Now Tiidu saw quite clearly that he could only hope to become rich by
means of his pipes, and set about thinking if there was nothing he
could do to make the money flow in faster. At length he remembered
having heard some stories of a kingdom in the Kungla country, where
musicians of all sorts were welcomed and highly paid; but where it was,
or how it was reached, he could not recollect, however hard he thought.
In despair, he wandered along the coast, hoping to see some ship or
sailing boat that would take him where he wished to go, and at length
he reached the town of Narva, where several merchantmen were lying at
anchor. To his great joy, he found that one of them was sailing for
Kungla in a few days, and he hastily went on board, and asked for the
captain. But the cost of the passage was more than the prudent Tiidu
cared to pay, and though he played his best on his pipes, the captain
refused to lower his price, and Tiidu was just thinking of returning on
shore when his usual luck flew to his aid. A young sailor, who had
heard him play, came secretly to him, and offered to hide him on board,
in the absence of the captain. So the next night, as soon as it was
dark, Tiidu stepped softly on deck, and was hidden by his friend down
in the hold in a corner between two casks. Unseen by the rest of the
crew the sailor managed to bring him food and drink, and when they were
well out of sight of land he proceeded to carry out a plan he had
invented to deliver Tiidu from his cramped quarters. At midnight, while
he was keeping watch and everyone else was sleeping, the man bade his
friend Tiidu follow him on deck, where he tied a rope round Tiidu’s
body, fastening the other end carefully to one of the ship’s ropes.
“Now,” he said, “I will throw you into the sea, and you must shout for
help; and when you see the sailors coming untie the rope from your
waist, and tell them that you have swum after the ship all the way from
shore.”
At first Tiidu did not much like this scheme, for the sea ran high, but
he was a good swimmer, and the sailor assured him that there was no
danger. As soon as he was in the water, his friend hastened to rouse
his mates, declaring that he was sure that there was a man in the sea,
following the ship. They all came on deck, and what was their surprise
when they recognised the person who had bargained about a passage the
previous day with the captain.
“Are you a ghost, or a dying man?” they asked him trembling, as they
stooped over the side of the ship.
“I shall soon indeed be a dead man if you do not help me,” answered
Tiidu, “for my strength is going fast.”
Then the captain seized a rope and flung it out to him, and Tiidu held
it between his teeth, while, unseen by the sailors; he loosed the one
tied round his waist.
“Where have you come from?” said the captain, when Tiidu was brought up
on board the ship.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account