第49章
None of the recent phenomena had escaped his notice, and more than once he had attempted to entice Ben Zoof into conversation upon the subject; but the orderly made no secret of his antipathy to him, and generally replied to his advances either by satire or by banter.
He told him that he had everything to gain under the new system of nights and days, for, instead of living the Jew's ordinary life of a century, he would reach to the age of two centuries;and he congratulated him upon the circumstance of things having become so light, because it would prevent him feeling the burden of his years.
At another time he would declare that, to an old usurer like him, it could not matter in the least what had become of the moon, as he could not possibly have advanced any money upon her.
And when Isaac, undaunted by his jeers, persevered in besetting him with questions, he tried to silence him by saying, "Only wait till the governor general comes; he is a shrewd fellow, and will tell you all about it.""But will he protect my property?" poor Isaac would ask tremulously.
"To be sure he will! He would confiscate it all rather than that you should be robbed of it."With this Job's comfort the Jew had been obliged to content himself as best he could, and to await the promised arrival of the governor.
When Servadac and his companions reached the shore, they found that the _Hansa_ had anchored in an exposed bay, protected but barely by a few projecting rocks, and in such a position that a gale rising from the west would inevitably drive her on to the land, where she must be dashed in pieces.
It would be the height of folly to leave her in her present moorings;without loss of time she must be brought round to the mouth of the Shelif, in immediate proximity to the Russian yacht.
The consciousness that his tartan was the subject of discussion made the Jew give way to such vehement ejaculations of anxiety, that Servadac turned round and peremptorily ordered him to desist from his clamor.
Leaving the old man under the surveillance of the count and Ben Zoof, the captain and the lieutenant stepped into a small boat and were soon alongside the floating emporium.
A very short inspection sufficed to make them aware that both the tartan and her cargo were in a perfect state of preservation.
In the hold were sugar-loaves by hundreds, chests of tea, bags of coffee, hogsheads of tobacco, pipes of wine, casks of brandy, barrels of dried herrings, bales of cotton, clothing of every kind, shoes of all sizes, caps of various shape, tools, household utensils, china and earthenware, reams of paper, bottles of ink, boxes of lucifer matches, blocks of salt, bags of pepper and spices, a stock of huge Dutch cheeses, and a collection of almanacs and miscellaneous literature.
At a rough guess the value could not be much under pounds 5,000 sterling.
A new cargo had been taken in only a few days before the catastrophe, and it had been Isaac Hakkabut's intention to cruise from Ceuta to Tripoli, calling wherever he had reason to believe there was likely to be a market for any of his commodities.
"A fine haul, lieutenant," said the captain.
"Yes, indeed," said the lieutenant; "but what if the owner refuses to part with it?""No fear; no fear," replied the captain. "As soon as ever the old rascal finds that there are no more Arabs or Algerians for him to fleece, he will be ready enough to transact a little business with us.
We will pay him by bills of acceptance on some of his old friends in the Old World.""But why should he want any payment?" inquired the lieutenant.
"Under the circumstances, he must know that you have a right to make a requisition of his goods.""No, no," quickly rejoined Servadac; "we will not do that.
Just because the fellow is a German we shall not be justified in treating him in German fashion. We will transact our business in a business way.