THE BRANDY KEGS.
A vague sense of pain and discomfort at length began to enter into my
dreams, and soon I awoke to find that, from having lain so long in one
position on the hard rock, I was aching in every limb as though I had
been beaten. For a moment or so my head swam with bewilderment as I
stared about me and wondered where I was. It was like the recovering
of consciousness after a fall. But presently the full recollection of
the previous day's adventure flooded my memory. I struggled into a
sitting posture, and gazed around. The sun had risen, but the mouth of
the cavern being so small and far distant, the surrounding objects were
visible in a sort of gray twilight, such as might have illumined some
underground dungeon with but a single small barred window high up in
the wall. The other members of the party were already astir--one man
mending the fire, another plucking one of the pheasants we had brought
with us, and a group of two or three hauling up more of the wreck-wood
out of the water on to the platform.
Looking towards the mouth of the cave from where I sat was much like
surveying the interior of a modern railway tunnel which by some means
had become flooded, except that the cavern was more lofty. The roof
itself was lost in darkness; but as far as I could make out, exactly
over our ledge was a wide hole in the rock, like the perpendicular
shaft of an old-fashioned chimney. This, however, was only discernible
by the space of denser black amid the general gloom.
Shivering with the cold, I was glad enough to get some warmth by
assisting in building up the fire. The broken spars which had been
recovered the previous night were dry by this time, and made good fuel,
of which there seemed a sufficient supply to more than last out our
needs. There being no beach for nearly a mile on either side of us, a
quantity of flotsam, as Lewis explained, was often to be found in the
cavern, carried there by the current.
Our breakfast was a frugal one--a sausage and a small hunk of cheese
served out to each man--Rodwood having determined to husband the food
supply. Then the gang settled down to endure as best they could the
long hours of waiting till it would be safe for Lewis to venture forth
and bring back such information as would enable them to decide on their
further movements.
From the time I awoke, the unpleasant conviction began gradually to
force itself on my mind that the attitude and disposition of the
escaped prisoners towards George and myself was undergoing a change.
In the first glow of their gratitude for the small kindnesses and
services which we had shown them, they had gone to an extreme in their
expression of good will, but now a reaction became evident. Any
obligation to us which they might have felt on the previous evening was
now forgotten. They began to resent our presence among them, and
appeared to regret that they had not taken their leader's advice, and
not hampered their escape by bringing us with them to the coast. As
far as was possible in such a limited space, they excluded us from
their society, allowing us to have no share in their conversation,
which, for the most part, seemed to turn on the various misdeeds for
which they had suffered.
"What's to be done with 'em when we get out of here?" I heard one man
remark.
"That'll be seen when the time comes," answered another. "I don't
suppose they'd thank us to take 'em with us over to France."
On comparing notes with George, I found he had already remarked the
same thing, but had refrained from mentioning it for fear of causing me
unnecessary alarm.
"Laugh every now and again as if we were talking about something
comic," he whispered as we sat together, a little apart from the rest.
"It won't do to let 'em think we suspect them or notice any change."
So with many feigned grins and chuckles we continued our talk, though
Heaven knows I never in my life felt less in a laughing mood.
"What d'you think they'll do with us?" I asked.
"How can I tell?" he answered. "But any one could see that there's
rocks ahead for you and me. Put yourself in their place, and leave
everything out of the question but your own safety, and think what's to
be done. Once give us our freedom, and how are they to know that we
shan't loose the dogs on their heels the very next minute? Another
thing: if they take us with them, we shall be able to identify the men
who help them in their escape--the crew of some smuggling craft, I
expect--and it's not likely, with that knowledge in our heads, we shall
be left to walk straight off to the nearest justice of the peace."
"Then what will they do with us? They can't leave us here; that would
be worse than downright murder."
"There's no knowing what they'll do," answered George evasively.
"Old Lewis will remain our friend," I replied. "I'm sure he'll not
stand by and allow us to come to harm."
"But what's he to do by himself, one to nine?" was the reply. "These
are desperate men, and prepared for desperate measures. We're about as
safe here, Master Eden, as if we were in a den of tigers."
"But Lewis can say, as he did before, that he won't help them if harm
comes to us," I persisted, unwilling to abandon this sheet anchor of
hope.
"He may say that once too often," muttered George. "You must remember,
too, that the man's walking the greasy pole himself, so to speak, and
one slip sends him down into transportation for life; for I don't doubt
but what they'd all get that after this attempted escape and making
away with the coach."
As one or two of the convicts seemed to be eyeing us, we ceased our
conversation with a forced laugh; and rising, I strolled over towards
Lewis, who stood at the edge of the platform with arms folded, gazing
towards the mouth of the cave. If not then low water, the tide could
not long have turned, and the ledge seemed considerably higher above
the sea than it had done when we had first landed from the boat.
"What's the matter?" I asked, seeing how the old sailor's heavy brows
were contracted in thought.
"There's a good bit may be the matter, Master Eden, before this gang of
lubbers steps ashore in France," he answered. "I've been as far as the
mouth of the cave this morning in the boat, and I don't altogether like
the look of the sea: there's a swell getting up which may mean wind
behind it. If so, these blokes may find this cave as difficult a place
to get out of as Welmington Jail."
Now that he called my attention to it, I noticed that there was
certainly a constant ripple whispering down the length of the cave.
The boat rocked gently at her mooring, and at the sight of her a sudden
foreboding of evil entered my mind.
"You don't think it's going to be rough enough to wash us off this
rock?" I asked anxiously.
"I doubt if that would happen unless it came on to blow a regular
gale," he answered. "You see, the mouth of the cave is only a narrow
opening, and, especially at high water, the seas would spend most of
their force outside; still, as I've warned these men here, if once a
big storm did get up, not a mother's son of them is ever likely to be
heard of again. No," continued the speaker, "it's not being drowned
I'm so much afraid of now as there being just enough sea running to
prevent us getting out. These fools don't realize what a ticklish job
it is except in still water. Let them try it in a stiff sou'-easterly
breeze, and see how far they get! I'll wager my neck not one of them
would ever set foot on shore again."
I stood gazing anxiously at that distant semicircle of light beyond
which the sea was sparkling in the wintry sunshine. As I did so a
fresh salt breeze swept through the cavern, and a miniature wave rolled
up and spent itself against the mass of rock on which we stood. I was
on the point of making some further remark to Lewis, when, in a sharp,
peremptory manner, a voice behind us exclaimed,--
"Hark!"
The hum of conversation going on round the fire instantly ceased, while
Lewis and I involuntarily turned sharp round to see who had spoken.
"Hist! D'ye hear anything?"
It was the blind man who spoke. His name was Mogger, and he sat a
little apart from his companions, with his back against the rock wall
of the cavern. From chance remarks let drop by the others, I gathered
that he had been accustomed to beg for his bread with a dog,
leading-string, and tin can. Associating with a set of rogues and
vagabonds, he had at length become concerned in a robbery, and had been
found guilty of receiving and concealing stolen goods. His loss of
sight appeared to have been in a measure made up to him by an
abnormally keen sense of hearing; in fact, the fellow's ears were as
sensitive to sound as a dog's. Walking down the middle of a road, he
declared that he could tell whenever he passed a house, or when he
emerged from between two rows of buildings into the open country, and
this simply by the change in the sound of his own footsteps. I mention
this as giving additional interest to the incident which I am about to
describe.
There was a moment of dead silence. The picture of that scene rises in
my mind now as I write--the blind man sitting bolt upright against the
rock with closed eyes, and his pale, expressionless face raised at an
unusual angle, as though an unseen hand had gripped him beneath the
chin; the group round the fire, for the instant rigid and alert, with
heads half turned and mouths opened in the attitude of listening; while
Rodwood's hand closed instinctively on a pistol which he had been
cleaning, and had laid beside him on the rock. Thus, in the gloomy
twilight of the cave we all remained motionless as the rock itself,
until one of the men broke the spell with speech.
"What's the matter now?--more sheep?" he demanded gruffly, referring to
the false alarm of the previous evening, at which several of his
companions laughed.
The blind man made no reply, but remained in exactly the same attitude,
like a person in a trance. On any occasion his conduct would have been
disquieting and uncanny, but for hunted men there was something in it
especially disturbing.
"Can't you answer, you dumb post?" cried Rodwood angrily. "If you hear
anything, tell us what it is."
"It was a voice," answered Mogger. "I heard it, I'll swear; my ears
never play me false."
"You heard a good many voices, I suppose, seeing that we was most of us
talking," retorted one of his companions, with an uneasy catch in the
blustering tone which he tried to assume.
"I know all your voices," was the reply. "This was strange, and seemed
to come from a distance. Hark!"
The man held up a warning hand. In the death-like stillness which
followed I strained my ears to catch the faintest whisper; but no sound
reached them save the plash of the water and the heavy breathing of
Lewis, who stood close at my side.
"Be hanged to you!" burst out Rodwood. "You'll cry 'wolf' so often
that we shall pay no heed to real danger when it comes. What you heard
was the seagulls crying.--Confound the man, he's enough to send a
nervous old woman into a fit with his prick ears and bladder face!"
The blind man seemed too intent in listening for a repetition of the
sounds which he believed he had heard to take much notice of this
speech. The convicts joined in a rough jeer, but it was evident that
they had not recovered from the shock of the alarm.
"The dog's given no sign," said Lewis presently, looking hard at his
four-footed companion. "He'd be uneasy if there was strangers
about.--Eh, Joey? Is the coast clear?"
The animal merely wagged its tail, and before the subject could be
discussed any further the attention of the party was diverted to
another matter.
"Here's something in the water!" exclaimed one of the convicts, who had
wandered to the edge of the platform. "Looks like a cask of some sort.
Come on, and help to fish it out."
"If I were you I'd leave it where it is," interposed Lewis; "it'll
bring you no luck."
"Why?" demanded the fellow, who was already clambering down the ledges
of rock to get to the boat.
"Because it's dead men's property," answered Lewis. "It belongs to the
crew of this boat that's been wrecked. They'll be coming to claim it
if you don't leave it alone."
"Rubbish!" retorted the man. "Keep your sailor yarns for a ship's
fo'castle!--Hurray, boys! See here! Call me a Dutchman if it isn't a
keg of smugglers' brandy; and there's another bobbing about just over
yonder!"
The group by the fire scrambled hastily to their feet, and I heard
Lewis mutter a curse. He must have known all along what the kegs which
we had seen floating in the water as we entered the cave really
contained, and have foreseen the consequences of their coming into the
possession of his companions. As it was, he stepped quickly from my
side, and I saw him talking in quick, eager tones to Rodwood.
It would have been as easy to wrest a carcass from a pack of starving
wolves as to rob this band of criminals of their newly-found store of
liquor.
"Steady, lads, steady!" was all their leader could say. "One sup all
round, and then let it rest; we shall need clear heads until we're safe
out of the wood."
The words might as well have been spoken to the winds. The two ankers
were quickly dragged up on to the platform, and one of them was
broached with the aid of George's knife. The metal cup from the
coachman's flask and a small mug found in the locker of the boat
afforded the means of conveying the fiery spirit to eager lips. From
hand to hand it passed. Rodwood himself, after some protestation, took
his share with the rest, and even Lewis could not for long withstand
the temptation of the liquor which was almost forced upon him.
Woodley, however, was naturally a sober fellow, and kept his senses.
He took one sip at the mug when it was handed to him, to avoid rousing
the convicts to a still further feeling of hostility, after which he
and I edged away from the rest, and sat down at the farther end of the
platform.
What followed during the course of the next few hours it would be
difficult to describe. The rousing of the appetite which they had for
so long been unable to gratify was like applying a light to a heap of
straw. Forgetful of food or of their perilous position, the men tossed
the ardent spirit down their throats, and passed the cup for more. In
a very short time the effect of the drink began to make itself evident,
the more so that for some time past the members of the band had been
forced abstainers. Their faces flushed, their eyes brightened with a
feverish light, while with loosened tongues they began to jabber like
monkeys, laughing long and uproariously at their own coarse jokes, and
raising their voices to a shout when the din made it no longer possible
for them to be heard.
There was no talk now of limiting the allowance; even Rodwood himself
was far too intoxicated to care, while Lewis seemed robbed of that
instinct of caution which had been bred in him by the risks of his
calling.
How long this orgy lasted I don't know, but it must have continued far
into the afternoon. The tide rose, and with it the sea; the broken
waves seemed to come jostling and elbowing each other through the
entrance to the cave, and splashed heavily against the foot of our
platform, sprinkling the unheeding revellers every now and again with a
dash of salt water. If the revenue cutter or any small craft had
passed close in to shore, the noise made by the fugitives must have
betrayed their whereabouts, as in their drunken frenzy they danced and
yelled like raving lunatics.
At length, quite suddenly it seemed to us, they were all fighting. How
the quarrel first started it was impossible to discern; but it had not
been in progress more than a few seconds when all the band were engaged
in the conflict. In terror I crouched in the corner of the rock
farthest removed from this scene of strife, expecting momentarily to
receive some injury from this outburst of unreasoning fury. With
clenched fists, and with logs of wood snatched from the ground, the
maniacs struck at each other, or grappling fell, and were trodden on
and stumbled over by the other combatants. Rodwood, fighting like an
enraged lion, and striking out indiscriminately right and left, felled
several antagonists, and was ultimately the means of putting an end to
the melee, but not before one man had received some severe injury from
a kick in the stomach, and another had been horribly burned about the
face from falling, half stunned, into the fire. The groans of these
wretches now mingled with the maudlin peacemaking of the other members
of the band, as they rubbed their bruises and gathered once more round
the brandy keg.
The fading light of the short winter day was deepening into darkness as
the horrid scene continued.
"Hark'ee!" cried Rodwood, suddenly dashing the pewter cup to the
ground: "I've no mind to spend another night in this foxes' burrow.
Let us go back to the little port yonder and say we're what's left of a
shipwrecked crew. I'll be bound good beds enough would be offered to
such jolly mariners!"
A babel of voices followed this proposal. Some men were in favour,
while others, perhaps a trifle more sober, were against the move.
"I'd like to see you pass yourselves off as sailor men," shouted Lewis
with a wild laugh. "Besides, who's going to get the boat out with this
swell on? She'll be bottom up before she's ten yards beyond the
opening."
A fresh outburst of drunken argument drowned his further remarks, and
it soon became evident that the more reckless spirits had carried the
day. The remaining keg of brandy was handed down into the boat, and
the men prepared to follow, the first to move falling under the
thwarts, where he lay yelling that his arm was broken, while his
comrades staggered over his prostrate form.
George Woodley and I rushed forward. Whatever the risk of the voyage
might be, it was preferable to being left behind. But as we approached
the group of men who were gathered at the head of the flight of rough
steps, Rodwood waved us back.
"No room for you!" he cried with an oath. "No strangers or informers
come with us now; we've got enough to do to save our own necks."
"Quite right, captain!" added another drunken scoundrel. "Why did they
come with us at all? Let them bide there till they're fetched."
"For mercy's sake don't leave us here!" cried George. But a blow in
the face, which sent him staggering backwards, was the only response.
The blind man and the fellows who had been injured in the fight were
handed down into the boat. One groaned heavily as he was moved, his
complaints rising at last to a shriek which made my blood curdle.
"Lewis! Lewis!" I shouted in despair, "tell them to make room! We
won't betray you!"
The smuggler heard my cry, and paused with his foot already on the
first step of the descent.
"It's no good, Master Eden," he said, in a low, thick utterance. "If I
put you in the boat they'll throw you out. You're all right--I'll tell
Master Miles; or if not, you'll find it yourself if you look about.
I'm the only one as knows--"
The words, which I regarded merely as the rambling nonsense spoken by a
drunkard, were cut short by the speaker being forcibly dragged down
into the boat, which an instant later shoved off from the platform.
[Illustration: Deserted.]
In an agony of despair we heard it receding farther and farther in the
gloom, the hoarse shouts and laughter of the men and the continuous
barking of the dog, which had sprung aboard at the last moment, echoing
strangely from the arched roof. A few moments later we saw the dark
outline of the overladen craft obscuring the semicircle of light as it
reached the mouth of the cavern, and at the same time the drunken
clamour seemed to end in one final yell.
The men were gone, and George and I were left to our fate, at the mercy
of wind and sea.