Lance's long and fatiguing watch beside the death-bed of the unfortunate
armourer of course delayed to some extent Captain Staunton's reply to
the suggestion which Dickinson had made on behalf of himself and certain
of his comrades. But the skipper had, to save time, discussed the
matter with the rest of the party, coming to the conclusion that they
would be quite justified, under the circumstances, in accepting the
services of these men; and on the morning following the armourer's
death--Lance having enjoyed a good night's rest--his opinion was taken
upon the question, with the view of giving the men an answer forthwith.
Evelin listened attentively to everything that was said; and then
remarked--
"Well, gentlemen, I quite agree with you that the assistance which the
men have it in their power to afford us would be most valuable; it would
clear away a good many of our difficulties and would go a long way
toward ensuring success in our endeavour to escape--an endeavour which I
must confess I have always secretly regarded with a considerable amount
of doubt and misgiving. It has always presented itself to me as an
undertaking of a decidedly desperate character; and now it appears more
so than ever, having regard to the very disagreeable change in Ralli's
treatment of us. The only question in my mind is one of duty--duty to
our country and to the world at large. We must not forget that the men
who now come to us with offers of assistance are men who have, in the
past, outraged every law, human and divine; and justice demands that
they shall be delivered up to punishment. Now, if we accept their
services _we_ certainly cannot afterwards denounce them; it would be
rank treachery on our part. How do you propose to overcome this
difficulty?"
"We have thought of that," replied Captain Staunton; "it is the only
question which has bothered us; and, for my own part, I can only see one
solution of it. No word has, it is true, been said by them as to our
keeping their secret, but I think there can be no doubt that such a
stipulation was intended to be understood; and in any case I fully agree
with you that we cannot justly avail ourselves of their assistance and
afterwards hand them over to the authorities. My view of the case is
this. Here we are, in what is beyond all doubt a most desperate scrape.
A chance--and a very slight chance it is--offers for our escape, and
most opportunely these men come forward with an offer of assistance. If
we let slip this slight chance it is extremely doubtful whether we shall
ever have another; and that, I imagine--taking into account the future
possibilities of evil in store for the helpless women dependent upon
us--counts for something, and justifies us is accepting help from almost
any source. Then, as regards the men themselves. It is undoubtedly
true that they have committed crimes which place them quite outside the
pale of human mercy, _if justice alone_ is to be considered. But for my
own part I believe that they have repented of their past misdeeds--at
any rate they _say_ so, and we have no reason to doubt the truth of
their assertion. They ask for an opportunity to reform; they desire a
chance of making amends, as far as possible, for the past evil of their
lives; and I have an idea, gentlemen, that though, in giving them such a
chance, we might not be acting in accordance with _man's_ idea of strict
justice, we should be following pretty closely upon God's idea of it.
He breaks not the bruised reed nor quenches the smoking flax; and if He
thus declares his readiness to give even the most doubtful and
unpromising of His creatures another trial, I really do not see that we
are called upon to be more strict than He is. My proposal, therefore,
is that we should accept these men's proffered assistance; that we
should do what we may be able to do for them in the way of giving them
the opportunity they desire; and if justice _is_ to overtake them--if
punishment _is_ to follow their past misdeeds, let it be due to some
other agencies than ours. If God intends them to suffer punishment at
the hands of their fellow-creatures, He will provide the instruments,
never fear. But I think it far more likely He will give them another
chance."
"I, too, believe He will," said Lance. "You take a view of the matter
which I confess with shame had not presented itself to me, and I am
convinced. These men have committed crimes of exceptional enormity, it
is true; but it is not for us to draw the line--to say to whom mercy
shall be granted and from whom it shall be withheld; therefore let us
accept their offer, and leave the matter of their punishment in God's
hands."
Thus, then, it was decided; and Bob--as the least likely to excite
suspicion if seen in conversation with any of the pirates--was deputed
to inform Dickinson that his offer and that of his mates' had been
accepted, and to request him to call--without exciting observation, if
possible--at the cottage that evening.
When the gentlemen returned home at the close of the day's work, they
found Blanche and Violet in a state of considerable nervous excitement,
owing, they asserted, to their having been frightened that day while at
their work of gold-collecting in the cavern. On being asked for a
detailed account of the circumstance which had alarmed them, Violet
said--
"We had been at work about two hours, and had just reached the edge of
the gulf with our second load, when we were startled by hearing
somewhere near us a sound like a deep long-drawn sigh, followed almost
immediately afterwards by a loud moan. I have no doubt you will think
us dreadful cowards, but it is no use concealing the truth--we simply
dropped the gold and flew back along the passage to the great cavern at
our utmost speed. Arrived there, we sat down to recover ourselves, and
at length succeeded so far that we were both inclined to believe we had
been victimised by our own imaginations--you know what an eerie place it
is, and how likely to excite weird fancies in the minds of nervous timid
women like ourselves. So we summoned up all our courage and went to
work once more. We naturally felt somewhat reluctant to visit the scene
of our fright again; but we overcame the feeling and made our third
journey to the chasm without experiencing any further shock to our
nerves. On our fourth journey, however, we had reached the place,
deposited our load, and had just set out to return when the same sounds
were repeated, much more loudly than at first, and accompanied this time
by a loud prolonged hiss such as I should imagine could proceed only
from some gigantic serpent. We were thoroughly terrified this time, and
fled once more, not only to the cavern but thence into the open air, and
home. I do not know how we may regard the matter in the morning; but at
present I really do not feel as though I could ever venture into the
place again until the mystery has been solved and the cause of those
terrifying sounds discovered."
"Of course not," said Captain Staunton. "None of you must attempt to
visit the cavern again until we have had an opportunity of investigating
the matter. It is possible--though, mind you, I don't think it at all
probable--that a serpent or large reptile of some kind _may_ have made
its way into the gallery. And, at all events, it will never do for you
ladies to run the slightest risk. What do you think, Evelin?" he added,
turning to Lance. "Is it likely that there may be a snake or something
of the sort there?"
"Not _likely_, I should say," responded Lance; "we have never
encountered a reptile of any description, large or small, in the course
of our rambles about the island. But of course there is just the _bare
possibility_--I cannot put it any stronger than that--of a snake
drifting here on an uprooted tree or large branch. I have heard of
snakes being seen in the branches of trees drifting down rivers in
flood-time, and there is no reason why, under such circumstances, they
should not be carried clear out to sea. Whether, however, a serpent
could exist long enough to make the voyage from the mainland to this
island is, in my opinion, exceedingly doubtful. Still, I quite agree
with you that the ladies ought not to make any further visits to the
cavern until we have discovered the source of their alarm."
This singular circumstance gave rise to a considerable amount of
speculation among the members of the party; and they were still
discussing the matter when a knocking was heard at the door, and, in
obedience to Captain Staunton's stentorian "Come in," Dickinson entered.
"Sarvent, ladies," exclaimed the new-comer with an elaborate sea-scrape.
Then, seating himself in the chair which Captain Staunton indicated, he
continued, "Well, cap'n, and gentlemen all, I've just comed up, you see,
in obedience to your commands of the forenoon sent through the young
gentleman there"--pointing to Bob--"and to talk matters over as it
were."
"That's all right, Dickinson," answered Captain Staunton; "_we_ are very
glad to see you. Robert of course told you that we have decided to
accept the assistance of yourself and such of your shipmates as are to
be thoroughly relied upon?"
"He did, sir; and right glad and thankful I was to hear it," replied
Dickinson. "Of course we knowed right well, sir, how much we was axing
of you when we offered to chime in on your side. We was just axing that
you'd take us upon trust as it were, and believe in the honesty and
straight-for'ard-ness of men as had proved theirselves to be rogues and
worse. But you've took us, sir, and you sha'n't have no cause to repent
it; we're yours, heart and soul; hence-for'ard we takes our orders from
_you_, and we're ready to take any oath you like upon it."
"No oath is necessary, my good fellow," said Captain Staunton; "your
bare word is quite sufficient, for if you intend to be faithful to us
you will be so without swearing fidelity; and if you mean to betray us
an oath would hardly stop you, I am afraid. But we do not doubt your
fidelity in the least; the only thing we have any fear about is your
_prudence_."
"Ah, yes; there sir, we _may_ fail," said Dickinson with a mournful
shake of the head. "But you give your orders, sir, and we'll do our
best to obey 'em. But afore you lays your plans I think you ought to
know how things is standing among us just now. I'm greatly afeared
you're like so many young bears--with all your troubles afore you. That
Greek rascal, Ralli, has been doin' his best to stir up all hands of us
against you--and particler against _you_, Mr Evelin--by saying as it
was all along of you as the poor armourer lost his life. He holds as
how you killed him by taking off his legs, and that you desarves to be
severely punished for doing of it; and there's some of the chaps as is
fools enough to listen to what he says and to believe it too. But
there's me and Tom Poole and two or three more--_we're_ going to hold
out to it that you did the best you could for the poor chap; and that if
it hadn't ha' been for Ralli's own obstinacy the man wouldn't never have
been hurt at all. And, however the thing goes, you may depend upon me
to give you timely warning."
"Thank you, Dickinson," said Captain Staunton. "This information which
you have just given us is most valuable, and renders it all the more
necessary that we should promptly mature our plans. Now, to show you
how thoroughly we trust you, I will explain those plans as far as we
have yet arranged them; you can then tell us what you think of them; and
you will also be better able to understand in what way you and your
shipmates can prove of most use to us."
"Well, if that don't beat all!" exclaimed Dickinson, after Captain
Staunton had stated their plans. "To think as you should go for to
arrange to run away with the schooner herself! Why, I thought the most
you'd do would be to provision and seize the launch, and go off to sea
in her, taking your chance of being picked up some time or another.
Well, there ain't a soul amongst us, I knows, as has so much as the
ghost of a hidee about your taking the schooner. Some of the hands
seems to have a kind of notion--I've found out since I spoke to you
t'other day--that you _may_ try to slip off some day if you gets the
chance; but they just laughs at it you know, and asks how you're to
manage, and how far you'd get in a boat afore the schooner'd be
alongside of you, and that-like. But _your_ plan's the right one,
cap'n--no mistake about that. And now, just say what you want us chaps
to do, and we'll do it if it's any way possible."
"How many of you are there?" asked the skipper. "How many, I mean, upon
whom we can absolutely depend. Bear in mind that _no one_ who is not
_thoroughly_ trustworthy is to be let into the secret."
"All right, sir; you trust me for that," answered Dickinson. "For my
own sake--letting alone yours and the ladies'--you may depend on't I
won't let out the secret to the wrong people. Well; let me just reckon
up how many of us there'll be in all. Firstly there's eight of you,
counting in Mr Bowles and Kit, and leaving out the ladies. Then
there's the three other lads and the four men as was brought in with
you, that's seven--seven and eight's--"
"Fifteen," interjected the skipper.
"Thank'ee, sir, I ain't much of a hand at figgers myself, but in course
you're right--fifteen it is," said Dickinson. "Then there's me and Tom
Poole--that's my pertickler mate--promoted he is to the armourer's
berth--and Dick Sullivan and Ned Masters--that's four more, making
fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen--nineteen, ain't it,
sir?"
"Quite right," answered Captain Staunton.
"Then there's the prisoners, as we calls 'em--men, you know, sir, as has
been took out of ships and wouldn't jine the `Brotherhood'--I won't say
much about _them_ just yet, but there's about half a dozen very likely
hands among 'em that I think'll just jump at the chance of getting out
of this. Tom and me'll sound 'em cautious like, and hear what they've
got to say for theirselves."
"Very well," said Captain Staunton. "And in the meantime it seems that
there are nineteen of us, all told, who are to be absolutely relied
upon--quite enough to handle the schooner if we can only manage to get
away with her. Now, what we have to do is this. The ballast and the
water-tanks are already fixed in their places, so that need not trouble
us; but we must contrive to get the tanks filled as early as possible.
Then, as soon as the decks are laid we must get conveyed on board all
the provisions we can possibly manage. Then we shall want arms and
ammunition; the guns too must be hoisted in, under the pretence of
fitting the slides properly. The spars are already commenced. They, or
at least the lower-masts and bowsprit, must be stepped before the craft
is launched; that can easily be managed, I think; the other spars also
should be finished and got on board as early as possible, and likewise
the sails. There are the stores of every kind also to be got on board--
in short, I should like to have the craft in a state of readiness to go
to sea directly she leaves the stocks. But I really don't see how it is
to be managed; we shall never be able to do a quarter of what we want
without arousing Ralli's suspicions."
"Oh, bless you, sir! yes, you will," said Dickinson confidently.
"Ralli's taken a mortal dislike to you all, and 'specially to Mr
Evelin,--sorry I am to say so,--and he just _hates_ to be dictated to.
Now, whatever you want, just let Mr Evelin tell him he ought to do the
opposite of it, and, take my word for it, he'll just go and do exactly
what he thinks you don't want him to; he'll do it out of sheer
contrariness. But, whether or no, now that we knows what's wanted, we--
that's me and my mates--we'll do as much of it as we can, and you'll
have to manage Ralli so's to get the rest."
"Very well, Dickinson," said the skipper, "we understand each other
fully now, so I will not detain you any longer. Do what you can to
forward the plan, and let us know from time to time what success you are
meeting with."
"All right, sir, I will; thank'ee, sir. Good-night, ladies and
gentlemen all."
And Dickinson, taking the hint, retired.
The gentlemen sat for an hour or two after that, talking over matters as
they smoked their pipes, and then Captain Staunton, Lance, and Bowles
rose and left the cottage to pay a visit to the cavern.
In due time they reached the place, proceeding at once to the chasm,
where they forthwith commenced a vigorous but unsuccessful search for
the origin of the mysterious sounds which had disturbed the ladies.
Finding nothing, they began their task of conveying the gold collected
that day across to the heap on the other side of the gulf. This heap
was now assuming goodly proportions. There was more of it than an
ordinary ship's boat could take at a single trip, even in the calmest of
weather; and Lance was in the act of remarking to Captain Staunton that
he thought enough had now been collected to satisfy their every want,
when a weird, unearthly moan smote upon their ears from the depths of
the abyss. The sound, though not particularly loud, was so startling,
echoing and reverberating, as it did, among the cavernous recesses far
below, that the work was brought to a sudden standstill, and the three
bewildered men felt their hair bristling as they listened.
"_What_, in Heaven's name, can it be?" ejaculated the skipper as he
turned his startled gaze upon Lance.
"Impossible to say," answered the latter. "One thing, however, is
certain; no _human_ lungs could possibly give utterance to such a sound.
And yet I don't know; the echoes of the place may have the property of
magnifying and prolonging it. Hillo, there! is there anyone below?" he
continued, raising his torch aloft and peering with craned neck down
into the black depths of the chasm.
There was no response. And the light of the torch was quite inadequate
to the illumination of more than a few feet from the surface.
"It is possible that, if there _is_ anyone down there, he may be unable
to hear me. Sound _rises_, you know. Here, Bowles, come across to this
side. We will unite our voices and see if that will evoke any
response," said Lance.
Bowles scrambled nimbly along the narrow and dangerous pathway, which,
having traversed it so often, now had no terrors for any of them, and
speedily joined the others.
"Now," said Lance, "I will count three, and then we will all shout
together, `Hillo!' One, two, three--Hillo!"
The cry went pealing away right and left of them along the dark gallery,
the echoes taking it up and tossing it wildly from side to side, up and
down, until it seemed as though every rock in the vast cavern had found
a voice with which to mock them; but no answering cry came from below.
"There is no one there," said Lance. "Indeed there _can_ be no one
there; nobody has been missed, and--"
"Hark! what was that?"
A long-drawn sobbing sigh, such as a child will utter after it has cried
itself to sleep, but very much louder; and immediately afterwards a gust
of hot air, which brought with it a distinct odour of sulphur, swept
past them down the gallery.
"God of mercy! can it be possible?" ejaculated Lance. "Yes, it must be.
Fly for your lives; we may not have a moment to lose."
"What is it?" gasped Captain Staunton, as the three started at a run up
the gallery in the direction of the great cavern.
"A _volcano_," answered Lance. "There are subterranean fires in
activity at no great depth beneath our feet, and they may break into
open eruption at any moment."
This was enough; his companions wanted to hear no more. The few words
they had already heard lent wings to their feet, and in an incredibly
short time they found themselves, panting and exhausted with their
unwonted exertions, once more in the open air.
"Now we are comparatively safe," said Lance as they walked rapidly down
the ravine. "What I chiefly feared was one of those earthquake shocks
such as sometimes precede a volcanic eruption. A comparatively
insignificant one might have proved sufficient to cause the walls of the
cavern to collapse and bury us. Of course the ladies must be cautioned
not to venture near the place again; but I think perhaps it will be
better not to tell them why. It will only alarm them--perhaps
unnecessarily--and keep them on the tiptoe of nervous anxious
expectancy. The better plan will be to say that we consider we have now
as much gold as we think it probable we shall be able to take away.
Don't you think so, Staunton?"
"Assuredly I do," answered the skipper emphatically. "Why, I would not
allow my wife to enter that cavern again for all the gold it contains."
They reached the cottage without further adventure; and on the following
morning the ladies were told by Captain Staunton that, sufficient gold
having now been collected, there would be no further necessity for them
to continue their visits to the cavern, which, moreover, Mr Evelin
considered unsafe, the peculiar noises which had startled them all being
in his opinion an indication of its liability to collapse at any moment.
After this a month passed away unmarked by anything worthy of record,
except the ever-increasing insolence and tyranny of Ralli toward our
unfortunate friends.
The battery was by this time complete, the guns mounted, and the
ammunition stored in its magazine; whilst the schooner was also in a
very forward state. She was fully planked, decks laid, the ballast
stowed, bulwarks and hatchways completed, her bottom coppered up to the
load water-line, her hull outside painted with a coat of priming, and
the carpenters, assisted by the handiest men they could pick out, were
busy finishing off the fittings of the cabin and forecastle. Lance had
been anxiously watching for a favourable opportunity to put into
operation Dickinson's suggestion as to the mode in which Ralli should be
approached in order to secure the completion of the work in the manner
most favourable to their own plans, but hitherto no such opportunity had
presented itself. This was peculiarly unfortunate, as the work was now
in so forward a state that, whenever Ralli opened his mouth, he expected
to hear the dreaded order given for the preparation of the ways and the
construction of the cradle for launching.
But at length the coveted opportunity came. It was about nine o'clock
in the morning when Lance saw Ralli step out of his gig on to the rocky
platform at the lower end of the shipyard and walk straight toward the
schooner. The Greek paused at a little distance from where Lance was at
work, taking up a position from which he could obtain a favourable view
of the vessel's beautifully modelled hull and gracefully sweeping lines;
and then, with one eye shut, he began a critical scrutiny of her,
shifting his position a few inches occasionally in order to test the
perfection of the various curves.
"Now," Lance thought, "is my time. I must tackle him at once, whatever
comes of it; it will never do to defer the matter any further. Another
hour's delay may upset all our plans."