A KNOCK AT THE DOOR
The Third Vice-President and his fellow-members of the Daft Committee
seated themselves in the chairs just vacated by the thirteen murdered
pirates. Nothing could have persuaded any of the others to sit in those
dreadful seats; but no feeling of this sort appeared to disturb the
Committee, and they evidently saw no reason why they should not be
comfortable.
The Third Vice-President drummed on the table with his fingers, and
frowned to himself in silence. One of the Committee, taking his
skull-cap from his head and smoothing it thoughtfully with his hand,
glanced up at the Chairman and said:
"I fear, Professor, that our hopes are dashed. It is nothing less than
disastrous."
"You are right, my dear sir," said the Chairman. "It is a terrible
misfortune; terrible indeed. And just when we were on the point of--"
"What!" exclaimed Toby in astonishment. "Do you mean to say you are
sorry those rascally pirates are gone?"
"My dear sir," said the Chairman, very patiently, "I am finding no
fault. I do not wish to blame anyone. The loss of these pirates to
science is one that can never be compensated. The Society for Piratical
Research is now at an end. There are no other pirates on this island,
and you must see for yourselves that without pirates our society must
perish. It is a woful--"
"Well, I never!" said Aunt Amanda. "Of all things! Do you dare to sit
there and tell me you'd rather see us all murdered by pirates than--"
"Be calm, my friends," said the Third Vice-President, placidly. "I have
already said that I do not wish to find fault. I desire to be generous.
It is my wish. In fact, I forgive you freely. Whatever bitterness you
may have caused us, we are willing to believe that it was not
intentional. The Daft Committee forgives you; freely. Let us be
peaceful. It only remains to decide what steps we shall take to meet the
future. I submit to you this question: whether we shall first go to the
pirates' home in High Dudgeon, or return at once to the City of Towers,
to confess our failure and receive our--Hark! I thought I heard a
knock."
Everyone listened. There was indeed the sound of knocking, muffled but
quite audible. The group standing about the table looked from one to
another in silence. Was this some new danger? Were there other pirates
to be reckoned with? The Churchwarden put his hand to his back pocket,
to be ready with his bottle.
"I think it comes from within this room," said the Third Vice-President.
All eyes examined the room. The walls were unbroken, except by
window-slits on one side, the open doorway on another, and on a third a
closed door, which no one had before observed. Toby walked over to this
closed door, and placed his ear against it. A muffled knock sounded from
within.
Toby nodded his head to the others, and tried the door. It was locked.
"Lend me your key, Aunt Amanda," said he; and when she had given it to
him he inserted it in the lock and turned it and threw wide the door.
Inside was a dark closet hung with cloaks. On the floor sat a man.
Toby stepped back in amazement. The man sat motionless, his legs
crossed, gazing out into the lighted room. After a second or two he
rose, and stood in the doorway, rubbing his eyes. He said not a word,
but continued to rub his eyes until they evidently became used to the
light, and gave two or three sniffs, as if he smelt an odour, and found
it far from agreeable.
He was a thickset man, dressed in sailor's clothes, in no way like the
clothes the pirates had worn. His eyes were small and very close
together; his nose was broken and flat; his lower jaw stuck out beyond
his upper; an unpleasant fellow enough, if looks were anything. In his
belt he carried a long knife. His sailor collar was cut low in front,
and his chest was tattooed in red and blue ink.
As he hesitated in the doorway, sniffing the air uneasily and blinking
his eyes, the Chairman of the Daft Committee spoke in his calm voice.
"Come in, my good sir," said he. "I should like to take the liberty of
asking you a few questions."
The sailorman walked slowly into the room and looked about him.
"What's that there smell in the air?" said he.
"Nothing only my Odour of Sanctity," said the Churchwarden.
"I don't like it," said the sailorman.
"I can't say that I like it much myself," said the Third Vice-President,
"but it is too faint now to be disagreeable. Pray be seated, sir." One
of the Committee rose and offered the sailorman his chair. The sailor
sat down and gazed at the Third Vice-President, who went on with his
speech. "You need have no fear, sir; if Captain Lingo causes you any
uneasiness, I may tell you that he is gone, never to return; and all his
men with him; even the thirteen dead men who were sitting in these
chairs until a few minutes ago."
"What!" said the sailor. "Has them thirteen men been a-sitting here all
these years?"
"My dear sir," said the Third Vice-President, "I assure you we saw them
with our own eyes. But you will perhaps be kind enough to tell us who
you are, and how you came to be locked up in that closet."
"Humph!" said the sailor, hesitating. "I don't know who you are, nor
what you're doing in this here place. However, if Lingo's gone, and--Oh
well, I might as well tell you. By the looks of you, I ain't got much
cause to be afraid."
"Your courtesy under the circumstances will be much appreciated," said
the Third Vice-President.
"Courtesy be blowed," said the sailorman. "Well, here goes. I'm Matthew
Speak, able-bodied seaman, of the brig Cotton Mather, out of New
Bedford, Reuben Higginson, master."
"What!" cried Aunt Amanda, almost shrieking. "Are you--? The Cotton
Mather! Reuben Higginson! Did you know him? It ain't possible! I can't
believe it!"
"It ain't nothing to me whether you believes it or not. I shipped with
Reuben Higginson at New Bedford and landed here with him and his crew on
this same identical Island, all tight and safe; here on Correction
Island, as the cap'n called it."
"What!" cried Aunt Amanda again. "Is this Correction Island? Well, I
never! Here we are on Correction Island after all, and we never knew it!
Are you sure?"
"That's what he called it, believe me or not. It ain't nothing to me,
but I seen it on the map I sold to Mizzen, and the cap'n wrote it there
in his own handwrite; that's all I know; but maybe if you'd hunt up this
here Lemuel Mizzen, a sailor with a patch on one eye and--"
"Well, of all things!" exclaimed Aunt Amanda.
"By crackey," said Toby, "I wouldn't 'a' believed it. Lemuel Mizzen!"
"Perhaps you will be so good as to tell us--" began the Third
Vice-President.
"Freddie," said Aunt Amanda, "have you got the map?"
"Yes'm," said Freddie, and produced it from his pocket.
Aunt Amanda took it from him and spread it open on the table before
Matthew Speak. The sailorman glanced at it and nodded his head.
"That's it," said he. "I don't know how you come by it, but that's it.
Higginson was lost with the Cotton Mather in a storm on his way back to
New Bedford, and a lucky chance for me I wasn't aboard. A good while
afterwards a fisherman off of this here Island picked up the map at sea
in a bottle, and I got it off'n him; he squealed a good bit when I stuck
him, but I got it, right enough. And then along comes Mizzen, me being
in hiding, and I sold it to him for a set of false whiskers and a
tattoo-needle."
"Yes, yes," said Freddie eagerly. "Mr. Mizzen told me about it."
"When Higginson sailed away from here in the Cotton Mather, I didn't go
with him. I ran away. Ay, a runaway sailor, that's what I am. I liked
the Spanish Main, and I didn't like Higginson; nor yet he didn't like
me, neither. But before he sailed, I left my mark on him, I did; four of
his teeth out and a black eye; and I won't say but what he broke my nose
for me too, right enough. For a Quaker, he hit pretty good. And I stole
this bit of writing from him; probably it ain't no account, but
Higginson he seemed to set great store by it, so I stole it, and here it
is." He took from his pocket a sheet of folded paper and laid it on the
table beside the map; it was much soiled, and was evidently very old. He
sniffed the air once or twice, and frowned. "I don't like this here
smell. It's no good. I say I don't like it. It makes me feel queer.
Well, I guess the old man thought this here bit of writing was safe in
his locker right up to the last; I expect he never missed it until he
went to put it into the bottle with the map and throw it overboard." He
shook the paper in his hand and dropped it again on the table. "And
then," he went on, "I fell in with Lingo, and joined his crew."
"Look here," said Toby, "how long ago was all this?"
"How do I know?" said Speak. "I've been shut up in that there cupboard
so long I ain't got no account of time. But I remember just before we
sailed from New Bedford there was a lot of crazy people talkin' about
getting up a fight with England and breakin' loose from her, and being
free and independent and what not--a great pack of foolish nonsense--and
something or other about some kind of a tea-party in Boston--I dunno. I
ain't never heard what come of it. Most likely nothin' at all. I guess
it must have been a good while ago. I dunno."
The Churchwarden started, and put his hand to his back pocket. "Are you
as old as that?" said he.
"No older nor what you be, old fat-chaps," said Speak. "You attend to
your own age, and I'll attend to mine."
"Never mind," said the Third Vice-President, hastily. "Pray tell us how
you came to be locked up in that closet."
"Gimme a chanc't," said Speak. "I'd tell you if you'd gimme a chanc't. I
joined Lingo. I served him true and faithful, and many a prize we've
taken together, and watched many a smart lad walk the plank, that's a
fact. Well, thirteen of his men laid a plan to go to his treasure-cave
where all his treasure was hid, and make off with it; steal it; ay, ay;
steal it, mind you; as bad as that. Now me, I ain't got no patience
with dishonesty; I'm all for being honest, I am; so, being as I had
learned about this here plan, I went and told the captain. He never
winked an eye, not him, but off he sent his other six men, out of the
way, and made a fine supper here for them thirteen and sat down with
them to it; ay, that he did. But first he gets a little white powder out
of a silver box and takes it to Mother Ketch and orders her to put it in
their food; and she won't, not she, and nothing he can do can make her;
so he comes to me, and being as I hates dishonesty, I puts the powder in
their food, and they eats it. Only, being kind of nervous, as you might
say, I spills about two-thirds of it on my way upstairs in the dark; and
there ain't enough left to do the work complete. What was left I put in
the food on the table, and at that minute up the stairs comes the whole
thirteen with the captain at their head, and I whips into that there
cupboard and shuts the door, a-trembling in my boots for fear of what
the captain's going to do to me when he finds out the powder won't work
only partly. I can hear 'em all set down to the table laughin' hearty,
and the captain's voice a-crackin' jokes and makin' 'em feel at home;
but after a bit I don't hear nobody's voice but only the captain's,
because of the white powder actin' on the others as far as it could, and
them probably a-settin' up stiff and tongue-tied in their chairs, unable
to move a hand, because of the mite of powder, d'ye see, and me
a-settin' quiet in the dark cupboard, a-quakin' all over and wonderin'
what the captain was a-goin' to do to me. And after a bit I don't hear
the captain's voice no more, and there ain't no sound at all. And I
guess the party is over. And in another minute I hears a key turn in the
lock of my cupboard door, very soft and easy, and there I am shut up and
locked in as tight as pitch; and there I've been ever since."
"And serve you jolly well right, too, hif you arsk me," said Mr. Punch,
with great disgust.
"It's the wickedest piece of business all round I ever heard of in my
life," said Aunt Amanda, indignantly. "It's my opinion you're as bad as
any of them."
"Worse, if anything," said the Churchwarden, whose hand was still on his
back pocket.
"It's a pity the captain didn't knife you in the back with the rest of
'em," said Toby, angrily.
Speak's little eyes flashed fire. He drew his knife and held it out
threateningly in his hand, and started to rise. But he did not rise. He
remained fixed in his chair, though it was easy to see that he was
trying to get up. He sniffed the air, and his head remained fixed in the
act of sniffing. The hand which held the knife continued to hold it out,
without moving. A look of alarm came into his eyes. It was evident that
he had smelled the Odour of Sanctity, which yet lingered faintly in the
room. His outline began to waver; his face became vague; his features
ran together; he took on the appearance of vapor; and there in the chair
by the table, in place of the thick and solid sailorman, was an almost
transparent form of mist or smoke, remotely in the shape of a man.
Everyone waited to see him vanish. The form still lingered; it did not
disappear; it continued to sit in its chair with its hand extended,
holding out a shadowy knife. The Odour of Sanctity had lost its full
power, and what remained of it was insufficient to make him disappear.
The Churchwarden pulled out his bottle, and commenced to uncork it.
"Stay," said the Third Vice-President, holding up his hand. "I pray you
stay. Do not spill any more of that deadly fluid. There has been enough
destruction here tonight. I propose that we leave the late Matthew Speak
as he is. He belongs to the Society for Piratical Research. He is the
Last of the Pirates, and I beg leave to claim him for the Society. As an
exhibit, he will be highly valued. We shall from time to time conduct
hither parties of the learned or the curious to view the Last of the
Pirates. Nothing could be better. Our Society is now revived. I am
immensely gratified. Low Dudgeon shall be known as the only Museum in
the world with but a single Exhibit. Let the late Matthew Speak repose
here in his chair as a permanent relic of a bygone age; the sole Exhibit
in a Museum all his own. The interest of such an Exhibit will doubtless
warrant a small charge at the door."
The Committee murmured an earnest approval. The Churchwarden looked at
his companions, and put the bottle back into his pocket with a sigh.
"I thank you," said the Third Vice-President. "We will now proceed to
consider our next step."
"I simply can't stay in this room," exclaimed Aunt Amanda, "with that
thing sitting in that chair."
"It is nothing, madam, I assure you," said the Third Vice-President.
"See!"
He leaned over and passed his hand directly through the body in the
chair; in at the breast and out at the back.
"Oh!" cried Aunt Amanda; and her friends all gasped; but the Committee
only nodded their heads in token of their interest.
"You see it is nothing," said the Third Vice-President. "We will now
look at the paper which our departed friend has left."
He picked up the paper from the table where Speak had left it, adjusted
his spectacles, turned his back to the candles so as to get a good
light, and read the paper through to himself. He then glanced at the
company and read aloud:
"Shiraz the Rug-Merchant.
"Outside the Gate of Wanderers, six hundred Paces to the Right, along
the Wall.
"Thee shall know his Shop by certain Numbers, to wit: 3101310.
"If he Hide himself, say these words: Shagli Jamshid Shahriman.
"Thee shall buy of his Wares; not that which he shall offer First, nor
Second; but that which he shall offer Third, that thee shall Buy; and
for that thee shall Pay whatever he shall Demand.
"Thereafter thee shall do whatever he shall Direct.
"But enter not into the City but by the Shop of Shiraz the
Rug-Merchant."
There was silence for a moment, then Aunt Amanda said:
"That's the way we are to get those wonderful things the map speaks of.
It doesn't seem to tell us much, though. Where do you suppose is this
Gate of Wanderers?"
"That, dear madam," said the Third Vice-President, "is one of the gates
of our City of Towers. We know it very well, of course."
"Then," said Aunt Amanda, "as captain of my party, my orders is that we
go there at once."
"Much good would that do," said Toby. "We've got to buy something of
this here Shiraz, if that's his name, and pay anything he asks, too. And
there ain't a penny amongst us. How could we buy anything?"
"The pirates' treasure!" cried Freddie. "The pirates' treasure in the
cave!"
"By crackey!" said Toby. "I clean forgot all about it. Good for you,
Freddie! Talk about money to buy things with! We'll buy out that old
Shiraz's whole shop! The treasure belongs to us, as sure as you're born.
By crickets, we're in luck."
"If you will pardon me," said the Third Vice-President, "we know
nothing of any treasure, and if you would be so good as to----"
"I will," said Aunt Amanda, and she quickly explained the whole matter.
The Daft Committee, including its Chairman, was much impressed.
"We do not wish to intrude," said the Chairman, "but if we could be of
any service----"
"Of course!" cried Toby. "You've got to help us get the treasure out of
the cave, and then help us to find the City of Towers. And if you'll
help us, why what I say is, the Committee ought to have a share of the
treasure. Is that right?"
Toby's friends willingly agreed, and the Committee gladly consented to
go with them to the Treasure Cave and then to the City of Towers.
"The Society for Piratical Research," said the Third Vice-President, "is
coming back to life! We now have a Museum with one Exhibit, and we are
about to acquire a Fund of Money. Come, my friends, it is time to
depart. If you will go out first, I will remain and blow out the
candles. We must remember to close the door behind us, for a draught of
air would probably blow the late Mr. Matthew Speak out of the window."
In a few moments the whole party was standing in the moonlight on the
grass before the deserted tower of Low Dudgeon. Not quite deserted,
however; in every mind was a picture of a misty and vapory form,
remotely in the shape of a man, sitting motionless in a chair beside a
table in a dark and silent room.
"All right," said Toby, "now for the Treasure Cave and the City of
Towers."