Humphrey Armstrong was weaker from his wounds than he believed; but the
change from being shut up in the dim temple-chamber with the great stone
idol for company to the comparatively free open air of the forest
clearing rapidly restored the elasticity of his nature, and gave him
ample opportunities for studying the state of affairs.
He found that the buccaneers went out but seldom, and that when
expeditions were made they would be fairly divided. At one time the
captain would be in command, at another the lieutenant, so that their
settlement was never left unprotected.
As far as he could judge, they were about a hundred in number, and great
dilapidated chambers in the range of temples and palaces formed
admirable barracks and means of defence, such as in time of need could
easily be held against attack.
But Humphrey's great idea was escape; and to accomplish this it seemed
to him that his first need was to open up communication with his men.
This he determined to accomplish, for with the liberty given it seemed
to be a very easy thing to walk to some heap of stones at the edge of
the forest and there seat himself till he was unobserved, when he could
quietly step into the dense thicket, and make his way to where his
followers were imprisoned.
He had not long to wait, for it seemed that, after being closely watched
for the first few days, the latitude allowed to him was greater. He had
but to walk to the edge of the forest and wait, for the opportunity was
sure to come.
Easy as it appeared though in theory, it proved less so in performance,
and it was not till after several attempts that he felt one day sure of
success.
It was soon after mid-day, when the great amphitheatre and the
grotesquely ornamented ruins with their huge heads and shadowy trees
were baking in the sun. The men who were often idling about had sought
places where they could indulge in their siesta, and a silence as of the
grave had fallen upon the place.
Humphrey Armstrong had walked to a pile of ruins beneath one of the
trees, and seated himself upon a huge stone sculptured round with
figures writhing in impossible attitudes, and one and all wearing highly
ornamental head-dresses of feathers.
He lay back there as if half drowsy with the heat, and with half-closed
eyes looked watchfully round to see whether he was observed. But as far
as he could see the place was utterly deserted. Bart, who was often
here and there giving a kind of supervision to the buccaneers'
settlement, and seeing that people from the barracks did not collect
near the captain's quarters, seemed to be absent. Dinny, who had been
to him an hour before, had gone off on some duty with Dick Dullock, and
everything pointed to the fact that this was the opportunity so long
sought.
He hesitated no longer; but after casting another glance round at the
dark, shadowy nooks among the trees and ruins, all of which seemed
purply-black in contrast with the blazing glare of sunshine, he softly
slid himself back from the stone and dropped down among the undergrowth,
and raised his head to peer among the leaves.
He obtained a good view of the great amphitheatre and the surrounding
ruins, but all was still. No one had seen him move, and not a leaf was
stirring.
Trifles seemed magnified at those moments into great matters, and with
his nerves strung up to the highest pitch of tension he started, for all
at once something moved away by the edge of the forest on his left. But
it was only a great butterfly which fluttered over the baking stones,
above which the air seemed to quiver, and then, with its
brightly-painted wings casting a broad shadow, it crossed the ruined
amphitheatre and was gone.
Humphrey Armstrong crept from behind his resting-place right to the
shelter of the trees at the edge of the forest, and his spirits rose as
he found how easy an evasion seemed to be. He had only to secure the
co-operation of half a dozen of his men, take advantage of the
listlessness of the buccaneers some such hot day as this, make their way
down to the shore, seize a boat, and then coast along till a settlement
was reached or a ship seen to take them aboard.
It was very simple, and it seemed easier and easier as he got farther
away from the ruins and his prison. On his right the forest was dense,
but the buccaneers had cut down and burned numbers of trees so as to
keep them back from encroaching farther on the old buildings; and along
here among the mossy stumps Humphrey Armstrong crept.
But it was easy--nothing seemed more simple. Already he saw himself
round on the other side of the ruins, holding communication with his
fellow-prisoners and making plans, when, to his great delight, he found
that he had hit upon what was evidently a way to the other side of the
ancient ruins; for he suddenly came upon a narrow passage through the
dense forest growth, literally a doorway cut in the tangle of creepers
and vines that were matted among the trees. It must have been an
arduous task, but it had been thoroughly done--the vines having been
hewn through, or in places half divided and bent back, to go on
interlacing at the sides, with the result that a maze-like path ran in
and out among the trees.
The moment he was in this path the glare of the sunny day was exchanged
for a dim greenish-hued twilight, which darkened with every step he
took. Overhead a pencil of sunshine could be seen from time to time,
but rarely, for the mighty forest trees interlaced their branches a
hundred and fifty feet above his head, and the air was heavy with the
moist odour of vegetable decay.
The forest path had evidently been rarely used of late, for the soft
earth showed no imprints, the tender sickly growth of these deep shades
had not been crushed; and as Humphrey realised these facts, he glanced
back, to see how easily his trail could be followed--each step he had
taken being either impressed in the vegetable soil or marked by the
crushing down of moss or herb.
The sight of this impelled him to additional effort, so that he might
gain some definite information about his people, and perhaps seek them
by night, when once he had found the means of communication. In this
spirit he was hurrying on when he came suddenly, in one of the darkest
paths, upon a figure which barred his way, and it was with the addition
of a rage-wrung savage exclamation that he uttered his captor's name.
There was a dead silence in the dark forest as these two stood face to
face, buried, as it were, in a gloomy tunnel. After Humphrey's
impatient ejaculation, drawn from him in his surprise, quite a minute
elapsed; and then, half-mockingly, came in a deep, low voice--
"Yes! Commodore Junk!"
Humphrey stood glaring down at the obstacle in his path. He was tall
and athletic, and, in spite of his weakness and the tales he had heard
of the other's powers, he felt that he could seize this man, hurl him
down, and plant his foot upon his chest; for the buccaneer captain was
without weapons, and stood looking up at him with one hand resting upon
his hips, the other raised to his beardless face, with a well-shaped,
small index finger slightly impressing his rounded cheek.
"Yes," he said again, mockingly, "Commodore Junk! Well, Humphrey
Armstrong, what mad fit is this?"
"Mad fit!" cried Humphrey, quickly recovering himself. "You allowed me
to be at liberty, and I am exploring the place."
The buccaneer looked in his eyes, with the mocking smile growing more
marked.
"Is this Captain Humphrey Armstrong, the brave commander sent to
exterminate me and mine, stooping to make a miserable excuse--to tell a
lie!"
"A lie!" cried Humphrey, fiercely, as he took a step in advance.
"Yes, a lie!" said the buccaneer, without moving a muscle. "You were
trying to find some way by which you could escape."
"Well," cried Humphrey, passionately, "I am a prisoner. I have refused
to give my parole; I was trying to find some way of escape."
"That is more like you," said the buccaneer, quietly. "Why? What do
you require? Are you not well treated by my men?"
"You ask me why," cried Humphrey--"me, whom you have defeated--
disgraced, and whom you hold here a prisoner. You ask me why!"
"Yes. I whom you would have taken, and, if I had not died sword in
hand, have hung at your yard-arm, and then gibbeted at the nearest port
as a scarecrow."