As the two captains and their ferocious young employer sat on the
snow-white poop of the _Iroquois_ and discussed the plan of attack, the
ship and barque kept closely together, so closely that North, who had
not yet placed foot on board the sandalwooder, had now an opportunity of
looking down upon her decks, and watching the actions of those who
manned her. A more ragged and desperate looking lot of ruffians he had
never seen in his life; and their wild, unkempt appearance was in
perfect accord with the _Lucy May_ herself, whose dirty, yellow sides
were stained from stem to stern with long streaks and broad patches of
iron-rust. Aloft she was in as equally a bad condition, and North and
his fellow-officers, used to the trimness and unceasing care of a
whaleship's sails and running gear, looked with contempt at the disorder
and neglect everywhere visible. On deck, however, some attempt at
setting things ship-shape were being made by the two mates and
boatswain, the six guns were being overhauled, and a pile of muskets
lying on the main hatch were being examined and passed up to the poop
one by one, to old Kanka, who was in command of the contingent of Lele
natives on board the barque. Similar preparations with small arms were
being made on board the _Iroquois_ by her crew which, largely composed
of Chilenos, Portuguese, and Polynesians, had eagerly accepted the offer
of twenty dollars for each man for a few hours' fighting. North alone
had spoken against and tried to dissuade his fellow-officers from taking
any active part in the expedition, but his remonstrances fell upon
unheeding ears. The details of the scheme to surprise the unsuspecting
inhabitants of the two villages had filled him with unutterable horror
and indignation, and all sorts of wild plans formed in his brain to
prevent the accomplishment of the cruel deed. For the consequences of
such interference to himself he cared nothing. He was alone in the
world, and had no thought beyond that of making enough money to enable
him to one day buy a ship of his own. Once, as he passed the trio on the
poop, and glanced at the smooth, olive-coloured features of the young
king, who, with anticipative zest, was fondling a rifle which Ross had
brought on board for him, he felt inclined to whip a belaying-pin out of
the rail and bring it crashing down upon his skull. Had there been any
other ship but the _Lucy May_ near, he would have left the _Iroquois_
that moment. But help was coming to his troubled mind.
An hour before sunset the two vessels ran into a little harbour, then
called Port Lottin, but now known as South Harbour by the few wandering
whalers which sometimes touch at the island. Here, ere it became dark,
the natives, with fourteen of the _Lucy May's_ crew under Ross, were
landed. They were to march at early morning, cross the mountain range
which intervened between South Harbour and Leassé, and then, hidden by
the dense forest, await the appearance of the ships off the doomed
villages on the following afternoon. The six boats--two from the _Lucy
May_ and four from the _Iroquois_--were to pull ashore as soon as the
ships were off Leassé and take up positions, three to the north and
three to the south, so as to cut off all who attempted to escape along
the beaches from the attack which would be made by Ross. Charlik was to
command one of the boat parties, Cayse the other, and should any canoes
with fugitives attempt to gain the open sea, they were to be sunk by the
_Lucy May's_ guns, for she was to anchor in such a position that an
escaping canoe would have to pass within fifty yards of her.
* * * * *
Eight bells had struck, and North, who had declined to join the captain
and his fellow-officers at supper, was sitting in his cabin smoking and
listening to the soft hum of the surf on the barrier reef a mile away.
On deck all was quiet, only the fourth mate and three of the hands were
keeping watch, the rest of the crew who were not turned in had gone
ashore to witness a dance given by King Charlik's warriors.
Suddenly he heard a footfall on the cabin deck, and then some one said
in a low voice--
"May I come in, sir?"
North, recognising the voice as that of a young man named Macy, his own
harpooner, at once bade him enter.
Macy, a sunburnt, blue-eyed youth, closed the cabin door behind him, and
held up his finger to enjoin silence.
"I've only just now heard, sir, that you will not take a hand in this
work which is going on. Neither will I, sir; for those damned savages
are going to kill all the poor women and children. I've come to ask you
what I'm to do if I'm ordered away in the boat? My God! Mr. North, must
we all be turned into a gang of murderers like those fellows on the
_Lucy May!_"
The officer shook the young seaman's hand. "I for one will have no hand
in it, my lad; and I wish there were more of us on board of our way of
thinking. I wish we could leave the ship. I would rather die of thirst
on the open ocean ... Macy, my lad, will you stand to me?"
"Stand to you, sir! Aye, Mr. North. If you mean to take to our boat,
sir, I am with you."
"No," answered North in a whisper. "That, after all, would only save us
two from being mixed up in this murderous business--I want to prevent it
altogether. Have you heard how far it is across the island to this place
Leassé?"
"Seven miles, sir, over the mountains."
"And twenty by the boats! Macy, I am determined to leave the ship
to-night, cut across the island, and save the poor people from massacre.
Will you come? We may pay for it with our lives."
The harpooner raised his rough hand. "We must all die some day, sir."
For some minutes they conversed in whispered tones; then Macy slipped on
deck, and North took his pistols from their racks, filled his coat
pockets with ammunition, and then followed him. His own boat was lying
astern.
Telling the cooper, who was the only one of the afterguard on deck, that
he was going ashore to look at the dance, and that only Macy and another
hand need come with him, North ordered the boat to be hauled alongside.
A quarter of an hour later he and Macy stepped out upon the shore under
the shadow of a high bluff, and quite out of view from Ross and his
party, although the many camp-fires cast long lines of light across the
sleeping waters of the little harbour.
Informing the boat-keeper that they should return in a couple of hours,
the two men first walked along the beach in the direction of the
encampment. Then once out of sight from the boat, they struck inland
into a deep valley through which, Macy said, a narrow track led up to
the range, and then downwards to the two villages. After a careful
search the track was found, and the bright stars shining through the
canopy of leaves overhead gave them sufficient light to pursue their
way. For two hours they toiled along through the silent forest, hearing
no sound except now and then the affrighted rush of some startled wild
boar, and, far distant, the dull cry of the ever-restless breakers upon
the coral reef. At last the summit of the range was reached, and they
sat down to rest upon the thick carpet of fallen leaves which covered
the ground. Here North took a spirit-flask from his jacket, and Macy and
he drank in turns.
"Do you know, sir," said Macy, as he returned the flask to the officer,
"that there's a white man living at this village?"
"He's not there now, Macy. He's gone away to another island in his
cutter."
"I know that, sir. I've heard all about it from one of the chaps on the
_Lucy May_. The man's name is Ledyard, and this young devil's-limb of a
king hates him like poison--for two reasons. One is, that Ledyard, who
settled in Leassé a few years ago, taught the people there how to use
their muskets in a fight, when Charlik's father tried to destroy them
time and again; the other is that his wife is a white woman--or almost a
white woman, a Bonin Island Portuguese--and Charlik means to get her.
When Ledyard comes back in his cutter he will walk into a trap, and be
killed as soon as he steps ashore."
North struck his hand upon the ground. "And to think that I have sailed
with such a villain as Cayse, who--"
"That's not all. Ledyard has two children. Charlik has given orders for
them to be killed, as he says he only wants the woman! Ross, I believe,
wanted him to spare 'em, but the young cut-throat said 'No.' I heard all
this from two men--the chap from the _Lucy May_ and one of Charlik's
fighting men, who speaks English and seems to have a soft place in his
heart for Ledyard."
The mate of the _Iroquois_ sprang to his feet. "The cold-blooded
wretches! Come on, Macy. We _must_ get there in time."
For another two hours they made steady progress through the darkened
forest aisles, and then as they emerged out upon a piece of open
country, they saw far beneath them the gleaming sea. And here, amidst a
dense patch of pandanus palms, the path they had followed came to an
end. Pushing their way through the thorny leaves, which tore the skin
from their hands and faces, Macy exclaimed excitedly--
"We're all right, sir. I can see a light down there. It must be a fire
on the beach."
Heedless of the unknown dangers of the deep descent, and every now and
then tripping and falling over the roots of trees and fallen timber,
they again came out into the open, and there, two hundred feet below
them, they saw the high-peaked, saddle-backed houses of Leassé village
standing clearly out in the starlight. But at this point their further
progress was barred by a cliff, which seemed to extend for half a mile
on both sides of them. Cautiously feeling their way along its ledge they
sought in vain for a path.
"We must hail them, Macy. There will be sure to be plenty of them who
can speak a little English and show us the way to get down."
Returning as quickly as possible to the spot immediately over the
village, the officer gave a long, loud hail.
"_Below there, you sleepers!_"
The hoarse, shrieking notes of countless thousands of roosting
sea-birds, as they rose in alarm from their perches in the forest trees,
mingled with the barking of dogs from the village, and then came a wild
cry of alarm from a human throat.
Waiting for a few moments till the clamour had somewhat subsided, the
two men again hailed in unison.
"_Below there! Awake, you sleepers!_"
Another furious outburst of yelping and barking--through which ran the
quavering of voices of the affrighted natives--smote the stillness of
the night. Then the bright light of torches of coconut leaves flashed
below, nude figures ran swiftly to and fro among the houses, and then
came a deep-voiced answering hail in English--
"_Hallo there! Who hails_?"
"Two white men," was the officer's quick reply. "We cannot get down.
Bear a hand with a torch; we have lost the track." Then as something
flashed across his mind, he added, "Who are you? Are you a white man?"
"Yes. I am Tom Ledyard."
"Thank God for that! Send a light quickly. You and your people are in
deadly danger."
In a few minutes the waiting men saw the gleam of torches amid the trees
to their right, and presently a tall, bearded, white man appeared,
followed by half a dozen natives. All were armed with muskets, whose
barrels glinted and shone in the firelight.
Springing forward to meet him, North told his story in as few words as
possible.
Ledyard's dark face paled with passion. "By heaven, they shall get a
bloody welcome! Now, come, sir; follow me. You must need rest badly."
As they passed through the village square, now lit up by many fires and
filled with alarmed natives, Ledyard called out in his deep tones--
"Gather ye together, my friends. The son of the Slaughterer is near.
Send a man fleet of foot to Môut and bid him tell Nena, the chief, and
his head men to come to my house quickly, else in a little while our
bones will be gnawed by Charlik's dogs."
Then with North and Macy besides him, he entered his house, the largest
in the village. A woman, young, slender, and fair-skinned, met them at
the door. Behind her were some terrified native women, one of whom
carried Ledyard's youngest child in her arms.
"'Rita, my girl," said Ledyard, placing his hand on his wife's shoulder
and speaking in English, "these are friends. They have come to warn us.
That young hell-pup, Charlik, is attacking us tomorrow. But quick, girl,
get something for these gentlemen to eat and drink."
But North and the harpooner were too excited to eat, and, seated
opposite their host, they listened eagerly to him as he told them of his
plans to repel the attack; of the bitter hatred that for ten years had
existed between the people of Leassé and the old king; and then--he set
his teeth--how that Sé, the friendly sister of the young king, had once
sent a secret messenger to him telling him to guard his wife well, for
her brother had made a boast that when Leassé and Môut were given to the
flames only Cerita should be spared.
"Then, ten days ago, Mr. North, thinking that this young tiger-cub
Charlik knew that these people here were well prepared to resist an
attack, I left in my cutter on a trading voyage to Ponapé. Three days
out the vessel began to make water so badly that I had to beat back. I
only came ashore yesterday."
He rose and walked to and fro, muttering to himself. Then he spoke
again.
"Mr. North, and you, my friend"--turning to Macy--"have saved me and
those I love from a sudden and cruel death. What can I do to show my
gratitude? You cannot now return to your ship; will you join your
fortunes with mine? I have long thought of leaving this island and
settling in Ponapé. There is money to be made there. Join me and be my
partners. My cutter is now hauled up on the beach--if she were fit to go
to sea we could leave the island to-night. But that cannot be done. It
will take me a week to put her in proper repair--and to-morrow we must
fight for our lives."
North stretched out his hand. "Macy and I will stand by you, Ledyard. We
do not want to ever put foot again on the deck of the _Iroquois_."