CHAPTER VI.

TO THE RESCUE.

Alice flew into the saloon, with her eyes brimful of tears, and the first person she encountered was Captain Lovell, who regarded her with looks of the utmost concern. He was a handsome man, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, of about thirty, the sort of man to catch the fancy of a woman who loved her lover’s face before his spirit, but there was no soul in the expression of his face, and no sentiment in his disposition. Any other girl would probably have done as well for him as Alice Leyton, had he been thrown in her society for several weeks consecutively, but on the other hand Alice would do as well for him as any other woman, and was happily of a temperament that would never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. At present, she thought Robert Lovell delightful. He never corrected her, as Jack too often did. He was never _distrait_ when she chattered to him, or wrapped in his own thoughts. He never gazed dreamily at the stars, or made remarks that were utterly beyond her comprehension. And so she quite imagined she was in love, and so, perhaps, she was. As Captain Lovell saw her tear-stained cheeks, he begged her confidence.

‘What is the matter, Miss Leyton? Has any one dared to annoy you?’

‘Oh, no! It is nothing. Only--only--Mr Blythe teases me so. He says--’

‘I can guess it all. You need go no further. He presses you on the subject of your engagement to him.’

‘Yes. He says he will never release me,’ replied Alice, checking a sob.

‘Alice! we must put an end to this at once. It is worrying you too much. May I speak to your mother, dearest? Have I your leave to say that we love each other, and ask her to consent to our marriage?’

‘If--if--she won’t tell Jack,’ whispered Alice fearfully. ‘I should be afraid to be on the same ship with him, if he knew.’

‘My darling! Do you suppose you are not safe with _me_?--that any one would be permitted to hurt you, whilst _I_ am by your side? However, that is a matter for after consideration. May I go now and speak to your mother?’

‘If you wish it,’ replied Alice, as she ran away to the shelter of her own cabin.

The afternoon was far advanced, and the wind had freshened into a loud, continuous blast.

In the saloon, the passengers of the _Pandora_, now quite accustomed to her varied pranks, were seated at the long table, amusing themselves according to their several tastes and proclivities. Some were playing at cards, chess, or dominoes; others were reading, or trying to write letters; whilst a few of the younger ones were gathered round the piano to hear Miss Vere and Miss Vansittart sing.

All around them the waves tossed and tumbled; the wind howled with a dismal monotony, like a dog baying at the moon; and the rain hissed and spluttered on the deck, and against the closed portholes. Now and then, far above the confusion of the elements, might be heard the scream of a seagull, as, scared by the rapid approach of the monstrous waves that threatened to engulf it, it flew in terror from its watery bed, to describe terrified circles in the murky air. Falling glass, broken china, and an occasional bump, as the vessel gave a lurch, and some one who had not quite acquired his sea-legs came down in a sitting position, were the order of the day, and those passengers who had secured a comfortable seat felt it was wiser not to leave it. Mrs Leyton, a fair, soft-looking woman, was stretched out at full length on one of the saloon sofas, covered with wraps and shawls, and with little Winnie (her baby) lying fast asleep by her side, as Captain Lovell made his way up to her.

‘We are going to have a dreadful night, Captain Lovell, I am afraid,’ she said, as he paused beside her couch. ‘My poor baby is quite tired with tumbling about, and has fallen asleep. Do you know where my Alice is? She said she was going on deck a little while ago, but I’m sure it is not fit weather for her to be out. She is such a careless, thoughtless thing. Fancy! if she were blown overboard!’

‘Heaven forbid!’ cried Captain Lovell suddenly. ‘But you may feel quite easy about her. She has just gone to her berth.’

‘Ah! I thought she would soon have enough of it; but girls are so self-willed now-a-days. It is a great responsibility to have a grown-up daughter. I shall be thankful when Mr Leyton can share it with me. How terrible the wind sounds as it moans through the shrouds!’ observed Mrs Leyton, shuddering.

‘I trust you are not frightened,’ said Captain Lovell. ‘The sound is the worst part about it.’

‘Oh, yes, I know there is no danger; but we women are timid creatures, and generally behave badly on such occasions.’

‘I think Miss Leyton behaves beautifully. Even in that sharp squall we had the other day, her cheek never blanched, nor did she lose her spirits.’

‘Ah, Alice does not know what fear is. I wish sometimes she had a more wholesome dread of consequences. But she has always had her own way with me, and I am quite afraid when we get to Dunedin that my husband will say I have been too lenient.’

‘May I enlist your sympathies on my behalf before you meet Mr Leyton?’ said the captain, taking a seat beside her. ‘It is of Alice--of Miss Leyton, I should say--that I wished to speak to you, and she has given me permission to do so. We love each other, Mrs Leyton. Will you plead our cause with your husband, and gain his consent to our marriage?’

Mrs Leyton sat up on the sofa in her surprise, and little Winnie gave a fretful cry at being disturbed.

‘Alice has encouraged you to speak to me, Captain Lovell? But she considers herself engaged to be married to Mr Vernon Blythe. It is not a match I could ever approve of, because the young man has no settled income, but they were much thrown together at Southsea, and settled the matter between themselves without consulting me. I had no idea that she had changed her mind. Are you _quite_ sure you are following her wishes in joining her name to your own?’

‘I can only tell you that I asked her permission to address you on this subject ten minutes ago, and that she gave it me most graciously. The fact is, Mrs Leyton, Alice has often spoken to me of her half-engagement to Mr Blythe with deep regret. She declares nothing will induce her to marry him, and that--God bless her!--she has every intention of marrying _me_, subject (of course) to the consent of her parents.’

‘Well, I really can’t understand her, and I must decline to have anything to do with the matter,’ replied Mrs Leyton, lying back again upon her pillows. ‘I really don’t know what the girls are made of now-a-days. The scenes Alice subjected me to when she first fell in love with young Blythe were beyond conception. She was going to die, or go mad, straight off, if she couldn’t be engaged to him. And so, to quiet her, I gave a sort of reluctant consent. But I confess I hadn’t the least idea the young man would come out in the same ship with us. And now it seems she’s in love with _you_. And what excuse does she intend to offer Mr Blythe for her conduct?’

‘I think Miss Leyton hopes that _you_ may be persuaded to manage so delicate a matter for her, and let the young gentleman know that she desires to be released from her engagement to him,’ said Captain Lovell sheepishly.

‘I shall do no such thing, sir. Alice must conduct her love affairs herself. Such a task would be altogether too much for my nerves; for though I do not consider Vernon Blythe an eligible suitor for my daughter, I like the young fellow excessively. So if his affections and his pride are to be wounded through my daughter, she can do it herself. I refuse to open my lips to him, and I must say I think he has been treated very badly.’

‘My dear Mrs Leyton, do make some allowance for Alice’s feelings. Our hearts are not completely under our own control, remember. Love is not to be coerced, like any baser passion.’

‘Well, I hope you’ll bear that in mind, Captain Lovell, if you should ever be my daughter’s husband, and catch her flirting with some other man. And don’t make too sure she’ll stick to you. A girl that changes once may change twice. And I don’t know that Mr Leyton will accept your offer for her more than the other. He’s got no romance about him, and looks high for his daughter.’

‘He could not look _too_ high for such a pearl as Alice. I shall like him all the better for that,’ replied Captain Lovell. ‘But won’t you be persuaded to break the news to Mr Blythe for us?’

‘No! I absolutely refuse, and it’s no use your asking me,’ returned Mrs Leyton, who was really fond of Jack. ‘If Alice wishes him to know she’s a jilt, she can tell him so herself.’

‘You are _too_ hard upon her,’ murmured the captain, as he withdrew from the interview, feeling much less light hearted than he had done at the commencement. But before the next day was over both he and Alice had experienced a shock which made their own troubles sink into insignificance beside it.

After a tempestuous night, a long white streak far away in the southward proclaimed the break of dawn. The sky was clear, and the stars flickered with waning light in the spangled heavens. The gale, which had blown with great fury during the night, was abating with the coming of day, and Blythe, who well knew that it would die away as quickly as it had sprung up, hoisted the topsails as soon as it showed signs of dropping. The storm clouds were dispersed by the sun, which tinted the sky with orange and crimson hues, and the moon, paling beneath the stronger light, disappeared in solemn stateliness behind her vast curtain of cerulean drapery. The waves still leapt and growled with impotent rage, but, deserted by the wind and beaten down with the rain, their energy was almost expended.

The _Pandora_ laboured against the turbulent sea, like a horse stumbling over a freshly-ploughed field. At times she took large spoonfuls over her forechains, greatly to the annoyance of the black cook, who had continually to clear his scupper holes with a long caul, and to push away the cinders which choked them up and prevented the water from escaping. Now and again the vessel dashed on to the top of a swell, and the sea rushed from her in boiling surf; then she would rise over a mountainous wave as if about to make another desperate plunge, till her stern went with a rude swash into the sea, sending thousands of bubbling whirlpools hissing in her wake, whilst the shore-folk turned uneasily in their bunks, and wished it were time to rise.

At eight bells the main-topgallant sail was sheeted home, and the outer jib run up. After which the _Pandora_ behaved in a more graceful and lady-like manner, and when the decks had been ‘squeegeed’ down, all hands emerged from their close quarters to enjoy the invigorating air, which the ocean had rendered still more grateful by a flavouring of brine.

The day became warmer, the wind hauled round to the northward and eastward, and the sun, casting off his sickly appearance, shone forth with a cheerful warmth.

Alice Leyton, under the escort of Captain Lovell, walked the lee side of the deck. They were discussing together the details of Lovell’s interview with Mrs Leyton the evening before, and the girl looked both unhappy and dismayed, as she heard the remarks her mother had made upon her conduct.

Mr Vansittart and Godfrey Harland, who appeared by general consent to be considered as _fiancé_ to Grace Vansittart, conversed at the foot of the mizenmast, and a weather cloth was spread in the lower rigging for the benefit of the ladies, who took advantage of its shelter for their camp-stools and wicker-chairs. On the wheel-house benches were seated two or three young officers, who were holding an animated discussion on the probable advent of a Conservative administration, while Miss Vere and Mr Fowler, with Harold Greenwood (who had entirely succumbed to the charms of the fair actress) close at hand, were lounging on the skylight.

Suddenly--in the midst of the buzz of conversation and the sound of laughter--came a low, piteous cry, that seemed to rend the air, and spread from one end of the ship to the other. Then a long, deep nautical shout from the maintop bawled out the terrifying words,--‘_Man overboard!_’ In a moment, the whole deck resembled a disturbed anthill, and Mr Coffin ran aft to the wheel.

‘Put your helm a-port, man!’ he cried, seizing the spokes and putting them down; and then in the same breath he shouted, ‘Cut away that life-buoy!’

When the feeble cry was first heard, Alice and Captain Lovell ran to the side of the vessel, whence the sound of a sudden splash had caught their ears. Peering into the water, they saw nothing at first but a small bundle of clothes, but in another moment a velvet cloak and a ‘granny’ bonnet to match came plainly in view--the cloak and the bonnet of Winnie Leyton. Alice turned white and sick with horror.

‘My God!’ she cried, ‘it is our baby! She is drowning! She will die! Will no one save her? Let me go,’ she continued, struggling violently in the detaining grasp of Captain Lovell, who feared lest in her agony she should jump overboard after her sister.

‘Don’t be afraid, dearest,’ he urged. ‘It will be all right. See! they are getting out a boat. They will pick her up in a minute. Pray, _pray_ don’t do anything rash,’ he said, as he attempted to lead her away.

As she turned, she encountered Jack Blythe, who was already stripped to his shirt and trousers.

‘Jack! save her!’ she screamed.

‘Never fear, Alice! I will bring her back to you,’ he answered. ‘D--n it, man, stand on one side!’ he shouted to Lovell, as he clutched him violently, and threw him against the astonished bystanders.

‘What the d--’ commenced Lovell, but in another second Jack Blythe, girding up his muscular young figure for the effort, had sprung over the side of the _Pandora_ to the rescue of Winifred Leyton.

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