on the word home ! " said the Pilot, who now detecled the timid approaches of Alice to her hid- den meaning. " Is a man a stick or a stone, that he must be cast into the fire, or buried in a wall, wherever his hXe jnay have doomed him to appear on the earth ? The sound

THE PILOT. 377

of home is said to feed the vanity of an Englishman, let him go where he will ; but it would seem to have a still more powerful charm with English women ! "

" It is the dearest of all terms to every woman, John, for it embraces the dearest of all ties ! If your dames in America are ignorant of its charm, all the favors which God has lavished on their land will avail their happineaa but little."

" Alice," said the Pilot, rising in his agitation, " I see but too well the object of your allusions. But on this sub- ject we can never agree ; for not even your powerful influ- ence can draw me from the path of glory in which I am now treading. But our time is growing brief; let us, then, talk of other things. This may be the last time that I shall ever put foot on the island of Britain."

Alice paused to struggle with the feelings excited by this remark, before she pursued the discourse. But soon shak- ing off the weakness, she added, with a rigid adherence to that course which she believed to be her duty —

" And now, John, that you have landed, is the breaking up of a peaceful family, and the violence ye have shown towards an aged man, a fit exploit for one whose object is the glory of which ye have spoken ? "

" Think you that I have landed, and placed my life m the hands of my enemies, for so unworthy an object ! No, Alice : my motive for this undertaking has been disap- pointed, and therefore will ever remain a secret from the world. But duty to my cause has prompted the step which you so unthinkingly condeum. This Colonel Howard hais some consideration with those in power, and will answer to exchange for a better man. As for his wards, you forget their home, their magical home, is in America : unless, in- deed, they find them nearer at hand, under the proud flag of a frigate that is now waiting for them in the ofSng."

" You talk of a frigate ! " said Alice, with sudden inter- est in the subject ; " is she your only means of escaping from your enemies ? "

" Alice Dunscombe has *aken but little heed of passing eyents, to ask such a question of me I '' returned the

378 THE PILOT.

haughty Pilot. " The question would have sounded more discreetly, had it been, ' Is she the only vessel with you that your enemies will have to escape from ? ' "

" Nay, I cannot measure my langua-^e at such a moment," continued Alice, with a still stronger exhibition of anxiety. " It was my fortune to overhear a part of a plan that was intended to destroy, by sudden means, those vessels of America that were in our seas."

" That might be a plan more suddenly adopted than easily executed, my good Alice. And who were these re- doubtable schemers ? "

" I know not but my duty to the king should cause me to suppress this information," said Alice, hesitating.

" Well, be it so," returned the Pilot, coolly ; " it may prove the means of saving the persons of some of the royal officers from death or captivity. I have already said, this may be the last of my visits to this island, and conse' quently, Alice, the last of our interviews " —

" And yet," said Alice, still pursuing the train of her own thoughts, " there can be but little harm in sparing human blood ; and least of all in serving those whom we have known long and regarded ! "

" Aye, that is a simple doctrine, and one that is easily maintained," he added, with much apparent indifference ; " and yet Bang George might well spare some of his ser- vants — the list of his abject minions is so long ! "

" There was a man named Dillon, who lately dwelt ui the Abbey, but who has mysteriously disappeared," con tinned Alice ; " or, rather, who was captured by your com- panions : know you aught of him, John ? "

" I have heard there was a miscreant of that name, but we have never met. Alice, if it please Heaven that thia ghould be the last " —

" He was a captive in the schooner called the Ariel," she added, still unheeding his affected indifference to her com- m'lnication ; " and when permitted to return to St. Ruth, he lost sight of his solemn promise, and of his plighted honor, to wreak his malice. Instead of effecting the ejt diange that he had conditioned to see made, he plo* ted trea-

THE PILOT. 379

•on against Lis captors. Yes ; it was most foul treason ! for his treatment was generous and kind, and his liberation certain."

" He was a most unworthy scoundrel ! But, Alice " —

" Nay, listen, John," she continued, urged to even a keener interest in his behalf by his apparent inattention ; " and yet I should speak tenderly of his failings, for he ij already numbered with the dead ! One part of his scheme must have been frustrated ; for he intended to destroy that schooner which you call the Ariel, and to have taken the person of the young Barnstable."

" In both of which he has failed ! The person of Barn- stable I have rescued, and the Ariel has been stricken by a hand far mightier than any of this world ! — she is wrecked."

" Then is the frigate your only means of escape ! Has- ten, John, and seem not so proud and heedless ; for the hour may come when all your daring will not profit ye against the machinations of secret enemies. This Dillon had also planned that expresses should journey to a seaport at the south, with the intelligence that your vessels were in these seas, in order that shij^s might be despatched to inter- cept your retreat."

The Pilot lost his affected indifference as she proceeded ; and before she ceased speaking, his eye was endeavoring to anticipate her words, by reading her countenance through the dusky medium of the star-light.

" How know you this, Alice ? " he asked quickly, " and what vessel did he name ? "

" Chance made me an unseen listener to their plan, and — • I know not but I forget my duty to my prince — but, John, 'lis asking too much of a weak woman, to* require that shf. bhali see the man whom she once viewed with eyes of favor, sacrificed when a word of caution, given in season, might enable mm to avoid the danger ! "

" Once viewed with an eye of favor ! Is it then so ? " said the Pilot, speaking in a vacant manner. " But, Alice, heard ye the force of the ships, or their names? Give ma heii names, and the first lord of your British admiralty

380 THE PILOT.

shall not give so true an account of their force as I will furnish from this list of my own."

" Their names were certainly mentioned," said Alice, witli tender melancholy ; " but tlie name of one far nearer to me was ringing in my ears, and has driven them from my mind."

" You are the same good Alice I once knew ! And my name was mentioned? What said they of the Pirate? Had his arm stricken a blow that made them tremble in their Abbey ? Did they call him coward, girl ? "

" It was mentioned in terms that pained my heart as I listened ; for it is ever too easy a task to forget the lapse of years, nor are the feelings of youth to be easily eradi- cated."

" Aye, there is luxury in knowing that, with all their affected abuse, the slaves dread me in their secret holds ! " exclaimed the Pilot, pacing in front of his listener with quick steps. " This it is to be marked, among men, above all others in your calling! I ho[)e yet to see the day when the third George shall start at the sound of that name, even witliin the walls of his palace."

Alice Dunscombe heard him in a deep and mortified silence. It was too evident that a link in the chain of their sympathies was broken, and that the weakness in which she had been unconsciously indulging was met by no corre- spondent emotions in him. After sinking her head for a moment on her bosom, she arose with a little more than her usual air of meekness, and recalled the Pilot to a sense of her presence, by saying, in a yet milder voice, —

"I have now communicated all that it can profit you to know, and it is meet that we separate."

" What, thus soon ? " he cried, starting and taking her hand. " This is but a short interview, Alice, to precede so long a separation."

" Be it short, or be it long, it must now end," she re- plied. " Your companions are on the eve of departure, and I trust you would be one of the last who would wish to be deserted. If we do visit England again, I hope it may be with altered sentiments, so far as regards her interests

THE PILOT. tSl

I wish ye. peace, Jolin, and the blessings of God, as je may be found to deserve them."

" I ask no farther, unless it may be tlie aid of your gen- tle prayers ! But the night is gloomy, and I will see you in safety to the Abbey."

" It is unnecessary," she returned, with womanly reserve. " The innocent can be as fearless on occasion, as the most valiant among your warriors. But here is no cause for fear. I shall take a path that will conduct me in a differ- ent way from that which is occupied by your soldiers, and where I shall find none but Him who is ever ready to pro- tect the helpless. Once more, John, I bid ye adieu." Hef voice faltered as she continued : " Ye will share the lot of humanity, and have your hours of care and weakness ; at such moments ye can remember those ye leave on this de- spised island, and perhaps among them ye may think of some whose interest in your welfare has been far removed from selfishness."

" God be with you, Alice ! " he said, touched with her emotion, and losing all vain images in more worthy feelings, " but I cannot permit you to go alone."

" Here we part, John," she said firmly, " and forever ! *Tis for the happiness of both, for I fear we have but little in common." She gently wrested her hand from his grasp, and once more bidding him adieu, in a voice that was nearly inaudible, she turned and slowly disappeared, moving, with lingering steps, in the direction of the Abbey.

The first impulse of the Pilot was, certainly, to follow, and insist on seeing her on the way ; but the music of the guard on the cliffs at that moment sent forth its martial strains and the whistle of the boatswain was heard winding its shril call among the rocks, in those notes that his prac- ticed ear well understood to be the last signal for embark- ing.

Obedient to the summons, this singular man, in whose breast the natural feelings, that were now on the eve of a violent eruption, had so long been smothered by the vision- try expectations of a wild ambition, and perhaps of fierce "esentrrxints, pursued his coui-se, in deep abstraction, towards

382 THE PILOT.

the boats. He was soon met by the soldiers of Borrough-

clifFe, deprived of their arms, it is true, but unguarded, and returning peacefully to their quarters. The mind of the Pilot, happily for the liberty of these men, was too much absorbed in his peculiar reflections, to note this act of Grifl[ith's generosity, nor did he arouse from his musing until his steps were arrested by suddenly encountering i human figure in the pathway. A light tap on his shouldei was the first mark of recognition he received, when Bor- roughclifie, who stood before him, said —

'' It is evident, sir, from what has passed this evening, that you are not what you seem. You may be some rebel admiral or general, for aught that I know, the right to command having been strangely contested among ye this night. But let who will own the chief authority, I take the liberty of whispering in your ear that I have been Bcurvily treated by you ; I repeat, most scurvily treated by you all, generally, and by you in particular."

The Pilot started at this strange address, which was uttered with all the bitterness that could be imparted to it by a disappointed man ; but he motioned with his hand for the captain to depart, and turned aside to pursue his own way.

" Perhaps I am not properly understood," continued the obstinate soldier ! " I say, sir, you have treated me scur- vily ; and I would not be thought to say this to any gentle-' man, without wishing to give him an opportunity to vent his anger."

The eye of the Pilot, as he moved forward, glanced at the pistols which BorroughclifFe held in his hands, the one by the handle, and the other by its barrel, and the soldiep even fancied that his footsteps were quickened by the sight. After gazing at him until his form was lost in the darkness, the captain muttered to himself —

" He is no more than a common pilot, after all ! No true gentleman would have received so palpable a hint with euch a start. Ah! here comes the party of my worthy friend whose palate knows a grape of the north side of Madeira from one of the south. The dog has the tbroal

THE PILOT 383

af a gentleman ; we will see how he can swallow a uelicate allusion to his faults ! "

Borroughclitfe stepped aside to allow the marines, who were also iu motion for the boats, ic» frass, ancr watched with keen looks for the jjerson of the commander. Manual, who had been previously apprised of the intention of Griffith to release the prisoners, had halted to see that none bul those who had been liberated by authority were marchiLg into the country. This accidental circumstance gave Borroughclitfe an opportunity of meeting the other at some little distance from either of their respective parties.

" I greet you, sir," said Borroughclitfe, " with all affec- tion. This has been a pleasant forage for you, Captaiit Manual."

The marine was far from being disposed to wrangle, but there was that in the voice of the other which caused him to answer —

" It would have been far pleasanter, sir, if I had met an opportunity of returning to Captain Borroughclitfe some of the favors that I have received at his hands."

" Nay, then, dear sir, you weigh my modesty to the earth ! Surely you forget the manner in which my hos- pitality has already been requited — by some two hours mouthing of my sword-hilt ; with a very unceremonious ricochet into a corner ; together with a love-tap over the Bhoulders of one of my men, by so gentle an instrument aa the butt of a musket ! Damme, sir, but I think an ungrate- ful man only a better sort of beast."

" Had the love-tap been given to the officer instead of the man," returned Manual, with all commendable coolness, " it would have been better justice; and the ramrod might .»ave answered as well as the butt, to Hoor a gentlemaa who carried the allowance of four thirsty fiddlers under oao man's jacket."

** Now that is rank ingratitude to your own cordial of tlie south aide, and a most biting insult ! I really see but one way of terminating this wordy war, which, if not di»« erectly ended, may lead us far into the morning."

** Elect your own manner of determining the dispute, sir i

884 THE PILOT.

I hope, however, it will not be by your innate knowledge of mankind, which has already mistaken a captain of ma- rines in the service of Congress, for a runaway lover, bound to some green place or other."

" You might just as well tweak my nose, sir ! " said Borroughcliffe. " Indeed, I think it would be the milder reproach of the two ! will you make your selection of these, dir ? They were loaded for a very different sort of service, but I doubt not will answer on occasion."

" I am provided with a pair, that are charged for any Bervice," returned Manual, drawing a pistol from his own belt, and stepping backward a few paces.

" You are destined for America, I know," said Borrough- cliife, who stood his ground with consummate coolness ; " but it would be more convenient for me, sir, if you could delay your march for a single moment."

" Fu-e and defend yourself ! " exclaimed Manual, furi- ously, retracing his steps towards his enemy.

The sounds of the two pistols were blended in one re- port, and the soldiers of Borroughcliffe and the marines all rushed to the place on the sudden alarm. Had the former been provided with arms, it is probable that a bloody fray would have been the consequence of the sight that both parties beheld on arriving at the spot, which they did simultaneously. Manual lay on his back, without any signs of life, and Borroughcliffe had changed his cool, haughty, upright attitude for a recumbent posture, which was somewhat between lying and sitting.

" Is the poor fellow actually expended ? " said the Eng- lishman, in something like the tones of regret ; " well, he had a soldier's mettle in him, and was nearly as great a fool Rs myself!"

The marines had, luckily for the soldiers and their cap- tain, by this time discovered the signs of life in their own commander, who had been only slightly stunned by the bullet, which had grazed his crown, and who, being assisted on his feet, stood a minute or two rubbing his head, as if awakiug from a dream. As Manual came gradually to his •enses, he recollected the business in which he had juai

THE PILOT. 385

been engaged, and, in his turn, inquired after the fate of hia antagonist.

"I am here, my wortliy incognito," cried the other, with the voice of perfect good nature ; " lying in the lap of mother Earth, and all the better for opening a vein or two in my right leg ; though I do think that the same effect might have been produced without treating the bone so roughly ! But I opine that I saw you also reclining on th« bosom of our common ancestor."

" I was down for a few minutes, I do believe," returned Manual ; " there is the path of a bullet across my scaip."

" Humph ! on the head ! " said BorroughclifFe, dryly, " the hur . is not likely to be mortal, I see. "Well, I shall offer to raffle with the first poor devil I can find that has but one good leg, for who shall have both ; and that will just set up a beggar and a gentleman ! Manual, give me your hand ; we have drunk together, and we have fought surely there is nothing now to prevent our being sworn friends."

" Wliy," returned Manual, continuing to rub his head, " I see no irremovable objections — but you will want a surgeon ? can I order anything to be done ? There go the signals again to embark — march the fellows down at quick time, sergeant ; my own man may remain with me, or, I can do altogether without assistance."

" Ah ! you are what I call a well-made man, my dear friend ! " exclaimed Borroughcliffe ; " no weak points about your fortress ! such a man is worthy to be the head of a whole corps, instead of a solitary company. Gently, gently ; handle me as if I were made of potter's clay. I will not detain you longer, my fi'iend Manual, for I hear signal after signal ; they must be in want of some of your astonisliing reasoning faculties to set them afloat."

Manual might have been offended at the palpable allia sions that his new friend made to the firmness of his occiput had not his perception of things been a little confused by & humming sound that seemed to abide near the region of thought. As it was, he reciprocated the good wishes of the other, whom he shook most cordi^ly by the hand, and ones 26

886 THE PILOT.

more renewed his offers of service, after exchaug' <g suLdry friendly speeches.

" I thank you quite as much as if I v?ere not at all in debted to you for letting blood, thereby saving i (3 a fit of apoplexy ; but Drill has already despatched a messenger

to B for a leech, and the lad may bring r.he whole

depot down upon you. Adieu, once more, and remember that if you ever visit England again as a friend, t^ou are to let me see you."

" I shall do it without fail ; and I shall keep jou to your promise if you once more put foot in America."

" Trust me for that: I shall stand in need of y/ur excel- lent head to guide me safely among those rude foresters. Adieu ; cease not to bear me in your thoughts."

" I shall never cease to remember you, my good friend,* returned Manual, again scratching the member xhich was snapping in a manner that caused him to fancy b«» heard it Once more these worthies shook each other by the hand, and again they renewed their promises of future intccourse ; after which they separated like two reluctant lovers -part' ing in a manner that would have put to shuue the *w«»d chip of Orestes and Fylades.

THE PILOT 887

CHAPTER XXXI.

Nay, answer me: stand and unfold yoursilf

Hah l en.

During the time occupied by the incidents that occurred after the Pilot had made his descent on the land, the Alac- rity, now under the orders of JMr. Boltrope, the master of the frigate, lay off and on, in readiness to receive the successful mariners. The direction of the wind had been gradually changing from the northeast to the south, during the close of the day ; and long before the middle watches of the night, the wary old seaman, who, it may be remem- bered, had expressed, in the council of war, such a deter- mined reluctance to trust his person within the realm of Britain, ordered the man who steered the cutter to stand in boldly for the land. Whenever the lead told them that it was prudent to tack, the course of the vessel was changed: and in this manner the seamen continued to employ the hours in patient attendance on the adventurers. The sail- ing-master, who had spent the early years of his life as the commander of divers vessels employed in trading, was apt, like many men of his vocation and origin, to mistake the absence of refinement for the surest evidence of seamanship ; and, consequently, he held the little courtesies and punctilios Kf a man-of-war in high disdain. His peculiar duties of euperintending the expenditure of the ship's stores, in theii several departments, of keeping the frigate's log-book, and of making his daily examinations into the state of her saila and rigging, brought him so little in collision with the gay, lauglung, reckless young lieutenants, who superintended the ordinary management of the vessel, tliat he might be said to have formed a distinct species of the animal, though eertainly of the same genus with his more polished mefl»

iJ3« THE PILOT.

mates. Whenever circumstances, however, required that he should depart from the dull routine of his duty, he made it a rule, as far as possible, to associate himself with sucu of the crew as possessed habits and opinions the least at variance with his own.

By a singular fatality, the chaplain of the frigate was, aa respects associates, in a condition nearly assimilated to that fi this veteran tar.

An earnest desire to ameliorate the situation of those who were doomed to meet death on the great deep, had induced an experienced and simple-hearted divine to accept this stat'on, in the fond hope that he might be made the favored instrument of salvation to many, who were then existing in a state of the most abandoned self-forgetfulness. Neither our limits, nor our present object, will permit the relation of the many causes that led, not only to an entire frustra- tion of all his visionary expectations, but to an issue which rendered the struggle of the good divine with himself both arduous and ominous, in order to maintain his own cla'ms to the merited distinctions of his sacred office. The con- sciousness of his backsliding had so far lessened the earthly, if not the spiritual, pride of the chaplain, as to induce him to relish the society of the rude master, whose years had brought him, at times, to take certain views of futurity, that were singularly affected by the peculiar character of the individual. It might have been that both found them- uelves out of their places — but it was owing to some such Becret sympathy, let its origin be what it would, that the two came to be fond of each other's company. On the night in question, Mr. Boltrope had invited the chaplain to accompany him in the Alacrity ; adding, in his broad rough language, that as there was to be fighting on shore, " his aand might come in play with some poor fellow or other." This singular invitation had been accepted, as well from a desire to relieve the monotony of a sea life by any change, AS perhaps with a secret yearning in the breast of the troubled divine, to get as nigh to terra tirma as possible. Accordingly, after the Pilot had landed with his boisterous party, the sailug-master and the chaplain, together with »

I

THE PILOT. 389

boatswain's mate and some ten or twelve seamen, were left in quief possession of the cutter. The first few hours of this jjeaceable intercourse had been spent by the worthy messmates, in the little cabin of the vessel, over a can of grog ; the savory relish of which was much increased by a characteristic disquisition on polemical subjects, which our readers have great reason to regret it is not our present humor to record. When, however, the winds invited the near approach to the hostile shores already mentioned,, the prudent sailing-master adjourned the discussion to another and more suitable time, removing himself and the can, by the same operation, to the quarter-deck.

" There," cried the honest tar, placing the wooden vessel, with great self-contentment, by his side on the deck, " this is ship's comfort ! There is a good deal of what I call a lubber's fuss, parson, kept up on board a ship that shall be nameless, but which bears, about three leagues distant, broad off in the ocean, and which is lying to under a close- reefed maintopsail, a foretopmast-stay-sail and foresail — T call my hand a true one mixing a can — take another pull at the halyards ! 'twill make your eye twinkle like a light- house, this dark morning ! You won't ? well, we must give no offense to the Englishman's rum." After a poteut draught had succeeded this considerate declaration, he added, "You are a little J ike our first lieutenant, parson, who drinks, as I call it, nothing but the elements — which is, water stiflfened with air."

" Mr. Griffith may indeed be said to set a wholesome I xample to the crew," returned the chaplain, perliaps with a blight consciousness that it had not altogether possessed ita due weight with himself.

" Wholesome ! " cried Bol trope ; " let me tell you, my JForthy leaf-turner, that if you call such a light diet whole- ' some, you know but little of salt water and sea fogs ! However, INIr. Griffith is a seaman ; and if he gave his mind less to trifles and gimcracks, he would be, by the time he got about our years, a very rational sort of a companion. But you see, parson, just now, he thinks too much of small follies ; such as man-of-war disciplyne. Now there if

390 THE PILOT.

rationality in giving a fresh nip to a rope, or ba looking well at your mast, or even in crowning a cable ; but damme, priest, if I see the use — lufF. lufF, your lubber ; don't ye see, sir, you are steering for Garmany ! — if I see the use as I was saying, of making a rumpus about the time when i. man changes his shirt ; whether it be this week, or p^xt week, or, for that matter, the week after, provided it be bi weather. I sometimes am mawkish about attending mustv.r (and I believe I have as little to fear on the score of behavior as any man), lest it should be found I carried my tobacco in the wrong cheek ! "

" I have indeed thought it somewhat troublesome to my- self, at times ; and it is in a striking degree vexatious to the spirit, especially when the body has been suffering under sea-sickness."

" Why, yes, you were a little apt to bend your dud<j wrong for the first month, or so," said the master ; " I re- member you got the marine's scraper on your head, once, in your hurry to bury a dead man ! Then you never looked as if you belonged to the ship, so long as those cursed black knee-breeches lasted ! For my part, I never saw you come up the quarter-deck ladder, but I expected to see your shins give way across the combing of the hatch — a man does look like the devil, priest, scudding about a ship's decks in that fashion, under bare poles ! But now the tailor has found out the articles aren't seaworthy, and we have got your lower stanchions cased in a pair of purser's slops, I am puzzled often to tell your heels from those of a maintop- man ! "

" I have good reason to be thankful for the change,*^ said the humbled priest, " if the resemblance you men ion existed, while I was clad in the usual garb of on^ of my • calling."

'-* What signifies a calling ? " returned Boltrope, catching nis breath after a most persevering draught : " a man's shins ' are his shins, let his upper works belong to what sarvice they may. I took an early prejudyce against knee-breeches, perhaps from a trick I've always had of figuring the devil as wearing them. You know, parson, we seldom hear much

THE PILOT. 891

•aid of a man, without forming some sort of an idea concern < ing his rigging and fashion-pieces — and so, as I had no particuhir reason to believe that Satan went naked — keep full, ye lubber ; now you are running into the eye, and be d cl to ye ! But as I was saying, I always took a con- ceit that the devil wore knee-breeches and a cock-ed hat. There's some of our young lieutenants, who come to muster on Sundays in cocked hats, just like soldier-officers ; but, d'ye see, I would sooner show my nose under a night-cap than under a scraper ! "

" I hear the sound of oars ! " exclaimed the chaplain, who, finding this image more distinct than even his own vivid conceptions of the great father of evil, was quite will- ing to conceal his inferiority by changing the discourse ; " is not one of our boats returning ? "

" Aye, aye, 'tis likely ; if it had been me, I should have been land-sick before this — wear round, boys, and stand by to heave to on the other track."

The cutter, obedient to her helm, fell off before the wind ; and rolling an instant in the trough of the sea, came up again easily to her oblique position, with her head to- wards the cliffs ; and gradually losing her way, as her saUs were brought to counteract each other, finally became sta- tionary. During the performance of this evolution, a boat had hove up out of the gloom, in the direction of the land ; and by the time the Alacrity was in a state of rest, it had approached so nigh as to admit of hailing.

" Boat, ahoy ! " murmured Boltrope, through a trumpet, which, aided by his lungs, produced sounds not unlike the roaring of a bull.

" Aye, aye," was thrown back from a clear vo.ce, .hat Bwept across the water with a fullness that needed no facti* Uous aid to render it audible.

' " Aye, there comes one of the lieutenants with his aye, Rj e," said Boltrope ! " pipe the side, there, you boatswain's mate! But here's another fellow more on our quarter! boat, ahoy ! "

'' Alacrity ! " returned another voice, in a direction dif rtsrent from the other.

802 THE PILOT.

"Alacrity! There goes my commission of capfain ol this craft, in a whifF," returned the sailing-master. " That is as much as to say, here comes one who will command when he gets on board. Well, well, it is Mr. Griffith, and I can't say, notwithstanding his love of knee-buckles, and small wares, but I'm glad he's out of the hands of the Er g- lish ! Aye, here they all come upon us at once ! here if another fellow, that pulls like the jolly-boat, coming up on our lee-beam, within hail — let us see if he is asleep — boat, ahoy ! "

" Flag," answered a third voice from a small, light-rowing boat, which had approached very near the cutter, in a direct line from the cliffs, without being observed.

" Flag ! " echoed Boltrope, dropping his trumpet in amaze- ment ; " that's a big word to come out of a jolly-boat I Jack Manly himself could not have spoken it with a fuller mouth ; but I'll know who it is that carries such a weather helm, with a Yankee man-of-war's prize ! Boat, ahoy ! I say."

This last call was uttered in those short, menacing tones, that are intended to be understood as intimating that the party hailing is in earnest ; and it caused the men who were rowing, and who were now quite close to the cutter, to sus- pend their strokes, simultaneously, as if they dreaded that the cry would be instantly succeeded l)y some more efficient means of ascertaining their character. The figure that was eeated by itself in the stern of the boat started at this second summons, and then, as if with sudden recollection, a quiet voice replied —

" No — no."

" ' No — no,' and ' flag,' are very different answers," grumbled Boltrope ; " what know-nothing have we here ? "

He was yet muttering his dissatisfaction at the ignoracct' of the individual that was approaching, whoever it might be when the jolly-boat came slowly to their side, and the Pilot Btepped from her stern-sheets on the decks of the prize.

" Is it you, Mr. Pilot ? " exclaimed the sailing-master raising a battle-lantern within a foot of the other's face, and looking with a sort of stupid wonder at the proud and angry eye he encountered ; " is it you ! well, 1 should liave rated

THE PILOT. 398

you for a man of more experience than to aorae bodniing down upon a man-of-war in the dark, with such a big word in your mouth, when every boy in the two vessels knows that we carry no swallow-tailed bunting abroad ! Fla^ ! why you might have got a shot, had there been soldiers."

The Pilot threw him a still fiercer glance, and turning away with a look of disgust, he walked along the quarter- deck towards the stei-n of the vessel, with an air of haughty silence, as if disdaining to answer. Boltrope kept his eyee fiistened ou him for a moment longer, with some appearance of scorn ; but the arrival of the boat first hailed, which proved to be the barge, immediately drew his attention to other matters. Barnstable had been rowing about in the ocean for a long time, unable to find the cutter ; and as he had been comj^elled to suit his own demeanor to those with whom he was associated, he reached the Alacrity in no very good-humored mood. Colonel Howard and his niece had maintained, during the whole period, the most rigid silence, the former from pride, and the latter touched with her uncle's evident displeasure ; and Katherine, though secretly elated with the success of all her projects, was content to emulate their demeanor for a short time, in order to save appearances. Barnstable had several times addressed him- self to the latter, without receiving any other answer than euch as was absolutely necessary to prevent the lover from taking direct offense, at the same time that she intimated by her manner her willingness to remain silent. Accordingly, the lieutenant, after aiding the ladies to enter the cutter, ana offering to jierform the same service to Colonel Howa'-d, which was coldly declined, turned, with that sort of irritation that is by no means less rare in vessels of war than with poor Tuman nature generally, and gave vent to his spleen wheis he dared.

" How's this ! Mr. Boltrope ! " he cried, " here are boata coming alongside with ladies in them, and you keep your {»aff swayed up till the leach of the sail is stretched like a fiddle-string ; settle away your peak-halyards, sir, settle away ! "

" Aye, aj e, sir "' grumbled the master " settle a'^ay that

894 THE PILOT.

peak there ; though the craft wouldn't forge ahead a knot in a month, with all her jibs hauled over ! " He walked Bulkily forward among the men, followed by the meek divine ; and added, " I should as soon have expected to see ]Mr. Barnstable come off with a live ox in his boat as a petticoat ! The Lord only knows what the shiji is coming to next, parson ! what between cocked hats and epaulette?, and other knee-buckle matters, she was a sort of no man's land before ; and now, what with the women and their band-boxes, they'll make another Noah's ark of her. 1 wonder they didn't all come aboard in a coach and six, or a one horse shay ! "

It was a surprising relief to Barnstable to be able to give utterance to his humor, for a few moments, by ordering the men to make sundry alterations in every department of the vessel, in a quick, hurried voice, that abundantly denoted, not only the importance of his improvements, but the tem- per in which they were dictated. In his turn, however, he was soon compelled to give way, by the arrival of Griffith in the heavily-rowing launch of the frigate, which was crowded with a larger body of the seamen who had been employed in the expedition. In this manner, boat after boat speedQy arrived, and the whole party were once more happily embarked in safety under their national flag.

The small cabin of the Alacrity was relinquished to Colonel Howard and his wards, with their attendants. The boats were dropped astern, each protected by its own keeper; and Griffith gave forth the mandate to fill the sails and steer broad off into the ocean. For more than an hour the cutter held her course in this direction, gliding grace- fully through the glittering waters, rising and settling heav- ily on the long, smooth billows, as if conscious of the unusual })urden that she was doomed to carry ; but at the end of that period her head was once more brought near the wind, and she was again held at rest, awaiting the appearance of the dawn, in order to discover the position of the proudei vessel on which she was performmg the humble duty of a tender. More than a hundied and fifty living men were Towded within her narrow limits ; and her decks presenwd

THE PILOl. 39a

in the gloom, as she moved along, the piciLie of a mass of human heads.

As the freedom of a successful expedition was unavoida- bly permitted, loud jokes, and louder merriment, broke op the silent waters from the reckless seamen, while the exhila- rating can passed from hand to hand, strange oaths and dreadful denunciations breaking forth at times from some of the excited crew against their enemy. At length the bustle of reembarkiug gradually subsided, and many of the crew descended to the hold of the cutter, in quest of room to stretch their limbs, when a clear, manly voice was heard rising above the deep in those strains that a seaman most loves to hear. Air succeeded air, from different voices, until even the spirit of harmony grew dull with fatigue, and vei'ses began to be heard where songs were expected, and fleeting lines succeeded stanzas. The decks were soon covered with prostrate men, seeking their natural rest undei the open heavens, and perhaps dreaming, as they yielded heavily to the rolling of the vessel, of scenes of other times in their own hemisphere. The dark glances of Katheriue were concealed beneath her falling lids ; and even Cecilia, with her head bowed on the shoulder of her cousin, slept sweetly in innocence and peace. Boltrope groped his way into the hold among the seamen, where, kicking one of the most fortunate of the men from his berth, he established himself in his place with all that cool indifference to the other's comfort, that had grown with his experience, from the time when he was treated thus cavalierly in his own person to the present moment. In this manner head wasi iropped after head on the planks, the guns, or on whatever r.rst offered for a pillow, until Griffith and Barnstable alone wore left, pacing the different sides of the quar^^er-deck in haughty silence.

Never did a morning watch appear so long to the two young sailors, who were thus deprived, by '-esentment and pride, of that frank and friendly communion that had for «o many years sweetened the tedious hours of their long and at times dreary service. To increase the embarrass- uent of their situation, Cecilia and Katherine. suffering from

sue THE PILOT.

the conliiiemeut of the small and crowded cabin, sought the * purer air of the deck, about the time when the deepest sleep had settled on the senses of the wearied mariners. They stood, leaning against the taffrail, discoursing with each other in low and broken sentences ; but a sort of in- stinctive knowledge of the embarrassment which existed between their lovers caused a guarded control over every look or gesture which might be construed into an encour- agement for one of the young men to advance at the expense of the other. Twenty times, however, did the impatient Barnstable feel tempted to throw off the awkward restraint, and approach his mistress ; but in each instance was he checked by the secret consciousness of error, as well as by that habitual respect for superior rank that forms a part of the nature of a sea-officer. On the other hand, Griffith manifested no intention to profit by this silent con- cession in his favor, but continued to pace the short quarter- deck, with strides more hurried than ever ; and was seen to throw many an impatient glance towards that quarter of the heavens where the first signs of the lingering day might be expected to appear. At length Katherine, with a ready ingenuity, and perhaps with some secret coquetry, removed the embarrassment, by speaking first, taking care to address the lover of her cousin : —

" How long are we condemned to these limited lodgings, Mr Griffith ? " she asked ; " truly, there is a freedom in your nautical customs, which, to say the least, is novel to us females, who have been accustomed to the division of «pace ! "

" The instant that there is light to discover the frigate, Miss Plowden," he answered, " you shall be transferred from a vessel of an hundred, to one of twelve hundred tons II" your situation there be less comfortable than when within the walls of St. Ruth, you will not forget that they who «ve on the ocean claim it as a merit to d^pise the luxuries of the land."

" At least, sir," returned Katherine, with a sweet grace which she well knew how to assume on occasion, " what w« thall enjoy will be sweetened by liberty and embellishwl bj

THE PILOT. 397

t. sailor's hospitality. To me, Cicely, the air of this open sea is as fresh and invigorating as if it were wafted from our own distant America ! "

" If you have not the arm of a patriot, you at least pos- sess a most loyal imagination, Miss Plowden," said Griffith laughing ; " this soft breeze blows in the direction of the fens of Holland, instead of the broad plains of America. Thank God, there come the signs of day, at last ! unless the currents have swept the ship far to the north, we shall surely see her with the light."

This cheering intelligence drew the eyes of the fair cousins towards the east, where their delighted looks were long fastened, while they watched the glories of the sun rising over the water. As the morning had advanced, a deeper gloom was spread across* the ocean, and the stars were gleaming in the heavens like balls of twinkling fire. But now a streak of pale light showed itself along the hori- zon, growing brighter, and widening at each moment, until long fleecy clouds became visible, where nothing had been seen before but the dim base of the arch that overhung the dark waters. This expanding light, which, in appearance, might be compared to a silvery opening in the heavens, was won tinged with a pale flush, which quickened with sudden transitions into glows yet deeper, until a belt of broad flame bounded the water, ditfusing itself more faintly towards the zenith, where it melted into the pearl-colored sky, or played on the fantastic volumes of a few light clouds with incon Btant glimmering. While these beautiful transitions wer? Btill before the eyes of the youthful admirers of their beau- ties, a voice was heard above them, crying as if from the heavens —

" Sail ho ! The frigate lies broad off to seaward, sir ! "

" Aye, aye ; you have been watch'ng with one eye asleep,

feliow," returned Griffith, " or we should have heard you

before ! Look a little north of the place where the glare

of the sun is coming, INIiss Plowden, and you will be able to

ee our gallant vessel."

An involuntary cry of pLasure burst from the 'ips of Ka'henne, as she followed his directions, and first beheld

898 THE PILOT.

the frigate through the medium of the fluctuating colors cf tLe morning. The undulating outline of the lazy ocean, which rose and fell heavily against the bright boundary of the heavens, was without any relief to distract the eye^as it fed eagerly on the beauties of the solitary ship. She was ridxng sluggishly on the long seas, with only two of her lower and smaller sails spread, to hold her in command ; but her tall masts and heavy yards were painted against the fiery sky in strong lines of deep black, while even the smallest cord in the mazes of her rigging might be distinctly traced, stretching from spar to spar, with the beautiful accu- racy of a picture. At moments, when her huge hull rose on a billow, and was lifted against the background of sky, its shape and dimensions were brought into view ; but these transient glimpses were «oon lost, as it settled into the trough, leaving the waving spars bowing gracefully towards the waters, as if about to foilow the vessel into the bosom of the deep. As a clearer light gradually stole on the senses, the delusion of colors and distance vanished together, and when a flood of day preceded the immediate appearance of the sun, the ship became plainly visible within a mile of the cutter, her black hull checkered with ports, and her high, tapering masts exhibiting their proper proportions and hues.

At the first cry of "' A sail ! " the crew of the Alacrity had been aroused from their slumbers by the shrill whistle 0^ the boatswain, and long before the admiring looks of the <wo cousins had ceased to dwell on the fascinating sight of morning chasing night from the hemisphere, the cutter was again in motion to join her consort. It seemed but a moment before their little vessel was in what the timid females thought a dangerous proximity to the frigate, under whose lee she slowly passed, in order to admit of the follow- ing,dialogue between Griffith and his aged commander: —

" I rejoice to see you, Mr. Grittith ! " cried the cajitaiu, who stood in the channel of his ship, waving his hat in the way of cordial greeting. "You are welcome back. Captain Maimal ; welcome, welcome, all of you, ray boys ! as wel Bome as a nreeze hi the calm latitudes." As his eye, bow

THE PILOT. 399

erer, passed along the deck of the Alacrity, it encoai, tered the shrinking figures of Cecilia and Katherir.e ; and a dark shade of displeasure crossed his decent features, wliile he added, " How's this, gentlemen ? The frigate of Congresa is neither a ball-room, nor a church, that is to be througfe<l with women ! "

" Aye, aye," muttered Boltrope to his friend the chaplain, " now the old man has hauled out his iiizzen, you'll see him carry a weather helm ! He wakes up about as often as the trades shift their points, and that's once in six months. Bui when ihere has been a neap-tide in his temper for any time, you're sure to find it followed by a flood with a vengeance. Let us hear what the first lieutenant can say in favor of his petticoat quality ! "

The blushing sky had not exhibited a more fiery glow than gleamed in the fine fiice of Griffith for a moment ; but struggling with his disgust, he answered with bitter empha- pis —

" 'Twas the pleasure of Mr. Gray, sir, to bring off the prisoners."

" Of Mr. Gray ! " repeated the captain, instantly losing every trace of disjileasure in an air of acquiescence. " Come-to, sir, on the same tack with the ship, and I will hasten to order the accommodation-ladder rigged, to receive our guests ! "

Boltrope listened to this sudden alteration in the larguage of his commander with sufficient wonder ; nor was it until he had shaken his head repeatedly, with the manner of one who saw deeper than his neighbors into a mystery, that he found leisure to observe —

" Now, parson, I suppose if you held an almanac in your fist, you'd think you could tell which way we shall have the wind to-morrow ! but damn me, priest, if better ca'culatora than you haven't failed ! Because a lubberly — no, he's a ■.horough seaman, I'll say that for the fellow ! — because a pilot chooses to say, ' Bring me off these here women,' the fchip is to be so cluttered with she-cattle, that a man w^ill be obligated to spend half his time in making his manners Now mind what I tell you, priest, this very frolic will cost

400 THE PILOT.

Coiigi'ess the price of a year's wages for an able-bodiei^ sea- man, in bunting and canvas for screens ; besides the wear ind tear of running-gear in shortening sail, in order that the women need not be 'stericky in squalls ! "

The jjresence of ]^Ir. Boltrope being required to take charge of the cutter, the divine was denied an opportunity of dissenting from the opinions of his rough companion ; for the loveliness of thAr novel shipmates had not failed to plead loudly in their favor with every man in the cutter whose habits and ideas had not become rigidly set in obstinacy.

By the time the Alacrity was hove-to, with her head towards the frigate, the long line of boats that she had been towing during the latter part of the night, were brought to her side, and filled with men. A wild scene of unbridled merriment and gayety succeeded, while the seamen were exchanging the confinement of the j^rize for their accus- tomed lodgings in the ship, during which the reins of disci- pline were slightly relaxed. Loud laughter was echoed from boat to boat, as they glided by each other ; and rude jests, interlarded with quaint humors and strange oaths, were freely bandied from mouth to mouth. The noise, however, soon ceased, and the passage of Colonel Howard and his wards was then effected with less precipitancy and due decorum. Captain Munson, who had been holding a secret dialogue with Griffith and the Pilot, received his unexpected guests with plain hospitality, but with an evident desire to be civil. He politely yielded to their service his two con' venient state-rooms, and invited them to partake, in oonuooa with liiinself, of the comforts of the great cabin.

THE PILOT. 401

CHAPTER XXXin.

Furious press the hostile squadron,

Furious he repels their rat;e, Loss of blood at length enfeebles ;

Who can war with thousands wage ?

Spanish VVab Soao.

We cannot detain the narrative, to detail the scenes which busy wonder, aided by the relation of divers marvel- ous feats, produced among the curious seamen who re- mained in the ship, and their more fortunate felIowi< who had returned in glory from an expedition to the land. For nearly an hour the turbulence of a general movement was heard, issuing from the deep recesses of the frigate, and the boisterous sounds of hoarse merriment were listened to by the officers in indulgent silence ; but all these symptoms of unbridled humor ceased by the time the morning repast was ended, when the regular sea-wutch was set, and tho greater portion of those whose duty did not require their presence on the vessel's deck, availed themselves of the opportunity to repair the loss of sleep sustained in the preceding night. Still no preparations were made to put the ship in motion, though long and earnest consultations, which were supposed to relate to their future destiny, were observed by the younger officers to be held between their captain, the first lieutenant, and the mysterious Pilot. The latter threw many an anxious glance along the eastern horizon, searching it minutely with his glass, and then would turn his impatient looks at the low, dense bank of fog, which, stretching across the ocean like a barrier of cloud, entirely intercepted the view towards the south. To the north and along the land the air was clear, and the sea without spot of any kind ; but in the east a small white sail had been discovered since the opening of day, which wa«

26

402 THE PILOT.

gradually rising above the water, and assuming the appear Buce of a vessel of some size. Every officer on the quar ■ ter-deck in his turn had examined this digi^ant sail, and had ventured an opinion on its destination and character ; and even Katherine, who with her cousin was enjoying, in the open air, the novel beauties of the ocean, had been tempted to place her sparkling eye to a glass, to gaze at the stranger

" It is a collier," Griffith said, " who has hauled from the land in the late gale, and who is luffing up to his courv igain. If the wind holds here in the south, and he does not get into that fog-bank, we can stand off for him and get a sup2:)ly of fuel before eight bells are struck."

" I think his head is to the northward, and that he is steering off the wind," returned the Pilot, in a musing manner. " If that Dillon succeeded in getting his express far enough along the coast, the alarm has been spread, and we must be wary. The convoy of the Baltic trade is in the North Sea, and news of our presence could easily have been taken off to it by some of the cutters that line tha coast. I could wish to get the ship as far south as the Helder ! "

" Then we lose this weather tide ! " exclaimed the im- patient Griffith ; " surely we have the cutter as a look-out ! besides, by beating into the fog, we shall lose the enemy, if enemy it be, and it is thought meet for an American frigate to skulk from her foes ! "

The scornful expression that kindled the eye of the Pilot, like a gleam of sunshine lighting for an instant some dark dell and laying bare its secrets, was soon lost in the usually quiet look of his glance, though he hesitated, like one who was struggling with his passions, before he answered —

" K prudence and the service of the States require it, even this pro-zi frigate must retreat and hide from the meanest of her enemies. My advice, Captain Munson, is. that you. make sail, and beat the ship to windward, as Mr Griffith has suggested, and that you order the cutter to jire- cede us keeping more in with the land."

The aged seaman, who evidently susj^ended his orders inly to receive an intimation of the other's pleasure, imme-

THE PILOT. 403

diately commanded his youthful assistant to issue the necessary mandates to put these measures in force. Ac cordingly, the Alacrity, which vessel had been left uuder the command of the junior lieutenant of the frigate, waa quickly under way ; and, making short stretches to wind- ward, she soon entered the bank of fog, and was lost to the eye. In the mean time the canvas of the ship was loos- ened, and spread leisurely, in order not to disturb the portion of the crew who were sleepmg ; and, following her little consort, she moved heavily through the water, bearing up against the duU breeze.

The quiet of regular duty had succeeded to the bustle of making sail ; and, as the rays of the sun fell less obliquely on the distant land, Katherine and Cecilia were amusmg Griffith by vain attempts to point out the rounded emi- nences which they fancied lay in the vicinity of the deserted mansion of St. Ruth. Barnstable, who had resumed hia former station in the frigate, as her second lieutenant, was pacing the opposite side of the quarter-deck, holding under his arm the speaking-trumpet, which denoted that he held the temporary control of the motions of the shi]}, and inwardly cursing the restraint that kept him from the side of his mistress. At this moment of universal quiet, when nothing above low dialogues interrupted the dashing of the waves as they were thrown lazily aside by the bows of the vessel, the report of a light cannon burst out of the barrier of fog, and rolled by them on the breeze, apparently vibrat- ing with the rising and sinking of the waters.

" There goes the cutter ! " exclaimed Griffith, the instant the sound was heard.

" Surely," said the captain, " Somers is not so indiscreet as to scale his guns, after the caution he has received ! "

'' No idle scaling of guns is intended there," said the Pilot, Btraining his eyes to pierce the fog, but soon turning away in disappointment at his inability to succeed, " that gun it shotted-, and has been fired in the hurry of a sudden signal ! oan your look-outs see nothing, Mr. Barnstable ? "

The lieutenant of the watch hailed the man aloft, and domauded if anything wf>r« visible in the direr 'ion of the

404 THE PILOT.

wind, and received for answer, that the fog itteicepted the view in that quarter of the heavens, but that the sail in tlie east was a ship, running large, or before the wind. The Pilot shook his head doubtingly at this information, but still he manifested a strong re'uctance to relinquish th€ attempt of getting more to the southward. Again he com* inuned with the commander of the frigate, apart from all other ears ; and while they yet deliberated, a second report was heard, leaving no doubt that the Alacrity was firing signal -guns for their particular attention.

" Perhaps," said Griffith, " he wishes to point out hia position, or to ascertain ours ; believing that we are lost like himself in the mist."

" We have our compasses ! " returned the doubting captain ; " Somers has a meaning in what he says ! "

" See ! " cried Katherine, with girlish delight, " see, my cousin ! see, Barnstable ! how beautifidly that vapor is wreathing itself in clouds above the smoky line of fog ! It stretches already into the very heavens like a lofty pyramid ! "

Barnstable sprang lightly on a gun, as he repeated her words —

" Pyramids of fog ! and wreathing clouds ! By Heaven ! " he shouted, " 'tis a tall ship ! Royals, skysails, and stud- ding-sails all abroad ! She is within a mile of us, and comes down like a race-horse, with a spanking-breeze, dead before it ! Now know we why Somers is speaking in the mist!"

" Aye," cried Griffith, " and there goes the Alacrity, just breaking out of the fog, hovering in for the land ! "

" There is a mighty hull under all that cloud of canvas, Captain Munson," said the observant but calm Pilot ; " it -g time, gentlemen, to edge away to leeward."

" What, before we know from whom we run ! " cried Griffith ; " my life on it, there is no single ship King George owns, but would tire of the sport before she had played a full 'game of bowls with " —

The haughty air of the young man was daunted by th« levere lock he encountered in the eye of the Pilot, and hu

THE PILOT. 405

Btiddenlj ceased, though inwardly chalTtig with iuipatient pride.

" The same eye that ietected the canvas above the fog, might have seen the flag of a vice-admiral fluttering still nearer the heavens," returned the collected stranger ; " and England, faulty as she may be, is yet too generous to place % flag-officer in time of war in command of a fiigate, or a captain in command of a fleet. She knows the value of those who shed their blood in her behalf, and it is thus that she is so well served ! Believe me. Captain Muuson, thera is nothing short of a ship of the line under that symbol of rank, and that broad show of canvas ! "

" We shall see, sir, we shall see," returned the old officer, whose manner grew decided, as the danger appeared to thicken ; " beat to quarters, Mr. Griffith, for we have none but enemies to exjiect on this coast."

The order was instantly issued, when Griffith remarked, with a more temperate zeal —

" If Mr. Gray be right, we shall have reason to thank God that we are so light of heel ! "

The cry of " a strange vessel close aboard the frigate," having already flown down the hatches, the ship was in an uproar at the first tap of the drum. The seamen threw themselves from their hammocks, and lashing them rapidly into long, hard bundles, they rushed to the decks, where they were dexterously stowed in the netting, to aid the defenses of the upper part of the vessel. While this tu- multuous scene was exhibiting, Griffith gave a secret order to Merry, who disappeared, leading his trembling cousins to a place of safety in the inmost depths of the ship.

The guns were cleared of their lumber, and loosened The bulk-heads were knocked down, and the cabin relieved of its furniture ; and the gun-deck exhibited one unbroken line of formidable cannon, arranged in all the order of a aaval battery ready to engage. Arm-chests were thrown open, and the decks strewed with pikes, cutlasses, pistols, *nd all the various weapons for boarding. In short, the yards were slung, and every other arrangement was made "Kith a readiness and dexterity that were actually wonder

406 THE PILOT.

fill, though all was performed amid an appearance of disop der and confusion that rendered the ship another Babel during the continuance of the preparations. In a very few minutes everything was completed, and even the voices of the men ceased to be heard answering to their names, a"* they were mustered at their stations, by their respective officers. Gradually the ship became as quiet as the grave j Und when even Griffith or his commander found it neces* lary to speak, their voices were calmer, and their tones more mild than usual. The course of the vessel was changed to an oblique line from that in which their enemy was approaching, though the ajjpearance of flight was to be studiously avoided to the last moment. When nothing further remained to be done, every eye became fixed on the enormous pile of swelling canvas that was rising, in cloud over cloud, far above the fog, and which was mani- festly moving, like driving vapor, swiftly to the north. Presently the dull, smoky boundai-y of the mist which rested on the water was pushed aside in vast volumes, and the long taper spars that projected from the bowsprit of the Btrange ship issued from the obscurity, and were quickly followed by the whole of the enormous fabric to which they were merely light appendages. For a moment, streaks of reluctant vapor clung to the huge floating pile ; but they were soon shaken off by the rapid vessel, and the whole of her black hull became distinct to the eye.

" One, two, three rows of teeth ! " said Boltrope, deliber- ately counting the tiers of guns that bristled along the sides of the enemy ; " a three-decker ! Jack Manly would show bis stern to such a fellow ! and even the bloody Scotch- man would run ! "

" Hard up with your helm, quartermaster ! " cried Cap- tain Munson ; " there is indeed no time to hesitate, with Buch an enemy within a quarter of a mile ! Turn the hands op, Mr. Griffith, and pack on the ship from her trucks to her lower studding-sail booms. Be stirring, sir, be stirring ! Hard up with your helm ! Hard up, and be damned to Vou ! "

The unusual earnestness of their aged commander acted

THE PILOT. 4)7

an the startled crew like a voice from li. 3 detp, ani they waiter! not for the usual signals of the boatswain and drum- mer to be given, before they broke away from their guus, and rushed turaultuously to aid in spreading the desiiei' canvas. There was one minute of ominous confusion, that to an inexperienced eye would have foreboded the destruc- tion of all order in the vessel, during which every hand^ and each tongue, seemed in motion ; but it ended in cpen • Ing the immense folds of light duck which were displayed along the whole line of the masts, far beyond the ordinary sails, overshadowing the waters for a great distance, OE either side of the vessel. During the moment of inaction that succeeded this sudden exertion, the breeze, which had brought up the three-decker, fell fresher on the sails of the frigate, and she started away from her dangerous enemy with a very perceptible advantage in point of sailing.

" The fog rises ! " cried Gritfith ; " give us but the wind for an hour, and we shall run her out of gunshot ! "

" These nineties are very fast off the wind," returned the captain, in a low tone, that was intended only for the ears »f his first lieutenant and the Pilot ; " and we shall have a struggle for it."

The quick eye of the stranger was glancing over the movements of his enemy, while he answered —

" He finds we have the heels of him already ! he is mak- .iig ready, and we shall be fortunate to escape a broadside ! Let her yaw a little, Mr. Griffith ; touch her lightly with the helm ; if we are raked, sir, we are lost ! "

The captain sprang on the taffrail of his ship \vith the activity of a younger man, and in an instant he perceived the truth of the other's conjecture.

Both vessels now "an for a few minutes, keenly watching each other's motion? like two skillful combatants ; the Eng- lish ship making ght deviations from the line of her course, and then, as her movements were anticipated by <.l.>e other, turning as cautiously in the opposite direction, until a sudden and wJde sweep of her huge bows told the Americans plainly on which tack to expect her. Captain Munson made a s'lent but impressive gesture with his arm.

408 THE PILOT.

as if the crisis were too important for speech, which indi- cated to the watchful Griffith the way he wished the frigate gheered, to avoid the weight of the impending danger. Both vessels whirled swiftly up to the wind, with their heads to- wards the land ; and as the huge black side of the three* decker checkered with its triple batteries, frowned full upon her foC; it belched forth a flood of fire and smoke, accom- panied by a bellowing roar that mocked the surly meanings of the sleeping ocean. The nerves of the bravest man in the fi-igate contracted their fibrei, as the hurricane of iron hurtled by them, and each eye appeared to gaze in stupid wonder, as if tracing the flight of the swift engines of de- struction. But the voice of Captain Munson was heard in the din, shouting while he waved his hat earnestly in the required direction —

" Meet her ! meet her with the helm, boy ! meet her, Mr. Griffith, meet her ! "

Griffith had so far anticipated this movement, as to have already ordered the head of the frigate to be turned in its former course, when, struck by the unearthly cry of the last tones uttered by his commander, he bent his head, and beheld the venerable seaman driven through the air, his hat Btill waving, his gray hair floating in the wind, and his eye Bet in the wUd look of death.

" Great God ! " exclaimed the young man, rushing to the 6ide of the ship, where he was just in time to see the lifeless body disappear in the waters that were dyed in its blood ; " he has been struck by a shot ! Lower-away the boat, lower-away the jolly-boat, the barge, the tiger, the " —

" 'Tis useless," interrupted the calm deep voice of the PUot ; " he has met a warrior's end, and he sleeps in a Bailor's grave ! The ship is getting before the wind agam, and the enemy is keeping his vessel away."

The youthful lieutenant was recalled by these words to his duty, and reluctantly turned his eyes away from the bloody spot on the waters, which the busy frigate had already passed, to resume the command of the vessel with a forced composure.

*' lie has cut some or our running gear," said the master

THE PILOT. 409

whose eye had never ceased to dwell on the spars and rigging of the ship ; " and there's a splinter out of the main-topmast, that is big enough for a fid ! He has let daylight through some of our canvas too ; but, taking it by-and-large, the squall has gone over and little harm done. Didn't I hear something said of Captain Munscn getting jammed by a shot ? "

" He is killed ! " said Griffith, speaking in a voice that was yet husky with horror ; " he is dead, sir, and carried overboard ; there is more need that we forget not ourselves, in this crisis."

" Dead ! " said Boltrope, suspending the operation of hja active jaws for a moment, in surprise ; " and buried in a wet jacket ! "Well, it is lucky 'tis no worse ; for damme if I did not think every stick in the ship would have been cut out of her ! "

With this consolatory remark on his lips, the master walked slowly forward, continuing his oi'ders to repair the damages with a singleness of purpose that rendered him, however uncouth as a friend, an invaluable man in his station.

Griffith had not yet brought his mind to the calmness that was so essential to discharge the duties which had thus suddenly and awfully devolved on him, when his elbow was lightly touched by the Pilot, who had drawn closer to his side.

" The enemy appear satisfied with the experiVnent," said the stranger ; " and as we work the quicker of the two, he loses too much ground to repeat it, if he be a true seaman."

" And yet as he finds we leave him so fast," returned Griffith, " he must see that all his hopes rest in cutting us up* aloft. I dread that he will come by tlie wind again, and lay us under his broadside ; we should need a quarter of an hour to rim without his range, if he were anchored ! "

" He plays a surer game ; see you not that the vessel we made in the eastern board shows the hull of a frigate ? 'Tis past a doubt that they are of one squadron, and that the expresses have sent them in our wake. The English admiral has spread a broad clew Mr Griffith ; and, as he

410 THE PILOT.

gathers In his ships, he sees that his game has beor sncces* fill."

Tlie faculties of Griffith had been too much occupied with the hurry of the chase to look at the ocean ; but, startled at the information of the Pilot, who spoke coolly, though like a man sensible of the existence of approaching danger, he took the glass from the other, and with his own eye examined the different vessels in sight. It is certain that the experienced officer, whose flag was flying above thf light sails of the three-decker, saw the critical situation ol his chase, and reasoned much in the same manner as thw Pilot, or the fearful expedient apprehended by Griffitu would have been adopted. Prudence, however, dictated that he should prevent his enemy from escaping by pressing 60 closely on his rear, as to render it impossible for the American to haul across his bows and ran into the open sea between his own vessel and the nearest frigate of his squad- ron. The unpracticed reader will be able to comprehend the case better by accompanying the understanding eye of Griffith, as it glanced from point to point, following the whole horizon. To the west lay the land, along which the Alacrity was urging her way industriously, with the double purpose of keeping her consort abeam, and of avoiding a dangerous proximity to their powerful enemy. To the east, bearing otF the starboard bow of the American frigate, was the vessel first seen, and which now began to exhibit the ■lostile appearance of a sliip of war, steering in a line con- verging towards themselves, and rapidly drawing nigher ; while far in the northeast was a vessel as yet faintly dis- cerned, whose evolutions could not be mistaken by one who understood the movements of nautical warfare.

" "VTe are hemmed in effectually," said Griffith, droppiBg the glass from his eye ; " and I know not but our wisest course would be to haul in to the land, and, cutti .g every- thing light adrift, endeavor to pass the broadside t f the flag- ahip."

" Provided she left a rag of canvas to do it with ! '" returned the Pilot. " Sir, 'tis an idle hope ! She wouia •trip your ship in ten minutes, to her plank shears. Had

THE PILOT. ill

it not been for a lu iky wave on which so many of her tihot Btruck and glanced upward, we should have nothing to boast of left from the fire she has already given ; we must f tand on, and drop the three-decker as far as possible."

" But the frigates ? " said Gritlith, " what are ^ve to do with the frigates ? "

" Fight them ! " returned the Pilot, in a low, determined voice ; " fight them ! Yoimg man, I have borne the stars and stripes aloft in greater straits than this, and even with honor ! Think not that my fortune will desert me now."

" We shall have an hour of desperate battle ! "

" On that we may calculate ; but I have lived througi', whole days of bloodshed ! You seem not one to quail at the sight of an enemy."

" Let me proclaim your name to the men ! " said Griffith ; " 'twill quicken their blood, and at such a moment be a host in itself."

" They want it not," returned the Pilot, checking the aasty zeal of the other with his hand. " I would be unnoticed, unless I am known as becomes me. I ydl\ share your danger, but would not rob you of a tittle of your glory. Shoidd we come to a grapple," he continued, while a smile of conscious pride gleamed across his face, " I will give forth the word as a war-cry, and, believe me, these English will t[uail before it ! "

Griffith submitted to the sti'anger's will ; and, after they Lad deliberated further on the nature of their evolutions, he gave his attention again to the management of the vessel. The first object which met his eye on turning from the Pilot was Colonel Howard, pacing the quarter-deck with a determined brow and a haughty mien, as if already in the enjoyment of that triumph which now seemed certain.

" 1 fear, sir," said the young man, approaching him with icspect, " that you will soon find the deck unpleasant and dangerous : your wards are " —

" Mention not the unworthy terii. ! " :nt€rrupted the colonel. •' What greater pleasure can there be than to mhale the odor of loyalty that is wafted from yonder float- aig tower of the king And danger ! you know but little

412 THE PILOT.

of old George Howard, young man, if you think he would for thousands miss seeing that symbol of rebellion leveleo before the flag of his majesty."

" If that be your wish, Colonel Howard," returned Grif- fith, biting his liji, as he looked around at the wonderin« seamen who were listeners, " you will wait in vain ; but I pleige you my word, that when that time arrives, you shall be advised, and that your own hands shall do the ignoble deed."

" Edward Griffith, why not this moment ? This is your moment of probation — submit to the clemency of the erown, and yield your crew to the royal mercy ! In such a case I would remember the child of my brother Harry's friend ; and believe me, my name is known to the ministry. And you, misguided and ignorant abettors of rebellion ! cast aside your useless weapons, or prepare to meet the vengeance of yonder powerful and victorious servant of your prince."

" Fall back ! back with ye, fellows ! " cried Griffith, fiercely, to the men who were gathering around the colonel, with looks of sullen vengeance. " K a man of you dare approach him, he shall be cast into the sea."

The sailors retreated at the order of their commander ; but the elated veteran had continued to pace the deck for many minutes before stronger interests diverted the angry glances of the seamen to other objects.

Notwithstanding the ship of the line was slowly sinking beneath the distant waves, and in less than an hour from the time she had fired the broadside, no more than one of her thr3e tiers of guns was visible from the deck of the frigate, she yet presented an irresistible obstacle against re- treat to the south. On the other hand, the ship first seen ^ew so nigh as to render the glass no longer necessary in watching her movements. She proved to be a frigate, Ibough one so materially lighter than the American, as to bave rendered her conquest easy, had not her two consorta continued to press on for the scene of battle with such rapidity. During the chase, the scene had shifted from the point opposite to St. Ruth, to the verge of those shoali

THE PILOT 413

wiie.'e cur tule commenced. As they approached the latter, the smallest of the Eiiiilisl: sliijis drew so nigh as to render the combat unavoidable. Gritlitli and his crew had not heen idle in the intermediate time, but all the usual prepu rations against the casualties of a sea-fight had been dul} made, when the drum once more called the men to theii quarters, and the shij) was deliberately strippec of hei -ii- necessary sails, like a prize-fighter about to enter the arena, casting aside the incumbrances of dress. At the inslt^int she gave this intimation of her intention to abandon flight, and trust the issue to the combat, the nearest English frig- ate also took in her light canvas in token of her acceptance of the challenge.

" lie is but a little fellow," said Griffith to the Pilot, who hovered at his ell)OW with a sort of fatherly intertrfet in the other's conduct of the battle, " though he carries a stout heart."

" We must crush him at a blow," returned the stranger ; " not a shot must be delivered until our yards are lock- ing."

" I see him training his twelves upon us already ; we may soon expect his fire."

" After standing the brunt of a ninety-gun ship," ob- served the collected Pilot, " we shall not shrink from the broadside of a two-and-thirty."

" Stand to your guns, men ! " cried Griffith, through his trumpet ; " not a shot is to be fired without the order."

This caution, so necessary to check the ardor of the sea- men, was hardly uttered, before their enemy became wrapped in sheets of fire and volumes of smoke, as gun after gun hurled its iron missiles at their vessel in quick Buccession. Ten minutes might have passed, the two ves- sels sheering close to each other every foot they advanced, during which time the crew of the American were com* pelled, by their commander, to suffer the fire of the'" adver* Bary, without returning a shot. This short period, wnicb seemed an age to the seamf'n, was liistinguished in theii vessel by deop srlence. Even the wounded and dying, who fell in every ptiit cf the ship, stifled their groans, under the

414 THE PILOT.

influence of tte severe discipline, which gave a character to every man, and each movement of the vessel ; and thoM officers who were required to speak, were heard only in the lowest tones of resolute preparation. At length the ship Blowly entered the skirts of the smoke that enveloped their enemy ; and Griffith heard the man who stood at his side whisper the word " Now."

" Let them have it ! " cried Griffith, in a voice that was heard in the remotest parts of the ship.

The shout that burst from the seamen appeared to lift the decks of the vessel, and the affi'ighted frigate trembled like an aspen with the recoil of her own massive artillery, that shot forth a single sheet of flame, the sailors having disregarded, in their impatience, the usual order of firing. The effect of the broadside on the enemy was still more dreadful ; for a deathlike silence succeeded to the roar of guns, which was only broken by the shrieks and exe- crations that burst from her, like the moanings of the damned. During the few moments in which the Ameri- cans were again loading their cannon, and the English were recovering from their confusion, the vessel of the former moved slowly past her antagonist, and was already doubling across her bows, when the latter was suddenly, and, consid- ering the inequality of their forces, it may be added desper- ately, headed into her enemy. The two frigates grappled. The sudden and furious charge made by the Englishman, as he threw his masses of daring seamen along his bowsprit, and out of his channels, had nearly taken Griffith by sur- prise ; but Manual, who had delivered his first fire with the broadside, now did good service, by ordering his men to beat back the intruders, by a steady and continued dis- charge. Even the wary Pilot lost sight of their other foes, In the high daring of that moment, and smiles of stern pleasure were exchanged between him and Griffith as both comprehended, at a glance, their advantages.

" Lash his bowsprit to our mizzen-mast," shouted the lieu- *nant, " and we will sweep his decks as he lies ! "

Twenty men sprang eagerly forward to execute the order, am^ng the foremost of whom were Boltrope and tho itranger.

THE PILOT 415

** Aye, now he's our own ! " cried the busy master, *' and we will take an owner's liberties with him, and break him np — for by the eternal " —

" Peace, rude man," said the Pilot, in a voice of soleiria remonstrance ; " at the next instant you may face your God ; mock not his awful nafbe ! "

The master found time, before he threw himself from the Bpar on the deck of the frigate again, to cast a look of amazement at his companion, who, with a steady mien, but with an eye that lighted with a warrior's ardor, viewed the battle that raged around him, like one who marked its prog- ress to control the result.

The sight of the Englishmen rushing onward with shouts and bitter menaces, warmed the blood of Colonel Howard, who pressed to the side of the frigate, and encouraged his friends by his gestures and voice, to come on.

" Away with ye, old croaker ! " cried the master, seizing him by tlie collar ; " away with ye to the hold, or I'll order you fired from a gim."

" Down with your arms, rebellious dog ! " shouted the colonel, carried beyond himself by the ardor of the fray , " down to the dust, and implore the mercy of your injured prince ! "

Invigorated by a momentary glow, the veteran grappled with his brawny antagonist ; but the issue of the short struggle was yet suspended, when the English, driven back by the fire of the marines, and the menacing front that Griffith with his boarders presented, retreated to the forecas- tle of their own ship, and attempted to return the deadly blows they were receiving, in their hull, from the cannon that Barnstable directed. A solitary gun was all they coiud bring to bear on th« Americans ; but this, loaded with can- ister, was fired so near as to send its glaring flame into the very faces of their enemies. The struggling colonel, who was already sinking beneath the arm of his foe, felt the rough grasp loosen from his throat at the .lash, and the two combitants sunk powerless on their knees, facing each other.

" How now, bro'iher " exclcimed Boltrope, with a smilt

i1t> THE PILOT.

of grim iierceness ; " some of that grist has gone to jom mUl, ha ! "

No answer could, however, be given before the yielding forms of both fell to the deck, where they lay helpless, amid the din of the battle and the wild confusion of the eager combatants.

Notwithstanding the furious struggle they had witnessed, the elements did not cease their functions ; and, urged by the breeze, and lifted irresistibly on a wave, the American ship was forced through the water still further across the bows of her enemy. The idle fastenings of hemp and iron were snapped asunder like strings of tow, and Griffith saw his own ship borne away from the Englishman at the instant that the bowsprit of the latter was torn from its lashings, and tumbled into the sea, followed by spar after spar, until nothing of all her proud tackling was remaining, but the few parted and useless ropes that were left dan- gling along the stumps of her lower masts. As his own stately vessel moved fi-om the confusion she had caused, and left the dense cloud of smoke in which her helpless an- tagonist lay, the eye of the young man glanced anxiously towards the horizon, where he now remembered he had more foes to contend against.

" We have shaken off the thirty-two most happily ! " he said to the Pilot, who followed his motions with singular interest ; " but here is another fellow sheering in for us, who shows as many ports as ourselves, and who appears inclined for a closer interview ; besides, the hull of the ninety is rising again, and I fear she will be down but too won ! "

" We must keep the use of our braces and sails," returned the Pilot, " and on no account close with the other frigate ; we must play a double game, sir, and fight this new ad- versary with our heels as well as with our guns."

" 'Tis time then that we were busy, for he is shortening sail, and as he nears so f:xst, we may expect to hear froDC bim every minute ; what do you propose, sir ? "

" f<et him gather in his canvas," returned the Pilot '* and when he thinks himself snus, we can thro^v out a

THE PILOT. 411

hundred men at once upon our yards, and spread every- thing alow and aloft ; we may then draw ahead of him by 8urpri.ae ; if we can once get him in om* wake, I have no fears of dropping them all."

" A stern chase is a long chase," cried Griffith, " and the thing niay do ! Clear up the decks, here, and carry down the wmnded ; end, as we have our hands full, the poor fellovyn who have done with us must go overboard at cnce.*^

This melancholy duty was instantly attended to, while the young seaman who commanded the frigate returned to his duty, with the absorbed air of one who felt its high responsibility. These occupations, however, did not prevenv his hearing the sounds of Barnstable's voice calling eagerly to young Merry. Bending his head towards the sound, Griffith beheld his friend, looking anxiously up the main hatch, with a face grimed with smoke, his coat off, and liis shirt bespattered with human blood. " Tell me, boy," he said, " is Mr. Griffith untouched ? They say that a shot came in upon the quarter-deck that tripped up the heels of balf a dozen."

Before TVIerry could answer, the eyes of Barnstable, which even while he spoke were scanning the state of the vessel's rigging, encountered the kind looks of Griffith, and from that moment perfect harmony was restored between the friends.

" Ah ! you are there, GrifF, and with a whole skin, I see," cried Barnstable, smiling with pleasure ; " they have passed poor Boltrope down into one of his own store- rooms ! If that fellow's bowsprit had held on ten minutes longer, what a m?rk 1 should have made on his face and eyes ! "

" 'Tis perhaps t)est as it is," returned Griffith ; " but nhat have you done with those whom we are most bouufi VX3 protect ? "

Baruolable made a significant gesture towards the deptha »t the vessel, as he answered —

*' On the cables ; safe as wood, iron, and water can keep them — though Katherine has had her head up three time» ^" —

27

418 THE PILOT.

A summons from the Pilot drew Griffith away ; and tQ« young officers were compelled to forget their individua; feelings, in the pressing duties of their stations.

The ship which the American frigate had now to oppose was a vessel of near her own size and equipage ; and when Griffith looked at her again, he perceived that she had matle her preparations to assert her equality in manful fight.

Her sails had been gradually reduced to the usual quantity, and, by certain movements on her decks, the lieutenant and his constant attendant, the Pilot, well under- stood that she only wanted to lessen her distance a few hundred yards to begin the action.

" Now spread everything," whispered the stranger.

Griffith applied the trumpet to his mouth, and shouted in a voice that was carried even to his enemy, " Let fall — out with your booms — sheet home — hoist away of every- thmg ! "

The inspiring cry was answered by a universal bustle ; fifty men flew out on the dizzy heights of the different spars, while broad sheets of canvas rose as suddenly along the masts, as if some mighty bird were spreadin* its wings. The Englishman instantly perceived his mistake, and he answered the artifice by a roar of artillery. Griffith watched the effects of the broadside with an absorbing interest, as the shot whistled above his head ; but when he perceived his masts untouched, and the few unimportant ropes only that were cut, he replied to the uproar with a burst of pleasure. A few men were, however, seen cling- ipg with wild frenzy to the cordage, dropping from rope to Dpe like wounded birds fluttering through a tree, until tlioy tell heavily into the ocean, the sullen ship sweeping by thf.m in cold indifference. At the next instant the spars and Basts of their enemy exhibited a display of men similar to their own, when Griffith again placed the trum2:)et to hi.- mouth, and shouted aloud —

" Give it to them ; drive them from their yards, boys scatter them with your grape — unreeve their rigging!"

The crew of tbs. American wanted but little encourage Vtent to enter ob this experiment with hearty good w»^

THE PILOT. 419

ftad the close of his cheering words were uttered amid the deafening roar of his own cannon. The Pilot had, however mistaken the okill and readiness of their foe ; for, notwith- standing the disadvantageous circumstances under which the Englishman increased his sail, the duty was steadily and dexterously performed.

The two ships were now running rapidly on paraile^ lineS/ hurling at each other their instruments of destruction with furious industry, and with severe and certain loss to both, though with no manifest advantage in favor of either. Both Griffith and the Pilot witnessed with deep concern this unexpected defeat of their hopes ; for they could not conceal from themselves, that each moment lessened their velocity through the water, as the shot of their enemy stripped the canvas from the yards, or dashed aside the lighter spars in their terrible progress.

" We find our equal here ! " said Griffith to the stranger. " The ninety is heaving up again like a mountain ; and if we contmue to shorten sail at this rate, she will soon be down upon us ! "

" You say true, sir," returned the Pilot, musing ; " the man shows judgment as well as spirit : but " —

He was interrupted by Merry, who rushed from the forward part of the vessel, his whole face betokening the eagerness of his spirit, and the importance of his intelli- gence.

" The breakers ! " he cried, when nigh enough to be iieard amid the din ; "we are running dead on a ripple, and tte sea is white not two hundred yards ahead."

The Pilot jumped on a gun, and bending to catch a glimpse through the smoke, he shouted, in those clear, piercing tones, that could be even heard among the roaring of the cannon, " Port, port your helm ! we are on the Devil's Grip! pass up the trumpet, sir; port your helm, fellow j give it them, boys — give it to the proud English dogs! Griffith unhesitatingly relinquished the symbol of his rank, fastening his own firm look on the calm but quick eye of the Pilot, and gathering assurance from the high confidence he read in the countenance of the stranger. The seamen

420 THE PILOT.

»rere too busy with their cannon and their rigging to regard the new danger ; and the frigate entered one of the danger- ous passes of the shoals, in the heat of a severely contested battle. The wondering looks of a few of the older sailors glanced at the sheets of foam that flew by them, in doubt whether the wild gambols of the waves were occasioned by the shot of the enemy, when suddenly the noise of cannon was succeeded by the sullen wash of the disturbed element, and presently the vessel glided out of her smoky shroud, and was boldly steering in the centre of the narrow passages. For ten breathless minutes longer the Pilot continued to hold an uninterrupted sway, during which the vessel ran swiftly by ripples and breakers, by streaks of foam and darker passages of deep water, when he threw down hia trumpet, and exclaimed —

" What threatened to be our destruction has proved our salvation ! Keep yonder hill crowned with wood, one point open from the church tower at its base, and steer east by north ; you will run through these shoals on that course in an hour, and by so doing you will gain five leagues of your enemy, who will have to double their tail."

The moment he stepped from the gun, the Pilot lost the air of authority that had so singularly distinguished his animated form, and even the close interest he had mani- ♦bsted in the incidents of the day became lost in the cold, settled reserve he had affected during his intercourse with his present associates. Every officer in the ship, after the breathless suspense of uncertainty had passed, rushed to those places where a view might be taken of their enemies. The ninety was still steering boldly onward, and had already xpproached the two-and-thirty, which* lay a helpless wreck, i oiling on the unruly seas that were rudely tossing her on their wanton billows. The frigate last engaged was run- ning along the edge of the ripple, with her torn sails flying loosely in the air, her ragged spars tottering in the breeze, and everything above her hull exhibiting the confusion of a sudden and unlooked-for check to her progress. The exult- ing taunts and mirthful congratulations of the seamen, at they gazed at the English ships, were, however, soon for

THE PILOT. 421

gotten in the attention that was required t^ their own vessel. The drums beat the retreat, the guns ^rere lashed, the wounded again removed, and every individual able to keep the deck was required to lend his assistance in repair- ing the damages of the frigate and securing her nissts.

The promised hour carried the sliip safely through all the dangers, which were much lessened by daylight ; and bv the time the sun had begun to fall over the land, (arriffith, who had not quitted the deck during the day, beheld his vessel once more cleared of the confusion of the chase and battle, and ready to meet another foe. At this period he was summoned to the cabin, at the request of the ship's chaplain. Delivering the charge of the frigate to Barn- stable, who had been his active assistant, no less in their subsequent labors than in the combat, he hastily divested himself of the vestiges of the fight, and proceeded io obey the repeated and earnest call.

4SS THE PILOT.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Whither, 'midst falling dew. While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way?

Bbtast.

Whex the youug seaman who now commanded the frig ate descended from the quarter-deck in compliance with the often-repeated summons, he found the vessel restored to the Bame neatness as if nothing had occurred to disturb its order The gun-deck had been cleansed of its horrid stains, and the smoke of the fight had long since ascended through the hatches and mingled with the clouds that flitted above the ship. As he walked along the silent batteries, even the urgency of his visit could not prevent him from glancing his eyes towards the splintered sides, those terrible vestiges, by which the paths of the shot of their enemy might be traced ; and by the time he tapped lightly at the door of the cabin, his quick look had embraced every material injury the vessel had sustained in her principal points of defense.

The door was opened by the surgeon of the frigate, who, as he stepped aside to permit Griffith to enter, shook his head witL that air of meaning, which, in one of his profes- eion, is understood to imply the abandonment of all hopes, and then immediately quitted the apartment, in order to attend to those who might profit by his services.

The reader is not to imagine that Griffith had lost sight of Cecilia and her cousin during the occurrences of that eventful day : on the contrary, liis troubled fancy had present'.d her terror and distress, even in the hottest mo« ments of the fight ; and the instant that the crew were called fi'om their guns he had issued an order to replace the julk-heads of the cabin, and to arrange ita furiiture for

THE riLOT. 423

their accommodation, though the higher and imperious duties of his station had precluded his a*^tending to their comfort in person. He expected, therefore, to find the order of the rooms restored; but he was by no means pre- pared to encounter the scene he was now to witness.

Between two of the sullen cannon, which gave such an air of singular wilduess to the real comfort of the cabin, was placed a large couch, on which the colonel was lying, evidently near his end. Cecilia was weeping by his side, her dark ringlets falling m unheeded confusion around her pale features, and sweeping in their rich exuberance the deck on which she kneeled. Katherine leaned tenderly over the form of the dying veteran, while her dark, tearful eyes seemed to express self-accusation blended with deep commiseration. A few attendants of both sexes surrounded the solemn scene, all of whom appeared to be under the influence of the hopeless intelligence which the medical officer had but that moment communicated. The servants of the ship had replaced the furniture with a care that mocked the dreadful struggle that so recently disfigured the warlike apartment, and the stout square frame of Boltrope occupied the opposite settee, his head resting on the lap of the captain's steward, and his hand gently held in the grasj- of his fi'iend the chaplain. Griffith had heard of the wound of the master, but his own eyes now conveyed the first mtelligence of the situation of Colonel Howard. When the shock of this sudden discovery had a little subsided, the young man approached the couch of the latter, and attempted to express his regret and pity, in a voice that affijrded an assurance of his sincerity.

" Say no more, Edward Griffith," interrupted the colonel, waving his hand feebly for silence ; " it seemeth to bo the will of God that this rebellion should triumph, and it is not for vain man to impeach the acts of Omnipotence. To my errnig faciUties, it wears an appearance of mystery, but doubtless it is to answer the purpose of his own inscrutable providence. I have sent for you, Edward, on a busiuesa that I vrould fain see accomplished before I die, that it may not He said that old George Howard neglected his duty

424 THE PILOT.

even in his last moments. You see this weepiug child at mj side ; tell me, young man, do you love the maiden ? " " Am I to be asked such a question ? " exclaimed Grffith " And will you cherish her — will you supply to her the places of father and mother — will you become the fond guardian of her innocence and weakness ? '

Griffith could give no other answer than a fervent press ure of the hand he had clasped.

" I believe you," continued the dying man ; " for however he may have forgotten to inculcate his own loyalty, worthy Hugh Griffith could never neglect to make his son a man of honor. I had weak and perhaps evil wishes in belialf of my late imfortunate kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon ; but they have told me that he was false to his faith. If this ba true, I would refuse him the hand of the girl, though he claimed the fealty of the British realms. But he has passed away, and I am about to follow him into a world where we shall imd but one Lord to serve ; and it may have been better for us both had we more remembered our duty to Him, while serving the princes of the earth. One thing further — know you this officer of your Congress well —' this JVIr. Barnstable ? "

" I have sailed with him for years," returned Griffith, " and can answer for him as myself."

The veteran made an effort to rise, which in part suc- ceeded, and he fastened on the youth a look of keen scrutiny, that gave to his pallid features an expression of solemn meaning, as he continued —

" Speak not now, sir, as the companion of his idle pleas- wes, and as the unthinking associate commends his fellow, htt remember that your opinion is given to a dying man who leans on your judgment for advice. The daughter of John Plowden is a trust not to be neglected, nor will my death prove easy, if a doubt of her being worthily bestowed ihall remain."

" He is a gentleman," returned Griffith, " and one whose Leart is not less kind than gallant; he loves your waixJ, and great as may be her merit, he is deserving of it all. Like myself, he has also loved the land that gave liim biitli, '>efore the land of his ancestors but " —

THE PILOT. 425

•* That 18 now forgotten," interrupted the colonel ; " after what I have this day witnessed, I am forced to believe that it is the pleasure of Heaven that you are to prevail ! But, sir, a disobedient inferior will be apt to make an unreason- able commander The recent contention between you " —

" Remember it not, dear sir," exclaimed Griffith with generous zeal ; " 'twas unkindly provoked, and it is already fDrgotten and pardoned. He has sustained me nobly throughout the day, and my life on it, that he knows how to treat a woman as a brave man should ! "

" Then am I content ! " said the veteran, sinking back on his couch ; " let him be summoned."

The whispered message which Griffith gave, requesting Mr. Barnstable to enter the cabin, was quickly conveyed, and he had appeared before his friend deemed it discreet to disturb the reflections of the veteran by again address- ing him. When the entrance of the young sailor waa announced, the colonel again roused himself, and addressed his wondering listener, though in a manner much less confid- ing and familiar than that which he had adopted towards Griffith.

" The declarations you made last night relative to my ward, the daughter of the late Caj^tain John Plowden, sir, have left me nothing to learn on the subject of your wishes. Here, then, gentlemen, you both obtain the reward of your attentions ! Let that reverend divine hear you pronounce the marriage vows, while I have strength to listen, that I may be a witness against ye, in heaven, should ye forget thoir tenor ! "

'•* Not now, not now," murmured Cecilia ; " O ask it net DOW, my uncle ! "

Katherine spoke not ; but, deeply touched by the tender interest her guardian manifested in her welfare, she bowed har face to her bosom, in subdued feeling, and suffered the tears that had been suffusing her eyes to roll down her cheeks in large drops, till they bathed the deck.

" Yes, now, my love," continued the colonel, " or I fail m my duty. I go shortly to stand face to face with your parents, my children for the mat who, dying, expects not

126 THE PILOT.

to meet worthy Hugh Griffith and honest Jack Plowden ia heaven, can have no clear view of the rewards that belong to lives of faithful service to the country, or of gallant loyalty to the king ! I trust no one can justly say that I ever forgot the delicacy due to your gentle sex ; but it is no moment for idly ceremony when time is shortening into minutes, and heavy duties remain to be discharged. I could not die in peace, children, were I to leave you here in tb6 wide ocean, I had almost said in the wide world, without that protection which becomes your tender years and still more tender characters. If it has pleased God to remove your guardian, let his place be supplied by those He wills to succeed him ! "

Cecilia no longer hesitated, but she arose slowly from her knees, and offered her hand to Griffith with an air of forced resignation. Katherine submitted to be led by Barnstablo to her side ; and the chaplain, who had been an affected listener to the dialogue, in o\)edience to an expressive signal from the eye of Griffith, opened the i^rayer-book from which he had been gleaning consolation for the dying master, and commenced reading, in trembling tones, the marriage ser- vice. The vows were pronounced by the weeping brides in voices more distinct and audible than if they had been uttered amid the gay crowds that usually throng a bridal , fo: chough they were the irreclaimable words that bound them forever to the men whose power over their feelings they thus proclaimed to the world, the reserve of maiden diffidence was lost in one engrossing emotion of solemnity, created by the awful presence in which they stood. When the benediction was pronounced, the head of Cec'lia drojjped oil tLe shoulder of her husband, where she wept violently, far a moment, and then resuming her place at the covch^ she once more knelt at the side of her uncle. Katherina rec(3ived the warm kiss of Barnstable passively, and returned to the spot whence she had been led.

Colonel Howard succeeded in raising his pei'son to wit- ness the ceremony, and had answered to each jjrayer with a fervent " Amen." He fell back with the last words ; and « look cf satisfaction shone in liis aged and pallid featurecii tliat declared th@ interest he had taken in the scene.

THE PILOT. 427

** 1 thank you, my children," he at length uttered, " I thank you ; for I know how much you have sacrificed to my wishes. You will find all my papers relative to the estates of my wards, gentlemen, in the hands of my banker in London ; and you will also find there my will, Edward, by which you will learn that Cicely has not come to your arms an unportioned bride. What my wards are in persons and manners your eyes can witness, and I trust the vouchers in London will show that I have not been an unfaithful steward to their pecuniary affairs ! "

" Name it not — say no more, or you will break my heart," cried Katherine, sobbing aloud, in the violence of her remorse at having ever pained so true a friend. '* O ! talk of yourself, think of yourself; we are unworthy — at least I am unworthy, of another thought ! "

The dying man extended a hand to her in kindness, and continued, though his voice grew feebler as he spoke —

"Then to return to myself — I would wish to lie, like my ancestors, in the bosom of the earth, and in consecrated ground."

" It shall be done," whispered Griffith ; " I will see it done myself."

" I thank thee, my son," said the veteran. " for such thou art to me in being the husband of Cicely ; you will find, in my will, that I have liberated and provided for all my slaves — except those ungrateful scoundrels who deserted their master ; they have seized their own freedom, and they need not be indebted to me for the same. There is, Edward, also an unworthy legacy to the king ; his majesty will deign to receive it — from an old and faithful servant, and yon will not miss the trifling gift." A long pause fol- lowed, as if he had been summing up the account of his earthly duties, and found them duly balanced, when he udded, '' Kiss me, Cicely — and you, Katherine — I find you have the genuine feelings of honest Jack, your father. My eyes grow dim — which is the hand of Griffith ? Young gentleman, I have given you all that a fond old man had to l^est^ow — deal tenderly with the precious child — we have ttot properly understood each other — J had misfakeu both

428 THE PILOT.

you and Mr. Christopher Dillon, I bel'eve ; perhaps I may alsc have mistaken my duty to America — but I was too old to change my politics or my religion ; I — I — I loved the king — God bless him " —

His words became fainter and fainter as he proc<^.eviel and the breath deserted his body with this benediction on his livid lips, which the proudest monarch might covet from 60 honest a man.

The body was instantly borne into a state-room !)y the attendants ; and Griffith and Barnstable supported their brides into the after-cabin, where they left them seated on the sofa that lined the stern of the ship, weeping bitterly, in each other's arms.

No part of the preceding scene had been unobserved by Boltrope, whose small, hard eyes were observed by the young men to twinkle, when they returned into the state apart- ment ; and they approached their woimded comrade to apologize for the seeming neglect that their conduct had displayed.

" I heard you were hurt, Boltrope," said Griffith, taking him kindly by the hand ; " but as I know you are not miused to being marked by shot, I trust we shall soon see you again on deck."

" Aye, aye," returned the master, " you'll want no spy- glasses to see the old hulk as you launch it into the sea. I have had shot, as you say, before now to tear my running gear, and even to knock a splinter out of some of my timbers ; but this fellow has found his way into my bread 'oom ; and the cruise of life is up ! "

" Surely the case is not so bad, honest David," said Barn ■table ; " you have kept a^oat, to my knowledge, with a bigger hole in your skin than this unlucky hit hae made ! "

" Aye, aye," returned the master, " that was in my nppei TTorks, where the doctor could get at it with a plug ; but this chap has knocked away the shifting-boards, and I fee) IS if the whole cargo was broken up. You may say thai Tourniquet rates me all the same as a dead man ; for after 'ookiag at the shot-ho e, be has turned me over to the parson

THE PILOT. 429

here, like, a piece of old junk which is only lit to be worked Dp into something new. Captain Munson had a lucky time of it ! I think you said, INIr. Griffith, that the old gentleman was launched overboard with everything standing, and that Death made but one rap at his door, before he took his leave ! "

" His end was indeed sudden ! " returned Griffith ; " but it is what we seamen must expect."

" And for which there is so much the more occasion to 6e prepared," the chaplain ventured to add, in a low, humble, and, perhaps, timid voice.

The sailing-master looked keenly from one to the other as they spoke ; and, after a short pause, he continued, witt an air of great submission —

" 'Twas his luck ; and I suppose ii is sinful to begrudge a man his lawful luck. As for being prepared, parson, that xs your business, and not mine ; therefore, as there is but little time to spare, why, the sooner you set about it the better : and, to save unnecessary trouble, I may as well tell you not to strive to make too much of me ; for, I must own it to my shame, I never took learning kindly. If you can fit me for some middling berth in the other world, like the one I hold in this ship, it will suit me as well, and, perhaps, be easier to all hands of us."

If there was a shade of displeasure blended with the sur • prise that crossed the features of the divine at this ex traordinary limitation of his duties, it entirely disappeared when he considered more closely the perfect expression of simplicity with which the dying master uttered his wishes. After a long and melancholy pause, which neither Griffith nor his friend felt any inclination to interrupt, the chaplain replied —

" It is not the province of man to determine on the de- creea of the merciful dispensations of Deity ; and nothing that I can do, Mr. Boltrope, will have any weight in mak- ing up the mighty and irrevocable decree. What I said to you last night, in our conversation on this very subject, must still be fresh in your memory, and there is no good reason why I should hold a different language to jou now

430 THE PILOT.

" I can't say that I logged all that passed," returned the master , *' and that which 1 do recollect fell chiefly from myself, for the plain reason that a man remembei-s his own better than his neighbor's ideas. And this puts me in mind, Mr. Griffith, to tell you, that one of the forty-two's from the three-decker travelled across the forecastle, and cut the best bower within a fathom of the clinch, as handily as an old woman would clip her rotten yarn with a pair of tailor's shears ! If you will be so good as to order one of my mates to shift the cable eud-for-end, and make a ncT* Vend of ii, I'll do as much for you another time."

" Mention it not," said Griffith ; " rest assured that every thing shall be done for the security of the ship in your do partraent — I will superintend the whole duty in person • and I would have you release your mind from all anxiety on the subject, to attend to your more important interests elsewhere."

" Why," returned Boltrope, with a little show of perti- nacity, " I have an opinion, that the cleaner a man takes his hands into the other world, of matters of duty in this, the better he will be fitted to handle anything new. Now, the parson, here, undertook to lay down the doctrine last night, that it was no matter how well or how ill a man be- haved himself, so that he squared his conscience by the lifts and braces of faith ; which I take to be a doctrine that is not to be preached on shipboard ; for it would play the devil with the best ship's company that was ever mustered."

" O ! no — no — dear Mr. Boltrope, you mistook me and my doctrine altogether ! " exclaimed the chaplain ; " at least you mistook " —

♦' Perhaps, sir," interrupted Griffith, gently, " our honest friend will not be more fortunate now. Is there nothing earthly that hangs upon your mind, Boltrope ? no wish to h-i remembered to any one, nor any bequest to make of yoar property ? "

" He has a mother, I know," said Barnstable in a low voice ; " he often spoke of her to me in the night watches I think she must still be living."

The master, who distinctly heard his young shIpmateH,

THE PILOT. 431

eontinuol for more than a minute rolling the tobacco, which he still retained, from one side of his mouth to the other, with an industry that denoted smgular agitation for the man : and raising one of his broad hands, with the other he picked the worn skin from fingers which were already losing their brownish yellow hue in the fading color of ieath, before he answered —

" Why, yes, the old woman still keeps her grip upon life, which is more than can 'be said of her son David. The Old man was lost the time the Susan and Dorothy was wrecked on the back of Cape Cod ; you remember it, Mr. Barnstable ? you were then a lad, sailing on whaling yoj- ages from the island : well, ever since that gale, I've en- deavored to make smooth water for the old woman myself, though she has had but a rough passage of it at the best ; the voyage of life, with her, having been pretty much crossed by rugged weather and short stores."

" And you would have us carry some message to her ? " said Griffith, kindly.

" Why, as to messages," continued the master, whose voice was rapidly growing more husky and broken, " there never has been many compliments — passed between us, for the reason — that she is not more used to receive them — than I am to make thenv But if any one of you will over- haul — the purser's books^ ^nd see what there is standing there — to my side of the leaf — and take a little paina to get it to the old woman — you will find her moored in the lee side of a house — aye, here it is, No. 10, Cornhill, Boston. I took care — to get her a good warm berth, see- ing that a woman of eighty wants a snug anchorage ■ — at her time of life, if ever."

" I will do it myself, David." cried Barnstable, struggling •o conceal his emotion ; " I will call on her the instant we let go our anchor in Boston harbor ; and as your ciodit can't be large, I will divide my own purse with her ! "

The sailing-master was powerfully affected by this kind offer, the muscles of his hard, weather-beaten face working convulsively, and it was a moment before he could trust hit roice in reply.

432 THE PILOT.

" I know you would, Dicky, I know you would," he at .ength uttered, grasping the hand of Barnstable with a por- tion of his former strength ; " I know you would give the old woman one of your own limbs, if it would do a service — to the mother of a messmate — which it would not — 3ee- mg that I am not the son of a — cannibal ; but you are out of your father's books, and it's too often shoal water in your own pockets to help any one — more especially since you have just been spUced to a pretty young body — that will want all your spare coppers."

" But I am master of my own fortune," said Griffith; " and am rich."

" Aye, aye, I have heard it said you could build a frigate and set her afloat all a-taunt-o without thrusting your hand — into any man's purse — but your own ! "

" And I pledge you the honor of a naval officer," con- tinued the young sailor, " that she shall want for nothing ; not even the care and tenderness of a dutiful son."

Boltrope appeared to be choking ; he made an attempt to raise his exhausted frame on the couch ; but fell back exhausted and dying, perhaps a little prematurely, through the powerful and imusual emotions that were struggling for utterance. " God forgive me my misdeeds ! " he at length said, " and chiefly for ever speaking a word against your dis- cipline ; remember the best bower — and look to the slings of the lower yards — and — and — he'll do it, Dicky, he'll do it! I'm casting off — the fasts — of life — and so God bless ye all — and give ye good weather — going large — or on a bowline ! "

The tongue of the master failed him, but a look of heart- felt satisfaction gleamed across his rough visage, as its mus- cles suddeiJy contracted, when the faded lineaments slowly settled into the appalling stiffness of death.

Griffith directed the body to be moved to the apartment of the master, and proceeded with a heavy heart to the upper deck. The Alacrity had been unnoticed during the Arduous chase of the frigate, and, favored by daylight, and her light draught of water, she had easily effected her es- cape also among the mazes of tlie shoals. She was called

THE PHOT. 438

down to her consort by signal, and received tlie necessary instructions how to steer during the approaching night. The British ships were now only to be faintly discovered, like small white specks on the dark sea ; and as it was known that a broad barrier of shallow water lay between them, the Americans no longer regarded their presence as at all dangerous.

When the necessary orders had been given, and the ves- sels were fully prepared, they were once more brought up to the wind, and their heads pointed in the direction of the coast of Holland. The wind, which freshened towards the decline of day, hauled round with the sun ; and when that luminary retreated from the eye, so rapid had been the progress of the mariners, it seemed to sink in the bosom of the ocean, the land having long before settled into ita watery bed. All night the frigate continued to dash through the seas with a sort of sullen silence, that was noothing to the melancholy of Cecilia and Katherine, neither of whom closed an eye during that gloomy period. In addition to the scene they had witnessed, their feelings were harrowed by the knowledge that, in conformity to the necessary plans of Griffith, and in compliance with the new duties he had assumed, they were to separate in the morn- ing for an indefinite period, and possibly forever.

With the appearance of light, the boatswain sent his rough summons through the vessel, and the crew were col- lected in solemn silence in her gangways to " bury the dead." The bodies of Boltrope, of one or two of her in- ferior officers, and of several common men who had died of their wounds in the night, were, with usual formalities, com- mitted to the deep ; when the yards of the ship were again bracec. by the wind, and she glided along the trackless waste, leaving no memorial, in the midst of the ever-rcUing waters, to mark the place of their sepulture.

WTien the sun had gained the meridian, the vessels were once more hove-to, and the preparations were made for a final separation. The body of Colonel Howard was trans- ferred to the Alacrity, whither it was followed by Griffith and his cheerless bride, while Katherine hung fondly from a 28

#34 ' THE PILOT.

window of the ship, suffering her own scalding tears to mingle with the brine of the ocean. After everything was arranged, Griffith waved his hand to Barnstable, who had now succeeded to the command of the frigate, and tha yards of the latter were braced sharp to the wind, when she proo3eded to the dangerous experiment of forcing her way to the shores of America, by attempting the pass of the Straits of Dover, and running the gauntlet through the English ships that crowded their own channel ; an under- taking, however, for which she had the successful example of the Alliance frigate, which had borne the stars of Amer. ica along the same hazardous path but a few months pro viously.

In the meanwhile the Alacrity, steering more to the west, drew in swiftly towards the shores of Holland ; and about an hour before the setting of the sun, had approached 80 nigh as to be once more hove into the wind, in obedience to the mandate of Griffith. A small light boat was lowered into the sea, when the young sailor, and the Pilot, who had found his way into the cutter imheeded, and almost unseen, ascended from the small cabin together. The stranger glanced his eyes along the range of coast, as if he would ascertain the exact position of the vessel, and then turned them ou the sea and the western horizon to scan the weather. Finding nothing in the appearance of the latter to induce him to change his determination, he offered his hand frankly to Griffith, and said —

" Here we part. As our acquaintance has not led to aU we wished, let it be your task, sir, to forget we ever met.'

Griffith bowed respectfully, but in silence, when the othe^ continued, shaking his hand contemptuously towards the .\md —

" Had I but a moiety of the navy of that degenerate lepublic, the proudest among those haughty islanders should tremble in his castle, and be made to feel there is no security against a foe that trusts his own strength and knows the weakness of his enemy ! But," he muttered in a lOwer and more hurried voice, " this has been like Liver pool — and Whitehaven — and Edinburgh, and fifty more •t is past, sir ; lot it be forgotten."

THE PILOT. 4Sb

Without heeding the wondering crew, who were collected fts curious spectators of his departure, the stranger bowed hastily to (jriffith, and springing into the boat, he spread her light sails with the readiness of one who had nothing to learn even in the smallest matters of his daring profession. Once more, as the boat moved briskly away from the cutter, he waved his hand in adieu ; and Griffith fancied that even through the distance he cou'd trace a smile of bitter resig- nation lighting his calm features with a momentary gleam. For a long time the young man stood an abstracted gazer Bt his solitary progress, watching the small boat as it glided towards the open ocean, nor did he remember to order the head sheets of the Alacrity drawn, iu order to put the vessel again iu motion, untd the dark speck was lost in the strong glare that fell obliquely across the water from the setting sun.

Many wild and extraordinary conjectures were uttered among the crew of the cutter, as she slowly drew in towards her friendly haven, on the appearance of the mysterious Pilot, during their late hazardous visit to the coast of Britain, and on his still more extraordinary disappearance, as it were, amid the stormy wastes of the North Sea. Griffith himself was not observed to smile, nor to manifest any evidence of his being a listener to their rude discourse, until it was loudly announced that a small boat was pressing for their o\vn harbor, across the fore foot of the cutter, under a single lug-sail. Then, indeed, the sudden and cheerful lighting of his troubled eye betrayed the vast relief that was imparted to his feelings by the intere8tiu|[ iiaoovery.

436 THE PILOT.

CHAPTER XXXV.

Come all you kindred chieftains of the deep, In mighty phalanx round your brother bend ; Hush every murmur that invades his sleep, — And guard the laurels that o'ershade your friend !

Lines on Tripp.

Hebe, perhaps, it would be wise to suffer the curtain of otkr imperfect drama to fall before the reader, trusting that the imagination of every individual can readily supply the due proportions of health, wealth, and happiness, that the rigid rules of poetic justice would award to the different characters of the legend. But as we are not disposed to part so coldly from those with whom we have long held amicable intercourse, and as there is no portion of that ia reservation which is not quite as true as all that has been already related, we see no unanswerable reason for dis- missing the dramatis personae so abruptly. We shall, therefore, proceed to state briefly the outlines of that which befell them in after life, regretting, at the same time, that the legitimate limits of a modern tale will not admit of such a dilatation of many a merry or striking scene, as might create the pleasing hope of beholding hereafter some more of our rude sketches quickened into life by the spirited pen:d of Dunlap.

Following the course ot the frigate, then, towards those Bhores from which, perhaps, we should never have suffered •ur truant pen to have wandered, we shall commence the orief task with Barnstable, and his laughing, weeping, gay, but affectionate bride — the black-eyed Katheriue. The ship fought her way, gallantly, through swarms of the enemy's cruisers, to the port of Boston, where Barnstable was rewarded for his services by promotion, and a more regular authority to command his vessel-

THE PILOT. 4S1

During the remainder of the war, he continued to flli that station with ability and zeal ; nor did he return to ths dwelling of his fathers, which he soon inherited, by regular descent, until after peace had established not only the inde- pendence of his country, but his own reputation as a bravt and successful sea-officer. When the federal government laid the foundation of its present navy, Captain Barnstable was once more tempted by the offer of a new commission to desert his home ; and for many years he was employed among that band of gallant seamen who served their country so faithfully in times of trial and high daring Happily, however, he was enabled to accomplish a great deal of the more peaceful part of his service accompanied by Katherine, who, having no children, eagerly profited by his consent to share his privations and hardships on the ocean. In this manner they passed merrily, and we trust happily, down the vale of life together, Katherine entirely discrediting the ironical prediction of her former guardian, by making, everything considered, a very obedient, and certainly, so far as attachment was concerned, a most do- voted wife.

The boy Merry, who in due time became a man, climg to Barnstable and Katherine, so long as it was necessary to hold him in leading strings ; and when he received his regu- lar promotion, his first command was under the shadow of his kinsman's broad pendant. He proved to be in his meridian, what his youth had so strongly indicated, a fear- less, active, and reckless sailor ; and his years might have extended to this hour, had he not fallen untimely in a duel mth a foreign officer.

The first act of Captain INIanual, after landing once more on his native soil, was to make interest to be again restored to the line of the army. He encountered but little dilfi- julty in this attempt, and was soon in possession of the complete enjoyment of that which his soul had so long pined after, " a steady drill." He was in time to share in all the splendid successes which terminated the war, and *lso to participate in his due proportion of the misery of the army. His merits were not forgotten, however, in th«

438 THE PILOT.

reorganization of the forces, and he followed both St. Clair and his more fortunate successor, Wayne, in the western campaigns. About the close of the century, when the British made their tardy relinquishment of the line of posta along the frontiers, Captain Manual was ordered to take charge, with his company, of a small stockade on our side of one of those mighty rivers that sets bounds to the terri- tories of the Republic in the north. The British flag was waving over the ramparts of a more regular fortress, that had been recently built, directly opposite, within the new lines of the Canadas. Manual was not a man to neglect the observances of military etiquette ; and understanding that the neighboring fort was commanded by a field-officer, he did not fail to wait on that gentleman, in proper time, with a view to cultivate the sort of acquaintance that their mutual situations would render not only agreeable, but highly convenient. The American martinet, in ascertain- ing the rank of the other, had not deemed it at all necessary to ask his name ; but when the red-faced, comical-looking officer with one leg, who met him, was introduced as Major Borroughcliffii, he had not the least difficulty in recalling to recollection his quondam acquaintance of St. Ruth. The intercourse between these worthies was renewed with re- markable gusto, and at length arrived to so regular a pass, that a log cabin was erected on one of the islands in the •'iver, as a sort of neutral territory, where their feastings loid revels might be held without any scandal to the dis- cipline of their respective garrisons. Here the qualities ol many a saddle of savory venison were discussed, together with those of sundry pleasant fowls, as well as of divers strange beasts that inhabit those western wilds, while, at vhe same time, the secret places of the broad river were vexed, that nothing might be wanting that could contribute to the pleasures of their banquets. A most equitable levy vas regularly made on their respective pockets, to sustain the foreign expenses of this amicable warfare ; and a suit- able division of labor was also imposed on the two com- mandants, in order to procure such articles of comfort as were only to be obtained from those portions of the globe

THE PILOT. 439

where the art of man had made a nearer approach to the bounties of nature than in the vicinity of their fortifications. All liquids in which malt formed an ingredient, as well as the deep-colored wines of Oporto, were suffered to enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and were made to find their way> under the superintendence of Borroughcliffe, to their des- tined goal ; but Manual was solely intrusted with the more important duty of providing the generous liquor of Madeira, without any other restriction on his judgment, than an oc- casional injunction from his coadjutor that it should not fail to be the product of the " south side " !

It was not unusual for the young officers of the two gar- risons to allude to the battle in which Major Borroughcliffe had lost his limb — the English ensign invariably whisper- ing to the American, on such occasions, that it occurred during the late contest, in a desperate affair on the north- eastern coast of their island, in which the major commanded, in behalf of his country, with great credit and signal suc- cess ; and for which service he obtained his present rank " without purchase " ! A sort of national courtesy pre- vented the two veterans, for by this time both had earned that honorable title, from participating at all in these deli- cate allusions ; though whenever, by any accident, they oc curred near the termination of the revels, Borroughcliffe would so far betray his consciousness of what was passing, Its to favor his American friend with a leer of singular sig- nificance, which generally produced in the other that sort of dull recollection, which all actors and painters endeavor to represent by scratching the head. In this manner year after year rolled by, the most perfect harmony existing be- tween the two posts, notwithstanding the angry passions tliat disturbed their respective countries, when an end was suddenly put to the intercourse by the unfortunate death of Manual. This rigid observer of discipline never trusted his person on the neutral island without being accompanied by a party of his warriors, who were posted as a regular picket sustaining a suitable line of sentries ; a practice which h» also recommended to hie friend, as being highly conducive \o discipline, as well as a salutary caution against a surprist

l40 THE PILOT.

on the part of either garrison. The major, however, dis pensed with the formality in his own behalf, but was suffi- ciently good-natured to wink at the want of confidence it betrayed in his boon companion. On one unhappy occa- sion when the discussion of a new importation had made s heavy inroad on the morning, Manual left the hut to make his way towards his picket, in such a state of utter menta' aberration, as to forget the countersign when challenged by a sentinel, when, imhappily, he met his death by a shot from a soldier, whom he drilled to such an exquisite state of insensibility, that the man cared but little whether ho killed friend or enemy, so long as he kept within military usage, and the hallowed limits established by the articles of war. He lived long enough, however, to commend the fellow for the deed, and died while delivering a eulogium to BorroughclifFe on the high state of perfection to which he had brought his command !

About a year before this melancholy event, a quarter- cask of wine had been duly ordered from the south side of the island of Madeira, which was, at the death of Manual, toUing its weary way up the rapids of the Mississippi and the Ohio ; having been made to enter by the port of New Orleans, with the intention of keeping it as long as possible under a genial sun ! The untimely fate of his fiiend im- posed on BorroughclifFe the necessity of attending to this precious relic of their mutual tastes : and he procured a leave of absence from his superior, with the laudable desire to proceed down the streams and superintend its farther advance in person. The result of his zeal was a high fever, that set in the day after he reached his treasure : and as the doctor and the major espoused different theories, in treating a disorder so dangerous in that climate — the oii?>. advising abstemiousness, and the other administering re- peated draughts of the cordial that had drawn him s^o far from home — the disease was left to act its pleasure. Bcr- roughclitfe died in three days ; and was carried back and \nterred by the side of his friend, in the very hut which had Bo often resounded with their humors and festivities ! We have oeen thus particular in relating the sequel of the li> ei

I

THE PILOT. 441

of these rival chieftains, because, from their wjxnt of coa« nection with any kind heart of the other sex, no widows and orphans were left to lament their several ends ; and furthermore, as they were both mortal, and might be ex- pected to die at a suitable period, and yet did not terminate their career until each had attained the mature age of three- score, the reader can find no just grounds of dissatisfaction at being allowed this deep glance into the womb of fate.

The chaplain abandoned the seas in time to retrieve his character, a circumstance which gave no little satisfaction to Katherine, who occasionally annoyed her worthy husband on the subject of the informality of their marriage.

Griffith and his mourning bride conveyed the body of Colonel Howard in safety to one of the principal towns in Holland, where it was respectfully and sorrowfully interred ; after which the young man removed to Paris, with a view of erasing the sad images, which the hurried and melancholy events of the few preceding days had left on the mind of his lovely companion. From this place Cecilia held com- munion, by letter, with her friend Alice Dunscombe ; and such suitable provision was made in the affairs of her late uncle as the times would permit. Afterwards, when Grif- fith obtained the command which had been offered him be- fore sailing on the cruise in the North Sea, they returned logether to America. The young man continued a sailor until the close of the war, when he entirely withdrew from the ocean, and devoted the remainder of his life to the con- joint duties of a husband and a good citizen.

As it was easy to reclaim the estates of Colonel Howard, »rhich, in fact, had been abandoned more from pride thaa necessity, and which had never been confiscated, their joint inheritances made the young couple extremely affluent ; and •v'u shall here take occasion to say, that Griffith remembered his promise to the dying master, and saw such a provision made for the childless mother as her situation and his char acter required.

It might have been some twelve years after the short cruise, which it has been our task to record in these vol- omes, that Griffith, who was running his eyes carelessly

442 THE PILOT.

over a file of newspapers, was observed by bis wife to drop tJie bundle from before his face, and pass his hand slowly across his brow, like a man who had been suddenly struck with renewed impressions of some former event, or who was endeavoring to recajl to his mind images that had long eince faded.

" See you anything in that paper to disturb you, Gi'if- fith ? " said the still lovely Cecilia. " I hope that now we have our confederate government the States will soon re- cover from their losses — but it is one of those plans to create a new navy that has met your eye. Ah ! truant ! you sigh to become a wanderer again, and pine after your V)eloved ocean ! "

" I have ceased sighing and pining since you have begun to smile," he returned with a vacant manner, and without removing his hand from his brow.

" Is not the new order of things, then, likely to succeed ? Does the Congress enter into contention with the Presi- dent?"

" The wisdom and name of Washington will smooth the way for the experiment, until time shall mature the system. Cecilia, do you remember the man who accompanied Man- ual and myself to St. Ruth, the night we became your uncle's prisoners, and who afterwards led the party which aberated us, and rescued Barnstable ? "

" Surely I do ; he was the pilot of your ship, it was then said ; and I remember the shrewd soldier we entertained even suspected that he was one greater than he seemed."

" The soldier surmised the truth : but you saw him not cu that fearful night, when he carried us through the shoals ! and you could not witness the calm courage with which he guided the ship into those very channels again, while the confusion of battle was among us ! "

*' I heard the dreadful din ! And I can easily imagine the horrid scene," returned his wife, her recollections chasing the color from her cheeks even at that distance of time, ^ but •what of him ? is his name mentioned in those papers ' Ah ! they are English prints ! you called his name Gray, f I remember ? "

THE PILOT. 448

'* That was the name he bore with us ! he was a iJiai who bad formed romantic notions of glory, and wished every- thing concealed in which he acted a part that he thought would not contribute to his renown. It has been, therefore, in compliance with a solemn promise made at the time, that I have ever avoided mentioning his name — he is now dead ! "

" Can there have been any connection between him and Alice Dunscombe ? " said Cecilia, dropping her work in hei lap, in a thoughtful manner. " She met him alone, at her own urgent request, the night Katherine and myself saw you in your confinement, and even then my cousin whispered that they were acquainted ! The letter I received yesterday from Alice was sealed with black, and I was pained with the melancholy, though gentle manner, in which she wrote of passing from this world into another ! "

Griffith glanced his eye at his wife with a look of sudden intelligence, and then answered, like one who began to see with the advantages of a clearer atmosphere —

" CecUia, your conjecture is surely true ! Fifty things rush to my mind at that one surmise ; his acquaintance with that particular spot — his early life — his expedition — his knowledge of the Abbey, all confirm it ! He, altogether, was indeed a man of marked character ! "

" Why has he nob been among us ? " asked Cecilia ; " he appeared devoted to our cause."

"His devotion to America proceeded from desire of dis- \inction, his ruling passion, and perhaps a little also from resentment at some injustice which he claimed to have suffered from his own countrymen. He was a man, and not therefore without foibles — among which may have been reckoned the estimation of his own acts ; but they were most daring, and deserving of praise ! neither did he at all merit the obloquy that he received from his enemies. Hia love of liberty may be more questionable ; for if he com- nenced his deeds in the cause of these free States, they ter- minated in the service of a despot ! He is now dead — but had he lived in times and under circumstances when his consummate knowledge of his profession, his cool, deliberate.

444 THE PILOT.

and even desperate courage, could have been exercised in a regular and well-supported navy, and had the habits of his youth better qualified him to have borne, meekly, the honors he acquired in his age, he would have left behind him no name in its lists that would have descended to the latest posterity of his adopted countrymen with greater renown ! "

" Why, Griffith," exclaimed Cecilia, in a ifttle surprise, " you are zealous in his cause ! Who was he ? "

" A man who held a promise of secrecy while living, which is not at all released by his death. It is enough to know, that' he was greatly instrumental in procuring our sudden union, and that our happiness might have been wrecked in the voyage of life had we not met the unknown Pilot of the German Ocean."

Perceiving her husband to rise, and carefully collect the papers in a bundle, before he left the room, CecDia made no farther remark at the time, nor was the subject ever reyived between them.

i

M^M^J^ M.,M^:^^^^.JM^^ ■ ^

■m^^'

n m m

'^- M .% M

.^•..

>a.'^.^.

C fi -D ^^ o)

«« ""'^ ■""'4^

■*"•«;"«

^■«.^>

*«^ ;. M. .M -^

■u. ^

ik t

c 1§ :3E

....^,

^t^^j^ "^

/. >fe_ ^_ j*f- ,

.^ . ^. *, .^ >. ^.

IB'- r. ^ 'n .# -IP .1?

' *--'^. ■■■ "»!»•■

^^^H^^H	^^^^^H
■	■
^,\ HMBI
■

'1^ >

l»^'^^

^ ;•?* '!^'

>*»' ^'

,#'^«

m m

m^ji

4 '<j£' m » '„i,t u( ai mm %£- rs a '<% '

*. m m m m- it^m .sl a >

, "K- .'■?. .TTi

«£ .ss M :m

.iV, ^.* ««r ^; fiS: ,tff.

■*»a^*^^

■^^■.<

<% <<iS i% Ift 4C ift 41 «> * .'ST Jit X .U^13L^^

4r:Mr:4r^r^^zmr:m:

<l ^.«.

^i «f €, ,

.f- -lb Ji;' .

... jl m a