CHAPTER XXXV

THE RETURN TO THE GUARDIAN-MOTHER

John Scoble could have not the slightest suspicion that the magnificent steamer in the offing, which had come to the relief of his ship’s company and passengers, was the property of Mrs. Belgrave’s son, or even that Louis was within a thousand miles of him. Doubtless the captain of the Maud believed that he had accomplished all that he had attempted, and that not even the accident of his shipwreck could deprive him of the fruits of his victory over Louis and his friends.

He had obtained full possession of the lady he still insisted upon calling his wife; and it could not have occurred to him that the son was able, or would ever be able, to wrest her from his grasp, either by force or by strategy. The beautiful steamer, less than half a mile distant, whose boats had come to his assistance, was bound to Bermuda, or at least would land his party at St. George or Hamilton. He was perfectly confident that he was the master of the situation.

As he had learned from the various exciting interviews with Scoble, Louis was aware that the persecutor of his mother did not know that the missing million had been discovered, and certainly not that the purchase-money of the elegant steamer off the reef had been paid from this resource. The young millionaire had not deemed it advisable to give him this information, for Scoble would not believe him if he did so. The treasure was still his coveted object.

The blinding spray that broke entirely over the wreck did not permit any one on the deck to examine the faces of those in the first cutter when the rope thrown by the mate was made fast in the fore-sheets. The hull of the schooner had careened over to leeward till the mainmast, the only remaining spar, extended out over the water at an angle of about forty-five degrees; and the cutter had brought up directly under it, as Mr. Boulong intended, in order to carry out a plan he had formed as soon as he understood the position of the wreck.

Under the lee of the Maud’s hull the water was not so violently agitated as in every other situation. Still, it was impossible to go alongside the wreck without the peril of dashing the boat to pieces. The wreck itself, the bottom of which was by this time ground out of her on the sharp rocks, had a dangerous motion; and it was only a question of minutes when it would be torn in pieces. There was certainly no time to lose; and the mate, with his plan all ready, proceeded to execute it without a moment’s delay.

“Bangs and Williams, I have some sharp work for you,” said Mr. Boulong with energy. “Are you ready to run some risk? If not, say so.”

“All ready, sir!” shouted both of the bow oarsmen together. “Not a man in this ship’s company will go back on his duty!” added Bangs.

“Not one, sir!” roared Williams.

The mate took a purchase from the bottom of the boat rigged with a strong line, and passed it to the men in the bow.

“Now, Bangs, board the wreck with this line,” continued Mr. Boulong in a very loud tone, which the noisy sea and the grinding hull rendered necessary. “You will follow him, Williams. Make fast the purchase about twenty feet up the main rigging! Rig a sling for the lady, and lower her into the boat!”

“Ay, ay, sir!” responded the two men.

With the rope fastened around his body, Bangs began the ascent of the fast which held the boat. The mate ordered the two men who were to remain in the boat to back water with their oars with all their might, in order to keep the rope as stiff as possible. But it was a perilous enterprise; and more than once Bangs was swept under water by the slackening of the line. If he had not been a bold, brave fellow, he would have given up the attempt in despair. He struggled with the waves that ingulfed him frequently; and, after a desperate battle with the elements, he reached the wreck, where he was assisted over the bulwark by the two seamen of the schooner.

Louis had taken one of the spare oars, and was pulling with all his strength to keep the cutter at its distance from the wreck. The mate took the remaining oar and joined in the work, while Williams, with the block of the purchase tied to his belt, began to climb the fast. Either because there was a momentary lull in the gale, or because the additional oars kept the cutter steadier, the bold seaman made his way to the deck of the Maud with comparatively little difficulty.

The purchase was hauled on board from the boat; and Bangs, without the loss of an instant, ran up the main rigging with the block in his hand. Williams followed him as soon as he could catch his breath,--for he had been under water several times in his passage up the line,--with the purchase-rope tied around him. The mast swayed badly under the pressure of the heavy seas; but the work was speedily accomplished. The mate had rigged the slings in the cutter, and they had been hauled to the deck.

Suddenly there was a violent commotion in the forward part of the wreck, and the grinding and snapping of planks and timbers could be heard. The stump of the bowsprit, which had been broken off when the foremast went, by the board, dropped into the boiling sea. The forecastle was lifted up as though a charge of dynamite had wrenched it from its position; the whole forward part of the hull crumbled away, and these portions of the wreck were tossed in every direction by the savage waves.

“She is going to pieces!” cried Louis, as he witnessed the destruction of this part of the wreck.

“Not yet!” shouted Mr. Boulong. “The forward part is broken off where the step of the foremast was ground out of her. She may hold on some time yet.”

“My mother is still on board of her,” groaned Louis, as he sprang to the fore-sheets of the cutter.

He had thrown off his coat and hat when he began to row, and, without announcing his intention, he threw himself upon the fast which held the boat, and began to climb up as the two seamen had done. He had not made six feet before he was submerged by the loosing of the rope. The mate saw his peril, and the three men pulled with all their might till the young millionaire rose from the water and renewed his effort.

“Come back, Mr. Belgrave! For Heaven’s sake come back!” yelled Mr. Boulong in an agony of suspense; for he knew that the young man was not a sailor, and he fully expected to see him drop exhausted into the sea.

The mate and his two men made their oars bend with their earnestness to keep the cutter at her distance. Louis did not heed the call of Mr. Boulong, but struggled on his way to the deck of the wreck. His mother was in peril there, in deadly peril, as her son understood it, after the whole bow of the vessel had been carried away. He would have believed that he was a coward if he had retreated from the holiest duty on earth.

There were moments when the tempest lulled a little, and one of these brief intervals, as well as the tremendous efforts of the mate and his men in the boat, favored him, and he succeeded in reaching the bulwarks of the stranded craft, where Bangs hauled him in, very nearly exhausted by his tremendous exertions. The purchase and slings were all ready for use, and Bangs rushed to the waist, where Mrs. Belgrave and Felix were awaiting their fate or their salvation, which ever it might be.

The strong arm of the seaman encircled her, and conducted her in safety to the mainmast. By this time Louis had partially recovered his breath, and he seized his mother in his arms as the seamen released her to attend to the slings. She was blinded with spray, but she was calmer than any of the crew of the Maud. Her prayers had strengthened her, and prepared her for a grave beneath the wild waves.

“Mother!” exclaimed Louis, as he pressed her to his bosom with a sort of wild rapture. “Not a word, mother! You shall be saved!”

Nothing more was said, for the business of saving her was paramount in his mind. Bangs rigged the sling, and seated her in it, very much as she had sat in a swing when she was a child. Then with some lanyards he tied her to the ropes, so that she could not have fallen out if she had taken no care for her safety.

“Here, you blackguard!” shouted Williams, as he seized one of the seamen of the Maud who was in the act of getting on the rope to make his way to the cutter. “If another mother’s son of you attempts to get into that boat, I will fling him overboard! We save the ladies first!”

“Don’t be frightened, mother,” said Louis, as the two sailors began to heave on the purchase-rope. “You will be put into the boat without any danger.”

“I am not frightened, Louis; I am in the hands of the Lord, and I shall be saved if it his will, my son,” she replied, as she kissed and embraced him, perhaps thinking it might be the last time in this world.

As the men heaved on the line, Mrs. Belgrave rose in the air, and Louis passed her over the bulwark. The block of the purchase had been rigged directly over the cutter by Bangs, and as soon as the passenger had been raised to the shrouds, the sailors lowered her, Louis attending to the guy rope which had been attached to her. With the oars those in the cutter kept it as steady as possible; Mr. Boulong received her in his strong arms, and in a few moments more she was seated in the stern sheets.

“It is your turn next, Flix,” said Louis, who had had no time to do anything more than shake his crony by the hand.

Felix objected, and insisted that Louis should descend next; but the owner directed Bangs to put him in the sling, and he submitted. In a few moments more he was in the boat. The owner of the Guardian-Mother had not so far encountered Scoble, or Frinks his mate; and there were only two seamen on board, besides Kimpton.

“It is your turn now, Mr. Belgrave,” said Bangs, as he rigged the sling for a third passenger.

“I am all ready,” replied Louis, who had no desire to remain any longer.

At this moment Scoble came on deck from the cabin with his hands full of various articles which he was doubtless anxious to save, for he must have had a considerable sum of money in his possession. He staggered up to the foot of the mainmast where Bangs was rigging the sling for the owner of the steamer, for it was not an easy thing to walk on that uneasy deck, even for a sailor. But he looked as though he had been drinking too much brandy.

“I will be the next one to go in the boat,” said he, his speech as thick as though his tongue was double its natural size. “I don’t want to be separated from my wife.”

“She is no longer your wife!” said Louis in a very earnest tone.

“Louis!” exclaimed Scoble, starting back as though he had seen an apparition. “How came you here?”

But Bangs did not suspend his preparations, and in a moment more Louis was ready for the descent. Very likely the sight of his late stepson roused his anger, assisted by the spirit he had taken, and he insisted that he should go next. When he began to lay violent hands on Louis, Bangs waited for nothing more, but knocked him half-way across the deck with a single blow of his fist. Before he could recover, the owner was swinging in the air, and was presently deposited in the boat.

The second cutter had come up and made fast to the stern of the first. Mr. Boulong had three passengers now, and he decided to take no more, as there were only five more on the wreck. The other boat was hauled up to the fast, and secured to it. Two of the oarsmen were transferred from the second to the first cutter, and the second officer was directed to take off those that remained. It was a very rough passage, but the three persons were safely taken on board of the Guardian-Mother.