THE GRAVE CAPTAIN GAY.
Perhaps it was only natural that I should become the hero of the miners
when the camp was at last reached and the men learned the strange story
of our recovery of the gold. Nux and Bry also came in for a good share
of praise, which they well deserved, and it seemed as if the adventure
had established a permanent good feeling between the gold seekers and
our crew of the “Flipper.” There was no more suspicion on either side,
and when the Major made a new division of the recovered gold he
generously insisted that I should receive even more than I had been
robbed of, for my share. Whatever the Major’s faults might be, he was
certainly liberal in his dealings with others, and Uncle Naboth was
greatly pleased with the profitable result of an adventure that had at
first threatened to ruin the fortunes of the firm of Perkins & Steele.
No one mourned very much over the death of the men who had stolen the
gold; on the contrary, there was a feeling of general relief that the
four desperadoes were unable to cause any more trouble. Therefore the
camp resumed its former routine, and the miners set to work with renewed
vigor to wash out the golden grains from the rich sands of the inlet.
It was about this time that the grave and reserved Captain Gay proved
himself to be a genius, and by an act of real cleverness that crowned
his name with glory materially shortened the stay of our entire
community on the island.
The Captain had worked side by side with the common sailors, for the
Major showed no favoritism, and insisted that every able-bodied man
should perform his share of the work. Even Uncle Naboth had from the
first day of our capture toiled from morning till night; but he accepted
his tasks with rare good nature, and frequently confided to me, in his
droll way, that his enforced labor had added ten years to his life.
“I was gettin’ altogether too chunked and fat,” he said one evening,
“and likely enough I’d ’a’ been troubled sooner or later with apoplexy
or dropsical. But now I’ve lost twenty or thirty pounds weight, an’ feel
as lively as a cricket in a hornet’s nest. Work’s a good thing, Sam. I’m
glad the Major made me do it. Probably he’s saved my life by his
cussedness.”
Captain Gay had been working at the upper end of the inlet, near to the
place where a slender mountain stream fell from a precipice above and
mingled its fresh water with that of the inlet. This stream fell upon a
rocky bottom, but in course of years it had worn a bowl-shaped hollow in
the rock, which could be distinctly observed through the transparent
water.
“There ought to be a lot of gold in that hollow,” Ned Britton had
remarked to the Captain one day. “I’ve an idea all the gold we find in
the sands of the inlet has been brought here by the mountain streams.”
“I’ve been thinking that, myself,” answered the Captain; but it was a
week later that he climbed the rock and followed the bent of the stream
for nearly a mile, marking carefully the lay of the land.
The next morning he went to the Major with his plan, which was nothing
less than a proposal to turn the stream from its bed, several hundred
yards above, and let it follow a new course and reach the inlet a
hundred feet distant from its present fall.
The Major stared thoughtfully at the Captain for a time, and then
followed him up the stream and made a careful examination of the
territory. The result was an order for all the seamen of the “Flipper”
to place themselves at the disposal of Captain Gay and obey his orders.
In three days they had built a dam of rocks and brushwood nearly across
the stream, and pried away the banks in another place to allow the water
to escape by the new channel.
The fourth day the opening was closed in the dam, and the stream plunged
away on its new course, leaving its former bed practically dry.
Immediately the men ran down to the inlet, where the Major himself waded
to the hollow caused by the previous fall of water and dipped up a pan
of sand from the cavity. Upon examination it proved richer in gold than
any of us had anticipated, the sands containing many small nuggets
which, being heavier than the grains of metal, had been accumulating for
many years in the basin.
All hands were set to work in this locality, and inspired by the rich
harvest that rewarded their toil, they labored early and late, until the
bags of dust and nuggets had become so numerous that even the Major was
filled with amazement.
But this was not all that was gained by turning the mountain stream from
its bed. In several hollows up above Captain Gay discovered rich
deposits of small nuggets that were secured with ease, and two weeks
later the Major called a meeting of all the members of the party on the
sands before his tent.
“Boys,” said he, “we’ve got enough to make every one of us rich for
life. What’s the use of staying here longer? I’m getting homesick, for
one, and a good many of you are longing to get back to the States and
begin spending your piles. What do you say—shall we board the ship and
go home?”
“Yes!” they yelled, without a dissenting voice.
“Then,” said the Major, “tomorrow we’ll divide the spoils, so that every
man has his honest share; and then we’ll pay our passage money to Mr.
Perkins and sail away home.”
The division was accomplished with very little dissatisfaction or
friction, for the worst elements in our assorted company had been
removed, and the Major was absolutely just in his decisions. One or two,
to be sure, grumbled that the provisions from the “Flipper” had been
purchased at too high a price, or that too much of the gold was set
aside to pay for the passage back to San Francisco; but not one objected
when the Major set aside three heavy bags of gold to reward Captain Gay
for his clever feat in turning the mountain stream.
When Uncle Naboth and I, in the seclusion of my hut, had figured out our
share of the profits, the old man was hugely delighted.
“My partner!” he exclaimed, slapping his thigh with enthusiasm, “it’s
paid us better than three trips to Alaska! We’ve nearly made our
fortunes, Sam, my boy, and if we get safe home again we can thank the
Major for making us his prisoners.”
It did not take our party long to transfer all their possessions to the
decks of the “Flipper,” where the ship’s carpenter and part of the crew
had been sent beforehand to clear up the rigging, ship a new rudder, and
make some repairs that had been rendered necessary by the storm that had
driven us to this strange island.
To my own inexperienced eyes the damage had been so great that it seemed
as if the sailors would require weeks in which to make the vessel fit to
put to sea again; so that I was astonished, when I went aboard, to note
how quickly the task had been accomplished. Indeed, the “Flipper” seemed
as trim and staunch as when she last sailed out of the Golden Gate, and
doubtless she was fully able to bear us all safely home again.
All our party having been put aboard, together with their property,
Captain Gay ordered the anchors hoisted, and at eleven o’clock on the
morning of September 16th, the “Flipper” headed out to sea before a fair
breeze.
The quarters aft had been given up to the miners, most of whom were
obliged to swing hammocks in the cabin. The mate offered his little room
to the Major and bunked with the sailors in the forecastle; but Captain
Gay and Mr. Perkins retained their own rooms, and so did I, in order to
watch over the firm’s gold, which was stowed carefully away in my
lockers. You may be sure I was glad to get back to my books and my
comfortable bed again, and overjoyed to find myself on the way to a more
civilized land.
As the ship stood out to sea, the Major, who had been pacing the deck
with a thoughtful brow, noticed Captain Gay taking his bearings with the
aid of the sextant, while I stood by observing him. At once the big
man’s countenance cleared, and he strode over to us and anxiously
watched the Captain while the latter made notes of his observations.
Several of the miners likewise seemed interested, but it was evident
they did not understand in the least what the Captain was doing.
No sooner, however, had Captain Gay returned to his cabin, where at his
request I followed him, than the Major knocked for admittance, and being
invited to enter he cautiously closed the door after him and said:
“You’ve relieved me of a great worry, Captain. I was afraid we’d never
be able to find this island again. But the sextant gives you the
latitude and longitude, doesn’t it?”
Captain Gay nodded, and looked thoughtfully out of his little window at
the fast receding island.
“That island’s mine,” continued the Major, in a stem voice; “and I shall
claim it until some one else proves a better right to the place.”
Still the Captain made no reply.
The Major stared at him as though he had just discovered the man.
“Does any one else aboard know how to use those instruments?” he finally
asked.
“No one,” answered the Captain, briefly.
“Then the secret is safe with us,” resumed the Major. “I’ll just trouble
you, my good fellow, to give me the exact latitude and longitude of the
island. I’ll mark them down in my note-book.”
“Come to me tomorrow noon,” said Captain Gay.
“Why tomorrow noon?” with a sudden frown.
“Can’t you understand? Don’t you know it requires hours to figure out so
complicated a problem?”
“Oh, does it?”
A nod.
“Well, I’ll come in tomorrow. But understand, not a word of the true
reckoning to a soul on board. Not even to Perkins or the boy here, who
has no business to be listening to this conversation, and had better
forget it. The island is mine!”
Captain Gay sat silent, merely drumming with his fingers on the little
table before him. The Major gave him another curious look and stalked
away, whistling softly to himself, as if something had occurred to
puzzle him. Indeed, the Captain’s face was so set and stern that it made
me uncomfortable, and I soon left him and returned to my own room.
The “Flipper” made good time during the afternoon, and before darkness
fell those on board saw the island where they had labored so hard and
endured so much, gradually sink into the sea and disappear.
The breeze held all through the night, and daybreak found the sturdy
ship plowing steadily onward over the waste of gray waters. The sailors
had fallen into their usual routine and performed their labors with
mechanical precision, while the miners lay around the deck and watched
them with the interest landsmen usually show when on a sailing ship.
At the stroke of twelve I saw the Major promptly approach the Captain’s
room, where I knew the seaman was busily engaged in writing.
Wishing to learn the result of this second interview I crept forward and
without hesitation established myself beside the door, which the
red-beard had carelessly left ajar. I even ventured to peer curiously
through the opening; but neither of the men observed my intrusion.
The Major for a moment stood staring with the same wondering gaze he had
bestowed on Captain Gay the day before; but suddenly his face brightened
and he said:
“By Jupiter! I’ve struck it at last!”
“Struck what?” asked the Captain, looking up.
“The resemblance that bothered me. You’re the living image of that man
Daggett, who caused us that trouble on the island. It’s a wonder I never
noticed it before.”
The Captain flushed, but said nothing.
“No relation, I hope?” queried the Major, grinning.
“To Daggett?”
“Yes; the scoundrel who stole our gold.”
Captain Gay had resumed his writing, but said, lightly, as if the matter
was too preposterous to be treated seriously:
“Is it likely, sir?”
But already the Major’s mind had turned to a more important subject.
“I’ve come for that little memorandum, sir.”
“What memorandum?” asked the Captain, quietly.
“The location of the island.”
“Oh; I can’t give it to you,” said the other. “When you left this room
yesterday the draft from the open door caught the paper I had made my
figures on, and carried it out of the window. So the record is lost.”
“Lost!” The Major stared at him in amazement
“Absolutely lost, sir.”
“Do you mean to tell me you don’t know where that island is?” demanded
the Major, fiercely.
“I haven’t the slightest idea of its location. During the night the
helmsman altered our course several times, steering by the stars. I
think we’re going in the right direction, but I can tell better when
I’ve taken our observations for today. Unfortunately, however, that
won’t help us to locate the island.”
The Major sat down heavily on a chest. The information he had received
fairly dazed him, but his gaze remained firmly fixed on the Captain’s
expressionless face.
After a time he gave a laugh, and said:
“I told you yesterday that island was mine. I’ll take that back. It’s
_yours_ and mine. You’ll share it with me, Captain Gay, I’m sure.”
“It is still yours, Major, as far as I’m concerned. If I knew its
location, I would tell you willingly. But I don’t. You’ll have to find
your property yourself.”
The Major sprang up with an oath.
“You infernal scoundrel!” he cried, “do you think I’ll be played with
like this? Give me the location of that island, or by the nine great
gods, I’ll kill you where you sit!”
“Leave this room, sir.”
The Captain was angry too, by this time. He stood erect and pointed with
dignity to the door-way, from which I dodged with alacrity.
“I command this ship, sir,” he said, “and here my will is law. I’ll
endure no browbeating, Major, or any insolence from you or any of my
passengers. On the island I obeyed you. Here you will obey me, or I’ll
lock you fast in your cabin. Leave this room!”
The Major stood irresolute a moment. Then sullenly and slowly, he quit
the cabin and returned to the deck.
Even to my wondering but immature intellect it was evident that Captain
Gay had won the battle.
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