"And in the meantime, get everything to hand that we can."

"Yes," replied Short.

"Well, I can't understand the manoeuvre. It beats my comprehension, what they have done with Vanslyperken."

"I don't know, but they've kicked the cur out of the cabin."

"Then they've kicked him out too, depend upon it."

Thus did the crew continue to surmise during the whole night, but, as Bill Spurey said, the manoeuvre beat their comprehension.

One thing was agreed upon, that they should make an attempt to recover the vessel as soon as they could.

In the meantime, Ramsay with Wilhelmina, and the Jesuits, had taken possession of the cabin, and had opened all the despatches which acquainted them with the directions in detail, given for the taking of the conspirators at Portsmouth, and in the cave. Had it not been to save his friends, Ramsay would, at once have taken the cutter to Cherbourg, and have there landed Wilhelmina and the treasure; but his anxiety for his friends determined him to run at once for the cave, and send overland to Portsmouth. The wind was fair and the water smooth, and, before morning, the cutter was on her way.

In the meantime, the crew of the cutter had not been idle; the ladders had been taken up and hatches closed. The only chance of success was an attack upon the guard, who was stationed outside of the cabin.

They had six pistols, about two hundred pounds of ammunition; but, with the exception of half-a-dozen bayonets, no other weapons. But they were resolute men, and as soon as they had made their arrangements, which consisted of piling up their hammocks, so as to make a barricade to fire over, they then commenced operations, the first signal of which was a pistol-shot discharged at the men who were on guard in the passage, and which wounded one of them. Ramsay darted out of the cabin at the report of the pistol; another and another was discharged, and Ramsay then gave the order to fire in return. This was done, but without injury to the seamen of the cutter, who were protected by the hammocks, and Ramsay, having already three of his men wounded, found that the post below was no longer tenable. A consultation took place, and it was determined that the passage on the lower deck and the cabin should be abandoned, as the upper deck it would be easy to retain.

The cabin's skylight was taken off, and the boxes of gold handed up, while the party outside the cabin door maintained the conflict with the crew of the Yungfrau. When all the boxes were up, Wilhelmina was lifted on deck, the skylight was shipped on again, and, as soon as the after-hatches were ready to put on, Ramsay's men retreated at the ladder, which they drew up after them, and then put on the hatches.

Had not the barricade of hammocks prevented them, the crew of the Yungfrau might have made a rush, and followed the others on deck; but, before they could beat down the barricades, which they did as soon as they perceived their opponents retreat, the ladder was up, and the hatches placed over the hatchways.

The Yungfraus had gained the whole of the lower deck, but they could do no more; and Ramsay perceived that if he could maintain possession of the upper deck, it was as much as he could expect with such determined assailants. This warfare had been continued during the whole morning, and it was twelve o'clock before the cabin and lower deck had been abandoned by Ramsay's associates. During the whole day, the skirmishes continued, the crew of the Yungfrau climbing on the table of the cabin, and firing through the skylight; but in so doing, they exposed themselves to the fire of the other party, who sat like oats watching for their appearance, and discharging their pieces the moment that a head presented itself. In the meantime, the cutter darted on before a strong favourable breeze, and thus passed the first day. Many attempts were made during the night by the seamen of the cutter to force their way on deck, but they were all prevented by the vigilance of Ramsay; and the next morning, the Isle of Wight was in sight. Wilhelmina had passed the night on the forecastle, covered up with a sail: none of his people had had anything to eat during the time that they were on board, and Ramsay was most anxious to arrive at his destination.

About noon, the cutter was abreast off the Black Gang Chyne: Ramsay had calculated upon retaining possession of the cutter, and taking the whole of the occupants of the cave over to Cherbourg; but this was now impossible. He had five of his men wounded, and he could not row the boat to the cave without leaving so few men on board that they would be overpowered, for his ammunition was expended, with the exception of one or two charges, which were retained for an emergency. All that he could do now, was, therefore, to put his treasure in the boat, and with Wilhelmina and his whole party make for the cave, when he could send notice to Portsmouth for the others to join them, and they must be content to await the meditated attack upon the cave, and defend it till they could make their escape to France. The wind being foul for the cutter's return to Portsmouth, would enable him to give notice at Portsmouth, overland, before she could arrive.

There was a great oversight committed when the lower deck was abandoned--the despatches had been left on Mr Vanslyperken's bed. Had they been taken away or destroyed, there would have been ample time for the whole of his party to have made their escape from England before duplicates could arrive. As it was, he could do no more than what we have already mentioned.

The boat was hauled up, the boxes of specie put in, the wounded men laid at the bottom of the boat, and having, at the suggestion of one of the men, cut the lower riggings, halyards, etcetera, of the cutter to retard its progress to Portsmouth, Ramsay and his associates stepped into the boat, and pulled for the cave.

Their departure was soon ascertained by the crew of the Yungfrau, who now forced the skylight, and gained the deck, but not before the boat had entered the cave.

"What's to be done now?" said Coble. "Smash my timbers, but they've played Old Harry with the rigging. We must knot and splice."

"Yes," replied Short.

"What the devil have they done with Vanslyperken?" cried Bill Spurey.

"Either shoved him overboard, or taken him with them, I suppose," cried Coble.

"Well, it's a nice job altogether," observed Spurey.

"Mein Gott! yes," replied the corporal; "we will have a pretty story to tell de admiral."

"Well, they've rid us of him at all events; I only hope they'll hang him."

"Mein Gott! yes."

"He'll have his desarts," replied Coble.

"Got for tam! I like to see him swing."

"Now he's gone, let's send his dog after him. Hurrah, my lads! get a rope up on the yard, and let us hang Snarleyyow."

"Mein Gott! I'll go fetch him," cried the corporal.

"You will--will you?" roared a voice.

The corporal turned round, so did the others, and there, with his drawn sword, stood Mr Vanslyperken.

"You damned mutinous scoundrel," cried Vanslyperken, "touch my dog, if you dare."

The corporal put his hand up to the salute, and Vanslyperken shook his head with a diabolical expression of countenance.

"Now, where the devil could he come from?" whispered Spurey.

Coble shrugged up his shoulders, and Short gave a long whistle, expending more breath than usual.

However, there was no more to be said; and as soon as the rigging was knotted and spliced, sail was made in the cutter; but the wind being dead in their teeth, they did not arrive until late the next evening, and the admiral did not see despatches till the next morning, for the best of all possible reasons, that Vanslyperken did not take them on shore. He had a long story to tell, and he thought it prudent not to disturb the admiral after dinner, as great men are apt to be very choleric during the progress of digestion.

The consequence was, that when, the next morning, Mr Vanslyperken called upon the admiral, the intelligence had been received from the cave, and all the parties had absconded. Mr Vanslyperken told his own tale, how he had been hailed by a boat, purporting to have a messenger on board, how they had boarded him and beat down himself and his crew, how he and his crew had fought under hatches and beat them on deck, and how they had been forced to abandon the cutter. All this was very plausible, and then Vanslyperken gave the despatches opened by Ramsay.

The admiral read them in haste, gave immediate orders for surrounding and breaking into the house of the Jew Lazarus, in which the military found nobody but an old tom-cat, and then desired Mr Vanslyperken to hold the cutter in readiness to embark troops and sail that afternoon: but troops do not move so fast as people think, and before one hundred men had been told off by the sergeant with their accoutrements, knapsacks, and sixty pounds of ammunition, it was too late to embark them that night, so they waited until the next morning. Moreover, Mr Vanslyperken had orders to draw from the dock-yard three large boats for the debarkation of the said troops; but the boats were not quite ready, one required a new gunwale, another three planks in the bottom, and the third having her stern out, it required all the carpenters in the yard to finish it by the next morning. Mr Vanslyperken's orders were to proceed to the cave, and land the troops, to march up to the cave, and to cover the advance of the troops, rendering them all the assistance in his power in co-operating with the major commanding the detachment; but where the cave was, no one knew, except that it was thereabouts.

The next morning, at eight o'clock, the detachment, consisting of one hundred men, were embarked on board of the cutter, but the major commandant, finding that the decks were excessively crowded, and that he could hardly breathe, ordered section first, section second, and section third, of twenty-five men each, to go into the boats and be towed.

After which there was more room, and the cutter stood out for St.

Helen's.

CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT.

IN WHICH THERE IS A GREAT DEAL OF CORRESPONDENCE, AND THE WIDOW IS CALLED UP VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING.

We must now return to Mynheer Krause, who, after he had delivered over his gold, locked up his counting-house and went up to the saloon, determining to meet his fate with all the dignity of a Roman senator, he sent for his daughter, who sent word back that she was packing up her wardrobe, and this answer appeared but reasonable to the syndic, who, therefore, continued in his chair, reflecting upon his approaching incarceration, conning speeches, and anticipating a glorious acquittal, until the bell of the cathedral chimed the half hour after ten. He then sent another message to his daughter, and the reply was that she was not in the room, upon which he dispatched old Koops to Ramsay, requesting his attendance. The reply to this second message was a letter presented to the syndic, who broke the seal and read as follows:--

"My dear and honoured sir,

"I have sought a proper asylum for your daughter during the impending troubles, and could not find one which pleased, and in consequence I have taken the bold step, aware that I might not have received your sanction if applied for, of taking her on board the cutter with me; she will there be safe, and as her character might be, to a certain degree, impeached by being in company with a man of my age, I intend, as soon as we arrive in port, to unite myself to her, for which act, I trust, you will grant me your pardon. As for yourself, be under no apprehension; I have saved you. Treat the accusation with scorn, and if on are admitted into the presence of his majesty, accuse him of the ingratitude which he has been guilty of; I trust that we shall soon meet again, that I may return to you the securities and specie of which I have charge, as well as your daughter, who is anxious once more to receive your blessing.

"Yours ever, till death,

"EDWARD RAMSAY."

Mynheer Krause read this letter over and over again; it was very mystifying. Much depends in this world upon the humour people are in at the time; Mynheer Krause was, at that time, full of Cato-like devotion and Roman virtue, and he took the contents of the letter in true Catonic style.

"Excellent young man--to preserve my honour he has taken her away with him! and, to preserve her reputation he intends to marry her! Now, I can go to prison without a sigh. He tells me that he has saved me-- saved me!--why, he has saved everything; me, my daughter, and my property! Well, they shall see how I behave! They shall witness the calmness of a Stoic; I shall express no emotion or surprise at the arrest, as they will naturally expect, because I know it is to take place--no fear--no agitation when in prison, because I know that I am to be saved. I shall desire them to bear in mind that I am the syndic of this town, and must receive that respect which is due to my exalted situation;" and Mynheer Van Krause lifted his pipe and ordered Koops to bring him a stone jug of beer, and thus doubly armed like Cato, he awaited the arrival of the officer with all the stoicism of beer and tobacco.