FullReads

“Into the cabin, Monsieur le General, if you will be so good. It is dark, yes, but there will be a light presently, and then–a sight for any soldier’s eyes! Something that will gladden the heart of any patriot!” They went below, leaving the sailors open-mouthed. “A miserable place, Excellency,” came the soft voice, “but the Cause! For Hayti one would suffer–A match, if you will be so kind. The lamp is at your hand.” The skylight glowed a faint yellow, then was brightly illuminated. “For Hayti one would endure–much.”

There followed the sound of a blow, of a heavy fall, then a loud, ferocious cry, and a subdued scuffling, during which the crew stared at one another. The giant ‘Bajan crept forward finally and was met by Inocencio, emerging from the cabin. The captain was smiling, and he carefully closed the hatch before he gave orders to make sail.

The breeze was faint, so the schooner gathered headway slowly, but as the lights of Jacmel and of the anchored gunboat faded out astern Inocencio sat upon the deck-house and drummed with his naked heels upon the cabin wall. He lit one cigarette after another, and the helmsman saw that he was laughing silently.

* * * * *

Dawn broke in an explosion of many colors. The sun rushed up out of the sea as if pursued; night fled, and in its place was a blistering day, full grown. The breeze had died, however, and the Stella wallowed in a glassy calm, her sails slatting, her booms creaking, her gear complaining to the drunken roll. The slow swells heeled her first to one side, then to the other, the decks grew burning hot; no faintest ripple stirred the undulating surface of the Caribbean. Afar, the Haytian hills wavered and danced through a veil of heat. The slender topmast described long measured arcs across the sky, like a schoolmaster’s pointer; from its peak the halyards whipped and bellied.

“Captain!” The ‘Bajan waited for recognition. “Captain!” Inocencio looked up finally. “There–toward Jacmel–there is smoke. See! We have been watching it.”

The mulatto nodded.

“The smoke of a ship.”

“Ah! A ship!” Inocencio smiled and the negro recoiled suddenly. All night long the master of the Stella had sat upon the deck-house, staring at the sea and smoking. At times he had laughed and whispered to some one whom the helmsman could not see, but this was the first time he had smiled at any member of his crew. In fact, it was the first time the sailor had ever seen him smile. The ‘Bajan withdrew and went forward to consult with his fellows. They eyed their employer curiously, fearfully, for much had happened to alarm them, not the least of which had been a furious commotion from below. Frightful curses had issued from the cabin, threats which had caused their limbs to tremble, but they had affected the captain like soothing music. It was very strange. It caused the sailors to look with concern upon that thin, low streamer in the distance; it led them to go aft in a body finally and speak their minds.

“The smoke is growing larger,” they declared, and Inocencio roused himself sufficiently to look. “It is the war-ship. We are pursued. Who is this big man below?”

“He is a–friend of mine, Petithomme Laguerre–“

“Laguerre!”

“What did I tell you?” exclaimed the ‘Bajan, breathlessly.

“What shall we do?” one of them inquired in a panic. “That smoke! The wind has forsaken us.” He shuffled his bare feet uncomfortably. “We will be shot for this.”

Inocencio tossed away his cigarette and rose; he lifted his eyes aloft. The slim topmast arrested his attention as it swept across the sky, and he watched it for a moment; then to the giant sailor he said: “You will find a new rope forward. Make it fast to the end of this halyard and run it through yonder block.” He slid back the hatch and descended leisurely into the cabin.