didn't come to the island till just before his death; but myfather-in-law, who died a few years ago, was a soldier under Sir HudsonLowe's command; and he told me that he had often been set as one of thesentries round Longwood, and had seen Buonaparte again and again. Itwas a troublesome duty keeping guard on him."
"How so?" asked Walters.
"Why, sir, they were obliged--one of them, that is, was obliged--to seeBony with his own eyes once in every twenty-four hours--to make sure ofhim, you see, sir. There was always a fancy that he was trying to makehis escape to America."
"There was some ground for that, if what I have read is true," remarkedRivers.
"Maybe, sir," said Sergeant Thorpe. "Anyhow, Sir Hudson always acted asthough he believed it; and he insisted that one of the men should seeBony every day, and make sure he was there; and nothing that he did madeBony so angry. He would take every means of preventing it that hecould. He would shut himself up sometimes for a whole day, and allow noone to enter his room but his own servants. They were all in the samemind as himself about it; and even if they hadn't been, they durstn'tfor the life of them let any one go into the room where he was. Some ofour chaps hung about the entrance for an hour or two, or longer thanthat, before they could get a sight of him. My father-in-law told methat one day, when he had waited for ever so long without being able tosee Buonaparte, he hid himself behind one of the curtains in the halland stayed there till bed-time. About ten o'clock Bony came out on hisway to bed. My father-in-law got a clear sight of him, but Bony caughta glimpse of the end of his shoe sticking out from under the curtain.My father-in-law was hauled out, and had to explain what brought himthere. A complaint was sent to Sir Hudson--and to the Government, Ibelieve, too--that an attempt had been made to assassinate him! Butthere were so many stories of the same kind, none of which had anyfoundation, that very little attention was paid to it."
"No," said Captain Ranken. "The Government would have had little elseto do, if they had attended to all his complaints. So this is the housewhere the great emperor lived, is it?"
"Lived and died, sir," said Sergeant Thorpe. "This is the room where heused to sit and dictate, and this the bedroom where he died. There wasa terrible storm on the day of his death, the 4th of May 1821. I canjust remember it, having come here when I was a young boy, a few weeksbefore. The people in the island say there has never been such a stormknown before or since. All the trees about the place were torn up, andamong them the willow, under which was his favourite seat."
"Were you present at his burial?" inquired Margetts.
"No, sir, I was too young to be taken. I was left at home with my nurseand little sister, but almost every one in the island was there. Wewill go down and look at it now, if you please. It lies in a smallvalley. The spot was a favourite resort of his, and there he had askedto be buried."
The party accordingly quitted Longwood, and followed the sergeant downto the spot he indicated. It was a lovely place, but very littleattempt had been made further to beautify it. A mound of about threehundred feet in circumference, overgrown with grass, had been surroundedwith a simple palisade. About the middle of this there was a tombconstructed of stone enclosed by an iron railing. There was neitherinscription nor monument, the coffin having been deposited in a vaultbeneath, and the roof cemented over.
"I have stood here sentinel many a day, gentlemen," said the sergeant,"when I was a young man. There used to be a many visitors who came tosee it--mostly old soldiers who had fought under him."
"Do you remember the removal of the body to France?" inquired Rivers.
"Yes, sir, I saw that myself," replied Thorpe; "it was nearly twentyyears after his burial. The son of the king of France, that then was,came to take the body to Europe. It was a grand sight. I was one ofthe soldiers on duty that day. The earth was dug away until they cameto the vault, which had been overlaid with cement, but this was found tobe so hard that the workmen's tools broke one after another, and it wasa long time before they could make the slightest impression upon it. Atlast they did make their way through it, and lifted up the large whitestone, and exposed the coffin. When the lid was taken off there lay thegreat emperor, not the least changed, it appeared, by all the twentyyears he had lain there. The features were not even shrunk, and therewere the orders on his breast, and the cocked hat by his side, scarcelytarnished. After the coffin had been removed they replaced the stonesas they were before. A good many people still visit this place, but notnearly so many, of course, as formerly."
The party now took leave of Sergeant Thorpe, and returned to Jamestown.
"Why didn't Whittaker make one of our party?" asked Margetts of Walters,as they rode side by side down the precipitous path.
"I don't quite know," said Walters. "For some reason or other, he isvery unwilling to be absent from his cabin for any long time together.I have noticed that almost every hour he goes down to it. I suppose hehas something valuable there, which he thinks it necessary to keep aneye upon."
"I don't know but what he's right," remarked Rivers. "One or two of thecrew strike me as being by no means the most desirable shipmates. Thatfellow Bostock, and Van Ryk, the boatswain's mate, and one or twoothers, if they are honest fellows, don't look it. I spoke to thecaptain about it a day or two ago, and he agreed with what I said. Buthe told me that he and Wyndham kept a sharp look-out upon them, and whenthe ship reached Port Elizabeth, he meant to get rid of them. It isonly a few of whom he has any suspicion; the rest are all right."
The next day the voyage was resumed, and after rather more than a week'srun, Cape Town was reached. Here there was a delay of several days.Vander Heyden went ashore with his sister to the house of a friend, withwhom he resided during the whole of the ship's stay in harbour.
He had been very angry with his friend and sister for joining theEnglish party to Longwood, and would have broken off all acquaintancewith Rivers and his friend, if Moritz and Annchen would have allowed it.But though he succeeded so far to prevent anything like close intimacy,he could not prevent civilities from being offered and accepted; andVander Heyden had seen too much of Captain Ranken, to venture upon anyrepetition of the conduct which had brought about the collision betweenthem a fortnight before.
During the stay at Cape Town an unfortunate incident occurred, whichcaused the captain much greater vexation than the misconduct of hisDutch passenger. Nearly a dozen of his best men, who had been allowedby the second mate, in the absence of his superior officers, to go onshore, were reported missing, and all inquiries after them proved vain.Either they had been bribed to serve on board some foreign ship, or tojoin some party to the interior. Captain Ranken was obliged to supplytheir place, as well as he could, with some men whom he had picked up atCape Town, but whose appearance he by no means liked.
"We must keep a sharp look-out upon them, Wyndham," he said on themorning of the day after that on which they had resumed their voyage."If it wasn't that it would be impossible to navigate the ship withoutthem, there's hardly one of these fellows with whom I would like tosail. I shall send them adrift at Port Elizabeth, along with Bostockand Van Ryk and Sherwin. I expect there will be no lack of good handsthere."
"Well, it won't be very long, sir," said Wyndham,--"not above three orfour days at the outside, and there are enough of us to put down anydisturbance during that time. I'll speak to Mr Rivers and MrWhittaker, and the others. They'd be very useful if any disturbanceoccurs."
"I will speak to Mr Whittaker myself," said the captain. "He told mesomething yesterday, an hour or two after we left the harbour, which ifhe had mentioned before, I should have taken certain steps, which itwould be too late to take now. I gave him my mind on the subject,though there was no great use in doing that."
"What, he has something valuable on board, I suppose?" observed Wyndham;"I have suspected as much for a long time. That was why he would not goashore at Saint Helena, then?"
"Yes," said the captain; "I think under the circumstances it is qu
ite aswell you should know, Wyndham. He has got 5000 pounds in specie, whichhe is taking out to the bank at Maritzburg. Of course he was bound totell me--to give it into my custody, in fact--before we sailed. Hedeclares he did not know that. That may be true, though it seemsstrange he should be ignorant of it. But, any way, it is no usediscussing that matter any further."
"No, sir. I suppose you have it in your charge now?"
"Yes, of course. I have put it away in the strong cupboard, and willnot deliver it up till we reach Durban."
"And what made Mr Whittaker tell you about it this morning, more thanon any other day?" asked Wyndham.
"That is one of the most unpleasant features in the matter," rejoinedthe captain. "Mr Whittaker has always kept his cabin locked throughoutthe voyage, and has never been absent from it for any considerable time.Until this morning, he had no suspicion but what everything wasperfectly safe. But last night, after the passengers had gone to bed,he fancied he heard a noise in the passage, and caught a glimpse of someone hurrying away. This morning, on going into his cabin, he foundBostock there; and on his inquiring what business the man had in hiscabin, Bostock muttered something about having gone in to clean it out.But it is not Bostock's business to clean the cabins. Mr Whittaker wasalarmed, and came to me immediately afterwards."
"Indeed, sir! That looks ugly, certainly. You must get rid of Bostockwhen we get to Port Elizabeth."
"I have already said that I meant to do so. Indeed, I would havedismissed him at Cape Town, if Mr Whittaker had spoken to me in time.All that we can now do is to keep a bright look-out. Mr Whittaker andI are alternately to keep watch in my cabin, until we drop anchor inAlgoa Bay. You had better keep an eye on Bostock; and it would be aswell if you asked Mr Rivers to help you in doing so. Mr Rivers is, tomy mind, as stout-hearted and cool-headed a fellow as any we have onboard."
"I agree with you in that, sir, and will see Mr Rivers at once. But Idon't apprehend much mischief from John Bostock. The man seems to me asif he had lost his head."
If Mr Wyndham could have been present at a conversation which had takenplace an hour or two before between Bostock, Van Ryk, Andersen, thecaptain's servant, and a sailor named Sherwin, he would hardly haveexpressed this opinion. John Bostock, little as Wyndham suspected it,was by birth a gentleman. He was the son of a Lincolnshire squire ofancient family, but very reduced means. His father was the last of along series of spendthrifts, who had gradually reduced a nobleinheritance to a heap of encumbrances. Langley Cargill, or, as he nowcalled himself, John Bostock, was one of his younger sons. He followedin his father's steps, and was soon hopelessly involved in debt. Hetried to live by successful betting and gambling, but failed here also,and was reduced to extreme straits, when a boon companion, a man of someinfluence, obtained for him a commission in a Dutch regiment quarteredat the Hague. Here he was safe from creditors, and had an income uponwhich it would have been possible to live decently, if strict economyhad been observed. But to Cargill economy had become impossible. Hefell into his old courses, and would probably have soon been expelledfrom the Dutch service, if his ruin had not been precipitated by anoutrage which drew on him the punishment of the law.
In the second year of his residence he was attracted by the grace andbeauty of a young girl, who had just made her first appearance inpublic. Langley contrived to obtain an introduction, which he tried forseveral months to improve into an acquaintance. The lady's friends, whowere aware of his character, interfered to prevent this. Her brother,in particular, a haughty young officer, had forbidden all intercourse;and on the occasion of a public ball, when Cargill was more than usuallyimportunate, had insisted on his leaving the room. Cargill replied bydrawing his sword on Vander Heyden. The police interfered, and Cargillwas insane enough to resist, wounding several men, and one severely. Hewould have received a heavy sentence, if he had not contrived to escapefrom prison, and enlist as a sailor in a ship just leaving the harbour.After several voyages he found himself in London, and in the autumn of1879 engaged himself, under the name of Bostock, as an A.B. on board the_Zulu Queen_, about to sail for Durban. Here he found Jans Van Ryk,Amos Sherwin, and Eric Andersen, old companions of his coarse debauches.A day or two after leaving harbour, he also recognised Annchen VanderHeyden and her brother, as the reader has heard in the previous chapter.Annchen had no suspicion that she had even seen him before; but herbrother's memory was better, though with the scornful hauteur of hischaracter he paid no further heed to Bostock's presence.
It will readily be believed that Bostock was not so indifferent to theirformer relations. He had devised a scheme by which he was to revengehimself on Vander Heyden, during the ship's stay at Cape Town. He hadresolved to follow him on shore, force him to a personal encounter, inwhich, being himself a first-rate swordsman, he expected to get thebetter of his antagonist, and, in event of his wounding or killing him,make his escape to the Transvaal, which was at the time full of lawlesscharacters. He had been baffled by Wyndham, who had refused himpermission to leave the ship during the stay at Cape Town. Provoked tofury by this failure, he had resolved to enter Vander Heyden's cabin onthe night of his return to the _Zulu Queen_, kill him, or be killed;and, if he should prove the survivor, throw himself into the sea andswim ashore. His purpose was a second time defeated--in this instanceby Mr Whittaker, who occupied the next cabin to Vander Heyden, and who,as Bostock could see through the glass in his door, was awake andcompletely dressed. Surprised as well as disconcerted, he lookedthrough the square of glass, and saw Whittaker engaged in counting anumber of packages, which he perceived to be rouleaus of gold. Thestrong iron-bound chest was evidently full of them; in which case, hemust have a very large sum of money with him. This discovery turned histhoughts into a different channel. He took an opportunity the next dayof visiting Mr Whittaker's cabin, to make some examination of thechest, but was surprised by the sadden entrance of its owner. MrWhittaker threatened to complain to the captain, and Bostock had nodoubt he had carried out his threat. He felt at once that if he was toexecute his designs either on Vander Heyden or the chest of specie, itmust be done before the ship reached Algoa Bay. He had thereforeinvited his three mates in evil to a conference in the hold of thevessel. At this he imparted to them the discovery he had made, and thethree worthies between them had hatched a plot, which was that verynight to be put into execution.
When Wyndham left Captain Ranken, he went immediately to George Rivers'cabin, to whom he imparted the information received from the captain.George at once agreed to do all that lay in his power, and promised tojoin the first mate on deck, after he had taken a few hours' sleep.Wyndham, on his part, went to take his supper, which was brought him byAmos Sherwin, one of the quartermasters, his own servant, it appeared,being ill.
The night came on suddenly, as is usual in those latitudes, and the moonwas obscured by clouds. About ten o'clock the first mate came on deckto take his watch. He complained of feeling drowsy and heavy; but wasnevertheless quite able to take his work. A steady hand was placed atthe wheel, and everything was quiet on deck. Walters and Margetts, whohad not been disposed to turn in, were seated near the taffrail,smoking. Notwithstanding the darkness, the night was pleasant, and itwas possible occasionally to discern the coast-line,--which was distanttwo or three miles,--though very indistinctly. The first mate seatedhimself near them, leaning his head on his hand. A few minutesafterwards, some one came up with a message to the steersman, and thelatter, surrendering the wheel to the newcomer, went below. The nightwore on, and after a while the moon, forcing its way through the clouds,lit up the scene. The two young men now noticed that the ship appearedto be a good deal nearer to the coast than it had been all day. Walterscalled out to the first mate to point out the fact to him. He hailedhim once or twice, but received no answer.
"I say," he exclaimed, "Wyndham must be asleep. Oughtn't we to wakehim, Redgy?"
"He can hardly be asleep," returned Margetts,--"a smart hand such as heis. B
ut I'll go and speak to him."
He stepped up to Mr Wyndham's side, and, finding he still took nonotice, shook him. But the mate did not bestir himself, and the twoyoung men perceived that he was either seriously ill, or intoxicated.
"I say, this is serious," said Redgy; "we had better go down and bringthe captain, hadn't we? Look here, if you'll take charge of him, I'llgo to the skipper's cabin."
He hurried to the companion accordingly, and on his way encounteredGeorge Rivers, who was coming up, according to promise, to join thefirst mate. He hastily informed him of what was going on up above; andGeorge, a good deal startled, hastened to the place where Wyndham wasstill sitting, with Walters leaning over him. But, while crossing thedeck, he caught sight of an object which filled him with astonishmentand alarm. This was the coast-line, which was now clearly visible inthe broad moonlight.
"What can you be about?" he shouted to the man at the wheel. "We aremore than half a mile nearer shore than we ought to be. If our courseis not immediately changed, we shall run upon a reef; and, by Heaven!"he added, a moment afterwards, "there _is_ a reef just ahead of us!Starboard hard!--starboard, I say! Are you drunk, or mad, that youdon't see where you are taking us?" he continued, as the man, paying noheed to his warnings, allowed the ship to drive on straight towards thereef.
George rushed up, and endeavoured to wrest the helm from his grasp; butit