The Admirable Lady Biddy Fane

  CHAPTER XLIII.

  WE LAY OUR HEADS TOGETHER CONCERNING WHAT IS BEST TO BE DONE.

  Now having slain the dog, as I have shown, we crouched us down, that wemight not be seen, feeling pretty secure; for those who pursued were agood way to the north of the path we had cut for ourselves, and unlessby accident they hit upon that, they might hack and hew for a whole week(now there was no dog to betray our whereabouts) without coming nigh us.Indeed, as the old saying goes, 'twas like searching of a needle in abottle of hay, with this addition--that they who searched were no biggerthan the needles they sought. As we squatted there we could plainly seethem chopping at the growth to make a passage (which was a comfortingassurance they had not hit upon the alley we had made), together withmuch cursing and swearing; very grateful also to our ears, as showingthey liked not their business, and crying out to the dog, who, for aughtthey knew, had started some game or was busy battening upon his prey.

  For some time this uproar continued, and at one moment it seemed to becoming perilously near; but in the end they overshot us, going down thehill some way below. Then they gave over shouting, and we heard no moreof them, by which we judged they had given up the attempt to find us orthe dog in despair, and were gone back the way they had come.

  So when we counted it safe to move, we once more began to force ourpassage down to the river; and, not to tire the reader as much as wetired ourselves in this business, we at length reached the water-side.

  Here, being exhausted with our exertions and faint for want of food, wemade a fire, and ate a serpent roasted on the embers, which Matthew hadcut down; and this I recollect, because it was the first time I hadtasted of these reptiles; nor should I then have eaten it, having agreat loathing for such worms, but that Matthew assured me they wereexcellent meat, as indeed they are for those who can get no better.

  While we were regaling ourselves I begged Matthew to tell me why he hadcome down to the river instead of returning to the road.

  "For two reasons, master," he replies. "First of all, there was not abend of that road that was safe for us, seeing that at any turn we mighthave marched smack into the hands of the Portugals."

  "I don't see that," says I; "for we had stood a better chance ofcatching sight of Lewis de Pino and his train going on before us thanthey of spying us creeping on behind them."

  "How about the others?" says he.

  "What others?"

  "Why, they who have been hunting us with the dog."

  "They, I take it, are Lewis de Pino's men," says I.

  "Lord love you, master, not they!" says he. "Do you think that dog washis, too? Oh, no! He and I are old enemies. He belongs to my old masterthe factor, and is kept at the station to hunt poor runaways. I knew themoment I heard his bark that my factor's men were on our heels. Villain!he is shrewd enough to know you would follow in your cousin's steps, anddispatched his men--if he be not himself at their head--to search theroad and apprise De Pino of your escape. Now, master, if they hadslipped by without being betrayed by the dog they would have spurred ontill they overtook De Pino, and finding us not with him would have laidin ambush to take us as we followed after. Do you think I'm far out inmy calculation?"

  "No," says I; "you're right, I must allow, Matthew; and now for yoursecond reason."

  "The second hangs on to the first, master; for it stands to reason thatif we ran a fair chance of losing our own liberty by sticking to theroad, we were in a poor way to save the female. I went a bit too farmaybe in supposing that you had no certain scheme of your own forcircumventing De Pino."

  "No," says I; "you were in the right again there: I had no fixedpurpose."

  "You had a notion maybe that we might catch De Pino and his men allnapping, and that we might just get away with the female before theywoke."

  I admitted that if I had any scheme at all it was no better than that.

  "Well, master," says Matthew, "we must give the Portugals credit forhaving sense enough to sleep with one eye open after being warned thatyou were at large, and so you must see that it would be courting our owndestruction to attempt any such design as that."

  "Ay," says I, "but I sha'n't be content to escape destruction myself ifmy cousin is to be abandoned to a worse fate."

  "True, master," says he; "but as her escape depends on our existence, wemust insure the latter for to compass the former."

  "There I agree with you," says I; "but do you, if you can, show me bywhat means you reckon to get at my Lady Biddy, for up to this you haveonly led me further away from her."

  "Master," says he, "so far as my observation goes, the best part ofmortal success has been achieved by the turning of happy accidents toadvantage, and our success in this undertaking must likewise depend uponfavorable circumstances coming to our hand. Nevertheless, we can dosomething, and the best chance of gaining a victory is to attack theenemy on the side where assault is least looked for; and so," says he,seeing I was pretty well driven to the end of my patience with hisphilosophy, "instead of hanging about in De Pino's rear, where heundoubtedly expects to spy us, we must get in front of him, where he aslittle looks to meet us as the man in the moon."

  "And how on earth do you expect to get in front of him by coming downhere?"

  "By the river," says he, "where there are neither rocks to throw usover, nor briars to balk our progress."

  "He will be leagues ahead of us, man, before nightfall," says I, indesperation.

  "No matter for that; we'll be leagues ahead of him before daybreak. Iwarrant we'll be at Valetta a day before he arrives."

  "Where is Valetta?"

  "Valetta is a town on this river that he must pass through. 'Tis fourdays' march from here by road--a shorter journey than by the river; butwe must advance while he is resting, journeying by night as well as byday. Turn and turn about, we need never stop at our oars save to eat ourmeals together."

  "But we have no boat," says I.

  "We must make one," says he.

  I laughed, yet not merrily, and asked him if he expected we could make aboat in four days, when it had cost me four months and more to make araft.

  "Lord love you, master," says he, "we'll be afloat in four hours."