THE CAVERN.
From our better position we could now see the sides of the great rock
which reared itself nearly a hundred feet from the shore and stood like
some gigantic, flat topped obelisk, keeping guard by the lonely sea.
Some ancient convulsion of nature, such as an earthquake or a lightning
bolt, had evidently split it from the main precipice of rock near which
it stood; for the huge crevice that separated it, and which extended
entirely down to the beach, almost followed its outlines in every
particular. But what had cast up that great rocking-stone, and placed it
in so finely balanced a position that it could be made a curious but
effective bridge to the isolated peak? No one can tell. Another freak of
nature, doubtless, for no mortal hands could ever have moved so great a
weight of solid rock.
And now was solved the problem of the mysterious disappearance of the
robbers; for, looking over the edge, we saw them creeping slowly down
the side of the cliff. A natural ledge, varying from one to three feet
in breadth, led from the top down to the bottom, circling entirely
around the crag with a sort of corkscrew regularity. It was a dizzy
path, most certainly, and I did not wonder to see the men cling fast to
the inner side of the rock as they crept down the tortuous ledge; but
Daggett, who evidently knew the place well, led them fearlessly, and the
others followed, dragging their burdens and the sacks of gold dust as
best they could. I certainly expected to see one or more of them tumble
headlong at any moment; but no accident happened and presently, as they
descended, the path wound around the opposite side of the rock, and they
were lost to view.
I wondered if I would see them again, and if it were wise to stick to my
exposed post of observation; but while I pondered the matter Daggett
came into view again, having passed around the rock. He was now two
thirds of the way to the sands, and as he followed the ledge on the
inner side, that lay next the face of the main cliff, I saw him suddenly
pause upon a broader part of the path than the rest, and then disappear
into the rock itself—or so it seemed to my gaze from where I watched.
One by one the men came after him, and one by one the rock swallowed
them up with their burdens; and now passed a period of tedious waiting.
Both Nux and I had counted the fugitives and saw that all had safely
descended to this point, including Bry. But what had become of them now
was a mystery.
“What shall we do, Nux?” I asked in indecision. “There’s nothing more to
be seen from here.”
The black, whose eyes held a startled expression, made no reply; but he
crept with me to a nearer and better position at the edge of the cliff
beside the rocking-stone, and together we peered over into the abyss.
Now, indeed, the strange disappearance of the robbers was explained, for
from our present point of vantage we could see a black spot far down on
the inner face of the column of rock, where the ledge passed, and this
spot was evidently a cavity into which the men had penetrated.
“All we can do now,” I said, with a sigh of regret, “is to wait until
they come out. It would be foolish to follow them into that place.”
Nux nodded an emphatic approval, and we proceeded to lie down upon our
faces, so that our eyes just projected over the edge of the cliff, and
in this position we watched as patiently as we could for something to
happen.
It was fully an hour before the men reappeared. A distant sound of
voices, raised high in angry dispute, was the first token that the
desperadoes were quitting the interior of the rock. Then Larkin and
Daggett came out and stood upon the ledge; the others crowding behind
them on the narrow footing, while their guide pointed along the ledge
that still continued to lead downward.
They were without burdens now, either of provisions or gold dust; but
the two axes were carried over Bry’s shoulder, and another man bore a
coil of rope.
They seemed to be disputing together about something, and a few of the
words reached our ears. Daggett was urging them to follow a plan he had
proposed, while some of the others demurred.
“It’s too hot to work,” we heard one of the men declare.
“It’s not too hot to hang,” shouted Daggett, in reply, “and you’ll hang,
every mother’s son of you, if we don’t get to the ship!”
That seemed to be an effective argument, for after a few more words of
protest the men followed Daggett along the ledge, Bry coming last of
all.
The path was broader from there on, and they made rapid progress, soon
being again lost to our view around the rock. Just as Bry disappeared he
looked up and saw Nux and me eagerly watching from above. For an instant
he paused to wave his hand and grin at us reassuringly; then he passed
around the edge and vanished after the others.
“Dat Bry don’ ’pear to be much scared,” said Nux, in an encouraged tone.
“No,” I answered, thoughtfully. “He’s got some plan in his head, I’m
sure, to help us. But where have the men gone now?”
Nux could not answer this problem, but after a few moments it solved
itself, for the robbers and Bry appeared upon the sandy shore, close to
the water, and walked briskly along the narrow strip of beach between
the lapping waves and the grim precipice of the mainland. It was not
long before a bend in the coast hid them completely, and then we sat up
and looked at one another inquiringly.
“What we do now?” asked the black.
“Let’s go down the rock,” I suggested, assuming to be braver than I
really was. “They’ve left the gold behind them, that’s sure; and the
gold is what we’re after, Nux. Once we have recovered that, it doesn’t
matter so much what becomes of the thieves.”
“Won’ dey come back?” enquired Nux, hesitatingly.
“I hope not,” said I, truthfully. “At least not until after we’ve got
back the gold. But there’s no time to lose. Follow me.”
Having thus assumed the leadership, I strove to banish all unmanly fear
and boldly sprang on to the end of the rocking-stone that rested on the
mainland. Slowly and with caution I crept up its incline until I was
directly over the gulf. It was now that the stone should tip, but it
seemed that my weight, being less than that of any of the men who had
passed over, was not sufficient to balance the rock, so it began to look
like a risky thing for me to climb further up the tapering point.
“But it’s got to be done,” I muttered to myself, setting my teeth firmly
together; and then, summoning what courage I possessed, I lay close to
the rock and crawled steadily upward, digging my toes desperately into
the irregular hollows of the surface, to keep from sliding into the gulf
that yawned below. Higher and higher I climbed, and at last the huge
rock trembled and then gently sank beneath me. For a moment I was
exultant; but I had crept so near to the slippery point of the wedge
that I could find no rough projection to grasp with my fingers, and
therefore as soon as my head became lower than my feet I slid
headforemost to the point and tumbled off before the rocking-stone had
reached a point of rest upon the peak.
Fortunately, however, I had been carried over the gulf, and although I
lay, half-stunned, upon the very edge of the great precipice, I was not
much hurt. In another moment I managed to drag myself to a position of
greater safety, while the rocking-stone, relieved of my weight, reared
its nearest point into the air again and fell slowly back into its
original position.
Nux, who had watched breathlessly my adventure and hair-breadth escape,
was trembling violently when he in turn mounted the stone. But I called
out to reassure him, and his greater weight caused the wedge to tip more
quickly, so that he effected the passage to the rocky peak with
comparative ease.
Once beside me the faithful fellow began rubbing my limbs briskly to
renew their circulation and ease the bruises, and it was not long before
I felt sufficiently restored to announce my resolve to continue the
adventure.
“Come on, Nux,” said I, scrambling to my feet, “we must get that gold
before Daggett and his gang come back.”
The black was staring at the rocking-stone, now removed from our
table-like refuge by a good twenty feet.
“How we get back again?” he asked, in perplexity.
“I don’t know,” said I. “That’s a question we’ll have to face afterward.
The main thing is to get the gold, and it’s certain that if we can find
no way to escape the robbers will be as badly off themselves.”
Nux shook his head.
“Dat won’ help us, Mars Sam,” he said, gravely.
But already I was engaged in eagerly peering over the edge of the peak
to find the ledge by which the men had descended, and in an instant I
discovered it. It started with a projection scarcely six inches wide,
which lay nearly four feet from the top, and it is small wonder that I
looked at it dubiously, at first. For if I let myself over, and missed
my footing, I would be tumbled sheer down the face of the cliff.
“I go first,” decided Nux, who had also glanced over the cliff.
There was a crack in the rock, near the edge, which afforded him a hold
for his hands, and clutching this the black let his body slide over
until his feet touched the projection.
“Now, Mars Sam,” he said. “You hold on me, an’ come down.”
This I quickly did, and found the feat much less difficult than I had
feared. Just at the top where my companion’s feet rested, there was
sufficient incline to enable me to lean against the rock, and a few
steps further on the ledge widened until the path was quite easy to
follow.
I went first, followed closely by the black, and although it was not a
descent one would have chosen for a pleasure excursion there was little
of danger to be encountered by those with cool heads and determined
hearts, such as we strove to maintain.
Round and round the great pillar of rock we crept, nearing the foot
gradually until we came at last to the side facing the main cliff and
found the opening of a large cavern beside us.
Filled with eager curiosity I took a step or two inside, and found the
cavern to be fully ten feet in height and about fifteen feet in depth.
There was no light except that which came through the round entrance,
and as this faced the side of the cliff it was so shadowed that it
required a few moments for me to accustom my eyes to the gloom, so that
I could see plainly the interior of the cave.
Its floor was strewn deeply with sand, an evidence that when the waves
rolled high they rebounded from the face of the cliff and deposited
their sand in the cavern. The marks of numerous footprints, however,
were all that could be seen in the cave, and it did not take me a moment
to guess what had occupied the robbers so long.
“They’ve buried the sacks of gold and the provisions under the sand!” I
exclaimed.
“Sure ’nough,” agreed Nux.
“It will take us some time to dig for them, for we don’t know exactly
where to look,” I continued, reflectively, “so our best plan will be to
go down to the beach and discover what has become of Daggett and his
crew, and whether they’re liable to come back here before night.”
The black readily agreed to this, so we at once left the cave and
continued along the ledge until we reached the sand.
The path became quite broad in this part, and our descent was therefore
concluded very rapidly.
Once on the shore we walked briskly along until we had turned the bend
in the beach, which curved to follow the lines of a little bay. Here we
paused, for a long stretch of the beach was now opened to our gaze.
From this point the shore widened out, for the precipitous mainland
shrank backward and decreased gradually in height until, a half mile or
so further on, it reached the level plain and merged into a deep forest
which grew almost down to the edge of the sea.
No human being was in sight, so we naturally concluded that the robbers
had entered the forest.
Being curious to discover what they were doing, without hesitation we
decided to follow them, and their path was easily traced by the
footprints in the sand. These led straight to the forest, and although
somewhat fearful that the enemy would discover our presence, we
proceeded to walk boldly around the shore of the little bay until we
came to the edge of the trees.
A sound of voices, mingled with the strokes of the axes, now guided us,
and stealthily creeping among the thick underbrush we soon discovered
the robbers busily at work.
Judson and Dandy Pete were trimming the branches from a fallen
tree-trunk, while the others were rolling and dragging another big log
toward the sea, the glistening waters being perceptible but a few yards
away. Evidently the men were intending to build a raft, and after
listening for a few minutes to their disjointed conversation we learned
that the raft was designed to convey them and their stolen wealth to the
ship.
While Daggett, Larkin and Bry tugged and dragged at the log, Nux and I
crept away to the shore, where we found two big logs already lying upon
the sands. Also we could now plainly see, sheltered in another bay, the
“Flipper” lying quietly at her anchorage, as Nux had wisely predicted.
The schemes of the robbers were now fully explained. Under cover of the
forest by day, and hidden in their cave by night, they intended to
complete the raft, and when it was ready it would not be difficult to
steal away to the ship with the treasure, under cover of darkness, hoist
the sails, and creep out to sea, bidding defiance to the Major and his
comrades and leaving the miners and the “Flipper’s” crew to perish on
the lonely island.
But the construction of the raft would require time—several days, at
least—for after getting the logs to the shore they must be fastened
together by cross-strips secured with wooden pegs, since there was not
enough rope in their possession to bind the tree-trunks together.
Once more returning to a part of the underbrush near which the men were
employed, Nux and I settled ourselves to listen attentively to their
conversation.
Presently we heard Daggett say:
“This rate we’ll have the raft ready by Saturday, and Saturday night
we’ll take the ship.”
“It’s beastly hard work!” growled Dandy Pete, brushing with his sleeve
the sweat from his brow.
“Yes; but it means liberty and riches to every one of us,” said Daggett,
and that was an argument none cared to deny.
Just then I was startled at hearing low voices just beside me and
instinctively I touched the black’s shoulder and we crouched lower in
the bushes. Nux, indeed, with a woodsman’s instinct, was quite flat upon
the ground, lifeless and invisible, and I strove to imitate him.
“It’s as easy as can be,” said the voice, which I recognized as that of
Larkin. “We’ll let the fools work until the raft is finished, and then
we’ll put our knives in their hearts, and have the gold for ourselves.”
“How about Bry?” asked Judson, hoarsely whispering to his murderous
comrade.
“Oh, he won’t interfere any,” was the reply. “And we need the nigger to
help us work the ship.”
“Can three of us manage the vessel?”
“Of course, with good weather. We’ll have to take our chances of a
storm, but the fewer there are to divide up, the bigger our fortunes
will be. We won’t give the nigger a cent, but go halves on the whole
thing. Perhaps we can sell the ship, too, for a good sum.”
“All right; I’m with you!” declared Judson, with an oath; and then the
two conspirators crept away and rejoined the others, unconscious that
their diabolical plot had been overheard.