"Ha, ha," chuckled the professor; "if her Ladyship can only accomplish
what I have told her to do, her troubles, and ours, will soon be over!"
And carefully placing the telephone in the stern-sheets of the boat, he
vigorously resumed his work of relieving the boat he was in of her
burden of pearl-oysters.
"What is it, Professor; what is your plan?" demanded Sir Reginald, who
was similarly busy in his own boat.
"My plan," replied the professor, "refers to a little arrangement that I
made, when designing the ship, for just such a contingency as the
present. But the matter slipped my memory; and I believe I never showed
it to any of you. It was important that, in designing such a ship as
the _Flying Fish_, every possible mishap should be foreseen and provided
against; and while considering this matter it occurred to me that,
either by means of treachery, or otherwise, undesirable persons might
possibly succeed in gaining possession of the pilot-house, when the ship
and all in her would be practically at the mercy of those persons. I
therefore included in the design an arrangement, whereby the simple
movement of a lever would cause a plate to slide out from an interstice
in the wall of the pilot-house, and thus completely shut off that
structure from the rest of the ship, making prisoners of any who might
happen to be in it. This is what I have just dir--"
At this juncture the bell of the telephone again began to tinkle, and,
without stopping to finish his remarks, the professor seized the
instrument and, adjusting it for use, spoke into it the single
word--"Yes?"
"I have done as you directed me," came Lady Olivia's voice, "and, as you
said would be the case, the man is now shut up in the pilot-house. But
he heard the sound made by the closing of the slide, and at once
descended to see what it meant. He is raging horribly, in there,
cursing like a madman, and uttering the most dreadful threats of what he
will do when he breaks through."
"Ah! do not let that trouble you," replied von Schalckenberg. "He
cannot break through; he is safely caged, and within the next three
hours, please God, we shall all be with you again. Now, please listen,
for there is something more that I wish you to do; but this time it is
quite easy. You know your way down to the engine-room. Please go down
there, taking your telephone with you. When you are there I will tell
you what to do."
There was a pause of about a minute, and then Lady Olivia again spoke.
"Yes, Professor," she said, "here I am. What am I to do?"
"How are you standing?" asked von Schalckenberg.
"Just inside the engine-room, with my back to the door," came the
answer.
"Good!" remarked the professor. "Then the machinery is all in front of
you. There is a large pipe--as thick as--well, nine inches in diameter
at your feet, running across the room from left to right; you cannot
mistake it."
"Yes," said Lady Olivia. "There is but one of that size near at hand.
This one is, as you say, close to my feet."
"Now look along that pipe toward your left," directed the professor.
"Do you see a small horizontal wheel standing on it, with the spindle
running down into the pipe?"
"Yes," answered her ladyship.
"Then please go to that wheel," said the German. "Grasp it on its right
and left with your two hands; pull with your right hand, and push with
your left until you cannot turn the wheel any further. Then tell me
what happens."
A pause of about half a minute ensued, and then Lady Elphinstone spoke
again.
"I have done as you directed me," she said, "and the engines have
stopped!"
"Aha!" remarked the professor, with a chuckle of satisfaction. "Yes,
that is all right. Now we shall soon overtake you. You need do no more
just now, my lady. You can go to your cabin, or where you please. But
keep the telephone about you, please, lest we should wish to speak to
you again. Courage, madame; you are now quite safe."
"Well, Professor, what is the result of your long yarn with Lady
Olivia?" demanded Sir Reginald, as he received back his instrument.
"Simply that our friend Barker is shut up in the pilot-house, from which
he cannot now escape, and Lady Olivia has just cut off the flow of
vapour at the generator; in consequence of which the engines have
stopped, for one thing, and, for another, Barker may now play as much as
he pleases with the levers and valves in the pilot-house without doing
any mischief," answered von Schalckenberg.
The two boats were by this time off the southern extremity of the reef,
with the last oyster of their cargoes gone overboard; they were
therefore running light and buoyant over the long swell and sea with
which they had to contend, and two minutes later, Mildmay gave the word
for them to shift their helms and haul up to their new course of
east-north-east. As he did so, he pulled out his watch and noted the
time.
"Exactly eight bells--four o'clock," he remarked. "We must drive these
little hookers through it for all they are worth, or we shall have the
darkness upon us before we sight the ship," and he flung a somewhat
anxious glance aloft at the heavy and rather threatening aspect of the
sky. For within the last half-hour the sky had thickened somewhat, and
ragged patches of scud were sweeping swiftly along overhead, with a dark
and lowering bank of clouds behind them to windward, while the breeze
had freshened very perceptibly. The sea was increasing, and the boats
were already drenching their occupants with the heavy showers of spray
that they flung aft, as they met and drove headlong into and through the
head-sea. The boats were magnificent little craft, for their size, but
Mildmay knew that matters might easily become very awkward indeed for
them, even in the short space of an hour or two, out there in the broad
Pacific, should it come on to blow at all heavily. Moreover, there was
no moon now, and the night promised to be dark. What if they should
fail to find the ship!
The boats, however, were doing their work splendidly, despite the wind
and the sea; and although the tendency of the weather was undoubtedly to
grow worse rather than better, the change was so gradual at first as to
be scarcely perceptible. But the sunset that night was wild--a sunset
of smoky scarlet and fiery orange in the midst of a stormy flare of
greenish-purple clouds; and when the sun disappeared the boats still had
very nearly half an hour to run before reaching the point at which
Mildmay estimated that they ought to shift their helms again to get into
the track of the ship. Taking into consideration the retardation of the
boats by the adverse influence upon them of the wind and sea, he allowed
them an extra ten minutes, and then gave the order to haul up to
north-east-by-east, by which time it was pitch dark, starless, and
blowing strong, with a very awkward amount of sea running for such small
boats to battle with. Fortunately, Mildmay and the professor had with
them their diving-dresses and the electric lamps which formed part of
their equipment; they thus possessed the means of lighting up the cards
of the boat compasses, and so ensuring that they were steering the
correct course.
"According to my reckoning," said Mildmay, "we ought now to be on or
very near the track of the ship, and within about five miles of her, or
thereabout. If it were daylight I should expect to see her by this
time; as it is we must keep a look-out for her saloon lights. The
professor and I have all that we can do to keep the boats running
straight, so we shall have to depend upon you other fellows to look out.
Don't confine yourselves to looking straight ahead; keep a look-out
broad on each bow as well. My calculations are only approximate, you
must remember."
For the next ten minutes perfect silence reigned in the boats; for the
helmsmen were intently watching their compasses, while the others were
straining their eyes through the darkness in the hope of catching the
glimmer of light from the _Flying Fish's_ saloon ports; and, more than
once, one or another of them opened his lips to cry out that he saw
them, only to realise, the next instant, that he had been deceived by
the phosphorescent gleam of the head of a breaking sea.
At length, however, Lethbridge broke the tense silence with the joyous
cry of--
"Light ho! right ahead," at the same instant that Sir Reginald cried
out--
"I see her! there she is, straight ahead of us. Good shot, skipper!"
Yes; there she was, undoubtedly. When the boats topped a sea they could
just make out the four lights shining from the dining-saloon ports; and
another, somewhat farther forward, that was doubtless the light of Ida's
cabin. Sir Reginald seized his telephone, and rang up his wife to
encourage her with the news that the boats were close at hand, and ten
minutes later they dashed alongside.
The ship was lying broadside-on to the wind and sea, rising and falling
easily over the fast gathering swell, but scarcely rolling at all. Her
hull thus afforded a capital lee for the boats. Mildmay's boat was the
first to reach the foot of the gangway-ladder; and up it Sir Reginald
sprang at a single bound, as it seemed, closely followed by Lethbridge.
"Take care how you go, Elphinstone," called the Colonel. "Remember that
the fellow has a revolver."
"Never fear," answered the baronet. "I will look after myself."
Dashing at the pilot-house door, Sir Reginald flung it open--to find
himself face to face with Barker, who was sitting composedly on the
bottom step of the ladder, smoking his pipe. He started to his feet in
horror and amazement at the sight of Sir Reginald.
"Well, darn my ugly--" He got no further in his exclamation; for, at the
sight of him, Sir Reginald's long pent-up anger broke loose, and
exclaiming--
"You despicable coward; you ungrateful scoundrel!" he struck out,
catching the man fairly under the jaw, and knocking him backward with a
staggering crash upon the metal steps of the pilot-house.
"Steady, Squire, steady!" mumbled the man in a tone of remonstrance.
"There's no call to knock me about, is there? And where in the nation
did--?"
"No call to knock you about, you blackguard!" thundered the furious
baronet. "If I were to break every bone in your body there would be
ample excuse for it. The attempted theft of the ship is nothing; it is
your brutality to my wife and child that--"
At this moment the inner door of the pilot-house slid open; for Lady
Olivia had been listening expectantly, and at the sound of her husband's
voice had thrown back the lever.
"Look here," continued Sir Reginald, restraining himself with
difficulty, as he pointed to the open door, "march you down there, and
go straight to your cabin, or I shall do you a mischief!"
"No, no, Squire; there's no call for that; no call at all," he mumbled
soothingly, as he sidled out of the pilot-house, keeping a wary eye upon
Sir Reginald, who followed him closely. "But, how in the nation did you
find this darned ship?" he persisted, his insatiable curiosity gripping
him hard as he proceeded along the corridor toward the cabin. "I made
sure that if I could run her out of sight of the island, and then shift
my helm, I should be all right. And so I should, if the darned engines
hadn't broken down!"
With a gesture Sir Reginald sped him through the door of the cabin that
he had occupied, and followed him in.
"Where is that revolver, with which you threatened my wife and
daughter?" demanded the baronet.
Barker drew it out of his pocket and handed it to Sir Reginald with the
nearest approach to a grin that his swollen and bleeding features would
permit.
"Bluff, Squire; pure bluff!" he remarked, as the baronet took it from
him. "Nary a cartridge in it--couldn't have raised one to save my life.
But it answered just the same. Say, what air you going to do with me,
eh?"
Sir Reginald dropped the revolver into his pocket without a word, and
passed out of the cabin, closing and locking the door behind him. From
there he went out on deck again, to find the remainder of the party busy
upon the hoisting and securing of the second of the two boats. He
helped them with the work; and then, with a brief word or two of
heartfelt thanks to Mildmay and the others for the skill and resource by
which they had all been enabled to get so cheaply out of such an ugly
adventure, he retired below and joined his wife in Ida's cabin, where
mutual confidences were exchanged. The child was now awake and quite
lively again; and, apart from her poor little chafed and swollen wrists
and ankles, seemed little or nothing the worse for her share of the
adventure. Satisfied, at length, of this, Sir Reginald retired to his
cabin, discarded his saturated clothes, took a bath, and proceeded to
dress for dinner.
That night, over the dinner-table, the question was raised of what
should be done with the prisoner.
"Of course," said Sir Reginald, "we could take him home with us, charge
him with piracy, and get him punished. But that would involve just the
publicity that, for many reasons, I desire to avoid. On the other hand,
I have a very strong feeling that the fellow should be punished, not so
much, perhaps, for what he has actually done, as for what, apparently,
he was perfectly willing to do. What sort of a scheme he had in his
mind when he plotted to steal this ship, it is very difficult to say,
for I think we may take it for granted that he is absolutely ignorant of
her diving and flying powers; but it is clear enough that, whatever his
intentions may have been, he would have--indeed, did--unhesitatingly
leave five of us to perish on that barren rock, which, he knew, afforded
neither food nor water. It is this brutal indifference to the
consequences, to others, of his nefarious scheme, that, to my mind,
calls for punishment."
"It would rightly serve him if you were to take him back and put him
upon the place from which you rescued him," suggested Sziszkinski.
"He would have no right to complain if we did," answered Sir Reginald.
"But that would be equivalent to passing a death-sentence upon him, for
he could not exist there longer than a few days. No, I would not
willingly compass the fellow's death; I entertain no feeling of
vindictiveness toward him. Punish him, however, I will, and that pretty
severely, too, if only to deter him from engaging so light-heartedly in
similar enterprises in the future; and I think that perhaps the case may
be fitly met by marooning him on some suitable spot, where he can keep
himself alive without too great difficulty, but from which he is not
likely to effect his escape very readily."
"Yes," agreed Mildmay; "something of that sort ought to teach him a
good, wholesome lesson. And there should be plenty of suitable spots
not very far from here. We will have out the chart by-and-by, and see
what it has to tell us."
When, later in the evening, the chart of the Pacific was produced, it
was found that the outlying islands of the Caroline group lay little
more than three hundred miles to the northward of the spot at that
moment occupied by the ship, and it was at once determined to try among
them for a suitable marooning place. And, as Sir Reginald was quite
naturally anxious to get rid of his prisoner as speedily as possible,
von Schalckenberg descended to the engine-room and once more turned on
the vapour. The _Flying Fish_ then ascended to the neutral belt, and,
heading due north, proceeded for three hours at full speed; at the
expiration of which period her engines were stopped and she came to a
halt for the remainder of the night.
The dawn was just tingeing the Eastern sky with pallor when Mildmay
opened his eyes and, rising from his exceedingly comfortable bed, walked
over to the port and looked out. Everything was still wrapped in
darkness below him; but upon gazing steadfastly into the gloom for a few
minutes, he believed that he could descry certain darker patches here
and there, at no great distance, which ought to be--and doubtless were--
islands. And thereupon he slid his feet into a pair of soft slippers
and betook himself to the pilot-house, where, by the manipulation of
certain valves, he lowered the ship to within some three hundred feet of
the surface of the sea. He then proceeded outside to the deck, and
carefully inspected his surroundings from that situation. The dawn was
brightening fast, and objects below were beginning to show with some
distinctness. Therefore, although the ship being afloat in the air, and
her engines at rest, he felt no wind, the aspect of the sea beneath him,
and the fact that the _Flying Fish_ was perceptibly drifting to the
southward and westward, told him that a brisk, north-easterly wind was
blowing. At the much lower altitude at which the ship was now floating,
the surrounding islets--there were three of them--showed to the eye at
something very nearly approaching their correct distances apart, and in
the fast-growing light something of their true character also stood
revealed. Thus the solitary observer noted that while two of them, some
six miles apart, were simply extensive reefs of bare coral rock, with a
multitude of narrow, intricate channels of water running hither and
thither through them, the third--some nine or ten miles to the
southward--was an atoll of very similar character to that of the
pearl-island which they had so abruptly left on the preceding day, but
considerably larger, quite an extensive grove of coco-palms growing upon
it. It had all the appearance of being a very suitable spot for the
purpose that he had in his mind; and he therefore retired to the
pilot-house, re-started the engines, and so headed the ship that she
would pass over it. And when, presently, she reached it, he turned her
head-to-wind, so adjusted the speed of her engines that she would just
stem the breeze, and again went out on deck to reconnoitre. He now saw
that the island beneath him was about two miles long by about half a
mile in breadth, well clothed with grass, bushes, and some two or three
hundred coco-palms; and that there was a rivulet of--presumably--fresh
water bubbling up at one point and meandering down to the lagoon, which
was a spacious one of about ten miles long by some seven miles broad,
with a depth of water that appeared ample enough to float anything. The
islet was also uninhabited; for he had a clear view of the whole of it,
and could discover nothing that even remotely resembled a hut; no, not
even with the aid of his binoculars. So, satisfied at length that he
had found the kind of spot that Sir Reginald had in his mind's eye,
Mildmay took the ship over the lagoon, allowed her to settle gently into
the placid water, and let go her anchor. Then, very well content with
himself, he went below, took a bath, and dressed for the day.
He was out on deck again, sauntering fore and aft the deck, and taking
occasional peeps at the island through his binoculars while waiting for
the breakfast-gong to sound, when Sir Reginald appeared. Glancing about
him at his surroundings, he advanced to Mildmay's side as he said--
"Good morning, skipper; glorious morning, isn't it? Where is this spot
that you have brought us to?"
"It is one of the Carolines, without doubt," answered Mildmay; "but
precisely which one I cannot say until I have taken my observations, for
I cannot quite identify it with any laid down on the chart. But,
anyhow, it is an outlying island, and sufficiently far from any of the
usual ship-tracks to give our friend Barker a good wholesome spell of
solitary confinement, to fix upon his memory the evil of his ways,
before he obtains his release. It is amply big enough to support him,
and afford him a sufficiency of exercise; he need never starve with all
these coconut trees to his hand; we can let him have a fishing-line or
two, I suppose, to enable him to provide himself with a change of diet,
and a burning-glass with which to make his fires; and there is a stream
of water--that I take to be fresh--from which he can slake his thirst.
And if you feel disposed to give him to sleep in one of those small
waterproof tents that we have down below, and which we have never yet
had occasion to use, the fellow ought to be able to make himself
exceedingly comfortable, while you will have done quite enough for him
to set your conscience at rest, and a vast deal more than he deserves.
If you like, we can take a run ashore, after breakfast, and have a look
at the place before you definitely decide to land him here."
Mildmay's suggestions were quite in accord with Sir Reginald's own views
on the subject; and when, after breakfast, the whole party landed to
inspect the place, and indulge in a stroll, the island was found to be
so very much better in every way than it had appeared to be, that the
baronet felt he need have no scruples about leaving Barker there.
Accordingly, after luncheon, a tent, half a dozen fishing-lines, a good
lens to serve as a burning-glass, a saw, an axe, and a few other useful
odds and ends, including a small supply of food and groceries--to let
the marooned man down gently, so to speak--were put into the boat; and
Barker was then released from his confinement, conducted up on deck, and
ordered down the side, Sir Reginald and Mildmay following him.
As the boat pushed off and headed for the beach, Barker turned to Sir
Reginald, and said--
"Well, Squire, from the look of things in general, I guess you're goin'
to maroon me, eh? Well, this here island looks a durn sight purtier
than the spot that you took me off of; I won't gainsay that. And are
all these here things in the boat mine? What's this here--a tent? You
don't say! Well now, that's downright handsome of you, Squire, and no
mistake. And here's fishin'-lines, and--" He went on to enumerate the
various articles, until he had gone through them all. Then--
"Here, stop a bit, though," he cried. "I don't see no gun, no powder
and shot; and--where's my share of the pearls what we fished up the
other day?"
Mildmay stared at the man for a moment, and then burst into a hearty
laugh.
"Well," he exclaimed, "you are a cool hand, Barker, if ever there was
one! Your coolness, however, will not avail you here; those things are
all that we intend to give you, and they are a precious sight more than
you deserve."
"All right, Skipper," answered the fellow; "I'm not complainin'. You've
got the bulge on me, and I'm the bottom dog this time. Only I thought
there was no harm in just mentionin' them little matters."
"No harm in the world," agreed Mildmay, cheerily, as the boat's forefoot
slid up on the smooth sand of the beach. "You will be able to amuse
yourself by mentioning a good many other `little matters' from time to
time while you are here. Now, out you go! I will pass the things out
to you."
Half an hour later, the _Flying Fish_ passed out to sea through the
usual gap in the reef, by which time Barker had already got his tent
rigged, a fire lighted, and was cooking his first meal. There could be
no manner of doubt that, whatever else he might be, the man was a
thoroughly sound philosopher.
At noon that day, Mildmay ascertained his exact latitude; and having
thus, in conjunction with his usual morning observations for the
determination of the longitude, fixed the exact position of the ship on
the chart, a course was laid off for the pearl-island. The ship, going
at full speed, rose into the calm belt, and that same afternoon settled
down again in her former berth in the pearl-island lagoon.
On the following morning the four men went ashore and resumed their
disagreeable task of separating the pearls from the putrid mass of
decomposed matter in which they were imbedded; and this time they
persevered until they had dealt with all the oysters that they had
fished up. The result was so enormously rich a harvest of magnificent
pearls that everybody was more than satisfied, and there was a general
consensus of opinion that, under these circumstances, it would be mere
waste of time to stay any longer at the island.
This decision was especially acceptable to Sir Reginald Elphinstone, for
it very soon became evident to him that Barker's daring attempt at
piracy had inflicted a very severe shock upon Lady Olivia, which quickly
developed into an attack of nervous prostration, that rendered an
immediate return home exceedingly desirable; the more so that Ida was
also suffering from shock, although not to nearly so serious an extent
as her mother. The whole question was fully discussed by the men after
dinner, on the evening of the "clearing-up" day, and of course, as might
be expected, it was no sooner recognised by the rest of the party that
their host was anxious to bring the cruise to a close, than they all
united in urging him to take Lady Olivia home at once, and put her under
the care of her own especial physician. Even von Schalckenberg, who had
been looking longingly forward to a hunt for those new zebras, carefully
refrained from mentioning even so much as the word "Africa," but, with
an inward sigh over the lost--or, it might be, only the deferred--
opportunity, joined his persuasions to those of the others. The final
outcome of the discussion was a decision to start for home forthwith at
top speed.
This decision arrived at, a chart of the world was produced, and from it
was determined the homeward course from that little, unknown spot in the
Pacific to Sir Reginald Elphinstone's charming Devonshire seat,
Chudleigh Park. Then the party bade each other good-night, and retired
to their cabins, Mildmay only lingering behind the others long enough to
raise the ship into the neutral belt, put her engines at full speed
ahead, and fix her self-steering apparatus on the ascertained course.
Their flight took them over the Philippine Islands, Burma, Northern
India, Afghanistan, the north-eastern corner of Persia, the southern
skirt of the Caspian Sea, the southern half of the Black Sea, across
Austria-Hungary, northern Switzerland, the north of France, and the
English Channel; and it was accomplished uneventfully, the ship coming
safely and quietly to earth exactly at midnight on the third day of
their journey from the Pacific, after slowing down over the channel to
avoid unwelcome observation on their arrival.
It was such a glorious May morning as is to be found at its best only in
lovely Devon, when, having remained on board for the rest of the night,
and taken breakfast ere leaving the ship, the whole party walked up to
Chudleigh Hall, and announced their return to the astonished staff of
servants. So unexpected an arrival was naturally productive of some
little confusion in the household; but matters very quickly arranged
themselves, and by the evening of that same day, with the assistance of
the farm-waggons belonging to the estate, all the spoils and valuables
of every description had been transferred from the ship to the house.
And when the following morning dawned the _Flying Fish_ had disappeared
from the glade in which she had been lying as mysteriously as she had
dropped into it only twenty-four hours previously.
The professor and Mildmay had likewise vanished in an equally mysterious
manner; but they calmly and smilingly turned up again by a late train,
that same evening, to learn the gratifying news that Lady Elphinstone's
return to the safety of her beautiful home had already produced a most
beneficial effect upon her health, and that there was now every prospect
of an early recovery from the bad effects of the shock that she had so
recently sustained.
Meanwhile, the Sziszkinskis, delighted with the beauty of the county and
the healthfulness of its climate, had spent a busy day prosecuting
inquiries in the neighbourhood for a suitable residence, and had already
found one very greatly to their liking, the purchase of which they
satisfactorily concluded within the week.
And thus ends the story of a very memorable cruise--a cruise which was
destined to have far-reaching results upon the fortunes and the
happiness of some at least of those who participated in it, as well as
to many who never heard a word about it. For the worthy professor's
share of the rubies and pearls that the party brought home with them
provided him with the wealth that was necessary to enable him to
initiate his great philanthropic enterprise; while it is undeniable that
Mildmay spends an unconscionable amount of his time with the
Sziszkinskis. Whether these visits have anything to do with the
whispered rumour that Mlle. Feodorovna is about to exchange her Russian
patronymic for an English name, time perhaps will show.