m 
 
lurs, Llildred Clemens Lev/is i 
 
"As the commander of the schooner concluded, he approached the 
 stranger with an air of offering some violence." The Pilot, page 20. 
 
THE PILOT 
 
 A TALE OF THE SEA 
 
 sr 
 J. FENIMORE COOPER 
 
 List! ye Landsmen, all to me * 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY 
 
 150 WORTH STREET, CORNER MISSION PLACE 
 
TROWS 
 PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY, 
 
I ^ 
 
 TO WILLIAM BRANFORD SHUBRICK, ESQ., U.S.N. 
 
 MY DEAR SHUBRICK : 
 
 Each year brings some new and melancholy chasm in 
 what is now the brief list of my naval friends and former 
 associates. War, disease, and the casualties of a hazardous 
 profession, have made, fearful inroads in the limited num 
 ber ; while the places of the dead are supplied by names 
 that to me are those of strangers. With the consequences 
 of these sad changes before me, I cherish the recollection 
 of those with whom I once lived in close familiarity with 
 peculiar interest, and feel a triumph in their growing repu 
 tations, that is but little short of their own honest pride. 
 
 But neither time nor separation has shaken our intimacy; 
 and I know that in dedicating to you this volume, I tell you 
 nothing new, when I add, that it is a tribute paid to an en 
 during friendship, by 
 
 Your old Messmate, 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 M725879 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IT is probable a true history of human events would show 
 that a far larger proportion of our acts are the result of 
 sudden impulses and accident, than of that reason of which 
 we so much boast. However true, or false, this opinion 
 may be in more important matters, it is certainly and 
 strictly correct as relates to the conception and execution 
 of this book. 
 
 The Pilot was published in 1823. This was not long 
 after the appearance of " The PIRATE," a work which, it is 
 hardly necessary to remind the reader, has a direct connec 
 tion with the sea. In conversation with a friend, a man of 
 polished taste and extensive reading, the authorship of the 
 Scottish novels came under discussion. The claims of Sir 
 Walter were a little distrusted on account of the peculiar 
 and minute information that the romances were then very 
 generally thought to display. The Pirate was cited as a 
 very msa-ked instance of this universal knowledge, and it 
 was wondered where a man of Scott s habits and associa 
 tions could have become so familiar with the sea. The 
 writer has frequently observed that there was much loose 
 ness in this universal knowledge, and that the secret of its 
 success was to be traced to the power of creating that vrat- 
 semblance, which is so remarkably exhibited in these world- 
 renowned fictions, rather to any very accurate information 
 on the part of their author. It would have been hyper 
 critical to object to the Pirate, that it was not strictly nau 
 tical, or true in its details ; but, when the reverse was urged 
 as a proof of what, considering the character of other por 
 tions of the work, would have been most extraordinary 
 attainments, it was a sort of provocation to dispute the sea 
 manship of the Pirate, a quality to which the book has 
 certainly very little just pretension. The result of this con 
 versation was a sudden determination to produce a work 
 which, if it had no other merit, might present truer pict 
 
6 PREFA CK. 
 
 vires of the ocean and ships than any that are to be found 
 in the Pirate. To this unpremeditated decision, purely an 
 impulse, is not only the Pilot due, but a tolerably numer 
 ous school of nautical romances that have succeeded it. 
 
 The author had many misgivings concerning the success 
 of the undertaking, after he had made some progress in 
 the work, the opinions of his different friends being any 
 thing but encouraging. One wouxd declare that the sea 
 could not be made interesting ; that it was tame, monoto 
 nous, and without any other movement than unpleasant 
 storms, and that, for his part, the less he got of it the bet 
 ter. The women very generally protested that such a book 
 would have the odor of bilge-water, and that it would give 
 them the maladie de mcr. Not a single individual among 
 all those who discussed the merits of the project, within 
 the range of the author s knowledge, either spoke, or 
 looked, encouragingly. It is probable that all these per 
 sons anticipated a signal failure. 
 
 So very discouraging did these ominous opinions get to 
 be, that the writer was, once or twice, tempted to throw 
 his manuscript aside and turn to something new. A favor 
 able opinion, however, coming from a very unexpected 
 quarter, put a new face on the matter, and raised new 
 hopes. Among the intimate friends of the writer was an 
 Englishman, who possessed most of the peculiar qualities 
 of the educated of his country. He was learned even, had 
 a taste that was so just as always to command respect, but 
 was prejudiced, and particularly so in all that related to 
 this country and its literature. He could never be per 
 suaded to admire Bryant s Water-Fowl, and this mainly 
 because if it were accepted as good poetry, it must be 
 placed at once among the finest fugitive pieces of the 
 language. Of the Thanatopsis he thought better, though 
 inclined to suspect it of plagiarism. To the tender mer 
 cies of this one-sided critic, who had never affected to com 
 pliment the previous works of the author, the sheets of a 
 volume of the Pilot were committed, with scarce an ex 
 pectation of his liking them. The reverse proved to be 
 the case he expressed himself highly graiified, and pre 
 dicted a success for the book which it probably never at 
 tained. 
 
 Thus encouraged, one more experiment was made, a 
 seaman being selected for the critic. A kinsman, a name 
 sake, and an old messmate of the author, one now in com- 
 
mand on a foreign station, was chosen, and a considerable 
 portion of the first volume was read to him. There is no 
 wish to conceal the satisfaction with which the effect on 
 this listener was observed. He treated the whole matter 
 as fact, and his criticisms were strictly professional and 
 perfectly just. But the interest he betrayed could not be 
 mistaken. It gave a perfect and most gratifying assurance 
 that the work would be more likely to find favor with 
 nautical men than with any other class of readers. 
 
 The Pilot could scarcely be a favorite with females. The 
 story has little interest for them, nor was it much heeded 
 by the author of the book in the progress of his labors. 
 His aim was to illustrate vessels and the ocean, rather than 
 to draw any pictures of sentiment and love. In this last 
 respect the book has small claims on the reader s attention, 
 though it is hoped that the story has sufficient interest to 
 relieve the more strictly nautical features of the work. 
 
 It would be affectation to deny that the Pilot met with a 
 most unlooked-foV success. The novelty of the design 
 probably contributed a large share of this result. Sea-tales 
 came into vogue as a consequence ; and, as every practical 
 part of knowledge has its uses, something has been gained 
 by letting the landsman into the secrets of the seaman s 
 manner of life. Perhaps, in some small degree, an interest 
 has been awakened in behalf of a very numerous, and what 
 has hitherto been a sort of proscribed class of men, thai 
 may directly tend to a melioration of their condition. 
 
 It is not easy to make the public comprehend all the 
 necessities of a service afloat. With several hundred rude 
 beings confined within the narrow limits of a vessel, men 
 of all nations and of the lowest habits, it would be to the 
 last degree indiscreet to commence their reformation by 
 relaxing the bonds of discipline, under the mistaken im 
 pulses of a false philanthropy. It has a lofty sound, to be 
 sure, to talk about American citizens being too good to be 
 brought under the lash upon the high seas ; but he must 
 have a very mistaken notion who does not see that tens of 
 thousands of these pretending persons on shore, even, 
 would be greatly benefited by a little judicious flogging. 
 It is the judgment in administering, and not the mode of 
 punishment, that requires to be looked into ; and in this 
 respect there has certainly been a great improvement of 
 Lite years. It is seldom, indeed, that any institution, prac 
 tice or system, is improved by the blind interference 01 
 
8 PREFA CE. 
 
 those who know nothing about it. Better would it be to 
 trust to the experience of those who have long governed 
 turbulent men, than to the impulsive experiments of those 
 who rarely regard more than one side of a question, and 
 that the most showy and glittering, having, quite half of 
 the time, some selfish personal end to answer. 
 
 There is an uneasy desire among a vast many well-dis 
 posed persons to get the fruits of the Christian Faith, with 
 out troubling themselves about the Faith itself. This is 
 done under the sanction of Peace Societies, Temperance 
 and Moral Reform Societies, in which the end is too often 
 mistaken for the means. When the Almighty sent his Son 
 on earth, it was to point out the way in which all this was 
 to be brought about, by means of the Church ; but men 
 have so frittered away that body of divine organization, 
 through their divisions and subdivisions, all arising from 
 human conceit, that it is no longer regarded as the agency 
 it was so obviously intended to be, and various contrivances 
 are to be employed as substitutes for tha t which proceeded 
 directly from the Son of God ! 
 
 Among the efforts of the day, however, there is one con 
 nected with the moral improvement of the sailor that com 
 mands our profound respect. Cut off from most of the 
 charities of life, for so large a portion of his time, deprived 
 altogether of association with the gentler and better por 
 tions of the other sex, and living a man in a degree pro 
 scribed, amid the many signs of advancement that distin 
 guish the age, it was time that he should be remembered 
 and singled out, und become the subject of combined and 
 Christian philanthropy. There is much reason to believe 
 that the effort, now making in the right direction and un 
 der proper auspices, will be successful ; and that it will 
 cause the lash to be laid aside in the best and most rational 
 manner by rendering its use unnecessary. 
 
 COOPERSTOWN, August IO, 1849. 
 
THE PILOT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " Sullen waves, incessant rolling, 
 Rudely dashed" against her sides." Song. 
 
 A SINGLE glance at the map will make the reader ac 
 quainted with the position of the eastern coast of the 
 Island of Great Britain, as connected with the shores of 
 the opposite continent. Together they form the bounda 
 ries of the small sea that has for ages been known to the 
 world as the scene of maritime exploits, and as the great 
 avenue through which commerce and war have conducted 
 the fleets of the northern nations of Europe. Over this 
 sea the islanders long asserted a jurisdiction, exceeding 
 that which reason concedes to any power on the highway 
 of nations, and which frequently led to conflicts that caused 
 an expenditure of blood and treasure utterly dispropor- 
 tioned to the advantages that can ever arise from the main 
 tenance of a useless and abstract right. It is across the 
 waters of this disputed ocean that we shall attempt to con 
 duct our readers, selecting a period for our incidents that 
 has a peculiar interest for every American, not only because 
 it was the birthday of his nation, but because it was also 
 the era when reason and common-sense began to take the 
 place of custom and feudal practices in the management 
 of the affairs of nations. 
 
 Soon after the events of the Revolution had involved 
 the kingdoms of France and Spain, and the republic of 
 Holland, in our quarrel, a group of laborers was collected 
 in a field that lay exposed to the winds of the ocean, on 
 the northeastern coast of England. These men were 
 lightening their toil, and cheering the gloom of a day in 
 December, by uttering their crude opinions on the politi- 
 
io 
 
 cal aspects of the times. The fact that England was 
 engaged in a war with some of her dependencies on the 
 other side of the Atlantic, had long been known to them, 
 after the manner that faint rumors of distant and uninter 
 esting events gain on the ear; but now that nations, with 
 whom she had been used to battle, were armed against her 
 in the quarrel, the din of war had disturbed the quiet even 
 of these secluded and illiterate rustics. The principal 
 speakers on the occasion were a Scotch drover, who was 
 waiting the leisure of the occupant of the fields, and an 
 Irish laborer, who had found his way across the Channel, 
 and thus far over the island, in quest of employment. 
 
 "The nagurs wouldn t have been a job at all for ould 
 England, letting alone Ireland," said the latter, "if these 
 French and Spanishers hadn t been troubling themselves 
 in the matter. I m sure it s but little reason I have for 
 thanking them, if a man is to kape as sober as a praist at 
 mass, for fear he should find himself a sholdier, and he 
 knowing nothing about the same." 
 
 " Hoot ! mon ! ye ken but little of raising an airmy in 
 Ireland, if ye mak a drum o a whiskey-keg," said the 
 drover, winking to the listeners. "Noo, in the north, they 
 ca a gathering of the folk, and follow the pipes as gra 
 ciously as ye wad journey kirkward o a sabbath morn. 
 I ve seen a the names o a Heeland raj ment on a sma bit 
 paper, that ye might cover wi a leddy s hand. They war 
 a Camerons and McDonalds, though they paraded sax 
 hundred men ! But what ha ye gotten here ? That chield 
 has an ow r liking to the land for a seafaring body; an if 
 the bottom o the sea be onything like the top o t, he s in 
 gr at danger o a ship-wreck ! " 
 
 This unexpected change in the discourse drew all eyes 
 on the object toward which the staff of the observant 
 drover was pointed. To the utter amazement of every 
 individual present, a small vessel was seen moving slowly 
 round a point of land that formed one of the sides of the 
 ;ittle bay, to which the field the laborers" were in composed 
 the other. There was something very peculiar in the ex 
 ternals of this unusual visitor, which added in no small 
 degree to the surprise created by her appearance in that 
 retired place. None but the smallest vessels, and those 
 rarely, or, at long intervals, a desperate smuggler, were 
 ever known to venture so close to the land, amid the sand 
 bars and sunken rocks with which that immediate coast 
 
THE PILOT. if 
 
 abounded. The adventurous manners who now attempted 
 this dangerous navigation in so wanton, and apparently so 
 heedless a manner, were in a low, black schooner, whose 
 hull seemed utterly disproportioned to the raking masts it 
 upheld, which, in their turn, supported a lighter set of 
 spars, that tapered away until their upper extremities ap 
 peared no larger than the lazy pennant, that in vain en 
 deavored to display its length in the light breeze. 
 
 The short day of that high northern latitude was already 
 drawing to a close, and the sun was throwing his parting 
 rays obliquely across the waters, touching the gloomy 
 waves here and there with streaks of pale light. The 
 stormy winds of the German Ocean were apparently lulled 
 to rest : and, though the incessant rolling of the surge on 
 the shore heightened the gloomy character of the hour and 
 the view, the light ripple that ruffled the sleeping billows 
 was produced by a gentle air, that blew directly from the 
 land. Notwithstanding this favorable circumstance, there 
 was something threatening in the aspect of the ocean, 
 which was speaking in hollow but deep murmurs, like a 
 volcano on the eve of an eruption, that greatly heightened 
 the feelings of amazement and dread with which the peas 
 ants beheld this extraordinary interruption to the quiet of 
 their little bay. With no other sails spread to the action 
 of the air than her heavy mainsail, and one of those light 
 jibs that projected far beyond her bows, the vessel glided 
 over the water with a grace and facility that seemed magical 
 to the beholders, who turned their wondering looks from 
 the schooner to each other in silent amazement. At length 
 the drover spoke in a low, solemn voice : 
 
 " He s a bold chield that steers her! and if that bit craft 
 has wood in her bottom, like the brigantines that ply 
 between Lon on and the Frith at Leith, he s in mair dan 
 ger than a prudent man could wish. Ay ! he s by the big 
 rock that shows his head when the tide runs low, but it s 
 no mortal mon who can steer long in the road he s journey 
 ing and not speedily find land wi water a top o t." 
 
 The little schooner, however, still held her way among 
 the rocks and sandpits, making such slight deviations in her 
 course as proved her to be under the direction of one \vho 
 knew his danger, until she had entered as far into the bay 
 as prudence could at all justify, when her canvas waz 
 gathered into folds, seemingly without the agency of 
 hands, and the vessel, after rolling for a few minutes on the 
 
12 THE PILOT. 
 
 long billows that hove in from the ocean, swung round in 
 the currents of the tide, and was held by her anchor. 
 
 The peasants now began to make their conjectures more 
 freely concerning the character and object of their visitor ; 
 some intimating that she was engaged in contraband trade, 
 and others that her views were hostile, and her business 
 war. A few dark hints were hazarded on the materiality 
 of her construction, for nothing of artificial formation, it 
 was urged, would be ventured by men in such a dangerous 
 place, at a time when even the most inexperienced lands 
 man was enabled to foretell the certain gale. The Scotch 
 man, who, to all the sagacity of his countrymen, added no 
 small proportion of their superstition, leaned greatly to 
 the latter conclusion, and had begun to express this senti 
 ment warily and with reverence, when the child of Erin, 
 who appeared not to possess any very definite ideas on the 
 subject, interrupted him, by exclaiming : 
 
 "Faith ! there s two of them! a big and a little! sure the 
 bogles of the saa likes good company the same as any 
 other Christians !" 
 
 "Twa!" echoed the drover; " tvva ! ill luck bides o 
 some o 1 ye. Twa craft a sailing without hand to guide 
 them, in sic a place as this, whar eyesight is na guid 
 enough to show the dangers, bodes evil to a that luik 
 thereon. Hoot ! she s na yearling the tither ! Luik, mon 
 luik ! she s a gallant boat, and a gr at ; " he paused, raised 
 his pack from the ground, and first giving one searching 
 look at the objects of his suspicion, he nodded with great 
 sagacity to the listeners, and continued, as he moved 
 slowly toward the interior of the country, " I should na 
 wonder if she carried King George s commission aboot 
 her ; weel, weel, I wull journey upward to the town, and 
 ha a crack wi the good mon ; for they craft have a sus- 
 peecious aspect, and the sma bit thing wu ld nab a mon 
 quite easy, and the big ane wu ld hold us a and no feel we 
 war in her." 
 
 This sagacious warning caused a general movement in 
 the party, for the intelligence of a hot press was among 
 the rumors of the times. The husbandmen collected their 
 implements of labor, and retired homeward ; and, though 
 many a curious eye was bent on the movements of the 
 vessels from the distant hills, but very few of those not 
 immediately interested in the mysterious visitors ven< 
 tured to approach the little rocky cliffs that lined the bay 
 
THE PILOT. 13 
 
 The vessel that occasioned these cautious movements 
 was a gallant ship, whose huge hull, lofty masts, and 
 square yards loomed in the evening s haze, above the sea, 
 like a distant mountain rising from the deep. She carried 
 but little sail, and though she warily avoided the near ap 
 proach to the land that the schooner had attempted, the 
 similarity of their movements was sufficiently apparent to 
 warrant the conjecture that they were employed on the 
 same duty. The frigate, for the ship belonged to this 
 class of vessels, floated across the entrance of the little 
 bay majestically in the tide, with barely enough motion 
 through the water to govern her movements, until she had 
 arrived opposite to the place where her consort lay, when 
 she hove up heavily into the wind, squared the enormous 
 yards on her mainmast, and attempted, in counteracting 
 the power of her sails by each other, to remain stationary; 
 but the light air that had at no time swelled her heavy 
 canvas to the utmost began to fail, and the long waves 
 that rolled in from the ocean ceased to be ruffled with the 
 breeze from the land. The currents and the billows were 
 fast sweeping the frigate toward one of the points of the 
 estuary, where the black heads of the rocks could be seen 
 running far into the sea, and, in their turn, the mariners 
 of the ship dropped an anchor to the bottom, and drew 
 her sails in festoons to the yards. As the vessel swung 
 round to the tide, a heavy ensign \vas raised to her peak, 
 and, a current of air opening for a moment its folds, the 
 white fields and red cross, that distinguish the flag of Eng 
 land, were displayed to view. So much even the wary 
 drover had loitered at a distance to behold ; but when a 
 boat was launched from either vessel, he quickened his 
 steps, observing to his wondering and amused companions 
 that " they craft were a thegither mair bonny to luik on 
 than to abide wi ." 
 
 A numerous crew manned the barge that was lowered 
 from the frigate, which, after receiving an officer, with an 
 attendant youth, left the ship, and moved with a measured 
 stroke of its oars directly toward the head of the bay. As 
 it passed at a short distance from the schooner a light 
 whaleboat, pulled by four athletic men, shot from her side, 
 and, rather dancing over than cutting through the waves, 
 crossed her course with a wonderful velocity. As the 
 boats approached each other, the men, in obedience to sig 
 nals from their officers, suspended their efforts, and for a 
 
I 4 THE PILOT. 
 
 few minutes they floated at rest, during which time there 
 was the following dialogue : 
 
 " Is the old man mad ? " exclaimed the young officer in 
 the whale-boat, when his men had ceased rowing ; " does 
 he think that the bottom of the Ariel is made of iron, and 
 that a rock can t knock a hole in it ? or does he think that 
 she is manned with alligators, who can t be drowned ? " 
 
 A languid smile played for a moment round the hand* 
 some features of the young man, who was rather reclining 
 than sitting in the stern sheets of the barge, as he re 
 plied : 
 
 " He knows your prudence too well, Captain Barn- 
 stable, to fear either the wreck of your vessel or the 
 drowning of her crew. How near the bottom does your 
 keel lie ? " 
 
 " I am afraid to sound," returned Barnstable. " I have 
 never the heart to touch a lead-line when I see the rocks 
 coming up to breathe like so many porpoises." 
 
 " You are afloat ! " exclaimed the other, with a vehemence 
 that denoted an abundance of latent fire. 
 
 "Afloat ! " echoed his friend ;" ay ! the little Ariel would 
 float in air !" As he spoke he rose in the boat, and, lifting 
 his leathern sea-cap from his head, stroked back the thick 
 clusters of black locks which shadowed his sunburnt 
 countenance, while he view r ed his little vessel with the 
 complacency of a seaman who was proud of her qualities. 
 " But it s close work, Mr. Griffith, when a man rides to ?> 
 single anchor in a place like this, and at such a nightfall- 
 What are the orders ? " 
 
 " I shall put into the surf and let go a grapnel ; you wih 
 take Mr. Merry into your whale-boat and try to drive her 
 through the breakers on the beach." 
 
 11 Beach ! " retorted Barnstable ; " do you call a perpen 
 dicular rock of a hundred feet in height a beach ? " 
 
 " We shall not dispute about terms," said Griffith, smil 
 ing, " but you must manage to get on the shore ; we have 
 seen the signal from the land, and know that the pilot, 
 whom we have so long expected, is ready to come off." 
 
 Barnstable shook his head with a grave air, as he mut 
 tered to himself, " This is droll navigation ; first we run 
 into an unfrequented bay that is full of rocks and sandpits, 
 and shoals, and then we get off our pilot. But how am I 
 to know him ? " 
 
 Merry will give you the pass-word, and tell you whertf 
 
THE PILOT. i$ 
 
 to look for him. I would land myself, but my orders for 
 bid it. If you meet with difficulties, show three oar-blades 
 in a row, and I will pull in to your assistance. Three oars 
 on end and a pistol will bring the fire of my muskets, 
 and the signal repeated from the barge will draw a shot 
 from the ship." 
 
 " I thank you, I thank you," said Barn stable, carelessly; 
 " I believe I can fight my own battles against all the enemies 
 we are likely to fall in with on this coast. But the old man 
 is surely mad. I would 
 
 " You would obey his orders if he were here, and you will 
 now please to obey mine," said Griffith, in a tone that the 
 friendly expression of his eye contradicted. " Pull in and 
 keep a lookout for a small man in a drab pea-jacket ; 
 Merry will give you the word ; if he answer it, bring him 
 off to the barge." 
 
 The young men now nodded familiarly and kindly to each 
 other, and the boy who was called Mr. Merry having 
 changed his place from the barge to the whale-boat, Barn- 
 stable threw himself into his seat, and, making a signal 
 with his hand, his men again bent to their oars. The light 
 vessel shot away from her companion, and dashed in boldly 
 toward the rocks ; after skirting the shore for some dis 
 tance in quest of a favorable place, she was suddenly 
 turned, and, dashing over the broken waves, was run upon 
 a spot where a landing could be effected in safety. 
 
 In the meantime the barge followed these movements, 
 at some distance, with a more measured progress, and 
 when the whale-boat was observed to be drawn up along 
 side of a rock, the promised grapnel was cast into the 
 water, and her crew deliberately proceeded to get their 
 fire-arms in a state for immediate service. Everything 
 appeared to be done in obedience to strict orders that must 
 have been previously communicated ; for the young man, 
 who has been introduced to the reader by the name of 
 Griffith, seldom spoke, and then only in the pithy expres=> 
 sions that are apt to fall from those who are sure of 
 obedience. When the boat had brought up to her grapnel, 
 he sank back at his length on the cushioned seats of the 
 barge, and, drawing his hat over his eyes in a listless man 
 ner, he continued for many minutes apparently absorbed 
 in thoughts altogether foreign to his present situation. 
 Occasionally he rose, and would first bend his looks in quest 
 of his companions on the shore, and, then turning his ex 
 
1 6 THE PILOT. 
 
 pressive eyes toward the ocean, the abstracted and vacant 
 air that so often usurped the place of animation and intel 
 ligence in his countenance, would give place to the anxious 
 and intelligent look of a seaman gifted with an experience 
 beyond his years. His weather-beaten and hardy crew, 
 having made their dispositions for offence, sat in profound 
 silence, with their hands thrust into the bosoms of their 
 jackets, but with their eyes earnestly regarding every cloud 
 that was gathering in the threatening atmosphere, and ex 
 changing looks of deep care, whenever the boat rose highef 
 than usual on one of those long, heavy ground-swells that 
 were heaving in from the ocean with increasing rapidity 
 and magnitude. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 "A horseman s coat shall hide 
 
 Thy taper shape and comeliness of side j 
 
 And with a bolder stride and looser air, 
 
 Mingled with men, a man thou must appear." PRIOR. 
 
 WHEN the whale-boat obtained the position we have de 
 scribed, the young lieutenant, who, in consequence of 
 commanding a schooner, was usually addressed by the ti 
 tle of captain, stepped on the rocks, followed by the youth 
 ful midshipman, who had quitted the barge to aid in the 
 hazardous duty of their expedition. 
 
 " This is, at best, but a Jacob s ladder we have to 
 climb," said Barn stable, casting his eyes upward at the dif 
 ficult ascent, " and it s by no means certain that we shall 
 be well received, when we get up, though we should reach 
 tiie top." 
 
 "We are under the guns of the frigate," returned the 
 boy; "and you remember, sir, three oar-blades and a pistol, 
 repeated from the barge, will draw her fire." 
 
 "Yes, on our own heads. Boy, never be so foolish as to 
 trust a long shot. It makes a great smoke and some 
 noise, but it s a terrible uncertain manner of throwing old 
 iron about. In such a business as this, I would sonner 
 trust Tom Coffin and his harpoon to back me, than the 
 best broadside that ever rattled out of the three decks of a 
 ninety-gun ship. Come, gather your limbs together, 
 try if you can walk on terrafirma. Master Coffin." 
 
THE PILOT. 1? 
 
 The seaman who was addressed by this dire appellation 
 arobe slowly from the place where he was stationed as cock- 
 swain of the boat, and seemed to ascend high in the air by 
 the gradual evolution of numberless folds in his body. 
 When erect, he stood nearly six feet and as many inches 
 in his shoes, though, when elevated in his most perpendic 
 ular attitude, there was a forward inclination about his 
 head and shoulders that appeared to be the consequence 
 of habitual confinement in limited lodgings. His whole 
 frame was destitute of the rounded outlines of a well-, 
 formed man, though his enormous hands furnished a dis 
 play of bones and sinews which gave indication of gigan 
 tic strength. On his head he wore a little, low, brown hat 
 of wool, with an arched top, that threw an expression of 
 solemnity and hardness over his harsh visage, the sharp 
 prominent features of which were completely encircled by 
 a set of black whiskers that began to be frizzled a little 
 with age. One of his hands grasped, with a sort of in 
 stinct, the staff of a bright harpoon, the lower end of which 
 he placed firmly on the rock, as, in obedience to the order 
 of his commander, he left the place where, considering 
 his vast dimensions, he had been established in an incred 
 ibly small space. 
 
 As soon as Captain Barnstable received this addition to 
 his strength, he gave a few precautionary orders to the 
 men in the boat, and proceeded to the difficult task of as 
 cending the rocks. Notwithstanding the great daring and 
 personal agility of Barnstable, he would have been com 
 pletely baffled in this attempt but for the assistance he oc 
 casionally received from his cockswain, whose prodigious 
 strength and great length of limbs enabled him to make 
 exertions which it would have been useless for most men 
 to attempt. When within a few feet of the summit, they 
 availed themselves of a projecting rock to pause for con 
 sultation and breath, both of which seemed necessary for 
 thsir further movements. 
 
 "This will be but a bad place for a retreat, if we 
 should happen to fall in with enemies," said Barnstable. 
 "Where are we to look for this pilot, Mr. Merry, or how 
 are we to know him ? and what certainty have you that he 
 he will not betray us ? " 
 
 "The question you are to put to him is written on this 
 bit of paper," returned the boy, as he handed the other the 
 word of recognition ; "we made the signal on the point of 
 
IS THE PILOT. 
 
 the rock at yon headland, but, as he must have seen ow 
 boat, he will lollovv us to this place. As to his betraying 
 us, he seems to have the confidence of Captain Munson, 
 who has kept a bright lookout for him ever since we made 
 the land." 
 
 "Ay," muttered the lieutenant, "and I shall have a 
 bright lookout kept on him now we are on the land. I 
 like not this business of hugging the shore so closely, cor 
 have I much faith in any traitor. What think you A it, 
 Master Coffin?" 
 
 The hardy old seaman, thus addressed, turned hi grave 
 visage on his commander, and replied with a bev orning 
 gravity : 
 
 "Give me plenty of sea-room and good canvas, where 
 there is no occasion for pilots at all, sir. For my part, I 
 was born on board a chebacco-man, and never could see 
 the use of more land than now and then a small island to 
 raise a few vegetables, and to dry your fish. I m sure the 
 sight of it always makes me feel uncomfortable, unless we 
 have the wind dead off-shore." 
 
 "Ah! Tom, you are a sensible fellow," said Barnstable, 
 with an air half comic, half serious. " But we must be 
 moving. The sun is just touching those clouds to seaward, 
 and God keep us from riding out this night at anchor in 
 such a place as this ! " 
 
 Laying his hand on a projection of the rock above him, 
 Barnstable swung himself forward, and, following this 
 movement with a desperate leap or two, he stood at once 
 on the brow of the cliff. His cockswain very deliberately 
 raised the midshipman after his officer, and, proceeding 
 with more caution, but less exertion, he soon placed 
 himself by his side. 
 
 When they reached the level land that *?ty above the 
 cliffs, and began to inquire, with curious and wary eyes, 
 into the surrounding scenery, the adventurers discovered 
 a cultivated country, divided in the usual manner by 
 hedges and walls. Only one habitation for man, however, 
 and that a small dilapidated cottage, stood within a mile 
 of them, most of the dwellings being placed, as far as 
 convenience would permit, from the fogs and damps of 
 the ocean. 
 
 " Here seems to be neither anything to apprehend, 
 nor the object of our search," said Barnstable, when he 
 had taken the whole view in his survey ; " I fear we hava 
 
THE PILOT. 1$ 
 
 (anded to no purpose, Mr. Merry. What say yoa, Long 
 Tom ; see you what we want ? " 
 
 "I see no pilot, sir," returned the cockswain; " but it s 
 an ill wind that blows luck to nobody ; there is a mouthful 
 of fresh meat stowed away under that ro\v of bushes, that 
 would make a double ration to all hands in the Ariel." 
 
 The midshipman laughed, as he pointed out to Barn- 
 stable the object of the cockswain s solicitude, which 
 proved to be a fat ox, quietly ruminating under a hedge 
 near them. 
 
 " There s many a hungry fellow aboard of us," said the 
 boy, merrily, " who would be glad to second Long Tom s 
 motion, if the time and business would permit us to slay 
 the animal." 
 
 " It is but a lubber s blow, Mr. Merry," returned the 
 cockswain, without a muscle of his hard face yielding, as hts 
 struck the end of his harpoon violently against the earth, 
 and then made a motion toward poising the" weapon ; 
 "let Captain Barnstable but say the word, and I ll drive 
 the iron through him to the quick ; I ve sent it to the 
 seizing in many a whale, that hadn t a jacket of such 
 blubber as that fellow wears." 
 
 "Pshaw! you are not on a whaling voyage, where 
 everything that offers is game," said Barnstable, turning 
 himself pettishly away from the beast, as if he distrusted 
 his own forbearance; "but stand fast! I see some one 
 approaching behind the hedge. Look to your arms, Mr. 
 Merry the first thing we hear may be a shot." 
 
 " Not from that cruiser," cried the thoughtless lad ; "he 
 is a younker, like myself, and would hardly dare run down 
 upon such a formidable force as we muster." 
 
 "You say true, boy," returned Barnstable, relinquishing 
 the grasp he held on his pistol. " He comes on with 
 caution, as if afraid. He is small, and is in drab, though 
 I should hardly call it a pea-jacket and yet he may be 
 our man. Stand you both here, while I go and hail him." 
 
 As Barnstable walked rapidly toward the hedge, that in 
 part concealed the stranger, the latter stopped suddenly, 
 and seemed to be in doubt whether to advance or to re 
 treat. Before he had decided on either, the active sailor 
 was within a few feet of him. 
 
 "Pray, sir," said Barnstable, what water have we hi 
 this bay ?" 
 
 The slight form of the stranger started with an extra- 
 
20 THE PILOT. 
 
 ordinary emotion at this question, and he shrunk aside in 
 voluntarily, as if to conceal his features, before he answered^ 
 in a voice that was barely audible : 
 
 " I should think it would be the water of the German 
 Ocean." 
 
 "Indeed! you must have passed no small part of your 
 short life in the study of geography, to be so well informed," 
 returned the lieutenant; perhaps, sir, your cunning is 
 also equal to telling me how long we shall sojourn together 
 if I make you a prisoner, in order to enjoy the benefit of 
 your wit ? " 
 
 To this alarming intimation, the youth who was ad 
 dressed made no reply ; but as he averted his face and con 
 cealed it with both hands, the offended seaman, believing 
 that a salutary impression had been made upon the fears 
 of his auditor, was about to proceed with his interrog 
 atories. The singular agitation of the stranger s frame, 
 however, caused the lieutenant to continue silent a few 
 moments longer, when, to his utter amazement, he discov 
 ered that what he had mistaken for alarm was produced 
 by an endeavor, on the part of the youth, to suppress a 
 violent fit of laughter. 
 
 "Now, by all the whales in the sea !" cried Barnstable, 
 "but you are merry out of season, young gentleman. It s 
 quite bad enough to be ordered to anchor in such a bay as 
 this with a storm brewing before my eyes, without landing 
 to be laughed at by a stripling who has not strength to 
 carry a beard if he had one, when I ought to be getting an 
 offing for the safety of both body and soul. But I ll know 
 more of you and your jokes, if I take you into my own 
 mess, and am giggled out of my sleep for the rest of the 
 cruise. 
 
 As the commander of the schooner concluded, he ap 
 proached the stranger with an air of offering some violence, 
 but the other shrank back from his extended arm, and ex 
 claimed, with a voice in which real terror had gotten the 
 better of mirth : 
 
 " Barnstable ! dear Barnstable ! would you harm me ?" 
 
 The sailor recoiled several feet at this unexpected ap 
 peal, and, rubbing his eyes, he threw the cap from his 
 head, before he cried : 
 
 " What do I hear ! and what do I see ! There lies the 
 Ariel and yonder is the frigate. Can this be Katherine 
 Plowden ? " 
 
THE PILOT. 2i 
 
 His doubts, if any doubts remained, were soon renvoved, 
 for the stranger sank on the bank at her side, in an attitude 
 in which female bashfulness was beautifully contrasted 
 with her attire, and gave vent to her mirth in an uncon 
 trollable burst of merriment. 
 
 From that moment, all thoughts of his duty, and the 
 pilot, or even of the Ariel, appeared to be banished from 
 the mind of the seaman, who sprang to her side, and joined 
 in her mirth, though he hardly knew why or wherefore. 
 
 When the diverted girl had in some degree recovered her 
 composure, she turned to her companion, who had sat 
 good-naturedly by her side, content to be laughed at, and 
 said : 
 
 " But this is not only silly, but cruel to others. I owe 
 you an explanation of my unexpected appearance, and per- 
 haps, also, of my extraordinary attire." 
 
 u I can anticipate everything," cried Barnstable ; "you 
 heard that we were on the coast, and have flown to redeem 
 the promise you made me in A merica. But I ask no more ; 
 the chaplain of the frigate 
 
 " May preach as usual, and to as little purpose," inter 
 rupted the disguised female ; " but no nuptial benediction 
 shall be pronounced over me, until I have effected the 
 object of this hazardous experiment. You are not usually 
 selfish, Barnstable; would you have me forgetful of the 
 happiness of others ? " 
 
 " Of whom do you speak ? " 
 
 " My poor, my devoted cousin. I heard that two vessels 
 answering the description of the frigate and the Ariel 
 were seen hovering on the coast, and I determined at once 
 to have a communication with you. I have followed your 
 movements for a week in this dress, but have been unsuc 
 cessful till now. To-day I observed you to approach near 
 er to the shore than usual, and happily, by being adven 
 turous, I have been successful." 
 
 "Ay, God knows we are near enough to the land ! But 
 does Captain Munson know of your wish to get on board 
 his ship ? " 
 
 " Certainly not none know of it but yourself. I 
 thought that if Griffith and you could learn our situation, 
 you might be tempted to hazard a little to redeem us from 
 our thraldom. In this paper I have prepared such an ac 
 count as will, I trust, excite all your chivalry, and by which 
 you may govern your movements." 
 
2 77/7^ PfL07\ 
 
 " Our movements ! " interrupted Barnstable. " You 
 tvill pilot us in person." 
 
 " Then there s two of them!" said a hoarse voice near 
 them. 
 
 The alarmed female shrieked as she recovered her 
 feet, but she still adhered, with instinctive dependence, to 
 the side of her lover. Barnstable, who recognized the 
 tones of his cockswain, bent an angry brow on the sober 
 visage that was peering at them above the hedge, and de 
 manded the meaning of the interruption. 
 
 " Seeing you were hull-down, sir, and not knowing but 
 the chase might lead you ashore, Mr. Merry thought it 
 best to have a lookout kept. I told him that y f iu were over 
 hauling the mail-bags of the messenger for the news, but 
 as he was an officer, sir, and I nothing but a common hand, 
 I did as he ordered." 
 
 " Return, sir, where I commanded you to remain, f 
 said Barnstable ; " and desire Mr. Merry to wait my pleas* 
 ure." 
 
 The cockswain gave the usual reply of an obedient 
 seaman ; but, before he left the hedge, he stretched out 
 one of his brawny arms toward the ocean, and said, m 
 tones of solemnity suited to his apprehensions and char 
 acter : 
 
 " I showed you how to knot a reef-point, and pass * 
 gasket, Captain Barnstable, nor do I believe you could 
 even take two half-hitches when you first came aboard of 
 the Spalmacitty. These be things that a man is soon ex- 
 part in, but it takes the time of his nat ral life to larn to 
 know the weather. There be streaked wind-galls in the 
 offing that speak as plainly, to all that see them, and know 
 God s language in the clouds, as ever you spoke through a 
 trumpet, to shorten sail ; besides, sir, don t you hear the sea 
 moaning as if it knew- the hour was at hand when it was 
 to wake up from its sleep ?" 
 
 " Ay. Tom," returned the officer, walking to the edge of 
 the cliffs, and throwing a seaman s glance at the gloomy 
 ocean, " tis a threatening night indeed ; but this pilot must 
 be had and " 
 
 " Is that the man ? " interrupted the cockswain, point 
 ing toward a man who was standing not far from them, an 
 attentive observer of their proceedings, at the same time 
 that he was narrowly watched himself by the young mid 
 shipman. " God send that he knows his trade well, for the 
 
THE PILOT. 23 
 
 bottom of a ship will need eyes to fine! its road cut of this 
 wild anchorage ! " 
 
 "That must indeed be the man !" exclaimed Barnstable, 
 at once recalled to his duty. He then held a short dia 
 logue with his female companion, whom he left concealed 
 by the hedge, and proceeded to address the stranger. When 
 near enough to be heard, the commander of the schooner 
 demanded : 
 
 "What water have you in this bay ? " 
 
 The stranger, who seemed to expect this question, an- 
 owered without the least hesitation : 
 
 " Enough to take all out in safety, who have entered 
 with confidence." 
 
 " You are the man I seek," cried Barnstable ; "are you 
 ready to go off ? " 
 
 "Both ready and willing," returned the pilot, "and 
 there is need of haste. I would give the best hundred 
 guineas that ever were coined for two hours more use of 
 that sun which has left us, or for even half the time of thisj 
 fading twilight." 
 
 "Think you our situation so bad ? " said the lieutenant, 
 "Follow this gentleman to the boat, then ; I will join you 
 by the time you can descend the cliffs. I believe I can 
 prevail on another hand to go with us." 
 
 "Time is more precious now than any number of 
 hands," said the pilot, throwing a glance of impatience 
 from under his lowering brows, "and the consequences of 
 delay must be visited on those who occasion it." 
 
 "And, sir, I will meet the consequences with those who 
 have a right to inquire into my conduct," said Barnstable, 
 haughtily. 
 
 With this warning and retort they separated ; the young 
 officer retracing his steps impatiently toward his mistress, 
 muttering his indignation in suppressed execrations, and 
 the pilot drawing the leather belt of his pea-jacket me 
 chanically around his body, as he followed the midship 
 man and cockswain to their boat in moody silence. 
 
 Barnstable found the disguised female, who had an 
 nounced herself as Katherine Plowden, awaiting his return 
 with intense anxiety depicted on every feature of her intel 
 ligent countenance. As he felt the responsibility of his 
 situation, notwithstanding his cool reply to the pilot, th* 
 young man hastily drew an arm of the apparent boy, forget 
 ful of her disguise, through his own, and led her forward 
 
24 THE FT LOT-. 
 
 "Come, Katherine," he said, "the time urges tc be 
 prompt." 
 
 " What pressing necessity is there for immediate depart 
 ure?" she inquired, checking his movements by with 
 drawing herself from his side. 
 
 " You heard the ominous prognostic of my cockswain 
 on the weather, and I am forced to add my own testimony 
 to his opinion. Tis a crazy night that threatens us ; 
 though I cannot repent of coming into the bay, since it 
 has led to this interview." 
 
 " God forbid that we should either of us have cause to 
 repent of it!" said Katherine, the paleness of anxiety 
 chasing away the rich bloom that had mantled the ani 
 mated face of the brunette. "But you have the paper 
 follow its directions, and come to our rescue ; you will 
 find us willing captives, if Griffith and yourself are our 
 conquerors." 
 
 "What mean you, Katherine?" exclaimed her lover; 
 "you at least are now in safety twould be madness to 
 tempt your fate again. My vessel can and shall protect 
 you, until your cousin is redeemed ; and then, remember, 
 I have a claim on you for life." 
 
 "And how would you dispose of me in the interval ?" 
 said the young maiden, retreating slowly from his advances. 
 
 "In the Ariel by Heaven, you shall be her command 
 er ! I will bear that rank only in name." 
 
 " I thank you, thank you, Barnstable, but distrust my 
 abilities to fill such a station," she said, laughing, though 
 the color that again crossed her youthful features was like 
 the glow of a summer s sunset, and even her mirthful eyes 
 seemed to reflect their tints. " Do not mistake, saucy one. 
 If I have done more than my sex will warrant, remember 
 it was through a holy motive, and if I have more than a 
 woman s enterprise, it must be " 
 
 "To lift you above the weakness of your sex," he cried, 
 " and to enable you to show your noble confidence in 
 me." 
 
 " To fit me for, and to keep me worthy of being one day 
 your wife/ As she uttered these words she turned and 
 disappeared, with a rapidity that eluded his attempt to de 
 tain her, behind an angle of the hedge, that was near 
 them. For a moment, Barnstable remained motionless, 
 through surprise, and when he sprang forward in pur* 
 suit, he was able only to catch a glimpse of her light form, 
 
THE P/LOT. 2$ 
 
 in the gloom of the evening, as she again vanished in a 
 little thicket at some distance. 
 
 Barnstable was about to pursue, when the air lighted 
 with a sudden flash, and the bellowing report of a cannon 
 rolled along the cliffs, and was echoed among the hills far 
 inland. 
 
 "Ay, grumble away, old dotard!" the disappointed 
 young sailor muttered to himself, while he reluctantly 
 obeyed the signal ; "you are in as great a hurry to get out 
 of your danger as you were to run into it." 
 
 The quick reports of three muskets from the barge be 
 neath where he stood urged him to quicken his pace, and, 
 as he threw himself carelessly down the rugged and dan 
 gerous passes of the cliffs, his experienced .eye beheld the 
 well known lights displayed from the frigate, which com 
 manded " the recall of all her boats." 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " In such a time as this, it is not meet 
 That every nice offence should bear its comment." SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 THE cliffs threw their dark shadows wide on the waters, 
 and the gloom of the evening had so far advanced as to 
 conceal the discontent that brooded over the ordinarily 
 open brow of Barnstable as he sprang from the rocks into 
 the boat, and took his seat by the side of the silent pilot. 
 
 " Shove off ! " cried the lieutenant, in tones that his men 
 knew must be obeyed. " A seaman s curse light on the 
 folly that exposes planks and lives to such navigation ; and 
 all to burn some old timberman, or catch a Norway trader 
 asleep ! Give way, men, give way ! " 
 
 Notwithstanding the heavy and dangerous surf that was 
 beginning to tumble in upon the rocks in an alarming 
 manner, the startled seamen succeeded in urging their 
 light boat over the waves, and in a few seconds were with 
 out the point where danger was most to be apprehended 
 Barnstable had seemingly disregarded the breakers as they 
 passed, but sat sternly eyeing the foam that rolled by them 
 in successive surges, until the boat rose regularly on the 
 long seas, when he turned his looks around the bay in 
 quest of the barge. 
 
 "Ay, Griffith has tired of rocking in his pillowed era* 
 
26 THE PILOT. 
 
 die," he muttered, "and will give us a pull to the frigate, 
 when we ought to be getting the schooner out of this 
 hard-featured landscape. This is just such a place as one 
 of your sighing lovers would dote on ; a little land, a little 
 water, and a good deal of rock. Damme, Long Tom, but 
 I am more than half of your mind, that an island now and 
 then is all the terra firma that a seaman needs." 
 
 "It s reason and philosophy, sir," returned the sedate 
 cockswain ; " and what land there is should always be a 
 soft mud, or a sandy ooze, in order that an anchor might 
 hold, and to make soundings sartin. I have lost many a 
 deep sea, besides hand-leads by the dozen, on rocky bot* 
 toms ; but give me the roadstead where a lead comes up 
 light and an anchor heavy. There s a boat pulling athwart 
 our fore-foot, Captain Barnstable ; shall I run her aboard^ 
 or give her a berth, sir ? " 
 
 "Tis the barge !" cried the officer ; "Ned has not de 
 serted me, after all ! " 
 
 A loud hail from the approaching boat confirmed this 
 opinion, and, in a few seconds, the barge and whale-boat 
 were again rolling by each other s side. Griffith was no 
 longer reclining on the cushions of his seat, but spoke 
 earnestly, and with a slight tone of reproach in his manner. 
 
 " Why have you wasted so many precious moments, 
 when every minute threatens us with new dangers ? I wab 
 obeying the signal, but I heard your oars, and pulled back 
 to take out the pilot. Have you been successful ?" 
 
 " There he is ; and if he finds his way out through the 
 shoals, he will earn a right to his name. This bids fair to 
 be a night when a man will need a spy-glass to find the 
 moon. But when you hear that I have been on those ras 
 cally cliffs, you will be more ready to excuse my delay, 
 Mr. Griffith." 
 
 " You have seen the true man, I trust, or we incur this 
 hazard to an evil purpose." 
 
 " Ay, I have seen him that is a true man, and him that 
 is not," replied Barnstable, bitterly ; " you have the boy 
 with you, Griffith ask him what his young eyes have 
 seen." 
 
 " Shall I ? " cried the young midshipman, laughing ; 
 "then I have seen a little clipper, in disguise, outsail an 
 old man-of-war s man in a hard chase, and I have seen a 
 straggling rover in long-togs as much like my cousin 
 
 " Peace, gabbler ! " exclaimed Barnstable in a voice of 
 
THE PILOT. 2^ 
 
 thunder; "would you detain the boats with your sil^ 
 nonsense at a time like this > Away into the barge, sir, 
 and if you find him willing to hear, tell Mr. Griffith what 
 your foolish conjectures amount to at your leisure." 
 
 The boy stepped lightly from the whale-boat to the 
 barge, whither the pilot had already preceded him, and, 
 as he sank with a mortified air by the side of Griffith, he 
 said, in a low voice : 
 
 "And that won t be long, I know, if Mr. Griffith thinks 
 and feels on the coast of England as he thought and felt 
 at home." 
 
 A silent pressure of his hand was the only reply that 
 the young lieutenant made, before he paid the parting 
 compliment to Barnstable, and directed his men to pull 
 for their ship. 
 
 The boats were separating, and the splash of the oars 
 was already heard, when the voice of the pilot was for the 
 first time raised in earnest. 
 
 " Hold ! " he cried ; " hold water, I bid ye ! " 
 
 The men ceased their efforts, at the commanding tones 
 of his voice, and, turning toward the whale-boat, he con 
 tinued : 
 
 "You will get your schooner under way immediately, 
 Captain Barnstable, and sweep into the offing with as lit 
 tle delay as possible. Keep the ship well open from the 
 northern headland, and, as you pass us, come within hail." 
 
 "This is a clean chart and plain sailing, Mr. Pilot," re 
 turned Barnstable ; " but who is to justify my moving 
 without orders, to Captain Munson ? I have it in black and 
 white, to run the Ariel into this feather-bed sort of a place, 
 and I must at least have it by signal or word of mouth 
 from my betters, before my cut-water curls another wave. 
 The road may be as hard to find going out as it was com 
 ing in and then I had daylight as well as your written 
 directions to steer by." 
 
 " Would you lie there to perish on such a night ? " said 
 the pilot, sternly. " Two hours hence this heavy swell 
 will break where your vessel now rides so quietly." 
 
 "There we think exactly alike ; but, if I get drowned 
 now, I am drowned according to orders ; whereas, if I 
 knock a plank out of the schooner s bottom, by following 
 your directions, twill be a hole to let in mutiny, as well 
 as sea-water. How do I know but the old man wants 
 another pilot or two." 
 
28 THE PILOT, 
 
 "That s philosophy," muttered the cockswain of the 
 whale boat, in a voice that was audible ; "but it s a hard 
 strain on a man s conscience to hold on in such an 
 anchorsige !" 
 
 "Then keep your anchor down, and follow it to the 
 bottom," said the pilot to himself ; "it s worse to contend 
 with a fool than a gale of wind ; but if 
 
 "No, no, sir no fool neither," interrupted Griffith, 
 f- Barnstable does not deserve that epithet, though he 
 certainly carries the point of duty to the extreme. 
 Heave up at once, Mr. Barnstable, and get out of this 
 bay as fast as possible." 
 
 " Ah ! you don t give the order with half the pleasure 
 with which I shall execute it ; pull away, boys the 
 Ariel shall never lay her bones in such a hard bed, if 
 I can help it." 
 
 As the commander of the schooner uttered these 
 words with a cheering voice, his men spontaneously 
 shouted, and the whale-boat darted away from her com 
 panion, and was soon lost in the gloomy shadows cast 
 from the cliffs. 
 
 In the meantime, the oarsmen of the barge were not 
 idle, but by strenuous efforts they forced the heavy boat 
 rapidly through the water, and in a few minutes she 
 ran alongside of the frigate. During this period the 
 pilot, in a voice which had lost all the startling fierce 
 ness and authority it had manifested in his short dia 
 logue with Barnstable, requested Griffith to repeat to 
 him, slowly, the names of the officers that belonged to 
 his ship. When the young lieutenant had complied with 
 this request, he observed to his companion : 
 
 " All good men and true, Mr. Pilot ; and though this 
 business in which you are just now engaged may be haz 
 ardous to an Englishman, there are none with us who will 
 betray you. We need your services, and, as we expect good 
 faith from you, so shall we offer it to you in exchange." 
 
 "And how know you that I need its exercise?" asked 
 the pilot, in a manner that denoted a cold indifference to 
 the subject. 
 
 "Why, though you talk pretty good English, for a 
 native," returned Griffith, " yet you have a small bur-r-r in 
 your mouth that would prick the tongue of a man who was 
 born on the other side of the Atlantic." 
 
 " It is but of little moment where a man is born, or how 
 
THE PlLO-r. 2<j 
 
 he speaks," returned the pilot, coldly, " so that he does hig 
 duty bravely, and in good faith." 
 
 It was perhaps fortunate for the harmony of this dia 
 logue that the gloom, which had now increased to positive 
 darkness, completely concealed the look of scornful irony 
 that crossed the handsome features of the young sailor as 
 he replied : 
 
 " True, true, so that he does his duty, as you say, in good 
 faith. But, as Barnstable observed, you must know your 
 road well to travel among these shoals on such a night aa 
 this. Know you what water we draw ? " 
 
 " Tis a frigate s draught, and I shall endeavor to keep 
 you in four fathoms ; less than that would be dangerous." 
 
 "She s a sweet boat !" said Griffith; "and minds her 
 helm as a marine watches the eye of his sergeant at a drill ; 
 but you must give her room in stays, for she fore-reaches, 
 as if she would put out the wind s eye." 
 
 The pilot attended, with a practised ear, to this descrip-, 
 tion of the qualities of the ship that he \vas about to at 
 tempt extricating from an extremely dangerous situation. 
 Not a syllable was lost on him ; and when Griffith had 
 ended, he remarked, with the singular coldness that per 
 vaded his manner : 
 
 "That is bcth a good and a bad quality in a narrow 
 channel. I fear it will be the latter to-night, when we 
 shall require to have the ship in leading-strings." 
 
 " I suppose we must feel our way with the lead ? " said 
 Griffith. 
 
 " We shall need both eyes and leads," returned the pilot, 
 recurring insensibly to his soliloquizing tone of voice. * I 
 have been both in and out in darker nights than this, 
 though never with a heavier draught than a half-two." 
 
 " Then, by Heaven, you are not fit to handle that ship 
 among these rocks and breakers ! " exclaimed Griffith 
 " your men of a light draught never know their water ; ti?i 
 ihe deep keel only that finds a channel. Pilot ! pilot ! be* 
 ware how you trifle with us ignorantly ; for tis a danger 
 ous experiment to play at hazards with an enemy." 
 
 "Young man, you know not what you threaten, nor whom," 
 Baid the pilot, sternly, though his quiet manner still re 
 mained undisturbed ; " you forget that you have a superior 
 here, and that I have none." 
 
 " That shall be as you discharge your duty," cried Griffith 
 for, if " 
 
30 THE PILOT. 
 
 " Peace ! " interrupted the pilot, : we appioach the ship, 
 let us enter in harmony." 
 
 He threw himself back on the cushions when he had 
 said this ; and Griffith, though filled with the apprehensions 
 of suffering, either by great ignorance or treachery on the 
 part of his companion, smothered his feelings so far as to 
 be silent, and they ascended the side of the vessel in ap 
 parent cordiality. 
 
 The frigate was already riding on lengthened seas, that 
 rolled in from the ocean at each successive moment with 
 increasing violence, though her topsails still hung supinely 
 from her yards ; the air, which continued to breathe oc 
 casionally from the land, being unable to shake the heavy 
 canvas of which they w r ere composed. 
 
 The only sounds that were audible, when Griffith and 
 the pilot had ascended to the gangway of the frigate, were 
 produced by the sullen dashing of the sea against the mas 
 sive bows of the ship, and the shrill whistle of the boat 
 swain s mate, as he recalled the side-boys, who were placed 
 on either side of the gangway, to do honor *o the entrance 
 of the first-lieutenant and his companion. 
 
 But though such a profound silence reigned among the 
 hundreds who inhabited the huge fabric, the light pro 
 duced by a dozen battle-lanterns, that were arranged in 
 different parts of the decks, served not only to exhibit 
 faintly the persons of the crew, but the mingled feeling of 
 curiosity and care that dwelt on most of their counte 
 nances. 
 
 Large groups of men were collected in the gangways, 
 around the mainmast, and on the booms of the vessel, 
 whose faces were distinctly visible, while numerous fig 
 ures, lying along the lower yards, or bending out of the 
 tops, might be dimly traced in the background, all of 
 whom expressed by their attitudes the interest they took 
 in the arrival of the boat. 
 
 Though such crowds were collected in other parts of the 
 vessel, the quarter-deck was occupied only by the officers, 
 who were disposed according to their several ranks and 
 were equally silent and attentive as the remainder of the 
 crew. In front stood a small collection of young men, 
 who, by their similarity of dress, were the equals and com 
 panions of Griffith, though his junior in rank. On the 
 opposite side of the vessel was a larger assemblage of 
 youths, who claimed Mr. Merry as their fellow. Around 
 
THE PILOT. 31 
 
 the capstan three or four figures were standing, one of 
 wnom wore a coat of blue, with the scarlet facings of 
 a soldier, and another the black vestments of a ship s 
 chaplain. Behind these, and nearer the passage to the 
 caoin from which he had just ascended, stood the tall, 
 erect form of the commander of the vessel. 
 
 After a brief salutation between Griffith and the junior 
 officers, the former advanced, followed slowly by the pilot, 
 to the place where he was expected by his veteran com 
 mander. The young man removed his hat entirely, as he 
 bowed with a little more than his usual ceremony, and 
 said : 
 
 " We have succeeded, sir, though not without more diffi 
 culty and delay than were anticipated." 
 
 " But you have not brought off the pilot," said the cap 
 tain, " and, without him, all our risk and trouble have 
 been in vain." 
 
 "He is here," said Griffith, stepping aside, and extend 
 ing his arm toward the man that stood behind him, wrap 
 ped to the chin, in his coarse pea-jacket, and his face shad 
 owed by the .lling rim of a large hat that had seen 
 much and hard service. 
 
 " This !" exclaimed the captain; " then there is a sad 
 mistake this is not the man I would have seen, nor can 
 another supply his place." 
 
 " I know not whom you expected, Captain Munson," 
 said the stranger, in a low, quiet voice ; " but if you have 
 not forgotten the day when a very different flag from that 
 emblem of tyranny that now hangs over yon taffrail was 
 first spread to the wind, you may remember the hand that 
 raised it." 
 
 " Bring here the light ! " exclaimed the commander, 
 hastily. 
 
 When the lantern was extended toward the pilot, and the 
 glare fell strong on his features, Captain Munson started 
 as he beheld the calm blue eye that met his gaze, and the 
 composed but pallid countenance of the other. Involun 
 tarily raising his hat, and baring his silver locks, the vet 
 eran cried : 
 
 " It is he ! though so changed 
 
 "That his enemies did not know him," interrupted the 
 pilot, quickly ; then touching the other by the arm, as he 
 led him aside, he continued, in a lower tone "neithe" 
 must his friends, until the proper hour sh^all arrive." 
 
32 THE PILOT. 
 
 Griffith had fallen back to answer the eager questions of 
 his messmates, and no part of this short dialogue was over 
 heard by the officers, though it was soon perceived that 
 their commander had discovered his error, and was satis 
 fied that the proper man had been brought on board his 
 vessel. For many minutes the two continued to pace a 
 part of the quarter-deck, by themselves, engaged in deep 
 and earnest discourse. 
 
 As Griffith had but little to communicate, the curiosity 
 of his listeners was soon appeased, and all eyes were di 
 rected toward that mysterious guide, who was to conduct 
 them from a situation already surrounded by perils, which 
 each moment not only magnified in appearance, but in 
 creased in reality. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 "Behold the threaden sails, 
 
 Borne with the invisible and creeping winds, 
 Draw the huge bottoms through the furrowed sa, 
 Breasting the lofty surge." SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 IT has been already explained to the reader that there 
 were threatening symptoms in the appearance of the 
 weather to create serious forebodings of evil in the breast 
 of a seaman. When removed from the shadows of the 
 cliffs, the night was not so dark but objects could be dis 
 cerned at some little distance, and in the eastern horizon 
 there was a streak of fearful light impending over the 
 gloomy waters, in which the swelling outline formed by 
 the rising waves was becoming each moment more distinct, 
 and consequently more alarming. Several dark clouds 
 overhung the vessel, whose towering masts apparently 
 propped the black vapor, while a few stars were seen 
 twinkling, with a sickly flame, in the streak of clear sky 
 that skirted the ocean. Still, light currents of air occasion 
 ally swept across the bay, bringing with them the fresh 
 odor from the shore, but their flitting irregularity too 
 surely foretold them to be the expiring breath of the land- 
 breeze. The roaring of the surf, as it rolled on the mar 
 gin of the bay, produced a dull, monotonous sound, that 
 was only interrupted, at times, by a hollow bellowing, as 
 a larger wave than usual broke violently against some cav 
 
THE PILOT. 33 
 
 ity in the rock. Everything, in short, united to render the 
 scene gloomy and portentous, without creating instant ter 
 ror, for the ship rose easily on the long billows, without even 
 straightening the heavy cable that held her to her anchor. 
 
 The higher officers were collected around the capstan, 
 engaged in earnest discourse about their situation and 
 prospects, while some of the oldest and most favored sea 
 men would extend their short walk to the hallowed pre 
 cincts of the quarter-deck, to catch, with greedy ears, the 
 opinions that fell from their superiors. Numberless were 
 the uneasy glances that were thrown from both officers 
 and men at their commander and the pilot, who still con 
 tinued their secret communion in a distant part of the 
 vessel. Once, an ungovernable curiosity, or the heedless- 
 ness of his years, led one of the youthful midshipmen near 
 them, but a stern rebuke from his captain sent the boy, 
 abashed and cowering, to hide his mortification among 
 his fellows. This reprimand was received by the elder 
 officers as an intimation that the consultation which they 
 beheld was to be strictly inviolate ; and, though it by no 
 means suppressed the repeated expressions of their impa 
 tience, it effectually prevented an interruption to the com 
 munications, which all, however, thought unreasonably 
 protracted for the occasion. 
 
 " This is no time to be talking over bearings and dis 
 tances," observed the officer next in rank to Griffith ; 
 " but we should call the hands up, and try to kedge her 
 off while the sea will suffer a boat to live." 
 
 " Twould be a tedious and bootless job to attempt 
 warping a ship for miles against a head-beating sea," re 
 turned the first-lieutenant ; "but the land breeze yet 
 flutters aloft, and if our light sails would draw, with the 
 aid of this ebb-tide we might be able to shove her from 
 the shore." 
 
 "Hail the tops, Griffith," said the other, "and ask if 
 they feel the air above ; twill be a hint at least to set the 
 old man and that lubberly pilot in motion." 
 
 Griffith laughed as he complied with the request, and 
 when he received the customary reply to his call, he de 
 manded in a loud voice : 
 
 " Which way have you the wind aloft ? " 
 
 "We feel a light cat s-paw, now and then, from the land, 
 sir," returned the sturdy captain of the top; "but our 
 topsail hangs in the clew-Un.es, sir ? without winking." 
 
34 THE PILOT. 
 
 Captain Munson and his companion suspended their 
 discourse while this question and. answer were exchanged, 
 and then resumed their dialogue as earnestly as if it had 
 received no interruption. 
 
 " If it did wink, the hint would be lost on our betters," 
 said the officer of the marines, whose ignorance of seaman 
 ship added greatly to his perception of the danger, but 
 who, from pure idleness, made more jokes than any other 
 man in the ship. " That pilot would not receive a delicate 
 intimation through his ears, Mr. Griffith ; suppose you try 
 him by the nose." 
 
 "Faith, there was a flash of gunpowder between us in 
 the barge," returned the first-lieutenant, " and he does not 
 seem a man to stomach such hints as you advise. Although 
 he looks so meek and quiet, I doubt whether he has paid 
 much attention to the Book of Job." 
 
 "Why should he?" exclaimed the chaplain, whose ap 
 prehensions at least equalled those of the marine, and 
 with a much more disheartening effect ; " I am sure it 
 would have been a great waste of time ; there are so many 
 charts of the coast, and books on the navigation of these 
 seas, for him to study, that I sincerely hope he has been 
 much better employed." 
 
 A loud laugh was created at this speech among the lis 
 teners, and it apparently produced the effect that was so 
 long anxiously desired, by putting an end to the mysteri 
 ous conference between their captain and the pilot. As 
 the former came forward toward his expecting crew, he 
 said, in the composed, steady manner that formed the prin 
 cipal trait in his character : 
 
 "Get the anchor, Mr. Griffith, and make sail on the ship; 
 the hour has arrived when we must be moving." 
 
 The cheerful "Ay! ay! sir!" of the young lieutenant 
 was hardly uttered, before the cries of half a dozen mid 
 shipmen were heard summoning the boatswain and his 
 mates to their duty. 
 
 There was a general movement in the living masses that 
 clustered around the mainmast, on the booms, and in the 
 gangways, though their habits of discipline held the crew 
 a moment longer in suspense. The silence was first bro 
 ken by the sound of the boatswain s whistle, followed by 
 the hoarse cry of "All hands, up anchor, ahoy ! " the for 
 mer rising on the night air from its first low, mellow notes 
 to a piercing shrillness that gradually died away on the 
 
THE PILOT. 3$ 
 
 waters ; and the latter bellowing through every cranny of 
 the ship, like the hollow murmurs of distant thunder. 
 
 The change produced by the customary summons was 
 magical. Human beings sprang out from between the 
 guns, rushed up the hatches, threw themselves with care 
 less activity from the booms, and gathered from every 
 quarter so rapidly, that, in an instant, the deck of the frig 
 ate was alive with men. The profound silence, that had 
 hitherto been only interrupted by the low dialogue of the 
 officers, was now changed for the stern orders of the lieu 
 tenants, mingled with the shriller cries of the midshipmen, 
 and the hoarse bawling of the boatswain s crew, rising 
 above the tumult of preparation and general bustle. 
 
 The captain and pilot alone remained passive in this 
 scene of general exertion, for apprehension had even stim 
 ulated that class of officers which is called idlers" to un 
 usual activity, though frequently reminded by their more 
 experienced messmates that, instead of aiding, they re 
 tarded the duty of the vessel. The bustle, however, grad 
 ually ceased, and, in a few minutes, the same silence 
 pervaded the ship as before. 
 
 " We are brought-to, sir," said Griffith, who stood over 
 looking the scene, holding in one hand a short speaking- 
 trumpet, and grasping with the other one of the shrouds 
 of the ship, to steady himself in the position he had taken 
 on a gun. 
 
 " Heave round, sir," was the calm reply. 
 
 " Heave round ! " repeated Griffith, aloud. 
 
 " Heave round ! " echoed a dozen eager voices at once, 
 and the lively strains of a fife struck up a brisk air, to en> 
 liven the labor. The capstan was instantly set in motion, 
 and the measured tread of the seamen was heard, as they 
 stamped the deck in the circle of their march. For a few 
 minutes no other sounds were heard, if we except the 
 voice of an officer occasionally cheering the sailors, when 
 it was announced that they "were short;" or, in other 
 words, that the ship was nearly over her anchor. 
 
 "Heave and pull !" cried Griffith ; when the quivering 
 notes of the whistle were again succeeded by a general 
 stillness in the vessel. 
 
 "What is to be done now, sir?" continued the lieuten 
 ant ; "shall we trip the anchor ? There seems not a breath 
 of air ; and, as the tide runs slack, I doubt whether the 
 sea do not heave the ship ashore." 
 
36 THE 
 
 There was so much obvious truth in this conjecture, 
 that all eyes turned from the light and animation afforded 
 by the decks of the frigate, to look abroad on the waters, 
 in a vain desire to pierce the darkness, as if to read the 
 fate of their apparently devoted ship from the aspect of 
 Nature. 
 
 "I leave all to the pilot," said the captain, after he had 
 stood a short time by the side of Griffith, anxiously 
 studying the heavens and the ocean. "What say you, Mr. 
 Gray ?" 
 
 The man who was thus first addressed by name was 
 leaning over the bulwarks, with his eyes bent in the same 
 direction as the others; but as he answered he turned his 
 face toward the speaker, and the light from the deck fell 
 full upon his quiet features, which exhibited a calmness 
 bordering on the supernatural considering his station and 
 responsibility. 
 
 "There is much to fear from this heavy ground-swell," 
 he said, in the same unmoved tones as before ; "but there 
 is certain destruction to us if the gale that is brewing in 
 the east finds us waiting its fury in this wild anchorage. 
 All the hemp that was ever spun into cordage would not 
 hold a ship an hour, chafing on these rocks, with a north 
 easter pouring its fury on her. If the powers of man 
 can compass it, gentlemen, we must get an offing, and that 
 speedily." 
 
 "You say no more, sir, than the youngest boy in the 
 ship can see for himself," said Griffith. " Ha ! here comes 
 the schooner ! " 
 
 The dashing of the long sweeps in the water was now 
 plainly audible, and the little Ariel was seen through the 
 gloom, moving heavily under their feeble impulse. As she 
 passed slowly under the stern of the frigate, the cheerful 
 voice of Barnstable was first heard, opening the commu 
 nications between them. 
 
 "Here s a night for spectacles, Captain Munson !" he 
 cried ; " but I thought I heard your fife, sir. I trust, in 
 God, you do not mean to ride it out here till morning?" 
 
 " I like the berth as little as yourself, Mr. Barnstable," 
 returned the veteran seaman, in his calm manner, in which 
 anxiety was, however, beginning to grow evident. " We 
 are short ; but are afraid to let go our hold of the bot 
 tom, lest the sea cast us ashore. How make you out the 
 wind ?" 
 
THE P2LOT. 37 
 
 "Wind!" echoed the other; "there is riot enough to 
 blow a lady s curl aside. If you wait, sir, till the land- 
 breeze fills your sails, you will wait another moon. I be 
 lieve I ve got my egg-shell out of that nest of gray-caps ; 
 but how it has been done in the dark, a better man than 
 myself must explain." 
 
 "Take your directions from the pilot, Mr. Barnstable," 
 returned his commanding officer, " and follow them strictly 
 and to the letter." 
 
 A death-like silence, in both vessels, succeeded this 
 order ; for all seemed to listen eagerly to catch the words 
 that fell from the man on whom even the boys now felt, 
 depended their only hopes for safety. A short time was 
 suffered to elapse, before his voice was heard, in the same 
 low, but distinct tones as before : 
 
 " Your sweeps will soon be of no use to you," he said, 
 "against the sea that begins to heave in ; but your light 
 sails will help them to get you out. So long as you can head 
 east-and-by-north, you are doing well, and you can stand 
 on until you open the light from that northern headland, 
 when you can heave-to, and fire a gun ; but if, as I dread, 
 you are struck aback before you open the light, you may 
 trust to your lead on the larboard tack; but beware, 
 with your head to the southward, for no lead will serve 
 you there." 
 
 " I can walk over the same ground on one tack as on 
 the other," said Barnstable, "and make both legs of a 
 length." 
 
 "It will not do," returned the pilot. " If you fall off a 
 point to starboard from east-and-by-north, in going large, 
 you will find both rocks and points of shoals to bring you 
 up ; and beware, as I tell you, of the starboard tack." 
 
 " And how shall I find my way ? You will let me trust 
 to neither time, lead, nor log." 
 
 " You must trust to a quick eye and a ready hand. The 
 breakers will only show you the dangers when you are not 
 able to make out the bearings of the land. Tack in season, 
 sir, and don t spare the lead when you head to port." 
 
 " Ay, ay," returned Barnstable, in a low, muttering 
 voice. " This is a sort of blind navigation, with a ven 
 geance, and all for no purpose that I can see. See ! 
 damme, eyesight is of about as much use now as a man s 
 nose would be in reading the Bible." 
 
 " Softly, softly, Mr. Barnstable," interrupted his 
 
tf THE PILOT. 
 
 mander for such was the anxious stillness in both vessels 
 that even the rattling of the schooner s rigging was heard, 
 as she rolled in the trough of the sea " the duty on which 
 Congress has sent us must be performed, at the hazard oi 
 our lives." 
 
 " I don t mind my life, Captain Munson," said Barn- 
 stable, " but there s a great want of conscience in trusting 
 a vessel in such a place as this. However, it is a time to 
 do, and not to talk. But if there be such danger to an 
 easy draught of water, what will become of the frigate ? 
 Had I not better play jackal, and try and feel the way for 
 you ? " 
 
 " I thank you," said the pilot ; " the offer is generous, 
 but would avail us nothing. I have the advantage of 
 knowing the ground well, and must trust to my memory 
 and God s good favor. Make sail, make sail, sir, and, if 
 3 r ou succeed, we will venture to break ground." 
 
 The order was promptly obeyed, and in a very short time 
 the Ariel was covered with canvas. Though no air was 
 perceptible on the decks of the frigate, the little schooner 
 was so light that she succeeded in stemming her way over 
 the rising waves, aided a little by the tide ; and in a few 
 minutes her low hull was just discernible in the streak of 
 light along the horizon, with the dark outline of her sails 
 rising above the sea, until their fanciful summits were lost 
 in the shadows of the clouds. 
 
 Griffith had listened to the foregoing dialogue, like the 
 rest of the junior officers, in profound silence ; but when 
 the Ariel began to grow indistinct to the eye, he jumped 
 lightly from the gun to the deck, and cried : 
 
 " She slips off like a vessel from the stocks ! Shall I 
 trip the anchor, sir, and follow ?" 
 
 "We have no choice," replied his captain. "You hear 
 the question, Mr. Gray ? Shall we let go the bottom ? " 
 
 " It must be done, Captain Munson ; we may want more 
 drift than the rest of this tide to get us to a place of 
 safety," said the pilot. " I would give five years from a 
 life that I know will be short if the ship lay one mile farther 
 seaward." 
 
 This remark was unheard by all except the commander 
 of the frigate, who again walked aside with the pilot, where 
 they resumed their mysterious communications. The 
 words of assent were no sooner uttered, however, than 
 Griffith gave forth from his trumpet the command to 
 
THE PILOT. 39 
 
 "heave away ! " Again the strains of the fife were followed 
 by the tread of the men at the capstan. At the same time 
 that the anchor was heaving up the sails were loosened 
 from the yards and opened to invite the breeze. In effect 
 ing this duty, orders were thundered through the trumpet 
 of the first-lieutenant, and executed with the rapidity of 
 thought. Men were to be seen, like spots in the dim light 
 from the heavens, lying on every yard, or hanging as in 
 air, while strange cries were heard issuing from every part 
 of the rigging and each spar of the vessel. " Ready the 
 fore-royal ! " cried a shrill voice, as if from the clouds ; 
 " Ready the fore-yard ! " uttered the hoarser tones of a 
 seaman beneath him ; " All ready aft, sir ! " cried a third 
 from another quarter ; and in a few moments the order 
 was given to "let fall." 
 
 The little light which fell from the sky was now exclud 
 ed by the falling canvas, and a deeper gloom was cast 
 athwart the decks of the ship, that served to render the 
 brilliancy of the lanterns even vivid, while it gave to ob 
 jects out-board a more appalling and dreary appearance 
 than before. 
 
 Every individual, excepting the commander and his as 
 sociate, was now earnestly engaged in getting the ship 
 under way. The sounds of " We re away " were repeated 
 by a burst from fifty voices, and the rapid evolutions of 
 the capstan announced that nothing but the weight of the 
 anchor was to be lifted. The hauling of cordage, the rat 
 tling of blocks, blended with the shrill calls of the boat 
 swain and his mates, succeeded ; and though to a landsman 
 all would have appeared confusion and hurry, long prac 
 tice and strict discipline enabled the crew to exhibit their 
 ship under a cloud of canvas, from her deck to the trucks, 
 in less time than we have consumed in relating it. 
 
 For a few minutes the officers were not disappointed by 
 the result, for, though the heavy sails flapped lazily 
 against the masts, the light duck on the loftier spars 
 swelled outwardly, and the ship began sensibly to yield to 
 their influence. 
 
 " She travels ! she travels ! " exclaimed Griffith, joy 
 ously. " Ah, the hussy ; she has as much antipathy to the 
 land as any fish that swims ! It blows a little gale aloft 
 yet ?" 
 
 " We feel its dying breath," said the pilot, in low, sooth 
 ing tones, but in a manner so sudden as to startle Griffith, 
 
40 THE PILLT. 
 
 at whose elbow they were unexpectedly tittered. "Let us 
 forget, young man, everything but the number of lives that 
 depend this night on your exertions and my knowledge." 
 
 " If you be but half as able to exhibit the one as I am 
 willing to make the other, we shall do well," returned the 
 lieutenant in the same tone. " Remember, whatever may 
 be your feelings, that we are on the enemy s coast, and 
 love it not enough to wish to lay our bones here." 
 
 With this brief explanation they separated, the vessel re 
 quiring the constant arid close attention of the officers tc 
 her movements. 
 
 The exultation produced in the crew by the progress of 
 their ship through the water was of short duration, for the 
 breeze that had seemed to await their motions, after forc 
 ing the vessel for a quarter of a mile, fluttered for a few T 
 minutes amid their light canvas, and then left them entire 
 ly. The quartermaster, whose duty it was to superintend 
 the helm, soon announced that he w r as losing the command 
 of the vessel, as she was no longer obedient to her rudder. 
 This ungrateful intelligence was promptly communicated 
 to his commander by Griffith, who suggested the propriety 
 of again dropping an anchor. 
 
 " I refer you to Mr. Gray," returned the captain ; "he 
 is the pilot, sir, and with him rests the safety of the 
 vessel." 
 
 " Pilots sometimes lose ships as well as save them," said 
 Griffith. " Know you the man well, Captain Munson, who 
 holds all our lives in his keeping, and so coolly as if he 
 cared but little for the venture ? " 
 
 " Mr. Griffith, I do know him ; he is, in my opinion, 
 both competent and faithful. This much I tell you, to re 
 lieve your anxiety ; more you must not ask. But is there 
 not a shift of wind?" 
 
 "God forbid!" exclaimed the lieutenant; "if that 
 northeaster catches us within the shoals, our case will be 
 desperate indeed ! " 
 
 The heavy rolling of the vessel caused an occasional ex 
 pansion, and as sudden a reaction, in their sails, which 
 left the oldest seaman in the ship in doubt which way the 
 currents of air were passing, or whether there existed any 
 that were not created by the flapping of their own canvas. 
 The head of the ship, however, began to fall off from the 
 sea, and notwithstanding the darkness, it soon became ap 
 parent that she was driving in bodily toward the shore. 
 
THE PILOT. 41 
 
 During these few minutes of gloomy doubt, Griffith, by 
 one of those sudden revulsions of the mind that connect 
 the opposite extremes of feeling, lost his animated anxi 
 ety, and relapsed into the listless apathy that so often 
 came over him, even in the most critical moments of trial 
 and danger. He was standing with one elbow resting on 
 his capstan, shading his eyes from the light of the battle- 
 lantern that stood near him with one hand, when he felt a 
 gentle pressure of the other, that recalled his recollection. 
 Looking affectionately, though still recklessly, at the boy 
 who stood at his side, he said : 
 
 "Dull music, Mr. Merry." 
 
 " So dull, sir, that I can t dance to it," returned the 
 midshipman. "Nor do I believe there is a man in the 
 ship who would not rather hear The girl I left behind 
 me than those execrable sounds." 
 
 " What sounds, boy ? The ship is as quiet as the Quaker 
 meeting in the Jerseys, before your good old grandfather 
 used to break the charm of silence with his sonorous 
 voice." 
 
 " Ah ! laugh at my peaceable blood, if thou wilt, Mr. 
 Griffith," said the arch youngster ; "but remember, there 
 is a mixture of it in all sorts of veins. I wish I could hear 
 one of the old gentleman s chants now, sir ; I could always 
 sleep to them, like a gull in the surf. But he that sleeps 
 to-night, with that lullaby, will make a nap of it." 
 
 " Sounds ! I hear no sounds, boy, but the flapping aloft ; 
 even that pilot, who struts the quarter-deck like an ad 
 miral, has nothing to say." 
 
 " Is not that a sound to open a seaman s ear?" 
 
 " It is, in truth, a heavy roll of the surf, lad, but the 
 night air carries it heavily to our ears. Know you not the 
 sounds of the surf yet, yonker?" 
 
 " I know it too well, Mr. Griffith, and do not wish to 
 know it better. How fast are we tumbling in toward that 
 surf, sir ? " 
 
 "I think we hold our own," said Griffith, rousing again ; 
 " though we had better anchor. Luff, fellow, luff you 
 are broadside to the sea ! " 
 
 The man at the wheel repeated his former intelligence, 
 adding a suggestion that he thought the ship was " gath 
 ering stern-way." 
 
 "Haul up your courses, Mr. Griffith," said Captain 
 Munson, "and let us feel the wind." 
 
42 THE PILOT. 
 
 The rattling of the blocks was soon heard, and the 
 enormous sheets of canvas that hung from the lower 
 yards were instantly suspended "in the brails." When 
 this change was effected, all on board stood silent and 
 breathless, as if expecting to learn their fate by the re 
 sult. Several contradictory opinions were at length haz 
 arded among the officers, when Griffith seized the can 
 dle from the lantern, and, springing on one of the guns, 
 held it on high, exposed to the action of the air. The 
 little flame waved, with uncertain glimmering, for a mo 
 ment, and then burned steadily, in a line with the masts. 
 Griffith was about to lower his extended arm, when, feel 
 ing a slight sensation of coolness on his hand, he paused, 
 and the light turned slowly toward the land, flared, flick 
 ered, and finally deserted the wick. 
 
 " Lose not a moment, Mr. Griffith," cried the pilot 
 aloud ; " clew up and furl everything but your three top 
 sails, and let them be double-reefed. Now is the time to 
 fulfil your promise." 
 
 The young man paused one moment in astonishment, 
 as the clear, distinct tones of the stranger struck on his 
 ears so unexpectedly ; but, turning his eyes to seaward, he 
 sprang on the deck, and proceeded to obey the order, as 
 if life and death depended on his dispatch. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 "She rights ! she rights, boys ! ware off shore ! " Song. 
 
 THE extraordinary activity of Griffith, which communi 
 cated itself with promptitude to the crew, w r as produced by 
 a sudden alteration in the weather. In place of the well- 
 defined streak along the horizon, that has been already 
 described, an immense body of misty light appeared to be 
 moving in, with rapidity, from the ocean, while a distinct 
 but distant roaring announced the sure approach of the 
 tempest that had so long troubled the waters. Even Grif 
 fith, while thundering his orders through the trumpet, and 
 urging the men, by his cries, to expedition, would pause 
 for instants to cast anxious glances in the direction of the 
 coming storm ; and the faces of the sailors who lay on the 
 yards were turned instinctively toward the same quarter 
 
THE PILOT. 43 
 
 of the heavens, while they knotted the reef points, or 
 passed the gaskets that were to confine the unruiy canvas 
 to the prescribed limits 
 
 The pilot alone, in that confused and busy throng, 
 where voice rose above voice, and cry echoed cry, in quick 
 succession, appeared as if he held no interest in the im 
 portant stake. With his eyes steadily fixed on the ap 
 proaching mist, and his arms folded together in com 
 posure, he stood calmly waiting the result. 
 
 The ship had fallen off, with her broadside to the sea, 
 and was become unmanageable, and the sails were already 
 brought into the folds necessary to her security, when the 
 quick and heavy fluttering of canvas was thrown across the 
 water, with all the gloomy and chilling sensations that 
 such sounds produce where darkness and danger unite 
 to appall the seaman. 
 
 " The schooner has it ! " cried Griffith : " Barnstable has 
 held on, like himself, to the last moment. God send that 
 the squall leave him cloth enough to keep him from the 
 shore !" 
 
 " His sails are easily handled," the commander observed, 
 "and she must be over the principal danger. We are fall 
 ing off before it, Mr. Gray ; shall we try a cast of the lead ?" 
 
 The pilot turned from his contemplative posture, and 
 moved slowly across the deck before he returned any re 
 ply to this question like a man who not only felt that 
 everything depended on himself, but that he was equal to 
 the emergency. 
 
 " Tis unnecessary," he at length answered ; " twould be 
 certain destruction to be taken aback ; and it is difficult to 
 say, within several points, how the wind may strike us." 
 
 " Tis difficult no longer," cried Griffith; "for here it 
 comes, and in right earnest!" 
 
 The rushing sounds of the wind were now, indeed, heard 
 at hand, and the words were hardly passed the lips of the 
 young lieutenant, before the vessel bowed down heavily to 
 one side, and then, as she began to move through the 
 water, rose again majestically to her upright position, as if 
 saluting, like a courteous champion, the powerful antago 
 nist with which she was about to contend. Not another 
 minute elapsed before the ship was throwing the waters 
 aside, with a lively progress, and, obedient to her helm, 
 was brought as near to the desired course as the direction 
 of the wind would allow. The hurry and bustle on the 
 
44 THE PILOT. 
 
 yards gradually subsided, and the men slowly descended 
 to the deck, all straining their eyes to pierce the gloom in 
 which they were enveloped, and some shaking their heads 
 in melancholy doubt, afraid to express the apprehensions 
 they really entertained. All on board anxiously waited for 
 the fury of the gale ; for there were none so ignorant or 
 inexperienced in that gallant frigate as not to know that 
 as yet they only felt the infant effects of the wind. Each 
 moment, however, it increased in power, though so gradual 
 was the alteration that the relieved mariners began to 
 believe that all their gloomy forebodings were not to be 
 realized. During this short interval of uncertainty, no 
 other sounds were heard than the whistling of the breeze, 
 as it passed quickly through the mass of rigging that 
 belonged to the vessel, and the dashing of the spray that 
 began to fly from her bows, like the foam of a cataract. 
 
 " It blows fresh," cried Griffith, who was the first to 
 speak in that moment of doubt and anxiety ; " but it is no 
 more than a capful of wind after all. Give us elbow-room, 
 and the right canvas, Mr. Pilot, and I ll handle the ship 
 like a gentleman s yacht, in this breeze." 
 
 " Will she stay, think ye, under this sail ?" said the low 
 voice of the stranger. 
 
 "She will do all that man, in reason, can ask of wood 
 and iron," returned the lieutenant ; "but the vessel don t 
 float the ocean that will tack under double-reefed topsails 
 alone, against a heavy sea. Help her with the courses, 
 pilot, and you shall see her come round like a dancing- 
 master." 
 
 " Let us feel the strength of the gale first," returned the 
 man who was called Mr. Gray, moving from the side of 
 Griffith to the weather gangway of the vessel, where he 
 stood in silence, looking ahead of the ship, with an air of 
 singular coolness and abstraction. 
 
 All the lanterns had been extinguished on the deck of 
 the frigate, when her anchor was secured, and, as the first 
 mist of the gale had passed over, it was succeeded by a 
 faint light that was a good deal aided by the glittering- 
 foam of the waters, which now broke in white curls around 
 the vessel in every direction. The land could be faintly 
 discerned, rising like a heavy bank of black fog above the 
 margin of the waters, and was only distinguishable from 
 the heavens by its deeper gloom and obscurity. The last 
 rope was coiled, and deposited in its proper place by the 
 
THE PILOT. 45 
 
 seamen, and for several minutes the stillness of death per 
 vaded the crowded decks. It was evident to every one that 
 their ship was dashing at a prodigious rate through the 
 waves ; and as she was approaching, with such velocity, 
 the quarter of the bay where the shoals and dangers were 
 known to be situated, nothing but the habits of the most 
 exact discipline could suppress the uneasiness of the 
 officers and men within their own bosoms. At length the 
 voice of Captain Munson was heard, calling to the pilot. 
 
 " Shall I send a hand into the chains, Mr. Gray," he said, 
 " and try our water ? " 
 
 Although this question was asked aloud, and the interest 
 it excited drew many of the officers and men around him 
 in eager impatience for his answer, it was unheeded by the 
 man to whom it was addressed. His head rested on his 
 hand as he leaned over the hammock-cloths of the vessel, 
 and his whole air was that of one whose thoughts wan 
 dered from the pressing necessity of their situation. Grif 
 fith was among those who had approached the pilot ; and 
 after waiting a moment, from respect, to hear the answer 
 to his commander s question, he .presumed on his own 
 rank, and, leaving the circle that stood at a little distance, 
 stepped to the side of the mysterious guardian of their 
 lives. 
 
 " Captain Munson desires to know whether you wish a 
 cast of the lead ? " said the young officer, with a little im 
 patience of manner. No immediate answer was made to 
 this repetition of the question, and Griffith laid his hand 
 unceremoniously on the shoulder of the other, with an in 
 tent to rouse him -before he made another application for 
 a reply, but the convulsive start of the. pilot held him 
 silent in amazement. 
 
 " Fall back there," said the lieutenant, sternly, to the 
 men, who were closing around them in a compact circle ; 
 " away with you to your stations, and see all clear for 
 stays ! The dense mass of heads dissolved, at this order, 
 like the water of one of the waves commingling with the 
 ocean, and the lieutenant and his companions were left by 
 themselves. 
 
 " This is not a time for musing, Mr. Gray," continued 
 Griffith ; " remember our compact, and look to your charge 
 is it not time to put the vessel in stays ? Of what are 
 you dreaming?" 
 
 The pilot laid his hand on the extended arm of the 
 
\f> THE PILOT. 
 
 lieutenant, and grasped it with a convulsive pressure, ati 
 he answered : 
 
 " Tis a dream of reality. You are young, Mr. Griffith, 
 nor am I past the noon of life ; but, should you live fifty 
 years longer, you can never see and experience what I 
 have encountered in my little period of three-and-thirty 
 years ! " 
 
 A good deal astonished at this burst of feeling, so singu 
 lar at such a moment, the young sailor was at a loss for a 
 reply ; but, as his duty was uppermost in his thoughts, he 
 still dwelt on the theme that most interested him. 
 
 " I hope much of your experience has been on this coast, 
 for the ship travels lively," he said, " and the daylight 
 showed us so much to dread, that we do not feel over-val 
 iant in the dark. How much longer shall we stand on, 
 upon this tack ?" 
 
 The pilot turned slowly from the side of the vessel, and 
 walked toward the commander of the frigate, as he replied, 
 in a tone that seemed deeply agitated by his melancholy 
 reflections : 
 
 " You have your wish, then ; much, very much of my 
 early life was passed on this dreaded coast. What to you 
 is all darkness and gloom, to me is as light as if a noon 
 day sun shone upon it. But tack your ship, sir, tack your 
 ship ; I would see how she works before we reach the 
 point where she must behave well, or we perish ! " 
 
 Griffith gazed at him in wonder, while the pilot slowly 
 paced the quarter-deck, and then, rousing from his trance, 
 gave forth the cheering order that called each man to his 
 station, to perform the desired evolution. The confident 
 assurances which the young officer had given to the pilot 
 respecting the qualities of his vessel, and his own ability 
 to manage her, were fully realized by the result. The 
 helm was no sooner put a-lee, than the huge ship bore up 
 gallantly against the wind, and, dashing directly through 
 the waves, threw the foam high into the air, as she looked 
 boldly into the very eye of the wind: and then, yielding 
 gracefully to its power, she fell off on the other tack, with 
 her head pointed from those dangerous shoals that she 
 had so recently approached with such terrifying velocity 
 The heavy yards swung round, as if they had been vanes 
 to indicate the currents of the air ; and in a few moment? 
 the frigate again moved, with stately progress, through 
 the water, leaving the rocks and shoals behind her on one 
 
THE PILO7. 4? 
 
 of the bay, but advancing toward those that offered 
 equal danger on the other. 
 
 During this time the sea was becoming more agitated, 
 and the violence of the wind was gradually increasing. 
 The latter no longer whistled amid the cordage of the ves 
 sel, but it seemed to howl, surlily, as it passed the com 
 plicated machinery that the frigate obtruded on its path. 
 An endless succession of white surges rose above the 
 heavy billows, and the very air was glittering with the 
 light that was disengaged from the ocean. The ship yielded, 
 each moment, more and more before the storm, and, in 
 less than half an hour from the time that she had lifted 
 her anchor, she was driven along with tremendous fury 
 by the full power of the gale of wind. Still, the hardy and 
 experienced mariners who directed her movements, held 
 her to the course that was necessary to their preservation, 
 and still Griffith gave forth, when directed by their un 
 known pilot, those orders that turned her in the narrow 
 channel where alone safety was to be found. 
 
 So far, the performance of his duty appeared easy to 
 the stranger, and he gave the required directions in those 
 still, calm tones, that formed so remarkable a contrast to 
 the responsibility of his situation. But when the land 
 was becoming dim, in distance as well as darkness, and the 
 agitated sea alone was to be discovered as it swept by them 
 in foam, he broke in upon the monotonous roaring of the 
 tempest with the sounds of his voice, seeming to shake off 
 his apathy, and rouse himself to the occasion. 
 
 " Now is the time to watch her closely, Mr. Griffith," 
 he cried : " here we get the true tide and the real danger. 
 Place the best quartermaster of your ship in those chains, 
 and let an officer stand by him, and see that he gives us 
 the right water." 
 
 " I will take that office on myself," said the captain ; 
 " pass a light into the weather main-chains." 
 
 " Stand by your braces ! " exclaimed the pilot, with 
 startling quickness. " Heave away that lead ! " 
 
 These preparations taught the crew to expect the crisis, 
 and every officer and man stood in fearful silence, at his 
 assigned station, awaiting the issue of the trial. Even the 
 quartermaster at the curi gave out his orders to the men at 
 the wheel, in deeper and hoarser tones than usual, as if 
 anxious not to disturb the quiet and order of the vessel. 
 
 While this deep expectation pervaded the frigate, the 
 
48 THE PILOT. 
 
 piercing cry of the leadsman, as he called, " By the mark 
 seven," rose above the tempest, crossed over the decks, 
 and appeared to pass away to leeward, borne on the blast 
 like the warnings .of some water-spirit 
 
 " "Pis well," returned the pilot, calmly ; " try it again." 
 
 The short pause was succeeded by another cry, "And 
 a half five ! " 
 
 "She shoals! she shoals!" exclaimed Griffith; "keep 
 her a good full." 
 
 " Ay ! you must hold the vessel in command, now," said 
 the pilot, with those cool tones that are most appalling in 
 critical moments, because they seem to denote most prep^ 
 aration and care. 
 
 The third call, " By the deep four ! " was followed by a 
 prompt direction from the stranger to tack. 
 
 Griffith seemed to emulate the coolness of the pilot, in 
 issuing the necessary orders to execute this manoeuvre. 
 
 The vessel rose slowly from the inclined position into 
 which she had been forced by the tempest, and the sails 
 were shaking violently, as if to release themselves from 
 their confinement, while the ship stemmed the billows, 
 when the well-known voice of the sailing-master was heard 
 shouting from the forecastle: 
 
 " Breakers ! breakers, dead ahead! " 
 
 This appalling sound seemed yet to be lingering about 
 the ship, when a second voice cried : 
 
 " Breakers on our lee-bow !" 
 
 " We are in a bight of the shoals, Mr. Gray," cried the 
 commander. "She loses her way; perhaps an anchor 
 might hold her." 
 
 " Clear away that best bower ! " shouted Griffith, through 
 his trumpet. 
 
 "Hold on!" cried the pilot, in a voice that reached 
 the very hearts of all who heard him ; " hold on every 
 thing." 
 
 The young man turned fiercely to the daring stranger 
 who thus defied the discipline of his vessel, and at once de 
 manded: 
 
 " Who is it that dares to countermand my orders ? Is it 
 not enough that you run the ship into danger, but you 
 must interfere to keep her there ? If another word 
 
 " Peace, Mr. Griffith," interrupted the captain, bending 
 from the rigging, his gray locks blowing about in the wind, 
 and adding a look of wildness to the haggard care that he 
 
THE PILOT. 49 
 
 exhibited by the light of his lantern ; " yield the trumpet 
 to Mr. Gray ; he alone can save us." 
 
 Griffith threw his speaking-trumpet on the deck, and, as 
 he walked proudly away, muttered, in bitterness of feeling : 
 
 Then all is lost, indeed ! and among the rest the fool 
 ish hopes with which I visited this coast." 
 
 There was, however, no time for reply ; the ship had 
 been rapidly running into the wind, and as the efforts of 
 the crew were paralyzed by the contradictory orders they 
 had heard, she gradually lost her way, and in a few sec 
 onds all her sails were taken aback. 
 
 Before the crew understood their situation, the pilot had 
 applied the trumpet to his mouth, and, in a voice that rose 
 above the tempest, he thundered forth his orders. Each 
 command was given distinctly and with a precision that 
 showed him to be master of his profession. The helm 
 was kept fast, the head-yards swung up heavily against 
 the wind, and the vessel was soon whirling round on her 
 heel, with a retrograde movement. 
 
 Griffith was too much of a seaman not to perceive that 
 the pilot had seized, with a perception almost intuitive, 
 the only method that promised to extricate the vessel from 
 her situation. He was young, impetuous and proud but 
 he was also generous. Forgetting his resentment and his 
 mortification, he rushed forward among the men, and, by 
 his presence and example, added certainty to the experi 
 ment. The ship fell off slowly before the gale, and bowed 
 her yards nearly to the water, as she felt the blast pouring 
 its fury on her broadside, while the surly waves beat vio 
 lently against her stern, as if in reproach at departing from 
 her usual manner of moving. 
 
 The voice of the pilot, however, was still heard, stead v 
 and calm, and yet so clear and high as to reach every ear ; 
 and the obedient seamen whirled the yards at his bidding, 
 in despite of the tempest, as if they handled the toys of 
 their childhood. When the ship had fallen off dead before 
 the wind, her head-sails were shaken, her after-yards 
 trimmed, and her helm shifted, before she had time to run 
 upon the danger that had threatened, as well to leeward as 
 to windward. The beautiful fabric, obedient to her gov 
 ernment, threw her bows up gracefully toward the wind 
 again, and, as her sails were trimmed, moved out from 
 among the dangerous shoals in which she had been em 
 bayed, as steadily and swiftly as she had approached them. 
 4 
 
50 THE PILOT. 
 
 A moment of breathless astonishment succeeded the aa 
 complishment of this nice manoeuvre, but there was no time 
 for the usual expressions of surprise. The stranger still 
 held the trumpet, and continued to lift his voice amid the 
 howlings of the blast, whenever prudence or skill required 
 any change in the management of the ship. For an hour 
 longer there was a fearful struggle for their preservation, 
 the channel becoming at each step more complicated, and 
 the shoals thickening around the mariners on every side. 
 The lead was cast rapidly, and the quick eye of the pilot 
 seemed to pierce the darkness with a keenness of vision 
 that exceeded human power. It was apparent to all in the 
 vessel that they were under the guidance of one who un 
 derstood the navigation thoroughly, and their exertions 
 kept pace with their reviving confidence. Again and 
 again the frigate appeared to be rushing blindly on shoals 
 where the sea was covered with foam, and where destruc 
 tion would have been as sudden as it was certain, when the 
 clear voice of the stranger was heard warning them of the 
 danger, and inciting them to their duty. The vessel was 
 implicitly yielded to his government ; and during those 
 anxious moments when she was dashing the waters aside, 
 throwing the spray over her enormous yards, each ear 
 would listen eagerly for those sounds that had obtained a 
 command over the crew, that can only be acquired under 
 such circumstances, by great steadiness and consummate 
 skill- The ship was recovering from the inaction of 
 changing her course, in one of those critical tacks that she 
 had made so often, when the pilot, for the first time, ad 
 dressed the commander of the frigate, who still continued 
 to superintend the all-important duty of the leadsman. 
 
 "Now is the pinch," he said, "and if the ship behaves 
 well, we are safe ; but, if otherwise, all we have yet done 
 will be useless." 
 
 The veteran seaman whom he addressed, left the chains 
 at this portentous notice, and, calling to his first-lieutenant, 
 required of the stranger an explanation of his warning. 
 
 " See you yon light on the southern headland ? " re 
 turned the pilot ; " you may know it from the star near it 
 by its sinking, at times, in the ocean. Now observe the 
 hom-moc, a little north of it, looking like a shadow in the 
 horizon tis a hill far inland. If we keep that light open 
 from the hill, we shall do well ; but if not, we shall surely 
 go to pieces." 
 
THE PILOT. 51 
 
 " Let us tack again ! " exclaimed the lieutenant. 
 
 The pilot shook his head, as he replied : 
 
 "There is no more tacking or box-hauling to be done 
 to-night. We have barely room to pass out of the shoals 
 on this course ; and, if we can weather the Devil s Grip, 
 we clear their uttermost point ; but if not, as I said before, 
 there is but an alternative." 
 
 " If we had beaten out the way we entered," exclaimed 
 Griffith, "we should have done well." 
 
 "Say, also, if the tide would have let us do so," returned 
 the pilot, calmly. " Gentlemen, we must be prompt ; we 
 have but a mile to go, and the ship appears to fly. That 
 topsail is not enough to keep her up to the wind ; we want 
 both jib and mainsail." 
 
 " Tis a perilous thing to loosen canvas in such a tem 
 pest ! " observed the doubtful captain. 
 
 " It must be done," returned the collected stranger ; 
 tl we perish without it see ! the light already touches the 
 edge of the hom-moc ; the sea casts us to leeward ! " 
 
 " It shall be done ! " cried Griffith, seizing the trumpet 
 from the hand of the pilot. 
 
 The orders of the lieutenant were executed almost as 
 soon as issued ; and, everything being ready, the enor 
 mous folds of the mainsails were trusted loose to the 
 blast. There was an instant when the result was doubt 
 ful ; the tremendous threshing of the heavy sail seemed 
 to bid defiance to all restraint, shaking the ship to her 
 centre ; but art and strength prevailed, and gradually the 
 canvas was distended, and, bellying as it filled, was drawn 
 down to its usual place by the power of a hundred men. 
 The vessel yielded to this immense addition of force, and 
 bowed before it like a reed bending to a breeze. But the suc 
 cess of the measure was announced by a joyful cry from the 
 stranger, that seemed to burst from his inmost soul. 
 
 " She feels it ! she springs her luff! observe," he said, 
 " the light opens from the hom-moc already : if she will 
 only bear her canvas, we shall go clear ! " 
 
 A report, like that of a cannon, interrupted his excla 
 mation, and something resembling a white cloud was seen 
 drifting before the wind from the head of the ship, till ir 
 was driven into the gloom far to leeward. 
 
 " Tis the jib, blown from the bolt ropes," said the com 
 mander of the frigate. "This is no time to spread light 
 duck but the mainsail may stand it yet." 
 
5 2 THE PILOT. 
 
 " The sail would laugh at a tornado," returned the lieu- 
 tenant ; " but the mast springs like a piece of steel." 
 
 " Silence all ! " cried the pilot. " Now, gentlemen, we 
 shall soon know our fate. Let her luff luff you can ! " 
 
 This warning effectually closed all discourse ; and the 
 hardy mariners, knowing that they had already done all in 
 the power of man to insure their safety, stood in breath 
 less anxiety, awaiting the result. At a short distance ahead 
 of them the whole ocean was white with foam, and the 
 waves, instead of rolling on in regular succession, appeared 
 to be tossing about in mad gambols. A single streak of 
 dark billows, not half a cable s length in width, could be 
 discerned running into this chaos of water; but it was 
 soon lost to the eye amid the confusion of the disturbed 
 element. Along this narrow path the vessel moved more 
 heavily than before, being brought so near the wind as to 
 keep her sails touching. The pilot silently proceeded to 
 the wheel, and with his own hands, he undertook the steer 
 age of the ship. No noise proceeded from the frigate to 
 interrupt the horrid tumult of the ocean ; and she entered 
 the channel among the breakers, with the silence of a des 
 perate calmness. Twenty times, as the foam rolled away 
 to leeward, the crew were on the eve of uttering their joy, 
 as they supposed the vessel past the danger ; but breaker 
 after breaker would still heave up before them, following 
 each other into the general mass, to check their exulta 
 tion. Occasionally the fluttering of the sails would be 
 heard ; and when the looks of the startled seamen were 
 turned to the wheel, they beheld the stranger grasping 
 the spokes, with his quick eye glancing from the water 
 to the canvas. At length the ship reached a point where 
 she appeared to be rushing directly into the jaws of de 
 struction, when suddenly her course was changed, and her 
 head receded rapidly from the wind. At the same instant 
 the voice of the pilot was heard shouting : 
 
 "Square away the yards ! in mainsail !" 
 
 A general burst from the crew echoed " Square away 
 the yards ! " and, quick as thought, the frigate was seen 
 gliding along the channel before the wind. The eye had 
 hardly time to dwell on the foam, which seemed like clouds 
 driving in the heavens, and directly the gallant vessel is 
 sued from her perils, and rose and fell on the heavy waves 
 of the sea. 
 
 The seaman were yet drawing long breaths, and gazing 
 
THE PILOT. 53 
 
 behind them like men recovered from a trance, when Grif 
 fith approached the man who had so successfully conduct 
 ed them through their perils. The lieutenant grasped the 
 hand of the other, as he said : 
 
 " You have this night proved yourself a faithful pilot, 
 and such a seaman as the world cannot equal." 
 
 The pressure of the hand was warmly returned by the 
 unknown mariner, who replied : 
 
 " I am no stranger to the seas, and I may yet find my 
 
 frave in them. But you, too, have deceived me ; you 
 ave acted nobly, young man, and Congress 
 " What of Congress ? " asked Griffith, observing him to 
 pause. 
 
 " Why, Congress is fortunate if it has many such ships 
 as this," said the stranger, coldly, walking away toward the 
 commander. 
 
 Griffith gazed after him a moment in surprise ; but, as 
 his duty required his attention, other thoughts soon engaged 
 his mind. 
 
 The vessel was pronounced to be in safety. The gale 
 was heavy and increasing, but there \vas a clear sea before 
 them, and, as she slowly stretched out into the bosom of 
 the ocean, preparations were made for her security during 
 its continuance. Before midnight everything was in order. 
 A gun from the Ariel soon announced the safety of the 
 schooner also, which had gone out by another and an 
 easier channel, that the frigate had not dared to attempt ; 
 when the commander directed the usual watch to be set 
 and the remainder of the crew to seek their necessary 
 repose. 
 
 The captain withdrew with the mysterious pilot to his 
 own cabin. Griffith gave his last order, and, renewing his 
 charge to the officer instructed with the care of the vessel, 
 he wished him a pleasant watch, and sought the refresh 
 ment of his own cot. For an hour the young lieutenant 
 lay musing on the events of the day. The remark of Barn- 
 stable would occur to him, in connection with the singular 
 comment of the boy ; and then his thoughts would recur 
 to the pilot, who, taken from the hostile shores of Britain, 
 and with her accent on his tongue, had served them so 
 faithfully and so well. He remembered the anxiety of 
 Captain Munson to procure this stranger, at the very haz 
 ard from which they had just been relieved, and puzzled 
 himself with conjecturing why a pilot was to be sought at 
 
54 THE PILOT. 
 
 such a risk. His more private feelings would then resume 
 their sway, and the recollection of America, his mistress 
 and his home mingled with the confused images of the 
 drowsy youth. The dashing of the billows against the side 
 of the ship, the creaking of guns and bulkheads, with the 
 roaring of the tempest, however, became gradually less and 
 less distinct, until nature yielded to necessity, and the 
 young man forgot even the romantic images of his love in 
 the deep sleep of a seaman. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " The letter ! ay ! the letter ! 
 Tis there a woman loves to speak her wishes ; 
 It spares the blushes of the love-sick maiden, 
 And every word s a smile, each line. a tongue." Duo. 
 
 THE slumbers of Griffith continued till late on the fol 
 lowing morning, when he was awakened by the report of 
 a cannon, issuing from the deck above him. He threw 
 himself listlessly from his cot, and, perceiving the officer 
 of marines near him as his servant opened the door of his 
 state-room, he inquired, with some little interest in his 
 manner, "if the ship was in chase of anything, that a gun 
 was fired ? " 
 
 " Tis no more than a hint to the Ariel," the soldier 
 replied, "that there is bunting abroad for them to read. 
 It seems as if all hands were asleep on board her, for we 
 have shown her signals these ten minutes, and she takes us 
 for a collier, I believe, by the respect she pays it." 
 
 " Say, rather, that she takes us for an enemy, and is 
 wary," returned Griffith. " Brown Dick has played the Eng 
 lish so many tricks himself that he is tender of his faith." 
 
 "Why, they have shown him a yellow flag over a blue 
 one, with a cornet, and that spells Ariel, in every signal- 
 book we have ; surely he can t suspect the English of 
 knowing how to read Yankee." 
 
 "I have known Yankees read more difficult English, 
 said Griffith, smiling; "but, in truth, I suppose that 
 Barnstable has been, like myself, keeping a dead reckon 
 ing of his time, and his men have profited by the occasion, 
 She is lying-to, I trust." 
 
THE PILOT. 55 
 
 "Ay! like a cork in a mill-pond, and I dare say you are 
 right. Give Barnstable plenty of sea room, a heavy wind, 
 and but little sail, and he will send his men below, put 
 that fellow he calls Long Tom at the tiller, and follow him 
 self, and sleep as quietly as I ever could at church." 
 
 "Ah! yours is a somniferous orthodoxy, Captain Man 
 ual," said the young sailor, laughing, while he slipped his 
 arms into the sleeves of a morning roundabout, covered 
 with the gilded trappings of his profession ; " sleep ap 
 pears to come most naturally to all you idlers. But give 
 me a passage, and I will go up, and call the schooner down 
 to us in the turning of an hour glass." 
 
 The indolent soldier raised himself from the leaning 
 posture he had taken against the door of the state-room, 
 and Griffith proceeded through the dark ward-room, up 
 the narrow stairs that led him to the principal battery of 
 the ship, and thence, by another and broader flight of 
 steps, to the open deck. 
 
 The gale still blew strong, but steadily ; the blue water 
 of the ocean was rising in mimic mountains, that were 
 crowned with white foam, which the wind at times lifted 
 from its kindred element to propel in mist, through the 
 air, from summit to summit. But the ship rode on these 
 agitated billows with an easy and regular movement that 
 denoted the skill with which her mechanical powers were 
 directed. The day was bright and clear, and the lazy sun, 
 who seemed unwilling to meet the toil of ascending to the 
 meridian, was crossing the heavens with a southern incli 
 nation that hardly allowed him to temper the moist air of 
 the ocean with his genial heat. At the distance of a mile, 
 directly in the wind s eye, the Ariel was seen, obeying the 
 signals which had caused the dialogue \ve have related. 
 Her low, black hull was barely discernible, at moments, 
 when she rose to the crest of a larger wave than common ; 
 but the spot of canvas that she exposed to the wind was 
 to be seen, seeming to touch the water on either hand, as 
 the little vessel rolled amid the seas. At times she was 
 entirely hid from view, when the faint lines of her raking 
 masts would be again discovered issuing, as it were, from 
 the ocean, and continuing to ascend, until the hull itself 
 would appear, thrusting its bows into the air, surrounded 
 by foam, and apparently ready to take its flight into 
 another element. 
 
 After dwelling a moment on the beautiful sight we have 
 
56 THE 
 
 attempted to describe, Griffith cast his eye upward, to ex 
 amine, with the keenness of a seaman, the disposition 
 of things aloft, and then turned his attention to those who 
 were on the deck of the frigate. 
 
 His commander stood, in his composed manner, patient 
 ly awaiting the execution of his order by the Ariel, and at 
 his side was placed the stranger who had so recently acted 
 such a conspicuous part in the management of the ship. 
 Griffith availed himself of daylight and his situation to 
 examine the appearance of this singular being more close 
 ly than the darkness and confusion of the preceding night 
 had allowed. He was a trifle below the middle size in 
 stature, but his form was muscular and athletic, exhibit 
 ing the finest proportions of manly beauty. His face ap 
 peared rather characterized by melancholy and thought, 
 than by that determined decision which he had so power 
 fully displayed in the moments of their most extreme 
 danger ; but Griffith well knew that it could also exhibit 
 looks of the fiercest impatience. At present, it appeared 
 to the curious youth, when compared to the glimpses he 
 had caught by the lights of their lanterns, like the ocean 
 at rest, contrasted with the waters around him. The eyes 
 of the pilot rested on the deck, or, when they did wander, 
 it was with uneasy and rapid glances. The large pea- 
 jacket that concealed most of his other attire, was as 
 roughly made, and of materials as coarse, as that worn by 
 the meanest seaman in the vessel ; and yet, it did not es 
 cape the inquisitive gaze of the young lieutenant, that it 
 was borne with an air of neatness and care that was alto 
 gether unusual in men of his profession. The examina 
 tion of Griffith encled here, for the near approach of the 
 Ariel attracted the attention of all on the deck of the 
 frigate to the conversation that was about to pass between 
 their respective commanders. 
 
 As the little schooner rolled along their stern, Captain 
 Munson directed his subordinate to leave his vessel and 
 repair on board the ship. As soon as the order was re 
 ceived, the Ariel rounded to, and, drawing ahead into the 
 smooth water occasioned by the huge fabric that protected 
 her from the gale, the \vhale-boat was again launched 
 from her decks, and manned by the same crew that had 
 landed on those shores which were now faintly discerned 
 far to leeward, looking like blue clouds on the skirts of the 
 ocean. 
 
THE PILOT. 57 
 
 When Barnstable had entered his boat, a few strokes 
 sent it, dancing over the waves, to the side of the ship. 
 The little vessel was then veered off to a distance, where it 
 rode in safety, under the care of a boat-keeper, and the 
 officer and his men ascended the side of the lofty frigate. 
 
 The usual ceremonials of reception were rigidly observed 
 by Griffith and his juniors, when Barnstable touched the 
 deck ; and, though every hand was ready to be extended 
 :oward the reckless seaman, none presumed to exceed the 
 salutations of official decorum, until a short and private 
 dialogue had taken place between him and the captain. 
 
 In the meantime, the crew of the whale-boat passed for 
 ward, and mingled with the seamen of the frigate, with the 
 exception of the cockswain, who established himself in one 
 of the gangways, where he stood in the utmost composure, 
 fixing his eyes aloft, and shaking his head, in evident dis 
 satisfaction, as he studied the complicated mass of rigging 
 above him. This spectacle soon attracted to his side some 
 half-dozen youths, with Mr. Merry at their head, who en 
 deavored to entertain their guest in a manner that should 
 most conduce to the indulgence of their own waggish 
 propensities. 
 
 The conversation between Barnstable and his superior 
 soon ended ; when the former, beckoning to Griffith, 
 passed the wondering group who had collected around the 
 capstan, awaiting his leisure to greet him more cordially, 
 and led the way to the ward-room with the freedom of one 
 who felt himself no stranger. As this unsocial manner 
 formed no part of the natural temper or ordinary deport 
 ment of the man, the remainder of the officers suffered 
 their first-lieutenant to follow him alone, believing that 
 duty required that their interview should be private. Barn- 
 stable was determined that it should be so, at all events ; 
 for he seized the lamp from the mess-table, and entered 
 the state-room of his friend, closing the door behind them, 
 and turning the key. When they were both within its 
 narrow limits pointing to the only chair the little apart 
 ment contained, with a sort of instinctive deference to his 
 companion s rank the commander of the schooner threw 
 himself carelessly on a sea-chest ; and, placing the lamp 
 on the table, he opened the discourse as follows : 
 
 " What a night we had of it ! Twenty times I thought I 
 could see the sea breaking over you ; and I had given you 
 over as drowned men, or, what is worse, as men driven 
 
5 8 THE PILOT. 
 
 ashore, to be led to the prison ships of these islanders, 
 when I saw your lights in answer to my gun. Had you 
 hoisted the conscience of a murderer, you wouldn t have 
 relieved him more than you did me, by showing that bit 
 of tallow and cotton, tipped with flint and steel. But, 
 Griffith, I have a tale to tell of a different kind 
 
 "Of how you slept when you found yourself in deep 
 water, and how your crew strove to outdo their com 
 mander, and how all succeeded so well, that there was a 
 gray head on board here that began to shake with dis 
 pleasure," interrupted Griffith ; " truly, Dick, you will get 
 into lubberly habits on board that bubble in which you 
 float about, where all hands go to sleep as regularly as the 
 inhabitants of a poultry-yard go to roost." 
 
 "Not so bad, not half so bad, Ned," returned the other, 
 laughing ; " I keep as sharp a discipline as if we wore a 
 flag. To be sure, forty men can t make as much parade 
 as three or four hundred ; but, as for making or taking in 
 sail, I am your better any day." 
 
 " Ay, because a pocket-handkerchief is sooner opened 
 and shut than a table-cloth. But I hold it to be unsea- 
 manlike to leave any vessel without human eyes, and those 
 open, to watch whether she goes east or west, north or 
 south." 
 
 " And who is guilty of such a dead man s watch ? " 
 
 "Why, they say aboard here, that, when it blows hard, 
 you seat the man you call Long Tom by the side of the 
 tiller, tell him to keep her head to sea, and then pipe all 
 hands to their nightcaps, where you all remain, comfort 
 ably stowed in your hammocks, until you are awakened by 
 the snoring of your helmsman." 
 
 " Tis a damned scandalous insinuation," cried Barn- 
 stable, with an indignation that he in vain attempted to con 
 ceal. " Who gives currency to such a libel, Mr. Griffith ? " 
 
 " I had it of the marine," said his friend, losing the arch 
 ness that had instigated him to worry his companion, in 
 the vacant air of one who was careless of everything : " but 
 I don t believe half of it myself I have no doubt you all 
 had your eyes open last night, whatever you might have 
 been about this morning." 
 
 "Ah! this morning! there was an oversight, indeed! 
 But I was studying a new signal-book, Griffith, that has a 
 thousand times more interest for me than all the bunting 
 you can show, from the head to the heel of your masts." 
 
THE PILOT. 59 
 
 " What ! have you found out the Englishman s private 
 talk ? " 
 
 " No, no," said the other, stretching forth his hand, and 
 grasping the arm of his friend. " I met last night one on 
 those cliffs, who has proved herself what I always believed 
 her to be, and loved her for a girl of quick thought and 
 bold spirit." 
 
 " Of whom do you speak ? " 
 
 "Of Katherine 
 
 Griffith started from his chair involuntarily at the sound 
 of this name, and the blood passed quickly through the 
 shades of his countenance, leaving it now pale as death, 
 and then burning as if oppressed by a torrent from his 
 heart. Struggling to overcome an emotion, which he ap 
 peared ashamed to betray, even to the friend he most 
 loved, the young man soon recovered himself so far as to 
 resume his seat, when he asked, gloomily : 
 
 " Was she alone ? " 
 
 " She was : but she left with me this paper, and this in 
 valuable book, which is worth a library of all other works." 
 
 The eye of Griffith rested vacantly on the treasure that 
 the other valued so highly, but his hand seized eagerly the 
 open letter which was laid on the table for his perusal. 
 The reader will at once understand that it was in the hand 
 writing of a female, and that it was the communication 
 Barnstable had received from his betrothed on the cliffs. 
 Its contents were as follows : 
 
 " Believing that Providence may conduct me where we 
 shall meet, or whence I maybe able to transmit to you this 
 account, I have prepared a short statement of the situation 
 of Cecilia Howard and myself ; not, however, to urge you 
 and Griffith to any rash or foolish hazards, but that you 
 may both sit down, and, after due consultation, determine 
 what is proper for our relief. 
 
 " By this time, you must understand the character of 
 Colonel Howard too well to expect he will ever consent to 
 give his niece to a rebel. He has already sacrificed to his 
 loyalty, as he calls it (but I whisper to Cecilia, tis his 
 treason), not only his native country, but no small part of 
 his fortune also. In the frankness of my disposition (you 
 know my frankness, Barnstable, but too well !) I confessed 
 to him, after the defeat of the mad attempt Griffith made 
 to carry off Cecilia, in Carolina, that I had been foolish 
 enough to enter into some weak promise to the brother of 
 
60 THE PILOT. 
 
 ficer who had accompanied the young sailor in his traitor 
 ous visits to the plantation. Heigho ! I sometimes think 
 it would have been better for us all, if your ship had never 
 been chased into the river, or. after she was there, if Grif 
 fith had made no attempt to renew his acquaintance with 
 my cousin. The colonel received the intelligence as such 
 a guardian would hear that his ward was about to throw 
 away thirty thousand dollars and herself on a traitor to his 
 king and country. I defended you stoutly : said that you 
 had no king, as the tie was dissolved ; that America was 
 your country, and that your profession was honorable ; but 
 it would not all do. He called you a rebel ; that I was 
 used to. He said you were a traitor ; that, in his vocabu 
 lary, amounts to the same thing. He even hinted that you 
 were a coward ; and that I knew to be false, and did not 
 hesitate to tell him so. He used fifty opprobrious terms 
 that I cannot remember; but among others were the beau 
 tiful epithets of disorganize^ leveller, democrat, and 
 Jacobin (I hope he did not mean a monk !). In short, he 
 acted Colonel Howard in a rage. But as his dominion 
 does not, like that of his favorite kings, continue from 
 generation to generation, and one short year will release 
 me from his power, and leave me mistress of my o\vn 
 actions that is, if your fine promises are to be believed I 
 bore it all very well, being resolved to suffer anything but 
 martyrdom, rather than abandon Cecilia. She, dear girl, 
 has much more to distress her than I can have ; she is not 
 only the ward of Colonel Howard, but his niece, and his 
 sole heir. I am persuaded this last circumstance makes no 
 difference in either her conduct or her feelings ; but he ap 
 pears to think it gives him a right to tyrannize over her on 
 all occasions. After all, Colonel Howar<J is a gentleman 
 when you do not put him in a passion, and, I believe, a 
 thoroughly honest man ; and Cecilia even loves him. Bui 
 a man who is driven from his country, in his sixtieth year, 
 with the loss of near half his fortune, is not apt to canon 
 ize those who compel the change. 
 
 "It seems that when the Howards lived on this island, 
 a hundred years ago, they dwelt in the county of North 
 umberland. Hither, then, he brought us, when political 
 events, and his dread of becoming the uncle to a rebel, in 
 duced him to abandon America, as he says, forever. We 
 have been here now three months, and for two-thirds of 
 that time have lived in tolerable comfort, but latterlv the 
 
THE PILOT. 61 
 
 papers have announced the arrival of the ship and your 
 schooner in France ; and from that moment as strict a watch 
 has been kept over us as if we had meditated a renewal of 
 the Carolina flight The colonel on his arrival here, hired 
 an building, that is, part house, part abbey, part castle, 
 and all prison ; because it is said to have once belonged 
 to an ancestor of his. In this delightful dwelling there 
 are many cages that will secure more uneasy birds than 
 we are. About a fortnight ago an alarm was given in a 
 neighboring village which is situated on the shore, that 
 two American vessels, answering your description, had 
 been seen hovering along the coast ; and, as people in 
 this quarter dream of nothing but that terrible fellow, Paul 
 Jones, it was said that he was on board one of them. But 
 I believe that Colonel Howard suspects who you really 
 are. He was very minute in his inquiries, I hear ; and 
 since then lias established a sort of garrison in the house, 
 under the pretence of defending it against marauders, like 
 those who are said to have laid my Lady Selkirk under 
 contribution. 
 
 " Now understand me, Barnstable ; on no account 
 would I have you risk yourself on shore ; neither must 
 there be blood spilt, if you love me ; but that you may 
 know what sort of a place we are confined in, and by 
 whom surrounded, I will describe both our prison and the 
 garrison. The whole building is of stone, and not to be 
 attempted with slight means. It has windings and turn 
 ings, both internally and externally, that would require 
 more skill than I possess to make intelligible ; but the 
 rooms we inhabit are in the upper or third floor of a wing, 
 that you may call a tower if you are in a romantic mood, 
 but which, in truth, is nothing but a wing. Would to 
 God I could fly with it ! If any accident should bring 
 you in sight of the dwelling, you will know our rooms by 
 the three smoky vanes that whiffle about its pointed roof, 
 and also by the windows in that story being occasionally 
 open. Opposite to our windows, at the distance of half a 
 mile, is a retired, unfrequented ruin, concealed, in a great 
 measure, from observation by a wood, and affording none 
 of the best accommodations, it is true, but shelter in some 
 of its vaults or apartments. I have prepared according to 
 the explanations you once gave me on this subject, a" set 
 of small signals of differently-colored silks, and a little 
 dictionary of all the phrases that I could imagine as use 
 
62 THE PILOT. 
 
 ful to refer to, properly numbered to correspond with the 
 key and the flags, all of which I shall send you with this 
 letter. You must prepare your own flags, and of course, 
 I retain mine, as well as a copy of the key and book. If 
 opportunity should ever offer, we can have, at least a 
 pleasant discourse together ; you from the top of the old 
 tower in the ruins, and I from the east window of my 
 dressing-room ! But now for the garrison. In addition 
 to the commandant, Colonel Howard, \vho retains all the 
 fierceness of his former military profession, there is, as his 
 second in authority, that bane of Cecilia s happiness, Kit 
 Dillon, with his long Savannah face, scornful eyes of 
 black, and skin of the same color. This gentleman, you 
 know, is a distant relative of the Howards, and wishes to 
 be more nearly allied. He is poor, it is true, but then, as 
 the colonel daily remarks, he is a good and loyal subject, 
 and no rebel. When I asked why he was not in arms in 
 these stirring times, contending for the prince he loves so 
 much, the colonel answers that it is not his profession ; 
 that he has been educated for the law, and was destined 
 to fill one of the highest judicial stations in the colonies, 
 and that he hoped he should yet live to see him sentence 
 certain nameless gentlemen to condign punishment. This 
 was consoling, to be sure ; but I bore it. However, he 
 left Carolina with us, and here he is, and here he is likely 
 to continue unless you can catch him, and anticipate his 
 judgment on himself. The colonel has long desired to 
 see this gentleman the husband of Cecilia, and since the 
 news of your being on the coast, the siege has nearly 
 amounted to a storm. The consequences are, that my 
 cousin at first kept her room, and then the colonel kept 
 her there, and even now she is precluded from leaving the 
 wing we inhabit. In addition to these tw r o principal jail 
 ers, we have four men-servants, two black and two white ; 
 and an officer and twenty soldiers from the neighboring 
 town are billeted on us, by particular desire, until the 
 coast is declared free from pirates ! yes, that is the 
 musical name they give you and when their own people 
 land, and plunder, and rob, and murder the men and 
 insult the women, they are called heroes ! It s a fine 
 thing to be able to invent names and make dictionaries 
 and it must be your fault if mine has been framed for no 
 purpose. I declare, when I recollect all the insulting and 
 r.ruel things I hear in this country of my own and her 
 
THE PILOT. 63 
 
 people, it makes me lose my temper and forget my sex ; 
 but do not let my ill-humor urge you to anything rash ; 
 remember your life, remember their prisons, remember 
 your reputation, but do not, do not forget your 
 
 " KATHERINE PLOWDEN. 
 
 " p.S. I had almost forgotten to tell you, that in the 
 signal-book you will find a more particular description of 
 our prison, where it stands, and a drawing of the grounds, 
 etc." 
 
 When Griffith concluded this epistle, he returned it to 
 the man to whom it was addressed, and fell back in his 
 chair, in an attitude that denoted deep reflection. 
 
 " I knew she was here, or I should have accepted the 
 command offered to me by our commissioners in Paris," 
 he at length uttered ; " and I thought that some lucky 
 chance might throw her in my way ; but this is bringing 
 us close, indeed ! This intelligence must be acted on, 
 and that promptly. Poor girl ! what does she not suffer 
 in such a situation ?" 
 
 "What a beautiful hand she writes !" exclaimed Barn- 
 stable ; " tis as clear, and as pretty, and as small, as her 
 own delicate fingers. Griff, what a log-book she would 
 keep ! " 
 
 " Cecilia Howard touch the coarse leaves of a log-book ! " 
 cried the other, in amazement ; but perceiving Barnstable 
 to be poring over the contents of his mistress s letter, 
 he smiled at their mutual folly, and continued silent. 
 After a short time spent in cool reflection, Griffith inquired 
 of his friend the nature and circumstances of his interview 
 with Kathericie Plowden. Barnstable related it, briefly, 
 as it occurred, in the manner already known to the reader. 
 
 "Then," said Griffith, " Merry is the only one, besides 
 ourselves, who knows of this meeting, and he will be too 
 chary of the reputation of his kinswoman to mention it." 
 
 " Her reputation needs no shield, Mr. Griffith," cried 
 her lover ; " tis as spotless as the canvas above your head v 
 and 
 
 " Peace, dear Richard ; I entreat your pardon ; my 
 tvords may have conveyed more than I intended ; but it 15 
 important that our measures should be secret, as well as 
 prudently concerted." 
 
 " We must get them both off," returned Barnstable. 
 forgetting his displeasure the moment it was exhibited, 
 " and that, too, before the old man takes it into his wise 
 
64 THE PILOT. 
 
 head to leave the coast. Did you ever get a sight of his 
 instructions, or does he keep silent ? " 
 
 " As the grave. This is the first time we have left port 
 that he has not conversed freely with me on the nature of 
 the cruise ; but not a syllable has been exchanged between 
 us on the subject since we sailed from Brest." 
 
 "Ah! that is your Jersey bashfulness," said Barnstable , 
 "wait till I come alongside him, with my Eastern curiosity, 
 and I pledge myself to get it out of him in an hour." 
 
 " Twill be diamond cut diamond, I doubt," said Griffith, 
 laughing ; " you will find him as acute at evasion as you 
 can possibly be at a cross-examination." 
 
 "At any rate, he gives me a chance to-day ; you know, 
 I suppose, that he sent for me to attend a consultation of 
 his officers on important matters ? " 
 
 " I did not," returned Griffith, fixing his eyes intently 
 on the speaker ; " what has he to offer ? " 
 
 " Nay, that you must ask your pilot ; for, while talking 
 to me, the old man would turn and look at the stranger 
 every minute, as if watching for signals how to steer." 
 
 " There is a mystery about that man, and our connection 
 with him, that I cannot fathom," said Griffith. " But I 
 hear the voice of Manual calling for me ; we are wanted 
 in the cabin. Remember, you do not leave the ship 
 without seeing me again." 
 
 " No, no, my dear fellow ; from the public we must 
 retire to another private consultation." 
 
 The young men arose, and Griffith, throwing off the 
 roundabout in which he had appeared on deck, drew on a 
 coat of more formal appearance, and, taking a sword 
 carelessly in his hand, they proceeded together along the 
 passage already described to the gun-deck, where they 
 entered, with the proper ceremonials, into the principal 
 cabin of the frigate. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 "Sempronius, speak." Cato. 
 
 THE arrangements for the consultation were brief and 
 simple. The veteran commander of the frigate received 
 his orders with punctilious respect ; and pointing to the 
 
IhE PILOT. 65 
 
 chairs that were placed around the table, which was a fix 
 ture in the centre of his cabin, he silently seated himself, 
 and his example was followed by all without ceremony. 
 In taking their stations, however, a quiet but rigid ob 
 servance was paid to the rights of seniority and rank. On 
 the right of the captain was placed Griffith, as next in au 
 thority ; and opposite to him was seated the commander 
 of the schooner. The officer of marines, who was in 
 cluded in the number, held the next situation in point of 
 precedence, the same order being observed at the bottom 
 of the table, which was occupied by a hard-featured, 
 square-built, athletic man, who held the office of sailing- 
 master. When order was restored, after the short inter 
 ruption of taking their places, the officer who had re 
 quired the advice of his inferiors, opened the business on 
 which he demanded their opinions. 
 
 " My instructions direct me, gentlemen," he said, " after 
 Aiaking the coast of England, to run the land down 
 The hand of Griffith was elevated respectfully for si 
 lence, and the veteran paused, with a look that inquired 
 the reason of his interruption. 
 
 "We are not alone," said the lieutenant, glancing his 
 ye toward the part of the cabin where the pilot stood, 
 leaning on one of the guns, in an attitude of easy indul 
 gence. 
 
 The stranger moved not at this direct hint ; neither did 
 his eye change from his close survey of the chart that lay 
 near him on the deck. The captain dropped his voice to 
 tones of cautious respect, as he replied : 
 
 " Tis only Mr. Gray. His services will be necessary on 
 the occasion, and therefore nothing need be concealed 
 from him." 
 
 Glances of surprise were exchanged among the young 
 men ; but Griffith bowing his silent acquiescence in the 
 decision of his superior, the latter proceeded : 
 
 " I was ordered to watch for certain signals from the 
 headlands that we made, and was furnished with the best 
 of charts, and such directions as enabled us to stand into 
 the bay we entered last night. We have now obtained a 
 pilot, and one who has proved himself a skilful man ; such 
 a one, gentlemen, as no officer need hesitate to rely on, in 
 any emergency, either on account of his integrity or his 
 knowledge." 
 
 The veteran paused and turned hi& looks on the coun- 
 
 5 
 
66 THE PILOT. 
 
 tenances of the listeners, as if to collect their sentiments 
 on this important point. Receiving no other reply than 
 the one conveyed by the silent inclinations of the heads 
 of his hearers, the commander resumed his explanations, 
 referring to an open paper in his hand : 
 
 " It is known to you all, gentlemen, that the unfortu 
 nate question of retaliation has been much agitated be 
 tween the two governments, our own and that of the en 
 emy. For this reason, and for certain political purposes, 
 it has become an object of solicitude with our commission 
 ers in Paris to obtain a few individuals of character from 
 the enemy, who may be held as a check on their proceed 
 ings, while at the same time it brings the evils of war, 
 from our own shores, home to those who have caused it. 
 An opportunity now offers to put this plan in execution, 
 and I have collected you in order to consult on the 
 means." 
 
 A profound silence succeeded this unexpected commu 
 nication of the object of their cruise. After a short pause 
 the captain added, addressing himself to the sailing-rnas- 
 ter : 
 
 "What course would you advise me to pursue, Mr. Bolt- 
 rope ? " 
 
 The weather-beaten seaman who was thus called on to 
 break through the difficulties of a knotty point with his 
 opinion, laid one of his short, bony hands on the table, 
 and began to twirl an inkstand with great industry, while 
 with the other he conveyed a pen to his mouth, which was 
 apparently masticated with all the relish that he could 
 possibly have felt had it been a leaf from the famous Vir 
 ginian weed. But perceiving that he was expected to 
 answer, after looking first to his right hand and then to 
 his left, he spoke as follows, in a hoarse, thick voice, in 
 which the fogs of the ocean seemed to have united with 
 sea-damps and colds to destroy everthing like melody : 
 
 " If this matter is ordered, it is to be done, I suppose, 5 
 he said ; " for the old rule runs, Obey orders, if you break 
 owners ; though the maxim which says, * One hand for the 
 owner, and t other for yourself, is quite as good, and has 
 saved many a hearty fellow from a fall that would have 
 balanced the purser s books. Not that I mean a purser s 
 books are not as good as any other man s ; but that, when 
 a man is dead, his account must be closed, or there will be 
 a false muster. Well, if the thing is to be done, the next 
 
THE PTLOT. 67 
 
 question is, how is it to be done ? There is many a man 
 that knows there is too much canvas on a ship, who can t 
 tell how to shorten sail. Well, then, if the thing is really 
 to be done, we must either land a gang to seize them, or 
 we must show false lights and sham colors to lead them off 
 to the ship. As for landing, Captain Munson, I can only 
 speak for one man. and that is myself, which is to say 
 that, if you run the ship with her jib-boom into the King 
 uf England s parlor windows, why, I m consenting, nor do 
 I care how much of his crockery is cracked in so doing ; 
 but, as to putting the print of my foot on one of his sandy 
 beaches, if I do, that is, always speaking for only one man, 
 and saving your presence, may I hope to be d d ! " 
 
 The young man smiled as the tough old seaman uttered 
 his sentiments so frankly, rising with his subject to that 
 which with him was the climax of all discussion ; but his 
 commander, who was but a more improved scholar from 
 the same rough school, appeared to understand his argu 
 ments entirely, and, without altering a muscle of his rigid 
 countenance, he required the opinion of the junior lieu 
 tenant. 
 
 The young man spoke firmly, but modestly, though the 
 amount of what he said was not much more distinct than 
 that uttered by the master, and was very much to the 
 same purpose, with the exception that he appeared to en 
 tertain no personal reluctance to trusting himself on dry 
 ground. 
 
 The opinions of the others grew gradually more explicit 
 and clear as they ascended in the scale of rank, until it 
 came to the turn of the captain of the marines to speak. 
 There was a trifling exhibition of professional pride about 
 the soldier in delivering his sentiments on a subject thai 
 embraced a good deal more of his peculiar sort of duty 
 than ordinarily occurred in the usual operations of the 
 frigate. 
 
 " It appears to me, sir, that the success of this expedi 
 tion depends altogether upon the manner in which it is 
 conducted." After this lucid opening, the soldier hesitated 
 a moment, as if to collect his ideas for a charge that should 
 look down all opposition, and proceeded : " The landing, 
 of course, will be effected on a fair beach, under cover of 
 the frigate s guns, and, could it possibly be done, the 
 schooner should be anchored in such a manner as to throw 
 in a flanking fire on the point of debarkation. The ar 
 
68 THE PILOT. 
 
 range ments for the order of march must a good deal de 
 pend on the distance to go over ; though I should think, 
 sir, an advanced, party of seamen, to act as pioneers foi 
 the column of marines, should be pushed a short distance 
 in front, while the baggage and baggage-guard might rest 
 upon the frigate until the enemy was driven into the in 
 terior, when it could advance without danger. There 
 should be flank-guards, under the orders of two of the old 
 est midshipmen ; and a light corps might be formed of the 
 topmen to co-operate with the marines. Of course, sir, 
 Mr. Griffith \vill lead, in person, the musket-men and 
 boarders, armed with their long pikes, whom I presume 
 he will hold in reserve, as I trust my military claims and 
 experience entitle me to the command of the main body." 
 
 " Well done, field-marshal ! " cried Barnstable, with a 
 glee that seldom regarded time or place ; "you should 
 never let salt-water mould your buttons ; but in Washing 
 ton s camp, ay ! and in Washington s tent, you should 
 swing your hammock in future. Why, sir, do you think 
 we are about to invade England ? " 
 
 " I know that every military movement should be exe 
 cuted with precision, Captain Barnstable," returned the 
 marine. " I am too much accustomed to hear the sneers 
 of the sea-officers to regard what I know proceeds from ig 
 norance. If Captain Munson is disposed to employ me and 
 my command in this expedition, I trust he will discover 
 that marines are good for something more than to mount 
 guard and pay salutes." Then, turning haughtily from his 
 antagonist, he continued to address himself to their com 
 mon superior, as if disdaining further intercourse with 
 one who, from the nature of the case, must be unable to 
 comprehend the force of what he said. "It will be pru 
 dent, Captain Munson, to send out a party to reconnoitre, 
 before we march ; and, as it may be necessary to defend 
 ourselves in case of a repulse, I would beg leave to recom 
 mend that a corps be provided with intrenching tools, to 
 accompany the expedition. They would be extremely 
 useful, sir, in assisting to throw up field-works ; though, I 
 doubt not, tools might be found in abundance in this 
 country, and laborers impressed for the service, on an 
 emergency." 
 
 This was too much for the risibility of Barnstable, who 
 broke forth in a fit of scornful laughter, which no one saw 
 proper to interrupt though Griffith, on turning his head, 
 
THE PILOT, 69 
 
 to conceal the smile that was gathering on his own face, 
 perceived the fierce glance which the pilot threw at the 
 merry seaman, and wondered at its significance and im 
 patience. When Captain Munson thought that the mirth 
 of the lieutenant was concluded, he mildly desired his rea 
 sons for amusing himself so exceedingly with the plans of 
 the marine. 
 
 " Tis a chart for a campaign ! " cried Barnstable, " and 
 should be sent off express to Congress, before the French 
 men are brought into the field ! " 
 
 " Have you any better plan to propose, Mr. Barnstable ?" 
 inquired the patient commander. 
 
 "Better! ay, one that will take no time, and cause no 
 trouble, to execute it," cried the other; " tis a seaman s 
 job, sir, and must be done with a seaman s means." 
 
 "Pardon me, Captain Barnstable," interrupted the ma 
 rine, whose jocular vein was entirely absorbed in his mili 
 tary pride ; " if there be service to be done on shore, I 
 claim it as my right, to be employed." 
 
 "Claim what you will, soldier ; but how will you carry 
 on the war with a parcel of fellows who don t know one end 
 of a boat from the other ?" returned the reckless sailor. 
 " Do you think that a barge or a cutter is to be beached in 
 the same manner you ground firelock, by word of com 
 mand ? No, no, Captain Manual I honor your courage, 
 for I have seen it tried, but d e if 
 
 " You forget we wait for your project, Mr. Barnstable," 
 said the veteran. 
 
 " I crave your patience, sir, but no project is necessary. 
 Point out the bearings and the distance of the place where 
 the men you want are to be found, and I will take the 
 heel of the gale, and run in to the land, always speaking 
 for good water and no rocks. Mr. Pilot, you will accom 
 pany me, for you carry as true a map of the bottom of 
 these seas in your head as ever was made of dry ground. 
 I will look out for good anchorage ; or, if the wind should 
 blow off-shore, let the schooner stand off and on, till we 
 should be ready to take the broad sea again. I would 
 land, out of my whale-boat, with Long Tom and a boat s 
 crew, and, finding out the place you will describe, we 
 shall go up and take the men you want, and bring them 
 aboard. It s all plain sailing ; though, as it is a well- 
 peopled country, it may be necessary to do our shore" 
 work in the dark." 
 
?o THE PILOT. 
 
 " Mr. Griffith, we onfy wait for your sentiments," pro 
 ceeded the captain, "when, by comparing opinions, we 
 may decide on the most prudent course." 
 
 The first-lieutenant had been much absorbed in thought 
 during the discussion of the subject, and might have been, 
 on that account, better prepared to give his opinion with 
 effect. Pointing to the man who yet stood behind him, 
 leaning on a gun, he commenced by asking : 
 
 " Is it your intention that man shall accompany the 
 party ?" 
 
 " It is." 
 
 " And from him you expect the necessary information, 
 sir, to guide your movements? " 
 
 " You are altogether right." 
 
 " If, sir, he has but a moiety of the skill on the land 
 that he possesses on the water, I will answer for his 
 success," returned the lieutenant, bowing slightly to the 
 stranger, who received the compliment by a cold in 
 clination of his head. " I must desire the indulgence of 
 both Mr. Barnstable and Captain Manual," he continued, 
 " and claim the command as of right belonging to mv 
 rank." 
 
 It belongs naturally to the schooner," exclaimed the 
 impatient Barnstable. 
 
 " There may be enough for us all to do," said Griffith, 
 elevating a finger to the other, in a manner, and with an 
 impressive look, that was instantly comprehended. " I 
 neither agree wholly with the one nor the other of those 
 gentlemen. Tis said that, since our appearance on the 
 coast, the dwellings of many of the gentry are guarded 
 by small detachments of soldiers from the neighboring 
 towns." 
 
 "Who says it?" asked the pilot, advancing among them 
 with a suddenness that caused a general silence. 
 
 " I say it, sir," returned the lieutenant, when the mo 
 mentary surprise had passed away. 
 
 " Can you vouch for it ? " 
 
 " I can." 
 
 " Name a house, or an individual, that is thus protected." 
 
 Griffith gazed at the man who thus forgot himself in the 
 midst of a consultation like the present, and, yielding to his 
 native pride, hesitated to reply. But mindful of the declara 
 tions of his captain, and the recent service of the pilot he 
 at length said, with a little embarrassment of manner: 
 
THE PILOT. 71 
 
 " I know it to be the fact, in the dwelling of a Colonel 
 Howard who resides but a few leagues to the north of us." 
 
 The stranger started at the name, and then, raising his 
 eye keenly to the face of the young man, appeared to study 
 his thoughts in his varying countenance. But the action, 
 and the pause that followed, were of short continuance. 
 His lip slightly curled, whether in scorn or with a con 
 cealed smile, would have been difficult to say, so closely 
 did it resemble both, and, as he dropped quietly back to 
 his place at the gun, he said: 
 
 " Tis more than probable you are right, sir; and, if I 
 might presume to advise Captain Munson, it would be to 
 lay great weight on your opinion." 
 
 Griffith turned, to see if he could comprehend more 
 meaning in the manner of the stranger than his words ex 
 pressed, but his face was again shaded by his hand, and 
 his eyes were once more fixed on the- chart with the same 
 vacant abstraction as before. 
 
 " I have said, sir, that I agree wholly neither with Mr. 
 Barnstable nor Captain Manual," continued the lieutenant, 
 after a short pause. "The command of this party is mine, 
 as the senior officer, and I must beg leave to claim it. I 
 certainly do not think the preparation Captain Manual 
 advises, necessary ; neither would I undertake the duty 
 with as little caution as Mr. Barnstable proposes. If there 
 are soldiers to be encountered, we should have soldiers to 
 oppose them ; but as it must be sudden boat-work, and 
 regular evolutions must give place to a seaman s bustle, a 
 sea-officer should command. Is my request granted, Cap 
 tain Munson ?" 
 
 The veteran replied, without hesitation : 
 
 " It is, sir ; it was my intention to offer you the service, 
 and I rejoice to see you accept it so cheerfully." 
 
 Griffith with difficulty concealed the satisfaction with 
 which he listened to his commander, and a radiant smile 
 illumined his pale features, when he observed: 
 
 " With me then, sir, let the responsibility rest I re 
 quest that Captain Manual, with twenty men, maybe put 
 under my orders, if that gentleman does not dislike the 
 duty." The marine bowed, and cast a glance of triumph 
 at Barnstable. " I will take my own cutter, with her tried 
 crew, go on board the schooner, and when the wind lulls 
 we will run in to the land, and then be governed by circum- 
 stances." 
 
72 THE PILOT. 
 
 The commander of the schooner threw back the tri 
 umphant look of the marine, and exclaimed in his joyous 
 manner : 
 
 " Tis a good plan, and done like a seaman, Mr. Griffith. 
 Ay, ay, let the schooner be employed ; and, if it be neces 
 sary, you shall see her anchored in one of their duck- 
 ponds, with her broadside to bear on the parlor-windows 
 of the best house in the island ! But twenty marines ! 
 they will cause a jam in my little craft." 
 
 " Not a man less than twenty would be prudent," re 
 turned Griffith. " More service may offer than that we 
 seek." 
 
 Barnstable well understood his allusion, but still he re 
 plied : 
 
 " Make it all seamen, and I will give you room for thirty. 
 But these soldiers never know how to stow away their 
 arms and legs, unless at a drill. One will take the room 
 of two sailors ; they swing their hammocks ath wart-ships, 
 heads to leeward, and then turn out wrong end uppermost 
 at the call. Wny, damn it, sir, the chalk and rotten-stone 
 of twenty soldiers will choke my hatches ! " 
 
 * Give me the launch, Captain Munson ! " exclaimed 
 the indignant marine, " and we will follow Mr. Griffith in 
 an open boat, rather than put Captain Barnstable to so 
 much inconvenience." 
 
 "No,.no, Manual," cried the other, extending his mus 
 cular arm across the table, with an open palm, to the 
 soldier; "you would all become so many Jonahs in uni 
 form, and I doubt whether the fish could digest your car 
 tridge boxes and bayonet belts. You shall go with me, and 
 learn, with your own eyes, whether we keep the cat s watch 
 aboard the Ariel that you joke about." 
 
 The laugh was general, at the expense of the soldier, if 
 we except the pilot and the commander of the frigate. The 
 former was a silent and apparently an abstracted, but, in 
 reality, a deeply interested listener to the discourse ; and 
 there were moments when he bent his looks on the speak 
 ers, as if he sought more in their characters than was ex 
 hibited by the gay trifling of the moment. Captain Munson 
 seldom allowed a muscle of his wrinkled features to dis 
 turb their repose ; and if he had not the real dignity to 
 repress the untimely mirth of his officers, he had too much 
 good nature to wish to disturb their harmless enjoyments. 
 He expressed himself satisfied with the proposed arrange* 
 
THE PILOT. 73 
 
 ments, and beckoned to his steward to place before them 
 the usual beverage, with which all their consultations con 
 cluded. 
 
 The sailing-master appeared to think that the same order 
 was to be observed in their potations as in council, and r 
 helping himself to an allowance which retained its hue 
 even in its diluted state, he first raised it to the light, and 
 then observed : 
 
 " This ship s water is nearly the color of rum itself ; if 
 it only had its flavor, what a set of hearty dogs we should 
 be ! Mr. Griffith, I find you are willing to haul your land- 
 tacks aboard. Well, it s natural for youth to love the 
 earth ; but there is one man, and he is sailing-master of 
 this ship, who saw land enough, last night, to last him a 
 twelvemonth. But, if you will go, here s a good land-fall, 
 and a better offing to you. Captain Munson, my respects to 
 you. I say, sir, if we should keep the ship more to the 
 south ard, it s my opinion, and that s but one man s, we 
 should fall in with some of the enemy s homeward-bound 
 West Indiamen, and find wherewithal to keep the life in 
 us when we see fit to go ashore ourselves." 
 
 As the tough old sailor made frequent application of the 
 glass to his mouth with one hand, and kept a firm hold of 
 the decanter with the other, during this speech, his com 
 panions were compelled to listen to his eloquence, or de 
 part with their thirst unassuaged. Barnstable, however, 
 quite coolly dispossessed the tar of the bottle, and, mixing 
 for himself a more equal potation, observed in the act : 
 
 "That is the most remarkable glass of grog you have, 
 Boltrope, that I ever sailed with ; it draws as little water 
 as the Ariel, and is as hard to find the bottom. If your 
 spirit-room enjoys the same sort of engine to replenish it, 
 as you pump out your rum, Congress will sail this frigate 
 cheaply." 
 
 The other officers helped themselves with still greater 
 moderation, Griffith barely moistening his lips, and the 
 pilot rejecting the offered glass altogether. Captain Mun 
 son continued standing, and his officers, perceiving that 
 their presence was no longer necessary, bowed, and took 
 their leave. As Griffith was retiring last, he felt a hand 
 laid lightly on his shoulder, and, turning, perceived that 
 he was detained by the pilot. 
 
 " Mr. Griffith," he said, when they were quite alone with 
 the commander of the frigate, " the occurrences of the last 
 
74 THE PILOT. 
 
 night should teach us confidence in each other ; without 
 it, we go on a dangerous and fruitless errand." 
 
 " Is the hazard equal ? " returned the youth. " I am 
 known to all to be the man I seem am in the service of 
 my country belong to a family, and enjoy a name that is 
 a pledge for my loyalty to the cause of America and yet 
 I trust myself on hostile ground, in the midst of enemies, 
 with a weak arm, and under circumstances where treach 
 ery would prove my ruin. Who and what is the man who 
 thus enjoys your confidence, Captain Munson ? I ask the 
 question less for myself than for the gallant men who will 
 fearlessly follow wherever I lead." 
 
 A shade of dark displeasure crossed the features of the 
 stranger, at one part of this speech, and at its close he 
 sank into deep thought. The commander, however, re 
 plied : 
 
 "There is a show of reason in your question, Mr. Grif 
 fith and yet you are not the man to be told that implicit 
 obedience is what I have a right to expect. I have not 
 your pretensions, sir, by birth or education, and yet Con 
 gress have not seen proper to overlook my years and ser 
 vices. I command this frigate 
 
 " Say no more," interrupted the pilot. " There is reason 
 in his doubts, and they shall be appeased. I like the 
 proud and fearless eye of the young man, and, while he 
 dreads a gibbet from my hands, I will show him how to 
 repose a noble confidence. Read this, sir, and tell me if 
 you distrust me now?" 
 
 While the stranger spoke he thrust his hand into the 
 bosom of his dress, and drew forth a parchment, decorated 
 with ribbons, and bearing a massive seal, which he opened 
 and laid on the table before the youth. As he pointed 
 with his finger impressively to different parts of the writ 
 ing his eye kindled with a look of unusual fire, and there 
 was a faint tinge discernible on his pallid features when he 
 spoke. 
 
 " See ! " he said, " royalty itself does not hesitate to bear 
 witness in my favor, and that is not a name to occasion 
 dread to an American." 
 
 Griffith gazed with wonder at the fair signature of the 
 unfortunate Louis, which graced the bottom of the parch 
 ment ; but when his eye obeyed the signal of the stranger, 
 and rested on -the body of the instrument, he started back 
 from the table, and fixing his animated eyes on the pilot 
 
THE PILOT. 75 
 
 he cried, while a glow of fiery courage flitted across his 
 countenance : 
 
 " Lead on ! I ll follow you to death ! " 
 
 A smile of gratified exultation struggled around the lips 
 of the stranger, who took the arm of the young man and 
 led him into a state-room, leaving the commander of the 
 frigate standing in his unmoved and quiet manner a spec 
 tator of, but hardly an actor in, the scene. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 " Fierce bounding, forward sprang the ship, 
 Like a grey hound starting from the slip, 
 
 To seize his flying prey " Lord of the Isles. 
 
 ALTHOUGH the subject of the consultation remained a 
 secret with those whose opinions were required, yet 
 enough of the result leaked out among the subordinate 
 officers to throw the whole crew into a state of eager ex 
 citement. The rumor spread itself along the decks of the 
 frigate, with the rapidity of an alarm, that an expedition 
 was to attempt the shore on some hidden service, dictated 
 by the Congress itself; and conjectures were made re 
 specting its force and destination, with all that interest; 
 which might be imagined would exist among the men 
 whose lives or liberties were to abide the issue. A gallant 
 and reckless daring, mingled with the desire of novelty, 
 however, was the prevailing sentiment among the crew, 
 who would have received with cheers the intelligence 
 that their vessel was commanded to force the passage 
 of the united British fleet. A few of the older and 
 more prudent of the sailors were exceptions to this 
 thoughtless hardihood, and one or two, among whom the 
 cockswain of the whale-boat was the most conspicuous, 
 ventured to speak doubtingly of all sorts of land service, 
 as being of a nature never to be attempted by seamen. 
 
 Captain Manual had his men paraded in the weather 
 gangway ; and after a short address, calculated to inflame 
 their military ardor and patriotism, acquainted them that 
 he required twenty volunteers, which was in truth half 
 their number, for a dangerous service. After a short 
 pause, the company stepped forward, like one man, and 
 
76 THE PILOT. 
 
 announced themselves as ready to follow him to the end 
 of the world. The marine cast a look over his shoulder, 
 at this gratifying declaration, in quest of Barnstable ; but, 
 observing that the sailor was occupied with some papers 
 on a distant part of the quarter-deck, he proceeded to 
 make a most impartial division among the candidates for 
 glory: taking care, at the same time, to cull his company 
 in such a manner as to give himself the flower of his men ? 
 and consequently to leave the ship the refuse. 
 
 While this arrangement was taking place, and the crew 
 of the frigate was in this state of excitement, Griffith as 
 cended to the deck, his countenance flushed with unusual 
 enthusiasm, and eyes beaming with a look of animation 
 and gayety, that had long been strangers to the face of the 
 young man. He was giving forth the few necessary orders 
 to the seamen he was to take with him from the ship, 
 when Barnstable again motioned him to follow, and led the 
 way once more to the state-room. 
 
 "Let the wind blow its pipe out," said the commander 
 of the Ariel, when they were seated ; " there will be no 
 landing on the eastern coast of England till the sea goes 
 down. But this Kate was made for a sailor s wife ! See, 
 Griffith, what a set of signals she has formed, out of her 
 own cunning head." 
 
 " I hope your opinion may prove true, and that you may 
 be the happy sailor who is to wed her," returned the other. 
 " The girl has indeed discovered surprising art in this busi 
 ness ! Where could she have learned the method and sys 
 tem so well ? " 
 
 "Where ! why, where she learned better things ; how to 
 prize a whole-hearted seaman, for instance. Do you think 
 that my tongue was jammed in my mouth, all the time we 
 used to sit by the side of the river in Carolina, and that 
 we found nothing to talk about?" 
 
 " Did you amuse your mistress with treatises on the art 
 of navigation, and the science of signals?" said Griffith, 
 smiling. 
 
 " I answered her questions, Mr. Griffith, as any civil 
 man would to a woman he loved. The girl has as much 
 curiosity as one of my own townswomen who has weath 
 ered cape forty without a husband, and her tongue goes 
 like a dog-vane in a calm, first one way and then another. 
 But here is her dictionary. Now own, Griff, in spite of 
 your college learning and sentimentals, that a woman o 
 
THE PILOT. 77 
 
 ingenuity and cleverness is a very good sort of a help 
 mate." 
 
 " I never doubted the merits of Miss Plowden," said the 
 other, with a droll gravity that often mingled with his 
 deeper feelings, the result of a sailor s habits, blended with 
 native character. " But this indeed surpasses all my ex 
 pectations ! Why, she has, in truth, made a most judi 
 cious selection of phrases. No. 168.**** indelible ; 169. 
 **** end only with life ; jyo.**** I fear your s misleads 
 me ; * 171 
 
 " Pshaw ! " exclaimed Barnstable, snatching the book 
 from before the laughing eyes of Griffith; " what folly 
 to throw away our time now on such nonsense ! What 
 think you of this expedition to the land ?" 
 
 " That it may be the means of rescuing the ladies, 
 though it fail in making the prisoners we anticipate." 
 
 " But this pilot ! you remember that he holds us by our 
 necks, and can run us all up to the yard-arm of some Eng 
 lish ship whenever he chooses to open his throat at their 
 threats or bribes." 
 
 " It would have been better that he should have cast the 
 ship ashore, when he had her entangled in the shoals ; it 
 would have been our last thought to suspect him of treach~ 
 ery then," returned Griffith. " I follow him with confi 
 dence, and must believe that, we are safer with him than 
 we should be without him." 
 
 " Let him lead to the dwelling of his fox-hunting minis 
 ters of state," cried Barnstable, thrusting his book of sig 
 nals into his bosom ; " but here is a chart that will show 
 us the way to the port we wish to find. Let my foot once 
 more touch terra firma, and you may write craven against 
 my name if that laughing vixen slips her cable before my 
 eyes, and shoots into the wind s eye again, like a flying-fish 
 chased by a dolphin. Mr. Griffith, we must have the chap 
 lain with us to the shore." 
 
 " The madness of love is driving you into the errors of 
 the soldier. Would you lie by to hear sermons, with a fly 
 ing party like ours ? " 
 
 " Nay, nay, we must lay-to for nothing that is not una 
 voidable ; but there are so many tacks in such a chase, 
 when one has time to breathe, that we might as well spend 
 our leisure in getting that fellow to splice us together. 
 He has a handy way with a prayer-book, and could do the 
 job as well as a bishop ; and I should like to be able to say 
 
78 THE PILOT. 
 
 that this is the last time that these two saucy names, which 
 are written at the bottom of this letter, should ever be 
 seen sailing in the company of each other." 
 
 " It will not do," said his friend, shaking his head, and 
 endeavoring to force a smile which his feelings suppressed ; 
 "it will not do, Richard ; we must yield our own inclina 
 tions to the service of our country ; nor is this pilot a man 
 who will consent to be led from his purpose." 
 
 "Then let him follow his purpose alone," cried Barn- 
 stable. "There is no human power, always saving my su 
 perior officer, that shall keep me from throwing abroad 
 these tiny signals, and having a private talk with my dark- 
 eyed Kate. But for a paltry pilot ! he may luff and bear 
 away as he pleases, while I shall steer as true as a magnet 
 for that old ruin, where I can bring my eyes to bear on 
 that romantic wing and three smoky vanes. Not that I ll 
 forget my duty ; no, I ll help you catch the Englishmen ; 
 but, when that is done, hey ! for Katherine Plowden and 
 my true love ! " 
 
 " Hush, madcap ! the ward-room holds long ears, and 
 our bulkheads grow thin by wear. I must keep you and 
 myself to our duty. This is no children s game that we 
 play ; it seems the commissioners at Paris have thought 
 proper to employ a frigate in the sport ! " 
 
 Barnstable s gayety was a little repressed by the grave 
 manner of his companion ; but after reflecting a moment, 
 he started on his feet, and made the usual movements for 
 departure. 
 
 "Whither?" asked Griffith, gently detaining his impa 
 tient friend. 
 
 "To old Moderate ; I have a proposal to make that may 
 remove every difficulty." 
 
 " Name it to me, then ; I am in his counsel, and may 
 save you the trouble and mortification of a refusal." 
 
 " How many of those gentry does he wish to line his 
 cabin with ? " 
 
 "The pilot has named no less than six, all men of rank 
 and consideration with the enemy. Two of them are 
 peers, two more belong to the Commons House of Parlia 
 ment, one is a general, and the sixth, like ourselves, is a 
 sailor, and holds the rank of captain. They muster at a 
 hunting-seat near the coast, and, believe me, the scheme is 
 not without its plausibility." 
 
 "Well, then, there are two apiece for us. You follow 
 
THE PILOT. 79 
 
 the pilot, if you will ; but let me sheer off for this dwelling 
 of Colonel Howard, with my cockswain and boat s crew. 
 I will surprise his house, release the ladies, and, on my 
 way back, lay my hands on two of the first lords I fall in 
 with. I suppose, for our business, one is as good as an 
 other." 
 
 Griffith could not repress a faint laugh, while he replied : 
 
 "Though they are said to be each other s peers, there 
 is, I believe, some difference even in the quality of lords. 
 England might thank us for ridding her of some among 
 them. Neither are they to be found, like beggars, under 
 every hedge. No, no, the men we seek must have some 
 thing better than their nobility to recommend them to our 
 favor. But let us examine more closely ipto this plan and 
 map of Miss Plowden ; something may occur that shall 
 yet bring the place within our circuit, like a contingent 
 duty of the cruise." 
 
 Barnstable reluctantly relinquished his own wild plan 
 to the more sober judgment of his friend, and they passed 
 an hour together, inquiring into the practicability, and 
 consulting on the means, of making their public duty sub 
 serve the purposes of their private feelings. 
 
 The gale continued to blow heavily during the whole of 
 that morning ; but towards noon the usual indications of 
 better weather became apparent. During these few hours 
 of inaction in the frigate, the marines, who were drafted 
 for service on the land, moved through the vessel with a 
 busy and stirring air, as if they were about to participate 
 in the glory and danger of the campaign their officers had 
 planned, while the few seamen who were to accompany the 
 expedition steadily paced the deck, with their hands thrust 
 into the bosom of their neat blue jackets, or occasionally 
 stretched toward the horizon, as their fingers traced, for 
 their less experienced shipmates, the signs of an abatement 
 in the gale among the driving clouds. The last lagger 
 among the soldiers had appeared, with his knapsack on 
 his back, in the lee gangway, where his comrades were 
 collected, armed and accoutred for the strife, when Cap 
 tain Munson ascended to the quarter-deck, accompanied 
 by the stranger and his first lieutenant. A word was spoken 
 by the latter in a low voice to a midshipman, who skipped 
 gayly along the deck, and presently the shrill call of the 
 boatswain was heard, preceding the hoarse cry of : 
 
 "Away there, you Tigers, away ! " 
 
So THE PILOT. 
 
 A smart roll of the drum followed, and the marines 
 paraded, while six seamen who belonged to the cutter that 
 owned so fierce a name, made their preparations for low 
 ering their little bark from the quarter of the frigate into 
 the troubled sea. Everything was conducted in the most 
 exact order, and with a coolness and skill that bade defi 
 ance to the turbulence of the angry elements. The ma 
 rines were safely transported from the ship to the schooner, 
 under tlae favoring shelter of the former, though the boat 
 appeared, at times, to be seeking the cavities of the ocean, 
 and again to be riding in the clouds, as she passed from 
 one vessel to the other. 
 
 At length it was announced that the cutter was ready to 
 receive the officers of the party. The pilot walked aside, 
 and held private discourse for a few moments with the 
 commander, who listened to his sentences with marked 
 and singular attention. When their conference was ended, 
 the veteran bared his gray head to the blasts, and offered 
 his hand to the other with a seaman s frankness, mingled 
 with the deference of an inferior. This compliment was 
 courteously returned by the stranger, who turned quickly 
 on his heel, and directed the attention of those who awaited 
 his movements, by a significant gesture, to the gangway. 
 
 " Come, gentlemen, let us go," said Griffith, starting 
 from a reverie, and bowing his hasty compliments to his 
 brethren in arms. 
 
 When it appeared that his superiors were ready to enter 
 the boat, the boy, who by nautical courtesy was styled 
 Mr. Merry, and who had been ordered to be in readiness, 
 sprang over the side of the frigate and glided into the 
 cutter with the activity of a squirrel. But the captain of 
 the marines paused, and cast a meaning glance at the pilot, 
 whose place it was to precede him. The stranger, as he 
 lingered on the deck, was examining the aspect of the 
 heavens, and seemed unconscious of the expectations of 
 the soldier, who gave vent to his impatience, after a mo 
 ment s detention, by saying : 
 
 "We wait for you, Mr. Gray." 
 
 Aroused by the sound of his name, the pilot glanced his 
 quick eye on the speaker, but, instead of advancing, he 
 gently bent his body, as he again signed toward the gang 
 way with his hand. To the astonishment not only of the 
 soldier, but of all who witnessed this breach of naval eti 
 quette, Griffith bowed low, and entered the boat with the 
 
THE PILOT. 8l 
 
 same promptitude as if he were preceding an admiral. 
 Whether the stranger became conscious of his want of 
 courtesy, or was too indifferent to surrounding objects to 
 note occurrences, he immediately followed himself, leav 
 ing to the marine the post of honor. The latter, who was 
 distinguished for his skill in all matters of naval or mili 
 tary etiquette, thought proper to apologize at a fitting time 
 to the first-lieutenant for suffering his senior officer to pre 
 cede him into a boat, but never failed to show a becoming 
 exultation, when he recounted the circumstance, by dwell 
 ing on the manner in which he had brought down the pride 
 of the haughty pilot. 
 
 Barnstable had been several hours on board his little 
 vessel, which was every way prepared for their reception ; 
 and, as soon as the heavy cutter of the frigate was hoisted 
 on her deck, he announced that the schooner was ready 
 to sail. It has been already intimated, that the Ariel be 
 longed to the smallest class of sea-vessels ; and, as the 
 symmetry of her construction reduced even that size in 
 appearance, she was peculiarly well adapted to the sort of 
 service in which she was about to be employed. Notwith 
 standing her lightness rendered her nearly as buoyant as 
 a cork, and at times she actually seemed to ride on the 
 foam, her low decks were perpetually washed by the heavy 
 seas that dashed against her frail sides, and she tossed and 
 rolled in the hollows of the waves in a manner that com 
 pelled even the practised seamen who trod her decks to 
 move with guarded steps. Still she was trimmed and 
 cleared with an air of nautical neatness and attention that 
 afforded the utmost possible room for her dimensions ; 
 and, though in miniature, she wore the trappings of war 
 as proudly as if the metal she bore was of a more fatal 
 and dangerous character. The murderous gun, which, 
 since the period of which we are writing, has been univer 
 sally adopted in all vessels of inferior size, was then in the 
 infancy of its invention, and was known to the American 
 mariner only by reputation, under the appalling name of 
 a " smasher." Of a vast calibre, though short and easily 
 managed, its advantages were even in that early day be 
 ginning to be appreciated, and the largest ships were 
 thought to be unusually well provided with the means of 
 offence, when they carried two or three cannon of this for 
 midable invention among their armament. At a later day, 
 this weapon has been improved and altered, until its use 
 6 
 
82 THE PILOT. 
 
 has become general in vessels of a certain size, taking its 
 appellation from the Carron, on the banks of which river 
 it was first moulded. In place of these carronades, six light 
 brass cannon were firmly lashed to the bulwarks of the 
 Ariel, their brazen throats blackened by the sea-water, 
 which so often broke harmlessly over these engines of de 
 struction. In the centre of the vessel, between her two 
 masts, a gun of the same metal, but of nearly tw r ice the 
 length of the other, was mounted on a carriage of a new 
 and singular construction, which admitted of its being 
 turned in any direction, so as to be of service in most of 
 the emergencies that occur in naval warfare. 
 
 The eye of the pilot examined this armament closely, 
 and then turned to the well-ordered decks, the neat and 
 compact rigging, and the hardy faces of the fine young 
 crew, with manifest satisfaction. Contrary to what had 
 been his practice during the short time he had been with 
 them, he uttered his gratification freely and aloud. 
 
 "You have a tight boat, Mr. Barnstable," he said, "and 
 a gallant-looking crew. You promise good service, sir, in 
 time of need, and that hour may not be far distant." 
 
 " The sooner the better," returned the reckless sailor ; 
 " I have not had an opportunity of scaling my guns since 
 we quitted Brest, though we passed several of the enemy s 
 cutters coming up the Channel, with whom our bull-dogs 
 longed for a conversation. Mr. Griffith will tell you, pilot, 
 that my little sixes can speak, on occasions, with a voice 
 nearly as loud as the frigate s eighteens." 
 
 " But not to as much purpose," observed Griffith ; " vox 
 et praeterea nihil, as we said at the school." 
 
 " I know nothing of your Greek and Latin, Mr. Griffith," 
 retorted the commander of the Ariel ; " but if you mean 
 that those seven brass playthings won t throw a round shot 
 as far as any gun of their size and height above the water, 
 or won t scatter grape and canister with any blunderbuss 
 in your ship, you may possibly find an opportunity that wilj 
 convince you to the contrary before we part company." 
 
 "They promise well," said the pilot, who was evidently 
 ignorant of the good understanding that existed between 
 the two officers, and wished to conciliate all under his 
 directions ; "and I doubt not they will argue the leading 
 points of a combat with good discretion. I see that you 
 have christened them I suppose for their respective 
 merits ! They are indeed expressive names ! " 
 
THE PILOT. 53 
 
 " Tis the freak of an idle moment," said Barnstable, 
 laughing, as he glanced his eyes to the cannon, above 
 which were painted the several quaint names of " boxer," 
 "plumper," "grinder," " scatterer," "exterminator," and 
 " nail-driver." 
 
 "Why have you thrown the mid-ship gun without the 
 pale of your baptism ?" asked the pilot ; " or do you know 
 It by the usual title of the old woman ?" 
 
 " No, no, I have no such petticoat terms on board me," 
 cried the other ; " but move more to starboard, and you 
 will see its style painted on the cheeks^of the carriage ; 
 it s a, name that need not cause them to blush either." 
 
 " Tis a singular epithet, though not without some mean 
 ing ! " 
 
 "It has more than you perhaps dream of, sir. That 
 worthy seaman whom you see leaning against the foremast, 
 and who would serve, on occasion, for a spare spar himself, 
 is the captain of that gun, and more than once has decided 
 some warm disputes with John Bull, by the manner in 
 which he has wielded it. No marine can trail his musket 
 more easily than my cockswain can train his nine-pounder 
 on an object ; and thus from their connection, and some 
 resemblance there is between them in length, it has got 
 the name which you perceive it carries that of * Long 
 Tom. 
 
 The pilot smiled as he listened, but, turning away from 
 the speaker, the deep reflection that crossed his brow but 
 too plainly showed that he trifled only from momentary 
 indulgence ; and Griffith intimated to Barnstable that, as 
 the gale w r as sensibly abating, they would pursue the ob 
 ject of their destination. 
 
 Thus recalled to his duty, the commander of the schooner- 
 forgot the delightful theme of expatiating on the merits of 
 his vessel, and issued the necessary orders to direct their 
 movements. The little schooner slowly obeyed the impulse 
 of her helm, and fell off before the wind, when the folds of 
 her square sail, though limited by a prudent reef, were 
 open to the blasts, and she shot away from her consort 
 like a meteor dancing across the waves. The black mass 
 of the frigate s hull soon sunk in the distance ; and, long 
 before the sun had fallen below the hills of England, her 
 tall masts were barely distinguishable by the small cloud 
 of sail that held the vessel to her station. As the ship dis 
 appeared, the land seemed to issue out of the bosom of thtf 
 
84 THE PILOT. 
 
 deep ; and so rapid was their progress, that the dwellings 
 of the gentry, the humbler cottages, and even the dim lines 
 of the hedges, became gradually more distinct to the eyes 
 of the bold mariners, until they were beset t with the gloom 
 of the evening, when the whole scene faded from their 
 view in the darkness of the hour, leaving only the faint 
 outline of the land visible in the tract before them, and the 
 sullen billows of the ocean raging with appalling violence 
 in their rear. 
 
 Still the little Ariel held on her way, skimming the 
 ocean like a water-fowl seeking its place of nightly rest 
 and shooting in toward the land as fearlessly as if the dan 
 gers of the preceding night were already forgotten. No 
 shoals or rocks appeared to arrest her course, and we must 
 leave her gliding into the dark streak that was thrown from 
 the high and rocky cliffs that lined a basin of bold en 
 trance, where the mariners often sought and found a 
 refuge from the dangers of the German Ocean. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " Sirrah ! how dare you leave your barley-broth 
 
 To come in armor thus, against your king ? " Drama. 
 
 THE large irregular building inhabited by Colonel How 
 ard well deserved the name it had received from the pen 
 of Katherine Plowden. Notwithstanding the confusion in 
 its orders, owing to the different ages in which its several 
 parts had been erected, the interior was not wanting in 
 that appearance of comfort which forms the great charac 
 teristic of English domestic life. Its dstrk and intricate 
 mazes of halls, galleries, and apartments, were all well pro- 
 vided with good and substantial furniture ; and, whatever! 
 might have been the purposes of their original construction, 1 
 they were now peacefully appropriated to the service of a 
 quiet and well-ordered family. 
 
 There were divers portentous traditions of cruel sepa 
 rations and blighted loves, which always linger, like cob 
 webs, around the walls of old houses, to be heard here also, 
 and which, doubtless, in abler hands, might easily have 
 been wrought up into scenes of high interest and delecta 
 ble pathos. But our humbler efforts must be limited by 
 
THE PILOT. 85 
 
 an attempt to describe man as God has made him, vulgar 
 and unseemly as he may appear to sublimated faculties, to 
 the possessors of which enviable qualifications we desire 
 to say, at once, that we are determined to eschew all things 
 supernaturally refined, as we would the devil. To all 
 those, then, who are tired of the company of their species 
 we would bluntly insinuate, that the sooner they throw 
 aside our pages, and seize upon those of some more highly- 
 gifted bard, the sooner will they be in the way of quitting 
 earth, if not of attaining heaven. Our business is solely 
 to treat of man, and this fair scene on which he acts, and 
 that not in his subtleties and metaphysical contradictions, 
 but in his palpable nature, that all may understand our 
 meaning as well as ourselves whereby we manifestly re 
 ject the prodigious advantage of being thought a genius, 
 by perhaps foolishly refusing the mighty aid of incompre 
 hensibility to establish such a character. 
 
 Leaving the gloomy shadows of the cliffs, under which 
 the little Ariel has been seen to steer, and the sullen roar 
 ing of the surf along the margin of the ocean, we shall en 
 deavor to transport the reader to the dining-parlor of St. 
 Ruth s Abbey, taking the evening of the same day as the 
 time for introducing another collection of those personages 
 whose acts and characters it has become our duty to de 
 scribe. 
 
 The room was not of very large dimensions, and every 
 part was glittering with the collected light of half a dozen 
 candles, aided by the fierce rays that glanced from the 
 grate, which held a most cheerful fire of sea-coal. The 
 mouldings of the dark oak wainscoting threw back upon 
 the massive table of mahogany streaks of strong light, 
 which played among the rich fluids that were sparkling on 
 the board, in mimic halos. The outline of this picture of 
 comfort was formed by damask curtains of a deep red, and 
 enormous oak chairs, with leathern backs and cushioned 
 seats, as if the apartment were hermetically sealed against 
 the world and its chilling cares. 
 
 Around the table, which still stood in the centre of the 
 floor, were seated three gentlemen, in the easy enjoyment 
 of their daily repast. The cloth had been drawn and the 
 bottle was slowly passing among them, as if those who 
 partook of its bounty well knew that neither the time nor 
 the opportunity would be wanting for their deliberate in 
 dulgence in its pleasures. 
 
86 THE PILOT. 
 
 At one end of the table an elderly man was seated, 
 performed whatever little acts of courtesy the duties of a 
 host would appear to render necessary, in a company 
 where all seemed to be equally at their ease and at home. 
 This gentleman was in the decline of life, though his erect 
 carriage, quick movements, and steady hand, equally 
 denoted that it was an old age free from the usual in 
 firmities. In his dress, he belonged to that class whose 
 members always follow the fashions of the age anterior to 
 the one in which they live, whether from disinclination to 
 sudden changes of any kind, or from the recollections of 
 a period which, with them, has been hallowed by scenes 
 and feelings that the chilling evening of life can neither 
 revive nor equal. Age might possibly have thrown its 
 blighting frosts on his thin locks, but art had labored to 
 conceal the ravages with the nicest care. An accurate out- 
 line of powder covered not only the parts where the hair 
 actually remained, but wherever nature had prescribed that 
 hair should grow. His countenance was strongly marked 
 in features, if not in expression, exhibiting, on the whole, 
 a look of noble integrity and high honor, which was a good 
 deal aided in its effect by the lofty, receding forehead, that 
 rose like a monument above the whole, to record the char 
 acter of the aged veteran. A few streaks of branching red 
 mingled with a swarthiness of complexion, that was ren 
 dered more conspicuous by the outline of the unsullied 
 white, which nearly surrounded his prominent features. 
 
 Opposite to the host, who it will at once be understood 
 was Colonel Howard, was the thin yellow visage of Mr. 
 Christopher Dillon, that bane to the happiness of her 
 cousin, already mentioned by Miss Plowden. 
 
 Between these two gentlemen was a middle-aged, hard* 
 featured man, attired in the livery of King George, whose 
 countenance emulated the scarlet of his coat, and whose 
 principal employment, at the moment, appeared to consist 
 in doing honor to the cheer of his entertainer. 
 
 Occasionally a servant entered or left the room in silence, 
 giving admission, however, through the opened door, to 
 the rushing sounds of the gale, as the wind murmured 
 amid the angles and high chimneys of the edifice. 
 
 A man, in the dress of a rustic, was standing near the 
 chair of Colonel Howard, between whom and the master 
 of the mansion a dialogue had been maintained, which 
 closed as follows. The colonel was the first to speak, aftei 
 
THE PILOT. 8? 
 
 the curtain is drawn from between the eyes of the reader 
 and the scene. 
 
 " Said you, farmer, that the Scotchman beheld the ves 
 sel with his own eyes ? " 
 
 The answer was a simple negative. 
 
 " Well, well," continued the colonel," you can withdraw. 1 
 
 The man made a rude attempt at a bow, which being re 
 turned by the old soldier with formal grace, he left the 
 room. The host, turning to his companions, resumed the 
 subject. 
 
 " If those rash boys have really persuaded the silly 
 dotard who commands the frigate to trust himself within 
 the shoals on the eve of such a gale as this, their case 
 must have been hopeless indeed ! Thus may rebellion 
 and .disaffection ever meet with the just indignation of 
 Providence ! It would not surprise me, gentlemen, to 
 hear that my native land had been engulfed by earth 
 quakes, or swallowed by the ocean, so awful and in 
 excusable has been the weight of her transgressions ! And 
 yet it was a proud and daring boy who held the second 
 station in that ship ! I knew his father well, and a gallant 
 gentleman he was, who, like my own brother, the parent 
 of Cecilia, preferred to serve his master on the ocean rather 
 than on the land. His son inherited the bravery of his 
 high spirit, without its loyalty. One would not wish to 
 have such a youth drowned, either." 
 
 This speech, which partook much of the nature of a 
 soliloquy, especially toward its close, called for no im 
 mediate reply ; but the soldier, having held his glass to 
 the candle, to admire the rosy hue of its contents, and then 
 sipped of the fluid so often that nothing but a clear light 
 remained to gaze at, quietly replaced the empty vessel on 
 the table, and, as he extended an arm toward the blushing 
 bottle, he spoke, in the careless tones of one whose 
 thoughts were dwelling on another theme : 
 
 " Ay, true enough, sir ; good men are scarce, and, as 
 you say, one cannot but mourn his fate, though his death 
 be glorious ; quite a loss to his majesty s service, I dare 
 say, it will prove." 
 
 " A loss to the service of his majesty ! " echoed the host 
 his death glorious ! no, Captain Borroughcliffe, the 
 death of no rebel can be glorious ; and how he can be a 
 loss to his majesty s service, I am myself quite at a loss to 
 understand." 
 
88 THE PILOT. 
 
 The soldier, whose ideas were in that happy state of 
 confusion that renders it difficult to command the one most 
 needed, but who still, from long discipline, had them undei 
 a wonderful control for the disorder of his brain, an 
 swered, with great promptitude : 
 
 " 1 mean the loss of his example, sir. It would have 
 been so appalling to others to have seen the young man 
 executed instead of shot in battle." 
 
 " He is drowned, sir." 
 
 " Ah ! that is the next thing to being hanged ; that cir 
 cumstance had escaped me." 
 
 It is by no means certain, sir, that the ship and 
 schooner that the drover saw are the vessels you take them 
 to have been," said Mr. Dillon, in a harsh, drawling tone of 
 voice. " I should doubt their daring to venture so openly 
 on the coast, and in the direct track of our vessels-of-war." 
 
 " These people are our countrymen, Christopher, though 
 they are rebels," exclaimed the colonel. "They are a 
 hardy and brave nation. When I had the honor to serve 
 his majesty, some twenty years since, it was my fortune to 
 face the enemies of my king in a few small affairs, Captain 
 Borroughcliffe ; such as the siege of Quebec, and the 
 battle before its gates, a trifling occasion at Ticonderoga, 
 and that unfortunate catastrophe of General Braddock 
 with a few others. I must say, sir, in favor of the colon 
 ists, that they played a manful game on the latter day ; 
 and this gentleman who now heads the rebels sustained a 
 gallant name among us for his conduct in that disastrous 
 business. He was a discreet, well-behaved young man, 
 and quite a gentleman. I have never denied that Mr. 
 Washington was very much of a gentleman/ 
 
 "Yes!" said the soldier, yawning, "he was educated 
 among his majesty s troops, and he could hardly be other 
 wise. But I am quite melancholy about this unfortunate 
 drowning, Colonel Howard. Here will be an end of my 
 vocation, I suppose ; and I am far from denying that your 
 hospitality has made these quarters most agreeable to me." 
 
 " Then, sir, the obligation is only mutual," returned th 
 host, with a polite inclination of his head ; " but gentle 
 men who, like ourselves, have been made free of the camp, 
 need not bandy idle compliments about such trifles. If it 
 were my kinsman, Dillon, now, whose thoughts run more 
 on Coke upon Littleton than on the gayeties of a mess- 
 table and a soldier s life, he might think such formalities 
 
THE PILOT. Sg 
 
 AS necessary as his hard words are to a deed. Come, 
 Borroughcliffe, my dear fellow, I believe we have given an 
 honest glass to each of the royal family (God bless them 
 all !), let us swallow a bumper to the memory of the im 
 mortal Wolfe." 
 
 " An honest proposal, my gallant host, and such a one 
 as a soldier will never decline," returned the captain, who 
 roused himself with the occasion. "God bless them all! 
 say I, in echo ; and if this gracious queen of ours ends as 
 famously as she has begun, twill be such a family of 
 princes as no other army of Europe can brag of around a 
 mess-table." 
 
 " Ay, ay, there is some consolation in that thought in the 
 midst of this dire rebellion of my countrymen. But I ll 
 vex myself no more with the unpleasant recollections ; the 
 arms of my sovereign will soon purge that wicked land of 
 the foul stain." 
 
 " Of that there can be no doubt," said Borroughcliffe, 
 whose thoughts still continued a little obscured by the 
 sparkling madeira that had long lain ripening under a 
 Carolinian sun ; " these Yankees fly before his majesty s 
 regulars, like so many dirty clowns in a London mob be 
 fore a charge of the horse-guards." 
 
 " Pardon me, Captain Borroughcliffe," said his host, 
 elevating his person to more than its usual erect attitude ; 
 " they may be misguided, deluded, and betrayed, but the 
 comparison is unjust. Give them arms, and give them 
 discipline, and he who gets an inch of their land from 
 them, plentiful as it is, will find a bloody day on which to 
 take possession." 
 
 " The veriest coward in Christendom would fight in a 
 country where wine brews itself into such a cordial as 
 this," returned the cool soldier. " I am a living proof that 
 you mistook my meaning ; for had not those loose-flapped 
 gentlemen they call Vermontese and Hampshire-granters 
 (God grant them his blessing for the deed !) finished two- 
 thirds of my company, I should not have been at this day 
 under your roof, a recruiting instead of a marching officer : 
 neither should 1 hare been bound up in a covenant, like 
 the law of Moses, could Burgoyne have made head against 
 their long-legged marchings and counter-marchings. Sir, 
 I drink their healths, with all my heart ; and with such a 
 bottle of golden sunshine before me, rather than displease 
 so good a friend, I will go through Gates s whole army, 
 
90 THE PILOT. 
 
 regiment by regiment, company by company, or, if you in< 
 sist on the same, even man by man, in a bumper." 
 
 "On no account would I tax your politeness so far," 
 returned the colonel, abundantly mollified by this ample 
 concession ; " I stand too much your debtor, Captain 
 Borroughcliffe, for so freely volunteering to defend my 
 house against the attacks of my piratical, rebellious, and 
 misguided countrymen, to think of requiring such a con 
 cession." 
 
 " Harder duty might be performed, and no favors asked, , 
 my respectable host," returned the soldier. " Country 
 quarters are apt to be dull, and the liquor is commonly 
 execrable ; but in such a dwelling as this a man can rock 
 himself in the very cradle of contentment. And yet there 
 is one subject of complaint that I should disgrace my regi 
 ment did I not speak of for it is incumbent on me, both 
 as a man and a soldier, to be no longer silent." 
 
 * Name it sir, freely, and its cause shall be as freely re 
 dressed," said the host, in some amazement. 
 
 " Here we three sit, from morning to night," continued 
 the soldier, " bachelors all, well provisioned, and better 1 
 liquored, I grant you, but like so many well-fed anchorites, 
 while two of the loveliest damsels in the island pine in 
 solitude within a hundred feet of us, without tasting the 
 homage of our sighs. This, I will maintain, is a reproach 
 both to your character, Colonel Howard, as an old soldier, 
 and to mine as a young one. As to our old friend Coke 
 on top of Littleton here, I leave him to the quiddities of 
 the law to plead his own cause." 
 
 The brow of the host contracted for a moment, and the 
 sallow cheek of Dillon, who had sat during the dialogue 
 in a sullen silence, appeared to grow even livid ; but 
 gradually the open brow of the veteran resumed its frank 
 expression, and the lips of the other relaxed into a Jesuiti 
 cal sort of a smile, that was totally disregarded by the cap 
 tain, who amused himself with sipping his wine while he 
 waited for an answer, as if he analyzed each drop that 
 crossed his palate. 
 
 After an embarrassing pause of a moment, Colonel 
 Howard broke the silence. 
 
 " There is reason in Borroughcliffe s hint, for such I 
 take it to be 
 
 "I meant it for a plain, matter-of-fact complaint," in 
 terrupted the soldier. 
 
THE PILOT. 
 
 G And you have cause for it," continued the colonel. 
 " It is unreasonable, Christopher, that the ladies should 
 allow their dread of these piratical countrymen of ours to 
 exclude us from their society, though prudence may re 
 quire that they remain secluded in their apartments. We 
 owe the respect to Captain Borroughcliffe, that at least 
 we admit him to the sight of the coffee-urn in an evening." 
 
 " That is precisely my meaning," said the captain ; " as 
 for dining with them, why, I am well provided for here ; 
 but there is no one knows how to set hot water a-hissing 
 in so professional a manner as a woman. So forward, 
 my dear and honored colonel, and lay your injunctions 
 on them that they command your humble servant and 
 Mr. Coke unto Littleton to advance and give the counter 
 sign of gallantry." 
 
 Dillon contracted his disagreeable features into some 
 thing that was intended for a satirical smile before he 
 spoke as follows : 
 
 " Both the veteran Colonel Howard and the gallant 
 Captain Borroughcliffe may find it easier to overcome the 
 enemies of his majesty in the field than to shake a woman s 
 caprice. Not a day has passed, these three weeks, that I 
 have not sent my inquiries to the door of Miss Howard, 
 as became her father s kinsman, with a wish to appease 
 her apprehensions of the pirates ; but little has she 
 deigned me in reply, more than such thanks as her sex 
 and breeding could not well dispense with." 
 
 " Well, you have been as fortunate as myself, and why 
 you should be more so I see no reason," cried the soldier, 
 throwing a glance of cool contempt at the other ; " fear 
 whitens the cheek, and ladies best love to be seen when 
 the roses flourish rather than the lilies." 
 
 " A woman is never so interesting, Captain Borrough 
 cliffe," said the gallant host, " as when she appears tolear* 
 on man for support ; and he who does not feel himself 
 honored by the trust is a disgrace to his species." 
 
 " Bravo ! my honored sir, a worthy sentiment, and 
 spoken like a true soldier ; but I have heard much of the 
 loveliness of the ladies of the Abbey since I have been in 
 my present quarters, and I feel a strong desire to witness 
 beauty encircled by such loyalty as could induce them to 
 flee their native country, rather than to devote their charms 
 to the rude keeping of the rebels." The colonel looked 
 grave, and for a moment fierce ; but the expression of his 
 
92 THE PILOT. 
 
 displeasure soon passed away in a smile of forced gayety, 
 and, as he cheerfully rose from his feet, he cried : 
 
 "You shall be admitted this very night, and this instant, 
 Captain Borroughcliffe. We owe it, sir, to your services 
 here, as well as in the field, and those froward girls shall 
 be humored no longer. Nay, it is nearly two weeks since 
 I have seen my ward myself ; nor have I laid eyes on my 
 niece but twice in all that time. Christopher, I leave the 
 captain under your good care while I go seek admission 
 into the cloisters ; we call that part of t^he building the 
 cloisters, because it holds our nuns, sir! You will pardon 
 my early absence from the table, Captain Borroughcliffe." 
 
 " I beg it may not be mentioned ; you leave an excellent 
 representative behind you, sir," cried the soldier, taking 
 in the lank figure of Mr. Dillon in a sweeping glance that 
 terminated with a settled gaze on his decanter. " Make my 
 devoirs to the recluses, and say all that your own excel 
 lent wit shall suggest as an apology for my impatience. 
 Mr. Dillon, I meet you in a bumper to their healths, and 
 in their honor." 
 
 The challenge was coldly accepted ; and while these 
 gentlemen still held their glasses to their lips Colonel 
 Howard left the apartment, bowing low, and uttering a 
 thousand excuses to his guest as he proceeded, and even 
 offering a very unnecessary apology to the same effect to 
 his habitual inmate, Mr. Dillon. 
 
 " Is fear so very powerful within these old walls," said 
 the soldier, when the -door closed behind their host, "that 
 your ladies deem it necessary to conceal themselves before 
 even an enemy is known to have landed ? " 
 
 Dillon coldly replied : 
 
 " The name of Paul Jones is terrific to all on this coast, 
 I believe ; nor are the ladies of St. Ruth singular in their 
 apprehensions." 
 
 " Ah ! the pirate has bought himself a desperate name 
 since the affair of Flam borough Head. But let him look 
 to t, if he trusts himself in another Whitehaven expedition, 
 while there is a detachment of the th in the neighbor 
 hood, though the men shall be nothing better than re 
 emits." 
 
 " Our last accounts leave him safe in the court of Louis," 
 returned his companion ; "but there are men as desperate 
 as himself, who sail the ocean under the rebel flag, anc] 
 from one or two of them we have had much reason to ajj 
 
THE PILOT. 93 
 
 prehend the vengeance of disappointed men. It is they 
 that we hope are lost in this gale." 
 
 " Hum ! I hope they were dastards, or your hopes are a 
 Httle unchristian, and 
 
 He would have proceeded, but the door opened and his 
 orderly entered, and announced that a sentinel had detained 
 three men, who were passing along the highway near the 
 Abbey, and who, by their dress, appeared to be seamen. 
 
 " Well, let them pass," cried the captain ; "what, have 
 we nothing to do better than to stop passengers, like foot 
 pads, on the king s highway ? Give them of your canteens, 
 and let the rascals pass ! Your orders were to give the 
 alarm if any hostile party landed on the coast, not to detain 
 peaceable subjects on their lawful business." 
 
 " I beg your honor s pardon," returned the sergeant ; 
 "but these men seemed lurking about the grounds for no 
 good, and as they kept carefully aloof from the place 
 where our sentinel was posted, until to-night, Downing 
 thought it looked suspiciously, and detained them." 
 
 " Downing is a fool, and it may go hard with him for his 
 officiousness. What have you done with the men ? " 
 
 " I took them to the guard-room in the east wing, your 
 honor." 
 
 "Then feed them ; and hark ye, sirrah ! liquor them well, 
 that we hear no complaints, and let them go." 
 
 "Yes, sir ; yes, your honor shall be obeyed ; but there is 
 a straight, soldierly-looking fellow among them, that I 
 think might be persuaded to enlist, if he were detained till 
 morning. I doubt, sir, by his walk, but he has served 
 already." 
 
 " Ha ! what say you ? " cried the captain, pricking up 
 his ears like a hound who hears a well-known cry, " served, 
 think ye, already ? " 
 
 "There are signs about him, your honor, to that effect. 
 An old soldier is seldom deceived in such a thing ; and 
 considering his disguise, for it can be no other, and the 
 place where we took him x there is no danger of a have-us 
 corpses until he is tied to us by the laws of the kingdom." 
 
 "Peace, you knave!" said Borroughclirfe, rising and 
 making a devious route toward the door ; "you speak in 
 the presence of my lord chief justice that is to be, and 
 should not talk lightly of the laws. But still you say 
 reason ; give me your arm, sergeant, and lead the way to 
 the east wing ; my eyesight is good for nothing in such g 
 
94 THE PILOT. 
 
 dark night. A soldier should always vis t his guard before 
 the tattoo beats." 
 
 After emulating the courtesy of their host, Captain Bor- 
 roughcliffe retired on this patriotic errand, leaning on his 
 subordinate in a style of most familiar condescension. 
 Dillon continued at the table, endeavoring to express the 
 rancorous feelings of his breast by a satirical smile of con 
 tempt, that was necessarily lost on all but himself, as a 
 large mirror threw back the image of his morose and un 
 pleasant features. 
 
 But we must precede the veteran colonel in his visits to 
 the "cloisters." 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 "And kindness like their own 
 
 Inspired those eyes, affectionate and glad, 
 
 That seemed to love whate er they looked upon ; 
 
 Whether with Hebe s mirth her features shone, 
 
 Or if a shade more pleasing them o ercast 
 
 Yet so becomingly th expression past, 
 
 That each succeeding look was lovelier than the last." 
 
 Gertrude of Wyoming. 
 
 THE western wing of St. Ruth house, or abbey, as the 
 oailding was indiscriminately called, retained but few 
 vestiges of the uses to which it had been originally de 
 voted. The upper apartments were small and numerous, 
 extending on either side of a long, low, and dark gallery, 
 and might have been the dormitories of the sisterhood 
 who were said to have once inhabited that portion of the 
 edifice ; but the ground-floor had been modernized, as it 
 was then called, about a century before, and retained just 
 enough of its ancient character to blend the venerable 
 with what was thought comfortable in the commence 
 ment of the reign of the third George. As this wing had 
 been appropriated to the mistress of the mansion, ever 
 since the building had changed its spiritual character for 
 one of a more carnal nature, Colonel Howard continued 
 the arrangement when he became the temporary possessor 
 of St. Ruth, until, in the course of events, the apartments 
 which had been appropriated for the accommodation and 
 convenience of his niece were eventually converted into 
 her prison. But as the severity of the old veteran was as 
 
THE PILOT. 95 
 
 often marked by an exhibition of his virtues as of his foi 
 bles, the confinement and his displeasure constituted the 
 sole subjects of complaint that were given to the young 
 lady. That our readers may be better qualified to judge 
 of the nature of their imprisonment, we shall transport 
 them, without further circumlocution, into the presence 
 of the two females, whom they must be already prepared 
 to receive. 
 
 The withdrawing-room of St. Ruth s was an apartment 
 which, tradition said, had formerly been the refectory of 
 the little bevy of fair sinners who sought a refuge within 
 its walls from the temptations of the world. Their num 
 ber was not large; nor their entertainments very splendid, 
 or this limited space could not have contained them. The 
 room, however, was of fair dimensions, and an air of pecul 
 iar comfort, mingled with chastened luxury, was thrown 
 around it by the voluminous fold of the blue damask cur 
 tains that nearly concealed the sides where the deep win 
 dows were placed, and by the dark leathern hangings, 
 richly stamped with cunning devices in gold, that orna 
 mented the two others. Massive couches in carved ma- 
 hogany, with chairs of a similar material and fashion, all 
 covered by the same rich fabric that composed the cur 
 tains, together with a Turkey carpet, over the shaggy sur 
 face of which all the colors of the rainbow were scattered 
 in bright confusion, united to relieve the gloomy splendor 
 of the enormous mantel, deep, heavy cornices, and the 
 complicated carvings of the massive woodwork which 
 cumbered the walls. A brisk fire of wood was burning 
 on the hearth, in compliment to the wilful prejudice of 
 Miss Plowden, who had maintained; in her most vivacious 
 manner, that sea-coal was "only tolerable for blacksmiths 
 and Englishmen." In addition to the cheerful blaze from 
 the hearth, two waxen lights, in candlesticks of massive 
 silver, were lending their aid to enliven the apartment. 
 One of these was casting its rays brightly along the con 
 fused colors of the carpet on which it stood, flickering be 
 fore the active movements of the form that played around 
 it with light and animated inflections. The posture of this 
 young lady was infantile in grace, and, with one ignorant 
 of her motives, her employment would have been obnox 
 ious to the same construction. Divers small square pieces 
 of silk, strongly contrasted to each other in color, lay on 
 every side of her, and were changed, as she kneeled on th@ 
 
96 THE PILOT. 
 
 floor, by her nimble hands, into as many different combu 
 nations, as if she was humoring the fancies of her sex, or 
 consulting the shades of her own dark but rich complex 
 ion in the shop of a mercer. The close satin dress of this 
 young female served to display her small figure in its true 
 proportions, while her dancing eyes of jet black shamed 
 the dyes of the Italian manufacturer by their superior 
 radiancy. A few ribbons of pink, disposed about her per 
 son with an air partly studied, and yet carelessly coquet 
 tish, seemed rather to reflect than lend the rich bloom 
 that mantled around her laughing countenance, leaving to 
 the eye no cause to regret that she was not fairer. 
 
 Another female figure, clad in virgin white, was reclin 
 ing on the end of a distant couch. The seclusion in which 
 they lived might have rendered this female a little careless 
 of her appearance, or, what was more probable, the comb 
 had been found unequal to its burden ; for her tresses, 
 which rivalled the hue and gloss of the raven, had burst 
 from their confinement, and dropping over her shoulders, 
 fell along her dress in rich profusion, finally resting on 
 the damask of the couch, in dark folds, like glittering silk. 
 A small hand, which seemed to blush at its own naked 
 beauties, supported her head, embedded in the volumes of 
 her hair, like the fairest alabaster set in the deepest ebony. 
 Beneath the dark profusion of her curls, which, notwith 
 standing the sweeping train that fell about her person, 
 covered the summit of her head, lay a low, spotless fore 
 head of dazzling whiteness, that was relieved by two arches 
 so slightly and truly drawn that they appeared to have 
 been produced by the nicest touches of art. The fallen 
 lids and long silken lashes concealed the eyes that rested 
 on the floor as if their mistress mused in melancholy. The 
 remainder of the features of this maiden were of a kind 
 that is most difficult to describe, being neither regular nor 
 perfect in their several parts, yet harmonizing and com 
 posing a whole that formed an exquisite picture of female 
 delicacy and loveliness. There might or there might not 
 have been a tinge of slight red in her cheeks, but it 
 varied with each emotion of her bosom, even as she mused 
 in quiet, now seeming to steal insidiously over her glow 
 ing temples, and then leaving her face an almost startling 
 paleness. Her stature, as she reclined, seemed above the 
 medium height of womanhood, and her figure was rather 
 delicate than full, though the little foot that rested on the 
 
THE PILOT. 97 
 
 damask cushion before her displayed a rounded outline 
 that any of her sex might envy. 
 
 " Oh ! I m as expert as if I were signal-officer to the 
 lord high admiral of this realm ! " exclaimed the laughing 
 female on the floor, clapping her hands together in girlish 
 exultation. " I do long, dear Cecilia, for an opportunity 
 to exhibit my skill." 
 
 While her cousin was speaking, Miss Howard raised her 
 head, with a faint smile, and, as she turned her eyes toward 
 the other, a spectator might have been disappointed, but 
 could not have been displeased, by the unexpected change 
 the action produced in the expression of her countenance. 
 Instead of the piercing black eyes that the deep color of 
 her tresses would lead him to expect, he would have be 
 held two large, mild, blue orbs, that seemed to float in a 
 liquid so pure as to be nearly invisible, and which were 
 more remarkable for their tenderness and persuasion, than 
 for the vivid flashes that darted from the quick glances of 
 her companion. 
 
 "The success of your mad excursion to the seaside, my 
 cousin, has bewildered your brain," returned Cecilia ; " but 
 I know not how to conquer your disease, unless we pre 
 scribe salt-water for the remedy, as in some other cases of 
 madness." 
 
 "Ah! I am afraid your nostrum would be useless," cried 
 Katherine ; "it has failed to wash out the disorder from 
 the sedate Mr. Richard Barnstable, who has had the regi 
 men administered to Mm through many a hard gale, but 
 who continues as fair a candidate for Bedlam as ever. 
 Would you think it, Cicely, the crazy one urged me, in ten 
 minutes conversation we held together on the cliff, to ac 
 cept of his schooner as a shower-bath ! " 
 
 " I can think that your hardihood might encourage him 
 to expect much, but surely he could not have been serious 
 in such a proposal ! " 
 
 " Oh ! to do the wretch justice, he did say something of 
 a chaplain to consecrate the measure, but there was bound 
 less impudence in the thought. I have not, nor shall I 
 forget it, or forgive him for it, these six-and-twenty years. 
 What a fine time he must have had of it, in his little Ariel, 
 among the monstrous waves we saw tumbling in upon the 
 shore to-day, coz ! I hope they will wash his impudence 
 out of him ! I do think the man cannot have a dry thread 
 about him, from sun to sun. I must believe it as a pun- 
 
 7 
 
9 8 THE PILOT. 
 
 ishment for his boldness, and, be certain, I shall tell hint 
 of it. I will form half a dozen signals this instant to joke 
 at his moist condition, in very revenge." 
 
 Pleased with her own thoughts, and buoyant with the 
 secret hope that her adventurous undertaking would be 
 finally crowned with complete success, the gay girl shook 
 her black locks in infinite mirth, and tossed the mimic flags 
 gayly around her person, as she was busied in forming new 
 combinations, in order to amuse herself with her lover s 
 disastrous situation. But the features of her cousin 
 clouded with the thoughts that were excited by her re 
 marks, and she replied, in a tone that bore some little of 
 the accents of reproach : 
 
 11 Katherine ! Katherine ! can you jest when there is so 
 much to apprehend ? Forget you what Alice Dunscombe 
 told us of the gale this morning, and that she spoke of two 
 vessels, a ship and a schooner, that had been seen ventur 
 ing with fearful temerity within the shoals, only six miles 
 from the Abbey, and that, unless God in His gracious provi 
 dence had been kind to them, there was but little doubt 
 that their fate would be a sad one ? Can you, that know 
 so well who and what these daring mariners are, be rnerry 
 about the self-same winds that cause their danger ?"" 
 
 The thoughtless, laughing girl was recalled to her recol 
 lection by this remonstrance, and every trace of mirth van 
 ished from her countenance, leaving a momentary death 
 like paleness crossing her face, as she clasped her hands 
 before her, and fastened her keen eyes vacantly on the 
 splendid pieces of silk that now lay unheeded around her. 
 At this critical moment the door of the room slowly opened, 
 and Colonel Howard entered the apartment with an air 
 that displayed a droll mixture of stern indignation with a 
 chivalric and habitual respect to the sex. 
 
 " I solicit your pardon, young ladies, for the interrup 
 tion," he said ; "I trust, however, that an old man s pres 
 ence can never be entirely unexpected in the drawing- 
 room of his wards." 
 
 As he bowed, the colonel seated himself on the end of 
 the couch, opposite to the place where his niece had been 
 reclining, for Miss Howard had risen at his entrance, and 
 continued standing until her uncle had comfortably disposed 
 of himself. Throwing a glance which was not entirely free 
 from self-condemnation around the comfortable apartment, 
 the veteran proceeded, in the same tone as before : 
 
THE PILOT. 99 
 
 "You are not without the means of making any guest 
 welcome nor do I see the necessity of such constant se 
 clusion from the eyes of the world as you thus rigidly 
 practise." 
 
 Cecilia looked timidly at her uncle, with surprise, before 
 she returned an answer to his remark. 
 
 " We certainly owe much to your kind attention, dear 
 sir," she at length uttered; "but is our retirement alto 
 gether voluntary ?" 
 
 " How can it be otherwise ! are you not mistress of this 
 mansion ? In selecting the residence where your and, 
 permit me to add, my ancestors, so long dwelt in credit 
 and honor, I have surely been less governed by any natu 
 ral pride that I might have entertained on such a subject, 
 than by a desire to consult your comfort and happiness. 
 Everything appears to my aged eyes as if we ought not to 
 be ashamed to receive our friends within these walls. 
 The cloisters of St. Ruth, Miss Howard, are not entirely 
 bare, neither are their tenants wholly unworthy to be 
 seen." 
 
 " Open then the portals of the Abbey, sir, and your niece 
 will endeavor to do proper credit to the hospitality of its 
 master." 
 
 "That was spoken like Harry Howard s daughter, 
 frankly and generously ! " cried the old soldier, insensibly 
 edging himself nearer to his niece. " If my brother had 
 devoted himself to the camp, instead of the sea, Cecilia, 
 he would have made one of the bravest and ablest generals 
 in his majesty s service poor Harry ! He might have been 
 living at this very day, and at this moment leading the 
 victorious troops of his sovereign through the revolted 
 colonies in triumph. But he is gone, Cicely, and has left 
 you behind him as his dear representative, to perpetuate 
 our family, and to possess what little has been left to us 
 from the ravages of the times." 
 
 " Surely, dear sir," said Cecilia, taking his hand, which 
 had unconsciously approached her person, and pressing it 
 to her lips, "we have no cause to complain of our lot in 
 respect to fortune, though it may cause us bitter regret 
 that so few of us are left to enjoy it." 
 
 " No, no, no," said Katherine, in a low, hurried voice ; 
 "Alice Dunscombc is and must be wrong; Providence 
 would never abandon brave men to so cruel a fate ! " 
 
 "Alice Dunscombe is here to atone for her error, if she 
 
loo THE PILOT. 
 
 has fallen into one," said a quiet, subdued voice, in which 
 the accents of a provincial dialect, however, were slightly 
 perceptible, and which, in its low tones, wanted that silvery 
 ^clearness that gave so much feminine sweetness to the 
 words of Miss Howard, and which even rang melodiously 
 in the ordinarily vivacious strains of her cousin. 
 
 The surprise created by these sudden interruptions 
 caused a total suspension of the discourse. Katharine 
 Plowden, who had continued kneeling in the attitude before 
 described, arose, and, as she looked about her in mo 
 mentary confusion, the blood again mantled her face with 
 the fresh and joyous springs of life. The other speaker 
 advanced steadily into the middle of the room ; and after 
 returning, with steady civility, the low bow of Colonel 
 Howard, seated herself on the opposite couch. The man 
 ner of her entrance, her reception, and her attire, sufficiently 
 denoted that the presence of this female was neither un 
 usual nor unwelcome. She was dressed with marked sim 
 plicity, though with a studied neatness, that more than 
 compensated for the absence of ornaments. Her age might 
 not have much exceeded thirty, but there was an adoption 
 of customs in her attire that indicated she was not unwill 
 ing to be thought older. Her fair flaxen hair was closely 
 confined by a dark bandeau, such as was worn in a nation 
 farther north by virgins only, over which a few curls 
 strayed in a manner that showed the will of their mistress 
 alone restrained their luxuriance. Her light complexion 
 had lost much of its brilliancy, but enough still remained 
 to assert its original beauty and clearness. To this descrip 
 tion might be added fine, mellow, blue eyes ; beautifully 
 white, though large teeth ; a regular set of features, and a 
 person that was clad in a dark lead-colored silk, which 
 fitted her full but gracefully-moulded form with the closest 
 exactness. 
 
 Colonel Howard paused a moment after this lady was 
 seated, and then turning himself to Katherine with an air 
 that became stiif and constrained by attempting to seem 
 extremely easy, he said : 
 
 " You no sooner summon Miss Alice, but she appears, 
 Miss Plowden ready and (I am bold to say, Miss Alice) 
 able to defend herself against all charges that her worst 
 enemies can allege against her." 
 
 " I have no charges to make against Miss Dunscombe," 
 said Katherine, pettishly, "nor do I wish to have dissen- 
 
THE PILOT. ioi 
 
 sions created between me and my friends, even by Colonel 
 Howard." 
 
 " Colonel Howard will studiously avoid such offences in 
 future," said the veteran, bowing ; and turning stiffly to the 
 . others, he continued : " I was just conversing w T ith my 
 niece as you entered, Miss Alice, on the subject of her im 
 muring herself like one of the veriest nuns who ever in 
 habited these cloisters. I tell her, madam, that neither 
 her years nor my fortune, nor, indeed, her own for the 
 child of Harry Howard was not left penniless require 
 that we should live as if the doors of the world were closed 
 against us, or there was no other entrance to St. Ruth s but 
 through those antiquated windows. Miss Plowden, I feel 
 it to be my duty to inquire why those pieces of silk are 
 provided in such an unusual abundance and in so extra 
 ordinary a shape ? " 
 
 " To make a gala dress for the ball you are about to give, 
 sir," said Katherine, with a saucy smile that was only 
 checked by the reproachful glance of her cousin. " You 
 have taste in a lady s attire, Colonel Howard ; will not this 
 bright yellow form a charming relief to my brown face, 
 while this white and black relieve one another, and this 
 pink contrasts so sweetly with black eyes ? Will not the 
 whole form a turban fit for an empress to wear ? " 
 
 As the arch maiden prattled on in this unmeaning man 
 ner, her rapid fingers entwined the flags in a confused 
 mass, which she threw over her head in a form not unlike 
 the ornament for which she intimated it was intended. The 
 veteran was by far too polite to dispute a lady s taste, and 
 he renewed the dialogue with his slightly awakened sus 
 picion completely quieted by her dexterity and artifice. 
 But, although it was not difficult to deceive Colonel How 
 ard in matters of female dress, the rase was very different 
 with Alice Dunscombe. This lady gazed with a steady eye 
 and reproving countenance on the fantastical turban, until 
 Katherine threw herself by her side, and endeavored to 
 lead her attention to other subjects by her playful motions 
 and whispered questions. 
 
 " I was observing, Miss Alice," continued the colonel, 
 " that, although the times had certainly inflicted some 
 loss on my estate, yet we were not so much reduced as to 
 be unable to receive our friends in a manner that would 
 not disgrace the descendants of the ancient possessors of 
 St. Ruth, Cecilia ? here, my brother Harry s Daughter, is 
 
102 THE PILOT. 
 
 a young lady that any uncle might be proud to exhibit, 
 and I would have her, madam, show your English dames 
 that we rear no unworthy specimens of the parent stock 
 vn the other -side of the Atlantic." 
 
 "You have only to declare your pleasure, my good 
 uncle," said Miss Howard, " and it shall be executed." 
 
 " Tell us how we can oblige you, sir," continued 
 Katherine, " and if it be in any manner that will relieve 
 the tedium of this dull residence, I promise you at least 
 one cheerful assistant to your scheme." 
 
 "You speak fair," cried the colonel, "and like two 
 discreet and worthy girls. Well, our first step shall be to 
 send a message to Dillon and the captain, and invite them 
 to attend your coffee. I see the hour approaches." 
 
 Cecilia made no reply, but looked distressed, and 
 dropped her mild eyes to the carpet ; but Miss Plowden 
 took it upon herself to answer. 
 
 " Nay, sir, that would be for them to proceed in the 
 matter ; as your proposal was that the first step should be 
 ours, suppose we all adjourn to your part of the house, 
 and do the honors of the tea-table in your drawing-room 
 instead of our own ? I understand, sir, that you have had 
 an apartment fitted up for that purpose in some style : a 
 woman s tastes might aid your designs, however." 
 
 " Miss Plowden, I believe I intimated to you some time 
 since," said the displeased colonel, " that so long as certain 
 -suspicious vessels were known to hover on this coast, I 
 should desire that you and Miss Howard would confine 
 yourselves to this wing." 
 
 " Do not say that we confine ourselves," said Katherine ; 
 " but let it be spoken in plain English, that you confine 
 us here." 
 
 " Am I a jailer, madam, that you apply such epithets to 
 my conduct ? Miss Alice must form strange conclusions 
 of our manners, if she receives her impressions from your 
 very singular remarks. I " 
 
 "All measures adopted from a dread of the ship and 
 schooner that ran within the Devil s Grip, yester-eve, may 
 be dispensed with now," interrupted Miss Dunscombe, in 
 a melancholy, reflecting tone. " There are few living who 
 know the dangerous paths that can conduct even the 
 smallest craft in safety from the land, with daylight and fair 
 winds ; but when darkness and adverse gales oppose them, 
 chance for safety lies wholly in God s kindness." 
 
THE PILOT. 103 
 
 " There is truly much reason to believe they are lost," 
 returned the veteran, in a voice in which no exultation 
 was apparent. 
 
 " They are not lost ! " exclaimed Katherine, with startling 
 energy, leaving her seat and walking across the room to 
 join Cecilia, with an air that seemed to elevate her little 
 figure to the height of her cousin. " They are skilful and 
 they are brave, and what gallant sailors can do will they 
 do, and successfully ; besides, in what behalf would a just 
 Providence sooner exercise its merciful power, than to 
 protect the daring children of an oppressed country, while 
 contending against tyranny and countless wrongs ? " 
 
 The conciliating disposition of the colonel deserted 
 him, as he listened. His own black eyes sparkled with a 
 vividness unusual for his years, and his courtesy barely 
 permitted the lady to conclude, ere he broke forth : 
 
 " What sin, madam, what damning crime, would sooner 
 call down the just wrath of Heaven on the transgressors, 
 than the act of foul rebellion ? It was this crime, madam, 
 that deluged England in blood in the reign of the first 
 Charles ; it is this crime that has dyed more fields red than 
 all the rest of man s offences united ; it has been visited on 
 our race as a condign punishment, from the days of the 
 deservedly devoted Absalom down to the present time ; in 
 short, it lost Heaven forever to some of the most glorious 
 of its angels, and there is much reason to believe that it is 
 the one unpardonable sin named in the holy gospels." 
 
 " I know not that you have authority for believing it to 
 be the heavy enormity that you mention, Colonel How 
 ard," said Miss Dunscombe, anticipating the spirited re 
 ply of Katherine, and willing to avert it ; she hesitated an 
 instant, and then drawing a heavy, shivering sigh, she 
 continued in a voice that grew softer as she spoke : " tis 
 indeed a crime of magnitude, and one that throws the 
 common backslidings of our lives, speaking by compari 
 son, into the sunshine of his favor. Many there are who 
 sever the dearest ties of this life, by madly rushing into its 
 sinful vortex : for 1 fain think the heart grows hard with 
 the sight of human calamity, and becomes callous to the 
 miseries its owner inflicts ; especially where we act the 
 wrongs on our own kith and kin, regardless who or how 
 many that are dear to us suffer by our evil deeds. It is, 
 besides, Colonel Howard, a dangerous temptaJ.on to one 
 little practised in the great world, to find himself sudden- 
 
104 THE PILOT. 
 
 Iy elevated into the seat of power ; and if it do not lead to 
 the commission of great crimes, it surely prepares the 
 way to it, by hardening the heart." 
 
 " I hear you patiently, Miss Alice," said Katherine, 
 Dancing her little foot, in affected coolness ; "for you nei 
 ther know of whom nor to whom you speak. But Colonel 
 Howard has not that apology. Peace, Cecilia, for I must 
 speak ! Believe them not, dear girl ; there is not a wet 
 hair on their heads. For you, Colonel Howard, who 
 must recollect that the sister s son of the mothers of both 
 your niece and myself is on board that frigate, there is an 
 appearance of cruelty in using such language." 
 
 "I pity the boy! from my soul I pity him!" exclaimed 
 the veteran ; " he is a child, and has followed the current 
 that is sweeping our unhappy colonies down the tide of 
 destruction. But there are others in that vessel who have 
 no excuse of ignorance to offer. There is a son of my old 
 acquaintance, and the bosom friend of my brother Harry, 
 Cecilia s father, dashing Hugh Griffith, as we called him. 
 The urchins left home together, and were rated on board 
 one of his majesty s vessels on the same day. Poor Harry 
 lived to carry a broad pennant in the service, and Hugh 
 died in command of a frigate. This boy, too ! he was 
 nurtured on board his father s vessel, and learned, from his 
 majesty s discipline, how to turn his arms against his king. 
 There is something shockingly unnatural in that circum 
 stance, Miss Alice ; tis the child inflicting a blow on the 
 parent. Tis such men as these, with Washington at 
 their head, who maintain the bold front that this rebellion 
 wears." 
 
 " There are men, who have never worn the servile livery 
 of Britain, sir, whose names are as fondly cherished in 
 America as any that she boasts of," said Katherine, proud 
 ly ; "ay, sir, and those who would gladly oppose the brav 
 est officers in the British fleet." 
 
 " I contend not against your misguided reason," said 
 Colonel Howard, rising with cool respect. " A young lady 
 who ventures to compare rebels with gallant gentlemen 
 engaged in their duty to their prince, cannot escape the 
 imputation of possessing a misguided reason. No man I 
 speak not of women, who cannot be supposed so well 
 versed in human nature but no man who has reached the 
 time of life that entitles him to be called by that name, 
 can consort with these disorganizers, who would destroy 
 
THE PILOT. 105 
 
 everything that is sacred these levellers, who would pull 
 down the great to exalt the little these Jacobins, who 
 who " 
 
 " Nay, sir, if you are at a loss for opprobrious epithets," 
 said Katherine, with provoking coolness, "call on Mr. 
 Christopher Dillon for assistance; he waits your pleasure 
 at the door." 
 
 Colonel Howard turned in amazement, forgetting his 
 angry declamations at this unexpected intelligence, and 
 beheld, in reality, the sombre visage of his kinsman, who 
 stood holding the door in his hand, apparently as much 
 surprised at finding himself in the presence of the ladies 
 as they themselves could be at his unusual visit. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 "Prithee, Kate, let s stand aside, and see the end of this controversy." 
 
 SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 DURING the warm discussions of the preceding chapter, 
 Miss Howard had bowed her pale face to the arm of the 
 couch, and sat an unwilling and distressed listener to the 
 controversy ; but now that another, and one w T hom she 
 thought an unauthorized, intruder on her privacy was an 
 nounced, she asserted the dignity of her sex as proudly, 
 though with something more of discretion, than her cousin 
 could possibly have done. Rising from her seat, she in 
 quired: 
 
 " To what are we indebted for so unexpected a visit from 
 Mr. Dillon ? Surely he must know that we are prohibited 
 going to the part of the dwelling where he resides, and I 
 trust Colonel Howard will tell him that common justice 
 requires we should be permitted to be private." 
 
 The gentleman replied, in a manner in which malignant 
 anger was sufficiently mingled with calculating humility : 
 
 " Miss Howard will think better of my intrusion when 
 she knows that I come on business of importance to her 
 uncle." 
 
 " Ah ! that may alter the case, Kit ; but the ladies must 
 have the respect that is due to their sex. I forgot, some 
 how, to have myself announced ; but that Borrough cliff e 
 leads me deeper into my madeira than I have been accus- 
 
106 THE PILOT. 
 
 tomed to go since the time when my poor brother Harry, 
 with his worthy friend, Hugh Griffith the devil seize 
 Hugh Griffith, and all his race your pardon Miss Alice 
 what is your business with me, Mr. Dillon ? " 
 
 " I bear a message from Captain Borroughcliffe. You 
 may remember that, according to your suggestions the 
 sentinels were to be changed every night, sir." 
 
 "Ay! ay! we practised that in our campaign against 
 Montcalm ; twas necessary to avoid the murders of their 
 Indians, who were sure, Miss Alice, to shoot down a man 
 at his post, if he were placed two nights running in the 
 same place." 
 
 "Well, sir, your prudent precautions have not been 
 thrown away," continued Dillon, moving farther into the 
 apartment, as if he felt himself becoming a more wel 
 come guest as he proceeded ; "the consequences are, that 
 we have already made three prisoners." 
 
 "Truly it has been a most politic scheme ! " exclaimed 
 Katherine Plowden, with infinite contempt. " I suppose, 
 as Mr. Christopher Dillon applauds it so highly, that it 
 has some communion with the law ! and that the redoubt 
 able garrison of St. Ruth are about to reap the high glory 
 of being most successful thief-takers ! " 
 
 The sallow face of Dillon actually became livid as he re 
 plied, and his whole frame shook with the rage he vainly 
 endeavored to suppress. 
 
 " There may be a closer communion with the law, and its 
 ministers, perhaps, than Miss Plowden can desire," he 
 said ; " for rebellion seldom finds favor in any Christian 
 code." 
 
 " Rebellion ! " exclaimed the colonel ; " and what has this 
 detention of three vagabonds to do with rebellion, Kit ? 
 Has the damnable poison found its way across the At 
 lantic ? your pardon, Miss Alice but this is a subject on 
 which you can feel with me ; I know your sentiments on 
 the allegiance that is due to our anointed sovereign. Speak, 
 Mr. Dillon, are we surrounded by another set of demons ? 
 If so, we must give ourselves to the work, and rally round 
 our prince ; for this island is the main pillar of this 
 throne." 
 
 " I cannot say that there is any appearance, at present, 
 of an intention to rise in this island," said Dillon, with de 
 mure gravity ; " though the riots in London warrant any 
 precautionary measures on the part of his majesty s minis- 
 
THE PILOT. 107 
 
 ters, even to a suspension of the habeas corpus. But you 
 have had your suspicions concerning two certain vessels 
 that have been threatening the coast, for several days past, 
 in a most piratical manner ? " 
 
 The little foot of Katherine played rapidly on the 
 splendid carpet, but she contented herself with bestowing 
 a glance of the most sovereign contempt on the speaker, 
 as if she disdained any further reply. With the colonel, 
 however, this was touching a theme that lay nearest his 
 heart, and he answered in a manner worthy of the impor 
 tance of the subject : 
 
 " You speak like a sensible man and a loyal subject, Mr. 
 Dillon. The habeas corpus, Miss Alice, was obtained in the 
 reign of King John, along with Magna Charta, for the se 
 curity of the throne, by his majesty s barons ; some of my 
 own blood were of the number, which alone would be 
 a pledge that the dignity of the crown was properly con 
 sulted. As to our piratical countrymen, Christopher, there 
 is much reason to think that the vengeance of an offended 
 Providence has already reached them. Those who know 
 the coast well tell me, that without a better pilot than an 
 enemy would be likely to procure, it would be impossible 
 for any vessel to escape the shoals among which they en 
 tered, on a dark night, and with an adverse gale ; the 
 morning has arrived, and they are not to be seen?" 
 
 " But be they friends, or be they enemies, sir," contin 
 ued Dillon, respectfully, "there is much reason to think 
 that we have now in the Abbey those who can tell us some 
 thing of their true character; for the men we have de 
 tained carry with them the appearance of having just 
 landed, and wear not only the dress, but the air of sea 
 men." 
 
 " Of seamen ? " echoed Katherine, a deadly paleness 
 chasing from her cheek the bloom which indignation had 
 heightened. 
 
 " Of seamen, Miss Plowden," repeated Dillon, with 
 malignant satisfaction, but concealing it under an air of 
 submissive respect. 
 
 " I thank you, sir, for so gentle a term," replied the 
 young lady, recollecting herself, and recovering her pres 
 ence of mind in the same instant; "the imagination of 
 Mr. Dillon is so apt to conjure the worst that he is enti 
 tled to our praise for so far humoring our weakness as not 
 to alarm us with the apprehensions of their being pirates.* 
 
ro8 THE PILOT. 
 
 "Nay, madam, they may yet deserve that name," re> 
 turned the other, coldly; "but my education has in 
 structed me to hear the testimony before I pronounce 
 sentence." 
 
 " Ah! that the boy has found in his Coke upon Little 
 ton," cried the colonel ; " the law is a salutary corrective 
 to human infirmities, Miss Alice ; and, among other things, 
 it teaches patience to a hasty temperament. But for this 
 cursed, unnatural rebellion, madam, the young man would 
 at this moment have been diffusing its blessings from a 
 judicial chair, in one of the colonies ay! and I pledge 
 myself to all alike, black and white, red and yellow, with 
 such proper distinctions as Nature has made between the 
 officer and the private. Keep a good heart, kinsman ; we 
 shall yet find a time ; the royal arms have many hands, 
 and things look better at the last advices. But come, we 
 will proceed to the guard-room, and put these stragglers 
 to the question ; run away, I ll venture to predict, from 
 one of his majesty s cruisers, or, perhaps, honest subjects 
 engaged in supplying the service with men. Come, Kit, 
 come, let us go, and " 
 
 "Are we then to lose the company of Colonel How 
 ard so soon ? " said Katherine, advancing to her guardian, 
 with an air of blandishment and pleasantry. "I know that 
 he, too, soon forgets the hasty language of our little dis 
 putes to part in anger, if, indeed, he will even quit us till 
 he has tasted of our coffee." 
 
 The veteran turned to the speaker of this unexpected 
 address, and listened with profound attention. When she 
 had done, he replied with a good deal of softness in his 
 tones : 
 
 " Ah ! provoking one! you know me too well to doubt 
 my forgiveness ; but duty must be attended to, though even 
 a young lady s smiles tempt me to remain. Yes, yes, 
 child you, too, are the daughter of a very brave and 
 worthy seaman ; but you carry your attachment to that 
 profession too far, Miss Plowden you do, indeed you do." 
 
 Katherine might have faintly blushed ; but the slight 
 smile which mingled with the expression of her shame, 
 gave to her countenance a look of additional archness- 
 and she laid her hand lightly on the sleeve of her guar 
 dian, to detain him, as she replied : 
 
 " Yet why leave us, Colonel Howard ? It is long since 
 we have seen you in the cloisters, and you know you come 
 
THE PILOT. 109 
 
 as a father ; tarry, and you may yet add confessor to the 
 title." 
 
 " I know thy sins already, girl," said the worthy colonel, 
 unconsciously yielding to her gentle efforts to lead him 
 back to his seat ; " they are, deadly rebellion in your heart 
 to your prince, a most inveterate propensity to salt-water, 
 and a great disrespect to the advice and wishes of an old 
 fellow whom your father s will and the laws of the realm 
 have made the guardian of your person and fortune." 
 
 " Nay, say not the last, dear sir," cried Katherine ; 
 " for there is not a syllable you have ever said to me on 
 that foolish subject that I have forgotten. Will you re 
 sume your seat again? Cecilia, Colonel Howard consents 
 to take his coffee with us." 
 
 " But you forget the three men, honest Kit, there, and 
 our respectable guest, Captain Borroughcliffe." 
 
 " Let honest Kit stay there, if he please ; you may send 
 a request to Captain Borroughcliffe to join our party ; I 
 have a woman s curiosity to see the soldier ; and as for 
 
 the three men " she paused, and affected to muse a 
 
 moment, when she continued, as if struck by an obvious 
 thought : "yes, and the men can be brought in and ex 
 amined here ; who knows but they may have been wrecked 
 in the gale, and need our pity and assistance, rather than 
 deserve your suspicions ?" 
 
 " There is a solemn warning in Miss Plowden s conjec 
 ture, that should come home to the breasts of all who live 
 on this wild coast," said Alice Dunscombe ; " I have known 
 many a sad wreck among the hidden shoals, and when the 
 wind has blown but a gentle gale, compared to last night s 
 tempest. The wars, and the uncertainties of the times, 
 together with man s own wicked passions, have made great 
 havoc with those who know well the windings of the chan 
 nels among the Ripples. Some there were who could 
 pass, as I have often heard, within a fearful distance of 
 the Devil s Grip, the darkest night that ever shadowed 
 England ; but all are now gone of that daring set, either by 
 the hand of death, or, what is even as mournful, by un^ 
 natural banishment from the land of their fathers." 
 
 " This war has then probably drawn off most of them, for 
 your recollections must be quite recent. Miss Alice," said 
 the veteran ; " as many of them were engaged in the busi- 
 ne-ss of robbing his majesty s revenue, the country is in 
 some measure requited for the former depredations bf 
 
no THE PILOT. 
 
 their present services, and at the same time it is happily 
 rid of their presence. Ah ! madam, ours isaglorious con 
 stitution, where things are so nicely balanced, that, as in 
 the physical organization of a healthy, vigorous man, the 
 baser parts are purified in the course of things by its own 
 wholesome struggles." 
 
 The pale features of Alice Dunscombe became slightly 
 tinged with red as the colonel proceeded, nor did the faint 
 glow entirely leave her pallid face until she had said : 
 
 " There might have been some who knew not how to 
 respect the law of the land, for such are never wanting ; 
 but there were others who, however guilty they might be 
 in many respects, need not charge themselves with that 
 mean crime, and yet who could find the passages that lie 
 hid from common eyes, beneath the rude waves, as well 
 as you could find the way through the halls and galleries 
 of the Abbey, with a noonday sun shining upon its vanes 
 and high chimneys." 
 
 " Is it your pleasure, Colonel Howard, that we examine 
 the three men, and ascertain whether they belong to the 
 number of these gifted pilots? "said Christopher Dillon, 
 who was growing uneasy at his awkward situation, and 
 who hardly deemed it necessary to conceal the look of 
 contempt which he cast at the mild Alice while he spoke; 
 "perhaps we may gather information enough from them 
 to draw a chart of the coast that may gain us credit with 
 my lords of the Admiralty." 
 
 This unprovoked attack on their unresisting and un 
 offending guest brought the rich blood to the very temples 
 of Miss Howard, who rose, and addressed herself to her 
 kinsman with a manner that could not easily be mistaken, 
 any more than it could be condemned : 
 
 " If Mr. Dillon will comply with the wishes of Colonel 
 Howard, as my cousin has expressed them, we shall 
 not, at least, have to accuse ourselves of unnecessarily 
 detaining men who probably are more unfortunate than 
 guilty." 
 
 When she concluded, Cecilia walked across the apart 
 ment and took a seat by the side of Alice Dunscombe, with 
 whom she began to converse in a low, soothing tone of 
 voice. Mr. Dillon bowed with a deprecating humility, 
 and having ascertained that Colonel Howard chose to give 
 an audience, where he sat, to the prisoners, he withdrew 
 to execute his mission, secretly exulting at any change 
 
THE PILOT. MI 
 
 that promised to lead to a renewal of an intercourse that 
 might terminate more to his advantage than the lofty 
 beauty whose favor he courted was, at present, disposed 
 to concede. 
 
 " Christopher is a worthy, serviceable, good fellow, * 
 said the colonel when the door closed, "and I hope to live 
 yet to see him clad in ermine. I would not be understood 
 literally, but figuratively; for furs would but ill comport 
 with the climate of the Carolinas. I trust I am to be con 
 sulted by his majesty s ministers when the new appoint 
 ments shall be made for the subdued colonies, and he may 
 safely rely on my good word being spoken in his favor. 
 Would he not make an excellent and independent orna 
 ment of the bench, Miss Plowden ? " 
 
 Katherine compressed her lips a little as she replied : 
 
 " I must profit by his own discreet rules, and see testi 
 mony to that effect, before I decide, sir. But listen ! " 
 The young lady s color changed rapidly, and her eyes 
 became fixed in a sort of feverish gaze on the door. " He 
 has at least been active ; I hear the heavy tread of men 
 already approaching." 
 
 "Ah! it is he certainly; justice ought always to be 
 prompt, as well as certain, to make it perfect ; like a drum 
 head court-martial, which, by-the-way, is as summary a 
 sort of government as heart could wish to live under. If 
 his majesty s ministers could be persuaded to introduce 
 into the revolted colonies " 
 
 " Listen ! " interrupted Katherine, in a voice which be 
 spoke her deep anxiety ; " they draw near!" 
 
 The sound of footsteps was, in fact, now so audible as 
 to induce the colonel to suspend the delivery of his plan 
 for governing the recovered provinces. The long, low 
 gallery, which was paved with a stone flagging, soon 
 brought the footsteps of the approaching party more dis 
 tinctly to their ears, and presently a low tap at the door 
 announced their arrival. Colonel Howard arose, with the 
 air of one who was to sustain the principal character in 
 the ensuing interview, and bade them enter. Cecilia and 
 Alice Dunscombe merely cast careless looks at the open 
 ing door, indifferent to the scene ; but the quick eye of 
 Katherine embraced, at a glance, every figure in the 
 group. Drawing a long, quivering breath, she fell back 
 on the couch, and her eyes again lighted with their play 
 ful expression as she hummed a low, rapid air, with a 
 
H2 THE PILOT. 
 
 voice in which even the suppressed tones were liquid 
 melody. 
 
 Dillon entered, preceding the soldier, whose gait had 
 become more steady, and in whose rigid eye a thought 
 ful expression had taken the place of its former vacant 
 gaze. In short, something had manifestly restored to 
 him a more complete command of his mental powers, 
 although he might not have been absolutely sobered. 
 The rest of the party continued in the gallery, while Mr. 
 Dillon presented the renovated captain to the colonel, 
 where the latter did him the same kind office with the 
 ladies. 
 
 " Miss Plowden," said the veteran, for she offered first 
 in the circle, "this is my friend Captain Borroughcliffe ; 
 he has long been ambitious of this honor, and I have no 
 doubt his reception will be such as to leave him no cause 
 to repent he has been at last successful." 
 
 Katherine smiled, and answered with ambiguous em-.- 
 phasis : 
 
 " I know not how to thank him sufficiently for the care 
 he has bestowed on our poor persons." 
 
 The soldier looked steadily at her for a moment, with an 
 eye that seemed to threaten a retaliation in kind, ere he 
 replied : 
 
 " One of those smiles, madam, would be an ample com 
 pensation for services that are more real than such as exist 
 only in intention." 
 
 {Catherine bowed with more complacency than she 
 usually bestowed on those who wore the British uniform ; 
 and they proceeded to the next. 
 
 ** This is Miss Alice Dunscombe, Captain Borroughcliffe, 
 daughter of a worthy clergyman who was formerly the 
 curate of this parish, and a lady who does us the pleasure 
 of giving us a good deal of her society, though far less 
 than we all wish for." 
 
 The captain returned the civil inclination of Alice, and 
 the colonel proceeded : 
 
 " Miss Howard, allow me to present Captain Borrough 
 cliffe, a gentleman who, having volunteered to defend St. 
 Ruth in these critical times, merits all the favor of its 
 mistress." 
 
 Cecilia gracefully rose and received her guest with swe^et 
 complacency. The soldier made no reply to the custom 
 ary compliments that she uttered, but stood an instan/ 
 
THE PILOT. 113 
 
 gazing at her speaking countenance, and then, laying his 
 hand involuntarily on his breast, bowed nearly to his 
 sword-hilt. 
 
 These formalities duly observed, the colonel declared 
 his readiness to receive the prisoners. As the door was 
 opened by Dillon, Katherine cast a cool and steady look at 
 the strangers, and beheld the light glancing along the arms 
 of the soldiers who guarded them. But the seamen entered 
 alone ; while the rattling of arms and the heavy dash of 
 the muskets on the stone pavement announced that it was 
 thought prudent to retain a force at hand to watch these 
 secret intruders on the grounds of the Abbey. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 "Food for powder, they ll fill a pit as well as better." Falstaff. 
 
 THE three men who now entered the apartment appeared 
 to be nothing daunted by the presence into which they 
 were ushered, though clad in the coarse and weather- 
 beaten vestments of seamen who had been exposed to 
 recent and severe duty. They silently obeyed the direc 
 tion of the soldier s finger and took their stations in a dis 
 tant corner of the room, like men who knew the deference 
 due to rank, at the same time that the habits of their lives 
 had long accustomed them to encounter the vicissitudes of 
 the world. With this slight preparation Colonel Howard 
 began the business of examination. 
 
 " I trust ye are all good and loyal subjects," the veteran 
 commenced, with a considerate respect for innocence, 
 " but the times are such that even the most worthy char 
 acters become liable to suspicion, and, consequently, if our 
 apprehensions should prove erroneous, you must overlook 
 the mistake, and attribute it to the aw T ful condition into 
 which rebellion has plunged this empire. We have much 
 reason to fear that some project is about to be undertaken 
 on the coast by the enemy, who has appeared, we know, 
 with a frigate and schooner ; and the audacity of the rebels 
 is only equalled by their shameless and wicked disrespect 
 for the rights of the sovereign." 
 
 While Colonel Howard was uttering his apologetic pre 
 amble, the prisoners fastened their eyes on him wi*l) 
 & 
 
H4 THE PILOT. 
 
 much interest ; but when he alluded to the apprehended 
 attack, the gaze of two of them became more keenly atten* 
 tive, and, before he concluded, they exchanged furtive 
 glances of deep meaning. No reply was made, however, 
 and after a short pause, as if to allow time for his words to 
 make a proper impression, the veteran continued : 
 
 "We have no evidence, I understand, that you are in the 
 smallest degree connected with the enemies of this coun 
 try ; but as you have been found out of the king s high 
 way, or, rather, on a by-path, which I must confess is fre 
 quently used by the people of the neighborhood, but which 
 is nevertheless nothing but a by-path, it becomes no more 
 than what self-preservation requires of us to ask you a few 
 such questions as I trust will be satisfactorily answered. 
 To use your own nautical phrases. * From whence came 
 ye, pray ? and whither are ye bound ? 
 
 A low, deep voice replied : 
 
 " From Sunderland last, and bound overland to White- 
 haven." 
 
 This simple and direct answer was hardly given, before 
 the attention of the listeners was called to Alice Uuns- 
 combe, who uttered a faint shriek, and rose from her seat 
 involuntarily, while her eyes seemed to roll fearfully and 
 perhaps a little wildly round the room. 
 
 "Are you ill, Miss Alice?" said the sweet, soothing 
 tones of Cecilia Howard ; " you are, indeed you are ; lean 
 on me, that I may lead you to your apartment." 
 
 " Did you hear it, or was it only fancy ? " she answered, 
 her cheek blanched to the whiteness of death, and her 
 whole frame shuddering as if in convulsions ; " say, did 
 you hear it too ? " 
 
 " I have heard nothing but the voice of my uncle, who 
 is standing near you, anxious, as we all are, for your re 
 covery from this dreadful agitation." 
 
 Alice still gazed wildly from face to face. Her eye did 
 not rest satisfied with dwelling on those who surrounded 
 her, but surveyed, with a sort of frantic eagerness, the fig 
 ures and appearance of the three men, who stood in hum 
 ble patience, the silent and unmoved witnesses of this ex 
 traordinary scene. At length she veiled her eyes with 
 both her hands, as if to shut out some horrid vision, and 
 then, removing them, she smiled languidly, as she signed 
 for Cecilia to assist her from the room. To the polite and 
 assidious offers of the gentlemen, she returned no other 
 
THE PILOT. Hf 
 
 thanks than those conveyed in her looks and gestures ; but 
 when the sentinels who paced the gallery were passed, and 
 the ladies were alone, she breathed a long, shivering sigh, 
 and found an utterance. 
 
 * Tvvas like a voice from the silent grave ! " she said, 
 "but it could be no more than mockery. No, no, tis a 
 just punishment for letting the image of the creature fill 
 the place that should be occupied only with the Creator. 
 Ah! Miss Howard, Miss Plowden, ye are both young in 
 the pride of your beauty and loveliness but little do ye 
 know, and less do ye dread, the temptations and errors of 
 a sinful world." 
 
 "Her thoughts wander!" whispered Katherine, with 
 anxious tenderness ; " some awful calamity has affected 
 her intellect ! " 
 
 " Yes, it must be ; my sinful thoughts have wandered, 
 and conjured sounds that it would have been dreadful to 
 hear in truth, and within these walls," said Alice, more 
 composedly, smilingwith a-ghastly expression, as she gazed 
 at the two beautiful solicitous maidens who supported her 
 yielding person. " But the moment of weakness is passed, 
 and I am better ; aid me to my room, and return, that you 
 may not interrupt the reviving harmony between your 
 selves and Colonel Howard. I am now better nay, I am 
 quite restored." 
 
 " Say not so, dear Miss Alice," returned Cecilia ; "your 
 face denies what your kindness to us induces you to utter; 
 ill, very ill, you are, nor shall even your own commands 
 induce me to leave you." 
 
 " Remain, then," said Miss Dunscombe, bestowing a look 
 of grateful affection on her lovely supporter ; " and while 
 our Katherine returns to the drawing-room, to give the 
 gentlemen their coffee, y.ou shall continue with me, as 
 my gentle nurse." 
 
 By this time they had gained the apartment, and Kath 
 erine, after assisting her cousin to place Alice on hen bed, 
 returned to do the honors of the drawing-room. 
 
 Colonel Howard ceased his examination of the prison 
 ers, at her entrance, to inquire, with courtly solicitude, 
 after the invalid ; and, when his questions were answered, 
 he again proceeded, as follows : 
 
 "This is what the lads would call plain sailing, Bor- 
 roughcliffe : they are out of employment in Sunderland, 
 and have acquaintances and relatives in Whitehaven, to 
 
Ii6 THE PILOT. 
 
 whom the/ are going for assistance and labor. All verj 
 probable, and perfectly harmless." 
 
 " Nothing more so, my respectable host," returned the 
 jocund soldier ; " but it seemeth a grievous misfortune 
 that a trio of such flesh and blood should need work 
 wherewithal to exercise their thews and sinews, while so 
 many of the vessels of his majesty s fleet navigate the 
 ocean in quest of the enemies of Old England." 
 
 " There is truth in that ; much truth in your remark," 
 cried the colonel. "What say you, my lads, will you fight 
 the Frenchmen and the Don ay ! and even my own rebel 
 lious and infatuated countrymen ? Nay, by Heaven, it is 
 not a trifle that shall prevent his Majesty from possessing 
 the services of three such heroes. Here are five guineas 
 apiece for you the moment that you put foot on board the 
 Alacrity cutter ; and that can easily be done, as she lies at 
 anchor this very night, only two short leagues to the south 
 of this, in a small port, where she is riding out the gale as 
 snugly as if she were in a corner of this room." 
 
 One of the men affected to gaze at the money with long 
 ing eyes, while he asked, as if weighing the terms of the 
 engagement : 
 
 "Whether the Alacrity was called a good sea-boat, and 
 was thought to give a comfortable berth to her crew > " 
 
 " Comfortable ! " echoed Borroughcliffe ; "for that mat 
 ter, she is called the bravest cutter in the navy. You have 
 seen much of the world, I dare say ; did you ever see such 
 a place as the marine arsenal at Carthagena, in old Spain ? " 
 
 " Indeed I have, sir," returned the seaman, in a cool, col 
 lected tone. 
 
 " Ah ! you have ! well, did you ever meet with a house 
 in Paris that they call the Tuileries ? because it s a dog 
 kennel to the Alacrity." 
 
 " I have even fallen in with the place you mention, sir," 
 returned the sailor ; " and must own the berth quite good 
 enough for such as I am, if it tallies with your descrip 
 tion." 
 
 " The deuce take these blue-jackets ! " muttered Bor 
 roughcliffe, addressing himself unconsciously to Miss Plow- 
 den, near whom he happened to be at the time ; " they run 
 their tarry countenances into all the corners of the earth, 
 and abridge a man most lamentably in his comparisons 
 Now, who the devil would have thought that fellow had 
 ever put his sea-green eyes on the palace of King Louis ? f 
 
THE PILOT. 117 
 
 Katherine heeded not his speech, but sat eyeing the 
 prisoners with a confused arid wavering expression of coun 
 tenance, while Colonel Howard renewed his discourse by 
 exclaiming : 
 
 " Come, come, Borroughcliffe, let us give the lads no 
 tales for a recruit, but good, plain, honest English God 
 bless the language, and the land for which it was first 
 made, too ! There is no necessity to tell these men, if they 
 are, what they seem to be, practical seamen, that a cutter 
 of ten guns contains all the room and accommodations of 
 a palace." 
 
 " Do you allow nothing for English oak and English 
 comfort, mine host ? " said the immovable captain ; "do you 
 think, good sir, that I measure fitness and propriety by 
 square and compass, as if I were planning Solomon s Temple 
 anew ? All I mean to say is, that the Alacrity is a vessel 
 of singular compactness and magical arrangement of room. 
 Like the tent of that handsome brother of the fairy in the 
 Arabian Nights, she is big or she is little, as occasion 
 needeth ; and now hang me if I don t think I have uttered 
 more in her favor than her commander would say to help 
 me to a recruit, though no lad in the three kingdoms 
 should appear willing to try how a scarlet coat would suit 
 his boorish figure." 
 
 " That time has not yet arrived, and God forbid that 
 it ever should, while the monarch needs a soldier in the 
 field to protect his rights ! But what say ye, my men ? 
 you have heard the recommendation that Captain Bor 
 roughcliffe has given of the Alacrity, which is altogether 
 true after making some allowances for language. Will 
 ye serve ? shall I order you a cheering glass a man, and 
 lay by the gold till I hear from the cutter that you are en 
 rolled under the banners of the best of kings ? " 
 
 Katherine Plowden, who hardly seemed to breathe, so 
 close and intent was the interest with which she regarded 
 the seamen, fancied she observed lurking smiles on their 
 faces ; but if her conjectures were true, their disposition 
 to be merry went no further, and the one who had spoken 
 hitherto replied, in the same calm manner as before : 
 
 " You will excuse us if we decline shipping in the cut 
 ter, sir ; we are used to distant voyages and large vessels, 
 whereas the Alacrity is kept at coast duty and is not of a 
 size to lay herself alongside of a Don, or a Frenchman 
 with a double row of teeth." 
 
Ii8 THE PILOT. 
 
 " If you prefer that sort of sport, you must to the right 
 about for Yarmouth ; there you will find ships that will 
 meet anything that swims," said the colonel. 
 
 " Perhaps the gentleman would prefer abandoning the 
 cares and dangers of the ocean for a life of ease and 
 gayety," said the captain. " The hand that has long dal 
 lied with the marlinspike may be easily made to feel a 
 trigger, as gracefully as a lady touches the keys of her 
 
 Eiano. In short, there is and there is not a great resem- 
 lance between the life of a sailor and that of a soldier. 
 There are no gales of wind, nor short allowances, nor reef 
 ing topsails, nor shipwrecks, among soldiers ; and, at the 
 same time, there is just as much, or even more, grog- 
 drinking, jollifying, care-killing fun around a canteen and 
 an open knapsack, than there is on the end of a mess- 
 chest, with a full can and a Saturday-night breeze. I 
 crossed the ocean several times, and I must own that a 
 ship, in good weather, is very much the same as a camp 
 or comfortable barracks ; mind, I say only in very good 
 weather." 
 
 "We have no doubt that all you say is true, sir," ob 
 served the spokesman of the three ; " but what to you may 
 seem a hardship, to us is pleasure. We have faced too 
 many a gale to mind a capful of wind, and should think 
 ourselves always in the calm latitudes in one of your bar 
 racks, where there is nothing to do but to eat our grub, 
 and to march a little fore and aft a small piece of green 
 earth. We hardly know one end of a musket from the 
 other." 
 
 " No ! " said Borroughcliffe, musing ; and then, advanc 
 ing with a quick step toward them, he cried, in a spirited 
 manner ; " Attention ! right ! dress ! " 
 
 The speaker, and the seaman next him, gazed at the 
 captain in silent wonder ; but the third individual of the 
 party, who had drawn himself a little aside, as if willing 
 to be unnoticed, or perhaps pondering on his condition, 
 involuntarily started at this unexpected order, and, erect 
 ing himself, threw his head to the right as promptly as if 
 he had been on a parade-ground. 
 
 " Oho ! ye are apt scholars, gentlemen, and ye can learn, 
 I see," continued Borroughcliffe " I feel it to be propel 
 that I detain these men till to-morrow morning, Colone! 
 Howard ; and yet I would give them better quarters than 
 the hard benches of the guard-room." 
 
THE PILOT. Sig 
 
 " Act your pleasure, Captain Borroughcliffe/ returned 
 the host, " so you do but your duty to our royal master. 
 They shall not want for cheer, and they can have a room 
 over the servants offices in the south side of the Abbey." 
 
 " Three rooms, my colonel, three rooms must be pro 
 vided, though I give up my own." 
 
 " There are several empty apartments there, where blank 
 ets might be taken, and the men placed for safe-keep= 
 ing, if you deem it necessary ; though, to me, they seem 
 like good, loyal tars, whose greatest glory it would be to 
 serve their prince, and whose chief pleasure would consist 
 in getting alongside of a Don or a Monsieur." 
 
 "We shall discuss these matters anon," said Borrough 
 cliffe, dryly. " I see Miss Plowden begins to look grave 
 at our abusing her patience so long, and I know that cold 
 coffee is, like withered love, but a tasteless sort of a bever 
 age. Come, gentleman, en avant ! you have seen the Tuil- 
 eries, and must have heard a little French. Mr. Christo 
 pher Dillon, know you where these three small apartments 
 are situate, lying, and being, as your parchments read ?" 
 
 "I do, sir," said the complying lawyer, "and shall take 
 much pleasure in guiding you to them. I think your de 
 cision that of a prudent and sagacious officer, and much 
 doubt whether Durham Castle, or some other fortress, 
 will be thought too big to hold them, ere long." 
 
 As this speech was uttered while the men were passing 
 from the room, its effect on them was unnoticed ; but 
 Katherine Plowden, who was left for a few moments by 
 herself, sat and pondered over what she had seen and heard 
 with a thoughtful-ness of manner that was not usual to her 
 gay and buoyant spirits. The sounds of the retiring foot 
 steps, however, gradually grew fainter, and the return of 
 her guardian alone recalled the recollection of the young 
 lady to the duties of her situation. 
 
 While engaged in the little offices of the tea-table, Kath 
 erine threw many furtive glances at the veteran ; but, 
 although he seemed to be musing, there was nothing austere 
 or suspicious in his frank open countenance. 
 
 "There is much useless trouble taken with these wan 
 dering seamen, sir," said Katherine at length ; " it seems to 
 be the particular province of Mr. Christopher Dillon to 
 make all that, come in contact with him excessively uncom 
 fortable." 
 
 " And what has Kit to do with the detention of the men ? H 
 
120 THE PILOT. 
 
 " What ! why, has he not undertaken to stand godfather 
 to their prisons ? by a woman s patience, I think, Colonel 
 Howard, this business will gain a pretty addition to the 
 names of St. Ruth. It is already called a house, an abbey, 
 a place, and by some a castle ; let Mr. Dillon have his way 
 for a month, and it will add jail to the number." 
 
 " Kit is not so happy as to possess the favor of Miss Plow* 
 den ; but still Kit is a worthy fellow, and a good fellow, 
 and a sensible fellow ; ay ! and, what is more valuable than 
 all these put together, Miss Katherine, Mr. Christopher 
 Dillon is a faithful and loyal subject to his prince. His 
 mother was my cousin-german, madam, and I cannot say 
 how soon I may call him my nephew. The Dillons are of 
 good Irish extraction, and I believe that even Miss Plow- 
 den will admit that the Howards have some pretensions to 
 a name." 
 
 "Ah! it is those very things called names that I most 
 allude to," said Katherine quickly. " But an hour since 
 you were indignant, my dear guardian, because you sus 
 pected that I insinuated you ought to write jailer behind 
 the name of Howard, and even now you submit to have the 
 office palmed upon you." 
 
 " You forget, Miss Katherine Plowden, that it is the 
 pleasure of one of his majesty s officers to detain these 
 men." 
 
 " But I thought that the glorious British constitution, 
 which you so often mention," interrupted the young lady, 
 spiritedly, " gives liberty to all who touch these blessed 
 shores ; you know, sir, that out of twenty blacks that you 
 brought with you, how few remain ; the rest having fled on 
 the wings of the spirit of British liberty ! " 
 
 This was touching a festering sore in the colonel s feel 
 ings, and his provoking ward well knew the effects her 
 observation was likely to produce. Her guardian did not 
 break forth in a violent burst of rage, or furnish those 
 manifestations of his ire that he was wont to do on less im 
 portant subjects ; but he arose, with all his dignity con 
 centrated in a look, and, after making a violent effort to re 
 strain his feelings within the bounds necessary to preserve 
 the decorum of his exit, he ventured a reply. 
 
 " That the British constitution is glorious, madam, is 
 most true. That this island is the sole refuge where liberty 
 has been able to find a home, is also true. The tyranny and 
 oppression of the Congress, which are grinding down the 
 
THE PILOT. 121 
 
 colonies to the powder of desolation and poverty, are not 
 worthy the sacred name. Rebellion pollutes all that it 
 touches, madam. Although it often commences under the 
 sanction of holy liberty, it ever terminates in despotism. 
 The annals of the world, from the time of the Greeks and 
 Romans down to the present day, abundantly prove it. 
 There was that Julius Caesar he was one of your people s 
 men, and he ended a tyrant. Oliver Cromwell was another 
 a rebel, a demagogue, and a tyrant. The gradations, madam, 
 are as inevitable as from childhood to youth, and from 
 youth to age. As for the little affair that you have been 
 pleased to mention of the of the of my private concerns, 
 I can only say that the affairs of nations are not to be 
 judged of by domestic incidents, any more than domestic 
 occurrences are to be judged of by national politics." The 
 colonel, like many a better logician, mistook his antithesis 
 for argument and paused a moment to admire his own 
 eloquence ; but the current of his thoughts, which always 
 flowed in torrents on this subject, swept him along in its 
 course, and he continued : " Yes, madam, here, and here 
 alone, is true liberty to be found. With this solemn as 
 severation, which is not lightly made, but which is the re 
 sult of sixty years experience, I leave you, Miss Plowden ; 
 Jet it be a subject of deep reflection with you, for I too well 
 understand your treacherous feelings not to know that your 
 political errors enccAirage your personal foibles ; reflect, 
 for your own sake, if you love not only your own happi 
 ness but your respectability and standing in the world. As 
 for the black hounds that you spoke of they are a set of 
 rebellious, mutinous, ungrateful rascals ; and if ever I meet 
 one of the damned " 
 
 The colonel had so far controlled his feelings as to leave 
 the presence of the lady before he broke out into the bit 
 ter invectives we have recorded, and Katherine stood a 
 minute, pressing her forefinger on her lips, listening to 
 his voice as it grumbled along the gallery, until the sounds 
 were finally excluded by the closing of a distant door. The 
 wilful girl then shook her dark locks, and a smile of arch 
 mischief blended with an expression of regret in her coun 
 tenance, as she spoke to herself, while with hurried hands 
 she threw her tea equipage aside in a confused pile : 
 
 " It was, perhaps, a cruel experiment, but it has suc 
 ceeded. Though prisoners ourselves, we are at least left 
 free for the remainder of this night. These mysterious 
 
122 THE PILOT. 
 
 sailors must be examined more closely. If the proud eye 
 of Edward Griffith was not glaring under the black wig of 
 one of them, I am no judge of features ; and where has 
 Master Barnstable concealed his charming visage ! for 
 neither of the others could be he. But now for Cecilia." 
 Her light form glided from the room, while she was yet 
 speaking ; and flitting along the dimly-lighted passages, it 
 disappeared in one of those turnings that led to the more 
 secret apartments of the Abbey. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 " How ! Lucia, wouldst thou have me sink away 
 In pleasing dreams, and lose myself in love?" CATO. 
 
 THE reader must not imagine that the world stood still 
 during the occurrence of scenes we have related. By the 
 time the three seamen were placed in as many different 
 rooms, and a sentinel was stationed in the gallery common 
 to them all, in such a manner as to keep an eye on his 
 whole charge at once, the hour had run deep into the 
 night. Captain Borroughcliffe obeyed a summons from 
 the colonel, who made him an evasive apology for the 
 change in their evening s amusement, and challenged his 
 guest to a renewal of the attack on the madeira. This was 
 too grateful a theme to be ligluly discussed by the captain ; 
 and the Abbey clock had given forth as many of its 
 mournful remonstrances as the division of the hours would 
 permit, before they separated. In the meantime Mr. Dil 
 lon became invisible ; though a servant, w r hen questioned 
 by the host on the subject, announced that he "believed 
 
 Mr. Christopher had chosen to ride over to , to be in 
 
 readiness to join the hunt, on the morning, with the dawn." 
 While the gentlemen were thus indulging themselves in 
 the dining-parlor, and laughing over the tales of other 
 times and hard campaigns, two very different scenes oc 
 curred in other parts of the building. 
 
 When the quiet of the Abbey was only interrupted by 
 the howling of the wind, or by the loud and prolonged 
 laughs which echoed through the passages from the joy 
 ous pair, who were thus comfortably established by the 
 cide of the bottle, a door was gently opened on one of the 
 
THE PILOT. 123 
 
 galleries of the "cloisters," and Katherine Plowden issued 
 from it, wrapped in a close mantle, and holding in her 
 hand a chamber-lamp, which threw its dim light faintly 
 along the gloomy walls in front, leaving all behind her ob 
 scured in darkness. She was, however, soon followed by 
 two other female figures, clad in the same manner, and 
 provided with similar lights. When all were in the gal 
 lery, Katherine drew the door softly to, and proceeded in 
 front to lead the way. 
 
 " Hist ! " said the low, tremulous voice of Cecilia, " they 
 are yet up in the other parts of the house ; and, if it be as 
 you suspect, our visit would betray them, and prove the 
 means of their certain destruction." 
 
 " Is the laugh of Colonel Howard in his cups so singular 
 and unknown to your ear, Cecilia, that you know it not ? " 
 said Katherine, with a little spirit ; " or do you forget that 
 on such occasions he seldom leaves himself ears to hear, 
 or eyes to see with ? But follow me ; it is as I suspect 
 it must be as I suspect ; and unless we do something to 
 rescue them, they are lost, unless they have laid a deeper 
 scheme than is apparent." 
 
 "It is a dangerous road ye both journey," added the 
 placid tones of Alice Dunscombe ; " but ye are young, and 
 ye are credulous." 
 
 " If you disapprove of our visit," said Cecilia, "it can 
 not be right, and we had better return." 
 
 "No, no: I have said naught to disapprove of your 
 present errand. If God has put the lives of those in your 
 custody whom ye have taught yourselves to look up to with 
 love and reverence, such as woman is bound to yield to 
 one man, He has done it for no idle purpose. Lead us to 
 their doors, Katherine ; let us relieve our doubts, at least." 
 
 The ardent girl did not wait for a second bidding, but 
 she led them with light and quick steps along the gallery, 
 until they reached the termination, where they descended 
 to the basement-floor by a flight of narrow steps ; and, 
 carefully opening a small door, emerged into the open air. 
 They now stood on a small plat of grass, which -lay be 
 tween the building and the ornamental garden, across 
 which they moved rapidly, concealing their lights, and 
 bending their shrinking forms before the shivering blasts 
 that poured their fury upon them from the ocean. They 
 soon reached a large but rough addition to the buildings, 
 that concealed its plain architecture behind the more la* 
 
124 THE PILOT. 
 
 bored and highly-finished parts of the edifice, into which 
 they entered through a massive door that stood ajar, as if 
 to admit them. 
 
 " Chloe has been true to my orders," whispered Kath- 
 erine, as they passed out of the chilling air ; " now, if all 
 the servants are asleep, our chance to escape unnoticed 
 amounts to certainty." 
 
 It became necessary to go through the servants hall, 
 which they effected unobserved, as it had but one occu 
 pant, an aged black man, who, being posted with his ear 
 within two feet of a bell, in this attitude had committed 
 himself to a deep sleep. Gliding through this hall they 
 entered divers long and intricate passages, all of which 
 seemed as familiar to Katherine as they were unknown to 
 her companions, until they reached another flight of steps, 
 which they ascended. They were now near their goal, and 
 stopped to examine whether any or what difficulties were 
 likely to be opposed to their further progress. 
 
 " Now, indeed, our case seems hopeless," whispered 
 Katherine, as they stood, concealed by the darkness, in 
 one end of an extremely long, narrow passage ; " here is 
 the sentinel in the building, instead of being, as I had 
 supposed, under the windows ; what is to be done now ?" 
 
 " Let us return," said Cecilia, in the same manner ; "my 
 influence with my uncle is great, even though he seems 
 unkind to us at times. In the morning I will use it to 
 persuade him to free them, on receiving their promise to 
 abandon all such attempts in future." 
 
 "In the morning it will be too late," returned Kath 
 erine ; "I saw that demon Kit Dillon mount his horse, un 
 der the pretence of riding to the great hunt of to-morrow> 
 but I know his malicious eye too well to be deceived in 
 his errand. He is silent, that he may be sure ; and if to 
 morrow comes and finds Griffith within these walls, he will 
 be condemned to a scaffold." 
 
 " Say no more," said Alice Dunscombe, with singular 
 emotion ; "some lucky circumstance may aid us with this 
 sentinel." 
 
 As she spoke, she advanced : they had not proceeded 
 far before the stern voice of the soldier challenged the 
 party. 
 
 "Tis no time to hesitate," whispered Katherine "We 
 are the ladies of the Abbey, looking to our domestic af< 
 fairs," she continued, aloud, " and think it a little remark- 
 
THE PILOT. 125 
 
 able that we are to encounter armed men while going 
 through our own dwelling." 
 
 The soldier respectfully presented his musket, and re 
 plied : 
 
 " My orders are to guard the doors of these three rooms, 
 ladies ; we have prisoners in them, and, as for anything 
 else, my duty will be to serve you in all my power." 
 
 " Prisoners ! " exclaimed Katherine, in affected surprise ; 
 " does Captain Borroughcliffe make St. Ruth s Abbey a 
 jail ? Of what offences are the poor men guilty ?" 
 
 " I know not, my lady ; but, as they are sailors, I suppose 
 they have run from his majesty s service." 
 
 " This is singular, truly ! and why are they not sent to 
 the county prison?" 
 
 " This must be examined into," said Cecilia, dropping 
 the mantle from before her face. "As mistress of this 
 house, I claim a right to know whom its walls contain ; you 
 will oblige me by opening the doors, for I see you have 
 the keys suspended from your belt." 
 
 The sentinel hesitated.. He was greatly awed by the 
 presence and beauty of the speakers, but a still voice re 
 minded him of his duty. A lucky thought, however, inter 
 posed to relieve him from his dilemma, and at the same 
 time to comply with the request, or rather order, of the 
 lady. As he handed her the keys, lie said : 
 
 " Here they are, my lady ; my orders are to keep the 
 prisoners in, not to keep any one out. When you are 
 done with them, you will please return them to me, if it 
 be only to save a poor fellow s eye ; for unless the door is 
 kept locked, I shall not dare to look about me for a mo 
 ment." 
 
 Cecilia promised to return the keys, and she had ap 
 plied one of them to a lock with a trembling hand, when 
 Alice Dunscombe arrested her arm, and addressed the sol 
 dier. 
 
 " Say you there are three ! are they men in years ?" 
 
 " No, my lady, all good, serviceable lads, who couldn t 
 do better than to serve his majesty, or, as it may prove, 
 worse than to run from their colors." 
 
 " But are their years and appearance similar ? I ask ; for 
 I have a friend who has been guilty of some boyish 
 tricks, and has tried the seas, I hear, among other foolish 
 hazards." 
 
 "There is no bov here. In the far room on the left is * 
 
126 THE PILOT. 
 
 smart, soldier-looking chap, of about thirty, who the cap* 
 tain thinks has carried a musket before now ; on him I am 
 charged to keep a particular eye. Next to him is as pretty 
 a looking youth as eyes could wish to see, and it makes one 
 feel mournful to think what he must come to, if he has really 
 deserted his ship. In the room near you is a smaller, 
 quiet little body, who might make a better preacher than 
 a sailor, or a soldier either, he has such a gentle way with 
 him." 
 
 Alice covered her eyes with her hand a moment, and 
 then, recovering herself, proceeded : 
 
 " Gentleness may do more for the unfortunate men than 
 fear ; here is a guinea : withdraw to the far end of the 
 passage, where you can watch them as well as here, while 
 we enter, and endeavor to make them confess who and 
 what they really are." 
 
 The soldier took the money and, after looking about 
 him in a little uncertainty, he at length complied, as it was 
 obviously true they could only escape by passing him, near 
 the flight of steps. When he was beyond hearing, Alice 
 Dunscombe turned to her companions, and a slight glow- 
 appeared in feverish spots on her cheeks, as she addressed 
 them : 
 
 "It would be idle to attempt to hide from you, that I ex 
 pect to meet the individual whose voice I must have heard 
 in reality to-night, instead of only imaginary sounds, as I 
 vainly, if not wickedly, supposed. I have many reasons 
 for changing my opinion, the chief of which is, that he is 
 leagued with the rebellious Americans in this unnatural 
 war. Nay, chide me not, Miss Plowden ; you will remem 
 ber that I found my being on this island. I come here on 
 no vain or weak errand, Miss Howard, but to spare human 
 blood." She paused, as if struggling to speak calmly, 
 " But no one can witness the interview except our God." 
 
 " Go, then," said Katherine, secretly rejoicing at her de 
 termination, " while we inquire into the characters of the 
 others." 
 
 Alice Dunscombe turned the key ; and, gently opening 
 the door, she desired her companions to tap for her, as 
 they returned, and then instantly disappeared in the apart 
 ment. 
 
 Cecilia and her cousin proceeded to the next door, which 
 they opened in silence, and entered cautiously into the 
 room. Katherine Plowden had so far examined into the 
 
THE PILOT. 127 
 
 arrangements of Colonel Howard as to know that, at the 
 same time he ordered blankets to be provided for the 
 prisoners, he had not thought it necessary to administer 
 any further to the accommodations of men who had ap 
 parently made their beds and pillows of planks for the 
 greater part of their lives. 
 
 The ladies accordingly found the youthful sailor whom 
 they sought, with his body rolled in the shaggy covering, 
 extended at his length along the naked boards, and buried 
 in a deep sleep. So timid were the steps of his visitors, 
 and so noiseless was their entrance, that they approached 
 even to his side without disturbing his slumbers. The 
 head of the prisoner lay rudely pillowed on a billet of 
 wood, one hand protecting his face from its rough surface, 
 and the other thrust into his bosom, where it rested, with 
 a relaxed grasp, on the handle of a dirk. Although he 
 slept, and that heavily, yet his rest was unnatural and per 
 turbed. His breathing was hard and quick, and something 
 like the low, rapid rnurmurings of a confused utterance 
 mingled with his respiration. The moment had now ar 
 rived when the character of Cecilia Howard appeared to 
 undergo an entire change. Hitherto she had been led by 
 her cousin, whose activity and enterprise seemed to qualify 
 her so well fcr the office of guide ; but now she advanced 
 before Katherine, and, extending her lamp in such a man 
 ner as to throw the light across the face of the sleeper, she 
 bent to examine his countenance, with keen and anxious 
 eyes. 
 
 "Am I right ?" whispered her cousin. 
 
 "May God, in his infinite compassion, pity and protect 
 him!" murmured Cecilia, her whole frame involuntarily 
 shuddering, as the conviction that she beheld - Griffith 
 flashed across her mind. "Yes, Katherine, it is he, and 
 presumptuous madness has driven him here. But time 
 presses ; he must be awakened, and his escape effected at 
 every hazard." 
 
 " Nay, then, delay no longer, but rouse him from his 
 sleep." 
 
 "Griffith! Edward Griffith!" said the soft tones of 
 Cecilia. " Griffith, awake ! " 
 
 " Your call is useless, for they sleep nightly among tem 
 pests and boisterous sounds," said Katherine; "but I have 
 heard it said that the smallest touch will generally cause 
 one of them to stir." 
 
US THE PILOT. 
 
 "Griffith ! " repeated Cecilia, laying her fair hand timidly 
 on his own. 
 
 The flash of lightning is not more nimble than the leap 
 that the young man made to his feet, which he no sooner 
 gained than his dirk gleamed in the light of the lamps as 
 he brandished it fiercely with one hand, while with the 
 other he extended a pistol, in a menacing attitude, toward 
 only his disturbers. 
 
 " Stand back!" he exclaimed; "I am your prisoner 
 as a corpse ! " 
 
 The fierceness of his front, and the glaring eyeballs, that 
 rolled wildly around him, appalled Cecilia, who shrank 
 back in fear, dropping her mantle from her person, but 
 still keeping her mild eyes fastened on his countenance 
 with a confiding gaze that contradicted her shrinking 
 attitude, as she replied : 
 
 " Edward, it is I, Cecilia Howard, come to save you 
 from destruction ; you are known even through your in 
 genious disguise." 
 
 The pistol and the dirk fell together on the blanket of 
 the young sailor, whose looks instantly lost their disturbed 
 expression in a glow of pleasure. 
 
 "Fortune at length favors me!" he cried. "This is 
 kind, Cecilia ; more than I deserve, and much more than 
 I expected. But you are not alone ? " 
 
 " Tis my cousin Kate; to her piercing eyes you owe 
 your detection, and she has kindly consented to accompany 
 me, that we might urge you to nay, that we might, if 
 necessary, assist you to fly. For tis cruel folly, Griffith, 
 thus to tempt your fate." 
 
 Have I tempted it, then, in vain! Miss Plowden, to 
 you I must appeal for an answer and a justification." 
 
 Katherine looked displeased ; but, after a moment s 
 hesitation, she replied: 
 
 "Your servant, Mr. Griffith ; I perceive that the erudite 
 Captain B lrnstable has not only succeeded in spelling 
 through my scrawl, but he has also given it to all hands for 
 perusal." 
 
 " Now you do both him and me injustice," said Griffith; 
 "it surely was not treachery to show me a plan in which 1 
 was to be a principal actor." 
 
 "Ah! doubtless your excuses are as obedient to your 
 calls as your men," returned the young lady; "but how 
 comes it that the hero of the Ariel sends a deputy to per- 
 
THE PILOT. 129 
 
 form a duty that is so peculiarly his own ? Is he wont to 
 be second in rescues ? " 
 
 " Heaven forbid that you should think so meanly of him 
 for a moment ! We owe you much, Miss Plowden ; but 
 we may have other duties. You know that we serve our 
 common country, and have a superior with us, whose beck 
 is our law." 
 
 " Return, then, Mr. Griffith, while you may to the ser 
 vice of our bleeding country," said Cecilia ; " and after 
 the joint efforts of her brave children have expelled the 
 intruders from her soil, let us hope there shall come a 
 time when Katherine and myself may be restored to our 
 native homes." 
 
 " Think you, Miss Howard to how long a period the 
 mighty arm of the British king may extend that time ? 
 We shall prevail a nation fighting for its dearest rights 
 must ever prevail ; but tis not the work of a day, for a 
 people, poor, scattered, and impoverished as we have been 
 to beat down a power like that of England ; surely you 
 forget that, in bidding me to leave you with such expecta 
 tions, Miss Howard, you doom me to an almost hope 
 less banishment ! " 
 
 " We must trust to the will of God," said Cecilia ; " if 
 He ordain that America is to be free only after protracted 
 sufferings, 1 can aid her but with my prayers ; but you 
 have an arm and an experience, Griffith, that might do her 
 better service. Waste not your usefulness, then, in vision 
 ary schemes for private happiness, but seize the moments 
 as they offer, and return to your ship, if indeed it 
 is yet in safety, and endeavor to forget this mad under 
 taking, and, for a time, the being who has led you to the 
 adventure." 
 
 " This is a reception that I had not anticipated," re 
 turned Griffith ; "for though accident, and not intention, 
 has thrown me into your presence this evening, I did hope 
 that, when I again saw the frigate, it would be in you* 
 company, Cecilia." 
 
 "You cannot justly reproach me, Mr. Griffith, with your 
 disappointment, for I have not uttered or authorized a 
 syllable that could induce you or any one to believe that I 
 would consent to quit my uncle." 
 
 "Miss Howard will not think me presumptuous if I re 
 mind her that there was a time when she did not think me 
 unworthy to be intrusted with her person and happiness. * 
 
130 THE PILOT. 
 
 A rich bloom mantled on the face of Cecilia, as she 
 replied : 
 
 "Nor do I now, Mr. Griffith; but you do well to re 
 mind me of my former weakness, for the recollection 
 c-f its folly and imprudence only adds to my present 
 strength." 
 
 "Nay," interrupted her eager lover, " if I intended a re 
 proach, or harbored a boastful thought, spurn me from 
 you forever, as unworthy of your favor." 
 
 " I acquit you of both much easier than I can acquit 
 myself of the charge of weakness and folly," continued 
 Cecilia; "but there are many things that have occurred 
 since we last met to prevent a repetition of such incon 
 siderate rashness on my part. One of them is," she 
 added, smiling sweetly, " that I have numbered twelve ad 
 ditional months to my age, and a hundred to my experi 
 ence. Another, and perhaps a more important one, is, 
 that my uncle then continued among the friends of his 
 youth, surrounded by those whose blood mingles with his 
 own ; but here he lives a stranger; and, though he finds 
 some consolation in dwelling in a building where his an 
 cestors have dwelt before him, yet he walks as an alien 
 through its gloomy passages, and would find the empty 
 honor but a miserable compensation for the kindness and 
 affection of one whom he has loved and cherished from 
 her infancy." 
 
 " And yet he is opposed to you in your private wishes, 
 Cecilia, unless my besotted vanity has led me to believe 
 what it would now be madness to learn was false ; and, in 
 your opinions of public things, you are quite as widely 
 separated. I should think there could be but little happi 
 ness dependent on a connection where there is no one 
 feeling entertained in common." 
 
 " There is, and an all-important one," said Miss Howard; 
 " tis our love. He is my kind, my affectionate, and, unless 
 thwarted by some evil cause, my indulgent uncle and 
 guardian and I am his brother Harry s child. This tie is 
 not easily to be severed, Mr. Griffith ; though, as I do not 
 wish to see you crazed, I shall not add that your besotted 
 vanity has played you false ; but surely, Edward, it is pos 
 sible to feel a double tie, and so to act as to discharge out 
 duties to both. I never, never can or will consent to desert 
 my uncle, a stranger as he is in the land whose rule he 
 upholds so blindly. You know not this England, Griffith 
 
THE PILOT. 131 
 
 she receives her children from the colonies with cold and 
 haughty distrust, like a jealous step mother, who is wary 
 of the favors that she bestows on her fictitious offspring." 
 
 " I know her in peace, and I know her in war," said the 
 young sailor, proudly, "and can add that she is a haughty 
 friend, and a stubborn foe ; but she grapples now with 
 those who ask no more of her than an open sea and an 
 enemy s favors. But this determination will be melan 
 choly tidings for me to convey to Barnstable." 
 
 "Nay," said Cecilia, smiling, "I cannot vouch for 
 others who have no uncles, and who have an extra quan 
 tity of ill-humor and spleen against this country, its people, 
 and its laws, although profoundly ignorant of them all." 
 
 " Is Miss Howard tired of seeing me under the tiles of 
 St. Ruth?" asked Katherine. "But hark! are there not 
 footsteps approaching along the gallery ?" 
 
 They listened, in breathless silence, and soon heard dis 
 tinctly the approaching tread of more than one person. 
 Voices were quite audible, and before they had time to 
 consult on what was best to be done, the words of the 
 speakers were distinctly heard at the door of their own 
 apartment. 
 
 "Ay ! he has a military air about him, Peters, that will 
 make him a prize. Come, open the door." 
 
 "This is not his room, your honor," said the alarmed 
 soldier: "he quarters in the last room in the gallery." 
 
 " How know you that, fellow ? Come, produce the key, 
 and open the way for me ; I care not who sleeps here ; 
 there is no saying but I may enlist them all three." 
 
 A single moment of dreadful incertitude succeeded, when 
 the sentinel was heard saying in reply to this peremptory 
 order: 
 
 " I thought your honor wanted to see the one with the 
 black stock, and so left the rest of the keys at the other 
 end of the passage ; but 
 
 " But nothing, you loon; a sentinel should always carry 
 his keys about him like a jailer ; follow, then, and let me 
 see the lad who dresses so well to the right." 
 
 As the heart of Katherine began to beat less vehemently, 
 she said: 
 
 " Tis Borroughcliffe, and too drunk to see that we have 
 left the key in the door; but what is to be done ? We have 
 but a moment for consultation." 
 
 "As the day dawns," said Cecilia, quickly, " I shall sen<? 
 
r 3 2 THE PILOT. 
 
 here, under the pretence of conveying you food, my own 
 women " 
 
 " There is no need of risking anything for my safety," 
 interrupted Griffith; "I hardly think we shall be de 
 tained, and, if we are, Barnstable is at hand with a force 
 that would scatter these recruits to the four winds of 
 heaven." 
 
 " Ah ! that would lead to bloodshed, and scenes of hor 
 ror !" exclaimed Cecilia. 
 
 "Listen !" cried Katherine, "they approach again !" 
 
 A man now stopped, once mure, at their door, which 
 was opened softly, and the face of the sentinel was thrust 
 into the apartment. 
 
 " Captain BorroughclifTe is on his rounds, and for fifty of 
 your guineas I would not leave you here another minute." 
 
 " But one word more," said Cecilia. 
 
 "Not a syllable, my lady, for my life!" returned the 
 man ; " the lady from the next room waits for you, and 
 in mercy to a poor fellow go back where you came from. 
 
 The appeal was unanswerable, and they complied, Cecil 
 ia saying, as they left the room : 
 
 "I shall send you food in the morning, young man, and 
 directions how to take the remedy necessary to yom 
 safety." 
 
 In the passage they found Alice Dunscornbe, with hei 
 face concealed in her mantle ; and it would seem, by the 
 heavy sighs that escaped from her, deeply agitated, by the 
 interview which she had just encountered. 
 
 But as the reader may have some curiosity to know 
 what occurred to distress this unoffending lady so sensibly, 
 we shall detain the narrative to relate the substance of that 
 which passed between her and the individual whom she 
 sought. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 " As when a lion in his den, 
 
 Hatlrheard the hunter s cries, 
 And rushes forth to meet his foes, 
 
 So did the Douglas rise." PERCY. 
 
 ALICE DUNSCOMBE did not find the second of the prison 
 ers buried, like Griffith, in sleep, but he was seated on on 
 of the old chairs that were in the apartment, with his back 
 
THE FILOT. 133 
 
 to the door, and apparently looking through the small 
 window, on the dark and dreary scenery over which the 
 tempest was yet sweeping in its fury. Her approach was 
 unheeded, until the light from her lamp glared across his 
 eyes, when he started from his musing posture, and ad 
 vanced to meet her. He was the first to speak. 
 
 "I expected this visit," he said, "when I found that you 
 recognized my voice ; and I felt a deep assurance in my 
 breast that Alice Dunscombe would never betray me." 
 
 His listener, though expecting this confirmation of her 
 conjectures, was unable to make an immediate reply, but 
 she sank into the seat he had abandoned, and waited a few 
 moments as if to recover her powers. 
 
 "It was, then, no mysterious warning! no airy voice 
 that mocked my ears ; but a dread reality !" she at length 
 said. " Why have you thus braved the indignation of the 
 laws of your country? On what errand of fell mischief 
 has your ruthless temper again urged you to embark ?" 
 
 "This is strong and cruel language, coining from you 
 to me, Alice Dunscombe," returned the stranger, with cool 
 asperity, "and the time has been when I should have been 
 greeted, after a shorter absence, with milder terms." 
 
 " I deny it not ; I cannot, if I would, conceal my infirmity 
 from myself or you ; I hardly wish it to continue unknown 
 to the world. If I have once esteemed you if I have 
 plighted to you my troth, and in my confiding folly for 
 got my higher duties, God has amply punished me for the 
 weakness in your own evil deeds." 
 
 "Nay, let not our meeting be embittered with useless 
 and provoking recriminations," said the other; "for we 
 have much to say before you communicate the errand of 
 mercy on which you have come hither. I know you too 
 well, Alice, not to see that you perceive the peril in which 
 I am placed, and are willing to venture something for my 
 safety. Your mother does she yet live ? " 
 
 " She has gone in quest of my blessed father," said Alice, 
 covering her pale face with her hands ; " they have left me 
 alone, truly ; for he who was to have been all to me, was 
 first false to his faith, and has since become unworthy of 
 my confidence." 
 
 The stranger became singularly agitated, his usually quiet 
 eye glancing hastily from the floor to the countenance of 
 his companion, as he paced the room with hurried steps , 
 at length he replied : 
 
!34 TIIR PILOT. 
 
 There is much, perhaps, to be said in explanation that 
 you do not know. I left the country, because I found in 
 it nothing but oppression and injustice, and I could not 
 invite you to become the bride of a wanderer, without 
 either name or fortune. But I have now the opportunity 
 of proving my truth. You say you are alone ; be so no 
 longer, and try how far you were mistaken in believing 
 that I should one day supply the place to you of both 
 father and mother." 
 
 There is something soothing to a female ear in the offer 
 of even protracted justice, and Alice spoke with less of ac 
 rimony in her tones, during the remainder of their confer 
 ence, if not with less of severity in her language. 
 
 "You talk not like a man whose very life hangs but on a 
 thread that the next minute may snap asunder. Whither 
 would you lead me ? is it to the Tower at London ? " 
 
 "Think not I have weakly exposed my person without a 
 sufficient protection," returned the stranger, with cool in 
 difference ; " there are many gallant men who only wait 
 my signal to crush the paltry force of this officer like a 
 worm beneath my feet." 
 
 "Then has the conjecture of Colonel Howard been true 
 and the manner in which the enemy s vessels have passed 
 the shoals is no longer a mystery \ You have been their 
 pilot ? " 
 
 " I have." 
 
 "What! would ye pervert the knowledge gained in the 
 spring-time of your guileless youth to the foul purpose of 
 bringing desolation to the doors of those you once knew 
 and respected ? John ! John ! is the image of the maiden, 
 whom in her morning of beauty and simplicity I believe 
 you did love, so faintly impressed that it cannot soften 
 your hard heart to the misery of those among whom she 
 has been born, and who compose her little world ? " 
 
 " Not a hair of theirs shall be touched, not a thatch shall 
 blaze, nor shall a sleepless night befall the vilest among 
 them and all for your sake, Alice ! England comes to this 
 contest with a seared conscience and bloody hands, but all 
 shall be forgotten for the present, when both opportunity 
 and power offer to make her feel our vengeance even in 
 her vitals. I come on no such errand." 
 
 "What, then, has led you -blindly into snares, where all 
 your boasted aid would avail you nothing ; for, should 1 
 call aloud your name even here, in the dark and drear) 
 
THE PILOT. i : ,5 
 
 passages of this obscure edifice, the cry would echo through 
 the country ere the morning, and a whole people would be 
 found in arms to punish your audacity." 
 
 " My name has been sounded, and that in no gentle 
 strains," returned the pilot, scornfully, " when a whole peo 
 ple have quailed at it the craven, cowardly wretches flying 
 before the man they had wronged. I have lived to bear 
 the banners of the new Republic proudly in sight of the 
 three kingdoms, when practised skill and equal arms have 
 in vain struggled to pluck it down. Ay! Alice, the echoes 
 of my guns are still roaring among your eastern hills, and 
 would render my name more appalling than inviting to 
 your sleeping yeomen." 
 
 " Boast not of the momentary success that the arm of God 
 has yielded to your unhallowed efforts," said Alice; "fora 
 day of severe and heavy retribution must follow ; nor flat 
 ter yourself with the idle hope that your name, terrible as 
 ye have rendered it to the virtuous, is sufficient of itself to 
 drive the thoughts of home, and country, and kin, from all 
 who hear it. Nay, I know not that even now, in listening 
 to you, I am not forgetting a solemn duty, which would 
 teach me to proclaim your presence, that the land might 
 know that her unnatural son is a dangerous burden in her 
 bosom." 
 
 The pilot turned quickly in his short walk ; and, after 
 reading her countenance, with the expression of one who 
 felt his security, he said in gentler tones : 
 
 " Would that be Alice Dunscombe ? would that be like 
 the mild, generous girl whom I knew in my youth ? But I 
 repeat, the threat would fail to intimidate, even if you were 
 capable of executing it. I have said that it is only to make 
 the signal to draw around me a force sufficient to scatter 
 these dogs of soldiers to the four winds of heaven." 
 
 " Have you calculated your power justly, John ? " said 
 Alice, unconsciously betraying her deep interest in his 
 safety. " Have you reckoned the probability of Mr. Dil 
 lon s arriving, accompanied by an armed band of horsemen 
 with this morning s sun ? for it s no secret in the Abbey 
 that he is gone in quest of such assistance." 
 
 " Dillon ! " Qxclaimed the pilot, starting ; " who is he ? 
 and on what suspicion does he seek this addition to your 
 guard ? " 
 
 " Nay, John, look not at me, as if you would know the 
 secrets of my heart. It was not I who prompted him t 
 
,36 THE PILOT. 
 
 such a step ; you cannot for a moment think that I would 
 betray you ! But too surely he has gone ; and, as the night 
 wears rapidly away, you should be using the hour of grace 
 to effect your own security." 
 
 " Fear not for me, Alice," returned the pilot, proudly, 
 while a faint smile struggled around his compressed lips ; 
 "and yet I like not this movement either. How call you 
 his name ? Dillon ! is he a minion of King George ?" 
 
 " He is, John, what you are not, a loyal subject of his 
 sovereign lord the king; and, though a native of the re 
 volted colonies, he has preserved his virtue uncontami- 
 nated amid the corruptions and temptations of the times." 
 
 "An American ! and disloyal to the liberties of the hu 
 man race ! By Heaven, he had better not cross me ; for, 
 if my arm reach him, it shall hold him forth as a spectacle 
 of treason to the world ! " 
 
 " And lias not the world enough of such a spectacle in 
 yourself ? Are ye not even now, breathing your native 
 air, though lurking through the mists of the island, with 
 desperate intent against its peace and happiness?" 
 
 A dark and fierce expression of angry resentment Hashed 
 from the eyes of the pilot, and even his iron frane seemed 
 to shake with emotion, as he answered : 
 
 " Call you his dastardly and selfish treason, aiming, as it 
 does, to aggrandize a few, at the expense of millions, a 
 parallel case to the generous ardor that impels a man to 
 fight in the defence of sacred liberty ? I might tell you 
 that I am armed in the common cause of my fellow-sub 
 jects and countrymen ; that, though an ocean divided us 
 in distance, yet we are a people of the same blood, and 
 children of the same parents, and that the hand which op 
 presses one inflicts an injury on the other. But I disdain 
 all such narrow apologies. I was born on this orb, and I 
 claim to be a citizen of it. A man with a soul not to be 
 limited by the arbitrary boundaries of tyrants and hirelings, 
 but one who has the right as well as the inclination to 
 grapple with oppression, in whose name soever it is exer 
 cised, or in whatever hollow and specious shape it founds 
 Its claim to abuse our race." 
 
 "Ah ! John, John, though this may sound like reason to 
 rebellious ears, to mine it seemeth only as the ravings of 
 insanity. It is vain ye build up your new and disorganiz 
 ing systems of rule, or rather misrule, which are opposed 
 to all that the world lias ever yet done, or ever will see 
 
TITR PILOT. 1 37 
 
 done, in peace and happiness. What avail your subtleties 
 and false reasonings against the heart ? It is the heart 
 which tells us where our home is, and how to love it." 
 
 "You talk like a weak and prejudiced woman, Alice," 
 said the pilot, more composedly; "and one who would 
 shackle nations with the ties that bind the young and fee 
 ble of your own sex together." 
 
 "And by what holier and better bond can they be 
 united ! " said Alice. " Are not the relations of domestic 
 life of God s establishing, and have not the nations grown 
 from families, as branches spread from the stem, till the 
 tree overshadows the land ? Tis an ancient and sacred 
 tie that binds man to his nation ; neither can it be severed 
 without infamy." 
 
 The pilot smiled disdainfully, and, throwing open the 
 rough exterior of his dress, he drew forth, in succession, 
 several articles, while a glowing pride lighted his counte 
 nance as he offered them singly to her notice. 
 
 "See! Alice!" he said; "call you this infamy? This 
 broad sheet of parchment is stamped with a seal of no 
 mean importance, and it bears the royal name of the prince 
 ly Louis also ! And view this cross ! decorated as it is 
 With jewels, the gift of the same illustrious hand ; it is not 
 sipt to be given to the children of infamy, neither is it wise 
 or decorous to stigmatize a man who has not been thought 
 unworthy to consort with princes and nobles by the op 
 probrious name of the Scotch Pirate. " 
 
 " And have ye not earned the title, John, by ruthless 
 deeds and bitter animosity? I could kiss the bawbles ye 
 show me, if they were a thousand times less splendid, had 
 they been laid upon your breast by the hands of your law 
 ful prince ; but now they appear to my eyes as indelible 
 blots upon your attainted name. As for your associates, 1 
 have heard of them : and it seemeth that a queen might 
 be better employed than encouraging by her smiles the 
 disloyal subjects of other monarchs, though even her ene 
 mies. God only knows when His pleasure may suffer a 
 spirit of disaffection to rise up among the people of her 
 own nation, and then the thought that she has encouraged 
 rebellion may prove both bitter and unwelcome." 
 
 " That the royal and lovely Antoinette has deigned to 
 repay my services with a small portion of her gracious ap 
 probation is not among the leasts of my boasts," re 
 turned the pilot, in affected humility, while secret pride 
 
I3 THE PILOT. 
 
 was manifested even in his lofty attitude. " But venture 
 not a syllable in her dispraise, for you know not whom 
 you censure. She is less distinguished by her illustrious 
 birth and elevated station, than by her virtues and loveli 
 ness. She lives the first of her sex in Europe the daugh 
 ter of an emperor, the consort of the most powerful king, 
 and the smiling and beloved patroness of a nation who 
 worship at her feet. Her life is above all reproach, as it 
 is above all earthly punishment, were she so lost as to merit 
 it ; and it has been the will of Providence to place her far 
 beyond the reach of all human misfortunes." 
 
 " Has it placed her above human errors, John ? Pun 
 ishment is the natural and inevitable consequence of sin ; 
 and unless she can say more than has ever fallen to the 
 lot of humanity to say truly, she may be made to feel the 
 chastening arm of One to whose eyes all her pageantry 
 and power are as vacant as the air she breathes so insig 
 nificant must it seem when compared to his own just rule ! 
 But if you vaunt that you have been permitted to kiss the 
 hem of the robes of the French queen, and have been the 
 companion of high-born and flaunting ladies, clad in their 
 richest array, can ye yet say to yourself, that amid them 
 all ye have found one whose tongue has been bold to tell 
 you the truth, or whose heart has sincerely joined in her 
 false professions ? " 
 
 " Certainly none have met me with the reproaches that 
 I have this night received from Alice Dunscombe, after a 
 separation of six long years," returned the pilot. 
 
 "If I have spoken to you the words of holy truth, John, 
 let them not be the less welcome, because they are stran 
 gers to your ears. Oh ! think that she who has thus 
 dared to use the language of reproach to one w T hose name 
 is terrible to all who live on the border of this island, is led 
 to the rash act by no other motive than interest in your 
 eternal welfare." 
 
 " Alice! Alice! you madden me with these foolish 
 speeches ! Am I a monster to frighten unprotected women 
 and helpless children ? What mean these epithets, as 
 coupled with my name ? Have you, too, lent a credulous 
 ear to the vile calumnies which the policy of your rulers 
 has ever attempted Lo destroy the fair fame of those who 
 oppose them, and those chiefly who oppose them with 
 success ? My name may be terrible to the officers of the 
 royal fleet, but where and how have I earned a claim to 
 
THE PILOT. 139 
 
 be considered formidable to the helpless and unoffend* 
 ing ? " 
 
 Alice Dunscombe cast a furtive and timid glance at 
 the pilot, which spoke even stronger than her words, as 
 she replied : 
 
 "I know not that all which is said of you and youi 
 deeds is true. I have often prayed, in bitterness and sor 
 row, that a tenth part of that which is laid to your charge 
 may not be heaped on your devoted head at the great and 
 final account. But, John, I have known you long and 
 well, and Heaven forbid that, on this solemn occasion, 
 which may be the last of our earthly interviews, I should 
 be found wanting in Christian duty, through a woman s 
 weakness ! I have often thought, when I have heard the 
 gall of bitter reproach and envenomed language hurled 
 against your name, that they who spoke so rashly, little 
 understood the man they vituperated. But, though ye are 
 at times, and I may say almost always, as mild and even as 
 the smoothest sea over which ye have ever sailed, yet God 
 has mingled in your nature a fearful mixture of fierce pas 
 sions, which, roused, are more like the southern waters 
 when troubled with the tornado. It is difficult for me to 
 say how far this evil spirit may lead a man who has been 
 goaded by fancied wrongs to forget his country and home, 
 and who is suddenly clothed with power to show his re 
 sentments." 
 
 The pilot listened with rooted attention, and his piercing 
 eye seemed to reach the seat of those thoughts which she 
 but half expressed ; still, he retained the entire com 
 mand of himself, and answered, more in sorrow than in 
 anger : 
 
 " If anything could convert me to your own peaceful 
 and unresisting opinions, Alice, it would be the reflec 
 tions that offer themselves at this conviction, that even 
 you have been led, by the base tongues of my dastardly 
 enemies, to doubt my honor and conduct. What is fame, 
 when a man can be thus traduced to his nearest friends ? 
 But no more of these childish reflections ; they are un 
 worthy of myself, my office, and the sacred cause in which 
 I have enlisted ! " 
 
 "Nay, John, shake them not off," said Alice, uncon 
 sciously laying her hand on his arm ; " they are as the dew 
 to the parched herbage, and may freshen the feelings of 
 your youth, and soften the heart that has grown hard, if 
 
140 THE PILOT. 
 
 hard it be, more by unnatural indulgence, than its own 
 base inclinations." 
 
 "Alice Dunscombe," said the pilot, approaching her 
 with solemn earnestness, " I have learned much this 
 night, though I came not in quest of such knowledge. 
 You have taught me how powerful is the breath of the 
 slanderer, and how frail is the tenure by which we hold 
 our good names. Full twenty times have T met the 
 hirelings of your prince in open battle, fighting ever 
 manfully under that flag which was first raised to the 
 breeze by my own hands, and which, I thank my God, I 
 have never yet seen lowered an inch ; but with no one act 
 of cowardice or private wrong in all that service can I 
 reproach myself ; and yet, how am I rewarded ? The 
 tongue of the vile calumniator is keener than the sword 
 of the warrior, and leaves a more indelible scar ! " 
 
 " Never have ye uttered a truer sentiment, John, and 
 God send that ye may encourage such thoughts to your 
 own eternal advantage !" said Alice, with engaging interest. 
 "You say that you have risked your own precious life in 
 twenty combats, and observe how little of Heaven s favor 
 is bestowed on the abettors of rebellion ! They tell me 
 that the world has never witnessed a more desperate 
 and bloody struggle than this last, for \vhich your name 
 has been made to sound to the farthermost ends of the 
 isle." 
 
 " Twill be known wherever naval combats are spoken 
 of ! " interrupted the pilot, the melancholy which had 
 begun to lower in his countenance giving place to a look 
 of proud exultation. 
 
 "And yet its fancied glory cannot shield your name 
 from wrong, nor are the rewards of the victor equal, in a 
 temporal sense, to those which the vanquished has re 
 ceived. Know you that our gracious monarch, deeming 
 your adversary s cause so sacred, has extended to him his 
 royal favor ? " 
 
 "Ay! he has dubbed him knight!" exclaimed the pilot, 
 with a scornful and bitter laugh ; " let him be again fur 
 nished with a ship, and me with another opportunity, and 
 1 promise him an earldom, if being again vanquished car/ 
 constitute a claim ! " 
 
 "Speak not so rashly, nor vaunt yourself of possessing 
 a protecting power that may desert you, John, when yoy 
 most need it, and least expect the change," returned hi 
 
THE PILOT. T4i 
 
 companion ; "the battle is not always to the strong, 
 neither is the race to the swift." 
 
 " Forget you, my good Alice, that your words will admit 
 of a double meaning?" Has the battle besn with the 
 strong ? Though you say not well in denying the race to 
 the swift. Yes, yes, often and again have the dastards 
 escaped me by their prudent speed ! Alice Dunscombe, 
 you know not the thousandth part of the torture that I 
 have been made to feel, by high-born miscreants, who 
 envy the merit they cannot equal, and detract from the 
 glory of deeds that they dare not attempt to emulate. 
 How have I been cast upon the ocean, like some unworthy 
 vessel that is commissioned to do a desperate deed, and 
 then to bury itself in the ruin it has made ! How many 
 malignant hearts have triumphed as they beheld my 
 canvas open, thinking that it was spread to hasten me to a 
 gibbet, or to a tomb in the bosom of the ocean ! but I 
 have disappointed them ! " 
 
 The eyes of the pilot no longer gazed with their piercing 
 and settled meaning ; but they flashed with a fierce and 
 wild pleasure, as he continued, in a louder voice : 
 
 " Yes, bitterly have I disappointed them! Oh! the 
 triumph over my fallen enemies has been tame to this 
 heartfelt exultation which places me immeasurably above 
 those false and craven hypocrites ! I begged, I implored 
 the Frenchmen for the meanest of their craft, which pos 
 sessed but the common qualities of a ship-of-war ; I urged 
 the policy and necessity of giving me such a force, for 
 even then I promised to be found in harm s way ; but 
 envy and jealousy robbed me of my just dues, and of more 
 than half my glory. They call me pirate ! If I have claim 
 to the name, it was furnished more by the paltry outfit of 
 my friends than by any act toward my enemies ! " 
 
 " And do not these recollections prompt you to return to 
 your allegiance, to your prince and native land, John ? ; 
 said Alice in a subdued voice. 
 
 "Away with the silly thought !" interrupted the pilot, 
 recalled to himself as if by a sudden conviction of the 
 weakness he had betrayed; "it is ever thus where men 
 are made conspicuous by their works but to your visit 
 I have the power to rescue myself and companions from 
 this paltry confinement, and yet I would not have it done 
 with violence for your sake. Bring you the means \>f 
 doing it in quiet ?" 
 
142 THE PILOJT. 
 
 "When the morning arrives you will all be conducted ta 
 the apartment where we first met. This will be done at 
 the solicitation of Miss Howard, under the plea of com* 
 passion and justice, and with the professed object of in 
 quiring into your situations. Her request will not be 
 refused ; and while your guard is stationed at the door, 
 you will be shown, by another entrance, through the pri 
 vate apartments of the wing, to a window whence you can 
 easily leap to the ground, where a thicket is at hand 
 afterward we shall trust your safety to your own discre- 
 tion." 
 
 " And if this Dillon, of whom you have spoken, should 
 suspect the truth, how will you answer to the law for aid 
 ing our escape ? " 
 
 " I believe he little dreams who is among the prisoners," 
 said Alice, musing, "though he may have detected the 
 character of one of your companions. But it is private 
 feeling rather than public spirit that urges him on." 
 
 " I have suspected something of this," returned the pilot, 
 with a smile, that crossed those features where ungovern 
 able passions had so lately been exhibited, with an effect 
 that might be likened to the last glimmering of an expir 
 ing conflagration, serving to render the surrounding ruin 
 more obvious. "This young Griffith has led me from my 
 direct path with his idle imprudence, and it is right that 
 his mistress should incur some risk. But with you, Alice, 
 the case is different ; here you are only a guest, and it is 
 unnecessary that you should be known in the unfortunate 
 affair. Should my name get abroad, this recreant Ameri 
 can, this Colonel Howard, will find all the favor he has 
 purchased by advocating the cause of tyranny necessary to 
 protect him from the displeasure of the ministry." 
 
 "I fear to trust so delicate a measure to the young dis 
 cretion of my amiable friend," said Alice, shaking her head. 
 " Remember that she has her attachment to plead in her 
 excuse ; but dare you say to the world that you still re 
 member, with gentle feelings, the man whom you stig> 
 matize with such opprobrious epithets ? " 
 
 A slight color gleamed over the brow of Alice Duns* 
 combe, as she uttered, in a voice that was barely audible - 
 
 " There is no longer a reason why the world should know 
 of such a weakness, though it did exist." And, as the 
 faint glow passed away, leaving her face pale nearly as the 
 hue of death, her eyes kindled with unusual fire, and she 
 
THE PILOT. 143 
 
 added : " They can but take my life, John ; and that I am 
 ready to lay down in your service ! " 
 
 "Alice!" exclaimed the softened pilot, " my kind, my 
 gentle Alice " 
 
 The knock of the sentinel at the door was heard at this 
 critical moment. Without waiting for a reply to his sum 
 mons, the man entered the apartment, and, in hurried 
 language, declared the urgent necessity that existed for the 
 lady to retire. A few brief remonstrances were uttered by 
 both Alice and the pilot, who wished to comprehend more 
 clearly each other s intentions relative to the intended es 
 cape ; but the fear of personal punishment rendered the 
 soldier obdurate, and a dread of exposure at length in 
 duced the lady to comply. She arose, and was leaving the 
 apartment with lingering steps, when the pilot, touching 
 her hand, whispered to her impressively : 
 
 "Alice, we meet again before I leave this island forever?" 
 
 "We meet in the morning, John," she returned, in the 
 same tone of voice, "in the apartments of Miss Howard." 
 
 He dropped her hand and she glided from the room, 
 when the impatient sentinel closed the door, and silently 
 turned the key on his prisoner. The pilot remained in a 
 listening attitude, until the light footsteps of the retiring 
 pair were no longer audible, when he paced his confined 
 apartment with perturbed steps, occasionally pausing to 
 look out at the driving clouds, and the groaning oaks that 
 were trembling and rocking their broad arms in the fitful 
 gusts of the gale. In a few minutes the tempest in his own 
 passions had gradually subsided to the desperate and still 
 calmness that made him the man he was ; when he again 
 seated himself where Alice had found him, and began to 
 muse on the events of the times, from which the transition 
 to projecting schemes of daring enterprise and mighty 
 consequences was but the usual employment of his active 
 and restless mind. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 " Sir Andrew. I have no exquisite reason for t, but I ve reason good 
 enough. "Twelfth Night. 
 
 THE countenance of Captain Borroughcliffe, when the 
 sentinel admitted him to the npnrtment he had selected, 
 was in that state of doubtful illumination, when looks of 
 
i;4 THE PILOT. 
 
 peculiar cunning blend so nicely with the stare of vacancy, 
 that the human face is rendered not unlike an April day, 
 now smiling and inviting, and at the next moment clouded 
 and dreary. It was quite apparent that the soldier had an 
 object for his unexpected visit, by the importance of his 
 air, and the solemnity of the manner with which he entered 
 on the business. He waved his hand for the sentinel to 
 retire, with lofty dignity, and continued balancing his body, 
 during the closing of the door, and while a sound continued 
 audible to his confused faculties, with his eyes fixed in the 
 direction of the noise, with that certain sort of wise look 
 that in many men supplies the place of something better. 
 When the captain felt himself secure from interruption, he 
 moved round with quick and military precision, in order to 
 face the man of whom he was in quest. Griffith had been 
 sleeping, though uneasily, and with watchfulness ; and the 
 pilot had been calmly awaiting the visit which it seemed 
 he had anticipated ; but their associate, who was no other 
 than Captain Manual, of the marines, was discovered in a 
 very different condition from either. Though the weather 
 was cool, and the night tempestuous, he had thrown aside 
 his pea-jacket, with most of his disguise, and was sitting 
 ruefully on his blanket, wiping, with one hand, the large 
 drops of sweat from his forehead, and occasionally grasp 
 ing his throat with the other, with a kind of convulsed 
 mechanical movement. He stared wildly at his visitor, 
 though his entrance produced no other alteration in these 
 pursuits than a more diligent application of his handker 
 chief, and a more frequent grasping of his naked neck, as 
 if he were willing to ascertain, by actual experiment, what 
 degree of pressure the part was able to sustain, without 
 exceeding a given quantity of inconvenience. 
 
 "Comrade, I greet ye !" said Borroughcliffe, staggering 
 to the side of his prisoner, where he seated himself with an 
 entire absence of ceremony ; "comrade, I greet ye ! Is the 
 kingdom in danger, that gentlemen traverse the island in 
 the uniform of the regiment of incognitus, incognitu, torum 
 damme, how I forget my Latin \ Say, my fine fellow, are 
 you one of these torums ? " 
 
 Manual breathed a little hard, which, considering tho 
 manner he had been using his throat, was a thing to be ex 
 pected ; but, swallowing his apprehensions, he answered 
 with more spirit than his situation rendered prudent, or the 
 occasion demanacv* 
 
THE PILOT. 145 
 
 * Say what you will of me, and treat me as you please, 
 I defy any man to call me Tory with truth." 
 
 " You are no torum ! Well, then, the war-office has got 
 up a new dress ! Your regiment must have earned their 
 facings in storming some water-battery, or perhaps it has 
 done duty as marines. Am I right ? " 
 
 " I ll not deny it," said Manual, more stoutly ; " I have 
 served as a marine for two years, though taken from the 
 line of " 
 
 " The army," said Borroughcliffe, interrupting a most 
 damning confession of which "State line" the other 
 belonged to. " I kept a dog-watch myself, once, on board 
 the fleet of my Lord Howe ; but it is a service that I do not 
 envy any man. Our afternoon parades were dreadfully un 
 steady, for it s a time, you know, when a man wants solid 
 ground to stand on. However, I purchased my company 
 with some prize-money that fell in my way, and I always 
 remember the marine service with gratitude. But this is 
 dry work. I have put a bottle of sparkling madeira in my 
 pocket, with a couple of glasses, which we will discuss, 
 \vhile we talk over more important matters. Thrust your 
 hand into my right pocket ; I have been used to dress to 
 the front so long, that it comes mighty awkward to me to 
 make this backward motion, as if it were into a cartridge 
 box." 
 
 Manual, who had been at a loss how to construe the man 
 ner of the other, perceived at once a good deal of plain 
 English in this request, and he dislodged one of Colonel 
 Howard s dusty bottles, with a dexterity that denoted the 
 earnestness of his purpose. Borroughcliffe had made a 
 suitable provision of glasses ; and, extracting the cork in 
 a certain scientific manner, he tendered to his companion 
 a bumper of the liquor, before another syllable was uttered 
 by either of the expectants. The gentlemen concluded 
 their draughts with a couple of smacks, that sounded not 
 unlike the pistols of two practised duellists, though cer 
 tainly a much less alarming noise, when the entertainer re 
 newed the discourse. 
 
 " I like one of your musty-looking bottles, that is covered 
 with dust and cobwebs, with a good Southern tan on it," 
 he said. " Such liquor does not abide in the stomach, but 
 it gets into the heart at once, and becomes blood in the 
 beating of a pulse. But how soon I knew you ! That sort 
 of knowledge is the freemasonry of our craft. I knew you 
 
346 THE PILOT, 
 
 to be the man you are, the moment I laid eyes on you in 
 what we call our guardroom ; but I thought I would humor 
 the old soldier who lives here, by letting him have the 
 formula of the examination, as a sort of deference to his 
 age and former rank. But I knew you the instant I saw 
 you. I have seen you before ! " 
 
 The theory of Borroughcliffe, in relation to the incor 
 poration of wine with the blood might have been true in 
 the case of the marine, whose whole frame appeared to 
 undergo a kind of magical change by the experiment of 
 drinking, which, the reader will understand, was diligently 
 persevered in, while a drop remained in the bottle. The 
 perspiration no longer rolled from his brow, neither did his 
 throat manifest that uneasiness which had rendered such 
 constant external application necessary ; but he settled 
 down into an air of cool but curious interest, which, in 
 some measure, was the necessary concomitant of his situa 
 tion. 
 
 " We may have met before, as I have been much in ser 
 vice, and yet I know not where you could have seen me," 
 said Manual. " Were you ever a prisoner of war ? " 
 
 "Hum! not exactly such an unfortunate devil; but a 
 sort of conventional non-combatant. I shared the hardships, 
 the glory, the equivocal victories (where we killed and 
 drove countless numbers of rebels who were not), and 
 \voeis me! the capitulation of Burgoyne. But let that 
 pass which was more than the Yankees would allow us 
 to do. You know not where I could have seen you ? I 
 have seen you on parade, in the field, in battle and out of 
 battle, in camp, in barracks, in short, everywhere but in a 
 drawing-room. No, no ; I have never seen you before 
 this night in a drawing-room ! " 
 
 Manual stared in a good deal of wonder and some un 
 easiness, at these confident assertions which promised to 
 put his life in no little jeopardy ; and it is to be supposed 
 that" the peculiar sensation about the throat was revived, 
 as he made a heavy draft, before he said : 
 
 " You will swear to this can you call me by name ? " 
 
 "I will swear to it in any court in Christendom," said 
 the dogmatical soldier; "and your name is is Fugle 
 man ! " 
 
 " If it is I ll be damned ! " exclaimed the other, with ex 
 ulting precipitation. 
 
 " Swear not ! " said Borroughcliffe, with a solemn air; 
 
THE PILOT. 147 
 
 "for what mattereth an empty name! Call thyself by 
 what appellation thou wilt, I know thee. Soldier is writ 
 ten on thy martial front ; thy knee bendeth not ; nay, I 
 even doubt if the rebellious member bow in prayer 
 
 "Come, sir," interrupted Manual, a little sternly; "no 
 more of this trifling, but declare your will at once. Re 
 bellious member, indeed ! These fellows will call the skies 
 of America rebellious heavens shortly ! " 
 
 " I like thy spirit, lad," returned the undisturbed Bor- 
 roughcliffe ; " it sits as gracefully on a soldier as his sash 
 and gorget ; but it is lost on an old campaigner. I marvel, 
 however, that thou takest such umbrage at my slight attack 
 on thy orthodoxy. I fear the fortress must be weak, where 
 the outworks are defended with such a waste of unneces 
 sary courage ! " 
 
 " I know not why or wherefore you have paid me this 
 visit, Captain Borroughcliffe," said Manual, with a lauda 
 ble discretion, which prompted him to reconnoitre the 
 other s views a little, before he laid himself more open; 
 " if captain be your rank, and Borroughcliffe be your name. 
 But this I do know, that if it be only to mock me in my 
 present situation, it is neither soldier-like nor manly, and 
 it is what, in other circumstances, might be attended by 
 some hazard." 
 
 " Hum ! " said the other, with his immovable coolness ; 
 " I see you set the wine down as nothing, though the king 
 drinks not as good ; for the plain reason that the sun of 
 England cannot find its way through the walls of Windsor 
 Castle as easily as the sun of Carolina can warm a garret 
 covered with cedar shingles. But I like your spirit more 
 and more. So draw yourself up in battle array, and let us 
 have another charge at this black bottle, when I shall lay 
 before your military eyes a plan of the whole campaign." 
 
 Manual first bestowed an inquiring glance on his com 
 panion ; when, discovering no other expression than fool 
 ish cunning, which was fast yielding before the encroach 
 ing footsteps of stupid inebriety, he quietly placed himself 
 in the desired position. The wine was drunk, when Bor 
 roughcliffe proceeded to open his communications mere 
 unreservedly. 
 
 " You are a soldier and I am a soldier. That you are a 
 soldier, my orderly could tell ; for the dog has both seen a 
 campaign, and smelt villanous saltpetre, when compounded 
 according to a wicked invention ; but it required the offi 
 
148 THE PILOT. 
 
 cer to detect the officer. Privates do not wear such linen 
 jis this, which seemeth to me an unreasonably cool attire 
 for the season ; nor velvet stocks, with silver buckles ; nor 
 is there often the odorous flavor of sweet scented pomatum 
 to be discovered around their greasy locks. In short, 
 thou art both soldier and officer." 
 
 " I confess it," said Manual ; " I hold the rank of cap* 
 tain, and shall expect the treatment of one." 
 
 " I think I have furnished you with wine fit for a gen 
 eral," returned Borroughcliffe ; but have your own way. 
 Now, it would be apparent to men whose faculties had not 
 been rendered clear by such cordials as this dwelling 
 aboundeth with, that when you officers journey through 
 the island, clad in the uniform incognitorum, which, in 
 your case, means the marine corps, that something is in 
 the wind of more than usual moment. Soldiers owe their 
 allegiance to their prince, and, next to him, to war, women, 
 and wine. Of war, there is none in the realm ; of women, 
 plenty ; but wine, I regret to say that is, good wine, grows 
 both scarce and dear. Do I speak to the purpose, comrade ? " 
 
 "Proceed," said Manual, whose eyes \vere not less at 
 tentive than his ears, in a hope to discover whether his 
 true character were understood. 
 
 " En avant ! in plain English, forward march! Well, 
 the difficulty lies between women and wine ; which, when 
 the former are pretty and the latter rich, is a very agreea 
 ble sort of an alternative. That it is not wine of which you 
 are in quest, I must believe, my comrade captain, or you 
 would not go on the adventure in such shabby attire. You 
 will excuse me, but who would think of putting anything 
 better than their port before a man in a pair of tarred 
 trousers! No! no! Hollands, green-and-yellow Hollands, 
 is a potation good enough to set before one of the present 
 bearing." 
 
 " And yet I have met with him who has treated me to 
 the choicest of the south-side madeira ! " 
 
 " Know you the very side the precious fluid comes ? 
 That looks more in favor of the wine. But, after all, 
 woman, dear, capricious woman, who one moment fancies 
 she sees a hero in regimentals, and the next a saint in a 
 cassock ; and who always sees something admirable in a 
 suitor, whether he be clad in tow or velvet woman is at 
 the bottom of this mysterious masquerading. Ami right; 
 comrade ? " 
 
THE PILOT. 149 
 
 By this time Manual had discovered that he was safe, 
 and he returned to the conversation with a revival of all 
 his ready wits, which had been strangely paralyzed by his 
 previous disorder in the region of the throat. First be 
 stowing a wicked wink on his companion, and a look that 
 would have outdone the wisest aspect of Solomon, he 
 replied : 
 
 " Ah ! woman has much to answer for ! " 
 
 "I knew it," exclaimed Borroughcliffe ; "and this con 
 fession only confirms me in the good opinion I have always 
 entertained of myself. If his Majesty has any particular 
 wish to close this American business, let. him have a certain 
 convention burnt and a nameless person promoted, and we 
 shall see ! But answer, as you love truth ; is it a business 
 of holy matrimony, or a mere dalliance with the sweets of 
 Cupid?" 
 
 " Of honest wedlock," said Manual, with an air as serious 
 as if Hymen already held him in his fetters. 
 
 " Tis honest ! Is there money ? " 
 
 "Is there money?" repeated Manual, with a sort of 
 contemptuous echo. "Would a soldier part with his lib 
 erty but with his life, unless the chains were made of gold ? " 
 
 " That s the true military doctrine!" cried the other ; 
 " faith, you have some discretion in your amphibious corps, 
 I find ! But why this disguise ? are the seniors grave/ as 
 well as potent and reverend ? Why this disguise, I again 
 ask ? " 
 
 " Why this disguise ? " repeated Manual, coolly. " Is 
 there any such thing as love in your regiment without dis 
 guise ? With us it is a regular symptom of the disease." 
 
 " A most just and discreet description of the passion, my 
 amphibious comrade ! " said the English officer ; "and the 
 symptoms in your case are attended by some very malig 
 nant tokens. Does your mistress love tar ? " 
 
 " No, but she loveth me ; and, of course, whatever attire 
 T choose to appear in." 
 
 " Still discreet and sagacious ! and yet only a most pal 
 pable feint to avoid my direct attack. You have heard of 
 such a place as Gretna Green, a little to the north of this. 
 I dare say, my aquatic comrade. Ami right ? " 
 
 " Gretna Green ! " said Manual, a little embarrassed by 
 his ignorance ; " some parade-ground, I suppose ? " 
 
 " Ay, for those who suffer under the fire of Master Cu 
 pid. A parade-ground ! well, there is some artful rimpliciijl 
 
150 THE PILOT. 
 
 in that ! But all will not do with an old campaigner. It 
 is a difficult thing to impose on an old soldier, my water- 
 battery. Now listen and answer ; and you shall see \vhat 
 it is to possess a discernment therefore deny nothing. 
 You are in love ? " 
 
 " I deny nothing," said Manual, comprehending at once 
 that this was the safest course. 
 
 " Your mistress is willing, and the money is ready, but 
 the old people say, halt . " 
 
 " I am still mute." 
 
 " Tis prudent. You say march Gretna Green is the 
 object ; and your flight is to be by water ! " 
 
 " Unless I can make my escape by water, I shall never 
 make it," said Manual, with another sympathetic movement 
 with his hand to his throat. 
 
 " Keep mute ; you need tell me nothing. I can see into 
 a mystery that is as deep as a well, to-night. Your com 
 panions are hirelings ; perhaps your shipmates ; or men to 
 pilot you on this expedition ! " 
 
 " One is my shipmate, and the other is our pilot," said 
 Manual, with more truth than usual. 
 
 "You are well provided. One thing more, and I shall 
 become mute in my turn. Does she whom you seek lie in 
 this house ? " 
 
 " She does not ; she lies but a short distance from this 
 place ; and I should be a happy fellow could I but once 
 more put foot 
 
 " Eyes on her. Now listen, and you shall have your 
 wish. You possess the ability to march yet, which, con 
 sidering the lateness of the hour, is no trifling privilege ; 
 open that window is it possible to descend from it ? " 
 
 Manual eagerly complied, but he turned from the place 
 in disappointment. 
 
 " It would be certain death to attempt the leap. ThS 
 devil only could escape from it." 
 
 "So I should think," returned Borroughcliffe, dryly. 
 " You must be content to pass for that respectable gentle 
 man for the rest of your days, in St. Ruth s Abbey. For 
 through that identical hole must you wing your flight on 
 the pinions of love." 
 
 " But how ? The thing is impossible." 
 
 " In imagination only. There is some stir, a good deal 
 of foolish apprehension, and a great excess of idle curi 
 osity, among certain tenants of this house, on your account 
 
THE PILOT. 151 
 
 They fear (he rebels, who, we all know, have not soldiers 
 enough to do their work neatly at home, and who, of 
 course, would never think of sending any here. You wish 
 to be snug I wish to serve a brother in distress. Through 
 that window you must be supposed to fly no matter how; 
 while by following me you can pass the sentinel, and retire 
 peaceably, like any other mortal, on your own two stout 
 legs." 
 
 This was a result that exceeded all that Manual had an 
 ticipated from their amicable but droll dialogue ; and the 
 hint was hardly given before he threw on the garments 
 that agitation had before rendered such encumbrances ; 
 and, in less -time than we have taken to relate it, the ma 
 rine was completely equipped for his departure. In the 
 meantime, Captain Borroughcliffe raised himself to an 
 extremely erect posture, which he maintained with the 
 inflexibility of a rigid martinet. When he found himself 
 established on his feet, the soldier intimated to his prisoner 
 that he was ready to proceed. The door was instantly 
 opened by Manual, and together they entered the gallery. 
 
 " Who comes there ? " cried the sentinel, with a vigilance 
 and vigor that he intended should compensate for his pre- 
 vious neglect of duty. 
 
 "Walk straight, that he may see you," said Borrough 
 cliffe, w y ith much philosophy. 
 
 " Who goes there ? " repeated the sentinel, throwing his 
 musket to a poise, with a rattling sound that echoed along 
 the naked walls. 
 
 "Walk crooked," added Borroughcliffe, "that if he fire 
 he may miss." 
 
 "We shall be shot at, with this folly," muttered Manual. 
 " We are friends, and your officer is one of us." 
 
 "Stand, friends advance, officer, and give the counter 
 sign," said the sentinel. 
 
 " That is much easier said than done," returned his 
 captain ; "forward, Mr. Amphibious, you can walk like a 
 postman move to the front, and proclaim the magical 
 word, loyalty; tis a standing countersign, ready fur 
 nished to my hands by mine host, the colonel ; your road 
 is then clear before you but hark " 
 
 Manual made an eager step forward, when recollecting 
 himself, he returned, and added : 
 
 " My assistants, the seamen ! I can do nothing vithotit 
 them." 
 
152 THE PJLOT. 
 
 " Lo ! the keys arc in the doors, ready for my admis 
 sion," said the Englishman; " turn them, and bring out 
 your forces." 
 
 Quick as thought, Manual was in the room of Griffith, 
 to whom he briefly communicated the situation of things, 
 when he reappeared in the passage, and then proceeded on 
 a similar errand to the room of the pilot. 
 
 "Follow, and behave as usual," he whispered ; "say not 
 a word, but trust all to me." 
 
 The pilot arose, and obeyed these instructions without 
 asking a question, with the most admirable coolness. 
 
 " I am now ready to proceed," said Manual, when they 
 had joined Borroughclirle. 
 
 During the short time occupied in these arrangements, 
 the sentinel and his captain had stood looking at each 
 other with great military exactitude, the former ambitious 
 of manifesting his watchfulness, the latter awaiting the re 
 turn of the marine. The captain now beckoned to Manual 
 to advance and give the countersign. 
 
 "Loyalty," whispered Manual when he approached the 
 sentinel. But the soldier had been allowed time to reflect ; 
 and, as he well understood the situation of his officer, he 
 hesitated to allow the prisoner to pass. After a moment s 
 pause, he said : 
 
 "Advance friends." At this summons the whole party 
 moved to the point of his bayonet, when the man con 
 tinued : " The prisoners have the countersign, Captain 
 Borroughcliffe, but I dare not let them pass." 
 
 " Why not ? " asked the captain ; " am I not here, sirrah ? 
 do you not know me ? " 
 
 " Yes, sir, I know your honor and respect your honor ; 
 but I was posted here by my sergeant, and ordered not to 
 let these men pass out on any account." 
 
 " That s what I call good discipline," said Borrough 
 cliffe, with an exulting laugh ; " I knew the lad would not 
 mind me any more than that he would obey the orders of 
 that lamp. Here are no slaves of the lamp, my amphibi 
 ous comrade ; drill ye your marines in this consummate 
 style to niceties ? " 
 
 " What means this trifling ? " eaid the pilot, sternly. 
 
 "Ah ! I thought I should turn the laugh on you," cried 
 Manual, affecting to join in the mirth ; " we know all these 
 things well, and we practise them in our corps ; but though 
 the sentinel cannot know you, the sergeant will ; so let him 
 
THE PILOT. 153 
 
 De called, and orders be given through him to the man on 
 post, that we may pass out." 
 
 " Your throat grows uneasy, I see," said Borroughcliffe ; 
 you crave another bottle of the generous fluid. Well, it 
 shall be done. Sentinel, you can throw up yon window, 
 and give a call to the sergeant." 
 
 " The outcry will ruin us," said the pilot in a whisper to 
 Griffith. 
 
 " Follow me," said the young sailor. The sentinel was 
 turning to execute the orders of his captain as Griffith 
 spoke, when, springing forward, in an instant he wrenched 
 the musket from his hands ; a heavy blow with its butt 
 felled the astonished soldier to the floor ; then, poising his 
 weapon, Griffith exclaimed : 
 
 " Forward ! we can clear our own way now ! " 
 
 " On ! " said the pilot, leaping lightly over the prostrate 
 soldier, a dagger gleaming in one hand, and a pistol pre 
 sented in the other. 
 
 Manual was by his side in an instant, armed in a similar 
 manner ; and the three rushed together from the building, 
 without meeting any one to oppose their flight. 
 
 Borroughcliffe was utterly unable to follow ; and so as 
 tounded was he by this sudden violence, that several min 
 utes passed before he was restored to the use of his speech, 
 a faculty which seldom deserted him. The man had re 
 covered his senses and his feet, however ; and the two stood 
 gazing at eacli other in mute condolence. At length the 
 sentinel broke the silence : 
 
 "Shall I give the alarm, your honor ?" 
 
 " I rather think not, Peters. I wonder if there be any 
 such thing as gratitude or good-breeding in the marine 
 corps ? " 
 
 " I hope your honor will remember that I did my duty, 
 and that I was disarmed while executing your orders." 
 
 " I can remember nothing about it, Peters, except that 
 it is rascally treatment, and such as I shall yet make this 
 amphibious aquatic gentleman answer for. But lock the 
 door look as if nothing had happened, and 
 
 "Ah! your honor, that is not so easily done as your 
 honor may please to think. I have not any doubt bivt 
 there is the print of the breech of a musket stamped on 
 my back and shoulders, as plainly to be seen as that light," 
 
 "Then look as you please ; but hold your peace, sirrah, 
 Here is a crown to buy a plaster. I heard the dog throw 
 
154 THE PILOT. 
 
 away your musket on the stairs go seek it, and return ta 
 your post ; and when you are relieved, act as if nothing 
 had happened. I take the responsibility on myself." 
 
 The man obeyed ; and, when he was once more armed, 
 Borroughcliife. a good deal sobered by the surprise, made 
 the best of his way to his own apartment, muttering 
 threats and execrations against the "corps of the marines 
 and the whole race," as he called them, " of aquatic am 
 phibii." 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 "Away ! away ! the covey s fled the cover, 
 Put forth the dogs, and let the falcon fly 
 I ll spend some leisure in the keen pursuit, 
 Nor longer waste my hours in sluggish quiet." 
 
 THE soldier passed the remainder of the night in the 
 heavy sleep of a bacchanalian, and awoke late on the fol 
 lowing morning, only when aroused by the entrance of his 
 servant. When the customary summons had induced the 
 captain to unclose his eyelids, he arose in his bed, and, 
 after performing the usual operation of a diligent friction 
 on his organs of vision, he turned sternly to his man, arid 
 remarked, with an ill-humor that seemed to implicate the 
 innocent servant in the fault which his master condemned : 
 
 " I thought, sirrah, that I ordered Sergeant Drill not to 
 let a drumstick touch a sheepskin while we quartered in 
 the dwelling of this hospitable old colonel ! Does the fel 
 low despise my commands ? or does he think the roll of a 
 drum, echoing through the crooked passages of St. Ruth, 
 a melody that is fit to disturb the slumbers of its in 
 mates ?" 
 
 "I believe, sir," returned the man, "it was the wisli of 
 Colonel Howard himself that on this occasion the sergeant 
 should turn out the guard by the roll of the drum." 
 
 " The devil it was ! I see the old fellow loves to tickle 
 the drum of his own ear now and then with familiar 
 sounds ; but have you had a muster of the cattle from 
 the farm-yard too, as well as a parade of the guard ? I 
 hear the trampling of feet, as if the old Abbey were a sec 
 ond ark, and all the beasts of the field were coming aboard 
 of us ! " 
 
THE PILOT. 155 
 
 " Tis nothing but the party of dragoons from , who 
 
 are wheeling in the court-yard, sir, where the colonel has 
 gone out to receive them." 
 
 " Court-yard! light dragoons! " repeated Borroughcliife, 
 in amazement ; "and has it come to this, that twenty stout 
 
 fellows of the th are not enough to guard such a 
 
 rookery as this old Abbey, against the ghosts and north 
 east storms, but we "must hav r e horse to re-enforce us ? 
 Hum ! I suppose some of these booted gentlemen have 
 heard of this South Carolina madeira." 
 
 " Oh, no, sir ! " cried his man ; " it is only the party that 
 Mr. Dillon went to seek last evening, after you saw fit, sir, 
 to put the three pirates in irons." 
 
 "Pirates in irons!" said Borroughcliffe, again passing 
 his hands over his eyes, though in a more reflecting man 
 ner than before ; "ha! oh ! I remember to have put three 
 suspicious looking rascals in the black hole, or some such 
 place ; but what can Mr. Dillon, or the light dragoons have 
 to do with these fellows ? " 
 
 " That we do not know, sir ; but it is said below, sir, as 
 some suspicions had fallen on their being conspirators and 
 rebels frDm the colonies, and that they were great officers 
 and Tories in disguise ; some said that one was General 
 Washington, and others that it was only three members of 
 the Yankee Parliament, come over to get our good old Eng 
 lish fashions to set themselves up with." 
 
 "Washington! Members of Congress ! Go go, simple 
 ton, and learn how many these troopers muster and what 
 halt they make ; but stay, place my clothes near me. Now, 
 do as I bid you, and if the dragoon-officer inquire for me, 
 make my respects, and tell him I shall be with him soon. 
 Go, fellow, go ! " 
 
 When the man left the room, the captain, while he pro 
 ceeded with the business of the toilet, occasionally gave ut 
 terance to the thoughts that crowded on his recollection, 
 after the manner of a soliloquy : 
 
 "Ay ! my commission to a half-pay ensigncy, that some 
 of these lazy fellows, who must have a four-legged beast to 
 carry them to the wars, have heard of the south side. 
 South side ! I believe I must put an advertisement in 
 the London Gazette, calling that amphibious soldier to an 
 account. If he be a true man, he will not hide himself un* 
 der his incognito, but will give me a meeting. If tha. 
 should fail, damme, I ll ride across to Yarmouth, and call 
 
156 THE PILOT. 
 
 out the first of the mongrel breed that I fall in with, 
 Sdcath . was ever such an insult practised on a gentleman 
 and a soldier before ? Would that I only knew his name ! 
 Why, if the tale should get abroad, I shall be the standing 
 joke of the mess-table until some greater fool than myself 
 can be found. It would cost me at least six duels to get 
 rid of it. No, no ; not a trigger will I pull in my own regi 
 ment about the silly affair ; but I ll have a crack at some 
 marine in very revenge ; for that is no more than reason 
 able. That Peters ! if the scoundrel should dare whisper 
 anything of the manner in which he was stamped with the 
 breech of a musket ! I can t flog him for it ; but if I don t 
 make it up to him the first time he gives me a chance, I 
 am ignorant of the true art of balancing regimental ac 
 counts." 
 
 By the time the recruiting officer had concluded this so 
 liloquy, which affords a very fair exposition of the current 
 of his thoughts, he was prepared to meet the new-comers, 
 and he accordingly descended to the court-yard, as in duty 
 bound, to receive them in his proper person. Borrough- 
 cliffe encountered his host in earnest conversation with a 
 young man in cavalry uniform, in the principal entrance 
 of the Abbey, and was greeted by the former with : 
 
 "A good-morning to you, my worthy guard and pro 
 tector ! here is rare news for your royal ears. It seems that 
 our prisoners are enemies to the king in disguise ; and, 
 
 Cornet Fitzgerald Captain Borroughcliffe, of the th,, 
 
 permit me to make you acquainted with Mr. Fitzgerald, of 
 the - th light dragoons." While the soldiers exchanged 
 their salutations the old man continued : "The cornet has 
 been kind enough to lead down a detachment of his troop 
 to escort the rogues up to London, or some other place, 
 where they will find enough good and loyal officers to form 
 a court-martial that can authorize their execution as spies. 
 Christopher Dillon, my worthy kinsman Kit, saw into their 
 real characters at a glance ; while you and I, like two un 
 suspecting boys, thought the rascals would have made fit 
 men to serve the king. But Kit has an eye and a head 
 that few enjoy like him, and I would that he might receive 
 his dues at the English bar." 
 
 " It is to be desired, sir," said Borroughcliffe, with a 
 grave aspect that was produced chiefly by his effort to give 
 effect to his sarcasm, but a little, also, by the recollection 
 of the occurrences that were yet to be explained ; " buj 
 
THE PILOT. i?f 
 
 what reason has Mr. Christopher Dillon to believe that tiis 
 three seamen are more or less than they seem ?" 
 
 " I know not what ; but a good and sufficient reason, I 
 will venture my life," cried the colonel ; " Kit is a lad for 
 reasons, which you know is the foundation of his profes 
 sion, and knows how to deliver them manfully in the 
 proper place ; but you know, gentlemen, that the members 
 of the bar cannot assume the open and bold front that be 
 comes a soldier, without often endangering the cause in 
 which they are concerned. No, no ; trust me, Kit has his 
 reasons, and in good time will he deliver them." 
 
 " I hope, then," said the captain, carelessly, " that it may 
 be found that we have had a proper watch on our charge, 
 Colonel Howard ; I think you told me the windows were 
 too high for an escape in that direction, for I had no sen 
 tinel outside of the building." 
 
 " Fear nothing, my worthy friend," cried his host ; " un 
 less your men have slept, instead of watching, we have 
 them safe ; but, as it will be necessary to convey them 
 away before any of the civil authority can lay hands on 
 them, let us proceed to the rear and unkennel the dogs. 
 A party of the horse might proceed at once with them to 
 
 , while we are breaking our fasts. It would be no very 
 
 wise thing to allow the civilians to deal with them, lor they 
 seldom have a true idea of the nature of the crime." 
 
 " Pardon me, sir," said the young officer of horse ; " I 
 was led to believe, by Mr. Dillon, that we might meet with 
 a party of the enemy in some little force, and that I should 
 find a pleasanter duty than that of constable ; besides, sir, 
 the laws of the realm. guarantee to the subject a trial of his 
 peers, and it is more than I dare do to carry the men to 
 the barracks, without first taking them before a magistrate." 
 
 "Ay! you speak of loyal and dutiful subjects." said the 
 colonel ; "and, as respects them, doubtless, you are right ; 
 but such privileges are withheld from enemies and traitors." 
 
 " It must first be proved that they are such, before they 
 can receive the treatment or the punishment that they 
 merit," returned the young man, a little positively, who 
 felt the more confidence, because he had only left the 
 Temple the year before. " If I take charge of the men at 
 all, it will be only to transfer them safely to the city 
 authority." 
 
 " Let us go and see the prisoners," cried Borroughcliffe, 
 with a view to terminate a discussion that was likely to wax 
 
158 THE PILOT. 
 
 warm, and which he knew to be useless; " perhaps they 
 may quietly enroll themselves under the banners of our 
 sovereign, when all other interference, save that of whole 
 some discipline, will become unnecessary." 
 
 " Nay, if they are of a rank in life to render such a step 
 probable," returned the cornet, " I am well content that 
 the matter should be settled. I trust, however, that Cap- 
 
 tain Borroughcliffe will consider that the th light dra 
 
 goons has some merit in this affair, and that we are far 
 short of our numbers in the second squadron." 
 
 "We shall not be difficult at a compromise," returned 
 the captain, " there is one apiece for us, and a toss of a 
 guinea shall determine who has the third man. Sergeant! 
 follow to deliver over your prisoners, and relieve your 
 sentry." 
 
 As they proceeded, in compliance with this arrangement, 
 to the building in the rear, Colonel Howard, who made 
 one of the party, observed : 
 
 " I dispute not the penetration of Captain Borrough 
 cliffe, but I understand from Mr. Christopher Dillon that 
 there is reason to believe one of these men, at least, to be 
 of a clajs altogether above that of a common soldier ; in 
 which case your plans may fall to the ground." 
 
 "And who does he deem the gentleman to be ?" asked 
 Borroughcliffe "a Bourbon in disguise, or a secret rep 
 resentative of the rebel Congress ? " 
 
 " Nay, nay : he said nothing more ; my kinsman Kit 
 keeps a close mouth whenever Dame Justice is about to 
 balance her scales. There are men who may be said to 
 have been born to be soldiers ; of which number I should 
 call the Earl Cornwallis, who makes such head against the 
 rebels in the two Carolinas ; others seem to be intended by 
 Nature for divines and saints on earth, such as their graces 
 of York and Canterbury ; while another class appear as if it 
 were impossible for them to behold things unless with dis 
 criminating, impartial, and disinterested eyes ; to which, I 
 should say, belong my Lord Chief Justice Mansfield, and 
 my kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon. I trust, gentlemen, 
 that, when the royal arms have crushed this rebellion, his 
 majesty s ministers will see the propriety of extending the 
 dignity of the peerage to the colonies, as a means of reward 
 to the loyal, and a measure of policy to prevent further dis 
 affection, in which case I hope to see my kinsman decoratecf 
 with the ermine of justice bordering the mantle of a peer." 
 
THE PILOT. 159 
 
 "Your expectations, my excellent sir, are right reason 
 able ; as I doubt not your kinsman will become at some 
 future day, that which he is not at present, unhappily for 
 his deserts, right honorable," said Borroughcliffe. " But be 
 of good heart, sir ; from what I have seen of his merits, I 
 doubt not that the lav/ will yet have its revenge in due 
 season, and that we shall be properly edified and instructed 
 how to attain elevation in life, by the future exaltation of 
 Mr. Christopher Dillon ; though oy what title he is to be 
 then known, I am at a loss to say." 
 
 Colonel Howard was too much occupied with his own 
 ex-parte views of the war and things n general, to observe 
 the shrewd looks that were exchanged between the sol 
 diers ; but he answered with perfect simplicity : 
 
 " I have reflected much on that point, and have come to 
 the opinion that, as he has a small estate on that river, he 
 should cause his first barony to be known by the title of 
 Pedee. " 
 
 " Barony ! " echoed Borroughcliffe ; " I trust the new 
 nobles of a new world will disdain the old, worn-out dis 
 tinctions of a hackneyed universe eschew all baronies, 
 mine host, and cast earldoms and dukedoms to the shades. 
 The immortal Locke has unlocked his fertile mind to fur 
 nish you with appellations suited to the originality of your 
 condition and the nature of your country. Ah ! here comes 
 the Cacique of Pedee, in his proper person ! " 
 
 As Borroughcliffe spoke, they were ascending the flight 
 of stone steps which led to the upper apartments, where 
 the prisoners were still supposed to be confined ; and, at 
 the same moment, the sullen, gloomy features of Dillon 
 were seen as he advanced along the lower passage, with an 
 expression of malicious exultation hovering above his dark 
 brow, that denoted his secret satisfaction. As the hours 
 passed away, the period .had come round when the man 
 who had been present at the escape of Griffith and his 
 friends, was again posted to perform the duty of sentinel. 
 As this soldier well knew the situation of his trust, he was 
 very coolly adjusted, with his back against the wall, en* 
 deavoring to compensate himself for his disturbed slum 
 bers during the night, when the sounds of the approaching 
 footsteps warned him to assume the appearance of watch 
 fulness. 
 
 " How, now, fellow ! " cried Borroughcliffe ; " what have 
 you to say to your charge ? " 
 
tCo THE PILOT. 
 
 " I believe the men sleep, your honor ; for I have heard 
 no noises from the rooms since I relieved the last sentinel/ 
 
 " The lads are weary, and are right to catch what sleep 
 they can in their comfortable quarters," returned the cap 
 tain. " Stand to your arms, sirrah ! and throw back your 
 shoulders ; and do not move like a crab, or a train-band 
 corporal ; do you not see an officer of horse coming up ? 
 Would you disgrace your regiment ? " 
 
 " Ah ! your honor, Heaven only knows whether I shall 
 ever get my shoulders even again." 
 
 " Buy another plaster," said Borroughcliffe, slipping a 
 shilling into his hand ; " observe, you know nothing but 
 your duty." 
 
 " Which is, your honor " 
 
 " To mind me, and be silent. But here comes the ser 
 geant with his guard ; he will relieve you." 
 
 The rest of the party stopped at the other end of the gal 
 lery, to allow a few files of soldiers who were led by the 
 orderly to pass them, when they all moved toward the 
 prisoners in a body. The sentinel was relieved in due mili 
 tary style ; when Dillon placed his hand on one of the 
 doors, and said, with a malicious sneer : 
 
 u Open here first, Mr. Sergeant ; this cage holds the 
 man we most want." 
 
 " Softly, softly, my lord chief-justice, and most puissant 
 cacique," said the captain ; " the hour has not yet come to 
 empanel a jury of fat yeomen, and no man must interfere 
 with my boys but myself." 
 
 " The rebuke is harsh, I must observe, Captain Borrough 
 cliffe," said the colonel; "but I pardon it because it is 
 military. No, no, Kit ; these nice points must be left to 
 martial usages. Be not impatient, my cousin ; I doubt not 
 the hour will come when you shall hold the scales of jus 
 tice, and satisfy your loyal longings on many a traitor. 
 Zounds ! I could almost turn executioner myself in such 
 a cause ! " 
 
 " I can curb my impatience, sir," said Dillon, with hypo 
 critical meekness, and great self-command, though his eyes 
 were gleaming with savage exultation. " I beg pardon of 
 Captain Borroughcliffe, if, in my desire to render the civi, 
 authority superior to the military, I have trespassed on your 
 customs." 
 
 " You see, Borroughcliffe ! " exclaimed the colonel, ex- 
 ultingly, " the lad is ruled by an instinct in all matters oJ 
 
THE PILOT. 161 
 
 fciw and justice. I hold it to be impossible that a man 
 thus endowed can ever become a disloyal subject. But 
 our breakfast waits, and Mr. Fitzgerald has breathed his 
 horse this cool morning ; let us proceed at once to the ex 
 amination." 
 
 Borroughcliffe motioned to the sergeant to open the 
 door, and the whole party entered the vacant room. 
 
 " Your prisoner has escaped ! " cried the cornet, after a 
 single moment employed in making sure of the fact. 
 
 " Never ! it must not, shall not be ! " cried Dillon, quiver 
 ing with rage, as he glanced his eyes furiously around the 
 apartment ; " here has been treachery, and foul treason to 
 the king!" 
 
 " By whom committed, Mr. Christopher Dillon?" said 
 Borroughcliffe, knitting his brow, and speaking in a sup 
 pressed tone. " Dare you, or any man living, charge 
 treason to the th?" 
 
 A very different feeling from rage appeared now to in 
 crease the shivering propensities of the future judge, who 
 at once perceived it was necessary to moderate his pas 
 sion ; and he returned, as it were by magic, to his former 
 plausible and insinuating manner, as he replied : 
 
 " Colonel Howard will understand the cause of my warm 
 feelings, when I tell him that this very room contained, 
 last night, that disgrace to his name and country, as well 
 as traitor to his king, Edward Griffith, of the rebel navy." 
 
 "What!" exclaimed the colonel, starting, "has that re 
 creant youth dared to pollute the threshold of St. Ruth 
 with his footstep ? But you dream, Kit ; there would be 
 too much hardihood in the act." 
 
 " It appears not, sir," returned the other; "for, though 
 in this very apartment he most certainly was, he is here no 
 longer. And yet from this window, though open, escape 
 would seem to be impossible, even with much assistance." 
 
 " If I thought that the contumelious boy had dared to 
 be guilty of such an act of gross impudence," cried the 
 colonel, " I should be tempted to resume my arms, in rry 
 old age, to punish his effrontery. What! is it not enough 
 that he entered my dwelling in the colony, availing him 
 self of the distraction of the times, with an intent to rob 
 me of my choicest jewel ay ? gentlemen, even of my 
 brother Harry s daughter but that he must also invade 
 this hallowed island with a like purpose, thus thrusting his 
 treason, as it were, into the presence of his abused prince \ 
 ii 
 
162 77/5 PILOT. 
 
 No, wo, Kit, thy loyalty misleads thee ; he has never dared 
 io do the deed ! " 
 
 " Listen, sir, and you shall be convinced," returned the 
 pliant Christopher. " I do not wonder at your unbelief ; 
 but as a good testimony is the soul of justice, I cannot 
 resist its influence. You know that two vessels, corre 
 sponding in appearance to the two rebel cruisers that an 
 noyed us so much in the Carolinas, have been seen on 
 the coast for several days, which induced us to beg the 
 protection of Captain Borroughcliffe. Three men are 
 found, the day succeeding that on which we hear that these 
 vessels came within the shoals, stealing through the 
 grounds of St. Ruth, in sailors attire. They are arrested, 
 and in the voice of one of them, sir, I immediately detected 
 that of the traitor Griffith. He was disguised, it is true, 
 and cunningly so ; but when a man has devoted his whole 
 life to the business of investigating truth," he added, 
 with an air of much modesty, " it is difficult to palm any 
 disguise on his senses." 
 
 Colonel Howard was strongly impressed with the proba 
 bility of these conjectures, and the closing appeal con 
 firmed him immediately in his kinsman s opinion, while 
 Borroughcliffe listened with deep interest to the speakers, 
 and more than once bit his lip with vexation. When Dillon 
 concluded, the soldier exclaimed: 
 
 " I ll swear there was a man among them who has been 
 used to the drill." 
 
 "Nothing more probable, my worthy friend," said Dil 
 lon ; " for, as the landing was never made without some 
 evil purpose, rely on it, he came not unguarded or unpro 
 tected. I dare say, the three were all officers, and one of 
 them might have been of the marines. That they had as 
 sistance is certain, and it was because I felt assured they 
 had a force secreted at hand, that I went in quest of the 
 re-enforcement." 
 
 There was so much plausibility, and, in fact, so much 
 truth in all this, that conviction was unwillingly admitted 
 by Borroughcliffe, who walked aside a moment, to conceal 
 the confusion which, in spite of his ordinary inflexibility 
 of countenance, he felt was manifesting itself in his rubric 
 visage, while he muttered: 
 
 "The amphibious dog! he was a soldier, but a traitor 
 and an enemy. No doubt he will have a marvellous satis 
 faction in delighting the rebellious ears of his messmates, 
 
THE PILOT. 163 
 
 fey rehearsing the manner in which he poured cold water 
 
 down the back of one Borroughcliffe, of the th, who 
 
 was amusing him, at the same time, by pouring good, rich, 
 south-side madeira down his own rebellious throat. I have 
 a good mind to exchange my scarlet coat for a blue-jacket, 
 on purpose to meet the sly rascal on the other element, 
 where we can discuss the matter over again. Well, sergeant, 
 do you find the other two ? " 
 
 " They are gone together, your honor," returned the or 
 derly who just then re-entered from an examination of the 
 other apartments ; " and, unless the evil one helped them 
 off, it s a mysterious business to me." 
 
 "Colonel Howard," said Borroughcliffe, gravely, "your 
 precious south-side cordial must be banished from the 
 board, regularly with the cloth, until I have my revenge ; 
 for satisfaction of this insult is mine to claim, and I seek it 
 this instant. Go, Drill ; detain a guard for the protection 
 of the house, and feed the rest of your command, then beat 
 the general, and we will take the field. Ay ! my worthy 
 veteran host, for the first time since the days of the unlucky 
 Charles Stuart, there shall be a campaign in the heart of 
 England." 
 
 " Ah ! rebellion, rebellion ! accursed, unnatural, unholy 
 rebellion, caused the calamity then and now ! " exclaimed 
 the colonel. 
 
 " Had I not better take a hasty refreshment for my men 
 and their horses ? " asked the cornet, " and then make a 
 sweep for a few miles along the coast ? It may be my 
 luck to encounter the fugitives, or some part of their force." 
 
 "You have anticipated my very thoughts," returned 
 Borroughcliffe. " The Cacique of Pedee may close the 
 gates of St. Ruth, and, by barring the windows, and arming 
 the servants, he can make a very good defence against 
 an attack, should they think proper to assail our fortress ; 
 after he has repulsed them, leave it to me to cut off their 
 retreat." 
 
 Dillon but little relished this proposal ; for he thought 
 an attempt to storm the Abbey would be the most proba* 
 ble course adopted by Griffith, in order to rescue his mis 
 tress ; and the jurist had none of the spirit of a soldier in 
 his composition. In truth, it was this deficiency that had 
 induced him to depart in person, the preceding night, in 
 quest of the re-enforcement, instead of sending an express 
 on the errand. But the necessity of devising an excuso 
 
164 THE PILOT. 
 
 for a change in this dangerous arrangement was obviate^ 
 by Colonel Howard, who explained, as soon as Borrough-i 
 cliffe concluded his plan : 
 
 "To me, Captain Borroughcliffe, belongs, of right, the 
 duty of defending St. Ruth, and it shall be no boy s play 
 to force my works ; but Kit would rather try his chance in 
 the open field, I know. Come, let us to our breakfast, and 
 then he shall mount, and act as a guide to the horse, along 
 the difficult passes of the seashore." 
 
 " To breakfast then let it be," cried the captain ; " I dis 
 trust not my new commander of the fortress ; and in the 
 field the cacique forever ! We follow you, my worthy 
 host." 
 
 This arrangement was hastily executed in all its parts. 
 The gentlemen swallowed their meal in the manner of 
 men who ate only to sustain nature, and as a duty ; after 
 which the whole house became a scene of bustling activity. 
 The troops were mustered and paraded ; Borroughcliffe, 
 setting apart a guard for the building, placed himself at 
 the head of the remainder of his little party, and they 
 moved out of the courtyard in open order, and at quick 
 time. Dillon joyfully beheld himself mounted on one of 
 the best of Colonel Howard s hunters, where he knew that 
 he had the control, in a great measure, of his own destiny , 
 his bosom throbbing with a powerful desire to destroy 
 Griffith, while he entertained a lively wish to effect his ob 
 ject without incurring any personal risk. At his side was 
 the young cornet, seated with practised grace in his sad 
 dle, who, after giving time for the party of foot-soldiers to 
 clear the premises, glanced his eye along the few files he 
 led, and then gave the word to move. The little division 
 of horse wheeled briskly into open column, and, the officer 
 touching his hat to Colonel Howard, they dashed through 
 the gateway together, and pursued their route towards the 
 sea-side at a hand-gallop. 
 
 The veteran lingered a few minutes, while the clattering 
 of hoofs was to be heard, or the gleam of arms was visible, 
 to hear and gaze on sounds and sights that he still loved ; 
 after which, he proceeded, in person, and not without a 
 secret enjoyment of the excitement, to barricade the doors 
 and windows, with an undaunted determination of making, 
 in case of need, a stout defence. 
 
 St. Ruth lay but a short two miles from the ocean ; to 
 which the numerous roads led, through the grounds of the 
 
THE PILOT. i6j 
 
 Abbey, which extended to the shore. Along one of these 
 paths Dillon conducted his party, until, after a few minutes 
 of hard riding, they approached the cliffs, when, posting 
 his troops under cover of a little copse, the cornet ad 
 vanced with his guide to the verge of the perpendicular 
 rocks, whose bases were washed by the foam that still 
 whitened the waters from the surges of the subsiding sea. 
 
 The gale had broken before the escape of the prisoners ; 
 and, as the power of the eastern tempest had gradually 
 diminished, a light current from the south, that blew di 
 rectly along the land, prevailed ; and, though the ocean 
 still rolled in fearful billows, their surfaces were smooth, 
 and they were becoming, at each moment, less precipitous 
 and more regular. The eyes of the horsemen were cast in 
 vain over the immense expanse of water that was glisten 
 ing brightly under the rays of the sun, which had just 
 risen from its bosom in quest of some object, or distant 
 sail, that might confirm their suspicions, or relieve their 
 doubts. But everything of that description appeared to 
 have avoided the dangerous navigation during the violence 
 of the late tempest, and Dillon was withdrawing his eyes 
 in disappointment from the vacant view, when, as they fell 
 toward the shore, he beheld that which caused him to ex 
 claim : 
 
 " There they go ! and, by Heaven, they will escape ! " 
 
 The cornet looked in the direction of the other s finger, 
 when he beheld, at a short distance from the land, and 
 apparently immediately under his feet, a little boat that 
 looked like a dark shell upon the water, rising and sinking 
 amid the waves, as if the men it obviously contained were 
 resting on their oars in idle expectation. 
 
 " Tis they ! " continued Dillon ; " or, what is more prob 
 able, it is their boat waiting to convey them to their vessel ; 
 no common business would induce seamen to lie in this 
 careless manner within such a narrow distance of the surf." 
 
 " And what is to be done ? They cannot be made to feel 
 horse where they are ; nor would the muskets of the foot 
 be of any use. A light three-pounder would do its work 
 handsomely on them ! " 
 
 The strong desire which Dillon entertained to intercept, 
 or rather to destroy, the party, rendered him prompt at ex 
 pedients. After a moment of musing, he replied : 
 
 " The runaways must yet be on the land ; and by scour 
 ing the coast, and posting men at proper intervals, theii 
 
*66 THE PILOT. 
 
 retreat can easily be prevented ; in the meantime I will 
 
 ride under the spur to Bay, where one of his majesty s 
 
 cutters now lies at anchor. It is but half an hour of hard 
 riding, and I can be on board of her. The wind blows di 
 rectly in her favor ; and, if we can once bring her down 
 behind that headland, we shall infallibly cut off or sink 
 these midnight depredators." 
 
 " Off, then ! " cried the cornet, whose young blood was 
 boiling for a skirmish ; " you will at least drive them to the 
 shore, where I can deal with them." 
 
 The words were hardly uttered before Dillon, after gal 
 loping furiously along the cliffs, and turning short into a 
 thick wood that lay in his route, was out of sight. The 
 loyalty of this gentleman was altogether of a calculating 
 nature, and was intimately connected with what he con 
 sidered his fealty to himself. He believed that the pos 
 session of Miss Howard s person and fortune were ad 
 vantages that would much more than counterbalance any 
 elevation that he was likely to obtain by the revolution of 
 affairs in his native colony. He considered Griffith as the 
 only natural obstacle to his success ; and he urged his 
 horse forward with a desperate determination to work the 
 ruin of the young sailor before another sun had set. When 
 a man labors in an evil cause, with such feelings, and with 
 such incentives, he seldom slights or neglects his work ; and 
 Mr. Dillon, accordingly, was on board the Alacrity several 
 minutes short of the time in which he had promised to per 
 form the distance. 
 
 The plain old seaman who commanded the cutter listened 
 to his tale with cautious ears, and examined into the state 
 of the weather, and other matters connected with his duty, 
 with the slow and deliberate decision of one who had never 
 done much to acquire a confidence in himself, and who had 
 been but niggardly rewarded for the little he had actually 
 performed. 
 
 As Dillon was urgent, however, and the day seemed 
 propitious, he at length decided to act as he was desired 
 and the cutter was accordingly gotten under way. 
 
 A crew of something less than fifty men moved with no 
 little of their commander s deliberation ; but as the little 
 vessel rounded the point behjnd which she had been an 
 chored, her guns were cleared, and the usual preparations 
 were completed for immediate and actual service. 
 
 Dillon, sorely against his will, was compelled to continue 
 
THE PILOT. 165 
 
 on board, in order to point out the place where the un 
 suspecting boatmen were expected to be entrapped. Every 
 thing being ready, when they had gained a safe distance 
 from the land, the Alacrity was kept away before the wind, 
 and glided along the shore with a swift and easy progress, 
 that promised a speedy execution of the business in which 
 her commander had embarked. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 "Polonius. Very like a whale." SHAKESPEARE. 
 
 NOTWITHSTANDING the object of their expedition was 
 of a public nature, the feelings which had induced both 
 Griffith and Barnstable to accompany the pilot with so 
 much willingness, it will easily be seen, were entirely per 
 sonal. The short intercourse that he had maintained with 
 his associates enabled the mysterious leader of their party 
 to understand the characters of his two principal officers so 
 thoroughly as to induce him, when he landed with the 
 purpose of reconnoitring to ascertain whether the objects 
 of his pursuit still held their determination to assem 
 ble at the appointed hour, to choose Griffith and Manual 
 as his only associates, leaving Barnstable in command of 
 his own vessel, to await their return and to cover their re 
 treat. A good deal of argument, and some little of the 
 authority of his superior officer, was necessary to make 
 Barnstable quietly acquiesce in this arrangement ; but 
 as his good sense told him that nothing should be unneces 
 sarily hazarded, until the moment to strike the final blow 
 had arrived, he became gradually more resigned ; taking 
 care, however, to caution Griffith to reconnoitre the Abbey 
 while his companion was reconnoitring - - house. It 
 was the strong desire of Griffith to comply with this in 
 junction, which carried them a little out of their proper 
 path, and led to the consequences that we have partly re 
 lated. The evening of that day was the time when the 
 pilot intended to complete his enterprise, thinking to en 
 trap his game while enjoying the festivities that usually 
 succeeded their sports ; and an early hour in the morning 
 was appointed, when Barnstable should appear nthe near 
 est point to the Abbey to take off his countrymen, i 
 
i6S THE PILOT. 
 
 that they might be as little as possible subjected to th 
 gaze of their enemies by daylight. If they failed to arrive 
 at the appointed time, his instructions were to return to 
 his schooner, which lay snugly embayed in a secret and 
 retired haven, that but few ever approached either by land 
 or water 
 
 While the young cornet still continued gazing at the 
 whale boat (for it was the party from the schooner that he 
 saw), the hour expired for the appearance of Griffith and 
 his companions ; and Barnstable reluctantly determined 
 to comply with the letter of his instructions, and leave 
 them to their own sagacity and skill to regain the Ariel. 
 The boat had been suffered to ride in the edge of the surf, 
 since the appearance of the sun ; and the eyes of her crew 
 were kept anxiously fixed on the cliffs, though in vain, to 
 discover the signal that was to call them to the place of 
 landing. After looking at his watch for the twentieth time, 
 and as often casting glances of uneasy dissatisfaction 
 toward the shore, the lieutenant exclaimed : 
 
 " A charming prospect this, Master Coffin, but rather 
 too much poetry in it for your taste ; I believe you relish 
 no land that is of a harder consistency than mud ! " 
 
 "I was born on the waters, sir," returned the cockswain, 
 from his snug abode, where he was bestowed with his usual 
 economy of room, "and it s according to all things for a 
 man to love his native soil. I ll not deny, Captain Barn- 
 stable, but I would rather drop my anchor on a bottom 
 that won t broom a keel, though, at the same time, I har 
 bor no great malice against dry land." 
 
 " I shall never forgive it, myself, if any accident has be 
 fallen Griffith in this excursion," rejoined the lieutenant; 
 " his pilot may be a better man on the water than on terra 
 fir ma, Long Tom." 
 
 The cockswain turned his solemn visage, with an extraor 
 dinary meaning, toward his commander, before he replied : 
 
 "For as long a time as I have followed the waters, sir, 
 and that has been ever since I ve drawn my radons, seeing 
 that I was born while the boat was crossing Nantucket 
 shoals, I ve never known a pilot come off in greater need 
 than the one we fell in with when we made that stretch or 
 two on the land, in the dog-watch of yesterday." 
 
 " Ay ! the fellow has played his part like a man ; the 
 occasion was great, and it seems that he was quite equal 
 to his work." 
 
TPTR PILOT. l6| 
 
 4< The frigate s people tell me, sir, that he handled the 
 ehip like a top," continued the cockswain ; " but she is a 
 chip that is a nateral inimy of the bottom ! " 
 
 "Can you say as much for this boat, Master Coffin?" 
 cried Barnstable ; " keep her out of the surf, or you ll have 
 us rolling in upon the beach, presently, like an empty 
 water-cask ; you must remember that we cannot all wade, 
 like yourself, in two-fathom water." 
 
 The cockswain cast a cool glance at the crests of foam 
 that were breaking over the tops of the billows, within a 
 few yards of where their boat was riding, and called aloud 
 to his men : 
 
 " Pull a stroke or two ; away with her into dark water." 
 
 The drop of the oars resembled the movements of a nice 
 machine, and the light boat skimmed along the water like 
 a duck, that approaches to the very brink of some imminent 
 danger, and then avoids it, at the most critical moment, 
 apparently without an effort. While this necessary move 
 ment was making, Barnstable arose and surveyed the cliffs 
 with keen eyes, and then, turning once more, in disappoint 
 ment from his search, he said : 
 
 " Pull more from the land, and let her run down at an 
 easy stroke to the schooner. Keep a lookout at the cliffs 
 boys ; it is possible that they are stowed in some of the- 
 holes in the rocks, for it s no daylight business they are on. 
 
 The order was promptly obeyed, and they had glided 
 along for nearly a mile in this manner, in the most pro 
 found silence, when suddenly the stillness was broken by 
 a heavy rush of air, and a dash of the water, seemingly at 
 no great distance from them. 
 
 " By Heaven, Tom," cried Barnstable, starting, " there 
 is the blow of a whale ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," returned the cockswain, with undisturbed 
 composure ; " here is his spout not half a mile to seaward; 
 the easterly gale has driven the creater to leeward, and he 
 begins to find himself in shoal water. He s been sleeping, 
 while he should have been working to windward ! " 
 
 " The fellow takes it coolly, too ; he s in no hurry to get 
 an offing ! " 
 
 " I rather conclude, sir," said the cockswain, rolling over 
 his tobacco in his mouth, very composedly, while his little 
 sunken eyes began to twinkle with pleasure at the sight, 
 " the gentleman has lost his reckoning, and don t kno\V 
 which way to head to take himself back into b/ue water." 
 
170 THE PILOT. 
 
 " Tis a fin-back ! " exclaimed the lieutenant ; " he will 
 soon make headway, and be off." 
 
 " No, sir, tis a right whale," answered Tom ; " I saw 
 his spout ; he threw up a pair of as pretty rainbows as a 
 Christian would wish to look at. He s a raal oil-butt, that 
 fellow ! " 
 
 Barnstable laughed, turned himself away from the tempt 
 ing sight, and tried to look at the cliffs ; and then uncon 
 sciously bent his longing eyes again on the sluggish animal, 
 who was throwing his huge carcass, at times, for many feet 
 from the water, in idle gambols. The temptation for sport, 
 and the recollection of his early habits, at length prevailed 
 over his anxiety in behalf of his friends, and the young 
 officer inquired of his cockswain : 
 
 " Is there any whale-line in the boat, to make fast to 
 that harpoon which you bear about with you in fair weather 
 or foul ? " 
 
 " I never trust the boat from the schooner without part 
 of a shot, sir," returned the cockswain ; " there is something 
 nateral in the sight of a tub to my old eyes." 
 
 Barnstable looked at his watch, and again at the cliffs, 
 when he exclaimed, in joyous tones : 
 
 " Give strong way, my hearties ! There seems nothing 
 better to be done ; let us have a stroke of a harpoon at 
 this impudent rascal ! " 
 
 The men shouted spontaneously, and the old cockswain 
 suffered his solemn visage to relax into a small laugh, 
 while the whale-boat sprang forward like a courser for 
 the goal. During the few minutes they were pulling 
 toward their game, Long Tom arose from his crouching 
 attitude in the stern-sheets, and transferred his huge form 
 to the bows of the boat, where he made such prepara 
 tions to strike the whale as the occasion required. The 
 tub, containing about half of a whale-line, was placed at 
 the feet of Barnstable, who had been preparing an oar to 
 steer with in place of the rudder, which was unshipped, in 
 order that if necessary the boat might be whirled round 
 when not advancing. 
 
 Their approach was utterly unnoticed by the monster of 
 the deep, who continued to amuse himself with throwing 
 the water in two circular spouts high into the air, occa 
 sionally flourishing the broad flukes of his tail Avith a 
 graceful but terrific force, until the hardy seamen were 
 Within a few hundred feet from him, when he suddenly 
 
TffK PILOT. 17! 
 
 cast his head downward, and, without an apparent effort, 
 reared his immense body for many feet above the water, 
 waving his tail violently, and producing a whizzing noise 
 that sounded like the rushing of winds. 
 
 The cockswain stood erect, poising his harpoon, ready 
 for the blow ; but when he beheld the creature assume 
 this formidable attitude, he waved his hand to his com- 
 mander, who instantly signed to his men to cease rowing, 
 In this situation the sportsmen rested for a few moments, 
 while the whale struck several blows on the water in rapid 
 succession, the noise of which re-echoed along the cliffs, 
 like the hollow reports of so many cannon. After this 
 wanton exhibition of his terrible strength, the monster sank 
 again into his native element, and slowly disappeared from 
 the eyes of his pursuers. 
 
 " Which way did he head, Tom?" cried Barnstable, the 
 moment the whale was out of sight. 
 
 "Pretty much up and down, sir," returned the cock 
 swain, whose eye was gradually brightening with the ex 
 citement of the sport ; " he ll soon run his nose against the 
 bottom if he stands long on that course, and will be glad 
 to get another snuff of pure air. Send her a few fathoms 
 to starboard, sir, and I promise we shall not be out of his 
 track." 
 
 The conjecture of the experienced old seaman proved 
 true ; for in a few moments the water broke near them, and 
 another spout was cast into the air, when the huge animal 
 rushed for half his length in the same direction, and fell 
 on the sea with a turbulence and foam equal to that which 
 is produced by the launching of a vessel for the first time 
 into its proper element. After this evolution the whale 
 rolled heavily, and seemed to rest from further efforts. 
 
 His slightest movements were closely watched by Barn- 
 stable and his cockswain, and when he was in a state of 
 comparative rest, the former gave a signal to his crew to 
 ply their oars once more. A few long and vigorous strokes 
 sent the boat directly up to the broadside of the whale, 
 with its bows pointing toward one of the fins, which was at 
 times, as the animal yielded sluggishly to the action of 
 the waves, exposed to view. The cockswain poised his 
 harpoon with much precision, and then darted it from him 
 with a violence that buried the iron in the blubber of their 
 foe. The instant the blow was made Long Tom shouted 
 with singular earnestness : 
 
72 THE PILOT. 
 
 " Starn all ! " 
 
 "Stern all!" echoed Barnstable ; when the obedient 
 seamen, by united efforts, forced the boat in a backward 
 direction, beyond the reach of any blow from their formid 
 able antagonist. The alarmed animal, however, meditated 
 no such resistance ; ignorant of his own power, and of the 
 insignificance of his enemies, he sought refuge in flight. 
 One moment of stupid surprise succeeded the entrance of 
 the iron, when he cast his huge tail into the air with a 
 violence that threw the sea around him into increased coin- 
 motion, and then disappeared with the quickness of light 
 ning amid a cloud of foam. 
 
 " Snub him ! " shouted Barnstable ; " hold on, Tom, he 
 rises already." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," replied the composed cockswain, seizing 
 the line, which was running out of the boat with a velocity 
 that rendered such a manoeuvre rather hazardous, and 
 causing it to yield more gradually round the large logger 
 head that was placed in the bows of the boat for that pur 
 pose. Presently the line stretched forward, and rising to 
 the surface with tremulous vibrations, it indicated the 
 direction in which the animal might be expected to reap 
 pear. Barnstable had cast the bows of the boat toward 
 that point, before the terrified and wounded victim rose 
 once more to the surface, whose time was, however, no 
 longer wasted in his sports, but who cast the waters aside, 
 as he forced his way with prodigious velocity along the 
 surface. The boat was dragged violently in his wake, and 
 cut through the billows with a terrific rapidity, that at 
 moments appeared to bury the slight fabric in the ocean. 
 When Long Tom beheld his victim throwing his spouts on 
 high again, he pointed with exultation to the jetting fluid, 
 which was streaked with the deep red of blood, and cried . 
 
 "Ay, I ve touched the fellow s life ! it must be more than 
 two feet of blubber that stops my iron from reaching the 
 life of any whale that ever sculled the ocean ! " 
 
 " I believe you have saved yourself the trouble of using 
 the bayonet you have rigged for a lance," said his com 
 mander, who entered into the sport with all the ardor of 
 One whose youth had been chiefly passed in such pursuits 
 " Feel your line, Master Coffin ; can we haul alongside 
 of cur enemy ? I like not the course he is steering, as he 
 Lows us from the schooner." 
 
 ** Tis the creater s way, sir," said the cockswain ; * you 
 
THE PILOT. 173 
 
 Know they need the air in their nostrils, when they run, 
 the same as a man but lay hold, boys, and let s haul up 
 to him." 
 
 The seamen now seized the whale-line, and slowly drew 
 their boat to within a few feet of the tail of the fish, whose 
 progress became sensibly less rapid, as he grew weak with 
 the loss of blood. In a few minutes he stopped running, 
 and appeared to roll uneasily on the water, as if suffering 
 the agony of death. 
 
 " Shall we pull in and finish him, Tom?" cried Barn- 
 stable ; "a few sets from your bayonet will do it." 
 
 The cockswain stood examining his game with cool dis 
 cretion, and replied to his interrogatory : 
 
 " No, sir, no he s going into his flurry ; there s no occa 
 sion for disgracing ourselves by using a soldier s weapon 
 in taking a whale. Starn off, sir, starn off, the creater s in 
 his flurry ! " 
 
 The warning of the prudent cockswain was promptly 
 obeyed, and the boat cautiously drew off to a distance, 
 leaving to the animal a clear space while under its dying 
 agonies. From a state of perfect rest, the terrible monster 
 threw its tail on high, as when in sport, but its blows were 
 trebled in rapidity and violence, till all was hid from view 
 by a pyramid of foam, that was deeply dyed with blood. 
 The roarings of the fish were like the bellowing of a herd 
 of bulls ; and to one who was ignorant of the fact, it would 
 have appeared as if a thousand monsters were engaged in 
 deadly combat, behind the bloody mist that obstructed the 
 view. Gradually, these efforts subsided, and when the 
 discolored water again settled down to the long and reg 
 ular swell of the ocean, the fish was seen, exhausted, and 
 yielding passively to his fate. As life departed, the enor 
 mous black mass rolled to one side ; and, when the white 
 and glistening skin of the belly became apparent, the sea 
 men well knew that their victory was achieved. 
 
 " What s to be done now ? " said Barnstable, as he stood 
 and gazed with a diminished excitement at their victim ; 
 "he will yield no food, and his carcass will probably drift 
 to land, and furnish our enemies with the oil." 
 
 " If I had but the creater in Boston Bay," said the cock 
 swain, " it would prove the making of me ; but such is my 
 luck forever! Pull up, at any rate, and let me get my 
 harpoon and line the English shall never get them while 
 old Tom Cortm can blow." 
 
174 THE PILOT. 
 
 "Dorrt speak too fast," said the strokesman of the boat- 
 "whether he get your iron or not, here he comes IP 
 chase ! 4< 
 
 "What mean you, fellow?" cried Barnstable. 
 
 "Captain Barnstable can look for himself," returned the 
 seaman, "and tell whether I speak truth." 
 
 The young sailor turned and saw the Alacrity bearing 
 down before the wind, with all her sails set, as she rounded 
 a headland but a short half league to windward of the 
 place where the boat lay. 
 
 " Pass that glass to me," said the captain, with steady 
 composure. " This promises us work in one of two ways ; 
 if she be armed, it has become our turn to run ; if not, we 
 are strong enough to carry her." 
 
 A very brief survey made the experienced officer ac 
 quainted with the true character of the vessel in sight ; 
 and, replacing the glass with much coolness, he said : 
 
 " That fellow shows long arms and ten teeth, besides 
 King George s pennant from his topmast-head. Now, my 
 lads, you are to pull for your lives ; for, whatever may be 
 the notions of Master Coffin on the subject of his harpoon, 
 I have no inclination to have my arms pinioned by John 
 Bull, though his majesty himself put on the irons." 
 
 The men well understood the manner and meaning of 
 their commander ; and, throwing aside their coats, they 
 applied themselves in earnest to their task. For half an 
 hour a profound silence reigned in the boat, which made 
 an amazing progress. But many circumstances conspired 
 to aid the cutter ; she had a fine breeze, with smooth water, 
 and a strong tide in her favor ; and at the expiration of 
 the time we have mentioned, it was but too apparent that 
 the distance between the pursued and pursuers was les 
 sened nearly half. Barnstable preserved his steady coun 
 tenance, but there was an expression of care gathering 
 around his dark brow, which indicated that he saw the in 
 creasing danger of their situation. 
 
 " That fellow has long legs, Master Coffin," he said, in a 
 cheerful tone ; "your whale-line must go overboard, and 
 the fifty oar must be handled by your delicate hands." 
 
 Tom arose from his seat, and, proceeding forward, he cast 
 the tub and its contents together into the sea, when he 
 seated himself at the bow oar, and bent his athletic frame 
 with amazing vigor to the task. 
 
 " Ah ! there is much of your philosophy in that stroke 
 
THE PILOT. 175 
 
 Long Tom," cried his commander. " Keep it up, boys; 
 and if we gain nothing else, we shall at least gain time for 
 deliberation. Come, Master Coffin, what think you ? We 
 have three resources before us ; let us hear which is your 
 choice ; first, we can turn and fight and be sunk ; second 
 ly, we can pull to the land, and endeavor to make good our 
 retreat to the schooner in that manner ; and, thirdly, we 
 can head to the shore, and possibly, by running under the 
 guns of that fellow, get the wind of him, and keep the air 
 
 in our nostrils, after the manner of the whale. D n the 
 
 whale ! but for the tow the black rascal gave us, we should 
 have been out of sight of this rover ! " 
 
 " If we fight," said Tom, with quite as much composure 
 as his commander manifested, " we shall be taken or sunk ; 
 if we land, sir, I shall be taken, for one man, as I never 
 could make any headway on dry ground, and if we try to 
 get the wind of him by pulling under the cliffs, we shall be 
 cut off by a parcel of lubbers that I can see running along 
 their edges, hoping, I dare say, that they shall be able to 
 get a skulking shot at a boat s crew of honest seafaring 
 men." 
 
 " You speak with as much truth as philosophy, Tom," 
 said Barnstable, who saw his slender hopes of success cur 
 tailed by the open appearance of the horse and foot on the 
 cliffs. " These Englishmen have not slept the last night, 
 and I fear Griffith and Manual will fare but badly. That 
 fellow brings a capful of wind down with him tis just his 
 play, and he walks like a race-horse. Ha ! he begins to 
 be in earnest ! " 
 
 While Barnstable was speaking, a column of white smoke 
 was seen issuing from the bows of the cutter ; and, as the 
 report of a cannon was wafted to their ears, the shot was 
 seen skipping from wave to wave, tossing the water in 
 spray, and flying to a considerable distance beyond them. 
 The seamen cast cursory glances in the direction of the 
 passing ball, but it produced no manifest effect in either 
 their conduct or appearance. The cockswain, who scanned 
 its range with an eye of more practice than the rest, ob 
 served : " That s a lively piece for its metal, and it speaks 
 with a good clear voice ; but if they should hear it aboard 
 the Ariel, the man who fired it will be sorry it wasn t born 
 dumb." 
 
 u You are the prince of philosophers, Master Coffin! 
 cried Barnstable ; " there is some hope in that ; let the Eng- 
 
1 76 THE PILOT. 
 
 lishmen talk away, and, my life on it, the Ariel don t be. 
 3ieve it is thunder ; hand me a musket I ll draw another 
 shot." 
 
 The piece was given to Barnstable, who discharged it 
 several times, as if to taunt their enemies ; and the scheme 
 was completely successful. Goaded by the insults, the 
 cutter discharged gun after gun at the little boat, throwing 
 the shot frequently so near as to wet her crew with the 
 spray, but without injuring them in the least. The failure 
 of these attempts of the enemy excited the mirth of the 
 reckless seamen, instead of creating any alarm ; and when 
 ever a shot came nearer than common, the cockswain 
 would utter some such expression as : 
 
 " A ground swell, a long shot, and a small object make 
 a clean target ;" or, "A man must squint straight to hit a 
 boat." 
 
 As, notwithstanding their unsuccessful gunnery, the cut 
 ter was constantly gaining on the whale boat, there was a 
 prospect of a speedy termination of the chase, when the 
 report of a cannon was thrown back like an echo from 
 one of the Englishman s discharges, and Barnstable and 
 his companions had the pleasure of seeing the Ariel 
 stretching slowly out from the little bay where she had 
 passed the night, with the smoke of the gun of defiance 
 curling above her taper masts. 
 
 A loud and simultaneous shout of rapture was given by 
 the lieutenant and all his boat s crew at this cheering sight, 
 while the cutter took in all her light sails, and, as she 
 hauled up on a wind, she fired a whole broadside at the 
 successful fugitives. Many stands of grape, with several 
 round shot, flew by the boat, and fell upon the water near 
 them, raising a cloud of foam, but without doing any injury. 
 
 " She dies in a flurry," said Tom, casting his eyes at the 
 little vortex into which the boat was then entering. 
 
 " If her commander be a true man," cried Barnstable, 
 " he ll not leave us on so short an acquaintance. Give way 
 my souls ! give way ! I \vould see more of this loquacious 
 cruiser." 
 
 The temptation for exertion was great, and it was not 
 disregarded by the men ; in a few minutes the whale 
 boat reached the schooner, when the crew of the latter re 
 ceived their commander and his companions with shouts 
 and cheers that rang across the waters and reached the ears 
 of the disappointed spectators on the verge of the cliffs. 
 
THE P2^07\ 177 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 ** Thus guided on their course they bore, 
 Until they neared the main-land shore j 
 When frequent on the hollow blast 
 Wild shouts of merriment were cast.* 
 
 Lord cf The Isles. 
 
 THE joyful shouts and hearty cheers of the Ariel s crew 
 continued for some time after her commander had reached 
 her deck. Barnstable answered the congratulations of his 
 officers by cordial shakes of the hand ; and, after waiting 
 for the ebullition of delight among the seamen to subside 
 a little, he beckoned with an air of authority for silence. 
 
 " I thank you, my lads, for your good will." he said, 
 when all were gathered around him in deep attention , 
 " they have given us a tough chase, and, if you had left us 
 another mile to go, we had been lost. That fellow is a 
 king s cutter ; and, though his disposition to run to leeward 
 is a good deal mollified, yet he shows signs of fight. At 
 any rate, he is stripping off some of his clothes, which 
 looks as if he were game. Luckily for us, Captain Man 
 ual has taken all the marines ashore with him (though 
 what he has done with them, or himself, is a mystery), or 
 we should have had our decks lumbered with live cattle ; 
 but, as it is, we have a good working breeze, tolerably 
 smooth water, and a dead match ! There is a sort of 
 national obligation on us to whip that fellow ; and there 
 fore, without more words about the matter, let us turn to 
 and do it, that we iray get our breakfasts." 
 
 To tins specimen o f marine eloquence the crew cheered 
 as usual, the young men burning for the combat, and the 
 few old sailors who belonged to the schooner shaking their 
 heads with infinite satisfaction, and swearing by sundry 
 strange oaths that their captain " could talk, when there 
 was need of such thing, like the best dictionary that ever 
 was launched." 
 
 During this short harangue, and the subsequent com 
 ments, the Ariel had been kept, under a cloud of canvas, 
 as near to the wind as she could lie ; and, as this was hei 
 best sailing, she had stretched swiftly out from the land to 
 a distance whence the cliffs and the soldiers, who wera 
 spread along their summits, were plainly visible. Barn* 
 
I 7 8 THE PILOT. 
 
 stable turned his glass repeatedly, from the cutter to the 
 shore, as different feelings predominated in his breast, be 
 fore he again spoke. 
 
 " If Mr. Griffith is stowed away among those rocks," he 
 at length said, " he shall see as pretty an argument dis 
 cussed, in as few words, as he ever listened to, provided the 
 gentlemen in yonder cutter have not changed their minds 
 as to the road they intend to journey. What think you, 
 Mr. Merry ?" 
 
 "I wish with all my heart and soul, sir," returned the 
 fearless boy, "that Mr. Griffith was safe aboard us; it 
 seems the country is alarmed, and God knows what wilt 
 happen if he is taken ! As to the fellow to windward, he ll 
 find it easier to deal with the Ariel s boat than with her 
 mother ; but he carries a broad sail ; I question if he 
 means to show play." 
 
 "Never doubt him, boy," said Barnstable ; "he is work 
 ing off the shore, like a man of sense, and, besides, he has 
 his spectacles on, trying to make out what tribe of Yankee 
 Indians we belong to. You ll see him come to the wind 
 presently, arid send a few pieces of iron down this way, by 
 way of letting us know where to find him. Much as I like 
 your first lieutenant, Mr. Merry, I would rather leave him 
 on the land this day than see him on my decks. I want no 
 fighting captain to work this boat for me ! But tell the 
 drummer, sir, to beat to quarters." 
 
 The boy. who was staggering under the weight of his 
 melodious instrument, had been expecting this command, 
 and, without waiting for the midshipman to communicate 
 the order, he commenced that short rub-a-dub air that will 
 at any time rouse ? thousand men frcm the deepest sleep, 
 and cause them to fly to then means of offence with a com 
 mon soul. The crew of the Ariel had been collected in 
 groups studying the appearance of the enemy, cracking 
 their jokes, and waiting only for this usual order to repair 
 to the guns ; and, at the first tap of the drum, they spread 
 with steadiness to the different parts of the little vessel 
 where their various duties called them. The cannon were 
 surrounded by small parties of vigorous and athletic young 
 men ; the few marines were drawn up in array with mus 
 kets; the officers appeared in their boarding-caps, with pis 
 tols stuck in their belts, and naked sabres in their hands. 
 Barnstable paced his little quarter-deck with a firm tread, 
 dangling a speaking-trumpet by its lanyard on his fore* 
 
THE PILOT. 179 
 
 finger, or occasionally applying the glass to his eye, which, 
 when not in use, was placed under one arm, while his 
 sword was resting against the foot of the mainmast ; a pair 
 of heavy ship s pistols were thrust into his belt also ; and 
 piles of muskets, boarding-pikes, and naked sabres, were 
 placed on different parts of the deck. The laugh of the 
 seamen was heard no longer ; and those who spoke uttered 
 their thoughts only in low and indistinct whispers. 
 
 The English cutter held her way from the land, until 
 she got an offing of more than two miles, when she reduced 
 her sails to a yet smaller number ; and, heaving into the 
 wind, she fired a gun in a direction opposite to that which 
 pointed to the Ariel. 
 
 " Nowl would wageraquintal of codfish, Master Coffin," 
 said Barnstable, " against the best cask of porter that was 
 ever brewed in England, that fellow believes a Yankee 
 schooner can fly in the wind s eye ! If he wishes to speak 
 to us, why don t he give his cutter a little sheet and come 
 down ? " 
 
 The cockswain had made his arrangements for the com 
 bat with much more method and philosophy than any 
 other man in the vessel. When the drum beat to quarters, 
 he threw aside his jacket, vest, and shirt, with as little hes 
 itation as if he stood under an American sun, and with all 
 the discretion of a man who had engaged in an undertak 
 ing that required the free use of his utmost powers. As he 
 was known to be a privileged individual in the Ariel, and 
 one whose opinions, in all matters of seamanship, were re 
 garded as oracles by the crew, and were listened to by his 
 commander with no little demonstration of respect, the 
 question excited no surprise. He was standing at the 
 breech of his long gun with his brawny arms folded on a 
 breast that had been turned to the color of blood by long 
 exposure, his grizzled locks fluttering in the breeze, and 
 his tall form towering far above the heads of all near him. 
 
 " He hugs the wind, sir, as if it was his sweetheart," was 
 his answer ; " but he ll let go his hold soon ; and, if he 
 don t, we can find a way to make him fall to leeward." 
 
 " Keep a good full ! " cried the commander in a stern 
 voice ; " and let the vessel go through the water. That 
 fellow walks well, Long Tom ; but we are too much for 
 him on a bowling ; though, if he continue to draw ahead 
 in this manner, it will be night before we can get alongside 
 him." 
 
i8o THE PILOT. 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," returned the cockswain; "them cutteri 
 carries a press of canvas when they seem to have but little ; 
 their gaffs are all the same as young booms, and spread u 
 broad head to their mainsails. But it s no hard matter tu 
 knock a few cloths out of their bolt-ropes, when she will 
 both drop astern and to leeward." 
 
 " I believe there is good sense in your scheme this time, 5 
 said Barnstable ; " for I am anxious about the frigate s 
 people though I hate a noisy chase. Speak to him, Tom, 
 and let us see if he will answer." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," cried the cockswain, sinking his body in 
 such a manner as to let his head fall to a level with the 
 cannon that he controlled, when, after divers orders, and 
 sundry movements to govern the direction of the piece, he 
 applied a match, with a rapid motion, to the priming. An 
 immense body of white smoke rushed from the muzzle of 
 the cannon, followed by a sheet of vivid fire, until, losing 
 its power, it yielded to the wind, and, as it rose from the 
 water, spread like a cloud, and, passing through the masts 
 of the schooner, was driven far to leeward, and soon 
 blended in the mists which were swiftly scudding before 
 the fresh breezes of the ocean. 
 
 Although many curious eyes were watching this beauti 
 ful sight from the cliffs, there was too little of novelty in 
 the exhibition to attract a single look of the crew of the 
 schooner from the more important examination of the ef 
 fect of the shot on their enemy. Barnstable sprang lightly 
 on a gun, and watched the instant when the ball would 
 strike, with keen interest, while Long Tom threw himself 
 aside from the line of the smoke with similar intention ; 
 holding one of his long arms extended toward his name 
 sake, with a finger on the vent, and supporting his frame 
 by placing the hand of the other on the deck, as his eyes 
 glanced through an opposite port-hole, in an attitude that 
 most men might have despaired of imitating with suc 
 cess. 
 
 " There go the chips ! " cried Barnstable. " Bravo ! 
 Master Coffin, you never planted iron in the ribs of an 
 Englishman with more judgment. Let him have another 
 piece of it ; and, if he like the sport, we ll play a game o( 
 long bowls with him ! " 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," returned the cockswain, who, the instant 
 he witnessed the effects of his shot, had returned to super 
 intend the reloading of his gun ; "if he hulds on naif an 
 
THE PILOT. igl 
 
 hour longer, I ll dub him down to our >wn size, vvhei* we 
 can close and make an even fight of it." 
 
 The drum of the Englishman was now, for the first time, 
 heard rattling across the waters, and echoing the call tc 
 quarters, that had already proceeded from the Ariel. 
 
 " Ah ! you have sent him to his guns ! " said Barnstable ; 
 M we shall now hear more of it ; wake him up, Tom wake 
 him up." 
 
 " We shall start him on end, or put him to sleep alto- 
 gether, shortly," said the deliberate cockswain, who never 
 allowed himself to be at all hurried, even by his commander. 
 " My shot are pretty much like a shoal of porpoises, and 
 commonly sail in each other s wake. Stand by heave her 
 breech forward so ; get out of that, you damned young 
 reprobate, and let my harpoon alone ! " 
 
 " What are you at there, Master Coffin ? " cried Barn- 
 stable ; " are you tongue-tied ? " 
 
 " Here s one of the boys skylarking with my harpoon in 
 the lee-scuppers, and by-and-by, when f shall want it most, 
 there ll be a no-man s land to hunt for it in." 
 
 " Never mind the boy, Tom ; send him aft here to me, 
 and I ll polish his behavior ; give the Englishman some 
 more iron." 
 
 " I want the little villain to pass up my cartridges," re 
 turned the angry old seaman ; " but if you ll be so good, sir, 
 as to hit him a crack or two, now and then, as he goes by 
 you to the magazine, the monkey will learn his manners, 
 and the schooner s work will be all the better done for it. 
 A young herring-faced monkey ! to meddle with a tool ye 
 don t know the use of. If your parents had spent more of 
 their money on your edication, and less on your outfit, 
 you d ha been a gentleman to what ye are now." 
 
 " Hurrah ! Tom, hurrah ! " cried Barnstable, a little impa 
 tiently ; " is your namesake never to open his throat again ? 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir ; all ready," grumbled the cockswain ; "de 
 press a little ; so so ; a damned young baboon-behaved 
 curmudgeon ; overhaul that fonvard fall more ; stand by 
 with your match but I ll pay him ! fire ! " This w r as the 
 actual commencement of the fight ; for as the shot of Tom 
 Coffin travelled, as he had intimated, very much in the 
 same direction, their enemy found the sport becoming too 
 hot to be endured in silence, and the report of the second gun 
 from the Ariel was instantly followed by that of the whole 
 broadside of the Alacrity. The shot of the cutter -Jew :.n 
 
j82 THE PILOT. 
 
 a very good direction, but her guns were too light to givft 
 them efficiency at that distance and as one or two wens 
 heard to strike against the bend of the schooner, and fall 
 back innocuously, into the water, the cockswain, whose 
 good humor became gradually restored as the combat 
 thickened, remarked with his customary apathy : 
 
 " Them count for no more than love -taps does the Eng 
 lishman think that we are firing salutes ? " 
 
 " Stir him up, Tom ! every blow you give him will help 
 to open his eyes," cried Barnstable, rubbing his hands with 
 glee, as he witnessed the success of his efforts to close. 
 
 Thus far the cockswain and his crew had the fight, on 
 the part of the Ariel, altogether to themselves, the men 
 who were stationed at the smaller and shorter guns standing 
 in perfect idleness by their sides ; but in ten or fifteen 
 minutes the commander of the Alacrity, who had been 
 staggered by the weight of the shot that had struck him, 
 found that it was no longer in his power to retreat, if he 
 wished it ; when he decided on the only course that was 
 left for a brave man to pursue, and steered boldly in such 
 a direction as would soonest bring him in contact with his 
 enemy, without exposing his vessel to be raked by his fire. 
 Barnstable watched each movement of his foe with eagle 
 eyes, and when the vessel had got within a lessened dis 
 tance, he gave the order for a general fire to be opened. 
 The action now grew warm and spirited on both sides. 
 The power of the wind was counteracted by the constant 
 explosion of the cannon ; and, instead of driving rapidly 
 to leeward, a white canopy of curling smoke hung above 
 the Ariel, or rested on the water, lingering in her wake, 
 so as to mark the path by which she was approaching to a 
 closer and still deadlier struggle. The shouts of the 
 young sailors as they handled their instruments of death, 
 became more animated and fierce, while the cockswain 
 pursued his occupation with the silence and skill of one who 
 labored in a regular vocation. Barnstable was unusually 
 composed and quiet, maintaining the grave deportment ol 
 a commander on whom rested the fortunes of the contest 
 at the same time that his dark eyes were dancing with the 
 fire of suppressed animation. 
 
 " Give it them ! " he occasionally cried, in a voice that 
 might be heard amid the bellowing of the cannon ; " never 
 mind their cordage, my lads ; drive home their bolts, antf 
 make your marks below their ridge-ropes." 
 
THE PILOT. 183 
 
 In the meantime the Englishman played a manful game. 
 
 He had suffered a heavy loss by the distant cannonade, 
 which no metal he possessed could retort upon his enemy ; 
 but he struggled nobly to repair the error in judgment 
 with which he had begun the contest. The two vessels 
 gradually drew nigher to each other, until they both en 
 tered into the common cloud created by their fire, which 
 thickened and spread around them in such a manner as to 
 conceal their dark hulls from the gaze of the curious and 
 interested spectators on the cliffs. The heavy reports of 
 the cannon were now mingled with the rattling of muskets 
 and pistols, and streaks of fire might be seen glancing like 
 flashes of lightning through the white cloud which en 
 shrouded the combatants ; and many minutes of painful 
 uncertainty followed, before the deeply-interested soldiers, 
 who were gazing at the scene, discovered on w r hose ban 
 ners victory had alighted. 
 
 We shall follow the combatants into their misty 
 wreath, and display to the reader the events as they oc 
 curred. 
 
 The fire of the Ariel was much the most quick and 
 deadly, both because she had suffered less, and her men 
 were less exhausted ; and the cutter stood desperately on 
 to decide the combat, after grappling, hand to hand. Barn- 
 stable anticipated her intention, and well understood her 
 commander s reason for adopting this course ; but he 
 was not a man to calculate coolly bis advantages, when 
 pride and daring invited him to a more severe trial. Ac 
 cordingly, he met the enemy half-way, and, as the vessels 
 rushed toge /ier, the stern of the schooner was secured to 
 the bows of the cutter, by the joint efforts of both parties. 
 The voice of the English commander was now plainly to 
 be heard, in the uproar, calling to his men to follow him. 
 
 " Away there, boarders ! repel boarders on the starboard 
 quarter ! " shouted Barnstable through his trumpet. 
 
 This was the last order that the gallant young sailor 
 gave w T ith this instrument ; for, as he spoke, he cast it from 
 him, and, seizing his sabre, flew to the spot where the 
 enemy was about to make his most desperate effort. The 
 shouts, execrations, and tauntings of the combatants now 
 succeeded to the roar of the cannon, which could be usec? 
 no longer with effect, though the fight was still maintained 
 with spirited discharges of the small-arms. 
 
 " Sweep him from his decks !" cried the English com 
 
184 THE PILOT. 
 
 mander, as he appeared on his own bulwarks, surrounded 
 by a dozen of his bravest men, " drive the rebellious dogs 
 into the sea!" 
 
 "Away there, marines!" retorted Barnstable, firing his 
 pistol at the advancing enemy, "leave not a man of them 
 to sup his grog again." 
 
 The tremendous and close volley that succeeded this 
 order nearly accomplished the command of Barnstable to 
 the letter, and the commander of the Alacrity, perceiving 
 that he stood alone, reluctantly fell back on the deck of 
 his own vessel, in order to bring on his men once more 
 
 " Board her ! graybeards and boys, idlers and all ! " 
 shouted Barnstable, springing in advance of his crew a 
 powerful arm arrested the movement of the dauntless sea 
 man, and before he had time to recover himself, he was 
 drawn violently back to his own vessel by the irresistible 
 grasp of his cockswain. 
 
 " The fellow s in his flurry," said Tom, " and it wouldn t 
 be wise to go within reach of his flukes ; but I ll just step 
 ahead and give him a set with "my harpoon." 
 
 Without waiting for a reply, the cockswain reared his 
 tall frame on the bulwarks, and was in the act of stepping 
 on board of his enemy, when a sea separated the vessels, 
 and he fell with a heavy dash of the waters into the ocean. 
 As twenty muskets and pistols were discharged at the in 
 stant he appeared, the crew of the Ariel supposed his fall 
 to be occasioned by his wounds, and were rendered doubly 
 fierce by the sight, and the cry of their commander to 
 
 " Revenge Long Tom ! board her ! Long Tom or death ! " 
 
 They threw themselves forward in irresistible numbers, 
 and forced a passage, with much bloodshed, to the fore 
 castle of the Alacrity. The Englishman was overpowered, 
 but still remained undaunted he rallied his crew, and 
 bore up most gallantly to the fray. Thrusts of pikes and 
 blows of sabres were becoming close and deadly, while 
 muskets and pistols were constantly discharged by those 
 who were kept at a distance by the pressure of the throng 
 of closer combatants. 
 
 Barnstable led his men in advance, and became a mark 
 of peculiar vengeance to his enemies, as they slowly yield* 
 ed before his vigorous assaults. Chance had placed the two 
 commanders on opposite sides of the cutter s deck, and 
 the victory seemed to incline toward either party, where- 
 ever Hiese daring officers directed the struggle in person 
 
THE PILOT. 185 
 
 But the Englishman, perceiving that the ground he main 
 tained in person was lost elsewhere, made an effort to re 
 store the battle, by changing his position, followed by one 
 or. two of his best men. A marine, who preceded him, 
 levelled his musket within a few feet of the American com 
 mander, and was about to fire, when Merry glided among 
 the combatants, and passed his dirk into the body of the 
 man, who fell at the blow ; shaking his piece with horrid 
 imprecations, the wounded soldier prepared to deal his 
 vengeance on his youthful assailant, when the fearless boy 
 leaped within its muzzle, and buried his own keen weapon 
 in his heart. 
 
 " Hurrah !" shouted the unconscious Barnstable, from 
 the edge of the quarter-deck, where, attended by a few 
 men, he was driving all before him. "Revenge! Long 
 Tom and victory ! " 
 
 "We have them !" exclaimed the Englishman ; " handle 
 your pikes! we have them between two fires." 
 
 The battle would probably have terminated very dif 
 ferently from what previous circumstances had indi 
 cated, had not a wild-looking figure appeared in the cut 
 ter s channels at that moment, issuing from the sea, and 
 gaining the deck at the same instant. It was long Tom, 
 with his iron visage rendered fierce by his previous dis 
 comfiture, and his grizzled locks drenched with the briny 
 element from whicli he had risen, looking like Neptune 
 with his trident. Without speaking he poised his harpoon, 
 and, with a powerful effort, pinned the unfortunate Eng 
 lishman to the mast of his own vessel. 
 
 "Starn all !" cried Tom, by a sort of instinct, when the 
 blow was struck; and, catching up the musket of the 
 fallen marine, he dealt out terrible and fatal blows with its 
 butt on all who approached him, utterly disregarding the 
 ?ase of the bayonet on its muzzle. The unfortunate com- 
 xnander of the Alacrity brandished his sword with frantic 
 gestures, while his eyes rolled in horrid wildness, when he 
 writhed for an instant in his passing agonies, and then, 
 as his head dropped lifeless upon his gored breast, ha 
 hung against the spar, a spectacle of dismay to his crew, 
 A few of the Englishmen stood chained to the spot in 
 silent horror at the sight, but most of them fled to 
 their lower deck, or hastened to conceal themselves in 
 the secret parts of the vessel, leaving to the Americans the 
 undisputed possession of the Alacrity. 
 
i86 THE PILOT. 
 
 Two-thirds of the cutter s crew suffered either in life 02 
 limbs by this short struggle ; nor was the victory obtained 
 by Barnstable without paying the price of several valuable 
 lives. The first burst of conquest was not, however, the 
 moment to appreciate the sacrifice, and. loud and re 
 iterated shouts proclaimed the exultation of the con 
 querors. As the flush of victory subsided, however, recol 
 lection returned, and Barnstable issued such orders as 
 humanity and his duty rendered necessary. While the 
 vessels were separating, and the bodies of the dead and 
 wounded were removing, the conqueror paced the deck of 
 his prize, as if lost in deep reflection. He passed his hand 
 frequently across his blackened and blood-stained brow, 
 while his eyes would rise to examine the vast canopy of 
 smoke that was hovering above the vessels like a dense fog 
 exhaling from the ocean. The result of his deliberations 
 was soon announced to the crew. 
 
 " Haul down all your flags," he cried ; " set the English 
 man s colors again, and show the enemy s jack above our 
 ensign in the Ariel." 
 
 The appearance of the whole channel- fleet within half 
 gun-shot would not have occasioned more astonishment 
 among the victors than this extraordinary mandate. The 
 wondering seamen suspended their several employments 
 to gaze at the singular change that was making in the flags, 
 those symbols that were viewed with a sort of reverence ; 
 but none presumed to comment openly on the procedure 
 except Long Tom, who stood on the quarter-deck of the 
 prize, straightening the pliable iron of the harpoon which 
 he had recovered with as much care arid diligence as if it 
 were necessary to the maintenance of their conquest. Like 
 the others, however, he suspended his employment when 
 he heard this order, and manifested no reluctance to ex 
 press his dissatisfaction at the measure. 
 
 " If the Englishmen grumble at the fight, and think it 
 not fair play," muttered the cockswain, "let us try it ovei 
 again, sir ; as they are somewhat short of hands they can 
 send a boat to the land, and get off a gang of them lazy 
 riptyles, the soldiers, who stand looking at us like so many 
 red lizards crawling on a beach, and we ll give them an 
 other chance ; but damme, if I see the use of whipping 
 them, if this is to be the better end of the matter." 
 
 " What s that you re grumbling there, like a dead no r th- 
 caster, you horse-mackerel ?" said Barnstable ; "where **** 
 
THE PILOT. 187 
 
 our friends and countrymen who are on the land ? are we 
 to leave them to swing on gibbets or rot in dungeons ? " 
 
 The cockswain listened with great earnestness, and, when 
 his commander had spoken, he struck the palm of his broad 
 hand against his brawny thigh, with a report like a pistol, 
 and answered : 
 
 " I see how it is, sir ; you reckon the red-coats have Mr. 
 Griffith in tow. Just run the schooner into shoal water, 
 Captain Barnstable, and drop an anchor, where we can get 
 the long gun to bear on them, and give me the whale-boat 
 with five or six men to back me they must have long legs 
 if they get an offing before I run them aboard ! " 
 
 " Fool ! do you think a boat s crew could contend with 
 fifty armed soldiers ? " 
 
 " Soldiers ! " echoed Tom, whose spirits had been strong 
 ly excited by the conflict, snapping his fingers with ineffa 
 ble disdain ; " that for all the soldiers that were ever rigged , 
 one whale could kill a thousand of them ; and here stands 
 the man that has killed his round hundred of whales ! " 
 
 " Pshaw ! you grampus, do you turn braggart in your 
 old age ? " 
 
 " It s no bragging, sir, to speak a log-bock truth ; but if 
 Captain Barnstable thinks that old Tom Coffin carries a 
 speaking-trumpet for a figure-head, let him pass the word 
 forrard to man the boats." 
 
 " No, no, my old master at the marlinspike," said Barn- 
 stable, kindly ; " I know thee too well, thou brother of 
 Neptune ! but shall we not throw the bread-room dust in 
 those Englishmen s eyes by wearing their bunting awhile 
 till something may offer to help our capmred country 
 men ? " 
 
 The cockswain shook his head and cogitated a moment, 
 as if struck with sundry new ideas, when he answered : 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir ; that s blue-water philosophy as deep as 
 the sea. Let the riptyles clew up the corners of their 
 mouths to their eyebrows now ; when they come to hear 
 the raal Yankee truth of the matter, they will sheet them 
 down to their leather neckcloths ! " 
 
 With this reflection the cockswain was much consoled, 
 and the business of repairing damages and securing the 
 prize proceeded without further interruption on his part. 
 The few prisoners who were unhurt were rapidly trans^ 
 ferred to the Ariel. While Barnstable was attending to 
 this duty, an unusual bustle drew his eyes to one of the 
 
i88 THE PILOT. 
 
 hatchways, where he beheld a couple of his marines drag 
 ging forward a gentleman, whose demeanor and appear 
 ance indicated the most abject terror. After examining 
 the extraordinary appearance of this individual for a mo 
 ment, in silent amazement, the lieutenant exclaimed : 
 
 " Who have we here? some amateur in fights! ar 
 inquisitive wonder-seeking non-combatant, who has vol 
 unteered to serve his king, and perhaps draw a picture 
 or write a book, to serve himself ! Pray, sir, in whaJ 
 capacity did you serve in this vessel ? " 
 
 The captive ventured a sidelong glance at his inter 
 rogator, in whom he expected to encounter Griffith, but, 
 perceiving that it was a face he did not know, he felt a 
 revival of confidence that enabled him to reply : 
 
 " I came by accident ; being on board the cutter at the 
 time her late commander determined to engage you. 
 It was not in his power to land me, as I trust you will 
 not hesitate to do ; your conjecture of my being a non- 
 combatant " 
 
 "Is perfectly true," interrupted Barnstable ; "it requires 
 no spy-glass to read that name written on you from stem 
 to stern ; but for certain weighty reasons 
 
 He paused to turn at a signal given him by young 
 Merry, who whispered eagerly in his ear : 
 
 " Tis Mr. Dillon, kinsman of Colonel Howard; I ve 
 seen him often, sailing in the wake of my cousin Cicely." 
 
 " Dillon ! " exclaimed Barnstable, rubbing his hands 
 with pleasure ; " what, Kit of that name ! he with * the 
 Savannah face, eyes of black, andskin of the same color? 
 He s grown a little whiter with fear ; but he s a prize, at 
 this moment, worth twenty Alacrities ! " 
 
 These exclamations were made in a low voice, and at 
 some little distance from the prisoner, whom he now 
 approached and addressed. 
 
 " Policy, and consequently duty, require that I should 
 detain you for a short time, sir ; but you shall have a 
 Bailor s welcome to whatever we possess, to lessen the 
 weight of captivity." 
 
 Barnstable precluded any reply, by bowing to his 
 captive, and turning away to superintend the management 
 of his vessels. In a short time it was announced that they 
 were ready to make sail, when the Ariel and her prize 
 were brought close to the wind, and commenced beating 
 slowly along the land, as if intending to return to the bay 
 
189 
 
 whence the latter had sailed that morning. As they 
 stretched in to the shore on the first tack, the soldiers on 
 the cliffs rent the air with their shouts and acclamations, 
 cO which Barnstable, pointing to the assumed symbols 
 that were fluttering in the breeze from his masts, directed 
 his crew to respond in the most cordial manner. As the 
 distance, and the want of boats, prevented any further 
 communication, the soldiers, after gazing at the receding 
 vessels for a time, disappeared from the cliffs, and were 
 soon lost from the sight of the adventurous mariners. 
 Hour after hour was consumed in the tedious navi 
 gation, against an adverse tide, and the short day was 
 drawing to a close, before they approached the mouth 
 of their destined haven. While making one of their 
 numerous stretches, to and from the land, the cutter, in 
 which Barnstable continued, passed the victim cf their 
 morning s sport, riding on the water, the waves curling 
 over his huge carcass, as on some rounded rock, and 
 already surrounded by the sharks, who were preying on 
 his defenceless body. 
 
 "See! Master Coffin," cried the lieutenant, pointing 
 out the object to his cockswain as they glided by it, "the 
 shovel-nosed gentlemen are regaling daintily ; you have 
 neglected the Christian s duty of burying your dead." 
 
 The old seaman cast a melancholy look at the dead 
 whale, and replied : 
 
 " If I had the creature in Boston Bay, or on the Sandy 
 Point of Munny Moy, twould be the making of me ! But 
 riches and honor are for the great and the larned, and there s 
 nothing left for poor Tom Coffin to do, but to veer and 
 haul on his own rolling tackle, that he may ride gut the 
 rest of the gale of life without springing any of his old 
 fpars." 
 
 " How now, long Tom ! " cried the officer ; " these rocks 
 and cliffs will shipwreck you on the shoals of poetry yet ; 
 you grow sentimental ! " 
 
 " Them rocks might wrack any vessel that struck them," 
 said the literal cockswain ; " and as for poetry, I wants 
 none better than the good old song of Captain Kidd ; but 
 it s enough to raise solemn thoughts in a Cape Poge Indian, 
 to see an eighty-barrel w r hale devoured by sharks tis an 
 awful waste of property ! I ve seen the death of two hun 
 dred of the creaters, though it seems to keep the rations 
 of poor old Tom as short as ever." 
 
190 THE PILOT. 
 
 The cockswain walked aft, while the vessel was pass* 
 ing the whale, and seating himself on the taffrail, with hii 
 face resting gloomily on his bony hand, he fastened his 
 eyes on the object of his solicitude, and continued to gaze 
 at it with melancholy regret, while it was to be seen glisten 
 ing in the sunbeams, as it roiled its glittering side of white 
 into the air, or the rays fell unreflected on the black and 
 rougher coat of the back of the monster. In the meantime, 
 the navigators diligently pursued their way for the haven 
 we have mentioned, into which they steered with every 
 appearance of the fearlessness of friends, and the exulta 
 tion of conquerors. 
 
 A few eager and gratified spectators lined the edges of 
 the small bay, and Barnstable concluded his arrangement 
 for deceiving the enemy, by admonishing his crew that they 
 were now about to enter on a service that would require 
 their utmost intrepidity and sagacity. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 " Our trumpet called you to this gentle parle." King John. 
 
 As Griffith and his companions rushed from the offices 
 of St. Ruth into the open air they encountered no one to 
 intercept their flight, or communicate the alarm. Warned 
 by the experience of the earlier part of the same night they 
 avoided the points where they knew the sentinels were 
 posted, though fully prepared to bear down all resistance, 
 and were soon beyond the probability of immediate detec 
 tion. They proceeded for the distance of half a mile with 
 rapid strides, and, with the stern and sullen silence of men 
 who expected to encounter immediate danger, resolved to 
 breast it with desperate resolution ; but, a"s they plunged 
 into a copse, that clustered around the ruin which has 
 been already mentioned, they lessened their exertions to a 
 more deliberate pace, and a short but guarded dialogue 
 ensued. 
 
 " We have had a timely escape," said Griffith ; " I would 
 much rather have endured captivity than have been the 
 cause of introducing confusion and bloodshed into the 
 peaceful residence of Colonel Howard." 
 
 ; I would, sir, that you had been of this opinion some 
 
7 HE PILOT. igi 
 
 hours earlier," returned the pilot, with a severity in hia 
 tones that even conveyed more meaning than his words. 
 
 " I may have forgotten my duty, sir, in my anxiety to in 
 quire into the condition of a family in whom I feel a par 
 ticular interest," returned Griffith, in a manner in which 
 pride evidently struggled with respect ; " but this is not 
 a time for regrets ; I apprehend that we follow you on an 
 errand of some moment, where actions would be more ac 
 ceptable than any words of apology. What is your pleasure 
 now ? " 
 
 " I much fear that our project will be defeated," said the 
 pilot, gloomily ; "the alarm will spread with the morning 
 fogs, and there will be musterings of the yeomen, and con 
 sultations of the gentry, that will drive all thoughts of 
 amusement from their minds. The rumor of the descent 
 will, at any time, force sleep from the shores of this island 
 to at least ten leagues inland." 
 
 " Ay, you have probably passed some pleasant nights 
 with your eyes open, among them, yourself, Master Pilot," 
 said Manual ; " they may thank the Frenchman Thurot, in 
 the old business of 56, and our own dare-devil, the bloody 
 Scotchman, as the causes of their quarters being so often 
 beaten up. After all, Thurot, with his fleet, did no more 
 than bully them a little, and the poor fellow was finally 
 extinguished by a few small cruisers, like a drummer s boy 
 under a grenadier s cap ; but honest Paul sang a different 
 tune for his countrymen to dance to, and 
 
 " I believe you will shortly dance yourself, Manual," in 
 terrupted Griffith, quickly, " and in very pleasure that you 
 have escaped an English prison." 
 
 "Say, rather, an English gibbet," continued the elated 
 marine ; " for had a court-martial or a court-civil dis 
 cussed the manner of our entrance into this island, I doubt 
 whether we should have fared better than the dare-devil 
 himself, honest 
 
 "Pshaw!" exclaimed the impatient Griffith; "enough 
 of this nonsense, Captain Manual ; we have other matters 
 to discuss now. What course have you determined to 
 pursue, Mr. Gray ? " 
 
 The pilot started, like a man roused from a deep mus 
 ing, at this question, and, after a pause of a moment, he 
 spoke in a low tone of voice, as if still under the influ* 
 ence of deep and melancholy feeling : 
 
 " The night has already run into the morning watch 
 
ig* THE 
 
 out the sun is backward to show himself in this latitude 
 in the heart of winter. I must depart, my friends, to re 
 join you some ten hours hence ; it will be necessary to 
 look deeper into our scheme before we hazard anything, 
 and no one can do the service but myself. Where shall 
 we meet again ? " 
 
 " I have reason to think that there is an unfrequented 
 /uin at no great distance from us," said Griffith ; " per 
 haps we might find both shelter and privacy among its 
 deserted walls." 
 
 "The thought is good," returned the pilot, "and twill 
 answer a double purpose. Could you find the place where 
 you put the maiines in ambush, Captain Manual?" 
 
 "Has a dog a nose, and can he follow a clean scent ?" 
 exclaimed the marine ; " do you think, Signer Pilota, 
 that a general ever puts his forces into an ambuscade 
 where he can t find them himself? Fore God! I knew 
 well enough where the rascals lay snoring on their knap 
 sacks, some half an hour ago, and I would have given the 
 oldest majority in Washington s army to have had them 
 where a small intimation from myself could have brought 
 them in line ready dressed for a charge. I know not how 
 you fared, gentlemen, but with me the sight of twenty 
 such vagabonds would have been a joyous spectacle ; we 
 would have tossed that Captain Borroughcliffe and his 
 recruits on the point of our bayonets as the devil would 
 pitch " 
 
 " Come, come, Manual," said Griffith, a little angrily, 
 "you constantly forget our situation and our errand ; can 
 you lead your men hither without discovery before the 
 day dawns ?" 
 
 " I want but the shortest half hour that a bad watch 
 ever travelled over to do it in." 
 
 " Then follow, and I will appoint a place of secret ren= 
 dezvous," rejoined Griffith ; " Mr. Gray can learn our sit 
 uation at the same time." 
 
 The pilot was seen to beckon, through the gloom of the 
 night, for his companions to move forward ; when they 
 proceeded, with cautious steps, in quest of the desired 
 shelter. A short search brought them in contact with a 
 part of the ruinous walls, which spread over a large sur 
 face, and which in places reared their black fragments 
 against the sky, casting a deeper obscurity across the se 
 cret recesses of the wood. 
 
THE PILOT. 193 
 
 " This will do," said Griffith, when they had skirted for 
 some distance the outline of the crumbling fabric ; "bring 
 up your men to this point, where I will meet you, and 
 conduct them to some more secret place, for which I shall 
 search during your absence." 
 
 " A perfect paradise, after the cable-tiers of the Ariel ! " 
 exclaimed Manual ; " I doubt not but a good spot might 
 be selected among these trees for a steady drill a thing 
 my soul has pined after for six long months." 
 
 "Away, away!" cried Griffith; "here is no place for 
 idle parades ; if we find shelter from discovery and cap 
 ture until you shall be needed in a deadly struggle, twill 
 be well." 
 
 Manual was slowly retracing his steps to the skirts of 
 the wood, when he suddenly turned and asked : 
 
 " Shall I post a small picket, a mere corporal s guard,, 
 in the open ground in front, and make a chain of sentinelu 
 to our works ? " 
 
 " We have no works we want no sentinels," returned 
 his impatient commander : " our security is only to be 
 found in secrecy. Lead up your men under the cover of 
 the trees, and let those three bright stars be your land 
 marks bring them in a range with the northern corner of 
 the wood " 
 
 " Enough, Mr. Griffith," interrupted Manual ; " a column 
 of troops is not to be steered like a ship, by compass, and 
 bearings and distances trust me, sir, the march shall be 
 conducted with proper discretion, though in a military 
 manner." 
 
 Any reply or expostulation was prevented by the sudden 
 disappearance of the marine, whose retreating footsteps 
 were heard for several moments, as he moved at a deliber 
 ate pace through the underwood. During this short inter 
 val, the pilot stood reclining against the corner of the ruins 
 in profound silence ; but when the sounds of Manual s 
 march were no longer audible, he advanced from under 
 the deeper shadows of the wall, and approached his youth 
 ful companion. 
 
 "We are indebted to the marine for our escape," he said ; 
 " I hope we are not to suffer by his folly." 
 
 " He is what Barnstable calls a rectangular man," re 
 turned Griffith, " and will have his way in matters of his 
 profession, though a daring companion in a hazardous ex 
 pedition. If we can keep him from exposing us by his 
 
 13 
 
I 9 4 THE PILOT. 
 
 silly parade, we shall find him a man who will do his work 
 like a soldier, sir, when need happens." 
 
 " "Tis all I ask ; until the last moment, he and his com 
 mand must be torpid ; for if we are discovered, any attempt 
 of ours, with some twenty bayonets and a half-pike or two, 
 would be useless against the force that would be brought 
 to crush us." 
 
 "The truth of your opinion is too obvious," returned 
 Griffith ; " those fellows will sleep a week at a time in 
 a gale at sea, but the smell of the land wakes them up, 
 and I fear twill be hard to keep them close during the day." 
 " It must be done, sir, by the strong hand of force," said 
 the pilot sternly, " if it cannot be done by admonition ; if 
 we had no more than the recruits of that drunken martinet 
 to cope with, it would be no hard task to drive them into 
 the sea ; but I learned in my prison that horse are ex 
 pected on the shore with the dawn ; there is one they call 
 Dillon, who is on the alert to do us mischief." 
 
 " The miscreant!" muttered Griffith. " Then you also 
 have had communion, sir, with some of the inmates of St. 
 Ruth?" 
 
 " It behooves a man who is embarked in a perilous enter 
 prise to seize all opportunities to learn his hazard," said the 
 pilot, evasively ; " if the report be true, I fear we have but 
 little hopes of succeeding in our plans." 
 
 " Nay, then, let us take the advantage of the darkness 
 to regain the schooner ; the coasts of England swarm with 
 hostile cruisers, and a rich trade is flowing into the bosom 
 of this island from the four quarters of the world ; we 
 shall not seek long for a foe worthy to contend with, nor 
 for the opportunities to cut up the Englishman in his sin 
 ews of war his wealth." 
 
 " Griffith," returned the pilot, in his still, low tones, that 
 seemed to belong to a man who never knew ambition, nor 
 felt human passion, " I grow sick of this struggle between 
 merit and privileged rank. It is in vain that I scour the 
 waters which the King of England boastingly calls his 
 own, and capture his vessels in the very mouths of his har 
 bors, if my reward is to consist only of violated promises, 
 and hollow professions : but your proposition is useless to 
 me ; I have at length obtained a ship of a size sufficient to 
 convey my person to the shores of honest, plain-dealing 
 America ; and I would enter the hall of Congress, on my 
 return, attended by a few of the legislators of this learned 
 
THE PILOT. I 9 3 
 
 isle, who think they possess the exclusive privilege to be 
 wise, and virtuous, and great." 
 
 " Such a retinue might doubtless be grateful both to 
 your own feelings and those who would receive you," said 
 Griffith, modestly ; <; but would it affect the great pur 
 poses of our struggle ? or is it an exploit, when achieved, 
 worth the hazard you incur?" 
 
 Griffith felt the hand of the pilot on his own, pressing 
 it with a convulsive grasp, as he replied, in a voice, if pos 
 sible, even more desperately calm than his former tones : 
 
 " There is glory in it, young man ; if it be purchased 
 with danger, it shall be rewarded by fame ! It is true, I 
 wear your republican livery, and call the Americans my 
 brothers ; but it is because you combat in behalf of human 
 nature. Were your cause less holy, I would -not shed the 
 meanest drop that flows in English veins, to serve it ; but 
 now, it hallows every exploit that is undertaken in its 
 favor, and the names of all who contend for it shall belong 
 to posterity. Is there no merit in teaching these proud 
 islanders that the arm of liberty can pluck them from the 
 very empire of their corruption and oppression?" 
 
 " Then let me go and ascertain what we most wish to 
 know ; you have been seen there, and might attract " 
 
 "You little know me," interrupted the pilot : " the deed 
 is my own. If I succeed, I shall claim the honor, and it is 
 proper that I incur the hazard ; if I fail, it will be buried 
 in oblivion, like fifty others of my schemes, which, had I 
 power to back me, would have thrown this kingdom in 
 consternation, from the lookouts on the boldest of its head 
 lands to those on the turrets of Windsor Castle. But I 
 was born without the nobility of twenty generations to 
 corrupt my blood and deaden my soul, and am not trusted 
 by the degenerate wretches who rule the French marine." 
 
 " Tis said that ships of two decks are building from our 
 own oak," said Griffith ; "and you have only to present 
 yourself in America, to be employed most honorably." 
 
 " Ay ! the republics cannot doubt the man who has sup 
 ported their flag, without lowering it an inch, in so many 
 bloody conflicts ! I do go there, Griffith, but my way lieg 
 on this path : my pretended friends have bound my hands 
 often, but my enemies, never neither shall they now. 
 Ten hours will determine all I wish to know, and with yon 
 I trust the safety of the party till my return : be vigilant, 
 but be prudent." 
 
; 9 6 THE PILOT. 
 
 " If you should not appear at the appointed hour," ex 
 claimed Griffith, as he beheld the pilot turning to depart,, 
 "where am I to seek, and how serve you ? " 
 
 " Seek me not, but return to your vessel ; my earliest 
 years were passed on this coast, and I can leave the island 
 should it be necessary, as I entered it, aided by this dis 
 guise and my own knowledge ; in such an event, look to 
 your charge, and forget me entirely." 
 
 Griffith could distinguish the silent wave of his hand 
 when the pilot concluded, and the next instant he was left 
 alone. For several minutes the young man continued where 
 he had been standing, musing on on the singular ,endow- 
 ments and restless enterprise of the being with whom 
 chance had thus unexpectedly brought him in contact, and 
 with whose fate and fortune his own prospects had, by the 
 intervention of unlooked-for circumstances, become inti 
 mately connected. When the reflections excited by recent 
 occurrences had passed away, he entered within the sweep 
 ing circle of the ruinous walls, and, after a very cursory 
 survey of the state of the dilapidated building, he was sat 
 isfied that it contained enough secret places to conceal his 
 men, until the return of the pilot should warn them that 
 the hour had come when they must attempt the seizure of 
 the devoted sportsmen, or darkness should again facilitate 
 their return to the Ariel. It was now about the commence 
 ment of that period of deep night which seamen distin 
 guish as the morning watch, and Griffith ventured to the 
 edge of the little wood, to listen if any sounds or tumult 
 indicated that they were pursued. On reaching a point 
 where his eye could faintly distinguish distant objects, the 
 young man paused, and bestowed a close and wary inves 
 tigation on the surrounding scene. 
 
 The fury of the gale had sensibly abated, but a steady 
 current of sea-air was rushing through the naked branches 
 of the oaks, lending a dreary and mournful sound to the 
 gloom of the dim prospect. At the distance of a short 
 half-mile, the confused outline of the pile of St. Ruth rose 
 proudly against the streak of light which was gradually 
 increasing above the ocean, and there were moments when 
 the young seaman even fancied he could discern the bright 
 caps that topped the waves of his own disturbed element 
 The long, dull roar of the surf, as it tumbled heavily on 
 the beach, or dashed with unbroken violence against ths 
 hard boundary of rocks, was borne along by the blasts di$ 
 
THE PILOT. 197 
 
 tinctly to his ears. It was a time and a situation to cause 
 tne young seaman to ponder deeply on the changes and 
 chances of his hazardous profession. Only a few short 
 hours had passed since he was striving with his utmost 
 skill, and with all his collected energy, to guide the enor 
 mous fabric, in which so many of his comrades were now 
 quietly sleeping on the broad ocean, from that very shore 
 on which he now stood in cool indifference to the danger 
 The recollection of home, America, his youthful and en 
 during passion, and the character and charms of his mis 
 tress, blended in a sort of wild and feverish confusion, 
 which was not, however, without its pleasures, in the ar 
 dent fancy of the young man ; and he was slowly approach 
 ing, step by step, toward the Abbey, when the sound of 
 footsteps, proceeding evidently from the measured tread 
 of disciplined men, reached his ears. He was instantly 
 recalled to his recollection by this noise, which increased 
 as the party deliberately approached ; and in a few mo 
 ments he was able to distinguish a line of men marching 
 in order toward the edge of the wood, from which he had 
 so recently issued. Retiring rapidly under the deeper 
 shadow of the trees, he w r aifed until it was apparent the 
 party intended to enter under its cover also, when he ven 
 tured to speak. 
 
 " Who comes ? and what errand ? " he cried. 
 
 "A skulker, and to burrow like a rabbit, or jump from 
 hole to hole like a wharf-rat ! " said Manual, sulkily ; " here 
 have I been marching, within half musket-shot of the 
 enemy, without daring to pull a trigger even on their out 
 posts, because our muzzles are plugged wdth that universal 
 extinguisher of gunpowder, called prudence. Fore God J 
 Mr. Griffith, I hope you may never feel the temptation to 
 do an evil deed, which I felt just now, to throw a volley of 
 small shot into that dog-kennel of a place, if it were only 
 to break its windows and let in the night air upon the 
 tieeping sot who is dozing away the fumes of some as good, 
 old, south-side harkye, Mr. Griffith, one word in your ear." 
 
 A short conference took place between the two officers, 
 apart from the men, at the close of which, as they rejoined 
 the party, Manual might be heard urging his plans on the 
 reluctant ears of Griffith in the following \vords : 
 
 " I could carry the old dungeon without waking one of the 
 snorers ; and consider, sir, we .night get a stock of as rich cor- 
 t|ial from its cellars as ever piled the throat pf agpntleman!" 
 
198 THE PILOT. 
 
 "Tis idle, tis idle," sai d Griffith impatiently ; "we ar 
 not robbers of hen-roosts, nor wine-gaugers, to be prying 
 into the vaults of the English gentry, Captain Manual ; 
 but honorable men, employed in the sacred cause of lib* 
 erty and our country. Lead your party into the ruin, and 
 let them seek their rest ; we may have work for them with 
 the dawn." 
 
 " Evil was the hour when I quitted the line of the army, 
 to place a soldier under the orders of an awkward squad of 
 tarry jackets! " muttered Manual, as he proceeded to exe 
 cute an order that was delivered with an air of authority 
 that he knew must be obeyed. " As pretty an opportunity 
 for a surprise and a forage thrown away, as ever crossed 
 the path of a partisan ! but, by all the rights of man ! I ll 
 have an encampment in some order. Here, you sergeant, 
 detail a corporal and three men for a picket, and station 
 them in the skirts of this wood. We shall have a sentinel 
 in advance of our position, and things shall be conducted 
 with some air of discipline." 
 
 Griffith heard this order with great inward disgust ; but, 
 as he anticipated the return of the pilot before the light 
 could arrive to render this weak exposure of their situation 
 apparent, he forbore exercising his power to alter the ar 
 rangement. Manual had, therefore, the satisfaction of 
 seeing his little party quartered, as he thought, in a mili 
 tary manner, before he retired with Griffith and his men 
 into one of the vaulted apartments of the ruin, which, by 
 its open and broken doors, invited their entrance. Here 
 the marines disposed themselves to rest, while the two 
 officers succeeded in passing the tedious hours, without 
 losing their characters for watchfulness by conversing with 
 each other, or, at whiles, suffering their thoughts to roam 
 in the very different fields which fancy would exhibit to 
 men of such different characters. In this manner hour 
 after hour passed, in listless quiet, or sullen expectation, 
 until the day had gradually advanced, and it became dan 
 gerous to keep the sentinels and picket in a situation 
 where they were liable to be seen by any straggler who 
 migfyt t}e passing near the wood. Manual remonstrated 
 against any alteration, as being entirely unmilitary, for he 
 was apt tq carry his notions of tactics to extremes when 
 ever he came in collision with a sea officer ; but in this 
 instance his superior was firm, and the only concession the 
 captain coul4 obtain was fye permission to place q, solitary 
 
THE PILOT. 19$ 
 
 sentinel within a few feet of the vault, though under the 
 cover of the crumbling walls of the building itself. With 
 this slight deviation in their arrangements, the uneasy 
 party remained for several hours longer, impatiently await 
 ing the period when they should be required to move. 
 
 The guns first fired from the Alacrity had been distinctly 
 audible, and were pronounced by Griffith, whose practised 
 ear detected the metal of the piece that was used, as not 
 proceeding from the schooner. When the rapid though 
 distant rumbling of the spirited cannonade became audible, 
 it was with difficulty that Griffith could restrain either his 
 own feelings or the conduct of his companions within those 
 bounds that prudence and their situation required. The 
 last gun was, however, fired, and not a man had left 
 the vault, and conjectures as to the result of the fight suc 
 ceeded to those which had been made on the character of 
 the combatants during the action. Some of the marines 
 would raise their heads from the fragments which served 
 them as pillows on which they were seeking disturbed and 
 stolen slumbers, and after listening to the cannon would 
 again compose themselves to sleep, like men who felt no 
 concern in a contest in which they did not participate. 
 Others, more alive to events, and less drowsy, lavishly ex 
 pended their rude jokes on those who were engaged in the 
 struggle, or listened with a curious interest to mark the 
 progress of the. battle, by the uncertain index of its noise. 
 When the fight had been some time concluded, Manual in 
 dulged his ill-humor more at length : 
 
 " There has been a party of pleasure within a league of 
 tis, Mr. Griffith," he said, " at which, but for our present 
 subterraneous quarters, we might have been guests, and 
 thus laid some claim to the honor of sharing the victory. 
 But it is not too late to push the party on as far as the 
 cliffs, where we shall be in sight of the vessels, and we may 
 possibly establish a claim to our share of the prize-money/ 
 
 " There is but little wealth to be gleaned from the cap- 
 ture of a king s cutter," returned Griffith; and there would 
 be less honor were Barnstable encumbered with our addi 
 tional and useless number." 
 
 "Useless!" repeated Manual; "there is much good 
 service to be got out of twenty-three well-drillei and well- 
 chosen marines ; look at those fellows, Mr. Griffith, anc* 
 then tell me if you think them an encumbrance* in the houj 
 of need" 
 
#x> THE 
 
 Griffith smiled, and glanced his eye over the sleeping 
 group for when the firing had ceased the whole party had 
 s*gain sought their repose and he could not help admiring 
 the athletic and sinewy limbs that lay scattered around the 
 gloomy vault, in every posture that ease or whim dictated. 
 From the stout frames of the men, his glance was directed 
 to the stack of fire-arms, from whose glittering tubes and 
 polished bayonets strong rays of light were reflected, even 
 in that dark apartment. Manual followed the direction of 
 his eyes, and the expression of his countenance, with in 
 ward exultation ; but he had the forbearance to await his 
 reply before he manifested his feelings more openly. 
 
 "I know them to be true men," said Griffith, "when 
 needed, but hark ! what says he ? " 
 
 " Who goes there ? what noise is that ? " repeated the 
 sentinel, who was placed at the entrance of the vault. 
 
 Manual and Griffith sprang at the same instant from 
 their places of rest, and stood, unwilling to create the 
 slightest sounds, listening with most intense anxiety to 
 catch the next indication of the cause of the guardian s 
 alarm. A short stillness like that of death succeeded, 
 during which Griffith whispered : 
 
 " Tis the pilot ! his hour has been long passed." 
 
 The words were hardly spoken when the clashing of 
 steel in fierce and sudden contact was heard, and at the next 
 instant the body of the sentinel fell heavily along the stone 
 steps that led to the open air, and rolled lifelessly to their 
 feet, with the bayonet that had caused his death projecting 
 from a deep wound in his breast. 
 
 " Away, away ! sleepers, away ! " shouted Griffith. 
 
 " To arms ! " cried Manual, in a voice of thunder. 
 
 The alarmed marines, suddenly aroused from their 
 slumbers at these thrilling cries, sprang on their feet in a 
 confused cluster, and at that fatal moment a bedy of living 
 fire darted into the vault, which reechoed with the reports 
 of twenty muskets. The uproar, the smoke, and the groans 
 which escaped from many of his party, could not restrain 
 Griffith another instant ; his pistol was fired through the 
 uoud which concealed the entrance of the vault, and he 
 followed the leaden messenger, trailing a half-pike, and 
 shouted to his men : 
 
 " Come on ! follow, my lads ; they are nothing but sol 
 diers." 
 
 Even while he spoke, the ardent young seaman wai 
 
THE PILOT. 20 1 
 
 rushing tip the narrow passage ; but as he gained the open 
 space, his foot struck the writhing body of the victim oi 
 his shot, and he was precipitated headlong into a group oi 
 armed men. 
 
 " Fire ! Manual, fire ! " shouted the infuriated piisoner j 
 "fire, while you have them in a cluster." 
 
 " Ay, fire, Mr. Manual," said Borroughcliffe, with great 
 coolness, "and shoot your own officer. Hold him up, 
 boys ! hold him up in front ; the safest place is nighest to 
 him." 
 
 " Fire ! " repeated Griffith, making desperate efforts to 
 release himself from the grasp of five or six men ; " fire, 
 and disregard me." 
 
 " If he do, he deserves to be hung," said Borroughcliffe ; 
 " such fine fellows are not sufficiently plenty to be shot at 
 like wild beasts in chains. Take him from before the 
 mouth of the vault, boys, and spread yourselves to your 
 duty." 
 
 At the time Griffith issued from the cover, Manual was 
 mechanically employed in placing his men in order ; and 
 the marines, accustomed to do everything in concert and 
 array, lost the moment to advance. The soldiers of Bor 
 roughcliffe reloaded their muskets, and fell back behind 
 different portions of the wall, where they could command 
 the entrance to the vault with their fire, without much ex 
 posure to themselves. This disposition was very coolly 
 reconnoitred by Manual in person, through some of the 
 crevices in the wall, and he hesitated to advance against 
 the force he beheld while so advantageously posted. In 
 this situation several shots were fired by either party with 
 out effect, until Borroughcliffe, perceiving the inefficacy of 
 that mode of attack, summoned the garrison of the vault 
 to a parley. 
 
 " Surrender to the forces of his majesty, King George 
 the Third," he cried, " and I promise you quarter." 
 
 " Will you release your prisoner, and give us free pas 
 sage to our vessels ? " asked Manual ; " the garrison to marcft 
 out with all the honors of war, and officers to retain their 
 side-arms ? " 
 
 u Inadmissible," returned Borroughcliffe, with great 
 gravity ; " the honor of his majesty s arms, and the welfare 
 of the realm, forbid such a treaty ; but I offer you safe 
 quarter and honorable treatment." 
 
 " Officers to retain their side-arms, your prisoner tc, be 
 
902 THE PILOT. 
 
 released, and the whole party to return to America oi 
 parole, not to serve until exchanged ?" 
 
 "Not granted," said Borroughcliffe. "The most that 1 
 can yield is a good potation of the generous- southside; 
 and, if you are the man I take you for, you will know how 
 to prize such an offer." 
 
 " In what capacity do you summon us to yield ? as men 
 entitled to the benefit of the laws of arms, or as rebels to 
 your king ? " 
 
 "Ye are rebels all, gentlemen," returned the deliberate 
 Borroughcliffe, "and as such you must yield ; though so 
 far as good treatment and good fare goes, you are sure of 
 it while in my power ; in all other respects you lie at the 
 mercy of his most gracious majesty." 
 
 " Then let his majesty show his gracious face, and come 
 and take us, for I ll be 
 
 The asseveration of the marine was interrupted by Grif 
 fith, whose blood had sensibly cooled, and whose generous 
 feelings were awakened in behalf of his comrades, now that 
 his own fate seemed decided. 
 
 " Hold, Manual," he cried, " make no rash oaths. Cap 
 tain Borroughcliffe, I am Edward Griffith, a lieutenant in 
 the navy of the United American States, and I pledge you 
 my honor to a parole 
 
 " Release him," said Borroughcliffe. 
 
 Griffith advanced between the two parties and spoke so 
 as to be heard by both : 
 
 u I propose to descend to the vault and ascertain the 
 loss and present strength of Captain Manual s party; if 
 the latter be not greater than I apprehend, I shall advise 
 him to surrender on the usual conditions of civilized 
 nations." 
 
 " Go," said the soldier ; " but stay ; is he a half-and-half 
 an amphibious pshaw ! I mean a marine ? " 
 
 " He is, sir, a captain in that corps 
 
 " The very man," interrupted Borroughcliffe ; "I thought 
 I recollected the liquid sound of his voice. It will be well 
 to speak to him of the good fare of St. Ruth ; and you may 
 add, that I know my man ; I shall besiege instead of storm 
 ing him, with the certainty of a surrender when his can 
 teen is empty. The vault he is in holds no such beverage 
 asr the cellars of the Abbey." 
 
 Griffith smiled, in spite of the occasion and his vexation ; 
 and, making a slight inclination of his head, he passed inU 
 
THE PILOT. 20J 
 
 the vault, giving notice to his friends, by his voice, in oidef 
 to apprise them who approached. 
 
 He found six of the marines, including the sentinel, lying 
 dead on the ragged pavement, and four others wounded, 
 but stifling their groans, by order of their commander, that 
 they might not inform the enemy of his weakness. With 
 the remainder of his command, Manual had intrenched 
 himself behind the fragment of a wall that intersected the 
 vault, and, regardless of the dismaying objects before 
 him, maintained as bold a front, and as momentous an air, 
 as if the fate of a walled town depended on his resolution 
 and ingenuity. 
 
 " You see, Mr. Griffith," he cried, when the young sailor 
 approached this gloomy but really formidable arrangement, 
 " that nothing short of artillery can dislodge me ; as for 
 that drinking Englishman above, let him send down his 
 men by platoons of eight or ten, and I ll pile them up on 
 those steps, four and five deep ! " 
 
 " But artillery can and will be brought, if it should be 
 necessary," said Griffith; "and there is not the least chance 
 of your eventual escape ; it may be possible for you to de 
 stroy a few of the enemy, but you are too humane to wish 
 to do it unnecessarily." 
 
 "No doubt," returned Manual, with a grim smile ; "and 
 yet methinks I could find present pleasure in shooting 
 seven of them yes, just seven, which is one more than 
 they have struck off my roster." 
 
 " Remember your own wounded," added Griffith ; " they 
 suffer for want of aid, while you protect a useless de 
 fence." 
 
 A few smothered groans from the sufferers seconded this 
 appeal, and Manual yielded, though with a very ill grace, 
 to the necessity of the case. 
 
 " Go, then, and tell him that we will surrender as pris 
 oners of war," he said, "on the conditions that he grants 
 me my side-arms, and that suitable care shall be taken of 
 the sick be particular to call them sick for some lucky 
 accident may yet occur before the compact is ratified, and 
 I would not have him learn our loss." 
 
 Griffith, without waiting for a second bidding, hastened 
 to Borroughcliffe with his intelligence. 
 
 ts His side-arms ! " repeated the soldier, when the other 
 had done ; " what are they, I pray thee, a marline-spike 
 ior if his equipments be no better than thine own, w 
 
f04 THE PILOT. 
 
 worthy prisoner, there is little need to quarrel about theit 
 ownership." 
 
 " Had I but ten of my meanest men, armed with such 
 half-pikes, and Captain Borroughcliffe and his party were 
 put at deadly strife with us," retorted Griffith, " he might 
 find occasion to value our weapons more highly." 
 
 " Four such fiery gentlemen as yourself would have 
 routed my command," returned BorroughcMe, with undis 
 turbed composure. " I trembled for my ranks when I saw 
 you coming out of the smoke like a blazing comet from 
 behind a cloud ! and I shall never think of somersets with 
 out returning inward thanks to their inventor. But our 
 treaty is made ; let your comrades come forth and pile their 
 arms." 
 
 Griffith communicated the result to the captain of ma 
 rines, when the latter led the remnant of his party out of 
 his sunken fortress into the open air. 
 
 The men, who had manifested throughout the whole 
 business that cool subordination and unyielding front, mixed 
 with the dauntless spirit that to this day distinguishes the 
 corps of which they were members, followed their com 
 mander in sullen silence, and stacked their arms, with as 
 much regularity and precision as it they had been ordered 
 to relieve themselves after a march. When this necessary 
 preliminary had been observed, Borroughcliffe unmasked 
 his forces, and our adventurers found themselves once 
 more in the power of the enemy, and under circumstances 
 which rendered the prospect of a speedy release from their 
 captivity nearly hopeless. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 " If your father will do me any honor, so ; 
 If not, let him kill the next Percy himself ; 
 I look to be either earl or duke, I can assure you." Falstajff. 
 
 MANUAL cast sundry discontented and sullen looks from 
 his captors to the remnant of his own command, while the 
 process of pinioning the latter was conducted, with much 
 discretion, under the direction of Sergeant Drill, when, 
 meeting in one of his dissatisfied glances with the pale and 
 disturbed features of Griffith, he gave vent to his ill-humor 
 by saying : 
 
 " This results from neglecting the precautions of mill- 
 
THE PILOT. 20J 
 
 tary discipline. Had the command been with me, who. I 
 may say without boasting, have been accustomed to the 
 duties of the field, proper pickets would have been posted, 
 and, instead of being caught like so many rabbits in a bur 
 row to be smoked out with brimstone, we should have had 
 an open field for the struggle ; or we might have possessed 
 ourselves of these walls, which I could have made good, 
 for two hours at least, against the best regiment that ever 
 wore King George s facings." 
 
 " Defend the outworks before retreating to the citadel ! " 
 cried Borroughcliffe ; " tis the game of war, and shows 
 science ; but had you kept closer to your burrow, the rab 
 bits might now have all been frisking about in that pleas 
 ant abode. The eyes of a timid hind were greeted this 
 morning, while journeying near this wood, with a passing 
 sight of armed men in strange attire ; and, as he fled with 
 an intent of casting himself into the sea, as fear will some 
 times urge one of his kind to do, he luckily encountered 
 me on the cliffs, who humanely saved his life, by compel 
 ling him to conduct us hither. There is often wisdom in 
 science, my worthy contemporary in arms, but there is 
 sometimes safety in ignorance." 
 
 "You have succeeded, sir, and have a right to be pleas 
 ant," said Manual, seating himself gloomily on a fragment 
 of the ruin, and fastening his looks on the melancholy 
 spectacle of the lifeless bodies at his feet; " but these men 
 have been my own children, and you will excuse me if I 
 cannot retort your pleasantries. Ah ! Captain Borrough 
 cliffe, you are a soldier, and know how to value merit. I 
 took those very fellows, who sleep on these stones so quietly, 
 from the hand of Nature, and made them the pride of our 
 art They were no longer men, but brave lads, who ate 
 and drank, wheeled and marched, loaded and fired, 
 laughed, or were sorrowful, spoke or were silent, only at 
 my will. As for soul, there was but one among them all, 
 and that was in my keeping! Groan, my children, groan 
 freely now ; there is no longer a reason to be silent. I have 
 known a single musket-bullet cut the buttons from the coats 
 of five of them in a row, without razing the skin of a man! 
 I could ever calculate, with certainty, how many it would 
 be necessary to expend in all regular service ; but this ac 
 cursed banditti business has robbed me of the choicest of 
 my treasures. You stand at ease now, my children ; groan, 
 *tt will soften your anguish." 
 
206 THE PILOT. 
 
 Borroughcliffe appeared to participate, in some degree, 
 in the feelings of his captive, and he made a few appropri 
 ate remarks in the way of condolence, while he watched 
 the preparations that were making by his own men to 
 move. At length his orderly announced that substitutes 
 for barrows were provided to sustain the wounded, and in 
 quired if it were his pleasure to return to their quarters. 
 
 " Who has seen the horse ? " demanded the captain \ 
 "which way did they march? Have they gained any 
 tidings of the discovery of this party of the enemy?" 
 
 " Not from us, your honor," returned the sergeant; 
 they had ridden along the coast before we left the cliffs, 
 and it was said their officer intended to scour the shore for 
 several miles, and spread the alarm." 
 
 " Let him ; it is all such gay gallants are good for. Drill, 
 honor is almost as scarce an article w r ith our arms just 
 now as promotion. We seem but the degenerate children 
 of the heroes of Poictiers. You understand me, ser 
 geant ?" 
 
 " Some battle fou t by his majesty s troops against the 
 French, your honor," returned the orderly, a little at a loss 
 to comprehend the expression of his officer s eye. 
 
 " Fellow, you grow dull on victory," exclaimed Bor- 
 roughcliffe ; "come hither, I would give you orders. Do 
 you think, Mister Drill, there is more honor, or likely to 
 be more profit, in this little morning s amusement than you 
 and I can stand under?" 
 
 " I should not, your honor ; we have both pretty broad 
 shoulders " 
 
 " That are not weakened by undue burdens of this nat 
 ure," interrupted the captain significantly ; "if we let the 
 news of this affair reach the ears of those hungry dra 
 goons, they would charge upon us open-mouthed, like a 
 pack of famished beagles, and claim at least half the 
 credit, and certainly all the profit." 
 
 " But, your honor, there was not a man of them 
 even " 
 
 * No matter, Drill ; I ve known troops that have been 
 engaged, and have suffered, cheated out of their share of 
 victory by a well-worded despatch. You know, fellow, 
 that in the smoke and confusion of a battle a man can 
 only see what passes near him, and common prudence re 
 quires that he only mention in his official letters what he 
 knows can t be easily contradicted. Thus your Indians, 
 
THE PILOT. 207 
 
 and, indeed, all allies, are not entitled to the right of a 
 general order, any more than to the right of a parade. 
 Now, I dare say, you have heard of a certain battle of 
 Blenheim ? " 
 
 "Lord! your honor, tis the pride of the British army, 
 that and the Culloden ! Twas when the great Corporal 
 John beat the French king and all his lords and nobility, 
 with half his nation in arms to back him." 
 
 " Ay ! there is a little of the barrack readings in the ac 
 count, but it is substantially true ; know you how many 
 French were in the field that day, Mister Drill?" 
 
 " I have never seen the totals of their muster, sir, in 
 print ; but, judging by the difference betwixt the nations, 
 I should suppose some hundreds of thousands." 
 
 " And yet, to oppose this, vast army, the duke had only 
 ten or twelve thousand well-fed Englishmen ! You look 
 astounded, sergeant ! " 
 
 " Why, your honor, that does seem rather an over-match 
 for an old soldier to swallow ; the random shot would sweep 
 away so small a force." 
 
 " And yet the battle was fought, and the victory won. 
 But the Duke of Maryborough had a certain Mr. Eugene, 
 with some fifty or sixty thousand High-Dutchers, to back 
 him. You never heard of Mr. Eugene ? " 
 
 " Not a syllable, your honor. I always thought that 
 corporal John " 
 
 " Was a gallant and great general ; you thought right, 
 Mister Drill. So would a certain nameless gentleman be 
 also, if his majesty would sign a commission to that effect. 
 However, a majority is on the high-road to a regiment, and 
 with even a regiment a man is comfortable ! In plain 
 English, Mister Drill, we must get our prisoners into the 
 Abbey with as little noise as possible, in order that the horse 
 may continue their gambols along the coast, without com- 
 ing to devour our meal. All the fuss must be made at the 
 war-office for that trifle you may trust me ; I think I know 
 who holds a quill that is as good in its way as the sword he 
 wears. Drill is a short name, and can easily be written 
 within the folds of a letter." 
 
 "Lord, your honor!" said the gratified halberdier, " I m 
 sure such an honor is more but your honor can ever 
 command me." 
 
 " I do ; and it is to be close, and to make your men keen 
 close, until it shall be time to speak, when I pledge myself 
 
20$ THE PILOT. 
 
 there shall be noise enough." Borroughcliffe shook his 
 head, with a grave air, as he continued : " It has been a 
 devil of a bloody fight, sergeant ! look at the dead and 
 wounded ; a wood on each flank supported by a ruin in 
 the centre. Oh ! ink ink can be spilt on the details with 
 great effect. Go, fellow, and prepare to march." 
 
 Thus enlightened on the subject of his commander s ul 
 terior views, the non-commissioned agent of the captain s 
 wishes proceeded to give suitable instructions to the rest 
 of the party, and to make the more immediate preparations 
 for a march. The arrangements were soon completed. 
 The bodies of the slain were left unsheltered, the seclusion 
 of the ruin being deemed a sufficient security against the 
 danger of any discovery, until darkness should favor their 
 removal, in conformity with Borroughcliffe s plan to mo 
 nopolize the glory. The wounded were placed on rude 
 litters, composed of the muskets and blankets of the pris 
 oners, when the conquerors and vanished moved together 
 in a compact body from the ruin, in such a manner as to 
 make the former serve as a mask to conceal the latter from 
 the curious gaze of any casual passenger. There was but 
 little, indeed, to apprehend on this head, for the alarm and 
 the terror, consequent on the exaggerated reports that 
 flew through the country, effectually prevented any in 
 truders on the usually quiet and retired domains of St. 
 Ruth. 
 
 The party was emerging from the wood, when the crack 
 ling of branches, and rustling of dried leaves, announced, 
 however, that an interruption of some sort was about to 
 occur. 
 
 " If it should be one of their rascally patrols ! " exclaimed 
 Borroughcliffe, with very obvious displeasure, " they tram 
 ple like a regiment of cavalry ! but, gentlemen, you will 
 acknowledge, yourselves, that we were retiring from the 
 field of battle when we met the reinforcement, if it should 
 prove to be such." 
 
 " We are not disposed, sir, to deny you the glory of hav 
 ing achieved your victory single-handed," said Griffith, 
 glancing his eyes uneasily in the direction of the approach 
 ing sounds, expecting- to see the pilot issue from the thicket 
 in which he seemed to be entangled, instead of any detach* 
 ment of his enemies. 
 
 " Clear the way, Caesar ! " cried a voice at no great dis* 
 tance from them ; " break through the accursed vines on 
 
THE PILOT. 209 
 
 my right, Pompey press forward, my fine fellows, or we 
 tjiay be too late to smell even the smoke of the fight." 
 
 " Hum ! " ejaculated the captain, with his philosophic 
 *ndifference of manner entirely re-established, " this must 
 be a Roman legion just awoke from a trance of some 
 seventeen centuries, and that the voice of a centurion. 
 We will halt, Mister Drill, and view the manner of an an* 
 cient march ! " 
 
 While the captain was yet speaking, a violent effort dis 
 engaged the advancing party from the thicket of brambles 
 in which they had been entangled, when tw T o blacks, each 
 bending under a load of fire-arms, preceded Colonel 
 Howard into the clear space where Borroughcliife had 
 halted his detachment. Some little time was necessary to 
 enable the veteran to arrange his disordered dress, and to 
 remove the perspiring effects of the unusual toil from his 
 features, before he could observe the addition to the cap 
 tain s numbers. 
 
 " We heard you fire," cried the old soldier, making, at 
 the same time, the most diligent application of his bandan 
 na, " and I determined to aid you with a sortie, which, when 
 judiciously timed, has been the means of raising many a 
 siege ; though, had Montcalm rested quietly within his 
 walls, the plains of Abr am might never have drunk his 
 blood." 
 
 " Oh ! his decision was soldierly, and according to all 
 the rules of war," exclaimed Manual ; " and, had I fol 
 lowed his example, this day might have produced a differ 
 ent tale ! " 
 
 " Why, who have we here ? " cried the colonel in astonish 
 ment ; " who is it that pretends to criticise battles and 
 sieges, dressed in such a garb ? " 
 
 " Tis a dux incognitorum, my worthy host," said Bor- 
 roughcliffe ; " which means, in our English language, a 
 captain of marines in the service of the American Con 
 gress." 
 
 " What ! have you then met the enemy ? ay ! and, by the 
 fame of the immortal Wolfe, you have captured them ! " 
 cried the delighted veteran. " I was pressing on with a part 
 of my garrison to your assistance, for I had seen that you 
 were marching in this direction, and even the report of a, 
 few muskets was heard." 
 
 " A few " interrupted the conqueror ; " I know not what 
 you call a few, my gallant and ancient friend ; you may 
 14 
 
2io THE PILOT. 
 
 possibly have shot at each other by the week in the dayi 
 of Wolfe, and Abercrombie, and Braddock ; but I too have 
 een smart firing, and can hazard an opinion on such mat 
 ters. There was as pretty a roll made by fire-arms at the 
 battles on the Hudson as ever rattled from a drum ; it is 
 all over, and many live to talk of it ; but this has been the 
 most desperate affair, for the numbers, I ever was engaged 
 in ! I speak always with reference to the numbers. The 
 wood is pretty well sprinkled with dead ; and we have con 
 trived to bring off a few of the desperately wounded with 
 us, as you may perceive." 
 
 "Bless me!" exclaimed the surprised veteran, "that 
 such an engagement should happen within musket shot 
 of the Abbey, and I know so little of it ! My faculties are 
 on the wane, I fear, for the time has been when a single 
 discharge would rouse me from the deepest sleep." 
 
 " The bayonet is a silent weapon," returned the composed 
 captain, with a significant wave of his hand ; " tis the 
 Englishman s pride, and every experienced officer knows 
 that one thrust from it is worth the fire of a whole pla 
 toon." 
 
 " What ! did you come to the charge ? " cried the colo 
 nel , " by the Lord, Borroughcliffe, my gallant young 
 friend, I would have given twenty tierces of rice, and two 
 able-bodied negroes, to have seen the fray ! " 
 
 " It would have been a pleasant spectacle to witness, 
 sans disputation," returned the captain ; " but victory is 
 ours without the presence of Achilles, this time. I have 
 tihem, all that survive the aifair ; at least, all that have put 
 foot on English soil." 
 
 " Ay ! and the king s cutter has brought in the schoon 
 er ! " added Colonel Howard. " Thus perish all rebellion 
 for evermore ! Where s Kit ! my kinsman, Mr. Christophei 
 Dillon ; I would ask him what the laws of the realm next 
 prescribe to loyal subjects. Here will be work for the 
 jurors of Middlesex, Captain Borroughcliffe, if not for a 
 secretary of state s warrant. Where is Kit, my kinsman ; 
 the ductile, the sagacious, the loyal Christopher ?" 
 
 " The cacique non est, as more than one bailiff has said 
 of sundry clever fellows in our regiment, when there has 
 been a pressing occasion for their appearance," said the 
 soldier ; " but the cornet of horse has given me reason to 
 believe that his provincial lordship, who repaired on board 
 tlie cutter to give intelligence of the position of the enemy. 
 
THE PILOT. 2 it 
 
 continued there to share the dangers and honors of naval 
 combat." 
 
 "Ay, tis like him ! " cried the colonel, rubbing his hands 
 with glee ; " tis like him ! he has forgotten the law and his 
 peaceful occupations, at the sounds of military prepara 
 tions, and has carried the head of a statesman into the 
 fight, with the ardor and thoughtlessness of a boy." 
 
 "The cacique is a man of discretion," observed the cap 
 tain, with all his usual dryness of manner, " and will, 
 doubtless, recollect his obligations to posterity and him 
 self, though he be found entangled in the mazes of a 
 combat. But I marvel that he does not return, for some 
 time has now elapsed since the schooner struck her flag, 
 as my own eyes have witnessed." 
 
 " You will pardon me, gentlemen," said Griffith, advanc 
 ing toward them with uncontrollable interest ; "but I have 
 unavoidably heard part of your discourse, and cannot 
 think you will find it necessary to withhold the whole 
 truth from a disarmed captive : say you that a schooner 
 has been captured this morning ?" 
 
 "It is assuredly true," said Borroughcliffe, with a dis 
 play of nature and delicacy in his manner that did his 
 heart infinite credit ; " but I forebore to tell you, because 
 I thought your own misfortunes would be enough for one 
 time. Mr. Griffith, this gentleman is Colonel Howard, 
 to whose hospitality you will be indebted for some favors 
 before we separate." 
 
 " Griffith !" echoed the colonel, in quick reply ; " Grif 
 fith ! what a sight for my old eyes to witness ! the child 
 of worthy, gallant, loyal Hugh Griffith a captive, and taken 
 in arms against his prince ! Young man, young man, what 
 would thy honest father, what would his bosom friend, my 
 own poor brother, Harry, have said, had it pleased God 
 that they had survived to witness this burning shame and 
 lasting stigma on thy respectable name ? " 
 
 " Had my father lived, he would nowhaA^e been uphold 
 ing the independence of his native land," said the young 
 man, proudly. " I wish to respect even the prejudices of 
 Colonel Howard, and beg he will forbear urging a subject 
 on which I fear we never shall agree." 
 
 " Never, while thou art to be found in the ranks of 
 rebellion!" cried the colonel. "Oh! boy, boy! how I 
 could have loved and cherished thee, if the skill and 
 knowledge obtained in the service of thy prince were now 
 
*I2 THE PILOT. 
 
 devoted to the maintenance of his unalienable rights ! I 
 loved thy father, worthy Hugh, even as I loved my own 
 brother Harry." 
 
 "And his son should still be dear to you," interrupted 
 Griffith, taking the reluctant hand of the colonel into both 
 his own. 
 
 " Ah, Edward, Edward ! " continued the softened veteran, 
 "how many of my day-dreams have been destroyed by thy 
 perversity ! Nay, I know not that Kit, discreet and loyal 
 as he is, could have found such favor in my eyes as thy 
 self ; there is a cast of thy father in that face and smile, 
 Ned, that might have won me to anything short of treason 
 and then Cicely, provoking, tender, mutinous, kind, af 
 fectionate, good Cicely, would have been a link to unite us 
 forever." 
 
 The youth cast a hasty glance at the deliberate Bor- 
 roughcliife, who, if he had obeyed the impatient expression 
 of his eye, would have followed the party that was slowly 
 bearing the wounded toward the Abbey, before he yielded 
 to his feelings, and answered : 
 
 " Nay, sir ; let this, then, be the termination of our mis 
 understanding your lovely niece shall be that link, and 
 you shall be to me as your friend Hugh would have been 
 had he lived, and to Cecilia twice a parent." 
 
 " Boy, boy," said the veteran, averting his face to conceal 
 the workings of his muscles, "you talk idly ; my word is 
 now plighted to my kinsman Kit, and thy scheme is im 
 practicable." 
 
 "Nothing is impracticable, sir, to youth and enterprise, 
 when aided by age and experience like yours," returned 
 Griffith ; " this war must soon terminate." 
 
 " This war ! " echoed the colonel, shaking loose the grasp 
 which Griffith held on his arm ; " ay ! what of this war, 
 young man ? Is it not an accursed attempt to deny the 
 rights of our gracious sovereign, and to place tyrants, 
 reared in kennels, on the throne of princes ! a scheme to 
 elevate the wicked at the expense of the good ! a project 
 lo aid unrighteous ambition, under the mask of sacred lib* 
 erty and the popular cry of equality ! as if there could be 
 liberty without order ! or equality of rights, where the priv 
 ileges of the sovereign are not as sacred as those of the 
 people ! " 
 
 " You judge us harshly, Colonel Howard," said Griffith 
 
 " I judge you ! " interrupted the old soldier, who by thii 
 
THE PILOT. 213 
 
 time thought the youth resembled any one rather than his 
 friend Hugh ; "it is not my province to judge you at all ; 
 if it were ! but the time will come, the time will come. I 
 am a patient man, and can wait the course of things ; yes, 
 yes, age cools the blood, and we learn to suppress the pas 
 sions and impatience of youth ; but if the ministry would 
 issue a commission of justice for the colonies, and put the 
 name of old George Howard in it, I am a dog, if there 
 should be a rebel alive in twelve months ! Sir," turning 
 sternly to Borroughcliife, "in such a cause, I could prove 
 a Roman, and hang hang yes, I do think, sir, I could 
 hang my kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon !" 
 
 " Spare the cacique such an unnatural elevation before 
 his time," returned the captain, with a grave wave of the 
 hand; "behold," pointing toward the wood, " there is a 
 more befitting subject for the gallows ! Mr. Griffith, 
 yonder man call himself your comrade ? " 
 
 The eyes of Colonel Howard and Griffith followed the 
 direction of his finger, and the latter instantly recognized 
 the pilot, standing in the skirts of the wood, with his arms 
 folded, apparently surveying the condition of his friends. 
 
 "That man," said Griffith, in confusion and hesitating to 
 utter even the equivocal truth that suggested itself, " that 
 man does not belong to our ship s company." 
 
 "And yet he has been seen in your company," returned 
 the incredulous Borroughcliife ; "he was the spokesman in 
 last night s examination, Colonel Howard, and doubtless 
 commands the rear guard of the rebels." 
 
 You say true," cried the veteran. "Pompey! Caesar! 
 present ! fire ! " 
 
 The blacks started at the sudden orders of their master, 
 of whom they stood in the deepest awe ; and presenting their 
 muskets they averted their faces, and shutting their eyes > 
 obeyed the bloody mandate. 
 
 " Charge ! " shouted the Colonel, flourishing the ancient 
 sword with which he had armed himself, and pressing for 
 ward with all the activity that a recent fit of the gout 
 would allow ; " charge and exterminate the dogs with the 
 bayonet! push on, Pompey dress boys, dress." 
 
 " If your friend stand this charge," said Borroughcliffe to 
 Griffith, with unmoved composure, " his nerves are made 
 of iron ; such a charge would break the Coldstreams, with 
 Pompey in the ranks ! " 
 
 "I trust in God," cried Griffith, "he will have forbear 
 
214 THE PILOT. 
 
 tince enough to respect the weakness of Colonel Howard \ 
 he presents a pistol ! " 
 
 " But he will not fire ; the Romans deem it prudent ta 
 halt ; nay, by Heaven, they countermarch to the rear. 
 Hollo ! Colonel Howard, my worthy host, fall back on 
 your re-enforcements ; the wood is full of armed men ; 
 they cannot escape us ; I only wait for the horse to cut off 
 the retreat." 
 
 The veteran, who had advanced within a short distance 
 of the single man who thus deliberately awaited the attack, 
 halted at this summons ; and by a glance of his eye, ascer 
 tained that he stood alone. Believing the words of Bor- 
 roughcliffe to be true, he slowly retired, keeping his face 
 manfully toward his enemy, until he gained the support 
 of the captain. 
 
 " Recall the troops, Borroughcliffe ! " he cried, " and let 
 us charge into the wood ; they will fly before his majesty s 
 arms, like guilty scoundrels, as they are. As for the ne 
 groes, I ll teach the black rascals to desert their master at 
 such a moment ! They say Fear is pale, but, damme, Bor 
 roughcliffe, if I do not believe his skin is black." 
 
 " I have seen him of all colors ; blue, white, black, and 
 party-colored," said the captain. "I must take the com 
 mand of matters on myself, however, my excellent host ; 
 let us retire into the Abbey, and trust me to cut off the re 
 mainder of the rebels." 
 
 In this arrangement the colonel reluctantly acquiesced, 
 and the three followed the soldier to the dwelling, at a 
 pace that was adapted to the infirmities of its master. The 
 excitement of the onset, and the current of his ideas, had 
 united, however, to banish every amicable thought from 
 the breast of the colonel, and he entered the Abbey with 
 the resolute determination of seeing justice dealt to Grif 
 fith and his companions, even though it should push them 
 to the foot of the gallows. 
 
 As the gentlemen disappeared from his view, among the 
 shrubbery of the grounds, the pilot replaced the weapon 
 that was hanging from his hand in his bosom, and, turning 
 with a saddened and thoughtful brow, he slowly re-entered 
 the wood. 
 
THE PILOT. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 "When these prodigies 
 
 Do so conjointly meet, let not men say, 
 
 These are their reasons They are natural ; 
 
 For I believe they are portentous things 
 
 Unto the climate that they point upon." CASCA. 
 
 THE reader will discover, by referring to the time con 
 sumed in the foregoing events, that the Ariel, with her 
 prize, did not anchor in the bay already mentioned, until 
 Griffith and his party had been for several hours in the 
 custody of their enemies. The supposed capture of the 
 rebel schooner was an incident that excited but little in 
 terest, and no surprise among the people who were accus 
 tomed to consider their seamen as invincible ; and Barn- 
 stable had not found it a difficult task to practise his decep 
 tion on the few rustics whom curiosity induced to venture 
 alongside the vessels during the short continuance of day 
 light. When, however, the fogs of evening began to 
 rise along the narrow basin and the curvatures of its mar 
 gin were lost in the single outline of its dark and gloomy 
 border, the young seaman thought it time to apply himself 
 in earnest to his duty. The Alacrity, containing all his own 
 crew, together with the Ariel s wounded, was gotten silently 
 under way ; and driven easily before the heavy air that 
 swept from the land, she drifted from the harbor, until the 
 open sea lay before her, when her sails were spread, and 
 she continued to make the best of her way in quest of the 
 frigate. Barnstable had watched this movement with breath 
 less anxiety ; for, on an eminence that completely com 
 manded the waters to some distance, a small but rude bat 
 tery had been erected for the purpose of protecting the 
 harbor against the depredations and insults of the smaller 
 vessels of the enemy, and a guard of sufficient force to 
 manage the two heavy guns it contained, was maintained in 
 the work at all times. He was ignorant how far his stratagem 
 had been successful, and it was only when he heard the 
 fluttering of the Alacrity s canvas, as she opened it to the 
 breeze, that he felt he was yet secure. 
 
 " Twill reach the Englishmen s ears," said the boy Mem, 
 who stood on the forecastle of the schooner, by the side 
 of his commander, listening with breathless interest to th* 
 
2i 6 THE PILOT. 
 
 sounds ; " they set a sentinel on the point, as the sun went 
 down, and if he is a trifle better than a dead man, or a 
 marine asleep, he will suspect something is wrong." 
 
 " Never !" Returned Barnstable, with a long breath, that 
 announced all his apprehensions were removed ; " he will 
 be mjre likely to believe it a mermaid fanning herself 
 this cool evening, than to suspect the real fact What 
 say you, Master Coffin ? will the soldier smell the 
 truth ?" 
 
 " They re a dumb race," said the cockswain, casting his 
 eyes over his shoulders to ascertain that none of their own 
 marine guard was near him ; " now there was our ser 
 geant, who ought to know something, seeing that he has 
 been afloat these four years, maintained, dead in the face 
 and eyes of what every man, who has ever doubled Good 
 Hope, knows to be true, that there was no such vessel to 
 be fallen in within them seas, as the Flying Dutchman ! 
 and then, again, when I told him that he was a * know- 
 nothing, and asked him if the Dutchman was a more 
 unlikely thing than that there should be places where 
 the inhabitants split the year into two watches, and had 
 day for six months and night the rest of the time, the 
 greenhorn laughed in my face, and I do believe he would 
 have told me I lied, but for one thing." 
 
 " And what might that be ?" asked Barnstable, gravely. 
 
 " Why, sir," returned Tom, stretching his bony fingers, 
 as he surveyed his broad palm by the little light that re 
 mained, " though I am a peaceable man, I can be roused." 
 
 "And you have seen the Flying Dutchman ?" 
 
 " I never doubled the East Cape ; though I can find my 
 way through Le Maire in the darkest night that ever fell 
 from the heavens ; but I have seen them that have seen 
 her, and spoken her too." 
 
 " Well, be it so ; you must turn flying Yankee, yourself, 
 to-night, Master Coffin. Man your boat at once, sir, and 
 a. m your crew." 
 
 The cockswain paused a moment before he proceeded 
 to obey this unexpected order, and, pointing toward the 
 battery, he inquired with infinite phlegm : 
 
 "For shore-work, sir? Shall we take the cutlasses and 
 pistols ? or shall we want the pikes ?" 
 
 "There may be soldiers in our way, with their bayonets," 
 said Barnstable, musing ; "arms as usual, but throw a few 
 long pikes into the boat ; and harkye, Master Coffin, oul 
 
THE PILOT. 217 
 
 with your tub and whale-line ; for I see you have rigged 
 yourself anew in that way." 
 
 The cockswain, who was moving from the forecastle, 
 turned short at this new mandate, and, with an air of 
 remonstrance, ventured to say : 
 
 "Trust an old whaler, Captain Barnstable, who has been 
 used to these craft all his life. A whale boat is made to 
 pull with a tub and line in it, as naturally as a ship is made 
 to sail with ballast, and 
 
 " Out with it, out with it," interrupted the other, with 
 an impatient gesture, that his cockswain knew signified a 
 positive determination. Heaving a sigh at what he deemed 
 his commander s prejudice, Tom applied himself without 
 further delay to the execution of the orders. Barnstable 
 laid his hand familiarly on the shoulder of the boy, and 
 led him to the stern of his little vessel in profound silence. 
 The canvas hood that covered the entrance to the cabin 
 was thrown partly aside ; and, by the light of the lamp 
 that was burning in the small apartment, it was easy to 
 overlook, from the deck, what was passing beneath them. 
 Dillon sat supporting his head with his hands, in a manner 
 that shaded his face, but in an attitude that denoted deep 
 and abstracted musing. 
 
 " I would that I could see the face of my prisoner," said 
 Barnstable, in an undertone, that was audible only to his 
 companion. " The eye of a man is a sort of light-house, 
 to tell one how to steer into the haven of his confidence, 
 boy." 
 
 " And sometimes a beacon, sir, to warn you there is no 
 safe anchorage near him," returned the ready boy. 
 
 " Rogue!" muttered Barnstable, "your cousin Kate 
 spoke there." 
 
 " If my cousin Plowden were here, Mr. Barnstable, I 
 know that her opinion of yon gentleman would not be at 
 all more favorable." 
 
 "And yet, I have determined to trust him ! Listen, boy, 
 and tell me if I arn wrong ; you have a quick \vit, like 
 some others of your family, and may suggest something 
 advantageous." The gratified midshipman swelled with 
 the conscious pleasure of possessing his commander s con 
 fidence, and followed to the taffrail, over which Barnstable 
 leaned, while he delivered the remainder of his communi 
 cation. " I have gathered from the long-shore-men who 
 have come on this evening to stare at the vessel which the 
 
2i8 THE PILOT. 
 
 rebels have been able to build, that a party of seamen anfl 
 marines have been captured in an old ruin near the Abbey 
 of St. Ruth, this very day." 
 
 " Tis Mr. Griffith ! " exclaimed the boy. 
 
 " Ay ! the wit of your cousin Katherine was not neces 
 sary to discover that. Now I have proposed to this gen 
 tleman with the Savannah face, that he should go into the 
 Abbey and negotiate an exchange. I will give him for 
 Griffith, and the crew of the Alacrity for Manual s com 
 mand and the Tigers." 
 
 * The Tigers ! " cried the lad, with emotion ; " have they 
 got my Tigers, too ! would to God that Mr. Griffith had 
 permitted me to land ! " 
 
 " It was no boy s work they were about, and room was 
 scarcer in their boat than live lumber ! But this Mr. Dil- 
 ion has accepted my proposition, and has pledged himself 
 that Griffith shall return within an hour after he is per 
 mitted to enter the Abbey ; will he redeem his honor from 
 the pledge ?" 
 
 " He may," said Merry, musing a moment ; "for I be 
 lieve he thinks the presence of Mr. Griffith imder the 
 same roof with Miss Howard a thing to be prevented, if 
 possible ; he may be true in this instance, though he has a 
 hollow look." 
 
 " He has bad-looking light-houses, I will own," said 
 Barnstable ; " and yet he is a gentleman, and promises 
 fair ; tis unmanly to suspect him in such a matter, and I 
 will have faith ! Now listen, sir. The absence of older 
 heads must throw great responsibility on your young 
 shoulders ; watch that battery as closely as if you were at 
 the mast-head of your frigate, on the look-out for an enemy; 
 the instant you see lights moving in it, cut, and run into 
 the offing ; you will find me somewhere under the cliffs, 
 and you will stand off and on, keeping the Abbey in sight, 
 until you fall in with us." 
 
 Merry gave an attentive ear to these and divers other 
 solemn injunctions that he received from his commander, 
 who, having sent the officer next to himself in authority in 
 charge of the prize (the third in command being included 
 in the list of the wounded), was compelled to intrust his 
 beloved schooner to the vigilance of a lad whose years 
 gave no promise of the experience and skill that he actu 
 ally possessed. 
 
 When his admonitory instructions were ended, Barnsta 
 
THE PILOT. 
 
 219 
 
 >Ie stepped again to the opening in the cabin hood, and, 
 for a single moment before he spoke, once more examined 
 the countenance of his prisoner with a keen eye. Dillon 
 had removed his hands from before his sallow features ; 
 and, as if conscious of the scrutiny his looks were to un 
 dergo, had concentrated the whole expression of his for 
 bidding aspect in a settled gaze of hopeless submission to 
 his fate. At least, so thought his captor, and the idea 
 touched some of the finer feeling in the bosom of the gen 
 erous young seaman. Discarding, instantly, every suspi 
 cion of his prisoner s honor, as alike unworthy of them 
 both, Barnstable summoned him, in a cheerful voice, to the 
 boat. There was a flashing of the features of Dillon at 
 this call, which gave an indefinable expression to his coun 
 tenance that again startled the sailor ; but it was so very 
 transient, and could so easily be mistaken for a smile of 
 pleasure at his promised liberation, that the doubts it en 
 gendered passed away almost as speedily as the equivocal 
 expression itself. Barnstable was in the act of following 
 his companion into the boat, when he felt himself detained 
 by a slight hold of his arm. 
 
 " What would you have ? " he asked of the midshipman 
 who had given him the signal. 
 
 " Do not trust too much to that Dillon, sir," returned 
 the anxious boy in a whisper. " If you had seen his face, 
 as I did, when the binnacle-light fell upon it, as he came 
 up the cabin-ladder, you would put no faith in him." 
 
 " I should have seen no beauty," said the generous lieu 
 tenant, laughing ; " but there is Long Tom, as hard-feat 
 ured a youth of two score and ten as ever washed in 
 brine, who has a heart as big, ay, bigger, than that of a 
 kraken. A bright watch to you, boy, and remember, a 
 keen eye on the battery." As he was yet speaking, Barn- 
 stable crossed the gunwale of his little vessel, and it was 
 not until he was seated by the side of his prisoner that he 
 continued, aloud, : Cast the stops off your sails, Mr. Merry, 
 and see all clear to make a run of everything. Recollect, 
 you are short-handed, sir. God bless ye ! and d ye hear ? 
 if there is a man among you who shuts more than one eye 
 at a time, I ll make him, when I get back, open both wider 
 than if Tom Coffin s friend, the Flying Dutchman, was 
 booming down upon him. God bless ye, Merry, my boy; 
 give em the square-sail, if this breeze off-shore holds o 
 till morning shove off." 
 
220 THE PILOT. 
 
 As Barnstable gave the last order he fell back on his 
 seat, and, drawing back his boat-cloak around him, main 
 tained a profound silence until they had passed the two 
 small headlands that formed the mouth of the harbor. The 
 men pulled, with muffled oars, their long, vigorous strokes, 
 and the boat glided with amazing rapidity past the objects 
 that could be yet indistinctly seen along the dim shore. 
 When, however, they gained the open ocean, and the di 
 rection of their little bark was changed to one that led 
 them in line with the coast, and within the shadows of the 
 cliffs, the cockswain, deeming that the silence was no longer 
 necessary to their safety, ventured to break it, as follows : 
 
 " A square-sail is a good sail to carry on a craft, dead 
 afore it, and in a heavy sea ; but, if fifty years can teach a 
 man to know the weather, it s my judgment that, should 
 the Ariel break ground after the night turns at eight bells, 
 she ll need her mainsail to hold her up to her course." 
 
 The lieutenant started at this sudden interruption, and, 
 casting his cloak from his shoulders, he looked abroad on 
 the waters, as if seeking those portentous omens which dis 
 turbed the imagination of his cockswain. 
 
 " How, now, Tom," he said, sharply ; " have ye turned 
 croaker in your old age ? what see you, to cause such an 
 old woman s ditty ? " 
 
 " Tis no song of an old woman," returned the cock 
 swain, with solemn earnestness, " but the warning of an old 
 man ; and one w T ho has spent his days where there were 
 no hills to prevent the winds of heaven from blowing on 
 him, unless they were hills of salt water and foam. I judge, 
 sir, there ll be a heavy northeaster setting in upon us afore 
 the morning watch is called." 
 
 Barnstable knew the experience of his old messmate too 
 well not to feel uneasiness at such an opinion, delivered in 
 so confident a manner ; but after again surveying the hori 
 zon, the heavens and the ocean, he said, with a continued 
 severity of manner : 
 
 "Your prophecy is idle this time, Master Coffin ; every 
 thing looks like a dead calm. This swell is what is left 
 from the last blow ; the mist overhead is nothing but the 
 nightly fog, and you can see, with your own eyes, that it is 
 driving seaward ; even this land breeze is nothing but the 
 air of the ground mixing with that of the ocean : it is heavy 
 with dew and fog, but it s as sluggish as a Dutch galiot/ 
 
 " Ay, sir, it is damp, and there is little of it," rejoined 
 
THE PILOT. 221 
 
 Tom ; " but, as it comes only from the shore, so it never 
 goes far on the water. It is hard to learn the true signs of 
 the weather, Captain Barnstable, and none get to know 
 them well but such as study little else or feel but little 
 else. There is only One who can see the winds of 
 heaven, or who can tell when a hurricane is to begin, 
 or where it will end. Still, a man isn t like a whale or 
 a porpoise, that takes the air in his nostrils, but never 
 knows whether it is a southeaster or a northwester that he 
 feeds upon. Look broad off to leeward, sir ; see the streak 
 of clear sky shining under the mists ; take an old seafaring 
 man s word for it, Captain Barnstable, that, whenever the 
 light shines out of the heavens in that fashion, tis never 
 done for nothing ; besides, the sun set in a dark bank of 
 clouds, and the little moon we had was dry and windy." 
 
 Barnstable listened attentively, and with increasing con 
 cern, for he well knew that his cockswain possessed a quick 
 and almost unerring judgment of the weather, notwith 
 standing the confused medley of superstitious omens and 
 signs with which it was blended ; but, again throwing him 
 self back in his boat, he muttered : 
 
 " Then let it blow ; Griffith is worth a heavier risk, and, 
 if the battery can t be cheated, it can be carried." 
 
 Nothing further passed on the state of the weather. 
 Dillon had not ventured a single remark since he entered 
 the boat, and the cockswain had the discretion to under 
 stand that his officer was willing to be left to his own 
 thoughts. For nearly an hour they pursued their way with 
 diligence ; the sinewy seaman who wielded the oars, urging 
 their light boat along the edge of the surf with unabated 
 velocity, and apparently with untired exertions. Occa 
 sionally Barnstable would cast an inquiring glance at the 
 little inlets that they passed, or would note, with a seaman s 
 eye, the small portions of sandy beach that were scattered 
 here and there along the rocky boundaries of the coast. 
 One, in particular, a deeper inlet than common, where a 
 run of fresh water was heard gurgling as it met the tide, 
 he pointed out to his cockswain, by significant but silent 
 gestures, as a place to be especially noted. Tom, who un 
 derstood the signal as intended for his own eye alone, made 
 his observations on the spot with equal taciturnity, but 
 with all the minuteness that would distinguish one long 
 accustomed to find his way, whether by land or water, by 
 landmarks and the bearings of different objects. Soon 
 
222 THE PILOT. 
 
 after this silent communication between the lieutenant and 
 his cockswain, the boat was suddenly turned, and was in 
 the act of dashing upon the spit of sand before it, when 
 Barnstable checked the movement by his voice : 
 
 " Hold water ! " he said ; " tis the sound of oars ! " 
 
 The seamen held their boat at rest, while a deep atten 
 tion was given to the noise that had alarmed the ears of 
 their commander. 
 
 "See, sir," said the cockswain, pointing toward the east 
 ern horizon ; "it is just rising into the streak of light to 
 seaward of us now it settles in the trough ah ! here you 
 have it again ! " 
 
 " By heaven ! " cried Barnstable, " tis a man-of-war s 
 stroke it pulls ; I saw the oar-blades as they fell ! and, listen 
 to the sound ! neither your fisherman nor your smuggler 
 pulls such a regular oar." 
 
 Tom had bowed his head nearly to the water, in the act 
 of listening, and now, raising himself, spoke with confi 
 dence : 
 
 " That is the Tiger ; I know the stroke of her crew as 
 well as I do of my own. Mr. Merry has made them 
 learn the new-fashioned jerk, as they dip their blades, and 
 they feather with such a roll in their rowlocks. I could 
 swear to the stroke." 
 
 "Hand me the night-glass," said the commander, im- 
 . patiently ; " I can catch them, as they are lifted into the 
 streak. You are right, by every star in our flag, Tom ! 
 but there is only one man in her stern-sheets. By my 
 good eyes, I believe it is that accursed pilot, sneaking from 
 the land, and leaving Griffith and Manual to die in 
 English prisons. To the shore with you beach her at 
 once ! " 
 
 The order was no sooner given than it was obeyed, 
 and, in less than two minutes, the impatient Barnstable, 
 Dillon and the cockswain were standing together on the 
 sands. 
 
 The impression he had received, that his friends were 
 abandoned to their fate by the pilot, urged the generous 
 young seaman to hasten the departure of the prisoner as 
 he was fearful every moment might interpose some new 
 obstacle to the success of his plans. 
 
 " Mr. Dillon," he said, the instant they were landed, 
 " I exact no new promise your honor is already 
 plighted " 
 
THE PILOT. 223 
 
 " If oaths can make it stronger," interrupted Dillon, u I 
 will take them." 
 
 " Oaths cannot the honor of a gentleman is, at all 
 times, enough. I shall send my cockswain with you to the 
 Abbey, and you will either return with him, in person, 
 within two hours, or give Mr. Griffith and Captain Manual 
 to his guidance. Proceed, sir you are conditionally free ; 
 there is an easy opening by which to ascend the cliffs." 
 
 Dillon once more thanked his generous captor, and then 
 proceeded to force his way up the rough eminence. 
 
 " Follow and obey his instructions," said Barnstable to 
 his cockswain, aloud. 
 
 Tom, long accustomed to implicit obedience, handled 
 his harpoon, and was quietly following in the footsteps of 
 his new leader, when he felt the hand of the lieutenant on 
 his shoulder. 
 
 " You saw where the brook emptied over the hillock of 
 sand ? " said Barnstable, in an undertone. 
 
 Tom nodded assent. 
 
 " You Avill find us there riding without the surf; twill 
 not do to trust too much to an enemy." 
 
 The cockswain made a gesture of great significance with 
 his weapon, that was intended to indicate the danger their 
 prisoner would incur should he prove false ; when, apply 
 ing the wooden end of the harpoon to the rocks, he as 
 cended the ravine at a rate that soon brought him tc tne> 
 side of his companion. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 " Ay, marry, let me have him to sit under ; 
 He s like to be a cold soldier." Falstaff. 
 
 BARNSTABLE lingered on the sands for a few minutes, 
 the footsteps of Dillon and the cockswain were no longei 
 audible, when he ordered his men to launch their boat 
 once more into the surf. While the seamen pulled leis 
 urely toward the place he had designated as the point 
 where he would await the return of Tom, the lieutenant 
 first began to entertain serious apprehensions concerning 
 the good faith of his prisoner. Now that Dillon was be* 
 yond his control, his imagination presented, in very vivid 
 
224 THE PILOT. 
 
 colors, several little circumstances in the other s conduct, 
 which might readily excuse some doubts of his good faith ; 
 and, by the time they had reached the place of rendezvous, 
 and had cast a light grapnel into the sea, his fears had 
 rendered him - excessively uncomfortable. Leaving the 
 lieutenant to his reflections on this unpleasant subject, we 
 shall follow Dillon and his fearless and unsuspecting com 
 panion in their progress toward St. Ruth. 
 
 The mists to which Tom had alluded in his discussion 
 with his commander on the state of the weather, appeared 
 to be settling nearer to the earth, and assuming more de 
 cidedly the appearance of a fog, hanging above them in 
 sluggish volumes, but little agitated by the air. The con 
 sequent obscurity added deeply to the gloom of the night, 
 and it would have been difficult for one less acquainted 
 than Dillon with the surrounding localities, to find the 
 path which led to the dwelling of Colonel Howard. After 
 some little search this desirable object was effected ; and 
 the civilian led the way, with rapid strides, to\vard the Ab 
 bey. 
 
 " Ay, ay ? " said Tom, who followed his steps, and 
 equalled his paces without any apparent effort," you shore- 
 people have an easy way to find your course and distance 
 W 7 hen you get into the track. I was once left by the craft 
 I belonged to, in Boston, to find my way to Plymouth, 
 which is a matter of fifteen leagues, or thereaway ; and so, 
 finding nothing was bound up the bay, after laying-by for 
 a week, I concluded to haul aboard my land-tacks. I spent 
 the better part of another week in a search for some hooker 
 on board which I might \vork my passage across the coun 
 try, for money was as scarce then with old Tom Coffin as 
 it is now, and is likely to be, unless the fisheries get a good 
 luff soon ; but it seems that nothing but your horse-flesh, 
 and horned cattle, and jackasses, are privileged to do the 
 pulling and hauling in your shore-hookers ; and I was 
 forced to pay a week s wages for a berth, besides keeping 
 a banyan on a mouthful of bread and cheese, from the time 
 we hove-up in Boston till we came to Plymouth town." 
 
 " It was certainly an unreasonable exaction on the part 
 of the wagoners, from a man in your situation," said Dil 
 lon, in a friendly, soothing tone of voice, that denoted a 
 willingness to pursue the conversation. 
 
 " My situation was that of a cabin passenger," returned 
 the cockswain ; " for there was but one hand forward, be- 
 
THE PILOT. 22 J 
 
 sides the cattle I mentioned that was he who steered 
 and an easy berth he had of it ; for there his course lay 
 atween walls of stone and fences ; and, as for his reck 
 oning, why, they had stuck up bits of stone on an end, 
 with his day s work footed up, ready to his hand, every 
 half league or so. Besides, the landmarks were so plenty, 
 that a man with half an eye might steer her, and no xear oi 
 getting to leeward." 
 
 "You must have found yourself, as it were, in anew 
 world," observed Dillon. 
 
 " Why, to me, it was pretty much the same as if I had 
 been set afloat in a strange country, though I may be said 
 to be a native of those parts, being born on the coast- I 
 had often heard shore-men say that there was as much arth 
 as water in the world, which I always set down as a rank 
 lie, for I ve sailed with a flowing sheet months an-end with 
 out falling in with as much land or rock as would answer 
 a gull to lay its eggs on ; but I will own fhat atween Bos 
 ton and Plymouth we were out of sight of water for as 
 much as two full watches ! " 
 
 Dillon pursued this interesting subject with diligence ; 
 and by the time they reached the wall, which enclosed the 
 large paddock that surrounded the Abbey, the cockswain 
 was deeply involved in a discussion of the comparative 
 magnitude of the Atlantic Ocean and the Continent of 
 America. 
 
 Avoiding the principal entrance of the building, through 
 the great gates which communicated with the court in 
 front, Dillon followed the windings of the wall until it led 
 them to a wicket, which he knew was seldom closed for 
 the night until the hour for general rest had arrived. 
 Their way now lay in the rear of the principal edifice, and 
 soon conducted them to the confused pile which contained 
 the offices. The cockswain followed his companion with 
 a confiding reliance on his knowledge and good faith, that 
 was somewhat increased by the freedom of communica 
 tion that had been maintained during their walk from the 
 cliifs. He did not perceive anything extraordinary in the 
 other s stopping at the room, which had been provided as 
 a sort of barracks for the soldiers of Captain Borrough- 
 cliffe. A conference which took place between Dillon and 
 the sergeant was soon ended, when the former beckoned 
 to the cockswain to follow, and, taking a circuit round the 
 whole of the offices, they entered the Abbey together, by 
 
226 THE PILOT. 
 
 the door through which the ladies had issued, when in 
 quest of the three prisoners, as has been already related. 
 After a turn or two among the narrow passages of that 
 part of the edifice, Tom, whose faith in the facilities of 
 land navigation began to be a little shaken, found himself 
 following the guide through a long dark gallery, that was 
 terminated at the end toward which they were approach 
 ing, by a half-open door, that admitted a glimpse into a 
 well-lighted and comfortable apartment. To this door 
 Dillon hastily advanced, and, throwing it open, the cock 
 swain enjoyed a full view of the very scene that we have 
 described, in introducing Colonel Howard to the acquaint 
 ance of the reader, and under circumstances of great 
 similitude. The cheerful fire of coal, the strong and glar 
 ing lights, the tables of polished mahogany, and the blush 
 ing fields, were still the same in appearance, while the 
 only perceptible change was the number of those who 
 partook of the cheer. The master of the mansion, and Bor- 
 roughcliffe, were seated opposite to each other, employed 
 in discussing the events of the day, and diligently pushing 
 to and fro the glittering vessel that contained a portion of 
 the generous liquor they both loved so well ; a task which 
 each moment rendered lighter. 
 
 " If Kit would but return," exclaimed the veteran, whose 
 back was to the opening door, " bringing with him his 
 honest brows encircled, as they will be, or ought to be, 
 with laurel, I should be the happiest old fool, Borrough- 
 cliffe, in his majesty s realm of Great Britain ! " 
 
 The captain, who felt the necessity for the unnatural re 
 straint he had imposed on his thirst to be removed by the 
 capture of his enemies, pointed toward the door with one 
 hand, while he grasped the sparkling reservoir of the 
 " south side " with the other, and answered : 
 
 " Lo ! the cacique himself ! his brow inviting the diadem 
 ha ! who have we in his highness s train ? By the Lord, 
 Sir Cacique, if you travel with a body-guard of such gren 
 adiers, old Frederick of Prussia himself will have occa 
 sions to envy you the corps ! a clear six-footer in Nature s 
 stockings ! and the arms as unique as the armed ! " 
 
 The colonel did not, however, attend to half of his com 
 panion s exclamations, but, turning, he beheld the indi 
 vidual he had so much desired, and received him with a 
 delight proportioned to the unexpectedness of the pleas 
 ure. For several minutes Dillon was compelled to listen 
 
THE PILOT. 22) 
 
 to die rapid questions of his venerable relative, to all of 
 which he answered with a prudent reserve, that might, in 
 some measure, have been governed by the presence ot the 
 cockswain. Tom stood with infinite composure, leaning 
 on his harpoon, and surveying, with a countenance where 
 wonder was singularly blended with contempt, the furni 
 ture and arrangements of an apartment that was far more 
 spendid than any he had before seen. In the meantime, 
 Borroughcliffe entirely disregarded the private communi 
 cations that passed between his host and Dillon, which 
 gradually became more deeply interesting, and finally 
 drew them to a distant corner of the apartment ; but, tak 
 ing a most undue advantage of the absence of the gentle 
 man, who had so lately been his boon companion, he swal 
 lowed one potation after another, as if a double duty had 
 developed on him in consequence of the desertion of the 
 veteran. Whenever his eye did wander from the ruby 
 tint of his glass, it was to survey with unrepressed admiia- 
 tion the inches of the cockswain, about whose stature and 
 frame there were numberless excellent points to attract 
 the gaze of a recruiting-officer. From this double pleas 
 ure, the captain was, however, at last summoned to partici 
 pate in the councils of his friends. 
 
 Dillon was spared the disagreeable duty of repeating the 
 artful tale he had found it necessary to palm on the colonel, 
 by the ardor of the veteran himself, who executed the task 
 in a manner that gave to the treachery of his kinsman 
 every appearance of a justifiable artifice, and of unshaken 
 zeal in the cause of his prince. In substance, Tom w r as to 
 be detained as a prisoner, and the party of Barnstable were, 
 to be entrapped, and, of course, share a similar fate. The 
 sunken eye of Dillon cowered before the steady gaze which 
 Borroughcliffe fastened on him as the latter listened to 
 the plaudits the colonel lavished on his cousin s ingenuity; 
 but the hesitation that lingered in the soldier s manner 
 vanished when he turned to their unsuspecting prisoner, 
 who was continuing his survey of the apartment, while he 
 innocently imagined the consultations he witnessed were 
 merely the proper and preparatory steps to his admission 
 into the presence of Mr. Griffith. 
 
 " Drill," said Borroughcliffe, aloud, " advance and receive 
 your orders." The cockswain turned quickly at this sud 
 den mandate, and, for the first time, perceived that he had 
 been followed into the gallery by the order y and two files 
 
28 THE PILOT. 
 
 of recruits, armed. " Take this man to the guard-room, 
 and feed him, and see that he dies not of thirst." 
 
 There was nothing alarming in this order, and Tom was 
 following the soldiers, in obedience to a gesture from their 
 captain, when their steps were arrested in the gallery by 
 the cry of " Halt ! " 
 
 ."On recollection, Drill," said Borroughcliffe, in a tone 
 from which all dictatorial sounds were banished, " show 
 the gentleman into my own room, and see him property 
 supplied." 
 
 The orderly gave such an intimation of his comprehend 
 ing the meaning of his officer as the latter was accustomed 
 to receive, when Borroughcliffe returned to his bottle, and 
 the cockswain followed his guide, with the alacrity and 
 good-will that were not a little increased by the repeated 
 mention of ths cheer that awaited him. 
 
 Luckily for the impatience of Tom, the quarters of the 
 captain were at hand/ and the promised entertainment by 
 no means slow in making its appearance. The former \vas 
 an apartment that opened from a lesser gallery, which 
 communicated with the principal passage already men-r 
 tioned ; and the latter was a bountiful but ungarnished 
 supply of that staple of the British isles called roast beef; 
 of which the kitchen of Colonel Howard was never with 
 out a due and loyal provision. The sergeant, who certainly 
 understood one of the signs of his captain to imply an at 
 tack on the citadel of the cockswain s brain, mingled, with 
 his own hands, a potation that he styled a rummer of grog, 
 and which he thought would have felled the animal itself 
 that Tom was so diligently masticating, had it been alive 
 and in its vigor. Every calculation that was made on the in 
 firmity of the cockswain s intellect, under the stimulus of 
 Jamaica, was, however, futile. He swallowed glass after 
 glass, with prodigious relish, but at the same time, with 
 immovable steadiness ; and the eyes of the sergeant, who 
 felt it incumbent to do honor to his own cheer, were al 
 ready glistening in his head, when, happily for the credit 
 of his heart, a tap at the door announced the presence of 
 his captain, and relieved him from the impending disgrace 
 of being drunk blind by a recruit. 
 
 As Borroughcliffe entered the apartment, he commanded 
 his orderly to retire, adding : 
 
 " Mr. Dillon will give you instructions, which you are 
 implicitly to obey." 
 
THE PILOT. 22) 
 
 Drill, who had sense enough remaining to apprehend the 
 displeasure of his officer, should the latter discover his con 
 dition, quickened his departure, and the cockswain soon 
 found himself alone with the captain. The vigor of Tom s 
 attacks on the remnant of the sirloin was now much abated, 
 leaving in its stead that placid quiet which is apt to linger 
 about the palate long after the cravings of the appetite 
 have been appeased. He had seated himself on one of 
 the trunks of Borroughcliffe, utterly disdaining the use 01 
 a chair ; and, with the trencher in his lap, was using his, 
 own jack-knife on the dilapidated fragment of the ox, 
 with something of that nicety with which the female ghoul 
 of the Arabian Tales might be supposed to pick her rice 
 with the point of her bodkin. The captain drew a seat 
 nigh the cockswain ; and, with a familiarity and kindness 
 infinitely condescending, w r hen the difference in their sev 
 eral conditions is considered, he commenced the following 
 dialogue : 
 
 " I hope you have found your entertainment to your 
 liking, Mr. a a I must own my ignorance of your name." 
 
 "Tom, "said the cockswain, keeping his eyes roaming 
 over the contents of the trencher ; " commonly called Long 
 Tom, by my shipmates." 
 
 " You have sailed with discreet men, and able navigators, 
 it will seeni, as they understood longitude so well," rejoined 
 the captain ; " but you have a patronymic I would say 
 another name ?" 
 
 " Coffin," returned the cockswain ; " I m called Tom, 
 when there is any hurry, such as letting go the haul-yards, 
 or a sheet ; Long Tom, when they want to get to. windward 
 of an old seaman, by fair weather ; and Long Tom Coffin 
 when they wisli to hail me so that none of my cousins of 
 the same name, about the islands, shall answer ; for I be 
 lieve the best man among them can t measure much over a 
 fathom, taking him from his headworks to his heel." 
 
 " You are a most deserving fellow," cried Borrough 
 cliffe, " and it is painful to think to what a fate the treach 
 ery of Mr. Dillon has consigned you." 
 
 The suspicions of Tom, if he ever had any, were lulled 
 to rest too effectually by the kindness he had received, to 
 be awakened by this equivocal lament ; he, therefore, after 
 renewing his intimacy with the rummer, contented himself 
 by saying, with a satisfied simplicity : 
 
 " I am consigned to no one, carrying no cargo but this 
 
230 THE PILOT. 
 
 Mr. Dillon, who is to give me Mr. Griffith in exchange, o\ 
 go back to the Ariel himself, as my prisoner." 
 
 "Ah! my good friend, I fear you will find, when thd 
 time comes to make this exchange, that he will refuse to 
 do either." 
 
 " But I ll be d d if he don t do one of them ! my orders 
 are to see it done, and back he goes ; or Mr. Griffith, who 
 is as good a seaman, for his years, as ever trod a deck, slips 
 his cable from this here anchorage." 
 
 Borroughcliffe affected to eye his companion with great 
 commiseration ; an exhibition of compassion that was, 
 however, completely lost on the cockswain, whose nerves 
 were strung to their happiest tension by his repeated li 
 bations, while his wit was, if anything, quickened by the 
 same cause, though his own want of guile rendered him 
 slow to comprehend its existence in others. Perceiving it 
 necessary to speak plainly, the captain renewed the attack 
 in a more direct manner : 
 
 " I am sorry to say that you will not be permitted to re 
 turn to the Ariel ; and that your commander, Mr. Barn- 
 stable, will be a prisoner within the hour ; and, in fact, 
 that your schooner will be taken before the morning 
 breaks." 
 
 "Who ll take her? "asked the cockswain, with- a grim 
 smile, on whose feelings, however, this combination of 
 threatened calamities was beginning to make some im 
 pression. 
 
 "You must remember that she lies immediately under 
 the heavy guns of a battery that can sink her in a few min 
 utes ; an express has already been sent to acquaint the 
 commander of the work with the Ariel s true character; 
 and, as the wind has already^begun to blow from the ocean, 
 her escape is impossible." 
 
 The truth, together with its portentous consequences, 
 now began to glare across the faculties of the cockswain. 
 He remembered his own prognostics on the weather, and 
 the helpless situation of the schooner, deprived of more 
 than half her crew, and left to the keeping of a boy, while 
 her commander himself was on the eve of captivity. The 
 trencher fell from his lap to the floor, his head sunk on his 
 knees, his face was concealed between his broad palms 
 and, in spite of every effort the old seaman could make tc 
 conceal his emotion, he fairly groaned aloud. 
 
 For a moment the better feelings of Borroughcliffe pre 
 
THE PILOT. 23* 
 
 vailed ; and he paused as he witnessed this exhibition of 
 suffering in one whose head was already sprinkled with 
 the marks of time ; but his habits, and the impressions 
 left by many years passed in collecting victims for trie 
 wars, soon resumed their ascendency, and the recruiting 
 officer diligently addressed himself to an improvement of 
 his advantage. 
 
 " I pity from my heart the poor lads whom artifice or 
 mistaken notions of duty may have led astray, and \\iio 
 will thus be taken in arms against their sovereign ; but, as 
 they are found in the very island of Britain, they must be 
 made examples to deter others. I fear that, unless they 
 can make their peace with government, they will all be 
 condemned to death." 
 
 "Let them make their peace with God, then ; your gov 
 ernment can do but little to clear the log account of a man 
 whose watch is up for this world." 
 
 " But, by making their peace with those who have the 
 power, their lives may be spared," said the captain, watch 
 ing, with keen eyes, the effect his words produced on the 
 cockswain. 
 
 " It matters but little, when a man hears the messenger 
 pipe his hammock down for the last time ; he keeps his 
 watch in another world, though he goes below in this. But 
 to see the wood and iron, that has been put together aftef 
 such moulds as the Ariel s, go into strange hands, is a blow 
 that a man may remember long after the purser s books 
 have been squared against his name forever ! I would 
 rather that twenty shot should strike my old carcass, than 
 one should hull the schooner that didn t pass out above 
 her water-line." 
 
 Borroughcliffe replied, somewhat carelessly : " I may be 
 mistaken, after all ; and, instead of putting any of you to 
 chath, they may place you all on board the prison-ships, 
 wh^re you may yet have a merry time of it these ten or 
 fifteen years to come." 
 
 " How s that, shipmate ! " cried the cockswain, with a 
 start; "a prison-ship, d ye say? you may tell them they 
 can save the expense of one man s rations by hanging him. 
 if they please, and that is old Tom Coffin." 
 
 " There is no answering for their caprice ; to-day they 
 may order a dozen of you to be shot for rebels ; to-morrow 
 they may choose to consider you as prisoners of war, an J 
 send you to the hulks for a dozen years." 
 
232 THE PIL Ul\ 
 
 " Tell them, brother, that I m a rebel, will ye ? and ye I* 
 tell em no lie one that has fou t them since Manly s time, 
 in Boston Bay, to this hour. I hope the boy will blow her 
 up ! it would be the death of poor Richard Barnstable to 
 see her in the hands of the English ! " 
 
 " I know of one way," said Borroughcliffe, affecting to 
 muse, " and but one, that will certainly avert the prison- 
 ship ; for, on second thoughts, they will hardly put you to 
 death." 
 
 " Name it, friend," cried the cockswain, rising from his 
 seat in evident perturbation, " and if it lies in tiie power 
 of man, it shall be done." 
 
 "Nay," said the captain, dropping his hand familiarly on 
 the shoulder of the other, who listened with the most eager 
 attention, " tis easily done, and no dreadful thing in itself ; 
 you are used to gunpowder, and know its smell from otto 
 of roses ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay," cried the impatient old seaman ; " I have 
 had it flashing under my nose by the hour ; what then ? " 
 
 "Why, then, what I have to propose will be nothing to 
 a man like you you found the beef wholesome, and the 
 grog mellow ? " 
 
 " Ay, ay, all well enough : but what is that to an old 
 sailor ? " asked the cockswain, unconsciously grasping the 
 collar of Borroughcliffe s coat in his agitation ; " what 
 then ?" 
 
 The captain manifested no displeasure at this unexpected 
 familiarity, but smiled with suavity as he unmasked the 
 battery, from behind which he had hitherto carried on his 
 attacks. 
 
 " Why, then, you have only to serve your king as you 
 have before served the Congress and let me be the man 
 to show you your colors." 
 
 The cockswain stared at the speaker intently, but it was 
 evident he did not clearly comprehend the nature of the 
 proposition, and the captain pursued the subject : 
 
 " In plain English, enlist in my company, my fine fellow, 
 and your life and liberty are both safe." 
 
 Tom did not laugh aloud, for that was a burst of feel 
 ing in which he was seldom known to indulge ; but every 
 feature of his weather-beaten visage contracted into an ex 
 pression of bitter, ironical contempt. Borroughcliffe felt 
 the iron fingers, that still grasped his collar, gradually 
 agb tuning about his throat, like a vice ; and, as the am 
 
THE PILOT. 23 j 
 
 slowly contracted, his body was drawn, by a power that H 
 was in vain to resist, close to that of the cockswain, who> 
 when their faces were within a foot of each other, gave 
 vent to his emotions in words : 
 
 " A messmate before a shipmate ; a shipmate before a 
 stranger ; a stranger before a dog but a dog before a sol 
 dier ! " 
 
 As Tom concluded, his nervous arm w r as suddenly ex 
 tended to the utmost, the fingers relinquishing their grasp 
 at the same time ; and, when Borroughcliffe recovered his 
 disordered faculties, he found himself in a distant corner 
 of the apartment, prostrate among a confused pile of 
 chairs, tables and wearing apparel. In endeavoring to 
 rise from this humble posture, the hand of the captain fell 
 on the hilt of his sword, which had been included in the 
 confused assemblage of articles produced by his over 
 throw. 
 
 " How now, scoundrel ! " he cried, baring the glittering 
 weapon, and springing on his feet ; "you must be taught 
 your distance, I perceive." 
 
 The cockswain seized the harpoon which leaned against 
 the wall, and dropped its barbed extremity within a fcot 
 of the breast of his assailant, with an expression of the eye 
 that denoted the danger of a nearer approach. The cap 
 tain, however, wanted not for courage, and, stung to the 
 quick by the insult he had received, he made a desperate 
 parry, and attempted to pass within the point of the novel 
 weapon of his adveisary. The slight shock was followed 
 by a sweeping whirl of the harpoon, and Borroughcliffe 
 found himself without arms, completely at the mercy of 
 his foe. The bloody intentions of Tom vanished with his 
 success ; for, laying aside his weapon, he advanced upon 
 his antagonist and seized him with an open palm. One 
 more struggle, in which the captain discovered his incom- 
 petency to make any defence against the strength of a 
 man who managed him as if he had been a child, decided 
 the matter. When the captain was passive in the hands oi 
 his foe, the cockswain produced sundry pieces of sennet, 
 marline and ratlin-stuff, from his pockets, which appeared 
 to contain as great a variety of small cordage as a boat 
 swain s -storeroom, and proceeded to lash the arms of the 
 conquered soldier to the posts of his bed, w th a coolness 
 that had not been disturbed since the commencement of 
 hostilities, a silence that seemed inflexible, and a dexterit* 
 
234 THE PILOT. 
 
 that none but a seaman could equal. When this part o! 
 his plan was executed Tom paused a moment and gazed 
 around him as if in quest of something. The naked sword 
 caught his eye, and, with this weapon in his hand, he de 
 liberately approached his captive, whose alarm prevented 
 his observing that the cockswain had snapped the blade 
 asunder from the handle, and that he had already encir 
 cled the latter with marline. 
 
 " For God s sake," exclaimed Borroughcliffe, " murder 
 me not in cold blood ! " 
 
 The silver hilt entered his mouth as the w r ords issued 
 from it, and the captain found, while the line was passed 
 and repassed, in repeated involutions across the back of 
 his neck, that he was in a condition to which he often sub 
 jected his own men, when unruly, and which is univer 
 sally called being " gagged." The cockswain now ap 
 peared to think himself entitled to all the privileges of a 
 conqueror ; for, taking the light in his hand, he com 
 menced a scrutiny into the nature and quality of the 
 worldly effects that lay at his mercy. Sundry articles, 
 that belonged to the equipments of a soldier, were exam 
 ined and cast aside with great contempt, and divers gar 
 ments of plainer exterior were rejected as unsuited to the 
 frame of the victor. He, however, soon encountered two 
 articles of a metal that is universally understood. Bat 
 uncertainty as to their use appeared greatly to embarrass 
 him. The circular prongs of these curiosities were ap 
 plied to either hand, to the wrists, and even to the nose, 
 and the little wheels at their opposite extremity were 
 turned and examined with as much curiosity and care as 
 a savage would expend on a watch, until the idea seemed 
 to cross the mind of the honest seaman that they formed 
 part of the useless trappings of a military man, and he 
 cast them aside as utterly worthless. Borroughcliffe, who 
 watched every movement of his conqueror, with a good- 
 humor that would have restored perfect harmony between 
 oihem, could he but have expressed half what he felt, wit 
 nessed the safety of a favorite pair of spurs with much 
 pleasure, though nearly suffocated by the mirth that was 
 unnaturally repressed. At length the cockswain found a 
 pair of handsomely-mounted pistols, a sort of weapon with 
 which he seemed quite familiar. They were loaded, and 
 the knowledge of that fact appeared to remind Tom oi 
 the necessity of departing, by bringing to his recollection 
 
THE PILOT. 235 
 
 the danger of his commander and of the Ariel. He thrust 
 the weapons into the canvas belt that encircled his body, 
 and, grasping his harpoon, approached the bed, where Bcr* 
 roughcliffe was seated in duress. 
 
 " Harkye, friend," said the cockswain, " may the Lord 
 forgive you, as I do, for wishing to make a soldier of a 
 seafaring man, and one who has followed the waters since 
 he was an hour old, and one who hopes to die off soundings, 
 and to be buried in brine ! I wish you no harm, friend ; 
 but you ll have to keep a stopper on your conversation till 
 such time as some of your messmates call in this way, 
 which I hope will be as soon after I get an offing as may 
 be." 
 
 With these amicable wishes the cockswain departed, 
 leaving Borroughcliffe the light, and the undisturbed 
 possession of his apartment, though not in the n ost easy 
 or the most enviable situation imaginable. T}ie captain 
 heard the bolt of his lock turn, and the key rattle as the 
 cockswain withdrew it from the door two precautionary 
 steps, which clearly indicated that the vanquisher deemed 
 it prudent to secure his retreat, by insuring the detention 
 of the vanquished, for at least a time. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 
 
 "While Vengeance, in the lurid air, 
 Lifts her red arm, exposed and bare, 
 Who, Fear, this ghastly train can see, 
 And look not madly wild, like thee ! " COLLINS. 
 
 IT is certain that Tom Coffin had devised no settled 
 plan of operations, when he issued from the apartment of 
 Borroughcliffe, if w r e except a most resolute determination 
 to make the best of his way to the Ariel, and to share her 
 fate, let it be either to sink or swim. But this was a 
 resolution much easier formed by the honest seaman than 
 executed in his present situation. He would have found it 
 less difficult to extricate a vessel from the dangerous shoals 
 of the " Devil s Grip," than to thread the mazes of the laby 
 rinth of passages, galleries, and apartments, in which he 
 found himself involved. He remembered, as he expressed 
 it to himself, in a low soliloquy, " to have run into a narrov! 
 
236 THE PILOT. 
 
 passage from the main channel, but whether he had 
 sheered to the starboard or larboard hand," was a material 
 fact that had entirely escaped his memory. Tom was in 
 that part of the building that Colonel Howard had 
 designated as the "cloisters," and in which, luckily for 
 him, he was but little liable to encounter any foe, the room 
 occupied by Borroughcliffe being the only one in the 
 entire wing that was not exclusively devoted to the service 
 of the ladies. The circumstance of the soldiers being 
 permitted to invade this sanctuary was owing to the 
 necessity, on the part of Colonel Howard, of placing 
 either Griffith, Manual, or the recruiting-officer, in the 
 vicinity of his wards, or of subjecting his prisoners to a 
 treatment that the veteran would have thought unworthy 
 of his 7 ?ame and character. This recent change in the 
 quarters of Borroughcliife operated doubly to the advan 
 tage of Tom, by lessening the chance of the speedy release 
 of his uneasy captive, as well as by diminishing his own 
 danger. Of the former circumstance he was, however, not 
 aware ; and the consideration of the latter was a sort of 
 reflection to which the cockswain was, in no degree, 
 addicted. 
 
 Following, necessarily, the line of the wall, he soon 
 emerged from the dark and narrow passage in which he. 
 had first found himself, and entered the principal gallery, 
 that communicated with all the lower apartments of that 
 wing, as well as with the main body of the edifice. An 
 open door, through which a strong light was glaring, at a 
 distant end of this gallery, instantly caught his eye, and 
 the old seaman had not advanced many steps toward it 
 before he discovered that he was approaching the very 
 room which had so much excited his curiosity, and by the 
 identical passage through which he had entered the 
 Abbey. To turn and retrace his steps was the most 
 obvious course for any man to take who felt anxious to 
 escape ; but the sounds of high conviviality bursting from 
 the cheerful apartment, among which the cockswain 
 thought he distinguished the name of Griffith, determined 
 Tom to advance and reconnoitre the scene more closely. 
 The reader will anticipate that when he paused in the 
 shadow, the doubting old seaman stood once more near 
 the threshold which lie had so lately crossed, when con 
 ducted to the room of Borroughcliffe. The seat of that 
 gentleman was now occupied by Dillon, and ColoneJ 
 
THE PILOT. 23 j 
 
 Howard had resumed his wonted station at the foot of thfs 
 table. The noise was chiefly made by the latter, who had 
 evidently been enjoying a more minute relation of the 
 means by which his kinsman had entrapped his unwary 
 enemy. 
 
 " A nice ruse ! " cried the veteran, as Tom assumed his 
 post, in ambush " a most noble and ingenious ruse, and 
 such a one as would have baffled Caesar ! He must have 
 been a cunning dog, that Caesar ; but I do think, Kit, you 
 would have been tjo much for him ; hang me if I don t 
 think you would have puzzled Wolfe himself, had you held 
 Quebec, instead of Montcalm ! Ah, boy! we want you in 
 the colonies, with the ermine over your shoulders ; such 
 men as you, cousin Christopher, are sadly, sadly wanted 
 there to defend his majesty s rights." 
 
 "Indeed, dear sir, your partiality gives me credit for 
 qualities I do not possess," said Dillon, dropping his eyes, 
 perhaps with a feeling of conscious unworthiness, but 
 with an air of much humility; "the little justifiable ar 
 tifice " 
 
 : Ay! there lies the beauty of the transaction," inter 
 rupted the colonel, shoving the bottle from him, with the 
 free, open air of a man who never harbored disguise ; 
 "you told no lie ; no mean deception, that any dog, how 
 ever base and unworthy, might invent ; but you practised 
 a neat, a military, a a yes, a classical deception, on your 
 enemy ; a classical deception, that is the very term for it 
 such a deception as Pompey, or Mark Antony, or or 
 you know those old fellows names, better than I do, Kit ; 
 but name the cleverest fellow that ever lived in Greece,. or 
 Rome, and I shall say he is a dunce compared to you. 
 Twas a real Spartan trick, both simple and honest." 
 
 It was extremely fortunate for Dillon that the animation 
 of his aged kinsman kept his head and body in such con 
 stant motion, during this apostrophe, as to intercept the 
 aim that the cockswain was deliberately taking at his head 
 with one of Borroughcliffe s pistols ; and perhaps the sense 
 of shame which induced him to sink his face on his hands, 
 Was another means of saving his life, by giving the indig* 
 nant old seaman time for reflection. 
 
 But you have not spoken of the ladies," said Dillon, 
 after a moment s pause ; " I should hope they have borne 
 the alarm of the day like kinswomen of the family oJ 
 Howard." 
 
2$H THE PILOT. 
 
 The colonel glanced his eyes around him, as if to assure 
 himself they were alone, and dropped his voice, as he an 
 swered : 
 
 " Ah, Kit ! they have come to, since this rebel scoundrel, 
 Griffith, has been brought into the Abbey ; we were favored 
 with the company of even Miss Howard, in the dining- 
 room, to-day. There was a good deal of dear-uncleing/ 
 and fears that my life might be exposed by the quarrels 
 and skirmishes of these desperadoes who have landed ; 
 as if an old fellow, who served through the whole war, 
 from 56 to 63, was afraid to let his nose smell gun- 
 powder any more than if it were snuff ! But it will be 
 a hard matter to wheedle an old soldier out of his al 
 legiance ! This Griffith goes to the Tower, at least, Mr. 
 Dillon." 
 
 " It would be advisable to commit his person to the civil 
 authority, without delay." 
 
 " To the constable of the Tower, the Earl Cornwallis, a 
 good and loyal nobleman, who is, at this moment, fighting 
 the rebels in my own native province, Christopher," inter 
 rupted the colonel ; "that will be what I call retributive 
 justice ; but," continued the veteran, rising with an air of 
 gentlemanly dignity, " it will not do to permit even the con 
 stable of the Tower of London to surpass the master of St. 
 Ruth in hospitality and kindness to his prisoners. I have 
 ordered suitable refreshments to their apartments, and it is 
 incumbent on me to see that my commands have been 
 properly obeyed. Arrangements must also be made for 
 the reception of this Captain Barnstable, who will, doubt 
 less, soon be here." 
 
 "Within the hour, at farthest," said Dillon, looking un 
 easily at his watch. 
 
 " We must be stirring, boy," continued the colonel, 
 moving toward the door that led to the apartments of his 
 prisoners ; " but there is a courtesy due to the ladies, as 
 W 7 ell as to those unfortunate violators of the laws go, 
 Christopher, convey my kindest wishes to Cecilia ; she 
 don t deserve them, the obstinate vixen, but then she is my 
 brother Harry s child ! and while there, you arch dog, plead 
 your own cause. Mark Antony was a fool to you at a ruse, 
 and yet Mark was one of your successful suitors, too; 
 there was that Queen of the Pyramids 
 
 The door closed on the excited veteran,* at these words, 
 and Dillon was left standing by himself, at the side of thy 
 
THE PILOT. 239 
 
 table, musing, as if in doubt whether to venture on the step 
 that his kinsman had proposed, or not. 
 
 The greater part of the preceding discourse was unintel 
 ligible to the cockswain, who had waited its termination 
 with extraordinary patience, in hopes he might obtain some 
 information that he could render of service to the captives. 
 Before he had time to decide on what was now best for 
 him to do, Dillon suddenly determined to venture himself 
 in the cloisters ; and, swallowing a couple of glasses of 
 (vine in a breath, he passed the hesitating cockswain, who 
 was concealed by the opening door, so closely as to brush 
 his person, and moved down the gallery with those rapid 
 strides which men who act under the impulse of forced res 
 olutions are very apt to assume, as if to conceal their weak 
 ness from themselves. Tom hesitated no longer ; but aid- 
 Ing the impulse given to the door by Dillon, as he passed, 
 60 as to darken the passage, he followed the sounds of the 
 other s footsteps, while he trod, in the manner already de 
 scribed, the stone pavement of the gallery. Dillon paused 
 an instant at the turning that led to the room of Borrough- 
 cliffe, but whether irresolute which way to urge his steps, 
 or listening to the incautious and heavy tread of the cock 
 swain, is not known ; if the latter, he mistook them for the 
 echoes of his own footsteps, and moved forward again with 
 out making any discovery. 
 
 The light tap which Dillon gave on the door of the 
 withdrawing-room of the cloisters, was answered by the 
 soft voice of Cecilia Howard herself, who bade the appli 
 cant enter. There was a slight confusion evident in the 
 manner of the gentleman as he complied with the bidding, 
 and, in its hesitancy, the door was for an instant neglected. 
 
 " I come, Miss Howard," said Dillon, " by the commands 
 of your uncle, and, permit me to add, by my own " 
 
 " May Heaven shield us!" exclaimed Cecilia, clasping 
 her hands in affright, and rising involuntarily from her 
 couch, "are we, too, to be imprisoned and murdered ?" 
 
 "Surely Miss Howard will not impute to me " Dillon 
 
 paused, observing that the wild looks, not only of Cecilia, 
 but of Katherine and Alice Dunscombe, also, were directed 
 At some other object, and, turning, to his manifest terror 
 he beheld the gigantic frame of the cockswain, surmounted 
 by an iron visage fixed in settled hostility, in possession of 
 the only passage from the apartment. 
 
 * Jf there s murder to be done," said Tom, after survey 1 
 
240 THE nr.or. 
 
 ing the astonished group with a stern eye, " it s as like!? 
 this here liar will be the one to do it as another; but ycu 
 have nothing to fear from a man who has followed the 
 seas too long, and has grappled with too many monsters, 
 both flesh and fish, not to know how to treat a helpless 
 woman. None, who know him, will say that Thomas Coffin 
 ever used uncivil language, or unseaman-like conduct, to 
 any of his mother s kind." 
 
 " Coffin ! " exclaimed Katherine, advancing with a more 
 confident air, from the corner into which terror had driven 
 her with her companions. 
 
 "Ay, Coffin," continued the old sailor, his grim features 
 gradually relaxing, as he gazed on her bright looks; " tis 
 a solemn word, but it s a word that passes over the shoals, 
 among the islands, and along the cape, oftener than any 
 other. My father was a Coffin and my mother was a Joy ; 
 and the two names can count more flukes than all the rest 
 in the island together ; though the Worths, and the Gar 
 ners, and the Swaines, dart better harpoons, and set truer 
 lances, than any men who come from the weather-side of 
 the Atlantic." 
 
 Katherine listened to this digression in honor of the 
 whalers of Nantucket, with marked complacency ; and, 
 when he concluded, she repeated, slowly: 
 
 "Coffin ! this, then, is Long Tom ?" 
 
 " Ay, ay, Long Tom, and no sham in the name, either," 
 returned the cockswain, suffering the stern indignation 
 that had lowered around his hard visage to relax into a low 
 laugh as he gazed on her animated features ; " the Lord 
 bless your smiling face and bright black eyes, young 
 madam ! you have heard of old Long Tom, then ? most 
 Ukelv, twas something about the blow he strikes at the 
 fish ah ! I m old and I m stiff, now, young madam, but, 
 afore I was nineteen, I stood at the head of the dance, at a 
 ball on the cape, and that with a partner almost as hand- 
 3 nne as yourself ay ! and this was after I had three broad 
 flukes logged against my name." 
 
 "No," said Katherine, advancing in her eagerness a step 
 or two nigher to the old tar, her cheeks flushing while she 
 spoke, " I have heard of you as an instructor in a seaman s 
 duty, as the faithful cockswain, nay, I may say, as the de 
 voted companion and friend of Mr. Richard Barns! able 
 but, perhaps, you came now as the bearer of some n essage 
 or. letter from that gentleman." 
 
THE PILOT. 241 
 
 The sound of his commander s name suddenly revived 
 the recollection of Coffin, and with it all the fierce stern 
 ness of his manner returned. Bending his eyes keenly on 
 the cowering form of Dillon, he said in those deep, harsh 
 tones, that seem peculiar to men who have braved the ele 
 ments, until they appear to have imbibed some of theil 
 roughest qualities : 
 
 * Liar ! how now ? What brought old Tom Coffin into 
 these shoals and narrow channels ? was it a letter ? ha ! 
 but by the Lord that maketh the winds to blow, and teach- 
 eth the lost mariner how to steer over the wide waters, you 
 shall sleep this night, villain, on the planks of the Ariel ; 
 and if it be the will of God that beautiful piece of handi 
 craft is to sink at her mooring, like a worthless hulk, ye 
 shall still sleep in her : ay, and a sleep that shall not end 
 till they call all hands to foot up the day s work of this 
 life, at the close of man s longest voyage." 
 
 The extraordinary vehemence, the language, the attitude 
 of the old seaman, commanding in its energy, and the hon 
 est indignation that shone in every look of his keen eyes, 
 together with the. nature of the address, and its par 
 alyzing effect on Dillon, who quailed before it like the 
 stricken deer, united to keep the female listeners,, for many 
 moments, silent through amazement. During this brief 
 period, Tom advanced upon his nerveless victim, and, lash 
 ing his arms together behind his back, he fastened him, by 
 a strong cord, to the broad canvas belt that he constantly 
 wore around his own body, leaving to himself, by this ar 
 rangement, the free use of his arms and weapons of 
 offence, while he secured his captive. 
 
 " Surely," said Cecilia, recovering her recollection the 
 first of the astonished group, (i Mr. Barnstable has not 
 commissioned you to offer this violence to my uncle s 
 kinsman, under the roof of Colonel Howard ? Miss 
 Plowden, your friend has strangely forgotten himself 
 in this transaction, if this man acts in obedience to his 
 order ! " 
 
 " My friend, my cousin Howard," returned Katherine, 
 "would never commission his cockswain, or anyone, to do 
 an unworthy deed. Speak, honest sailor ; why do you 
 commit this outrage on the worthy Mr. Dillon, Colone) 
 Howard s kinsman, and a cupboard cousin of St. Ruth s 
 Abbey?" 
 
 "Nay, Katherine " 
 
 16 
 
242 THE PILOT 
 
 " Nay, Cecilia, be patient, and let rhe stranger b-ave nt 
 terance ; he may solve the difficulty altogether." 
 
 The cockswain, understanding that an explanation was 
 expected from his lips, addressed himself to the task with 
 an energy suitable both to the subject and to his own feel 
 ings. In a very few words, though a little obscured by his 
 peculiar diction, he made his listeners understand the con 
 fidence that Barnstable had reposed in Dillon, and the 
 treachery of the latter. They heard him with increased 
 astonishment, and Cecilia hardly allowed him time to con 
 clude, before she exclaimed : 
 
 " And did Colonel Howard, could Colonel Howard lis 
 ten to this treacherous project ?" 
 
 " Ay, they spliced it together among them," returned 
 Tom ; " though one part of this cruise will turn out but 
 badly." 
 
 " Even Borroughcliffe, cold and hardened as he appears 
 to be by habit, would spurn at such dishonor," added Miss 
 Howard. 
 
 " But, Mr. Barnstable," at length Katherine suc 
 ceeded in saying, when her feelings permitted her utter 
 ance, "said you not, that the soldiers were in quest oi 
 him ? " 
 
 "Ay, ay, young madam," the cockswain replied, smiling 
 with grim ferocity, " they are in chase, but he has shifted 
 his anchorage, and, even if they should find him, his long 
 pikes would make short work of a dozen red-coats. The 
 Lord of tempests and calms have mercy, though, on the 
 schooner ! Ah, young madam, she is as lovely to the eyes 
 of an old seafaring man as any of your kind can be to hu. 
 man nature ! " 
 
 " But why this delay ? away, then, honest Tom, and re 
 veal the treachery to your commander ; you may not yet be 
 too late why delay a moment ? " 
 
 " The ship tarries for want of a pilot. I could carry 
 three fathoms over the shoals of Nantucket the darkest 
 night that ever shut the windows of heaven, but I should 
 be likely to run upon breakers in this navigation. As it 
 was, I was near getting into company that I should have 
 had to fight my way out of." 
 
 " If that be all, follow me," cried the ardent Katherine 
 " I will conduct you to a path that leads to the ocean, 
 without approaching the sentinels." 
 
 Until this moment, Dillon had entertained a secret ex 
 
THE PILOT. 243 
 
 pectatiun of a rescue, but when he heard this proposal, he 
 felt liis blood retreating to his heart from every part of his 
 agitated frame, and his last hope seemed wrested from 
 him. Raising himself from the abject, shrinking attitude, 
 in which botli shame and dread had conspired to keep 
 hirn as though he had been fettered to the spot, he ap 
 proached Cecilia, and cried, in tones of horror : 
 
 " Do not, do not consent, Miss Howard, to abandon me 
 to the fury of this man ! Your uncle, your honorable 
 uncle even now applauded and united with me in my 
 enterprise, which is no more than a common artifice in war." 
 
 " My uncle would unite, Mr. Dillon, in no project of 
 deliberate treachery like this," said Cecilia, coldly. 
 
 " He did, I swear by 
 
 " Liar ! " interrupted the deep tones of the cock 
 swain. 
 
 Dillon shivered with agony and terror, while the sounds 
 of this appalling voice sunk into his inmost soul ; but 
 as the gloom of the night, the secret ravines of the cliffs, 
 and the turbulence of the ocean, flashed across his im 
 agination, he again yielded to a dread of the horrors to 
 which he should be exposed, in encountering them at the 
 mercy of his most powerful enemy, and he continued his 
 solicitations : 
 
 " Hear me, once more hear me Miss Howard, I beseech 
 you, hear me ! Am I not of your own blood and country ? 
 Will you see me abandoned to the wild, merciless, 
 malignant fury of this man, who will transfix me with 
 that O God ! if you had but seen the sight I beheld in 
 the Alacrity ! hear me, Miss Howard ; for the love you 
 bear your Maker, intercede for me ! Mr. Griffith shall be 
 released " 
 
 " Liar ! " again interrupted the cockswain. 
 
 "What promises he?" asked Cecilia, turning her 
 averted face once more at the miserable captive. 
 
 " Nothing at all that will be fulfilled," said Katherine. 
 " Follow, honest Tom, and I, at least, will conduct you 
 in good faith." 
 
 "Cruel, obdurate Miss Plowden ; gentle, kind Miss 
 Alice, you will not refuse to raise your voice in my favor , 
 your heart is not hardened by any imaginary dangers to 
 those you love." 
 
 " Nay, address me not," said Alice, bending her meek 
 eyes to the floor ; " 1 trust your life is in no danger ; and I 
 
244 Til a PILOT. 
 
 pray that he who has the power, will have the mercy, to 
 see you unharmed." 
 
 "Away ! " said Tom, grasping the collar of the helpless 
 Dillon, and rather carrying than leading him into the gal 
 lery ; " if a sound, one-quarter as loud as a young porpoise 
 makes when he draws his first breath, comes from you, 
 villain, you shall see the sight of the Alacrity over again. 
 My harpoon keeps its edge well, and the old arm can yet 
 drive it to the seizing." 
 
 This menace effectually silenced even the hard, per 
 turbed breathings of the captive, who, with his conductor, 
 followed the light steps of Katherine through some of the 
 secret mazes of the building, until, in a few minutes, they 
 issued through a small door into the open air. Without 
 pausing to deliberate, Miss Plowden led the cockswain 
 through the grounds, to a different wicket from the one 
 by which he had entered the paddock, and pointing to the 
 path, which might be dimly traced along the faded herb 
 age, she bade God bless him, in a voice that discovered 
 her interest in his safety, and vanished from his sight like 
 an aerial being. 
 
 Tom needed no incentive to his speed, now that the 
 course lay so plainly before him, but loosening his pistols 
 in his belt, and poising his harpoon, he crossed the fields 
 at a gait that compelled his companion to exert his utmost 
 powers, in the way of walking, to equal. Once or twice 
 Dillon ventured to utter a word or two ; but the stern 
 " Silence " from the cockswain warned him to cease, until, 
 perceiving that they were approaching the cliffs, he made 
 a final effort to obtain his liberty, by hurriedly promising 
 a large bribe. The cockswain made no reply, and the 
 captive was secretly hoping that his scheme was producing 
 its wonted effect, when he unexpectedly felt the keen, 
 cold edge of the barbed iron of the harpoon pressing 
 against his breast, through the opening of his ruffles, and 
 even raising the skin. 
 
 "Liar!" said Tom; "another word, and I ll drive it 
 through your heart ! " 
 
 From that moment, Dillon was as silent^ as the grave. 
 They reached the edge of the cliffs, without encountering 
 the party that had been sent in quest of Barnstable, at a 
 point near where they had landed. The old seaman paused 
 an instant on the verge of the precipice, and cast his ex- 
 perienced eyes along the wide expanse of water that lay 
 
THE PIL07\ 24$ 
 
 before him. The sea was no longer sleeping, but already 
 in heavy motion, and rolling its surly waves against the 
 base of the rocks on which he stood, scattering their white 
 crests high in foam. The cockswain, after bending his 
 looks along the whole line of the eastern horizon, gave 
 utterance to a low and stifled groan ; and then, striking 
 the staff of his harpoon violently against the earth, he pur 
 sued his way along the veryjpdge of the cliffs, muttering 
 certain dreadful denunciations, which the conscience of 
 his appalled listener did not fail to apply to himself. It 
 appeared to the latter, that his angry and excited leader 
 sought the giddy verge of the precipice with a sort of wan 
 ton recklessness, so daring were the steps that he took 
 along its brow, notwithstanding the darkness of the hour, 
 and the violence of the blasts that occasionally rushed 
 upon them, leaving behind a kind of reaction, that more 
 than once brought the life of the manacled captive in im 
 minent jeopardy. But it would seem the wary cockswain 
 had a motive for this apparently inconsiderate desperation. 
 When they had made good quite half the distance between 
 the point where Barnstable had landed and that where he 
 had appointed to meet his cockswain, the sounds of voices 
 were brought indistinctly to their cars, in one of the mo 
 mentary pauses of the rushing winds, and caused the cock 
 swain to make a dead stand in his progress. He listened 
 intently for a single minute, when his resolution appeared 
 to be taken. He turned to Dillon and spoke ; though his 
 voice was suppressed and low, it was deep and resolute : 
 
 " One word, or you die ; over the cliffs ! You must take 
 a seaman s ladder : there is footing on the rocks, and crags 
 for your hands. Over the cliffs, I bid ye, or I ll cast ye 
 into the sea, as I would a dead enemy ! " 
 
 " Mercy, mercy ! " implored Dillon ; " I could not do it 
 in the day ; by this light I shall surely perish." 
 
 " Over with ye ! " said Tom, " or 
 
 Dillon waited for no more, but descended, with trem 
 bling steps, the dangerous precipice that lay before him. 
 He was followed by the cockswain, with a haste that una 
 voidably dislodged his captive from the trembling stand 
 he had taken on the shelf of a rock, who, to his increased 
 horror, found himself dangling in the air, his body im 
 pending over the sullen surf, that was tumbling in with 
 violence upon the rocks beneath him. An involuntary 
 shriek burst from Dillon, as he felt his person thrust from 
 
246 THE PILOT. 
 
 the narrow shelf ; and his cry sounded amid the tempest 
 Mke the screeching of the spirit of the storm. 
 
 "Another such a call, and I cut your tow-line, v llain," 
 exclaimed the determined seaman, " when nothing short 
 of eternity will bring you up ! " 
 
 The sounds of footsteps and voices were now distinctly 
 audible, and presently a party of armed men appeared on 
 the edges of the rocks directly above them. 
 
 " It was a human voice," ^aid one of them, "and like a 
 man in distress." 
 
 " It cannot be the men we are sent in search of," returned 
 Sergeant Drill; "for no watchword that I ever heard 
 sounded like that cry." 
 
 " They say that such cries are often heard in the storms 
 along the coast," said a voice that was uttered with less of 
 military confidence than the two others ; " and they are 
 thought to come from drowned seamen." 
 
 A feeble laugh arose among the listeners, and one or two 
 forced jokes were made at the expense of their supersti 
 tious comrade ; but the scene did not fail to produce its 
 effect on even the most sturdy among the unbelievers in 
 the marvellous ; for, after a few more similar remarks, the 
 whole party retired from the cliffs, at a pace that might 
 have been accelerated by the nature of their discourse. 
 The cockswain, who had stood all this time, firm as the 
 rock which supported him, bearing up not only his own 
 weight, but the person of Dillon also, raised his head above 
 the brow of the precipice, as they withdrew, to reconnoi 
 tre, and then, drawing up the nearly insensible captive, and 
 placing him in safety on the bank, he followed himself. 
 Not a moment was wasted in unnecessary explanation, but 
 Dillon found himself again urged forward, with the same 
 velocity as before. In a few minutes they gained the de 
 sired ravine, down which Tom plunged with a seaman s 
 nerve, dragging his prisoner after him, and directly they 
 stood where the waves rose to their feet, as they flowed far 
 and foaming across the sands. The cockswain stooped so 
 low as to bring the crest of the billows in a line with the 
 horizon, when he discovered the dark boat, playing in the 
 outer edge of the surf. 
 
 " What hoa ! Ariels there ! " shouted Tom, in a voice that 
 the growing tempest carried to the ears of the retreating sol 
 diers, who quickened their footsteps, as they listened to- 
 sounds which their fears taught them to believe supernatural 
 
THE PILOT. 247 
 
 "Who hails ?" cried the well-known voice of Barnstable. 
 
 "Once your master, now your servant," answered the 
 cockswain, with a watchword of his own invention. 
 
 " Tis he," returned the lieutenant; "veer away, boys, 
 veer away. You must wade into the surf." 
 
 Tom caught Dillon in his arms, and throwing him like 
 a cork across his shoulder, he dashed into the streak of 
 foam that was bearing the boat on its crest, and before his 
 companion had time for remonstrance or entreaty, he 
 found himself once more by the side of Barnstable. 
 
 " Who have we here ? " asked the lieutenant ; " this is 
 not Griffith ! " 
 
 " Haul out and weigh your grapnel," said the excited 
 cockswain; " and then, boys, if you love the Ariel, pull 
 while the life and the will is left in you." 
 
 Barnstable knew his man, and not another question 
 was asked, until the boat was without the breakers, now 
 skimming the rounded summits of the waves, or settling 
 into the hollows of the sea, but always cutting the water 
 asunder, as she urged her course, with amazing velocity, 
 toward the haven where the schooner had been left at an 
 chor. Then, in a few bitter sentences, the cockswain ex 
 plained to his commander the treachery of Dillon and the 
 danger of the schooner. 
 
 " The soldiers are slow at a night-muster," Tom con 
 cluded ; " and from what I overheard, the express will have 
 to make a crooked course to double the head of the bay, so 
 that, but for this northeaster, we might weather upon 
 them yet ; but it s a matter that lies altogether in the will 
 of Providence. Pull, my hearties, pull everything de 
 pends on your oars to-night." 
 
 Barnstable listened in deep silence to this unexpected 
 narration, which sounded in the ears of Dillon like his 
 funeral-knell. At length, the suppressed voice of the 
 lieutenant was heard also, uttering : 
 
 " Wretch if I should cast you into the sea, as food for 
 the fishes, who could blame me ? But if my schooner 
 goes to the bottom, she shall prove your coffin ! " 
 
248 THK PILOT. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Si Had I been any god of power, I would 
 Have sunk the sea within the earth, ere 
 It should the good ship so have swallowed." Tempest- 
 
 THE arms of Dillon were released from their confinement 
 by the cockswain, as a measure of humane caution against 
 accidents, when they entered the surf ; and the captive now 
 availed himself of the circumstance to bury his features in 
 the folds of his attire, when he brooded over the events of 
 the last few hours with that mixture of malignant passion 
 and pusillanimous dread of the future that formed the chief 
 ingredients in his character. From this state of apparent 
 quietude neither Barnstable nor Tom seemed disposed to 
 rouse him by their remarks, for both were too much en 
 gaged with their own gloomy forebodings, to indulge in 
 any unnecessary words. An occasional ejaculation from 
 the former, as if to propitiate the spirit of the storm, as he 
 gazed on the troubled appearance of the elements, or a 
 cheering cry from the latter to animate his crew, alone was 
 heard amid the sullen roaring of the waters, and the mourn 
 ful whistling of the winds that swept heavily across the 
 broad waste of the German Ocean. There might have been 
 an hour consumed thus, in a vigorous struggle between the 
 seamen and the growing billows, when the boat doubled 
 the northern headland of the desired haven, and shot at 
 once, from its boisterous passage along the margin of the 
 breakers into the placid waters of the sequestered bay. The 
 passing blasts were still heard rushing above the highlands 
 that surrounded, and, in fact, formed the estuary; but the 
 profound stillness of deep night pervaded the secret re 
 cesses, along the unruffled surface of its waters. The shad 
 ows of the hills seemed to have accumulated, like a mass 
 of gloom, in the centre of the basin, and though every eye 
 involuntarily turned to search, it was in vain that the anxious 
 seamen endeavored to discover their little vessel through 
 its density. While the boat glided into this quiet scene, 
 Barnstable anxiously observed : 
 
 " Everything is as still as death." 
 
 " God send it is not the stillness of death ! " ejaculated 
 the cockswain. " Here, here," he continued, speaking in 2 
 
THE PILOT. 249 
 
 lower tone as if fearful of being overheard, " here she lies, 
 sir, more to port ; look into the streak of clear sky above 
 the marsh, on the starboard hand of the wood, there ; that 
 long black line is her main-topmast ; I know it by the rake ; 
 and there is her night-pennant fluttering above that bright 
 star, ay, ay, sir, there go our own stars aloft yet, dancing 
 among the stars in the heavens ! God bless her ! God bless 
 her ! she rides as easy and as quiet as a gull asleep ! " 
 
 " I believe all in her sleep too," returned his commander, 
 " Ha ! by Heaven, we have arrived in good time ; the sol 
 diers are moving." 
 
 The quick eye of Barnstable had detected the glimmer 
 ing of passing lanterns, as they flitted across the em 
 brasures of the battery, and at the next moment the guarded 
 but distinct sounds of an active bustle on the decks of the 
 schooner were plainly audible. The lieutenant was rubbing 
 his hands together with a sort of ecstacy that probably will 
 not be understood by the great majority of our readers, 
 while Long Tom was actually indulging in a paroxysm of 
 his low, spiritless laughter, as these certain intimations of 
 the safety of the Ariel and of the vigilance of her crew were 
 conveyed to their ears ; when the whole hull and taper 
 spars of their floating home became unexpectedly visible, 
 and the sky, the placid basin, and the adjacent hills were 
 illuminated by a flash as sudden and as vivid as the keenest 
 lightning. Both Barnstable and his cockswain seemed in 
 stinctively to strain their eyes toward the schooner with an 
 effort to surpass human vision ; but ere the rolling rever 
 berations of the report of a heavy piece of ordnance from 
 the heights had commenced, the dull whistling rush of the 
 shot swept over their heads like the moaning of a hurris 
 cane, and was succeeded by the plash of the waters, which 
 was followed, in a breath, by the rattling of the mass of 
 iron, as it bounded with violent fury from rock to rock, 
 shivering and tearing the fragments that lined the margin 
 of the bay. 
 
 " A bad aim with the first gun generally leaves your 
 enemy clean decks," said the cockswain, with his deliber 
 ate sort of philosophy ; " smoke makes but dim spectacles; 
 besides, the night always grows darkest as you call off the 
 morning watch." 
 
 " That boy is a miracle for his years ! " rejoined the de* 
 lighted lieutenant. " See, Tom, the yonker has shifted 
 his berth in the dark, and the Englishmen have fired by 
 
250 THE PILOT. 
 
 the day-range they must have taken, for we left him in a 
 direct line between the battery and yon hammock ! What 
 would have become of us if that heavy fellow had plunged 
 upon our decks and gone out below the water-line ? " 
 
 " We should have sunk into English mud, for eternity, 
 as sure as our metal and kentledge would have taken us 
 down," responded Tom ; " such a point-blanker would have 
 torn off a streak of our wales, out-board, and not even left 
 the marines time to say a prayer ! Tend bow there ! " 
 
 It is not to be supposed that the crew of the whale-boat 
 continued idle during this interchange of opinions between 
 the lieutenant and his cockswain ; on the contrary, the sight 
 of their vessel acted on them like a charm, and, believing 
 that all necessity for caution was now over, they had ex 
 pended their utmost strength in efforts that had already 
 brought them, as the last \vords of Tom indicated, to the 
 side of the Ariel. Though every nerve of Barnstable was 
 thrilling with the excitement produced by his feelings pass 
 ing from a state of the most doubtful apprehension to that of 
 a revived and almost confident hope of effecting his escape, 
 he assumed the command of his vessel with all that stern 
 but calm authority that seamen find it most necessary to 
 exert in the moment of extremest danger. Any one of the 
 heavy shot that their enemies continued to hurl from their 
 heights into the darkness of the haven he well knew must 
 prove fatal to them, as it would, unavoidably, pass through 
 the slight fabric of the Ariel, and open a passage to the 
 water that no means he possessed could remedy. His 
 mandates were, therefore, issued with a full perception of 
 the critical nature of the emergency, but with that collect- 
 edness of manner, and intonation of voice, that were best 
 adapted to enforce a ready and animated obedience. Under 
 this impulse the crew of the schooner soon got their anchor 
 freed from the bottom, and, seizing their sweeps, they 
 forced her by their united efforts directly in the face 
 of the battery, under that shore whose summit was now 
 crowned with a canopy of smoke, that every discharge of 
 the ordnance tinged with dim colors, like the faintest tints 
 that are reflected from the clouds toward a setting sun. 
 So long as the seamen were enabled to keep their little 
 bark under the cover of the hill, they were, of course, safe ; 
 but Barnstable perceived, as they emerged from its shadow . 
 and were drawing nigh the passage which led into the 
 ocean, that the action of his sweeps would no longef 
 
THE PILOT. 251 
 
 avail them against the currents of air they encountered ; 
 neither would the darkness conceal their movements from 
 his enemy, who had already employed men on the shore to 
 discern the position of the schooner. Throwing off at once, 
 therefore, all appearance of disguise, he gave forth the 
 word to spread the canvas of his vessel, in his ordinary 
 cheerful manner. 
 
 "Let them do their worst now, Merry," he added ; "we 
 have brought them to a distance that I think will keep 
 their iron above water, and we have no dodge about us, 
 yonker ! " 
 
 " It must be keener marksmen than the militia, or vol 
 unteers, or fencibles, or whatever they call themselves, be 
 hind yon grass-bank, to frighten the saucy Ariel from the 
 wind," returned the reckless boy; "but why have you 
 brought Jonah aboard us again, .sir ? Look at him by the 
 light of the cabin lamp : he winks at every gun, as if he 
 expected the shot would hull his own ugly yellow phys 
 iognomy. And what tidings have we, sir, from Mr. 
 Griffith and the marine ? " 
 
 "Name him not," said Barnstable, pressing the shoulder 
 on which he lightly leaned with a convulsive grasp that 
 caused the boy to yield with pain "name him not, Merry ; 
 I want my temper and my faculties at this moment undis 
 turbed, and thinking of the wretch unfits me for my duty. 
 But there will come a time ! go forward, sir ; we feel the 
 wind, and have a narrow passage to work through." 
 
 The boy obeyed a mandate which was given in the usual 
 prompt manner of their profession, and which, he well 
 understood, was intended to intimate that the distance 
 which years and rank had created between them, but which 
 Barnstable often chose to forget while communing with 
 Merry, was now to be resumed. The sails had been 
 loosened and set ; and, as the vessel approached the throat 
 of the passage, the gale, which was blowing with increas 
 ing violence, began to make a very sensible impression on 
 the light bark. The cockswain, who, in the absence of 
 most of the inferior officers, had been acting, on the fore 
 castle, the part of one who felt, from his years and experi 
 ence, that he had some right to advise, if not to command, 
 at such a juncture, now walked to the station which his 
 commander had taken, near the helmsman, as if willing to 
 place himself in the way of being seen. 
 
 Well, Master Coffin, "said Barnstable, who well under* 
 
252 THE PILOTS 
 
 stood the propensity his old shipmate had to commune 
 with him on all important occasions, " what think you of 
 the cruise now ? Those gentlemen on the hill make a great 
 noise, but I have lost even the whistling of their shot ; one 
 would think they could see our sails against the broad 
 band of light which is opening to seaward." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir, they see us and mean to hit us too ; but we 
 are running across their fire, and that with a ten-knot 
 breeze ; but, when we heave in stays, and get in a line with 
 their guns, we shall see, and it may be feel, more of theii 
 work than we do now; a thirty-two an t trained as easily 
 as a fowling-piece or a ducking-gun." 
 
 Barnstable was struck with the truth of this observation ; 
 but as there existed an immediate necessity for placing the 
 schooner in the very situation to which the other alluded, 
 he gave his orders at once, and the vessel came about, and 
 ran with her head pointing toward the sea, in as short a 
 time as we have taken to record it. 
 
 " There, they have us now, or never," cried the lieuten 
 ant, when the evolution was completed. "If we fetch to 
 windward off the northern point, we shall lay out into the 
 offing, and in ten minutes we might laugh at Queen Anne s 
 pocket-piece, which, you know, old boy, sent a ball from 
 Dover to Calais." 
 
 " Ay, sir, I ve heard of the gun," returned the grave sea 
 man, " and a lively piece it must have been, if the straits 
 w r ere always of the same width they are now. But I see 
 that, Captain Barnstable, which is more dangerous than a 
 dozen of the heaviest cannon that were ever cast can be, at 
 half a league s distance. The water is bubbling through 
 our lee scuppers already, sir." 
 
 " And what of that ? haven t I buried her guns often, 
 and yet kept every spar in her without crack or splinter?" 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir, you have done it, and can do it again, where 
 there is sea-room, which is all that a man wants for com 
 fort in this life. But when we are out of these chops, we 
 shall be embayed, with a heavy northeaster setting dead 
 into the bight ; it is that which I fear, Captain Barnstable, 
 more than all the powder and ball in the whole island." 
 
 " And yet, Tom, the balls are not to be despised, either, 
 those fellows have found out their range, and send their 
 iron within hail again ; we walk pretty fast, Mr. Coffin, 
 but a thirty-two can out-travel us, with the best wind that 
 ever blew." 
 
THE PILOT. 253 
 
 Tom threw a cursory ghmce toward the battery, which 
 had renewed its fire with a spirit that denoted they saw 
 their object, as he answered : 
 
 " It is never worth a man s while to strive to dodge a 
 shot ; for they are all commissioned to do their work, the 
 r-ame as a ship is commissioned to cruise in certain lati 
 tudes ; but for the winds and the weather, they are given 
 for a seafaring man to guard against, by making or short 
 ening sail, as the case may be. Now, the headland to the 
 southward stretches full three leagues to windward and the 
 shoals lie to the north ; among which God keep us from 
 ever running this craft again ! " 
 
 " We will beat her out of the bight, old fellow," cried the 
 lieutenant ; "we shall have a leg of three leagues in length 
 to do it in." 
 
 " I have known longer legs too short," returned the 
 cockswain, skaking his head ; " a tumbling sea, with a lee- 
 tide, on a lee-shore, makes a sad lee-way." 
 
 The lieutenant was in the act of replying to this saying 
 with a cheerful laugh, when the whistling of a passing 
 shot was instantly succeeded by a crash of splintered wood ; 
 and at the next moment the head of the main-mast, after 
 tottering for an instant in the gale, fell toward the deck, 
 bringing with it. the main-sail, and the long line of top 
 mast that had been bearing the emblems of America, as 
 the cockswain had expressed it, among the stars of the 
 heavens. 
 
 " That was a most unlucky hit ! " Barnstable suffered to 
 escape him in the concern of the moment ; but, instantly 
 resuming all his collectedness of manner and voice, ho 
 gave his orders to clear the wreck and secure the fluttering 
 canvas. 
 
 The mournful forebodings of Tom seemed to vanish with 
 the appearance of a necessity for his exertions, and he was 
 foremost among the crew in executing the orders of their 
 commander. The loss of all the sail on the main-mast 
 forced the Ariel so much from her course as to render it 
 difficult to weather the point that jutted, under her lee, for 
 some distance into the ocean. This desirable object was, 
 however, effected by the skill of Barnstable, aided by the 
 excellent properties of his vessel ; and the schooner, borne 
 down by the power of the gale, from whose fury she had 
 now no protection, passed heavily along the land, heading, 
 HS far as possible, from the breakers, while the seamen 
 
2 5 4 THE PILOT. 
 
 were engaged in making their preparations to display as 
 much of their main-sail as the stump of the mast would al 
 low them to spread. The firing from the battery ceased 
 as the Ariel rounded the little promontory ; but Barnstable, 
 whose gaze was now bent, intently on the ocean, soon per 
 ceived that, as his cockswain had predicted, he had a much 
 more threatening danger to encounter in the elements. 
 When their damages w r ere repaired, so far as circumstances 
 would permit, the cockswain returned to his wonted station 
 near the lieutenant ; and after a momentary pause, during 
 which his eyes roved over the rigging with a seaman s scru 
 tiny, he resumed the discourse. 
 
 " It would have been better for us that the best man in 
 the schooner should have been dubbed of a limb by that shot, 
 than that the Ariel should have lost her best leg ; a main-sail 
 close-reefed may be prudent canvas as the wind blows, but 
 it holds a poor luff to keep a craft to windward." 
 
 " What would you have, Tom Coffin ? " retorted his com 
 mander. " You see she draws ahead, and off-shore ; do you 
 expect a vessel to fly in the very teeth of the gale ? or 
 \vould you have me wear and beach her at once ? " 
 
 " I would have nothing, nothing, Captain Barnstable," 
 returned the old seaman, sensibly touched at his com 
 mander s displeasure ; " you are as able as any man that 
 ever trod a plank to work her into an offing ; but, sir, when 
 that soldier officer told me of the scheme to sink the Ariel 
 at her anchor, there was such feelings come athwart my 
 philosophy as never crossed it afore. I thought I saw her 
 a wrack, as plainly, ay, as plainly as you may see the slump 
 of that mast ; and, I will own it, for it s as natural to love 
 the craft you sail in as it is to love one s" self, I will own 
 that my manhood fetched a heavy lee-lurch at the sight." 
 
 " Away with ye, ye old sea-croaker ! forward with ye, 
 and see that the head-sheets are trimmed flat. But hold 
 come hither, Tom ; if you have sights of wrecks, and 
 sharks, and other beautiful objects, keep them stowed in 
 your own silly brain ; don t make a ghost-parlor of my 
 forecastle. The lads begin to look to leeward, now, 
 oftener than I would have them. Go, sirrah, go, and take 
 example from Mr. Merry, who is seated on your namesake 
 there, and is singing as if he were a chorister in his father s 
 church." 
 
 "Ah, Captain Barnstable, Mr. Merry is a boy, and 
 knows nothing, so fears nothing. But I shall obey your 
 
THE PILOT. 255 
 
 orders, sir ; and if the men fall astarn this gale, it sha n t 
 be for anything they ll hear from old Tom Coffin." 
 
 The cockswain lingered a moment, notwithstanding his 
 promised obedience, and then ventured to request that 
 
 " Captain Barnstable would please call Mr. Merry from 
 the gun ; for I know, from having followed the seas my nat 
 ural life, that- singing in a gale is sure to bring the wind 
 down upon a vessel the heavier ; for He who rules the tem 
 pests is displeased that man s voice shall be heard when he 
 chooses to send His own breath on the water." 
 
 Barnstable was at a loss whether to laugh at his cock 
 swain s infirmity, or to yield to the impression which his 
 earnest and solemn manner had a powerful tendency to 
 produce amid such a scene. But, making an effort to 
 shake off the superstitious awe that he felt creeping around 
 his own heart, the lieutenant relieved the mind of the 
 worthy old seaman so far as to call the careless boy from 
 his perch to his own side ; where respect for the sacred 
 character of the quarter-deck instantly put an end to the 
 lively air he had been humming. Tom walked slowly for 
 ward, apparently much relieved by the reflection that he 
 had effected so important an object. 
 
 The Ariel continued to struggle against the winds and 
 ocean for several hours longer before the day broke on the 
 tempestuous scene, and the anxious mariners were enabled 
 to form a more accurate estimate of their real danger. As 
 the violence of the gale increased, the canvas of the 
 schooner had been gradually reduced, until she was un 
 able to show more than was absolutely necessary to pre 
 vent her driving helplessly on the land. Barnstable 
 watched the appearance of the weather, as the light slowly 
 opened upon them, with an intense anxiety, which denoted 
 that the presentiments of the cockswain were no longer 
 deemed idle. On looking to windward, he beheld the 
 green masses of water that were rolling in toward the land, 
 with a violence that seemed irresistible, crowned with 
 ridges of foam ; and there were moments when the air ap- 
 Deared filled with sparkling gems, as the rays of the rising 
 sun fell upon the spray that was swept from wave to wave. 
 Toward the land the view was still more appalling. The 
 cliffs, but a short half league under the lee of the schooner, 
 were, at all times, nearly hid from the eye bythe pyramids 
 of water, which the furious element, so suddenly restrained 
 in its violence, cast high into the air, as if seeking to over- 
 
256 THE PILOT. 
 
 lap the boundaries that Nature had fixed to its dominion. 
 The whole coast, from the distant headland at the south ta 
 the well-known shoals that stretched far beyond their 
 course in the opposite direction, displayed a broad belt of 
 foam, into which it \vould have been certain destruction 
 for the proudest ship that ever swam to enter. Still the 
 Ariel floated on the billows, lightly and in safety, though 
 yielding to the impulses of the waters, and, at times, ap 
 pearing to be engulfed in the yawning chasms, which, ap 
 parently, opened beneath her to receive the little fabric. 
 The low rumor of acknowledged danger had found its way 
 through the schooner, and the seamen, after fastening their 
 hopeless looks on the small spot of canvas that they were 
 still able to show to the tempest, would turn to view the 
 dreary line of coast that seemed to offer so gloomy an al 
 ternative. Even Dillon, to whom the report of their dan 
 ger had found its way, crept from his place of concealment 
 in the cabin, and moved about the decks, unheeded, de 
 vouring, with greedy ears, such opinions as fell from the 
 lips of the sullen manners. 
 
 At this moment of appalling apprehension, the cock 
 swain exhibited the calmest resignation. He knew all had 
 been done that lay in the power of man to urge their little 
 vessel from the land, and it was now too evident to his ex 
 perienced eyes that it had been done in vain ; but, consid 
 ering himself as a sort of fixture in the schooner, he was 
 quite prepared to abide her fate, be it for better or for 
 worse. The settled look of gloom that gathered around 
 the frank brow of Barnstdble was in no degree connected 
 with any considerations of himself ; but proceeded from 
 that sort of parental responsibility from which the sea- 
 commander is never exempt. The discipline of the crew, 
 however, still continued perfect and unyielding. There 
 had, it is true, been a slight movement made by one or two 
 of the older seamen, which indicated an intention to drown 
 the apprehensions of death in inebriety ; but Barnstable 
 had called for his pistols, in a tone that checked the pro 
 cedure instantly, and, although the fatal weapons were, 
 untouched by him, left to lie exposed on the capstan, where 
 they had been placed by his servant, not another symptom 
 of insubordination appeared among the devoted crew, 
 There was even what, to a landsman, might seem an appal 
 ling affectation of attention to the most trifling duties of 
 the vessel ; and the men who, it should seem, ought to bo 
 
THE PILOT. 257 
 
 devoting the brief moments of their existence to the mighty 
 business of the hour, were constantly called to attend to 
 the most trivial details of their profession. Ropes were 
 coiled, and the slightest damages occasioned by the waves, 
 which, at short intervals, swept across the low decks of the 
 Ariel, were repaired, with the same precision and order as 
 if she yet lay embayed in the haven from which she had 
 just been driven. In this manner the arm of authority was 
 kept extended over the silent crew, not with the vain de 
 sire to preserve a lingering though useless exercise of 
 power, but with a view to maintain that unity of action 
 that now could alone afford them even a ray of hope. 
 
 " She can make no head against this sea, under that rag 
 of canvas," said Barnstable, gloomily, addressing the cock 
 swain, who, with folded arms, and an air of cool resignation, 
 Xvas balancing his body on the verge of the quarter-deck, 
 while the schooner was plunging madly into waves that 
 nearly buried her in their bosom ; " the poor little thing 
 trembles like a frightened child, as she meets the water." 
 
 Tom sighed heavily, and shook his head, before he an 
 swered : 
 
 " If we could have kept the head of the mainmast an 
 hour longer, we might have got an offing, and fetched to 
 windward of the shoals ; but as it is, sir, mortal man can t 
 drive a craft to windward she sets bodily in to land, and 
 will be in the breakers in less than an hour, unless God 
 wills that the wind shall cease to blow." 
 
 " We have no hope left us but to anchor ; our ground 
 tackle may yet bring her up." 
 
 Tom turned to his commander, and replied, solemnly, 
 and with that assurance of manner that long experience 
 only can give a man in moments of great danger : 
 
 " If our sheet-cable was bent to our heaviest anchor, 
 this sea would bring it home, though nothing but her 
 launch was riding by it. A northeaster in the German 
 Ocean must and will blow itself out ; nor shall we get the 
 crown of the gale until the sun falls over the land. Then 
 indeed it may lull ; for the winds do often seem to rever 
 ence the glory of the heavens too much to blow their 
 might in its very face ! " 
 
 " We must do our duty to ourselves and the country," 
 returned Barnstable. " Go, get the two bowers spliced, 
 and have a kedge bent to a hawser ; we ll back our two 
 anchors together, and veer to the better end of two 
 
258 THE PILOT. 
 
 dred and forty fathoms ; it may yet bring her up. See 
 all clear there for anchoring, and cutting away the mast . 
 we ll leave the wind nothing but a naked hull to whistle 
 over." 
 
 " Ay, if there was nothing but the wind, we might yet 
 live to see the sun sink behind them hills," said the cock 
 swain ; " but what hemp can stand the strain of a craft 
 that is buried, half the time, to her foremast in the water ? " 
 
 The order was, however, executed by the crew, with a 
 sort of desperate submission to the will of their com 
 mander ; and, when the preparations were completed, the 
 anchors and kedge were dropped to the bottom, and the 
 instant that the Ariel tended to the wind, the axe was ap 
 plied to the little that was left of her long, raking masts. 
 The crash of the falling spars, as they came, in succession, 
 across the decks of the vessel, appeared to produce no 
 sensation amid that scene of complicated danger ; but the 
 seamen proceeded in silence to their hopeless duty of 
 clearing the wrecks. Every eye followed the floating tim 
 bers, as the waves swept them away from the vessel, with 
 a sort of feverish curiosity to witness the effect produced 
 by their collision with those rocks that lay so fearfully 
 near them ; but long before the spars entered the wide 
 border of foam, they were hid from view by the furious 
 element in which they floated. It was now felt by the 
 whole crew of the Ariel that their last means of safety had 
 been adopted ; and, at each desperate and headlong plunge 
 the vessel took, into the bosom of the seas that rolled upon 
 her forecastle, the anxious seamen thought that they could 
 perceive the yielding of the iron that yet clung to the bot 
 tom, or could hear the violent surge of the parting strands 
 of the cable, that still held them to their anchors. While 
 the minds of the sailors were agitated with the faint hopes 
 that had been excited by the movements of their schooner, 
 Dillon had been permitted to wander about the deck un 
 noticed ; his rolling eyes, hard breathing, and clinched 
 hands, excited no observation among the men, whose 
 thoughts were yet dwelling on the means of safety. But 
 now, when with a sort of frenzied desperation he would 
 follow the retiring waters along the decks, and venture 
 his person nigh the group that had collected around and 
 on the gun of the cockswain, glances of fierce or of sullen 
 vengeance were cast at him, that conveyed threats of a 
 nature that he was too much agitated to understand. 
 
SHE PILOT. 255 
 
 " If ye are tired of this world, though your time, like 
 my own, is probably but short in it," said Tom to him, as 
 he passed the cockswain in one of his turns, "you can go 
 forward among the men ; but if ye have need of the mo 
 ments to foot up the reck ning of your doings among men, 
 afore ye re brought to face your Maker, and hear the log 
 book of Heaven, I would advise you to keep as nigh as 
 possible to Captain Barn stable or myself." 
 
 " Will you promise to save me if the vessel is wrecked ?" 
 exclaimed Dillon, catching at the first sounds of friendly 
 interest that had reached his ears since he had been recap 
 tured. "Oh! if you will, I can secure your future ease, 
 yes, wealth, for the remainder of your days ! " 
 
 "Your promises have been too ill kept afore this, for 
 the peace of your soul," returned the cockswain, without 
 bitterness, though sternly ; " but it is not in me to strike 
 even a whale that is already spouting blood." 
 
 The intercessions of Dillon were interrupted by a dread 
 ful cry, that arose among the men forward, and which 
 sounded with increased horror, amid the roarings of the 
 tempest. The schooner rose on the breast of a wave at 
 the same instant, and, falling off with her broadside to the 
 sea, she drove in toward the cliffs, like a bubble on the 
 rapids of a cataract. 
 
 " Our ground-tackle has parted," said Tom, with his re 
 signed patience of manner undisturbed ; "she shall die as 
 easy as man can make her ! " While he yet spoke, he 
 seized the tiller, and gave to the vessel such a direction as 
 would be most likely to cause her to strike the rocks with 
 her bows foremost. 
 
 There was for one moment an expression of exquisite 
 anguish betrayed in the dark countenance of Barnstable ; 
 but at the next it passed away, and he spoke cheerfully 
 to his men : 
 
 " Be steady, my lads, be calm : there is yet a hope of 
 life for you our light draught will let us run in close to 
 the cliffs, and it is still falling water see your boats clear, 
 and be steady." 
 
 The crew of the whale-boat, aroused by this speech 
 from a sort of stupor, sprang into their light vessel, which 
 was quickly lowered into the sea, and kept riding on the 
 foam, free from the sides of the schooner, by the power 
 ful exertions of the men. The cry for the cockswain was 
 earnest and repeated, but Tom shook his head, without 
 
26o 7Y//i PILOT. 
 
 replying, still grasping the tiller, and keeping his eyes 
 steadily bent on tne chaos of waters into which they were 
 driving. The launcn, the largest boat of the two, was cut 
 loose from the k gripes," and the bustle and exertions of 
 the moment rendered the crew insensible to the horror of 
 the scene that surrounded them. But the loud, hoarse 
 call of the cockswain, to " look out secure yourselves ! " 
 suspended even their efforts, and at that instant the Ariel 
 settled, on a wave that melted from under her, heavily on 
 the rocks. The shock was so violent as to throw all who 
 disregarded the warning cry from their feet, and the uni 
 versal quiver that pervaded the vessel was- like the last 
 shudder of animated nature. For a time long enough to 
 breathe, the least experienced among the men supposed 
 the danger to be past ; but a wave of great height followed 
 the one that had deserted them, and, raising the vessel 
 again, threw her roughly still farther on the bed of rocks, 
 and at the same time its crest broke over her quarter, 
 sweeping the length of her decks with a fury that was al 
 most resistless. The shuddering seamen beheld their 
 loosened boat driven from their grasp, and dashed against 
 the base of the cliffs, where no fragment of her wreck 
 could be traced at the receding of the waters. But the 
 passing billow had thrown the vessel into a position which- 
 in some measure, protected her decks from the violence 
 of those that succeeded it. 
 
 " Go, my boys, go," said Barnstablc, as the moment of 
 dreadful uncertainty passed ; u you have still the whale- 
 boat, and she, at least, will take you nigh the shore. Go 
 into her, my boys. God bless you, God bless you all ! 
 You have been faithful and honest fellows, and I believe 
 He will not desert you ; go, my friends, while there is a 
 lull." 
 
 The seamen threw themselves, in a mass, into the light 
 vessel, which nearly sank under the unusual burden ; but 
 when they looked around them, Barnstable and Merry, 
 Dillon and the cockswain, were yet to be seen on the decks 
 of the Ariel. The former was pacing, in deep and per 
 haps bitter melancholy, the wet planks of the schooner, 
 while the boy hung, unheeded, on his arm, uttering disre 
 garded petitions to his commander to desert the wreck. 
 Dillon approached the side where the boat lay, again and 
 again, Dut the threatening countenances of the seamen as 
 often drove him back in despair. Tom had seated himself 
 
THE PILOT. 26, 
 
 on the heel of the bowsprit, where he continued, in an at 
 titude of quiet resignation, returning no other answers to 
 the loud and repeated calls of his shipmates, than by wav 
 ing his hand toward the shore. 
 
 " Now hear me," said the boy, urging his request to 
 tears; "if not for my sake or for your own sake, Mr. 
 Barnstable, or for the hope of God s mercy, go into the 
 boat, for the love of my cousin Katherine." 
 
 The young lieutenant paused in his troubled walk, and 
 for a moment he cast a glance of hesitation at the cliffs ; 
 but at the next instant his eyes fell on the ruin of his ves 
 sel, and he answered : 
 
 " Never, boy, never ; if my hour has come, I will not 
 shrink from my fate." 
 
 " Listen to the men, dear sir ; the boat will be swamped, 
 alongside the wreck, and their cry is, that without you 
 they will not let her go." 
 
 Barnstable motioned to the boat, to bid the boy enter it, 
 and turned away in silenca 
 
 " Well," said Merry, with firmness, " if it be right that a 
 lieutenant shall stay by the wreck, it must also be right for 
 a midshipman ! Shove off ; neither Mr. Barnstable nor 
 myself will quit the vessel." 
 
 " Boy, your life has been entrusted to my keeping, and 
 at my hands will it be required," said the commander, lift 
 ing the struggling youth, and tossing him into the arms of 
 the seamen. " Away with ye, and God be with you ; there 
 is more weight in you now than can go safe to land." 
 
 Still the seamen hesitated, for they perceived the cock 
 swain moving, with a steady tread, along the deck, and 
 they hoped he had relented, and would yet persuade the 
 lieutenant to join his crew. But Tom, imitating the ex 
 ample of his commander, seized the latter suddenly in his 
 powerful grasp, and threw him over the bulwarks with an 
 irresistible force. At the same moment he cast the fast of 
 the boat from the pin that held it, and, lifting his broad 
 hands high into the air, his voice was heard in the tem 
 pest : 
 
 " God s will be done with me ! " he cried. "I saw the 
 first timber of the Ariel laid, and shall live just long enough 
 to see it torn out of her bottom ; after which I wish to 
 live no longer." 
 
 But his shipmates were swept far beyond the sound of 
 his voice before half these words were uttered. All com- 
 
262 THE PILOT. 
 
 mand of the boat was rendered impossible by the numbers 
 it contained, as well as the raging of the surf ; and, as it 
 rose on the white crest of a wave, Tom saw his beloved 
 little craft for the last time. It fell into a trough of the 
 sea, and in a few moments more its fragments were ground 
 into splinters on the adjacent rocks. The cockswain still 
 remained where he had cast off the rope, and beheld the 
 numerous heads and arms that appeared rising, at short 
 intervals, on the waves ; some making powerful and well- 
 directed efforts to gain the sands, that were becoming 
 visible as the tide fell, and others wildly tossed in the 
 frantic movements of helpless despair. The honest old 
 seaman gave a cry of joy, as he saw Barnstable issue from 
 the surf, bearing the form of Merry in safety to the sands, 
 where one by one several seamen soon appeared also, drip 
 ping and exhausted. Many others of the crew were car 
 ried, in a similar manner, to places of safety ; though, as 
 Tom returned to his seat on the bowsprit, he could not con 
 ceal from his reluctant eyes the lifeless forms that were, 
 in other spots, driven against the rocks with a fury that 
 soon left them but few of the outward vestiges of hu 
 manity. 
 
 Dillon and the cockswain were now the sole occupants 
 of their dreadful station. The former stood in a kind of 
 stupid despair, a witness of the scene we have related ; but, 
 as his curdled blood began again to flow more warmly 
 through his heart, he crept close to the side of Tom, with 
 that sort of selfish feeling that makes even hopeless misery 
 more tolerable, when endured in participation with another. 
 
 " When the tide falls," he said, in a voice that betrayed 
 the agony of fear, though his words expressed the renewal 
 of hope, "we shall be able to walk to land." 
 
 "There was One, and only One, to whose feet the waters 
 were the same as a dry deck," returned the cockswain ; 
 " and none but such as have His power will ever be able 
 to walk from these rocks to the sands." The old seaman 
 paused, and turning his eyes, which exhibited a mingled 
 expression of disgust and compassion, on his companion, 
 he added, with reverence : " Had you thought more of Him 
 in fair weather, your case would be less to be pitied in this 
 tempest." 
 
 " Do you still think there is much danger ? " asked Dillon. 
 
 " To them that have reason to fear death. Listen ; do 
 you hear that hollow noise beneath ve ? " 
 
THE PILOT. 26$ 
 
 " Tis the wind driving by the vessel ! " 
 
 " Tis the poor thing herself," said the affected cockswain, 
 giving her last groans. The water is breaking up her 
 decks, and, in a few minutes more, the handsomest model 
 that ever cut a wave will be like the chips that fell from 
 her timbers in framing ! " 
 
 * Why, then, did you remain here ?" cried Dillon, wildly. 
 
 J To die in my coffin, if it should be the will of God," 
 returned Tom. " These waves, to me, are what the land 
 is to you ; I \vas born on them, and I have always meant 
 that they should be my grave." 
 
 " But I I," shrieked Dillon, " I am not ready to die ! - 
 I cannot die ! I will not die ! " 
 
 "Poor wretch!" muttered his companion ; "you must 
 go, like the rest of us ; when the death-watch is called, none 
 can skulk from the muster." 
 
 " I can swim," Dillon continued, rushing with frantic 
 eagerness to the side of the wreck. " Is there no billet of 
 wood, no rope, that I can take with me ? " 
 
 None ; everything has been cut away, or carried off by 
 the sea. If ye p,re about to strive for your life, take with 
 ye a stout heart and a clean conscience, and trust the rest 
 to God ! " 
 
 " God ! " echoed Dillon, in the madness of his frenzy ; 
 " I know no God ! there is no God that knows me ! " 
 
 " Peace ! " said the deep tones of the cockswain, in a 
 voice that seemed to speak in the elements ; " blasphemei, 
 peace ! " 
 
 The heavy groaning, produced by the water in the tim 
 bers of the Ariel, at that moment added its impulse to the 
 raging feelings of Dillon, and he cast himself headlong into 
 the sea. 
 
 The water, thrown by the rolling of the surf on the 
 beach, was necessarily returned to the ocean, in eddies, in 
 different places favorable to such an action of the element. 
 Into the edge of one of these counter-currents, that was 
 produced by the very rocks on which the schooner lay, and 
 which the watermen call the "under-tow," Dillon had, un 
 knowingly, thrown his person ; and when the waves had 
 driven him a short distance from the wreck, he was met by 
 a stream that his most desperate efforts could not over 
 come. He was a light and powerful swimmer, and the 
 struggle was hard and protracted. With the shore imme 
 diately before his eyes, and at no great distance, he was led, 
 
264 THE PILOT. 
 
 as by a false phantom, to continue his efforts, although 
 they did not advance him a Jfoot. The old seaman, who at 
 first had watched his motions with careless indifference, 
 understood the danger of his situation at a glance ; and, 
 forgetful of his own fate, he shouted aloud, in a voice that 
 was driven over the struggling victim to the ears of his 
 shipmates on the sands : 
 
 " Sheer to port, and clear the under-tow ! sheer to the 
 southward ! " 
 
 Dillon heard the sounds, but his faculties were too much 
 obscured by terror to distinguish their object ; he, how 
 ever, blindly yielded to the call, and gradually changed his 
 direction, until his face was once more turned toward the 
 vessel. The current swept him diagonally by the rocks, 
 and he was forced into an eddy, where he had nothing to 
 contend against but the waves, whose violence was much 
 broken by the wreck. In this state, he continued still to 
 struggle, but with a force that was too much weakened to 
 overcome the resistance he met. Tom looked around him 
 for a rope, but all had gone over with the spars, or been 
 swept away by the waves. At this moment of disappoint 
 ment his eyes met those of the desperate" Dillon. Calm, 
 and inured to horrors, as was the veteran seaman, he in 
 voluntarily passed his hand before his brow to exclude the 
 look of despair he encountered ; and when, a moment 
 afterward, he removed the rigid member, he beheld the 
 sinking form of the victim as it gradually settled in the 
 ocean, still struggling, with regular but impotent strokes 
 of the arms and feet, to gain the wreck, and to preserve an 
 existence that had been so much abused in its hour of 
 allotted probation. 
 
 " He will soon know his God, and learn that his God 
 knows him ! " murmured the cockswain to himself. As he 
 yet spoke, the wreck of the Ariel yielded to an overwhelm 
 ing sea, and, after a universal shudder, her timbers and 
 planks gave way, and were swept toward the cliffs, bearing 
 the body of the simDle-hearted cockswain among the ruins 
 
THE PJLOT. 205 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 " Let us think of them that sleep 
 Full many a fathom deep, 
 By the wild and stormy steep, 
 Elsinore ! " CAMPBELL. 
 
 LONG and dreary did the hours appear to Barnstable > 
 before the falling tide had so far receded as to leave the 
 sands entirely exposed to his search for the bodies of his 
 lost shipmates. Several had been rescued from the wild 
 fury of the waves themselves ; and one by one, as the mel 
 ancholy conviction that life had ceased was forced on the 
 survivors, they had been decently interred in graves dug 
 on the very margin of that element on which they had 
 passed their lives. But still the form longest known and 
 most beloved was missing, and the lieutenant paced the 
 broad space that was now left between the foot of the cliffs 
 and the raging ocean, with hurried strides and a feverish 
 eye, watching and following those fragments of the wreck 
 that the sea still continued to cast on the beach. Living 
 and dead, he now found that, of those who had lately been 
 in the Ariel, only two were missing. Of the former he 
 could muster but twelve, besides Merry and himself, and 
 his men had already interred more than half that number 
 of the latter, which, together, embraced all who had trusted 
 their lives to the frail keeping of the whale-boat. 
 
 " Tell me not, boy, of the impossibility of his being 
 safe," said Barnstable, in deep agitation, which he in vain 
 struggled to conceal from the anxious youth, who thought 
 it unnecessary to follow the uneasy motions of his com 
 mander, as he strode along the sands. " How often have 
 men been found floating on pieces of wreck, days after the 
 loss of their vessel ! And you can see, with your own eyes, 
 that the falling water has swept the planks this distance ; 
 ay, a good half league from where she struck. Does the 
 lookout, from the top of the cliffs, make no signal of seeing 
 him yet ? " 
 
 " None, sir, none ; we shall never see him again. The 
 men say that he always thought it sinful to desert a wreck, 
 and that he did not even strike out once for his life, though 
 he has been known to swim an hour, when a whale has 
 stove his boat. God knows, sir," added the boy, hastily 
 
266 THE PILOT. 
 
 dashing a fear from his eye by a stolen movement of hia 
 hand, " I loved Tom Coffin better than any foremast man 
 in either vessel. You seldom came aboard the frigate but 
 we had him in the steerage among us reefers, to hear his 
 long yarns and share our cheer. We all loved him, Mr. 
 Barnstable ; but love cannot bring the dead to life again." 
 
 " ! know it, I know it," said Barnstable, with a huskines? 
 in his voice that betrayed the depth of his emotion. " 1 
 am not so foolish as to believe in impossibilities ; but while 
 there is a hope of his living, I will never abandon poor 
 Tom Coffin to such a dreadful fate. Think, boy, he may af 
 this moment be looking at us, and praying to his Maker 
 that he would turn our eyes upon him ; ay, praying to his 
 God, for Tom often prayed, though he did it in his watch, 
 standing, and in silence." 
 
 " If he had clung to life so strongly," returned the mid 
 shipman, " he would have struggled harder to preserve it." 
 
 Barnstable stopped short in his hurried walk, and fas 
 tened a look of opening conviction on his companion ; but, 
 as he was about to speak in reply, the shouts of the seamen 
 reached his ears, and, turning, they saw the whole party 
 running along the beach, and motioning, with violent 
 gestures, to an intermediate point in the ocean. The 
 lieutenant and Merry hurried back, and, as they approached 
 the men, they distinctly observed a human figure borne 
 along by the waves, at moments seeming to rise above 
 them, and already floating in the last of the breakers. 
 They had hardly ascertained so much when a heavy swell 
 carried the inanimate body far upon the sands, where it 
 was left by the retiring waters. 
 
 " Tis my cockswain!" cried Barnstable, rushing to the 
 spot. He stopped suddenly, however, as he came within 
 view of the features, and it was some little time before he 
 appeared to have collected his faculties sufficiently to add, 
 in tones of deep horror : " What wretch is this, boy ? his 
 form is unmutilated, arid yet observe the eyes ! they seem 
 as if the sockets would not contain them, and they gaze as 
 wildly as if their owner yet had life the hands are open 
 and spread, as though they would still buffet the waves ! " 
 
 " The Jonah, the Jonah ! " shouted the seamen, with 
 savage exultation, as they successively approached the 
 corpse ; " away with his carrion into the sea again ! give 
 him to the sharks ! let him tell his lies in the claws of the 
 lobsters ! " 
 
THE PILOT. 267 
 
 Barnstable had turned away from the revolting sight in 
 disgust, but when he discovered these indications of im 
 potent revenge in the remnant of his crew, he said, in that 
 voice which all respected and still obeyed : 
 
 " Stand back ; back with ye, fellows ! Would you dis 
 grace your manhood and seamanship by wreaking your 
 vengeance on him whom God has already in judgment ?" 
 A silent but significant gesture toward the earth succeeded 
 his words, and he walked slowly away. 
 
 " Bury him in the sands, boys," said Merry, when his 
 commander was at some little distance ; " the next tide 
 will unearth him." 
 
 The seamen obeyed his orders, while the midshipman 
 rejoined his commander, who continued to pace along the 
 beach, occasionally halting to throw his uneasy glances 
 over the water, and then hurrying onward at a rate that 
 caused his youthful companion to exert his greatest power 
 to maintain the post he had taken at his side. Every 
 effort to discover the lost cockswain was, however, after 
 two hours more search, abandoned as fruitless ; and with 
 reason, for the sea was never known to give up the body of 
 the man who might be emphatically called its own dead. 
 
 " There goes the sun, already dropping behind the 
 cliffs," said the lieutenant, throwing himself on a rock ; 
 " and the hour will soon arrive to set the dog-watches ; but 
 we have nothing left to watch over, boy the surf and 
 rocks have not even left us a whole plank that we may lay 
 our heads on for the night." 
 
 " The men have gathered many articles on yon beach, 
 sir," returned the lad ; " they have found arms to defend 
 ourselves with, and food to give us strength to use them." 
 
 "And who shall be our enemy ? " asked Barnstable, bit 
 terly ; " shall we shoulder our dozen pikes, and carry 
 England by boarding ? " 
 
 " We may not lay the whole island under contribution," 
 continued the boy, anxiously watching the expression of 
 his commander s eye ; " but we may still keep ourselves in 
 work until the cutter returns from the frigate. I hope, sir, 
 you do not think our case so desperate as to intend yield 
 ing as prisoners." 
 
 " Prisoners ! " exclaimed the lieutenant ; " no, no, lad, it 
 has not got to that yet ! England has been able to wreck 
 my craft, I must concede ; but she has, as yet, obtained no 
 other advantage over us. She was a precious model, 
 
268 THE PILOT. 
 
 Merry ! the cleanest run, and the neatest entrance, that art 
 ever united on the stem and stern of the same vessel ! Do 
 you remember the time, yonker, when I gave the frigate 
 my topsails, in beating out of the Chesapeake ! I could 
 always do it, in smooth water with a whole-sail breeze. 
 But she was a frail thing ! a frail thing, boy, and oould 
 bear but little." 
 
 " A mortar-ketch would have thumped to pieces where 
 she lay," returned the midshipman. 
 
 " Ay, it was asking too much of her, to expect she could 
 hold together on a bed of rocks. Merry, I loved her ; 
 dearly did I love her ; she was my first command, and I 
 knew and loved every timber and bolt in her beautiful 
 frame ! " 
 
 " I believe it is as natural, sir, for a seaman to love the 
 wood and iron in which he has floated over the depths of 
 the ocean for so many days and nights," rejoined the boy, 
 "as it is for a father to love the members of his own 
 family." 
 
 "Quite, quite, ay, more so," said Barnstable, speaking as 
 if he were choked by emotion. Merry felt the heavy 
 grasp of the lieutenant on his slight arm, while his com 
 mander continued, in a voice that gradually increased in 
 power, as his feelings predominated : " And yet, boy, a 
 human being cannot love the creature of his own forma 
 tion as he does the works of God. A man can never re 
 gard his ship as he does his shipmates. I sailed with him, 
 boy, when everything seemed bright and happy, as at your 
 age ; when, as he often expressed it, I knew nothing and 
 feared nothing. I was then a truant from an old father and 
 a kind mother, and he did that for me which no parents 
 could have done in my situation he was my father and 
 my mother on the deep ! hours, days, even months, has 
 lu passed in teaching me the arts of our profession ; and 
 now, in my manhood, he has followed me from ship to 
 ship, from sea to sea, and has only quitted me to die, where 
 I should have died as if he felt the disgrace of abandon 
 ing the poor Ariel to her fate, by herself ! " 
 
 " No, no, no twas his superstitious pride ! " inter 
 rupted Merry ; but perceiving that the head of Barnstable 
 had sunk between his hands, as if he would conceal his 
 emotion, the boy added no more ; but he sat respectfully 
 watching the display of feeling that his officer in vain en 
 deavored to suppress. Merry felt his own form quivej 
 
THE PILOT. 269 
 
 with sympathy at the shuddering which passed through 
 Barnstable s frame ; and the relief experienced by the lieu 
 tenant himself was not greater than that which the mid 
 shipman felt, as the latter beheld large tears forcing their 
 way through the other s fingers, and falling on the sands 
 at his feet. They were followed by a violent burst of emo 
 tion, such as is seldom exhibited in the meridian of life; 
 but which, when it conquers the nature of one who has 
 buffeted the chances of the world with the loftiness of his 
 sex and character, breaks down every barrier, and seems 
 to sweep before it, like a rushing torrent, all the factitious 
 defences which habit and education have created to pro 
 tect the pride of manhood. Merry had often beheld the com 
 manding severity of the lieutenant s manner in moments 
 of danger, with deep respect ; he had been drawn toward 
 him by kindness and affection, in times of gayety and reck 
 lessness ; but he now sat for many minutes, profoundly 
 silent, regarding his officer with sensations that were near 
 ly allied to awe. The struggle with himself was long and 
 severe in the bosom of Barnstable ; but, at length, the 
 calm of relieved passions succeeded to his emotion. When 
 he arose from the rock, and removed his hands from his 
 features, his eye was hard and proud, his brow slightly con 
 tracted, and he spoke in a voice so harsh that it startled 
 his companion : 
 
 " Come, sir ; why are we here and idle ? Are not yon 
 poor fellows looking up to us for advice and orders how to 
 proceed in this exigency ? Away, away. Mr. Merry, it is 
 not a time to be drawing figures in the sand with your 
 dirk ; the flood-tide will soon be in, and we may be glad to 
 hide our heads in some cavern among these rocks. Let us 
 be stirring, sir, while we have the sun, and muster enough 
 food and arms to keep life in us, and our enemies off us, 
 until we can once more get afloat." 
 
 The wondering boy, whose experience had not yet taught 
 him to appreciate the reaction of the passions, started at 
 this unexpected summons to his duty, and followed Barn- 
 stable toward the group of distant seamen. The lieuten 
 ant, who was instantly conscious how far pride had ren 
 dered him unjust, soon moderated his long strides, and 
 continued in milder tones, which were quickly converted 
 into his usual frank communications, though they still re 
 mained tinged with a melancholy that time only could en 
 tirely remove : 
 
270 THE PILOT. 
 
 " We have been unlucky, Mr. Merry, but we need not 
 despair these lads have gotten together abundance of 
 supplies, I see, and, with our arms, we can easily make 
 ourselves masters of some of the enemy s smaller craft, and 
 find our way back to the frigate when this gale has blown 
 itself out. We must keep ourselves close, though, or we 
 shall have the red-coats coming down upon us like so 
 many sharks around a wreck. Ah ! God bless her, Merry I 
 there is not such a sight to be seen on the whole beach as 
 two of her planks holding together." 
 
 The midshipman, without adverting to this sudden allu 
 sion to their vessel, prudently pursued the train of ideas 
 in which his commander had started. 
 
 " There is an opening into the country but a short dis 
 tance south of us, where a brook empties into the sea," he 
 said. " We might find a cover in it, or in the wood above, 
 into which it leads, until we can have a survey of the 
 coast, or can seize some vessel to carry us off." 
 
 " There would be a satisfaction in waiting till the morn 
 ing watch, and then carrying that accursed battery, which 
 took off the better leg of the poor Ariel ! " said the lieuten 
 ant, "the thing might be done, boy, and we could hold the 
 work, too, until the Alacrity and the frigate drew into land." 
 
 " If you prefer storming works to boarding vessels, there 
 is a fortress of stone, Mr. Barnstable, which lies directly 
 on our beam. I could see it through the haze, when I was 
 on the cliffs, stationing the lookout and " 
 
 * And what, boy ? speak without a fear : this is a time 
 for free consultation." 
 
 "Why, sir, the garrison might not all be hostile we 
 should liberate Mr. Griffith and the marines ; besides 
 
 " Besides what, sir ? " 
 
 " I should have an opportunity, perhaps, of seeing my 
 cousin Cecilia, and my cousin Katherine." 
 
 The countenance of Barnstable grew animated as he 
 listened, and he answered with something of his usual 
 cheerful manner : 
 
 " Ay, that, indeed, would be a work worth carrying! 
 and the rescuing of our shipmates, and the marines, would 
 read like a thing of military discretion ha ! hoy ! all the 
 rest would be incidental, yonker ; like the capture of the 
 fleet, after you have whipped the convoy." 
 
 "I do suppose, sir, that if the Abbey be taken, Colonel 
 Howard will own himself a prisoner of war " 
 
THE PILOT. 271 
 
 " And Colonel Howard s wards ! now there is good sense 
 in this scheme of thine, Master Merry, and I will give it 
 proper reflection. But here are our poor fellows ; speak 
 cheeringly to them, sir, that we may hold them in temper 
 for our enterprise." 
 
 Barnstable and the midshipman joined their shipwrecked 
 companions, with that air of authority which is seldom 
 wanting between the superior and inferior, in nautical in 
 tercourse, but at the same time with a kindness of speecli 
 and looks that might have been a little increased by the 
 critical situation. After partaking of the food which had 
 been selected from among the fragments that still lay 
 scattered, for more than a mile, along the beach, the lieu 
 tenant directed the seamen to arm themselves with such 
 weapons as offered, and also to make sufficient provision, 
 from the schooner s stores, to last them for four-and-twenty 
 hours longer. These orders were soon executed ; and the 
 whole party, led by Barnstable and Merry, proceeded 
 along the foot of the cliffs, in quest of the opening in the 
 rocks through which the little rivulet found a passage to 
 the ocean. The weather contributed, as much as the se 
 clusion of the spot, to prevent any discovery of the small 
 party, which pursued its object with a disregard of caution 
 that might, under other circumstances, have proved fatal 
 to its safety. Barnstable paused in his march when they 
 had all entered the deep ravine, and ascended nearly to 
 the brow of the precipice that formed one of its sides, to 
 take a last and more scrutinizing survey of the sea. His 
 countenance exhibited the abandonment of all hope, as 
 his eye moved slow r ly from the northern to the southern 
 boundary of the horizon, and he prepared to pursue his 
 march, by moving, reluctantly, up the stream, when the 
 boy, who still clung to his side, exclaimed joyously : 
 
 " Sail ho ! It must be the frigate in the offing ! " 
 
 "A sail!" repeated his commander; " whereaway do 
 you see a sail in this tempest ? Can there be another as 
 hardy and unfortunate as ourselves ?" 
 
 " Look to the starboard hand of the point of rock to 
 windward !" cried the boy; "now you lose it ah! now 
 the sun falls upon it ! tis a sail, sir, as sure as canvas can 
 be spread in such .a gale ! " 
 
 "I see what you mean," returned the other, "but it 
 seems a gull, skimming the sea ! nay, now it rises, indeed, 
 and shows itself like a bellying topsail. "Pass up that 
 
272 THE PILOT. 
 
 glass, lads ; here is a fellow in the offing who may prove 3 
 friend." 
 
 Merry waited the result of the lieutenant s examination 
 with youthful impatience, and did not fail to ask imme 
 diately : 
 
 " Can you make it out, sir ? is it the ship or the cutter?" 
 
 "Come, there seemeth yet some hope left for us, boy," 
 returned Barnstable, closing the glass ; " tis a ship lying- 
 to under her main-topsail. If one might but dare to show 
 himself on these heights, he would raise her hull, and 
 make sure of her character ! But I think I know her spars, 
 though even her topsail dips, at times, when there is noth 
 ing to be seen but her bare poles ; and they shortened by 
 the topgallant masts." 
 
 "One would swear," said Merry, laughing, as much 
 through the excitement produced by this intelligence, as at 
 his conceit, " that Captain Munson would never carry wood 
 aloft, when he can t carry canvas. I remember, one night, 
 Mr. Griffith was a little vexed, and said, around the cap 
 stan, he believed the next order would be, to rig the bow 
 sprit, and house lower-masts ! " 
 
 "Ay, ay, Griffith is a lazy dog, and sometimes gets lost 
 in the fogs of his own thoughts," said Barnstable ; " and I 
 suppose old Moderate was in a breeze. However, this 
 looks as if he were in earnest ; he must have kept the ship 
 away, or she would never have been where she is; I do 
 verily believe the old gentleman remembers that he has a 
 few of his officers and men on this accursed island. This 
 is well, Merry ; for, should we take the Abbey, we have a 
 place at hand in which to put our prisoners." 
 
 " We must have patience till the morning," added the 
 boy, " for no boat would attempt to land in such a sea." 
 
 "No boat could land ! The best boat that ever floated, 
 boy, has sunk in these breakers ! But the wind lessens, 
 and before morning the sea will fall. Let us on, and find 
 a berth for our poor lads, where they can be made more 
 comfortable." 
 
 The two officers now descended from their elevation, 
 and led the way still farther up the deep and narrow dell, 
 until, as the ground rose gradually before them, they found 
 themselves in a dense wood, on a level with the adjacent 
 country. 
 
 " Here should be a ruin at hand, if I have a true reckon, 
 ing, and know my courses and distances," said Barnstable ? 
 
THE PfLOT. 273 
 
 I have a chart about me that speaks of such a land- 
 mark." 
 
 The lieutenant turned away from the laughing expres 
 sion of the boy s eye, as the latter archly inquired : 
 
 "Was it made by one who knows the coast well, sir ? or 
 was it done by some school-boy, to learn his maps, as the 
 gir ] s work samplers ?" 
 
 * Come, yonker, no sampler of your impudence. Hut 
 lock ahead ; can you see any habitation that has been 
 des :rted ?" 
 
 " Ay, sir, here is a pile of stones before us, that looks as 
 dir y and ragged as if it was a soldier s barrack ; can this 
 be vhat you seek ?" 
 
 " Faith, this has been a whole town in its day ! we should 
 call it a city in America, and furnish it with a mayor, alder- 
 meri, and recorder you might stow old Faneuil Hall in 
 one of its lockers." 
 
 V r ith this sort of careless dialogue, which Barnstable en 
 gaged in that his men might discover no alteration in his 
 manner, they approached the mouldering walls that had 
 proved so frail a protection to the party under Griffith. 
 
 A short time was passed in examining the premises, 
 wht.-n the wearied seamen took possession of one of the 
 dilapidated apartments, and disposed themselves to seek 
 that rest of which they had been deprived by the mo 
 mentous occurrences of the past night. 
 
 Barnstable waited until the loud breathing of the sea 
 men assured him that they slept, when he aroused the 
 drowsy boy, who was fast losing his senses in the same sort 
 of oblivion, and motioned him to follow. Merry arose, and 
 they stole together from the apartment with guarded steps, 
 and penetrated more deeply into the gloomy recesses of 
 the place. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 " Mercury I permit thee to be Sosia again." DRYDEN. 
 
 WE must leave the two adventurers winding their way 
 among- the broken piles, and venturing boldly between the 
 tottering arches of the ruin, to accompany the reader, at 
 the same hour, within the more comfortable walls of the 
 Abbey ; where, it will be remembered, Borroughcliffe was 
 ig 
 
r74 THE PILOT. 
 
 
 
 left in a condition of very equivocal ease. As the earth 
 had, however, in the interval, nearly run its daily round, 
 circumstances had intervened to release the soldier from 
 his confinement and no one, ignorant of the fact, would 
 suppose that the gentleman, who was now seated at the 
 hospitable board of Colonel Howard, directing, with so 
 much discretion, the energies of his masticators to the 
 delicacies of the feast, could read in his careless air and 
 smiling visage, that those foragers of Nature had been so 
 recently condemned, for four long hours, to the mortifica 
 tion of discussing the barren subject of his own sword-hilt. 
 Borroughcliffe, however, maintained not only his usual 
 post, but his well-earned reputation, at the table, with his 
 ordinary coolness of demeanor ; though at times there were 
 fleeting smiles that crossed his military aspect, which suf 
 ficiently indicated that he considered the matter of his re 
 flection to be of a particularly ludicrous character. In the 
 young man who sat by his side, dressed in the deep-blue 
 jacket of a seaman, with the fine white linen of his collar 
 contrasting strongly with the black silk handkerchief that 
 was tied with studied negligence around his neck, and 
 whose easy air and manner contrasted still more strongly 
 with this attire, the reader will discover Griffith. The cap 
 tive paid much less devotion to the viands than his neigh 
 bor, though he affected more attention to the business of 
 the table than he actually bestowed, with a sort of con 
 sciousness that it would relieve the blushing maiden who 
 presided. The laughing eyes of Katherine Plowden were 
 
 glittering by the side of the mild countenance of Alice 
 unscombe, and, at times, were fastened in droll interest 
 on the rigid and upright exterior that Captain Manual 
 maintained, directly opposite to where she was seated. A 
 chair had, also, been placed for Dillon of course it was 
 vacant. 
 
 " And so, Borroughcliffe," cried Colonel Howard, with a 
 freedom of voice, and a vivacity in his air, that announced 
 the increasing harmony of the repast, " the sea-dog left you 
 nothing to chew but the cud of your resentment ! " 
 
 " That and my sword-hilt," returned the immovable re 
 cruiting-officer. " Gentlemen, I know not how your Con 
 gress rewards military achievements ; but if that worthy 
 fellow were in my company, he should have a halberd 
 within a week spurs I would not offer him, for he affect? 
 ^c spurn their use." 
 
THE PILOT. 275 
 
 Griffith smiled, and bowed in silence to the liberal com 
 pliment of Borroughcliffe ; but Manual took on himself 
 the task of replying : 
 
 " Considering the drilling the man has received, the con 
 duct has been well enough, sir ; though a well-trained sol 
 dier would not only have made prisoners, but he would 
 have secured them." 
 
 " I perceive, my good comrade, that your thoughts are 
 tunning on the exchange," said Borroughcliffe, good- 
 humoredly ; "we will fill, sir, and, by permission of the 
 ladies, drink to a speedy restoration of rights to both 
 parties the statu quo ante helium ! " 
 
 " With all my heart!" cried the colonel; "and Cicely 
 and Miss Katherine will pledge the sentiment in a woman s 
 sip ; will ye not, my fair wards ? Mr. Griffith, I honor this 
 proposition of yours, which will not only liberate yourself, 
 but restore to us my kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon. 
 Kit had imagined the thing well ; ha ! Borroughcliffe ! 
 twas ingeniously contrived, but the fortune of war inter 
 posed itself to his success ; and yet it is a deep and inex 
 plicable mystery to me, how Kit should have been con 
 veyed from the Abbey with so little noise, and without 
 raising the alarm." 
 
 " Christopher is a man w r ho understands the philosophy 
 of silence, as well as that of rhetoric," returned Borrough 
 cliffe, "and must have learned, in his legal studies, that it 
 is sometimes necessary to conduct matters sub lihntio. You 
 smile at my Latin, Miss Plowden, but really, since I have 
 become an inhabitant of this monkish abode, my little 
 learning is stimulated to unwonted efforts nay, you are 
 pleased to be yet more merry ! I used the language, be 
 cause silence is a theme in which you ladies take but little 
 pleasure." 
 
 Katherine, however, disregarded the slight pique that 
 was apparent in the soldier s manner ; but, after following 
 the train of her own thoughts in silent enjoyment for a 
 moment longer, she seemed to yield to their drollery, and 
 laughed until her dark eyes flashed with merriment. Ce 
 cilia did not assume the severe gravity with which she 
 sometimes endeavored to repress, what she thought, the 
 unseasonable mirth of her cousin ; and the wondering 
 Griffith fancied, as he glanced his eye from one to the 
 other, that he could discern a suppressed smile playing 
 among the composed features of Alice Dunscombe. Kath- 
 
276 THE PILOT. 
 
 erine, however, soon succeeded in repressing the pan 
 oxysm, and, with an air of infinitely comic gravity, she re 
 plied to the remark of the soldier : 
 
 " I think I have heard of such a process in nautical 
 affairs as towing, but I must appeal to Mr. Griffith for the 
 correctness of the term." 
 
 "You could not speak with more accuracy," returned 
 the young sailor, with a look that sent the conscious blood 
 to the temples of the lady, " though you had made marine 
 terms your study." 
 
 " The profession requires less thought, perhaps, than 
 you imagine, sir ; but is this towing often done, as Captain 
 Borroughcliffe I beg his pardon as the monks have it, 
 sub silent io ?" 
 
 " Spare me, fair lady," cried the captain, " and we will 
 establish a compact of mutual grace ; you to forgive my 
 learning, and I to suppress my suspicions." 
 
 " Suspicions, sir, is a word that a lady must defy." 
 
 " And defiance a challenge that a soldier can never re 
 ceive ; so I must submit to talk English, though the fathers 
 of the Church were my companions. I suspect that Miss 
 Plowden has it in her power to explain the manner of Mr. 
 Christopher Dillon s departure." 
 
 The lady did not reply, but a second burst of merriment 
 succeeded, of a liveliness and duration quite equal to the 
 former. 
 
 "How s this?" exclaimed the colonel ; "permit me to 
 say, Miss Plowden, your mirth is very extraordinary ! I 
 trust no disrespect has been offered to my kinsman ? Mr. 
 Griffith, our terms are, that the exchange shall only be 
 made on condition that equally good treatment has been 
 extended to the parties ! " 
 
 " If Mr. Dillon can complain of no greater evil than 
 that of being laughed at by Miss Plowden, sir, he has 
 reason to call himself a happy fellow." 
 
 " I know not, sir ; God forbid that I should forget what 
 is due to my guests, gentlemen ! but ye have entered my 
 dwelling as foes to my prince." 
 
 " But not to Colonel Howard, sir." 
 
 " I know no difference, Mr. Griffith. King George or 
 Colonel Howard Colonel Howard or King George. Our 
 feelings, our fortunes, and our fate, are as one ; with the 
 mighty odds that Providence has established between th 
 prince and his people ! I wish no other fortune than to 
 
THE PILOT. 277 
 
 share, at a humble distance, the weal or woe of my 
 sovereign ! " 
 
 " You are not called upon, dear sir, to do either, by 
 thoughtlessness of us ladies," said Cecilia, rising ; "but 
 here comes one who should turn our thoughts to a more 
 important subject our dress." 
 
 Politeness induced Colonel Howard, who both loved 
 and respected his niece, to defer his remarks to another 
 time ; and Katherine, springing from her chair with 
 childish eagerness, flew to the side of her cousin, who was 
 directing a servant that had announced the arrival of one 
 of those erratic vendors of small articles, who supply, in 
 remote districts of the country, the places of more regular 
 traders, to show the lad into the dining-parlor. The 
 repast was GO far ended as to render this interruption less 
 objectionable ; and, as all felt the object of Cecilia to be 
 the restoration of harmony, the boy was ushered into the 
 room without further delay. The contents of his small 
 basket, consisting chiefly of essences, and the small articles 
 of female economy, were playfully displayed on the table 
 by Katherine, who declared herself the patroness of the 
 itinerant youth, and who laughingly appealed to the 
 liberality of the gentlemen in behalf of \\er protege. 
 
 "You perceive, my dear guardian, that the boy must be 
 loyal; for he offers, here, perfume that is patronized by 
 no less than two royal dukes : do suffer me to place a 
 box aside for your special use. You consent ; I see it in 
 your eye. And, Captain Borroughcliffe, as you appear to 
 be forgetting the use of your own language, here is even 
 a horn-book for you ! How admirably provided he seems 
 to be ! You must have had St. Ruth in view, when you 
 laid in your stock, child ?" 
 
 "Yes, my lady," the boy replied, with a bow that was 
 studiously awkward ; " I have often heard of the grand 
 ladies that dwell in the old Abbey, and I have journeyed 
 a few miles beyond my rounds, to gain their custom." 
 
 " And surely they cannot disappoint you. Miss Howard, 
 that is a palpable hint to your purse ; and I know that 
 not even Miss Alice can escape contribution, in these 
 troublesome times. Come, aid me, child ; what have 
 you to recommend, in particular, to the favor of these 
 ladies ?" 
 
 The lad approached the basket and rummaged its 
 contents, for a moment, with the appearance of deep, 
 
27 THE PILOT. 
 
 mercenary interest ; and then, without lifting his hand 
 from the confusion he had caused, he said, while he 
 exhibited something within the basket to the view of his 
 smiling observer : 
 
 "This, my lady." 
 
 Katherine started, and glanced her eyes, with a piercing 
 look, at the countenance of the boy, and then turned 
 them uneasily from face to face, with conscious timid ty. 
 Cecilia had effected her object, and had resumed her 
 seat in silent abstraction ; Alice was listening to the 
 remarks of Captain Manual and the host, as they discussed 
 the propriety of certain military usages ; Griffith seemed 
 to hold communion with his mistress, by imitating her 
 silence ; but Katherine, in her stolen glances, met the 
 keen look of Borroughcliffe, fastened on her face in a 
 manner that did not fail instantly to suspend the scru 
 tiny. 
 
 " Come, Cecilia," she cried, after a pause of a moment, 
 " we trespass too long on the patience of the gentlemen ; 
 not only to keep possession of our seats, ten minutes after 
 the cloth has been drawn, but even to introduce our 
 essences, and tapes, and needles, among the madeira, and 
 shall I add, cigars, colonel ?" 
 
 "Not while we are favored with the company of Miss 
 Plowden, certainly." 
 
 " Come, my coz ; I perceive the colonel is growing par 
 ticularly polite, which is a never-failing sign that he tires 
 of our presence." 
 
 Cecilia rose, and was leading the way to the door, when 
 Katherine turned to the lad, and added : 
 
 "You can follow us to the drawing-room, child, where 
 we can make our purchases, without exposing the mystery 
 of our toilets." 
 
 " Miss Plowden has forgotten my horn-book, I believe," 
 said Borroughcliffe, advancing from the standing group 
 who surrounded the table ; " possibly I can find some 
 work in the basket of the boy better fitted for the im 
 provement of a grown-up young gentleman than the ele 
 mentary treatise." 
 
 Cecilia, observing him to take his basket from the lad, 
 resumed her seat, and her example was necessarily fol* 
 lowed by Katherine, though not without some manifest in- 
 dications of vexation. 
 
 " Come hither, boy, and explain the uses of your wares 
 
TITR PILOT. 279 
 
 This is soap, and this a penknife, I know ; but what name 
 do you affix to this ? " 
 
 " That ? that is tape," returned the lad, with an impa 
 tience that might very naturally be attributed to the inter 
 ruption that was thus given to his trade. 
 
 "And this ?" 
 
 "That?" repeated the stripling, pausing with a hesita- 
 ;ion between sulkiness and doubt; "that 
 
 "Come, this is a little ungallant ! " cried Katherine ; "to 
 Keep three ladies dying with impatience to possess them 
 selves of their finery, while you detain the boy, to ask the 
 name of a tambouring-needle ! " 
 
 " I should apologize for asking questions that are so 
 easily answered ; but perhaps he will find the next more 
 difficult to solve," returned Borroughcliffe, placing the sub 
 ject of his inquiries in the palm of his hand, in such a man 
 ner as to conceal it from all but the boy and himself. 
 " This has a name, too ; what is it ? " 
 
 " That ? that is sometimes called white-line." 
 
 " Perhaps you mean a white lie ! " 
 
 " How, sir ! " exclaimed the lad, a little fiercely, "a lie ? " 
 
 "Only a white one," returned the captain. "What do 
 you call this, Miss Dunscombe?" 
 
 " We call it bobbin, sir, generally in the north," said the 
 placid Alice. 
 
 "Ay, bobbin, or white-line ; they are the same thing," 
 added the young trader. 
 
 " They are ? I think, now, for a professional man, you 
 know but little of the terms of your art," observed Bor 
 roughcliffe, with an affectation of irony ; " I never have 
 seen a youth of your years who knew less. What names, 
 now, would you affix to this and this, and this ?" 
 
 While the captain was speaking, he drew from his pocket 
 the several instruments that the cockswain had made use 
 of the preceding night to secure his prisoner. 
 
 "That," exclaimed the lad, with the eagerness of one 
 who would vindicate his reputation, "is ratlin-stuff; and 
 this is marline ; and that is sennit." 
 
 " Enough, enough," said Borroughcliffe ; "you have ex 
 hibited sufficient knowledge to convince me that you do 
 know something of jour trade, and nothing of these articles. 
 Mr. Griffith, do you claim this boy? " 
 
 " I believe I must, sir," said the young sea-officer, who 
 bad been intently listening to the examination. "On 
 
280 THE PILOT. 
 
 whatever errand you have now ventured here, Mr. Merry, 
 it is useless to affect further concealment." 
 
 " Merry!" exclaimed Cecilia Howard ; " is it you, then, 
 my cousin ? are you, too, fallen into the power of your 
 enemies ! Was it not enough that 
 
 The young lady recovered her recollection in time to 
 suppress the remainder of the sentence, though the grate* 
 ful expression of Griffith s eye sufficiently indicated that he 
 had, in his thoughts, filled the sentence with expressions 
 abundantly flattering to his own feelings. 
 
 " How s this, again ?" cried the colonel ; " my two wards 
 embracing and fondling a vagrant, vagabond pedler, before 
 my eyes ! Is this treason, Mr. Griffith, or what means the 
 extraordinary visit of this young gentleman ?" 
 
 "Is it extraordinary, sir," said Merry himself, losing his 
 assumed awkwardness, in the ease and confidence of one 
 whose faculties had been early exercised, " that a boy, like 
 myself, destitute of mother and sisters, should take a like 
 risk on himself, to visit the only two female relatives he 
 has in the world ? " 
 
 "Why this disguise, th*n ? surely, young gentleman, it 
 was unnecessary to enter the dwelling of old George 
 Howard on such an errand clandestinely,, even though 
 your tender years have been practised on, to lead you 
 astray from your alleeiance. Mr. Griffith and Captain 
 Manual must pardon me, if I express sentiments, at my 
 own table, that they may find unpleasant ; but this busi 
 ness requires us to be explicit." 
 
 "The hospitality of Colonel Howard is unquestionable," 
 returned the boy : " but he has a great reputation for his 
 loyalty to the crown." 
 
 " Ay, young gentleman ; and, I trust, with some justice." 
 
 "Would it, then, be safe to intrust my person in the 
 nands of one who might think it his duty to detain me ? " 
 
 * This is plausible enough, Captain Borroughcliife, and 
 I doubt not the boy speaks with candor. I would, now, 
 that my kinsman, Mr. Christopher Dillon, were here, that 
 I might learn if it would be misprision of treason to permit 
 this youth to depart, unmolested, and without exchange ?" 
 
 " Inquire of the young gentleman, after the cacique," 
 returned the recruiting officer, who, apparently satisfied 
 in producing the exposure of Merry, had resumed his seat 
 at the table; "perhaps he is, in verity, an ambassador, 
 empowered to treat on behalf of his highness." 
 
THE PILOT. 281 
 
 "How say you?" demanded the colonel; "do you 
 know anything of my kinsman ?" 
 
 The anxious eyes of the whole party were fastened on 
 the boy for many moments, witnessing the sudden change 
 from careless freedom to deep horror expressed in his 
 countenance. At length he uttered, in an undertone, the 
 secret of Dillon s fate. 
 
 " He is dead." 
 
 " Dead ! " repeated every voice in the room. 
 
 "Yes, dead," said the boy, gazing at the pallid faces of 
 those who surrounded him. 
 
 A long and fearful silence succeeded the announcement 
 of this intelligence, which was only interrupted by Grif 
 fith, who said : 
 
 " Explain the manner of his death, sir, and where his 
 body lies." 
 
 " His body lies interred in the sands," returned Merry, 
 with a deliberation that proceeded from an opening per 
 ception that, if he uttered too much, he might betray the 
 loss of the Ariel, and, consequently, endanger the liberty 
 of Barnstable. 
 
 " In the sands ? " was echoed from every part of the room. 
 
 " Ay, in the sands ; but how he died, I cannot explain." 
 
 " He has been murdered ! " exclaimed Colonel Howard, 
 whose command of utterance was now amply restored to 
 him ; "he has been treacherously, and dastardly, and 
 basely murdered ! " 
 
 " He has not been murdered," said the boy, firmly ; "nor 
 did he meet his death among those who deserve the name 
 either of traitors or of dastards." 
 
 " Said you not that he was dead ? that my kinsman was 
 buried in the sands of the sea-shore ? " 
 
 " Both are true, sir 
 
 "And you refuse to explain how he met his death, and 
 why he has been thus ignominiously interred ?" 
 
 " He received his interment by my orders, sir ; and, if 
 there be ignominy about his grave, his own acts have 
 heaped it on him. As to the manner of his death, I can 
 not and will not speak." 
 
 " Be calm, my cousin," said Cecilia, in an imploring 
 voice ; " respect the age of my uncle, and remember his 
 strong attachment to Mr. Dillon." 
 
 The veteran had, however, so far mastered his feelings 
 as to continue the dialogue with more recollection. 
 
2S2 THE PILOT. 
 
 " Mr. Griffith," he said, " I shall not act hastily you and 
 your companion will be pleased to retire to your several 
 apartments. I will so far respect the son of my brother 
 Harry s friend as to believe your parole will be sacred. 
 Go, gentlemen ; you are unguarded." 
 
 The two prisoners bowed low to the ladies and their host, 
 arid retired. Griffith, however, lingered a moment on the 
 threshold to say : 
 
 " Colonel Howard, I leave the boy to your kindness and 
 consideration. I know you will not forget that his blood 
 mingles with that of one who is most dear to you." 
 
 "Enough, enough, sir," said the veteran, waving his 
 hand to him to retire ; " and you, ladies ; this is not a place 
 for you, either." 
 
 " Never will I quit this child," said Katharine, "while 
 such a horrid imputation lies on him. Colonel Howard, 
 act your pleasure on us both, for I suppose you have the 
 power ; but his fate shall be my fate." 
 
 " There is, I trust, some misconception in this melan 
 choly affair," said Borroughcliife, advancing into the cen 
 tre of the agitated group ; " and I should hope, by calm 
 ness and moderation, all may yet be explained. Young 
 gentleman, you have borne arms, and must know, notwith 
 standing your youth, what it is to be in the power of your 
 enemies?" 
 
 " Never ! " returned the proud boy ; " I am a captive for 
 the first time." 
 
 " I speak, sir, in reference to our power." 
 
 " You may order me to a dungeon : or, as I have entered 
 the Abbey in disguise, possibly to a gibbet." 
 
 " And is that a fate to be met so calmly by one so 
 young ?" 
 
 " You dare not do it, Captain Borroughcliffe," cried 
 Katharine, involuntarily throwing an arm around the boy, 
 as if to shield him from harm. "You would blush to think 
 of such a cold-blooded act of vengeance, Colonel Howard." 
 
 " If we could examine the young man, where the warmth 
 of feeling, which these ladies exhibit, might not be excited," 
 said the captain, apart to his host, " we should gain impor 
 tant intelligence." 
 
 " Miss Howard, and you, Miss Plowden," said the vet 
 eran, in a manner that long habit had taught his wards to 
 respect, "your young kinsman is not in the keeping of sav 
 ages, and you can safely confide him to my custody. I 
 
TIIK PILOT. 283 
 
 am sorry that we have so long kept Miss Alice standing, 
 but she will find relief on the couches of your drawing- 
 room, Cecilia." 
 
 Cecilia and Katherine permitted themselves to be con 
 ducted to the door by their polite but determined guardian, 
 where he bowed to their retiring persons with the exceed 
 ing courtesy that he never failed to use when in the least 
 excited. 
 
 " You appear to know your danger, Mr. Merry," said 
 Borroughcliffe, after the door was closed ; " I trust you 
 also know what duty would dictate to one in my situation." 
 
 " Do it, sir," returned the boy ; " you have a king to 
 render an account to, and I have a country." 
 
 " I may hare a country also," said Borroughcliffe, with 
 a calmness that was not in the least disturbed by the taunt 
 ing air with which the youth delivered himself. " It is pos 
 sible for me, however, to be lenient, even merciful, when 
 the interests of that prince to whom you allude are served 
 you came not on this enterprise alone, sir? " 
 
 " Had I come better attended. Captain Borroughcliffe 
 might have heard these questions instead of putting them." 
 
 " I am happy, sir, that your retinue has been so small ; 
 and yet, even the rebel schooner called the Ariel might 
 have furnished you with more becoming attendance. I 
 cannot but think that you are not far distant from your 
 friends." 
 
 " He is near his enemies, your honor," said Sergeant 
 Drill, who had entered the room unobserved ; " for here is 
 a boy who says he has been seized in the old ruin, and 
 robbed of his goods and clothes ; and by his description 
 this lad should be the thief." 
 
 Borroughcliffe signed to the boy, who stood in the back 
 ground, to advance ; and he was instantly obeyed, with all 
 that eagerness which a sense of injury on the part of the 
 sufferer could excite. The tale of this unexpected intrud 
 er was soon told, and was briefly this : 
 
 He had been assaulted by a man and a boy (the latter 
 was in presence), while arranging his effects, in the ruin, 
 preparatory to exhibiting them to the ladies of the Abbey, 
 and had been robbed of such part of his attire as the boy 
 had found necessary for his disguise, together with his bas 
 ket of valuables. He had been put into an apartment of 
 an old tower, by the man, for safe keeping ; but as the 
 latter frequently ascended to its turret, to survey the coun- 
 
254 THK PILOT. 
 
 try, he had availed himself of this remissness to escape; 
 and, to conclude, he demanded a restoration of his property 
 and vengeance for his wrongs. 
 
 Merry heard his loud and angry details with scornful 
 composure, and, before the offended pedler was through 
 his narrative, had divested himself of the borrowed gar 
 ments, which he threw to the other with singular disdain. 
 
 " We are beleaguered, mine host ! beset ! besieged ! " 
 cried Borroughcliffe, when the other had ended. " Here, 
 is a rare plan to rob us of our laurels ! ay, and of our re 
 wards! But, hark ye, Drill ! they have old soldiers to deal 
 with, and we shall look into the matter. One would wislt 
 to triumph on foot ; you understand me ? there was n< 
 horse in the battle. Go, fellow, I see you grow wiser j 
 take this young gentleman and remember he is a young- 
 gentleman put him in safe keeping ; but see him supplie? 
 with all he wants." 
 
 Borroughcliffe bowed politely to the haughty bend of the 
 body with which Merry, who now began to think himself a 
 martyr to his country, followed the orderly from the room. 
 
 "There is metal in the lad !" exclaimed the captain; 
 " and if he live to get a beard, twill be a hardy dog who 
 ventures to pluck it. I am glad, mine host, that this 
 wandering Jew has arrived, to save the poor fellow s 
 feelings, for I detest tampering with such a noble spirit. 
 I saw, by his eye, that he had squinted oftener over a gun 
 than through a needle ! " 
 
 * But they have murdered my kinsman ! the loyal, the 
 learned, the ingenious Mr. Christopher Dillon ! " 
 
 " If they have done so, they shall be made to answer it," 
 said Borroughcliffe, reseating himself at the table, with a 
 coolness that furnished an ample pledge of the impartiality 
 of his judgment ; " but let us learn the facts before we do 
 aught hastily." 
 
 Colonel Howard was fain to comply with so reasonable 
 a proposition, and he resumed his chair, while his com 
 panion proceeded to institute a close examination of the 
 pedler-boy. 
 
 We shall defer, until the proper time may arrive, record 
 ing the result of his inquiries ; but shall so far satisfy the 
 curiosity of our readers as to tell them that the captain 
 learned sufficient to convince him a very serious attempt 
 was meditated on the Abbey ; and, as he thought, enough, 
 also, to enable him to avert the danger. 
 
THE PILOT. 285 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 " I have not seen 
 
 So likely an ambassador of love." Merchant of Venice. 
 
 CECILIA and Katharine separated from Alice Dunscombe 
 in the lower gallery of the cloisters, and the cousins as 
 cended to the apartment which was assigned them as a 
 dressing-room. The intensity of feeling that was gradually 
 accumulating in the breasts of the ladies, as circumstances 
 brought those in whom their deepest interests were centred 
 into situations of extreme delicacy, if not of actual danger, 
 perhaps, in some measure, prevented them from experienc 
 ing all that concern which the detection and arrest of 
 Merry might be supposed to excite. The boy, like them 
 selves, was an only child of one of those three sisters who 
 caused the close connection of so many of our characters; 
 and his tender years had led his cousins to regard him 
 with an affection that exceeded the ordinary interest of 
 such an affinity ; but they knew that in the hands of Col 
 onel Howard his person was safe, though his liberty might 
 be endangered. When the first emrotions, therefore, which 
 were created by his sudden appearance after so long an 
 absence had subsided, their thoughts weve rather occupied 
 by the consideration of what consequences, to others, 
 might proceed from his arrest, than by any reflections on 
 the midshipman s actual condition. Secluded from the 
 observations of any strange eyes, the two maidens indulged 
 their feelings, without restraint, according to their seve 
 ral temperaments. Katherine moved to and fro in the 
 apartment with feverish anxiety, while Miss Howard, by 
 concealing her countenance under the ringlets of her 
 luxuriant dark hair, and shading her eyes with a fair hand, 
 seemed to be willing to commune with her thoughts more 
 quietly, 
 
 " Barnstable cannot be far distant," said the former, after 
 a few minutes had passed ; " for he never would have sent 
 that child on such an errand by himself ! " 
 
 Cecilia raised her mild, blue eyes to the countenance of 
 her cousin, as she answered : 
 
 "All thoughts of an exchange must now be abandoned; 
 and perhaps the persons of the prisoners will be held as 
 pledges, to answer for the life of Dillon." 
 
286 THE PILOT. 
 
 " Can the wretch be dead ? or is it merely a threat, or 
 some device of that urchin ? He is a forward child, and 
 would not hesitate to speak and act boldly, on emer 
 gency." 
 
 " He is dead!" returned Cecilia, veiling her face again 
 in horror ; " the eyes of the boy, his whole countenance, 
 confirmed his words ! I fear, Katharine, that Mr. Barn- 
 stable has suffered his resentment to overcome his discre 
 tion, when he learned the treachery of Dillon ; surely, 
 surely, though the hard usages of war may justify so dread 
 ful a revenge on an enemy, it was unkind to forget the 
 condition of his own friends!" 
 
 " Mr. Barnstable has done neither, Miss Howard," said 
 Katharine, checking her uneasy footsteps, her light form 
 swelling with pride ; " Mr. Barnstable is equally incapable 
 of murdering an enemy or of deserting a friend ! " 
 
 " But retaliation is neither deemed nor called murder by 
 men in arms." 
 
 " Think it what you will, call it what you will, Cecilia 
 Howard, I will pledge my life that Richard Barnstable has 
 to answer for the blood of none but the open enemies of 
 his country." 
 
 " The miserable man may have fallen a sacrifice to the 
 anger of that terrific seaman who led him hence as a 
 captive ! " 
 
 " That terrific seaman, Miss Howard, has a heart as ten 
 der as your own. He is 
 
 " Nay, Katherine," interrupted Cecilia, " you chide me 
 unkindly ; let us not add to our unavoidable misery by 
 such harsh contention." 
 
 " I do not contend with you, Cecilia ; I merely defend 
 the absent and the innocent from your unkind suspicions, 
 my cousin." 
 
 " Say, rather, your sister," returned Miss Howard, their 
 hands involuntarily closing upon each other, " for we are 
 surely sisters ! But let us strive to think of something 
 less horrible. Poor, poor Dillon ! now that he has met a 
 fate so terrible, I can even fancy him less artful and more 
 upright than we had thought him ! You agree with me, 
 Katherine, I see by your countenance, and we will dwell 
 no longer on the subject. Katherine ! my cousin Kate, 
 what see you ? " 
 
 Miss Plowden, as she relinquished her pressure of the 
 hand of Cecilia, had renewed her walk with a more regi> 
 
THE PILOT. 287 
 
 lated step ; but she was yet making her first turn across 
 the room, when her eyes became keenly set on the opposite 
 window, and her whole frame was held in an attitude of 
 absorbed attention. The rays of the setting sun fell bright 
 upon her dark glances, which seemed fastened on some 
 distant object, and gave an additional glow to the mantling 
 color that was slowly stealing across her cheeks, to her 
 temples. Such a sudden alteration in the manner and ap 
 pearance of her companion had not failed to catch the 
 attention of Cecilia, who, in consequence, interrupted 
 herself by the agitated question we have related. Kath- 
 erine slowly beckoned her companion to her side, and, 
 pointing in the direction of the wood that lay in view, she 
 said : 
 
 " See yon tower, in the ruin ! Do you observe those 
 small spots of pink and yellow that are fluttering above its 
 walls ? " 
 
 " I do. They are the lingering remnants of the foliage 
 of some tree ; but they want the vivid tints which grace 
 the autumn of our own dear America ! " 
 
 " One is the work of God, and the other has been pro- 
 duced by the art of man. Cecilia, those are no leaves, but 
 they are my own childish signals, and without doubt Barn- 
 stable himself is on that ruined tow^er. Merry cannot, will 
 not, betray him !" 
 
 " My life should be a pledge for the honor of our little 
 cousin," said Cecilia. " But you have the telescope of my 
 uncle at hand, ready for such an event ! one look through 
 it will ascertain the truth 
 
 Katherine sprang to the spot where the instrument stood, 
 and with eager hands she prepared it for the necessary ob 
 servation. 
 
 " It is he ! " she cried, the instant her eye was put to the 
 glass. " I even see his head above the stones. How un 
 thinking to expose himself so unnecessarily ! " 
 
 " But what says he, Katherine?" exclaimed Cecilia; "you 
 alone can interpret his meaning." 
 
 The little book which contained the explanations of 
 Miss Plowden s signals was now hastily produced, and 
 its leaves rapidly run over in quest of the necessary num 
 ber. 
 
 " Tis only a question to gain my attention. I must let 
 him know he is observed." 
 
 When Katherine, as much to indulge her secret propeiv 
 
288 THE PILOT. 
 
 sities as with any hope of its usefulness, had devised this 
 plan for communicating with Barnstable, she had, luckily, 
 not forgotten to arrange the necessary means to reply to 
 his interrogatories. A very simple arrangement of some 
 of the ornamental cords of the window-curtains enabled 
 her to effect this purpose ; and her nimble fingers soon fas 
 tened the pieces of silk to the lines, which were now thrown 
 into the air, when these signals in miniature were instantly 
 displayed in the breeze. 
 
 " He sees them ! " cried Cecilia, " and is preparing to 
 change his flags." 
 
 " Keep, then, your eye on him, my cousin, and tell me 
 the colors that he shows, with their order, and I will en 
 deavor to read his meaning." 
 
 " He is as expert as yourself ! There are two more of 
 them fluttering above the stones again : the upper is white, 
 and the lower black." 
 
 " White over black," repeated Katharine, rapidly, to her 
 self, as she turned the leaves of her book. " l My messenger: 
 has he been seen ? To that we must answer the unhappy 
 truth. Here it is yellow, white, and red * He is a prison 
 er How fortunate that I should have prepared such a 
 question and answer ! What says he, Cecilia, to this 
 news ? " 
 
 " He is busy making his changes, dear. Nay, Katherine, 
 you shake so violently as to move the glass ! Now he is 
 done ; tis yellow over black this time." 
 
 " * Griffith, or who? He does not understand us ; but I 
 had thought of the poor boy in making out the numbers 
 ah ! here it is ; yellow, green, and red My cousin Merry. 
 He cannot fail to understand us now." 
 
 " He has already taken in his flags. The news seems to 
 alarm him, for he is less expert than before. He shows 
 them now they are green, red, and yellow." 
 
 "The question is Am I safe? 1 Tis that which made 
 tardy, Miss Howard," continued Katherine. " Barnstable 
 is ever slow to consult his safety. But how shall I answer 
 him ? should we mislead him now, how could we ever for 
 give ourselves ? " 
 
 " Of Andrew Merry there is no fear," returned Cecilia ; 
 " and I think if Captain Borroughcliffe had any intimation 
 of the proximity of his enemies, he would not continue at 
 the table." 
 
 " He will stay there while wine will sparkle and man 
 
THE PILOT. 289 
 
 can swallow," said Katherine ; "but we know, by sad ex* 
 perience, that he is a soldier on emergency ; and yet, I /! 
 trust to his ignorance this .time here, I have an answer : 
 You are yet safe, but be wary. " 
 
 " He reads your meaning with a quick eye, Katherine ; 
 and he is ready with his answer, too : he shows green over 
 white this time. Well ! do you not hear me ? tis green 
 over white. Why, you are dumb what says he, dear ?" 
 
 Still, Katherine answered not, and her cousin raised her 
 eyes from the glass, and beheld her companion gazing 
 earnestly at the open page, while the glow which excite 
 ment had before brought to her cheek was increased to a 
 still deeper bloom. 
 
 " I hope your blushes and his signals are not ominous, 
 Kate," added Cecilia; "can green imply his jealousy as 
 white does your purity ? what says he, coz ?" 
 
 " He talks, like yourself, much nonsense," said Kathe 
 rine, turning to her flags, with a pettish air that was singu 
 larly contradicted by her gratified countenance : "but the 
 situation of things requires that I should talk to Barnstable 
 more freely." 
 
 " I can retire," said Cecilia, rising from her chair with a 
 grave manner. 
 
 " Nay, Cecilia, I do not deserve these looks tis you 
 who exhibit levity now ! But you can perceive for your 
 self that evening is closing in, and that some other me 
 dium for conversation, beside the eyes, may be adopted. 
 Here is a signal, which will answer : * When the Abbey 
 dock strikes nine, come with care to the wicket, which opens at 
 the east side of the paddock, on the road; until then, keep secret 
 \ had prepared this very signal in case an interview should 
 "De necessary." 
 
 " Well, he sees it," returned Cecilia, who had resumed 
 her place by the telescope, " and seems disposed to obey 
 you, for I no longer discern his flags or his person." 
 
 Miss Howard now arose from the glass, her observations 
 being ended ; but Katherine did not return the instrument 
 to its corner, without fastening one long anxious look 
 through it, on what now appeared to be the deserted tower. 
 The interest and anxiety produced by this short and imper 
 fect communication between Miss Plowden and her lover, 
 did not fail to excite reflections in both the ladies, that 
 furnished materials to hold them in earnest discourse, until 
 the entrance of Alice Dunscombe announced that her pres- 
 
290 THE PILOT. 
 
 ence was expected below. Even the unsuspecting Alice, 
 on entering, observed a change in the countenances and 
 demeanor of the two cousins, which betrayed that their 
 secret conference had not been entirely without conten 
 tion. The features of Cecilia were disturbed and anxious, 
 and their expression was not unlike melancholy ; while the 
 dark flashing eye, flushed temples, and proud, determined 
 step of Katharine exhibited in an equal, if not a greater 
 degree, a very different emotion. As no reference to the 
 subject of their conversation was, however, made by 
 either of the young ladies, after the entrance of Alice, she 
 led the way in silence, to the drawing-room. 
 
 The ladies were received by Colonel Howard and Bor- 
 roughcliffe, with marked attention. In the former there 
 were moments when a deep gloom would, in spite of his 
 very obvious exertions to the contrary, steal over his open, 
 generous countenance ; but the recruiting officer main 
 tained an air of immovable coolness and composure. 
 Twenty times did he detect the piercing looks of Kather- 
 ine fastened on him with an intentness that a less delibera 
 tive man might have had the vanity to misinterpret ; but 
 even this flattering testimonial of his power to attract 
 failed to disturb his self-possession. It was in vain that 
 Katherine endeavored to read his countenance, where 
 everything was fixed in military rigidity, though his de 
 portment appeared more than usually easy and natural. 
 Tired at length with her fruitless scrutiny, the excited giri 
 turned her gaze upon the clock ; to her amazement, she 
 discovered that it was on the stroke of nine, and, disre 
 garding a deprecating glance from her cousin, she arose 
 and quitted the apartment. Borroughcliffe opened the 
 door for her exit, and while the lady civilly bowed her 
 head in acknowledgment of his attention, their eyes once 
 more met ; but she glided quickly by him and found her 
 self alone in the gallery. Katherine hesitated, more than 
 a minute, to proceed, for she thought she had detected in 
 that glance a lurking expression, that manifested con 
 scious security mingled with secret design. It was not 
 her nature, however, to hesitate, when circumstances re 
 quired that she should be both prompt and alert ; and 
 throwing over her slight person a large cloak, that was in 
 readiness for the occasion, she stole warily from the build 
 ing. 
 
 Although Katherine suspected most painfully that 
 
THE PILOT. 39 i 
 
 roughcliffe had received intelligence that might prove dan 
 gerous to her lover, she looked around her in vain, on 
 gaining the open air, to discover any alteration in the ar 
 rangements for the defence of the Abbey, which might 
 confirm her suspicions, or the knowledge of which might 
 enable her to instruct Barnstable how to avoid the secret 
 danger. Every disposition remained as it had been since 
 the capture of Griffith and his companion. She heard the 
 heavy, quick steps of the sentinel, who was posted beneath 
 their windows, endeavoring to warm himself on his con 
 fined post ; and, as she paused to listen, she also detected 
 the rattling of arms from the soldier, who, as usual, 
 guarded the approach of that part of the building when* 
 his comrades were quartered. The night had set in cloudy 
 and dark, although the gale had greatly subsided toward 
 the close of the day ; still the wind swept heavily, and at 
 moments, with a rushing noise, among the irregular walls 
 of the edifice ; and it required the utmost nicety of ear to 
 distinguish even these well-known sounds, among such 
 accompaniments. When Katherine, however, was satisfied 
 that her organs had not deceived her, she turned an anx 
 ious eye in the direction of what Borroughcliffe called his 
 " barracks." Everything in that direction appeared so 
 dark and still as to create a sensation of uneasiness by its 
 very quiet. It might be the silence of sleep that now per 
 vaded the ordinarily gay and mirthful apartment ; or it 
 might be the stillness of a fearful preparation ! There 
 was no time, however, for further hesitation, and Kather 
 ine drew her cloak more closely about her form, and pro 
 ceeded with light and guarded steps to the appointed spot. 
 As she approached the wicket the clock struck the hour, 
 and she again paused while the mournful sounds were 
 borne by her on the wind, as if expecting that each stroke 
 on the bell would prove a signal to unmask some secret 
 design of Borroughcliffe. As the last vibration melted 
 away, she opened the little gate, and issued on the high 
 way. The figure of a man sprang forward from behind an 
 angle of the wall, as she appeared ; and, while her heart 
 was still throbbing with the suddenness of the alarm she 
 found herself in the arms of Barnstable. After the first 
 few words of recognition and pleasure which the young 
 sailor uttered, he acquainted his mistress with the loss of 
 his schooner, and the situation of the survivors. 
 
 "And now, Katherine," he concluded, "you have come, 
 
292 THE PILOT. 
 
 I trust, never to quit me ; or, at most, to return no moie to 
 *hat o^d Abbey, unless it be to aid in liberating Griffith, 
 and then to join me again forever." 
 
 "Why, truly, there is so much to tempt a young woman 
 to renounce her home and friends, in the description you 
 have just given of your condition, that I hardly know how 
 to refuse your request, Barnstable. You are very toler 
 ably provided with a dwelling in the ruin ; and I suppose 
 certain predatory schemes are to be adopted to make it 
 habitable ! St. Ruth is certainly well supplied with the 
 necessary articles, but whether we should not be shortly 
 removed to the castle at York or the jail at Newcastle is a 
 question that I put to your discretion." 
 
 "Why yield your thoughts to such silly subjects, lovely 
 trifler ! "- said Barnstable, "when the time and the occasion 
 both urge us to be in earnest ?" 
 
 " It is a woman s province to be thrifty, and to look 
 after the comforts of domestic life," returned his mis 
 tress ; " and I would discharge my functions with credit. 
 But I feel you are vexed, for, to see your dark counte 
 nance is out of the question, on such a night. When do 
 you propose to commence house-keeping, if I should yield 
 to your proposals ? " 
 
 "I have not concluded relating my plans, and your 
 provoking wit annoys me ! The vessel I have taken will 
 unquestionably come into the land, as the gale dies ; and 
 I intend making my escape in her, after beating this 
 Englishman, and securing the liberty of Miss Howard and 
 yourself. I could see the frigate in the offing, even before 
 we left the cliffs." 
 
 " This certainly sounds better!" rejoined Katlierine, in 
 a manner that indicated she was musing on their prospects; 
 "and yet there may exist some difficulties in the way that 
 you little suspect." 
 
 " Difficulties there are none there can be none." 
 
 "Speak not irreverently of the mazes of love, Mr. Barn* 
 stable. When was it ever known to exist unfettered or un 
 embarrassed ? Even I have an explanation to ask of you, 
 that I would much rather let alone." 
 
 "Of me ? Ask what you will, or how you will ; I am a 
 careless, unthinking fellow, Miss Plowden ; but to you I 
 have little to answer for unless a foolish sort of adoration 
 Ve an offence against your merits." 
 
 Barnstable felt the little hand that was supported on his 
 
THE PILOT. 293 
 
 arm pressing the limb, as Katherine replied, in a tone so 
 changed from its former forced levity that he started as 
 the first sound reached his ears. " Merry has brought in a 
 horrid report ! " she said ; " I would I could believe it un 
 true ; but the looks of the boy and the absence of Dillon 
 both confirm it." 
 
 " Poor Merry ! he, too, has fallen into the trap ! but 
 they shall yet find one who is too cunning for them. Is 
 it to the fate of that wretched Dillon that you allude ?" 
 
 "He was a wretch," continued Katherine, in the same 
 voice, "and he deserved much punishment at your hands, 
 Barnstable ; but life is the gift of God, and is not to be 
 taken whenever human vengeance would appear to require 
 a victim." 
 
 "His life was taken by him who bestowed it," said the 
 sailor. " Is it Katherine Plowden who would suspect me 
 of the deed of a dastard ? " 
 
 " I do not suspect you I did not suspect you," cried 
 Katherine ; " I will never suspect any evil of you again. 
 You are not, you cannot be, angry with me, Barnstable ? 
 Had you heard the cruel suspicions of my cousin Ce 
 cilia, and had your imagination been busy in portraying 
 your wrongs and the temptations to forget mercy, like 
 mine, even while my tongue denied your agency in the 
 suspected deed, you would you would at least have 
 learned how much easier it is to defend those we love 
 against the open attacks of others than against our own 
 jealous feelings." 
 
 " Those words, love and jealousy, will obtain your ac 
 quittal," cried Barnstable, in his natural voice ; and, after 
 uttering a few more consoling assurances to Katherine, 
 whose excited feelings found vent in tears, he briefly re 
 lated the manner of Dillon s death. 
 
 " I had hoped I stood higher in the estimation of Miss 
 Howard than to be subjected to even her suspicions," he 
 said, when he had ended his explanation. " Griffith has 
 been but a sorry representative of our trade, if he has left 
 such an opinion of its pursuits." 
 
 "I do not know that Mr. Griffith would altogether have 
 escaped my conjectures, had he been the disappointed 
 commander, and you t\ie prisoner," returned Katherine ; 
 "you know not how much we have both studied the 
 usages of war, and with what dreadful pictures of hostages, 
 retaliations, and military executions, our minds are stored; 
 
294 THE PILOT. 
 
 but a mountain is raised off my spirits, and I could almos> 
 say that I am now ready to descend the valley of life in 
 your company." 
 
 " It is a discreet determination, my good Katherine, 
 and God bless you for it ! The companion may not be 
 so good as you deserve, but you will find him ambitious 
 of your praise. Now let us devise means to effect our 
 object." 
 
 "Therein lies another of my difficulties. Griffith, I 
 much fear, will not urge Cecilia to another flight, against 
 her her what shall I call it, Barnstable her caprice, or 
 her judgment ? Cecilia will never consent to desert her 
 uncle, and I cannot muster the courage to abandon my 
 poor cousin, in the face of the world, in order to take 
 shelter with even Mr. Richard Barnstable ! " 
 
 " Speak you from the heart now, Katherine ? " 
 
 " Very nearly if not exactly." 
 
 " Then have I been cruelly deceived ! It is easier to find 
 a path in the trackless ocean, without chart or compass, 
 than to know the windings of a woman s heart ! " 
 
 " Nay, nay, foolish man ; you forget that I am but small, 
 and how very near my head is to my heart ; too nigh, I 
 fear, for the discretion of their mistress ! But is there no 
 method of forcing Griffith and Cecilia to their own good, 
 without undue violence ? " 
 
 " It cannot be done ; he is my senior in rank, and the 
 instant I release him he will claim the command. A 
 question might be raised, at a leisure moment, on the 
 merits of such a claim but even my own men are, as you 
 know, nothing but a draft from the frigate, and they would 
 not hesitate to obey the orders of the first-lieutenant, who 
 is not a man to trifle on matters of duty." 
 
 "Tis vexatious, truly," said Katherine, "that all my 
 well-concerted schemes in behalf of this wayward pair 
 should be frustrated by their own wilful conduct! But, 
 after all, have you justly estimated your strength, Barn- 
 stable ? Are you certain that you would be successful, 
 and that without hazard, too, if you should make the at 
 tempt !" 
 
 " Morally, and, what is better, physically certain. My 
 men are closely hid, where no one suspects an enemy to 
 lie ; they are anxious for the enterprise, and the suddenness 
 of the attack will not only make the victory sure, but it 
 tyijl be rendered bloodless. You will aid us in our en 
 
THE PILOT. 29 $ 
 
 trance, Katherine. I shall first secure this recruiting* 
 officer, and his command will then surrender without strik 
 ing a blow. Perhaps, after all, Griffith will hear reason ; 
 if he do not, I will not yield my authority to a released 
 captive without a struggle." 
 
 " God send that there shall be no fighting ! " murmured 
 his companion, a little appalled at the images his lan 
 guage had raised before her imagination ; "and, Barn- 
 stable, I enjoin you, most solemnly, by all your affection 
 for me, and by everything you deem most sacred, to pro 
 tect the person of Colonel Howard at every hazard. There 
 must be no excuse, no pretence, for even an insult to my 
 passionate, good, obstinate, but kind old guardian. I 
 believe I have given him already more trouble than I am 
 entitled to give any one, and Heaven forbid that I should 
 cause him any serious misfortune." 
 
 " He shall be safe, and not only he, but all that are with 
 him, as you will perceive, Katherine, when you hear my 
 plan. Three hours shall not pass over my head before you 
 will see me master of that old Abbey. Griffith, ay, Griffith 
 must be content to be my inferior, until we get afloat 
 again." 
 
 " Attempt nothing unless you feel certain of being able 
 to maintain your advantage, not only against your enemies, 
 but also against your friends," said the anxious Katherine. 
 " Rely on it, both Cecilia and Griffith are refining so much 
 on their feelings, that neither will be your ally." 
 
 " This comes of passing the four best years of his life 
 within walls of brick, poring over Latin grammars and 
 syntaxes, and such other nonsense, when he should have 
 been rolling them away in a good box of live-oak, and 
 studying, at most, how to sum up his day s work, and tell 
 where his ship lies after a blow. Your college learning 
 may answer well enough for a man who has to live by his 
 wits, but it can be of little use to one who is never afraid 
 to read human nature, by looking his fellow-creatures full 
 in the face, and whose hand is as ready as his tongue. I 
 have generally found the eye that was good at Latin was 
 dull at a compass, or in a night squall ; and yet, Griff is a 
 seaman, though I have heard him even read the testament 
 in Greek ! Thank God, I had the wisdom to run away 
 from school the second day they undertook to teach me a 
 strange tongue, and I believe I am the more honest man, 
 and the better seaman, for my ignorance ! " 
 
396 THE PILOT. 
 
 " There is no telling what you might have been, Barn 
 stable, under other circumstances," retorted his mistress, 
 with a playfulness of manner that she could not always re 
 press, though it was indulged at the expense of him she 
 most loved ; " I doubt not but, under proper training, you 
 would have made a reasonably good priest." 
 
 " If you talk of priests, Katherine, I shall remind you 
 that we carry one in the ship. But listen to my plan ; we 
 may talk further of priestcraft when an opportunity may 
 offer." 
 
 Barnstable then proceeded to lay before his mistress a 
 project he had formed for surprising the Abbey that night, 
 which was so feasible that Katherine, notwithstanding her 
 recent suspicions of Borroughcliffe s designs, came gradu 
 ally to believe it would succeed. The young seaman an 
 swered her objections with the readiness of an ardent 
 mind, bent on executing its purposes, and with a fertility 
 of resources that proved he was no contemptible enemy in 
 matter that required spirited action. Of Merry s remain 
 ing firm and faithful he had no doubt ; and, although he 
 acknowledged the escape of the pedler-boy, he urged that 
 the lad had seen no other of his party besides himself, 
 whom he mistook for a common marauder. 
 
 As the disclosure of these plans was frequently inter 
 rupted by little digressions, connected w r ith the peculiar 
 emotions of the lovers, more than an hour flew by before 
 they separated. But Katherine at length reminded him 
 how swiftly the time was passing, and how much remained 
 to be done, when he reluctantly consented to see her once 
 more through the wicket where they parted. 
 
 Miss Plowden adopted the same precaution in return 
 ing to the house she had used on leaving it ; and she was 
 congratulating herself on its success, when her eye caught 
 a glimpse of the figure of a man who was apparently fol 
 lowing at some little distance, in her footsteps, and dog 
 ging her motions. As the obscure form, however, paused 
 also when she stopped to give it an alarmed though in 
 quiring look, and then slowly retired toward the boundary 
 of the paddock, Katherine, believing it to be Barnstable 
 watching over her safety, entered the Abbey, with every 
 idea of alarm entirely lost in the pleasing reflection of hei 
 lover s solicitude. 
 
THE PILOT. 197 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 " He looks abroad, and soon appears, 
 O er Horncliffe Hill, a plump of spears, 
 Beneath a pennon gay." Marmion. 
 
 THE sharp sounds of the supper-bell were ringing along 
 the gallery, as Miss Plowden gained the gloomy passage ; 
 and she quickened her steps to join the ladies in order that 
 no further suspicions might be excited by her absence. 
 Alice Dunscombe was already proceeding to the dining- 
 parlor, as Katherine passed through the door of the draw 
 ing-room ; but Miss Howard had loitered behind, and was 
 met by her cousin alone. 
 
 " You have then been so daring as to venture, Kath 
 erine ! " exclaimed Cecilia. 
 
 fl I have," returned the other, throwing herself into a 
 chair, to recover her agitation " I have, Cecilia ; and I 
 have met Barnstable, who will soon be in the Abbey, and 
 its master." 
 
 The blood which had rushed to the face of Cecilia on 
 first seeing her cousin, now retreated to her heart, leaving 
 every part of Jier fine countenance of the whiteness of her 
 polished temples, as she said : 
 
 "And we are to have a night of blood ! " 
 
 " We are to have a night of freedom, Miss Howard ; free 
 dom to you, and to me ; to Andrew Merry, to Griffith, and 
 to his companion !" 
 
 "What freedom more than we now enjoy, Katherine, 
 is needed by two young women ? Think you I can remain 
 silent, and see my uncle betrayed before my eyes ? his 
 life perhaps endangered ! " 
 
 " Your own life and person will not be held more sacred, 
 Cecilia Howard, than that of your uncle. If you will con 
 demn Griffith to a prison, and perhaps to a gibbet, betray 
 Barnstable, as you have threatened an opportunity will 
 not be wanting at the supper-table, whither I shall lead the 
 way, since the mistress of the house appears to forget her 
 duty." 
 
 Katherine arose, and with a firm step and proud eye she 
 moved along the gallery to the room where their presence 
 was expected by the rest of the family. Cecilia followed 
 
2 9 3 THE PILOT. 
 
 in silence, and the whole party immediately took their SCTN 
 eral places at the board. 
 
 The first few minutes were passed in the usual attentions 
 of the gentlemen to the ladies, and the ordinary civilities 
 of the table ; during which Katherine had so far regained 
 the equanimity of her feelings as to commence a watchful 
 scrutiny of the manners and looks of her guardian and 
 Borroughcliffe, in which she determined to persevere until 
 the eventful hour when she was to expect Barnstable 
 should arrive. Colonel Howard had, however, so far got 
 the command of himself as no longer to betray his former 
 abstraction. In its place Katherine fancied, at moments, 
 that she could discover a settled look of conscious security, 
 mingled a little with an expression of severe determination ; 
 such as, in her earlier days, she had learned to dread as 
 sure indications of the indignant but upright justice of an 
 honorable mind. Borroughcliffe, on the other hand, was 
 cool, polite, and as attentive to the viands as usual, with 
 the alarming exception of discovering much less devotion 
 to the Pride of the Vineyards than he commonly mani 
 fested on such occasions. In this manner the meal passed 
 by and the cloth was removed, though the ladies appeared 
 willing to retain their places longer than was customary. 
 Colonel Howard, filling up the glasses of Alice Dunscombe 
 and himself, passed the bottle to the recruiting officer, and, 
 with a sort of effort that was intended to rouse the dormant 
 cheerfulness of his guests, cried : 
 
 " Come, Borroughcliffe, the ruby lips of your neighbors 
 would be still more beautiful were they moistened with fhis 
 rich cordial, and that, too, accompanied by some loyal sen 
 timent. Miss Alice is ever ready to express her fealty to 
 her sovereign ; in her name I can give the health of his 
 most sacred majesty, with defeat and death to all traitors ! " 
 
 a If the prayers of an humble subject, and one of a sex 
 that has but little need to mingle in the turmoil of the 
 world, and that has less right to pretend to understand the 
 subtleties of statesmen, can much avail a high and mighty 
 prince like him who sits on the throne, then will he never 
 know temporal evil," returned Alice, meekly ; " but I 
 cannot wish death to any one, not even to my enemies, it 
 any I have, and much less to a people who are the children 
 of the same family with myself." 
 
 " Children of the same family!" the colonel repeated, 
 slowly, and with a bitterness of manner that did not fail to 
 
THE PILOT. 299 
 
 attract the painful interest of Katherine " children of the 
 same family ! Ay ! even as Absalom was the child of 
 David, or as Judas was of the family of the holy apostles . 
 But let it pass unpledged let it pass. The accursed spirit 
 of rebellion has invaded my dwelling, and I no longer know 
 where to find one of my household that has not been as 
 sailed by its malign influence ! " 
 
 "Assailed I may have been among others," returned 
 Alice ; " but not corrupted, if purity, in this instance, con 
 sists in loyalty 
 
 " What sound is that ? " interrupted the colonel, with 
 startling suddenness. " Was it not the crash of some vio 
 lence, Captain Borroughcliffe ? " 
 
 " It may have been one of my rascals who has met with 
 a downfall in passing from the festive board where, you 
 know, I regale them to-night, in honor of our success to 
 his blanket," returned the captain, with admirable indiffer 
 ence ; " or it may be the very spirit of whom you have 
 spoken so freely, my host, that rfas taken umbrage at your 
 remarks, and is passing from the hospitable walls of St. 
 Ruth into the open air, without submitting to the small 
 trouble of ascertaining the position of doors. In the latter 
 case there may be some dozen perches or so of wall to 
 replace in the morning." 
 
 The colonel, who had risen, glanced his eyes uneasily 
 from the speaker to the door, and was evidently but little 
 disposed to enter into the pleasantry of his guest. 
 
 " There are unusual noises, Captain Borroughcliffe, in 
 the grounds of the Abbey, if not in the building itself," he 
 said, advancing, with a fine military air, from the table to 
 the centre of the room, " and, as master of the mansion, I 
 will inquire who it is that thus unseasonably disturbs these 
 domains. If as friends, they shall have welcome, though 
 their visit be unexpected ; and if enemies, they shall also 
 meet with such a reception as will become an old sol 
 dier ! " 
 
 " No, no," cried Cecilia, entirely thrown off her guard 
 by the manner and language of the veteran, and rushing 
 into his arms. " Go not out, my uncle ; go not into the 
 terrible fray, my kind, my good uncle! You are old, you 
 have already done more than your duty ; why should you 
 be exposed to danger?" 
 
 " The girl is mad with terror, Borroughcliffe," cried the 
 colonel, bending his glistening eyes fondly on his niece, 
 
goo THE PILOT. 
 
 "and you will have to furnish my good-for-nothing-, gout* 
 old person with a corporal s guard to watch my night-cap, 
 or the silly child will have an uneasy pillow till the sun 
 rises once more. But you do not stir, sir ?" 
 
 "Why should I?" cried the captain; " Miss Plowden 
 yet deigns to keep me company, and it is not in the nat 
 
 ure of one of the th to desert his bottle and his 
 
 standard at the same moment. For, to a true soldier, the 
 smiles of a lady are as imposing in the parlor as the pres 
 ence of his colors in the field." 
 
 " I continue undisturbed, Captain Borroughcliffe," said 
 Katherine, "because I have not been an inhabitant for so 
 many months of St. Ruth, and not learned to know the 
 tunes which the wind can play among its chimneys and 
 pointed roofs. The noise which has taken Colonel How 
 ard from his seat, and which has so unnecessarily alarmed 
 my cousin Cicely, is nothing but the yEolian harp of the 
 Abbey sounding a double bass." 
 
 The captain fastened on her composed countenance, 
 while she was speaking, a look of open admiration, that 
 brought, though tardily, the color more deeply to her 
 cheeks ; and he answered with something extremely equiv 
 ocal, both in his emphasis and his air : 
 
 " I have avowed my allegiance, and I will abide by it. 
 So long as Miss Plowden will deign to bestow her com 
 pany, so long will she find me among her most faithful 
 and persevering attendants, come who may, or what will." 
 
 " You compel me to retire," returned Katherine, rising, 
 " whatever may have been my gracious intentions in the 
 matter ; for even female vanity must crimson at an ado 
 ration so profound as that which can chain Captain Bor 
 roughcliffe to a supper-table ! As your alarm has now dis 
 sipated, my cousin, w T ill you lead the way? Miss Alice 
 and myself attend you." 
 
 " But not into the paddock, surely, Miss Plowden," said 
 the captain ; " the door, the key of which you have just 
 turned, communicates with the vestibule. This is the pas 
 sage to the drawing-room." 
 
 The lady faintly laughed, as if in derision of her own 
 forgetfulness, while she bowed her acknowledgment, and 
 moved toward the proper passage. She observed : 
 
 " The madness of fear has assailed some, I believe, who 
 have been able to affect a better disguise than Miss How 
 ard." 
 
THE PILOT. 301 
 
 " Is it the fear of present danger, or of that which is in 
 reserve?" asked the captain; "but, as you have stipu 
 lated so generously in behalf of my worthy host here, and 
 of one also who shall be nameless, because he has not de 
 served such a favor at your hands, your safety shall be one 
 of my especial duties in these times of peril." 
 
 "There is peril, then !" exclaimed Cecilia ; "your looks 
 announce it, Captain Borroughcliffe ! The changing 
 countenance of my cousin tells me that my fears are too 
 true ! " 
 
 The soldier had now risen also, and, casting aside the 
 air of badinage, which he so much delighted in, he came 
 forward into the centre of the apartment, with the manner 
 of one who felt it was time to be serious. 
 
 "A soldier is ever in peril when the enemies of his king 
 are at hand, Miss Howard," he answered ; "and that such 
 is now the case Miss Plowden can testify, if she will. But 
 you are the allies of both parties retire, then, to your 
 own apartments, and await the result of the struggle 
 which is at hand." 
 
 "You speak of danger and hidden perils," said Alice 
 Dunscombe ; ",know ye aught that justifies your fears ? " 
 
 " I know all," Borroughcliffe coolly replied. 
 
 " All ! " exclaimed Katherine. 
 
 " All ! " echoed Alice, in tones of horror. " If, then, you 
 know all, you must know his desperate courage and power 
 fui hand, when opposed yield in quiet, and he will not 
 harm ye. Believe me, believe one who knows his very 
 nature, that no lamb can be more gentle than he would 
 be with unresisting women ; nor any lion more fierce with 
 his enemies ! " 
 
 " As we happen not to be of the feminine gender," re 
 turned Borroughcliffe, with an air somewhat splenetic, 
 " we must abide the fury of the king of beasts. His paw 
 is, even now, at the outer door ; and, if my orders have 
 been obeyed, his entrance will be yet easier than that of 
 the wolf to the respectable female ancestor of the little 
 Red Riding-hood." 
 
 " Stay your hand for one single moment ! " said Kath 
 erine, breathless, with interest ; "you are the master of my 
 secret, Captain Borroughcliffe, and bloodshed may be the 
 consequence. I can yet go forward, and, perhaps, save 
 many inestimable lives. Pledge to me your honor that 
 they who came hither as your enemies, this night, shall 
 
302 THE PILOT. 
 
 depart in peace, and I will pledge to you my life for tha 
 safety of the Abbey." 
 
 " Oh, hear her, and shed not human blood!" cried 
 Cecilia. 
 
 A loud crash interrupted further speech, and the sounds 
 of heavy footsteps were heard in the adjoining room, as if 
 many men were alighting on its floor, in quick succession. 
 Borroughcliffe drew back, with great coolness, to the op* 
 posite side of the large apartment, and took a sheathed 
 sword from the table, where it had been placed-; at the 
 same moment the door was burst open, and Barnstable en- 
 tered alone, but heavily armed. 
 
 "You are my prisoners, gentlemen," said the sailor, as 
 he advanced ; " resistance is useless, and without it you 
 shall receive favor. Ha ! Miss Plowden, my advice was 
 that you should not be present at this scene." 
 
 " Barnstable, we are betrayed ! " cried the agitated 
 Katherine. " But it is not yet too late. Blood has not 
 yet been spilt, and you can retire, without that dreadful 
 alternative, with honor. Go, then, delay not another mo 
 ment ; for should the soldiers of Captain Borroughcliffe 
 come to the rescue of their commander, the Abbey would 
 be a scene of horror ! " 
 
 " Go you away ; go, Katherine," said her lover, with im 
 patience ; " this is no place for such as you. But Captain 
 Borroughcliffe, if such be your name, you must perceive 
 that resistance is in vain. I have ten good pikes in this 
 outer room, in twenty better hands, arid it will be mad 
 ness to fight against such odds." 
 
 ft Show me your strength," said the captain, " that I may 
 take counsel with mine honor." 
 
 "Your honor shall be appeased, my brave soldier, for 
 such is your bearing, though your livery is my aversion, 
 and your cause most unholy ! Heave ahead, boys ! but 
 hold your hands for orders." 
 
 The party of fierce-looking sailors whom Barnstable led, 
 on receiving this order, rushed into the room in a medley $ 
 but, notwithstanding the surly glances and savage charac* 
 ters of their dress and equipments, they struck no blow, 
 nor committed any act of hostility. The ladies shrank back 
 appalled, as this terrific little band took possession of the 
 hall ; and even Borroughcliffe was seen to fall back to 
 ward a door, which, in some measure, covered his retreat 
 The confusion of this sudden movement had not yet sut> 
 
THE PILOT. 30 j 
 
 sided, when sounds of strife were heard rapidly approach 
 ing from a distant part of the building, and presently one 
 of the numerous doors of the apartment was violently 
 opened, when two of the garrison of the Abbey rushed in 
 to the hall, vigorously pressed by twice their number of 
 seamen, seconded by Griffith, Manual, and Merry, who 
 were armed with such weapons of offence as had present 
 ed themselves to their hands, at their unexpected libera 
 tion. There was a movement on the part of the seamen, 
 who were already in possession of the room, that threat 
 ened instant death to the fugitives ; but Barnstable beat 
 down their pikes with his sword, and sternly ordered them 
 to fall back. Surprise produced the same pacific result 
 among the combatants ; and as the soldiers hastily sought 
 a reruge behind their own officers, and the released cap 
 tives, with their liberators, joined the body of their friends, 
 the quiet of the hall, which had been so rudely interrupted, 
 was soon restored. 
 
 * You see, sir " said Barnstable, after grasping the hands 
 of Griffith and Manual in a warm and cordial pressure, 
 i that all my plans have succeeded. Your sleeping guard 
 wre closely watched in their barracks by one party ; our 
 officers are released and your sentinels cut off by another ; 
 while, with a third, I hold the centre of the Abbey, and am, 
 substantially, in possession of your own person. In con 
 sideration, therefore, of what is due to humanity, and to 
 the presence of these ladies, let there be no struggle ! I 
 hall impose no difficult terms, nor any long imprison 
 ment." 
 
 The recruiting-officer manifested a composure through 
 out the whole scene that would have excited some uneasi 
 ness in his invaders had there been opportunity for minute 
 observation ; but his countenance now gradually assumed 
 an appearance of anxiety, and his head was frequently 
 turned, as if listening for further and more important in 
 terruptions. He answered, however, to this appeal with 
 his ordinary deliberation : 
 
 "You speak of conquests, sir, before they are achieved. 
 My venerable host and myself are not so defenceless as 
 you may choose to imagine." While speaking he threw 
 aside the cloth of a side-table, from beneath which the 
 colonel and himself were instantly armed with a brace of 
 pistols each. " Here are the death-warrants of four of 
 your party, and these brave fellows at my back can account 
 
304 THE PILOT. 
 
 for two more. I believe, my transatlantic warrior, that we 
 are now something in the condition of Cortes and the 
 Mexicans, when the former overran part of your conti 
 nent I being Cortes, armed with artificial thunder and 
 lightning, and you the Indians, with nothing but pikes and 
 slings, and such other antediluvian inventions. Shipwrecks 
 and sea-water are fatal dampers of gunpowder ! " 
 
 " That we are unprovided with fire-arms I will not deny," 
 said Barnstable ; "but we are men who are used, from in* 
 fancy, to depend on our good right arms for life and safety, 
 and we know how to use them, though we should even 
 grapple with death ! As for the trifles in your hands, gen 
 tlemen, you are not to suppose that men who are trained 
 to look in at one end of a thirty- two pounder, loaded with 
 grape, while the match is put to the other, will so much as 
 wink at their report, though you fired them by fifties. 
 What say you, boys, is a pistol a weapon to repel boarders ? * 
 
 The discordant and disdainful laughs that burst from 
 the restrained seamen were a sufficient pledge of their in 
 difference to so trifling a danger. Borroughcliffe noted 
 their hardened boldness, and taking the supper-bell, which 
 was lying near him, he rang it for a minute, with great 
 violence. The heavy tread of trained footsteps soon fol 
 lowed this extraordinary summons ; and presently the 
 several doors of the apartment were opened, and filled 
 with armed soldiers, wearing the livery of the English 
 crown. 
 
 " If you hold these smaller weapons in such vast con 
 tempt," said the recruiting-officer, when he perceived that 
 his men had possessed themselves of ail the avenues, "it 
 is in my power to try the virtue of some more formidable. 
 After this exhibition of strength, gentlemen, I presume 
 you cannot hesitate to submit as prisoners of war." 
 
 The seamen had been formed in something like military 
 array by the assiduity of Manual, during the preceding 
 dialogue ; and, as the different doors had discovered fresh 
 accessions to the strength of the enemy, the marine indus 
 triously offered new fronts, the small party was completely 
 arranged in a hollow square that might have proved for 
 midable in a charge, bristled as it was with the deadly 
 pikes of the Ariel. 
 
 " Here has been some mistake," said Griffith, aftet- 
 glancing his eye at the formidable array of the soldiers; 
 " I take precedence of Mr. Barnstable, and I shall propose 
 
THE PILOT. 30$ 
 
 to you, Captain Borroughcliffe, terms that may remove 
 this scene of strife from the dwelling of Colonel Howard." 
 
 " The dwelling of Colonel Howard," cried the veteran, 
 " is the dwelling of his king, or of the meanest servant of 
 the crown ! So, Borroughcliffe, spare not the traitors on 
 my behalf ; accept no other terms than such unconditional 
 submission as is meet to exact from the rebellious subjects 
 of the anointed of the Lord." 
 
 While Griffith spoke, Barnstable folded his arms in 
 affected composure, and glanced his eyes expressively at 
 the shivering Katherine, who, with her companions, still 
 continued agitated spectators of all that passed, chained 
 to the spot by their apprehensions ; but to this formidable 
 denunciation of the master of the Abbey he deemed proper 
 to reply: 
 
 " Now, by every hope I have of sleeping again on salt 
 water, old gentleman, if it were not for the presence of 
 these three trembling females, I should feel tempted to 
 dispute, at once, the title of his majesty. You may make 
 such a covenant as you will with Mr. Griffith, but, if it con 
 tain one syllable about submission to your king, or of any 
 other allegiance than that which I owe to the Continental 
 Congress and the State of Massachusetts, you may as well 
 consider the terms violated at once ; for not an article of 
 such an agreement will I consider as binding on me, or on 
 any that shall choose to follow me as leader." 
 
 " Here are but two leaders, Mr. Barnstable," interrupted 
 the haughty Griffith ; " the one of the enemy, and the other 
 of the arms of America. Captain Borroughcliffe, to you, 
 as the former, I address myself. The great objects of the 
 contest which now unhappily divides England from her 
 ancient colonies, can be, in no degree, affected by the 
 events of this night ; while, on the other hand, by a rigid 
 adherence to military notions, much private evil and deep 
 domestic calamity must follow any struggle in such a place. 
 We have but to speak, sir, and these rude men, who already 
 stand impatiently handling their instruments of death, will 
 aim them at each other s lives ; and who can say that he 
 shall be able to stay their hands when and w T here he will ? 
 I know you to be a soldier, and that you are not yet to 
 learn how much easier it is to stimulate to blood than to 
 glut vengeance." 
 
 Borroughcliffe, unused to the admission of violent emo 
 tions, and secure in the superiority of his own party, both 
 20 
 
3 o6 THE P7LOT. 
 
 in numbers and equipments, heard him with the coole-st 
 composure to the end, and then answered in his customary 
 manner : 
 
 "I honor your logic, sir. Your premises are indisput 
 able, and the conclusion most obvious. Commit, then, 
 these worthy tars to the good keeping of honest Drill, who 
 will see their famished natures revived by divers eatables, 
 and a due proportion of suitable fluids ; while we can dis 
 cuss the manner in which you are to return to the colonies, 
 around a bottle of liquor, which my friend Manual there 
 assures me has come from the sunny side of the island 
 Madeira, to be drunk in a bleak corner of that of Britain. 
 By my palate ! but the rascals brighten at the thought. 
 They know by instinct, sir, that a shipwrecked mariner is a 
 fitter companion to a ration of beef and a pot of porter than 
 to such unsightly things as bayonets and boarding-pikes ! " 
 
 "Trifle not unseasonably!" exclaimed the impatient 
 young sailor. " You have the odds in numbers, but whether 
 it will avail you much in a deadly struggle of hand to 
 hand, is a question you must put to your prudence : we 
 stand not here to ask terms, but to grant them. You must 
 be brief, sir ; for the time is wasting while we delay." 
 
 " I have offered to you the means of obtaining, in per 
 fection, the enjoyment of the three most ancient of the 
 numerous family of the arts eating, drinking, and sleep 
 ing ! What more do you require ? " 
 
 " That you order these men, who fill the pass to the 
 juter door, to fall back and give us room. I would take, 
 in peace, these armed men from before the eyes of those 
 who are unused to such sights. Before you oppose this 
 demand, think how easily these hardy fellows could make 
 a way for themselves against your divided force." 
 
 "Your companion, the experienced Captain Manual, will 
 tell you that such a manoeuvre would be very unmilitary 
 with a superior body in your rear ! " 
 
 " I have not leisure, sir, for this folly," cried the indig 
 nant Griffith. " Do you refuse us an unmolested retreat 
 from the Abbey ? " 
 
 " I do." 
 
 Griffith turned, with a look of extreme emotion, to the 
 ladies, and beckoned to them to retire, unable to give 
 utterance to his wishes in words. After a moment of deep 
 silence, however, he once more addressed Borroughcliffe 
 in the tones of conciliation : 
 
THE PILOT. 307 
 
 " If Manual and myself will return to our prisons, and 
 submit to the will of your government," he said, " can the 
 rest of the party return to the frigate unmolested ? " 
 
 "They cannot," replied the soldier, who, perceiving that 
 the crisis approached, was gradually losing his artificial 
 deportment in the interest of the moment. " You, and all 
 others who willingly invade the peace of these realms, 
 must abide the issue ! " 
 
 " Then God protect the innocent and defend the right ! " 
 
 "Amen!" 
 
 " Give way, villains ! " cried Griffith, facing the party 
 that held the outer door "give way, or you shall be rid 
 dled with our pikes !" 
 
 " Show them your muzzles, men ! " shouted Borrough- 
 cliffe ; "but pull no trigger till they advance." 
 
 There was an instant of bustle and preparation, in which 
 the rattling of fire-arms blended with the suppressed exe 
 crations and threats of the intended combatants ; and Ce 
 cilia and Katherine had both covered their faces to veil the 
 horrid sight that was momentarily expected, when Alice 
 Dunscombe advanced boldly between the points of the 
 threatening weapons, and spoke in a voice that stayed the 
 hands that were already uplifted : 
 
 "Hear me, men ! if men ye be, and not demons, thirst 
 ing for each other s blood ; though ye walk abroad in the 
 semblance of Him who died that ye might be elevated to 
 the rank of angels ? Call ye this war? Is this the glory 
 that is made to warm the hearts of even silly and confid 
 ing women ? Is the peace of families to be destroyed to 
 gratify your wicket lust for conquest ; and is life to be 
 taken in vain, in order that ye may boast of the foul deed 
 in your wicked revels ? Fall back, then, ye British sol 
 diers ! if ye be worthy of that name, and give passage to a 
 woman ; and remember that the first shot that is fired will 
 be buried in her bosom !" 
 
 The men, thus enjoined, shrank before her commanding 
 mien, and a way was made for her exit through the very 
 door which Griffith had in vain solicited might be cleared 
 for himself and party. But Alice, instead of advancing, 
 appeared to have suddenly lost the use of those faculties 
 which had already effected so much. Her figure seemed 
 rooted to the spot where she had spoken, and her eyes 
 were fixed in a settled gaze, as if dwelling on some horrid 
 object. While she yet stood in this attitude of unconscious 
 
308 THE PILOT. 
 
 helplessness, the doorway became again darkened, and the 
 figure of the pilot was seen on its threshold, clad, as usual, 
 in the humble vestments of his profession, but heavily 
 armed with the weapons of naval war. For an instant he 
 stood a silent spectator of the scene ; and then advanced 
 calmly, but, with searching eyes, into the centre o f *he 
 apartment. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 * Don Pedro. Welcome, signior ; you are almost come to part almost a 
 fray." Muck Ado About Nothing. 
 
 "Down with your arms, you Englishmen!" said the 
 daring intruder ; " and you, who fight in the cause of 
 sacred liberty, stay your hands, that no unnecessary blood 
 may flow ! Yield yourself, proud Briton, to the pow^r of 
 the thirteen republics ! " 
 
 " Ha ! " exclaimed Borroughcliffe, grasping a pistol, 
 with an air of great resolution, "the work thickens I 
 had not included this man in my estimate of their num 
 bers. Is he a Samson, that his single arm can change the 
 face of things so suddenly ? Down with your own weap 
 on, you masquerader ! or, at the report of this pistol, 
 your body shall be made a target for twenty bullets ! " 
 
 "And thirty for a hundred!" returned the pilot. 
 " Without there ! Wind your call, fellow, and bring in our 
 numbers! We will let this confident gentleman feel his 
 Weakness." 
 
 He had not done speaking, before the shrill whistle of a 
 boatswain rose gradually on the ears of the listeners, until 
 the sense of hearing became painfully oppressed by the 
 piercing sounds that rang under the arched roof of the 
 hall, and penetrated even to the most distant recesses of 
 the Abbey. A tremendous rush of men followed, who 
 drove in before them the terrified fragment of Borrough- 
 cliffe s command, that had held the vestibule ; and the outer 
 room became filled with a dark mass of human bodies. 
 
 "Let them hear ye, lads," cried the leader ; " the Abbey 
 is your own ! " 
 
 The roaring of a tempest was not louder than the shout 
 that burst from his followers, who continued their cheers, 
 peal on peal, until the very roof of the edifice appeared to 
 
THE PILOT. 309 
 
 tremble with their vibrations. Numerous dark and shaggy 
 heads were seen moving around the passage ; some cased 
 in the iron-bound caps of the frigate s boarders, and others 
 glittering with the brazen ornaments of her marine guard. 
 The sight of the latter did not fail to attract the eye of 
 Manual, who rushed among the throng, and soon reap 
 peared, followed by a trusty band of his own men, who 
 took possession of the post held by the soldiers of Bor- 
 roughcliffe, while the dialogue was continued between the 
 leaders of the adverse parties. 
 
 Thus far Colonel Howard had yielded to his guest, with 
 a deep reverence for the principles of military subordina 
 tion, the functions of a commander ; but, now that affairs 
 appeared to change so materially, he took on himself the 
 right to question these intruders into his dwelling. 
 
 " By what authority, sir," the colonel demanded, "is it 
 that you dare thus to invade the castle of a subject of this 
 realm ? Do you come backed by the commission of the 
 lord-lieutenant of the county, or has your warrant the sig 
 nature of his majesty s secretary for the home department ? " 
 
 " I bear no commission from any quarter," returned the 
 pilot ; "I rank only an humble follower of the friends of 
 America ; and, having led these gentlemen into danger, 
 I have thought it my duty to see them extricated. They 
 are now safe : and the right to command all that hear me 
 rests with Mr. Griffith, who is commissioned by the Con 
 tinental Congress for such service." 
 
 When he had spoken, he fell back from the position he 
 occupied in the centre of the room, to one of its sides, 
 where, leaning his body against the wainscot, he stood a 
 silent observer of what followed. 
 
 " It appears, then, that it is to you, degenerate son of a 
 most worthy father, that I must repeat my demand," con 
 tinued the veteran. "By what right is my dwelling thus 
 rudely assailed ! and why is my quiet and the peace of 
 those I protect so daringly violated ? " 
 
 " I might answer you, Colonel Howard, by saying thai 
 it is according to the laws of arms, or rather in retaliation 
 for the thousand evils that your English troops have in 
 flicted between Maine and Georgia ; but I wish not to in 
 crease the unpleasant character of this scene, and I there 
 fore will tell you that our advantage shall be used with 
 moderation. The instant that our men can be collected, 
 and our prisoners properly secured, your dwelling shall be 
 
3 io THE PILOT. 
 
 restored to your authority. We are no freebooters, sir; 
 and you will find it so after our departure. Captain Man 
 ual, draw off your guard into the grounds, and make your 
 dispositions for a return-march to our boats. Let the 
 boarders fall back, there ! Out with ye ! out with ye 
 tumble out, you boarders ! " 
 
 TLe amicable order of the young lieutenant, which was 
 delivered after the stern, quick fashion of his profession, 
 operated on the cluster of dark figures that were grouped 
 around the door like a charm ; and as the men whom 
 Barnstable had led followed their shipmates into the court 
 yard, the room was now left to such only as might be 
 termed the gentlemen of the invading party, and the family 
 of Colonel Howard. 
 
 Barnstable had continued silent since his senior officer 
 had assumed command, listening most attentively to each 
 syllable that fell from either side ; but now that so few 
 remained, and the time pressed, he spoke again : 
 
 " If we are to take boat so soon, Mr. Griffith, it would be 
 seemly that due preparations should be made to receive 
 the ladies, who are to honor us with their presence : shall 
 I take that duty on myself ? " 
 
 The abrupt proposal produced a universal surprise in 
 his hearers ; though the abashed and conscious expression 
 of Katherine Plowden s features sufficiently indicated that 
 to her, at least, it was not altogether unexpected. The 
 long silence that succeeded the question was interrupted 
 by Colonel Howard. 
 
 " Ye are masters, gentlemen ; help yourselves to what 
 ever best suits your inclinations. My dwelling, my goods, 
 and my wards are alike at your disposal or, perhaps, Miss 
 Alice here, good and kind Miss Alice Dunscombe, may 
 suit the taste of some among ye ! Ah ! Edward Griffith ! 
 Edward Griffith ! little did Tever " 
 
 " Breathe not that name in levity again, thou scoffer, or 
 even your years may prove a feeble protection ! " said a 
 stern, startling voice from behind. All eyes turned in 
 voluntarily at the unexpected sounds, and the muscular 
 form of the pilot was seen resuming its attitude of repose 
 against the wall, though every fibre of his frame was work* 
 ing with suppressed passion. 
 
 When the astonished looks of Griffith ceased to dwell on 
 this extraordinary exhibition of interest in his companion, 
 they were turned imploringly toward the fair cousins, who 
 
THE PILOT. 311 
 
 still occupied the distant corner, whither fear had impelled 
 them. 
 
 " I have said that we are not midnight marauders, Col 
 onel Howard," he replied ; "but if any there be here who 
 will deign to commit themselves to our keeping, I trust it 
 will not be necessary to say, at this hour, what will be their 
 reception." 
 
 " We have not time for unnecessary compliments," cried 
 the impatient Barnstable ; " here is Merry, who, by years 
 and blood, is a suitable assistant for them, in arranging 
 their little baggage. What say you, urchin, can you play 
 the lady s-maid on emergency ? " 
 
 "Ay, sir, and better than I acted the pedler-boy," cried 
 the gay youngster. " To have my merry cousin Kate and 
 my good cousin Cecily for shipmates, I could play our 
 common grandmother ! Come, coz, let us be moving ; 
 you will have to allow a little leeway in time, for my awk 
 wardness." 
 
 " Stand back, young man," said Miss Howard, repulsing 
 his familiar attempt to take her arm ; and then advancing, 
 with a maidenly dignity, nigher to her guardian, she con 
 tinued : " I cannot know what stipulations have been 
 agreed to by my cousin Plowden, in the secret treaty she 
 has made this night with Mr. Barnstable : this for myself, 
 Colonel Howard I would have you credit your brother s 
 child when she says that to her the events of the hour have 
 not been more unexpected than to yourself." 
 
 The veteran gazed at her for a moment with an expres 
 sion of his eye that denoted reviving tenderness ; but 
 gloomy doubts appeared to cross his mind again, and he 
 shook his head as he walked proudly away. 
 
 * Nay, then," added Cecilia, her head dropping meekly 
 on her bosom, "I may be discredited by my uncle, but I 
 cannot be disgraced without some act of my own." 
 
 She slowly raised her mild countenance again, and, bend 
 ing her eyes on her lover, she continued, while a rich rush 
 of blood passed over her fine features : 
 
 "Edward Griffith, I will not, I cannot say how humiliat 
 ing it is to think that you can for an instant believe I 
 would again forget myself so much as to wish to desert 
 him whom God has given me for a protector for one chosen 
 by my own erring passions. And you, Andrew Merry, learn 
 to respect the child of your mother s sister, if not for her 
 own sake, at least for that of her who watched your cradle J " 
 
3 I2 THE PILOT. 
 
 " Here appears to be some mistake," said Barnstable, 
 who participated, however, in no trifling degree in the em 
 barrassment of the abashed boy ; " but, like all other mis 
 takes on such subjects, it can be explained away, I suppose. 
 Mr. Griffith, it remains for you to speak damn it, man," 
 he whispered, you are as dumb as a codfish ! I am sure so 
 fine a woman is worth a little fair-weather talk. You are 
 muter than a four-footed beast even an ass can bray!" 
 
 " We will hasten our departure, Mr. Barnstable," said 
 Griffith, sighing heavily, and rousing himself as if from a 
 trance. " These rude sights cannot but appall the ladies. 
 You will please, sir, to direct the order of our march to the 
 shore. Captain Manual has charge of our prisoners, who 
 must all be secured, to answer for an equal number of our 
 own countrymen." 
 
 " And our countrywomen ! " said Barnstable, " are they 
 to be forgotten, in the selfish recollection of our own se 
 curity ? " 
 
 " With them we have no right to interfere, unless at their 
 request." 
 
 " By Heaven ! Mr. Griffith, this may smack of learning," 
 cried the other, " and it may plead bookish authority as its 
 precedent ; but let me tell you, sir, it savors but little of a 
 sailor s love." 
 
 " Is it unworthy of a seaman, and a gentleman, to per 
 mit the woman he calls his mistress to be so, other than in 
 name ? " 
 
 "Well, then, Griff, I pity you, from my soul. I would 
 rather have had a sharp struggle for the happiness that I 
 shall now obtain so easily than that you should be thus 
 cruelly disappointed. But you cannot blame me, my friend, 
 that I avail myself of Fortune s favor. Miss Piowden, your 
 fair hand. Colonel Howard, I return you a thousand 
 thanks for the care you have taken, hitherto, of this precious 
 charge ; and believe me, sir, that I speak frankly, when I 
 say that, next to myself, I should choose to intrust her with 
 you in preference to any man on earth." 
 
 The colonel turned to the speaker, and bowed low, while 
 he answered with grave courtesy : 
 
 " Sir, you repay my slight services with too much grati 
 tude. If Miss Katherine Piowden has not become under 
 my guardianship all that her good father, Captain John 
 Piowden, of the Royal Navy, could have wished a daughter 
 of his to be, the fault unquestionably is to be attributed to 
 
THE PILOT. 313 
 
 my inability to instruct, and to no inherent quality in the 
 young lady herself. I will not say, Take her, sir, since 
 } ou have her in your possession already, and it would be 
 c ut of my power to alter the arrangement ; therefore I can 
 only wish that you may find her as dutiful as a wife, as she 
 has been, hitherto, as a ward and a subject." 
 
 Katherine had yielded her hand, passively, to her lover, 
 and suffered him to lead her more into the circle than she 
 had before been ; but now she threw off his arm, and 
 shaking aside the dark curls which she had invited to fall 
 in disorder around her brow, she raised her face and looked 
 proudly up, with an eye that sparkled with the spirit of its 
 mistress, and a face that grew pale with emotion at each 
 moment as she proceeded : 
 
 " Gentlemen, the one may be as ready to receive as the 
 other is to reject ; but has the daughter of John Plowden 
 no voice in this cool disposal of her person ? If her guardian 
 tires of her presence, other habitations may be found, 
 without inflicting so severe a penalty on this gentleman as 
 to compel him to provide for her accommodation in a ves 
 sel that must be already straitened for room ! " 
 
 She turned and rejoined her cousin with such an air of 
 maidenly resentment as a young woman would be apt to 
 discover who found herself the subject of matrimonial ar 
 rangement, without her own feelings being at all consulted. 
 Barnstable, who knew but little of the windings of the fe 
 male heart, or how necessary to his mistress, notwithstand 
 ing her previous declarations, the countenance of Cecilia 
 was to any decided and open act in his favor, stood in 
 stupid wonder at her declaration. He could not conceive 
 that a woman who had already ventured so much in secret 
 in his behalf, and who had so often avowed her weakness, 
 should shrink to declare it again at such a crisis, though 
 the eyes of the universe were on her ! He looked from one 
 of the party to the other, and met in every face an ex 
 pression of delicate reserve, except in those of the guardian 
 of his mistress, and of Borroughcliffe. 
 
 The colonel had given a glance of returning favor at 
 her, whom he now conceived to be his repentant ward, 
 while the countenance of the entrapped captain exhibited 
 a look of droll surprise, blended with the expression of 
 bitter ferocity it had manifested since the discovery of his 
 own mishap. 
 
 "Perhaps, sir," said Barnstable, addressing the latter 
 
314 THE PILOT. 
 
 fiercely, "you see something amusing about the person of 
 this lady, to divert you thus unseasonably. We tolerate 
 no such treatment of our women in America ! " 
 
 " Nor do we quarrel before ours in England," returned 
 the soldier, throwing back the fierce glance of the sailor, 
 with interest ; "but I was thinking of the revolutions time 
 can produce ; nothing more, I do assure you. It is not 
 half an hour since I thought myself a most happy fellow ; 
 secure in my plans for overreaching the scheme you had 
 jaid to surprise me ; and now I am as miserable a dog as 
 wears a single epaulet, and has no hope of seeing its fel- 
 low." 
 
 " And in what manner, sir, can this sudden change apply 
 to me ? " asked Katherine, with all her spirit. 
 
 " Certainly not to your perseverance in the project to 
 assist my enemies, madam," returned the soldier with 
 affected humility ; "nor to your zeal for their success, or 
 your consummate coolness at the supper-table ! But I find 
 it is time that I should be superannuated I can no longer 
 serve my king with credit, and should take to serving my 
 God, like all other worn-out men of the world ! My hear 
 ing is surely defective, or a paddock wall has a most mag 
 ical effect in determining sounds ! " 
 
 Katherine waited not to hear the close of this sentence, 
 but walked to a distant part of the room to conceal the 
 burning blushes that covered her countenance. The man 
 ner in which the plans of Barnstable had become known 
 to his foe was no longer a mystery. Her conscience also 
 reproached her a little with some unnecessary coquetry, as 
 she remembered that quite one-half of the dialogue be- 
 tween her lover and herself, under the shadow of that very 
 wall to which Borroughcliffe alluded, had been on a sub 
 ject altogether foreign to contention and tumults. As the 
 feelings of Barnstable were by no means so sensitive as 
 those of his mistress, and his thoughts much occupied 
 with the means of obtaining his object, he did not so read 
 ily comprehend the indirect allusion of the soldier, but 
 turned abruptly away to Griffith, and observed with a seri 
 ous air : 
 
 " I feel it my duty, Mr. Griffith, to suggest that we have 
 standing instructions to secure all the enemies of America, 
 wherever they may be found, and to remind you that the 
 States have not hesitated to make prisoners of females in 
 many instances." 
 
THE PILOT. 315 
 
 " Bravo ! " cried Borroughcliffe ; " if the ladies will not 
 go as your mistresses, take them as your captives ! " 
 
 " Tis well for you, sir, that you are a captive yourself, 
 or you should be made to answer for this speech," retorted 
 the irritated Barnstable. " It is a responsible command, 
 Mr. Griffith, and must not be disregarded." 
 
 "To your duty, Mr. Barnstable," said Griffith, again 
 arousing from deep abstraction ; "you have your orders, 
 sir ; let them be executed promptly." 
 
 " I have also the orders of our common superior, Cap 
 tain Munson, Mr. Griffith ; and I do assure you, sir, that 
 in making out my instructions for the Ariel poor thing! 
 there are no two of her timbers hanging together but 
 my instructions were decided particular on that head." 
 
 "And my orders now supersede them." 
 
 " But am I justifiable in obeying a verbal order from an 
 inferior, in direct opposition to a written instruction ?" 
 
 Griffith had hitherto manifested in his deportment noth 
 ing more than a cold determination to act, but the blood 
 now flew to every vessel in his cheeks and forehead, and 
 his dark eyes flashed fire, as he cried authoritatively : 
 
 " How, sir ! do you hesitate to obey ? " 
 
 " By Heaven, sir, I would dispute the command of the 
 Continental Congress itself, should they bid me so far to 
 forget my duty to to 
 
 " Add yourself, sir ! Mr. Barnstable, let this be the last 
 of it. To your duty, sir ! " 
 
 " My duty calls rne here, Mr. Griffith." 
 
 " I must act, then, or be bearded by my own officers. 
 Mr. Merry, direct Captain Manual to send in a sergeant 
 and a file of marines." 
 
 "Bid him come on, himself!" cried Barnstable, mad 
 dened to desperation by his disappointment ; " tis not his 
 whole corps that can disarm me let them come on ! 
 Here, there, you Ariels ! rally around your captain ! " 
 
 " The man among them who dares to cross that thresh 
 old without my order, dies ! " cried Griffith, menacing 
 with a naked hanger the seamen who had promptly ad 
 vanced at the call of their old commander. " Yield your 
 sword, Mr. Barnstable, and spare yourself the disgrace of 
 having it forced from you by a common soldier." 
 
 " Let me see the dog who dare attempt it ! " exclaimed 
 Barnstable, flourishing his weapon in fierce anger. Grif 
 fith had extended his own arm in the earnestness Df his 
 
3 i6 THE PILOT. 
 
 feelings, and their hangers crossed each other. The clash 
 ing of the steel operated on both like the sound of the 
 clarion on a war-horse, and there were sudden and rapid 
 blows, and as rapid parries, exchanged between the flash 
 ing weapons. 
 
 " Barnstable ! Barnstable !" cried Katherine, rushing into 
 his arms, " I will go with you to the ends of the earth ! " 
 
 Cecilia Howard did not speak ; but when Griffith re 
 covered his coolness, he beheld her beautiful form kneel 
 ing at his feet, with her pale face bent imploringly on his 
 own disturbed countenance. The cry of Miss Plowden had 
 separated the combatants, before an opportunity for shed 
 ding blood had been afforded ; but the young men ex 
 changed looks of keen resentment, notwithstanding the in 
 terference of their mistresses. At this moment Colonel 
 Howard advanced, and, raising his niece from her humble 
 posture, said : 
 
 " This is not a situation for a child of Henry Howard, 
 though he knelt in the presence, and before the throne, of 
 her sovereign. Behold, my dear Cecilia, the natural con 
 sequences of this rebellion ! It scatters discord in their 
 ranks, and, by its damnable levelling principles, destroys 
 all distinction of rank among themselves ; even these rash 
 boys know not where obedience is due ! " 
 
 " It is due to me," said the pilot, who now stepped for 
 ward among the agitated group, " and it is time that I en 
 force it. Mr. Griffith, sheathe your sword. And you, sir, 
 who have defied the authority of your senior officer, and 
 have forgotten the obligation of your oath, submit, and re 
 turn to your duty." 
 
 Griffith started at the sounds of his calm voice, as if with 
 sudden recollection ; and then, bowing low, he returned 
 the weapon to its scabbard. But Barnstable still encircled 
 the waist of his mistress with one arm, while with the 
 other he brandished his hanger, and laughed with scorn at 
 this extraordinary assumption of authority. 
 
 " And who is this," he cried, " who dare give such an 
 order to me ?" 
 
 The eyes of the pilot flashed with a terrible fire, while a 
 fierce glow seemed to be creeping over his whole frame, 
 which actually quivered with passion. But, suppressing 
 this exhibition of his feelings, by a sudden and powerful 
 effort, he answered in an emphatic manner : 
 
 " One who has a right to order, and who will\)Q obeyed ! 
 
THE PILOT. 317 
 
 The extraordinary manner of the speaker contributed as 
 much as his singular assertion to induce Barnstable, in his 
 surprise, to lower the point of his weapon, with an air that 
 might easily have been mistaken for submission. The pilot 
 fastened his glowing eyes on him, for an instant, and then, 
 turning to the rest of the listeners, he continued, more 
 mildly : 
 
 " It is true that we came not here as marauders, and that 
 our wish is to do no unnecessary acts of severity to the 
 aged and the helpless. But this officer of the crown, and 
 this truant American in particular, are fairly our prisoners ; 
 as such, they must be conducted on board our ship." 
 
 " But the main object of our expedition ?" said Griffith. 
 
 " Tis lost," returned the pilot, hastily " tis sacrificed 
 to more private feelings ; tis like a hundred others, ended 
 in disappointment, and is forgotten, sir, forever. But the 
 interests of the republics must not be neglected, Mr. Grif 
 fith. Though we are not madly to endanger the lives of 
 those gallant fellows, to gain a love-smile from one young 
 beauty, neither are we to forget the advantages they may 
 have obtained for us, in order to procure one of approba 
 tion from another. This Colonel Howard will answer well 
 in a bargain with the minions of the crown, and may pur 
 chase the freedom of some worthy patriot who is deserving 
 of his liberty. Nay, nay, suppress that haughty look, and 
 turn that proud eye on any, rather than me ; he goes to 
 the frigate, sir, and that immediately." 
 
 "Then," said Cecilia Howard, timidly approaching the 
 spot where her uncle stood, a disdainful witness of the 
 dissensions among his captors ; " then will I go with him ! 
 He shall never be a resident among his enemies alone ! " 
 
 " It would be more ingenuous and more worthy of my 
 brother s daughter," said her uncle, coldly, " if she ascribed 
 her willingness to depart to its proper motive." Disregard 
 ing the look of deep distress with which Cecilia received 
 this mortifying rejection of her tender attention, the old 
 man walked toward Borroughcliffe, w r ho was gnawing the 
 hilt of his sword, in very vexation at the downfall of his 
 high-raised hopes, and placing himself by his side, with 
 an air of infinitely dignified submission, he continued : 
 " Act your pleasure on us, gentlemen ; you are the con 
 querors and we must even submit. A brave man knows as 
 well how to yield \vith decorum as to defend himself 
 stoutly, when he is not surprised, as we have been. But if 
 
5 i8 THE PILOT. 
 
 an opportunity should ever offer ! Act your pleasures, 
 gentlemen ; no two lambs were ever half so meek as Cap* 
 tain Borroughcliffe and myself." 
 
 The smile of affected but bitter resignation that the 
 colonel bestowed on his fellow-prisoner was returned by 
 that officer with an attempt at risibility that abundantly 
 betokened the disturbed state of his feelings. The two, 
 however, succeeded in so far maintaining appearances as to 
 contemplate the succeeding movement of the conquerors 
 with a sufficient degree of composure. 
 
 The colonel steadily and coldly rejected the advances of 
 his niece, who bowed meekly to his will, and relinquished 
 for the present, the hope of bringing him to a sense of his 
 injustice. She, however, employed herself in earnest to 
 give such directions as were necessary to enforce the reso 
 lution she had avowed, and in this unexpected employ 
 ment she found both a ready and a willing assistant in her 
 cousin. The latter, unknown to Miss Howard, had, in 
 anticipation of some such event as the present, long since 
 made, in secret, all those preparations which might become 
 necessary to a sudden flight from the Abbey. In conjunc 
 tion with her lover, then, who, perceiving that the plan of 
 the pilot was furthering his own views, deemed it most 
 wise to forget his quarrel with that mysterious individual, 
 sue flew to point out the means of securing those articles 
 which were already in preparation. Barnstable and Merry 
 accompanied her light steps among the narrow dark pas 
 sages of the Abbey with the utmost delight ; the former 
 repeatedly apostrophizing her wit and beauty, and, indeed, 
 all of her various merits, and the latter laughing and in 
 dulging those buoyant spirits that a boy of his years and 
 reflection might be supposed to feel even in such a scene. 
 It was fortunate for her cousin that Katherine had pos 
 sessed so much forethought ; for the attention of Cecilia 
 Howard was directed much more to the comforts of her 
 uncle than to those which were necessary for herself. 
 Attended by Alice Dunscombe, the young mistress of St. 
 Ruth moved through the solitary apartments of the building, 
 listening to the mild religious consolation of her compan 
 ion, in silence, at times yielding to those bursts of morti 
 fied feeling that she could not repress, or again as calmly 
 giving her orders to her maids as if the intended move 
 ment was one of but ordinary interest. All this time the 
 party in the dining-hall remained stationary. The pilot. 
 
THE PILOT. 319 
 
 ns if satisfied with what he had already done, sank back 
 to his reclining attitude against the wall, though his eyes 
 keenly watched every movement of the preparations in a 
 manner which denoted that his was the master-spirit that 
 directed the whole. Griffith, had, however, resumed, in 
 appearance, the command, and the busy seamen addressed 
 themselves for orders to him alone. In this manner an 
 hour was consumed, when Cecilia and Katherine appear 
 ing in succession attired in a suitable manner for their 
 departure, and the baggage of the whole party having 
 been already intrusted to a petty officer and a party of his 
 men, Griffith gave forth the customary order to put the 
 whole in motion. The shrill, piercing whistle of the 
 boatswain once more rang among the galleries and ceil 
 ings of the Abbey, and was followed by the deep hoarse 
 cry of : 
 
 Away, there, you shore-draft ! away, there, you boarders ! 
 ahead, heave ahead, sea-dogs ! " 
 
 This extraordinary summons was succeeded by the roll 
 of a drum, and the strains of a fife, from without, when 
 the whole party moved from the building in the order 
 that had been previously prescribed by Captain Manual, 
 who acted as the marshal of the forces on the occasion. 
 
 The pilot had conducted his surprise with so much skill 
 and secrecy as to have secured every individual about the 
 Abbey, whether male or female, soldier or civilian ; and as 
 it might be dangerous to leave any behind who could con 
 vey intelligence into the country, Griffith had ordered that 
 every human being found in the building should be con 
 ducted to the cliffs ; to be held in durance at least until the 
 departure of the last boat to the cutter, which, he was in 
 formed, lay close in to the land, awaiting their re-embar 
 kation. The hurry of the departure had caused many lights 
 to be kindled in the Abbey, and the contrast between the 
 glare within and the gloom without attracted the wander 
 ing looks of the captives, as they issued into the paddock. 
 One of those indefinable and unaccountable feelings which 
 so often cross the human mind, induced Cecilia to pause 
 at the great gate of the grounds, and look back at the Ab 
 bey, with a presentiment that she was to behold it for the 
 last time. The dark and ragged outline of the edifice wai 
 clearly delineated against the northern sky, while the open 
 windows and neglected doors permitted a view of the soli 
 tude within. Twenty tapers were shedding their useless 
 
320 THE PILOT. 
 
 light in the empty apartments, as if in mockery of the de< 
 serted walls ; and Cecilia turned shuddering from the sight, 
 to press nigher to the person of her indignant uncle, with 
 a secret impression that her presence would soon be more 
 necessary than ever to his happiness. 
 
 The low hum of voices in front, with the occasional 
 strains of the fife, and the stern mandates of the sea- 
 officers soon recalled her, however, from these visionary 
 thoughts to the surrounding realities, while the whole 
 party pursued their way with diligence to the margin of 
 the ocean. 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 "A chieftain to the Highlands bound, 
 
 Cries, Boatman, do not tarry ! 
 And I ll give thee a silver pound 
 
 To row us o er the ferry. " Lord Ullirfs Daughter. 
 
 THE sky had been without a cloud during the day, the 
 gale having been dry and piercing, and thousands of stars 
 were now shining through a chill atmosphere. As the eye, 
 therefore, became accustomed to the change of light, it ob 
 tained a more distinct view of surrounding objects. At the 
 head of the line that was stretched along the narrow path 
 way marched a platoon of the marines, who maintained the 
 regular and steady front of trained warriors. They were 
 followed at some little distance by a large and confused 
 body of seamen, heavily armed, whose disposition to dis 
 order and rude merriment, which became more violent 
 from their treading on solid ground, was with difficulty re 
 strained by the presence and severe rebukes of their own 
 officers. In the centre of this confused mass, the whole of 
 the common prisoners were placed, but were no otherwise 
 attended to by their nautical guard than as they furnished 
 the subjects of fun and numberless quaint jokes. At some 
 distance in their rear marched Colonel Howard and Bor^ 
 roughcliffe, arm-in-arm, both maintaining the most rigid 
 and dignified silence, though under the influence of very 
 bitter feelings. Behind these again, and pressing as nigh 
 as possible to her uncle, was Miss Howard, leaning on the 
 arm of Alice Dunscombe, and surrounded by the female 
 domestics of the establishment of St. Ruth. Katherine 
 
THE PILOT. 321 
 
 Piowden moved lightly, by herself, in the shadow of this 
 group, with elastic steps, but with a maiden coyness that 
 taught her to veil her satisfaction with the semblance of 
 captivity. Barnstable watched her movements with delight, 
 within six feet of her, but submitted to the air of caprice 
 in his mistress, which seemed to require that he should 
 come no nearer. Griffith avoiding the direct line of the 
 party, walked on its skirts in such a situation that his eye 
 could command its whole extent, in order, if necessary, to 
 direct the movements. Another body of the marines 
 marched at the close of the procession, and Manual, in per 
 son, brought up the rear. The music had ceased by com 
 mand, and nothing was now audible but the regular tread 
 of the soldiers, with the sig;hs of the dying gale, interrupted 
 occasionally by the voice of an officer, or the hum of low 
 dialogue. 
 
 "This has been a Scotch prize that we have taken," 
 muttered a surly old seaman ; " a ship without head- 
 money or cargo ! There was kitchen timber enough in 
 the old jug of a place to have given an outfit in crockery 
 and knee-buckles to every lad in the ship ; but no ! let a 
 man s mouth water ever so much for food and raiment, 
 damme, if the officers would give him leave to steal even 
 so good a thing as a spare Bible." 
 
 " You may say all that, and then make but a short yarn 
 of the truth," returned the messmate who walked by his 
 side ; " if there had been such a thing as a ready-made 
 prayer handy, they would have choused a poor fellow out 
 of the use of it. I say, Ben, I ll tell ye what ; it s my opin 
 ion, that if a chap is to turn soldier and carry a musket, he 
 should have soldier s play, and leave to plunder a little 
 now the devil a thing have I laid my hands on to-night, ex 
 cept this firelock and my cutlass unless you call this 
 bit of a table-cloth something of a windfall." 
 
 " Ay ! you have fallen in there with a fresh bolt of duck, 
 I see ! " said the other, in manifest admiration of the text 
 ure of his companion s prize : "why, it would spread as 
 broad a clew as our mizzen-royal, if it was loosened ! well, 
 your luck hasn t been every man s luck for my part, I 
 think this here hat was made for some fellow s great toe ; 
 I ve rigged it on my head both fore and aft, and athwart 
 ships ; but curse the inch can I drive it down. I say, Sam ! 
 you ll give us a shirt off that table-cloth ?" 
 
 " Ay, ay, you can have one corner of it ; or, for that mat- 
 
 21 
 
3 22 THE PILOT. 
 
 ter, ye can take the full half, Nick ; but I don t see that 
 we go off to the ship any richer than we landed, unless you 
 may muster she-cattle among your prize-money." 
 
 " No richer ! " interrupted a waggish young sailor, who 
 had been hitherto a silent listener to the conversation be 
 tween his older and more calculating shipmates ; "I think 
 we are set up for a cruise in them seas where the day- 
 watches last six months ; don t you see we have caught a 
 double allowance of midnight ?" 
 
 While speaking, he laid his hands on the bare and woolly 
 heads of Colonel Howard s two black slaves, who were 
 moving near him, both occupied in mournful forebodings 
 on the results that were to flow from this unexpected loss 
 of their liberty. " Slue your faces this way, gentlemen," 
 he added ; " there ; don t you think that a sight to put 
 out the binnacle-lamps ? there s darkness visible for ye ! " 
 
 " Let the niggers alone," grumbled one of the more 
 aged speakers ; "and what are ye skylarking with the like 
 of them for ? the next thing they ll sing out, and then 
 you ll hear one of the officers in your wake. For my part, 
 Nick, I can t see why it is that we keep dodging along 
 shore here, with less than ten fathoms under us, when, by 
 stretching into the broad Atlantic, we might fall in with a 
 Jamaica-man every day or two, and have sugar-hogsheads 
 and rum-puncheons as plenty aboard us as hard fare is 
 now." 
 
 " It is all owing to that pilot," returned the other ; " for, 
 d ye see, if there was no bottom, there would be no pilots. 
 This is a dangerous cruising-ground, where we stretch into 
 five fathoms, and then drop our lead on a sand-pit or a 
 rock ! Besides, they make night-work of it too ? If we 
 had daylight for fourteen hours instead of seven, a man 
 might trust to feeling his way for the other, ten." 
 
 " Now, a n t ye a couple of old horse marines ! " again 
 interrupted the young sailor; "don t you see that Con 
 gress wants us to cut up Johnny Bull s coasters and that 
 old Blow-hard has found the days too short for his busi 
 ness, and so he has landed a party to get hold of night. 
 Here we have him ! and when we get off to the ship, we 
 shall put him under hatches, and then you ll see the face 
 of the sun again ! Come, my lilies ! let these two gentle 
 men look into your cabin-windows what ? you won t . 
 Then I must squeeze your woollen nightcaps for ye ! " 
 
 The negroes, who had been submitting to his humors 
 
THE FJLUT. 323 
 
 with the abject humility of slavery, now gave certain low 
 intimations that they were suffering pain under the rough 
 manipulation of their tormentor. 
 
 " What s that ! " cried a stern voice, whose boyish tones 
 seemed to mock the air of authority that was assumed by 
 the speaker "who s that, I say, raising that cry among 
 ye?" 
 
 The wilful young man slowly removed his two hands 
 from the woolly polls of the slaves, but, as he suffered 
 them to fall reluctantly along their sable temples, he gave 
 the ear of one of the blacks a tweak that caused him to 
 give vent to another cry, that was uttered with a much 
 greater confidence of sympathy than before. 
 
 "Do ye hear, there!" repeated Merry "who s sky 
 larking with those negroes?" 
 
 "Tis no one, sir," the sailor answered with affected 
 gravity ; " one of the pale-faces has hit his shin against a 
 cobweb, and it has made his ear ache ! " 
 
 " Harkye, you Mr. Jack Joker! how came you in the 
 midst of the prisoners? did not I order you to handle your 
 pike, sir, and to keep in the outer line ?" 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir, you did ; and I obeyed orders as long as J 
 could ; but these niggers have made the night so dark 
 that I lost my way ! " 
 
 A low laugh passed through the confused crowd of 
 seamen ; and even the midshipman might have been 
 indulging himself in a similar manner at this specimen 
 of quaint humor from the fellow, who was one of those 
 licensed men that are to be found in every ship. At 
 length : 
 
 "Well, sir," he said, "you have found out your false 
 reckoning now, so get you back to the place where I bade 
 you stay." 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir, I m going. By all the blunders in the 
 purser s book, Mr. Merry, but that cobweb has made one 
 of these niggers shed tears ! Do let me stay to catch a 
 little ink, sir, to write a letter with to my poor old mother; 
 devil the line has she had from me since we sailed from 
 the Chesapeake ! " 
 
 " If ye don t mind me at once, Mr. Jack Joker, I ll lay 
 my cutlass over your head," returned Merry, his voice 
 now betraying a much greater sympathy in the sufferings 
 of that abject race, who are still in some measure, but who 
 formerly were much more, the butts of the unthinking 
 
324 i HE PILOT. 
 
 ancf licentious among our low countrymen ; "then ye can 
 write your letter in red ink if ye will ! " 
 
 "I wouldn t do it for the world," said Joker, sneaking 
 away toward his proper station; "the old lady would nt 
 forget the hand, and swear it was a forgery. I wonder, 
 though, if the breakers on the coast of Guinea be black ! 
 as I ve heard old seamen say who have cruised in them 
 latitudes." 
 
 His idle levity was suddenly interrupted by a voice that 
 spoke above the low hum of the march, with an air of 
 authority, and a severity of tone, that could always quell, 
 by a single word, the most violent ebullition of merriment 
 in the crew. 
 
 The low buzzing sounds of "Ay; there goes Mr. Griffith! " 
 and of "Jack has woke, up the first lieutenant, he had 
 better now go to sleep himself;" were heard passing 
 among the men. But these suppressed communications 
 soon ceased, and even Jack Joker himself pursued his way 
 with diligence, on the skirts of the party, as mutely as if 
 the power of speech did not belong to his organization. 
 
 The reader has too often accompanied us over the 
 ground between the Abbey and the ocean to require any 
 description of the route pursued by the seamen during the 
 preceding characteristic dialogue ; and we shall at once 
 pass to the incidents which occurred on the arrival of the 
 party at the cliffs. As the man \vho had so unexpectedly 
 assumed a momentary authority within St. Ruth had 
 unaccountably disappeared from among them, Griffith 
 continued to exercise the right to command, without 
 referring to any other for consultation. He never ad 
 dressed himself to Barnstable, and it was apparent that 
 both the haughty young men felt that the tie which had 
 hitherto united them in such close intimacy was, for the 
 present at least, entirely severed. Indeed, Griffith was 
 only restrained by the presence of Cecilia and Katherine 
 from arresting his refractory inferior on the spot ; and 
 Barnstable, who felt all the consciousness of error, without 
 its proper humility, with difficulty so far repressed hisr 
 feelings as to forbear exhibiting in the presence of his 
 mistress such a manifestation of his spirit as his wounded 
 vanity induced him to imagine was necessary to his honor. 
 The two, however, acted in harmony on one subject, 
 though it was without concert or communication. The 
 first object with both the young men was to secure the 
 
THE PILOT. 325 
 
 embarkation of the fair cousins ; and Barnstable proceeded 
 instantly to the boats, in order to hasten the preparations 
 that were necessary before they could receive these un 
 expected captives ; the descent of the pilot having been 
 made in such force as to require the use of all the frigate s 
 boats, which were left riding in the outer edge of the surf, 
 awaiting the return of the expedition. A loud call from 
 Barnstable gave notice to the officer in command, and in 
 a few moments the beach was crowded with the busy and 
 active crews of the "cutters," "launches," "barges," "jolly- 
 boats," "pinnaces," or by whatever names the custom of 
 the times attached to the different attendants of vessels- 
 of-vvar. Had the fears of the ladies themselves been 
 consulted, the frigate s launch would have been selected 
 for their use, on account of its size ; but Barnstable, who 
 would have thought such a choice on his part humiliating 
 to his guests, ordered the long low barge of Captain 
 Munson to be drawn upon the sand, it being peculiarly 
 the boat of honor. The hands of fifty men were applied 
 to the task, and it was soon announced to Colonel Howard 
 and his wards that the little vessel was ready for their 
 reception. Manual had halted on the summit of the cliffs 
 with the whole body of the marines, where he was busily 
 employed in posting pickets and sentinels, and giving the 
 necessary instructions to his men to cover the embarkation 
 of the seamen, in a style that he conceived to be altogether 
 military. The mass of the common prisoners, including 
 the inferior domestics of the Abbey, and the men of 
 Borroughcliffe, were also held in the same place, under a 
 suitable guard ; but Colonel Howard and his companion, 
 attended by the ladies and their own maids, had descended 
 the rugged path to the beach, and were standing passively 
 on the sands, when the intelligence that the boat waited 
 for them was announced. 
 
 "Where is he?" asked Alice Dunscombe, turning her 
 head, as if anxiously searching for some other than those 
 around her. 
 
 "Where is who?" inquired Barnstable; "we are all 
 here, and the boat waits." 
 
 "And will he tear me even me, from the home of my 
 infancy ! the land of my birth and my affections ?" 
 
 " I know not of whom you speak, madam, but if it be of 
 Mr. Griffith, he stands there, just without that cluster of 
 
326 THE PILOT. 
 
 Griffith, hearing himself thus named, approached th<s 
 ladies, and, for the first time since leaving the Abbey, ad 
 dressed them : u I hope 1 am already understood," he said, 
 "and that it is unnecessary for me to say that no female 
 here is a prisoner ; though, should any choose to trust 
 themselves on board our ship, I pledge to them the honor 
 of an officer, that they shall find themselves protected and 
 safe." 
 
 " Then will I not go," said Alice. 
 
 "It is not expected of you," said Cecilia ; "you have no 
 ties to bind you to any here." (The eyes of Alice were 
 still wandering over the listeners.) " Go, then, Miss Alice, 
 and be the mistress of St. Ruth, until my return ; or," she 
 added, timidly, "until Colonel Howard may declare his 
 pleasure." 
 
 " I obey you, dear child, but the agent of Colonel How 
 ard, at B , will undoubtedly be authorized to take 
 
 charge of his effects." 
 
 While no one but his niece alluded to his will, the mas 
 ter of the Abbey had found, in his resentment, a sufficient 
 apology for his rigid demeanor ; but he was far too well 
 bred to bear, in silence, such a modest appeal to his 
 wishes from so fair and so loyal a subject as Alice Duns- 
 combe. 
 
 " To relieve you, madam, and for no other reason, will I 
 speak on this subject/ he said; "otherwise, I should leave 
 the doors and windows of St. Ruth open as a melancholy 
 monument of rebellion, and seek my future compensation 
 from the crown, when the confiscated estates of the leaders 
 of this accursed innovation on the rights of princes shall 
 come to the hammer. But you, Miss Alice, are entitled 
 to every consideration that a lady can expect from a gen 
 tleman. Be pleased, therefore, to write to my agent, and 
 request him to seal up my papers, and transmit them to 
 the office of his majesty s secretary of state. They breathe 
 no treason, madam, and are entitled to official protection. 
 The house, and most of the furniture, as you know, are the 
 property of my landlord, who, in due time, will doubtless 
 take charge of his own interest. I kiss your hand, Miss 
 Alice, and I hope we shall yet meet at St. James s depend 
 on it, madam, that the royal Charlotte shall yet honor 
 your merits ; I know she cannot but estimate your 
 loyalty." 
 
 " Here I was born, in humble obscurity here I have 
 
THE PILOT. 32 J 
 
 lived, and here I hope to die in quiet," returned the meefc 
 Alice; "if I have known any pleasure, in late years, be* 
 yond that which every Christian can find in our daily 
 duties, it has been, my sweet friends, in your accidental 
 society. Such companions, in this remote corner of the 
 kingdom, have been a boon too precious to be enjoyed 
 without alloy, it seems ; and I have now to exchange the 
 p:ist pleasure for present pain. Adieu ! my young friends; 
 Ijt your trust be in Him to whose eyes both prince and 
 peasant, the European and the American, are alike, and 
 we shall meet again, though it be neither in the island of 
 Britain nor on your own wide continent." 
 
 "That," said Colonel Howard, advancing, and taking 
 her hand with kindness, " that is the only disloyal senti 
 ment I have ever heard fall from the lips of Miss Alice 
 Dunscombe ! Is it to be supposed that Heaven established 
 orders among men, and that it does not respect the works 
 of its own fornfation ! But adieu ; no doubt, if time was 
 allowed us for suitable explanations, we should find but 
 little or no difference of opinion on this subject." 
 
 Alice did not appear to consider the matter as worthy of 
 further discussion at such a moment ; for she gently re 
 turned the colonel s leave-taking, and then gave her undi 
 vided attention to her female friends. Cecilia wept bit 
 terly on the shoulder of her respected companion, giving 
 vent to her regret at parting, and her excited feelings, at 
 the same moment ; and Katherine pressed to the side of 
 Alice, with the kindliness prompted by her warm but truant 
 heart. Their embraces were given and received in silence, 
 and each of the young ladies moved toward the boat, as 
 she withdrew herself from the arms of Miss Dunscombe. 
 Colonel Howard would not precede his wards, neither 
 would he assist them into the barge. That attention they 
 received from Barnstable, who, after seeing the ladies and 
 their attendants seated, turned to the gentlemen, and ob 
 served : 
 
 " The boat waits." 
 
 "Well, Miss Alice," said Borroughcliffe, in bitter irony, 
 "you are intrusted by our excellent host with a message 
 to his agent ; will you do a similar service to me, and write 
 a report to the commander of the district, and just tell him 
 what a dolt ay, use the plainest terms, and say what an 
 ass one Captain Borroughcliffe has proved himself in this 
 affair ? You may throw in, by way of episode, that he has 
 
}2S rim FiLur. 
 
 been playing bo-peep with a rebellious young lady from 
 the colonies, and, like a great boy, has had his head broken 
 for his pains. Come, my worthy host, or rather fellow-pris 
 oner, I follow you, as in duty bound." 
 
 " Stay," cried Griffith ; " Captain Borroughcliffe does 
 not embark in the boat." 
 
 "Ha! sir; am I to be herded with the common men? 
 Forget you that I have the honor to bear the commission 
 of his Britannic Majesty, and that " 
 
 " I forget nothing that a gentleman is bound to remem 
 ber, Captain Borroughcliffe; among other things, I recol 
 lect the liberality of your treatment to myself when a pris 
 oner. The instant the safety of my command will justify 
 such a step, not only you, but your men, shall be set at 
 liberty." 
 
 Borroughcliffe started in surprise, but his feelings were 
 too much soured by the destruction of those visions of 
 glory, in which he had been luxuriously indulging for the 
 last day or two, to admit of his answering as became 
 a man. He swallowed his emotions, therefore, by a vio 
 lent effort, and walked along the beach affecting to whistle 
 a low but lively air. 
 
 "Well, then," cried Barnstable, "all our captives are 
 seated. The boat waits only for its officers ! " 
 
 In his turn, Griffith walked away in haughty silence, as 
 if disdaining to hold communion with his former friend. 
 Barnstable paused a moment, from a deference that long 
 habit had created for his superior officer, and which 
 was not to be shaken off by every burst of angry passion ; 
 but, perceiving that the other had no intention to return, 
 he ordered the seamen to raise the boat from the sand, 
 and bear it bodily into the water. The command was in 
 stantly obeyed ; and, by the time the young lieutenant was 
 in his seat, the barge was floating in the still heavy though 
 no longer dangerous surf, and the crew sprang into their 
 places. 
 
 "Bear her off, boys!" he cried; "never mind a w r et 
 jacket. I ve seen many a worthy fellow tumbling on this 
 beach in a worse time than this. Now you have her head 
 to sea ; give way, my souls, give way !" 
 
 The seamen rose simultaneously at their oars, and, by a 
 united effort, obtained the command of their boat, which, 
 after making a few sudden ascents, and as many heavy 
 pitches in the breakers, gained the smooth seas of the 
 
THE PILOT. 32$ 
 
 swelling ocean, and stemmed the waters in a direction foj 
 the place where the Alacrity was supposed to be in wait 
 ing. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 " His only plot was this that, much provoked, 
 He raised his vengeful arm against his country." THOMSON. 
 
 ALICE DUNSCOMBE remained on the sands, watching the 
 dark spot that was soon hid amid the waves in the obscu 
 rity of night, and listening, with melancholy interest, to the 
 regulated sounds of the oars, which were audible long 
 after the boat had been blended with the gloomy outline 
 of the eastern horizon. When all traces of her departed 
 friends were to be found only in her own recollections, 
 she slowly turned from the sea, and, hastening to quit the 
 bustling throng that were preparing for the embarkation 
 of the rest of the party, she ascended the path that con 
 ducted her once more to the summit of those cliffs, along 
 which she had so often roved, gazing at the boundless 
 element that washed their base with sensations that might 
 have been peculiar to her own situation. 
 
 The soldiers of Borroughcliffe, who were stationed at 
 the head of the pass, respectfully made way ; nor did 
 any of the sentinels of Manual heed her retiring figure, 
 until she approached the rear-guard of the marines, who 
 were commanded by their vigilant captain in person. 
 
 " Who goes there?" cried Manual, advancing without 
 the dusky group of soldiers, as she approched them. 
 
 " One who possesses neither the power nor the inclina 
 tion to do ye harm," answered the solitary female ; " tis 
 Alice Dunscombe, returning, by permission of your leader, 
 to the place of her birth." 
 
 " Ay," muttered Manual, "this is one of Griffith s un- 
 military exhibitions of his politeness! Does the man 
 think that there was ever a woman who had no tongue ! 
 Have you the countersign, madam, that I may know you 
 bear a sufficient warant to pass ?" 
 
 " 1 have no other warrant besides my sex and weakness, 
 unless Mr. Griffith s knowledge that I have left him can be 
 so considered." 
 
 u The two former are enough," sa ; d a voice, that pro- 
 
f 
 330 THE PILOT. 
 
 ceeded from a figure which had hitherto stood unseen^ 
 shaded by the trunk of an oak, that spread its wide but 
 naked arms above the spot where the guard was paraded. 
 
 " Who have we here ?" Manual again cried. " Come in ; 
 yield, or you will be fired at." 
 
 " What ! will the gallant Captain Manual fire on his own 
 rescuer?" said the pilot, with cool disdain, as he advanced 
 from the shadow of the tree. " He had better reserve his 
 bullets for his enemies than waste them on his friends." 
 
 "You have done a dangerous deed, sir, in approaching, 
 clandestinely, a guard of marines ! I wonder that a man 
 who has already discovered, to-night, that he has some 
 knowledge of tactics, by so ably conducting a surprise, 
 should betray so much ignorance in the forms of approach 
 ing a picket ! " 
 
 " Tis now of no moment," returned the pilot; "my 
 knowledge and my ignorance are alike immaterial, as the 
 command of the party is surrendered to other and perhaps 
 more proper hands. But I would talk to this lady alone, 
 sir ; she is an acquaintance of my youth, and I will see 
 her on her way to the Abbey." 
 
 "The step would be un military, Mr. Pilot, and you will 
 excuse me if I do not consent to any of our expedition 
 straggling without the sentries. If you choose to remain 
 here to hold your discourse, I will march the picket out of 
 hearing ; though I must acknowledge I see no ground so 
 favorable as this we are on, to keep you within the range 
 of our eyes. You perceive that I have a ravine to retreat 
 into in case of surprise, \vith this line of wall on my left 
 Hank and the trunk of that tree to cover my right. A very 
 pretty stand might be made here, on emergency; for even 
 the oldest troops fight the best when their flanks are prop 
 erly covered, and a way to make a regular retreat is open 
 in their rear." 
 
 " Say no more, sir ; I would not break up such a posi 
 tion on any account," returned the pilot; "the lady will 
 consent to retrace her path for a short distance." 
 
 Alice followed his steps, in compliance with this request, 
 until he had led her to a place, at some little distance 
 from the marines, w r here a tree had been prostrated by the 
 late gale. She seated herself quietly on its trunk, and ap 
 peared to await with patience his own time for the ex 
 planation of his motives in seeking the interview. The 
 pilot paced for several minutes back and forth, in front o/ 
 
THE PILOT. 331 
 
 the place where sh<? was seated, in profound silence, as if 
 communing with hiraself ; when suddenly throwing off his 
 air of absence, he came to her side and assumed a position 
 similar to the Qne which she herself had taken. 
 
 "The hour is at hand, Alice, when we must part," he at 
 length commenced ; "it rests with yourself whether it shall 
 be forever." 
 
 " Let it then be forever, John/ she returned, with a 
 slight tremor in her voice. 
 
 " That word would have been less appalling, had this 
 accidental meeting xi^ver occurred. And yet your choice 
 may have been deter/nined by prudence for what is there 
 in my fate that can tempt a woman to wish that she might 
 share it?" 
 
 "If ye mean your lot is that of one who can find but 
 few, or even none, to partake of his joys, or to share in his 
 sorrows whose life is a continual scene of dangers and 
 calamities, of disappointments and mishaps then do ye 
 know but little of the heart of woman, if ye doubt of either 
 her ability or her willingness to meet them with the man 
 of her choice." 
 
 "Say you thus, Alice? then have I misunderstood your 
 meaning, or misinterpreted your acts. My lot is not alto 
 gether that of a neglected man, unless the favor of princes 
 and the smiles of queens are allowed to go for nothing. 
 My life is, however, one of many and fearful dangers ; and 
 yet it is not filled altogether with calamities and mishaps ; is 
 it, Alice ?" He paused a moment, but in vain, for her an 
 swer. " Nay, then, I have been deceived in the estimation 
 that the world has affixed to my combats and enterprises ! 
 I am not, Alice, the man I would be, or even the man 1 
 had deemed myself." 
 
 " You have gained a name, John, among the warriors of 
 the age," she answered, in a subdued voice ; " and it is a 
 name that may be said to be written in blood ! " 
 
 "The blood of my enemies, Alice ! " 
 
 " The blood of the subjects of your natural prince ! The 
 blood of those who breathe the air you first breathed, and 
 who were taught the same holy lessons of instructions that 
 you were first taught, but which, I fear, you have too soon 
 forgotten ! " 
 
 " The blood of the slaves of despotism ! " he sternly in 
 terrupted her; "the blood of the enemies of freedom! 
 You have dwelt so long in this dull retirement, and you 
 
332 THE PILOT. 
 
 have cherished so blindly the prejudices of your youth, thai 
 the promise of those noble sentiments I once thought I 
 could see budding in Alice Dunscombe, has not been ful 
 filled." 
 
 " I have lived and thought only as a woman, as become 
 my sex and station," Alice meekly replied ; " and when it 
 shall be necessary for me to live and think otherwise, I 
 should wish to die." 
 
 " Ay, there lie the first seeds of slavery ! A dependent 
 woman is sure to make the mother of craven and abject 
 wretches, who dishonor the name of man ! " 
 
 " I shall never be the mother of children, good or bad," 
 said Alice, with that resignation in her tones that showed 
 she had abandoned the natural hopes of her sex. " Singly 
 and unsupported have I lived ; alone and unlarnented 
 must I be carried to my grave." 
 
 The exquisite pathos of her voice, as she uttered this 
 placid speech, blended as it was with the sweet and calm 
 dignity of virgin pride, touched the heart of her listener, 
 and he continued silent many moments, as if in reverence 
 of her determination. Her sentiments awakened in his 
 own breast those feelings of generosity and disinterested 
 ness, which had nearly been smothered in restless ambition 
 and the pride of success. He resumed the discourse, 
 therefore, more mildly, and with a much greater exhibition 
 of deep feeling, and less of passion, in his manner. 
 
 " I know not, Alice, that I ought, situated as I am, and 
 contented, if not happy, as you are, even to attempt to re 
 vive in your bosom those sentiments which I was once led 
 to think existed there. It cannot, after all, be a desirable 
 fate to share the lot of a rover like myself ; one who may 
 be termed a Quixote in the behalf of liberal principles, 
 and who may be hourly called to seal the truth of those 
 principles with his life." 
 
 " There never existed any sentiment, in my breast, in 
 which you are concerned, that does not exist there still s 
 and unchanged," returned Alice, with her single-hearted 
 sincerity. 
 
 " Do I hear you aright ? or have I misconceived your 
 resolution to abide in England ? or have I not rather mis 
 taken your early feelings ? " 
 
 * You have fallen into no error now nor then. The 
 weakness may still exist, John ; but the strength to strug 
 gle with it lias, by the goodness of God, grown with my 
 
THE PILOT. 333 
 
 years. It is not, however, of myself, but of you, that 1 
 would speak. I have lived like one of our simple daisies, 
 which in the budding may have caught your eye ; and I 
 shall also wilt like the humble flower, when the winter of 
 my time arrives, without being missed from the fields that 
 have known me for a season. But your fall, John, will be 
 like that of the oak that now supports us, and men shall 
 pronounce on the beauty and grandeur of the noble stem 
 while standing, as well as of its usefulness when felled. " 
 
 " Let them pronounce as they will ! " returned the proud 
 stranger. " The truth must be finally known ; and when 
 that hour shall come, they will say, he was a faithful and 
 gallant warrior in his day ; and a worthy lesson for all who 
 are born in slavery, but would live in freedom, shall be 
 found in his example." 
 
 " Such may be the language of that distant people, 
 whom ye have adopted in the place of those who once 
 formed home and kin to ye," said Alice, glancing her eye 
 timidly at his countenance, as if to discern how far she 
 might venture, without awakening his resentment ; " but 
 what will the men of the land of your birth transmit to 
 their children, who will be the children of those that are 
 of your own blood ? " 
 
 " They will say, Alice, whatever their crooked policy 
 may suggest, or their disappointed vanity can urge. But 
 the picture must be drawn by the friends of the hero, as 
 as well as by his enemies ! Think you that there are not 
 pens as well as swords in America?" 
 
 "I have heard that America called a land, John, where 
 God had lavished His favors with an unsparing hand ; 
 where He has bestowed many climes with their several 
 fruits, and where His power is exhibited no less than His 
 mercy. It is said her rivers are without any known 
 end, and that lakes are found in her bosom, which would 
 put our German Ocean to shame ! The plains, teeming 
 with verdure, are spread over wide degrees ; and yet those 
 sweet valleys, which a single heart can hold, are not 
 wanting. In short, John, I hear it is a broad land, that 
 can furnish food for each passion, and contain objects for 
 every affection." 
 
 " Ay, you have found those, Alice, in your solitude, who 
 have been willing to do her justice ! It is a country that 
 can form a world of itself ; and why should they who in 
 herit it look to other nations for their laws ? 
 
334 THE PILOT. 
 
 " I pretend not to reason on the right of the children oi 
 that soil to do whatever they may deem most meet for 
 their own welfare," returned Alice ; " but can men be born 
 in such a land and not know the feelings which bind a 
 human being to the place of his birth ? " 
 
 "Can you doubt that they should be patriotic?" ex* 
 claimed the pilot, in surprise. " Do not their efforts in 
 this sacred cause their patient sufferings their long pri 
 vations speak loudly in their behalf ? " 
 
 " And will they, who know so well how to love home, 
 sing the praises of him who has turned his ruthless hand 
 against the land of his fathers ? " 
 
 " Forever harping on that word home ! " said the pilot, 
 who now detected the timid approaches of Alice to her 
 hidden meaning. "Is a man n stick or a stone that he 
 must be cast into the lire, or buried in a wall wherevef 
 his fate may have doomed him to appear on the earth ? 
 The sound of home is said to feed the vanity of an Eng 
 lishman, let him go where he will ; but it would seem to 
 have a still more powerful charm with English women ! " 
 
 " It is the dearest of all terms to every woman, John, for 
 it embraces the dearest of all its ties ! If your dames of 
 America are ignorant of its charm, all the favors which 
 God has lavished on their land will avail their happiness 
 but little." 
 
 "Alice," said the pilot, rising in his agitation, "I see 
 but too well the object of your allusions. But on this sub 
 ject we can never agree ; for not even your powerful in 
 fluence can draw me from the path of glory in which I am 
 now treading. But our time is growing brief ; let us, then, 
 talk of other things. This may be the last time that I shall 
 ever put foot on this island of Britain." 
 
 Alice paused to struggle with the feelings excited by 
 this remark, before she pursued the discourse. But, soon 
 shaking off the weakness, she added, with a rigid adhe 
 rence to that course which she believed to be her duty : 
 
 "And now, John, that you have landed, is the breaking 
 up of a peaceful family, and the violence ye have shown 
 toward an aged man, a fit exploit for one whose object is 
 the glory of which ye have spoken ?" 
 
 "Think you that I have landed, and placed my life in 
 the hands of my enemies, for so unworthy an object ! Nc, 
 Alice ; my motive for this undertaking has been disap 
 pointed, and therefore will ever remain a secret from the 
 
THE PILOT. 335 
 
 jrorld. But duty to my cause has prompted the step you, 
 so unthinkingly condemn. This Colonel Howard has 
 some consideration with those in power, and will answer 
 to exchange for a better man. As for his wards, you 
 forget their home; their magical home is in America; 
 unless, indeed, they find it nearer at hand, under the 
 proud flag of a frigate that is now waiting for them in the 
 offing." 
 
 "You talk of a frigate!" said Alice, with sudden inter 
 est in the subject ; " is she your only means of escaping 
 from your enemies?" 
 
 "Alice Dunscombe has taken but little heed of passing 
 events to ask such a question of me ! " returned the 
 haughty pilot. " The question would have sounded more 
 discreetly, had it been, Is she the only vessel with you 
 that your enemies will have to escape from ? 
 
 " Nay, I cannot measure my language at such a mo 
 ment ! " continued Alice, with a still stronger exhibition 
 of anxiety. " It was my fortune to overhear a part of a 
 plan that was intended to destroy, by sudden means, those 
 vessels of America that were in our seas." 
 
 " That might be a plan more suddenly adopted than 
 easily executed, my good Alice. And who were these re 
 doubtable schemers ?" 
 
 "I know not but my duty to the king should cause me 
 to suppress this information," said Alice, hesitating. 
 
 "Well, be it so," returned the pilot, coolly; "it may 
 prove the means of saving the persons of some of the 
 royal officers from death or captivity. I have already 
 said, this may be the last of my visits to this island, and 
 consequently, Alice, the last of our interviews 
 
 "And yet," said Alice, still pursuing the train of her 
 own thoughts, "there can be but little harm in sparing 
 human blood, and least of all in serving those whom we 
 have long known and regarded ! " 
 
 " Ah, that is a simple doctrine, and one that is easily 
 maintained," he added, with much apparent indifference ; 
 "and yet King George might well spare some of his ser 
 vants the list of his abject minions is so long ! " 
 
 " There was a man named Dillon, who lately dwelt in 
 the Abbey, but who has mysteriously disappeared," con 
 tinued Alice ; "or, rather, who was captured by your com 
 panions ; know you aught of him, John ? " 
 
 " 1 have heard there was a miscreant of that name, but 
 
336 THE PILOT. 
 
 we have never met.. Alice, if it please Heaven that thi? 
 should be the last 
 
 " He was a captive in the schooner called the Ariel," 
 she added, still unheeding his affected indifference to her 
 communication; "and when permitted to return to St. 
 Ruth, he lost, sight of his solemn promise, and of his 
 plighted honor, to wreak his malice. Instead of effecting 
 the exchange that he had conditioned to see made, he 
 plotted treason against his captors. Yes ; it was most foul 
 treason ! for his treatment was generous and kind, and his 
 liberation certain." 
 
 "He was a most unworthy scoundrel ! But, Alice " 
 
 " Nay, listen, John," she continued, urged to even a 
 keener interest in his behalf by his apparent inattention; 
 <fc and yet I should speak tenderly of his failings, for he is 
 already numbered with the dead ! One part of his scheme 
 must have been frustrated ; for he intended to destroy that 
 schooner which you call the Ariel, and to have taken the 
 person of the young Barnstable." 
 
 "In both of which he has failed ! The person of Barn- 
 stable I have rescued, and the Ariel has been stricken by a 
 hand far mightier than any of this world ! she is wrecked." 
 
 " Then is the frigate your only means of escape ? Has 
 ten, John, and seem not so proud and heedless ; for the 
 hour may come when" all your daring will not profit ye 
 against the machinations of secret enemies. This Dillon 
 had also planned that expresses should journey to a sea 
 port at the south, with the intelligence that your vessels 
 were in these seas, in order that ships might be dispatched 
 to intercept your retreat." 
 
 The pilot lost his affected indifference as she proceeded, 
 and before she ceased speaking his eye was endeavoring to 
 anticipate her words, by reading her countenance through 
 the dusky medium of the starlight. 
 
 " How know yoii this, Alice ? " he asked, quickly "and 
 what vessel did he name ? " 
 
 " Chance made me an unseen listener to their plan, and 
 I know not but I forget my duty to my prince! but, 
 John, tis asking too much of a weak woman to require 
 that she shall see the man whom she once viewed with eyes 
 of favor, sacrificed, when a word of caution, given in 
 season, might enable him to void the danger ! " 
 
 " Once viewed with an eye of favor ! Is it then so ? " 
 fMd the pilot, speaking in a vacant manner. " But, Alice, 
 
THE PILOT. 337 
 
 heard ye the force of the ships, or their names ? Give me 
 their names, and the first lord of your British admiralty 
 shall not give so true an account of their force as I will 
 furnish from this list of my own." 
 
 "Their names were certainly mentioned," said Alice, 
 with tender melancholy ; " but the name of one far nearer 
 *o me was ringing in my ears, and has driven them from 
 my mind." 
 
 "You are the same good Alice I once knew! And my 
 name was mentioned? What said they of the pirate? 
 Had his arm stricken a blow that made them tremble in 
 their Abbey? Did they call him coward, girl ? " 
 
 " It was mentioned in terms that pained my heart as I 
 listened ; for it is ever too easy a task to forget the lapse 
 of years, nor are the feelings of youth to be easily eradi 
 cated." 
 
 " Ay, there is luxury in knowing that, with all their af 
 fected abuse, the slaves dread me in their secret holds!" 
 exclaimed the pilot, pacing in front of his listener with 
 quick steps. "This it is to be marked, among men, above 
 all others, in your calling ! I hope yet to see the day when 
 the third George shall start at the sound of that name, even 
 within the walls of his palace." 
 
 Alice Dunscombe heard him in deep and mortified 
 silence. It was too evident that a link in the chain of their 
 sympathies was broken, and that the weakness in which 
 she had been unconsciously indulging was met by no 
 correspondent emotion in him. After sinking her head 
 for a moment on her bosom, she arose with a little more 
 than her usual air of meekness, and recalled the pilot to a 
 sense of her presence, by saying, in a yet milder voice : 
 
 " I have now communicated all that it can profit you to 
 know, and it is meet that we separate." 
 
 " What, thus soon ? " he cried, starting and taking her 
 hand. " This is but a short interview, Alice, to precede so 
 long a separation." 
 
 " Be it short, or be it long, it must now end," she re 
 plied. "Your companions are on the eve of departure, 
 and I trust you would be one of the last who would wish 
 to be deserted. If ye do visit England again, I hope it 
 may be with altered sentiments, so far as regards her in 
 terests. I wish ye peace, John, and the blessings of God, 
 as ye may be found to deserve them." 
 
 " I ask no further, unless it be the aid of your gentle 
 22 
 
33S THE PILOT. 
 
 prayers ! But the night is gloomy, and I will see you if 
 safety to the Abbey." 
 
 " It is unnecessary," she returned, with womanly reserve. 
 " The innocent can be fearless on occasion, as the mosf 
 valiant among your warriors. But here is no cause for 
 fear. I shall take a path that will conduct me in a differ 
 ent way from that which is occupied by your soldiers, and 
 Where I shall find none but Him who is ever ready to pro 
 tect the helpless. Once more, John, I bid ye adieu." Her 
 voice faltered as she continued : u Ye will share the lot of 
 humanity, and have your hours of care and weakness ; at 
 such moments ye can remember those ye leave on this 
 despised island, and perhaps among them ye may think of 
 some whose interest in your welfare has been far removed 
 from selfishness." 
 
 " God be with you, Alice ! " he said, touched with her 
 emotion, and losing all vain images in more worldly feel 
 ings " but I cannot permit you to go alone." 
 
 " Here we part, John," she said, firmly, " and forever ! 
 Tis for the happiness of both, for I fear we have but little 
 in common." She gently wrested her hand from his grasp, 
 and once more bidding him adieu, in a voice that was 
 nearly inaudible, she turned and slowly disappeared, 
 moving, with lingering steps, in the direction of the Abbey. 
 
 The first impulse of the pilot was, certainly, to follow; 
 and insist on seeing her on the way ; but the music of the 
 guard on the cliffs at that moment sent forth its martial 
 strains, and the whistle of the boatswain was heard wind 
 ing its shrill call among the rocks, in those notes that his 
 practised ear understood to be the last signal for embark 
 ing. 
 
 Obedient to the summons, this singular man, in whose 
 breast the natural feelings, that were now on the eve of a 
 violent eruption, had so long been smothered by the vi 
 sionary expectation of a wild ambition, and perhaps of fierce 
 resentments, pursued his course, in deep abstraction, 
 toward the boats. He was soon met by the soldiers of 
 Borroughcliffe, deprived of their arms, it is true, but un 
 guarded, and returning peacefully to their quarters. The 
 mind of the pilot, happily for the liberty of these men, was 
 too much absorbed in his peculiar reflections to note this 
 act of Griffith s generosity, nor did he arouse from his 
 musing until his steps were arrested by suddenly encoun 
 tering a human figure in the pathway. A light tap on his 
 
THE PILOT. 339 
 
 shoulder was the first mark of recognition he received ; 
 when Borroughcliffe, who stood before him, said : 
 
 "It is evident, sir, from what has passed this evening, 
 that you are not what you seem. You may be some rebel 
 admiral or general, for aught that I know, the right to 
 command having been strangely contested among ye this 
 night. But let who will own the chief authority, I take the 
 liberty of whispering in your ear that I have been scurvily 
 treated by you I repeat, most scurvily treated by you all, 
 generally, and by you in particular." 
 
 The pilot started at this strange address, which was ut 
 tered with all the bitterness that could be imparted to it by 
 a disappointed man ; but he motioned with his hand for 
 the captain to depart, and turned aside to pursue his own 
 way. 
 
 "Perhaps I am not properly understood," continued the 
 obstinate soldier. " I say, sir, you have treated me scurvi 
 ly ; and I would not be thought to say this to any gentle 
 man without wishing to give him an opportunity to vent 
 his anger." 
 
 The eye of the pilot, as he moved forward, glanced at 
 the pistols which Borroughcliffe held in his hands, the one 
 by the handle and the other by its barrel, and the soldier 
 even fancied that his footsteps were quickened by the 
 sight. After gazing at him until his form was lost in the 
 darkness, the captain muttered to himself : 
 
 " He is no more than a common pilot, after ail ! No 
 true gentleman would have received so palpable a hint 
 with such a start. Ah ! here comes the party of my worthy 
 friend whose palate knows a grape of the north side of 
 Madeira from one of the south. The dog has the throat 
 of a gentleman ; we will see how he can swallow a delicate 
 allusion to his faults ! " 
 
 Borroughcliffe stepped aside to allow the marines, who 
 were also in motion for the boats, to pass, and watched 
 with keen looks the person of the commander. Manual, 
 who had been previously apprised of the intention of 
 Griffith to release the prisoners, had halted to see that 
 none but those who had been liberated by authority were 
 inarching into the country. This accidental circum 
 stance gave Borroughcliffe an opportunity of meeting 
 the other at some little distance from either of their re 
 spective parties. 
 
 " I greet you sir," said Borroughcliffe, " with all af 
 
340 THE PILOT. 
 
 fection. This has been a pleasant forage for you, Captain 
 Manual." 
 
 The marine was far from being disposed to wrangle, but 
 there was that in the voice of the other which caused him 
 to answer : 
 
 " It would have been far pleasanter, sir, if I had met an 
 opportunity of returning to Captain Borroughcliffe some of 
 the favors that I have received at his hands." 
 
 " Nay, then, dear sir, you weigh my modesty to the 
 earth ! Surely you forget the manner in which my hos 
 pitality has already been requited by some two hours 
 mouthing of my sword-hilt ; with a very unceremonious 
 ricochet into a corner ; together with a love-tap received 
 over the shoulders of one of my men, by so gentle an in 
 strument as the butt of a musket ! Damme, sir, but I 
 think an ungrateful man only a better sort of beast ! " 
 
 " Had the love-tap been given to the officer instead of 
 the man," returned Manual, with all commendable cool 
 ness, "it would have been better justice ; and the ramrod 
 might have answered as well as the butt, to floor a gentle 
 man who carried the allowance of four thirsty fiddlers 
 under one man s jacket." 
 
 " Now, that is rank ingratitude to your own cordial 
 of the south side, and a most biting insult ! I really 
 see but one way of terminating this wordy w r ar, which, 
 if not discreetly ended, may lead us far into the morn 
 ing." 
 
 "Elect your own manner of determining the dispute, 
 sir ; I hope, however, it will not be by your innate knowl 
 edge of mankind, which has already mistaken a captain of 
 marines in the service of Congress for a runaway lover, 
 bound to some green place or other." 
 
 "You might just as well tweak my nose, sir," said Bor 
 roughcliffe. " Indeed, I think it would be the milder re 
 proach of the two ! will you make your selection of these, 
 sir? they were loaded for a very different sort of service, 
 but I doubt not will answer on occasion." 
 
 " I am provided with a pair, that are charged for any 
 service," replied Manual, drawing a pistol from his own 
 belt, and stepping backward a few paces. 
 
 "You are destined for America, I know," said Bor 
 roughcliffe, who stood his ground with consummate cool< 
 ness ; "but it would be more convenient for me, sir, if you 
 could delay your march for a single moment" 
 
THE PILOT. 341 
 
 "Fire and defend yourself!" exclaimed Manual, fu 
 riously, retracing his steps towards his enemy. 
 
 The sounds of two pistols were blended in one report, 
 and the soldiers of Borroughcliffe and the marines all 
 rushed to the place on the sudden alarm. Had the 
 former been provided with arms, it is probable that a 
 bloody fray would have been the consequence of the sight 
 that both parties beheld on arriving at the spot, which 
 they did simultaneously. Manual lay on his back, with 
 out any signs of life, and Borroughcliffe had changed his 
 cool, haughty, upright attitude for a recumbent posture, 
 which was somewhat between lying and sitting. 
 
 " Is the poor fellow actually expended ?" said the Eng 
 lishman, in something like the tones of regret ; " well, he 
 had a soldier s mettle in him, and was nearly as great a 
 fool as myself!" 
 
 The marines had, luckily for the soldiers and their cap 
 tain, by this time discovered the signs of life in their own 
 commander, who had been only slightly stunned by the 
 bullet, which had grazed his crown, and who, being as 
 sisted on his feet, stood a minute or two rubbing his head, 
 as if awaking from a dream. As Manual came gradually 
 to his senses, he recollected the business in which he had 
 just been engaged, and, in his turn, inquired after the fate 
 of his antagonist. 
 
 " I am here, my worthy incognito" cried the other, with 
 the voice of perfect good-nature; "lying in the lap of 
 Mother Earth, and all the better for opening a vein or two 
 in my right leg though I do think that the same effect 
 might have been produced without treating the bone so 
 roughly ! But I opine that I saw you also reclining on 
 the bosom of our common ancestor." 
 
 " I was down for a few minutes, I do believe," returned 
 Manual ; " there is the path of a bullet across my scalp." 
 
 "Humph! on the head!" said Borroughcliffe, dryly : 
 "the hurt is not likely to be mortal, I see. Well, I shall 
 offer to raffle with the first poor devil I can find that has 
 but one leg, for who shall have them both ; and that will 
 just set up a beggar and a gentleman ! Manual, give me 
 your hand ; we have drank together, and we have fought ; 
 surely there is nothing now to prevent our being sworn 
 friends." 
 
 "Why," returned Manual, continuing to rub his head, 
 " I can see no irremovable objections but you will want 
 
342 TITR PILOT. 
 
 a surgeon ? can I order anything to be done 1" There go 
 the signals again to embark march the fellows down at 
 quick time, sergeant ; my own man may remain with me, 
 or, I can do altogether without assistance." 
 
 " Ah! you are what I call a well-made man, my deal 
 friend!" exclaimed Borroughcliffe ; "no weak points 
 about your fortress ! such a man is worthy to be at the 
 head of a whole corps, instead of a solitary company. 
 Gently, Drill, gently; handle me as if I were made of 
 potter s clay. I will not detain you longer, my friend 
 Manual, for I hear signal after signal ; they must be in 
 want of some of your astonishing reasoning faculties to 
 set them afloat." 
 
 Manual might have been offended at the palpable allu 
 sions that his new friend made to the firmness of his occi 
 put, had not his perception of things been a little con 
 fused by a humming sound that seemed to abide near the 
 region of thought. As it was, he reciprocated the good 
 wishes of the other, whom he shook most cordially by the 
 hand, and once more renewed his offers of service, after 
 exchanging sundry friendly speeches. 
 
 " I thank you quite as much as if I were not at all in 
 debted to you for letting blood, thereby saving me a fit of 
 apoplexy ; but Drill has already dispatched a messenger 
 to B for a leech, and the lad may bring the whole de 
 pot down upon you. Adieu, once more, and remember 
 that if you ever visit England again as a friend, you are 
 to let me see you." 
 
 " I shall do it without fail ; and I shall keep you to your 
 promise if you once more put foot in America." 
 
 " Trust me for that ; I shall stand in need of your ex 
 cellent head to guide me safely among those rude forest 
 ers. Adieu ; cease not to bear me in your thoughts." 
 
 ** I shall never cease to remember you, my good friend," 
 returned Manual, again scratching the member which was 
 snapping in a manner that caused him to fancy he heard 
 it. Once more these worthies shook each other by the 
 hand, and again they renewed their promises of future in 
 tercourse ; after which they separated like two reluctant 
 lovers parting in a manner that would have put to shame 
 the friendship of Orestes and Pylades. 
 
THE PILOT. 343 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 "Nay, answer me : stand and unfold yourself." Hamlet. 
 
 DURING the time occupied by the incidents that occurred 
 after the pilot had made his descent on the land the 
 Alacrity, now under the orders of Mr. Boltrope, the mas 
 ter of the frigate, lay off and on, in readiness to receive 
 the successful mariners. The direction of the wind had 
 been gradually changing from the northeast to the south 
 during the close of the day ; and long before the middle 
 watches of the night the wary old seaman, who, it 
 may be remembered, had expressed in the council of 
 war such a determined reluctance to trust his person 
 within the realm of Britain, ordered the man who steered 
 the cutter to stand in boldly for the land. Whenever the 
 lead told them that it was prudent to tack, the course of the 
 vessel was changed, and in this manner the seamen con 
 tinued to employ the hours in patient attendance on the 
 adventurers. The sailing master, who had spent the early 
 years of his life as the commander of divers vessels em 
 ployed in trading, was apt, like many men of his vocation 
 and origin, to mistake the absence of refinement for the 
 surest evidence of seamanship, and, consequently, he held 
 the little courtesies and punctilios of a man-of-war in high 
 disdain. His peculiar duties of superintending the ex 
 penditure of the ship s stores in their several departments, 
 of keeping; the frigate s log-book, and of making his daily 
 examinations into the state of her sails and rigging, 
 brought him so little in collision with the gay, laughing, 
 reckless young lieutenants, who superintended the ordi 
 nary management of the vessel, that he might be said to 
 have formed a distinct species of the animal, though cer 
 tainly of the same genus with his more polished mess 
 mates. Whenever circumstances, however, required that 
 he should depart from the dull routine of his duty, he 
 made it a rule, as far as possible, to associate himself with 
 such of the crew as possessed habits and opinions the least 
 at variance with his o\vn. 
 
 By a singular fatality the chaplain of the frigate was, as 
 respects associates, in a condition nearly assimilated to 
 that of this veteran tar. 
 
344 THE PILOT. 
 
 An earnest desire to ameliorate the situation of those 
 who were doomed to meet death on the great deep, had 
 induced an experienced and simple-hearted divine to ac 
 cept this station, in the fond hope that he might be made 
 the favored instrument of salvation to many, who were 
 then existing in a state of the most abandoned self-forget- 
 fulness. Neither our limits, nor our present object, will 
 permit the relation of the many causes that led, not only 
 to an entire frustration of all his visionary expectations. 
 but to an issue which rendered the struggle of the good 
 divine with himself both arduous and ominous, in order to 
 maintain his own claims to the merited distinctions of his 
 sacred office. The consciousness of his backsliding had so 
 far lessened the earthly if not the spiritual pride of the 
 chaplain, as to induce him to relish the society of the rude 
 master, whose years had brought him, at times, to take 
 certain views of futurity that were singularly affected by 
 the peculiar character of the individual. It might have 
 been that both found themselves out of their places but 
 it was owing to some such secret sympathy, let its origin 
 be what it would, that the two came to be fond of each 
 other s company. On the night in question, Mr. Boltrope 
 had invited the chaplain to accompany him in the Alacri 
 ty; adding, in his broad, rough language, that, as there 
 was to be fighting on shore, " his hand might come in play 
 with some poor fellow or other." This singular invitation 
 had been accepted, as well from a desire to relieve the mo 
 notony of a sea-life by any change, as perhaps with a se 
 cret yearning in the breast of the troubled divine, to get as 
 nigh to terra fir ma as possible. Accordingly, after the 
 pilot had landed with his boisterous party, the sailing-mas 
 ter and the chaplain, together with a boatswain s mate and 
 some ten or twelve seamen, were left in quiet possession 
 of the cutter. The first few hours of this peaceable inter 
 course had been spent by the worthy messmates, in the 
 little cabin of the vessel, over a can of grog ; the savory 
 relish of which was much increased by a characteristic 
 disquisition on polemical subjects, which our readers have 
 great reason to regret it is not our present humor to re 
 cord. When, however, the winds invited the near approach 
 to the hostile shores already mentioned, the prudent sail* 
 ing-master adjourned the discussion to another and more 
 suitable time, removing himself and the can, by the same 
 operation, to the quarter-deck. 
 
THE PILOT. 345 
 
 "There," cried the honest tar, placing the wooden ves 
 sel, with great self-contentment, by his side on the deck, 
 " this is ship s comfort ! There is a good deal of what I 
 call a lubber s fuss, parson, kept up on board a ship that 
 shall be nameless, but which bears, about three leagues 
 distant, broad off in the ocean, and which is lying-to under 
 a close-reefed main-topsail, foretopmast-staysail and fore 
 sail I call my hand a true one in mixing a can take an 
 other pull at the halyards ! twill make your eye twinkle 
 like a light-house, this dark morning ! You won t ? well, 
 we must give no offence to the Englishman s rum." After 
 a potent draught had succeeded this considerate declara 
 tion, he added : "You are a little like our first-lieutenant, 
 parson, who drinks, as I call it, nothing but the elements 
 which is, water stiffened with air." 
 
 " Mr. Griffith may indeed be said to set a wholesome 
 example to the crew," returned the chaplain, perhaps with 
 a slight consciousness that it had not altogether possessed 
 its due weight with himself. 
 
 "Wholesome," cried Boltrope ; "let me tell you, my 
 worthy leaf-turner, that if you call such a light diet whole 
 some, you know but little of salt-water and sea-fogs ! 
 However, Mr. Griffith is a seaman ; and if he gave his 
 mind less to trifles and gimcracks, he would be, by the 
 time he got to about our years, a very rational sort of a 
 companion. But you see, parson, just now, he thinks too 
 much of small follies; such as man-of-war discipline. 
 Now there is rationality in giving a fresh nip to a rope, or 
 in looking well at your mats, or even in crowning a cable ; 
 but damme, priest, if I see the use Luff, luff, you lub 
 ber ! don t you see, sir, you are steering for Garmany ? 
 If I see the use, as I was saying, of making a rumpus about 
 the time when a man changes his shirt ; whether it be this 
 week or next week, or, for that matter, the week after, 
 provided it be bad weather. I sometimes am mawkish 
 about attending muster (and I believe I have as little to 
 fear on the score of behavior as any man), lest it should 
 be found I carried my tobacco in the wrong cheek ! " 
 
 " I have indeed thought it somewhat troublesome to my 
 self, at times ; and it is in a striking degree vexatious to 
 the spirit, especially when the body has been suffering un 
 der sea-sickness." 
 
 " Why, yes, you were a little apt to bend your duds 
 wrong for the first month, or so," said the master : " I re 
 
346 THE PILOT. 
 
 member you got the marine s scraper on your head, once, 
 in your hurry to bury a dead man ! Then you nevef 
 looked as if you belonged to the ship, so long as those 
 cursed black knee-breeches lasted ! For my part, I never 
 saw you come up the quarter-deck ladder, but I expected 
 to see your shins give way across the coaming of the hatch 
 a man does look like the devil, priest, scudding about a 
 ship s decks in that fashion, under bare poles ! But now 
 the tailor has found out the articles ar n t sea-worthy, and 
 we have got your lower stanchions cased in a pair of 
 purser s slops, I am puzzled often to tell your heels from 
 those of a maintop-man ! " 
 
 " I have good reason to be thankful for the change," 
 said the humbled priest, "if the resemblance you men 
 tioned existed, while I was clad in the usual garb of one 
 of my calling." 
 
 "What signifies a calling ? " returned Boltrope, catching 
 his breath after a most persevering draught ; " a man s 
 shins are his shins, let his upper works belong to what 
 sarvice they may. I took an early prejudyce to knee- 
 breeches, perhaps from a trick I ve always had of figuring 
 the devil as wearing them. You know, parson, we seldom 
 hear much said of a man, without forming some sort of an 
 idea concerning his rigging and fashion-pieces ; and so, as 
 I had no particular reason to believe that Satan went 
 
 naked Keep full, ye lubber ; now you are running into 
 
 the wind s eye, and be d d to ye! But, as I was say 
 ing, I always took a conceit that the devil wore knee- 
 breeches and a cocked hat. There s some of our young 
 lieutenants, who come to muster on Sundays in cocked 
 hats, just like soldier-officers ; but, d ye see, I would sooner 
 show my nose under a nightcap than under a scraper ! " 
 
 "I hear the sound of oars!" exclaimed the chaplain, 
 who, finding this image more distinct than even his own 
 vivid conceptions of the great father of evil, was quite 
 willing to conceal his inferiority by changing the dis 
 course "is not one of our boats returning ?" 
 
 " Ay, ay, tis likely ; if it had been me, T should have 
 been land-sick before this. Ware round, boys, and stand 
 by to heave-to on the other tack." 
 
 The cutter, obedient to her helm, fell off before the 
 wind ; and, rolling an instant in the trough of the sea, came 
 up again easily to her oblique position, with her head to- 
 ward the cliffs ; and, gradually losing her way, as her saJs, 
 
THE PILOT. 
 
 347 
 
 were brought to counteract each other, finally became sta 
 tionary. During the performance of this evolution, a boat 
 had hove up out of the gloom, in the direction of the land; 
 and by the time the Alacrity was in a state of rest, it had 
 approached so nigh as to admit of hailing. 
 
 "Boat ahoy ! " murmured Boltrope, through a trumpet, 
 which, aided by his lungs, produced sounds not unlike the 
 roaring of a bull. 
 
 " Ay, ay ! " was thrown back from a clear voice, that 
 swept across the water with a fulness that needed no facti 
 tious aid to render it audible. 
 
 " Ay, there comes one of the lieutenants, with his ay, 
 ay, " said Boltrope. " Pipe the side, there, you boatswain s 
 mate! But here s another fellow more on our quarter ! 
 Boat ahoy ! " 
 
 " Alacrity " returned another voice in a direction dif 
 ferent from the other. 
 
 "Alacrity! There goes my commission of captain of 
 this craft in a whiff," returned the sailing-master. " That is 
 as much as to say here conies one who will command 
 when he gets on board. Well, well, it is Mr. Griffith, and 
 I can t say, notwithstanding his love of knee-buckles and 
 small wares, but I m glad he s out of the hands of the 
 English ! Ay ! here they all come upon us at once ! here 
 is another fellow that pulls like the jolly-boat, coming up 
 on our lee-beam, within hail let us see if he is asleep. 
 Boat ahoy! " 
 
 " Flag," answered a third voice from a small, light row 
 ing boat, which had approached very near the cutter, in a 
 direct line from the cliffs, without being observed. 
 
 "Flag!" echoed Boltrope, dropping his trumpet in 
 amazement " that s a big word to come out of jolly-boats ! 
 Jack Manly himself could not have spoken it with a fuller 
 mouth but I ll know who it is that carries such a weather 
 helm, with a Yankee man-of-war s prize ! Boat ahoy ! I 
 say." 
 
 This last call was uttered in those short, menacing tones 
 that are intended to be understood as intimating that the 
 party hailing is in earnest ; and it caused the men who 
 were rowing, and who were now quite close to the cutter, 
 to suspend their strokes simultaneously, as if they dreaded 
 that the cry would be instantly succeeded by some more 
 efficient means of -ascertaining their character. The figure 
 that was seated by itself in the stern of the boat started at 
 
348 THE PILOT. 
 
 this second summons, and then, as if with sudden recol 
 lection, a quiet voice replied : 
 
 "No no." 
 
 " No no, and flag are very different answers," 
 grumbled Boltrope ; "what know-nothing have we here ?" 
 
 He was yet muttering his dissatisfaction at the ignorance 
 jf the individual that was approaching, whoever it might 
 be, when the jolly-boat came slowly to their side, and the 
 pilot stepped from her stern-sheets on the deck of the 
 prize. 
 
 " Is it you, Mr. Pilot?" exclaimed the sailing-master, 
 raising a battle-lantern within a foot of the other s face, 
 and looking with a sort of stupid wonder at the proud and 
 angry eye he encountered " is it you ! well, I should have 
 rated you for a man of more experience than to come 
 booming down upon a man-of-war in the dark, with such 
 a big word in your mouth, when every boy in the two ves 
 sels knows that we carry no swallow-tailed bunting aboard ! 
 Flag ! why you might have got a shot, had there been 
 soldiers." 
 
 The pilot threw him a still fiercer glance, and, turning 
 away with a look of disgust, he walked along the quarter 
 deck toward the stern of the vessel, with an air of haughty 
 silence, as if disdaining to answer. Boltrope kept his eyes 
 fastened on him for a moment longer, with some appear 
 ance of scorn ; but the arrival of the boat first nailed, 
 which proved to be the barge, immediately drew his atten 
 tion to other matters. Barnstable had been rowing about 
 in the ocean for a long time, unable to find the cutter; 
 and as he had been compelled to suit his own demeanor to 
 those with whom he was associated, he reached the Alac 
 rity in no very good-humored mood. Colonel Howard 
 and his niece had maintained, during the whole period, 
 the most rigid silence, the former from pride, and the 
 latter touched with her uncle s evident displeasure ; and 
 Katherine, though secretly elated with the success of all 
 hsr projects, was content to emulate their demeanor for a 
 short time in order to save appearances. Barnstable had 
 several times addressed himself to the latter, without re 
 ceiving any other answer than such as was absolutely nec 
 essary to prevent her lover from taking direct offence, af 
 the same time that she intimated by her manner her will 
 ingness to remain silent. Accordingly, the lieutenant, aftef 
 aiding the ladies to enter the cutter, and offering to per- 
 
THE PILOT. 
 
 349 
 
 form the same service to Colonel Howard, which was 
 coldly declined, turned, with that sort of irritation that is 
 by no means less rare in vessels-of-war than with poor 
 human nature generally, and gave vent to his spleen where 
 he dared. 
 
 " How s this, Mr. Boltrope ? " he cried ; " here are boats 
 coming alongside with ladies in them, and you keep your 
 
 taft swayed up till the leach of the sail is stretched like a 
 ddle-string settle away your peak-halyards, sir, settle 
 away ! " 
 
 "Ay, ay, sir," grumbled the master; "settle away that 
 peak there ; though the craft wouldn t forge ahead a knot 
 in a month, with all her jibs hauled over." He walked 
 sulkily forward among the men, followed by the meek 
 divine ; and added, " I should as soon have expected to 
 see Mr. Barnstable come off with a live ox in his boat as a 
 petticoat ! The Lord only knows what the ship is coming 
 to next, parson ! what between cocked hats and epaulets, 
 and other knee-buckle matters, she was a sort of no-man s 
 land before ; and now, what with the women and their 
 band-boxes, they ll make another Noah s ark of her. I 
 wonder they didn t all come aboard in a coach and six, or 
 a one-horse shay ! " 
 
 It was a surprising relief to Barnstable to be able to give 
 utterance to his humor, for a few moments, by ordering 
 the men to make sundry alterations in every department 
 of the vessel, in a quick, hurried voice that abundantly de 
 noted, not only the importance of his improvements, but 
 the temper in which they were dictated. In his turn, how 
 ever, he was soon compelled to give way, by the arrival of 
 Griffith in the heavily-rowing launch of the frigate, which 
 was crowded with a larger body of the seamen who had 
 been employed in the expedition. In this manner, boat 
 after boat speedily arrived, and the whole party were once 
 more happily embarked in safety under their national flag. 
 The small cabin of the Alacrity was relinquished to 
 Colonel Howard and his wards, with their attendants. The 
 boats were dropped astern, each protected by its own 
 keeper ; and Griffith gave forth the mandate to fill the sails 
 and steer broad off into the ocean. For more than an hour 
 the cutter held her course in this direction, gliding grace 
 fully through the glittering waters, rising and settling 
 heavily on the long, smooth billows, as if conscious of the 
 unusual burden that she was doomed to carry ; but at the 
 
350 THE PILOT. 
 
 end of that period her head was once more brought neat 
 the wind, and she was again held at rest, awaiting the ap 
 pearance of the dawn, in order to discover the position of 
 the prouder vessel to which she was performing the humble 
 duty of a tender. More than a hundred and fifty living 
 men were crowded within her narrow limits ; and her 
 decks presented, in the gloom, as she moved along, the 
 picture of a mass of human heads. 
 
 As the freedom of a successful expedition was unavoid 
 ably permitted, loud jokes and louder merriment broke on 
 the silent waters from the reckless seamen, while the ex 
 hilarating can passed from hand to hand, strange oaths 
 and dreadful denunciations breaking forth at times from 
 some of the excited crew against their enemy. At length 
 the bustle of re-embarking gradually subsided, and many 
 of the crew descended to the hold of the cutter, in quest of 
 room to stretch their limbs, when a clear, manly voice was 
 heard rising above the deep in those strains that a seaman 
 most loves to hear. Air succeeded air, from different 
 Voices, until even the spirit of harmony grew dull with 
 fatigue, and verses began to be heard where songs were 
 expected, and fleeting lines succeeded stanzas. The decks 
 were soon covered with prostrate men, seeking their nat 
 ural rest under the open heavens, and perhaps dreaming, 
 as they yielded heavily to the rolling of the vessel, of scenes 
 of other times in their own hemisphere. The dark glances 
 of {Catherine were concealed beneath her falling lids ; and 
 even Cecilia, with her head bowed on the shoulder of her 
 cousin, slept sweetly in innocence and peace. Boltrope 
 groped his way into the hold among the seamen, where, 
 kicking one of the most fortunate men from his berth, he 
 established himself in his place with all that cool indiffer 
 ence to the other s comfort that had grown with his ex 
 perience from the time when he was treated thus cavalierly 
 in his own person to the present moment. In this manner 
 head was dropped after head on the planks, the guns, or 
 on whatever first offered for a pillow, until Griffith and 
 Barnstable, alone, were left pacing the different sides of 
 the quarter-deck in haughty silence. 
 
 Never did a morning watch appear so long to the two 
 young sailors, who were thus deprived, by resentment and 
 pride, of that frank and friendly communion that had for 
 so many years sweetened the tedious hours of their long, 
 and, at times, dreary service. To increase the embarrass 
 
THE PILOT. 3SI 
 
 ment of their situation, Cecilia and Katherine, suffering 
 from the confinement of the small and crowded cabin, 
 sought the purer air pf the deck, about the time when the 
 deepest sleep had settled on the senses of the wearied mar 
 iners. They stood leaning against the taifrail, discussing 
 with each other in low and broken sentences ; but a sort of 
 instinctive knowledge of the embarrassment which ex 
 isted between their lovers caused a guarded control over 
 every look or gesture which might be construed into an 
 encouragement for one of the young men to advance at 
 the expense of the other. Twenty times, however, did the 
 impatient Barnstable feel tempted to throw off the awk 
 ward restraint, and approach his mistress ; but in each in 
 stance was he checked by the secret consciousness of er 
 ror, as well as by that habitual respect for superior rank 
 that forms a part of the nature of a sea-officer. On the 
 other hand, Griffith manifested no intention to profit by 
 this silent concession in his favor, but continued to pace 
 the quarter-deck, with strides more hurried thar ever ; and 
 was seen to throw many an impatient glance toward that 
 quarter of the heavens where the first signs of the linger 
 ing day might be expected to appear. At length Kath 
 erine, with a ready ingenuity, and perhaps with some se 
 cret coquetry, removed the embarrassment, by speaking 
 first, taking care to address the lover of her cousin : 
 
 " How long are we condemned to these limited lodgings, 
 Mr. Griffith? "she asked: "truly, there is a freedom in 
 your nautical customs, which, to say the least, is novel to 
 us females who have been accustomed to the division of 
 space ! " 
 
 " The instant that there is light to discover the frigate, Miss 
 Plowden," he answered, "you shall be transferred from a 
 vessel of a hundred to one of twelve hundred tons. If your 
 situation there be less comfortable than within the \valls 
 of St. Ruth, you will not forget that they who live on the 
 ocean claim it as a merit to despise the luxuries of the 
 land." 
 
 " At least, sir," returned Katherine, with a sweet grace, 
 which she well knew how to assume on occasion, " what 
 we shall enjoy will be sweetened by liberty and embellished 
 by a sailor s hospitality. To me, Cicely, the air of this 
 open sea is as fresh and invigorating as if it were wafted 
 from our own distant America." 
 
 " If you have not the arm of a patriot, you at least pos- 
 
352 THE PILOT. 
 
 sess a most loyal imagination, Miss Plowden," said Grif 
 fith, laughing. " This soft breeze blows in the direction of 
 the fens of Holland, instead of the broad plains of America. 
 Thank God, there come the signs of day, at last ! Unless 
 the currents have swept the ship far to the north, we shall 
 surely see her with the light." 
 
 The cheering intelligence drew the eyes of the fair cousins 
 toward the east, where their delighted looks were soon fas 
 tened, while they watched the glories of the sun rising over 
 the water. As the morning had advanced, a deeper gloom 
 was spread across the ocean, and the stars were gleaming 
 in the heavens like balls of twinkling fire. But now a 
 streak of pale light showed itself along the horizon, grow 
 ing brighter and widening at each moment, until long, 
 fleecy clouds became visible, where nothing had been seen 
 before but the dim base of the arch that overhung the dark 
 waters. This expanding light, which, in appearance, might 
 be compared to a silvery opening in the heavens, was soon 
 tinged with a pale flush, which quickened with sudden 
 transitions into glows yet deeper, until a belt of broad 
 flame bounded the water, diffusing itself more faintly to 
 ward the zenith, where it melted into the pearl-colored 
 sky, or played on the fantastic volumes of a few light clouds 
 with inconstant glimmering. While these beautiful transi 
 tions were still before the eyes of the youthful admirers of 
 their beauties, a voice was heard above them, crying, as if 
 from the heavens : 
 
 " Sail ho ! The frigate lies broad off to seaward, sir ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay ; you have been watching with one eye asleep, 
 fellow," returned Griffith, " or we should have heard you 
 before ! Look a little north of the place where the glare 
 of the sun is coming, Miss Plowden, and you will be able 
 to see our gallant vessel ! " 
 
 An involuntary cry of pleasure burst from the lips of 
 Katherine, as she followed his directions, and first beheld 
 the frigate through the medium of the fluctuating colors 
 of the morning. The undulating outline of the hazy ocean, 
 which rose and fell heavily against the bright boundary of 
 the heavens, was without any relief to distract the eye as 
 it fed eagerly on the beauties of the solitary ship. She was 
 riding sluggishly on the long seas, with only two of her 
 lower and smaller sails spread, to hold her in command ; 
 but her tall masts and heavy yards were painted against the 
 fiery sky in strong lines of deep black, while even the 
 
7Y//i PILOT. 
 
 353 
 
 smallest cord in the mazes of her rigging might be dis 
 tinctly traced, stretching from spar to spar, with the beauti 
 ful accuracy of a picture. At moments when her huge hull 
 rose on a billow, and was lifted against the background of 
 sky, its shape and dimensions were brought into view, but 
 these transient glimpses were soon lost, as it settled 
 into the trough, leaving the waving spars bowing grace 
 fully toward the waters, as if about to follow the ves 
 sel into the bosom of the deep. As a clearer light 
 gradually stole on the senses, the delusion of colors 
 and distance vanished together, and when a flood of day 
 preceded the immediate appearance of the sun, the 
 ship became plainly visible within a mile of the cutter, 
 her black hull checkered with ports, and her high, ta 
 pering masts exhibiting their proper proportions and 
 hues. 
 
 At the first cry of " A sail ! " the crew of the Alacrity 
 had been aroused from their slumbers by the shrill whistle 
 of the boatswain, and long before the admiring looks of 
 the two cousins had ceased to dwell on the fascinating 
 sight of morning chasing night from the hemisphere, the 
 cutter was again in motion to join her consort. It seemed 
 but a moment before their little vessel was in, what the 
 timid females thought, a dangerous proximity to the frig 
 ate, under whose lee she slowly passed, in order to admit 
 of the following dialogue between Griffith and his aged 
 commander : 
 
 "I rejoice to see you, Mr. Griffith !" cried the captain, 
 who stood in the channel of his ship, waving his hat in the 
 way of cordial greeting. " You are welcome back, Cap 
 tain Manual welcome, welcome, all of you, my boys ! as 
 welcome as a breeze in the calm latitudes." As his eye, 
 however, passed along the deck of the Alacrity, it en 
 countered the shrinking figures of Cecilia and Katherine ; 
 and a dark shade of displeasure crossed his decent features, 
 while he added : " How s this, gentlemen ? The frigate of 
 Congress is neither a ballroom, nor a church, that it is to 
 be thronged with women ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay," muttered Boltrope to his friend, the chaplain, 
 "now the old man has hauled out his mizzen, you ll see 
 him carry a weather helm ! He wakes up about as often 
 as the trades shift their points, and that s once in six 
 months. But when there has been a neap-tide in his tem 
 per for any time, you re sure to find it followed by a flood 
 
3$4 THE PILOT. 
 
 with a vengeance. Let us hear what the first- lieutenant 
 can say in favor of his petticoat quality ! " 
 
 The blushing sky had not exhibited a more fiery glow 
 than gleamed in the fine face of Griffith for a moment ; but, 
 struggling with his disgust, he answered with bitter em 
 phasis : 
 
 " Twas the pleasure of Mr. Gray, sir, to bring off the 
 prisoners." 
 
 " Of Mr. Gray ! " repeated the captain, instantly losing 
 every trace of displeasure in an air of acquiescence. 
 " Come-to, sir, on the same tack with the ship, and I will 
 hasten to order the accommodation-ladder rigged, to re 
 ceive our guests ! " 
 
 Boltrope listened to this sudden alteration in the lan 
 guage of his commander with sufficient wonder ; nor was 
 it until he had shaken his head repeatedly, with the man 
 ner of one who saw deeper than his neighbors into a mys 
 tery, that he found leisure to observe : 
 
 " Now, parson, I suppose if you held an almanac in 
 your fist, you d think you could tell which way we shall 
 have the wind to-morrow ! but damn me, priest, if better 
 calculators than you haven t failed ! Because a lubberly 
 no, he s a thorough seaman, I ll say that for the fellow ! 
 because a pilot chooses to say, * Bring me off these here 
 women, the ship is to be so cluttered with she-cattle, that 
 a man will be obligated to spend half his time in making 
 his manners ! Now mind what I tell you, priest, this very 
 frolic will cost Congress the price of a year s wages for an 
 able-bodied seaman in bunting and canvas for screens ; 
 besides the wear and tear of running-gear in shortening 
 sail, in order that the women need not be stericky in 
 squalls ! " 
 
 The presence of Mr. Boltrope being required to take 
 charge of the cutter, the divine was denied an opportunity 
 of dissenting from the opinions of his rough companion ; 
 for the loveliness of their novel shipmates had not failed 
 to plead loudly in their favor with every man in the cutter 
 whose habits and ideas had not become rigidly set in ob 
 stinacy. 
 
 By the time the Alacrity was hove-to, with her head 
 toward the frigate, the long line of boats that she had been 
 towing during the latter part of the night, were brought 
 to her side, and filled with men. A wild scene of unbri 
 dled merriment and gayety succeeded, while the seamer 
 
THE PILOT. 355 
 
 were exchanging the confinement of the prize for their ac 
 customed lodgings in the ship, during which the reins oi 
 discipline were slightly relaxed. Loud laughter was echoed 
 from boat to boat as they glided by each other ; and rude 
 jests, interlarded with quaint humors and strange oaths, 
 were freely bandied from rnouth to mouth. The noise, 
 however, soon ceased, and the passage of Colonel Howard 
 and his wards was then effected with less precipitancy and 
 due decorum. Captain Munson, who had been holding 
 a secret dialogue with Griffith and the pilot, received his 
 unexpected guests with plain hospitality, but with an evi 
 dent desire to be civil. He politely yielded to their ser 
 vice his two convenient state-rooms, and invited them to 
 partake in common with himself of the comforts of the 
 great cabin. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 " Furious press the hostile squadron, 
 
 Furious he repels their rage, 
 Loss of blood at length enfeebles ; 
 Who can war with thousands wage ?" 
 
 Spanish War Song. 
 
 WE cannot detain the narrative to detail the scenes 
 which busy wonder, aided by the relation of divers mar 
 vellous feats, produced among the curious seamen who re 
 mained in the ship, and their more fortunate fellows who 
 had returned in glory from an expedition to the land. For 
 nearly an hour the turbulence of a general movement was 
 heard, issuing from the deep recesses of the frigate, and 
 the boisterous sounds of hoarse merriment were listened 
 to by the officers in indulgent silence ; but all these symp 
 toms of unbridled humor ceased by the time the morning 
 repast was ended, when the regular sea-watch was set, 
 and the greater portion of those whose duty did not re 
 quire their presence on the vessel s deck, availed them 
 selves of the opportunity to repair the loss of sleep sus 
 tained in the preceding night. Still no preparations were 
 made to put the ship in motion, though long and earnest 
 consultations, which were supposed to relate to their fu 
 ture destiny, were observed by the younger officers to be 
 held between their captain, the first lieutenant, and the 
 
355 THE PILOT. 
 
 mysterious pilot. The latter threw many an anxious 
 glance along the eastern horizon, searching it minutely 
 with his glass, and then would turn his impatient looks a 1 
 the low, dense bank of fog, which, stretching across the 
 ocean like a barrier of cloud, entirely intercepted the view 
 toward the south. To the north and along the land the 
 air w T as clear, and the sea without a spot of any kind ; but 
 in the east a small white sail had been discovered since the 
 opening of day, which was gradually rising above the 
 water, and assuming the appearance of a vessel of some 
 size. Every officer on the quarter-deck in his turn had 
 examined this distant sail, and had ventured an opinion on 
 its destination and character ; and even Katherine, who 
 with her cousin was enjoying, in the open air, the novel 
 beauties of the ocean, had been tempted to place her 
 sparkling eye to a glass to gaze at the stranger. 
 
 " It is a collier," Griffith said, " who has hauled from the 
 land in the late gale, and who is luffing up to his course 
 again. If the wind holds here in the south, and he does 
 not get into that fog-bank, we can stand off for him and 
 get a supply of fuel before eight bells are struck." 
 
 u I think his head is to the northward, and that he is 
 steering off the wind," returned the pilot in a musing 
 manner. " If that Dillon succeeded in getting his express 
 far enough along the coast, the alarm has been spread, 
 and we must be wary. The convoy of the Baltic trade is 
 in the North Sea, and news of our presence could easily 
 have been taken off to it by some of the cutters that 
 line the coast. I could wish to get the ship as far south 
 as the Helder ! " 
 
 " Then we lose this weather-tide ! " exclaimed the im 
 patient Griffith ; "surely we have the cutter as a lookout ! 
 besides, by beating into the fog, we shall lose the enemy, 
 if enemy it be, and it is thought meet for an American 
 frigate to skulk from her foes ! " 
 
 The scornful expression that kindled the eye of the 
 pilot, like a gleam of sunshine lighting for an instant 
 some dark dell and laying bare its secrets, was soon lost 
 in the usually quiet look of his glance, though he hesi 
 tated like one who was struggling with his passions before 
 he answered : 
 
 " If prudence and the service of the State require ft, 
 even this proud frigate must retreat and hide from the 
 meanest of her enemies. My advice, Captain Munson, is. 
 
THE PILOT. 357 
 
 that you make sail, and beat the ship to windward, as 
 Mr. Griffith has suggested, and that you order the cutter 
 to precede us, keeping more in with the land." 
 
 The aged seaman, who evidently suspended his orders 
 only to receive an intimation of the other s pleasure, im 
 mediately commanded his youthful assistant to issue the 
 necessary mandates to put these measures in force. Ac 
 cordingly, the Alacrity, which vessel had been left under 
 the command of the junior lieutenant of the frigate, was 
 quickly under way ; and making short stretches to wind 
 ward, she soon entered the bank of fog, and was lost to the 
 eye. In the meantime the canvas of the ship was loosened, 
 and spread leisurely, in order not to disturb the portion of 
 the crew who were sleeping ; and, following her little con 
 sort, she moved heavily through the water, bearing up 
 against the dull breeze. 
 
 The quiet of regular duty had succeeded to the bustle of 
 making s^il ; and, as the rays of the sun fell less obliquely 
 or\ the distant land, Katherine and Cecilia were amusing 
 Griffith by vain attempts to point out the rounded emi 
 nences which they fancied lay in the vicinity of the de 
 serted mansion of St. Ruth. Barnstable, who had resumed 
 his former station in the frigate, as her second-lieutenant, 
 was pacing the opposite side of the quarter-deck, holding 
 under his arm the speaking trumpet, which denoted that 
 he held the temporary control of the motions of the ship, 
 and inwardly cursing the restraint that kept him from the 
 side of his mistress. At this moment of universal quiet, 
 when nothing above low dialogues interrupted the dashing 
 cf the waves as they were thrown lazily aside by the bows 
 of the vessel, the report of a light cannon burst out of the 
 barrier of fog, and rolled by them on the breeze, appar 
 ently vibrating with the rising and sinking of the waters. 
 
 " There goes the cutter ! " exclaimed Griffith, the instant 
 the sound was heard. 
 
 " Surely," said the captain, " Somers is not so indis 
 creet as to scale his guns, after the caution he has re 
 ceived !" 
 
 " No idle scaling of guns is intended there," said the 
 pilot, straining his eyes "to pierce the fog, but soon turn 
 ing away in disappointment at his inability to succeed 
 " that gun is shotted, and has been fired in the hurry of 
 a sudden signal ! Can your lookouts see nothing, Mr. 
 Barnstable 1 " 
 
?5 S THE PILOT. 
 
 The lieutenant of the watch hailed the man aloft, and 
 demanded if anything were visible in the direction of the 
 wind, and received for answer, that the fog intercepted the 
 view in that quarter of the heavens, but that the sail in the 
 east was a ship, running large, or before the wind. The 
 pilot shook his head doubtingly at this information, but 
 still he manifested a strong reluctance to relinquish the 
 attempt of getting more to the southward. Again he com 
 muned with the commander of the frigate, apart from all 
 other ears ; and, while they yet deliberated, a second re 
 port was heard, leaving no doubt that the Alacrity was 
 firing signal-guns for their particular attention. 
 
 " Perhaps," said Griffith, " he wishes to point out his 
 position, or to ascertain ours, believing that we are lost like 
 himself in the mist." 
 
 "We have our compasses!" returned the doubting cap 
 tain ; " Somers has a meaning in what he says ! " 
 
 " See ! " cried Katherine, with girlish delight, "see, 
 my cousin ! see, Barnstable ! how beautifully that vapor 
 is wreathing itself in clouds above the smoky line of fog ! 
 It stretches already into the very heavens like a lofty pyr 
 amid ! " 
 
 Barnstable sprang lightly on a gun, as he repeated her 
 words : 
 
 " Pyramids of fog ! and wreathing clouds ! By Heaven ! " 
 he shouted, " tis a tall ship ! Royal, sky-sails, and stud 
 ding-sails all abroad ! She is within a mile of us, and 
 comes down like a race-horse, with a spanking breeze, 
 dead before it ! Now know we why Somers is speaking in 
 the mist ! " 
 
 " Ay," cried Griffith, "and there goes the Alacrity, just 
 breaking out of the fog, hovering in for the land ! " 
 
 " There is a mighty hull under all that cloud of canvas, 
 Captain Munson," said the observant but calm pilot. " It 
 is time, gentlemen, to edge away to leeward." 
 
 "What, before we know from whom we run?" cried 
 Griffith ; " my life on it, there is no single ship King George 
 owns, but would tire of the sport before she had played a 
 full game of bo\vls with 
 
 The haughty air of the young man was daunted by the 
 severe look he encountered in the eye of the pilot, and he 
 suddenly ceased, though inwardly chafing with impatient 
 pride. 
 
 n The same eye that detected the canvas above the fog 
 
THE PILOT. 353 
 
 mfght have seen the flag of a vice-admiral fluttering still 
 nearer the heavens," returned the collected stranger ; "and 
 England, faulty as she may be, is yet too generous to place 
 a flag-officer in time of war in command of a frigate, or a 
 captain in command of a fleet. She knows the value of 
 those who shed their blood in her behalf, and it is thus 
 that she is so well served ! Believe me, Captain Munson, 
 there is nothing short of a ship-of-the-line under that sym 
 bol of rank and tha: broad show of canvas ! " 
 
 " We shall see, sir, we shall see, "returned the old officer, 
 whose manner grew decided as the danger appeared to 
 thicken. "Beat to quarters, Mr. Griffith, for we have none 
 but enemies to expect on this coast." 
 
 The order was instantly issued, when Griffith remarked, 
 with a more temperate zeal : 
 
 " If Mr. Gray be right, we shall have reason to thank 
 God that we are so light of heel ! " 
 
 The cry of "a strange vessel close aboard the frigate," 
 having already flown down the hatches, the ship was in an 
 uproar at the first tap of the drum. The seamen threw 
 themselves from their hammocks, and, lashing them rap 
 idly into long hard bundles, they rushed to the decks, where 
 they were dexterously stowed in the netting, to aid in the 
 defences of the upper part of the vessel. While this 
 tumultuous scene was exhibiting, Griffith gave a secret 
 order to Merry, who disappeared, leading his trembling 
 cousins to a place of safety in the inmost depths of the 
 ship. 
 
 The guns were cleared of their lumber, and loosened. 
 The bulkheads were knocked down and the cabin relieved 
 of its furniture ; and the gun-deck exhibited one unbroken 
 line of formidable cannon, arranged in all the order of a 
 naval battery ready to engage. Arm-chests were thrown 
 open, and the decks strewed with pikes, cutlasses, pistols, 
 and ail the various weapons of boarding. In short, the 
 yards were slung and every other arrangement was made 
 with a readiness and dexterity that were actually wonder 
 ful, though all was performed amid an appearance of dis 
 order and confusion that rendered the ship another Babel 
 during the continuance of the preparations. In a very few 
 minutes everything w r as completed, and even the voices of 
 the men ceased to be heard answering to their names, as 
 they were mustered at their stations by their respective 
 officers. Gradually the ship became as quiet as the gravt* ; 
 
3 5o THE PILOT. 
 
 and when Griffith or his commander found it necessary to 
 speak, their voices were calmer and their tones more mild 
 than usual. The course of the vessel was changed to an 
 oblique line from that in which their enemy was approach 
 ing, though the appearance of flight was to be studiously 
 avoided to the last moment. When nothing further re 
 mained to be done, every eye became fixed on the enor 
 mous pile of swelling canvas that was rising in cloud over 
 cloud far above the fog, and which was manifestly moving, 
 like driving vapor, swiftly to the north. Presently the 
 dull, smoky boundary of the mist which rested on the 
 water was pushed aside in vast volumes, and the long, taper 
 spars that projected from the bowsprit of the strange ship 
 issued from the obscurity, and were quickly, followed by 
 the whole of the enormous fabric to which they were mere!;- 
 light appendages. For a moment streaks of reluctant 
 vapor clung to the huge floating pile ; but they were soon 
 shaken off by the rapid vessel, and the whole of her black 
 hull became distinct to the eye. 
 
 " One, two, three rows of teeth ! " said Boltrope, delib 
 erately counting the tiers of guns that bristled along the 
 sides of the enemy ; " a three-decker ! Jack Manly would 
 show his stern to such a fellow ! and even the bloody 
 Scotchman would run ! " 
 
 " Hard up with your helm, quartermaster!" cried Captain 
 Munson ; " there is indeed no time to hesitate, with such 
 an enemy within a quarter of a mile ! turn the hands up, 
 Mr. Griffith, and pack on the ship from her trucks to her 
 lower studding-sail booms. Be stirring ! Hard up with 
 your helm ! Hard up, and be damned to you ! " 
 
 The unusual earnestness of their aged commander acted 
 on the startled crew like a voice from the deep, and they 
 waited not for the usual signals of the boatswain and 
 drummer to be given, before they broke away from their 
 guns, and rushed tumultuously to aid in spreading the de 
 sired canvas. There was one minute of ominous confusion, 
 that to an inexperienced eye would have foreboded the 
 destruction of all order in the vessel, during which every 
 hand and each tongue seemed in motion ; but it ended in 
 opening the immense folds of light duck which were dis 
 played along the whole line of the masts, far beyond the 
 ordinary sails, overshadowing the waters for a great dis 
 lance, on either side of the vessel. During the moment 
 of inaction that succeeded this sudden exertion, the breeze, 
 
THE PILOT. 361 
 
 which had brought up the three-decker, fell fresher on 
 the sails of the frigate, and she started away from the dan* 
 gerous enemy with a very perceptible advantage in point 
 of sailing. 
 
 " The fog rises ! " cried Griffith ; " give us but the wind 
 for an hour, aud we shall run her out of gunshot ! " 
 
 "These nineties are very fast off the wind," returned the 
 captain, in a low tone, that was intended only for the ears 
 of his. first-lieutenant and the pilot ; "and we shall have a 
 struggle for it." 
 
 The quick eye of the stranger was glancing over the 
 movements of the enemy, while he answered : 
 
 " He finds we have the heels of him already! he is mak 
 ing ready, and we shall be fortunate to escape a broad 
 side ! Let her yaw a little, Mr. Griffith ; touch her lightly 
 with the helm ; if we are raked, sir, we are lost ! " 
 
 The captain sprang on the taffrail of his ship with the 
 activity of a young man, and in an instant he perceived 
 the truth of the other s conjecture. 
 
 Both vessels now ran for a few minutes, keenly watch 
 ing each other s motions like two skilful combatants, the 
 English ship making slight deviations from the line of her 
 course, and then, as her movements were anticipated by 
 the other, turning as cautiously in the opposite direction, 
 until a sudden and wide sweep of her huge bows told the 
 Americans plainly on which tack to expect her. Captain 
 Munson made a silent but impressive gesture with his 
 arms, as if the crisis were too important for speech, which 
 indicated to the watchful Griffith the way he wished the 
 frigate sheered, to avoid the weight of the impending dan 
 ger. Both vessels whirled swiftly up to the wind, with 
 their heads toward the land ; and as the huge black side 
 of the three-decker, checkered with its triple batteries, 
 frowned full upon her foe, it belched forth a flood of fire 
 and smoke, accompanied by a bellowing roar that shook 
 the surly moanings of the sleeping ocean. The nerves of 
 the bravest man in the frigate contracted their fibres, as 
 the hurricane of iron hurtled by them, and each eye ap 
 peared to gaze in stupid wonder, as if tracing the flight of 
 the swift engines of destruction. But the voice of Captain 
 Munson was heard in the din, shouting while he waved 
 his hat -earnestly in the required direction : 
 
 " Meet her ! meet her with the helm, boy ! meet her, Mr 
 Griffith, meet her ! 
 
302 THE PILOT. 
 
 Griffith had so far anticipated this movement, as to have 
 already ordered the head of the frigate to be turned in its 
 former course, when, struck by the unearthly cry of the 
 last tones uttered by his commander, he bent his head, and 
 beheld the venerable seaman driven through the air, his 
 hat still waving, his gray hair floating in the wind, and his 
 eye set in the wild look of death. 
 
 "Great God !" exclaimed the young man, rushing tc 
 die side of the ship, where he was just in time to see the 
 lifeless body disappear in the waters that were dyed in 
 its blood ; "he has been struck by a shot ! Lower away 
 the boat, lower away the jolly-boat, the barge, the tiger, 
 the 
 
 ""Pis useless," interrupted the calm, deep voice of the 
 pilot ; " he has met a warrior s end, and he sleeps in a 
 sailor s grave ! The ship is getting before the wind again, 
 and the enemy is keeping his vessel away." 
 
 The youthful lieutenant was recalled by these words to 
 his duty, and reluctantly turned his eyes away from the 
 bloody spot on the waters, which the busy frigate had al 
 ready passed, to resume the command of the vessel with 
 a forced composure. 
 
 " He has cut some of our running gear," said the mas 
 ter, whose eye had never ceased to dwell on the spars and 
 rigging of the ship: "and there s a splinter out of the 
 maintop-mast that is big enough for a fid ! He has let 
 daylight through some of our canvas too ; but, taking it 
 by-and-large, the squall has gone over, and little harm 
 done. Didn t I hear something said of Captain Munson 
 getting jammed by a shot ? " 
 
 "He is killed!" said Griffith, speaking in a voice that 
 was yet husky with horror " he is dead, sir, and carried 
 overboard ; there is more need that we forget not ourselves 
 in this crisis." 
 
 " Dead ! " said Boltrope, suspending the operation of 
 his active jaws for a moment, in surprise ; " and buried in 
 a wet jacket ! Well, it is lucky tis no worse ; for damme 
 if I did not think every stick in the ship would have been 
 cut out of her ! " 
 
 With this consolatory remark on his lips, the maste* 
 walked slowly forward, continuing his orders to repair the 
 damages with a singleness of purpose that rendered him, 
 however uncouth as a friend, an invaluable man in hi* 
 station. 
 
THE PILOT. 363 
 
 Griffith had not yet brought his mind to the calmness 
 that was so essential to discharge the duties which had 
 thus suddenly and awfully devolved on him, when his el 
 bow was slightly touched by the pilot, who had drawn 
 closer to his side. 
 
 " The enemy appears satisfied with the experiment," 
 said the stranger ; "and as we work the quicker of the 
 two, he loses too much ground to repeat it, if he be a true 
 seaman." 
 
 "And yet, as he finds we leave him so fast," returned 
 Griffith, " he must see that all his hopes rest in cutting us 
 up aloft. I dread that he will come by the wind again, 
 and lay us under his broadside ; we should need a quartet 
 of an hour to run without his range, if he were anchored ! " 
 
 " He plays a sure game see you not that the vessel we 
 made in the eastern board shows the hull of a frigate ? 
 Tis past a doubt that they are of one squadron, and that 
 the expresses have sent them in our wake. The English 
 admiral has spread a broad clew, Mr. Griffith ; and, as he 
 gathers in his ships, he sees that his game has been suc 
 cessful." 
 
 The faculties of Griffith had been too much occupied 
 with the hurry of the chase to look at the ocean ; but 
 startled at the information of the pilot, who spoke coolly, 
 though like a man sensible of the existence of approach 
 ing danger, he took the glass from the other, and with his 
 own eye examined the different vessels in sight. It is cer 
 tain that the experienced officer, whose flag was flying above 
 the light sails of the three-decker, saw the critical situa 
 tion of the chase, and reasoned much in the same manner 
 as the pilot, or the fearful expedient apprehended by Grif 
 fith would have been adopted. Prudence, however, dic 
 tated that he should prevent his enemy from escaping by 
 pressing so closely on his rear as to render it impossible for 
 the American to haul across his bows and run into the open 
 sea between his own vessel and the nearest frigate of his 
 squadron. The unpractised reader will be able to com 
 prehend the case better by accompanying the understand 
 ing eye of Griffith as it glanced from point to point, follow 
 ing the whole horizon. To the west lay the land, along 
 which the Alacrity was urging her way industriously, 
 with the double purpose of keeping her consort abeam, 
 and of avoiding a dangerous proximity to their power 
 ful enemy. To the east, bearing off the starboard bo\v 
 
304 THE PILOT. 
 
 of the American frigate, was the vessel first seen, and 
 which now began to exhibit the hostile appearance of a 
 ship-of-war, steering in a line converging toward them 
 selves, an-d rapidly drawing nigher ; while far in the north 
 east was a vessel as yet faintly discerned, whose evolutions 
 could not be mistaken by one who understood the move 
 ments of nautical warfare. 
 
 " We are hemmed in effectually," said Griffith, dropping 
 the glass from his eye ; "and I know not but our wisest 
 course would be to haul in to the land, and, cutting every 
 thing light adrift, endeavor to cross the broadside of the 
 flag-ship." 
 
 " Provided she left a rag of canvas to do it with ! " re 
 turned the pilot. " Sir, tis an idle hope ! She would strip 
 your ship, in ten minutes, to her plank-shears. Had it not 
 been for a lucky wave on which so many of her shot struck 
 and glanced upward, we should have nothing to boast of 
 left from the tire she has already given ; we must stand on, 
 and drop the three-decker as far as possible." 
 
 " But the frigates?" said Griffith, "what are we to do 
 with the frigates?" 
 
 " Fight them !" returned the pilot, in a low, determined 
 voice ; "fight them! Young man, I have borne the stars 
 and stripes aloft in greater straits than this, and even with 
 honor ! Think not that my fortune will desert me now." 
 
 "We shall have an hour of desperate battle !" 
 
 " On that we may calculate ; but I have lived through 
 whole days of bloodshed ! You seem not one to quail at 
 the sight of an enemy." 
 
 " Let me proclaim your name to the men ! " said Griffith , 
 " twill quicken their blood, and at such a moment be a 
 host in itself." 
 
 " They want it not," returned the pilot, checking the 
 hasty zeal of the other with his hand. " I would be un 
 noticed, unless I am known as becomes me. I will share 
 your danger, but would not rob you of a tittle of your 
 glory. Should we come to a grapple," he continued, while 
 a smile of conscious pride gleamed across his face, " I will 
 give forth the word as a war-cry, and, believe me, these 
 English will quail before it ! " 
 
 Griffith submitted to the stranger s will ; and, after they 
 had deliberated further on the nature of their evolutions, 
 he gave his attention again to the management of the ves 
 sel. The first object which met his eye on turning from 
 
7 HE PILOT. ^? s 
 
 /he pilot was Colonel Howard, pacing the quarter-deck 
 with a determined brow and a haughty mien, as if already 
 in the enjoyment of that triumph which now seemed 
 certain. 
 
 " I fear, sir," said the young man, approaching him with 
 respect, "that you will soon find the deck unpleasant and 
 dangerous. Your wards are 
 
 " Mention not the unworthy term ! " interrupted the 
 colonel. "What greater pleasure can there be than to 
 inhale the odor of loyalty that is wafted from yonder float 
 ing tower of the king ? And danger ! you know but little 
 of old George Howard, young man, if you think he would 
 for thousands miss seeing that symbol of rebellion levelled 
 before the flag of his majesty ! " 
 
 " If that be your wish, Colonel Howard," returned Grif 
 fith, biting his lip as he looked around at the wondering 
 seamen who were listeners, "you will wait in vain ; but I 
 pledge you my word that, when that time arrives, you shall 
 be advised, and that your own hands shall do the ignoble 
 deed." 
 
 "Edward Griffith, why not this moment ? This is your 
 moment of probation submit to the clemency of the 
 crown, and yield your crew to the royal mercy ! In such a 
 case I would remember the child of my brother Harry s 
 friend ; and, believe me, my name is known to the ministry. 
 And you, misguided and ignorant abettors of rebellion ! 
 cast aside your useless weapons, or prepare to meet the 
 vengeance of yonder powerful and victorious servant of 
 your prince." 
 
 " Fall back ! back with ye, fellows ! " cried Griffith, 
 fiercely, to the men who were gathering around the 
 colonel, with looks of sullen vengeance. " If a man ot 
 you dare approach him, he shall be cast into the sea !" 
 
 The sailors retreated at the order of their commander ; 
 but the elated veteran had continued to pace the deck for 
 many minutes before stronger interests diverted the angry 
 glances of the seamen to other objects. 
 
 Notwithstanding the ship-of-the-line was slowly sinking 
 beneath the distant waves, and in less than an hour from 
 the time she had fired the broadside no more than one of her 
 three tiers of guns was visible from the deck of the frigate, 
 she yet presented an irresistible obstacle against retreat to 
 the south. On the other hand, the ship first seen drew so 
 nigh as to render the glass no longer necessary in watch- 
 
366 THE PILOT. 
 
 ing her movements. She proved to be a frigate, though 
 one so materially lighter than the American, as to have 
 rendered her conquest easy, had not her two consorts con 
 tinued to press on for the scene of battle with such rapid 
 ity. During the chase the scene had shifted from the point 
 opposite to St. Ruth to the verge of those shoals where 
 our tale commenced. As they approached the latter, the 
 smallest of the English ships drew so nigh as to render the 
 combat unavoidable. Griffith and his crew had not been 
 idle in the intermediate time, but all the usual prepara 
 tions against the casualties of a sea-fight had been duly 
 made, when the drum once more called the men to their 
 quarters, and the ship was deliberately stripped of her un 
 necessary sails, like a prize-fighter about to enter the arena, 
 casting aside the encumbrances of dress. At the instant 
 she gave this intimation of her intention to abandon flight, 
 and trust the issue to the combat, the nearest English frig 
 ate also took in her light canvas in token of her accep 
 tance of the challenge. 
 
 " He is but a little fellow," said Griffith to the pilot, who 
 hovered at his elbow with a sort of fatherly interest in the 
 other s conduct of the battle, " though he carries a stout 
 heart." 
 
 " We must crush him at a blow," returned the stranger ; 
 " not a shot must be delivered until our yards are locking." 
 
 " I see him training his twelves upon us already ; we 
 may soon expect his fire." 
 
 " After standing the brunt of a ninety-gun ship," ob 
 served the collected pilot, " we shall not shrink from the 
 broadside of a two-and-thirty." 
 
 " Stand to your guns, men ! " cried Griffith, through his 
 trumpet "not a shot to be fired without the order." 
 
 This caution, so necessary to check the ardor of the sea 
 men, was hardly uttered, before their enemy became 
 wrapped in sheets of fire and volumes of smoke, as gun 
 after gun hurled its iron missiles at their vessel in quick 
 succession. Ten minutes might have passed, the two ves 
 sels sheering close to each other every foot, they advanced, 
 during which time the crew of the American were com 
 pelled, by their commander, to suffer the fire of their ad 
 versary, without returning a shot. This short period, 
 which seemed an age to the seamen, was distinguished in 
 their vessel by deep silence. Even the wounded and dy 
 ing, who fell in every part of the ship, stifled their groans, 
 
THE PILOT. 367 
 
 under the influence of the severe discipline > which gave a 
 character to every man and each movement of the vessel ; 
 and those officers who were required to speak, were heard 
 only in the lowest tones of resolute preparation. At length 
 the ship slowly entered the skirts of the smoke that envel 
 oped their enemy ; and Griffith heard the man who stood 
 at his side whisper the word " Now ! " 
 
 " Let them have it ! " cried Griffith, in a voice that was 
 heard in the remotest parts of the ship. 
 
 The shout that burst from the seamen appeared to lift 
 the decks of the vessel, and the affrighted frigate trembled 
 like an aspen with the recoil of her own massive artillery, 
 that shot forth a single sheet of flame, the sailors having 
 disregarded, in their impatience, the usual order of firing. 
 The effect of the broadside on the enemy was still more 
 dreadful ; for a death-like silence succeeded to the roar of 
 the guns, which was only broken by the shrieks and exe 
 crations that burst from her, like the moanings of the 
 damned. During the few moments in which the Ameri 
 cans were again loading their cannon, and the English 
 were recovering from their confusion, the vessel of the 
 former moved slowly past her antagonist, and was already 
 doubling across her bows, when the latter was suddenly, 
 and, considering the inequality of their forces, it maybe 
 added desperately, headed into her enemy. The two frig 
 ates grappled. The sudden and furious charge made by 
 the Englishman, as he threw his masses of daring seamen 
 along his bowsprit and out of his channels, had nearly 
 taken Griffith by surprise ; but Manual, who had delivered 
 his first fire with the broadside, now did good service by 
 ordering his men to beat back the intruders by a steady 
 and continued discharge. Even the wary pilot lost sight 
 of their other foes in the high daring of that moment, and 
 smiles of stern pleasure were exchanged between him and 
 Griffith, as both comprehended at a glance their advan 
 tages. 
 
 " Lash his bowsprit to our mizzen-mast," shouted the 
 lieutenant, " and we will sweep his decks as he lies !" 
 
 Twenty men sprang eagerly forward to execute the 
 order, among the foremost of whom were Boltrope and the 
 stranger. 
 
 " Ay, now he s our own ! " cried the busy master, " and 
 we wil. 1 take an owner s liberties with him, and break him 
 tip for, by the Eternal 
 
368 THE PILOT. 
 
 " Peace, rude man," said the pilot, in a voice of solemn 
 remonstrance ; " at the next instant you may face youl 
 God ; mock not his awful name ! " 
 
 The master found time, before he threw himself from the 
 spar on the deck of the frigate again, to cast a look of 
 amazement at his companion, who, with a steady mien, but 
 with an eye that lighted with a warrior s ardor, viewed the 
 battle that raged around him like one who marked its 
 progress to control the result. 
 
 The sight of the Englishmen rushing onward with 
 shouts and bitter menaces warmed the blood of Colonel 
 Howard, who pressed to the side of the frigate, and en 
 couraged his friends, by his gestures and voice, to come on. 
 
 " Away with ye, old croaker ! " cried the master, seizing 
 him by the collar ; " a\vay with ye to the hold, or I ll order 
 you fired from a gun ! " 
 
 "Down with your arms, rebellious dog !" shouted the 
 colonel, carried beyond himself by the ardor of the fray ; 
 " down to the dust, and implore the mercy of your injured 
 prince ! " 
 
 Invigorated by a momentary glow, the veteran grappled 
 with his brawny antagonist ; but the issue of the short 
 struggle was yet suspended, when the English, driven back 
 by the fire of the marines, and the menacing front that 
 Griffith with his boarders presented, retreated to the fore 
 castle of their own ship, and attempted to return the deadly 
 blows they were receiving, in their hull, from the cannon 
 that Barnstable directed. A solitary gun was all they could 
 bring to bear on the Americans ; but this, loaded with 
 canister, was fired so near as to send its glaring flame into 
 the very faces of their enemies. The struggling colonel, 
 who was already sinking beneath the arm of his foe, felt 
 the rough grasp loosen from his throat at the flash, and the 
 two combatants sunk powerless on their knees facing each 
 other. 
 
 " How now, brother?" exclaimed Boltrope, with a smile 
 of grim fierceness ; " some of that grist is gone to your 
 mill, ha !" 
 
 No answer could, however, be given before the yielding 
 forms of both fell to the deck, where they lay helpless 
 amid the din of the battle and the wild confusion of the 
 eager combatants. 
 
 Notwithstanding the furious struggle they witnessed, the 
 elements did not cease their functions ; and, urged by the 
 
TffE PILOT. 369 
 
 breeze, and lifted irresistibly on a wave, the American ship 
 was forced through the water still farther across the bows 
 of her enemy. The idle fastenings of hemp and iron were 
 snapped asunder like strings of tow, and Griffith saw his 
 own ship borne away from the Englishman at the instant 
 that the bowsprit of the latter was torn from its lashings, 
 and tumbled into the sea, followed by spar after spar, until 
 nothing of all her proud tackling was remaining but the 
 few parted and useless ropes that were left dangling along 
 the stumps of her lower masts. As his own stately vessel 
 moved from the confusion she had caused, and left the 
 dense cloud of smoke in which her helpless antagonist lay, 
 the eye of the young man glanced anxiously toward the 
 horizon, where he now remembered he had more foes to 
 contend against. 
 
 " We have shaken off the thirty-two most happily ! " he 
 said to the pilot, wiio followed his motions with singular 
 interest ; " but here is another fellow sheering in for us, 
 who shows as many p6rts as ourselves, and who appears 
 inclined for a closer interview ; besides, the hull of the 
 ninety is rising again, and I fear she will be down but too 
 soon ! " 
 
 "We must keep the use of our braces and sails," re 
 turned the pilot, "and on no account close with the other 
 frigate ; we must play a double game, sir, and fight this 
 new adversary with our heels as well as with our guns." 
 
 " Tis time then that we were busy, for he is shortening 
 sail, and, as he nears so fast, we may expect to hear from 
 him every minute ; what do you propose, sir ?" 
 
 " Let him gather in his canvas," returned the pilot ; 
 " and when he thinks himself snug, we can throw out a 
 hundred men at once upon our yards, and spread every 
 thing alow and aloft ; we may then draw ahead of him by 
 surprise ; if we can once get him in our wake I have no 
 fears of dropping them all." 
 
 " A stern chase is a long chase," cried Griffith, " and 
 the thing may do ! Clear up the decks here, and carry 
 down the wounded ; and as we have our hands full, the 
 poor fellows who have done with us must go overboard at 
 once." 
 
 This melancholy duty was instantly attended to, while 
 
 the young seaman who commanded the frigate returned 
 
 to his duty with the absorbed air of one who felt its high 
 
 vesponsibility. These occupations, however, did not pr- 
 
 24 
 
370 THE PILOT. 
 
 vent hvs hearing the sounds of Barnstable s voice calling 
 eagerly to young Merry. Bending his head toward the 
 sound, Griffith beheld his friend, looking anxiously up the 
 main hatch, with a face grimed with smoke, his coat off, 
 and his shirt bespattered with human blood. " Tell me r 
 boy," he said, " is Mr. Griffith untouched ? They say that 
 a shot came in upon the quarter-deck that tripped up the 
 heels of half a dozen." 
 
 Before Merry could answer, the eyes of Barnstable, 
 which even while he spoke were scanning the state of the 
 vessel s rigging, encountered the kind looks of Griffith, 
 and from that moment perfect harmony was restored be 
 tween the friends. 
 
 " Ah ! you are there, Griff, and with a whole skin, I 
 see," cried Barnstable, smiling with pleasure ; " they have 
 passed poor Boltropedown into one of his own store-rooms! 
 If that fellow s bowsprit had held on ten minutes longer, 
 what a mark I should have made on his face and eyes ! " 
 
 " Tis perhaps best as it is," returned Griffith; "but 
 what have you done with those whom we are most bound 
 to protect ? " 
 
 Barnstable made a significant gesture toward the depths 
 of the vessel as he answered : 
 
 " On the cables ; safe as wood, iron, and water, can 
 keep them though Katherine has had her head up three 
 times to 
 
 A summons from the pilot drew Griffith away, and the 
 young officers were compelled to forget their individual 
 feelings in the pressing duties of their stations. 
 
 The ship which the American frigate had now to op 
 pose was a vessel of near her own size and equipage ; and, 
 when Griffith looked at her again, he perceived that she 
 Had made her preparations to assert her equality in man 
 ful fight. 
 
 Her sails had been gradually reduced to the usual quan 
 tity, and, by certain movements on her decks, the lieuten 
 ant and his constant attendant, the pilot, well understood 
 that she only wanted to lessen her distance a few hundred 
 yards to begin the action. 
 
 "Now spread everything," whispered the stranger. 
 
 Griffith applied the trumpet to his mouth and shouted 
 in a voice that was carried even to his enemy : " Let fal] 
 out with your booms sheet home hoist away of every 
 thing " 
 
THE PILOT. 371 
 
 The inspiring cry was answered by a universal bustle, 
 fifty men flew out on the dizzy heights of the different 
 spars, while broad sheets of canvas rose as suddenly along 
 the masts as if some mighty bird were spreading its wings. 
 The Englishman instantly perceived his mistake and "he 
 answered the artifice by a roar of artillery. Griffith 
 watched the effect of the broadside with an absorbing in 
 terest, as the shot whistled above his head ; but when he 
 perceived his masts untouched, and the few unimportant 
 ropes only that were cut, he replied to the uproar with a 
 burst of pleasure. A few men were, however, seen cling 
 ing with wild frenzy to the cordage, dropping from rope 
 to rope like wounded birds fluttering through a tree, until 
 they fell heavily into the ocean, the sullen ship sweeping 
 by them in cold indifference. At the next instant the 
 spars and masts of their enemy exhibited a display of men 
 similar to their own, when Griffith again placed the trum 
 pet to his mouth and shouted aloud : 
 
 " Give it to them; drive them from their yards, boys; 
 scatter them with your grape unreeve their rigging !" 
 
 The crew of the American wanted but little encourage 
 ment to enter on this experiment with hearty good-will, 
 and the close of his cheering words were uttered amid the 
 deafening roar of his own cannon. The pilot had, how 
 ever, mistaken the skill and readiness of their foe ; for, 
 notwithstanding the disadvantageous circumstances under 
 which the Englishman increased his sail, the duty w r as 
 steadily and dexterously performed. 
 
 The two ships were now running rapidly on parallel 
 lines, hurling at each other their instruments of destruc 
 tion with furious industry, and with severe and certain 
 loss to both, though with no manifest advantage in favor 
 ol either. Both Griffith and the pilot witnessed with deep 
 concern this unexpected defeat of their hopes ; for they 
 could not conceal from themselves, that each moment les 
 sened their velocity through the water, as the shot of their 
 enemy stripped the canvas from the yards, or dashed aside 
 the lighter spars in their terrible progress. 
 
 "We find our equal here ! " said Griffith to the stranger. 
 "The ninety is heaving up again like a mountain, and, if 
 we continue to shorten sail at this rate, she will soon be 
 down upon us ! " 
 
 "You say true, sir," returned the pilot, musing, "the 
 man shows judgment as well as spirit ; but " 
 
372 THE PILOT. 
 
 He was interrupted by Merry, who rushed from the for* 
 ward part of the vessel, his whole face betokening the 
 eagerness of his spirit and the importance of his intelli 
 gence : 
 
 " The breakers ! " he cried, when nigh enough to be 
 heard amid the din ; " we are running dead on a ripple, 
 and the sea is white not two hundred yards ahead." 
 
 The pilot jumped on a gun, and, bending to catch a 
 glimpse through the smoke, he shouted, in those clear, 
 piercing tones that could be even heard among the roar 
 ing of the cannon " Port, your helm ! we are on the Dev 
 il s Grip ! pass up the trumpet, sir ; port your helm, fellow ; 
 give it them, boys give it to the proud English dogs ! " 
 Griffith unhesitatingly relinquished the symbol of his 
 rank, fastening his own firm look on the calm but quick 
 eye of the pilot, and gathering assurance from the high 
 confidence he read in the countenance of the stranger. 
 The seamen were too busy with their cannon and their 
 rigging to regard their new danger, and the frigate entered 
 one of the dangerous passes of the shoals in the heat of a 
 severely-contested battle. The wondering looks of a few 
 of the older sailors glanced at the sheets of foam that flew 
 by them, in doubt whether the wild gambols of the waves 
 were occasioned by the shot of the enemy, when suddenly 
 the noise of cannon was succeeded by the sullen wash of 
 the disturbed element, and presently the vessel glided out 
 of her smoky shroud, and was boldly steering in the centre 
 of the narrow passages. For ten breathless minutes longer 
 the pilot continued to hold an uninterrupted sway, during 
 which the vessel ran swiftly by ripples and breakers, by 
 streaks of foam and darker passages of deep water, when 
 he threw down his trumpet, and exclaimed : 
 
 " What threatened to be our destruction has proved our 
 salvation ! Keep yonder hill crowned with wood, one point 
 open from the church-tower at its base, and steer east by 
 north ; you will run through these shoals on that course in 
 an hour, and by so doing you will gain five leagues of your 
 enemy, who will have to double their tail." 
 
 The moment he stepped from the gun, the pilot lost the 
 air of authority that had so singularly distinguished his 
 animated form, and even the close interest he had mani 
 fested in the incidents of the day became lost in the cold, 
 settled reserve he had affected during his intercourse with 
 his present associates. Every officer in the ship, after tha 
 
THE PILOT. 373 
 
 breathless suspense of uncertainty had passed, rushed to 
 those places where a view might be taken of their enemies. 
 The ninety was still steering boldly onward, and had 
 already approached the two-and-thirty, which lay a help 
 less wreck, rolling on the unruly seas that were rudely 
 tossing her on their wanton billows. The frigate last en 
 gaged was running along the edge of the ripple, with 
 her torn sails flying loosely in the air, her ragged spars 
 tottering in the breeze, and everything above her hull ex 
 hibiting the confusion of a sudden and unlooked-for check 
 to her progress. The exulting taunts and mirthful con 
 gratulations of the seamen, as they gazed at the English 
 ships, were, however, soon forgotten in the attention that 
 was required to their own vessel. The drums beat the re 
 treat, the guns were lashed, the wounded again removed, 
 and every individual able to keep the deck \vas required to 
 lend his assistance in repairing the damages of the frigate 
 and securing her masts. 
 
 The promised hour carried the ship safely through all 
 the dangers, which were much lessened by daylight ; and, 
 by the time the sun had begun to fall over the land, Grif 
 fith, who had not quitted the deck during the day, beheld 
 his vessel once more cleared of the confusion of the chase 
 and battle, and ready to meet another foe. At this period 
 he was summoned to the cabin, at the request of the ship s 
 chaplain. Delivering the charge of the frigate to Barn- 
 stable, who had been his active assistant, no less in their 
 subsequent labors than in the combat, he hastily divested 
 himself of the vestiges of the fight, and proceeded to obey 
 the repeated and earnest call. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 " Whither, midst falling dew, 
 While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, 
 Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue 
 Thy solitary way? " BRYANT. 
 
 WHEN the young seaman who now commanded the frig 
 ate descended from the quarter-deck in compliance with 
 the oft-repeated summons, he found the vessel restored to 
 the same neatness as if nothing had occurred to disturb its 
 o r dcr. The gun-deck had been cleansed of its horrid 
 
374 THE PILOT. 
 
 stains, and the smoke of the fight had long since ascended 
 through the hatches and mingled with the clouds that flit 
 ted above the ship. As he walked along the silent bat 
 teries, even the urgency of his visit could not prevent him 
 Jrorn glancing his eyes toward the splintered sides, those 
 terrible vestiges by which the paths of the shot of their 
 enemy might be traced ; and by the time he tapped lightly 
 at the door of the cabin, his quick look had embraced 
 every material injury the vessel had sustained in her prin 
 cipal points of defence. The door was opened by the sur 
 geon of the frigate, who, as he stepped aside to permit 
 Griffith to enter, shook his head with that air of meaning 
 which, in one of his profession, is understood to imply the 
 abandonment of all hopes, and then immediately quitted 
 the apartment, in order to attend to those who might profit 
 by his services. 
 
 The reader is not to imagine that Griffith had lost sight 
 of Cecilia and her cousin during the occurrences of that 
 eventful day : on the contrary, his troubled fancy had pre 
 sented her terror and distress, even in the hottest moments 
 of the fight ; and the instant that the crew were called 
 from their guns he had issued an order to replace the bulk 
 heads of the cabin, and to arrange its furniture for their 
 accommodation, though the higher and imperious duties 
 of his station had precluded his attending to their comfort 
 in person. He expected, therefore, to find the order of 
 the rooms restored ; but he was by no means prepared to 
 encounter the scene he was now to witness. 
 
 Between two of the sullen cannon, which gave such an 
 air of singular wildness to the real comfort of the cabin, 
 was placed a large couch, on which the colonel was lying, 
 evidently near his end. Cecilia was weeping by his side, 
 her dark ringlets falling in unheeded confusion around her 
 pale features, and sweeping in their rich exuberance the 
 deck on which she kneeled. Katherine leaned tenderly 
 over the form of the dying veteran, while her dark, tearful 
 eyes seemed to express self-accusation blended with deep 
 commiseration. A few attendants of both sexes surrounded 
 the solemn scene, all of whom appeared to be under the 
 influence of the hopeless intelligence which the medical 
 officer had but that moment communicated. The servants 
 of the ship had replaced the furniture with a care that 
 mocked the dreadful struggle that so recently disfigured 
 the warlike apartment, and the stout, square frame of Bolt* 
 
THE PILOT. 375 
 
 rope occupied the opposite settee, his neaa resting on the 
 lap of the captain s steward, and his hand gently held in 
 the grasp of his friend the chaplain. Griffith had heard of 
 the wound of the master, but his own eyes now conveyed 
 the first intelligence of the situation of Colonel Howard. 
 When the shock of this sudden discovery had a little sub 
 sided, the young man approached the couch of the latter, 
 and attempted to express his regret and pity, in a voice 
 that afforded an assurance of his sincerity. 
 
 " Say no more, Edward Griffith," interrupted the colonel, 
 waving his hand feebly for silence ; " it seemeth to be the 
 will of God that this rebellion should triumph, and it is 
 not for vain man to impeach the acts of Omnipotence. To 
 my erring faculties, it wears an appearance of mystery, but 
 doubtless it is to answer the purpose of his own inscruta 
 ble providence. I have sent for you, Edward, on business 
 that I would fain see accomplished before I die, that it 
 may not be said that old George Howard neglected his 
 duty, even in his last moments. You see this weeping 
 child at my side ; tell me, young man, do you love the 
 maiden ? " 
 
 " Am I to be asked such a question ? " exclaimed Griffith. 
 
 " And will you cherish her will you supply to her the 
 places of father and mother will you become the fond 
 guardian of her innocence and weakness ?" 
 
 Griffith could give no other answer than a fervent pres 
 sure of the hand he had clasped. 
 
 " I believe you," continued the dying man ; "for how 
 ever he may have forgotten to inculcate his own loyalty, 
 worthy Hugh Griffith could never neglect to make his son 
 a man of honor. I had weak and perhaps evil wishes in 
 behalf of my late unfortunate kinsman, Mr. Christopher 
 Dillon ; but they have told me that he was false to his 
 faith. If this be true, I would refuse him the hand of the 
 girl, though he claimed the fealty of the British realms. 
 But he has passed away, and I am about to follow him into 
 a world where we shall find but one Lord to serve ; and it 
 may have been better for us both had we more remem 
 bered our duty to Him, while serving the princes of the 
 earth. One thing further know you this officer of your 
 Congress well this Mr. Barnstable?" 
 
 " I have sailed with him for years," returned Griffith, 
 " and can answer for him as myself." 
 
 The veteran made an effort to rise, which in part sue* 
 
376 THE PILOT. 
 
 ceeded, and he fastened on the youth a look of keen scru> 
 tiny, that gave to his pallid features an expression of sol 
 emn meaning, as he continued : 
 
 " Speak not now, sir, as the companion of his idle 
 pleasures, and as the unthinking associate commends his 
 fellow, but remember that your opinion is given to a dying 
 man who leans on your judgment for advice. The daugh 
 ter of John Plowden is a trust not to be neglected, nor will 
 my death prove easy, if a doubt of her being worthily be 
 stowed shall remain." 
 
 " He is a gentleman," returned Griffith, " and one whose 
 heart is not less kind than gallant he loves your ward, 
 and, great as may be her merit, he is deserving of it all. 
 Like myself, he has also loved the land that gave him birth, 
 before the land of his ancestors, but " 
 
 " That is now forgotten," interrupted the colonel ; "after 
 what I have this day witnessed, I am forced to believe that 
 it is the pleasure of Heaven that you are to prevail ! But, 
 sir, a disobedient inferior will be apt to make an unreason 
 able commander. The recent contention between you 
 
 " Remember it not, dear sir," exclaimed Griffith, with 
 generous zeal " twas unkindly provoked, and it is already 
 forgotten and pardoned. He has sustained me nobly 
 throughout the day, and my life on it, that he knows how 
 to treat a woman as a brave man should ! " 
 
 " Then am I content ! " said the veteran, sinking back on 
 the couch ; "let him be summoned." 
 
 The whispering message which Griffith gave, requesting 
 Mr. Barnstable to enter the cabin, was quickly conveyed, 
 and he had appeared before his friend deemed it discreet 
 to disturb the reflections of the veteran by again address 
 ing him. When the entrance of the young sailor was an 
 nounced, the colonel again roused himself, and addressed 
 his wondering listener, though in a manner much less con 
 fiding and familiar than that which he had adopted toward 
 Griffith. 
 
 " The declarations you made last night relative to my 
 ward, the daughter of the late Captain John Plowden, sir, 
 have left me nothing to learn on the subject of your wishes. 
 Here, then, gentlemen, you both obtain the reward of your 
 attention ! Let the reverend divine hear you pronounce 
 the marriage vows, while I have strength to listen, that I 
 may be a witness against ye, in Heaven, should ye forget 
 their tenor ! " 
 
THE PILOT. 377 
 
 " Not now, not now," murmured Cecilia ; " oh, ask it not 
 now, my uncle ! " 
 
 Katherine spoke not ; but deeply touched by the tender 
 interest her guardian manifested in her welfare, she bowed 
 her face to her bosom, in subdued feeling, and suffered 
 the tears that had been suffusing her eyes to roll down her 
 cheeks in large drops, till they bathed the deck. 
 
 "Yes, now, my love," continued the colonel, "or I fail 
 in my duty. I go shortly to stand face to face with your 
 parents, my children ; for the man who, dying, expects not 
 to meet worthy Hugh Griffith and honest Jack Plowden 
 in Heaven, can have no clear view of the rewards that be 
 long to lives of faithful service to the country, or of gallant 
 loyalty to the king ! I trust no one can justly say that I 
 ever forgot the delicacy due to your gentle sex ; but it is 
 no moment for idle ceremony when time is shortening into 
 minutes, and heavy duties remain to be discharged. I could 
 not die in peace, children, were I to leave you here in the 
 wide ocean, I had almost said in the wide world, without 
 that protection which becomes your tender years and still 
 more tender characters. If it has pleased God to remove 
 your guardian, let his place be supplied by those he wills 
 to succeed him ! " 
 
 Cecilia no longer hesitated, but she arose slowly from 
 her knees, and offered her hand to Griffith with an air of 
 forced resignation. Katherine submitted to be led by 
 Barnstable to her side : and the chaplain, who had been 
 an affected listener to the dialogue, in obedience to an ex 
 pressive signal from the eye of Griffith, opened the prayer- 
 book from which he had been gleaning consolation for the 
 dying master, and commenced reading, in trembling tones, 
 the marriage-service. The vows were pronounced by the 
 weeping brides in voices more distinct and audible than if 
 they had been uttered amid the gay crowds that usually 
 throng a bridal ; for, though they were the irreclaimable 
 words that bound them forever to the men whose power 
 over their feelings they thus proclaimed to the world, the 
 reserve of maiden diffidence was lost in one engrossing 
 emotion of solemnity, created by the awful presence in 
 which they stood. When the benediction was pronounced, 
 the head of Cecilia dropped on the shoulder of her 
 husband, where she wept violently for a moment, and 
 then, resuming her place at the couch, she once more 
 knelt at the side of her uncle. Katherine received the 
 
378 THE PILOT. 
 
 warm kiss of Barnstable passively, and returned to the spot 
 whence she had been led. 
 
 Colonel Howard succeeded in raising his person to wit 
 ness the ceremony, and had answered to each prayer with 
 a fervent " Amen." He fell back with the last words; and 
 a look of satisfaction shone in his aged and pallid features 
 that declared the interest he had taken in the scene. 
 
 " I thank you, my children," he at length uttered, " I 
 thank you ; for I know how much you have sacrificed to 
 my wishes. You will find all my papers relative to the 
 estates of my wards, gentlemen, in the hands of my banker 
 in London ; and you will also find there my will, Edward, 
 by which you will learn that Cicely has not come to your 
 arms an unportioned bride. What my wards are in persons 
 and manners your eyes can witness, and I trust the 
 vouchers in London will show that I have not been an un 
 faithful steward to their pecuniary affairs ! " 
 
 " Name it not say no more, or you will break my 
 heart," cried Katherine, sobbing aloud, in the violence of 
 her remorse at having ever pained so true a friend. " Oh ! 
 talk of yourself, think of yourself ; we are unworthy at 
 least I am unworthy of another thought ! " 
 
 The dying man extended a hand to her in kindness, 
 and continued, though his voice grew feebler as he spoke: 
 
 "Then to turn to myself I would wish to lie, like my 
 ancestors, in the bosom of the earth and in consecrated 
 ground." 
 
 " It shall be done," whispered Griffith ; " I will see it 
 done myself." 
 
 "I thank thee, my son," said the veteran; "for such 
 thou art to me in being the husband of Cicely you will 
 find, in my will, that I have liberated and provided for all my 
 slaves except those ungrateful scoundrels who deserted 
 their master they have seized their own freedom, and they 
 need not be indebted to me for the same. There is, 
 Edward, also an unworthy legacy to the king ; his majesty 
 will deign to receive it from an old and faithful servant, 
 and you will not miss the trifling gift." A long pause fol 
 lowed, as if he had been summing up the account of his 
 earthly duties, and found them duly balanced, when he 
 added : " Kiss me. Cicely and you, Katherine I find you 
 have the genuine feelings of honest Jack, your father. 
 My eyes grow dim which is the hand of Griffith ? Young 
 gentleman, I have given you all that a fond old man had 
 
THE PILOT. 373 
 
 to bestow deal tenderly with the precious child we have 
 not properly understood each other I had mistaken both 
 you and Mr. Cristopher Dillon, I believe ; perhaps I may 
 also have mistaken my duty to America but I was too 
 old to change my politics or my religion I I I loved 
 the king God bless him 
 
 His words became fainter and fainter as he proceeded ; 
 and the breath deserted his body with this benediction on 
 his livid lips, which the proudest monarch might covet from 
 so honest a man. 
 
 The body was instantly borne into a state-room by the 
 attendants ; and Griffith and Barnstable supported their 
 brides into the after-cabin, where they left them seated on 
 the sofa that lined the stern of the ship, weeping bitterly, 
 in each other s arms. 
 
 No part of the preceding scene had been unobserved 
 by Boltrope, whose small, hard eyes were observed by 
 the young men to twinkle, when they returned into the 
 state apartment ; and they approached their wounded com 
 rade to apologize for the seeming neglect that their con 
 duct had displayed. 
 
 " I heard you were hurt, Boltrope," said Griffith, taking 
 him kindly by the hand ; " but, as I know you are not un 
 used to being marked by shot, I trust we shall soon see you 
 again on deck." 
 
 "Ay, ay," returned the master, "you ll want no spy- 
 
 f lasses to see the old hulk as you launch it into the sea. I 
 ave had shot, as you say, before now to tear my running 
 gear, and even to knock a splinter out of some of my tim 
 bers ; but this fellow has found his way into my bread- 
 room ; and the cruise of life is up ! " 
 
 " Sure the case is not so bad, honest David," said 
 Barnstable ; " you have kept afloat, to my knowledge, 
 with a bigger hole in your skin than this unlucky hit has 
 made ! " 
 
 " Ay, ay," returned the master, " that was in my upper 
 works, where the doctor could get at it with a plug ; but 
 this chap has knocked away the shifting-boards, and I feel 
 as if the whole cargo was broken up. You may say that 
 Tourniquet rates me all the same as a dead man ; for, after 
 looking at the shot-hole, he has turned me over to the par 
 son here, like a piece of old junk which is only fit to be 
 worked up into something new. Captain Munson had a 
 lucky time of it ! I think you said, Mr. Griffith, that the 
 
380 THE PILOT. 
 
 old gentleman was launched overboard with everything 
 standing, and that Death made but one rap at his door, be 
 fore he took his leave ! " 
 
 " His end was indeed sudden ! " returned Griffith ; " but 
 it is what we seamen must expect." 
 
 " And for which there is so much the more occasion to 
 be prepared," the chaplain ventured to add, in a low, 
 humble, and, perhaps, a timid voice. 
 
 ^ The sailing-master looked keenly from one to the other 
 as they spoke ; and, after a short pause, he continued, with 
 an air of great submission : 
 
 " Twas his luck ; and I suppose it is sinful to begrudge 
 a man his lawful luck. As for being prepared, parson, that is 
 your business, and not mine ; therefore, as there is but little 
 time to spare, why, the sooner you set about it the better ; 
 and, to save unnecessary trouble, I may as well tell you not 
 to strive to make too much of me ; for, I must own it to 
 my shame, I never took learning kindly. If you can fit me 
 for some middling berth in the other world, like the one I 
 hold in this ship, it will suit me as well, and perhaps be 
 easier to all hands of us." 
 
 If there was a shade of displeasure blended with the sur 
 prise that crossed the features of the divine at this extra 
 ordinary limitation of his duties, it entirely disappeared 
 when he considered more closely the perfect expression of 
 simplicity with which the dying master uttered his wishes. 
 After a long and melancholy pause, which neither Griffith 
 nor his friend felt any inclination to interrupt, the chap 
 lain replied : 
 
 " It is not the province of man to determine on the de 
 crees of the merciful dispensations of the Deity ; and noth 
 ing that I can do, Mr. Boltrope, will have any weight in 
 making up the mighty and irrevocable decree. What I 
 said to you last night, in our conversation on this very 
 subject, must still be fresh in your memory, and there is 
 no good reason why I should hold different language to you 
 now." 
 
 " I can t say that I logged all that passed," returned the 
 master ; " and that which I do recollect fell chiefly from 
 myself, for the plain reason that a man remembers his own 
 better than his neighbor s ideas. And this puts me in 
 mind, Mr. Griffith, to tell you that one of the forty-two s 
 from the three-decker travelled across the forecastle, and 
 tut the best bower within a fathom of the clinch as handily 
 
THE PILOT. 381 
 
 as an old woman would clip her rotten yarn with a pair 
 of tailor s shears ! If you will be so good as to order one 
 of my mates to shift the cable end-for-end, and makje a new 
 bend of it, I ll do as much for you another time." 
 
 " Mention it not," said Griffith ; " rest assured that every 
 thing shall be done for the security of the ship in your 
 department I will superintend the whole duty in person ; 
 and I would have you release your mind from all anxiety 
 on the subject, to attend to vour more important interests 
 elsewhere." 
 
 " Why," returned Boltrope, with a little show of perti 
 nacity, " I have an opinion that the cleaner a man takes his 
 hands into the other world, of the matters of duty in this, 
 the better he will be fitted to handle anything new. Now. 
 the parson, here, undertook to lay down the doctrine last 
 night that it was no matter how well or how ill a man be 
 haved himself, so that he squared his conscience by the 
 lifts and braces of faith ; which I take to be a doctrine 
 that is not to be preached on shipboard ; for it would play 
 the devil with the best ship s company that was ever mus 
 tered." 
 
 " Oh ! no no dear Mr. Boltrope, you mistook me and 
 my doctrine altogether !" exclaimed the chaplain ; "at least 
 you mistook 
 
 "Perhaps, sir," interrupted Griffith, gently, "our honest 
 friend will not be more fortunate now. Is there nothing 
 earthly that hangs upon your mind, Boltrope ; no wish to 
 be remembered to any one, nor any bequest to make of your 
 property ? " 
 
 " He has a mother, I know," said Barnstable, in a low 
 voice ; " he often spoke of her to me in the night-watches ; 
 I think she must be still living." 
 
 The master, who distinctly heard his young shipmates, 
 continued for more than a minute rolling the tobacco, 
 which he still retained, from one side of his mouth to the 
 other, with an industry that denoted singular agitation for 
 the man ; and raising one of his broad hands, with the 
 other he picked the worn skin from fingers \vhich were al 
 ready losing their brownish-yellow hue in the fading color 
 of death, before he answered : 
 
 " Why, yes, the old woman still keeps her grip upon 
 life, which is more than can be said of her son David. The 
 old man was lost the time the Susan and Dorothy was 
 wrecked on the back of Cape Cod ; you remember it, Mr. 
 
3$2 THE PILOT. 
 
 Barnstable ? you were then a lad, sailing on whaling-voy< 
 ages, from the island ; well, ever since that gale, I ve en< 
 deavored to make smooth water for the old woman myself, 
 though she has had but a rough passage of it, at the best - ; 
 the voyage of life, with her, having been pretty much 
 crossed by rugged weather and short stores." 
 
 " And you would have us carry some message to her ? ! 
 said Griffith, kindly. 
 
 "Why, as to messages," continued the master, whose 
 voice was rapidly growing more husky and broken, " there 
 never has been many compliments passed between us, for 
 the reason that she is not more used to receive them 
 then I am to make them. But if any of you will over 
 haul the purser s books, and see what there is standing 
 there to my side of the leaf and take a little pains to get 
 it to the old woman you will find her moored in the lee 
 side of a house ay, here it is, No. 10 Cornhill, Boston, i 
 took care to get her a good warm berth, seeing that a 
 woman of eighty wants a snug anchorage at her time of 
 life, if ever." 
 
 I will do it myself, David," cried Barnstable, struggling 
 to conceal his emotion ; " I will call on her the instant we 
 let go our anchor in Boston harbor ; and, as your credit 
 can t be large, I will divide my own purse with her ! " 
 
 The sailing-master was powerfully affected by this kind 
 offer ; the muscles of his hard, weather-beaten face work 
 ing convulsively, and it was a moment before he could trust 
 his voice in reply. 
 
 " I know you would, Dicky, I know you would," he at 
 length uttered, grasping the hand of Barnstable with a por 
 tion of his former strength ; " I know you would give the 
 old woman one of your own limbs, if it would do a ser 
 vice to the mother of a messmate which it would not 
 seeing that I am not the son of a cannibal ; but you are 
 out of your father s books, and it s too often shoal water in 
 your pockets to help any one more especially since you 
 have just been spliced to a pretty young body that will 
 want all your spare coppers." 
 
 " But I am master of my own fortune," said Griffith, 
 " and am rich." 
 
 "Ay, ay, I have heard it said you could build a frigate 
 and set her afloat all a-taunt-o without thrusting your hand 
 into any man s purse but your own ! " 
 
 "And I pledge you the honor of a naval officer," con< 
 
THE PILOT. 383 
 
 tinued the young sailor, " that she shall want for nothing ; 
 not even the care and tenderness of a dutiful son." 
 
 Boltrope appeared to be choking ; he made an attempt 
 to raise his exhausted frame on the couch ; but fell back 
 exhausted and dying, perhaps a little prematurely, through 
 the powerful and unusual emotions that were struggling 
 for utterance. " God forgive me my misdeeds ! " he at 
 length said, " and chiefly for ever speaking a word against 
 your discipline ; remember the best bower and look to 
 the slings of the lower yards and and he ll do it, Dicky, 
 he ll do it ! I m casting off the fasts of life and so 
 God bless ye all and give ye good weather going large 
 or on a bowline ! " 
 
 The tongue of the master failed him, but a look of heart 
 felt satisfaction gleamed across his rough visage, as its 
 muscles suddenly contracted, when the faded lineaments 
 slowly settled into the appalling stiffness of death. 
 
 Griffith directed the body to be removed to the apart 
 ment of the master, and proceeded with a heavy heart to 
 the upper deck. The Alacrity had been unnoticed during 
 the arduous chase of the frigate, and, favored by daylight, 
 and her light draught of water, she had easily effected her 
 escape also among the mazes of the shoals. She was called 
 down to her consort by signal, and received the necessary 
 instructions how to steer during the approaching night. 
 The British ships were now only to be faintly discovered, 
 like small white specks on the dark sea ; and, as it was 
 known that a broad barrier of shallow water lay between 
 them, the Americans no longer regarded their presence as 
 at all dangerous. 
 
 When the necessary orders had been given, and the ves 
 sels were fully prepared, they were once more brought up to 
 the wind, and their heads pointed in the direction of the 
 coast of Holland. The wind, which freshened toward the de 
 cline of day, hauled round with the sun ; and when that lumi 
 nary retreated from the eye, so rapid had been the progress 
 of the mariners, it seemed to sink in the bosom of the 
 ocean, the land having long before settled into its watery 
 bed. All night the frigate continued to dash through the 
 seas with a sort of sullen silence, that was soothing to the 
 melancholy of Cecilia and Katherine, neither of whom 
 closed an eye during that gloomy period. In addition to 
 the scene they had witnessed, their feelings were harrowed 
 by the knowledge that, in conformity to the necessary 
 
384 THE PILOT. 
 
 plans of Griffith, and in compliance with the new duties 
 he had assumed, they were to separate in the morning for 
 an indefinite period, and possibly for ever. 
 
 With the appearance of light, the boatswain sent his 
 rough summons through the vessel, and the crew were 
 collected ki solemn silence in her gangways, to " bury the 
 dead." The bodies of Boltrope, of one or two of her 
 inferior officers, and of several common men who had 
 died of their wounds in the night, were, with the usual 
 formalities, committed to the deep ; when the yards of 
 the ship were again braced by the wind, and she glided 
 along the trackless waste, leaving no memorial, in the 
 midst of the ever-rolling waters, to mark the place of their 
 sepulture. 
 
 When the sun had gained the meridian, the vessels were 
 once more hove-to, and the preparations were made for a 
 final separation. The body of Colonel Howard was trans 
 ferred to the Alacrity, whither it was followed by Griffith 
 and his cheerless bride, while Katherine hung fondly from 
 a window of the ship, suffering her own scalding tears to 
 mingle with the brine of the ocean. After everything was 
 arranged, Griffith waved his hand to Barnstable, who had 
 now succeeded to the command of the frigate, and the 
 yards of the latter were braced sharp to the wind, when 
 she proceeded to the dangerous experiment of forcing her 
 way to the shores of America, by attempting the pass of 
 the Straits of Dover, and running the gauntlet through 
 the English ships that crowded their own channel an 
 undertaking, however, for which she had the successful 
 example of the Alliance frigate, which had borne the stars 
 of America along the same hazardous path but a few 
 months previously. 
 
 In the meanwhile the Alacrity, steering more to the 
 west, drew in swiftly toward the shores of Holland ; and> 
 about an hour before the setting of the sun, had ap 
 proached so nigh as to be once more hove into the wind 
 in obedience to the mandate of Griffith. A small, ligh: 
 boat was lowered into the sea, when the young sailor, and 
 the pilot, who had found his way into the cutter unheeded^ 
 and almost unseen, ascended from the small cabin to 
 gether. The stranger glanced his eyes along the range of 
 the coast, as if he would ascertain the exact position of 
 the vessel, and then turned them on the sea and the 
 western horizon to scan the weather. Finding nothing its 
 
THE PILOT. 385 
 
 Jie appearance of the latter to induce him to change hi? 
 determination, he offered his hand frankly to Griffith, anoi 
 said : 
 
 " Here we part. As our acquaintance has not led to all 
 we wished, let it be your task, sir, to forget we ever 
 met." 
 
 Griffith bowed respectfully, but in silence, when the 
 other continued, shaking his hand contemptuously toward 
 the land : 
 
 " Had I but a moiety of the navy of that degenerate 
 republic, the proudest among these haughty islanders 
 should tremble in his castle, and be made to feel there is 
 no security against a foe that trusts his own strength and 
 knows the weakness of his enemy ! But," he muttered, in 
 i lower and more hurried voice, " this has been like Liver 
 pool, and Whitehaven and Edinburgh, and fifty more \ 
 it is past, sir ; let it be forgotten." 
 
 Without heeding the wondering crew, who were collected 
 as curious spectators of his departure, the stranger bowed 
 hastily to Griffith, and, springing into the boat, he spread 
 her light sails with the readiness of one who had nothing 
 to learn even in the smallest matters of his daring profes 
 sion. Once more, as the boat moved briskly away from 
 the cutter, he waved his hand in adieu ; and Griffith 
 fancied, that even through the distance he could trace a 
 smile of bitter resignation lighting his calm features with 
 a momentary gleam. For a long time the young man 
 stood an abstracted gazer at his solitary progress, watching 
 the small boat as it glided toward the open ocean ; nor 
 did he remember to order the head-sheets of the Alacrity 
 drawn, in order to put the vessel again in motion, until 
 the dark speck was lost in the strong glare that fell 
 obliquely across the water from the setting sun. 
 
 Many wild and extraordinary conjectures were uttered 
 among the crew of the cutter, as she slowly drew in 
 toward her friendly haven, on the app earance of the 
 mysterious pilot, during their late hazardous visit te the 
 coast of Britain, and on his still more extraordinary 
 disappearance, as it were, amid the stormy wastes of the 
 North Sea. Griffith himself was not observed to smile, 
 nor to manifest any evidence of his being a listener to 
 their rude discourse, until it was loudly announced that a 
 small boat was pressing for their own harbor across the 
 fore-foot of the cutter, under a single lug-sail. Then, 
 
386 THE PILOT. 
 
 vadee-d, the sudden and cheerful lighting of his troubled 
 eye betrayed the vast relief that was imparted to h?i 
 ieelings by the interesting discovery. 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. v 
 
 " Come all you kindred chieftains of the deep, 
 
 In mighty phalanx round your brother bend ; 
 Hush every murmur that invades his sleep 
 
 And guard the laurels that o ershade your friend ! " 
 
 HERE, perhaps, it would be wise to suffer the curtain 
 of our imperfect drama to fall before the reader, trusting 
 that the imagination of every individual can readily sup 
 ply the due proportions of health, wealth, and happiness, 
 that the rigid rules of poetic justice would award to the 
 different characters of the legend. But as we are not 
 disposed to part so coldly from those with whom we have 
 long held amicable intercourse, and as there is no por 
 tion of that in reservation which is not quite as true as 
 all that has been already related, we see no unanswer 
 able reason for dismissing the dramatis persona so abruptly. 
 We shall, therefore, proceed to state briefly the outlines 
 of that which befell them in after-life, regretting, at the 
 same time, that the legitimate limits of a modern tale will 
 not admit of such a dilatation of many a merry or striking 
 scene, as might create the pleasing hope of beholding 
 hereafter some more of our rude sketches quickened into 
 life by the spirited pencil of Dunlap. 
 
 Following the course of the frigate, then, toward those 
 shores from which, perhaps, we should never have suffered 
 our truant pen to have wandered, we shall commence 
 the brief task with Barnstable, and his laughing, weeping, 
 gay, but affectionate bride the black-eyed Katherine. 
 The ship fought her way gallantly, through swarms of 
 the enemy s cruisers, to the port of Boston, where Barn, 
 stable was rewarded for his services by promotion, and a 
 more regular authority to command his vessel. 
 
 During the remainder of the war, he continued to fill 
 that station with ability and zeal ; nor did he return to 
 the dwelling of his fathers, which he soon inherited, by 
 regular descent, until after peace had established not only 
 
THE PILOT. 387 
 
 the independence of his country, but his own reputation 
 as a brave and successful sea-officer. When the Federal 
 Government laid the foundation of its present navy, 
 Captain Barnstable was once more tempted by the offer 
 of a new commission to desert his home ; and for many 
 years he was employed among that band of gallant sea 
 men who served their country so faithfully in times of 
 trial and high daring. Happily, however, he was en 
 abled to accomplish a great deal of the more peaceful 
 part of his service, accompanied by Katherine, who, hav 
 ing no children, eagerly profited by his consent to share 
 his privations and hardships on the ocean. In this man 
 ner they passed, merrily, and we trust happily, down the 
 vale of life together, Katherine entirely discrediting the 
 ironical prediction of her former guardian, by making, 
 everything considered, a very obedient, and certainly, so 
 far as attachment was concerned, a most devoted wife. 
 
 The boy, Merry, who in due time became a man, clung 
 to Barnstable and Katherine, so long as it was necessary 
 to hold him in leading strings ; and when he received his 
 regular promotion, his first command was under the 
 shadow of his kinsman s broad pennant. He proved to 
 be in his meridian, what his youth had so strongly in 
 dicated, a fearless, active, and reckless sailor ; and his 
 years might have extended to this hour, had he not fallen 
 untimely in a duel with a foreign officer. 
 
 The first act of Captain Manual, after landing once more 
 on his native soil, was to make interest to be again re 
 stored to the line of the army. He encountered but little 
 difficulty in this attempt, and was soon in possession of the 
 complete enjoyment of that which his soul had so long 
 pined after, "a steady drill." He was in time to share in 
 all the splendid successes which terminated the war, and 
 also to participate in his due proportion of the misery of 
 the army. His merits were not forgotten, however, in the 
 reorganization of the forces, and he followed both St. Clair 
 and his more fortunate successor, Wayne, in the Western 
 campaigns. About the close of the century, when the 
 British made their tardy relinquishment of the line of 
 posts along the frontiers, Captain Manual was ordered to 
 Cake charge, with his company, of a small stockade on our 
 side of one of those mighty rivers that set bounds to the 
 territories of the republic in the North. The British flag 
 \vas waving over the ramparts of a more regular fortress, 
 
388 THE SI LOT. 
 
 that had been recently built, directly opposite, within th.i 
 new lines of the Canadas. Manual was not a man to neg 
 lect the observances of military etiquette : and, under 
 standing that the neighboring fort was commanded by r, 
 field-officer, he did not fail to wait on that gentleman, in 
 proper time, with a view to cultivate the sort of acquaint 
 ance, that their mutual situations would render not only 
 agreeable, but highly convenient. The American mar 
 tinet, in ascertaining the rank of the other, had not deemed 
 it at all necessary to ask his name ; but when the red-faced 
 comical-looking officer with one leg, who met him, was in 
 troduced as Major Borroughcliffe, he had not the least dit 
 ficulty in recalling to recollection his quondam acquaint 
 ance of St. Ruth. The intercourse between these worthier 
 was renewed with remarkable gusto, and at length arrived 
 to so regular a pass, that a log-cabin was erected on one o_ 
 the islands in the river, as a sort of neutral territory, where 
 their f eastings and revels might be held without any scan 
 dal to the discipline of their respective garrisons. Here 
 the qualities of many a saddle of savory venison were dis 
 cussed, together with those of sundry pleasant fowls, as 
 well as of divers strange beasts, that inhabit those 
 Western wilds, while, at the same time, the secret places 
 of the broad river were vexed, that nothing might be want 
 ing that could contribute to the pleasures of their ban 
 quets. A most equitable levy was regularly made on their 
 respective pockets, to sustain the foreign expenses of this 
 amicable warfare ; and a suitable division of labor was also 
 imposed on the two commandants, in order to procure 
 such articles of comfort as were only to be obtained from 
 those portions of the globe where the art of man had made 
 a nearer approach to the bounties of Nature than in the 
 vicinity of their fortifications. All liquids in which malt 
 formed an ingredient, as well as the deep-colored wines of 
 Oporto, were suffered to enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
 and were made to find their way, under the superintend 
 ence of Borroughcliffe, to their destined goal; but Manual 
 was solely intrusted with the more important duty of pro 
 viding the generous liquor of Madeira, without any other 
 restrictipn on his judgment than an occasional injunction 
 from his coadjutor that it should not fail to be the product 
 of the "south side ! " 
 
 It was not unusual for the young officers of the two gar- 
 risons to allude to the battle in which Major Borroughcliffe 
 
THE PILOT. 389 
 
 had lost his limb the English ensign invariably whisper 
 ing to the American, on such occasions, that it occurred 
 durmg the late contest, in a desperate affair in the north 
 eastern coast of their island, in which the major com 
 manded in behalf of his country, with great credit and 
 signal success, and for which service he obtained his pres 
 ent rank " without purchase ! " A sort of national courtesy 
 prevented the two veterans, for by this time both had 
 earned that honorable title, from participating at all in 
 these delicate allusions ; though, whenever, by any acci 
 dent, they occurred near the termination of the revels, 
 Borroughcliffe would so far betray his consciousness of 
 what was passing, as to favor his American friend with a 
 leer of singular significance, which generally produced in 
 the other that sort of dull recollection which all actors and 
 painters endeavor to represent by scratching the head. In 
 this manner year after year rolled by, the most perfect 
 harmony existing between the two posts, notwithstanding 
 the angry passions that disturbed their respective countries, 
 when an end was suddenly put to the intercourse by the 
 unfortunate death of Manual. This rigid observer of dis 
 cipline never trusted his person on the neutral island with 
 out being accompanied by a party of his warriors, who 
 were posted as a regular picket, sustaining a suitable 
 line of sentries ; a practice which he also recommended to 
 his friend, as being highly conducive to discipline, as well 
 as a salutary caution against a surprise on the part of 
 either garrison. The major, however, dispensed with the 
 formality in his own behalf, but was sufficiently good- 
 natured to wink at the want of confidence it betrayed in 
 his boon companion. On one unhappy occasion, when the 
 discussions of a new importation had made a heavy inroad 
 on the morning, Manual left the hut to make his way to 
 ward his picket, in such a state of utter mental aberra 
 tion, as to forget the countersign when challenged by a 
 sentinel, when, unhappily, he met his death by a shot from 
 a soldier, whom he drilled to such an exquisite state of in 
 sensibility, that the man cared but little whether he killed 
 friend or enemy, so long as he kept within military usage, 
 and the hallowed limits established by the articles of war. 
 He lived long enough, however, to commend the fellow 
 for the deed, and died while delivering a eulogium to Bor 
 roughcliffe on the high state of perfection to which he had 
 brought riis command ! 
 
$90 THE PILOT. 
 
 About a year before this melancholy event, a quart er* 
 cask of wine had been duly ordered from the south side of 
 the island of Madeira, which was, at the death of Manual, 
 toiling its weary way up the rapids of the Mississippi and 
 the Ohio ; having been made to enter by the port of New 
 Orleans, with the intention of keeping it as long as possi 
 ble under a genial sun ! The untimely fate of his friend 
 imposed on Borroughcliffe the necessity of attending to 
 this precious relic of their mutual tastes ; and he procured 
 a leave of absence from his superior, with the laudable 
 desire to proceed down the streams and superintend its 
 further advance in person. The result of his zeal was a 
 high fever, that set in the day after he reached his treas 
 ure ; and as the doctor and the major espoused different 
 theories, in treating a disorder so dangerous in that climate 
 the one advising abstemiousness, and the other adminis 
 tering repeated draughts of the cordial that had drawn 
 him so far from home the disease was left to act its pleas 
 ure. Borroughcliffe died in three days ; and was carried 
 back and interred by the side of his friend, in the very 
 hut which had so often resounded with their humors and 
 festivities! We have been thus particular in relating the 
 sequel of the lives of these rival chieftains, because, from 
 their want of connection with any kind heart of the other 
 sex, no widows and orphans were left to lament their sev 
 eral ends ; and furthermore, as they were both mortal, and 
 might be expected to die at a suitable period, and yet did 
 not terminate their career until each had attained the ma 
 ture age of threescore, the reader can find no just grounds 
 of dissatisfaction at being allowed this deep glance into 
 the womb of Fate. 
 
 The chaplain abandoned the seas in time to retrieve 
 his character, a circumstance which gave no little satis 
 faction to Katherine, who occasionally annoyed her worthy 
 husband on the subject of the informality of their mar 
 riage. 
 
 Griffith and his mourning bride conveyed the body of 
 Colonel Howard in safety to one of the principal towns in 
 Holland, where it was respectfully and sorrowfully in 
 terred ; after which the young man removed to Paris, with 
 a view of erasing the sad images, which the hurried and 
 melancholy events of the few preceding days had left on 
 the mind of his lovely companion. From this place 
 Cecilia held communion, by letter, with her friend Alice 
 
THE PILOT. 39! 
 
 ZHmscombe ; and such suitable provision was made in the 
 affairs of her late uncle as the times would permit. After 
 ward, when Griffith obtained the command which had 
 been offered him before sailing on the cruise in the North 
 Sea, they returned together to America. The young man 
 continued a sailor until the close of the war, when he en 
 tirely withdrew from the ocean, and devoted the remain 
 der of his life to the conjoint duties of a husband and a 
 good citizen. 
 
 As it was easy to reclaim the estates of Colonel How 
 ard, which, in fact, had been abandoned more from pride 
 than necessity, and which had never been confiscated, 
 their joint inheritances made the young couple extremely 
 affluent ; and we shall here take occasion to say that Grif 
 fith remembered his promise to the dying master, and saw 
 such provision made for the childless mother as her situa 
 tion and his character required. 
 
 It might have been some twelve years after the short 
 cruise, which it has been our task to record in these vol 
 umes, that Griffith, who was running his eyes carelessly 
 over a file of newspapers, was observed by his wife to 
 drop the bundle from before his face, and pass his hand 
 slowly across his brow, like a man who had been suddenly 
 struck with renewed impressions of some former event, 
 or who was endeavoring to recall to his mind images that 
 had long since faded. 
 
 "See you anything in that paper to disturb you, Griffith?" 
 said the still lovely Cecilia. " I hope that now we have 
 our confederategovernment, the States will soon recover 
 from their losses but it is one of those plans to create a new 
 navy that has met your eye ! Ah ! truant ! you sigh to be 
 come a wanderer again, and pine after your beloved ocean ! " 
 
 " I have ceased sighing and pining since you have be 
 gun to smile," he returned with a vacant manner, and with 
 out removing his hand from his brow. 
 
 " Is not the new order of things, then, likely to succeed ? 
 Does the Congress enter into contention with the Presi 
 dent?" 
 
 "The wisdom and name of Washington will smooth 
 the way for the experiment, until time shall mature the 
 system. Cecilia, do you remember the man who accom 
 panied Manual and myself to St. Ruth, the night we be 
 came your uncle s prisoners, and who afterward led the 
 party which liberated us, and rescued Barnstable ? " 
 
392 THE PILOT. 
 
 " Surely I do ; he was the pilot of your ship, it was then 
 said ; and I remember the shrewd soldier we entertained 
 even suspected that he was one greater than he seemed." 
 
 " The soldier surmised the truth ; but you saw him not 
 on that fearful night when he carried us through the 
 shoals ; and you could not witness the calm courage with 
 which he guided the ship into those very channels again, 
 while the confusion of battle was among us ! " 
 
 " I heard the dreadful din ! And I can easily imagine 
 the horrid scene," returned his wife, her recollections chas^ 
 ing the color from her cheeks, even at that distance of 
 time ; " but what of him ? is his name mentioned in those 
 papers ? Ah ! they are English prints ! you called his 
 name Gray, if I remember ! " 
 
 " That is the name he bore with us. He was a man who 
 had formed romantic notions of glory, and wished every 
 thing concealed in which he acted a part that he thought 
 would not contribute to his renown. It has been, there 
 fore, in compliance with a solemn promise made at the 
 time, that I have ever avoided mentioning his name ; he is 
 now dead ! " 
 
 " Can there have been any connection between him and 
 Alice Dunscombe ?" said Cecilia, dropping her work in 
 her lap, in a thoughtful manner. "She met him alone, at 
 her own urgent request, the night Katherine and myself saw 
 you in your confinement, and even then my cousin whis 
 pered they were acquainted. The letter I received yester 
 day from Alice was sealed with black, and I was pained 
 With the melancholy though gsntle manner in which she 
 wrote of passing from this world into another ! " 
 
 Griffith glanced his eye at his wife with a look of sud 
 den intelligence, and then answered, like one who began 
 to see with the advantages of a clearer atmosphere : 
 
 " Cecilia, your conjecture is surely true. Fifty things 
 rush to my mind at that one surmise his acquaintance 
 with that particular spot his early life his expedition 
 his knowledge of the Abbey, all confirm it ! He, alto 
 gether, was indeed a man of marked character ! " 
 
 "Why has he not been among us?" asked Cecilia ; "he 
 appeared devoted to our cause ?" 
 
 " His devotion to America proceeded from desire of dis- 
 inction, his ruling passion, and perhaps a little also from 
 csentment of some injustice which he claimed to have 
 uffered from his own countrymen. He was a man, an<J 
 
THE PILOT. \f)i 
 
 not therefore without foibles among which may hava 
 been reckoned the estimation of his own acts ; but the) 
 were most daring, and deserving of praise ! neither did he at 
 all merit the obloquy that he received from his enemies. His 
 love of liberty may be more questionable ; for if he com-> 
 menced his deeds in the cause of these free States, they ter 
 minated in the service of a despot ! He is now dead but 
 had he lived in times and under circumstances when his 
 consummate knowledge of his profession, his cool, delib 
 erate, and even desperate courage, could have been exer 
 cised in a regular and well supported navy, and had the 
 habits of his youth better qualified him to have borne, meek 
 ly, the honors he acquired in his age, he would have left be 
 hind him no name in its lists that would have descended 
 to the latest posterity of his adopted countrymen with 
 greater renown ! " 
 
 " Why, Griffith," exclaimed Cecilia, in a little surprise, 
 " you are zealous in his cause ! Who was he ? " 
 
 "A man who held a promise of secrecy while living, 
 which is not at all released by his death. It is enough to 
 know that he was greatly instrumental in procuring our 
 sudden union, and that our happiness might have been 
 Wrecked in the voyage of life had we not met the un 
 known pilot of the German Ocean." 
 
 Perceiving her husband to rise, and carefully collect the 
 papers in a bundle, before he left the room, Cecilia made 
 ho further remark at the time, nor was the subject cvel 
 revived between them. 
 
GENERAL LIBRARY 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-BERKELEY 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or on the 
 
 date to which renewed. 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 FE g 7 - 1955 
 31954 
 
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 SEP 2 4 1956 
 /xtw b L 
 
 REC t 
 
 JCT 22.1960 
 
 SEP 27 1956 
 
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 OCT 21 B60 
 
 
 61973 
 
 BEC DLD MAY 
 
 4 73 -11 AM 1 2 
 
 LD 21-IOOn ( -!,T,4(1887sl6)476