Captain Canot; Or, Twenty Years of an African Slaver
months, and engaged in several of our enterprises for escape. But
Germaine was more a man of _finesse_ than action, and his imprisonment
was the first mishap of that nature in his felonious career; so that I
cannot say I derived much advantage, either from his contrivances or
suggestions.
* * * * *
I always cultivated a sneaking fondness for the sex, and was, perhaps,
especially devoted to those who _might_ aid me if they pleased, when I
got into difficulties. Into this category, under existing
circumstances, fell that very worthy person, Mademoiselle Babette,
whom I have heretofore rather ungallantly reported as an "antique
virgin." It is true that Babette was, perhaps, not as young as she had
been; but an unmarried Frenchwoman is unquestionably possessed of an
elixir against age,--some _eau restoratif_,--with which she defies
time, preserves her outlines, and keeps up that elastic gayety of
heart, which renders her always the most delightful of companions.
Now, I do not pretend, when I flirted with Babette, and sometimes made
downright love to the damsel, that I ever intended leading her to any
of the altars of Brest, when it should please the "king of the
barricades" to release me from prison. No such design ever possessed
my mind, at the age of twenty-seven, towards a maid of thirty. Yet, I
confess that Babette bewitched the sting and memory from many an hour
of prison-life, and played the comedy of love _a la Francaise_ to such
perfection, that I doubt not her heart rebounded from the encounter as
scarless as my own.
Germaine joked me very often about the tender passion, the danger of
trifling with youthful hearts, and the risk I ran from encounters with
such glittering eyes; till, one day, he suggested that we should take
advantage of the flirtation, by turning it to our benefit in flight.
Sorret and his wife often went out in the afternoon, and left the gate
and the keys solely in charge of Babette, who improved their absence
by spending half the time in our apartment. Now, Germaine proposed
that, during one of these absences, I should, in my capacity as
teacher, feign some excuse to leave our room, and, if I found the
lieutenant porteress unwilling to yield the keys to my passionate
entreaty, we would unhesitatingly seize, gag, and muffle the damsel so
securely, that, with the keys in our possession, we might open the
gates, and pass without question the only sentinels who guarded the
exterior corridor. Germaine was eloquent upon the merit of his scheme,
while, to my mind, it indicated the bungling project of a beginner,
and was promptly rejected, because I would not injure with violence
the innocent girl I had trifled with, and because I would not dishonor
the kindness of Sorret and his wife, by compromising their _personal_
vigilance.
Next morning, Germaine turned over to me long before daylight, and
whispered his delight that I had discarded his scheme, for it "never
could have been perfected without passports to quit the town!" This
deficiency, he said, had absorbed his mind the livelong night, and, at
last, a bright thought suggested the supply.
"Babette," continued the forger, "is _not_ to be molested in any way,
so you may make your mind easy about your sweetheart, though I am
afraid she will not be able to accompany us in our enterprise. First
and foremost, we must have a visit from our Spanish girls to-morrow,
and, as you enjoy more influence than I, it will be best for you to
prepare them. Dolores, who is by far the cleverest of the party, is to
go with Concha boldly to the prefecture of police, and demand
passports for Paris. These, in all likelihood, will be furnished
without question. The passports once in hand, our _demoiselles_ must
be off to an apothecary's for such acids as I shall prescribe; and
then, _mon capitaine_, leave the rest to me!"
I turned the matter over in my mind, pretending to finish a morning
nap, and, while we were dressing, assented. The Spanish women, who
never refused their countrymen a favor, daringly obtained the
passports, and smuggled them into prison with the required acids.
Before night the deed was done; the gender of the documents was
changed; Germaine was metamorphosed into "_Pietro Nazzolini_" a
tailor, and I was turned into a certain "_Dominico Antonetti_," by
trade a carpenter!
How to escape was our next concern. This could not be effected without
breaking prison,--a task of some enterprise, as our apartment was
above a store-room, always closed, barred, and locked. The door of our
room opened on a long passage, broken at intervals by several iron
gates before the main portal was reached; so that our only hope was
the single window, that illuminated our apartment and looked into a
small yard, guarded after sunset by a sentinel. This court, moreover,
was entirely hemmed in by a wall, which, if successfully escaladed,
would lead us to the parade ground of the _chateau_.
Days passed, while my dull brain and the kindled fancy of the new
Nazzolini were inventing plans. Pietro had schemes enough, for his
imagination was both vivid and ceaseless; but whenever he came to
reduce them to words, it was always found that they required a little
more "_polishing_ in certain links," which he forthwith retired to
perform.
One of our greatest difficulties was, how to deal with my officers,
who had proved so false on the Senegal. We debated the matter for a
long time; but, considering that they were sick of long confinement
and bereft of future comfort without my labor we resolved to let them
partake our flight, though, once outside the chateau, we would
abandon them to their own resources.
Accordingly, we imparted our scheme, which was eagerly embraced; and,
through the kindness of our Spanish girls, we secretly despatched all
our spare garments, so that we might not issue bare into the
censorious world.
All being prepared, it was proposed by _Signore Pietro_ that New Year,
which was at hand, should be signalized by our enterprise. As I had
carefully kept and secreted the saw received from my Goree friends, we
possessed a most valuable implement; so that it was resolved to attack
a bar the moment we had been mustered and locked up on that auspicious
night. At eleven, a descent into the court beneath the window was to
be commenced, and, if this proved successful, there was no doubt we
could reach the beach across the parade. But the sentinel still
required "polishing" out of the court-yard! This was a tremendous
obstacle; still, Germaine once more put on his fancy-wings, and
recommended that our fair Catalans, whose occupation made them
familiar with the whole regiment, should ascertain the sentinels for
the night in question, and, as it was a festival, they might easily
insinuate a few bottles of brandy into the guard-house, and prepare
the soldiery for sleep instead of vigilance. But the success and merit
of this plan were considered so doubtful, that another scheme was kept
in reserve to silence the soldier whose duty required a continual
march beneath our window. If the women failed to accomplish our wishes
with liquor, and if the sentry persisted in a vigilant promenade, it
was proposed, as soon as the bar parted, to drop the noose of a _lazo_
quietly over his head, and dragging him with a run to the window-sill,
knock out his brains, if necessary, with the iron.
The last days of December were at hand; every body was busy with hope
or preparation; the women carried off our garments; then they brought
us an abundance of fishing lines, hidden beneath their petticoats;
and, finally, a rope, strong enough to hang a man, was spun in
darkness by the whole detachment.
The wished-for day at length came, with the jollity, merriment, and
drunkenness, that attend it almost universally throughout _la belle
France_. But there was not so sober a party in the kingdom as that
which was anxiously gathered together over a wineless meal in the
chateau of Brest. We trembled lest a word, a traitor, or an accident,
should frustrate our hope of life and freedom.
In the afternoon, our Spanish women, gay with fresh apparel, dashing
ribbons, and abundant claret, visited their fluttering birds in the
cage, and _assured_ success. The sergeant of the guard was married to
one of their intimate friends, and, _in her_ company, they were
confident, on such a night, of reaching the guard-room. A long
embrace, perhaps a kiss, and a most affectionate farewell!
Supper was over. Muster passed. Oh! how slowly was drawn the curtain
of darkness over that shortest of days. Would night _never_ come? It
did. By eight o'clock the severed bar hung by threads, while the
well-greased _lazo_ lay coiled on the sill. Nine o'clock brought the
sentinel, who began his customary tramp with great regularity, but
broke forth in a drinking song as soon as the sergeant was out of
hearing.
So impatient were my comrades for escape, that they declined waiting
till the appointed hour of eleven, and, at ten, ranged themselves
along the floor, with the end of the rope firmly grasped, ready for a
strong and sudden pull, while the intrepid Germaine stood by, bar in
hand, ready to strike, if necessary. At a signal from me, after I had
dropped the _lazo_, they were to haul up, make fast, and follow us
through the aperture by a longer rope, which was already fastened for
our descent.
Softly the sash was opened, and, stretching my neck into the darkness,
I distinctly saw, by a bright star-light, the form of the sentinel,
pacing, with staggering strides, beneath the casement. Presently, he
came to a dead halt, at the termination of a _roulade_ in his song,
and, in a wink, the _lazo_ was over him. A kick with my heel served
for signal to the halliards, and up flew the pendant against the
window-sill. But, alas! it was not the sentinel. The noose had not
slipped or caught with sufficient rapidity, and escaping the soldier's
neck, it only grasped and secured his _chako_ and musket. In an
instant, I saw the fatal misfortune, and, clearing the weapon, dropped
it, _plumb_, on the head of the tipsy and terrified guardsman. Its
fall must have stunned and prostrated the poor fellow, for not a word
or groan escaped from the court-yard.
CHAPTER XLIX.
Silent as was the sentinel after the restoration of his musket, it
was, nevertheless, unanimously voted that our enterprise was a
failure. Accordingly, the bar was replaced, the window closed, our
implements stowed in the mattresses, and ourselves packed beneath the
blankets, in momentary expectation of a visit from the jailer and
military commander. We passed the night in feverish expectation, but
our bolts remained undrawn.
Bright and early, with a plenteous breakfast, appeared our spirited
Spaniards, and, as the turnkey admitted and locked them in, they burst
into a fit of uproarious laughter at our maladroit adventure. The poor
sentinel, they said, was found, at the end of his watch, stretched on
the ground in a sort of fainting fit and half frozen. He swore, in
accounting for a bleeding skull, that an invisible hand from the
store-room beneath us, had dealt him a blow that felled him to the
earth! His story was so silly and maudlin, that the captain of the
guard, who remembered the festival and knew the tipsiness of the
entire watch, gave no heed to the tale, but charged it to the account
of New Year and _eau de vie_. We were sadly jeered by the lasses for
our want of pluck, in forsaking the advantage fortune had thrown in
our way, and I was specially charged to practise my hand more
carefully with the _lazo_, when I next got a chance on the
plantations of Cuba, or among the _vaqueros_ of Mexico.
As we expected the daily visit from the punctual inspector, to try our