Under the soothing influence of her brother-in-law's admirable manner,
Miss Merrivale soon recovered her wonted serenity of manner; while Lady
Emily seemed never to have lost hers, so absolute was her trust and
confidence in her husband, and his power to strengthen and reassure her.
In less than half an hour, therefore, after the departure of the boat
we were all sitting in a circle upon the sandy beach of the basin,
regaling ourselves upon some of the fruit that the ladies had gathered
earlier in the day, and discussing, meanwhile, the possibilities of our
situation.
Notwithstanding the brutally callous behaviour of Rogers, I still hoped,
and Sir Edgar fully believed, that a majority of the men on board would
be sufficiently swayed by motives of humanity to insist upon bringing us
ashore our clothing, and at least a few of the more obvious necessities
of life, such as a spare sail, a coil or two of line, a few nails, a
hammer, a saw, a trifle of crockery, some cooking utensils, and, above
all, our fowling-pieces and some ammunition. Miss Merrivale, however,
was positive that they would not; and as the time dragged slowly by
without any sign of the reappearance of the boat, I began at last to
fear that she would prove to be right.
A brightening in the sky to the eastward, over the crest of the lofty
heights that towered above us in that direction, at length announced the
rising of the moon, and, at the same time, made us aware that some four
hours had elapsed since sunset. As the mild radiance of the silver
luminary met my gaze I started to my feet, and said--
"There is the moon rising, and we shall soon have light enough to make
our final dispositions for the night. Meanwhile, as you are all
perfectly safe here, I will endeavour to make my way round to the beach
abreast of the ship, and see what they are about on board. If they
intend to go to sea to-night they will soon be making a move to get
under way; and if they do _not_, there may yet be a chance for us to do
something, with Martin's assistance."
"What!" exclaimed Sir Edgar, "do you still believe in that fellow's
fidelity?"
"Yes," said I, stoutly. "Do not you?"
"Well," answered Sir Edgar, "I _did_, most implicitly. But since the
shameful business of this evening I must confess that I have begun to
entertain doubts of him. All your plans and precautions, you see, have
been framed upon the information with which he has supplied you; and if
he really were in the men's confidence, and anxious to serve you, how
came it that he was not aware of the _coup_ which the men have so
successfully executed, or, if aware of their intentions, why did he not
make an opportunity to warn us? I confess that, to me, it appears very
much as though the men had all along feared some suspicion on your part,
and had employed him to throw you off your guard."
"No," said I, meditatively, "no; I cannot think that. There are
certainly one or two circumstances connected with his behaviour that I
cannot at present fully understand, and perhaps we shall now never know
whether he was really faithful or not; but I still believe him to be so,
and I feel confident that, if he cannot help us in any other way, he and
Forbes between them will devise some means for procuring our speedy
rescue. Now, I am off for the beach. You, I suppose, will remain here;
you can scarcely do better to-night, and it is desirable that I should
know exactly where to find you again without difficulty, should any
unforeseen contingency arise."
While I was speaking, Miss Merrivale had risen to her feet impetuously,
with all the eager, determined look in her face of one who is about to
say or do something of a very decisive character; but if such was her
intention she checked herself, seemingly, at the moment when the words
were about to escape her lips, and contented herself by saying instead--
"Pray be _very_ careful what you do, captain; remember that we are all
now utterly dependent upon _you_!"
I assured her that she might depend absolutely upon my discretion--
smiling, rather bitterly, meanwhile, at the reflection that, throughout
this business at least, my discretion had been by no means brilliantly
conspicuous--and so, with a bow, left the little party clustered
together upon the white sand; a curious, yet pretty, picture to any one
who could have been suddenly transported from the surroundings of
civilisation to that lonely island of the Pacific.
Making my way rapidly along the margin of the basin, close to the
water's edge, where the sand was firm and the walking consequently easy,
I soon reached the projecting point that marked the junction of the
creek with the river, and bent my steps along the narrow beach toward
the estuary. For some distance in this direction the only sound to
break the silence of the night was the loud, continuous, indescribable
_chirr_ of the countless myriads of insects that haunted the recesses of
the jungle; but at length, on rounding a bend in the river, I caught
sight of the barque, still at anchor, and at the same moment became
conscious of a new sound that, as I progressed toward the mouth of the
river, gradually resolved itself into the tones of human voices uplifted
in an attempt at melody. The thought that struck me, as this sound
first met my ear, was that the men had decided to go to sea forthwith,
and were now heaving short the cable--an impression that at once
determined me to push on and watch the departure of the sweet little
craft. But as I worked my way cautiously along toward the open beach,
keeping well within the shadow of the trees, in order that my movements
might not attract attention--for the moon, somewhat past the full, now
rode high enough in the cloudless sky to render the most minute objects
distinctly visible--I bethought me that the mutineers could not be
getting their anchor, or I should by this time hear the sharp clank of
the windlass pawls mingling with their song; moreover, I was now near
enough to distinguish that the singing was not the wailing, monotonous
chant and rousing chorus of a "shanty," but a confused medley of sound,
as though all hands were singing at once, and every man a different
tune; and I at once came to the conclusion that the fellows had secured
some liquor and were indulging in a carouse. Should this be indeed the
case--and I fervently hoped that it was--they would probably not desist
until every man had become helplessly intoxicated, as they had doubtless
secured Forbes so effectually that there would be no possibility of his
recovering his freedom until some one chose to release him; while they
would scarcely deign to give a thought to us on shore, with the
knowledge that the ship was distant at least half a mile from the
nearest point of the beach, and that both gigs were securely swinging at
the davits.
As this conviction dawned upon me a feeling of renewed hope and fierce
exultation leapt up in my heart, and my brain at once became busy with
plans for the recovery of the ship. For one of my few accomplishments
was that I was a fast and tireless swimmer, and--provided that there
were no sharks in the neighbourhood--the half-mile of water that
intervened between me and the _Esmeralda_ was no more formidable an
obstacle than had it consisted of firm, level roadway. Judging,
however, by the present vigorous character of the singing that came
pealing across to me from the ship, the opportune moment for such an
attempt as I meditated was yet a good hour distant, and I therefore
determined to stroll leisurely back to the party at the creek, and
acquaint them with the new phase of affairs.
When at length I rejoined the group, I found that during my absence Sir
Edgar had so far completed his arrangements for the night that the maids
and the children were comfortably bestowed upon the warm, yielding sand,
fast asleep, with their heads and faces well shielded from the rays of
the moon by a small tent-like structure, consisting of a shawl stretched
over an arrangement of sticks cunningly bound together with tough,
pliant monkey-rope, while Lady Emily slumbered peacefully by her
husband's side, with his arm about her waist, while her head rested upon
his shoulder. Miss Merrivale, however, and Sir Edgar _were_ still
awake, and as I approached them the former started to her feet and, with
her finger upon her lips as she pointed to the little group of sleepers,
murmured softly--
"How long you have been! And what an eager, glad look there is in your
face! What has happened? I am sure you have good news to tell us."
"Good, thus far," I admitted, "that the ship has not yet gone to sea;
and I believe that she will not now go until to-morrow. The men appear
to have obtained possession of some liquor, and are indulging in a royal
carouse--if one may judge by the singing and noise that I heard going on
aboard when I was down at the beach--and I am not without the hope that
ere the night be much older the fellows will have drunk themselves into
a helpless state of intoxication. Now, if upon my return presently to
my late post of observation I should have reason to believe that such a
thing has happened, I shall swim quietly off to the ship, and endeavour
to get on board her without disturbing anybody; and should I be able to
manage this, my next task will be to discover and liberate the mate.
This once accomplished, it shall go hard with us if we do not succeed in
retaking the ship from the drunken rascals, and repaying them in their
own coin."
"By Jove, Saint Leger, you are `grit all through,' as the Yankees say.
It is a bold scheme, and I believe you will succeed," exclaimed Sir
Edgar, admiringly. "I would that I could accompany you," he added
wistfully, "for in such an undertaking every additional man on your side
is of incalculable value. But, unfortunately, my swimming powers are
not equal to anything like such a stretch of water as that between the
shore and the ship, and I should only be an embarrassment instead of a
help to you, unless, indeed, I could contrive to do the distance with
the aid of a log to float me."
"No," said I; "I am infinitely grateful to you, Sir Edgar, for your
readiness to assist in this undertaking; but it is not to be thought of.
Your place is manifestly here, by the side of your family, so that,
should events turn out awkwardly, they may not be left on the island
without a defender. We will not, however, contemplate any such
unfortunate ending as that to the adventure; on the contrary, let us
rather look forward hopefully to the prospect of your all breakfasting
on board as usual, to-morrow morning. You understand, of course, that
should I succeed, my first act, after securing the mutineers, will be to
come ashore in a boat for you."
"Do you suppose we do not know that?" exclaimed Miss Merrivale,
impetuously. "But it is a desperately dangerous enterprise; and if--oh,
_why_ is it that women are such shamefully useless creatures in crises
like these? If our strength were only equal to our courage--"
"You could not, even then, be more absolutely irresistible than you now
are," I interrupted, with a low bow, and a poor attempt at gallantry.
"Your turn will come, however, be assured of that," I continued; "for,
whichever way this project of mine turns, you will have ample
opportunity for the display of both courage and helpfulness. Should we
ever succeed in recapturing the ship it is more than probable that I
shall sometimes be compelled to call upon you all to afford help in such
matters as the steering of her, and so on. But it is full early yet to
talk like this."
"So far as I am concerned, your call shall not be in vain!" exclaimed
the spirited girl, with a flash of her eyes that thrilled through me
like an electric shock. "If I have not the physical strength of a man,
I have at least as resolute a will, which is no mean substitute for it.
And now, good-bye; for I see that you are longing to get away. You will
be careful, though, will you not? and not run any unnecessary risks?"
I took the hand that was so frankly extended to me, and gave it a hearty
squeeze; gazed for an instant into the eyes that dwelt so anxiously upon
mine; and, immeasurably cheered and encouraged by the interest and
sympathy that I read there, turned away quickly and stepped briskly out
toward the mouth of the creek once more.
The time I had taken to walk to and from the basin appeared to have
sufficed the carousers to drink themselves well on toward a condition of
oblivion; for when I again reached the beach opposite the ship, the
singing had subsided into an occasional maudlin howl that, in its turn,
soon afterwards yielded to the stupefying effects of the liquor, and a
dead silence fell upon the ship.
I did not wait, however, for this final stage of insensibility to arrive
among the mutineers; but kicked off my shoes, and laying them, with my
hat and jacket, upon the sand, immediately upon my arrival at my former
post of observation, at once entered the water and started to swim with
long, steady, deliberate strokes toward the ship. The water was
perfectly calm and smooth, as well as deliciously warm; so that, despite
the leisurely character of my exertions, I made excellent progress, and,
in a shorter time than I had thought possible, found myself within the
deep shadow of the ship's hull. Everything was by this time as silent
as death on board, save for the slight jerk of the wheel-chains and the
sob of the water along the bends and about the rudder as the ship swung
gently upon the long, low ground-swell, the edge of which just caught
her as it crept up from the westward across the mouth of the small
estuary where she lay at anchor. So still and silent was the breathless
night that the volume of sound raised by the insects on shore rang in my
ears almost as distinctly out here as it had done when I stood upon the
beach; it was, however, so far mellowed and softened by the intervening
distance that it was possible to hear other sounds distinctly _through_
it, even when they were so faint as the slight, almost imperceptible
creak of the yard-parrels aloft, and the light _flap_ of a coiled-up
rope striking against the bulwarks with the slight, easy roll of the
ship. I was therefore particularly careful not to make the faintest
splash, as I drew up alongside, lest the unaccustomed sound should reach
the ear of and startle some individual not yet completely overpowered by
the drink he had swallowed. Fortunately for me, the gangway ladder had
not been hauled up, and I was consequently free to board the ship well
aft, thus greatly lessening the risk of detection; I had, therefore,
only to wait until the roll of the ship brought the ladder within my
grasp, seize it, and draw myself noiselessly out of the water. This was
precisely the course that I followed; and I had already drawn myself up
clear of the water when there occurred a rush and swirl immediately
beneath me, and I received so smart a blow that I narrowly escaped being
knocked off the ladder, as a large shark sprang half his length out of
the water after me and fell back with a terrific splash, loud enough, I
am sure, to have been distinctly heard on shore, had there been any one
on the beach to hear it. The brute had evidently been lurking under the
ship's bottom--attracted there, doubtless, by the refuse thrown
overboard from time to time by the cook--and had only become aware of my
presence just in time to make a rapid, ill-directed rush that had very
narrowly missed me. Oh, how fervently I thanked Heaven, as I sprang up
the side beyond the reach of a possible second rush, that the necessity
for a cautious approach to the ship had rendered my movements so
noiseless that the great fish had not discovered me until too late!
That the sudden and violent disturbance alongside had, however, not
passed unnoticed on deck was immediately apparent by the appearance of a
human head over the rail by the fore-rigging, only to disappear
instantly, however, and make its reappearance at the gangway. As it did
so, a voice that I instantly recognised as Joe's murmured, in low,
cautious tones--
"Is that you, cap'n?"
"Yes, _Joe_," I replied, with equal caution, as I paused with my eyes on
a level with the rail. "How is it on board? Have the rascals drunk
themselves stupid?"
"Ay! that's just exactly what they _have_ done," answered Joe; "and I
was just creepin' quietly aft to cast Mr Forbes loose, by way of a
start, when I heard the row alongside. How did it happen, sir? Did you
slip and fall back'ards?"
"No," I returned; "it was a shark that rose at me from under the ship's
bottom, and a narrow escape I have had of it; the brute struck me with
his snout, as he sprang out of the water, and all but knocked me off the
ladder."
"A shark?" ejaculated Joe, in dismay. "My word, sir, you _have_ had a
narrer squeak, and no mistake! You stop where you are, sir, out of
sight, for a minute, while I goes for'ard and just sees whether the
rumpus have roused any of 'em. I'll be back in a brace of shakes."
So saying, Joe sauntered carelessly away forward again; loitered
aimlessly about the foredeck for a few minutes; sauntered quietly aft
again past the larboard gangway, and so round abaft the mainmast and
capstan until he rejoined me again.
"All right, sir," he whispered. "They ain't all asleep; but every
mother's son of 'em is that helplessly drunk we can do anything we likes
with 'em. Now, sir," as I stepped in on deck, "if you likes to go to
your cabin and shift into dry clothes, I'll go and cut poor Mr Forbes
adrift. I am afraid he ain't none too comfortable, for it seemed to me
as the beggars was passin' the seizings pretty taut when they lashed him
up to-night."
"Is that so?" said I, indignantly. "Then we will go and cut him adrift
before doing anything else, Joe. He may be enduring cruel torments all
this time. Where is he?"
"Locked in his own berth, sir," answered Joe. "And that reminds me, I
don't know who's got the key."
"They may have left it in the door," I hazarded. "Who locked him in?"
"Rogers and Moore, sir. They are the two ringleaders in this here
business."
We had by this time reached the mate's cabin; but found the door locked,
and the key missing. As I tried the door-handle I thought I heard a
groan from the interior; so, without wasting time to search about for
the key, I set my back against the bulkhead of the passage and my foot
against the door by the lock, and the next moment we had the door open.
A shapeless object upon the floor of the cabin, indistinctly seen in the
semi-darkness which pervaded the place, proved to be the mate, lying
just as he had been carelessly flung in there, hours before, with his
wrists and heels lashed together behind his back. The poor fellow was
in a dreadful state, having lain there all those hours in excruciating
agony from the cruel pressure of the lashings about his limbs, which,
with brutal carelessness, had been drawn so tight as to have completely
stopped the circulation of the blood in his extremities. His limbs were
now swollen almost out of recognition; he had bitten his lower lip right
through in the extremity of his torment; his beard was drenched with
bloody foam; and our efforts to release him occasioned him such
exquisite agony that he fainted under our hands. A sharp knife,
however, speedily freed him from his bonds, after which Joe and I gently
chafed his swollen wrists and ankles until the circulation of the blood
was restored; but it was nearly an hour before the poor fellow was able
to move with any degree of freedom.
At length, however, he pronounced himself ready for action; when, going
on deck, and arming ourselves with a heavy brass belaying-pin each, the
three of us proceeded forward, resolutely determined to stand no
nonsense whatever from anybody who should presume to interfere with us.
It was, therefore, a distinctly unfortunate circumstance for Rogers that
he should, a moment or two previously, have awakened from his drunken
sleep and staggered to his feet with, apparently, some confused notion
of taking a look round the ship and assuring himself that all was right;
for, coming face to face with Forbes and _Joe_ as they rounded the
corner of the galley, he was promptly felled by the latter with a blow
from a belaying-pin that must have caused him discomfort for many a day
afterwards, while its immediate effect was to stretch him out upon the
deck senseless and bleeding. The sound of his fall disturbed one or two
of the rest--all of whom were sprawled out inertly upon the foredeck, in
the midst of empty and overturned bottles and pannikins--just
sufficiently to cause them to raise their heads and grumble out a few
unintelligible words; but we had no difficulty whatever with them, and
in less than half an hour we had the whole of them securely bound, hand
and foot, and lying at our mercy. Having reduced them to this
condition, and disarmed them, we distributed them about the deck fore
and aft, lashing each man separately to a ringbolt, cleat, or other
convenient mooring in such a way that no man might be within another's
reach--for I had heard before now of men releasing each other by working
at the lashings with their teeth--and then left them to recover their
sober senses at their leisure, while we busied ourselves about other
matters.
Our first act was to lower the port quarter-boat, get into her, and pull
ashore to the creek, where we found Sir Edgar and his party pretty much
as I had left them; he and Miss Merrivale being the only two still
awake. Our arrival was greeted with a shout of delight from the baronet
that effectually awoke the sleepers; and the whole party quickly tumbled
into the boat, Sir Edgar and Lady Emily vying with each other in the
heartiness of their congratulations at our success and the eagerness
with which they asked for details of the adventure. Miss Merrivale, on
the contrary, was strangely silent, contenting herself with a warm clasp
of the hand at the moment of our reunion; and presently, when we had
shoved off again for the ship, I noticed that she was furtively crying.
I concluded that the reaction from the long hours of suspense that she
had just passed through had proved rather too much for her nerves, and
so prudently appeared to take no notice whatever of her little
break-down. We soon reached the ship, and, upon my solemn assurance
that they might do so with absolute safety, the rescued party at once
retired below to their respective cabins; Miss Merrivale only lingering
behind for a moment to say--
"I have no words to express how glad and thankful I am that you have
been successful in your hazardous enterprise. You are a brave man, as
well as a--But,"--with a sudden, merry smile, "I will not say more, lest
I make you vain. Good night!"
I was beginning to feel a bit puzzled at this young lady's manner, which
seemed to have undergone a subtle, indescribable change within the last
twelve hours that was as incomprehensible as it was pleasant. It was
just then, however, scarcely a suitable moment for speculation upon such
an inscrutable subject as the deportment of a lovely and charming woman
to a simple sailor like myself; so I dismissed the matter from my mind
and turned to the consideration of other subjects, less agreeable, but
calling more imperatively for my immediate attention.
The first thing was to summon Forbes and Joe to a council of war for
discussion of the question what was to be done with the mutineers.
There were some of them that it would be obviously impossible to retain
on board the ship with the least chance of safety to ourselves; but I
scarcely believed they could all be equally bad, and I was in hopes
that, upon consultation with Joe, I should learn that we might trust a
sufficient number of them to enable us to make the voyage to Valparaiso
in safety, where I thought it probable I might be able to pick up an
entire new crew, without very much difficulty. On submitting the
question to him, however, Joe gave it as his very decided opinion that
there were only three out of the eleven mutineers whom it would be in
the least degree prudent to trust; those three being the negro, the
Swede, and Barr, one of the Americans. These three we accordingly gave
the benefit of the doubt, for the moment; and, that point settled, we
next proceeded to draw up a list of such articles as we deemed
absolutely necessary to the welfare of the men whose conduct had
rendered it imperative that we should maroon them.
After some consideration, the contents of this list resolved themselves
into: each man's personal effects in their entirety, including weapons
and ammunition, the latter, however, to be securely screwed up in a
stout wooden case, so that it might not be got at and used against us
whilst effecting the transfer of the mutineers to the shore; a saw,
hammer, chisel, and an assortment of nails; half a dozen barrels of
beef, and the same of bread; a half-chest of tea, a few pounds of
coffee, and some sugar; a cock and three hens; some cooking utensils; a
little crockery; matches; and an old main-course; which, with the axes,
shovels, picks, rope, blocks, and spars used in securing the treasure,
and which still remained on shore, ought, we considered, to furnish them
with the means to make themselves fairly comfortable until they should
be taken off. This important matter decided, the next thing was to get
everything up and passed into the boat--a task which fully occupied us
until daylight; by which time the effects of the carouse showed signs of
passing off, and the men began to awake in a measure to a consciousness
of their situation. A few of them--Rogers, Moore, and O'Connor
especially--gave vent to their indignation and disgust in a continuous
flood of the vilest language, mingled with blood-curdling threats of the
vengeance that they would wreak upon us some time in the future; but the
rest accepted their impending fate with sullen stoicism. We, meanwhile,
comfortably conscious that, for the present at least, they were utterly
powerless to fulfil any of their threats, or otherwise work us any evil,
went composedly on with our work; first conveying to and landing all the
baggage on the sandy beach of the creek, and then ferrying the marooned
men ashore, with their hands securely lashed behind them. We had
determined to land only eight of them; and when this had been done, and
we were all ready to leave them, we cut the bonds of the last man
ashore, and left him to free his companions at leisure, thus effectually
insuring ourselves against any trouble from the marooned party at the
last moment. Then, having shouted to them a parting promise that we
would make known the fact of their presence on the island to the first
British man-o'-war we met with, together with the cause of their being
left there, we paddled quietly on board again, and set to work to
provide ourselves with a much-needed breakfast.