Confessions Of Con Cregan Part 65

It was past the hour when any further visit from the turnkey might be expected. Already the outer door of my chamber had been locked and barred with all that scrupulous attention to noise and clank that are supposed only essential in a melodrama. The sentry had just been relieved on the esplanade beneath the terrace, so that I might consider myself disenc.u.mbered from all fear of interruption in any quarter. I sat down upon the parapet, and peered into the dark depth below me, where the hazy glimmer of the sentry's lamp served to mark the height. At first it seemed a terrific drop; but after a while I began to satisfy myself that the darkness contributed to this effect; and as my sight grew more accustomed to the gloom, I was able to trace different objects,--among others, the conical roof of the sentry-box, at a distance of scarcely more than fifteen feet beneath me.

Thus far I could reach by making a rope of my bed-clothes, and attach one end to a portion of the battlement of the parapet; but how should I venture on a descent in such a place? how risk the almost certainty of recapture by the sentry himself? This was a formidable difficulty, and demanded much consideration; and yet, were I to select any other spot, I might chance to be disabled by the fall, and then all my efforts were fruitless, since a broken bone, or even a sprained ankle, would be certain ruin.

Never was a knotty point more canva.s.sed, nor the clew to a difficulty more zealously searched for! As generally happens in such cases, first thoughts are best, and the bold course the safest. By descending on the sentry-box, I should at least reach the ground without injury; and if I were to have a "tussle" for it with the guard, it would be without the disadvantage of a previous damage. Besides this, the incessant noise of the tempest, the cras.h.i.+ng of the sea, and the deep booming of the thunder gave hopes that my descent might be unheard. Nay, more, the sound of my heavy body over his head would be rather an admonition to stay quietly within than risk himself outside, to the danger of tumbling tiles or ma.s.ses of masonry from the parapet. The more I reflected upon this, the clearer I saw that the storm was a Heaven-sent accident for me; thai the darkness, the tumult, and the deserted streets were all accessories the most favorable; that to neglect such an occasion of escape would be downright madness. If I took some time to arrive at this conclusion, I made up for the delay by the rapidity of my subsequent movements. I hastily returned to my room; and had I been bred a ropemaker, my two sheets and counterpane could not have been fas.h.i.+oned into a three-stranded rope more handily; and, my sailor's experience favoring, I adjusted the cord in a "timber hitch" round one of the battlements, and well satisfied myself that I might trust to the other extremity,--"Con Cregan and his fortunes."

I then took a hurried survey of my room, trimmed my lamp that it might burn till morning, secured the three or four papers of value which still remained to me, and then issued forth to my enterprise.

A cannon-shot from the bay rung out as I again stepped upon the terrace, and I accepted the augury as an omen of welcome. I will not deny that my hands trembled as I examined, for the last time, the fastening of the cord; nor do I seek to conceal that as I b.u.t.toned my coat, the beating of my heart smote heavily against my fingers. I even hesitated for an instant; and during that instant, brief as it was, I could have faced death itself rather than the uncertainty before me. The weakness pa.s.sed quickly away, and, with a short but fervent prayer, I grasped the rope and slipped noiselessly over the parapet.

A sudden gust of wind swept past at the moment, and swung me out from the wall as though I had been a thing of no weight, calling for all my strength to prevent me from being blown away! And now I was buffeted about, tossed here and thrown there, with a violence that almost dislocated every joint in my body. The jerking motion and the chafing of my rope on the parapet made me tremble for my security, and not without cause; for in one great swing, in which I described an arc no other pendulum, living or dead, ever compa.s.sed before, I came back with such force against the roof of the sentry-box, striking it with both my feet together at the same instant, that my cord snapped short in the very centre.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 530-181]

The force of my fall, added to the previous blow, capsized the sentry-box, and I came to the ground along with it, in a state of fright that even to this very hour I cannot recall without shuddering.

Half-stunned by the fall, bruised and almost lifeless from terror, I sat there waiting for the moment when the sentry would issue forth and seize me; nor was it till after the lapse of several minutes that I perceived that the soldier was in a trap, the weighty sentry-box had fallen over on the front, and effectually debarred him from any chance of self-extrication.

I stooped over to listen, but all was still; he never spoke a word,--probably stunned by the shock, or he might have fainted from terror. Whatever the cause, neither my humanity nor my curiosity cared to explore further, but, rising to my feet, and ascertaining, to my inexpressible delight, that I was uninjured, I set off at full speed toward the sh.o.r.e. The sea suggested escape, and thither I bent my way, without thinking more on the matter.

I could see, from the hurried movement of lights along the pier, that boats were rapidly leaving for the various s.h.i.+ps in the harbor. To get on board any of these, no matter what, or whither bound, was all my object,--a Tunis pirate or a Malay prow would have been a happy exchange for the black prison at Malaga.

I had almost run myself out of breath, when I came up with a knot of some dozen people who were hastening onward as fast as they could. Two heavily laden barrows with luggage, and a mult.i.tude of cloaks, shawls, and mantles, p.r.o.nounced them to be travellers; and I soon collected, from the expressions dropped by the boatmen, that they were about to embark in the French steamer for Leghorn. Mingling with the group, which the darkness freely permitted, I heard a voice say, in English, something about the weather; and now, listening more attentively, I picked up that they were an English family hurrying to Pisa to see a son whose failing health gave them no time for delay. I gathered, too, that the packet, which should not have started till the next day, was now leaving suddenly; the captain haviug sent a message to say that he had determined to put to sea rather than ride out the gale so near sh.o.r.e.

The travellers were mingling their complaints at this peremptory summons, with others over the absence of their courier, who had got leave to see some of his friends about a league away, and must now inevitably be left behind. In the course of their lamentings, I could learn that they had only engaged the man the evening before at the recommendation of the landlord, and had scarcely seen him above a couple of times.

In fact, except that he was an Italian, and his name Raffaello, they knew nothing about him. At last they reached the jetty where the boat lay, and now I could hear their discussion, whether it were better to leave the courier's effects behind, or take them on, in the hope that he might yet come up.

"He's a smart fellow, and depend upon it he 'll be here before we sail,"

said a young man of the party.

"No, no," cried another, "he 'll never hear a word of the packet till she's half way to Leghorn."

"What did you tell him, William?" asked an elderly lady.

"To be back by six o'clock to-morrow morning," said the first speaker.

"Ay, but in what language did you speak?"

"I spoke Italian, and afterwards I said it in French; for he does n't know one word of English."

This was all I wanted; I slipped noiselessly away, and, retiring to some distance behind the party, waited till I saw them descend the stairs to the boat. This occupied some time, for the party were numerous, and their trunks and portmanteaus were without end. At last, just as the word to shove off was given, I dashed forward at the top of my speed, crying out in Spanish, "Hold fast there! wait for the courier!"

"What's the matter?" asked one of the Englishmen.

"A courier, Senhor," said a sailor, "wants to come with us."

"Oh, Raffaello, by George!" exclaimed the other; "I knew he 'd be up.

Put back, men; he belongs to us."

"Pardon, signori," said I, stepping lightly over the gunwale, "I have had a sharp run for it;" and away we went! Seated on a great-coat of black sheepskin, which from its style and cut I knew must have belonged to my predecessor, Raffaello, I could see the rapid pa.s.sage of lights on the sh.o.r.e in the direction of my late prison, and at last could detect one glimmering from a part of the building where my cell stood. The roll of drums beating to arms was soon heard, and it was evident to me that my escape had become known,--that the garrison of the fortress was on the alert to recapture me. Although fully a mile from land, and rowing with all the vigor of twelve stout sailors towards a vessel whose steam was already whizzing through the escape funnel, my heart almost sunk within me from very fear; and rather than be retaken I would have jumped into the boiling tide that swelled and broke around me.

The sailors more than once relaxed their efforts to watch what was going forward on sh.o.r.e; and how fervently did I, in silence, curse their curiosity! Externally, however, I maintained my calm demeanor, and even ventured to conjecture that a fire must have broken out in the fortress, such was the commotion and excitement discernible in that quarter.

Another suggested the possibility of its being some prisoner that had made his escape,--a notion which I took occasion to ridicule, by averring that the Carcel was reputed to be the strongest prison in Spain, and an instance of evasion altogether unknown.

Thus chatting, we reached the steamer. To my intense delight, the anchor was already weighed; and scarcely had we mounted the ladder than she broached round, head to sea, and clove through the water like a fish.

Every plunge of the great s.h.i.+p shook the strong timbers and made her huge framework tremble, sending a thrill of pleasure through me. With each mountain wave that rolled past, I saw my chance of safety increase, and knew that no boat--manned by Spaniards, at least--would dare pursuit in such a storm. I had abundant leisure for these reflections, since my "masters" had only time to get on board when they retired to their berths, overcome by sea-sickness, so that I was at full liberty to indulge my own thoughts, and dispose of myself without the slightest interruption. From a smart little French maid I learned that the family was called Grimes; that they had recently come from England by way of Gibraltar, where one of the sons, now with them, was quartered with his regiment; that the party consisted of a widow lady with three daughters and two sons, a third being the invalid at Pisa. They were rich, good sort of folks, very ignorant of the Continent, very credulous, and altogether a satisfactory kind of connection for a cunning French _femme-de-chambre_ and a roguish courier to fall in with. This latter fact Mademoiselle Virginie insisted upon with no small degree of self-gratulation, giving me to understand that we might have a very thriving career as fellow-laborers in the same vineyard.

Her sketches of English life, manners, and prejudices were not a little amusing, while the rules she laid down for the due management and control of her masters were a perfect chapter in domestic machiavelism.

There had once been a time when I would have enlisted willingly under such a banner,--glad to reach the upper story of life, even by such a back stair; but now that I had tasted the glorious supremacy of command myself, that I had revelled in the mastery of a great household, that I had rolled along in my own chariot, clothed in fine linen and faring sumptuously every day, I felt my return to a menial situation a degradation unendurable. I determined that, once in Italy, I would escape from the thraldom of such servitude, come what might of it.

By long dwelling on the theme, I had contrived to impress myself with the most profound conviction that I was a much-injured individual, that my case, if not sufficient for a war with Spain, was a fair ground for a parliamentary "flare-up," angry diplomatic notes, and Heaven knows what threats of our outraged Foreign Office. That a man with such a glorious grievance should sink down into a courier, to wrangle with landlords, bully waiters, and flirt with the "maid in the rumble," was not to be thought of. I felt that I was sworn at Highgate, and destined for the inside of the travelling-carriage, and not the "out."

Scarcely were we arrived at Leghorn, and installed at the San Marco, than I began to prepare for my emanc.i.p.ation,--a bold step, considering that all the available resources I possessed was a ruby ring set round with brilliants, which I had concealed in my cap along with my papers.

I was admonished to lose no time in my departure, by remarking that another packet from Malaga was expected within a week, which probably would convey the rightful courier, in search of his missing baggage, and I was by no means desirous of being confronted with the real Simon Pure.

I am not sure that this latter consideration did not weigh most with me in the matter, since the novelty of my situation and the sense of its creature-comforts might have induced me to linger a little longer in a capacity even as humble. With such people as the Grimes's, the courier was supreme, and his rule despotic. From the hour at which they were to dine, to what they were to eat,--how they were to spend the day, what to see, and what to avoid,--were all at his dictation; while from the landlord came a perfect volley of civilities that plainly showed who was the real personage to whom adulation was due. If my masters dined on a chicken, _I_ fed upon ortolans; while _they_ made wry faces over their "Chiante," I luxuriated on Chateau La Rose or Chambertin. For _my_ table were reserved the oysters of Venice, the fresh "sardines" of Gorgona, the delicate mutton of Pistoja, the delicious Becafica of the Vai d'Arno, while Piscia was ransacked for my dessert, till I saw myself surrounded with rarities that even in my great days I scarcely dreamed of.

There was a kind of "abandon," too, in this mode of life that pleased me well,--a delightful sense of irresponsibility pervaded everything I did or imagined.

The courier knows nothing of that hesitation which besets his master at the thought of some costly indulgence. _He_ neither doubts nor denies himself. The Emperor of Russia may have bespoke the post-horses, but _he_ knows how to bribe even against the Czar himself, and would intrigue for the fish intended for a cardinal's Friday dinner. He is perhaps the only traveller who is indifferent to the bill,--nay, he even glories in its extravagance, as increasing his own percentage. I was beginning to see and appreciate all these advantages when caution admonished me to escape. The real Raflfaello was doubtless already at sea, and might arrive ere I had evacuated the territory.

I only waited, then, to see "my family" snugly housed at Pisa, when I proceeded to tender my resignation. It was very flattering to my vanity to see the distress my announcement created; they evidently felt like a crew about to be deserted by the pilot in a difficult navigation. They were but indifferent linguists, and worse travellers; and I almost repented of my resolve as I perceived the dismay it occasioned, the full measure of which I was admitted to witness, since--from my supposed ignorance of English--they discussed the question very freely in my presence.

"Does he say he 's dissatisfied with his situation?" asked the old lady.

"It is difficult to make out what he means, Mamma," replied a daughter.

"These fellows are always intriguing for higher wages," observed the subaltern.

"Or to engage with people of greater consequence," remarked the second son.

"We had better send for the tutor, Mamma; he speaks French better than we do."

This proposition--albeit not accepted as a compliment to themselves by the two brothers--was at last acceded to, and, after a brief delay, the individual in question made his appearance. To avoid any semblance of understanding what went forward, I stood in patient silence, not even turning my head in the direction where the family were now grouped around the "Dragoman."

"You are to find out what he wants," said the old lady, eagerly. "Say that we are perfectly satisfied with him; and if it be an increase--"

"That he 'll not get a sou more with my consent," broke in the sub. "He receives already more than a captain in the line."

"I only know that I never had as much to spend at Cambridge," echoed the other.

"They are always extravagantly paid," said the elder daughter.

"The creatures give themselves such airs," observed number two.

"And when they are at all well-looking they're intolerable," broke in number three, who had been coolly scanning me through her eyegla.s.s.