FRED SANDERS
Captain Bergen was so affected by the joyful awakening to the fact
that his long, dismal sojourn on the lonely island in the Pacific had
reached the end at last, and by the belief that now he would be
carried as rapidly as wind and sail could take him to his beloved New
England again, that his mind was unsettled and he behaved in a way
that pained, as much as it astonished, his companion.
Inasmuch as such was the fact, Mr. Storms hoped that it would be
accepted as an explanation of the strange utterances in which he had
indulged, for he believed that the cupidity of the young man had
already been excited, and a most unfortunate complication threatened.
"You will excuse the excitement of my friend," said he to Sanders,
"though mine is nearly as great; but he had almost settled into the
belief that we were doomed to perish in this desolate spot, and the
reaction caused by your joyous tidings is too much for him."
"Oh, that's all right!" was the cheery response. "I understand how
that is. But, begging pardon, I believe you have another companion?"
Fred looked so earnestly at the figure of Inez Hawthorne, standing a
short distance off, that his meaning could not be mistaken.
"It is I who should beg your pardon," said Storms, in turn, beckoning
to Inez to approach; "but we were so much interested in you that we
forgot her for the time."
While the girl was approaching the group, Captain Bergen turned about,
and without a word, walked slowly away in the direction of the cabin,
his manner showing still more clearly than ever that his mind was
unbalanced--a fact which caused Storms great discomfort. Aside from
his love for the good, honest man, he saw that he had already
imperiled, and was likely still further to imperil, their great
possessions by his rambling, and yet significant, talk.
The pearls still lay some distance away, buried in the sand in their
canvas bags, and must be procured before leaving the island.
Since the captain had already awakened suspicion respecting the truth,
the difficulty of getting the prizes away without detection was
immeasurably increased, while the likelihood of his making still
further disclosures remained.
Storms was fearful that this sudden movement on the part of Bergen
meant something of the kind, but the situation was such that he could
not interfere, and all he could do during the few minutes remaining of
the trying interview, was to keep a furtive watch, so far as possible,
upon the movements of the captain.
"Mr. Sanders," said the mate, "this is Inez Hawthorne--a little girl
who became a companion of ours through no fault of hers or of either
of us. She has been here during the three years we have spent on the
island, and though she has stood it so much better than we, she is
fully as anxious to get away. Inez, this is Mr. Fred Sanders, who has
come to take us off."
The handsome young fellow doffed his hat and bowed with a certain
grace and deferential regard in his manner, which led Storms, who was
narrowly watching him, to suspect that he was of high birth and had
moved in good circles before he had made his debut in this strange
part of the world. Inez possessed the same charming simplicity which
had distinguished her in her earlier years, though she was more
reserved, as was natural with her. She extended her hand to Sanders,
who gave it a gentle pressure, while he said:
"When I saw the signal fluttering up there I suspected there were
persons here who wanted help, but I never dreamed that we should find
you."
"And why not me as well as any one else?" asked Inez, with a smile.
"Is there any reason why I shouldn't have misfortune the same as other
persons? If there is any such rule, I have never heard of it."
"I know of none; but shipwreck, as a general thing--and certainly in
the case of your companions--has been a great injury to them. They
look emaciated and ill, and the captain is surely injured in the mind.
But you--why--well, never mind."
Fred laughed and broke down, for he really meant to say nothing that
could be construed into flattery or impertinence. There was an air of
goodness and refinement about the girl which compelled the respect,
for the time at least, of the wild youth.
"I am so glad you have come," said Inez, without commenting upon his
last words; "for though I have been as cheerful as I could, it has
been mainly on account of the captain and Mr. Storms. I saw how
dejected they were, and tried to cheer them as best I could."
"Which was very kind in you. But, thank heaven! it is all over now,
and I hope we shall soon bear you away from this place, that no doubt
has become so detestable in your eyes that you never want to see it
again."
"I cannot say how dreadful it is and how much I dislike it. The ship
which ought to have taken us away as it brought us, was broken to
pieces on the beach, and the mutineers, who thirsted for our lives,
were drowned when almost in reach, as may be said, of the shore."
Here was some more unexpected information that greatly interested Fred
Sanders, who began to think he would get at all the facts by
interviewing each member of the little company.
Mr. Storms heard the remark of Inez; but, while he regretted it--on
the ground that it might raise some more uncomfortable suspicions--he
did not care particularly, for the sad story was one that could easily
be told, and upon which he was ready for cross-examination. But what
more interested him at that moment was the fact that Captain Bergen
just then reached the cabin, and, instead of stopping within, passed
on beyond.
The conclusion of Storms was natural that he had gone to the upper
part of the island to dig up the pearls; in which case, in his
peculiar mental condition, he would, most likely, lose them all. This
would never do, and the mate excused himself, saying:
"I am a little uneasy respecting the captain, and I will leave you two
here while I look after him."
Fred Sanders saluted him, and told the truth when he said he would
forgive his departure with pleasure; with which the ragged mate went
hurrying after the ragged captain.
"Won't you step on board the proa for a little while?" asked Fred, who
was rather tired of standing on the sand under the palm-trees. "As it
is to be your dwelling-place for a few days, you may like to select
your apartments."
Inez said she would be glad to do so, and Fred uttered some sharp
exclamation, which caused both of the dusky natives to spring to
their feet and hasten to the side of the proa nearest the shore, where
they waited the chance to help her aboard. Inez noticed that the
islanders were muscular, athletic fellows, with such a peculiar
appearance that she could not avoid staring at them for a few seconds.
Each was fully six feet in height--an unusual stature among the South
Sea Islanders--and their breasts, arms and legs were tattooed with
all sorts of figures and representations. Since these portions of
their anatomy were uncovered, the singular ornamentation was very
prominent.
They had the curious tattooing on their cheeks, noses and foreheads,
so that their appearance was repellent. Besides this, their teeth were
black, their noses large and flat, and their mouths wider than there
was any necessity for. Their heads were bare, and, indeed, were
furnished by nature with all the covering they could need. The hair
was very long, but frizzly, so that as it curled up about their ears
and crowns, it formed an immense bushy screen, which gave their heads
prodigious size. Their hands and feet were very large, and it would
have been hard, in short, to discover anything in their looks that
could attract a person toward them. Surveying them dispassionately,
one could not help suspecting they belonged to a tribe of cannibals.
However, Inez did not show any repulsion which she might have felt,
but stepping close to the proa took the extended hand, and sprang
lightly aboard of the strange craft. The natives immediately withdrew,
leaving the young captain, as he appeared to be, to conduct the fair
visitor around the "ship," whose dimensions did not require much time
to investigate.
Fred explained that the proa was a vessel peculiar to the Indian and
Central Pacific oceans, and that it could sail with great swiftness,
going either forward or backward with equal readiness. It is a
favorite boat used for inter-communication between hundreds of the
islands of the South Seas, and the Malays employ them in a different
form for their piratical expeditions. They owe their swiftness mainly
to the fact that they stand so high out of the water, are very narrow,
and present such a large surface to the wind.
"They are good for short voyages," said Fred, "but I shouldn't want to
start for New York or Liverpool in one of them."
"How long will it take us to reach the island from which you came?"
asked Inez.
"If we start early to-morrow morning, with a good wind, we ought to be
there at the end of two days."
This was shorter time than he had given Mate Storms, but he was now
striving to speak the truth.
"And suppose we are overtaken by one of those terrible tempests which
sometimes visit this part of the world?"
"We cannot escape the risk, no matter where we are. The storm that
would sink a proa might cause a seventy-four to founder, and the only
way you can shun danger is to stay here all your life. I hardly think
that such is your wish, Miss Inez."
"No; I am as anxious to leave as are Mr. Storms and the captain.
Indeed, I think I am more so, for I understand that they expect to
wait until to-morrow morning, while if I had my wish I would start
this very hour."
"We are at the disposal of yourself and friends," Sanders courteously
responded; "but the reason for delay is that thereby we expect to be
compelled to spend but a single night on the voyage, while if we
started now we should have two."