CHAPTER XVIII.
The Buccaneer paced the deck of his old ship in a thoughtful manner.Suddenly he stopped and addressed his captain. "Dogvane," he said, "Ihave trusted you; beware lest you deceive me."
"Sir," said the captain, "the man who would deceive so good and great amaster would be base indeed."
"Is all this true that the other watch have said about my ships? Am I inthe wretched state they say? Where has gone all my money?"
"Master, allow not the idle shafts of the Port Watch to trouble you.They are greedy of office, and to gain their ends, they magnify somethings and totally misrepresent others. Believe not what they said aboutyour ships and about your trade. Bloated armaments, sir, are a source ofdanger; exciting the fear, jealousy, and suspicions of your neighbours;draining your exchequer, and feeding like a foul canker upon the fairflower of your industries. You are no longer a bold Buccaneer, sailingthe seas in search of plunder. You are no land stealer. The object ofyour life is not now to carry fire and sword into your neighbour'scountry. You are a respectable trader, peaceful and industrious, aChristian, with religious principles to act up to."
"Yes, Master Dogvane; but there are those about, who, if I am not readyto protect my own, will save me the trouble."
"Sir, it is not right to have so base an opinion of the world; but yourarmaments are fully equal to all your needs."
"In this, Master Dogvane, I must perforce believe you. But how aboutthat rascal Bruin? He has committed depredations in the past. He is agrasping fellow too, and I have my suspicions that there may be sometruth in what I hear. He may be casting sheep's eyes at my fair IndianPrincess."
"So long as they are only sheep's eyes, sir, where is the harm? The lambwhich is the forerunner of the sheep is the emblem of peace. Suspicion,my master, is the attribute of either a base or weak mind, and isunworthy of you. The Eastern Bandit I have always found a pious andtruthful man; only requiring to be known to be appreciated. Honest too,as times go; but awkward when vexed."
We must leave the Buccaneer in the hands of his skilful captain and takea turn ashore. The Port Watch having collected crowds of idlersaddressed them on the general depressed state of affairs, and they foundready listeners. No one considers himself so well off but that he wantssomething more. There was a general and continued cry out against theforeign cheap-Jacks. The blackguards who take advantage of every breathof discontent to preach their doctrine of universal plunder had merrytimes, and their tongues wagged at the street corners, in the parks, andother public places. These fellows had a following, for they held upbefore the eyes of the poor a picture of plenty, while the criminals sawin them instruments to help them on in their trade. The sound of theirmany voices surged up like the angry roar of wild beasts in some distantjungle.
But now all eyes were turned towards the old Ship of State, for a sightwas to be seen that had not been seen in the memory of living manbefore. It was nothing more nor less than the portly form of the oldBuccaneer struggling with difficulty up the rigging, and behind him camethe lithesome form of old Dogvane; both of them were evidently bound forthe crow's nest, below which the legs of the look-out man could be seenhanging like the legs of some huge stork.
There was a look of anxiety on the captain's face, as though he fearedthe consequences of that climb up aloft. It might upset the gravity ofso portly an old gentleman as his master had grown to be, and he mightlook at things with a temper somewhat clouded by anger. Then thelook-out man might be found asleep at his post. That some such thoughtsoccupied old Dogvane's mind was evident, for, making some excuse, hepassed his master in the rigging and hurried to the top. The man in thetub was so lost in his own meditations that he did not see the captainenter; but a kick startled him, and he cried, "Look out!" "I am goingto," was Dogvane's reply. He then added: "Now, look alive, my hearty,and show me the official slides."
The Buccaneer arrived in the top, puffing and blowing and quiteexhausted, for it was a stiff climb for one so stout. He was breathless,and his face was as ruddy as the setting sun. As he sat swabbinghimself, as the sailors would say, he heard the murmurs of the crowddown below on shore rising up. "What noise is that?" he asked of thecaptain.
"That, sir, is the lowing of your many herds," was the reply. Dogvanewas a ready man.
Now, when the people on shore had recovered from their first surprise,their tongues began to wag freely.
"At last!" cried one, "the old man is roused; now we shall see whathappens."
"Not much, my mate," cried a second, "don't you see old Dogvane is upaloft too." Of course this was either a Port watchman, or one with Portwatch sympathies.
"It is a pity," cried a third, "that the old gentleman did not mountaloft before and take a look round for himself; then he would have seenhow things were going on. For, drat my buttons if you can believe any ofthese land lubbers below."
"Ah! it's all very well to talk," said another, "but the old gentlemanis not so active as he used to be. Prosperity has made him lazy too, andgood living has made him thick in the wind."
"There is life in the old man yet," cried another. And so it went onthrough the crowd. Several levelled their telescopes at the mast head ofthe old ship, and there were general regrets at the apparent absence ofthe Buccaneer's old coxswain, for the people believed in him. There wasnow what bid fair, at one time, to end in a general free fight betweenpartisans of the two watches, and of course the Ojabberaways were quiteready to join in, for wherever heads were to be broken there they weresure to be; but a peaceful turn was given to the affair by Random Jackjumping upon an empty beer barrel and declaring, as he took off hisjacket, that he was ready to meet in single combat, any man double hissize of the Starboard Watch, and bid any one who liked to carry hischallenge on board, either to the cook or to Billy Cheeks, the burlybutcher.
"Listen to the lad!" the people cried and laughed; but no one took upthe challenge.
"Well, my mates," cried an old salt, "let us wait and see what comes ofit all. For my part I doubt much good, with old Dogvane up there too."
"What can he do, pray, if the old man takes a look for himself?" saidanother.
"What can he do?" cried Random Jack. "Look here, my hearties; that is adifficult question to answer when old Bill is concerned. For there islittle he can't do, and there is not a trick or a dodge that that oldfox is not up to. Why, he would get the weather side of the devilhimself. Now, listen to me, my lads. Ah! it's all very well for youslavish followers of old Dogvane to put your tongues in your cheeks andflout and jeer, but those laugh in the end who win, and my merriment isyet to come. Now I will tell you what old Dogvane will do. He will makeour master look through the wrong end of the telescope, or he will putin coloured lenses, or glasses with pictures painted on them, or he willdo something to deceive; and whatever he does his crew will swear it isright, more especially the cook, the carpenter, and the burly butcher;but I have my eyes upon them; and I will smoke them out yet."
People laughed out right at these bold words of the little middy's. Manyof the old salts said the boy would grow into no ordinary man, and thatif he lived he would achieve great things. This Random Jack fullybelieved himself; and perseverance as is well known conquers all things.It is only necessary to be constantly dinning into the ears of peopleour own particular merits, and in time the most obstinate will give inand take you at your own valuation. In no other way can very much ofthe success we see in the world be accounted for.
If you are an impostor, the course of events may perhaps find you out,but it is hard to overthrow even a humbug when once fully established,and if he is knocked over he is sure to retain some of his followers andbelievers, who will worship him as a martyr, and he may even finish upby being canonized as a saint.