By Conduct and Courage Part 35

"A spy landed last night, Van Duyk, and it is more than probable that he is taking shelter here."

"I don't know why you should suspect me more than anyone else. I am a quiet man, meddling in no way with public matters, and attending only to my own business."

"It is all very well to say that; we have certain information about you."

"I am well known to my neighbours as a peaceable man," Van Duyk repeated, "and think it monstrous that I should be so interfered with and harried."

"Well, we don't want any talk. Now, men, set to work and search every corner of the house, not only where a man could be hidden, but even a paper. These Dutchmen are traitors to a man, and if this fellow is no worse than others he is at least as bad."

For an hour and a half Will, in his hiding-place, heard the sound of smas.h.i.+ng panels and furniture, and the pulling up of floors. At the end of that time the troopers left the house and mounted, the officer saying: "You have deceived us this time, old traitor, but we will catch you yet."

"Catch me if you can. I tell you that if you level the house to the ground you will find nothing."

After they had ridden off, Van Duyk went out to the haystack.

"They have gone for the present, meinheer, but you had better stay where you are. They are quite capable of coming back again in the hope that you may have come out from some hiding-place they may have overlooked."

Indeed, an hour later the troop galloped up again, only to find the Dutchman smoking placidly on a seat before his house. Another search was made, but equally without success, and then, with much use of strong language, the party rode off.

"I think you can come down safely now," the Dutchman said to Will.

"Thank you, but I don't wish to run the least risk. I will remain where I am till it gets dark; I can very well sleep the time away till then. I sha'n't get much sleep to-night."

Not until it was quite dark did Van Duyk and his men come with a ladder to remove the thatch again. It took but a minute to extricate Will from his hole.

"We will get that filled up and mended before morning," Van Duyk said.

"Now, can I let you have a horse?"

"No, thank you, I have but twelve miles to walk. I noted the road as I came, and can find the spot where I landed without difficulty."

With thanks for the Dutchman's kindness, and handing him the reward with which the captain had entrusted him, Will started on his walk. When he approached the spot it was still four hours from the time at which the boat was to arrive, and seeing a light in a cottage he went and looked in at the window. Only a girl and an old woman were there, so he lifted the latch and went in. "I am an English officer," he said, "will you let me sit down by your fire for a couple of hours? The cold is piercing outside."

The old woman answered in broken French, bidding him welcome, and he sat down and began to talk to her. Her stock of French was small, and the conversation soon languished. Presently the girl leapt to her feet and exclaimed in Dutch: "Soldiers!" The old woman translated, and Will then heard the trampling of horses. He jumped up, s.n.a.t.c.hed a long cloak of the old woman's from the wall, and threw it round him. He also took one of her caps that hung there and put it on his head. It was large, with frills, and almost covered his face. He had but just time to reseat himself by the fire and cower over it, as if warming his hands, when the door opened and a French officer entered. At the sight of the two apparently old women bending over the fire, and the girl sitting knitting, he stopped.

"Madam," he said courteously, "it is my duty to search your house. It is believed that a spy who landed here last night may be returning to-night."

"You can look," the old woman said in her quavering voice, "as much as you like; you will not find any spy here."

As the cottage consisted of only two rooms the search was quickly effected.

"Thank you, madam!" the French officer said; "I am quite satisfied, and am sorry I have incommoded you."

"That is a civil fellow," Will said, as the sound of the retreating hoofs was heard. "Some of these fellows would have bl.u.s.tered and sworn and turned the whole place upside down. Well, madam, I am deeply obliged to you for the shelter you have given me and the risk you have run for my sake. Here is a guinea; it is all the gold I have with me, but it may buy some little comfort for you."

"It will buy me enough turf to last me all the winter," the old woman said. "My son is a fisherman who is sometimes weeks from home, and our supply of turf is running low. Thank you very much! though I would gladly have done it without reward, for we all hate the French."

Will went out cautiously and made his way down to the sh.o.r.e, listening at every step for some sound that would tell of the presence of a sentry. He lay down near the edge of the sea and watched. At last he saw a dim shape lying stationary a hundred yards out. He gave a low whistle, but this was almost instantaneously followed by the report of a musket within fifty yards of him. He did not hesitate, but with a shout to the boat ran into the water and struck out towards it. Another musket was fired, fifty yards to the left, and the signal was, as before, repeated by sentry after sentry till the sound died away in the distance. Almost immediately the galloping of horses could be heard. The boat rowed in to meet him, and as he scrambled on board a volley of carbines rang out from the sh.o.r.e. The sailors bent to their oars and, although the firing continued for some time, they knew that the enemy had lost sight of them. A quarter of an hour later the sound of oars was heard. "Stop rowing," the lieutenant in command of the boat ordered, "and don't move."

In about three minutes a large rowing-boat, manned by a number of oars, could be made out pa.s.sing across ahead of them. The s.h.i.+p's boat, however, was so small an object in comparison that it remained unnoticed. They waited till the beat of oars ceased in the distance and then rowed on again.

"That was a narrow escape," the lieutenant muttered. "Evidently she was lying in wait to catch you, and if she had been fifty yards nearer to us she must have made us out. I think we are safe now, for the course she was taking will not carry her anywhere near the frigate. At any rate we have a good start, and I have a lantern here to show in case we are chased."

They had rowed two miles farther when they again heard the sound of oars.

"We must row for it now," the lieutenant said. "The frigate is not much more than a mile away."

The men bent to their oars, and the lieutenant raised and lowered his lantern three times. This signal was almost immediately answered by the boom of a gun from the frigate. For a time the enemy continued the pursuit, but on a second gun being fired they ceased rowing.

"They must know that the frigate can't see them," the lieutenant said, "but they have no doubt come to the conclusion that they cannot overtake us before we get to her. Anyhow it is certain that they have given it up as a bad job."

In ten more minutes they were alongside the frigate.

"Is Mr. Gilmore with you?" a voice asked from above.

"Yes, I am here, sir, safe and sound."

"That is good news," the first lieutenant said, as Will stepped on deck.

"The captain was afraid, after he had let you go, that he had sacrificed you, and that, going as you did in your uniform, you would be certain to be captured."

"No, sir; I had two narrow escapes, but got off all right, and have brought you the list of gun-boats and row-boats that you required. I am afraid, though, that it will require careful opening, for I had to swim off to the boat."

"That will not matter as long as we can read it," the lieutenant said.

"Now you had better come to the captain and hand it to him."

"I am heartily glad to see you, Mr. Gilmore," the captain said. "I have been very uneasy about you, and I really hardly expected you to return to-night. We knew that the boat was being chased, by the lights Lieutenant Falcon showed, but I feared that she was coming back without you. Now tell me what has happened to you. We knew by the firing that French sentries saw the boat come to land last night."

Will gave a full account of his adventures.

"Well done indeed, Mr. Gilmore! I shall have much pleasure in reporting your conduct. Now let us examine the list."

The words were a good deal blurred by water, but were still quite legible.

"They are stronger in gun-boats than I expected," the captain said when he had read it. "If they had had an ounce of pluck about them they would have come out and fought us. A thirty-two-gun frigate is no match for sixteen gunboats. Well, now that we have got this despatch, we can make for Sheerness at once. Have her headed for that port, Mr. Falcon, if you please. We won't lose a moment before making for England."

CHAPTER XVI

A DARING EXPLOIT

On reaching Sheerness the captain at once went ash.o.r.e, accompanied by Will, and they proceeded to London. Will took up his quarters at the Golden Cross, and next day called at the Admiralty, where he sent in his name to the First Lord.

"I have received a most favourable report from Captain Knowles of your conduct in landing on the coast of Holland, and of obtaining despatches of much value. How were you taken prisoner?"

"At the attack by a force from the _Tartar_ on some batteries on one of the Isles d'Hyeres. I was. .h.i.t in the leg, and, being left behind in the confusion of the retreat, fell into the hands of the French. I was imprisoned for four months at Toulon, and then sent to Verdun. Six months after leaving Toulon I effected my escape in a disguise procured for me by a French girl. I had learned the language while in prison, and, travelling through France in the disguise of a pedlar, reached Dunkirk. There I worked in a fis.h.i.+ng-boat for a month, and then, seeing the _Artemis_ cruising off the town, I shut up two of the sailors in their cabin, and frightened the other two into taking me off to her."