"They are, of a truth, dangerous; yet here is no water, and I am, of a
verity, much athirst."
He seized one that had been opened, and drank so eagerly, that, unused
as he was to such potations, his head in a very short space of time
became incapable of directing his motions; and when Dalton returned, the
simple-minded man was sleeping soundly, his forehead resting on his
arms, that were crossed on the table. Dalton looked upon him for a few
moments, and a curse--one of those to which he was unhappily
familiar--burst from his lips.
"I cannot learn how he came there," he said; "the thing will sleep till
morning:--a pretty nursery my Crag has become!" He moved towards the
portion of the wall we have formerly mentioned as being covered with the
skins of various animals, and holding them out from the side of the
cave, discovered a very small arched chamber, which, as well as the one
where Fleetword had just partaken of "the creatures comforts," was
lighted by a small iron sconce, carefully guarded by a horn shade.
Directly opposite the entrance a female was seated after the Eastern
fashion, cross-legged, upon a pile of cushions. She placed her finger on
her lip in token of silence, and the Buccaneer returned the signal by
beckoning her forward; she rose, though with some difficulty, and as a
rich shawl, in which she had been enveloped, fell from her shoulders,
her appearance denoted her a married woman. Dalton pointed to Fleetword,
and the instant she saw him, she clasped her hands, and would have
rushed towards him; but this the Skipper prevented, and they exchanged a
few sentences in a strange language, the apparent result of which was,
that Dalton proceeded to examine the pockets of the sleeper, and even
thrust his hand into his bosom, without, however, it would seem, finding
what he sought. There was the small Bible, a handkerchief, a
reading-glass, some fragments of orange-peel, which, perhaps, he had
unwittingly thrust there, one or two old religious pamphlets, a
newspaper--and a strip of parchment. The foreign lady shook her head, as
Dalton laid each upon the table. After a few more words, both the
Buccaneer and the stranger were secreted in the arched chamber, and the
curtain of skins again fell over the entrance.
It was past the hour of the next day's noon before the preacher
recovered from the effects of potations so unusual to him. It was then
that Dalton questioned him, and discovered the artifice and cruelty of
the treacherous Burrell, in abandoning the poor preacher to starvation:
a consequence that must have occurred, had not the Skipper
providentially stood in need of some articles of bedding, that were kept
in this chamber, as matters rarely needed by his crew.