University of Virginia Library

3. CHAPTER III.
The Clipper.

Forrestal, on descending from the deck, stopped
in a sort of vestibule or hall, at the foot of the stairs,
from which a richly-gilt mahogany door led into the
main cabin occupied by the commander of the sloop-of-war.
He tapped at the door twice before he was
heard, when he was ordered to `come in.'

`Ah, Mr. Forrestal, it is you,' said Captain Parmenter,
who, wrapped in a brocade dressing-gown and his
feet thrust into Persian slippers, was seated by a table
that was draped with a scarlet cloth, and strewn with
books and papers and partly covered by a very elegant
inlaid writing-desk. The cabin in which he was seated
was spacious and panneled with rose-wood and maple,
polished in the highest manner, and relieved by beads
of burnished gold, and pilasters of marble placed at
intervals, surmounted by gilded Corinthian capitals.
Though small in dimensions, nothing could be more
magnificent than this nautical saloon. On either side
of it a door opened into a state-room containing French
couches overarched by damask canopies. The furniture
of this tasteful cabin consisted of two lounges
covered with thick crimson velvet, and two luxurious
easy-chairs, with the circular table at which the occupant
was seated in one of them. A large mirror occupied
the space above the transum between the two dead-lights,

and over the table hung a very elegant bronze
lamp in the form of a nautilus.

`I have taken the liberty to intrude upon you, sir,
but' —

`No intrusion, Mr. Forrestal,' said Captain Parmenter,
with the courtesy of a perfectly bred man. `You are
so assiduous in your duties on deck, that it is rarely I
have the pleasure of a voluntary visit from you; besides,
I was just thinking about sending my servant to you.
Be seated, sir! How is poor young Carneil? The
doctor was in awhile since, and said, that although he
was in no danger of his life, he was still in the same
state in which I left him two hours ago!'

`He is now, I am happy to say, sir, quite out of
danger. He has not only recovered his senses, but
spoken rationally, and seems to be quite free from any
alarming symptoms!'

`Was he rational, quite? Did he betray no signs
of that painful condition of the mind which the doctor
has hinted at as the cause of his leaping into the water?'

`No, sir. It was from me the doctor got this idea,
for I was the only one present and conversing with
him when he made the plunge. I then believed, and
expressed to the doctor my opinion, that it was an act
of temporary insanity.'

`But you do not think so, now?'

`No, sir.'

`It is very strange what should have led him to do
it, said Captain Parmenter, thoughtfully; but I am glad
the poor boy is doing well. He shall be removed to
my cabin.'

`He is quite comfortable where he is, sir, and I think
will be on deck in the morning, in his usual health.'

`Well, that is favorable. Now, Mr. Forrestal, let
me talk with you about this clipper-cruise. I was just
about to send for you for the purpose.'

Forrestal was burning with impatience to communicate
to his commanding officer what was on his mind,
and which had brought him so abruptly into his presence
at that late hour; but the courtesies of the service
rendered him silent till he should have first heard what
the captain had to say to him; and he moreover secretly
trusted, that what he had to propose might forward
that which he himself had in view in reference
to the lugger.

`You are aware, Mr. Forrestal,' said the captain in
a serious manner, `that I have in view a cruise on the
Bahamas, and I have already made known to you that
the clipper-schooner, just arrived from the States, is to
act as a tender.'

`Yes, sir.'

`It is my intention, as I hinted to you this morning,
to place you in command of her, having confidence in
your ability as well as in your judgment and discretion.

Forrestal bowed, and Captain Parmenter resumed
in the same quiet, conversational tone.

`My orders are to cruise between Nassau and the
Hole-in-the-Wall, and endeavor to ascertain the haunts
of the wreckers, (or rather now to be called pirates, for
their late deeds,) who were guilty of plundering the
packet-ships and robbing the passengers, of which so
much has been said lately; and I have particular instructions
to endeavor to ascertain where, by what

means, and by whom the false decoy-light near Abaco
has been displayed, by which two of these vessels were
deceived and cast away. My orders came out in the
clipper, though I had some intimation from the Department,
that I was to be ordered on some such service,
and hence my delay here. You have not been on
board the clipper?'

`No, sir, not yet. She is a very fine-looking craft,
and must sail well.'

`She is. I am told by the masters'-mate, who brought
her out, that she skips over the waves like a gull. She
draws but eight feet, though her length is so very great
for her breadth of beam, she looks twice her tonnage,
which is but one hundred and ten!'

`When do you weigh, sir?'

`At noon, to-morrow.'

`Have you' —

Here Forrestal checked himself, and appeared embarrassed
what to say, as if he was about to ask something
that he shrunk from proposing.

`Why do you hesitate, Mr. Forrestal?' asked the
captain, blandly; `I have seen you have had something
on your mind all along while I have been talking: out
with it, sir!'

`I was about to ask if you had any objections to my
getting under weigh with the schooner to-night?'

`To-night! Mr. Forrestal? To-night! and alone?'

`Pardon me, sir, I should first have explained to you
my motive. It is connected with poor Harry's leap
into the water!'

`Let me hear it, sir,' answered the commander, with
a look of surprise and curiosity. `How your sailing

to-night can have any thing to do with Carneil's affair,
I cannot conceive. But I am curious to hear.'

`You are, I believe, sir, acquainted with his singular
history, Captain Parmenter?'

`Yes; and once began to relate it to you.'

`He has told me himself, sir. We were standing
together, at sunset, enjoying the beautiful harbor-scene
around us, when from some circumstance that occurred
he began to give me a relation of the events of his
earlier life. It was a strange and interesting story, to
which I listened; and I need not assure you, sir, to
whom these extraordinary facts are known, that I became
most deeply interested.'

`You could not be otherwise than so, Mr. Forrestal,'
said Captain Parmenter, in a sad tone of voice. `I
never think of the affair without pity. What do you
imagine was the motive of that fellow, who abducted
the lovely little girl, his sister? To me the whole
subject is one of painful mystery. Harry has deeply
interested me, not only from the peculiar circumstances
connected with his life, but from the many noble traits
of character in mind and heart he daily developes; I
never knew a youth who promises so fairly to be heard
in the world. That he has come of good blood, is
plain from his spirited head, his proud brow and eye,
as well as from the delicate, yet by no means feminine,
shape of his hands and limbs. He is a capital sailor,
and seems to take to the sea by instinct; and I would
not hesitate to bet, if there was any way of proving it,
that his father lived longer on the blue water than on
the green land. But what is your opinion of this
abduction?'

`I can form none satisfactorily. If both children had
been desired, then there might have been some motive
based upon property, which, if they had remained, they
would have inherited.'

`I have thought of the same idea, and the same objection,
of one only being taken away, voluntarily occurred!
I would give a thousand dollars to get at the
bottom of this mystery.'

`I think we are likely to, sir,' said Forrestal, with
animation.

`How? In what way?' demanded the captain, with
eager inquiry.

`I have told you that Harry was relating to me his
story, as we were standing together on the side of the
ship looking towards the Moro.'

`Well.'

`Between us and the Moro lay at anchor a small
lugger, that dropped down there a little before sunset.'

`I remember seeing her, and thought she looked
amazingly like one of the Bahama wreckers; and I
thought I would in the morning send for the skipper,
and see what I could get out of him touching the
doings of some of his brethren on the Banks. But
what of him?'

`Harry had just ended his recital by saying, in reply
to a question from me, that if he saw that man who
took him from home, he should recognize him, under
any disguise. We both had our eyes turned in the
direction of the shallop at the moment, and all at once,
while he was speaking, he uttered an extraordinary
cry, and plunged instantly from the gangway into the
water. Supposing he must have been seized with a

momentary madness caused by grief and despair, I
plunged in after him, and we were so fortunate as to
rescue him, though not without injury.'

`Yes, Mr. Forrestal, and you deserve great praise
for your act. But I am impatient to hear more; for
I see you have something strange yet to tell connected
with the affair.'

`Yes. Until about a quarter of an hour ago, when
Harry came to himself, I believed that he had jumped
overboard from the impulse of temporary insanity!'

`And what was the cause, Mr. Forrestal?' asked
Captain Parmenter, earnestly.

`You will scarce believe what I am to say, for I
was first incredulous myself, until firmly convinced by
Harry's positive manner and the sincerity of his air, that
he was right! He declares positively that the cause of
his conduct was the recognizing in a man on board
the shallop as his eye glanced that way, the features
and form of the very individual who had taken him
and his sister from their childhood's home! That he
obeyed the first impulse of his feelings and leaped
overboard to swim to the shallop!'

`Can this be possible, Mr. Forrestal?' exclaimed
the captain, springing from his seat, in the strongest
excitement.

`Harry positively asserts that he is not mistaken;
that the features of this man, who tore him from his
native land, are engraven upon his memory, and that
the man he beheld on the deck of the shallop is the
same man!'

`This is most wonderful!'

`It is, indeed, sir!'

`Let me see Carneil! I will question him! But
what is this confusion in the companion-way? Here
he is in person, and pursued by the doctor!' he cried,
as Harry burst into the cabin and threw himself upon
Forrestal with a perfect abandonment. `What is
this? Doctor Fosdick, explain, sir!' demanded the
captain, as the surgeon arrested himself in the door
and stood there wistfully eyeing his patient, yet afraid
to intrude into the cabin, his right hand armed with a
lancet and his left flourishing a strip of linen bandage.

`Sir, my patient has eloped and I pursued him,'
answered the discomfited medicine-man.

`Mr. Forrestal, he would have bled me, and I am
perfectly well!' cried Harry.

`I had no sooner pricked the cuticle of his arm with
my lancet point, Captain Parmenter, than he came to,
and was up the steerage ladder in a trice. He is mad,
sir, stark mad, or he would quietly have suffered himself
to be bled!'

`That is no good proof, doctor. I will vouch for
the sanity of my young friend. Let him remain with
me to-night, I will be responsible. Good night, doctor!'

The surgeon took the polite bow of the commander
as a civil request for him to retire, and wishing the
two officers a `good night,' in return, he closed the
cabin door and departed to his own state-room.

`Now, my dear boy,' said Captain Parmenter,
kindly, `we both know, Mr. Forrestal and myself, that
you are not mad! The doctor we will suffer to remain,
for the present, in his own opinion. Mr. Forrestal
has told me what led you to leap into the water,

and it is very naturally explained under the circumstances.
I am glad you appear now so well over
your sad accident of hitting the boat. Now, be composed,
Harry, for I see your soul is almost ready to
fly out at your lips!'

`But, sir, the shallop has weighed!'

`Weighed!'

`Yes, sir. This is what has roused me again.
O, sir, if he now escapes us I may never see him
again!'

`You did not tell me the lugger had gone from her
anchorage, Mr. Forrestal.'

`I was just about to do so when Harry came in as
he did. This was my motive in desiring to put to
sea to-night, that I might overtake her!'

`Oh! good, good Forrestal!' cried Harry, almost
embracing his friend; and then his eyes, fixed on his
commander, hung upon his answer.

`Harry, let me first ask you if you are sure you are
not mistaken in this man's identity?'

`No, sir. I had no sooner fixed my eyes upon him
than I knew him! He was not much changed, save
that he looked older and grayer, sir!'

`You are positive!'

`It was the man, sir, the very man!' cried Harry,
with tearful earnestness. `O, sir, if you would let
the sloop get — but I am of too little importance
for a sloop-of-war to weigh anchor on my account!'

`The sloop need not go in pursuit. Does any one
of the watch know which course she took after getting
an offing, Mr. Forrestal? Was she seen?'

`She stood to the north and east; so Veryl told me,

as he was watching her when she moved out from her
moorings. She sailed with the first ebb and has been
gone near four hours now!'

`I am satisfied you are right, Harry, or you could
not look and speak so positively, not to allude to the
fact of your springing overboard so readily and impulsively.
I shall therefore act accordingly. The clipper-schooner
that is anchored near us is to act as a tender
to the sloop in a cruise, and Mr. Forrestal is to take
command of her. Both vessels were to sail together
to-morrow noon; but as you are of great importance,
my dear boy, notwithstanding your modest doubts, the
schooner shall weigh as soon as Mr. Forrestal gets on
board of her. Do not look so pale, Harry. You may
accompany him, for nothing could be done without
you, you know! Now get your kit ready, if you feel
strong enough; if not, the steward shall help you!'

`I can get together what things I shall want in a
few minutes, sir. I am well and strong, now that I
know we are going in chase of the shallop. I do not
know what to say to you for your goodness, Captain
Parmenter!'

`Say nothing, my dear boy; only catch and bring
that fellow back safe under hatches, and I will have
the screws ready to clap on him, to make him confess
all his diabolical villainy!'

Harry left the cabin, his bosom swelling with new
and strange feelings, to prepare for a transfer to the
clipper, while the steward, by his order, began to get
ready Mr. Forrestal's chest, with his nautical books,
charts, quadrants, spy-glass, &c.

`Now, Mr. Forrestal,' said Captain Parmenter, as

Harry left them together, `you will enter upon and
pursue this chase with all diligence. There is no
question but that Harry has, by God's good providence,
seen the very man! Providence will aid you in carrying
through the matter to a successful issue, if Harry
has been right in the outset. I shall put to sea to-morrow
noon at the ebb. If I am correct in my suspicions
this fellow is a wrecker, and has probably
been in port here to dispose of the more valuable portions
of cargo he has either picked up on the beach or
pilfered from some wreck. If Harry's man is indeed
in her, she is more likely to be one of the very piratical
fellows I am ordered to hunt out of their hiding-places
among the Keys. The shallop will, therefore,
doubtless take you in the direction of the Banks, as
Veryl says she steered a northerly course after getting
outside. I shall also stand for the Banks to-morrow.
I will give you full time for your cruise — twenty
days — and at the end of this period I shall rendezvous
at Key-West, where you will then meet me and
report progress. If you are successful in capturing
the shallop in less time, and this man is on board, you
will join me either at Nassau or in the neighborhood
of Abaco, where I shall cruise for several days. You
have now my instructions! You can get on board as
soon as you please!'

`I will not delay a moment, sir,' answered Forrestal,
taking up his naval cap from the ottoman.

`The manner in which this skipper has stolen off,
leads me to suspect that he must have recognized
Harry while he was in the water!'

`I have been thinking the very same thing, sir,'

answered Forrestal, arresting his hand upon the knob
of the door, which he had partly opened when the
captain spoke. `Yet there must have been such an
alteration in Harry that I question if he could have
identified him!'

`Perhaps this man — and I think on reflection it is
more than probable, perhaps he has kept this youth in
his eye from the first. It is not likely he would willingly
lose sight of him altogether. He must have
known that he did not perish on the steps, and that
Mr. Carneil took him in. It appears to me that he
must have kept his eye upon him, and I should not be
surprised if his dropping down here from the inner
harbor and anchoring so close to us had something to
do with his knowledge that Harry was on board the
sloop!'

`Such a supposition is a very natural one, sir; and
if he anchored here with any designs upon him, he
would very naturally move again as soon as he well
could, conscious of having been recognized, and fearful
of the consequences when Harry, whom he must
have seen, was taken on board insensible, should
come to himself and give the reason for his conduct!'

`You are right, Mr. Forrestal, I am now firmly convinced
in my own mind that Harry saw the true man.
This suggestion explains the whole. When shall you
weight?'

`Within twenty minutes!'

`God give you success. Good-by, sir,' added the
captain, shaking his hand. `And you, Harry, good-by
too! Are you all ready, my dear boy?'

`Yes, Captain Parmenter!'

`Then God bless you! Good night!'

The captain accompanied them to the deck, and in
a quiet manner they put off from the sloop, and in
three minutes stood on the deck of the clipper. In
five more her anchor was atrip, her sails were loosed
and sheeted home, and, gracefully swinging round
with her prow to the sea, the beautiful vessel went
flying ocean-ward, and was soon lost to the eye of the
commander in the hazy indistinctness of distance and
night.