Willis the Pilot : A Sequel to the Swiss Family Robinson

  CHAPTER XXVII.

  CAPTAIN LITTLESTONE IS FOUND, AND THE REV. MR. WOLSTON IS SEEN FOR THEFIRST TIME.

  Jack, on arriving at the hotel, ascertained the number of the room inwhich Captain Littlestone was located. In his hurry to see his oldfriend, the young man did not stop to knock at the door, but enteredwithout ceremony, with Fritz and Willis at his heels. They foundthemselves in the presence of two gentlemen, one of whom sat with hisface buried in his hands, the other was reading what appeared to be asmall bible.

  The latter was a young man seemingly of about twenty-four ortwenty-five years of age. He had a mild but noble bearing, and hisaspect denoted habitual meditation. His eyes were remarkably piercingand expressive; in short, he was one of those men at whom we are ledinvoluntarily to cast a glance of respect, without very well knowingwhy; perhaps it might be owing to the gravity of his demeanour,perhaps to the peculiar decorum of his deportment, or perhaps to thescrupulous propriety of his dress. He raised his eyes from the book heheld in his hand, and gazed tranquilly at the three figures who had soabruptly interrupted his reveries.

  "May I inquire," said he, "to what we owe this intrusion on ourprivacy, gentlemen?"

  "We have to apologise for our rudeness," said Fritz; "but are you notthe Rev. Mr. Wolston?"

  "My name is Charles Wolston, and I am a minister of the gospel, andmissionary of the church."

  "Then, sir," continued Fritz, "I am the bearer of a message from yourfather."

  "From my father!" exclaimed the missionary, starting up; "you comethen from the Pacific Ocean?"

  Here the second gentleman raised his head, and looked as if he hadjust awakened from a dream. He gazed at the speakers with a puzzledair.

  "Do you know me, captain?" said Willis.

  Littlestone, for it was he, continued to gaze in mute astonishment, asif the events of the past had been defiling through his memory; and heprobably thought that the figures before him were mere phantomcreations of his brain.

  "Willis! can it be possible?" he exclaimed, taking at the same timethe Pilot's proffered hand.

  "Yes, captain, as you see."

  "And the two young Beckers, as I live!" cried Littlestone.

  "Yes," said Jack, "and delighted to find you at last."

  Littlestone then shook them all heartily by the hand.

  "It is but a poor welcome that I, a prisoner in the enemy's country,can give you to Europe; still I am truly overjoyed to see you. Butwhere have you all come from?"

  "From New Switzerland," replied Jack.

  "But how?"

  "By sea."

  "That, of course; and I presume another ship anchored in Safety Bay?"

  "No, captain. Seeing you did not return to us, we embarked in thepinnace and came in search of you."

  "Your pinnace was but indifferently calculated to weather a gale,keeping out of view the other dangers incidental to such a voyage."

  "True, captain; but my brother and I, with Willis for a pilot andProvidence for a guardian, ventured to brave these perils; and here weare, as you see."

  "And your mother consented to such a dangerous proceeding, did she?"

  "It was for her, and yet against her will, that we embarked on thevoyage."

  "I do not understand."

  "For her, because, when we left, she was dying."

  "Dying, say you?"

  "Yes, and our object in coming to Europe was chiefly to obtainsurgical aid."

  "And have you found a surgeon?"

  "Not yet, but we are in hopes of finding one."

  "If money is wanted, besides the value of the cargo I landed for youat the Cape, you may command my purse."

  "A thousand thanks, captain, but the merchandise we have here islikely to be sufficient for our purpose. Unfortunately, gold is notthe only thing that is requisite."

  "What, then?"

  "In the first place, a disinterested love of humanity is needful;there are few men of science and skill who would not risk more thanthey would gain by accepting any offer we can make. It is not easy tofind the heart of a son in the body of a physician."

  "What, then, will you do, my poor friend?"

  "That is my secret, captain."

  During this conversation, the missionary had put a thousand questionsto Willis and Fritz relative to his father, mother, and sisters, and asmile now and then lit up his features as Fritz related some of thefamily mishaps.

  "You must have undergone some hardships in your voyage from theantipodes to Havre de Grace," said Littlestone to Jack,"notwithstanding the skill of my friend the Pilot."

  "Yes, captain, a few," replied Jack. "I myself made a narrow escapefrom being killed and eaten by a couple of savages."

  "And how did you escape?"

  "Providence interfered at the critical moment."

  "Well, so I should imagine."

  "Our friend the Pilot was more fortunate; he was abducted by thenatives of Hawaii; but, instead of converting him into mincemeat, theytransformed him into a divinity, bore him along in triumph to atemple, where he was perfumed with incense, and had sacrifices offeredup to him."

  "Willis must have felt himself highly honored," said the captain,smiling.

  "These fine things did not, however, last long, for next day they werewound up with a cloud of arrows."

  "And another interposition of Providence?"

  "Yes, none of the arrows were winged with death."

  "After that," remarked Willis, "we fell in with a Yankee cruiser, weretaken on board, and carried into the latitude of the Bahamas, where wefell in with Old Flyblow, who, after a tough set-to, sent the Yankee aprize to Bermuda, and took us on board as passengers."

  "And," added Jack, "whilst we were under protection of the Americanflag, Willis fell in with a certain Bill Stubbs, who was shot in thefight and died of his wounds. This trifling accident did not, however,prevent Willis falling in with him alive in Havre."

  "You still seem to delight in paradoxes, Master Jack," said thecaptain.

  "The English cruiser," continued Jack, "was afterwards captured by aFrench corvette, on which it appears you were on board _incognito_."

  "What! I on board?"

  "Yes; ask Willis."

  "If you were not, captain, how could you come to my cabin every nightand ask me questions?" inquired the latter.

  At this point, a shade of anxiety crossed Littlestone's features; heturned and looked at the missionary--the missionary looked atFritz--Fritz stared at his brother--Jack gazed at Willis--and Willis,with a puzzled air, regarded everybody in turn.

  "At last," continued Jack, "after experiencing a variety of both goodand bad fortune, sometimes vanquished and sometimes the victors, firstwounded, then cured, we arrived here in Havre, where, for a time, wewere plunged into the deepest poverty; we were blacksmiths andcarpenters by turns, and thought ourselves fortunate when we had achair to mend or a horse to shoe."

  "The workings of Providence," said the missionary, "are verymysterious, and, perhaps, you will allow me to illustrate this fact bydrawing a comparison. A ship is at the mercy of the waves; it sways,like a drunken man, sometimes one way and sometimes another. All onboard are in commotion, some are hurrying down the hatchways, andothers are hurrying up. The sailors are twisting the sails about inevery possible direction. Some of the men are closing up theport-holes, others are working at the pumps. The officers are issuinga multiplicity of orders at once, the boatswain is constantly soundinghis whistle. There is no appearance of order, confusion seems to reigntriumphant, and there is every reason to believe that the commands areissued at random."

  "I have often wondered," said Jack, "how so many directions issued onship board in a gale at one and the same moment could possibly beobeyed."

  "Let us descend, however, to the captain's cabin," continued themissionary. "He is alone, collected, thoughtful, and tranquil, his eyefixed upon a chart. Now he observes the position of the sun, and marksthe meridian; then he examines the compass, and notes the polarydeviation. On
all sides are sextants, quadrants, and chronometers. Hequietly issues an order, which is echoed and repeated above, and thusaugments the babel on deck."

  "A single order," remarked Willis, "often gives rise to changes intwenty different directions."

  "On deck," continued the missionary, "the crew appear completelydisorganized. In the captain's cabin, you find that all this apparentconfusion is the result of calculation, and is essential to the safetyof the ship."

  "Still," said Jack, "it is difficult to see how this result iseffected by disorder."

  "True; and, therefore, we must rely upon the skill of the captain; webehold nothing but uproar, but we know that all is governed by themost perfect discipline. So it is with the world; society is a ship,men and their passions are the mast, sails, rigging, the anchors,quadrants, and sextants of Providence. We understand nothing of thecombined action of these instruments; we tremble at every shock, andfear that every whirlwind is destined to sweep us away. But let uspenetrate into the chamber of the Great Ruler. He issues his commandstranquilly; we see that He is watching over our safety; and whateverhappens, our hearts beat with confidence, and our minds are at rest."

  "Therefore," added Littlestone, "we are resigned to our fate asprisoners of war; but still we hope."

  "And not without good reason," said Willis; "for it will go hard withme if I do not realize your hopes, and that very shortly too."

  "I do not see very well how our hopes of liberty can be realized tillpeace is proclaimed."

  "Peace!" exclaimed Willis. "Yes, in another twenty years or so,perhaps; to wail for such an unlikely event will never do; my youngfriend, Master Jack Becker, is in a hurry, and we must all leave thisplace within a month at latest."

  "You mean us, then, to make our escape, Willis; but that isimpossible."

  "I have an idea that it is not impossible, captain; the cargo MastersFritz and Jack have here will realize a large sum; the pearls,saffron, and cochineal, are bringing their weight in gold. I shall beable to charter or buy a ship with the proceeds, and some dark nightwe shall all embark; and if a surgeon is not willing to come of hisown accord, I shall press the best one in the place: it won't be thefirst time I have done such a thing, with much less excuse."

  "One will be willing," said Jack; "so you need not introduce One-eyedDick's schooner here, Willis."

  "So far so good, then; it only remains for us to smuggle the captain,the missionary, and the crew of the _Nelson_ on board."

  "But we are prisoners," said Littlestone.

  "I know that well enough; if you were not prisoners, of course therewould be no difficulty."

  "Recollect, Willis, we are not only prisoners, but we are on parole."

  "True," said Willis, scratching his ear, "I did not think of that."

  "The situation," remarked Jack, "is something like that of Louis XIV.at the famous passage of the Rhine, of whom Boileau said: 'Hisgrandeur tied him to the banks.' Had you been only a common sailor,captain, a parole would not have stood in the way of your escape."

  "But," said Willis, "the parole can be given up, can it not?"

  "Not without a reasonable excuse," replied the captain.

  "Well," continued Willis, "you can go with the minister to theMaritime Prefect, and say: 'Sir, you know that everyone's country isdear to one's heart, and you will not be astonished to hear thatmyself and friend have an ardent desire to return to ours. This desireon our part is so great, that some day we may be tempted to fly, and,consequently, forfeit our honor; for, after all, there are only a fewmiles of sea between us and our homes. We ought not to trust to ourstrength when we know we are weak. Do us, therefore, the favor towithdraw our parole; we prefer to take up our abode in a prison, sothat, if we can escape, we may do so with our honor intact."

  "And suppose this favor granted, we shall be securely shut up in adungeon. I scarcely think that would alter our position for thebetter, or render our escape practicable."

  "You will, at all events, be free to try, will you not?"

  "That is a self-evident proposition, Willis, and, so far as that goes,I have no objection to adopt the alternative of prison fare. What sayyou, minister?"

  "As for myself," replied the missionary, "a little additional hardshipmay do me good, for the Scriptures say: Suffering purifieth the soul."

  "We shall, therefore, resign our paroles, Willis; but bear in mindthat it is much easier to get into prison than to get out."

  "Leave the getting out to me, captain; where there's a will there'salways a way."

  "Do you think," whispered the captain to Fritz, "that Willis is allright in his upper story?"

  Fritz shook his head, which, in the ordinary acceptation of the sign,means, I really do not know.