The Pirate Page 44

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  Fly, Fleance, fly!--Thou mayst escape.

  _Macbeth._

  It was one branch of the various arts by which Norna endeavoured tomaintain her pretensions to supernatural powers, that she made herselffamiliarly and practically acquainted with all the secret passes andrecesses, whether natural or artificial, which she could hear of,whether by tradition or otherwise, and was, by such knowledge, oftenenabled to perform feats which were otherwise unaccountable. Thus, whenshe escaped from the tabernacle at Burgh-Westra, it was by a slidingboard which covered a secret passage in the wall, known to none butherself and Magnus, who, she was well assured, would not betray her. Theprofusion, also, with which she lavished a considerable income,otherwise of no use to her, enabled her to procure the earliestintelligence respecting whatever she desired to know, and, at the sametime, to secure all other assistance necessary to carry her plans intoeffect. Cleveland, upon the present occasion, had reason to admire bothher sagacity and her resources.

  Upon her applying a little forcible pressure, a door which was concealedunder some rich wooden sculpture in the screen which divides the easternaisle from the rest of the Cathedral, opened, and disclosed a darknarrow winding passage, into which she entered, telling Cleveland, in awhisper, to follow, and be sure he shut the door behind him. He obeyed,and followed her in darkness and silence, sometimes descending steps, ofthe number of which she always apprized him, sometimes ascending, andoften turning at short angles. The air was more free than he could haveexpected, the passage being ventilated at different parts by unseen andingeniously contrived spiracles, which communicated with the open air.At length their long course ended, by Norna drawing aside a slidingpanel, which, opening behind a wooden, or box-bed, as it is called inScotland, admitted them into an ancient, but very mean apartment, havinga latticed window, and a groined roof. The furniture was muchdilapidated; and its only ornaments were, on the one side of the wall, agarland of faded ribbons, such as are used to decorate whale-vessels;and, on the other, an escutcheon, bearing an Earl's arms and coronet,surrounded with the usual emblems of mortality. The mattock and spade,which lay in one corner, together with the appearance of an old man,who, in a rusty black coat, and slouched hat, sat reading by a table,announced that they were in the habitation of the church-beadle, orsexton, and in the presence of that respectable functionary.

  When his attention was attracted by the noise of the sliding panel, hearose, and, testifying much respect, but no surprise, took his shadowyhat from his thin grey locks, and stood uncovered in the presence ofNorna with an air of profound humility.

  "Be faithful," said Norna to the old man, "and beware you show not anyliving mortal the secret path to the Sanctuary."

  The old man bowed, in token of obedience and of thanks, for she putmoney in his hand as she spoke. With a faltering voice, he expressed hishope that she would remember his son, who was on the Greenland voyage,that he might return fortunate and safe, as he had done last year, whenhe brought back the garland, pointing to that upon the wall.

  "My cauldron shall boil, and my rhyme shall be said, in his behalf,"answered Norna. "Waits Pacolet without with the horses?"

  The old Sexton assented, and the Pythoness, commanding Cleveland tofollow her, went through a back door of the apartment into a smallgarden, corresponding, in its desolate appearance, to the habitationthey had just quitted. The low and broken wall easily permitted them topass into another and larger garden, though not much better kept, and agate, which was upon the latch, let them into a long and winding lane,through which, Norna having whispered to her companion that it was theonly dangerous place on their road, they walked with a hasty pace. Itwas now nearly dark, and the inhabitants of the poor dwellings, oneither hand, had betaken themselves to their houses. They saw only onewoman, who was looking from her door, but blessed herself, and retiredinto her house with precipitation, when she saw the tall figure of Nornastalk past her with long strides. The lane conducted them into thecountry, where the dumb dwarf waited with three horses, ensconced behindthe wall of a deserted shed. On one of these Norna instantly seatedherself, Cleveland mounted another, and, followed by Pacolet on thethird, they moved sharply on through the darkness; the active andspirited animals on which they rode being of a breed rather taller thanthose reared in Zetland.

  After more than an hour's smart riding, in which Norna acted as guide,they stopped before a hovel, so utterly desolate in appearance, that itresembled rather a cattle-shed than a cottage.

  "Here you must remain till dawn, when your signal can be seen from yourvessel," said Norna, consigning the horses to the care of Pacolet, andleading the way into the wretched hovel, which she presently illuminatedby lighting the small iron lamp which she usually carried along withher. "It is a poor," she said, "but a safe place of refuge; for were wepursued hither, the earth would yawn and admit us into its recesses ereyou were taken. For know, that this ground is sacred to the Gods of oldValhalla.--And now say, man of mischief and of blood, are you friend orfoe to Norna, the sole priestess of these disowned deities?"

  "How is it possible for me to be your enemy?" said Cleveland.--"Commongratitude"----

  "Common gratitude," said Norna, interrupting him, "is a common word--andwords are the common pay which fools accept at the hands of knaves; butNorna must be requited by actions--by sacrifices."

  "Well, mother, name your request."

  "That you never seek to see Minna Troil again, and that you leave thiscoast in twenty-four hours," answered Norna.

  "It is impossible," said the outlaw; "I cannot be soon enough found inthe sea-stores which the sloop must have."

  "You can. I will take care you are fully supplied; and Caithness and theHebrides are not far distant--you can depart if you will."

  "And why should I," said Cleveland, "if I will not?"

  "Because your stay endangers others," said Norna, "and will prove yourown destruction. Hear me with attention. From the first moment I saw youlying senseless on the sand beneath the cliffs of Sumburgh, I read thatin your countenance which linked you with me, and those who were dear tome; but whether for good or evil, was hidden from mine eyes. I aided insaving your life, in preserving your property. I aided in doing so, thevery youth whom you have crossed in his dearest affections--crossed bytale-bearing and slander."

  "_I_ slander Mertoun!" exclaimed Cleveland. "By heaven, I scarcementioned his name at Burgh-Westra, if it is that which you mean. Thepeddling fellow Bryce, meaning, I believe, to be my friend, because hefound something could be made by me, did, I have since heard, carrytattle, or truth, I know not which, to the old man, which was confirmedby the report of the whole island. But, for me, I scarce thought of himas a rival; else, I had taken a more honourable way to rid myself ofhim."

  "Was the point of your double-edged knife, directed to the bosom of anunarmed man, intended to carve out that more honourable way?" saidNorna, sternly.

  Cleveland was conscience-struck, and remained silent for an instant, erehe replied, "There, indeed, I was wrong; but he is, I thank Heaven,recovered, and welcome to an honourable satisfaction."

  "Cleveland," said the Pythoness, "No! The fiend who employs you as hisimplement is powerful; but with me he shall not strive. You are of thattemperament which the dark Influences desire as the tools of theiragency; bold, haughty, and undaunted, unrestrained by principle, andhaving only in its room a wild sense of indomitable pride, which suchmen call honour. Such you are, and as such your course through life hasbeen--onward and unrestrained, bloody and tempestuous. By me, however,it shall be controlled," she concluded, stretching out her staff, as ifin the attitude of determined authority--"ay, even although the demonwho presides over it should now arise in his terrors."

  Cleveland laughed scornfully. "Good mother," he said, "reserve suchlanguage for the rude sailor that implores you to bestow him fair wind,or the poor fisherman that asks success to his nets and lines. I havebeen long inaccessible b
oth to fear and to superstition. Call forth yourdemon, if you command one, and place him before me. The man that hasspent years in company with incarnate devils, can scarce dread thepresence of a disembodied fiend."

  This was said with a careless and desperate bitterness of spirit, whichproved too powerfully energetic even for the delusions of Norna'sinsanity; and it was with a hollow and tremulous voice that she askedCleveland--"For what, then, do you hold me, if you deny the power I havebought so dearly?"

  "You have wisdom, mother," said Cleveland; "at least you have art, andart is power. I hold you for one who knows how to steer upon the currentof events, but I deny your power to change its course. Do not,therefore, waste words in quoting terrors for which I have no feeling,but tell me at once, wherefore you would have me depart?"

  "Because I will have you see Minna no more," answered Norna--"BecauseMinna is the destined bride of him whom men call MordauntMertoun--Because if you depart not within twenty-four hours, utterdestruction awaits you. In these plain words there is no metaphysicaldelusion--Answer me as plainly."

  "In as plain words, then," answered Cleveland, "I will _not_ leave theseislands--not, at least, till I have seen Minna Troil; and never shallyour Mordaunt possess her while I live."

  "Hear him!" said Norna--"hear a mortal man spurn at the means ofprolonging his life!--hear a sinful--a most sinful being, refuse thetime which fate yet affords for repentance, and for the salvation of animmortal soul!--Behold him how he stands erect, bold and confident inhis youthful strength and courage! My eyes, unused to tears--even myeyes, which have so little cause to weep for him, are blinded withsorrow, to think what so fair a form will be ere the second sun set!"

  "Mother," said Cleveland, firmly, yet with some touch of sorrow in hisvoice, "I in part understand your threats. You know more than we do ofthe course of the Halcyon--perhaps have the means (for I acknowledge youhave shown wonderful skill of combination in such affairs) of directingher cruise our way. Be it so,--I will not depart from my purpose forthat risk. If the frigate comes hither, we have still our shoal water totrust to; and I think they will scarce cut us out with boats, as if wewere a Spanish xebeck. I am therefore resolved I will hoist once morethe flag under which I have cruised, avail ourselves of the thousandchances which have helped us in greater odds, and, at the worst, fightthe vessel to the very last; and, when mortal man can do no more, it isbut snapping a pistol in the powder-room, and, as we have lived, sowill we die."

  There was a dead pause as Cleveland ended; and it was broken by hisresuming, in a softer tone--"You have heard my answer, mother; let usdebate it no further, but part in peace. I would willingly leave you aremembrance, that you may not forget a poor fellow to whom your serviceshave been useful, and who parts with you in no unkindness, howeverunfriendly you are to his dearest interests.--Nay, do not shun to acceptsuch a trifle," he said, forcing upon Norna the little silver enchasedbox which had been once the subject of strife betwixt Mertoun and him;"it is not for the sake of the metal, which I know you value not, butsimply as a memorial that you have met him of whom many a strange talewill hereafter be told in the seas which he has traversed."

  "I accept your gift," said Norna, "in token that, if I have in aughtbeen accessary to your fate, it was as the involuntary and grievingagent of other powers. Well did you say we direct not the current of theevents which hurry us forward, and render our utmost efforts unavailing;even as the wells of Tuftiloe[39] can wheel the stoutest vessel roundand round, in despite of either sail or steerage.--Pacolet!" sheexclaimed, in a louder voice, "what, ho! Pacolet!"

  A large stone, which lay at the side of the wall of the hovel, fell asshe spoke, and to Cleveland's surprise, if not somewhat to his fear, themisshapen form of the dwarf was seen, like some overgrown reptile,extricating himself out of a subterranean passage, the entrance to whichthe stone had covered.

  Norna, as if impressed by what Cleveland had said on the subject of hersupernatural pretensions, was so far from endeavouring to avail herselfof this opportunity to enforce them, that she hastened to explain thephenomenon he had witnessed.

  "Such passages," she said, "to which the entrances are carefullyconcealed, are frequently found in these islands--the places of retreatof the ancient inhabitants, where they sought refuge from the rage ofthe Normans, the pirates of that day. It was that you might availyourself of this, in case of need, that I brought you hither. Should youobserve signs of pursuit, you may either lurk in the bowels of the earthuntil it has passed by, or escape, if you will, through the fartherentrance near the lake, by which Pacolet entered but now.--And nowfarewell! Think on what I have said; for as sure as you now move andbreathe a living man, so surely is your doom fixed and sealed, unless,within four-and-twenty hours, you have doubled the Burgh-head."

  "Farewell, mother!" said Cleveland, as she departed, bending a look uponhim, in which, as he could perceive by the lamp, sorrow was mingled withdispleasure.

  The interview, which thus concluded, left a strong effect even upon themind of Cleveland, accustomed as he was to imminent dangers and tohair-breadth escapes. He in vain attempted to shake off the impressionleft by the words of Norna, which he felt the more powerful, becausethey were in a great measure divested of her wonted mystical tone, whichhe contemned. A thousand times he regretted that he had from time totime delayed the resolution, which he had long adopted, to quit hisdreadful and dangerous trade; and as often he firmly determined, that,could he but see Minna Troil once more, were it but for a last farewell,he would leave the sloop, as soon as his comrades were extricated fromtheir perilous situation, endeavour to obtain the benefit of the King'spardon, and distinguish himself, if possible, in some more honourablecourse of warfare.

  This resolution, to which he again and again pledged himself, had atlength a sedative effect on his mental perturbation, and, wrapt in hiscloak, he enjoyed, for a time, that imperfect repose which exhaustednature demands as her tribute, even from those who are situated on theverge of the most imminent danger. But how far soever the guilty maysatisfy his own mind, and stupify the feelings of remorse, by such aconditional repentance, we may well question whether it is not, in thesight of Heaven, rather a presumptuous aggravation, than an expiation ofhis sins.

  When Cleveland awoke, the grey dawn was already mingling with thetwilight of an Orcadian night. He found himself on the verge of abeautiful sheet of water, which, close by the place where he had rested,was nearly divided by two tongues of land that approach each other fromthe opposing sides of the lake, and are in some degree united by theBridge of Broisgar, a long causeway, containing openings to permit theflow and reflux of the tide. Behind him, and fronting to the bridge,stood that remarkable semicircle of huge upright stones, which has norival in Britain, excepting the inimitable monument at Stonehenge. Theseimmense blocks of stone, all of them above twelve feet, and severalbeing even fourteen or fifteen feet in height, stood around the piratein the grey light of the dawning, like the phantom forms of antediluviangiants, who, shrouded in the habiliments of the dead, came to revisit,by this pale light, the earth which they had plagued by their oppressionand polluted by their sins, till they brought down upon it the vengeanceof long-suffering Heaven.[40]

  Cleveland was less interested by this singular monument of antiquitythan by the distant view of Stromness, which he could as yet scarcediscover. He lost no time in striking a light, by the assistance of oneof his pistols, and some wet fern supplied him with fuel sufficient tomake the appointed signal. It had been earnestly watched for on boardthe sloop; for Goffe's incapacity became daily more apparent; and evenhis most steady adherents agreed it would be best to submit toCleveland's command till they got back to the West Indies.

  Bunce, who came with the boat to bring off his favourite commander,danced, cursed, shouted, and spouted for joy, when he saw him once moreat freedom. "They had already," he said, "made some progress invictualling the sloop, and they might have made more, but for thatdrunken old swab Goffe, who minded nothing but splicing the main-brace
."

  The boat's crew were inspired with the same enthusiasm, and rowed sohard, that, although the tide was against them, and the air or windfailed, they soon placed Cleveland once more on the quarter-deck of thevessel which it was his misfortune to command.

  The first exercise of the Captain's power was to make known to MagnusTroil that he was at full freedom to depart--that he was willing to makehim any compensation in his power, for the interruption of his voyage toKirkwall; and that Captain Cleveland was desirous, if agreeable to Mr.Troil, to pay his respects to him on board his brig--thank him forformer favours, and apologize for the circumstances attending hisdetention.

  To Bunce, who, as the most civilized of the crew, Cleveland hadintrusted this message, the old plain-dealing Udaller made the followinganswer: "Tell your Captain that I should be glad to think he had neverstopped any one upon the high sea, save such as have suffered as littleas I have. Say, too, that if we are to continue friends, we shall bemost so at a distance; for I like the sound of his cannon-balls aslittle by sea, as he would like the whistle of a bullet by land from myrifle-gun. Say, in a word, that I am sorry I was mistaken in him, andthat he would have done better to have reserved for the Spaniard theusage he is bestowing on his countrymen."

  "And so that is your message, old Snapcholerick?" said Bunce--"Now, stapmy vitals if I have not a mind to do your errand for you over the leftshoulder, and teach you more respect for gentlemen of fortune! But Iwon't, and chiefly for the sake of your two pretty wenches, not tomention my old friend Claud Halcro, the very visage of whom brought backall the old days of scene-shifting and candle-snuffing. So good morrowto you, Gaffer Seal's-cap, and all is said that need pass between us."

  No sooner did the boat put off with the pirates, who left the brig, andnow returned to their own vessel, than Magnus, in order to avoidreposing unnecessary confidence in the honour of these gentlemen offortune, as they called themselves, got his brig under way; and, thewind coming favourably round, and increasing as the sun rose, he crowdedall sail for Scalpa-flow, intending there to disembark and go by land toKirkwall, where he expected to meet his daughters and his friend ClaudHalcro.

  FOOTNOTES:

  [39] A _well_, in the language of those seas, denotes one of thewhirlpools, or circular eddies, which wheel and boil with astonishingstrength, and are very dangerous. Hence the distinction, in old English,betwixt _wells_ and _waves_, the latter signifying the direct onwardcourse of the tide, and the former the smooth, glassy, oily-lookingwhirlpools, whose strength seems to the eye almost irresistible.

  [40] Note VII.--The Standing Stones of Stennis.