Late in the afternoon the _Barang_ rounded a bend in the river and came
in sight of the trading station. The yellow, muddy stream swirled at her
blunt bows, and the matted verdure on the banks reduced the hot breeze
to a zephyr that barely gave her headway.
Bamboo thickets alternated with patches of dark forest; cane-walled
native houses peeped from beneath overhanging trees; silent, sarong-clad
people suspended their leisurely activities to stare at the passing
ship, and noisy birds and chattering monkeys redoubled their din at the
apparition.
A slimy reed-grown creek opened out to starboard, and evil miasma arose
from the rotting tree trunks across its mouth; the entire scene was one
of dreary, soul-searing repulsiveness and made a sorry jest of the
strongly stockaded trading post whose defensive armament could be
plainly seen peeping over a woven cane parapet.
"Heavens, what a dismal hole!" ejaculated Little, as the brigantine
swung slowly around the bend. "Mean t' tell me white people live here,
Barry? I wouldn't swap a shop-soiled typewriter for the whole box and
dice!"
"Sure white people live here. Why would we be coming, else?" retorted
Barry impatiently. He was scanning the buildings. Several white-clad
figures passed and repassed among the huddle of squalid huts, all
apparently bound towards the river wharf to meet the ship.
"Wonder where the Mission is," the skipper went on musingly, to himself
rather than to Little.
"I get your drift," Little grinned back. "Yes, I wonder where she lives,
too."
Something gleamed in Barry's eyes that warned against jesting on that
subject, and Little stepped aside with a shrug and watched Vandersee as
that stolid worthy piloted the ship up to the crazy wharf with
consummate skill.
An anchor dropped in mid-channel stopped her way, and the forward canvas
was hauled down. A pull to windward on the mainsheet backed the big
mainsail and drove the stern towards the dock, whereon a mob of naked
brown men awaited the casting of shore lines. The starboard quarter
grated against the piling, and the open stern windows overhung the
stringpiece for a moment. Barry was deeply interested in the probable
location of the Mission--far too deeply interested for a shipmaster
docking his ship--and Little, too, had his mind and eyes on the scene of
his imminent adventures to the exclusion of all else. Rolfe, the dour
chief mate, was where a good mate should be, on the forecastle head,
looking out for lines and fenders. Vandersee alone appeared capable of
handling his duties and giving attention to the shore at the same time.
Never relaxing his vigilance for a moment in placing the brigantine
advantageously in her berth, the burly Hollander nevertheless had an eye
open for other things. A cloud passed over his shiny face as the stern
touched; he stepped swiftly to the rail and peered over; two natives
stood by, and he sent them hurrying forward with a Low Malay expletive
that made them jump in fright. Then he peered over the side again, his
face cleared, and he returned to his post at the stern fair-lead,
shouting to his men to carry along the sternfasts. Barry turned at the
shout, as if just awakening from a dream, and the second mate told him
respectfully:
"It would be as well to have the stern windows closed, sir. The natives
here are not too honest, in spite of the Mission's good work."
Barry gave the necessary order through the skylight and shook himself
into a more vital interest in his work. He opened his mouth to direct
the mate in some detail of mooring ship, and it remained open until he
half-closed it in a whistle of surprise and seized Little violently by
the arm. His eyes were fixed upon a figure walking easily and
unconcernedly along the wharf.
"Look!" he breathed, and Little winced with the pain of his grip. "Look!
How in thunder did she get here ahead of us?"
"She? Who?" stammered Little, gazing shoreward. "Oh, the woman who
tried to scrape an acquaintance at Solo, isn't it? Steamer, I suppose.
Gee! I thought you'd seen the little missionary by the savage way you
bit into my wing. Hope I ain't in reach when you do catch sight of her,
old scout. You're too blamed carnivorous."
"Oh, shut up!" growled the skipper, shaking the irrepressible salesman
furiously. "There's no joke in this. Wanted to go to Europe, didn't she?
Wasn't that her reason for begging a passage? Well, you darned lunatic!
Is this Europe? Or anywhere near it? Let me tell you, there's no steamer
touching here from Surabaya or anywhere else. Sanjai's the nearest
steamer port--a ship a month; besides, no man or woman other than a
breech-clouted deer-footed native could get here from Sanjai in less
than a week. She looks as if she just hopped out of a Paris trunk!"
Little made no verbal response. He left Barry abruptly, sprang to the
bulwarks, and leaped to the dock, not waiting for the gangplank to be
run out. Then, assuming his best salesman's smile, he walked directly
over to the woman and raised his hat.
"Glad to meet you again, Madam," he smiled. "Small place, this old
globe, isn't it? Didn't expect to see you until we reached Europe. How
on earth did you get here so quickly?"
"How do you do, Mr.--er--let me see--is it Mr. Little, or Captain
Barry?" she beamed, extending a small, shapely hand frankly. "Mr.
Little? Thanks. I'm so glad to see you. Business demanded that I make a
call here before going home; but I never dared to hope that I would meet
old friends here. I must visit your ship and renew the Captain's
acquaintance," and she dazzled Little with a sunny smile.
"Surely, do," invited Little. The sunniness of his own smile increased.
"Please forgive me if I have forgotten your name?" She flashed a
quizzical glance at him. "Mrs. Goring," she said. She indeed looked
entirely desirable in that sweltering, reeking, jungle post. Her dress
was of some flimsy white material that billowed and rustled with her
every movement. The big sun-hat shaded her face and enabled her to
maintain an aspect of fresh, delightful coolness. Her lips and eyes
seemed in their moistness to resemble dewy flowers peeping out of a
sheltering glade.
How much was due to art Little cared nothing. It was, to his buoyant
heart, like encountering a cool breeze in the desert to hold converse
with such a creature in such a place. Besides, Little was bent on
business first, last, and all the time; business might not be permitted
to suffer from any incivility on his part. He asked, joining step with
her as she moved along the rough planking:
"But tell me how you got here so quickly. When we saw you in Solo, we
understood you were bound for Europe. We might have given you a passage,
you know."
"But you were going to Europe, too, weren't you?" she laughed, and her
violet eyes grew black. "Of course, I was only joking about sailing in
your ship. I knew such a vessel did not usually go such long voyages.
But you see I beat you here, didn't I?"
"Yes, but how?"
"Oh, that's a State secret, Mr. Little." The woman laid a slim finger on
her red lips in mock seriousness. "My brother arranged it for me, and I
arrived just as you docked. But I'm going to visit you as soon as I've
been up to the post. I have a friend there. Good-by, Mr. Little. Please
give my warmest regards to the Captain, won't you?"
Little walked slowly aboard the _Barang_, never turning his head once to
look after Mrs. Goring. He went directly to Barry.
"Barry," he said, "you were right. There's no joke about this. Mrs.
Goring is as deep as the Bottomless Pit! There's something back of those
big violet eyes of hers that burns clear through you. She's coming to
see you presently. What d' ye think about her being here at all?"
"How do I know, yet?" Barry laughed harshly. "I'm glad these things have
happened so soon, though. You see now, right from the start, this thing
is real business and no moving-picture bunk."
"Things? What else has happened?"
"Don't you call that knife business something happening?" grunted the
skipper, busy with some papers on his desk. "Don't you attach any
importance to the theft of that photo from my chronometer case? That
wasn't taken by any native thief. Never mind what picture it was, or
what value I placed on it; whoever took it didn't swipe it for the value
of it to them. Then this mysterious woman turns up as soon as we haul
alongside, and now Rolfe tells me that the fo'c'sle hands say Mindjee
slipped ashore as we came up the river, and a search proves it."
"Mindjee? The Malay who had the wheel that night? No, sir! He's
certainly not on board now," exclaimed Little, a queer bewilderment
creeping into his face. "But he didn't swim ashore, unless he swam
mighty fast and then ran some. I just saw Mindjee back of the godown!
Thought you had sent him ashore for something, so didn't notice him
particularly. Wouldn't have remembered which of the brown-skins it was,
if it hadn't happened to be the one at the wheel when that knife was
buzzed at your head."
"Behind the godown? Where? What doing? Where was he going?" Barry was
alert now.
"I only saw him over Mrs. Goring's shoulder as I talked to her. He was
sliding along pretty fast towards the stockade."
"Then the fun starts right now, Little," said Barry quietly. "From now
on, never go without your artillery and keep a hand on the butt, no
matter whether it's man, woman, or missionary you're talking to. Come
on. I'll post the mate; then we'll walk up and interview Mr. Gordon."
Jerry Rolfe appeared surprised, and in a measure chagrined, to find that
the second mate had not yet asked leave to go ashore. His opinion of the
big Hollander was an open secret in the ship. It was easy to see that
the total destruction of the _Barang_ and her people would have better
fitted in with that opinion than the safe and expert passage of the
tortuous river to a snug berth.
"You ain't going to trust that fellow with a gun, sir?" the mate
demanded, after receiving Barry's orders.
"Why not?" returned the skipper, with a frown. "You must drive that
notion out of your head, Rolfe, or you won't be able to trust anybody.
We need all the men we can depend on, and I want you and Vandersee to
pull together. I trust him, so does Mr. Little, and so does Houten,
obviously. You and he will remain in charge of your regular watches,
though you need not keep sea watches, and right now you'll decide whom
you can trust with arms. We may not have to use 'em; but there's a big
chance we will."
On the way to the stockaded post the skipper told Little of the mate's
doubts and suggested that it might be arranged for one of them at all
times to be in touch with the ship after this first visit to Gordon.
For, he said: "I'm not too sure of the man myself, Little, though
something tells me I misjudged him at first. That subtle hint of steel
under velvet sort of got me, and for a moment I suspected him of
heaving that knife at me. But against that is his treatment of you while
you were sick, and other things have helped to change my views."
"Don't know what to think, myself," rejoined Little. "At first I thought
there could not be another sailorman in the wide world like him. I was
ready to lick his boots those first few days at sea. He filled all my
ideas of what a rollicking sea dog ought to be, and I was tickled silly
at the wrinkles he taught me. Then came that fool stunt of mine, letting
go the anchor in a bad place, and it looked then that I had been
purposely set to meddling with that gear just to bring that off. What d'
ye think?"
"May have been accidental. Anyway, better take my lead as long as you're
doubtful. Rolfe is looking after him now, and we'll keep him in view
between us. But my advice is, show him that we trust him. Won't do to
anticipate trouble by making enemies."
They walked on until the stockade opened to view through the jungle, and
they turned into a narrow track leading to a strong gate ridiculously
disproportionate to the strength of the stockade. Artillery might have
battered in vain at the gate: one might force the walls with the
gunner's ramrod. As they swung around the last twisting angle of the
path, a flutter of white contrasted with the dark greenery for an
instant, then came the sound of a gate crashing shut, and the vision
vanished.
"Another gate," remarked Barry, stepping up to the main gate and
hammering on it with a piece of rock. "Was that a white woman? You saw
it, didn't you?"
"Looked like the fair Mrs. Goring," replied Little, staring in the
direction where the glimpse of white had been seen. "It may have been
one of the Mission folks, though. How about the gate? This wasn't where
the frock came out."
"This is the great main gate Houten told us about. He said it faced
sou'west by west and had a green skull on top, didn't he?"
"Sure thing! And there's the green head all right." Little whooped with
delight at the touch of old-time ghastliness. "And I forgot for the
moment you are a 'Heave-ho-me-Bully-Boy sailor!' able to spot a place
from afar off by the direction of the sun at midnight. Gee! This is
regular stuff, Barry. Mystery, secret gates, skull and crossbones, and
nobody home! Knock again."
Little heaved with all his strength at a huge boulder, intent upon
gaining entry. Barry coolly placed his foot on the stone, hauled Little
away, and fell to work with his knife on the wattles which bound
together the bamboos of the stockade. Then the gate was opened suddenly,
and a yellow dwarf with jagged teeth that chattered bade the visitors
enter.
"Gordon Tuuan he see you. Come." The custodian of the gate turned and
dog-trotted up to a large, low building. One rambling, cane-walled hut
filled most of the space inside the stockade, and under the same wide,
leaf-thatched roof were all the departments of the post. A few small
native huts were scattered along the fence, but apparently Gordon
believed in working and living as nearly as possible in the same spot.
Their guide brought Barry and Little to the main hut, ushered them into
a dim, screened veranda and disappeared, leaving them blinking in
semi-darkness.
"Come in!" invited an unseen host in a high-pitched, quavering voice.
"Come in! Where?" echoed Barry, his hearty sea-bellow shaking the flimsy
structure. "If that's Gordon, come out, or have the civility to remember
that we haven't got bat's eyes. We're from Batavia, Houten, and--"
"All right, old chaps, all right. Sorry to keep you waiting. Wasn't
expecting you so soon. I'll be out right away."
On the heels of the announcement came the clink of glass and a shuffle
of chairs. Then softly slippered feet shambled out of the darkness, and
Gordon stood revealed as well as the light would allow.
Little and the skipper felt a burning curiosity as to the man they were
sent to deal with, and pity was the feeling that entered Barry's breast
now they were face to face. The trader had the frame of an athlete and a
head and face that must in years gone by have caused many a flutter in
feminine hearts: But now the eyes were bleary and sunken from alcohol,
the high forehead was hidden under a mat of dirty, nondescript hair
that was once undoubtedly a glorious tawny blond. The wide shoulders
stooped, the back bent forward from the waist, and the hands, yet
retaining hints of care, trembled at the ends of bony, jerky arms. And,
in the half-light of the veranda, the sodden features smirked and
grinned, scowled and leered, with an incessant twitching at the corners
of the mouth that showed teeth still white.
"From Houten, you say? Come in. I'll get you a drink."
Gordon led the way inside, stepping among the littered furniture with
the instinct of a cat. He shouted an order, unintelligible to his
visitors, and an entire side of the hut was raised, admitting the
strong, pouring sunlight.
"What does Houten want now?" he asked, his hands writhing nervously. "I
sent him the last lot of dust with the last lot of trade. Didn't he get
it?"
"Yes, some of it," returned Barry, scrutinizing the nervous wreck
puttering about the stained table, muddling with bottle and glasses.
"That's why we're here, because he only got some of it. No, no drink,
thanks; and it won't be a bad notion if you leave it alone for a while,
until we settle our business. Why, man, you look ready to tumble into
your wooden suit right now!"
"That's all right, old chap," grinned Gordon, pouring out a strong peg
of Hollands and gulping it down like water. "I've had a shock to-day;
that's all that's wrong with me. I can talk business with you all
right."
"So we gave you a shock, hey?" chuckled Little knowingly.
"You?" An undercurrent of contempt marked Gordon's tone.
"No, you didn't shock me a bit, old fellow. Not many men can. It was
a--er--a lady." The voice broke into a grating laugh.
"Who? What? Was it Mrs.--" burst out Little incautiously.
"Mr. Little!" Gordon snarled, his teeth showing viciously, "you forget
yourself, I think. Remember you're in a gentleman's house, even though
that house is only a hut and the gentleman's infernally drunk. That part
of my business concerns neither you nor Houten."
"Sorry," Little apologized awkwardly, blushing like a girl. "I ought--"
"That's all right," broke in Barry shortly. "Mr. Gordon will understand
that. At present we can't talk much business. The atmosphere doesn't
seem right. Come, Little, we'll get back to the ship, and perhaps Gordon
will come aboard to dinner to-morrow, eh, Gordon?"
"Certainly, Captain, thanks. I'll be glad to eat at a white man's table
again," cried the trader, obviously relieved at the departure of his
guests. "What time?"
"Well, say about noon; then we can talk business for an hour. By the
way, can you direct me to the Mission?"
"Just behind the stockade, Captain. Not a hundred yards away. But you
can't see it for trees until you get there. Won't find anybody there
now, though; it's the time of day when all the men are out teaching, and
the women are visiting the huts to teach the mothers to look after the
kids."
Barry concealed his disappointment and departed for the ship. Little was
silent, too; he was trying to gather up the threads of the connection
between Mrs. Goring, the missing seaman, and the trader. He wasn't sure
the threads led anywhere; but Barry discouraged conversation, and the
volatile ex-salesman could not exist without either talking, surmising,
or planning things. So they arrived in silence at the wharf, and neither
raised his head to notice their whereabouts until Little tumbled over
the _Barang's_ breast line. Then both looked up. Simultaneously they
glanced up at the poop; they darted questioning glances at each other as
Vandersee broke from a group and ran to the rail to meet them, his ruddy
face alight with a redoubled glow.
"Now what has he got to do with Mrs. Goring!" muttered Little. The
wonder was lost on Barry, for that worthy mariner had seen something
which effectually obliterated all thought of Mrs. Goring from his mind.
"It's the little Mission lady!" he breathed reverently, looking past
Mrs. Goring and straight into the sparkling eyes of a very human
looking, merrily smiling girl in plain Mission print. He was abruptly
awakened to the proprieties by Vandersee stepping forward and
introducing him.
"Captain Barry, Mrs. Goring wants you to meet Miss Natalie Sheldon, of
the Mission. You've met Mrs. Goring, I think."
Barry acknowledged the introduction awkwardly; he felt himself flaming
to the roots of his hair, unable to control his tongue or his eyes. For
many days he had dreamed of this moment. Now it was here, he felt he was
making an ass of himself, and that Little was grinning at him for his
clumsy behavior. The amused salesman jogged his ribs and brought him
back to earth. He advanced with extended hand to the smiling young
Mission worker, and in an instant he was transported into a world where
she and he alone mattered; the other people, the ship, the stagnant
stream, all went out of his ken like things that were not.
"How do you do, Captain Barry," the girl greeted him, flushing under his
unwavering gaze, yet amused at it.
"Miss Sheldon, I have wondered if it were possible that you could be
like your picture--and you are," he returned with true sailorly
bluntness. He had no knowledge of the usages of society in such first
meetings; he only knew that the shortest distance between two points is
a straight line, and that was his course now. He suddenly became aware
that the girl was regarding him curiously, and she asked in manifest
surprise:
"My picture? Why, where have you seen my picture, Captain?"
In a flash Barry realized the difficulty of the question. Perhaps later
he would feel at liberty to explain; but now no words that he was
acquainted with could possibly explain without requiring further
explanations to supplement them. Yet he could not think of letting go
this chance of basking in the sunshine of his realized dream. He met
Miss Sheldon's query with a warm smile and took her by the elbow.
"I saw one in Java, Miss Sheldon," he said. "And ever since I have
doubted the existence of an original anything like it. But you are; the
picture doesn't do you justice. Let me show you my ship," he concluded,
urging her towards the ladder away from the rest.
To Barry it seemed that fifteen minutes sped like one. He never
remembered, afterwards, whether he showed Miss Sheldon the ship, or not,
or at least, how much of it. He only knew that he trod on air, and his
ears were thrilled with music, that his blood leaped and tingled with
the warm personality and rippling laughter of this pretty Mission lady.
He suddenly found himself back on the poop by her side, and his foot
stumbled on the top step because his eyes would not leave her piquant
face. And together they rejoined the others, surprising upon two faces,
at least, something that was not expected to be seen.
Little stood by Mrs. Goring's side, frankly enjoying the spectacle of
Barry's captivity. He glanced smilingly at Miss Sheldon, and Barry saw
the rich color mount swiftly to the girl's throat and cheeks. But it was
between Vandersee and Mrs. Goring that the tableau centered. The big
second mate stood behind Little and looked sharply into the big, dark
eyes of Mrs. Goring over the salesman's shoulder. And she, on her part,
returned the gaze with interest that was nevertheless gone in a flash,
to give way to a returning expression of polite indifference.
But in that passing flash, Barry caught the unspoken message that leaped
from eye to eye. It was as plain as if those two people had said, one to
the other:
"Right into our hands! Barry's caught, and the rest is clear!"
The situation threatened to become strained, for Barry showed signs of
questioning his second mate. The visitors were Vandersee's, and that
able officer turned the circumstance to good use. Politely, yet
insistently, he drew Mrs. Goring to the gangway; she in turn called Miss
Sheldon, and before Barry could prevent their going, they had stepped
ashore and departed in different directions.
As they separated, Mrs. Goring spoke to the girl and then hurried away
with a cordial hand-wave and a very softened smile. The girl stared
after her for a moment, as if not understanding that which she said,
then slowly turned to follow her own path. But in turning, she paused
almost imperceptibly to flash another look at the ship; and Barry caught
it, levelled full at himself.
Wonder, doubt, unbelief were in that look. The pretty round chin was
firm and hard, and in the expressive eyes the light was shot with specks
of flinty coldness. But doubt predominated. Miss Sheldon resumed her
way, and as if in final endeavor to learn the answer to a puzzling
question, she looked back over her shoulder at Mrs. Goring. That lady,
too, looked back at that instant, and again Barry caught a flashed
message.
Mrs. Goring's face was alight with emotions--gratification, love,
hope--and the greatest of these was hope.