WE MEET WITH A SERIOUS REVERSE
I shall not dwell on our preparations for the voyage; nor shall I
attempt a lengthy description of the schooner _Pearl_ which lay in the
Basin. Jean Marat's eyes sparkled, when first we came in view of her.
She was of one hundred and twenty-one tons burden, and sported a
flying-jib, jib, fore mainsail, foresail, fore gaff top-sail, mainsail,
and main gaff top-sail. Forward, a companionway led down to the men's
quarters; after, the cabin roof, with its grated skylight, was raised
but a little above the deck. Two small boats hung in davits. The cabin
was sufficiently spacious, and there were four staterooms, and then
there was the galley--the jolly Rufe's domain. And he took great pride
in exhibiting its treasures.
A day early in August saw us out in the broad Gulf of Mexico, all of the
_Pearl's_ sails set to the westerly breeze. Madame Marat mothered our
party. In fair weather when she was engineering Rufe's activities in the
galley, she sat with her lace-work on the deck. Even the roughest of the
sailors would put himself in the way of her smile.
And then, late one afternoon there gradually rose out of the sea the
higher peaks of Jamaica. And on the following day we made the harbor of
Kingston, a beautiful city, with its fringe of cocoa palms at the front,
and at its back the mountains clad in tropical vegetation. It was here
events were brewing that were to set a kink in our plans. It was here,
too, that Madame Marat had old friends expecting her arrival. Indeed, we
had not long been at anchor till they had found us out; Monsieur Paul
Duchanel and Madame Duchanel.
But a real shock, too, awaited us. I had no sooner made my bow to the
Duchanels than I turned, directed by Ray's grinning look, to see an old
friend of our former voyage, Grant Norris, whom we had believed to be in
England. He had come over the other rail.
"Thought you were going to slip away on another ramble without me, did
you?" was his greeting.
Julian and Marat had kept this thing a surprise for Ray, Robert and
myself. They had been in correspondence with Norris, and he had found it
convenient to join us here. He explained that his sister's husband had
been sent by his London employers to represent them in Jamaica.
What with entertainment in the home of the Duchanels and in that of
Norris's sister, and the drives over the wonderful roads, among groves
of palms, mahogany, and multi-colored tropical vegetation, three days
had soon gone. It was on the fourth day that we three boys found the
cherished opportunity to turn a little trick at the expense of Jean
Marat and Grant Norris. These two were crack shots with the rifle; we
had witnessed samples of their shooting years back. On this day we six
drove out of Kingston some miles, to a mountain stream to fish. Robert
and I carried what purported to be cases holding fancy fishing rods. Ray
was to manage the show.
"Now, gentlemen," he began, when we had settled down on a grassy slope
beside the stream, "now, gentlemen, I want to show you the trick of the
disappearing mangoes." He produced two small green mangoes and set one
each on the ends of two long bamboo fishing rods. These he handed to
Marat and Norris. "Now, gentlemen," he again began his speech, "wave
them slowly from side to side. Watch the mangoes very carefully and see
them disappear. Watch very carefully or you will miss it."
Robert and I had slipped away behind the bushes to a distance of about
sixty yards. Marat and Norris smilingly watched the mangoes, as they
waved them far above their heads. Then suddenly their faces changed, as
the mangoes shattered, as if from an internal explosion.
Robert and I sped back, as the two astounded men were scratching their
heads over Ray's trick. And we exhibited our .22 caliber rifles, fitted
with _silencers_.
"Ah, that was ver' clever," said Marat, as he slapped us on the back.
Norris rolled Robert in the grass in playful punishment. "To think,"
said Norris, "that these kids would play a trick like that on us!--and
to put _silencers_ on their guns."
Robert and I had worked long, and expended very much ammunition, in our
ambition to emulate these two rifle-men, and now we had our reward.
When we arrived back in Kingston with our basket of fish that evening,
it was to hear startling news. There was great excitement in the home of
the Duchanels. A family of close friends and neighbors had this day been
bereft of their little seven-year-old daughter, Marie Cambon. She had
been last seen before noon at play in the yard of the Cambon home, where
there was much growth of flowers and decorative bushes, at the back. The
city and surrounding country was being carefully searched, we were told.
Our party was making preparations to join in the search when black Rufe
appeared. His usual jovial face was a picture of terror.
"Amos, he done daid," he announced.
"Amos dead!" said Julian, "What, how--what do you mean?" he stammered.
Rufe told the story. He and Amos had been on board the _Pearl_ when the
news of the disappearance of the Cambon child came to them. "It's the
voodoo," Amos had said. And thereupon he became restless, and presently
was for rowing ashore. He wanted to get a nearer view of a certain
sailing vessel he pointed out; but insisted on getting that view from
some place up the shore; he would not go near it in a boat. So the two
rowed to shore and made their way toward the desired spot. It was a
sheltered region amongst the trees and brush. Amos was well in advance
of Rufe. Suddenly a group of two blacks and one white man appeared in an
open space.
"Dat white man an' Amos on a suddent stopped," said Rufe, "like two high
stumps, de white man wid his han' to his face. Den Amos turn 'roun' an'
say, 'Run!' And he run one way, an' I run anoder. I run nigh half a
mile, an' den I gets ashame' o' myse'f an' stop. I run jes' 'cause he
sayed 'run.' I sayed to myse'f, 'Dis ain't no way fo' you to do,' an'
den I goes back. I goes de way I seen Amos run--I picked up a club, not
a knowin' jis' what hits all about. I didn' go fur till I see Amos lyin'
on de groun', an' a puddle o' blood. An' he was plumb daid."
"Did you hear a shot?" said Norris.
"No, dar warn't no shot; hit was a knife dat did it," declared Rufe.
"Now you-all know, Julian," continued the poor black, "it ain't my way
to run; I run jes' 'cause he sayed run."
We reassured him, telling him we knew him too well to doubt. And then we
took steps to recover the body.
Darkness had spread over the city and harbor by this time. With Rufe's
help effort was made to identify the vessel that had excited Amos's
curiosity; and it was learned, finally, that a sailing vessel had moved
out of the harbor soon after darkness had fallen; and before the return
of day it became possible to identify the vessel. It was the schooner
_Josephine_, owned by a Monsieur Mordaunt, that had thus stolen away in
the murk.
It was then the parents of the missing little Marie Cambon made known to
us certain facts that had apparently strong bearing on these events. For
a year past this M. Mordaunt had been a suitor for the hand of their
elder daughter, Josephine. He had come to Kingston in his handsome
yacht; and had almost taken the society of Kingston by storm. He
appeared well educated, accomplished, and apparently possessed vast
riches, expending money with astounding lavishness. He professed to come
from France, but balked all efforts to induce him to be particular as to
his antecedents; till finally it became whispered about that this
Mordaunt bore an assumed name, and that he not only was of mixed blood,
but that some of it was ignoble blood.
It was then Cambon forbade him the house. For the past several weeks he
had sought an interview with Miss Josephine, who had been dutifully
guided by her parents, though she was slow to accept the unfavorable
reports.
The next day following the tragedy there came news of a mysterious
ship's boat having put in in the night beyond Portland Point, and taken
on a pair of black men who had with them a huge hamper.
Madame Cambon's condition was pitiable. Not a tear did she shed; she was
dazed and all but dumb of the shock. She would not rest, but must go
with the others in the search. She walked until her limbs gave way, then
she must continue in a carriage. In the morning her strength failed, and
blessed unconsciousness came. It was Madame Marat took her in hand.
Our party joined in the hunt, and it was not till noon of the day
following the disappearance, that all came together again. We had been
guided by people of Kingston in the search. Now we of the _Pearl_ had
all come to experience a desire to put our heads together to some
purpose as a separate party. It quickly developed that all minds were as
one on several particulars. Even had we not lost our guide in the quest
for gold, that lure had been pushed aside by this new, humane call.
"And now," said Norris, "We've got to decide what's to be our line."
"And you all know as well as I do," began Ray, "who it is that's got it
all figured out."
And they all turned their eyes on myself. It was always Ray's way, when
in the old days our little troop of boys met problems, he usually
contrived to put the solution up to me. During our former voyage,
whenever an enigma presented, he discouraged all efforts of the others
by assuring them that Wayne would work it out without half trying; just
leave it all to him! And there was the inevitable result. Ray was always
incorrigible.
A number of circumstances were significant: This M. Mordaunt held a
grievance against the Cambon family; his character is at least under
suspicion; the time and manner of his sailing away is also suspicious;
the close association between Amos's getting the news of the child's
disappearance and his suddenly awakened interest in that vessel in the
harbor was a suspicious circumstance; it developed that Mordaunt's yacht
lay opposite to that point to which Amos went to obtain a nearer view of
the vessel of his interest; it is very probable that the white man seen
by Rufe was Mordaunt, and that he it was caused Amos's death; that it
must have been that Amos had some knowledge of him the publishing of
which he had some reason to fear; this Mordaunt then must be a very
fiend; on learning of the child's disappearance Amos had declared that
it was the voodoo, and according to Rufe's account he talked like he
knew--this is a thing Madame Cambon must not hear of--
"Jus' so," agreed Marat. "She could not stand to think that."
"Now then," I said, "we are agreed on one thing. We must seek Mordaunt's
schooner yacht _Josephine_, and not forget voodoo for a guide."
"Of course we're agreed on it," said Ray, in his tantalizing manner,
mingling sport with earnest.