day after day, leigh went out into the town. more than once he saw the fatal tumbrils going along in the distance, but he always turned and walked in the opposite direction. once or twice, having changed his clothes for those of a workman, he fought his way into the public galleries of the convention and listened to the speeches; in which it seemed to him that the principal object of each speaker was to exceed those who had gone before him in violence, and that the most violent was the most loudly applauded, both by the galleries and the assembly.

patsey was most anxious to be off, but he urged that it would not do to show haste. she did not leave the house at all, while he was out almost all day. at the end of the fortnight, he told monsieur tourrier that he had now finished his business, and asked him if he could obtain from the maire of the arrondissement a pass down to havre.

"it is a pity that you did not get your pass direct from arthenay," he said. "you say that your sister wants to make inquiries about a husband there, and that you are taking her down, and you also say that you are a sailor."

"yes."

"then, i should think that the best thing for you would be to dress yourself as a sailor again. it will seem more natural than for you to be in that civilian dress. i can go with you, and say that you were strongly recommended to me by the maire's adjoint at arthenay, and that your papers are all en regle. if he asks why you did not have your papers made out in the first place to havre, say that you had hoped to have been joined by your brother-in-law here; but as he has not arrived your sister is anxious about him, and wishes therefore to go on to havre, which indeed he has requested her to do, as it was uncertain whether he would be able to leave his ship.

"i know, of course, that it is all right, or my cousin would not have recommended you so strongly to me; but in these days everyone is suspicious, and one cannot be too cautious. i will get one of the market authorities to go up with me. i am well known to them all, and 'tis likely that none of the people at the mairie will know me, seeing that i am a quiet man, and keep myself to myself."

leigh had no trouble in buying a sailor's dress, at a shop down by the wharves and, having put this on, went up with monsieur tourrier and one of the market officers to the mairie. as the former had anticipated, there was no difficulty. leigh's pass was examined. the market official testified to the grocer as being a well-known citizen, doing business with the market people, and taking no part in public affairs; while monsieur tourrier showed the letter that he had received from his cousin, the adjoint at arthenay.

"what is the name of the ship which your sister's husband commands?" the maire asked.

"the henriette, a lugger. formerly she traded with england but, since the war broke out, she trades between the ports on our western coast."

"and you have been a sailor on board her?"

"yes, citizen."

the maire nodded, and made out the pass for jeannette martin, travelling to join her husband, the captain of the lugger henriette; for her brother, lucien porson; and for louis martin, aged two years, son of the above-named citoyenne martin.

as they agreed that it would now be best to travel by water, leigh next went to the stables and, as the horses were both good ones, obtained a fair price for them. the next morning they went on board a sailing craft going down the river and, after a cordial adieu from their host and hostess, and a promise to take up their abode there, on their return through paris, they went on board. leigh had sold the saddles with the horses; having, on the journey to paris, removed the bundles of assignats concealed in them.

the accommodation on board was very fair. patsey occupied a roomy cabin aft, the rest slept in a large cabin forward; for before the troubles began, the majority of people travelling from paris down to rouen or havre went by water, and although the boats were mainly constructed for the carriage of merchandise, the conveyance of passengers formed an important part of the profits. at present, however, there was but little travelling, and patsey had the women's cabin to herself; while one other male messenger, with the master and two hands, had the forward compartments to themselves.

the master explained that, at ordinary times, his two men occupied a tiny place boarded off from the hold, or in summer slept on deck; but that, as there were so few passengers, they lived with the rest "for," as he growled under his breath, "the present."

the voyage was slow but not unpleasant. there was scarce wind enough to fill the two sails carried by the boat, but the captain and his two hands frequently got out sweeps, to keep the boat in the middle of the current. they stopped for a day at rouen, while the cargo destined for that town was landed. patsey and leigh were glad to spend the day in the town, visiting the cathedral, taking their meals at a restaurant, for the cuisine on board the boat was not of the highest character.

"we used to keep a regular cook," the captain lamented. "in those days we often carried several passengers; but at present, when we seldom have more than one or two, we cannot afford it. the revolution is no doubt a grand thing, and has greatly benefited the nation, but it has weighed hardly on us. there are but half the boats on the river there used to be, and they are hardly paying expenses, now that no one travels. those that go to sea are worse off still for, what with the falling off in trade, and with the english cruisers all along the coast, there is little employment for seamen, save in the privateers. however, they don't starve; for the greater portion of the men on the coast have to go in the ships of the republic."

on the sixth day after leaving paris, they arrived at havre. here they had no difficulty in obtaining lodgings, in a small auberge near the port. their pass was, on their arrival, sent to the authorities of the town and duly stamped. leigh's first inquiries were for the henriette. he found that she was well known in the port, and had sailed for la rochelle, six weeks before.

"she does not very often come up here," one of the sailors said. "sometimes she is months between her visits. as likely as not, she may have been captured on her way down. her port is bordeaux and, if you wanted to find her, you had much better have gone straight there than come to this place."

"i do want to find her," leigh said. "is there any chance of finding a ship going down south?"

"well, you might find one," the man said; "but you would have to take your chance of getting there. many of the ships are laid up, for the risk of capture is great. it is small craft that, for the most part, make the venture. they creep along inshore, and either run into a port or anchor under the guns of a battery if they see a british cruiser outside. drawing so little water, they can keep in nearer than a cruiser would dare to; and as they all can take the mud, they do not mind if they stick on the sands for a tide."

leigh returned with the news to his sister.

"what do you think, patsey?" he said. "i do not say that we cannot cross from here in a boat, though i have learned that the entrance to the channel is guarded by gunboats. if we passed safely through these, we should have serious risk and many hardships to undergo. i hear that there are numerous french privateers, and we might be picked up by one of them, instead of by an english cruiser. i am afraid that our passes, in that case, would not avail us in the slightest.

"now, if we go down to bordeaux, we have only to wait till the henriette comes in. possibly she may be there when we arrive. in that case, i am sure that lefaux will be willing to take us out, and either put us on board a british cruiser, or land us in england."

"certainly we will go to bordeaux," patsey said. "we may find jean there. if he escaped that night he would make for the loire and, as he is a good swimmer, he would get over without difficulty, and he would then try to make his way towards bordeaux."

"that may be so, patsey; but i would not be too sanguine about our finding him there. it was so much nearer for him to have made for one of the northern ports that he might very well have done so and, as soon as he managed to obtain a sea outfit, he would no longer be suspected of having anything to do with the vendeans."

they had learnt before this that, after the fight at le mans, the vendeans had made for the river, had desperately fought their way through the forces that barred their march, had come down on the banks, but had failed to find any means to cross it. then they had turned into brittany again for a short distance, had fought two or three more desperate battles, and had again reached the loire. there was but one leaky boat to be found. in this la rochejaquelein, with a few of his officers, had crossed the river to bring back some boats that were moored on the opposite bank. directly they got across they were attacked, but la rochejaquelein, with two or three others, effected their escape.

after this the vendeans no longer kept together. the women and children, wounded and invalids, hid themselves in the woods; where they were hunted down like wild beasts, and either slaughtered at once or sent to nantes, where thousands were either executed or drowned by the infamous carrier, one of the most sanguinary villains produced by the revolution. many of the men managed to cross the river either by swimming on rough rafts or in boats. in la vendee the war was still going on, for charette had marched up again from lower poitou, and was keeping a large force of the republican troops engaged.

"i will try not to hope too much," patsey said. "but at any rate, i am for going down to bordeaux for, apart from the chance of finding jean there, it seems much safer than putting out to sea in a little boat."

"i certainly think so," leigh replied. "now i will go out and make inquiries as to what craft there may be, bound south."

he returned in a couple of hours.

"i have arranged for our passage, patsey. she is a fast-looking little craft, with very decent accommodation. she is in the wine trade, and brought a cargo safely up last week, and will start again the day after tomorrow. she carries a crew of eight hands; and i have made inquiries about the captain, and hear a very good report of him, and he seemed to me a first-rate fellow. when i mentioned the name of the henriette he said that he knew her well, and was acquainted both with the present captain and with your jean. he had heard, from lefaux, that her former owner had been denounced, and had been obliged to fly from nantes to a chateau that he had in la vendee. the henriette has never been into nantes since, but went down to bordeaux, and was there registered in another owner's name, and lefaux had worked for him ever since.

"'i fancy,' he said, 'she sometimes makes a run with brandy to england. she was in that business before, and had, lefaux said, been chased many a time by english cutters, but had always managed to give them the slip.'

"i was half inclined to tell him that i was jean's brother-in-law, but i thought it better not to until we had been to sea for a day or two, and had learned a little more about him."

the next day leigh went to the mairie and explained that, not having found the ship commanded by citoyenne martin's husband, and thinking it likely that they would hear of him at bordeaux, they had taken passage by the trois freres, which sailed the next day. the addition was made to his papers without a question, and the next morning they went on board. they were heartily received by the captain.

"you ought to bring us luck, madame," he said; "i mean citoyenne, but the old word slips out of one's mouth, sometimes. it is not often that i have a lady passenger. there are few who travel now and, before the war broke out, people preferred taking passage in larger ships than mine. still, i will do my best to make you comfortable, and i can assure you that leon, my cook, is by no means a bad hand at turning out dainty dishes. he was cook in an hotel, at one time; but he let his tongue wag too freely and, having to leave suddenly, was glad enough to ship with me. fortunately he likes the life, and i do not think anything would tempt him to go back to an hotel kitchen again."

"i am not particular, i can assure you," patsey said. "in these times we all have to rough it. still, i own that i like a good dinner better than a bad one."

"we shall put in to a good many little ports," the skipper said. "sailing as close as we do inshore, i always make a port if i can, as evening comes on; and we are therefore never without fresh meat, fish, and vegetables."

"how long shall we be going down?"

"that i cannot tell you. it all depends upon the wind. we may, too, be kept in port for two or three days if there is an enemy's cruiser anywhere about. we may get there in ten days, we may take three weeks."

before the boat set sail, a commissary with two men came on board and examined the passes of the passengers, and searched below the hatches to make sure that no one was hidden there. as soon as they had completed their inspection the sails were hoisted, and the trois freres started on her way down the channel. the wind was light and blowing from the southwest, and they were just able to lay their course, and anchored for the night off the mouth of the vire river.

"i suppose tomorrow you will get round the cape de la hague, captain?" leigh said.

"no, we shall not attempt that. the coast is a very difficult one, with furious currents. we shall bring up off cherbourg and start at daylight; and shall, i hope, be well down towards the bay of avranches by nightfall. there is no fear of a british cruiser till we get out towards ushant. they do not care about coming inside the islands; what with the fogs, the rocks, and the currents, it is safer outside than in. besides, there is little to be picked up except coasters like ourselves, and fishing boats. there is hardly any foreign trade between havre and brest. it is from there down to the mouth of the gironde that their cruisers are so thick. from ushant to boulogne there are plenty of them, but these are chiefly occupied in guarding their ships going up and down the channel from our privateers, which run out from every port: dieppe and havre, granville, avranches, and saint malo."

the skipper had by no means over praised his cook, who turned them out a better dinner than any that they had eaten since the troubles began, with the exception only of those they had had at arthenay.

"he takes a pride in it," the captain said, "and you will never get good work done in any line, unless by a man who does so. a sailor who is careless about the appearance of his ship is sure to be careless about the keeping of the watch, and is not to be trusted in matters of navigation. when you see a craft with every rope in its place, everything spotlessly clean, the brass work polished up, and the paint carefully attended to, you may be sure that the skipper is as particular in more important matters. it is just so with our man. it is a little bit of a galley, but his saucepans shine like gold, everything is clean and in its place. he grumbles if we run short of anything, and is a good deal more particular about my dinner being just what it should be than i am myself.

"sometimes when we have rough weather i say to him, 'make me a soup today, leon. i shall be well content with that, and it is not weather for turning out a regular dinner.'

"he always replies gravely, 'monsieur, anyone can cook when the sea is calm. it is on an occasion like this that one who knows his business is required. monsieur will dine as usual.'

"and up comes dinner, with three or four courses, cooked to perfection. for myself, i would rather snatch a few mouthfuls and go up on deck again; but this would hurt leon's feelings if he saw it, and he might even consider that he must seek another employer, for that his talents were wasted upon me; so i go through it all with exemplary patience. i would not lose him for anything, not only because i own i like good food, but the trois freres has such a reputation for good living that, if i am in port, passengers will wait for days to sail with me, instead of going by other craft.

"and then, too, i have no trouble with my crew, and it is rarely, indeed, that i change one of my hands; for although their meals are of course much simpler than mine, they are all perfect in their way.

"it takes a great deal of trouble off my hands, too. instead of my having a dozen little accounts to go into, at every port we enter, i allow him a certain sum and he manages on that--so much a day for my own table, so much for each passenger, and so much for the crew. how he does it, i don't know. i find that it is cheaper than it used to be, before his time; and yet i have all sorts of dainties i never dreamt of, then.

"i say to him sometimes, 'leon, you must be ruining yourself;' but he smiles and says, 'i am well content, captain; if you are satisfied, i am so.'

"he buys the fish off the boats as they come in, and i can understand that he gets them far more cheaply than if he waited till they were hawked in the streets. he is great at omelets and, when he has a chance, he is ashore before the countrywomen come into the market; and will buy the whole stock of eggs, a pound or two of butter, and three or four couples of fowls from one woman, who is glad to sell cheaply and so be free to return home at once. at bordeaux he lays in a stock of snipe and other birds from the sand hills and marshes, oysters, and other such matters. he is a great favourite with the crew and, in cold weather or stormy nights, there is always hot soup ready for them.

"he has only one fault. as a rule, the cooks are expected to help get up the anchor and sails, but he will not put a hand to sailors' work. he says that a cook must not have a rough hand, but that it should be as soft as a woman's. personally, i believe that is all nonsense. however, as we have a fairly strong crew, i do not press him on the subject; though sometimes, when i tail on to a rope myself, and see him leaning quietly against his galley smoking his pipe, i am inclined to use strong language."

"i don't think that is much to put up with, captain," patsey said with a smile, "if he always cooks for you such breakfasts and dinners as we have had today; and i do think that there is, perhaps, something in what he says about rough hands."

"well, i feel that myself," he said. "still, it is a little aggravating, when everyone else is working hard, to see a man calmly smoking, and never raising a finger to help."

the next day they kept very close inshore. more than once a white sail was seen in the distance, which the captain pronounced, from its cut, to belong to a british cruiser.

"the weather is fine, you see, and the wind is steady, so they are coming rather farther into the bay than usual. we shall see more of them, as soon as we are round that cape ahead, for they keep a very sharp lookout off cherbourg."

it was not, however, until they had rounded ushant that any british vessel came near enough to cause them uneasiness. there were two large frigates cruising backwards and forwards off brest, and a brig-of-war came within shot, as they were doubling penmarch point.

"there is plenty of water for her, here," the skipper said. "however, she will hardly catch us, before we are under shelter of the batteries of quimper."

"i should have thought that she would hardly think you worth the trouble of chasing."

"it may be that they think we are carrying fresh meat from saint malo to nantes. there is a good deal of trade that way, this time of year, when meat will keep good for a week. or it may be that they want to get news of what ships there are in brest. however, it is certain that he is in earnest; he is politely requesting us to lower our sails."

he laughed as a puff of white smoke broke out from the brig and, a second or two later, a ball dashed up the water fifty yards ahead of them. the emotions with which patsey and leigh watched the brig differed much from those of the captain. they would gladly have seen the lugger overhauled and captured, but they soon saw that there was little chance of this. the lugger was a fast boat, the wind just suited her, and the brig fell farther and farther astern until, as the former entered the bay of quimper and laid her course north, the brig hauled her wind and turned to rejoin the vessels off brest.

keeping close to the land, they passed l'orient and quiberon and vannes without stopping, and did not drop anchor again until they entered the bay on the eastern side of the island of noirmoutier. the next day they passed out through the narrow channel of froment, and had gone between the island and the mainland, for a distance of two miles, when they saw a large brig making in towards the shore.

"another of those cruisers," the captain exclaimed. "this is more serious, for there is no bay we can run into, and the fellow is bringing the wind down with him. our only chance is to anchor under the guns of saint jean des montes; we shall be lucky if we get there in time."

the brig came up fast, and was within a mile when the lugger caught the wind; then running along rapidly she held her own until off saint jean, when she ran in as close as her draught would permit, and anchored. two french privateers were already lying in there, one having dropped anchor only a few minutes before the trois freres arrived.

"i expect it was that fellow that the brig was in chase of, and i am not by any means sure that we have done with her, yet. they are as likely as not to try to cut out one, if not both, of these privateers. of course it would look like madness, with the guns of that battery on the height protecting them, but they have done such things so often that one can never say that one is altogether safe from them."

the brig stood in until two or three guns in the battery opened fire, when she turned and made out to sea again.

"that means nothing," the captain said. "of course she would not attack in daylight. i dare say she will sail pretty nearly out of sight, so as to make the privateers believe that she had no intention of meddling with them. if i was sure that was her game, i would get up sail again, as soon as it is dark, and make for oleron; but it is likely enough that she may think that that is just what the privateers will do, and will sail in that direction herself, so as to cut them off before they get there, and force them to fight without the protection of a shore battery.

"there is the bell for breakfast! leon would not be two minutes late, if there was an action going on close to us."

half an hour later they went on deck again.

"at any rate, the sea has saved us the trouble of discussing the matter," the captain said. "we are aground. the tide turned just before we got here. it is now half past twelve, and we shall not be afloat again for nearly twelve hours.

"well, there is one thing: if they are thinking of trying to cut out the privateers, they are not likely to do it before two or three o'clock in the morning. as soon as we float i shall haul out, a cable's length or two, so as to ensure our being able to get off; and if they do attack, i shall get up my sails at once, and run south. they will be too much occupied to give us a thought. whereas if i stay here, and they capture the privateers, they might take it into their heads to come on board and set fire to the lugger; which, as i am part owner, would be a very serious matter to me."

it was apparent that the privateers had no thought of the brig returning, at any rate at present, as boats went backwards and forwards between them and the shore.

"what do you think, leigh?" his sister asked quietly, as they were sitting alone together.

"i do not know in the least," he said. "our best chance is that the two frenchmen seem to be so confident that they are safe under the guns of the fort, that they will take no very great precautions. one of them mounts eight guns, the other ten, and they ought to be a match for the brig, even without the forts; for we could see, by her ports, that she only carries sixteen guns. however, i think myself that she will very likely have a try at them. it will be a very dark night, for the sky is overcast and there is no moon."

it was between ten and eleven when, just as they were about to turn in, the captain ran in.

"quick, madame, you must hurry on your clothes! i heard a sound just now that could only be made by a boat. as we are still aground, i shall bring a boat alongside and land. there is nothing like being on the safe side!"

the two privateers were lying a quarter of a mile farther out, and there were still lights burning on board them.

"the fools!" the captain growled, as leigh and his sister came on deck; leigh carrying little louis, who had been put to bed fully dressed. indeed, no time had been lost, for his mother and leigh had agreed that it would be better to lie down in their clothes, in case of an alarm being given.

"the fools!" the captain repeated. "if they had extinguished every light, as they ought to have done, the boats would have had difficulty in finding them. now, they could not miss them if they tried.

"now, madame, will you please take your place in the boat with me? i am sure that there are boats coming along. of course the oars are muffled, and there is enough sea on to prevent us hearing the splash. i think the noise i heard was caused by one of the stretchers giving way."

reluctantly patsey and leigh took their places in the boat. just as they reached the shore, a shout was heard on board one of the privateers and, a moment later, came the sound of a british cheer. it was followed by a hubbub of shouts, then muskets flashed out from the decks, and almost immediately came the sounds of conflict. a blue light was struck on the deck of one of the privateers and, by its light, those on shore could obtain a view of the conflict. the boats had boarded from the shore side. two of them lay alongside each of the privateers, and the crews could be seen climbing up by the chains and leaping down upon the decks.

"they deserve to be taken," the captain said. "they have not even triced up their boarding nets."

a confused medley of sounds came to the shore; with the shouts of the french sailors were mingled the clash of cutlasses and the crack of pistols. the british sailors fought, for the most part, silently. on the heights above, blue lights were burning in the battery, and men could be seen standing on its crest watching the combat below, but powerless to assist their friends.

it was but five minutes after the outbreak of the combat when a loud british cheer, followed by a dead silence, showed that one, at least, of the privateers had been captured. the fighting still continued on the deck of the other craft but, from the vessel that had been captured, a number of sailors leapt down into one of their boats, and rowed to the assistance of their comrades. the reinforcements apparently decided the issue of the fight, for in a couple of minutes the british cheer was again heard, and the blue light was promptly extinguished, as were all the other lights on both vessels. scarcely was this done when the guns from the battery boomed out.

"it is of no use their firing," the captain said. "i don't think they can depress the guns enough to bear upon them.

"there, they are making sail!" he went on, as the creaking of blocks was heard. "of course they have cut the cables. they would not waste time in getting up anchors, with the forts playing upon them. however, it is mere waste of powder and shot on such a night as this. i don't suppose the gunners can make them out, now; for a certainty they won't be able to do so, as soon as they have moved off another quarter of a mile. of course a stray shot may hit them, but practically it is all over.

"i think that we can go on board again. i did not think of it before, but they would hardly set fire to us, for the light would enable the gunners to see them till they were a long way out.

"there is no doubt those englishmen can fight. our men are all right when they are under sail, and it is a question of exchanging broadsides, but the success of so many of their cutting out expeditions shows that, somehow or other, we lose heart when we are boarded. we must have had nearly twice as many men as there were in those four boats, and yet it seemed to be a certainty, as soon as the english got among them.

"our craft had much better have sailed out together when the brig came in this morning, and fought her fairly. they ought to have been more than a match for her. no doubt they would have done so if they had thought that they would be attacked tonight; but they relied upon the battery, and allowed themselves to be taken completely by surprise.

"i could see, even from this distance, that most of them were fighting in their shirts; and i expect that they were sound asleep when the attack began, and men roused in that sudden way can never be relied upon to do their duty as they would do, if prepared to meet it."

the party were soon on board the lugger again. just as daylight was breaking there was a trampling of feet on the deck, and leigh, going up, found that sail was being hoisted. keeping close to the shore they ran down, without putting in anywhere, to la rochelle. here they waited for a day and then, keeping inside the isle of oleron, entered the gironde and, the next day, anchored in the garonne, off the quays of bordeaux.

after thanking the captain very heartily for his kindness during the passage, they landed, showed their papers to an official on the quay, and then, being unhampered by luggage, walked quietly away. as there was nothing particularly noticeable in their appearance, they attracted no attention whatever. it was five o'clock when they landed, and already becoming dusk. they waited until it was quite dark and then, having inquired for the house of monsieur flambard, the merchant to whom jean had assigned the henriette, they knocked at his door.

it was a handsome house, not far from the quays. the lower portion was evidently occupied by the offices. as a servant opened the door, leigh, seeing that his sister hesitated to speak, inquired if monsieur flambard was at home.

"he is," the man said shortly, "but he does not see people on business after the office is closed."

leigh saw that his dress, as a sailor, did not impress the man.

"i think he will see us," he said, "if you take the name up to him. will you tell him that citoyenne martin wishes to speak to him."

a minute later the merchant himself, a handsome man of about the same age as jean martin, came down.

"ah! madame, i am glad indeed to see you," he said; for he had more than once been up to nantes, during the time she was living there, and had been frequently at the house. "i have been in great anxiety about you."

"has jean been here?" she asked, in a tone of intense anxiety.

"no, madame, i have heard nothing of him for many months; not, indeed, since his lugger first came down here, with his letter and the deed of her sale to myself. did you expect to find him here?"

"i hoped so, although there was no arrangement between us to meet here. still, i thought that he would have made his way down here, if possible, as he would then be able to escape in the lugger."

"he may have found it more difficult than he thought," monsieur flambard said, soothingly. "but do not let us be standing here. pray, come up. my wife will be glad to welcome you, for she has often heard me speak of martin's english wife."

leigh had been standing behind patsey while they spoke but, as the merchant closed the door, his eye fell upon him.

"ah, monsieur, now i recognize you. you are monsieur leigh stansfield, the brother of madame. i welcome you also, cordially."

so saying, he led the way upstairs.