The Broad Highway

"First, then, my name is Strickland--John Strickland!"

Here he paused, and, though his head was bent, I saw him watching

me beneath his brows.

"Well?" said I.

"I am a supercargo."

Again he paused expectantly, but seeing I merely nodded, he

continued: "Upon one of my voyages, our vessel was wrecked, and, so far as I

know, all save myself and six others--four seamen and two

passengers--were drowned. The passengers I speak of were an old

merchant--and his daughter, a very beautiful girl; her name was

--Angela, sir."

Once again he paused and again he eyed me narrowly.

"Well?" said I.

"Well, sir," he resumed, speaking in a low, repressed voice, "we

seven, after two miserable days in a drifting boat, reached an

island where, that same night, the old merchant died. Sir, the

sailors were wild, rough men; the island was a desolate one from

whence there was seemingly no chance of escape, it lying out of

the usual track of ships, and this girl was, as I have said, very

beautiful. Under such conditions her fate would have been

unspeakable degradation, and probably death; but, sir, I fought

and bled for her, not once but many times, and eventually I

killed one of them with my sheath-knife, and I remember, to this

hour, how his blood gushed over my hands and arms, and sickened

me. After that they waited hourly to avenge his death, and get

me out of their way once and for all, but I had my long knife,

and they but such rude weapons as they could devise. Day after

day, and night after night, I watched for an opportunity to

escape with the boat, until at last, one day while they were all

three gone inland, not dreaming of any such attempt, for the sea

was very dangerous and high, with the girl's help I managed to

launch the boat, and so stood out to sea. And I remember those

three sailors came running with great shouts and cries, and flung

themselves down upon the beach, and crawled upon their knees,

praying to be taken off along with us, and begging us not to

leave them to perish. After three days' buffeting at the mercy

of the seas, we were picked up by a brig bound for Portsmouth,

and, six months later, were in England. Sir, it is impossible

for a man to have lived beside a beautiful woman day by day, to

have fought for and suffered with her, not to love her also.

Thus, seeing her friendless and penniless, I wooed and won her to

wife. We came to London, and for a year our life was perfect,

until, through stress of circumstances, I was forced to take

another position aboard ship. Well, sir, I bade farewell to my

wife, and we set sail. The voyage, which was to have lasted but

three months, was lengthened out through one misadventure after

another, so that it was a year before I saw my wife again, At

first I noticed little difference in her save that she was paler,

but, gradually, I came to see that she was unhappy. Often I have

wakened in the night to find her weeping silently.