The Hot Swamp | Page 4

to--but
names that were not creditable to the intelligence of her first-born.
Now," continued Dromas with increasing gravity, "when I paint to her
the beauty of your native land; the splendour of your father's court; the
kindliness of your mother, and the exceeding beauty of your sister--fair
like yourself, blue-eyed, tall--you said she was tall, I think?"
"Yes--rather tall."
"Of course not quite so tall as yourself, say six feet or so, with a slight,
feminine beard--no? you shake your head; well, smooth-faced and rosy,
immense breadth of shoulders--ah! I have often pictured to myself that
sister of yours--"
"Hilloa!" shouted Captain Arkal in a nautical tone that might almost
have been styled modern British in its character.
It was an opportune interruption, for Dromas had been running on with
his jesting remarks for the sole purpose of crushing down the feelings
that almost unmanned him.
With few but fervently uttered words the final farewells were at last
spoken. The oars were dipped; the vessel shot from the land, swept out
upon the blue waves of the Aegean, the sail was hoisted, and thus
began the long voyage to the almost unknown islands of the far
North-West.

CHAPTER TWO.
TEMPORARY DELAY THROUGH ELEMENTS AND PIRATES.
But it is not our purpose to inflict the entire log of that voyage on our
reader, adventurous though the voyage was. Matter of much greater
importance claims our regard. Still it would be unjust to our voyagers
to pass it over in absolute silence.
At the very commencement of it, there occurred one of those incidents
to which all voyagers are more or less subject. A gale arose the very
evening of the day on which they left port, which all but swamped the
little vessel, and the violence of the wind was so great that their huge
sail was split from top to bottom. In spite of the darkness and the
confusion that ensued, Captain Arkal, by his prompt action and skilful
management, saved the vessel from immediate destruction. Fortunately
the gale did not last long, and, during the calm that followed, the rent
was repaired and the sail re-set.
Then occurred another incident that threatened to cut short the voyage
even more disastrously than by swamping.
The sea over which they steered swarmed with pirates at the time we
write of, as it continued to swarm during many centuries after.
Merchantmen, fully aware of the fact, were in those days also men of
war. They went forth on their voyages fully armed with sword, javelin,
and shield, as well as with the simple artillery of the period--bows and
arrows, slings and stones.
On the afternoon of the day that followed the gale, the vessel--which
her captain and owner had named the Penelope in honour of his wife--
was running before a light breeze, along the coast of one of the islands
with which that sea is studded.
Bladud and some of the crew were listening at the time to an account
given by a small seaman named Maikar, of a recent adventure on the
sea, when a galley about as large as their own was seen to shoot
suddenly from the mouth of a cavern in the cliffs in which it had lain

concealed. It was double-banked and full of armed men, and was rowed
in such a way as to cut in advance of the Penelope. The vigour with
which the oars were plied, and the rapidity with which the sail was run
up, left no doubt as to the nature of the craft or the intentions of those
who manned it.
"The rascals!" growled Arkal with a dark frown, "I more than half
expected to find them here."
"Pirates, I suppose?" said Bladud.
"Ay--and not much chance of escaping them. Give another haul on the
sail-rope, mate, and pull, men, pull, if you would save your liberty-- for
these brutes have no mercy."
The sail was tightened up a few inches, and the vessel was put more
directly before the wind. The way in which the slaves bent to the oars
showed that the poor fellows fully understood the situation.
For a few minutes Captain Arkal watched the result in stern silence.
Then, with an unwonted look and tone of bitterness, he said in a low
voice--
"No--I thought as much. She sails faster than we do. Now, friend
Bladud, you shall presently have a chance of proving whether your
royal blood is better than that of other men."
To this remark the prince made no other reply than by a good-natured
smile as he took up the bronze helmet which lay beside his sword on
the thwart and placed it on his head.
Captain Arkal regarded him with a sort of grim satisfaction as he
followed up the action by buckling