"To Cecil Place at once then, Captain; the delay of half an hour may
seal his doom. I will place Barbara in a nook of the old tower, where
nothing comes but bats and mice; and, as it overlooks the paths, she can
see from it the road that Burrell takes, and so avoid him when
returning."
Dalton looked at Barbara but for a moment, then suddenly clasping her
with rude energy to his bosom, he darted up the stairs, holding open the
door at the top, so that he might see her forth in safety.
The terrified girl passed tremblingly before him; and wondered not a
little at the strong interest the wild seaman manifested towards her.
Only one way of accounting for it occurred to her simple mind--that he
had known her father;--the idea was strengthened, when she heard him
murmur, "Thank God! she breathes once more the uncontaminated air of
heaven!" He strode a few hasty steps forward, then turned back, and said
emphatically to Robin,-"Place her in safety, as you hope for salvation!"
"And am I to stay by myself in this horrid place, Robin?" inquired
Barbara, as he seated her in the window of a portion of the old tower,
from whence a large extent of country was visible, steeped in the pale
moonlight.
"Fear nothing," he replied; "I must away: only do not leave this until
you see--which you can easily do by the light of the bright moon--Sir
Willmott Burrell take his departure."
"And will that rude old sailor help the young gentleman from his
confinement?"
"He will, he will."
"One word more, Robin, and then my blessing be with you! Did he know my
father?"
"He did."
"But one syllable more: Did he love him?"
"So truly, that he loves you as if you were his own child."
"Then," thought Barbara, in the fulness of her innocence, "I am
happy--for no one is loved, even by the wicked, who is not good."
Her clear eye observed that Robin took the same path as the Buccaneer;
though, had she not known them, she could hardly have recognised their
figures, because of some disguise they must have suddenly assumed. They
had scarcely faded from her sight, when she discovered the tall person
of Burrell standing at no great distance on the brow of the cliff, and
apparently surveying the adjacent landscape. He rapidly approached the
Gull's Nest; and soon after she heard the shrill voice of Mother Hays,
protesting over and over again, that "Robin had been there not twenty,
not fifteen--no, not ten minutes past;--that she had searched every
where, and that he was nowhere to be found;--that she had not seen Hugh
Dalton for a long, long time; and that, to the best of her belief, he
had not touched the shore for many a day;--that the men within were good
men, honest men--one in particular, who would be happy to serve him, as
he seemed so earnest to see Robin--Jack, true Jack Roupall, a tried,
trusty man:--could he be of any service, as that ne'er-do-good, Robin,
was out of the way ever and always when he was wanted? To be sure, she
could not even give a guess at any thing his honour might want; but
perhaps Jack might do instead of Robin." It occurred to Burrell at the
moment, that Roupall might serve his purpose even better than Robin
Hays, for he was both a strong and a desperate man; and he bade the old
woman send him forth; telling her at the same time, and in a significant
tone, that he was well acquainted with the talents and character of her
guest.