"I trust it may; but I feel sure it will not," replied the captain.

"I'm afraid I must agree with you," said Dutch. "Depend upon it, there is some deeply-laid plot ready to be sprung upon us. However, forewarned--"

"Man overboard! Man overboard!" shouted half-a-dozen voices in chorus; and directly after, Mr Jones, the mate, was heard to cry hoa.r.s.ely to the man at the wheel--

"Hard down, my lad, hard down; steady, my lads. Quick to those braces--'bout ship."

"Here, four of you lower down this boat," cried the captain, as excitedly as the rest, for the fact was plain enough for comprehension.

Tonio, the mulatto, had been darting his spear with more or less success at the bonito, and had at last sent it down with such precision in the back of a large fish that he had buried it far beyond the barbs, when his prey made a tremendous rush, gave the cord a violent jerk, and, being attached to the thrower's wrist, it literally s.n.a.t.c.hed him from his precarious position, and, in spite of his being a good swimmer, he was rapidly being drowned by the frantic efforts of the fish.

Dutch saw in an instant that long before the boat could be lowered the man would be exhausted, unless he was freed from the cord that jerked at his wrist as he swam, and by means of which he was dragged again and again beneath the water. There was no time for thought: a fellow-creature was in deadly peril, and he felt that he could give help, so, throwing off the loose jacket he wore, and kicking off his shoes, he took out and opened his knife, and climbed on the bulwarks.

As he did so, he caught a glimpse of Hester tottering with outspread arms towards him, and heard her wail his name, but as he did so he was leaping from the schooner's side to plunge deep down in the bright water, sending the shoal of bonito flying in all directions as his body formed a curve, and he came up twenty feet from where he had dipped, and then began swimming l.u.s.tily towards the drowning man.

A loud cheer saluted him as he turned on his side and swam hard, as the preparations for lowering the boat went on, with the schooner becoming each instant more distant, while it soon became evident with him that unless something unforeseen occurred the mulatto must be drowned; for, in spite of all Dutch's efforts, the fish took him farther and farther away, the man's struggles, as he rose on the long swell of the Atlantic, growing evidently feebler and feebler, till in its frantic dread and pain the fish suddenly turned, making back for where Dutch, with long slow strokes, urged himself rapidly through the water.

He hardly knew how it happened, for as he made a dash to cut off the pain-maddened creature, it leaped over him, dived down, and, to his horror, Dutch found that the rope was over his body, and that he was being towed rapidly down into the awful depths of the ocean. The light above him seemed to be dimmed, and he half lost consciousness. Then, with one vigorous application of the knife, he was free, and a few kicks brought him breathless to the surface, where, as he panted, he paddled about looking for the mulatto, and had almost given him up when something rose up slowly to the surface, and one hand appeared clutching vainly at the air.

Half-a-dozen strokes took Dutch to his side, and, catching the drowning man's wrist, he turned him over, and tried to get behind him. But he was not quick enough, for, in the strong desire for life, the mulatto, as soon as he was touched, clasped the swimmer with arms and legs, completely crippling him, and, after a brief struggle, they sank together.

As they rose once more, Dutch saw that the boat was quite two hundred yards away, and that his case was hopeless unless he took some high-handed manner of saving himself; so, turning as well as he could, he struck the drowning man a tremendous blow upon the temple with his doubled fist, stunning him effectually; his clasp loosened, and, shaking himself free, Dutch now turned him on his back, floating by his side as he sustained him, till, with a loud hurrah, echoed from the schooner, which was now coming down upon them hand-over-hand, the pair were dragged into the boat, and soon after lay in safety upon their vessel's deck.

The first upon whom Dutch's eyes fell was his wife, kneeling by his side; and, as their eyes met, she took his hand, trembling, and raised it to her lips, those quivering lips seeming inaudibly to say--

"Don't repulse me. I love you so dearly, and so well."

The next moment Bessy was leading her away, and, after swallowing a gla.s.s of stimulant handed to him by the doctor, Dutch rose, went below and changed, returning, little the worse for his immersion, to find that the doctor had succeeded in restoring the mulatto to consciousness, while Dutch himself was received with a hearty cheer.

STORY ONE, CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

THE SILENT SEA.

The schooner sped on, and nothing troublous disturbed the progress of the voyage as the days glided by. So free from suspicion was everything on board, that the captain was beginning to be lulled into a sense of security, and a change had come over Pugh.

A reconciliation had not taken place between him and Hester; but he did not avoid her now, but in a quiet, stern way watched over her, attending her as she struggled back to health under the unremitting charge of the doctor; and her lips daily grew less pale as the light of hope began once more to shine in her eyes.

The routine of the ship went on in a regular way, and the men smoked and idled as they entered the tropics, and neared the object of the voyage.

The doctor made himself specially agreeable to Sam Oak.u.m, chatted with him, gave him cigars, which Sam cut up and chewed, ending by talking about John Studwick; at which Sam winked to himself as he thought that the doctor would not have taken so much interest in the case if it had not been for the sister. Then, to use Oak.u.m's own words, Mr Wilson would "come and fold his back," so as to lean his elbows on the bulwarks, and chatter about his birds and the natural-history objects Sam had seen in his travels--that worthy not forgetting to shoot the birds he described with the long bow; and all the while Mr Wilson, who was an exceedingly meek individual, would be smoothing his light, towey hair, which the winds blew about, altering the set of his tie and collar, and brushing the specks off his clothes.

"He's a poor, weak, soft Tommy sort of a chap," said Sam to himself, as he watched him out of one corner of his eye, and saw that he was constantly on the look-out to see if Bessy Studwick came up on deck, content to watch her from a distance, for her brother had taken quite an antipathy to him.

"Heigho!" he'd sigh, as he shook his head, and gazed down at the water, as if wondering whether he had not better emulate Dutch's plunge, and not come up again. "Heigho! this is a strange world, Mr Oak.u.m."

"It's a rum 'un, sir, all round, and always was. But I say, sir, it's easy to see what's the matter with you."

"Oh, nonsense, nonsense, Mr Oak.u.m!" said the tall fellow, blushing like a girl.

"It's only natur', sir," said Sam, sympathetically, as he gave a good twist to his quid, and winked at one of the blacks. "It ain't nothin'

to be ashamed on."

"Ah; Mr Oak.u.m, I wish I was in such favour as you are over yonder."

"You would not like to pay the cost, sir, I know."

"Pay the cost, Mr Oak.u.m; what do you mean?"

"It's only we ugly ones as enjoys these privileges with the fair sect.

You wouldn't like to be old and ugly like me, to be talked to as I am."

"Ah, Mr Oak.u.m, I would be her dog if she would be fond of me--or a bird," he said, enthusiastically. "Ah, if I had only thought of it before I started."

"Thought o' what, sir?" said Sam, winking at the black again.

"Of bringing a few canaries. They are such nice presents to give a lady."

"Do you want to send a present to her, sir?"

"Oh, yes, Mr Oak.u.m."

"Well, sir, if I were in love with a lady, and wanted--"

"Oh, hush! Mr Oak.u.m."

"Wanted, I says, to find her a present, I shouldn't send whistling canaries, but a pair o' cooing doves."

The young naturalist stared at old Oak.u.m, as if he wished to penetrate his inmost thoughts; but the old sailor never flinched, looking as serious as a judge outside, but laughing heartily within at the other's expense.

"I will," he exclaimed; and hurrying away he was busy the rest of the day painting up one of his old cages, in which he placed a pair of doves, and called the old sailor down to him in the evening.

"Take those to Miss Studwick, Mr Oak.u.m, with my compliments, and--er-- by the way--er--you would not feel offended if I offered you half-a-crown to buy tobacco?"

"Not in the least, sir," exclaimed Oak.u.m, earnestly. "I'd do owt to oblige you."

"Take them directly, then," he exclaimed; and with the two soft-plumaged birds sitting close together as the old fellow swung the cage, the present was taken to where Bessy Studwick sat by the side of her brother, reading to him on deck.

Oak.u.m was gone some time, and meanwhile poor Wilson fidgeted about amongst his birds, hardly able to bear the suspense, turning first red, and then pale, as Oak.u.m came back, cage in hand, and set it down before him.

"Miss Studwick says she's werry much obliged to you, sir," said Sam; "but she can't werry well keep the birds, as Mr John thinks they'd be too much for him to bear when they took to cooing."

"It don't matter, Oak.u.m--set them down," he said, huskily, with his back turned to the old sailor. "I only thought the birds might amuse them, as Mr John is so ill. d.i.c.k, d.i.c.k, pretty d.i.c.k," first to one bird and then to another, to hide his confusion. "Come, little tame bird--come, Jenny," he continued, opening one of the cage doors, when a pretty little red-poll came hopping down from one perch to the other, and then stood at the door looking out, with its head first on one side and then on the other, and its little beady eyes directed first at Oak.u.m, then at its master.

"Why, bless its little heart, it looks as knowing as a Christian," said the old sailor. "Why didn't you send that one, sir? That would have pleased the young lady, and would have made no noise."

Wilson shook his head as he held out his finger, and the bird uttered a loud twitter and flew to him, sitting on its living perch, and then, raffling its throat and crest, jerked out a little song, suffering itself afterwards to be stroked, and ending by picking a crumb from the naturalist's mouth, and then flitting back to the cage in which it was duly secured.

But all of the birds were more or less tame, being ready to peck at the young man's fingers; and a robin, setting up his feathers and making a playful attack as it fluttered its wings, and pecked and fought, ended by hopping on its perch, and bursting into a triumphant song, as if it had conquered some fierce rival.