In a short time they were in a busy thoroughfare, the number of people becoming larger and larger as they went down towards the water. Janissaries in their showy uniform swaggered along, soldiers of the line, merchants, and peasants, while hamals staggering along under enormous burdens swung from bamboo poles, made their way, keeping up a constant shout to the crowd to clear the road. State functionaries5 moved gravely along on their way to the offices of the Porte. Veiled women, with children in their arms or clinging to them, stopped to talk to each other in the streets or bargained with the traders at the little shops. Military officers and Turks of the upper class rode along on showy horses, prancing6 and curvetting and scattering7 the foot passengers right and left.
Ahmed and his companions kept straight on, paying apparently8 no attention to what was going on around them, Ahmed occasionally making a remark in Turkish, the others keeping silent.
When they reached the water-side a number of boatmen surrounded Ahmed, who soon found two men whom he had frequently employed. The caique was brought alongside. Ahmed had already told Horace to step in without hesitation9 with his companion, and to take their seats at the bottom of the boat in the stern, while he and Mourad would sit between them and the boatmen. The latter took their places, and each seized a pair of the sculls. These, which were much lighter10 than the sculls of an English boat, were round with a long broad blade. They were not in rollocks, but in a strap11 of leather fastened to a single thole-pin; inside this they thickened to a bulk of three or four inches in diameter, narrowing at the extremity12 for the grip of the hand. This thick bulge13 gave an excellent balance to the sculls, and was rendered necessary by the fact that the boats were high out of water, and the length of the sculls outboard disproportionately large to that inboard.
A few vigorous strokes by the rowers sent the boat out into the open water. Then the forward oarsman let his sculls hang by their thongs14 alongside, took out four long pipes from the bottom of the caique, filled and lighted them, and passed them aft to the passengers, and then again betook himself to his sculls. Bearing gradually across they reached the other side below Scutari, and then kept along the shore at a distance of a hundred yards from the land. Ahmed chatted to the oarsman next to him, and to Mourad, occasionally making some remark to the others in Turkish in reference to the pretty kiosks that fringed the shore; enforcing what he said by pointing to the objects of which he was speaking. They assumed an appearance of interest at what he was saying, and occasionally Horace, who was next to him, talked to him in low tones in Greek, so that the boatman should not catch the words, Ahmed each time replying in Turkish in louder tones.
No class of boatmen in the world row with the vigour15 and strength with which those of the Bosphorus—who are for the most part Albanians—ply their sculls, and both Horace and the doctor were struck with surprise and admiration16 at the steady and unflagging way in which the men rowed, their breath seeming to come no quicker, though the perspiration18 stood in beads19 on their brown faces and muscular arms, and streamed down their swarthy chests, which were left bare by the open shirts of almost filmy material of snowy whiteness. Once only in the two hours’ journey did they cease rowing and indulge for five minutes in a smoke; after which they renewed their labours with as much vigour as when they first started.
“That is the kiosk,” Ahmed said at last, pointing to one standing20 by itself near the water’s edge on a projecting point of land, and in a few minutes the caique swept in to the stairs. Ahmed had quietly passed a few small silver coins into Horace’s hand, whispering in Greek:
“Give them these as you land; an extra tip is always welcome.”
Then he paid the men as he got out, saying to them:
“I expect the ladies in a few days. You had better go up each morning to the house, and then you can secure the job.”
Horace dropped the coins into the boatman’s hand, with a nod, as he stepped out, and then they walked up to the house. The boatmen again lighted their pipes for a smoke before starting back on their long row. The kiosk was shut up. Mourad opened the door with a key, and threw the shutters21 open.
“There is nothing to steal,” Ahmed laughed. “A few mats for the floors and cushions for the divans23. The cooking pots and crockery are locked up in a big chest; there is little else. There are a few vases for flowers and other ornaments25 stowed away in a cupboard somewhere, but altogether there is little to tempt26 robbers; and, indeed, there are very few of them about. The houses are always left so, and it is an almost unknown thing for them to be disturbed. You see everything is left clean and dusted, so the place is always ready when we like to run down for a day or two. The house has not been used much lately, for my parents and sisters have been two years at Athens, and I have been frequently away at our estates, which lie some fifteen miles west of Constantinople. Now we will take a turn round, while Mourad is getting dinner ready.”
The latter had brought with him, in addition to the box, a large basket containing charcoal27, provisions, and several black bottles.
“There is a village half a mile farther along the shore, where he will do his marketing28 to-morrow,” Ahmed had explained as he pointed29 to the basket.
The garden was a rough triangle, two sides being washed by the water, while a high wall running across the little promontory30 formed the third side. It was some sixty or seventy yards each way; the house stood nearly in the middle; the ground sloped down on either side of it to the water, and was here clear of shrubs31, which covered the rest of the garden, interspersed32 with a few shady trees. There were seats placed under these, and a small summer-house, surrounded on three sides by high shrubs but open to the water, stood at the end of the point.
“It is a little bit of a place, as you see,” Ahmed said; “but my mother and the girls are very fond of it, and generally stay here during the hot season. It is quite secluded33, and at the same time they have a good view of everything going up and down the Sea of Marmora; and if there is any breeze at all, it sweeps right through the house.”
“It is charming,” Horace said. “With a boat here, one could not want anything better.”
“We always have a boat, with two men, while we are here,” Ahmed said. “The two men who rowed us have been with us two or three seasons. My father often wants to go into Constantinople, and I generally go when he does. We usually sleep at our house there, and come back the next evening. If the ladies want to go out while we are away, they can get a caique at the village.”
After they had taken a turn round the garden they went into the house again. The principal room on the ground-floor was at the end of the house, and occupied its full width. The windows extended entirely round three sides of it, a divan24, four feet wide, running below them.
“You see, on a hot day,” Ahmed said, “and with all these windows open, it is almost like being in the open air; and whichever way the wind is, we can open or close those on one side, according to its strength.”
The ceiling and the wall on the fourth side of the room were coloured pink, with arabesques34 in white. The windows extended from the level of the divan up to the ceiling, and were of unpainted wood varnished35, as was the wood-work of the divan. The floor was very carefully and evenly laid, and the planks37 planed and varnished. Beyond two or three little tables of green-painted wood, there was no furniture whatever in the room. Outside the windows were jalousies or perforated shutters, which could be closed during the heat of the day to keep the room dark and cool.
Mourad had already got out the cushions and pillows and spread them on the divan; had placed a small iron bowl full of lighted charcoal in a low box full of sand in the centre of the room, and a brass38 casket full of tobacco on one of the tables. Half a dozen chibouks, with amber39 mouthpieces and cherry or jasmine-wood stems, leant in a corner.
Three of the pipes were soon filled, and a piece of glowing charcoal, taken from the fire with a pair of small tongs40 lying beside it, was placed on each bowl. A few puffs41 were taken to get the tobacco alight, then the pieces of charcoal were dropped into the fire again, and shaking off their slippers42 they took their seats on the cushions of the divan.
“It is very unfortunate that your friend does not speak Greek,” Ahmed began.
“Yes, it is unfortunate for him,” Horace said as he translated the remark to Macfarlane.
“If I had known that my lot was going to be cast out here,” the doctor said, “I would have insisted on learning modern Greek instead of ancient at school—that is, if I could have got a dominie who could have taught me. It is a very serious drawback, especially when you know that people are talking of things that may or may not mean that you are going to get your throat cut in an hour or so. For the last two days I seem to have been just drifting in the dark.”
“But I always translate to you as much as I can, doctor.”
“You do all that, Horace, and I will say this that you do your best; but it is unsatisfactory getting things at second hand. One likes to know precisely44 how things are said. However, as matters have gone there is nothing to grumble45 at, though where one’s life is concerned it is a natural weakness that one should like to have some sort of say in the matter, instead of feeling that one is the helpless sport of fate.”
Horace laughed, and Ahmed smiled gravely, when he translated the doctor’s complaint.
“It comes all the harder to me,” the doctor went on, “because I have always liked to know the why and the wherefore of a matter before I did it. I must confess that since I have been in the navy that wish has been very seldom gratified. Captains are not in the habit of giving their reasons to their surgeons, overlooking the fact altogether that these are scientific men, and that their opinion on most subjects is valuable. They have too much of the spirit of the centurion46 of old. They say ‘Do this,’ and it has to be done, ‘You will accompany the boats, Dr. Macfarlane,’ or ‘You will not accompany the boats.’ I wonder sometimes that, after an action, they don’t come down into the cockpit and say, ‘You will cut off this leg,’ or ‘This arm is not to be amputated.’ The highness-and-mightiness of a captain in His Majesty’s navy is something that borders on the omnipotent47. There is a maxim48 that the king can do no wrong; but a king is a poor fallible body in comparison with a captain.”
“Well, I don’t think you have anything to complain of with Martyn,” Horace laughed.
“Martyn is only an acting-captain, Horace, and it is not till they get the two swabs on their shoulders that the dignity of their position makes itself felt. A first lieutenant49 begins, as a rule, to take the disease badly, but it is not till he gets his step that it takes entire possession of him. I have even known a first lieutenant listen to argument. It’s rare, lad, very rare, but I have known such a thing; as for a captain, argument is as bad as downright open mutiny. Well, this is a comfortable place that we have got into, at least in hot weather, but I should say that an ice-house would be preferable in winter. These windows don’t fit anyhow, and there would be a draft through them that would be calculated to establish acute rheumatism50 in the system in the course of half an hour.”
“The house is not used at all in winter,” Ahmed said, when he understood the nature of the doctor’s criticisms. “Almost all the kiosks along here belong to people in the town, and are closed entirely for four months of the year. We are fond of warmth, and when the snow is on the ground, and there is a cold wind blowing, there would be no living here in any comfort.”
Six days passed. Ahmed went once to Constantinople to learn what was going on. He brought back news that the escape of the two English prisoners had caused a great sensation at the Porte, that all the officers in the regiments52 there had been paraded in order that the boatmen and the officers of the brig might pick out the one who had brought off the order, but that naturally no one had been identified. The soldiers had also been inspected, but as none of these had been particularly noticed by the boatmen, the search for those engaged had been equally unsuccessful. Fazli Bey had been severely53 interrogated54, his servants questioned, and his house searched, but nothing had been found to connect him in any way with the escape. A vigilant55 watch had been set upon every European ship in port, and directions had been sent that every vessel56 passing down the straits was to bring-to off the castles, and to undergo a strict search.
Ahmed said that his father had heard from Fazli Bey that while the Sultan was furious at the manner in which the prisoners had been released, it was against those who had taken part in it that his anger was principally directed, and that it was thought he was at heart not altogether sorry that the two men who had befriended the Turks at Athens had got off, although he would not have wavered in his own expressed determination to put to death without exception all foreigners who had aided the Greeks. “My father has not at present thought of any plan for getting you away,” Ahmed said. “The search is too rigorous, and no master of a vessel would dare to carry you off; but in a short time the matter will be forgotten, and the search in the port and in the Dardanelles will be slackened. It causes a great deal of trouble and inconvenience, and the officials will soon begin to relax their efforts. It is one of our national characteristics, you know, to hate trouble. My father will be here with the others in a couple of days, and then we will hold a council over it.”
The next day a boat arrived with carpets and hangings for the rooms upstairs, which were entirely devoted57 to the females of the household; and on the following evening Osman Bey, with his wife and daughters, arrived in the same caique that Ahmed had come in, two female servants with a quantity of luggage coming in another boat. The next few days passed very pleasantly. The ladies took their meals apart upstairs, but at other times sat in the room below, treating Horace and the doctor as if they were members of the family. There were many discussions as to the best method of effecting their escape, and Ahmed went twice to Constantinople to ascertain58 whether the search for them was being relaxed.
At last he and his father agreed that it would be the best plan for them to go to Izmid, and to take a passage from there if some small craft could be found sailing for Chios, or one of the southern ports or islands. Ahmed was to accompany them, and was first to go to Izmid to make the necessary arrangements. He knew many merchants in the port, and as some of these were intimate friends they would probably be disposed to assist those who had rendered so great a service to Osman Bey and his family, but at the same time Ahmed said: “You must not be impatient. The news of your being carried off by sham59 soldiers, as they say, after their having assaulted and robbed the officer who was bearer of the order for your delivery, has made a great talk, and I shall have to be very careful as to how I open the subject.”
“Pray run no risks,” Horace said. “You have all done so already, and we should be unhappy, indeed, were any ill-fortune to befall you or your family for what you have done for us. We are very comfortable here. I would much rather wait for some really favourable60 opportunity than hazard your safety, to say nothing of our own, by impatience61. It is but a fortnight since we made our escape.”
“I am going up the Bosphorus to-morrow,” Ahmed said. “I have to see a bey whose property adjoins ours, and who has a kiosk some distance above Scutari. It is only a question of business, and I shall not be many minutes. I shall be glad if you will go with me; you can remain in the boat. The rowers are so accustomed to see you that they can have no curiosity about you; besides, now that they are regularly in our service, and sleep and live here, there is no one for them to gossip with, and, indeed, as we are good patrons of theirs I do not think they would say anything about you, whatever they might suspect.”
“I suppose you can take us both, Ahmed?”
“Certainly I meant that, of course. Your friend would find it dull indeed alone here.”
Accordingly the next morning they started. When they neared Scutari they saw on the other side of the water a brig making her way in from the Dardanelles.
“That is a slovenly-looking craft, doctor, with those dirty ill-fitting sails; rather a contrast that to our schooner62. I wonder where she is and what she is doing. That brig is about her size too, and the hull63 is not unlike hers, looking at it from here.”
The doctor gazed at the craft intently. “Eh, man,” he said in low tones, grasping his companion’s arm tightly, “I believe that it is our craft, Horace.”
“What, that dirty looking brig, doctor, with her sides looking as rusty64 as if she had not had a coat of paint for the last year!”
“It’s the schooner disguised. It is easy enough, lad, to alter the rig, and to get hold of dirty sails and to dirty the paint, but you can’t alter the shape. No Greek, or Turk either, ever turned out the hull of that brig.”
“It is marvellously like the schooner,” Horace said. “I should almost have sworn that it was her.”
“It is the schooner, lad. How she got there, and what she is doing, I don’t know, but it is her.”
“What is it?” Ahmed asked. “What is there curious in that brig that you are so interested in her?”
“We both think it is our schooner, Ahmed; the one in which we took your father and mother from Athens in.”
“That!” Ahmed exclaimed incredulously; “why, my sisters were always saying what a beautiful vessel it was, with snow-white sails.”
“So she had, Ahmed; but if it is the schooner she is disguised altogether. They have taken down her top-masts and put those stumpy spars in instead; they have put up yards and turned her into a brig; they have got sails from somewhere and slackened all her ropes, and made her look dirty and untidy; still we both think that it is her. Please tell the boatmen to cross to the vessel and row alongside.”
Ahmed gave the order, and as the caique shot away from the shore said: “But how could it be your ship? Do you think that she has been captured? If not, she could not have ventured up here.”
“She has not been captured,” Horace said confidently, “and if she had been her captors would not have taken the trouble to spoil her appearance. If that is the schooner they have come up to make inquiries65 about us, and to try to rescue us if possible.”
It was fully36 two miles across, and as they approached the brig the doctor and Horace became more and more convinced that they were not mistaken.
“Please tell the men to pull in behind her,” Horace said, “so that we can see her better. There can be no mistake about her if we can catch a sight of her fore1 and aft.”
When they fell into the brig’s wake they were some three hundred yards astern of her, and the last vestige66 of doubt disappeared as they saw her great breadth and fine run.
“That is my father’s craft, Ahmed, I could swear to her now. Will you tell the men to row up alongside.”
There were only four or five men visible on deck in the ordinary dress of Turkish sailors. As the caique came alongside a man put his head over the rail and asked in Turkish “what they wanted?”
“We want to come on board,” Ahmed said; “we have business with the captain.”
“I am the captain,” the man said; “are you one of the port officers?”
“drop astern to the chains,” Ahmed said to the boatmen, who were hanging on by a boat-hook. They let the caique fall aft her own length, and then, seizing the shrouds67, the doctor and Horace sprang up on to the chains and then leapt on board, Ahmed following them more slowly. There was no doubt that it was the schooner, though her decks were covered with dirt and litter, and the paint of her bulwarks68 discoloured as if they had been daubed with mud which had been allowed to dry. The sailors looked up as if in surprise at the sudden appearance of the strangers on their deck. Horace glanced at them. He knew none of their faces.
“Well, sir,” the captain said, coming up, “may I again ask what you want with us?”
“You talk to him, Ahmed,” Horace said in Greek. “We will run below;” and at a bound he was at the top of the companion and sprang down into the cabin. “Father,” he shouted, “are you here?”
The door of the main cabin opened, and a Turk with a flowing white beard made his appearance.
“My dear father, is it you?”
“Why, Horace, Horace, my dear boy, where do you come from, what miracle is this?” And in a moment they were clasped in each other’s arms. A moment later a tall Nubian rushed out and seized Horace’s hand.
“Why, Martyn, you don’t mean to say it is you in this disguise?”
“It is indeed, Horace. I am delighted to see you, lad; and you too, doctor. I had never thought to clap eyes on you again;” and he shook hands heartily69 with Macfarlane, as also did Mr. Beveridge.
“I seem to be in a dream,” the latter said; “how do you come here, what has happened?”
“They are all down in the hold,” Martyn said; “they are all in hiding.”
“I have a friend on deck, father; he is the son of one of the Turks we saved at Athens. He and his friends saved our lives, and have been concealing71 us since they got us away. I expect he is having some difficulty with the man who calls himself captain.”
“Come up with me then, Horace, and we will fetch him down; and I will tell Iskos that it is all right.”
As soon as they reached the deck Mr. Beveridge explained to the supposed captain that these were the friends he had come to find, and that all was well.
Martyn had also come up. “What had we better do now, Martyn?”
Martyn looked up at the sails, and at the water, “Fortunately the wind is dying out fast,” he said. “I don’t think we are making way against the current now, and we shall certainly not do so long. Hold on a few minutes longer, Iskos, and then anchor. It will seem as if we could not get up against the stream to the other shipping72. If you see a boat coming off, let us know. They will probably be sending off to look at our papers; but perhaps they may not trouble about it till we get up to the regular anchorage. Now, Mr. Beveridge, we will go down below and gladden their hearts there.”
The main-deck was filled with casks, bales, and merchandise of all sorts, and the hatchways of the hold covered with sacks of flour. Macfarlane joined them, and aided Martyn and Horace in removing the sacks. Horace saw as he did so that what appeared a solid pile was really hollow, and that the hatchway was only partially73 closed so as to allow a certain amount of air to pass down below. The bags were but partly removed when there was a rush from below, Miller and Tarleton with their cutlasses in hand, followed by the sailors with boarding-pikes dashed through the opening. They paused in astonishment74 upon seeing only Martyn, Mr. Beveridge, and three Turkish gentlemen, but as they recognized Horace and the doctor, the officers threw down their swords and with a shout of joy seized them by the hand. The sailors close behind them broke into a cheer which swelled75 into a roar as the men below gathered the news that their two officers had returned.
“The men can come up between decks, Miller,” Martyn said. “Let them have a stiff ration17 of grog all round. Boatswain, see that the sacks are piled again as before, leaving two or three out of their place to allow the men to go down again if necessary. If the word is passed that a boat is coming off, let them hurry back again and replace the sacks carefully after them as they go down.”
The sailors continued pouring up through the hatchway, and behind them came the two Greeks, whose joy at seeing Horace was excessive.
On entering the main cabin Horace found that its appearance, like that of the rest of the ship, had been completely altered, all the handsome fittings had been removed, and the whole of the woodwork painted with what he thought must have been a mixture of white paint and mud, so dirty and dingy77 did it appear.
“Now, father, in the first place I must properly introduce my friend Ahmed to you all. He is the son of Osman Bey, who was one of the principal Turks of the party we took to Tenedos, as no doubt you remember; it is to him and his father, aided by Fazli Bey, and the bimbashi who was in command of the troops, and some of the soldiers, that we owe our lives.”
THE DOCTOR TELLS THE STORY
This was said in Greek, and while Mr. Beveridge was expressing his gratitude78 to Ahmed, Horace repeated the same in English to the three officers, who warmly shook hands with the young Turk. Marco and his brother placed refreshments79 of all kinds on the table.
Ahmed partook of them sparingly, and then said to Horace: “Of course you will not be returning with me now. I think I had better be going on, it will be dark before I have done my business and get back again; and besides, the boatmen will be wondering at my long stay here.”
“I am afraid your father will think us horribly ungrateful if we go off without thanking him and your mother for all their kindness to us,” Horace said; “but of course we must be getting out of this as soon as we can.”
“My father and mother will be delighted to hear that you have so suddenly and unexpectedly got out of your difficulties,” Ahmed said, “and that in a manner from which no suspicion can possibly arise to us. What we have done has been but a small return for the service you rendered us.”
Mr. Beveridge added his warmest thanks to those of Horace, and Ahmed then went up with the others on to the deck and took his place in the caique; Horace making a present of a small gold piece to each of the boatmen. Ahmed said good-bye to him and the doctor in Turkish, expressing the hope that when they got back to Cyprus they would write to him, a message that Iskos afterwards translated to Horace. As soon as he had rowed away the rest of them returned to the cabin.
“And now for the story,” Mr. Beveridge said as they took their places round the table.
“The doctor shall tell it,” Horace said. “He has had no chance of talking for the last fortnight, and it is only fair he should have his turn now.”
The doctor accordingly, in his slow and deliberate way, related the whole story of their adventures from the time they landed from the schooner until their return on board, a narration80 which lasted nearly two hours.
Then Martyn related what had happened on board since. “You know,” he said, “that directly we heard the firing on shore and saw the boat rowing off we began to get ready to send a strong party off. You can imagine how horrified81 we were when, on the boat coming alongside, we found you were both missing. The beggars fired away at us as we rowed ashore82, but they bolted before we reached it, and when we made a rush into the village, it was empty. We could find no one to ask questions of, for, as we found afterwards, they had all made off while the brigands83 were firing at us. However, as there were no signs of you it was evident the only thing to do was to follow the ruffians, and off we set. We chased them four miles, but they scattered84 directly they left the village and we only came up with two of them. Unfortunately they showed fight, and the sailors cut them down before we could come up.
“After searching about for some time we thought the best plan was to go back to the village. There we quartered ourselves among the houses, and, as you have been telling us, the man came with a letter. We noticed how you had worded it and had underscored the names, and we saw the fellows did not know that you were the son of the owner, so your father pretended to hang back for a bit. As soon as the man had gone off with the message we thought that it was all right, and everyone was in the highest spirits. Of course there was nothing to do next day, but the following morning Mr. Beveridge and Miller went off with thirty men, as the time named for giving you up was one o’clock.
“We began to expect them back at four, and as the hours went on I was in a regular stew85. I did not like to land, and as I had only twenty men I was afraid of weakening her further, as we should have been in an awkward fix if a Turkish man-of-war had come along; however, at nine o’clock I sent Tarleton ashore with five men to see if he could gather some news from the villagers, who had all come back again soon after the brigands had left. It was not till after eleven o’clock that he came off, with the news that the party had returned and had heard nothing of you.
“Next morning one of the boats came off with Mr. Beveridge. Half an hour before a Greek had come in and stated that he was one of the party bringing you down to the place agreed upon when they were suddenly fired upon from a wood. Two of the party fell dead and the rest ran and were hotly pursued for some distance. He was unable to say what had become of you, nor did he know who the men were who had attacked them, except that they were certainly Albanians. We held a council, and then I started off with Tarleton and ten men and Marco. Mr. Beveridge wanted to go, but I persuaded him not to, for it was morally certain that we should not find you, and all we could hope for was to get some sort of clue, and if the Albanians were still in the neighbourhood Marco would have opened negotiations86 with them for a ransom87. The man who had brought the news acted as guide. We found the bodies of his comrades who had been killed, but no signs of you, which was a comfort in one way. It was pretty evident that you had both been carried off.
“We had taken with us a dozen men from the village to which you were to have been sent, and we offered what to them must have been a big reward for news as to these Albanians. So after finding the bodies we sent them off in different directions, and went back to their village. Late in the evening they straggled in. They had done their work well, spreading all over the country and getting hold of shepherds and charcoal-burners and wood-cutters; and they were able to tell us for certain that the Albanians had come over the range of hills between us and Thessaly. They had been doing a good deal of plundering88 and some murdering, had destroyed two small villages at the foot of the mountains, and had been seen soon after the hour at which you must have been captured making their way back. They assured us that the troops of Ali Pasha lay in the plain beyond the hills, and that, doubtless, the Albanians had taken you to him. We had a good long rest in the afternoon, and as I knew what a state of anxiety your father was in we started at once and got on board at four o’clock in the morning. We had a long talk over what was the best thing to be done, and resolved at any rate to sail out of the bay and round the Cape51, and then keep along the coast until we were off Thessaly.
“As soon as it was daylight we weighed anchor. The wind was so light that it took us two days to get there, and half that time at least, I should say, the men were in the boats towing. Marco had volunteered to land and make his way to the Turkish camp to try to find out what had become of you. We landed him at night; he bought from some of the villagers a suit of their clothes, and in twenty-four hours came down again to the boat we had sent ashore for him with the news that you had been sent to Constantinople; that you had been taken by an escort of cavalry89 down to the little port at the mouth of the river that flows in between Ossa and Olympus; that he had seen some of the soldiers who formed your escort, who told him that they had seen you go on board a Turkish brig-of-war with their officer and two of their comrades who had accompanied you.
“This was horrible news, and as the brig had got four days’ start there was little chance of our catching90 her. For another three days we were almost becalmed. We had every stitch of canvas set and yet most of the time we had not even steerage-way. The men behaved splendidly, and all the time, day and night, we had two boats out ahead towing; and on the fourth day we arrived off Tenedos. Then we got a breeze again, and soon afterwards picked up a fishing-boat. From them we learned that the brig had lain becalmed two days off the town, that some of the people that we brought from Athens had gone out with little presents of fruit to you and had seen you.
“We anchored that night a short distance from the town, for there were no Turkish ships of war there. At night a boat came off with a woman whom we had brought from Athens, and she told us that her husband, a discharged soldier, had gone to Constantinople to tell some of the people whom we brought from Athens that two of our officers had been captured, and to ask them to do what they could to save your lives. We did not think anything of it, though of course it was pleasant to see that some of the people were grateful, and Mr. Beveridge made her a handsome present, which I will do her the justice to say she refused until he almost had to force it upon her. Knowing how bitter the Sultan is against foreigners in the Greek service, and that after the harm we had done he was not likely to be specially43 well disposed towards us, the thing seemed almost hopeless. The two Greeks volunteered if we would put them ashore to the west of the straits to make their way to Constantinople, but as it did not seem to us that they could do any good that idea was given up.
“At last Tarleton proposed that we should disguise the schooner and go up ourselves. He admitted that the betting was a hundred to one against our being able to help you in any way, especially as it was almost certain you would have been hung a few hours after you got there. Still, if that had been put off, and you should be in a prison, there was just the possibility we might land at night, make our way to the prison, blow in the gate, get you out, and make our way across the country to some place where the boats would be waiting for us, and be on board before daylight. It was certainly a desperate undertaking91, but as none of us could think of any other plan, we agreed it would be well to try it, so we sailed at once to Athens.
“We had a great debate whether it would not be better to buy some Turkish brig that had been brought in as a prize; but we finally agreed to stick to the schooner, for if we were discovered on the way, or if we did get you on board, we should have to sail, and we knew that nothing the Turks have got could outsail the schooner. We worked hard at Athens. We sent down the tall spars, got those clumsy poles up in their place, got up yards, and turned her into a brig. Then we bought a lot of old sails, and, as you see, turned her into as lubberly-looking a craft as you will meet even in these seas. Then we filled her up between decks with goods we bought out of some prizes brought in by the Hydriots, dirtied her decks, threw acid down her sides to take off the paint, took down the cabin fittings, as you see, and daubed over the woodwork with dirty paint. It was enough to make one cry to see the Misericordia spoilt. It was like disguising a girl of fashion as a dirty gipsy.
“While we had been at this work the two Greeks had been on shore, and had gathered up eight men who spoke92 Turkish as well as Greek. The most intelligent we made captain, with two officers under him. We got the papers from a Turkish prize, a brig about the same size which had been captured by the Hydriots on her way from Rhodes to Constantinople. Then it was agreed that your father should disguise himself as a Turk, a respectable land-owner of Rhodes, going as a passenger to Constantinople, with myself as his Nubian servant. That way we could stay on deck. When all was ready we started. The crew kept on deck till we got near the Dardanelles, and then stowed themselves away in the hold as you saw. We were stopped at the castle, but as the papers were all right there was no suspicion excited, and nothing happened till Iskos came down and told us a caique was coming alongside, and then a minute or two later we heard your voice.”
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1
fore
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| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
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2
tinge
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| vt.(较淡)着色于，染色；使带有…气息；n.淡淡色彩，些微的气息 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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4
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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5
functionaries
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| n.公职人员，官员( functionary的名词复数 ) | |
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6
prancing
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| v.（马）腾跃( prance的现在分词 ) | |
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7
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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8
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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9
hesitation
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| n.犹豫，踌躇 | |
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10
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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11
strap
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| n.皮带，带子；v.用带扣住，束牢；用绷带包扎 | |
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12
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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13
bulge
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| n.突出，膨胀，激增；vt.突出，膨胀 | |
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14
thongs
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| 的东西 | |
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15
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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16
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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17
ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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18
perspiration
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| n.汗水；出汗 | |
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19
beads
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| n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链 | |
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20
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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21
shutters
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| 百叶窗( shutter的名词复数 )； （照相机的）快门 | |
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22
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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23
divans
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| n.（可作床用的）矮沙发( divan的名词复数 )；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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24
divan
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| n.长沙发；（波斯或其他东方诗人的）诗集 | |
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25
ornaments
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| n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 ) | |
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26
tempt
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| vt.引诱，勾引，吸引，引起…的兴趣 | |
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27
charcoal
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| n.炭，木炭，生物炭 | |
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28
marketing
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| n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西 | |
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29
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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30
promontory
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| n.海角；岬 | |
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31
shrubs
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| 灌木( shrub的名词复数 ) | |
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32
interspersed
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| adj.[医]散开的；点缀的v.intersperse的过去式和过去分词 | |
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33
secluded
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| adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词) | |
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34
arabesques
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| n.阿拉伯式花饰( arabesque的名词复数 )；错综图饰；阿拉伯图案；阿拉贝斯克芭蕾舞姿（独脚站立，手前伸，另一脚一手向后伸） | |
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35
varnished
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| 浸渍过的，涂漆的 | |
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36
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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37
planks
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| （厚）木板( plank的名词复数 )； 政纲条目，政策要点 | |
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38
brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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39
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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40
tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 | |
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41
puffs
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| n.吸( puff的名词复数 )；（烟斗或香烟的）一吸；一缕（烟、蒸汽等）；（呼吸或风的）呼v.使喷出( puff的第三人称单数 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧 | |
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42
slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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43
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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44
precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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45
grumble
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| vi.抱怨；咕哝；n.抱怨，牢骚；咕哝，隆隆声 | |
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46
centurion
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| n.古罗马的百人队长 | |
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47
omnipotent
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| adj.全能的，万能的 | |
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48
maxim
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| n.格言，箴言 | |
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49
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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50
rheumatism
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| n.风湿病 | |
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51
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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52
regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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53
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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54
interrogated
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| v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询 | |
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55
vigilant
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| adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的 | |
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56
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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57
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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58
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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59
sham
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| n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的) | |
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60
favourable
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| adj.赞成的，称赞的，有利的，良好的，顺利的 | |
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61
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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62
schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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63
hull
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| n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳 | |
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64
rusty
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| adj.生锈的；锈色的；荒废了的 | |
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65
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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66
vestige
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| n.痕迹，遗迹，残余 | |
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67
shrouds
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| n.裹尸布( shroud的名词复数 )；寿衣；遮蔽物；覆盖物v.隐瞒( shroud的第三人称单数 )；保密 | |
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68
bulwarks
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| n.堡垒( bulwark的名词复数 )；保障；支柱；舷墙 | |
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69
heartily
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| adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很 | |
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70
miller
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| n.磨坊主 | |
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71
concealing
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，遮住( conceal的现在分词 ) | |
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72
shipping
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| n.船运（发货，运输，乘船） | |
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73
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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74
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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75
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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76
adjourn
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| v.（使）休会，（使）休庭 | |
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77
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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78
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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79
refreshments
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| n.点心,便餐;(会议后的)简单茶点招 待 | |
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80
narration
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| n.讲述，叙述；故事；记叙体 | |
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81
horrified
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| a.(表现出)恐惧的 | |
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82
ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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83
brigands
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| n.土匪，强盗( brigand的名词复数 ) | |
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84
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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85
stew
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| n.炖汤，焖，烦恼；v.炖汤，焖，忧虑 | |
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86
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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87
ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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88
plundering
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的现在分词 ) | |
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89
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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90
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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91
undertaking
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| n.保证，许诺，事业 | |
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92
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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