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.At first the master of the Jamaica Merchant had answered with oathsand threats the doctor's expostulations against permitting men toperish in this fashion, and his insistence that he should be madefree of the medicine chest and given leave to minister to the sick.But presently Captain Gardner came to see that he might be broughtto task for these too heavy losses of human merchandise and becauseof this he was belatedly glad to avail himself of the skill of PeterBlood.The doctor went to work zealously and zestfully, and wroughtso ably that, by his ministrations and by improving the condition ofhis fellow-captives, he checked the spread of the disease.Towards the middle of December the Jamaica Merchant dropped anchorin Carlisle Bay, and put ashore the forty-two survivingrebels-convict.If these unfortunates had imagined - as many of them appear to havedone - that they were coming into some wild, savage country, theprospect, of which they had a glimpse before they were hustled overthe ship's side into the waiting boats, was enough to correct theimpression.They beheld a town of sufficiently imposing proportionscomposed of houses built upon European notions of architecture, butwithout any of the huddle usual in European cities.The spire ofa church rose dominantly above the red roofs, a fort guarded theentrance of the wide harbour, with guns thrusting their muzzlesbetween the crenels, and the wide facade of Government Houserevealed itself dominantly placed on a gentle hill above the town.This hill was vividly green as is an English hill in April, and theday was such a day as April gives to England, the season of heavyrains being newly, ended.On a wide cobbled space on the sea front they found a guard ofred-coated militia drawn up to receive them, and a crowd - attractedby their arrival - which in dress and manner differed little from acrowd in a seaport at home save that it contained fewer women and agreat number of negroes.To inspect them, drawn up there on the mole, came Governor Steed, ashort, stout, red-faced gentleman, in blue taffetas burdened by aprodigious amount of gold lace, who limped a little and leanedheavily upon a stout ebony cane.After him, in the uniform of acolonel of the Barbados Militia, rolled a tall, corpulent man whotowered head and shoulders above the Governor, with malevolenceplainly written on his enormous yellowish countenance.At his side,and contrasting oddly with his grossness, moving with an easystripling grace, came a slight young lady in a modish riding-gown.The broad brim of a grey hat with scarlet sweep of ostrich plumeshaded an oval face upon which the climate of the Tropic of Cancerhad made no impression, so delicately fair was its complexion.Ringlets of red-brown hair hung to her shoulders.Frankness lookedout from her hazel eyes which were set wide; commiseration repressednow the mischievousness that normally inhabited her fresh youngmouth.Peter Blood caught himself staring in a sort of amazement at thatpiquant face, which seemed here so out of place, and finding hisstare returned, he shifted uncomfortably.He grew conscious of thesorry figure that he cut.Unwashed, with rank and matted hair anda disfiguring black beard upon his face, and the erstwhile splendidsuit of black camlet in which he had been taken prisoner now reducedto rags that would have disgraced a scarecrow, he was in no case forinspection by such dainty eyes as these.Nevertheless, theycontinued to inspect him with round-eyed, almost childlike wonderand pity.Their owner put forth a hand to touch the scarlet sleeveof her companion, whereupon with an ill-tempered grunt the man swunghis great bulk round so that he directly confronted her.Looking up into his face, she was speaking to him earnestly, but theColonel plainly gave her no more than the half of his attention.His little beady eyes, closely flanking a fleshly, pendulous nose,had passed from her and were fixed upon fair-haired, sturdy youngPitt, who was standing beside Blood.The Governor had also come to a halt, and for a moment now thatlittle group of three stood in conversation [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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