In the mean time the old Frenchman and his son were not idle. Taking advantage of the confusion that prevailed among the Club, they filled away for the shore, took down the sail, dragged the boat around the obstruction, launched it again on the other side, and resumed their voyage toward the Gulf—Pierre expressing great astonishment at the whole transaction, and swearing lustily at the delay that had been occasioned, and at the wind which continued to increase in fury as night came on; Coulte wondering at the recklessness Perk had displayed in attacking them single-handed, and feeling his head, which still ached from the effects of the strong pulls the boy had given at his hair; and Chase, encouraging himself one moment with the hope of a speedy rescue, and the next holding his breath in dismay, when he thought of the dangers yet to be encountered.
Poor Chase was in a miserable condition. His hands and feet were still bound, his clothes were dripping with water that was almost cold enough to freeze, and he was exposed to the full force of the wind, every gust of which seemed to cut him to the bone. But, after all, he did not mind this so much as he did the voyage into the Gulf, which, unless something happened to prevent it, would be commenced in less than ten minutes. Suppose the boat should go down, what chance had he for his life? He tried to induce his captors to release him, assuring them that there was no possible chance for him to escape now that they were so far from the shore; but not only did they refuse to grant his request, but they would not even permit him to see what was going on around him. As soon as the pirogue was once more fairly under way, Coulte forced him to lie down on the bottom of the boat, and threw a blanket over his head. This, in some measure, protected him from the wind and the spray, but he would much rather have been exposed to the full fury of the gale, if he had only been allowed the free use of his eyes. To be blindfolded, so that he could not see when danger approached, was positive torture to him.
The journey to the island was by this time fairly begun, and it continued four long hours. The wind blew even harder on the Gulf than Chase had imagined, the waves rolled higher, and the voyage was quite as perilous as he had expected it would be. Nothing but the greatest skill and the most watchful care on Pierre’s part, kept the pirogue right-side up. He had his hands full in minding the helm, and Coulte had as much as he could do to bail out the water as fast as it came in. It began to gain at last, and Chase was glad of it, for it was the means of securing his release.