However my heart throbbed with hidden anguish as I stepped forth from that fateful house, the nature of the adventure upon which we were now fairly launched was sufficient to cool my brain, so that long before we skirted the guard-lines drawn around the camp of Spanish artillery, I had become once more the cool, resourceful adventurer, as befitted my nature and training.

"Sentries are stationed only along the open side of the square, I think?" I whispered to my companion questioningly, striving vainly to penetrate the intense darkness in our front.

"True," he responded in so low a voice I could scarcely catch the words, a slight falter betraying that the strange conditions preyed upon his unaccustomed nerves. "It was thus they were posted last night."

"Then we will assume the risk of finding clear passage. Keep close, and venture no speech, whatever happens."

It proved slow work at the best, as it would never do to have a Spanish spy dogging our footsteps. I doubt not it tested good Father Petreni to the uttermost, yet I thought the better of him for the determined way in which he clung to my heels through the darkness. As for myself, such dodging, twisting, climbing of walls, and skulking amid shadows, merely sufficed to warm the blood, and yielded greater zest for the more serious work to follow. I claim small credit for courage in such matters; they have ever been so much a portion of life to me that their excitement became scarcely more than a draught of heady wine. He was the truly brave man who, without any such incentive as I possessed, left his books and quiet cell that night to follow me abroad.

At last we ran across the great deserted market-place, and paused, crouching breathlessly in the dense shadows of the huge warehouse standing upon the very brink of the broad river. As we rested thus we could hear soft lapping of running water along the further wall, while occasionally some vagrant puff of air brought to our strained ears the distant creaking of chains, as the great war-vessels swung by their cables against the swift current. Beyond this the night was intensely still, black, unfathomable, mysterious. It seemed fairly to weigh down upon us with its noiseless burden of gloom.

"Are you acquainted with the interior arrangement of this building?" I asked the priest in some anxiety.

"I was within it only once, and observed little of its features. I was called there in haste to speak words of peace to a sorely injured man."

"Could you guide to the ladder leading up to the second floor in the dark?"

I thought he gave a gesture of dissent, yet so dense was the night I could barely note the movement.

"I am not certain, my son, yet to my remembrance it leadeth up near the centre upon the river side. The building is doubtless empty of all its cotton at this time of year, and we should be able to feel our way across if only once within. How do you purpose gaining entrance?"

"Pah! that is the simplest portion of the whole venture," I said confidently. "I am not likely to overlook such a point. The third window from here has a loosened shutter; I brought this stick to pry it apart. Then the interior will be ours, unless they keep a watchman stationed within."

"Thou needst have small fear of that at this late season, and the building empty."

We crept cautiously forward, myself in the lead, and feeling blindly in the darkness for the loosened shutter previously located. At last my groping hand touched it, and drawing the bottom outward as far as possible by mere grip of the fingers, I inserted the stout oaken bar within the aperture, and, after listening intently to detect any presence close at hand, exerted my strength upon the rude lever. There followed a slight rasping, as if a wire dragged along a nail,—a penetrating shrillness there was to it which sent a tingle to the nerves,—then the heavy shutter swung outward, leaving ample space for the passage of a man's body. I lifted myself by my hands and peered cautiously within. Everywhere was impenetrable blackness, while the silence was so profound as to give a sudden strange throb to my heart. Waiting no longer, I drew myself up on to the narrow ledge; then hung downward until my groping feet touched the floor. Once safely landed I leaned forth again, and in another moment the priest stood beside me, the shutter tightly drawn behind us. With a feeling of relief I faced that black interior. Now, at least, we were beyond chance of discovery by any prowling Spanish guard, and could advance more freely.

"Lead on," I commanded shortly, resting my hand upon his shoulder to make sure of his presence. "I will keep hold upon your robe, so we shall not part company in the darkness."

Very slowly we felt uncertain passage across the uneven floor. It appeared littered with innumerable articles of the box and barrel order, with here and there a pile of loose lumber, altogether making such a jumble of obstruction that keeping our direction became simply impossible in that intense darkness which seemed to fairly swallow us. We did well to proceed at all, and escape creating a racket by stumbling over some of the many unseen obstacles in our path. As to myself, I became so thoroughly confused by constant turning and climbing as to grow completely lost, but fortunately the priest kept a somewhat clearer brain, and, after groping blindly for some time, pausing occasionally as though he would smell his way like a dog, managed to put hand at last upon the object of his patient search.

"'T is here," he whispered. "Shall I go up?"

"Ay!" I returned hopefully, glad I had restrained the impatience of my tongue. "But try each rung before you venture stepping on it; they may prove rotten and give way beneath your weight."

He swung himself up, after carefully tucking in his robe about the waist, but the ladder creaked so alarmingly beneath his tread I durst not venture my heavier weight upon it until he had safely reached the top. Finally the noise of his climbing ceased, and I could hear a board move high above me.

"Are you up safe?" I questioned in a low voice.

"All safe, praise be to God," came the cautious response; "but thou wilt do well, friend, to exercise grave care, as the way is bad."

It required brief exploration to convince us that this second story possessed a strong, firm floor, although there remained some danger of there being traps in it for the hoisting of cotton, while the boards might not extend over the entire surface. By this time, however, our eyes had grown somewhat accustomed to the intense blackness enveloping us, so the slightest change in the prevailing gloom became quickly apparent. The air was so fresh and pure, with such a taste of the night in it, I became convinced there must be an opening somewhere close at hand, and whispered the suggestion to my companion. He proved keener of vision than I, for even as we thus spoke he plucked my sleeve and pointed upward.

"Then surely it will be yonder," he exclaimed, with more eagerness of voice than I had before marked in him. "There is certainly a lightness to the atmosphere overhead, as if it came from a direct opening to the sky."

It appeared true even to me, now that he had pointed out the spot.

"It must be the roof hatch uplifted. Now if we discover a ladder leading thereto I shall accept it as proof that God guideth us this night, and feel new courage."

"Our work is of God," said the pere solemnly, "or I should never be here with you, and engaged upon it."

"Nor have I ever doubted it, father," I made haste to answer, creeping cautiously forward across the ill-matched flooring. "Yet you have been a luckier man than I if never you found yourself in the wrong when you believed it to be right."

There was a ladder there spliced with bits of rope, as we discovered, yet proving of sufficient strength to up-bear us one at a time. Thus we were soon out upon the great flat roof, lying prone at the edge, whither we had crept silently, peering cautiously forth upon the black river. That is, we gazed into the silent mystery where we knew the river must be, yet it was like peering into an impenetrable bank of cloud. There was something awesome about it, for out yonder, within a few yards of us, swung twenty great vessels of war, manned by thousands of fighting men, while not a sound reached us, except the slight creaking of strained cables, or the occasional dash of a wave against some obstruction in the stream; nor could anything be seen, if I except flitting sparks of light glimmering here and there like lost stars, serving to locate the positions of the various ships in their night anchorage.

I felt, rather than saw, the devout priest at my side piously cross himself, and there was a mumbling of his lips in prayer, but I contented myself with searching through the gloom for a glimpse of the towering masts of the "Santa Maria," which must be close at hand. They remained invisible, shrouded behind the mist cloud. For one moment I cursed the intense blackness of the night, losing confidence in our venture. Yet, even as hope failed me, the dull creaking of a nearby cable sounded farther up stream. Guided by this I crept cautiously along the edge of the roof, aware as I proceeded that Father Petreni, imitating my example, pressed closely behind.

Near the northern extremity of the long building we came to a halt, and, leaning well over the roof edge, I peered anxiously into the enveloping fog. A deeper density of shadow showed directly in front, which I felt convinced could be caused only by one of those vast spars around which canvas had been rolled, as noted that afternoon from the ship's deck. Vainly endeavoring to pierce the thick mist, I distinguished the steady tramping of some one pacing far beneath us. The sound came from farther out in the stream, where I might reasonably suppose the stern of the vessel to lie. I drew back, and placed my lips close to the priest's ear.

"Can you distinguish any outline yonder?" I queried eagerly, pointing as I spoke, and feeling fearful lest my eyes had been deceived by fleeting night shadows.

Resting upon his breast, one hand shading his eyes, he peered long in the direction indicated before venturing to reply.

"There is a shade of something yonder," he admitted at last. "It rises a trifle above us, and almost directly out from this edge. 'T is hard to say of what it consists, yet 'tis of a peculiar shape, causing me to think of the foreyard of a big ship."

"Exactly what I name it," I replied, set at ease by his prompt decision. "How far would you suppose the thing to lie from where we are?"

He studied the barely visible object long and carefully, shading his eyes again with his hands the better to concentrate his gaze upon that misty blot.

"It is like a jump in the dark, my son, to attempt guessing at so visionary a thing. At times it seemeth to fade away altogether, yet back it cometh once more into the same spot; from where I lie it might be twenty, or it might be forty, feet."

"Saint Giles! not so bad a guess either. I figured it at thirty this afternoon from the bank below, nor am I apt to prove far wrong in such judgment. Truss up this confounded skirt of mine, while I uncoil the rope for a toss."

He opened his eyes wide in amazement.

"Do you hope to cast the loop over the end of the spar?"

"Ay, that offers the only opening to get aboard unobserved," I replied, loosening as I spoke the slender rope coil from about my waist. "Nor would it be any trick if the light were a trifle better. As it is, I may miss a throw or two in getting firm hold. It would prove risky business attempting to pass across a line insecure at one end. Lie down now, pere, and keep as quiet as if you were dead."

In instant obedience to my words the priest stretched himself at full length behind the low wooden gutter. Rising cautiously to my feet, I passed the cord with utmost care through my fingers, testing its strands again, making certain it remained perfectly free for the toss. For a moment I stood thus, swaying forward at the very edge of the roof, my eyes measuring again and again the hazy, uncertain distance stretching away toward that slight undulating shadow. It was practically impossible to determine where the extreme end of the spar terminated in air, yet as nearly as possible I made selection for my point of aim, and, with three noiseless circles about my head to give it impetus, shot the rope forth into the dense gloom. I heard the opening noose strike something which rattled sharply in the intense silence. Then the line slipped, hung limp, and finally fell dangling down over the edge of the roof. It had failed to catch, and I crouched low, making no effort to draw the loose end back. With the first sound of the blow against the spar the steady tramping across the deck ceased. A moment, and a gruff voice hailed in vigorous Spanish from out the darkness:

"Aloft there! Who is on the foreyard?"

For a brief space there came no answer, although we were made aware of other movements more directly below us. Then some one answered:

"The watch are all here on the forecastle, Senor. It must have been a loose block that rattled."

"Two of you jump into the foretop, and make all fast."

The steady tramping was resumed, while a moment later we became aware of the approach of men climbing through the darkness toward us. We were unable to perceive their shadows, yet their muttered conversation, as they lay out upon the yard, served to fix its actual position more clearly in my mind. I believed I knew where I had so grievously overshot the mark.

"Boca del Dragon!" grumbled one of the fellows hoarsely, seemingly in our very ears. "The Captain is as nervous over those cursed frog-eaters down between decks as if we were anchored off Paree."

"Think you that is the trouble, Jose?" returned the other in the sprightly voice of a younger man. "I tell thee, comrade, 'tis only that bloody demon of an O'Reilly he is fearful of. I have sailed with the 'old man' in many seas since first I left Sargon, and never expect to see him affrighted of any Johnny Frenchman. But I heard the Admiral say two days agone, as I hung over his boat in the main chains, that if the Captain lost so much as a single prisoner it should cost him his ship. That, I make it, comrade, is why he has n't taken so much as a glass of wine since first they were put aboard of us. Bastante! but he must have acquired a thirst by this time to make his temper red-hot."

The other laughed sourly.

"Poh! I know even a better reason for his going dry than that, Juan. He does n't have chance for a drink alongside of that gray-bellied French priest below. Caramba! it takes him to polish off the red liquor."

"How know you that?"

"Saint Christopher! how know I? Did I not just meet him at the main hatch so drunk he fell over the coamings. The sojer on guard set him up against the butt of the foremast to sober off in the night air."

I experienced difficulty in repressing a laugh at the words, but the two fellows were going down by this time, grumbling in their beards because they had discovered nothing wrong as reward for their trip aloft, so I contented myself by silently pressing my companion's arm, although doubtless he had comprehended no word of the conversation.

We rested there motionless, with no attempt at speech, for fully twenty minutes before I ventured to haul in the line which dangled downward from my hand. Everything remained quiet below, and, coiling it carefully over my arm, I noiselessly arose to my feet once more, poising myself to essay a second cast. As straight this time as an arrow from the taut string of a bow the noose sped silently away into the darkness. I felt a thrill of delight tingle through me as the end settled softly over the end of the vague, distant spar. I drew the cord taut and firm, not a sound breaking the intense stillness closing us in like a wall. A heavy wooden post, with a pulley attachment, stood behind where we rested, probably fitted there for hauling up heavy bales of cotton. Creeping back, I wound the slack of the rope about its base, drawing it as tight as possible, and then placed the end in the hands of the observant and wondering priest, who continued to creep after me like a shadow.

"Now all I expect of you is to hold hard on this rope until I get across on to the spar," I whispered. "When I give three distinct jerks on the cord, then let loose of your end; but drop it slowly, mind you, pere, so I can draw it in without noise. You had better creep to the edge of the roof with it before you release your hold. Do you understand?"

He nodded silently, his eyes gazing unwaveringly into mine. I held forth my hand to him, moved by the sudden impulse of such a movement. As he gave me his own in response it felt as cold as ice, yet I marked his grip was strong.

"As soon as I coil in the rope you had better creep down and go home," I explained, speaking slowly, for somehow I felt it strangely hard to part with this last tie between the present and the uncertain future. "You can be no further use to me; Madame will be anxious to hear your report, while it might prove exceedingly awkward for one of your cloth to be trapped here after this night's work is discovered by the Dons. So now good-bye; you are a man of nerve, even if you are a priest, and I am glad to have been comrade with you."

I heard him answer something as I slowly crept down to the edge, testing again the feel of the rope before venturing to swing off upon it. I was not unaccustomed to those adventures incident to rough life on the frontier; my nerves were not easily jarred by strange experiences, yet I hold it no pleasant sensation to swing out on a thirty-foot line at that height, amid utter darkness, especially when you feel uncertain as to its secure fastening at the farther end. Moreover, the priest's robe hampered my movements sadly, while, being no light-weight, the strands of the small cord cut my hands. I durst not hurry, but took the passage inch by inch, gritting my teeth as I hung suspended above the abyss, lest I might emit a cry. In truth I thought my arms would pull out of the sockets before I finally came alongside the spar. Yet, thanks be to God, the rope held nobly, though it required every pound of remaining strength to haul my dangling body up, that I could rest across the wood before I felt after the standing rope beneath. I clung there weak as a child, trembling like a frightened woman, the cold perspiration standing in drops upon my face.

I have been in far happier situations than that—lying bent nearly double across the yard of an enemy's ship on a black night, but at the moment, so sincerely rejoiced was I to be off that sagging rope, I felt like humming a tune. Yet I contented myself with sliding along the smooth spar until I discovered a firm strand of rope beneath my feet, ventured then to stand upright, and clung for support to the cloth of the sail. At last I gave our signal, and, as the line slackened to my hand, drew it cautiously in, coiling it as it came, until all was once again in my possession. Waiting a moment, to give the pere opportunity to begin his retreat, I undid the noose yet wound about the small end of the spar, and, with much care, feeling my uncertain way through the darkness, worked myself slowly along, inward bound toward the mast. Finally, close beside it I again made fast the end of my cord, lowering it, paying out the long coil inch by inch, until I felt convinced from its limpness it must extend to the deck.

I acknowledge it was several minutes before I mustered sufficient courage to slip down into that intense blackness. It was not so much fear of men which deterred me, but the oppressive silence, the mystery of what awaited me below, rested heavily upon the nerves, binding me to the spar, intently gazing and listening for either sight or sound. It was recollection of that last, trustful look within the dark eyes of Eloise which finally aroused me to action. Muttering an imprecation upon my faint-heartedness, I instantly swung off on to the dangling rope, slipping silently downward through the shadows to meet whatsoever fate might lurk below.

It was a confused tangle of ropes I was compelled to traverse, yet none greatly interfered with my progress, except to render it slower, and the consequent strain harder upon the arms. The huge foremast, close against which I swung, grew bulkier as I descended. Suddenly my feet touched the solid deck. I discovered myself between the foremast and the rail, so dropping upon hands and knees I crept silently around, hoping thus to gain clearer view forward. As I circled the vast butt of the mast I came suddenly face to face with the friar, sitting upon the deck and blinking at me with drunken gravity.



CHAPTER VI

THE ROLE OF PERE CASSATI

I have no knowledge as to what the surprised priest thought regarding the astounding apparition thus bursting upon him. Perchance he mistook me for the ghost of some ancient Father Superior visiting him in warning of his sins. However, I permitted him small space for any reflection. I have ever been swift in action; was awake then with the excitement of my venture, and little accustomed to hesitancy at such a time. Moreover, I despised the fellow, and was not loath to be the instrument of punishment to him, and I never struck any man a deadlier blow with the bare fist than that I put in just back of his ear. My posture was not the best for such exercise; nevertheless it permitted me to do the work, and he went over without word or groan, even as I have seen a buck fall to the rifle when the ball sang straight to the heart.

Indeed, so limp did he drop upon his side, with not a sigh to relieve the sickening impression, I feared at first I had killed him—for it is a wicked blow, such as has caused death more than once. I was reassured, however, by listening intently at his heart, and, not knowing how soon he might revive in the cool night air, took precautions to keep him dumb before venturing to leave him huddled against the butt of the great mast, and proceed forth on my own mission.

To lower the long gray skirt of my monk's robe until it touched the deck planks, loosening as I did so the hunting knife securely hidden within my waist-belt, and to draw up the coarse, ample hood, thus better to conceal my features, after the same manner I was pleased to note Cassati wore his, were my first duties. The way of procedure had been made clear; fate had seemingly solved that problem. My sole prospect of attaining the guarded space between decks, of reaching the cell of the man I sought, lay in careful impersonation of the drunken French priest, now lying insensible at my feet. Nor in this imposture did I anticipate serious difficulty. Everything thus far had developed so favorably I became hopeful of the outcome—the inspiration of success brought with it renewed courage and confidence. The exciting incidents of the night had awakened me to the humor of the venture, and I smiled grimly at the rare conceit of the contemplated masquerade. Nor did it promise an especially difficult part to play. We were of similar size, broad-shouldered, stocky men, with smoothly shaven faces, the difference therein hardly likely to be observed by careless eyes, beneath dimly burning lights. I knew enough regarding his peculiarities of voice and manner to imitate both fairly well, so only an accident, or some careless slip of the tongue, would be apt to reveal the fraud. In short, I was armed with audacity, doubting little that I should safely pass the guards. Anyway, there was nothing else for it; 'twas a moment when one must cast timidity to the winds.

Yet I found it difficult to essay the first step in so desperate an enterprise. For several moments I waited, hanging back within the shadow of the mast, gathering my wits together for the chances of the play, while endeavoring to pick out details of the situation along those silent, gloomy decks. Owing to the mass of over-hanging cordage and the high wooden bulwarks on either side, the night appeared even darker than when I was above, perched on the dizzy yard. Occasionally some deeper shadow, or the noise of voice or footfall, made apparent to me the life on board. Toward the stern that steady tramping back and forth of the officer on watch continued uninterrupted, as he paced steadily from rail to rail. I could even distinguish the dim outlines of his lower limbs as he passed and repassed before the single gleaming point of light on board. I was also assured as to a group of seamen forward, hard against a steeper rise of the deck; once I heard the officer aft call out some unintelligible order, when one of the group detached himself from among those others and passed along the opposite side of the mast from where I lay, yet so close I could have touched him with extended hand. I felt convinced a sentinel stood beside the hatch, and imagined I could distinguish the faint outlines of another farther back, near the rail. Trusting to avoid interference from this latter soldier,—for I sought no risk of accident which might be escaped,—I crept around upon the opposite side of the deck from where I had been crouching so long. Getting my new bearings as well as possible amid such confusing darkness, I finally set my teeth to it, rose, and bore directly down upon the hatchway, lurching somewhat heavily and unsteadily upon my feet.

Whatever vestige of doubt lingered as to the nature of my reception on board the "Santa Maria" was quickly out to rest. In return there came to me, from that first experience, a measure of confidence in my assumed character that enabled me to impersonate my drunken priestly predecessor with a degree of cool perfection that surprised myself. Faith, 't is always so; life is like the teetering-board of children, ever up or down. Evidently the father in his night migrations had passed that way before, as the sentry—he appeared a burly fellow in the gloom,—after making certain as to the identity of his unsteady visitor, asked no unpleasant questions, merely contenting himself with gruff, good-natured warning to the padre to be more careful this time and not fall down the ladder.

"Holy saints!" he added soothingly, "your worship's head must be ringing yet with the blow it got."

To this uncharitable remark I maintained dignified silence, and, flinging my somewhat uncertain limbs over the coamings, went scrambling down, leaving him to his solitary meditations.

There was no light burning in the big square room below, merely a faint yellow reflection stealing forth from that passageway leading aft. For this blessing of Providence I was profoundly thankful. A good half-dozen of the night guard, wearing similar uniform with those I had met on duty during the afternoon, were idly lounging about the butt of the mainmast, evidently awaiting turn on sentry post, and ready enough to welcome any diversion chancing their way which would help to break the dull tedium of the night. I observed likewise, as I made a drunken pause at the foot of the ladder in an apparently vain endeavor to steady myself, that these roisterers of the night-watch were a set of jolly dogs, and had been opening numerous bottles of red wine with which to pass lagging hours more pleasantly. They were already in that gay, thoughtless spirit of badinage which comes of fair allowance. Good humor had laid careless hand on duty, until, the stern restraint of discipline noticeably relaxing, good fellowship had become king. Their officer lay outstretched at full length upon three camp stools, a fellow long of limb, with face as dark as a Moor. He made no effort to arise from his undignified position, yet hailed me as though I had been a boon companion of his revel.

"Ha!" he exclaimed gleefully, tapping as he spoke an empty glass against the deck. "Comrades, 't is as I prophesied; we are not long robbed of the Church. See, the most reverend Father hath already returned unto his own. Truly art thou welcome, padre, for I fear thy flock were about to go astray without a shepherd. Ho, Alva! seest thou not the coming of thine own liege lord? or art thou already so blinded by good liquor thou would'st dare neglect the very Pope himself, did he honor us with his company? Alva, I say, you roistering hound, you drunken blade, bring hither a stool for the worthy confessor! Faith! doth he not bear the sins of us all, and must he not be greatly aweary with so vast a load. Saint Theresa! 't is fortunate there is yet a bottle left uncracked for the good padre!" I gathered the heavy hood closer about my face, so as better to muffle voice as well as conceal features; made an apparent effort to stand firm, but with such poor success I noticed the grins expand on the faces watching me.

"Peace, my son," I hiccoughed, with an assumption of drunken gravity, uplifting my disengaged arm as if in priestly benediction of the impious crew. "Tempt me not to turn aside from the solemn path of duty by offerings of that foul fiend which doth so corrupt and despoil men. Know you, I am now on my way to perform the sweet offices of our most holy religion, and need greatly to permit my mind to dwell in peace upon more soulful things than that which lieth in the wine pot. You are mere beasts of the field, sons of Belial, children of wrath, every one of you, doomed to death, even as it is written, 'He that taketh the sword shall perish by the sword.' Laugh, will you, you drunken scum of the sea!" I shouted, glaring about savagely on the grimacing faces. "'T is truth out of Holy Writ I speak, but I waste the precious word in such company—'t is casting pearls before swine—for there be none here who comprehend the things of the Spirit."

"The spirit say you, padre?" interrupted the officer, evidently in rare good humor. "Bastinade! thou doest wrong to all this worshipful company by so grievous a slur. The spirit we know right well, although I confess thou art ever a full bottle in advance of the most of us."

I cast upon him a withering glance of scorn as rebuke to his unseemly levity, venturing to lurch a step nearer.

"Hush such vain and impious speech, thou man of war," I commanded thickly, indignation apparent even through my drunkenness. "Thou makest mock of the sacred teachings of Holy Church, and art from henceforth accursed by virtue of my office. I pause here, holding converse no longer with such mocking tongue, nor linger in presence of this blasphemous crew. There resteth upon me the eternal destiny of a human, unshriven soul, and I bid thee permit my passage; 't is the final night of earth for some upon this ship, and I have until now neglected to perform my priestly duty with one of the condemned. 'T is upon this holy mission I would pass thee now."

"I truly think, padre," exclaimed one of the group, with a careless laugh, "if you had another drink of red wine beneath your cassock you could never tell a prayer from a song; so for the sake of those poor devils yonder we ought to pass you this time without demanding toll."

"To whom do you go at such unseemly hour with ghostly consolations?" inquired the Commandant, negligently rolling a cigarette between his long fingers, and resting back his head in supreme content.

"I give absolution unto De Noyan." In spite of my utmost endeavors my voice trembled mentioning the name. I watched the fellow's face narrowly, yet read nothing save reckless indifference.

"Ah! the gay Chevalier. Faith, I doubt not he hath grave need of thee and thy paternosters ere he find peace. Yet surely, padre, 'twas with him you were this very afternoon, while I was on guard before. I marvel greatly he should care for your company so much. Saints, he seems scarcely of the kidney to take kindly to so many prayers."

I felt a chill sweep across me even at this slight check. Had I dared too much? Had I ventured too far? I knew not, yet spoke my next words boldly, realizing that any retreat now would be impossible.

"Thou knowest little of men at such a moment; even careless hearts learn fear of God as they face the end. Holy Mother! but 't would even pale your black face, and put a stopper on that ribald tongue, were grim Death stalking at your very heels. You may smile now, making reckless mock of the sacraments, but that hour will come when you will be as a child at the knee of Mother Church. Ay, I was with the Chevalier to-day; 'twas the coming of that negro huckster which took me from his side before, and I seek now to complete the gracious work which then had well begun. Surely thou wilt not stand between a dying man and his last confession!"

"Nay; not I. Let the poor devil have his chance, as may the good Lord grant me mine. But, padre, I have only just returned from my last round among the prisoners, and am greatly wearied, nor will I journey that way again with you. In truth, 'tis all I can well do to guide my own footsteps, without helping along a priest of thy weight. So here, padre, take the key, and, mind ye, have it safely back in my hands before the ship's bell soundeth the half hour."

Hastily snatching the bit of iron he flung rattling on the deck at my feet, I paused merely long enough to favor the company with parting admonition on their probable future. Then, glad enough to be thus easily rid of them, I lurched heavily forward into the narrow passageway. Some coarse joke launched at my expense attracted the attention of those behindhand speeded me onward.

My heart throbbed in anxious anticipation of what unknown trial was at hand. Such rare fortune as had thus far attended my efforts, seemed too remarkable to endure; nor was it impossible that, through some unforeseen mischance, the cup of success might yet be stricken from my very lips. So far at least I had made no mistake; evidently this Pere Cassati was "hail fellow, well met" among these riotous guards aboard the "Santa Maria," and I had played the part to their complete undoing. But now I was facing a new experience, and stiffened myself to meet it boldly, uncertain still what trick fate might have in store.

The sentinel, whom I discovered facing forward, hardly more than two paces from that door having the figures "18" painted upon it, quickly lowered his gun as I lurched unsteadily into sight. Greatly to my relief, as soon as he obtained distinct view of his unexpected visitor, he returned the piece carelessly to his shoulder, and leaned back, his elbow against the arm-rack. He was a good-natured-looking fellow, with round, boyish face, upon which streamed the full glare of a swinging-lamp suspended from a chain fastened to an upper beam. His unsuspicious appearance served greatly to reassure me.

"I give thee peace of Holy Church, my son," I muttered solemnly, leaning heavily against the jamb of the door, uplifting my hand in benediction. "May the presence of the Mother and Child guard thee in time of battle."

The face of the young soldier grew sober, and he withdrew one hand from its grasp on the shining musket piously to make the sign of the cross.

"I thank thee, padre, for thy blessing," he returned gratefully. "It will be in accord with the prayers of those I left at home in Spain."

Whether or not guards on duty in the corridor had orders to pass the father unquestioned, this lad, at least, made no effort to prevent my inserting the great iron key within the lock of the door. Doubtless my possession of it was accepted as evidence of my right to its use; anyway he remained there in that same careless posture, a pleased smile on his face, watching me curiously. The heavy nail-studded door swung noiselessly ajar; with single questioning glance backward at the motionless sentry, I stepped within, closed it behind me, and stood, my heart throbbing fiercely, face to face with her husband—the man to whom had been given the woman I loved,—Chevalier Charles de Noyan, condemned to die at sunrise.



CHAPTER VII

THE CHEVALIER DE NOYAN

It seems strange any man should deliberately venture life for one he had never seen; one whom, moreover, he hated with an intensity of passion seldom experienced between man and man. I have not been of revengeful disposition, nor often indulged in grave personal dislike, yet it would be wrong in this simple narrative for me to attempt concealment of my own impulses. So it is impossible to deny that, from the first moment when she called Charles de Noyan husband, I felt toward him a degree of animosity deeper than I had before supposed it possible for me to entertain relative to any human being. It was bitter memory of the past, a belief that I had once won the heart of this fair girl, only to be balked of reward by spectral hands of religion, which swayed me thus strongly. To my thought this stranger was one who had purchased, from priests at the altar, what was mine by divine decree; what would remain mine forever from the mandate of love unchangeable, eternally sealed by higher power than any priestly ritual.

Yet I had already passed through a day and night of intense excitement, of grave peril, endeavoring to preserve the life of this man whom I would more gladly see die than any one I ever knew. I stood now in the open jaws of my own destruction, where the slightest false movement, or ill-judged word, upon his part or my own, must mean betrayal; where an awakening of suspicion in the simple mind of the sentry without, or of his captain in the corridor; the return to consciousness, or chance discovery, of the bound priest upon the upper deck, would ruin every hope, sentencing me to a fate no less speedy or certain than that which now awaited him I sought to serve. All this had I risked that I might aid in the escape of the one and only man in all the wide world who stood between me and the woman I loved.

It was an odd position, a heartless caprice of fate. I felt the full measure of its strangeness, yet the thought never occurred to me of shrinking back from duty, nor slightest dream of realizing a personal victory through any act of baseness. I was not there for his sake, or my own, but to redeem my pledged word to her whose slightest wish was law, whose pleading face forever rose before me. Nevertheless, as I stood fronting him for the first time, there was little except bitter hatred in my heart—hatred which, no doubt, burned for the instant within my eyes,—but a hatred which never returned, to curse my memory, from that day unto this. I may have found much to test my patience, much to dislike about him in those weary weeks which followed, much of weakness and of fickle spirit, but naught ever gave birth anew to the deep resentment I buried there.

The room in which I found myself was long and narrow, dimly lighted by an oil lamp screwed fast into a blackened beam overhead. Along one side was the bare wall, unrelieved in its plain planking except for a small cracked mirror and a highly colored picture of the Virgin in a rude frame. Opposite, two berths were arranged one above the other, both partially concealed by a dingy red curtain extending from ceiling to floor. The only other furniture I noted in my hasty survey consisted of a rough stool chair, and a huge iron-bound, wooden sea-chest, the last so bulky as almost completely to block the narrow space between the lower berth and the opposite wall. Seated upon the stool, which was tilted back upon two legs, his shoulders resting comfortably on a pillow pressed against the wall, his long limbs extended in posture of supreme contentment and laziness, upon the chest, was the man of my desperate search, the gallant soldier of France, the leader of rebellion, condemned to die before the rifles within four short hours.

I have never greatly feared death, have witnessed it often and in many hideous forms, yet always believed it would test my nerves to the uttermost to face it as a certainty under guard of enemies. Yet here was one, young in years, strong of limb, vigorous of hope, with all the joy of life just opening before him; a man of wealth, of fashion, and of ease, who was seemingly awaiting the inevitable hour of his doom with as calm indifference as if it meant no more than the pleasant summons to a Creole ball. With one glance I made a mental picture of him—a young, high-bred face, marred somewhat by dissipation and late hours, yet beneath that dim light appearing almost boyishly fresh, and bearing upon its every feature the plain impress of reckless humor, and indolent content. It was the face of a youth rather than a man; of one more accustomed to looking upon gay companions at the club than on the horrors of a battlefield; one who could justly be expected to boast of fair conquests, yet who might prove somewhat slow at drawing sword to front a warrior of mettle, unless his blood were heated with wine.

Such were my first impressions, until I noted a certain manliness imparted thereto by the heavy moustaches adorning the upper lip, almost yellow in color, curled sharply upward, so heavily waxed at the ends as nearly to reach the ears, or rather to lose themselves amid the luxuriant growth of hair. This latter, of the same unusual tinge, swept low over the shoulders, and was trimmed squarely across the forehead according to a fashion then prevalent among young French cavaliers. His dress was not a uniform, but that of the latest mode in the province, somewhat exaggerated, I thought, as to length of the bronze shoes and glaring color of the waistcoat. All these details I noted, as he turned somewhat indolently in my direction, calmly flipping the ash from off a cigarette, and permitting a spiral of thin blue smoke to curl slowly upward from his lips into the air.

"So it is you, you miserable, drunken reprobate!" he exclaimed, a touch of temper tingling in a voice I felt must naturally be soft and low. "Have you dared come back to pester me with your abominable consolations? Sacre! did I not bid you this afternoon to let me alone? I care nothing for your tipsy paternosters. Faith, man, it will be pleasanter to face that firing squad to-morrow than your drunken prayers to-night. Come, get out of the room before I lay unregenerate hands upon your shaven poll. I am but giving you fair warning, priest, for I am quick of blow when my blood is heated, nor care I greatly for the curses of Mother Church."

I stepped quickly forward, coming as directly before him as the great sea-chest would permit, fearful lest his loud words might be distinguishable beyond the closed door. Then, with silent gesture of warning, I flung aside the heavy cowl which had concealed my features.

"You, I presume, are Charles de Noyan," I said gravely. "I am not Father Cassati, nor drunken priest of any Order of Holy Church."

The prisoner was thoroughly astounded. This I could perceive by the sudden gleam leaping into his eyes, but that he retained marvellous control over every muscle was abundantly proven by the fact that no change of attitude, or of voice, gave slightest evidence of emotion.

"Well, Mother of God preserve me!" he exclaimed, with a short, reckless laugh. "'Tis some small comfort to know even that much. Yet may I politely inquire who the devil you are, to invade thus coolly the bedchamber of a gentleman, without so much as asking leave, at this unholy hour of the morning? Pardieu, man, are you aware that this is the last night on earth I have?"

He was staring at me through blue rings of tobacco smoke, very much as one might observe some peculiar animal seen for the first time.

"Had it been otherwise you might rest assured I should never have troubled you," I replied, some constraint in my voice, his boyish bravado of speech rasping harshly upon my nerves. "But time presses, Chevalier; there remains small space for useless exchange of compliment, nor does indifference appear becoming to those in such grave peril as you and I."

"Sacre! are you also one of us? Surely, I have no recollection of your face."

"I am one in so far as I now face the same fate at the hands of the Spaniards, although, it is true, I had no part in your uprising. I am not of your race."

He laughed easily, passing one slender, white hand carelessly through his long hair.

"Pah! you scarcely need tell me that, for the taste of the French tongue seems ill-suited to your lips. Yet I would have you speak out more plainly! I play not easily into the hands of strangers."

"Why not? You could hardly be worse off than you are now."

"Pardieu! you are not so far wrong in your philosophy, friend. Still I stick to my text, and if you care to hold further speech with me it will be well to declare yourself. I have ever been a bit careful as to my associates."

"It makes small odds, Chevalier, who I am; nor will it greatly aid you to learn my name, which is plain Geoffrey Benteen, without even a handle of any kind to it, nor repute, save that of an honest hunter along the upper river. I say who I am makes small odds, for I come not with application for membership into your social circle, nor with card of introduction from some mutual friend."

His expressive eyebrows uplifted in surprise.

"Then, Monsieur, pray relieve my natural curiosity, and tell me why I am thus honored by your presence?"

"To aid your escape from this hole, God willing. That is, provided you rouse up from lethargy, and bear your part as becomes a man."

I spoke with heat, for his indifference irritated me; yet I failed to note that my words made the slightest impression on him, for I did merely mark a slight shrugging of the shoulders, while he crossed his legs more comfortably, rolling some fresh tobacco, before he took trouble to reply.

"You are evidently of a choleric temper, friend Benteen. Great Heavens, what names have you English!" he exclaimed. "And you need greatly to practise better control over yourself, as such weakness is apt to lead one into just such scrapes as this of ours. Sacre! it hath been my failing also, otherwise would I now be a fat Major of the Line instead of a poor devil condemned to the volley, for no worse crime than an over-hot head. But seriously, Monsieur, and I am truly of a most grave disposition, it is not so easy to accomplish that which you propose with so glib a tongue. Imagine you I have lain here, under tender Spanish care, all these weeks, where, as I do most solemnly affirm, not so much as a glass of decent wine has found way down my throat, nor have I possessed a bit of pomade for the proper arrangement of my locks—which will account for their present dishevelment—Saint Cecilia! but that moon-faced Moor who commands the guard merely laughed at me when I did request a comb;—think you, I say, I have been through all this without calculating chances for escape? But, pardieu! what use? A man of sense will not dream such fool dreams. This I know, there are three sentries yonder in the passageway, a good dozen more under arms in the guard-room beyond, with still others vigilantly pacing the deck above. What use, I say, for did not poor Villere try it, and, before he had covered twenty feet, had three bullets in his brain? Nay, Master Benteen, to endeavor running such a gantlet would only give me my fill of Spanish lead before the hour set, which, they tell me, comes with the sunrise."

He arose languidly to his feet, paused a moment in front of the cracked mirror to recurl his long moustaches, and then, turning about, extended a white hand toward me, smiling pleasantly as he did so.

"Faith, I fear I shall not look my best when it is all over, but if so it will be the fault of the Dons—they seem most careless as to requirements of the toilet. Yet I would not have you deem me ungrateful, and I thank you heartily, Monsieur. But if it be my turn to die, and I doubt it not,—for who ever heard of mercy in the black heart of a Spaniard?—then it is best I front it as becomes a gentleman of France, not with a bullet in my back, as though I fled from fate with the faint heart of a coward. Nay, good friend, if death is to be my portion, I prefer meeting it with a smile, and thus prove, at the ending, worthy of my race."

There was a certain dignified manliness in his speech and manner which for the moment caused me to doubt my earlier reading of his character. There might be steel beneath the velvet glove of this fair courtier.

"Do you mean you deliberately choose to remain here, rather than accept the chance I offer you?"

"Sacre! I have as yet heard of no chance," he replied easily, sinking indolently back into his old seat against the wall. "I shall be fairly comfortable here for the while, though I must say I have used a better grade of tobacco than this furnished me."

For the moment I was in despair as to the outcome of my mission, nor did I accept the proffered hand of the prisoner. Here was a totally different order of man from what had ever come my way before, nor did I know how best to meet him. How much of his vain and reckless speech came from the heart, and how much of it was merely a mask with which to test my purpose, I could not determine, yet I remained resolute regarding my own duty, and accordingly sat coolly down upon the chest, determined to play out his own game with him to the bitter end.

"Quite true, Chevalier," I said, smiling pleasantly, as if I entered fully into his reckless spirit. "Doubtless you are right—needs must when the devil drives. Could you spare me a morsel of that same tobacco, until I test the quality of which you complain?" I produced a pipe from the recesses of my monk's habit, knocking the ashes out carelessly against the chest.

He passed over his pouch in silence.

"When one resteth between His Satanic Majesty and the deep sea it makes small odds at the best which direction he turns. It becomes merely a matter of taste. Death," I continued musingly as I deliberately rammed home a charge into the bowl, "must be about the same to one man as to another, except for matter of temperament; so if you can afford to sit here and welcome its coming, so can I."

"Do you mean you are sufficiently crazy to remain deliberately and die with me?"

"Certainly. I pledged your devoted wife I would rescue you, or never return alive myself. As you stubbornly refuse to listen to reason, this seems to be all that is left me. Opinions might differ as to which was crazed, but as to that we will probably neither of us ever know. May I trouble you for a light?"

I leaned forward, coolly helping myself to the burning cigarette he held forth doubtingly between his fingers, and, puffing vigorously, silently resumed my seat.

"My wife, say you?" A fresh interest appeared to sweep over him at the word, overcoming his indifference. "Did Eloise de Noyan send you here seeking to succor me?"

"It was at her request I came; at her wish I stay," I answered firmly.

"You knew her?"

"Several years since, when she was scarcely more than a girl; yet she retained sufficient faith to call upon me in extremity."

He sat staring at me as if he would like to question further.

"The Lord love us, you are a cool fish," he finally exclaimed, bringing his hand down upon his knee, and speaking with fresh animation in his soft voice. "What is more, I rather like you. So Eloise really wishes me to desert the Dons? Queer choice that, for she would make a lovely widow. Oh, well, what's the odds? 'Tis only the question of a ball in the back to-night, or a ball in the front to-morrow. If you chance to have a tuck ready for my hand, friend, I 'll try a dash at the deck just for the sport of it."

I shook my head emphatically.

"We will attempt passage without flashing of weapons, or not at all. I grant a quick stroke might win us the open, yet would only serve to rouse the ship; neither of us would ever lift head above the river surface without a bullet in the brain."

"It is the only way fit for a gentleman."

"Confound your gentlemen!" I cried, now thoroughly aroused at this ill-chosen trifling with time. "Either you do as I bid you, or else we settle down without any more ado, to wait the file to-morrow. How often does the Commandant look in?"

"On the stroke of the ship's bell."

"Then, Monsieur, the sooner you arrive at some decision the better. If indifference is your game, I play it out with you to the end." As I spoke I leaned carelessly back against the lower bunk, puffing away at my pipe to get it fairly alight once more.

I could note from the corner of my eye he was watching me closely, and with no slight degree of aroused interest, but I would have rested there without further speech until the guard came, had he not first broken silence.

"And she sent you?"

"So I said."

"To me, not Lafreniere, her father?"

"There was a possible chance to save one, not two."

"Sacre! yes, I understand that; yet it doth puzzle me why she should have chosen as she did. Know you just why it was De Noyan instead of Lafreniere?"

"Madame selected me for action, not advice," I answered shortly, now thoroughly tired of his questioning. "Lafreniere, I understood, positively refused opportunity to escape, from scruples of conscience. Besides, the father must be near the end of his days, while you were yet young, with long life before you. No doubt this also had weight with her decision. As for myself I sincerely wish it might have been some other, so I could have brought my aid to a man of sense."

He rose up, shrugging his shoulders.

"You are not especially choice in speech, yet your purpose harmonizes somewhat with my present humor. I will risk the effort; so now tell me your plan?"

I permitted no sign of pleasure at his decision to appear in my face.

"I did intend dressing you in this cassock so you might play priest, and slip safely past the guard beneath its gray cover," I said quietly. "I purposed remaining behind, arranging for myself as best I might; but now that we have met, to be perfectly frank about it, I retain no confidence in your discretion which will warrant the risk. I therefore decide we had better abide together until this venture be done."

He smiled, apparently in rare good humor at my words.

"No doubt it will prove best, my friend. Your wider knowledge should supplement my boyish enthusiasm," he responded with mocking bow. "I rather suspect, from outward appearance, you may be some years my junior, yet in life experience I readily yield you the palm. So lead on, most noble Captain; from henceforth command me as your devoted follower. And now, your excellency, I trust you will pardon if I venture the inquiry, what would you have your humble servant do?"

I permitted him to ramble along as he pleased. Now I had won his pledge I cared little for the nature of his raillery. While he talked I flung open the great chest upon which I had been sitting, and discovering it packed with clothing, hastily dragged the various articles forth, flinging them into the lower berth, covering the pile with blankets in such a manner that they resembled the sleeping figure of a man. Then I turned toward him.

"My first order, Monsieur, is that you get in here."

"Sacre! not I—"

There came a quick, firm footstep sounding along the passageway without; then a hand fell heavily upon the latch of the door.



CHAPTER VIII

FAVORED OF THE GODS

It seemed as if my heart must choke me at sound of those steady footsteps approaching down the passageway. I heard the sharp click of a gun-barrel in the sentry's hand as he presented arms, then the noise of the uplifting latch, yet remained so paralyzed by the suddenness of it as to be fairly helpless, unable to move from my position. De Noyan merely smiled lazily, as though this new act formed part of the play, beginning calmly to roll another cigarette.

"The devil came likewise," he murmured lightly, sinking back upon his stool. "Begin your paternosters, friend Benteen, or he will fly away with both of us."

Fortunately these mocking words brought me to my senses quickly enough to permit dropping upon my knees with back to the door before it swung wide open. Nor did I trust myself to do aught save mumble inarticulate and mongrel Latin, until it had been safely closed again. Had I sought to exercise my wits on this occasion, my companion permitted small opportunity for words.

"Ah! so it is you, you black-faced Arab?" he exclaimed sneeringly, as the Commandant of the guard peered curiously in. "Not content to wait the striking of the ship's bell, you must even interrupt my prayers. Nice treatment of a gentleman his last night on earth, to push yourself in between him and the consolations of the holy father. Sacre! had I only a small sword at my side I would write a message across your black Spanish heart which would teach your master how to guard a French cavalier safely, and still be decent about it."

It is doubtful whether the officer comprehended this tirade. It was voiced in French, yet tone and manner must have conveyed much of its import, for I distinguished a muttered word or so regarding the unpleasant duty of a soldier, and the length of time the priest had retained the key, ere the intruder finally backed out closing the door behind him. I clung to my knees, however, until his retreating footsteps had died entirely away in the distance; even until De Noyan addressed me again in his exasperating drawl.

"So, Father, you must now realize, if never before, how highly I value your ministrations. Faith! never until this hour have I truly enjoyed the prayers of any padre; I knew not what I missed. Still there is limit even to such pleasure, and it is time now to conclude; I have heard better Latin in my day, while your provincial accent rasps painfully upon the ears."

"You made your play quite well, Monsieur," I said shortly, somewhat mortified he should thus take the leadership out of my hands at the first symptom of danger. "But there must be something besides play-acting for us to-night if we get free of this ship. So come now; do you get into the box?"

He looked down at it doubtfully, with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Pardieu! I would ask certain questions first," he said with greater show of seriousness. "For how long a time? for what sort of a passage? It will prove somewhat cramped, I take it, for a man of my length of limb."

"I hope both may prove short," I returned, continuing to hold up the lid for him to enter. "Yet I know of no other possible means whereby you can leave this room without being halted by the guard at the door. There is no certainty in this, yet there is a chance, Chevalier, and that ought always to be invitation to a brave man. Beyond this it is God's affair."

The soldier twisted his long moustaches reflectively, a new light gleaming in the eyes that fronted me.

"Sacre, man!" he said at last stepping forward in sudden resolution. "As you say it may be worth trying, but it's not unlike climbing into a coffin three sizes too small for the deceased. Still I 'll bide therein for a while, only, I warn you, you better be easy when you put me down, or the corpse may furnish a sudden resurrection."

It proved truly no easy task to stow him safely in that contracted space. At any other time I should have laughed outright, marking the final result of our combined efforts, especially at the expression, half ludicrous, half pathetic, upon his face as he gazed up at me just before the lid was closed.

"Now mind, Chevalier," I said gravely, for had I ventured upon a smile at his predicament he would have popped instantly forth again, "you are to make no movement of any kind until left alone. When certain of that you may venture out of the chest, but remain quiet until you hear from me again."



"You believe you know a way?"

"Under God's guidance yes, if you will only bear your part."

Without pausing for his answer I dropped the heavy cover over him, and gave vent to a sigh of relief.

So far, at least I had won; thus far the gods had favored me. In spite of the obstacle of temperament I had found means to attain my end, to work my will, yet I realized well De Noyan would never bear such uncomfortable posture long; whatever was to be accomplished must be done quickly. Fortunately my plan, dim and doubtful as it was, had already taken outline. I had determined what to endeavor; it must be attempted at once, with bold heart, or the opportunity would be gone forever. Pulling the hood across my face, I partially opened the door, glancing out upon the curious sentry. To my relief he was alone.

"I suppose the Commandant told you to give me a lift out with this box?" I asked in Spanish.

"No, senor padre."

The man was exceedingly good-natured, evidently one who had profound respect for the cloth.

"Caramba!" I growled angrily, using the Spanish tongue so he might not miss my meaning. "He promised it only a moment ago, when he looked in. He must have forgotten. There is no sense in having such a great chest lumbering up the entire room. Know you how it ever came there?"

"It was the senor Lieutenant's state-room, padre, before the prisoners were brought aboard. I think it might be his sea-chest."

"Well, the Commandant said it could be removed, so out it goes. It leaves no space for us to kneel in prayer."

I bent down as I spoke, exerting all my strength, and succeeded in dragging the heavy, iron-bound chest forward, across the threshold. My heart beat fiercely in misgiving lest the guard might feel moved to interfere, but he never stirred; merely gazed at my movements in stolid wonder. Concealing from him all the interior possible with my body, I spoke a brief word of farewell to the prisoner, supposed to be safely within, then closed and locked the door.

"Here," I said authoratively, my cheeks flushed with delight at so successful an issue, "lay hold on one end of this, and give me a lift."

Obligingly, and apparently without a moment's reflection as to his duty, the soldier, young in years and doubtless a new recruit, leaned his gun against the mast, bending down with hand upon the rope handle.

"Where to, senor padre?"

"The Commandant said it might be placed in the store-room. 'Twill stow away safely enough there, and bother nobody. Know you where that is?"

"Ay; only a step this way."

"Lead on then, yet Saint Cecilia! it makes no light load. The Lieutenant must have kept his stock of wine within."

I durst not venture bearing the thing farther, fearful lest we might run afoul of others of the guard who would prove more suspicious than this honest fellow, besides, all my hasty plan of escape hung now upon the faith retained, that the half-open cuddy door had direct communication with the provisions stored below. Surely they could never be loaded and unloaded by means of the distant hatch-ladder. So dull and unintelligent in the dim light appeared the face of the fellow opposite, as we strained forward beneath the weight of the chest, I ventured upon a question.

"How does the cook get out all that provender from here?"

"I know not, senor padre; but I think there will be opening from the store-room to the upper deck. They were at work there yesterday while I was on guard."

By good fortune the room sought was only three doors down the passageway. As it was, my forehead was wet with perspiration for fear De Noyan would lose what little stock of patience he possessed before we reached there, or that the Spaniard would begin to wonder at the surprising weight. Dropping the chest with good will amid the raffle littering up the floor space, we came forth together, the soldier to pick up his gun, while, mopping my face vigorously, I proceeded forth into the guard-room for the purpose of delivering up the key.

This was a task I approached with dread. Even now some slight slip of tongue, or action, could easily ruin everything accomplished, yet I durst not omit the precaution, lest the missing key awaken suspicion and lead to immediate pursuit. Here, again, fortune played strangely into my hands, as I discovered the officer dozing in his chair, and, stepping softly, so as not to arouse him, I gladly handed that important bit of iron over to the care of one of the guard, himself too drowsy from potations to trouble me with questioning. Relieved of this duty, my heart filled with gratitude for all the mercies of the night, I betook myself up the ladder unmolested, and a moment later stood in comparative freedom upon the open deck.

I could scent the coming dawn in the fresh morning air the moment I arose through the hatch opening, yet there was no sign of it in the sky; indeed I felt there must be fog in the atmosphere, it rendered it so thick, although not sufficiently heavy to drip in moisture. It required only a moment to locate all life present along the forward deck, and I became convinced few wakeful eyes remained among them at this sleepiest of all hours of the night. Trusting to this, as well as the garb I wore for concealment, I walked boldly back as far as the mainmast, meeting no one. Then, fearful of observation from the officer still pacing the poop, I skulked stealthily along in the black shadow of the cook's galley, until I reached the cuddy door, quaking with fear lest it fail me. It opened instantly to the touch of the hand, and with heart throbbing wildly, for now all that had been accomplished hung in the balance of this last experiment, I groped about within seeking to solve the mystery of that gloomy interior. The place had the feel of a big, square box; by stretching out across the edge I could barely reach the farther side, but could touch no bottom, nor did I feel the rungs of any ladder leading down. It resembled a well, and the thought immediately took possession of me that the crew hauled up their provisions by use of ropes, yet I could discover no hoisting apparatus of any kind. With head projected far below the deck level I ventured a soft whisper into the darkness:

"Are you there, Chevalier?"

There was a slight movement beneath, as if he drew closer to where I was.

"Yes, it is all right," he returned, his voice so modulated as to be barely audible. "But I discover nothing in this darkness to aid in reaching the deck. Know you where a rope can be secured?"

"Ay; lie quiet until I return."

It was a bit ticklish, yet required doing. A trip to the foremast put in my possession quite a section of line sliced from off the rope's end previously left dangling from the upper yard. Incidentally as I passed back and forth I revisited Father Cassati, still resting easily in his bonds, but now peacefully sleeping off his earlier potations undiscovered upon the hard deck. Returning with my treasure, I payed it out into the intense blackness of the cuddy hole, and anxiously awaited developments below.

Nor had I long to wait—there came a touch on the line followed by a firmer pull, as if the party below tested its strength. For a moment the cord wiggled about as if the man was working with his end to some purpose, then there followed three sharp jerks which I interpreted to mean to hoist away. I promptly put my full strength to it, bracing both feet firmly against a heavy cross-piece of timber, evidently nailed there for that very purpose. The rope ran over a small roller set close against the coaming, which I had failed to observe in my hasty search, so I found the strain less than expected, although a heavy weight was evidently attached to the other end. But I uplifted this, for I was vain of my strength in those days, and the distance was not so great but that shortly his hands managed to grip hold upon the deck planks, and a moment later he stood beside me, complacent and debonair as ever, in the dense shadows of the galley.

"Sacre! 'tis a most scurvy trick we are playing on the Dons, friend Benteen," he murmured smiling easily, while peering about him in the darkness. "And now, what is the next act in this midnight melodrama, most cautious youth?"

"The keeping of a still tongue until we are both overboard," I replied somewhat roughly. "Follow me closely, and keep quiet about it, if you retain the slightest care for your life."

It was not much of a trick, the rest of it, and within five minutes we were silently floating down the great river, through the darkness, seeking after some quiet landing-place below the fleet.



CHAPTER IX

THE BIRTH OF THE DEATH-DAWN

We durst not swim to the nearest landing, just beyond the bow of the big flag-ship we had so unceremoniously quitted, fearing our efforts to stem the current might attract the attention of some watcher on board. So permitting myself to drift silently beneath the vessel's stern, without the stir of a limb to disturb the water, I was soon well away from the great black shadow. Without a word De Noyan followed. Yet time was far too precious to permit long drifting, and at the earliest moment I dared the venture we turned aside, striking out boldly for the shore.

"We must move rapidly, Chevalier, to make up lost time," I cautioned briefly, wading out, dripping, upon the bank.

"Are the streets patrolled by the Dons?"

"Ay! although not as thoroughly as when the Spaniards first landed. We shall require to exercise caution."

"Where do you take me? There can be no safe hiding spot in New Orleans?"

"I know none. We go to the rear of a long row of tobacco sheds near the North Gate. A boat thoroughly stocked, with two oar men, awaits us."

"I mind the place," he said eagerly, "I outfitted there for hunting more than once. It is best for me to lead, as I know well every inch of the path, and have grown interested in the play."

He certainly proved his familiarity with that labyrinth of sombre streets and alleys. Selecting a devious course, stooping low beneath the black shadows of walls and fences, he yet set so swift a gait with his confounded long legs it kept me puffing to follow. But we found clear passage, seeing no one close enough to interfere with our rapid progress, while no challenge sounded, until we crept, silently as possible, around the dilapidated end of the old tobacco shed, and a black figure, scarcely distinguishable in the gloom, suddenly arose, uttering no word, yet with threatening gesture, barring further passage toward the river.

"Virginia," I gasped, breathless from the hard run.

"Bless de Lawd, Massa Benteen," returned a darky voice. "An' Massa Charlie, as I 'm a sinner. I tell you, sah, we done 'bout gib you both up fo' suah."

"Stop talking just now, Alphonse, and lead along lively," said De Noyan, with returning authority. "We can converse later, in surroundings more congenial."

Another moment and we were in the boat, the Chevalier pushing it clear of the bank, then lightly clambering in over the stern.

"Benteen," he exclaimed, panting heavily, "I confess I'm about useless from lack of wind. Sacre! I 've been housed so long I am weak as an invalid, yet I can steer the craft if you inform me where 'tis best to go."

"Up country is our only chance," I gasped, grasping an oar, vaguely noting a second figure huddled within the bow. "All the lower water is patrolled by the fleet, but above there are plenty of hiding places. Lay down to it hard, you black rascals; you are pulling for your lives."

De Noyan extended his hand toward the east.

"It will be dawn in about an hour," he said, a tone of earnestness creeping into his soft voice. "We can never pull against this stiff current so as to get any distance in that time. This east shore is flat as a board for leagues. I 'm for heading straight across. If we gain the west bank within an hour, or even two, the Devil himself would have a hard job to find us."

"Go on," I muttered, bending grimly to my task. "You know this country better than I. When we reach upper waters it will be my turn to guide."

As I uttered these words, a bit impatiently, there sounded a quick step on the low bank at our right. A sharp voice cleaved the darkness.

"Halt there! Halt that boat, or I put a ball through you."

"Sheer off lively, lads," I whispered. "Swing her head out, Chevalier."

There was a rush of feet down the steep embankment. Then a second voice questioned eagerly:

"What was it you saw, Sanchez?"

"Nothing, Senor; I heard voices out yonder. Listen! As the saints watch, 't is the dip of oars."

"Halt that boat, or we shoot!"

There followed a moment's painful pause. An oar in our bow slipped, making an awkward splash in the water. "Caramba! you will not? Take aim, men—fire."

A jagged flash of flame cleaved the night. It lit the steep bank, flinging a bright glare across the dark waters. In that instant I saw, my face set shoreward, a dozen black figures clustered in a bunch. One ball crashed into the planking close beside my hand, hurling a splinter of wood against my face. The boat gave a sudden tremor, and, with a quick, sharp cry of pain, the negro next me leaped into the air, and went plunging overboard. I flung forth a hand in vain effort to grapple his body, yet never touched it, and everything about became black once more.

"The poor devil's gone," muttered De Noyan. "The rest of you lay down to your oars, before they have time to load again."

So quickly did this occur I do not believe we lost more than a stroke or two, and were already well out into the stream, nothing except our narrow stern pointing toward the bank, where some of the soldiers—we judged from their voices—were reloading for a second volley, the others searching the shore after some boat in which to begin the pursuit. It was a hard pull, especially upon my part, as I chanced to sit on the lower side, having full sweep of the current tugging against my oar, while De Noyan headed the boat as directly as possible for the western shore. The soldiers, completely swallowed in the gloom, made no further attempt to fire; possibly, having seen the fall of the black, they believed their work done. Nor did other sounds reach us evidencing pursuit; for that moment at least we were free. It was then I watched the coming of the dawn.

There was a slight, scarcely perceptible, shading into a lighter tinge of the clinging black shadows that veiled the eastern sky, dimly revealing misty outlines of white, fleecy clouds extending above the faint horizon line, until they assumed a spectral brightness, causing me to dream of the fairies' dwellings which my mother pictured to me in childhood. Gently the delicate awakening spread along the wider expanse of sky, which became bluish gray, gradually expanding and reflecting its glow along the water, until this also became a portion of the vast arch, while the darker borderland, now far astern, formed merely a distant shade, a background to the majestic picture. The east became gradually a lighter, more pronounced gray; rosy streaks shot upward through the cloud masses, driving them higher into an ever-deepening upper blue like a flock of frightened birds, until at last the whole eastern horizon blushed like a red rose, while above the black line of distant, shadowy trees, the blazing rim of the sun itself uplifted, casting a wide bar of dazzling gold along our wake. Gazing thus, every thought of our surroundings, our dangers, and fatigue passed from memory. Bending to the oar, my soul was far away upon a voyage of its own.

Some unusual movement served to attract attention from this day-dreaming, my eyes falling suddenly upon De Noyan. His face, turned partially away from the rising sun, was gray with anxiety, and I noted he shivered in his wet clothes. Yet his smile and speech seemed jauntily unconcerned as ever.

"Yonder was to have been my last sunrise," he remarked grimly, nodding backward across his shoulder. "'Tis about the hour now for those in the hands of the Dons to have their backs against the wall."

I caught a sound as of a partially suppressed sob behind me, but before I could turn sufficiently to ascertain the cause, the Chevalier sprang past, rocking the little boat furiously, and my ears overheard that which caused me to keep my face set the other way.

"Eloise!" he exclaimed exultantly. "Are you here, little wife? Mon Dieu! I dreamed it not; yet should have known you would never leave such duty to the slaves."

"I was simply compelled to come," she answered, and I could mark her voice falter. "Do not be angry with me. What have I now left except you? The rising of the sun sealed my father's fate."

"True," he admitted soberly, lifting his hat in grave gesture. "I feel like a condemned coward, my name a byword for the rabble, being here in such comparative safety, when, in honor, I should be lying beside my comrades."

"Nay; say not that! You are young; much of life, of usefulness, lies before you. I knew that at the best only one destined victim might be plucked from the Spaniard's vengeance. It was at his approval I made choice of you. My father is robbed of but few years, while you are too young to die. Somewhere—God guiding—we shall find a home again, and days of peace."

"Ay! you were ever of brave heart, Eloise. But let us not forget we yet remain in reach of Spanish claws, and they are merciless. Go back to the tiller a while, and let me lay hold upon this oar; 'tis heavy work for such soft hands as yours. Point the course direct for the cane island—you must remember it; you were there once with me."

I fail to recall even glancing into her face as she sat fronting me, her hands upon the tiller bar. I durst not, fearing some telltale expression within my eyes might bring her added pain. So I sat with glance downcast upon the planks, while tugging doggedly at the oar with all my strength, feeling that same sunrise had brought with it my own death warrant. So dull and heavy grew my heart with lonely weariness, I cannot guess how long we pulled before the boat's nose ran up upon the shore, and De Noyan, springing overboard, dragged it well beyond view among the thick cane.

"We shall be safe enough here," he exclaimed lightly, gazing about with approval. "Come, Eloise, step on this dry sand, for you must be greatly cramped from so tedious a passage."

As I arose, the more easily to permit her passing me in the narrow space, she suddenly grasped both my hands within her own; then my eyes glanced up once more to meet hers, dark with unshed tears.

"Do not think, Geoffrey Benteen," she said brokenly, her voice vibrating with emotion, "that I fail to realize what this means to you. Your troubled face has been a silent accuser of me this hour past. But I thank you; you have proven yourself a man, such a man as I have ever believed you to be. May the good God bless you and bring you peace."

"Ay!" chimed in her husband, apparently in good humor. "He's the nerviest fellow ever I met, Eloise. Sacre! had you hunted this province over you could never have found one to perform better work this night. I wonder how it was you chanced upon him?"

Without venturing a word in reply to either of them, I helped her gravely over the boat's side, within grasp of his outstretched hand, all about us the warm sunshine piercing the thick canes with golden light.



CHAPTER X

A COVERT IN THE CANE

Our boat was securely hidden amid a thick growth of reeds, which extended their domain far down the shore, even out into the river shallows. These reeds sprang quickly back into position as we pressed through, leaving no trail for pursuers to follow. Nevertheless, making all secure on board, and removing from the locker a quantity of biscuit and some smoked meat, we took the further precaution of covering the boat with rushes so as thoroughly to disguise its presence from prying eyes. Satisfied with the result of these efforts, we clambered up the slight ridge to where we found a small open space, carpeted with soft grass, and sufficiently elevated to permit our looking about above the level of the cane, while remaining concealed ourselves.

Our lodgment was upon a small island, a stream of languidly flowing water extending between us and the main west shore. This, so far as my eyes could distinguish, did not differ in appearance from our present abiding place, being composed of low, swampy land, thickly covered with a heavy growth of cane, and exhibiting no sign of human habitation. The sole break to this dull monotony of outline was a narrow fringe of trees situated farther back, where doubtless firmer soil gave spread to their roots.

Northward the eye might trace the slight curve of the bank for miles. It appeared irregular and low, slightly diversified by small, marshy islands, similar to this we occupied, possibly cloven from the mainland by some eccentricity of current. Occasionally I distinguished openings into lagoons, such passages into the low-lying mainland being evidenced by the deeper green of the vegetation bordering them, as well as by wind-twisted trees clinging despairingly to the crooked banks. East and south swept the river, so broad our eyes could barely trace the dim presence of a distant shore. Below, that majestic yellow flood poured downward unbroken, although De Noyan imagined he perceived distant spars of the Spanish fleet outlined against the blue background of the southern sky. This may have been possible, yet to my eyes all was blank, although I could mark pretty accurately where they should have been.

We indulged in little conversation, reclining on the short grass, partaking of our cold meal. The Chevalier attempted a sorry jest or two, yet soon subsided, discovering so unresponsive an audience. It was plain to my mind the reflections of Madame were altogether with her father—lying dead before this hour—and this sad memory darkened even the delight of her husband's safety. His affected gayety of manner, and reckless speech, jarred more harshly upon her in this hour than perhaps ever before in her life. Yet she made a pathetically brave effort to appear of good cheer, managing to eat with us, although it was easy to perceive the food choked her, while her eyes were blurred with tears resolutely held in restraint. It was plain, I say, yet this is but my thought, for I question whether De Noyan, in his careless mood, observed her depression. He was of a nature reflecting slightly on any save himself; past sorrow being quickly forgotten in any present gleam of sun. As we thus ended this silent meal it occurred to me they might require slumber more than I, and I expressed my willingness to stand guard while they sought rest. Perhaps my face told a tale of weariness easily read, for this proposal met immediate resistance.

"No, no, Geoffrey Benteen," exclaimed Madame impulsively, "what have I done except sit quietly in a boat, waiting the passing of the hours? You have been through strain and labor which wears out life. It is you who will lie here upon my wrap, trusting me to call should need arise."

"Hush, both of you," impatiently burst in De Noyan, rising to his feet, and gazing across the sparkling water. "A watch would have small value. There is no safer spot on all the lower river than this; if the Dons discover it, no way of escape exists even were we all awake and ready. To remain quiet is all we can do, and how can we accomplish that better than by going to sleep? Sacre! I am a soldier, and not apt to make light of a guard, yet," and he stifled a yawn, "I see no necessity here, nor could I be more completely played after a night of dancing at a Creole ball."

Thus the matter was agreed upon, not altogether to my liking, but I yielded owing to too great weariness to argue. At first Madame protested she could not sleep, yet finally consented to lie down. As to myself my head had scarcely pressed the soft pillow of grass before I was lost in slumber.

A blessing of youth lies in the fact that sleep then truly gives rest. The tired body responds so thoroughly to the gentle touch of slumber that the latter becomes a magician capable of restoring every faculty to complete power. It was thus I rested motionless, and it was nearly evening before I stirred, although the sun must have been streaming directly across my upturned face for hours. I awoke to perfect consciousness of our situation, as naturally as ever in a bed at home. Dimly impressed that some unusual noise had aroused me, I immediately sat upright. This change of posture brought my eyes on a level with the tops of the cane on either side, and, my face being turned southward, there was outspread before me the full, broad sweep of the Mississippi, glinting under the westering sun, so that for a moment it dazzled eyes yet clogged with the heaviness of sleep. Then I perceived what afforded me so severe a shock that I ducked hastily down into my covert, every faculty instantly alert. Close in against the reeds, as though skirting the low line of the shore, loomed the black outline of a large boat.

Coming bow on toward the place of our concealment, every eye in her would naturally be scanning the spot where we lay hidden, and I durst not raise my head again until assured they had passed by. I rolled partially over to gain view of the others of our own party. Both were slumbering heavily, Eloise near the western edge of the little grass plot, wrapped within a great shawl so as to leave not even her head visible, while De Noyan rested within easy reach of my outstretched arm, breathing so heavily I felt it safer to arouse him, before that strange boat should come abreast. It required severe shaking, his sleep being that of sheer exhaustion, yet he proved sufficiently a trained soldier to obey instantly my signal for silence. Nor were words needed to explain the reason, as by this time the sound of oars was clearly audible. Suddenly some one spoke, apparently at our very side. Lying as I was I noticed the shawl pushed hastily down from Madame's face, her brown eyes gazing questioningly across into my own; yet, with rare self-control, not so much as a limb quivered.

"I tell you, padre, there's nothing along this cursed cane-marsh," growled a deep rumbling voice in Spanish. "It is a mere bog, in which a man would sink to his armpits, were he to venture outside the boat."

"Bog it may be," retorted a sharper, petulant voice, the sound of which was oddly familiar, "but I tell you this, Senor, 'tis on this very shore French gallants come hunting from New Orleans. There is dry land in plenty beyond the fringe of reeds."

"Saprista! there may be, as there may be water in Hell, but I 'll never tangle my boat amid that mass of cane to make its discovery. Let the frog-eaters have it, say I; the saints bless them. Come, pull away sharply, lads, and we'll see what the shore-line looks like above."

The sound of dipping oars instantly increased in rapidity.

"You are one pig-headed fool of an officer, Senor," snarled the sharp voice contemptuously.

"Mother of God!" roared the other, enraged. "Speak so again, you dog of a French priest, and even your gray robe will not save you from tasting the mud at the bottom. Do you want to know what I think of you? Well, I 'll tell you, you snivelling, drunken singer of paternosters—you did more to help that fellow escape than you 'd care to have known. Now you 're trying to hold us back until he has time to get safely away up the river. That's my opinion of you, you snarling gray-back, and if you dare breathe another word, I 'll give orders to chuck you overboard."

"Where do you purpose going?" ventured the cowed priest, in a subdued tone.

"Straight up the stream. That's where your cursed Frenchman has disappeared so swiftly, unless the guard at the North Gate shot him, as they swear to O'Reilly. So sit there quiet, and hold your tongue—you may command the Devil, for all I care, but I 'm in charge of this boat."

The sound of angry controversy died away in the distance. Cautiously I lifted my eyes to the level of the cane, and peered over. The Spanish boat, a large one propelled by the vigorous sweep of twelve oars, was already a hundred yards above, swiftly stemming the current. From their gestures I judged the debate yet raged between the gray-robe crouched in the stern, and the big, burly fellow, resplendent in gold lace, standing up and urging his oarsmen to greater exertion. Within ten minutes they rounded the upper point, and when they again appeared within vision, the boat was a mere dot floating in the midst of the golden sunshine, where the setting sun gave a good-night kiss to the vast, sombre river.

De Noyan's boyish face was aglow with unconcealed amusement as I turned toward him.

"Well, Benteen," he asked, twirling his moustache, and staring after them, "what was it the Dons said? Peste! I could not make out a word of their lingo, except when the fellows swore."

I repeated to him the conversation, and he burst into a hearty laugh.

"Indeed, a sweet-scented Frenchman, that Capuchin priest," he said carelessly. "I wonder what has so set the drunken fool against me?"

"It is not you, Chevalier," I acknowledged, feeling a touch of his spirit; "it is rather that lad who landed so heavily behind his ear last night, and who ran such a merry masquerade in monk's robe as never Spanish war-ship saw before. I warrant it is I the holy father seeks so savagely. Faith, it would be pleasant to know how he got out of the pickle in which I left him. 'T is odd the Dons did not use him in your place."

"Ay, that will be the cause, for I did nothing to anger the fellow, except it was to laugh at his prayers, with a joke at the quality of his Latin. But Dieu protect you, Monsieur, if ever he gets whip-hand. A revengeful priest is more to be feared than a rabid dog. I stirred one of his breed once at the Cathedral by some wild prank, and carry the scar of it still. But come, it becomes dusk. Let's break our fast, and while eating consider the best plan for the night. Eloise, do you awaken refreshed?"

She came quickly forward, a smile for us both, looking dainty and sweet, although the heavy mass of brown hair appeared somewhat dishevelled from her unaccustomed pillow.

"I must have been exceedingly tired," she confessed pleasantly, "for I slept with never a dream, and this is my first experience of lying without the covering of a roof. It was all strange and solemn at first, with never a sound except the dismal whispering of wind through the cane, and the dull murmur of the river. The very, stillness, no doubt, lulled me to slumber. Nay!" and she sprang hastily forward, taking from my hands the few provisions I was bearing. "That is to be my part of the work, Geoffrey Benteen, not yours. You will find hard enough task before morning, while there remains so little for me that I refuse to be robbed of any rights."