It seemed that I had scarcely closed my eyes ere I was aroused by Mammy,
who informed me that it was broad daylight, and that breakfast was quite
ready, whereupon, starting to my feet and shaking the fine sand from my
clothing, I looked at my watch and was amazed to discover that it was
nearly eight o'clock. I accordingly hurried away to the spot at which
the spring gushed out of the rock, hastily performed my ablutions, and
returned to where the others awaited me before falling-to upon a most
appetising meal which Mammy had prepared from the various viands with
which we had so luckily stocked the place. Everything was cold, of
course, for now that our flight was known it would never have done to
risk lighting a fire for the mere pleasure of having hot chocolate for
breakfast, lest some errant wreath of smoke should betray the locality
of our hiding place, and lead to a search that might possibly result in
our capture. But, cold though the meal was, it was none the less
welcome; and when we had finished I rose to my feet with the
announcement that I intended to go forth upon a reconnoitring
expedition. Against this decision Lotta at once protested most
vigorously, in which protest she was joined by Fonseca, who very
generously offered to go in my stead. He declared that in the untoward
event of an unavoidable encounter with any of the men, the consequences
to me would certainly be fatal, while for him they would probably amount
to nothing worse than a somewhat severe cross-questioning as to how he
managed to get ashore without using a boat, and what were his reasons
for such extraordinary haste. These questions he believed he could
answer satisfactorily without difficulty. But I was anxious to get all
my information at first hand, to see everything with my own eyes, in
order that I might be able to frame my plans with certainty. I
therefore put aside their objections, and, forbidding any of them to
leave the cave until my return, sallied forth, observing every possible
precaution against being seen or being taken unawares.
Upon emerging from the entrance to the cave, after having first taken a
most careful look round, I made my way, with much circumspection, to the
crown of a high knoll or ness, jutting out a little way into the bay,
from which I believed I should be able to get a good view of the "yard",
and ascertain, in the first instance, what might be happening in that
direction. The crest of this knoll was crowned with a thick and
tolerably extensive clump of bushes, screened by which I hoped to be
able both to see and hear anything that might happen to be transpiring
among the various sheds, and at the same time to keep an eye upon the
brig where she lay at her buoy, about half a mile from the shore. When,
however, I reached my hiding place I was disappointed to find that I was
considerably farther away from the wharf and the buildings than I had
expected; and that while I could see pretty well what was happening down
there, as well as command an excellent view of the brig, I could hear
nothing save an occasional shout; and it was even more upon what I
should hear than upon what I should see that I depended for the
necessary information upon which to base my plans. But there was a spot
at some distance down the front of the slope which I thought would suit
my purpose admirably if I could only reach it without being seen, and I
at once determined to make the attempt. It was a somewhat peculiarly
shaped outcrop of rock with a hollow in the middle of it, and I believed
that if I could but gain its shelter without discovery I should be able
to see from it nearly as well as from where I was, while I should
certainly be able to hear very much better. The only question was how
to get there. And after very carefully examining my surroundings from
the shelter of my screen of bushes I came to the conclusion that my only
plan would be to descend to the beach again by the way that I had come,
enter the wood as though I intended to return to the house, and skirt it
until I came very nearly to its far end, when, by concealing myself in a
thick and extensive bed of ferns, I might reasonably hope to gain the
desired spot without any very great difficulty or danger. Accordingly,
having first carefully looked about me to assure myself that I need not
fear being seen, I cautiously emerged from my hiding place, and as
cautiously made my way down to the beach again, from which it was easy
to gain the shelter and concealment of the wood. Another ten minutes
found me, heedless of the danger of snake bites, painfully wriggling my
way through the bed of ferns, lifting my head above the fronds
occasionally to make sure that I was steering a straight course; and
twenty minutes later saw me safely ensconced in my hiding place, from
which I could both see and hear distinctly without being seen.
For nearly an hour it appeared as though I had had all my trouble for
nothing, for the people on the wharf and in the sheds seemed to be going
about their regular daily business with that perfect deliberation and
entire absence of hurry which is so characteristic of the Spanish
seamen. I was beginning to consider seriously the question whether,
after all, it might not be advisable for me to endeavour to approach the
house, and even perhaps enter it, in my quest for information, when I
saw Dominique and Juan suddenly appear upon the wharf and enter a small
dinghy, in which they pulled off to the brig. Then, as the tiny craft
approached the _Barracouta_ a few figures appeared on deck, and by the
time that the dinghy reached the brig's side all hands seemed to have
mustered on deck. Evidently they had been taking matters easy aboard
her to celebrate their return to harbour. Almost immediately after the
arrival of the new captain and his lieutenant on board, the boatswain's
whistle sounded, and a minute later both gigs and the cutter were
lowered, and all hands apparently got into them and gave way for the
shore. Ten minutes later they landed on the wharf and drew themselves
up into some semblance of rank and file. I noticed that every man
carried a brace of pistols, as well as the usual long, murderous-looking
knife, in his belt. Then Juan stepped forward and started to ring a
large bell that was suspended from a gallows-like arrangement, and
immediately a number of men came swarming out from the various sheds and
formed up facing their comrades, who had just come ashore from the brig.
I carefully counted these last, and found that, including Dominique and
Juan, they mustered forty-two. The others totalled up to fifty-six.
When the last man appeared to have presented himself, Dominique gave the
order:
"Call over the roll, if you please, Senor Juan."
And therewith Juan, drawing the roll from his pocket, proceeded to call
each man by name. Each briefly responded by declaring himself to be
"Present!" Then, every man apparently having been accounted for,
Dominique stepped forward and said:
"My lads, I have called you off from your regular work this morning to
engage in a man hunt, or rather a hunt for two women and two men. You
will not need to be reminded by me that one of our chief and most recent
causes of dissatisfaction with Ricardo was his extraordinary behaviour
in connection with that young sprig of a naval officer whom we captured
when we engaged the British war schooner _Francesca_. Instead of
heaving the young cub overboard to the sharks, as he ought to have done,
our late chief, for some extraordinary reason which he never
condescended to explain to us, chose to keep the young fellow alive, and
not only so, but also to give the surgeon the strictest injunctions to
nurse him back to health. This was so totally at variance with his
usual practice that, as I have already explained to some of you, there
could only be one reason for it, and that reason, I have never had the
slightest doubt, was that he had formed a plan to betray us all into the
hands of the British. By saving the young officer's life he hoped not
only to use him as a channel of negotiation with the British
authorities, but also to purchase immunity from punishment for himself.
And having secured this, he would seize the earliest opportunity after
our execution to return here and quietly possess himself of the immense
hoard of treasure that we have accumulated by years of toil and peril.
It was because I was thoroughly convinced of this that I did away with
Ricardo; for it was his life or ours that hung in the balance. But it
was not sufficient to put Ricardo out of the way of doing us a mischief;
the young English officer remained, and still remains, and until he also
is removed there can be no safety for any one of us; and it was this
knowledge that caused me to abandon our cruise and return here.
"And now, what do I find? Why, that he, the Senorita Lotta, and the old
nurse have disappeared! Now, I want you to note particularly the
significance of this last fact, that not only have those three
disappeared, but so has Fonseca! What does this mean? Why, without
doubt it means that the surgeon also was in the plot with Ricardo
against us, and that we have him also to reckon with. How or when he
disappeared I cannot tell you, but we know that he was with us in the
brig when we executed Ricardo. He must therefore have slipped ashore in
some mysterious manner immediately upon our arrival, and have warned the
Englishman, who thereupon must have taken to flight, carrying off the
girl, her nurse, and Fonseca with him.
"It is these four persons that I want you to hunt down and bring back to
the rendezvous. They cannot have gone very far, and they cannot get
away, for, as some of you are aware, it is impossible to make one's way
very far inland from here; we are completely shut in on the landward
side by inaccessible cliffs. But the Englishman does not know this, and
I am by no means certain that either the girl or the surgeon knows it.
I am therefore of opinion that they will all be found endeavouring to
make their way into the back country by way of False Gap. I want you
all, therefore, to spread yourselves in such a way that some one or
another of you must inevitably find them, either by overtaking them, or
by intercepting them on their return when they find it impossible to
escape landward. I will go with you, but as a measure of precaution,
Juan, with half a dozen men, will secrete themselves in the house
yonder, in order that, should we by any strange chance miss the
fugitives, they may be taken when they return to the house, as they
must, sooner or later, in search of food. And one man will remain here
on the wharf, as a watchman and look-out; not that I think there is the
slightest likelihood of the fugitives coming this way, but it is good
generalship to take every possible precaution. And if you, Jose, who
are to remain here, should chance to sight any of the runaways, just
ring the yard bell, and wait for those in the house to join you.
"Now, men, I hope you understand me; those four persons must be found
and brought back to me; the Englishman, alive or dead. The other three
must be brought back to me alive, and, the girl at least, absolutely
uninjured; and remember that in the case of Fonseca, the less he is
injured the more acutely will he suffer from the punishment that I
intend to inflict upon him for his treachery! Now, forward all; to the
house first, and from there spread yourselves over the country in the
direction of False Gap. March!"
Thereupon the whole party, with the exception of one solitary
individual, whom I took to be Jose, who was told off to keep watch and
ward upon the wharf, filed off along the wharf and up the pathway that
led to the house from which we had fled but a few hours before. It took
them some twenty minutes to reach the bungalow, and ten minutes later I
saw a mob of men issue from it and disappear inland. For a few minutes
their shouts could be heard as they called to each other, and then a
dead silence fell upon the scene, broken only by the chirping and
"chirring" of the myriads of insects that haunted the bushy growth with
which the whole face of the country was covered, and the occasional call
of a bird. As for Jose, his first act, upon being left to himself, was
to scrutinise carefully the whole face of the visible country, under the
sharp of his hand, and then seat himself in the shadow of the capstan-
house, light his pipe, and abandon himself to the soothing influence of
the "weed."
Now the happenings of the last hour had set me thinking hard. First of
all, there was Dominique's remark about the impossibility of anyone
escaping inland. During the period of my convalescence I had seen
enough of the country, while wandering about in Lotta's company, to
convince me that this statement might be quite true, although Lotta had
never said a word to lead me to believe that she was aware that it was
so. And if there was no possibility of escaping landward, the only
alternative was to escape by going out to sea. But a boat voyage was an
undertaking not to be rashly entered upon, especially where a woman was
in the case; the inconvenience and discomfort, to say nothing of the
danger, of such an attempt were such as to make me pause long and
consider the matter very seriously in all its bearings before
determining to engage in such a venture. Yet something must be done; we
could not continue to inhabit the cavern indefinitely; a way of escape
must be found; for after what had fallen from Dominique's lips while
addressing his men, I felt that there was no such thing as safety for
any of us while we remained within arm's reach of that miscreant. The
most serious feature of the case, so far as a boat voyage was concerned,
was that even the biggest of the available boats, which was one of the
_Barracouta's_ gigs, was much too small to justify me in the attempt to
make the passage to Jamaica in her; for should the breeze happen to pipe
strong, the boat could not possibly live in the boisterous sea that
would at once be knocked up. If, on the other hand, the brig's longboat
had happened to be in the water, or some other craft big enough to
accomplish the voyage in safety--I pulled myself up suddenly, for a
distinctly audacious idea had at that moment occurred to me as well
worthy of consideration. Why not take the brig herself? True, she was
a big craft for two men to handle, but if she could but be got safely
out to sea, and beyond the reach of pursuit by boats, she could be
sailed under such short canvas that one man could take care of her for a
whole watch without very much difficulty. The trouble would be to get
aboard her, get her under way, and take her out to sea without being
detected and pursued, unless--and here I pulled myself up again, for
another audacious idea had occurred to me.
I looked at Jose--he appeared to be in a distinctly drowsy condition, if
indeed not already asleep, overpowered by the heat, and lulled to
slumber by the unwonted quiet of his surroundings. Then I looked
carefully around me to see whether I could detect any traces of the man-
hunters, but saw none; they were all undoubtedly well out of the way by
this time. I pulled myself together and braced myself up for immediate
action, for it suddenly dawned upon me that I was never likely to have a
more favourable opportunity to carry my bold scheme into effect than
that which at that moment presented itself to me. I quietly emerged
from my place of concealment and, once more crouching low among the
ferns, crept slowly and with infinite caution toward the somnolent Jose,
gradually working my way round until I could just see him clear of the
corner of the capstan-house. Some twenty minutes of this work brought
me right up to the gable end of the building, from which position I
again reconnoitred Jose. He was unmistakably fast asleep, and therefore
practically at my mercy. But as I had no intention of killing the man,
if I could possibly avoid so extreme a measure, I must have the
wherewithal to bind him securely, and that could undoubtedly be obtained
in the capstan-house. I therefore removed my shoes and, carrying them
in my hand, stole on tiptoe round the corner of the building, keeping a
wary eye on the sleeper as I did so. Presently I slipped noiselessly in
through the open door, and found myself in a long, spacious apartment
abundantly stored with ponderous hempen cables and hawsers, anchors of
various sizes, piles of sails neatly stopped up, quantities of chain of
various kinds, coils of rope, sufficient, it appeared to me, to fit a
new gang of running rigging to a dozen ships like the _Barracouta_,
bundles of blocks, single, double, threefold, and sister, dangling from
the beams--in fact almost every conceivable article that could possibly
be needed in the fitting out of a ship. There was part of a coil of
brand-new ratline close to my hand, which would serve my purpose
admirably, I therefore whipped out my knife and cut off as much as I
required, seized a double handful of oakum and a belaying-pin with which
to form a gag, cut off a length of marline with which to secure the gag
in place, and then, having made a running bowline in the end of my
length of ratline, I stole, still in my stocking feet, to the door, and
very cautiously peered out at Jose. The man was sound asleep, seated on
the ground with his back propped against the wall of the capstan-house,
his legs stretched out straight in front of him, his arms hanging limply
at his sides with the backs of his hands resting on the ground and
turned palm upward, his head sunk on his breast, and his pipe, fallen
from his mouth, lying in his lap.
Silently and stealthily I crept toward him until I stood by his side;
then, without pausing a moment, I dropped the noosed ratline over his
shoulders, at the same moment grabbing him by the collar and dragging
him forward to allow the noose to drop to his middle, hauling it taut as
it did so, and thus confining his arms to his sides. Then, as he opened
his mouth with the evident intention of letting out a yell, I popped the
belaying-pin wrapped in oakum into his mouth, at the same time hissing
into his ear: "Be silent as you value your life!" Then, turning him
over on his face, I rapidly trussed him up in such a fashion that I felt
confident he would never get free again, unaided; and finally I dragged
him inside the capstan-house, adjusting the gag in such a manner that,
while not interfering unduly with his comfort, it would effectually
prevent him from raising an alarm. And then, having assured myself that
I had nothing to fear from him, I hurried off and made the best of my
way to the cave, where I found its occupants suffering the greatest
uneasiness in consequence of my prolonged absence.
A few hasty words from me sufficed to put them in possession of my
plans, and then, gathering up such few personal belongings as we had
brought with us, we left the cavern and hurried away to the wharf, which
we managed to reach unobserved, and temporarily concealed ourselves in
the capstan-house, where Jose was found still safely trussed up. Then,
leaving Lotta, Fonseca, and Mammy in the building, I sallied out to make
my final arrangements, which I hoped to do without interference, since
that part of the wharf where I was operating was not visible from the
house. But there was, of course, the risk that those in the house might
at any moment take it into their heads to come down to the wharf to see
how Jose was faring, and it was therefore of the utmost importance that
what I had to do should be done quickly.
I walked to the edge of the wharf and looked over. The two gigs and the
cutter of the _Barracouta_ were lying alongside each other at a flight
of steps about half a dozen fathoms away, the only other boat which I
could see afloat lying just astern of them. But there were several
boats hauled-up high and dry on the wharf, and these would need thinking
about with reference to the scheme that I had in my mind. Slipping down
the landing steps, I cast adrift three out of the four boats, and re-
moored them in a string, one to the stern of another, so that by manning
the leading boat, we could tow the others after us. Then I returned to
the capstan-house and proceeded to look for a carpenter's maul, which I
quickly found. I was now ready for what I fondly hoped would prove to
be the last act in our little drama, and was about to give the word to
march, when Fonseca, who appeared to have been speaking to Jose, stayed
me.
"Senor Grenvile," he said, "I have just been exchanging a few remarks
with our friend Jose here, who has made certain representations to me
that I think demand your consideration. He quite understands, of
course, that we are about to attempt to escape, and he fully recognises
that he has no power to prevent us. But he contends that if we go off
and leave him here, Dominique will certainly torture him to death as a
punishment for permitting himself to be taken by surprise; and from what
I know of Dominique, I am afraid poor Jose has only too good reason for
his apprehension. That being the case, he implores us to take him with
us, even if we afterward deliver him up to the authorities, since he
would infinitely rather be hanged than remain here at the mercy of
Dominique. What say you, senor; do you feel inclined to accede to his
request?"
I looked at Jose. The poor wretch was evidently in a paroxysm of
terror, and was muttering eagerly behind his gag, while he gazed up at
me with eyes that were eloquent with pleading.
"Take the gag out of his mouth," said I, "and let me hear what he has to
say. But upon the first attempt to raise his voice, brain him with the
belaying-pin. We must have no trifling now."
Fonseca at once removed the gag, and Jose instantly burst forth with a
perfect torrent of prayers for mercy, intermingled with the most earnest
and graphic representations of what would happen to him if left behind.
"I would take you with us willingly, Jose," I said, "if I could be
assured that you would be faithful to us; but--"
"Oh, senor, do not doubt me, I implore you! Take me with you, senor;
and if you feel that you cannot trust me, put me in irons when we get on
board. But I swear to you, senor, that I will indeed be faithful to
you. Take me, senor, and try me!"
"Very well," I said, "I will. But you must not expect me to trust you
too much at first. Therefore, Fonseca, put the gag back into his mouth,
for the moment, and then cast his feet adrift, so that he can walk down
to the boats instead of being carried. And while you are doing that, I
will take a final look outside, and attend to a certain little matter
before we leave." And, so saying, I picked up the maul and walked out
of the building.
A careful look all round satisfied me that there was nobody in sight;
and as for the party up at the house, it was about time for their midday
meal, and they were probably getting it. I therefore made my way to the
spot where the hauled-up boats were lying, and deliberately smashed in
two or three of the bottom planks of each, thus rendering them quite
unserviceable for the moment. Then, returning to the capstan-house, I
gave the word to march, and the whole party, now five in number,
including Jose, filed across the wharf and down the steps into the
leading gig; the painter was cast off, and Fonseca and I taking an oar
apiece, we pushed off and, with the other three boats in tow, made our
way slowly toward the brig.
And then, suddenly, a dreadful apprehension seized me. "By Jove,
Fonseca," I exclaimed, "I have never thought of it until this moment,
but what is going to happen if there are any people left aboard the
brig? I have been quite taking it for granted that all hands came
ashore this morning, but of course I cannot be at all sure that they
did."
"I presume you did not by any chance notice, senor, precisely how many
men landed, did you?" demanded Fonseca.
"Yes," said I, "I did. And, including Dominique and Juan, they numbered
forty-two."
"Forty-two!" repeated Fonseca. "Now, just let me think." He considered
for about a minute, and then said:
"So far as I can remember, senor, forty-two should include all hands.
But, all the same, it will not be amiss to approach the ship warily, and
get aboard, if possible, noiselessly. Then, once aboard, we can soon
ascertain whether anyone is there. And if perchance there should be, it
cannot be more than one or two at most, whom we can probably overpower
if we once get a footing on deck."
A few minutes later we opened out the house clear of the wood, and I
kept my eye on it, wondering how long it would be ere we should attract
the attention of Juan and those with him. They must have seen us almost
immediately, for in less than a minute we saw half a dozen men rush out
on to the gallery that ran all round the building, and stand staring
straight at us, evidently talking excitedly together the while; then, as
with one accord, they set off racing down the path at breakneck speed
toward the wharf, shouting to us and gesticulating wildly as they ran.
But we took matters very quietly, knowing that there was not a boat left
that would swim, or, as we believed, that could be made to swim without
a couple of hours' work being done upon her. Then I turned my gaze
toward the brig; for I argued that since their cries reached us quite
distinctly, they must also reach the brig, and if anyone had been left
aboard her those cries would soon create an alarm, and we might expect
to see some movement on board her. But we saw nothing, the craft
maintained the appearance of being absolutely deserted, and five minutes
later we stole up alongside and quietly scrambled aboard her by way of
the main chains.