Gascoyne, the Sandal-Wood Trader by Robert Michael Ballantyne (best ereader manga txt) 📕

easier method will be to outwit him."

"Not an easy thing for to do, I'm afraid, for he's a cute old feller. How's it to be done?" asked Bumpus.

"By telling him the truth," said Henry; "and _you_ must tell it to him."

"Well, that _is_ a koorious way," said Bumpus with a broad grin.

"But not the whole truth," continued Henry. "You must just tell him as much as it is good for him to know, and nothing more; and as the thing must be done at once, I'll tell you what you have got to say."

Here the young man explained to the attentive Bumpus the course that he was to follow, and having got him thoroughly to understand his part, he sent him away to execute it.

Meanwhile he and his mother went in search of Mr Mason, who at the time was holding a consultation with the chiefs of the native village, near the site of his burnt cottage. The consultation had just been concluded when they reached the spot, and the missionary was conversing with the native carpenter who superintended the erection of his new home.

After the morning greeting, and a few words of general conversation, Mrs Stuart said--

"We have come to have a talk with you in private; will you walk to Alice's tree with us?"

"Certainly, my friend; I hope no new evils are about to befall us," said the missionary, who was startled by the serious countenances of the mother and son, for he was ignorant of the close relation in which they stood to Gascoyne, as, indeed, was every one else in the settlement, excepting Montague and his boatswain, and Corrie, all of whom were enjoined to maintain the strictest secrecy on the point.

"No, I thank God, all is well," replied Mrs Stuart; "but we have come to say that we are going away."

"Going away!" echoed the missionary in surprise. "When?--where to?-- why? You amaze me, Mary."

"Henry will explain."

"The fact is, Mr Mason," said Henry, "circumstances require my absence from Sandy Cove on a longer trip than usual, and I mean to take my mother with me. Indeed, to be plain with you, I do not think it likely that we shall return for a long time--perhaps not at all, and it is absolutely necessary that we should go secretly. But we could not go without saying good-bye to you."

"We owe much to you, dear Mr Mason," cried the widow, grasping the missionary's hand and kissing it. "We can never, never forget you; and will always pray for God's best blessings to descend on you and yours."

"This is overwhelming news!" exclaimed Mr Mason, who had stood hitherto gazing from the one to the other in mute astonishment. "But tell me, Mary," (here he spoke in earnest tones,) "is not Gascoyne at the bottom of this?"

"Mr Mason," said Henry, "we never did, and never will deceive you. There is a good reason for neither asking nor answering questions on this subject _just now_. I am sure you know us too well to believe that we think of doing what is wrong, and you can trust us--at least my mother--that we will not do what is foolish."

"I have perfect confidence in your hearts, my dear friends," replied Mr Mason; "but you will forgive me if I express some doubt as to your ability to judge between right and wrong when your feelings are deeply moved, as they evidently are from some cause or other, just now. Can you not put confidence in me? I can keep a secret, and may perhaps give good counsel."

"No, no," said Henry, emphatically; "it will not do to involve you in our affairs. It would not be right in us _just now_ to confide even in you. I cannot explain why--you must accept the simple assurance in the meantime. Wherever we go, we can communicate by letter, and I promise, ere long, to reveal all."

"Well, I will not press you farther, but I will commend you in prayer to God. I do not like to part thus hurriedly, however. Can we not meet again before you go?"

"We shall be in the cottage at four this afternoon, and will be very glad if you will come to us for a short time," said the widow.

"That is settled, then; I will go and explain to the natives that I cannot accompany them to the village till to-morrow. When do you leave?"

"To-night."

"So soon! Surely it is not. But I forbear to say more on a subject which is forbidden. God bless you, my friends; we shall meet at four. Good-bye!"

The missionary turned from them with a sad countenance, and went in search of the native chiefs; while Henry and his mother separated from each other, the former taking the path that led to the little quay of Sandy Cove, the latter that which conducted to her own cottage.


CHAPTER THIRTY.


MORE LEAVE-TAKING--DEEP DESIGNS--BUMPUS IN A NEW CAPACITY.

On the particular day of which we are writing, Alice Mason felt an unusual depression of spirits. She had been told by her father of the intended departure of the widow and her son, and had been warned not to mention it to any one. In consequence of this, the poor child was debarred her usual consolation of pouring her grief into the black bosom of Poopy. It naturally followed, therefore, that she sought her next favourite--the tree.

Here, to her surprise and comfort, she found Corrie seated on one of its roots, with his head resting on the stem, and his hands clasped before him. His general appearance was that of a human being in the depths of woe. On observing Alice, he started up, and assuming a cheerful look, ran to meet her.

"Oh! I'm so glad to find you here, Corrie," cried Alice, hastening forward, "I'm in such distress! Do you know that--Oh!--I forgot; papa said I was to tell nobody about it!"

"Don't let that trouble you, Alice," said Corrie, as they sat down together under the tree. "I know what you were about to say--Henry and his mother are going away."

"How do you know that? I thought it was a great secret!"

"So it is, a _tremendous_ secret," rejoined Corrie, with a look that was intended to be very mysterious; "and I know it, because I've been let into the secret for reasons which I cannot tell even to you. But there is another secret which you don't know yet, and which will surprise you perhaps. _I_ am going away, too!"

"You," exclaimed the little girl, her eyes dilating to their full size.

"Ay, me!"

"You're jesting, Corrie."

"Am I? I wish I was; but it's a fact."

"But where are you going to?" said Alice, her eyes filling with tears.

"I don't know."

"Corrie!"

"I tell you, I don't know; and if I did know, I couldn't tell. Listen, Alice, I will tell you as much as I am permitted to let out."

The boy became extremely solemn at this point, took the little girl's hand, and gazed into her face as he spoke.

"You must know," he began, "that Henry and his mother and I go away to-night--"

"To-night?" cried Alice, quickly.

"To-night," repeated the boy. "Bumpus and Jakolu go with us. I have said that I don't know where we are going to, but I am pretty safe in assuring you that we are going somewhere. Why we are going, I am forbidden to tell--divulge, I think Henry called it, but what that means I don't know. I can only guess it's another word for tell, and yet it can't be that either, for you can speak of _telling_ lies, but you can't speak of _divulging_ them. However, that don't matter. But I'm not forbidden to tell you why _I_ am going away. In the first place, then, I'm going to seek my fortune! Where I'm to find it remains to be seen. The only thing I know is, that I mean to find it somewhere or other, and then," (here Corrie became very impressive,) "come back and live beside you and your father, not to speak of Poopy and Toozle."

Alice smiled sadly at this. Corrie looked graver than ever, and went on--

"Meanwhile, during my absence, I will write letters to you, and you'll write ditto to me. I am going away because I ought to go and be doing something for myself. You know quite well that I would rather stop beside you than go anywhere in this wide world, Alice; but that would be stupid. I'm getting to be a man now, and mustn't go on shewin' the weaknesses of a boy. In the second, or third, place--I forget which, but no matter--I am going with Henry because I could not go with a better man; and in the fourth--if it's not the fifth--place, I'm going because Uncle Ole Thorwald has long wished me to go to sea, and, to tell you the truth, I would have gone long ago had it not been for you, Alice. There's only one thing that bothers me." Here Corrie looked at his fair companion with a perplexed air.

"What is that?" asked Alice, sympathetically.

"It is that I must go without saying good-bye to Uncle Ole. I'm _very_ sorry about it. It will look so ungrateful to him; but it _can't_ be helped."

"Why not?" inquired Alice. "If he has often said he wished you to go to sea, would he not be delighted to hear that you are going?"

"Yes; but he must not know that I am going to-night, and with Henry Stuart."

"Why not?"

"Ah! that's the point. Mystery! Alice--mystery! What a world of mystery this is!" observed the precocious Corrie, shaking his head with profound solemnity. "I've been involved, (I think that's the word,) rolled up, drowned, and buried in mystery for more than three weeks, and I'm beginning to fear that I'll never again git into the unmysteriously happy state in which I lived before this abominable man-of-war came to the island. No Alice, I dare not say anything more on that point even to you _just now_. But _won't_ I give it you all in my first letter? and _won't_ you open your eyes just until they look like two blue saucers?"

Further conversation between the friends was interrupted at this point by the inrushing of Toozle, followed up by Poopy, and, a short time after, by Mr Mason, who took Alice away with him, and left poor Corrie disconsolate.

While this was going on, John Bumpus was fulfilling his mission to Ole Thorwald.

He found that obstinate individual in his own parlour, deep in the investigation of the state of his books of business, which had been allowed to fall into arrear during his absence.

"Come in, Bumpus. So I hear you were half-hanged when we were away."

Ole wheeled round on his stool and hooked his thumbs into the arm-holes of his vest as he said this, leaned his back against his desk, and regarded the seaman with a facetious look.

"Half-hanged, indeed," said Bumpus, indignantly. "I was more