FOREBODINGS
The hearts of all on board were thrilled. Crew and passengers alike
were delighted, although the latter had a special reason for excitement
of which the former were supposed to be ignorant.
The schooner had been proceeding under full sail, but as she approached
nearer to the land whose outlines at every moment became more distinct,
the topgallants were taken in until the _Bertha Hamilton_ had just
enough canvas drawing to give her good steerage way.
Before long the schooner approached near enough for those on board to
see the island plainly with the naked eye. It seemed to be several
miles in length. It looked like an emerald floating in the sunlight.
Lush vegetation extended to within a hundred yards of the sea, and a
silvery stretch of beach edged the breakers that curled and burst with
an unceasing roar.
There was no sign of human habitation anywhere. No hut broke the
smooth expanse of the beach or peeped out from among the trees. The
impression of an uninhabited wilderness was heightened by great numbers
of pelicans and cranes, who stood sleepily on one foot or stalked
solemnly about pursuing their fishing in the shallows.
There was only one place where the outline of the coast was broken. At
the eastern end the claws of a reef extended for about half a mile into
the sea, making a barrier behind which the water was comparatively
calm, though at the opening, of about two hundred yards, there ran a
turbulent sea.
"That must be the inlet shown on the pirate's map," whispered Tyke, who
was standing at the rail of the _Bertha Hamilton_ close beside the
captain.
"That's probably what it is," replied Captain Hamilton, his voice
showing the agitation under which he was laboring. "But before we put
her through the opening, I'm going to take soundings. Mr. Ditty!" he
called, "heave to and lower a boat to take soundings."
"Aye, aye, sir," responded the mate.
In a twinkling the necessary orders were given, the _Bertha Hamilton_
lost way and rounded to, and a boat manned by six sailors was dropped
from the davits on the lee side.
"Pull away smartly now, my lads," called the mate as he took the
tiller-ropes.
It required smart seamanship to get through that rushing raceway
without capsizing; but, whatever Ditty's faults, he did not lack
ability, and the work was done in a way that elicited an unwilling
grunt of admiration from Tyke.
In less than two hours the requisite soundings had been taken, and
Ditty came to report.
"Plenty of depth, sir," he reported. "No less than ten fathoms
anywhere. And a good bottom."
"All right, Mr. Ditty," replied the captain. "Put the canvas on her
now and we'll take her through."
The captain himself assumed charge of this critical operation, and
under half sail the _Bertha Hamilton_ dashed through as though
welcoming the end of her journey. She made the channel without mishap,
and let go her anchor within a quarter of a mile of the head of the
lagoon.
Inside the breakwater the sea was almost as smooth as a mirror. The
water was wonderfully transparent, and they could see hundreds of
tropical fish swimming lazily at a great depth. On the beach the waves
lapped in musical ripples, in striking contrast to the thundering surf
on the reef.
The captain wiped his perspiring forehead and drew a long breath of
relief. "So far so good," he remarked. "It won't be long now before
we'll know whether we've come on a fool's errand or not."
"There's one thing about which the map hasn't lied, anyway," said Drew.
"It pointed out the inlet just where we found it. That's a good omen,
it seems to me."
"Let's hope the rest of the map is all right," replied the captain.
"But it's nearly time for dinner now, and we'll have that before going
ashore."
All were so feverishly impatient, now that they were almost in sight of
their goal, that none of them paid much attention to the meal, and it
was soon over.
"Do you s'pose the crew have any idee why we're stopping at this
island?" asked Tyke. There was a grim look on his seamed countenance,
and both the captain and Drew looked at him curiously.
"What's milling in your brain, Tyke?" asked Captain Hamilton. "I've
kept my eyes peeled, and I swear I haven't seen anything more to
suggest treachery. Ditty's on his best behavior----"
"Yes; that's so," agreed Tyke. "But did you spy the men he took with
him in the boat jest now, when he came in here to make soundings?"
"I didn't notice," the captain confessed.
"The orneriest ones of the whole bunch. An', believe me! this is the
wo'st crew of dock scrapings I ever set eyes on," growled Tyke. "Ditty
did a lot of talking in the boat--I watched 'em through my glass. Them
six are his close friends, Cap'n Rufe. They've laid their plans----"
"Holy mackerel!" exclaimed Captain Hamilton. "What are you saying,
Tyke?"
"I've figgered out that we aren't going to have things our own way down
here," the other said earnestly. "I've been waiting for you to say
something, Cap'n Rufe, ever since that Bug-eye accused Allen like he
did. Ditty's on to our game--has been on to it right along--an' he
selected this crew of wharf-rats for a purpose."
"I agree with you, Mr. Grimshaw," Drew declared eagerly. "That's what
Ditty was after when he tried to rob you at the time you were knocked
down by the automobile. You were right. He did push you back in front
of the machine, and then he searched your pockets while you were on the
ground."
"For what?" demanded Captain Hamilton, staring.
"For the paper and the map. Ditty believed Mr. Grimshaw carried that
confession in his pocket," Drew replied.
The master of the schooner rose and began to walk about in excitement.
"That's it! He was lurking outside your office door that day, Tyke,
when we first found the papers in Manuel Gomez's chest. I see it now.
He was aboard the schooner that very evening, too, when I told Ruth at
dinner about the pirate's doubloons. He might have been eavesdropping
then."
"An' I bet he flung poor Parmalee over the rail himself," said Tyke.
Hamilton's expression changed and he shook his head at that.
"He'd git rid of one of the after-guard that way," urged Tyke.
"Parmalee could shoot. An' if it comes to a fight----"
"My soul!" groaned Captain Hamilton suddenly. "And Ruth with us!"
"What about Ruth?" asked that young lady cheerfully, coming from her
cabin. "Aren't you all ready yet? I am going ashore with you."
"Yes; you'd better come," said her father gloomily.
"Why, what is the matter?" she demanded.
"We were just wondering," said Drew quickly, assuming a casual tone to
cover their real emotion, "if the crew suspected our reason for
touching at this island."
Captain Hamilton picked up the ball at once.
"But I don't believe they do," he said. "Of course, it would have
seemed strange to the mate and to Rogers if I hadn't given them some
explanation, especially as we came out in ballast. So I dropped hints
that we were out on a survey expedition that couldn't be talked of just
now. They probably have the idea that we're looking up a suitable
coaling station for the Government, or something of that kind. To
carry that out, I've got some surveyor's instruments here that we'll
take along with us, just for a blind."
"Let's hope it'll work," said Tyke dubiously. "An' it won't do any
harm to take our guns along."
"There's a pair of revolvers for each of us," replied Captain Hamilton,
opening the closet where he kept the arms that Drew had previously
seen; "and we'll take half a dozen guns along with us in the boat.
There may be snakes or wild animals on the islands."
"I must have a revolver too, Daddy," said the girl.
"Of course, my dear," agreed the captain.
"Mebbe you'd better not put any cartridges in it, Cap'n Rufe," said
Grimshaw, taking Ruth playfully by the arm, "They'd be more dangerous
to us than to anything else."
"It's mean of you to say that, Mr. Grimshaw," pouted Ruth. "You'll
find that I can use a gun as well as anybody."
"Mebbe so, mebbe so, my dear," said Tyke indulgently.
"Hadn't we better take some provisions along?" asked Ruth, as she
slipped the cartridges into her revolver and put the weapon in the
pocket of the sports skirt that she had donned.
"That won't be necessary," replied the captain. "We'll be back before
nightfall. This is just a little preliminary scouting. We won't have
time for more than that this afternoon. The real work of searching for
the treasure will begin to-morrow."
The preparations finished, the party went on deck.
"Crew had their dinner yet, Mr. Ditty?" Captain Hamilton asked of his
first officer.
"My watch have, sir," was the answer. "The others are eating now."
"Pick out half a dozen men and lower the boat," ordered the captain.
"We're going ashore for a few hours. We'll be back for supper."
"How long will we lay up here, sir?"
"Can't tell yet. Perhaps two or three days. Possibly a week or more."
"How about shore leave for the men, sir?"
"Beginning to-morrow, they can go ashore in batches of ten. This
afternoon, Mr. Rogers and a boat's crew can take the long boat and some
casks and go ashore to look for water."
"Very well, sir," replied the mate, with a curious expression on his
face.
As he turned away, his one eye fell on Drew. They had not met since
the fight two days before. They stared at each other for several
seconds, until Ditty's eye fell before the concentrated fury in those
of the young man.
Ruth, who had witnessed the interchange of looks, put her hand lightly
on Drew's arm.
"Aren't you going to help me into the boat, Allen?" she asked.
His rage at Ditty vanished in an instant as he turned to her. She was
trying to smile, but there was no laughter in her dewy eyes. But Drew
saw there something deeper and sweeter and tenderer. There was immense
sympathy and--what was that other fugitive expression that he caught
before her eyelids lowered?
He bent toward her, but just then Grimshaw and the captain ranged
alongside, and they had to take their places in the boat.
The members of the crew who had been told off for the service, bent to
the oars, and, at a rapid pace, they approached the shore. The beach
shelved gradually, and they had no trouble in making a landing. The
sailors leaped out into the shallow water and drew the boat well up on
the strand, and the party disembarked.
Drew wished that they had found it necessary to wade. With what
delight he would have carried Ruth in those strong arms of his!
"We'll be back in an hour or two, my lads," said the captain. "You can
scatter about and do as you like until we return, as long as you keep
within hail of the boat."
With the captain and Tyke in the lead, and Drew following behind to
help Ruth over the hard places, they plunged into the unknown forest.
After all, they went slowly, for Tyke had to favor what he called his
"game leg."
For all the evidence that the wood afforded, it had been untrodden for
many years. Giant ceiba trees reared themselves two hundred feet into
the air. Lianas hung in festoons from the boughs like monstrous boa
constrictors. Parrots flew squawking from branch to branch, and
humming birds and butterflies of many hues and gorgeous beauty darted
like bright arrows among the flowers.
The underbrush was thick and in some places impenetrable, and the
treasure seekers would have found their progress very slow if it had
not been for certain irregular trails that seemed to have been hewn
through the woods at intervals. In some places these trails were many
yards wide, while at others they narrowed to a foot or two. Nothing
grew upon them, but they were covered by dead leaves and twigs of
varying depths.
"Wonder how these trails came here," said the captain. "There are no
footprints on them, and yet they must have been made by animals or men."
"Better keep our eyes peeled," warned Tyke.
The captain, who had scraped away some of the accumulated leaves and
rubbish, gave a sudden exclamation.
"Why, this path is made of stone!" he cried. He dropped on his knees
and examined more closely. When he rose to his feet his face was grave.
"It's lava!" he stated.
"Then the island must be volcanic!" exclaimed Drew, startled by the
thought.
"Nothing very surprising about that when you come to think of it," Tyke
declared. "We're right down here in the earthquake zone, where the
earth's liable to throw a fit any time. Like enough this old whaleback
is a sleeping volcano. She may blow up again some time."
"Just as it did at Martinique," confirmed the captain. "Perhaps that
may explain the absence of people hereabouts. They may have all been
wiped out by some eruption, or they may have been so scared that they
left the island for safer quarters."
"I don't think we have much to worry about," remarked Tyke. "There
ain't any doubt but this hill we're heading for has been at some time a
volcano. But likely it's been quiet for hundreds of years. An' it's
not likely that it's going to git busy now jest for our special
benefit. Let's hike along."
"There's one good thing about it, anyway," remarked Drew, as they
resumed their march. "It's burned out these paths and made the walking
easier. And it's pointed out just the way we want to go. All we have
to do is to follow this path and it can't help but lead us right up to
the whale's hump."
"That's the point we want to head for," replied the captain, consulting
the map. "You'll notice that these circles seem to be on the slope of
the hill not so very far from the top. Besides, that pirate fellow
would be likely to go quite a way in from the shore to bury his loot."
Half a mile further on, a little stream ran through the forest. The
party went over to it, and Drew, bending down and making a cup of his
hands, bore some of the water to his lips. He made a wry face and
almost choked.
"Sulphur!" he exclaimed. "It's full of it."
Captain Hamilton, too, tasted.
"Another proof, if we needed it, that the island is volcanic," he
observed. Then, in a tone that only Drew heard, he added: "What I
don't like about it is that it shows there's brimstone in the old
whale's hump yet. If there wasn't, the water would have sweetened long
ago."
Tyke and Ruth each took a few drops of the water, and then the party
went on a little more soberly than before. The trees soon became more
scattered, though the undergrowth was dense. Before long they emerged
on a sort of plateau above which was lifted, at a height of two hundred
feet or more, the whale's hump.
Its sides were heaped with masses of hardened lava in all kinds of
grotesque shapes. It was utterly desolate and bare. Ruth shuddered as
she looked at the weird scene.
"I don't wonder that some place around here is called the Witch's
Head," she remarked. "This must be like the place where Macbeth saw
the witches brewing their potions."
"Except that they brewed them 'in lightning, thunder and in rain',"
said Drew. "Those are the only things that are missing."
He had scarcely spoken when there was a rumbling that sounded like
thunder. Drew was startled, and Ruth grew slightly pale.
"That's funny," remarked Tyke. "Weather's as clear as a bell too.
This ain't the hurricane season."
The captain was in a brown study, seemingly unheedful of the rumbling
sound. In a moment he roused himself and said:
"Well, now let's scatter about and see if we can find anything that
looks like The Three Sisters or the Witch's Head."
Grimshaw sat down to rest, not wishing to put too heavy a strain on the
leg that had been injured, and the others wandered about for half an
hour trying to discover anything that might be identified as the places
named on the map. But their efforts were fruitless, and the captain,
looking at his watch, called a halt.
"Nothing more doing now," he said. "We have only time to get back to
the boat. But we've got our bearings and have done a good afternoon's
work. To-morrow's a new day, and we'll get on the job early."
Reluctantly, the little party went back to the boat. They found the
crew waiting for them and were pulled rapidly to the schooner, whose
anchor lights were already gleaming like fireflies in the sudden dusk.