A VILLAIN MEETS HIS END AND A PRISONER ESCAPES.
We had been discovered, then! I lay close against the partition wall. My
heart thumped loudly against my ribs, so that it seemed as if the
strangers must hear it and find out our hiding place. I looked at the
others. The Captain was crouched upon his knees, and the Bo's'n and
Minion each were standing as near the partition wall as nature would
permit.
What a scraping of feet was there! Lights flashed out, and there was a
din of voices which threatened to conceal any specific expression which
would be a guide to us. Then came a command in the musical voice of the
handsome Mauresco.
"Silence!" he ordered. There was an attempt at quiet, but still the
shuffling of feet and the low whispers were continued.
"Must the Captain speak twice?"
It was the high squeak of the Admiral of the Red. How that insignificant
creature obtained control so great was to me an unsolvable mystery, but
he certainly possessed it to an astounding degree over that lawless mob.
Suddenly the hush was so impressive that I feared to breathe.
"A thousand louis to the man who finds them!" he said, and in those
words I felt that our doom was spoken.
We heard them beating the bush, as it were, searching for us, we felt
sure. I expected every moment that they would rush away into the
darkness, make a long _detour_ up over the crest of the hill, and
descend to our entrance upon the other or western side. I rolled over
and drew my knife from its ragged sheath, ready to sell my life dearly.
I thought of Cynthia as I lay there, and I wondered if we had better
warn her. I hesitated to frighten her, and yet I felt that the time had
come to put a knife into her hand and tell her to take her life with
determination if need be. Our case seemed hopeless. We three looked at
each other. No one spoke. The din in the next chamber was so
overpowering that we might have shouted, but the rest felt as I
did--there was nothing to say. I saw them each examine their pistols as
I had mine, and the Bo's'n gave the Minion one of his, at which the boy
grinned with delight and nodded his head violently, but remained, as
usual, silent. We heard the buccaneers still racing about. It seemed to
me that they searched in small excavations in the walls. Some seemed to
run a little way inside a passage and then return, for we constantly
heard the inquiry "Found?" and the answer, "No, not yet." Then suddenly
they all trooped out, and we were left in quiet. We arose and walked to
the entrance to our cavern.
"They are coming over the hill," said the Captain. I nodded, and there
we stood and waited.
I thought that I had discovered the secret of the great natural cave. It
was evidently divided in an irregular fashion along its length,
beginning at the water and running backward. There was an entrance upon
the western side, which we had used, and one upon the eastern side,
which the pirates had used. There was no connection between the two
except from the gallery, where I had gone alone and had made the
discovery of that dreadful hall of death. I hoped that as the pirates
had not come up the western bank to our entrance, that they knew nothing
of it. And I think now that the two or three who discovered it later did
so by accident only, and for the first time.
"Why not meet them at the archway?" suggested I in a low tone. "It is
narrow there. Only one can enter at a time. We could kill each one as he
came."
"That's a good plan, Mr. Jones," whispered the Bo's'n; "I'll lead, sir."
"No," said the Skipper, "I claim the right. Thank God, I can fight, now
that I am out of Cynthy's sight!"
It had grown dark in the cave, for we were on the northern side and
night was coming on. Somehow I got ahead as we stole into the passage,
and groped our way along its black length. I felt carefully with my
foot, dreading the sudden descent to the level. It came not so soon as I
had thought, and I turned to warn the others. I did not now dare strike
a light, for I feared that with each moment that passed we should hear
those dreadful voices at the entrance to the passageway. We walked along
the level, and mounted the incline which led to the archway. And now we
did indeed hear voices. Yes, our surmise had been correct. They had
climbed up the hill, had rounded the back of the cave, and were coming
to seek us. There were not many voices.
"They have divided," whispered the Bo's'n. "Some are searching here,
some in other places." We heard their footsteps coming down the hill.
The rocks and shale made a great noise. There was but a faint light at
the entrance, and I watched to see when one of our pursuers should force
his entrance to our retreat. There was a scuffling outside upon the
rough stones, and a figure stood in the doorway. I waited for him to
advance, hoping to cut him down without a great noise. He came on for a
few uncertain steps, when, quick as thought, there was a flash from over
his head, a sickening cut, and the intruder rolled upon the ground
without a groan. Then I saw a figure busy over the fallen man. The body
was pushed and pried against the wall, there was a final shove, and the
dead man disappeared. All was still for a moment, then I heard a faint
splash of water far underground. The strange figure had but just
completed this ghastly work and had arisen when the darkening gleam at
the entrance was shut out by a second stranger. He came groping his way
into the passage. I heard him strike his flint. It was but a spark, and
he tried to strike another; but that avenging hand was upon him, and he,
too, was laid low. Not without a struggle, however, but I did not dare
to approach within range of that busy weapon which was doing its work
unaided. Again those unseen hands pushed and pried the slain man to the
edge of the wall. It seemed to me that the hole was small and not high,
for it was with difficulty that this second victim of our Nemesis was
crowded through. I learned this more by sound than by feeling, for the
very slight, small thread of light which filtered down the passage
showed me most dimly two blurred figures moving in combat and nothing
more.
"One of those prisoners got loose, I guess," whispered the Captain.
"He's killed two, anyway."
And now the third intruder entered the passageway. In the tall, lithe
figure I at once recognised Mauresco. It was now so dark that I saw but
a dim form, his musical voice aiding me in determining his identity. I
heard the sound of his shuffling footsteps as he came on, feeling the
way. He, too, struck a light. He was more successful than his
predecessors, and for a moment a flare in the passage showed to us two
figures in all their distinctness, the pirate and his enemy in ambush.
It showed to him four determined men. With a yell of rage he raised his
cimetar high in air; but now I watched my chance, for fear of killing
our unknown friend. The figure next us sprang aside, and my bullet went
through the dastardly heart, I hope, for he never spoke. I watched the
archway for more spies, but these three seemed to be the only ones who
had discovered its seclusion. We came, all three, to the assistance of
our unknown deliverer, and crowded and pushed the great body through the
opening at the base of the wall. I listened for the splash with
pleasurable feelings.
"If they were only all down there!" said the Skipper in low tones. We
waited in the semi-darkness for some twenty minutes or so, but no one
else came. I put out my hand to thank our unseen and silent friend, but
he had vanished. We stole to the entrance of the archway and looked out.
All was quiet. If the pirates were still on shore, they had found some
very secluded nook where we hoped they would remain until they went
aboard their devilish craft. We now began to retreat to our latticed
chamber. I softly whispered to the others to follow me.
"We haven't much choice," whispered the Captain.
I knew that there were no pitfalls, for I had been over the ground
twice, and if my excursion of discovery to the grand hall were counted,
I had passed in all four times safely over almost the entire passage. We
regained the chamber with no incident, and, after taking some water with
a little of the Skipper's rum, which we much required after the horrible
encounter which we had been through, and eating each one a ship's
biscuit, which the thoughtful Bo's'n had brought with him, we laid
ourselves down for our needed rest.
We divided ourselves into three watches. The boy we thought too young.
We could not trust him to keep awake. It was now eight o'clock. The
Bo's'n said that he would watch from eight to ten. I was to take the
second watch from ten to twelve, and then the Skipper was to be awakened
and stand his watch from twelve until two. Then I was to relieve him,
and so on until morning. The Bo's'n placed himself just outside the
archway, with his face toward the passage. The Skipper and I lay down
just inside the opening, our pistols ready cocked and in order. I
remember that in the second after I laid myself down Lacelle came out
from between the pillars of the archway with her finger on her lip, and
approached the Bo's'n. She whispered in his ear two words. They sounded
like "Li do'." The Bo's'n said that he thought she intended to say "Elle
dort," which meant, he said, "The lady is asleep." I took his word for
it, and turned my weary frame over with a lighter heart, to feel that
Cynthia was getting some rest after the anxieties and fatigues of the
day.
Of what comes next in our history I almost hesitate to write, for fear
that I shall not be believed; but I have often heard it said that truth
is stranger than fiction, and so I have found in my adventurous life.
Should I sit me down to write a tale of fiction, I could not imagine
anything more incredible than what befell us in our sojourn in that
painful time when we were cast away, and so I have determined to recall
all that I can of our dreadful experiences, than which nothing that I
ever read has been more remarkable; although if I forget some of the
incidents, it will be as well, for I feel that I can never hope to crowd
into my story all the occurrences of our life upon the island.
I had been asleep, then, about an hour, perhaps, that first sleep when
waking at a twitch of the sleeve is next to impossible. I remember that
I felt as if something were pulling at my arm. I was shaken and roughly
rolled about, my head was gently pounded upon the rock floor of our
cavern, and I recall that I drew myself away angrily and rolled over
with my head upon my arm. I was drunk with sleep, and it was not until I
felt myself taken by the ankles and pulled along the cavern for a few
inches than I realized that some one was trying to awaken me.
Dragging a man's hair upward from his neck by hauling him along a stone
floor is not conducive to a perfectly sound sleep, and I finally opened
my eyes with, I am afraid, some words upon my lips which I certainly had
not learned in the Old Dutch Church at Belleville. I put my hand to the
back of my head where the smart was sorest, and sat up and opened my
eyes. The Bo's'n was standing over me with his finger raised, as if to
say "Hush!" He need not have told me to be silent. The Skipper was
snoring profoundly, the Minion was nowhere to be seen.
I saw from the Bo's'n's look that something was afoot, and I tumbled up
on my unsteady legs at his bidding and pulled myself together for
whatever was to come. He uttered no word, but beckoned me to follow him,
and together we began to traverse the passage which led to the outside,
he groping his way ahead, I following. Several times he stopped, and
then I ran upon his heels.
"Keep your left hand on the wall, sir," he whispered, "and when you find
an opening turn to the left, sir----"
I understood his actions now, and did as he bade me.
When, in groping along the wall, my hand suddenly left the damp stone
and searched in air for something tangible to the touch, I turned
sharply at a right angle, still following him, I was sure. I knew now
that I was in the second passage which ran transversely across this
great cave of many chambers, and that in some way the Bo's'n had found
the way to the grand hall which I had discovered for myself in the early
afternoon.
After we had walked some distance, groping in the dark, fearing to
strike a light, I began to perceive the faint gleam that I had noticed
before. I had been expecting it. At the same moment there fell upon my
ear the distant murmur of voices. As we proceeded, they grew louder.
There was a sound of gaiety and jolly laughter, and an occasional burst
of song.
I saw that the Bo's'n was crouching as he went, and I did the same,
though I saw no possible danger of discovery, as the gallery which I had
explored in the afternoon was high up in the roof and was not connected
with any other cave. As I was thinking thus, the Bo's'n sat down on the
floor of the passage and began to remove his shoes, motioning me to do
the same. I had not been accustomed to take orders from a Bo's'n, and so
I whispered to him; but, with a "Beggin' your pardon, sir," he motioned
to me that I could either remove my shoes or return the way I came. I
had already done as he suggested, but I was a little crusty as yet from
my sudden awakening.
However, no one could get put out with the Bo's'n, he was such a
mild-mannered man. I was soon bare-footed as he was, for we were prudent
even in the midst of danger, and neither of us cared to use up his one
and only pair of socks on the damp floor of the passage. The Bo's'n had
taken the lead, and he kept it. I crept along after him, feeling sure
that our precautions were useless, as the buccaneers were making so much
noise that it would require a great deal upon our part to betray our
presence.
The Bo's'n entered the gallery and turned at once to the left, into the
curve which I had discovered just before I left the place. We pushed
along near the end.
"Go up farther!" I whispered, at the same time giving the Bo's'n a shove
with my elbow.
"Can't, sir, begging your pardon, sir," whispered the Bo's'n in return.
There was a faint light coming up from the centre of the great hall, and
by its aid I discovered that there was some one in the extreme end of
the balcony.
"It's that dam' Minion!" whispered the Bo's'n.
The Minion was certainly ubiquitous, and he was quite as useless. How he
had been foisted upon our party I could not see, not being perfectly
conversant with the ways of Providence. There seemed no moral for him to
point, and I felt then as now that he certainly did not adorn a tale.
That Heaven had sent him into the world for some good purpose I wanted
to believe, but what that purpose might be I was quite confident would
never be discovered in my time. Now, as usual, he was in the way, but I
give the Bo's'n credit for squeezing him into the corner and nearly
crowding the life out of him.
The Minion had the proscenium box, so to speak. He had pulled the vines
aside, and was looking down as calmly upon this villainous crew as if
the flare from below was not striking directly upon his features. I
pulled him down with a jerk of the shirt which threatened to split it
across the shoulders. Bringing the Minion to the floor made more noise
than I liked, and caused the Bo's'n to look respectful daggers at me.
The Minion only grinned, but clutched madly at the rough edges of the
rock which protruded into the gallery. When he arose again he kept well
out of sight behind the lattice work of leaves. From the time that we
entered the gallery the shouts and revelry had been deafening. I could
with difficulty restrain myself from parting the vines widely, that I
might look unrestrainedly down upon what I knew must be an exciting
scene, for when I arose from my crawling posture and found a convenient
eyehole between the leaves the strange sight upon which I gazed almost
made my heart stand still.
What shall I describe first?
The glow which allowed us to see that which was going on beneath us, and
threw its soft rays over the actors in this strange drama, was shed from
the antique globe which I had discovered upon my first visit to this
part of the cavern. Then, however, it rested sidewise upon the floor.
Now it was raised so as to clear the head of a man, and swung safely
from its rope of vine. I understood now that when last it was left to
swing in the cave it had not been used for some time after, and the
vine, growing during the absence of the band, had gradually laid the
great perforated globe as gently upon the floor of the cave as could
have been done by a woman's hand.
A subdued and lovely light filtered through its metal arabesques and
sent a soft glow through the grand interior of the cavern. A clear beam
was cast upon the walls. It lighted up the skeletons in their niches,
and gave to the teeth glistening in its rays a fixed and dreadful smile.
The brightest gleam fell upon the central basin. The receptacle which I
had noticed in the centre of the hall was now filled with some dark
liquid. The fumes of this liquid were so overpowering as to leave no
doubt in my mind as to its nature.
As to the living occupants of this strange interior, I saw that most of
those whom we had seen debark were present. One of the huge blocks of
stone which I had supposed were used for tables had been rolled or
pushed to near proximity of the central bowl. Upon this great rock,
which now partook of the nature of a throne, was seated the Admiral of
the Red, his gnomelike figure and habiliments, which doubtless gave him
his sobriquet, making him to appear like some grotesque figure from
wonderland.
Captain Jonas sat facing the Admiral, but upon a lower seat, and the
rest of the company were gathered about, giving respectful attention to
their leader, who seemed about to speak. At a little distance, left
quite to himself, stood the young Englishman. He was pale and ghastly.
His eyes had the hunted look of a man who is in the last stage of agony
and despair. I thought that once or twice I saw his lips move. He
glanced upward, as if he felt that his only friend was not an earthly
one. Again, I saw him turn his glance to the archway of the entrance, as
if escape might not be in vain. But alas! in that doorway stood two
ruffianly looking fellows, one on either side of the entrance. They
leaned each one against the wall behind him, and held a great sword the
like of which I had never seen. The point of the sword touched the
opposite wall, and crossed the one held by the man facing, so that hope
of escape, unless an angel came down from heaven to guide the way, was
impossible.
The remains of a coarse feast lay upon the table, but the chief interest
seemed to circle round the magnificent jorum in the centre of the hall.
Each man held a cup in his hand, which swayed unsteadily because of his
heavy potations. These cups were some of silver, some of pewter, and
others of gold. The drinking cup which the Admiral held was of gold, and
so tall that he could almost drink from it as it rested upon his knee. I
wondered at his being able to lift it, but his strength seemed
enormous, which is, I believe, one of the attributes of dwarfs in
general.
[Illustration: Pirates at play.]
Upon a table--I called them tables, these blocks of stone--were heaped
together incongruously, handsome articles of ware. They were mixed
indiscriminately with common pots and pans and cooking utensils.
Standing among the articles of baser metal I noticed some pieces of a
jewelled church service. There were drinking horns standing side by side
with the most exquisite vases of silver, pewter cups and flagons cheek
by jowl with the consecrated vessels.
"Where is Mauresco? Mauresco!" squeaked the Admiral of the Red. "He knew
where our treasures were stored. Bring Mauresco, that I may array myself
as befits my position!"
"Mauresco! Mauresco!" The motley company took up the cry. The musical
syllables rang through the vaulted cavern, and echoed back from the
hollows and arches overhead. "Mauresco! Mauresco!" they rang,
"Mauresco!"
The Bo's'n and I looked at each other, then turned again to survey the
extraordinary scene, as if we could not bear to lose a motion or a wave
of the hand.
There were some chests standing open on the floor, and several men ran
at an order from the Admiral and burrowed and groped among the handsome
stuffs that partly trailed their lengths along the rock beneath them.
They had been used, I thought, to enwrap the flagons and cups. But,
search as they would, nothing came to light that had not already been
placed in view of the band assembled.
"Mauresco alone possessed the secret," shouted Jonas. "If you had only
trusted me now," and in the tone one heard the plaint of long-standing
jealousy, and we felt certain that, whatever the Admiral might
experience should he hear how Mauresco had met his timely death, Captain
Jonas would not shed half a tear.
So it was treasure then that the buccaneers were seeking when they burst
into the chamber next that in which we had taken refuge, and not
ourselves. Thank God for that! I judged from this that they had not
discovered the dual nature of the cavern, and that when Mauresco groped
with curious fingers into our passageway he did it as an explorer, and
not as one who had any positive knowledge.
"Mauresco must come soon," said the Admiral. "Meanwhile let Lord George
Trevelyan step forth."
The young man started and looked uneasily at the group.
"Let Lord George Trevelyan drink to the health of the Admiral of the
Red!" roared Captain Jonas in his burly voice.
The young Englishman started again slightly, but did not advance.
Captain Jonas fired a volley of oaths at the boy. He then drew his
pistol from his belt and levelled it at the head of the young
Englishman, who did not wince. This seemed to make the wretch think
better of his purpose, for he fired the weapon into the jorum instead.
The liquor splashed and spouted up in jets, whereupon the Admiral
shouted in his thread of voice:
"Light it up! light it up! Give it life! give it life!"
Several pistols were held close to the liquor and discharged into the
inflammable mass, but it remained for one of the most zealous members of
the crew to ignite the fluid with his flint, which he struck with
success. The fumes flamed high and lighted up the cavern, shadowing the
buccaneers upon the walls in a thousand fantastic shapes.
"Fill up! fill up!" squeaked the Admiral of the Red. The band crowded
round the bowl, and dipped the liquid fire from its glowing surface.
Then they drank, as did their leader.
"A song! a song!" roared Captain Jonas.
"Where is Mauresco? Handsome Mauresco? He has a pretty pipe. Bring
Mauresco. No one can sing like Mauresco."
"Mauresco! No one can sing like Mauresco!"
"You'll never hear his pretty pipe again, thank God!" whispered I in the
Bo's'n's ear.
"Where can he be?" roared Captain Jonas; "and Wiggins and the Turk?"
"So it was the Turk and Wiggins who went to keep Mauresco company," said
I again softly in the Bo's'n's ear.
"An' a murderous pair they was, sir, Mr. Jones, if ever I saw such,"
answered the Bo's'n.
"A song, meanwhile, good Jonas," squeaked the Admiral. "A song! You sing
a stave nearly as well as Mauresco. Sing----"
"I'll choose my song myself," said Jonas gruffly, "or I won't sing at
all. It was sung in Ned England's day. Brave Ned England!"
"Choose it, then," said the Admiral hotly, "but sing it. Get one with a
chorus, mind you, one with a chorus! We all like to roar a jolly chorus,
hey, my lads?"
"We do! we do! The Admiral has spoke our minds, we do!" shouted the band
in ragged unison.
Captain Jonas emptied his glass, limped to the table where the Admiral
was seated, hitched himself up on the corner, crossed the leg fashioned
by human hands over that made by his Creator, and with fingers clasped
held it there, as if he feared that it would walk off by itself. He then
opened a mouth more renowned for size than beauty, and sang that song
with which I have often sung you, when you were my little Adoniah, to
sleep, when mother had gone to Wednesday evening meeting. I am good at
catching a tune, and perhaps some of the words I have supplied; but I am
sure that for villainy mine could never equal the viciousness of the
words which issued from the lips of plain Captain Jonas. This was the
song that he sang:
[Illustration: (Music) "AS I WAS A-SAILIN' DOWN MALABAR COAST."]
MALABAR COAST.
As I was a-sailin' down Malabar coast,
I spies a fair wessel, a-lee, a-lee,
Of gallant good riggin' and sticks did she boast.
We filled up our glasses and gave her a toast,
For soon she'd belong, sir, to we, to we,
For soon she'd belong, sir, to we.
She signalled her name, and she ran up a rag
Of warious bright colours to see, to see.
We didn't wait long, but without any brag,
We hoisted the Cross Bones, the jolly Black Flag,
And merrily sailed down a-lee, a-lee,
And merrily sailed down a-lee.
We gave her a shot or two over the bows,
The wind moaned aloft and a-low, a-low;
We was down on our luck, and our spirits to rouse,
We started right in for a jolly carouse
Aboard of a wessel you know, all know,
Her name was the "Cadogan Snow."
We piled up her silks and her wines on the decks
As high as my head, sir, and higher, much higher,
And when we had made her the sweetest of wrecks,
We stopped all their mouths by just slitting some necks
And took every thing that a gent could desire,
Then set the old barco afire.
We forced some sweet ladies fair over the side,
With many a jest and a lively prank.
To old Davy Jones each relinquished his bride,
And when they bewailed 'em, and mournfully cried,
We started 'em out on a wery long plank--
They moaned and they groaned as they sank.
Captain Jonas sang with spirit. When he reached the fifth line he waved
his hands above his head, thus releasing his wooden leg, which waved
also in midair. The rest joined in with a good will, and sang both the
fifth and sixth line with so great a noise that I feared not only would
they awaken Cynthia, but Mauresco, Wiggins, and the Turk as well.
"That was the song Ned England used to sing. Brave Ned England! Merry
Ned England!" squeaked the Admiral of the Red. "We shall never look on
his like in this world. He was a dare-devil dog, if ever there was one!"
I watched young Trevelyan as he stood alone, pale and dejected. When the
chorus had ended, the Admiral's thin voice was heard saying:
"A shooting bout! a shooting bout!" The lad winced and closed his eyes.
But it was not yet time for his torture to begin.
"Turn me round! turn me round!" was the Admiral's next order. "I'll lead
off."
Several of the Admiral's followers ran to twist him in the right
direction, which we found to be a position in which he faced the niches
where the skeletons hung.
"You see Sir Evylyn Wulbur's left eye?" questioned the Admiral. "The
left eye for a thousand pounds!"
"A thousand pounds! a thousand pounds!" shouted the band. Crack! went
the ball. There was a slight tremor of the frame, but the shining skull
remained apparently uninjured.
"A fine shot!" said Captain Jonas. "Try the right eye, Admiral."
"The right eye," said the Admiral, complying readily.
Crack! again. And through the right eye sped the unerring bullet. It
flattened against the wall, and dropped with a chink to the floor of the
niche.
"Don't want to riddle that head at the back," said Jonas. "Try another
skull. The next man!"
Other marksmen levelled their weapons at other figures, and showed proof
of skill such as I had never even imagined. One bullet only failed. It
crushed in a skull between the eyes.
"Put him out! put him out!" squeaked the Admiral. "He's ruined the Chief
Justice for life!" At this witty sally there was a great roar. I
wondered that the figures still stood, each one in his niche. I could
not understand why this was so, or why they had not long ago fallen to
the floor of the cave. When the disgraced marksman was thrust outside
the archway, Captain Jonas slid down from his seat and limped to the
centre of the hall. He bowed low to young Trevelyan, with a certain sort
of sneering deference which persons of his class usually feel for men of
higher station.
"Would Lord Trevelyan like to try his hand at this very pretty game?" he
asked.
The lad raised his eye, in which at once there appeared a gleam of hope.
He thrust out his hand for the weapon.
The Admiral laughed in his high key.
"No, no!" he said. "That was not the meaning of Captain Jonas, plain
Captain Jonas. He meant to reverse the order of things. He meant to
inquire if Lord George Trevelyan would like to stand as a target. I
promise you, my lord, you need feel no fear. We can shoot all round your
body. Put a bullet so close to your left ear that it will deafen you for
a week. Put one so close to your right ear that it will snap the drum
merely from the concussion of the air. We will cut your pockets off one
after the other, and touch neither your heart, your lights, or your
liver. I myself can score a pathway through those golden curls on top of
your very handsome head and never touch the scalp. I can--Why, what's
the matter with the young lord? Chicken-livered, hey, my lord, hey?"
Trevelyan made no reply, but dropped his head lower upon his breast.
The Admiral drained his cup and handed it to one of the men that it
might be replenished at the flaming bowl.
"Is it not time to finish this business?" asked the Admiral, jerking his
head in the direction of the lad.
"We are waiting for Mauresco, Admiral."
"Yes, yes, the high priest, Mauresco! The handsome high priest,
Mauresco! Where can Mauresco be? Call Mauresco! Go and call Mauresco!
Searching as usual for his lost bauble, perhaps."
A dozen men ran to obey his orders. They disappeared through the
archway, and there were cries of "Mauresco!" "Mauresco!" We heard shrill
whistles and calls, but Mauresco did not appear. I was glad that I knew
the reason why.
I saw that the lad turned his eyes ever toward the doorway, hoping
probably that the watch would be relaxed, and once or twice I was almost
tempted to cry out, "Try it now, Trevelyan, try it now!" The moment came
at last, for it seemed to me that their potations had made the bandits
somewhat careless.
"Go bring the sepulchre!" ordered the Admiral. At these dreadful words
the boy shrank to the wall and stood there, his face leaned against the
inhospitable rock.
Two men now entered, bringing what, I could not determine, except that
they walked about six feet apart, and that the something between them
glinted in certain places in the lamplight, and made a jingling noise as
they came. Some of the ruffians were filling their flagons and cups, but
as the two approached, bearing what the Admiral had called the
sepulchre, they all came forward and crowded around this new object of
interest. The guards at the door had relaxed their watchfulness and were
gazing with the rest.
"Now is the time," I whispered. "Will he never----" A shout! Another,
and twenty more! A rush to the doorway! The lad had made a bolt for it
and was gone!