Volume III Part 12 (1/2)

The man nodded.

'I suppose you know, Nakier,' said I, with a sense of dismay pressing like a weight upon my spirits, 'that this young lady and I wish to return home? The Captain refused to part with us--he insisted on carrying us with him--we have a home to return to. Surely you do not intend that we should make the pa.s.sage to the Cape in this barque?'

'Who will navigate de s.h.i.+p?' said Nakier.

'Why, Mr. Wise will,' I exclaimed, turning upon the boatman.

'Blowed, then, if I dew!' cried Abraham, recoiling. 'What! along with these--arter what's--'soides, I don't know nothen about longitude.'

'For mercy's sake, man, don't talk like that!' cried I. 'Miss Nielsen and I must be trans.h.i.+pped.'

'So must Oi!' said Abraham.

'And Oi!' hoa.r.s.ely shouted Jacob.

'What ees it you say?' exclaimed Nakier, smiling.

'Why, that we all of us wish to get aboard another vessel,' said I, 'and leave this barque in your hands to do whatever you like with.'

There was a sharp muttering of 'No, no!' with some fierce shaking of heads on either side the table. Nakier made a commanding gesture and uttered a few words in his own tongue.

'We must not speakee any s.h.i.+p, lady, and you, sah, and you, Misser Vise, and Jacob, my mate. Cannot you tell why?'

'If you're going to keep us here for fear of our peaching,' cried Abraham, 'there's me for wan as is ready to take moy oath that I'll say nothen about what's happened, purwiding you safely set us aboard another wessel.'

Nakier strained his ear, with a puzzled face. The language of Deal was happily unintelligible to him, for which I was exceedingly grateful, since nothing could be more imperilling than such talk as this.

Helga, who all this while remained silent, seated in her chair, without lifting her eyes to my face or turning her head, said softly, in little more than a whisper, so that only I, who stood at her shoulder, could catch her accents:

'You can see by their faces that they are resolved. All this has been preconcerted. Their plans are formed, and they mean to have their way.

We must seem to consent. Let us agree, that they may take the oath, otherwise our lives are not worth more than the Captain's or the mate's.'

Nakier's glowing eyes were upon her, but, though the movements of her lips might have been visible, it would seem to them as though she whispered to herself. The conviction that she was absolutely right in her advice came to me with her words. I needed but to glance at the double line of determined faces to gather that argument, that even hesitation would merely result in speedily enraging the fellows; that they were not to be influenced by the most reasonable of our wishes; that our lives had been spared in order that we should convey them to a place of safety; and this, too, I saw with the help of the illumination supplied by Helga's few words--that, fully believing the girl qualified to navigate the vessel, they might, if we provoked them, destroy the three of us and retain her, counting upon their threats and her situation to achieve their ends.

I said in a hurried aside to the boatmen:

'Not a word now, from either of you! This must be left to _me_! If you interfere, your blood will be on your own heads!'

Then, addressing Nakier:

'Your demands are these: the barque is to be navigated to some part of the South African coast lying near to Table Bay?'

'Yaas, sah!' he answered, holding up one finger as though counting.

'The spot you wish to arrive at will have to be pointed out on the chart.'

Up went a second finger, followed by another 'Yaas, sah!'

'We are not to communicate with pa.s.sing s.h.i.+ps?'

'Right, sah!' he added, nodding and smiling, and raising a third finger.