The King's Esquires Part 8

"You must have had. But the skipper says that we shall soon be in smooth water, and that there will be some breakfast in an hour."

"Heugh!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Saint Simon. "Breakfast here! I don't want anything till we get on sh.o.r.e--if we ever do. Here, look behind you."

Denis turned sharply, to see a familiar face in the full suns.h.i.+ne peering over the edge of the hatchway and looking about, but apparently not seeing what was sought till a hand appeared to shade its owner's eyes, sending forth a flash or two of light from a ring upon one of the fingers.

"Why, it's the--"

"Comte!" said Saint Simon quickly. "Stop here, and lay hold of his horse."

Saint Simon said no more, and Denis obeyed, grasping his companion's reason, while the next minute the King had mounted to the deck, and came forward to join them, after making a rush to the bulwarks and grasping the rail.

"Oh, you're here, gentlemen," he said sharply. "Why was not somebody in attendance--oh, I see; you're minding our steeds. It has been a very bad night for them. Not injured, I hope?"

"No, sir," replied Saint Simon; "but during the worst part of the storm we had to have extra ropes. I was afraid at one time that we should lose them all."

"But they are safe," said the King, "thanks to you, gentlemen. Poor boys," he continued, as he pa.s.sed amongst the ropes, each charger in turn uttering a low, piteous whinny, and stretching out its muzzle to receive the King's caress, each too snorting its satisfaction the next moment, and impatiently pawing the deck.

"Morning, master!" cried the skipper, hurrying up. "Been a windy night, but it will be all smooth directly. Wind's veered round to the north, and coming off the sh.o.r.e. Sha'n't be getting on so fast now."

"But these horses," said the King; "they ought to have water and food."

"Not they, master. They wouldn't touch it if you gave them of the best.

They want to feel solid ground under their hoofs."

"And how soon will they get that?" asked Denis quickly.

"Two or three hours if the wind doesn't drop," replied the skipper; "and," he continued, as he held up his hand and shouted an order or two to his men to stand by the sheets, "it's chopping round again to the south. Give us an hour like this, and we shall be in shelter, sailing between the island and the mainland. You can't say but what we have had a splendid run."

There was such a quaint comical expression upon the King's countenance that Denis felt obliged to swing swiftly round and bend down to make believe to loosen the slip-knot about his charger's leg.

"If I hadn't done so," he said afterwards to Saint Simon, "I should have burst out laughing in the Comte's face. There," he added quickly, in triumphant tones, "I have got it now!"

"Yes, and you would have got it then," replied Saint Simon, "for my lord will forgive a good deal sooner than being laughed at."

This was some time later, when they were gliding gently on through the smooth water on a bright sunny morning with their port close at hand and full prospect of being, some time during the next half-hour, close up to the landing-place; and before long so it proved, for the King, quite recovered now from his indisposition, was in eager converse with the skipper as to the best means of getting the horses ash.o.r.e.

"Well, master, you see this: Southampton isn't Havre de Grace."

"Bah!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the King impatiently.

"We had nothing to do there but walk the horses straight from the wharf over the planks, and down through the gangway on to the deck; but you see it's different here."

"Nonsense!" said the King. "There are landing-places here, for I can see them. Work your vessel up quite close, and then boards can be laid from the deck, and the same thing can be done the other way on."

"Yes, master, that's what I meant; but I forgot all about the tide. You see, we are coming in just at low water, and I sha'n't be able to get within fifty fathoms of the sh.o.r.e till well on towards night."

"What! And we have to stop here all day?" cried the King angrily.

"Yes, that's about it. I'll get in as close as I can, and then we shall be in the mud."

"But is there no other way farther along?" cried the King.

"The only other way is for me to hail a barge or a flat, and swing the horses down into that; but I shouldn't like to undertake the job."

"It must be done," said the King. His words were law, and, in his impatient eagerness to get clear of the vessel where he had pa.s.sed so many uncomfortable hours, he promised to hold the skipper free from responsibility.

Taking advantage of the King going aft with Saint Simon, Denis went up to the skipper.

"Do you think there will be any danger," he said, "to the horses?"

"Shouldn't like to promise, my lad," was the reply, "but if they were my horses I should go to your master and say, What's the use of being in such a hurry? It's only waiting a tide, and then we could get close in."

"But you don't know him," said Denis. "He will have his own way."

"Yes, I can see that," said the bluff skipper. "It'd do him good to be six months aboard my vessel under me. I'd make another man of him. Ah, you may laugh, my young sharper. You think I'm a quiet, good-tempered sort of an old chap, but a s.h.i.+p's captain has to be a bit of a Tartar too. Do you know what he is aboard his s.h.i.+p? Well, I'll tell you.

He's a king."

Denis gazed sharply in the man's face, wondering whether he had any suspicion as to who his pa.s.senger really was, as he went on talking.

"You see, my boy, I'm used to this sort of thing. Sometimes it's cattle, sometimes it's pigs and sheep. Well, they don't like going down into a flat-bottomed boat; but," he added, with a chuckle and a nudge, "they have to go, and if they won't go decently like pa.s.sengers, we just shoves them overboard and lets them swim ash.o.r.e. But with horses like these it would be spoiling them to treat them roughly."

"But you need not treat them roughly," said Denis. "You could sling them with your ropes and tackle into the boat."

"Yes, you could," said the skipper; "but they wouldn't let you."

"Oh, they would," said Denis.

"Well, sir," said the skipper, "you wait and see."

CHAPTER SEVEN.

ONLY A BOY.

The rough old skipper was right, for after getting in as close as he could, the vessel took the ground, and some time was spent in hailing and getting a large flat barge close alongside to the open gangway.

A big spar with its blocks and tackle was run out, and proceedings were commenced with the men for slinging the horses off the deck and lowering them down; but everything was of the roughest kind and perfectly unsuitable, while the horses, which were recovering fast from their stormy journey, grew more and more restless, and after several attempts with the King's charger, which was to be the first, it resented the handling of the men, lashed out, and then began to rear, proving in a short time that disaster must follow the attempt, for plainly enough, if the horse began to struggle when raised from the deck, it would free itself from the badly fitted on ropes and be seriously damaged and maimed before being finally lowered down.

The worse matters grew the more the King lost his temper. He bullied, raged, and stormed, called the skipper and his men clumsy idiots and imbeciles, till temper was lost on the other side, the skipper's face, always ruddy and brown, grew red and black, and he ended by telling his Majesty that he would have to wait, for the men should do no more.

"This will be the end of our travels," whispered Saint Simon, "for the King will now betray himself."

"The Comte, you mean," said Denis quietly; for he had been standing very thoughtful and quiet, thinking over his conversation with the skipper hours before, and starting forward suddenly just as the King was clapping his hand to his sword, he whispered to him quickly:

"I think I can get the horses ash.o.r.e, Sire."

"How dare--here--how?"