As she passed one vessel, which had been, in point of fact, actually
rescued from the enemy, the crew, who had been saved from a foreign
prison, cheered lustily. There wanted but such an impulse as this, and then every merchant-vessel
that the man-of-war passed took up the gladsome shout, and the crew of
the huge vessel were not slow in their answer, for three deafening
cheers--such as had frequently struck terror into the hearts of
England's enemies--awakened many an echo from the shore. It was a proud and a delightful sight--such a sight as none but an
Englishman can thoroughly enjoy--to see that vessel so proudly stemming
the waste of waters. We say none but an Englishman can enjoy it, because
no other nation has ever attempted to achieve a great maritime existence
without being most signally defeated, and leaving us still, as we shall
ever be, masters of the seas. These proceedings were amply sufficient to arouse the crews of all the
vessels, and over the taffrail of one in particular, a large-sized
merchantman, which had been trading in the Indian seas, two men were
leaning. One of them was the captain of the vessel, and the other a
passenger, who intended leaving that morning. They were engaged in
earnest conversation, and the captain, as he shaded his eyes with his
hand, and looked along the surface of the river, said, in reply to some
observation from his companion,--

"I'll order my boat the moment Lieutenant Thornhill comes on board; I
call him Lieutenant, although I have no right to do so, because he has
held that rank in the king's service, but when quite a young man was
cashiered for fighting a duel with his superior officer." "The service has lost a good officer," said the other. "It has, indeed, a braver man never stepped, nor a better officer; but
you see they have certain rules in the service, and everything is
sacrificed to maintain them. I can't think what keeps him; he went last
night and said he would pull up to the Temple stairs, because he wanted
to call upon somebody by the water-side, and after that he was going to
the city to transact some business of his own, and that would have
brought him nearer here, you see; and there are plenty of things coming
down the river." "He's coming," cried the other; "don't be impatient; you will see him in
a few minutes." "What makes you think that?" "Because I see his dog--there, don't you see, swimming in the water, and
coming towards the ship." "I cannot imagine--I can see the dog, certainly; but I can't see
Thornhill, nor is there any boat at hand. I know not what to make of it. Do you know my mind misgives me that something has happened amiss? The
dog seem exhausted. Lend a hand there to Mr. Thornhill's dog, some of
you. Why, it's a hat he has in his mouth." The dog made towards the vessel; but without the assistance of the
seamen--with the whole of whom he was an immense favourite--he certainly
could not have boarded the vessel; and when he reached the deck, he sank
down upon it in a state of complete exhaustion, with the hat still in
his grasp. As the animal lay, panting, upon the deck, the sailors looked at each
other in amazement, and there was but one opinion among them all now,
and that was that something very serious had unquestionably happened to
Mr. Thornhill. "I dread," said the captain, "an explanation of this occurrence. What on
earth can it mean? That's Thornhill's hat, and here is Hector. Give the
dog some meat and drink directly--he seems thoroughly exhausted." The dog ate sparingly of some food that was put before him; and then,
seizing the hat again in his mouth, he stood by the side of the ship and
howled piteously; then he put down the hat for a moment, and, walking up
to the captain, he pulled him by the skirt of the coat. "You understand him," said the captain to the passenger; "something has
happened to Thornhill, I'll be bound; and you see the object of the dog
is to get me to follow him to see what it's about." "Think you so? It is a warning, if it be such at all, that I should not
be inclined to neglect; and if you will follow the dog, I will accompany
you; there may be more in it than we think of, and we ought not to allow
Mr. Thornhill to be in want of any assistance that we can render him,
when we consider what great assistance he has been to us. Look how
anxious the poor beast is." The captain ordered a boat to be launched at once, and manned by four
stout rowers. He then sprang into it, followed by the passenger, who was
a Colonel Jeffery, of the Indian army, and the dog immediately followed
them, testifying by his manner great pleasure at the expedition they
were undertaking, and carrying the hat with him, which he evidently
showed an immense disinclination to part with. The captain had ordered the boat to proceed up the river towards the
Temple stairs, where Hector's master had expressed his intention of
proceeding, and, when the faithful animal saw the direction in which
they were going, he lay down in the bottom of the boat perfectly
satisfied, and gave himself up to that repose, of which he was evidently
so much in need. It cannot be said that Colonel Jeffery suspected that anything of a very
serious nature had happened; indeed, their principal anticipation, when
they came to talk it over, consisted in the probability that Thornhill
had, with an impetuosity of character they knew very well he possessed,
interfered to redress what he considered some street grievance, and had
got himself into the custody of the civil power in consequence. "Of course," said the captain, "Master Hector would view that as a very
serious affair, and finding himself denied access to his master, you see
he has come off to us, which was certainly the most prudent thing he
could do, and I should not be at all surprised if he takes us to the
door of some watch-house, where we shall find our friend snug enough." The tide was running up; and that Thornhill had not saved the turn of
it, by dropping down earlier to the vessel, was one of the things that
surprised the captain. However, they got up quickly, and as at that hour
there was not much on the river to impede their progress, and as at that
time the Thames was not a thoroughfare for little stinking steam-boats,
they soon reached the ancient Temple stairs. The dog, who had until then seemed to be asleep, suddenly sprung up, and
seizing the hat again in his mouth, rushed again on shore, and was
closely followed by the captain and colonel. He led them through the temple with great rapidity, pursuing with
admirable tact the precise path that his master had taken towards the
entrance to the Temple, in Fleet-street, opposite Chancery-lane. Darting
across the road then, he stopped with a low growl at the shop of Sweeney
Todd--a proceeding which very much surprised those who followed him, and
caused them to pause to hold a consultation ere they proceeded further.