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stretched his arm. Within a hundred feet of him, he saw the image of the
sea-green lady, rocking in the agitated water, and turned towards the raft,
with its usual expression of wild and malicious intelligence. This emblem of
their fancied mistress had been borne in front of the smugglers, when they
mounted the poop of the Coquette; and the steeled staff on which the lantern
was perched, had been struck into a horse-bucket by the standard-bearer of the
moment, ere he entered the mêlée of the combat. During the conflagration, this
object had more than once met the eye of Ludlow; and now it appeared floating
quietly by him, in a manner almost to shake even his contempt for the ordinary
superstitions of seamen. While he hesitated in what manner he should reply to
his companion s remark, the latter plunged into the sea, and swam towards the
light. He was soon by the side of the raft again, bearing aloft the symbol of
his brigantine. There are none so firm in the dominion of reason, as to be
entirely superior to the secret impulses which teach us all to believe in the
hidden agency of a good or an evil fortune. The voice of the free-trader was
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more cheerful, and his step more sure and elastic, as he crossed the stage and
struck the armed end of the staff into that part of the top-rim of the
Coquette, which floated uppermost.
Courage! he gaily cried. While this light burns, my star is not set!
Courage, lady of the land; for here is one of the deep waters, who still looks
kindly on her followers! We are at sea, on a frail craft it is certain, but a
dull sailer may make a sure passage.--Speak, gallant Master Seadrift: thy
gaiety and spirit should revive under so goodly an omen!
But the agent of so many pleasant masquerades, and the instrument of so much
of his artifice, had not a fortitude equal to the buoyant temper of the
smuggler. The counterfeit bowed his head by the side of the silent Alida,
without reply. The Skimmer of the Seas regarded the group, a moment, with
manly interest; and then touching the arm of Ludlow, he walked, with a
balancing step, along the spars, until they had reached a spot where they
might confer without causing unnecessary alarm to their companions.
Although so imminent and so pressing a danger as that of the explosion had
passed, the situation of those who had escaped was scarcely better than that
of those who had been lost. The heavens showed a few glimmering stars in the
openings of the clouds; and now, that the first contrast of the change had
lessened, there was just enough light to render all the features of their
actual state gloomily imposing.
It has been said, that the fore-mast of the Coquette went by the board, with
most of its hamper aloft. The sails, with such portion of the rigging as might
help to sustain it, had been hastily cut away as related; and after its fall,
until the moment of the explosion, the common men had been engaged, either in
securing the staging, or in clearing the wreck of those heavy ropes which,
useless as fastenings, only added to the weight of the mass. The whole wreck
lay upon the sea, with the yards crossed and in their places, much as the
spars had stood. The large booms had been unshipped, and laid in such a manner
around the top, with the ends resting on the lower and top-sail yards, as to
form the foundation of the staging. The smaller booms, with the mess-chest and
shot-boxes, were all that lay between the group in the centre, and the depths
of the ocean. The upper part of the top-rim rose a few feet above the water,
and formed an important protection against the night-breeze and the constant
washing of the waves. In this manner were the females seated, cautioned not to
trust their feet on the frail security of the booms, and supported by the
unremitting care of the Alderman. Francois had submitted to be lashed to the
top by one of the brigantine s seamen, while the latter, all of the common
herd who remained, encouraged by the presence of their standard-light, began
to occupy themselves in looking to the fastenings and other securities of the
raft.
We are in no condition for a long or an active cruise, Captain Ludlow, said
the Skimmer, when he and his companion were out of hearing. I have been at
sea in all weathers, and in every description of craft; but this is the
boldest of my experiments on the water.--I hope it may not be the last!
We cannot conceal from ourselves the frightful hazards we run, returned
Ludlow, however much we may wish them to be a secret to some among us.
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