She might do so if
exceptionally lucky; in that case there would be very little chance of
overtaking her.
Less than two hours after Desmond reached Calcutta two budgeros left
Cruttenden Ghat. Each was provided with a double complement of men, and
although the sails filled with a strong following wind, their oars were
kept constantly in play. The passengers on board were for the most part
unaccustomed to this luxurious mode of traveling. There were a dozen
lascars; Hossain the serang; Karim, the man saved by Desmond at
Chandernagore; Bulger and the second mate of the Hormuzzeer, and Mr.
Toley, who, like Desmond and the serang, was clothed, much to Bulger's
amusement, as a fairly well-to-do ryot.
For some hours the tide was contrary; but when it turned, the budgeros,
under the combined impulses of sail, oar and current, made swift
progress, arousing some curiosity among the crews of riverside craft,
little accustomed to the sight of budgeros moving so rapidly.
Approaching Mayapur, Desmond descried the spars of the Good Intent a long
way ahead. Was there enough water to allow her to pass the bar? he
wondered. Apparently there was, for she kept straight on her course under
full sail. Desmond bit his lips with vexation, and had almost given up
hope, though he did not permit any slackening of speed, when to his joy
he saw the vessel strike her topsails, then the rest of her canvas.
He at once ran his boats to the shore at Mayapur. There were a number of
river craft at the place, so that the movements of his budgeros, if
observed from the Good Intent, were not likely to awaken suspicion.
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