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The man who held her boldly came to the front, while his comrades retreated. Ronald's cutlass was upraised to strike, when the Frenchman placed his captive before him as a shield. The rest rallied round him, and Morton, with Doull alone by his side, found himself opposed to a dozen or more desperadoes, while he felt almost unnerved by seeing Miss Armytage in their power.
Truefitt and Doull meantime had each singled out a French seaman, and with hearty good-will were attacking them with their cutlasses. So fierce was their onslaught that they drove them back into the midst of the melee, where Colonel Armytage's troopers were still holding their own against their foes. The French were, however, pressing them very hard.
In the dark many of the pursuers and pursued were scattered, but Morton followed what he believed to be the main body. Suddenly cries and shrieks arose in front, and men's voices were heard shouting, and he thought he recognised that of old Doull and yes, he was certain that of Colonel Armytage. Among the female voices was one which thrilled through every nerve.
I no longer fear Sir Marcus Wardhill he can do me no harm, and I will try to live at peace with the old man. I will take these two men, Doull and Eagleshay, with me. Lord Claymore will give them their discharge. They are no longer fit for duty. They shall be well looked after, for I bear them no ill-will for the injury they did me.
The carpenter had been busily employed all day in constructing a canoe. It was forthwith lowered noiselessly into the water, and Doull and his son stepping into it, paddled away to the shore, keeping, however, as far off as possible from the forts. "That man can be trusted," observed Ronald to Glover, though the words implied a doubt of the fact.
All her crew who wished it got leave on shore; there was no fear of any running from her; their places would instantly have been filled by hundreds of eager applicants for a berth on board. Fully did Bob Doull carry out his intentions; and strange, though not very unusual, were the scenes witnessed in Plymouth and its neighbourhood for several days after the arrival of the "Pallas."
Most of the prisoners taken in the felucca were sent to Malta, but Captain Tacon was kept on board the frigate, as Lord Claymore considered that he might assist in clearing up the matter in which he was so much interested, and be made useful in other ways, from his knowledge of the coast and of the towns and villages near it. Rolf was naturally eager to see Doull and Eagleshay.
"And what is strange, Lieutenant Morton, the boy's name was the same as yours; but maybe you know nothing of Shetland; it's a fine land anyhow, and you are too young to be the child I was speaking of." "You are mistaken in one point, Mr Doull," said Morton. "I belong to Shetland; I was born and bred there; and I feel almost sure that the boy you carried off was my father.
"This is a rum place for our lieutenant to sleep in," observed Bob Doull to Job; "and as to the gentry below there, they are as cut-throat a crew as I ever set eyes on. I'll not let his valise go out of my hands, for it would be whipped up pretty smartly by one of these fellows, and we should never see more of it.
There was not time to do more, for Morton was anxious to get to sea and rejoin the frigate. Once more the anchor of the "Osterley" was weighed, and with the wind off the land she stood out of the bay. The Indiaman, under the skilful pilotage of old Doull and his companion Eagleshay, wound her devious way among the shoals and reefs which guarded the entrance to the bay.
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