Beadle's New York Dime Library No. 206 — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

22 my friend; buf there is but one way to hurt England.” ‘* And that, sire?” ** She is strong at home, weak abroad. She must be annoyed abroad. She must be engaged in small wars which cost money. Especially is she weak in the East. Had ¥ tisen able to retain Egypt, I should not be here to-day. Egypt, hostile to England, means the end of the Indian empire.” Delmont knelt like the worshiper at a shrine, listening to the voice of an oracle, and then rose up slowly, saying: ‘‘Does your majesty order me to go to Egy pt?” ‘**] order nothing now, monsieur. But I say to you that the road to English ruin lies through Egypt. In the mean time you may smooth the few days I have left to live by sparing me further agitation, and doing what you can to preserve my name from falsehood. France will need no soldiers for another generation, and when she fights again it will be with a different Europe. 1 have shaken the thrones of hereditary right, and this century is yet young. Before its close—” Bang ! bang! Two musket-shots outside the house, CHAPTER XVII. THE. WRECK. AT the sound of the shots all in the room started and looked round, save two persons— the emperor and Delmont. The shots were followed by the sound of loud voices in English, amid which the tones of Jean Martin roared in French: ** Ah, rascals, take that!” Then came more shots of pistols, easily dis- tinguished from the heavier reports of the mus- kets, and Napoleon, whose marble pallor noth- ing disturbed, said: ‘** Young man, what is that?” **My companion, sire,” was the quiet reply. “Tt is better to end so. Since your majesty cannot, escape, there is no further use for us, We may as well surrender.” The fumult outside grew louder and louder, but through all, the emperor preserved his calmness, saying: “On the contrary, you are young and the night isdark. Itis time youescaped. I order a ee ee ee ee ee In a moment Delmont’s face changed to its usual expression of reckless daring. ** Your majesty shall see that you have men yet who can serve you,” he said. Then he bent and kissed the wan, wasted hand, and sprung to the door. As hé did so the front door of the house was burst open and a knot of Englishsoldiers rushed in looking frightened, while the vcice of Jean Martin roared after them in French: thor rascals, Villains, I have you.” en Delmont rushed out through the group, and found the lawn in front of the house full of soldiers, among whom the giant was raging with a clubbed musket, keeping the boldest. at bay by his enormous strength, while a mounted of- ficer rode round, shouting: ; “Why don’t you kill him? Shoot him down! 9 hg him!” nto the midst of this scene rushed Delmont in ba a uniform, wearing Gervaise’s sword, cryiug: ‘Silence. What is this?” Jean Martin heard the voice, turned and ran like a deer across the lawn, shouting: “Amoi, capitaine! A moi!” [After me, captain! After me.] n another moment he was in the dark plan- tations, and Delmont ran after, with the cry, in English: Catch him! Catch him!” In the confusion he knew he would be taken for Gervaise, and the ruse had its effect. As soon as the soldiers saw the giant run, they rushed after bim, following the red coat of Gervaise, as they thought, and in another mo- ment the whole party, in a regular mob, was going down into the valley of Longwood, while the sentries were firing off their pieces, and everything was confusion worse confounded. Only one thing Delmont found as he ran. The English were not trying to come op with Martin. They were afraid of him, and Willing to let the su d men in the valley cut him off. . es the time the disguised officer reached the valley, he had run ahead of everybody, and soon saw the figure of Martin waiting for him, when the one-eyed giant said curtly: ‘** No time to talk. They nearly had us, If you had not come when you did, I should bea prisoner, Twenty to one is no joke. Come on, or the guard-boat will be on us.” They ran on down the valley, dropping their English clothes as they ran, and gained the little bay in safety. ‘ The guard-house was silent, and they had no trouble in reaching their canoe, when Martin uttered a sigh of relief: “Ah! that islucky. New, if onky—” As he spoke the fog was lit up as by a flash of lightning, and the boom of a heav n echoed among the precipices of the island, fell. ‘ng them the alarm was given. The English had discovered the escape. Jean Martin said nothing, but shoved off the canoe, and they paddled out into the fog toward the sea, ‘When they were at the edge of the mist which clung to the foot of the cliffs, the one- eyed man suddenly szid: ‘“T thought as much. boat, captain.” Not a quarter of a mile off, coming along the base of the cliffs, was a large boat, pulling There is the guard- twelve oars of a side, and coming toward them, | Delmont dipped in his paddle. ‘* Come on for a race,” be said. sea, and remember we have two grenades at the last.” The two men plied their naddles and the little canoe darted out to sea, Far away in the dis- tance they knew were the American schooner and their own felucca, which had evaded pur- suit in the night, and from which they had taken their departure Could they reach those vessels in time, or even make known to them their own situation, they might be saved; but the night was clear and starry on the sea, and they knew, from the shcuf that went up from the guard-boat, that the English had spied them and were coming in full pursuit. They had a quarter of a mile start, the model of the canoe was keen, and they could hold their own for a while; but two men against twenty-four are overweighted as soon as they begin to tire, and both Frenchmen had hada long run from Longwood, The chase kept up for about half an hour, when Martin said: “Tf I could see the felucca, I should be very glad, captain. I worked too hard with those rosbifs.’ Delmont cast a glance back. ‘ie guard-boat was coming up, slowly but surely, Be ground his teeth and worked with renewed energy for another ten minutes, when he found his muscles trembling, and recognized the symp- toms of failing wind and strength. Martin, too, was failing and the men in the guard-boat raised a loud cheer as they saw they were gaining. Delmont looked anxiously ahead over the sea, which was rolling in long waves, hiding the guard-boat at times. : . v if I could only see the lights,” he mut- tered, But he had ordered those lights out himself, before he left the vessels. Jean Martin turned and looked back. “Ah, cursed English,” he said. ‘* You’ve got us; but we'll have revenge. Let them come, captain, and we'll use the grenades.” As he spoke, he laid down his paddle, and pulled from the little cupboard in the bow of the canoe, which was decked over fore and aft, two balls, one of which he handed to Delmont. They were hand grenades, Somewhat to his surprise Delmont threw his into the sea, saying: “No, comrade. I have a better idea. We could not sink them, and they would treat us as pirates. Drop it into the sea,” ean Martin resignedly obeyed. ‘* You are the captain?’ he said, ‘‘ but I, for one, like to die fighting.” Delmont interrupted him witha cry of joy, pointing ahead. ‘“* Lights, lights! We are saved after all.” As they rose on a wave, they saw the light of the felucca ahead, not more than a mile off, and could even distinguish the outline of her lateen sails. She was coming in, full sail. ‘‘She has heard the gun,” panted Martin, as he and his chief plied their paddles, and though the yards behind, they continued on their way with a strength that surprised themselves, till they heard a shot and a bullet went singing over their heads from the boat. Martin laughed. “Fire away all night, messieurs. A dark night and a dancing boat make poor shooting. Aha! what’s that?” - A broad flash out of the sea ahead showed the canvas of a large ship astern of the felucca, and, the next moment, down came the broad lateen sail, when the canoe was nos three cable-lengths away from her. Jean Martin groaned. “Ah! nion Dieu, the Muchachito is gone, at last. It is one of those cursed brigs, or the Aréthusa.” The men of the guard-boat had stopped row- ing now, as if in doubt what to make of the shot, and the canoe went up to the felucca, which they found in shocking disorder. A lucky shot from the ship astern had taken the mainmast, close to the deck, and the wreck of the sail was towing Sree poard while the ship was coming up hand over hand. The arrival of Delmont put an end to the confusion at once, and the clear-headed young Gaul ordered the wreck cut away, saying, en- couragingly : “We have a foremast and a mizzenmast, and Jed night to aid us. She cannot repeat that shot, ; uard-boat was now less than a hundred | ‘Straight to | a EE a Ee eee | | =~ One Eye, the Cannoneer. While the men were working with new spirit, the ship burned a blue light, and showed herself to be a full-rigged frigate. Jean Martin knew her at once. “Tt is the Penelope,” he cried. ‘Our old enemy has come back! Let us try another rocket in her sails.” At that moment the Penelope fired a second gun, baving evidently Lurned the blue light to aim by. The sbot came skipping over the felucca be- ones her masts, and Jean observed, laconic- ally: ‘‘Good line shot! Now my turn.” Tne crew, working like mad, had cut the mainsail from the yard, and thrown the wreck overboard, when the swift felucca began to draw away from her foe, as Martin fired a rocket, aiming at the ship’s sails. But alas for the dependence to be placed on Congreve rockets! The composition in this one was in some re- spect faulty, and it crooped as it began its flight, the long tail-stick touching the sea, into which the erring projectile dived, hissing, as Jeon cried, with a volley of curses: “ Ah, had that been a gun, ’twould not have served meso. Fool] that I was to trust to these new-fangled weapons.” And the Penelope at the same moment fired a third gun, better aimed still, by the last gleams of the blue light, for, as the glare went out, they heard a crash aloft in the felucca, and down came the foreyard. Their case was settled now, if never before. The crew fell into confusion, the frigate came rapidly up, and Delmont cried to his men: ‘* We bave only to die like men now: get your arms; fight him to the last. Rockets, artin, The Old Guard dies, but never sur- renders.” Those words, false or true, bad become fa- mous in France, and the men gave a faint cheer as they rushed to the arm saci In five minutes more Martin had fired threo rockets, and every one had missed the ship which had come up to within a few hundred eee when she suddenly yawed, and fired 1er whole battery on the starboard side into the dainty little yacht, loaded with grape and canister on top of the round shot. The effect was fearful. The men went down in heaps of dead, and the survivors leaped overboard in terror, all but. two —Jean Martin, the one-eyed cannoneer, and the young chief. They stood up, saved as by a miracle, and saw the great ship come bearing down on their helpless wreck amidships, while they awaited their fate with the stoic calmness of despair. Only Martin held out his hand to his captain, saying: ‘“‘Good-by, captain; all is over.” Delmont measured the ship with his eye, and he wore the same look of reckless audacity as ever, ‘*One comfort,” he said, ‘‘we are sinking, and they will not get the marshal’s legacy, If you wisb to live, there is a chance yet.” ‘* What is it?” ‘Leap for the ship’s bobstays as she comes over us. Now!” 7 As he spoke they felt the little vessel sink un- der their feet and saw the towering bow of the frigate loom over them in the air. Then came a crash as the cutwater struck the wreck of the Muchachito amidsbips, and both men sprung up and clung to the ropes under the shio’s bowsprit. Lithe, strong and active as they were, it was ensy to swing themselves up to a position of temporary safety, and then they were heaved aloft on a billow and plunged into the heart of another as the vessel wore round in the midst of the heads of the wretched swimmers from the lost yacht And then they beard the loud, stern voice of Captain Wright shout through the trumpet: ‘“Don’tcasta rope! Notahen-coop! Let the cursed pirates drown! I’ve got them at last!” CHAPTER XVIII. UNDER THE BOWSPRIT. DELMONT, clinging for his life under the bow- me of an enemy’s ship in the night, yet heard that voice, and cursed under his breath, saying to Martin: ‘It is he, the traitor! If he finds us we shall have short shrift. But he will not find us! PU hang that man yet!” And One Eye, the cannoneer, ground his teeth and growled: ‘‘ Ay, ay, we'll do it some day; but when?’ They could nof hold any further conversation just then, for the pitching of the ship sent them under water, and they began to wonder where they were going. Also they were surprised that no notice was taken of them by the forward lookout at the knight-heads. Looking up against the sky, they could distinctly see every rope of the huge ves- sel that towered above them, but no one seemed to be looking down over the bows, and every time the ship plun they were buried in water, while her rising bow tossed them in the air, so that they had to cling close to the dol. S) (E@) (E| 900) eom