A FRIEND AMONG ENEMIES
The double canoe, with its cumbersome lateen sail and its crew of
twenty-odd pirates, had stolen down from somewhere among the Paumotu
Islands, and was now gradually approaching the proa which contained
Abram Storms and Inez Hawthorne.
The experience of the preceding few years, and especially of the last
day or two, had given Mr. Storms an astonishing acuteness, which
enabled him often to detect the truth without difficulty. The strong
suspicion he now formed was that Fred Sanders was expecting the
appearance of the craft, and that he was guiding his own proa in
accordance with some prearranged plan. This was an alarming conclusion
to reach, but Storms felt hardly a particle of doubt that he was
right.
"He intends to betray us, and has intended to do so from the first."
The New Englander took another look at the double canoe, and he saw,
even in the few minutes that had passed, that they were closer
together. And now that his suspicions were aroused, he detected
several other little things which only confirmed all that had entered
his mind. The two islanders who composed the crew were continually
glancing off at their brothers, and frequently spoke in low tones, and
showed by the gleam of their swarthy faces that they were on the
tip-toe of expectation.
From one corner of the lateen sail, Storms now noticed that a large
crimson handkerchief was fluttering in the wind.
"It is put there as a signal," was the decision respecting that, "and
doubtless signifies that they have us on board and all is going
right."
Fred Sanders was so occupied with this business that he never once
suspected that he himself was being watched in turn.
"Inez," said the mate, "go to the captain and speak a few words to
him."
"But he is so occupied that he will not wish to be disturbed."
"Never mind about that; I wish you to go and say a few pleasant words
to him. Let them be sympathetic."
"What shall I say?"
"I can give you no further directions."
"I am loth to do so, but if you wish it----"
"I wish it very much."
That was enough, and the girl, with some natural hesitation of manner,
advanced to the young captain, who did not notice her until she was at
his elbow.
"Good-day, Captain Fred," she said; "you have been busy so long that
you must be tired, for you slept none last night."
He looked toward her with a quick, curious expression. There was a
half-smile on his face, while his forehead was wrinkled with
displeasure. Inez noticed this, and would have withdrawn had she not
recalled the strange earnestness with which Storms made the request
for her to utter a few pleasant words to the youth. She therefore
determined to carry out his wishes.
"Can't we relieve you of your work?" continued she.
Sanders was in reality doing nothing in the way of physical labor,
since the steering oar was in the hands of one of the crew, but he was
absorbed in "watching things," as the expression goes.
"I am sure there is no way in which you can relieve me," said Fred,
unbending somewhat from his reserve.
"We are in such deep water, and the wind is so fair, that there can be
no danger, I suppose. But tell me, what sort of a boat is that yonder
which is pursuing nearly the same course with us?"
"That--I presume," was the hesitating response, as the young man
glanced in that direction, "is one of the double canoes or proas which
are often seen among these islands."
"And who are the crew?"
"Islanders, like my own."
"Are we going to meet them?"
"I hardly know what to answer to that," said Fred, looking inquiringly
toward the large proa again, as if he had not seen it before.
"Well, Captain Sanders, they must be pirates," said Inez, stepping
close to him, and speaking in a low, tremulous voice; "but whether
they are or not, my faith in God and in you cannot be changed. I know
you will do all you can for us----"
"There! there!" protested the young captain, with an expression of
pain on his face, "say no more. Please go away, Inez, and leave me
alone."
"Of course I will leave you, if you do not wish me here, but gratitude
would not let me keep silent. I know, from what you said last night,
that you have a good heart, and henceforth conscience is to be your
master and guide."
And without looking to see the effect of her words, Inez left the
captain to his own thoughts.
Abram Storms, with folded arms, was intently watching him, and he
carefully studied his countenance. He was still doing so, when Inez
turned her back upon Sanders. Mr. Storms noted the strange expression
on the handsome countenance, and just then Sanders turned and looked
straight at the man before the latter could withdraw his gaze. As
their eyes met, he signaled to Storms to approach, and the latter,
with no little wonderment and some misgiving, did so.
"Mr. Storms," said he, "that double canoe off yonder has twenty-three
pirates on board."
"I suspected as much," coolly replied the other.
"And a set of worse villains cannot be found in the South Seas."
"I am sure you are quite right."
"These two men that I have on board belong to the same crew."
"Indeed! I hadn't thought of that."
"I belong to the same gang."
"I suspected that!"
"You did, eh? Did you suspect that I was in the plot to obtain
possession of your pearls?"
"I did not suspect it; I was sure of it, which is why I have carried
my loaded revolver with me."
"That wouldn't have defeated the plan we had laid, for when
twenty-three odd savages, with their spears, war-clubs and a few
muskets, had stolen up to the island in the darkness, and crept
silently into your cabin, what good would your guns and revolvers have
done you?"
"Was that the plan?"
"That was it precisely. By some means or other, which I never could
understand, rumors reached Wauparmur, months ago, that two men and a
child were on an island to the south of us, and that they had an
immense lot of the most valuable pearls. I cannot comprehend how it
was the natives gained such knowledge, for it must have had some basis
of truth, inasmuch as it proved to be true."
"There was a proa which passed close to the island while we were
opening the pearl-oysters," said Storms. "We all saw it."
"The rumor came from them, then," continued Sanders, "and a party was
formed to go down there, and find out whether it was true, and, in
case it was, the white men were to be overcome by treachery, and their
possessions in the shape of pearls taken. Since there is no more
desperate and wicked member of the gang than am I, of course I was one
of the first chosen.
"We started in two boats, and, as we went along, I could see
difficulties in the way which never occurred to them. It was not
likely you carried the pearls about with you, as a person wears his
jewelry; but most likely they were buried, so that if we came down
upon you and made an overwhelming attack, as was first intended, we
might put you all to death, and then be unable to find where you had
hidden your treasures. Besides that, I saw that it was more than
probable you had firearms, with which you could successfully hold out
against a large force, and it would prove no easy thing to subdue
you."
"You were correct in both your surmises," said Storms. "We were always
prepared to make a fight, and, with our guns against your spears, we
would have beaten you off. The pearls, too, were carefully concealed
where you never would have found them."
"I was well convinced of that, so we resorted to strategy. I was to go
with a couple of the men and bring you away, trying all the time if I
could to secure the pearls, which, of course, were afterwards to be
disposed of and the proceeds divided among us--the intention being
that when we got you on the proa, you would be pitched overboard, for
then the situation would be so changed that we could manage it without
trouble. If I thought it unsafe to make the attempt, I had only to
wait until reinforcements should come up; for the larger boat, knowing
the course I was to take on my return, had only to be on the lookout
for us, and we would be sure to descry each other."
"And that was to be your signal that you had us aboard?" said Storms,
pointing to the fluttering handkerchief.
"That's it precisely," assented Sanders. "But there was one force
which we did not think to provide against," added the young man, in a
low voice, in which Storms detected a slight tremor.
"What was that?"
"An awakened conscience," was the impressive answer. "And it was she
who aroused the sleeper. There was something in the goodness of the
girl--the faith which she showed not only in heaven but in me as
well--that upset all my calculations. Then, too, she seemed to say the
right words just at the right time; and you saw how I suffered."
"Yes; and it gave me great hope; for, Fred, I distrusted you from the
beginning. I saw many little things which you never supposed I nor any
one else would notice. And I may add," said the mate, with a sly
twinkle, "that I endeavored always to be prepared for you."
The face of Sanders flushed, but he added, with the same seriousness:
"Matters now are going in accordance with the program arranged days
ago. The large proa yonder has been waiting for us, and we are now to
keep on converging lines until we meet to-night."
"Do you intend to follow out your agreement?"
"No; I had an awful struggle with my conscience last night, after my
talk with Inez and with the poor captain, but the evil triumphed in
me, despite all I could do. The fight was still going on, being
renewed this morning, and I had about yielded to Satan, when she came
and spoke to me. That," said Fred Sanders, with a compression of the
lips, "has settled it forever. I am now your friend, and I am ready to
give up my life for the safety of you and her, hoping that heaven will
take it, with my repentance, as some atonement for the many sins I
have committed."