The Pirate Page 41

  CHAPTER XV.

  "I left my poor plough to go ploughing the deep!"

  DIBDIN.

  When the Provost and Cleveland had returned into the publiccouncil-room, the former retired a second time with such of his brethrenas he thought proper to advise with; and, while they were engaged indiscussing Cleveland's proposal, refreshments were offered to him andhis party. These the Captain permitted his people to partake of, butwith the greatest precaution against surprisal, one party relieving theguard, whilst the others were at their food.

  He himself, in the meanwhile, walked up and down the apartment, andconversed upon indifferent subjects with those present, like a personquite at his ease.

  Amongst these individuals he saw, somewhat to his surprise, TriptolemusYellowley, who, chancing to be at Kirkwall, had been summoned by theMagistrates, as representative, in a certain degree, of the LordChamberlain, to attend council on this occasion. Cleveland immediatelyrenewed the acquaintance which he had formed with the agriculturist atBurgh-Westra, and asked him his present business in Orkney.

  "Just to look after some of my little plans, Captain Cleveland. I amweary of fighting with wild beasts at Ephesus yonder, and I just camower to see how my orchard was thriving, whilk I had planted four orfive miles from Kirkwall, it may be a year bygane, and how the bees werethriving, whereof I had imported nine skeps, for the improvement of thecountry, and for the turning of the heather-bloom into wax and honey."

  "And they thrive, I hope?" said Cleveland, who, however littleinterested in the matter, sustained the conversation, as if to break thechilly and embarrassed silence which hung upon the company assembled.

  "Thrive!" replied Triptolemus; "they thrive like every thing else inthis country, and that is the backward way."

  "Want of care, I suppose?" said Cleveland.

  "The contrary, sir, quite and clean the contrary," replied the Factor;"they died of ower muckle care, like Lucky Christie's chickens.--I askedto see the skeps, and cunning and joyful did the fallow look who was tohave taken care of them--'Had there been ony body in charge but mysell,'he said, 'ye might have seen the skeps, or whatever you ca' them; butthere wad hae been as mony solan-geese as flees in them, if it hadnabeen for my four quarters; for I watched them so closely, that I sawthem a' creeping out at the little holes one sunny morning, and if I hadnot stopped the leak on the instant with a bit clay, the deil a bee, orflee, or whatever they are, would have been left in the skeps, as ye ca'them!'--In a word, sir, he had clagged up the hives, as if the puirthings had had the pestilence, and my bees were as dead as if they hadbeen smeaked--and so ends my hope, _generandi gloria mellis_, asVirgilius hath it."

  "There is an end of your mead, then," replied Cleveland; "but what isyour chance of cider?--How does the orchard thrive?"

  "O Captain! this same Solomon of the Orcadian Ophir--I am sure no manneed to send thither to fetch either talents of gold or talents ofsense!--I say, this wise man had watered the young apple-trees, in hisgreat tenderness, with hot water, and they are perished, root andbranch! But what avails grieving?--And I wish you would tell me,instead, what is all the din that these good folks are making aboutpirates? and what for all these ill-looking men, that are armed like somony Highlandmen, assembled in the judgment-chamber?--for I am just comefrom the other side of the island, and I have heard nothing distinctabout it.--And, now I look at you yoursell, Captain, I think you havemair of these foolish pistolets about you than should suffice an honestman in quiet times?"

  "And so I think, too," said the pacific Triton, old Haagen, who had beenan unwilling follower of the daring Montrose; "if you had been in theGlen of Edderachyllis, when we were sae sair worried by Sir JohnWorry"----

  "You have forgot the whole matter, neighbour Haagen," said the Factor;"Sir John Urry was on your side, and was ta'en with Montrose; by thesame token, he lost his head."

  "Did he?" said the Triton.--"I believe you may be right; for he changedsides mair than anes, and wha kens whilk he died for?--But always he wasthere, and so was I;--a fight there was, and I never wish to seeanother!"

  The entrance of the Provost here interrupted their desultoryconversation.--"We have determined," he said, "Captain, that your shipshall go round to Stromness, or Scalpa-flow, to take in stores, in orderthat there may be no more quarrels between the Fair folks and yourseamen. And as you wish to stay on shore to see the Fair, we intend tosend a respectable gentleman on board your vessel to pilot her round theMainland, as the navigation is but ticklish."

  "Spoken like a quiet and sensible magistrate, Mr. Mayor," saidCleveland, "and no otherwise than as I expected.--And what gentleman isto honour our quarter-deck during my absence?"

  "We have fixed that, too, Captain Cleveland," said the Provost; "you maybe sure we were each more desirous than another to go upon so pleasant avoyage, and in such good company; but being Fair time, most of us havesome affairs in hand--I myself, in respect of my office, cannot be wellspared--the eldest Bailie's wife is lying-in--the Treasurer does notagree with the sea--two Bailies have the gout--the other two are absentfrom town--and the other fifteen members of council are all engaged onparticular business."

  "All that I can tell you, Mr. Mayor," said Cleveland, raising his voice,"is, that I expect"----

  "A moment's patience, if you please, Captain," said the Provost,interrupting him--"So that we have come to the resolution that ourworthy Mr. Triptolemus Yellowley, who is Factor to the Lord Chamberlainof these islands, shall, in respect of his official situation, bepreferred to the honour and pleasure of accompanying you."

  "Me!" said the astonished Triptolemus; "what the devil should I do goingon your voyages?--my business is on dry land!"

  "The gentlemen want a pilot," said the Provost, whispering to him, "andthere is no eviting to give them one."

  "Do they want to go bump on shore, then?" said the Factor--"how thedevil should I pilot them, that never touched rudder in my life?"

  "Hush!--hush!--be silent!" said the Provost; "if the people of this townheard ye say such a word, your utility, and respect, and rank, and everything else, is clean gone!--No man is any thing with us island folks,unless he can hand, reef, and steer.--Besides, it is but a mere form;and we will send old Pate Sinclair to help you. You will have nothing todo but to eat, drink, and be merry all day."

  "Eat and drink!" said the Factor, not able to comprehend exactly whythis piece of duty was pressed upon him so hastily, and yet not verycapable of resisting or extricating himself from the toils of the moreknowing Provost--"Eat and drink?--that is all very well; but, to speaktruth, the sea does not agree with me any more than with the Treasurer;and I have always a better appetite for eating and drinking ashore."

  "Hush! hush! hush!" again said the Provost, in an under tone of earnestexpostulation "would you actually ruin your character out and out?--AFactor of the High Chamberlain of the Isles of Orkney and Zetland, andnot like the sea!--you might as well say you are a Highlander, and donot like whisky!"

  "You must settle it somehow, gentlemen," said Captain Cleveland; "it istime we were under weigh.--Mr. Triptolemus Yellowley, are we to behonoured with your company?"

  "I am sure, Captain Cleveland," stammered the Factor, "I would have noobjection to go anywhere with you--only"----

  "He has no objection," said the Provost, catching at the first limb ofthe sentence, without awaiting the conclusion.

  "He has no objection," cried the Treasurer.

  "He has no objection," sung out the whole four Bailies together;and the fifteen Councillors, all catching up the same phrase ofassent, repeated it in chorus, with the additions of--"goodman"--"public-spirited"--"honourable gentleman"--"burgh eternallyobliged"--"where will you find such a worthy Factor?" and so forth.

  Astonished and confused at the praises with which he was overwhelmed onall sides, and in no shape understanding the nature of the transactionthat was going forward, the astounded and overwhelmed agriculturistbecame incapable of
resisting the part of the Kirkwall Curtius thusinsidiously forced upon him, and was delivered up by Captain Clevelandto his party, with the strictest injunctions to treat him with honourand attention. Goffe and his companions began now to lead him off, amidthe applauses of the whole meeting, after the manner in which the victimof ancient days was garlanded and greeted by shouts, when consigned tothe priests, for the purpose of being led to the altar, and knocked onthe head, a sacrifice for the commonweal. It was while they thusconducted, and in a manner forced him out of the Council-chamber, thatpoor Triptolemus, much alarmed at finding that Cleveland, in whom he hadsome confidence, was to remain behind the party, tried, when just goingout at the door, the effect of one remonstrating bellow.--"Nay, but,Provost!--Captain!--Bailies!--Treasurer! Councillors!--if CaptainCleveland does not go aboard to protect me, it is nae bargain, and go Iwill not, unless I am trailed with cart-ropes!"

  His protest was, however, drowned in the unanimous chorus of theMagistrates and Councillors, returning him thanks for his publicspirit--wishing him a good voyage--and praying to Heaven for his happyand speedy return. Stunned and overwhelmed, and thinking, if he had anydistinct thoughts at all, that remonstrance was vain, where friends andstrangers seemed alike determined to carry the point against him,Triptolemus, without farther resistance, suffered himself to beconducted into the street, where the pirate's boat's-crew, assemblingaround him, began to move slowly towards the quay, many of the townsfolkfollowing out of curiosity, but without any attempt at interference orannoyance; for the pacific compromise which the dexterity of the firstMagistrate had achieved, was unanimously approved of as a much bettersettlement of the disputes betwixt them and the strangers, than mighthave been attained by the dubious issue of an appeal to arms.

  Meanwhile, as they went slowly along, Triptolemus had time to study theappearance, countenance, and dress, of those into whose hands he hadbeen thus delivered, and began to imagine that he read in their looks,not only the general expression of a desperate character, but somesinister intentions directed particularly towards himself. He wasalarmed by the truculent looks of Goffe, in particular, who, holding hisarm with a gripe which resembled in delicacy of touch the compression ofa smith's vice, cast on him from the outer corner of his eye obliqueglances, like those which the eagle throws upon the prey which she hasclutched, ere yet she proceeds, as it is technically called, to plumeit. At length Yellowley's fears got so far the better of his prudence,that he fairly asked his terrible conductor, in a sort of cryingwhisper, "Are you going to murder me, Captain, in the face of the lawsbaith of God and man?"

  "Hold your peace, if you are wise," said Goffe, who had his own reasonsfor desiring to increase the panic of his captive; "we have not murdereda man these three months, and why should you put us in mind of it?"

  "You are but joking, I hope, good worthy Captain!" replied Triptolemus."This is worse than witches, dwarfs, dirking of whales, and cowping ofcobles, put all together!--this is an away-ganging crop, with avengeance!--What good, in Heaven's name, would murdering me do to you?"

  "We might have some pleasure in it, at least," said Goffe.--"Look thesefellows in the face, and see if you see one among them that would notrather kill a man than let it alone?--But we will speak more of thatwhen you have first had a taste of the bilboes--unless, indeed, you comedown with a handsome round handful of Chili boards[37] for your ransom."

  "As I shall live by bread, Captain," answered the Factor, "thatmisbegotten dwarf has carried off the whole hornful of silver!"

  "A cat-and-nine-tails will make you find it again," said Goffe, gruffly;"flogging and pickling is an excellent receipt to bring a man's wealthinto his mind--twisting a bowstring round his skull till the eyes starta little, is a very good remembrancer too."

  "Captain," replied Yellowley, stoutly, "I have no money--seldom canimprovers have. We turn pasture to tillage, and barley into aits, andheather into greensward, and the poor _yarpha_, as the benightedcreatures here call their peat-bogs, into baittle grass-land; but weseldom make any thing of it that comes back to our ain pouch. The carlesand the cart-avers make it all, and the carles and the cart-avers eat itall, and the deil clink doun with it!"

  "Well, well," said Goffe, "if you be really a poor fellow, as youpretend, I'll stand your friend;" then, inclining his head so as toreach the ear of the Factor, who stood on tiptoe with anxiety, he said,"If you love your life, do not enter the boat with us."

  "But how am I to get away from you, while you hold me so fast by thearm, that I could not get off if the whole year's crop of Scotlanddepended on it?"

  "Hark ye, you gudgeon," said Goffe, "just when you come to the water'sedge, and when the fellows are jumping in and taking their oars, slueyourself round suddenly to the larboard--I will let go your arm--andthen cut and run for your life!"

  Triptolemus did as he was desired, Goffe's willing hand relaxed thegrasp as he had promised, the agriculturist trundled off like a footballthat has just received a strong impulse from the foot of one of theplayers, and, with celerity which surprised himself as well as allbeholders, fled through the town of Kirkwall. Nay, such was the impetusof his retreat, that, as if the grasp of the pirate was still open topounce upon him, he never stopped till he had traversed the whole town,and attained the open country on the other side. They who had seen himthat day--his hat and wig lost in the sudden effort he had made to boltforward, his cravat awry, and his waistcoat unbuttoned,--and who had anopportunity of comparing his round spherical form and short legs withthe portentous speed at which he scoured through the street, might wellsay, that if Fury ministers arms, Fear confers wings. His very mode ofrunning seemed to be that peculiar to his fleecy care, for, like a ramin the midst of his race, he ever and anon encouraged himself by a greatbouncing attempt at a leap, though there were no obstacles in his way.

  There was no pursuit after the agriculturist; and though a musket or twowere presented, for the purpose of sending a leaden messenger after him,yet Goffe, turning peace-maker for once in his life, so exaggerated thedangers that would attend a breach of the truce with the people ofKirkwall, that he prevailed upon the boat's crew to forbear any activehostilities, and to pull off for their vessel with all dispatch.

  The burghers, who regarded the escape of Triptolemus as a triumph ontheir side, gave the boat three cheers, by way of an insulting farewell;while the Magistrates, on the other hand, entertained great anxietyrespecting the probable consequences of this breach of articles betweenthem and the pirates; and, could they have seized upon the fugitive veryprivately, instead of complimenting him with a civic feast in honour ofthe agility which he displayed, it is likely they might have deliveredthe runaway hostage once more into the hands of his foemen. But it wasimpossible to set their face publicly to such an act of violence, andtherefore they contented themselves with closely watching Cleveland,whom they determined to make responsible for any aggression which mightbe attempted by the pirates. Cleveland, on his part, easily conjecturedthat the motive which Goffe had for suffering the hostage to escape, wasto leave him answerable for all consequences, and, relying more on theattachment and intelligence of his friend and adherent, FrederickAltamont, alias Jack Bunce, than on any thing else, expected the resultwith considerable anxiety, since the Magistrates, though they continuedto treat him with civility, plainly intimated they would regulate histreatment by the behaviour of the crew, though he no longer commandedthem.

  It was not, however, without some reason that he reckoned on the devotedfidelity of Bunce; for no sooner did that trusty adherent receive fromGoffe, and the boat's crew, the news of the escape of Triptolemus, thanhe immediately concluded it had been favoured by the late Captain, inorder that, Cleveland being either put to death or consigned to hopelessimprisonment, Goffe might be called upon to resume the command of thevessel.

  "But the drunken old boatswain shall miss his mark," said Bunce to hisconfederate Fletcher; "or else I am contented to quit the name ofAltamont, and be called Jack Bunce, or Jack Dunce, if you like itbetter,
to the end of the chapter."

  Availing himself accordingly of a sort of nautical eloquence, which hisenemies termed slack-jaw, Bunce set before the crew, in a most animatedmanner, the disgrace which they all sustained, by their Captainremaining, as he was pleased to term it, in the bilboes, without anyhostage to answer for his safety; and succeeded so far, that, besidesexciting a good deal of discontent against Goffe, he brought the crew tothe resolution of seizing the first vessel of a tolerable appearance,and declaring that the ship, crew, and cargo, should be dealt withaccording to the usage which Cleveland should receive on shore. It wasjudged at the same time proper to try the faith of the Orcadians, byremoving from the roadstead of Kirkwall, and going round to that ofStromness, where, according to the treaty betwixt Provost Torfe andCaptain Cleveland, they were to victual their sloop. They resolved, inthe meantime, to intrust the command of the vessel to a council,consisting of Goffe, the boatswain, and Bunce himself, until Clevelandshould be in a situation to resume his command.

  These resolutions having been proposed and acceded to, they weighedanchor, and got their sloop under sail, without experiencing anyopposition or annoyance from the battery, which relieved them of oneimportant apprehension incidental to their situation.

  FOOTNOTES:

  [37] Commonly called by landsmen, Spanish dollars.