第16章 WHAT BEFELL AT THE QUEEN'S FERRY(2)

"Ay,man?"said I."Is that so?Was my --was Alexander the eldest son?""'Deed was he,"said the landlord."What else would he have killed him for?"And with that he went away,as he had been impatient to do from the beginning.

Of course,I had guessed it a long while ago;but it is one thing to guess,another to know;and I sat stunned with my good fortune,and could scarce grow to believe that the same poor lad who had trudged in the dust from Ettrick Forest not two days ago,was now one of the rich of the earth,and had a house and broad lands,and might mount his horse tomorrow.All these pleasant things,and a thousand others,crowded into my mind,as I sat staring before me out of the inn window,and paying no heed to what I saw;only I remember that my eye lighted on Captain Hoseason down on the pier among his seamen,and speaking with some authority.And presently he came marching back towards the house,with no mark of a sailor's clumsiness,but carrying his fine,tall figure with a manly bearing,and still with the same sober,grave expression on his face.I wondered if it was possible that Ransome's stories could be true,and half disbelieved them;they fitted so ill with the man's looks.But indeed,he was neither so good as I supposed him,nor quite so bad as Ransome did;for,in fact,he was two men,and left the better one behind as soon as he set foot on board his vessel.

The next thing,I heard my uncle calling me,and found the pair in the road together.It was the captain who addressed me,and that with an air (very flattering to a young lad)of grave equality.

"Sir,"said he,"Mr.Balfour tells me great things of you;and for my own part,I like your looks.I wish I was for longer here,that we might make the better friends;but we'll make the most of what we have.Ye shall come on board my brig for half an hour,till the ebb sets,and drink a bowl with me."Now,I longed to see the inside of a ship more than words can tell;but I was not going to put myself in jeopardy,and I told him my uncle and I had an appointment with a lawyer.

"Ay,ay,"said he,"he passed me word of that.But,ye see,the boat'll set ye ashore at the town pier,and that's but a penny stonecast from Rankeillor's house."And here he suddenly leaned down and whispered in my ear:"Take care of the old tod;[9]he means mischief.Come aboard till I can get a word with ye."And then,passing his arm through mine,he continued aloud,as he set off towards his boat:"But,come,what can I bring ye from the Carolinas?Any friend of Mr.Balfour's can command.A roll of tobacco?Indian feather-work?a skin of a wild beast?a stone pipe?the mocking-bird that mews for all the world like a cat?

the cardinal bird that is as red as blood?--take your pick and say your pleasure."

By this time we were at the boat-side,and he was handing me in.

I did not dream of hanging back;I thought (the poor fool!)that I had found a good friend and helper,and I was rejoiced to see the ship.As soon as we were all set in our places,the boat was thrust off from the pier and began to move over the waters:and what with my pleasure in this new movement and my surprise at our low position,and the appearance of the shores,and the growing bigness of the brig as we drew near to it,I could hardly understand what the captain said,and must have answered him at random.

As soon as we were alongside (where I sat fairly gaping at the ship's height,the strong humming of the tide against its sides,and the pleasant cries of the seamen at their work)Hoseason,declaring that he and I must be the first aboard,ordered a tackle to be sent down from the main-yard.In this I was whipped into the air and set down again on the deck,where the captain stood ready waiting for me,and instantly slipped back his arm under mine.There I stood some while,a little dizzy with the unsteadiness of all around me,perhaps a little afraid,and yet vastly pleased with these strange sights;the captain meanwhile pointing out the strangest,and telling me their names and uses.

"But where is my uncle?"said I suddenly.

"Ay,"said Hoseason,with a sudden grimness,"that's the point."I felt I was lost.With all my strength,I plucked myself clear of him and ran to the bulwarks.Sure enough,there was the boat pulling for the town,with my uncle sitting in the stern.I gave a piercing cry --"Help,help!Murder!"--so that both sides of the anchorage rang with it,and my uncle turned round where he was sitting,and showed me a face full of cruelty and terror.

It was the last I saw.Already strong hands had been plucking me back from the ship's side;and now a thunderbolt seemed to strike me;I saw a great flash of fire,and fell senseless.

[6]Look.

[7]Rope.

[8]Report.

[9]Fox.