It was Goff's turn, but instead of taking it, he leaned over to whisper
hoarsely: "Make him talk some, Mr. Van Dyck; tell him to work his
proposition off ag'in, and say it slow. That boat's a-driftin' in, and
if it comes a leetle mite nearer----"
Van Dyck stood up and called to the maker of ultimatums.
"State your proposal again, and let us have it in detail. Will
you leave a supply of gasoline in the long-boat? Will you give us
provisions, and a compass and sextant?"
The fat _chef_ flung his cigarette away and we heard the little hiss of
the spark as the water quenched it.
"Ze proposal ees zis: zat you take your fran's and go back to ze
ladees. Again I h-ask you w'at you done wiz Monsieur Lequat and hees
men?"
"They are here."
"_Bien!_ You vill all go back to ze camp and ze ladees. You vill leave
ze prisonaire; _aussi_, you will leave ze Captain Goff wiz ze rope tie
on hees hand and on hees feets. To-morrow you come back on zis place,
and you vill find ze longboat wiz ze gasoline, ze provisionments, _et_
ze compass _et_ ze sextant, to make ze voyage to La Guaira, to Curaçao,
to anyw'ere you like to gone. _Voila!_ dat ees all."
Again we took hasty counsel among ourselves, and whatever design
Goff had been nursing in asking Van Dyck to prolong the parley was
frustrated by another turn of the launch's drift. The boat was now
edging farther out from the beach. One and all we were for refusing
the detailed terms point blank, if for no other reason than that we
were required to leave one of our number bound and at the mercy of the
mutineers; one and all, I say, but Goff himself said nothing.
"We can't consider the proposal in its entirety for a minute," said
John Grey, voicing the sentiments of at least five of us. But now Goff
cut in.
"You're my owner, Mr. Van Dyck: if I could have a little over-haulin'
of things with you----"
Van Dyck promptly went aside with the skipper. They didn't go so far
but what we could hear their voices--though not the words--and Goff
seemed to be doing all the talking, and to be doing it very earnestly.
But when they came back, as they did very shortly, it was Bonteck who
told us the outcome.
"Captain Goff has explained to me that the mutineers are obliged to
make the terms include his surrender. Lequat is only a rule-of-thumb
navigator, and if they don't have Goff they are likely to make a mess
of themselves and of the yacht. For the sake of those whom we must
consider first of all--the women--he is willing to take his chance
again as a prisoner. If I thought there was any doubt about this fat
devil carrying out his threat to bombard the island, I'd say 'No,' and
fight for it. But we must remember that he can hardly fail to get some
of us with the gun, or, if he shouldn't do that, he can keep us away
from our water supply until we all die of thirst."
Grey raised the only question that seemed to be worth considering.
"We shall have only this scoundrel's word for it that the long-boat and
provisions will be left for us," he objected.
Van Dyck put the suggestion aside hastily; rather too hastily, I
fancied.
"We are obliged to take some chances, of course. Goff, here, will
insist upon the fulfilment of the treaty terms. If they are not
fulfilled to the letter, he will put the _Andromeda_ on the reef and
take the consequences." Then he called once more to the man in the
boat: "One word with you before we close this deal. This is piracy
on the high seas. I suppose you know what that means when you are
caught--as you will be, sooner or later?"
We could see a big arm waving in airy bravado.
"Eet is not'ing, Monsieur Van Dyck. I blow it away--_pouf!_ In Santa
Cruz you vill h-ask ze gr-r-eat liberador w'at he shall tell you about
'Gustave Le Gros.' W'en you shall h-ask heem zat, you shall know it ees
not'ing."
"All right," Bonteck returned. "We'll fall back and leave the
prisoners. Captain Goff will be with them, and he will surrender when
you come ashore. But he will not be bound, and he will be armed, so you
can govern yourself accordingly."
The fat man waved an arm again and took up his sculling oar, raising no
objection to the single modification of the ultimatum--that relating to
the way Goff should be left. We waited until we saw the disabled launch
creep out through the gash in the reef. Then we fell back upon the
professor, who was still reading quietly by the miserable light of the
ship's lantern.
In a few words we explained the new situation, and the mild-eyed rider
of an engrossing hobby got up and carefully dusted his trousers.
"You gentlemen were on the ground, and you doubtless knew what was best
to be done," he said in gentle resignation. "Shall we go back to the
ladies?"
We left Elijah Goff to watch over the trussed-up figures in the little
open glade and set out upon our retreat, taking the northern beach for
our route. Just before we came opposite the camp at the farther end
of the island, we heard the renewed sputterings and poppings of the
gasoline engine in the long-boat. The amateur pirates were landing,
this time without let or hindrance.