Athelstane Ford, Page 2

  CHAPTER II

  _THE TAVERN OF THE "THREE-DECKER"_

  Early in the morning after breakfast Cousin Rupert left us, givingout, as he had promised, that he was on the way to see his father atLynn. And as he told me afterwards, he kept his horse on that roadtill he had passed through the village, when he turned, and skirtingthe river as far as Raynham ferry, crossed it there, and so rode intoYarmouth.

  All that day I went about with a strange lightness in my breast,so that I could scarce keep from laughing out. And when my fatheradmonished me, pretty roughly, for not having mended the fence of thefowl walk to his liking, I minded it no more than if it had been oldSugden the rat-catcher. Once or twice during the dinner I caught mymother looking at me with a certain apprehension, as if she observedsomewhat unusual in my behaviour. I fancy she thought I might besickening for the ague, which was very rife in those parts. My motherwas a great physician, and always kept ready a store of the Jesuits'bark--the only good thing, my father was accustomed to say, that hadever come out of Rome.

  In the afternoon I walked into Blundell to bid a sort of farewell tolittle Patience Thurstan. I found her set on a stool in the porch,threading beads, for she was but a child; and to see her jump up whenI drew nigh, and run to meet me, was a pleasant sight to carry away inmy memory through the stormy days which were to follow.

  Knowing her to be faithful, from her behaviour in many a childishconfidence we had had together, I made no scruple to tell her I wasleaving Brandon; though I forbore to say whither I was bound, lestthey should torment the girl with questions afterwards. And I knewthat Patience would not tell a lie, and deny the knowledge if shepossessed it. But I half repented what I had done when the poor littlething fell a-crying, and besought me not to go away. I had nothingelse to bestow upon her, so I was forced to give her my cousinRupert's guinea for a keepsake, telling her to buy a doll or a ribbonwith it next time she went into Norwich fair.

  With that I came away, beginning for the first time to feel howserious was the step I contemplated. But I had given my word, and Icould not now draw back even if I had felt inclined.

  The chapter my father read to us that night, I remember well, was outof the book of Ezekiel, in which the prophet dealt with the city ofTyrus, and denounced the judgments of the Lord on her pride andluxury, on her ships of fir and cedar with sails of purple embroidery,on her mariners and men of war, on her merchandise of silver andbrass, of horses and mules, of ebony and precious stones, and of honeyand oil and wine and spices and white wool. And the words sounded inmy ear like a denunciation of the places I had chosen to go among; andI was glad when it was all over; and I went upstairs to my bedroom,hearing my father shoot the great bolts of the house door for the lasttime.

  I made shift to take off my coat and shoes, and got into the bed, lestmy mother should come in to bid me good-night, as she sometimes did.And well it was that I had thought of this, for in her anxiety aboutme she followed me up soon after with a dose of the Jesuits' bark,which she compelled me to swallow, though sorely against my will. Thenshe sat down by the bedside for the space of, I daresay, fifteenminutes, or longer as it seemed to me then, and fell to stroking myhair, which I wore without a queue, my father setting his face againstthat French fashion.

  I fidgetted so much that at length my mother perceived that I would bealone. I heard her draw a sigh as she rose to go away, and then,tucking the bedclothes round me with great care, she gave me a kissand left me.

  I waited as long as I could contain my impatience, for my parents tofall asleep. Then I arose softly, without rekindling the light, whichmy mother had blown out, completed my dress, and filled a smallknapsack with such few things as I had immediate need for. Iremembered also to put in my pocket a bright guinea which good Mr.Walpole had presented me with in my twelfth year as a reward forhaving repeated the 119th Psalm, and which my father had strictlyforbidden me to spend.

  Thus provided, I opened the door of my bedroom and crept out, carryingmy shoes in my hand. I crossed the landing, treading like a thief, tothe door of the room where my parents slept, and laid my lips againstthe panel that was nearest to my mother's side. And with that I foundmy eyes were smarting, and a lump rose in my throat, so that I turnedaway hastily, and made the best of my way down the stairs, and byunbarring the kitchen door, out into the open air. Then I turned myback on the house where I was born, and set out to walk through thenight to Yarmouth.

  Lest my father should surmise where I was, I had got ready a feignedletter in which I pretended--I am ashamed to say so--that seeing nolikelihood of Mr. Walpole's receiving me without that extra fiftypounds which stuck so in my father's gizzard, I had taken theresolution of going up to London to seek my fortune; and I promised tosend him news as soon as I should arrive there; which promise, as itturned out, I had no opportunity of keeping or breaking, for I did notset foot in that great city until years had passed, and I had gonethrough the wonderful adventures which were to make a man of me, andhad come thither as the messenger of the second greatest Englishman,as I think, who has lived in my time; aye, and had speech of him whowas the greatest of all. But of this hereafter.

  The clammy air of the marshes clung about me and chilled my spirits,as I proceeded through the desolate region which lay between me andthe town. The road hereabouts runs straight along for miles, withouthedge or fence, save for a couple of upright posts, with three or fourcrossbars, rising up here and there at the corners of the fields wherethe dykes run into one another. A hundred years before all this partof Norfolk had been little better than a fen, which the Brandon Wateroverflowed at spring tides, till engineers had come over to us fromHolland, who taught us to make these dykes and embankments after thefashion of their country. And, indeed, the people of Bury have atradition that the ocean itself once came up over these parts, andthat their hamlet, however since decayed, was then a flourishing townand seaport; but I could never find that any one outside of Burybelieved in this legend.

  Be that as it may, I had but a doleful walk of it; moreover, I wasfain to button up my coat and pull my collar close about my neck, byreason of the cutting wind which blew across from the German seas. Nordid I meet any adventure on the way, but in avoiding the turnpike atBroxall I was forced to leap a dyke in the dark, and missing thefurther bank by about a foot, I fell into the water knee-deep. I got asound drenching, but no other damage except for the mud bespatteringmy clothes, which must have presented a sorry spectacle had there beenany there to observe me.

  The noise of my splash brought out the pike-man, uttering many oaths,to see who it was that had been defrauding his gate. But I got nimblyon to my legs and ran past, and though he made a show of chasing mefor a short space, he soon thought better of it, and went back to hisbed.

  It must have been, I suppose, half-way between midnight and dawn whenI arrived in Yarmouth. And well pleased I was when I had safelycrossed the bridge across the Bure river and felt the pavement of thetown underneath my feet. For though there was not another soul abroadin the streets at that hour, that I could perceive, yet the knowledgethat the houses on either hand were full of sleeping folks seemed tobe some company after the desolateness I had just come through.

  I had never before been in a great town at night, and I was muchamazed by the splendour of the illumination from the lamps which hungacross the high streets, and made almost as much brightness as ifthere had been a moon. Being somewhat afraid of meeting with thewatch, for I did not then know the habits of these gentry as well as Idid afterwards, I soon left the region of the lights, and turned downinto the lanes, which the men of Yarmouth call rows, and of which theyare not a little proud, and to my mind with some warrant, for, thoughstrait, these passages are very regularly built, and beautifully pavedwith cobblestones, and are besides so numerous that I have never seenthe like in any city I have visited, neither in Europe nor in theIndies.

  In the end I got out from among the houses, and arrived upon thesea-beach, where I discovered a sheltered pit among the sand hillocks
,which they call denes, and there I lay down and slept off myweariness.

  When I awoke the sun was so far up that I judged it to be nearly nineo'clock. Taking shame that I had proved such a sluggard, I rose upquickly, and brushed away the sand, which I was rejoiced to perceivehad finely cleansed away the mud from the dyke at Broxall. This done Imade the best of my way into the town to keep my rendezvous withCousin Rupert, for I was sharply beset by hunger.

  I had to ask my way more than once before I could find out the tavern,which lay down on the quay, over against the river Yare. By this Isoon saw that the "Three-decker" had a reputation not over and abovesavoury among the townsfolk, for the more respectable of those Iaddressed myself to gave me harsh looks before answering my question.And no doubt the soberness of my dress and carriage must have made itseem strange that I should be seeking the whereabouts of such a haunt.

  I will not deny that this observation a little daunted me when I foundmyself at the door of the house. The tavern was by way of being anancient one, for the oak props were blackened with age and the upperstoreys jutted out one above the other, in the way our forefatherswere used to build in walled towns, where every foot of space was ofaccount. Nor did the place look to be ill-kept, though situated in amean part of the town beside the fish market. However, it was no timefor me to make reflections, having come so far, wherefore I quicklydrew the latch and stepped inside.

  I had no need of a guide to conduct me to the parlour, for I caught ahubbub of voices coming from my right hand, above which rose a roaringstave in chorus, interspersed with a clapping of hands and a rappingof mugs upon the table. I undid the door, meaning to slip in quietly,but no sooner did I pass my head into the room than the entertainmentsuddenly ceased, and the whole crew turned to observe my entrance.

  Truly it was easier for them to discern me than for me to do the sameby them, for besides the dismay of meeting so many faces at once, thewhole room was filled with the smoke of tobacco, a thing which wasstrange to me, and which caused my eyes to tingle, besides tempting meto cough. I made out, however, that there was at least a score of menpresent, the most part of them seated round a table in the middle ofthe room, at the head of which table stood a high arm-chair, and init, as I believe, the biggest man I had ever seen. The looks of thecompany are past my power to describe, being such as to make me feelas if I had broke into Bedlam. Their faces were all red and blotchedwith drink, and their heads covered with extravagant ringlets, whichmight never have seen a comb, while their dress was disordered toindecency, and the whole table was covered with a confusion oftankards and bottles and tobacco-pipes, not to mention playing-cardsand dice. The huge man at their head bore a most terrifying aspect. Hehad an immense head set on a neck so short and thick that it seemed asif he must infallibly choke at every morsel he swallowed, and a bellycapacious enough to have held a firkin of liquor. He had made himselfeasy by unbuttoning his waistcoat and the upper part of his breeches,and lolled back in his seat as if he had no mind to stir for the restof the morning. One of his eyes was closed up, and had a Frenchplaister across it, but the other stared and rolled enough for two.

  On a bench in the window there were two other men withdrawn bythemselves; but these I did not at first notice, being taken up withattending to this one-eyed ruffian.

  "Who in the foul fiend's name have we here?" he called out as soon asI was come in, using many other oaths beside, which I have no need toset forth. "Is this some sprouting soul-catcher come to bestow upon usa word in season? Speak, boy, your name and business? Show yourcolours, d'ye hear! Or will you mount the table and pitch up a godlypsalm for our sinful ears? A blister on the brat's tongue; why don'the answer?"

  I stood aghast at this scurrilous address, the like of which I hadnever yet heard. The others followed it up with shouts of applause,and one of those at my end of the table rose and came towards me,making as if he would catch me by the shoulder to drag me forward.

  But this I was not inclined to suffer.

  "My name need not concern you," I said, replying to their chairman."As for my business here, I have come to inquire after a kinsman ofmine who uses this house. Stand back, sir, I am not to be mauled byyou!"

  I spoke these last words sharply to the fellow who had tried tolay hold of me. Though some years my senior he was but a lean,spindle-shanked creature, whom I felt better able to give a buffet tothan to take one from him.

  The big man let loose a round dozen of oaths.

  "Here's a fine cockerel come into our own house of call to beard us!"he exclaimed between his profanities. "I should like to know who usesthe 'Three-decker,' when the crew of the _Fair Maid_ are here, withoutour licence? What is the matter with you, Trickster Tim? Are youafraid to handle the yokel?"

  Thus egged on, the man, who had given way under my angry looks, madeat me again. But my blood was now up, and I dealt him a blow on thejaw which sent him down fairly to the floor. He got up, splutteringblood, his clothes all smeared with the sawdust and the stains ofliquor, and the whole party leaped to their feet at the same time, asif they would set upon me.

  I doubt but I should have fared roughly at their hands if I had notbeen delivered by a most unexpected diversion.

  "Stand clear, you cowards, and leave Tim Watts to fight his owncorner, if he can!"

  I turned round to the window at these words and beheld to my joy mycousin Rupert, who had been one of the two sitting there apart, andwho had now risen, pale and very angry, with his hand on the basket ofa cutlass which he wore at his belt.

  Though I should have thought it kinder if he had come to my assistanceearlier, instead of leaving me to show what I was made of first, Ihailed his interference with much relief, and stepped quickly to hisside.

  But the fellows he had rebuked looked sourly in our direction andbegan to grumble to each other.

  "No orders here!" came from one man. "No lieutenants over us ashore!"said another. "We're all equal in the 'Three-decker.'"

  "Silence, Jim Palmer!" cried Rupert sternly. "And you too, Andrews; Ithought you had more manhood in you! What reason had you for baitingthis young man when he came in civilly? Do you know who he is, youfools? This is my own cousin, who has just given the slip to his sourold Puritan of a father, and come here to join our jolly fellowship!"

  I felt some pricks of shame at this lewd reference to my father. ButRupert's words completely turned the tide in my favour; and when hewent on to call for the potman and order a quart of ale and a nogginof gin all round the table, I became the most popular man in theassembly for at least half an hour. My health was called for by theman in the chair who had so abused me, and who, as I now found out,was the boatswain, or foreman of the crew. They even would haveTrickster Tim to apologise and shake me by the hand. He tried to gothrough this performance with an air of cordiality, but succeeded veryill.

  After this my cousin drew me aside and presented me to his companion,whom he named to me as Mr. Sims, the captain of the _Fair Maid_.However, it did not take me long to see that though Mr. Sims commandedthe vessel, by reason of his skill in navigation, yet my cousin wasthe real moving spirit of the entire ship's company, and could turnthe captain round his little finger, if he had a mind.

  Pens and ink were then sent for, and a sheet of parchment, on whichCaptain Sims, who was an old hand at this work, himself drew up thearticles of my apprenticeship. It was necessary that I should shipbefore the mast, he explained, in order to avoid provoking thejealousy of the crew; but they both promised me that I should be ratedas an officer as soon as a fair excuse offered itself for mypromotion. The others present were all called round to witness me signthe indenture, after which, like a vain young fool, I must needsproduce Mr. Walpole's guinea and order a fresh supply of liquor as faras it would go. This display of spirit, as they esteemed it, did mybusiness with the crew, who having now been ashore for four weeks hadspent most of their money, without in any degree lessening theirthirst. But I fear good Mr. Walpole would have been but ill-satisfiedif he could have known how
his money was spent.

  This business disposed of, Rupert thought it prudent to take me insideand have me bestowed in some safe corner of the house till the searchafter me should have blown over. And the first person whose help hemust needs obtain in this was the tavern keeper's niece, Marian, whomI thought then, and think to this day, the most handsome creature thatthere was in the world, and whom I loved desperately from that hour.