THE BATTLE IS ON
Helpless and almost hopeless, the two captives were led deeper into the
forest paths. Drew realized that they were skirting the barren
hillside and gaining a position nearer to the treasure seekers' fort.
Finally they saw a fire in the now dark wood, and soon came to a
stockade. Several fallen trees formed this barrier, and in addition to
the protection they afforded, a number of branches had been so arranged
as to form an abattis. The work had been hastily done; but with
determined men behind it, it would offer a formidable obstacle to an
attacking party.
At a fire in the further end of the enclosure the mutineers were
preparing their breakfast. Ditty went over and talked earnestly with
some of his men, but finally broke off abruptly and came back to the
prisoners, who had both been tied, wrist and ankle.
"So I've got you where I've wanted you at last, have I?" he taunted
Drew. "Little moonlight walks don't always pan out as you expect."
Drew disdained to reply.
"You wont talk, eh?" the mate snarled, kicking him in the ribs with his
heavy boot. "Well, I know some cunnin' little ways of makin' people
talk when I want 'em to. But I'm goin' to wait a while before I try
'em on you. I want somebody here to see you cringe and hear you howl.
Bless her pretty eyes, how she'll enjoy it!"
Then Drew's eyes flashed and he strained at his bonds.
"You vile scoundrel!" he cried. "If my hands were free I'd choke the
life out of you!"
"So you can talk, after all?" sneered the mate, his cold eye becoming
still more reptilian.
"And more than talk--give me the chance," Drew flung back at him.
"Smart boy," jeered the mate. "Smart enough to translate Spanish and
the pirate's old map, eh? An' now you're goin' to smart more when you
see me an' my mates walk off with the doubloons," and he laughed.
"Yes. When I do!" the young man said boldly. "You'll be a deal older
when that happens, Ditty."
"I'll show you!" ejaculated the mate, and kicked him again.
"The brute!" gasped Parmalee.
"Parmalee," Drew said in a trembling voice, "I never wanted the use of
my hands so much as I do now. When I do get free, I shall be tempted
to kill that fellow."
"He deserves it--the double-dyed villain!" groaned Parmalee. "And he
threw me overboard."
"I knew he must have done so," said Drew. "But why did he do it? Not
just to put the crime on me? How were you saved and how did you get
here? Let's hear it all."
"I had overheard the rascal plotting with some of the men," returned
Parmalee. "Ditty must have caught a glimpse of me. I suppose he felt
the time was not ripe for exposure; so he put me out of the way. He
must have been lurking near us that night when you fell. I was
stooping to help you when he grabbed me and flung me over the rail. I
didn't have time to cry out.
"I'm a good swimmer--one of the few active accomplishments I
possess--and I swam as long as I could. Just as I lost strength, my
hand touched a cask lashed to a grating that must have fallen from some
vessel, or been thrown from it. That held me up till morning. By that
time I was about all in. But just then a sloop--a turtle catcher she
was--bore down on me, sighted me, and answered my frantic appeal, and
picked me up. It was a terrible experience."
"It must have been," breathed the other. "Go on. How did you get here
to this very island where the doubloons were buried?"
"Are they here?" asked Parmalee eagerly. "Do you know?"
"Sh!" whispered Drew. "Don't say a word. We have 'em--pecks of them!
And jewels and other stuff besides--enough to make us all as rich as
Midas."
"Humph!" commented Parmalee, with sudden gravity. "And he had asses'
ears. I'm afraid this mess we're all in shows that we did an asinine
thing in coming down here after the doubloons. What is wealth compared
to life itself?"
"True," murmured Drew. "And what we've been through besides. But go
on. Tell the rest."
"When those turtle catchers landed here I had no idea that this island
was the one marked on the pirate's map which Captain Hamilton showed
me," pursued Parmalee. "I was treated well enough. But I happened to
have no money in my pockets, and the men disbelieved my claim that I
would pay them if they would get me to a civilized port! So they made
me work. That was all right, but the work was too heavy for me; so I
went off into the interior of the island to see if there were not some
inhabitants. Then the first earthquake came. It frightened those
half-breeds and negroes blue. They set off in the sloop, leaving me
behind.
"Day before yesterday I came up this way. I guessed that the
fortification must have been thrown up by one party from the _Bertha
Hamilton_ and that this was the island we had been seeking; but
hesitated to come nearer, unarmed as I was, fearing that Ditty and his
gang of cut-throats were fortified here."
"Ruth saw you," Drew volunteered. "She thought you were an apparition.
And so did I, this morning. But you must have had a frightful time of
it."
"I've been keeping myself alive on fruit and shell-fish since the
turtle catchers deserted me. It's not a satisfying diet," Parmalee
said with a little laugh.
During this low-voiced conversation between the two prisoners, the
mutineers had been eating breakfast. They offered the young men none;
but neither Drew nor Parmalee was thinking of his appetite.
"Sit up close behind me, Parmalee," whispered Drew. "I believe I can
work on that cord that fastens your wrists. If I can get you free, you
can free me."
"Good! We'll try it," said the other confidently.
"That will do. Get close to me and let me pick away at this knot.
Ditty's too busy to come over here now. Besides, they're getting ready
to attack our people, I think. He believes we're safe here, and he'll
need all his men with him."
"You're getting it, Drew, old fellow," whispered Parmalee eagerly.
"Bet your life! One of the easiest knots a seaman ever tied. Now try
mine."
Parmalee did as directed, and the knot that fastened Drew's wrists soon
yielded. But the latter still kept his hands behind him and assumed a
pose of deep dejection, his companion doing the same.
As Drew had conjectured, Ditty had made up his mind to attack. He was
still unaware of what had taken place on the schooner during the night,
and was confident that he outnumbered the besieged by about two to one.
Time was pressing, for a ship might appear at any time. He resolved to
hazard all his chances on one throw.
At the head of his band he left the stockade. Drew and Parmalee waited
till they felt sure that all had gone and that no guard left behind was
stealthily watching them through the trees. Drew then got out his
pocket knife and severed their ankle lashings.
At that moment a volley of shots was heard in the direction of the
barricade. It was followed by another and still another. The fight
had begun.
"Come on!" cried Drew excitedly, and he dashed out of the stockade
followed by Parmalee.
Day was just breaking. Overhead the twittering of doves, the squeaking
of parrakeets, the countless sounds of bird and insect life, welcomed
the sun.
But the fusilades of gun shots hushed the clamor of wild life, and sent
the birds and the animals shrieking away from the vicinity.