"It's Jacob's Bay, I'll wager. It answers the description exactly. Look
there; the rock jutting out bare and jagged, the other side of the
channel wooded and sloping gradually down. The entrance narrow, the
scene from the ocean exactly as he described it. Here we are at last,
boys. Give a rousing cheer; let off a few guns, and if Rank is alive
that will bring him out of his shell."
They cheered lustily, and Jack discharged the gun several times.
Harry Marton on the "Wild Cat" asked Moss the meaning of the commotion,
and he replied "They must have found the place at last, and glad I am of
it. We have had a long journey for nothing so far."
The "Heron" sailed steadily towards the entrance and as she passed the
promontory they saw the flag at the top of the staff was made of an old
shirt, or some such garment.
"It cannot have been there very long," said Phil, eyeing it through the
glasses. "It has only recently been put up, so the probabilities are the
man is alive."
The bay they entered was much larger than the former one, almost the
size of Shark's Bay, and Phil expressed the opinion that it was a good
place for pearl fishing.
Rounding the corner they saw a man who was on the look out, and he waved
his arms furiously and danced about in great glee.
The schooner steered closer to the shore, and at last there came a loud
shout from the solitary human being.
"By all that's wonderful, it's Jacob Rank," said Phil, and he waved back
to him. "Let go the anchor, we'll row ashore," he said, excitedly.
A dinghy was soon in the water, and they scrambled in. In a very short
time they were on the sand, and Phil was wringing Jacob's hand until
there seemed to be a good chance of their arms coming off.
The excitement was too much for Rank, who sat down on the beach and
almost wept for joy. When he became calmer he said--
"What in heaven's name brought you here, Phil?"
"The 'Heron,' and we were sent by Barry Tuxford. We have another
schooner, the 'Wild Cat,' see, she is just entering the heads."
"And who is this young man?"
"Mr. Redland. He is in the venture with Harry Marton, who is on that
schooner, and we are all in it with Barry."
"Then he did not believe I was dead?"
"No. The beggars said you were drowned, when they reached Fremantle, and
that there was no pearl shell to be found, but Barry didn't cotton to
that yarn, so he organised another expedition to find you and your boy,
and here we are."
"And a precious long while you have been, it seems years since those
scoundrels put me ashore here, but I'll get even with them one of these
days."
The "Wild Cat" cast anchor close to the "Heron," and Harry and Hake Moss
came ashore and heartily greeted Rank.
"I'll tell you what it is, before we get on to business, or anything
else, I should like to go on board and have a decent meal. I have not
starved here, but living on turtle, birds, and eggs, is a bit too much
for me. I'd give anything for a decent bit of bread and something to
wash it down," said Rank.
"Of course," quickly replied Jack. "Here we are standing talking and
never thinking about you. Come along, we will row back at once."
Jacob eagerly got into the boat, and when he put his foot on board the
"Heron" he gave a sigh of relief.
"To a man who has been stranded for weeks you have no idea how it feels
to find yourself on a decent craft again. I have no ambition to be a
second Crusoe."
Jacob enjoyed himself thoroughly, and they gave him of the best their
stores could provide.
In the evening they were all anxious to hear how he came to be left in
the bay, and what prospect there was of finding shells.
They sat round Jacob, who was nothing loath to satisfy their curiosity.
"It's a long story, but I'll cut it as short as possible," he said. "To
begin at the beginning, when Barry Tuxford fitted me out for this job I
rather fancy he had doubts as to whether I was 'kidding' him."
"You are mistaken," said Jack. "I can assure you he had, and still has,
every confidence in you. I will tell you later on what he instructed us
to do if we found you alive."
"I am glad to hear it," said Jacob. "It was a risky job for him to
tackle, but he has plenty of pluck, and I told him the truth when I said
I knew of a bay for pearl fishing that was equal to Shark's Bay in its
best days. Of course he had only my bare word for it, but he's not like
other men, and he generally reckons things up pretty correct.
"I got together what I thought was a decent crew, but a bigger set of
scoundrels never set foot in a schooner. They were loafers, every man
jack of them, and had come out with the intention of having a pleasure
trip. When we reached here I saw there was trouble brewing, but I didn't
think they would go as far as to leave me in the lurch. I could do
nothing against the lot of them, and they put me ashore and left me to
my fate, curse them. They said if the bay was full of pearl shell I
might have the lot, it would be a fine fortune for me. The divers would
have stuck to me, but they frightened the poor devils into submission,
and the Lord knows what they did with them, put them ashore somewhere, I
expect.
"I was mad with rage when I saw the schooner sail away, but I made up my
mind to live through it if possible. I had an idea Barry Tuxford would
not let the matter rest. If the schooner did not return he would send
out to search for her, if she returned without me, and the crew
concocted some cock and bull story, I doubted if he would believe them.
It seems I was correct.
"For the first week or two I felt desperate. The loneliness oppressed
me, I thought I should go mad. I walked for miles, shouting at the top
my voice until I was exhausted. I meant making someone hear, even if it
turned out to be savages. I believe in those days I would willingly have
walked into the midst of a cannibal camp and taken my chance. Not a soul
did I see, black or white, nor have I seen anyone until you came here."
"We saw the signal," said Phil. "I wonder no passing schooner observed
it before."
"There are very few boats come in close enough for that," said Jacob.
"This is a lonely, almost unknown part of the coast, and it is dangerous
in rough weather. That signal pole was blown down a dozen times, I
think, and I only fixed it up again a couple of days ago. It is lucky
for me you saw it, lucky for all of you, too, as I will tell you.
"I found out this place once when I had been cruising around King's
Sound, Roebuck Bay, and such like places. We happened on it quite
accidentally. I was keeping a sharp look out and noticed the promontory
at the far side of the channel. I had never sailed so near the coast
before in these parts, and it struck me there might be a large bay
beyond. The crew thought I had taken leave of my senses when I steered
for the rock, but they had faith in me and had sailed with me several
times. They were surprised to find such a bay as this, but they little
knew my object in entering it. In the old days, at Cossack, I had heard
an old pearler speak of a wonderful bay where there was heaps of shell
that had never been touched. He described the place to me and I asked
him why he had not tried it himself. He said he was too old, that he had
sufficient to live on, and did not mean to worry about anything. He told
me if ever I was near the northern part of Australia to try and find it,
and gave me to understand it was north-west of Western Australia. When I
saw the big rock at the entrance to the bay I recollected what he had
said.
"I am an expert diver myself and have remained down below almost as long
as the best of the Malays. At night I cautiously went down in the bay
and felt about. There were hundreds of shells, big and little, and I
felt certain I had struck a fortune if properly handled. I had to be
very careful, as I did not wish the crew to know what I was after. I
gave them a rest, and they all went ashore to have some sport, and find
turtle. When I was alone, I lost no time in going down again, and groped
about the bottom until I found some shells. With these I came up to the
surface, almost exhausted, but I managed to get on board. I got a large
butcher's knife and opened the first shell, and eagerly examined it for
pearls. There was nothing in, but the pearl shell was excellent. In the
next I had better luck, for I found two good sized pearls of rich
colour, they were loose in the shell, and rolled out when I opened it,
which does not often happen.
"I waited until I recovered my strength, and went down again. I brought
up two more, in one of them was a big blister, and in it I found a pearl
I afterwards sold in Fremantle for over fifty pounds. I knew I had
struck it rich, and that if I had the capital there was a heap of money
to be made. Since I have been stranded here I have tried various parts
of the bay, and I give it you, as my candid opinion, that there is no
pearl fishery on the coast to be compared to it. The whole bay is, I
think, covered with shells, and I have very little doubt many pearls of
great value will be found there. I know where the best spots are, for I
have been swimming about and diving all over the place. I can assure
you, Barry Tuxford and all of you will be well satisfied with the
result."
Jack Redland's heart beat high with hope as he listened to Jacob Rank's
story, and even Phil Danks and Hake Moss, who were accustomed to hearing
far fetched yarns, knew that Jacob did not speak without the book, or
talk at random.
Jack was the first to speak, and thanked Jacob for his interesting
story. He then told him that Barry Tuxford had empowered them to give
him his fair share in whatever they might find, and that he was to tell
him he need have no fear on that head.
"You must work in with us," said Jack, "and I am perfectly certain you
will be satisfied."
"Barry Tuxford's word is always reliable," said Jacob. "He has faith in
me, and I have faith in him. How many divers have you?"
"Twenty," replied Jack.
"We ought to have more. The best plan will be, however, to do the best
we can with them, and not send one of the schooners to look for more. If
we do that we shall lose time, and sufficient has been wasted already."
"I quite agree with you," said Jack, "we must get to work at once."
"Where do you hail from?" asked Jacob.
"England, have you been there?"
"No, but my father was a fisherman at Brighton, before he came out to
Western Australia, many years ago."
"Brighton!" exclaimed Jack. "That is strange. I was living at Brighton
when I made up my mind to try my fortunes out here. I know Sussex well,
and my best friends live in that county."
"It's marvellous," said Jacob. "Here we are in an unknown spot on the
coast of Australia, and we both hail from the same place. Give me your
hand, sir, we'll shake on it, and on the success of this trip."
"With all my heart," said Jack, and amidst general hilarity they clasped
hands.