WITHIN THE CAVERN.
"Hi there! one of you men forrard, light the lamp!" said Lewis, ceasing
in the motion of sculling. "Let's see where we're going."
His voice sounded strange and hollow, like that of a person speaking
under an archway; and a rumbling echo of his words came back from the
distance, showing that the cave was of considerable extent.
Rodwood had plundered a tinder-box from one of the warders, and the
next moment the oarsman's request was responded to with the _click,
click_ of flint and steel. Even the strong glare of the big coach lamp
did little more than reveal the surrounding darkness; the black water
flashed and sparkled, and as the beam of light was directed from side
to side the walls of the cavern loomed up out of the gloom. As yet
there was no sign of the end of the cave, which was of a size
altogether out of proportion to its narrow opening. It was lofty as
well as long, and from the manner in which the walls went down
perpendicularly into the sea, I imagined that there was a good depth of
water beneath our keel.
"Turn the light ahead!" ordered Lewis, and once more the sculling oar
was set in motion.
Slowly we penetrated farther and farther into the mighty foundation of
the great cliff; then suddenly there was a bump, which shook us on our
seats. I thought at first that the boat had grounded on a rock; but
she gathered way again, though with something grating against her side.
"Hullo!" came from the man who was acting the part of lookout in the
bow; "there's something floating in the water."
The lamp was brought to bear, and a number of dark objects were
discovered alongside.
"It's wreck-wood," said Nat, leaning over the gunwale and grasping the
end of a broken spar. "There's quite a lot of it, and cargo too. That
over there looks like the top of a barrel."
Lewis bent down and examined the floating _debris_ with a critical eye.
"The set of the current brings a good bit of driftwood in here," he
mumbled, "specially after a south-easterly gale. Hum! that's bad," he
continued, as something seemed to catch his eye. "Looks uncommon as if
one of the boats had gone ashore, or maybe been driven on Sawback Reef.
It was blowing hard a week back; I could tell that even in the jail at
Welmington."
Once more the boat moved on, a slight jar every now and then bespeaking
the presence of more wreckage; then a shout from the lookout warned us
that we had reached the end of our journey.
The cavern terminated in a platform of rock raised some six or eight
feet above high-water level, and having a surface which might in all
have afforded as much space as the floor of a fairly large sized room;
some niches and ledges in the side of the cavern formed a sort of rude
natural staircase from the water's edge, while a rusty iron ring seemed
to show that boats had been moored there before.
"Now then, up with you!" said Lewis. "But mind what you're about.
There's water running down from the roof which makes the rock uncommon
slippery."
There being no longer any chance of our giving them the slip, and
perhaps mindful of the service I had rendered in manning the second
oar, the convicts seemed once more fairly well disposed towards George
and myself. One of them lent me a hand as I clambered up the rock;
another performed a similar service for Woodley. The hamper, the dead
game, and the two lamps were transferred to the platform from the boat,
and Lewis made fast the painter. The dog had scrambled up the rocks
almost as soon as the boat touched. He had evidently been there before.
"Well, I'm hungry," cried one man; "I could chaw a leather strap! Just
open that basket."
"Can't we start a fire?" inquired another fellow, whose teeth were
chattering loudly. "I'm perished with the cold. There's wood enough
in the water to burn for a week; and though it is wet, if we use the
dry straw and the hamper for kindling, we shall be able to make a
start, and once having done that, it'll be easy enough with a little
care to keep going."
Numbed and chilled to the bone, the prospect of warmth seemed to appeal
to the majority of the gang even more strongly than the necessity for
food, and under Rodwood's direction they set to work to prepare fuel
for a fire. In order that the hamper itself might be broken up for
kindlings, it had first to be emptied of its contents, which were found
to consist of a good-sized turkey, some mince-pies, a small cheese,
some sausages, and a quantity of apples; also the bottle of wine which
had not yet been opened. So utterly incongruous and out of place did
this Christmas fare appear when exposed to view in that sea cavern,
under circumstances so extraordinary, that the group of onlookers gave
vent to their feelings with a burst of laughter.
"I take it wery kind of the folks as packed the 'amper for this 'ere
picnic," said one of the convicts. "They evidently remembered my
weakness for sarsengers!"
A long fissure in the rock, which was henceforth known as the
"cupboard," afforded a suitable place for stowing away the provisions;
and a tarred plank having in the meantime been fished out of the water,
one burly fellow proceeded to split it into small pieces with the aid
of a large clasp-knife belonging to George. A fire was soon kindled in
the centre of the platform, more wreckage was collected by Lewis in the
boat, and either heaped on the blaze or piled around it to dry. The
sight of the crackling flames seemed to have an immediate cheering
effect on the men, who gathered round, warming their numbed hands and
exchanging jokes on the subject of their escape.
"Now then," exclaimed their leader, as the fire began to burn clear on
one side, "make a spit, some of you, and bring along that turkey. You
don't expect a party of gentlemen to eat it raw like a pack of starving
dogs, I suppose?"
Some of these jail-birds seemed to have a wonderful knack of making the
most of any material which might come to hand. Utilizing some pieces
of wreck-wood, shaped roughly with the clasp-knife, they rigged up a
kind of spit, which promised at least to prevent the necessity of our
devouring the turkey raw. At the same time Lewis took the dipper from
the boat, and placed it in such a position that it caught the thin
trickle of fresh water which, as has already been mentioned, ran down
one side of the rock.
I thought then, and have done so many a time since, how little the
unknown person who packed that hamper imagined how and by whom the
provisions which it contained would be consumed! Possibly it was the
gift of the wife of some gentleman farmer, intended as Christmas cheer
for some relative in the town. Now, instead of reaching its
destination in the ordinary manner, it was supplying the needs of a
band of outlaws in the fastness of a sea cavern.
There was nothing particularly appetizing about the half-cooked meat
divided up with the big blade of a pocket-knife, and subsequently
conveyed to the mouth with the fingers; but I myself felt ravenous,
after the riding, tramping, and rowing in the cold night air. I was
glad enough to receive my portion of the bird, and to eat it without
the accompaniment of bread or even salt. The water in the dipper was
heated over the fire, and wine added from the remaining bottle. The
negus had, to be sure, a brackish flavour, but it sent a glow of warmth
through our chilled bodies, and when the bowl was emptied a second brew
was demanded.
At length the strange meal ended, and Rodwood ordered the lamp to be
extinguished.
"It won't burn for ever," he said, "and we may want the light before
we've finished."
With their faces illumined only with the flicker of the fire, the
convicts gathered round to get as much warmth as possible, Woodley and
I being forced to join the circle for the same reason; while old Joey
retired to a corner, and there crunched up the bones and fragments
which had been flung to him by the men.
Being but a boy, I think I was to a certain extent fascinated by the
strangeness of the adventure. It seemed as if I personally were
sharing the excitements as well as the hazards of the escape, though in
my case there was no sense of guilt to lie heavy on my conscience. I
might have been a prisoner wrongfully convicted making a dash for
liberty. The delusion was perhaps strengthened by the fact that up to
the present the personal risk and danger I had run had not been very
great. Of Rodwood I certainly felt afraid, regarding him as an
unscrupulous ruffian; but the remainder of the gang, perhaps with the
exception of Nat, I believed certainly bore us more good will than ill,
and would set us at liberty again as soon as they could do so without
endangering the success of their own plans.
So, in a comparatively tranquil frame of mind, I stretched my tired
limbs on the rock beside Woodley, and listened to the conversation.
"Well, and how long do you reckon we're going to stay here?" demanded
Nat.
"We can't stir to-morrow--that is, not in daylight," answered Rodwood;
"and I'm not sure if it'll be safe to do so at night either. There'll
be too sharp a lookout kept for some days to make it over safe for us
to take our walks abroad."
"Why can't we stay here for a week," said one fellow, "until the chase
has been abandoned? If the food runs short, we could get more some
night from the village; at least," he added with a laugh, "I reckon I
could find some if any one will put me ashore!"
"It's risky to stay too long," muttered Lewis.
"What d'you mean?" asked Rodwood sharply. "I thought you offered to
find us a safe hiding-place where there'd be no danger."
"I said where there'd be no danger of being found."
"Then what other risk is there?"
"The chance of getting in without being able to get out," was the
reply. There was a certain ominous sound in the speaker's voice which
attracted every man's attention, and I noticed that George Woodley
turned his head to listen.
"What's the good of beating about the bush?" growled one man. "Speak
out plain, you fool!"
"Why," returned the smuggler, "what I mean is, you can't get in or out
of this place with anything of a rough sea running. It's calm now, but
there's no knowing how long the weather's going to hold this time of
year. You can't expect to walk out of jail and get off without running
risks; if you steer clear of one, you must take your chance of running
into another. Here's a place where there's precious little chance of
your being found, except by them who, at a word from me, would take
care not to see you; but there's equal chance, if you stay here till a
gale should happen to spring up, that you'll be missing till the day of
judgment."
The truth of this assertion seemed to shock the group of listeners into
a momentary silence. To myself the danger of our present position
became at once evident, and a sense of fear chilled my heart as I
listened to the lapping of the water and thought of what must be our
fate if the slumbering sea awoke in fury, and the huge billows
thundered through the mouth of the cave. There was little doubt but
that in a storm the ledge on which we rested would be swept clean with
the surges, and any living being seeking refuge there would soon be
drawn into the surf and dashed to pieces against the sides of the
cavern.
"What d'you propose to do, then?" inquired Rodwood.
"It's no use to stir abroad in daylight," answered Lewis; "we must wait
here till to-morrow night. Then I thought I'd go alone into
Rockymouth, and try and get a word with them as will help us. They'll
say how soon there's a chance of our getting across the water. I'll
bring back some more food; and if I see any sign of bad weather, why,
we must get out of this, and find some snug hole among the bushes on
the cliffs. Maybe during to-morrow all that ground will be searched,
and folks won't trouble to look there again."
For a few seconds the leader of the gang remained thinking, with his
chin resting on his hand; then I saw him raise his head and dart a
quick glance at Lewis.
"See here!" he exclaimed; "how are we to know that when you once get
among your friends you'll ever come back again? I don't suppose
there's a man among us who can swim; and if the fact of our being left
behind should happen to slip your memory, here we should remain, like
rats in a drain-pipe, to either starve or drown."
"When my word's given I don't go back on it," replied Lewis. "If you
doubt me, you can send a man along with me in the boat."
"There, there, my friend! don't get angry," replied Rodwood with a
laugh. "You've served us well in the past, and there's no reason to
doubt you in the future; but when a man has knocked about the world as
much as I have; he gets to look at a thing from more than one point of
view."
Overcome at length by the fatigues and excitements of the day, and
rendered still more drowsy by the grateful warmth of the fire, I
gradually sank back on the rock; the murmur of voices became fainter
and more confused, my eyelids closed, and I sank gradually into a deep
and dreamless sleep.