THE FLAG OF TRUCE
The seamen rolled the larger boulders to the line Tyke indicated.
Captain Hamilton himself and Drew chocked the interstices between the
larger blocks with broken lava. A chance bullet might slip through
into the fort, but under a rain of lead those within the fortification
would be fairly well protected.
In two hours, and not long before sunset, the work was finished.
Facing the jungle, from which the expected attack would come, if at
all, the wall was breast high; in the rear, it rose higher so that no
man unless he stood fairly in the lip of the crater above, could shoot
over the barrier.
"And take it from me," said Tyke Grimshaw, "those bums ain't going to
run their legs off to reach the top of this volcano. They're scared to
death of it."
"And our own boys aren't much better," muttered Captain Hamilton. "See
'em looking over their shoulders now and again? They're expecting a
shoot-off any minute."
"Well," the older man agreed, "that may be so. But it strikes me that
the volcano and the earthquakes have been mighty helpful to us. Now,
if I was superstitious----"
"How about locking my schooner in that blasted lagoon?" growled the
master of the _Bertha Hamilton_. "This island is hoodooed, I've half a
mind to believe."
Next the rifles and revolvers were carefully cleaned and loaded, and
the ammunition distributed.
"How are we off for cartridges?" Drew asked.
"None too well," answered the captain. "If these fellows were sure
shots, there'd probably be all we'd need. But they'll waste a lot.
I've got several hundred in a box under my berth--and clips for the
automatics, too. I certainly wish I'd brought 'em along."
"S'pose Ditty's gobbled 'em?" inquired Grimshaw.
"I don't think he'd find them. But they're no good to us now," groaned
the captain.
At this moment Rogers came hurrying up.
"They're putting off from the ship," he reported breathlessly.
"How many of them?" asked the captain.
"Ten in the longboat and seven in the other," was the answer.
"Seventeen in all," mused the captain. "I wonder where the rest are."
"Probably dead or prisoners," put in Tyke. "The men who wouldn't join
him he's likely killed or triced up an' left 'em under guard of one or
two of the gang."
"That's probably so," agreed the master of the _Bertha Hamilton_.
"Well, that reduces the odds somewhat; but they're heavy enough just
the same. We'll have action now 'most any time."
They had been so excited and absorbed in their preparations that they
had not thought of food. Now the captain insisted upon their eating
what Wah Lee had put up for them that morning. But he portioned out
water from the cask very sparingly.
Another hour passed, and still they heard no tread of approaching feet.
It would soon be dark. But suddenly they were startled when a voice
hailed them. It came from the direction of a big ceiba tree a hundred
yards down the forest path.
"Ahoy, there!"
"Ahoy, yourself!" shouted back the captain.
A stick was thrust from behind the tree. A white cloth was tied to the
end of it.
"This is Ditty talkin'," came the voice.
"I know it is, you scoundrel," roared the captain.
"No hard words, Cap'n," came the answer. "It'll only be the worse for
you. I want to have a confab with you."
"Come along then and say your say," replied Captain Hamilton.
"You won't shoot?"
"Not you," promised the captain. "I hope to see you hung later on."
"No tricks, now," said Ditty cautiously
"I said I wouldn't and that's enough," responded the captain. "You can
take it or leave it."
The mate emerged fully from behind the tree and came into the open
space. At fifty paces from the fortress he halted.
"There's guns coverin' you from behind them trees, if anything happens
to me," he said in further warning.
"I don't wonder you think that every man's a liar, Ditty," the captain
replied bitterly. "You judge them out of your own black heart. Now,
what do you want? Why have you seized my ship? Why have you killed
one of my men?"
"I hain't seized your ship," answered Ditty sullenly. "You left me in
charge of it. An' I didn't kill any of your men. Sanders got drunk
an' fell overboard."
"Don't lie to me, you rascal," returned the captain. "We heard the
shooting and saw the man shot as he leaped overboard. You'll hang for
that yet, if I don't kill you first. You're a bloody mutineer and you
know it. Now stow your lies and get to the point. What do you want?"
"We want them doubloons!" fairly shouted Ditty, stung by the captain's
contempt, "an' we're goin' to have 'em."
"Doubloons? What do you mean?" asked the captain.
"The treasure you come here to dig for," answered Ditty. "You can't
fool me. I've been on to your little game ever since before the
schooner left New York. I got sharp ears, I have," pursued the mate,
his one eye gleaming balefully as he looked at the heads above the line
of the breastwork. "I know you found a map an' some sort of a paper
what explained about that old pirate treasure. It was in a sailorman's
chest in Tyke Grimshaw's office. Like enough Tyke stole it from the
poor feller. An' I heard you tellin' Miss Ruth about it that night at
dinner," he added, with a leering glance at the pale-faced girl.
"So that's why you shipped me such a lot of scum and riffraff, was it,
you villain?" Captain Hamilton asked.
"You can think as you like about that," answered Ditty. "But this here
kind of chinning won't git us anywhere. I know all about the map and
that paper, an' I know that you come here lookin' for that loot. An' I
bet you've found it a'ready. Now, to put it short an' sweet, me an' my
mates want it."
"Suppose you got it?" parleyed the master of the _Bertha Hamilton_.
"It wouldn't do you any good. The schooner is landlocked and can't get
away."
"Even so it'll do us as much good as it will you," countered Ditty.
"We've got the longboat an' we can easily make one of the islands near
by where we can find a ship to take us to the States."
"And suppose I have the treasure and refuse to give it to you?" pursued
the captain.
"Then we'll take it!" threatened Ditty, his one eye glowing with
malevolence. "We'll take it if we have to kill every last one of you
to git it!
"Hey! Barker! Olsen! The rest of you bullies!" he added, raising his
voice, "you know blamed well the after-guard won't do nothin' for you
fellers but let you git shot. You better come with us.
"We're nearly two to one, anyway, an' you've got no chance," he added
to Captain Hamilton.
"We haven't, eh?" exploded the captain, his pent-up rage finding vent.
"Do your worst, you black-hearted hound! And if you're not behind that
tree in one minute, may God have mercy on your soul!"