"And where have you been?" said Syd next day, after examining his second
patient's injury.
"Down in a big hole yonder," said the boy. "It's on'y a sort o' crack,
but as soon as you gets through there's plenty o' room; and when I'd got
a blanket and a bit o' sail to sleep on, it beat the straw corner up in
the tater-loft at home all to nothing, on'y I was getting very tired o'
nearly always biscuit. I say, Master Sydney, sir, you won't let father
give me the rope's-end will you?"
"You deserve it for smuggling yourself on shore."
"Didn't you smuggle yourself ashore too, sir?" said Pan, innocently.
Sydney and Roylance exchanged glances, and went to see how Mr Dallas
was getting on.
The morning had broken bright and fine, the wind had gone down, though
the sea was still fretting and breaking on the rocky islet; but the high
spirits in which the lads were became damped directly as they stood
gazing down at the wreck of the fine handsome man lying there before
them, hovering as it were between life and death.
"I wouldn't care, Roy," said Syd, "if I could only do anything but
attend to those wretched bandages."
"You do a good deal," was the reply.
"Oh, it seems like nothing. One gets no further, and I always go in to
see him feeling as if it was for the last time."
Partly to get rid of his painful thoughts Sydney worked hard with the
men till everything possible under the circumstances had been done.
Rocks had been shifted, breastworks built, and the place was so added
to, that if an enemy should come, the scaling of the cliff over the
landing-place and capture of the lower gun did not mean defeat. There
was quite a little fort to attack half-way up the gap, and then there
was a stout wall built across behind the second gun, which could be
slewed round ready for an attack from the land side.
Two mornings later, just after Sydney had been again combining the
duties of surgeon and commander, Strake came up to him.
"Going to order that boy a rope's-ending now, sir?" he said.
"Not yet, Strake."
"Done with him, sir?"
"Yes."
"Then I'd like a word with you in private."
The privacy consisted in a walk to the upper gun, where, after a look
round in the calm sunlit sea in search of the frigate, the boatswain
said--
"Enemy's here, sir."
"Where?" cried Syd, excitedly, looking out to sea again. "I was up at
the flagstaff an hour ago, and Mr Terry's there now. He has not given
the alarm."
"Didn't look in the right place," said the boatswain, oracularly. "I
did."
"Don't play with me, Strake; where is he?"
"In the tubs, sir."
"What!"
"On'y water enough to last four more days."
Syd looked at him aghast.
"We must have sails and casks ready to catch every drop when the rain
comes," cried Syd.
"Ay, sir, when it comes; but it don't come."
"Then what shall we do?"
"I ought to say die o' thirst, sir, on'y it sounds so unpleasant."
"But my father, surely he'll be here soon. He knows how we are
situated, and the other ship knows too. They will be sure to come."
"I don't want to upset you, sir, but I do say the captain's a long while
coming."
"What's to be done, Roy? Hi, Mr Terry, will you join here?" said Syd,
who had gone in search of his companion.
Terry came up smiling pleasantly.
"I have bad news for you. The water is nearly done. Can you make out
why it is the frigate does not come?"
Roylance shook his head, and Syd turned to Terry.
"Of course I cannot say," replied the latter; "and I don't like to make
you uncomfortable; but the captain seemed to me to be such a particular
man, that I fear something has happened."
"Happened?"
"Yes; his frigate has either been taken by the enemy, or gone ashore in
the storm."
"Oh!" ejaculated Sydney, with an agonised look at Roylance. "You don't
think this?"
Roylance was silent.
"Why don't you speak?" cried Syd, excitedly. "It's absurd to pretend to
help one, and then stand and stare at him like this."
"I did not want to hurt your feelings," said Roylance, quietly.
"Never mind my feelings; speak out."
"I have thought so for the past two days," said Roylance, gravely.
"When Captain Belton put us ashore here, he meant to be in constant
communication with the rock. He knew that we could do little without
his help, and his being close at hand."
"But the storm made him put to sea," said Syd, excitedly. "I know
enough of navigation for that, though I've not been a sailor long. I've
heard my father and my uncle talk about it; and he has not had time yet
to come back."
His two companions were silent.
"Do you hear what I say? He has not had time to come back."
Still there was no reply, and Syd turned sharply away to go to the
stores and make out for himself how long their provisions would last.
But in his bewildered state, with the cares of his position increasing
at a terrible rate, the task was more than he cared to see to, and
asking himself what he should do, he took his way up the higher side of
the gap, climbing slowly, with the heat making him feel faint, higher
and higher, till he stood where the well-guyed flag-pole rose up with
its halyards flapping against the side.
"It seems too much for me," he thought, "and I may be wrong, but Terry
looked pleased at my being so worried. No water; the provisions running
out; my father's ship lost--no, I will not believe that. He's too
clever. It only wants the enemy to come out now and attack us to make
it more than I can bear."
He stood with one arm round the flagstaff, gazing at the distant port of
Saint Jacques, wondering whether the people there knew of the English
occupying the rock, and if they did, whether they would make an effort
to drive them out.
But though he gazed long at the houses, which looked white in the
sunshine, there was nothing to be seen, and he swept the horizon once
more to see the dazzling blue sea everywhere, but no sail in sight.
He sighed as he let his anxious eyes rest on the deep soft blue of the
water, close in, and became interested directly, for in one spot a cloud
of silver seemed to be sweeping along--a cloud which, from his south
coast life, he was not long in determining to be a great shoal of fish
playing on the surface, and leaping out clear every now and then as they
fed on the small fry that vainly endeavoured to escape.
Syd's countenance cleared directly.
"Why didn't I think of it before? I ought to have known that a rock is
of all places the best for fish. We need not starve."
He hurried down to find the boatswain, and propose to utilise some of
the men, who were idling about in the shade cast by the overhanging
rocks, and met the old sailor looking more serious than before.
"I say, Strake," cried Syd, "why should not some of the men fish?"
"Got no boat, sir."
"Then let them fish from the rock."
"That's just what Rogers has gone off to do, sir, by that patch o' rocks
where we landed, and Mr Roylance and Mr Terry's gone to look on."
"Mr Terry should be on duty," said Sydney, colouring slightly.
"Ought he, sir? I thought he was under arrest."
"We are not in a position here to study such things as that, Strake.
Mr Terry is friendly now, and we want his help."
Syd walked straight to the lower gun, descended a rope-ladder, which had
been made and slung down for their convenience, and found the little
group on the natural pier.
"Mr Terry, a word, please, with you."
"With me? yes," said the midshipman, looking at him wonderingly as he
followed his young companion aside. "What is it?"
"You have forgotten that you are under arrest, sir," said Syd. "I know
it may seem absurd," he added quickly, as he saw Terry smile, "but it
would be the captain's wish that good discipline should be kept up on
the rock. Be good enough to stay with the men."
"Oh, this is too--I beg your pardon, Mr Belton," cried Terry, mastering
an outbreak of passion, and speaking in a cold, formal way. "You are
right, sir; I'll go back."
He went off at once, with Syd watching him till he had mounted the
rope-ladder, where he paused to speak to the men by the gun, and then
went on up the gap.
"One don't feel as if he was to be trusted," said Syd to himself,
wearily. "He is too easy and obedient, and I'm afraid he hates me. I
wish he was in command instead. It would be much easier for me, and I
feel such a boy."
A shout behind him made him start and look round, to see that Rogers,
who had been seated on the edge of a piece of stone waiting patiently,
had now started up, and was playing at tug with a fish he had hooked--
one which was splashing about on the top of the water as the man began
to haul in his long line.
All at once, as the silvery sides of the fish were seen flopping about,
the water parted and a long, lithe, snaky-looking creature flashed out
like lightning, seized the hooked fish, and flung itself round it in a
complete knot, making Rogers cease hauling, and watch what was going on
in dismay.
"Haul, my man, haul! You'll get them both," cried Syd, excitedly; and
two other men who were looking on ran to help.
But as they drew hard on the line, there was abundant floundering, the
water flew up in a shower of silver, and then the line came in easily,
for the captive was gone.
"Look at that now," said Rogers, good-temperedly. "They're beginning to
bite, though, and no mistake."
He rebaited his hook, and threw out as far as he could, beginning to
tighten the line directly after, and then hauling in rapidly, for the
bait was taken at once, and though some longish creature made a savage
dash at it, the sailor was successful in getting a good-sized
mullet-like fish safe on the rock.
"Got him that time, sir," he said, merrily, as he rebaited and threw in
again.
Syd was delighted at the man's success, and stood watching eagerly for
the next bite.
"I don't know what it is," said Roylance, who was examining the capture,
"but it must weigh four pounds, and it looks good to eat."
"Here you are again, sir," cried Rogers, hauling away, with another fish
at the end of his line. "You've brought me good luck, sir. Hah! Look
at that!"
For there was another splash and a sudden check, followed by a battle
between the sailor and some great thing which had seized his captive.
"'Tarn't one o' them snaky-looking chaps this time, sir. Hooray! he's
gone.--Well, now, I do call that mean."
For he hauled in about a third of the fish he had hooked, the other
two-thirds having been bitten off.
"Cut a piece off the silvery part and put on your hook."
"To be sure, sir; but hadn't I better cut off all but the head, and
leave that on?"
"Try it," said Syd, who forgot all his cares of government over the
sport.
The man whipped out his knife and cut through the remains of his fish
just at the gills, throwing out the bright silvery lure, and the moment
it touched the water, all fresh and bleeding, it was seized by a heavy
fish, which he dragged in successfully, for it to be flapping about with
its scales as large as florins flashing in the sun, all silver and
steely blue.
"Ten pounds, if he's an ounce," cried Roylance. "I say, Rogers, are you
going to have all the fun?"
"No, sir. Have a try," cried the man. "I'll soon put you on a good
bait. Look here, sir, this head's on tight. Try it again."
Roylance threw in his line, but there was no answering attack; and he
waited a few minutes, with the waves carrying it here and there.
"No good," he said. "Cut a fresh bait."
But as he spoke there was a jerk which made the line cut into his hand,
followed by a desperate struggle, and another, the largest fish yet, was
landed; one not unlike the last caught, but beautifully banded with
blue.
"Why, here's provision for as long as we like to stay," cried Syd.
"And how are we to cook it? We have not much more wood?"
"We'll dry it in the sun, if we can't manage any other way. Now throw
out just to the left of that rock."
Roylance was already aiming in that direction, the bait falling a couple
of yards to the left; and if it had been aimed right into a fish's
mouth, the answering tug, which betokened the getting home of the hook,
could not have been more rapid. Then followed a minute's exciting play,
a tremendous jerk, and the hook came back baitless and fishless.
"Never mind, sir; try again. Strikes me it's sharks is lying out there,
waiting to get hold of all we ketches, 'cause the weather's too hot for
'em to do it themselves. There you are, sir; as shiny silver a bait as
any one could have."
There was another cast, and in less than a minute a fresh fish was
hooked, and this escaped the savage jaws waiting to seize it, and was
hauled in.
"There, that's the biggest yet," cried Syd. "Fifteen pounder, I know."
"You try now," said Roylance, and for the next half-hour, with varying
success, they fished on, for there was to be quite a feast that evening,
the men hailing with delight so capital a change from their salt meat
diet; while there was supreme satisfaction in Sydney's heart, for he had
solved one of the difficulties he had to face--the sea would supply them
with ample food.
"If we could only find water, and get some drift-wood, we could hold on
till my father comes back."
As he said these last words, he saw a peculiar look of doubt in his
companion's eyes--a look which sent a chill of dread through him for a
few minutes.
"No," he said, "I will not think that; he'll come yet, and all will be
right."
Just then Pan came down from the hospital, where he had been placed to
keep watch by Mr Dallas's rough bed and call if there seemed any need.
"Mr Dallas says, sir, will you come to him directly."
"Mr Dallas--he said that?" cried Syd, joyfully.
"Whispered it, sir, so's you could hardly hear him, and then he said,
`Water!'"
"Water!" thought Syd, with the feeling of despair coming back, "and we
have hardly a drop left."
As he thought this, he hurried up to the little canvas-covered place.