V.

In those hot latitudes, such as Madagascar, the darkness cometh very

sudden after sunset, and with no long twilights such as we have in

England, so that within half an hour after the pirate had saluted us

with a round shot, as told above, it had passed from daylight to

night-time, and there being no moon until about four o'clock in the

morning, it was very dark, with an infinite quantity of stars shining

most beautifully in the sky.

I ordered my gig to be made ready, and went aboard the _Greenwich_,

where I found Captain Kirby suffering under the utmost consternation of

spirits. He took me straight to his cabin, where, when we were set down,

he fell to blaming himself most severely for not having clapped chains

upon the fourteen pirates whom he had found on the island upon his

arrival at that place, and who, it was very plain to see, had given such

information to their fellows as had brought a great number of them down

upon us.

So soon as I was able I checked him in his self-reproaches. "Come, come,

Captain Kirby," says I, "'tis no time for vain regrets, but rather to be

thinking to protect ourselves and those things that we have in trust

from these bloody wretches, who would strip us of all."

So, after a while, he quieted in some measure, and the captain of the

Ostender coming aboard about this time, we made shift betwixt us to

settle some sort of a plan for mutual protection.

According to my suggestions it was determined to get out warps upon the

port side of all three crafts, which now lay heading towards the south,

because of the set of the current. By means of these warps the vessels

might be brought to lie athwart the channel, which was so narrow at

this place that, should the pirate craft venture into the harbor, she

would be raked by all three in turn. These matters being settled, I

returned to the _Cassandra_ again.

That night I had but little sleep, but was in and out of my cabin

continually. Whenever I was upon the deck I could hear the "click,

click, click" of the capstan aboard the pirate vessel, sounding more

clearly through the dampness of the night than in the daytime. There was

still not a breath of air going, and I thought it likely that the pirate

intended making her way into the harbor that night, but about three

o'clock in the morning the noise of working the capstan ceased, and I

fancied that I heard a sound as of dropping anchor, though I could make

out nothing through the darkness, even with the night-glass.

Nor was I mistaken in my surmise that the pirate craft had come to

anchor, for when the day broke I perceived that she lay between two and

three miles away, just outside of the capes, and directly athwart the

channel, being stayed by warps, broadside on, as we ourselves were in

the harbor, so as to rake any vessel that should endeavor to come out,

as we might rake any that would endeavor to come in.

As this day also was very quiet, with not a breath of wind stirring, I

expected that the pirate would open fire, though at such a long range.

However, this she did not do, but lay there as though watching us, and

as though to hold us where we were until some opportunity or other had

ripened. And so came the night again, with nothing more of note having

happened than the day before.

Ever since we had lain at this spot native canoes (called by the sailors

bumboats) had come from the shore from day to day, laden with fruit and

fresh provisions, which are most delicious, refreshing luxuries after a

prolonged sea-voyage, such as ours had been. That day they had come as

usual, though there was little humor for bartering with them upon such a

serious occasion.

However, I had observed, and not without surprise, that Captain Leach,

though he knew the nature of the pirate craft, and the serious situation

in our affairs, appeared so little affected by the danger which

threatened us that he bought a lot of fresh fruit, as usual, and held a

great deal of conversation with one of the natives, who spoke a sort of

English which he had picked up from our traders.

I had not thought much of this at the time, although, as I had observed

before, it was not without surprise that I beheld what he did; beyond

this I reckoned nothing of it, nor would have done so had not matters of

the utmost importance afterwards recalled it to my attention.

That night I had no more appetite for sleep than the night before, and

finding little rest or ease in my cabin, was up upon deck for most of

the time. Though I did not choose just then to hold conversation with my

passengers, I noticed that they were all upon deck, where they sat

talking together in low tones. As the night advanced, however, they

betook themselves to their cabins, one after another, until only Captain

Leach was left sitting alone.

He remained there for maybe the space of half an hour, without moving a

hair's-breadth, so far as I could see. At the end of about that length

of time, being in a mightily anxious state, I stepped forward to see for

myself that the watch was keeping a sharp lookout. I was not gone for

more than a minute or two, but when I came back I saw that Captain Leach

was no longer where he had been before; yet although I noticed this

circumstance at the time, I gave no more thought to it than I would upon

an ordinary occasion.

As there was no one on the poop, I myself went up upon that deck, it

being so much cooler there than on the quarter-deck below. I took out

my pipe and filled it, thinking to have a quiet smoke, which is a most

efficacious manner of soothing any perturbation or fermentation of

spirits. Just as I was about to strike my flint for a light, I heard a

noise under the stern-sheets, as of some one stepping into a boat, and

almost immediately afterwards a slight splash, as of an oar or a paddle

dipped into the water. I ran hastily to the side of the vessel, and

looked astern and into the water below.

Although the sky was clear, the night was excessively dark, as one may

often see it in those tropical latitudes; yet I was as well assured that

a boat of some sort had left the ship as if I had seen it in broad

daylight, because of the phosphorescent trail which it left behind it in

its wake.

I had slipped a pistol into my belt before quitting my cabin, and as I

hailed the boat I drew it and cocked it, for I thought that the whole

occurrence was of a mightily suspicious nature. As I more than half

expected, I got no answer. "Boat, ahoy!" I cried out a second time, and

then, almost immediately, levelled my pistol and fired, for I saw that

whoever the stranger was, he had no mind to give me an answer.

At the report of the pistol both Mr. Langely and Mr. White came running

to where I was, and I explained the suspicious circumstances to them,

whereupon Mr. Langely suggested that it might have been a shark that I

had seen, vast quantities of which voracious animals dwell in those and

the neighboring waters. I did not controvert what he said, although I

knew beyond a doubt that it was a craft of some sort which I had

discovered--possibly a canoe, for the dip of the paddle, which I had

distinctly seen in the phosphorescence of the water, appeared first upon

the one side of the wake and then upon the other, as the blade was

dipped into the water from side to side; so although, as I said, I did

not undertake to controvert Mr. Langely's opinion, I was mightily

discomposed in my own mind concerning the business.

At this time there was a vast deal of disturbance aboard the _Greenwich_

and the Ostender because of my hail and the discharge of the pistol,

which, however, soon quieted down when they found that nothing further

followed upon the alarm.

I walked up and down the poop-deck for a great while, endeavoring to

conceive what could be the meaning of the boat, which had most

undoubtedly been lying under the stern of the _Cassandra_, and how it

came that the watch had failed so entirely to discover its arrival. It

would not have been possible for an ordinary ship's boat to come upon us

so undiscovered, for, as I myself knew, the watch were keeping a sharper

lookout than usual; therefore this circumstance, together with that

which I had above observed concerning my opinion that the craft had been

rowed with a paddle, led me to conclude that it was one of the native

canoes, though I was as far as ever from guessing what the object of the

visit had been, or what it portended. As I sat ruminating upon this

subject, looking straight ahead of me, without thinking whither my

observation was directed, I presently perceived that I was looking

absently at the spot where Captain Leach had been sitting a little while

before. This led me to think of him, and from him of the jewel that was

in my keeping, and of its excessive value. Of a sudden it flashed into

my mind, as quick as lightning, what if Captain Leach should have it in

his mind to practice some treachery upon us all?

I may truly say that this thought would never have entered my brains had

not the circumstance of Captain Leach's conversation with me in my cabin

tended to set it there. But no sooner had this gloomy suspicion found

place in my mind than it and those troubles which had beset me of late,

and the loss of that sleep which I had failed to enjoy the night before,

together cast me into such a ferment of spirits as I hope I may never

again experience. Nor could I reason my mind out of what I could not but

feel might be insane and unreasonable fancyings.

At last I could bear my uncertainties no longer, but went down into the

great cabin, and so to the door of the berth which Captain Leach

occupied. I knocked softly upon the door, and then waited a while, but

received no answer. After that I knocked again, and louder, but with no

better success than before. Finding I was like to have no answer to my

knocking, I tried the door, and found that it was locked.

My heart began to beat at a great rate at all this; but I suddenly

bethought me that perhaps the captain was a sound sleeper and not easily

roused. If this were so, and he were in his cabin, and had locked the

door upon himself, I could easily convince myself of the fact, for it

hardly could be doubted but that the key would be in the key-hole. I

drew out my pocket-knife, opened a small blade which it contained, and

thrust it into the key-hole. There was no key there!

This discovery acted upon my spirits in such a manner that a douse of

water could not have cooled me quicker; for now that my worst suspicions

were so far confirmed--for I felt well assured that Captain Leach was

nowhere aboard the ship--my perturbation left me, and I grew of a sudden

as calm as I am at this very moment. However, to make matters more

assured, I rapped again upon the door of the cabin, and this time with

more vigor than before; but although I repeated the knocking four or

five times, I received no answer, and so went upon deck to consider the

matter at my leisure.

My first thought was of the jewel in my keeping, and that Captain Leach

had made off with it. My cooler reason told me that this could not be,

I having taken such effectual means to hide it, as before stated.

Nevertheless, I went to my cabin and examined my hiding-place to set my

mind at rest, finding, as might be expected, that the jewel was safely

there.

My first impulse was to tell Mr. Langely of my suspicions, but in

digesting the matter it appeared to me best to keep them to myself for

the present; for if I should, after all, prove wrong in my surmise, it

would only add to the entanglement to have another involved in the

business before anything certain had been discovered; moreover, should I

observe sufficient cause for using extreme measures against Captain

Leach, I might easily arrest him at any time, having him entirely in my

power.

Having settled this matter to my own satisfaction, I determined to lie

in wait for his return, and to discover how he himself would explain his

absence.

I surmised that he must have left the ship from the boat which was

hanging to the davits astern, and on inspecting the matter, found that I

was correct, and that a stout line, such as might easily bear the weight

of a man, had been lashed to one of the falls, and hung to within a foot

or two of the water. I was then well assured that Captain Leach must

have clambered into the boat astern whilst I had gone forward, as told

above, and had dropped thence into the canoe by means of the line just

spoken of. The noise which I had heard I conceived to have been caused

by his making a misstep, or by the canoe rising with the ground-swell

more than he had expected.

Now, if he left the ship in that manner, of which, according to my mind,

there could be but little doubt, there was equal certainty that he would

return by the same way; so I determined to lie in watch for him there,

and to tax him with his absence so soon as he should come aboard.

Accordingly I laid myself down in the boat astern as comfortably as I

could contrive, and lighting my pipe, watched with all the patience I

could command for the return of the fugitive.

I judge that I lay there for the space of two or three hours, and in all

that time saw or heard nothing to arouse my suspicions; nor do I believe

that I would have discovered anything had I not been watching at that

very place, for so quiet was Captain Leach's return that I heard no

sound of oars nor knew anything of it until I saw the line that hung at

the davits moved from below by some one climbing aboard. I lay perfectly

still and made no noise until he had clambered into the boat and stood

within a few feet of me.

"Well, sir," says I, as quietly as I could speak, "and may I ask where

you have been for all this long time?"