A DISCOVERY
Some bold adventurers disdain
The limits of their little reign,
And unknown regions dare descry;
Still, as they run, they look behind,
They hear a voice in every wind
And snatch a fearful joy--_Gray_
I have said that I used often in the daytime, when not at school, to go
to the churchyard, because being on a little rise, there was the best
view of the sea to be had from it; and on a fine day you could watch the
French privateers creeping along the cliffs under the Snout, and lying in
wait for an Indiaman or up-channel trader. There were at Moonfleet few
boys of my own age, and none that I cared to make my companion; so I was
given to muse alone, and did so for the most part in the open air, all
the more because my aunt did not like to see an idle boy, with muddy
boots, about her house.
For a few weeks, indeed, after the day that I had surprised Elzevir and
Ratsey, I kept away from the church, fearing to meet them there again;
but a little later resumed my visits, and saw no more of them. Now, my
favourite seat in the churchyard was the flat top of a raised stone tomb,
which stands on the south-east of the church. I have heard Mr. Glennie
call it an altar-tomb, and in its day it had been a fine monument, being
carved round with festoons of fruit and flowers; but had suffered so much
from the weather, that I never was able to read the lettering on it, or
to find out who had been buried beneath. Here I chose most to sit, not
only because it had a flat and convenient top, but because it was
screened from the wind by a thick clump of yew-trees. These yews had
once, I think, completely surrounded it, but had either died or been cut
down on the south side, so that anyone sitting on the grave-top was snug
from the weather, and yet possessed a fine prospect over the sea. On the
other three sides, the yews grew close and thick, embowering the tomb
like the high back of a fireside chair; and many times in autumn I have
seen the stone slab crimson with the fallen waxy berries, and taken some
home to my aunt, who liked to taste them with a glass of sloe-gin after
her Sunday dinner. Others beside me, no doubt, found this tomb a
comfortable seat and look-out; for there was quite a path worn to it on
the south side, though all the times I had visited it I had never seen
anyone there.
So it came about that on a certain afternoon in the beginning of
February, in the year 1758, I was sitting on this tomb looking out to
sea. Though it was so early in the year, the air was soft and warm as a
May day, and so still that I could hear the drumming of turnips that
Gaffer George was flinging into a cart on the hillside, near half a mile
away. Ever since the floods of which I have spoken, the weather had been
open, but with high winds, and little or no rain. Thus as the land dried
after the floods there began to open cracks in the heavy clay soil on
which Moonfleet is built, such as are usually only seen with us in the
height of summer. There were cracks by the side of the path in the
sea-meadows between the village and the church, and cracks in the
churchyard itself, and one running right up to this very tomb.
It must have been past four o'clock in the afternoon, and I was for
returning to tea at my aunt's, when underneath the stone on which I sat I
heard a rumbling and crumbling, and on jumping off saw that the crack in
the ground had still further widened, just where it came up to the tomb,
and that the dry earth had so shrunk and settled that there was a hole
in the ground a foot or more across. Now this hole reached under the big
stone that formed one side of the tomb, and falling on my hands and knees
and looking down it, I perceived that there was under the monument a
larger cavity, into which the hole opened. I believe there never was boy
yet who saw a hole in the ground, or a cave in a hill, or much more an
underground passage, but longed incontinently to be into it and discover
whither it led. So it was with me; and seeing that the earth had fallen
enough into the hole to open a way under the stone, I slipped myself in
feet foremost, dropped down on to a heap of fallen mould, and found that
I could stand upright under the monument itself.
Now this was what I had expected, for I thought that there had been below
this grave a vault, the roof of which had given way and let the earth
fall in. But as soon as my eyes were used to the dimmer light, I saw that
it was no such thing, but that the hole into which I had crept was only
the mouth of a passage, which sloped gently down in the direction of the
church. My heart fell to thumping with eagerness and surprise, for I
thought I had made a wonderful discovery, and that this hidden way would
certainly lead to great things, perhaps even to Blackbeard's hoard; for
ever since Mr. Glennie's tale I had constantly before my eyes a vision of
the diamond and the wealth it was to bring me. The passage was two paces
broad, as high as a tall man, and cut through the soil, without bricks or
any other lining; and what surprised me most was that it did not seem
deserted nor mouldy and cob-webbed, as one would expect such a place to
be, but rather a well-used thoroughfare; for I could see the soft clay
floor was trodden with the prints of many boots, and marked with a trail
as if some heavy thing had been dragged over it.
So I set out down the passage, reaching out my hand before me lest I
should run against anything in the dark, and sliding my feet slowly to
avoid pitfalls in the floor. But before I had gone half a dozen paces,
the darkness grew so black that I was frightened, and so far from going
on was glad to turn sharp about, and see the glimmer of light that came
in through the hole under the tomb. Then a horror of the darkness seized
me, and before I well knew what I was about I found myself wriggling my
body up under the tombstone on to the churchyard grass, and was once more
in the low evening sunlight and the soft sweet air.
Home I ran to my aunt's, for it was past tea-time, and beside that I knew
I must fetch a candle if I were ever to search out the passage; and to
search it I had well made up my mind, no matter how much I was scared for
this moment. My aunt gave me but a sorry greeting when I came into the
kitchen, for I was late and hot. She never said much when displeased, but
had a way of saying nothing, which was much worse; and would only reply
yes or no, and that after an interval, to anything that was asked of her.
So the meal was silent enough, for she had finished before I arrived, and
I ate but little myself being too much occupied with the thought of my
strange discovery, and finding, beside, the tea lukewarm and the victuals
not enticing.
You may guess that I said nothing of what I had seen, but made up my mind
that as soon as my aunt's back was turned I would get a candle and
tinder-box, and return to the churchyard. The sun was down before Aunt
Jane gave thanks for what we had received, and then, turning to me, she
said in a cold and measured voice:
'John, I have observed that you are often out and about of nights,
sometimes as late as half past seven or eight. Now, it is not seemly for
young folk to be abroad after dark, and I do not choose that my nephew
should be called a gadabout. "What's bred in the bone will come out in
the flesh", and 'twas with such loafing that your father began his wild
ways, and afterwards led my poor sister such a life as never was, till
the mercy of Providence took him away.'
Aunt Jane often spoke thus of my father, whom I never remembered, but
believe him to have been an honest man and good fellow to boot, if
something given to roaming and to the contraband.
'So understand', she went on, 'that I will not have you out again this
evening, no, nor any other evening, after dusk. Bed is the place for
youth when night falls, but if this seem to you too early you can sit
with me for an hour in the parlour, and I will read you a discourse of
Doctor Sherlock that will banish vain thoughts, and leave you in a fit
frame for quiet sleep.'
So she led the way into the parlour, took the book from the shelf, put it
on the table within the little circle of light cast by a shaded candle,
and began. It was dull enough, though I had borne such tribulations
before, and the drone of my aunt's voice would have sent me to sleep, as
it had done at other times, even in a straight-backed chair, had I not
been so full of my discovery, and chafed at this delay. Thus all the time
my aunt read of spiritualities and saving grace, I had my mind on
diamonds and all kinds of mammon, for I never doubted that Blackbeard's
treasure would be found at the end of that secret passage. The sermon
finished at last, and my aunt closed the book with a stiff 'good night'
for me. I was for giving her my formal kiss, but she made as if she did
not see me and turned away; so we went upstairs each to our own room, and
I never kissed Aunt Jane again.
There was a moon three-quarters full, already in the sky, and on
moonlight nights I was allowed no candle to show me to bed. But on that
night I needed none, for I never took off my clothes, having resolved to
wait till my aunt was asleep, and then, ghosts or no ghosts, to make my
way back to the churchyard. I did not dare to put off that visit even
till the morning, lest some chance passer-by should light upon the hole,
and so forestall me with Blackbeard's treasure.
Thus I lay wide awake on my bed watching the shadow of the tester-post
against the whitewashed wall, and noting how it had moved, by degrees, as
the moon went farther round. At last, just as it touched the picture of
the Good Shepherd which hung over the mantelpiece, I heard my aunt
snoring in her room, and knew that I was free. Yet I waited a few minutes
so that she might get well on with her first sleep, and then took off my
boots, and in stockinged feet slipped past her room and down the stairs.
How stair, handrail, and landing creaked that night, and how my feet and
body struck noisily against things seen quite well but misjudged in the
effort not to misjudge them! And yet there was the note of safety still
sounding, for the snoring never ceased, and the sleeper woke not, though
her waking then might have changed all my life. So I came safely to the
kitchen, and there put in my pocket one of the best winter candles and
the tinder-box, and as I crept out of the room heard suddenly how loud
the old clock was ticking, and looking up saw the bright brass band
marking half past ten on the dial.
Out in the street I kept in the shadow of the houses as far as I might,
though all was silent as the grave; indeed, I think that when the moon is
bright a great hush falls always upon Nature, as though she was taken up
in wondering at her own beauty. Everyone was fast asleep in Moonfleet and
there was no light in any window; only when I came opposite the Why Not?
I saw from the red glow behind the curtains that the bottom room was lit
up, so Elzevir was not yet gone to bed. It was strange, for the Why Not?
had been shut up early for many a long night past, and I crossed over
cautiously to see if I could make out what was going forward. But that
was not to be done, for the panes were thickly steamed over; and this
surprised me more as showing that there was a good company inside.
Moreover, as I stood and listened I could hear a mutter of deep voices
inside, not as of roisterers, but of sober men talking low.
Eagerness would not let me wait long, and I was off across the meadows
towards the church, though not without sad misgivings as soon as the last
house was left well behind me. At the churchyard wall my courage had
waned somewhat: it seemed a shameless thing to come to rifle Blackbeard's
treasure just in the very place and hour that Blackbeard loved; and as I
passed the turnstile I half-expected that a tall figure, hairy and
evil-eyed, would spring out from the shadow on the north side of the
church. But nothing stirred, and the frosty grass sounded crisp under my
feet as I made across the churchyard, stepping over the graves and
keeping always out of the shadows, towards the black clump of yew-trees
on the far side.
When I got round the yews, there was the tomb standing out white against
them, and at the foot of the tomb was the hole like a patch of black
velvet spread upon the ground, it was so dark. Then, for a moment, I
thought that Blackbeard might be lying in wait in the bottom of the hole,
and I stood uncertain whether to go on or back. I could catch the rustle
of the water on the beach--not of any waves, for the bay was smooth as
glass, but just a lipper at the fringe; and wishing to put off with any
excuse the descent into the passage, though I had quite resolved to make
it, I settled with myself that I would count the water wash twenty times,
and at the twentieth would let myself down into the hole. Only seven
wavelets had come in when I forgot to count, for there, right in the
middle of the moon's path across the water, lay a lugger moored broadside
to the beach. She was about half a mile out, but there was no mistake,
for though her sails were lowered her masts and hull stood out black
against the moonlight. Here was a fresh reason for delay, for surely one
must consider what this craft could be, and what had brought her here.
She was too small for a privateer, too large for a fishing-smack, and
could not be a revenue boat by her low freeboard in the waist; and 'twas
a strange thing for a boat to cast anchor in the midst of Moonfleet Bay
even on a night so fine as this. Then while I watched I saw a blue flare
in the bows, only for a moment, as if a man had lit a squib and flung it
overboard, but I knew from it she was a contrabandier, and signalling
either to the shore or to a mate in the offing. With that, courage came
back, and I resolved to make this flare my signal for getting down into
the hole, screwing my heart up with the thought that if Blackbeard was
really waiting for me there, 'twould be little good to turn tail now, for
he would be after me and could certainly run much faster than I. Then I
took one last look round, and down into the hole forthwith, the same way
as I had got down earlier in the day. So on that February night John
Trenchard found himself standing in the heap of loose fallen mould at the
bottom of the hole, with a mixture of courage and cowardice in his heart,
but overruling all a great desire to get at Blackbeard's diamond.
Out came tinder-box and candle, and I was glad indeed when the light
burned up bright enough to show that no one, at any rate, was standing by
my side. But then there was the passage, and who could say what might be
lurking there? Yet I did not falter, but set out on this adventurous
journey, walking very slowly indeed--but that was from fear of
pitfalls--and nerving myself with the thought of the great diamond which
surely would be found at the end of the passage. What should I not be
able to do with such wealth? I would buy a nag for Mr. Glennie, a new
boat for Ratsey, and a silk gown for Aunt Jane, in spite of her being so
hard with me as on this night. And thus I would make myself the greatest
man in Moonfleet, richer even than Mr. Maskew, and build a stone house in
the sea-meadows with a good prospect of the sea, and marry Grace Maskew
and live happily, and fish. I walked on down the passage, reaching out
the candle as far as might be in front of me, and whistling to keep
myself company, yet saw neither Blackbeard nor anyone else. All the way
there were footprints on the floor, and the roof was black as with smoke
of torches, and this made me fear lest some of those who had been there
before might have made away with the diamond. Now, though I have spoken
of this journey down the passage as though it were a mile long, and
though it verily seemed so to me that night, yet I afterwards found it
was not more than twenty yards or thereabouts; and then I came upon a
stone wall which had once blocked the road, but was now broken through so
as to make a ragged doorway into a chamber beyond. There I stood on the
rough sill of the door, holding my breath and reaching out my candle
arm's-length into the darkness, to see what sort of a place this was
before I put foot into it. And before the light had well time to fall on
things, I knew that I was underneath the church, and that this chamber
was none other than the Mohune Vault.
It was a large room, much larger, I think, than the schoolroom where Mr.
Glennie taught us, but not near so high, being only some nine feet from
floor to roof. I say floor, though in reality there was none, but only a
bottom of soft wet sand; and when I stepped down on to it my heart beat
very fiercely, for I remembered what manner of place I was entering, and
the dreadful sounds which had issued from it that Sunday morning so short
a time before. I satisfied myself that there was nothing evil lurking in
the dark corners, or nothing visible at least, and then began to look
round and note what was to be seen. Walls and roof were stone, and at one
end was a staircase closed by a great flat stone at top--that same stone
which I had often seen, with a ring in it, in the floor of the church
above. All round the sides were stone shelves, with divisions between
them like great bookcases, but instead of books there were the coffins of
the Mohunes. Yet these lay only at the sides, and in the middle of the
room was something very different, for here were stacked scores of casks,
kegs, and runlets, from a storage butt that might hold thirty gallons
down to a breaker that held only one. They were marked all of them in
white paint on the end with figures and letters, that doubtless set forth
the quality to those that understood. Here indeed was a discovery, and
instead of picking up at the end of the passage a little brass or silver
casket, which had only to be opened to show Blackbeard's diamond gleaming
inside, I had stumbled on the Mohunes' vault, and found it to be nothing
but a cellar of gentlemen of the contraband, for surely good liquor would
never be stored in so shy a place if it ever had paid the excise.
As I walked round this stack of casks my foot struck sharply on the edge
of a butt, which must have been near empty, and straightway came from it
the same hollow, booming sound (only fainter) which had so frightened us
in church that Sunday morning. So it was the casks, and not the coffins,
that had been knocking one against another; and I was pleased with
myself, remembering how I had reasoned that coffin-wood could never give
that booming sound.
It was plain enough that the whole place had been under water: the floor
was still muddy, and the green and sweating walls showed the flood-mark
within two feet of the roof; there was a wisp or two of fine seaweed that
had somehow got in, and a small crab was still alive and scuttled across
the corner, yet the coffins were but little disturbed. They lay on the
shelves in rows, one above the other, and numbered twenty-three in all:
most were in lead, and so could never float, but of those in wood some
were turned slantways in their niches, and one had floated right away and
been left on the floor upside down in a corner when the waters went back.
First I fell to wondering as to whose cellar this was, and how so much
liquor could have been brought in with secrecy; and how it was I had
never seen anything of the contraband-men, though it was clear that they
had made this flat tomb the entrance to their storehouse, as I had made
it my seat. And then I remembered how Ratsey had tried to scare me with
talk of Blackbeard; and how Elzevir, who had never been seen at church
before, was there the Sunday of the noises; and how he had looked ill at
ease whenever the noise came, though he was bold as a lion; and how I had
tripped upon him and Ratsey in the churchyard; and how Master Ratsey lay
with his ear to the wall: and putting all these things together and
casting them up, I thought that Elzevir and Ratsey knew as much as any
about this hiding-place. These reflections gave me more courage, for I
considered that the tales of Blackbeard walking or digging among the
graves had been set afloat to keep those that were not wanted from the
place, and guessed now that when I saw the light moving in the churchyard
that night I went to fetch Dr. Hawkins, it was no corpse-candle, but a
lantern of smugglers running a cargo. Then, having settled these
important matters, I began to turn over in my mind how to get at the
treasure; and herein was much cast down, for in this place was neither
casket nor diamond, but only coffins and double-Hollands. So it was that,
having no better plan, I set to work to see whether I could learn
anything from the coffins themselves; but with little success, for the
lead coffins had no names upon them, and on such of the wooden coffins as
bore plates I found the writing to be Latin, and so rusted over that I
could make nothing of it.
Soon I wished I had not come at all, considering that the diamond had
vanished into air, and it was a sad thing to be cabined with so many dead
men. It moved me, too, to see pieces of banners and funeral shields, and
even shreds of wreaths that dear hearts had put there a century ago, now
all ruined and rotten--some still clinging, water-sodden, to the coffins,
and some trampled in the sand of the floor. I had spent some time in this
bootless search, and was resolved to give up further inquiry and foot it
home, when the clock in the tower struck midnight. Surely never was
ghostly hour sounded in more ghostly place. Moonfleet peal was known over
half the county, and the finest part of it was the clock bell. 'Twas said
that in times past (when, perhaps, the chimes were rung more often than
now) the voice of this bell had led safe home boats that were lost in the
fog; and this night its clangour, mellow and profound, reached even to
the vault. Bim-bom it went, bim-bom, twelve heavy thuds that shook the
walls, twelve resonant echoes that followed, and then a purring and
vibration of the air, so that the ear could not tell when it ended.
I was wrought up, perhaps, by the strangeness of the hour and place, and
my hearing quicker than at other times, but before the tremor of the bell
was quite passed away I knew there was some other sound in the air, and
that the awful stillness of the vault was broken. At first I could not
tell what this new sound was, nor whence it came, and now it seemed a
little noise close by, and now a great noise in the distance. And then it
grew nearer and more defined, and in a moment I knew it was the sound of
voices talking. They must have been a long way off at first, and for a
minute, that seemed as an age, they came no nearer. What a minute was
that to me! Even now, so many years after, I can recall the anguish of
it, and how I stood with ears pricked up, eyes starting, and a clammy
sweat upon my face, waiting for those speakers to come. It was the
anguish of the rabbit at the end of his burrow, with the ferret's eyes
gleaming in the dark, and gun and lurcher waiting at the mouth of the
hole. I was caught in a trap, and knew beside that contraband-men had a
way of sealing prying eyes and stilling babbling tongues; and I
remembered poor Cracky Jones found dead in the churchyard, and how men
_said_ he had met Blackbeard in the night.
These were but the thoughts of a second, but the voices were nearer, and
I heard a dull thud far up the passage, and knew that a man had jumped
down from the churchyard into the hole. So I took a last stare round,
agonizing to see if there was any way of escape; but the stone walls and
roof were solid enough to crush me, and the stack of casks too closely
packed to hide more than a rat. There was a man speaking now from the
bottom of the hole to others in the churchyard, and then my eyes were led
as by a loadstone to a great wooden coffin that lay by itself on the top
shelf, a full six feet from the ground. When I saw the coffin I knew that
I was respited, for, as I judged, there was space between it and the wall
behind enough to contain my little carcass; and in a second I had put out
the candle, scrambled up the shelves, half-stunned my senses with dashing
my head against the roof, and squeezed my body betwixt wall and coffin.
There I lay on one side with a thin and rotten plank between the dead man
and me, dazed with the blow to my head, and breathing hard; while the
glow of torches as they came down the passage reddened and flickered on
the roof above.