A PROFESSOR OF WITCHCRAFT
Quickly as Elsie had reached the deck, the warlike sounds which
disturbed her rest had ceased. Save for the footsteps of men whom she
could not see, the prevalent noises were caused only by wind and sleet.
While she was hurrying forward as rapidly as the darkness permitted,
the lights were switched on with a suddenness that made her gasp. The
dog began to bark again, but it was easy to distinguish his sharp yelps
of excitement and defiance from the earlier notes of alarmed suspicion.
In fact, Joey himself was the first to discover the stealthy approach
of the Indians. Courtenay and Tollemache, who took the middle watch,
from midnight to 4 A.M., had failed to note the presence of several
canoes on the ink-black surface of the bay until the dog warned them by
growling, and ruffling the bristles on his back. The night was pitch
dark; the rising moon was not only hidden by the hills of the island,
but frequent storms of rain and hail rendered it impossible while they
raged to see or hear beyond the distance of a few feet. In all
probability, as the canoes bore down from windward, Joey had scented
them. He also gave the highly important information as to the quarter
from which attack might be expected. Three men, at least, had gained
the deck, but the prompt use of a revolver had caused them to retreat
as silently and speedily as they had appeared. That was all. There was
no actual fight. The phantoms vanished as silently as they came. The
only external lights on the ship were the masthead and sidelights,
hoisted by Courtenay to reveal the steamer’s whereabouts in case one of
the boats chanced to be driven into the bay during the dark hours.
There was an electric lamp turned on in the donkey-engine room, and
another in the main saloon, but means were taken to exclude them from
showing without; if the Indians meant to be actively hostile, lights on
board would be more helpful to the assailants than to the assailed.
When the captain and Tollemache followed Joey’s lead, they discerned
three demoniac figures, vaguely outlined by the ruddy glare of the port
light, in the very act of climbing the rails. They fired instantly, and
the naked forms vanished; both men thought they heard the splashing
caused by the leaping or falling of the Indians into the sea. By the
same subdued radiance Courtenay made out the top of a pole or mast
sticking up close to the ship’s side. He leaned over, fired a couple of
shots downwards at random, seized the pole, and lashed it to a
stanchion with a loose rope end, a remnant of one of the awnings. A
small craft, even an Indian canoe, would be most useful, and its
capture might tend to scare the attackers.
Telling Tollemache to mount guard, he raced back to the saloon hatch
and summoned assistance. The others searched the ship in small
detachments, but the Indians were gone; it was manifest that none
beyond those driven off at the first onset had secured a footing on
deck. Then, taking the risk of being shot at, Courtenay ordered the
lights to be turned on, and the first person he saw clearly was Elsie.
He was almost genuinely angry with her.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
She was learning not to fear his brusque ways. He was no carpet knight,
and men who carry their lives in their hands do not pick and choose
their words.
“I thought you were in danger, so I came to help,” she said calmly.
“You must go back to your cabin at once.”
“Why? Of what avail is the safety of my cabin if you are killed?”
A woman’s logic is apt to be irritating when one expects a flight of
arrows, or, it may be, a gunshot, out of the blackness a few feet away.
“For goodness’ sake, stand here, then,” he cried, seizing her arm, and
compelling her to shelter behind the heavy molding which carried the
bridge.
She did not object to his roughness. In the midst of actual peril,
impressions are apt to be cameo-cut in their preciseness, and she liked
him all the more because he treated her quite roughly. Of course, the
mere presence of a woman at such a time was a hindrance. But she was
determined not to return to her stateroom, and, indeed, her obstinacy
was reasonable enough, seeing the condition of affairs on board the
_Kansas_.
The captain quitted her for a moment in order to dispatch a Chilean
sailor for a lantern and a long cord. He wished to investigate the
captured canoe.
Christobal, who had made the round of the promenade deck, came up.
“Oh, were you here, too?” he asked, on seeing the girl.
“I _am_ here, if that is what you mean,” she cried. “I heard Joey
barking, and the shots that followed. Naturally, I wished to find out
what had happened.”
“Sorry. I imagined you were sleepless, like myself, and had joined
Courtenay during his watch. That explanation must have sufficed. In any
case, we have other things to trouble us at present.”
Elsie had never before heard the Spaniard speaking so offhandedly. She
gave small heed to his petulance; aroused from sound slumber by the
alarm of an Indian attack—thrilled by the horror of the thought that
she might fall into the clutches of the callous man-apes which infest
the islands of southwest America—she was in no mood to disentangle
subtleties of speech.
“Do you think they have left us?” she murmured, shrinking nearer to the
iron shield which Courtenay seemed to think would protect her.
“Personally, I have seen no reason whatever for such a hubbub,” was the
flippant answer.
It was evident that Dr. Christobal was annoyed. Notwithstanding his
conventional polish, he was not a man to conceal his feelings when
deeply stirred. Yet Elsie failed to catch his intent, other than that
he was adopting his usual nonchalant tone.
“But something must have caused Captain Courtenay and Mr. Tollemache to
fire their revolvers so frequently. And, if they were mistaken, the dog
would not have shared their error. Besides, one of the canoes did not
get away. See! Its mast is fastened there.”
“Ah! I had forgotten Tollemache. He was selected to join the captain’s
watch, of course.”
“Yes, I was present when the watches were formed. Have you seen Mr.
Tollemache? Is he safe?”
“He is among those making the round of the ship. I hope you will
forgive me.”
“Forgive you! What have you done that calls for forgiveness?”
“There are errors of speech which equal those of conduct, Miss
Maxwell.”
“Oh, what nonsense—at one in the morning—when we are threatened by
savages!”
Christobal was relieved that she took this view of his abrupt
utterances. He thought the incident was ended. He was mistaken; Elsie
was able to recall each word subsequently. At the moment she was
recording impressions with uncomprehending accuracy, but her mind was
quite incapable of analyzing them; that would come later.
The lantern was brought. Courtenay stood on the lowermost rail, and
carefully paid out a rope to which the light was slung. He was far too
brave a man to take undue risks. He was ready to shoot instantly if
need be, and, by his instructions, Tollemache and Walker kept watch as
best they could in case other canoes were lying close to the ship.
Any doubt in this regard was dispelled in a singular manner. The
flickering rays of the lantern had barely revealed the primitive craft
lying alongside when a voice came from the depths, crying in broken
Spanish:
“Don’t shoot, señors—spare me, for the love of heaven! I am a white man
from Argentina.”
Christobal and Elsie alone understood the exact significance of the
words. Courtenay, of course, knew what language was being spoken, and
it was easy to guess the nature of the appeal. But the lantern showed
that the canoe was empty. In the center lay the Fuegian fire, its
embers covered with a small hide. The pole, fastened to a cross-piece
in the thwarts, was not a mast, but had evidently been shipped in order
to give speedy access to the deck by climbing.
Then Courtenay caught sight of two hands clinging to the stern of the
canoe. He swung the lantern in that direction, and an extraordinary,
and even an affrighting, object became visible. A caricature of a human
head was raised slightly above the level of the water. It was crowned
by a shock of coarse, black, knotted hair, tied back from the brows by
a fillet of white feathers. An intensely black face, crossed by two
bars of red and white pigment, reaching from ear to ear, and covering
eyelids, nose, and lips, was upturned to the watchers from the deck.
The colors were vivid enough, notwithstanding the sheets of rain which
blew in gusts against the ship’s side, dimming the dull light of a
storm-proof lamp, to convey a most uncanny effect; nor did Courtenay
remove either his eyes or the revolver while he said to Christobal:
“Ask him who he is, and what he wants.”
The answer was intelligible enough.
“I am a miner from Argentina. I have been among these Indians five
years. When their attack failed, I thought there was a chance of
escape. For pity’s sake, señor, help me instantly, or I shall die from
the cold.”
“Have the Indians gone?” asked Christobal.
“Yes. They thought to surprise you. When they come again it will be by
daylight, as they are afraid of the dark. But be quick, I implore you.
My hands are numb.”
There was no resisting the man’s appeal. A rope ladder was lowered, and
a Chilean sailor went down in obedience to the captain’s order, though
he disliked the job, and crossed himself before descending. He passed a
rope under the fugitive’s armpits, and, with aid from the deck, hoisted
him aboard. The unfortunate miner gave proof of his wretched state by
promptly collapsing in a faint, with a sigh of “Madre de Dios!”
His only garments were a species of waistcoat and rough trousers of
untanned guanaco hide. The white skin of his breast and legs, though
darkened by exposure, showed that he had told the truth as to his
descent, notwithstanding the amazing daubs on his face. His hair,
stiffened with black grease, stood out all around his head, and the
same oily composition had been used to blacken his forehead, neck, and
hands.
Some brandy and hot water, combined with the warmth of the saloon, soon
revived him. He ate a quantity of bread with the eagerness of a man
suffering from starvation; but he could not endure the heated
atmosphere, although the temperature was barely sufficient to guard the
injured occupants from the outer cold. When offered an overcoat, he
refused it at first, saying:
“I do not need so much clothing. It will make me ill. I only felt cold
in the water because it is mostly melted ice.”
He was so grateful to his rescuers, however, that he took the garment
to oblige them when he saw they were incredulous. Christobal brought
him to the chart-house, where most of the others were assembled, and
there questioned him.
It was a most astonishing story which Francisco Suarez, gold-miner and
prospector, laid before an exceedingly attentive audience. As the man
spoke, so did he recover the freer usage of a civilized tongue. At
first his words had a hoarse, guttural sound, but Dr. Christobal’s
questions seemed to awaken dormant memories, and every one noticed, not
least those who had small knowledge of Spanish, that he had practically
recovered command of the language at the end of half an hour.
And this was what he told them. He, with three partners and a few
Indians from the Pampas, had set out on a gold-prospecting expedition
on the head waters of the Gallegos River. They were disappointed in
their search until they crossed the Cordillera, and sighted the gloomy
shores of Last Hope Inlet, leading into Smyth Channel. They there found
alluvial sand and gold-bearing quartz, yielding but poor results.
Unfortunately, some natives assured them that the metal they sought
abounded in Hanover Island. They obtained canoes, voyaged down the long
inlet, crossed the straits, and struck inland towards the unknown
mountains beyond the swamps of Ellen Bay.
After enduring all the hardships entailed by life in such a wild
country, they blundered into a gully where a brief analysis of the
detritus gave a result per ton which was not to be measured by ounces
but by pounds.
“Virgin! What a place that was!” exclaimed Suarez, his dark eyes
sparkling even yet with the recollection of it. “In one day we secured
more gold than we could carry. We threw away food to make room for it,
and then threw away gold to secure the food again. We called it the
Golden Valley. When weary of digging, we would spin coins to see who
drew corner lots in the town we had mapped out on a level piece of
land.”
White men and Indians alike caught the fever. They accumulated a
useless hoard, having no means of transport other than their own backs,
and then, all precautions being relaxed, the nomad Indians, whom they
despised, rushed the camp when they were sleeping. They were nearly all
killed by stones shot from slings. Suarez was only stunned, and he and
a Spaniard, with two Indians, were reserved for future slaughter.
“The others were eaten,” he said, “and their bones were used for making
fires. I saw my friend, Giacomo, felled like a bullock, and the Indians
as well. By chance, I was the last. I had no hope of escape. I was too
downcast even to make a fight of it, when, at the eleventh hour, the
mad idea seized me that I might please and astonish my captors by
performing a few sleight-of-hand tricks. I began by throwing stones in
the air, pretending to swallow them and causing them to disappear
otherwise, but finding them again in the heel of my boot or hidden
beneath any object which happened to be near. When the Indians saw what
I was doing, they gathered in a circle. I ate some fire, and took a
small toad out of a woman’s ear. Dios! How they gaped. They had never
seen the like. All the tribe was summoned to watch me.”
Then the poor fellow began to cry.
“Holy Mother! Think of me playing the fool before those brutes! I
became their medicine man. I fought and killed my only rival, and,
since then, I have doctored a few of the chief men among them, so they
took me into the tribe, and always managed to procure me such food as I
could eat. They gave me roots and dried meat when they themselves were
living on putrid blubber, or worse, because they kill all the old women
as soon as famine threatens. The women are devoured long before the
dogs; dogs catch otters, but old women cannot. In winter, when a long
storm renders it impossible to obtain shell-fish, any woman who is
feeble will steal off and hide in the mountains. But the men track her
and bring her back. They hold her over the smoke of a fire until she is
choked. Ah! God in heaven! I have seen such sights during those five
years!”
Elsie, of course, understood all of this. When Christobal put it into
literal English, Courtenay looked at her. She smiled at his unspoken
thought.
“I am already aware of most of what he is telling us,” she said. “It is
very dreadful that such people should exist, but one does not fall in a
faint merely because they cumber the earth. Perhaps you will not send
me away next time, if they try to board the ship again. I can use a
revolver quite well enough to count as one for the defense.”
“You are henceforth enrolled as maid-at-arms, Miss Maxwell,” said the
captain, lightly. He was by no means surprised at the coolness she
displayed in the face of the new terror. She had given so many proofs
of her natural courage that it must be equal to even so affrighting a
test as the near presence of the Alaculof Indians. But he broke in on
the Spaniard’s recital with a question of direct interest.
“Ask him, Christobal, why he said those devils would come again by
daylight.”
“Because they have guns, and can use them,” was the appalling answer
given by Suarez. “They secured the rifles belonging to my party, and
one of them, who had often seen ship’s officers shooting wild geese,
understood the method of loading and aiming. They will not waste the
cartridges on game, but keep them for tribal warfare, and they think a
gun cannot shoot in the dark. To-night they only attempted a surprise,
and made off the moment they were discovered. To-morrow, or next day,
they will swarm round the ship in hundreds, and fire at us with rifles,
bows, and slings. They do most harm with the slings and arrows, as they
hold the gun away from the shoulder, but they can cast a heavy pebble
from a sling quite as far and almost as straight as a revolver can
shoot.”
“How do they know the ship will not sail at once?” demanded Courtenay.
Suarez laughed hysterically, with the mirth which is akin to tears,
when the query was explained to him. He looked bizarre enough under
ordinary conditions, but laughter converted him into a fair semblance
of one of those blood-curdling demons which a Japanese artist loves to
depict. Evidently, he depended on make-up to supplement his powers as a
conjurer.
“It is as much as a canoe can manage in fine weather to reach the
island out there, which they call Seal Island,” he cried, pointing
towards the locality of White Horse Island. “Even the Indians were
astonished to see so big a ship anchored here safely. They have watched
plenty of wrecks outside, and hardly anything comes ashore. At any
rate, they are quite sure you cannot go back.”
It would be idle to deny that the Spaniard’s words sent a chill of
apprehension down the spine of some of those present; but the captain
said quietly:
“Where a ship is concerned, if she can enter on the flood she can go
out on the ebb. How came you to escape to-night?”
Tears stood again in Suarez’s eyes as he replied:
“When I heard their plan, I imagined they would be driven off, provided
a watch were kept. I resolved to risk all in the attempt to reach the
company of civilized men once more. I do not care what the outcome may
be. If I can help you to overcome them I am ready to do so; if not, I
will die by your side. To-night I followed in a canoe unseen. When I
heard the shooting, I leaped overboard and swam to the ship. It was
lucky for me some one seized the canoe which I found there. The men in
her had to swim to other canoes, and two were wounded, I heard them
say; this caused some confusion, and I had something to grasp when I
reached the ship; otherwise I must have been drowned, as the water was
very cold.”
“Yet you refused an overcoat a little while ago,” interjected
Christobal.
“Ah, yes. For many years I have lived altogether in Indian fashion. My
skin is hard. Wind or rain cannot harm me. But melted ice mixed with
salt water drives even the seals out to sea.”
“Can you speak the Alaculof language?”
“Is that what you call them? Their own name for the tribe is ‘The
Feathered People,’ because all their chief men and heads of families
wear these things,” and he touched his head-dress. “Yes, I know nearly
all their words. They don’t use a great many. One word may have several
meanings, according to the pitch of the voice.”
“They captured you on the Smyth Channel side of the island. Have they
deserted it? Why are they on this side now?” asked Courtenay.
“I believe they brought me here at first because they wished to keep me
on account of my magic, and they knew I would endeavor to escape to a
passing ship. We came over the mountains by a terrible road. I have
been told that landslips and avalanches have closed the pass ever
since. I do not know whether that is true or not, but if I had tried to
get away in that direction they would have caught me in a few hours. No
man can elude them. They can see twice as far as any European, and they
are wonderful trackers.”
Suddenly his voice failed him. Though the words came fluently, his
long-disused vocal chords were unequal to the strain of measured
speech. He asked hoarsely for some hot water. When Courtenay next came
across him in the saloon he was asleep, and changed so greatly by the
removal of pigments from his face that it was difficult to regard him
as the same being.
His story was unquestionably true. Tollemache, who had fought an
offshoot tribe of these same Indians, Christobal, who vouched for the
Argentine accent, and Elsie, who seemed to have read such rare books of
travel as dealt with that little known part of the world, bore out the
reasonableness of his statements. The only individual on board who
regarded him with suspicion was Joey, and even Joey was satisfied when
Suarez had washed himself.
It was daylight again, a dawn of dense mist, without wind or hail, ere
any member of the ship’s company thought of sleep. Then Elsie went to
her cabin and dreamed of a river of molten gold, down which she was
compelled to sail in a cockle-shell boat, while fantastic monsters swam
round, and eyed her suspiciously.
When, at last, she awoke after a few hours of less exciting slumber,
she came out on deck to find the sun shining on a fairy-land of green
and blue and diamond white, with gaunt gray rocks and groves of copper
beeches to frame the picture. There was no pillar of smoke on the lower
hills to bear silent testimony to the presence of the Indians; but the
canoe lying alongside told her that the previous night’s events were no
part of her dreams, and a man whom she did not recognize—a man with
closely cropped gray hair and a deeply lined, weather-tanned face, from
which a pair of sunken, flashing eyes looked kindly at her—said in
Spanish:
“Good morning, señorita. I hope I did not startle you when I came
aboard. And I said things I should not have said in the presence of a
lady. But believe me, señorita, I was drunk with delight.”