THE BUCCANEERS' CAVE
It could not have been more than a couple of hours after Mr. McKay
returned to consciousness that the two lads emerged from the forest and
gazed wonderingly upon the rock-strewn plain. Not knowing the course
of events, they had left Terence and Quexo to guard the dwelling-house
against a possible attack.
"Steady, Hoppy!" cautioned Andy, as Ellerton was about to rush towards
the spot where they had left Mr. McKay on the previous evening. "I
don't like the look of things. Suppose that rogue has got the upper
hand? You would be potted to a cert if you rushed into the open in
that reckless style. You work round to the right and I'll go by the
left."
Accordingly the lads, taking advantage of every bit of cover, advanced
with the utmost caution towards the little rift in the dark rock where
Mr. McKay had made his ambush.
There was his rifle, lying on the ground, with no sign of an empty
cartridge to show that the weapon had been discharged. Andy removed
the magazine and found that the cartridges were still intact.
"I can't understand it," he exclaimed. "The pater was evidently in a
hurry, for, you see, the rifle was not placed against a rock, but was
thrown down on the ground. He's too careful, in ordinary
circumstances, to do a thing like that."
"Well, where is he? If Blight had managed to get the better of him he
would have taken away the rifle."
"He may have chased him right across this island. Come on, it's no use
wasting time here; let's try and pick up the trail."
Andy leapt upon the flat top of the rock and assisted his chum to
follow his example. Both took it for granted that there was no further
need for concealment.
From where they stood the ground had the appearance of a broad belt of
flat rock, divided in all directions by narrow crevices, most of which
could be jumped across with the greatest ease, while ahead was the
first of a series of cliffs, which incircled the base of the peak of
the island.
"Look!" exclaimed Ellerton, pointing to a little heap of brown canvas
which was lying on the rock about thirty feet away. "There's your
father's haversack."
The lad was right, for Mr. McKay had discarded the article as he
commenced the pursuit of the fugitive. From this spot the mingled
tracks of the hunter and the hunted were easily traced, by reason of
the deposit of lava dust, which grew thicker as the lads advanced.
Suddenly they came to an abrupt halt. Almost at their feet began the
treacherous slope, ending in the horrible fissure which had been the
cause of Blight's death and Mr. McKay's disaster.
Although the still sliding dust and sand had almost hidden the traces
of Mr. McKay's desperate struggle to save himself from the yawning pit,
there remained sufficient evidences of the disappearance of the
fugitive and his pursuer.
The faces of both lads grew pale. Andy was about to rush towards the
brink of the abyss when Ellerton's detaining hand was laid upon his
shoulder.
"It's nothing more or less than a trap," said he. "You'll----"
The sentence remained unfinished, for from the depths of the chasm a
hollow voice that the lads hardly recognised as Mr. McKay's repeated
the warning:
"Stand back, lads!"
"Are you all right, sir?" shouted Ellerton.
"Yes, but you cannot get to my aid without a rope. Hurry back to the
house, and bring all hands with you. A lantern will also be useful.
Be as quick as you can, for it's pretty doleful down here."
"All right, sir, we'll make haste; but stand by!"
And as a parting gift Ellerton dexterously threw Mr. McKay's haversack,
still containing an ample supply of food, into the pit.
Andy, however, hesitated.
"Are you sure you are all right, dad?"
"Ay, my boy. Why do you ask?"
"Because your voice sounds so strange. I suppose it's the rocks that
affect it. How far did you fall?"
"I hardly know; about thirty feet, I expect; luckily the ground's soft."
"Seen anything of Blight?"
"Dead!" replied Mr. McKay.
With the utmost despatch Ellerton and Andy returned to the house,
where, having told the others all they knew about the accident, they
collected a couple of coils of rope, some lanterns, two strong
crowbars, a hammer, and, at Ellerton's suggestion, two six-inch pulleys.
The four lads--for even Quexo insisted on coming, though he was still
in a weak state of health--set off for the scene of the disaster, Andy
and Terence carrying the bulk of the appliances, while Ellerton and the
mulatto took only what they could place in their belts.
Cheering up the prisoner with a lusty shout of encouragement, the
rescuers proceeded to drive the crowbars into a convenient crevice in
the rocks, so that one was about ten feet nearer to the chasm than the
other.
From the base of the outside bar to the top of the inner one, Ellerton
lashed a piece of rope, then making sure that the "crows" would bear
any strain that was likely to be put upon them, he attached a pulley to
the base of the innermost.
Through the block was rove one of the coils of rope, one end of which
he tied round his waist. Then, taking the lighted lantern in his hand,
he walked cautiously towards the brink of the pit, the others paying
out the rope as he went.
Before he had gone a distance of five yards the pumice dust began to
slide away from under his feet, causing him to sit down on the slope,
while the avalanche nearly blinded Mr. McKay as he was looking upwards
for the expected relief.
"Come back, Hoppy!" shouted Andy. "Remember your arm."
"I do," replied Ellerton with a laugh. "It's giving me good cause to
remember it, but I mean to make the best of it. You fellows can do
more good by hauling on that rope than I can, so slack away."
Terence and Andy accordingly "slacked away," and Ellerton slid another
yard or so towards the brink. He was then able to lower the lantern to
Mr. McKay, and at the same time he made the discovery that the shaft
was too rugged to allow a man to be hauled up by a rope without serious
danger of the rope being chafed through by the sharp projections.
He explained the situation to Mr. McKay, who fully realised the force
of his remarks.
"Never mind, we'll manage it right enough," concluded Ellerton
cheerily, and giving the word he was hauled back to where his
companions stood.
"We must have one of those trees down," he said, pointing to the
distant palms.
Accordingly the lads set off for the forest, where without much
difficulty a stout trunk, thirty feet in length, was felled. The work
of transporting it to the brink of the pit was a more tedious business,
and an hour elapsed ere they succeeded in slinging the timber across
the yawning gulf, where it rested with about ten feet imbedded in the
soft lava on either side of the hole.
"Now you can do this part of the work better than I," said Ellerton to
Andy. "Lash this block to the centre of the trunk, and reeve a rope
through it."
This Andy managed to do. He also lashed a smaller piece of timber at a
distance of about four feet below the tree-trunk, so as to form a
platform to enable Mr. McKay to obtain a clear spring when hauled up as
far as the pulley would permit.
"All ready, pater?" asked the son.
"Wait a moment, Andy. Could you manage to come down here, do you
think?"
"I'll try. I say, you fellows, I'm going down, so pay out the rope."
Andy swung himself from the main beam upon the lower piece of timber,
and, summoning up his courage, launched himself off from the swaying
perch.
Slowly he descended, spinning round on the straining rope like a joint
on a meat-jack, while at almost every second his shoulders or hips came
into contact with the jagged walls of the shaft. To avoid the dust he
kept his head bent downwards, and as he did so he saw the glimmer of
the lantern from beneath.
"Thirty feet, do you call it?" he asked, as his feet touched the floor
of the pit, and his father grasped his hand. "It's sixty at the very
least."
"I don't think so," was the reply. "You see, looking down from a
height the distance always appears greater. Had the floor been hard
rock, I should have been killed or at least seriously injured. But to
change the subject, look here."
Mr. McKay had, during the long interval of waiting since Ellerton had
lowered the lantern, made another tour of exploration, and now he led
the way towards the tunnel where he had found an old musket.
He had made a strange discovery. At no very distant date a long cavern
of varying height and breadth existed here. Where its entrance was Mr.
McKay had not found out; but a volcanic disturbance had caused a mighty
fissure to divide the original cave in two, as an examination of the
strata proved conclusively.
Casting off the rope from around his waist, Andy followed his father
into the tunnel-like cavern, stooping as he did so, for its mouth was
barely five feet in height.
At ten paces from its mouth the passage turned almost at right angles
to its former direction, and expanded into a broad and lofty chamber.
Almost covering the width of the four sides was a range of arm-racks
filled with old-time weapons. The candle-light flashed upon the bright
barrels of musket and pistol, and glittered on the steel of bayonet,
cutlass, sword, and pike, for so dry was the atmosphere that a couple
of centuries had not left any appreciable trace on the metal.
"Great Scott! How did these get here?" asked Andy, after he had
recovered from his astonishment.
"It's the armoury of some long-forgotten buccaneer," replied his
father. "I've had plenty of time to look round since you first sent me
the lantern, and none of these weapons are later than the earlier part
of the eighteenth century, or the last part of the seventeenth. See,
these muskets have Vauban locks, a combination of flint and matchlock.
These kinds of muskets were used at the battles of Steenkirke and
Landen. You can also see that all these bayonets are the plug variety,
that is to say they were plugged into the barrel of the musket, thus
temporarily converting it from a firearm to a pike. These are
evidently the original bayonets used in the reign of James II., so that
we can fix the period at which they were stored here to within a few
years, since the socket type were introduced early in the reign of
William III."
In this strain Mr. McKay continued, forgetful of time and place, till
Ellerton's voice was heard shouting to know of anything was amiss.
"We had better retrace our footsteps," observed Mr. McKay, "or the
others will be getting alarmed. When we've found an easier way of
descending into this pit--for I do not want another fall like that, I
can assure you--we'll make a thorough exploration of the place."
Accordingly father and son made their way back towards the shaft, but
as they turned the bend of the passage they found themselves confronted
by Terence and Ellerton, each of whom carried a lantern.
"Hullo! How did you descend?" asked Andy, who was very astonished at
seeing his friends down there.
"I lowered Terence, and then let myself down," replied Ellerton.
"Then, how in the name of goodness, do you expect to get back?"
demanded Andy. "Quexo cannot haul us up."
"By the same means as I came down," replied the young sailor calmly.
"It's easy enough with a bos'un's chair."
"Then all I can say is that I hope you lashed the pulley on securely,"
rejoined Andy with evident concern. "If that goes wrong, we're
trapped."
"Don't worry," replied Ellerton, somewhat ruffled at the slur cast upon
his work.
"Come, come," observed Mr. McKay good-humouredly. "Don't quarrel. Now
we are here we might as well continue our exploration."
Once more the armoury was inspected, the lads showing the greatest
interest in the weapons, snapping the flints in order to see the sparks
fly from the steel.
"Be careful, some of these muskets may be loaded," cautioned Mr. McKay.
"Always make it a practice to point a weapon away from anybody when
fooling about like that."
Hardly had he spoken, when a tremendous explosion shook the cave, the
noise being intensified by the confined space, and Terence sat on the
floor rubbing his shoulder, while a smoking musket lay by his side.
"You're a young ass," observed Andy. "Are you hurt?"
"Didn't know it was loaded," replied the youth, still clapping his hand
to his shoulder.
"That's what they all say after an accident has occurred," said Mr.
McKay. "By some means or the other the musket was stored without the
charge being drawn. However, thank goodness it's no worse, though the
concussion might have brought the roof down on our heads."
Presently Ellerton, who had wandered behind one of the arms-racks that
stood about three feet from the wall, exclaimed:
"Here's another passage."
"Hold on, then," cautioned Mr. McKay. "Wait till I come. There might
be a pitfall."
Carefully examining the floor of the tunnel, the explorers advanced
about ten yards, when further progress was prevented by a door covered
with flat iron bars.
"H'm!" ejaculated Mr. McKay. "What have we here?"
Terence was dispatched to bring a dagger and a pike from the armoury,
but on further thoughts Mr. McKay forbade the lads to tamper with the
door.
"Then we are done for the time being," remarked Andy. "Shall we go
back for our axes?"
"A crowbar would be the thing," replied Ellerton. "But we want the two
we brought."
"Probably it's as well we haven't got them," added Mr. McKay. "To tell
the truth, I have my suspicions of that door, so we'll defer the
opening of it till a more convenient time."
Reluctantly the lads retraced their steps to the open chasm, where
Blight's body lay.
"We must bury him as soon as possible," said Mr. McKay. "There's no
place here, so we must haul the body to the surface, and dig a grave in
the soft earth."
"There's no soil nearer than the edge of the palm-forest," observed
Andy.
"I know, but it cannot be helped."
"Isn't there a rift or a hole in the floor where we could bury him?"
asked Ellerton. "After all, where does it matter, so long as he
receives Christian burial?"
"We may as well look," assented Mr. McKay, and taking one of the
lanterns he commenced to explore that side of the chasm which lay
opposite to the tunnel leading to the buccaneers' armoury.
The first ten or twelve paces were knee deep in the pumice dust, but on
approaching the wall of the abyss the floor was fairly hard, being
protected from falling dirt and sand by the overhang of the shaft.
On reaching the stone face of the rift the explorers followed its
general direction without discovering any crack or crevice likely to
suit their purpose, till they stumbled upon another tunnel-like shaft,
similar and almost opposite to the one they had already traversed.
This tunnel was about six feet in height and four in width, and ran in
a slightly upward direction. Evidently it was at one time a
continuation of the other passage.
"Let's see where this leads to," exclaimed Ellerton, full of curiosity
and enthusiasm. "I believe it leads to the open air."
"I think not," replied Mr. McKay, pointing to the smooth, even steps in
the floor of the tunnel. "See, the floor is as dry as a bone, and
covered with a thick deposit of dust. If this tunnel is open, the
tropical rains would have washed the dust away."
"Then where does it lead to?" continued Ellerton. "Those arms must
have been brought in by some means."
"We'll carry on and see who's right."
It was a long walk. Up and up ran the tunnel, turning slightly to the
right, yet maintaining a uniform height and breadth throughout its
entire length.
"This passage has been hewn out," announced Mr. McKay.
"Hasn't the other?" asked Andy.
"Only in parts. The armoury is a natural cave. Perhaps there was a
smaller tunnel here before, and the people who discovered it enlarged
it. It's about time we came to the end."
"Now who's right, sir?" exclaimed Ellerton triumphantly, as the pale
gleam of daylight was visible from a curve of the tunnel.
"Not this child," replied Mr. McKay, without the faintest trace of
chagrin. In fact, he was glad to know he was in the wrong, for he did
not relish the task of tackling the shaft and the treacherous,
dust-covered slope at its edge.
A few sparse bushes masked the mouth of the tunnel, and upon these
being thrust aside, the adventurers found themselves at the foot of the
lowermost range of cliffs and within a hundred yards of the abyss which
had been the cause of their presence in the tunnel.
Standing close to where the crowbars were driven into the rock was
Quexo, looking the picture of misery, for he was perfectly convinced in
his own mind that all his companions had met with disaster.
"Quexo!" shouted Andy. "Quexo! Here we are!"
The mulatto's joy was curious to behold. He danced, swung his sound
arm over his head, and cut fantastic capers, the tears running down his
cheeks the while as he blurted out unintelligible sentences in mingled
English and Spanish.
"Well, we're safe once more, thanks to Providence," exclaimed Mr. McKay.
All the explorers looked rather disreputable, but Mr. McKay in
particular was little better than a walking scarecrow. His clothes
were in rags, his face clotted with dried blood and dust, while, now
the excitement was over, he once more began to feel stiff and bruised
from head to foot.
"By Jove, we've forgotten what we went to look for!" exclaimed Andy.
"Yes," replied Mr. McKay. "We must bring the poor fellow's body up
after all."
"By the tunnel?"
"No, by the shaft."
"Then here goes," said Ellerton quietly, and drawing up one of the
ropes he fastened it round his waist. Lantern in hand he slid down the
sand, and getting astride the tree-trunk, edged his way along till he
reached the swaying piece of timber. The next minute he was lowering
himself into the abyss.
"He's a plucky chap," commented Mr. McKay as they awaited Ellerton's
signal.
"And with an arm like that," added Terence admiringly. "He really
seems to make light of it."
The watchers had not long to wait.
"Haul away!" shouted Ellerton, and heaving slowly on the rope they
brought the body of the unfortunate Blight to the surface, where the
young seaman soon rejoined the others.
Between them they bore the corpse across the rocky plain to the edge of
the palm-forest, where they dug a shallow grave with their axes.
Here the body of the ex-pearler was laid to rest, Mr. McKay recited a
few prayers, and the earth was heaped over the corpse, a pile of heavy
stones being placed over the grave to mark the spot.
This depressing task completed, they hastened homewards to enjoy a
welcome meal and a still more desired rest.
For the next two or three weeks all hands were too busy to think of
making a further exploration of the buccaneers' cave.
The damage wrought by the savages required a considerable amount of
patience and hard work to set to rights. A new storehouse had to be
constructed, and the various stores that had not been totally destroyed
were collected and placed once more under cover.
Terence had, with considerable ingenuity, contrived to erect an
electric alarm, so that the moment a foot was placed upon the lowermost
path leading up to the house, a bell would ring in the sleeping
quarters.
He also succeeded in rigging up the searchlight salved from the wreck,
and after many failures the apparatus worked to perfection.
Thereafter every night its great beam was directed skywards, the
International Signal, "N.G." (want immediate assistance), being flashed
in the hope of attracting the attention of any vessel within seventy
miles of the island.
The little party was now completely isolated from the rest of the world.
Before the destruction of the yawl they had the means of making even a
fairly long passage, but now this was denied them, for it would be
utter madness to attempt to go to sea in one of the captured canoes.
So, realising that the sooner they were in possession of a seaworthy
craft the better it would be for them, the inhabitants of McKay's
Island debated whether it would be advisable to construct a new decked
craft, convert one of the canoes into a cabin boat, or to salvage the
wreck of the yawl and patch her up sufficiently to enable them to reach
Tahiti.
Even with the appliances at their command, Mr. McKay reckoned that it
would take a twelvemonth to make a boat large enough for their
requirements. As regards reconstructing one of the canoes, he came to
the conclusion that the work might be done, but the canoe being without
a keel would be a bad craft in a sea-way; while her light construction
would not allow a keel to be fixed without a grave risk of straining
the vessel in the first breeze she encountered.
Finally, it was decided that the captured canoes should be utilised to
attempt the salvage of the yawl, and on the first fine day the actual
work was put in hand.
By means of rollers and a powerful jack, three of the canoes were
launched and taken to the scene of the savages' wanton act.
The wrecked boat could be clearly discerned lying on the sandy bed of
the lagoon in six fathoms of water, with a slight list to starboard.
Anchoring two of the native craft close to the sunken yawl, Ellerton
and Andy contrived to pass the bight of a chain under her bows, the
ends of the chain being made fast to two stout cables. A similar
device was employed to engage the stern of the wreck, although the fact
that her keel was imbedded in the sand added to the difficulty of the
task.
Two massive trunks of palm-trees were then placed across the gunwales
of both canoes, converting them into a kind of pontoon.
These preparations being completed, all that was at present necessary
was to wait till dead low water.
All hands knew that it would be a tedious job, for the rise of the tide
was but five feet at springs and only two feet at neaps, so what work
had to be done must be performed during the spring tides.
At dead low water all the slack of the four hawsers was taken in, and
once more came a tedious wait for the rising tide.
Gradually the strain on the ropes increased, till the timbers groaned
under the weight of the sunken boat and the canoes sank lower in the
water.
"Hurrah! She's lifting!" shouted Ellerton, and allowing sufficient
time for the yawl to be lifted clear of the bottom, Mr. McKay and his
assistants began to haul on an anchor cable which had been previously
laid towards the shore.
Slowly the ungainly pontoon with its heavy burden began to move
shorewards, when suddenly the bows of the canoes rose high in the air,
throwing their occupants on their backs. One of the hawsers had
slipped, and the work of six long hours was wasted.
"Hard lines!" exclaimed Terence dolefully.
"It is, I admit," replied Ellerton cheerfully. "Still, we must not
expect to have everything our own way. Try, try, try again, as the old
saw says."
"We can do no more to-day," said Mr. McKay. "We'll leave the canoes
moored to the yawl, however. That will save time to-morrow."
"I think, if you don't mind, sir, we'll try and slip the sling under
her again," said Ellerton. "You see, if we do that there won't be so
much chance of the canoes drifting and consequently slipping the other
sling."
"Quite so," replied Mr. McKay. "It may save us some hours of hard
work."
So directly the water cleared, for the settling of the wrecked boat had
churned up the sand till she was practically invisible, the chain sling
was again placed in position.
This time this part of the business was done more satisfactorily, as
the yawl was resting on a hummock of shell and sand amidships, so that
above five feet of the after part of her keel was clear of the bed of
the lagoon.
"I hope it doesn't come on to blow to-night," remarked Ellerton, as the
party rowed ashore. "If it does, then good-bye to the yawl."
"The glass is steady," replied Mr. McKay. "If it should pipe up, we
must slip the slings and let the canoes take their chance."
That afternoon Ellerton and Andy were busy preparing additional slings,
for the former was resolved not to have a repetition of the morning's
failure if it could be avoided.
Just before low water on the following morning, the salvage party set
out for the wreck. As Mr. McKay had predicted, the weather was fine,
there being no swell to speak of within the lagoon, though as usual the
breakers were lashing themselves into milk-white foam upon the outer
fringe of the reef.
Once more the slings were hove tight, and as the tide rose, the wrecked
craft was again lifted from her ocean bed. Directly the yawl was
"lively," as Ellerton expressed it, two more slings were passed
underneath her keel so as to make doubly sure of her being swung
properly.