ADIEU TO CONTENT KEY.
On the following morning work was begun under the new system. Gertie
and old Chloe had quite as much as they could do in or around the
tents. Jake, Ben and Tom Johnson commenced taking out the cargo, while
Captain Irwin paid no attention to anything save boat-building.
“I am allowing that we sha’n’t have another norther for some time,” the
latter said while they were eating breakfast on this, the first day of
wrecking. “We’ve had two pretty near together, an’ according to the
weather prophets, there’ll be a long spell of clear sky now. If that
comes true we shall be able to save all the cargo, and in order to reap
the fruits of our labor, it is necessary we should retain possession of
the goods.”
“I don’t reckon there is anybody round here who would try to take ’em
away from us,” Jake said with a laugh.
“Perhaps not, but suppose all hands should leave the island and go to
Key West? Then I fancy it would be a race among the wreckers as to who
should get here first.”
“What are you drivin’ at?” Jake asked, unable to gain the slightest
clew as to the captain’s meaning.
“Instead of all trying to leave on a large craft, we’ll build a small
boat, and after the work of wrecking has been done, one or two only
will start for Key West to make arrangements with the underwriters. By
such a course we shall be obliged to remain on this reef quite a while
longer, but that won’t be much of a hardship considering the amount of
money to be gained from the sale of the Mermaid’s cargo.”
No one made any protest against this plan. All had such implicit
confidence in the captain’s judgment, that even old Chloe was ready
to follow his instructions to the letter without so much as a hint of
her desire to return home or to see Moses. So far as Jake and Ben were
concerned, it made but little difference where they stayed providing
they could reach the main land if it should become necessary; and
Gertie, having no fear of being again obliged to assist in the patent
medicine business, was well content to remain until he should give the
word for departure.
The work which was thus begun on the second morning after the stranding
of the Mermaid, continued without interruption, except on the Sabbath,
when all hands indulged in the luxury of a well-earned rest, and it
was on one of these idle days, when the task appeared to be fully
half-performed, that Ben laid before the captain a matter which had
been troubling him as the time for leaving Content Key drew near.
“What is to become of Gertie when we get back to New York? Now that her
step-father is dead she won’t have any home, unless those friends with
whom she lived are willin’ to let her stay with them.”
“You have got considerable money of your own,” Captain Irwin replied
with a smile, “and could do a good deal toward her support.”
“I’ll agree to give her every cent father left, for I can earn my own
livin’ without much trouble.”
“Perhaps there won’t be any necessity for such a sacrifice on your
part, providing she and Chloe will agree to a plan which I have in
mind.”
“I will do whatever you think best,” Gertie said quickly; “but I don’t
want you to feel that I expect to be taken care of, for I can work as
well as Ben.”
“I have no home,” Captain Irwin said, speaking very seriously, “and
I want one, although I’m not ashore very much of the time. It is
necessary Ben should have an abiding place when he goes to school, as
I intend he shall this winter, and it seems as if now was a good time
to start just such a harbor as I need. Madame Servoise, one of the
sweetest and neatest old French ladies I ever met, is living in New
York, and I know from a conversation with her just before we sailed,
that she would take charge of a house for me. I propose to hire a neat
little cottage, and make up a family by adopting Gertie as a sister
for Ben. Now that her step-father is dead she has neither home nor
relatives, and there is no reason why she should not consult her own
pleasure in the matter. Chloe can come with us, unless her Moses has
other plans regarding her future; she will be captain of the kitchen,
and Jake may be mate whenever he’s ashore.”
There was no necessity of asking if the listeners assented to this
proposition. The approval pictured on their faces was so decidedly
unqualified, that from that moment the matter was considered as
settled, and many were the conversations which Gertie and Ben held on
the subject during their leisure moments before leaving Content Key,
when they laid famous plans for the future.
“I’se done gwine to lib wid de chillun no matter what dat wuffless Mose
say ’bout it,” and old Chloe emphasized her words by a vigorous wave
of the skillet above her head as she gave Jake her views regarding
the captain’s proposition that same evening. “When a po’ nigger woman
gits ole now’days she ain’t got no whar to lay her head, an’ de cap’in
sha’n’t nebber want fur good cookin’ while I’se able to stan’ ober de
fire.”
“If you’d only let me tell you one or two things that I know better’n
you do, it would----”
Jake was not allowed to conclude the rather egotistical remark. While
he believed himself to be the better cook, old Chloe looked at the
matter in an entirely different light, and he was forced to leave the
tent very quickly in order to avoid a blow from the skillet.
The work went on without intermission, however, despite the plans
all were making regarding the future, and in due course of time the
Mermaid’s cargo was not only landed, but secured in such a manner that
however severe a storm might arise there would be no danger of its
being blown away.
The boat-building had also received due attention from Captain Irwin,
and when the little party of wreckers begun to tear the hulk to pieces,
a seaworthy craft was finished. It was not large enough to carry all
the castaways to Key West, nor was it intended for such a purpose; but
two men could sail in it among the keys without inconvenience, and
sloop-rigged as she was, there could be no question as to the safety of
those who manned her.
It was agreed that the captain and Johnson should make the voyage,
leaving the others behind to hold possession of the goods until an
agreement for salvage had been made, and on the same day of the launch
the journey was begun, the remainder of the party feeling decidedly
lonely as the little craft sailed swiftly away and they were once more
the only dwellers upon a reef.
They were very far, however, from being in as desperate a condition as
at any time before the Mermaid came ashore, and, unless some unforeseen
accident should occur, all knew that it would only be a question of
comparatively a few hours before the journey to New York could be
commenced.
“You’ll see us again in two or three days,” Captain Irwin shouted as
the rudely-built sloop left the shore; but those on the key hardly
believed that such would be the case until it was proved a fact.
When the castaways were once more the only occupants of the key it
was impossible to repress a certain sense of loneliness, even though
they had every reason to believe that Captain Irwin would return at
some time, even if not quite as soon as he had promised. To old Chloe,
Gertie and Ben the awkward-looking boat seemed all too frail for the
shortest voyage in those treacherous waters, and Jake was not without
certain misgivings in case a norther should make a sudden descent upon
the gulf.
These fears, however, had a very large germ of hope behind them
compared to the terrible desolateness which they had experienced while
in doubt as to whether any one would discover their whereabouts, and
each tried hard to appear cheerful.
Jake proposed that they vary the somewhat limited bill of fare by a
dinner of oysters, large quantities of which hung to such branches of
the mangrove trees as trailed in the water, and when the little boat
had disappeared in the distance, after sailing swiftly before the light
breeze, he and Ben started off to gather this somewhat unusual fruit,
while old Chloe, Gertie and the kitten returned to the main tent.
The dinner of shell-fish was a pleasing success, and after it had been
eaten the occupants of Content Key gave themselves up to the charm of
idleness, for from the morning when the Mermaid came ashore, every one
had been hard at work, with not a moment’s cessation, save during the
hours of darkness.
When night came the tent was brilliantly illuminated with every lantern
they could find, for the absence of two from the small party left a
wofully large vacancy, and it seemed as if the cheering rays of light
gave a certain sense of companionship.
“I’ll tell you what we’ll do, Ben,” Jake said as he carefully filled
and lighted his pipe, after the evening meal had been eaten and the
flaps of the camp were opened that the warmth of a fire at the outside
might be fully enjoyed, for the heavy dew caused the warm air to seem
chill and raw. “The tide will be full about ten o’clock, an’ you an’
I’ll have a regular turtle-hunt. It’s pretty late in the season, but I
reckon we’ll find enough to pay for the trouble, an’ seein’s how we can
sleep all we want to for the next two or three days, it don’t make much
difference whether we’re awake half the night or not.”
As may be supposed, Ben was perfectly willing to participate in
anything which promised even a semblance of sport, and old Chloe
no longer felt averse to being left with Gertie and the alleged
supernatural cat, for long companionship with that harmless animal
during the time while the others were engaged saving the Mermaid’s
cargo, had taught her that she was innocent of voodouism.
To one who has never engaged in the business of catching turtles,
it would seem as if there would be at least considerable excitement
attending it, and Ben was of this opinion until the events of the
evening proved the contrary. Patience is the chief thing necessary, and
it is by no means pleasant to lie among the sand until one of these
huge shell-fish comes up out of the water to deposit her eggs. Then the
“sport” consists simply in turning her on her back at the exact moment
when she starts for the sea again, and after that, a weary time of
waiting for another.
If there was but little pleasure to be extracted from this plan of
Jake’s, it resulted in quite an addition to the castaways’ larder, for
when the tide had so far receded that it was not probable any more
would visit the key, the hunters had four captives and a store of eggs
which looked absolutely enormous.
“We’ll keep three alive till Captain Irwin comes back,” Jake said in a
tone of satisfaction as they went toward the tent, leaving the turtles
on their backs without fear of an escape, “an’ I reckon he won’t find
much fault at bein’ fed on soup for a while.”
The greater portion of the following day was spent in conveying the
eggs to the tent that they might be kept reasonably cool, and in
building a pool where three of the huge captives could enjoy a bath
without possibility of taking unceremonious leave of those who proposed
to convert them into delicacies for the table.
After this work had been done Jake refused to exert himself any
further. He needed a rest, so he said, and was fully determined to take
a long one, for when Captain Irwin returned there would be plenty of
hard labor; therefore he remained idle until the morning of the fourth
day, exactly seventy-two hours after the little boat left the beach, at
which time Ben announced the welcome fact that a craft of some kind was
in sight.
It was quite a while before the anxious watchers could determine the
true character of the tiny speck far away to the westward, but by noon
there was no longer any question that the absent ones were returning.
A tug towing a lighter was what Ben had sighted, and the time for
leaving Content Key was very near at hand.
At sunset both crafts were anchored in shoal water to the northward of
the coral reef, and Captain Irwin was enjoying his share of the turtle
soup as he related in detail the incidents of his visit to Key West.
“Our boat sailed like a clipper,” he said, when the castaways gathered
around as he sat in the tent with supper spread out on a piece of
canvas. “I didn’t think we could do very much with her except before
the wind, but she laid up to it like a yacht. We were made fast to the
dock in Key West eighteen hours after leaving here, and the visit to
the underwriters was finished early next morning. I have left the whole
matter in the hands of a responsible firm, and we shall get all that
belongs to us without fear of being cheated.”
“How long do you reckon it’ll be before we can start from here?” Jake
asked, as if it was of the greatest importance that he should get away
at the earliest possible moment.
“Three days will see the work done, I fancy. We couldn’t get much of a
crew, but there are four of us, which will give a pretty good working
force, and by swinging the lighter well inshore it won’t be such a very
heavy job.”
“Den we’se gwine up Norf inter dat house what you tole ’bout?”
“Yes, aunty, as soon as the business is finished in Key West we’ll
start, and you can count on seeing Moses very soon.”
“I ain’t got no call ter hunt roun’ fur him,” old Chloe said angrily.
“Ef de wuffless chile wants ter see his mammy, he mus’ fin’ her, kase
I wouldn’t done gone got wrecked ef it hadn’t been ’count ob his
nonsense.”
“Then you wouldn’t have seen us, nor be thinking about that wonderful
home Captain Irwin is going to get for our especial benefit,” Gertie
said laughingly.
“You’se right, honey, an’ I won’t break out agin him any mo’ kase ob
dat. De Lawd’s bin mighty good to dis ole nigger by rasin’ up sich
fren’s for her, an’ de leas’ she kin do is ter hole her tongue.”
At this point the conversation was interrupted by the captain of the
steamer, who had come to consult with Captain Irwin as to the best
method of conducting the work which was to be begun at daybreak next
morning, and the castaways left the tent to view the key that seemed
suddenly to have been converted into a populous island. With the crews
of the lighter and tug roaming around on shore, it was difficult to
remember what a desolate place it had once been, and as Ben said, “it
made him feel queer to see so many people.”
It was late in the evening before the visitors and castaways settled
down to rest, and the sun had not yet showed his face above the sea
next morning when the shrill whistle of the tug called all hands to
work.
The summons told how nearly the time of their imprisonment had come to
an end, and every one of the castaways was on the alert at the first
sound of the signal.