Of all the thousand and one strange phenomena of the mighty deep, to my
thinking there is none more extraordinary than the fogs which so
suddenly spring up in Eastern waters. At one moment the entire expanse
of sea lies plain and open before the eye; then a tiny cloud makes its
appearance, like a little flaw in the perfect blue, far down on the
horizon. It comes closer, and as it does so, spreads itself out in
curling wreaths of vapour. Finally, the mariner finds himself cut off
from everything, standing alone in a little world of his own, so tiny
that it is even impossible for him to see a boat's length before his
face. At night the effect is even more strange, for then it is
impossible to see anything at all.
On this particular occasion the fog came up quicker than I ever remember
to have seen one do. We had hardly caught sight of the lights of the
schooner, which we were convinced was none other than the _Nautch Girl_,
than they disappeared again. But, as I had told Mr. Leversidge, that
circumstance, instead of injuring us, was likely to prove our salvation.
Had she come upon us in broad daylight while we were engaged upon our
work on the wreck below, it would have been a case of diamond cut
diamond, and the strongest would have won. Now, however, if she would
only walk into the trap I was about to set for her, I felt confident in
my own mind that we should come out of the scrape with flying colours.
"We must not attempt to conceal our position," I said, turning to the
skipper, whom I could now barely see. "If I were you I should keep that
bell of yours ringing, it will serve to let Peach know that there is
somebody already on the spot, and it will help to prepare his mind for
what is to come."
The skipper groped his way forward to give the necessary order, and
presently the bell commenced to sound its note of warning. Thereupon we
sat ourselves down on the skylight to await the arrival of the schooner
with what composure we could command. Our patience, however, was
destined to be sorely tried, for upwards of two hours elapsed before any
sound reached us to inform us that she was in our neighbourhood. Then
with an abruptness which was almost startling, a voice came to us across
the silent sea.
"If I have to visit you niggers in that boat," the speaker was saying,
"I'll give you as good a booting as ever you had in your lives. Bend
your backs to it and pull or I'll be amongst you before you can look
round and put some ginger into you."
There was no occasion to tell me whose voice it was. "That's Jimmy
Peach," I said, turning to Mr. Leversidge, who was standing beside me at
the bulwarks. "I know his pleasant way of talking to his crew. He's a
sweet skipper is Jimmy, and the man he has with him, Yokohama Joe, is
his equal in every respect."
"But how have they managed to get here?" asked the old gentleman.
"Theirs is not a steam vessel, and besides being pitch dark in this fog
there's not a breath of wind."
"They've got a boat out towing her," I answered. "If you listen for a
moment you'll hear the creaking of the oars in the rowlocks. That's just
what I reckoned they would do. Now I am going to give Master Jimmy one
of the prettiest scares he has ever had in his life, and one that I
think he will remember to his dying day. If he ever finds it out, and we
meet ashore, I reckon things will hum a bit."
So saying, I funnelled my mouth with my hands and shouted in the
direction whence the voice had proceeded a few minutes before. "Ship
ahoy! Is that the _Nautch Girl_, of Cooktown?"
There was complete silence while a man could have counted a hundred.
Then a voice hailed me in reply: "What vessel are you?"
I was prepared for this question. "Her Majesty's gunboat _Panther_,
anchored above the wreck of the _Monarch of Macedonia_," I answered.
"Are you the _Nautch Girl_?"
There was another long pause, then a different voice answered, "_Nautch
Girl_ be hanged! We're the _beche-de-mer_ schooner _Caroline Smithers_,
of Cairns, from Macassar to Port Moresby."
Once more I funnelled my hands and answered them. "All right," I
replied, "just heave to a minute and I'll send a boat to make certain.
I'm looking for the _Nautch Girl_, and, as she left Batavia ten days or
so ago, she's just about due here now."
Turning to Mr. Leversidge, who was standing beside me, I whispered, "If
I'm not mistaken he'll clear out now as quickly as he knows how."
"But why should he do so?" he inquired. "As long as he doesn't interfere
with the wreck he has a perfect right to be here."
"As you say, he _has_ a perfect right," I answered; "but you may bet
your bottom dollar he'll be off as soon as possible. There is what the
lawyers call a combination of circumstances against him. In the first
place, I happen to know that he has been wanted very badly for some
considerable time by the skipper of the _Panther_ for a little bit of
business down in the Kingsmill Group. They have been trying to nab him
everywhere, but so far he has been too smart for them. In addition, he
is certain to think his mission to the wreck has been wired to Thursday
Island, and between the two I fancy he will come to the conclusion that
discretion is the better part of valour and will run for it. Hark! there
he goes."
We both listened, and a moment later could plainly distinguish the
regular "cheep-cheep" of the oars as they towed the schooner away from
us.
"He has got out two boats now," I said, "and that shows he means to be
off as fast as he can go. Somehow I don't think we shall be troubled by
Master Peach again for a day or two. But won't he just be mad if he ever
finds out how we've fooled him. The world won't be big enough to hold
the pair of us. Now all we want is the fog to hold up till he's out of
sight. I don't feel any wind."
I wetted my finger and held it up above my head, but could feel nothing.
The night was as still as it was foggy. Seeing, therefore, that it was
no use our waiting about in the hope of the weather improving, I bade
them good night, and, having been congratulated on my ruse for getting
rid of Peach, and the success which had attended it, went below to my
berth.
Sure enough when we came on deck next morning the fog had disappeared,
and with it the schooner _Nautch Girl_. A brisk breeze was blowing.
Overhead the sky was sapphire blue, brilliant sunshine streamed upon our
decks, while the sea around us was as green and transparent as an
emerald. Little waves splashed alongside, and the schooner danced gaily
at her anchor. After the fog of the previous night, it was like a new
world, and when we had satisfied ourselves that our enemy was really out
of sight it was a merry party that sat down to breakfast.
As soon as the meal was finished we returned to the deck. The same
glorious morning continued, with the difference, however, that by this
time the sea had moderated somewhat. The crew were already at work
preparing the diving apparatus for my descent. After the anxiety of the
_Nautch Girl's_ arrival, the trick we had played upon her captain, and
the excitement consequent upon it, it came upon me almost as a shock to
see the main, or to be more exact, the only, object of my voyage brought
so unmistakably and callously before me. I glanced over the side at the
smiling sea, and as I did so thought of the visit I was about to pay to
the unfortunate vessel which was lying so still and quiet beneath those
treacherous waves. And for what? For a jewel that would ultimately
decorate a mere earthly sovereign's person. It seemed like an act of the
grossest sacrilege to disturb that domain of Death for such a vulgar
purpose.
"I see you are commencing your preparations," said Mr. Leversidge, who
had come on deck while I was giving my instructions to the man in charge
of the diving gear. "Before you do so had we not better study the cabin
plan of the vessel herself, in order that you may have a good idea as to
where the berth you are about to visit is situated?"
"Perhaps it would be as well," I answered. "Where is the plan?"
"I have it in my portmanteau," replied the old gentleman, and a moment
later, bidding me remain where I was, he dived below in search of the
article in question. Presently he returned, bringing with him a sheet of
paper, which, when he spread it out upon the deck, I recognised as one
of those printed forms supplied by steamship companies to intending
passengers at the time of booking.
"There," he said, as he smoothed it out and placed his finger on a tiny
red cross, "that is the cabin our agent occupied. You enter by the
companion on the promenade deck, and, having descended to the saloon,
turn sharp to your left hand and pass down the port side till you reach
the alleyway alongside the steward's pantry. Nineteen is the number, and
our agent's berth was number one hundred and sixty-three, which, as you
will observe from this plan, is the higher one on your left as you
enter. The next cabin was that occupied by the Reverend Colway-Brown,
who, as you are aware, was one of the persons who escaped. I think we
may consider ourselves fortunate that he was a parson, otherwise we
don't know what might have happened."
Taking up the plan he had brought and examining it carefully, I tried to
impress it upon my memory as far as possible. "Now," I said, "I think I
know my ground; so let us get to work. The sooner the business is
finished and the pearl is in your keeping the better I shall be
pleased."
"I shall have no objection to be done with it either, I can assure you,"
he answered. "It has been a most tiresome and unpleasant affair for
everybody concerned."
I then strolled forward to the main hatch, beside which my dress had
been placed. Everything was in readiness, and I thereupon commenced my
toilet. To draw on the costume itself was the matter of only a few
seconds. My feet were then placed in the great boots with their enormous
leaden soles; the helmet, without the glass, was slipped over my head
and rivetted to the collar plate around my neck, the leaden weights,
each of twenty-eight pounds, were fastened to my chest and back, the
life-line was tied round my waist, and the other end made fast to the
bulwark beside which my tender would take his place during such time as
I should remain below.
"Now give me the lamp and the axe," I said, as I fumbled my way to the
gangway where the ladder had been placed, and took up my position upon
it. "After that you can screw in the glass and begin to pump as soon as
you like. It won't be very long now, Mr. Leversidge, before you know
your fate."
"I wish you luck," he answered, and then my tender, who had been careful
to dip the front glass in the water, screwed it in, and almost
simultaneously the hands at the machine commenced to pump. I was in
their world and yet standing in a world of my own, a sort of amphibious
creature, half of land and half of sea.
According to custom, I gave a last glance round to see that all was
working properly, and then with a final wave of my hand to those upon
the deck began to descend the ladder into the green water, little
dreaming of the terrible surprise that was awaiting me at the bottom of
the ocean.