On the following morning all hands on board the brig were stirring
early, and, assisted by a strong party from the shore, first moved the
vessel down to the bottom of the bay until she took the ground on a
beautiful level sandy bottom, and then began to discharge her.
Her cargo comprised a most extraordinary collection of heterogeneous
articles, including three pianofortes (two of which were in packing-
cases, whilst the other had evidently been taken from a ship's cabin),
several cases of arms, a large quantity of powder and lead, bales of
silk, a few kegs of Spanish dollars, fifty ingots of gold and as many of
silver; several cases of machinery, a large boiler in sections, an
immense quantity of provisions of various kinds, ten brass nine-pounder
guns taken out of a Spanish ship, several boxes of clothing, and a large
quantity of new rope, bolts of canvas, sails--which from their size had
evidently never been made for the brig--cases of furniture, etcetera,
etcetera.
These articles were all landed in boats, and conveyed with more or less
difficulty up to one of the large buildings before-mentioned, and there
housed.
There was great jubilation among the men at the sight of so rich a
cargo; Ralli, the Greek, quite laying aside his former moroseness of
manner and exhibiting an almost childish delight at the sight of the
bullion and the kegs of dollars. The men worked hard all day, and by
sunset more than half the brig's cargo was on shore. It was not
difficult, however, to detect that among these men there were a few--
perhaps a dozen--who took no interest in their labour, manifesting very
little curiosity as to the nature of the articles which they were
handling, and working solely because they had no other choice. These
our friends rightly conjectured to be prisoners who had not chosen to
cast in their lot with the pirates.
Early in the day that portion of the party from the _Galatea_ in which
we are more immediately interested had been conveyed on shore under
Johnson's own protection, and taken up to one of the smaller buildings
which stood on the beach, with the intimation that they were at liberty
to occupy it. It was a small two-story building, constructed of wood;
the upper floor being reached through a trap-door which was led up to by
a wooden step-ladder. This floor, like the one below, consisted of a
single room, and was lighted by two windows, one at each end, the two
longer walls of the room being fitted with three tiers of bunks similar
to those found on board ship. The ground floor was fitted up with a
fire-place, shelves all round the room, a rough deal table and two long
benches, and had evidently been used as a general living-room.
The place was wretchedly dirty, and on being inducted into it the first
act of the men was to procure an abundance of soap and water, and set
vigorously to work to give it a thorough cleansing. This occupied them
all the morning.
At noon a bell rang, which was the signal for all hands to knock off
work and get their dinner, the messman of each gang going to the galley,
a small building near the store, and drawing from the cook a sufficient
quantity of food for the party to which he belonged.
Bob, who with the carpenter had been duly liberated according to
promise, cheerfully took upon himself the duties of messman for the
party to which he belonged, and presenting himself with the others, he
obtained without difficulty the wherewithal to set before our friends a
very respectable meal.
While they were at dinner, Lance tore a leaf out of his pocket-book and
jotted down the various articles, such as bedding, crockery, and
utensils of various kinds which they required, and on the completion of
the list he hurried away with it to Johnson, who at once wrote at its
foot an order to the storekeeper for the issue of the articles named.
These were soon conveyed to the hut, and by sunset they had the place in
very tolerable order.
Now that they were on shore, however, they felt that the time had
arrived when a little more privacy could be enjoyed by the ladies of the
party; so a few boards were obtained and with them a partition knocked
up, dividing the upper room into two equal parts, the half which was
approached through the trap-door being devoted to the ladies, while the
men obtained access to their sleeping apartment by means of a ladder and
the open window, the ladder being drawn up into the room at night.
At six o'clock the bell rang again, upon which all hands knocked off
work for the day, and after half an hour devoted to cleaning up,
etcetera, tea, or supper as most of the men termed it, was served.
On this particular evening, however, there was a slight deviation from
the usual order of procedure; the messmen being detained at the galley
until all were present (instead of being served and despatched in the
order of their arrival), when Johnson made his appearance on the scene
and announced that the kegs of dollars landed that day from the brig
would be distributed in the capstan-house that evening at eight o'clock,
and that any of the prisoners not yet belonging to the "brotherhood" who
chose to present themselves there at that hour, and would sign the "bond
of brotherhood," would be entitled to an equal share of the spoil. Bob
duly mentioned this item of information on his arrival with the viands;
and it was at once decided that, as all the pirates would thus be
engaged for some time, advantage should be taken of so favourable an
opportunity to give the ladies a little fresh air and exercise.
They waited until all the pirates appeared to have betaken themselves to
the capstan-house, and then sallied out in a body upon an exploring
expedition up the valley. It was a lovely night, as light as day, the
full moon riding high overhead in an unclouded sky, and so flooding the
heavens with her silvery light that only a few stars of the first
magnitude were visible. There was very little wind, and a heavy dew was
falling; but that, after the hardship of exposure in an open boat, was a
trifle so insignificant that it attracted no one's attention.
The walk was a most enjoyable one to all, but it was especially
delightful to three couples who early paired off together, and in a
quiet unostentatious fashion dropped into the rear. Captain and Mrs
Staunton had naturally much to say to each other upon matters
interesting only to themselves; while as for Violet and Rex, Blanche and
Lance, this was their first opportunity for an exchange of these sweet
nothings in which lovers delight since the eventful evening on which
they had been driven out by the flames from the unfortunate _Galatea_.
Tempted by the beauty of the night they strayed a long distance; and
when at length they returned to the hut, weary with the unaccustomed
exercise, but happier than they had been for a long time, the settlement
was wrapped in the silence of repose.
On the following morning, immediately after breakfast, Johnson presented
himself, with the request that Lance, Captain Staunton, and the
carpenter would accompany him on a visit to the prizes, for the purpose
of deciding which of them should be broken up to build the new schooner.
Two of these vessels were barques, and one a full-rigged ship. The
ship was teak-built, and an unmistakable East-Indiaman; while of the
barques, one was oak-built and copper-fastened, and the other a soft-
wood vessel put together with iron. The oak-built ship was nearly new,
the copper which covered her bottom up to the bends had not a wrinkle on
its entire surface, and her deck-planking showed no signs of wear; but
she was modelled for carrying, rather than for speed; it was therefore
decided without much hesitation that she should be the one to be broken
up.
The next point to be settled was the position of the building-yard.
Lance had given this matter a great deal of quiet consideration, and had
come to the conclusion that for many reasons it would be better to have
the yard as far away as possible from the rest of the settlement, one
consideration which greatly weighed with him being the possibility that
their best chance of escape might be in launching the schooner on the
quiet during the night and taking her from the stocks direct to sea.
Johnson had already made up his mind that the best site for the stocks
would be on the sandy beach immediately in front of the capstan-house;
and there was a great deal to be said in favour of this, a carpenter's
shop being already in existence close to the spot, and all the cordage
and tackle of every description being stored in the capstan-house. But
this did not at all chime in with Lance's plans, so he merely remarked
that it would do well enough if no better place could be found, but that
the flatness of the ground and the consequent shoal water at that spot
would prove serious difficulties in the way of launching; and that it
would be advisable before deciding to give the entire shore of the bay a
very careful examination.
Some hours were accordingly spent in this work; and a site was at last
fixed upon in a locality thoroughly favourable to Lance's secret wishes.
This was a small indentation in the harbour-face of the breakwater rock
which marked the entrance to the bay.
This indentation was about an acre and a half in extent, with a smooth
rocky floor sloping down into the water at an inclination of just the
right gradient for the launching-ways. It is true it was a long way
away from the settlement; but Lance's arguments in favour of adopting it
were so convincing that Johnson was fain to give way, which, he at last
did with a very good grace.
This matter settled, Lance intimated that he should like to devote a
little more time to the examination of the rock; as it appeared to him
that here was the proper place to construct the battery which was to
defend the harbour. They accordingly climbed with great difficulty to
the highest point of the rock, which was immediately behind or to
seaward of the future shipyard, and which had an elevation of nearly a
hundred feet above the sea-level.
The top of the rock was very irregular in shape; but Lance soon saw that
a few charges of powder judiciously placed would give them a nearly
circular platform of about sixty feet diameter, which would be ample
space for such a battery as he proposed to construct. His first idea
had been to evade the construction of this battery altogether if
possible; but a little reflection had shown him that a time might come
when its existence would be of the utmost importance to themselves, and
he therefore decided to go on with the work. He accordingly pointed out
to Johnson the strength of the position they occupied, the complete
command over the harbour-entrance which a battery would have at that
point, and the effective defence it would constitute to the new
shipyard; and the pirate was speedily convinced of the soundness of
Lance's views.
These points settled, the party returned to the bottom of the bay; and
Johnson then invited Lance to present himself at eight o'clock that
evening in the capstan-house, there to submit his plans for the new
schooner to a committee of the pirates for approval.
The drawings were in fact scarcely ready; but by working hard for the
remainder of the day not only were they completed, but the carpenter had
also prepared a half-model of the hull by the hour at which the
committee was to meet; and, armed with these, Lance, Captain Staunton,
and the carpenter duly presented themselves at the capstan-house at
eight o'clock.
They were met at the door by Johnson, who conducted them up a step-
ladder into an apartment in the first floor of the building. It was a
room about sixty feet long by forty feet broad, and was apparently used
as a sort of general assembly-room, being fitted up with rows of benches
from the door right up to a platform at the further end. On this
platform there stood, upon the present occasion, a large table lighted
by a pair of handsome lamps, and surrounded by a dozen chairs, some of
which were already occupied when Lance and his companions entered.
Our friends quietly seated themselves, Lance on one side of Johnson,
Captain Staunton on the other, with the trusty carpenter next him.
Johnson then ordered the bell to be rung to summon the laggards; and in
a few minutes afterwards the entire committee, some eight men in all,
had assembled.
Johnson then rose to address the party. He remarked that they were
already aware of the purpose for which they had been summoned, namely to
inspect the plans of a new schooner which he proposed to have built; but
he had been led to understand that doubts had been expressed in certain
quarters (here he glanced at Ralli) as to the necessity for such a
proceeding; and he had therefore invited them there to meet him in order
that he might lay before them his views upon the matter and answer such
questions as any of them might wish to put to him. He then cited
several unsuccessful chases in which he had engaged, as well as his
recent narrow escape from the frigate, as evidence in support of his
assertion that not only their profit but their actual safety depended
upon their becoming possessed of a much faster vessel than the
_Albatross_ as speedily as might be; winding up his speech by requesting
that each man present would give the committee the benefit of his views
on the matter in hand.
A somewhat excited debate then ensued, Ralli making himself especially
conspicuous by his opposition to Johnson; but in the end the latter
succeeded in carrying his point, and the construction of the vessel was
definitely decided upon.
Lance was then called upon to submit his drawings for inspection; which
he forthwith did, explaining at the same time the peculiarities of the
design. The vessel he proposed to build was to have a broad shallow
hull, with a very deep keel; and her water-lines were simply faultless.
There was a considerable difference of opinion as to the desirability of
having a vessel of that type; but Lance, who was anxious above all
things to build a craft which would carry his party safely, comfortably,
and speedily home, provided they should be so fortunate as to obtain
possession of her, ably combated all adverse criticism, in which he was
ably seconded by Johnson, who seemed greatly taken with the design, and
in the end they had their own way.
This important point being settled, the meeting broke up; and on the
following morning the first step was taken toward carrying the work into
execution. The vessel which had been selected for breaking up was
unmoored and brought close in to the shore abreast the capstan-house,
where she was anchored. A strong party was then told off for the
purpose of loading her, under the joint-superintendence of Lance,
Johnson, Captain Staunton, and the carpenter of the _Galatea_, who went
by the name of "Kit," short for Christopher. Lance requisitioned the
stores of the pirates with the utmost freedom, taking everything he
thought likely to be in the least degree useful; and in this way three
days were consumed. On the fourth day the hulk was once more unmoored,
and, with three boats ahead, towed to the rock at the mouth of the
harbour and grounded upon it. The work of landing the stores and
materials then commenced; and when these had all been conveyed safely
ashore, the erection of workshops, etcetera, was begun. And it was at
this period that Johnson began to realise for the first time how
valuable an acquisition to his band he had gained in the persons of
Lance, Rex, Brooke, and Kit. The three first were quite in their
element when it came to the designing and erecting of the various
buildings and of the battery, which was at the same time commenced,
whilst Kit displayed an amount of intelligence in the carrying out of
their instructions which was beyond all praise. Johnson chuckled with
inward satisfaction and made certain secret resolves; but he said
nothing.
Meanwhile the _Albatross_ had been careened, her copper stripped off
where necessary, and replaced after caulking the planking underneath;
the copper had been scoured all over, down to the very keel, until it
shone like gold; the top-sides had been caulked; then the deck; the hull
repainted inside and out; and when the buildings at the new dockyard
were about being begun, the spars, sails, and rigging of the brig were
in process of undergoing a thorough overhaul. It looked very much as
though the _Albatross_ would be ready for sea in another fortnight at
the outside; while Lance estimated that, with the strength then at his
command, it would be at least a month before the keel of the schooner
could possibly be laid. Now Johnson had set his heart upon seeing this
done before he sailed; when therefore he found that it would be
impossible unless he strongly augmented Lance's working party, he took
half the men working upon the brig and turned them over to the dockyard
gang, with the result that the work on the brig was retarded while that
at the shipyard was expedited so greatly as to ensure the gratification
of his wish. So eager was he to hasten on the building of the schooner
that he even proposed the abandonment of the old settlement at the
bottom of the bay, and the establishment of a new one on the rock
itself. This, however, by no means suited Lance's views. It would be
manifestly impossible to launch and make off with the schooner if they
were to be environed by a gang of men every one of whom would be sure to
regard the new-comers with more or less of suspicion and distrust; so
Lance threw out a few mysterious hints about secret passages and hidden
chambers beneath the battery and in the heart of the rocks, which for
Johnson's own individual sake it would be wise to keep from the
knowledge of all but those actually engaged in constructing them; and by
this means he managed to avert the threatened transfer. The thought
occurred to him that possibly the _Galatea_ party might be more safe if
quartered upon the rock, and thus entirely separated from the pirates;
but on reconsidering the question and talking it over with the others
the conclusion arrived at was that the rock was an exposed and sterile
spot for a habitation, in addition to which it possessed other
disadvantages; and that perhaps, for the present, it would be better not
to propose it.
At length the eventful day arrived on which the ceremony of laying the
keel of the new schooner was to be performed. The pieces of timber of
which it was to be composed--some of which had already formed part of
the keel of the old ship--had all been shaped, the blocks laid in
position, and every other preparation fully made; and nothing remained
but to lay down the keel-pieces on the blocks placed ready for their
reception, and to bolt them together.
In the fulness of his delight Johnson resolved that the day should be a
regular _fete_ day; and accordingly on the morning in question the
shipyard was gaily dressed with flags--of more than one nationality--
which were hoisted upon poles hastily set up for the purpose; and all
hands, clean shaven, and dressed in their best, prepared to assist in
the ceremony.
The proceedings were inaugurated by Johnson, who, attired in the full
uniform of a captain of the American navy, took up a position on one of
the keel-blocks, and from thence made an animated address to his
followers, in which he rapidly sketched the history of the band from the
day on which they had entered upon their present career by taking from
their officers the _Amazon_ tea clipper, in which they had sailed from
China for England, down to the present time. He reminded them of the
difficulties and misfortunes with which they had been obliged to
contend; how they had unfortunately lost the _Amazon_ upon an island
some hundreds of miles to the westward of their present position; how
they had been compelled to leave the island in open boats; of the
sufferings which they subsequently endured; and how by a lucky accident
they were finally enabled to obtain possession of the _Albatross_. He
next dwelt upon the good fortune which had since attended them; the many
valuable prizes they had taken; the rich store of booty they had
accumulated; and the steady augmentation of the numbers of the
brotherhood. Then, giving free rein to his fancy, he enlarged upon his
plans for the future. What had already been done was, he said,
nothing--a simple preliminary effort, a mere trial of strength--compared
with what he _would_ do. He would never be satisfied, he informed them,
until he could finally lead them all out of that harbour on board a
fleet of at least ten well armed, swift, and fully manned ships, in
which it would be possible for them to ravage the entire coast of
Spanish South America, despoiling the rich towns and laughing at all
opposition. In this way, he promised them, he would place them in
possession of such an unheard-of amount of treasure that every man among
them should be worth his millions; after which, by following a plan
which he would unfold to them at the proper time, they could quietly
disband and settle down for the remainder of their lives, each man on
that particular spot of earth which pleased him best, in the peaceful
enjoyment of his well-earned gold. And they were assembled there that
day, he added in conclusion, to lay the keel of the first of the ten
clippers by which this glorious result was to be accomplished.
It was an eloquent and masterly speech. Johnson was most accurately
acquainted with the characters of those who surrounded him; he was
making a great bid for the recovery of that popularity which in some
unexplained way--but largely through the machinations of Alec Ralli, he
shrewdly suspected--had been steadily slipping away from him; and he
believed that the making of such dazzling promises as he had just
indulged in was the surest way of winning it back. And if vociferous
and tumultuous cheering was to be taken as an indication of success the
pirate chief had every cause to be gratified. The enthusiasm was
intense. Cheer after cheer rent the air; the men shook hands all round
and then pressed forward, hustling each other, eager to perform the same
ceremony with Johnson, vowing as they did so the blindest and most
unswerving fidelity to him, and calling down the most frightful
imprecations upon all traitors.
Ralli stood at some little distance in the background, his arms folded
across his chest, and a cynical smile wreathing his lips.
"Ah right," he muttered; "go on and shout yourselves hoarse, you swine!
Yell, cheer, and swear fidelity until you are out of breath if it
pleases you so to do; I like to see and hear it, for what is it after
all but froth; you are all in a ferment just now, and it is best that
this noisy gas should have its vent; you will soon sober down again, and
then--we shall see. As for _you_," he continued, with a furtive scowl
at Johnson, whose face beamed with gratification, "you have had your
day, and, blind bat as you are, you were beginning to see it just for a
moment, but this fine speech of yours has thrown you off your guard
again. You doubtless think that with a few empty boastful words you
have recovered your lost position, but you are mistaken, my good friend,
as you will find out when you return from your next cruise--if indeed
you ever return at all. Well, enjoy your own opinion while you can;
rejoice in the ease with which you have re-established yourself; _I_
shall not attempt to undeceive you--at least just now, so I will go and
add my plaudits to those of the herd--pah!" and he spat contemptuously
on the ground as he moved forward to shake Johnson cordially by the
hand.
Order being at length restored, the ceremony of laying the keel was
proceeded with. The several pieces were already on the ground, properly
shaped, with bolt-holes bored, the bolts fitted, and in short every
preparation made for fastening them together; and now, at a word from
Johnson, a hundred eager hands seized the heavy timbers, and, under
Lance's superintendence, placed them upon the blocks. The joints were
next brought closely together, the bolts inserted, the perfect
straightness of the entire length of keel accurately tested, and finally
the bolts were all simultaneously driven home and the keel "laid,"
amidst the deafening cheers of the pirates and the roar of a battery of
guns which had been placed temporarily in position to do due honour to
the ceremony.
The men were then served with an extra allowance of grog, after which
they were dismissed to amuse themselves in any way they pleased for the
remainder of the day.
Johnson saw fit to leave the shipyard in the boat which conveyed Lance,
Captain Staunton, and the rest of the _Galatea_ party back to the
settlement at the bottom of the bay, and it was evident during the
passage that he was most anxious to make himself agreeable and to leave
behind him a favourable impression. At last, when the boat was nearing
the beach at which the party intended to land, he said to Lance--
"Look here, colonel, I've been thinking about them women-folk of yourn;
they must find it mighty lonesome here, with nothing much to do; do you
think it 'd please 'em if I was to send one of them planners to your
diggin's? 'Cause, if you do, they shall have one. The cussed things
ain't no use to us, and I don't hardly know what I fetched 'em along
for."
"Thank you very much," said Lance. "I have no doubt a little music now
and then would prove a solace to them; indeed, it would make the
evenings much more pleasant for us all, and if you feel disposed to
spare us an instrument we shall remember you all the more gratefully."
"Then you may consider it done," Johnson replied, as the boat's keel
grated on the beach and the party stepped ashore. "Come up to the
capstan-house with me, and you can choose which you will have, and I
will send it along at once."
Lance accordingly proceeded to the capstan-house with Johnson, while the
remainder of the party wended their way straight to the hut, well
pleased at what they considered a mark of great consideration on the
part of the pirate chief.
When Lance found himself alone with his companion he thought it would be
a favourable opportunity to prefer a request which had been in his mind
for several days, but which he had had no previous chance of mentioning.
"I am glad," he said, "to have this opportunity of thanking you,
captain, in the name of our party, for all you have done for our
comfort, under circumstances which I could not fail to perceive have
been somewhat trying to you. I now want to ask you to add one favour
more, and that is, to supply us with a sufficiency of arms and
ammunition to enable us to defend ourselves, if need be, in your
absence. Whilst you are on the island we feel ourselves to be safe, but
I confess I am not altogether without doubts as to the treatment which
we may receive at the hands of your Greek friend Ralli after your
departure. And it would add very greatly to our feeling of security in
your absence if we were provided with the means of resisting any attempt
at unfair dealing on his part. I presume it is unnecessary for me to
say that we should only use the weapons in a case of absolute
necessity?"
"Waal now, colonel," said Johnson, "what you ask is fair enough, and for
my own part I'd be willing enough to let you have all you want, but I
vow I don't just see exactly how I'm to do it. The key of the arm-chest
is in the armourer's pocket, and I can't issue anything out of that
chest without his knowledge. Now, I know that cuss, he's no friend of
mine, and he'd just go straight away and tell Ralli what I'd done, and
that'd set the Greek dead agin you all for a certainty and make things
just as uncomfortable for you as could be. Besides which, Ralli 'd just
take 'em all away from you again as soon as my back was turned, and then
you'd be worse off 'n ever. No, that won't do, we'll have to go some
other way about it; but you leave it to me, general; you may bet your
pile I'll find out a way to do it before I sail. Now, which of these
boxes of music will you have?"
They had arrived by this time at the capstan-house, and were standing
near the pianofortes, all of which had been placed together on the floor
of the sail-loft, the packing-cases having been ripped off and probably
used for firewood. Lance ran his fingers over the key-board of each
instrument in turn, striking a few chords and harmonies to test the
quality of the tone and touch, and finally selected a superb "grand" by
Broadwood.
"All right, general, I'll have the durned thing taken down to your
quarters to oncet. But do you mean to say that you know how to thump
music out of them things as well as how to build batteries and ships and
so forth?" ejaculated Johnson.
"Well, yes," said Lance, laughingly, "I believe I must plead guilty to
being somewhat of a musician, though I have not touched an instrument
for many a day until now."
"Then sit right down there, colonel, and play me something good," said
Johnson, rolling a nail-keg as a seat up to one of the instruments.
Lance, thoroughly amused at the comical incongruity of the situation,
sat down and rattled off "Yankee Doodle," an air which he judged would
be likely to find appreciation with his queer companion.
Johnson stood for a moment spell-bound as the well remembered strains
fell upon his ear, then a broad grin of delight overspread his features,
and finally he began to caper about the sail-loft in the most
extraordinary manner, and to utter certain unearthly sounds which Lance
fancied was Johnson's idea of singing.
"Something else! gimme some more," the pirate captain exclaimed
rapturously, when his entertainer at length raised his fingers from the
key-board. Whereupon Lance began to play and sing "Hail, Columbia."
Johnson stood still and silent as a statue now, the stirring strains
touched an altogether different chord of his memory, and for an instant
something suspiciously like a tear glistened in his eye.
"Thank you," he said very quietly, when Lance had finished, "that will
do now; I would rather not hear any more at present. Let me keep the
sound of that song in my mind as long as I can; my little maid at home
used to sing that to me. But, look here," he added, as Lance closed the
instrument, "if you wish to be on good terms with the men after I am
gone, have them all up in the meeting-room sometimes of an evening, and
treat them to a little music; they will appreciate that, and you could
do nothing more likely to win their regard. Why shouldn't you give
'em--give us all--a concert to-night, to-day being a holiday?"
Lance hesitated for a moment before making answer to this strange and
unexpected proposal.
"To tell you the truth," he said at last, "I am afraid your people will
be hardly in a mood to-night to appreciate such music as I could give
them; the grog will have got into their heads, and they will be more
inclined to sing among themselves than to sit quietly to listen to me."
"Not at all," answered Johnson, who, now that a serious mood was upon
him, had entirely dropped his Americanism of speech, "not at all; I have
taken care to give orders that they shall not have sufficient to make
them noisy. You will find them perfectly quiet and orderly, and I
confess I should like to see the effect of a little genuine good music
upon them."
"Very well," answered Lance nonchalantly, "I am sure I have no
objection; and, now that you have mentioned it, I confess I feel curious
to see the result of so novel an experiment."
"Then it is settled," said Johnson; and he forthwith summoned a party of
men, to some of whom he gave orders to remove to the hut the pianoforte
Lance had chosen, while to others was deputed the task of taking one of
the other instruments into the large room used for purposes of general
assembly, and placing the room in proper order for the evening's
entertainment, which was fixed to commence at the orthodox hour of eight
o'clock.
When Lance Evelin sauntered into the hut he was assailed by a general
chorus of questions.
"What ridiculous story is this which my husband has been telling us, Mr
Evelin?" inquired Mrs Staunton.
"About the piano, you know," added Violet.
"Is it actually true, Lance, that that absurd creature is really going
to let us have one?" chimed in Blanche.
"It would be a good deal more sensible of him if he would provide us
with more comfortable quarters," grumbled Dale.
"I agree with you there, Dale, it certainly would," said Rex Fortescue.
"Of course I am speaking now of the matter as it affects the ladies; for
ourselves, we can rough it well enough, but I certainly wish they could
be made more comfortable. However, the fellow seems to have done his
best for us; I have seen no better building than this in the whole
settlement, so I suppose we must endeavour to be content as long as we
are obliged to remain here; and as for the piano, why it will enable the
ladies to beguile an hour or two; but it is a queer present to make
under the circumstances, and the man who made it is certainly a bit of
an eccentric."
"You are right," replied Evelin; "and this gift is by no means his only
eccentricity. Guess what is his latest request, or command, I scarcely
know which to call it?"
They all decided that it would be utterly impossible for them to guess,
there was no saying _what_ absurd whim might seize upon such a man; they
would be surprised at _nothing_ which he might ask, and so on.
"Well, then, I will tell you," said Lance. "He wishes me to give the
men a concert to-night at eight o'clock in the assembly-room."
"Oh, Lance, what an extraordinary request!" exclaimed Blanche. "You
will of course refuse; you will never trust yourself alone among all
those men?"
"Certainly I shall," answered her lover, "why not? There will not be
the slightest danger. The men are not in an excited state by any means,
and I have an idea that a little music now and then may increase our
popularity among them and place us on a more secure footing, if indeed
it does not enable us to reach and awaken whatever of good may still
exist in their breasts. Besides," he added with a gay laugh, "I feel
curious to see what effect I can produce upon them."
"If you go, Lance, I shall go with you," said Rex.
Violet Dudley glanced quickly and somewhat appealingly at the last
speaker, but she had too much spirit to say a word which would keep her
lover away from the side of his friend when there was a possibility that
that friend might stand in need of help.
"I think I may as well go also," remarked Captain Staunton. "It seems
hardly fair to leave you all the work to do, Evelin, when any of the
rest of us can help you. I can sing a fairly good song, I flatter
myself, if I am not much of a hand at the piano, and so when you feel
tired I'll give you a spell."
"All right," said Lance. "The more the merrier; we shall at least show
them that we are no churls. Are there any more volunteers?"
"Certainly," said Bob, "I'm one, Mr Evelin, if you will have me. I am
something like Captain Staunton; I'm no hand at a piano, but I can sing,
and I know a recitation or two which I think may serve to raise a good-
humoured laugh."
"I'm no singer," said Brook, "but I know a few rather taking conjuring
tricks, and I should like to go with you; but perhaps it would be hardly
prudent to leave the ladies without any protection, would it? Therefore
I think I'll remain to-night, and go some other evening if there's going
to be any repetition of this sort of thing."
Mr Dale said nothing; he simply sat moodily plucking at his beard and
muttering to himself; by the look of his countenance he was utterly
disgusted with the whole proceeding.
Thus, then, it was finally arranged, and at a few minutes before eight
o'clock, Lance and his party issued from the hut on their way to the
assembly-room, which they could see was already brilliantly lighted up.