Never in my life, I think, had I run so fast as I did that afternoon,
while covering the mile and a half of ground that lay between the base
of the Peak and the nearest point at which I could overlook the harbour.
It was imperative that I should reach this point before returning to
the cavern, since it might very easily happen that Julius had launched
the boat and was in mid-harbour, fishing, as he had been wont to do of
late; and if so, he must be saved at all costs.
I had a rifle with me, and a pocketful of cartridges, it having become a
habit with me to carry them whenever I went abroad; and I believed that
at a pinch I might be able, by good shooting, to hold the savages off
long enough to enable the boy to land and make good his escape.
Luckily, when I arrived at the point for which I was aiming, the first
object to catch my eye was our boat, empty and moored in her usual
place; and the beach was entirely bare from end to end. Scarcely had I
satisfied myself of this when the sharp nose of the leading canoe shot
into view past the point where the narrow entrance widened out and the
harbour proper began; and before I had time to withdraw from the edge of
the cliff a yell of delight conveyed to me the unpleasant news that I
had again been seen.
I had, however, by this time got my wind again after my long run, so,
keeping far enough back from the edge of the cliff to ensure my
invisibility from below, I started at a long, swinging trot for the
cavern, and was fortunate enough to run into Julius, loaded with a big
bunch of bananas, just at the point where the narrow ledge leading to
the cavern began. He was on his way back from a stroll, and, happening
to sight a particularly attractive bunch of the fruit, had determined to
take it home with him. We were practically safe now, since anywhere
along this narrow ledge, all the way to the cavern, a single person
armed with a rifle could defend and hold the road so long as his supply
of ammunition lasted. I therefore slowed my pace to a walk, and, taking
the bananas from the boy and handing the rifle and cartridges to him in
return, I rapidly explained the situation to him, and bade him play the
part of rearguard while I carried the fruit, the weight of which was
almost too great for him. I felt tolerably certain that we could reach
the cavern before being overtaken, as we did.
"Is everybody at home?" I shouted, as, having climbed into the cave
after Julius, and drawn up the ladder behind me to prevent its
unauthorised use, I made my way toward the inner apartment which we used
as a living-room.
"Yes," came the reply in Mrs Vansittart's voice; "everybody, that is to
say, but Julius--"
"He is here with me," I cut in, as I entered the room and saw all four
of the women diligently engaged upon the tedious task of weaving their
cloth. "I met him at the beginning of the path, and brought him home
with me, also this fine bunch of bananas which some good fairy prompted
him to cut. We must use them carefully, for they, with what else we may
have in the cavern, may have to last us for several days."
"Why? What do you mean, Walter?" demanded Mrs Vansittart in a tone of
alarm, while the others paused in their work to listen.
"He means that four big war canoes loaded with savages have just entered
the harbour; and the chances are that we may have to stand a siege," cut
in Julius, who had followed me in.
"Hillo!" I exclaimed in surprise. "You here? That will never do.
Just trot back to the mouth of the cavern, keeping enough in the
darkness to avoid being seen from outside, and keep a look-out while I
explain things to your mother. Then I will come and relieve you. If
you see anything of the savages give a low whistle, and I will join you.
Cut, now; and keep your eyes skinned. How are we off for water, Mrs
Vansittart?"
"Oh, I don't know! I think we have the breaker about half-full,"
replied the lady.
"That will do; it will be ample for us all until to-night," I said.
"Then I must slip out in the darkness and endeavour to fill it."
I then proceeded to relate at length all that I had seen, but kept my
fears to myself, merely impressing upon my little audience the necessity
for staying well within the cavern, out of sight. I did not attempt to
conceal that I quite expected the savages would subject the entire
island to a thorough search, which might possibly extend over three or
four days; but I expressed the opinion that if we could but remain
completely hidden during that time they would depart, rather than waste
further time in hunting for one man--for of course they had seen only
me, and could not possibly know that I had any companions.
"Oh, but this is awful!" exclaimed Mrs Vansittart, when I had finished.
"Just think of what might have happened if you had not come when you
did! Anthea and I were beginning to feel tired and a bit headachy with
sitting so long over this horrid weaving, and so were Lizette and Susie;
and we were all talking about going out for a good long walk just as you
came in. Why, we might all have been captured and carried off--"
The mere contemplation of such a fate, with all that it implied, was too
much for the poor lady, and reduced her to speechlessness.
"You are right," I assented. "Lucky that I turned up in time to prevent
you. As it is, I am afraid that we must regard our boat as lost to us.
The beggars will be sure to see her--indeed, they cannot avoid doing
so--and if they don't take her with them when they go, they will almost
certainly destroy her out of pure spite. But `sufficient unto the day
is the evil thereof'. We must keep our spirits up and our powder dry.
And speaking of powder reminds me that it will only be a reasonable
precaution to open a few boxes of cartridges, and load all our rifles.
By Jove! it was a happy inspiration that prompted me to put them into
the boat. Even then I had a suspicion that they might be useful some
day."
I got out all our weapons and loaded them, filled my pockets with
cartridges, carried the loaded rifles to the outer cavern, where they
would be handy, and then joined Julius, whom I found lying prone, rifle
in hand, maintaining a careful watch on the ledge, which, so far as we
knew, was the only possible approach to our cavern. The boy informed me
that thus far he had seen nothing of the savages, at which piece of
information I scarcely knew whether to be glad or sorry. It was, of
course, just barely possible that the enemy, having first seen me on the
summit of the Peak, might come to the conclusion that my lair was
somewhere in that direction, and hunt round about there for me. On the
other hand, I had been told that the Pacific islanders, taking them as a
whole, were by no means unintelligent, and they would naturally think,
upon finding the boat, that I would make my habitat as near her as
possible, and accordingly proceed to hunt for signs of me in her
immediate neighbourhood. Besides, they had last seen me on the cliff
top, and if they were at all expert at tracking they should be able to
pick up my spoor without much difficulty. The thing I most greatly
feared was that, suspecting me to be lurking in the neighbourhood, a few
of them had gone into ambush at no great distance, hoping that I should
ultimately show myself, while the rest were scouring the island.
Julius and I maintained our watch until nightfall; then, as soon as it
was as dark as it was likely to be that night, I made arrangements for
replenishing our stock of fresh water. Julius was to mount guard in the
mouth of the cavern with his rifle, keeping a sharp look-out along the
ledge, which was just visible enough in the starlight to permit of the
boy being able to detect the approach of an enemy; and if he saw anyone
coming he was to give me warning, and shoot if necessary to cover my
retreat. For my part, I was to take our only bucket, fill it with
water, and pass it up to Susie, who was to receive it in the mouth of
the cavern, carry it to the breaker, and empty it into the latter until
it was full.
It was not a long job, for the breaker was only of small capacity. We
accomplished it in less than ten minutes, without interruption of any
kind, winding up by taking the full bucket into the cavern, as a
supplementary supply, and then drawing up the ladder after us.
The cavern was now provisioned and watered for at least four days. We
could endure for that length of time without much difficulty or
hardship, after which, I ventured to hope, our anxiety respecting the
savages would be at an end. I relieved Julius as guard, and sent him to
the inner cavern to get some food and a few hours' sleep prior to
relieving me in turn.
I fondly believed that the existence of our cavern was unknown, and that
we had been fortunate enough to replenish our stock of water unobserved;
but I afterward had reason to suspect the contrary. I maintained a keen
watch at the mouth of the cavern until about midnight, my estimate of
the time being based upon the position and posture of the Southern Cross
in the sky--that constellation being visible from the mouth of the
cavern--when Mrs Vansittart came stealing out to me with the whispered
enquiry as to whether I was not tired enough to require a relief. As a
matter of fact I was, and did not hesitate to say so, since the night
was quiet, I had seen nothing of a suspicious character, and Julius had
had a good long rest. The lady retired, and presently Julius came
along, gaping and yawning, and stretched himself out beside me. I
remained with him, conversing in low whispers, for about ten minutes,
until I was satisfied that he was broad awake, and then, with a final
word of caution, I left him and retreated to my own couch, where I soon
fell asleep.
I had been asleep about an hour when I was startled into instant
wakefulness by the sound of five rifle shots fired in quick succession;
and, rushing to the mouth of the cavern, I found Julius in a high state
of excitement. Seizing my arm as I came beside him, he exclaimed:
"See that, Walter?"
Looking in the direction toward which the lad pointed, I was able to
descry just dimly a motionless something lying in the pathway, about ten
yards from the mouth of the cavern, while something else, still more
dimly visible, but recognisable as a little crowd of men, appeared about
twice as far away, evidently in somewhat hasty retreat.
"I believe I hit him," continued Julius, his teeth chattering with
excitement as he fidgeted with his rifle.
"Hit him!" I interrupted; "I should think there is very little doubt
about that. The man appears to be dead."
As the words left my lips we were joined by the women folk, who,
awakened by the rifle shots, came in a body to where we stood,
clamouring to know what was the matter.
"Let me tell you just what happened," interposed the boy. "I was lying
down here, watching the path, with my rifle beside me, as I had been
doing ever since Walter left me. Everything was quite quiet; I had not
seen a thing, or heard a sound, and I was beginning to feel a bit
sleepy. So I stood up and moved about a bit to keep myself awake, since
Walter had told me it was of the utmost importance that a good look-out
should be kept. I just walked across and across the mouth of the
cavern, three steps this way and three that, watching the path all the
time; and about ten minutes ago, or thereabout, I thought I saw a sort
of shadow or darkness that I had not noticed before out there at the far
end of the path.
"I stood still and watched; and presently I was sure that there was
something moving, and coming nearer; so I grabbed my rifle and lay down,
waiting, with my Remington pointing straight at 'em. Nearer and nearer
they came, until at last I was certain that what I saw was two savages
carrying something on their shoulders, with other savages behind 'em. I
waited until they were so close that I felt I couldn't miss, and then I
let drive--five shots, one after the other, right into the thick of 'em.
That savage lyin' there flung up his arms and keeled over, while the
other chap seemed to stagger a bit, I thought, and I heard something
fall that sounded as if they'd dropped a pole; then the whole crowd
turned and scooted. But I'm pretty sure that I hit another chap as well
as the one lyin' out there."
"Excellent!" I exclaimed. "You have done splendidly, Julius, and saved
us all from a very ugly surprise. Now, ladies, the danger is over for
the present, therefore you may retire and finish your sleep in peace.
As for you and I, Julius, we will get out our ladder, and, while you
watch with your rifle, I will slip out and roll that fellow over the
edge into the torrent; we don't want him lying there."
So said, so done. We lowered the ladder and I climbed down it to the
pathway, with a loaded revolver in my hand as a precautionary measure,
for during our cruise among the islands I had heard one or two rather
gruesome stories of the craftiness and ferocity of certain savages while
out on the warpath. But in the present instance my precaution was
needless. The prostrate savage was quite dead, and I pushed him over
the edge of the pathway into the torrent that roared over its
precipitous rocky bed some thirty feet below, whence the body would
doubtless be swept along until it reached the harbour. Then I found the
thing that he and another had been carrying, and put it safely inside
the cavern. It was the trunk of a young tree, trimmed in similar
fashion to our own ladder; from which circumstance I inferred that,
lurking somewhere unseen, possibly among the bushes on the other side of
the ravine, some of the savages must not only have seen us replenishing
our water supply, but also have noted the character of the contrivance
which we used for gaining access to the interior of the cavern, and
copied it.
Toward the afternoon of next day I proposed that I should set out upon a
reconnoitring expedition, leaving Julius on guard, my intention being to
go along the ledge to a point from which I could obtain a view of the
beach, and so ascertain whether the canoes were still there. But the
others would not hear of this; they denounced the project as both
unnecessary and dangerous; and when they found that this argument
scarcely sufficed to dissuade me, Mrs Vansittart flatly refused her
consent, asserting that if any mishap should befall me, Julius alone
would be utterly unable to protect the rest of them, and they must
inevitably fall into the hands of the savages. To this I could find no
effective reply, for there was just enough truth in it to be almost
convincing; so I agreed to defer my expedition until at least the
following day. There was some discussion among us, I remember, as to
where the savages had come from, and why they had called at the island:
as to the former, it was impossible to say; while my own opinion was
that their visit to our island was for the purpose of replenishing their
supply of food and water.
All that night and the next, and through the intervening days, we kept
rigorous watch and ward, while our supply of food and water dwindled
until we were almost as badly off as during our last days in the boat.
A further attempt to replenish our stock of water, which I made in
desperation during the night of the fourth day of our investment, showed
that our enemies were not only still present, but as watchful and
pertinacious as ever. And that night, or rather in the early hours of
the following morning, came the climax, when the wily foe made a last
desperate attempt to rush our defences and overpower us by force of
numbers.
I had taken the first night watch, from six until ten, and Julius the
middle watch from ten until two o'clock in the morning, when I relieved
him. He had informed me that he had neither seen nor heard anything of
a disquieting nature during his watch, and had left me about ten minutes
or thereabout, when, as I lay prone near the entrance of the cavern,
with my gaze intently fixed upon the path outside, a slight rustling
sound came to my ear. I could not at first locate it, so I crept closer
and closer still to the opening, until my head was actually protruding
beyond the portal. As I glanced cautiously about me, keenly alert to
draw back at the first swish of a spear, I felt something, which I
presently identified as fine dust, dropping lightly upon my neck and
head. I drew my head back instantly, suspecting a ruse, and waited.
The next thing of which I became aware was a slight crackling sound,
followed by a faint flicker of light that rapidly grew stronger as I
watched. It came from somewhere immediately above the cavern entrance,
and a few seconds later down came an immense bundle of blazing
brushwood, which hung suspended immediately in front of the upper part
of the opening, brilliantly illuminating the place where I lay. The
next instant some thirty or more spears and darts came flying across the
ravine into the entrance, impinging sharply upon the rocky side of the
cavern to my right and then falling to the ground with a rattle that
quickly brought Julius to my side.
He gasped with astonishment as he saw the blazing bundle, and the spears
and darts lying upon the floor of the cavern. But this was no time for
explanations, for I heard the pad of many running feet at no great
distance, drawing rapidly nearer, and recognised that a determined
attack was about to be made upon us. The blazing brushwood served the
double purpose of brilliantly illuminating the mouth of the cavern and
dazzling our eyes, pretty effectually preventing our seeing what was
happening outside; so I drew Julius into the shelter of a projection
behind which I had already ensconsed myself, and whispered:
"Your rifle, quick! Then get back to the inner cave, warn the women not
to come out on any account, and bring out our whole stock of cartridges.
This promises to be serious."
The projecting ledge of rock behind which I had sheltered chanced to be
most conveniently placed and shaped for the defence of the cavern
entrance. It was broad enough to afford me and two or three more
complete shelter, while there was a nick in its outer edge of just the
right height and size to serve as a rest for a rifle barrel. Standing
comfortably behind this, I placed the barrel of my repeater in the nick,
levelled it at the spot where I expected the first of our foes to
appear, and calmly waited.
I had not long to wait. Julius had just rejoined me with his pockets
stuffed full of cartridges, and had murmured, "Momma and the others are
all right; they promised not to come out. You shoot, and I'll reload,"
when the fast-increasing sound of the padding feet suddenly ceased just
outside the cavern entrance. I heard a few guttural words spoken that
sounded like muttered orders, and then came the light thud of a
ladder-like pole placed in position. I saw its upper extremity
distinctly in the light of the fire overhead, and sighted my rifle
directly upon it, ready to deflect the muzzle to right or left on the
instant, as might be necessary. As the pole dropped lightly into
position a shrill whistle sounded, and on the instant a perfect storm of
spears, darts, and stones came whirring into the cavern, some of them
splintering on the sides, but the major portion falling far in beyond
us, causing me to pray fervently that the women would have the sense to
keep well under cover. The next instant the hideously decorated head of
a savage rose into view as he ascended the ladder; but before he had
risen another foot my rifle cracked and he whirled backward into the
blackness without a cry.
I had but bare time to eject the spent shell and jerk another cartridge
into place when a second head appeared, only to be disposed of in the
same fashion, and this was followed by a third, which I neatly plugged
between the eyes. While this was happening, the shower of spears,
darts, and stones--the two latter in particular--continued unabated.
With the extinction of the third man there came a pause, of which I took
advantage to exchange my partially-emptied Remington for another, while
Julius attended to the reloading. But the pause was not a long one.
Presently I saw the top of the pole moving again, and in another moment
a fourth head appeared. This savage, however, was a clever one; he was
not going to be shot through the head if he could help it, for when his
cranium rose into view it was being rapidly jerked from side to side, so
I waited until his body appeared, and then plugged him through the
lungs. So the attack continued, the enemy displaying the most dogged
and indomitable determination, as well as the most extraordinary and
disconcerting cunning, and maintaining an incessant fire of darts and
stones--they seemed to be saving the remainder of their spears--while as
fast as the blazing faggots burned out they were replaced by others.
Evidently this attack had been carefully thought out and the most
elaborate preparations made for it.
Then, at the moment when I was beginning to ask myself seriously how
much longer this thing was going to last, and which party would be able
to hold out longest, a most dramatic interruption came,--nothing less
than the boom of a heavy gun from close in under the cliffs, not far
from the harbour's mouth. A moment later I perceived, through the
flickering light of the blazing faggot, the white glare of a searchlight
focusing itself upon the path outside. There was a yell of dismay from
the attacking force, loud shouts, and then the quick thud of swiftly
retreating feet as the savages broke and fled. But before they could
possibly have reached the end of the path another gun spoke, the report
being immediately followed by an explosion, accompanied by a terrible
outburst of yells and shrieks. Amid these I believed I heard the sharp
patter of shrapnel on the face of the cliff, while other yells arose
from the party who had been attending to the business of keeping up the
supply of burning faggots above the opening of the cavern.
We were saved! By some extraordinary combination of circumstances a
ship--and a ship of war at that--had come upon the scene at the very
crisis of our fortunes, and, attracted possibly by the light of the
blazing faggots, had approached near enough to hear the sound of our
rifle fire, doubtless greatly intensified by the reverberations of the
cavern, and probably guessing pretty shrewdly at what it all meant, had
intervened in the very nick of time!
"Hurrah!" I shouted, "hurrah! A ship! A ship! And the savages have
fled. Go and tell your mother and the others, Julius. I will keep a
look-out here."
But there was no need for Julius to play the part of messenger; for the
report of the guns, followed by my jubilant exclamations, brought the
others forth with a rush from the innermost recesses of the cavern,
eager to know just exactly what had happened.
The rest of my story can soon be told.
To Mr Julius Vansittart, absorbed in the conduct and management of his
mammoth engineering business, the thought one morning occurred that a
considerable time had elapsed since he had last received news of his
wife and family, and that another letter from them must be about due.
On referring to the last letter received, and noting the date of its
arrival, he instantly perceived that another letter was not only due,
but considerably overdue; and knowing how regular and methodical his
wife was in the matter of correspondence, it did not take him very long
to arrive at the conclusion that something must have gone wrong with the
yacht. This conclusion once arrived at, he "got a move on" and "humped
himself" (as he himself expressed it). The consequence was that--
Vansittart being a man of powerful influence--it was not long before the
admiral in command of the U.S. squadron stationed in the Pacific
received a communication from Washington, acquainting him with the most
recent and contemplated future movements of the _Stella Maris_, as
furnished by Mr Vansittart, coupled with the information that she was
overdue, and an instruction to dispatch a vessel in search of the
missing yacht. The result of this was the dramatic arrival of the U.S.
gunboat _Jefferson_ off our island at the psychological moment.
It appeared that she had already been engaged for nearly a month in a
systematic search for the yacht, during which she had picked up no less
than three of the bottles which we had dispatched from the reef,
containing our appeals for help, and had accordingly visited the scene
of the disaster, only to discover the sunken wreck of the yacht in the
lagoon. Surmising, or rather hoping that we might somehow have
contrived to effect our escape, the commander of the _Jefferson_, after
a careful study of the prevailing winds and currents in those waters,
had mapped out a definite plan, in pursuance of which, after
unsuccessful calls at a number of other islands, he had headed for the
one upon which we had found shelter. It had been sighted just before
dark, and the _Jefferson_ had headed for it at half speed, intending to
lay to in the offing upon arrival, and send a boat ashore in the
morning.
But when still some ten miles off the land a light--the light of the
savages' blazing faggots--had been seen; and, regarding this as a
possible signal, the command for full speed ahead had been rung down to
the engine room. When the _Jefferson_ arrived close under the cliffs
and the searchlight had been turned on, the fact that a fight of some
sort was in progress had become evident, and, making a shrewd guess at
the actual state of affairs, the _Jefferson_ had taken a hand, with the
result already recorded. By the aid of her searchlight and the sounding
lead, the gunboat then cautiously groped her way into the harbour and
came to an anchor about half a mile from the beach upon which lay the
four big war canoes and our apology for a boat. The sight of these not
only suggested to the astute commander that at last he had got upon our
track, but also confirmed his surmise as to the state of affairs ashore;
and no sooner was the anchor down than he dispatched a heavily-armed
boat, the officer of which was instructed to make his way instantly to
the cave and investigate. The meeting was, for both parties, a joyous
one; and as no savages had been seen by the landing party--they had
evidently fled into the woods--we lost no time in making our way to the
beach, taking our rifles and ammunition with us, and from the beach to
the _Jefferson_, where we were cordially welcomed and highly
complimented upon the vigorous defence of the cavern which we had put
up. To our infinite satisfaction we found that, acting upon
instructions, the commander of the gunboat had brought with him a
well-selected wardrobe for each of us, on the off-chance of his search
proving successful and the articles being needed. Consequently when, a
few hours later, we all sat down to breakfast in the commander's private
cabin, we scarcely recognised each other, clad as we now were once more
in the garb of civilisation in place of our discarded rags.
The war canoes and our boat were burnt where they lay on the beach, thus
leaving the savages prisoners on the island; and, this done, we got
under way for Manila, where we arrived nine days later.
From Manila a cable message was dispatched to Mr Vansittart,
immediately upon our arrival, informing him of our safety. And on the
following day a reply came from him expressing his delight at the news,
together with a cabled credit on the bank for funds amply sufficient to
convey the entire party to New York--where, via Yokohama and San
Francisco, we eventually arrived safely, by a freak of coincidence, two
years to a day from the date of our departure from London.