When I awoke, rather late, the next morning, after a somewhat troubled
and restless night, traceable, no doubt, to my long conversation with
Ricardo, the _Barracouta_ had vanished, and nothing remained to mark her
late anchorage save the buoy to which she had been moored.
And now ensued a period of almost perfect bliss to me, for I had by this
time reached that precise stage of convalescence where all danger is
past, yet in which the patient is still so very far from being well that
he must be waited upon, hand and foot, and tended with as much
solicitude as though he were an utterly helpless babe; and such
attention I was afforded in its most perfect and acceptable form by
Lotta and Mammy. Small wonder is it, therefore, that my progress toward
recovery was rapid, and that in just a month from the day on which the
_Barracouta_ sailed I should find myself strong enough to admit of my
rising from my bed and donning my clothes for an hour or two. I was now
practically myself again, save that I was so weak as to need support
whenever I attempted to stand; but, with Lotta on one side, and Mammy on
the other, I was soon able, not only to totter from one room to another,
but even to get into the garden for a few minutes, and sit there in a
comfortable basket chair, drinking in renewed health and strength with
every breath of the soft, warm, deliciously perfumed air.
We now began to look daily, nay hourly, for the return of the brig, and
I ventured to indulge in the hope that, when she came, I should have the
satisfaction of learning that my last conversation with Ricardo had
borne good fruit, and that he had decided to abandon piracy, and to
devote the remainder of his life to doing good, as some sort of
atonement for the countless shocking crimes of which he had been guilty.
Meanwhile my strength came back to me fast from the moment when I was
able to get into the open air, and within another fortnight I was
practically my former self again.
It is scarcely needful to say that during this long and tedious period
of my convalescence I had enjoyed many a long and confidential chat both
with Lotta and with Mammy, and sometimes with both together; thus, by
the time that even Lotta was fain to pronounce me once more quite well,
and in no further need of nursing, we had very few secrets from each
other, and I had confided to her all my earnest hopes regarding Ricardo,
in which hopes she cordially joined me. I also told her what Ricardo
had said as to my becoming his heir, and taking possession of his
private hoard of treasure, which naturally led to an arrangement being
made for an early visit to its hiding place. This hiding place, it
appeared, was situated in a large natural cavern in a secluded spot on
the shore of the bay, and was the spot wherein Ricardo had originally
found it hidden. To me, this had a sound of very great insecurity; but
Lotta informed me that, so far was this from being the case that, well
as she knew the locality of the cavern, she was often greatly puzzled to
find the entrance.
At length, on a certain afternoon we two set off to find this mysterious
hiding place and inspect the treasure, which, according to Lotta's
description, promised to be of absolutely fabulous value. We passed
down through the garden for almost its entire length, then bore away
through a side path to the left, in order, as my companion explained,
that we might avoid the "shipyard" and, more particularly, the men
working therein. Ricardo had most rigorously enjoined Lotta, on several
occasions, never to expose herself to the view of these men, or in any
wise remind them of her presence in the settlement. But, to speak the
truth, I am very strongly inclined to believe that, at all events on
this particular occasion, Lotta was very much more anxious for my safety
than she was for her own. Be that as it may, we avoided the shipyard by
the simple process of passing along the back of it, through Ricardo's
private garden; and I am compelled to say that I was astonished beyond
measure at the completeness of the establishment, as I then saw it for
the first time. It was a perfect dockyard in miniature, with
warehouses, capstan-house, mast house, rigging shed, sail loft--in fact
every possible requisite for keeping not only one but as many as three
or four craft in perfect order. And, from what I saw in passing, I
judged that there must be at least fifty men regularly employed about
the place! No wonder that the _Barracouta_ was a busy ship, and her
depredations of the most extensive character; they would need to be to
maintain adequately such an establishment in working order.
Upon leaving the precincts of the garden we plunged into a wood that
completely veiled our movements from the men working in the yard, and
upon emerging from it we found ourselves at the edge of a low cliff,
down the face of which a path zigzagged to the beach. The yard now was
completely hidden from us--and we from it--by a jutting shoulder of the
cliff. Descending to the beach, we found ourselves on a narrow expanse
of firm, white sand, the whole of which it was evident was covered at
high-water, and which was now so hard that we scarcely left any
indication of our footprints upon it. Traversing this for about a
quarter of a mile we entered a sort of labyrinth of huge masses of
sandstone that had fallen to the beach from time to time, from the steep
and now lofty cliff that impended overhead. Here we were most
effectually sheltered from prying gaze by the enormous masses of rock
between which we wound our devious way for perhaps a hundred yards,
until Lotta stopped with the remark:
"Now, Dick, we have reached the end of our journey. Look about you and
see whether you can find the entrance to the cave which we have come to
visit."
I looked diligently round me, this way and that, but could see
absolutely nothing that in the least degree resembled an opening in the
rock, and at length somewhat impatiently said so.
"Neither do I," laughed my companion; "I shall have to look for it, as
usual. It is somewhere about here," she continued, pointing to a series
of horizontal ledges that ran along the face of the cliff just opposite
where we stood. Moving forward, I saw Lotta stoop down to examine the
ledges; then she moved slowly along the cliff face for a distance of a
few yards, when, to my amazement, she suddenly vanished before my very
eyes. I sprang forward until I reached the spot at which she had
disappeared, but was still unable to see anything of her.
"Lotta!" I cried anxiously, "where are you? what on earth has become of
you?"
"I am here, Dick," answered the girl, her voice seeming to issue from
the ground at my feet. Then, for the first time, I noticed that there
was what appeared to be a slight dip in the inner edge of the ledge, but
which, upon closer inspection, proved to be a fissure, just wide enough
for a man to squeeze through, and it was into this fissure that Lotta
had dropped. I promptly followed her, and presently, when my eyes had
become accustomed to the dim twilight of the place, I found that we were
in a small, cave-like hollow of the rocky cliff, measuring about eight
feet in each direction, and floored with very fine, dry sand. But of
the treasure there was no sign that I could discover, in any direction--
unless it were artfully concealed in one or more of the many small holes
or recesses that I saw here and there in the rocky walls. Lotta
observed my perplexity and laughed heartily.
"Well, Dick, where is the treasure?" she banteringly demanded. "Surely
it is not so very difficult to find, now that you have been told of its
existence?"
"Oh, I'll find it, never fear, young woman!" I answered; "but I confess
that it is so ingeniously concealed that I doubt whether anyone ignorant
of its existence would find it, except by the most extraordinary
accident." And therewith I proceeded to grope and feel about in the
various fissures and cavities with which the rocky walls of the small
cavern were honeycombed, but without success. At length, to my great
chagrin, I was obliged to abandon the search and confess myself beaten.
"Yet it is very simple--when you know!" remarked Lotta, in high glee at
my discomfiture. "Follow me!" And, dropping upon her hands and knees,
she proceeded to crawl into one of the cavities that I had been
searching, and which I should have declared was not nearly capacious
enough to receive a full-grown man. Nevertheless Lotta completely
disappeared within it, and I after her. When I had fairly entered the
cavity I found that what had appeared to be its back wall, and which
gave it the appearance of being only about two feet in depth, was really
one of two side walls, a narrow passage turning sharp off to the right,
just wide enough and high enough to travel through comfortably on one's
hands and knees. It wound round in what seemed to me to be about a
half-circle of about fifty yards in diameter, and its inner end gave
access to an enormous cavern, very roughly circular in shape, and about
four hundred feet across in either direction.
It was a most extraordinary place. One of the peculiarities was that,
instead of being pitchy dark, as one would naturally expect it to be in
such a place, the whole interior was suffused with a very soft greenish
twilight, quite strong enough, when one's eyes became accustomed to it,
to permit one to see from one end of the cavern to the other with quite
tolerable distinctness. Where the light came from it was impossible to
say, for the roof of the cavern appeared to be formed, like the walls,
of solid rock; but from the fact that shafts of light were plainly
visible overhead, issuing from the walls and roof, I conjectured that
the light entered the cavern through rifts in the rock, and that its
greenish tinge was imparted to it by the foliage through which it
filtered prior to its passage through the rifts. Greater surprise was
in store, for presently I discovered that the walls were literally
covered with sculptured figures of men and animals, done in high relief,
and about life-size. The sculptures appeared to be records of hunting
and fighting episodes, and were executed with great vigour and skill.
In reply to my astonished enquiries, Lotta informed me that Ricardo
attributed this work to the original Caribs, and very probably he was
right.
The treasure was all neatly arranged in a recess near the narrow passage
by which we had entered the cavern, and a pretty careful inspection of
it soon convinced me that Ricardo had been only speaking the truth when
he assured me that, although it was probably the booty of some dead-and-
gone gang of pirates, he had certainly had no hand in its accumulation.
For everything bore unmistakable evidence of having lain where it was
for a great many years--probably at least a hundred, if one might judge
by the dates on a few of the coins which I examined, and which formed
part of the treasure. The man who accumulated the store must have been
an individual of a very enterprising nature, for there were great piles
of strong, solid wooden cases packed to the brim with doubloons and
pieces-of-eight; two hundred and eighty-five gold bricks, weighing about
forty pounds each, every brick encased in the original raw-hide wrapper
in which it was brought down from the mines, now hard and dry and
shrivelled; quite a large pile of rough, shapeless ingots of gold and
silver, conveying the suggestion that at various times large quantities
of gold and silver plate and jewellery had been run through the melting
pot; and, finally, a leather bag containing not far short of a peck
measure of gems of every conceivable description, all of the stones
being cut, and evidently taken from pieces of jewellery of various kinds
that had probably been broken up and melted. I had not the most remote
idea of the value of the whole, but I was convinced that it must be
something fabulous, and I afterwards learned that I was right.
We spent nearly two hours in the cave, partly because there was so much
of interest there to engage our attention, and partly because of its
delightfully cool temperature, which was a positive luxury after the
extreme heat of the house, both by day and by night. Before we left the
cave to return to the house, Lotta half-jestingly proposed that we
should stock the place with provisions, and use it as a place of abode
whenever the heat became unduly oppressive. Although the suggestion was
made more in jest than in earnest, the idea became so attractive, when
we proceeded to discuss it further, that on the following day we
actually took steps to carry out the proposal. We spent the best part
of the day in stocking the cavern with provisions, rugs, and so on, to
such an extent that we could easily have endured a week's siege there,
had it been necessary, for a good supply of excellent water had been
found percolating through the rock in a small side passage off the main
cavern. And thereafter we regularly spent a great part of each day in
the cavern, always making it a rule to take with us a little more of
everything than we really needed.
At length, when a period of two full months had elapsed since the
sailing of the _Barracouta_, with no sign of her return, I began to feel
somewhat anxious. I was now practically as well in health as I had ever
been in my life, and I began to pine for a return to active service. I
was also desirous of seeing Lotta safely removed from her present
dubious and somewhat dangerous surroundings into that position which was
hers by right. To achieve these two results it was necessary that I
should get away from where I was, either by the fulfilment of Ricardo's
promise to me, or by some other means. To get away from where I was!
As that expression occurred to me I suddenly remembered that I had not
the faintest idea where I was; and, since Lotta was as ignorant as I was
on the subject, I determined to ascertain by some means exactly where
this little paradise of a spot was situated. And, as a first step
toward this, I ascertained roughly the latitude of the spot, by means of
a quadrant that I found in Ricardo's room, as a result of which I
discovered that I was undoubtedly somewhere on the island of Cuba.
Since there were only two spots on the coast line of the island that
could possibly have this precise latitude, I very soon managed, by
reference to one of Ricardo's charts, to determine that the rendezvous
was on the north side of the island; nay, I was able without difficulty
to identify the precise spot on the chart.
Another week passed, still with no sign of the return of the
_Barracouta_, and my impatience to get back to civilisation and friends
grew so acute that I was seriously entertaining the idea of stealing a
boat from the dockyard and making my escape in her. The only
consideration which caused me to hesitate was, that as I fully intended
to take Lotta and Mammy with me, I did not care to expose them to the
perils and discomforts of a boat voyage until every other resource had
failed.
A few more days had passed, when, about two o'clock one morning, I was
rudely awakened by some individual who had entered my room and was
roughly shaking me by the shoulder. I started up in bed and, quickly
gathering my confused wits together, recognised the voice that was
addressing me as that of Fonseca, the surgeon of the _Barracouta_!
"Hullo, Fonseca," I exclaimed, "where in the name of fortune have you
sprung from? Is the _Barracouta_ in?"
"Yes, Senor Grenvile," he answered, "we have just arrived. At the peril
of my life I took advantage of the bustle and confusion, attendant upon
her coming to an anchor, to slip quietly over the side and swim ashore,
in order that I may warn you to rise at once and make your escape while
you may, taking the senorita and the old woman with you, if you would
save their lives, or that which is perhaps even dearer than life to the
senorita!"
"Why," I ejaculated, as I sprang out of bed and started groping for the
materials with which to strike a light, "what has happened, then, that
it should be necessary for us to fly for our lives? Ricardo? Is he--?"
"Stop!" exclaimed Fonseca, laying his hand upon my arm as I was about to
light a candle; "don't do that! You must dress and make your
preparations in darkness; for should Dominique see the house lighted, as
he could scarcely fail to do, he would leave everything and come ashore
at once rather than that you and the senorita should slip through his
fingers. Yes, Ricardo is dead. We have sighted nothing in the shape of
a sail from the time that we left here; as a result of which the men
rapidly grew discontented. Dominique and Juan, who have long been
jealous of Ricardo and envious of his power, took advantage of this and
incited the crew to mutiny. The precious pair made their way to
Ricardo's cabin and murdered him in his sleep; then, when his dead body
had been first exhibited to the men and afterwards tossed overboard,
Dominique offered himself as captain in place of Ricardo, and, as he
happened to be the only reliable navigator among us, he was chosen, with
Juan as his lieutenant. That done, it was decided to abandon the cruise
forthwith and bear up for the rendezvous, in order to lay in a fresh
stock of necessaries before undertaking another cruise. But I soon
discovered that, so far as Dominique was concerned, the restocking of
the ship was only a pretext to enable him to return here at once for
quite another purpose, namely, to put you effectually out of the way by
drawing a knife across your throat, and to possess himself of the
senorita. Now, Dominique is a villain without a single redeeming trait
of character; there is no love lost between him and me; and therefore,
since I have taken something of a fancy to you, and have no desire to
see Senorita Lotta the victim of such a consummate scoundrel and
blackguard as Dominique, I determined to give you a word of warning, if
possible; and here I am. Now I don't know where you and the senorita
can hide yourselves, but hide you must, and that forthwith, for friend
Dominique may turn up at any moment; and if he finds you and the lady
here, no earthly power can save you. I think that perhaps if you were
to take to the woods for a time, it would be your best plan; and I would
help you, so far as lay in my power, by--"
"You are a good fellow, Fonseca," interrupted I, grasping his hand, "and
I will not forget what you have done to-night. I know of a place where,
I think, we can hide safely for a day or two, and I will take the
senorita and Mammy there with me. And, look here, why should you not
join us? You must surely be quite tired of leading such a life as this,
and--"
"Tired!" he broke in; "tired is not the word to express my loathing of
it! I never liked it; would never have had anything to do with it if I
could have helped it, but I was compelled by Ricardo to join, and I have
never since had a chance to escape."
"Well, you have one now if you care to join us," I said. "While you
have been talking my brain has been working, and I have already thought
of a scheme for getting away from here. Will you join us?"
"Most willingly, senor," answered Fonseca. "I will stand by you through
thick and thin; and should you succeed in enabling me to escape, my
eternal gratitude will be yours."
"Very well then," said I, "that is settled. Now if you have any
valuables among your personal belongings in your quarters ashore here,
that you particularly wish to take away with you, be off at once and get
them, and then rejoin me here. As for me, I must go and call Mammy at
once, and direct her to arouse and warn the senorita. Now be off with
you, and return as quickly as possible."
So saying I hustled him out, and forthwith hastened away to the little
room which I knew was occupied by the negress. This I entered without
ceremony, and, arousing the old creature, acquainted her as briefly as
possible with the situation of affairs, and directed her to arouse Lotta
forthwith. Then I returned to the room which I had been occupying--and
which was actually Ricardo's own sleeping apartment--and busied myself
in collecting together some half a dozen charts which were scattered
about the room, and which, I thought, might be useful, as well as
Ricardo's quadrant and a copy of the current _Nautical Almanac_. By the
time that I had got these and one or two other matters together, Fonseca
had returned, and a few minutes later Lotta and Mammy appeared, the
latter loaded with a huge bundle of wraps and spare clothing belonging
to her beloved mistress. Having enquired whether they were now ready
for instant flight, and received a prompt affirmative reply, I gave the
word to evacuate the premises, and we forthwith filed out into the
garden, shaping a course for the treasure cave, which I had determined
should be our place of refuge until we could perfect our plans for
effecting an escape. As it happened, we were not a moment too soon, for
we had traversed little more than half the length of the garden when the
sound of voices in somewhat boisterous conversation not far ahead first
brought us to an abrupt halt, and then caused us to retire precipitately
from the path to the shelter of some coffee bushes close at hand, behind
which we silently crouched until the speakers had passed on up the path.
They were Dominique and Juan, both somewhat the worse for drink, and
consequently speaking in a considerably louder key than was in the least
degree necessary. As they passed us and pursued their way up toward the
house it was not at all difficult to divine from their conversation the
fate which they had planned for Lotta, as well as for me.
The moment that they were far enough beyond us to permit of our doing so
with safety, we again emerged upon the path, down which we pursued our
way, silent as shadows, arriving, some ten minutes later, at the point
where it became necessary for us to turn off through the wood on our way
toward the cave. At this point I paused for a moment to look back at
the house, and as I did so I noticed a faint light suddenly appear in
one of the rooms. Our friends Dominique and Juan had evidently arrived
there and were lighting up the place, prior, as they doubtless fondly
anticipated, to giving us a pleasant little surprise. As I continued to
watch, the light suddenly grew brighter; they had found a lamp and
lighted it, and were now in the room which I had been wont to occupy. A
minute later the light vanished from that particular room, and almost
immediately showed from the window of another, which, from its position,
I conjectured must be that which Lotta had occupied. That our flight
had by this time been discovered seemed pretty evident, for the house
was rapidly lighted up in every room, and it was not difficult to
conjecture that the two half-drunken ruffians were prosecuting a heated
and vigorous search for the missing ones. And that this was actually
the case soon became evident from the fact that the French casement of
the room that had been mine suddenly flew open, and a man, whom I
presently identified as Juan, came staggering and stumbling down the
path at a run, alternately yelling curses at us, the missing ones, and
shouting to some person or persons unknown to come up to the house
forthwith "as the birds had flown!" Whereupon I swung quickly upon my
heel, and, plunging into the wood, hastened after my companions, whom I
overtook just as they were about to enter the cave. Arrived at our
destination we lighted a candle for a few minutes to enable us to make
such hasty preparations as were absolutely necessary, and then,
stretching ourselves out upon the soft, sandy floor, composed ourselves
to finish the slumbers that had been so rudely interrupted.